A/N: Okay, so when I went back to the Arc-V anime, I realized that I had hastened the rounds a bit too much, and waiting two days for Yuya to recover will be odd considering I had the first round last for two days as well. Plus with the second round being tag duels, it would be weird if it lasted even a day longer than the first round. So, I went back to the Tag Team Duel chapter and changed the time passed since the three-Yu's-meeting incident.
And on that note, there's also a little surprise in this chapter~ Considering how the time in this story is already messed up, especially with the added Tag Duel, a certain pair of duelists are going to make an early appearance. Who are they? Let's read and find out!
*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 Digital Bug Rhinosebus)
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)
After congratulating Seth and Azuma for their win, Qing was dragged by the girl away from her group, over to where Shun was waiting for them.
"I would ask 'why am I here', but I can take a guess," she said.
"Any news about Noir?" Shun asked.
'Hit the nail right on the head,' Qing then thought.
"Nothing new about her, as far as I know," she answered him. "Like I said, the dreams just come and go as they please. I can't just pinpoint on her and see through her memories. I highly doubt it works that way."
Shun gritted his teeth when she said that. He really wanted to save his girlfriend after all, and he was desperate to know if she was okay or not.
"Shun, I know how you feel, especially since I've more or less seen and... experienced what you feel... but still, this is not something that can be rushed. Look, I don't like this either. Especially not since I had visions of two people with my face getting abducted by someone from the Fusion Dimension. As much as I don't want to admit it, it kind of scares me..." Qing trailed off from there, as she thought back to the two visions, specifically how her two counterparts lost to their abductor. "I still don't know who that person is, or when they will strike, but I'm not going to spend my time worrying about it. And if those two are like me in any way, something tells me they won't let those guys do what they want with them either. Have some faith in Noir."
Shun thought over what she said and found that to be true. Even before the war in their dimension started, Noir was a strong girl herself. Whatever Academia plans to do to her, Shun knows for sure that that Noir wouldn't yield.
A beep was heard and Qing looked at her Duel Disk to see a message from Yuzu. "Yuzu?" She checked the message and apparently Yuya was finally awake! "Ah! Yuya!" she gasped out in relief.
"Yuya... If I recall, isn't he that tomato-head boy?" Azuma asked.
Qing looked at her in confusion. "'Tomato'?"
"His hair color looks like a tomato." At that description, Qing understood what she meant.
'How did I not see that?' she wondered, before pushing the thought to the back of her head.
"Yeah. Apparently, he got into some incident a couple days ago and hasn't woken up since. It was worrying. And according to Yuzu, he just woke up and is heading over to the Center Court now-" She trailed off as she read the rest of the message. "Shun, Azuma. It says here Yuya wants to talk to the both of you."
"To us?" Azuma repeated in a questioned tone, while Shun raised a brow.
"Hold on a second..." Qing sent back a message, asking why Yuya wants to meet with them. Almost immediately, she received a message back. "She said it's about... your friend named Yuto."
The two Xyz Duelists tensed at her words, as Shun suddenly walked over to her and grabbed her by the shoulders. "What did she say?! Do they know where he is?!"
The sudden action caught her by surprise. "Whoa, whoa! What's this about?"
"You see, a few days ago, the night after Shun had his duel with your so-called friend, Sora, Yuto went missing," Azuma answered. "The two of us searched everywhere for him and found nothing. Is Yuya saying that he knows something about Yuto?"
"I don't know," Qing answered, as she got Shun to release his hold on her. She then paused as she replayed what Azuma said. "Wait... Did you say the night of Shun's duel? That's when Yuya got into his coma!"
This surprised the Xyz Duelists even more.
"But wait... if that's true, then there really must be a connection somehow. And not only that, but that night is the night Sora went missing..."
Shun was quick to put the pieces together and walked off to one direction.
"Where are you going?" Azuma asked.
"There's only one person who has the answers we're looking for. He has eyes and ears everywhere, it won't surprise me if he knows what happened." Both Azuma and Qing knew who he was speaking of. "However... I can't say that I'm happy he kept it from us," he added, clenching his fists. "I'll get that bastard to talk if it's the last thing I do..."
Seeing him like this, both girls knew it was best to leave Shun be and let him handle the situation on his own.
"I'm going to see my friends, in the mean time. I'll keep you both updated on my visions," Qing told Azuma, as she made her leave.
"Qing!" The multi-deck duelist stopped walking and turned to the female Xyz duelist, wondering what she wanted. "If you see another vision... one that may have my sister going through any kind of pain or torture... Don't hesitate to tell us about that either."
To hear her assume the worse like so shocked Qing, even more so that she would still want to hear about it. "Are you sure?" she asked.
"Shun and I... We both have to know everything that goes on with Noir. Even... Even if it's something gruesome..."
The foreign duelist didn't know if she should be worried or respect the Xyz Duelist before her. For the girl to say such things was surprising. Then again... her home is in the middle of a war.
"I'll share every detail," Qing promised, as she continued her way to the Center Court.
By the time she arrived at her destination, she saw Gongenzaka hugging Yuya, crying tears of sheer joy and relief for his best friend. Before she could approach them, however, she received a call from Reiji.
"Hello?" she answered the call.
"Assuming you didn't watch the previous match, one of my students went missing. I'd like for you to go on a little search mission," Reiji said.
"Wait what? Missing? What are you talking about?"
Rather than an answer, Reiji hung up on her, increasing Qing's surprise. Not long after, she received a mail and checked it. The mail was actually a video.
"We've received breaking news!" Nico Smiley said. "Due to strange circumstances, Hokuto of LDS has yet to arrive at the stadium. So unless if his partner decides to take his opponents on by himself, both Michio and Dennis will be moving on to the next round."
"Huh?" Before Qing could call Reiji or even send back a message, asking him why he couldn't get security or police to search for his missing ace Xyz Duelist, another message was sent to her.
This was another video, this time with Hokuto facing off a mysterious duelist. There was a bright light when the duelist raised their duel disk and when the light died down, Hokuto disappeared. The duelist took out a card a waved it a bit before turning around and making her leave. When she turned, Qing felt bothered for some reason and rewinded the part and zoomed in on her face. Her eyes widened in shock when she saw whose face it was.
'Yuzu?!' The duelist who seemed to be responsible for Hokuto's disappearance had Yuzu's face.
Her duel disk went to call mode, as Reiji was calling her back. Qing looked up and saw none of her friends noticing her nearby and snuck away before one of them could notice her.
Answering the call, she said, "If that was some kind of joke, Reiji, it wasn't funny."
"I assure you, that is not a joke. This video was taken three hours ago," he answered.
"Three hours ago?! Three hours ago, Yuzu's at Yuya's place and watching over him! You can ask his mom if you don't believe me!"
"I never said that it was really Hiragi Yuzu who did that, did I?" Qing stopped herself when she heard that. "I'm sure you were told by Kurosaki and his comrades about how Yuzu looked like someone they're looking for."
"So you mean... that was Shun's sister?"
"Doubtful. Three hours ago, our system picked up signals of a Fusion Summon. Besides Pendulum, our signals never reacted for any other summons from this dimension."
"So then this girl..."
"Possibly one of our enemies. That's why I'd like you to go out and search for her."
"And how do I do that? Get her attention by waving around a sign that says 'Hey, I'm your target. Come get me'? I doubt that's going to work."
*HOURS LATER*
"I cannot believe that actually worked..." Qing said, standing on top of a vacant building.
Due to the fact that Maiami Championship is a very big deal to everyone in this dimension, there were not that many people roaming around in the streets. As such, Reiji requested that she goes to the rooftop of a building and perform some Xyz Summons. Thankfully, LDS has control of even the broadcasts in Maiami City and disconnected the signal all over, except the stadiums that is. In exchange, the big screens all over the city and the televisions on displays all showed Qing performing an Xyz Summon with her Fire Fist monsters. At first she had doubts that the Fusion Yuzu-lookalike would actually take the bait and appear before her, but to her surprise, she and one other actually came.
'Anime logic is scary...' Qing thought, avoiding eye contact with the two Fusion duelists.
The girl wordlessly removed her coat, revealing a red and white uniform that Qing knew so well.
'At the very least, I'm not facing my idols! Especially one certain Kaiser!' she mentally added, crying anime tears of relief as she pulled her scarf up in an attempt to hide her face.
Yes, back in her world, there was one person who used a deck based off of a certain Cyber Dragon duelist and was able to use it quite effectively, especially with some added cards that weren't in the original's deck, which made the deck even more difficult to beat. And Qing rarely beats it. Very... rarely. If she were to face the real deal, she knew that she wouldn't survive. And even if it wasn't him, she'd rather not face her other Fusion idols. The reason? Who would ever want to see the person they admire go to the dark side?
"For you to broadcast yourself Xyz Summoning in public... You either have some guts or just plain foolish, Xyz Remnant," the girl said to her.
Snapping herself back to reality, Qing replied, "It's not my idea. Though the fact that you called me Xyz Remnant must mean you're from the Fusion Dimension."
Those words caused the smirk on the Yuzu-lookalike to widen a little. "Oh? So you know of the four dimensions? Then there's no mistake." She had her Duel Disk activated and ready, the Monster and Pendulum Zone shaped as a sword. "Duel me, Xyz Remnant!"
As much as Qing wanted to correct her, something told her that the Fusion Duelist wouldn't believe her if she said she wasn't from the Xyz Dimension. Especially not with how she had been Xyz Summoning monsters like she had been doing. And if the two duelists before her have some kind of function in their duel disks that analyzes a summon's wavelength like Reiji's LDS Headquarters do, well that wouldn't help her case at all.
That being said, she reactivated her own Duel Disk.
"Before we start, I'd like to know the name of my opponent. My name is Qing," she introduced herself.
"Serena," the lookalike simply replied. "Now let's-"
"DUEL!" both shouted.
Qing: 4000 LP
Serena: 4000 LP
"I'll start first," Qing said. She scanned her hand and planned out a strategy.
'A Fusion deck... That could be anything as far as I know. Then again, with all the unfamiliar archetypes I've seen, she could be using a deck I've never seen before as well,' she thought. 'First I should draw out her prowess. This way I can get a good grasp of how her deck works.'
"Hey! Hurry it up!" Serena shouted. "Making your opponent wait like you're doing is disrespectful!"
"Yeah, I hear you. And it's called strategizing; give me a few seconds," Qing said.
"Milady, allow me to start," said one of the monsters in her hand.
'Okay. I'm counting on you,' she thought to him.
"I will set a monster face-down! Next, I set one card face-down and end my turn!" Qing ended.
When Qing ended her turn, she expected her opponent to start her turn. Instead...
"That's it?! You're not going to Xyz Summon?!" Serena questioned, in a slightly annoyed tone. "Why you... You're underestimating me, aren't you?!"
Those words caught her off guard. "Huh? What are you talking about?"
"I'll make you regret underestimating me. Draw!" Serena drew her sixth card. "From my hand, I Normal Summon Moonlight Black Sheep!" A black, humanoid monster with sheep-like horns on her head appeared on the field.
'As I thought, another archetype I don't know,' Qing thought.
Moonlight Black Sheep: Level 2/DARK/Beast-Warrior/100 ATK/600 DEF
"Next I activate the magic card, Fusion!"
"Through this card's effect, I'll fuse Moonlight Black Sheep on my field with Moonlight Blue Cat from my hand! Beast lurking in jet-black darkness! Blue cat prowling through the darkness! Swarm in the vortex of the moon's gravity and revive with a new power! FUSION SUMMON! Come forth! Beautiful beast that dances in the moonlight! Moonlight Cat Dancer!" A blue, humanoid monster in yellow clothes with cat-like attributes appeared by Black Sheep's side and came together with her into a female humanoid monster in a dancer clothes, daggers in both hands.
Moonlight Cat Dancer: Level 7/DARK/Beast-Warrior/2400 ATK/2000 DEF
"Because Moonlight Black Sheep was sent from the field to the Graveyard as a Fusion Material, I can add her back to my hand!" Serena returned the monster to her hand. "I equip Moonlight Cat Dancer with the Equip Magic, Moonlight Sabers! This card can only be equipped to a 'Moonlight' Fusion Monster. The monster equipped with this card can inflict piercing damage to the opponent!" The daggers in Cat Danger's hands changed into sabers. "Battle! I attack your face-down monster with Moonlight Cat Dancer! Full Moon Crest!"
Moonlight Cat Dancer: 2400 + 200 = 2600 ATK
(Moonlight Sabers: Equip Magic: Can only be equipped to a 'Moonlight' Fusion Monster. When the equipped monster attacks, it gains 200 ATK. If the equipped monster attacks a Defense Position Monster, inflict piercing damage to your opponent.)
As Cat Dancer approached Qing's monster, with her weapon and clothes glowing, the monster was flipped face-up, revealing it to be a warrior in black armor with a wolf spirit by his side. Sadly, both were struck by the Fusion Monster's beam attack and got destroyed. Qing raised her arms up in an attempt to protect herself from her monster's stray flames. Luckily for her, the fire did not at all hurt her.
Harm Flame Star - Wolwusong: Level 3/FIRE/Beast-Warrior/0 ATK/1900 DEF
"When Harm Flame Star - Wolwusong is flipped face-up, I can set a 'Flame Dance' Trap card directly from my deck!" Qing said, as she took out a card from her deck and set it on the field. "From my deck, I set Flame Dance - Tensen!" As soon as she set that card, she felt something jabbed her in the gut and looked down to see a ray of light pass through her, no doubt the piercing damage she was to take from Serena's card effect.
Qing: 3300 LP
Serena: 4000 LP
'I was wondering why that didn't hurt earlier...' she thought, grimacing in pain.
"So not only did she plan on protecting herself and her Life Points, but she also planned on getting an additional card from her deck. Quite a tactical move there," Serena's companion commented.
"But that still won't help her. I set two cards face down and end my turn!" Serena ended.
"My turn. Draw!" Qing drew her next card. "From my hand, I activate the Continuous Magic, Flame Dance - Yoko! Thanks to this card's effect, all Beast-Warrior-type monsters on my field gains 100 ATK!"
"A continuous magic with only 100 ATK boost?" Serena questioned.
"And when this card is activated, by discarding one Beast-Warrior-type monster from my hand, I am able to destroy one face-up card on the field!" Those words surprised the pair of Fusion Duelists. "I send Steadfast Flame Star - Dongji to the Graveyard and destroy Cat Dancer! Go, Dongji!" A rooster spirit appeared and shot itself towards Cat Dancer.
"Trap Card, open! Moonlight Barrier!" Serena intervened. "With this card, 'Moonlight' monsters on my field are unaffected by my opponent's card effects!" True to her words, a barrier formed around her monster, protecting her from Qing's Magic card.
(Moonlight Barrier: Normal Trap: This turn, 'Moonlight' monsters you control are unaffected by your opponent's card effects. If your opponent declares an attack while this card is in your Graveyard, you may banish this card from your graveyard and discard one card from your hand; the damage inflicted is halved and you may Special Summon a 'Moonlight' monster from your deck whose ATK is equal to or less than the damage dealt.)
"So in other words, I have no choice but to battle it... In that case, since I have no monsters on my field and have a 'Flame Dance' Magic or Trap card on my field, I Special Summon Resourceful Flame Star - Wuyote!" Now appearing on the field was an adult warrior in blue and purple clothes, with a green coyote by his side.
Resourceful Flame Star - Wuyote: Level 5/FIRE/Beast-Warrior/2000 + 100 = 2100 ATK/500 ATK
"Next I Normal Summon the Tuner monster, Flame Star Master - Zhangtian!" A warrior monster, this one unlike its brethren, having its body covered in black flames and white armor, appeared on the field.
Flame Star Master - Zhangtian: Level 3/FIRE/Beast-Warrior/500 + 100 = 600 ATK/200 DEF
Hearing what kind of monster she summoned shocked Serena and her friend.
"Did she say 'Tuner monster'?!" the guy asked.
"Zhangtian's summon effect!" Qing continued. "From my Graveyard, I Special Summon a 'Flame Star' monster with 200 or less Defense in Defense Mode! Return to me, Dongji!" Another warrior, this with the rooster spirit from earlier, appeared.
Steadfast Flame Star - Dongji: Level 3/FIRE/Beast-Warrior/1500 + 100 = 1600 ATK/100 DEF
"And when Dongji's special summoned through the effect of a 'Flame Star' monster, I add a 'Flame Star' monster to my hand! One such example is Agile Flame Star - Qingven! And also, once per turn, Dongji can send a face-up 'Flame Dance' card on my field to the Graveyard to set another 'Flame Dance' card from my deck! I switch Yoko with Tensu and activate it!"
"You got it, milady!" Dongji exclaimed, jabbing one of his daggers into the Continuous Spell card. Flames emerged and from the weapon and burned the card, changing it into a whole new Spell.
"Tensu, like Yoko, grants Beast-Warrior-type monsters 100 ATK. But unlike Yoko, once per turn, I can make an additional Normal Summon for Beast-Warrior-type monsters! Through this effect, I summon out Qingven!" A warrior with a raven spirit appeared.
Agile Flame Star - Qingven: Level 3/FIRE/Beast-Warrior/200 + 100 = 300 ATK/1500 DEF
'Three monsters of the same level. Is it coming?' Serena wondered.
"Those eyes of yours are full of expectations, mainly in my summoning out an Xyz Monster," Qing noticed.
"That's right, Xyz Remnant. Now hurry up and summon it out!" Serena demanded.
'I know I told her my name and what monster I have on my field,' Qing thought with a slight sweat drop.
"I'll summon it... Just not now. I tune my Level 3 Agile Flame Star - Qingven with my Level 3 Flame Star Master - Zhangtian!" Those words shocked the two Fusion Duelists, as the Tuner Monster became a trio of green rings and the recently summoned monster became outlined with three balls of light. "Accursed majesty who charges into the dangerous battlefield, rise up and atone for your mistakes! SYNCHRO SUMMON! Appear now, Level 6! Flame Star Marquis - Hongxin!" A princely soldier on a flaming horse appeared on the field.
Flame Star Marquis - Hongxin: Level 6/FIRE/Beast-Warrior/2200 + 100 = 2300 ATK/2200 DEF
"Is this some kind of joke to you?!" Serena demanded. "Quit holding back and come at me at your fullest!"
Hearing those words made Qing wonder exactly what Academia has been teaching their students. Or rather, if there are any students there that are actually open-minded.
Pushing those thoughts to the back of her head, Qing continued her turn. "Hongxin's effect! When he's Synchro Summoned, I can Special Summon a Level 3 FIRE monster from my deck! Appear before me, Great Flame Star - Hawkrong!" And archer-like warrior appeared, with the spirit of a hawk by his side, in Defense Mode.
Great Flame Star - Hawkrong: Level 3/FIRE/Beast-Warrior/200 + 100 = 300 ATK/1500 DEF
"And when Qingven is sent from the field to the Graveyard, I am able to set a 'Flame Dance' Magic card from my deck! I set Flame Dance - Gyokkou and activate it! And through this effect, a set card my opponent controls cannot be activated while this card is face-up on the field!"
"What was that?!" Serena gasped, as whips of flames appeared and trapped Serena's remaining face-down.
"And like my other two 'Flame Dance' Magic cards, this card grants all my Beast-Warrior-type monsters 100 ATK!"
Resourceful Flame Star - Wuyote: 2100 + 100 = 2200 ATK
Steadfast Flame Star - Dongji: 1600 + 100 = 1700 ATK
Flame Star Marquis - Hongxin: 2300 + 100 = 2400 ATK
Great Flame Star - Hawkrong: 300 + 100 = 400 ATK
"And while Hawkrong is face-up on the field, while I control a 'Flame Dance' Magic or Trap card, all 'Flame Star' monsters I control gains 500 ATK and DEF! Hawkrong!"
"Leave it to me!" Hawkrong exclaimed, shooting an arrow to the sky. Said arrow bursted into sparks of flames, granting his allies more power.
Resourceful Flame Star - Wuyote: 2200 + 500 = 2700 ATK
Steadfast Flame Star - Dongji: 1700 + 500 = 2200 ATK
Flame Star Marquis - Hongxin: 2400 + 500 = 2900 ATK
Great Flame Star - Hawkrong: 400 + 500 = 900 ATK
"Battle! I attack Moonlight Cat Dancer with Flame star Marquis - Hongxin! Blaze Charge!" Qing declared. Her Synchro Monster's mount neighed and flared up even more, charging in at its Fusion opponent. "And at this time, I activate the Continuous Trap, Flame Dance - Tensen! Through this card's effect, a Beast-Warrior-type monster on my field gains 700 ATK this turn! This boost goes to Hongxin! And, while this card is face-up, all Beast-Warrior-type monsters on my field gains 300 ATK!"
"What was that?!" Serena gasped, as the card Qing set through Wolwusong's effect, activated and granted more power boost.
Resourceful Flame Star - Wuyote: 2700 + 300 = 3000 ATK
Steadfast Flame Star - Dongji: 2200 + 300 = 2500 ATK
Flame Star Marquis - Hongxin: 2900 + 700 + 300 = 3900 ATK
Great Flame Star - Hawkrong: 900 + 300 = 1200 ATK
Qing: 3300 LP
Serena: 2700 LP
"This is it! I attack directly with Resourceful Flame Star - Wuyote! Deceit Burn!" Using the chain in his hand as a whip, Wuyote had his flame spirit rush at Serena.
"From my graveyard, I activate Moonlight Barrier's second effect! If my opponent declares an attack, I banish this card and discard one card from my hand and halve the damage I'll take!" Serena defended, as she discarded the one Moonlight Black Sheep in her hand to the graveyard to lessen the damage.
Qing: 3300 LP
Serena: 1200 LP
"Just a little more... I set one card face-down and end my turn!" Qing ended. "At this time, the 700 ATK boost Hongxin has from Tensen's effect is gone."
Flame Star Marquis - Hongxin: 3900 - 700 = 3200 ATK
Watching Serena panting after taking so much damage, her partner stepped up. "Lady Serena. Allow me to assist you," he insisted.
"Stay out of this! This is my fight!" she shouted at him. Looking up at Qing with a smirk on her face, she then said, "You damn Xyz Remnant... Don't get cocky thinking you can beat me without your monster!"
"I'm not!" Qing told her.
"Shut up! My turn. Draw!" Serena drew her next card. "Magic card, Moonlight Grace! Through this card's effect, if I don't have a monster on my field, by banishing a 'Moonlight' monster of the lowest level from my Graveyard, I can draw cards equal to that monster's level! I banish Moonlight Black Sheep and draw two cards!" She drew two more cards.
(Moonlight Grace: Normal Magic: If you control no monsters, banish 1 'Moonlight' monster from your Graveyard of the lowest level; Draw cards equal to that monster's level. You may banish this card from your Graveyard; add 1 'Fusion' card from your deck or Graveyard to your hand.)
"Next, I activate Moonlight Grace's second effect! By banishing this card from my Graveyard, I add Fusion from my Graveyard back to my hand!" Serena added the Magic card back in her hand. "Next I activate the Magic card, Moonlight Perfume! This card allows me to Special Summon a 'Moonlight' monster from my Graveyard! Return to me, Moonlight Cat Dancer!" Serena's Fusion monster returned from the grave.
'Great, she's back,' Qing thought.
"And now I activate Fusion to fuse Moonlight Cat Dancer from my field with Moonlight Crimson Fox from my hand! The beautiful beast dancing under the moonlight! Crimson fox sneaking through the darkness! Swarm in the vortex of the moon's gravity and revive with a new power! FUSION SUMMON! Come forth! Elegant beast dancing in the moonlit wilderness! Moonlight Panther Dancer!" A tanned feminine monster in purple dancer's clothes appeared on the field.
Moonlight Panther Dancer: Level 8/DARK/Beast-Warrior/2800 ATK/2500 DEF
"Moonlight Crimson Fox's effect! When this card is sent to the Graveyard by a card effect, a monster my opponent controls has their ATK reduced to 0!" As Serena said that, the spirit of a female girl in brown clothes with fox-like appendages appeared and tossed her ribbon at Qing's Synchro monster.
"Like I'll let that happen! I activate my Continuous Trap, Flame Dance - Tenken! With this card, during this Main Phase, a Beast-Warrior-type monster I control loses its effects, but becomes unaffected by other card effects!"
Flame Star Marquis - Hongxin: 3200 -} 2200 ATK
"Also! While this face-up card is on the field, all Beast-Warrior-type monsters I control gains 300 extra ATK points!"
Resourceful Flame Star - Wuyote: 3000 + 300 = 3300 ATK
Steadfast Flame Star - Dongji: 2500 + 300 = 2800 ATK
Flame Star Marquis - Hongxin: 2200 + 300 = 2500 ATK
Great Flame Star - Hawkrong: 1200 + 300 = 1500 ATK
"Panther Dancer can attack my opponent's monsters twice each! And on the first battle of each monster, they are not destroyed by battle!" Serena added, much to Qing's dismay. "Battle! Panther Dancer! Start with her two Defense Position monsters!"
The newly summoned monster did as told and swiped her claws at Dongji and Hawkrong. While the first pair of attacks didn't do much, the second pair said otherwise, as both got destroyed. At the same time, however, since the Battle Phase has started, Hongxin was able to gain more power from the other 'Flame Dance' cards.
"Because Hawkrong's destroyed, my remaining monsters lose their boost from his effect!"
Resourceful Flame Star - Wuyote: 3300 - 500 = 2800 ATK
Flame Star Marquis - Hongxin: 2500 + 100 + 100 + 300 = 3000 ATK
'Good thing they're in defense mode at least. And not only that, my two remaining monsters' ATK are still high enough to-'
"It's too early to be relieved," Serena said, much to Qing's surprise. "Each time Moonlight Panther Dancer destroys a monster by battle, she gains 200 ATK until the end of the Battle Phase!" Those words surprised the 'Fire Fist' duelist even more, as Panther Dancer gained more boost from her own effect.
Moonlight Panther Dancer: 2800 + 200 + 200 = 3200 ATK
"Continue on, Panther Dancer! Attack Wuyote! Full Moon Cutter!" Panther Dancer's claws glowed and extended. She swiped them and sent energy blades at the Level 5 Monster. He first raised his chain to block the attack, but was left wide open for Panther Dancer to land her claws at him and got destroyed.
Qing: 2500 LP
Serena: 1200 LP
"And with Wuyote destroyed, Panther Dancer gains more power!" Serena exclaimed.
Moonlight Panther Dancer: 3200 + 200 = 3400 ATK
"Now attack and end that Synchro Monster! Full Moon Cutter!" At her command, Panther Dancer once again swiped some energy blades, this time at Qing's last monster. Like witih Wuyote, Hongxin tried to escape from the strike or his mount would take the hit for its rider, but neither were able to escape from the second attack and shared the same fate as their allies.
Qing: 1700 LP
Serena: 1200 LP
Moonlight Panther Dancer: 3400 + 200 = 3600 ATK
"I end my turn. And Panther Dancer's ATK returns to normal. Now, Xyz Remnant, come at me with everything you got!" Serena demanded.
Moonlight Panther Dancer: 3600 - 800 = 2800 ATK
Qing grimaced, as it was impossible to grant that wish, especially considering her situation. Her back row is all filled up, with one card still face-down, and she had no cards in her hand at the moment. If she were to draw out something, she had to hope it was something that could help her situation, one way, or another.
'I'm counting on you guys...' she thought, placing her hand on her deck to draw. "Let's go. It's my turn! DRAW!" Qing drew out her card and took a look at it. Her eyes narrowed at the sight of it. "I set one monster face down... and end my turn," she ended.
Serena did not at all seem amused by this. "Is that really all...? You're underestimating me for far too long!" she accused.
"Where do you see me underestimating you?!" Qing questioned in shock.
"My turn! Draw! I summon Moonlight Green Frog!" A green female monster with frog-like characteristics, mainly in her hands and feet and face, appeared on the field.
Moonlight Green Frog: Level 3/DARK/Beast-Warrior/1200 ATK/2000 DEF
(Moonlight Green Frog: Effect Monster: When this card is Normal Summoned, if you control a face-up 'Moonlight' Fusion monster, you may Special Summon 1 'Moonlight' monster from your Graveyard. The monster summoned by this effect is sent to your hand at the End Phase. If this card is sent to the Graveyard by card effect, target 1 'Moonlight' monster you control; that monster gains 1200 ATK until the End Phase.)
"Green Frog's effect! When she's summoned onto the field while I control a 'Moonlight' Fusion Monster, I Special Summon one 'Moonlight' monster from my Graveyard! Reawaken, Moonlight Cat Dancer!" Serena's first Fusion Monster returned to the field.
'As if just dealing with Panther Dancer isn't enough...' Qing thought, mentally cursing her luck.
"I activate Cat Dancer's effect! By tributing a 'Moonlight' monster on my field, like Panther Dancer, this card can make two attacks on each my opponent's monsters! However, on the first attack each, they won't be destroyed!" Serena continued. "I tribute Moonlight Green Frog!"
'Why did she do that?' Qing wondered.
"And lastly, Moonlight Green Frog's second effect! If this card is sent to the Graveyard by a card effect, a 'Moonlight' monster I control gains 1200 ATK this turn!" Now the 'Fire Fist' duelist saw her reason. "I give her power to Panther Dancer!"
Moonlight Panther Dancer: 2800 + 1200 = 4000 ATK
"An ATK of 4000?!" Qing gasped.
"Battle! Moonlight Cat Dancer! Attack her face-down!" At the female Fusion duelist's order, Cat Dancer sent blades of energy at Qing's unknown monster. The card flipped face-up, revealing a muscular man with a spiky mace and a flaming spirit of a buffalo by his side.
Killer Flame Star - Bullkui: Level 4/FIRE/Beast-Warrior/1100 ATK/2000 DEF
"Second attack!" At her words, Cat Dancer sent Qing's monster to oblivion. "And now to end this! Panther Dancer! Attack the player directly!" As soon as she made her declaration, Panther charged up a lot of energy in her claws.
"Continuous Trap, Explosive Assembly of the Flame Tigers! Upon activation, I gain 500 LP for each Continuous Magic and Trap card on my field!" Qing quickly defended.
Qing: 4200 LP
Serena: 1200 LP
"That changes nothing! Go!" Panther Dancer fired her attack at Qing, who raised her arms up to protect herself once more.
She had expected pain, but coming from an attack that could've wiped her out at her starting Life Points, it was more painful and powerful than she expected, as she was sent flying into a fence behind her. As if that wasn't bad enough, the force and some stray energy blades broke the fense, thus caused her to fall off the building. Thankfully and luckily for her, she managed to grab onto the edge of part of the fence still embedded on the edge of the roof, saving herself from her fall to her death. During the fall, though, her scarf fell right off her neck. And not only that, the attack was so painful, it took everything in her power to not submit to the pain and hang on to life.
Qing: 200 LP
Serena: 1200 LP
"I end my turn. And because of Green Frog's effect, Cat Dancer is returned to my Extra Deck," she heard Serena say, as the girl approaches her.
'Is she serious?!' Qing wondered in shock.
"Now hurry up and start your-" When Serena arrived at the edge and looked down at Qing, for some reason, her eyes widened in shock at the sight of her face. "You're..." Her reaction confused Qing. Unfortunately for her, the confusion left as soon as it came... as she heard what sounded like creaking noise and looked up to see the one support of the fence she was hanging on to, or what was left of it at least, was starting to break down on her.
'Oh sh-' The pillar gave in, causing her to continue her fall, or so she thought, as Serena unexpectedly grabbed onto the fence, much to her confusion.
"Hold on! I just found you... There's no way I'm letting you go!" she exclaimed.
'She can't still think I'm from the Xyz Dimension!' Qing thought.
"Barrett! Panther Dancer! Help me out!" Though shocked to hear her request for assistance, her companion rushed to her side, along with her duel monster, and tried to pull Qing up.
Qing herself was shocked and confused. At first she thought Serena didn't want to lose the 'Xyz Remnant', and she knew from her attitude and their duel that she was a more straightforward person who wouldn't rely on help. And yet why? Why is something about this situation different? Is it because she could've fallen to her death if she continued the duel in the position she was in?
Suddenly she felt something shift her downward and looked to see some of the wires, damaged by Panther Dancer's attack, starting to break loose. Her eyes widened as the wires started to break apart like strings or ropes.
Serena herself realized this and beckoned Barrett and her monster to hurry. When the two female duelists saw they were arms length, both tried to reach out to the other person. Two problems, however. One: due to the 4000 points of direct attack she took, Qing's body was in so much pain, she didn't have much strength left in her to completely reach out to Serena; it was already taking so much of it for her to hang on. And two: the last of the wire that was keeping both parts of the fences together snapped... causing Qing to continue her fall.
"VIOLA!" Qing heard Serena shout, as she screamed and fell.
Halfway to the ground, she could've sworn she heard a 'caw', when she felt arms wrapped around her and her fall came to a sudden stop. Qing shakily looked up and saw that she was in Reiji's arms, with the guy standing on top of one of his D/D monsters.
"Reiji?!" she gasped in shock.
"I came as quick as I could, after finishing up some business back in LDS," he simply told her.
Qing tried to pull herself up to see the building they were leaving Serena, Barrett and her duel. "Wait. Go back..." she struggled to say in pain.
"In your condition against those two Fusion Duelists?"
"It's not an Action Duel. So long as I don't move so much, I'll be fine. And besides... something one of them said bothers me a little. I have to go back! Please, Reiji!"
The D/D duelist looked down at the girl in her arms and saw she was serious in wanting to return. And considering he himself had to go back for one of the Fusion Duelists as well, he decided to return.
As soon as they got back, Reiji gently let Qing down on her feet. The girl staggered a little, which prompted him to lend her his aid for a moment.
"Viola!" Serena called her once more, as she attempted to approach her.
"It is my... turn!" Qing drew her next card, causing her opponent to stop in her tracks in shock. "Why are you confused...? This is a duel... You were the one who kept berating me to duel you."
"But..." Serena tried to speak.
"From my Graveyard, I activate Killer Flame Star - Bullkui's effect. By sending two face-up 'Flame Dance' cards I control to the Graveyard, I can special summon him out from the Graveyard. Now return to me, Bullkui!" The monster Serena's Cat Dancer destroyed earlier reappeared on the field, in exchange for Flame Dance - Tenken and Tensu.
Killer Flame Star - Bullkui: Level 4/FIRE/Beast-Warrior/1700 + 100 + 300 = 2100 ATK/1000 DEF
"Next I-" Before Qing could continue her turn, the pain became somewhat unbearable for her, and she fell to her knees. Well, would've if Reiji didn't catch and support her.
"Viola!" Serena cried out in worry, as she attempted to rush to her side. Sadly, Barrett held her back. "Let me go, Barrett! Viola-!"
"Are you sure that is her?" he suddenly asked, to her shock and confusion.
"What are you talking about? There's no way I'd ever mistake the face of my best friend!"
"But even so, look at her." Serena turned back to Qing. "Even if she is your friend, despite the damage she took, despite the fact that she had a chance to escape, she still came back to duel you. I think you'll agree with me when I say that as a duelist, you must respect her decision and let her continue what she wants to do."
Serena hated it when he mentioned her pride as a duelist. If there was one thing she'd always take seriously, it'd be duels. And she'd be a hypocrite to just stop the duel here, as Qing, or Viola in her eyes, continued her turn.
"I now summon out Dark Flame Star - Xiongzhi!" Qing summoned out another warrior monster in black armor with a sheathed sword in hand a a fiery spirit of a bear.
Dark Flame Star - Xiongzhi: Level 4/FIRE/Beast-Warrior/1600 + 100 + 300 = 2000 ATK/1200 DEF
"Serena-san... You want an Xyz Summon? Well here it is!" Qing exclaimed. "I overlay my Level 4 Xiongzhi and Bullkui! With these two monsters I build the overlay network!" Her two 'Flame Star' monsters leapt into a portal that appeared below them. "Oh, heavenly spirit, dragon in the clouds. Descend now and lead us to the path of victory! XYZ SUMMON! Appear now, Rank 4! Leisure Flame Star - Gongguansheng!" Appearing now was a male with a black beard in white robes, with a cardinal bird by his side.
Leisure Flame Star - Gongguansheng: Rank 4/FIRE/Beast-Warrior/1800 + 100 + 300 = 2200 ATK/2200 DEF
"And now I activate his effect. By detaching both his Overlay Units, I am able to return two 'Flame Star' or Flame Dance cards from my field or Graveyard back in my deck and do the same for two cards on my opponent's field and/or graveyard."
"Wait, what?!" Serena asked.
"Through this effect, I send Wolwusong and Zhangtian back into my deck and do the same for your Moonlight Panther Dancer and Moonlight Crimson Fox! Crimson Return!" The Xyz monster used his his two units to call upon his two allies. Wolwusong and Zhangtian both rushed at Panther Dancer and Serena's Graveyard, forcing Crimson Fox out of it and forced the two feminine monsters into the Main Deck and Extra Deck, the former to be shuffled. "And now battle! I attack the player directly with Gongguansheng! Cardinal Strike!" Qing's Xyz monster had his spirit charged at Serena and ended the duel.
Qing: 200 LP
Serena: 0000 LP
WINNER: QING!
Qing panted as the holograms disappeared. If this was a normal duel, she would be happy that she won. But this wasn't an ordinary duel. Even if it was, something told Qing that that win... was not a real win for her. And as much as she'd like to ponder on that, she had some questions to ask of Serena.
"Now... Tell me, one thing," she panted. "Who... is..." Before she could finish the question, the adrenaline and pain finally caught up to her, and Qing passed out right then and there.