While Hibiki was busy fending off the Noise, Tsubasa and Chris began their duel.

"I'll let you go first, because I'm nice like that." Chris said.

"A foolish mistake." Tsubasa said. "I summon The Six Samurai - Irou to the field!"

The purple monster took to the field, brandishing its blade.

"Then I'll set two cards face-down and end my turn." Tsubasa said.

"I draw." Chris said, before smirking. "I'll summon Cipher Twin Raptor to the field!"

A mechanical dinosaur with glowing features appeared on the field.

"And because I control a Cipher monster, I can special summon Cipher Wing from my hand!"

Chris placed a card onto Solomon's Duel Disk, summoning a machine that resembled four glowing wings.

"And with my two level 4 monsters, I create the overlay network!"

"What?!" Tsubasa shouted.

"Overlay network?!" Hibiki yelled.

Cipher Twin Raptor and Cipher Wing entered a swirling portal on the ground.

"Formed from pitch-black darkness, to fight those foolish enough to oppose it with its treacherous fangs!" Chris chanted. "Now, descend! Xyz Summon! Appear! Rank 4! Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon!"

The portal exploded with energy, before a dark dragon or purple and blue descended, roaring as it crackled with electricity. Two orbs circled around the monster.

"She's an Xyz user…?" Hibiki said.

"How's that?" Chris chuckled. "Then I activate Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon's ability!

The two orbs entered Dark Rebellion's chest, as it roared.

"By removing two overlay units, I can halve your monsters attack points!" Chris declared. "Treason Discharge!"

Dark Rebellion shot a burst of electricity at Irou, who fell to one knee as his attack points dropped to 850.

"Irou!" Tsubasa shouted.

"Then all that lost attack goes to Dark Rebellion!"

Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon crackled with electricity, before its own attack jumped up to 3350.

"Now, attack, Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon!" Chris yelled. "Lightning Disobey of Rebellion!"

Dark Rebellion flew forward, its lower jaw crackling with electricity, before a rising slash shredded Irou. Tsubasa screamed as she was electrocuted, her life points dropping to 1500.

"Tsubasa-san!" Hibiki shouted, as she saw the Idol Duelist fall to one knee.

"I'll set a card and end my turn." Chris said. "Is that all you got? You're starting to disappoint me."

Tsubasa shakily stood back up.

"Draw." She said, looking at the card in her hand. "I activate the set card, Black Luster Ritual!"

Chris smirked, as the familiar card flipped face up.

"I use Gaia the Fierce Knight and The Six Samurai - Zanji in my hand as tributes!" Tsubasa shouted. "Appear now! Black Luster Soldier!"

The familiar knight appeared in a pillar of light.

"Then I activate my equip spell card, United We Stand!" Tsubasa shouted. "Black Luster Soldier gains 800 attack points! Now, attack!"

Black Luster Soldier rushed forward, and cut down Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon. The dragon roared as it went up in an explosion, but Chris didn't seem too bothered as her life points fell to 3550. But as Hibiki had Road Warrior destroy another monster, she and Tsubasa swore that they could have heard… Dark Rebellion crying?

"Well, you can do at least that much." Chris said. "Maybe this'll be more fun than I thought."

She drew a card, smirking at what was in her hand. "I activate my face-down card, Monster Reborn!"

Tsubasa tightened her fist.

"And with it, I bring back… Cipher Wing!"

Tsubasa raised a brow, confused at what Chris was doing. She expected her to bring back Dark Rebellion.

"Since I control a Cipher monster, I can special summon the two other Cipher Wing copies in my hand!" Chris said, placing the cards on the Duel Disk.

"Three level 4 monsters… you're summoning another Rank 4?!" Tsubasa realized.

Chris wagged her finger. "Who said anything about Rank 4?"

"What?!"

"I tribute one of the Cipher Wings, increasing the other two Cipher Wings levels by 4!"

Tsubasa paled and Hibiki gasped, as the two Cipher Wings were now level 8.

"And with the two level 8 monsters, I create the overlay network!" Chris shouted, as the two entered a swirl of energy on the floor.

"Rank 8?!" Tsubasa shouted, as Chris began to chant.

"Galaxy shining in the darkness, dwell in the demonic god of revenge and become my very servant! Xyz Summon! Descend, Rank 8! Galaxy-Eyes Cipher Dragon!"

In a burst of power, the mighty Rank 8 Xyz monster took to the field. It had glowing blue skin, and golden-magenta armor, with beautiful and terrifying wings of cipher. Two orbs circled the creature, as it boasted an impressive 3000 attack points.

"I detach one of Galaxy-Eyes Cipher Dragon's overlay units!" Chris declared. "Cipher Projection!"

A bright light shone from the dragon's wings, before enveloping Black Luster Soldier. To Tsubasa's shock, her monster transformed into a translucent copy of Galaxy-Eyes Cipher Dragon, before being moved to Chris's side of the field.

"What the-?! What did you do?!" Tsubasa demanded.

"Galaxy-Eyes Cipher Dragon's ability lets him take control of your monster until the end phase, and turn it into a copy of itself." Chris explained. "The only cost is that I can't attack directly… except with the original!"

Tsubasa looked back at the original Cipher Dragon, to see it charging up energy in its mouth.

"Go! Galaxy-Eyes Cipher Dragon!" Chris shouted. "Attack her life points directly to end this duel! Cipher Stream of Annihilation!"

It shot the blast of energy at Tsubasa, but the girl quickly activated her remaining facedown. "I activate my trap card, Negate Attack! This ends the battle phase!"

The blast dispersed into a vortex of wind at the last second.

"Man, you just really love that card, don't you?" Chris snarked.

"End your turn, and give me back my Soldier." Tsubasa said, narrowing her eyes.

"Nope." Chris said. "Because I'll be tributing both Galaxy-Eyes Cipher Dragon, and your Black Luster Soldier."

"You're doing what?!"

The two disappeared in a burst of energy, and Hibiki thought she heard Cipher Dragon crying.

"Sorry, was that important?" Chris taunted, seeing Tsubasa's anger. "Try this guy on for size!"

A red crest glowing light blue appeared in front of Chris, as she launched it upwards. Tsubasa and Hibiki held up their arms to shield their eyes.

"The galaxy that lurks in the darkness, become the light of hope and my very servant! The embodiment of light, now descend! Appear now, Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon!" Chris chanted.

A level 8 dragon that resembled a less-armored version of Cipher Dragon yet with the same stats descended upon the field, letting off a powerful roar.

"And now I'll end my turn." Chris said. "No cards in your hand and nothing on your field. What'll you do?"

Tsubasa grit her teeth, as her hand moved towards the draw. To her shock, her hand was trembling.

What…? Why am I…?

She looked at her shaking hand.

I'm afraid…? Am I… afraid? Of losing…?

"Get on with it already!" Chris shouted, though Tsubasa didn't seem to hear her.

I… I can't…

"Tsubasa-san!"

Tsubasa turned to see Hibiki shouted towards her.

"As long as you still have life points left, don't give up on life!" Hibiki encouraged. "You can win!"

"Shut up." Chris said.

She waved her arm, and the Noise and monsters charged at her. Hibiki yelped, but Nitro Warrior uppercutted the monsters away.

Kanade's words…

Tsubasa tightened her fist, as her hand stopped shaking. Her confidence had been restored.

"I draw!" Tsubasa shouted, drawing her arm back as far as she could. She turned the card, seeing it was just what she needed. "I activate the spell card, Card of Sanctity! I must banish every card on my side of the field and hand, letting me draw two cards!"

"So it's just Pot of Greed right now." Chris said, rolling her eyes since Tsubasa had nothing on her field or in her hand.

Tsubasa drew two cards, before staring at them.

"Well?" Chris asked.

Tsubasa smiled. "This duel is over."

"Yeah, I know." Chris said. I've studied her deck. There's nothing in there that can help her with just two cards-

"Tachibana!" Tsubasa shouted, getting Hibiki's attention. "Take a good look, at the new swords of my deck! I banish Irou and Zanji from my graveyard!"

"Huh?!" Chris said, taken off guard for the first time in the duel.

"By banishing the light and darkness, I can summon forth a new creature!" Tsubasa shouted. "Appear now, Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning!"

A monster that looked identical to Tsubasa's signature ritual monster descended to the field. Hibiki's wide smile rivaled that of Chris's surprise.

"Then I equip him with Magnum Shield!" Tsubasa said. "With this, his attack points gain a boost equal to his defense points!"

Her monster's attack points jumped to an unbelievable 5500.

"Go! Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning!" Tsubasa shouted. "Double-Destruction Slash of Creation!"

Her warrior rushed forward, decapitating Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon, and lowering Chris's life points to 1050. For the third time, they heard Chris's dragons cry.

"Ugh, that blindsided me." Chris said. "But I still got-!"

She looked up to see the monster's sword raised above her, shining in the moonlight.

"Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning's effect." Tsubasa said. "After destroying a monster by battle, it can attack again!"

"N-No!" Chris paled. "There has to be something I can-!"

"Space-Time Breakthrough - Double-Destruction Slash of Creation!" Tsubasa shouted.

Chris screamed as the slash brought her life points down to zero. The moment the duel was over, all of the Noise and their summoned monsters disappeared.

"You should respect your cards more." Tsubasa told Chris, who was hastily holding where she had been slashed. "Can't you hear them crying?"

Chris simply grit her teeth, before quickly holding up a card. There was a flash of light, and she was gone.

"Tsubasa-san!" Hibiki shouted, quickly running towards the Idol Duelist. "Are you alright?!"

Tsubasa looked at the Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning in her hand, before smiling at Hibiki. "...I am now. Thank you, Tachibana."

"Wait, why are you thanking me?"

"Our duel together… it opened up my eyes." Tsubasa said. "I can't stay in the past; it wouldn't be what Kanade wanted."

"So is that card…?" Hibiki asked, looking at the new card Tsubasa was holding, the card that won her the duel.

"It's a step towards a new Tsubasa Kazanari." She said, smiling.

After their encounter with Chris, the two had received a surprisingly stress-free week with no Noise or rogue Duel Monsters attacking. In that time, the two had managed to get along much better than they initially had. The two of them were currently practicing within Sector Two's duel arena.

"Road Warrior! Lightning Claw!"

"Black Luster Soldier! Chaos Blade!"

The two mighty warriors charged at each other, before ensuring a mutual destruction with their two attacks.

"Not a bad move, Tachibana." Tsubasa said.

"I can say the same!" Hibiki said. "You're really using your new cards well!"

"I hate to interrupt a wonderful dueling moment of friendship." Ryoko said, walking in. "But we need you two in the bridge now."

The two nodded, before the duel arena turned off, as did their Duel Disks. The two followed Ryoko out of the room, as she led them down the hall.

"So what's up?" Hibiki asked.

"Well, we found a new duelist that can communicate with duel spirits." Ryoko said.

"You have?" Tsubasa said, eyes wide.

"How?" Hibiki asked. "Isn't it rare to find someone like that?"

"It is, but that's part of the reason we made our base under Lydian." Ryoko said. "It attracts some of the most gifted and talented duelists from all around. We analyze the footage for any Duel Monsters that act alive, and not like holograms. The fact we found another candidate is incredible."

"So, who is it?" Tsubasa asked.

"You're going to meet her right now." Ryoko said, as they walked into the bridge. "She's right there."

Hibiki looked down to see Genjuro talking with…

"Miku?!" Hibiki shouted, pointing.

Her best friend turned to see Hibiki standing there, before widening her eyes in surprise. "Hibiki?!"

A/N: Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel is a lot of fun, even if the main strategy boils down to not letting the other person play the game. Anyways, back to the fic.

Just because I said no Pendulums and Links, doesn't mean that there won't be any cards from those series that would work just fine.

And before you complain about how quickly Hibiki and Tsubasa's relationship has improved compared to canon Symphogear, how often has it been where a single duel changed the character relationship in canon Yu-Gi-Oh? You get several episodes worth of character development, all from a single duel.

Oh, and what's this? The first major diverge from canon? Yes it is. How will this change things up? You'll just have to see.

And going forward, my good friend Lilpumpkin2000 will be writing out the duels, while I focus more on the story and dialogue. Welcome him aboard.

Feel free to leave a review. See you all next time.