Luna was walking along the halls of the school. Many students saw the Vice-Principal as they quickly got out of her way with some zooming away to their classroom to avoid being in trouble with the cold woman. Luna kept a close eye for any troublemakers as many kids cringed in fear at the woman walking by. Luna stopped as she looked around; many students glanced at the woman, waiting to see what she would do. The Vice-Principal brought her hand up to her mouth and coughed into it. All the students disappeared in the blink of an eye to avoid going to her office.
Luna was left as a smile appeared on her face.
"I love my job," snickered the woman as she took some fun in making the students fear her as if she was an evil nightmare.
A knocking was heard as a fist was banging on a door.
"Pipp! Pipp!" shouted Mario.
"I'm coming!" shouted the girl, annoyed by the persistent knocking coming from her dorm room. She opened the door, and there was her crush as she was slightly perturbed. "Why are you constantly banging on my door? I'm streaming!"
"That's why!" said the boy as he reached into his backpack and pulled out some folders filled with papers. "Here's the work from your classes."
"Thanks. You're a lifesaver with how many hours I've been putting in at Mane Melody."
"Yeah, yeah, don't mention it," said the boy as he dismissed Pipp's statement. "Alright, I'm leaving."
"You sure you don't want to come in?" asked the girl as she twirled a strand of her hair. "I can..."
"Nice try. Vice-Principal Luna would kill me if she found me in a girl's room after curfew," stated the teen as he began to leave, Pipp was hoping she'd get to spend some time with Mario.
In Celestia's office, the woman was on the phone with someone as they discussed business.
"So, are we in agreeance?" asked the woman as she leaned back and put her fingers together.
"Yes. Celestia. I believe I can fulfill your requests. The only question is: what level of expertise do you want?" asked the person on the other phone.
"Need I remind you of who they are," said Celestia with a smile.
"Well, then... I'll have a talk with her. See if she's willing to take the challenge."
"I look forward to it," said the woman as she hung up. Celestia then picked up the phone and began dialing some pads. The phone rang for a bit before it was connected. "Hello?"
Roll was in her dorm room as she sat in the living room. Her cards were spread out in front of her as she just looked at them. The sound of the door was heard as Mario entered. The girl saw her brother heading up to his room, as she sighed. Roll had tried to convince her big brother to practice and prepare for their tag duel, but he was so against it. Even their friends felt like Mario's stubbornness was dragging his sister down, that he was screwing her over by not practicing or even going to show up for their scheduled match.
Yet... Roll defend him. She defended her big brother. Despite some of the badmouth that could be said about Mario's attitude toward his sister, Roll still stood by his side. Maybe because she was his sibling, or she saw something in Mario that nobody else could see. And whatever it was... it gave her a sense of hope. Hope her brother might change his mind... or at least show-up and support her.
The girl's duel disk was beeping as she received an incoming message. She tapped it open and saw that it was from Celestia. The principal informed the girl that she'd found opponents for her and Mario. At the same time, Mario was upstairs as he lay on his bed, facing the wall. The envelope that Roll had slid under his door the night of the championship duel was shown on his nightstand.
The next day came as CHS was in a frenzy. Mainly because Principal Celestia had informed the entire school the day prior that Mario and Roll's scheduled duel would be taking place. And today, today... their opponents would be arriving at CHS. And the rumor was that whoever the woman had managed to get a hold of was someone from her past.
A small group of CHS students, which included Roll and the others, apart from Mario, were shown behind Celestia and Luna. The siblings had gathered the group in the school's parking lot as they eagerly awaited the opponents they managed to select. They didn't wait long as a black limousine turned the corner down the street and drove towards the school. Behind it came a school bus. The limo turned into the parking lot and stopped with the back door aligned with the stairs leading down to the field. The school bus stopped on the roadside and opened its doors.
Students clad in purple and blue uniforms filed off the bus and stood in a group opposite the CHS students. More than a few dirty looks and obscene gestures passed between the opposing student bodies, mostly from the group that had appeared as the logo on their preppy uniforms stood out. The door to the limo swung open.
A tall man with pale grey skin in a dark grey suit and a red ruffled shirt stood out of the limo. He took a moment to adjust his jacket and then turned to offer a hand to the pale, light grayish cerise-skinned woman who stepped out behind him. The woman was shown as she had pale, light grayish-purple eyes. She also had moderate violet with brilliant rose and pale gold streaks in her hair. She took the hand, stood up, a silver briefcase in her other hand, and stood beside him. The pair saw Celestia and Luna as they smiled.
"Principal Celestia, Vice-Principal Luna. It's been too long. You are looking well." The man took the offered hand and shook it twice, then turned it and bowed to press his lips to the back of it briefly.
"Good to see you again, Principal Sombra. Seems you're still quite the charmer," said Celestia, retracting her hand as she saw her old friend's face from when they were younger.
"Welcome back," responded Luna in a blunt tone.
"We're honored to be back here," said the woman in the limo with Principal Sombra.
"Well, then, shall we give you a tour," suggested Celestia as she began to lead her students away.
Sombra and Luna followed her as the woman who came with the principal of Crystal Prep Academy turned to address the students that came.
"Everyone gather your things and meet in the auditorium. We'll begin arrangements as soon as possible."
"Yes, Dean Cadance!" responded the CPA students as they began to get their stuff from the bus.
Celestia and Luna were with Sombra as they were giving their old friend a tour of their school to see some of the changes from the last time he visited. As for our main cast, they were eyeing the students of CPA that had decided to accompany Sombra and Cadance. Despite the rivalry between the two schools being less fierce than in the past, the students still prided themselves on proving they were the best. Some gave stern glances at the students of CHS as they passed them in the hallways.
"Guess Principal Celestia decided to call in the big guns," said Zipp, as she could tell that if their principal was reaching out to their school rival, it meant that Roll and Mario's duel wouldn't be a walk in the park.
"From what I've heard, Crystal Prep and Canterlot High are school enemies," said Sunny as she recalled reading about the rivalry between the two in the library.
"Are you ready?" asked Hitch.
"Ready as I'll ever be," said Roll as she looked at her deck.
The friends went to the Duel Arena as both schools were packed. Most of the seats were full as a few students were in the upper levels, all leaning over the railing and looking at the field below. In the center were Celestia and Sombra, as the woman had a microphone in her hand.
"Welcome, everyone! Let us warmly welcome Principal Sombra and the students of Crystal Prep!"
The students of CHS all applauded as they showed some respect to their guests.
"Now then, I'm sure you all know why we're here. But before we begin the scheduled tag duel, Principal Sombra and I have a little surprise for you all."
Luna and Cadance then approached the pair as they each had suitcases. They opened them and presented the contents to the pair; Celestia and Sombra reached into the suitcases and pulled out some Duel Disks. Sombra withdrew a Crystal Prep duel disk, colored dark grey with red details, and slid it on his wrist. Celestia stood from the table with a gold and white disk on her arm.
"Oh boy," Izzy said.
The two schools cheered loudly as the two principals walked onto the field and turned to face each other.
"An exhibition duel," Sunny said.
The display boards lit up with Celestia and Sombra's portraits and field displays. Celestia raised her arm and turned on her duel disk; the card tray came online and projected an energy card tray that matched her hair. Sombra lifted his arm in front of him, a holographic tray of red light projecting from the outer edge of his disk.
"Well, Tia. May I have this duel?" asked Sombra in a gentlemen person as he extended his hand.
"The pleasure is all mine, Sombra," responded Celestia in a smooth and flirty tone as the pair prepared to battle.
"Opponent detected. Duel mode set. Initiating. Commencing duel." said their Duel Disks.
Celestia's Life Points: 8000-
Sombra's Life Points: 8000-
Celestia's portrait lit up.
Turn 1: Celestia (Hand 5)
"The first turn is mine." Celestia picked up her opening hand and spread them out before she drew. She smiled and slid one of them into her duel disk. "I activate the spell card, Cards From The Sky. So, I banish Harvest Angel of Wisdom from my hand to draw two cards, but I'm forbidden from Special Summoning this turn."
Celestia looked at her new cards and held one of them out. "Next, I activate the continuous spell card, The Sanctum of Parshath." A large marble temple sparkled into place behind Celestia, a large flight of stairs leading up to an altar depicting a winged warrior with a shield and sword.
"With my spell in play, all of my Fairy-type monsters gain 300 points, and my face-down spell and trap cards cannot be targeted or destroyed by card effects. Next, I summon Shining Angel(1400/800) in attack mode." A beam of light shined down in front of Celestia. An angel in a white robe with large wings descended before her, crossing his arms (1400/800 → 1700/1100).
"I then set one card and end my turn."
Turn 2: Sombra (Hand 5)
Sombra's duel disk beeped and ejected a card. He picked it up, slid it into his hand, and looked over his array. After several seconds of silence, he raised his eyes to Celestia. "I activate the continuous spell card Dark Contract with the Gate." A swirling dark portal appeared on the ground in front of Sombra. A black claw emerged from it, a scroll sealed with black wax held in its grasp. The wax broke open, and the scroll unfurled to reveal glowing red scripture.
"This card affords me the right to add a 'D/D' monster from my deck to my hand each turn. In exchange for this benefit, I will take 1000 points of damage during each of my standby phases." A card slid out of his deck. "I will invoke this power now and add to my hand D/D Swirl Slime'"
"D/D?" Pipp asked.
"Different Dimension monsters," Roll stated.
"So, what's the low down on them?" asked Hitch.
"They're supposed to be really tough," Roll said. "But they're pretty pricey to try and put together a deck of them."
"Not like the head of Crystal Prep worries about money," Zipp finished. The others just nodded.
Sombra pulled two cards from his hand. "I now activate the effect of D/D Swirl Slime. I conduct a Fusion Summon using cards in my hand, including Swirl Slime itself! I fuse together D/D Swirl Slime and 'D/D Lilith'!" A swirling vortex appeared behind Sombra. A green and red woman with a vine-like body, and a green slime with green claws, appeared before the vortex and were drawn into it. Sombra clasped his hands together and bowed his head, his eyes closed. "Demon of slime and demon of petals, combine your powers and invoke the form of a blazing demon king!"Sombra raised his head and opened his eyes. "I Fusion Summon! Awaken, D/D/D Flame King Genghis(2000/1500)!"
A fireball shot out of the fusion vortex onto Sombra's field. The flames burned away to reveal a knight in deep purple and blue armor, a massive red shield and sword in his hands. He stood tall and snapped his sword out to the side, flames bursting around it.
Sombra lifted a card in his hand and thrust it onto his card tray. "I now summon D/D Berfomet(1400/1800)." A demonic humanoid yellow eagle rose from a portal before Sombra, eyes glowing red. "I then activate the effect of D/D Lamia in my hand. By sending my Dark Contract with the Gate to the graveyard, I can special summon Lamia(100/1900), but I must remove her from the game when she leaves the field." The hand in front of Sombra lowered to the ground. Above it, a portal opened, and a woman with the body of a red and blue snake slithered out, coiling in front of him.
"I activate the effect of D/D Berfomet. Once per turn, I can select another D/D monster on my field and change its level to anything I wish between 1 and 8. I change D/D Lamia to Level 3." Lamia lit up with red light. Sombra held his hand towards Lamia. "I feel it is imperative that, at this time, I call attention to the fact that D/D Lamia is a Tuner monster. With that known, I tune my Level 4 D/D Berfomet with my Level 3 D/D Lamia!"
"Oh no!" Zipp cried.
Berfomet turned into four light clusters, while Lamia burst into three green rings and floated to encircle the light clusters. The rings began to rotate, and a pillar of light shot through them. Sombra spread his hands out. "Demon of feathers and demon of scales, align your powers and invoke the form of a storming demon king!" He brought his arms together and drew the card from his duel disk as it ejected. "I Synchro Summon! Arise, D/D/D Gust King Alexander(2500/2000)!" A knight in pale grey armor with a green cape emerged from the pillar of light, a long sword in his hand. Blue lights on his armor lit up as he held his sword up, sending a gale of wind into the air.
"The effect of Flame King Genghis activates. Since I just special summoned a D/D monster, I can special summon a D/D monster in the graveyard. I choose D/D Lilith(100/2100)." Genghis pointed its sword out and fired a bolt of red energy at the ground, creating a fire ring. A woman with her lower body trailing into a mass of green vines spiraled up from the flame, arms crossed.
"Reviving Lilith activates her effect, returning D/D Swirl Slime to my hand. Further, it so happens that my Gust King Alexander also has an effect very similar to Genghis. Since I summoned a D/D monster, I can revive a Level 4 or lower D/D monster. Return to me, D/D Berfomet." Alexander held up his sword and conjured a whirlwind above it. Berfomet flew out and landed beside it. "And now, I overlay my D/D Lilith and D/D Berfomet. Using my two Level 4 monsters, I construct the overlay network!"
Sunny's jaw dropped. "Impossible…"
"That's a hell of a combo," Zipp muttered.
The two monsters turned transparent and slid together, orbs of blue light emerging from within to orbit around them. Sombra held a hand out in front of him. "Demon of petals and demon of feathers, unite your powers and invoke the form of a crashing demon king!"He clenched his fist and brought it back. "I Xyz Summon! Come forth, D/D/D Wave King Caesar(2400/1200)!" The light burst out in a flash of blue. A knight in thick blue and purple armor stomped out with a massive sword.
Pipp gaped at the three monsters standing in front of Sombra. "I… I've never seen such skill. Fusion, Synchro, and Xyz in one deck? On your first turn?"
"No wonder Principal Sombra used to be a pro along with Principal Celestia and Vice-Principal Luna," stated Hitch.
All of this happened as Roll sat silently and felt a bit nervous. Her fingers twitched and fidgeted.
Sombra smiled. "We at Crystal Prep always strive for absolute victory. Nothing less will satisfy us, and so we duel with nothing less than our absolute best. Behold the pinnacle of our dueling!" Crystal Prep's students cheered as Sombra pointed across the field. "D/D/D Flame King Genghis, attack!" Genghis swung its flaming sword and sent a wave of fire across the field.
Celestia looked away as Shining Angel exploded. She turned her head back and tapped her duel disk's screen. "When Shining Angel is destroyed in battle, its effect activates, summoning a Light monster with 1500 or fewer points from the deck in attack mode. I call forth Nova Summoner(1400/800)! And remember, thanks to my Sanctum of Parshath, all my fairy monsters gain an additional 300 points." A fairy shaped as a glowing orange and green ring with white rings appeared before Celestia (1400/800 → 1700/1100).
"It will not be here long, D/D/D Gust King Alexander, destroy it!" Alexander twirled its sword and sent a slicing blast of wind across the field. Nova Summoner split into three parts and exploded.
"Nova Summoner's effect activates now. I summon a second Nova Summoner in defense position!"
"And it will meet the same fate as the first. D/D/D Wave King Caesar, attack!"
Caesar slammed its sword into the ground, sending a wave of water. Nova Summoner tumbled back and shattered as the wave hit it.
Celestia's Life Points: 6900-
Celestia smiled. "Now I invoke the true power of Nova Summoner! While my Sanctum of Parshath is on the field, I can treat it as the field spell, The Sanctuary in the Sky. And since that field spell is in play, Nova Summoner allows me to summon Airknight Parshath(1900/1400)!"
A glowing portal appeared behind Celestia. A centaur in shining gold and blue armor leaped out, ornamental wings wrapped around his torso. A shield-shaped like four outstretched wings was mounted on his left wrist, and a sword was held in his right hand (1900/1400 → 2200/1700).
"Hmph. Not bad." Sombra folded his arms. "I end my turn. It is your move, fair Celestia." (Hand 3)
Turn 3: Celestia (Hand 3)
"Why thank you for gratitude, Sombra," said Celestia flirtatiously while drawing her card. "I'll start my turn with the trap card, Reckless Greed. I can now draw two cards, but I must skip my Draw Phase for my next two turns." Celestia held up one of her new cards. "I activate the spell card, Trade-In. I discard the Level 8 Lightray Gearfried from my hand and then draw two cards. Then I summon Lightray Grepher(1700/1600)." A man in a white and blue uniform stepped onto Celestia's field from a portal, a slim sword in his hand.
"I activate Grepher's effect and discard a Light monster from my hand to banish a Light monster from my deck. I discard Freya, Spirit of Victory, and banish Meltiel, Sage of the Sky. And now, I offer my Airknight Parshath as a tribute to special summon Neo-Parshath, the Sky Paladin(2300/2000) from my hand!" A flurry of white feathers burst around the knight and spiraled around it and into the air. With a flash of light, the feathers scattered, revealing a larger knight with the lower part of its body tapering off into large white wings. An even longer sword and a reinforced shield were mounted on its arms, and a gold and blue metal ring circled the air behind it (2300/2000 → 2600/2300).
"My graveyard currently contains Shining Angel, Nova Summoner, Freya the Spirit of Victory, Lightray Gearfried, and Airknight Parshath. So the stage is set for these." Celestia smiled and held the two cards in her hand. "Since I have five Light monsters of different names in the graveyard, I special summon Lightray Diabolos(2600/1500) and Lightray Daedalus(2800/1000)!" The ground shook as two large portals of light appeared behind Celestia. A large white and blue serpent came from one of them, coiling through the air like water before coming to a rest. The second portal unleashed a massive silver dragon with blue wings, light coursing along silver and gold armor on its limbs.
"She's got three hefty monsters in play, and Sombra's got nothing face-down to protect his," said Hitch.
Roll turned her attention to Celestia's opponent. Sombra's face was calm and impassive as he watched Celestia thrust out her hand.
"Lightray Diabolos, attack Wave King Caesar!" Diabolos opened its mouth and summoned a field of light orbs to its jaws.
Sombra reached down to tap a prompt on his duel disk screen. One of the blue orbs circling Caesar sparked and dispersed. Diabolos' attack fired a large orb of pure light. It struck Caesar, and the monster exploded into blue energy.
Sombra's Life Points: 7600-
Sombra reached for his deck. "Since Wave King Caesar has been destroyed, I can add a Dark Contract card from my deck to my hand. I will take Dark Contract with the Swamp King."
Celestia nodded. "As you wish. As for me, next is Lightray Daedalus! Attack Gust King Alexander." Daedalus snapped its mouth forward and fired a ray of light across the field. Sombra didn't even flinch as Alexander was pierced and exploded.
Sombra's Life Points: 7500-
"And then, Neo-Parshath the Sky Paladin! Destroy Genghis!" Neo-Parshath floated across the field in a shower of feathers, arm raised. The sword descended and cleaved through Genghis, its sword falling to the ground as the demon bisected and shattered.
Sombra's Life Points: 6900-
"The effect of Flame King Genghis activates; when you destroy it, it lets me return the Dark Contract with the Gate in my graveyard to my hand." Sombra calmly took his card as it ejected.
"The effect of Neo-Parshath activates since it damaged you, letting me draw a card. And then, I have one more attack from Lightray Grepher!" Grepher charged and swung its sword at Sombra. He pulled back with a small grunt as the holographic blade went through his body.
Sombra's Life Points: 5200-
"Also, now that your Life Points are lower than mine, the effect of Neo-Parshath is active. It gains attack points equal to the difference in our Life Points." Neo-Parshath hummed as the ring circled glowed gold (2600 → 4300). Celestia looked at her drawn card and slipped it into her duel disk.
"I set one card and end my turn." (Hand 0)
Three pillars of light in blue, red, and green colors erupted in front of Sombra.
Pipp inhaled sharply. "What?"
Sombra held up his arm, the graveyard slot on his duel disk glowing. "Did I forget to announce I had used Wave King Caesar's special ability when you declared your attack upon him? My apologies, dear Celestia. How rude and ungentlemanly of me. Permit me to explain now." The three pillars of light began to pulse as he spoke. "By detaching one of Caesar's Xyz materials, I set a condition on the field where, at the end of your battle phase, all of my monsters that have been destroyed this turn can return to the field. Observe." The three pillars faded, revealing Sombra's three monsters glowing before him.
"A well-executed move on your part, Sombra," said Celestia with a smile.
"And more lovely move on your part, Celestia, for taking them out," responded Sombra.
Turn 4: Sombra (Hand 3)
Sombra drew his card. "I begin my turn, and there is the matter of my bargain to resolve." The monsters in front of Sombra lit up red. "The effect of Wave King Caesar demands offering; in the form of 1000 Life Points for each monster, its effect restored. A small and worthwhile sacrifice." He closed his eyes and grunted as sparks flew around him.
Sombra's Life Points: 2200-
"With your Life Points so low, Neo-Parshath yet again gains attack points equal to the difference in our points," said Celestia. Neo-Parshath glowed and grew larger, the feathers on its wings spreading out (7300).
Sombra folded his cards into his hand and gave a short clap. "I am sincerely impressed by the technique you've shown today, Celestia. You've proven to be a duelist worthy of this school and that you still got it when we were younger. I truly mean it when I say you should feel no shame for what will happen." Sombra drew his hand back and placed two cards on his duel disk.
"I activate the continuous spell cards Dark Contract with the Swamp King and Dark Contract with the Gate." Two more contracts rose in front of Sombra, clutched by demonic hands. "I invoke the power of Dark Contract with the Gate and add to my hand from my deck D/D Nighthowl."
Sombra thrust his hand out. "And next, I invoke the power of Dark Contract with the Swamp King! Once per turn, I can conduct a Fusion Summon! I fuse together D/D/D Flame King Genghis and D/D/D Wave King Caesar!" The two demons were drawn into a vortex in front of Sombra.
"Demon of flame and demon of tides, combine your powers and invoke the form of an indomitable blazing demon king!"Sombra's card ejected from the far end of his duel disk, purple light shining. "I Fusion Summon! Awaken, D/D/D Flame High King Genghis(2800/2400)!"
The vortex flared out a giant plume of flame, a shadowed form within. The flames swirled around a fixed point and were drawn into the blade of a gigantic orange sword held by a towering demon in black armor set with red and blue bands. Three other hands held a pair of daggers and a large red shield. The demon crossed its four armaments and sent a wave of red light over the field.
"I summon D/D Nighthowl(300/600) and activate its effect to revive a D/D monster in the graveyard. I choose D/D Berfomet." A large pair of jaws with a small pair of yellow eyes on the top appeared in front of Sombra. It turned and fired a red light at the ground, D/D Berfomet rising from the earth.
"Seeing as my D/D Nighthowl is a Tuner monster, I shall now tune my Level 7 D/D/D Gust King Alexander with my Level 3 D/D Nighthowl!" Nighthowl turned into three rings of green energy that rotated around Alexander, a pillar of light rising to obscure it. "Demon of fangs and demon of gales, align your powers and invoke the form of an indomitable storming demon king!"Sombra smirked. "I Synchro Summon! Arise, D/D/D Gust High King Alexander(3000/2500)!" Alexander's sword sliced through the light, revealing a massive green blade held by a demon in shining silver armor, a large green cape fluttering behind it.
"Since I have summoned a D/D monster, I activate the effect of Flame High King Genghis to Special Summon a D/D monster in the graveyard. I revive my original D/D/D Flame King Genghis." Sombra held a card out, pointing it at Berfomet. "I activate the spell card D/D Level Modulation. I can select two D/D monsters I control with Levels and make them equal. I will raise the level of D/D Berfomet to match Genghis, Level 6. With that done, I overlay my D/D Berfomet and D/D/D Flame King Genghis. Using my two Level 6 monsters, I construct the overlay network!" The two slid together as blobs of blue energy.
"Demon of feathers and demon of flame, unite your powers and invoke the form of an indomitable crashing demon king!"Sombra thrust his hand into the air. "I Xyz Summon! Come forth, D/D/D Wave High King Caesar(2800/1800)!" The blob of blue burst to reveal a larger, bulkier demon in dark purple armor, a massive club with yellow spikes swung over its shoulder.
Izzy whimpered. "He's unstoppable…"
Sunny bit her lip. "How can one deck achieve such power levels with so few resources? His hand is still full of unused cards!"
"Now that I am done with my summonings, I will invoke the powers of D/D/D Gust High King Alexander. Since I control at least three 'D/D/D' monsters, Alexander gains an additional three thousand attack points!" Alexander's cape blew out behind it. An orb of wind encircled it and was drawn into its sword, the green metal shining (3000 → 6000).
Sombra looked up at the towering form of Neo-Parshath. "Your Neo-Parshath has gained considerable power from the difference in our Life Points. But it is only one card. Your other monsters are far more vulnerable!" Sombra pointed across the field. "D/D/D Flame High King Genghis, attack Lightray Grepher!" Genghis held its sword, ignited it in flame, and ran forward.
Celestia reached for her duel disk. "Since you just declared an attack, I activate Lumenize!" The card moved in front of Lightray Grepher and flipped up. "My trap card negates your attack, and now Lightray Grepher—"
"A trap card, you say?" Sombra interrupted. "I will save you time explaining your card's effect by explaining my own. Once per turn, Flame High King Genghis allows me to negate and destroy a spell or trap card!" Genghis slashed down, cutting through the trap and Grepher standing behind it. Celestia looked away as Grepher exploded in a burst of fire.
Celestia's Life Points: 5800-
"Next, Wave High King Caesar, attack Lightray Daedalus!" Caesar charged forward and jumped, gripping its club with both hands. It brought it down on Daedalus' head. The serpent convulsed and shattered into shards.
Celestia's Life Points: 5600-
"And finally, Gust High King Alexander, strike down Lightray Diabolos!" Alexander rose up into the air and summoned wind into his sword. It descended in a typhoon, its sword held out. The blade struck Lightray Diabolos in the head and burst out the bottom, wind exploding from the wound. Diabolos lit up in gold light and exploded.
Celestia's Life Points: 2400-
"I set one card and end my turn. (Hand 0).
"I... can't believe it. Their life points are almost identical. And Principal Sombra did it in one move." said Hitch.
Turn 5: Celestia (Hand 0)
Celestia's portrait on the display board lit up to indicate her turn. She looked down at her deck.
Sombra reached for his duel disk. "Now that your turn has begun, I will activate my trap card, Contract Laundering. This allows me to dispose of the two Dark Contracts on my field, and for each of them, I regain one thousand Life Points and draw a card." The demonic hands in front of Sombra descended into the ground, the contracts in their hands burning away.
Sombra's Life Points: 4200-
Sombra looked up at Celestia's field. "With your Life Points now lower than mine, your Neo-Parshath gains no further power but that afforded by your spell card." Neo-Parshath shrank down behind Celestia, its golden aura dimming (2600).
"She's not out yet! Principal Celestia can still turn this around!" said Zipp.
"No, she can't."
Zipp and the group turned their heads. Roll clenched her hands on her tights. She closed her eyes and shook her head. "It's over."
"Well? Will you not draw to begin your turn?" Sombra pressed a hand to his forehead and scoffed. "My apologies, how foolish of me to forget that Reckless Greed's effect forbids you from drawing a card for two turns. Such a shame seeing as your hand is empty right now. An aptly named card indeed."
Celestia swallowed and lowered her arm. "I end my turn."
Turn 6: Sombra (Hand 0)
"You'll not even switch your monster to defense? As you wish, then. It will save me time declaring superfluous attack commands." Sombra's eyes flashed as he pointed over the field. "D/D/D Gust High King Alexander, destroy Neo-Parshath the Sky Paladin!"
Alexander ran forward and jabbed its sword, a slicing spear of wind shooting out from it. Neo-Parshath raised its shield in front of it. The wind spear tore through the shield and engulfed the angel, its wings snapping back. Celestia closed her eyes as it exploded in a light flare, feathers falling over her.
Celestia's Life Points: 0-
Winner: Sombra
Sombra's portrait on display grew larger to fill it, encompassing Celestia's. The holograms of his monsters faded. He gathered his cards from his duel disk and turned them off.
"That was invigorating." He put a hand to his chest and bowed. "Thank you for the duel, Celestia."
Celestia said nothing, standing still with her eyes closed. She took a deep breath and reached down to pick up her cards from her disk. "Thank you as well, Sombra." The woman bowed as she took her loss with painful pride.
The cheers and whistles of Crystal Prep's audience broke the silence. Sombra nodded in their direction before looking to the side with Canterlot High students. Most of them gulped as they were fearful after seeing the skills that CPA's principal had. Roll watched Sombra calmly unstrap his duel disk and place it back in the briefcase as Cadance closed it.
"Is that the kind of duelists I'll have to take on?" muttered the girl to herself.
"Now that we've had our fun. Let's get on with the scheduled duel!" said Luna. "Send in the accused!"
"Why does Vice-Principal Luna gotta word it like that?" asked Zipp.
"You're up, Roll," said Sunny.
"Wish me luck," stated the girl as she gulped.
The girl went down to the field as she stood on it. She looked around, hoping her brother would be present, but no sign of him.
"Now, without further ado, let me introduce, representing Crystal Prep Academy!" said Sombra as two students appeared before him: a boy and a girl. "Mr. Blaze and his girlfriend, Ms. Ursula."
The two had smirks on their faces as Roll was starting to feel the pressure of being alone.
"Ms. Roll, where is your brother?" asked Luna sternly.
"He's... He's..." Roll sighed, "... he's not here."
"The rules stated! Both of you are to be present! If he does not show up in the next minute, you are expelled!" shouted Luna.
Big bro. Where are you? I need you.
"Well, since he failed to show up. They forfeit the duel and therefore lose," said Sombra. "Such a shame, Celestia. You should reevaluate the kind of students you enroll."
"I'll do it myself!" shouted Roll as that got the attention of all four adults. "I'll duel for both me and my brother!"
"Roll, I advise..."
"So, what's it gonna be?" said the girl as she ignored the pleas from her principal.
"An interesting offer," smiled Sombra smugly while stroking his chin. "Want do you two say?"
"If it makes this duel quicker, I'm game," said Blaze.
"Don't worry, Principal Sombra. We'll show her and everyone the might of Crystal Prep," stated Ursula.
"Well, then, it's settled," said Sombra as he turned to look back at Roll.
The girl tried to not show fear in front of the man, given what she had witnessed him do against her principal. Sombra held that evil-looking smile as he continued to look at the girl.
"Very well," said Luna as she allowed this handicap duel to be official.
"Alright, Roll. Just remember the fundamentals, and you'll be okay," muttered the girl to herself as she slipped her deck into the slot.
"I wish you luck, Ms. Roll," said Sombra as he appeared before the girl who almost got her to jump. "Be lucky, though; I had asked my #1 student to participate in this duel. But she respectfully declined. Saying she had her reasons."
"Y-Your #1 student?" said Roll, almost surprised that Celestia had asked Sombra to bring his most elite student to CHS to take on the pair. In a way, she was kind of glad she dodged a bullet by learning about that.
"Maybe you'll face her one day... maybe..." snickered Sombra as he turned around and began walking off the field.
"He still holds the creepy and dark presence about him," said Cadance, as she knew how many students feared Sombra, given the atmosphere he sometimes gave off. But he meant well.
Everyone began to prepare to watch the duel. The duelists on the field prepared their Duel Disks, with Roll's friends feeling uneasy as the girl would be alone without her brother.
"Duelists prepare to battle!" shouted Luna as she got the attention of everyone in the arena. "The rules for this tag duel are simple. Each side will have a total of 16000 life points. Furthermore, no sharing of advice or sharing or strategy. And no sharing of any card that is not yet in play. However, you may use what's on your partner's field. Understood?"
"Yeah," responded Blaze and Ursula as Roll nodded.
"Oh, and one more thing, you can't attack until everyone has taken one turn," said the Vice-Principal of CHS.
"Well, since Roll doesn't have a partner, she doesn't need to worry about that," said Zipp.
"Yeah, but she has no partner. It's a handicap duel. Her odds of winning are 1 in 50 against who her opponents are." clarified Sunny as she did the math in her head.
"Opponent detected. Duel mode set. Initiating. Commencing duel." said the Duel Disks.
Roll's Life Points: 16,000-
Blaze and Ursula's Life Points: 16,000-
Turn 1: Blaze (Hand 5)
"I'll start off," said Blaze as he drew. "First, I activate the spell card, Photon Veil! With this card, by returning three Light-attribute monsters from my hand to my deck, I can add three Light-attribute monsters from my deck to my hand."
"Oh, no," said Roll.
"Next, I'm gonna activate the power of the spell card, Photon League, which lets me summon one of the monsters I just added to my hands in attack mode. And the monster I summon is Daybreaker(1700/0)! But there's more; I can summon another from my hand when this card is successfully summoned. So that's two Daybreakers! And now the second one's ability activates, so welcome to the field, Daybreaker #3!"
"Three monsters already?!" said Zipp, seeing that the students of Crystal Prep weren't playing around.
"I overlay my three Level 4 Daybreakers to build the Overlay Network!" The three monsters turned into orbs of light as they hovered in the air. A portal opened before the boy as the orbs entered, and a pillar of light shot out.
"I Xyz Summon, Number 10: Illumiknight(2400/2400, OLU: 3)!"
A monster appeared out of the portal; it was a rider wearing armor who was on his horse who also wore armor. They had a lance in their hand as its face was made of bones, and the orbs that had entered the portal to summon it were now circling it.
"And guess what... I'm not done," said Blaze. "Cause now I play Illuminknight's ability by using one overlay unit; with it, once per turn, I can discard one card from my hand to draw one from my deck." The boy tossed the card into his duel disk's graveyard slot without seeing it as he drew his top card. "Now, Lightserpent's ability activates! You see when Lightserpent(1200/800) is sent to the graveyard from my hand, it's then summoned to the field!" declared Blaze as that was the card he had just got rid of and was now back in play as the snake hissed upon appearing. "Next, I'm gonna bring out the card I drew, the monster Plasma Ball(900/900)!" A ball with one eye looking around appeared, giving off electricity.
"You kidding me? Three monsters again!" shouted Hitch.
"Now, I overlay my Level 3 Lightserpent and Plasma Ball! And with that, I can once again build the Overlay Network! I Xyz Summon, Number 20: Giga-Brilliant(1800/1800, OLU: 2)!"
Within just a few moves, Roll was now staring down two powerful Xyz monsters.
"I end my turn," said Blaze.
Turn 2: Roll (Hand 5)
"I've seen this opening play before. And I can say it does not end well," said Izzy.
"If only one of us could help her," said Zipp, as Celestia and Luna forbid anybody but Mario to help Roll.
"My draw," said the girl as she drew, with slight hesitation.
"Look at her cower in fear. Seems she can't do anything without her brother to fight her battles," scoffed Ursula as Blaze chuckled.
"Watch this!" shouted Roll as she took offense to what the girl said. "I summon Needle Sunfish(1500/100)!" A fish appeared as its mouth opened wide, and some needlers were shown inside it. "Next, I play the spell card, Aqua Mirage, and equip it onto my monster. Thanks to this, when I Xyz summon, my spell also counts as Xyz material." stated the girl as a water mirage of her monster appeared next to her actual monster.
"Now... I overlay my Needle Sunfish to build the Overlay Network!" The monster and its mirage clone turned into orbs of light that hovered in the air for a moment. A portal began to open in front of Roll as the orbs entered, and a pillar of light emerged. "Now I summon a monster that's both feared on the land and in the water! I Xyz Summon, Submersible Carrier Aero Shark(1900/1000, OLU: 2)!" shouted Roll as her monster appeared and roared as its Xyz materials circled around it.
"Alright, Roll got her favorite move she likes to start off," said Zipp.
"I activate Aero Shark's ability! Using one overlay unit, you take 400 points of damage for every card in my hand!" said Roll as her monster loaded a missile and fired. "Torpedo Launch!" shouted the girl as the capsule broke and the torpedos inside spread out and exploded the area around her opponents, who covered themselves.
Blaze and Ursula's Life Points: 14,400-
"Nice, she managed to deal damage without launching an attack," said Zipp.
"Yeah, but she's still outnumbered," said Pipp.
"Now the effect of my Needle Sunfish activates. Since it was sent to the graveyard, I can target one monster of yours, and it loses 500 attack points!" said Roll as Illumknight powered down. "I end my turn."
Turn 3: Ursula (Hand 5)
"Seems this guppy has some bite to her, babe," stated Ursula.
"Care to show her some real teeth?" scoffed Blaze to his girlfriend.
"It'd be my pleasure. I draw!" said the girl. "I'll start by summoning Fluffal Owl(1000/1000). An owl plushie appeared with wings, letting out a cute hoot. "Now my owl's effect activates, letting me add a 'Polymerization' to my hand." Ursula's Duel Disk slotted out the card from her deck as she grabbed it and held it out. "Now, I activate Polymerization to fuse my Fluffal Owl and Edge Imp Saw together!"
Both monsters appeared beside Ursula as a vortex opened behind her. The two were sucked in as a mix of orange and purple swirls appeared before a light show out. "Sharpened steel and bird of prey! When the two come together, prepare to rumble! I Fusion Summon! Frightfur Leo(2400/2000)!"
Out emerged a monster from a kid's nightmare. It showed a plushie lion standing on its hind legs as it was made up of saws that whirred and had a horror look on its face. It growled as it let out a screeching sound that could give jumpscares to the students.
"What... is that?" said Izzy, scared to see the monster.
"I activate Frightfur Leo's ability! Now I target one face-up monster you control and destroy it! Turn that shark into sushi!" declared Ursula as her monster charged up its buzzsaws and shot them forward. The saws flew toward Roll's monster, and within seconds, it was destroyed. "Oh, I forget to mention Leo's other ability. When it destroys that monster, you take damage equal to its attack points!"
The saws kept on going as they zoomed toward Roll. The girl saw them and tried her best to protect herself.
"AH!" yelled Roll as she felt the attacks and fell to her knees after it was done.
Roll's Life Points: 14,100-
Everyone winced at seeing the girl take the damage. Roll panted a bit as the attack from Ursula packed a punch.
"Heh. Look at her. One hit, and she's already on her knees. Begging for mercy." scoffed Blaze, laughing at Roll's pathetic state.
"Welcome to the big time, bitch!" shouted Ursula as she smiled. "I end my turn!"
"This is bad. Roll has no monsters and no facedowns. She's defenseless. So once Blaze takes his turn, they can attack with all their monsters." said Sunny.
"Looks like she's gonna get expelled," said Izzy.
All five were disappointed as it seemed there was no way for Roll to win in this situation. The girl also felt the stress and pressure as it finally got to her. She registered that there was no way to come back. She didn't want to get expelled without a fighting chance, but clearly, she didn't have that, to begin with. Her mind was filled with doubt and fear as she accepted her fate. She closed her eyes and tried not to cry. But it was hard.
"Pathetic. Now then..." said Blaze as he went to draw when-
"Opponent detected."
Roll was about to burst into tears when...
"Get up, sis!"
"Huh?"
She turned her head to look up, as standing there was someone. That someone was the person she could always count on.
"Mario?" responded Roll as she was confused.
The girl was seeing her big brother as he stood there with a stern look.
Author's Note: The time has come. But before that, we now know what Celestia had planned by reaching out to her old friend in Principal Sombra of Crystal Prep Academy. And the exhibition duel between both principals showing how powerful Sombra is as the prime example of how CPA does things and prides themselves on doing it the very best. In addition, Roll trying to fight for her and her brother by herself, but it seems that might be too much. However, it seems there might be hope in the form of her big brother showing up. Maybe?