Yu-Gi-Oh/RWBY Season 2 Chapter 5

Arms Race

"So let me get this straight." Yang started. "Your new plan is to invent an entirely new type of synchro monster that has never been seen before, because some random stranger said you could?" "Well, she didn't just say it," Ruby protested. "She showed me how to do it." "And how are you even going to summon this card if you don't have one?" "Well, I've done it before. Remember when I made that crazy version of Crescent Rose Dragon when we were fighting the dark signers?" Ruby explained.

"Ah, so you're going to rely on an ability you've only done once in your entire life when you were overwhelmed with grief and rage." Yang replied. "That sounds like a good idea." "But this time it won't be rage, it'll be focus and control." "I've never associated those words with you." "Hey, I can do it!" Ruby said defiantly. "I just need to practice. Speaking of, I just got a card that will help me with that." With that, she shuffled through her pockets until she found the card she was looking for.

"Tada! Ruby Dragon! A tuner synchro monster, a necessary piece to the puzzle." She showed the card to the others in the garage, partially to show off. As she did, she noticed someone was missing. "Hey, where's Blake?" "She said she had some business to take care of." Yang answered. "I think there's some trouble in Satellite, though she wasn't sure what it was, so she wanted to be alone for it. Anyway, you said you wanted to practice. Will you actually give it your all this time?" Ruby nodded and the two headed off to try her new monster out.

...

Blake finally found the three kids she was looking for; Taka, John, and Mitch. They were trying to sneak out of Martha's place in the middle of the night, but Blake used a spare rope nearby to capture them. "Out for a midnight snack, boys?" John, the leader of the trio, is the first to speak. "None of your business, Blake."

"Cut the crap, John." Blake says. "I know you three are going to the underground dueling rings." John shakes his head. "N-no we're not!" "Is that why you have those bruises under your shirt?" John, realizing where she was referring to, pulled down his shirt and looked away from Blake, who decided to set them loose.

"Look, you know how dangerous those fights are, heck you've experienced them yourself. Why would you keep going?" Blake kneels down as she says this to be eye level with them. John eventually faced Blake's gaze again. "We just want to be stronger, so we can defend this place." Blake sighed and smiled at him. "I can respect that. But being strong isn't just being the biggest and the baddest. You also have to do the right thing. Do you think Martha would appreciate it if she learned you three kept nearly dying every night?"

The three boys' eyes widened and they shook their heads. "Please don't tell Martha, Blake. Please." "I won't, but in exchange, you're going to tell me where these dueling rings are being kept, so I can put a stop to them."

...

Syd counted each dollar with abundant glee. Those fights were giving him more moolah than a hundred bank robberies combined! And all he had to do was record the dueling data into these special chips for his mystery benefactor. He heard a break-in at about midnight and took some of his men to search the place. The next several minutes would consist of a game of cat and mouse as his men were taken out one by one.

"Who's there? Show yourself!" Syd demanded as he was the last one standing. Blake revealed herself from the shadows, dropping the last of his goons to the ground. "What did you do to him?" Syd asked. "Only a taste of what you deserve, punk!" Blake spat at him. "Syd Barrows, what a piece of work. I didn't shut this place down weeks ago because I had bigger fish to fry. But now I learn you're targeting kids with your little operation? You're dead meat."

Blake started towards him when a familiar face ran through the door to stop her. It took a second for Blake to even register who that was. "Mom?" This caused Syd to look between the two of them, and he could certainly see the resemblance. Still, it was quite a twist of fate that the person trying to shut him down and Kali Belladonna, his best enforcer, were related. "Kali, you never told me you had a kid."

Kali turned to him with cold eyes. "That was a different life." She turns to Blake. "One I have no connection to." Blake glares and readies her duel disk with Kali doing the same. "What are you doing? We gotta go!" Syd protests, trying to grab Kali, but she pushes him away. "I'm doing this for my own reasons. Leave if you want, coward." The two enter the center of the dueling ring to begin the duel.

"I'll start this duel. I draw!" Blake proudly declared. "I set a monster and a card face-down and end my turn." Kali scoffs. "Don't forget, little one. I taught you how to duel. I know your every trick. So I know just how to counter them. I draw! I then summon Mystic Swordsman Level 2!" A dwarfish swordsman appears. (Level 2/900) "I then activate my Night Beam! This will destroy your face-down card, and you can't activate that card in response." A beam appears to destroy Blake's face-down, Scrap-Iron Scarecrow.

"Next, I activate Level Up, transforming my Mystic Swordsman from Level 2 to Level 4!" Kali announces as the swordsman grows in power and stature. (Level 4/1900) "When Mystic Swordsman Level 4 attacks a face-down monster, it destroys it first. Allow me to demonstrate." The swordsman runs and destroys her face-down Power Thief in a flash. "I set 2 cards and end my turn."

Blake draws her next card without pause. "If you control a monster and I don't, I can summon Fear Shield from my hand." (Level 3/0) "I then normal summon Shadow Splitter." A dark amoeba appears (Level 4/1000) "I tune my level 4 Shadow Splitter with my level 3 Fear Shield! Entrancing in what you show and mastering in what you don't. Synchro summon! Shadow Bedlah!" (Level 7/2300) "Next, the effect of Shadow Splitter activates. When it's used for a synchro summon of a Dark monster, I can summon two Splitter tokens." Two smaller tokens appear out of the dancer's shadow. (Level 2/500)

"I then activate the effect of Shadow Bedlah to take control of your monster." The dancer gives an entrancing performance, drawing Mystic Swordsman to Blake's side of the field. "Then, since Mystic Swordsman can't attack directly the turn I take control of it, I may as well tribute it to summon Gluttony Invader!" A huge, potbellied shadow appears behind Mystic Swordsman and swallows it whole. (Level 4/0) "I tune my 2 level 2 Splitter tokens with my level 4 Gluttony Invader! Shadows dance upon the midnight plain. Rise and command them to victory! Synchro Summon! Appear, Gambol Shroud Dragon!" (Level 8/2500)

"Gambol Shroud Dragon, attack with Mad Shadow Dance!" Shadows gather around Gambol Shroud's claws as it flies towards its opponent. Kali gives a dismissive look to the new dragon. "Predictable. I activate my face-down, Quaking Mirror Force! Since your monster declared an attack, all your attack position monsters are switched to face-down defense position!" A sandstorm appears, blowing Gambol Shroud away before forcing it and Shadow Bedlah face-down. "You didn't even try to stop my face-downs." Kali scolded her daughter. "In a real duel, you have to keep constantly aware of your opponent's plan and stop them from doing it or else." Blake grits her teeth but says "I end my turn."

"I draw! I then activate my spell Premature Burial to pay 800 life points," (Kali 4000-3200) "to bring back Mystic Swordsman Level 4." A tombstone appears, with Mystic Swordsman crawling out of it. "I then summon Rose, Warrior of Revenge!" A woman in black clothing carrying a knife appears. (Level 4/1600) "I tune my level 4 Mystic Swordsman with my Rose, Warrior of Revenge! The light of truth exposes my prey. Hunt them down and root them out! Synchro summon! Appear, Mystic Inquisitor!" A larger, stronger version of Mystic Swordsman appears. (Level 8/2500)

Syd starts to cheer Kali on, but a look from her shuts him up. "Since I used a Mystic Swordsman monster to summon Mystic Inquisitor, I can draw a card. Now, Mystic Inquisitor, attack her face-down Shadow Bedlah!" The swordsman rushes towards the face-down card and shoves his sword into the ground, creating a magical seal around Blake's card. "If Mystic Inquisitor attacks a set monster, that monster will be banished face-down instead." The seal closes in, causing Shadow Bedlah to vanish without a trace. "Better be careful. Gambol Shroud can't use its effect if its face-down. I set a card and end my turn."

Blake again draws without a word, trying not to betray her intentions. "I set one monster face-down." "Really?" Kali incredulously asks. "I know which one is Gambol Shroud. I can simply attack that one." "Not when I activate my spell Dancing Shadows. I can pay 500 life points," (Blake 4000-3500) "to shuffle all my face-down monsters." The two face-down cards are rearranged, leaving Kali guessing which one is which. "I'll let you in on a little secret." Blake says with a taunting smile. "The other face-down is Brain Jacker, a flip monster who will steal your monster if you don't take it down, so you better act fast. I set a card and end my turn."

Kali glared. "You think you can play tricks on me? I draw! Mystic Inquisitor, attack the face-down on the left! Blinding Slash!" The swordsman seals the set monster away. Unfortunately, since that monster was banished face-down, I have no way of knowing if I got it right, Kali admits. However… "I guess it's time to bring out my big guns. You see, Blake, there's a reason for this dueling ring. It was to gather information from the duelists here, and use that information to create two powerful cards. One of which was this; Assault Mode Activate!"

"Hey, I didn't say you could use that card! Who do you think-" Kali again gives a death glare to Syd, shutting him up again. "This lets me transform a synchro monster into a stronger version of itself. I summon Mystic Inquisitor Assault Mode!" The swordsman is covered in power armor, becoming bigger and scarier. (Level 10/3000) "When Mystic Inquisitor Assault Mode attacks, you can't activate spells or traps until the end of the damage step, and since it was summoned this turn, Assault Mode Activate protects it from battle and the effects of your cards. It's the perfect card!"

Blake looks on in awe at the monster, impressed by the monster. "It's certainly scary." She admits. "But I've seen scarier. I activate my face-down Fake Gambol, banishing all my monsters until the end of the turn." Blake's face-down disappears. "A stupid mistake." Kali says. "Mystic Inquisitor, attack her directly with Assault Blinding Slash!" The monster swings its sword around, throwing several energy beams at Blake, knocking her to the edge of the ring. (Blake 3500-500) Damn, that monster is real? "What would you expect from such a powerful card? Even that Ruby Rose wouldn't match up to this. I end my turn." With that, Blake's face-down is returned; Gambol Shroud Dragon.

I guessed wrong? Kali thinks. "Another effect from Fake Gambol." Blake reveals. "If I summoned Gambol Shroud Dragon with its effect, I can steal a trap from your graveyard. I choose Assault Mode Activate!" A shadowy hand grabs the trap from Kali's graveyard and places it on Blake's field. "Now, I draw! But first I activate your card, so you'll know the pain you inflicted on those kids from Satellite. Assault Mode Activate!" Gambol Shroud Dragon is covered in power armor like Mystic Inquisitor, causing it to grow stronger. (Level 10/3000) "Now, Gambol Shroud Dragon Assault Mode, attack with Assault Shadow Dance!" The two monsters clash, with both monsters making swipes at each other.

"Are you insane?" Kali protests. "Mystic Inquisitor can't be destroyed by battle, and your monster will just be banished face-down." "You forget, Gambol Shroud has been upgraded as well. Once per turn, if it would be destroyed or banished, it can instead deal damage equal to its attack. Gambol Punishment!" Mystic Inquisitor tries to draw a seal around Gambol Shroud, but the dragon releases a breath of darkness, breaking the seal and hitting Kali. (Kali 3200-200) "Then that means…" "Both monsters are destroyed!" Blake answers. The two monsters clash in a blinding flash of light, causing the building to shake. As the light fades, the original forms of their monsters are left standing.

"Looks like both our monsters have turned back to their original forms." Blake suggests. "In that case, Gambol Shroud, attack again!" "What?" Kali asks, bewildered. "Why would you do that again?" Blake doesn't answer as the two monsters destroy themselves again. "Because now Gambol Shroud can banish itself freely this time. Shadow Close!" The dragon seeps into the ground, becoming a shadow. "When a monster I control is banished, I can summon Wrath Wraith with the same attack points!" A shadow in samurai armor covered in a red aura appears. (Level 8/0-2500) "Now, Wrath Wraith, attack directly with March of Endless War!" The monster charges forward and hits Kali in one swipe, knocking her out of the ring. (Kali 200-0)

"I'm out of here!" Syd screams, seeing his best enforcer and her best card just be beaten. As he opens the door, Trudge is waiting behind it and grabs him. "Where do you think you're going, tough guy?" More officers storm the building as Blake walks towards her mother. "Why? Why did you do it?" "Leave you?" Kali clarifies. "It's simple. I was offered a way out of here in recognition of my skills. Nothing more to it." "You hurt children in this ring." "If they were too stupid to quit, I didn't care. I just did what everyone else does; survive." The two share a moment of silence, Blake remembering a similar conversation with Yang.

"I'll tell you what I told Yang; giving up on Satellite was never the answer. Maybe you can reflect on that in prison." As Blake says this, she tears up Assault Mode Activate in front of Kali. Eventually, the officers take her and Syd away, leaving Blake to return home, comforted by the knowledge that her home was safe again. However, the officers searched the building from top to bottom, but couldn't find the second card Kali mentioned.