This story was done in collaboration between me and Jriddle41 (Sodormatchmaker on DeviantART), and we both own the OCs that are used in the story. Credit to author AaronCottrell97 for a few ideas and character suggestions (especially the duel layout for the story). Everything else belongs to their respective owners:
Thomas and Friends (c) Hit Entertainment and Mattel
The Railway Series (c) Rev Wilbert Awdry
Yu-Gi-Oh! (c) Konami
WARNING: Again, this story is rated T for fantasy violence and minor depictions of blood.
Chapter 22
The Couple's Cup, Part 3
Opening up in the middle of the Knapford Mall, the tag duel between Thomas and Emily—errr, I mean Thomas and Rosie, against Stanley and Emily, was not going too well, I'm afraid...
"With 'Destiny HERO - Dystopia' under our control-" Emily was saying (Team LP: 1600). "-we cannot be beaten by the likes of you!"
"Ngh..." grimaced Thomas (Team LP: 600).
Within the crowd...
"Man, that 'Destiny HERO - Dystopia' sure can be scary when used correctly." murmured James. "And because Stanley knows how to use 'Destiny HEROES' so well, that was an understatement of the year."
"You're not kidding." said Percy. "Thomas has gotten himself into trouble this time."
"That's not what's worrying me." interrupted Mavis. "What I'm worried about are both Emily and Thomas themselves."
Back on the stage...
"So far, so good." Stanley thought to himself, before looking to Emily. "Time for me to play my part in the plan..." He spoke aloud... "Emily, I want a word with you."
Emily looked to the gray-haired boy with a cold glare. "What is it?"
Stanley recoiled at the dark green-haired girl's hard look, but quickly recovered and bravely asked the question...
"Why did you try to convince Thomas to take part in this tournament when he clearly did not want to be here?"
"I wanted to help him!" answered Emily. "But, instead he chose to ignore all of my-"
"What do you mean by 'help him'?" interrupted Stanley. "Tell me, exactly how would being in this tournament help Thomas?"
"I thought it would make him recover from his encounter with Anubis as soon as possible."
Stanley folded his arms in disapproval. "Well, this is disappointing." he said gruffly.
"Huh?" Emily blinked, not uttering another word.
"Emily Stirling, you are, by far, the biggest hypocrite I have ever met." frowned Stanley. "You really disappoint me, right now."
Before anything else could be said...
"Um... This talking amongst each other is fine and all-" cut in Dexter. "-but shouldn't we focus on the duel, right now?"
"You're right." acknowledged Emily, drawing a card. "And it's my turn!"
Turn Six: Emily Stirling (Team LP: 1600)
Deck: 53
Current Hand (4): ?, ?, ?, and "Kuribon"
Her drawn card was the 'Kuribon' Monster Card.
"As it's the Standby Phase, I activate the effect of 'Diamond Dude' in order to activate the 'Destiny Draw' in the Graveyard!" Emily drew two more cards. "I'll draw two more cards."
Her drawn cards were 'Wall of Disruption' (Trap Card) and 'Celestial Transformation' (Spell Card), while the rest of her hand consisted of 'Little Fairy', 'Airknight Parshath', 'Cupid Volley', and 'Kuribon'. Before long, Emily took the front-most card and placed it onto a Monster Field slot on her Duel Disk.
"I Summon 'Little Fairy' in attack mode!" she announced.
Appearing onto the field was a very tiny female fairy (Level: 3/ATK: 800/DEF: 800).
"My intend with her, is this..." As the dark green-haired girl spoke on, she sent the 'Kuribon' Monster Card to the Graveyard. "I will activate 'Little Fairy's' effect! By sending a Monster Card from my hand to the Graveyard, her Level increases by the whatever the Level the discarded monster had."
'Little Fairy' leveled up (Level: 3 - 4).
"I've sent 'Kuribon' to the Graveyard, that makes 'Little Fairy' a Level 4 monster, now!" Not close to being done, Emily took and held one more card out. "From my hand, I'll activate a Quick-Play Spell - 'Celestial Transformation'!"
The mentioned Spell Card materialized face-up on the field.
"This lets me Special Summon a Fairy-Type monster from my hand at the cost of it having half of its intended Attack Power." explained Emily, placing a card onto a Monster Field slot on her Duel Disk. "Not only that, it will be destroyed at the End Phase."
A Monster Card called 'Cupid Volley' materialized face-up on the field.
"Appear - 'Cupid Volley'!"
Appearing onto the field was a female archer with green hair (Level: 1/ATK: 600 - 300/DEF: 600).
"The effect of 'Cupid Volley' activates!" declared Emily, drawing and sending three of the top cards of her Deck to the Graveyard. "I choose a number from one to three and send that many cards from the top of my Deck to Graveyard to increase the Level of 'Cupid Volley' by the number of cards discarded by this effect."
'Cupid Volley' had its Level increased by a fair bit (Level: 1 - 4).
"She has two Level 4 monsters..." Rosie thought to herself, before her eyes widened with realization. "Does this mean she's about to...?"
Indeed so...
"And now..." began Emily, before dropping a heck of a bombshell... "I'll overlay the Level 4 'Little Fairy' and 'Cupid Volley'! With these two monsters, I build the Overlay Network!"
The audience was shell shocked by what they've heard. The two Fairy-Type monsters, meanwhile, turned to energy and dove into the Overlay Network. A Summon Chant quickly followed...
"An angel's smile for the heroes who keep fighting!" Emily chanted, just before raising her right hand up. "Xyz Summon! Appear now, Rank 4 - 'Fairy Cheer Girl'!"
As the Xyz Summon sequence came to an end, appearing on the field was a female fairy dressed as a cheerleader (Rank: 4/ATK: 1900/DEF: 1500).
"An Xyz Summon..." whispered Thomas. "Emily's...pulled one off..."
The sight of his 'Supreme Queen' succeeding an Xyz Summon seemed to excite the blue-haired boy.
"'Fairy Cheer Girl's' effect!" announced Emily, drawing a card. "Once per turn, I can detach one Xyz Material from this monster and draw one card." She entered the Battle Phase... "Now, I'll use 'Fairy Cheer Girl' to attack 'Carboneddon'!"
'Fairy Cheer Girl' obeyed, waving her pom poms together until they glowed. With a mighty thrust, she struck 'Carboneddon' and destroyed it.
"With your Life Points open, the duel is done!" continued Emily, before giving the command to her remaining monster... "'Destiny HERO - Dystopia', end this duel!"
'Destiny HERO - Dystopia' obeyed, leaping into actions.
"Not on my watch!" interrupted Rosie, poking a button on her Duel Disk. "Quick-Play Spell - 'Scapegoat', activate!"
One of the set cards flipped face-up and revealed itself, creating four colorful 'Sheep Tokens'.
"Waste one of the 'Sheep Tokens'!" ordered Emily. "DYSTOPIA BLOW!"
'Destiny HERO - Dystopia' struck one of the 'Sheep Tokens', destroying the poor thing.
"Finally, I'll set one card and end my turn." Emily finished, slotting a card into her Duel Disk. From there, as a facedown card materialized on the field. "With it now being the End Phase, the effect of 'D-Faceoff' activates!"
"The Level difference is eight with 'Dystopia', and three from the 'Sheep Tokens'." added Stanley. "500 more Life Points will be depleted from the both of you!"
A beam shot from the face-up 'D-Faceoff' Spell Card, striking a grimacing Rosie in her chest (Team LP: 100).
"500 Life Points were lost, meaning that 'Dystopia' gains that many Attack Points." Stanley pointed out. "But that's not the worst bit."
'Destiny HERO - Dystopia' grew stronger (ATK: 3300 - 3800), but, as Stanley had said, that wasn't the worst bit...
"Now, 'Dystopia' can destroy one more card on the field." Emily put in. In her mind... "Thomas probably won't use either of Rosie's set cards on his next turn, anyway." She gave the command... "Take out another 'Sheep Token'!"
'Destiny HERO - Dystopia' was ready to unleash one more attack...
"NOBLE JUSTICE!"
The blast fired, causing another 'Sheep Token' to vanish. With that done, Emily turned back to Stanley.
"Why did you call me a hypocrite earlier?" she demanded harshly.
Stanley gave her a stern glare. "When the rest of us wanted Thomas to recover from his traumas as soon as possible-" he spoke. "-you said that we were being insensitive and uncaring for the pain he was in. But now here 'you' are, doing the exact same thing. Don't you understand, Emily? You're once again repeating Anastasia's mistakes. Just as she did to Anakin, you've ignored the pain in Thomas's heart because you weren't thinking about his feelings. You were only thinking about what 'you' wanted!"
Over with Thomas and Rosie...
"Do you remember your tag duel against Luke and Millie?" Rosie was asking.
"I do..." answered Thomas. "Why are you asking me about it?"
"Because I want you to think about what you've done wrong during the duel." said Rosie. "You deliberately ignored Emily's facedown card and sacrificed 'Wingweaver' just to power up 'Sky Galloping Gaia'."
"I used her monster in combination with mine." said Thomas. "I thought that was what she wanted."
"You did it the wrong way!" The cherry red-haired girl argued. "The point of working as a team is to use each card to their full potential. If you had actually bothered to check Emily's facedown card, you would have been able to use it to destroy 'Mist Body'. That way, you'd be able to attack with BOTH monsters once 'Mage Power' was on the field!"
"I... I hadn't thought about it...that way..." Thomas murmured.
"Of course not." scolded Rosie. "You were so obsessed with winning that you became too impatient to properly use Emily's cards. Just like how you carelessly used 'Fairy Archer' to Synchro Summon 'Enlightenment Paladin' without even using her effecr first. Had you actually thought your move better, then you and Emily would have been able to hit Stanley and I with over 3000 points of damage without even Synchro Summoning yet."
Thomas remained silent as he thought about that earlier moment.
"You promised Emily that you would only be serious in emergencies." Rosie reminded. "And that you would have fun with us again. Why did you break that promise? Why do you feel the need to take this tournament so seriously?"
Thomas frowned. "You wouldn't understand my reason, Rosie."
"Wouldn't understand?! This tournament is not a matter of life-or-death!" The cherry red-haired girl pointed out. "So stop treating it like one, and stop repeating your mistakes!"
Sadly...
"Remember, don't fight against each other." called Dexter, speaking out to both parties. "Proceed with the duel!"
"It's my turn!" announced Thomas, drawing a card. "Draw!"
"We will get my plan to work." Rosie thought to herself. "I swear it."
Turn Seven: Thomas Billinton (Team LP: 100)
Deck: 53
Current Hand (3): "Double Summon", "One-Shot Wand", and "Pot of Greed"
On cue, he held his drawn card out.
"From my hand, I'll activate 'Pot of Greed'!" Thomas declared, drawing two more cards. "With it, I can draw two more cards." He saw his two drawn cards were 'Apprentice Illusion Magician' (Effect Monster Card) and 'Monster Reborn' (Spell Card). "Alright... now to access the situation..."
The blue-haired boy started to look at whatever was on the duel field...
"The biggest threat thus far, is 'Destiny HERO - Dystopia'. Stanley will intend to win with it on his next turn. To do that, he'll have to keep increasing its Attack Power in order to trigger its effect." Thomas turned his attention to the face-up 'D-Spell Caster' Trap Card. "'D-Spell Caster's' effect will expire during this turn's End Phase, therefore 'D-Faceoff' will be destroyed, thus Stanley would need another way of constantly raising 'Dystopia's' Attack Power."
Thomas then turned his attention to Stanley's only facedown card, and he started to speculate on what it could be...
"That set card Stanley currently has is most likely 'Urban Demise' - a Continuous Trap that increases the Attack Power of a 'Destiny HERO' Monster by 100 points once per turn if an opponent's monster declares an attack." Thomas thought to himself. "Combined with 'Destiny HERO - Dystopia', it's a terrifying combo." He looked back to his hand. "Even if I manage to overpower 'Dystopia', I wouldn't be able to defeat it due to the 'Destiny HERO - Dreamer' being in Stanley's Graveyard, whose effect would Special Summon itself during the Damage Step, preventing 'Dystopia' from being destroyed in battle while also reducing the Battle Damage to zero."
Finally, Thomas looked over to Rosie;s remaining set cards. It looked like he was thinking about he was about to do.
"This is going to upset Emily more than she already is, but I'll have to trust in Rosie's cards." With that said, Thomas spoke aloud... "Rosie, do you mind if I use your cards?"
"Glad you're finally using common sense again." smiled Rosie. "Go for it!"
Emily, however, was upset. "What the hell?!" she thought to herself. "Thomas never did that with me!"
Finally...
"Facedown card, open!" announced Thomas, just as the first of Rosie's set cards flipped face-up and revealed itself to be... "'Jar of Greed'! This allows me to draw one more card." After seeing his drawn card ('Synchro Barrier'), he pointed to the other set card... "Next, I'll activate another facedown card - 'Token Thanksgiving'!"
The remaining facedown card flipped up and revealed itself, just as the remaining 'Sheep Tokens' faded away in streaks of blue.
"By destroying all 'Token' Monsters on the field-" explained Thomas (LP: 1700). "-Rosie and I gain Life Points equal to the number of tokens multiplied by 800." He then took and held another card out. "I activate the Spell Card 'Monster Reborn'!" His Graveyard started glowing all white. "Be reborn - 'Enlightenment Paladin'!"
On cue, 'Enlightenment Paladin' returned to the field (Level: 8/ATK: 2500/DEF: 2000). In the audience...
"Now Thomas might gain an advantage." commented Percy.
"It would also seem that Rosie's trying to knock some sense into him as well." added Henry.
"The bad news? 'Destiny HERO - Dystopia' is still the far stronger monster." reminded Edward.
Back on the stage...
"I activate an Equip Spell - 'One-Shot Wand'!" announced Thomas, holding out another card. "'One-Shot Wand'! It can only be equipped to a Spellcaster-Type monster that has a Level. It gains Attack Points equal to its Level times 100."
'Enlightenment Paladin' grew stronger (ATK: 2500 - 3300).
"Unfortunately, even with 'Enlightenment Paladin's' effect, my attack would not be able to win the duel for me due to the 'Destiny HERO - Dreamer' in Stanley's Graveyard, which Emily's allowed to use." Thomas thought to himself, before casting a short glance towards Emily's side of the field. "I don't know what Emily's set card could be; but knowing Emily, it was most likely either meant to stop my attack or hinder my monster."
The blue-haired boy then cast a glance to his remaining set card (set by Emily at the start of the match) while remaining in his thoughts...
"Whatever the set card is, I still have Emily's set card from the first turn on my field, 'Divine Punishment', which would negate the activation of whatever card she used... However, I know that Emily's probably onto me, and thus she would most likely do something against my expectations, so it probably wouldn't matter even if I did use 'Divine Punishment'..." Thomas then smirked. "Heh, typical of Emily to not make things easy for me during the one time I wanted it to be. Everything depends on how Emily reacts to this attack with that wild card of hers; my best chance at charging towards her with all my feelings."
"Thomas!" The voice of Emily echoed out, causing Thomas to look up. The dark green-haired girl looked impatient. "Hurry up and finish your turn, already!"
"I know what I must do!" Thomas thought to himself. He spoke aloud... "BATTLE! 'Enlightenment Paladin', attack 'Destiny HERO - Dystopia'!"
'Enlightenment Paladin' obeyed, charging into battle.
"I know what you're attempting to do, but I won't allow it!" shouted Emily, just as her set card flipped face-up and revealed itself. "I activate a Trap - 'Wall of Disruption'! When an opponent's monster declares an attack, all attack position monsters my opponent controls lose 800 Attack Points for each monster they control!"
'Enlightenment Paladin' grew weaker (ATK: 3300 - 2500), but Thomas was quick on the draw by sending 'Apprentice Illusion Magician' from his hand to the Graveyard.
"I counter with 'Apprentice Illusion Magician'!" he declared. "During damage calculation, if my other DARK Spellcaster monster battles an opponent's monster, I can send this monster from either my hand or face-up from my field to the Graveyard; that monster I control gains 2000 Attack Points and Defense Points during that damage calculation only."
'Enlightenment Paladin' again grew stronger (ATK: 2500 - 4500/DEF: 2000 - 4000).
"Sorry, Emily, but you'll have to do better than that."
"In that case, I will!" retorted Emily, motioning to Stanley's set card. "Continuous Trap - 'Urban Demise'!" While speaking, the facedown card flipped face-up and revealed itself. "Once per turn, when an opponent's monster declares an attack, we can target one 'Destiny HERO' Monster we control; it gains 100 Attack Points!"
'Destiny HERO - Dystopia's' power grew a bit (ATK: 3800 - 3900).
"But you know what will happen now, right?" The dark green-haired girl taunted. "The effect of 'Dystopia' will destroy one card on the field!" In her thoughts... "Once 'Enlightenment Paladin' is gone, Stanley and I can win next turn!" She then started to speak aloud. "I target-"
But before she could finish, something else came to her... Emily found herself hesitating to give the order...
"W-Why can't I say it? I... I have a chance at defeating Thomas... But, why can't I give the command? Could it be that I..."
"Hey, Emily!" Thomas suddenly called out, catching Emily's attention. The blue-haired boy then smiled... "Even if my attack fails, and Rosie and I both lose the duel... I'll be glad to have lost to someone like you."
Emily was surprised. "T-Thomas?"
In the audience...
"Thomas is actually happy to lose to Emily?" asked Molly in surprise.
"He's lost his marbles!" wailed Mavis.
"Hold on, you two." interrupted Edward. "Let's listen on..."
Indeed so...
"You... you say you would be happy to lose to...me?" asked Emily, surprised.
"I did." confirmed Thomas. "But before you finish using 'Dystopia's' effect, I wish to tell you something important..." After a few seconds of silence from the whole crowd... "It's that...I'm sorry."
Emily once again recoiled, as did the audience.
"I should have realized your feelings." Thomas went on. "But I was so focused on winning that I failed to realize that this was all for fun. I never meant to hurt you, Emily... I was only acting out of instinct." He closed his eyes. "After the battle with Anubis, and almost losing everyone once again, I blamed myself for my weakness and lost sight of my promise..." He opened his eyes. "As of right now, I will never repeat that mistake again."
Rosie seemed to smile; her plan was about to work... After what seemed like forever, Emily finally smiled at her lover.
"You've finally learned your lesson..." she thought to only herself, before speaking aloud... "Oh, Tommy, I'm so happy to hear that from you. And... I'll forgive you if you can forgive me."
"Perfect." Stanley mentally said, smiling.
"Forgive you?" asked Thomas, puzzled. "What for?"
"For being such a hypocrite." said Emily unhappily. "I told the others off during 'The Great International Duel Cup' for wanting you to recover as soon as possible. But here 'I' am doing the exact same thing. I entered us in this tournament because I thought doing something fun together would help you feel better... But I was so upset at you for breaking your promise, that I'd forgotten how badly you were still feeling... I only wanted to help you, but I merely succeeded in making you feel worse."
"In a way, we 'both' are to blame for our earlier fight." Thomas acknowledged.
"We are..." agreed Emily. "Thomas, could you ever forgive me for unintentionally hurting you again?"
The blue-haired boy smiled once more. "Apology accepted." he accepted. "And will you forgive me for hurting you?"
"I forgive you!" nodded Emily. Finally, she came up with a target... "In addition, I'll use 'Destiny HERO - Dystopia's' effect to target and destroy Rosie's 'Partner Change'!"
With the command given, 'Destiny HERO - Dystopia' punched the face-up 'Partner Change' Trap Card, shattering it into shards of glass.
"IMPOSSIBLE!" The Card Shop owner screamed out. "With 'Partner Change' wiped out, the partners must return to how they originally were!"
With that done, Emily and Rosie both switched sides once more.
"Emily..." whispered Thomas.
"Thomas..." Emily whispered back.
On the other end of the field, Stanley and Rosie were both reunited.
"Well, Rose, it seems your plan worked like a charm." admitted Stanley pleasantly.
That attracted the attention of both Thomas and Emily...
"What?" quizzed Emily. "What do you mean by 'plan'?"
"It was my idea for Emily and I to switch sides." explained Rosie. "I used 'Partner Change' so that Stanley and I could talk some sense into both of you, and get you to stop fighting."
Emily was catching on. "So, your brief mean streak earlier on-?"
"It was a ruse to help ensure that you accepted the switch when it came time." Rosie confirmed brightly, winking. "I never actually meant what I said."
"It was rather smart." admitted Thomas. "Without that switch, Emily and I never would have realized our errors."
"And it could have resulted in our relationship totally collapsing." put in Emily.
"And we couldn't allow that to happen." Stanley pointed out. "You two were made for each other, after all."
"Thomas, you've prevented Emily from committing suicide when you were both younger." said Rosie wisely. "Emily, you saved Thomas from sharing Anakin's fate of becoming a demon."
"How could you both forget those great things you did for each other all because of an argument?" added Stanley. "Well, we certainly didn't forget them."
"Which is why you guys will always have us and the rest of our friends by your side." Rosie finally finished.
With that said, the crowd started applauding for the passionate speech by both Stanley Hudswell and Rosie Vulcan. The Card Shop owner was even moved to tears by the scene.
"So, what do you say we continue this duel?" asked Stanley.
"We're in!" accepted Emily.
"And I'm still on the attack!" added Thomas. "As you can see, 'Enlightenment Paladin' has 4500 Attack Points, while 'Destiny HERO - Dystopia' has only 3900 Attack Points."
'Enlightenment Paladin' (ATK: 4500) and 'Destiny HERO - Dystopia' (ATK: 3900) both locked gazes.
"I'll have to disappoint you there, Thomas." cut in Rosie. She then looked to Stanley. "Shall I, Stan?"
Stanley grinned. "Go for it, Rose."
With that said, the gray-haired boy allowed a card to emerge from his Graveyard, while Rosie gave the command...
"I activate the effect of the 'Destiny HERO - Dreamer' in Stanley's Graveyard!" The cherry red-haired girl declared. "I'll Special Summon it in defense mode... Come forth - 'Destiny HERO - Dreamer'!"
Appearing onto the field was a multicolored 'Destiny HERO' with a jester-like hat, resulting in 'Enlightenment Paladin' stopping in his tracks.
"When Special Summoned during damage calculation, all Battle Damage is reduced to zero and prevents our monsters from being destroyed by battle." explained Stanley. "We're both still in the game!"
"Ah, but I knew that would happen." Thomas pointed out. "I activate the next effect of 'One-Shot Wand'; after the Damage Step has been completed, I can destroy my face-up Equip Spell to let myself draw one card."
The face-up 'One-Shot Wand' Spell Card shattered into shards, allowing Thomas to draw a card. Unfortunately, 'Enlightenment Paladin' grew weaker as a result (ATK: 2500 - 1700). From there, three facedown cards materialized on the field.
"I set three cards and end my turn." finished Thomas, watching as both the face-up 'D-Spell Caster' Trap Card (it was the opponent's second End Phase, after all) and the face-up 'D-Faceoff' Spell Card shattered into shards of glass. "The rest is up to Emily."
"It's my turn!" announced Stanley, drawing a card. "Draw!"
Turn Eight: Stanley Hudswell (Team LP: 1600)
Deck: 51
Current Hand (1): "Destiny HERO - Decider"
His drawn card was a Monster Card called 'Destiny HERO - Decider'. However, Stanley had a different plan in mind...
"I activate the effect of 'Fairy Cheer Girl'!" The gray-haired boy went on, just as 'Fairy Cheer Girl' lost her last Overlay Unit. "I'll remove its last Overlay Unit to draw one more card!"
Emily was disappointed with herself. "Sorry, Thomas..." she apologized. "I left her out..."
"It will be okay." Thomas reassured. "I'm prepared for this!" He motioned his right hand towards his set cards. "Trap Card - 'Draw Discharge', activate!"
The first set card flipped face-up and revealed itself.
"When our opponent draws cards outside of the Draw Phase, and there are Monster Cards among the drawn cards; our opponent takes damage equal to the drawn monster's combined Attack Power. Those drawn cards are also removed from the game!"
"As you wish." nodded Stanley, showing his drawn card from 'Fairy Cheer Girl'.
It was the 'Flash Fusion' Spell Card.
"It would seem our future is bright." The gray-haired boy joked. He then placed another card onto his Duel Disk (sideways). "Come on - 'Destiny HERO - Decider'!"
Appearing onto the field was another Destiny HERO dressed in a colorful outfit (Level: 4/ATK: 1600/DEF: 1000).
"Thanks to the effect of 'Decider', it can't be targeted for attack by Level 6 or higher monsters." explained Stanley. "Not only that, since it was Normal Summoned, I'll be able to add one 'Destiny HERO' Monster from my Graveyard to my hand at the end of the turn—although only once per duel."
"Facedown card, open!" Thomas suddenly announced, just as his second facedown card flipped up and revealed itself. "'Synchro Barrier'! To start, I'll offer 'Enlightenment Paladin' as a tribute!"
'Enlightenment Paladin' vanished in a blue streak as a large Synchro Ring appeared in his place.
"Once I've offered a Synchro Monster, all damage will be reduced to zero for the rest of the turn." explained Thomas. "Emily and I are safe from attacks."
"As we expected from both of you." acknowledged Stanley, slotting a card into his Duel Disk. On cue, a facedown card ('Flash Fusion') materialized on the field. "Now, I'll set a card and end my turn."
"And since it's the End Phase, Stanley gets to add a 'Destiny HERO' Monster from his Graveyard into his hand." put in Rosie.
A card slid out of Stanley's Graveyard, and he took and revealed what it was...
"I select 'Destiny HERO - Blade Master'." The gray-haired boy pointed out. "Now, it's in my hand for now."
"Now that I caught a glimpse of his hand, I know how we can win." Thomas thought to himself. "Even then, it will be Emily that wins it for us." He spoke to his 'Supreme Queen'... "Emily, the card you've set on the first turn will be the key to winning the duel!"
"What card?" The dark green-haired girl asked, but then (in her mind)... "That's right! I still have 'Divine Punishment' set..." She then spoke aloud while drawing a card with the ever famous Destiny Draw. "It's my turn... Draw!"
Turn Nine: Emily Stirling (Team LP: 1700)
Deck: 51
Current Hand (3): "Airknight Parshath", "Serapheem", and "Angelic Gift"
Her hand consisted of 'Airknight Parshath', 'Serapheem', and the drawn 'Angelic Gift'.
"Here I go!" declared Emily, taking and holding a card out. "I begin by activating 'Angelic Gift'! By removing as many Fairy-Type monsters from my Graveyard up to a maximum of three, I can draw two cards per removed card! The minimum number of Fairy monsters I can remove is one, and the maximum amount is three!"
Spirits of 'Fairy Archer', 'Little Fairy', and 'Cupid Volley' each briefly appeared before turning into balls of light, which floated around Emily before touching down into her Duel Disk.
"With three monsters removed, I'm allowed six cards." she went on, drawing a full hand before giving it her full attention. "Let's see..."
Emily's hand now consisted of 'Serapheem', 'Neo-Parshath, the Sky Paladin', 'Forbidden Chalice', 'Radiant Jeral', 'Honest', 'Graceful Tear', and 'Angelic Assault'(!).
"Alright!" rejoiced Emily, taking another card and placing it onto her Duel Disk. "I Summon 'Radiant Jeral' in attack mode!"
Appearing onto the field was a large, green machine-like fairy (Level: 4/ATK: 1000/DEF: 2000). Emily then looked to Thomas, who simply nodded.
"Okay..." Emily nodded back, before turning her attention to her lover's remaining set card. "I activate 'Double Summon'!"
The remaining set card flipped face-up and revealed itself, just as 'Radiant Jeral' faded away in a blue streak.
"I sacrifice 'Radiant Jeral' to Tribute Summon 'Airknight Parshath'!"
"And, seeing as 'Radiant Jeral' was sent to the graveyard while 'The Sanctuary in the Sky' is still on the field-" explained Emily, as her team's Life Points grew (LP: 2700). "-Thomas and I gain 1000 Life Points."
"And I take it there's more?" pondered Rosie.
"Indeed, there is." With that said, Emily took and held out another card from her hand. "This it is!"
Bathing in a glowing light, 'Airknight Parshath' starting evolving into...
"Appear - 'Neo-Parshath, the Sky Paladin'!"
When the light finally came off, there was 'Airknight Parshath's' evolved form (Level: 7/ATK: 2300/DEF: 2000).
"Our counterattack begins!" declared Thomas. "Since 'The Sanctuary in the Sky' is on the field, and our Life Points are greater..."
"...'Parshath' receives the difference in Life Points as both Attack Points and Defense Points!" finished Emily.
'Neo-Parshath, the Sky Paladin's' Attack and Defense stats both rose (ATK: 2300 - 3400/DEF: 2000 - 3100).
"From there-" continued Emily, taking and holding another card out. "-I'll equip 'Parshath' with 'Angelic Assault'! Now, if the equipped monster destroys a monster by battle, my opponent will take damage equal to that monster's Attack Power!"
An angelic-like spear materialized in 'Neo-Parshath, the Sky Paladin's' hand.
"'Destiny HERO - Dreamer's' an easy target for our game-winning attack." Thomas pointed out. "'Neo-Parshath, the Sky Paladin' can deal piercing damage when attacking a defense positioned monster."
"We win!" put in Emily, entering the Battle Phase. "'Neo-Parshath, the Sky Paladin', attack 'Destiny HERO - Dreamer'... ANGELIC ASSAULT!"
'Neo-Parshath, the Sky Paladin' obeyed, diving in. Alas, it was not meant to end...
"I activate the effect of 'Urban Demise'!" exclaimed Stanley. "The Attack Power of 'Destiny HERO - Dystopia' goes up by another 100 points!"
'Destiny HERO - Dystopia' got stronger again (ATK: 3900 - 4000).
"You know what that means, don't you?" questioned Rosie. "The effect of 'Dystopia' activates!"
'Destiny HERO - Dystopia' started to activate its effect, but suddenly grew stronger (ATK: 4000 - 4400).
"What?!" gasped Stanley, watching as his ace monster stopped its effect. "What's going on with 'Dystopia'?!"
"You can thank 'Forbidden Chalice' for that." smirked Emily, with a face-up Spell Card ('Forbidden Chalice') on her side of the field. "It increases the Attack Power of one monster on the field by 400 points, but renders its effects nullified until the end of the turn."
'Neo-Parshath, the Sky Paladin' got closer and closer to finishing 'Destiny HERO - Dreamer' off.
"We win!" declared Thomas.
"Wrong! I still have one more play to make." cut in Stanley, just as his set card flipped face-up and revealed itself. "I activate a Quick-Play Spell - 'Flash Fusion'! It's time to bring one of my true ace monsters out!"
"True ace?" worried Emily.
"We fuse 'Destiny HERO - Dystopia' with 'Destiny HERO - Dreamer'!" added Rosie. "Go forth, now!"
The two mentioned monsters leaped into the Fusion Circle as a Summon Chant from Stanley began...
"Hero of the world of darkness! Hero of the dream world! Now become one and reign over the utopia's twilight!" chanted Stanley. Before long, the gray-haired boy brought both hands together. "FUSION SUMMON! Come on, Level 10 - 'Destiny HERO - Dusktopia'!"
Appearing onto the field, once the Fusion Summon sequence came to an end, was a 'Destiny HERO' Monster wearing golden armor (Level: 10/ATK: 3000/DEF: 3000).
"'Dusktopia'..." The audience was murmuring to each other.
"Now that's a new one." James was saying.
"It's a rare and powerful monster." added Edward. "It's equally as strong as 'Destiny End Dragoon' in terms of Level and stats."
Back in the duel field...
"The first effect of 'Destiny HERO - Dusktopia' activates!" announced Stanley. "If this monster was Fusion Summoned, I can Fusion Summon one Fusion Monster from my Extra Deck, using monsters from my hand or field as Fusion Material."
He took a card from his hand, showing it to be the 'Destiny HERO - Blade Master' Monster Card.
"I fuse the 'Destiny HERO - Decider' on my field, with the 'Destiny HERO - Blade Master' in my hand!"
The two monsters fused together.
"Come on - 'Destiny HERO - Dangerous'!" commanded Stanley.
Appearing onto the field, as the Fusion Summon sequence ended, was the 'Destiny HERO' cloaked in purple (Level: 6/ATK: 2000/DEF: 2600).
"Another one..." whispered Emily. She then shook her head of any negative thoughts. "No matter... I'll use 'Neo-Parshath, the Sky Paladin' to attack 'Destiny HERO - Dusktopia'!"
'Neo-Parshath, the Sky Paladin' started to attack 'Destiny HERO - Dusktopia'.
"I activate my new monster's second effect!" declared Stanley. "Once per turn, I can target one monster on the field and make it unable to be destroyed by battle or Card Effects, and then, if I do this, neither player takes any Battle Damage from attacks involving that monster until the end of this turn." He thrust his right hand forth. "I choose 'Destiny HERO - Dusktopia' itself!"
"Not going to happen, Stanley!" declared Emily, stopping her opponent in her tracks. "This is what I've been waiting for!"
"You were?!" gasped Rosie.
"Since I control 'The Sanctuary in the Sky'-" Emily went on. "-I can activate my secret weapon in retaliation to a Spell, Trap, or Monster Effect activation!" Her facedown card flipped up and revealed itself to be... "'Divine Punishment'!"
"So that's what you had hiding!" gasped Stanley.
"I knew about it." Thomas pointed out. "'Divine Punishment' will negate the activation of a Spell, Trap, or Monster Effect and destroy the card in question!"
"Such as...'Destiny HERO - Dusktopia'!" finished Emily.
The golden 'Destiny HERO' Monster exploded, clouding Stanley and Rosie's side of the field.
"'D-Dusktopia'...!" Stanley grimaced, bracing himself from the force of the attack.
"With 'Dusktopia' gone, I'll instead turn my attention to 'Fairy Cheer Girl'!" continued Emily, before giving the command to her monster. "Attack!"
'Neo-Parshath, the Sky Paladin' obeyed, readying his new weapon.
"'The Sanctuary in the Sky' may prevent Battle Damage involving Fairy-Type monsters, but it does not stop Effect Damage from the effect of 'Angelic Assault'!"
'Neo-Parshath, the Sky Paladin' impaled 'Fairy Cheer Girl' with the spear, destroying the weaker monster.
"Our Life Points aren't going anywhere!" exclaimed Stanley, adding a card from the Graveyard to his hand. "The effect of the 'Destiny HERO - Decider' in my Graveyard activates!"
A spirit of the mentioned monster briefly appeared on the field, blocking 'Neo-Parshath, the Sky Paladin's' effect attack.
"What?!" gasped Thomas.
"By adding this card to my hand during an attack-" explained Stanley. "-all Effect Damage in the attack is reduced to zero."
"I'm also not finished attacking." cut in Emily, holding out her 'Serapheem' Ritual Monster Card before sending it to the Graveyard. "The next effect of 'Angelic Assault' activates! I send a Monster Card from my hand to the Graveyard to allow the equipped monster to attack again!"
"What?!" gasped Stanley and Rosie.
'Neo-Parshath, the Sky Paladin' charged with his spear-like weapon. Scowling, Stanley still had an ace up his sleeve...
"I activate the effect of 'Destiny HERO - Dangerous'!" he announced, sending his card to the Graveyard. "I discard 'Decider' to the Graveyard to send one 'Destiny HERO' Monster from my Deck to the Graveyard - namely, 'Destiny HERO - Dynatag'!"
The explosive-based 'Destiny HERO" appeared briefly before being sucked into the Graveyard.
"'Destiny HERO' monsters I control gain 200 Attack Points for each 'Destiny HERO' monster in my Graveyard until the end of this turn." While speaking, five cards ejected from the Graveyard, and Stanley showed what they were. "With five such Monster Cards in the Graveyard, 'Destiny HERO - Dangerous' gains 1000 extra Attack Points!"
'Destiny HERO - Dangerous's' power rose (ATK: 2000 - 3000).
"But that's not all!" continued Stanley, taking another card from his Graveyard and letting it fade away. "I remove 'Destiny HERO - Dynatag' from the game to activate its own effect!"
'Destiny HERO - Dangerous's' power dropped slightly due to one less 'Destiny HERO' Monster being in the Graveyard (ATK: 3000 - 2800), but suddenly grew stronger once more (ATK: 2800 - 3800).
"'Destiny HERO - Dangerous' will receive 1000 extra Attack Points."
In the audience...
"'Neo-Parshath' is now weaker!" wailed Molly.
It would seem that Emily and Thomas were both about to lose.
"Sorry, Thomas and Emily, but this duel has come to an end." apologized Rosie. "We win."
"Are you sure about that?" Thomas questioned, smirking proudly.
"What?"
"I still have one more card to play." put in Emily, taking and holding a card out. "From my hand, the effect of 'Honest' activates!"
Briefly appearing onto the field was a Fairy-Type monster with rainbow-like wings.
"No, not 'Honest'!" realized Stanley.
"By discarding 'Honest' during the Damage Step-" explained Emily, sending the card to her Graveyard. "-'Neo-Parshath' gains Attack Points equal to the attack of one other monster on the field."
The spirit of 'Honest' merged with 'Neo-Parshath, the Sky Paladin', causing the monster to glow and bathe in a powerful rainbow-like light.
"The one monster we choose..." began Thomas.
"...is 'Destiny HERO - Dangerous'!" finished Emily. "From the effect of 'Honest', 'Neo-Parshath, the Sky Paladin' gains the Attack Points of 'Dangerous'!"
When the light finally faded, it was shown that 'Honest's' wings were now on the back of 'Neo-Parshath, the Sky Paladin', while his Attack Power had also grown to even greater heights (ATK: 3400 - 7200).
"N-No way...!" stuttered Rosie.
"This duel is all ours!" declared Emily. She finally gave the final command... "ANGELIC ASSAULT!"
The attack impaled 'Destiny HERO - Dangerous', causing the weaker monster to groan before finally exploding. The force of the attack sent Stanley and Rosie both flying back as they screamed in defeat (Team LP: 0). The gray-haired boy and cherry red-haired girl both landed a small distance back, with the duel finally over.
DUEL RESULTS: Thomas Billinton and Emily Stirling both win!
"What an amazing turn out!" cried the Card Shop Owner. "Thomas and Emily not only won the duel in an amazing turnabout, but they also patched up their differences from their earlier argument!"
With that said, the audience burst into loud applause. On the stage, Stanley and Rosie both laid on the floor when their victorious opponents walked over and offered a hand.
"Need some help?" Emily kindly offered.
The defeated gray-haired boy and cherry red-haired girl both accepted the hands from Thomas (Stanley) and Emily (Rosie).
"Thanks." said Stanley. "Congrats on winning the duel."
"We're not the only winners of this duel." Emily pointed out. "You and Rosie, in a way, also won."
"Huh? We did?" quizzed Rosie. "How's that?"
"You were able to help us see the error of our ways when we were too blind to realize them." explained Thomas. "We were both repeating our mistakes, and you did what you could to put a stop to it."
Finally realizing that their two friends were right, Stanley and Rosie both smiled.
"You're right; we did, in a way, win, too!" admitted Stanley.
The audience resumed their applause for the four duelists on the stage.
(elsewhere...)
At the food court, Thomas and Emily both decided to have some alone time after the long duel they've endured, although they wished Axel and Gina good luck in their next match.
"You know, Emily, I was amazed at your surprise Xyz Summon, today." Thomas pointed out.
"Thank you." said Emily. "I was lucky enough to find it in a booster pack I'd bought... You know, if we were still against each other in the duel, that wouldn't have been the only surprise I would have shown."
"What else would you have shown us?" asked Thomas, but was silenced when his lover put a finger to his lips.
"Tee hee hee... I'm not telling." The dark green-haired girl giggled.
Thomas soon chuckled. "Okay, you win." Before long, his smile soon hardened into a somewhat firm look. "Emily, I have a question... About our first duel in the tournament, you had a look of horror on your face. I must know, did you happen to draw 'that' card?"
Emily lost her smile and became despaired, but didn't answer the question...yet.
"You did, didn't you?"
"Yes, Thomas... I did." Emily finally confirmed after what seemed like forever, taking a card from her Deck and looked at it. "I did draw it."
The card in question was the 'Dark Angel' Monster Card.
"The one card that was created and manifested by the darkness in your heart." mumbled Thomas. "But, I don't understand, I thought you got rid of it when we returned home?"
"I included it in my Deck, because I want to play it." explained Emily. "After my duel with Matt and listening to his words, I'd been thinking long and hard about my actions towards you and our friends when we were younger, along with my actions towards you when you and I were Anakin and Anastasia respectively..." She closed her eyes. "I want to use 'Dark Angel' so I can finally put my past behind me - forgive myself, but I-"
"You weren't able to do it at that moment because you were still traumatised by the memory of you using it back when you first used it, so you got rid of it as soon as you could." finished Thomas, making his 'Supreme Queen' nod sadly. "I'll admit that part of the reason why I ended that duel so quickly was because I just couldn't bear to see you so shaken, and I didn't want it to affect you for the rest of the duel."
Emily looked up at her 'Supreme King', just as he planted a kiss to her forehead.
"Listen, it's okay for you to be afraid, but if you really want to move on from the past, you have to find the courage to bear the responsibilities of your past actions in order to truly forgive yourself."
Emily listened carefully. "What you're saying makes complete sense." she said, but looked down a bit. "Even then, I..."
"When that spirit of Anastasia was dueling against Diablon, she successfully used 'Dark Angel' with complete confidence and without fear—something you'll need to do at one point." reminded Thomas, as images from Diablon and Anastasia's duel were shown briefly. "'Dark Angel' might just end up being the only way we can win the tournament." He then placed a hand onto Emily's lap, which caused her to put a hand atop of it. "No matter how the duel goes, I have complete trust and faith in you to be able to overcome your darkness and past."
Hearing this made Emily look at the 'Dark Angel' Monster Card once more. After what seemed like forever, she finally managed to smile while placing the card back into her Deck.
"So, you'll keep it in your Deck?" asked Thomas.
"Yeah, I am..." nodded Emily. "If I use 'Dark Angel' without fear, hopefully we'll be able to finally move on from the past."
(elsewhere...)
Back in the tournament stage...
"'Infernal Flame Emperor', direct attack!" commanded Axel.
The giant flame monster let loose a powerful blast, causing an explosion to erupt in the opponent's side of the field. When the smoke cleared, the opposing dueling couple had been defeated (Team LP: 0).
DUEL RESULTS: Gina Couillet and Axel Notesse both win!
The holograms finally faded away.
"And that's it, folks!" announced Dexter. "We have our two remaining couples about to duke it out in the final battle!"
On the nearby monitor, images of Thomas/Emily and Axel/Gina were shown.
"Thomas Billinton and Emily Stirling will both duel against Gina Couillet and Axel Notesse for 'The Couple's Cup' crown!" finished the Card Shop owner. "Be prepared everyone, this will be very big!"
Gina and Axel both looked up at the monitors, knowing that they were in for quite the duel against both the 'Supreme King' (Thomas) and the 'Supreme Queen' (Emily) before leaving to go home to their respective European countries. With that being said, they were going to make this duel count. Who would win? Weeeeeell...
End of Chapter 22