"So, this is one sick card for my new deck!"
"A monster negate card? Not your usual style, and there are better cards than this."
"No, no see! This one's gnarly, if I pair this card with… this guy!" Brown eyes shined as he revealed the monster in question.
Gray eyes squinted, reading the card he never saw before. The card defied logic—as did Jaden—so Zane focused on the task. "... That might win you the duel on your first battle phase. Not bad."
Zane appreciated the return to normalcy, or close as possible to it: deck building. It didn't stop the confusion he had. While the Cyber Duelist appreciated Jaden, he never expected to be in one of his family homes and helping him build a new deck. Nor did he expect the extra pair of hands fishing the pile of cards scattered on the carpeted floor.
A loud gasp turned heads. "To think, your people can wield such powerful magic and creatures contained in these small fragile squares! Your world only grows more amazing by the second!" Jaden called her IB, but to Zane, she was a walking question mark. Nothing about her was normal, but that type of unknown was familiar to him: from former enemies that almost destroyed the world.
She was a Duel Spirit, like Slayer and the Shadow Riders, wasn't she? But why was she here, and with Jaden?
A plate of grilled cheese placed next to IB caught the girl's attention. As she chewed away on the meal, a new person sat along with the duelists. "Powerful, huh? I guess that's one word for it." And there was the other one, just as mysterious but for an entirely different reason: Selene Amanda, Jaden's cousin. Sharing blood meant she could be as wei—
"So you're the famous IB, huh? Jaden told me about you! How's the Spirit World?" Had Zane been anyone else, and drinking, he would have done a spit take. But how did Selene know about the Spirit World!?
Zane answered his own question when he turned to Jaden, who looked up and flinched under his gaze.
"Why are you looking at me!?" As soon as he said that Zane was starting to realize that Wilona really had her work cut out for her.
"Oh, was that supposed to be a secret?" The former Duel Academy Ace turned over to Selene. "See, Jaden's not exactly the best at keeping secrets. It doesn't help that I kind of hounded him after he and his Eskimo friend appeared out of nowhere bruised and beaten one summer night. To be honest a world of Duel Monster sounds incredibly unbelievable, but then again Jaden's a lot of things, but he's not that hyper or a liar."
It took another second for Zane to absorb her reaction. "You're taking things better than I expected you to learn about Duel Monsters being real."
"You're," Selene blinked. "Not wrong." For once, she chose not to say anything more, even when there was something to speak about. Instead, she picked up one of the cards, "Maybe I can give dueling a try again."
"You know that would be awesome! You were great at it!" When Jaden said that, Zane perked up. Jaden believed she was a great Duelist? Then why didn't she pursue it?
She hummed before saying, "Maybe… but nah, a tourney isn't my style."
"Oh darn," Jaden slouched, but his attitude boomeranged when he turned to Zane. "Actually, why don't you and I duel, Zane? I'd love for another duel like last time!"
Zane froze.
Could he duel? Who he was when he last dueled Jaden was radically different from who he was now, and it wasn't even a year since then!
To his surprise, he felt a pat on his back. Selene smiled at him. "Come on, it'll be fun! It's not like you're deciding your future right now!"
Fun…?
Come to think of it, has he ever dueled for fun?
[Tag Force: Heroes and Villains]
Dim screens in dark places were always a bad combination. Add sleeplessness into it, and it's a surprise Wilona was still working with the same speed as before. Though, knowing her work ethic, the green-haired Obelisk Blue—and that still didn't feel quite right—had no trouble pulling an all-nighter.
The trouble, as it happened, was what she was researching: The death of Lucian Amaris Phoenix.
Even before she met Aster, Wilona recalled how rare the "Planet Series" came to be, especially after hearing their artist and maker passed away. It was only recently that she learned it was by murder and theft.
Several tabs were left open, staring hard at her as she to them. A thief broke in, stole the cards, and vanished without a trace, the tragedy and perfect getaway.
But…Wilona couldn't pinpoint what it was, but something amiss gnawed at her, screaming something contradicted itself.
"Oh, Wilona?" The green-haired girl flinched before looking up to see someone in this ungodly hour: Madison Managold. "I apologize for disturbing you, I assumed you to be Seika returning."
"No, no, I was simply," Wilona shook her head. She didn't even hear her until she spoke, was she that focused? "Deep in research… may I ask why you believed me to be Seika?"
"She also pulled all-nighters before the school year started, even after. I thought you were her for a second until I came close. I wondered why she was investigating the superintendent, but given everything that transpired…" Madison shook her head. "It seems you also have an interesting topic."
Wilona realized there was no point in hiding what she researched, but decided not to mention the connection to Aster. "I'm no detective, but something bothers me."
"Well, I hope you don't uncover a conspiracy. The last thing this school needs is another one by someone everyone trusted. Good luck, Ms. Konami." Madison waved goodbye as she left the second-year.
However, Wilona watched her senior leave with wide eyes. Madison ironically pointed out something the green-haired girl overlooked: Kagemaru was trusted by many before his ambitions revealed himself. The crime of Aster's father, the "perfect" crime… was it because of an inside job?
Out of morbid curiosity, Wilona began her research over two people Aster Phoenix knew: Principal Kumar and Kyle Jables, or as he's referred to as: The D.
… Low hanging fruit that Wilona would not touch with a ten foot pole.
However, small coincidences caught her attention. While Sartorius Kumar had a history of being a fortune teller even before Aster was born, Kyle Jables came out of nowhere to become the new Pro League Champion.
What rang alarm bells in that sudden rise to the throne was the timeline: The year after Aster's father died. That little discrepancy made Wilona raise her brow as she looked more into Jables' past. Before his claim to fame, he never won anything notable. Yet as soon as he somehow becomes the legal guardian of Aster, he shoots to the top of the Pro Leagues?
Wilona put her hands on her mouth. This… this had to be just coincidence, right? Magic was one thing, but conspiracy theories?
The monarch duelist decided to place a call to an old family friend. Unlike Jaden, Wilona had a very good sense of time zones.
[Tag Force: Heroes and Villains]
"Gerard Kouske, you got a scoop?" An unshaven man exhaled his cigarette after answering the phone. It took him a second to register the voice before his eyes widened. "Kid? What the hell are you doing on this line? Who gave it to you? I swear, if Summer is playing a prank on me…!"
The reporter froze. "You want me to investigate someone? That's cute. Look, shouldn't you be asleep… AT SCHOOL?" The unkempt man looked at the clock.
He put out his cigarette as he heard her ignore his ramblings and go straight to the point. For a "princess", she just had to take some of Summer's habits.
"The Pro League Champion? What, didn't take you to be into older men," Although he scoffed. The next thing Wilona told him caused him to freeze, and it wasn't the same kind one he had when she spoke to him.
"... What did you just say?"
Over in Duel Academy, Wilona stared at the newspaper article. Without blinking, she narrowed her eyes and spoke to her guardian's old friend. "I need you to investigate Jables' alibi during the death of Lucian Amaris Phoenix."
[Tag Force: Heroes and Villains]
Elsewhere… a lone figure sat before a screen. After the ping of completion, the man placed a call.
On the other end of the phone, the recipient picked up. "Yes, Howard?"
"I thought I'd let you know, Principal," The one called Howard leaned into his seat. "I've got a very interesting alert: someone has been researching Lucian's Death."
When there was a pause, Sartorius asked. "You can continue, Howard. Leave the dramatics to me, please."
"Now that alone wouldn't raise alarms, but it turns out after they searched Lucian, they began to research Jables."
THAT information made Sartorius stand from his chair. "Who did such a thing?"
"Funny you should mention that: the results came in, and apparently it came from Duel Academy, right where you are. And I doubt you would bring that topic up out of nowhere."
Sartorius narrowed his eyes. Who would even make such a connection? Aster? No, he doesn't suspect anything at all. But who would…
The fortuneteller's eyes widened before he turned to his fortune-telling deck. Ill omens came back to his mind in reference to a certain girl Aster was adamant to use for his own purposes.
"Howard," Sartorius' eyes hardened. "I need you to make a house call."
That girl truly was too much trouble.
[Tag Force: Heroes and Villains]
It was meant to be a favor for a friend of a friend, something to satisfy her curiosity and be forgotten as soon as it was finished.
Yet, Gerard could only put his hands over his mouth as he looked past the surface.
"... Holy shit, his alibi is fake?" There were too many contradictions, people saying he was in one area when records never showed Kyle Jables being in any of the places he mentioned. "How'd the kid realize this? … Wait a second, I heard rumors of Aster Phoenix having a sweetheart in Duel Academy… don't tell me…!?"
Before he could go down that thought process, he heard knocking on his door. That was odd. He wasn't expecting anyone.
"Mr. Kouske?" A muffled voice began. "I have a proposition for you: one that you won't be able to refuse."
[Tag Force: Heroes and Villains]
Wilona prepared for her day as usual or rather suffered her way through as she fought a personal headache, caused by Truesdale's and Hassleberry's consistent ability to argue over nothing. She would aggressively remind someone that this was the 14th time two hours into the morning. She was not the religious sort, but was close to praise when her phone rang, giving her an excuse from grating her ears.
That was why when her phone vibrated. She was more than happy to take the excuse to leave, especially since she was expecting a call.
"Hello, Gerard? What news do you—"
"Miss Konami," A new voice interrupted her. "It's a pleasure to meet you. I apologize about Mr. Kouske, but he will not be continuing his work right now."
If there was one thing people learned about Wilona: she was like a crow, she trusted few but those she did, she protected fiercely. A fact whoever took her aunt's friend will learn. "If you so much as attempt to even shave, his horribly kept a beard I will—"
"Now, now. A young maiden such as yourself should not be so vulgar. I am simply asking you not to pursue the path you have chosen."
Wilona narrowed her eyes. The fact that this was the reaction to her sleuthing fueled her suspicions. "And what pray tell was I snooping around?"
The only response was laughter. "For the sake of the record, all I'll say is Mr. Gerrard was trespassing on private property, but I'm a busy man, so I'll get to the point. I've heard stories of you, quite the hard-working overachiever you are. I am struggling to even think of all the ways you might continue pursuing. So, how about we settle this the old-fashioned way: a duel?"
A Duel? Wilona raised her brow.
"If you win, I'll let go of Mr. Gerrard. If I win? Well, let's just say my employer actually enjoys your gumption. We're thinking of a job proposition."
That piqued the attention of the girl. A mysterious shadow figure was interested in her? Where did she hear that before? "So a duel then you'll let him go unharmed and still unkempt as when you caught him?"
"I'll even allow him the honor of keeping the coffee stain I found on him. As for you, I am more than happy to give you coordinates to have a little parlay. See you soon, Miss Konami."
And the line went dead, leaving only Wilona glaring at the phone… before it cracked under her grip.
[Tag Force: Heroes and Villains]
"You want to recruit her? Even after all the warnings we said about her being an ill omen?" The first voice said.
"Keep friends close, and enemies closer. She's a wild card, one better in our hands than any others. It's an opportunity we cannot pass," The second voice turned. "If left to her own devices, she threatens to undo your want for subtlety."
"... Fine, but only her."
"Honestly, you impair us with all these restrictions."
[Tag Force: Heroes and Villains.]
Howard X Miller hummed to himself as he made his way into a cave in Duel Academy. As he set everything up, he looked at his wrist watch. As soon as he did, he heard faint footsteps in his direction.
"How punctual, Ms. Ko…" Howard turned, expecting to see an Obelisk Blue student.
However, before him was a girl styling a Slifer red jacket, black shirt, black pants, red cap, and green ponytail swaying with each step. Wilona knew this meeting required subtlety, and after getting caught with Aster, she decided to go as incognito as possible. Lucky for her, the old Slifer Uniform came in handy. Not only that, wearing it once again empowered the girl in a bolder manner.
Stopping before the pro duelist, Wilona lifted her head, her narrowed eyes cutting sharper than blades.
Howard X Miller laughed, but felt the need to open the collar of his suit. Why did the temperature drop in this cave?
"Where is he?" Wilona refused to even blink as she kept her gaze on the man.
"I promise, he's alright," If a bit in daze due to the power of the Light of Destruction. But it wasn't worth explaining, after all, Young Konami would know the full power of the Light after this duel. "Now, remember our agreement?"
Wilona activated her duel disk, not saying another word.
From what Howard could tell, Wilona had a very strong soul. She would be an excellent soldier of the light.
"Let's Duel!"
Howard: 4000 LP
Wilona: 4000 LP
Turn 1:
"I'll take the first turn!" Howard drew his card. Hidden behind natural stone pillars, Kyle Jables crouched in the darkness, ears fixed on the duel, careful not to betray his presence.
"Howard is a higher ranked duelist than Aster Phoenix, not to mention, his play style is deadly. I almost pity Ms. Konami, but she made her choice when she overstepped her bounds." The bespectacled man spoke to himself.
"I set 3 cards face down, and summon Trap Sluzer in attack mode!" Howard exclaimed.
Trap Sluzer [Type: Effect Monster/Sub-type: Machine/ Attribute: DARK/Level: 4/ ATK: 800/ DEF: 1300]
A mangled monster of a machine puppeted its way to the field.
"And with that, I end my turn!" Inwardly, Howard barely contained his excitement. Knowing about Wilona's Monarch Deck meant that his deck was specifically one of her counters.
Turn 2: Wilona. Cards: 5
Kyle peeked from his hiding spot; his eyes widened when he saw Wilona keeping the same glare at the duelist in front of her.
"I now activate my facedown, this continuous Trap Card, Monster Register! By paying 1000 Life points," (Howard: 4000→3000 LP) this card forces all players to send cards from their deck to the grave equal to the level of monsters they summon!" Howard screamed, but his face contorted into a smile of barely-contained euphoria.
They told him how Wilona duels, summoning low level monsters for bigger and greater ones! A normal summon chain of even a vassal and a Monarch will at least be 6 cards out of 40! And that's not even counting her Mega Monarchs! She'd be out of a deck in a few measly summons!
This duel was as good as— "Because you have 2 or more cards in your spell and trap zone, I special summon Escher in defense mode!"
Escher The Frost Vassal [Type: Effect Monster/Sub-type: Aqua/ Attribute: EARTH/Level: 4/ ATK: 800/ DEF: 1000]
As soon as the monster appeared, Howard's trap card let loose a tongue that hit Wilona's deck before snapping back, carrying cards from her deck. (Deck: 34→30)
Howard only laughed and pointed. "I was not kidding, Ms. Konami, summoning has grave consequences. Your ability to bring out power monsters has been impaired."
Kyle knew it was over, Howard knew it was over.
So did Wilona… for an utterly different reason.
"... How did you know I summon higher level monsters as my play style?" Wilona kept her composure and refused to turn away from her opponent. It was one thing they knew of her, but how were they aware of her Deck?
For the first time, Howard and Kyle flinched. While Sartorius told them, Wilona was unaware of that connection until now.
Howard coughed into his hand. "I did my research, as with anyone! In the pro leagues, information is just as critical as dueling."
"... You're a pro duelist?" Wilona parroted, making the lawyer realize she was picking every detail about were meant to induct her with this duel, not reveal more about their existence that she was on the cusp of uncovering!
"Howard, shut up!" Kyle muttered under his breath. This was turning worse than he expected, she was supposed to break in fear—not Howard!
But this was still manageable, after all, Monster Register was still up.
Wilona's voice was far from broken, fearful, and miserable. "I now activate a new card of mine: Danger! Dogman! To activate his effect, I reveal him to you. Then, I shuffle my hand and you must pick one random card to send to my graveyard."
"The second one to my far right." Howard called before Wilona discarded Illusionary Snatcher.
"Because you did not chose him, I am allowed to draw one card and special summon Danger Dogman to the field!" Wilona did so, summoning a powerful wolf creature to the field. (Deck: 30→29)
Danger! Dogman! [Type: Effect Monster/Sub-type: Beast-Warrior/ Attribute: DARK/Level: 6/ ATK: 2400/ DEF: 1000]
When she did, Monster Register tongued her deck once more, taking 6 more cards! (Deck: 29→23)
"My, my, growing bold aren't we?" Howard spoke up, but sensed something wrong. Luckily, he still had Battle Fader in his hand to stop the battle phase before it could begin. "You have already cut half your deck in 2 summons!"
"Next, I play Restoration of the Monarchs! I return a monster with 2400 or 2800 Attack points and 1000 Defense points from the grave to the field. Illusionary Snatcher, answer the call!"
Illusionary Snatcher. [Type: Effect Monster/Sub-type: Fiend/ Attribute: DARK/Level: 7/ ATK: 2400/ DEF: 1000]
The old monster of Wilona appeared in a blob-like form. Yet, with it appearing, Monster Register once again activated. (Deck: 23→16)
"Why are you summoning even more monsters!? High level ones as well!?" Howard cried out, but the same thoughts ran through Kyle's mind. What, was she attempting to do an extra deck summon? But none of the levels matched, nor did she have a tuner! And not a single card that got milled was a Polymerization of some kind!
"I," Wilona ignored Howard, picking up another card from her hand. "Sacrifice Escher to Summon Seleglare the Luminous Lunar Dragon!"
Seleglare the Luminous Lunar Dragon. [Type: Effect Monster/Sub-type: Dragon/ Attribute: LIGHT/Level: 6/ ATK: 2400/ DEF: 1000]
If beauty was a dragon, it was the one that Wilona summoned. Even in this dark cave, the light of the dragon illuminated the area, giving it an almost star-like quality.
But even that could not stop Wilona's deck from being taken by Monster Registry. (Deck: 16→10)
Howard knew something was off. She was doing this on purpose, but why?
Wilona pointed to her graveyard. "Now, I activate from my graveyard: Frost Blast of the Monarchs! By banishing it and another spell, I can destroy one of your set cards!"
From her graveyard slot, a burst of ice flew out and destroyed one of Howard's facedowns, revealing it to be Drain Shield.
"Wait, was she trying to get cards in her grave to activate key ones?!" Howard realized that standing before him were three 2400 Attack point monsters to his lone 800 one.
Wilona pointed forward, "Now, attack his monster and him directly!" At her command, the three monsters unleashed a combined attack towards Howard and his monster that was left alone.
"I see! I see! Trying to finish this quickly then!? Too Bad! I reveal my other face down! Negate Attack! This famous trap stops an attack and ends the battle phase! I can end the battle phase before it begins!" Howard pressed another button on his duel disk.
The trap card lifted before erecting a barrier that took on and negated the three powerful attacks.
The pro duelist let loose a breath he wasn't aware of holding. All of that, and she still couldn't break through? Here he was, scared for nothing!
So… why was Wilona not ending her turn? "I play Card of Burial Magic! This card allows me to banish 2 spell cards from my grave and draw 2 more cards." (Deck: 10→8)
"I play one card facedown, Then activate Card Advance! I can change the top 5 cards of my deck, and am allowed one more tribute summon this turn," The last line made both Howard and Kyle widen their eyes in alarm. Was she— "I sacrifice Dogman, to bring out Angmarl The Fiendish Monarch!"
Angmarl The Fiendish Monarch. [Type: Effect Monster/Sub-type: Fiend/ Attribute: DARK/Level: 6/ ATK: 2400/ DEF: 1000]
No sooner than she did, the Monster Register activated once more. (Deck: 8→2)
"And I end my turn."
Turn 3: Howard. Cards: 2
"Ah…? Ahahahahaa!" Howard couldn't help but release a heavy laugh. "I apologize, Ms. Konami. They warned me that you were a forced to be reckoned with, but it appears you're not even half as fierce as the rumors said you were."
Wilona lowered her gaze, making her cap hide her eyes. But this spurred Howard's sadistic instincts, seeing someone once so strong and proud… now broken and beaten! "How does it feel? Making such a big show and realizing that it was all for naught!? I think it's time I end this duel."
As he drew his next card, Howard delighted in his absolute victory. "If only you didn't activate your last card, Ms. Konami, you have sailed your fate the moment your turn ended! Look at this monster, Firebrand Hymnist! When summoned, I can force you to send cards from your deck to the grave equal to the cards on your field! And because you want to show off, you left 5 cards on your field!" He motioned to the three monsters, one equip card, and one set card. "Which means, as soon as I summon this, the duel is over!"
"..." Wilona's cap was still down, and that silence before now became one that… signalled defeat. "What will happen to Gerard?" She asked in a hushed tone.
"Oh don't worry about him! In fact, you won't be worrying much about anyone after this, Ms. Konami! I don't know why Sartorius warned me to be so cautious around you when you were nothing but hot—"
"Sartorius?" A single name broke through the sadistic rant of Howard as Wilona lifted her head, revealing that even in her horrible duel state her spirit was never broken…and that Howard fell for her bluff. HARD. "Sartorius Kumar? My principal? ASTER'S manager and best friend? HE knew about Kyle's false alibi?"
Behind stone walls, Kyle gripped his fist to the point of it bleeding. "Howard… you… idiot!"
Howard shook his head. If Sartorius found out he let it out at the last second, he'd never forgive him!He had to deck her out now! "You'll never find out! I summon—"
"It's too bad you didn't notice my trap card." Wilona interrupted the man as he looked up. "I activated it the moment the first main phase came to be. "Escalation of the Monarchs, I can now Tribute Summon a monster. And guess who I'll choose? Another new monster to my ranks, one… stronger than my Mega Monarchs!"
Wilona moved first, taking Angmarl and Illusionary Snatcher. "I Tribute Summon for Thestalos The Shadow Fire Monarch!"
Behind her, a geyser of fire and shadow erupted, shaking the entire cavern and imbalancing all but Wilona. Said explosion formed and solidified, creating a beast unlike any had seen before.
Thestalos The Shadow Fire Monarch. [Type: Effect Monster/Sub-type: PYRO/ Attribute: FIRE/Level: 10/ ATK: 3000/ DEF: 1000]
As it towered over Howard, the pro duelist couldn't help but step back. However, he realized that by doing this, he had won.
"Ah…HAHAHAHAAHAHA!" His laughter became more maniacal, witnessing what was before him. "How kind of you to end the duel for me! You summoned a level 10 monster! And you don't even have half that many cards in your deck! By summoning him, I win! Monster Register, take the last of her cards!"
…
"I-I said," Suddenly, that oppressive feeling returned, tightening around Howard's neck. "Take her cards and deck her out!" He looked at his trap card, which only seemed to sweat in response but did not do what it was tasked to.
"A lovely combination you have," Howard turned to Wilona, who still had her monster on the field, her last two cards untouched. "Monster Registry and Trap Sluzer. You truly have to bend your deck around protecting it, do you not? Dr. Crowler mentioned it in class: stall decks are extremely defensive, capable of protection and the likes… but… I realized there was one unique defense they overlooked: what happens when their monsters… get taken?"
The green-haired girl pointed to her right… revealing Trap Sluzer on her side of the field!?
"What!? How!?" Howard looked at his duel disk, and his monster was no longer on his side, but on Wilona's!?
"Take a second look at my field, what monster IS NOT here?" When Wilona said that, Howard looked up. There were only two monsters: Trap Sluzer and that fierce monar…
The pro duelist didn't realize he gulped. "W-Where's your dragon?"
"Selegrea," Wilona revealed the dragon was back in her hand. "Has a unique ability. When on the field, she has a quick effect that allows me to take control of a monster who has less or equal attack points to her for the remainder of the turn. I was able to chain it after activating my own trap, and your Sluzer was indeed low on attack. Lovely effect he has: protection from continuous traps only for the user as long as he's in attack mode."
Howard broke into cold sweat. She stole his monster? But still… "So what if you stopped Monster Register!? I still have to summon Hymnist! You can't stop that! In fact, as powerful as that beast is, this is my turn! It can't attack!"
"Oh dear," Wilona palmed her cheek without a hint of sincerity. "I did not account for that. What a blunder. I suppose I'll simply activate Thestalos' effect then. Since he was summoned using a tribute-summoned monster such as Angmarl, he gains a second effect. The first effect is that one random card in your hand gets banished."
With a single point, Thestalos fired a blast of black flame that arrowed through Hymnist, signaling that it was the card chosen by the monster.
"After that, you take 1000 points of effect damage."
Howard: 3000 → 2000 LP
Wilona: 4000 LP (Deck: 2)
Howard could only gape as his win condition was stolen from him. But even then, he remained calm, he had more ways to set his defense from monster attacks, and if Wilona summoned one more monster, she was finished!
"Now, his second effect," Wilona explained with a calm not unlike one before a storm. "I can banish one monster on the field. If it's either a fire or dark type, Thestalos can deal damage equal to its original level."
"What? Sluzer?" Howard scoffed. "A level 3 monster in Sluzer? I'm shaking in my boots."
"A good point," Wilona's gaze was unwavering, the exact opposite of Howard's at this moment. "That's why I choose Thestalos."
"I-It can banish itself!?" Howard gasped. "Wait! But he's!?"
"A level 10? Quite. How much is that? 2000 LP worth of effect damage? That's another thing I've always noticed with stall decks. They protect monsters and their cards, but seem to lack protection from effect damage."
Howard started to wheeze as he stepped back, dropping the rest of his hand that only offered card protection and negated monster attacks. He secretly set this duel to tie their souls to the light. He was sure he'd win and bring over this girl to their cause! It wasn't supposed to be like this!
"And for the record," Howard's gaze fell, only to meet Wilona's unyielding glare—a look befitting her circulating title: 'Empress'. "I could have dueled a much different way, but I suspected you to be the sadistic type. So, I made such reckless mistakes to bait you into going overboard in rubbing your victory over me, taunting me with knowledge I would not have gotten if you weren't confident in your victory."
At that confession, Kyle started to hyperventilate. She risked her soul—on purpose—just to trick her opponent into revealing the information she needed?!
"T-This wasn't supposed to happen!"
Seeing that she wasn't going to get any more out of him now that she turned him into a blubbering mess, Wilona sighed. "Let's finish this, shall we? I have an opening shift to prepare for."
Wilona snapped her fingers, and then Thestalos unleashed an explosion of flame and shadow, erupting towards the screaming Howard.
Howard: 2000 → 0 LP
Wilona: 4000 LP (Deck: 2) (Winner!)
As the duel ended, Howard fell to the ground, beaten and unresponsive. Wilona walked up to the downed man and fished his person. When she did, she saw an old radio that had a screen on it, showing Gerard in a dark room… slowly waking up.
"Uhhh… what happened?" The tied-up man asked as he looked around.
Wilona's poker face turned to a relieved smile. "I asked you to be subtle, and you go and get kidnapped?" She said to the radio, which made Gerard turn to the screen, or likely the camera in the room.
"K-Kid? Uhh…. why-why does my head hurt?"
"Just stay calm, I'll get the police to your area. You owe me again, you daft hobo."
"Oh, I'm never gonna live this down. Kinda wishing I was talking to whoever got the jump on me."
Wilona turned to Howard, her ire returning as well. "... No. I do not believe you can."
[Tag Force: Heroes and Villains]
Kyle Jables left as quickly as he could. This was bad. No, this was beyond cataclysmic! Wilona knew everything! Worst of all, she was close to—
"Kyle, wasn't expecting to see you out here." Speak of the devil.
"Aster, same to you, I admit I had business here," Kyle was good at keeping his own poker face. "It went south. But what about you?"
"I was…" Aster shook his head. "Forget it, why should I care about her anyway?"
He was looking for Wilona? No, no! Not now! Who knows what she would say to him!?
Blast it all, how could they salvage this!?
[Author Notes]
And here's the next chapter! Whoo-hoo! A "short" duel but very compact with plays. TBH, a short and kinda sparse chapter, but I really don't wanna force long ones right now.
I was originally planning on focusing on Jaden's side, but Wilona's plot suddenly got very interesting when a few ideas revealed themselves.
It was also a good chance for me to take on a mill deck/duel. And I kinda like the direction I took it. (Don't mess with Wilona!) (And yes, I imagine the monarch theme blasting as my daughter traumatized alien forces of destruction... *sniffs* I'm so proud of her!)
Edit: That's what I get for forgetting FF removes some formatting. Had to put in arrows when I realized I forgot some of them don't translated well.
Edit EDIT: I FORGOT Battle Fader doesn't work like that! Thanks to Kurimaster for catching my mistake!
Edit Edit EDIT: I am so not in the groove right now. (AGAIN? I MISSED STUFF!?)
[Anime/Made-Up cards]
Monster Register: I was surprised this never had a real card. But it is very strong even in anime rules. Imagine this bad boy in current Yugioh Game state.
Trap Sluzer: An interesting card, I think this one could be a real one.