Yu-Gi-Oh! CHRONIXII Chapter 6: Level 1-6: The Threat of Itzamna, a yu-gi-oh fanfic

Starting this week, you'll also see my story published on my DeviantArt account (link to the story on my profile)! But as is the case here, each chapter on DeviantArt will be posted every Saturday. (I just hope some of you guys don't mind that I'll be a few chapters off on that site, at the time I made this announcement.) With that said, on to Level 1-6 of Yu-Gi-Oh! CHRONIXII!

Earlier that night, around the time Mira was transported to Corycian Cave, Reggie was working rather feverishly on her computer. To be more precise, she was ambitiously perfecting her deck. She was in her sleepwear, which consisted of a pink short-sleeved sleep shirt, and lavender pajama pants decorated with purple stars on the legs. She was also barefoot.

"And… done!" she said after a few more taps on her keyboard and clicks of her mouse. "My deck's all set! I may have been lucky enough to beat Homanu, but I still wanna see how good it is against Mira! Hmm… I wonder what time it is?" She moved her eyes to the monitor's clock: about quarter past ten in the evening.

"Whoa! I was up later than I thought!" she cried. "I should probably go to bed – Sister Golas says I shouldn't be staying up so late. Stupid grownups, always telling kids what to do…!" Despite her disdain for adult authority, she shut down her computer. Once it was fully powered down, she headed to her bed, got herself under the covers, and went right to sleep.

Not long after Reggie was sound asleep, a cluster of sickly yellow pixels formed inside the bedroom. In place of the pixels was a tall, slim android – very similar to the ones found in Corycian Cave. Its body armor was silvery white mixed with a few shades of yellow. In the center of its chest armor was a glowing yellow crystalline orb with a golden Eye of Wdjat, wrapped around vertically and horizontally by two golden bands. As for its mask, it was a silvery white Kanohi Hau with a gold symbol on the forehead and sickly yellow eyes shining out of the eyeholes. The symbol closely resembled the number four, its front edge significantly curved. Attached to its left wrist was a gold cuff that contained a topaz crystal.

The android carefully moved its head until it caught sight of Reggie's Disk lying by her computer. Without wasting a second, he stretched his right palm towards Reggie, generating a soundproof forcefield all around the girl and her bed. Afterwards, the android turned his attention to the Disk, and stretched out its left palm. This caused some sickly yellow pixels to transfer from the topaz to Reggie's Disk, all of which lasted a few moments.

"Excellent," the android spoke in a male voice, once the mysterious procedure was complete. "With the card I have implemented into the foolish girl's D-Gear system, our chances of flushing out our targets have increased. Our plan to destroy the Wielders must not fail!" The android dissolved the forcefield around Reggie, and then disappeared into the same yellow pixels from whence he came.

YU-GI-OH! CHRONIXII

LEVEL 1-6
THE THREAT OF ITZAMNA

It was breakfast time at the orphanage the following morning, and Mira sat at her usual table with Homanu and Kero. Homanu's sleepwear consisted of a gray undershirt and red corduroy sleep shorts, while Kero's consisted of a white sleep shirt and dark green pajama pants.

As Mira ate her usual breakfast of tamagoyaki, she was deep in thought about the events that happened last night. Several questions were on her mind: What exactly was a 'Wielder,' and why did Isis expect her of all people to have the potential of being one? What was this 'Iroa of Darkness' Isis spoke of? And most importantly… was any of what she had witnessed real?

"Mira, are you okay?" Kero asked, breaking Mira's concentration.

"Oh! Um, yeah, I'm fine," was the startled Mira's reply.

"You sure?" the concerned Homanu asked, almost suspiciously. "You didn't have another dream like the one you had a month ago, did you?"

"…I didn't," Mira hesitantly replied. In truth, she actually was bothered by that dream – at least that's what she hoped it was. But she did remember the promise she made to Isis – and whether or not whatever she witnessed truly was a dream, she unexplainably found herself obliging it.

"Hey, that reminds me!" Kero exclaimed. "Yusaku gave you back your Disk, right? So, did he get rid of the virus you said was in it?"

"He did give me back my Disk," said Mira, "but he said that he couldn't find any viruses on it, no matter how hard he tried."

"So, if there weren't any viruses in your D-Gear," said Homanu, "why were you still talking to it yesterday? …Come to think of it, what was this 'pink thing' you kept mentioning that day?"

"I'd rather not talk about it…" Mira murmured.

"Mira…" Homanu said sternly.

"Hey, as long as Mira's Disk doesn't have any viruses in it, she should be fine!" Kero carefreely interrupted. "I mean, that's what matters, right?"

"I dunno…" Homanu began.

"Hey, Mira!" Reggie interrupted the conversation as she eagerly headed to the friends' table. "After breakfast, y'wanna have a Game Duel with me?"

"Another one?" Mira groaned. "You mean the one you had with Homanu wasn't enough?"

"Oh yeah, how'd it go?" Kero asked.

"She won," Homanu grumbled. With a sigh, he added, "I swear, I practically didn't stand a chance against her!"

"So, if you were able to beat Homanu," Mira asked, "how come you wanna duel me?"

"Isn't it obvious?!" Reggie cried, rolling her eyes. "You beat Hawk yesterday, didn't you? You know, the same Hawk Arthur beat? Well, if I duel you and win, then I'll know for sure that I'll be ready to duel Arthur!"

"And what makes you think Arthur will be dueling you?" Homanu asked. "We don't know when he'll be making another public appearance, or even if he'll be making one anytime soon!"

"Hey, you never know!" Reggie whined.

After thinking over Reggie's offer, Mira said, "Okay, Reggie, after I'm done with breakfast, I'll duel you."

"Yes!" Reggie squealed in excitement. "Mira, you have no idea how happy I am right now! Once you're done with breakfast, come find me, and we'll go from there. Don't keep me waiting!" She ran to get her breakfast, still full of excitement.

"Wow, you sure made her day!" Homanu eagerly remarked.

"Guess I did," Mira agreed. "But if she beat you like she said she did, I should probably-"

But before she could say or do anything else, the necklace she kept hidden under her pajama top began to shine faintly underneath. Unexplainably, her eyes widened as a vision went through her head. What she saw was Reggie, except she was not her usual cheerful self. Her entire face was malicious – as if she were possessed – with her eyes glowing a demonic red. "IN THE NAME OF ITZAMNA, I WILL DESTROY YOU!" she screamed. The vision abruptly ended and Mira immediately snapped back into reality. But trying to make sense out of what just happened was beyond her.

"Whoa, what was that all about?" the stunned Kero asked.

"I… I don't know…!" the bewildered Mira said, placing her fingertips upon her forehead.

"Mira, are you sure you're feeling okay?" Homanu asked, almost severely. "First, you claim that you were seeing a 'pink thing' yesterday, and now this? Something's definitely wrong with you!"

"Homanu, I'm fine," Mira said defensively. "Let's just finish our breakfast so that we can meet up with Reggie."

"Okay, if you say so…" the uneasy Homanu said as the three friends returned to their breakfast.

But as Mira ate, she was troubled about the vision she just had, even though she tried her hardest not to show that she was. 'What was that vision I just had?' she anxiously wondered. 'And how did I have that vision? …Damn it, Mira, you can't let it get to you like that! Right now, you gotta finish your breakfast, and then meet up with Reggie! …And hope that whatever you saw isn't actually gonna happen…!'

After a few minutes, the three friends had finished their breakfast. They were now dressed in their everyday attire, and waiting for Reggie downstairs. "What's taking her so long?" Homanu grumbled, impatiently looking at the clock feature on his D-Gear. "Reggie said it wouldn't take her any more than ten minutes to get ready!"

"Well, you saw how overjoyed she was when Mira accepted her challenge," Kero reminded him, "so chances are she's just too excited to think straight."

Upon hearing this, Homanu chuckled and smugly remarked, "Wow, someone easily getting excited to the point where they can hardly think straight – does that remind you of anyone?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" the insulted Kero pouted, crossing his arms in embarrassment.

"Alright, guys!" Reggie's voice boldly announced from upstairs. "Sorry to keep you all waiting, but heeeeeeeeeeeeeere's Reggie!"

With that announcement, Reggie swaggered out of her bedroom, her Disk attached to her wrist. But in addition to her own everyday attire, she was wearing a white rounded triangular biking helmet, baby blue elbow pads, neon green kneepads, and a cape made out of a canary yellow bedsheet. A string of white beads holding a comically oversized medallion of pink construction paper, with the letter 'R' written on front in black permanent marker, was worn around her neck.

Reggie began to pompously proceed down the stairs. But one misstep caused her to tumble all the way down and land smack on her face. All of the noise caught the attention of Sister Golas, who ran out of her office to see what was the matter.

"What's all that noi – oh, goodness me!" Sister Golas gasped upon seeing Reggie lying on the floor. "Reggie! Are you alright, child?!"

Reggie immediately leapt back to her feet, her smile still stretching across her face. "Never better, Sister Golas!" she beamed, her hands proudly at her sides.

"Well, I should certainly hope so!" Sister Golas scolded. "I don't want you horsing around on top of the stairs like that, especially dressed like every day's Halloween, y'hear?"

"Don't worry, Sister Golas," the cheerful Reggie said reassuringly. "My friends and I are just gonna go out for a friendly Game Duel!"

"Alright," Sister Golas said rather cautiously, "but you'd all better be back by lunchtime, understand?"

"We will, Sister Golas," Homanu said. Sister Golas nodded, and then returned to her office.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Reggie said, eagerly waving her arm towards the front door. "Let's go!"

"Okay, but I just have one question," Mira said awkwardly. "What exactly is with the getup?"

"Hey, if you're gonna duel someone who's strong enough to beat Hawk," Reggie explained, "ya gotta do it… in style!" She immediately struck a pose while winking her eye and poking out her tongue.

"Wh-whatever you say, R-R-Reggie," Kero squeaked and snorted, trying to keep himself from laughing.

"C'mon, let's go already!" Reggie said, proudly walking out the front door, the trio following behind.

As the group walked towards their destination, Mira discreetly but carefully observed Reggie's behavior. 'The strange getup aside, she doesn't seem all that different from how she usually acts,' she thought. 'So why did I have that vision where she looked… evil? No, it's probably nothing. …I sure hope it's nothing…'

After about thirty minutes of walking, the gang finally arrived at their destination, which was a vast meadowlike area close to the outskirts of Alba Litora. This was one of several 'hotspots' built around Alba Litora, specifically designed for everyday Game Duels to be played under special Game Duel Fields. This was indicated by a slow-spinning holographic projection of a stylized compass rose – the same icon reserved for Field Spell Cards. "Why'd you bring us here?" Mira asked.

"Oh, you're about to find out!" Reggie said with a snicker. "Let's go!"

"Hey! Don't start without me!" a preppy female voice called. Everyone turned their heads, and saw that it belonged to a light brown-eyed girl running towards them. She was around the same height and age as Kero, and had waist-length hair that was dyed light blue and fading to purple, with a blue streak on the right side. She also had purple eyeshadow and freckles under her eyes. Her attire was a bright pink hoodie, a lavender skirt held with a purple belt, maroon leggings, white socks, and light gray wine-heeled boots. This was Andrea Davenport, Alba Litora's most popular streamer, always alert and up to date with the latest trends – even more so since the day Game Duels were officially launched.

"Andrea? What are you doing here?" the surprised Mira demanded. Then it occurred to her. "Wait, did Reggie put you up to this?"

"She sure did!" Andrea beamed. "Reggie told me everything last night – how you were able to beat Hawk, Arthur's opponent back in the finals! She also asked me to record you two dueling each other, so that she'd show Arthur how strong she is, if she beats you!"

Mira was shocked by this revelation. "Reggie, are you seriously dragging Andrea into doing all this?!"

"Come on, Mira!" Reggie whined, her pupils dilating. "How else am I gonna get Arthur's attention?!"

Mira was still frustrated about what was going on, but she didn't want to disappoint her friend. Besides, she wanted to be sure that whatever she briefly but inexplicably saw in her vision wouldn't come true. "Okay, Reggie," she said, raising her Disk, "let's go!"

Hearing this, joy and excitement spread across Reggie's face. "Alright, let's do this!"

"Wait! Don't start the duel just yet!" Andrea cried. "I gotta get you set up first!" She grabbed a small silver orb attached to the side of her belt, and tossed it into the air. The orb floated, and then slightly enlarged as it transformed into a drone, a camera lens emerging out of a hidden compartment. A small red light on the drone was steadily blinking, indicating that the footage was being recorded – the exact moment Andrea was waiting for.

"Whattup, Fandreas!?" she lively greeted her audience through the camera. "It's your girl, Andrea! I'm coming to you live from one of several hotspots made exclusively for Game Duels, where we're about to witness a really fab duel between Reggie Abbott and Mira Yukiko! This is gonna be quite the duel, 'cause according to Reggie, Mira was able to beat Hawk, a.k.a. the final opponent of our city's idol and overall heartthrob, Arthur Rutherford! And Reggie says that if she beats Mira, then she may have a chance of dueling Arthur! But we'll see if her dream's really gonna come true!

"Alright, girls, let's get this show started!"

With this declaration, Reggie and Mira raised their D-Gears, the touchscreens lighting up. A Game Duel Field moved up to the center of the touchscreens, but one whose artwork was awfully familiar. It depicted a meadow very similar to the one the group was in, with the two knights in different-colored armor of black and white preparing to face off against each other.

"Game Duel Hotspot detected," the female computerized voice spoke during this sequence. "Now activating Game Duel Field: Game World, Brave Battlegrounds." Indeed, after the declaration of the battlefield's activation, the entire scenery changed to display the exact same scenery for Arthur's duel against Hawk, complete with the gently falling leaves.

"Hey, this is the same Game Duel Field used when Arthur dueled Hawk in the finals!" Kero exclaimed, immediately recognizing the newly-changed meadow.

"Exactly!" Reggie beamed, pounding her chest. "If I'm able to beat Mira in this exact same battlefield, then I know I'll be strong enough to face Arthur!"

"My God, you really are that ambitious about wanting to duel Arthur, aren't you?" Homanu cheerfully remarked.

"Um… yeah, that's it!" Reggie said innocently, quickly placing an arm over her shoulder. Shifting her attention to Mira, she added, "Alright, Mira! You're my final obstacle to see whether or not I'm strong enough to face Arthur, so let the battle begin!" She projected her Disk's pale pink blade. Mira, positive that Reggie still wasn't acting differently from her usual self, activated her own Disk, its hot pink blade projecting.

"Let the epic Game Duel commence!" Andrea shouted.

"Game Duel, game start!" they both shouted.

MIRA: 4000 LP / REGGIE: 4000 LP

"Okay, Mira, you're up!" Reggie said.

Hearing this, the perplexed Mira blinked her eyes and said, "Wait, I'm up? But you're the one who challenged me to this duel, right? So shouldn't you make the first move?"

"You're right, I did challenge you," Reggie said. "But being the famous duelist he is, Arthur is known to always make the first move! Therefore, I'm letting you make the first move, to see how strong you really are! So, no holding back, Mira!"

"Alright, if you insist!" Mira said. Her ring appeared around her wrist, five stacked cards materializing in front of the red-slotted ridge. But no sooner had she drawn when, without warning, the familiar streak of pink and violet pixels shot out of her D-Gear and transformed into Pinkie. "Sorry I'm late, Mira!" she yawned while stretching. "I must've overslept!"

Once again frustrated by her unwanted presence, Mira grumbled, "Do you seriously have to show up now?!"

"Oops!" Pinkie gulped, blushing as she realized her mistake. "I didn't know you were in a Game Duel – sorry 'bout that!"

"Look, I really don't have time for you," Mira sternly warned her pintsized partner. "I gotta try and end this duel quick!"

"Why? Do you have some kind of date or something?" Pinkie innocently asked.

"What the- no! I don't know how to explain it, but I had a vision that Reggie became evil or something! I'm hoping that I'll end this duel quick, so that it doesn't happen!"

"Don't worry, Mira – like I always say, you totally got this!" Pinkie cheered, winking at her and giving her a thumbs-up. This gesture only made Mira even more embarrassed.

"Um… Homanu?" Kero said to his male friend. "Mira's talking to herself again…"

"I see that," the concerned Homanu agreed. "It's just like yesterday when she was dueling Hawk. I don't know what's gotten into her, but I'm gonna get to the bottom of it, one way or another…"

Bringing her attention back to the duel, Mira grabbed two cards and announced, "I summon Destiny Hero Passer and Destiny Hero Paradoxer!"

She slapped the two cards onto her blade's outermost floating zones. Two hot pink hexagonal portals appeared beside her, and two of her cybernetic warriors flew out of them – one in the cybernetic blue armor, and the other being the cybernetic angel with the white mask. [ATK: 800] [ATK: 800]

"I activate Passer's effect! Since he was summoned this turn, I have to send the top two cards of my deck to the Graveyard, and doing so will grant him eight hundred Attack Points!" Her ring appeared once again, and this time two cards shot out of the red-slotted ridge. As they floated in the air, they transformed into hot pink pixels that transferred into the blue-armored warrior. [ATK: 800 – 1600]

"Then I activate Paradoxer's effect! By returning the two cards I just sent to the Graveyard back into my deck, I get to draw two cards! But then, I have to send two cards from my hand to the Graveyard!" The angelic warrior's eyes began to shine a lustrous lavender as two hot pink streaks shot up from her ring's green-slotted ridge back to the red-slotted one, before transforming into two stacked cards of the same color. Mira drew the two cards, but then proceeded to pressing her finger on two of the cards in her replenished hand, which dissipated into hot pink pixels.

"You did tell me not to hold back, Reggie – so I won't! I sacrifice Destiny Hero Paradoxer to Tribute Summon the Upgrade Monster, Destiny Dragon Chronogias!"

The angelic warrior dissipated into hot pink pixels. But it wasn't long before a lustrous lavender pillar shot up from behind Mira. Flying out of the portal was her ace cybernetic ebony and lavender dragon. [BASE ATK: 1900 / GRADE: BASE]

"Wow, Mira just brought out her ace on her first turn!" Kero exclaimed. "She's really not messing around, is she?"

"I guess not!" Andrea said. "Then again, Reggie did insist that Mira not hold back – looks like she's getting her wish!"

Homanu, still disdainful towards Upgrade Monsters, only grunted and shrugged. Reggie, on the other hand, was beyond overjoyed to see Mira's opening move. "That's it, Mira!" she loudly cheered. "Give it to me with everything you've got!"

Mira said nothing, but took the last two cards in her hand and slid them into her blade's leftmost and rightmost horizontal slots. "I'll place two cards face-down, and end my turn!"

"Okay, Mira, it's my turn!" Reggie beamed. Her own ring appeared around her wrist, five stacked cards materializing in front of the red-slotted ridge. She energetically twirled as she majestically drew the cards. "Time for a little change of scenery! I bring us to the world of Endless Fantasy's Island!"

A virtual slot slid out of the outer edge of the blade, which Reggie slapped a card onto before the slot closed back up. A WHITE MAGIC Field Spell Card materialized beside her, its artwork depicting a fairly large island surrounded by a sparkling ocean. However, scattered around various parts of the island were all sorts of things children enjoyed, such as giant toys, candies, and sweets, as well as what appeared to be some kind of fairground.

"Um… Reggie? I don't think much has changed," Mira said, observing her surroundings. Indeed, despite Reggie claiming that there would be a 'change of scenery,' the entire area around them had not changed in the slightest. If anything, the Field Spell Card she just activated remained visible beside her.

"…Oh!" Reggie cried upon realizing this. "Well, I guess the scenery doesn't matter as long as my Field Spell's in play! But back to the duel! I'll continue my turn by activating the Spell Card, Endless Fantasy's Treasures!" A card materialized in her hand, which she swiped through one of her blade's horizontal slots. An EARTH Spell Card materialized, its artwork depicting a toy treasure chest being discovered by two awe-inspired young boys in raccoon costumes.

"This card makes me send any number of cards from my hand to the Graveyard, and then I'll draw the same number of cards. But since I have Endless Fantasy's Island on my field, I get to draw an additional card! I'll go ahead and discard these two cards, so that I can draw three!" Two cards materialized in front of Reggie, which she swiped her fingers across before they dissipated into pale pink pixels. Afterwards, three stacked cards materialized in front of her ring's red-slotted ridge, which she drew. After quickly examining the cards she just drew, a gleeful smile stretched across her face. "Aw, yeah, here we go!

"I summon my own deck's top star – Endless Fantasy's Hero, Guardian Twelve!"

She slapped the card onto her blade's centermost floating zone. A fiery red pillar shot up from behind her. Emerging out of the pillar was an angelic warrior closely resembling Reggie herself, including the white rounded triangular helmet she was currently wearing. She was also clad in a pearl white breastplate over a slim-fit neon green shirt, sitting over a slim black jumpsuit that ended at the knees. She was also clad in pearl knee-length boots, elbow-length bracelets, and crystalized angelic wings, all of which were pearl white. On her chest plate were three small unlit hexagons arranged in a triangular fashion. [BASE ATK: 1200 / GRADE: BASE]

"Normally, I'd have to summon Guardian Twelve by sacrificing a monster. But since Endless Fantasy's Island is in play, I can summon her without any sacrifices! But it's time to power her up by injecting her with Upgrade Core Super!" She revealed the Core Card to Mira before injecting it directly underneath Guardian Twelve's card counterpart. The hexagons on Guardian Twelve's breastplate lit up blue. [GRADE: BASE – SUP / BASE ATK: 1200 – SUP ATK: 1200 / CORE: 0 – 3]

"And as you may remember, Brave Battlegrounds is of the 'Meadow' Terrain; that means Guardian Twelve will gain two hundred Attack Points, since she's of the Warrior Type!" [SUP ATK: 1200 – 1400]

"Time to put Guardian Twelve's new power to work!" Reggie declared. "And I'll remove one of her Cores to activate her Super Effect!" The uppermost lit core turned off. [CORE: 3 – 2]

"By doing so, I'm allowed to take two Spell or Trap Cards in my Graveyard that list Guardian Twelve's name in their text, and add them to my hand! I choose none other than the two cards I sent to the Graveyard for Endless Fantasy's Treasure!" Her ring rotated clockwise until the green-slotted ridge was upright. Afterwards, two stacked cards materialized in front of the ridge, which Reggie drew.

"I activate the two cards I just got back – the Equip Spell Cards, Guardian Twelve's Battle Axe, and Guardian Twelve's Twin Blades!"

After swiping the cards through her blade's leftmost and rightmost horizontal slots, two weapons stuck up from the earth, which Guardian Twelve grabbed hold of. The first was a pink double-sided battle axe, and the second was a set of silver swords with baby blue hilts. She tossed them into the air, and the blades of the battle axe split apart and attached to each of the swords. As both weapons fell down from the sky, Hero Twelve miraculously grabbed hold of the modified weapons.

"With Battle Axe, Guardian Twelve will inflict you with piercing battle damage if she attacks your monster in Defense Mode! And with Twin Blades, she'll be able to make two attacks on monsters during the Battle Phase! But the real power comes from Guardian Twelve's Base Effect, which gives her two hundred Attack Points for every card that mentions her name, both on my field and in my Graveyard! And right now, I count a total of four!" Guardian Twelve valiantly raised one of her swords towards the sky in triumph. [SUP ATK: 1400 – 2200]

"I'll place this face-down," she continued, sliding a card through her blade's center horizontal slot, "and then proceed to my Battle Phase! And since there's only one monster on my field, it gains one thousand Attack Points!" Guardian Twelve stuck out one of her swords directly at Mira's monsters. [SUP ATK: 2200 – 3200] Though Mira maintained her composure, she still knew what she was in for.

"Oh, man, Onee-chan had better be careful!" Kero whimpered, pulling down his cheeks in despair.

"Yeah, just wait until Reggie does attack her…" Homanu grumbled, crossing his arms.

"Huh? Why, what'll happen when she does?" Kero anxiously wondered.

"You'll see…" Homanu replied rather glumly.

"Guardian Twelve, take out Destiny Hero Passer!" Reggie commanded, pointing at the blue-armored cyborg. Hero Twelve dashed towards the cyborg and slashed one of her blades across the cyborg's chest armor, shattering it into pixels. Mira tried her best to withstand the force of the explosion. [LP: 4000 – 1900]

As Mira recovered, she was startled by the amount of damage she took from the attack. "Wait a minute… I couldn't have lost this many Life Points!" she protested.

"You have my Field Spell to thank for that!" the overconfidently grinning Reggie explained as her still visible Field Spell briefly shone. "When Guardian Twelve attacks one of your monsters, the damage you take will be increased by a certain amount, based on her current Grade! And since she's of the 'Super' Grade, the damage you'll take from her attacks will be increased by five hundred!" [GRADE: SUP]

"'Based on her current Grade?'" Kero wondered. "Homanu, what's Reggie talking about?"

"You weren't there," Homanu grimly explained, "but apparently her Field Spell increases the damage a player would take when Guardian Twelve attacks a monster." On his D-Gear's touchscreen that displayed the current playing field, he pressed on the Field Spell to enlarge its text. "In this case, Mira took an additional five hundred points of damage because Guardian Twelve's of the 'Super' Grade. But if Guardian Twelve's of the 'Ultimate' Grade, then she'd take an additional seven hundred points."

"But… Reggie doesn't have any Guardian Twelves that can become the 'Ultimate' Grade, does she?" Kero asked.

"Not that I remember," Homanu replied. "But I guess there's a little hint that there might be, sometime soon…"

"My Field Spell sure helped in taking out a good chunk of your Life Points!" Reggie haughtily laughed. "But thanks to Guardian Twelve's Twin Blades, there's gonna be another attack coming your way!" Guardian Twelve stuck one of her blades directly at Chronogias.

"Ooh, looks like this duel's gonna be over sooner than we thought, Fandreas!" Andrea dramatically announced. "And if that's the case, looks like Arthur's truly gonna have a worthy future opponent!"

"I can't believe I'm actually gonna beat you!" Reggie said in awe. But she quickly frowned as she added, "I just wish you could've put up more of a fight!" This remark put Mira in quite the predicament. On one hand, she did want to end the duel rather quickly, so that whatever she saw in her vision wouldn't actually happen. But on the other hand, she didn't want to disappoint Reggie like this, especially considering her motivations and all she went through to arrange this duel.

"Well, whether I'm beating you easily or not, I gotta end this one way or another!" Reggie resumed after a quick sigh through her nostrils. "Guardian Twelve, attack Chronogias and end it!"

"Mira! You'd better do something, or you're gonna lose!" Pinkie wailed. But much as Mira was frustrated over her pestering partner stating the obvious, even she knew Pinkie was right. She quickly made her decision as Guardian Twelve began dashing directly towards Chronogias.

"I activate the Trap Card, D-Chronomancy, Time Escape!" Mira shouted aloud. An ILLUSION MAGIC Trap Card materialized, its artwork picturing Timeater imploding as a means of escape from the incoming attack of a stunned Flame Swordsman. "When you attack one of my monsters that's of the ILLUSION MAGIC Attribute, this card immediately stops your attack!" Indeed, Chronogias imploded just as Guardian Twelve was about to strike it.

But even though Reggie's chance at a quick victory had failed, immense joy returned to her face. "Yes! That's exactly what I want to see!" she cheered. "I just knew you weren't gonna hold back!"

"Wait… Reggie's actually glad that she didn't win this turn?" the puzzled Pinkie asked.

"She is," Mira explained. "This duel's being broadcast 'cause she wants to get Arthur's attention, and hopes he'll duel her. We're even in the same Game Duel Field used in the final match he and Hawk were in yesterday."

"Boy whoever this 'Arthur' guy is, Reggie must be really into him!" Pinkie commented.

"So she says," Mira said rather suspiciously. "But now I'm starting to wonder if there's more to Reggie's motivations than just that… But I can't worry about that right now –I gotta try and end this duel, and hope nothing bad happens to her!" With this declaration, Chronogias returned to the field from the same implosion. [BASE ATK: 1900] Meanwhile, Guardian Twelve's Attack Points returned to their previous value. [SUP ATK: 3200 – 2200]

But while Mira and Pinkie were having their conversation, Homanu was still suspicious, himself – still over Mira's wellbeing, that is. 'I don't know what's wrong with you, Mira,' he thought, 'but once this duel's over, I'm gonna find out!'

"It's my turn!" Mira declared. Five stacked cards materializing in front of her ring's red-slotted ridge, which she valiantly drew.

"I'll start by injecting Chronogias with Upgrade Core Super, bringing it to the 'Super' Grade!" After revealing the Core Spell to Reggie, she slid it directly underneath Chronogias's card counterpart, lighting its two unlit hexagons bright blue. [GRADE: BASE – SUP / BASE ATK: 1900 – SUP ATK: 2400 / CORE: 0 – 2]

"I activate Chronogias's Super Effect! By using one Core, your monster will lose fifteen hundred Attack Points!" [CORE 2 – 1] After Chronogias's outer hexagon became unlit, the dragon unleashed a burst of lavender energy directly at Guardian Twelve, who tried her hardest to withstand the attack. [SUP ATK: 2200 – 700]

"Now I activate the Spell Card, D-Chronomancy, Past Strength!" After swiping a card from her hand through one of her blade's horizontal slots, the ILLUSION MAGIC Spell Card picturing the two phantasmal versions of Necrolancer being absorbed into Chronogias appeared. "By returning up to three ILLUSION MAGIC Attribute monsters with one thousand or less Attack Points from my Graveyard into my deck, Chronogias will gain Attack Points equal to their combined Attack Points this turn! I return to my deck Passer and Paradoxer!" The phantasmal versions of the blue-armored warrior and the cybernetic angel appeared, and were absorbed into Chronogias. [SUP ATK: 2400 – 4000]

"Mira's gonna win, I just know it!" Kero cheered with an energetic leap. "Go get her, Onee-chan!"

Even though Mira had the upper hand, she cautiously observed what was currently on Reggie's field. 'I don't know if Reggie has anything planned,' she thought as she proceeded to looking at the cards in her hand, 'but I'd better play it safe.'

"I place this card face-down!" she said aloud. She took a card and slid it into one of her blade's horizontal slots. Another card materialized before fading from view.

"It's time to battle! And since Chronogias is the only monster on my field, it gets a little power boost from this Game Duel Field!" Chronogias unleashed a triumphant roar. [SUP ATK: 4000 – 5000]

"Neither duelist is giving an inch, Fandreas!" Andrea announced. "Just when Reggie had Mira on the ropes, Mira immediately turns the tables! But will Reggie find a way to last another turn? That's what we're gonna find out!"

"Destiny Dragon Chronogias, attack Guardian Twelve!" Mira commanded, pointing directly at Guardian Twelve. Lavender digital fire formed in Chronogias's mouth and unleashed it, aiming directly towards Guardian Twelve.

The unphased Reggie was bravely staring at the incoming attack, but it wasn't long before she cracked a confident grin. "You've just activated my Trap Card: Guardian Twelve's Bravery!" The card that materialized was an EARTH Trap Card whose artwork depicted Guardian Twelve defiantly facing an incoming invasion of Plunder Patroll pirates.

"When you attack Guardian Twelve, she'll gain twelve hundred Attack Points, and won't be destroyed by your monster's attack! But since I'll have another card that'll mention her name in my Graveyard, she'll get two hundred more Attack Points!"

Sure enough, Guardian Twelve crossed her swords in a defensive maneuver, just as the digital fire struck at her. [SUP ATK: 700 – 2100] Although Guardian Twelve was able to withstand the flames, some of them struck at Reggie as she winced in pain. [LP: 4000 – 1100]

"Whoa!" Andrea excitedly announced. "Our two duelists are really duking it out to see whom Arthur thinks is the better duelist!"

Obviously, getting Arthur's attention was the least of Mira's worries. Her top priority was to make sure Reggie was okay, and that whatever Mira saw in her vision was just imagination. Regardless, there was nothing more Mira could do this turn. "My turn's done," she said as the Attack Points of both duelists' aces returned to their original values. [SUP ATK: 5000 – 2400] [SUP ATK: 2100 – 2400]

"My turn, Mira!" Reggie laughed with joyful conceit. Her ring appeared once again, four stacked cards materializing in front of it. But a blood-red digital miasma briefly shrouded the cards, which no one was able to notice. "I draw!" But as she drew the cards, she suddenly felt a pulse surge through her body, and she dropped to her right knee and clutched her heart in agony, tightly closing her eyes.

"Whoa! Reggie doesn't look so good!" the startled Pinkie commented.

Mira, on the other hand, was horrified, because now she was anticipating the worst to come. After a few more seconds of witnessing Reggie's unexplainable suffering, she got herself to ask, albeit timidly, "R…Reggie? Are… are you okay?"

"I'm fine…" Reggie groaned, sweating a bit. "I'm… WHAAAAAAAAAAUGH!" As she opened her eyes, they were shining a demonic red, and her body was shrouded by the same blood-red miasma from earlier. Seeing this shocked Homanu, Kero, and even Andrea. But Mira was downright horrified – those were the same red eyes Reggie had in Mira's vision! And to make matters worse, Reggie screamed the following phrase:

"IN THE NAME OF ITZAMNA, I WILL DESTROY YOU!"

'This… this is just like what I saw in that vision!' the aghast Mira thought, her mouth completely agape. 'But how is that even possible?!'

"Behold, the ignis formed from Itzamna's will!" the possessed Reggie bellowed, grabbing a card in her hand and revealing it to Mira. Its artwork depicted a small, slender figure comprised of black pixels, with blood-red markings around its face that resembled the Krana Xa. But the card itself was unlike anything Mira had seen. This was solely because the entire card was dark gray, and appeared to be rusted. In place of an Attribute was a gold symbol resembling the planetary symbol of Saturn. Furthermore, its lore was written in the same otherworldly language she was able to recognize from her duel at Corycian Cave, but could not decipher.

"I eject Upgrade Core Super from Guardian Twelve, to inject her with the ignis formed from Itzamna's will – Itzam Incarnate!"

The Core Card underneath Guardian Twelve's card form automatically slid out and dissipated into pixels. Afterwards, Reggie placed the corrupt card directly underneath Guardian Twelve. Not long after, the same figure pictured on the card emerged from black digital pixels beside Guardian Twelve. But then, without any warning, the sinister figure possessed Guardian Twelve, making her scream in agony.

"H-H-Homanu?!" the trembling Kero cried in terror. "Wh-what's happening?! Where did Reggie get that card?!" Homanu gave no answer – after being so worried about Mira's supposedly unusual behavior since her duel against Hawk, he wasn't sure if he was able to get himself to say anything about Reggie's sudden change in behavior.

"Guardian Twelve injected with Itzam Incarnate, upgrade!" Reggie announced. The possessed Guardian Twelve screamed in agony as her body transformed into dark red digital wires, and then slowly shapeshifting to become more demonic. During this sequence, Reggie chanted:

"Almighty Itzamna, heed my call! With this sample of your power, evolve my monster into one more superior, so that I shall assist you in cleansing these worlds of impurity and sin!

"Upgrade Summon! Descend forth – ENDLESS FANTASY'S DESTROYER, ITZAM TWELVE!"

A burst of black and red pixels occurred, and in place stood Guardian Twelve, except her bodysuit was now red, and her body armor was black and demonic. She also donned a pair of black metal wings with red flaps that almost looked skeletal, and a red draconic tail. The red markings around her face resembled the Krana Xa – the same facial pattern that possessed her previous form. On her chest plate were six unlit hexagons arranged in a hexagonal pattern. [SUP ATK: 1200 / GRADE: SUP]

"An Upgrade Summon?!" Homanu cried in disbelief. "What's that?!"

"I dunno," Kero replied, "but whatever it is, it looks so cool! …If I weren't feeling creeped out over Reggie becoming evil for no reason…!" The annoyed Homanu only placed a hand over his eyes in embarrassment.

Back at the duel, the possessed Reggie softly but sinisterly chuckled at her opponent. "Normally, Upgrade Monsters will gain the amount of Cores associated with their Grade, while they're injected with a Core Card," she said. "But since I Upgrade Summoned Itzam Twelve, she will become the 'Ultimate' Grade, and will acquire her number of Cores associated with that Grade – which is six!" And sure enough, all six hexagons on the chest plate lit up bright purple. [GRADE: SUP – ULT / SUP ATK: 1200 – ULT ATK: 1200 / CORE: 0 – 6]

"Six Cores?!" Pinkie wailed, her hands on her cheeks. "Whatever effect Itzam Twelve has to need that many Cores, it must be really powerful!" Mira remained silent and unphased, but still cautious about whatever Itzam Twelve's effects might be.

"Continuing my turn," Reggie resumed, "I activate the Spell Card, Guardian Twelve's Weapon Retrieval!" She swiped another card from her hand through one of her blade's horizontal slots. A card materialized before transforming into a WHITE MAGIC Spell Card picturing Guardian Twelve grinning widely and raising her arms towards a heavenly yellow sky, her Battle Axe and Twin Blades floating down from the sky.

"This card lets me take up to two different Equip Spells that mention Guardian Twelve's name in their text, and return them to my hand!" Two streaks of pale pink light shot out of her ring's green-slotted ridge and into her hand, each streak transforming into a card.

"And with that done, I re-equip Battle Axe and Twin Blades onto Itzam Twelve!" She vigorously swiped the two cards through her blade's horizontal slots. This time, the two weapons appeared by materializing around Itzam Twelve's wrists, but still with pieces of the battle axe attached to each of the swords. However, the swords' blades were pitch-black, and the blades of the axe attached to the swords were blood-red.

"Hey, she can't do that!" Pinkie angrily protested. "Those cards can only be equipped to Guardian Twelve, not Itzam Twelve!"

"Did it ever occur to you that maybe that Itzam Twelve of hers has a special condition that treats her name as Guardian Twelve?!" Mira grumbled to her partner.

This realization made Pinkie more embarrassed than ever. "Whoops…" she said, as Mira fumed through her nostrils while rolling her eyes.

"Itzam Twelve's Continuous Super Effect kicks in!" Reggie haughtily resumed. "She gains two hundred Attack Points for every Spell and Trap Card on my field or in my Graveyard that specifically lists Guardian Twelve's name in their text! Not only that, but each and every one of your monsters will lose Attack and Defense Points equal to the amount of Attack Points Itzam Twelve gains! And if you're keeping count, I have a total of six such cards!"

"So that means Itzam Twelve will gain twelve hundred Attack Points… while all my monsters lose twelve hundred Attack and Defense Points!" the horrified Mira gasped. A blood-red digital miasma briefly shrouded Itzam Twelve and Chronogias. [ULT ATK: 1200 – 2400] [SUP ATK: 2400 – 1200]

"And since Itzam Twelve's still of the Warrior Type, she'll gain two hundred more Attack Points from this battlefield's Terrain!" Reggie wickedly exclaimed. [ULT ATK: 2400 – 2600]

"Now, I shall use three Cores to activate Itzam Twelve's Ultra Effect!" Reggie continued as the bottom three purple hexagons became unlit. [CORE: 6 – 3] "Now all of the monsters on your field that have less Attack Points than Itzam Twelve will be destroyed, and you will take damage equal to the combined differences between each of your monsters' Attack Points and the Attack Points of Itzam Twelve!"

"That's insane!" Mira cried.

But before she could say or do anything else, dark red digital fire formed in between Itzam Twelve's blades, and she violently unleashed it as a spiral that flew directly towards Mira's field. The flames struck at Chronogias, who roared in agony before being incinerated, as well as Mira, who was brought down to one knee. [LP: 1900 – 500] But the most horrifying thing of all was that the fire attack caused the entire meadow and the trees around it to be set ablaze.

Homanu and Kero were undoubtedly aghast by the raging fire around them. But Andrea was downright horrified, especially over how her audience would be reacting right now. "N-N-No need to p-panic, F-Fandre-eas!" she stammered, waving a shaking hand at the camera. "I'm sure… I'm sure everything's under control! These are all just special effects, I'm sure of it!"

Back at the duel, Mira was breathing heavily through her clenched teeth as she struggled to get herself up. 'Something's not right…!' she worriedly thought. 'I… I actually felt that…! Is this what that 'Itzam Incarnate' card of hers is capable of doing?!'

"Prepare to meet your end, foolish wench!" Reggie snarled. "Itzam Twelve, attack her directly!" For a second time, the dark red digital fire formed in between Itzam Twelve's blades, and she violently unleashed it as a spiral that headed directly towards Mira, creating an explosion on her field.

"MIRA, NO!" Homanu cried.

"ONEE-CHAN!" Kero wailed.

It wasn't long before the smoke slowly began to clear. But when it did, everyone was shocked to see that Mira was still standing, even though she was now covered in bruises and breathing heavily. [LP: 500]

"WHAT?!" Reggie shrieked. "YOUR LIFE POINTS DIDN'T DROP TO ZERO?!"

"I activated… my Negate Attack Trap Card… just in time…!" Mira said through her huffs. Indeed, beside her was the iconic Trap Card depicting an attack being absorbed into a swirling background. Its Attribute was ILLUSION MAGIC. "This card negates your attack… and ends the Battle Phase on the spot!"

"That was almost too close!" Homanu said with a sigh of relief. "Let's just hope she can still find a way to turn this duel around!"

"Be brave, Onee-chan!" Kero pleadingly screamed.

"So you bought yourself some extra time," the possessed Reggie said uncaringly. "But all you really did was prolong your inevitable downfall! Now make your final move!"

'It all comes down to this…!' Mira bravely thought, still gritting her teeth as her ring appeared around her wrist. But as the four cards materialized in front of the red-slotted ridge, there was a brief digital lavender aura, which she didn't notice. "I draw!" she said aloud.

She boldly drew the cards, but her eyes widened in shock at one of the cards she drew. Much like the case with Itzam Incarnate, the card was unlike anything Mira had seen. Its frame was pitch-black, very similar to that exclusive to Xyz Monsters. The metallic green text was written in the same otherworldly language as that in Corycian Cave. As for the artwork, it simply depicted a woman comprised of lavender digital light, who closely resembled Mira herself, including her hairstyle. Her eyes were shining green.

It took a few moments, but Mira recognized this mysterious woman as the same one she briefly encountered from Corycian Cave. Regardless, the fact she had a card like this to begin with left her dumbfounded. 'What kind of card is this?!' she wondered. 'I mean, I do remember seeing this person back in Corycian Cave, but… how did this card get into my deck?!'

'Mira?' the calm, deep voice of a woman spoke, much to Mira's astonishment.

"Wha? Who said that?!" Mira cried, rapidly moving her eyes back and forth.

'I did,' the voice spoke once again.

"I know that, but where are you coming from?!" the frightened Mira demanded.

'I come from the sacred card that you now hold in your hand,' the voice solemnly explained. Mira was somewhat relieved to know where the voice was coming from, but the fact she still had it continued to leave her bewildered. 'I understand your predicament, Mira Yukiko. But now is the time to use my power, and vanquish the evil possessing your companion!'

"But… but I don't know what you're supposed to do!" Mira shouted.

It didn't take long for Mira to feel rather foolish for talking to a card, of all things. But she wasn't the only one who thought Mira was out of her mind; Homanu happened to see every detail of what just happened. 'First she claims there's a 'pink thing,' and now she's talking to a card?!' he worriedly thought. 'Something is definitely wrong with her!'

"M…Mira? What's going on?" the uncomfortable Pinkie asked.

"This voice… it's coming from the card I just drew, and it's telling me to activate it!" Mira frustratingly explained. "But I don't even know what it does!"

"But what if you have no other choice?!" Pinkie pleadingly suggested. "What if activating that card is the only way to save Reggie?!"

"No… there's gotta be another way!" Mira said. "I'm sure of it!" She desperately looked at the remaining cards in her hand, and the two face-down cards on her field. Once she was finished, determination returned to her eyes.

"I activate one of my two face-down cards: D-Chronomancy, Paradox Draw!" An ILLUSION MAGIC Spell Card materialized beside her, its artwork depicting two cards of yellow light being sucked into a Battle City Disk's Graveyard slot, while the obscure closeup of its user was drawing two cards.

"I have to activate this card by sending two cards from my hand to the Graveyard!" Two cards materialized in front of Mira. After swiping her fingertips across them, they dissipated into pixels. "Once that's done, I get to take two different cards from my Graveyard and place them on top of my deck! Then, I get to draw those two cards!" Her ring appeared once again, and two streaks of hot pink light shot up from the green-slotted ridge to the red one, before transforming into cards. Mira then drew the cards. "Everything's all set!

"Since I technically drew it this turn and have no monsters on my field, I can summon a monster you might find familiar!"

She slapped one of the cards she drew into her blade's centermost floating zone. The lustrous lavender pillar from earlier shot up behind Mira, and Chronogias flew out of it, unleashing a triumphant roar. [BASE ATK: 1900 / GRADE: SUP]

"Chronogias!" Reggie gasped.

"Yep! And I inject with Upgrade Core Super, bringing Chronogias to the 'Super' Grade!" She immediately slid the other card she drew underneath Chronogias's card counterpart, causing its two hexagons to light up bright blue. [GRADE: BASE – SUP / BASE ATK: 1900 – SUP ATK: 2400 / CORE: 0 – 2]

"Useless!" Reggie tormentingly shouted. "Have you forgotten that Itzam Twelve is capable of weakening all of your monsters?!" Indeed, the blood-red digital miasma briefly shrouded Chronogias, who let out a soft, weakening roar. [SUP ATK: 2400 – 1200]

"Maybe so, but I can use Chronogias's Super Effect, and use one Core to weaken your monster by fifteen hundred points!" Mira shouted. [CORE: 2 – 1] Chronogias's outer hexagon became unlit as it unleashed another burst of lavender energy from its claw. But to everyone's shock, Itzam Twelve swung her right blade at the incoming energy attack, completely deflecting it.

"You fool!" Reggie cackled. "Itzam Twelve is immune to your card effects that would weaken her Attack Points! So it looks like you've wasted a Core for nothing!"

Mira fumed, but quickly regained her composure. "Then I guess it's time for Plan B!" she said. "I use Chronogias's Base Effect! By sending one Spell Card from my hand to the Graveyard, I get to retrieve a different Spell Card from my Graveyard to my hand!" A card materialized in front of Mira, which she flicked across with her fingertips, causing the card to pixilate. Afterwards, a shot of hot pink energy raced out of her ring's green-slotted ridge and into her hand as a card.

"I activate another Spell Card you might find familiar: D-Chronomancy, Past Strength!" After swiping the card through her blade's horizontal slot, the ILLUSION MAGIC Spell Card depicting the three phantasmal Necrolancers being absorbed into Chronogias materialized.

"With this, I return to my deck the two monsters I've discarded for Paradox Draw: Destiny Heroes Passer and Paradoxer!" The phantasmal versions of the blue-armored warrior and the cybernetic angel appeared, and were absorbed into Chronogias's body. [SUP ATK: 1200 – 2800]

"I now proceed to my Battle Phase, which means Chronogias will be getting yet another power boost – this time from this Game Duel Field!" Chronogias unleashed another triumphant roar. [SUP ATK: 2800 – 3800]

"IMPOSSIBLE!" Reggie wailed, taking a step back in fear.

"This ends now!" Mira shouted. "Destiny Dragon Chronogias, attack and destroy her Itzam Twelve!"

Chronogias unleashed more digital fire from its mouth which struck at Itzam Twelve, who screamed in agony as she was incinerated. The fire also struck at the possessed Reggie, who also screamed as she was flung into the air before slamming into a tree. [LP: 1100 – 0] A virtual screen displaying Mira's profile with 'WIN' written underneath popped open before the scenery returned to normal.

"YOU DID IT!" Kero wildly and loudly cheered. "YOU SAVED US, ONEE-CHAN!"

Andrea, however, was still horrified by the unexplained fire outbreak from earlier, and she had her eyes tightly closed. "Is… is it over?" she timidly asked, slowly opening an eye. When she saw that the field returned to normal and that no fires were in sight, her eyes shot open in immense relief. "O-M-G, it's over, Fandreas!" she cheered. "The duel's finally over!" She quickly noticed Mira standing. "And it looks like Mira came out as the winner! I hope Arthur was watching, 'cause I think he just found a new worthy opponent!"

But Mira had no time to listen to cheers or praises. As soon as the duel was over, she rushed right over to Reggie's side, with Pinkie following behind. "Reggie!" she cried. But when she reached her, she saw that Reggie was lying unconscious, with bruises on her face, legs, and clothes.

"Oh, no… she's dead!" Pinkie tearfully wailed after taking a glimpse at Reggie's condition. "Mira, I'm so sorry for you! Just remember that you have friends to support you in tough times like this!"

Mira ignored her wails as she placed a hand on Reggie's neck. "She's not dead, you dolt!" she scolded. "I can still feel a pulse in her."

"Well, that's a relief!" Pinkie chirped, wiping nonexistent sweat off her forehead. "All the same, though… when do you think she'll wake up?"

"Soon… I hope…" was Mira's reply, carefully propping Reggie up. After about five seconds, Reggie finally came to. As she opened her eyes, Mira was relieved to see that they were back to their original state.

"Urgh… What happened?" Reggie groaned, placing a hand on her forehead.

"Reggie! I'm so glad you're alright!" Mira cried.

"'Alright?' What are you talking about?" the confused Reggie asked. It didn't take long for her to realize that they were no longer in the virtual meadow. "Wait, is the duel over already?"

"It is, and-" Mira began.

"Mira! Reggie! You're okay!" Homanu cried, regrouping with Mira and Reggie, with Kero following behind. Upon hearing their voices, Pinkie quickly retreated into Mira's D-Gear.

"I'm fine, but I dunno about Reggie," said Mira, who was still holding Reggie.

"Can someone please tell me what's going on here?!" the annoyed Reggie demanded. "I remember I protected Guardian Twelve from Chronogias's attack, and then BOOM! I black out!"

"I don't quite know how to put it, but…" the uneasy Mira explained, "…I think you might've been… possessed."

Reggie could hardly believe her ears. "I was what?!" she exclaimed.

"I'd rather not talk about it, 'cause I don't know what happened, either," said Mira. "Besides, I've had about enough excitement for one day…"

"Mira, wait!" Reggie said. "Before we go… did I win the duel?"

Mira was hesitant to answer, because she didn't want to hurt Reggie's feelings. However, she knew that she had to tell her the truth. "Sorry, Reggie, but… you lost."

"I… I lost?" the heartbroken Reggie said.

"I'll say you did!" Andrea said, joining the group, the camera drone following beside her. "My trusty camera recorded the whole thing, even when I was scared by the fire that ensued!"

"There was a fire?!" Reggie gasped.

Ignoring that statement, Andrea shifted her attention to Mira and proudly said, "By the way, Mira, congrats on winning! And how you won – the number of views and likes of this duel are through the roof!"

"Thanks… I guess…" Mira awkwardly replied.

"Aw, this isn't fair!" Reggie whined, rolling her eyes. "Now Arthur will never duel me!"

But Mira comforted Reggie by placing a hand on her shoulder. "Maybe you didn't beat me," she said, "but you still had me on the ropes, whether you were yourself at the time or not. Besides, let's not forget you were able to beat someone as strong as Homanu, even before you modified your deck."

"Yeah… you're right!" Reggie said, brightening instantly. "Maybe I didn't beat you, Mira, but I was able to beat someone as strong as Homanu!"

"Or me…" Kero grumbled, grouchily reminiscing over Reggie's remarks toward him.

"And if everyone saw how close I was to beating Mira," Reggie beamed, "then there's a chance Arthur may want to duel me after all!" But as she raised her right arm towards the sky, she quickly pulled it down and clutched it, wincing in pain.

"Whoa, that last attack really must've left Reggie sore," said Homanu. "Reggie, I think you're gonna have to take it easy for a bit."

"You sure you're gonna be okay?" asked Kero.

"Yeah… I'll be fine," Reggie replied, smiling sheepishly.

"C'mon, let's go home," Mira said as the group headed back to the orphanage.

"I'm gonna home myself, so that I can upload this for the world to see!" Andrea squealed. Her drone's camera retracted before shrinking to its original size and attaching itself to her side. Once that was done, Andrea darted to her own destination.

But unbeknownst to the group, the android who invaded Reggie's room the previous night was discreetly observing the entire duel from the top of a skyscraper not too far from the area, a telescopic lens installed in his left eye. After the lens retreated, the android raised the arm containing the crystal up to the bottom of his mask. "Mistress Jupiter!" he spoke to the crystal. "Come in, Mistress Jupiter!"

"This is Jupiter," a female voice spoke through the crystal. "Report!"

"I infected the deck of an unsuspecting child with our 'Itzam Incarnate' card, and she used it against another girl," the android reported. "The duel is over, but I think we might've found another one of our targets."

"You 'think' we have? What makes you so confident?" demanded Jupiter.

"According to my speculations, there was a faint trace of one of the six Iroa Spirits coming from the girl our little pawn dueled against," the android explained, "but at the moment it's indeterminable if she really is one of our targets. …Shall I dispose of her myself, just in case?"

"No, Ganymede!" barked Jupiter. "You shall do so only when we know for sure she's one of our targets! Until then, I strictly forbid you from doing anything reckless!"

"As you wish, Mistress Jupiter…" the android, Ganymede, bitterly obeyed. Once the conversation was over, he looked down at the city below. "I just know you're a Wielder, little girl," he muttered. "And I will be coming for you. And when I do… do not expect any mercy from me!" With this vow, he disappeared in a cluster of sickly yellow pixels.

FEATURED CARD – LEVEL 1-6

Endless Fantasy's Hero – Guardian Twelve
FIRE/Warrior – Upgrade – Effect
ATK {BASE 1200 / SUP 1200 / ULT 1200}
CORE {SUP 3 / ULT 6}
Can be Normal Summoned by Tributing 1 monster, or Special Summoned. If you have "Endless Fantasy's Island" face-up on your field, you can Normal Summon this card without Tributing.
REQUIREMENTS
●CONTINUOUS BASE EFFECT / Grade BASE or higher
●SUP EFFECT / Grade SUP: 1 CORE
CONTINUOUS BASE EFFECT This card gains ATK equal to [the number of Spell/Trap Cards on your field and in your Graveyard that specifically list "Endless Fantasy's Hero – Guardian Twelve" in their text] x 200.
SUP EFFECT Add 2 Spell/Trap Cards that specifically list "Endless Fantasy's Hero – Guardian Twelve" in their text, from your Graveyard to your hand.

GIICHI CORPORATION CARD DATABASE

Game World – Brave Battlegrounds
Game Duel Field
PLAYER 1: 4000 LP / PLAYER 2: 4000 LP
TERRAIN: MEADOW Monsters strong in this Terrain (Celestial Warrior, Magical Knight, Warrior, and Beast-Warrior Types) gain 200 ATK/DEF. Monsters weak in this Terrain (Spellcaster Type) lose 200 ATK/DEF.
Monsters cannot be Set or flipped face-down. All face-up monsters on the field are changed to Attack Position, and their battle positions cannot be changed. The PLAYER must conduct their Battle Phases whenever possible, but they can only attack with 1 monster per turn. If the turn PLAYER controls only 1 face-up monster, that monster gains 1000 ATK during the Battle Phase of their turn, or 1500 if their monster has an original ATK of 100 or less. If a PLAYER's LP become 0, they lose the Game Duel.

Endless Fantasy's Island
WHITE MAGIC/Field Spell Card
REQUIREMENT None
EFFECT While this card is face-up in the Field Zone, if "Endless Fantasy's Hero – Guardian Twelve" on your side of the field battles an opponent's monster, the battle damage your opponent takes is increased, based on the current Grade of "Endless Fantasy's Hero – Guardian Twelve":
SUP: 500
ULT: 700

Endless Fantasy's Treasure
EARTH/Spell Card
REQUIREMENT Send any number of cards from your hand to the Graveyard.
EFFECT Draw cards equal to [the number of cards sent to the Graveyard for this card's requirement]. Then, if you have "Endless Fantasy's Hero – Guardian Twelve" or "Endless Fantasy's Island" face-up on your field, draw 1 card.

Guardian Twelve's Battle Axe
EARTH/Equip Spell Card
REQUIREMENT If you have no other face-up "Guardian Twelve's Battle Axe" on your field, equip this card to 1 "Endless Fantasy's Hero – Guardian Twelve" on your field.
EFFECT The equipped monster inflicts piercing battle damage. (When it attacks a Defense Position monster whose DEF is lower than the attacking monster's ATK, inflict the difference as battle damage.)

Guardian Twelve's Twin Blades
EARTH/Equip Spell Card
REQUIREMENT If you have no other face-up "Guardian Twelve's Twin Blades" on your field, equip this card to 1 "Endless Fantasy's Hero – Guardian Twelve" on your field.
EFFECT The equipped monster can make up to 2 attacks on monsters during each Battle Phase.

D-Chronomancy – Time Escape
ILLUSION MAGIC/Trap Card
REQUIREMENT When a face-up ILLUSION MAGIC monster on your field is attacked.
EFFECT Negate the attack. This turn, your opponent cannot declare an attack.

Guardian Twelve's Bravery
EARTH/Trap Card
REQUIREMENT When an opponent's monster declares an attack on an "Endless Fantasy's Hero – Guardian Twelve" on your field.
EFFECT The attacked "Endless Fantasy's Hero – Guardian Twelve" on your field gains 1200 ATK until the end of this turn, also it cannot be destroyed by that battle.

Endless Fantasy's Destroyer – Itzam Twelve
FIRE/Warrior – Upgrade – Effect
ATK {SUP 1200 / ULT 1200}
CORE {ULT 6}
This card is always treated as an Itzam card.
Cannot be Normal Summoned. Must be Upgrade Summoned (from the hand or Deck) by upgrading 1 SUP "Endless Fantasy's Hero – Guardian Twelve" injected with "Itzam Incarnate". After this card was Upgrade Summoned, its Grade becomes ULT and acquires its ULT CORE. If this card has no COREs, it becomes the SUP Grade. Cannot be injected with Core Cards.
While this card is on the field, its name becomes "Endless Fantasy's Guardian – Hero Twelve".
REQUIREMENTS
●CONTINUOUS SUP EFFECT / Grade SUP or higher
●ULT EFFECT / Grade ULT: 3 COREs
CONTINUOUS SUP EFFECT This card's ATK cannot be lowered by your opponent's card effects. This card gains ATK equal to [the number of Spell/Trap Cards on your field and in your Graveyard that specifically list "Endless Fantasy's Hero – Guardian Twelve" in their text] x 200, also all face-up monsters on your opponent's field lose ATK equal to [the ATK this card gains by this effect].
ULT EFFECT Destroy all face-up monsters on your opponent's field with ATK less than this card's ATK. Then, inflict damage to your opponent equal to [the total differences between each destroyed monster's ATK on the field and this card's ATK].

Guardian Twelve's Weapon Retrieval
WHITE MAGIC/Spell Card
REQUIREMENT You have not activated "Guardian Twelve's Weapon Retrieval" this turn and have "Endless Fantasy's Guardian – Hero Twelve" on your field.
EFFECT Add up to 2 Equip Spell Cards that specifically list "Endless Fantasy's Hero – Guardian Twelve" in their text, from your Graveyard to your hand.

Negate Attack
ILLUSION MAGIC/Trap Card
REQUIREMENT When an opponent's monster declares an attack.
EFFECT Negate the attack. Your opponent cannot declare an attack this turn.

D-Chronomancy – Paradox Draw
ILLUSION MAGIC/Spell Card
REQUIREMENT If you have not activated "D-Chronomancy – Paradox Draw" this turn, send 2 cards from your hand to the Graveyard.
EFFECT Place 2 cards from your Graveyard with different names from the cards you sent from the Graveyard for this card's requirement, and from each other, on top of your Deck. Then, draw 2 cards.

Next time on Yu-Gi-Oh! CHRONIXII…

Giichi hosts the unveiling of a classic mechanic that gets implemented into Game Duels, where there is also a once-in-a-lifetime chance to duel Arthur in order to demonstrate this returning mechanic! Mira gets chosen for the duel… that is, until a brash duelist from Mira's orphanage disrupts the event and ends up being Mira's opponent, instead! What is this returning mechanic, and can Mira soundly put the braggard in his place? Find out in Level 1-7: Lionhearted Idol, Arthur! Game Duel, game start!