Lo and behold, the final chapter of 2024. And ho boy, it's been quite a ride, especially when it comes to both this story and what's been going on in real life. But talk about ending 2024 with a bang, because this chapter is when the story's true "crossover" aspect begins. Believe me, I'm just as excited as you are.
Here's to seeing what 2025 will bring!
"I activate the Spell Card – CHRONIXII GATE!" Mira loudly declared shortly after activating her Disk. She vigorously swiped the card through her Disk's blade, and a Spell Card appeared, its artwork depicting nothing but a golden cross-like pattern comprised of circles and lines, all in the endless regions of space.
Prior to this event, Giichi had invited Mira and Arthur to Giichi Corp for the revelation of a 'special project.' Unexpectedly, Marcy and Kero ended up going to Giichi Corp as well, upon the discovery of them stowing away while Mira and Arthur were transported to Alba Circuit for their publicity duel. But once everyone arrived, Giichi revealed that the 'special project' was really a mission – a mission to protect all the worlds from Itzamna's forces, and to 'reunite' them, for whatever reason.
After providing both brief instructions and exposition about Giichi's main objective, he provided Mira with the necessary utilities after she volunteered to venture out on the journey that lay ahead of her. But it wasn't long before Kero offered to accompany her, and after some coaxing from Mira, Giichi gave in and allowed Kero to accompany Mira. Once they had reached the secret passageway containing the green electrical orb, Mira activated the card she acquired, which was the same card necessary for her interdimensional travel.
After Mira activated the card, the electrical orb intensified and unleashed a bolt that struck at both Mira and Kero, causing them to dissipate into green pixels. This sequence left the bug-eyed Marcy terrified.
"Oh, don't worry," Giichi said upon taking notice of Marcy's fear. "I assure you, this form of transportation is entirely painless. So once your time comes, you won't feel a thing."
"But… But will they still be alright?" Marcy timidly asked, thinking about her friends' wellbeing. "What if… What if something bad happens to them?"
"Whether or not it does," Giichi said, "your friends – or at least Mira, anyway – are perfectly capable of fending for themselves. Otherwise, they wouldn't have been chosen for this assignment."
"Okay, if you say so…" Marcy said, still feeling uneasy. Looking at the electrical orb, she worriedly thought, 'Mira, Kero… please be safe…'
YU-GI-OH! CHRONIXII
LEVEL 1-20
OFF ON THE WRONG FOOT
"My fellow Knights!" Jupiter energetically announced as she descended the Mesoamerican altar's stairway to regroup with the other Knights below. "I have received word that the Wielders have officially begun their objective to traverse the other worlds – now, we shall begin our objective to eliminate those who stand in Itzamna's way!" She waved an arm at this declaration.
"How marvelous!" Uranus flamboyantly swooned, much to the annoyance of the other Knights. "I can't wait to be the one who singlehandedly defeats every one of the Wielders, and becomes the most glorious of all the Knights!"
"Oh, quit having your head up your ass!" Mars snarled, making Uranus flinch. "If we're gonna defeat the Wielders and save these worlds, it requires all of us to pitch in, not just you and your bullshit ego!"
"I hate to admit it, but Mars is right!" Mercury said. "We all need to work together in order to assist Itzamna in purifying these worlds! …Even if it means working with people we don't like…" Underneath his mask, he eyed Mars.
"Well, having to work with you ain't no picnic, either!" Mars barked.
"That's enough!" Jupiter shouted, once again ceasing the potential quarreling. "What matters is that the proper time has arrived for us to maintain our assigned positions in the worlds throughout, and to destroy the Wielders who interfere!"
"But where will you be, Mistress Jupiter?" Venus asked. "When you were assigning the regions for us, you never mentioned anything about what your assigned region will be!"
"Fret not," Jupiter assured. "I shall accompany you in due time, but for now, I must keep an eye on your progress, and be on the lookout for any new potential recruitments for our forces. Now, get into your positions! Our objective of purifying these worlds must commence as prophesized!"
"For Itzamna!" the remaining Knights shouted, each one making a salute. After pressing the crystals inserted into their left cuffs, they all disappeared into their respective pixels of violet, orange, red, and green.
Royal Woods, Michigan: population, approximately twenty thousand, give or take. A small but bustling city, home to all sorts of entertainments, business, and public parks, some notable locations including Dairyland Amoosement Park, Gus' Games and Grub, and Flip's Food and Fuel.
This small city was the same location Mira and Kero ended up in. They emerged from the same cluster of green pixels they transformed into right after Mira activated 'CHRONIXII Gate' – the unusual Spell Card that was essential for the Wielders' interdimensional travel. More specifically, they ended up in one of the city's public parks, and thankfully at a distance where they wouldn't gather any unwanted attention. Mira landed safely on her feet. Kero, however, fell face flat on the grass. As he got himself up, he discovered that he had a mouthful of dirt, and immediately began spitting it out.
"Blech!" Kero spat and coughed. "I hope this doesn't become an annoying running gag or anything!"
"Never mind that," Mira said, observing the unfamiliar park around her. "Where… are we?"
After spitting out the last bit of dirt, Kero began to observe the park around him, as well. But he looked dismayed, which increased with each swivel of his head. "Wait, what kind of place is this?!" he whined. "Where are all the monsters?! The robots?! The dragons?! The pigs with metal wings that can shoot lasers?!"
"Okay, seriously, Kero, what is up with the so-called pigs that can fly and/or shoot lasers?!" the annoyed Mira asked.
"What!? It could happen!" Kero complainingly argued.
"Hi," the gentle voice of a young boy spoke. "I don't wanna interrupt whatever's going on here, but… are you two lost?"
The two journeyers turned their heads and saw that the person who spoke was an African-American boy around Kero's height, and two years younger. He had glasses and an afro, and was dressed in a yellow-and-blue striped shirt with a white collar, black pants, and black tennis shoes with white stripes.
"I guess you could say that," Mira said, trying not to arouse any suspicion. "Who might you be?"
"Yeah, and could you tell us where we are?" Kero added.
"Gladly!" the boy cheerfully replied. "I'm Clyde – Clyde McBride. And let me be the first to welcome you… to Royal Woods!"
"This is 'Royal?'" Kero remarked under his breath.
"Kero, stop it!" Mira scolded under her breath. Aloud, she said to Clyde, "Sorry about that. I'm Mira Yukiko, and this is my friend, Kero Nobuyuki."
"Nice to meet you!" said Clyde, shaking Mira's hand, and then Kero's. "So, where are you guys from?"
"We come from the wonderful world… of ALBA LITORA!" Kero flamboyantly announced, goofily striking a pose.
"'Alba Litora?' Never heard of such a place," the bewildered Clyde said with a shrug. "Must be one of those 'obscure' places I've yet to hear about."
"'OBSCURE?!'" the wildly offended Kero screamed, ready to pounce onto Clyde, much to Clyde's astonishment. Luckily, Mira managed to grab hold of Kero in the nick of time, with Kero wildly flailing and screaming. "You'll have to excuse him," Mira said, almost flatly. "He's… a bit hyper."
"I'll bet he is," the startled Clyde remarked.
Their conversation was surrounded by a loud thud, followed by the panicking screams of mostly children. "What was that?!" Mira cried.
"I dunno," said Clyde, pointing in the direction of where the noise came from, "but it sounds like it came from over there! C'mon!"
He ran to the source of the noise, with Mira and Kero hurriedly following him. As they ran, Mira angrily eyed Kero and scolded, "Kero, what's the big idea of trying to attack Clyde like that?!"
"Call Alba Litora 'obscure,' will he?!" was his angry reply. "He just has no appreciation for our technologically advanced hometown, doesn't he?!"
"That's because we're in a different world," Mira harshly reasoned, "so there's a chance that our world is the only world that has Alba Litora in it!"
Kero's anger diminished. "Huh… I didn't think of that," he said. The annoyed Mira only let out a frustrated sigh as the two kept running.
It took the trio less than half a minute before they reached the source of the frightening noise. But for precaution, they hid behind some trees and bushes, carefully peering out of them to see what the ruckus was about. The answer was a herculean android whose body armor was silvery white mixed with green. In the center of its chest armor was a golden Eye of Wdjat wrapped around a glowing green crystalline orb. It also wore a lime green Kanohi Pakari with a white planetary symbol of Uranus on the forehead, bright red lights shining through the eyeholes. Upon its emergence, many of the children ran for safety, though a good amount of them were too frightened to even move a muscle.
"Great, another one of those guys…!" Mira muttered under her breath.
"What?" Clyde whispered back, overhearing Mira's mumbling. "You mean you've seen this guy before?"
"…No, I haven't," was Mira's reply. It was a lie to keep her duty as a Wielder a secret. But at the same time, she was technically telling the truth – she really hadn't seen this android before. Still, she had an idea of what he was capable of, based on her past experiences with Ganymede and Metis.
Everyone remained silently still after that bit of exposition. Miraculously, that included Kero, despite recognizing the android as someone reminiscent of Metis, whom he previously witnessed after his duel against Marcy. But it wasn't long before Clyde broke the silence. "Oh my gosh, it's Lincoln!" he gasped.
He immediately pointed directly at an eleven-year-old boy with platinum blonde hair, dressed in an orange polo shirt, blue jeans, and white sports shoes with red stripes. Accompanying him were two girls – one thirteen, and the other four. The thirteen-year-old had thick brown hair pulled back in a short ponytail, and was dressed in a red and white jersey with a red '1' on the front, track shorts of the same color scheme, and black cleats with white knee-high socks. The four-year-old had short, shaggy brown hair, and wore a pair of large glasses, a green turtleneck sweater, and brown shoes underneath dark pink droopy pants. Given her age, she was the shortest of the bunch.
"You think he's in trouble?" Kero whispered. "Well, let's go out there and save him!"
"Not yet!" Mira harshly whispered, quickly stopping Kero just as he was about to leap out of the bushes. "We don't wanna get anyone's attention, especially not that guy's! We gotta lay low and wait to see what happens before we play hero!" Indeed, the three onlookers remained quietly still as they watched the scene unfold.
Of all the witnesses who were too frightened to flee from the intimidating android, the thirteen-year-old girl was the only one brave enough to stand up to him. "Hey, freak!" she shouted, boldly taking a step forward and raising a fist at the android.
The android swiveled its head to viciously glare down at the girl, obviously not taking kindly to being dressed down like that. "Who you callin' 'freak,' girlie?!" the android demanded in a raspy masculine voice.
"I have a name, jerk – Lynn Loud Jr.!" the girl, Lynn, shouted back with the utmost defiance. "And I don't know what's going on here, but you'd better leave now, or you're gonna be in for a world o' pain!"
"Caliban ain't goin' nowhere!" the android, Caliban, intimidatingly declared. "As Pawn of Itzamna, I've been tasked to seek and destroy all the Wielders that stand in Itzamna's way, oooh yeah!" He immediately projected a lime green blade that was parallel to the emerald crystal in his left cuff.
"Oh, y'wanna play that game, huh?" the grinning Lynn remarked. "Well, let's go, then!" She raised her left wrist, revealing a D-Gear with a red dial with white trim.
Seeing this action horrified Mira. Even though she just told her companions to stay clear of Caliban's view, she still couldn't let an innocent child like Lynn duel that bionic bully – not when there was the possibility of her opponent using Itzamna's Spirit Battle to steal her soul. Without wasting a second, she leapt from behind the tree and ran towards Lynn.
"Mira, wait!" Clyde called.
"Onee-chan, what are you doing?!" Kero cried. "You said it yourself that this was base! Base!"
But Mira was too much in a hurry to listen. Without actually thinking, she shoved Lynn out of the way just as she was about to project her Disk's blade. Luckily, Lynn landed on some grass, so the worst she sustained was getting herself and her clothes grass-stained. "Hey, what'd you do that for?!" Lynn argued.
"Trust me, you'll thank me later!" Mira shouted, too focused on protecting the astonished onlookers from Caliban's potential threat. Fiercely facing Caliban, she declared, "I'm gonna be your opponent instead!"
"Oooh, someone's playin' hero!" Caliban taunted. "Let's see if a puny girlie like you's really tougher than the other one!"
"I'll show you 'puny girlie!'" Mira shouted. "Let's go!" She immediately projected her Disk's hot pink blade.
With both Disks activated, a Game Duel Field Card moved up to the center of Mira's touchscreen, its artwork depicting a vast meadow. 'Now activating Game Duel Field: Game World, Sogen,' the computerized female voice announced during this sequence. Afterwards, the entire scenery around them changed to reflect the meadow featured on the card.
"I hope you know what you're doing, Mira," Clyde worriedly spoke. He and Kero were hiding behind the bushes and trees that remained intact as the scenery changed.
"Don't worry, Clyde!" Kero optimistically replied. "Mira's totally got this!"
"Time to take you down, Caliban!" Mira shouted as the duel was about to commence.
"You're the one who's goin' down, girlie!" Caliban gruffly snarled. "And I ain't gonna show you any mercy, oooh no!" Mira, however, was unphased by that taunt.
"Game Duel, game start!" both duelists shouted.
CALIBAN: 4000 LP / MIRA: 4000 LP
But just as the duel began, the streak of pink and violet pixels shot out of Mira's Disk before transforming into Pinkie. "Hello, Mira!" she cooingly greeted her human partner. But she quickly looked around the unfamiliar scenery around her. "Whoa, what's this place?" she wondered. "I've never seen it before!"
"Not now, Pinkie!" Mira scolded under her breath. "I have to duel this guy and protect these kids!"
"'Protect the kids?' What do you me-" Pinkie began before noticing Caliban. His overall appearance reminded Pinkie of Ganymede, whom she remembered was the robotic opponent that nearly killed Mira. Because of this, she panicked with a yelp and cowered behind Mira's shoulder. "M-M-Mira!" the quivering Pinkie cried. "It's… It's another o-one of those P-P-Pawns! P-P-Please, b-be careful!"
"Calm down!" Mira discreetly scolded. "Look, I haven't forgotten about my duel against Ganymede, and I don't know how dangerous this guy is, if at all. But don't worry – I'm ready for him!"
"I'm makin' the first move!" Caliban growled as he drew his opening hand. "I summon two copies of Cybernaut Mage, and one of Cybernaut Troll!"
Within a single move, he took the three cards and slapped them directly onto his blade's floating card zones. In an instant, three lime green portals materialized beside him, and three monsters appeared – two copies of the mechanical troll mage emerging out of the leftmost and rightmost portals, and the mechanical club-wielding troll emerging out of the centermost portal. [ATK: 800] [ATK: 1600] [ATK: 800]
This made Mira aghast – those were the same monsters Karamar used against Homanu! And she remembered Ushio telling her that Karamar somehow escaped from escaping from prison. …But no, this couldn't possibly be Karamar. No way in the slightest.
"Mira… are you okay?" Pinkie timidly asked her partner upon taking notice of her astonishment. "Why are you looking at his monsters like that?"
"Let's just say… it's a pretty bad memory of mine," Mira replied, reminiscing over Homanu's Torture Game Duel against Karamar.
"One copy of Cybernaut Mage gives all my DEMON MAGIC-Attribute, Cyborg-Type monsters four hundred extra Attack Points!" Caliban resumed. "But since I have two, they all gain eight hundred points, instead!" The two mechanical mages raised their staffs, unleashing a sinister violet aura that shrouded both themselves and the club-wielding troll. [ATK: 800 – 1600] [ATK: 1600 – 2400] [ATK: 800 – 1600] "Plus, you're only allowed to attack my DEMON MAGIC-Attribute, Cyborg-Type monster on the field that has the highest Attack Points!
"But it doesn't stop there, oooh no!" Caliban continued as another card materialized in his hand. "I activate the Field Spell, Dark Ruler's Arena!"
A virtual slot slid out of the edge of the blade, which the android placed a card onto before the slot closed. Suddenly, there was a rumbling beneath both duelists, and a demonic stadium comprised entirely of dark purple rock formed around both duelists. Among the demonic sculptures were columns that each contained the carving of the grinning face of the iconic Dark Ruler Ha Des.
"With this Field Spell in play," Caliban explained, "all monsters on the field are forced into Attack Mode, and they must attack whenever they can! Plus, each and every one of my DEMON MAGIC-Attribute monsters gain three hundred Attack Points for every DEMON MAGIC-Attribute monster on my field! And since I have three, they all gain nine hundred extra Attack Points, oooh yeah!" [ATK: 1600 – 2500] [ATK: 2400 – 3300] [ATK: 1600 – 2500]
Most of the children witnessing this duel were aghast at this dramatic increase, though Pinkie was the most visibly horrified of all. Mira, however, maintained her composure as best she could. "I'll admit, I didn't see that coming," she said rather coolly. "Sucks you can't attack me on the first turn, though!"
"Maybe not," said Caliban, "but I have a Spell Card that'll fix that: Dark Ruler's Wrath!" The last card materialized in his hand, which he viciously swiped through one of his blade's horizontal slots. A DEMON MAGIC Spell Card appeared, its artwork depicting Dark Ruler Ha Des ruthlessly screaming at a cowering Dark King of the Abyss, with six glowing violet orbs above Ha Des.
"This card gives all my DEMON MAGIC-Attribute monsters one extra Level this turn! Then, you take damage equal to the combined Levels of all my monsters multiplied by two hundred!" [LV: 3 – 4] [LV: 4 – 5] [LV: 3 – 4]
"So, if the combined Levels of his monsters are now thirteen," Pinkie worriedly calculated with her fingers, "and you multiply it by two hundred…"
"That's twenty-six hundred points of damage!" the horrified Mira finished. Indeed, thirteen violet orbs formed above Caliban's monsters before striking directly at her. She tried to protect herself from the barrage of orbs, but to little success. [LP: 4000 – 1400]
"Mira!" Clyde cried.
"ONEE-CHAN!" Kero wailed.
"Oooh, looks like you're in a spot now, puny girlie!" Caliban taunted. "Not only are your Life Points hangin' by a thread, but I've got three powerful monsters on my field, and I've also got it set up where you're forced to attack my strongest one! So just try to fight back!" Mira seethed, already frustrated by the fact she had few Life Points remaining.
"Okay, I may not know who this girl is," Lincoln worriedly commented, "but I hope she finds a way to get around this!"
The four-year-old girl beside him said nothing. She was studiously observing both Mira and Caliban as if a theory was slowly forming in her head. As for Lynn, she just frowned at Mira, still upset that she was shoved to the sidelines.
Back at the duel, Pinkie was visibly nervous about Mira's predicament. "Well… at least that guy didn't use Itzamna's Spirit Battle, r-right?" she sheepishly asked her partner in an attempt to comfort her.
"You're right, he didn't," said Mira. "But that's all the more reason to beat him now!"
"But how?!" Pinkie cried. "You have less than two thousand Life Points, and you're up against three powerful monsters you can't possibly beat!"
Mira said nothing, but stoically drew her opening hand and proceeded to look at its contents. "I think I have an idea," she discreetly told her partner as she eyed one of the cards. 'I just hope that with this, I can get the cards I really need!'
"I activate the Spell Card, Card Destruction!" she shouted, swiping a card through one of her blade's horizontal slots. The iconic Spell Card depicting the hand of Dark Ruler Ha Des tossing away five cards into a pitch-black vortex appeared, with the Spell Card's Attribute being BLACK MAGIC. "I'm sure you know what this card does – we both have to send all cards in our hands to the Graveyard, and then we draw the same number of cards!"
"But… But I gots no cards in my hand!" Caliban said. "So that means the person who discards…"
"Is me!" Mira beamed. Four cards materialized in front of her, and she swiped her fingertips across them, causing each card to dissipate into pixels. Afterwards, her Disk's ring appeared around her wrist, four stacked cards materializing halfway through the topmost ridge. She valiantly drew the cards. 'Perfect!' Mira determinedly thought as she looked at her drawn cards.
"Since I drew it this turn and have no monsters on my field, I get to summon this monster without any sacrifices – the Upgrade Monster, Destiny Dragon Chronogias!"
She boldly slapped the card onto her blade's centermost floating zone. In an instant, a lustrous pillar of lavender light shot up from behind her, and her ace ebony cybernetic dragon flew out of it, roaring upon its emergence. [BASE ATK: 1900 / GRADE: BASE]
All of the onlookers were amazed. They had never heard of such a mechanic before. "An 'Upgrade Monster'?!" the dumbfounded Lincoln asked. Shifting his attention to the four-year-old girl, he asked, "Lisa, you haven't heard of that kind of monster, have you?"
"No, I have not," the young girl, Lisa, spoke with a natural lisp. Adjusting her glasses, she continued, "This is oddly peculiar…" 'And I'm willing to bet this has something to do with my recent discoveries…!' she thought, almost ominously.
"Looks like these people don't know what Upgrade Monsters are…" Pinkie commented, observing the astonished and dumbfounded expressions of most of the audience.
"Then let's show 'em what they are, and what they're capable of!" Mira silently declared. To Caliban, she resumed, "I inject Chronogias with Upgrade Core Super, bringing it to the 'Super' Grade!" After revealing the Core Card, she slid it directly underneath Chronogias's card form. Immediately, the two unlit hexagons on Chronogias's chest lit up bright blue. [GRADE: BASE – SUP / BASE ATK: 1900 – SUP ATK: 2400 / CORE: 0 – 2]
"Then I activate Chronogias's Base Effect! By sending one Spell Card from my hand to the Graveyard, I get to take a different Spell Card in my Graveyard and return it to my hand!" Another card materialized in front of Mira. She flicked her fingertips across the card, causing it to dissipate into pixels. Afterwards, her ring appeared once again, and a streak of hot pink light shot out of the green-slotted ridge before transforming into a card in Mira's hand.
"Then I activate Chronogias's Super Effect!"
"Wait, it has two separate effects that can be activated?!" the astonished Lincoln gasped.
"Perhaps this is what these 'Upgrade Monsters' are capable of possessing!" the equally amazed Lisa commented. "A bit ironic, since monsters in the regular Duel Monsters format are capable of possessing two or more separate effects… But still, very revolutionary…"
"By using one Core," Mira explained, "your Cybernaut Troll loses fifteen hundred Attack Points!" The outer hexagon on Chronogias's chest became unlit as lavender fire formed in its mouth. [CORE: 2 – 1] Not long after, Chronogias unleashed lavender digital fire at the club-wielding mechanical troll, bringing it to one knee. [ATK: 3300 – 1800]
"And what good is that gonna do her?!" Clyde asked. "I'll admit, whatever these 'Upgrade Monsters' are, it's neat that they can have multiple effects onto one card – at least for this format. But she still won't be able to attack it 'cause that jerk's Mages can only let her attack monsters that have the highest Attack Points! Plus, with that Field Spell, she has to attack no matter what!"
"Well, if I know Onee-chan," Kero said with hope, "then she wouldn't be doing this if she didn't have a plan!"
"Throw as many cheap tricks as you want!" Caliban taunted. "You still ain't beatin' me – especially since my Cybernaut Mages are the only monsters you're allowed to attack!" Both mechanical troll mages moved their staffs to protect the kneeling club-wielding troll. [ATK: 2500] [ATK: 2500]
"I haven't forgotten about your Cybernaut Mages," Mira grimly said, "especially with how they restrict me to attacking monsters that have the highest Attack Points." It wasn't long before she cracked a smirk. "But I have a card that'll change all that!"
"You… You do?" Caliban said, slowly fearing the worst.
"It's the card I got back with Chronogias's effect: D-Chronomancy, Tachyon Srike!" After viciously swiping the card through one of her blade's horizontal slots, an ILLUSION MAGIC Spell Card materialized beside her. Its artwork depicted Number 107: Galaxy-Eyes Tachyon Dragon – the same dragon Chronogias bore a resemblance to – unleashing a spiral of dark purple energy from its mouth at Number 39: Utopia in its neutral form. This entire sequence occurred in a sinister red digital background with a pale pulsating rainbow aura.
"To activate this card, I have to send an ILLUSION MAGIC Attribute monster with one thousand or less Attack Points from my hand to the Graveyard, like so!" Another card materialized in front of Mira, which dissipated into lavender pixels.
"Once I do, Chronogias will gain Attack Points equal to the Attack Points of the monster I just sent! The monster I sent is Destiny Hero Passer, who has eight hundred Attack Points!" The lavender pixels transformed into the blue-suited cybernetic hero that was completely enshrouded by lavender hues. [ATK: 800] It wasn't long before the projection was absorbed into Chronogias's chest. [SUP ATK: 2400 – 3200] Seeing this startled Caliban.
"Oh, and one other thing," Mira said rather smugly, "my Chronogias also gets to attack each and every one of your monsters!"
"This ain't possible!" Caliban screamed.
"If I'm correct, Mira has to attack his Cybernaut Mages first," Lincoln said, counting on his fingers. "So if one gets destroyed, his other monsters will lose the power boost they gained from that Cybernaut Mage!"
"And they'll lose even more Attack Points from that Field Spell since Caliban will have one less monster on his field!" Lisa beamed. "It's as if she meant to weaken Cybernaut Troll first! A very ingenious move on her part!"
"So, if this is going where I think it is," Clyde said with hope, "then Mira's gonna win!"
"END HIM, ONEE-CHAN!" Kero loudly cheered.
"Time to end this, Caliban!" Mira declared. "Chronogias, attack Cybernaut Mage number one!" Chronogias unleashed another burst of lavender digital fire from its mouth, striking one of the mechanical troll mages and incinerating it. [LP: 4000 – 3300] And just as Mira planned, the destruction of the troll mage caused his other monsters to weaken. [ATK: 1800 – 1400 – 1100] [ATK: 2500 – 2100 – 1800]
"Now, take out Cybernaut Mage number two!" Another burst of lavender digital fire shot out of Chronogias's mouth, striking the other mechanical troll mage and incinerating it in the same manner. [LP: 3300 – 1900] All that was left was the club-wielding mechanical troll, who was severely weakened. [ATK: 1100 – 700 – 400]
"Alright, Chronogias, attack Cybernaut Troll and end this duel!" This time, in dramatic fashion, Chronogias flew up towards the sky before unleashing another spiral of lavender digital fire, this one more intense than its previous two attacks. Nevertheless, the spiral struck at the club-wielding mechanical troll and incinerated it. Caliban screamed as he, too, was struck by the spiral of digital flames. [LP: 1900 – 0] Due to his build, he miraculously wasn't flung backwards, but rather fell to one knee. Regardless, a virtual screen displaying Mira's profile with 'WIN' written underneath popped open as the field returned to normal.
"She did it! She actually did it!" Lincoln cheered, scooping up Lisa and spinning her around once before placing her back down.
"Yes, she is quite the remarkable duelist, if I do say so myself," Lisa agreed, adjusting her glasses.
"I can't believe it! Your friend actually won with that 'Upgrade Monster' of hers!" Clyde exclaimed.
"That's Mira for ya!" Kero beamed.
Back at the dueling area, the defeated Caliban creaked back up to face the victor. "This… isn't over, girlie!" he vowed. "You haven't seen the last of Caliban – oooh, no!" He immediately disappeared into a cluster of spring green pixels.
"Mira, you did amazing!" Pinkie cheered as soon as Caliban was gone. "And you actually beat that brute in a single turn! That's something you don't see every day, is it?"
"Like I said, I had to try and end this as quickly as I could," Mira replied. "I couldn't let that brute harm these kids – especially not when he has Itzamna's Spirit Battle!"
"Onee-chan, you did great out there!" Kero cheered. He and Clyde ran out of hiding from the trees and bushes to meet up with Mira. Pinkie retreated to Mira's Disk just in time. "I can't believe you actually beat that guy so quick!"
"And how!" Clyde energetically added.
"Hey, Clyde!" Lincoln greeted him. After the two male friends exchanged a quick fist bump, Lincoln continued, "Were you able to see the duel, too?! Did you see that 'Upgrade Monster' she used, whatever it is?"
"I haven't heard of Upgrade Monsters, either," answered Clyde. "But whatever they are, they really got potential!"
This bit of exposition left Mira even more dumbfounded than before. She was too focused on protecting the children from Caliban's potential wrath, she forgot some of the other onlookers claimed to have never heard of Upgrade Monsters, either. 'They don't know what Upgrade Monsters are, either? How is this even possible…?' she wondered. Then another thought occurred to her, specifically where Marcy stated she, too, was unfamiliar with Upgrade Monsters, as well as Sister Golas's explanation as to how, somehow, Marcy wasn't a student at the pinpointed school she attended. 'Marcy… could she be from another world…?'
"Oh, yeah!" Clyde said to Lincoln, immediately breaking Mira's concentration. "I wanna introduce some new friends to you – this is Mira Yukiko, the girl who just dueled, and her long-haired friend is Kero Nobuyuki."
"Nice to meet you two," Lincoln greeted them, shaking Mira's hand. "By the way, Mira, you did great out there!"
"Thanks," Mira calmly replied.
"Yes, your performance was sensational," Lisa calmly commended, looking up at Mira. "Lisa Loud, Lincoln's younger sister, at your service."
As the four-year-old girl introduced herself, Mira noticed that Kero was trying hard to keep himself from laughing. "Kero, what's so funny?" she whispered.
"The way she talks, though – it's too much!" Kero snickered. Aloud to Lisa, he said, "Hey, Lisa, can you say: 'She sells seashells by the seashore?'"
Lisa frowned at this request. "I'm not falling for that old trick," she bluntly stated.
"Dammit…!" Kero muttered under her breath.
"Mira, is it?" Lynn said, seemingly smiling as she approached Mira. "I gotta say, you dueled great out there."
Lynn approached Mira with an outstretched hand, a common sign of companionship. Mira was about to shake it when Lynn suddenly kicked Mira right in the shin. "At least that's what I would be saying!" Lynn snarled as Mira clutched onto her shin while hopping in pain.
"Lynn, what'd you do that for?!" Lincoln argued.
"She totally shoved me to the sidelines when I was about to duel that creep!" Lynn complained. "I'm sure if you were in my shoes, you'd feel the same way, Stinkin'!"
"You don't understand," Mira said in hopes of getting through to Lynn. "I had to step in! Believe me, I've seen these kinds of guys before, and they're more dangerous than you'd think!"
"Okay, I don't know what you're going on about," the visibly frustrated Lynn said, "but you owe me a Game Duel! So, I challenge you to one, here and now!" She boldly raised her D-Gear.
"Is Lynn… always like this?" asked Kero.
"Maybe not all the time," Lincoln replied, "but she is pretty competitive like that."
"It's something we all get accustomed to eventually," Lisa added.
"If this duel will get you to stop hating me like that, then I accept!" Mira cooly accepted, raising her Disk as well. "Let's go!"
"Oh, we're not gonna duel here," Lynn said, much to Mira's perplexity. "I saw how you were against that giant piece of scrap metal, but we'll see how good you are on my turf! Follow me, everyone!" With a huff, Lynn turned and conceitedly walked to her destination. Mira still wasn't sure what to expect, but she willingly followed Lynn, as did everyone else who witnessed Mira's duel.
Lynn led Mira and the audience to a tennis court located in the park – a strange place to have a Game Duel, to be certain. Yet Mira saw the spinning stylized compass rose: the unmistakable indicator that this was, in fact, a Game Duel hotspot. "What kind of Game Duel hotspot is this?" Mira wondered.
"You're gonna find out when the duel begins!" Lynn snapped, whirling to face Mira and raising her Disk before projecting its blade. "Now, let's go already!"
The way Lynn demanded Mira to begin the duel slightly startled Mira. But Mira didn't want to aggravate her opponent, so she obliged and activated her Disk, albeit rather hesitantly. After the activation of both Disks, a Game Duel Field moved up to the center of both touchscreens. Its artwork depicted two athletes in cybernetic armor feverishly engaging in a futuristic game of tennis. "Game Duel Hotspot detected," the female computerized voice spoke during this sequence. "Now activating Game Duel Field: Game World, Hyper Deuce Court." The scenery around both duelists remained unchanged, but two virtual screens displaying both duelists' profiles with two unlit circles underneath appeared beside both duelists.
"Welcome to one of my favorite Game Duel hotspots, Hyper Deuce Court!" Lynn conceitedly presented. "Sure, this Game Duel Field's of the boring ol' 'Normal' Terrain, but it's the rules that make it all worthwhile! We're only allowed to attack with one monster per turn, but every time one of us inflicts damage with either an attack or an effect, the player who inflicted damage scores a point. But if you inflict me with damage while I have a point, my points become zero before you score a point – the same thing'll happen every time I inflict you with damage while you have a point. But the first one of us to score two points in a row automatically wins the duel!"
"So, this duel's gonna be like a game of tennis?" Kero pondered. "That… kinda makes for a boring Game Duel, doesn't it?"
"You'll see how 'boring' it is!" the visibly insulted Lynn snarled at Kero's remark. Viciously returning her attention to Mira, she shouted, "Let's go, Mira!"
After this declaration, Pinkie reemerged from her Disk through violet and lavender pixels. "Mira, I heard all the commotion between you and that girl!" Pinkie timidly said. "Ooh, I hope I know what you're doing!"
"I'll admit, all this came rather sudden," Mira discreetly told her. "But if it'll get her to understand why I shoved her like that, then I have no choice!"
"Game Duel, game start!" the two duelists shouted.
LYNN: 0 PT / MIRA: 0 PT
"I'm making the first serve!" Lynn declared as she drew her opening hand of five cards. "And this'll help: the Spell Card, Service Ace!" After vigorously swiping a card through one of her blade's horizontal slots, a FIRE Spell Card appeared. Its artwork depicted an explosion occurring on one side of a tennis playing field caused by an incoming streak of light.
"With this card, I get to take a card that's in my hand!" A card materialized beside Lynn, and the audience saw nothing but a card backing. "Then you have to guess whether it's a Monster, Spell, or Trap Card! If you guess right, then good for you. But if you guess wrong, you take fifteen hundred points of damage!"
"Fifteen hundred?!" Kero cried. "From a card like that?!"
"Just be thankful that actual Life Points aren't involved in this duel," Lincoln remarked.
"C'mon, Mira! Guess what kind of card you think it is already!" Lynn impatiently fumed.
The morbidly frustrated Mira was still concentrating on the card backing. 'I've got a one-in-three chance of getting it right…!' she worriedly thought. After a few suspenseful seconds, she finally said aloud, "I guess… it's a Monster Card!"
"Errt, wrong answer!" Lynn laughed haughtily. "It's actually a Spell Card!" The card backing quickly changed to reveal that it was, in fact, a Spell Card. More specifically, it was another FIRE Spell Card, this one picturing a woman in a tennis uniform smashing a tennis ball that went directly through the net.
"Get ready for a poundin'!" Without warning, the card transformed into a small fireball that launched itself directly beside Mira, nearly making her lose her balance.
"Onee-chan!" Kero wailed.
"Hehe, first blood goes to me!" Lynn said haughtily as one of the two unlit circles on her scoreboard lit up. [PT: 0 – 1]
"Mira!" Pinkie cried. "Are you okay?!"
"I'm fine… at least for now," Mira groaned. "Still, if I take another hit like this, I'm done for!"
"Oh, don't get your panties in a knot!" Lynn said. She somehow overheard the conversation between Mira and Pinkie, but was too proud to truly care. "Since I inflicted damage to you with this card, I'm not allowed to attack or activate any other cards or effects that inflict damage this turn. So, I'll place two cards face-down, and end my turn!" She swiped two cards into her blade's leftmost and rightmost slots. Two cards materialized before they disappeared.
"My turn!" Mira shouted as she drew her opening hand. 'Okay,' she thought as she recollected the details about the Game Duel, specifically with the unique victory condition, 'Lynn already inflicted me with damage, so if she inflicts me with damage again, then she'll win!' Then she remembered the two cards Lynn placed face-down. 'I'm willing to bet that either one of those cards will inflict me with more damage once they're activated.' Then she looked at the cards in her opening hand. 'Luckily, I still have a chance to buy some time while I find a way to make a comeback!'
"I play the Spell Card, Double Spell!" Mira said aloud, swiping the card through one of her blade's horizontal slots. The iconic Spell Card depicting two sorcerers facing each other and generating two orbs of different colors materialized. "By sending one Spell Card from my hand to the Graveyard, I get to take a Spell Card that's in your Graveyard, and activate it on my side of the field!" A card appeared in Mira's fingers and thumb before it quickly dissipated into hot pink pixels.
"Lemme guess, you're gonna choose Service Ace, right?" Lynn smugly assumed.
"Actually," Mira corrected her as she skimmed through the contents of Lynn's Graveyard on her Disk's touchscreen, "the card I choose… is your Slice Ace!" A streak of red light shot out of Lynn's Disk, right onto Mira's field, before transforming into the Spell Card picturing the female tennis player smashing the tennis ball that went through the net.
"If I read it correctly, I have to send a Monster Card with eight hundred or less Attack Points from my hand to the Graveyard," Mira explained. Another card appeared in Mira's fingers and thumb. This time, it transformed into hot pink pixels, which in turn transformed into a fireball.
"Then I get to destroy a face-down Spell or Trap Card on your field, and then you take damage equal to the Attack Points of the monster I sent to the Graveyard to use this card! And just to let you know, the monster I sent to the Graveyard was Destiny Hero Paradoxer, a monster that has eight hundred Attack Points!" A faded image of the cybernetic angel warrior briefly appeared behind the fireball. [ATK: 800]
"Looks like the ball's in your court!" Mira shouted. The fireball launched itself directly at one of Lynn's face-down cards, completely incinerating it. Some of the flares from the fireball also struck Lynn. Once they did, one of the circles on Lynn's scoreboard shut off while the one on Mira's scoreboard lit up. [PT: 1 – 0] [PT: 0 – 1]
"Next, I summon Destiny Hero Passer in Attack Mode!" She slapped the card onto her blade's center floating zone. A hot pink portal appeared, and the blue-armored cybernetic hero leapt out of it. [ATK: 800]
"Passer's effect activates! By sending the top two cards of my deck to the Graveyard, Passer gains eight hundred Attack Points!" Her Disk's ring appeared around her wrist, and two cards shot out of the ring's topmost ridge, each one transforming into hot pink pixels. The pixels immediately transferred to the cybernetic hero's chest. [ATK: 800 – 1600]
"Yes!" Kero cheered. "Once this attack goes through, Mira wins!"
"Don't get too excited," Clyde warned him. "Mira may've been lucky against that bucket of bolts, but I know Lynn, and she isn't one to be underestimated like that."
Mira overheard that bit of exposition, but Pinkie was too obliviously excited to listen. "C'mon, Mira, attack her already!" she cheered. "Then you'll win, just like that!"
'I wish it were that simple,' Mira cautiously thought. 'If what Clyde said is true, then I'd better be careful…' She looked at the last card in her hand as she decided upon this.
"I place this card face-down," she said, sliding the last card through her blade's center horizontal slot. Another card materialized before disappearing.
"Okay, here goes! I attack you directly with Passer!" Mira shouted, pointing directly at Lynn. The blue cybernetic warrior charged directly at Lynn.
"Don't think I'm going down so easily!" Lynn shouted. "Not when I have the Trap Card, Receive Ace!" A FIRE Trap Card materialized beside Lynn, its artwork depicting the same female tennis player whacking at an incoming tennis ball with her racket.
"When you're about to attack me directly, this card negates that attack, then inflicts you with fifteen hundred points of damage! And after that, I have to send the top three cards of my deck to the Graveyard!" The ring appeared around Lynn's wrist, and three cards shot out of the topmost ridge, each one transforming into a red fireball that merged into one. The cybernetic warrior stopped dead in his tracks as the fireball launched itself at Mira. Afterwards, Mira lost her point on the scoreboard, while Lynn gained a point. [PT: 1 – 0] [PT: 0 – 1]
'I guess Lynn really is that good…!' Mira thought as the virtual flames subsided. 'But I can't let her beat me like this! …Still, I can only hope I find a way to turn this duel around…!'
"I end my turn," Mira said aloud.
"Then it's back to me!" Lynn declared, drawing four cards. "And I'll go ahead and end this by activating the Spell Card, Smash Ace!" She swiped the card through one of her blade's horizontal slots, and another FIRE Spell Card appeared. This time, its artwork showed the female tennis athlete smacking a tennis ball that struck a male tennis player right in the face.
"The way this card works is pretty simple – I have to reveal the top card of my deck, and if it's a Monster Card, you get slammed with one thousand points of damage! In other words, if the top card of my deck's a monster, I win!"
"So it all comes down to this," Lincoln worryingly said.
"Come on, Onee-chan…!" Kero lightly squealed, his fists clenched with hope.
"Let's see what I've got!" the grinning Lynn said. Her ring appeared, a card materializing halfway through the red-slotted ridge. Without the faintest hesitation, she wildly drew the card. But as she looked at what she drew, her eyes widened with horror.
"Something tells me she didn't get a monster…" Pinkie cheekily remarked, playfully shaking her head.
"Tch, you got lucky," Lynn grumbled, revealing the card to be another copy of Slice Ace, a Spell Card. "Now, this card goes right to my Graveyard." Almost immediately, the card dissipated into red pixels.
"And now you're not allowed to attack me or use other Spell or Trap Cards this turn!" Mira smugly reminded her opponent.
"Only if I inflicted you with damage with this card!" Lynn corrected her. "But since I didn't, I'm still able to attack you this turn! To show you what I mean, I summon Hinotama Soul in Attack Mode!" She slapped the card onto one of her blade's floating zones. But instead of a portal, an orange fireball formed, which slowly formed a maliciously grinning face not long after. [ATK: 600]
"But it won't be here for long because I sacrifice it to summon my deck's top star: Strong Suit, Tennis Star!" The malicious fireball immediately transformed into a red portal. Leaping out of the portal was a teenage girl resembling Lynn herself, only she was equipped with cybernetic implants for her left leg and right arm. True to her name, the cybernetic warrior had an overall tennis motif. [ATK: 1300]
"Some ace!" Kero remarked. "It's weaker than Passer!"
"Maybe so," said Lynn, "but she's my ace because of her ability! By sending the top card of my deck to the Graveyard, she'll lose one thousand Attack Points this turn!" Her Disk's ring appeared once again, and a card shot out of the topmost ridge before dissipating into red pixels. [ATK: 1300 – 300] "But by doing just that, my Tennis Star gets to attack you directly this turn!" Hearing this startled Mira.
"Not only that, but I get to add Service Ace from my Graveyard to my hand!" A streak of red light shot from her Disk's green-slotted ridge and into her hand, transforming into a card. "But lucky for you, I'm not allowed to activate any copies of it this turn.
"I am, however, allowed to activate this: the Equip Spell, Mighty Racket!" After swiping the card through one of her blade's horizontal slots, an EARTH Spell Card materialized, its artwork depicting a white cybernetic tennis racket attached to Tennis Star's arm implant. The same racket formed on Tennis Star's wrist. "With this card, the first time Tennis Star would be destroyed in battle, she won't be destroyed, and I won't take any damage from that battle!" Mira seethed at this bit of exposition.
"Boy, she really put Mira on the spot!" the amazed Clyde commented. "She now has a monster that's capable of attacking Mira directly, and her Equip Card prevents it from being destroyed the first time, as well as protect Lynn from taking any damage!"
"And let's not forget how both players can only attack with one monster per turn!" added Lincoln. "With a combo like that, Lynn's practically invincible!"
'Or so it seems…' Lisa thought, remembering how Mira used a particular Spell Card in her duel against Caliban that let her attack multiple times in one battle.
"I'll admit, this was fun," the smirking Lynn complimented, albeit tauntingly, "but I'm afraid this duel's over! Tennis Star, attack her directly and end this duel!" A fiery tennis ball formed in the tennis athlete's human hand. She tossed the fireball into the air and smacked it with her racket, sending the fireball directly at Mira.
"Mira!" Pinkie wailed.
"It's not over until I say it's over!" Mira shouted. With a wave of her arm, the ILLUSION MAGIC Trap Card picturing an incoming attack being absorbed in a swirling vortex materialized. "I activate Negate Attack, which negates your attack and ends the Battle Phase on the spot!" A small wormhole formed, absorbing the incoming fire attack. "And since I didn't take any damage, you don't score any points!" Lynn fumed through her clenched teeth, knowing her opponent was right. [PT: 1]
"You may've bought yourself some time," Lynn vowed, "but cheap tricks like that can only get you so far! Next turn, you'd better show me what you're really made of!"
"How can you?!" Pinkie whimpered to her partner. "Lynn's monster is capable of attacking you directly, is equipped with a card that'll prevent it from being destroyed and prevent Lynn from taking any damage, and you're only allowed to attack with one monster per turn! What are you gonna do?!"
"The one thing I can do… win!" the unphased Mira declared, bravely drawing five cards.
"First, I'll sacrifice Destiny Hero Passer to summon the Upgrade Monster, Destiny Dragon Chronogias!" The blue-armored warrior dissipated into hot pink pixels. Afterwards, a pillar of lustrous lavender light shot up from behind Mira, and the ebony cybernetic dragon flew out of it. [BASE ATK: 1900 / GRADE: BASE] Upon its emergence, most of the duel's onlookers began making all sorts of awe-filled comments about the Upgrade Monster they were still unfamiliar with.
'It's that 'Upgrade Monster' of hers again!' the astonished Lynn thought. 'I gotta admit, it was pretty cool when she first brought it out.' Her overconfidence quickly returned. 'But let's see if it'll help her beat me!'
"Next, I summon Destiny Hero Makyuron in Attack Mode!" Mira resumed, slapping the card onto one of her blade's floating zones. Another hot pink portal appeared, and the Makyura-resembling cybernetic hero leapt out of it. [ATK: 1000]
"I activate Makyuron's effect! By sending him to the Graveyard, I get to take an ILLUSION MAGIC Trap Card that's in my Graveyard, and set it right onto my field!" Makyuron immediately dissipated into hot pink pixels. Afterwards, Mira's ring appeared, and a streak of hot pink light shot out of the green-slotted ridge before transforming into a card onto her field.
'Must be that Negate Attack o' hers,' the unimpressed Lynn thought. 'She's really that desperate to save herself, isn't she?'
"Next, I activate Chronogias's Base Effect!" Mira continued. "By sending a Spell Card from my hand to the Graveyard, I get to take a different Spell Card in my Graveyard and add it to my hand!" Another card materialized in Mira's hand before it dissipated into hot pink pixels. Afterwards, another streak of hot pink light shot out of her ring's green-slotted ridge and into her hand, transforming into a card.
"Then I activate the Spell Card, Card of Necromancy!" After swiping the card through one of her blade's horizontal slots, a DEMON MAGIC Spell Card mimicking the artwork of Necromancy materialized. "This card lets me resurrect a monster from your Graveyard onto your side of the field! And the monster I choose is none other than your Hinotama Soul!" To Lynn's perplexity, the grinning fireball creature formed next to Lynn's cybernetic tennis athlete. [ATK: 600]
"And why would you wanna revive my monster?!" Lynn demanded.
"So that I can activate the Spell Card I got back with Chronogias's effect: D-Chronomancy, Tachyon Strike!" Mira vigorously replied, swiping the card through one of her blade's horizontal slots. The ILLUSION MAGIC Spell Card depicting Galaxy-Eyes Tachyon Dragon unleashing the spiral of dark purple energy at the sealed form of Number 39: Utopia materialized.
Lynn was aghast. 'That's the same card she used against that robotic freak!' she thought. 'And now it can attack all of my monsters! …Wait a minute, my Tennis Star can't be destroyed by that dragon's attack, and I won't take any damage! So, what's she really up to…?'
"To activate this card," Mira explained, "I have to send a monster of the ILLUSION MAGIC Attribute from my hand to the Graveyard! And not only will Chronogias gain that monster's Attack Points, but it also gets to attack every one of your monsters! The monster I choose to discard is another copy of Passer!" Another card materialized in her hand, which dissipated into hot pink pixels before transforming into a hologram of the blue-suited hero. [ATK: 800] The pixels immediately transferred to the cybernetic dragon. [BASE ATK: 1900 – 2700]
"This is cool and all, but wasn't Mira paying attention?!" Lincoln argued. "Lynn's Tennis Star can't be destroyed once per turn, and Lynn won't take any damage!"
"True," Lisa said, briefly adjusting her glasses. "But there's a bit of an implication that Mira wouldn't be doing all of this if she didn't know what she was doing."
"Time to end this, Lynn!" Mira shouted. "First, Chronogias will attack your Hinotama Soul!" The cybernetic dragon unleashed a burst of lavender fire from its mouth, striking the grinning fireball and vaporizing it. Upon its destruction, the circle on Lynn's virtual scoreboard became unlit, while one of the circles on Mira's scoreboard lit up. [PT: 1 – 0] [PT: 0 – 1]
"Next, Chronogias will attack your Tennis Star!" The dragon unleashed a burst of lavender fire at the cybernetic tennis athlete. However, the athlete was able to swat at the fire attack with her racket, and thus she came out without so much as a burn mark.
"Ha!" Lynn gloatingly laughed. "I don't know what you were trying to pull, but whatever it was, it just failed! And since your monster just attacked both of my monsters, you've got no choice but to end your turn right on the spot!"
"That's what would be happening," Mira corrected her, "if I didn't have this: the Trap Card, D-Chronomancy, Battle Rehash!" The ILLUSION MAGIC Trap Card picturing the blue ogre flying out of the clock of Timeater materialized.
"Hold on!" Lynn protested. "Didn't you just set that card this turn?!"
"I did," Mira replied, "and thanks to the effect of Makyuron, I'm allowed to activate it this turn! As for what this card does, after Chronogias attacks, it gets to attack one of your monsters again!"
'Oh, no…!' the horrified Lynn thought. 'My Tennis Star's racket will only protect her the first time it's attacked each turn! Now she'll be destroyed when Chronogias attacks… And that means… That means I lose!'
"This game has officially become match!" Mira declared. "Chronogias, attack!"
The cybernetic dragon unleashed a third burst of lavender fire at the cybernetic tennis athlete. This time, the athlete was engulfed in the fire as the flames also struck at Lynn. Once they did, the second unlit circle on Mira's scoreboard glowed, proclaiming her as the victor. [PT: 1 – 2] A virtual screen displaying Mira's profile with 'WIN' underneath popped open before the tennis court returned to its original state, with Pinkie quickly retreating into Mira's Disk.
Everyone wildly cheered for Mira's stunning victory. "Whoa, Mira was amazing!" Lincoln cried.
"Indeed, her strategies were exceptionally commendable!" Lisa eagerly added.
"You did it, Onee-chan!" Kero loudly cheered. "I just knew you would!"
As everyone kept cheering, Mira slowly approached the defeated Lynn, who managed to get herself up. Now face to face, neither duelist spoke for a few suspenseful seconds; Lynn eventually broke the silence. "Mira…" she said, stretching out a hand.
This action mildly startled Mira, remembering what happened when Lynn offered her a handshake last time. But not wanting to aggravate her, Mira cautiously stretched out her hand, as well. To Mira's relief, Lynn firmly grasped her hand. "You did great out there," Lynn calmly complimented.
"You… You really mean it?" Mira asked, almost suspiciously.
"Every word," was Lynn's reply. "I mean, I'm still a bit upset with the way you shoved me aside like that, but when you dueled me, you practically wowed me with the moves you made. Seriously, I can't remember the last time anyone's amazed me like that, whether it's from Game Duels or whatever else!"
After a brief pause, Mira said, "Thanks," before the two duelists released their grip.
"Also," said Lynn, "I'm… sorry for how I behaved earlier, what with me kicking you in the shin and all…"
"Well, I was able to stand throughout the duel, so it's safe to say that all's forgiven," Mira said, slowly cracking a gentle smile. "But right now, Kero and I should be going-"
"Wait!" Lynn interrupted. "Since you gave me such a great duel… how about you and your friend come over to our house for dinner?"
"Wait, you mean you're actually inviting us?" Kero cried, catching up to Mira, with Clyde, Lincoln, and Lisa following behind.
"Why not?" said Lynn. "Call it a way of saying thanks for giving me such an awesome duel!"
"I mean, that's nice and all," said Mira, "but we really don't wanna be too much of a burden-"
"Nah, I'm sure Mom and Dad won't mind," Lincoln said reassuringly. "Besides, my other sisters would love to meet you!"
"Wait, you have more sisters than these two?" the amazed Mira said. "How many do you have, if you don't mind me asking?"
"Oh, you'd be surprised," Lisa said, almost cheekily. "Now c'mon, let's introduce you and your accomplice to the others!"
"Sounds good to me!" said Kero. "Let's go!"
With no other choice, Mira playfully sighed. "Okay, let's go," she said. After a friendly goodbye wave to Clyde, Lincoln motioned to his sisters and their new friends, and the group headed off to Lincoln's home.
Back at the Mesoamerican altar, Jupiter was observing Caliban's emergence in Royal Woods, as well as his unexpected duel against Mira. Even though she was wearing a mask, Jupiter's contempt was strongly evident.
"Uranus, you fool, what are you doing?!" she hissed. "You're not supposed to break your cover like that! Now everyone in this universe is aware of our organization's presence! I've bitten my tongue long enough – I'm going over there and setting you straight!"
"Let him be, Jupiter," Itzamna ordered, speaking from the silhouette of Karamar.
"But Itzamna!" Jupiter protested. "You know that Knights like Uranus are supposed to remain inconspicuous at their posts, and are therefore not supposed to perform any assaults until the proper moment!"
"Yes, but Uranus is a special case. His foolishness… is essential."
"It… It is?" the perplexed Jupiter asked.
"Indeed. Observe my recent prophecy, and you shall see."
He directed Jupiter to a nearby mural. Jupiter was still skeptical, but nevertheless she walked over to the mural whose carvings depicted some kind of scene. First, two crude stone figures – one shorter than the other – facing off in some kind of battle, underneath a giant carving of a male gender symbol with its arrow pointing upright and a dot inside the circle – the same planetary symbol associated with Uranus. In the next scene, Jupiter saw the shorter figure falling to his knees in despair as four other figures appearing to be feminine floated towards the symbol of Uranus. Finally, she saw a scene where the shorter figure who previously fell to his knees standing as the taller figure fell backwards in defeat.
Jupiter gently placed a hand on the final scene carved on the mural. "I don't know what all of this means," she quietly but solemnly spoke, "but if Itzamna wills that Uranus's recklessness is essential to his objective… then so be it…"
FEATURED CARD – LEVEL 1-20
Game World – Hyper Deuce Court
Game Duel Field
PLAYER 1: 0 PT / PLAYER 2: 0 PT
TERRAIN: NORMAL
Only 1 monster can attack during each Battle Phase. When a PLAYER inflicts damage to their opponent by an attack or effect by a card on their field, the PT of the inflicting PLAYER's opponent become 0 (if possible), then the inflicting PLAYER gains 1 PT. The first PLAYER to score 2 PT wins the Game Duel.
GIICHI CORPORATION CARD DATABASE
Game World – Sogen
Game Duel Field
PLAYER 1: 4000 LP / PLAYER 2: 4000 LP
TERRAIN: MEADOW Monsters strong in this Terrain (Celestial Warrior, Magical Knight, Warrior, and Beast-Warrior Types) gain 200 ATK/DEF. Monsters weak in this Terrain (Spellcaster Type) lose 200 ATK/DEF.
If a PLAYER's LP become 0, they lose the Game Duel.
Dark Ruler's Arena
DEMON MAGIC/Field Spell Card
REQUIREMENT Activate this card if you have 2 or more face-up DEMON MAGIC Attribute monsters on your field, including a monster with 2000 or more ATK.
EFFECT While this card is face-up in the Field Zone, face-up DEMON MAGIC Attribute monsters on your field gain ATK equal to [the number of face-up DEMON MAGIC Attribute monsters on your field] x 300, also all face-up monsters on the field are changed to Attack Position (their battle positions cannot be changed) and must attack, if able. If you have no face-up DEMON MAGIC Attribute monsters on your field, destroy this card.
Dark Ruler's Wrath
DEMON MAGIC/Spell Card
REQUIREMENT You did not activate "Dark Ruler's Wrath" this turn, and your opponent has 4000 or more LP.
EFFECT Increase the Levels of all face-up Level 5 or lower DEMON MAGIC Attribute monsters on your field by 1, until the end of this turn. Then, inflict damage to your opponent equal to [the combined Levels of all face-up Level 6 or lower DEMON MAGIC Attribute monsters on your field] x 200. For the rest of this turn, your monsters cannot attack, and your opponent takes no damage.
Card Destruction
BLACK MAGIC/Spell Card
REQUIREMENT None
EFFECT Each player with cards in their hand sends their entire hand to the Graveyard, then draws cards equal to [the number of cards each player sent to the Graveyard by this effect].
D-Chronomancy – Tachyon Strike
ILLUSION MAGIC/Spell Card
REQUIREMENT If you had not activated an ILLUSION MAGIC Spell Card this turn, send 1 ILLUSION MAGIC monster with 1000 or less ATK from your hand to the Graveyard.
EFFECT 1 face-up ILLUSION MAGIC monster on your field gains ATK equal to [the ATK of the monster sent to the Graveyard to meet the requirement, until the end of this turn. Also this turn, you can only attack with that monster, it can attack all monsters on your opponent's field once each, and you cannot activate ILLUSION MAGIC Spell Cards.
Game World – Hyper Deuce Court
Game Duel Field
PLAYER 1: 0 PT / PLAYER 2: 0 PT
TERRAIN: NORMAL
Only 1 monster can attack during each Battle Phase. When a PLAYER inflicts damage to their opponent by an attack or effect by a card on their field, the PT of the inflicting PLAYER's opponent become 0 (if possible), then the inflicting PLAYER gains 1 PT. The first PLAYER to score 2 PT wins the Game Duel.
Service Ace
FIRE/Spell Card
REQUIREMENT During a turn you have not activated a card/effect that inflicts damage.
EFFECT Choose 1 card in your hand, then your opponent declares its type (Monster, Spell, or Trap). If it was not the declared type, inflict 1500 damage to your opponent. Send the chosen card to the Graveyard. For the rest of this turn, you cannot attack with monsters or activate cards/effects, if you inflicted damage to your opponent with this effect.
Slice Ace
FIRE/Spell Card
REQUIREMENT Send 1 Monster Card with 800 or less ATK from your hand to the Graveyard.
EFFECT Destroy 1 Set Spell/Trap Card on your opponent's field and if you do, inflict damage to your opponent equal to [the ATK of the monster sent to the Graveyard to meet the requirement].
Receive Ace
FIRE/Trap Card
REQUIREMENT When an opponent's monster declares a direct attack.
EFFECT Negate the attack, and inflict 1500 damage to your opponent. Then, send the top 3 cards of your Deck to the Graveyard.
Smash Ace
FIRE/Spell Card
REQUIREMENT During a turn you have not activated a card/effect that inflicts damage.
EFFECT Excavate the top card of your Deck. If it is a Monster Card, inflict 1000 damage to your opponent. Send the excavated card to the Graveyard. For the rest of this turn, you cannot attack with monsters or activate cards/effects, if you inflicted damage to your opponent with this effect.
Hinotama Soul
FIRE/Pyro – Normal/2/600/500
An intensely hot flame creature that rams anything standing in its way.
Strong Suit – Tennis Star
FIRE/Warrior – Effect/5/1300/500
REQUIREMENT Send the top card of your Deck to the Graveyard.
EFFECT This turn, this card loses 1000 ATK and can attack directly. Then, you can add 1 "Service Ace" from your Graveyard to your hand, but you cannot activate "Service Ace" for the rest of this turn if you do.
Mighty Racket
EARTH/Equip Spell Card
REQUIREMENT If you have no other "Mighty Racket" face-up on your field, equip this card to 1 face-up "Strong Suit – Tennis Star" on your field.
EFFECT The first time the equipped monster would be destroyed by battle, it is not destroyed, and you take no damage from that battle.
Next time on Yu-Gi-Oh! CHRONIXII…
After getting acquainted with the rest of the Loud family, one of the family's children, Lucy, detects Mira's Iroa spirit! This prompts Lucy to challenge Mira to a Game Duel in order to unleash the "full potential of her spirit!" Unfortunately, Lucy ends up becoming another victim of the dreaded "Itzam Incarnate"! Will Mira be able to free Lucy and unleash her Iroa's "full potential?" Find out what happens in Level 1-21: The Girl Who Believes in Demonics! Game Duel, game start!