Yu-Gi-Oh/RWBY Season 2 Chapter 6

Fast Friends

Ruby pushes her duel runner to its limit as she goes through the practice course, but it doesn't satisfy her. She's still not fast enough. "As you are now, you'll never beat your enemy." This phrase from Visor echoes in Ruby's head as she keeps trying to eke out more and more speed, but her increase is marginal at best. "What am I doing wrong?" She groans in frustration as she looks over her duel runner's stats, trying to find anything that could be reconfigure for a little more boost.

"Hey, maybe you should take a break." Blake chimes in, offering some tea to calm Ruby's nerves. "Sometimes you do the best you can and it's still not enough. That's not a failure on your part, that's just life." Ruby continues to glare at the screen, hoping that the solution would finally present itself. After that doesn't happen, Ruby lets out a sigh and admits "Maybe you're right. Some rest might help, since my brain feels like mush right now." At that time, Pyrrha walks in. "Hey, you three have a call from Trudge." She offers the phone and Yang accepts it. "Hello?"

...

As it turns out, they were invited to a fancy restaurant with a french name Ruby couldn't pronounce. This did not dissuade her mood upon seeing the food already at their table. "Dig in, it's on my tab." Trudge proclaimed. Before Ruby could do so, Blake stopped her. "We have a saying in Satellite; never trust a silver platter." Blake then turns to Trudge. "I expect you want a favor from us?" Trudge sighed, but nodded.

"We recently found a person wandering on the beach with no memories other than her name; Penny Polendina. We, or I guess I, was hoping that you could watch over her for a little while." "Why can't Security handle it?" Yang asked. "To tell you the truth, we're kinda overbooked. With tourists coming in for the WRGP and turbo duelists also crowding the streets for the same reason, we don't have the time."

Yang turned around and started to walk away. "We're not babysitters. Especially not to crazy homeless people." Blake also left, having to drag Ruby away from the food. As they went to the restaurant's parking lot, they found someone next to Yang's duel runner, a ginger girl in a green dress with white clothing underneath. She seemed to be fiddling with the duel runner's settings.

"HEY! What do you think you're doing?" Yang yelled as she ran to grab the girl. "Wait, please don't hurt me!" The girl cried meekly. "I just wanted a closer look. Your duel runner is amazing." "No touching my ride." Yang growled as she let her captive go. She then looked over the duel runner, making sure nothing was broken.

Ruby thought the whole thing was amusing, but a thought occurred to her. "Hey, your name wouldn't happen to be Penny, would you?" The girl looked over to her. "Yes, do you know who I am? I seem to have lost my memory." Yang face-palmed upon hearing that. "Just great. Well, if I wasn't playing babysitter before, I'm definitely not now." Satisfied with her inspection, Yang drove off in a huff.

Just as she left, Trudge entered the parking lot, almost out of breath. "Penny! I looked everywhere for you. Why did you wander off like that?" "I'm sorry, Officer Trudge." Penny started. "But her duel runner looked so wonderful, I had to take a peek. Are these the people who will take care of me now?" Trudge scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. "Well, that's their decision, and I'm guessing you didn't leave the best impression with them."

As he finished that sentence, Yang raced back into the parking lot and marched towards Penny, who had learned to fear her. "What did you do to my duel runner? The turning's better, and that problem with the brakes is fixed." Penny crossed her legs and put her arms behind her back. "I noticed some problems while I was peeking and decided to fix them. If that's a problem…" The two continued their awkward conversation as Ruby contemplated the situation.

After some time, she turned to Trudge. "You know, maybe we could help you out after all." Blake pulls Ruby closer to her and whispers "What are you talking about?" "Well, I'm still feeling a little guilty about the last time we refused to help him." Ruby whispered back. "Besides, maybe she could help us with our own problems." This earned a coy smile from Blake. "Little self-serving, don't you thing?" Ruby giggled sheepishly. The two of them broke up their huddle as they finally decided to take Penny with them.

...

"Wow!" Penny cheered as she admired their garage. "This is amazing!" She continued to do her best kid-in-a-candy-store impression as the other three settled down. "Should we worry that she'll pass out from exhaustion?" Yang half-joked. "She'll be fine. Let's just give her something to focus on." Ruby offers. "Hey, Penny?" Penny quickly snaps around to Ruby's call. "Yes?"

"I'd like your help with something." Ruby leads her to her duel runner's schematics. "You see, I'm trying to figure out a way to increase my duel runner's speed." "By how much?" "I was thinking in the ballpark of about 250 miles per hour." "Quite the push. Have you tried-" The two continued their conversation, completely oblivious to their surroundings or the world around them. Blake tried to get their attention once, but Yang stopped her, knowing how Ruby could get when she's hyper-fixated on something. It would be well into the evening when the two were finished on their new Speed Program, after which their brains were so fried that they went straight to bed.

...

"What?" Ruby couldn't believe it. All their hard work, stolen. "It's gone. The Speed Program is gone." The four of them were all huddled around the computer to see that Ruby and Penny's hard work was in fact gone. "Did you guys make a back-up?" Yang suggested. "We did." Penny replied. "But that was scrubbed too, providing strong evidence that this was intentional on someone's part." "Who would do this?" Ruby pondered.

Blake went over to the opposite wall. "Luckily I sleep with one 'eye' open." She took a cat sticker off the wall, revealing a hidden camera underneath. "Wait, how long has that been there?" Ruby asked nervously. "Since we started practicing here." "So you mean that you know everything that's happened in this room since then?" Ruby was looking way more nervous now, earning a bit of suspicion from Yang.

Blake, on the other hand, simply smiled and pinched Ruby's cheek. "Don't worry. I'll skip your singing and dancing when you thought no-one was around. Though I think it's cute." Ruby tried to hide in the corner, but she couldn't escape Yang's smug grin. Blake uploaded the camera to view the footage, revealing that at 3 AM, the garage was infiltrated by none other than…

"Neo? She stole from us?" Ruby said as loud and dramatically as she could, both out of genuine shock and trying to change the subject. "You know this person?" Penny asked. "We've had history with her." Ruby answered. "We need to find a way to get the program back from her." "Why not simply call Security? This footage is ample evidence." Penny asked again. "The problem is that Neo is the head of Security." Blake explained. "Even if she didn't use her strings to stop us, the moment we went to Security about it, she would know and hide the evidence in a heartbeat. We have to find out where it is." "But how? She won't likely tell us where it is." "Don't worry. I have a plan."

...

Neo was a little nervous after her little 'excursion' last night. She made sure to stay near armed security at all times, as she feared what the signers would do to her if they found her. After the morning seemed to go without incident, however, she relaxed a little as she entered her office, ready to have some lunch. That would have to wait as she found a note on her desk with a simple, but terrifying message. "Neo Politan, you'll be relieved to know that we won't hold your theft against you. After all, we managed to take it back, so why not let bygones be bygones, right? Signed, Blake Belladonna." If Neo was nervous before, she was in full-blown panic now.

...

Ruby and Blake waited outside the Security garage, seeing Neo bolt out of there on her duel runner. They followed suit, making sure to stay far enough away that Neo wouldn't spot them. She unwittingly led them far out of town to a warehouse that seemed abandoned, but Blake spotted signs that it was only made to look that way, and was in fact still in use.

Neo parked her duel runner and ran inside. "Placido, Placido!" Placido turned from the terminal, annoyed at the interruption. "What?" "The speed program, they managed to steal it back somehow!" "You mean the program that I'm currently uploading right now?" Neo quickly realized what that meant, but the next few seconds of silence still felt like they stretched into eternity.

"You idiot! They probably followed you here. Hold them off while you can, you pathetic imbecile." He stormed off into another part of the warehouse, leaving Neo speechless at the profound blunder she just made. She had little time to wait as the door she just came in from was opened. "Neo! Give us back what you stole!" Ruby demanded.

"Uh, I don't know what you're talking about. What program?" Neo fidgeted nervously, trying to play innocent. "You didn't steal anything but you know it was a program?" Blake pointed out, causing Neo to curse herself for another blunder. Nonetheless, she readied her duel disk. "Well, if you think that you can stop me, you're more than ready to try." Neo tried to sound as intimidating as she could, but knew that she stood no chance against two signers, one a psychic and the other hardened from time in Satellite. Thankfully, she was just trying to hold them off.

The two signers readied their duel disks as well. "I'll start us off. I draw!" Neo announced. "I activate the continuous spell Parasol Party, which lets me add a Parasol monster to my hand. Then, I'll summon that monster, Parasol Peach Pattern!" A woman in Victorian-era dress appeared, carrying a peach-colored umbrella. (Level 4/0) "I set a card and end my turn."

Ruby thought the play suspicious, but drew anyway. "I summon Petal Shooter!" (Level 4/1800) "I activate Petal Shooter's effect! Petal Barrage!" As Petal Shooter attempted to fire, however, Parasol Peach Pattern began to spin its umbrella rapidly. Neo giggled as she explained. "Too hasty, Miss Rose. When you activate a monster effect, I can return Peach Pattern to the hand to negate that effect and steal your monster." Peach Pattern began to blur, its visage distorting before clearing up to show Petal Shooter on her side of the field.

Ruby groaned in frustration but continued. "Then I activate Fragrance Storm, to destroy one plant on the field and draw a card." Several flowers appeared before shooting towards Petal Shooter. "Temper, temper. I activate my face-down, Hidden Parasol! First, I add a Parasol monster to my hand. Also, when you activate a spell or trap while I control no Parasol monsters, I can summon one from my hand. Appear, Parasol Mint Pattern!" Another lady appeared, this time with a mint-colored umbrella. (Level 4/0) "And of course, I use the effect of my Mint Pattern to negate and steal your spell." The lady spins her umbrella, causing the flowers to stop and Ruby's spell to appear in Neo's hand. Ruby groaned even louder. "I set two cards and end my turn."

"Don't worry, I got this. In fact, I'm going to win this very turn." Blake said. Neo laughs wholeheartedly at this. "How so? Any play you make I can simply take for myself." "Just you watch me." Blake responded. "I draw! First, I activate the spell Shadow Swarm! If you control a monster and I don't, I can summon any number of Shadow tokens." "Did you forget about my little combo?" Neo taunted. "I activate the effect of Hidden Parasol again, summoning back Mint Pattern!" (Level 4/0) "Many thanks for the free spell, Miss Belladonna." She taunts as the spell is added to her hand. Blake smiles. "Not a problem. I was hoping you would take that." This earns both Ruby and Neo a bit of surprise.

"Now I can safely activate my spell Stygian Trade Offer! By banishing a monster from my hand, I can add a Dark monster from my deck to my hand with the same or lower level. And since you negated one of my cards this turn, Stygian Trade Offer can't be negated either." Blake explained. "Now, appear, Greed Baron!" A shadow in a fashionable business suit appears, holding a cane with a jewel on one end. (Level 4/2000) "Your monster will be mine as well." Neo retorted. "I use the effect of Parasol Party to summon a Parasol monster from my hand. Appear, Parasol Peach Pattern!" (Level 4/0)

Blake gives another smile which intimidates Neo. "I activate Greed Baron's effect, paying 1000 life points to take control of all your monsters!" (Blake 4000-3000) The shadow raises its cane, causing the jewel to glow, but Neo waves her finger in disdain. "Now really, Miss Belladonna. That simply won't do. Peach Pattern, take her monster." The lady spins its umbrella, performing the same trick that stole Petal Shooter, now on Greed Baron.

"Blake, what are you doing?" Ruby pleaded. "You're just helping her along. Now she has our best cards." "Not quite." Blake responded. "I activate the effect of my banished Star Guide, letting me special summon a level 4 or lower Dark monster from my hand once per duel. I choose Lonely Ghost!" A ghost appears with a sorrowful expression. (Level 3/0) "Again?" Neo laughs. "You never learn. I use the effect of Parasol Party again, bringing back Peach Pattern." (Level 4/0)

"You fell for it." Blake says with a grin. Suddenly, Greed Baron points its cane at Neo, causing life-force to be drawn from Neo. (Neo 4000-3200) "What was that?" "Greed Baron is a pretty powerful monster, so it has an equally strong drawback. When its controller summons a monster, they automatically pay 200 life points times that monster's level." Neo gulped as she realized her mistake. Oh no. That means that if I keep using my parasols, Greed Baron will bleed me dry. But if I don't, their monsters will clobber me.

"Now I activate the effect of my Lonely Ghost. Once per turn, if you control more monsters than I do, I can draw cards equal to the difference." Neo hesitates, but decides to keep going. "I activate the effect of Peach Pattern to steal your ghost." The lady performs her dance again, taking Lonely Ghost. "I then activate the effect of my Paranormal Devourer in my hand. By returning a banished Dark monster to my graveyard, I can special summon it from my hand." A large beast appears, gnawing on the card of Star Guide. (Level 6/2100)

Neo wipes the sweat from her head. "If you think MY Greed Baron is going to stop me, you have another thing coming. Specifically, you have Parasol Peach Pattern coming." (Level 4/0) Greed Baron accordingly takes another tax from Neo. (Neo 3200-2400) "Paranormal Devourer, attack her Lonely Ghost with Otherworldly Hunger!" The monster marches forward, its jaw opening wide. "Nice!" Ruby cheers. "Since Lonely Ghost is in attack mode, it's wide open!" Both Blake and Neo know it's not that simple, though.

"I activate my face-down, Parasol Dance!" Neo almost shouts, but remembers herself. "When your monster declares an attack, I can return a Parasol monster I control to my hand to negate the attack and take control of your monster." Peach Pattern applies its trick again, taking the beast for Neo. "I then use the effect of my Frustration Oni from my hand. If my monster's attack was negated, I can special summon it." An oni wielding a giant club appears with a big frown. (Level 5/2000) "I use the effect of Parasol Party again!" Neo yells out, summoning Peach Pattern. (Level 4/0) Greed Baron's tax applies one more time. (Neo 2400-1600) "Frustration Oni, attack Lonely Ghost!" "I use the effect of Parasol Dance again!" The lady once again takes Blake's monster away.

"Ha!" Neo nervously laughs. "Nothing you do will work. You think I'm scared of you two? Every monster you've played has become mine!" "Precisely." Blake retorts. "Haven't you noticed that every last one of your monster zones is now full?" Neo stops and looks at her field. Sure enough, she had five monsters; Petal Shooter, Greed Baron, Lonely Ghost, Paranormal Devourer, and Frustration Oni. Wait, that means that I can't summon my Parasols anymore! "Well, I still have all your monsters. On my turn, I'll wallop you!"

"Ruby?" Blake says, as Ruby drops her frustrated facade to smirk at Neo, who realizes what just happened. "You two both planned this, didn't you?" "From the second you took my Petal Shooter." Ruby explained. "I activate my face-down, Just Desserts! You take 500 damage for every monster you control!" Neo was about to summon Parasol Grape Pattern from her hand to stop the trap, but realizes she can't as her monster zones are full, and is pelted with food for her final blunder. (Neo 1600-0)

...

Placido hears the screams of that clumsy idiot, rightfully assuming that she's lost the duel. It doesn't matter, as he has just finished his upload of the program. He orders the army of duel bots in the floor below to evacuate the building as he activates the self-destruct, then teleports back to his base. Farewell, Ruby Rose.

...

The two were just about to clobber Neo when they heard the alarm. "No!" Neo cries. "That's the self-destruct sequence! This place is gonna blow!" She runs to the door, but it of course is locked now, and her access code doesn't work. Blake hurries to the terminal while Ruby turns to the wall behind them. She concentrates, then summons Crescent Rose Dragon. "You may want to step back." Ruby warns Neo, who wisely steps out of the way as the dragon releases a stream of destruction, tearing a hole through the wall. As that happens, Blake finally retrieves the disk containing the speed program and the three only barely manage to get out in time to escape the blast radius.

Neo looks over to the two of them and nervously chuckles. "So, I guess this is the part where you two expose me so I'm arrested, huh?" Ruby and Blake look at each other, then to Neo. "Not really." Ruby says. "Instead, you can make up for what you've done by telling us what you know about who you work for." Neo sighs, and stands up before straightening herself. "I suspect I know about as much about them as you do. They call themselves the Three Pure Nobles, Jose, Placido, and Lucciano. I have no idea what they want or what they're planning. They just tell me what to do and threaten to kill me if I don't. One of them even has a sword, for crying out loud!" Ruby and Blake consider all of this, and return to their duel runners. "At least now we have a name. See you later. Oh, and by the way," Blake says as she puts on her helmet. "Try and steal from us again, and you'll lose a lot more than just a duel." The two drive off, leaving Neo hoping they were kidding.