Remnant: Time to Duel

by vanquish356

After a grueling week of exams and projects, Team Cfvy, Team Rwby, and Team Jnpr plan on unwinding with a movie and snacks in the student lounge. But while getting some games, Ruby accidentally brings Jaune's collection of Yu-Gi-Oh cards. And then asking, Jaune agrees to teach them how to play. Little did Jaune know, this would create a new wave of duelists in every academy.

5. Chapter 5

Remnant: Time to Duel

Chapter 5

"Alright. Now if you sign at the bottom, we can wrap up this meeting." The man, whose name was Roland, said as he passed the paper toward Terra along with a pen.

"Hold on a minute." Saphron said, taking the paper. Not for the first time in her life, Saphron was thankful that her father and older sister were lawyers and business owners and that they taught her and everyone else how to read contracts and find loopholes and traps. "I need to look through this first. I know how companies and their contracts are, and I will not let my wife get screwed over by them again."

"That's smart and admirable. I know how some companies can be. If you have any questions, ask me, not them." Winter said, recalling all the dirty tactics her father used to undermine and take advantage of other companies.

"Oh, I will." Saphron said with a glare. It was relatively common knowledge the reason why Winter joined the Atlas military. But if there was nothing that Saphron knew for a fact was that you never truly get away from your family's influence. And she knew she was a good example as she was often still chaotic at times despite leaving her family to gain some semblance of normality. So there was a high chance that some teachings of Winter's father still remained in her. Luckily, it seemed like Saphron wouldn't need to ask Winter anything, as there were no loopholes in the contract. "Well. It seems like everything is fine."

"We told you." One of the other employees said, only to shrink under Winter's glare.

"So you can go ahead and sign it, dear." Saphron said, handing the paper to Terra.

"Okay. And there. Here you go." Terra said as she handed the paper to Roland.

"Thank you." Roland said as he placed the paper Terra signed and the paper the Yu-Gi-Oh creators signed into a suitcase. "A member of our company, Black Crown, will be in contact with both of you shortly."

"Thanks again for the offer." Terra said as she escorted the others to the front door and opened it.

"Have a good day, everyone." Saphron said.

"Have a good day." Roland said as he, his co-workers, and the Yu-Gi-Oh creators exited the house. However, before Winter could do the same, Saphron pulled her to the side.

"Yes?" Winter asked, curious as to why the Arcs stopped her.

"We just have a question." Terra said.

"What is it?"

"While we don't mind you here, but why were you with these corporate bigwigs? I thought from the rumors we heard that you don't like being anywhere near those kinds of people." Saphron asked.

"Yes, from what you have heard, you are correct. I typically do my best to avoid corporate bigwigs unless ordered to by General Ironwoods. However, I am not here because of Ironwood, but rather my sister." Winter said, confusing the others.

"Your sister?"

"Yes, my sister Weiss. She recently got introduced to the game of Yu-Gi-Oh by one of her classmates/friends. And Weiss has become somewhat addicted to the game as, from what she has told me, she has been collecting cards and even signed up for a tournament. But I digress. She recently contacted me and informed me that she learned from her classmate that his sister-in-law was the one the created the Duel Disks. Yet, due to some rather unfortunate luck, you were unable to find a company willing to mass produce them."

"That's one way to say how it went." Terra muttered before motioning for Winter to continue.

"Weiss texted me and said she wanted to repay Jaune in some way for not only introducing her to Yu-Gi-Oh but also helping her bridge the gap between herself and her teammates. She knew of some companies that were on the lookout for mass-producing items that kids would love. And the Dark Clown was one of them and is the most reputable. Weiss then asked me to contact them and arrange the meeting. I wouldn't have typically done this since I'm generally pressed for time. But I agreed to do it when I remembered how her friend helped her break out of her shell. I also came along to ensure they wouldn't try and use any of their usual dirty, underhanded tactics."

"Oh, well. Thanks." Terra said, not expecting that answer nor for Jaune to be the one that's indirectly responsible for her creation being mass-produced.

"Well, I must be off now. I still have work to do. Goodnight." Winter said before leaving with Saphron closing the door. However, as soon as the door closed, both Saprhon and Terra nearly jumped in cheer.

"YES!" They cheered as they hugged each.

"YAY!" Adrian cheered, giggling despite not knowing why Saprhon and Terra were happy.

"This is big, Terra." Saphron said.

"It sure is, Saph. I'm finally getting my invention mass-produced." Terra said.

"And with all the money that will come from this, you can finally quit your work as the CCT Technician."

"But I will still have to find another job as some extra lien never hurts. But this time, it will be one where I can work from home or close to home."

"Of course. An extra source of income never hurts, and we might need it since Adrian is soon heading to school. But we can worry about that later. Right now, we need to celebrate."

"Of course." Terra said, pulling Saphron in a hug while looking forward to now being able to spend more time with her family. "Although, we still need to find a way to repay your brother since he is the one who basically made this happen."

"Right. We have to thank him for this. Plus, I still have to find a gift for my dweeb of a brother since his birthday is coming up."

"Maybe you get him some X-Ray and Vav comics and not tease him the next time he comes to visit."

"Oh, please. You know it's a cardinal sin if the older sister doesn't tease their younger brother, especially if they're crushing on someone or have someone crushing on them."

"Times like this make me happy I grew up as an only child."

"Come on. We can think about how we're going to pay Jaune back later. Right now, we need to celebrate this moment." Saphron said, pulling Terra back to the living room.

Beacon Academy

Monday, Start of the Vytal Festival

Team JNPR's Dorm

"Okay. That should do it." Jaune said as he put his newly constructed Infernoble/Noble Knights together. "Hopefully, it works out."

"It has been a while since we battled together, Infernoble Knight Astolfo." Noble Knight Artorigus said.

"It sure has been, Noble Knight Artorigus." Infernoble Knight Astolfo said as they watched their deck master fumble around his room.

"Alright. Now for the Duel Disk." Jaune said as he headed toward his closet, where he hid the Duel Disk Terra sent him. Thankfully, his friends and teammates didn't find it. Although, there was a close call with Nora and Ruby as they wanted to grab his old duel disk so they could see their monsters as life-size holograms. Luckily, Ren and Yang were there to stop them in time before they found the new duel disk.

"I prefer this new duel disk over the old one. It's much more spacious than the previous one." Infernoble Knight Astolfo said.

"And more comfortable." Noble Knight Artorigus agreed before turning to Jaune. "Does it feel any different, Sir Arc?"

"Yeah. It's comfier and doesn't chafe the skin when I'm not wearing a sweater or long-sleeved shirt. It's also far lighter than the other one." Jaune answered.

"How much do they weigh?" Infernoble Knight Astolfo asked.

"The previous weighed about twenty-five pounds. This one, surprisingly, only weighs about eight pounds."

"Your sister-in-law certainly has made some breakthrough." Noble Knight Artorigus said.

"Even with the Mathmechs helping her, it's still impressive." Infernoble Knight Astolfo added. "That reminds me. Do you know who we are facing, Sir Jonathan?"

"No. All I know from the letters Terra sent with the Duel Disk is that we're supposed to be in a Tag Duel in a few hours with others that previously won Tournaments at one point. But none of them were from the current or previous few formats." Jaune answered, wondering who he would be his partner and who he would be facing. He just hoped they were somewhat friendly as he didn't want a repeat of the event at the tournament that caused him to stop going.

*Knock Knock*

"Quick. Hide." Jaune quietly said to his Duel Spirits. They nodded before returning to the deck while Jaune hid his Duel Disk in his bag. Once he closed it, he turned to the door. "Yes? Who is it?"

"It's Ren." The muffled voice of Ren answered.

"Coming." Jaune said as he moved to open the door. "Hey, Ren."

"Hey, Jaune. Is everything alright? I heard some voices." Ren asked.

"Yeah, everything is fine. I was just talking with some friends."

"Okay. Are you ready to go? The others are waiting for us at the bullhead."

"I'm ready. Just give me a moment to grab the things on my bed." Jaune answered before heading to grab his bag. Luckily, he had the foresight to put on his armor and holster his weapon and shield. "Okay. Let's get going."

Nodding, Ren waited while Jaune locked the dorm's door. Once Jaune finished, they made their way down the halls toward the exit. But while Jaune was focused on figuring out who he would meet at the park, Ren's mind was like a hurricane of different thoughts and worries. For starters, he was starting to get concerned about Pyrrha, Velvet, and Jaune's obliviousness to their affection and hints. They were starting to get impatient, and who knows what would happen if it reached a boiling point. 'I just hope Jaune is prepared.' Ren thought, worried for the one he now saw as a brother.

But Ren then moved to hold the deck box he uses to carry his deck. While he always considered himself to be the more sane of the group, he feared that might change soon. At first, Ren began hearing voices despite being the only one in the room or the only one awake. But after a few days, he noticed the voices seemed to be coming from his deck. Yet that wasn't the strangest part. The next night, Ren could have sworn there were mysterious people in the dorm. But what set him on edge was how they closely resembled the monsters in his Ancient Warrior deck. Initially, Ren dismissed that event due to the hit to the head he took while sparring with Yang. However, that changed when he overheard Nora, Blake, and Ruby talking about weird voices coming from their decks.

"Are you okay, Ren? You seem tense. Is something wrong?" Jaune asked, snapping Ren from his thoughts.

"Yes. I was just thinking about my deck." Ren lied.

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Are you thinking about adding some cards to your deck or getting a new deck to replace it? Or do you want to get another deck like I have?"

"I want to get some new cards to support my Ancient Warriors. But I also want to get another game mat that has the design of the Ancient Warriors."

"I think I saw some Ancient Warrior game mats online last week. And I think they are still at a discount, but I'll check later. But if you want, after we return later today, we can go through some of my cards to see if they could work well with your Ancient Warriors."

"I would appreciate that, Jaune." Ren said, smiling as they arrived at the bullheads.

"Anytime, Ren." Jaune said, nodding as their friends approached them.

"Is everything alright? What took you guys?" Yang asked.

"I had to ask Professor Port some questions." Ren answered.

"And I needed to get some things for something I need to do in Vale." Jaune lied.

"Like what, Jaune?" Pyrrha asked.

"I need to drop off some letters and packages for my family and sister, Saphron. I also grabbed a list I made for something I need for an extra credit project."

"Can we come with you? We can get it done quicker if we're together. And with the spare time we have, we can do something else." Velvet asked, moving closer to Jaune while glaring at Pyrrha, who returned it with an equally fierce glare.

"Sorry, bun-bun. But we have a few things we need to do ourselves as a team." Coco said.

"Oh, right." Velvet said with her ears drooping a bit.

"And aren't you supposed to go meet with your agent, cereal girl?" Yang asked.

"Oh, I forgot about that." Pyrrha answered, not for the first time cursing all the downsides that came from being a celebrity.

"But if you two want, after we compete in the tournament, we can do something together." Jaune suggested, not liking seeing his friends upset.

"We would like that." Pyrrha and Velvet said, happy but also glaring at each other.

"But first, we need to head into town. And we better get on board now; the pilots are getting impatient." Weiss said, pointing to the pilots who were looking at their watches.

"Right." Everyone said before getting on the bullhead and taking their seats.

One Hour Later

Vale

"Alright. Where should we meet, and at what time?" Nora asked.

"Perhaps in about three hours, we can meet in front of the A Simple Wok street shop." Blake suggested.

"That works. See you guys later. Come, bun-bun. Since we got some time, I can have you try on some clothes for you know what." Coco said with a wink before dragging a blushing Velvet to the nearest clothes shop.

"I'll call you guys once I finish meeting with my agent." Pyrrha sighed before leaving.

"Come, Renny. You promised me that we would visit our favorite shop." Nora said, excited. Nodding, Ren smiled and grabbed Nora's hand before leaving.

"Alright. I'll see you guys later." Jaune said, waving at Team Rwby before heading toward the park.

"See you later, Vomnit Boy." Yang shouted, causing Jaune to roll his eyes as he turned a corner.

"Must she always call you that?" Noble Knight Iyvanne asked, curious, as he petted his pet lion.

"Yang doesn't always call me that. Ruby sometimes does as well. But it's all in good times." Jaune answered as they walked side by side.

"How did it come about?" Infernoble Knight Ogier asked, curious.

"When we were first heading to Beacon, I threw up on her shoes because my motion sickness was acting up."

"It still surprised me that you have motion sickness." Noble Knight Iyvanne said.

"It's more common than you think." Jaune whined, tired of people asking him that.

"Either way, where are we supposed to fight?" Infernoble Knight Ogier asked.

"In the nearby park. But I still have no idea who I am meeting."

"Well, we wish you luck, Sir Arc." Noble Knight Iyvanne said as the duel spirits disappeared.

"I WONDER when they will stop calling me that and only call me Jaune." Jaune thought, slightly annoyed.

But the annoyed feeling quickly left with a sense of delight replacing it. While Jaune feigned ignorance earlier, he actually knew what was going through Ren's mind. After all, he went through the same experience with his Noble Knights and Infernoble Knights. It was the steps the Duel Spirits took when they thought it was time to reveal themselves to their deck master.

"Man, I remember when the Infernobles and Noble Knights did the same to me years ago. I actually thought I lost my mind." Jaune said, chuckling as the memories returned. However, a horrifying thought came to mind a second later.

And it was about what would happen when the Thunder Dragons revealed themselves to Nora. After all, they were massive dragons.

"I just hope they do so outside." Jaune said, worried, as he finally reached the park. Looking around, Jaune noticed that he was the only one there. Figuring that he was early, Jaune decided to put on his new Duel Disk and sit at one of the nearby chairs until whoever he was supposed to duel against arrived. "Hopefully, they get here soon."

One Hour Later

'I really should have brought one of my comics or a drink or something.' Jaune thought, feeling bored and impatient as he continued examining his Duel Disk. However, he snapped his head up when he heard someone walking toward him. The person wore a dark vest over an untucked white dress shirt with a loose tie around the collar, a pair of dark dress pants, silver dress shoes, and a dark glove. But what caught Jaune's eyes was the trumpet and Duel Disk the person was carrying. "Yes? Can I help you?"

"Yeah. Are you here for the Yu-Gi-Oh tag duel to test out these new Duel Disks?" The guy asked.

"Yeah. I am. I'm Jaune Arc."

"Flynt. Flynt Coal. Nice to meet you, Jaune." Flynt said as they shook hands.

"Likewise."

"So, have you seen the others we're supposed to team up or face off against?"

"No. I've been here for about an hour and haven't seen anyone besides you."

"When do you think the others will arrive?"

"Well, we were supposed to meet here by four-thirty, and it's about to be five. Maybe they are running late? Let's give them another hour. Perhaps something came up, or they are coming from another Kingdom."

"That might be the case since I'm from Atlas." Flynt said as he sat down next to Jaune. "So, what should we do in the meantime?"

"Well, since we might be partners in this tag duel, how about we go over our decks? But not the strategies or anything."

"Sure." Jaune answered, figuring there was no harm in that. "I run Noble Knights and Infernoble. But for this tag duel, I'm using a hybrid of the two."

"Nice. I use a Djinn deck."

"Djinn? Which ones? The ritual support, that one weird dragon XYZ support card, or the ones with the cute fiends playing music?"

"The last one." Flynt said before feeling something familiar tap his shoulder. "Speaking of which. Mind if I ask you a question?"

"Sure. Go ahead." Jaune answered.

"Do you ever think that some Duel Monsters are alive? I mean, they look so real, and sometimes when I duel, they seem to come to life."

"Oh, I get it. You're talking about the Duel Spirits." Jaune said, now realizing what Flynt was getting at.

"Wait. You know about the Duel Spirits?" Flynt asked, surprised but hopeful.

"Yup. I've met the Duel Spirits of both of my decks. And I mean all of them." Jaune answered as Artorigus, King of the Noble Knights and Infernoble Knight Emperor Charles, appeared behind him.

"Now, that's cool. But meet my friends. You guys can come out now." Flynt said as the XYZ Djinn monsters appeared on his shoulders while Maestroke the Symphony Djinn appeared behind him.

"This is an odd sight for anyone not in the know." Jaune said, chuckling.

"Oh, definitely." Flynt agreed as the Duel Spirits returned to their respective decks. "Anyway. Are you competing in the Vytal Festival?"

"Yeah. Me and my team. We're supposed to face off against Team BRNZ later. What about you?"

"My partner Neon and I are going against someone called Yang and another called Weiss."

"Oh, so you're going against some of my friends."

"Seems like it. Speaking of which, have you introduced them to the game?"

"Yes, about three months ago. And they have really gotten into the game." Jaune said, chuckling at how passionate his friends were about the game now. "What about your partner?"

"I'll tell you later. It looks like we have company." Flynt said, pointing in front of them. Looking toward where he was pointing, Jaune saw a girl about their age with platinum blonde hair and olive green eyes that wore a yellow robe with only one wide, loose-fitting sleeve over a black tube top and black pants. And on her arm was a Duel Disk like theirs.

"And another behind us." Jaune said, pointing the other way. Turning around, they saw a girl with short black bob-style hair with a straight fringe and pale green eyes, highlighted by heavy red makeup heading toward them. She wore a red strapless dress with black and dark red lace layered tulle that hung down more than the dress. She also had a large long, wing-like red feather, two short white feathers above her left ear, and a short black fur shrug held by four beaded chains with a white gemstone in the center.

"I guess we're all here." Flynt said as they stood up.

"Do you know either of them?"

"The one with blond hair, no. But the other one, I think I read an article about someone that looked similar the belonged to a gang, but I'm not sure." Flynt answered as the two girls reached them. "Hello."

"Hi." Jaune said, unsure of what to say.

"Hello." The girl with blond hair said, smiling as she looked between the three of them.

"Hi." The girl wearing a red dress said, sounding bored as she looked over the others. Her gaze did linger on Jaune for a bit longer, but he didn't notice.

"I take you three are here for the tag duel with our new Duel Disks, right?" The girl with blond hair asked.

"Yes." The others answered.

"Sorry, I'm late. I had to get away from my team, and the bullhead that was bringing my team here was late." The girl with blond hair said.

"And I had to escape my sister and create a reasonable excuse so my uncle would let me off my shift early." The girl wearing a red dress said.

"Hopefully, we didn't keep you two waiting too long." The girl with blond hair said.

"Not really." Jaune said.

"Yeah. I only got here about ten minutes ago." Flynt added.

"That's good. I'm Arslan Altan, by the way." Arslan said, holding her hand to shake.

"Jaune Arc." Jaune said as he shook Arslan's hand.

"Flynt Coal." Flynt said as he shook her hand.

"Miltia Malachite." The girl wearing a red dress said while keeping her arms crossed while continuing to look at Jaune, making him feel uneasy.

"So, what now?" Jaune asked, taking a step back.

"Well, we're supposed to do a tag duel to test out our new Duel Disks. We might as well start." Flynt answered.

"But first, how about we tell each other our decks?" Arslan suggested before adding. "And I just mean the names of our decks, not our strategies."

"I run a Symphony of Djinn deck." Flynt answered.

"I run two decks, and the one I have on me is a hybrid of the two, which is a Noble Knight/Infernoble Knight deck." Jaune answered.

"I use a Bounzer Deck." Miltia Malachite said.

"Wow. I haven't heard about that deck in a while." Flynt said.

"What about you, Arslan?" Jaune asked.

"I run a Gladiator Beast deck." Arslan answered.

"Now that we have that out of the way. How should we go about setting up this tag duel?" Miltia asked.

"First, how should we go about the life points? Share 16,000 life points or each duelist has their own separate life points, and if one goes down, the other continues?" Flynt asked.

"Let's do the traditional way. Share life points." Arslan answered with Miltia and Jaune nodding.

"But how should we do the duel? Boys against girls or find out some other way?" Jaune asked.

"How about we determine by rolling a die? But if that fails, we go with what you said." Miltia answered.

"That works." Flynt said.

"Okay. So even is one team and odds is the other." Arslan said as Jaune grabbed a die from his bag.

"Here goes." Jaune said as he rolled the die, followed by the others. Jaune got a four, and Flynt got a six. Arlsan rolled a three while Miltia got a five.

"Alright. We have the teams. Now, who goes first?" Flynt asked as they moved to an open spot in the park.

"Flip a coin." Miltia answered.

"Alright. Heads or Tails?" Jaune asked.

"Tails."

"Alright. And its head. We'll let you go first." Flynt said.

"Now between teammates." Arslan said as she turned to Miltia. They then played with Miltia winning while Flynt won against Jaune.

"Okay. So the order is Miltia, me, Arslan, and finally, Jaune." Flynt said as everyone got into position.

"Fine by us." Arslan and Miltia said as everyone slid their decks into their Duel Disks before activating the Duel Disks themselves. But unlike the previous versions, which sent out a Hologram Generator, the front of the Duel Disks began to glow, indicating the hologram projectors were ready.

"This is so much better." Jaune said, relieved that everything was so much lighter and he didn't have to worry about the portable hologram projectors getting damaged.

"LET'S DUEL!" Everyone said as their life points appeared behind them.

Meanwhile

A block away

"So when should we go to the colosseum to watch the fights?" A young kid asked his older sister.

"In about an hour, so we'll be in our seats by the time the first fight starts. Right now, they are making the announcements, followed by the preliminaries." The older sister answered.

"What should we do in the meantime?"

"Maybe we can look at some of the stores? I heard Vale has some of the best stores for cosplay."

"Really?" The younger brother asked, not looking forward to it. "Can we at least go get something to eat afterward?"

"Sure. What would you like? I think I saw a burger place and a-"

"Hey." The younger brother interjected. Annoyed, the older sister looked toward her brother but became confused when she noticed he was pointing ahead of them. Turning to where he was pointing, she saw four people standing in the middle of the park with giant hologram numbers behind them. And on their arms were weird machines. "What are they doing?"

"I'm not sure. But it won't hurt to take a closer look. And I doubt they would mind some spectators. Come. Let's see what they are up to." Nodding, the older sister ran after her younger brother when he suddenly dashed to the park.

Park

With the Duelists

"My turn." Miltia said as she drew her five cards. "First, I'll summon Maurading Captain."

"Wow. Now that's awesome." Jaune said as Maurading Captain appeared on the field. And not only did he look more realistic and solid, but when he landed on the ground, he made an indent on the floor.

"And his effect allows me to summon a level four warrior monster from my hand. It's your shift now, Blade Bounzer." Maurading Captain raised his arm and made a gesture with Blade Bounzer appearing next to him. Blade Bounzer then let out a roar while brandishing the blades on his arms. "I'll set three cards and end my turn."

"My turn. I draw. First, I'll activate my spell card: Double Summon. Now I'll summon the Tour Guide from the Underworld." Flynt said as he played his cards. But once he summoned Tour Guide, a bus flew onto the field with the Tour Guide exiting the vehicle.

"Hi, everyone." Tour Guide of the Underworld said in a cheery voice.

"And her effect lets me special summon one level three monster from my hand or deck. I'll choose my deck."

"Thank you for sitting in your correct seat this time. Everyone, welcome my good friend, Sangan." As the Tour Guide announced this, a smiling three-eyed furball with arms and legs got off the bus and stood next to the Tour Guide.

"Now, I will summon Goblindbergh, and with its effect, I can special summon one level four or lower monster from my hand. This time it will be Star Drawer." Flynt said. And no sooner than he did, everyone heard the sounds of a plane. Looking up, everyone saw Goblindbergh flying to the field and landing next to Sangan. And once it was on the ground, Star Drawer hopped out and drew a star in the air.

"Wow. The lady that made these duel disks really went out. I almost can't tell if they are real or not." Miltia said, impressed.

"Now. I will build the overlay network. By using my Tour Guide and Sangan, I XYZ summon."

"Come on, little buddy." Tour Guide from the Underworld said. Nodding, Sangan and Tour Guide turned into brightly colored spheres that circled each other before colliding together that nearly blinded everyone.

With the Siblings

"Wow, that was bright." The older sister said.

"Yeah. But what is this game?" The younger brother asked.

"I have no idea. But it does seem interesting."

"What do you think that guy is bringing out?"

"No clue. But it looks like we're about to find out." The older sister said as the light died down.

With the Duelists

"Play us a little tune. Welcome, Melomelody the Brass Djinn." Flynt said as Melomelody appeared on the field. It then began to play a quick song on its trumpet. "But I'm not done yet, as every band needs a conductor. Now with Star Drawer and Goblindbergh, I XYZ summon again and bring out Maestroke the Symphony Djinn."

Goblindbergh and Star Drawer nodded before turning into stars and colliding together. And once the light died down, a tall figure wearing clothes similar to a conductor of an orchestra appeared. In its hand was a sword. The figure did a flourish with his sword before landing next to Melomelody.

"And thanks to Star Drawer's effect, Maestroke gains an additional effect. When it is XYZ summoned, I get to draw a card." Flynt said as he drew a card. "I will set two cards and end my turn."

"My turn. I draw." Arslan said as she drew her card. "First, I'll activate my Field Spell Card: Colosseum - Cage of the Gladiator Beasts."

Half a Mile Away

"Uh, hey, Neptune." Sun said, getting his best friend's attention.

"Yeah, Sun?" Neptune asked.

"Correct me if wrong, but was there always a Colosseum in Vale, one that looks like it's about to fall apart?"

"Uh, no. Where did that question come from anyway?" Neptune asked, confused.

"Cause I see the top of what appears to be a Colosseum about a half mile away from us. And I think it's in the nearby park."

"Oh, yeah. How about we head the other way? Or get some desserts with bananas?" Neptune suggested, recognizing the design as the Field Spell card for Gladiator Beasts.

"Come on, Neptune. Don't you want to see what's happening?"

"Not really. Plus, our match is going to start soon."

"If by soon, you mean three hours. Come on. What's the harm in checking it out? I promise it will be quick." And without giving him a chance to respond, Sun ran off in the direction of the Colosseum. Groaning, Neptune ran after his best friend. But what neither of them had noticed was that they weren't the only ones that saw the Colosseum. Other students, soldiers, and civilians saw it as well and wanted to see what was happening.

With the Duelists

"Next, I will set one card. Then I will activate my continuous spell card: Gladiator Rejection. If a Gladiator Beast monster is special summoned from my deck, I can special summon another one as long as it's a different type. Now I will summon Gladiator Beast Hoplomus."

The ground began to shake as a rhino with armor appeared on the field. It let out a huff with smoke coming from its nostrils while slamming its arms into the ground. Metal plates came off its body and started circling the monster as if protecting it.

"And since I have a Gladiator Beast monster on the field, I can special summon Test Tiger from my hand. Now I will activate Test Tiger's second effect. By tributing it and another Gladiator Beast monster I control, I can special summon one Gladiator Beast monster from my deck and treat it as if it were special summoned by a Gladiator Beast monster. I'll choose Gladiator Beast Augustus, and its effect allows me to special summon from my hand one Gladiator Beast monster. I'll choose Gladiator Beast Vespasius."

Test Tiger and Gladiator Beast Hoplomus let out a roar before disappearing. Then everyone heard a loud screech as Gladiator Beast Augustus landed where Test Tiger was. And on its back was Gladiator Beast Vespasius, which slid down to the ground. They both then let out a fierce roar while pointing their weapons at Flynt's monsters.

"And Gladiator Rejcetion's effect activates, allowing me to special summon one Gladiator Beast from my deck to the field. I'll special summon Gladiator Beast Laquari. Now I will send Gladiator Beast Augustus and Gladiator Beast Vespasius back to my deck to fusion summon Gladiator Beast Tamer Editor. And its effect allows me to special summon one Gladiator Beast Fusion monster from my extra deck, ignoring its summoning condition. I'll choose my boss monster and the leader of the Gladiator Beasts, Gladiator Beast Heraklinos."

Arslan's monsters let out a roar as a blurry circle encompassed both of them. Their forms began to blur as a new monster began to take shape. A staff appeared, followed by the rest of Gladiator Beast Tame Editor as the blurriness vanished. Tame Editor let out a roar while pointing its staff at one of the Colosseum's doors. They soon opened to reveal Gladiator Beast Heraklinos. Heraklinos bashed its weapon against its shield before leaping onto the field next to Tame Editor.

"And since I special summoned from my deck twice, my monsters gain two hundred attack and defense points. With that, I end my turn."

"My turn. I draw. Let's see." Jaune said, looking at the cards in his hand.

"Hold on. I'm activating my continuous trap card: Gladiator Naumachia." Arslan said, pressing a button on her Duel Disk to activate her Trap card.

"Yeah. That's not happening. I'll activate my trap card: Heavy Storm Duster. This lets me destroy up to two spell/trap cards on the field at the cost of giving up my battle phase this turn. But since it isn't my turn, I don't have to worry about that cost." Flynt said, activating his trap card.

"What cards are you destroying?" Miltia asked.

"I'll destroy your middle set card and Arslan's Gladiator Rejection spell card." With the targets declared, two dust storms appeared from the card and headed toward Arslan's spell card and Miltia's set card. But unlike the times he activated it with the previous Duel Disk, everyone felt the winds of the trap card as it destroyed its targets. The others even thought the storm might actually blow them off their feet.

"Well, there goes that plan." Arslan said as she sent her spell card to the graveyard.

"Luckily, the card he destroyed on my side wasn't that important. At least, at this moment." Miltia said as she sent her trap card: Trap Hole of Spikes, to the graveyard.

"So, what's your move, Jaune?" Flynt asked.

"I'll summon Noble Knight Medraut. And I'll equip him with Noble Arms-Arfeudutyr." Jaune answered as Noble Knight Medraut took to the field. A sword then appeared beside him, which he took and holstered. "Now I'll activate Noble Arms's effect. By lowering Noble Knight Medraut's attack points by 500, I can destroy one set card my opponent controls. I'll target your set card on the right, Miltia."

"And I'll chain your effect by activating the card. It is Trap Trick. By banishing one trap card from my deck, which, in this case, will be the Trap Card: Impenetrable Attack, I can set another trap card on my field. And the best part is that I can activate that card during this turn." Miltia said as she activated her trap card. Noble Knight Medraut unsheathed Arfeudutyr, charged to Miltia's side, and destroyed her card. But the effect already went through, allowing Miltia to banish a trap card and set one with the same name on her field.

"That sucks. Anyway, since I control no other monsters, I will activate Medraut's effect to special summon one Noble Knight monster from my deck in defense position. I'll special summon Noble Knight Iyvanne. But since I used this effect, I have to destroy one Noble Arms equip spell card I control."

With Neptune and Sun

"What's going on?" Sun asked as he and Neptune made it to the Colosseum. But Sun became confused when he saw four students in the center of the field surrounded by monsters.

"Wow. I didn't know Jaune was a tournament winner." Neptune said, surprised.

"Tournament winner? Tournament winner of-WOAH! Where did that lion come from? And why did a second one suddenly appear?"

"I wanted to keep it a secret, but it looks like I can't. Sun. What you see in front of you are Duel Monsters. And what they are playing is a game called Yu-Gi-Oh. And the four that are playing are tournament winners."

"How do you know that?" Sun asked, curious.

"I play the game. I use a deck called Mermails." Neptune answered, taking out his deck with his boss monster: Mermail Abyssgaios, on top.

"Wow. I wasn't expecting that. But the game seems interesting. And the monsters look so real. Do you think you can explain to me what's happening?"

"For you, sure. Just be prepared to get lost and confused a lot." Neptune agreed as a crowd started forming.

With the Duelists

"Since Noble Arms-Arfeudutyr was destroyed and sent to the graveyard, I can equip it to another Noble Knight monster I control. This time it will be Noble Knight Iyvanne. Now, since I control a Noble Arms equip card, I can special summon Noble Knight Custennin from my hand." Jaune said as Noble Knight Custennin appeared and plunged his sword into the ground. "Next, I will build the Overlay Network. I XYZ summon with Noble Knight Medraut and Noble Knight Custennin."

The two Noble Knights took out their swords and brought them together before nodding. They then turned into bright stars that merged into one before rising into the sky and falling to the ground in a brilliant explosion.

"Welcome to the field, Sacred Noble Knight of King Custennin." Jaune said as the XYZ monster appeared on the field. King Custennin unsheathed his sword and pointed it toward Arslan and Miltia as if a leader were ordering his troops to attack. "I'll activate King Custennin's effect. I'll remove two overlay units to return the card you just set, Miltia and Arslan's Gladiator Beast Tamer Editor."

"Damn." Arslan said as Sacred Noble Knight of King Custennin absorbed two overlay units and aimed his sword at the two designated cards, which forced her to return Tame Editor to her Extra Deck.

"And there goes that." Miltia said as she returned Impenetrable Attack to her hand. But internally, she smiled as Jaune took the bait.

"Now, thanks to Noble Knight Custennin's effect. I can normal summon an additional time this turn, but it has to be a monster with Noble Knight in its name. I'll summon Infernoble Knight-Ogier, and since I normal summoned it, I can send Noble Arms - Caliburn from my deck to my graveyard." Jaune said he sent Noble Arms - Caliburn to the graveyard while Ogier appeared on the field. "Since I control a Fire Warrior monster, I can special summon Infernoble Knight - Renaud from my hand a treat it as a tuner monster."

With Neptune and Sun

"Tuner? Like a tool?" Sun asked, confused.

"In a sense, yes. But not like what your thinking. A tuner is a monster with a unique function. It is the necessary material for a Duelist to perform a Synchro summon. Without a tuner, you can't Synchro summon." Neptune answered.

"Man, this is getting complicated."

"It's why Yu-Gi-Oh has such a high barrier to entry."

"I'll say, especially if you're eavesdropping on a conversation." A voice said. Turning around, Neptune and Sun saw a girl about their age and a young boy walking toward them.

"Uh, can we help you?" Sun asked.

"Well, him, to be precise. You seem to know a lot about the game. Can you tell us more about it?" The older sister asked.

"I can do my best, but I don't know the Gladiator Beast or Noble/Infernoble Knight Archetypes that well." Neptune answered.

"Do you know someone that does?" The boy asked.

"Yes. But she's not here."

"Actually, I'm here, Neptune." Another voice corrected. Turning around, Neptune saw another familiar face.

"Oh, hey, Ilia."

"Hey, Neptune." Ilia said before turning to the sister and brother. "So, you two need help understanding what's going on, right?"

"Yup. You know... about those two groups... the blue-haired guy said he didn't know too well." The brother said.

"The Noble/Infernoble and Gladiator Beast Archetypes. I know a lot about them, and I can explain everything. But don't try to understand everything at once. It can get quite confusing."

"Wait. Ilia. Aren't you supposed to be in Menagerie?" Neptune asked.

"Ghira gave me a few days off, and I decided to come here to watch the Festival."

"Oh, okay."

"WOW! WHAT JUST HAPPENED!?" The sister asked. Turning back to the duel, they saw that the two Infernoble Knights that Jaune controlled had turned into stars and then combined into a new monster a second later.

"Jaune just Synchro Summoned Infernoble Knight Captain Oliver." Ilia explained as the new monster brandished its flaming sword while glaring at the Gladiator Beasts. But before she could elaborate further, she had to grab the fence to keep her balance when someone bumped into her. Turning around, she was about to yell at whoever bumped into her but stopped when she realized a crowd had gathered around them. "Uh."

"Woah. When did they all arrive?" Sun asked.

"I have no idea. But I hope they don't start asking us to explain. Otherwise, we're going to need help." Neptune said, moving so he didn't get bumped into by someone.

With the Duelists

"Because Infernoble Knight Ogier is in my graveyard, I can activate its effect, which lets me equip it to Infernoble Knight Captain Oliver. And I'll equip Noble Arms - Caliburn to Sacred Noble Knight of King Custennin, which raises its attack by 500 points. Now, because of Arslan's Gladiator Naumachia, I have to attack this turn. So I'll move to the battle phase." Jaune said. And to the awe of both the spectators and duelists, both monsters looked at each other before clanging their swords together and getting into a battle stance.

"First, I'll attack Gladiator Beast Laquari with Infernoble Knight Captain Oliver. And since Oliver is equipped, I can activate its effect, which allows me to target one face-up card on the field and destroy it. I'll choose Gladiator Beast Heraklinos." Jaune said.

With a mighty yell, Infernoble Knight Captain Oliver raised his flaming sword and launched a flame strike against Gladiator Beast Heraklinos. The hit caused an explosion that caused everyone to close their eyes. Not only that, they could even feel the heat caused by the fire sword. But Oliver was not done yet. It then rushed forward with Infernoble Knight Ogier supporting it and attacked Gladiator Beast Laquari. However, Arslan's monsters remained on the field, surprising everyone.

"Not so fast. I knew you would attack Arslan's monsters. So I activated my trap card: Waboku, to protect her remaining monster." Miltia said with the smoke clearing to reveal her trap card.

"Thanks, Milita." Arslan said, eanring a nod from Milita. While Arslan knew it would be better to go after Miltia's monsters since they were weaker, she knew her Gladiator Beasts were a more significant threat.

"Well, because I still have to attack, I'll attack Maurading Captain with Sacred Noble Knight of King Custennin, which won't change anything. So don't attack him too hard, Custennin." Jaune said. Nodding, King Custennin charged Maurading Captin and attacked him but did not use his full strength in the attack. Once done, he returned to Jaune's side of the field. "I end my battle phase."

"And because you end your battle phase, my monster's effect activates. I return Gladiator Beast Laquari to my deck, and special summon one Gladiator Beast monster with a different name from my deck." Arslan said.

"Hold on." Flynt interjected. "I'm going to stop you right there. I'm activating my monster's effect, and I'm sure you know which one it is."

"Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring." Arslan and Miltia groaned. Nodding, Flynt discarded his card while the Ash Blossom appeared on the field, giggling. She then went over to Gladiator Beast Laquari and captured his attention, preventing him from tagging out.

"I set one card and end my turn." Jaune said, setting one card next to Infernoble Knight Ogier.

"My turn. I draw. I'll activate the spell card: Pot of Extravagance." Miltia said as the card revealed itself on the field. "I banish six cards from my Extra Deck to draw two cards. Any response?"

"No response." Jaune and Flynt answered.

"Now. I activate my spell card: Harpies's Feather Duster, which destroys all spell and trap cards our opponent controls." Miltia said as a feather duster appeared and destroyed Flynt's and Jaune's spell and trap cards.

"This can't be good." Flynt said as he and Jaune sent their cards to the graveyard.

"Now I activate Raigeki, which destroys all our opponent's monsters."

"I activate Maestroke's effect. I detach one material to protect a Djinn XYZ monster I control from destruction. I choose Melomelody the Brass Djinn." Flynt said. Maestroke used his sword to fling an overlay unit at Melomelody to protect him before lightning struck him.

"Sorry, knights. I have nothing to protect you." Jaune said. The Knights nodded and smiled before letting the lightning take them away.

"Now, I will move to the battle phase. I'll attack your Temptemp the Percussion Djinn with my Blade Bounzer. Blade Bounzer, attack with bouncing blade attack." Miltia ordered. Blade Bounzer let out a roar before charging and slicing at Melomelody and destroying his trumpet.

"Oh, I'm going to get you back for that." Flynt said as their life points dropped to 15,600.

"Now I will attack Jaune directly with my Maurading Captain." Unsheathing his swords, Maurading Captain charged and attacked Jaune.

"You okay, Jaune?" Flynt asked when he saw the attack had sent Jaune back several feet.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just surprised that it sent me back." Jaune answered.

"Did it hurt?" Arslan yelled.

"Surprisingly, no. I felt the force behind it, but it didn't hurt. Although, that could be because I have my aura." Jaune said as their life points dropped to 14,400.

"Anything else, Miltia?" Flynt asked.

"I set one card and end my turn." Miltia answered as her monsters returned to her side of the field.

"My turn. I draw." Flynt said, smiling at the card he drew. "I set one monster and end my turn."

A few blocks away

"We're in so much trouble. We're so late." Emerald said as she and Neo ran toward their meeting point with Cinder and Emerald.

"More like you'll be in trouble. She no longer has any control over me. I'm only here because I still need to hold up my end of the bargain. If it weren't for that, I wouldn't be here. Heck, I would have told Ozpin and the others about her plan as payback for all the times she pissed me off. And after today, I'm out of here." Neo said, using her scroll's Text-to-Speech app.

"I know. But we-HEY!" Emerald began before shouting when three people suddenly cut her off by running past her. "WATCH IT!"

"SORRY!" The people said, not bothering to turn around as they continued running, followed by eight others.

"Okay. That is weird." Emerald said as a few others ran in the same direction.

"Yeah. It wouldn't be a surprise if they were running towards the Colosseum, where the fights are about to begin. But they are running in the opposite direction. I wonder why?"

"Hey. Hold on." Emerald said, grabbing the arm of someone running in the same direction as the others.

"Yes?" The lady asked, sounding impatient.

"What's happening? Why is everyone running that way?"

"There's a fight going on in the park."

"A fight. I thought the festival prohibited any fights before the matches?" Neo asked.

"They do. But it's not a fight between students. Honestly, I'm not sure what it's called, but they are fighting with holograms of monsters, people, and who knows what else. Well, I got to go. I don't want to miss anymore." The lady answered before running away.

"I'm positive she was talking about Yu-Gi-Oh." Emerald said.

"Pretty sure. And I think she was also talking about tournament winners since they are the only ones who have Duel Disks." Neo said. For the next few seconds, neither Neo nor Emerald moved or said anything. "Do you want to go and see the duel instead of meeting with Cinder and Emerald?"

"Yeah, they can wait."Emerald answered before they ran to the park.

With the Duelists

"My turn. I draw. Since I control a Gladiator Beast monster, I special summon Test Tiger. Now, I activate the circuit. I Link summon a Link-2 monster." Arslan said.

Test Tiger and Gladiator Beast Laquari roaded before disappearing while the Link Circuit appeared on the field. The bottom center and bottom left arrows soon glowed orange. And after a second, a panther wearing armor appeared in the Extra Monster Zone.

"I Link Summon: Test Panther. Its first effect lets me add one Gladiator Beast from my deck to hand. I'll add and summon Gladiator Beast Dimacari. Now I will activate Test Panther's second effect. I can shuffle one Gladiator Beast I control into my deck, special summon another Gladiator Beast monster, and treat it as if I special summoned it from a Gladiator Beast monster. I special summon Gladiator Beast Darius. And Darius's effect lets me summon one Gladiator Beast monster from my graveyard."

Gladiator Beast Dimacari let out a roar before leaving, with Darius replacing it. Darius then let out a neigh while pointing at one of the Colosseum doors. They opened, and from it came out Gladiator Beast Heraklinos roaring while pointing its weapon at Jaune and Flynt before jumping and landing next to Darius.

"But Heraklinos's effect is negated because it was special summoned by Darius's effect."

"This is going to hurt." Jaune said.

"I move to the battle phase. I'll attack Flynt's face-down monster with Gaiodiaz." Roaring, Heraklinos charged and attacked Flynt's monster with its weapon.

"A morphing jar!" Miltia said, shocked.

"Yup. And with a new hand comes a whole new perspective. The game, ever-shifting. New dangers surround every turn." Flynt said as everyone discarded their hands and drew five cards.

"Did you really just quote Barkua from the show?" Miltia asked.

"Yeah, I did."

"Now, I'll attack Jaune with Darius and Test Panther for 2,800 points of damage." Arslan said.

"Oh, come on." Jaune said as the Gladiator Beasts attacked him, sending him on his back.

"Sorry." Arslan said with a wince.

"It's fine." Jaune said as their life points dropped to 11,600.

"Okay. Gladiator Beast Dariur's effect activates. I return him to the deck, and special summon Gladiator Beast Equeste, whose effect lets me add a Gladiator Beast card from my hand. But since I chose Tame Editor, It goes back to my deck. And because Darius is no longer on the field, Gladiator Beast Heraklinos returns to the Extra Deck. Main Phase 2. I activate Gladiator Rejection, set four cards Face-Down, and end my turn."

"My turn. I draw. Oh." Jaune said.

"What is it? Please tell me you got something to even the field." Flynt asked.

"I have a card that will most likely get my ass kicked by them."

"There are only a handful of cards I would be willing to kick someone's ass for using. And that's a chain burn." Miltia said.

"And Mystic Mine for me. But I doubt you would use either of those cards." Arslan added.

"So what is it?" Flynt asked.

"You three are going to know by what I'm going to say next. I move to the end of my battle phase."

"OH! That card." Miltia and Arslan said, shocked and worried as they had nothing to counter it. And it seemed their monsters shared that feeling.

With the Spectators

"Okay, finally, we got some breathing room." A camera crew member said after forcing some of the other spectators to move.

"Are we ready?" Lisa Lavender asked.

"And we're on the air in 3... 2... 1. Now." The cameraman said.

"This is Lisa Lavender reporting from downtown Vale. We're at what used to be an ordinary park where people could relax. But now, from out of nowhere, a massive Colosseum appeared. And in the center of it are four people. Three of them seem to be huntsmen-in-training, while the fourth is unknown, but from what we're overhearing from the crowd, the fourth one is a bouncer from a local club. However, that is not the most interesting part. While the reason for their duel remains unknown, we know they are fighting with some kinds of monsters. Some seem to be beasts/animals while others that are no longer present were human or some type of fiend. And it appears that the females are in control of the fight..."

*CLANG*

"WHAT WAS THAT!?" Someone else shouted.

"WHAT'S THAT GOING TO DO!?" Another asked.

"But it seems like that might change. Two samurai-looking figures appeared on the field and clashed their swords together. Now the words Evenely-Matched have appeared in front of them. We're unsure what this will do, but we'll keep you informed as new information develops."

With the Duelists

"Since Flynt and I have a combined total of one card, both of you must banish face-down cards until you control the same amount." Jaune said.

"Fine." Arslan and Miltia said.

"I think we should let you keep something." Miltia said.

"Why?" Arslan asked.

"I have cards in my hand, so I can at least do something. You have nothing in your hands. I would suggest Rejection to keep since Equeste and Test Panther most likely won't make it to your turn."

"Fair enough. And my other cards need a Gladiator Beast even to activate." Arslan agreed.

"Alright. We banish all our cards face-down except for Arslan's Gladiator Rejection." Miltia said as all their cards disappeared. The Colosseum even began to crumble a bit before banishing as well.

"Now, what are you going to do?" Arslan asked.

"I activate the spell card: Last Chapter of Noble Knights. This lets me special summon one Noble Knight monster from my graveyard and equip it with an appropriate Noble Arms equip spell from my grave. I'll bring back Noble Knight Iyvanne and equip it with Noble Arms - Caliburn. And since it is equipped with a Noble Arms card, I gain a token. Now I'll activate Caliburn's effect to gain 500 life points." Jaune said as Iyvanne used the sword and pointed it at the life point counter, raising it to 12,100. "Now, it's my turn to complete the circuit. I link summon."

The two Iyvannes and Lions nodded as the Link Circuit appeared before them. They then turned into orange spheres of light and lit up the bottom corner arrows. The circuit then disappeared, with a tree taking its place. And then two ladies came around it and rested themselves against it.

"And on Link Summon, I can add one warrior monster from my deck to hand. I'll choose Infernoble Knight Renaud. Now I will activate Isolde's second effect. I'll send four equip spell cards from my deck to the graveyard to special summon Infernoble Knight Maugis from my deck."

The two ladies stepped to the side as Maugis appeared behind them. It nodded at the two of them before taking its place on Jaune's side of the field.

"Now I will special summon Infernoble Knight Oliver from my hand by sending one equipped spell from my hand to the graveyard. Now I will use Oliver and Maugis to Synchro Summon: Infernoble Knight Captain Roland." Jaune said as Roland appeared on the field. "And because Maugis was sent to the graveyard, I shuffle three Noble Arms cards into my deck and draw one card. Next, I will activate three of my Infernoble monsters from my graveyard and equip them to Infernoble Knight Captain Roland."

A tent appeared behind the Isolde ladies, with them opening the flaps. And from the tent, Infernoble Knight Oliver, Infernoble Knight Ogier, and Infernoble Knight Maugis emerged and moved to stand behind Captain Roland, who smiled and nodded at them.

"I equip Noble Arms-Clarent to Roland, set one card, and end my turn. And because it's the end phase, I send one equip spell to the graveyard to add one warrior monster to my hand. I'll add Noble Knight Borz. Your turn, Miltia." Jaune said as he set two cards.

"My turn. I draw. Hmm. I'll activate Double Summon. Since I control no cards, I can summon Hammer Bounzer without tributing. And because I normal summoned a warrior-type monster, I can special summon Blue Mountain Butterspy in defense position, which I will use to tribute summon Phantom Bounzer." Miltia said her monsters appeared on the field and let out a roar. "Now, I will build the overlay network."

With Neo and Emerald

"Okay. Let's see who's dueling." Emerald said as they arrived and pushed past the crowd.

"I wonder what decks they are using." Neo said.

"Whatever decks they might be using, they have to be pretty strong, as only tournament winners can have Duel Disks."

"Still. I wonder if it is anyone we know."

"I doubt it and-WOW! That was bright." Emerald said as she and Neo covered their eyes.

"Looks like someone built the overlay network." Neo said as the light died down. But they became shocked when they saw who was dueling.

"Wow. I wasn't expecting to see Jaune here."

"Nor Miltia."

"But it seems like Jaune and his partner have taken the lead."

"But that could change."

"I doubt that."

"You sure? How about a bet, then?"

"You're on. If I win, you have come with me on my next mission that needs me to gather information."

"Fine. But if I win, you have to buy me a few tubs of ice cream."

"Deal."

With the Duelists

"Welcome to the field, Photon Strike Bounzer." Miltia said as Photon Strike Bounzer landed on the ground. "Now, I will move to the Battle Phase. I will attack Flynt directly."

"Not happening. I activate Battle Fader from my hand to stop the attack and end the battle phase." Flynt said as he activated the card. Battle Fader appeared on Flynt's side of the field and flashed a light to stop Photon Strike Bounzer from attacking.

"I could negate it, but it's not worth it. I end my turn." Miltia growled.

"My turn. I draw. Since I control no monsters, I can special summon Junk Forward from my hand. Next, I'll summon Crane Crane from my hand and activate its effect to special summon a level three monster from my graveyard." Flynt said as his monsters appeared on the field.

"Not so fast. Since you activated a monster effect on your side of the field, I can use Photon Strike Bounzer's effect to negate and inflict 1000 points of damage to you." Miltia said.

"Think again." Jaune interjected. "I activate my counter trap card: Solemn Scolding, to negate your monster's effect and destroy it."

From behind Jaune, an older man appeared and glared at Photon Strike Bounzer. It raised its arm, pointed at Photon Strike Bounzer, and in a loud voice, yelled NO! Then, in a bright flash, Photon Stike Bounzer disappeared from the field.

"Okay. I'm targeting you next." Miltia growled.

"Now, Crane Crane's effect goes off. I special summon Tour Guide from the Underworld from my graveyard."

"Hello, everyone. I'm back." Tour Guide said as she appeared next to Crane Crane.

"And because I normal summon a level three monster, I can special summon Kagemucha Knight from my hand. Now I'll build the Overlay Network and XYZ summon twice."

Flynt's monsters turned to overlay units before colliding with one another. Afterward, everyone heard a song about chivalry coming from the overlay units. And a second later, two monsters returned to the ground. One was a tiny fiend playing the piano, while the other played the drums.

"Welcome, Humhumming the Key Djinn and Temtempo the Percussion Djinn. Play us a tune, little ones." Flynt said as his Djinn XYZ monsters smiled and began playing a song. "Now, Humhumming's effect allows me to bring back Melomelody the Brass Djinn from my graveyard and attach up to two cards from my hand to it as overlay units."

Humhumming smiled and began playing a song about life with music notes heading towards Flynt's Duel Disk. A bright light emerged from the graveyard with Melomelody coming from it. Melomelody let out a cheer before joining his friends in song.

"And I'll attach the last card in my hand to Melomelody. Now I move to the battle phase. Since Humhumming is in defense position, I'll attack with my other monsters. Let them feel the music, my guys." Flynt ordered. Nodding, Temtempo and Melomeoldy played their music with the notes attacking Arslan and Miltia for 2,900 points of damage, bringing their life points down to 13,100. "I end my turn."

"My turn. I draw. I'll activate my spell card: Gladiator Proving Ground, which lets me add one Gladiator Beast monster from my deck to hand. Then I'll set one monster and end my turn." Arslan growled.

"My turn, I draw." Jaune said as he drew a card. "First, I'll summon Noble Knight Pellinore, and because I control a Fire-type warrior monster, I can special summon Infernoble Knight Renaud from my hand. Now I will Synchro Summon: Ignoble Knight of High Laundsallyn."

Noble Knight Pellinore and Infernoble Knight Renaud took a deep breath before transforming into stars that merged a second later. But unlike the previous times where there was a bright light, a blanket of darkness appeared. A dark, menacing sword and a red, glowing sword appeared in the ground. A moment later, a figure with black and red fog emanating from him emerged. It opened its eyelids to reveal dark red pupilless eyes. And with a sadistic growl, it pulled both weapons out of the ground and pointed them at Arslan and Miltia.

"Now, I move to the battle phase. I'll attack Miltia directly with my monsters for 5,700 points of damage." Infernoble Knight Captain Roland charged forward and attacked Miltia with his sword, while Isolde took out two daggers and threw them at Miltia. Meanwhile, Ignoble Knight slashed at her with his two swords. The life point counter behind Miltia and Arslan dropped to 7,400.

"Okay. You were right, I felt the hits, but they didn't hurt." Miltia said, surprised.

"Now I activate the Spell Card: De-Synchro, to return Ignoble Knight to the Extra Deck and special summon the monsters I used as material to my field. I end my turn." Jaune said as his monsters returned. And if one were to look closely, one would see that they had expressions of relief on their face.

"My turn. I draw. I set one monster and end my turn." Miltia said as she set one monster.

"My turn. I draw. First, I set a card. Now I activate Humhumming's effect to let another Djinn XYZ monster I control attack directly. But that's not it. I activate Melomelody's effect to let one Djinn XYZ monster I control attack twice this turn. And I target Temtemp with both effects. Now the Battle Phase. I attack Arslan directly twice with Temtempo." Nodding, Temptemop smiled before playing a battle song on its drum with the musical notes attacking Arslan for a total of 3,400, bringing their life points down to 4000.

"Now I'll attack Miltia's Face-Down monster with Melomelody." Happy to get its revenge, Melomelody blew into its horn with all its might. The musical notes flew out of its instrument and attacked the face-down monster.

"And there goes Blade Knight." Miltia said, sending her monster to the graveyard.

"I end my turn."

"My turn. I draw. I'll summon Gladiator Bestiari and flip-summon my monster: Gladiator Beast Hoplomus. Now, I'll return both monsters to summon Gladiator Beast Gyzarus. And when I special summon it, I can destroy two cards on the field." Arslan said as Gladiator Beast Gyzarus landed on the field. It was about to activate its effect but stopped when Jaune interjected.

"I activate Morgan, the Enchantress of Avalon's effect from my hand. If I control a Noble Knight monster and Noble Arms equip card, I can discard it and negate your monster's effect. I'll destroy Noble Arms - Clarent." He said as Gyzarus glared at him. "And because it was destroyed, Clarent attaches itself to Noble Knight Pellinore."

"Alright. I'll move to the battle phase. I'll attack Noble Knight Pellinore with Gyzarus."

Bracing itself, Gyzarus launched itself into the air before dive-bombing Pellinore and knocking him off his horse, which dealt 500 points of damage to Jaune and Flynt, bringing their life points down to 11,100.

"Now, since it's the end of the Battle Phase, I return Gyzarus to my deck and special summon two Gladiator Beasts. And thanks to Gladiator Rejection, I can special summon a third Gladiator Beast monster. I'll bring out Gladiator Beast Vespasius, Gladiator Beast Noxious, and Gladiator Beast Attorix. Now I'll shuffle them back into my deck to bring out Gladiator Beast Domitianus." Arslan said as Domintianus appeared on the field and crossed his arms. "I end my turn."

"My turn. I draw. It looks like this might be game." Jaune said as he drew a card.

"Remember, I can negate an effect and dictate your attack targets." Arslan reminded, with Domintianus looking smug.

"Let's change that. I activate Fiendish Chain and target your monster Arslan." Flynt interjected as he activated his trap card. And from it, chains shot out and wrapped around Domintianus, negating his effects.

"Thanks, Flynt." Jaune said.

"No problem, man."

"Now that I don't have to worry about anything, I activate Isolde's effect and send four equip spells to the grave to special summon Noble Knight Borz. Now, I'll equip him with Gwenhwyfar, Queen of Noble Arms. Now, because he has a Noble Arms equip spell, Borz becomes level 5 and the dark attribute." Jaune said as Gwenhwyfar appeared on the field. She then walked up to Borz and gave him a sword, to which he smiled and silently thanked her. "Now I move to the Battle Phase."

"Yeah, this will be game." Miltia said.

"Yeah. But it was fun." Arslan agreed.

"True."

"I attack Domintianus with Noble Knight Borz. And since he is the dark attribute, Gwenhwyfar's effect allows me to destroy the monster at the start of the damage step." Jaune said as Borz attacked and, with the help of Gwenhwyfar, sent Domintianus to the graveyard. "Now, I will attack directly with the rest of my monsters."

"And that brings our life points to zero." Arslan said as Isolde attacked her and Infernoble Knight Captain Roland attacked Miltia.

"Unfortunately." Miltia said as the holograms disappeared. "but that was a good game."

"It was." Flynt said as they approached the others.

"Now we just need to send the information." Jaune said.

"Right. But I think I will do it later. I want to take a quick break since my team is going to compete soon." Arslan said.

"Same." Flynt and Jaune said.

"What about you?" Jaune asked Miltia.

"Well, I'm not competing, but since I have the rest of the day off, I can relax." She answered.

"That's nice. Anyway, we better-What's making all that..." Arslan said before trailing off. Seeing her expression, the others turned around and became shocked at the crowd of onlookers cheering at them.

"Were they there the whole time?" Flynt asked.

"I'm not sure." Jaune answered.

"But it seems like they are starting to get out of control." Miltia said, pointing to the spectators that were trying to climb over the fence. There were some people that tried to stop that, but it was clear they were failing.

"I think we should leave." Arslan said.

"Yeah. I don't feel like getting mobbed at the moment." Flynt agreed.

"But where should we go?" Jaune asked.

"I usually don't do this, but the situation calls for it. I know a place where we can lay low for a while. Follow me and be quick." Miltia said before running in the opposite direction. Not waiting for a second invitation, the others followed her to safety, unaware of what will happen to them in the coming days.

Notes:

Apologies for some of the mistakes. I'm unfamiliar with Tag Duels as I had never done them before. While the Yu-Gi-Oh fandom website has some rules, it doesn't cover some things that might come up like specific rulings.

For Flynt, I gave him the Djinn deck for a few reasons. I thought about giving him a symphonic warrior deck but I had trouble with it as I am still learning the rulings and mechanics of Pendulums. But the Djinn deck also allowed me to use Tour Guide from the Underworld. Primarily because I could have her talk since, she has lines in Duel Links.

Also, for anyone that might bring it up, there is a reason why Jaune used De-Synchro on his Ignoble Knight monster.

Iron M. Writer: Glyna hasn't obtained a deck but I have one in mind for her and it is Spellbooks. And yeah, they are watching a lot of Yu-Gi-Oh in their spare time.

Emeraldlgnis: I thought about giving Salem a Dark World deck at first, but then I remembered having trouble remembering what cards discard for effect and not cost outside of Dark World support. But I might still give it to her as a side deck. As for including the brothers, I'm not sure will include them. Maybe I will change Neon Katt's deck to Stardust/Synchron but her deck is still up in the air. And yes, later on they will see YGOTAS.

Masters123lfm: Maybe I might give Velvet a performapal as a second deck in the future. As for Penny and the Junk deck, maybe if she was destroyed and she was rebuilt, she might choose that deck, maybe. And yeah, Silent Swordsman and Silent Magician might be good monsters for Neo.

I plan on having a tournament in the story down the road. Here are two ideas I have for it. Which should I pick?

Duelist Kingdom Tournament; Go to an island and duel to collect stars and once they have enough, they get to take on the champion. And as in the show, there will be Eliminators.

Battle City Tournament: Duel in the city to collect locator cards. Then travel to a remote island with the remaining duelists facing off and have the finals on a tower like how Kaiba did.