Starting Notes:
Welcome back! This chapter is pretty fun, and I think you guys will enjoy it! In fact, it's so fun that… I don't want to delay it any longer. Let's get going! :)
Chapter 102: You Won't Run, Little Frogs
Eri was already waiting when Edo reached the meeting location. She'd slipped a note onto his desk sometime between yesterday evening and sunrise today, trusting him to recognise her handwriting and the message on it. She was seated on a table inside the classroom—the remains of Heartland Duel School's Spade Branch hung over their heads.
Edo took a moment to survey it all. I led the destruction of Heartland, he thought, but the one who singlehandedly masterminded the destruction of the Resistance back then was you.
… was that Eve Misogi's plan too? Or did you do it yourself?
Currently, she was holding onto a small crystal between her fingers, staring at it. Edo recognised it from sight.
"That's mother's, isn't it?" He said, announcing his presence. He knew that it was a matching set. Eri jolted upwards—odd for his usually alert sister. She put the crystal in her pocket. "You're not wearing your cloak."
"No one saw me. It's easier to move like this." Eri glanced at him. "You're not wearing yours. You'll get a cold."
In a flourish, Edo tossed the cloak in his bag over her shoulders. "You'll get cold, dressed like that without a cloak."
"I'm always dressed like this when I'm out," Eri said, tossing his cloak back towards him and gesturing for him to put it on. Still, she complied and took out her own cloak, wrapping it around her shoulders. "Did anyone see you coming out here?"
"No." Were they getting to the point immediately then? "You said to be careful and not to be seen. I dispatched the units that you asked me to dispatch too. What's wrong? Do we have a mole?"
Eri shook her head. "Not that I know of," she said simply.
The moment dragged on. "Then what do you need?" Edo said. "It can't be that you just called me out here to talk."
"And is there anything wrong with that if I did?" Eri stood up. Her bag was by her side, as usual—she pulled out a few clips, messing with her hair and pulling it back. Eventually, once she'd become the image of a strict lieutenant that she usually put on (save for the addition of his cloak), she adjusted the mask on her face.
… the mask was a part of the Obelisk Force's uniform. On them, it represented a unified force, but Edo had always found the fact that it hid his sister's eyes rather… eerie. Unlike Eri.
"I'd appreciate being told things," Edo said. "As your commander and leader."
Eri glanced at him. "... that's twisted," she remarked icily.
"Huh?" Edo blinked.
"... as my commander and leader," Eri repeated. "And not as my brother?"
"... I don't command any power over you as your brother," Edo said. "Why would you listen to me if I said that?"
Eri looked away from him. She was quiet.
Edo thought about demanding answers from her, but there was something about her demeanour that gave him pause. "... you seem disturbed," he said. "What's bothering you?"
"... you know that my mission here is not the same as yours, correct, brother?"
"... isn't it all for Academia's goals, even if it's different?"
Eri put a finger to her lips. "... for you, it's for a lofty goal like that," she said. "I suppose I could pretend that it's the same for me, but there's no use for me to pretend in front of you. Not like I do with other people."
Edo narrowed his eyes. "What are you trying to say?"
"I'm saying that you're trying to stay here as long as you can, but that your mission's already complete. You've carded enough people. Now, you're just hanging around here and holding them off because the Professor hasn't ordered you all back to Academia yet." Eri brushed her fringe in front of her face—it hung over her eyes, messy. She didn't seem to know what to do with it. "Yours is done, but mine's just begun. So, I'm finally allowed to act now, aren't I…?"
"... Eri." Edo took a step forward—there was a dark feeling of dread in the air now. He hadn't quite understood what she meant yet, but her intentions were clear. With the mask on her face, there was a sense of distance between the two of them, one that he didn't know how to breach. "... what are you saying…?"
"I'm saying that I have to complete my mission too," Eri said calmly. "So. Something was set in motion a long time ago, but I haven't told you about it at all. That's my confession to you, Commander-in-Chief."
Edo narrowed his eyes. As he was about to open his mouth—something else interrupted him.
Several hours ago:
"So the Lancers know?"
Mariko nodded. She was still smiling, despite the serious situation. It was like she only ever had one facial expression to show—not that Tsubaki minded.
"... I think we abort the plan," Hisako said with a shrug. The three of them all turned to look at her. "If the Lancers know that you two hurt one of their own to set up our plan… we can't fight two enemies at once."
"You're just soft, Hisako," Mariko said, sticking out her tongue. "Got a soft spot for that boy?"
Hisako hid her smile behind her hand. "... weren't you the one that leaked your own victory against that boy to the Lancers, Mariko?" She clearly wasn't actually trying to put the blame on Mariko, though, despite the way that she'd phrased it—just defending herself.
"You're right." Mariko shrugged. "But we've put in too much effort now to stop, I think!"
"I agree with Hisako, actually." Kaede tapped the table. "... when we began to set up this plan, it was with the expectation that we needed to do something large to shake up this whole situation. But something large's already happened. If we use the Lancers properly, we can probably achieve something to the same effect, with less damage."
"When have we cared about damage?" Mariko retorted. "If we can make them bleed, we make them bleed. Isn't that what we do?"
Kaede looked at her, before turning his head. "Tsubaki?" He asked. "What do you think?"
"... the plan doesn't stop," Tsubaki said, standing up. "... we've come too far for that now."
Mariko shot her a nod. Kaede sighed. "... two to two," he said. "Chris?"
The one person who had not yet spoken looked back over at them. "... I agree with Melia," he said. "At the very least… Mariko, you planted the explosives to cause the most physical damage to the building, and not the people, right?"
"Yes." Mariko winked. "It's pretty unlikely that anyone will actually get hurt physically! Plus, I took some precautions—observed them for a while, figured out who goes where… and I plan to drive away people later. We're not going to be killing anyone in a way except dueling."
"Then, we need to shake things up." Chris clenched his fists, before slowly letting himself relax. "We need to take revenge."
Kaede and Hisako exchanged looks.
Tsubaki shrugged. "This isn't about killing people. This is about making it so that Academia is forced to move for once. It's about making it so that anyone new who comes to Heartland is separated from the rest at the start. It's to make it so that they have to risk something."
"... fine," Kaede said. "I just wanted to make sure."
"I'll be responsible for it all," Tsubaki said. She walked towards the exit. "I'll press the button and deal with the consequences. The rest of you… don't need to worry."
Mariko leaned forward on the table, leaning her head on her arm, watching her go. Kaede turned to look at her, a complicated expression on his face. Finally, he asked: "How are you driving people away?"
"I stole the cleaning-in-progress signs," Mariko said. Kaede snorted—and then covered his face. Nearby, Hisako hummed and looked away.
A moment passed.
"Ah, damn it," Mariko muttered. She stood up, spun around and left the room.
"Tsubaki!"
Mariko caught up, nearly barrelling into the red-haired girl, who looked back at her. "... yes?"
"... I know you're the best," Mariko said, lifting her head and grinning, "but promise me you're going to be safe, okay?"
"... Mariko," Tsubaki said. "Why did you back me up when I lied to Sora Shiun'in?"
"... lie… you didn't tell a single lie during that conversation."
Tsubaki arched an eyebrow.
"Well, you implied that you didn't care if we hurt people," Mariko conceded. "But we've been taking special precautions, right? I know it's fine. You just wanted to see what kind of person he was. And I know that nothing will happen, not to the people in the Resistance or Academia—they'll just be forced to be uncomfortable."
"But there is always the chance that a person still gets hurt," Tsubaki said. "What then?"
"... then we've already done our best."
"... sometimes, I really wish I could be as optimistic as you are." Tsubaki reached out a hand, as though to grasp hers, before she drew it back. "... I'll be back soon."
"Mm! I'll watch."
… Nue was sleeping again. It was pretty much an agreed-upon thing that she should get her rest—not because the Lancers thought that she was incompetent, obviously, but because they wanted to give her time to physically heal. She was already recovering at a miraculous rate though—Mariko Ejiri had mentioned that she'd shattered all the bones in her left hand, but now, she could move it with only the smallest ache. Not to mention what'd happened to her legs. No one could really explain it—but at the same time, most people weren't questioning it.
Mion was thankful for that.
She settled down next to Nue. Most of the other Lancers were out—Nue had been oddly insistent that Shun and Yuto help to find Sora, so the other two had gone off once Mion had promised to stay there with her.
And well…
… Mion was the only one who knew why Nue was healing so unnaturally.
Her hands were glowing softly as she focused on Nue.
Just a little more.
If she could do this much, then the Lancers would only benefit from it.
Still, it was tiring…
… just a little more.
If anyone from Academia was asked to describe the Tyler Sisters in a single word, it would be 'arrogant'. Gloria herself had heard no shortage of insults from other students—'stuck-up' was one of them, obviously, and some people even dared to use 'bitch'. (She and Grace had taught them a lesson after that.)
Still, didn't they deserve to be proud? They'd come to Academia fresh into their teens, defeated plenty of people and made their way to the top. They'd done so without any help from their mother, either—
For a moment, Gloria thought about the mother that had run away from Academia and left them behind. She gritted her teeth and ignored it.
Anyway, they had earned their own pride and glory, thank you.
"What are you thinking about, sister? You have a funny look on your face!"
Gloria shot Grace a fond look. "Just considering things," she said. No need to bring up bad memories for both of them. She glanced out at the docks. "I don't think we've been here last time we were in Xyz, no?"
"Hehe, no! We were just at that school of theirs," Grace stretched. "Wonder if they've still got any nice beaches here, huh?"
"Stay focused," Gloria chided. "I wonder why Edo Phoenix sent us to the docks… he said we'd find some members of the Lancers here, but I haven't seen any yet…"
And then…
"Huh. Those are Resistance members, aren't they?"
Grace peered over, spotting the two figures in the distance with red fabric tied around their arms. "... so they are! Heh, now we can finally get warmed up! Come on, sister!"
Gloria followed behind her more excitable sister with a frown. She hadn't seen either of these duelists before, so they probably were just normal members of the Resistance, guarding…
Huh. What were they guarding?
Well, it didn't matter. They'd just win and check it out themselves.
One of the Resistance members looked at Gloria and Grace with surprise and fury. "You…" He clenched his fists. "You're the ones that destroyed Spade Branch!"
"Oh, you're too kind," Grace said with a laugh. "There were plenty of other people there too, but you remember us? My my, you must have a crush! Or… you wanna be crushed?"
"You carded all my friends!"
"Aww, the puppy's barking!" Grace shot back mockingly. The other Resistance member tugged at his friend's arm, but when there was no response, he hardened his gaze and glared at them too. "Well, we haven't found the Lancers yet, but my sister and I are more than capable of taking out two street rats!"
Gloria sighed and raised her duel disk. "Alright," she relented, though she couldn't help smiling at her sister. "A Tag Duel then—we should take care of any enemies that we come across, anyway."
Just two members of the Resistance… they weren't going to be much of a deal.
Just a pebble to be kicked aside.
[DUEL!]
Gloria Tyler & Grace Tyler: 8000LP
Aoki Surusumi & Jiro Barou: 8000LP
[Turn 1: Grace] [H:5]
"I'll start!" Grace said with a giggle. "And I'll start with a teeny little Normal Summon, boys! Come, Amazoness Princess!" A dark-skinned, white-haired young warrior appeared on the field, red war paint on her face. She held up a dark, primitive-looking metal spear in her hands, swinging it through the air.
[Amazoness Princess (3*/1200/900/EARTH/Warrior/Effect)]
"Princess's effect! I'll add an "Amazoness" Spell or Trap from my deck to my hand!" She picked up the card with a grin. "Then, since I control only "Amazoness" monsters, I can Special Summon Amazoness War Chief from my hand!" A much older woman appeared on the field, a fierce look on her face as she brushed back her wild orange hair.
[Amazoness War Chief (5*/1900/0/EARTH/Warrior/Effect)]
"War Chief's effect!" Grace revealed a card from her deck. "I'll set a "Amazoness" Spell or Trap facedown from my deck! And now, I'll activate the Spell Card, Polymerization! I'll fuse Amazoness Princess on the field with Amazoness Tiger in my hand!"
"A Fusion Summon already…" One of the boys gritted his teeth.
"Of course!" Grace covered her mouth coquettishly. "I'm strong, after all… you knew that when you challenged me, didn't you? How arrogant! Well, I'll teach you a lesson…"
Her two monsters entered a portal behind her.
"Wild beast of the jungle with vicious fangs. Obtain the majesty of the jungle's heir, become a new savage beast and appear! Fusion Summon! Come before us! Level 7! Amazoness Pet Liger!"
Grace's favourite monster leapt onto the field, a golden beast with a dark stripes on its body and a fearsome mane. It was wearing the same gold-themed armour as the rest of the Amazoness monsters, and it let out a loud roar that shook the area around them.
"That monster…" The boy that had been throwing a fit earlier growled out.
"Isn't he majestic?" Grace said with a wink.
[Amazoness Pet Liger (7*/2500/2400/EARTH/Beast/Fusion/Effect)]
"Then, I'll set one more card facedown and end my turn!"
[Turn 2: Jiro] [H:6]
"We're not losing to you!" The boy that drew a card was the less noisy one of the two, but he still had the same defiance as the rest of the Resistance.
Gloria pursed her lips in annoyance.
"I'll activate the Spell Card, Heritage of the Chalice!" The boy revealed the card. "I'll add a "Noble Knight" monster from my deck to my hand!"
"Noble Knight…" Grace giggled. "Against our Amazonesses, huh? Interesting! But we're very much experienced in crushing men underfoot." She flipped up one of her set cards. "Continuous Trap, Amazoness Hall! I'll add Amazoness Tiger back from my graveyard to my hand!" She picked up the card. "That's all though!"
The boy, Jiro, narrowed his eyes and played the card that he added to his hand. "I'll Normal Summon Noble Knight Brothers!" A band of knights appeared on the field, standing together in a single Monster Zone.
[Noble Knight Brothers (4*/1200/2400/LIGHT/Warrior/Effect)]
"When Noble Knight Brothers is Normal Summoned, I can Special Summon up to two "Noble Knight" monsters from my hand, but I can only Special Summon "Noble Knight" monsters this turn!" Two portals appeared on the field, one to each side of the warriors. "Come! Noble Knight Borz! Noble Knight Medraut!"
To the left, a tall, stocky dark-haired knight appeared, dressed in blue and silver armour. He had a very serious expression on his face. He held onto a bright gold cup, one that glowed with a holy light. Meanwhile, to the right, a blond knight appeared, the stereotypical silver armour and sword of a knight catching Gloria's eye immediately. There was a splash of colour with the red piece of cloth tied around his neck—had that come before or after the Resistance had adopted that colour as their own pathetic sense of identity? For a brief moment, Gloria thought that she saw a dark spirit lingering behind Medraut—but she blinked a moment later, and it was gone.
[Noble Knight Borz (4*/1700/900/LIGHT/Warrior/Effect)]
[Noble Knight Medraut (4*/1700/1000/LIGHT/Warrior/Effect)]
"I'll then equip Borz with the Equip Spell, Noble Arms - Caliburn!" A golden sword with glowing blue lines running through it appeared in front of Borz. The dark-haired knight shifted slightly, holding onto the cup with one hand, before picking up the sword with his other hand. "Caliburn's effect! We'll gain 500 life points!"
Aoki & Jiro: 8000 + 500 = 8500LP
"And then, Borz gains an effect when equipped with a "Noble Arms" card, so I'll use it now! I'll reveal three "Noble Arms" cards with different names from my deck and you'll randomly choose one to add to my hand! The other two go to the graveyard!" The boy raised three different cards. "I'll reveal Noble Arms - Arfeudutyr, Noble Arms - Clarent and Noble Arms of Destiny from my deck!" He shuffled the cards, before looking at Grace.
Grace giggled. "The one in the middle!"
The Resistance member picked up the card, dropping the other two in the graveyard. "I'll activate the Equip Spell, Noble Arms of Destiny!" Making no illusions about what he'd added to his hand, he gestured to Medraut. "And Medraut and Bors have one additional effect! When they're equipped with "Noble Arms" cards, their Attributes become DARK, and their Levels increase by 1!"
[Noble Knight Medraut: 4* + 1* = 5*]
[Noble Knight Bors: 4* + 1* = 5*]
"I'll overlay the Level 5 Noble Knight Medraut and Noble Knight Bors! Come on out, king of all knights! Xyz Summon! Rank 5! Sacred Noble Knight of King Artorigus!" A red-haired knight appeared, a regal aura to his appearance as he swung two enormous glowing swords through the air, casting the blue light around them.
[Sacred Noble Knight of King Artorigus (R5/2200/2200/LIGHT/Warrior/Xyz/Effect) (OU:2)]
"Huh. A Rank 5 Xyz Summon." Gloria shook her head. "Not completely incompetent, then…"
"You'll pay for what you did to Spade Branch," Jiro muttered. "King Artorigus's effect! I'll equip three of my "Noble Arms" Equip Spells from my graveyard to him!"
"Not before my effect resolves!" Grace gestured forward. "So like, once per turn, Amazoness Hall lets us gain life points equal to the attack points of a monster you Special Summon! So that's over 2000 life points!"
A glow surrounded the two of them, their life points shooting up.
Gloria & Grace: 8000 + 2200 = 10200LP
"Doesn't matter," the boy said. "I'll equip Noble Arms of Destiny, Noble Arms - Caliburn and Noble Arms - Clarent from my graveyard to King Artorigus!" Three swords appeared, slowly drifting around the warrior king. "Caliburn's effect. I'll gain 500 life points!"
Aoki & Jiro: 8500 + 500 = 9000LP
"King Artorigus also gains 500 attack points!"
[Sacred Noble Knight of King Artorigus: 2200 + 500 = 2700ATK]
"I'll detach one Overlay Unit from King Artorigus to use his other effect! I'll destroy your Amazoness Pet Liger!"
Grace laughed. "Really? Does it target?"
"Yes…?"
"Okay, then I'll have to do something!" She flipped up her other set card. "Quickplay Spell, Amazoness Secret Arts! I'll fuse my Amazoness Pet Liger on the field with Amazoness Tiger in my hand! Roar with the ferocity of the jungle and intimidate any that dare approach with your fearsome roar! Fusion Summon! Level 9! King of the jungle—Amazoness Pet Liger King!" The evolution of Grace's ace appeared on the field, letting out another ferocious roar, swiping its claws across the air.
[Amazoness Pet Liger King (9*/2900/2800/EARTH/Beast/Fusion/Effect)]
And yet, looking at it…
Looking at it made Gloria unwillingly think of that person. The person that had handed Grace a copy of Amazoness Pet Tiger and handed her a copy of Amazoness Princess when they'd first met. The person that had called them her little warriors, who had taken them in and taken care of them, and loved—
Grace and Gloria had turned eighteen three years ago. On their eighteenth birthday, that person had given them a card each—the evolutions of their aces. But Gloria only used Empress and her evolution. And Grace only used Liger and its evolution. One each, no more, no less than that—the two strongest members of the Amazoness clan, split equally between them.
And yet they were, the two of them together, barely enough to match up to Tania Amadolas.
Gloria shook her head, scowling again.
… why did she keep thinking about the woman that had abandoned them, who was probably off with the Resistance doing something inconsequential, instead of being with them like she'd always promised? Rubbish.
"So your effect misfires!" Grace giggled, clearly not thinking as hard as Gloria was. "And my beast king gets to stay on the field!"
The boy narrowed his eyes. "The effect of Noble Arms - Clarent! I'll pay 500 life points to let King Artorigus attack directly this turn!"
"... oh my," Grace said.
Aoki & Jiro: 9000 - 500 = 8500LP
"Attack directly!" Artorigus swung his sword directly at them, but Grace stayed fearlessly in place, not bothered by the attack at all.
Gloria & Grace: 10200 - 2700 = 7500LP
"I'll end my turn," the boy muttered.
[Turn 3: Gloria] [H:6]
"Draw," Gloria said, picking up the card.
"All for you, sister," Grace said with a wink.
"Appreciated," Gloria said. "I'll activate the effect of Amazoness Spiritualist. I'll return Amazoness Hall from my field to the hand and Special Summon her from my hand!" A woman in a red hood appeared, dressed in a green skirt, holding onto an intricate gold and white spiralling staff.
[Amazoness Spiritualist (2*/400/2800/EARTH/Warrior/Effect)]
"And then, Spiritualist's effect! I'll add the Spell Card, Polymerization from my deck to my hand!" Gloria revealed the card.
"Another Fusion Summon…"
"Spare me the complaints," Gloria said, rolling her eyes. Whiny boys. "Spell Card, Polymerization. I'll fuse—"
"I'll activate the effect of Morgan, the Enchantress of Avalon in my hand," Jiro countered. "I'll discard her and destroy Caliburn on my field to negate the activation of your card!" The Fusion Summoning Spell shattered to pieces, vanishing. "Caliburn's effect. Once per turn, when destroyed, it equips itself back to a "Noble Knight" monster I control. I'll choose King Artorigus!" He pointed towards Gloria. "You won't get to Fusion Summon like this."
"Good job, Jiro!"
Gloria shrugged. "... it's not going to stop me."
"As if anything could stop my big sister," Grace said cheerfully.
Gloria picked up another card from her hand, playing it sharply. "Quickplay Spell, Amazoness Call! I'll add an "Amazoness" card from my deck to my hand! I'll add Amazoness Secret Arts to my hand and activate it! I'll fuse Amazoness Queen in my hand with Amazoness Spiritualist on the field!"
She pressed her hands together.
"Queen of the jungle. Receive the power of the spiritual leader, and build an empire that rules over everything! Fusion Summon! Appear, Level 8! Amazoness Empress!" Her ace, a white-haired swordswoman in a red cloak, appeared, adjusting her headdress. The headdress was made of bright pieces of bone.
[Amazoness Empress (8*/2800/2400/EARTH/Warrior/Fusion/Effect)]
"She still brought it out anyway…"
"Who do you think we are, the Obelisk Force?" Gloria couldn't help but smirk. "We're not that easy to stop. I'll set my sister's Amazoness Hall on the field again. And now, I'll have Amazoness Empress attack your pathetic king!"
"Once per turn, Noble Arms of Destiny will protect King Artorigus from any kind of destruction!" One of the weapons floated in front of the king, deflecting the attack—though of course, the Resistance member still took the damage.
Aoki & Jiro: 8500 - 100 = 8400LP
"Huh." Gloria gestured forward nonchalantly. "Amazoness Pet Liger King attacks King Artorigus!"
The monster finally fell, all the swords attached to it shattering as he vanished from the field.
Aoki & Jiro: 8400 - 200 = 8200LP
"King Artorigus's effect! When he's destroyed and sent to the graveyard, I can Special Summon a Level 4 or lower "Noble Knight" monster from my graveyard!" Jiro retorted. "And the effects of my three Noble Arms activate! Since they were destroyed, they all re-equip themselves to a "Noble Knight" Warrior monster I control! They're all equipped to my Noble Knight Brothers!"
[Noble Knight Brothers: 1200 + 500 = 1700ATK]
"And then, King Artorigus brings back Noble Knight Borz!" The monster reappeared in Defense Position. "And, Heritage of the Chalice adds itself from the graveyard to my hand!"
"And your Noble Arms of Destiny protects your first monster from destruction," Gloria said with a sniff. "Very well. War Chief attacks Borz!"
The revived monster was immediately destroyed.
"I'll end my turn."
[Turn 4: Aoki] [H:6]
"Draw!" The hot-headed boy swiped up the top card of his deck. "I'll activate Caliburn's effect! We gain 500 life points!"
Aoki & Jiro: 8200 + 500 = 8700LP
"Then, I'll Normal Summon one of my heroes—Super Quantum Green Layer!" A tall warrior dressed in a glowing green suit appeared on the field, a darker green cloak draped over their shoulders. Bright green flames floated around them in bright spirals.
[Super Quantum Green Layer (4*/1600/1400/WIND/Spellcaster/Effect)]
"Green Layer's effect! I'll Special Summon a "Super Quant" monster from my hand! Come! Super Quantal Fairy Alphan!" A white, rabbit-like creature appeared, skipping across the field—it looked like a mascot from one of those shows that the other children at Academia had been watching when Tania had brought them to the school.
[Super Quantal Fairy Alphan (1*/0/0/LIGHT/Fairy/Effect)]
"Alphan's effect! I'll tribute it and reveal three "Super Quant" monsters with different names from my deck, and you randomly pick one for me to Special Summon!" He picked up the three cards. "Super Quantum Blue Layer, Super Quantum White Layer and Super Quantum Red Layer!"
He shuffled around the cards. Gloria rolled her eyes impatiently, and once he finally stopped, jabbed her finger towards the left card.
"You chose my Super Quantum Red Layer!" Aoki declared. "So the other two cards are sent to the graveyard, and Red Layer comes to my field!" A tall warrior in a red suit appeared, with some white textures over different parts of the suit. Golden, metallic hexagons formed guards on the shoulders of the suit. There was something almost bestial to the warrior—long claws that emerged from its hands.
[Super Quantum Red Layer (5*/2000/800/FIRE/Warrior/Effect)]
"Then, Blue Layer, Red Layer and White Layer activate their effects!" Aoki pumped a fist in the air. "Let's go! When White Layer is sent to the graveyard, I'll add another copy of Alphan from my deck to my hand! And then, Blue Layer will shuffle itself and the first Alphan into the deck. And finally, Red Layer will let me add White Layer from my graveyard to my hand!"
"So you're just adding cards to your hand…"
"I'll activate the Field Spell, Super Quantal Mech Ship Magnacarrier! By discarding a card, I'll use Red Layer as material for an Xyz Summon of a "Super Quant" monster with the same Attribute!"
"An Xyz Summon with one material?" Grace giggled. "Not bad!"
"Wait until he actually does something impressive before praising him, sister," Gloria remarked. She flipped Amazoness Hall again, adding Spiritualist from her graveyard to her hand. "He hasn't actually proved anything yet."
"But he's trying so hard even though he can't win! It's like watching a sick puppy try to walk."
Aoki gritted his teeth. "Shut up! I'll overlay the Level 5 Super Quantum Red Layer on itself! Red beast, awaken now and be piloted by the brave fighter! Xyz Summon! Rank 5! Super Quantal Mech Beast Magnaliger!" A large red lion appeared on the field, glowing slightly and casting strange shadows around it. Its claws dug into the ground as it paced near the wall of the warehouse, before leaping forward. It had a remarkably similar stature to Grace's Amazoness Pet Liger, though it was far smaller than Pet Liger King.
"What a big beast!" Grace remarked, grinning. "But it's nothing compared to mine…" Gloria, meanwhile, gestured to Amazoness Hall as their life points shot up.
[Super Quantal Mech Beast Magnaliger (R5/2600/2000/FIRE/Machine/Xyz/Effect) (OU:1)]
Gloria & Grace: 7500 + 2600 = 10100LP
"Your beast isn't going to be around much longer!" Aoki retorted. "Magnaliger's effect! I'll detach an Overlay Unit from it and target a monster on the field to destroy it!" He pointed at Pet Liger King. "I'll take your monster down!"
"Cute." Grace glanced at Gloria. "Would you like to tell him, sister, or should I? What a reckless man…"
"I will." Gloria turned to the boy. "While I control Amazoness Empress, other "Amazoness" monsters cannot be destroyed by battle or card effects."
"What?" The torrent of flames hit Pet Liger King, but nothing happened to it.
[Super Quantal Mech Beast Magnaliger: OU:1 - 1 = OU:0]
"You allowed my sister to taunt you," Gloria said. "Are all the members of the Resistance as… obtuse as you?"
"Shut up!" Aoki narrowed his eyes. "Red Layer's effect. Since it was sent to the graveyard, I'll Special Summon Super Quantum White Layer from the graveyard!" A tall, stocky warrior appeared on the field, dressed in (obviously) a white suit. Different coloured lights floated around him as he stood on the field. There were some bright blue lines around his body, casting a strange, iridescent glow on him.
[Super Quantum White Layer (7*/2400/2400/LIGHT/Fairy/Effect)]
So, that was obviously what the boy had discarded for his Field Spell's effect… a monster with only 2400 attack points, huh?
"I'll activate the effect of Magnacarrier again!" Aoki declared. "I'll discard another card and use Super Quantum Green Layer as material!"
So that wasn't once per turn? Interesting…
"Green beast, take to the sky with resilient wings! Xyz Summon! Rank 4! Super Quantal Mech Beast Aeroboros!" A large green bird appeared on the field, made of sharp green shapes that glowed brightly, its wings cutting through the air. Its head was sculpted from squares and rectangles—its beak opened, as though to swallow something.
[Super Quantal Mech Beast Aeroboros (R4/2200/2400/WIND/Machine/Xyz/Effect) (OU:1)]
"Green Layer's effect! When sent to the graveyard, I can discard a "Super Quant" card and draw another card. Then, Aeroboros's effect! I'll detach an Overlay Unit from it and change your Amazoness Empress to facedown Defense Position!"
… an actually clever move, huh. Not something she'd expected from an Xyz remnant. The bird lunged through the air, striking towards Amazoness Empress with its talons. The woman took a step back, but the talon struck her face, knocking her down to the ground. She transformed back into a facedown card.
[Super Quantal Mech Beast Aeroboros: OU:1 - 1 = OU:0]
"And now your monster's not protected anymore," the Resistance member snarled out. "I'll activate the Continuous Spell, Xyz Recast! All Xyz Monsters gain 200 attack points times their Rank!"
Gloria narrowed her eyes. "Is that so…"
"I'll use Aeroboros's effect! I'll attach White Layer from the field to it as an Overlay Unit!"
[Super Quantal Mech Beast Aeroboros: OU:0 + 1 = OU:1]
"And Magnaliger has the same effect, but I can also attach it from my hand! I'll give it another copy of Red Layer!"
[Super Quantal Mech Beast Magnaliger: OU:0 + 1 = OU:1]
… he was reducing his damage for this? Interesting… was there a reason that he wanted Overlay Units on his monsters?
"Super Quantal Mech Beast Magnaliger attacks Amazoness Pet Liger King! With Xyz Territory's effect, it'll gain 1000 attack and defense points!"
[Super Quantal Mech Beast Magnaliger: 2600 + 200 x 5 = 3600ATK; 2000 + 200 x 5 = 3000DEF]
Gloria shielded herself. Her life points fell as Grace's monster was destroyed.
Gloria & Grace: 10100 - 700 = 9400LP
"And Aeroboros attacks your facedown Amazoness Empress!" The bird struck down her other monster.
[Super Quantal Mech Beast Aeroboros: 2200 + 200 x 4 = 3000ATK; 2400 + 200 x 4 = 3200DEF]
"Empress's effect!" Gloria countered. "I'll Special Summon Amazoness Queen from our graveyard!" The older form of Princess appeared on the field, guarding their life points from the final attack along with War Chief.
[Amazoness Queen (6*/2400/1800/EARTH/Warrior/Effect)]
"... Noble Knight Brothers won't attack," Aoki muttered. "Pass."
[Turn 5: Grace] [H:2]
"My turn then!" Grace giggled.
"Is this a joke to you?" The boy demanded. "You two carded so many people! You're monsters!"
"It's been months," Gloria said. "Get over it."
"You callous bitch! Would you get over it that easily if you lost your sister, huh—"
"Don't threaten my sister!" Grace snapped back. There was a snippiness to her tone when she continued. "Who cares? You're the ones who lost. I'll activate the effect of Amazoness Spiritualist in our graveyard! I'll return Amazoness Hall back to my hand and Special Summon her from the graveyard!"
"So… you're just looping that card…"
Spiritualist reappeared on the field.
"I'll use her effect to add Polymerization from my deck to my hand!" Grace revealed the card. "And I'll activate it! I'll fuse Amazoness Spiritualist on the field and Amazoness Baby Tiger in my hand! Dark beast that leaps through the jungle, come to heel at my feet and serve me! Fusion Summon! Level 6! Amazoness Pet Jaguar!" In front of her, a dark beast dressed in golden armour appeared, prancing around on the field.
[Amazoness Pet Jaguar (6*/2000/1800/EARTH/Beast/Fusion/Effect)]
"When Pet Jaguar is Fusion Summoned, I can target an "Amazoness" monster in my graveyard, banish it and Special Summon one with a different name from my graveyard! I'll banish Amazoness Tiger from the graveyard and Special Summon Amazoness Pet King Liger from the graveyard!" Her evolved ace pranced back on the field.
"When Red Layer is attached to Magnaliger, its effect is a Quick Effect!" Aoki countered. "I'll detach an Overlay Unit and destroy Amazoness Pet Liger King!"
[Super Quantal Mech Beast Magnaliger: OU:1 - 1 = OU:0]
"Huh." Grace grinned. "Interesting! Okay then. I'll set things up for you, sister." She didn't seem fazed at all. "Amazoness Baby Tiger's effect! Since an "Amazoness" monster was summoned while it was in the graveyard, I can Special Summon it!"
The younger version of Tiger appeared—a small pink tiger cub with black stripes and glowing blue eyes. Grace cooed at it. Gloria shrugged. She didn't personally care about things like cuteness, but she knew that her sister did. It was one of the things that was different between them. (It was part of why she liked Saki—Grace was cute and all, but the dark-haired girl was a lot more down to earth.)
[Amazoness Baby Tiger (2*/500/500/EARTH/Beast/Effect)]
"Anyway, so, a card that increases their attack points, huh…? I think I'll copy you!" Grace smugly revealed a card in her hand. "By setting… the Scale 1 Amazoness Golden Whip Master in the Pendulum Scale."
A pillar of light shot up to their left. Within it, a white-haired warrior dressed in golden armour rose up, clad in a purple cloak. She swung a spiked whip through the air.
… right. This card.
The Professor had made a set of Pendulums experimentally for them, since he was sending them here—based, of course, on the sample of Pendulum Monsters that Dennis Mackfield had brought back to Academia. It had taken a genius like the Professor no effort at all to replicate a process like that. It was something that they had which their teacher had never had. (Mother.) The two of them had split them between themselves, but despite the obvious resemblance to each of them, Grace and Gloria had decided to take the one that resembled the other.
… it was nice to have a reminder of her sister that way. They would always be working together.
"Pendulum?" The Resistance member gasped. "Isn't that Standard's weapon?"
"Battle Phase," Grace declared, grinning in a way that was rather playful. (Someone less personally involved than Gloria would have called it sadistic.) "I'll ignore your monster for now, noble knight… Amazoness Queen attacks Super Quantal Mech Beast Magnaliger! And when an attack is declared involving an "Amazoness" monster, once per turn, Golden Whip Master's Pendulum Effect activates! I destroy a Spell or Trap on the field! I'll destroy your Xyz Recast!" The Continuous Spell shattered. "So you don't gain any attack points!"
"What?"
"And," Grace said proudly, "Golden Whip Master gives all "Amazoness" monsters 100 attack points times their Levels!"
[Amazoness Queen: 2400 + 100 x 6 = 3000ATK]
[Amazoness Pet Jaguar: 2000 + 100 x 6 = 2600ATK]
[Amazoness War Chief: 1900 + 100 x 5 = 2400ATK]
[Amazoness Baby Tiger: 500 + 100 x 2 = 700ATK]
"So you can say goodbye to that monster… and you'd better make it quick!" The lion was shredded by Amazoness Queen's fists, vanishing.
Aoki & Jiro: 8700 - 400 = 8300LP
"Amazoness Pet Jaguar attacks Aeroboros!" The other mech was destroyed by the dark beast.
Aoki & Jiro: 8300 - 400 = 7900LP
"The effect of Super Quantum Layer White activates!" Aoki declared desperately. "I'll add another copy of Alphan to my hand!"
"Okay," Grace purred. "Amazoness Baby Tiger gains 100 attack points times the number of "Amazoness" cards in the graveyard."
[Amazoness Baby Tiger: 700 + 100 x 8 = 1500ATK]
"So it's not enough to get rid of your knight this turn, but you'll take damage from this. War Chief attacks your Noble Knight Brothers!"
It took another chunk off the two boys' life points.
Aoki & Jiro: 7900 - 700 = 7200LP
"I'll set my Amazoness Hall and end my turn," Grace continued. She flipped her empty hand through the air. "Nothing here! But my sister will hunt you down next turn…"
[Turn 6: Jiro] [H:4]
"Draw!" The boy revealed a card in his hand. "I'll activate Heritage of the Chalice. I'll add another "Noble Knight" monster from my deck to my hand. And I'll activate Caliburn's effect. We'll gain 500 life points…"
Aoki & Jiro: 7200 + 500 = 7700LP
"Just stalling," Grace said with a smirk.
"... I'll activate the effect of Noble Knight Brothers. I'll shuffle Borz, Medraut and King Artorigus into the deck to draw a card." Jiro picked up the card. "I'll Normal Summon Merlin!" An old wizard in a purple cloak appeared, pulling on his thick silver beard. He waved a staff through the air, looking rather calm.
[Merlin (3*/1400/500/DARK/Spellcaster/Effect)]
"I'll tribute Merlin to Special Summon another "Noble Knight" monster from my deck, but I can only Special Summon "Noble Knight" monsters this turn. Come—Noble Knight Drystan!"
[Noble Knight Drystan (4*/1800/800/LIGHT/Warrior/Effect)]
"I'll equip Noble Arms - Gallatin to Drystan. And when Drystan is equipped with a "Noble Arms" card, I'll destroy a card you control. I'll choose Amazoness Pet Jaguar!"
"Oh, you made a mistake," Grace said with a giggle. The Fusion Monster blew up. "When Pet Jaguar is destroyed, I shuffle it into the Extra Deck to set an "Amazoness" Continuous Spell or Trap from my deck face-up on my field~! I'll set my Amazoness Onslaught!" The Continuous Trap appeared on the field.
"... doesn't matter. I'll overlay the Level 4 Noble Knight Drystan and Noble Knight Brothers. Come out, young king of the noble knights! Xyz Summon! Rank 4! Artorigus, King of the Noble Knights!" The king from earlier reappeared, though his armour was slightly less shiny—a weaker version of that monster?
[Artorigus, King of the Noble Knights (R4/2000/2000/LIGHT/Warrior/Xyz/Effect) (OU:2)]
"Caliburn, Gallatin, Noble Arms of Destiny and Clarent destroyed themselves," Jiro continued. "They all equip to Artorigus! And with Artorigus's effect, I'll detach an Overlay Unit and destroy a Spell or Trap you control for every single "Noble Arms" card I control!"
[Artorigus, King of the Noble Knights: OU:2 - 1 = OU:1]
All of their Spells and Traps exploded.
"Aww, who cares," Grace said, still unbothered. "I still activated Hall."
Gloria & Grace: 9400 + 2000 = 11400LP
"And Onslaught was destroyed—that's all I need! When it's destroyed, I can bring back a monster from the graveyard! Let's help my sister out a little—come, Amazoness Empress!" The strong Fusion Monster reappeared on the field.
"Appreciated," Gloria said.
"Of course!"
"You two don't get to be happy," the Resistance member declared. "With Gallatin, Artorigus gains 1000 attack points—and Caliburn gives him 500 more attack points!"
[Artorigus, King of the Noble Knights: 2000 + 1000 + 500 = 3500ATK]
"So? No matter how high you get it, you still only have one attack…"
"... I'll activate the Equip Spell, Infernoble Arms - Hauteclere. By destroying Hauteclere, other monsters I control can't attack this turn, but Artorigus can attack twice this turn." The weapon shattered. "And then, I'll activate the effect of Gwenhwyfar, Queen of Noble Arms in my hand. I'll equip her to Artorigus. He gains 300 attack points." He filled up the entire backrow.
[Artorigus, King of the Noble Knights: 3500 + 300 = 3800ATK]
"And then…" He narrowed his eyes. "... I'll activate Clarent's effect. I'll pay 500 life points. By paying 500 life points, the monster equipped with Clarent can attack directly this turn."
Aoki & Jiro: 7700 - 500 = 7200LP
He gestured forward. "... your monsters can't be destroyed, but… you'll still take the damage! Attack them directly twice!"
The kingly knight swung his sword through the air—
And their life points plummeted.
Gloria & Grace: 11400 - 3800 - 3800 = 3800LP
"I'll end my turn."
"... huh. You're weak."
"What?"
Gloria brushed her hair back. "... I said you're weak." And pathetic. "You're so pent-up and you just want to deal damage—your friend seems angry, but you're the one that's truly enraged, aren't you?"
The fair-haired Resistance member narrowed his eyes.
"What, did someone you know get carded? Big deal." Gloria shook her head. "You're so… thoughtless. You don't even know Queen's effect. From your perspective, you could have attacked Empress and then gotten rid of one of my other monsters. Instead, all you did was go for us—you don't care at all."
"Shut up. I'll defeat you. Next turn, we just need to use Clarent's effect one more time to defeat you."
"You won't get to," Gloria said. "Because you're just pathetic."
[Turn 7: Gloria] [H:5]
"Draw!" Gloria declared. "I'll activate another copy of Amazoness Secret Arts. I'll fuse Amazoness Empress with Amazoness Baby Tiger on the field!" The portal appeared behind her. "Empress that stands at the peak of all battle! Now, crush our foes with the fiery might of your supremacy! Fusion Summon! The one, the only Amazoness Augusta!" The evolved form of her ace appeared on the field, her headdress far larger than it had been as Amazoness Empress. Beast pelts could be seen all throughout her clothing. She swung a sword through the air, a fierce look on her face.
[Amazoness Augusta (10*/3200/2800/EARTH/Warrior/Fusion/Effect)]
"When Augusta is Fusion Summoned, I can Special Summon an "Amazoness" monster from my deck. Come! Amazoness Swords Woman!" A tanned woman with long, spiky hair appeared, swinging a long sword through the air.
[Amazoness Swords Woman (4*/1500/1600/EARTH/Warrior/Effect)]
"Then, Amazoness Spiritualist's effect in the graveyard," Gloria continued. "I'll return Amazoness Swords Woman back to my hand and Special Summon Spiritualist from the graveyard." The mage in a red cloak appeared on the field, making for four monsters on their field. "I'll add Polymerization to my hand with her effect. And I'll activate it. I'll fuse Amazoness Spiritualist on the field and Amazoness Swords Woman in my hand! Sword and shield, dance in the hands of the loyal protector! Fusion Summon! Level 6! Amazoness Queensguard!"
A woman with dark hair tied up in a bun appeared. Red face paint adorned her cheeks. She had a mask covering half her face, and an icy glare. When she took a step forward, she slammed the large shield in her hands into the ground, casting dirt and dust through the air. She then turned to Amazoness Empress and Amazoness Queen, bowing slowly.
[Amazoness Queensguard (6*/2200/1500/EARTH/Warrior/Fusion/Effect)]
"Baby Tiger revives itself," Gloria continued. "Queensguard's effect! All "Amazoness" monsters I control gain 400 attack points!" They no longer had Golden Whip Master, but this could compensate.
[Amazoness Augusta: 3200 + 400 = 3600ATK]
[Amazoness Queen: 2400 + 400 = 2800ATK]
[Amazoness War Chief: 1900 + 400 = 2300ATK]
[Amazoness Queensguard: 2200 + 400 = 2600ATK]
[Amazoness Baby Tiger: 500 + 400 = 900ATK]
"Furthermore, Baby Tiger now has 1300 extra attack points, since there are 13 "Amazoness" cards in the graveyard."
[Amazoness Baby Tiger: 900 + 100 x 13 = 2200ATK]
"And I'll Normal Summon one more monster! Amazoness Sage!" A blue-haired wizard appeared on the field, dressed in earthy orange and brown tones and holding onto a staff.
[Amazoness Sage (4*/1400/700/EARTH/Warrior/Effect)]
[Amazoness Sage: 1400 + 400 = 1800ATK]
"And now, Queensguard's other effect." Gloria lifted a card in her hand. "… I discard a card and flip a monster you control facedown."
Their opponents paled.
"And when a monster is flipped facedown," Gloria said, allowing herself to grin, because they'd won, "all cards equipped to it are destroyed."
And thus—
All five Noble Arms, as they were called, shattered.
And there was no other monster to equip them to, so they would not come back.
"No way…"
"Also, my monsters deal piercing damage this turn," Gloria said. "So now. First—Amazoness Queensguard attacks your facedown monster."
The new Fusion Monster sliced straight through the set card—destroying the so-called king.
Aoki & Jiro: 7200 - 600 = 6600LP
"Baby Tiger, Sage."
These were just formalities at this point.
Aoki & Jiro: 6600 - 2200 - 1800 = 2600LP
Gloria grinned widely. "… Augusta."
And there it was.
Aoki & Jiro: 2600 - 3600 = 0LP
Winner: Gloria Tyler & Grace Tyler!
… ah. There was never anything better than hunting down prey.
"I'll do it this time, okay, sister?" Grace skipped forward. Gloria rolled her eyes for the hundredth time that day, smirking fondly. This was the level of a normal member of the Resistance, huh? Interesting. Perhaps the war had forced them to grow enough to be semi-entertaining—
But still defeated in an instant.
Then—
"What are you doing?"
Gloria turned her head.
"… well," she said, "you're one of the priority targets, aren't you?"
Tsubaki made her way to the top of a building about five minutes away from Heartland Tower, where she could see everything. Where Mariko had confirmed that the trigger for the bombs would work.
(The bombs, which Mariko had snuck around and planted herself, risking her own life in Academia's base.)
She stood there, watching Academia's base.
"… don't tell me you're about to do what I think you'll do."
Tsubaki turned her head. "You followed me all the way here," she said. "What do you think is my plan… Kurosaki?"
Shun Kurosaki watched her. Tsubaki took a moment to consider his current appearance. Two months or so away from Heartland had done wonders—he'd always been so gaunt and angry since the invasion, but now, there was genuine concern in his eyes. As though something had revived the old Shun Kurosaki from the dead, saved him from the person he'd become after losing his sister.
She wondered what it was. She wondered if she could find it too.
"I hope I'm wrong," Shun said after a pause.
"Hope doesn't last long here."
"Hope is the reason we've lasted this long." He stressed the word sharply.
Tsubaki turned away. "… maybe for you. Not me."
Shun took another step forward. "... don't lose hope, Tsubaki. We still need you."
Oh, Tsubaki thought. He thinks I'm going to jump. She brushed her foot against the edge of the roof.
… obviously, he was wrong. Still…
It wasn't time yet.
She said so. "I'm not going to jump."
He relaxed. "Then what are you doing up here?"
Something worse.
"You know, Shun," Tsubaki said after a pause, "have you ever had a single goal that you clung to for so long that it drove you insane?"
"... saving Ruri," Shun said easily. "... what about you?"
"... staying here," Tsubaki murmured. "I just wanted to stay here in Heartland, no matter what. But I've made enough mistakes, I think… the brothers I never wanted, the man I didn't…"
… she looked away.
"What?" Shun sounded puzzled.
"... nothing." She turned away. "... if there's one thing you can be sure of, it's that I don't intend to die. Not ever."
… I have too much I want to do.
"Well, you're one of the priority targets, aren't you?"
"I am," Chiaki said, narrowing her eyes. "So what?"
"… heh. Today's our lucky day." The blonde woman looked at them as the white-haired woman next to her (her sister, maybe?) "Three of the priority targets in one place…"
Miharu, Chiaki and Yuzu exchanged looks.
Once they'd all split up to look for Sora, Yuno had brought up the fact that Rio had clearly been working on something at the docks when they'd first met her. It made sense—the rest of the Resistance members that they'd encountered were on patrols near the base or scavenging, but Rio had clearly been at the docks for a reason.
So Yuno and Miharu had begun to head off together, and thenYuji had spotted them and awkwardly tagged along, which meant that Chiaki had come along too. Then, Yuya had seen them while chatting with Yuzu, and well. The rest was history.
So the six of them had ended up here together…
Not in time to save the two Resistance members though.
"That fiery hair…" The white-haired woman grinned. "You must be Chiaki Katsuya, yeah? The one that bullied poor Saki-chan!"
"You're a grown ass woman and still using '-chan' to talk about someone my age," Chiaki snarked back. "Maybe you're the real problem."
"How rude," the blonde woman said. She surveyed them. "... so, the pink-haired one is the girl with the bracelet from Standard, Yuzu Hiiragi. And the blonde one is Miharu Kogami of the Link Dimension. It's uncanny how much you three resemble each other… and the other three too. I suppose that from what I've read in the files, you're… Yuya Sakaki, Yuji Fujita and Yuno Sugisaki. Six priority targets in one place."
"Do you think this will get us that promotion, sister?"
"There's a good chance."
"You'd have to catch us first," Miharu said—not a challenge, nothing like that, but still with a certain sense of composure that was surprisingly intimidating. Chiaki was reluctantly impressed. "I assure you, it's not that easy."
"With six of you here? Of course not!" The white-haired woman giggled. "So, how about a deal? We duel two of you, and if we win, you go back with us on your own, no complaints, no resistance!"
From what they'd seen of the duel… it was a Tag Duel with shared fields, right? Chiaki and Yuji exchanged a look—they both knew that having him share a field with someone else was… not ideal in the slightest.
"Yuya and I can—"
"Ah, right,"the golden-haired woman said, interrupting Yuzu. "When we say 'two of you', we mean two of you girls."
"We've dealt with enough whining from those boys today!" The white-haired woman said, still grinning. "So, how about some girl power, huh? Don't tell a boy to protect you, that's so lame."
"... oh, I'll show you girl power," Chiaki muttered. She stepped forward—these two women were ticking her off so much that she had to take part in this duel.
"... you or me, Yuzu?"
Yuzu looked flustered as she looked between Chiaki and Miharu. "Uh…" She swallowed. "I want to duel them too, but it's a serious situation… and…"
She briefly looked at Yuya, and then back at Chiaki.
"... I don't have practice dueling alongside her," she admitted—not directly addressing Chiaki, but still explaining herself. "And not that much alongside you either… and I'm still figuring my own deck out. I helped you out against Sergey, but you're still a better support player than I am, Miharu."
Miharu nodded. She turned to Chiaki. "Let's work together, then."
"... sure." Chiaki really didn't have anything against this girl. (If she was honest, by virtue of her strength and how she'd made new cards for Chiaki with no complaint, Miharu Kogami was probably one of Chiaki's favourite members of the Lancers.)
"So it's you," the blonde woman said. "I do wonder what's so special about you… word on the street is that when our forces were sent to Synchro, they were told that out of all of the priority targets, the one that they had to capture was you."
Nearby, Yuno Sugisaki's eyes widened—
"Is there something about you that's more important to the Arc Area Project than the rest?"
"… if you have the answer to that, feel free to share it," Miharu said. "But what the Professor thinks of my worth has nothing to do with what I think of myself."
"Huh. I thought you were the shy kind."
—and then Yuno laughed. He and Miharu shared a brief look—something tender. Chiaki rolled her eyes. Cute. Diabetic, even. They really should just start dating.
"Can we get going already?" She said.
"My, my, impatient…"
Chiaki glared at the white-haired woman. "I just don't want to waste my time people like you," she said. "Shut up already. If we're kicking your ass, let us know who you are."
"You haven't heard of the Tyler Sisters, huh?" The blonde woman rolled her eyes. "I'm Gloria. This is Grace. You'd better do your best—I don't like boring prey."
[DUEL!]
Chiaki Katsuya & Miharu Kogami: 8000LP
Grace Tyler & Gloria Tyler: 8000LP
[Turn 1: Grace] [H:5]
"I'll start~!" The white-haired woman—Grace—picked up her starting hand, as did the rest of them. She grinned. "I see… activating the Spell Card, Amazoness Call! I'll add Amazoness War Chief from my deck to my hand! And I'll Special Summon her from my hand!" The orange-haired warrior woman appeared on the field, brandishing her weapon.
[Amazoness War Chief (5*/1900/0/EARTH/Warrior/Effect)]
"I'll use War Chief's effect! I'll set Amazoness Hot Spring to my field facedown! Then, I'll activate the Spell Card, Graceful Charity to draw three cards and discard two… I got it! The Spell Card, Polymerization! I'll fuse Amazoness War Chief on my field with Amazoness Tiger in my hand! Roar with the ferocity of the jungle and intimidate any that dare approach with your fearsome roar! Fusion Summon! Level 9! King of the jungle—Amazoness Pet Liger King!" An enormous beast appeared on the field, pressing its claws tightly against the ground. It threw its head back, roaring.
[Amazoness Pet Liger King (9*/2900/2800/EARTH/Beast/Fusion/Effect)]
"Skipping a step, sister?" Gloria said, turning her head.
"Well, we'd better not hold back anything! I want to crush them." Grace picked up another card from her hand. "I'll set two more cards facedown. Over to you!"
Chiaki swiped up the next card of her deck, glaring. "Then I'll crush you!" She declared.
[Turn 2: Chiaki] [H:6]
"Draw! I'll activate the Continuous Spell, Dogmatikamatrix!"
"Oh, you do have the Dogmatika deck." Grace licked her lips briefly. Chiaki cringed. "Of all people you could hurt, it was the little darling of Academia, huh? Well, with a deck as strong as that, you'll at least be interesting prey…"
"Who the fuck's your prey?" Chiaki retorted. "I don't care about being interesting to you! Dogmatikamatrix's effect! I'll add the Ritual Spell, Dogmatikalamity to my hand—and since you control a monster, I can also add another "Dogmatika" card from my deck to my hand!"
"Dogmatikalamity," Miharu repeated next to her. "... I don't think I've seen you use this one before."
"I haven't," Chiaki admitted. "Usually, I use the other one." She turned back to the field. "I'll activate the effect of Dogmatika Ecclesia, the Virtuous! Since there is a monster Special Summoned from the Extra Deck on the field, I can Special Summon her from my hand!" The blonde-haired girl appeared on the field, a determined look on her face.
[Dogmatika Ecclesia, the Virtuous (4*/1500/1500/LIGHT/Spellcaster/Effect)]
"And then, by cutting off my access to the Extra Deck for the rest of this turn, I can add another "Dogmatika" card from my deck to my hand, except Ecclesia herself!" Chiaki revealed the card. "I will add and Special Summon Dogmatika Fleurdelis, the Knighted from my hand!" The elegant knight appeared next to Ecclesia on the field, holding up her sword protectively in front of the younger girl.
[Dogmatika Fleurdelis, the Knighted (8*/2500/2500/LIGHT/Spellcaster/Effect)]
"Then, Amazoness Pet Liger King's effects are negated until the End Phase!"
Grace covered her mouth. "... oh my."
"Then, the Ritual Spell, Dogmatikalamity! I'll send the Level 4 Mavelus from my Extra Deck to the graveyard to Ritual Summon a monster from my hand! Holy corpse shrouded in the light of dogma. Let your relentless apathy cleanse this funereal plane, and bring forth the perfection that you seek! Advent! Level 4! White Relic of Dogmatika!" The feminine Ritual Monster appeared on the field. Even without her partner, she had a certain elegant coldness to her appearance as she raised her hands. Her gaze was empty.
[White Relic of Dogmatika (4*/500/2500/LIGHT/Spellcaster/Ritual/Effect)]
"When White Relic of Dogmatika is Ritual Summoned, I can target two monsters on the field! One of them permanently gains attack points equal to the other's attack points! I'll target White Relic herself and your Pet Liger King! Awakening Cleanse!" White Relic raised her staff, emitting an eerie glow—a bright light shone down on her.
[White Relic of Dogmatika: 500 + 2900 = 3400ATK]
"Then, the Spell Card, Pre-Preparation of Rites. I'll add a Ritual Spell and a Ritual Monster specifically listed in that card's text to my hand! So I'll add the Ritual Spell, Dogmatikamacabre and the Ritual Monster, White Knight of Dogmatika to my hand!" She filled up her hand again. "And the Spell Card, Nadir Servant! I can't Special Summon monsters from the Extra Deck this turn—" Not that it mattered, since she had already used Ecclesia's effect this turn. "But I can send Darkfire Dragon from my Extra Deck to the graveyard. And then, I can add a "Dogmatika" monster with equal or less attack points from my deck to my hand. Darkfire Dragon had 1500 attack points—so I'll add another copy of Ecclesia from my deck to my hand."
But that wasn't really her goal…
"I'll then activate the Ritual Spell, Dogmatikamacabre! I'll banish the Level 4 Darkfire Dragon and the Level 4 Mavelus from the graveyard as tribute!"
"Ritual Summoning using monsters in the graveyard as material too?" Gloria frowned. "... that could be troublesome. I suppose it makes sense that her deck would be like that though…"
Chiaki twitched. "Holy knight shrouded in the light of dogma. Be swallowed up by the lunacy of the sacrilegious void, and let your empty shell strike out mercilessly! Ritual Summon! Level 8! White Knight of Dogmatika!" The corrupted-looking version of Fleurdelis appeared on the field as well—both Ecclesia and Fleurdelis seemed to take a step away from the Ritual Monsters.
[White Knight of Dogmatika (8*/500/2500/LIGHT/Spellcaster/Ritual/Effect)]
"Then, Dogmatikamacabre's effect. I'll look at your Extra Deck and send a monster from there to the graveyard!"
"Extra Deck destruction…"
The menu popped up in front of Chiaki. "... Amazoness Pet Jaguar," she decided. She could only see the stats of the monsters, but any monster that had a similar name to the Fusion Monster on the field had to be bad news.
"Aww…" Grace pouted. It was a weird expression to look at, considering that she dwarfed Chiaki in height.
"Dogmatikamatrix's effect," Chiaki continued. "I'll send another one from your Extra Deck to the graveyard." She pointed out another card, forcing her opponent to drop it into the graveyard.
If she could remove those threats easily…
"Battle Phase," Chiaki said. "I'll have White Relic of Dogmatika attack your Amazoness Pet Liger King! And once per turn, when a "Dogmatika" monster attacks, I can activate Fleurdelis's effect! All "Dogmatika" monsters I control gain 500 attack points!"
[Dogmatika Fleurdelis, the Knighted: 2500 + 500 = 3000ATK]
[Dogmatika Ecclesia, the Virtuous: 1500 + 500 = 2000ATK]
[White Relic of Dogmatika: 3400 + 500 = 3900ATK]
[White Knight of Dogmatika: 500 + 500 = 1000ATK]
"How domineering!" Grace said with a giggle. "How many of our life points do you intend to take this turn?" She flipped over her two set cards. "Continuous Traps, Amazoness Onslaught and Amazoness Hot Spring! Hot Spring was activated second, so I'll resolve its effect first—"
"You can resolve it all you like," Chiaki said, "but mine resolves first!" She gestured to White Knight of Dogmatika, who was now glowing. "When my opponent activates a card or effect, White Knight of Dogmatika's effect activates! I send a monster from both of our Extra Decks to the graveyard! I'll send Amazoness Pet Liger from your Extra Deck to the graveyard, along with Skull Knight from mine!"
"A third one…?"
"And then, White Knight of Dogmatika gains attack points equal to half the total attack points of the monsters sent to the graveyard by its effect! Premature Execution of Dogma!"
[White Knight of Dogmatika: 1000 + 2650 / 2 + 2500 / 2 = 3575ATK]
Chiaki narrowed her eyes. That was… technically enough to wipe out their opponent's life points in one turn, as she'd planned. Still, those Traps…
"Amazoness Hot Spring's effect lets me add a "Amazoness" monster from my deck to my hand! And then, Onslaught lets me Special Summon that monster from my hand! Come! Amazoness Spy!" A dark-skinned woman in a purple cloak appeared, her body shielded from others' gazes as she swung a dagger through the air, glaring forward.
[Amazoness Spy (3*/800/1200/EARTH/Warrior/Effect)]
In Attack Position? Why…
Well, it didn't matter.
"Finish the attack, White Relic!" The young girl struck down Pet Liger King, the beast letting out a roar as it turned to dust.
Grace & Gloria: 8000 - 1000 = 7000LP
Still, Grace seemed unfazed. "I'll activate the effects of Amazoness Onslaught and Amazoness Hot Spring!" She declared. "Once per turn, when I take battle damage while I control an "Amazoness" Monster Card, I can gain life points equal to the amount of life points we lost!" Their life points shot back up.
Grace & Gloria: 7000 + 1000 = 8000LP
"Then, Onslaught's effect! After damage calculation…" She gestured forward. "Any monster that battles an "Amazoness" monster is banished!"
"What?" Chiaki turned her head, just as White Relic was swallowed up by a portal. Then…
"... move forward or back off," Gloria said. "What's your choice?"
… and that condescending fucking tone made Chiaki bristle—in fact, it made her bristle enough that she made her next choice in an instant.
"Ecclesia attacks Spy!"
"Oh?" Grace giggled. "So, you won't back off?"
Ecclesia swung her staff towards the woman—crushing her.
Grace & Gloria: 8000 - 1200 = 6800LP
Ecclesia also vanished from the field.
"... Fleurdelis attacks directly," Chiaki said, standing up again.
"You still aren't learning, huh?" Grace twirled around a card between her fingers. "Oh well. When Spy is destroyed, I'll shuffle Amazoness Pet Liger King back into the Extra Deck! I'll activate the Trap Card, Amazoness Willpower! I can Special Summon an "Amazoness" monster from the graveyard! Come—Amazoness Golden Whip Master!" A blonde woman dressed in gold armour appeared on the field, swinging a whip through the air.
[Amazoness Golden Whip Master (5*/S1/2000/1200/EARTH/Warrior/Pendulum/Effect)]
"Wait—" From nearby, Yuya took a step forward. "That's… a Pendulum Monster?"
Grace turned to him, giggling. "Oh, right! You don't know, do you?"
"What do you mean? I thought…"
Next to Chiaki, Miharu sighed. "... Dennis," she said. The name meant nothing to Chiaki (or Yuji), but the other three Lancers all seemed to have a moment of realisation.
"Yup! You're a smart one, aren't you?" Grace smirked. "Dennis Mackfield gave his Pendulums to the Professor to have more of them made for the rest of us!"
Yuya glanced away. "No way…"
"Of course," Yuno said, his surprise fading quickly.
"Oh, Dennis…" Yuzu seemed conflicted, which—alright. Whatever. Maybe she was friends with the guy or something, but maybe she shouldn't get all sad over him right now, considering that he'd apparently given the Lancers' secret weapon or something to Academia.
Still…
Chiaki knew nothing about Pendulums, come to think of it. Oh well.
"The monster summoned by Onslaught's effect gains 500 attack points," Grace said.
[Amazoness Golden Whip Master: 2000 + 500 = 2500ATK]
"So, what will you do?"
"... Fleurdelis."
The warrior dashed forward, and once again, both monsters vanished from the field together.
Grace & Gloria: 6800 - 500 = 6300LP
"Golden Whip Master puts herself in the Pendulum Scale when she's destroyed!" Grace said with a wink. "And now…?"
"White Knight of Dogmatika attacks you directly! Stigma Lance!"
And finally, her monster raised her lance, plunging it forward—
Their opponents' life points plummeted.
Grace & Gloria: 6300 - 3575 = 2725LP
"I'll set a card and end my turn!"
[Turn 3: Gloria] [H:6]
"... do you really think that was the best move, to keep charging forward?" Gloria folded her arms. "... you'd fit in well back home, but that's not the best way to fight in this war. Whatever. My turn then. Draw." She surveyed her hand. "I'll activate the effect of Amazoness Spiritualist in my hand. I'll return Amazoness Hot Spring to my hand and Special Summon her from my hand."
"White Knight of Dogmatika's effect!" Chiaki countered. "Let me look at your Extra Deck!" Once again, she didn't know what the effects were, but she just sent the monster with the highest attack points to the graveyard. "I'll send your Amazoness Augusta and my Labyrinth Tank from our Extra Decks to the graveyard! Premature Execution of Dogma!"
White Knight's attack points shot up again—who would've guessed that this woman had stronger monsters than her sister?
[White Knight of Dogmatika: 1000 + 3200 / 2 + 2400 / 2 = 3800ATK]
"Annoying," Gloria commented. Her monster landed on the field—a woman in a red cloak, with a calm expression.
[Amazoness Spiritualist (2*/800/1800/EARTH/Warrior/Effect)]
"Spiritualist's effect. I'll add the Spell Card, Polymerization to my hand!"
Polymerization… so she was going to do another Fusion Summon?
"Then, I'll Normal Summon Amazoness Princess!" A young white-haired girl appeared on the field.
[Amazoness Princess (3*/1200/900/EARTH/Warrior/Effect)]
"Amazoness Princess's effect! I'll add an "Amazoness" Spell or Trap from my deck to my hand!" Gloria revealed the card. "I'll activate the Spell Card, Amazoness Secret Arts. I'll fuse Amazoness Sage with Amazoness Scouts in my hand! Sword and shield, dance in the hands of the loyal protector! Fusion Summon! Level 6! Amazoness Queensguard!" A dark-haired royal guard appeared, drawing red face paint over her face.
[Amazoness Queensguard (6*/2200/1500/EARTH/Warrior/Fusion/Effect)]
… Chiaki made her decision immediately. "Trap Card, Dogmatika Punishment!" She countered. "If I activate this card, I can't Special Summon monsters from the Extra Deck until the end of my next turn. By sending a monster from my Extra Deck to the graveyard, I can destroy a monster with equal or lower attack points!"
"... oh?" Gloria sounded amused. "Then you should know that Golden Whip Master gives Queensguard 100 attack points times her Level, and Queensguard herself gives all "Amazoness" monsters 400 attack points!"
[Amazoness Queensguard: 2200 + 100 x 6 + 400 = 3200ATK]
[Amazoness Princess: 1200 + 100 x 3 + 400 = 1900ATK]
[Amazoness Spiritualist: 800 + 100 x 2 = 1000ATK]
"So, do you have a monster that strong to throw away?"
"... I do," Chiaki said. She picked out a card from her Extra Deck, glaring at them. "Say goodbye to your monster! I'll send Antique Gear Megaton Golem from my Extra Deck to the graveyard!"
"Megaton Golem?" Grace exclaimed.
Chiaki had picked up the cards during the chaos of the Synchro invasion. It made her feel dirty to have them—but on the other hand, it felt absurdly good to drop them in the graveyard.
"Megaton Golem has 3300 attack points," she said, raising her fist and punching forward. "I'll destroy Amazoness Queensguard!"
The warrior vanished from the field. Gloria shrugged.
"Sure," she said. "That's not enough though. I'll activate the Spell Card, Polymerization! I'll fuse Amazoness Princess on the field, treated as Amazoness Queen, and Amazoness Spiritualist!" A second vortex appeared behind her. "Queen of the jungle. Receive the power of the spiritual leader, and build an empire that rules over everything! Fusion Summon! Appear, Level 8! Amazoness Empress!" A taller, stronger white-haired woman appeared on the field.
[Amazoness Empress (8*/2800/2400/EARTH/Warrior/Fusion/Effect)]
[Amazoness Empress: 2800 + 100 x 8 = 3600ATK]
"And before you say that's not enough—"
I wasn't going to, Chiaki snarked internally. It didn't take a genius to know that her opponent hadn't done this with no reason.
"I'll complete my half of the Pendulum Scale." Gloria revealed the card in her hand. "I will set the Scale 7 Amazoness Silver Sword Master in the Pendulum Scale!" In the new pillar of light that emerged on the field, a woman with long, dark grey hair appeared. A wolf's pelt and head could be seen over the top of the woman's head, like a hood or a mask. She was wearing a dull-coloured brown cloak, a white top and shorts made of silver fur. In her hands was an extremely long and large sword.
"Silver Sword Master also grants all "Amazoness" monsters 100 attack points times their Level," Gloria continued.
[Amazoness Empress: 3600 + 100 x 8 = 4400ATK]
"So now—" Gloria gestured forward. "Amazoness Empress attacks your White Knight of Dogmatika!"
… crap.
"And when an "Amazoness" monster battles, Golden Whip Master and Silver Sword Master's Pendulum Effects activate. I'll add Amazoness Secret Arts from my graveyard to my hand with Silver Sword Master's effect, and with Golden Whip Master's effect, I'll destroy Dogmatikamatrix!"
The attack hit. Chiaki raised her arms to shield herself from the heavy blow.
Chiaki & Miharu: 8000 - 600 = 7400LP
"And with Onslaught's effect, your monster is banished." Gloria lifted two cards from her hand. "I'll set these two cards. Over to you, Miharu Kogami… if you can even do anything, with what she's done to you."
Chiaki blinked. What?
[Turn 4: Miharu] [H:6]
"Draw." Miharu glanced through her hand, and then at the field. "... since our life points are higher than yours, I will Special Summon Aromage Laurel from my hand." The blond mage dressed in green appeared on the field.
[Aromage Laurel (1*/800/0/WIND/Plant/Effect)]
"Then, I'll activate the Field Spell, Aroma Garden." The flowers appeared on the ground, all growing around them. "... I will Normal Summon Aromage Jasmine." The white-haired girl appeared on the field, smiling innocently despite the serious situation.
[Aromage Jasmine (2*/100/1900/LIGHT/Plant/Effect)]
"Garden's effect. We'll gain 500 life points—and all our monsters gain 500 attack and defense points until your next End Phase."
Chiaki & Miharu: 7400 + 500 = 7900LP
[Aromage Laurel: 800 + 500 = 1300ATK; 0 + 500 = 500DEF]
[Aromage Jasmine: 100 + 500 = 600ATK; 1900 + 500 = 2400DEF]
"Since I gained life points, Jasmine's effect activates. I draw a card." Miharu picked up the new card, looking at it. She shook her head a moment later. "... Jasmine's other effect. Since my life points are higher than yours, I can Normal Summon another Plant monster. I will Normal Summon Sunseed Shadow." The darker chalice appeared—useless without any Link Monsters.
[Sunseed Shadow (1*/0/400/EARTH/Plant/Effect)]
[Sunseed Shadow: 0 + 500 = 500ATK; 400 + 500 = 900DEF]
"I'll set two cards facedown and end my turn."
"What?" Chiaki rounded on her. "That's all you're doing? Aren't you supposed to be the strongest one?"
Miharu looked back at the remaining card in her hand. She didn't say anything.
"It took all four of my monsters last time! Like this… three weak monsters in Attack Position… can you even defend like this? How'd you manage to stay out of Academia's hands so long if you fold under pressure like this?"
"That's cruel of you to say," Gloria commented. "Haven't you noticed? You're the reason that she can't do anything."
She was the reason? Why…
Grace giggled. "Oh, did you forget? No wonder you activated that Trap card, if you can't even remember that you have a partner who's going to take those consequences for you."
That Trap Card…?
"Trap Card, Dogmatika Punishment!" She countered. "If I activate this card, I can't Special Summon monsters from the Extra Deck until the end of my next turn. By sending a monster from my Extra Deck to the graveyard, I can destroy a monster with equal or lower attack points!"
… she hadn't considered it… she hadn't considered that unlike her, her partner didn't ignore the Extra Deck completely. Some of the frustrated anger vanished.
"You didn't even leave a card for your partner, because you were so determined to burn through all of our cards," Grace said mischievously. "What's she supposed to do now?"
She turned to look at Miharu—but Miharu wasn't looking at her. It was a determined kind of 'not-look'—as though she didn't want to confront Chiaki.
Chiaki was hit with a strange feeling of guilt. Why…
It couldn't be that big of a deal, right? Otherwise, Miharu would have said something before she'd started her turn…
"Let me and my sister show you proper teamwork," Grace giggled. "Our cards all help each other, after all!"
[Turn 5: Grace] [H:1]
"Draw! I'll activate the set Amazoness Hot Spring again! I'll add an "Amazoness" monster from my deck to my hand!" She picked up the card. "You thrive when your life points are higher than your opponent's, right, Miharu Kogami? So I'll knock your life points down so low that even if your partner stops being a burden on you, you won't be able to recover from this! I'll activate the effect of Spiritualist in the graveyard! I'll return Hot Spring to my hand and Special Summon her from the graveyard!" The woman in the red cloak reappeared on the field. "And I'll add Polymerization from my deck to my hand!"
She playfully pressed her hands together.
"And now, time to make this all truly worthless for you! Spell Card, Pot of Avarice! I'll shuffle Amazoness Pet Jaguar, Amazoness Pet Liger, Amazoness Queensguard, Amazoness Augusta and Amazoness Tiger into the decks and Extra Decks of my sister and I to draw two cards." She drew until she had five cards in hand.
So, all of Chiaki's progress…
"Then, the Spell Card, Polymerization! I'll fuse Amazoness Empress on the field and Amazoness Paladin in my hand! Come to us again, Amazoness Pet Liger King!" Her monster reappeared on the field with a loud roar. "And with the effect of Pet Liger King, I'll target Spiritualist and destroy it—and Empress comes back!"
Now, both of those strong Fusion Monsters were on the field—and with those Pendulum Scales…
[Amazoness Pet Liger King: 2900 + 100 x 9 + 100 x 9 = 4700ATK]
"Battle Phase! I'll have Pet Liger King attack your Aromage Laurel! And Silver Sword Master and Golden Whip Master's effects activate! I'll destroy…" Grace glanced across the field. "... your Field Spell!" Aroma Garden was torn down a moment later. "And I'll add Amazoness Willpower back to my hand!"
The attack hit—Miharu was tossed back by the force, but she managed to get back up immediately.
Miharu & Chiaki: 7900 - 3400 = 4500LP
"And your monster is banished!"
"Oi, is this really okay?" Chiaki turned to her. "If—"
"Continuous Trap, Sunavalon Glorious Growth," Miharu said, gesturing forward. One of her set cards flipped up. "Since I took damage, I Special Summon a Sunvine Token to the field!" A small obelisk made of purple roots appeared in front of her.
[Sunvine Token (1*/0/0/EARTH/Plant)]
"Then—I immediately Link Summon a "Sunavalon" monster using monsters I control."
Grace's eyes widened. "Wait, so you circumvented your own teammate's lock by Link Summoning on our turn?"
Chiaki… couldn't help but marvel at it.
… this girl could not have predicted what cards she would draw. And yes, it was luck that she'd drawn that card without being able to search it—but that was besides the point, because she'd still realised that the only way to use that card effectively was to put all her monsters in Attack Position. If she'd been cautious and afraid of taking damage, she'd have lost three monsters for nothing. So she'd taken the risk that their opponents couldn't take out their life points in one hit… that was what had happened, right?
"Manifest, circuit that sows the seeds to the future! Arrowhead confirmed. The conditions are two or more Plant monsters. I will set Sunseed Shadow, the Sunvine Token and Aromage Jasmine in the Link Markers. Let the shadow beneath the tranquil tree begin to take its own form. Circuit Combine. Link 3. Sunavalon Dryanome!" An enormous tree appeared on the field in front of them, shielding them from the monsters in front of them.
[Sunavalon Dryanome (L3/0/EARTH/Plant/Link/Effect/↙, ↓, ↘)]
"Then, we gain life points equal to the damage we took." A glow surrounded them.
Chiaki & Miharu: 4500 + 3400 = 7900LP
"And when I gain life points, Sunavalon Glorious Growth inflicts those life points to you as damage!"
And their opponents had far less life points than the damage they'd taken… the calm look on Miharu Kogami's face took on a different meaning now.
… if Miharu had gone first instead of her, there was a good chance that the two of them would already have won without Chiaki needing to do anything.
"Quickplay Spell, Twin Twisters!" Grace hurriedly flipped over their set card—there was a brief break in her composure. "I'll discard a card and destroy your two backrow cards! So your card won't resolve with an effect!"
Both of Miharu's cards were destroyed—so the damage didn't hit their opponent. Still, both Grace and Gloria looked taken aback—
And then, they grinned.
"You're something else!" Grace congratulated. "I thought you were just meek prey, but you're nothing like that, huh? You were just lying low to get rid of us with our own monster… you're cutthroat!"
Miharu didn't respond with any words—she just carried on watching.
"But you can't handle this one—your monster's getting banished after this! Empress attacks your Link Monster!"
"... Sunavalon Dryanome can't be attacked," Miharu said. "It does not stop you from attacking me directly."
"... oh. It's that kind of monster!" Grace gestured forward. "Empress attacks you directly!"
The attack hit, and their life points fell again—
Chiaki & Miharu: 7900 - 4400 = 3500LP
And yet Miharu still didn't seem fazed.
"Dryanome's effect," she said after taking the attack. "I gain life points equal to the damage I took, and I Special Summon a "Sunvine" monster from my Extra Deck. I will Special Summon Sunvine Thrasher." A knight made of sharp, dark green blade-like leaves appeared on the field, right next to Dryanome.
[Sunvine Thrasher (L1/800/EARTH/Plant/Link/Effect/↓)]
"Sunvine Thrasher gains 800 attack points times Dryanome's Link Rating."
[Sunvine Thrasher: 800 + 800 x 3 = 3200ATK]
Chiaki & Miharu: 3500 + 4400 = 7900LP
"... huh. I'll set a card and end my turn…" Grace pouted. "It's not enough, you know. That girl is too impulsive to keep up with us. Once the duel slips out of your control, you'll lose!"
"... I don't see it that way," Miharu said quietly.
Chiaki looked at her. A weird feeling bubbled up in her throat.
I…
I fucked up.
And she's not blaming me for it…
… am I feeling guilty for it? Or am I upset by it?
[Turn 6: Chiaki] [H:3]
"Draw," Chiaki said. She glanced at the field.
… the biggest problem right now was Onslaught, right? She could at least notice that. As long as Onslaught was gone, they probably could bring this back.
… come on. Just get rid of those cards.
"... if you don't know what to do, then do your best to survive."
Chiaki turned her head, glaring. "Are you crazy? I'm not handing this all over to you! Do you think I'm that—"
Incapable, she wanted to say, but her voice failed her at the last moment, when she made eye contact with Miharu.
"... do you think your pride matters more than winning?" Miharu returned. "Are you so scared of being looked down upon, even if you don't know for sure that it'll happen?"
"But you're still trying to tell me what to do!"
Miharu shook her head. "... now isn't the time to argue," she said. She turned away—it was infuriating, how little she seemed to want to argue with Chiaki, even though they were clearly disagreeing on something. "Go ahead."
"Trouble in paradise?" Grace cooed. "Well, I guess that's teenagers for you…"
"Shut up," Chiaki shot back. "You think you're tough shit? You're nothing. I'll Special Summon Dogmatika Ecclesia, the Virtuous from my hand!" The card she'd searched out on her last turn appeared on the field. "I won't use her effect!"
Nearby, she saw Yuji watching intently. They exchange a look—there was something about it that grounded her, for all that she was still infuriated. She didn't want to think about whatever conversation they were going to have after this duel. She just wanted to not be treated like she was useless, or something like that.
… she wasn't being reckless. Because if she had done nothing on that turn…
Why wouldn't anyone understand? The opponents that looked down on her, the girl that was just better than her but wasn't right—
"Open, circuit of holy judgement!" If her voice was more frustrated, she didn't wait for anyone to comment on it. "The conditions are one Special Summoned LIGHT monster, except another copy of this monster. I'll set Ecclesia in the Link Markers! Appear now, white figure burned as holy sacrifice! Circuit Combine! Link Summon! Link 1! Dogmatika Effigy!" The large white marble statue appeared on the field, holy flames floating around it. It was in the furthest left Main Monster Zone, which Dryanome pointed to. (Chiaki still wasn't sure she understood Link Monsters all that well—too many extra rules, but she was trying to.)
[Dogmatika Effigy (L1/1000/LIGHT/Spellcaster/Link/Effect/→)]
"Dogmatika Effigy's effect," Chiaki continued. "When it's Link Summoned, I can add a "Dogmatika" Spell or Trap from my deck to my hand—and then, since you control a monster Special Summoned from the Extra Deck, I can Special Summon another "Dogmatika" monster from my deck! Come! Dogmatika Maximus!"
On the field, the imperious looking man in white and gold robes appeared on the field, standing in front of her.
[Dogmatika Maximus (8*/1500/3000/LIGHT/Spellcaster/Effect)]
"I'll activate the Continuous Spell, Dogmatikamatrix! I'll add another two "Dogmatika" cards from my deck to my hand!" She revealed the two cards in her hand.
I'll test it out. They've already shown me a weakness too.
"Dogmatika Maximus's effect! I'll lock off my Extra Deck this turn, and in return, we both send two cards from our Extra Decks to the graveyard!" The cards all fell in the graveyard. However, before they had time to rest…
Chiaki lifted a card from her hand.
"And this," Shino said, pointing to the card, "is the strongest monster in the deck. Well, stat-wise—Ecclesia's probably the best card, with that search effect. But yeah, this is pretty strong"
"That's why it's a Nomi?" Chiaki said, arching an eyebrow. "Seems pretty easy to get the cards in the graveyard for that…"
"I agree! Especially if you use Maximus. And it's an easy nuke."
It just hadn't been convenient so far.
But here…
"This card can only be Special Summoned by targeting four Fusion, Synchro, Xyz or Link Monsters in our graveyards!" Chiaki declared. "I'll target the four cards we just sent to the graveyards! Then, come! Dogmatika Nexus!" An enormous white statue—almost like a throne—appeared. It was made of white marble that had a bright sheen to it. Two dragons curled around each other, carved from the same rock, their wings embracing each other. It carried a solemn, holy air to it.
[Dogmatika Nexus (11*/3200/3200/LIGHT/Spellcaster/Effect)]
"Then, I can banish all four monsters from the graveyard!" The four cards were all immediately wiped out, and Nexus glowed even more brightly.
"Is that all?"
… I need to test all of this first.
"Effigy gives all LIGHT monsters I control 500 attack points," Chiaki said. Maximus, Nexus and Effigy itself glowed with the same light.
[Dogmatika Effigy: 1000 + 500 = 1500ATK]
[Dogmatika Maximus: 1500 + 500 = 2000ATK]
[Dogmatika Nexus: 3200 + 500 = 3700ATK]
"Battle Phase! Dogmatika Nexus attacks—"
"While I control Pet Liger King, my opponents can't attack any other monsters!" Grace declared.
Chiaki couldn't help it—she smirked aggressively. "I'm not aiming anywhere else! Nexus attacks your strongest monster! And at the start of the Damage Step, I can destroy all monsters you control in Attack Position!"
The other monster shattered.
"Then, you take 800 damage for each Fusion, Synchro, Xyz or Link Monster destroyed by this effect," Chiaki finished. A bolt of lightning flew past them, hitting the ground and sizzling loudly. There was something brutal to it—like a god casting judgement on them.
"Empress's effect! I'll Special Summon Amazoness Queen—" Grace paused. She and Gloria looked at each other, before she picked up a card from the graveyard. "... I'll Special Summon Amazoness Princess from the graveyard in Defense Position!" The young girl reappeared.
"The attack continues! Nexus will finish off—"
And then, even if they gained life points from the final attack, there was still a good chance that Chiaki could close it out…
But, before the attack hit—
There was a loud sound that caused everyone present to shield their ears. As one, Academia and Lancers, they all turned to look towards where the noise had come from—
A fiery explosion, smoke rising to the sky.
"What?" Grace exclaimed. "What… happened? That's the base!"
Gloria let out a series of curses that would make even the calmest person flinch, and she tugged her duel disk back—her hand shifted away from the card that she was about to activate. "What. Why would—how—" She immediately turned to walk away from the duel—in fact, she looked like she was going to run before Chiaki spoke up.
"Running from the duel?" She said. Despite the horrific sight of the explosion in the distance, the flames consuming the half-collapsed building, she couldn't let them go easily after the things that they'd said.
Gloria snorted. "... no wonder Saki dislikes you, you overaggressive—" She turned her head. "You might be a priority target, but no wonder how good you are as prey? That's more important."
Grace, however, seemed annoyed—and like she was considering continuing with the duel. Still, before she could say anything, Gloria reached out and grabbed her arm.
"No," she said without even looking at her sister. "Come on, Grace. You can beat her down again next time."
"... ugh." Grace turned her head towards Chiaki. "... I definitely won't let this go!"
Then, the two women took off, moving back towards their base—
Leaving six Lancers there.
The tension hadn't lessened at all the moment that they'd left. In fact, it had somehow increased.
Chiaki turned to look at Miharu.
"... we should head back to the base," Yuno said. He took a step forward. Miharu turned towards him and firmly shook her head—his eyes widened, before they softened. His fingers drifted past her shoulder—a brief touch, before he nodded and turned to Yuya, Yuji and Yuzu. "... maybe we'll go back first."
Yuji turned to look at Chiaki. Frustrated but unwilling to take it out on him, she simply nodded towards him. Yuya and Yuzu just seemed relieved to be able to get out of the way of the brewing storm.
"... you had something to say to me," Miharu said—her eyes were searching Chiaki's face, analysing and analysing—Chiaki didn't like it. She didn't like the idea of being seen through.
(But she liked Miharu Kogami. She knew that much, even in her anger.)
"That duel," Chiaki said shortly.
Miharu looked at her, and then quietly began her explanation. "If I tried to attack that turn, I would only be able to deal damage once. Their Continuous Trap would heal them up more, and then I'd have lost my only monster for nothing. And they'd get to search a card and destroy my Field Spell—one of the only ways I had to deal damage. I—"
"That's not what I mean."
Miharu fell silent. Chiaki took a deep breath. When she thought that she could open her mouth without exploding, she spoke again. "Didn't you feel it?" She spat out. "I was just an extra in that duel. I knew that they would take you as the bigger threat, but you impressed them so hard even when I fucked up that they didn't even think I was a threat at all."
"... Katsuya-san."
"Yell at me if you want!" Chiaki slammed her fist towards her chest. "Get mad! Tell me I made a mistake and that if I hadn't Extra Deck locked you, if I'd just played defence and let you play to your full strength, we'd already have won—you know that! I know that! So just stop pretending like nothing's wrong, I'd—"
She breathed in sharply.
"I'd much rather be blamed. At least that way, it's something I can work on. So, don't treat me like my pride is all that matters to me. Don't treat me like I'm not capable of understanding and recognising the situation."
The situation that I'm weaker than you, and everyone knows it.
Miharu shifted slightly. She took a step forward, and then she carefully raised her left hand, putting it on Chiaki's shoulder. Chiaki was reminded, startlingly, that they were exactly the same height. "I don't think you're arrogant," she said. "... but I do think that you won't allow anyone to look down on you. I can see that much about you. When I questioned your pride, it was not me looking down on you. It was me asking you to accept the situation and to stop letting yourself get carried away by their taunts."
"The best move was to fight—"
"But there is respect found in stepping back," Miharu replied. A simple, sharp statement that struck Chiaki silent. "... I won't criticise how you played in that duel. I don't know your deck well enough for that."
That was a lie. Miharu had asked to look through her cards before making the Link Monster for her. If anything, out of all the other Lancers, she might know the Dogmatikas best.
"But…" Miharu looked her in the eyes. "... if we're talking about treating someone as though they're extraneous in the duel… isn't that how you were treating me?"
What?
"You didn't really look at me properly throughout that duel, or even try to leave any room for me to work with," Miharu said. "... you treated that duel as something that you had to win alone. Do you… know how to work with another person?"
Of course, Chiaki wanted to snap, I work with Yuji all the time—
But was that really the same thing?
"I understand the need to defend your own pride," Miharu said. "And asking you to hold yourself back from using a Trap that you clearly value using this much…" She drew her hand back. "Isn't that the same as asking you to hold back, so I won't have to? In the end, if I had to be the one to ask you to not use that Trap… it would be me sabotaging you for my playstyle. It's the same both ways—I recognise that."
Chiaki bit her lip. 'If I had to be the one to ask you'… there was something else to those words, wasn't there?
"I can't fault you for playing that way," Miharu said decisively. "We have no clue what that other Fusion Monster did. There's a chance that we might have lost that turn, if it boosted the attack points of all the monsters on the field or something like that. I… recognise that it was the best decision you could have made."
"So what are you trying to say?" Chiaki shot back.
Miharu shot her a look of surprise. "... weren't you the one who had something to say to me in the first place?"
Chiaki fell silent.
Miharu tugged at the collar of her jacket—there was something tense to the action. "I just don't want you to blame yourself for something you can't do right now," she said. "Focus on what you can do, not what you can't… that's what I meant, when I told you to defend us. It wasn't an insult. I just wanted you to know that I wouldn't waste your efforts. What's done is done." She turned to look at the smoke plumes in the sky. "... let's go handle that first. After that… you can tell me off all you want."
She began to walk back towards the base. Chiaki clenched her fists.
… what right do I have to tell you off?
… god. I'm such a fuck-up.
(By the time they caught up to the other four, it was to the sight of Yuya and Yuzu helping a messy-looking Sora out of the warehouse. Sora looked barely conscious, but when he raised his head and saw the smoke in the sky—)
(He let out a loud sob and buried his head in Yuya's shoulder.)
"Then what are you doing up here…?"
Tsubaki looked at the tower. "... you know, back where I come from, we have a saying." She did not look back at him. "'Il faut casser le noyau pour avoir l'amande.' He that would eat the kernel must crack the nut."
To win…
To taste victory, we must not be afraid to destroy what needs to be destroyed.
"... what you're holding onto…"
"A detonator." Tsubaki didn't bother hiding it. At this point, she would be able to press it before anyone could take it from her.
"... you're bombing them."
"Yes."
Shun breathed in slowly. He looked at the building again. In. Out. Tsubaki watched him, waiting for him to say something.
Then—
"What's the estimated fatality count?" Shun finally asked.
"Very little, if they're smart," Tsubaki said. "Mariko scouted it out to check how many people are usually in the positions we placed the bombs in—the answer is none. She also checked with the lieutenants we captured and they confirmed the same thing. We haven't blocked off the escape paths for them either—if they're on the upper floors, they're perfectly capable of evacuating. We just wanted to force them out of that convenient base that they've taken."
"To force something to change." Shun paused. "... to break the stalemate." It sounded like he was using someone else's words.
"... you're not shouting yet. That's surprising."
"... I want to shout. I know now that there are some things that shouldn't be done." Shun looked at the detonator. "... explain it to me. Why would you hide this from Reiji Akaba and the Lancers, if you're not going to hurt anyone with it?"
Tsubaki had expected a lot of things. She had expected Shun to shout, to grab her and shove her and demand explanations. But, this more thoughtful Shun Kurosaki…
It made her surprised. But—
"Would you believe me," Tsubaki said, "if I said that it was because I feared you were all too soft?" She raised her head. "That I thought you'd tell me not to cause more damage? That you'd charge in?"
"Then you've misjudged us," Shun said shortly.
… hmm.
"I don't need someone to tell me that this is wrong. But this is what you've been working towards? To… destroy their base?" Shun shook his head. "... I wanted to catch you in the act. I was convinced that you had to be doing something terrible. But this—if you've been so careful to avoid hurting people…"
He took another step forward.
"Enough, Tsubaki."
"... you're looking at me about to blow up their base, and you're not stopping me," Tsubaki said—checking his intentions.
"... I'm not going to stop you," Shun confirmed.
"... and here I thought leaving Heartland improved you."
"It did." Shun took another step forward. "But it also showed me that Academia isn't going to stop here. If you promise me that you're not going to hurt anyone, not going to maim anyone, that we're going to beat them in battle properly after this—and that you'll work with the Lancers without hiding this stuff from us, then… I won't care if you pull that trigger."
"... that's a lot of demands."
"It's what I want." Shun finally walked up, standing directly in front of her. "I've learned a lot since I left, Tsubaki. I know what it feels like to be reckless and nearly ruin everything. I know I've been doing that all along, I know I've fucked up so many times and… god. I won't be able to apologise enough for all of that."
Tsubaki listened to him quietly.
"... just tell me one thing," Shun finally said. "Who planned this? This can't be something that you only started recently—you wouldn't resort to such extreme means immediately, unless you'd been considering it before. It's too risky for you. Who came up with this plan?"
Tsubaki leaned back, looking at him.
He already knew, didn't he? That was why he had started by asking questions, that was why he had held in his temper before speaking. That was why he was trying not to say anything that he might regret.
"... we didn't start preparing for it until a while after you left," she said. "But the one who came up with this plan in the first place? If you're looking for them, the one who made a far more extreme version of the plan you're looking at now before Mariko talked them down from it… you should look for your girlfriend."
Shun finally nodded. "I thought so," he said. "Then. Work with us properly."
"I hurt your comrade, you know."
"Sora, right?" Shun narrowed his eyes. "I know. And don't expect to be forgiven for that. I still don't understand that. But I… don't want to give up on you guys yet."
… well. It made sense, she supposed. He was a member of the Resistance before he was ever a Lancer. But, the reason that she'd been so harsh to Sora… it wasn't something that she could explain. (But she was Tsubaki Nagare. She would take the responsibility for that too—she alone would take the blame.)
If he can change to become someone better, someone like this, then maybe it is possible for the rest of us to end up recovering too. Then, she... maybe I can help her recover too...
It's selfish. I can't afford to think of one person above everyone else.
… this topic wasn't over. But at the very least…
"We can finally force Academia into a position where they have to feel exactly the way that we do," Tsubaki said. "No matter what you, or the rest of the world think of it… I'm fine with this result."
She didn't wait for Shun to say anything more. With that, she pressed the trigger.
... maybe I'm just desperate to feel like we've unconditionally won, for once.
Mariko watched the distant explosion with an uncharacteristic impassiveness on her face.
She remembered when she was young, a small girl in her hometown. Tugging on her father's hand, before she had been able to fight for herself and before she was forced to do so. She'd seen an explosion like that through a screen, and distantly, she'd thought, I recognise that place.
The place that's going up in flames right now. I recognise it. I went there once. I thought it was safe.
She had wondered if others thought the same. (She was wondering that, right now.)
There was something unsatisfying to this, knowing that. She turned away from it.
… she needed to handle other things, now that this was done.
A screen had been set up in the middle of the ruins the previous night. Apparently, Kaede had painstakingly wired it up to a camera above the surface. As such, most of the Resistance had been shooting it curious gazes the whole day—
And now, they were greeted with the sight of a blazing tower.
Kaede Higuchi climbed on top of a box, speaking up loudly enough to be heard even through the Resistance's rowdy clamour.
"Allow me to explain," he spoke up, and with Hisako Fuyumori there, the two of them calmed the crowd.
Nearby, Reiji Akaba folded his arms, watching the display.
… something like this…
I suppose it's not that surprising after all.
We must figure out how to handle this.
… further away, another confrontation was happening that was far louder—and far more saturated with fury.
"What…" Edo stared at the blazing building in the distance. They had a perfect view from where they were right now. "You—what have you done?" He whirled around—it didn't take a genius to put the dots together, and he had the advantage of knowing her well enough. "You knew this was going to happen?"
Eri shrugged, looking remarkably unaffected. With the background of the blazing tower behind her, she was far more intimidating than she likely intended to be. "I shifted some of the bombs," she said. "And through you, I got everyone important out of the danger zones. The only thing we lost was the base."
Edo took a step towards her—away from the tower. Then, he charged up to her and grabbed onto the collar of her cloak, yanking her up. Her mask fell off as her eyes widened. "You—look at this! How can you not call this a betrayal? You let this happen! Don't tell me you couldn't have stopped it—you and I both know that you could have!"
"And save the base for what?" Eri fixed her gaze on him. "Aren't you tired, Edo?"
"What kind of nonsense—we're not done fighting yet!"
"Edo." Her hand gripped around his wrist, tightening. "... let go of me."
Edo glared at her, but he let go of her cloak a moment later. Still, he shoved her backwards. "You called me out here so that I wouldn't get caught in the bombing," he said. "You told me to send out the Tyler Sisters and the lieutenants for investigations—is there even anything at the places that you told me about? Was your only goal in getting me out today—"
"Yes, it was to save your life!" Eri pushed him in return—she was glaring at him now. "Because I wanted to! Because even if my 'mission' has nothing to do with 'keeping Edo Phoenix alive', I still try!"
"That's because you're my sister! You're supposed to—"
"What am I supposed to do?" Eri drew herself back, her hands pressed tightly to her sides. "Dad's been dead and buried for a decade now. Am I still supposed to nod along and pretend that I'm obligated to do anything? And anyway, right now, it's the only way."
Edo took another step forward. "What do you mean?" He shouted. "Hurting our own cause, hurting our own people—"
"Your cause has already ended!"
Edo's voice died in his throat.
"The Professor made it clear," Eri said. "You're supposed to damage the Lancers and hold them back for a bit, but we are no longer intended to occupy Heartland for much longer." She seemed to be forcing herself to calm down too—her voice was going down to its usual smoothness. "I already minimised the damage. How many times have I saved your life in this war?"
"I'm stronger than you!" Edo shot back. "I'm stronger than you, and I can defeat you, and—"
"And you'll still keep on dueling in a burning building because Yusho Sakaki insulted your pride," Eri said coldly. "And you'll still misunderstand your situation."
"... Eri. Are you out of your mind?"
"I'm perfectly calm." Eri pushed her hair behind her ear. "Edo. Listen. If the Professor doesn't care about this place anymore, if he barely sends any new help except untested rookies… then he doesn't expect us to win anymore. And Academia's taught us that winning is everything. And victory is survival. He's willing to sacrifice us all here, you realise that? If we don't control things, if we don't make it so that the 'big battle' happens only on our terms… even if we go home, it'll be treated as though we just ran. I can't stand that."
"... you prideful…"
"You can think it's pride if you want." And now she had completely frosted over, no emotion on her face. "I hope you don't mind me sacrificing your pride for my mission. It's about time that I get to do something for my own ambitions for once."
Edo gritted his teeth. "I trusted you to tell me anything important," he said. "What am I supposed to tell everyone? You're not even willing to tell me what this mission of yours is!"
"... if you ever saw me as a real equal, maybe I would," Eri said. "But… it's too nice to have something that's mine for once, and not yours."
"... don't tell me you're bringing something as petty as jealousy into a whole war—"
"It's not that," Eri interrupted. "Earlier. You demanded things of me as my 'commander and leader', but not my 'brother'. Your first thought was to use your position above me to order me to tell you something. Don't you think there's something about that which is… disgusting?"
Edo swallowed slowly, but he didn't stop glaring at her. "That's it?" He demanded. "How big of a deal is that?"
"It's a big enough deal," Eri said quietly. "If you don't understand now, brother, you'll never understand. But trust that this isn't a betrayal. Academia won't care. And I am doing everything—everything to make sure that when we get back, we'll be rewarded for it."
"... we could still just stay."
"How long can we keep staying for?"
They both stared at each other silently. Eventually, Eri drew herself back, turning her head away.
"Someday, you'll actually hear the words I say," she said. "But not today, it seems. Go tend to your forces, brother. Blame it all on me if you need to."
She left. Edo watched her go, fists tightly clenched.
Just coming and going like that, leaving nothing but misery in her wake… he'd seen her do it to the Resistance, but somehow, this was the first time it had been aimed towards something so close to him.
He hated it.
And a part of him deeply resented her too.
… what were they going to do now?
Eri waited until she was out of sight. Then, she leaned back on the wall and breathed out.
… exhausting.
But it was almost done.
People want to follow their own desires. No matter how strong they are, they always do things according to what they think they want.
… so, yes. This is an accomplishment on their part. No doubt about that.
… and that is exactly why I have to use it.
Dance in the palm of my hand just one more time—
And the ending will be something that no one can ever look down on me for.
OC Cards:
Amazoness Pet Jaguar
(6*/2000/1800/EARTH/Beast/Fusion/Effect)
2 "Amazoness" monsters, including a Beast monster
If this card is Fusion Summoned: You can target 1 "Amazoness" monster in your GY; banish it, and if you do, Special Summon 1 "Amazoness" monster with a different name from your GY. The monster Summoned by this effect cannot declare an attack on the turn it is Summoned. If this card is destroyed by battle or card effect: You can shuffle this card into the Extra Deck, and if you do, you can place 1 "Amazoness" Continuous Spell/Trap from your Deck face-up in your Spell & Trap Zone. You can only activate each effect of "Amazoness Pet Jaguar" once per turn.
Trivia: This card and Queensguard are designed specifically as support cards to work with Pet Liger King and Augusta! Not much else to add there.
Xyz Recast
(Spell/Continuous)
If an Xyz Monster battles another monster, that Xyz Monster gains 200 ATK & DEF x its Rank, during damage calculation only. If an Xyz Monster you control is destroyed: You can banish this card from the GY; draw 1 card.
Amazoness Queensguard
(6*/2200/1500/EARTH/Warrior/Fusion/Effect)
2 "Amazoness" monsters, including a Warrior monster
All "Amazoness" monsters you control gain 400 ATK. If you control "Amazoness Queen": You can discard 1 card; target 1 monster your opponent controls; change it to facedown Defense Position, and if you do, if an "Amazoness" monster(s) you control attacks a monster in Defense Position this turn, inflict piercing damage to your opponent. You can only activate this effect of "Amazoness Queensguard" once per turn.
Dogmatika Effigy
(L1/1000/LIGHT/Spellcaster/Link/Effect/→)
1 Special Summoned LIGHT monster, other than "Dogmatika Effigy"
Cannot be used as Link Material. This card cannot be targeted for attacks while you control another LIGHT monster. All LIGHT monsters gain 500 ATK. If this card is Link Summoned: You can add 1 "Dogmatika" Spell/Trap from your Deck to your hand, then if your opponent controls a monster that was Special Summoned from the Extra Deck, you can Special Summon 1 "Dogmatika" monster from your Deck. You can only activate this effect of "Dogmatika Effigy" once per turn.
Different Card Effects from TCG:
Sunavalon Glorious Growth - Anime-only card.
End Notes:
Chapters 99-102 share a naming scheme (#99: The Boiling Vat, #100: Oblivious in the Water, #101: As It Rises, #102: You Won't Run, Little Frogs), though it's not apparent at first. It's based on the 'boiling frog apologue'. Essentially, the idea that if a frog is sitting in a pot of water, if the temperature of the water slowly rises, the frog will not leave because it will not notice, and it'll boil to death. It's been disproven by several other studies, but as a metaphor, it still stands—a person may not notice circumstances changing slowly for the worse around them until it's too late. Shoutout to Topologicninja for pointing out that there might be a connection in the last three chapter names.
'Eerie. Unlike Eri.' as a line made me laugh my head off, so I had to include it. Obviously, in Japanese, 'eerie' isn't pronounced in that way, so it's not a pun that Edo himself recognises.
I've been trying not to make character names generic unless they would be that way in-universe, but these two really are just bit characters :) I just needed to establish 6ARC!Gloria and Grace's personalities and dynamics. They're just a lil fucked up. Once again, the narration definitely is written from Gloria's own biased perspective :D Since I just needed to cameo two Xyz decks here, well. I just gave two decks that I wasn't already using a cameo. Don't get mad! It was either they showed up for one duel or not at all.
6ARC's Grace and Gloria are adults—mostly because the stuff they do in canon as students of Academia (16~) is a little… odd. As such, no crush on Yuya or anything like that—that'd be pretty creepy here. Not a fan of that particular anime trope. But at the same time, their redemption in canon was really rushed and incomprehensible, ignoring the fact that… well, they never really change attitudes properly or anything like that, they just… fall in love with Yuya (?). So yeah. What am I gonna do with them here? Not going to reveal that yet… :) I tried to keep some cards distinct between them—unlike canon, Grace is the one who has all the Continuous Traps, but she goes on the offence less than her sister. She has the OG Amazoness Tiger while her sister has the OG Amazoness Queen, the Pendulums are one each… to keep to that theme of them needing each other in a duel. I tried to show that in their decisionmaking too, like how Grace couldn't use Empress's effect to summon the actual Amazoness Queen because she doesn't have it.
The fact that Chiaki is more out of touch with the whole war than anyone else there, including Yuji, is pretty funny to me. Who's Dennis? Girl has no clue. She's just here to kick ass. However, she is flat-out wrong when she says that she and Miharu were in an advantageous position, because they really weren't—she couldn't have finished them off that turn, and Gloria has Secret Arts in hand, so she was guaranteed a summon of Augusta the next turn. Still, well, Chiaki's not perfect :)
And of course, there's the Chiaki-Miharu conversation. It's very much rooted in both characters' personalities here. :) But yeah, it's about time that something like this happened… I do really enjoy writing their dynamic though. Miharu is just... not the kind of person that Chiaki is used to arguing with.
And yup, bombs go boom! More on that next chapter… and no, I'm not explaining anything about Edo and Eri's conversation here :)
Review responses! Reminder if you're a Guest to use a nickname so it's easier for me to write an answer to you :)
To Bryz0n, I see that you got an account! Hi! :) It's always nice to see what details you're taking note of, and I'm glad you're enjoying the chapters as they come out :D And heh, Dennis is pretty interesting, huh?
To Ben23ten, honestly, I do think you're right, and I went back to do some quick adjustments to the dialogue. The idea was that he was having a bit of a mental breakdown, but without any proper acknowledgement of that from either Yuji or Chiaki. Still, while I kept that fragmentation, I did fix it a bit more to Yuji's 'voice' in my head. I'm really glad that you enjoyed the chapter! I'm going to try to update more often, but my life has gotten pretty busy recently :)
To phantomdragons, I do like Yuji and Chiaki together a lot... thank goodness I can actually write them now. The power dynamic between Mariko and Sawatari is really interesting, huh...? :)
To TornadoXz825, haha, I didn't expect to be rooting for him quite as much as I currently do too. I really like Sawatari, now that I've been writing him for so long, even though I used to dislike him so much. Glad you liked the scene!
To TheRealD3lph0xL0v3r, mm yeah, you'll see that guy eventually...
To Infernal Enby, you nailed it in terms of the Xyz characters! There's very much just that sense of anger in the show that gets abandoned remarkably quickly because of bad writing, you know? And the characters abandon their anger for no real reason, when I just... don't think it's that easy, haha. It's part of the reason why the newly introduced Xyz characters are all grieving and angry, because they definitely deserve to be. The same goes for Yuto, Shun, Ruri and Nue too. Glad you enjoyed!
To cardfan135, Shino is in fact a queen! :D And she definitely slays. Representation is pretty important to me too :D
To the Guest asking if there's a Ritual or Link arc, I've mentioned a few times before that there's an arc for every dimension! I'll definitely write them the way that I want though.
To T.V.2000, yeah, I'm still trucking along :) Life may be busy, but I'm doing my best to write! And yes, Yuto and Nue talking was something very important for me to write, just because well, I wanted to make sure that I conveyed those feelings well!
And let's welcome back to the QOTC segment! :D Why did I bring it back? Eh. I had a few questions that came to mind, that's really it :)
QOTC: Do you play Duel Links, and if you do, how do you feel about the continutation of Arc-V there? Is there a character that you hope you get to play as there soon?
I haven't actually experienced it myself, so I was pretty interested in hearing about it and what happens there.
As usual, feel free to leave me a review, follow or favourite, and feel free to check out the TV Tropes page/edit it :) Thank you for your support!
