Yu-gi-oh/RWBY Chapter 10
Consequences
Ruby couldn't sleep that night. Whenever she closed her eyes, all she could see was Koda's face as he was slammed into the wall. As she sat in a chair by the wall of the hospital lobby, her mind kept playing that moment in a loop for its captive audience. Roman walked in from one of the hallways. "He'll live, but the doctors are unsure if he'll ever walk again." Ruby cradled her head in her hands. "What have I done? I could have killed him. I'll be lucky if I'm not arrested." Between my connections and Cinder's strings, that probably won't happen, Roman thought, but knew better than to bring that up. "He didn't deserve that." "Yes, he did." Ruby looked over at Roman, not believing he just said that.
"I said that you were here to represent the Arcadia movement and its message. Well, this is just a small part of that message. For too long, we psychic duelists have had to put up with far worse than what he had to offer. Now the world will know to respect us, and if they won't do that, they will at least fear us." "What the hell are you saying to her?" Yang asked. Ruby turned over to see her. She didn't even notice that Yang came in. "I knew it. You're trying to turn her into your weapon. I bet you paid that guy to say all those things in order to push Ruby." "Oh, come now, Yang. Wild accusations will get you nowhere." "Get out of here, now, or you'll count yourself lucky we're in a hospital." Roman, not wanting to push his luck and fully knowing Yang wasn't bluffing, left.
Yang sat down besides Ruby to hug her. "Are you okay?" But Ruby pulled away from her. She didn't like it when Roman and Yang fought. She also thought over Roman's words. Was that really the only way to solve things? "What if he's right?" Ruby asked. "What if I just have to accept that this is the only way forward for me, for Arcadia?" Yang turned to fully face Ruby. "I don't believe that. You don't believe that either. You are one of the sweetest, nicest, kindest people I know. This was an accident. I know you better than that." Yang offered another hug, this one accepted. Ruby wanted to believe Yang. The alternative was horrifying to her.
Cinder was handling paperwork at her desk when the phone call came. She didn't even have to look at the caller id to know who it was. "Who is it?" "Don't pretend you don't know who this is. That little psycho could have killed me! I didn't sign up to be cannon fodder!" "Mr Kinomiya, I paid you to get results, and you certainly got them, didn't you? Quit being a baby." "I can't feel my fucking legs, you bitch! They said my spine is in pieces! What is wrong with you?" Koda continued like that for a few minutes. Cinder set the phone aside to finish some paperwork until he was finished. "Yes, yes, poor you. Your medical bills will be covered and you'll receive extra compensation in your initial payment. Now, if there's nothing else, I'm rather busy. Goodbye, Mr Kinomiya." "Don't you dare hang up on me, you-" Cinder hung up on him and got up from the desk, feeling like getting some wine. Maybe some nice smoked brie to go with it. Should she invite Neo over?
Ruby worked over her duel runner in the garage in Arcadia, hoping the distraction of working on something would keep her mind off the myriad troubles in her head. "Hey." Ruby turned to see who said that. She was surprised to see Blake standing there. "Just wanted to make sure you're okay before the match tomorrow." Ruby turned back to her duel runner and kept trying to find something wrong with it. Of course now it wanted to be in perfect condition. "I'm fine." "Listen. I've been there before. There's been times I've done things I later regretted. But you can't let them define you. As long as you know what you did wrong and make sure you don't do it again, you have to keep moving forward-" "I said I'm fine." The silence between the two was deafening. Blake turned to leave after the thought occurred to her that maybe Ruby wanted some time alone. "How do you know Yang?" Blake stopped. She should have seen that coming. Of course Ruby would want to know something like that. "Beat me and find out." Blake turned to face Ruby again. "But I won't lose. Not as long as you're as conflicted as this. The only one who's going to beat me tomorrow is the girl who beat me before." Before? Ruby thought. Then she remembered their duel that time. That seemed forever ago. She stood up and walked over to Blake. "She's ready." Blake smiled. She certainly hoped so.
"EVERYBODY LISTEN! IT'S THE FINAL MATCH OF THE FORTUNE CUP! WHO WILL WIN, BLAKE BELLADONNA OR RUBY ROSE?"
The two moved their duel runners to the starting line. As Ruby heard the crowd's anger against her, her head felt like mush. This was a mistake. I shouldn't be here. Not after what I've done. "Hey." Ruby turned to Blake. "Are you ready for this duel? Remember why you're here." Ruby put her helmet on, and with it, regained her confidence. She's right. I have to quit feeling sorry for myself. I came here to show the world who I am, and that's what I'm gonna do.
"RIDING DUEL, ACCELERATION!"
The two were off, with Blake breezing past Ruby, thus getting the first turn. "Drive like that and you'll never beat me, Ruby Rose. I draw! I summon Doubt Fog." A black cloud descended and joined Blake on the track. Ruby could have sworn she saw a face in there. "While Doubt Fog is on the field, level 4 or lower monsters can't attack. You'll have to give it your all to even join this duel! I set 2 cards face-down and end my turn."
Ruby drew her card. (Ruby 0-1, Blake 0-1) "I normal summon the tuner monster Red Lotus from my hand." (Level 3/1300) "And that lets me summon a level 4 plant from my hand. Come on out, Thorn Lancer!" (Level 4/1700) "I tune my level 4 Thorn Lancer with my level 3 Red Lotus!" Is she really going to do the same trick again? Blake thought. Maybe last time was just a fluke. "Appear, Thorn Crusader!" A larger knight than Thorn Lancer appeared, with flags on his helmet and sword, all depicting a rose (Level 7/2500).Guess not."When Thorn Crusader destroys your monster in battle, I can deal damage to you equal to that monster's level times 200. Thorn Crusade!" The knight charged forth, towards the fog.
"Too bad that won't happen. I activate my face-down Enter the Dream Realm!" Doubt Fog suddenly faded away, causing Thorn Crusader's sword to swing vainly at nothing. "At the start of your battle phase, I can banish all my monsters, including one Dark monster, to halve all the battle damage I'll take this turn. I also activate Mad Gambol! When my Dark monster is banished, you take 500 damage." (Ruby 4000-3500) "Then I'll just attack you directly." "I activate the effect of Loss Droplet in my hand. If my Dark monster is banished and you attack me directly, I can special summon it from my hand." A water droplet the size of a water balloon appeared with a sad face on it (Level 1/0). "Thorn Crusader, burst her bubble with Thorn Crusade!" Thorn Crusader runs the droplet through.
"Since your monster was only level 1, Thorn Crusader only deals 200 damage to you. Thorn Volley!" Thorn Crusader's sword glows in a beam of light before reconfiguring into a bow and arrow. The bow fired a shot at Blake (Blake 4000-3800). "I set one card and end my turn." "Doubt Fog returns."
"WONDERFUL! BLAKE NOT ONLY VASTLY REDUCED THE DAMAGE SHE WAS ABOUT TO TAKE, BUT SAVED HER MONSTER AS WELL! CAN SHE KEEP IT UP?"
"I draw." (Ruby 1-2, Blake 1-2). "I summon Howling Dancer." (Level 4/1800) Ruby knew what that meant. "I tune my level 4 Doubt Fog with my level 4 Howling Dancer! Shadows dance upon the midnight plain. Rise and command them to victory. Synchro summon! Gambol Shroud Dragon!" The same dragon from their last duel appeared, and gave a stare at Ruby before roaring (Level 8/2500). "Gambol Shroud Dragon, attack Thorn Crusader! Mad Shadow Dance!" The dragon and the knight started to battle, with Gambol Shroud giving testing swipes at Thorn Crusader, and Thorn Crusader batting those swipes away with his sword.
They may be equal in strength, but only Thorn Crusader will stay dead. I better do something. Ruby thought. "I activate the effect of my Kurithorn in my hand. When my plant is battling, I can send Kurithorn to the graveyard to have it gain your monster's attack." A small bit of black pollen with a face appeared and raised its hands, causing thorns to appear around Thorn Crusader (2500-5000). "Then I activate the effect of my Envy Arrow. If your monster gets a boost, I can discard Envy Arrow to give my Dark monster the same boost." A small black arrow with a mischievous grin appeared next to Gambol Shroud before splitting into 25 more versions of itself (2500-5000). Both Gambol Shroud and Thorn Crusader collide in a violent burst of smoke.
As Gambol Shroud fell, Blake said "Gambol Shroud Dragon can banish itself to avoid being destroyed. Shadow Close!" Once Gambol Shroud hit the ground, it evaporated into its own shadow. "That means Mad Gambol damages you even more." (Ruby 3500-3000). "I set two cards and end my turn, bringing Gambol Shroud Dragon back." Out from the shadows, the ebony dragon emerges, no worse for wear.
"I draw." (Ruby 2-3, Blake 2-3). Ruby looked the situation over, but wasn't happy with what she found. If she tried to attack, Enter the Dream Realm and Gambol Shroud Dragon would both keep Blake perfectly safe, with Mad Gambol punishing her for even trying. She needed a way around Gambol Shroud's ability. It was at this point that she remembered the synchro monster Roman gave her. It was risky, but it just might work.
"I special summon Rose Synchron from my hand by discarding a plant-type monster from my hand." A small rose with cartoon eyes on its face and mechanical hands and feet appears (Level 2/100). "I then activate the effect of my Rose Lover in my graveyard. By banishing it, I can special summon a plant from my hand. I summon Hedge Guard." A maiden in a red dress appeared, waving her hand to bring out a wall of plant matter (Level 3/0). "I tune my level 3 Hedge Guard with my level 2 Rose Synchron. Ensnaring the hearts of all mortals, bloom into the most beautiful poison! Synchro summon! Bewitching Rafflesia!" (Level 5/1500). "Bewitching Rafflesia, take her Gambol shroud!"
Blake was unsure what exactly Ruby was hoping to accomplish here. Sure, Gambol Shroud Dragon could only save her monsters from destruction, but neither monster could attack if Rafflesia takes Gambol Shroud Dragon. What was Ruby up to? "I then activate the effect of my Brain Strain in my hand. By lowering Gambol Shroud's level by 2, I can special summon it from my hand." (Gambol Shroud Dragon Level 8-6) A small brain in a glass jar appears. It then burst out of the jar (Level 2/300).
"I tune your now level 6 Gambol Shroud Dragon with my level 2 Brain Strain! Minds gather everywhere to culminate in the perfect expression of beauty! Synchro summon! Appear, Arcadia, the Ever-Evolving Bloom!" A giant man in a power suit appears with a large electronic staff (Level 8/2500).
"BRILLIANT! SINCE GAMBOL SHROUD DRAGON WAS USED AS A SYNCHRO MATERIAL, IT CAN'T REVIVE ITSELF! AND RUBY HAS BROUGHT OUT A POWERFUL NEW MONSTER!"
Roman, watching from the stands, can't help but feel a sense of pride as Ruby summons the monster he gave her so many years ago. "This monster represents the strength of the Arcadia movement, and all psychic duelists everywhere. Arcadia, attack directly, with Psycho-Burst!" Energy crackles around Arcadia's staff and collects into a ball of psychic energy. Arcadia spins and hurls the ball towards Blake. "Nice trick, Ruby, but you'll have to try a little harder to out-fool me. I activate Dark of the Grave!" A tombstone appears with Gambol Shroud Dragon's name on it. "I can special summon 1 Dark monster in my graveyard, but it will be destroyed at the end of the turn. Come back, Gambol Shroud Dragon!" The letters from the tombstone fly off and reform into Gambol Shroud. "In addition, I activate my second face-down, Growing Night! Once per turn, I can banish a Dark monster from my graveyard to increase the attack of a Dark monster I control by that monster's attack. But if I have no Dark monsters in my graveyard, it will be destroyed and I will take 1000 damage." The image of Howling Dancer appears and is eaten by Gambol Shroud Dragon (Gambol Shroud Dragon 2500-2700).
"Arcadia, attack Gambol Shroud Dragon!" "What?" Blake wanted Ruby to be more confident this duel, but she didn't think Ruby would become overconfident. "Just as us psychic duelists can grow even stronger, so can Arcadia. When it battles a stronger monster, I can pay life points so it is 100 attack points stronger. Psychic Development!" (Ruby 3000-2800) (Arcadia 2500-2800). The ball from earlier changes its attack to Gambol Shroud Dragon, and pierces through it. (Blake 3800-3700) "It doesn't matter. Gambol Shroud can just recover in the shadows. And with that, Mad Gambol will activate again (Ruby 2800-2300). "I end my turn." Gambol Shroud Dragon comes back again, with its attack returned to normal.
If she's in the mood for paying life points, I'll give her more to chew on. Just have to get rid of Bewitching Rafflesia first. "I draw." (Ruby 3-4, Blake 3-4). "I use Growing Night's effect again, this time banishing Howling Dancer." (Gambol Shroud Dragon 2500-4300). "Gambol Shroud Dragon, attack Bewitching Rafflesia! Mad Shadow Dance!" Gambol Dragon drew shadow energy towards its claws, and flew towards the flower-girl. Ruby simply smiled. "You fell for it. I activate my face-down Petal Pollination Virus!" Spots started appearing on Rafflesia, before it suddenly burst, releasing petals into the air. "For your next three turns, your monsters will gain petal counters equal to their level. When a plant-type monster battles your monster, it will gain 300 attack and defense for each petal counter." Several petals suddenly appeared on Gambol Shroud Dragon.
Not bad, Blake thought. "But Arcadia is psychic-type, not plant-type, so the petals won't matter. Gambol Shroud, attack Arcadia, instead! Mad Shadow Dance!" The dragon flew through the storm of petals to its intended target. "Petal Pollination Virus has another effect. If I tributed a synchro monster, then I can change a synchro monster I control to plant-type for the duration of the virus!" Many of the petals surround Arcadia, forming a shield in his hand (Arcadia 2800-4900). "Arcadia, counterattack with Psycho-Burst!" Another energy ball flies towards Gambol Shroud, this time bringing petals with it. Gambol Shroud Dragon is bombarded by the assault. (Blake 3700-3100). "Mad Gambol's effect activates." (Ruby 2300-1800). After the battle, the petals fall off of Arcadia (Arcadia 4900-2800). "I set a card and end my turn, once again bringing Gambol Shroud back." Gambol Shroud emerges from the shadows, only to be covered in petals again.
"WHAT A BACK AND FORTH! BOTH DUELISTS ARE BRINGING THEIR MONSTERS TO NEW HEIGHTS! HOW WILL THEY TOP IT NEXT TURN?"
Ruby draws to begin her turn. (Ruby 4-5, Blake 4-5). She eyed the face-down card on Blake's field. She knew there was something up with it. But there was no stopping now. Especially with her last trick up her sleeve. "I activate the speed spell – Petal Cloud." Another band of petals appears, this one more tightly packed together. "By removing 4 speed counters," (Ruby 5-1) "I can negate the effects of all of your face-up spells and traps until the end of your turn." The images of Enter the Dream Realm, Mad Gambol, and Growing Night become grayed out. "Arcadia, attack Gambol Shroud with Psycho-Burst!" Arcadia releases another ball of energy at Gambol Shroud. (Arcadia 2800-4900) "I activate my face-down, Matching Shadow. When my Dark monster is attacked, its attack becomes equal to that of the attacking monster." Gambol Shroud Dragon is wrapped in shadow energy from head to tail, before reforming into a shadowy duplicate of Arcadia (2500-4900). "Arcadia can only outpace monsters that are stronger than it, not equal. So they both destroy each other!" The shadow-Arcadia releases its own energy ball, hitting the real Arcadia's own. The two collide against each other, before exploding in a clash of light. To Blake's surprise, Arcadia is still standing, with the spectral image of Bewitching Rafflesia in front of it (4900-2800). Ruby smirks at her. "If my Fire plant-type monster would be destroyed, I can banish Bewitching Rafflesia instead. I end my turn." The spectral image fades away. Gambol Shroud Dragon once again returns from the shadows, this time in defense position, and Blake's traps regain their color.
Blake smiles. Perhaps there is more to this girl than she thought. "I draw." (Ruby 1-2, Blake 5-6). "I summon Mind Warden." A skeleton with a book and cloak appears (Level 4/1000). "I then activate its effect. By tributing Mind Warden, neither player can discards cards with effects until my next turn." The skeleton waves its hand over the book then vanishes. Why would she play that kind of effect? Both of our hands are empty. Wait a minute, she's loading up her graveyard for Growing Night. Since she can't attack me while Petal Pollination Virus is active, she may as well shore up her defenses. Ruby realized what Blake was doing. "I end my turn."
"I draw." (Ruby 2-3, Blake 6-7). If I attack her now, her combo of cards will just burn me again. I'll just have to wait until I can find another way around her traps. "I set one card face-down and end my turn." "What did I say about moving forward? That overabundance of caution doesn't suit you. I draw." (Ruby 3-4, Blake 7-8). "I summon Rage Armor from my hand." A red shadow appears, with an expression as though someone had stepped on its toe. (Level 3/0). "I then equip Rage Armor to Arcadia through its own effect." The shadow absorbs into Arcadia, who gains a red aura. "Now Arcadia must attack each turn, or else you take damage equal to its level times 200. I end my turn."
"OH-HO! A DILEMMA! IF RUBY DOESN'T ATTACK, SHE TAKES DAMAGE FROM RAGE ARMOR! BUT IF SHE DOES ATTACK, MAD GAMBOL WILL DAMAGE HER! WHAT CAN SHE DO?"
Ruby drew her next card. (Ruby 4-5, Blake 8-9). If I'm going to take damage, I might as well do my best to mitigate the damage. "Arcadia, attack Gambol Shroud Dragon. Psycho-Burst!" An energy ball is fired towards the dragon. "Shadow Close!" Gambol Shroud fades into the ground, and the ball misses. A beam fires from Mad Gambol onto Ruby (1800-1300). "I set one card and end my turn." Gambol Shroud returns in attack position.
"I draw." (Ruby 5-6, Blake 9-10). "I play the speed spell Momentum Burst! For every speed counter I pay, my monster gains 300 attack points until the end of the turn, but for the next two turns, I can't gain any more speed counters. I'll use every last one!" (Blake 10-0) (Gambol Shroud 2500-5500). "I then use Growing Shadow with Mind Warden." The image of Mind Warden is infused into Gambol Shroud (Gambol Shroud 5500-6500). "Gambol Shroud Dragon, attack with Mad Shadow Dance!" Gambol Shroud gathers energy towards its claws and flies towards Arcadia, who gathers more of the petals. (Arcadia 2800-4900) "What will you do, Ruby Rose? You don't have enough life points to use Psychic Development. And if Arcadia is destroyed, Rage Armor will deal 1000 damage to you." Ruby responded "I activate my face-down, Rose Mirror! My plant-type's attack points become equal to yours!" Arcadia is covered in petals and reshaped until it becomes a flowery double of Gambol Shroud Dragon (Arcadia 4900-6500). The two destroy each other.
"Then, between Mad Gambol and Rage Armor's effects, you lose. Goodbye, Ruby Rose." The two cards fire a beam of energy at Ruby Rose, causing a great deal of smoke to lift. When the smoke clears, Ruby is still driving. (Ruby 3500). "Arcadia's final effect. When it leaves the field, I gain life points for every attack point it had gained. I then activate my second face-down, Life to Plant. When I gain life points, I can special summon one Flower token for every 1000 life points I gained." 4 flowers sprout in front of Ruby (Level 1/0). Blake laughs a little at how she was played like a fiddle. "You're a wonderful duelist, Ruby Rose, and a good friend. I end my turn. Petal Pollination Virus's effect finally meets its end." The petals that were floating in the air vanish. "Well, go on then. Finish this duel off. We both know how this ends."
Ruby nods her head in agreement. "I draw." (Ruby 6-7) "I normal summon Power Seed." (Level 1/100). "I tune my 4 level 1 Flower tokens to with my level 1 Power Seed! The road ahead is long and barren, so give it life and hope! Synchro summon! Rose Warrior!" A warrior, adorned with a rose upon his scarf, steps forth and readies his hand into a fist (Level 5/2300). "When Rose Warrior is synchro summoned, for each of its non-tuner synchro materials, I summon a Rose token." The Flower tokens from before appear, morphing into roses (Level 1/200). "Rose Warrior will gain their attack points as well." (Rose Warrior 2300-3300). "And since Power Seed was used to synchro summon a Fire plant-type synchro monster, all my plants gain 500 attack." (Flower tokens 200-700) (Rose Warrior 3300-4800) "Rose Warrior, attack Gambol Shroud Dragon! Rose Fist!" The roses all gather around Rose Warrior's fist as he throws his fist towards Gambol Shroud Dragon. Blake turns her head away from Ruby. "I can't stand to see my Gambol Shroud destroyed one last time. I use the effect of Enter the Dream Realm to banish Gambol Shroud. Take Mad Gambol's last effect!" Gambol Dragon fades into a shadowy mist that covers Blake and her Shadow Go, with Mad Gambol hitting Ruby (Ruby 3500-3000). "Rose Warrior, and all my rose tokens, attack directly!" The fist of Rose Warrior continues its path, hitting Blake's duel runner.
"Well done, Ruby."
(Blake 3100-0).