Yu-gi-oh/MLP Season 1 Chapter 2
The Perfect Plan
Cheerilee giggled as she typed away at the computer, easily infiltrating many key systems of the city. Yes, Cheerilee. The voice echoed in her head. Let the number take hold. "When I'm finished, the city is in for a big surprise!" All the while, a glowing number 34 was emblazoned on her neck.
...
"My name is Twilight Sparkle, and this is Heartland City." Twilight got closer and offered her hand to the poor girl. "Let me help." The girl took her hand and they managed to get her out of the wreckage. "What happened?" Twilight asked. The girl looked at the totaled motorcycle, then back at Twilight. "Uh, you wouldn't believe me if I told you." The girl then offered her hand to Twilight. "My name is Ruby Rose."
"Nice to meet you, Ruby." Twilight accepts Ruby's hand and the two shake before looking at the wreck. "You know, this is why you're supposed to wear a helmet. You're lucky you didn't get yourself killed!" Ruby chuckles at the thought, which worries Twilight. "I don't think I've ever seen you before. Where are you from, exactly?"
"I'm from Neo Domino City." Ruby replies. "Huh, never heard of it." Twilight comments. "Wait, really?" Ruby asks, incredulous. "It's the place where the WRGP was held!" "The what now?" "The World Racing Grand Prix." "Doesn't ring a bell." "What about Satellite?" "Nope." "The Arcadia Movement?" "Nuh-uh." Ruby shakes her head. "I'm really far from home, aren't I?"
"Ask if she has a number card. It may be affecting her state of mind." Starswirl offers. "I'm not asking her that!" Twilight protests. "Why wouldn't you?" Starswirl asks, puzzled. "Because that's really rude, that's why!" "Um, who are you talking to?" Ruby asks, seeing Twilight seemingly angry at the air. Twilight, realizing how she looks, composes herself and answers "Oh, I'm aaaa practicing! For a play!" She chuckles nervously, which does not help to convince Ruby, but she decides to drop the matter.
"Say," Twilight starts, trying to change the subject. "Why don't I walk you over to my school? Someone there may recognize you or be able to help you find your home." Ruby nodded. "That sounds like a good idea." She turned back towards her duel runner. "I can't leave this just lying here, though." Twilight grabs her phone out of her pocket. "I can just call my brother, Shining Armor. He can get a tow truck here." Ruby tilts her head. Shining Armor? What kind of name is that? And for that matter, what kind of name is Twilight Sparkle?
...
As the two get to school, Spike walks towards them and waves at Twilight. "Hey, Twilight! Who's your new friend?" Twilight waves back at Spike. "Spike, this is Ruby Rose. She's lost, so I'm helping her get her bearings." As the two exchange pleasantries, Pinkie Pie suddenly appears in front of Ruby's face. "Ruby Rose, huh? My name is Pinkie Pie, and I've got a few questions for you." Ruby looks over to Twilight for clarity, but Twilight only shrugs. Pinkie, meanwhile, pulls out a notepad and pencil. "When's your birthday? What's your favorite color? What flavor cake would you prefer? If two trains left the same station at the same time, but Train A was five miles per hour faster than Station B," As Pinkie continued to 'interrogate' the newcomer, Sunset, in her orange and red hair and punk-black jacket, watched on from the shadows.
...
Eventually, the four got to class, and Ruby asked Twilight "Are you sure I'll be fine here? Since I'm not a student, I don't want to cause any trouble." Twilight shook her head. "You'll be fine. Our teacher, Ms. Cheerilee is nice, I'm sure she'll welcome you." The student council president, Tempus, introduced herself to the two and had Ruby sit in the back next to Twilight.
As if summoned by Twilight's description, Cheerilee came in from another door on the other side of the classroom. Her silver hair was light and bouncy, but not as big and poofy as Pinkie's. Her outfit was a rather conservative business suit, but it did little to offset the warm inviting mood the kindly teacher gave off. She promptly walked over to her desk, and attempted to use the terminal built-in, but her growing frown betrayed the results of such efforts.
"Good morning, class. Unfortunately, it seems as though the School systems have been affected by the same glitches as the rest of the city, so we will be unable to have class today." As Cheerilee expected, however, the students cheered at the thought of no school. "If you would all settle down, I'm going to take role call while that part of the system is still working. The rest of the time will be a free period." Cheerilee started calling names, and the students replied with "Here" at varying levels of enthusiasm. Ruby took the time to scan the room, seeing if there were any familiar faces among the crowd.
"Ruby Rose." Ruby blinked and turned to Cheerilee, who was looking right at her. "Ruby Rose?" Cheerilee repeated. "Um, here." Ruby replied. "Pleased to meet you, Miss Rose. According to the system, you're a recent transfer student, so why don't you come up here and introduce yourself?" All eyes turned to look at Ruby as she nervously got up and walked to the front of the class.
"Hi. My name is Ruby Rose. I'm from...far away. I hope to learn lots and, uh, make friends." Ruby then walked back to her seat next to Twilight. "Why didn't you tell me you were transferred here?" Twilight whispered. "Must have slipped my mind." Ruby made up sheepishly while wondering why her name was here as a student.
"Miss Cheerilee, Miss Cheerilee!" Pinkie cried out, her hand stretched upwards. "Yes, Pinkie Pie?" "Since we have nothing planned for today, can we duel?" Cheerilee smiled. "Of course." With that, the students moved the desks over to the side and readied their duel disks and duel gazers. At the sight of the latter, Ruby was confused. "What are those things on everyone's heads?" She asked Twilight.
"Oh, right! You're not from around here, so you wouldn't know!" Twilight exclaims as she pulls her own duel gazer out of her backpack. "These are duel gazers. They let us see Augmented Reality, enhancing the dueling experience. Here, have this one." Twilight pulls out a spare set from her backpack, which Ruby accepts. As she puts the odd half-set of glasses on, she can actually see the duels taking place. She had to admit, it wasn't turbo dueling, but she could definitely see the appeal.
As the two continued to watch the duels, Ruby again asked Twilight "So what are those flying lights around some of the monsters?" Twilight gave a puzzled look at Ruby. "You don't know about xyz monsters?" Ruby shook her head. "They're special monsters found in the extra deck like fusion and synchro monsters, but unlike those monsters, they have ranks instead of levels." Twilight explained. "They're summoned by having a bunch of monsters with the same level. In fact, those lights, or overlay units, are made from the xyz materials and are used by the xyz monsters for various effects."
As if to demonstrate, one of Tempus's xyz monsters took a bite out of one of its overlay units, causing its attack points to increase by 1000. "So they're like ammunition?" Ruby said, and Twilight shrugged. "That's one way to put it. I've always seen it as the monsters working together like a team. Here, let me show you mine." Twilight rummages through her backpack, then furrowed her brow as she continued to look. "Where did it go?"
...
In a void space, Starswirl observed the strange golden structure, which seemed to resemble that of Twilight's necklace. When Starswirl asked Twilight where she found the necklace, she replied that she had it all her life, which intrigued Starswirl. He held up the new card, Number 29: Secret Santa, and threw it towards the structure, which caused another part of it to begin moving again, same as the parts affected by Number 39: Star Sparkle and Number 17: Solar Flare. "One thing is certainly clear." he pondered to himself. "The number cards containing my memory and this structure within Twilight's necklace are connected. But how?"
...
After school for the day ends, Ruby and Twilight walk out from the school grounds to a particular spot, waiting for Twilight's brother, Shining Armor. "Hop in." He said with a certain gleam in his eyes, one that Twilight unfortunately recognized. As the two girls got in and put on their seatbelts, Twilight nervously asked "Please don't tell me you've got a-" "I've got a case!" Shining floored the accelerator, and the car sped through the streets of Heartland City.
"All those glitches in the systems of Heartland City? Turns out they're the result of sabotage. Someone's hacking into the city and could set the whole place to blow. I mean, today it's only been a few pranks here and there, but it could escalate to banks and hospitals." As Shining monologued, he raced through a red light, narrowly avoiding hitting a car whose driver flipped him off. "Speaking as someone who recently got in a crash, I'd like to emphasize the importance of safe driving!" Ruby's warning fell on deaf ears however, as Shining continued to ride through the streets like a hound on the scent.
"That's where you come in, Twilight." Shining continued, seemingly ignoring Ruby. "I need you to help me stake out the library, since its one of the best places for wifi, and thus a possible place for the hacker to use. Meanwhile, I'll be at home trying to stake them out on the digital landscape." He stopped his car on a dime, causing his passengers to lurch forward suddenly. The two got out of the car as soon as they could, with Ruby seriously reconsidering her career.
"Oh, by the way, I got a message from the city. Ruby Rose will be staying with us for the time being. When I get back home, I'll ready a room for her. Nice to meet you!" Before Ruby could respond, Shining was off again like a bullet, leaving the two in the dust. "Well, I guess we may as well look into this place." Twilight mused as she and Ruby entered the library.
After a few minutes, they noticed a certain figure walking towards one of the terminals. "Tempus?" Twilight wondered. "But she seems so nice." "Remember, Twilight." Starswirl chimed in. "A number card can drive a person to any extreme, even the nicest person you know." Twilight's suspicions were seemingly confirmed as once Tempus had plugged a USB into the computer, more of the crashbugs popped up on her computer.
"Stop right there, Tempus!" Twilight exclaimed. "So you've been the one hacking the city!" Tempus, noticing the two, waved her arms in panic. "It's not what you think! I was trying to use a searching program to figure out where the hacker might be operating, but it seems that my program was infected as well." "Did the program work at least?" Ruby asked. "Actually, yes!" Tempus exclaimed. "It would appear to be one of the server towers not too far away. "Then lead us there." Ruby commanded, her presence intimidating Tempus into compliance.
After the three snuck into the server, they noticed a figure working on the main terminal. "That must be the hacker." Ruby whispered to Twilight. "What do we do?" "Why don't you make yourselves known, eavesdroppers?" The figure called out, which caused the trio to jump, wondering how they heard her.
"Wait, I recognize that voice." Twilight crawled out of her hiding place, with Tempus sheepishly following. "Miss Cheerilee?" It was as Twilight feared. Standing right there was her teacher, a wicked grin covering her face. "Ah, Twilight and Tempus. My brightest pupils. It figures that if anyone could figure me out, it would be you two." Ruby got out of the hiding place to join Twilight. "And Ruby, a pleasure to meet you again. Now you both can witness my little surprise for the whole city!" The woman gave out a mad cackle as Twilight and Starswirl noticed the glowing number on her neck.
"What's wrong with her?" Tempus asked. "She seems possessed." Ruby remarked. It reminded her of Yang and Blake's accounts of people possessed by the Dark Signer mark of the spider. "She's under the effects of a number." Twilight answered solemnly. "I'll explain later. Meanwhile, I have to stop Miss Cheerilee." With that, Twilight readied her duel disk and duel gazer, with Cheerilee doing the same, and Ruby readying her new duel gazer, with Tempus's help.
Behind Cheerilee, a clock counting down from 30 minutes appears. "Only half an hour until the big finish! I draw! I set a monster face-down and end my turn." "She would appear to be stalling for time. It would be best to bring this duel to a close decisively." Starswirl tells Twilight. "Thanks for the incredibly obvious information. And where were you today?" Twilight asks, and rolls her eyes when Starswirl refuses to answer.
"I draw! I summon Magician's Valkyria!" A woman in traditional wizard's clothing appears. (Level 4/1600) "Magician's Valkyria, attack her face-down monster!" The wizard waves her magic wand, firing an energy ball at the face-down monster, which is revealed to be a small imp-like thing with a bomb for a head. (Level 3/2000) The attack is reflected away. (Twilight 4000-3600)
"Too bad! Crashbug X is too strong for your monster!" Cheerilee taunts. "Perhaps I should have been more specific." Starswirl began. "While you should be more aggressive, you should also temper it with caution." "I didn't ask for your opinion!" Twilight snaps at Starswirl. "I end my turn." "I draw!" Cheerilee announces. "I summon Crashbug Y!" Another bomb-headed imp appears, this time bigger and more portly. (Level 3/1400)
"And then I activate my spell card Crashbug Road. We both get to summon a level 4 or lower monster from our hands with the same level as a monster we already control. I choose to summon the level 3 Crashbug Z!" A third imp appears, tall and lanky. (Level 3/0) "She is already attempting to xyz summon." Starswirl notes.
"I'll give her something to think about." Twilight chuckles. "I choose another Magician's Valkyria!" "Ah, a perfect defense." Starswirl remarks. "Both have the effect of preventing attacks against other spellcasters you control, so having two on the field will prevent her from attacking at all. Well done, Twilight."
"If you think a genius like me is going to be stopped by something as small as an infinite loop, think again!" Cheerilee replies. "I overlay my 3 level 3 Crashbugs! Appear, Number 34: Terror-Byte!" A large polygonal structure like a computer chip appears before retracting to form something like a mechanical dinosaur. (Rank 3/2900) So that's an xyz monster, Ruby thinks to herself. And a number card, whatever that is.
"I activate the effect of Terror-Byte! By using one overlay unit, I can take control of one level 4 or lower monster you control until the end phase. So I'll take one of your Magician's Valkyria!" An overlay unit is absorbed by Terror-Byte's horn and the monster lets out a roar. One of the twin wizards is outlined by a purple aura as she is pulled over to Cheerilee's side of the field.
"Now, let's have these two equal values cancel out. Magician's Valkyria, attack your double!" The possessed wizard fires an energy beam at Twilight's copy of the monster, who fires a beam in kind. The two beams converge, causing an explosion that wipes out both monsters. "I set a card and end my turn."
Twilight draws her card, uncertain of what to do next. "It is obvious that we cannot get past Terror-Byte's defenses. You must find other ways to win." Starswirl commands Twilight, who replies "Shut up! Let me think!" She looks over her cards, thinking of what to do next. "I summon Flare Magician!" A wizard in red clothes appears. (Level 3/1500) "Once per turn, by discarding a spell card, Flare Magician can deal 300 damage!" Flare Magician flings a ball of fire at Cheerilee. (Cheerilee 4000-3700)
"Nice try, but not good enough. I activate my face-down Damage Vaccine Omega Max! This restores my life points by the damage I just took!" Cheerilee is bathed in a warm glow. (Cheerilee 3700-4000) "My victory will be flawless." Ruby raises her eyebrow at this while Twilight stomps her foot in frustration. "Dang it! I activate my spell Monster Reborn to summon back one of my Magician's Valkyria, then end my turn."
Cheerilee draws her card with a knowing giggle as the clock behind her counts down to 18 minutes. "Letting your frustrations get the better of you? I thought I taught you better than that. I use the effect of Terror-Byte again, this time on Flare Magician." Flare Magician is pulled to Cheerilee's side of the field, again causing Ruby to consider that strange. "I then activate two continuous spell cards, Infected Mail and Cracking. With Infected Mail, I can make one level 4 or lower monster I control able to attack directly this turn, but it will be sent to the graveyard at the end of the battle phase. Allow me to demonstrate. Flare Magician, attack Twilight directly!"
A digitized portal appears in front of Flare Magician, who walks through, only to reappear directly behind Twilight. The monster lets loose a salvo of fire on Twilight. (Twilight 3800-2500) "Now, since the battle phase is over, Flare Magician will be destroyed, and Cracking will deal 800 damage to you for that." Flare Magician is covered in pixels before exploding. (Twilight 2500-1700) "I set a card and end my turn."
The ground beneath them all shakes and starts to rise. "Ah, part of my little surprise. What better way to get a good view!" Twilight clutches her head in panic. "What do I do? What do I do? Another combo like that and I'm done for!" "Correction" Starswirl shows his body starting to fade. "We will be done for. Remember what is at stake here." Twilight gulps as she draws her card.
"I activate the spell card Mirror Mage, which immediately summons itself as a monster with the same level as a spellcaster I control." A mirror appears on Twilight's side of the field, and out of it steps a copy of Magician's Valkyria. (Level 4/0) "I overlay my level 4 Mirror Mage and my level 4 Magician's Valkyria in order to xyz summon Number 39: Star Sparkle!" (Rank 4/2500) Twilight wipes a bead of sweat off her brow. "Good. Since Star Sparkle is an xyz monster, and thus has a rank, not a level, Terror-Byte can't take control of it. I set a card and end my turn."
"I draw!" The timer behind Cheerilee counts down to 7 minutes. "I activate the spell Xyz Energy! By detaching one overlay unit, I can destroy one monster you control. Destroy Star Sparkle!" The last overlay unit on Terror-Byte fires at Star Sparkle. "I activate Stardust Protection, negating Star Sparkle's destruction!" Twilight counters as a blanket of stardust covers Star Sparkle, shielding it from the hurtling overlay unit.
"Oh well. That wasn't my intention anyway. I activate my face-down Bug Switch! Since I have Crashbug X, Y, and Z in my graveyard, I can switch a monster I control to defense position to summon Super Crashbug in defense mode!" Terror-Byte shifts and changes until it is in a standing position, and a large blocky mass with purple lines running through its body appears. (Level 4/3000)
"With Super Crashbug's ability, all attack position monsters have their attack and defense switched!" Erratic lines of electricity crackle through Star Sparkle and Terror-Byte. (Star Sparkle 2500-2000) (Terror-Byte 0-2900) "Terror-Byte, crush Star Sparkle to pieces!" The machine charges toward Star Sparkle with unnatural speed.
"I activate the effect of Star Sparkle, spending one overlay unit to activate one spell card from my graveyard. I choose Stardust Protection! Magical Talent!" Star Sparkle twirls his staff, creating a constellation in the form of a cloud, which blocks Terror-Byte's attack, though Twilight is still knocked back by the shockwave. (Twilight 1700-800) Cheerilee lets out a maniacal cackle. "One more turn and it's all over for you. I set a card and end my turn."
Twilight falls to her knees, her hands to her head. "It's hopeless. I haven't laid a finger on her life points, and she's almost done with mine. What am I going to do?" For once, Starswirl can't find anything to say. Ruby, however, steps forward and puts her hand on Twilight's shoulder. "What are you talking about? You've already won." Twilight looks at Ruby, confused.
"Trust me." Ruby smiles. "If you'll let me help you, I know just what you need to do to win." Twilight nods her head and gets back up, drawing her card. "Star Sparkle can copy any spell in your graveyard, right?" "Yeah." "And do you have any monsters in your extra deck with more than 2000 attack?" Starswirl breaks from his stupor, realizing what Ruby is going for. "Yeah, I do, actually." Twilight answers.
"Then use Star Sparkle to copy Monster Reborn so you can bring that monster out." Twilight nods. "I activate the effect of Star Sparkle, this time copying Monster Reborn!" Star Sparkle makes a constellation of the ankh of Monster Reborn, bringing back Flare Magician. (Flare Magician 1500-500) "I then summon Dharc the Dark Charmer!" A girl in dark robes appears. (Level 3/500-1500) "I then overlay my level three Dharc and Flare Magician in order to xyz summon Number 17: Solar Flare!"
A small star appears before exploding, revealing a fairy with flames surrounding her body. (Rank 3/2000-0) "Okay, I summoned Solar Flare, but what good will that do? Thanks to Super Crashbug, it's useless." "Not quite." Starswirl corrects her. "Remember Solar Flare's special ability?" Twilight's eyes perk up as she remembers. "I activate the effect of Solar Flare! By using one overlay unit, I can deal 500 damage to you! Flare Lash!"
Solar Flare grabs an overlay unit and throws it at Cheerilee, the overlay unit catching fire as it hurls in the air. (Cheerilee 4000-3500) "I activate my second Damage Vaccine Omega Max, undoing your pitiful attempt at robbing me of a perfect victory!" (Cheerilee 3500-4000) "Now!" Ruby beckons. "I activate my quick-play spell card Overcorrection!" Twilight declares. "Since you just gained life points while your life points are already higher than mine, I get to destroy one monster you control. I choose Super Crashbug!"
"What?" Cheerilee asks incredulously as Super Crashbug is destroyed. (Star Sparkle 2000-2500) (Solar Flare 0-2000) (Terror-Byte 2900-0) "Solar Flare, destroy Terror-Byte with Sun Burn!" The fairy lets loose a flurry of fire that destroys Terror-Byte. (Cheerilee 4000-2000) "Star Sparkle, attack directly with Star Power!" Star Sparkle fires a series of energy beams that bombard Cheerilee. (Cheerilee 2000-0)
"How'd you know that her face-down was another Damage Vaccine?" Twilight asks Ruby as Starswirl absorbs the number card. "She was going on and on about a perfect victory, so there was no way she would let that damage slide even if she didn't need to." Ruby answers. A loud sound alerts the two that the countdown has reached 0. "Get down!" Ruby yells as she, Tempus, and Twilight crouch, ready for the incoming explosion.
After a few seconds, they realize the explosion isn't coming. Cheerilee gets up, groggy. "Wha? Where am I? Oh! It must be complete!" The lift they are on stops and Twilight realizes that they are now on the roof. Cheerilee walks over to the edge. "Uh, Miss Cheerilee? What was that little surprise for the city you were talking about?" Twilight asks nervously, to which Cheerilee responds by motioning for the three students to come towards her. Confused, they agree to do so, and see a wondrous sight over the city: a collection of monsters from all over Duel Monsters dancing in the sky.
"I happened to notice that the infrastructure of the city, if arranged properly, could form a QR code that makes all this." Cheerilee explains. "It's strange, though. I remember hacking into the city to make the QR code, but I swear on my life that I would never do such a thing! I don't know what came over me!" Twilight nervously chuckles. "I think it's over now, so it's best not to worry about it."
...
"Let me see if I have it right." Ruby said as she and Twilight walked to her house. "These number cards are part of Starswirl's memory, so you need to collect them all to help him. And whenever somebody gets their hand on them, it drives them crazy?" "Sorta." Twilight answered. "It seems to take a desire the person already has and amplifies it so that's all you care about."
As the two got inside, Shining Armor was already waiting. "Welcome to our humble abode, Ruby Rose! Make yourself at home." He gave her a tour of the house, including the garage, where Ruby's duel runner was held, though when she asked, neither of the two had ever heard of such a thing, or turbo dueling. As the other two got to bed, Ruby asked Shining if she could borrow his computer to get her bearings, and he agreed.
Ruby got to work, trying to find Neo Domino City, but it didn't appear on the map or any searches. She then tried other searches, but they kept coming up empty, much to her growing anxiety. Arcadia, the Earthbound Immortals, the Signer Dragons, Team Ragnarok, all gone without a trace. The only proof Ruby had of her past life was the duel runner in the garage and her signer mark. Worried, she rolled up her sleeve to check, and was shocked to find that the mark wasn't there. Trying and failing to calm her nerves, she rushed to the bathroom, closed the door, and took off her shirt. Right there, on Ruby's back, seen through her reflection in the mirror, was the full mark of the dragon, from head to tail.