Yu-Gi-Oh Academy
Chapter 17
Rika's Ultimatium! Duel With The Queen!
Rika sat in her room, her cards spread all around her bed as despite getting a large assortment of cards from Danielle's boosters as she kept going through her Deck. It must have been the hundredth time she looked and sorted through each of her monsters. She had to make absolutely sure her Deck was perfect for the duel. Everything rode on the upcoming Duel. She gathered up her cards as she felt ready. The only things to do now were wait for the new Duel Disks that Danielle 'ordered' and to find a way to get Tigara to duel her as she set out of her Dorm Room. Despite everything, school still went on. She heard another door close near her as she realized Mikee was leaving his room too. He noticed her leave as he waved. "Oh, morning Rika! Want to walk to class together?" Mikee asked. She nodded as both were setting on their way. It was only two days since the dance and things have been relatively quiet, even between the both of them, but Mikee was usually the one to start up conversations. "So, I've been wondering something, and I want you to be honest with me: Why are you involved with Danielle?" Mikee asked. Rika stopped walking for a second as she sighed, Mikee stopping to look at her. He seemed serious as the blue-haired girl pushed back her hair. "Where to begin...where to start, even..." Rika started as she started walking again. "I grew up far off from Satellite, in an orphanage. The owners told me I was dropped off as a baby, my parents never even leaving a name or anything, all they had on my person was the name, Rika Andrews." Rika started saying as she began to recall her days.
"The orphanage was okay, the staff was nice but the kids, they were rude. They didn't think keeping to myself all the time was the right thing to do. My old cards were constantly stolen, the kids would brag as much as they could whenever they won a duel, it was irritating. No one ever just wanted to just be with me or hang out, I was just another girl to everyone else. All until Danielle came." Rika explained.
"Wait, Danielle? What in the world was she doing at an orphanage?" Mikee asked, obviously surprised.
"It was a long time ago, Danielle's family wanted another child, and they figured at the time, adoption was their best bet. So, out of all the kids, Danielle found me." Rika told him as she recalled the moment.
It was almost eleven years ago at the orphanage as Rika was looking out the window at the rather large limo that pulled up to the building. The kids looked in awe as two adults were talking with the head of the orphanage. They seemed to be chatting happily as the young girl at the time sighed. The new people weren't going to take an interest in her at all. Just like the ones before, they were looking at other kids. She caught a glimpse of a young magenta-haired girl entering the orphanage, but she didn't pay much mind at first. All she had set in her mind was just another lost hope. The gasps of the nearby children were ignored as she was looking through her only Deck she managed to gather up as there was a knock on her door. The young girl turned to see the magenta-haired girl. She just had a cute pink summer dress with similar gloves and an old fashioned Duel Disk. "What do you have there?" The young girl asked as Rika quickly picked up her cards and was about to hide them, but the new person had sharp eyes. "I see you're using Spellcasters. May I?" She asked. Unable to really hide her cards at this point, the young Rika revealed her bright green cards as she took a look. From the obvious, the cards had dents, a couple of noticable scratches, and wear-and-tear along their edges. "Gustos? You like them?" The mysterious girl asked.
"Y-Yeah, I think they're really pretty. Everybody just tells me that they're useless, but I like them for who and what they are." Rika said with a smile on her face. The girl looked a little perplexed as she was thinking of something. "You love to duel?"
"Sometimes, my cards are usually just taken by the others. I can never have a full Deck." Rika complained.
"I can help you, you know." The mysterious girl told her.
"It's no use, the kids around here are total jerks, and most of them have already left the orphanage with most of my cards. These are all I have left."
"No, I mean," Danielle was correcting herself as she pulled out her own Deck from the Duel Disk, "My parents are here to adopt today, but they asked me to see if I find anyone I like. And you, I have a good feeling about you." She told the young girl. Her eyes started to widen a bit.
"But! You have to be a good duelist. My daddy owns his own Duel Disk company, and he says he doesn't need bad publicity or something."
"That was the day the Wintersons adopted me all because Danielle had a good feeling about me. Living with them was far better than the days at the Orphanage. I was fed, well-kept for, and even got my old Deck some actual cards. But I just couldn't lose so often. That was the only condition, but even then, it still didn't feel like a family. Danielle said that I would get the chance to prove myself." She explained to her close friend. He looked like he was taking this all in as he looked to the ground. "Wow, I...well, I sort of take back what I said about Danielle, but you've been through a lot." Mikee told her. She was quiet, pushing her hair back and crossing her arms.
"Guess we both have had it rough. Sure, I've had my parents, but they were far from supportive. I loved dueling as a kid, but they didn't. Collecting the cards, playing with others, they didn't want me to participate in Turbo Duels. But I told them I was going to do this for a living, and so they kicked me out several times. That's where Tigara came in." Mikee described as the name seemed to get a twitch from Rika. "T-Tigara?"
"Yeah, she was there for me. We were childhood friends and neighbors. Her parents were classy and well, higher class Duelists. Tig always treated me and her friends the same, and on days where my folks would kick me out or I need to get away, she'd invite me over and we would just hang out. She's like my shoulder to lean on when things get tough. It's why we're really close. Thanks to her, I was able to complete my Synchrons. That's why I'll do just about anything for my friends. Tig, Neo, even Luna and Sadet, and...well, you." Mikee described. She looked away as the thoughts were a bit clearer on their relationship. They weren't exactly dating, but Tigara, to Mikee was someone he could trust with his life.
And I have to be the one who has to take Tigara down. Rika thought, the weight on her shoulders feeling much heavier. She could feel her heart beat harder, reminding her what was at stake. For a moment, everything seemed so far away for the Ra Yellow as she could feel something with her cards. Is that what really makes a strong Duelist? He's always so confident with himself and his cards despite his losing records. Do...do I really have what it takes to take down such an icon? What will he think if she goes down? Rika thought as her eyebrows furrowed. She shook her head as the Ra Yellow female excused her action as still waking up to the concerned friend as she looked to him. He was still going on about his friends, but his voice was so distant with her thoughts. If I fail this, I'll lose my Deck and I'll no longer be part of a family...the only family who ever cared for me in my dark times...I don't know what to do...
Rika snapped out of her spiraling thoughts as she noticed they were past the gate to enter school. Just outside the doors, her eyes caught a glimpse of Nick as he was waiting by the doors. He was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed as he saw the both of them. "Uh...Mikee, you go on ahead, I'll see you in class." Rika told her friend. He was about to ask, but he saw the Obelisk Blue as he stood there for a moment before nodding and left them. As he passed, both of them exchanged glances as Nick focused his attention on Rika. "Hey, you look like you haven't slept."
"You know why I haven't. What are you doing here?" Rika asked.
"I'm not here to cause trouble. I'm actually here to help you with your-" He was saying as the technical Obelisk Blue looked back and forth before whispering, "mission."
"What? How are you going to help? Danielle told me it has to only be me."
"You don't think I know that? She filled me in on the details and told Heather and Lily to stay out of it, but me, I have to give you the new Duel Disk we're getting today, and so I thought I'd lend my assistance to your cause." He explained. This seemed a little suspicious for the Ra Yellow as she looked to him, unsure if this was something out of the blue. "Look, I'll explain it better after class. Just meet me outside the Obelisk Blue dorm." He told her.
Inside the classroom felt like days were passing as Rika couldn't think straight. She was grateful it was an easy class with Yumi who was explaining something about a new Ritual monster archtype and their origin theories, and knowing that she was Synchro bound, she wasn't even picked. There were more concerns in her mind than just stories behind monsters, Rika was trying to think of every possible outcome the duel was going to have. The Madolches were tricky opponents, and the way Tigara pilots them earned her the title of Queen.
But her heart sank when the bells rang for the students to leave as time was clocking down for what was going to happen. It had to happen tonight. She picked up her things and hurried out for the Obelisk Blue dorm where Nick was supposedly waiting.
True to his word, the red-haired male was right outside the dorm in the same leaning cross armed position from this morning. He flipped a switch on his visor as he had a slight grin on his face. "Wow, early. You must be eager to settle this. Come on, follow me." Nick invited the young girl as she started following him. "Don't worry about being in the male's dorm, as long as you're with another Obelisk Blue, you're not getting into any trouble. Up here." The Obelisk Blue pointed up to the third floor as the both of them took the stairs. As they reached the floor, Rika saw his room right around the corner. He opened it as Rika was a bit stunned. Instead of the usula rather regal interiors, Nick's room was probably one of the messier ones. In the room scattered about were pieces to Duel Disks, three laptops and various tools. In the corner of the room, there were several cardboard boxes, about seven as each one of them was opened and crushed. On the bed was what Rika was told to come here for: Her new Duel Disk. It looked like the standard Kaiba Cooperation Disks, but there was no platform for placing her cards; just her Deck, Graveyard, and Extra Deck. The colors though were a pretty sky blue chrome with a gold edge as he picked up the device. "Here it is, your new Duel Disk." He gifted her as Rika took off her old one and put it on. It was much lighter than the old one as she started transferring her cards into the new one. "What's the difference between this one and the old one?" Rika had to ask.
"Well, see, Surreal Dueling is the style of duels the Quasar Cup is going to have, but." Nick was saying as he sat on his rather large bed after clearing some tools off of it, "Knowing the teachers and their 'concern' for the safety, there's going to be programmed limits to it. With the way Yumi yammers on about it, probably moderate at best, so, with my tech know-how, I removed the limiter. You know, to keep the conditions of what a Surreal Duel truly is and added my own modifications. Apart from Arena Mode and Forced Duel Mode, it can also remove the limiters on other Duel Disks, and keep others from interrupting." Nick explained. Rika was silent as she was a bit passive on Surreal Dueling, but knowing now that people were going to get hurt, the burden grew just a little more. The cost of losing was even greater now and she had no say in this. "...You said something about-"
"Helping you, yes. I can have Tig at a certain spot for you to duel. I'm using the D-Gazer Messaging system to basically ask Tig to come to anywhere on the campus. But, it's not going to be any one of us. Mikee's going to send the message. By tricking the system, and replacing some numbers, I can send the message as Mikee to ask his girlfriend to meet him outside the Obelisk Blue Girl's dorm." He explained swiftly.
"Wait, why there? W-wouldn't it be better if I dueled her somewhere...I dunno, secret?" Rika asked.
"It's more of a preference of Danielle's. She wants to watch this from her window." He said in which the weight was practically crushing the poor Ra Yellow. Now Danielle's going to be watching?! Rika thought to herself as Nick noticed her uncomfortable expression. "Don't worry, you'll be fine." He said with some confidence, his fingers typing away madly with quiet clicks.
"What makes you say that? She's the-"
"Queen of the Academy, yes. But she hasn't changed her style or monsters. Her Deck is consistant, yes. But you're the type that can adapt. Your monsters can work around most of the effects she busts out, not to mention the new cards you've received." Nick was saying as he finished typing. "Well, the message is timed somewhat. You'll want to meet her outside the Dorm in about three hours from now."
"Madolche Tiramisu, finish this duel." Tigara declared as her two Tiramisus went in and attacked Sadet directly, ending the duel as the holograms disappeared. The brunette sighed as she looked to the elite red head. "Wow, you're really strong. I don't stand a chance." She told her.
"You still just need to get some new cards and have confidence. You've got a good Deck, it just needs a couple of tweaks." She said, a hand on her hip as her D-Gazer started to blink softly as she waved her hand to open the new message. "Hm...why would he want to see me outside the Dorm? Maybe he thinks I'm there?" Tig was saying to herself as the Slifer Red looked curious. "Mikee wants to see me real quick, want to come along? It is started to get a little late." She invited the brunette.
The night sky was rather pretty as Tig and Sadet were both walking calmly, the Slifer Red in awe at the rather large female dorm. Lights were on and off in the various rooms as a handful of the rooms had small balconies. She saw some of the Obelisk Blue girls hanging out of their rooms as she waved. "Wow, think I'll get there someday?" Sadet asked outloud as Tigara was pulling a card out of her pocket. From Sadet's view, it seemed to be a Trap card as she looked to the Slifer Red. "Maybe, you just need to work harder. Anyway, keep an eye out for Mikee. He should be around here somewhere..." She reminded the energetic brunette as she put the card back in her pocket. She didn't see him, but they were near the cliffside as the ocean waves slammed into the rather edgy wallside. Looking down at the water made her shudder as it was rather cold for a late swim.
Twigs snapped near-by as both students turned their attention sharply to what they believed to be Mikee, but it was another student. Rika stepped out of the shadows of the trees, the moonlight revealing herself. Sadet looked surprised as the Ra Yellow seemed to be really tense. "Rika? What are you doing out here? It's late outside." The Slifer Red asked.
"...Tigara, I'm here tonight to challenge you to a duel." She finally said after some silence. Tigara raised an eyebrow as Sadet smiled a little bit. "Rika? What are you talking about? Duel Tig late at night like this?" She asked her.
The Ra Yellow closed her eyes as her Duel Disk quickly activated, the Duel Disk materilizing as a shining yellow edge with a black base as it was glowing. Several beeps occured from Tigara's Duel Disk as it activated on its own. "Forced Duel Mode activated. Surreal Duel." The Duel Disk voice said as Tigara and Rika's D-Gazers activated. A ring of what seemed to be black energy formed around them as the top Duelist looked a bit shocked. "What's going on?" She asked her.
"We're going to duel now, enough waiting around for this..." Rika was saying rather slowly as if she was trying to remember what to say exactly as she drew her starting hand. Tigara had no choice but to accept the duel. Little did all three of them know that Danielle was watching the duel high above her balcony, a smile on her face.
Duel Begin. Surreal Duel Mode. Damage: Unknown. New Programming downloading...Winterson Ruleset online. Surreal Duel Online. Outside Help: Disabled.
Tigara: 8000 LP
Rika: 8000 LP
Duel Begin.
Rika began her turn by setting a monster and a card face-down, still rather silent about the matter, but Tigara could tell that Rika was dead serious about this duel. Tense, sure, but there was a certain fierceness in her yellow eyes. "Rika, snap out of it! What are you doing?!" Sadet was calling to her friend, but Rika wasn't paying attention to the Slifer Red.
"It's no use, Sadet, I don't think she's listening..." Tigara said and drew her card. The top Duelist knew something was up, but it wasn't going to stop her. If she had to beat Rika in order to get some answers, so be it. She started her first move by activating a Mystical Space Typhoon to get rid of her face-down Trap card, which she didn't recognize at first. "With my first move, I summon Madolche Mewfeuille, and with his effect, I can Special Summon my signature monster, Madolche Tiramisu!" Tigara declared as her princess came out onto the field, smiling as her Attack power rose up. Mewfeuille: 500 ATK. Puddingcess: 1800 ATK.
"I attack your face-down monster with Puddingcess!" The Obelisk Blue commanded as Puddingcess leapt up and dove straight down, revealing Rika's Chiwen Yang Zing as it hit the Graveyard, but not before a light shone on the field. "As you're familar, whenever a Yang Zing is destroyed by battle or card effect, I can Special Summon another Yang Zing from my Deck. I Special Summon my new monster, Zefraniu in Defense Mode!" Rika called forth a large grey dragon with white sparkling wings as it took a defensive stance. Zefraniu, Secret of the Yang Zing is a Level 6 EARTH Pendulum monster with 0 ATK and 2600 DEF. Pendulum Scale set to 7. Since there were no cards left after Tigara attacked, she couldn't use Puddingcess's destruction effect. After setting a card, she looked to Rika. "Why are you dueling me? You don't seem to be the type to challenge things bigger than you." Tigara asked as Rika drew her card.
"I'm dueling you to remove your title of the Queen. And I'll show you with this! I summon Jiaotu, Darkness of the Yang Zing!" Rika declared as the long snake-like dragon appeared, roaring as she raised her hand up in the air. The air became tense as through the darkness, Rika's eyes were glowing. "The wingbeats of a former ruler shake the heavens as a new power rises from the darkness!" Rika declared as her dark Yang Zing circled around her large dragon. The Synchro Rings formed as a pillar of red light exploded from the field. "Synchro Summon!"
From the red light came a massive dark red dragon that burst out roaring loudly as it seemed to scare the cutesy monsters Tigara had. Its right fist seemed a bit mechanical as it also glowed with a different kind of energy. "Scarlight Red Dragon Archfiend!" Rika called forth.Scarlight Red Dragon Archfiend is a Level 8 DARK Dragon Synchro monster with 3000 ATK and 2500 DEF. Tigara and Sadet seemed stunned at the monster Rika spawned from her Yang Zings as its robot claw began to burn brightly. "I activate Scarlight's effect! Once per turn, Scarlight can destroy Special Summoned monsters on the field with equal or lower Attack and deal 500 damage for each!" Rika explained as her new dragon roared and reared its hand back. "Absolute Power Flame!" Scarlight unleashed a huge fire stream that fired straight for Puddingcess as her monster was destroyed. The sparks that flew from it reached Tigara as it cut down her Life Points slightly, but it wasn't the bigger issue. Tigara: 7500 LP. The sparks practically burned her arm just slightly, as if the smallest fireball blazed right passed. Her expression now went from annoyed to shocked. What was this? Rika didn't seem to notice at all as she pointed at her remaining Madolche monster. "Scarlight, attack Tigara's Mewfeuille! Infernal Crimson Hell Burning!" Rika declared as her dragon reared its head back. Its body glowed a fiery red as it unleashed a large fiery stream of energy. Her poor cat monster was instantly destroyed as the flames pushed her back, burning her arms slightly. Tigara: 5000 LP. As soon as Rika tried to set a card, Tigara flipped up her face-down, which was another Mystical Space Typhoon, the Ra Yellow had to end her turn.
"Tig, you're hurt! Rika, stop this!" Sadet pleaded with the duelists as the Obelisk Blue drew her card. Rika didn't say anything to the one begging for the duel to stop, but Tigara was beginning to realize there was no going back after this point. The only way to stop this was to beat her as she looked at the card the Obelisk Blue drew. "I'm going to have to knock some sense into you. If you're going to duel the 'Queen' of the Academy, I'll make sure I destroy you. I summon Madolche Anjelly!" Tigara called forth her little fairy to the field as it giggled at the presence of Rika's dragon. "By Tributing this card, I can Special Summon a Madolche monster from my Deck, the monster I Special Summon is Madolche Hootcake!" Tigara declared as her fairy laughed and vanished into tiny lights as a small portly owl flew in, hooting happily. "I activate Hootcake's effect next: By banishing the Anjelly I just tributed, I can Special Summon my Puddingcess from the Deck." Tigara called out as her princess came forth again, staring at the dragon that destroyed her last turn. She pointed right at Rika's monster. "Madolche Puddingcess, attack Scarlight Red Dragon Archfiend!" She declared, getting shocked looks from Sadet and Rika as her monster hesitated for a moment before leaping in the air and charging right forth with a stomp. Scarlight roared and unleashed another firey stream, the flames reaching Tigara again. Tigara: 3800 LP. She looked confident however as she saw her monster still fighting the flames. "And if you didn't forget what my card does, whenever she enters a battle, she can destroy one card on the field, and that will be your Scarlight!" Tigara declared as her princess used all her strength to pierce through the flames and destroy her Scarlight. Through the smoke, Hootcake flew in, right after Rika as it tackled her right in the gut with enough force to knock her on her back. Rika: 6500 LP.
"Now you see why these games are dangerous? This is why your Surreal Dueling needs to stop!" Tigara shouted to the Ra Yellow as she got back up. Rika drew her card as she summoned Bi'an, Earth of the Yang Zing. It roared on the field with 1600 ATK points and 0 DEF. "This IS my style of dueling, Danielle's style of dueling, and I'll do whatever it takes to secure her spot! Bi'an, attack Hootcake!" Rika declared as her Wyrm monster flew in a snake-like pattern and slashed at Tigara's monster. Despite taking the minor damage, Tigara stood firm.Tigara: 3700 LP. "Thanks to Anjelly's effect, Hootcake can't be destroyed by battle or card effects this turn." She said as Rika ended her turn.
"You don't know anything, do you? Surreal Dueling will take the world by storm. Once the Quasar Cup shows off what Surreal Dueling can do, people will finally follow Danielle's dream, and I will make sure people like you don't prevent that from happening!" Rika declared as Tigara just set a monster and ended her turn, her Hootcake returning to the Deck due to Anjelly's effect. Rika started her turn and set a monster before attacking Tigara's face-down with Bi'an, but it was met with resistance as a cute maid appeared, defending the attack with ease, damaging Rika. Rika: 6100 LP.
Madolche Marmalmaide is a Level 4 EARTH Spellcaster monster with 800 ATK and 2000 DEF. Tigara started her turn as she summoned Messengelato on the field and raised her hand up to the air. "I overlay my Level 4 Marmalmaide with my Level 4 Messengelato to construct the Overlay Network! XYZ Summon!" Tigara declared as her signature monster appeared on the field, Madolche Queen Tiramisu. Madolche Queen Tiramisu: Rank 4 EARTH Fairy. 2200/2100. She pointed right at Bi'an as Tiramisu threw her scepter at the dragon snake, piercing it and damaging Rika's Life Points as she stumbled back a bit. Rika: 5500 LP.
"I activate Chiwen's effect from my Graveyard and Bi'an's effect! Chiwen returns to my field, and thanks to Bi'an, I can Special Summon my second Zefraniu!" Rika declared as she summoned both monsters once more. Tigara set a card as it was now Rika's turn. She flipped up her face-down, which was another Jiaotu. She picked up two cards from her hand. "I set the Pendulum Scale with the Scale 1 Zefraxi, Treasure of the Yang Zing and Scale 7 Zefraniu, Secret of the Yang Zing!" Rika declared as she set two Pendulum monsters, both of them rising from the forest and above the Obelisk Blue Dorm. Her Jiaotu and Zefraniu both rose up and performed a Synchro Summon as a second Scarlight Red Dragon Archfiend appeared once again, Tigara looking unsure as it seemed to be over.
"I activate Yang Zing Path! I shuffle thee Yang Zing monsters from my Graveyard to my Deck, and then draw two cards! And now, Swing, Pendulum of the Soul! I Special Summon monsters from my hand or Extra Deck with Levels between 2 and 6! Come forth, my monsters!" Rika declared as her field now filled up with two of her Zefraniu and two of her Bixi Water Yang Zings, but that wasn't the worst of it. "I activate Scaright's effect! I destroy, Special Summoned monsters on the field with lower ATK than Scarlight!" She declared as Scarlight flew above the other monsters. "Absolute Power Flame!"
The fires destroyed her own monsters as well as Tiramisu, but the damage reached up to 2500 for each monster destroyed as the flames pushed Tigara back further. Sadet tried to activate her Duel Disk to try and intervene, but it was not able to jump in. Normally, duels would at least cost you half your Life Points to jump in another duel, but she wasn't able to jump in.
Tigara stared down her defeat as Rika pointed right at Tigara. Scarlight, finish this duel! Infernal Crimson Hell Burning!" Rika declared, the huge dragon roared loudly.
"Tigara!" A male called out desperately as all three of them looked quickly to see Mikee running with his D-Gazer to see the Duel at hand as Scarlight's attack fired from its mouth and directly hit Tigara with a fiery explosion, sending her right off the cliff as her Life Points dropped down to zero.