Author's Note: I'd like to apologize for the long delay in getting this chapter up. I got really sidetracked by my little side project, The Gold Swordsman. It ended up getting a pretty big following, though the response to it was a bit mixed. Anyway, now that I've gotten that little story done, I'm going to be focusing more on getting this story done. I may also do a little work on this Digimon story I've since started, but I'll probably work on that story once a month at most since the response to it has been practically nonexistent.
Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL.
Chapter 20: Red Menace
The day of the Millennium Tournament's quarterfinal round had arrived, and once again people had come to the stadium in droves to watch the duels that were about to unfold. With Kaito having been eliminated from the tournament, he had used his family's connections to get a private skybox for Kotori and everyone else in Yuma's circle of friends to watch the event. Everyone except for Thomas had shown up at the skybox. Kotori couldn't help but admire how spacious the place was. The skybox was not only luxurious, but there was room for everyone in the group to be able to sit and watch.
"This sure is a lot better than watching from the stands." Kotori remarked.
"Yeah Kaito. Why didn't you get us a box like this from the beginning?" Vector asked as he helped himself to a drink in the mini-fridge. "Don't you like us enough?"
"We should be able to get a much better view of the action from up here." Kaito told the others, ignoring Vector's comment. "Not only that, we'll be able to hear everything that happens in the duel too. The windows are designed to pick up the signals from the duelists' D-Gazers."
"Guess I'll be able to watch my brother and Cleo's duel in style." Rio noted.
"I for one hope that Nasch destroys Atlas." Mizael remarked.
Down on the stadium floor, the referee took the stage. "Ladies and gentlemen! The quarterfinals of the Millennium Tournament are about to begin! Our first duel will be between Ryoga Kamishiro and Cleo Atlas!"
With that, the referee quickly stepped off the stage as the audience began to cheer. Shark and Cleo emerged from the dugout together and took the stage. The whole time, Shark had been giving Cleo a rather threatening glare.
"I hope you'll give me an entertaining challenge, Ryoga." Cleo told him. "It would be a real disappointment if I defeated you as easily as I did years ago."
"This won't be anything like the time we first dueled." Shark assured her. "This time around, I'm gonna wipe that arrogant smirk off your face."
"Please. As if you have a chance against me." Cleo spoke as she pointed her finger into the air. "There's only one empress of duelists, and that's me! Cleo Atlas!"
"Could your ego be any bigger?" Shark asked. "It's times like this when you almost make even Mizael seem more modest. You just make me want to go over there and slap you."
"You should be much nicer to me, Ryoga." Cleo told him. "After all, we are going to be family soon enough."
"What's Cleo mean by that?" Kotori asked up in the skybox.
"Cleo and I are engaged." Rio revealed, totally surprising everyone except for Durbe. "She proposed to me when we were in Neo Domino."
"So… you're getting married?" Kotori asked.
"As soon as I finish school." Rio happily confirmed. "Mrs. Atlas has already started planning the wedding."
"Oh wow! Does Nasch know about this?" Gilag asked.
"He does." Durbe answered. "So does Hikari, for that matter."
"You knew about this the whole time and didn't say anything?" Cathy asked.
"It was not my place to say." Durbe pointed out as he calmly adjusted his glasses.
"Well… congrats, Rio." Kotori finally told her. "We're all happy for you."
"Thanks." Rio replied. "I just wish that my brother was a little happier about all this."
"For the record, I'm still not totally behind you marrying my sister." Shark told Cleo down on the stage.
"Too bad." Cleo responded. "You're just going to have to deal with it."
"Let the duel begin!" the referee announced.
Shark and Cleo activated their D-Gazers, as did everyone in the audience. In seconds the color of the surrounding space took on a slight change.
"I'll start this off!" Shark announced as he drew his first card. "I set one card on the field. Then I summon Left-Hand Shark in Defense Mode!" The five-finned shark appeared on the field. "That ends my turn."
Cleo calmly drew her first card. "I summon Red Sprinter in Attack Mode!"
Materializing on Cleo's side of the battlefield was a horse-like demon with skin the color of dried blood. A pair of curled black horns grew from the beast's head, and in place of hooves its front legs had a pair of five-fingered hands. Its rear legs ended in a pair of feet with two toes growing from the front and the third toe growing from the back. Red flames burned on the back of the demon's head like a mane, and another much longer flame burned from its rear end like a tail. More much smaller red flames burned on its wrists and ankles like tufts of fur.
"When I've summoned Red Sprinter while I have no monsters on the field, I can summon a level three or lower Fiend-type Tuner from my hand or Graveyard!" Cleo announced. "From my hand, I summon Force Resonator!"
Another one of Cleo's Resonator demons appeared on the field next to Red Sprinter. This demon had a large ornate blue ball on his back, and a fin-like collar around his helmet.
"I tune the level two Force Resonator into the level four Red Sprinter for a level six Synchro Summon!" Cleo announced.
Force Resonator shot bolts of yellow lightning from his fingertips into the air before changing into two green rings of light. The rings encircled Red Sprinter and transformed its into four white stars.
"The crimson souls shall become one! All shall tremble before the might of the empress!" Cleo chanted. "Synchro Summon! Appear, Red Wyvern!"
The stars flashed and burst into a pillar of red flames. In moments the flames subsided to reveal an armless dragon with green eyes and red scales. A bright red flame burned from the top of the wyvern's head, and on the side of each wing it had a blade like flame.
"This is new." Hikari told the other duelists down in the dugout. "I've never seen Cleo use this Synchro Monster before."
"So Cleo must've changed up her deck to face Shark." Yuma realized. "Any idea what her new strategy might be?"
"Knowing Cleo, it probably involves summoning Red Nova." Hikari assumed. "Beyond that, I've got no clue."
"Considering the type of duelist that Cleo is, I'm certain there's more to her strategy than just summoning Red Nova." Astral theorized. "It's very likely that she has a plan in place to counter the power of Shark's Number. That is the only card Shark has that can successfully oppose Red Nova."
"Right! Because Number 101 can just turn Red Nova into an overlay unit." Yuma realized.
Astral nodded. "Cleo will see that coming. It's safe to say that she probably has some kind of countermeasure to Number 101 prepared."
"Red Wyvern, attack Left-Hand Shark!" Cleo commanded. "Scarlet Flare!"
Red Wyvern opened its beak-like jaws and shot a red fireball across the field. The flaming projectile hit Shark's monster and caused it to explode with a flash of fire and smoke.
Shark smirked. "Is that all you've got?"
"I'm only just getting started." Cleo told him. "I set one card on the field and end my turn!"
Shark drew his first card. "I summon Right-Hand Shark in Attack Mode!" His over five-finned shark appeared on the battlefield. "When Right-Hand Shark is summoned to the field, I can bring back Left-Hand Shark from the Graveyard as a level four monster!" With that, Right-Hand Shark's counterpart reappeared on the field. "I overlay the level four Left-Hand Shark and Right-Hand Shark to Xyz Summon Bahamut Shark!"
A blue vortex appeared in the center of the battlefield and pulled in Shark's two monsters as balls of blue energy. Soon after, Bahamut Shark rose from the vortex and roared at Cleo with two balls of blue light orbiting around him.
"I activate Bahamut Shark's effect!" Shark announced. "By detaching one of Bahamut Shark's overlay units, I can summon a rank three or lower Water Xyz Monster from my Extra Deck! I summon Submersible Carrier Aero Shark!"
One of the balls of light orbiting Bahamut Shark entered the crest on his head. A portal of blue light appeared next to Bahamut Shark, and from it flew a creature that looked like a pair of black sharks joined together by pieces of orange and grey armor. The two fins on the conjoined shark's body were completely armored, and it had grey armor around each mouth. The dorsal fins of the two sharks were joined together by a single orange and grey wing like the spoiler of a sports car.
"I activate Rank-Up-Magic Quick Chaos!" Shark announced. "I use Submersible Carrier Aero Shark to rebuild the overlay network and Xyz Summon CXyz Submersible Cruiser Comet Shark!"
A vortex of red light appeared in the middle of the field and pulled in Aero Shark as a ball of blue energy. Flying out of the vortex seconds later was Aero Shark in a new and larger form. Much of its armor had changed from orange to white, and the tops of each shark's head looked like the cockpit of a space shuttle. A pair of white rocket boosters joined together by what appeared to be a red fuel tank had replaced the creature's original wing-like blade. On the top of the tank was a large black metal shark's fin. On the ground next to Comet Shark was a red crystal covered with gold plates.
"I activate Red Wyvern's effect!" Cleo announced. "One time while Red Wyvern is on the field during either of our turns, I can use him to destroy an opponent's monster with the highest ATK! Since Bahamut Shark has 2600 ATK while Comet Shark only has 2200, Bahamut Shark's time on the field has now ended!"
Red Wyvern opened its jaws again and shot another fireball across the field. Bahamut Shark was hit in the chest and exploded with a blast of fired and smoke.
"Now that you've lost Bahamut Shark, you can no longer use his effect to summon low-ranking Xyz Monsters and evolve them with those Rank-Up-Magic cards of yours." Cleo noted. "Not only that, my Red Wyvern is 200 points stronger than your Comet Shark."
"Don't be so sure." Shark told her. "I activate Comet Shark's effect! By detaching one of his overlay units, Comet Shark does 600 points of damage for each card in my hand! I have three cards in my hand right now, which means you take 1800 points of damage!"
Three missile ports opened up on Comet Shark's dorsal fin, and the tips of its rocket boosters opened up to reveal more hidden weapons. The mouths on both heads of the cybernetic shark opened up to reveal a pair of large red missiles that were hidden inside. On Shark's command, Comet Shark fired every weapon hidden on its body at Cleo. The missiles instantly exploded upon hitting their target. When the smoke cleared, Cleo was still standing but her life points had dropped to 2200.
"Since Comet Shark was summoned using Aero Shark as material, it gains ATK equal to the damage it just dealt until the end of the turn!" Shark announced. "Which means its ATK rises to 4000!"
"If Nasch's attack gets through, Cleo will take a serious hit." Alit observed down in the dugout.
"That's not all!" Shark continued. "I activate my Trap, Xyz Reborn! With this card I summon Bahamut Shark back from the Graveyard!"
Bahamut Shark reappeared on the battlefield with a roar. The large card that had been Shark's Trap quickly turned into a ball of blue light and was pulled into Bahamut Shark's orbit.
"Bahamut Shark, attack Red Wyvern!" Shark commanded. "God Voice!"
Bahamut Shark opened his jaws and let loose a sonic blast. The sound wave traveled across the battlefield and hit Red Wyvern, causing the dragon to shatter into bits of gold light. Cleo's life points took a slight drop to 2000.
"Time to finish this!" Shark declared. "Comet Shark, attack Cleo directly! Star Shark Rush!"
"I activate my Trap, Reject Reborn!" Cleo announced as Comet Shark flew towards her. "This Trap cancels your attack and ends the Battle Phase! And in the process, I can summon a Tuner monster and a Synchro Monster from the Graveyard with their effects negated. I summon back Force Resonator and Red Wyvern!"
As Comet Shark came near, a pillar of purple light burst up from the ground and froze the cybernetic shark in its path. The pillar of light quickly faded to reveal that Red Wyvern and Force Resonator were back on the field.
"Impressive." Astral remarked. "In a single move, Cleo negated Shark's attack and brought together everything she needed for another Synchro Summon."
"And we can guess what Synchro Monster that Cleo plans on summoning next." Hikari added.
"Thank you for playing right into my hands, Ryoga." Cleo told him. "I knew you'd be bold enough to try and finish me off in one turn. I would expect nothing less from my future brother-in-law."
"Did you really just have to call me that?" Shark asked with a look of disgust.
"Just what is it that you have against me, Ryoga?" Cleo asked.
"You're stuck-up and arrogant, for one thing." Shark answered. "Plus in our past lives you kidnapped my sister."
"Oh please. It's not like she was a prisoner." Cleo told him. "Besides, that was in another life, as you just said. But since we're on the subject of our shared past, is there some other objection for you have from there about me marrying Rio? Like what happened with Arclight?"
"…Nah, I'm not mad at you for that." Shark answered, looking towards the ground with his eyes. "I know I got pissed at you for letting Rio get hurt, but I know that none of that was your fault. If anything, you tried to stop her from going. So I'm not mad about that anymore."
"Glad to hear it." Cleo replied. "Now, I assume you're done with your turn?"
"Yeah, go ahead." Shark answered.
Cleo drew her next card. "I think you know what's coming next. I tune the level two Force Resonator into the level six Red Wyvern for a level six Synchro Summon!"
Force Resonator shot bolts of lightning from his fingers into the air and transformed into two green rings of light. The rings encircled Red Wyvern and changed him into six white stars.
"The ruler's heartbeats will now file through here! Take witness to its creation-shaking power!" Cleo chanted. "Synchro Summon! My very soul, Red Dragon Archfiend!"
The stars flashed and became a pillar of light that shot into the sky. The light quickly faded and Red Dragon Archfiend appeared on the field with a roar.
"I summon Red Resonator in Attack Mode!" Cleo announced.
Another Resonator demon appeared on Cleo's side of the field, but it was much different than the demons that she had used before. His robes appeared to be made of red flames, and hanging down the front of his chest was a purple banner bearing a red symbol that looked like the letter A. On the back of the little demon were two sets of black rods joined together by red orbs in a way that made them look almost like wings. Small red flames burned on the demon's helmet in place of horns. In his right hand he carried a large golden tuning fork, and in his left he held a gold rod with a red orb on the tip.
"When Red Resonator is summoned to the field, I can summon a level four or lower monster from my hand!" Cleo continued. "I summon a second Red Resonator!" Another flaming Resonator demon identical to the first materialized on the field. "Since my second Red Resonator was special summoned, I can target another monster on the field and gain life points equal to its ATK. And of course the monster I choose it Red Dragon Archfiend!"
The second Red Resonator began to glow with a red aura and fired sparks of red light from the orb on his rod at Cleo. Cleo's life points rose from 2000 all the way to 5000.
"I don't believe it." An amazed Hikari spoke. "Not only did Cleo summon everything she needs to bring forth Red Nova, she regained more life points than she had to start with."
"I tune both my level two Red Resonators into my level eight Red Dragon Archfiend for a level twelve Synchro Summon!" Cleo announced.
Both of the little demons clinked their tuning forks and changed into four rings made of crimson fire. The rings encircled Red Dragon Archfiend and began like a small burning sun.
"The Empress and the Devil shall here and now be as one! A Raging Spirit! Lift up the very cries of Creation itself!" Cleo chanted. "Synchro Summon! The power to smite the gods, Red Nova Dragon!"
With that, the star exploded and Red Nova Dragon burst forth from the flames. The dragon roared at Bahamut Shark and Comet Shark, prompting Bahamut Shark to growl in response.
"Know this, Ryoga!" Cleo spoke. "We may be family in the near future, but for right now in this duel, I will see you driven before me!"
Author's Note: I hope nobody thinks that it's weird that Cleo used some of the cards originally used by her father's Arc-V counterpart. I couldn't think of any other way to improve her deck. Besides, I consider writing a duel with those cards in this story to be practice for another story I've been developing on and off for almost a year now. ;)
Please review and let me know what you think.