Starting Notes:
Welcome back! The duels in this chapter are back to… well, normal length for this fic, so we do get two duels in a single chapter once again! I think none of these duel results are going to surprise anyone anyway, haha.
Chapter 76: Feathers, Moon, Flames, Sky
In the morning, Reiji Akaba met with the five members of the Lancers who were participating in the finale of the Friendship Cup.
"Upgrades for each of your decks," he said calmly, handing out cards to each of them. "Courtesy of LDS. It is your choice whether you want to use them now or not—whether you would like to experiment with them or save them for another time. If you think that using cards you're not used to will end up being a disadvantage, then it's fine to go in as you are."
"What about the rest?" Shun had asked.
"There are a few for everyone," Reiji said. "I am merely giving them to you five earlier because you might need them."
Rin seemed a little unsure, considering that she hadn't had as much experience with Reiji as the rest of them, but she took the new cards anyway.
Shun looked at the cards given to him, and decisively slipped them into a different slot on his duel disk—out of his deck. Yuya, spotting this, didn't add the cards that Reiji had given him to his deck either. Serena and Yugo, however, were another story—one was far too competitive, and the other one just cheerfully thanked Reiji.
"I wish you all luck," Reiji had said, and he'd left immediately afterwards to attend to other things.
And then, it had been a matter of waiting, until they reached the moment itself.
"Are you ready for the duel?"
Yuya turned towards Shun, smiling sheepishly. "Rattled," he admitted. "But I'm looking forward to it. I respect you a lot, Kurosaki."
"... likewise," Shun said. "You're not half-bad of a comrade." He shrugged. "But Ruri's watching me, so I at least have to put up an overwhelming performance. So I won't be going easy on you."
"That's fine." Yuya looked at him confidently. "It wouldn't be right if you weren't going all out."
Yuya rode out on the D-Wheel. Shun raised a hand, and formed a fist.
He rode out. Above, the announcer was talking, but Shun didn't care. He raised his fist in the air, to the roar of the crowd.
Watch me.
I will set this track ablaze.
"Let's go, Yuya!" He declared. They rode along the track. In the end, Shun got through first—the wind swirled through his hair, and he drew his starting hand with a flourish.
[DUEL!]
Yuya Sakaki: 4000LP
Shun Kurosaki: 4000LP
[Turn 1: Shun] [H:5]
"Draw!" Shun glanced at the cards in his hand. "I'll Normal Summon Raid Raptors - Vanishing Lanius!" The green bird appeared in front of him, bright and sleek.
[Raid Raptors - Vanishing Lanius (4*/1300/1600/DARK/Winged Beast/Effect)]
"On the turn that I Normal or Special Summon Vanishing Lanius, I can Special Summon a Level 4 or lower "Raid Raptors" monster from my hand!"
Yes, his signature swarming…
"Come—Raid Raptors - Tribute Lanius!" A bright blue bird appeared on the field, electricity floating around it, casting a neon light across its metallic body.
[Raid Raptors - Tribute Lanius (4*/1800/400/DARK/Winged Beast/Effect)]
"When Tribute Lanius is Normal or Special Summoned, I can send a "Raid Raptors" card from my deck to the graveyard."
He revealed the card that he'd just dropped into the graveyard.
"Since Raid Raptors - Fuzzy Lanius was sent to the graveyard, I can add another copy of it from my deck to my hand." He picked up the card. "I'll activate the Continuous Spell, Raid Raptors - Nest. Once per turn, since I control two or more "Raid Raptors" monsters, I can add a "Raid Raptors" monster from my deck or graveyard to my hand." He picked up another card from his deck. "I'll overlay the Level 4 Raid Raptors - Vanishing Lanius and Raid Raptors - Tribute Lanius! Avian hunter of the afterlife, seek the truth with your dark eyes, and grasp glory with your sharp talons! Xyz Summon! Take flight! Rank 4! Raid Raptors - Force Strix!" The small metal owl appeared in front of him.
[Raid Raptors - Force Strix (R4/100/2000/DARK/Winged Beast/Xyz/Effect) (OU:2)]
"I'll detach an Overlay Unit from Force Strix to add a Level 4 DARK Winged Beast monster from my deck to my hand. Nest Calling!"
[Raid Raptors - Force Strix: OU:2 - 1 = OU:1]
He now had six cards in his hand again—but that was just how Shun Kurosaki worked.
"Since I control a "Raid Raptors" monster, I can Special Summon Raid Raptors - Fuzzy Lanius from my hand!" The bright purple bird appeared on his field.
[Raid Raptors - Fuzzy Lanius (4*/500/1500/DARK/Winged Beast/Effect)]
"Then, since I control a Xyz Monster, I can Special Summon Raid Raptors - Singing Lanius from my hand!" A bright golden bird appeared, flying around Fuzzy Lanius and letting out a few sharp chirps.
[Raid Raptors - Singing Lanius (4*/100/100/DARK/Winged Beast/Effect)]
"I will overlay the Level 4 Fuzzy Lanius and Singing Lanius!" The two monsters shot up again. "Xyz Summon! Rank 4! Raid Raptors - Force Strix!" A second copy of Force Strix appeared on the field in Defense Position, right next to the first. Two Overlay Units spun around it. "And I'll detach an Overlay Unit from Force Strix to add another Level 4 DARK Winged Beast from my deck to my hand. I'll set a card and end my turn! Force Strix gains 500 attack and defense points for each other Winged Beast monster I control!" Both Force Strix boosted each other's stats, flying around each other.
[Raid Raptors - Force Strix (x2): 100 + 500 = 600ATK; 2000 + 500 = 2500DEF]
[Turn 2: Yuya] [H:6]
"Draw!" Yuya raised up a card in his hand. "Spell Card, Pendulum Call! I'll discard a card to add two "Magician" Pendulum Monsters from my deck to my hand. Then, I'll Normal Summon Performapal Skullcrobat Joker!" The smiling blond jester in purple and black appeared.
[Performapal Skullcrobat Joker (4*/S8/1800/100/DARK/Spellcaster/Pendulum/Effect)]
"I will use its effect and add Dragonpit Magician from my deck to my hand! Then, I'll set the Scale 2 Oafdragon Magician and the Scale 8 Dragonpit Magician in the Pendulum Scales!" Around him, the two familiar pillars of light shot up. "Spell Card, Performapal Prepped Up! Since I have two monsters in my Pendulum Scales that are either "Performapal", "Magician" or "Odd-Eyes" monsters, I can draw two cards, but I can't Special Summon monsters from the Extra Deck this turn, except "Performapal" or Dragon monsters!"
He swiped up two cards from his deck.
"With my current Pendulum Scale, I can Pendulum Summon monsters from Level 3 to Level 7! Swing, pendulum of souls! Draw an arc of light across the ether! Pendulum Summon! Appear now! My monsters! First, Performapal Fire Mufflerlion!" A fiery red lion appeared right next to Skullcrobat Joker. "And then, appear! Wondrous and beautiful dichromatic eyes! Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!"
His ace appeared, breathing out bright flames onto the field, letting out a roar that seemed to shake everything around them.
[Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon (7*/S4/2500/2000/DARK/Dragon/Pendulum/Effect)]
[Performapal Fire Mufflerlion (3*/S5/800/800/FIRE/Beast/Pendulum/Effect)]
"Field Spell!" Yuya declared. "Performapal Dramatic Theater. All monsters I control gain 200 attack points for each monster I control with a different Type! I control a Beast, Dragon and Spellcaster monster, so my monsters gain 600 attack points!"
[Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon: 2500 + 200 x 3 = 3100ATK]
[Performapal Fire Mufflerlion: 800 + 200 x 3 = 1400ATK]
[Performapal Skullcrobat Joker: 1800 + 200 x 3 = 2400ATK]
"Battle! Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon attacks Raid Raptors - Force Strix! Spiral Flame Strike!"
Shun flipped over his set card immediately. "Quickplay Spell, Rank-Up-Magic Escape Force! When an Xyz Monster I control is targeted for an attack, I can negate the attack and Rank Up that monster by 1 Rank!" Force Strix flew out of the way of the flames. Yuya's eyes widened.
"The unseen bold falcon. Reveal your wings' unknown power here and now! Rank-Up-Xyz-Change! Rank 5! Raid Raptors - Étranger Falcon!" A bright red and gold bird appeared on the field, letting out a loud cry, two Overlay Units spinning around it. Yuya had never seen it before—but considering how comfortable Shun was with it, it probably wasn't one of the new cards that Reiji had given him.
[Raid Raptors - Étranger Falcon (R5/2000/2000/DARK/Winged Beast/Xyz/Effect) (OU:2)]
But it came out in Attack Position, so… was that a feature of the Rank-Up-Magic?
"Skullcrobat Joker attacks Étranger Falcon!"
"I'll banish Raid Raptors - Booster Strix from my hand!" Shun declared. A green bird appeared on the field in front of Étranger Falcon for a brief moment. "I'll destroy the attacking monster!" Skullcrobat Joker exploded off the field. Because Yuya now controlled one less monster, his monsters' attack points fell.
[Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon: 3100 - 200 = 2900ATK]
[Performapal Fire Mufflerlion: 1400 - 200 = 1200ATK]
Fire Mufflerlion's attack points were not high enough, but that was fine—Yuya had expected a fierce defence from Shun anyway. "I'll set two cards and end my turn!"
[Turn 3: Shun] [H:3]
"Draw," Shun said. "I will use the effect of Raid Raptors - Nest to add a "Raid Raptors" monster from my deck to my hand!" He picked up the card. "I will use my Force Strix's other Overlay Unit and add a Level 4 DARK Winged Beast from my deck to my hand! Nest Calling!"
He picked up another card from his deck.
[Raid Raptors - Force Strix: OU:1 - 1 = OU:0]
"Since Fuzzy Lanius was sent to the graveyard, I will add a third copy of Fuzzy Lanius from my deck to my hand." Shun gestured forward. "I will activate the effect of Raid Raptors - Étranger Falcon! While it has another Xyz Monster as material, once per turn, I can detach an Overlay Unit from it and target a monster you control. Then, I can destroy it, and inflict damage to you equal to its original attack points!"
"What?" Yuya exclaimed.
"I'll target your Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!" Shun gestured forward. "Crush that dragon out of shape, Étranger Falcon!" One of the orbs shot up above him, before flying down towards Odd-Eyes—exploding and washing over Yuya's field, destroying Odd-Eyes and nearly knocking Yuya off his D-Wheel.
Yuya: 4000 - 2500 = 1500LP
"I will activate the Spell Card, Rank-Up-Magic Skip Force!" Shun called out—not giving Yuya any room to breathe. "I'll target the Rank 4 Raid Raptors - Force Strix and Rank Up that monster by two Ranks! Prideful falcon. Spread your wings, dyed in the blood of heroes, and charge through the path of revolution! Rank Up Xyz Change! Appear! Rank 6! Raid Raptors - Revolution Falcon!"
The silver falcon appeared on Shun's field
[Raid Raptors - Revolution Falcon (R6/2000/3000/DARK/Winged Beast/Xyz/Effect) (OU:1)]
"Revolution Falcon's effect!" Shun called out. "Since it was Xyz Summoned using a Rank 5 or lower "Raid Raptors" Xyz Monster as material, I can target a Special Summoned monster you control, destroy it, and inflict damage to you equal to half its attack points! I'll target your Fire Mufflerlion!"
"Trap Card, Command Performance!" Yuya declared. "Since I control a "Performapal" monster, I can change all your monsters to Defense Position, and they can't change battle positions until the end of the next turn—until the end of my turn!"
Revolution Falcon and Étranger Falcon were forced into a defensive stance. However, Fire Mufflerlion was still destroyed, and Yuya still took damage. With the effect of his Field Spell, Fire Mufflerlion was at 1000 attack points on the field, so he took 500 damage.
Yuya: 1500 - 1000 / 2 = 1000LP
Shun nodded. "That's fine," he said—still rather merciless. "I will Normal Summon Raid Raptors - Sharp Lanius." A red bird appeared on the field, next to the two Xyz Monsters.
[Raid Raptors - Sharp Lanius (4*/1700/1000/DARK/Winged Beast/Effect)]
"I will Special Summon Raid Raptors - Fuzzy Lanius from my hand, since I control a "Raid Raptors" monster!" Another copy of the purple bird reappeared on the field. "Battle Phase! Sharp Lanius attacks directly!"
"Continuous Trap Card, Performapal Pinch Helper! Since you declared a direct attack, I can negate the attack and Special Summon a "Performapal" monster from my deck, but its effects are negated! Come—Performapal Dag Daggerman!" A dark figure in a blue suit appeared, spinning shiny daggers around between its hands with a smug look.
[Performapal Dag Daggerman (5*/S2/2000/600/EARTH/Warrior/Pendulum/Effect)]
"... alright," Shun said. "I'll move to my Main Phase 2. Since Sharp Lanius did attack, even if I cancelled the attack during the replay, I can Special Summon a "Raid Raptors" monster from the graveyard! Return—Raid Raptors - Tribute Lanius!" The blue bird reappeared on the field. "Tribute Lanius's effect, I will send a "Raid Raptors" card from my deck to the graveyard! And now, I'll overlay the Level 4 Raid Raptors - Tribute Lanius, Raid Raptors - Sharp Lanius and Raid Raptors - Fuzzy Lanius! Obscured falcon, raise your sharpened talons in front of adversity, spread your wings of rebellion! Xyz Summon! Appear! Rank 4! Raid Raptors - Rise Falcon!" The dark, green and purple falcon appeared, letting out its mechanical, whirring shriek.
[Raid Raptors - Rise Falcon (R4/100/2000/DARK/Winged Beast/Xyz/Effect) (OU:3)]
"I'll set a card and end my turn," Shun said.
Yuya grimaced.
Rise Falcon, Étranger Falcon and Revolution Falcon…
He was in rough shade. But he wouldn't survive another turn if he let those monsters stay on the field.
[Turn 4: Yuya] [H:1]
"Draw!" Yuya declared. He glanced at the card. "I'll Normal Summon Performapal Secondonkey!" A brown donkey appeared with a blue saddle, a tiny black hat on the top of its head.
[Performapal Secondonkey (4*/1000/2000/EARTH/Beast/Effect)]
"When Secondonkey is Normal or Special Summoned, I can take a "Performapal" monster from my deck—and then, while I would normally send it to the graveyard, since I have two monsters in my Pendulum Scales, I can add it to my hand instead!" He picked up the card. "And now, open, circuit of the world of smiles! Arrowhead confirmed! The conditions are two monsters with different Levels, including a Pendulum Monster! I will set Performapal Dag Daggerman and Performapal Secondonkey in the Link Markers! Silver silks that dance through the moonlit waters! Now, rise up, colourful performer, and aid in setting up the stage! Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Link 2! Performapal Odd-Eyes Silver Selkie!" His first Link Monster appeared, adjusting her silver braid as she smiled.
[Performapal Odd-Eyes Silver Selkie (L2/1700/WATER/Cyberse/Link/Effect/↙, ↘)]
"Silver Selkie's effect. I'll place a "Performapal" or "Odd-Eyes" Pendulum Monster from the deck in the Extra Deck. Then, I can Special Summon a Pendulum Monster with a different Pendulum Scale from face-up in the Extra Deck! Marine Excavation! Come—Performapal Skullcrobat Joker!" The jester-like monster from earlier reappeared on the field. "I'll then use my currently set Pendulum Scales to Pendulum Summon again! Return from the Extra Deck—Performapal Dag Daggerman, Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon and Performapal Fire Mufflerlion!" He revealed one more card in his hand. "And from my hand—Performapal Longphone Bull!" A blue bull appeared on the field, seeming rather annoyed.
[Performapal Longphone Bull (4*/1600/1200/EARTH/Beast/Effect)]
Now, Yuya had six monsters on the field.
"Since Longphone Bull was Special Summoned, I can add a non-Pendulum "Performapal" monster from my deck to my hand!" Yuya picked up another card. "Dag Daggerman's effect. Once per turn, on the turn that he was Pendulum Summoned, I can send a "Performapal" monster from my hand to the graveyard to draw a card."
"Six monsters," Shun noted. "I suppose that's also the power of Pendulum—to swarm so much."
"I now control Cyberse, Beast, Spellcaster, Dragon and Warrior monsters! So my Field Spell grants 1000 attack points to all my monsters!"
[Performapal Fire Mufflerlion: 800 + 200 x 5 = 1800ATK]
[Performapal Longphone Bull: 1600 + 200 x 5 = 2600ATK]
[Performapal Odd-Eyes Silver Selkie: 1700 + 200 x 5 = 2700ATK]
[Performapal Skullcrobat Joker: 1800 + 200 x 5 = 2800ATK]
[Performapal Dag Daggerman: 2000 + 200 x 5 = 3000ATK]
[Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon: 2500 + 200 x 5 = 3500ATK]
But Yuya still couldn't just attack. When Revolution Falcon battled a face-up Special Summoned monster, it reduced that monster's attack and defense points to zero.
So…
"I'll activate the Spell Card, Polymerization!" Yuya called out. "I'll fuse Performapal Dag Daggerman with Performapal Fire Mufflerlion!"
"I don't remember a monster you have that doesn't use Odd-Eyes as material," Shun muttered.
Yuya pulled out another card from his Extra Deck, slightly nervous. He was used to cards just showing up in his Extra Deck now, but he still didn't know why.
"Dagger thrower of the fantastic performance! Become one with the fiery mane, and revive as a new race! Fusion Summon! Come forth, Level 8! Performapal Gatlinghoul!" The goblin appeared on the field, letting out a cocky laugh.
[Performapal Gatlinghoul (8*/2900/900/DARK/Fiend/Fusion/Effect)]
"When Gatlinghoul is Fusion Summoned, I can inflict 200 damage to you for each card on the field!" Yuya gestured forward. "I control five monsters, a Field Spell and Pinch Helper. You control your three Xyz Monsters, your set card and your Raid Raptors - Nest! So that's twelve cards in total!"
Bullets and explosions shot down towards Shun, who immediately flipped up his set card. "Trap Card, Raid Raptors - Readiness. If I would take damage, I make that damage 0!"
Yuya grimaced. Since he hadn't inflicted damage to Shun, he couldn't use the second effect of Gatlinghoul right now, which had been his plan to get rid of Revolution Falcon.
Still, he had other options.
"I'll overlay the Level 4 Performapal Skullcrobat Joker and the Level 4 Performapal Longphone Bull! Phantom that races across time and space, put up a show with your daring blades! Xyz Summon! Rank 4! Performapal Odd-Eyes Blade Phantom!" The dark warrior appeared, shadows swirling around it, blue flames connecting long blades to its hands.
[Performapal Odd-Eyes Blade Phantom (R4/2300/2000/DARK/Warrior/Xyz/Effect) (OU:2)]
"That looks like Yuto's monster," Shun murmured. "Interesting…"
"I'll activate the effect of Performapal Odd-Eyes Blade Phantom! When Xyz Summoned, I can target and destroy a monster on the field with lower attack points than it! I'll target Revolution Falcon! Phantom Slash!"
Thankfully, Shun didn't activate any effects, meaning that Revolution Falcon was destroyed by the warrior's blade.
"Then, by detaching one of his Overlay Units, I'll reveal three "Performapal" or "Odd-Eyes" Pendulum Monsters with different Pendulum Scales from my deck, and you can pick one of them randomly for me to add to my hand. I'll reveal Performapal Barokuriboh, Performapal Changeraffe and Performapal Trumpanda!" The three cards shuffled through the air in front of him.
"The left one," Shun said.
Yuya picked up the card. "I only control four Types now—Warrior, Dragon, Cyberse and Fiend, so my monsters gain 800 attack points!"
[Performapal Odd-Eyes Blade Phantom: 2300 + 200 x 4 = 3100ATK]
[Performapal Odd-Eyes Silver Selkie: 1700 + 200 x 4 = 2500ATK]
[Performapal Gatlinghoul: 2900 + 200 x 4 = 3700ATK]
[Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon: 2500 + 200 x 4 = 3300ATK]
"Performapal Odd-Eyes Silver Selkie attacks Raid Raptors - Étranger Falcon!" To Yuya's surprise, Shun didn't respond to the destruction of his monster.
In fact…
Was he smiling?
"Étranger Falcon always helps its comrades, even when it falls," Shun called out. "When it's destroyed by an opponent's card, I can target a "Raid Raptors" Xyz Monster in my graveyard and Special Summon it to the field—and Étranger Falcon will become that monster's Overlay Unit!"
"What?" Yuya exclaimed.
"Return to the field, Revolution Falcon!" The fierce silver bird reappeared on the field. The ghost of Étranger Falcon appeared behind it, before turning into a spinning Overlay Unit that orbited it.
[Raid Raptors - Revolution Falcon: OU:0 + 1 = OU:1]
"... well, Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon attacks Rise Falcon! Spiral Flame Strike!" He quickly cut down the other Xyz Monster before it could cause problems, but since it was in Defense Position, Shun took no damage.
Yuya grimaced.
"That's the end of my turn," he said—unable to attack Revolution Falcon.
How fierce. He'd thought he'd been prepared, but Shun Kurosaki truly was something else.
[Turn 5: Shun] [H:3]
"Draw," Shun said. He glanced at the card—and smirked. "I'll Normal Summon Raid Raptors - Avenge Vulture!" The dark purple carrion bird appeared on his field, letting out another shriek.
[Raid Raptors - Avenge Vulture (4*/1000/1600/DARK/Winged Beast/Effect)]
"Raid Raptors - Nest's effect. I'll add a "Raid Raptors" monster from my deck to my hand." He picked up the card, before gesturing forward. Avenge Vulture let out another cry. "I'll activate Avenge Vulture's effect. By tributing a "Raid Raptors" monster, I can add a "Rank-Up-Magic" Spell from my graveyard to my hand. However, I can't Xyz Summon this turn, except with a "Rank-Up-Magic" card. I'll tribute Avenge Vulture itself." He picked up the card from his graveyard. "Spell Card, Rank-Up-Magic Skip Force!"
Yuya grimaced.
Then, Rank 8…
"Dauntless falcon. Hoist up the flame of anger, become the flash of light that burns the land to ash! Rank-Up-Xyz-Change! Soar! Rank 8! Raid Raptors - Satellite Cannon Falcon!" The same white falcon that had decimated Dennis's field appeared, its body glowing brightly.
[Raid Raptors - Satellite Cannon Falcon (R8/3000/2000/DARK/Winged Beast/Xyz/Effect) (OU:2)]
"When Satellite Cannon Falcon is Xyz Summoned, I can destroy all Spells and Traps you control, and you cannot respond to this effect!" Both of Yuya's Pendulum Scales, his Field Spell and his Continuous Trap were all destroyed by large blasts that bombarded his field.
This was… Satellite Cannon Falcon?
"And that's not all," Shun said. "I'll activate the Spell Card, Rank-Up-Magic Raid Force! I will target Satellite Cannon Falcon and Rank Up that monster by 1 Rank!"
Above, Nue blinked, before she sighed and rolled her eyes. "Not your usual style," she murmured. "Dropping Raid Force to get Skip Force for Ultimate Falcon would be more fitting… but you want her to see that new monster that you used to fight in her name, don't you?"
"Birds with wings darkened by revenge and rebellion!" Shun declared. "Let your cries of rage take on the form of brutal beauty—grace that no cruel being has the right to lay eyes upon! Feathers of glory that shatter all shadow! Rank-Up-Xyz-Change! Rank 9! Raid Raptors - Assembly Galebarrier Falcon!" The colourful, graceful falcon appeared, its piercing pink eyes stared down at Yuya.
[Raid Raptors - Assembly Galebarrier Falcon (R9/0/3000/LIGHT/Winged Beast/Xyz/Effect) (OU:3)]
"Assembly Galebarrier…" Ruri said. She turned to look at Yuto, who nodded.
"Shun got it a while after you were kidnapped," he said.
"Oh." Ruri put a hand over her heart. "... he really is too good of a big brother."
"Assembly Galebarrier Falcon's effect! Once per turn, it can attach a Winged Beast monster from the graveyard to itself as an Overlay Unit! I'll attach Raid Raptors - Rise Falcon to Assembly Galebarrier Falcon as material!" Another orb shot up, spinning around the falcon.
[Raid Raptors - Assembly Galebarrier Falcon: OU:3 + 1 = OU:4]
"And Assembly Galebarrier Falcon copies the effects of all Winged Beast Xyz Monsters attached to it as Overlay Units!" Shun gestured forward. "I'll activate the effect that she copied from Raid Raptors - Étranger Falcon! I'll detach Rise Falcon and destroy Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!"
[Raid Raptors - Assembly Galebarrier Falcon: OU:4 - 1 = OU:3]
"I'll discard a card from my hand to use Odd-Eyes Silver Selkie's effect!" Yuya declared. "I'll protect Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon from destruction!"
"Fine. Assembly Galebarrier Falcon's other effect. I'll target a Special Summoned monster on the field and return it to the hand, and she gains attack points equal to the original attack points of the monster I returned to the hand! I'll return Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon to the hand! Swirling Galeburst!" Yuya's dragon was caught up by the winds, and the falcon glowed, attack points shooting up.
[Raid Raptors - Assembly Galebarrier Falcon: 0 + 2500 = 2500ATK]
"Then, by detaching Étranger Falcon, I can copy Revolution Falcon's other effect. This turn, Assembly Galebarrier Falcon can attack all monsters you control!"
[Raid Raptors - Assembly Galebarrier Falcon: OU:3 - 1 = OU:2]
"Assembly Galebarrier Falcon attacks Performapal Gatlinghoul!"
The reason that Shun hadn't returned Gatlinghoul to the Extra Deck was to avoid Yuya summoning it and burning him with damage again. And anyway…
"Assembly Galebarrier Falcon will use the effect that she copied from Revolution Falcon! Your monster's attack points are reduced to 0!"
… what a terrifyingly broken card.
[Performapal Gatlinghoul: 2900 → 0ATK; 900 → 0DEF]
"Avian Obliterate!"
"I'll activate the effect of Performapal Prepped Up in my graveyard. I'll banish it to reduce damage to 0 and Special Summon a "Performapal" monster from my graveyard in Defense Position. Come—Performapal Changeraffe!" The graceful yellow giraffe appeared.
[Performapal Changeraffe (1*/S5/100/500/EARTH/Beast/Pendulum/Effect)]
"Nice," Shun complimented. "Can you do it again? Assembly Galebarrier Falcon—"
"When Performapal Changeraffe is Normal or Special Summoned, I can target a face-up monster you control and negate its effects. It can't attack either! These effects last while Changeraffe is face-up on the field!"
Shun twitched. From the nearby stands, Arisu sighed to herself—sympathising with him.
"So your monster can't attack anymore!"
"I cannot believe I was stopped by a giraffe," Shun muttered. "I'll set a card. Over to you."
[Turn 6: Yuya] [H:2]
Too close… and Kurosaki could just attack Changeraffe with another monster to get rid of it next turn.
What should he do…
… alright.
"Performapal Odd-Eyes Blade Phantom's effect!" Yuya called out. "I'll detach his other Overlay Unit." Three cards shot up, spinning around.
[Performapal Odd-Eyes Blade Phantom: OU:1 - 1 = OU:0]
"The one on the right," Shun said—it clearly didn't matter to him, considering that he didn't know which card he was choosing anyway.
Luckily, it was the one that Yuya wanted.
"I'll set the Scale 1 Performapal Monkeyboard in the Pendulum Scale!" He declared. "With Monkeyboard's effect, I'll add a Level 4 or lower "Performapal" monster from my deck to my hand! I'll add the Scale 8 Performapal Odd-Eyes Unicorn to my hand and set it in my other Pendulum Scale!" The two monsters shot up in blue pillars around him.
"So you got back your Pendulum Scales?" Shun gestured forward. "Show me what you can do then."
Not even Yuya himself was sure. But…
He still controlled Blade Phantom, Silver Selkie and Changeraffe. That meant that he could Pendulum Summon three monsters right now. So…
"Swing, pendulum!" He called out. "First, from my hand, Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!" His ace reappeared on his field with a burst of flame. "Then, from my Extra Deck, Performapal Dag Daggerman! And finally, from my hand, Performapal U Go Golem!" The first two monsters were familiar—U Go Golem, however, was a small golem made of pure white bricks.
[Performapal U Go Golem (4*/1600/1000/DARK/Fiend/Pendulum/Effect)]
"U Go Golem lets me perform a Fusion Summon with itself and Dragon monsters I control!" He declared. "I'll fuse it with Odd-Eyes!" The two monsters shot up.
Shun didn't tense up. Maybe that was a good sign.
"Beautiful lord of the storm! Wings that glide through the air with regality! With the power that lies within those wondrous dichroic eyes, rend all others with the gale that emerges in your presence! Fusion Summon! Odd-Eyes Vortex Dragon!" The green dragon appeared, its white and gold wings whipping up winds in the air.
[Odd-Eyes Vortex Dragon (7*/2500/3000/WIND/Dragon/Fusion/Effect)]
"Odd-Eyes Vortex Dragon's effect! When it's Fusion Summoned, I can target a monster you control in face-up Attack Position and return it to the hand! Winds of Calamity!" He gestured towards Assembly Galebarrier Falcon.
Hopefully—just hopefully, he could stop Shun here before he did another Rank Up.
Shun arched an eyebrow. "... not bad."
… really? Just like that?
Assembly Galebarrier Falcon vanished from the field in golden winds.
"Odd-Eyes Vortex Dragon will attack directly!"
From above, Serena watched the duel, a worried look on her face.
They had agreed that letting the boys duel each other was a bad choice. So either she or Kurosaki absolutely had to win here… just in case.
"Come on, Kurosaki…" She muttered—she felt bad about rooting against Yuya, but she couldn't help it. "You can win against him, can't you?"
Shun raised his head. "Your monster negates effects," he said. "But…" He smirked. "You won't be able to negate this one. Counter Trap, Necro Raptors!"
Yuya gasped as the card flipped over. Monster effects couldn't be used to respond to Counter Traps, even if they were Quick Effects.
"I'll reduce battle damage to 0 and Special Summon a "Raid Raptors" monster from my graveyard!" He raised a hand. "Return—Raid Raptors - Satellite Cannon Falcon!" The white bird reappeared on the field in Attack Position—thus shielding Shun from every other monster that Yuya controlled.
Yuya grimaced.
Still, if Shun tried to Rank Up that monster, Odd-Eyes Vortex Dragon's effect would be able to negate it. So it wasn't that bad…
"I'll end my turn," he said.
[Turn 7: Shun] [H:2]
"Draw!" Shun glanced at the cards in his hand. "Spell Card, Rank-Up-Magic Revolution Force! I'll target your Performapal Odd-Eyes Blade Phantom and Rank Up that monster by 1 Rank into a "Raid Raptors" monster!"
"Odd-Eyes Vortex Dragon's effect!" Yuya countered. "I'll shuffle U Go Golem from my Extra Deck into the deck to negate and destroy that card! Forbidding Gale!"
He couldn't let it go through. If Blaze Falcon came out, it could just attack directly and win.
However…
Shun was clearly aware of that.
"Spell Card, Pot of Avarice. I'll shuffle three copies of Fuzzy Lanius into the deck, along with Tribute Lanius and Sharp Lanius, and then I can draw two cards!" He picked up the two cards, looking at them. "I'll Normal Summon Raid Raptors - Rudder Strix!" A blue bird with beady red eyes appeared.
[Raid Raptors - Rudder Strix (4*/0/1600/DARK/Winged Beast/Effect)]
"Since Rudder Strix was Normal Summoned, I can inflict 600 damage to you!" Rudder Strix fired off an explosion that caused Yuya to veer to the side.
Yuya: 1000 - 600 = 400LP
"I'll activate the effect of Raid Raptors - Nest. I will add Raid Raptors - Fuzzy Lanius from my deck to my hand and Special Summon it from my hand with its own effect!" The purple bird appeared on the field as well. "I'll overlay the Level 4 Raid Raptors - Fuzzy Lanius and the Level 4 Raid Raptors - Rudder Strix! Now, hunter that plucks the enemies from on high, dash down and pave the path for destruction! Xyz Summon! Rank 4! Raid Raptors - Spade Strix!"
A black bird appeared—smaller, but with intelligent eyes that glanced forward at Yuya. Its wings were shaped such that they were wider at the base and curved upwards at the end—the shapes of spades in playing card suits. Its feathers cut sharply through the air. Silver could be seen curving around its face in patterns of metal, like wire. On its back, there was a bright, shining antenna that curved along the bird's body like a spine. It let out a quiet cry.
[Raid Raptors - Spade Strix (R4/2000/2500/DARK/Winged Beast/Xyz/Effect) (OU:2)]
"Spade Strix's effect. When it's Xyz Summoned—I can set a "Rank-Up-Magic" Spell from my deck, and it can be activated this turn, even if it's a Quickplay Spell!" Shun plucked out a card from his deck, slamming it on his field. "Spell Card, Rank-Up-Magic Skip Force!" The familiar card flipped over. "I'll Rank Up Satellite Cannon Falcon by two Ranks! Supreme falcon. Carry on the wishes of your fallen friends, and fly off to the sky of victory! Rank Up Xyz Change! Appear, Rank 10! Raid Raptors - Ultimate Falcon!" The beautiful golden falcon appeared on the field, blinding everyone with its radiance—wings slashing through the air.
[Raid Raptors - Ultimate Falcon (R10/3500/2000/DARK/Winged Beast/Xyz/Effect) (OU:1)]
Yuya stared at it.
This monster… how terrifying.
It was unaffected by other cards' effects—and therefore, all of Yuya's usual tricks with manipulating attack points wouldn't work.
"I could use Ultimate Falcon's effect, but that would be pointless right now," Shun said. "You won't survive a proper attack anyway. Attack Odd-Eyes Vortex Dragon, Ultimate Falcon! Final Glorious Bright!" The falcon fired off an attack that shot down the field.
"I'll activate the effect of Performapal Uni in my graveyard!" Yuya declared. "I'll banish her and Performapal Secondonkey from the graveyard and reduce the battle damage to zero! And this effect affects me, the player, not your monster, so it works!"
The attack landed, erupting and destroying his Fusion Monster—but he was fine.
After all, Shun Kurosaki was skilled—and he had taken the precaution of leaving Spade Strix in Defense Position, just in case.
Shun nodded. There was something calm to his expression. "Main Phase 2," he said. "I will activate Spade Strix's effect. By detaching one of its Overlay Units, I can Special Summon a DARK Xyz Monster from the graveyard in Defense Position!" One of the orbs shot in the air. "I'll Special Summon Force Strix!" The small bird appeared next to Spade Strix, letting out a chirp.
[Raid Raptors - Spade Strix: OU:2 - 1 = OU:1]
"Force Strix gains 500 attack and defense points for each other Winged Beast monster I control!" Shun declared.
[Raid Raptors - Force Strix: 100 + 500 x 2 = 1100ATK; 2000 + 500 x 2 = 3000DEF]
"I'll end my turn. During the End Phase, Ultimate Falcon decreases the attack points of all monsters you still control by 1000!"
[Performapal Changeraffe: 100 - 1000 = 0ATK]
[Performapal Odd-Eyes Silver Selkie: 1700 - 1000 = 700ATK]
[Performapal Odd-Eyes Blade Phantom: 2300 - 1000 = 1300ATK]
So that last card in his hand…
Come to think of it, if the last card in Shun's hand wasn't a hand trap, Yuya was in really good shape.
All he had to do was…
Ugh.
All he had to do was defeat Ultimate Falcon.
What a tall task.
[Turn 8: Yuya] [H:1]
"Draw!" Yuya looked at the card. "Pendulum Summon!" He didn't waste any time. "Return to my field! Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon! Performapal Dag Daggerman! Dragonpit Magician!" The three monsters appeared on the field, filling up his remaining monster zones. Dragonpit Magician was the only new monster appearing on the field.
[Dragonpit Magician (7*/S8/900/2700/WATER/Spellcaster/Pendulum)]
"Dag Daggerman's effect. I'll discard a "Performapal" monster to draw a card!" He picked up the card. "I'll activate the Pendulum Effect of Monkeyboard to add a Level 4 or lower "Performapal" monster from my deck to my hand. Then, I'll banish Performapal Springoose from the graveyard to return the cards in my Pendulum Scales to my hand!" He picked up both cards. "I'll set the Scale 1 Performapal Monkeyboard in the Pendulum Scale and use its effect again! I'll add the Scale 2 Performapal Camelump to my hand and set it in the Pendulum Scale too!"
By bouncing Monkeyboard back to his hand, Yuya had gotten to use its effect again.
"Open, circuit of the world of smiles! Arrowhead confirmed! The conditions are two Pendulum Monsters, including a Level 7 or higher "Odd-Eyes" monster! I will set Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon and Performapal Changeraffe in the Link Markers! Dragon that splits light into fragments, shine with every shade of colour that the world can see! Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Link 2! Odd-Eyes Dispersion Dragon!" The bright dragon of glass appeared in front of him, casting rainbows across the ground.
[Odd-Eyes Dispersion Dragon (L2/2500/LIGHT/Dragon/Link/Effect/↙, ↘)]
"When Odd-Eyes Dispersion Dragon is Link Summoned, I must halve the attack points of all non-Pendulum Monsters on the field until the End Phase, except itself! Splitting Spectrum!"
Ultimate Falcon wasn't affected, but the rest of the monsters on the field certainly were.
[Raid Raptors - Spade Strix: 2000 / 2 = 1000ATK]
[Raid Raptors - Force Strix: 1100 / 2 = 550ATK]
[Performapal Odd-Eyes Silver Selkie: 700 / 2 = 400ATK]
[Performapal Odd-Eyes Blade Phantom: 1300 / 2 = 650ATK]
"What was the point of bringing that out?" Shun questioned. "Ultimate Falcon won't be defeated by effects that decrease attack points…"
"It was necessary," Yuya said. "Because…"
He was about to reach into his Extra Deck and take out that card—that sign of the bond between him and Yuno—
And then, there was a sharp ringing in his head.
No.
You have not yet conquered me.
Yuya rubbed his forehead.
He had a really, really strong feeling that he should not touch that dragon right now.
In that case…
What could he do?
Odd-Eyes Dispersion Dragon turned back to look at him. There was something disapproving in its gaze. It roared.
Yuya got a strange feeling in the pit of his stomach. It was as though Odd-Eyes was scolding him—claiming that it didn't need Magnetic Current's power to be strong.
But then, what was Yuya supposed to do?
Odd-Eyes Dispersion Dragon snorted. Next to him, Silver Selkie giggled. She dove over next to him, spinning around.
Somehow, it felt like she was playfully mocking him.
Take a new path, her eyes were saying.
If Link didn't work, then perhaps…?
"... you're way stronger than me, Kurosaki…" Yuya admitted. "But I'm not afraid to admit when I need to rely on a new path." He looked at the card in his hand. "I need…"
And then he blinked.
The card in his hand… had it just…
He glanced at the card.
I guess you want to win too?
"I can tribute a monster I control to Special Summon Ring Magician from my hand!" He declared. Silver Selkie dissolved into light. A girl with bright green hair appeared, wearing black robes and spinning a tuning fork in her hands—the magician that had once been Tuning Magician turned and winked at him.
[Ring Magician (1*/S1/0/0/DARK/Spellcaster/Pendulum/Tuner/Effect)]
"Hi," Yuya said, feeling slightly awkward. "Uh—yeah. Hi. Help me out."
Ring Magician nodded. She waved her tuning fork through the air.
"After Ring Magician is Special Summoned with her effect, I can Special Summon a "Magician" Pendulum Monster from my deck, but it can't activate its effects this turn! Come! Dragoncaller Magician!" The dark spellcaster appeared next to Ring Magician.
[Dragoncaller Magician (7*/S2/2400/1000/DARK/Spellcaster/Pendulum/Effect)]
"And I'll tune the Level 1 Ring Magician to the Level 7 Dragoncaller Magician!" Yuya declared. "Hero's blade that sets forth unyielding light! Here and now, along with a flash, awaken! Synchro Summon! Appear, Level 8! Magical Swordsman of Awakening! Enlightenment Paladin!" The white and gold knight appeared on the field.
[Enlightenment Paladin (8*/2500/2000/DARK/Spellcaster/Synchro/Effect)]
"Enlightenment Paladin's effect. Since it was Synchro Summoned using a "Magician" monster as material, I can add a Spell from my graveyard to my hand! Then, since Ring Magician was used as Synchro Material for a Spellcaster or Dragon monster, I can Special Summon a "Performapal", "Magician" or "Odd-Eyes" Pendulum Monster from my deck! Come—Performapal Odd-Eyes Synchron!" A small white machine with a white hat on its head appeared, buggy red and green eyes staring at the opponent.
"Odd-Eyes… Synchron." Shun raised an eyebrow. "Are you planning on Synchro Summoning again?"
"I am," Yuya said determinedly. "I'll tune the Level 2 Performapal Odd-Eyes Synchron to the Level 8 Enlightenment Paladin!" The two monsters shot up in the air.
Reach it. That final form.
"From the peaceful depths of time, release the light throughout this wide world, and revive! Synchro Summon! Level 10! Super Magical Swordsman of Nirvana! Nirvana High Paladin!"
A tall magician in blue robes appeared, gold trim along the edges of its clothes. Orange orbs swirled around it. It held up an enormous silver sword in the air—
And it swung sharply.
[Nirvana High Paladin (10*/S8/3300/2500/DARK/Spellcaster/Synchro/Pendulum/Effect)]
"A Synchro Pendulum Monster?" Shun exclaimed.
"Then, since you control the same number of monsters as me, I'll Special Summon Performapal Radish Horse from my hand!" The red horse appeared, leafy mane drifting through the air.
[Performapal Radish Horse (4*/S3/500/2000/EARTH/Plant/Pendulum/Effect)]
"I will activate the card that I added to my hand with Enlightenment Paladin's effect! Field Spell—Performapal Dramatic Theater! All monsters I control gain 200 attack points for each monster with a different Type I control!"
All four of his monsters glowed.
[Nirvana High Paladin: 3300 + 200 x 4 = 4100ATK]
[Performapal Odd-Eyes Blade Phantom: 650 + 200 x 4 = 1450ATK]
[Odd-Eyes Dispersion Dragon: 2500 + 200 x 4 = 3300ATK]
[Performapal Radish Horse: 500 + 200 x 4 = 1300ATK]
"So, Nirvana High Paladin has exceeded Ultimate Falcon's attack points!" Yuya declared.
Shun raised his head, looking at the monster.
Yuya… wanted to win. He really wanted to win right now.
He wanted to face Jack Atlas again. He wanted to prove…
What did he want to prove?
He had already told himself that he didn't need Jack Atlas's approval. He was entirely his own person, and his growth was his own choice…
He wanted to choose. He wanted to face Jack Atlas again. He wanted to prove, without a doubt, that he'd grown since back then.
"Radish Horse's effect!" He declared. "I'll target…"
He wanted to win. He wanted to win. No matter what—
"I'll target Nirvana High Paladin and Raid Raptors - Spade Strix!" He declared. "Nirvana High Paladin gains attack points equal to Radish Horse's attack points, and Spade Strix loses attack points equal to that amount!"
[Nirvana High Paladin: 4100 + 1300 = 5400ATK]
[Raid Raptors - Spade Strix: 2000 - 1300 = 700ATK]
"Camelump's effect!" He continued. "I'll target Odd-Eyes Dispersion Dragon, and this turn, it gains the ability to deal piercing damage! Also, all your monsters lose 800 defense points!"
[Raid Raptors - Spade Strix: 2500 - 800 = 1700DEF]
[Raid Raptors - Force Strix: 3000 - 800 = 2200DEF]
"Piercing damage…"
"Nirvana High Paladin!" He pumped a fist in the air. "Attack Ultimate Falcon! Truth Sukhavati!" The golden beam of light shot down—
Shun looked at him, turned his head away, and Ultimate Falcon was destroyed.
Shun: 4000 - 1900 = 2100LP
"When Nirvana High Paladin destroys a monster by battle, I can halve your life points!" Yuya declared.
Shun: 2100 / 2 = 1050LP
Yuya couldn't help it—he was grinning from the adrenaline.
For once… his solution didn't belong to someone else. His cards had evolved according to his will—and he had just played a move that used entirely his own cards, his own moves. Pendulum and Synchro together—
Neither of which belonged to his father, or anyone else.
"Stop grinning," Shun said, sounding rather… calm. "End the duel already, before the audience loses their hype."
Yes.
The crowd was cheering right now.
Yuya could hear his heartbeat as he gestured forward. "Odd-Eyes Dispersion Dragon attacks your Raid Raptors - Spade Strix! And this will deal piercing damage! RGB Shift!"
Rainbow light rained down on Shun's field—
Like sunlight, it illuminated the field, casting a bright rainbow across the track, as the crowd cheered.
Shun: 1050 - 1600 = 0LP
Winner: Yuya Sakaki!
Yuya came to a stop, still grinning.
"Well done," Shun said. He held out a hand towards Yuya.
Yuya glanced at Nirvana High Paladin, as the figure vanished from behind him.
"I still don't think I'm stronger than you," he admitted. "This time… I just had the advantage of knowing your cards, while I made you deal with the unexpected."
"We can test that next time," Shun said. He didn't look mad about losing. "Good luck. You have pretty tough opponents, no matter who you face."
Yuya nodded.
He wanted to believe that he could do this. That he could make it to the end.
Nue was waiting for him in the corridor when he got off the track. She held out a towel to him, and Shun grabbed it, wiping off the sweat from the back of his neck.
Nue looked at him, seeing through him, as per normal. She was always a lot better at that than Shun.
"Could you have won?"
"Maybe," Shun said. "I still would have taken heavy damage…"
Nue arched an eyebrow.
"No, I'm serious." Shun shook his head. "It was my loss. I underestimated him—he's grown faster than I thought."
"Are you telling me that you didn't search out Booster Strix for your hand?" Nue sighed. "You really underestimated him that much?"
"I got arrogant because he hadn't managed to fully counter anything that I'd done. So I thought that as long as I left some monsters in Defense Position, it would be fine." He hadn't expected Yuya to be able to overcome Ultimate Falcon at all.
He'd underestimated his own comrade—something that he shouldn't have done. He'd figured that out just as Yuya had been about to attack.
"If you'd done that against Kaito, Galaxy-Eyes would have destroyed your field," Nue pointed out. It wasn't an attack on his skill, merely a statement.
"I'll be more careful," Shun said. He stretched upwards. "I won't lose like that again—it's frankly embarrassing."
Nue looked at him, and then she sighed. She still seemed a little amused. "You had better not," she said. "They're all growing rather fast, aren't they? Competing with each other. If we don't do our best, they'll catch up to us."
"That's good." Shun drew a hand through his hair. "... want to go somewhere?"
"Not going to watch the rest?"
"We can still watch it," Shun said. "But I don't feel like sitting still." He turned to look at her.
There had been something surreal about the last week, he thought to himself. The feeling of seeing everyone in such a normal situation—like teenagers, just having fun…
And then there was the transformation in this girl in front of him. Still sarcastic and harsh with her words, but there was something more warm to her now.
She had looked happy just to exist.
And Shun had no doubt that the moment that they went home, that warmth would vanish under the layers of cold that Nue used to face her enemies.
He had no doubt about it, because it was the same for him.
"Why?" Nue asked. She was watching him—a little calculating.
Shun shrugged. When he spoke, it was a little gruff. "One of our last days here—maybe the last, depending on how fast Reiji Akaba finishes his work. When we go back, we both know you'll start overworking yourself. So… let's rest."
"Why does it feel like I should be the one saying this to you?"
"Because we've gotten to the point where I'm the one who's allowed to try and take care of you." Shun shrugged. "Don't be the Ace of Diamonds. Just be yourself today."
"… well," Nue said wryly, "I do tend to listen to good advice."
Of course, the Friendship Cup still continued on—to the final match of the quarterfinals.
"Yo, Serena." Yugo turned to look at her.
In a lot of ways, Serena was similar to Rin—aggressive, wanted to do what was right, and often a bit more level-headed than him. But in dueling…
Well, one of them dealt nearly all her damage through burn damage, and the other dealt it all through battle.
Yugo would have to avoid falling into the trap of dueling her while thinking about Rin.
"May the better duelist win," he said with a grin.
Serena snorted, though she didn't seem offended. "I'll do my best to." She raised a hand, gesturing sharply towards him. "Let's get going already."
They both rode out. Shun and Yuya's match had hyped up the entire crowd, and now everyone was ready to watch another duel.
Yugo would absolutely not disappoint!
Plus, this was absolutely an opponent who would make any duel become a clash of wills.
Yugo rode ahead of Serena, going past the corner first.
And then, he drew the top five cards of his deck.
Here went nothing!
[DUEL!]
Yugo Kirijo: 4000LP
Serena Akaba: 4000LP
[Turn 1: Yugo] [H:5]
Yugo couldn't help but grin at the last name that showed up on the display. He couldn't help it. He was just so… happy.
"I'll start!" He declared. "I'll activate the Spell Card, Speedroid Wheel!" The roulette spun around. "I'll discard a card and roll a dice, and then, I can Special Summon one or two "Speedroid" monsters with a total Level equal to the result from my deck, but their effects are negated!" The dice spun through the air, landing on a five. "Come! Speedroid Red-Eyed Dice! Speedroid Horse Stilts!" The two monsters appeared on the field—a spinning pyramid and a rocking horse.
[Speedroid Red-Eyed Dice (1*/100/100/WIND/Machine/Tuner/Effect)]
[Speedroid Horse Stilts (4*/1100/1100/WIND/Machine/Effect)]
"I'll tune the Level 1 Speedroid Red-Eyed Dice to the Level 4 Speedroid Horse Stilts! Dual wings nurturing shining body. With those wings, leap into the sky! Synchro Summon! Appear! Level 5! Hi-Speedroid Hagoita!" The red and green paddle-like monster appeared, electricity sparking all around it.
[Hi-Speedroid Hagoita (5*/2000/1000/WIND/Machine/Synchro/Effect)]
"I'll set a card facedown and end my turn!"
"A single monster in Attack Position, and a set card…" Serena gestured forward. "I know you're better than that, so let's see how you intend to defend against me!"
[Turn 2: Serena] [H:6]
"Draw!" Serena glanced at her hand. "I'll send Moonlight Black Sheep from my hand to the graveyard to add the Spell Card, Polymerization from my deck to my hand." She picked up the card. "I'll activate the Spell Card, Polymerization. I'll fuse Moonlight Yellow Marten and Moonlight Crimson Fox in my hand!" She dropped the two cards from her hand. "Crescent-tailed moon creature that dances through the night! Crimson cunning hiding in the shadows! Spiral into the moon's gravity and become a new power! Fusion Summon! Come to me! Beautiful beast that dances in the moonlight! Moonlight Cat Dancer!" Serena's graceful, most commonly used Fusion Monster appeared on her field.
[Moonlight Cat Dancer (7*/2400/2000/DARK/Beast-Warrior/Fusion/Effect)]
"Crimson Fox's effect. I'll change your monster's attack points to 0!"
A red glow surrounded Hagoita, weakening it.
[Hi-Speedroid Hagoita: 2000 → 0ATK]
"And I'll activate the effect of Yellow Marten. I'll add a "Moonlight" Spell or Trap from my deck to my hand." She picked up the card. "I'll Normal Summon Moonlight White Rabbit!" The small dancer in a white hood appeared, her ears standing straight up.
[Moonlight White Rabbit (2*/800/800/DARK/Beast-Warrior/Effect)]
"I'll activate the effect of White Rabbit. I can Special Summon a "Moonlight" monster from my graveyard in Defense Position! Return to the field—Moonlight Black Sheep!" The small beast in a dark tuxedo appeared on the field.
[Moonlight Black Sheep (2*/100/600/DARK/Beast-Warrior/Effect)]
"I'll activate the effect of White Rabbit. I'll return your set card to your hand." Yugo picked up the card, not bothered at all.
That wasn't the defence that he'd set up for himself, after all.
"I'll activate the effect of Cat Dancer. I'll tribute Black Sheep. Cat Dancer can attack each monster you control twice, and they're not destroyed by the first attack! Lunatic Frenzy!" Cat Dancer let out a sharp yowl. "Attack Hi-Speedroid Hagoita! Full Moon Cresta!"
Yugo took the first attack with a grin.
Yugo: 4000 - 2400 = 1600LP
"First blood goes to me," Serena said fiercely. "But I assume that you have something in store?"
"Hell yeah! Now that I took damage," he declared, "I can Special Summon Speedroid Gum Prize from my hand!" A white robot appeared on the field, much smaller than Yugo's Synchro Monster.
[Speedroid Gum Prize (1*/0/800/WIND/Machine/Tuner/Effect)]
"Then, I can immediately perform a Synchro Summon with Gum Prize and other WIND monsters I control!" Yugo continued.
"So you wanted to take damage so that you could Synchro Summon on my turn?"
"Yup!" Yugo winked. "I'd like to think that we all know about your tactics now! I'm not going to lose that easily. I'll tune the Level 1 Speedroid Gum Prize to the Level 5 Hi-Speedroid Hagoita!" The two monsters shot up. "Magical sword with the form of a cross. Use your power to rend all enemies! Synchro Summon! Appear now! Level 6! Hi-Speedroid Kendama!" Another one of his Synchro Monsters appeared—sleek, blue and ready to defend him.
[Hi-Speedroid Kendama (6*/2200/1600/WIND/Machine/Synchro/Effect)]
"When Gum Prize is used as Synchro Material, I can send the top card of my deck to the graveyard, and if it's a "Speedroid" monster, Kendama gains 1000 attack points!" He flipped up the top card of his deck, before grinning. "That works!"
[Hi-Speedroid Kendama: 2200 + 1000 = 3200ATK]
"I can't defeat that monster for now," Serena said. "I'll set a card facedown. Over to you." However, she didn't seem fazed—to him, it was just another wall to overcome.
[Turn 3: Yugo] [H:3]
"Draw!" Yugo declared. "I'll banish Speedroid Horse Stilts from the graveyard to send a WIND monster from my deck to the graveyard!" He then revealed a card in his hand. "I'll Normal Summon Speedroid Double Yoyo!" The two spinning green yoyos appeared, sharp blades attached to them and spinning around.
[Speedroid Double Yoyo (4*/1400/1400/WIND/Machine/Effect)]
"Double Yoyo's effect! I'll Special Summon a Level 3 or lower "Speedroid" monster from my graveyard! Come back—Speedroid Red-Eyed Dice!" The spinning glass pyramid with a large red eye on it appeared. "And with Red-Eyed Dice's effect, I will change Double Yoyo's Level to 6!"
[Speedroid Double Yoyo: 4* → 6*]
"I'll tune the Level 1 Speedroid Red-Eyed Dice to the Level 6 Speedroid Double Yoyo! Spread those wondrous and beautiful wings, and strike down your enemies at the speed of light! Synchro Summon! Appear now! Level 7! Clear Wing Synchro Dragon!" The beautiful white and blue dragon appeared, letting out a sharp roar. Yugo nodded to his ace.
[Clear Wing Synchro Dragon (7*/2500/2000/WIND/Dragon/Synchro/Effect)]
Now, he controlled both Kendama and Clear Wing.
"I'll activate Kendama's effect!" Yugo declared. "By banishing Double Yoyo from the graveyard, I will inflict 500 damage to you! Brutal Swing!" Kendama swung its motorbike-like body through the air, sending forth a shockwave that struck away some of Serena's life points.
Serena: 4000 - 500 = 3500LP
"And now, Kendama attacks Cat Dancer!"
Serena wasn't exactly known for being good at defending herself—just doing the minimum. As such…
Well, wasn't that a foregone conclusion?
Kendama swung straight through, crushing her monster with the force.
Serena: 3500 - 800 = 2700LP
"Trap Card, Moonlight Reincarnation Dance. I'll add two "Moonlight" monsters from my deck to my hand!" Serena picked up the two cards from her deck. However, she did not respond to the attack.
"Clear Wing Synchro Dragon attacks Moonlight White Rabbit! Helldive Whirlwind Slasher!" The winds shot forward, wrapping around the dancer and sending her flying.
Serena: 2700 - 1700 = 1000LP
"I'll set a card facedown again," Yugo said cheerfully. "Over to you!"
"Let's see if your set card is enough to defend against me this turn," Serena said.
[Turn 4: Serena] [H:5]
She swiftly drew a card.
"I'll Normal Summon Moonlight Emerald Bird!" The dancer with a green cape appeared, cheerfully smiling.
[Moonlight Emerald Bird (4*/1200/1000/DARK/Beast-Warrior/Effect)]
"Since Emerald Bird was Normal or Special Summoned, I can send a "Moonlight" card from my hand to the graveyard to draw a card!" She quickly swapped out the card in her hand, smirking at what she saw. "I'll activate the Spell Card, Moon Light Perfume! I can Special Summon a "Moonlight" monster from my graveyard! Come, Moonlight Silver Hound!" A woman with dog ears appeared, pale grey-silver pelt and fur making up her clothing. She was wearing a headdress that covered her eyes.
[Moonlight Silver Hound (2*/400/1900/DARK/Beast-Warrior/Effect)]
"When Silver Hound is Special Summoned, I can send a "Moonlight" monster from my Extra Deck to the graveyard to add a "Fusion" or "Polymerization" card from my deck to my hand!" She picked up the card. "I'll set the Scale 1 Moonlight Wolf in the Pendulum Scale! Then, I'll activate her Pendulum Effect. I can banish monsters from the graveyard and field to Fusion Summon!"
… that meant that she was summoning that immensely powerful monster, wasn't she? The one that could destroy everything on her field.
"I'll banish Moonlight Panther Dancer, Moonlight Yellow Marten and Moonlight White Rabbit from the graveyard to Fusion Summon!" Serena declared. "Elegant beast dancing on the moonlit wilderness! The lively white rabbit illuminated by the moonlight! Crescent-tailed moon creature that dances through the night! Swarm in a vortex of the moon's gravity and revive with a new power! Fusion Summon! Come forth! The king of beasts dancing atop the summit of the moonlight wilderness! Moonlight Lio Dancer!"
Lio Dancer appeared, blades swinging through the air.
[Moonlight Lio Dancer (10*/3500/3000/DARK/Beast-Warrior/Fusion/Effect)]
"Battle Phase! Lio Dancer attacks Clear Wing Synchro Dragon! Shredding Moonlight Blades!"
"Trap Card, Dicetadium of Fate!" Yugo declared. In front of him, a holographic golden dice appeared, spinning around slowly through the air. "I can target a monster on the field and roll the dice! If it's an odd number, I must destroy that monster, but if it's an even number, that monster gains 1000 attack points during damage calculation! I'll target Clear Wing!"
"So… you're gambling your monster? But even if it gains 1000 attack points, that only puts it at 3500… it only ties with Leo Dancer!"
"Having a tie with Leo Dancer's attack points is exactly what I want! Your Lio Dancer is powerful, but it's not immune to battle! Let's go!" Dicetadium of Battle glowed, and then the dice spun through the air. When it landed on the ground—
"That's a '2'!" Yugo declared. "So Clear Wing gains 1000 attack points!"
[Clear Wing Synchro Dragon: 2500 + 1000 = 3500ATK]
"Counterattack, Clear Wing Synchro Dragon! Helldive Whirlwind Slasher!"
The two monsters collided—wings against blades, clashing over and over again. Leo Dancer leapt up in the air to slam her sword down on the dragon, only for Clear Wing to counter with a raised claw. The two of them crashed against each other once again, finally destroying each other—crumbling into particles of light.
The only way to defeat Leo Dancer was through battle. He was sure that Clear Wing would understand—and besides, it wasn't like this was the last time he was going to see Clear Wing in this match. It was fine.
"After damage calculation, Lio Dancer's effect activates!" Serena shouted. "I'll destroy all monsters you control! Lunatic Fury!"
Kendama exploded as well.
"Emerald Bird attacks directly!"
Emerald Bird had 1200 attack points. Silver Hound had 400. That was just enough to take out the rest of Yugo's life points.
In that case…
"I'll banish Speedroid Tri-Eyed Dice from the graveyard!" Yugo declared. "I'll negate your attack!"
The stronger attack was negated. Serena nodded.
"Main Phase 2," she declared. "You actually took out Lio Dancer immediately, huh?... but I'm not done yet. Open, circuit of the beasts dancing in the moonlight!"
"Link Summoning…" Yugo's eyes widened. "... seriously?"
"The truth is," Serena said, "if there's one method I had to attain no matter what, from the start… it was Link Summoning. Xyz was important to me too, and Pendulum was practical enough for me to get quickly… but the first time that I encountered Link Summoning was when I was defeated by her. She is the one goal that I still haven't managed to reach, the person that I must defeat, no matter what. So if my current power isn't enough, I just have to keep on growing!"
… how determined! But Yugo absolutely admired that.
"Arrowhead confirmed! The conditions are two DARK monsters. I will set Moonlight Emerald Bird and Moonlight Silver Hound in the Link Markers! Warrior that hunts alone in the wilderness! Travel through the moonlit forest and call together all beasts on the prowl with your rallying cry! Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Link 2! Moonlight Serval Dancer!"
A tall figure with curly golden hair appeared. She leapt through the air, more lithe than any human had the right to be. Her skin was light pink. She was smiling calmly—there was something more composed to her appearance than one might expect. She was wearing a blue suit with purple frills, along with dark purple boots. When she landed, she let out a soft sound that was half a growl, half a laugh.
[Moonlight Serval Dancer (L2/1600/DARK/Beast-Warrior/Link/Effect/↙, ↘)]
"You made her a Link Monster? Already?"
"And Katsuya-san," Miharu said quietly. "I've been busy. I heard that Reiji Akaba was going to give her something else, but I'm… glad that she used it."
Yuno glanced at her. He couldn't help but smile.
"If not for you, Reiji Akaba would have double the work," he said. "Well—is it a support monster?"
Miharu raised an eyebrow. "Since when has Serena Akaba needed a support monster?"
"When Moonlight Serval Dancer is Link Summoned, I can Special Summon a "Moonlight" monster from my deck, and gain life points equal to its attack points. Come—Moonlight Blue Cat!" The blue-skinned dancer appeared, smiling mischievously. A bright glow surrounded Serena, healing her up slightly.
[Moonlight Blue Cat (4*/1600/1200/DARK/Beast-Warrior/Effect)]
Serena: 1000 + 1600 = 2600LP
"I'll set a card and end my turn again." Serena gestured forward. "Your move."
… well. Serena wouldn't just set a card for no reason. That was common sense.
Still, Yugo wasn't particularly fazed.
He had tricks up his sleeve too.
[Turn 5: Yugo] [H:2]
"Draw." Yugo revealed the card in his hand. "Since I control no monsters, I can Special Summon Speedroid Terrortop from my hand." The three spinning spiked tops appeared on his field.
[Speedroid Terrortop (3*/1200/600/WIND/Machine/Effect)]
"Terrortop's effect! I'll add a "Speedroid" monster from my deck to my hand! I'll add Speedroid Taketomborg to my hand—and since I control a WIND monster, I can Special Summon it from my hand!" The blue and gold robot-like monster appeared, speeding around swiftly.
[Speedroid Taketomborg (3*/600/1200/WIND/Machine/Effect)]
"I'll tribute Taketomborg and Special Summon a "Speedroid" Tuner monster from my deck, but I cannot Special Summon monsters for the rest of this turn, except WIND monsters! Come—Speedroid Fuki-Modoshi Piper!" The white clay doll in a bright green hat appeared, settling down next to Terrortop.
[Speedroid Fuki-Modoshi Piper (4*/1000/1000/WIND/Machine/Tuner/Effect)]
"Fuki-Modoshi Piper's effect. Since I control one other WIND monster, I can excavate the top card of my deck and add it to my hand." Yugo picked the card up. "Since I control a "Speedroid" Tuner, I can Special Summon Hi-Speedroid Hagoita from the graveyard!"
Hagoita reappeared on the field, floating next to the two monsters.
"Open, circuit of optimistic futures and dreams! Arrowhead confirmed! The conditions are two WIND monsters! I will set Speedroid Fuki-Modoshi Piper and Speedroid Terrortop in the Link Markers! Missile that flies through the air and opens the path to my dreams! Crash forth! Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Link 2! Hi-Speedroid Rubber Band Shooter!" Yugo brought out his Link Monster—almost like a response to Serena's own Link Summon.
[Hi-Speedroid Rubber Band Shooter (L2/1000/WIND/Machine/Link/Effect/↙, ↘)]
"I will activate Rubber Band Shooter's effect. I'll banish the Level 6 Hi-Speedroid Kendama from my Extra Deck, and reveal two "Speedroid" monsters from my deck whose Levels add up to that monster's Level. You randomly pick one for me to add to my hand, and the other one is sent to the graveyard!"
"The left one," Serena said, clearly not caring about things that she couldn't control.
Yugo picked it up. "That works for me!" He said cheerfully. He dropped the other card into the graveyard. "Since I control only WIND monsters, I can Special Summon Speedroid CarTurbo from my hand!" The strange battery-like monster appeared on the field.
[Speedroid CarTurbo (3*/800/1200/WIND/Machine/Tuner/Effect)]
"I'll tune the Level 3 Speedroid CarTurbo to the Level 5 Hi-Speedroid Hagoita! Shine the wings that store the holy light, and strike down your enemies with its radiance! Synchro Summon! Come forth! Level 8, Crystal Wing Synchro Dragon!" Crystal Wing appeared, its bright wings casting a certain radiance across the field.
[Crystal Wing Synchro Dragon (8*/3000/2500/WIND/Dragon/Synchro/Effect)]
Blue Cat summoned another monster if it fell, and it was in Defense Position. So Yugo's fastest route to victory was to attack Moonlight Serval Dancer with Crystal Wing and to use its effect.
Hmm…
Alright.
"Battle Phase!" Yugo declared, deciding not to overthink it—after all, Serena was hardly the type to overthink her own moves too. "Crystal Wing Synchro Dragon attacks Moonlight Serval Dancer!"
"While I control another "Moonlight" monster, you can't target Serval Dancer for attacks!" Serena declared.
… oh, that was troublesome. Yugo had been treating Blue Cat as an optional target, but…
Rubber Band Shooter did not have enough attack points to take out Blue Cat. And since it was a continuous effect, Crystal Wing couldn't do anything about it.
Well, no point complaining.
"Crystal Wing Synchro Dragon will attack Moonlight Blue Cat! Crystallos Edge of Gale!" His dragon destroyed the dancer.
"When Moonlight Blue Cat is destroyed by battle, I can Special Summon a "Moonlight" monster from my deck!"
"I'll activate Crystal Wing Synchro Dragon's effect! I can negate your monster's effect! Dichroic Refraction!"
It was pretty much a wash of a turn—but Yugo now had both Rubber Band Shooter and Crystal Wing on the field. Meanwhile, Serena had preserved her Link Monster—which was likely what she'd hoped for.
[Turn 6: Serena] [H:3]
"Draw!" Serena looked forward. There was something sharp to her expression. "I'll banish Moon Light Perfume from the graveyard and discard one card to add a "Moonlight" monster from my deck to my hand." She quickly picked up the card. "I'll activate the Pendulum Effect of Moonlight Wolf again! I'll banish Moonlight Blue Cat, Moonlight Emerald Bird and Moonlight Silver Hound from the graveyard to perform a Fusion Summon! Silver fangs that pierce through all foes! Emerald feathers that shroud the sky! Blue cat that prowls through the darkness! Spiral into the moon's gravity and become a new power! Fusion Summon! Come to me! Blades that shred through the curtains! Moonlight Sabre Dancer!" The bright gold dancer with purple skin appeared, red silks swirling around her in skirts. Her silver blades, embedded with gold, cut through the air.
[Moonlight Sabre Dancer (9*/3000/2600/DARK/Beast-Warrior/Fusion/Effect)]
"Sabre Dancer gains 200 attack points for each Beast-Warrior monster that is banished or in the graveyard! There's the banished Blue Cat, Emerald Bird, Silver Hound, Panther Dancer, Yellow Marten and White Rabbit. Then, in the graveyard, there's Black Sheep, Crimson Fox, Cat Dancer and Lio Dancer."
[Moonlight Sabre Dancer: 3000 + 200 x 10 = 5000ATK]
But still, with Crystal Wing…
"Spell Card, Moonlight Stun Whip! I will target Sabre Dancer, and all monsters you control with lower attack points than her have their effects permanently negated!"
What?
… alright, Yugo really needed to look into getting some Counter Traps that countered Spells and Traps or something. This was getting ridiculous.
Crystal Wing and Rubber Band Shooter's effects were both sealed off permanently.
"And that means that Sabre Dancer can't be stopped by your Crystal Wing anymore! Attack Crystal Wing Synchro Dragon and end this! Lunar Crossblades!"
Sabre Dancer dashed forward.
Yugo flipped over his set card. "I couldn't use it on Lio Dancer, but it's fine to use it on this! Continuous Trap, Burning Sonic! I'll target Crystal Wing and negate an attack that targeted it, and it gains 500 attack and defense points!"
[Crystal Wing Synchro Dragon: 3000 + 500 = 3500ATK; 2500 + 500 = 3000DEF]
Sabre Dancer was forced to stop in her tracks—seeming rather unhappy.
"I'll activate the effect of Serval Dancer!" Serena declared. "By discarding a "Moonlight" card, I can permanently change your monster's attack points to 0!" The tall golden woman gestured at Crystal Wing with a knife—and his monster's attack points plummeted.
[Crystal Wing Synchro Dragon: 3500 → 0ATK]
"I'll end my turn!"
… so there really was no way to win other than by defeating the monster with 5000 attack points, huh?
Sure! Sounded like a good time.
And anyway, no one said that he had to destroy her monsters through battle.
[Turn 7: Yugo] [H:3]
"Draw!" Yugo declared loudly. "Come! Speedroid Den-Den Daiko Duke!" The blond doll-like monster appeared on his field.
[Speedroid Den-Den Daiko Duke (3*/1000/1000/WIND/Machine/Tuner/Effect)]
"I'll activate the effect of Hi-Speedroid Hagoita in the graveyard! I'll Special Summon it, but I can't Special Summon monsters for the rest of this turn, except WIND monsters!" The Level 5 Hagoita reappeared on his field. "I'll tune the Level 3 Speedroid Den-Den Daiko Duke to the Level 5 Hi-Speedroid Hagoita! Metal dragon with the power of the shining, free winds, take flight with the ideals of those who wish to rise! Synchro Summon! Level 8! Hi-Speedroid Kitedrake!" The shiny blue, metallic dragon appeared, its bright green wings of light jutting out in the shape of triangular kites. It let out a loud roar.
[Hi-Speedroid Kitedrake (8*/3000/2800/WIND/Machine/Synchro/Effect)]
"I'll activate the effect of Hi-Speedroid Kitedrake! I will destroy all other cards on the field! Leisure Hurricane!"
He would be destroying Crystal Wing, but… that should be fine. He still had a way to… yeah.
"I'll activate the Trap Card, Moonlight Reinforcement Dance! I will target a DARK monster on the field, and it can't be destroyed by card effects this turn! I'll target Moonlight Sabre Dancer!"
… well. That was problematic, but…
Everything else was destroyed in an instant—leaving only Kitedrake and Sabre Dancer on the field.
But…
Yugo wasn't out of options yet.
"I'll banish Speed Recovery from my graveyard to add a "Speedroid" monster from my graveyard to my hand. And since I control a WIND monster, I can Special Summon Speedroid Taketomborg from my hand!" The spinning yellow and blue monster appeared on the field. "I'll tribute Taketomborg to Special Summon a "Speedroid" Tuner from my deck again! Come! Speedroid Fuki-Modoshi Piper!" Another copy of the white doll appeared, wearing a green hat on the top of its head. "Fuki-Modoshi Piper's effect. I'll excavate the top card of my deck and add it to my hand."
He picked up the card.
"I'll activate the Spell Card, Pot of Avarice. I will shuffle Clear Wing Synchro Dragon, Crystal Wing Synchro Dragon, Gum Prize, Kendama and Terrortop from my graveyard into the deck to draw two cards." He quickly returned his monsters to the Extra Deck—
After all, the only way to get rid of the effect that was negatively affecting Crystal Wing was to start over completely.
He had four cards in his hand now.
"You know what?" Yugo winked. "We have more in common than I thought!"
"Huh?"
"Well, it's just fitting, I guess." Yugo held up two cards in the air. "It's about time that I used this one too—I'm a Lancer now, aren't I?"
"Two cards…" Serena muttered. "Are you planning on…"
"I am! I'll set the Scale 1 Speedroid Marble Machine and the Scale 8 Speedroid Dominobutterfly in the Pendulum Scales! With this Pendulum Scale, I can Pendulum Summon monsters from Level 2 to Level 6! Swing, pendulum of swift winds! Pendulum Summon! Come—Speedroid Terrortop! Speedroid Tri-Eyed Dice!" The two monsters appeared on the field, winds swirling around them.
[Speedroid Tri-Eyed Dice (3*/300/1500/WIND/Machine/Tuner/Effect)]
"Terrortop's effect. I'll add a "Speedroid" monster from my deck to my hand!" He picked up the card. "I'll tune the Level 4 Speedroid Fuki-Modoshi Piper to the Level 3 Speedroid Terrortop! Spread those wondrous and beautiful wings, and strike down your enemies at the speed of light! Synchro Summon! Come back to my side!" He grinned widely. "Level 7—Clear Wing Synchro Dragon!"
His dragon reappeared, as bright as ever.
"I'll banish another copy of Fuki-Modoshi Piper from the graveyard and reduce Tri-Eyed Dice's Level by 2," Yugo explained.
[Speedroid Tri-Eyed Dice: 3* - 2* = 1*]
"And I'll tune the Level 1 Speedroid Tri-Eyed Dice to the Level 7 Clear Wing Synchro Dragon!" Clear Wing flew through the ring, glowing brightly. "Shine the wings that store the holy light, and strike down your enemies with its radiance! Synchro Summon! Level 8! The one and only Crystal Wing Synchro Dragon—come back!" His dragon evolved and reappeared with a loud roar.
"You managed to bring it back…" Serena grinned. "Good!"
"Maybe not so good for you," Yugo said. "Crystal Wing Synchro Dragon attacks Moonlight Sabre Dancer! Crystallos Edge of Gale!"
"Once per turn, during my opponent's turn, I can Special Summon Moonlight Sapphire Dolphin from my hand in Defense Position!" The aquatic dancer appeared on her field. "And this turn, all damage that I take is halved!"
[Moonlight Sapphire Dolphin (4*/600/1800/DARK/Beast-Warrior/Effect)]
"I'll take the replay, and Crystal Wing's attack continues. And when Crystal Wing battles a Level 5 or higher monster, it gains attack points equal to the attack points of the monster it battles!" Crystal Wing's attack points shot up. Since Serval Dancer had already gone to the graveyard, Sabre Dancer's attack points had increased too.
[Moonlight Sabre Dancer: 5000 + 200 = 5200ATK]
[Crystal Wing Synchro Dragon: 3000 + 5200 = 8200ATK]
Still, with Sapphire Dolphin's effect…
It seemed that Serena had squeaked by yet again.
Serena: 2600 - 3000 / 2 = 1100LP
"Kitedrake! Howl of the Drifting Dragon!" Kitedrake quickly cut through Sapphire Dolphin, destroying Serena's remaining monster. "Hah. Nice, Serena! I'm surprised that you managed to survive Kitedrake's effect!"
"All of you have too many field nukes," Serena complained, though it was clearly in sport.
"Says you?" Yugo stuck out his tongue. "Or did I not have to get rid of Lio Dancer myself?"
"It was a good shot." Serena shrugged. "My turn now?"
"Sure! Take me down now—if you can!"
I know it's for the best if Serena wins, so that Yuya and Yugo don't duel. But I…
Rin clenched a fist. She knew it without a doubt.
She wanted to duel Yugo. She wanted to see what would happen if the two of them faced each other again.
So Yugo absolutely couldn't lose here. He couldn't. She had to face him.
Who cared about things like dangers and fears in the face of their own dream?
[Turn 8: Serena] [H:2]
"Draw!" Serena declared. "Crystal Wing is… difficult. I'll banish Moonlight Cat Dancer and Moonlight Reinforcement Dance from the graveyard to add a "Moonlight" monster from my deck to my hand. Then, I'll banish Moonlight Purple Butterfly from my graveyard to Special Summon Moonlight Emerald Bird from my hand!" The green dancer reappeared. "Emerald Bird's effect. I'll discard a "Moonlight" card and draw a card. And with the effect of the Yellow Marten that I sent to the graveyard, I can add a "Moonlight" Spell or Trap from my deck to my hand!"
Yugo didn't negate any of those effects—it felt like a waste.
"I'll then activate another copy of Moon Light Perfume. Return to the field, Moonlight Black Sheep."
She gestured forward.
"You were thinking that you just want to negate the effects of the monster that I'm summoning, right? Give it your best shot! I'll activate the Spell Card, Moonlight Fusion! I'll fuse Moonlight Black Sheep and Moonlight Emerald Bird!" She gestured forward. "Spiral into the moon's gravity and reveal a new power! Shimmer with moonlight and dance in the night! Come forth now—Fusion Summon! Natural Energy Spirit - Moonstruck Paladin!" A tall woman, her dark hair rather majestic—a curtain of night behind her body, glowing white like moonlight. She was wearing dark purple and black armour appeared, a purple cape sweeping behind her. She held up two bright, long blades.
[Natural Energy Spirit - Moonstruck Paladin (7*/2500/2000/DARK/Beast-Warrior/Fusion/Effect)]
"Black Sheep's effect. I'll add Moonlight Emerald Bird from my graveyard to my hand. And Emerald Bird's effect. I'll Special Summon Black Sheep from my graveyard in Defense Position." Serena declared. "Monsters with higher attack points than Moonstruck Paladin cannot destroy it by battle or card effects!"
… so Crystal Wing's negation effects wouldn't work on it?
"Attacking Crystal Wing Synchro Dragon is optional," Serena said. "But I'm going to, anyway." She raised a card in her hand. "Spell Card, Forbidden Chalice. I'll target Crystal Wing Synchro Dragon, and it gains 400 attack points, but its effects are negated!"
[Crystal Wing Synchro Dragon: 3000 + 400 = 3400ATK]
"I'll then Normal Summon Emerald Bird!" Serena declared. "And with Moonlight Wolf's Pendulum Effect, I'll banish Black Sheep and Emerald Bird to Fusion Summon! Emerald feathers that shroud the sky! The beast lurking in jet-black darkness! Spiral into the moon's gravity and become a new power! Fusion Summon! Come to me! Beautiful beast that leaps towards the future! Moonlight Rabbit Dancer!" The dancer dressed in white, blue and green appeared on the field with a fierce look on her face.
[Moonlight Rabbit Dancer (5*/2000/1000/DARK/Beast-Warrior/Fusion/Effect)]
"I'll banish Sabre Dancer from my graveyard to use her effect," Serena continued. "I'll give Moonstruck Paladin 3000 more attack points!"
"3000?" Yugo exclaimed. Moonstruck Paladin's attack points shot up.
[Natural Energy Spirit - Moonstruck Paladin: 2500 + 3000 = 5500ATK]
"Battle Phase!" Serena raised a fist. "Moonstruck Paladin was born to kill Fusion Monsters, but she's not so bad against any other monsters. Moonstruck Paladin attacks Crystal Wing Synchro Dragon! Justice Lightstrike! And when she attacks a Special Summoned monster, I can banish a monster from the graveyard to have her gain attack points equal to half the current attack points of the monster she's battling! Lunatic Empowerment!" Moonstruck Paladin glowed—
For a moment, Yugo had a feeling of dread—it slithered through him. And then, it was gone.
[Natural Energy Spirit - Moonstruck Paladin: 5500 + 3400 / 2 = 8200ATK]
Yugo quickly thought through the possibilities. He knew nothing about Moonstruck Paladin's effects, but he definitely knew Rabbit Dancer's effect. Then, in that case—
"I'll banish Tri-Eyed Dice from the graveyard to negate the attack!" Yugo declared.
"Fine." Serena gestured forward. "Rabbit Dancer can attack directly, but the damage she does is halved!"
Rabbit Dancer dashed forward, kicking Yugo in the chest.
Yugo: 1600 - 1000 = 600LP
"With Rabbit Dancer's effect, since she dealt battle damage to you, I will send your Crystal Wing Synchro Dragon to the graveyard! Backstage Kickoff!"
Rabbit Dancer jumped next to Crystal Wing, before kicking the dragon in the chest—shattering it.
"I'll end my turn," Serena said calmly.
[Turn 9: Yugo] [H:2]
Yugo drew another card.
Serena had 1100 life points left. Kitedrake alone wouldn't be enough. But Crystal Clear Wing would be impractical to try and bring out now—not only was it hard to bring out, but the effect wouldn't help against a monster like this.
A monster immune to destruction by any monster stronger than it…
Destruction…
"That's it!" Yugo exclaimed out loud. Serena raised an eyebrow. "Ahaha… I'll Normal Summon Speedroid Gum Prize again!" The Tuner appeared on the field. "And I'll tune the Level 1 Speedroid Gum Prize to the Level 8 Hi-Speedroid Kitedrake!"
When one path closed, another would open. Wasn't that the way of life?
And to face Jack, to face Rin again…
"Luminous star that shines with an invisible radiance, in a spectrum unknown to the human eye! Let the winds fuel your trek, and take the form of the beast that travels faster than light! Synchro Summon! Level 9! Stellar Wind Wolfrayet!" The enormous blue wolf appeared on the field, letting out a loud roar, energy swirling around it.
[Stellar Wind Wolfrayet (9*/2500/0/WIND/Beast/Synchro/Effect)]
"Gum Prize's effect!" Yugo continued. "I'll send the top card of my deck to the graveyard." He revealed the card. "Since it's a "Speedroid" card, Wolfrayet's attack points increase by 1000! And since another monster's effect was activated, Wolfrayet gains 300 attack points with its own effect!"
[Stellar Wind Wolfrayet: 2500 + 1000 + 300 = 3800ATK]
And then, just one more…
"I'll activate the effect of Speedroid Den-Den Daiko Duke in my graveyard. I'll banish it from the graveyard to Special Summon a "Speedroid" Tuner from my graveyard. Come back—Speedroid Fuki-Modoshi Piper!" The doll in the green hat reappeared on the field. "Wolfrayet's effect!"
[Stellar Wind Wolfrayet: 3800 + 300 = 4100ATK]
"I'll use Fuki-Modoshi Piper's effect to excavate the top card of my deck and add it to my hand." Wolfrayet's effect would no longer activate—its attack points were already too high for its effect to trigger. "I'll activate the effect of Stellar Wind Wolfrayet! Since its attack points are equal to or higher than 4000, I'll shuffle it and all monsters that you control into the deck!"
Serena's eyes widened.
"Remove it all! Starwind Eclipse!"
Winds gathered around the field, before sweeping away Serena's monsters—those indestructible monsters fell, were swept up—
And dissipated into stars.
Serena stared at him, and then she nodded.
"Not bad," she said. "... pretty fitting."
Yugo raised a finger in the air. "Now, I could just attack directly with Fuki-Modoshi Piper, but that's not a fancy enough finish! I'll activate the Spell Card, Monster Reborn! Return to the field, Clear Wing Synchro Dragon!"
He could bring back Crystal Wing, but Clear Wing was far more significant, no?
"Attack directly! Helldive Whirlwind Slasher!"
Clear Wing dove forward—
And with its winds, the entire field shook—
And his life points fell to zero.
Serena: 1100 - 2500 = 0LP
Winner: Yugo Kirijo!
"Despite my best efforts…" Serena muttered.
"Huh?"
"Nothing." Serena turned to look at him, and she smirked. "You won, fair and square. That's the end of it. I guess Rin would be happier with that outcome, anyway… just don't lose, if you won against me."
Yugo held a fist to his chest. "... naturally," he said. "I won't lose. No matter what."
Did he want to be King?
Of course not! The responsibility, all that stuff, not for him. He'd leave it in the very capable hands of the one who was capable of doing this stuff, thank you. And switching leaders now? Even Yugo could tell that was a bad idea.
But defeating Jack…
He wanted to do that. Very much.
If nothing else, he could put in a good effort. And well… it was never too late to say what he really wanted later on.
OC Cards:
Performapal Prepped Up
(Spell)
If you have 2 "Performapal", "Magician" and/or "Odd-Eyes" monsters in the Pendulum Scales: You can draw 2 cards, but you cannot Special Summon monsters from the Extra Deck this turn, except "Performapal" or Dragon monsters. You can only activate "Performapal Prepped Up" once per turn. Once per turn, if you would take damage: You can banish this card from the GY instead, then, you can Special Summon 1 "Performapal" monster from your GY in Defense Position.
Trivia: I would like to congratulate Yuya Sakaki on having no convenient draw spell that I could borrow for this.
Performapal Odd-Eyes Silver Selkie
(L2/1700/WATER/Cyberse/Link/Effect/↙, ↘)
2 monsters with different Levels, including a Pendulum Monster
If this card is Link Summoned: You can place 1 "Odd-Eyes" or "Performapal" Pendulum Monster from your Deck in your Extra Deck face-up, and if you do, you can Special Summon 1 Pendulum Monster face-up in your Extra Deck with a different Pendulum Scale from the monster placed in the Extra Deck by this effect. Once per turn, if this card and/or an "Odd-Eyes" monster(s) this card points to would be destroyed by battle or card effect: You can send 1 card from your hand to the GY instead. You can only control 1 "Performapal Odd-Eyes Silver Selkie". You can only Link Summon "Performapal Odd-Eyes Silver Selkie" once per turn.
Performapal Odd-Eyes Blade Phantom
(R4/2300/2000/DARK/Warrior/Xyz/Effect)
2 Level 4 monsters
If this card is Xyz Summoned: You can target 1 monster on the field with less ATK than this card's ATK; destroy it. You can detach 1 Xyz Material from this card; reveal 3 "Performapal" or "Odd-Eyes" Pendulum Monsters with different Pendulum Scale(s) from your Deck, and if you do, your opponent randomly picks 1 for you to add to your hand, and you return the remaining cards to the bottom of the deck in any order. You can only activate each effect of "Performapal Blade Phantom" once per turn.
Raid Raptors - Assembly Galebarrier Falcon
(R9/0/3000/LIGHT/Winged Beast/Xyz/Effect)
3 Level 9 Winged Beast monsters
This card cannot be destroyed by battle or card effects. This card gains the effects of all Winged Beast Xyz Monsters attached to it as Xyz Material. Once per turn: You can target 1 Winged Beast monster in your GY; attach it to this card as Xyz Material. Once per turn: You can target 1 Special Summoned monster on the field; return it to the hand, and if you do, this card gains ATK equal to that monster's original ATK. You can only activate this effect while this card has Xyz Material attached to it.
Raid Raptors - Spade Strix
(R4/2000/2500/DARK/Winged Beast/Xyz/Effect)
2 Level 4 DARK monsters
If this card is Xyz Summoned: You can set 1 "Rank-Up-Magic" Spell from your Deck to your field, and if you do, it can be activated this turn. You can detach 1 Xyz Material from this card; target 1 DARK Xyz Monster in your GY, and if you do, Special Summon it in Defense Position. You can only activate each effect of "Raid Raptors - Spade Strix" once per turn.
Trivia: Spade Strix! :D I've had this card made since my first Arc-V fanfic all the way back, but it never got to actually debut, so I'm glad to toss it in here.
Odd-Eyes Dispersion Dragon
(L2/2500/LIGHT/Dragon/Link/Effect/↙, ↘)
2 Pendulum Monsters, including a Level 7 or higher "Odd-Eyes" monster
If this card is Link Summoned: Halve the ATK of all non-Pendulum monsters on the field, except this card, until the End Phase. At the start of the Battle Phase: You can target 1 "Odd-Eyes" monster you control; this turn, if that monster attacks a Special Summoned monster, change the opposing monster's Level to 5, and if you do, negate its effects until the End Phase. You can only control 1 "Odd-Eyes Dispersion Dragon".
Ring Magician
(1*/S1/0/0/DARK/Spellcaster/Pendulum/Tuner/Effect)
Pendulum Effect: Once per turn: You can target 1 monster you control; that monster is treated as a Tuner until the End Phase.
Once per turn: You can Tribute 1 monster you control; Special Summon this card from your hand, and if you do, Special Summon 1 "Magician" Pendulum Monster from your Deck, but it cannot activate its effects this turn. If this card is used as Synchro Material for a Spellcaster or Dragon Synchro Monster: You can Special Summon 1 "Performapal", "Magician" or "Odd-Eyes" Pendulum Monster from your Deck. You can only activate each effect of "Ring Magician" once per turn.
Trivia: I am aware that Harmonizing Magician exists, but… *grimaces* for now, I can't give it to Yuya. Don't worry about it. Ring Magician is an alternate form of Tuning Magician with an inverted colour scheme, because I really felt like using Cheermole for the final Synchro Summon was a huge… hmm, what do I call it? Anticlimax. So we'll change it instead to something else.
Moonlight Silver Hound
(2*/400/1900/DARK/Beast-Warrior/Effect)
(Quick Effect) You can discard this card; change the battle positions of all monsters on the field, and if you do, until the End Phase, if a monster you control attacks a monster in Defense Position, inflict piercing battle damage to your opponent. If this card is Special Summoned: You can send 1 "Moonlight" monster from your Extra Deck to the GY; add 1 "Fusion" or "Polymerization" card from your Deck to your hand.
Moonlight Serval Dancer
(L2/1600/DARK/Beast-Warrior/Link/Effect/↙, ↘)]
2 DARK monsters
If this card is Link Summoned: You can Special Summon 1 "Moonlight" monster from your Deck, and if you do, gain LP equal to its ATK. You can target 1 monster your opponent controls, then discard 1 "Moonlight" card; change that monster's ATK to 0. This card cannot be targeted for an attack while you control another "Moonlight" monster(s). You can only use each effect of "Moonlight Serval Dancer" once per turn.
Moonlight Stun Whip
(Spell/Quickplay)
During the Main Phase: You can target 1 monster you control; negate the effects of all monsters your opponent controls with lower ATK than that monster. Your opponent cannot activate the effects of monsters in response to this effect. You can only activate "Moonlight Stun Whip" once per turn.
Moonlight Reinforcement Dance
(Trap)
Target 1 DARK monster on the field: It cannot be destroyed by card effects this turn. You can banish this card from your GY, along with 1 DARK monster; add 1 "Moonlight" monster from your Deck to your hand.
Moonlight Sapphire Dolphin
(4*/600/1800/DARK/Beast-Warrior/Effect)
Once per turn, during your opponent's turn (Quick Effect): You can Special Summon this card from your hand in Defense Position, and if you do, this turn, all damage you take is halved. If this card is sent to the GY by a card effect: You can add 1 "Moonlight" card or "Polymerization" from your GY to your hand. You can only activate each effect of "Moonlight Sapphire Dolphin" once per turn.
Natural Energy Spirit - Moonstruck Paladin
(7*/2500/2000/DARK/Beast-Warrior/Fusion/Effect)
2 monsters on the field with the same Attribute
(This card is always treated as a "Moonlight" monster.) You can also Special Summon this card by sending the above monsters you control to the GY while there are 3 or more Fusion Monsters in your possession that are banished or in your GY (in which case you do not use "Polymerization"). If this card is Special Summoned with this effect: You can discard 1 card, otherwise, destroy this monster. This card cannot be destroyed by battle with a monster with higher ATK, or by the effects of monsters with higher ATK. Once per turn, if a Fusion Monster activates its effect: You can negate that effect, and if you do, this card loses 500 ATK. If this card attacks a Special Summoned monster: You can banish 1 monster from the GY; this card gains ATK equal to half the current ATK of the opponent's monster it is battling during that damage calculation only. You can only control 1 "Natural Energy Spirit - Moonstruck Paladin".
Trivia: I can finally reveal this. The Fusion Monster-killing effect is based on En Moon, naturally. But the entire card is sculpted with Serena's personality in mind—someone that won't bend before any intimidation, someone that will defy the odds over and over.
Moonlight Rabbit Dancer
(5*/2000/1000/DARK/Beast-Warrior/Fusion/Effect)
2 "Moonlight" monsters
This Fusion Summoned card cannot be destroyed by card effects while it is face-up on the field. This card can attack your opponent directly, but the damage it inflicts to your opponent is halved. If this card inflicts battle damage to your opponent by a direct attack: You can target 1 monster they control with higher ATK than this card; send it to the GY.
Different Card Effects from TCG:
Odd Eyes Pendulum Dragon - Anime effect.
Rank-Up-Magic Escape Force - Anime-only card.
Performapal Fire Mufflerlion - Anime effect. Its Pendulum Effect is not shown in the anime, so it's assumed to be the same as its TCG effect.
Raid Raptors - Revolution Falcon - Anime effect
Raid Raptors - Rise Falcon - Anime effect.
Raid Raptors - Readiness - Anime effect
Rank-Up-Magic Raid Force - Anime effect
Performapal Monkeyboard - Anime effect.
Necro Raptors - Anime-only card.
Rank-Up-Magic Revolution Force - Anime effect. After reading through the duels that it appears in, I have decided to treat it as though the Overlay Units the original monster has are discarded, since Revolution Force does not have the clause that states that Overlay Units are attached to the new monster.
Performapal Odd-Eyes Unicorn - Anime effect.
Enlightenment Paladin - TCG effect minus the requirement for the "Magician" monster to be a Pendulum Monster.
Moonlight Black Sheep - Its anime effect adds it back to the hand, but instead, I just gave it its TCG effects, minus the clause where it cannot add itself back to hand, so that I don't interfere with her canon duels but her deck is a little more consistent.
Moonlight Cat Dancer - Anime effect. This is like the one Serena card I cannot change, even though I really want to.
Clear Wing Synchro Dragon - Anime effect.
Moonlight Lio Dancer - Anime effect.
Dicetadium of Fate - Anime-only card.
Moonlight Blue Cat - Uses its TCG effect, minus the clause where it can't double its own ATK.
End Notes:
Same policy with Kurosaki's new cards as Miharu's—waiting for the translation, since the two of them are going to be playing a large role long into the future.
I was talking about this fic with my brother the other day, and I offhandedly mentioned that Kurosaki gets to actually kick ass quite often in this story, and he was incredulous about that because of how much Kurosaki got shafted after his duel against Dennis, lmao. He asked me why I write Kurosaki as such a strong duelist and I went "if Arc V won't do it, I'll do it myself". Or, in other words, the day that I stop writing Shun Kurosaki as a badass is the day that Six Dimensions ends.
(He was very incredulous to find out how long this fic has gotten. As I quote, "how do you have any free time".)
… that being said, this was a duel where no matter what the result was, it would be controversial.
You have no idea how much I struggled with deciding the victor of the duel for that one. It was narrative consistency vs my sheer love of Shun Kurosaki as a character.
But yeah, both duels were ones that I struggled with making longer, though I think that their current length is for the best. I think it's because the semifinals and finals are just way more fun, haha. We do have to get the obligatory duels out of the way.
But hey, still longer than canon!
Serena doesn't explain it herself, and we don't get to see it because the duel is from Yugo's POV, but she actively chooses to use Moonlight Fusion because if she uses Contact Fusion to bring out her monster, she opens up the chance for Yugo to respond to its summon with Crystal Wing's effect. Our reckless girl is learning to think things through! So proud of her :)
Reiji does give them upgrades here, but they don't use them, because… :D It's the most convenient period in the timeframe for Reiji to explain that he's giving them upgrades on screen, but it's just Chekhov's Gun.
Review responses! (I love the absolute panic attack that Miharu's mention of AI with free will gave everyone, on an unrelated note.)
To TheRealD3lph0xL0v3r, well, you'll obviously get to see the Ritual Dimension, since we're going to every dimension. And yes, I think we've established that there's an obvious reason why there's quite a few older sisters in the fic :)
To Jason, things like that really are a slippery slope, huh? We'll have to see how it goes.
To Bryz0n, haha, trust me, I love Soulburner too, so it did kind of kill me to kill him off pre-canon. Unfortunately, I did already set up the Lost Incident as this vague past thing. Glad you enjoyed the slice of life nature of the chapter. It was a good cooling down chapter for me too. Your reaction to Sawatari getting character development is pretty funny :D And yup, I actually think that the rhythm of names is pretty important! I think that the OCs names are pretty obvious examples of that, though it would take a while to explain why.
To naminexriku2468, I'll be honest, I probably can't answer most of your questions because I don't know who any of those characters are.
To MochiYoshi, just a friendly note, but you can actually change your name even if you're a guest reviewer! It's fine if you don't want to. Thank you for giving me a name to use for you anyway. Haha, a high school AU for them would be pretty funny—I'll think about doing it as a shorts chapter one day, maybe. I've taken down your question!
To phantomdragons, whoa, that's a long review! Thanks for all the reactions to the scenes, haha. I'm glad that you caught the implication with what Mayor Sawatari was trying to say about Mion—in the end, I couldn't quite bring myself to say it within the chapter itself. Also yeah, Reiji being like "I know you're currently telling me that you're really loyal to me but are you sure I'm just a friend?" And yeah, writing those ship tease moments is definitely a struggle for me because I don't want to tip the scale too much in one direction, but there is also a certain physicality to them that is… hmm. Interesting. And the important part is to keep the dynamics different between all of them. And tbh, you were so happy about everything that the "oh fuck no Miharu—" caught me off-guard, haha.
To CruelDiamond422, Yuji and Chiaaki get development soon, don't worry.
To cardfan135, yup, Edo is… a bit different in this fic. Don't tempt me to write more slice of life, haha, I will do it.
To kikuruhime, haha, thanks for the review anyway!
To the nameless Guest, there is no vote for anything. I know how I'm writing this fic, and reader opinion has never changed how I write it.
To Unlucky-Fausto, haha, I don't count Duel Summaries/notes as part of the chapter, so I technically only just hit a million. And yes, 'there is only one bed' is a great trope. I will die on this sword. Glad you liked the reaction image! And yeah, Sora has no clue about Roget, haha. As usual, Shino holds all the cards. And haha, yeah, Miharu/Yuno ship tease is happening for a specific reason now.
To LHOCIN, honestly, removing Miharu from the Friendship Cup was both to make things slightly more realistic for the future and because she had no meaningful conflict left in the Friendship Cup except Serena (who was long slated to face Yugo), so bringing in Rin was both for her own character development and that of Yugo.
I don't have a QOTC for this chapter, but feel free to drop a review if you enjoyed! :D I'd be glad if you did. See you next time!