Yu-gi-oh/RWBY Chapter 1

The Black Rose

Though the night was cold in the Daimon Area of Neo Domino City, you couldn't tell from the atmosphere of excitement. Everyone was gathered for the new exciting match. They both rode through the streets as onlookers cheered on, made bets, and sold merchandise.

Terry Sharp rode by with his Gaia Knight, the Force of Earth riding alongside. To say he was having a hard time was an understatement. He only had 900 life points left, and his opponent was just starting her turn. "Ready to lose again?" she taunted. Her Twilight Rose Knight disappeared into 3 green rings and surrounded her Lord Poison. This caused Lord Poison to transform into 4 white orbs that aligned before exploding into a pillar of light.

"Synchro Summon!"

As she said this, the pillar finally dissipated, and out emerged a large dragon cloaked in shadow. "Red Rose Flare!" she commanded as the dragon shot out a red energy beam that encompassed both Gaia Knight and Terry who shouted "Not again!" as his duel runner automatically released exhaust as it slowed to a stop.

The crowd laughed and jeered Terry as he threw his helmet at the ground in frustration. The winner stopped her duel runner and took off her helmet to reveal silver eyes and black hair. The announcer declared "And the winner is...Ruby Rose, the Black Rose Witch!". Terry was marching toward Ruby with murder in his eyes when his friends stopped him and made him walk away before he did something stupid he would regret.

Ruby, on the other hand, stood up from her duel runner and raised her arms in victory, addressing the crowd. "Come on! Is there no one here who can at least give me a challenge?". A little after she said that, a black duel runner shoved its way through the crowd, people having to scramble to get out of the way. Riding atop the duel runner was a mysterious girl who Ruby could only assume loved the color black, as her entire outfit was black, from the form-fitting pants to the long sleeves to the ribbons that kinda looked like cat ears (which Ruby thought looked cute) adorning long, black hair. The only variety was the gray of the center of the shirt.

The girl in black finally made her way through the mass of people to Ruby and faced her. "I'll take you on." she stated with a somewhat neutral but determined expression. Ruby smiled, certain this newcomer was just the opponent she was looking for. The announcer was a little surprised to see some stranger crash their party, but it seemed to get the people going, so what the heck? Clearing their throat, the announcer started "Alright, alright, looks like we have 1 more challenger! Let's give it up for our mystery guest!"

Both duelists revved up their rides as Speed World automatically activated on both their duel disks. As a result, 2 purple circles emanated from their duel runners, causing the world around them to take on a bluish tint.

"Riding Duel, acceleration!"

With that, both were off like lightning, each trying to get even an inch over the other. Ahead, a drone flew by, recording the whole thing and displaying it to the crowd at the start. Finally, the black-haired duelist overtook Ruby, earning her the first turn. "I go first. I draw!" As she pulled a card from her deck. She overlooked her hand, formulating a good opening strategy. "I set 1 monster face-down and a card face-down." Doing this caused two holograms of face-down cards to appear from her duel runner. "I end my turn."

"Laaame." Ruby groaned. "Turbo duels are supposed to be exciting, big matches." The stranger offered no reaction. Ruby let out a little huff. "Fine. Let me show you a real duel. I draw!" (Ruby 0-1, Mystery 0-1). Ruby took stock of what her hand had to offer, and was pleased with the results. "First, I summon the tuner monster Red Lotus from my hand." A red flower appeared (Level 3/1300). "When Red Lotus is normal summoned, I can summon any level 4 plant from my hand. So come on out, Petal Shooter!" The red lotus closed, only to open again to reveal a soldier with a small red gun with a flower design (Level 4/1800). "Instead of attacking, Petal Shooter can deal 500 damage to you for every Fire Plant-type monster I control. Petal Barrage!" Ruby commanded as Petal Shooter fired 2 bullets that exploded into multiple red energy fragments, each aimed for the mystery duelist.

The mystery duelist steeled herself against the incoming assault as it rocked her duel runner around, (Mystery 4000-3000). As some of the fragments grazed her skin, she felt cuts across her skin which broke her empty expression with a shock. How did she...the mystery duelist pondered as she looked over at Ruby, who's smile turned into a smug grin. "Heh. You must be knew in town. I'm a psychic duelist. That means that my cards are as real as you and me." The mystery duelist's face returned to its neutral state, but with seemingly more determination.

"Time to bring out the big guns." Ruby said with a giggle. "I tune my level 4 Petal Shooter with my level 3 Red Lotus." As before, Red Lotus turned into 3 green rings that encircled Petal Shooter, who turned into 4 white stars that aligned before becoming a pillar of light. "The bloom of evolution blazes forth. Grow and grow ever stronger!" Ruby chanted. "Synchro summon! Appear, Crescent Rose Dragon!" A large dragon emerged from the pillar of light, with black skin interspersed with red fur like feathers and thorn-like whips emerging from random parts of its body (Level 7/2400).

The mystery duelist looked at the dragon with a mix of trepidation and something Ruby couldn't read, as though she recognized Crescent Rose. Unfazed, Ruby continued. "When Crescent Rose is successfully synchro summoned, it can destroy 1 card you control." One of Crescent Rose's thorns reshaped itself into a long barrel resembling a sniper rifle. "I choose...your face-down card. Rose Shot!" The rifle-thorn fired a red shot that caused the face-down card to shatter, revealing it to be Sakurestu Armor. "Whew, glad I got rid of that one. Could you imagine if something happened to my poor Crescent Rose Dragon?" Ruby teased in a mocking tone. "Crescent Rose Dragon, destroy her face-down monster. Red Rose Flare!" Crescent Rose Dragon let out a red beam from its mouth, aimed for the face-down monster, which flips face-down to reveal a shadow resembling a cat. The shadow only has 200 defense, so the beam completely crushes it. Its owner is pushed back by the force, cursing this setback.

The mystery duelist regained her composure and proclaimed "I activate Jinx Cat's effect. When it's destroyed by your attack, I can add 1 level 4 or lower Dark monster from to my hand." A card ejected itself from her deck, and she took it out and set it with the rest. Ruby sighed, content that she had done enough damage this turn. "I set one card face-down and end my turn."

The mystery duelist's thoughts centered around Crescent Rose Dragon. Not only was she trying to figure out how best to get around whatever else it can do, but she couldn't shake that feeling of seeing it somewhere else. She eventually shook her head, deciding that just staring at it wouldn't do anything. "I draw." She replied (Ruby 1-2, Mystery 1-2). Now the time was right. "From my hand, I activate the speed spell, double summon. Since I have 2 or more speed counters, I can normal summon 2 monsters this turn. I summon the tuner monster Howling Dancer and my Sharp Claw." Howling Dancer was a cat lady in bedlah attire (Level 4/1800), while Sharp claw was a wild cat-like monster with gray fur (Level 4/1700).

"I tune my level 4 Sharp Claw with my level 4 Howling Dancer. Shadows dance upon the midnight plain. Rise and command them to victory. Synchro summon! Gambol Shroud Dragon!" Another black dragon appeared, this time with sharpened claws, black spines along its back, and a long tail as its distinguishing features (Level 8/2500). Both Gambol Shroud and Crescent Rose roared together, causing both duelists to wince as an intense sensation overtook them. A sigil like a dragon's head glowed over Ruby's left arm, with a glow like a tail over the mystery duelist's.

She gave it no mind and extended her hand toward Ruby's dragon. "Gambol Shroud, attack Crescent Rose Dragon. Mad Shadow Dance!" Shadowy energy appeared over Gambol Shroud's claws as it charged towards its target. Crescent Rose responded with a shield to intercept the attack. As the attack connected, the sensation increased, and the sigils grew ever brighter. Eventually, the attack broke through the shield, and Crescent Rose Dragon shattered, (Ruby 4000-3900). Ruby felt like taking revenge for her fallen ace. "I activate my face-down, synchro revenge. If my synchro monster is destroyed, I can destroy 1 monster you control. Since you took my dragon, I'll take yours." The trap shot out a black beam towards Gambol Shroud, seeming to hit its target.

"Sorry, but you'll have to hit harder than that. With Gambol Shroud's effect, if my monster would be destroyed, I can banish it until the end of turn instead. Shadow Close!" Blake retorted as Gambol Shroud hid into the ground, becoming a silhouette as the beam from the trap card missed. "I set a card and end my turn." As she did, Gambol Shroud rose from the ground, back to its corporeal form.

Ruby wasn't sure what to do. Her best monster was gone, this new dragon couldn't be touched, and whenever the two dragons did connect, she got that weird feeling like a jolt of electricity through her body. Hesitantly, she drew her next card, (Ruby 2-3, Mystery 2-3). As she looked at the card she drew, she realized that victory wasn't quite as far away as she thought. "I summon the tuner monster Black Rose Witch from my hand." A small girl with long wispy hair in a puffy dress carrying a staff with a ruby at the end appeared (Level 4/1700). "When Black Rose Witch is summoned, I can draw a card. If that card is anything but a monster, she'll be destroyed."

The mystery duelist gave a humph. "You're leaving your board presence up to luck?" "Not luck," Ruby replied. "My deck. I know my cards will help me." With stirring tension, Ruby drew her next card. She almost couldn't bear to look, but was pleased she did. "And the card I drew was Rose Fairy, who can summon herself if added to my hand by a card effect." A faint, pink fairy appeared from the ruby of Black Rose Witch's staff (Level 3/600). "I then activate my own speed spell, shining rebirth. This lets me remove 3 speed counters to synchro summon a synchro monster from my graveyard, using monsters I control. So I tune my level 3 Rose Fairy with my level 4 Black Rose Witch. Welcome back, Crescent Rose Dragon!" (Ruby 3-0).

The two monsters performed the synchro summon, and sure enough, Crescent Rose Dragon reappeared, letting out a triumphant cry. "And since it was a synchro summon, Crescent Rose Dragon can destroy another of your cards. This time, I'll get rid of your Gambol Shroud Dragon." Crescent Rose readied another shot, aiming towards its ebony counterpart. "Did you forget? Gambol Shroud Dragon will just hide in the shadows until next turn." Ruby's opponent exclaimed as Gambol Shroud once again disappeared into the ground, with the shot missing. "I'll jog your memory with my face-down, Burning Shadow. If my Dark monster is banished, you take damage equal to its attack points." Gambol Shroud appeared below Ruby's duel runner, scratching at her (Ruby 3900-1400). (Ruby 3-1) "But there won't be a next turn for Gambol Shroud." Ruby proudly proclaimed. "Because I activate Crescent Rose's second ability. By banishing a plant from my graveyard, Crescent Rose gains that monster's attack points. Crescent Evolution!" The spectral image of Petal Shooter appeared before Crescent Rose, who devoured it (2400-4200).

"Now you're completely unprotected. Red Rose Flare!" Ruby declared as Crescent Rose let out another beam, this one much larger than it previously was as it enveloped the mystery duelist whose life points dropped to 0 and her duel runner knocked over. The black-clad duelist lay on the ground, prompting Ruby to check on her opponent. "Wait. Are you hurt? I'm sorry. I sometimes can't control my ability if I get too excited." Ruby explained in an apologetic tone. Once she got close enough, however, she soon learned that the duelist was more than fine as she suddenly sprung up and grabbed Ruby's arm. "That mark. Where did you get that mark?" the duelist demanded. Ruby tried to struggle out of her grip, but she had a grip like a vice. "This? I don't know. I've just kinda had it my whole life. I'm pretty sure it's some weird birthmark or something."

Satisfied, the duelist let go of Ruby's arm and exhaled, tired from all the excitement. Ruby crossed her legs in awkwardness, thinking of the best way to defuse the tension. "You, uh, you're a pretty good duelist. Kept me on my toes there. What's your name?" Ruby managed to stumble out as she extended her hand for a handshake. The duelist looked at her hand for a few minutes, though to Ruby it felt like an agonizing eternity of social anxiety that reminded her why she didn't get out much. Much to her relief, the handshake was accepted. "Blake. Blake Belladonna." she said. "Would you happen to be Yang Xiao Long's sister?"

"Yeah," Ruby replied, surprised that anyone could have made that kind of connection. "How did you guess?" Before she could get her answer though, several bright lights suddenly shown down on the both of them. Blake cursed herself for getting caught by Sector Security when she was so close. "Blake Belladonna, you're under arrest." One of the officers announced as several more surrounded her. Blake, assessing the situation, realized the futility of trying to escape with so many nearby and put her hands up. One of the members of Security took the arms to apply handcuffs to them and escorted her into a waiting police van. "Wait." Ruby let out nervously, "What's going on?" None of them answered her, however. The rest of the crowd that was watching quickly dispersed, not wanting to share Blake's fate.

Unbeknownst to everyone below, watching atop a construction crane sat a lady in fine garments, sipping tea with a parasol providing shade. Besides her was the drone from before, destroyed and the contents removed. The onlooker was pleased with the results. All the pieces were coming together.