Yuuna remembers when she first Dueled with Yubel.
"Your ability is amazing!" Yuuna cheers, holding Yubel's card to her chest.
Yubel kneels in front of her and runs their fingers through her hair. "Only because you worked so hard to summon me. I couldn't let you down, Little Princess."
Yuuna smiled at Yubel.
Yubel has been there for Yuuna for longer than she can remember. They've always been in Yuuna's Deck. They've always made Yuuna happy when she was sad. They've always told Yuuna stories about Haou and his Dragon Guard.
They've always been there for Yuuna to say. "I love you, Yubel."
And they've always been there to say back. "I love you more, Little Princess."
Yubel has always been there for Yuuna.
And Yuuna will always be there for Yubel.
Yuuna can't believe this. She's not sure who's in more shock.
Blair is quiet beside her, clutching a hot water bottle like her life depends on it. Yuuna is quiet too, holding the discrete bag of sanitary products with a death grip.
House Dragonmaid is floating behind them, occasionally giggling behind her hands. Yubel is smugly chuckling as well, floating above them. Winged Kuriboh and Baby Dragon keep fluttering around all four of them, chasing one another and trying to play with them.
Yuuna is too in shock to respond to their antics.
"Every month…" Blair murmurs. "For 3 to 8 days… My internal organs are going to leak out..."
"Blair, from the bottom of my heart…" Yuuna rests a hand on Blair's shoulder. "I am so sorry."
Blair groans and shakes her head. "Can we please discuss anything but my body problems? Please? Anything?"
Yuuna would like that.
"Well, I would suggest we discuss your sudden power awakening then." Yubel replies, floating in front of them.
Blair and Yuuna stiffen up and look at each other.
"They're right, girls. We need to talk about what this means now." House Dragonmaid joins Yubel, curling her hands in front of her. "Especially for the fight against the Light of Destruction."
Yuuna's instincts flare up. "She's not getting involved."
"Yuuna!" Blair snaps, turning to her. "We already talked about this before we even found out about my powers!"
"But this changes things now!" Yuuna turns to her. "There's a chance that Alexis will think you're the Supreme King, or that you're a double and she or Zane will come after yo-"
"What does Alexis have to do with this?" Blair tilts her head. "Why is Zane involved?"
Yuuna stares at her.
"Consider this a warning."
"Because I know what you are! I know what you are, Supreme King!"
Yuuna never told her about Alexis and Zane's association with the Light of Destruction. She hadn't wanted Blair to get involved.
Yubel sighs and settles their hand on Yuuna's shoulder. "Yuuna, you need to tell her the truth. It's not just your destiny now… it's hers too."
Yuuna gulps and looks at Blair.
"What destiny? What are you talking about, Yubel?" Blair looks up at them.
Yuuna rubs her arm. "Ya know, how you guessed that the Light of Destruction was back?"
Blair nods.
Yuuna sighs and lowers her hand. "It's here. On the island. Specifically with Alexis Rhodes and Zane Truesdale, who think I'm responsible for Atticus Rhodes' disappearance, along with the other missing kids in the abandoned dorm."
Blair's eyes widen.
House Dragonmaid gasps, bringing her hand to her mouth. "Oh my."
Blair takes a step back. "You're kidding, right?"
Yuuna grits her teeth and shakes her head. "It's the truth. The two of them are after me. And with the mini tournament for the School Duel coming up, it's the perfect chance for Alexis and me to have our rematch, if we both win our matches."
She's not looking forward to this rematch. But she has to stop Alexis.
"Rematch?" Blair's eyes widen. "You've Duelled before?"
Yuuna nods. "And I lost. It wasn't pretty."
Blair gapes at her. "Oh no."
Suddenly, Yuuna realizes that if she does have a rematch with Alexis in this tournament, that means Blair will lose to Alexis.
"I'll fight her for you then." Blair says.
Yuuna's heart aches. "Blair, no-"
"Yuuna, you're my sister!" Blair drops her hot water bottle, grabbing Yuuna's hands that drop the bag of sanitary products. "You've been facing this destiny alone all your life, but I'm here now! And I'll fight it right by your side, no matter what!" She squeezes Yuuna's hands, smiling. "We're a team."
Yuuna stares at Blair and sighs. "I really can't stop you, can I?"
"Nope!" Blair grins.
Yuuna shakes her head and looks at Blair. "Alright then." She offers her fist to Blair. "Let's be a team then, spitfire."
"Alright!" Blair cheers and bumps her fist against Yuuna's.
With that, the two pick up the period stuff and walk back to the Slifer Red Dorm.
On another part of the island though, they're not the only ones who stayed up late at night.
In a room in the Ra Yellow dorm that was recently painted over, Bastion himself is working hard to figure out what sort of plan he'll need to take out Yuuna's Deck.
"Countless equations, a myriad of theorems but still…" Bastion types away at his computer, a lamp his only company. "I haven't quite solved the problem that is Yuuna's Deck."
He brings up the data file he has on Yuuna's Deck, examining each Monster.
"Ahh, Yubel. What a specimen. Whenever they do battle with a Monster, the opponent takes the damage instead." Bastion hums. "In order to stop them, I must prevent Yubel from being on the field if I can, usually through summoning through the Graveyard. But if Yubel is on the field, if I can prevent Yuuna from having Monsters to sacrifice at the end of her turn, then Yubel will simply destroy themself."
Yuuna's ace Monster is a mighty being, but they have a heavy price.
"Of course, even if I get Yubel off the field, there's still Grapha, Dragon Lord of Dark World." Bastion murmurs. "With an impressive 2700 ATK points, he's not an easy opponent to defeat. I'll need to prevent him from being sent to the Graveyard and summoned from it, since that's how Yuuna usually summons him."
Grapha is a powerful creature, not one that Bastion has seen very often.
He leans back, his arms above his head.
"Think Bastion, think." Bastion tells himself.
There must be a way to stop Yuuna's cards. He could assemble his Deck to counter each of Yuuna's monsters, but that would leave far too much to chance.
"There simply must be a better way to neutralise the threat." Bastion glances at his computer.
All Decks have their strengths and their weaknesses. His WATER Deck has his Water Dragon as the centrepiece, so if he's prevented from summoning it, he's left vulnerable. His EARTH Deck focuses on his Magnet Warriors, so if their effects are interrupted, once again he's left vulnerable. Each of his Decks have a weakness like this.
What does Yuuna's Deck depend on? How does she activate most of her card effects? What is the common thread tying her Monsters together?
Bastion gasps and begins typing. "Wait a moment!"
Her effects from the Graveyard! All her card effects depend on her being able to "discard" her Dark World Monsters, who are all of the DARK attribute!
"That's it!" He needs to find a card to deal with this. "It's so obvious."
He found it! The card is within his database of ones he owns and it's perfect to counter Yuuna's Deck.
Bastion narrows his eyes and grins, standing up. "Yuuna Yuki, the code of your cards… has just been cracked."
He'll win this Duel for certain. Once he defeats Yuuna, he can have a match against Alexis, whom he's already formulated a strategy against. And should he manage to beat her then…
He glances at the wall he dedicated to trying to understand the 'war' that seems to be going on between them. Yuuna's side has grown a bit more, as has Alexis' side thanks to his interviews of Syrus, Blair and Chumley about what had happened at the Abandoned Dorm.
Yuuna's side reads:
Slifer Red, one of two girls in the dorm.
A good Duelist, with a winning streak as far as he can see.
A competitive but friendly style of Duelling with a Dark World Deck.
Been to the Abandoned Dorm.
Unsure about Alexis.
Offered to help Alexis find her missing brother.
Has Duelled and lost to Zane Truesdale, who does not seem to like Yuuna
Large friend group from various Dorms
Friends with Jasmine Makurada and Mindy Hamaguchi, who are dating
Doesn't like Chazz Princeton
Kind, friendly, always smiling
Alexis' side reads:
Obelisk Blue, one of many girls in the dorm.
A good Duelist, but he hasn't seen her records.
A cold and dominating way of Duelling with a White Night Deck.
Been to the Abandoned Dorm.
Hates Yuuna for unknown reasons.
Missing brother who is Zane's age (Atticus Rhodes).
Is very close with Zane Truesdale on account of the missing brother.
Small friend group all from Obelisk Blue
Friends with Jasmine Makurada and Mindy Hamaguchi, who are dating
Doesn't like Chazz Princeton
Cold, quiet, always frowning
Bastion's hunt for the truth hasn't been particularly fruitful. He hasn't even been able to speak to Alexis herself about what kind of 'war' she intends to fight with Yuuna.
So if he can beat Yuuna in the Duel Off and then go on to defeat Alexis, not only will he represent Duel Academy in the School Duel, but he may be able to get some answers from Alexis. If he can learn more about this war, he can attempt to resolve the conflict before it spills out of control. Or if the war is inevitable, then he'll know how to fight by Yuuna's side when the time comes.
Bastion nods to himself and goes to his draws, searching for the card he needs that will pair well with his LIGHT Deck.
Whatever comes, he'll fight by Yuuna's side.
The clouds seem especially thick tonight as she lays the white rose by the Abandoned Dorm. It feels like Atticus slips further and further away from her with every step she takes.
Alexis lifts her head to stare at the Abandoned Dorm.
She wishes it could be like it used to be. When Atticus was around…
"Alexis."
She turns around.
Zane approaches with the red rose he always leaves for Yusuke. Except he's got an extra one today.
"I thought we agreed I'd leave roses for Atticus." Alexis says.
Zane places both roses down next to hers. "It would've been our anniversary if they were here."
Oh.
She may not understand how Atticus, Yusuke and Zane came to the... arrangement they had, but Zane was one of the people who made Atticus happiest. Who was she to judge his relationships, especially when she had never been in one?
Alexis stares at the three roses. She can only imagine how many roses Atticus would have showered Zane and Yusuke in, if they were here. He'd probably give her roses too and she'd call him an idiot since roses were romantic and she was his sister. That had never stopped Atticus from giving her some of her favourite flowers though.
"Tomorrow you'll participate in the Duel Off that will determine who shall participate in the School Duel." Zane turns to her. "I was the one who volunteered you to join it."
Ah, she should've assumed as much.
"I expect you to win against the Supreme King, should he defeat Bastion." Zane continues. "Or if Bastion manages to defeat the Supreme King, I suggest we ask him to work with us."
Alexis remembers her last conversation with the Ra Yellow student.
"I was under the impression that you and Yuuna were friends, but it appears that assumption is incorrect. Now the evidence instead points to you disliking Yuuna and those who associate with her, enough to risk her expulsion and the destruction of my Deck. Am I wrong?"
"You don't want to make an enemy of me, Bastion. You should quit while you're ahead and pretend this conversation didn't happen."
"Perhaps. But I think I'll choose Yuuna as a friend and you as an enemy over abandoning someone I admire and respect."
"I hope you don't regret your choice in the future then, when the war breaks out. Because you've chosen the losing side."
He seemed rather firm in his decision then. His convictions are rather annoying honestly.
"I doubt that Bastion would abandon his supposed friend to work with us to save the world." Alexis warns.
She'll have to wait and see what will happen tomorrow.
The next day, students from all across the school, dorms and years alike, have gathered in the Ra Arena for this match.
"It's time, Duelists!" Crowler declares. "To find out!" He waves his arms like a showman. "Who will represent our most illustrious academy in the annual School Duel! This is the first of two exciting matches we'll be having today! Are you ready?!"
The crowd goes wild.
"Introducing first, from the Ra dorm!" Crowler proudly waves his hand towards. "Bastion Misawa!"
The crowd goes wild yet again as he stands there, his arms crossed.
"And then, from Slifer…" Crowler weakly points towards Yuuna. "Some kid."
The crowd is quiet as she stands there, her arms loose at her side.
"THAT'S MY SISTER, YUUNA YUKI YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT!" Blair shouts from a megaphone. "THE KID WHO BEAT YOU AT THE ENTRANCE EXAMS!"
The crowd goes wild as Crowler winces in pain.
"Here we go." Yuuna smiles at Bastion. "Good luck pal!"
She's been dreaming about this Duel since last night, after she tucked Blair to bed with painkillers and lullabies.
"I appreciate the sentiment." Bastion smiles back at her. "But with the Deck I've prepared, I don't need luck."
"Yeah, we'll see about that." Yuuna smiles as she looks at her Deck.
She can't wait to see how they do!
…
Up in the stands, Blair, Syrus and Chumley sit together, huddled close as usual.
"Go, Yuuna! This is what you trained for!" Syrus calls out, hands cupping his mouth.
Chumley turns to him. "She trained for this match?"
"What time did she have to train, she was told about it yesterday?" Blair raises her eyebrow.
Plus with everything else that happened yesterday, there wasn't much time for training.
Professor Banner and Chancellor Shepard are sitting near one another, eager to see how this match plays out, Pharaoh sitting in Banner's lap. The cat yawns.
At the top of the stands, where Alexis leans on the railings, Zane joins her.
"It'll be instincts versus intelligence here." Zane says as he stands beside her.
"I guess. Who cares?" Alexis scoffs.
She just has to focus on her own match against Blair Flannigan. She has to make sure it goes well and she can represent Duel Academy right. And so she can defeat the Supreme King.
On another side of the stands, Mindy and Jasmine sit as close together as the seats allow.
"Good luck Bastion!" Mindy shouts.
Jasmine shouts louder. "We're rooting for you and Yuuna, so give it your best!"
"Now!"
All eyes go back on Crowler, his hands high in the air.
"Without any further ado!" Crowler shouts.
"Get your game on!" Yuuna interrupts.
"DUEL!"
BASTION MISAWA: 4000
YUUNA YUKI: 4000
Crowler jumps off the stage.
"Alright!" Bastion dramatically draws his first card. "First move!" He looks at his card and smiles, then slams it on his Duel Disk. "I summon a monster in face down DEF position!"
A card appears on the field, on it's side a mystery.
"That's all for now." Bastion finishes.
Yuuna smiles. "A brand new Deck and some mystery monster is all you could bust out? Hey, whatever works for ya!"
"Don't get too cocky, Yuuna." Yubel warns, floating at her side.
"Don't worry, I won't Yubel." She draws her card, smiling wide. "I'm just gonna play Scarr, Scout of Dark World in ATK Mode!"
Scarr takes to the field in all his glory, holding his knife high with his 500 ATK points. "I'm gonna fight today!"
"Off to a good start there." Bastion calls out.
Yuuna smiles. "You know it! And I've got news for you!" She throws her arm out. "It only gets better! Scarr, attack the facedown Monster!"
"As you command!" Scarr shouts.
Scarr swings for the facedown monster with his knife, charging right ahead. He destroys the monster, which flips face up. Revealing a little pink monster with mechanical arms, legs and horns, with a face painted on the main body.
"That was my Batteryman Micro-Cell and when it's flipped summoned-" Bastion takes out his Deck and looks through it, selecting a card. "I'm allowed to Special Summon another Batteryman monster from my Deck so long as it's Level 4 or below!"
A light shines and a new Batteryman shows up on the field. He looks like a small robot, with bulky arms, legs and head and a solar panel for a body, alongside 1500 ATK points.
"When my Batteryman Solar is on the field, I get to send one Batteryman monster from my Deck to the Graveyard." Bastion selects a new card in his Deck that he slides into his graveyard slot, placing his Deck back in the Deck slot. "And when Batteryman Micro-Cell is destroyed in battle, I get to draw one more card."
Micro-Cell bursts into pixels and Bastion draws a new card.
Yuuna blinks and smiles. "Wow, I'm impressed, Bastion."
"He was selected for a reason." Yubel pipes up.
"Well, I'll just throw down a facedown and call it a turn." Yuuna smiles as she does just that.
"You don't waste time. I like that." Bastion grins as he draws his own card.
Then his smile widens, as if he just drew a winner.
Yuuna can't wait to see what he's got!
Then he picks a new card from his hand. "I'm going to summon Batteryman AAA in DEF mode!"
Two tiny robots show up, one green and the other purple with 4s on their bodies and 0 DEF points.
"Why summon those guys?" Yuuna calls.
Bastion grins. "Because Yuuna, when I summon one Batteryman AAA to the field, the one in my Graveyard whom I discarded earlier can join them."
Two perfect copies of the monsters show up with the same amount of DEF points.
"And when I summon other Batteryman monsters while Batteryman Solar is out, Solar can summon a Batteryman Token for each of them." Bastion throws his arms out.
Two tiny orange robots appear on the field with 0 DEF points yet again.
"Wow, you really filled your field up Bastion." Yuuna grins.
Yubel narrows their eyes. "He certainly did. What could he be planning?"
"What have you got up your sleeve?" Yuuna laughs.
Bastion rolls his eyes. "If I told you, it would ruin the surprise. For now-" He throws his arm out. "Batteryman Solar, attack Scarr!"
Solar's body turns from blue to bright yellow and they create a blast aimed right at Scarr-
"Think again!" Yuuna throws out her arm. "I got a trap, Negate Attack!"
A barrier throws up between Scarr and the ray of light, destroying it.
"Sorry, Bastion, but Scarr isn't busted just yet!" Yuuna pumps her fist. "And the Battle Phase is over, so you can't do anything to hurt him!"
Scarr roars. "I can't wait to see some action and pound those robots into the dirt!"
"Well played, Yuuna. Of course, I expected nothing less." Bastion smiles and picks up a card, grinning at it. "I'll go ahead and place this face down. And that's all."
The facedown appears behind Bastion's wall of monsters.
"Alright then!" Yuuna draws. "I summon Brron, Mad King of Dark World in ATK mode!"
Brron rises to the field in all his 1800 ATK point glory, cackling madly. "Time to die, toy soldiers!"
"Brron, lead the way!" Scarr shouts, fist raised high.
"That's King Brron to you!" Brron cackles.
Yubel groans and rubs their eyes. "He's as immature as ever."
"Well then, if you too are ready to fight, get to it!" Yuuna orders. "Brron, attack Batteryman Solar! Scarr, destroy one of the Batteryman Tokens!"
Brron breaks out of his chains and backflips towards Solar, laughing all the way. He throws himself in the air and lands on his feet, then swings his chains into Solar's side, destroying him instantly.
BASTION MISAWA: 3700
YUUNA YUKI: 4000
Scarr flips his knife in the air and then throws it like a boomerang, swinging it straight at one of the tokens. The green and purple pair run around helplessly and then the knife slides right through them both, creating an explosion that destroys them and throws the knife back to Scarr.
Shepard hums as he watches the Duel and turns to Banner. "Fontaine was right about that young lady. She's quite the Duelist."
Banner nods as he plays with Pharaoh's fur. "It's true, we teach those Slifers well, when they don't ditch class."
Shepard nods and turns back to the Duel, as does Banner.
Pharaoh stretches in Banner's lap.
On the floor by the arena, Crowler is panicking, pulling at his hair.
Why did I open my big mouth and nominate Bastion for this match?! He's getting creamed, I'm getting humiliated by those Slifers and worst of all, Signora Yuki is looking better than ever!
He howls in pain.
On the other end of the stands, the Slifers are more than excited.
"Go Yuuna, go Yuuna!" Blair shouts, jumping up and down.
Syrus laughs and shouts with her, from his seat. "Go Yuuna, go Yuuna!"
Chumley slumps more into his seat. "Why are we always shouting? And why does Bastion have a strange smirk on his face?"
On the Obelisk side of the stands, Jasmine and Mindy watch the Duel in interest.
"I'm not surprised Yuuna got the first strike, though it is only a scratch." Mindy grins wide.
Jasmine holds up her hand. "But don't forget Mindy, the first strike doesn't predict the end game of a Duel. You gotta see it all the way through."
And that's just what both of them intend to do.
Back in the Arena, Bastion chuckles. "Not a bad move, Yuuna. You got the first strike."
Yuuna calls. "And because I did damage to your life points with Brron, I get to use his effect-"
"I don't think so, Yuuna!" Bastion interrupts.
"Huh?" Yuuna blinks.
"Go, trap card!" Bastion throws his arm out. "Shadow-Imprisoning Mirror!"
Yubel's eyes widen in horror. "NO!"
The facedown next to him pops up, revealing a sarcophagus holding a white mirror with shadows being drawn into it.
"Now, for the rest of the Duel, any monster with a DARK attribute is unable to use it's effects on the Field or in the Graveyard!" Bastion shouts.
"WHAT?!" Yubel, Brron and Scarr shout.
"Damn that card!" Yubel screeches. "That was a weapon The Light of Destruction developed to take on the Gentle Darkness! How did Bastion get his hands on it?!"
The shadows underneath Yuuna's monsters all get sucked up into the card.
"Wait, I can't use any of my monster's special effects anymore?!" Yuuna screams.
"I'm afraid not!" Bastion shouts. "Yubel can not deflect damage, Grapha can't be summoned from your Graveyard, Brron can not have you discard a card in your hand to activate the effects of any of your other Dark World monsters. Which essentially means you're helpless!"
Yuuna grits her teeth.
"Compute it any which way you like, but the answer will always come out the same." Bastion smiles cockily. "You can't win, Yuuna Yuki."
Yuuna stares at her field and at her hand.
"Yuuna…" Yubel calls, worriedly.
In the stands, her friends are afraid.
"No effects?!" Syrus clings to the seat in front of him. "But the Dark World Monsters effects are how Yuuna summons and uses a lot of them! How is she going to Duel now?"
Chumley whimpers, hands over his eyes. "I can't watch."
"It's not all bad." Blair speaks up. "Yuuna still has more life points and stronger monsters!"
Crowler cackles in victory.
I knew it was a good idea for me to nominate Bastion for this match. He's looking magnificent, I'm looking brilliant. And best of all, Signora Yuki looks like a complete fool!
"That's it Bastion, show this Slifer Slacking Sludge who's boss!" He pounds his fists on the Arena. "Show her she doesn't belong in the Duel Duel!"
Alexis and Zane narrow their eyes.
Alexis hisses. "Fight back, Supreme King."
Show me it's no mistake that you're here. That my doubts are foolish.
Zane grins. "Perhaps we underestimated Bastion. He's been playing this like a Pro. After all, with just one card, he's all but disarmed the Supreme King's Deck. He'd make an excellent addition to the Society of Light with a card like that in his Deck."
Even if Zane is right, Alexis doubts Bastion would agree to it. If it comes from her, but if Zane asks instead…
"He's just blocked off the effects of the Dark World Monsters. He hasn't stopped their summons." Alexis scoffs. "It's nothing special."
"But that might be enough." Zane's arms fold. "The effects of the Supreme King's Monsters is how he wins all his Duels."
Still, Alexis would rather not have someone like Bastion in her Society of Light.
Banner and Shepard hum, while Pharaoh meows.
"My, Pharaoh, this does not look good." Banner hums, petting Pharaoh's back. "That was one impressive move."
Pharaoh meows.
Shepard smiles. "And I'm sure Bastion has many impressive Monsters. I wonder what else he'll bring to the field."
In the Obelisk stands, Jasmine and Mindy hold each other closer.
"Wow, did you expect that from Bastion?" Mindy turns to Jasmine.
Jasmine shakes her head. "Not at all. We knew he was smart but…" She turns her head. "To know he's that smart is incredible."
Mindy smiles. "I wonder how Yuuna will react…"
Yuuna isn't sure how to win from this. But…
"Well, while I've never been in this situation, that doesn't mean I'm helpless, Bastion!" Yuuna raises her fist. "I got first blood and I'm gonna keep the momentum going!" Yuuna grins. "I'm gonna beat you!"
Yubel smiles. "That's my girl."
"Oh, you won't beat me Yuuna. I've already done all the math to beat your Deck. It's just a matter of showing off my work." Bastion declares. "After all, there's not much you can do without Effect Monsters in your Deck."
Yuuna blinks and shakes her head, smiling. "Wrong. There's loads to do, like finding a new plan. It'll be tough, but I'm up for it. And then Bastion it'll be all the sweeter…" Yuuna makes a fist with her free hand. "When I win!"
Bastion blinks and smiles indulgently, closing his eyes. "Yes. When you win." Bastion opens his eyes. "Well we have nothing if not our dreams, I suppose, however far-fetched."
Yubel growls. "Cocky little nerd."
Then Bastion draws his card and makes a game face.
"Thanks to the fact that I have two Batteryman AAA out, I'm allowed to special summon this card without a sacrifice." Bastion shouts. "Meet my Batteryman Fuel Cell!"
A lightning strike hits the arena and from the thunder appears a large pink robot with a square body, rectangular arms, a semi-circular head and 2100 ATK points.
Brron screams. "Yuuna, why did you leave me in ATK mode, you're gonna die!"
Scarr hisses. "I'm not afraid of that thing!"
"You should be." Yubel groans and shakes their head.
"Now I'll tribute my Batteryman Token to activate Fuel Cell's other ability!" Bastion shouts. "This allows Batteryman Fuel Cell to return one card on your field to your hand, Yuuna! And I pick Brron, Mad King of Dark World!"
Fuel Cell charges up with yellow lighting and blasts Brron with it, who screams and howls as he turns into a yellow light and returns to Yuuna's hand.
"Which means there's only one target left for Fuel Cell to attack!" Bastion points forward. "Go, destroy Scarr, Scout of Dark World!"
Fuel Cell charges up with pink lightning and blasts Scarr with it, turning him into pixels and blasting Yuuna who screams.
BASTION MISAWA: 3700
YUUNA YUKI: 2400
Yuuna groans. "That hurt."
"Are you alright, Yuuna?" Yubel rests their hand on her shoulder.
Yuuna smiles at them. "I'm fine, Yubel."
"Well my turn's done, Yuuna." Bastion smiles. "So if you still plan on beating me, feel free to go ahead and do your worst."
She shakes it off and grins at Bastion. "You bet I will, 'cause my Duel's just started!"
Bastion narrows his eyes, still smiling. "Is it?"
"Yep, you see, we're different." She lifts her head. "You put a lot of thought into your Duels off the battlefield and make all your moves at home. I do mine on the field!" She pumps her fist. "So now it's time to show you why!"
Yuuna draws her card and blinks.
She hasn't seen him in a long time.
Ceruli blinks up at her. "Your Majesty, what a surprise."
"It's been a while Ceruli. I'm afraid I can't use your effect right now, but are you willing to fight by my side?" Yuuna smiles at him.
Ceruli nods. "Of course, Your Majesty."
Yuuna looks at her available cards. Ceruli, Double Summon, Brron, Dark World Lightning, Sinister Seeds and Burial from a Different Dimension. What an awful time for a bad hand. But she'll make it work.
"I'm gonna play my Double Summon spell card!" Yuuna shouts. "So I can summon Brron, Mad King of Dark World and Ceruli, Guru of Dark World in DEF mode!"
Brron appears on the field and takes a knee with his 400 DEF points.
Ceruli joins him, a grotesque monster with horns sporting from his face, a dark blue cape over his massive blue and gray shoulders. He holds a staff in front of him with his 300 DEF points.
"For now, I'll play a card facedown and call it a turn." Yuuna declares, setting her Sinister Seed.
Hopefully Bastion won't send it away.
Bastion draws.
"I'm going to summon my third and final Batteryman AAA and flip one of my other Batteryman AAA's face down." Bastion narrates.
A third AAA appears on the field while one in the middle flips down.
"And I'll tribute the last Batteryman AAA to Batteryman Fuel Cell's effect!" Bastion orders. "Brron, back to Yuuna's hand you return!"
"Oh come on!" Brron screams.
Fuel Cell charges up with yellow lightning and returns to Yuuna's hand.
"And now for Fuel Cell's attack!" Bastion shouts. "Destroy Yuuna's Ceruli!"
Fuel Cell charges up with pink lightning and blasts it at Ceruli, who's destroyed on the spot, leaving Yuuna's field bare once again.
"So ends my turn." Bastion hums. "Let's see what happens next turn, Yuuna."
In the stands, Syrus bites his nails. "Aw man, this isn't good."
"And it's going to continue to get worse." Blair folds her arms.
Chumley and Syrus turn to her, Chumley saying. "What do you mean?"
"Bastion's created a loop." Blair explains. "There's 3 copies of Batteryman AAA on the field or in the Graveyard. By flipping one copy face down and sacrificing another to Batteryman Fuel Cell's effect, on his next turn the flipped card can go back face up and summon back the AAA that was sacrificed last turn."
Chumley's eyes widen. "So Bastion has an endless supply of ammo to use that effect?"
Syrus groans. "Oh man, this is awful. How is Yuuna gonna get outta this one?"
None of them know.
Across the arena, Alexis and Zane observe.
"Even if she can stop Fuel Cell's effect, she still has to deal with 2100 ATK points." Zane observes. "And with most methods of special summoning cut off, I doubt she'll be able to summon something that can defeat that."
"Bastion is good." Alexis narrows her eyes. "But loops are vulnerable. They hinge on every card working together. If one card is off, they fall apart."
Zane nods. "We'll see how Bastion handles it if that happens. I think he's won this though."
Alexis hopes not.
The teachers say nothing, simply observing as Crowler cackles madly.
Jasmine and Mindy hum.
"Well babe, Bastion's got this in the bag." Jasmine leans back. "With a loop like that, I don't know many Duelists who could get outta that. Especially with all their effect Monsters locked out of using those effects while Bastion can still use all of his."
"You may be right, Jazz…" Mindy leans forward. "But this is Yuuna we're talking about. She's always pulled out a miracle before, I'm sure she can do it again."
"We'll see, Minnie." Jasmine hums.
She does want to see that though… the miracles that Yuuna can create.
"Yuuna, pause and think." Yubel instructs.
Yuuna nods and does as Yubel says.
She already used her Double Summon, so there's no other way to special summon a card from her hand. Even if she draws another monster, she can only summon one of them and Bastion can use Fuel Cell's ability to clear her field to attack her directly! Sinister Seeds only activates if she has an ATK position monster on the field, after all.
There's only two monsters that she can use the abilities of now. Winged Kuriboh can protect her from damage in battle, so long as he's on her field. And the other one is…
Yuuna takes a deep breath and focuses on her powers.
Slow down.
Focus.
With one AAA flipped face down, Bastion can summon his sacrificed AAA from the Graveyard, meaning he has an endless supply of fuel for Fuel Cell. If she wants to break that combo, she needs to either get rid of all of Bastion's AAAs or get rid of Fuel Cell's effect.
Her eyes snap open, flashing gold briefly.
She knows what to do.
Yuuna puts her fingers to her Deck, putting all her heart into this- "DRAW!"
The wind from her draw sweeps across the field and she looks at her card.
She smiles.
The first start of her way out of this chain is here. But she needs to make sure Bastion attacks instead of using Fuel Cell's effect on this monster.
"I'm gonna summon a monster in facedown DEF mode." Yuuna hums and grins. "And then I'll play a facedown card and that's my turn."
The cards materialize on the field and Yuuna prays he'll take the bait.
"My draw then!" Bastion does just that. "And with it, I'll flip summon my Batteryman AAA to bring back the Batteryman AAA who was sacrificed last turn!"
Two Batteryman AAAs appear on the field in DEF mode.
"I'll tribute the other one to activate Fuel Cell's effect!" Bastion throws his palm out. "I'll put that new spell or trap in your hand!"
Yes!
Dark World Lightning returns to her hand.
"And I'll attack your facedown monster!" Bastion orders. "Fuel Cell, go!"
Fuel Cell powers up with pink lightning and attacks the monster, flipping it up to reveal-
"Morphing Jar is going to use his effect now, Bastion!" Yuuna cackles.
Bastion narrows his eyes. "I beg your pardon?"
"He's an EARTH monster, so Shadow-Imprisoning Mirror does nothing to him!" Yuuna throws her arm out.
"What?!" Bastion shouts.
Yubel smiles proudly. "That's my girl."
Morphing Jar gives a cackle and then vanishes.
"Now we discard our entire hands and draw 5 new cards." Yuuna does just that.
Bastion follows her example.
Brron, Dark World Lightning and Burial from a Different Dimension hit the graveyard. And a fresh hand appears, including the other card she needs to break Fuel Cell's combo!
"Fine, I end my turn." Bastion concedes.
"And now it's my go!" Yuuna draws.
Black Pendant.
Not helpful now, but hopefully later.
"I'm gonna start off by summoning Renge, Gatekeeper of Dark World in DEF mode." Yunna smiles. "He's a Normal Monster so he's not affected by Shadow-Imprisoning Mirror, Bastion."
Renge takes to the field with a mighty roar and his 2100 DEF points. "Let's get him, couch!"
"Hit him once for me too." Yubel adds.
"A facedown and that's all you get." Yuuna hums.
She's all set to knock him down.
Bastion scoffs as he draws. "You think you can trick me again? I think not. I'll flip one of my Batteryman AAAs facedown."
The Batteryman AAA flips upside down.
"And I'll sacrifice the remaining one to get rid of your Renge!" Bastion throws his arm out.
"Not so fast, I got a trap card!" Yuuna calls out. "Dark World Brainwashing!"
"What?!" Bastion gasps.
Her trap card flips up.
"By returning a Dark World monster on the field to my hand-" Yuuna does just that, Renge returning to her hand. "I can change Fuel Cell's effect to discard one card from my hand!"
Bastion folds his arms. "Not that it'll do you much good, since you can't activate an effect of your Dark World monsters."
"It's good enough to break your combo and that's all it needs to be!" Yuuna holds up her cards. "Now pick a card, any card."
Bastion narrows his eyes and points. "The one on the far left."
Yuuna nods and reluctantly discards Grapha. She can't summon him right now since his ability is locked and she can't afford to sacrifice her monsters.
"Even if you've blocked Fuel Cell's effect-" Bastion pumps his fist. "You can not block his attack and your field is wide open, Yuuna!"
Well, she didn't have much other choice.
"Fuel Cell, attack her directly!" Bastion punches the air.
Fuel Cell charges up with pink lightning and fires it at Yuuna, who screams as it hits her.
BASTION MISAWA: 3700
YUUNA YUKI: 300
"YUUNA!" Blair screams.
Syrus whimpers, shaking his head and covering his ears. "Oh God."
"She broke Bastion's killer combo, but what a cost." Chumley gulps.
How is Yuuna gonna win this Duel now?
Across the stands, Alexis snarls and Zane smiles.
"A card that stops DARK monsters, a LIGHT Deck and he's reduced the Supreme King to 300 life points." Zane nods. "He would make a good addition to the Society of Light."
Alexis scoffs. "He's nothing, would you shut up already?"
Zane blinks and turns to her, eyes wide. "Alexis…"
Alexis grits her teeth.
Prove me right, stop making me doubt, Supreme King.
Jasmine and Mindy's eyes widen.
Mindy jumps up. "Yeah, I told you that Yuuna could break Bastion's combo!"
"Hold your horses, Minnie." Jasmine grabs the back of her jacket, pulling her down. "She only has 300 life points left, no Monsters on her field and no special effects. I'm proud of her and stuff for breaking Bastion's combo, but breaking the man himself is going to be pretty impossible."
Mindy leans forward. "And I have full faith that she can do it."
Yuuna's already made one miracle today. What's one more?
"So ends my turn." Bastion nods.
Yuuna takes a deep breath and stands up tall.
"You can do this, Little Princess." Yubel declares.
She can do this.
She smiles and- "DRAW!"
Yuuna looks at the card she drew and nods to herself. God, she misses using her Monsters' effects, but she'll make it work.
"I'm gonna start off by activating The Gates of Dark World!" Yuuna calls out.
She places the field spell in it's zone and the arena is transformed. The ground trembles and shakes and suddenly, behind Yuuna, a mighty doorway rises out of the Ra Arena which turns to rock, white light spilling out of it's open doors. It's covered in odd markings, from top to bottom.
"With this card out, all my Fiend monsters gain 300 ATK and DEF points." Yuuna grins. "Next, I'll use my Charge Into A Dark World spell card! This allows me to Special Summon one of the Dark World Monsters who you've seen before in the Graveyard, so long as they're Level 4 or below!" She throws her arm up. "Welcome back the Mad King of Dark World!"
Brron returns to the stage, hooting and hollering, laughing all the way with his 1800 ATK points. "I'm back to murder you all, baby!"
Then his ATK points rise to 2100.
Bastion narrows his eyes. "It's only enough to match Batteryman Fuel Cell, it's not enough to destroy him. What are you planning, Yuuna?"
"Nothing much. Just a little something I like to call revenge." Yuuna grins. "But we'll get to that after I invite another friend to the party; Zure, Knight of Dark World!"
Yubel smiles. "Good, we can always count on him."
Zure joins the battle field with his 1800 ATK points which rise to match Brron's 2100. "I'm ready to serve you, my Queen."
"And I thank you for your service, Zure." Yuuna smiles. "I thank you so much in fact, that I bestow upon you an Equip spell called Black Pendant, raising your ATK points by 500!"
Zure lowers his head as a purple pendant appears, outlined in gold. It adores itself to his neck and he lifts his head, a purple glow covering him as his ATK points raise to 2600.
"Great Scott!" Bastion gasps.
"Don't know what that means, but I'm sure you do, Bastion!" Yuuna smiles and pumps her fists. "It's time for Zure to take out that Fuel Cell for good!"
"Say goodnight!" Zure orders, racing across the field.
"I am the Mad King, you're supposed to obey me, Zure!" Brron snaps and snarls.
Zure swings his sword down across Fuel Cell and it's destroyed in a great explosion, Bastion's life points taking a hit.
BASTION MISAWA: 3200
YUUNA YUKI: 300
Bastion winces, narrowing his eyes. "Impressive."
Yuuna lowers her fist. "And it only gets better. Brron, take out the Batteryman AAA!"
"With pleasure!" Brron cackles.
He rushes forward, flipping himself forward and landing on top of the two part monster, flattening them and making them burst into pixels.
"As you can see Bastion, I'm no one trick pony." Yuuna smiles. "You take away my Monster effects and well, I'll come right back at ya with something else! It's not about the effects, Bastion, it's about the Monsters and my Dark World Army is still ready to fight for me!"
Yubel, Zure, Brron and Renge cheer.
They always have and they always will be.
"I'm sure." Bastion closes his eyes, speaking sarcastically. "But the fact of the matter is Yuuna, you most powerful Monsters are not. When will you accept that Dueling is nothing more than a numbers game?" He opens his eyes. "A numbers game that I have calculated effectively and you have not! Your defeat is imminent, Yuuna!"
"Maybe so, but I'll go down swinging!" With only Renge in her hand and no way to summon him, Yuuna can't do anything else. "That's my turn, Bastion. Now it's all on you."
All he has left is his Shadow-Imprisoning Mirror and one facedown Batteryman AAA.
Bastion smiles as he draws. "I must admit, I'm quite impressed, Yuuna. I didn't think you'd be able to escape that lock."
"Ya know me." Yuuna rubs under her nose. "I'm slippery as an eel, though much cuter."
"I won't disagree with you." Bastion hums. "But Batteryman Fuel Cell wasn't my only way to beat you."
Yuuna blinks.
"I'm going to play my spell card, Battery Charger!" Bastion declares, throwing out his arm. "With this, I must pay 500 life points to summon a Batteryman from my Graveyard."
BASTION MISAWA: 2700
YUUNA YUKI: 300
"Specifically my Batteryman 9-Volt, that I discarded earlier when you used Morphing Jar!" Bastion explains.
A rectangle shaped monster appears on the field with a square head and 1000 ATK points.
"When I summon him, I'm allowed to add a Batteryman from my Deck to my hand." Bastion pulls out his Deck and adds the card to his Hand. "And in doing so, 9-Volt's ATK and DEF points double!"
The monster doubles in size as it's ATK points hit 2000.
"That's impressive Bastion, but he's 100 points short of scratching Brron, let alone Zure." Yuuna narrows her eyes. "What are you planning?"
"Nothing much. Just a little something I like to call revenge." Bastion mimics. "And it starts with my Banner Of Courage!"
He plays the spell card and a banner appears above the monsters.
"All my monsters gain 200 ATK points in the Battle Phase!" Bastion calls out.
Batteryman 9-Volt's powers raise up to 2200 ATK.
Brron screams. "YOU LITTLE-"
He starts cursing in draconic.
"Not in front of Yuuna!" Yubel snaps.
Brron sticks his tongue out at her and waves his butt at Batteryman 9-Volts.
"Batteryman 9-Volts, destroy the Mad King!" Bastion orders.
9-Volts powers itself up with green electricity and blasts it right at Brron, electrocuting him and bursting him into pixels.
BASTION MISAWA: 2700
YUUNA YUKI: 200
"My Queen!" Zure calls.
"It's just a scratch, I'm fine!" Yuuna calls.
But at this rate, a few more scratches is all it'll take.
"You're simply postponing the inevitable. Your Deck is a problem that's already been solved." Bastion smiles.
"You're wrong!" Yuuna snaps.
"Perhaps this will convince you then!" Bastion calls out. "I'll flip my Batteryman AAA back face up to summon another one from my graveyard."
Two Batteryman AAA appear on the field in DEF mode, grinning.
"At the end of my turn, Batteryman 9-Volts is destroyed due to his own effect." Bastion folds his arms.
9-Volts burst into pixels.
Bastion smirks. "But he's done his job well."
Yuuna grits her teeth. "We'll see about that, Bastion!"
She draws. Her eyes widen.
"I can't believe it's here." Yubel's eyes widen.
And she smiles.
"I'm gonna play a facedown and then I'm gonna summon Renge in DEF mode!" Yuuna calls out, her hand completely empty now.
Renge appears on her field in DEF mode and a second face down appears on her field.
She's betting it all on this round. If she's right, she'll be okay.
If she's wrong…
"My, you just won't give up, will you?" Bastion smiles, leaning back. "You are certainly one stubborn Duelist, Yuuna Yuki."
"Thanks Bastion." Yuuna rubs the back of her head. "At least I think that was a compliment."
"My draw then!" Bastion does so.
He smirks wide.
"And I'll start off by using the spell card Living Fossil to summon my Batteryman AA to the field from the Graveyard!" Bastion calls out. "Living Fossil takes away 1000 ATK points and stops AA's ability-"
A skinny and tall orange robot appears on the field with a 3 on his body and 0 ATK points.
"But now I can use my Inferno Reckless Summon to bring out the other two Batteryman AAs in my hand!" Bastion calls.
Two perfect copies of the new robot appear, all of them with 0 ATK points.
Yuuna tilts her head. "Why summon those guys?"
Bastion smirks.
Yuuna grits her teeth.
"Because when Batteryman AA are on the field, they'll boost each other's ATK points!" Bastion raises his fist up high.
The three Batteryman AA light up with white electricity that connects each of them.
"You see, Yuuna, when one AA is on the field and in ATK mode, it gains 1000 ATK points." Bastion shouts. "But when there are 3 on the field, they each gain 3000 ATK points!"
The two AAs without Living Fossil have their ATK points rise to 3000 and triple in size. Then they raise to 3200 ATK points too because of Banner of Courage.
The crowd screams and goes wild.
Renge growls. "Coach, can you handle this?"
"My Queen!" Zure calls.
"Yuuna!" Yubel screams.
Yuuna grits her teeth.
"Now, attack!" Bastion orders. "Batteryman AA!"
The two super charged AAs power up their attacks and blast off their electricity.
"Not so fast!" Yuuna calls. "I have a trap card out, Mirror Force!"
"What?!" Bastion shouts.
The electricity blast hits an invisible wall as Yuuna's trap card goes up.
"When I activate Mirror Force, all of your ATK position monsters are destroyed, Bastion!" Yuuna throws out her arm. "All of them!"
The electricity bounces off of the invisible wall and slams into the three AAs, electrocuting them and making a massive explosion. Living Fossil is destroyed in the process too.
The crowd is shocked into silence.
Bastion narrows his eyes. "Good show, Yuuna."
Yuuna smiles. "I do what I can."
Bastion hums. "Then the turn goes to you now."
Yuuna nods. "And the Duel is gonna follow!"
She's gotta pick a winner this time. Bastion has no facedown card, two monsters with 0 DEF points and one card that gives a tiny ATK boost.
If she doesn't draw a good card now, he'll bounce back like he has before.
"Well Bastion, I can't say I've ever had a more fun Duel." Yuuna smiles at him.
"I've enjoyed it as well and will continue to!" Bastion smiles at her. "Especially when I beat you."
"Actually…" Yuuna takes a deep breath and closes her eyes.
She places her fingers on her cards and lets out that breath.
She focuses on her powers, channeling it into her Deck, bringing her luck.
"I'm ending this now!" Yuuna shouts. "Here goes!"
The wind sweeps out and she looks at her card.
Monster Reborn!
Yuuna thinks back hard, of who's in her Graveyard and who's on her field. Renge has 400 ATK points and Zure has 2600 ATK points, but neither of them can attack twice and Bastion has 2700 Life Points. In her Graveyard, there's Scarr, Brron, Ceruli, Morphing Jar, Grapha-
Yuuna's eyes widen.
She smiles.
"I play my Monster Reborn spell card!" Yuuna shouts. "To summon a Monster I discarded earlier!"
A black mist opens up on the field, a small hurricane starting to spin.
"The one, the only, the Dragon Lord of Dark World himself!" Yuuna raises her card high. "Grapha!"
Purple lightning strikes the stage from the storm and out of the smoke, a shape begins to appear. Mist pouring from his black jagged teeth. Mighty wings sending the smoke everywhere, causing the lights in the room to flicker suspiciously. A blood red tongue and blood red eyes appear in the mist.
Grapha, Dragon Lord of Dark World roars and the smoke disappears, revealing him in all his 2700 ATK point glory, which rise to 3000 with The Gates of Dark World.
Bastion's eyes widen in horror.
Grapha growls. "I'm prepared to fight, my Queen."
Zure nods. "As am I."
Renge bangs his fists together. "Just flip my mode, I'll show him!"
"You got it, Renge!" Yuuna smiles. "I switch Renge from DEF to ATK mode!"
Renge stands up, knocking his fists together, his ATK points at 400 thanks to The Gates of Dark World.
"And attack!" Yuuna punches in front of her. "Renge and Zure, take out those Batteryman AAA!"
The two rush to do as commanded, Renge howling as Zure rushes at his side. The two bring their fist/sword down on the Batteryman AAA in front of them in perfect timing, destroying them.
"Grapha, finish him!" Yuuna punches with her other hand.
"Yes, my Queen!" Grapha declares.
Grapha roars, conjuring up black flames in his mouth.
Bastion smiles at her. "Well played, Yuuna."
Grapha hisses and blasts his black flames right at Bastion.
BASTION MISAWA: 0
YUUNA YUKI: 200
WINNER: YUUNA YUKI
The crowd cheers in excitement, the Slifer Reds going especially wild.
As people despair and celebrate the results, Alexis's eyes land on Blair…
Who is staring back at her, a fire in her eyes.
The two women glare one another down and know one thing for certain.
I can't let her win.