Yuzu nodded at Yuya, so he stated,
"I'll start by activating Pendulum Call! I discard Half Shut to search Wisdom-Eye Magician and Dharma-Eye Magician! Using scale 2 Dharma-Eye and Scale 5 Wisdom-Eye, I set the Pendulum Scale!" The two magicians rose in their columns, one in black robes with gold trim and glowing blue runes, the other with gold trim and purple gems. "Dharma-Eye's effect! I reveal scale 8 Harmonizing Magician and change Wisdom-Eye's scale to 8! I can now Special Summon monsters of level 3 to 7 simultaneously! So, without further ado -
Swing, Pendulum of my soul! Carve an arc across the sky! Pendulum Summon! Come out, my monsters! Level 4 Harmonizing Magician and, of level 7 and glorious eyes, Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!"
Odd-Eyes stood with a girl who looked like Tuning Magician, but slightly older and much more confident, with greater ornamentation on her robes and staff. She rang the tuning-fork-like end of her staff and a portal opened next to her.
"When Harmonizing Magician is Pendulum Summoned, I can Special Summon another Pendulum Magician from my deck! I summon Xiangsheng Magician!
"And next, I Normal Summon Performapal Trump Girl!" He summoned a younger version of Trump Witch, with pink bangs covering her eyes.
"Trump Girl allows me to Fusion Summon a monster using her and other monsters on my field! Watch closely, as Spellcaster-type Trump Girl fuses with Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!
Wielder of mysterious powers, become the bright light in the eyes of the dragon! Fusion Summon! Come forth, arcane dragon who wields ancient magic! Rune-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!
Misty and Bommer looked on as his more streamlined armor gleamed, the spikes jutting from it turning gold, light glowing from under the medallion covering his right eye.
"Level 4 Tuning Magician tunes level 4 Xiangsheng Magician!
Hero's blade that sets forth unyielding light! Now and here, along with a flash, awaken! Synchro Summon! Level 8! Enlightenment Paladin!
His white robes flapped as a shockwave blew out from him, brandishing his twin swords.
"Since he was Synchro Summoned using a Magician monster as a material, I can return a spell from my graveyard to hand. I choose Half Shut!" He retrieved the card and set it. "But that's not all!" He leapt up and dashed between platforms, grabbing an action card and slamming it into his duel disk.
"I activate the action spell, Fire Ring Jump! All monsters on the field gain 500 attack points!"
Enlightenment Paladin and Rune-Eyes took turns leaping through a ring of fire that appeared in the middle of the field, and posed together as their ATK respectively increased from 2500 to 3000 and 3000 to 3500.
"Wonderful!" Misty laughed.
"Perhaps you've already reached my cards as well," Bommer said as he looked at the card he'd drawn.
"Are you making fun of us?" Yuzu asked.
"See for yourself," Bommer replied, activating a spell card. "A Wild Monster Appears! I can now Special Summon, from my hand, a level 10 or below monster that can't be Normal Summoned or Set, ignoring the summoning conditions! So, I summon the level 8 Flying Fortress SKY FIRE!"
The spell card glowed and from a flash of light came a huge robot that looked like it was built from WWII aircraft. Propellers on its wings started up, whipping a wind around the field.
"However, the monster I summon will be returned to my deck at the end of the next turn," Bommer explained. "Plus, I can't summon any other monsters or deal damage this turn - though since this is a tag duel, that last part isn't much of a problem on my first turn. But what I can do is activate SKY FIRE's effect. By sending one card from my hand to the graveyard, I target one of my opponent's cards and destroy it! Since Rune-Eyes has 3500 attack to SKY FIRE's 3000, he will be our target!"
SKY FIRE flew up, the turrets lining its body swiveling into position. Yuya winced and started for another action card, when he saw Misty leaping up to a platform as well.
"Sharpshooting Volley!" Bommer declared, and the turrets launched their first bullets…
"Action spell: Spell Absorbing Mirror!" Yuzu shouted. "Rune-Eyes can't be destroyed by effects this turn!" A giant ornate mirror appeared in front of Rune-Eyes and the bullets were drawn into it. Bommer smirked.
"Well done."
"You clearly had the same thought as me," Misty said, "there's no reason for a player who hasn't started yet to just stand idle."
"I'll set one more card and then end my turn," Bommer said. "But be warned - SKY FIRE has only one turn left on the field, but it will remain dangerous through that turn."
Remembering some of the duels she'd seen, Yuzu actually checked the display on her duel disk and read SKY FIRE's full effect.
So he can destroy one card I summon or set each turn and burn me, huh? she thought, eyeing one particular card in her hand.
"I activate Ostinato! I Fusion Summon a Melodious monster by sending materials from my hand or deck to the graveyard! I fuse Mozarta the Melodious Maestra and Solo the Melodious Songstress from my deck!"
"Beautiful songstresses, gather your power with the guidance of the baton! Fusion Summon! Come to the stage and sing the song of victory, Bloom Diva the Melodious Choir!"
SKY FIRE's turrets immediately tried to lock onto Bloom Diva, but she spread her arms and radiated golden light, causing the guns to swivel back and forth uselessly.
"Bloom Diva can't be destroyed by card effects," Yuzu said. "So with no destruction, there'll be no effect damage either. I set one card and end my turn. Now SKY FIRE should return to your deck."
"Normally that would be true," Bommer replied, "but as soon as your end phase begins, I activate Downshift!" He revealed a trap with artwork depicting a vehicle's gearbox. "I send one Machine I control to the graveyard, and Special Summon a new one with a lower level from my deck. I summon Summon Reactor - SK!"
Appearing in SKY FIRE's place was a smaller plane-based robot, taking a defensive stance and displaying 1400 DEF.
"Summon Reactor will also damage you the first time you summon a monster each turn, but it can't damage your monsters."
"What an energetic series of turns," Misty said, "I may have to apologize if mine seems a little dull by comparison. I summon Reptilianne Naga. Then I set two cards."
She summoned a girl with the lower body of a snake, but the snake's actual head stuck out from the top of her head like a headdress.
"0 attack…" Yuzu mused. Yuya drew and looked over his options. One spell card in his hand, which wasn't any help yet. He did have Half Shut set which could provide a backup plan to protect one of his monsters, but it would still be a huge risk.
Misty's 0 ATK monster was in attack position. Yuya saw a nasty set of effects, but with both of his monsters Misty and Bommer would lose before those ever mattered. She must have been placing a lot of stock in her set cards. Yuya had no cards to clear them out, and even with an action card…
Which was when Misty dropped back to the ground and held up the action card she'd found. Whatever it was, the meaning was clear: Yuya and Yuzu were cut off from anything that might reinforce them for the turn.
Yuya was sure now that she was trying to goad them into attacking her Naga. There was nothing to be gained from waiting indecisively though, so in that case -
"Battle! Enlightenment Paladin attacks Summon Reactor! When Enlightenment Paladin destroys a monster by battle, he can deal effect damage equal to that monster's attack points!"
"I activate the action spell, Battle Change!" Misty shouted. "I switch the attack target to Reptillianne Naga!" Enlightenment Paladin swerved in midair and thrust one of his blades at Naga who swerved out of the way and wrapped herself around his arm.
"Repltillainne Naga can't be destroyed by battle," Misty said. "I also activate the continuous trap card, Spirit Barrier! Bommer and I will take no battle damage as long as we control a monster. Now Naga's other effect activates!"
Naga gave a sinister giggle and her snake head darted forward and bit Enlightenment Paladin on the arm. He struggled as a grayish-brown texture spread from the bite, like he was turning to stone.
"The attack points of a monster that battles Naga become 0."
"You wanted this Entertainment Duel and now you're using such underhanded tactics?" Yuzu asked, outraged.
"Venom is a part of nature," Misty replied calmly. "There are creatures who depend on it for survival; for food, protection or both. If my monsters take after these creatures, and they come with these effects you find so distasteful, does that make them inherently bad?"
"Do they want to use them or are they being forced to?" Yuya asked, and at this Misty raised an eyebrow, her smile definitely looking more like a smirk now.
"I end my turn," Yuya said, to Yuzu's surprise. Bommer drew.
"I summon Black Salvo!" he announced, revealing a cartoon bomb with a huge grinning face on it. "I use Black Salo's effect to Special Summon the level 4 Trap Reactor - Y FI I discarded earlier." Another robot, green in color with airplane wings bent to serve as arms, rose from a portal. "Level 3 Black Salvo tunes level 4 Trap Reactor!"
"Faster than sound, unleash your firepower in the blink of an eye! Synchro Summon! Appear, level 7 Dark Strike Fighter!"
An orange-brown jet unfolded, revealing a much sleeker and more advanced looking mecha.
"I switch Summon Reactor to attack mode. Battle! Dark Strike Fighter attacks Enlightenment Paladin! His Fighter dashed forward, opened up his chest compartment and released a salvo of missiles.
"I activate Miracle!" Yuya shouted. "I negate the battle destruction and halve the damage!" The missiles swerved and impacted around Enlightenment Paladin, but the shockwave still swept over Yuya and Yuzu, dropping their life points to 2700.
Bommer said, "Summon Reactor also attacks your Paladin!" The smaller robot fired with a machine gun turret, Enlightenment Paladin bracing behind his swords as Yuya and Yuzu's life points were lowered further to 1900.
"I activate my set quick-play, Half Shut!" Yuya flipped his card. "I prevent my monster from being destroyed, in exchange for his attack points being halved - but that's no actual loss right now."
"I thought you might try something like that!" Bommer shouted. "For main phase 2, I tribute Summon Reactor and Dark Fighter deals you 800 more damage!" Another explosion rocked them, now at 1100 points. "I set a card and end my turn… now, Yuzu, as soon as your turn starts, I activate Back to the Front and Special Summon Summon Reactor back from my graveyard! If you summon another monster now, you and Yuya will only have 300 points left."
To Yuzu, that seemed to only give her one choice. She wondered if something had shaken Yuya, noting how he'd hesitated to keep attacking before. She wouldn't.
"Straight to battle, then! Bloom Diva attacks Summon Reactor! Reflect Shout!" Diva sang a note at the machine.
"When Bloom Diva battles a Special Summoned monster, she deals damage equal to the difference between her attack points and the enemy's, and then destroys it!" For once, the difference came from Bloom Diva's ATK actually being higher, but it would still finally deal Misty and Bommer damage even if it was only 200 points.
"Trap card! Serpent's Gaze!" Misty shouted. "Your battle phase ends and Bloom Diva's effects are negated! A pair of snake eyes appeared and stared at Diva, stunning her stiff as her colors faded. Yuzu gasped at what happened to her monster when Yuya cried,
"Action spell: Effect Shift! Serpent's Gaze's target changes to Summon Reactor until the end of turn!" He looked down at Yuzu from the platform he was on and gave her a thumbs up. "You're free to summon now, Yuzu!"
Yuzu beamed back at him in surprise, only for the smile to drop when she looked at her hand and the high level monsters filling it. These were the times that made her wonder if she shouldn't have tried harder to make Pendulums work better in her deck.
"Dharma-Eye's effect!" Yuya announced. "I reveal scale 8 Odd-Eyes Unicorn in my hand to set Wisdom-Eye's scale to 8!"
Yuzu considered that and realized what he was trying to tell her.
Wait a minute, this is a tag duel. I do have access to Pendulum monsters…
"Using the Pendulum Scale previously set, I Pendulum Summon! Come out, my monsters! Level 7 Shopina the Melodious Maestra, and level 5 Elegy the Melodious Diva! And I switch Enlightenment Paladin to defense." She turned to Yuya. "That's twice this turn you helped me."
"It's the least I can do after you saved Rune-Eyes," Yuya replied.
"How touching," Bommer remarked.
"And you meant that sincerely too?" Yuzu asked incredulously.
"Absolutely," Bommer replied. "Your loyalty to each other has moved me more than any show you could put on."
"Now then," Misty said as the turn passed to her. "I tribute Reptilianne Naga to summon Reptilianne Medusa!" This new monster looked far more… monstrous, with a reptilian upper body, a leering fanged face, and a set of writhing snakes for hair in the manner of her namesake.
"Battle! Medusa attacks Bloom Diva!" With a cackle, Medusa lunged forward as Bommer went for an action card. However, this time it was Yuzu who managed to be faster.
"Activate trap card! Waboku! All damage and monster destruction from battle this turn is negated!"
"In that case, I discard Reptilianne Gorgon to activate Medusa's effect, target Rune-Eyes and reduce his attack points to zero!" Yuya reeled back as he watched Rune-Eyes fall under the stone curse as well.
"Then I tribute Medusa to activate Dark Fighter's effect!" Misty shouted, and Yuya and Yuzu were thrown back, down to 300 life points.
"I also activate the spell card Monster Warp, banishing Medusa from my graveyard so I can Special Summon monsters with an equal total level from my hand and graveyard. I summon Reptilianne Viper from my hand and Naga and Gorgon from my graveyard!
Level 2 Viper tunes level 1 Naga and level 3 Gorgon!
Rise from the ashes of tragedy, and seize revenge in your many fangs! Synchro Summon! Level 6! Reptilianne Hydra!"
Hydra's tail uncurled, her lanky arms spreading out as all five of her heads reared up.
"Retpilianne Hyrda's effect! When she's summoned, I can destroy all 0 attack monsters my opponent controls!"
"Illumination!" Yuzu shouted. "I negate an effect that destroys monsters!" All of Hydra's heads tried to shield their eyes from the multicolored spotlights.
"Very well then, I end my turn," said Misty. Yuya drew, wondering how he could get out of a 3700 life point gap with a summon lock on. When he saw the card, he knew he could.
"I activate the spell card, Extra Shift! During this turn, none of your monsters can be destroyed and you take no battle damage. I return a monster I control to the extra deck, and I summon a monster of the same card type that's one level lower - and by returning the level 8 Enlightenment Paladin, I can summon a level 7 Synchro Monster!
"Spread your wonderful and beautiful wings, and strike down your enemies at the speed of light! Come forth, Clear Wing Synchro Dragon!"
"At that moment, Summon Reactor's effect activates!" Bommer shouted.
"Crystal Wing's effect activates in response!" Yuya also shouted. "Summon Reactor won't be destroyed because of my card, but its effect is negated! Dichroic Mirror! And that means I can keep summoning! For the second use, can summon a monster with the same level! I return Rune-Eyes to my extra deck and summon a level 8 Fusion Monster!
Appear, poisonous dragon with hungering fangs! Appear, Starving Venom Fusion Dragon!
I can also summon a monster with a level one higher! By returning Yuzu's Bloom Diva to her extra deck, she can summon a level 7 Fusion Monster!"
Getting the prompt, Yuzu chanted,
"Now on stage, the song of passion! Bloom Prima the Melodious Choir!"
"I send Extra Switch to the graveyard and target two monsters to change them to the same level. I make Shopina and Elegy level 4. Now I overlay both monsters!
Rise from the pitch-black darkness, and bare your fangs of defiance against the foolish forces of oppression! Xyz Summon! Descend, rank 4 Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon!"
As Misty and Bommer watched in bewilderment, Yuya went on,
"I reveal Odd-Eyes Unicorn to set Wisdom-Eye's scale to 8! Pendulum Summon! Return from my Extra Deck, Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!"
The four dragons roared, looking a sight posing with a flower-singer-angel.
"I activate Dark Rebellion's effect! I detach two materials and target Dark Strike Fighter to halve his attack, and Dark Rebellion gains the lost attack! Treason Discharge!" With a flash of purple lightning, the Fighter's ATK decreased to 1300, and Dark Rebellion's climbed to 3800. "Now I activate the spell card, Miracle Rocket!" Yuya added. Five brightly colored rockets rose from the ground and the monsters loaded into them. "Battle! Miracle Rocket Show negates all destruction and damage from battle this turn! Bloom Prima can attack twice and Odd-Eyes doubles battle damage against a level 5 or higher monster - with all 5 monsters attacking Dark Strike Fighter, 8800 damage is negated!"
The rockets launched, raining down stars.
"At the end of battle phase, Miracle Rocket Show deals damage equal to the battle damage negated - and so the total is?" He indicated to Yuzu.
"8800 effect damage!" she announced. Misty was stunned, while Bommer managed to reach an action card. He turned it around.
"Damage Banish. It blocks battle damage - it's useless."
Fireworks burst from the rockets and he and Misty looked up at it, accepting their defeat.
The dragons and Bloom Prima returned, and she gave a bow while they tilted their heads.
"Thank you for being part of this performance!" Yuya called, taking Yuzu's hand as they posed together at their opponents. He had done it. Not one monster destroyed, all 4 Dimension Dragons out at once and a spectacular, non-violent end. His confidence returned that he could prove Ryo wrong.
Yuzu noticed something that she didn't think Yuya did. The Dimension Dragons tossed their heads before they disappeared, and they all made a noise that she could have sworn sounded like a snort.
Misty and Bommer approached them.
"You really did an amazing job," said Misty.
"What was the real point of this? And what made you associate with the Dimension duelists?" Yuya asked.
"I suppose you deserve an explanation," Bommer sighed.
"I come from a poor, remote village in South America. My dream was to become a Riding Duelist and bring wealth and prosperity back to my home. The City was famous as the world's center for dueling and opportunity, so I came here to launch my career. I became prominent enough to compete in the Friendship Cup… where I was eventually defeated and cast down into hell. That's probably why you had trouble remembering me at first," he said as an aside to Crow. "After everything I'd done trying to help my home and family, I was left wondering if I'd ever even see them again."
"But… you did, right?" Yuzu asked.
"Eventually I was able to fight my way back to the surface and out of this city back to my village," he replied somberly, "where I learned that my younger siblings had died in an accident. I'd wanted a better life for them, and I couldn't even be there when they needed me the most. That's why I had to return to this place. To make sure it keeps its promise to give others the justice I, and my brother and sister, never got."
Yuya struggled to think of something to say. He turned to Misty, whose smile had dropped fully for the first time.
"And do you have someone you're fighting for?"
"My brother." She closed her eyes. "He was so gifted and so kind. He always wanted to make this city better for everyone, turn it into a fair and peaceful society. He always saw the best in everyone, so much so that he never guessed that the organization he joined could hardly have cared less about the wellbeing of the city and was only interested in using him. Soon I lost all contact with him, and any inquiry I could make just came up with that he'd been 'sent away'."
"You don't mean…" Yuya and Yuzu's eyes widened.
"In truth, they didn't even have to try very hard to cover up that they'd murdered him, since they had Security in their pocket. And even a Top could be made to disappear if he was troublesome enough. So don't worry, I was with you from the moment you originally appeared in this city. I'd known for some time that everything it stood for was based on lies."
"But do you think helping the Dimension Duelists is the way to set things right?"
"Perhaps supporting them and supporting you aren't really mutually exclusive," Misty replied. "In fact, that's one of the things I wanted to test."
"So then, what did your test tell you?"
"I can see how dedicated you are to what you want to achieve, and how you want to achieve it," Misty replied cryptically.
"But do you think it will make a difference?" Yuya asked, and Misty's smile returned, just as cryptically.
"...No, probably not."
"And what about all those predictions?" Yuzu asked. "Was that just a load to trick us into the duel?" Misty chuckled, but now it was unmistakable that a hint of sadness had crept into her smile.
"I never said that…"
Then she and Bommer each pulled a device from their pocket and thumbed a button on top, causing them both to vanish in blue flashes. The dome dropped and Crow ran over to them.
"The Dimension Duelists have already gotten to people in the city? How do we know who we can trust?"
Elsewhere in the city, a flash of light revealed ranks of blue-jacketed Barrett Academy students arriving, looking around at their new surroundings.
"Let's get searching then," sneered Manjoume, "wouldn't want to keep our 'friends' the Lancers waiting."
The students laughed and began to fan out.
So, for this duel I decided to try something a bit different. Namely, can I take the supposed ideals Arc-V tries to set up to their logical conclusion, with no monsters destroyed and action cards constantly being played, and what would the duel feel like? The second is a larger amount of original cards and how they affect the story. I believe this chapter also has the highest amount of non-anime action cards (from the Strongest Duelist Yuya manga, specifically).
nightshroud96: I had a bit of thinking to do on how to approach Misty's strategy, though her ace was fairly clear since Reptilianne Synchro monsters exist in real life but never appeared in the anime.
In regards to Zarc, I feel the closest we get to any explanation boils down to 'getting a hard light body let Astrograph Sorcerer do real magic, and then a bunch of stuff happened that made Zarc really powerful, and then Ray got really powerful, and they got reality warping powers, somehow, and…' ugh. Addressing Zarc is probably going to be the hardest part of writing this whole fic.
Card catalog:
Downshift - Trap Card: Tribute 1 Machine monster; Special Summon 1 Machine monster with a lower level from your deck. It cannot attack during this turn.
Serpent's Gaze - Continuous Trap Card: When your opponent declares an attack while you control a Reptile monster: Target the attacking monster, end the battle phase, and negate the target's effects. If it leaves the field: destroy this card.
Effect Shift - Action Spell Card: When an effect is activated that targets a monster on the field: change the target to one other monster on the field, until the End Phase.
Monster Warp - Spell Card: Banish 1 monster from your GY; Special Summon monsters with the same type and attribute from your hand and GY (min. 1 from each), whose total levels exactly equal the level of the banished monster.
Extra Switch - Continuous Spell Card: Your opponent takes no battle damage, and their monsters cannot be destroyed, during this turn. Up to 3 times per turn: you can return 1 monster you control to the extra deck; Special Summon 1 monster of the same card type (Fusion or Synchro) from your extra deck, with a level related to the level of the sent monster (1 level lower, equal level, and 1 level higher). If you have used this card's effect 3 times this turn: send this card to the GY, target 2 monsters you control and declare a level; change those monsters' levels to the declared number, and if you do, immediately Xyz Summon 1 Xyz Monster. During the End Phase (even if this card left the field): destroy all monsters you control.
Next time: Yuya, Yuzu and Crow learn more capabilities that the Dimension Duelists can and are prepared to use. After Yuzu gets separated from the others, someone new makes himself known.