Starting Notes:
Welcome back! The next few chapters are very duel-focused, and because of narrative reasons, there can only be one duel per chapter for the next while. So all I can say is… well, enjoy! :D By the time this is being posted, I have probably figured out how to write the duels for the next two as well, so they should come out (hopefully) quickly.
Chapter 59: Plummeting from the Sky
When Ruri Kurosaki saw her brother for the first time in half a year, the first thing that hit her was just how tired he looked.
The thing was, Ruri hadn't been alone in missing someone. In a sense, stuck in that tower, powerless and without any knowledge of what was happening outside it, all they could do was wait and miss what had come before. At this point, Ruri didn't doubt that Chiaki and Rin would have been able to recognise her brother if they saw him, simply because of how much Ruri had talked about him.
Shun Kurosaki, the most important person in her life. The brother that had been with her for her entire life…
Academia could never be forgiven, she thought, for tearing them apart from each other for so long.
Ruri wanted to speak. There were so many things that she wanted to say.
I miss you, obviously. You look so tired, have you been eating well? You look a little thinner. Please don't get sick. Or simply, ridiculously, Shun, I'm right here. I'm right behind you. Turn around and look at me, please.
But she couldn't cry out in the way that she wanted. She couldn't call for him, not with that ugly feeling of shame that was filling up her heart.
Because it was her fault that Shun looked like this, right? If only she had been stronger, she would never have been taken away. She would never have been the one to cause him such pain.
So Ruri stood there like an idiot, staring at her brother.
Do I have the right to say that I love you, she thought, if I haven't been able to be by your side this entire time?
… he looks happy with her though. No matter how tired he looks, at the very least, she was there for him…
She made direct eye contact with her boyfriend's sister (and apparently, her brother's girlfriend? That was going to get confusing fast.) Nue's eyes widened, and then she pulled away from Shun. She nodded at Ruri reassuringly.
And then Shun turned around.
It felt like time stood still. Ruri was sure that she had said something, but then, her brother was running over, and he was wrapping her in a hug—and all Ruri could do was cry.
She was crying because she felt safe.
And that was the worst part of it. Until now, was she still trying to look for safety in the people around her? Was she still wanting her brother to protect her?
She managed to pull herself together after a moment, and she made a few jokes—all of them were her genuine feelings, but she still wanted to draw her mind away from that guilt and pain. At the same time, she was still so happy to see her brother that she couldn't help but cling to him.
… she just really, really wanted to go home. To be free with the people that she cared for again.
… though she would fight. If necessary, she would always fight.
It was the only way that she could make up for being so useless when others needed her.
(If she said this aloud, everyone would disagree with her. That was exactly why she couldn't confess these feelings. It would mean that people would try to busy themselves with comforting her—and that wasn't what she wanted at all.)
(She would rather hide it than make others cry for her.)
Eighteen years ago, in the Fusion Dimension:
The Underground Duel Circuit was one of the open secrets of Domino City—everyone knew about it, but no one really talked about it. In Domino City, where war was a distant concept that occasionally took up a headline or two in the newspaper, people that were bored of peace and longing for conflict tended to go there for fun.
(If people in the Outer Islands knew about this, they would probably riot.)
There were enough teenage delinquents skiving off school that Seto managed to fit in rather well—drawing an oversized white hoodie over his head, he managed to avoid anyone noticing him. (Even at the age of ten, his face was already plastered all over newspapers or tabloids. He'd heard that his father was planning on having another child, and hopefully, his younger brother or sister would be able to avoid that fate.)
Reporters were so annoying.
But anyway, he was here to watch the duels. Considering that he was already taller than most people his age, he managed to squeeze his way to the front of one of the viewing areas. He leaned over the railing, watching.
"And next," the announcer above called, "the White Dragon is back!"
A short figure dressed in an elaborate white costume appeared, a white mask over the front of their face. Seto frowned. White Dragon, huh? That reminded him of his ace…
He watched as the figure in the field brought out strange, humanoid monsters that transformed into large, brightly-coloured dragons. That duelist, the White Dragon, won and won and won, over and over. Seto found himself mildly transfixed—as though he had found a new rival—
So much so that he ended up sneaking into the backrooms of the Underground Circuit. It wasn't like it was illegal to do so—this whole thing was completely illegal, anyway. It was just that if you weren't participating, there was an unspoken taboo that one shouldn't go there.
So he walked through the backrooms, only to stop in front of a door, hearing a voice from inside—soft, even if it was rather frustrated.
"I'm not going to do that."
Seto stopped, taking a step closer. Eavesdropping.
"No—you know that there's a reason why I ran away from home. I'm done with that." A sigh. It was the prettiest voice that Seto had ever heard—higher in pitch than his own, soft but confident. "I don't care what mother thinks. There's a reason why I'm here, isn't there? No, I don't…"
The voice went quiet.
"I'm much happier on my own than I was back home, anyway. Have I got a place to stay? That's my business."
There was nothing else after that for a while, except some shuffling from inside the room.
"Yes. I love you too, brother. When—if you decide that you want to run away too… yeah."
Then, the door opened, and Seto came face to face with a girl with white hair.
He immediately recognised the mask at her side. This was the White Dragon. That competent duelist from just now—sharp and tactical. Her blue eyes were steely. And apparently, she had the cutest voice when she wasn't purposely trying to hide it as a deeper one.
"Who are you?" The girl asked.
Seto looked at her.
"I'm Seto," he said, omitting his last name on purpose. "Do you want to grab a burger with me?"
The girl looked at him. "Only if you pay," she said after a moment.
"Sure." Seto would buy all the burgers in the world to get the chance to talk to her. "What's your name?"
"... I'll tell you that for a drink."
Seto looked at her.
Her first instinct was to bargain, huh?
… hmm. He really liked her.
"How about three?" He asked, and the girl nodded, slinging her bag over her shoulder. It was rather large—as though she had a large amount of things stuffed in that single bag. (Maybe all her possessions were in there—she was a runaway, after all.)
"Buy them and we'll talk," she agreed.
So, after that entire long lunch (it had been five hours, and frankly, Seto had wished that it had lasted longer, somehow), Seto got home and began to write down his thoughts.
Because that was what he did. He wrote down all his thoughts in a long list, which had the slightly dubious title of 'Reasons that I would like to talk to Kisara more.'
(Kisara had not given him her last name either.)
She was good at dueling. She was oddly charismatic. She had a nice voice. She was not annoying. She was more mature than other kids their age.
Oh. She had inventions too. She had the kind of brainpower to come up with designs for things that Seto himself had not considered, despite growing up in a company based on technology. She ate relatively fast. She never pretended that she knew things she didn't. She asked all kinds of questions.
She had nice hair. Her eyes were sharp.
(He scratched that out, after a brief moment of consideration. Afterwards, his pen moved upwards and scratched out the part about her voice too.)
He put his pen down and leaned back.
I want her, he decided. If not as his best friend, then as his rival. He'd take either. But he wanted her.
Seven years later, he leaned towards her. "We're seventeen," he said.
"Way to state the obvious," she said.
"I want you," he said.
Kisara raised an eyebrow. "You have two seconds to change that phrasing before I assume the worst of you."
"Be my partner," he said calmly. "Marry me, Kisara. We're not old enough now. But you're the only person in my life who I would ever want to marry."
Kisara leaned into him. "... alright," she said. "I don't have any identification though."
"Done." Seto would get her that identification. It was… often hard for runaway kids because of that specific detail, and he couldn't believe that he hadn't thought of it until now. "And if I get it for you, you'll marry me in the future?"
"We always make things sound so transactional," Kisara murmured.
"True," Seto said. "But that's how we work." He turned to her. "Kisara Tsutsuji. What do you think?"
"Tsutsuji?"
"Azalea." Seto turned his head towards her. "In a flower bush—they mean 'coming home'. In a black vase, they're a death threat. Will it do?"
"Kisara Tsutsuji," Kisara repeated. "I like it. We'll go with that." Her fingers laced through his. "Yes. It'll do. You can marry me then." She smiled, and there was something delicate to it. "I'll allow it."
Seto took her hand, tracing a circle around her finger. He would get her a ring when they were older. He smirked, and for a moment, they were on top of the world. Nothing could have stopped them then.
One year later, she stood at his grave.
She wished that she could say that she was surprised.
A man so proud could only ever have died to his own inflexibility.
There were some signs of graffiti on the ground, which didn't surprise her. Most of the disrespect was aimed at a different grave though, further up the hill. Even so, the flowers that she left were the only ones there.
She stood up and sighed.
"You idiot," she murmured. "I'll be back. And I will see you again someday. I swear it. No matter what I have to do, you and I will reach that day that we dreamed of. Then, and only then... will I admit to anyone how much I loved you."
That was the reason why she couldn't approach Yuri Kaiba, after all, for all that the poor boy was suffering.
It would make her feelings far too transparent.
In the present:
Kisara had made her way through about six people by the time that someone who seemed at least somewhat skilled showed up.
"You're stopping here!"
"Stopping here?" She asked, arching an eyebrow. The orange-haired man in front of her seemed to take her confusion as condescension, judging from his annoyance. "And who's stopping me?"
"Crow!" Another man from nearby said, looking rather worried. "She… doesn't look like the rest of them. Be careful."
"Hold the line," the man named Crow replied. He turned to Kisara. "The one that's stopping you is me!"
"Very well then, Crow Hogan," Kisara said. She raised her duel disk. "Show me whether your dark wings can truly shelter those who seek your protection!"
[DUEL!]
Kisara Tsutsuji: 4000LP
Crow Hogan: 4000LP
[Turn 1: Crow] [H:5]
"… how did you know my last name?" Crow said, narrowing his eyes.
"The names and decks of all participants that were in the Friendship Cup were provided to us as intel," Kisara said. Courtesy of Dennis Mackfield, naturally. What she knew about this man was that he and Shinji Weber, who was likely the other man who he had been speaking to, were likely to be the ones who had rallied the Commons together. "You've been assigned the first turn. Well?"
Crow drew his starting hand, holding out a card.
"I'll activate the Continuous Spell, Black Whirlwind! Now, whenever I Normal Summon a "Blackwing" monster, I can add a "Blackwing" monster from my deck to my hand, as long as that added monster has less attack points than the monster which I summoned!" Crow picked out another card in his hand. "And I'm using that effect now, because I'm Normal Summoning Blackwing - Bora the Spear!" The bird with orange feathers around its head appeared, holding up a thick and dangerous spear.
[Blackwing - Bora the Spear (4*/1700/800/DARK/Winged Beast/Effect)]
"Since Bora has 1700 attack points, I can add any "Blackwing" monster with lower attack points from my deck to my hand! And then, since Blackwing - Breeze the Zephyr was added to my hand by a card effect, I can Special Summon it from my hand!" A fluffy yellow and orange bird appeared next to Bora.
[Blackwing - Breeze the Zephyr (3*/1100/300/DARK/Winged Beast/Tuner/Effect)]
"And I'll tune the Level 3 Blackwing - Breeze the Zephyr to the Level 4 Blackwing - Bora the Spear! Darkened gales, become the wings which will soar to the heavens! Synchro Summon! Level 7! Blackwing Armor Master!" A tall figure in black armour appeared. There were red streaks across the dark armour, and on the top of its helmet, two prong-like structures curled up above its head. Red-streaked black wings batted through the air around it, and it raised its silver, claw-like hands, ready for battle.
[Blackwing Armor Master (7*/2500/1500/DARK/Winged Beast/Synchro/Effect)]
"I'll set a card and end my turn."
"A Synchro Summon and a set card?" Kisara snorted. "Congratulations. You've already exceeded half of our soldiers in ability."
[Turn 2: Kisara] [H:6]
"Draw," Kisara said. Some of the cards in her hand sent a pang through her heart—after all, it had been around ten years since that person had died. Even so, seeing his cards in her own deck was still so jarring.
She would probably never get used to it. And yet that was the only thing that she could do anyway—selfishly keep his cards to herself, in a strange way of remembering him.
She took out one of her own cards first.
"I'll activate the Spell Card, Dragonmaid Changeover," she said. "I will perform a Fusion Summon of a Dragon Fusion Monster using materials from my hand or field as material." She held out two cards. "I will fuse Laundry Dragonmaid and Blue-Eyes Jet Dragon in my hand." The two monsters dissolved into bright streaks that spun around each other. "Dragon that rules over the well-meaning mansion. Glitter with the light of the transforming dream and crush intruders with your powerful form! Fusion Summon! Dragonmaid Sheou!"
A large black dragon appeared in front of her. Her wings went from black at the top to light pink, almost translucent at the bottom. A red and white chequered tail swung out behind her, with a sharp tip. Twin horns rose around her head, and the white claws at the tips of her wings and on her feet glimmered with reflective light.
[Dragonmaid Sheou (10*/3500/2000/LIGHT/Dragon/Fusion/Effect)]
"Dragonmaid?" Crow repeated, sounding surprised. "That's not what the rest are using…"
"I'll Normal Summon Nurse Dragonmaid," Kisara continued. A pink-haired girl in a maid's uniform appeared, smiling shyly. Scales could be seen on various parts of her body, and her hands and feet resemble claws. A long pink tail swished through the air behind her.
[Nurse Dragonmaid (2*/500/1600/EARTH/Dragon/Effect)]
"With Nurse Dragonmaid's effect, when she is Normal or Special Summoned, I can Special Summon a Level 4 or lower "Dragonmaid" monster from my graveyard." Kisara picked up one of the cards that she had used as Fusion Material earlier. "I will Special Summon Laundry Dragonmaid to the field!" A girl with light blue hair appeared, tripping on the floor immediately. She was dressed in a purple and white frilly maid's outfit, with two horns on the top of her head. As she blinked innocently and stood up straight, she nearly tripped on her own spiked tail.
[Laundry Dragonmaid (2*/500/1600/WATER/Dragon/Effect)]
"When Laundry Dragonmaid is Normal or Special Summoned, I can send three cards from the top of my deck to the graveyard." Kisara glanced at the cards scattered in her graveyard. "I will activate the effect of Dragonmaid Changeover in my graveyard. I will return Nurse Dragonmaid from my field to my hand, and by doing so, I can add Changeover from my graveyard back to my hand." The pink-themed dragon girl vanished from the field, and Kisara added the Spell back to her hand.
"Returning your own monster to the hand?" Crow muttered.
"Battle Phase," Kisara said. "I'll activate the effect of Laundry Dragonmaid. At the start of the Battle Phase, she will return herself to the hand and Special Summon a Level 7 "Dragonmaid" monster from my hand or graveyard." Laundry Dragonmaid spun around—before, in a sharp glow, she transformed into a large white dragon, covered in bright lilac purple fur, with some blue fur around its eyes. "I will return her to the hand, and Special Summon Dragonmaid Nudyarl from the graveyard."
[Dragonmaid Nudyarl (7*/2600/1600/WATER/Dragon/Effect)]
"I'm assuming that you're smart enough to not just leave your monster undefended, but we'll see. Dragonmaid Sheou will attack Blackwing Armor Master!"
"Blackwing Armor Master can't be destroyed by battle, and I take no damage from battles involving it!" Crow called. Sheou's claws raked through the air, but didn't end up destroying the monster.
"... I see." Kisara tilted her head. "In that case, I will simply end my turn. At the end of the Battle Phase, Nudyarl will swap herself out for Laundry Dragonmaid in my hand." The blue-haired girl from earlier appeared on the field. "Over to you."
"Giving up so easily?" Crow muttered to himself. "Or does she have more planned?"
[Turn 3: Crow] [H:3]
"Draw!" Crow declared. "I'll Normal Summon Blackwing - Shura the Blue Flame!" The avian with blue feathers around his head appeared, raising bestial long claws in the air, black wings (of course) spreading out behind it.
[Blackwing - Shura the Blue Flame (4*/1800/1200/DARK/Winged Beast/Effect)]
"I'll use the effect of Black Whirlwind!" Crow added another card to his hand. "I'll then Special Summon Blackwing - Gale the Whirlwind from my hand!" A green and purple bird appeared, frantically flapping its wings.
[Blackwing - Gale the Whirlwind (3*/1300/400/DARK/Winged Beast/Tuner/Effect)]
"And I'll activate the effect of Gale the Whirlwind! Once per turn, I'll target a monster on your field and halve its attack and defense points! I'll choose your Dragonmaid Sheou!"
"Is that so?" Kisara replied. "I'll activate the effect of Dragonmaid Sheou. Once per turn, by returning her to the Extra Deck, I can negate the activation of that effect and destroy that card." The dragon twirled around, and the bird was stuck down by it.
"You sacrificed your Fusion Monster for… Gale?"
"I wouldn't call it a sacrifice," Kisara said. "After I destroy that card, I can Special Summon House Dragonmaid from my Extra Deck!" A dark-haired, bespectacled woman appeared, wearing a black and white maid's uniform. Black and red fin-like structures could be seen on her arms. She had similar features to Sheou, such as her tail, which had the exact same diamond-like pattern.
[House Dragonmaid (9*/3000/2000/LIGHT/Dragon/Fusion/Effect)]
"And since a card on the field was destroyed by battle or by a card effect while Blue-Eyes Jet Dragon and Blue-Eyes White Dragon are both in my graveyard, I can Special Summon Blue-Eyes Jet Dragon from my graveyard." A sharp, bright white dragon appeared, a large blue gem in the centre of its head, gleaming brightly, reflecting light from all around it. The dragon seemed to slink on the field, roaring affectionately at Kisara, who turned her head away slightly.
[Blue-Eyes Jet Dragon (8*/3000/0/LIGHT/Dragon/Effect)]
"Blue-Eyes White Dragon… you must have sent that card to the graveyard with your Laundry Dragonmaid." Crow gritted his teeth in annoyance. "I'll Special Summon Blackwing - Oroshi the Squall from my hand!" A small, dark bird with a red orb on its chest appeared in front of him.
[Blackwing - Oroshi the Squall (1*/400/600/DARK/Winged Beast/Tuner/Effect)]
"I'll tune the Level 1 Blackwing - Oroshi the Squall to the Level 4 Blackwing - Shura the Blue Flame! Pitch-black gale, become the tailwind that ties our bonds! Synchro Summon! Level 5! Take flight! Assault Blackwing - Sohaya the Rain Storm!" A brilliant, sapphire blue avian man appeared, dressed like a samurai, raising his grey taloned hands in the air. His wings were solid, bright blue. His bird-like feet landed on the ground with barely any sound—just a clattering that resembled the pitter-patter of raindrops.
[Assault Blackwing - Sohaya the Rain Storm (5*/1500/2000/DARK/Winged Beast/Synchro/Effect)]
"Since Oroshi the Squall was used as Synchro Material, I can change the battle position of a monster on the field!" Crow declared. "I'll change your Blue-Eyes Jet Dragon to Defense Position!" Kisara stared emotionlessly as the black winds disturbed her field, forcing the sleek white dragon to the ground, folding its wings inwards. "And then, I will have Blackwing Armor Master attack—"
"At the start of your Battle Phase, Laundry Dragonmaid swaps herself out for Dragonmaid Nudyarl in my hand," Kisara said, returning the clumsy maid to her hand and Special Summoning the purple dragon. "And when another face-up Dragon monster I control returns to my hand, I can activate the effect of House Dragonmaid. I will destroy a card on the field. I will choose Blackwing Armor Master, naturally."
"... wait," Crow said after a moment. "That monster… changes itself out for another "Dragonmaid" from your hand at the end of the Battle Phase, right?" House Dragonmaid was still raising up her hand, ready to get rid of Blackwing Armor Master at a moment's notice.
"Your guess is correct," Kisara said nonchalantly. "At the end of this Battle Phase, I will return Dragonmaid Nudyarl to my hand and clear out your last monster with House Dragonmaid's effect."
"You're just… telling me?"
"I'm telling you that it's an inevitable result." Kisara folded her arms. "You will not change that. There are very few cards that can do anything during the Battle Phase."
"... tch. I hate people who just preach logic." Crow placed down the last card in his hand. "This is what I think of your inevitable result! When you activate House Dragonmaid's effect, I will activate the Trap Card, Blackbird Close! I can activate this card from my hand when I control a "Blackwing" Synchro Monster! I will send a "Blackwing" monster, like Assault Blackwing - Sohaya the Rain Storm, from my field to the graveyard. Then, I'll negate the activation, destroy the card, and Special Summon a "Black-Winged Dragon" from my Extra Deck."
He managed to protect his Blackwing Armor Master, but to his clear surprise, House Dragonmaid remained on the field. Even more surprisingly, his dragon wasn't summoned to the field.
"While I control Blue-Eyes Jet Dragon, other cards I control can't be destroyed by card effects." Kisara explained. Said dragon roared loudly. "Because my monster was not destroyed, you cannot summon yours. So in the end, like I said—it's an inevitable result. You still only have one monster."
Crow gritted his teeth. "Blackwing Armor Master attacks Blue-Eyes Jet Dragon!"
"... when Blue-Eyes Jet Dragon battles, once per turn, I can return a card you control to the hand." Kisara pointed forward. "There's no need to return your monster to the hand. I'll choose your set card!"
"That's exactly where you're wrong!" Crow shot back. "I will activate my set card—the Trap Card, Blackwing - Twin Shadow! I'll shuffle two "Blackwing" monsters from my graveyard or banished cards into the deck and perform a Synchro Summon with them! I will tune the Level 3 Blackwing - Breeze the Zephyr to the Level 5 Assault Blackwing - Sohaya the Rain Storm!"
The two monsters shot up. Kisara blinked, surprised for the first time in this duel.
"Darkened whirlwind, reveal hidden wishes on your wings! Revolutionary spirit, be born again under the crimson sun and fan the flames of revolution! Synchro Summon! Level 8! Soar, Black-Winged Revolution Dragon!" The black and red dragon appeared with a loud, noble roar. Tattered fabric swirled around it, along with rusty red gears. It faced towards Kisara, completely unflinching.
[Black-Winged Revolution Dragon (8*/2800/1600/DARK/Dragon/Synchro/Effect)]
"And don't forget—Armor Master's attack concludes!" Jet Dragon was crushed by his monster. "And now, I'm going to have my Black-Winged Revolution Dragon attack House Dragonmaid!"
Kisara arched an eyebrow.
"And once per turn, when a monster I control battles an opponent's monster with higher attack points, that monster gains attack points equal to Black-Winged Revolution Dragon's attack points! Black Feather Overturn!" Black-Winged Revolution Dragon glowed, the pieces of fabric around it rustling as wind blew straight through them.
[Black-Winged Revolution Dragon: 2800 + 2800 = 5600ATK]
"Destroy it!"
Kisara watched as her monster was destroyed by the dragon, shielding herself as half her life points were ripped away in a single blow.
Kisara: 4000 - 2600 = 1400LP
Black-Winged Revolution Dragon… a monster born of a wish to overturn what was already set in stone.
"And that's me ripping that future you mentioned to shreds," Crow said, pumping a fist up in the air. "That's all. I end my turn."
And what Kisara had assumed was impossible to stop… had ended up cut away by this young man's hands.
Kisara sighed.
She rolled up the sleeves of her lab coat, idly considering her next move.
"At the end of your Battle Phase, I'll activate the effect of Dragonmaid Nudyarl," she said. "I will return her to the hand and Special Summon Nurse Dragonmaid from my hand." She gestured forward as the pale girl appeared on her field. "And with Nurse Dragonmaid's effect, I will Special Summon Chamber Dragonmaid from the graveyard."
A white-haired girl appeared, dressed in black robe that had bright feather-like patterns on it. There were feathery wing-like structure around her head as well, resembling the feathers of a duster. They glimmered in a pale blue-green colour. A black and white tail slowly drifted to the ground behind her, completely silent.
[Chamber Dragonmaid (4*/500/1800/DARK/Dragon/Effect)]
The three cards that had been milled with Laundry Dragonmaid's effect were Chamber Dragonmaid, Dragonmaid Nudyarl and Blue-Eyes White Dragon, after all.
"When Chamber Dragonmaid is Normal or Special Summoned, I can add a "Dragonmaid" Spell or Trap from my deck to my hand." She picked up the card. "... I will acknowledge you for that much, at least."
"Huh?"
"You're unexpected," she replied. "Or at least, you broke through the narrative I decided on, and established your place in it. Quite firmly, I might add." She looked at the field. "... not bad."
[Turn 4: Kisara] [H:7]
"Draw," Kisara said. "I will activate the Ritual Spell, Advanced Ritual Art. I will send Normal Monsters from my deck to the graveyard to perform a Ritual Summon of a monster in my hand." She took out a second copy of Blue-Eyes White Dragon from her deck. "I will send the Level 8 Blue-Eyes White Dragon from my deck to the graveyard as tribute. Accept my sacrifice, and pull open the gates to the land where dragons are born! Gaze upon us with eyes of arrogant divinity! Ritual Summon! Level 8! Blue-Eyes Chaos Dragon!"
"Ritual Summon?" Crow exclaimed, as the dragon slammed down on the field right in front of her—metallic blue, sharp scales forming its body. It carried no softness or playfulness to it—it was completely unlike Nudyarl or any of Kisara's other dragons. Its wings carried bright, shining blue scales in the middle of them, glowing like artificial lighting—street lights, perhaps.
Regardless—
It was a monster that carried a deadly aura to it.
[Blue-Eyes Chaos Dragon (8*/3000/0/DARK/Dragon/Ritual/Effect)]
"Your Blackwing Armor Master is a small amount of trouble for me as well," Kisara explained. "So—I will activate the Quickplay Spell, Successor Soul. I can tribute an Effect Monster I control to send an Effect Monster from your field to the graveyard. I will naturally choose your Blackwing Armor Master, and I will tribute Nurse Dragonmaid." The two monsters were surrounded by a flash of light, before they both vanished. "And then, I can Special Summon a Level 7 or higher Normal Monster from my hand or deck. So come—Blue-Eyes White Dragon."
Her final copy of Blue-Eyes appeared on the field in front of her as well—bright white, blue eyes staring down at the opponent, majestic and—
And there were a lot of thoughts that she could associate with it, but in reality, all of them would hurt too much.
[Blue-Eyes White Dragon (8*/3000/2500/LIGHT/Dragon)]
"And that's all." Kisara gestured forward. "I'll start my Battle Phase. Chamber Dragonmaid will return to my hand, and I can Special Summon a Level 7 or higher "Dragonmaid" monster from my hand or graveyard. Come from my hand, Dragonmaid Lorpar." The dragon that appeared was bright green, with darker green scales around its midsection that resembled leaves. It seemed almost… peaceful.
[Dragonmaid Lorpar (8*/2700/1700/WIND/Dragon/Effect)]
Her three dragons all roared.
"Blue-Eyes Chaos Dragon attacks Black-Winged Revolution Dragon," Kisara said. "And—this is what I think of your power to rebel. Your conviction is strong, that is true—but power wins out in the end. When Blue-Eyes Chaos Dragon attacks, since it was Ritual Summoned using Blue-Eyes White Dragon as material, I can change the battle positions of as many monsters you control as possible, and those monsters' attack and defense points permanently become 0. Azure Roaring Overwhelm!" Blue-Eyes roared, and the earth shook. Black-Winged Revolution Dragon collapsed to the ground.
[Black-Winged Revolution Dragon: 2800 → 0ATK; 1600 → 0DEF]
"And Black-Winged Revolution Dragon's effect only increases its attack points, not its defense points," Kisara said nonchalantly. "So your monster is helpless. And if you think that at least you won't take any damage… that's not true either. On the turn that Blue-Eyes Chaos Dragon's effect is activated, it deals piercing damage."
The dragon slammed a claw down, and Crow was pushed back by the sheer force, his monster being crushed to pieces.
Crow: 4000 - 3000 = 1000LP
"That's where it ends though. On the turn that I activate Successor Soul, I can only attack with one monster." Kisara had calculated the risks—it was her only way to get rid of Blackwing Armor Master, after all. What a hassle. "And since I have Blue-Eyes White Dragon on the field or in the graveyard, I can Special Summon Blue-Eyes Jet Dragon from the graveyard again." The sleek dragon from before reappeared on the field, right next to Blue-Eyes White Dragon.
Crow grimaced.
"I'll set a card and end my turn," Kisara said. "Over to you then. No cards in hand, only your Black Whirlwind on the field—if you can do anything, you'll have to prove it this turn."
[Turn 5: Crow] [H:1]
"Well," Crow said as he drew a card, "at the very least, I can pull off a miracle."
"A miracle?"
"Defeating you," Crow said. "You're the commander, aren't you?"
"One of them, yes. Why is that relevant?"
"Because if we take you all down, your forces will probably retreat." Crow looked at the card in his hand. "I will defend this city… with my life, so that we can finally see the change that we've spent so long waiting for! I will Normal Summon Blackwing - Sudri the Phantom Glimmer!" The black, vulture-like monster with purple feathers around it appeared, letting out a sharp and loud screech as it adjusted its white mask.
[Blackwing - Sudri the Phantom Glimmer (4*/1400/1400/DARK/Winged Beast/Effect)]
"When Sudri the Phantom Glimmer is Normal Summoned, I can add a card that specifically lists "Black-Winged Dragon" in its card text from my deck to my hand, except Sudri itself! And Black Whirlwind lets me add a "Blackwing" monster with lower attack points from my deck to my hand as well!"
Crow revealed the card that he had added with Sudri's effect.
"I will activate the Continuous Spell, Black Feather Whirlwind." The other Continuous Spell appeared on the field. "Since a monster with 2000 or more attack points is face-up on the field, I can Special Summon Blackwing - Sharnga the Waxing Moon from my hand!" The brown bird with a fiery crown on top of its head appeared, holding onto a bronze-coloured, metallic bow. Wide eyes stared forward.
[Blackwing - Sharnga the Waxing Moon (2*/500/500/DARK/Winged Beast/Tuner/Effect)]
"I'll tune the Level 2 Blackwing - Sharnga the Waxing Moon to the Level 4 Blackwing - Sudri the Phantom Glimmer! Poisonous gale. Crimson edge. Slash through the unknown and make the world concrete! Synchro Summon! Level 6! Burst of malice, Blackwing - Boreastorm the Wicked Wind!" The bright bird with orange feathers that flickered like flames appeared, its long purple hair clashing with the sinister orange winds that were swirling around it. Black and silver metallic wings flared outwards, twice the size of the humanoid bird they belonged to. Two wickedly sharp daggers could be seen, clasped tightly in its hands.
[Blackwing - Boreastorm the Wicked Wind (6*/2400/1200/DARK/Winged Beast/Synchro/Tuner/Effect)]
"When Boreastorm the Wicked Wind is Synchro Summoned, I can send a "Blackwing" monster from my deck to the graveyard and Boreastorm will copy that monster's Level! I will send Blackwing - Vayu the Emblem of Honor to the graveyard." Boreastorm glowed, its Level shifting.
[Blackwing - Boreastorm the Wicked Wind: 6* → 1*]
"Black Feather Whirlwind's effect. I will Special Summon a "Blackwing" monster, or a "Black-Winged Dragon", with lower attack points than that monster from my graveyard or banished cards. Come back to the field—Blackwing - Sharnga the Waning Moon!"
The monster with the fiery head appeared.
"I will activate the effect of Blackwing - Vayu the Emblem of Honor in my graveyard," Crow said. "I'll banish it and another "Blackwing" monster from my graveyard to Special Summon a "Blackwing" monster from my Extra Deck with a Level equal to the total Level of the two banished monsters, but that monster's effects are negated! I'll banish it and Shura from the graveyard. Come again—Assault Blackwing - Sohaya the Rain Storm!" The green and blue avian appeared, letting out a sharp screech.
"All of this from a single card in hand…" Kisara nodded. "Consider me impressed, Crow Hogan."
"Save your awe for this," Crow snarked. "Because I'm nowhere close to done yet! I'll tune the Level 2 Sharnga the Waning Moon to the Level 5 Assault Blackwing - Sohaya the Rain Storm! Crimson warrior that lurks among the darkened gales! Now, raise your own wings in the service of the tribe that has earned your loyalty! Synchro Summon! Level 7! Blackwing Tamer - Obsidian Hawk Joe!" An actual man—dark-skinned and wearing golden armour—appeared. He had bright red hair like a lion's mane, and dark wings that were bright red when closer to his back, darkening near the middle and at the tips.
[Blackwing Tamer - Obsidian Hawk Joe (7*/2600/2000/DARK/Warrior/Synchro/Effect)]
"Obsidian Hawk Joe's effect. I can Special Summon a Level 5 or higher Winged Beast monster from my graveyard! Return, Blackwing Armor Master!" The troublesome monster from earlier returned to the field.
And…
"I'll then banish the Synchro Tuner, Blackwing - Boreastorm the Wicked Wind from my field, and the Synchro Monster, Black-Winged Dragon from my graveyard," Crow said. "Crush those clustering wishes born of innocent naivete, to cross into the true battlefield that awaits us! Darkened wings that shroud the sky, protect those forced to the ground from the tyrants from up high! Emerge now! Black-Winged Assault Dragon!" The evolution of his dragon appeared, its skeletal, disconnected body sliding through the air, razor sharp limbs slowly clacking through the air.
[Black-Winged Assault Dragon (10*/3200/2800/DARK/Dragon/Synchro/Effect)]
"Battle Phase!" Crow declared. "Black-Winged Assault Dragon attacks Blue-Eyes Chaos Dragon! Crush it!"
Kisara adopted an aloof expression, even as her monster was destroyed.
(She might have flinched just a little.)
Kisara: 1400 - 200 = 1200LP
"Blackwing Armor Master will attack your Blue-Eyes White Dragon! I'll take no damage from the attack, Armor Master can't be destroyed by the battle, and I can place a Wedge Counter on your monster."
[Blue-Eyes White Dragon: Wedge Counter(s): 1]
"I'll end my turn," Crow said. He still seemed determined.
[Turn 6: Kisara] [H:4]
"Draw," Kisara said. She glanced at the field. She still had her Blue-Eyes Jet Dragon, Blue-Eyes White Dragon and Dragonmaid Lorpar. Meanwhile, Crow had Black-Winged Assault Dragon, Blackwing Armor Master and Blackwing Tamer - Obsidian Hawk Joe on his field. At the same time…
There was a very simple solution to the current situation.
"Blue-Eyes Jet Dragon attacks Blackwing Tamer - Obsidian Hawk Joe! And when Blue-Eyes Jet Dragon battles—"
"When my opponent activates a monster effect, Black-Winged Assault Dragon gains a Black Feather Counter, and you take 700 damage!"
So she could only use one monster effect before getting rid of Black-Winged Assault Dragon? Fine. This would be the one.
"I will use Blue-Eyes Jet Dragon's effect to return Black-Winged Assault Dragon to the hand!" She took the damage, but she did not care. Black-Winged Assault Dragon was swept off the field, back to the Extra Deck.
Kisara: 1200 - 700 = 500LP
"But I will activate the effect of Obsidian Hawk Joe as well! Once per turn, I can change the target of an attack that is directed at it to a different "Blackwing" monster I control!" He gestured to Armor Master. The attack collided with his monster, but nothing happened, obviously, since Armor Master negated damage and battle destruction.
"But you can only protect your monster like that once," Kisara said. "Blue-Eyes White Dragon will finish that monster off. Go—Burst Stream of Destruction!" Blue-Eyes roared, striking down Obsidian Hawk Joe. Crow shielded himself as his life points fell again.
Crow: 1000 - 400 = 600LP
"And now you only have Armor Master, so there's no point attacking with Lorpar." Kisara gestured forward. "I will move to my Main Phase 2. And I will Normal Summon The White Stone of Legend." A white sphere which shone with the light of a gemstone appeared, floating in front of her.
[The White Stone of Legend (1*/300/250/LIGHT/Dragon/Tuner/Effect)]
"I'll tune the Level 1 White Stone of Legend to the Level 8 Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"
"You can Synchro Summon too?" Crow said with a gasp.
"I am one of Academia's top scientists," Kisara said. "The moment that I learned of other summoning methods, I gathered up the videos of those methods performed by others for myself."
And yet, those cards had been produced for the Blue-Eyes cards, as opposed to the Dragonmaids. Because her first ideas for a new Synchro Monster had been a card that she could carry Seto's memories in. All of her resentment at him for sticking with his ideals until he was killed by the activists who hated his family. All her love of him despite his faults.
Wasn't that why the White Stone was designed like a gemstone? Because… it looked like a stone that was set in a ring?
"Now, white, beautiful spirit of the ancients! Descend now and excise all evil from the land! Synchro Summon! Level 9! Blue-Eyes Spirit Dragon!" A beautiful white dragon appeared, seeming almost… translucent, ghostly. Its scales looked like they were clouds, a reflection of the sky. There was some azure there, some white, some glassy prism-like reflections—a dragon that didn't quite feel like it existed in the mortal plane. The dragon rested on the ground in Defense Position, its eyes wide and alert.
[Blue-Eyes Spirit Dragon (9*/2500/3000/LIGHT/Dragon/Synchro/Effect)]
"My White Stone would usually let me add another copy of my Blue-Eyes White Dragon from my deck to my hand, but there are none left." Kisara raised her head. "While I control Blue-Eyes Spirit Dragon, you cannot Special Summon two or more monsters at the same time."
She ended her turn there, and Crow drew his next card.
[Turn 7: Crow] [H:1]
"Draw," Crow said. "... you're from the Fusion Dimension, aren't you? Don't you guys all think that your summoning method is the best or something?"
"The majority of my Extra Deck remains Fusions," Kisara replied. "But after you struggled with Sheou and House so much, I decided to give you a fighting chance."
"What?" Crow snapped. "So—are you saying that you've been holding back on me? How am I supposed to accept that?"
"I used my best on you," Kisara said. Just… not Seto's best.
"... fine." Crow shook his head. "I won't let you have your way. Not whether you want to use Fusion, Ritual or Synchro—I'll take down anything that you bring out! I'll Normal Summon Blackwing - Blizzard the Far North!" The blue bird appeared in front of him.
[Blackwing - Blizzard the Far North (2*/1300/0/DARK/Winged Beast/Tuner/Effect)]
"And with Blizzard the Far North's effect, I will Special Summon Blackwing - Bora the Spear from the graveyard! I will also use the effect of Black Whirlwind to add another "Blackwing" monster from my deck to my hand! And then, I will Special Summon Blackwing - Harmattan the Dust from my hand, since I control a "Blackwing" monster!" The birds all swarmed to the field again.
[Blackwing - Harmattan the Dust (2*/800/800/DARK/Winged Beast/Effect)]
"I will activate Harmattan the Dust's effect! I will target a "Blackwing" monster I control and increase Harmattan the Dust's Level by that monster's! I will target Blizzard the Far North!" The dark bird's rosary beads glowed slightly.
[Blackwing - Harmattan the Dust: 2* + 2* = 4*]
"I will tune the Level 2 Blizzard the Far North to the Level 4 Blackwing - Harmattan the Dust and the Level 4 Blackwing - Bora the Spear!" Crow's three monsters shot up. "This is pretty much my strongest Blackwing, too… alright. Darkened wings that have soared to the heavens, ascend further, and shroud the skies with your darkest feathers! None shall rule you! Synchro Summon! Level 10! Blackwing Full Armor Master!" An evolved version of the dark-winged warrior from earlier appeared—light purple hair escaped its armour, streaming over its shoulders. It swung an enormous sword through the air. It was dressed in a samurai's red armour, and when it took its place on the field, its large black wings cast shadows over all of them.
[Blackwing Full Armor Master (10*/3000/3000/DARK/Winged Beast/Synchro/Effect)]
"And with Black Feather Whirlwind's effect, I can bring back a monster with less attack points! Come back, my banished Black-Winged Revolution Dragon!" His ace appeared on the field, right next to Full Armor Master and Armor Master. "Blackwing Armor Master will attack Dragonmaid Lorpar!"
Using his weakest monster to attack her weakest monster, even when it didn't have enough attack points… that was likely because of—
"And Black-Winged Revolution Dragon's effect! I will increase Blackwing Armor Master's attack points by Revolution Dragon's original attack points! Black Feather Overturn!" Armor Master was shrouded in the dragon's feathers.
[Blackwing Armor Master: 2500 + 2800 = 5300ATK]
"Trap Card, Dragonmaid Tidying," Kisara said. "I will target my Dragonmaid Lorpar and return her to my hand. Then, I will target a card you control and return it to the hand! I will return Blackwing Armor Master to the hand!" Armor Master was swept back to the Extra Deck by emerald winds. "Is that all?"
"Your Blue-Eyes's defense points tie my Full Armor Master's attack points," Crow said. "So I can't get rid of that monster… but even so… I'll end my turn!"
That absolute confidence… did he think that nothing could happen to him with those two cards on the field?
… well, she'd have to prove him very wrong.
[Turn 8: Kisara] [H:5]
"Draw," she said. "I will Normal Summon Chamber Dragonmaid." The dark dragon woman appeared on the field. "I will use her effect to add a "Dragonmaid" Spell or Trap from my deck to my hand. I will add and activate Dragonmaid Welcome."
"When you activate the effect of a monster while I control Blackwing Full Armor Master, a Wedge Counter is placed on that monster!" Crow declared. A strange dark feather wedged itself inside Chamber Dragonmaid's clothes.
[Chamber Dragonmaid: Wedge Counter(s): 1]
Kisara frowned. She placed down another card. "I will activate the Spell Card, Dragonmaid Changeover. I will fuse Laundry Dragonmaid and Dragonmaid Lorpar in my hand!" The two monsters fell into her graveyard. "Return to the field, Dragonmaid Sheou!" The dark dragon appeared, raising her claws elegantly as she eyed Crow. "Since I control two "Dragonmaid" monsters, I can use the effect of Dragonmaid Welcome to add a "Dragonmaid" card from my graveyard to my hand!" She picked up a card, eyeing the field. "And with Dragonmaid Welcome's effect, all my monsters gain 100 attack and defense points for each "Dragonmaid" monster I control!"
[Chamber Dragonmaid: 500 + 100 x 2 = 700ATK; 1800 + 100 x 2 = 2000DEF]
[Dragonmaid Sheou: 3500 + 100 x 2 = 3800ATK; 2000 + 100 x 2 = 2200DEF]
[Blue-Eyes Jet Dragon: 3000 + 100 x 2 = 3200ATK; 0 + 100 x 2 = 200DEF]
[Blue-Eyes Spirit Dragon: 2500 + 100 x 2 = 2700ATK; 3000 + 100 x 2 = 3200DEF]
"Battle Phase," she said. "Chamber Dragonmaid will swap herself out for Dragonmaid Lorpar in my graveyard!" The green dragon rose up again. Kisara still controlled two Dragonmaid monsters, so her monsters' attack and defense points didn't change.
[Dragonmaid Lorpar: 2700 + 100 x 2 = 2900ATK; 1700 + 100 x 2 = 1900DEF]
"Jet Dragon will attack—"
"I will activate the effect of Blackwing - Sharnga the Waxing Moon!" Crow called. "Once per Duel, if I control a "Blackwing" Synchro Monster, I can banish Sharnga from the graveyard to destroy a face-up card you control! I will choose Blue-Eyes Jet Dragon!"
… hmm.
"I suppose that I don't want to trade Jet Dragon for nothing," Kisara conceded. "Alright. Sheou's effect. I will return her to the Extra Deck, Special Summon a second copy of House Dragonmaid and negate your effect." Sheou transformed into House Dragonmaid, who still had a rather cocky look on her face.
[House Dragonmaid: 3000 + 100 x 2 = 3200ATK; 2000 + 100 x 2 = 2200DEF]
"What exactly did that accomplish?" She continued.
"You can no longer negate my Black-Winged Revolution Dragon's effect!" Crow retorted.
… hmm. That much was true.
"Thank you for the reminder," Kisara replied. So attacking either of Crow's monsters would result in an instant loss, unless…
Since it was her turn, she would have to declare her effect first. Thus, Crow could choose to activate Black-Winged Revolution Dragon's effect, depending on whether Kisara used Blue-Eyes Jet Dragon's effect. She was the one at a disadvantage, in this case.
… alright.
"Main Phase 2," she conceded. "I will overlay the Level 8 Dragonmaid Lorpar and the Level 8 Blue-Eyes Jet Dragon." The two monsters shot up.
"Xyz as well?" Crow exclaimed. "Wait, but that doesn't make sense! I thought you all were violently racist against people who used Xyz!"
"... most of them are," Kisara said, not even trying to excuse Academia's actions. "I don't discard useful tools. Emerge now, holy knight that stands amongst the dragons. Xyz Summon! Rank 8! Divine Dragon Knight Felgrand!" A knight entirely in silver armour appeared, swinging a sword through the air, golden light gleaming off its armour.
[Divine Dragon Knight Felgrand (R8/2800/1800/LIGHT/Warrior/Xyz/Effect) (OU:2)]
"I'll end my turn," Kisara said. "So?"
[Turn 9: Crow] [H:1]
"Draw," Crow said. "I'll enter my Battle Phase—"
"I'll activate the effect of Divine Dragon Knight Felgrand," Kisara declared. "By detaching an Overlay Unit, I can target a card on the field, and that card's effects are negated, but it is unaffected by other card effects until the End Phase! I will target Blackwing Full Armor Master!"
[Divine Dragon Knight Felgrand: OU:2 - 1 = OU:1]
"So you don't want me to power up Full Armor Master?" Crow smirked. "Pity! I didn't expect it to work—but you fell for it! Blackwing Full Armor Master is unaffected by all other card effects, so your effect doesn't do anything!"
… so attacking Full Armor Master last turn with Sheou would have won her the game, since Black-Winged Revolution Dragon's effect wouldn't have protected it either. She had been far too cautious, because he had reminded her of his card's effect and she had made assumptions.
"And then, since your monster activated its effect, Full Armor Master's effect triggers! Your monster gains a Wedge Counter!" A black feather lodged itself in the knight's armour.
[Divine Dragon Knight Felgrand: Wedge Counter(s): 1]
What did these Wedge Counters accomplish, anyway?
"Black-Winged Revolution Dragon will attack House Dragonmaid! And with its own effect, it increases its attack points! Black Feather Overture!"
[Black-Winged Revolution Dragon: 2800 + 2800 = 5600ATK]
If this attack hit as it was, then Kisara would lose.
Naturally, that was not an outcome she would accept.
She currently controlled only one "Dragonmaid" monster. Therefore, House Dragonmaid's attack points were at 3100.
"I will discard Dragonmaid Tinkhec from my hand," she said. "I can give House Dragonmaid 2000 more attack points. And then, by banishing Dragonmaid Tidying from my graveyard, I can Special Summon a "Dragonmaid" monster from my hand or graveyard in Defense Position, and that monster returns to the hand during the End Phase. I will Special Summon Nurse Dragonmaid, who will Special Summon Laundry Dragonmaid." Three cards filed from the top of her deck into the graveyard.
Thus, she now had Nurse Dragonmaid, Laundry Dragonmaid, Divine Dragon Knight Felgrand and Blue-Eyes Spirit Dragon in Defense Position, and House Dragonmaid in Attack Position.
"Welcome grants my monsters 100 attack and defense points for each "Dragonmaid" monster I control."
[House Dragonmaid: 3000 + 100 x 3 + 2000 = 5300ATK]
"Thus, with 5300 attack points—" Kisara looked at him calmly. "You do not defeat me."
House Dragonmaid was destroyed, but Kisara's life points did not fall to zero.
Kisara: 500 - 300 = 200LP
Crow's eyes widened. "Uh…" He shook his head. "I'll set a card and end my turn. During the End Phase, all monsters with a Wedge Counter are destroyed!" Full Armor Master tossed out a black dagger, and the knight on Kisara's field exploded into shadows that fell towards the ground.
[Turn 10: Kisara] [H:3]
"Draw," Kisara said. "... it seems that I can't let this go on any longer. You've gotten too close."
"Huh?"
"For what it's worth," she said, "you are a remarkably tricky duelist, Crow Hogan. Against anyone else, your deck would easily have defeated them—you have more cunning in that deck than most people will ever exhibit in their entire lives. But… I'm sorry to say this. All the tricks in the world will mean nothing against the power of what I'm about to bring out next."
She picked up a card from her graveyard.
"I will banish Breakthrough Skill from the graveyard and negate Black-Winged Revolution Dragon's effects. And then…"
"The stadium's swarmed," Rin commented. "Though that's not surprising." The girl was currently riding on the back of Winter Bell in the air, spying on the stadium. "It's just a whole lot of people fighting…"
Wait. Were those Tops that were fighting too? Tops and Commons were actually fighting side by side? Was she hallucinating from being hit on the head too hard?
"I want to meet whoever managed to do this," she murmured.
"Do what?" Aki asked from below.
"Get the Tops to get off their high horse and fight." Rin then saw something in the distance that made her blanch. "What the fuck is that."
Aki and Kiryu didn't even need to ask her what she had seen—because everyone was already seeing it.
An enormous, five-headed dragon towering above the buildings. Tall enough to touch a two-storey building—enough to make all of them seem like ants in comparison.
"We need to hurry," Rin decided, and she rushed forward.
Something about that monster filled her with dread.
Ruri, Shun and Nue got to the stadium in time to see the large dragon too. (It would be kind of hard not to see it.) Ruri wouldn't lie—she was slightly intimidated.
The dragon roared, and the orange-haired man's life points were demolished in a single shot. Or rather, five different shots—flames, water, darkness, wind and earth, all of them raining down on him and tossing him back.
"Crow!" Nearby, a dark-haired man turned around and immediately began running.
(He wouldn't make it in time, the logical part of Ruri's brain said.)
(She shut off that part of her mind.)
The white-haired woman stepped forward. The man—Crow—grimaced, his arm hitting the ground.
"You are a very good man, Crow Hogan," she said. "I am sorry, and I hope that you will live a better life when this is all over."
And then the familiar flash of light came—cracking through her mind and all the attempts that she had made to say that she was fine—
(Ruri thought that she might have cried out when it happened. Judging from the look on Shun's face, she had.)
A single card fluttered to the ground.
The dark-haired man screamed.
And then he fell to his knees, and he screamed again, lifting the card of his friend off the ground, too late to do anything. Crow Hogan's duel disk clattered on the ground—had the man been taking it off, in his final moments? Why?
"Crow!" The man kneeling on the ground cradled the card close to his chest. "Crow!" He seemed like he was in shock—and this was too much. This was far too much. Ruri felt like she was going to start crying. She was in Heartland again and people were crying for their loved ones all around her, all over again.
Rin arrived just in time to see it too.
"Crow?" Kiryu muttered from next to her.
"That's your friend, right?" Aki looked forward. "... I'm sorry for your loss, Kiryu. Whoever defeated him must have been…" Very strong, obviously, but Aki didn't say it directly.
Kiryu clenched a fist. He stepped forward—
Only for Shinji Weber to raise his head, glaring directly at the white-haired woman.
"Give him back!"
"You are holding onto him right now," The white-haired woman said, tilting her head.
"Not that! You… you murderer! Crow is…" Shinji tried to punch the woman, who took a step back. "Give him back right now!"
"I can't do that. Your friend is gone."
Shinji collapsed at that, a horrified look in his eyes. The fight seemed to leave him—instead, there was a thick air of despair to him.
After all, he had clearly just seen the most important person in his life be carded.
"And that's all." Kisara pulled the slides of her lab coat back down. "So? Who's next?"
OC Cards:
Black-Winged Revolution Dragon
(8*/2800/1600/DARK/Dragon/Synchro/Effect)
1 Tuner + 1+ non-Tuner monsters
(This card's name is always treated as "Black-Winged Dragon".)
You do not take effect damage while you control this Synchro Summoned monster on the field. If a monster you control is destroyed or banished by a card effect: You can place 1 Black Feather Counter on this card. Once per turn: You can remove all Black Feather Counters from this card, then target 1 face-up monster your opponent controls; that target loses 700 ATK for each Black Feather Counter removed, and if it does, inflict damage to your opponent equal to the ATK lost by this effect. Once per turn, if a monster you control battles an opponent's monster with higher ATK, at the start of the Damage Step: That monster you control gains ATK equal to this card's original ATK.
End Notes:
Thanks to Ben23ten who pointed out an 'oops' from an old draft, haha.
Am I ever going to stop making fun of the Obelisk Force? No. :D
Someone I know made the joke that Kisara is a Dragonmaid, and ever since then, her deck was pretty much set. I also gave her Blue-Eyes to work with, even though it's not the most optimal combo—because while she herself knows that, she wants to keep his cards by her side.
Anyway… ahaha. Ahem. Yeah, RIP Crow. Disclaimer—it's not that I don't like Crow, or that I don't like Blackwings. Rather, I always found Crow's existence after the Synchro Arc to be… well, questionable. Especially because how they got rid of him in the Battle Beast arc was even more questionable. So I decided to give him a proper last stand here. He gets to show off that he's actually really good—his opponent was just better. And his death is definitely going to have an effect on certain characters. He'll never be close to Sawatari like he was in canon, but to be honest, I think there's far better and more logical ways that Sawatari is going to bond with other characters in this continuity anyway.
I really wanted this duel to be where Onimaru comes out, but because of Blue-Eyes Jet Dragon's existence, I literally could not justify it over Blackwing Full Armor Master. I would also argue that Full Armor Master is way better than Onimaru, for very obvious reasons. So I had Full Armor Master be the difficult one to deal with instead.
(This duel was surprisingly hard, because I do know how strong both Dragonmaid and Blackwing can be at their maximum potential—I have been traumatised by both enough times, lmao. Full Armor Master in particular is painful to think about. So it took a lot of effort to figure out how to let both of them duel well without creating a unbreakable field.)
Also, I've decided that for the rest of the arc, I'm going to adopt a "if I'm free" attitude to the duel summaries. One thing that I'm planning to do once this arc is done is to go over all the chapters and include duel summaries for the ones that I missed out, haha. That means that I'll probably only put duel summaries in chapters if I'm not tired when I finish them (which I always am. Help.) Otherwise, I'll fill them in at the end of the arc. I do like having them there—it's helpful as a reference for me too—but also my hands are tired. :)
Ruri is… coping. Is she coping well? No. But A for effort, anyway. She isn't necessarily ignoring any of her trauma—she's very aware of her fears, but she's struggling with the fact that she can't voice anything that she really wants to say, because she doesn't want to burden anyone—she wants to prove that she's strong. Of course, this being the Six Dimensions universe, she is dealing with it in a terrible way.
Also, is it a bold claim to say that Crow and Shinji are each other's most important people, considering that they are never shown to have any family that is still present in their lives, and they co-parent three children together? Just saying.
But yeah, Kisara's absolutely not done. :) Why did I not directly state the last move of the duel?... for style points. :D If you really can't figure it out, Kisara controls three Dragons and has three cards in her hand. Dragonmaid Changeover is in her graveyard. She fuses an enormous dragon which is associated with the number 'five'. :D That's me spelling it out for you.
Also, in response to my own QOTC of the last chapter, as of right now (because my opinions change faster than you can read them, lmao), my favourite archetypes of each summoning method are:
- Pendulum: Metalfoes/Majespecter (aesthetics! :))
- Ritual: Nekroz
- Fusion: Shaddoll/Frightfur/Albaz Dragon
- Synchro: Speedroids/Ghoti/Naturia
- Xyz: Rikka/Sylvan/Ghostrick
- Link: Sunavalon/Marincess (this is the most obvious thing on this entire page), Altergeist
Review responses!
To NightWingBOI, nah, we love Ruri and Rin in this house. I am unfortunately very traumatised by Master Duel Drytrons, but I'm rather fond of the rest of the decks you mentioned, especially Purrely, because well… I like cute things. *thumbs up*
To PhilJS89, mm, you got it! Blue-Eyes on the scene! :) And in response to your question, I think that it really depends, because well, Kaiba being present would complicate things. Both characters would technically have their 'most logical deck' be the same deck.
To AccurateGap1, it seems that you're the type to like the rivals' decks then! :D Ancient Gear is so fun! You wouldn't think it would be so fun from watching the anime (because the anime decided to go with just… dogs), but I really like playing it. As for HEROes, I'll admit that my opinion differs on each of them! I like Masked HERO and base Elemental HERO, but I don't like Evil HERO and Vision HERO as much, personally. What about you?
To Bryz0n, haha, nice guesses! It'll take a while before we get back to Yugo, but I promise it'll be very worth it. Also, hell yeah, Raptor gang! :D Also, for Twin Dragons, it's going to take a long while, haha. I wrote like the next seven chapters before deciding that I didn't like them, so I ended up scrapping the whole thing and rewriting it. The next chapter is probably going to be pretty good though!
To Unlucky-Fausto, yeah, Assembly Nightingale is a game-breaker in a lot of ways. About the best way that I can stop it from getting completely overpowered is just to never give Ruri Bird Sanctuary. But Lyrical Luscinia in TCG has always been capable of OTKs even at 8000LP, so who knows? :) Also, I love the "Roget (Kaname)" part, because it's so true. Roget has basically no way to deal with Ryo on his own, lmao. And yup, Hitoda being there is the only reason why things did not completely escalate. As for the Chiaki power level thing, that's actually pretty interesting! I would say that skill-wise, Chiaki's definitely not on the level of Ruri/Rin, who respectively were training to be a pro duelist/trained under Aki Izayoi for a while. This is because the Ritual Dimension wasn't particularly focused on dueling. However, once she starts getting better… well, let's just say that she'll get better very fast. :D As for making you want to try a Sunavalon deck, I'm very flattered by that! I will mention that the main deck I play is Sunavalon Rikka, which is why Miharu's turns always come a lot more easily to me, compared to a lot of other characters.
To naminexriku2468, nice, I get what you mean about the Heart archetype! I'm a bit confused by what you mean by Abyss though, since I don't think there's an archetype by that name? And yeah, I like Mikanko a lot too!
To Mr. Owl, it's mentioned briefly in Chapter 25, and we'll see more of it in the future, but Rin has a… shall we say, tense relationship with Kaname. I'll leave her relationship with Arisu vague in this reply though. I can't answer any questions about decks showing up in the future, because well… it's the future. :D And the ending of your review made me choke laughing.
To phantomdragons, mm, that's very true! Yugo is probably the counterpart that gets to do the most for the rest of this arc, for a lot of self-explanatory reasons. And I got a lot of feels writing the scene, haha.
To LHOCIN, the Professor is going to be very unhappy, but we won't see that for a while. And yup, for all that they technically have reasons that they do what they do, a lot of the characters that worked for Academia are not going to have it easy in this story. And haha, yeah, mission 'give Shun and Yuto a functional support system' has been relatively successful so far.
To kikuruhime, I cannot believe that you called it. Again. When I tell you that I finished this chapter, looked over, saw your review and choked… but yes, the Yu-boys have very good archetypes.
To cardfan135, hell yeah! I love Marincess a lot myself, and Ice Barriers are so cool. I don't think I've ever written a story without sticking Ice Barriers in them somehow, lmao, even if it's just the dragons. Trishula was one of the first Synchro Monsters I ever used.
To the Guest asking about how long the Synchro Arc is going to be… it started in Chapter 24, and well… like I say, the outline always shifts, and I tend to combine chapters if I feel that it's fine to do so. Still though it'll probably go to beyond Chapter 70, at the very least. Trust me, even I'm surprised by how long this has gotten, though it's reassuring, haha. I might have to reconsider my estimate for how long the whole story's going to be. Would anyone like to know what the original estimate was? Originally, Chapter 60 was the complete ending and wrap-up for the Synchro Arc. *dies internally* Do I know how it got so long?... yes. The Friendship Cup. Do I regret it? Probably not. I feel like this story definitely benefits from me actually going in detail on all of the duels, instead of just copping out and keeping duels the same as canon so that I don't have to write them.
Also, I never considered how much longer a full rewrite would be compared to the usual "all the canon stuff still happens, just off-screen" fic. I'm not criticising those, of course! It's more me laughing at myself for not realising that by rewriting all of canon, I'm on the track to write the longest fic in the entire fandom by accident. For reference, Bonds of Pendulum, which is great and well-paced, finished its story in 74 chapters, because it started at the end of Synchro/start of Xyz. Arc-VOC, by focusing on the OC specifically, managed to avoid writing most of canon, meaning that it finished in 71 chapters. Of course, I did literally just say "bye" to Standard in like 15 chapters because it was the least interesting, but even so... (and yes, the word count, even though it's slightly inflated by all my editorialising, is very large.)
As for the QOTC this time, I thought I'd do something a little more interesting! It's kind of a multiple choice question, so to speak—I'm just curious about what kinds of stories you all enjoy. So I decided to just list out a couple of 'tropes' when it comes to YGO fanfics, and ask for your opinions! It's kind of a survey too, haha.
QOTC: What tropes do you like in a YGO fic? (Real Life SI, plot rewrite, OCs, meta decks, shipping, time travel, reincarnation, additional dimensions (this one's Arc-V specific, but I've seen a few), etc.) On the other hand, what tropes do you dislike?
Uh, as a slight disclaimer, please don't bring up specific fics as 'something that you dislike', if you're talking about tropes. If you want to praise other fics, by all means, do so! But yeah, I'd prefer that we be nice to other writers, haha.
Alright, that's it! :D
