Starting Notes:
Welcome back! The author-typical disclaimer is here—Keika's narration is once again very rude to several characters. The author does not share these opinions.
#4: Moonlight That Pierces The Clouds
The boy, Sora, looked surprised when he saw them, before he schooled his features. "Who's that?" He asked, pointing to Kanae. "Are you guys clones or something?"
"Why would someone clone me?" Keika said, rather exasperated.
"They would clone me, because I'm perfect," Kanae said smugly. "Maybe that's why we look so similar."
"... no, I was literally born from my mother. I have a birth certificate."
"Well, clone theory's busted then."
"Hey! Could you pass the cereal?"
Keika reflected that while Kanae had been a surprising, but welcome presence in the house, this new boy, Sora Shiun'in, was anything but welcome. There were several reasons for that. Firstly, he was a suck up, and he had somehow charmed Keika's mother into letting him stay there for no reason at all. Secondly, he was loud, and not in a good way—every part of him was ridiculously exaggerated. And thirdly, he seemed to be stalking Yuya, who seemed uncomfortable about it.
Three strikes usually meant that a person was out. However…
Well, Keika would never claim to understand why her mother was so fond of taking in strays.
"Hey, hey!" Sora said, waving a spoon through the air. "Cereal?"
Keika tilted her head, keeping a calm expression despite her irritation. She picked up the box of cereal and passed it over to him.
"Thank you!~" The intruder in her peaceful home life said. Keika turned back to her own food—just as the person sitting next to her flicked their spoon upwards, sending a large spray of cereal towards Sora's face. Sora sputtered, the cereal landing all over him. Keika's mother, Yoko, hadn't been looking at them at the time.
Keika managed to avoid smiling. Kanae dipped her spoon back down into cereal, not even bothering to hide her smirk.
Yoko turned around, looking at them. "Did something happen—Sora, did you spill the cereal?"
Yuya burst into laughter, though thankfully, he was prone to laughing at anything anyway, so Yoko just smiled at him affectionately, before she turned back to fuss over Sora.
Beneath the table, Kanae held out a fist. Keika returned the fistbump.
They then moved to preparing for school. Sora and Kanae clearly weren't going to school though, so it was just the two of them, as per normal. Keika would admit to some relief at that—having some part of her regular routine with her brother remain was nice.
"Why did you let him come back with you?"
"He just kept talking to me," Yuya said with a grimace. "He showed up at You Show and asked where you were, and then we dueled. And then he said that he was going to ask you to be his teacher because of Pendulum Summoning, but since I won, he asked me to be his teacher instead. And then he followed me back here."
… seems that Kanae helped me dodge a bullet.
"You don't like him?" Keika said. "Should I say something to mum, if you won't?"
Yuya gave her a side-eyed glance. "I don't think you're the most objective person for that," her brother pointed out. "You clearly don't like him that much."
Keika shrugged, brushing her fringe out of her eyes. "I don't like a lot of people," she said neutrally. She slung her bag over her shoulder. "Are you ready?"
Yuya nodded. The two of them left to walk to school together.
"You seem to be getting along quite well with Kanae-san," Yuya said as they passed by a rather busy street.
"She said to call her Kanae," Keika reminded him. "And she's… rather interesting to be around."
"Considering that you're allowing her to follow you to your sunrise viewing sessions, I'd agree with that," Yuya said cheerfully. "Nice to see you actually make a friend for once."
Keika rolled her eyes, not dignifying that with a response.
They entered their school, walking through the corridors towards their classroom—
Only for Keika to be met with a large bouquet of flowers to the face.
"I suppose that my last invitation must have gotten stuck in the mail," Sawatari said with a low bow. Keika frowned, taking a step back. "So I'll just get you a bigger bouquet this time! Will you go on a date with me, Keika Sakaki?"
There were gasps in the corridor, and everyone was looking at them. Keika grimaced. She had never wanted to be the centre of attention. Yuya looked somewhat uncomfortable with the situation as well. She pushed the flowers away from her face. "Sorry, I'm not interested," she said bluntly. "Could we get to class…?"
"Huh?"
Before Sawatari could react, Keika grabbed Yuya's hand and immediately broke into a run. There was a shout from behind her, but Keika kept going regardless.
"How did you end up in this situation?" Yuya exclaimed.
"Oh sure, blame me," Keika muttered. She shook her head. "Look, I don't like him."
"Oh, thank god," Yuya said. "I'd never want him to be my brother-in-law."
"That's—no. Absolutely not." Keika didn't even glance behind them as they carried on sprinting through the corridors. "If I ever decide to date him, the world is ending or something. Maybe not even then."
Yuya snorted.
After all of that, they hastily retreated from school to head to their Duel School. Yuzu was with them, looking like she might burst out laughing at any moment.
"Shut it," Keika said irritably, but she didn't actually mean it. That actually tipped Yuzu over the edge, and the giggles followed behind her all the way to their school.
Sora was already there, along with Ayu, Futoshi and Tatsuya. He seemed to be entertaining the kids, which was… alright, Keika would give him credit for that. It was actually somewhat helpful of him, shockingly. Kanae was seated at the side of the room, wearing earphones and scrolling through—
"Is that my phone?" Keika said. She hadn't charged it this morning, so she had left it at home to charge, but…
"Your music taste is shit," Kanae said, smirking at her.
"Are you qualified to judge my music taste?" Keika said idly.
"I'll have you know that I'd probably be better at singing than any of you. If we go for karaoke, you'll see." Kanae looked at her smugly. She leaned back against the wall. "Anyway, the weather's awful. The sun's burning me alive."
"I don't mind it," Keika said.
"You're literally suntanned from head to toe from how much time you spend outside," Yuya joked. "I don't think you get to talk, sis—it is pretty hot outside."
"My skin is nice and healthy and pale," Kanae said with a smirk. "Do you have any idea how much lotion I use to keep it this nice?"
Keika raised an eyebrow. Yes, she had an idea, considering that Kanae was currently borrowing her stuff. That new bottle of lotion was practically half-gone, and the girl had only been here for a bit under two weeks.
"I can get some ice cream," Yuzu offered, standing up. "You guys can practice while I'm gone?"
"I'll go with Big Sister Yuzu!" Ayu said cheerfully, and that was that.
Somewhere in the city, there was a sharp burst of light. A few figures appeared, though they were all wearing hoods of tattered fabric. They talked to each other for a moment, before they separated.
No one noticed them there at all.
At least, no one on the streets.
"Oh?" Up in his office, Reiji Akaba raised an eyebrow. "... intriguing."
Yuzu and Ayu exchanged an awkward look, standing outside the warehouse.
"And so, with this new and improved deck," the loud and confident voice of Shingo Sawatari said from inside, concluding the long monologue, "I'm going to finally challenge and defeat that coward, Yuya Sakaki, who was hiding behind his sister! I'll prove that I'm stronger than him!"
Yuzu frowned, ticked off. "Ayu-chan, bring the ice cream back," she said. The two of them had been standing there for a while—the tubs of ice cream were probably melting by now, and the others were probably wondering how they had taken so long. The red-haired girl ran off, though she shot a confused look back at Yuzu.
Yuzu slammed the door open.
"Listen!" She said, stunning the four boys inside with the shout. "Yuya wasn't hiding behind Keika! You know nothing about both of them—it was because you stole Yuya's cards that Keika dueled you! Because she was angry at you!"
Sawatari stood up, stepping forward. "Is that what you're saying then?" He said with a sneer. "Then what about you? Why was she angry enough to step in for him when you weren't?"
Yuzu bristled. "What did you say? I don't mind dueling you if you really want to taunt me that much—"
"Now, now, that won't do!" A voice called from above. Yuzu and Sawatari both glanced up to see a cable hooked to the top of the warehouse, before a girl swung down from the opening high above them, in the wall. A grappling hook clattered to the ground next to the girl.
The girl was wearing a white fedora with some thin golden swirls around it. She was wearing a blue tunic and a pair of blue-grey long pants, along with white thigh-high boots. A cloak that was dark blue on the inside, and white on the outside swept around her, going down to slightly below her knees. Long golden yellow hair that turned orange at the ends could be seen pouring from beneath the fedora. There was a coy smirk on the girl's face as she adjusted the white gloves that she was wearing. Her smirk wasn't fully hidden by the white half-mask over the left side of her face. Blue eyes twinkled with a cat-like amusement.
"1v1 when you have a trio of cheerleaders sitting there and doing nothing?" The girl said confidently. "Boring~" There was something supremely playful to the girl, who tipped her fedora a second later. "Hey, hey, pinkie. You have a really annoying face, and I really don't like the ones who get so hyped up over nothing serious, so why don't you sit back and just calm down, yeah?"
"What the fuck is that get-up?" Sawatari sneered, recovering from his shock. "Are you some kind of cosplayer?"
"... right, y'all don't have avatars, because you're weird. I always forget that." The girl tilted her head. "I guess you could call it a disguise? Or do you need simpler words? Uh, this is a hologram, idiot."
"This is my duel!" Yuzu objected.
"Oh?" The golden-haired girl turned over, a bright smirk on her face. "Shh, backstage actor. I haven't had fun like this in a month!"
"B-backstage actor?" Yuzu stammered. What the hell was this girl saying?
"So you're challenging me?" Sawatari said, seeming to recover faster than Yuzu.
"Challenging you?" The girl laughed. "As if! Aren't you the challenger? I'm just accepting the challenge. I'm the main character, after all, and you're the comic relief that I'll crush in my free time." She curved a finger towards herself. "Come on, all four of you at once."
Sawatari's lackeys, who had been all staring at the girl (the very pretty girl, Yuzu would admit, despite the fact that she was not into girls at all), seemed to snap out of it. "All four of us?" One of them demanded. "Oi, do you think we're that easy to defeat?"
"Well, obviously I don't think I can lose," the girl said, her smile sweet and sharp. "Well?"
"Hah!" Sawatari took another step forward. "If you say that, don't cry when we defeat you!"
Yuzu saw the girl grin widely again.
Why did this girl feel both familiar and dangerous?
"What's your name?"
"... ah, right." The girl tilted her head. "... nah! You side characters aren't worth knowing my name. You can call me Cloud Piercer. That's what most people know me as."
Cloud Piercer?...
[DUEL!]
Cloud Piercer: 4000LP
Shingo Sawatari: 4000LP
Kakimoto: 4000LP
Yamabe: 4000LP
Ootomo: 4000LP
"No one can attack until everyone's taken a turn," Cloud Piercer said with a slight smirk. "Deal?"
"Oh, you can't defend against all of us at once?"
"Oh, I can," the golden-haired girl replied. "But I'd much prefer giving you guys a chance to survive. Well? Which turn do you want me to take?"
"You can have the fourth turn," Sawatari sneered. "You three can go first—I want the first battle phase."
"Hah. Trying to stop me from interfering in your turns?" Cloud Piercer tilted her head. "Maybe you're not an idiot with zero brain cells after all. You have at least one brain cell."
"What—"
"Well, minor characters A, B, C?" Cloud Piercer said, turning directly away from Sawatari. Yuzu swallowed a laugh. "Your comic relief boss already asked you to take your turn."
"You—" The first one, Ootomo, drew the top five cards of his deck. The rest of them all drew their first hands as well. "I'll start! I'll discard a card from my hand to Special Summon Berlines the Vassal of the Flame Monarch from my hand, but I can't Special Summon monsters from my Extra Deck this turn!" A young man in red armour appeared with a dark blue cloak around him, rings of fire dancing around his wrists.
[Berlines the Vassal of the Fire Monarch (3*/800/1000/FIRE/Pyro/Effect)]
"And I will release Berlines to Advance Summon Thestalos the Flame Monarch!" A seemingly older warrior appeared, still wearing the same red-tinted armour.
[Thestalos the Flame Monarch (6*/2400/1000/FIRE/Pyro/Effect)]
"I will activate Thestalos's effect. I can discard a random card from your hand, and if it's a monster, I can inflict 100 damage to you times its Level, Then, I will chain Berlines's effect." Ootomo grinned. "I will look at your hand and banish a card until the End Phase! And since the Chain resolves in reverse order, I can look at your hand first!"
"Oh, so you want to boost your chance of discarding a monster?" Cloud Piercer nodded, smiling with an innocent shine in her blue eyes. However, that innocence was clearly anticipatory—she was waiting for something. She flipped over her hand. "Well, pick what you want!"
Yuzu's eyes widened—
All five cards had green borders.
"What—"
"Pick!" Cloud Piercer repeated, still smirking.
"Ugh—the leftmost card." Then, Thestalos's effect resolved, but Cloud Piercer took no damage. "How many Spells do you run in that deck, anyway… I will set a card and end my turn."
Cloud Piercer added the banished card back to her hand.
The second one, Kakimoto, started his turn—no one could draw a card on their first turn in a Battle Royale. He placed down a card. "Spell Card, Hand Obliteration. All players discard as many cards from their hands as possible, and draw the same number of cards that they discarded!" They all cycled out their cards.
"Oh, trying to make me have monsters in hand," Cloud Piercer said. "Alright then!" She drew the four cards from her deck, replacing her hand. "So?"
"I'll banish a Spell Card from my graveyard to Special Summon Magic Striker from my hand." A tiny toy doll in a blue helmet appeared.
[Magic Striker (3*/600/200/EARTH/Warrior/Effect)]
"I will release Magic Striker to Advance Summon Thestalos the Flame Monarch as well!" Another copy of the monster appeared on the field. "I will discard a card from your hand!"
Cloud Piercer hummed, discarding another card, leaving her with only three cards in hand. She took no damage again.
"That still wasn't a monster?" Kakimoto exclaimed, sounding annoyed. "How badly are you bricking?"
There was something sly and coy to the girl's smirk.
Kakimoto ended his turn.
"No matter how many Spells you have, you're going to lose three cards from your hand before you even get to start," Yamabe, the third one said. "I'm going to activate the Spell Card, Domain of the True Monarchs! I will then discard a card and Special Summon Berlines from my hand as well, before releasing him to Advance Summon Thestalos the Flame Monarch. And I will use Berlines's effect to check your hand!"
A cocky laugh escaped the girl. "It's the same result, darlings," she said mockingly. The three cards revealed themselves.
The borders were green.
"What…" Yuzu blinked.
"Which one do you want to banish, minor character?" Cloud Piercer said, tilting her head. "A, B or C?"
"... the leftmost card." Thestalos's effect discarded another card, but Cloud Piercer was once again untouched. Yuzu thought about it—if it had been her, she would probably have discarded at least two monsters by now.
This girl, this odd strategy…
The third player ended their turn.
"With Domain of the True Monarchs, you can't Special Summon monsters from the Extra Deck while only I control an Advance Summoned monster on the field!" Yamabe declared.
Cloud Piercer grinned. "... only you?" She asked. "Only you?"
Yamabe blinked. Then he glanced at his two friends, who both had the same monster on the field.
"What a shame," Cloud Piercer continued. "That card's useless because of your own strategy." She took back the card that had been banished from her hand.
"But you—what can you do with only two cards in hand?"
"A lot," Cloud Piercer said. "Continuous Spell, Flash Sword Engine - Multirole. I will then activate the Spell Card, Flash Sword Startup - Engage. Since I control no monsters in my Main Monster Zone, I can add a "Flash Sword" card from my deck to my hand. Then, since I have at least three Spells in my graveyard, I can draw a card."
"At least three Spells in your graveyard?" Kakimoto repeated. "That's…"
"In the end, you did nothing to me," Cloud Piercer concluded. She carried a rather kingly manner to her—or perhaps, a tyrannical look in her eyes. She added the two cards from her deck to her hand without any hesitation. "You just made it a bit simpler, really! If you cut off a few fingers, I just have to use the remaining two, no?"
"... the fuck is that metaphor?" Sawatari muttered.
"I'll Normal Summon Flash Sword Princess - Raye!" A girl with long blonde hair and blue eyes appeared, wearing a black jacket with a white shirt and skirt underneath it. She almost looked like a more casually-dressed version of Cloud Piercer herself, except with blonde air except for the vibrant golden yellow.
[Flash Sword Princess - Raye (4*/1500/1500/DARK/Warrior/Effect)]
"I will activate the Trap Card, Pitfall of Naraka. I will destroy and banish your monster!"
Cloud Piercer smirked as the pit appeared below Raye. "The effect of Flash Sword Princess - Raye," she said. Raye smirked as well. "At any time—by releasing this pretty warrior, I can Special Summon a "Flash Sword Princess" monster from my Extra Deck to the Extra Monster Zone." The blonde girl leapt up, escaping the pitfall.
From nearby, Yuzu blinked. Excluding Yuya's Pendulum, there were five summoning methods. Fusion, Synchro, Xyz, Ritual and… the one summoning method that was restricted by the Extra Monster Zone.
"Come from the Extra Deck! Streak of flame that cuts through the night sky—Flash Sword Princess - Kagari!" The blonde girl from before appeared, seeming slightly older and wearing bright red armour around her body that resembled that of a samurai's outfit. She had several black wing-like structures behind her with lines running through them like molten magma. She was holding onto the same sword as earlier, though it was clearly on fire.
[Flash Sword Princess - Kagari (L1/1500/FIRE/Machine/Link/Effect/↖)
"Since Kagari was Special Summoned, I can add a "Flash Sword" card from my graveyard to my hand. No prizes for guessing which one." Cloud Piercer winked, revealing Flash Sword Startup - Engage in her hand again. "I have no monsters in my Main Monster Zones. So I can add a "Flash Sword" card from my deck to my hand, and draw another card." She replenished her hand right afterwards. "I even sacrificed the first turn to you guys and you couldn't even get anything done? How boring…"
Kagari glowed.
"Open, circuit of the dazzling fault lines," Cloud Piercer said cheerfully. On top of her, a beautiful circuit appeared—split diagonally, with the left side built from a thin silver crescent that stretched out in glassy lines like streams of light, and the other side made of dark metal, with a mechanical sheen and swirling shadows around it. "The conditions are one non-WATER "Flash Sword Princess" monster. I will set Flash Sword Princess - Kagari in the Link Markers. Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Link 1! Sending fine ripples through the air with the slash of her sword—Flash Sword Princess - Shizuku!" A paler form of Raye appeared, wearing black armour with blue lights all over the armour, smiling confidently.
[Flash Sword Princess - Shizuku (L1/1500/WATER/Machine/Link/Effect/↗)]
"Spell Card, Flash Sword Skill - Vectored Blast," Cloud Piercer continued. "We all send two cards from the top of our deck to the graveyard." She winked. "I will set a card and end my turn. I currently have eleven Spells in my graveyard. First, the effect of Flash Sword Engine - Multirole. I can set "Flash Sword" Spells from my graveyard to my field, up to the number of "Flash Sword" Spells I activated this turn while Multirole was face-up on the field. I activated three. But I'll only set one." A single card appeared on her field, set facedown. "Then, I can add a "Flash Sword" Spell from my deck to my hand, with a different name from the cards in my graveyard."
Ten Spells in the graveyard now. Yuzu noticed that just from her description.
Was that important for some reason?
"Let's see if you can do anything with four Battle Phases," Cloud Piercer said.
"It's finally my turn!" Sawatari crowed, seemingly not intimidated by the girl's words at all. "You're so proud of that backrow of yours? I'll remove it! Since you control two or more Spells or Traps, I can Special Summon Escher the Vassal of the Ice Monarch from my hand!" A humanoid figure made of dark blue metal appeared, with lighter blue armour around it.
[Escher the Vassal of the Ice Monarch (4*/800/1000/WATER/Aqua/Effect)]
"And I'll release Escher to Advance Summon Mobius the Ice Monarch!" A figure covered from head to toe with the icy blue armour appeared, a blue leathery cape sweeping behind him as snowflakes flew around him.
[Mobius the Ice Monarch (6*/2400/1000/WATER/Aqua/Effect)]
"And when Mobius is Advance Summoned, I can destroy two Spells or Traps on the field! I will destroy—"
One of Cloud Piercer's set cards flipped up. "So boring," she said. "Quickplay Spell, Flash Sword Mecha - Widow Anchor." A grappling claw shot forward, closing around Mobius. "I can negate the effects of an Effect Monster on the field and take control of it, since I have at least three Spell Cards in my graveyard." Widow Anchor was the card that she had set directly from her hand, so it went to the graveyard instead of being banished. "You'll get it back during the End Phase."
"You—" Sawatari sputtered. He glanced at his hand again. "I—"
"Is that really all you have?"
"Don't look down on me!" Sawatari took a card from his hand and swiftly set it facedown. "I'll set a card facedown and end my turn! You three! Finish her off!"
"Oh, Multirole works during your turn too," Cloud Piercer said. She deliberately revealed Widow Anchor and set it back to her field.
"Your monster is still weak!" Ootomo declared, drawing a card. "Thestalos will attack your monster!"
"... you're rather unobservant, aren't you?" Cloud Piercer said, tilting her head. "Look at your monsters' attack points. All of your monsters."
They all looked—including Yuzu, all of them staring in shock.
[Mobius the Ice Monarch: 2400 - 100 x 10 = 1400ATK; 1000 - 100 x 10 = 0DEF]
[Thestalos the Flame Monarch (x3): 2400 - 100 x 10 = 1400ATK; 1000 - 100 x 10 = 0DEF]
"Really, I was just being nice when I stopped you earlier!" Cloud Piercer said cutely. "After all, you'd have leapt straight into Shizuku's guns otherwise. Your friend isn't so lucky though…" Thestalos was destroyed, with Ootomo taking some damage.
Ootomo: 4000 - 100 = 3900LP
"Damn it!" Ootomo ended his turn there with another set card.
"Draw." Kakimoto frowned. "Are you hacking? Why—"
"Yes, I managed to hack into all of your duel disks without raising a finger." Cloud Piercer snorted. "I'm not Dazzling Spring, good grief." There was a sense of distaste that broke through her pretty demeanour for a moment, before she tilted her head. "Hmm. Back home, I'm one of the most famous people in the world… I'm not used to someone not knowing what my cards do."
Was that why she had so confidently taken on four people at once? Because she was used to worse odds?
"Shizuku lowers your monsters' attack and defense points by 100 for each Spell in my graveyard," Cloud Piercer said. "There's a reason why I only set one card to my field with Multirole's effect, you know. All Level 6 Monarchs have 2400 attack points."
"... well, I'll just summon a Level 8 Monarch then! By releasing an Advance Summoned monster, I can Advance Summon Thestalos the Explosive Flame Monarch." A humanoid figure in armour that was coppery green and… coppery orange at the same time."And I can use its effect!"
[Thestalos the Explosive Flame Monarch (8*/2800/1000/FIRE/Pyro/Effect)]
"... come on," Cloud Piercer said with a sigh. "Widow Anchor." She flipped up the Spell, and it was banished due to the effect of Multirole. She took control of Thestalos until the End Phase, negating its effects.
Kakimoto ended his turn as well, and Yamabe started his turn. "But you no longer have Widow Anchor," he pointed out.
"Quite obviously," Cloud Piercer said sweetly. "So?"
"I will tribute Thestalos to Normal Summon Zaborg the Thunder Monarch." Dressed in silver armour, with red gauntlets, the new monarch appeared.
[Zaborg the Thunder Monarch (5*/2400/1000/LIGHT/Thunder/Effect)]
"I can destroy a monster you control!"
The final set card flipped up. "Quickplay Spell, Flash Sword Mecha - Eagle Booster," Cloud Piercer said. "Shizuku is unaffected by other card effects, except its own, until the End Phase. And you can't touch her in battle, can you?"
"You're a bitch…" Yamabe muttered.
"Oh?" Cloud Piercer laughed. "Does that mean you end your turn?"
Wordlessly, the boy ended his turn.
"Aww, thanks. I'll use the effect of Multirole during the End Phase. I will set Flash Sword Startup - Engage to my field." Cloud Piercer drew a card. "I'll activate Engage and add a "Flash Sword" card from my deck to my hand, along with drawing a card." She now had five cards in her hand. "Flash Sword Mecha - Widow Anchor." She activated the second copy of Widow Anchor. "I will take control of your Thestalos the Explosive Flame Monarch and negate its effects."
"That card again?"
"If you're complaining, I'll do it again," Cloud Piercer said. Shizuku vanished from the field, before Kagari appeared again. "I will add Flash Sword Mecha - Widow Anchor from my graveyard to my hand. Of course, I can't use it while there is a monster in my Main Monster Zones, so let's make use of your monster!"
The strange monochrome, dual-coloured circuit appeared above her again.
"And now, I'll open the circuit of the dazzling fault lines again. Arrowhead confirmed. The conditions are two monsters, including a "Flash Sword Princess" monster! I will set Flash Sword Princess - Kagari and Thestalos in the Link Markers! Mechanical beauty of dark steel and golden faults. Flash of cold steel that cuts across the darkness with precision and perfection! Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Link 2! Flash Sword Princess - Zeke!"
A woman in black armour appeared, gold trim on its armour, metallic spikes sticking out from her mechanical suit. She swung a bloody-looking sword through the air.
[Flash Sword Princess - Zeke (L2/1500/DARK/Machine/Link/Effect/↑, ↓)]
"Since Zeke was Link Summoned, I can target a monster you control and banish it until the next End Phase. I will choose Mobius the Ice Monarch. Swift Banishment Strike!" She removed another monster from the field.
"Also, since I Special Summoned a "Flash Sword Princess" monster, I can Special Summon Flash Sword Princess - Roze from my hand." A white-haired girl appeared, wearing a long black scarf, and holding onto a bloody red sword, with a rather cool black hat.
[Flash Sword Princess - Roze (4*/1500/1500/LIGHT/Warrior/Effect)]
"And open again, circuit of the dazzling fault lines," Cloud Piercer said. "Arrowhead confirmed! The conditions are two or more monsters with different names. I'll set Flash Sword Princess - Zeke and Flash Sword Princess - Roze in the Link Markers." She smiled brightly. "Dragon with the lovely demeanour. Under the thin, pale moon, cast your gaze of judgement. With arrogant sweet charm and merciless mechanical efficiency, chain them to your whims and your fancy. Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Link 3! Moonshine Anchor Link Dragon!"
… Link Dragon? Like Yuya and Keika's dragons?
A beautiful dragon appeared—it resembled Cloud Piercer's white and blue clothing more than it did her golden hair, though it was more off-white. Light grey. It was slender, with long, sharp limbs. It was certainly graceful, but every part of it also screamed 'predator'. Its white-silver scales made it look like a piece of the moon that had been carved out into the shape of a dragon, and it seemed to reflect any light that touched it as well. Long glassy talons raked across the ground sharply. When it laughed, it was with a sharp, tinkling, melodious sound of a ringing bell. Not quite loud and disturbing, but certainly something melodic but offputting.
Sharp wings struck out behind it—sharp white, with silver and light blue streaks across it. They were sleek metal that wasn't reflective—rather, it was a mix of pale wires, white rock and grey-blue metal. A long, feathery blue tail swished through the air. There was a thick mane along its graceful neck as well.
[Moonshine Anchor Link Dragon (L3/2000/EARTH/Dragon/Link/Effect/↙, ↓, ↘)]
"The fact that you can Link Summon so much… but your monster has only 2000 attack points!"
A slight smirk appeared on Cloud Piercer's face. "I will activate the Spell Card, Flash Sword Skill - Scissor Cross. Since I have at least three Spells in my graveyard, I can Special Summon a Level 4 "Flash Sword Princess" monster from my graveyard." Flash Sword Princess - Raye reappeared on the field. "Since I control a "Flash Sword Princess" monster, I can tribute a monster from either player's field to Special Summon Flash Strategic Weapon H.A.M.P. to that field. I will tribute the final Thestalos the Flame Monarch." A large black robot appeared on Ootomo's field, replacing his monster.
[Flash Strategic Weapon H.A.M.P. (8*/2500/2500/DARK/Machine/Effect)]
"Why would you give me a stronger monster?"
"Once per turn, if a monster is Special Summoned, Moonshine Anchor Link Dragon gains attack points equal to that monster's attack points," Cloud Piercer explained. "Lunatic Laugh Captivation!" Moonshine Anchor flew forward, digging her claws into the robot's armour, drawing forth drops of blood with trilling, bell-like laughter, streams of light dancing around her.
[Moonshine Anchor Link Dragon: 2000 + 2500 = 4500ATK]
"And that monster cannot attack this turn, but it doesn't matter, since it's my turn."
"You summoned your monster to my field so that you could sap its strength?"
"It's a good show, isn't it? Fair in all ways." Cloud Piercer held up a finger. "One. Moonshine Anchor Link Dragon will attack you directly, loudmouth comic relief."
"Wha—"
The dragon dived forward.
"Serene Claw," Cloud Piercer said, and the dragon struck down Sawatari in a single shot.
Sawatari: 4000 - 4500 = 0LP
"And that means that your monster, which I banished with Zeke's effect, will never come back." Cloud Piercer winked. Yuzu covered her mouth. Right. Some of the removal had been temporary… and that girl was keeping track of all that?
"I will have Flash Sword Princess - Raye attack the monster I gave you," Cloud Piercer continued. "And when a monster Moonshine Anchor Link Dragon points to attacks a monster with lower attack points than Moonshine Anchor herself, once per turn, I can have that monster gain attack points equal to Moonshine Anchor's attack points until the end of the Battle Phase. Graceful Moonlit Madness." The dragon glided down, floating around Raye, before breathing a silver mist onto her.
[Flash Sword Princess - Raye: 1500 + 4500 = 6000ATK]
The monster was destroyed, and Yamabe had to shield himself from the attack.
Yamabe: 4000 - 3500 = 500LP
"When H.A.M.P. is destroyed by battle, I can destroy a card you control. You all basically control nothing though…" Cloud Piercer's words were practically designed to rub salt into the wound, for all that she was smiling innocently. "I will destroy Domain of the True Monarchs, I suppose." Raye's attack points went back to normal. "Oh, and minor character, don't think you've escaped. The monster that got Moonshine Anchor's boost gets to attack a second time too."
"What?"
Raye darted forward, clearing out the rest of Yamabe's life points.
Yamabe: 500 - 1500 = 0LP
"And I'll end my turn. Multirole sets three Spells back to my field." She didn't even bother to hide them—Widow Anchor and Eagle Booster were very obviously two of the Spells that she had picked up. "Well, Extras A and B?"
"... you—you're going to regret this, whoever you are!" Ootomo didn't even bother to start his turn, and after a moment, the four boys fled the warehouse, all their bluster lost, surrendering the duel.
This left just Yuzu and the girl there.
"Pity," the girl said. "They were just so… boring."
"... who are you?" Yuzu said.
The girl glanced back at Yuzu. "... I really don't like that face," she commented. "We might see each other around though!" She winked. "So just don't think too much about me, pinkie.
With the grappling hook, she vanished.
Yuzu stared after her, very baffled.
… this felt very much like the start of a magical girl anime.
"Yuzu, are you alright?"
Yuzu turned to see Yuya and Keika come in. "I've just been through a lot," she said seriously. "You have no idea."
The avatar faded away, and the moment that it did, the girl under it leaned back, gritting her teeth. The playful demeanour had faded in an instant.
That face. It still made her want to hit something. And for the last fourteen years of her life, she hadn't figured out why.
Well, she knew a reason. But there had always been an irrational hatred in her even before then, and she did not know why.
She thought about the frightened looks on the boys' faces.
"You're the only one having fun when you duel in that self-centered way, K—. You crush the spirits of others for the entertainment of yourself and your audience."
She gritted her teeth again. She thought about a blonde girl with long hair and that same face, green eyes that pierced through her every time that she saw them. A girl so different from the pink-haired girl there, but that face—
I still can't get that voice out of my head. I can't stand it. The only person I've ever lost to so pathetically, condescending to me like that…
Screw off, Miharu.
She turned around.
She had to go and meet up with the others, despite her current feelings. For the sake of the mission.
OC Cards:
Moonshine Anchor Link Dragon
(L3/2000/EARTH/Dragon/Link/Effect/↙, ↓, ↘)
2+ monsters with different names
Once per turn, if a monster(s) is Special Summoned: You can target 1 of those monster(s); this card gains ATK equal to that monster's ATK until the End Phase, and that monster cannot declare an attack this turn. Once per turn, if a monster this card points to battles a monster with lower ATK than this card's ATK: You can have that monster this card points to gain ATK equal to this card's ATK until the end of the Damage Step, and if you do, that monster can declare a second attack during this Battle Phase.
Trivia: Moonshine is a liquor that was historically distributed illegally, with the process needing to be carried out secretively at night. Of course, it also fits the theme of the dragon names, which I won't clarify until most of them are revealed, though you might already be able to hazard a guess. But yeah, two effects just like Sunburst Spark.
End Notes:
And there it is. The thing is, I struggled a lot about how to introduce Cloud Piercer when figuring out how to write this chapter. (And wow, I guess I'm going to have to call her Cloud Piercer this entire time until she shows up as herself, huh?) I think you can tell that something is very different about the world already just by this chapter, considering—where is Yuto, huh? :) Yup, we've already diverged from canon quite a lot, though I'm not elaborating. But yeah, you might notice that Yuzu is not quite as confused.
Also, very quick reminder that Cloud Piercer's appearance is just an avatar! Her actual appearance is not the same. Readers of my other story might remember me mentioning the name Cloud Piercer once too :)
Me staring at this chapter: Why did I choose to introduce the most overwhelming counterparts first?... I do intend to make them all distinct from each other though. If you think Cloud Piercer is cool, then that's great. If you think she's kind of an asshole, that's also very true. I'll say that none of Keika's counterparts, or even Keika herself, can be seen as unambiguously likeable.
Anyway, Keika's counterparts are all genuinely very different in their own way, and honestly, I love them all quite a lot. The Cloud Piercer duel has been sitting in my drive for an embarrassing amount of time. Is she the strongest counterpart? Eh. I'll pass on that question until the rest actually show up. It'll take a while for any comparison to be made.
I decided to give Thestalos to Sawatari's lackeys, just for fun, though obviously, they didn't put up a good fight here. It felt like it would fit for the mooks to use the burn cards. Unfortunately, the burn cards do nothing against Cloud Piercer, because, well, Sky Striker. I think everyone realised what deck Cloud Piercer was playing once I said she had five Spells as her starting hand, lmao. I was going to have them set up Domain to restrict her, but then I realised that Domain requires you to be the only player with a Tribute Summoned monster, and their number advantage locks them off from that. It was a funny moment in universe though.
Why Sky Striker/Flash Sword though, instead of other Link decks?... eh. I'll be honest and say that I wanted to write an archetype that completely wasn't in the anime. And well, it's actually not a full Sky Striker deck. It's a hybrid deck with one other archetype, because Sky Strikers alone are boring to read. The thing is, a lot of Link decks are, by necessity, repetitive. They have one single Link chain and nothing else. So in general, unless an OC uses Marincess/Salamangreat/ Ignister, every duel will be difficult to make look different. So well, the best solution is to make a hybrid version so that there are at least some alternate plays to work with.
There are some terminology inconsistencies in the last few chapters, such as using tribute instead of release, etc. I won't be going back to change them for now, but I will try to keep things consistent. (Terminology is OCG for in-game terms, but TCG for monster Types, etc. Essentially, I'll make sure that you always know what I mean, regardless. :))
For those who aren't readers of my other story—you don't need to read it to know what's going on here. To make sure you have the same context as the rest though, the blonde girl mentioned at the end is Yuzu's Link counterpart, Miharu. She's a different character in this story compared to the other, and she'll be introduced properly in the future.
Thank you all for your reviews and speculation. Appreciate your support! I can't really directly address some of your reviews because spoilers abound and all, but I do appreciate it. If I ever feel like I can address something directly, I will mention it here though. So thank you to all the Guests, T.V. 2000, king, phantomdragons, DSpaceZ and Penn the Human for reviewing.