//------------------------------// // Turn 10: White Dragon's Roar vs. Clear Night's Sky // Story: It's Time To Duel! // by DagaYemar //------------------------------// Kaiba Luna 4000 4000 “Tell me something.” Kaiba asked dryly. “Why is it you wack jobs always wear cloaks? Does it help you get into character? Do you just feel too foolish with yourself if you don’t go all out with the crazy?” The two of them had backed up a ways from the helicopter pad and back onto the stone walkway leading to the castle. Luna still stood between Kaiba and his jet, and a wind whipped dramatically at their clothes as they faced each other. Luna tilted back her head and laughed. “My, you are everything I have been told to expect! But you will be singing a different tune all too soon, my impertinent young friend.” “And if you had a nickel for every time I’ve heard that,” Kaiba snorted, turning slightly away and crossing his arms, “Then you might be half as rich as I already am! Now are you going to make a move or am I just wasting my time?” “You should not be in such a hurry to lose!” Luna returned, plucking a card from her hand. “I play one card in reverse and call forth Corvus, the Crow to defend myself!” A blob of violet goo rose up from the field and molded into the form of a large bird, roughly the size of a small car. It appeared to be made of pure star stuff, with little pinpricks of light studded throughout its whole semitransparent body. It flapped its wings a few times before settling of the field. A card popped out of Luna’s deck and she slipped it into her hand. “Corvus allows me to add any Welkin spell I desire to my hand. But it is still a tad too early to use this one, so you may proceed with your turn.” “Is that all?” Kaiba snorted derisively, drawing a card with a snap of his wrist. “After all that big talk I was expecting something a bit more. That pitiful excuse for a monster won’t last a second against my Lord of D!” A stern-looking person appeared on his side of the field and thrust out its cape dramatically into the wind. It was decked out in gaudy draconic attire from head to toe, and glared at its opponent with nearly as much contempt as Kaiba. But Kaiba was not done there. “Now that my Lord of D. is on the field, I can activate my Flute of Summoning Dragons card. And what does it do? Well, it lets me summon some dragons, of course. Two of them, in fact!” The flute appeared in a shimmer of light and the Lord grabbed it from midair. It put it to its lips and let loose a bright peal which echoed through the air for a few seconds. Instantly the air above it started to shimmer as a pair of dragons took shape. A pair of dragons with shimmering white scales, wicked teeth, and a truly terrifying presence. Despite herself, Luna took a step back on reflex. “It cannot be… two Blue-Eyes White Dragons? On the very first turn, no less! I seem to have underestimated you a bit!” “A little late, but at least you’re learning.” Kaiba gloated. He trust his hand out and the Lord of D. leapt forward, slugging Luna’s star beast in the head. Corvus crowed in pain and collapsed in on itself, dissolving into nothingness. Before it could disappear completely a single ball of light shot out of its failing body and climbed into the sky, vanishing into the cloud cover. “Showy.” Kaiba said, archly. “Was there supposed to be some point to that?” Luna held up her deck for emphasis as she explained. “My Star Beasts are a special breed of monsters crafted for my use alone. None of them rest easy in the graveyard; rather, they ascend to the sky when destroyed.” “Shame it’s a cloudy day.” Kaiba smarmed. “Not that it matters much, as this duel is already over.” “Oh? They why not finish it?” Luna teased, holding out her hand to her face-down. “Do you fear when may lie in store?” Seto’s anger flooded forth and he slashed his free hand dramatically. “Hardly! Blue-Eyes, strike some sense into her!” One of his dragon’s roared and opened its maw wide, building up a deadly blast of lightning breath. To Kaiba’s surprise his opponent just laughed and spread her arms wide, clearly inviting the attack. The energy lanced out and enveloped the woman completely. Luna 1000 “Thank you.” Luna’s voice echoed out from the smoke left by the attack. “For I would never have been able to use this magic card without your assistance. Behold the wrath of Inferno Tempest!” “Inferno what?” Kaiba said, right before his deck burst into fire. Kaiba cried out in shock and started to beat out the flames, but they were only holographic and ignored his attempts to smother them. Cards started shooting out from his deck one after another, fluttering about him in a small cloud. The ground also caught fire as the cards fell, hiding them from sight. Across from him, the same thing had occurred to Luna’s deck, with one major difference. As her cards fell to the ground they burst into lights and sent scores of beams shooting up into the sky. The clouds buckled and burst outward in a circle, revealing a night sky, of all things, brimming with stars. The clear spot grew wider as more and more constellations filled it up. “What is happening?!” Kaiba demanded and the stream of cards finally slowed to a stop. A little more than half his deck had been ejected from his disk. Luna grinned widely and held her hands palm-up, basking in the starlight. “Inferno Tempest is a powerful spell that removes any and all monsters from both our decks from the game in a single blow. I am afraid you have nothing left at your disposal but your spells and traps now.” “So what?” Kaiba declared, gesturing to his field. “Did you forget that I still had another Blue-Eyes out? This duel has already been decided!” His second dragon let loose its own attack at his words, and once again Luna simply lifted her arms and accepted it. The lightning slammed into the ground around her… and continued on, leaving not a single life point touched. Kaiba felt his jaw hit the floor. “My apologies, but while the field spell Empyrean is active, any damage I receive is reduced but one hundred for every Star Beast in the sky.” Luna explained, waving a hand above her. “And shame for you, but I had more than thirty Star Beasts at my disposal. Mighty though your dragons may be, they are useless against the strength of the heavens!” “But when did you play a card like that!” Seto exclaimed. “It wasn’t there when I attacked before and you didn’t have any other traps left!” “Please, do you think my servants are just for show?” Luna gloated. She started pointing out various constellations. “A quick astrology lesson, then. That one there is Andromeda, the Chained Maiden, and when she is sent to the sky I am allowed to use any field spell in my hand I wish. Similarly, that one there is Aries the Ram, who destroyed that Lord of yours. Did you not wonder where it had gone?” Kaiba noticed for the first time that at some point during the confusion his Lord of D. had been destroyed, and said some things that probably should not be said in front of a lady. “Fine, whatever. So you took out a few cards and held on for a turn. It looks to me like you’ve made a grave miscalculation.” “And what would that be?” Luna inquired. Kaiba grinned and pointed a finger at her duel disk. “By destroying all your own monsters, you’ve left yourself with nothing to attack me with. And it looks like you only have a couple of cards left in your deck. You’ve already killed yourself; all I have to do is wait.” In response Luna threw back her head and laughed to the sky. “Foolish child, has it not occurred to you yet? This duel is already mine! And I will prove it with this, the powerful spell Welkin Polymerization! With this, I call upon one of the most powerful constellations in the sky. Now descend, Argo Navis, the Ship!” Above them, the stars started to swirl together in a dizzying spiral. They spun faster and faster, creating a shining disk of moving light that pulsed in hypnotizing patterns. A massive ship slowly floated down from this chaos, coming to a rest above the two of them. It dominated the sky over the duelists, its body cycling through a rainbow of hues all over. The stars above slowed down and came to a rest in their original spots, minus a few here and there. Kaiba looked down from the gigantic ship and saw that Luna had several cards in her hand. “My spell does not send Carina, Puppis, and Vela to my grave, but rather back into my deck. And I will also use the special power of Pyxis the Compass to return another Star Beast to my deck as well. So you see, I will have as many cards as I need to finish this contest. “And is my ship not impressive? Not only does it possess enough defensive power to stave off your dragons, but it comes with a special power of its own. Now watch as it calls forth yet another of my servants!” “Seriously, lady, tone it down!” Kaiba spat, but he had to shield his eyes before he could go on. A beam of light connected Argo Navis to the sky, and when it cleared there was a giant standing on its deck. The man stood nearly three and a half stories tall and its body was colored a transparent orange. It hefted a huge bow and began to draw back the string. Luna clapped her hands. “Most excellent! Argo Navis has brought down Orion the Hunter to my command! Now watch as your precious dragon is brought low!” The hunter took aim and let loose a shining arrow that struck Kaiba’s Blue-Eyes in the chest. The dragon roared as it began to gleam brightly. It imploded in a burst of brilliant light. Kaiba 3200 “You will pay for that.” Kaiba promised, glaring bloody murder at her. “Now are you about done yet?” “In one moment.” Luna smiled, playing one card face down. “There, now I am finished. But there is hardly anything you can do anymore.” I’ll be the judge of that. Kaiba thought, drawing his card for the turn and studying his hand. I didn’t have any other monsters in hand when she used that Inferno Tempest, so that means Blue-Eyes is the only monster I’ve got left. Fortunately, I don’t need anything else! I’ll show her for making a mockery of my deck! “First I will play these two cards face down,” Kaiba began, setting all but one of his remaining cards, “and then I will wipe the field of your hunter! Burst Stream of Destruction!” His remaining dragon stretched wide its jaws and unleashed a torrent of power at the star beast. The blast tore a hole through Orion’s chest and the monster collapsed in on itself, its star-stuff swirling back up into the sky. Luna held up her hand and shrugged. “So what? That was not near enough damage to even hurt me anymore. And I can always call him back down with Argo Navis once more. Destroy him all you like, if it will make you feel better about your inevitable loss.” “Keep talking.” Kaiba growled. “I’ve yet to see anything actually impressive out of you yet.” “Then how about this?! I reverse Welkin Storm Shower. Now feel the wrath of the heavens!” All of the stars above them pulsed at the same time and a swarm of shooting stars appeared. The impromptu meteor shower centered on Seto and soon he was lost in a stream of burning lights. He cried out and threw up his arms to protect himself, and bore through the storm as best he could. Still, he was driven to his knees before the shower let up. Kaiba 400 Luna laughed again at his plight. “Look at you! This duel has barely started and you’re hanging on by only a thread!” She held up her disk as her graveyard slot began to glow. “Let me tell you about the other effect of my wonderful little trap. By giving up my new card this turn, I may instead return Welkin Storm Shower to my hand. You have no chance of surviving another blow like that!” She returned the trap to her field and thrust out her arm straight up. “I might as well carry out the rest of my turn, just to stay in practice if nothing else. First I will use Pyxis to return another Star Beast to my deck, and then I shall unleash Argo Navis once more!” The ship glowed again and shot a beam of light into the sky. It struck a constellation and one of the largest monsters yet was pulled down. It was a colossal blue whale, nearly dwarfing Argo Navis in size. Both the ship and Kaiba’s dragon were forced backwards as the whale took up most of the room in the air above the duel. From this angle even the stars above were nearly blocked out of sight. “Cetus?!” Luna exclaimed, dismayed. “Hardly the beast I needed, but I suppose it matters not. You have no escape from my trap in any case.” Kaiba smirked and glared down his nose at her. “Who says I don’t? And I think I’ve figured out the weakness of that floating tub. You have no control over who it summons, do you?” Luna scowled. “As I said, it is no matter. Draw your card so that I may finish this.” “Very well.” Kaiba said calmly, giving his new card a quick glance. “I suppose all I can do is set this card and end my turn. Your monsters are much too large for me to attack.” “Mockery, Kaiba? It is a little late to be petulant about your loss.” Luna snapped her fingers and her trap activated. “Once more I call upon the power of Welkin Storm Shower. This is the end!” Meteors filled the sky and descended upon the field, passing through the whale’s massive body as if it were water. Kaiba was quickly lost to sight as the asteroid’s impact raised a great cloud of smoke. Luna grinned in victory and leaned her head back, closing her eyes. “Master, I have defeated him, as I promised. Another servant has joined your fold-” “Don’t get ahead of yourself, you clod.” A voice interrupted. Luna blinked her eyes open and jerked her head forward. The smoke slowly cleared to show that Kaiba was still standing unharmed. A strange metal disk with panels jutting out of it like flower petals revolved in a lazy circle in front of him, before the panels folded in on themselves and the device dissolved in a stream of light. “How did you survive?” Luna demanded in anger. “The Ring of Defense negates all damage from trap cards.” Kaiba said offhandedly. “Care to try again?” Luna bit the inside of her cheek. “No. Welkin Storm Shower may only be used twice. But make no mistake, I have plenty of ways to shave those last few life points away!” She drew a card to start her turn and glared up at the whale. “First, I must remove this obstruction from my night’s sky. I utilize Mystik Wok and devour its defense points!” Her spell engulfed the whale in a shimmering aura of light and it dissolved away with a forlorn sigh. Luna 4000 “You went through all that trouble to summon it, just to throw it away?” Kaiba asked with an arched eye. “Do not lecture me, child!” Luna spat, pointing an accusing finger in his direction. “What does it matter if I destroy my own monsters? They simply return, allowing me the pleasure of destroying them again and again! Do not forget that I am the one in control, and you with barely enough strength left to stand!” “Oh no, don’t get me wrong.” Kaiba said calmly, his smugness only inciting Luna’s rage further. “I have no objections to wiping out useless monsters like that one. I just have to wonder if you can afford it right now.” “I am the one in control!” Luna screamed, thrusting both hands out to her ship in supplication. “Argo Navis! Grant me a servant strong enough to silence this man for good!” The ship launched another beam upwards in response and the entire sky lit up in a brilliant burst of light. A gigantic serpentine dragon roared its way down to the field, wrapping its body several times around the duelists before rising high into the air. Its scales shone greenly and filled the whole area with a slight emerald glow. Luna immediately unleashed a peal of triumphant laughter. “Behold, Seto Kaiba, the strongest Star Beast in the sky has come to finish you! Draco the Dragon, whose attack points are equal to the level of all my Star Beasts times one hundred! Now despair as I unleash the Power of the Heavens!” Draco opened its jaws and unleashed a stream of light down upon the other dragon. Kaiba slashed his hand at his face downs and one turned up, releasing a totem pole covered in speakers out from the card face. The speakers sent forth a wave of sound that caught the blast of light and held it in place for a few moments before shattering the attack into fragments. “The great Seto Kaiba, using such a card to hide from my attack, like a common duelist?” Luna demanded, more than a little incensed that her best attack had failed. Seto held up a finger and shook it at her. “Command Silencer is more than just a common card. In addition to halting your attack in its tracks, I now draw a new card to replace it.” “Draw whatever you like! You have nothing that can stand up to Draco!” Luna spat, but had to blink sweat out of her eye. It is not possible. I have the strength of Lord Sombra on my side! Why can I not break him?! She flicked an eye upward and pointed at Pyxis again. “I return Libra the Scales to my deck, which in turn allows me to draw two fresh cards from my deck.” She drew and studied her new cards. The first was Vela the Sails, and the second… She smiled and slammed the monster onto her disk. “I summon Aquarius the Water Bearer in defense mode! And I have removed more than enough monsters needed to use her effect!” A light blue girl nearly fifteen feet tall appeared on her side of the field. The girl upended a large vase over her shoulder and a wave of water gushed forth from it, flooding Kaiba’s side of the field. The waters reached up in a wave and swept the Blue-Eyes from the sky, making it shimmer and vanish as it was returned to his hand. “That was your last monster!” Luna shouted, losing her composure. Her eyes were wide and staring and her hair was starting to fray at the edges wildly, and the ruby necklace on her throat gleamed. “You have no monsters left to sacrifice for it, either! My dragon is more powerful than any other and Empyrean will protect me from any of your tricks. There is nothing more to be done! Surrender and accept your defeat! You will make a fine brainwashed servant for my Master!” Kaiba was silent for a moment, but then he drew a card and glared up at her. Luna took a step back and her breath caught in her throat. The sheer amount of hate in those eyes! “You know, I have had to put up with a lot today.” Kaiba began, his voice deadly still. “But no matter where I go, it seems everyone is always saying the same old tired lines. And I am finally sick of it! I activate Trade-In!” “But you have to discard your Blue-Eyes to use that!” Luna exclaimed in surprise, but Seto had already tossed the card away to draw two new ones, bringing the number of cards in his hand to four. “Mystic this and brainwash that, and all the time I’m expected to just accept it!” Kaiba continued. He activated the spell Soul Release next and his graveyard slot glowed brightly before ejecting the Blue-Eyes. “I do not understand!” Luna shouted. “Why are you destroying your own cards?!” “I am going to say this only once, so pay attention! I do not believe in any of this magic garbage!! I activate Return from the Different Dimension!” Kaiba 200 Kaiba’s last trap flipped up and burst into blinding light too painful to look at for too long. From out of the center of this light flew not one, not two, but all three of Kaiba’s Blue-Eyes White Dragons. The trio of monsters flew around each other and let loose a simultaneous roar that caused even Draco to lean back from the force of it. Luna held up an arm to shield her eyes against the wind produced by their summoning. “What do you hope to accomplish? Your dragon does not possess the power to destroy Argo Navis, much less Draco. This is pointless!” “I never said I was finished!” Kaiba shouted, holding another card over his head dramatically. “I use Polymerization to fuse my dragons together into my ultimate monster!” His Blue-Eyes roared once more before they swirled together like paint. The spiral of color unspun out to reveal a new dragon much larger and more rugged than the original Blue-Eyes, sporting three heads that all leaned forward, eager to rip and tear. “And next I equip my Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon with the spell Megamorph!” Kaiba continued, and the equip card appeared on his field. An aura of green energy surrounded his dragon and it began to grow in size. “That doubles its attack power!” “Nine thousand…!” Luna whispered, awed despite herself. “But it is still not enough. Even after sending so many Star Beasts back into my deck, Draco still has more than ten thousand points! Unless…!” He smirked and activated his last card. “Did you really think it was wise to challenge me with a dragon? There is no dragon more powerful than my Blue-Eyes! I use Synchronic Ability to steal Draco’s ability and give it to my Ultimate Dragon!” “YOU CAN’T!” Luna screamed, throwing her arms up crosswise to ward of her terror. Draco’s ability does not care if the stars in the sky came from your deck or the opponent! That would bring his dragon’s attack points to… more than twenty thousand! Not even Empyrean can stop that much damage! Starlight fell down from the sky, shining upon the Ultimate Dragon’s scales and lighting it up until it shone like the sun. It opened wide its three jaws and unleashed an enormous wave of lightning and light that engulfed the entire area before it. Argo Navis was swallowed completely, while Draco stood up to the attack for only a moment before falling apart under its power. Luna screamed as the light surrounded her and the world disappeared. Luna 0 The attack detonated in a supernova of power, the winds expelled from it blowing savagely in all directions. The stars above began to blink out one by one and the clouds were chased away in all directions. Finally the attack ended and all the holograms faded away. Luna lay senseless on her back, arms and legs splayed wide and her hair all around her head. There was a small cracking sound as the collar around her neck snapped and fell off, the ruby set in the center already a dull, lifeless grey. “Hrmph.” Kaiba grunted, stepping over her unconscious form and stalking towards his jet. “I told you I was in a bad mood today. You should have stayed out of my way.” Kaiba boarded his jet and was soon airborne, putting this island far behind him as fast as he could. … Bandit Keith clutched his forehead and grunted at the surge of pain that went through it. He glared out the window down at the distant form of Luna on the walkway below. “Looks like she was just too weak to serve you after all.” He said into thin air and then cocked his head to the side, as if listening to something. “No. Reclaiming a piece of trash like her is pointless. We should step things up instead.” He reached a hand to touch his brow lightly, and a dark red glow appeared from beneath his bandana. “Change of plans. Get to the inner room right away. We will clean up the vermin running around in your way.” … “Ok, is anyone else seeing that?” Joey asked, “Because I definitely see it this time!” The rooftop they were standing on had shaken right as the duel between Applejack and Bakura ended and now the sky was flickering, alternating between normal and what appeared to be stars. A bright white light could be seen from below the edge of the roof at these times as well. After a few moments the sky stabilized to normal as if nothing had happened. “There is definitely some kind of power being used here.” The Pharaoh confirmed, laying one hand on his puzzle. “It’s odd that I didn’t notice it before, but someone doesn’t want us to see what’s happening in the rest of the castle.” “Ah hope Rainbow and Rarity are alright.” Applejack said, limping over to the others. “Are you alright? You don’t look all un-colored!” Pinkie exclaimed, rushing over and looking over every inch of her body for any spots of grey. Applejack waved her off with a smile. “Ah’m fine! Ah think ah got lucky, destroyin’ Ataxia before it could get a hold in the field or anythin’. Ah’m more concerned with what’s happenin’ to the sky? Is this more of that Bakura’s doin’?” “No, it isn’t.” Celestia said, commanding the attention of the others. Twilight noted that she was clutching her wrist, pressing her bracelet almost into her arm. “I didn’t want to worry you girls about this until after the tournament, but there was a reason we needed the power of God Cards so urgently. And now it seems that trouble has followed us all the way here.” She turned to Pegasus. “I know that your tournament isn’t over yet, but considering the circumstances…” “Say no more.” Pegasus said firmly. He reached into the neck of his shirt and removed a key on a necklace, which he handed over. “I’ve seen enough of your student’s decks by now to understand the theory behind them. I’m already inspired, so it’s only fair to grant you your reward as well. This key will let you into my private workspace where I’ve prepared all I know about the God Cards for you.” “Thank you. I remember the way.” Celestia said, accepting the key and turning away. Twilight grabbed her sleeve. “I should come too. You’ll need my cards-” “No!” Celestia said a little too quickly, but calmed herself and looked her student in the eye. “No, you need to stay here and deal with Bakura first. I’ll be fine on my own.” “If you say so…” Twilight said uncertainly, but Celestia had already tipped her a nod and was walking briskly off. Soon she was through the door and disappeared into the castle. “Things sure are getting interesting!” Bakura said with complete unconcern. “But I don’t have all day, so who’s going next? I believe I have to sit this one out?” “Why you!” Twilight said, flicking on her disk and starting forward. “Don’t worry girls, I’ll be sure to win and take him on in the next round.” Yugi stopped her with a hand on her shoulder and held her back. “Hold on, I’ve got a better idea. Joey, why don’t you duel Pinkie next?” “Eh?!” Joey said, both his eyebrows shooting up. “Are you sure, Yug? Wouldn’t it be better if you or Twilight dueled next?” Yugi smiled and turned to Twilight. “Don’t worry Joey, I’ve got a plan. Trust me.” Twilight looking him in the eyes and bit her lip, but nodded. “Alright, we’ll do it your way.” “Cool!” Pinkie exclaimed, rushing forward to shake Joey’s hand. “Your deck looked like it was a blast! Let’s put all this dark magic and junk out of our heads for now and just have fun! I’m really looking forward to it!” “Eh… sure.” Joey said hesitanty, and then with more enthusiasm. “Yeah! You’re on! Don’t think I’m gonna go easy on you just cause we’re working together!” “Of course not, silly!” Pinkie laughed, before putting on a serious grin that was little scary to look at. “You’ll need your best just to keep up!” Next time on Yugioh: It's Time to Duel Unlimited Potential vs. The Solar Guard