Chapter 51: Duel

With the sudden addition of a baby boss monster to our lives, the day took a weird turn. We spent an hour or two figuring out all of what she could do, as well as finding out how we were supposed to make sure she was taken care of.

Created from my arm and given life from Amy she was, but the little snake still called me 'Daddy', so I was going to treat her as my daughter... Because why not? (Probably helps that she's not a Human child.) I didn't exactly have much against the brats, I was even good with them whenever I was forced to tolerate em, but I was firmly in the 'Animals are better and easier to deal with then people' camp. What a shocker. Though, that'd probably change when Taylor eventually wanted actual kids, VERY likely, so caring for the little snake was an easy thing for me to do.

That aside we ended up in the Danger Room, putting Scylla, which was what we named the little one after the source was explained to her and Amy, through her paces. After testing was done we figured out where her limits were. She was slow, which was fair since she was a plant snake, but strong since said plant was originally made from a Methanosian. She was capable of crushing solid steel by coiling around it like a boa constrictor, and had a decently fast striking speed when she was coiled.

She also ate bugs, preferring to eat wasps/hornets/bees. She apparently liked the 'Crunchy wings and pointy things', which was a little strange, but it was fine. Still, that preference may or may not have made her put 'Auntie' higher then 'Mama and Daddy' considering she was lounging on Taylor's lap like an overgrown house cat while my girlfriend fed her. "This is bullshit. It should be me, not her!" Smug Amusement came over her side of the Bond, my girlfriend giving me a grin as she fed my daughter, while Amy snorted by my side, getting me to look at her. She'd taken off the fur coat since we were back inside, but kept the pants. (Unfortunate, but whatever.)

That aside, Amy shot me a somewhat Exasperated look, keeping an eye on our snake daughter, while the other was looking at me from the corner of her eye. "Still don't know how you two are taking this so well. You should be freaking the fuck out, worrying about the fact I turned your fucking arm into a grass snake thing, instead of pampering her." It was Interesting that she called Scylla an 'It' one minute, and 'She' the next.

That little observation aside, I just blinked. "Why?"

She paused. "Why' what?"

"Why should we be freaking out? We knew you could do something like this if you tried. We just don't care." Putting that fact in her head, and letting it grow would go a long way to getting her more comfortable with us, and using said Power to the fullest, which would hopefully get rid of any Red Queen scenario. Granted, that didn't mean I was just spouting bullshit, Taylor and I, and my Aunts by proxy, didn't care that Amy could start off a Last of Us style apocalypse, just that she had the will not too. Respect her for that. (... And now I wanna fight a Bloater.) What? There was no reason too, just that I felt like it.

That aside, Amy stared at me, trying to gaze into my soul or some shit, so I just stared back. After a bit of that, she shook her head, looking away. "Asshole and his sentimental logic." I hummed at that, just to let her know I heard her, but didn't say anything. I could tell she was thinking about that, and decided to leave her be for now. We couldn't force her to just conform to what we wanted, we had to let her choose to open up so we could help her get there. It'd take time, but it would be worth it in the end.

"# Hmm... Think this is any indication to how Taylor will be in the future? #" I blinked at the sudden question, as well as the small amount of Embarrassment coming from Taylor, turning to Aunt Melody to see her looking at Taylor with a fond smile. "# Well? #"

Looking at Taylor, who was doing her best not to look at us as she hand fed my snake daughter some bugs, I pictured her doing the same for any actual kids we had... (Milf Taylor... Yes.) Another, but far bigger burst, of Embarrassment came from my girlfriend at that, but there were also bits of Longing and Anticipation in there. Naturally, I capitalized on this. [Think I should get experience for my 'Overprotective dad' thing, or go for the 'Laid back but highly dangerous dad' act?]

She mentally rolled her eyes at me, while physically smiling a bit as she ran a hand down Scylla's 'Scales.' |We both know you'll be the latter. I'll have to be the authoritarian figure in our kids' lives, while you'll let them get away with anything.| I didn't comment about the plural use of kid, I already knew she wanted more then one and was fine with it.

[Sounds about right.] And it did. Unless they hurt a dog or something, they wouldn't hear shit from me... Well, unless they got caught doing something stupid. No child of mine would get caught when they did some stupid shit. Literally the first fucking rule. If they couldn't follow that I was bringing out the chancla.

I had standards, and those little shits were going to meet them one way or another. |That says so much about you.|

My answer to that was to just grin and look at Aunt Melody. "Yep. She'll be a great Mama." Gonna kill him. She may have thought that, but I could see her blushing. Goddammit. Winning was nice.

That aside, Aunt Melody smiled, then nodded. "# We'll be looking forward to that day. #" From the Projector, Aunt Tess hummed, obviously agreeing with the sentiment.

"How the hell did we get here?" I snorted.

[An hour later]

"No, seriously, how the hell did we get here?" I didn't snort this time, because that was a viable question.

Context. After Scylla was done with her tests, and Taylor had stopped feeding her bugs, we'd gone through a spar because Taylor was feeling Vindictive and wanted to pay me back for my teasing. Obviously I agreed, so we sparred, coming out even, which was a Surprise. I had way more bleed over then Taylor did, so physically I would have the edge. The issue there was that Taylor was more flexible, could think faster and more efficiently then I could, and didn't hesitate to kick me in the dick if she thought it would give her an edge...

Which it did, it always would so long as I had a cock and balls to be hit. |I'm not sorry.| I 'Glared' at her for that, earning a Smug smile from her.

That aside, we'd ended up pretty much even, 9-10 in my favor he means, pretty much even, and decided to go for something else. Said something else was a duel, because the power cores were pretty much ready, and needed to have a test drive at some point, so why not now? That thought led to where we were now, the Danger Room configured to the stadium from Dark Side of Dimensions, Taylor and I standing on opposite ends with duel disks on our arms. Mine was on the same arm my bracer was, while hers was on her left arm. Said disks were also in our colors, and based on the Holo disks used from the same movie.

Anyway, now that the situation was contextualized, it was time to go. "! Duelists, ARE YOU READY?! !" It was nice that Erin was here, and announcing this, it made it feel better then this already was. Though considering the stadium we were in was filled with a holographic audience, as well as Amy, Scylla, and all 4 of my Aunts, there some pressure... Which was kind of a good thing to be fair.

Taylor and I nodded to Erin's announcement, our disks activating as 5 holographic cards appeared in front of us, a massive holographic coin appearing above us as it did. Knowing what it was for we watched it flip, calling it as it came back down. ""Heads/Tails."" The coin came down, revealing Tails.

I clicked my tongue at that, ignoring the Smug look my girlfriend shot me. Though I was kind of Curious about the tiny bit of Annoyance she was feeling. "Whatever. Let's get this started."

Taylor nodded, Muting her thoughts and bringing up her duel disk. Though before she could say anything I narrowed my eyes at her, making her sigh. "Do I have too?"

"Yes. Yes you do." And she really did, it was tradition dammit and I wouldn't accept anything else.

One sigh and Exasperated nod later, we brought both disks up and did the thing.

""DUEL!""

Phoenix - 16,000 LP Vs Taylor - 16,000 LP

I could feel her Cringing, but she was also a little Excited, while my inner child was having the time of his life. Sure, we were using double the standard LP's, but this was not only our 1st duel, but Yu-Gi-Oh was in my top 5 shows from my childhood, Digimon being first, Pokemon second, Yu-Gi-Oh third, Teen Titans fourth, and Jake Long American Dragon fifth. So actually dueling, even though I wasn't using my favorite deck, it'd be a shitty test run if I just ended up hitting Taylor with an OTK or an overly strong field right off the bat, which was something my Sacred Beasts/Gods deck was capable of so long as I didn't brick, required us to take time to make sure shit worked. Not like that was a bad thing in my opinion, I got more time to do shit, Taylor would get time to get used to dueling, which meant more chances for me to do shit, which basically meant Christmas came early for me.

With the duel started our cards revealed themselves. I was using a Windwitch/Speedroid Synchro deck that I made and used alot in Master Duel, while Taylor was using... Something. I had no idea what she would use, especially since I never used any Insect archetypes, so there was no instant guess to what she was using. She atleast knew how to use whatever deck I had, we used the memory uplink I made earlier to make tutorial esque videos, kind of like BD's from Cyberpunk, so she could know what to do.

That aside, my opening hand was good. White Steed of the Floral Knights, Speedroid Double Yoyo, Windwitch Ice Bell, Speedroid Red-Eyed Dice, and Wynn the Wind Channeler. (I can work with this.) As long as Taylor didn't pick the Subterror or Virus decks then I was fine.

"I summon Cyber Dragon Nachster in attack mode."

Level 1

Cyber Dragon Nachster

Machine/Effect

ATK - 200/DEF - 200

"! Aww, he's so pretty! !

I blinked, what was s...- Before the little fucker even finished materializing on the field, Taylor grabbed a card and activated it, an assembly line appearing before us. (Oh shit.) I recognized the play, though it was usually used with Core. Part of me was twitching, Annoyed that her opening hand allowed her to pull this off, though the rest of me was grinning, Expectant of what would happen now.

"I activate Machine Duplication. By targeting Nachster, whose name becomes 'Cyber Dragon' whenever it's on the field or in the graveyard, I can bring out two Cyber Dragons from my deck." A pair of holographic cards appeared in front of her, my girlfriend easily grabbing them and placing them down next to each other. Two copies of Zane's signature monster appeared on the field, roaring out in dominance.

Level 5

Cyber Dragon

Machine/Effect

ATK - 2100/DEF - 1600

Level 5

Cyber Dragon

Machine/Effect

ATK - 2100/DEF - 1600

"Holy shit!" I tuned out Amy and the rest of the 'Crowd', who were going wild, as they should've, and watched my girlfriend. She still had something in hand, and I was kind of Worried it was a fusion spell. Turn 1 Cyber End Dragon would make me lose my fucking mind.

Thankfully for my sanity, it wasn't. "From my hand I activate Cyber Dragon Vier's effect. Because I special summoned a 'Cyber Dragon', I can summon Vier in defense mode." In moments, the white and pink mechanical dragon was on the field. With its appearance all of her dragons roared, glowing silver as they were buffed.

Level 1

Cyber Dragon Nachster

Machine/Effect

ATK - 700/ DEF - 700

Level 5

Cyber Dragon

Machine/Effect

ATK - 2600/DEF - 2100

Level 5

Cyber Dragon

Machine/Effect

ATK - 2600/DEF - 2100

Level 4

Cyber Dragon Vier

Machine/Effect

ATK - 1600/DEF - 2100

Feeling the Anticipation coming from her, I couldn't help but remember The Simpson's meme. (Hehe, I'm in danger.) Seeing her lips twitch, I might've let the image slip. When I saw Taylor tap the gem in the center of her disk, which was how we brought up the Extra Deck, I was pretty sure I was kind of screwed.

The area in front of us sparked, the Overlay opening as a galaxy appeared. Without even a sign of her earlier Reluctance, she went on. "By overlaying both of my Cyber Dragons I open the Overlay Network!" Both aforementioned dragons roared out, glowing bright gold as they turned into a pair of golden stars. The stars shot down into the galaxy, said galaxy growing chaotic as lights sparked. "Come on out, Cyber Dragon Nova!"

Rising out from the galaxy was what I expected. Coming out and 'Standing' at 20ft tall, vents opening and expelling smoke, turbines humming to life, and a pair of orange eyes burning like a pair of suns was the mechanized dragon I hardly used. Though seeing it in person, the creature rearing its head back and brandishing its wings as the ring where its overlay units stayed appeared, I idly wondered why, even though I knew the answer.

"KRAAAAA!" I winced a little at that, because holy shit that was loud, but eventually shook it off. He was big, but not really a threat.

Rank 5

Cyber Dragon Nova

Machine/XYZ/Effect

Material(s) - 2

ATK - 2100/DEF - 1600

Amazement pulsed from my Other Half, and I looked over to see the smile on her face. Seeing that just made me smile, cause this was partly why I liked Yu-Gi-Oh so much. Big cool monsters are cool after all. She probably noticed me looking, since she looked away from Nova and met my eyes, her own smile growing and turning into a smirk. |I think I get it now.|

Before I could say 'I told you so', she tapped the gem again, opening her Extra Deck. "I use Nachster and Vier as material to Link Summon!" Well shit. I watched as both the aforementioned monsters glowed, letting out roars as they turned into red lights. Their lights ended up spinning around each other, the link square thing appearing as the bottom and left sides glowed red while a portal opened in the center. "I Link Summon Cyber Dragon Sieger!" These had to be the most non sexual shots I'd ever heard coming from her.

Out from the portal came the serpentine form of Sieger, the silver and blue machine sliding out and taking its place in front of Nova. "SIEEEEEEEER!" That one wasn't as bad as Nova, but I still had to whack my head a bit to get rid of the ringing in my ears.

Link 2

Cyber Dragon Sieger

Machine/Link/Effect

ATK - 2100

"Now I'll activate Nova's ability." The dragon screeched as one of its units shot out and into the graveyard. "By detaching one of its materials I can special summon a Cyber Dragon from my graveyard." For a second, I paused, Confused on why she'd want N...- Ah, I knew what she was doing. "Return, Cyber Dragon!" The original mechanized terror appeared, roaring out as it did. Yup, she used Nachster to trigger the effect, sent a Cyber Dragon to the grave to use said effect, then brought out the Cyber Dragon she used since it was a Cyber Dragon.

Level 5

Cyber Dragon

Machine/Effect

ATK - 2100/DEF - 1600

Taylor took a moment to take in her field, which was reasonable considering what was on said field, then shook it off and tapped the orb again. (Shit, I was hoping she forgot.)

"By using Nova as material I'll reopen the Overlay Network!" The Overlay Network opened again, and Nova screeched as it flared it wings. The mechanical dragon's body and overlay unity glowed golden, but instead of turning into an orb and shooting towards the network, Nova itself shot into the air all vents open as a veritable layer of steam formed around it, then dove into the expanding galaxy beneath it, disappearing as the galaxy churned and sparked with electricity. That by itself was already showing that everything was working as expected. "Fight for me, Cyber Dragon Infinity!"

The Overlay Network exploded into golden light, blinding me, "FUCK, MY EYES!" And Amy too apparently. It took a moment or two for me to refocus on the field in front of me, but when I did, I froze, my eyes taking in the scene.

Rising from where the Overlay Network had been was a colossus of steel and crimson lightning. First came the wings, black and silver steel knives longer then my body, coursing with electricity and tearing through the smoke Nova left behind. Its main body rising as it beat its wings, exposing sleek black and silver plating with faint scale like patterns. Its tail idly thrashed about, the plating ending in an insanely sharp point that crackled with lightning. Then there the draconic head. A head with a maw leaking smoke and flickering with fire, while red eyes glared at me like I'd shot their dog. "ALL SYSTEMS ACTIVE. INFINITY PROTOCOL; ENGAGED."

Ah it speaks... Well fuck. That was both awesome, and fucking terrifying... I Loved it! "! I WANT THAT! !" And apparently I wasn't the only one. "! The fuck do you mean 'No.' YOU SEE THAT?! !"

Rank 6

Cyber Dragon Infinity

Machine/XYZ/Effect

Material(s) - 2

ATK - 2500/DEF - 1600

The Pride and Awe coming from my girlfriend was fueling my own Awe at the monster in front of me, making me grin like a loon. The field was impressive, especially since she was a 1st turn Cyber Dragon. Still, I was going to end her fucking career, and smile the whole while. "I end my turn." It was the only thing she could do, so that was expected.

Above us a 'Turn 2' hologram flashed, and I got the prompt to draw. Feeling my cheeks hurt from how long I'd been grinning, I drew the card, the solid light card showing... I blinked, looking at the spell I drew. Speedlift was a good spell, but the requirements to use it wouldn't be met. (Well, you're kinda... Actually...) Looking at Infinity, and the monsters in my hand, I thought about how this could go. Brushing that thought aside, it'd have to happen first, and I didn't actually need to do the exact play that'd leave me with a single Tuner, I let go of the card, watching it dissipate and appear with the rest of my cards in front of me. While I would've liked Dark Ruler No More, it wasn't the end of the world that I didn't.

So, yoinking Wynn, I made my move. "I'll start by activating Wynn the Wind Channeler's effect. By sending her and one Wind monster from my hand to grave, I can search my deck and add 1 Wind monster with 1500 or less DEF to my hand." Sending her and Red-Eyed Dice to the grave, and watching as Wynn and the Dice appeared above me, the former physically picking up the small bot and then disappearing in a green gale. With them gone, images of what monsters that effect applied too, which was pretty much all of them aside from Alector,.

Seeing who I wanted, and since Taylor hadn't negated Wynn's ability, I grabbed my pick. "I'll add Windwitch Snow Bell to my hand." The level 1 Tuner appeared in my 'Hand', and I grinned. I knew what Taylor was going to negate if given the chance, and also knew how to play around it. Grabbing Ice Bell I slapped her onto the disk. "Since I've got no monsters I can special summon Windwitch Ice Bell from my hand." A hole suddenly appeared on the ground in front of me, a figure flying on out of it the moment it fully formed.

Coming to a stop a few feet above me was a smiling woman riding on her broom, white purple and pink being her main colors as she waved a wand in front of her, small snow crystals revolving around her before they disappeared. (Hmm... 6/10, too many light colors.)

Level 3

Windwitch Ice Bell

Spellcaster/Effect

ATK - 1000/DEF - 1000

For some reason Ice Bell twitched, but I put it out of my mind because I'd rather not think about her being able to read my mind. "With Ice Bell being summoned I can automatically special summon another Windwitch monster from my deck. And since isn't an activated effect, you can't negate it." Taylor just narrowed her eyes at me, but oh well, she was in for a world of pain, and I would enjoy bringing it to her.

Briefly looking at the list, I yoinked Glass Bell, summoning the Tuner. "So come on out, Glass Bell." Like Ice Bell, a hole opened up in the ground, another broom bound witch shooting out of it and spinning, wind and ice circling around her before she came to a stop, the wind and ice disappearing in a flashy poof. Surprisingly the witches shared a look, and a quick high five before turning back to the field, looking at the Cyber Dragons. She looked similar enough to Ice Bell for me to not really care about finding the differences.

Level 4

Windwitch Glass Bell

Spellcaster/Tuner/Effect

ATK - 1500/DEF - 1500

Another twitch... And what looked suspiciously like a pout, went ignored.

Now, one would think I would activate their abilities. Glass would let me search for another Windwitch, while Ice would let me get off 500 burn. But considering I already had Snow Bell in hand, I didn't need to do that, so I didn't. "Now, since I've got 2 Wind monsters on my field I can special summon this fella. Come on out, Snow Bell." Putting the Tuner onto the disk, I watched a small hole open up in the air besides Glass Bell, making both witches and dragons turn and look as a small winged ball gently flew out of the hole, jingling a small tune as its wings carried it down.

Level 1

Windwitch Snow Bell

Spellcaster/Tuner/Effect

ATK - 100/DEF - 100

With everything set up, I looked at my hand for a second, then decided to go for it just for insurance. "Since I've got Snow Bell on the field, I can special summon the good horse." Putting said horse onto the disk, Taylor and I, and the rest of the monsters on the field, turned to the hole that opened up besides me. Out of said hole came a lough neigh, followed by the thunder of hooves hitting the ground as an armored white horse raced out of the hole, coming to a stop on the ground besides Ice Bell, going down on all fours as he laid on the ground. As he did I noticed both witches looking at the horse, smiles on their faces as Ice Bell seemed to be fighting against the urge to go down and pet it... (Okay, this might be a little too effective.)

Level 6

White Steed of the Floral Knights

Beast/Effect

ATK - 2400/DEF - 1800

With my field set I grinned and tapped the orb of my disk, opening the Extra Deck. Immediately a few options made themselves known... Making me pause. Originally I was going to Tune Ice and Glass together, go into Winter Bell, then Tune it and Snow Bell, giving me a Clear Wing with immunity to destruction effects. But with White Steed out, and enough Tuners to get me to 11... "Ah, fuck it." I didn't give a shit about winning, I wanted to have some fun with this, so fun I would have. Tapping Baronne, I looked at Glass Bell and the White Steed. Both of them started glowing green, orange stars appearing within their bodies as the former cheered, and the latter shot to its feet with a loud neigh. "GO! I Tune Glass Bell and White Steed!" Both of them shot into the sky, White Steed literally running through the air, and into the Synchro rings, its body dissolving into the levels stars as Glass Bell shot through the ring, following suit. I watched their stars straighten up, and knew it was my que. Slapping Barrone's card, which had appeared when Ice Bell disappeared, onto the disk, I went for it. "Ride into combat, Barrone de Fleur!"

A storm of petals engulfed the field, winds that I could actually feel whipping around us. From the corner of my eye I saw Ice and Snow Bell trying to keep steady in the winds, the latter failing and ending up crashing into Snow Bell, who held the Tuner close. It all came to an end when a loud neigh went off, and hooves slammed onto the ground, making the winds and petals cease as Barrone's figure appeared. Her heavily armored mount pawed the ground, staring forwards and waiting for the order. Meanwhile, Barrone herself was just as armored, body tense as she started raising her sword towards Taylor. "Pour l'honneur de mon suzerain, je me bats!"

Level 10

Barrone de Fleur

Warrior/Synchro/Effect

ATK - 3000/DEF - 2400

"! Okay, that's really cool. !" A part of me nodded at that.

The rest of me was Confused though. (What?) Thankfully, one of my Aunts translated that, subtitles appearing above the orb telling me what she said. ('For the honor of my liege, I fight.' Huh... Cool.) Still, the fact my monsters, Taylor's too probably if she wasn't using Machines, were expressive, was something we'd have to look into later. This was good, but we'd need to make sure archetypes like Vampires or Vendread weren't going to cause a panic.

Brushing that aside, I grinned at Taylor, who was staring at Barrone with Surprise, Interest, Awe, and Anticipation. Similar look(s) were coming from Ice Bell, the witch swooping towards the knight with a wide smile on her face as Snow Bell chimed... Like a Bell... (I'll be here all night.)

Anyway, her monsters were looking primed and ready to engage. Infinity crackling with crimson lightning, Sieger glowing blue and ready to strike, while Cyber Dragon leaked white fire. "Let's start it off! I activate Barrone's ability, targeting Sieger for destruction!" This was what she had to negate. And so, Barrone raised her sword, her steed beginning to charge towards Sieger.

And like I expected, she did what I was aiming for. I was pretty sure she knew what was going to happen though considering the Annoyed Resignation coming from her. "I don't think so. By removing an Overlay Unit from Infinity, I can negate that and destroy Barrone!" Infinity roared, one of its units detaching and shooting towards her as the mechanized terror charged a concentrated beam of lightning at my Synchro monster. "TARGET SIGHTED. BEGINNING DESTRUCTION." Cocky little shit.

(Too bad she fell for it, hook, line, and sinker.) Poking Barrone's card, I smirked at my girlfriend, who crossed her arms and huffed at me. "Objection! Activating Barrone's second ability, I negate your negate, while also destroying Infinity!"

"Pour l'honneur de mon suzerain!" Taylor and I blinked at that, turning towards Barrone to watch as her steed jumped over the stream of lightning coming from Infinity, the stream of deadly energy splashing onto the ground. With them in the air, the XYZ dragon charged, maw open wide as it intended to devour my Synchro. Unfortunately for the dragon that wasn't how this was going to go. Seeing it coming, my knight's steed jumped again, reminding me of the horse from Elden Ring as they avoided Infinity's charge, only for Barrone to kick off of her horse, and land onto Infinity's head, plunging her sword into its skull and running down its body with speed comparable to a mid level Mover as she dragged her sword down the XYZ dragon's body.

It came to an end when she reached the tail, kicking off of it and towards her horse, reclaiming her mount just in time for both it, and Infinity's frame to crash onto the ground, shaking it and us. "SySTe...mS, Fa...ILin...g. SHUtd...oWn... ImM...I...nEN...t..." And the light left its eyes, its body breaking down before it shattered like glass, turning into motes of golden light and shooting towards Taylor's Duel Disk.

The crowd went wild, while Taylor and I had to take a moment to process what the fuck just happened. (That... Jesus Christ that was fucking amazing!) This, this was what I was hoping for when I initially had the idea to incorporate Yu-Gi-Oh into our arsenal, and it was not disappointing.

|I want you to know that while I hate what's happening, I have to admit that that was a fairy tail come to life, and I loved it.| I couldn't even argue, not that I would've, because badass knight slaying machine dragon was badass.

Settling for a nod, our eyes turned to Barrone, who was raising her sword to Sieger, practically telling it he was next. Though he didn't exactly like that, the Link dragon charging a blast of energy in its mouth as it glared at my knight. "Target locked. Prepare for elimination."

Uncaring about the threat, she and her stead charged forwards, her sword raised high as she went after the dragon. "Tombe sous ma lame!" A quick look had that translated to 'Fall beneath my blade.' Turning back to the scene made me see Barrone raising her shield lance, a storm of petals appearing before her and her mount as they charged forwards, and through the blast coming from Sieger. As she charged, I heard the Sasageyo theme from AOT start, the hype one, and idly thanked my Future Self for this, because fuck yeah I was feeling this. My knight kept on charging, the petals keeping them safe as they just kept going through the mechanized dragon's breath.

They eventually reached Sieger though, my knight's steed jumping again as she brought her shield back, brandishing her sword as the petals gathered around her sword. "Tombe!" Said sword found purchase in Sieger's skull, the momentum from her charge, and her horse and blade, slamming into its body, was enough to force the dragon's body down to the earth. For a moment, no one said or did anything, all eyes on my knight as she tore her sword out of Sieger's skull and raised it high, the dragon shattering and turning into golden light. "Pour mon suzerain!" Then the crowd went fucking crazy.

Awe and adrenaline was pumping through my body in equal measure, and my heart was pounding like a drum. "! THAT'S MY NEPHEW! THAT'S MY FUCKIN BOY! !" Okay, that was just an extra shot of serotonin that was adding to everything.

And then Barrone started coming back, her steed racing over and coming to a stop back in the space she was summoned in... And looking at her, and her horse, I could tell they were feeling... Prideful and Satisfied? (I mean, for good reason. She handled an Infinity, but this is kinda close to A.I, and I dunno how far this'll go.) Putting that thought aside for now, I looked over at my Other Half's field, watching as the lone Cyber Dragon looked at my field, and eventually looking at me. If I was wondering about their sentience before, the flicker of Trepidation I saw told me enough. (Welp, things for later.)

Tapping the orb, I brought up my Extra Deck. "Now that you're kinda fucked," Annoyance. "I'll be kicking this into gear." Tapping onto this decks ace, I grinned when Barrone glowed, her outline shining like an emerald beacon as her, and Snow Bell's level stars appeared. "Kicking it into overdrive, I Tune Barrone! Snow Bell!" Both monsters shot forwards, my knight charging forwards as another storm of petals swarmed around her, forming into the Synchro rings as she entered them. Not far behind her, Snow Bell entered the rings, a gentle chime going out as they both dissolved into their level stars. "Let's Rev It Up, Hi-Speedroid Clear Wing Rider!"

The roar of both an engine, and a dragon rang out, and all eyes were drawn to the source. Said sources were the the unmanned Duel Runner that drove around the arena, a mass of emerald energy in the shape of Clear Wing Synchro Dragon flying above it. Eventually both bike and tag along pulled into my field, the bike's engine rumbling as it took its place. With it there the form of Clear Wing roared again, hovering above the bike and my field. This decks ace was here, making the gem of my Duel Disk thrum as it charged up.

Level 11

Hi-Speedroid Clear Wing Rider

Machine/Synchro/Effect

ATK - 3500/DEF - 2000

"! But... But the knight... !"

I ignored my Aunt's Confusion, settling for looking at my girlfriend, who rolled her eyes at me. "I knew it was a motorcycle, but really?"

I scoffed. "You're just jealous my bike's better." As if responding, Rider revved his engine.

My girlfriend just rolled her eyes again. "Boys."

"! Boys indeed. !" My eye twitched, but I didn't say anything.

Tapping Rider, I activated his ability, another rev of the engine sounding out as the mass that looked like Clear Wing shifted and changed. "Activating Rider's ability! With the roll of a die I'll get a number between 1-6. Whatever comes out will be how many Wind monsters I can return to my deck, and how many cards I can destroy on your field. So, let's roll the die and see what happens!" And that's what happened. The emerald dice, that was Clear Wing's current form, dropped from the sky, crashing and rolling onto the ground... Stopping on a 2. "Eh, good enough." Opening the graveyard was easy, and selecting who I wanted was easier. "Snow and Baronne." My Synchro and Tuner returned to my Extra/Main deck, while the dice glowed for a moment before Clear Wing returned. "Now, Rider! Gun It and crush Cyber Dragon!"

My Synchro bike revved his engine, shooting off like he was shot from a cannon. Cyber Dragon obviously saw it coming, and prepared to blast the incoming bike. Unfortunately my bike's Stand, holy shit my bike had a Stand! Anyway, his Stand appeared in front of Cyber Dragon, clamping its maw shut with one hand while it used the outer to heft the Cyber Dragon up by its throat, throwing it at Rider. The collision was amazing, Rider's front wheel hit Cyber Dragon's body, and fucking cleaved it in half... Then he kept going, charging passed Taylor, who back flipped over him like a pro, and ran a lap around the arena, his frame glowing emerald green as his attack rose.

Level 11

Hi-Speedroid Clear Wing Rider

Machine/Synchro/Effect

ATK - 4000/DEF - 2000

With the field cleared, and nothing else for me to do, I started the Battle Phase. "Battle." The gems of our Duel Disks glowed bright red, while Rider revved his engine, and Ice Bell twirled her wand. "Rider, Gun It and attack Taylor directly!" My sentient bike monster shot forwards, Clear Wing roaring and following after him. They reached my girlfriend in moments, Rider rising into a wheelie as he brought his front wheel towards her.

Not letting it just happen, Taylor threw herself to the side, rolling away from the sentient Synchro. Though before she could come to a stop, Clear Wing appeared, grabbing her by the arm and tossing her at Rider. Irritation mixed with Excitement as she flew towards the bike, Excitement coming out the victor as she grabbed onto Rider's handles, mounting the bike for a moment and revving the engine, shooting it forwards, towards the arena wall and back flipping off of him as she did.

Taylor - 12,000 LP

(Well... That was hot.) I knew she couldn't hear my thoughts, but the way Taylor licked her lips at me sent a pleasant shiver down my spine. (Recreating Yu-Gi-Oh was the best idea I've ever had.) That aside the turn wasn't over yet. Turning to Ice Bell, the witch nodded, and shot forwards. "Ice Bell, attack Taylor directly." The witch brought out her wand, the weapon spinning as ice and snow gathered around her. Seeing it coming, my girlfriend tensed, waiting for the right moment... And when it came, Ice Bell sending the wind and ice at her as she pulled up like a fighter jet, Taylor moved. Throwing herself to the side again, she rolled away avoiding the blast of cold.

Taylor - 11,000 LP

"! Look at her go! No possessed killer bikes or fancy smanchy magic can put our girl down! !" Her Embarrassed Pride was adorable.

That said and done, and with both monsters back on my side of the field, I ended it. "I end my turn." I had nothing else to do, there was no way I was going to use Rider's other effect unless it was needed, so passing was all I could do.

Level 11

Hi-Speedroid Clear Wing Rider

Machine/Synchro/Effect

ATK - 3500/DEF - 2000

The hologram above us changed to 'Turn 3', and Taylor nodded. "Draw." I saw her smile, and I didn't like it. She activated the card... And I twitched. "I activate Cyber Repair Plant!" The arena shook for a second, the site of a massive repair plant appearing behind my girlfriend and whirring to life. "Since I have more then 3 'Cyber Dragons' in my grave, I can use both effects." A grid appeared in front of her, the 1st effect where she added a Light Machine to her hand. "I'll be adding Nachster to my hand," Said monster appeared when the repair plant behind Taylor sparked as industrial machines loudly activated, shooting out the little monster a moment later. With him in hand, another grid popped up, and she shuffled "I'll return Infinity to my Extra Deck." What?

With its purpose served, the repair plant disappeared in motes of gold light, going to the grave. "I summon Cyber Dragon Nachster."

Level 1

Cyber Dragon Nachster

Machine/Effect

ATK - 200/DEF - 200

"When Nachster's summoned, I can special summon one Machine monster with 2100 attack or defense from my grave." I paused, I'd done this before. "Return to the field, Cyber Dragon Nova." Yeah, I knew what she was doing.

Nachster glowed silver, becoming a beacon of light as a massive hole appeared in the center of the arena. An ear splitting screech rang out as the massive frame of Nova flew out of the hole, her monster appearing in front of her and taking its place on her field. "KRAAAAA!" I was prepared for it that time, so it was fine.

"With Nova back, I'll re-open the Overlay Network." The galaxy unfolded before us, Nova screeching out as it flared its wings. Taking off to the 'Sky', the mechanized terror glowed gold again, and did a repeat performance of diving into the Overlay Network. "I overlay Cyber Dragon Nova to XYZ summon Cyber Dragon Infinity!" Nova wasn't the only one giving a repeat performance though, since Infinity reappeared the same way it did the first time.

"ALL SYSTEMS, ACTIVE. INFINITY PROTOCOL; RE-ENGAGED." That was new though... I was also pretty sure the dragon was glaring at me... Great.

Rank 6

Cyber Dragon Infinity

Machine/XYZ/Effect

Material(s) - 1

ATK - 2300/DEF - 1600

"I'll active Infinity's effect! I target Windwitch Ice Bell!" Well shit. I didn't have a negate, and even if I did, she could just pull an Uno reverse on me and negate my negate.

So, I just watched as Infinity sparked with crimson lightning, turning towards Ice Bell. My witch shot up, maneuvering her broom in zig zags as she gathered ice and snow around herself. "CONTAINMENT PROTOCOL; INITIATED." The lightning shot out, and no matter how much she tried, she was eventually caught, being turned into a golden orb that soon joined Nova's Overlay Unit. Infinity's frame glowed crimson, the lightning getting a little brighter, and its eyes getting just a tad bit more red. "SUBJECT CONTAINED."

Rank 6

Cyber Dragon Infinity

Machine/XYZ/Effect

Material(s) - 2

ATK - 2500/DEF - 1600

Well shit. Taylor tapped the gem again, Nachster beginning to glow red as she did. "I'll use Nachster to Link Summon Linkuriboh."

And just like she said, Nachster was offered to the great square in the sky as he was turned into the little fella. Said little fella was the size of Taylor's head, and was rolling through the air like he was in space, eventually coming to a stop besides my girlfriend's head. "Kuri!"

Link 1

Linkuriboh

Cyberse/Link/Effect

ATK - 300

"! AWWW, he's just a little guy! !" I snorted at that, because she was right. All the Kuriboh's were little guys, except the big one, but he was whatever.

Taylor nodded along though, poking Linkuriboh in the stomach, causing the Link monster to kick his little feet in the air and gurgle like a baby. Taylor blinked, then turned to give me a side eye. |You hurt him, I hurt you.| Well... Guess she liked him. "Anyway, I'll end my turn."

With that announcement, 'Turn 4' started, and I drew. "Draw." Looking at what I drew, I blinked. "Well you're fucking useless." Alector was a good monster, but considering all she had was Infinity and Linkuriboh, a Light and Dark monster respectively, I couldn't summon him. Letting the card go, and seeing it appear in front of me, I looked at my field. (Probably should've kept Barrone.) Frowning in thought, I looked at her field, staring at Infinity and Linkuriboh. (I can't get rid of the both of them, but I can get rid of one of her Overlay Units.) Mentally nodding to myself, I tapped Rider's card, getting him to rev his engine. "I active Rider's effect!" Clear Wing turned into a dice again, its body falling from the sky... Only to suddenly stopped, as if it was glitching.

The answer came from her side of the field, Infinity roaring, his Overlay Units glowing as he spread his wings. "I activate Infinity's effect, negating your Rider's effect and destroying it."

I just grinned at that, watching as one of Infinity's Overlay Units disappeared into the grave. "TARGET SIGHTED, BEGINNING DESTRUCTION." The dragon charged up, firing his crimson lightning at my Rider. Unfortunately for her, it would never connect. The sound of a bell rang out, and a blue screen appeared in front of my Synchro. The lightning harmlessly splashed against it, leaving my Rider perfectly whole and hale.

Rank 6

Cyber Dragon Infinity

Machine/XYZ/Effect

Material(s) - 1

ATK - 2300/DEF - 1600

Confusion pulsed from my girlfriend, and I grinned at her. "Any Synchro that uses Snow Bell as material becomes immune to my opponent's destruction effects." Taylor clicked her tongue at that, while I just kept grinning, which Annoyed her. (I'm gonna be in for it later.) Putting that away, I moved on. "Battle." Entering the Battle Phase, Rider revved his engine, which made Infinity take to the sky. "Rider, Gun It and run Infinity over!" Rider shot forwards, Clear Wing roaring and following right after the motorcycle.

Infinity roared, preparing to fire its lightning, only to be interrupted by Taylor. "I activate Linkuriboh's ability!" The Link monster suddenly appeared on Rider's frame, the little one diving into the bike itself. "By tributing Linkuriboh, I can make your monster's attack 0 for the rest of this turn." I knew that, but watching as both Rider and Clear Wing turned the same shade of blue that the little Link monster was, was an Interesting thing.