Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL.
Chapter 4: Shark's Power
"Where the hell did you even get a Synchro Monster?" Shark asked Rio. "Especially one that fits with your deck's theme like that?"
"Do you remember me telling you about Dante Fairbanks?" Rio asked.
"That psycho who wanted to kill Cleo and was some psycho conqueror in our past life?" Shark recalled. "What does he have to do with this?"
"He came out of his coma not too long ago." Rio revealed. "He felt bad about all the things he did to me and Cleo, so he made me Aurora Bust Dragon and Fairy Penguin to make up for it. Cleo helped me learn how to use these cards before the tournament."
"You're really okay with the guy who ripped of Red Dragon Archfiend sending Rio cards like that?" Hikari asked Cleo.
"Fairbanks will never be my favorite person in the world, but I'm not so petty as to throw away any gifts he sends her." Cleo answered. "Besides, I'm all for anything that will help Rio get stronger."
"I activate Aurora Burst Dragon's effect!" Rio announced. "By banishing a Winged Beast monster from my Graveyard, I can halve the ATK of a monster my opponent controls until the end of the turn! So I banish Blizzard Falcon to cut Black Ray Lancer's ATK in half!"
The snow-white dragon roared and fired a multicolored beam from the gem set in the center of her chest armor. The aquatic dark knight was struck and began to glow with a multicolored aura.
"And now I activate Ragnazero's effect!" Rio announced. "By detaching one of her overlay units, Ragnazero destroys an opposing monster that's ATK has been lowered to let me draw one card. And the monster I choose is Black Ray Lancer!"
One of the balls of light orbiting Ragnazero entered the guard of the sword in her right hand. The ice maiden swung the blade at Black Ray Lancer, hitting the spearman with an icy mist that caused his body to freeze. In seconds, Black Ray Lancer shattered to bits.
"Oh wow! Now Shark's completely wide open!" Yuma observed.
"It does indeed appear that way." Astral agreed. "Aurora Burst Dragon's effect works wonderfully with Ragnazero's."
"Aurora Burst Dragon has 2800 ATK. Combine that with Ragnazero's 2400 ATK, and Ryoga's had it." Cleo declared.
"Don't be so sure. Ryoga still has those two face-down cards out." Hikari pointed out.
"Oh I haven't forgotten that, cousin." Cleo replied. "But I can tell you now that those cards won't be a problem."
"There's one more thing you should know about my Aurora Burst Dragon, Ryoga." Rio told him. "As long as she's on the field, whenever one of my Water monsters attacks, my opponent can't activate any Spell or Trap cards until after the attack ends."
"Well if you're so confident you can win, go ahead and attack me." Shark dared.
"Fine! I will! Ragnazero, attack him directly!" Rio commanded. "Dance of Frozen Death!"
"Not so fast! From my hand, I activate the effect of Intercept Shark!" Shark announced.
Just as Ragnazero twirled forward to slash Shark with her blades, a black and grey mechanical shark resembling a torpedo hit the ice maiden in the chest and exploded. Ragnazero was unharmed, but Rio's life points had taken a slight drop to 3400.
"When an opponent's monster attacks me directly, I can discard Intercept Shark to negate that attack and inflict 600 points of damage." Shark explained.
"I still have one more attack left, Ryoga." Rio reminded him. "Aurora Burst Dragon, attack him directly! Northern Light Stream!"
Rio's dragon opened her mouth and fired a blast of energy that resembled the northern lights. Shark crossed his arms to try and shield himself from the attack and was struck by the blast. His life points took a heavy drop to 1200.
"I'll set one card on the field and end my turn." Rio announced.
Shark drew his next card. "You've gotten good, sis. But I'm still a whole lot better! I summon Right-Hand Shark in Attack Mode!"
Appearing on Shark's side of the field was a monster that looked like Left-Hand Shark but with a slightly different color scheme. Its fins were arranged like the fingers of a right hand.
"Since I have Right-Hand Shark on the field, I can summon Left-Hand Shark from the Graveyard as a level four monster!" Shark announced. Right-Hand Shark's opposite reappeared on the field. "I use the level four Right-Hand Shark and Left-Hand Shark to Xyz Summon Bahamut Shark!"
A blue vortex appeared in the center of the battlefield and pulled in the two sharks as balls of blue energy. Rising out of the vortex soon after was a blue and white shark-like dragon with an almost humanoid build. On its back were two pairs of fin-like wings, and orbiting around its body were two balls of blue light.
"Now I play Rank-Up-Magic Barian's Force!" Shark announced. "I use Bahamut Shark to rebuild the overlay network and Xyz Summon CXyz Barian Bahamut Shark!"
A black vortex surrounded by a strange green mist appeared in the sky above Shark and pulled in Bahamut Shark as a ball of red energy. A moment later the shark-like dragon emerged from the phenomenon in a new form. Much of his body had changed from blue to black, with the white parts of his body now grey. Lines of crimson energy glowed on the sides of his arms and legs, and on the front of his chest was a golden version of the Barian emblem. Barian Bahamut Shark landed on the battlefield, and appearing on the ground around him were three red crystals with gold plates covering them.
"That's not all!" Shark continued. "Because of Barian's Force, Barian Bahamut Shark gains Ragnazero's remaining overlay units!"
Red energy flowed from Ragnazero to Barian Bahamut Shark, pulling the remaining ball of light orbiting around her with it. The ball of light turned into another red crystal and set down on the ground beside the shark-like dragon.
"I activate Barian Bahamut Shark's effect!" Shark announced. "By detaching an overlay unit, I can summon a Rank 4 or lower Water Xyz Monster straight from my Extra Deck! I summon Number 101: Silent Honor ARK!"
One of the red crystals around Barian Bahamut Shark shattered and turned into a bolt of crimson lightning that entered the emblem on the shark-dragon's chest. Soon after, a swirling galaxy appeared in the air behind Shark. Flying out of the vortex was a vehicle that looked like a small blue submarine with three very long spikes projecting outward from the front. The number 101 glowed on one of the spikes in red alien writing.
"Since Barian Bahamut Shark summoned a monster while it had the original Bahamut Shark as an overlay unit, I can destroy one monster my opponent has on the field!" Shark announced. "And the monster I choose is Aurora Burst Dragon!"
Barian Bahamut Shark opened his jaws and fired a blast of glowing crimson water. Aurora Burst Dragon was hit by the stream and exploded like a scarlet firework.
"I activate one of my face-down cards, Rank-Up-Magic Quick Chaos!" Shark announced. "I use Silent Honor ARK to rebuild the overlay network and Xyz Summon Number C101: Silent Honor DARK!"
The circular window of the blue submarine's cockpit burst open, and flying out was a humanoid figure clad completely in dark-blue armor. In his right hand he carried a long red spear. Projecting back from the armor on his waist were two long fin-like blades. Adorning the right blade was the number 101 in light-blue alien writing. The submarine that had served as his vehicle was reduced into particles of red light that became a red crystal with gold plates.
"I activate the effect of Silent Honor DARK!" Shark announced. "Once per turn, I can attach an opponent's special summoned monster to Silent Honor DARK as an overlay unit! And the monster I pick is Ragnazero!"
Silent Honor DARK fired a beam of crimson light that struck Rangazero in the chest. The ice maiden turned into particles of red light that coalesced into a red crystal with gold plates. The crystal set itself down on the ground by Silent Honor DARK.
"Now Rio's the one who's wide open." Hikari observed. "Looks like this duel might be all over."
"Barian Bahamut Shark has 2900 ATK, and Silent Honor DARK has 2800 ATK." Shark told Rio. "I don't think I need to do the math for you. Bahamut Shark! Silent Honor DARK! Attack her directly!"
"I activate a Trap, Mirror Force!" Rio quickly announced.
"I don't think so! I activate my own Trap, Seven Tools of the Bandit!" Shark announced. "By paying 1000 life points, this card negates the power of your Mirror Force!"
As Shark's life points dropped to 200, Barian Bahamut Shark fired another blast of crimson water from his mouth. In the same instant, Silent Honor DARK threw his spear at Rio. The blunette was struck by both attacks and was nearly knocked to the ground. Her life points dropped from 3400 to zero in a flash. With the duel over, both of Shark's monsters vanished and the color of the stadium returned to normal.
"And the winner of the first duel is Ryoga Kamishiro!" the referee announced.
Much of the applause roared with cheers and applause. Shark walked over to his sister, who had a disappointed look on her face.
"You've gotten pretty good." Shark told her.
"Thanks." Rio responded.
With that, she walked off the stage and headed for one of the passageways leading off the arena floor. As soon as she felt she was out of sight of the audience, Rio ran through the large door. Cleo quickly left the dugout to go after her.
"Whatever." Shark huffed before leaving the stage.
"The next duel will be between Cleo Atlas and Mizael!" the referee announced. "The duel will begin in ten minutes!"
"Well that was quite the show." Alnia commented in the dugout she shared with her fellow Death Queens. "So that was the guy who was the leader of Don Thousand's pawns. He's actually not half bad. Still, someone like him has no chance against me."
"It wouldn't be wise to underestimate Ryoga Kamishiro." Chitose told her. "His Chaos Number could prove to be problematic for all of us, as we have just seen."
"Are you doubting my power Anitak?" Alnia asked.
"Not at all." Chitose answered. "I'm merely suggesting that we should all be cautious."
"Please. If anything, I'll be the only one of us that old Nasch there will be dueling in this tournament. And that's if he can get past the next round." Alnia pointed out. "Trust me, Sharkie-boy is toast if he winds up facing me."
Cleo found Rio in one of the stadium restrooms. The blunette was at the counter with the sink running wiping her face.
"Hey." Cleo spoke as Rio turned off the faucet, causing her to turn. "How're you feeling?"
"…Frustrated, more than anything." Rio answered after a moment. "In practically every duel my brother and I have had, he's beaten me. This time I thought I really had him, but then…"
Cleo walked up and turned Rio around to gently wipe a tear from her cheek. "Your brother's a very formidable duelist. I hate to admit it, but he seems even stronger than when I faced him two years ago. But you're a powerful duelist as well. With time, I know you'll get even stronger."
A small smile returned to Rio's face. She moved in to give the dark-haired girl a kiss on the lips. The kiss quickly deepened as Cleo pulled the shorter girl into a tight embrace. Their tongues did their familiar sensual dance against one another for a few moments before they were forced to break for air.
"Do me." Rio begged in a husky whisper.
A cocky smirk appeared on Cleo's face upon hearing this. Cleo nodded and got down on her knees. Rio gripped the restroom counter for support as Cleo pulled up her short blue skirt and pushed the crotch of her panties aside. The dark-haired girl's tongue slowly moved down the length of Rio's womanhood, causing her to let out a gasp of pleasure. Before long, Cleo's tongue began to probe the blunette, making her let out a deep moan and grip the counter even tighter. Eventually Rio felt herself coming to the edge, prompting her to grip the back of Cleo's head so she could buck her hips to hurry herself along.
Then at long last Rio came to a hard climax that caused her to throw her head back and let out a silent scream. Cleo got back to her feet and pulled the blunette close. She kissed Rio on her forehead, causing her to let out a contented sigh.
"We can continue this later, if you want." Cleo told her. "Right now though, I have a duel of my own coming up."
"Do you think you can beat Mizael?" Rio asked.
"Don't worry. That dragon tamer will be driven before me." Cleo confidently declared. "And in the next round, I'll pay your brother back for every defeat he's handed you."
Author's Note: Sorry that this chapter was a little bit on the short side. Those of you reading can blame it on the length of the duel. The original duel was to have the duel between Shark and Rio take place in a single chapter, but the scene in the beginning of the last chapter to show all the match ups and everything else ended up being way longer than I expected. There wasn't really any good way to shorten it, so the duel ended up being divided in two. So at the very least, I hope everyone enjoyed how this duel ended.
On a different note, my summer online class started up today. This means that updates to this story will start to slow down a bit, though I don't imagine they'll slow down too much since it seems like I have a pretty light workload for the whole class. But it all kind of depends on how involved each assignment ends up being.
Please review and let me know what you think.