So, to make a long story short, I had a long day moving back into college and I need to feel like I've made some sort of progress. So, I am posting the first of the three Teaser Chapters this story currently has on my Pat reon. Enjoy!

This story uses Master Rule 4 (ironic considering it is about to cycle out). For those not familiar with the trading card game, it uses the field layout used in Yu-Gi-Oh VRAINS.

If you wish to support me and my college tuition, please check out my P a treon for future chapter summaries, story ideas and more: p a Treon.(c om) (backslash) themaster4444

Beta-ed by xenosaiyan

Roman Torchwick considered himself a reasonable man in a world that most of the time refused to give him the same courtesy. Sure, he lied, cheated, and stole like any other criminal, but unlike them, he was first and foremost a professional. He didn't kill the clerks at mom and pop dust shops if they kept their heads down like he said, and he didn't stack his deck before a duel. Not only was that a bit more than he could stomach, but he had his pride as a duelist. He may have dropped out of Haven, but it wasn't for lack of skill.

Which made it all the more irritating when that bitch with the flaming eyes had strong-armed him into going on a crime spree for her. He'd stolen so much dust, that crucial element used to create the most powerful of cards, that he probably could have provided enough first-rate decks for an entire army. Which, given her alliance with the White Fang, might have been the witch's goal for all he knew. He didn't enjoy the idea of working with those animals, too fanatical for his tastes, so he'd managed to convince her to let him rent some guys from Junior's underground turbo duels for the robberies.

Of course, given the fact that said goons were now strewn unconscious across the street, maybe he should have sucked it up and just brought the terrorists.

"You were worth every cent, truly you were," he snarked, raising his gaze towards the surprising source of his latest irritation. A freaking fifteen-year-old girl in a red hood with a crimson duel disk strapped to her left arm, the outer rim looking sharp like the edge of a scythe.

Yeah, he was not in the mood for this.

"Well, Red, I'd say this has been an eventful evening," he said, turning to take the dust he had in the case at his side and go. "But I'm afraid this is where we part ways."

"Oh no you don't!" the girl shouted.

She pressed a button on the crown of her duel disk, her aura flickering scarlet. She thrust out her hand and a band of crimson energy flew out of her wrist, snaking through the air and wrapping around Torchwick's.

The gentleman thief's jaw dropped in shock. "A duel anchor? How the hell does a pipsqueak like you know how to make a duel anchor?"

The girl smirked. "Win and I might tell you. But that's not going to happen, and you're not getting away."

"Oh, really?" Roman replied, a wicked smile spreading across his face. Duel anchors were a high-level capture technique, summoning a chain of aura to keep criminals from escaping, in addition to opening the doors to more... lethal modifications. The only ways to break it was to deplete the user's aura or defeat them in a duel. Hardly a difficult task for someone of his skill.

He flipped his cane around, and the handle snapped off into his palm, the body breaking off and expanding into his Melodic Cudgel duel disk. "We'll see about that."

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Alright, she had gone to a dust shop to get supplies for making Yang some 'congratulations on getting into Beacon' cards and ended up in a life or death duel with a wanted criminal mastermind. Maybe dad had good reason for ordering not to go into the city alone after all.

But on the bright side, she could tell him she'd finally used the duel anchor he taught her! Just like a real hunting duelist! Yay!

Ruby grinned, both she and Torchwick instantly drawing five cards.

Ruby Rose: 4000 Life Points

Roman Torchwick: 4000 Life Points

"I'll go first!" she declared, slotting a spell card into her Crescent Rose duel disk. "I activate Seed Cannon!"

She focused her aura and the street behind her cracked open, a massive cactus covered in grotesque prickly spines erupting into the sky.

"Amazing, you planted a garden," Torchwick rolled his eyes. "What, are you from Vacuo?"

"No, Patch," Ruby said.

"Oh, that's even worse."

"Hey!" Ruby shouted. "Let's see how you like dealing with this! I summon Baobaboon in attack mode!"

As soon as the words left her mouth, a six-foot tree trunk flashed into being in front of her, a flesh and blood baboon face protruding from the foot of the wood (ATK 1200 / DEF 1000).

Behind her, her Seed Cannon's spines jutted out just a bit further.

Ruby grinned. "Due to my Baobaboon's special ability, I get to draw one card, and then put one card from my hand on either the top or bottom of my deck." She quickly did just that, slipping a card on top of her deck, before whipping out two others from her hand. "Then I'll activate my spell cards The World Tree, and Fragrance Storm!"

Beside the massive cactus of her Seed Cannon, a titanic, majestic oak instantly sprouted up from the road, sending asphalt flying upon arrival. After that, a swirl of flower petals surrounded her Baobaboon and shredded it to splinters, the beautiful tornado rising up to join with The World Tree.

"Fragrance Storm allows me to destroy one plant-type monster on the field in order to draw one card," Ruby yelled, doing just that. She then flipped it around to reveal it to be her Spore. "And then if I draw another plant-type, I can reveal it to draw another card."

"Which is why you played your monkey tree in the first place," Torchwick scoffed. "Its draw ability let you put that seed of yours on top, so you'd get the most out of your spell. Not bad, Red. Except now you don't have a monster on the field to protect you."

Ruby smirked. "Oh yes I do! Whenever Baobaboon is destroyed, I can summon as many copies of it from my deck as I want!"

Two more of her baboon faced tree trunks flashed into existence in front of her sitting on sideways cards, howling furiously at Torchwick, as Ruby drew two more cards and then put two from her hand on the bottom of her deck. The giant cactus behind her extended its spines even further.

"Now then, with each plant-type monster I summon, my Seed Cannon gets a Plant Counter," Ruby explained. "Meaning it's got three now."

"So, it's even more of an eyesore?" Roman said.

"If by that, you mean I can send it to my graveyard to deal you 500 points of damage for each one."

"Wait, what?!"

Ruby dramatically pointed towards her foe. "Seed Cannon, fire!"

The gigantic cactus exploded, a thunderous blast ringing through the streets. Needles the size of giant scythes crashed down towards Torchwick, the criminal bracing himself as his aura buffered the damage from Ruby's constructs.

Roman Torchwick: 2500 Life Points

Ruby grinned. "I'll place one card facedown and end my turn."

She'd taken out nearly half her opponent's life points, set up her World Tree spell, and put out two monsters in defense for protection. Not too shabby if she didn't say so herself, especially when her opponent hadn't even gotten a turn yet.

Torchwick coughed as the smoke cleared, now glaring daggers at her. "Alright Red, that was a better turn than I was expecting. Unfortunately for you, it's the best one you're going to get. Draw!"

He did just that, setting the sixth card in his hand before smashing a different one onto the field. "I summon Twin-Barrel Dragon in attack mode!"

A metallic raptor with a pair of gun barrels for a head sprouted in front of the criminal (ATK 1700 / DEF 200), its weaponized face aimed straight at Ruby. Above the monster, two giant coins shimmered into existence.

"What are those for?" Ruby inquired, though she could tell it was nothing good.

"Why I'm glad you asked, Red," Torchwick replied. "You see, when my Twin-Barrel Dragon is summoned, I get to pick one of your cards and flip a pair of coins. If they both turn up heads, that card is instantly destroyed."

Ruby couldn't help but snort. "Really? Coin flips? That doesn't sound like a reliable effect."

"What can I say? I'm a gambling man," Torchwick shrugged. "I target your facedown."

Both coins twirled through the air, the pale light of the shattered moon glittering off their golden skins. At last, they both stopped, hanging in midair with unnatural spotlights shining on the results of the toss. Two heads.

"Oh no," Ruby muttered.

Twin-Barrel Dragon fired a blast of sapphire plasma and shattered her facedown trap card, Wall of Thorns, its remains filtering into her graveyard.

"What can I say, kiddo? It's better to be lucky than good," Torchwick mocked her. "Next, I'll activate the spell Graceful Charity."

"I know what that does," Ruby scowled, recalling the common utility card. "You get to draw three cards as long as you discard two afterward."

"Precisely. Guess you really do have a brain hidden until that ridiculous hood," Torchwick snipped, doing just as she'd described, even as she glared at him for his comment about her precious cloak. "Now then, I'll activate Monster Reborn and bring back the Barrel Dragon I just discarded."

A white light shimmered on the street and from it rose a stouter, more futuristic mechanical beast, with three long gun barrels protruding from its head and arms, deadly plasma churning within just waiting to be unleashed (ATK 2600 / DEF 2200). Just like the other monster, coins appeared above it, only this time there were three.

"Like its little cousin here, Barrel Dragon can wipe out one of your monsters based on the result of a coin flip," Torchwick nonchalantly explained. "This time, if at least two of them pop up heads."

Ruby grinned. "No way you'll win the flip again."

"Maybe," Torchwick conceded, though his smirk betrayed that he was not at all worried. He reached his hand down and pulled out another card from his graveyard. "Of course, by banishing my Gun Cannon Shot trap card from my graveyard, I can just skip the flipping and treat all three results as heads."

"What?!" Ruby squealed, Barrel Dragon already taking aim.

"Better to be lucky than good, but when you're both, why not show it off," Torchwick gloated. "Go, Proton Blast!"

Three bursts of plasma burst out of the monster's long cannons, ramming into one of Ruby's Baobaboons and smashing it into splinters, though its essence floated back into The World Tree, dozens of pink flowers blossoming from its branches.

"Now for the other one," Torchwick sneered. "Twin-Barrel Dragon, destroy that disgusting potted plant! And then Barrel Dragon, attack her directly!"

The mechanical raptor rushed forward and shredded Ruby's last defense, allowing Barrel Dragon a clean shot. The red hooded girl crossed her arms in front of her and braced herself.

The trio of energy blasts hammered the young duelist harder than her sister's duel runner. Her aura strained to withstand the assault as she was sent tumbling down the street, only stopping when her World Tree physically halted her fall.

Ruby Rose: 1400 Life Points

"I lay three cards facedown, and end my turn," Torchwick proclaimed cockily. "Seriously, Red, you're outmatched here. Stop trying to play hero past your bedtime. How about you just disengage this duel anchor, and we'll pretend this never happened, eh?"

Ruby scowled, a groan escaping her lips as she staggered back to her feet. Let him go? What, and just look the other way? Never! She would be a hunting duelist, bringing joy to people to keep up their spirits and keep them safe from the Grimm, and fighting back the monsters of negativity with her own cards when that proved not to be enough. If she was going to be like Yang, like Uncle Qrow, like dad, and like mom, she couldn't back down from the villain in front of her. If she did, he'd just go on to terrorize more innocent people like he'd terrorized the dust shop owner, and she wouldn't let that happen!

"My turn! Draw!" she shouted stalwartly. "Since three plant monsters have been destroyed, The World Tree has three Flower Counters on it. Now by removing those three counters, I can bring back one plant-type monster from my graveyard. Baobaboon! Return!"

The petals from The World Tree floated into the air, settling down towards the city street and glowing with white light. A great howl rang through the night and one of her monkey-tree hybrids rose to live again.

"And since it was summoned, its effect activates, letting me draw one card!" Ruby shouted, vigorously doing just that. When she saw what she'd drawn however, her eyes widened, an eager grin taking over her face.

"Well, are you just going to stand there?" Torchwick demanded. "You have to put a card from your hand back in your deck now, don't you?"

Ruby placed one of her other cards on the bottom of her deck and slammed the one she'd pulled onto the field. "I summon Angel Trumpeter!"

Beside Baobaboon, a dainty glowing flower shimmered into existence, a sparkling mist floating out from its petals (ATK 1900 / DEF 1600).

"Oh goody, more flowers," Torchwick snarked. "Seriously, do you want to duel or plant a garden—"

"I tune my level four Angel Trumpeter to my level three Baobaboon!"

"What?!" the thief gasped. "No! No way! No way a brat like you can synchro summon!"

Ruby steeled herself, already preparing her aura for the colossal labor it was about to undertake. There was a reason Torchwick was so surprised by her move. Calibrating the aura that made up the monsters' physical bodies so that they could combine into a stronger creature was a highly advanced technique, one that was usually only covered after getting into one of the four academies. The fact that Yang had mastered it in her final year at Signal was just more proof of how amazing her sister was. Ruby was as helpless with the technique as anyone else.

At least, she was before Uncle Qrow had taken her under his wing. Then he'd taken away her cookies and she'd gotten it down in a week.

Angel Trumpeter disassembled into four green tuner rings, Baobaboon breaking into three twinkling stars and lining up within them. A steady hum of power resonated out from glowing symphony.

"Red like roses fills my dreams and bring me to the place you rest," Ruby chanted, solemnly pulling her chosen card from her extra deck. "The cold flame envelops the entire world. Thus, kindly scatter and bring me victory. Black flower, bloom! Synchro Summon! Black Rose Dragon!"

A pillar of blinding light shot through the remains of the previous monsters, turning night into day for a brief moment. A mighty black dragon emerged from the shine of its components, a gown of vibrant roses coating its flesh. Blood red talons peered out of its plumage, a long tail of sharp thorns curling down below as the great beast let out a deafening roar that seemed to shake the stars above (ATK 2400 / DEF 1800).

With her ace summoned, Ruby sagged down, panting hard as she wobbled on her knees. Just as she was about to tumble, her dragon's thorny tail gently caught her, none of the spikes even scratching her. Glancing up at the majestic creature, she found the titanic creature granting her a gentle smile, a gesture she gladly returned.

"Well, I've gotta admit Little Red, never expected you to pull out something like this," Torchwick whistled, a note of honest respect in his voice. It barely lasted a moment before he sneered again though. "Doesn't really matter though. A synchro summon may be fancy, but in the end, a monster is just a monster. And your overgrown lizard doesn't hold a candle to my Barrel Dragon."

He wasn't wrong. Barrel Dragon did have 200 more attack points than her ace monster. Not to mention that with three facedown cards, there was no way he didn't have at least one trap card just ready to spring into action as soon as she attacked.

Which was of course, why she wasn't going to.

"I activate Black Rose Dragon's special ability!" Ruby screamed. "As soon as it's synchro summoned, it can destroy every card on the field!"

"Every card?" Torchwick squawked.

"Go, Black Rose Gale!"

Black Rose Dragon roared and raised its wings into the air, summoning a ferocious whirlwind with a single flap that shattered the dust shop's windows and sent the goons Ruby had previously knocked out flying. The gigantic tornado was laced with petals that cut like razors, sheering Torchwick's machine monsters, his facedowns, and even Ruby's own World Tree to pieces. At last, when everything else on the field had been made barren, the mighty beast itself exploded under its own power.

Ruby grinned, glancing down at her hand. With her ace monster having cleared the field, Torchwick was wide open. And with Monster Reborn and Book of Moon in her hand, she could easily finish him off this turn—

"You little pipsqueak," the criminal growled, slamming the last card in his hand onto his duel disk. "Don't think it's going to be that easy! When my dark machine monsters are destroyed, I can summon Desperado Barrel—"

His rant was cut off when another gale rushed over the battlefield, this time with a more mechanical hum accompanying it. Ruby and Torchwick both looked up to find a helicopter hovering above the thief. A rope ladder was thrown down, a woman clouded in shadows in a long red dress glaring down at the criminal.

"It's time to go, Roman," she commanded, her voice reverberated with an unnatural disguise.

Torchwick glanced back at Ruby and shrugged, hopping onto the ladder. "Oh well. Maybe next time, Red."

"No, you don't!" Ruby declared. She pulled back on her duel anchor, the long rope of scarlet energy keeping the criminal from climbing any higher. "You're not going—"

The woman in helicopter suddenly held out her hand, her right eye blazing with a strange orange glow. In an instant, the duel anchor erupted into flames and crumbled into ash.

"—Anywhere," Ruby muttered, her eyes wide with shock. How had she done that? Neither dad or Uncle Qrow had ever told her about anything powerful enough to break a duel anchor, let alone disintegrate it entirely.

Torchwick, now free, cackled and climbed into the helicopter, the vehicle soaring into the air.

Ruby roused herself from her stupor and charged forward, leaping for the rope ladder. She couldn't let them escape!

The woman above chuckled at her, a duel disk appearing on her arm in a flash of fire and glass. She plucked a card from her deck and thrust it towards Ruby face first.

It was a spell card with a picture of a strange bright orange spiral over a dark blue background. Ruby had never seen anything like it before. She didn't see it for long now either. The woman's eye glowed once more, and the orange light shifted to her card, flickering unstably. When it faded, the image on the card was now of a dark dragon and skeleton swirling over a fiery spiral.

Ruby only had a moment to question what the card did when a new figure was conjured before her, constructed from the woman's aura. It was an utterly enormous dragon, even larger than her Black Rose Dragon. Its body was forged from burnt black bone, its skeletal wings holding it aloft before the helicopter. A ferocious blaze churned from within its massive ribcage, a demonic skull glaring down at the young duelist with utter contempt.

"Eliminate this pest," the woman commanded. "Molten Hellfire."

The dragon roared at its mistress' command. A titanic black fireball formed at its maw, dripping with demonic lava. The beast lunged forward and the blast was sent screeching towards Ruby.

She could try to use her semblance, but speed wouldn't mean anything when she was trapped in midair. Her aura was battered from the duel, and even if it wasn't, what could she summon to stop an attack that powerful? The attack was too fast, it was nearly upon her—

When a wolf made of blue smoke jumped in front of her?

"Mythical Beast Jackal!" a new voice shouted. "Spirit Barrier!"

A yellow shield of energy flashed in front of Ruby and the wolf, the fireball fizzling out as soon as it struck the defense. The wolf snatched the young duelist by the scruff of her hood and dragged her back down to the ground, Torchwick and the woman flying off into the night in their helicopter, the demonic dragon fading into orange sparks.

Ruby scuffed her boot against the street. "They got away." She glanced towards the blue smoke wolf, sparkles suddenly appearing in her silver eyes. "Puppy! Oh, you're so cute, I'll bet Zwei would just to play with you! You'll be best friends—"

"Ahem."

Ruby stood ramrod straight and whirled around to face the person who'd saved her. It was a tall, elegant, blond woman with a white blouse and a black pencil skirt. On her right arm was a purple and black duel disk, a large Spirit Barrier trap card floating in front of her.

"Woah," Ruby whispered reverently. "You're Glynda Goodwitch! Can I have your autograph?"

The legendary hunting duelist, the deputy headmistress of Beacon Academy, narrowed her eyes at her. "Care to explain all of this, young lady?"

"All what—" Ruby's eyes widened, glancing all around the ravaged street, broken windows, and unconscious thugs. A nervous chuckle escaped her lips. "Oh, um… they started it?"

Professor Goodwitch did not look impressed. "That seems quite likely. However, Good Samaritan laws only extend so far. There will be consequences for this, young lady."

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"You let her into Beacon?"

Ozpin sighed, practically feeling Glynda's disapproving glare on his back as he closed the door to Ms. Rose's interrogation room. Taiyang would be by the police station soon to pick her up, and based on her excited pumping of her arms, it seemed the young girl would have quite a lot to tell him, the headmaster's offer of early enrollment least of them all.

"A duel anchor and a successful synchro summon," he reminded his second, the two of them striding side-by-side down the hall. "Surely you're not questioning if she has the skill to attend? I dare say she's already better than most first-years that come to us."

"Skill does not equal preparedness," Glynda argued. "Her heart is in the right place but jumping forward to duel Roman Torchwick and then confronting that woman indicts quite a bit of overconfidence, which we both know could get her killed in the field. Spending two more years at Signal may help iron out such habits."

"Doubtful," Ozpin replied. "I've checked her records. The only student who has claimed a victory over her in the last year has been her sister, and that includes the current upper years. If anything, she'll come to overestimate herself even more if she stays there."

Glynda cocked an eyebrow. "You checked her records? How long have you been planning to make this offer?"

Ozpin shrugged. "Tonight provided an auspicious opportunity. The world needs talented duelists, silver-eyed ones most of all. Especially if you're sure of what you saw tonight."

His most trusted lieutenant scowled, the two of them moving into an alcove where they wouldn't be overheard by any passing police officer. "I'm sure. I didn't get a good look at her face, but I've seen Amber's eyes glow enough to recognize the maiden's power. Nothing else could overpower a duel anchor. And then there was that card…"

Ozpin nodded. It had been many long decades since he'd seen anyone not loyal to the Queen wield Polymerization. "She's making her move. A larger one than she has in quite some time."

Glynda frowned, a note of fear flickering across her normally stern and stoic expression. "What do we do?"

For a moment, Ozpin said nothing, considering that question he had been asking himself for millennia, until at last…

"We will do what anyone does when faced with a duel. We will set our traps, prepare our defenses, and summon our allies. And when the time comes, we will play the hand we are dealt to the best of our ability."

Gods willing, that would be enough.

So yeah. This story isn't going to be regularly updated for now, but I had a lot of fun writing it when my Patrons voted for it in the Monthly Teaser Chapters Poll. There are two others on there that will remain exclusive to that site for now.

That said, Yu-Gi-Oh was a massive part of my childhood and something that I love to this day. Mixing it and its grand epic mythos of my magic, dimensions, and, most importantly, children's card games into RWBY is a whole lot of fun.

An extra huge thank you to my patrons: ArcherMcMuffin, Gregg Tracton, Keith Traction, Annaya Chan, Nora Okonus, Paula mandel, KefkaesqueXIII, Christian Howard, SanyaBane, and Matthew Blevins.

Thank you for Reading! I hope you enjoy what comes next!

Go Forth and Conquer!