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“And we are here for the finals of the 19th annual KC Grand Prix!” The announcer screams into the mic. “We’ve had nonstop action here in Kaibaland! And none have been more fired up than our finalists!” As the announcer drones, the two finalists, Virgil and Tama, are sitting in the duel prep room, waiting to be announced.
“We’re in the finals! God, can you believe it?” Tama asks, with a huge grin on her face. She can completely tell Virgil is trying to hide his excitement. She’s been dreaming about this tournament since she was a kid and having her best friend here with her makes this feel real. She’s shaking with excitement and giving one last look through her deck. She’s used a lot of decks in this tournament, but this by far has to be her favorite. “Thank you, honestly for joining me. I know that you didn’t wanna do this, and you don’t want to be in the spotlight, but you doing this for me, means more to me than anything else.” After hearing silence, she glances up at him to see him standing up from his side of the room.
He can see the nerves and excitement flow off her like water, and before he knows it, he’s standing by her, hugging her as she bares her soul to him. She relaxes into his hug, and after a second, she pats the side of his face. He looks at her and doesn’t bother resisting the urge to smile at her. “You’re one step away from your dream. I’m sorry that of all people here, it’s me you’re fighting.”
“Are you kidding? You’re the one I wanted to duel the most!” She responds, enthused. “You’re my best friend, so we can give a duel that no other participants can. And this deck, this deck is going to win it for me.” He swallows a guilty lump but ignores it. He notices that she won’t let him look at the only visible card in her deck, although based on what she’s saying, he has some kind of idea. As he headed back into his side of the room, he thought about a last-minute edit to his deck. Not for an advantage, but to just show Tama that he sees her. Before either can say anything else to one another, a receptionist enters the room, informing them that it’s time.
Tama stands up, throwing on a sleeveless Black KaibaCorp-designed jacket. She typically wears band t-shirts and today was no different, as she chose to rep Cats Laughing. She completes her look with a pair of ripped black jeans and black boots. She ties her hair into a ponytail and loops the end of it out of her black and white trucker hat. Virgil also stands up, tossing on his red jacket, a gift to him from their shared mentor. Underneath he’s wearing a black t-shirt with a gold lightning bolt on it, along with dark blue jeans and black boots himself. He brushes his locs out of his eyes, and ties them back behind him. They grab their duel disks and head through the exit into the stadium.
“And here they are now! Our finalists, Tama and Virgil! With both of them being sponsored by Jaden Yuki, it’s no wonder they made it as far as they did!” The announcer hypes. “I wonder what decks we’ll see here? Will Tama use her Level Up deck? Or maybe the Blue-Eyes make a return? I’m sure Mr. Kaiba has some words about that! And how about Virgil? I hope we see a return of his Blackwings or the Thunder Dragons!” Tama and Virgil reach the center of the dueling stadium and shake hands, amongst the cheers of the entire crowd.
“Duelists, are you ready?” The referee asks. Upon seeing the two of them nod in affirmation, he throws his hand up in the air. “Get your duel disks ready!” Tama’s silver and red duel disk glints in the afternoon sun, while Virgil’s silver disk formed a circle around his wrist.
“Let’s duel!” The pair shouts in unison. As they finish speaking, the hard light holograms envelop the field, transforming the field to look like an open grassy field. A Head-Up-Display appears over both players’ heads, revealing their life points and current cards in hand.
Turn 1: Tama: 8000 LP; 5 cards in hand
Virgil: 8000 LP; 5 cards in hand
“If you don’t mind, I’ll start this duel off. It’s my draw!” She draws the top card of her deck, looking pleased with herself. “I activate the spell card Gold Sarcophagus!” As she inserts the card into her duel disk, a giant golden box breaks through the ground and opens up. She pulls a card from her deck, Exodia the Forbidden One, and tosses it into the sarcophagus, which slowly retreats into the ground. “Then I activate Graceful Charity! I choose to discard Sangan and Winged Kuriboh.” Declares Tama, moving the cards to her graveyard slot. “Then I activate the spell card Shard of Greed, and toss one more facedown!” I have the Left Arm already in my starting hand, so I’ll just need 3 more pieces. This is amazing, I can’t wait to see what he does!
Turn 2: Virgil - 8000 LP; 5 cards in hand
“Ok, guess I’ll draw,” Virgil says, seemingly not as enthused. “I activate Pot of Greed, so I can draw 2 more cards!” Miracle Fusion, not a bad draw, would be useful later though. I hate this. If I win this duel, then her dreams end. I can’t do that to her.
“I activate the spell E - Emergency Call and add Elemental Hero Stratos to my hand!” Virgil continues. “Now I summon Elemental Hero Solid Soldier to attack directly!”
(E-Hero Solid Soldier: 1300 ATK/1100 DEF)
“So, we’re rushing now, huh? I activate my facedown: The Flute of Summoning Kuriboh so I can summon Kuribah to the field in defense mode,” Tama responds.
(Kuribah: 300 ATK/200 DEF)
“I continue my attack! Solid Soldier continue your strike!”
“You triggered Kuribah’s effect, and now I can summon a monster with 300 Attack and 200 Defense from my deck. So now I summon Kuriboo!”
(Kuriboo: 300 ATK/200 DEF)
“I play one card facedown and end my turn,” Virgil says, emotionless, much to Tama’s surprise.
I don’t know what’s going on with him. What was that play he made? Why didn’t he summon Stratos? Or do anything else? She thinks to herself, trying to shake off her insecurities.
Turn 3: Tama - 8000 LP; 3 cards in hand
C’mon Tama, get your head in the game. Clearly, he’s just playing safe. He respects you too much to do what you think you’re doing.
“It’s my turn!” She forces herself to say as she draws. The Shard of Greed she played the last turn grows a bit bigger. “I play Pot of Greed, and with it, I get 2 more cards from my deck!” A plan forms in her head, and a way to inflict massive damage to his life points. “Since I have more monsters in my Graveyard than you, I can special summon Kuribabylon!”
(Kuribabylon: 1500 ATK/1000 DEF)
“My Kuribabylon gains 300 attack points for every Kuriboh monster in my graveyard! And I activate Kuriboo’s effect from my hand. By discarding a trap card, I can reduce your monster’s attack by 1500 points until the end of the turn.” She discards the Wall of Revealing Light and targets Solid Soldier. The color drains from his monster as it falls to 0 attack, and a look of surprise permeates Virgils’s face.
Kuribabylon 1500 → 2100
Solid Soldier 1300 → 0
“Kuriboo, attack!” When she sees Virgil not activate a card in response, she calls out once more. “I activate the effect of Kuribeh from my hand. If I discard him, one Kuriboh monster gains 1500 attack! And since another Kuriboh went to the grave, Kuribabylon gains 300 more attack.”
Kuribabylon 2100 → 2400
Kuriboo 300 → 1800
Kuriboo rolls up into a ball, and spin dashes into Solid Soldier, causing Virgil to take 1800 points of damage. Solid Soldier explodes, and the shockwave pushes Virgil back a few feet.
Virgil: 8000 → 6200
“And we’ve seen first blood! Tama takes an early lead with her decisive play!” The announcer interjects.
“I activate my facedown, Hero Signal!” Virgil yells. A signal light appears in the sky, with an H emblazoned on it. “I choose to Summon Elemental Hero Bubbleman in attack mode!”
(E-Hero Bubbleman: 800 ATK/1200 DEF)
“And when Bubbleman is summoned on the field all by himself, I get to draw 2 more cards.”
“Ok, well that doesn’t stop Kuribabylon from attacking it!” The dark gremlin grins in response and charges Bubbleman at a breakneck pace. Bubbleman is impaled on its horn, causing Virgil to lose even more life points.
Virgil: 6200 → 4600
What is with him? Why didn’t he summon Bubbleman in defense? I can’t duel him if he’s going to throw. I’ll give him one more turn, otherwise, he’s going to really feel my wrath.
“I end my turn,” She says flatly.
Turn 4: Virgil - 8000 → 4600; 7 cards in hand
“In just one turn Tama has reduced Virgil’s life points by almost half! How will Virgil respond to this?”
“It’s my draw. I summon another Solid Soldier. And this time I’m using his effect,” Virgil states. Is-is she mad at me? Why is she mad at me? I just want her to achieve her dream! He shakes off his thought and continues his turn. “I special summon Elemental Hero Lady Heat in defense mode.”
(E-Hero Lady Heat: 1300 ATK/1000 DEF)
“Guess I’ll take the small furball do-” He starts.
“Kuribeh’s effect is permanent, did you not realize that?” Tama interrupts, annoyance radiating from her words.
“I-I set one card and end my turn. And since it’s my end phase, you lose 200 points for every Elemental Hero I control.” Lady Heat points her finger at Tama and fires two quick, small balls of fire at her. She barely reacts as she loses minimal life points.
Tama: 8000 → 7600
Turn 5: Tama - 8000 → 7600; 2 cards in hand
“It’s my draw.” As she draws, the Shard of Greed fully forms into a Pot of Greed, and the Golden Sarcophagus emerges from the ground again, giving her Exodia, The Forbidden One. “I use my Shard of Greed’s effect to send it to the graveyard for 2 more cards.” The Pot explodes, causing her deck to glow yellow, and the top two cards fly into her hand. I activate Gold Sarcophagus again, removing the Right Arm of the Forbidden One!”
So Exodia is her end game? That’s interesting. Virgil thinks to himself. Don’t have much hand destruction in this deck, so this could be a problem. His dueling instinct is itching to figure out a way to win fast, but he’s trying to suppress that.
“Why aren’t you fighting back? This is one of the most important duels, and you’re just toying with me! You think Jaden would toy with one of us if he was here?” Upon hearing their shared mentor’s name, Virgil looks down at the red jacket he’s wearing, and starts to feel bad about his decisions. “Kuribabylon, attack Solid Soldier!”
Virgil: 4600 → 3500
“I end my turn. Now come at me!” She says, ignoring his Lady Heat.
Turn 6: Virgil - 4600 → 3500; 5 cards in hand
Burstinatrix, I guess even my deck wants me to do something. He thinks, seeing the card in his hand.
“I activate Polymerization, to fuse Elemental Heroes Avian and Burstinatrix!” Virgil says. Tama grins widely, seeing one of their favorite monsters form on the field. Ok, he’s starting to take this seriously, maybe that means I’m in for a real fight. He might summon Stratos to get his Captain Gold, so he can get Skyscraper, and then deal me a lot of damage. Or maybe he’ll even-
(E-Hero Flame Wingman: 2100 ATK/1200 DEF)
“Elemental Hero Flame Wingman! Attack Kuriboo with Infernal Rage!” Flame Wingman jumps high in the air, aiming the draconic head on its hand towards Kuriboo, and fires a massive fireball, obliterating it.
Tama: 7600 → 7300
“Flame Wingman’s effect activates, and you lose life points equal to your monster’s original attack!” Quicker than Tama can even blink, Flame Wingman suddenly appears in front of her, arm outstretched, and launches a weak stream of fire at her. Thanks to the hard light and sensors in the duel disk, she can feel the heat surrounding her as her life points drop a bit further.
Tama: 7300 → 7000
“I end my turn, and Lady Heat’s effect activates again.” Lady Heat fires again at Tama, draining a bit more of life from her.
Tama: 7000 → 6600
Turn 7: Tama - 7600 → 6600; 5 cards in hand
“Virgil seems to have found a bit of a spark! Let’s see if he can make a comeback!” The announcer shouts as Tama draws a card.
If there’s a card in my deck that can make him understand my feelings, it’s this card. Duel be damned, I’ll sacrifice as many life points as it takes to snap him out of this. Tama looks at the card, and then up to Virgil.
“Virg, can I ask you something?” Tama asks, a bit uncertain.
“Yeah, what’s wrong?”
“Why didn’t you summon Stratos? Why are you holding back?” She half-screams.
“I just- This is your dream!” He snaps. “You want to be a pro duelist! And I don’t want to be an obstacle in your way. I just didn’t wanna be in this position. If I win, I don’t want you to hate me for causing you to miss this chance. I’m sorry.” He says those last sentences so quietly, that she almost didn’t hear them.
“I don’t want regrets here. I want to know that I won against you by going all out, not because you’re not trying.” She states. “I activate the card Yu-Jo Friendship!” She starts to walk toward him, and he sees the determination in her eyes. “We’re friends, and as your friend, I’m asking you. Please treat this seriously. Come at me the same way you did everyone else in this tournament. You’re my best friend. And I love you no matter what the results of this duel.” He looks at her, and maybe it’s the card, or maybe it’s his guilt, but he’s reminded of everything they've been through together. From the orphanage to Darkness, and everything in between. She extends her hand to him, and looks at him, her eyes full of warmth. He shakes her hand and also pulls her in for a hug.
“Yu-Jo Friendship! This is one of the special cards that Maximillion Pegasus created to honor special duelists that he knew in his lifetime!” The announcer explains. “Now that they shook hands, their life points will become half of the total of their current life points!”
Tama: 6600 → 5050
Virgil: 3500 → 5050
The pair continue their hug as their life points change, Virgil, being surrounded by a green aura as he regains life points, and Tama a red one as she loses them.
“I love you, Tama. And I’m sorry I’ve been too dumb to see your feelings,” Virgil sheepishly says, offering her a smile as she leaves his embrace.
“I love you too, but apologize with your dueling!” She counters as she walks back to her side of the field. “I activate 5-Star Twilight! By tributing Kuribabylon, I can summon all 5 of the Kuriboh brothers from my deck.” Kuribabylon explodes into stars, and each star transforms into a different Kuriboh brother. “Now, I activate Kuribah’s effect to tribute all 5 of them to resummon the Kuribabylon from my graveyard. And with the extra Kuribohs in the grave, it gains even more attack!”
Kuribabylon 1500 → 4200
“Kuribabylon, attack the Flame Wingman!”
“I activate my facedown card, Negate Attack, to end your battle phase!” Virgil interjects. Tama smiles and ends her turn.
Turn 8: Virgil - 3500 → 5050; 3 cards in hand
This-this is the card that Jaden gave me. His friend works for Pegasus and thought Jaden would get a kick out of this. Virgil thinks to himself.
“I summon Elemental Hero Stratos and use his effect to add Vision Hero Vyon to my hand. I also switch Lady Heat to attack mode. Flame Wingman, attack Kuribabylon!”
“What could he be planning? Virgil’s Flame Wingman is far too weak to contend with Tama’s Kuribabylon!” The announcer shouts, perplexed.
“I activate the effect of Elemental Hero Honest Neos from my hand, giving Flame Wingman 2500 extra attack points!” A translucent Neos descends to the field and envelops Flame Wingman in a golden aura. Flame Wingman leaps into the air and dives towards Kuribabylon, with golden light, and flames surrounding it. The resulting attack completely vaporizes Kuribabylon and Tama takes the damage.
Tama: 5050 → 4650
“Don’t forget my Hero’s superpower!” Virgil exclaims. Wingman appears in front of Tama and again blasts her with flames.
Tama: 4650 → 3150
“Now I attack with Elemental Hero Lady Heat!”
Tama: 3150 →1850
“Looks like this is game, with Stratos and then Lady Heat’s effect. I’m sorry to do this to you. Stratos, attack directly.” Virgil says, voice full of regret. Stratos launches a hurricane at her, but before it connects, the spirit of a Kuriboh envelops her.
“ I discard Kuriboh to reduce the battle damage to 0!” Tama exclaims, a smug smile on her face. “And since the battle phase is ending, I discard Kuribohrn to revive the Kuribabylon you destroyed! And with 2 more Kuriboh monsters in the graveyard, it’s even stronger!”
Kuribabylon 1500 → 4800
“I set one card and end my turn, so now you lose 600 more points!”
Tama: 1850 → 1250
Turn 9: Tama - 6600 → 5050 → 1250; 2 cards in hand
“What a comeback! For the first time this match, Virgil takes the lead!” The announcer yells.
“It’s been 2 turns, so I get my Sarcophagus card, which means another Exodia piece,” Tama says revealing the Right Arm of the Forbidden One card. “Kuribabylon, attack Lady Heat!”
Virgil: 5050 → 1550
“I activate Swords of Revealing Light and end my turn.” Three turns to either draw the last two remaining Exodia pieces or to mount an unbeatable defense. This is so much fun!
Turn 10: Virgil - 5050 → 1550; 2 cards in hand
A Hero Emerges? Would be useful if I wasn’t going to summon Vyon this turn already. Maybe if I draw another monster next turn. Hoping for something to make this Miracle Fusion worth it. Virgil thinks to himself. “Hey, Tama,” Virgil says.
“Hmm?” She asks, perplexed.
“You were right, I should have been dueling like this from the beginning,” he concedes. “Because this, this is getting fun! I summon Vision Hero Vyon in defense mode!” The cybernetic hero appears in a flash of purple light, and a beam of light emits from it and scans Virgil’s deck.
(Vision HERO Vyon: 1000 ATK/1200 DEF)
“Vyon’s ability allows me to send a HERO directly to my grave, and I choose Destiny Hero - Dasher!” He switches his remaining monsters to defense mode and ends his turn, a potential plan forming in his head.
Turn 11: Tama - 1250; 3 cards in hand
“It’s my draw!” Tama exclaims. If I draw Winged Kuriboh, this card could be useful. “I set one card, and attack Flame Wingman!” Both of them recoil a bit seeing the Wingman explode but refocus back on the duel. She nods at him, signaling that it’s his turn.
Turn 12: Virgil - 1550; 2 cards in hand
I could set A Hero Emerges, but even getting Neos out wouldn’t help , Virgil reflects. He keeps the Neos in his hand and tries to assess the situation.
“I end my turn!” As he makes his declaration, the Swords surrounding his field get even more transparent.
Turn 13: Tama - 1250; 3 cards in hand
I just need one more piece! This is incredible!
“I attack Stratos!” Kuribabylon rockets forward and spears Stratos with its horn, and then slams it into the ground. “I end my turn.”
Turn 14: Virgil - 1550; 3 cards in hand
“I set one card facedown and end my turn,” Virgil says, as the Swords of Revealing Light surrounding him finally fade away.
Turn 15: Tama - 1250; 4 cards in hand
“I activate the spell card One Day of Peace. We both get to draw a card, and in exchange, neither of us takes damage until you end your turn.” Both of them draw a card, and Tama’s face lights up. “I activate Kuribabylon’s effect, to sacrifice him to bring back the Kuriboh brothers! But they’re not going to stay around for very long! I send Kuriboh, Kuribee, Kuribah, and Kuribeh to the grave in order to summon Dystopia the Despondent!”
(Dystopia the Despondent: 5000 ATK/5000 DEF)
“And Tama has summoned Dystopia the Despondent, a monster that’s in the same class as the Egyptian Gods!” The announcer yells, his enthusiasm hitting full force.
“Dystopia, attack Vision HERO Vyon!” Dystopia, taller than the stadium they’re currently in, punches down towards the field, its fist catching fire.
“I activate my facedown: Mirror Force!” Virgil exclaims. Tama’s response is just a wry smile, as she expected it.
“I activate Dystopia’s effect! By removing a level one monster from my graveyard, I can make Dystopia immune to everything until the end of the damage step!” She removes Winged Kuriboh, and Dystopia gained a red aura around it. The holy barrier of Mirror Force appears in the path of Dystopia, and it just punches through the barrier, sending shards flying everywhere. The shockwave from the punch connecting knocks Virgil straight on his back.
“I end my turn.”
Turn 16: Virgil - 1550; 4 cards in hand
“And Virgil only has one card set on his field! Can any of the cards in his hand save him?” The announcer asks the crowd as Virgil draws a card from his deck.
“I activate Mirage of Nightmare!” Virgil exclaims. “Then I set 3 cards facedown!” He ends his turn with a full spell and trap card zone, hoping Tama is a bit hesitant to attack.
Turn 17: Tama - 1250; 4 cards in hand
“Looks like this could be the last turn,” Tama says.
“Not yet! Since it’s your standby phase, I can draw until I have 4 cards in my hands!” Virgil says. He draws Neo Space, Hero Spirit, and Elemental Hero Necroshade and is a bit worried.
“I attack directly with Dystopia!” Tama declares, going for victory.
“I activate my facedown: A Hero Emerges! Now you have to pick a card from my hand, and if it’s a monster, I get to summon it.” Virgil counters.
“Fine, I pick the far right card.”
“You have picked Elemental Hero Necroshade! I summon him in Attack Mode!” Virgil declares.
(E-Hero Necroshade: 1600 ATK/1800 DEF)
“I also activate a facedown!” Virgil declares as Necroshade materializes. “Emerg-” His words are cut off as the shockwave from Dystopia’s punch collides into Necroshade. A huge smoke cloud erupts, and Tama eagerly looks on, to see if she won. The smoke clears, and Virgil is still standing upright. As she looks at the display, she’s shocked.
Virgil: 150
Tama starts laughing as she looks at his field, and sees the spell card Emergency Provisions, which gives him 1000 Life points for every spell and trap he sends to the graveyard. “Ok, now we’re cooking! I set one card facedown, and end my turn,” She says, more excited than she’s been all game.
Turn 18: Virgil - 1550 → 3550 → 150; 3 cards in hand
“It’s my draw!” Virgil declares. “Since Destiny Hero - Dasher is in my grave, once a duel, I can special summon the monster that I drew! Neo-Spacian Flare Scarab, you’re up!” A pillar of flame erupts from the ground, and through it, the Flare Scarab appears. “And since you destroyed Necroshade, I’m allowed a one-time summon of a HERO without a sacrifice! C’mon Neos, show your stuff!”
(Neo-Spacian Flare Scarab: 500 ATK/500 DEF)
(E-Hero Neos: 2500 ATK/ 2000 DEF)
“Not all heroes need a card to fuse, and sometimes, sometimes, they just need a bit of… contact!” Virgil says, unable to contain his grin. “I contact fuse Elemental Hero Flare Neos!”
(E-Hero Flare Neos: 2500 ATK/2000 DEF)
“He gains 400 ATK for every spell and trap card for the field, and with me setting this one card, there’s 5 of them!”
(Flare Neos: 2500 → 4500)
“And that’s not all! I activate the field spell card Neo Space, which gives all Neos Fusions 500 extra attack. And since it’s a spell card, that’s 400 more!”
(Flare Neos: 4500 → 5400)
The area around them transforms, putting them in a technicolor wonderland. A rainbow of color surrounds them, as Flare Neos powers up. “Attack Dystopia!” Flare Neos’ fist gets covered in flames and it dashes forward, striking Dystopia.
“I activate Dystopia’s effect and banish my Kuriboh! Now he’s immune from getting destroyed in the battle!”
“But you still take the damage!”
Tama: 1250 → 850
Turn 19: Tama - 1250 → 850; 4 cards in hand
“I set one card, and switch my monster to defense mode!” Tama declares, glad her deck is coming through for her.
(Flare Neos: 5400 → 5800)
Turn 20: Virgil - 150; 0 cards in hand
“I attack Dystopia!” Tama removes Kuribeh from play to protect Dystopia.
Turn 21: Tama - 850; 4 cards in hand
“I switch Dystopia to attack mode!” Tama says, grinning. “Attack Flare Neos! And I activate the trap card Dust Tornado, to destroy Neo Space!”
(Flare Neos: 5800 → 4500)
Dystopia’s attack on Flare Neos is akin to a human squashing a fly. As the shockwave approaches Virgil, he reveals his facedown.
“I activate my trap! Hero Spirit. The Battle Damage is reduced to 0!” He responds, as his life point counter doesn’t change.
“You keep worming away from defeat, I’m starting to think you’re actually trying to win the duel,” Tama says with a smile. Her hands are trembling in excitement. She’s so close to either finishing Exodia or just reducing his life points.
Turn 22: Virgil - 150; 1 card in hand
Battle Fusion. This would have been helpful last turn. With this and Bladedge, I really don’t know what I’m going to do. Just gotta survive until the next turn.
“I-I end my turn,” Virgil says.
Turn 23: Tama - 850; 5 cards in hand
“I’m sorry to end this like this, but I attack directly with Dystopia the Despondent,” Tama says, tears in her eyes. She’s still utterly excited but feels so bad that this finale isn’t a major turnaround.
“Not yet, I still have one more trick! I activate my facedown: Generation Next!” Virgil exclaims, excited the card Jaden gave him finally gets to see use.
“Generation Next! There’s only one copy of this card in existence!” The announcer exclaims.
“Since my life points are lower than yours, I can summon an Elemental Hero, Kuriboh, or Neo-Spacian monster, as long as it has less than or equal attack to our life point difference. I choose to summon Winged Kuriboh!” The feathered furball arrives on the field in defense mode, only to be destroyed instantly. Tama can’t even contain the massive smile on her face.
“It’s always fun dueling you! You really pull out all the stops!” Tama says. “I set one card facedown, now hit me with your best shot!”
Turn 24: Virgil - 150; 2 cards in hand
“C’mon deck, don’t fail me now!” Virgil says as he draws a card. He gets a huge grin on his face. “I pay half of my life points to activate A Hero Lives!”
Virgil: 150 → 75
“Now I can summon one level 4 or lower Hero from my deck, and I choose Elemental Hero Sparkman!”
(E-Hero Sparkman: 1600 ATK/ 1400 DEF)
“Now I activate my last facedown, Miracle Fusion! I fuse Sparkman with my Elemental Hero Flame Wingman! It’s time for Flame Wingman’s Ultimate Form! I fusion summon Elemental Hero Shining Flare Wingman!”
(E-Hero Shining Flare Wingman: 2500ATK/2100 DEF)
“My Wingman gains 300 attack points for every one of his fallen comrades. And with 10 of them, he gains 3000!”
Shining Flare Wingman: 2500 → 5500
“Shining Flare Wingman, attack Dystopia! Solar Flare!” Shining Flare Wingman rushes towards the lumbering behemoth and Virgil cracks a wry grin. “I activate the spell card Battle Fusion, giving my fusion monster attack points equal to your Dystopia!”
Shining Flare Wingman: 5500 → 10,500
As the Wingman gets closer, a mixture of fear and excitement shows in Tama’s eyes. With no other options, she activates one last card.
“I activate my facedown card, Ring of Destruction on your Shining Flare Wingman!” Tama yells. A spinning ring outlined with grenades attaches itself to the Wingman’s neck. “My ring destroys the monster that wears it, and its attack points get subtracted from both of our life points.” As she finishes that sentence, the grenades explode, and as the Shining Flare Wingman lets out an anguished cry, the shockwave knocks both duelists to the ground.
Virgil: 75 → 0
Tama: 850 → 0
“And both duelists take each other out! What an explosive ending to an emotional duel!” The announcer concludes as the holograms slowly disappear. Tama and Virgil both stand up and approach each other, shaking hands with each other as the crowd cheers.
“Great duel, Virgil,” Tama says, the smile never leaving her face. She collapses into his arms as he hugs her, and regardless of what happens next, she’s content with this moment right here. “I still can’t believe you thought that I’d hate you if you won.”
“I was looking for reasons to avoid this duel, honestly. We’ve just always fought together, so fighting each other outside of training or Academy duels just felt wrong,” Virgil confesses. He can feel her laughter through his chest, and she pulls back away from him enough to look him in the eyes.
“You’re such a dork,” she says in between laughs. She kisses him on the cheek before softly saying, “I could never hate you, we’ve been through far too much.” Before they could continue speaking, the unmistakable sound of a jetpack rings through the air. Landing before them, looking almost eternally youthful, is Seto Kaiba.
“Something like this hasn’t happened at any of my tournaments before,” Kaiba says, his face unreadable. “The cash prize and exclusive access to freely challenge me has been alluring for anyone. After all, why wouldn’t it be? None of them have even come close to winning. I look for a greater challenge, so I issue this to you two: I’ll take you both on, tomorrow. In a two versus one duel.” The crowd gets immediately excited. “So, are you real duelists?”
Tama and Virgil look at each other, seemingly having a full conversation with just a few facial expressions. “Of course!” They say in unison.