A/N: A while since I was last here. Just a little note; for those of who who also read Circus GX and saw Seth's deck list, the some cards in this story will have different effects and stats compared to the one for GX. For those cards, they will be bolded and italicized like the made up cards. If the monsters in Seth's deck are in Circus GX and are considered as Tuners, they will not be bolded and italicized, since the Level, ATK, DEF and effects will be the same.
Now, with that said, on with the chapter!
*OPENING*
(Instrumental)
(Pendulum Summon Process began as five different colored lights shot out of it. A portrait of Yuya, Timegazer Magician, Timegazer Magician and Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon appeared. Portrait changed to Yuzu with her 'Melodious' monsters by her side. Portrait then changed to Bella with her Pirates and Utopia behind her. Portrait then changed to Seth on a black and purple dragon. Portrait then changed to Qing with her six ace monsters around her)
YO HO - let loose, of the rudder hard to port
(Title appeared on the screen with the stadium as the background)
YO HO- helter skelter, the best kind of life
(Shuzo, Yoko and the kids cheered for the teens of You Show as they waved to the audience)
(Instrumental)
(Many Duel Schools and their students were shown)
When the sun goes down, we'll have a farewell bash
(Camera zoomed in on Shun's serious face, Azuma looked at him worried and tried to reach out to him. Scene changed as Bella took Azuma's place and was playing keep away with her brother, their friends watching)
Don't be sad
(Yuto watched them fool around from a distance)
If we make it
(Reiji was in the control room, watching everything happening in Maiami City)
We'll meet again someday
(Yuya activated his Duel Disk and got into his dueling pose)
We'll set off straight through the headwind
(Yuya was dueling against Sawatari, Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon vs Mayosenju Daibakaze)
Tears... Tears... Until none are left, a man's gotta be strong
(Yuzu dueled Masumi, Fusion vs Fusion. Scene changed to Seth and Azuma teaming up against a Hokai' Duelist and a 'Kozmo' duelist)
Friends... Friends... Someday we will laugh
(Bella and Qing were on Emperor of Hope, Utopia and Bujinki Amaterasu and were dueling Angel and one of her fellow orphans their age, the latter two on their aces, Light End Dragon and Dark End Dragon)
As if we have to make sure these bonds are firm and now, we all take hold
(The two dragons fired their attacks at the Warrior and Beast-Warrior, which they avoided and charged at the two dragons. Silhouettes of the four's determined faces appeared)
Of the map to the future, which begins to shine
(A boy who looks just like Yuya but in white drove into the stadium, glaring at a shadow figure on the other side of the stadium as he drove closer to him)
(Instrumental)
(The You Show group looked up at the camera from the stadium within)
It was night time. There were flames everywhere. People screaming and running away... From them.
Qing found herself dreaming that memory she had dreamt back in the hospital. She was helping some people escape from the hands of the duelists in red, yellow or blue blazers. With her were Shun, Azure, Yuto and a girl who looked like Yuzu.
"Quick! This way!" the Yuzu-lookalike shouted.
Qing looked at a distance and saw two of their pursuers approaching. "They're catching up!"
"Yuto! Azure! Ruri! You keep the innocents safe! Noir and I will hold them off!" Shun ordered. The two duelists ran toward the three duelists, their duel disks activated.
"Oh? Looks like we have some volunteers," one of the two said.
"Let's make this quick and painless for them. In a Tag Duel," the other said.
"DUEL!"
Fusion Duelists: 4000 LP
Shun and Qing/Noir: 4000 LP
"I start first!" Qing/Noir said. "I summon Starter Pokemon, Charmander!" An orange lizard with a yellow underbelly and a flame on its tail appeared on the field.
Starter Pokemon, Charmander: Level 4/FIRE/Reptile/1000 ATK/1000 DEF
(Starter Pokemon, Charmander: Effect Monster: When your Life Points decrease by battle or by card effect while this card is on the field, increase its ATK by the amount lost.)
"I set three cards face-down and end my turn!"
"That's it? That whimpy monster got nothing on us," Fusion 1 mocked. Charmander fumed at the insult, in which he and his friends ignored. "My turn! Draw!" He drew his sixth card. "I summon Antique Gear Hound Dog!" A mechanical dog appeared on the field.
Antique Gear Hound Dog: Level 3/EARTH/Machine/1000 ATK/1000 DEF
"And I activate his effect! Once per turn, if my opponent controls a monster, I can inflict 600 points of damage to them!" The dog breathed flames at Qing/Noir and Shun as they brought their arms up to protect themselves.
Fusion Duelists: 4000 LP
Shun and Qing/Noir: 3400 LP
"I activate Charmander's effect! Whenever my Life Points decrease, he gains ATK equal to the amount!" The Reptile-type seemed more enraged when he saw the flames hit his owner and his tail flame got bigger.
Starter Pokemon, Charmander: 1000 + 600 = 1600 ATK
"And from my hand, I activate Raid Raptors - Avenge Vulture's effect! If I take effect damage, I can Special Summon this card from my hand!" A green and brown legless mechanical bird appeared on their field in Defense Mode.
Raid Raptor - Avenge Vulture: Level 4/DARK/Winged-Beast/1700 ATK/100 DEF
"Doesn't matter," Fusion Duelist 1 said. "I activate the Magic card, Fusion Tag! By revealing on Fusion Monster in my Extra deck, a monster I control is treated as that monster. I reveal Antique Gear Triple Bite Hound Dog! And change Antique Gear Hound Dog's name to it!" His monster's appearance changed into the three-headed version of itself.
Antique Gear Hound Dog -} Antique Gear Triple Bite Hound Dog
"Next I activate the Magic card, Fusion! I fuse Antique Gear Triple Bite Hound Dog with Antique Gear Hound Dog in my hand! FUSION SUMMON! Appear, Level 9, Antique Gear Ultimate Hound Dog!" A more monstrous version of Antique Gear Triple Bite Hound Dog appeared on the field.
Antique Gear Ultimate Hound Dog: Level 9/EARTH/Machine/2800 ATK/2000 DEF
"And when this card is Fusion Summoned, my opponent's Life Points are halved!" The new monster breathed powerful flames at the Xyz Duelists, decreasing their Life Points even further.
Fusion Duelists: 4000 LP
Shun and Qing/Noir: 1700 LP
"With Charmander's effect, his ATK goes up even further!" Qing/Noir said, as her monster's tail flame got twice as big.
Starter Pokemon, Charmander: 1600 + 1700 = 3300 ATK
"Doesn't matter. I activate the Equip Magic, Black Pendant! I equip this card to Ultimate Hound Dog and give it 500 more ATK!" A pendant was worn around said monster's neck.
Antique Gear Ultimate Hound Dog: 2800 + 500 = 3300 ATK
"Finally, I activate the Continuous Magic, Branch! Antique Ultimate Hound Dog can attack three times during battle. Battle! I attack Avenge Vulture then Charmander with Antique Gear Ultimate Hound Dog!" Charmander and Ultimate Hound Dog released flames from their mouths, both landing a hit and burned each other and Avenge Vulture to ashes. "And since Black Pendant was sent from the field to the Graveyard, my opponent loses 500 Life Points!" A beam was then shot at Qing/Noir and Shun, both whom are still unfazed at the loss.
Fusion Duelists: 4000 LP
Shun and Qing/Noir: 1200 LP
Seeing how calm they were still, the two Fusion Duelists only got aggravated. "And with the Continuous Magic, Branch's effect, if a Fusion monster was destroyed, I can Special Summon one of its Fusion materials! I return Antique Gear Hound Dog!" The mechanical dog returned to the field.
"I activate my continuous Trap! Call of the Living Dead! This allows me to Special Summon a monster back from my Graveyard in Attack mode! Return to me, Charmander!" Like the dog, the orange lizard returned, chest up with pride.
"Che. Then I activate Antique Hound Dog's effect to inflict 600 points of damage to you again!" The dog breathed flames at them once more. As he did so, Charmander's power rose.
Fusion Duelists: 4000 LP
Shun and Qing/Noir: 600 LP
Starter Pokémon, Charmander: 1000 + 600 = 1600 ATK
"I end my-!"
"I activate the Continuous Trap, Monster Evolution!" Qing/Noir interrupted. "Go ahead and end your turn."
"You don't have to tell me twice," Fusion duelist 1 said. "I was just about to anyway."
"At this time, Monster Evolution's effect activates! During the End Phase of the turn a 'Starter Pokemon' monster activates its effect, I can send that monster to the Graveyard and Special summon from my deck an 'Evolved Starter Pokemon' monster from my deck whose level is higher than it and has the tributed monster's name in its text! I release Charmander and Special Summon Evolved Starter Pokemon, Charmeleon!" Qing/Noir's monster began to grow, his orange scales becoming red and a horn sticking out its head.
Evolved Starter Pokemon, Charmeleon: Level 6/FIRE/Reptile/2200 ATK/2000 DEF
(Monster Evolution: During the End Phase of the turn a 'Starter Pokemon' monster(s) activated its effect, you may tribute that monster and Special Summon an 'Evolved Started Pokémon' monster from your deck, whose level is higher than the tributes monster's and has the tributes monster's name in its text.)
(Evolved Starter Pokémon, Charmeleon: Effect Monster: This card can be Special Summoned from your hand by tributing one 'Starter Pokemon, Charmander' from your field. If this card battles a monster with a higher ATK, increase this card's ATK by 500.)
"What?!" Fusion 1 gasped.
"Calm down. I just need to summon an Antique Gear Hound Dog of my own and we'll beat them," Fusion 2 reminded.
"If you can that is," Shun said to their confusion. "My turn! Draw!" He drew his next card. "I summon Raid Raptors - Vanishing Lanius!" His green and blue mechanical bird appeared.
Raid Raptors - Vanishing Lanius: Level 4/DARK/Winged-Beast/1300 ATK/1600 DEF
"And from my hand, I activate Raid Raptors - Fuzzy Lanius's effect! If I control a Raid Raptors - Vanishing Lanius, I can Special Summon this card from my hand!" The Blue and purple version appeared.
Raid Raptors - Fuzzy Lanius: Level 4/DARK/Winged-Beast/500 ATK/1500 DEF
"Now I overlay my Level 4 Raid Raptors - Vanishing Lanius and Fuzzy Lanius! Blaze with crimson light! Set flames to your thirsting wings to light my soul! XYZ SUMMON! Rank 4! Raid Raptors - Blade Burner Falcon!" A silver, blue and red mechanical bird appeared on the field with two orbs circling around it.
Raid Raptors - Blade Burner Falcon: Rank 4/DARK/Winged-Beast/1000 ATK/1000 DEF
The Fusion Duelists simply laughed at the sight of the Xyz Monster.
"You call that a trump card?" Fusion 2 asked.
"Gee, how scary," Fusion 1 mocked.
"We really wonder if you should be laughing," Qing/Noir questioned, to their confusion.
"When Blade Burner Falcon is Xyz Summoned and my opponent's Life Points is at least 3000 higher than mine, his ATK rises by 3000!" The newly summoned falcon released a terrifying screech as its power rose.
Raid Raptors - Blade Burner Falcon: 1000 + 3000 = 4000 ATK
The two Fusion Duelists were baffled by the sudden increase. "And ATK of 4000?!" both gasped.
"Battle! I attack Antique Gear Hound Dog with Charmeleon! Flamethrower!" The Reptile-type monster breathed powerful flames from his mouth and melted its target, as well as burning the opposing duelists.
Fusion Duelists: 2800 LP
Shun and Qing/Noir: 600 LP
"Now it's time for you to say your prayers," Qing/Noir said. "For this is the end."
"Raid Raptors - Blade Burner Falcon! Attack them directly! Blaze Shot!" Shun declared. His monster shot missiles at their opponents, blowing them away and ending the duel.
Fusion Duelists: 0000 LP
Shun and Qing/Noir: 600 LP
WINNER: SHUN AND QING/NOIR!
"Let's go!" Shun then said to Qing/Noir. He grabbed her hand and dragged her to where their friends and the innocents are.
The two were out of the city, in a dark, quiet area, close to their hideout and still safe from any pursuers. They stopped to take a few breather.
"That was close," Qing/Noir stated. "I actually thought we'd lose."
"Just be glad we survived that. Especially you," Shun said.
Qing/Noir looked at him in confusion. "Shun?"
The 'Raid Raptors' duelist placed a hand on her cheek. "I don't know what I would do if anything happened to you."
"Shun... What are you...?"
"I know I should've told you this earlier, or after we're free from this nightmare, but Noir, ever since the day I've laid eyes on you, I've always had feelings for you." Qing/Noir blushed at his words. "So Noir, after this war is over, will you be my girlfriend?"
She was speechless. She didn't know what to say, except she knew she felt the same way for him. "Yes," she answered at last.
Shun's face brightened up at that word. "Really?!"
"Yeah! Truth is, I've been feeling the same way. Not only that, you, your sister and Yuto were huge help for me and Azuma. Shun, I would love to be your girlfriend."
The two stared in each others eyes. Seconds later, their faces were slowly closing in on each other and they both closed their eyes.
*REALITY*
Qing woke up with a gasp. She couldn't believe the dream she had and didn't know what to think of it. As soon as her mind had cleared up one thing was clear to her.
'That Noir girl... The girl with the same face as mine... She's Shun's girlfriend. Or soon to be...' she thought. 'That duel back then... He was desperate to find his loved one. Rather, loved ones if Ruri is his sister.' Qing rubbed eyes. She looked to the side and saw her Duel Monster Spirits with instruments, buckets of cold water and other various wake-up equipments, which worried her to no end about the time. Fortunately, said equipments aren't real, so she didn't need to worry about them disturbing the neighborhood.
"Why do you guys have wake-up equipments?" she dared ask. Her spirits all looked at her and immediately went to her side.
"You're finally awake! We thought you died!" Rera shouted.
"Or in a coma," Tenrei added.
Hearing that worried her even more. "What time is it?" She looked at a clock and... Well, let's say she was shocked at the time, as she let out a loud shriek.
"2:00?! I'm so late! I missed Kai, Tatsuya, Gongenzaka, Yuya and Sora's duel! I can't believe myself!" Qing shouted as she quickly got herself dressed and ready for the day. She then sped out of the hotel at inhuman speed. "I'm so late!"
"There she goes..." Wen said.
"She forgot us and her duel disk," Practitioner followed, looking at said ringing disk.
"Think she would remember?" Mercenary asked.
"With how she was just now and how far she is from here, I'd say no," Elder answered.
At the stadium, after Sora's loss against Shun, it was Seth's turn to duel his opponent. Many were hoping for an exciting duel, mostly to forget the events that happened between Shun and Sora. Before that time, to all of You Show's confusion, Qing wasn't with them for some reason. Bella thought she'd slept in. Yuzu thought she was sick. Tatsuya suggested she might've been fatigued from the running the other day. As much as they wanted to be with her, they knew she wouldn't want the ones dueling today to worry so much about her, nor does she want to ones not dueling that day to not give them any support.
"Good luck, Seth!" Yuya shouted.
"Nii-san! Fight!" Kai cheered.
"Duel for Sora's sake as well!" Shuzo added.
"Well?" Ayu asked Yuzu, who tried calling Qing for a number of times.
"She's not picking up," she replied.
"You don't think she lost it, do you?" Tatsuya asked.
"Qing? There's no way."
"Seth-niichan's duel is about to start!" Ayu told them.
While they were cheering for Seth or wondering what happened to Qing, Bella was in deep thought about the previous duel. 'Everything Shun said... Everything Sora said during that duel... At first I didn't completely believe what Qing said about there being more than one dimension and that two dimensions are at with each other but now... I don't know what to think now...'
"Bella? What's wrong?" Yuya asked.
Bella looked up at her brother. "Huh? Oh nothing. Just wondering what happened to Qing," she lied.
"I'm sure she's fine. For now, let's cheer for Seth. After that, we'll see Sora and then meet Qing at her apartment." The female Sakaki nodded at the idea.
Standing across Seth was a girl his age wearing a beige jacket with a red shirt under it, beige shorts, green shocks, brown shoes and a beige sun hat.
"So you're the ninja of You Show?" the girl asked. "My name's Mia."
"Yeah. And I'm Seth," he answered. He reached a hand out to her. "May it be a good duel."
She accepted the hand shake. "And hopefully one that will surpass the previous duel."
Seth looked down in thought. "Yeah..."
"Now then! Shall we start the next duel?! A one-on-one between Archie Mia of Architecture Duel School vs Kobayashi Seth of You Show Duel School!" Nick shouted. "And the field they will be dueling in is this one! Field Magic, the Sanctuary in the Sky!" The field became a huge temple.
"Duelists locked in battle!" Mia began.
"Kicking against the earth and dancing in the air alongside their monsters!" Seth followed.
"They storm through this field!"
"Behold! This is the newest and greatest evolution of Dueling!"
"Action! DUEL!" they exclaimed in unison.
Mia: 4000 LP
Seth: 4000 LP
"I'll start first!" Mia said. "I set three cards face-down and end my turn!" Everyone was confused at her move. Especially since she didn't set a monster to further increase her defense.
"Why didn't she set any monsters?" Kai asked.
"There must be a reason for this," Gongenzaka said.
Seth set aside his worries for what the face-downs can do and started his turn. "My turn! Draw! I summon Darkus Griffon!" A black scaled Griffon with grey fur and purple mane appeared on the field.
Darkus Griffon: Level 4/DARK/Winged-Beast/1800 ATK/1300 DEF
(Darkus Griffon: Effect Monster: Once per turn, you can target two monsters on the field. The first monster has its level changed to the second monster's level until the End Phase.)
"I attack directly with Griffon! Wing Burst!" Griffon flew down to his opponent with the intent to kill.
"I activate the Instant Magic, Twin Twister! By discarding one card from my hand to the Graveyard, I can target two Magic or Trap cards on the field and destroy them!" A pair of twisters appeared and destroyed her last two defense.
"She destroyed her last cards!?" Yuya questioned.
"Why would you do that?" Seth asked.
Mia simply smirked as two balls of light, one yellow and the other orange appeared. Each took form of a person with a different weapon; the yellow one into a girl with a gold and yellow-lined heater shield and the gold and orange-lined staff.
"When Artifact - Aigis and Artifact - Cadoceus are destroyed while in the Magic/Trap Card Zone during the opponent's turn, they are Special Summoned onto the field," Mia explained.
Artifact - Aigis: Level 5/LIGHT/Fairy/1200 ATK/2500 DEF
Artifact - Cadoceus: Level 5/LIGHT/Fairy/1600 ATK/2400 DEF
"Griffon's not strong enough for any of them." Seth looked down at his hand and saw one card that just might help him. "I activate the Instant Magic, Falling Darkness! If I control less amount of monsters that my opponent, this card allows me to target monsters up to the difference on my opponent's field and send them back to their hand until we have the same amount of monsters on the field! Then my DARK monster's ATK goes up by 700 times the number of monsters returned by this effect!" Shadows appeared and made way for Aigis, attempting to sink it down to the darkness.
(Falling Darkness: Instant Magic: If your opponent controls more monsters than you, target up to the difference of monsters between you two on your opponent's field and send them back to the opponent's hand. Then increase your DARK monster(s) ATK by 700 times the number of monsters returned by this effect.)
However, just when the shadows were about to make contact, Aigis's shield glowed and disintegrated the darkness.
"What?!" Seth gasped.
"When Aigis is Special Summoned during the opponent's turn, no 'Artifact' monsters can be targeted or destroyed by card effects," Mia explained.
Since the ATK boost was only effective if monsters were returned to her hand, Seth only had one move left. "I end my turn." He ran to find an Action Card.
"My turn! Draw!" Mia drew a card and ran to find an Action Card as well. "I overlay Artifact - Aigis and Cadoceus! XYZ SUMMON! Appear, Rank 5, Artifact - Durandal!" The two monsters fell into a portal and a blue spirit in red revealing clothes appeared on the field with a huge sword with blue and red linings.
Artifact - Durandal: Rank 5/LIGHT/Fairy/2400 ATK/2100 DEF
"She can Xyz Summon?!" Seth gasped. He wasn't the only one who was shocked; everyone was surprised at this, save for Architecture Duel School.
"Battle! I attack Griffon with Durandal! Charge Blade!" The monster swung his sword down at his target.
Seth saw an Action card on a pillar ahead of him and used his ninja skills to get to it. "Action Magic, Angel's Harp! This gives an attacked monster 500 more ATK!" An angel appeared and played a tune on her harp for Griffon.
Darkus Griffon: 1800 + 500 = 2300 ATK
Unfortunately the boost wasn't enough for him to withstand the Xyz Monster's attack. Though at least the damage had lessened.
Mia: 4000 LP
Seth: 3900 LP
"I set two cards face-down and end my turn." Mia set two of the three remaining cards in her hand down.
"Then it's my turn. Draw!" Seth drew his next card.
'If those face-downs are 'Artifacts', I'll only be increasing her Defense and Offense,' he thought. 'If I want to get rid of them...'
"First I summon Darkus Centapoid!" A black centipede-like monster appeared on the field.
Darkus Centipoid: Level 4/DARK/Insect/2000 ATK/100 DEF
"When he's summoned, by switching him to Defense, I can Special Summon a DARK monster from my Graveyard! Come back to me, Griffon!" His Winged-Beast monster returned to the field. "Then, I take 200 points of damage per that monster's level!" A dark aura was seen around Seth as his Life Points dropped.
Mia: 4000 LP
Seth: 3100 LP
"Since my Life Points were reduced by a card effect, I activate the Tuner Monster, Darkus Moskeeto's effect from my hand and Special Summon him!" His mosquito monster appeared on the field.
Darkus Moskeeto: Level 2/DARK/Insect/500 ATK/1200 DEF
"Then, I activate Griffon's effect! Once per turn, by targeting two monsters on the field, I can change the level of one of them into the level of the other! I will change Moskeeto's level into that of Griffon!" The Griffon released a loud roar that reduced his ally's level to two.
Darkus Moskeeto: Level 2 -} 4
"Now I tune my Level 4 Darkus Griffon with my Level 4 Darkus Moskeeto! Guardian of the dark dimension, descend now and show what true darkness is! SYNCHRO SUMMON! Reveal yourself, Level 8, Darkus Leonidas!" Seth's ace monster appeared on the field.
Darkus Leonidas: Level 8/DARK/Dragon/3000 ATK/2700 DEF
The crowd went wild at the sight of the new monster.
"What a turn! Not only did Seth summon out a powerful monster, he proved to us that You Show Duel School can do all three summons like LDS!" Nico shouted in an excited tone.
"I activate Moskeeto's effect! When he's sent from the field to the Graveyard for the summon of a 'Darkus' Synchro monster, I can equip him to that monster and give it 500 more ATK!" Moskeeto appeared and equipped himself onto Leonidas as the latter's armor.
Darius Leonidas: 3000 + 500 = 3500 ATK
"Next, I activate Leonidas' effect!" Seth continued. "When summoned, I can target cards my opponent controls up to the number of Synchro Material used to summon him and destroy those cards! Dark Oblivion! Also, I activate the Instant Magic, Darkness Shockwave! When a card is destroyed by the effect of a DARK monster, those cards are banished!" Leonidas's fists were covered in darkness as he went to destroy the two face-down cards on Mia's field. As he destroyed the cards, for some reason, the girl seemed calm at the situation.
(Darkness Shockwave: Instant Magic: If a card(s) is to be destroyed by the effect of a DARK monster this turn, banish those cards)
"I activate the Instant Magic, Artifacts Unleashed and the Trap Card, Theosophy of the Artifacts effects! If both are destroyed by my opponent's card effects, for Artifacts Unleashed, by revealing one Level 5 LIGHT monster from my hand, I can draw a card." She revealed a Level 5 'Artifact' monster from her hand and drew a card. "As for Theosophy of the Artifacts, I can target one card on the field and destroy it!" Seth gasped at the effect, as did his friends.
"She set him up!" Yuzu gasped.
"Your Leonidas seems like a good candidate for the destruction effect. Now say good-bye!" Her XYZ monster's blade lit up as it went to destroy Seth's ace monster.
Seth managed to find an Action Card and activated it. "Action Magic, Invisibility! This prevents a monster from being affected by my opponent's card effects!" Leonidas became transparent as the attack went through him. "Whew... That was a close one." He looked up and saw Mia running for an Action Card. "Oh no you don't! Battle! I attack Artifact Durandal with Leonidas! Alpha Blaster!" Electricity was charged in Leonidas's mouth. Once he was charged up, Leonidas released a blue beam of lightning at Durandal.
"I activate the Action Magic, Avoid! This negates a monster's attack!" The Xyz monster dodged the attack.
"I end my turn."
"My turn! Draw!" Mia drew her next card. "I equip Durandal with the Equip Magic, Stoic Challenge! By detaching all his Overlay Units, he gains 600 ATK for each units detached to use this effect! Two were detached, so that's 1200 ATK boost!" All of said monster's units were detached from it as it gained more power.
Artifact - Durandal: 2400 + 1200 = 3600 ATK
"Its ATK surpasses Leonidas!" Gongnenzaka exclaimed.
"Nii-san! Run away!" Kai shouted. And ran Seth did.
"Battle! I attack Leonidas with Durandal! Dual Light Blade!" Mia declared. Her Xyz monster's blade glowed as he charged at Leonidas. Seth spotted an Action Card on a statue, but was too late in obtaining it, as the attack hit his monster and destroyed him. "The damage done by the monster equipped with Stoic Challenge is doubled!" Mia added.
Mia: 4000 LP
Seth: 2900 LP
The card Seth failed to get flew into Mia's hand. She took a look at it and smiled. "Action Magic, Angel's Support! This card has two effects. I can either increase the ATK of one monster I control by 1000 or allow a monster I control to attack twice this Battle Phase. The second time it attacks, however, it's ATK becomes half its current ATK. I activate the second effect!" Her monster was covered in a red aura as its ATK went down.
Artifact - Durandal: 3600 ATK / 2 = 1800 ATK
(Angel's Support: Action Magic: Activate one of these effects until the End Phase of the turn this card was activated:
Increase the ATK of one monster you control by 1000
Target one monster on the field; that monster can attack twice this turn. The second time it attacks, its ATK is halved.)
"And now I attack Centipoid with Durandal! Dual Light Blade!" The Xyz Monster once again landed an attack on Seth's other monster, also destroying it and sending Seth flying. Thankfully, Centipoid was in Defense Mode, so no Life Points were lost. Seth landed safely on a pillar. "I set two cards face down and end my turn. At this time, Angel's support ends and Durandal's ATK reverts back to normal."
Artifact - Durandal: 1800 x 2 = 3600 ATK
"My turn! Draw!" Seth drew his next card. "I activate the Instant Magic, Rapid Shadows! This card allows me to Special Summon a Level 4 or lower DARK monster from my deck! So come, Tuner Monster, Darkus Serpenoid!" A black and purple snake with fin-like ears appeared on the field.
Darkus Serpenoid: Level 3/DARK/Reptile/1400 ATK/1300 DEF
"Next I release Serpenoid to Advance Summon Darkus Laserman!" A black and purple robot-like monster with a pair of laser cannon on each shoulder appeared on the field.
Darkus Laserman: Level 6/DARK/Machine/2700 ATK/2000 DEF
"Then I activate the Magic card, Unprecedented Wind! This card increases a monster's ATK by 1000 ATK! I give this power to Laserman!" A strong wind came as the Machine-type monster's ATK rose.
Darkus Laserman: 2700 + 1000 = 3700 ATK
"I activate the Instant Magic, Cyclone! This card destroys one Magic or Trap card on the field! And guess which card is the target," Mia said. Seth's eyes widened at her plan, as her card destroyed her remaining face-down. "And because it was destroyed during your turn, I activate Artifact - Akhilleus's effect and Special Summon him!" A purple spirit with a huge gold and purple shield appeared on the field.
Artifact - Akhilleus: Level 5/LIGHT/Fairy/1500 ATK/2200 DEF
"That's not stopping us! I attack Durandal with Laserman!" Seth continued. Just as his monster was about to target the Xyz monster for his ATK, however, Akhilleus's shield glowed, messing up Laserman's sensors. "Laserman? What's wrong?"
"If Akhilleus was summoned during my opponent's turn, my opponent cannot target any 'Artifact' monsters for attacks that turn," Mia explained.
Seth gritted his teeth. "I end my turn."
Meanwhile, with the rushing Qing, she managed to arrive at the stadium, but now she had to find out where Seth was taking his duel.
"Oh man... Which field was it?!" she irritatedly questioned. Just as she was about to turn a corner, she bumped into someone and fell on her butt. "Ow... Sorry."
"You!?" Qing's eyes widened at the voice and looked up to see Shun looking down at her.
"Shun?!" She instantly got up and kept her distance. Despite what she saw in her dreams/visions, she was still wary of the Xyz duelist.
"Why are you here?" he asked, obviously holding back whatever urge he had to duel her or question her about Noir.
"I slept in and was looking for the field my friend is dueling in. You're not going to tell me where, are you?"
"You're right. I'm not going to answer to a Fusion scum like you."
That insult made Qing more irritated than before. "Okay, I admit I can do Fusion Summon, but that doesn't mean I have anything to do with what happened to your home! Besides, I'm not even from Academia!"
"If you're not from there, then how do you know the name of the group who attacked my home?!" he demanded.
"I'd be lying if I said Reiji told me about the group. But instead, I actually had visions of what happened to your home." That got Shun's attention and calm side. "I don't know how or why, but ever since we dueled, I often had dreams about what had happened to your dimension. Not only that, but I was seeing them from someone else's view. Noir's view." Hearing her name seemed to have made Shun snapped, for the next thing Qing knew, she was backed against a wall, Shun choking her and handed.
"How dare you utter her name?!"
Qing struggled to speak. "I understand that you both have feelings for each other... And that you'd do whatever it takes to get her back... But believe me when I tell you that I have nothing to do with anything that happened to both your home and Noir. If anything, I want to help you." Shun raised an eyebrow at her offer. "I just told you that I can see things from Noir's perspective, didn't I? In that case, I might see what exactly happened to her that caused her to go missing... And where she could be right now... Not only that... You said your sister's missing too, didn't you? Ruri? It might be possible that Noir knows where she could be as well..."
Shun thought over what Qing had offered him. If what she said was true, he would be able to find and save both his sister and his girlfriend. "How do I know you're not lying?"
"During one of the invasions... After you and Noir defeated a pair of Academia duelists... you both retreated back to your hideout... But Noir was tired from running, so you stopped somewhere close by... It was then you confessed your feelings to each other."
Shun widened his eyes at the detail. No one knew about that time, not even his best friend, his sister and Azuma. They both decided to keep that a secret from everyone until the invasion is over. Now knowing that Qing was speaking the truth, he released her, much to her relief as she coughed and gasped for air. "Go down that hall," he then spoke, pointing at the hall he came from. "You'll see the field and make it in time to see the ending of the duel. Your friend is in You Show Duel School, right?"
Qing looked up at him in shock at the assistance he was giving her.
"What's with that look? You help me look for Noir and my sister and I return the favor in any way possible."
Her shock changed into a smile. "Thank you, Shun. I promise, I'll let you know when I have another vision." With that, she got up from her spot and ran the direction he told her to go.
As she left, Shun looked down at his hand. His mind went to the moment when he and Noir unofficially started a relationship. He reached into his pocket and took out an amulet, the gem shaped as a falcon.
'Noir... I will find you...' he vowed.
Back to the duel, it was Mia's turn, as she drew her next card.
"I activate the Magic Card, Pot of Greed to draw two cards!" Mia drew two more cards. "If you think your monster has the advantage in terms of ATK power, think again," she said. "I activate the Equip Magic, Evolving Mankind! This card has two effects, depending on my Life Points compared to my opponent's! Since my Life Points is higher than you, the original ATK of a monster becomes 1000!"
"So she's decreasing the ATK of a monster?" Futoshi asked.
"She said Laserman's power won't be the highest of the group, and yet she's decreasing her own monster's ATK instead," Ayu said.
"No. That's not true," Tatsuya corrected.
"He's right. Equip Cards doesn't have to be equipped to your own monsters; they can also be equipped to your opponent's," Bella added. Futoshi and Ayu were shocked at the information of Equip Magic.
"I equip this card to Darkus Laserman!" And just like that, Mia's card reduced Laserman's power.
Darkus Laserman: 3700 -} 1000 ATK
"I switch Akhilleus to Attack Mode! Battle! I attack Laserman with Durandal! Dual Light Blade!" The Xyz monster's blade grew as he charged at the weakened DARK monster.
Seth picked up an Action Card from the pillar he was on. "Action Magic, Miracle! This negates a monster's destruction and reduces the damage to half the amount I would've taken!" A light barrier appeared and protected Laserman from the attack.
"However, you forget that the monster equipped with Stoic Challenge inflicts twice the Battle Damage to the opponent," Mia reminded.
Mia: 4000 LP
Seth: 300 LP
Seth leapt off the pillar he was on in search for another Action card. "This is the end! I attack with Akhilleus!" Her remaining monster threw the shield at Laserman.
"Nii-san! Hurry!" Kai shouted.
Seth spotted a card on a boulder ahead of him and ran as fast as he could, as the shield got closer to his monster. It was a race between him and the shield. Just when he felt like giving up...
"DON'T YOU DARE LOSE, SETH!" he heard. No time to look up, Seth pushed himself to go even faster and snatched the card. At the same time, the shield collided with Laserman and destroyed him. Upon his destruction, Laserman exploded.
The crowd was silent, waiting to see the outcome of the duel, despite knowing who had won. You Show watched in great suspense, hoping that Seth had survived the attack, especially one in particular. Above them, Qing managed to make it to the duel, and as Shun predicted, she was in time to see the end of the duel. At least, she hoped it wasn't the end yet.
"Come on, Seth..." she muttered.
"Well folks, I think it's safe to say that the winner of this duel is-" Nico stopped himself as the smoke cleared up, revealing Seth still on his feet and, surprisingly, still having Life Points left.
Mia: 4000 LP
Seth: 50 LP
"What?! How do you still have Life Points left?!" Mia asked in shock.
"Action Magic, Angel's Protection! If I were to take damage that will reduce my Life Points to zero, that damage is halved!" the ninja of You Show explained.
(Angel's Protection: Action Magic: If you were to take damage that will reduce your Life Points to zero, the damage is halved.)
"So you're still in the game, I see. I guess it's to be expected from a ninja. Now I wonder how you will turn this around. I set one card face-down and end my turn. And at this time, Stoic's second effect activates and destroys the monster it was equipped with is destroyed." Cracks were being shown on the sword. The light it was having died down and it disintegrated. With no weapon and no way of staying on the field, the soul left the field.
"What a duel! Just when we thought Seth was down for the count, he is still standing and dueling! However, with the huge gap in both his and Mia's Life Points, is there still hope for our You Show Duelist?!" Nico questioned.
"I'll show you. My turn. DRAW!" As Seth drew his next card, shadow particles coming out of it. "I activate the Magic card, Darkus Draw! By banishing one 'Darkus' monster from my Graveyard, I can draw one card for every two of that monster's Level! I banish the Level 6, Darkus Laserman and draw three cards!" He drew three more cards.
'They're here!' he thought in relief.
"I activate the Magic Card, Foolish Burial! This sends a monster from my deck to my Graveyard! I will send Darkus Robotallion to the Graveyard!"
"But what is the point in that?" Mia asked.
"The point is this! From my hand, I activate the Magic card, Stardust Shimmer!" The field suddenly became dark, as stars were seen in the night sky above them.
"Will you all look at the beautiful night sky, folks!" Nico happily shouted. Everyone gazed up at the sky, attracted to the stars.
"With Stardust Shimmer's effect, by targeting one Dragon-type Synchro Monster in my Graveyard, I can banish monsters in my Graveyard whose Level is equal to the Level of the targeted monster and Special Summon it!" Seth explained. Eight stars glowed brighter than all other stars and made three constellations. "The monsters I'll be using are Darkus Robotallion, Darkus Serpenoid, and Darkus Moskeeto!" Images of the three monsters were seen from the three constellations as all the other stars moved about and surrounded the three. "Guardian of the dark dimension, descend now and show what true darkness is!" The stars created a portal as the three constellations broke apart. "SYNCHRO SUMMON! Return to the field, Darkus Leonidas!" A ray of light came from the portal and Seth's ace monster returned to the field.
The crowd went wild at the reappearance of Seth's monster. "It's back! Seth's ace monster had returned to the field!" Nico shouted excitedly.
"Battle! I attack Artifact - Akhilleus with Leonidas! Alpha Blaster!" Leonidas used his signature attack at his opponent and destroyed it, inflicting damage to Mia at last.
Mia: 2500 LP
Seth: 50 LP
"I activate the Trap Card, Theosophy of the Artifacts!" Most of the audience was shocked at the revelation of Mia's face-down card.
"She has two of them?!" Yuya gasped.
"The effect I activated was its destruction effect. As for its non-destructive effect, I am all to Special Summon an 'Artifact' monster from my deck! I Special Summon Artifact - Moralltach!" A blue spirit with a sword with blue lines appeared on the field.
Artifact - Moralltach: Level 5/LIGHT/Fairy/2100 ATK/1400 DEF
"And when this card is Special Summoned during my opponent's turn, I can destroy one face-up card they control!" Mia continued. Seth's friends gasped as the new monster swung his sword down at Leonidas. Blue lightning came out of it and hit its mark.
"Nii-san!" Kai cried out.
As the dust cleared, to everyone's shock and surprise, Leonidas was still standing. This time, with purple armor on his body.
"What?" Mia gasped.
"Darkus Robotallion's effect. When he's used to summon a 'Darkus' monster, the summoned monster cannot be destroyed by battle and is unaffected by card effects. This is Great Enforcer!" Seth explained with a smirk. "And now I activate Leonidas's second effect! When he destroys a monster by battle and inflicts damage to my opponent, by banishing one 'Darkus' monster from my Graveyard, he gains that monster's ATK and can attack again! The monster I'm banishing is Darkus Centipoid! Alpha Booster" The spirit of his remaining Insect-type monster from his Graveyard appeared and fused with Leonidas.
Darkus Leonidas: 3000 + 1000 = 4000 ATK
"Now go! Darkus Leonidas! Alpha Blaster! And lastly, I activate the Instant Magic, Rush Recklessly to increase Leonidas's ATK further by 700!" Leonidas charged and fired another round of its lightning.
Darkus Leonidas: 4000 + 700 = 4700 ATK
As soon as he saw Mia run to an Action Card, he also went to one near him.
Mia got to the card and activated it. "Action Magic, Angel's Protection! Like how it did for you, it will reduce the damage by half for me!" A barrier of light surrounded her.
The attack was getting close to its target just as Seth was to the Action Card. Somehow, someway, he managed to swipe it off the floor. "Action Magic, No Action! This negates the effect of an Action Card!"
Mia gasped as the barrier broke into pieces. Leonidas's attack hit and the duel was over.
Mia: 0000 LP
Seth: 50 LP
WINNER: SETH!
"It's decided! The one who will go to the next round is none other than You Show Duel School's Kobayashi Seth!" Nico announced. The crowd went wild at the results, all applauding for the winner.
Seth and Mia walked up to each other.
"That was an awesome duel," Seth said.
"It was. I was so sure I would win this too. I never lose with this deck before," Mia admitted.
"First time for everything."
"You better not lose this tournament." Mia held out her hand for a handshake.
"I'll try not to," he promised, accepting the handshake.