Chapter 5: The Oracle Ritual
As rain splashed and lightning flashed outside of the Loud House, Leni sat with the rest of her family in the living room, watching what appeared to be a movie on their TV.
While the rest of her family were enjoying the movie with smiles on their faces, Leni's eyes turned away from the television towards her younger brother, who was standing at the window in nothing but his completely drenched pajamas, looking absolutely miserable.
Seeing this, the ditzy teen couldn't help but wince - even though she knew that her brother had to stay out of the house so he wouldn't affect the others with his bad luck, she didn't like the idea of him being out in the rain.
Noticing that Leni was looking at him, he mouths her name while giving her a 'come closer' gesture, trying to get her to come closer to him.
After making sure that the others were still busy with watching the movie, Leni carefully creeps away from the couch and makes her way over to the window, causing a relieved smile to appear on her brother's face.
"Thank goodness you're here, Leni. I need you to do a favor for me, okay?"
"You do? What kind of favor?"
"...I need you to open the door and let me into the house. In case you haven't noticed, it's raining and I'm freezing out here." replied Lincoln, wincing as he tried to ignore the rain splashing against his body.
Wincing, Leni answers "I don't know if I can, Linky. I want to, but..." before giving her family an aside glance. "...I don't know if the others will let me."
"C'mon, Leni! It's cold out here! You wouldn't leave me out in the cold like this, would you?"
"N-no, but..."
"But nothing, Leni! Look, I know I shouldn't have started this whole bad luck mess. I realize that." said Lincoln, cutting his sister off. "And if I had known it was going to lead to something like this happening, I never would've lied about being bad luck just to get some time to myself."
"You were lying about that?" asked Leni, befuddled.
"Yes, I was! And if you'll let me in, I'll admit to what I've done! You have my word on that!" answered Lincoln, nodding. "Now please, open the door and let me in! Please!"
"Well...if you're really telling the truth about this..." muttered Leni in a reluctant tone before making her way over to the front door.
However, before she could get the chance to open it, Lori notices her and asks "Leni, what are you doing?"
"I...I want to let Linky in, Lori. It's raining outside and..."
Pointing at her, Lynn snaps "Don't you dare, Leni! If you open that door, you're going to let Lincoln's bad luck into the house where it can affect the rest of us. Is that what you want?"
"Don't listen to them, Leni! Remember what I said to you earlier - I'll confess everything if you just let me in!" said Lincoln, trying to coax the blonde into letting him into the house.
Walking over to the window, Lynn Sr. says "Back away from the window, sport. I know that you don't want to be out in the rain anymore, but we can't take any chances of your bad luck affecting the rest of us."
"You'd leave your own son out here in the rain, Dad? Seriously?"
"Well no, but we can't just let you in and start jinxing the rest of us. It's for the greater good of the family, son - we can't put everyone else at risk."
Turning to Leni, Lincoln tries once more to convince her to let him into the house, saying "C'mon, Leni...you wouldn't leave me out like this. Please, just let me in."
As Leni stood at the door, conflicted on what to do, a small part of her mind said 'Do it, Leni. Do the right thing. Don't let these meanies tell you what to do. Linky's been through enough.'
"Don't do it, sis. While I'm not too happy about leaving our bro out in the cold like that, we can't let his luck hurt the rest of us." said Luna while Lana and Lola nodded in agreement.
"Yeah! He'll just ruin everything for the rest of us if you let him in! He might even curse you with it!"
"What she said! Don't let him in, Leni!"
"Step away from the door, Leni. Now." ordered Lori in a commanding tone, causing her sister/roommate to give Lincoln a solemn, sad look before moving her hand away from the front door.
Eyes widening in disbelief, Lincoln murmurs "Leni..."
"...I'm sorry, but the others said that I can't let you in, Linky." said Leni, just as sadly. "...Good night."
Trying not to show how hurt he was by the blonde's refusal, Lincoln replies "...Good night, Leni." as Lynn gives him a smirk before returning back to the couch to finish watching the movie. Sighing, he moves away from the door to find a dry spot to sleep.
'Some big sister I am…' Leni thought, as she was currently sitting on the bed in the room she was waiting in. 'I could've been there for him when he needed me the most, but no...stupid, dummy Leni just had to buy that lucky stuff like it was going on sale. And now I'm in the fight for my life, going up against someone with probably years of experience in dueling, when I just started two weeks ago!' Her body continued to tremble, looking down at her hands. They were shaking rapidly, almost as if they wouldn't ever stop. His palms were drenched with a cold sweat.
Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard a knock on the door.
"It's opened." Leni said, as the door opened, revealing to be Taion, holding a cup of tea. "Oh, it's you. Tina, right?"
"It's…Taion." He replied, embarrassed, before he saw her shaking hands, and held out the cup of tea to her. "Lincoln noticed that you looked very worried ever since you got here, so he asked me to come and check on you."
"Oh, thank you…" Leni said as she slowly grabbed the cup. Holding it tightly, she lifted the cup to her lips. As she took a sip of the tea, the sweet flavor soothed her taste buds. The delicate warmth seemed to calm her worries, as her tremors had started to decrease. Letting out a relieved sigh, she turned to face him. "Mm, it's pretty good. What'd you use to make it?"
"I used a rare flower I got before coming here. It's a Sirius Anemone, which grows on the Urayan Mountains." Taion smiled, seeing the tremors finally cease. "I get them too, you know, that's why I often make tea for us all."
"Really?" Leni asked in shock. "But you look so confident!"
"We all have them, we just choose not to speak about them." Taion replied, before looking down. "When another duel is over, I feel relieved to have made it through the match, along with seeing those I trust. But when I think of the next one, I lose all of the relief I once had. Will I have the confidence in myself and confront my opponent, or will I be scared and hide like a coward?" Seeing that Leni was still listening to him, he let out a small sigh. "Ah, I'm sorry if I ramble on too much. I can't really help it."
"No, you're good. I don't really mind listening to you." Leni replied. until one of Taion's Mondo started floating between them. They were taken aback, and it proceeded to taunt them by doing a small dance. It soon floated over to Leni, who was staring in shock, and gently tapped her across the same cheek. It appeared to be taking a liking to her. Feeling the Mondo tap her cheek, Leni held out her palm for it to sit on. It happily complied, and rested itself within her hand.
"I think it likes you." Taion spoke, as he watched the Mondo lay in her hand.
"Wow..." Leni said, tracing its wing with her finger, before Taion started walking towards the door.
"Our duel will begin soon, so I suggest you make final preparations." Taion smirked. "After all, my opponent's deck should be a mystery."
"Why are you being so nice to me?" Leni asked as Taion grabbed the doorknob, and froze. "After everything my family did to Lincoln, after everything that's happened, why are you being so nice?!"
Taion said nothing, but saying, "The reason is the answer to a riddle." He turned to face Leni, smiling. "What is the best way to defeat your enemy?" He asked, before leaving and closing the door.
"The best way… to defeat my enemy?" Leni asked herself in confusion, staring at the Mondo sleeping in her hand.
(Play Yu-Gi-Oh Zexal: Halfway to Forever)
The intro starts with Lincoln putting on activating his Duel Disk, before he runs towards the scene.
Still together as one;
Cuz divided we're none;
Ready to go, we feel the flow!
The scene changed to Lincoln drawing a card and summoning his Elemental HEROS behind him, as Winged Kuriboh was right next to him.
So don't stand in our way;
You know we ain't afraid;
This is our time, we're in control!
The scene then changed and showed Noah summoning his Sword and Mio with her Moonblades, with their Ouroboros forms appearing behind them.
If I trip up today;
You just wipe it away;
All of my fears are gone, erased!
The scene then changed and showed Eunie holding her Ether Rifle and aiming it while Taion summoned his Mondo while they surrounded him, with their Ouroboros forms appearing behind them.
Let us tear down the walls
'Til the final night falls
The bonds of our souls can't be replaced!
The scene then changed and showed Lanz piercing his Shield Blade into the ground while Sena hit the ground with her giant hammer before the two fist bump each other, with their Ouroboros forms appearing behind them.
Let us fight together;
Regret it never;
Our dreams will be…!
The scene changed to Lincoln and his friends, including Riku and Manana, as Lincoln held up a card as it shined brightly with the Ouroboros Ring.
Halfway to,
Forever;
Our light comes shining through!
The shadow of Z appeared over the Loud Sisters as X and Y appeared and charged in, morphing into their Moebius forms.
Reach down deep;
Beat defeat;
Do all that we can do!
Lincoln then jumped in and summoned his monsters as his friends came and merged into their Ouroboros forms and charged in, before they and Moebius attacked each other.
Halfway to,
Forever;
We've got nothing to lose!
Noah then pulled out his sword from the core of his chest, as he slashed through the Moebius, before looking at the shadow of Z.
Keep breathing;
Believing;
Halfway to forever-rrrrrr!
Everyone then charged at Z, as Lincoln drew a card from his deck, as the Ouroboros Ring shined brightly once more, as the title then appeared below everyone.
Yu-Gi-Oh: Ouroboros
(End Yu-Gi-Oh Zexal: Halfway to Forever)
"Welcome back, dueling fans, to the Duel Monster World Championship Tournament!" The announcer exclaimed, as the crowd went crazy, while both Taion and Leni walked out of both sides of the area. "Earlier today, our Number 8 Duelist defeated one of the Loud Sisters in what was a surprising close match. But now, we are kicking up a notch, as the second match of Day 1 is about to begin!"
"In this corner, we have our World's Second Best, Taion Huband!" The announcer said as the crowd cheered. "And in this corner, we have Leni Loud!" The crowd then started booing at the blonde, as Leni could only look down in shame. "And now, this duel will take place under the sea, as the computer has chosen the Action Field Spell: Undersea Lost City!"
"Augmented Reality Combat system online. Generating Action Field." A computerized voice said, as the ARC System generated ancient ruins underwater.
"Let's Duel!" Taion exclaimed, activating his Duel Disk.
"Um, right." Leni replied, not as ready as her opponent was. "I call heads."
Leni: LP: 8000 Hand: 5
Taion: LP: 8000 Hand: 5
The coin then flipped into the air, as it landed with heads facing up.
"I suppose it's ladies first then." Taion smirked.
"Uh, okay." Leni said, before picking a card from her hand. "I play the Spell, Advanced Ritual Art. By sending monsters from my deck to my graveyard, I can Ritual Summon a Monster with the total level of the monsters I discard. I send two Gyakutenno Megami's to the Graveyard, in order to summon Herald of Ultimateness."
Herald of Ultimateness
Attribute: LIGHT
Monster Type: Fairy
Level: 12
ATK/DEF: 2000/3000
"I guess I'll end my turn." Leni said.
Leni: Hand: 3
'Impressive.' Taion thought. 'She managed to summon a Level 12 Monster on her first turn, and one with a very powerful ability. Whenever an opponent would Activate any Card Effect's or try to Special Summon, they can discard a Fairy Monster from their hand to the Graveyard to negate the summon or activation, and destroy it. However, just like most monsters, its power can also be its weakness.'
"It's my turn! I draw!" Taion exclaimed, drawing his card.
Taion: Hand: 6
"First, I'll set the Pendulum Scale with Scale 4 D/D/D Supersight King Zero Maxwell and Scale 6 D/D Savant Thomas!" Taion said, placing his two Pendulum
"I don't think so! I activate Herald of Ultimateness's effect! By sending two fairy monsters from my hand to my Graveyard, I can negate, and destroy your Monsters." Leni said. "And since they were destroyed by a card effect, they don't go to the Extra Deck!"
Leni: Hand: 1
"Indeed. They go to the Graveyard." Taion nodded. "I'll end my turn by setting one monster face down in Defense Mode."
Taion: Hand: 1
Meanwhile, in one of the Waiting Room's…
"I don't get it." Lucy said, as she and the remaining sisters were watching the match. "If it wasn't for Leni's Monster, Taion would be allowed to Pendulum Summon only Level 5 Monsters. Why would he set such a small Pendulum Scale?"
"Because he wasn't going to Pendulum Summon." Lisa realized.
"What do you mean?" Lucy asked.
"Think about it. As long as Leni has a Fairy Type Monster in her hand, she can negate anything Taion tries, but he keeps making her use her Monster's ability…" Lisa said.
"...Then Leni will have no monsters in her hand, leaving her with nothing to summon!" Lucy exclaimed, as the rest of the sisters gasped in horror.
"It's my move!" Leni said, gaining more confidence as she drew.
Leni: Hand: 2
"I summon Sonic Bird in Attack Mode!" Leni said,
Sonic Bird
Attribute: WIND
Monster Type: Winged Beast
Level: 4
ATK/DEF: 1400/1000
"When Sonic Bird is successfully Normal or Flipped Summoned, I can add a Ritual Spell from my deck to my hand!" Leni explained, as she picked Oracle of the Herald, before her Duel Disk shuffled her Deck.
"I play the trap, Fiendish Chain!" Taion said, as chains emerged from his trap and wrapped around Leni's Ritual Monster. "Now that Herald of Ultimateness is in chains, he can't attack or use his ability!"
"Fine then. I'll switch Ultimateness to Defense Mode, and attack with Sonic Bird!" Leni said, as her bird flew in and was about to attack Taion's face down monster.
"I play D/D/D Contract Change!" Taion exclaimed, playing his other face down card. "Since you declared an attack, I can activate 1 of 2 effects. The first is that I can banish 1 D/D/D monster from my Graveyard, and your monster would lose Attack Points equal to the Attack Points of the banished Monster, but I think I will use it's other effect, which lets me add a Level 4 or lower D/D Pendulum Monster from my deck to my hand! I will choose D/D Savant Copernicus!" He then added said monster to his hand, before Sonic Bird Destroyed his face down monster.
Taion: Hand: 2
"I'll end my turn. It's your move." Leni said.
Leni: Hand: 2
"Very well." Taion nodded.
Taion: Hand: 3
"I summon D/D Cerberus!" Taion said, as he played an anthropomorphic three headed dog.
D/D Cerberus
Attribute: DARK
Monster Type: Fiend
Level: 4
ATK/DEF: 1800/600
Pendulum Scale: 6
"Now, Cerberus, attack Sonic Bird!" Taion ordered, as his monster destroyed Leni's creature.
Leni: LP: 8000 - 400 = 7600 LP
"I believe that's all for now."
Taion: Hand: 2
"Then it's my move!"
Leni: Hand: 3
"From my hand, I play the Ritual Spell, Oracle of the Herald! Now I use my Herald of Ultimateness as Tribute, in order to bring out a new one!" Leni said, as her monster in chains then vanished, before another took its place, with it unaffected by anything.
Herald of Ultimateness
Attribute: LIGHT
Monster Type: Fairy
Level: 12
ATK/DEF: 2000/3000
It was then Taion chuckled, which Leni noticed. "What's so funny?"
"Nothing. I'm just impressed, that's all." He replied.
"Huh?"
"The Ultimateness you already had couldn't attack or use its ability, so you still made it be useful by using it to bring out a new one, one that is not affected by my trap." Taion commented, as he pointed at his Fiendish Chain card. "And since it was tributed instead of being destroyed, my trap stays on the field, making me have one less zone to use Spell and Trap Cards."
"Yeah, I did…" Leni said, smiling as she realized that she pulled off a clever move. "Well, I hope you like this one. Ultimateness, attack D/D Cerberus!" Leni ordered, as her Ritual Monster then destroyed the three headed dog.
Taion: LP: 8000 - 200 = 7800 LP
"D/D Cerberus is a Pendulum Monster, so when it is destroyed by battle, it gets sent to the Extra Deck instead of the Graveyard." Taion stated, as he placed his monster in his Extra Deck.
"Very well. I'll end my turn and pass it to you, so give me your best shot!" Leni smiled.
Leni: Hand: 1
"With pleasure!" Taion said.
Taion: Hand: 3
"To start, I'll set the Pendulum Scale with Scale 1 D/D Savant Copernicus and Scale 10 D/D Savant Newton! I'm taking control of this duel, starting now!" Taion said, as he placed two cards on opposite ends of his duel disk, making it light up with the word "PENDULUM" in rainbow-colored text. Two columns of light then shot out from the ground, as two mechanical monsters appeared inside them. One of them looked to have a sun in its center with the muber 1 underneath, while the other had a set of five orbs, swinging back and forth, and had the number 10 below it.
Taion: Pendulum Scale: 1 and 10
"I am now able to Summon D/D Monsters that are Level's 2 through 9, all at once!" Taion exclaimed, as a vortex appeared between the two columns, and two different flashes of light shot out, and took the form of two monsters. "I Pendulum Summon D/D Cerberus and D/D/D Vice King Requiem!"
D/D Cerberus
Attribute: DARK
Monster Type: Fiend
Level: 4
ATK/DEF: 1800/600
Pendulum Scale: 6
D/D/D Vice King Requiem
Attribute: DARK
Monster Type: Fiend
Level: 8
ATK/DEF: 2800/2000
Pendulum Scale: 4
"Vice King Requiem, attack Ultimateness!" Taion ordered as the Vice King then destroyed Leni's only monster.
Leni: LP: 7600 - 800 = 6800
"Now Cerberus, attack Leni directly!" The three-headed dog then attacked, as Leni prepared for impact, before the monster started to bite her. "I end my turn."
Leni: LP: 6800 - 1800 = 5000 LP
"I guess it's my move then!" Leni smirked, drawing her next card.
Leni: Hand: 2
"I'll set one monster face down in Defense mode, and end my turn!" Leni stated.
Leni: Hand: 1
"Then it's my turn!" Taion exclaimed.
Taion: Hand: 1
"You've done well to come this far, Leni, but now it's time to end this duel, by summoning the Tuner Monster, D/D Nighthowl, in Attack Mode," Taion said, as he brought out a rather vicious looking monster that just looked like a living mouth.
D/D Nighthowl
Attribute: DARK
Monster Type: Fiend
Level: 3
ATK/DEF: 300/600
"D/D Nighthowl's Effect activates, allowing me to bring back a D/D to the field. However, when I do this, whatever Monster Nighthowl's effect brings back has its Attack and Defense Points reduced to 0. Return, D/D/D Supersight King Zero Maxwell!" Taion said, as his monster was summoned.
D/D/D Supersight King Zero Maxwell
Attribute: DARK
Monster Type: Fiend
Level: 7
ATK/DEF: 2800/2500 - 2800/2500 = 0/0
Pendulum Scale: 4
"Now the time has come. Level 3 D/D Night Howl will Tune with Level 7 D/D/D Supersight King Zero Maxwell, to Synchro Summon Level 10 D/D/D Super Doom King Bright Armageddon!" Taion exclaimed, as his monster turned into three green stars, which then turned into rings, which then surrounded his king, turning it into stars, before a flash of light filled the stadium, and a bright white monster with two detached arms appeared.
D/D/D Super Doom King Bright Armageddon
Attribute: DARK
Monster Type: Fiend
Level: 10
ATK/DEF: 3500/3000
Pendulum Scale: 1
"Now I will Pendulum from my Extra Deck, D/D/D Supersight King Zero Maxwell!" Taion said, as his Pendulum monster returned. "Now, Maxwell, attack Leni's face down monster!" Taion ordered, as the monster revealed to be a second Sonic Bird. "Now I will attack you directly with the rest of my monsters!" Taion said, as his Monsters waged their furious onslaught on Leni.
Leni: LP: 5000 - 81100 - 0 LP
Winner: Taion
"It's all over! Despite his best efforts, Leni Loud has been defeated by the Number Two Duelist in the World, Taion!" the announcer bellowed.
"Good game, Taion," Leni congratulated her opponent, as she got up while the field disappeared.
"Thanks. Glad to see you're not sore about the loss," Taion said.
"Yeah, I am bummed that I lost, but this was a fun duel." Leni said, before remembering something. "Oh, right! This is yours." She then pulled out Taion's Mondo.
"Keep it. You might want a friend at the Mental Institute" Taion said, as another flew out of his pocket. "By the way, have you figured out the riddle I gave you?"
"Yeah, sorry. That's, like, something up Lisa's ally, so I couldn't figure it out." Leni said.
"The answer…" Taion smirked, "Is to make them your friend."
"Oooohhh." Leni realized, as some doctors came out.
"Is she one of our patients?" One of the doctors asked.
"Yes." Taion said. "Though can I make a request, doctor?"
"Yes?"
"Be sure not to confiscate my gift I gave her." Taion said, shocking them. "I want it to serve as a reminder of what happened today.
"Um, sure." The doctor said, unsure, as they escorted Leni out. "What exactly did he give you?" He asked Leni.
Leni said nothing, as she held the sleeping Mondo in her hands. "Everything."
"Leni may have lost the duel, but she did not lose herself. She learned something very valuable today that will never be forgotten." Noah said, as the other duelists nodded.
"Know thy enemy, know thy friend." Mio smiled.
Author's Note:
In case anyone is wondering, I am using the 2014 Master Rules, the ones before Link Monsters were introduced.
Streem Tech Links:
.tech/poll/770
.tech/poll/783
To vote, click or enter the links above.