"Shootingcode Talker! Attack Baobaboon!" Penny commanded. "Shooting Complete!"
Ruby threw up her arms to shield herself as her tree with a baboon's face was obliterated by a sapphire energy arrow, a thunderous crack obliterating the thick bark. The red-hooded girl was grateful for the two fresh copies that grew on her field in defense mode (ATK 1200/DEF 1000). "When Baobaboon is destroyed, I can summon as many as I want from my deck. And when they hit the field, their effects activate."
"Letting you draw a card and then place a card in your hand on the top or bottom of your deck," Penny nodded. "Proceed."
Ruby did just that, yanking the top card of her deck out of Crescent Rose.
Earthquake. A spell that forced all monsters on the field into defense mode. Usually one of her most useful cards, but against Penny's Link Monsters, which didn't have a defense position…
Ruby placed the spell card on the bottom of her deck and drew again, frowning as she had to place the Book of Moon she'd pulled on the bottom as well. Tricks that had gotten her out of a dozen scrapes before just wouldn't do anything in her exam match, which was a serious contender for the hardest duel she'd ever fought.
Penny pointed at Queen of Thorns. "Shooting Complete!"
Shootingcode Talker fired off its third attack, shredding Ruby's Synchro Monster to bits.
"When my Plant-Type Synchro Monster is destroyed by battle or your card effect, Roxrose Dragon can add itself from my graveyard to my hand," Ruby said, snatching up the card her Glow-Up Bulb had sent to the grave earlier.
"Understood," Penny said, turning to her Transcode Talker and Excode Talker. "Attack the Baobaboons."
Her red and green Link Monsters leapt forward and shredded the two tree trunk monkeys, leaving Ruby with only her defense position Rose Token.
"At the end of the Battle Phase, Shootingcode Talker's second effect activates. I draw one card for each monster it destroyed this turn," Penny announced, her duel vest ejecting three cards into her hand. The redheaded girl swiftly glanced over her new draws, gracefully inserting two of them into her Floating Array. "I place two cards facedown and end my turn."
Ruby let out a relieved breath. With all that Link Monsters had been shown to be capable of, she'd wondered if they'd all have default piercing damage or some other effect to let Penny blow her away in one turn. Frankly, she was amazed that she'd come away with her Rose Token intact and Roxrose in her hand.
Of course, that hardly meant she was out of the woods, even with her huge life point advantage. Penny had control of the field and her Code Talkers were stronger than most of the monsters in Ruby's deck. If the Slifer Red drew something that could blow apart that field presence or deal a chunk of effect damage to take out the Atlas girl's scant remaining life points, then she could win. But if she didn't? If her Baobaboons hadn't cleared away all her battle position-shifting cards from the top of her deck? She was finished.
A beaming grin shined from Ruby's lips, her heart hammering in her chest as blazing warmth pulsed through her chest. This? This was a duel.
"My turn!" she cheered. "Draw!"
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"She's cool under pressure," General Ironwood cautiously observed as Ruby drew for her turn without fear. "I'll give her that."
"The same can be said of Ms. Polendina," Ozpin noted, her twinkling eyes eagerly absorbing every inch of the Atlas freshman's brightly-colored cybernetic warriors. "Down a card in her starting hand and only two hundred life points against a deck with quite a bit of effect damage? One would expect a bit of sweat on her brow even if she did have a plan to turn the tables."
Ironwood smiled with proud affection down at the redheaded Obelisk Blue, the kind Ozpin had only seen him spare for his protege Winter Schnee before. "Penny is currently Atlas' strongest student for a reason. Between her skills, her research contributions, civilian-friendly temperament, and complete trustworthiness, she is perhaps our brightest hope for the future."
Ozpin chuckled at his colleague's transparent attempt to sell him on the bubbly student. "I've told you before, the Maidens are the guardians of their respective vaults. Autumn's replacement must be tied to Beacon. Though, if you feel Ms. Polendina to be a superior successor to Fria than your current choice, I will yield to your judgment on the matter."
"Winter is the optimal choice for that role. Honestly, I'm not even sure if Penny is… suited, to being a maiden," Ironwood clarified. "But she is perhaps the perfect hunting duelist."
"She is certainly impressive," Ozpin conceded. "Hopefully the pressure she's putting on Ms. Rose will have the results we desire."
"What are those results exactly?" Ironwood inquired. "Getting her mark and eyes to activate? A Shining Evolution? How far do you want to push her?"
"For the moment, I just want to see what she's capable of," Ozpin said. "Silver-Eyed Warriors have access to incredible power on their lonesome. One with additional magic like the power of a Signer? That could run the risk of jeprodizing a very careful balance in their makeup."
He'd seen what happened when a Silver-Eyed Warrior accessed additional magic and gained a more active awareness of the unique connection the Brothers crafted them with. The first wielder of Hermos was his truest friend, but even he'd been blinded by his awakened power after their patrons fell, dueling The Great Invader alone in defiant fury.
Ozpin still didn't know whether he'd won, lost, or drawn the match. The Great Invader hadn't been seen since, but the state he and Salem had found his body in…
It was best that such power, particularly the card it could create that Salem still sought after so many eons, remained dormant. As much as Ozpin dearly missed Summer, he couldn't help but be grateful that she'd passed with her eyes still silver.
"If Qrow trained her, I imagine she's capable of quite a bit," Ironwood mused, his concerned gaze falling on the group of students in the bleachers. "Still, are you sure you want all of those kids present? She might go for her Fusion Monster. The rest of her team and Mr. Wukong may know about the summoning method from the docks, but the other three might not–"
"Fusion monster?" Ozpin sharply inquired, his head whipping towards his fellow headmaster. "What are you talking about?"
The general recoiled from the sudden forcefulness in the older man's voice. "Starving Venom Fusion Dragon? Penny reported that she had it. She said there were traces of elements that I was able to identify as Creation and Destruction Magic on it. I assumed that meant you gave it to her."
Fusion Dragon. Xyz Dragon. Even if the Pendulum Dragon hadn't been a part of The Queen's original plan all those eons ago, it was clear she'd incorporated the newer summoning style into her scheme. It might have even been what had finally allowed her to start putting it into action.
"I activate Pot of Greed!" Ruby exclaimed. "Now I draw two cards!"
The red-hooded girl pulled a pair of cards from her deck, a grin spreading over her lips just as a worried frown creased Ozpin's.
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"Got you, Penny!" Ruby declared, sliding one of her drawn cards into Crescent Rose. "I activate One for One!"
"Alright!" Yang cheered, her sister sending a card from her hand to the graveyard as a new one popped out of her deck. "She got exactly what she needed! A Level One monster from the deck means–"
"I summon Evil Thorn!" Ruby announced, finishing her older sibling's explanation from the stands with equal fervor as her droopy flower with a spiked bulb (ATK 100/DEF 300) flashed before her. The Slifer Red dramatically pointed across the field at her opponent. "You've only got two hundred life points left, Penny! This is the end! I tribute Evil Thorn and activate its effect! You take three hundred points of damage!"
Evil Thorn's black bulb exploded, a rain of sharp spines shooting across the field.
"I activate my trap card Cynet Conflict," Penny announced, one of her facedowns flipping up. A translucent energy shield flared around the Atlas Obelisk Blue, Evil Thorn's spikes helplessly bouncing off its impervious sheen. "When an effect is activated while I have a 'Code Talker', I can negate the activation and banish that card. You also cannot activate cards or effects of that name until the end of the next turn."
"Darn it," Sun snapped. "She almost had her."
"Don't get too tied up about it, man," Yang said, her voice filled with warm confidence as her little sister conjured a familiar small dragon with plumage of white rose petals (ATK 1200/DEF 1000). "Ruby's still got one heck of an ace to fall back on."
"When White Rose Dragon is normal summoned, I can special summon a Rose Dragon from my hand or graveyard. So Roxrose Dragon comes back from my graveyard," Ruby declared, a smaller dragon with rosy pink scales and feathers (ATK 1600/DEF 1200) rising next to her other dragon. "And when Roxrose Dragon is summoned, I can add a card that mentions Black Rose Dragon from my deck to my hand. I'll take Basal Rose Shoot."
Blake flashed a wry smile. "A Level Three tuner and a Level Four non-tuner."
"It's coming," Weiss said with great anticipation, the two Rose Dragons breaking into their respective stars and tuner rings.
"One big bad Signer Dragon," Yang smirked, cracking her knuckles. "Ready to take care of business."
"Red likes roses fills my dreams and brings me to the place you rest. Cold flames envelop the entire world. Thus kindly scatter and bring me victory!" Ruby chanted, a column of blinding light blazing through her emerald tuner rings and the stars within. "Synchro Summon! Black Rose Dragon!"
A fierce black dragon roared out of the bright starlight, its majestic rose petal plumage flaring as it settled down into the open Extra Monster Zone (ATK 2400/DEF 1800), shooting a leer of challenge at Transcode Talker across from it.
Penny's eyes narrowed at Black Rose Dragon, an electronic green light seeming to flicker through her gaze. "Mystical element detected. Light Magic. This is your Signer Dragon, isn't it?"
Ruby impishly smirked, snatching a card that popped out of her deck and placing it into her graveyard. "When White Rose Dragon is used as Synchro Material, I can send a Level Four or higher Plant-Type monster from my deck to my graveyard."
Weiss groaned, shaking her head into her palm. "Of course that dolt already told her all about magic and Signers."
"Ha! That's just how Ruby rolls," Yang laughed. "She could hardly hide it from her secret girlfriend."
Weiss just groaned louder.
Blake pursed her lips as she gazed more intently at the dueling girls below. "The logical part of me is skeptical that Ruby would bother hiding that she was in a relationship if she got in one."
"Yeah. Plus, getting a hot older student teacher to fall for her?" Nora scoffed. "She ain't got that much game."
Blake's cheeks burned with a dark scarlet sheen.
Yang mischievously leaned into her partner's other side. "Let me guess. The Ninjas of Love part of you just can't help imagining how juicy it'd be if she did seduce the hot older student teacher. Which she totally has. She may use mom's name, but Ruby's got the Xiao-Long family charm through and through."
"Stop," Weiss insisted. "Please."
"I activate Black Rose Dragon's special ability! When it's Synchro Summoned, it can destroy every card on the field!" Ruby shouted, aggressively pointing at the assembled Code Talkers. "So your Link Monsters are about to be blown away! Go! Black Rose Gale!"
Black Rose Dragon shrieked and raised its magnificent wings. With a single mighty flap, a hurricane erupted from its plumage, Ruby's Rose Token obliterated by the dark, ferocious winds.
"Trap card activate! Recoded Alive!" Penny yelled, her second facedown rising as Transcode Talker vanished into a swarm of crackling digital sparks, Shootingcode Talker losing the golden aura from its co-link (ATK 2800). "I banish one Link-3 Cyberse Link Monster from my field or graveyard. And in exchange, I can summon a Code Talker from my Extra Deck. So I will summon an additional Excode Talker to my already present Excode Talker's open arrow."
"Why would she do that?" Sun wondered, the second green and yellow Cyberse warrior warping into existence next to it fellow, both of them burning with the same emerald glow covering Shootingcode Talker, their attack points rising in turn (ATK 2800). "Sure they're stronger, but that's not going to mean anything against Black Rose Dragon's effect."
"Don't be so sure," Pyrrha cautioned, her bright verdant eyes eagerly observing Penny's new formation. "We know nothing about these Link Monsters. Who knows what the full effects of this new configuration are."
Yang frowned, her purple eyes darkening with worry as Black Rose Gale screeched towards Penny's field. Ruby fell back on her ace's field destruction effect whenever she faced opposition that frustrated her too much to more elegantly maneuver around it. With its sheer raw power, there wasn't much that could stand against it if she got it off. Was Penny really so skilled that she could weather it so easily?
The dark winds finally struck the Atlas girl's field. But the emerald energy wall surrounding Shootingcode Talker and the two Excode Talker merely rippled as Black Rose Dragon exploded under the force of its tempestuous attack.
"What?!" Ruby exclaimed. "How did they survive?"
"Excode Talker does not only increase the attack points of whatever monsters its arrowheads point to. It also prevents them from being destroyed by card effects," Penny revealed. "In this formation, my two Excode Talkers were able to protect each other and Shootingcode Talker from Black Rose Dragon's destruction effect."
Ruby's eyes widened, the red-hooded girl's face going pale.
"That little…" Yang grumbled, clenching her knuckles in annoyance as she glared down at Penny. She didn't dislike the Atlas Obelisk Blue, she was only giving Ruby the respect she deserved as a duelist, but her big sister instincts naturally aggravated by her little sister being so efficiently thwarted.
"She's got Ruby's number," Ren bluntly observed. "Her Link Monsters are already naturally immune to Black Rose Dragon's second effect. With this effect combination, they've become stronger than most of the monsters in her deck and protected from her ace's first effect."
"She's certainly done her homework," Nora worriedly noted. And if the bubbly Ra Yellow was starting to doubt, then Ruby really was in trouble.
Yang could almost hear the mocking laughter from the rest of Beacon to come, just like the kind that had chorused through Signal years ago. Back then, Ruby had been derided for being the daughter of the school combat dueling instructor and the little sister of the academy's top duelist and being, to quote the girl herself, "complete garbage". The mockery had disappeared after Uncle Qrow had personally taken her under his wing and gotten her to embrace her own dueling style instead of trying to just copy her big sister's and so far it hadn't reignited at Beacon. People were too flummoxed by her early entrance to wonder why the team leader of the SDC heiress and the girl who'd taken out more than half of Pyrrha Nikos' life points was only a Slifer Red.
But time made all novel things mundane, and if Jaune's experience had proven anything, it was that prospective hunting duelists filled with young adult hormones loved tearing down those they saw as weak to feel better about themselves. Yang would make anyone who insulted Ruby pay, but she couldn't be everywhere, and she'd seen just how harshly that mocking laughter had affected her precious little sister years ago…
… Wait, that was actual laughter. Right now. Coming from…
A fond smirk creased Weiss' lips. "Trust that dolt to enjoy even a duel like this."
Ruby's bright, excited laughter bubbled throughout the arena, echoing off the walls of the hardlight barrier with warmth and joy. The crimson claw mark of a dragon blazed from beneath the sleeve of her Slifer Red jacket.
Ozpin and General Ironwood leaned forward in their back-row seats. From outside the dueling dais, Professor Goodwitch subtly inched towards her duel disk.
Ren's face creased with concern, turning towards Blake and Weiss. "Pardon me for asking, but are we about to face a similar situation as during your duel?"
"I… I don't think so. I'm not feeling any magic at least," Blake frowned, reaching into her deck box and pulling out Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon, not even a flicker of a glow. "I don't think this'll cause a reaction in the rest of us."
"Of course not," Yang smiled, the pang of jealousy within her crushed by an overwhelming surge of sisterly pride. "This is the power of a Signer. All Ruby and Black Rose Dragon."
Ruby reached into her Extra Deck and pulled out a near-blank card with a white Synchro border. The crimson light from her arm washed over the uncrystallized card, its picture and text settling into existence.
"Nice job, Black Rose! If I'd known she'd needed some extra help crystalizing, I would have let someone bang my aura up a bit before this," Ruby grinned at the card. She beamed up at the stands and held up her new monster. "Hey, Weiss! I got it working! Told you that staying up late forging was a good idea!"
"Just make sure you don't mispronounce it, you dolt!" Weiss called back down with a cheeky smirk.
"She stayed up late forging the night before a promotion exam?" Sun incredulously asked.
"She was trying to forge a Polymerization by just trying every dust combination she could think of," Weiss explained with a shrug. "Of course then she had an idea for a different spell, then a different monster, and things snowballed from there. It was all I could do to get her in bed before three. In the morning."
Yang sympathetically patted the white-haired girl on the shoulder. "Pro tip, don't let her into the forge in the first place."
Weiss glared at her. "You know, you were there too."
"I was taking care of my ill father if you'll recall," Yang smirked, glancing back down to the arena below. "Now, let's see the fruits of my little sis' obsession."
"I banish Garden Rose Maiden from my graveyard to revive a Rose Dragon monster from my graveyard. Then I activate Basal Rose Shoot to summon a Rose Dragon from my graveyard in defense mode," Ruby said, twin pillars of light flaring as Black Rose Dragon and Roxrose Dragon flashed back onto her field. "Now, I tune my Level Three Roxrose Dragon with my Level Seven Black Rose Dragon!"
"She's tuning Black Rose Dragon!?" Blake exclaimed.
Indeed she was. The gorgeous Synchro Monster broke apart into seven twinkling stars, aligning into a perfect row through Roxrose Dragon's trio of emerald tuner rings.
"Body born from the speed of light! It's time for revolution! Ride forth into a world of bloody evolution!" Ruby chanted, a blinding beam of light piercing through her sparkling pillar. "Synchro Summon! Shine! Baronne de Fleur!"
A storm of pink petals erupted from the bright column, the clamor of hooves thundering through the arena. A sturdy, muscular warhorse galloped onto the battlefield, heavy armor clattering over the animal's thick hide as it positioned itself in the Extra Monster Zone in front of Shootingcode Talker. Riding the majestic creature was a knight clad in full gleaming plate, a pink floral headdress flowing behind its head as it brandished a tower shield and lance (ATK 3000/DEF 2400).
Yang's violet eyes widened the moment she saw the rider. She knew them, from years ago, though she'd never seen them mounted before.
"Fleur Synchron! Tune with Turbo Warrior! Synchro Summon! Chevalier de Fleur!"
As their mother's voice blew through her mind like a haunting ghost, Yang was filled with shame. Because she felt a second pang of jealousy stir in her heart at the sight of her sister once more bringing forth a monster connected to Summer Rose's deck without even trying.
"Woah!" Nora gasped. "Three thousand big ones! That's a badass monster for her to pull out of her butt!"
"And she even pronounced it correctly," Weiss snarked. "Only took an hour of tutoring."
Blake cocked a smug eyebrow. "Did you spend an hour at two in the morning tutoring her in properly pronouncing a romantic-era Anima language?"
"More importantly, Ruby has never used this monster before. No matter how well Penny's researched her, she doesn't have any data on it," Weiss swiftly changed the subject, proudly flipping her ponytail. "She actually said she was inspired by my elegance in its construction."
"Sure, Weiss," Blake said with a catlike smirk. "Ruby chose to use the word 'elegance'."
"This is the end!" Ruby called from below, forcefully thrusting her finger at the Excode Talker on her right. "Baronne de Fleur! Attack! Storm Flower Stampede!"
"I activate the effect of Recoded Alive in my graveyard!" Penny shouted, the trap card ejecting from her duel vest's graveyard slot. "By banishing it from my graveyard when I have no monster in the Extra Monster Zone, I can special summon one of my banished Code Talkers. So I will return Transcode Talker to Excode Talker's open link arrow."
"Oh no!" Sun yelped, Transcode Talker's spectral form beginning to take shape as Baronne de Fleur began to charge. "That means… what does that mean? I mean, it gets and gives attack to anything it's co-linked to… but, what does co-linked mean? I mean, do all the ones who are connected by those link arrows get the boost? Is that all it does?"
"I… I don't think so?" Yang said, unsure even as she spoke.
The simple truth was that they just didn't know much about how Link Monsters worked. If Transcode Talker got back to the field, who knew what it would do? Only that it would be bad for Ruby if Penny wanted it to return.
Except, Ruby was smiling.
"I activate Baronne de Fleur's special ability," she announced. "Once while it's on the field, it can negate one card or effect and destroy it!"
Baronne de Fleur flourished its tower shield, the petals swirling around the knight flurrying across the field. Transcode Talker's spectral form was cut to pieces by the pink swarm, returned to banishment as Recoded Alive's effect was shut down.
"Yes!" Sun called, throwing his arms into the air in triumph. "Sidestepped it entirely!"
"Agreed! It was a sensational move!" Penny concurred with a smile. "It seems that I miscalculated your chances at victory."
"Glad I could surpass your expectations," Ruby smiled. "Baronne de Fleur! Continue the attack! End this!"
The mounted knight reared up its mighty steed and charged for the Excode Talker on her right, its lance extended to strike. With an elegant yet tempestuous thrust, the Synchro rider impaled the emerald Cyberse monster through its torso. The cybernetic warrior shattered into pieces, the rubble of its corpse streaking toward Penny to finish her scant life points off. In the stands, Yang spotted General Ironwood shooting to his feet in shock and terror.
Only for Penny to discard the last card in her hand and conjure a nimble white and orange warrior to deflect the incoming monster rumble.
"During damage calculation when my Cyberse monster is attacked, I can discard Rescue Interlacer to prevent myself from taking any battle damage," Penny revealed. "Your chance of victory has only risen to three-point-zero-four percent."
Yang noticed General Ironwood let out a sigh of relief at his student's close save, the uniformed man retaking his seat next to Headmaster Ozpin.
"Darn it!" Nora exclaimed, smashing her fist into the stands' railing. "She was so close!"
"Don't get so wound up," Weiss lightly reprimanded, though she couldn't hide the frown marring her own face.
Yang gulped, reestablishing a devil-may-care grin on her face. "Yeah. Just because Ruby missed this shot doesn't mean she's out of the duel."
"I activate Baronne de Fleur's other effect!" Ruby announced. "Once per turn, it can destroy any card on the field. And since Excode Talker is still protecting Shootingcode Talker, I'll just have to take it out instead."
Baronne de Fleur raised its lance, vigorously pointing at its target. A bolt of lightning cracked free from the steel weapon's tip and vaporized the second Excode Talker.
Without its companion, the green energy aura faded from Shootingcode Talker, the digital archer's shoulders stooping as it was deprived of its power boost (ATK 2300).
"See?" Yang said, nudging Nora with her elbow. "She's got this. Penny blew away her field last turn, and in one go and a bit of magic, Ruby took back control of the field."
"I end my turn," Ruby said, ejecting a Baobaboon from her graveyard, a drooping gaggle of fiery flowers rising onto her field in defense mode (ATK 2200/DEF 0). "During my End Phase, I banish a Plant-Type from graveyard to activate the effect of my Phoenixian Cluster Amaryllis, letting it summon itself from the graveyard in defense position."
"Bonus! She got that annoying thing out," Yang added. "So that's what she sent to the graveyard with White Rose Dragon."
"How ironic," Penny said, Rescue Interlacer rising up onto her field (ATK 1000/DEF 1200). "I also have a monster revive to my field during the End Phase. Rescue Interlacer returns from the graveyard during the end of the turn when it used its discard effect."
"And like that, she has another resource," Pyrrha worriedly observed.
"Yeah, one Level Three with only a thousand attack points," Yang argued. "Meanwhile, Phoenixian Cluster Amaryllis is one of Ruby's most dangerous monsters, especially for Penny's current life points. That thing gets destroyed in any way, that's eight hundred points of damage straight to her face. She can't win even if she overpowers it."
Pyrrha's concern did not leave her face as Penny drew for her turn. "She may not need to."
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"During the Standby Phase, I activate Baronne de Fleur's third effect. It returns to my Extra Deck," Ruby proclaimed, her mounted warrior suddenly surrounded by a rushing cyclone of flower petals. "In exchange, I can revive a Level Nine or lower monster in my graveyard. I choose Chirubime, Princess of Autumn Leaves."
The pink petal tornado blew apart to reveal the elegant flower royalty returned in defense mode (ATK 1800/DEF 2800).
Penny's systems immediately reassessed the board state, calculating which Plant-Type monster Ruby was most likely planning to summon if it was destroyed. There were several possible options, even more if her friend had expanded her main deck similarly as she had her Extra Deck with Baronne de Fleur. It would be best to maximize her available options before deciding on a course of action.
"Like you, I activate Pot of Greed and draw two cards," she announced, her Floating Array ejecting two more cards from the top of her deck. She quickly scanned her new options and placed one on her duel vest, a small robotic fish materializing on her field (ATK 0/DEF 0). "I summon Formud Skipper. Appear! The circuit that innovates the future! Confirming arrowhead. Bottom middle. Link Summon! Link-1! Linkuriboh!"
Formud Skipperdashed into the circuit that appeared, a tiny blue sphere with a green viewscreen merrily popping out the other side with a peppy cheer, wagging its arrowhead tail as it settled in Penny's Extra Monster Zone (ATK 300).
"You have a link version of a Kuriboh?" Ruby queried, pleasantly surprised.
"The general has an associate who uses the original version, so I got it in my head to try to make my own version," Penny smiled, happily petting Linkuriboh as it rushed back from its zone for headpats for a moment. "Also, when Formud Skipper is sent to the graveyard as Link Material, I can add a Level Five or higher Cyberse monster from my deck to my hand. I choose Parallel eXceed."
The Atlas girl's optical sensors apprised her new hand, particularly Parallel eXceed. Through its effect, she had two options after she performed her opening move, one that could bring out an additional Link-2 of adequate power, or a different monster of more substantial power, but with a certain vulnerability to Ruby's deck.
Yet, after analyzing the possible avenues and the support she'd have for the monster on the field, she decided that the risk was a calculated one. And the Ignis girl was exceptionally good at math.
"Ruby, my friend," Penny called across the field. "You wanted me to challenge you with all my strength. I shall oblige you with the most advanced Link Monster I have yet developed for my deck."
Ruby raised her duel disk with an eager grin. "Bring it on!"
Penny nodded, outstretching her arms and beginning the aura computations for the summon. "Appear! The circuit that innovates the future!"
The square grid materialized in the monster zone behind Linkuriboh. The Ignis girl efficiently morphed Shootingcode Talker and Rescue Interlacer's aura bodies into more mercurial forms, inserting them into a quartet of link arrows around the circuit's perimeter. Once they were in place, the gateway within began to pulse with fast-building power.
"Confirming arrowheads. Top center. Middle right. Middle left. Bottom center," Penny declared, the natural efficiency of her summoning method, transferring the materials' aura to the new monster's body in less than a second. "Link Summon! Link-4! Firewall Dragon!"
A blinding comet erupted from the opposite side of the circuit and shot into the monster zone, hovering in midair and shining like a fallen star. Chiming digital cubes rippled over the raw energy, sculpting it, molding it. Penny didn't know if she was capable of true artistic expression, but she found she could not classify the white and blue dragon she'd crafted as anything but art (ATK 2500).
"Beautiful," Ruby whispered, awe permeating her voice. "This is your strongest Link Monster?"
"The strength of Link Monsters is a situational matter. In the right configuration, many of my monsters can be stronger than Firewall Dragon," Penny said, flipping around the monster card in her hand. "Since I have summoned a Link Monster, I can summon Parallel eXceed from my hand by its own effect to a zone Firewall Dragon points to. It also then summons another Parallel eXceed from my deck. Due to being summoned by a Parallel eXceed's effect, both of them will have their attack and defense points halved and their levels become four."
Two metallic wyverns manifested before her, each creature's quartet of wings flared out behind them (ATK 1000/DEF 1000).
Ruby's eyes narrowed. "Two level fours… wait, you don't mean–"
"I build the Overlay Network with my two Level Four Parallel eXceed!" Penny announced.
Floating Array's swords folded in on each other until they formed an 'X' shape over her chest. From each of their tips, purple streams of data shot into the air, coalescing in a violet gateway with a swirling blue galaxy within.
It was not a normal Overlay Network, but Penny found this instinctive avenue of hers to be much more efficient with her aura than her attempts to utilize the traditional Xyz Summon method. She just wished she'd been able to get an effective read on the glimmering foil-like card at the center of the spiraling galaxy. The barest flickers of its power that she'd been able to catch and analyze had been fascinating and a great help to her research. To think the thinnest strands of its code could contain traces of all six magic types.
The two Parallel eXceeds morphed into energy nodes and shot into the violet gateway, a supernova bursting forth from the pocket of space.
"The wall of power that annihilates the boundary of order and chaos! Manifest as the dragon's fangs!" Penny chanted. "Xyz Summon! Rank Four! Firewall eXceed Dragon!"
A cybernetic dragon similar to Firewall Dragon expanded forth from the cosmic storm. But this draconic beast was a deep purple instead of blue and white, lacking the circles adorning the Link Monster's head and wings. Its thinner wings were also orbited by a pair of orange Overlay Units as it landed in the Monster Zone to the right of its Link-4 cousin (ATK 2500/DEF 2000).
"Woah! I've never seen an Xyz Summon like that before," Ruby gasped. "Though, I'm not sure how it helps you. Neither of those monsters has more attack than Chirubime's defense."
"Inaccurate," Penny smiled, eager to make things clearer to her dear friend. "Firewall eXceed Dragon gains five hundred attack points for each link arrow possessed by the Link Monsters linked to it."
Firewall eXceed Dragon let out a ferocious roar as energy wisped off of Linkuriboh and its own Link counterpart, violet electricity crackling over its draconic form (ATK 5000).
"Oh," Ruby blinked, only for her smile to quickly return. "That's more like it! Take your best shot!"
"With pleasure!" Penny proclaimed, a joy filling her the likes of which she'd never experienced before. She liked her past duels well enough, and this one couldn't even be said to be the most challenging. But something about facing off with her friend, about facing off with Ruby's simple love of the duel, made it so much more enjoyable. "Firewall eXceed Dragon! Attack Chirubime, Princess of Autumn Leaves! Rising Crypt Limit!"
Enormous blue energy wings flashed out from Firewall eXceed Dragon's thin limbs, a maelstrom of power surging out from their creation. The electricity swiftly folded in on itself and the sleek dragon fired off a sheering X-shaped blast from its maw, Chirubime cut to pieces as it crackled across the field.
Ruby immediately began searching through her deck. "Just like last time, when Chirubime is destroyed, I can summon any Plant-Type monster in my deck."
"Indeed," Penny nodded. "Which one do you choose?"
Ruby grinned as she flipped around her chosen creature's card. "Nettles."
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"Nettles?" Sun muttered, confused.
Weiss groaned as a clump of grass with cartoonish angry eyes and a feral mouth forming its face as it manifested in defense mode on her partner's field (ATK 1200/DEF 400). "Sometimes I can't fathom the random monsters she puts in her deck."
Yang chuckled. "Yeah, she's got some strange ones in there. But it does let her come up with some out-of-the-box moves. Plus, I gotta admit, I like the cut of that angry grass' jib."
"Yeah, yeah, uhuh, uhuh," Nora nodded. "So… what does Nettles do?"
"When it would be destroyed, another Plant-Type on the field can be destroyed instead," Blake revealed. "So if Penny attacks it…"
"Boom goes Amaryllis," Yang finished. "And boom goes her life points."
"So just don't attack," Sun shrugged. "Doesn't seem that hard a problem as long as she can put up some kind of defense for that phoenix flower's attack."
"That might be an option," Weiss admitted. "Except Nettles is also a Level Two tuner."
Nora and Sun quirked their heads to the side, only for their eyes to slowly widen in realization.
"Phoenixian Cluster Amaryllis is Level Eight," Nora said. "Which means–"
"-Ruby can resummon Baronne de Fleur during her turn and steamroll any defense Penny sets up," Sun finished.
"Bingo," Yang winked. "Which means Penny is trapped–"
"I activate Firewall Dragon's special ability! Emergency Escape!" Penny proclaimed.
Yang paled, Pyrrha shooting her a sympathetic wince. "You were saying?"
Firewall Dragon's circular headpiece crackled with azure electricity. The cybernetic dragon flapped its wings, its shriek echoing across the field as its lightning surged into Phoenixian Cluster Amaryllis, the cluster of flaming flowers vanishing from the field as its card flashed into Ruby's hand.
"Once while it's on the field, Firewall Dragon can send monsters from the field or graveyard back to their owners' hands, up to the number of monsters co-linked to it," Penny explained, Linkuriboh flexing its tail with pride at the contribution of its co-link. "Your defensive strategy was clever, but you should not underestimate my versatility. Firewall Dragon attacks Nettles! Tempest Attack!"
Firewall Dragon's wings threw themselves back into an electrical array. The lines of blue light on its body turned a dangerous crimson, power fluctuated into crackling energy orb in its maw. The array generated a circular buffer field behind it as the mighty beast unleashed an enormous pulse of thunder to wipe Nettles off the field. Ruby threw her arms in front of her and hunkered down to keep from being completely blown back by the smoke and shockwave of the attack.
"Linkuriboh!" Penny called. "Direct attack!"
Ruby lowered her arms and looked up as the smug cleared, only to find Linkuriboh hovering above her. The dark blue digital gremlin thrust its arrowhead tail towards her, the Slifer Red raising her hands to shield her face from the adorable cyber ball.
"Hey! Hey!" Ruby adorably pleaded. "Watch the eyes! I still haven't figured out how to make them do cool magic stuff yet!"
Ruby Rose: 3700 Life Points
Linkuriboh puffed up in victory and dashed back to its Extra Monster Zone, Penny shooting it a proud smile. "I end my turn."
"And just like that, Penny has control of the field back," Pyrrha wryly observed.
"Oh my gods!" Nora groaned, collapsing over the railing, Ren swooping in to massage her back. "How many more times is this duel going to go back and forth like this? It's great, but it's not good for my heart."
"I'm amazed It's still going," Blake confessed, the cat faunus' amber eyes streaking back and forth between the two duelists as Ruby drew for her turn. "Between Ruby's magic instant crystalization and Penny's brand-new summoning styles, you'd think one of them would have overwhelmed the other by now."
"One will soon enough," Pyrrha assessed. "They're both on fumes. One card in hand each and they're going topdeck to topdeck now."
"Except Ruby's one card is a brick," Yang murmured. "If she doesn't pull something good–"
"I activate Trade-In!" Ruby declared, sending Phoenixian Cluster Amaryllis from her hand to the grave and pulling two more cards from her deck. "I discard one Level Eight monster and draw two cards."
Weiss smirked. "She often does."
"I activate Earthquake!" Ruby yelled, sliding a spell from her hand into Crescent Rose. "Every monster on the field switches to defense mode."
"Darn it!" Sun exclaimed, banging a fist on the railing. "Even with that Baobaboon cycling, it was only a matter of time before she got stuck with one of those battle position shifters–"
"Penny has an Xyz Monster on the field," Blake reminded him.
"Oh," Sun said, his freakout for his friend abated as Firewall eXceed Dragon took a knee a sideways card formed under it. "Oh right!"
"She has an opening!" Yang cheered, pumping a fist in relief. ""Penny gave her an opening!"
"I activate Monster Reborn!" Ruby announced, slamming the final card in her hand into her duel disk and conjuring the iconic spell card before her. "And with its power, I resurrect Black Rose Dragon!"
A blazing pillar of pink light flared behind the Beacon Slifer Red, her scarlet hood billowing behind her as a confident grin dominated her lips. A storm of rose petals surged through the air as a shrill roar boomed through the arena. The black dragon with majestic flower plumage returned to its Signer's field, ready for battle (ATK 2400/DEF 1800).
Ruby reached into her graveyard a removed a Baobaboon from its depths. "I activate Black Rose Dragon's special ability! By banishing a Plant-Type monster in my graveyard, I change one defense position monster on your field to attack mode and reduce its attack points to zero. Go! Rose Restriction!"
Black Rose Dragon's thorny vines shot out from its gorgeous plumage and wrapped around Firewall eXceed Dragon. The violet cybernetic monster whimpered as it was yanked up into attack mode, its body dimming as its strength was sapped away (ATK 0).
"Yes!" Weiss hollered, ladylike decorum forgotten in her celebration of her partner. "I told you that she had this!"
"Battle! Black Rose Dragon attacks Firewall eXceed Dragon!" Ruby shouted. "Black Rose Flare!"
The beautiful Signer Dragon reeled its head back, building a bonfire of hissing purple flames. All at once, the majestic creature thrust forward and unleashed a brilliant beam of violet fire.
Only for Linkurbioh to defiantly fly into its path.
The cybernetic ball fizzled into a sphere of bright blue data and expanded. Black Rose Dragon's attack crashed into the new obstruction, the lavender flames utterly halted (ATK 0).
Ruby blinked in befuddlement. "Huh?"
"Huh?" Sun stammered.
"Huh!?" Weiss exclaimed. "What happened?! She had her!"
"Did she?" Pyrrha lightly queried, her studious eyes never leaving Penny.
Yang concurred with the Invincible Girl, even though her eyes had been elsewhere than the duel arena when the attack had fired. After all, General Ironwood hadn't even flinched as Black Rose Dragon had borne down on his top student.
"I believe an explanation may be required. When one of your monsters declares an attack, Linkuriboh may be sacrificed to reduce that monster's attack points to zero for the rest of the turn," Penny revealed. "My apologies. Were you under the impression that I would summon a monster that was vulnerable to your deck's standard tactics without preparing a defense?"
"Heh. Well, now that you mention it…" Ruby bashfully chuckled. "I end my turn. During the End Phase, I banish my last Baobaboon from my graveyard to bring Phoenixian Cluster Amaryllis back from my graveyard."
The bouquet of fiery flowers (ATK 2200/DEF 0) returned to the field just as Black Rose Dragon (ATK 2400) and Firewall eXceed Dragon's (ATK 4500) attack points returned to normal.
"Ruby's never been one not to take a shot at victory when she saw it," Yang mused. "But at least she got Amaryllis back in her graveyard. Penny can't use Firewall Dragon's bounce effect to get around it again."
"Then it comes down to Penny's topdeck," Blake surmised. "If she can't win this turn, then Ruby will just crash Phoenixian Cluster Amaryllis into Firewall Dragon next turn and win with the effect damage."
"One more round," Pyrrha definitively stated. "One more round and one way or another, this duel will be over."
"My turn! I draw!" Penny declared, eschewing her duel vest's automatic ejection system to excitedly pull out her deck's top card herself.
And the moment she saw it, she grinned with victory.
"I normal summon Cyberse Synchron!" she announced, a small circular disc appearing before her (ATK 100/DEF 100).
Of course, Yang's face had already gone pale at her last word. "Synchron?"
She knew that mom hadn't been the only duelist to play Synchrons. Heck, the reason she'd started out with them was the simple fact that they were so dirt common that even an orphan girl with a dream like her could scrounge together a half-decent deck of them. But to her mind, she could see nothing but Summer Rose when one of them hit the field and be consumed by memories of happier days long past.
Maybe that was why, despite how common the cards were, neither she nor Ruby had dared to play them.
"Since I have a Cyberse monster on my field, I can special summon Backup Secretary from my hand," Penny said, a woman in a fancy getup and purple cape flashing onto her field (ATK 1200/DEF 800). "I then activate Cyberse Synchron's special ability, doubling Backup Secratary's level from three to six."
Ruby gulped. "Doubling the level?"
"That can only mean one thing," Blake worriedly muttered.
"You're kidding me," Weiss hissed, whirling on Sun. "I thought you said she could Link Summon, not use every single summoning style in her first year!"
Sun sheepishly shrugged. "The second coming of the Kaiserin."
It said a lot that those words successfully admonished the SDC heiress, fearfully turning back to the arena.
"I tune Level One Cyberse Synchron with Level Six Backup Secratary!" Penny yelled.
Cyberse Synchron transformed into an emerald tuner ring, but flatter, and broken up into little bits of data. Meanwhile Backup Secratary flattened into six purple discs, rotating within each others' circumfrance. The two sets of swirling rings vertically aligned and collapsed together, only to suddenly expand back out as a single column of blue rings as light flooded through them.
"Flash of lightning! Strikes from the far reaches of the universe with your unknown power! Synchro Summon!" Penny chanted, clasping her hands together. "Level Seven! Cyberse Quantum Dragon!"
A sleek white dragon burst forth from the pillar of light, its wings curved and designed like the fastest of Atlas manta rays as it jetted around the field fast as lightning (ATK 2500/DEF 2000).
"Okay, seriously, what was that? I have seen a lot of Synchro Summons since I got here, and none of them looked like that," Nora asked. "And that Xyz Summon earlier, that was no normal Overlay Network, right?"
Ren shrugged. "She's worked with her father to create an entirely new summoning method. Perhaps she's found alternate methods of performing old ones too."
Nora tapped her chin for a few moments before shrugging. "Makes sense."
"Battle!" Penny commanded. "Cyberse Quantum Dragon attacks Phoenixian Cluster Amaryllis!"
"What?!" Sun exclaimed. "Why would she do that?"
"At the start of the Damage Step, Cyberse Quantum Dragon's effect activates," Penny revealed. "The monster he's battling is returned to your hand, and he can attack again in a row."
"Oh," Sun paled. "That's why."
Cyberse Quantum Dragon's body blazed with a blinding white glow. In the blink of an eye, it'd blurred through Phoenixian Cluster Amaryllis, the cluster of flowers bounced back to Ruby's hand. In the next instant, it rammed straight through Black Rose Dragon, the gorgeous Signer Dragon blown to smithereens.
Ruby Rose: 3600 Life Points
"Firewall Dragon! Firewall eXceed Dragon! End this!" Penny called. "Double Tempest Crypt!"
Firewall Dragon burned bright red. Firewall eXceed Dragon's energy wings flared to life. Then as one, the twin dragons of Link and Xyz unleash their beams of crackling energy, the columns of boiling power spiraling together as they crashed done on the girl in the red hood with a thunderous crash of smoke.
Ruby Rose: 0 LP
Winner: Penny Polendina
Weiss, Blake, Sun, and Nora's faces all fell.
"It's over," Yang glumly relented. It never felt good to see her little sis lose. "Took the strongest duelist in Atlas with no restrictions and a brand new summoning style to bring her down."
Ren nodded. "After a duel like that, I can't imagine anyone saying either of them isn't worthy of less than the highest respect."
"Indeed," Pyrrha concurred, her emerald eyes excitedly locked onto Penny as the Atlas girl's monsters faded with the hardlight barrier. "You don't see duelists like that every day."
Penny skipped across the field to Ruby, the smoke clearing to reveal the red-hooded girl on one knee, her head bowed with her dark bangs covering her silver eyes.
"Ruby?" Penny asked. "Oh, are you alright? I know you asked for everything I had, but that might have been too–"
"Hahahahahaha!" Ruby laughed, shooting to her feet with an enormous, genuine grin. "That was awesome! Oh, man, I thought I had you there a few times. But those combos of yours were so cool!"
"Thank you. Your dueling was also sensational," Penny complimented. "I made specific plans to handle your Black Rose Dragon, but I do not know if I would have been able to counter your Baronne de Fleur if you resummoned it at full strength."
"Oh, you definitely would have," Ruby waved off. "The only people I've seen with tactics that versatile are my uncle and Pyrrha."
Yang smiled softly as she watched her sister excitedly chat her opponent up. To think she'd been worried about Ruby making friends when they'd come to Beacon. The silver-eyed girl would live her life on the duel field if she could. Heck, as excited as she was about it, finding out that she was a Signer was almost an afterthought to her personality. She already wanted to help people however she could. Win or lose, she'd stand tall.
Win or lose… she didn't need Yang.
"Hey, I know I lost our bet," Ruby said. "But do you think maybe…"
The red-hooded girl glanced up at General Ironwood. She leaned into Penny's ear and whispered her next words rather than let those in the bleachers overhear.
After a few moments, she pulled away and awaited Penny's response. A beaming smile and an enthusiastic nod.
"Oh no," Weiss groaned. "What did she just do?"
"Either she just convinced Penny to teach her how to Link Summon even though she lost, or well," Yang turned to Weiss and planted a firm hand on the heiress' shoulder. "I'm sorry, Ice Queen. I don't know how to tell you this in a way that won't hurt… they're going steady."
Weiss' eyebrow twitched at the golden-haired girl. "I have a giant dragon. Multiple giant dragons. I can feed you to them."
"I wouldn't recommend it," Yang teased. "I tend to come out the other end with a Yang, if you know what I mean–Ow!"
"Boo!" Nora called, an eggwich she'd been storing somewhere bouncing off Yang's illustrious hair.
Yang sighed. Yeah. Boo her.
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"Ms. Rose has a Fusion Monster?!" Glynda exclaimed. "How in the world did she get that?"
"She's on the same team as the Odd-Eyed Bandit," Ironwood suggested. "Perhaps she gave it to her? She may even be trying to recruit her to The Queen's side–"
"Don't be ridiculous," Glynda brushed aside. "Ms. Belladonna's barely willing to use Fusions herself. She wouldn't give Ms. Rose one even if she begged her."
"So she appears," the general posited. "How do we know that reluctance isn't a facade? A ruse to get an agent in Beacon? Qrow's message said that–"
"The Queen has pawns," Ozpin finished, leaning back in his desk's seat as his two lieutenants turned to him. Thank goodness they'd returned to his office before they'd begun this discussion. "For now though, we shall continue to take Ms. Belladonna at her word. If only to put her, Ms. Schnee, and Ms. Rose at ease as we observe them."
"Those three?" Ironwood said, his brow furrowing as he put the pieces together. "Pendulum Dragon, Xyz Dragon, Fusion Dragon…"
"I don't suppose there's a Synchro Dragon out and about," Glynda snarked.
Ozpin pursed his lips in concern. "There might be."
His efforts to check Ms. Rose's mystical progress had been a success, observing how much of a natural she was with her Signer Mark's Light Magic. But nothing from her eyes or this new dragon. He didn't even know if she was capable of summoning the Fusion Monster.
More observation was necessary. Ms. Schnee and Ms. Belladonna's clash had arisen naturally. Perhaps more clues to the dragons' true power and the Synchro Dragon's location would reveal themselves if Team RWBY were left to their own devices.
The foes they would likely encounter in those activities were sure to challenge them enough to invoke that power if it was there.
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"... Amitola and Torchwick will be running the rallies for the next few weeks, while the big guy with the chainsaw duel disk is gonna recruit from the underground duel circuit," Emerald read off from her intelligence report. "Taurus has also sent him some prototype Fusion Cards he's been working on, which could be troublesome–"
"As long as he keeps the Mountain Glenn preparations on track, the Blood-Soaked Bull can play with his trinkets all he wants," Cinder cut her off.
The Queen could pin her hopes on one of these lowlifes lucking into the card they needed all she wanted. Once Cinder claimed the maidens' powers and claimed the God Cards from the vaults, she would forge the card of the King, and claim her dominion over the new god and all of Remnant.
And the next step to that triumph and the power she deserved, was in the CCT tower outside her new dorm room.
"Mercury, report," Cinder commanded of her silver-haired minion. "What events are there before The Breach that could draw Ozpin and Ironwood's attention?"
The brute shrugged. "There's a dance and tag-duel showcase the night before the away missions. That work?"
"Tag-duel showcase?" a cruel smirk spread across Cinder's lips. "That will do nicely. You two should get practicing. You'll need to put on a show."
A stepping stone on her rise to supreme power.
The end of this duel went through a few different versions, as I wanted to find the perfect way to end it, but Penny showing off just how skilled she is by busting out Firewall Dragon and its Xyz and Synchro counterparts to outmaneuver and overwhelm Ruby. I enjoyed combining the Risk theme of the story with Ruby's innocent enjoyment of dueling. It'll be a lot of fun to break down that image she holds in her mind as the Beacon Arc continues.
Alrighty, Promotion Exams Arc is over. I am proud of how the duels turned out, but I'm still not overly thrilled about it taking six whole chapters. Adding nine chapters worth of original content to Volume 2, over half of Volume 1's total chapter count... with any luck, I can keep the rest of the Volume's duels to the planned lengths.
Remember to check out and add to this story's TVTROPES PAGE! I check my stories' pages often and I always enjoy it when they grow. :)
Thank you for Reading! I hope you enjoy what comes next!
Go Forth and Conquer!