"What do you think?"
"Mmm."
A series of algorithms was processing something. A case was shown as inside was the pendant that belonged to the cloaked figure that Isaac had encountered days ago. A laser scanned the object as it was sending the data to the computer to begin its work on deciphering it. A person was shown looking at the object with their hand on their chin; they then walked over to the computer. They entered some commands, and new data was received.
"Strange. It's clearly coated with magic."
"Yeah, explains the real damage portion of the duel," responded Isaac.
"I'll look into it and tell you anything else I come across."
"Alright, then. Take care, honey."
"You as well," said the person as they signed off.
"Hopefully, Twilight can find some answers," said Juniper as she witnessed her client call his wife.
"I hope so, too."
On the track field of CHS, two individuals were shown as they were currently stretching. Zipp was dressed in her workout clothes as the girl was doing her running exercises; the girl had asked Mario if he wanted to run with her as he had nothing else to do. The pair were now getting themselves warmed up.
"It's nice to have someone here. It gives me the challenge of beating them," stated Zipp.
"Oh, hold on there, Zipp. What makes you think you're gonna beat me?" said Mario, taking offense that the girl was saying he was nothing but a threat.
"Settle down, Mario. You know what I mean," responded the girl as she bent down and prepared to get into position.
"Is that right? Well, how about we have a little bet between us, rich girl?"
"A bet? Lover boy, you know how to get my attention," smiled Zipp as she looked at the teen. "What do you have in mind?"
"A race. You and me. Whoever wins, the loser has to carry the loser's bag after soccer practice for one week." stated Mario.
"On, you're on, lover boy!" said Zipp as she extended her hand. Mario put his hand in hers and gave it a firm grip. For a second, Zipp felt the muscles from his hand as she felt a certain something inside but put it out of her mind.
"Get ready to carry my sweaty shirts, rich girl," smirked the boy as he bent down and got into position.
The two teens bent down as they prepared to race against each other. The pair waited for Zipp's signal as they knew the other would take off from the start in an effort not to lose.
"Go!" said Zipp.
The two took off as they began to race down the track; Zipp and Mario were really going hard against each other, and when they took the turn, they took it perfectly to avoid losing small seconds, trying to keep their momentum while turning as they kept on running. The pair then came up on a set of hurdles and began to jump over them; the two were coming up on the final corner after jumping over the last hurdle. They turned the tricky last corner before picking up their speed as they sprinted to the finish line. Within seconds, the two teens zoomed past the line as they skidded to a halt.
"Yes! I win!" said Zipp.
"Hold on there, rich girl! What do you mean, you won? I crossed the line first!" stated Mario.
"Pff! In your dreams!" said Zipp.
"Well, I ain't dreaming 'cause if I was, I still say that I beat you!" expressed the boy.
"Alright, fine!" shouted the girl as she pulled out her phone and tapped an app.
Zipp's backpack began to shake as out came a small drone that responded to the girl controlling it from her phone. It appeared next to the teens as it whirred a bit while Mario was surprised to see that Zipp had something like this in her possession.
"So you just casually have a drone?" asked the boy.
"Hey, I don't question how you spend your money, lover boy?" responded Zipp. "Anyways, my drone will determine who won, so you can stop your bitchin'."
"Please, we already know I won," stated Mario with a smirk.
"Yeah, well, let's..." said Zipp as she found the footage on her phone and looked at it.
For a while, nothing was said. Soon, a loud shout was heard.
"Motherfu-!"
Mario made it back to his dorm as he whistled a tune; following behind him was Zipp. The girl grumbled and still held her angry demeanor after seeing that the boy beat her by just a few inches. Per their agreement, Zipp was forced to carry Mario's gym bag for an entire week as she regretted making that deal.
"Thanks for the help, Zipp. Appreciate it," smiled Mario.
"No problem," responded the girl as she gritted her teeth and wanted nothing more to do than to jump the boy.
"Now, be a good servant and dump everything in the laundry basket," said Mario as he patted Zipp's hair, and she swatted his hand, not liking him treating her like some pet.
"Nobody touches my hair," mumbled Zipp as she carried the bag to where she was instructed, all while Mario enjoyed watching this.
The girl opened the bag as she could already smell Mario's sweat from his clothes and tried not to gag. She then dumped the bag's contents into the basket as she was never more relieved. Just then, a note seemed to fly from the bag as it landed by her feet. The piece of paper caught the girl's eyes as she grabbed it and opened it; upon immediate inspection, it was a bunch of words that seemed to be some lyrics to some song.
"What's this?" said Zipp as Mario grabbed the note from her fingers to look at it.
"Oh," said the boy upon seeing the note. "Don't worry about it. It's not important."
"Come on, just tell me what it is!" said Zipp as Mario folded the paper and placed it in his pocket.
"It's just some stupid lyrics to a song, alright," stated Mario as he was shown reaching into his closet and began to search through the contents.
He eventually found what he was looking for as he pulled out a case and opened it. Inside was a guitar. The boy picked it up as he looked at the instrument he had played when he was little.
"You have a guitar? Since when do you play?" asked Zipp.
"Hey, I don't question how you spend your money, rich girl?" retorted Mario, as he fired back using Zipp's earlier comment.
"Alright, lover boy. Touche," smirked Zipp as he got her good on that one.
Mario plucked the strings of his instrument as he heard how each sounded. Despite not playing it for several years, the boy still remembered how to tune it. Once the adjustments were made, he gave another strum, which was much more in tune than before. The teen then began to pluck as he recalled a small exercise that he used to mess around with when he first started learning as it came flooding back into his head. Zipp sat in a bean bag chair in the boy's room as she began to listen to her friend jam out a small session as she found it enjoyable. The way Mario moved his fingers along the neck and the strings showed that he hadn't lost his skills for playing it despite not doing it for so long. He soon ended his little jam as he did one final strum.
"Nice," said Zipp as she gave a long whistle sound.
"I'm surprised I still remember how to play this thing after not touching it for years," stated the boy.
"So, where'd you learn to play?" asked Zipp.
"My mom was the lead singer with her friends when they were in a band. So I guess her naturally gifted singing voice was something angelic to us, especially when she sang to us. So she had us learn how to play instruments when we were young. It's why Roll is so good at Band." stated Mario.
"Then why didn't you take it?" asked Zipp, wondering why the boy was enrolled in the elective with his little sister.
"Ehh, I just didn't want to. Unless you want me off the team," stated Mario.
"You know, now that you say that, this is a tempting offer," smirked Zipp as she looked at the boy.
"I hate you," mumbled Mario as Zipp chuckled.
The boy then began straining the guitar as he played a melody Zipp listened to and enjoyed. The athletic teen then looked at the folded piece of paper as she unfolded it to look at the words written on it.
"So, is this something you tried to come up with?" asked the girl.
"The key word is: try. I can read and compose music, alright. When it comes to making up lyrics, it's not my strong suit." said Mario.
"Hmm. Hey, mind if I try something?" asked Zipp.
"What?" asked the boy.
"Just trust me. Can you record me?" stated the girl as she pulled out her phone.
"Yeah, sure," responded Mario as he grabbed a cord and plugged one end into the instrument while he plugged the other into a set of headphones.
The boy then gave the girl the headphones as she put them on. He gave a little strum to ensure that Zipp could hear it as she gave a thumbs up. He then grabbed the girl's phone and hit record as he began to play a melody while Zipp listened to the tune and closed her eyes. She then opened her mouth and began to sing what came to her. As for Mario, he was in for a shock.
There is no upper hand
I'm giving you mine
It doesn't have to end up
Wastin' your time
There's things
that I could say
But here in my way
I want to let you know
That it's all okay
Mario was left stunned by what he heard. To think that the tomboy girl that Zipp was had a nice singing voice. It was better than nice; it was angelic in a way. If anything, it was just as good as Pipp's singing voice. The boy felt all kinds of emotions as he looked at the girl; he stopped the recording on Zipp's phone, and the girl finally opened her eyes and put the headphones down around her neck as she looked at the boy.
"Whatcha think?" asked Zipp, wanting Mario's opinion on the makeshift lyrics she had just come up with on the spot. Her response was clear as Mario just kept his gaze on her with an open mouth. "You like that?" chuckled the girl, holding a smile at her friend.
"Mmm-hmmm," explained Mario as he kept looking at Zipp, who smiled.
"Hey, big bro! I need..."
Roll abruptly entered her big brother's room and saw the door slightly jarred open, which she pushed through. Upon entering, she stopped what she was saying when she saw Zipp.
"Oh, am I... interrupting anything?" asked the girl.
"No, I was just leaving," said Zipp as she removed the headphones and returned them to Mario. The girl quickly grabbed her phone and backpack and slung it over her shoulder.
"I'll see you tomorrow, Mario," said Zipp as she gave a two-finger salute to her friend before walking past Roll and looking to leave.
Roll blinked in confusion before looking at her elder sibling, who was putting the headphones away and unplugging the cable from his guitar. She approached her big brother and saw him roll his chair over to his closet to put his instrument away. She also noticed the small crumpled piece of paper on his deck with the lyrics.
"Oh, was I missing you serenading her?" said Roll with a smug smile.
"What the hell? No!" responded Mario almost immediately with what his little sister had just asked.
"Then what do you call this?" said Roll as she picked up the paper.
"Give me that, hermana!" stated Mario as he snatched the thing out of his little sister's hand for being noisy and touching his stuff without permission. "It's just something that came up."
"Alright, I won't judge, hermano," said Roll, putting her hands up.
It was late at night as a certain building was shown. Most of the lights on this massive tower were shut off; the only light could be shown at the top as it belonged to the owner of the place. Since she last contacted her husband, Twilight had been working nonstop to figure out about the pendant. The woman's computer had been trying to crack the mystery surrounding the object as it was nearly through with a breakthrough.
"Twilight? Are you ready?" asked Moondancer as she stood outside her partner's office.
"Yeah, just looking over the last bit of cards ready to be produced," stated the woman, taking off her glasses to rub her eyes while yawning.
"Gees, girl. You've been putting in extra hours," stated Moondancer as she approached her friend's desk and logged off the computer for her.
"Just trying also to crack the pendant. Plus, with production being sped up by 25%, it means I have to review each card to approve it for the market manually," stated Twilight, leaning back a bit before putting her glasses on.
"That's why you need a night to destress. And usually, you need Isaac for that, but... since he's unavailable to attend to your needs," said Moondancer, emphasizing how Twilight's idea of destressing involved her husband and them going at it for quite a while. "I took the liberty of planning a night out for us to help you relax."
"I guess I could use that. It's been a while since I've had a night out without my husband," stated Twilight, as she couldn't recall the last time she had time to herself since she became married and a mother.
"Great. Come on!" said Moondancer.
Twilight stood up, grabbed her purse, and slung it over her body. She quickly changed from her business look into her casual attire and followed her friend as she turned off the last bit of lights in the building as they took the elevator down to the lobby. Once the elevator doors closed, a figure emerged from the shadows. It was another robed figure similar to the one the woman's husband faced. The person then began to head toward their intended target as they arrived at the main computer room and held a flash drive.
Twilight and Moondancer arrived at the lobby as they began to head toward the door. A car was waiting for the pair as Moondancer approached the driver's side and started the car. Just as Twilight was about to enter, she suddenly remembered something.
"Shoot! Hold on, Moondancer. I forgot something in my office. I'll be right back." said Twilight as she turned to head back into the building.
"Hurry up!" stated Moondancer as she kept the car running.
Twilight entered the lobby and pushed the elevator door. It opened as she entered and pressed the top floor; the doors closed as the elevator began to go up. Twilight was halfway through when she noticed something; the lights flickered briefly as they caught her attention.
"That's weird," said Twilight, knowing they had no electrical problems in her building.
Just then, the elevator stopped as Twilight felt it. Then it started up and continued to rise upward.
"Okay, now that is definitely weird," said Twilight, seeing that whatever happened wasn't a coincidence. Her floor was approaching as Twilight unzipped her purse and pulled something out.
The elevator dinged as its doors opened. Twilight stepped out as she arrived at her destination and looked about. Nothing was out of the ordinary as everything was in place; the woman walked toward her office, stepped through, and approached her desk. The lavender-haired woman found what she came back for as she put it in her pocket when she heard something. Her senses went off as she knew nobody was here; even the janitors had already left, which meant someone was sneaking about.
She pinpointed the location of the sound as she began to head toward the main computer area. Twilight noticed the door was slightly open; she knew someone was there as they were in an area where only she and Moondancer could be. The woman kept quiet in her footsteps as she snuck toward the door; she had strapped on her Duel Disk in the elevator as she prepared herself.
She put her hand on the door to push it slightly more open as she noticed a robed figure by the main console as they were typing away on the keyboard. Twilight saw them as she prepared to confront the person and cleared her throat.
"Excuse me!"
The figure heard Twilight as they didn't look at her but held a finger up to tell her to wait while they finished what they were doing. The businesswoman was stunned to see the intruder telling her to be quiet as she couldn't believe it. She cleared her throat again to get the person's attention.
"Just one sec," said the figure.
Again, Twilight was surprised at the disrespect she was getting from this intruder who broke into her building.
"Well, you're not the IT person because that's also me. So you better start explaining before I call the authorities and have you arrested on not only breaking and entering but theif as well!" threatened Twilight.
"Twilight Sparkle, right?" said the figure as they didn't look at the woman but knew her name.
"That's right. And I'm also the last person whose computer you want to be hacking into."
"I don't care about your computer. I'm here for the data that I seek. I'm telling you the same thing my comrade said to your husband: you have something that belongs to us." said the figure as they continued to type away on the keyboard.
"My husband knows nothing. So if you want to talk, then let's talk!" said Twilight, not backing down.
"Owner of Sparkle Innovative Industries. A loving wife. Rules the world of card-designing while her man is the World Champion. It's a genius plan when you think about it. You both rule the Duel Monsters scene on and off the field. A power couple that you two have become. But you're a terrible liar." said the figure as they finished typing away.
They removed the flash drive they inserted into the keyboard as they looked at it. They turned to look at Twilight as they spun in the chair; they quickly kicked the table in front of them on its side to send it toward Twilight. She quickly dodged out of the way as she was on a knee and saw the figure began to book it out of her building. Twilight gave chase as the figure was shown running down the stairs after the elevators weren't working.
Twilight kept chasing her intruder as they arrived at one of the floors and began running down the hall. The woman raised her Duel Disk and spoke into it.
"Owloysius!"
"Owloysius, here!" said the AI.
"Initiate lockdown in Section E. Quadrants 32-35!" said Twilight.
The AI began to work as it quickly sealed off the quadrants that its creator asked for. The intruder was looking to get out when a wall slammed shut before him as he was sealed off. He looked to go back, but Twilight stood before them.
"If you were planning on leaving, think again. I control this whole building with my Duel Disk as a security measure for intruders like this. So you're only getting out if you beat in a duel!" stated Twilight.
"So be it!" said the person as they flung the front of their cloak out to reveal a Duel Disk strapped on their arm. It came online as it projected a scarlet-colored energy card tray.
Twilight reached into her pocket as she pulled out her deck of cards. She slotted them into her Duel Disk as it came online and projected a lavender card tray.
"Owloysius, keep an eye on them. If you see any hint of Shadow magic, let me know," said Twilight to her AI.
"Will do, madam," responded the AI.
"Opponent detected. Streaming data. Duel mode set. Initiating. Commencing duel." said the Duel Disks.
Twilight's Life Points: 8000-
?'s Life Points: 8000-
The Duel Disks auto shufflers kicked in as the pair drew their opening hand and looked at each other. Twilight and the intruder were shown on one of the security cameras as two figures were looking at it. They also wore cloaks as they entered the main computer; one got to work as they sat down and plugged another flash drive.
"The plan is working perfectly. She'll be busy with her while we hack into her system and get the data," said one of the figures.
"She thinks we initially hacked into her system. It was a decoy; we just knocked out her initial defenses, and while she's playing, we'll be working," stated the other figure.
Thanks to their ally's efforts, they could now gain easier access to Twilight's mainframe. Or so they thought as another defensive measure occurred when they tried to hack into the system as a computerized duel field appeared.
"Figures she'd have a backup system," said the other figure, as it seemed they had more work to do to break into Twilight's mainframe.
Back with Twilight, the woman prepared herself as her opponent had elected to go first.
Turn 1: ? (Hand 5)
"I'll things off. And I'll play the field spell, Zodiac Sign!" said the figure as she played her card. The area around them began to glow as massive wings picked up; Twilight put her arms to cover her face from the wind as she held on to avoid being blown away. Soon, the field around them had symbols that all lit up as their surroundings changed to a field with the symbols lighting up the sky.
"A Zodiac deck? That's not good," said Owloysius as he witnessed the move made by Twilight's opponent.
"No, it's not. It's a deck capable of starting their play sequences with just one card. They also grant additional effects for any Beast-Warrior Xyz Monster they're attached to, ranging from protection against targeting effects, piercing battle damage, banishing opposing monsters they battled, or even summoning more monsters from the Deck. But... it does have a weakness. Over-reliance on "Ratpier" makes it the prime target of any counter-attempt cards their opponents may utilize." said Twilight.
"Thanks to my field spell, all my 'Zodiac' monsters gain 300 extra attack and defense points. Furthermore, you can only attack my Beast-Warrior monsters with the highest attack points. So you better bulk up, Ms. Sparkle. Now, I summon Zoodiac Ratpier(0/0)!" The cloaked figure played their card as an anthropomorphic version of a rat appeared, wearing a suit of armor and having an oversized gauntlet on her left arm as it held a rapier(0 → 300).
"When I Normal Summon my monster, I send one 'Zoodiac' card from my deck to my graveyard," stated the figure as they selected a card to send away. "Next, I'll play the continuous spell card, Fire Formation - Tenki! Thanks to this spell, I can add one 'Beast-Warrior' monster from my deck to my hand when I activate it. In addition, this grants my monsters another 100 extra attack points. So my Ratpier gets stronger!" said the robed individual(300 → 400).
"I then set one card facedown and end my turn!"
Turn 2: Twilight (Hand 5)
"You set all that up, and your monster barely peaks 500, not to mention you burned through most of your hand. One thing about Duel Monsters is that it's about card management. Now, watch and learn. I draw!" said Twilight as she placed her hand on top of her deck and drew. The woman got a sudden rush ejected into her as she remembered this feeling of dueling after so long.
"I play the spell card, Spellbook Library of the Crescent! When I have no 'Spellbook' cards in my graveyard, I can reveal three different 'Spellbooks' from my deck. So I reveal Spellbook of Power, Spellbook of Secrets, and Spellbook of Knowledge!" stated Twilight as the three books appeared between the two duelists. "Now, the fun part: you randomly decide which book to give me while the other two are shuffled back into my deck.
The three books turned back into cards as they turned around to show their backside. They all spun in a circle as soon they stopped and stood in a straight line; Twilight smirked as she looked at her opponent to await their decision.
"I choose the card on the left," said the mysterious woman.
"Excellent choice," said Twilight as she took her card and placed the other two on top to allow the auto shuffler to work its magic. "Now, I summon Gold Gadget(1700/800) to the field!" Out came a small gold gadget as it popped out, arms and legs. "And like every good gadget, it has a cool function. Thanks to Gold Gadget's ability, I can summon one Level 4 Machine monster from my hand when it's summoned. So I also summon Silver Gadget(1500/1000)!" Another round gadget appeared as it was colored silver and popped out its arms and legs.
"Now, Silver Gadget, attack Zoodiac Ratpier!" stated Twilight as her monster rushed forward and delivered a punch to the anthro rat as it was destroyed. "Now, Gold Gadget, attack her directly!" Twilight's second monster took its shot and punched the mysterious figure as they put their arms up to cover up.
?'s Life Points: 6300-
"Next, I'll play the Spellbook card you gave me, Spellbook of Secrets. With this spell, I can add any 'Spellbook' from my deck to my hand," stated Twilight as she used her Duel screen to select the card she wanted and clicked confirm. It slid out as she grabbed it. "I then play Graceful Charity, so I draw three cards and discard two. And one of the cards I'm sending to my graveyard is my Spellbook of Divinity. And here's how it works: when it's sent to the graveyard, I can select one card in my entire deck and remove it from play for three turns. Then, after three turns, I can play it!"
"Three turns? You really think you'll last that long to play it?" scoffed the person as Twilight selected the one card she wanted to temporarily remove and put it in the special compartment of her Duel Disk.
"I wouldn't worry if I'm going to last that long. But thanks for the concern," said Twilight. "I set one card facedown and end my turn."
Turn 3: ? (Hand 1)
"It's my move!" said the person as they drew. "And I play the spell card, Shuffle Reborn! With this, I can bring back a monster, but its effects are negated and banished at the end of my turn. So I revive Zoodiac Kataroost(800/1200)!" An anthropomorphic rooster appeared as it had an oversized gauntlet on its right arm and wielded a katar. "Thanks to my spell cards, it gains 400 extra attack points. But that's not all, because I now summon Zoodiac Thoroughblade(1600/0)!" Another anthropomorphic monster appeared; this one had horse features as it also had an oversized gauntlet on its right arm and wielded a sword(1600 → 2000).
"Now that everything is in place, it's time to take things to the next level!" said the figure as they pulled out a similar pendant that looked like the one Twilight was trying to uncover.
It began to glow as it emitted magic; it made a giant wind blow throughout the room. Twilight's ponytail came undone. It flapped in the wind as she stretched her arms to cover her face. Soon, it caused the girl to drop to the floor, and she landed with a thud.
"Shadow magic detected, Twilight," said Owloysius to his creator.
"Yeah, I detected that too," scoffed Twilight at her AI for not telling her sooner to prepare herself. "Next time, tell me sooner!"
Outside, Moondancer was still in the car, wondering about her friend.
"What's taking Twilight so long?" asked the woman.
She soon heard a thud as she looked out the car's windshield. She saw a glow emit from one of the floors, sending a magic wave through the building. She stepped out to see the area of the building where the duel was taking place as it was encased in a circle with a barrier.
"Oh, no!" said Moondancer as she sat it and got out of the car. She began to head to the building to find her friend.
Twilight got inside the building after being knocked down as she looked at her foe. The mysterious figure wore the pendant they used to unleash the Shadow magic as she looked at it.
"Owlyoysius, give me a scan!" said Twilight to her AI.
"No signs of any damages, madam. Everything seems to be relatively normal. Well, except for this barrier. My instruments indicate it is indeed Shadow magic." said the AI.
"Now, I overlay both monsters to build the Overlay Network!" shouted the robed figure as her two monsters turned into orbs of light before her and hovered into the air. A portal opened as the orbs were sucked in, and a pillar of light emerged. "I Xyz Summon, Zoodiac Chakanine(?/?, OLU: 2)!" An anthropomorphic human female dog appeared with an oversized gauntlet on her right arm as she held a chakram.
"My monster's attack and defense points equal the total of the monsters used to summon it. So since Zoodiac Thoroughblade had 2000 attack points, and Kataroost had 1200 attack points, it has a total of 3200!" stated the person(?/? → 3200/1800).
"Now Chakanine! Attack her Gold Gadget!" shouted the figure as her monster threw her chakram forward and crashed into the monster, bursting it into pieces as Twilight looked away.
Twilight's Life Points: 6500-
"My monster may be destroyed, but it has one last feature to use. When it's destroyed, I can replace it with another 'Gadget' monster from my deck. So I choose Green Gadget(1400/600)!" stated Twilight as a green gear-like monster appeared and sprouted out its arms and legs. "And there's more. When Green Gadget is summoned, I can move Red Gadget to my hand from my deck!"
"Add whatever card you want to your hand. It won't matter. Remember, you have to attack my strongest monster due to my field spell. And my Chakanine has 3200 attack points, so by the time you manage to summon a monster higher than that, I'll have built up a force strong enough to wipe you out!"
"She's right. The field spell limits your options, Twilight," stated Owloysius.
"Don't worry, I always have a plan in mind," said the woman.
Turn 4: Twilight (Hand 4)
"It's my move! Now then..." said Twilight as she drew her card. "I summon the Red Gadget(1300/1500) I added to my hand earlier. And when it's summoned, I can move Yellow Gadget to my hand!" Just like with Twilight's Green Gadget, a red gear-like gadget appeared, sprouting its arms and legs.
"I'll end my turn there!"
Turn 5: ? (Hand 0)
"It's my move. And now, Chakanine, attack her Green Gadget!" said the mysterious figure as her monster threw her weapon and destroyed it.
Twilight's Life Points: 4900-
"Then I activate my Chakanine's special ability. Using one overlay unit, I can revive one 'Zoodiac' monster from my graveyard, but its effects are negated and can't be used for an Xyz summon. So my Zoodiac Thoroughblade rises!" stated the person as their anthropomorphic horse rose.
"I now end my turn."
Turn 6: Twilight (Hand 5)
"My turn, and I'll play my own field spell called The Grand Spellbook Tower!" A shimmering tower appeared. "Now, I'll overlay myself using my two Gadget monsters!" stated Twilight as her monsters turned into orbs of light as they hovered in the air. A portal opened before her as the orbs were sucked in, and a pillar of light emerged. "I Xyz Summon, Maestroke the Symphony Djinn(1800/2300, OLU: 2)!" A conductor appeared as he wielded a baton-like sword.
"What good will that monster do?" asked the robed figure.
"You'll see. Next, I'm summoning my Defender, the Magical Knight(1600/2000). And when he's Normal Summoned, I can place a Spell Counter on him. Then I'll play Spellbook Organization. So, I look at the three top cards of my deck and arrange them in any order I choose." Twilight grabbed the three top cards as she looked at them before making her choice and rearranged them.
"I end my turn!" (Hand 3)
Turn 7: ? (Hand 1)
"It's my move. And now I will use Zoodiac Chakanine to Xyz Summon a different Zoodiac. Say hello to Zoodiac Broadbull(?/?, OLU: 2)!" The anthropomorphic dog turned into an orb of light along with its remaining Xyz material as they entered a portal, and a pillar of light emerged. A new monster, now an anthropomorphic bull, stood with an oversized gauntlet on its right arm as it wielded a broadaxe.
"My monster's attack and defense points are dictated by the total points from the monsters attached to it. So my Zoodiac Chakanine had 3200 attack points and 1800 defense points, and my Zoodiac Kataroost attached to my previous Chakanine had 1200 attack points and 1600 defense points. So that means my Zoodiac Broadbull has 5000 attack points and 3400 defense points!" stated the figure as the stats on her monster appeared.
"5000 attack points? You have nothing that comes close to that!" stated Owloysius.
"Thanks for the info that I already know," said Twilight to her AI. "Plus, it gets a 400 attack point boost because of her two spells."
"Next, I play the continuous spell card, Zoodiac Barrage. Now, using the power of this card, I target my Zoodiac Thoroughblade and destroy it, allowing me to replace it with another one from my deck! So I choose Zoodiac Whiptail(1200/400)!" said the mysterious person as her monster disappeared, and in its place rose an anthropomorphic snake with an oversized gauntlet on her left arm as it wielded a snake whip.
"Then I activate my Zoodiac Whiptail's special ability, so now I attach it to my Broadbull. So it gains even more power!" chuckled the person.
"6600 attack points?! That's almost enough to wipe out your remaining Life Points and then some!" stated Owloysius.
"Yeah, I know!" said Twilight to her AI.
"Now, Broadbull, attack her Maestroke!" said the person.
"I activate my Maestroke's ability! By using one overlay unit, I can protect it from being destroyed!" said Twilight as her monster put its sword baton horizontally as he fended off the attack from the snake whip.
"You're just delaying your destruction!" said the person. "Because thanks to my Whiptail's additional effect, any monster that it's attached to that battles, that monster is banished!"
Twilight's Maestroke soon disappeared as the woman had only one monster left.
"And I'm not done because I then activate Broadbull's special ability; using one overlay unit, I can add a 'Zoodiac' monster from my deck. Then I'll summon it, a second Zoodiac Thoroughblade. And when it's summoned, I discard a 'Zoodiac' card and draw one card." stated the figure as they sent their card away to replace it with a new one.
"I end my turn!"
Turn 8: Twilight (Hand 3)
"It's my move. But first, I'm activating the effect of my field spell. During my Standby Phase, if I control a Spellcaster, I can target one 'Spellbook' in my graveyard and put it on the bottom of my deck. And then I'm allowed to draw a card. So I'll take my Spellbook of the Crescent!" stated Twilight as her card slid out for her to grab. She placed it on her deck, moved the card to the bottom, and drew. "Then I'll take my draw!"
"I'll play Pot of Greed to draw two more cards. And then activate this Spellbook of Mimic. As the name suggests, it allows me to copy the effect of a spell card. So I'll use the effect of Pot of Greed once again to draw two more cards!" stated Twilight as she drew again.
"What are you planning?" said the robed figure.
"Don't you see? By replenishing my hand, countless more strategic opportunities are available to me now!" stated Twilight. "I then place one card facedown and end my turn!"
Turn 9: ? (Hand 1)
"It's the end of the line!" stated the figure as they drew and thrust their finger out. "Broadbull, attack her Defender!"
"I activate Defender's ability. By removing the Spell Counter it has, I can stop it from being destroyed!" said Twilight as her monster put its shield forward and tanked the hit. The attack still transferred as Twilight felt it and dropped to a knee as she breathed heavily.
"Don't forget, Whiptail's effect means your monster is now banished!" stated the mysterious figure as Twilight's monster disappeared. "Now that you're defenseless. Zoodiac Thoroughblade, strike her directly!" The person's other monster rushed forward as he brought his weapon down on Twilight, who was knocked to the floor.
Twilight groaned as she felt the attack's force and had scuff marks along her body and clothes. The woman struggled a bit, as she soon started to stir; her body felt the attack's impact as she willed herself to get up.
Twilight's Life Points: 2900-
"Are you alright, Twilight?"
"I'm fine, Owloysius," said the woman to her program.
"One more turn, and it's over."
Turn 10: Twilight (Hand 6)
Twilight stood up as she raised her Duel Disk to look at her foe. The mysterious person smiled as they were about to beat her when her Duel Disk began to glow. The glow caused Twilight to smile as she knew what that meant.
"Now!" shouted Twilight as she slammed her hand on the ground.
The ground responded to her command as it began to open up.
"What's going on?" said the person.
"Three turns have passed since I activated my Spellbook of Divinity. So you know what that means!" smiled the woman.
The intruder now realized what Twilight was saying as she gasped. The crack then had a card appearing as Twilight grabbed it and held it up high.
"Now I call upon my World of Prophecy(2900/2400)!" shouted Twilight as a powerful monster descended from the heavens.
"Impossible!" said the intruder.
"And now... time for you to lose!" shouted Twilight as she drew her card. "I activate my World of Prophecy's special ability! Since the effect of a Spellbook summoned it, I can add two 'Spellbooks' from my graveyard to my hand! I take my Spellbook Organization and Spellbook of Secrets! Then I reveal Spellbook of Power, Spellbook Organization, Spellbook of Secrets, and Spellbook of Magic!" Four cards appeared above Twilight as they shined brightly. "By revealing four different 'Spellbooks,' I can destroy every card on the field!"
"No!" said the person as Twilight's monster put all its arms together.
It concentrated as a massive orb appeared; the monster then built up all its energy and released it as a massive explosion occurred. It destroyed everything as both duelists looked away for a second. Twilight's monster remained the only monster on the field when the light died.
"Now, I play Spellbook of Power to give my World of Prophecy an extra 1000 attack points until the End Phase. And I'll also play this Spellbook of Magic and equip it onto my World of Prophecy. Now, attack!" shouted Twilight as her monster moved all its arms in a circle; it made several beams appear and fired at the mysterious duelist, who felt the attack as they made contact.
?'s Life Points: 2400-
"And now I send my Spellbook of Magic and World of Prophecy to the graveyard!" stated Twilight as she sent both cards away. "Since I sent my Spellbook of Prophecy along with the monster it was equipped to, it allows me to replace it with one from my hand. And I know which one, so say hello to my partner, Priestess of Prophecy(2500/2100)!" Twilight held up her card as she was calling upon her signature monster. Out emerged a beautiful woman with red hair and a revealing outfit as she crossed her legs and had a book appear in her lap.
"Priestess, let's end this!" shouted Twilight.
"Your wish is my command, Twilight!" said the monster as she opened her book.
The Priestess had her hand out as it began to crackle with magic. The figure could not avoid this as the woman smiled before firing her magic spell attack at the intruder, who took the hit and was knocked off her feet as she fell onto the floor with a thud.
?'s Life Points: 0-
Winner: Twilight
The barrier ceased to exist as Twilight looked at her foe. She then got a beeping on her Duel Disk.
"Uh, Twilight. I believe we have some company!" said Owloysius as he showed the security footage of two more robed individuals in the computer room, trying to hack her system.
Twilight was shocked before she went to look at her foe, but they were gone. She looked around, wondering where they might have gone, but there was no trace. She quickly put that aside as she turned to walk back and spoke into her Duel Disk.
"Owloysius, initiate TS-01!" said the woman to her AI.
"Are you almost done?" asked one of the figures.
"Just about!" said the other.
The pair had finally managed to break through Twilight's final defense the moment she summoned her World of Prophecy. And now they were looking to extract the data they sought; the download was at 77% and quickly rising.
"Just a few more seconds!" said the one in the chair.
The download reached 90% only a few seconds before it was completed. Soon, it stopped at 95. The thieves noticed it, and they were surprised.
"What happened?" asked the one off to the side.
"The extraction stopped! But how?" said the one in the chair.
"So sorry about that!" said Owloysius as his voice appeared and showed him shutting down their hacking attempt as he rebooted the system instantly. "But only people who have authorized access can see this information. And only President Madam Twilight Sparkle has that privilege."
The thief in the chair growled as he slammed his fist against the keyboard. He then unplugged the flash drive he inserted as he stood up.
"We got what we could. Let's go!" said the thief in charge as they began to book it.
Twilight took a tight corner turn as she skidded to a halt before pushing off and running down the hall. The woman was looking through the security footage on her Duel Disk when she saw that Owloysius did his job of stopping data extraction and kicking the hackers out. She noticed and then began to leave as she headed to cut them off. She saw the pair just before her as she had her AI contact the authorities.
"Stop!" shouted Twilight.
The two thieves immediately jumped out of a window as it shattered upon impact. Twilight halted as she got to the broken thing and saw the thieves had landed on a rope ladder hanging off the side of a helicopter. The woman looked at the thieves who broke into her building as they flew away. She held a look as the elevator doors dinged, and out came Moondancer.
"Twilight!" said the woman as she spotted her friend and rushed over. She made her way to her partner and noticed her scuffs. "What happened to you?"
Twilight didn't answer; she just turned and began to walk. She lifted her Duel Disk.
"Owloysius, give me an update."
"All systems are operating, Twilight. Authorities are on their way."
"And the pendant?" asked Twilight.
"Still safety secured. However, I did look over the records of the mainframe. Despite our efforts, they managed to get some info."
"That's not good," stated the lavender-haired woman.
"But there is good news. I was able to stop them from fully getting the information."
"Whatever data they were here for has to be connected with that Shadow magic we experienced in the duel. Get me, Isaac."
"Already contacting him, Miss," stated the AI.
"What's going on, Twilight?" asked Moondancer as she asked her friend, who sighed and had her back turned to which she crossed her arms.
"I wish I knew Moondancer. But something tells me that the days of the Shadow Games might be coming back. And if that's the case, the whole world might be in danger." Twilight turned to address her friend. She looked at her Duel Disk as the monsters inside her cards seemed to sense their mistress' worries.
Author's Note: Who knew Mario had such a musical talent. It seems that Zipp is impressed by the boy and vice versa; the relationship between the two seems to be helping the other. And on the other hand, it seems the villians that Isaac dealt with have also made another attempt and this time, they had a run-in with none other than Twilight. Despite running a company, she's not only created an AI assistance, but still has the skills of a duelist. Yet, they seem to have made off with some information that seems vital. Only time will tell what it is.