Author's notes: Hey, I wanted to get this out on Christmas, as a present to myself, buuuuuut this chapter just kinda kept getting longer. I know it's late, but happy holidays, and happy New Year. I've also been touching up the first chapter, fixing Grammer and spelling mistakes, that sort of thing. it's something I will continue to do, so please report any mistakes you see. anyway, I hope you guys enjoy the exposition. I mean... the world building. yeah. enjoy. or don't, I'm not your dad.
Chapter 2: Beacon "Entrance Exam"
"WAIT WHAT!?!"
Glynda and Akuri, both jump, turning to face the source of the shouting. Reina is standing in the doorway to the warehouse, staring at them with a mix of fear of shock in her eyes.
"oh, it's just you, you nearly gave me a heart attack!" Akuri says, dramatically "but uh... to answer your question... I just dueled Officer Goodwitch here, and wagered that if i won, she would recommend me to beacon academy."
"what!?" reina exclaims "and she's honoring that wager!? Wait... what about me, Leo and Joey?"
'Sometimes i hate being right.' Glynda lamented internally, while Akuri attempts to console her friend. 'Akuri is clearly the self-sacrificing type, something we'll have to work on going forward... but to get her to commit to her wager, I'll need to ensure her little family is well taken care of...'
"If I may." Glynda began, earning the attention of the two young women "I think i may have an offer to allow all parties to be happy. The way I see it, we have two major issues, the first is that I cannot return empty handed." this caused the two younger women to tense, to which Glynda held up a finger to indicate that they should wait for her to finish.
"The second," Glynda continued, "Is that Akuri is clearly a vital member of your family, and thus removing her would cause things here to deteriorate." both the younger women nodded. "In that case, i propose a way to solve both issues. If miss..."
"Jaina." The raccoon faunus replied, having seen that Glynda was clearly indicating that she wanted her name.
"Miss Jaina." Glynda confirmed, "if miss Jaina would accompany me to offer an apology to the shopkeeper she stole from, i can promise she won't be punished with anything more than a stern talking to, and i can arrange to have your family properly taken care of. Room, board, and Job placement if applicable."
"Why should I apologize!?" Jaina asked incredulously, dispute Akuri gesturing for her to calm down. "It was in the dumpster! They had thrown it out! It wasn't their property at that point! Trust me, I know the law when it comes to dumpster diving!"
That surprised Glynda. Not that Reina knew the law of property as it pertains to trash that has been thrown out, no that's a key survival skill many in her position acquire. No, what surprised Glynda was the claim that the component had been thrown out. if that was true, then the shopkeeper had no right to claim it as stolen. Glynda looked to Akuri.
"She's telling the truth." Akuri assured her "She said the same thing to me earlier, and she had zero incentive to lie at the time, she was more than aware that I could have disabled the tracking beacon if I had known it was "stolen," so she would have just told me."
"I see." Glynda said, crossing her arms in thought "... in that case, both of you come with me. we're going back to that shop to get to the bottom of this issue, and then to the Huntsmen Dispatch Center to get this whole situation sorted." she noticed their once again tense expressions "to ensure your family can be taken care of when Akuri joins beacon."
'Seems we'll also need to work on her trust issues.' Glynda mused internally, noting the sigh of relief from the younger women.
Glynda turned and started to head off, the two faunus following close behind. Reina for her part, was fidgeting with 3 interlocked rings of scrap metal, though clearly trying to do so quietly, so as not to upset the huntress that was being very generous (or so she claimed) to them. Akuri was walking slightly in front of Reina, hands in her pockets, cautiously observing their surroundings, and especially the blonde threat before them. Something Glynda definitely noticed, but chose not to remark on.
Before long the group arrived at the electronics shop. It was closed down, with only half the interior lights on, but as they knocked, and Glynda flashed her credentials to the closing employee, he let them inside. They entered to find an elderly man sweeping up the shop. The man heard them enter and turned to look. "oh, you're the huntress they sent to get my property back right?" the elderly man asked "I assume those two are the miscreants who stole it?"
"Actually," Glynda said sharply, her tone commanding attention from everyone in the room, especially the two younger women who bristled at the old man's accusation. "these two both claim the component was thrown out, and as such, no theft occured. your response?"
"Even if it was thrown out," the man began, but a dangerous look from Glynda got him to change his tone quickly"W-which it was, I'll admit...! It was thrown out in error though! One of my employees was doing some shelf-stocking and cleaning, and by mistake took a box of new parts to the dumpster instead of the old trash parts! So we didn't mean to throw it out, and even if we did, that doesn't give those miscreants the right to rifle through our trash on our property!"
"yes actually, it does." Glynda stated matter-of-factly "property rights act of 768, section 18, sub section 38, look it up. Now, regardless of your intentions, you surrendered ownership of the items by throwing them in the dumpster. You are more than welcome to chase off trespassers within reason, but as no one tried to stop her, this young woman was clearly well within reason to believe the items in your trash were just that, trash. Trash is not protected property. In the future, do not call authorities for property stolen from a dumpster or trash can."
Glynda turned to leave, leaving the elderly man with his mouth agape as if to respond, but Glynda's precise reasoning and intimidating presence, had him rethinking such probably fruitless arguments. Akuri and Reina both followed Glynda as she exited onto the now quiet streets of vale. it was well into the night, and businesses were closing fully locking up, and those with night jobs were likely already at work.
"It's getting pretty late." Glynda said, addressing the two young faunus following her "if you want, you can return to your home and we can handle our other business in the morning."
"no." Reina said, "we should handle it tonight. Besides, there's something I wanna do, before a night to think makes me back down."
"oh?" Glynda asked, surprised that Reina was the one to respond "and what would that be?"
"I want to Join Akuri at beacon!" Reina declares confidently.
'these two never cease to amaze it seems.' Glynda thought in shock 'or maybe I'm still underestimating them. I need to stop doing that. overcoming one's pre-existing biases is challenging it seems.'
"Might I ask why?" Glynda asked
"yeah, I thought the plan was for just me to go to beacon?" Akuri questioned
"well... because..." Reina took a deep breath "I want to help you! after all you've done to help me, Joey, and Leo, it's only fair! I mean, you've been training me to fight and duel for years now, and those aren't skills I'm gonna put to good use at a fast food place or something."
"But that was to prote-" Akuri began
"I think you should let her decide." Glynda said, cutting off Akuri "you're both about the same age it looks, but you treat her like a charge to be protected. perhaps it's time you allowed her to choose her path in life."
"Exactly!" Reina agreed enthusiastically, "I want to do this! to make the better world we always talked about. If miss Goodwitch is true to her word, Joey and Leo will be ok. I just want to help, to achieve the dream we always talked about! We always talked about making a difference, making the world better, shining a light on those that get left in the shadows. I can't do any of that stuck in a homeless shelter. Even if you never thought I would come with you, it was always my plan. So no matter what you say, we're gonna become huntresses, together. We're gonna make the world a better place, together!"
Akuri was quiet for a long moment "... ok. Together then, but don't think for a moment that I'll stop looking out for you."
'overprotectiveness,' Glynda mused internally 'add that to her self-sacrificing and distrustful nature... she's gonna have a lot to work on at beacon.'
From there, the group made their way to the hunter dispatch center, and got all the paperwork sorted. Glynda got both of them actual pajamas, and had them shacked up in one of the On-Call rooms. Glynda herself would probably be up another 4 hours at least.
Currently Glynda was sat at a holo desk in the back office, speaking with the one man she deemed her superior, the headmaster of Beacon, Professor Ozpin. Standing next to his chair, just barely in frame, was his loyal second-in-command, Ishizu Ishtar. As Glynda understood it, the Ishtars had always had at least one of theirs as the second to the current headmaster of Beacon. Glynda had just finished recapping the nights events, and uploaded her duel disk's duel log.
"... that is quite an interesting story." Ozpin observed, clearly genuinely intrigued.
"just one question," Ishizu began. "why did you surrender? you had Dark Magical Circle in your hand, and Eternal Soul on Field. You could have played Dark Magical Circle, use Eternal Soul to special summon Dark Magician, banish Red Eyes with Circle, normal summon another monster, attack for game. Why surrender?"
"because winning isn't everything." Glynda asserted with a sigh. "It was clear that Akuri had already proven herself worthy of at least entry into Beacon. I felt that a boost in her confidence, having "bested" a professional huntress, would help her to begin chasing her ambitions."
"Speaking of ambition." Ozpin said, preempting an objection Ishizu was clearly about to make "I would like to discuss a couple things with you before you deliver the new students to beacon. The first, is that miss Reina must be tested. Akuri has proven qualified enough that an entrance exam would simply be a formality. Reina has not."
"That's... a fair assessment." Glynda replied. she was rather embarrassed she hadn't thought to test Reina before now. "what kind of test did you have in mind, headmaster?"
"Simple," Ozpin began with a grin "have her duel Akuri in the morning. If she performs well, I will enroll her as a normal student."
"And if she doesn't?" Glynda asked with a sense of building dread.
"If she doesn't... then you'll have to teach at Beacon, and tutor her." Ozpin replied, raising his coffee mug to his lips to hide his (Glynda assumed) snake-like grin.
"You're a shameful opportunist." Glynda said after a long pause, then sighed "but never-the-less, I accept the wager."
"Good." Ozpin replied. "I genuinely hope she rises well above my expectations. which brings me neatly the second thing I would like to discuss. Even if she does pass the test, I still hope that you might finally give more consideration to my job offer."
Glynda simply sighed and ended the call. She would have an earful about that from Ishizu later, she was sure, but it was late and she simply didn't care. That was a Future Glynda problem. For now, it was time to rest, finally.
Glynda got up and made her way to an On-Call room, used her telekinetic semblance to close and lock the door behind her. Glynda then, in a highly un-lady-like fashion, simply flopped face first into bed. She was out like a light switch in seconds.
"long, long ago, the world of Remnant was a much different, and much more cruel place. In this world, the creatures of Grimm reigned as the undisputed rulers of the world. The dominant species. All living things were made subject by the Grimm. All... except humans and faunus.
"These people were smart, strong, and most of all, they were unbreakable. Not in the sense they couldn't be defeated. No. One person was easily felled by any Grimm, but together, people can accomplish anything. together, the will of the people is unbreakable. Or so we like to believe today.
"In this ancient world, People were easily broken. Kingdoms felled before they ever even earned the name of a kingdom. The Grimm noticed when people would rise, and we're swift to remind them of the horrible reality in which they lived. The will of the people was strong, perhaps unbreakable, even then... but the Grimm were unstoppable.
"So the humans turned to the only force greater than the Grimm. The gods. They begged their gods for salvation, for some way to protect themselves, to fight back against the hordes of darkness that would see them ground to dust beneath them. Most believed this was a fools errand. that surely any god that would condemn them to live in a world so inhospitable, simply didn't care, or worse yet, that there was no such thing as gods, and they were doomed to a pointless existence of suffering.
"The gods didn't hold that against the people. For when they prayed, and beseeched their gods for salvation... the gods answered. The people were told to dig, and there they would find their salvation. they dug until their very bones ached and threatened to give out. They dug until they found their salvation... Dust.
"With the immense, almost magical, power of dust in the palm of their hands, the people turned the tide. The darkness was beaten back for the first time in history. the people had security, for the first time. For the first time, they had freedom.
"But this time was brief. Within a generation, the Grimm has rallied. For within the Grimm, was the instinctual desire to stamp out that freedom. The drive to destroy all that would give comfort to their prey... to instill fear. The people felt none any more, and that was the greatest mistake they had ever made. The tide of darkness crashed upon them once again, stronger than ever before. Kingdoms razed in days, and people slaughtered by the thousands.
"The people had only one option, to abandon their newfound pride, and once again, beseech their gods. Once again, the gods responded. "Dig. Not into the soil, but into yourselves." The people were confused. They were angry their gods would not need their questions any further. The people raged against the gods, the last failings of the doomed.
"It was in that rage, that desperation, that the people found their salvation. They found... their souls. Aura, semblances, and the power to augment each with dust. The people had all they needed, and once again, they turned the tide. Unleashing a power the Grimm could never possess, the people once again began to carve a home into this world that seemed to crave their destruction.
"And once again, it was not enough. The Grimm, possessing no souls of their own, became envious, and enraged. The Grimm unleashed horrors that no person had ever witnessed before, or since. they once again crushed humans and faunus beneath them, devouring their very souls.
"And once again... the people turned to the gods. The gods however, did not answer this time. The people, for the first time, were truly, terrifyingly... alone.
"The people cursed the gods. Proclaimed that no god was capable of this betrayal, and that in fact, they had been led astray by devils. There were no gods. Only a cruel world, that would soon see them annihilated.
"Curse not the gods" called an old hermit "they can do no more to help. just as we are bound to this world, they are bound to theirs. The gods cannot help us, so we must seek help elsewhere. The world of the gods is not the only world we can speak to, provided we know the language."
"The old hermit went to work. The people dismissed him, merely an old man grasping for an explanation to excuse the betrayal of the gods that they had given them so much. The hermit was not deterred, he continued his work, refined his writings, his drawings... until at last people noticed. What this old man was doing... was magic.The power reserved for gods, this feeble old man wielded with ease.. Then, the magic was done, and the old man proved himself right. He had reached out and spoke... to monsters.
"They made bargains with the old wizard, power for power, the people would offer pieces of themselves, fragments of their souls. The soul was resilient, and would recover, but the process was painful, and exhausting. The monsters could be summoned through this bargain, to fight the battles the people could not.
"It worked, and for the third, and final time, the humans beat back the creatures of Grimm. The old wizard though... he was not satisfied. The monsters would still be needed, and so long as that was true, people would suffer. To offer one's soul, it was not easy, and caused great suffering. especially if one did not stop at a single piece. So the old man went back to work, determined to save the people once again. this time, from an enemy that could never be defeated. Themselves.
"His solution, was perhaps a reflection of himself. Brilliant... but with an odd, almost child-like naiveté. He first created a spell to summon the monsters, and their vast magics, into Remnant using a physical object, not a soul. He then put this spell... into a game. a card game. the card game we now refer to as...
"Duel Monsters." As the mother finished the story, she closed her book, and looked at her daughter. Still wide awake, and hanging off her every word, as she knew she would be.
"Is it true?" the little girl asked "I mean.. surely Duel Monsters wasn't created by a wizard right?"
Her mother chuckled "Perhaps not, but all great stories are based on truths. The details aren't important, but the message is. can you tell me what you learned from this story?"
The little girl was quiet for a few moments "... that sometimes we need a wizard to save us?"
"Close, but not quite." The mother said, as she resisted the urge to laugh. "The real message, is that no one can do everything by themselves. Even the gods could not destroy the Grimm. If they could, why make the humans fight at all? Why give them weapons? The old wizard could not destroy Grimm, so he reached out to the Duel Monster Spirit world. You should never be afraid to ask for help, especially from duel monsters. They are the saviors of Remnant after all~" she had meant that last part as a joke.
"Oh! That reminds me! While I was out with Leo today I uh... kinda spent all my allowance..." the daughter confessed sheepishly.
"really!?" the mother asked, but upon seeing her daughter shrink a bit, she quickly softened her tone "Sorry, I was just surprised. Not angry. I mean, the month just started, how did you already spend 10 lien?"
"I bought cards." the little girl confessed, and reached under her pillow to pull out two cards, in protective casings. It seems she intended to sleep with them under her pillow. "I bought this one cause she looks a lot like mommy~! The same beautiful red eyes and scales~" she proclaimed happily, showing her mother the card.
"... Red Eyes Alternative Black dragon. I see~ That's so sweet, now I can protect you even when I'm not there~" Her mother replied, pulling her daughter into a tight hug "And what about the other card?" The little girl handed it to her.
"The Black Lusty Soilder-Scared Soilder~!"
"Black luster soldier - Sacred Soldier." her mother corrects, barely containing her giggles. "why did you buy this card?"
"because it's papa~!" she proclaims proudly.
"He will absolutely love to hear that when he gets back~" her daughters expression lit up like a Christmas tree at that. 'her father could be quite Lusty though... perhaps I shouldn't have corrected her~'
"He's coming home!?!" the little girl asked excitedly, breaking her mother from her thoughts.
"Tomorrow. Which will get here faster if you go to sleep~"
"Yay~!!! Good night, I love you mommy~!" She immediately laid back down, pulling the covers over herself.
"I love you too, Little Light~" she kisses her daughter, right on the black scales just starting to come in on the center of her forehead, and sets her cards carefully on her nightstand. Then leaves her daughter to sleep.
Akuri wakes slowly, sighing deeply. she gets up, and immediately gets into her morning workout. She did 100 push-ups, 200 sit-ups, and was preparing to leave to do her usual five mile run, when the door to the room she was staying in opened, and Glynda walked in, carrying two academy duel disks under her arm. That definitely raised Akuri's interest.
Glynda walked over to reina's bed, and gently shook her awake. The raccoon faunus ignored her and rolled over. Glynda huffed and prepared to shake her harder 'the nerve...!'
"That won't work." Akuri said, stopping Glynda. Akuri walked over and leaned down to speak softly to Reina "there's pancakes~"
"Pancakes!?!" Reina exclaims excitedly, as she springs up into a upright seated position.
Akuri laughs, and Glynda simply stands with her mouth agape. "... not..." Reina's face instantly morphs into one of disappointment and tiredness "yet." Glynda finished "but soon." Reina's face brightened again.
"now I have to get her pancakes..." Glynda mutters with a sigh. She then hands duel disk to each of them "You'll need these, they have features the civilian model doesn't, and I need to test you before we officially enroll you."
"Tkhat's... fair." Akuri admits. "but my duel disk isn't the standard civie model. it's modified to have all the same features of the Academy version. Could I stick with my duel disk?"
"All of the same features?" Glynda asked skeptically. "So you modified your disk's internals to incorporate that dust cartridge?"
"Yes." Akuri said with a confident nod "If you like you can inspect it to make sure it's up to snuff."
"That won't be necessary." Glynda says, handing one of the duel disks to Reina "You two are going to duel. Follow me." She turns and leaves the room. The two faunus quickly follow.
"And afterwards we get pancakes!?" Reina asks excitedly. she was practically jumping up and down. That concerned Glynda, that childish attitude could be Quite the detriment at beacon. Glynda noted how she did not correct this behavior. instead she just reassured the raccoon that they would in fact be getting pancakes.
The ladies soon arrived at the gym, and she led them to a space meant for duels, a flat section of the room with no furniture or workout equipment. it was about 50 feet long and 30 feet wide, with lines defining the field zones where the holograms from the duel disks would be projected. Akuri and Reina took their positions without needing to be told. Glynda had returned Akuri's duel disk to her and handed Reina her new duel disk.
Both duelists inserted their decks, and drew 5 cards as their duel disks light up and extending to their full field state. Holograms appear above their duel disks (just above the digital lifepont display on Akuri's duel disk) displaying life points.
Akuri- 8000LP
Reina- 8000LP
"8000 thousand?" the girls questioned in unison.
"Right, neither of you went to signal.. you wouldn't know." Glynda said, kicking herself internally for not catching that and explaining the format changes sooner. "Forgive me, this is gonna be a bit of a tale, but the history is important for context. the civilian format of Duel monsters is very diluted from what the "game" used to be. In the ancient days, people didn't just used to play games with these cards, they actually summoned monsters, casted spells... It was as much as form of combat as swinging a sword. As time went on, civilians became interested in the card "game." After all, it's actually quite the fun "game." the problem is that it wasn't just a game.
"In the old days, every duel was a true battle, with real stakes.The spirits of Duel Monsters were truly summoned into Remnant. Only in spirit, but with Duel Monsters, spirits can be just as dangerous as any physical harm. In the ancient days, there were no "life points." When a monster attacked, it didn't just take numbers off another number. It truly attacked the soul. The duel only ended when one of the Duelists could no longer duel. When civilians began to play the "game" the stakes remained, but they didn't know of those. There were warnings, but people didn't believe they were truly as bad as they warned they would be.
"So, the leaders of humanity and faunus gathered. They set more rules. Specifically, life points. 4000, is far less than it would take to cause serious injury to even those without an awakened Aura. 8000, would be just enough to break a newly awakened Aura. In true duels between skilled duelists, very rarely does a duelist lose by less than a thousand over their remaining life points. Hence why you probably hear a lot about aura's being broken in pro duels. Granted over time, we refined the rest of the game, With the advent of modern cards and duel disks, we create holograms instead of summoning spirits. Well, unless one has an incredible connection to the duel monster they wish to summon, then the Duelist can summon a spirit to inhabit their hologram."
Glynda took a deep breath as she finished her lecture. She hated to admit it, but perhaps Ozpin was right. Perhaps she would make a good teacher. That still didn't make her want to teach
"Huh. That actually makes a lotta sense." Akuri mused "But you still could have summed up that whole lecture by just saying that Life Points are lower in civie duels." Akuri draws a card as she draws a chuckle out of Glynda. "I'll go first."
"First, I'll summon Red Eyes Wyvern in attack mode." Akuri declares placing the card on her duel disk's middle monster boss. "Then, I'll set two cards face down. and end my turn."
"You're not going easy on me are ya?" Reina asked as she drew a card.
"Not a chance. This is important for both of us. We can't hold back. Either of us." Akuri says grimly.
Reina nodded, her expression turning serious. "I'll activate White Rose Cloister." she takes a card from her hand, and raises her duel disk to point towards the sky, and from the top end of the arm of her duel disk a small compartment extends, with a rectangular indent for a card. Reina placed the spell in her field spell zone and it retracted back into the duel disk. As it did so their surroundings were being changed through holograms.
Suddenly they were standing on the summit of a grey marble monument of some kind, and white rose petals flowed through their air, riding the wind.
"This nifty little field spell," Reina began "Allows me to special summon a Rose Dragon monster so long as I control no monsters. I'll special summon my Red Rose Dragon in defense mode." She places the card from her hand on her duel disk.
A creature appears. It was a horse sized dragon, it didn't have scales, but seemingly, skin, like the stem of a rose. It's face resembled that of a bird, and horns that sprouted leaves extended from the back of its skull. It has relatively small wings for its body, and it had green avien feathers. from each of its four shoulders, sprouted a red rose flower. From its rear sprouted a long flowy tail that seemed to be made entirely of a huge red rose petal. a hologram appeared next to it, displaying "level 3, 1800DEF"
"Next," Reina continues. "I'll discard my White Rose Dragon to activate the effect of my Black Rose Drake - Omen Of Destruction.*" She places the first card in her graveyard compartment, and the second into her middle monster zone "While Black Rose Drake is in my hand, I can discard a Rose Dragon monster to special summon Drake."
This time the monster was much larger, easily the size of a short bus. It was much more snake-like than the first, with grey skin. It had two huge wings that were adorned with rows of huge black rose petals where the feathers would be. It's eyes were a piercing gold, and it's tail was armed with rows of thorns on either side. A hologram appears displaying "level 6, 2000ATK."
"And wrapping up the main phase 1," Reina said with a grin "I'll set a monster." she places a monster face down on her duel disk. "then I'll move into battle! Black Rose Drake, destroy Akuri's wyvern!"
The drake rears it's head back, and fires a blast of Blue flame that engulfed the wyvern, then connects with Akuri who shields her eyes.
Akuri- 7800LP
Reina- 8000LP
"And I'll finish my turn by setting a face down." Reina said with a confident grin as she places the card in her middle spell/trap zone, and a holographic projection of a face down card appeared in the respective field.
"During your end phase," Akuri began "I'll activate one of my face down cards, red eyes spirit." the card stood up to reveal itself "you know how it works." she took the wyvern out of her graveyard and placed it back on the field in attack position.
"Then I'll also activate Red Fang With Chain, my other face down." Akuri continued "and equip it to Red Eyes Wyvern." her other face down card stood up to reveal a card with an image of a Red Eyes Black dragon pendant attached to a chain. A chain extended from the card to wrap around the wyvern's body.
Akuri's duel disk then signaled it was her turn by the LED light on top of the arm holding her deck in it's compartment flashing. Akuri drew a card and examined her hand. "First, I'll activate Red Eyes Insight, this allows me to send a red eyes monster to my graveyard in order to add a Red Eyes spell or trap from my beck to my hand. I'll send a Red Eyes Black Dragon, then I'll add... this, my Inferno Fire blast spell card." two cards just out from her deck pushed out by a mechanism in the back of the deck compartment. She takes both the cards, and places 1 in her graveyard compartment, then the other in her hand.
"Then, I'll activate the effect of Red Eyes Alternative Black dragon." Akuri declares, continuing her turn. "I'll discard my Black Stone Of Legend, to special summon Alternative." she places the card from her hand in her graveyard, the places the monster in one of her monster zones. "now, I'll go into battle phase."
"Wyvern, attack her face down." Akuri commands. her wyvern blasts fire from its mouth, destroying the face down monster, revealing that it was a Blue Rose dragon. it appeared to be a smaller version (the same size as Red Rose Dragon) of Black Rose Drake, but with blue wings. It was blasted away in an instant.
"Hah! You Triggered Blue Rose Dragons effect!" Reina exclaimed excitedly "when Blue Rose Dragon is destroyed, I can special summon a Rose Dragon monster from my graveyard. I'll summon my White Rose dragon!" she takes the card from her graveyard, exchanging it for the blue Rose dragon that was on her field, she then places White Rose Dragon on the previously occupied monster zone on her duel disk.
A new Rose dragon appeared, it had black skin, and the same avian facial features as the previous dragons, but with a crown of plant stems on its head, and beautiful white wings. Unlike the other dragons, it didn't have 4 legs, or none, white rose dragon had 2 legs. it's tail had a row of green thorns growing from the top, and was tipped with a white rose bud. The Dragon flourished it's beautiful wings as it was summoned, and then folded said wings in front of itself in a protectively. A hologram appears displaying "Level 4, 1000 DEF"
"Smart, set the monster that wants to be destroyed." Akuri noted "but it won't save your field, because of Red Eyes Fang with Chain, it allows Wyvern too attack twice. wyvern, destroy white rose dragon." the wyvern does exactly that, Reina shielding her eyes from the light of the flames for the second time that battle phase.
"You also activated white rose dragon's effect!" Reina says, a hint of nervousness in her voice. "When white rose is destroyed, I can send a plant monster from my deck to my graveyard! I'll send Revival Rose to the graveyard." A card pops out from her deck and Reina takes it and places it in her graveyard.
"unfortunately, that won't help you." Akuri states calmly. "Fang with Chain has a second effect, I can destroy it to Equip one of your monsters to wyvern as a continuous equip spell." Akuri removes the trap from her duel disk, and puts it into her graveyard, the hologram of the card dissolves, and the chains wrapped around wyvern's body shoot out to ensnare Black Rose Drake. and pull it over to the spell/trap zone behind wyvern. "and wyvern's attack and Defense become the Attack and defense of the monster I stole. unfortunately, she already used both her attacks, so to destroy your last monster, alternative, smoke that red rose." red rose dragon was then engulfed in flames, being destroyed in seconds.
"Just like that, your field is clear, and my turn is over." Akuri says, sounding oddly melancholy.
"yeah," Reina says with a sigh, drawing her card. "fortunately for me, I'm not out of this yet! I'll normal summon my second white rose dragon!" sure enough, another white rose dragon was placed on her duel disk and appeared on her field. "and because white rose doesn't like being alone, when she's summoned, I get to special summon another rose dragon from my hand, like this roxrose dragon!" she places another monster in her duel disk.
A new monster appeared on her field, it was very similar to Red Rose Dragon, but with pale pink wings, and pink talons. It also had a full pink rose in full bloom for a tail. It fluttered it's wing, then folds them along it's back, and stares across the field smugly. A hologram appears displaying "level 3, 1000 DEF."
"And when roxrose is special summoned," Reina continued, "I get to add 1 card that Mentions "black rose dragon" it it's text to my hand." A card juts out from her deck, and she places it into her hand, then face down on the field. Reina stared at the lack of carDs in her hand, and the two defense position monsters on her field, and sighed "... I'll end my turn."
"my turn." Akuri declared "draw!" she looks at the card she just drew, and smiles "well that's convenient. I'll activate the graveyard Effect of the Black Stone of Legend in my graveyard. I can shuffle a red eyes monster from my graveyard into my deck, and add the Black Stone of Legend to my hand." She moves the cards out her graveyard, the Red eyes black dragon into her deck, that her duel disk then shuffles, and the Black Stone of Legend into her hand.
"I'll then activate Chaos Form." Akuri declares grimly. "it's a ritual spell to allow me to special summon a "Chaos" ritual monster. I'll tribute the level 1 Black Stone of Legend from my hand, and the red eyes alternative dragon from my hand, to special summon..." a gigantic metal circle appears above Akuri's head, the circle then starts opening from the center, revealing a giant wormhole to chaos space. Alternative flies up into the wormhole, then, they see something emerge from the wormhole. Akuri finishes her summon decoration, "Red Eyes Chaos Dragon*."
The dragon lands in a large cloud of dust. as it cleared, those present could see it clearly for the first time. The dragon was, in a word, amazing. It was the same general build as the original Red Eyes Black Dragon, but almost twice the size, its wings and tail were both bigger, it's hind legs thicker, to support it's new bipedal posture. It Had a large red orb in a gold casing Implanted into the center of its chest, and several smaller, similar implants running down its body and in the bones of its wings. It doesn't roar or make any intimidating display, just Glared across the field. A hologram appears displaying "level 8, 2400 ATK."
"Red Eyes Chaos Dragon, attack White Rose Dragon." Akuri declares, her voice devoid of emotion. "and when Chaos Dragon attacks, her attack points are doubled until the end of turn, and it deals pricing battle damage." the dragon flies over and even though the white rose dragon tried to flee, it didn't matter, chaos lands on it, crushing it under one foot easily, and roars at Reina, Reina instinctually backing up away from the immensely threatening dragon, who returns to it's place on Akuri's field as Reina's life points decrease.
Akuri- 7800LP
Reina- 5200LP
"it's not over." Akuri says, with a sigh "wyvern, destroy roxrose dragon." the wyvern does so, effortlessly, and once again, Reina's field was empty.
"you activated my trap card." Reina says, as a grin breaks out on her face "I Activate Wilted Rose Ceremony*!" she says, a card on her field standing to reveal a trap card depicting all of the rose dragons she's summoned gathered around a wilted husk of a much larger Rose dragon. "when a rose dragon is destroyed, and I have no monsters remaining, I can special summon as many Rose Dragons in my graveyard with different names as possible, then I can target and destroy cards on your field equal the number of monsters I special summoned! and since you only have 3 cards on your field, and I have 4 rose dragons with different names in my graveyard..." she takes a Blue, White, Red and Rox rose dragon from her graveyard, placing them all on her monster zones.
The Rose Dragons reappear in flashes of light, and start flying in a circle, a bright ball of energy swirling with rose petals forming in the center of their formation. "I get to destroy all your cards~!" Reina declares excitedly.
"Not all of them." Akuri retorts, a bright smile now plastered on her face "Red Eyes Chaos Dragon cannot be Targeted for effects."
"of course she can't." Reina said with a groan, her face falling as the orb of magic that her rose dragons created shot towards Akuri's field, destroying her wyvern and the Black Rose Drake that was attached to it. "so I can't destroy it... there's nothing in my deck that can get over that monster.." Reina said, as she raised her free arm..
"Don't you surrender." Akuri demanded "you know I hate that. you're right, there's nothing in you deck that can beat Chaos Dragon,but you're not out of options."
"but I can't ex-"
"yes you can." Akuri stated confidently, leaving no room for argument. "you have all the pieces. You just need to conquer your fear, and as long as I've known you, You've always been brave. I end my turn."
Reina pondered this as she drew a card. she looked down at the card she just drew 'basel rose shoot... I have one face down already, so if I did what Akuri is suggesting, I could use both... it still wouldn't give me game though... screw it, I have to try!!' her mind made up, she looked up at Akuri.
"first!" Reina began "Level 3 Red Rose Dragon Tunes level 4 White Rose dragon!" Red Rose Dragon dissolves and turns into 3 orbs of light, that then surround white rose dragon. Five Digital Rings resembling circuit boards appear around White Rose dragon, and White Rose dragon dissolve as light fills the rings, and Reina's Azure colored aura flares up, pulsing. the light that used to be white rose dragon pulse as well and after a few seconds, the pulsing syncs. "A cold flame envelops the world! Black flower bloom! Synchro Summon! come forth, Black Rose Dragon!"
As Reina finishes the chant, a *massive* Rose Dragon appears from the light. The dragon was easily the size of a dump truck, and resembled the previous Black Rose Drake, it had massive legs tipped with red talons. It's torso was made up of a massive Rose, from which its wings spread, though contrary to its name, it's petals and wings were red. It had vines emerging from the giant red rose blossom that made up it's torso, lined with black thorns. The back of its neck was lined with red rose petals, and from the back of its head sprouted a vine wrapped in more rose petals.A hologram appears displaying "level 7, 2400 ATK."
"she had all the pieces." Glynda recalled the words Akuri had said, as she watched Reina pant. "As a part of your "entrance exam," tell me, what are the requirements of all extra summons."
"first..." Reina begins, still panting "you need knowledge, you need to know that a given extra monster exists, and what it's required materials are."
"Then you need to take life point damage in a duel." Akuri continued "but the particular powerful and/or experienced duelist can do so with that."
"very good, keep going." Glynda said with a smile. These students were really making her reconsid-... no, she couldn't be that easy... could she?
"Then you need the materials the extra summons requires." Reina continued. "in my case, black rose dragon required a tuner, (my red rose dragon) and a non-tuner who's levels equal exactly 7. That's true of all synchro monsters, you need to be precise with levels."
"And finally, you need to be able to synchronize your aura and have enough of it to give the extra summons form." Akuri finished.
"you missed one thing." Glynda pushed, knowing that they both knew the answer.
"oh!" Akuri realized, "I forgot, you also need a duel disk with a dust cartridge system. The dust Is released with the extra summon, mixing with the expended aura, to create a golem, a temporary body for the Extra summon monster. In the case of synchro monsters, you also need to correctly chant their summon chant."
"All correct answers." Glynda says, with a nod of approval. "now, resume the duel, I believe Reina was about to activate about 50 different effects."
"Just 4." Reina says with a chuckle, "First, both white and red rose dragons effects activate, forming a chain. Then I'll chain the effect of black rose dragon. When Black Rose Dragon is Synchro Summoned, she can destroy all cards on the field, including herself. Black Rose Gale!" black Rose petals swirl around black rose dragon, then explode outward and destroy both Reina's monsters, her field spell, her face down, and Akuri's chaos dragon.
"now, white and red rose dragon's effects resolve." Reina continues with a grin. "first, white rose dragon sends a plant monster to my graveyard. I'll send another Revival Rose to the graveyard. Now Red Rose Dragon's effect activates, when she's sent to the graveyard as synchro material, I can special a rose dragon monster from my deck." A card juts out, and Reina takes it and places it on the field, another Blue Rose Dragon appearing in a flash of light, in attack position. A hologram appears displaying "level 3, 1600 ATK."
"And Finally, for this chain," Reina continues "Red Rose Dragon was used and synchro material for Black Rose Dragon, so I can add the, Blooming of the Darkest Rose trap card, from my deck to my hand." Yet again a card ejects from the deck that Reina then takes, adding to her hand "and now, a new chain starts."
"Will I get to play?" Akuri jokes.
"This would have been a better combo if you couldn't." Reina jokes back, and they both laugh. "but relax, last effect. Basel rose shoot was my face down, when it's destroyed, I can special summon a Rose dragon monster from my graveyard or banish zone, Including... black Rose dragon!" In a flash of light, the Massive dragon returns, roaring triumphantly as it conquers death.
"Actually, I lied." Reina confessed. "This is the last effect. you see, basel rose shoot has two effects, and I have another In my hand." She puts the spell card from her hand into the spell/trap zone "with it's first effect, I can special summon a Rose dragon from my graveyard." She takes Roxrose dragon from her graveyard and places it on one her monster zone. The dragon reappears with a smug flourish.
"Now, to end this long ass turn," Reina says, hitting a button on her duel disks main casing to proceed to the battle phase "first, Roxrose, attack Akuri's life points directly!" the dragon follows her orders, blasting pink fire at Akuri, lowering her life points. "now, blue Rose! you're up!" blue Rose attacks as well, dealing more damage, and Akuri standing there, shielding her eyes, but otherwise not reacting to the holographic attacks.
"Black Rose, finish this turn with a blast~ attack directly!" Reina exclaims, and Black Rose rears her head back and charges a blast of black flames that she then fires at Akuri.
The beam connects with the ground in front of Akuri, engulfing Akuri in black fire. Then Reina hears a scream of pain, and when the fire clears, Akuri is about 20 feet back from where she was a minute ago, Groaning in pain. Akuri sits up, swatting at bit of fire still burning on her arm.
"Oh my dust!" Reina exclaims in shock in confusion and immediately starts to run over to help her friend "are you okay!? what just happened!?"
"I have no idea.." Akuri admitted her aura flaring to out of the fire, which it did with little issue.
"It was the attack of an Extra Summon." Glynda explains. "when an extra monster is summoned, you create a golem for the spirit to inhabit. their attacks are just as physical as that body. In other words, extra monsters can actually hurt you. it's good that wasn't game, otherwise you would have broken her aura, and possibly seriously injured her."
Akuri- 2200LP
Reina- 5200LP
"o-oh," Reina says nervously "I'm sorry.."
"it's alright Reina." Akuri says, as she pulls Reina into a hug "I'm fine. It's like Glynda said, it's better we learned this way, than in a worse situation."
"Exactly." Glynda reassures softly, waking over and putting a hand on Reina's shoulder. "take some time to get your head straight. when you're ready, we can resume the duel."
A few minutes pass, and then Reina pulls away from the hug, walking over to her side of the field again. "alright," she says, her voice shaking a bit "sorry about that.. but to finish up this Incredibly long turn... I'll set a card face down." she gestures to Akuri.
"alright." Akuri draws her card "are you sure you're good to continue?" At Reina's nod, Akuri looks down at the card she just drew "oh. well... it's now or never." she places a card in her spell and trap zone "I'll activate Red Eyes Fusion. At the cost of not being able to normal or special summon, I can fusion summon a "Red Eyes" monster with materials from my hand, field, or deck." two cards pop out from her deck, which Akuri takes and shows Reina "fusing together this Red Eyes Black Dragon, and this Red Eyes Black Meteor Dragon," she shows each card as she states their names "I'll create..." the cards erupt in light, and literally fuse together, to form a single card, as both dragons appear behind Akuri and fly up into the sky, merging I a brilliant burts of light. "Meteor Black Comet Dragon!!"
The resulting dragon appeared to be a red eyes black dragon constructed entirely from magma. The veins on its wings glowed orange as if they contained fire and not blood. They likely did. The dragon was speeding towards the ground, wreathed in fire.
"And thanks to Meteor Black Comet Dragon's effect," Akuri continued "I can send a Red Eyes monster from my deck to my graveyard, and Inflict Damage to you, equal to it's attack points." And for the final time, a card ejects from the deck into Akuri's hand and she puts it into the graveyard "And Red Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon has 2800 attack points!" Meteor Black Comet Dragon finally hits the ground, the resulting fireball hitting Reina and blasts her off her feet, damaging her aura as she yelps in pain.
Akuri- 2200LP
Reina- 2400LP
"Hey Glynda," Akuri said after Reina got back up. Anyone could hear the worried tone in her voice "attacks hurt... what about burn effects?"
"... it shouldn't break her aura so long as it's not a direct attack." Glynda replied, clearly worried for Reina as well.
"Just do it." Reina exclaims, exasperated. "I don't want you going easy on me. Even if it means I don't win, even if it means I don't win for years. I know you have Inferno Fire Blast, you've had it since you used Red Eyes Insight, and a fun Quirk of Red Eyes Fusion, is that the resulting fusion's name becomes "Red Eyes Black Dragon" right? I saw it when you were reworking your deck a few years back."
"... right." Akuri nods, then grins "then I won't go easy on you. I'll activate inferno fire blast! I'll target my "Red Eyes Black Dragon" and deal it's original attack points to you as damage." Meteor Black Comet Dragon spreads it's massive wings and a pulse of fire blasts out of it's body and envelops Reina
LETHAL DAMAGE! Reina- 1100.
the fire clears, and the monsters on both sides dissolve, and Reina is lay on the ground, her aura clearly flickering, on the verge of breaking. Glynda hits a button of her data-pad and anmedic runs in to check on her.
Glynda smiles "I'm sure I'll be repeating this when you're both feeling better, but... welcome to Beacon huntsmen academy."
End of chapter.