"Two games, two loses... man, if this keeps up, I'm not gonna see if there's more to this thing then what they're saying." Joshua muttered to himself as he walked through town. He glanced down at his duel disk and the Gem-Knight deck inside of it. He didn't want to switch decks until the finals but if he never made it to them, there would be no point. Sighing, he closed his eyes for a few seconds to think, making him blind to his surroundings. Megumi hummed happily as she walked. The tournament was rather exciting, and things were so lively. She did wonder who her next opponent was going to be after Cecile. She wasn't sure who she wanted to challenge next. She then put the thought aside and decided to just let it happen. Whoever came next would be whoever she came across that interested her. As she turned a corner, she then bumped into someone, making her fall backwards with a scream. Being as unaware of his surroundings as he was, it came as no surprise when Joshua ran into someone. He opened his eyes and quickly grabbed the person who had ran into him by their arm out of pure instinct. When he saw they had been in the middle of falling, he quickly helped them back to their feet. "Sorry about that. I should've been watching where I was going. Are you okay, Miss?" he said as he examined the girl who had ran into him. She looked familiar. Before she hit the ground, Megumi found herself in the arms of the man she bumped into, and she was back on her feet before she knew it. "Um, y-yeah, thanks," Megumi said, still wondering how that was even possible. Megumi then noticed the Duel Disk on his arm and asked, "Hey, are you participating in the tournament too?" The man looked familiar too, though she wasn't sure why that was so. "Yep. Not having much luck though. Why, are you in it?" Joshua asked. "Yeah, I was about to go find someone else to Duel!" Megumi said enthusiastically. She stepped back and lifted her arm to show her Duel Disk, then asked, "Do you wanna Duel?" Joshua smiled as the girl moved away and raised her Duel Disk. He thought about it before nodding. "Sure, a Duel sounds good, but you know what might make it more interesting?" he asked. Megumi tilted her head, confused. "No, what?" she asked back. "You ever been part of an Action Duel?" Joshua asked. "They're very fun, if you can put up with running around a lot." Megumi widened her eyes in surprise. An Action Duel? That was something she never did before. She wasn't entirely sure on how an Action Duel was different from a regular Duel, but there was only one way to find out. "Sure, that sounds kinda fun," Megumi said. "Alright then. This should be fun." Joshua said, pressing a button on his Duel Disk. 'ACTION FIELD ON: CROSSOVER' All around Joshua and Megumi, transparent objects of various colors and shapes appeared, most floating in the air. Between the two of them, in the air, was a large transparent dome with bright white cards floating around in it. "You know the chant?" Joshua asked. "Umm... no," Megumi said. "Alright then, allow me." Joshua said before jumping into one of the newly produce objects and spreading his arms. "Duelists locked in battle! Kicking the earth and dancing in the air alongside their monsters! They storm through this field! Behold! This is the newest and greatest evolution of Dueling! ACTION DUEL!" As soon as Joshua was done speaking, the orb of cards exploded, sending them all over the field. "Ladies first." Joshua said before he dashed off the look for an Action Spell. [b][u]Turn 1: Megumi[/b][/u] Megumi: 4000 LP, 5 cards, 0 mon, 0 S/T Joshua: 4000 LP, 5 cards, 0 mon, 0 S/T Megumi watched as the orb of cards exploded and sent dozens of cards scattering everywhere. Then Joshua ran off, making her ask, "Hey! Where are you going?" "I told you, Action Duels require running. Just make your move, I won't be that far away." Joshua shouted back. Curious to see where this would lead, Megumi looked at her hand to see what she would do first. "I Set one monster, then place 2 cards face-down," Megumi said. "Turn End." [b][u]Turn 2: Joshua[/b][/u] Megumi: 4000 LP, 2 cards, 1 Mon, 2 S/T Joshua: 4000 LP, 6 cards, 0 mon, 0 S/T "Draw." Joshua said. "I activate the Spell, Gem-Knight Fusion. I fuse Gem-Knight Garnet with Gem-Knight Lazuli. Gem holding the power of fire and green stone that values friendship, combine and bring forth a warrior wreathed in flames! Fusion Summon: Gem-Knight Ruby!" On his field, a pillar of fire erupt before something swung out from and dismissed said pillar, a warrior in bright red armor with gold highlights and a bright blue cape wielding a halberd standing in front of Joshua. [b]Gem-Knight Ruby: Level 6, ATK 2500[/b] "Thanks to Lazuli, Gem-Knight Garnet returns to my hand. Now, Ruby, attack her face-down monster!" An image of a half-petrified alligator appeared for a moment before being sliced in half by Ruby's weapon. [b]Megumi - 4000 LP --> 3000 LP[/b] "When Graydle Alligator is destroyed by battle or Spell effect, I can target one monster you control and equip my monster to it, then take control of it!" Megumi said. "Well... shit." Joshua muttered under his breathe as Ruby was taken over by the parasite and moved to Megumi's field. "I Summon Gem-Knight Garnet in attack mode and set a card face-down and end my turn." [b]Gem-Knight Garnet: ATK:1900 DEF:0[/b] His move done, Joshua began moving again, knowing he needed to get an Action Spell. [b][u]Turn 3: Megumi[/b][/u] Megumi: 3000 LP, 3 cards, 1 mon, 2 S/T Joshua: 4000 LP, 2 cards, 1 mon, 1 S/T "Draw!" Megumi said, drawing a card. If this was a Fusion deck, then there was one monster in her deck suited to take care of that. "I Tribute Gem-Knight Ruby to Summon Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV6" Megumi declared, the monster disappearing and being replaced with a reddish, metallic, bird-like dragon. [b]Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV6: Level 6, ATK 2300[/b] "Go, Horus, attack Gem-Knight Garnet!" Megumi commanded, the dragon firing a small black fireball. "Not good." Joshua said, still running and climbing. He spotted a card on a nearby platform and sprinted to it as the fireball came closer. The attack hit Garnet and exploded, but from the smoke, a bolt of energy flew out and hit Megumi for 1900 points of damage. On his side of the field, the Trap Card: Brilliant Spark was face-up and glowing. [b]Joshua - 4000 LP --> 3600 LP[/b] [b]Megumi - 3000 LP --> 1100 LP[/b] "Seriously, this might as well be a regular Duel now," Joshua muttered, sitting down on his platform and looking down at Megumi. He knew Horus well, and knew that all his Spells were now worthless. The lightning bolt flew out of the smoke and hit Megumi, who was unprepared for it and was sent falling backwards with a scream of surprise. When she got back up, she saw the Trap card that was now face-up on the field. Megumi scowled, then said, "At the End Phase, after Horus destroys a monster this turn, it evolves to Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV8!" The dragon then began to glow and change in size, growing larger and resembling a dragon rather than a bird. [b]Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV8 - Level 8, ATK 3000[/b] "Turn End," Megumi said. [b][u]Turn 4: Joshua[/b][/u] Megumi: 1100 LP, 2 cards, 1 Mon, 2 S/T Joshua: 3600 LP, 3 cards, 0 Mon, 0 S/T Joshua drew his card without a word before looking down at Horus. That thing was going to be a pain in his ass and he only had three ways around it. Two through brute strength and one through effects. But for now, he didn't have the means for either method so he had to stall. "I activate Brilliant Spark's effect. By discarding one Gem-Knight monster, I can add it to my hand. I discard Gem-Knight Obsidian." He said, putting the Monster into his Grave and taking the ejected Trap Card. "Then I activate Obsidian's effect. When he's sent to the Grave from my hand, I can Special Summon a Normal Gem-Knight Monster from my Graveyard. I Special Summon Gem-Knight Garnet in Defence mode and Set one card before calling it a turn." [i]Best I can do for now, but chances are she has a way around such a simple plan,[/i] he thought to himself. [b][u]Turn 5: Megumi[/b][/u] Megumi: 1100 LP, 3 cards, 1 on, 2 S/T Joshua: 3600 LP, 2 cards, 1 Mon, 1 S/T "Draw!" Megumi yelled, drawing a card from her deck. Examining the card she drew, she then said, "I activate the Spell card: Pot of Duality! I excavate three cards, then I pick one to add to my hand while the rest and shuffled back into the deck." Megumi then pulled out three cards from her deck and revealed them to Joshua as well, showing Upstart Goblin, Battle Fader, and Forbidden Dress. Picking out Forbidden Dress, and placing the other two back into her Deck, Megumi continued, "Now I Summon Cardcar D in Attack mode!" [b]Cardcar D - Level 2, ATK 800[/b] "First I place one card face-down, then I activate Cardcar D's effect! By Tributing Cardcar D, I get to draw 2 cards, but then it becomes the End Phase!" Megumi explained. Cardcar D drove off, then turned back around and drove straight back towards Megumi, disappearing before the car hit her and made the top two cards of her deck glow, which Megumi drew. "Turn End." [b][u]Turn 6: Joshua[/b][/u] Megumi: 1100 LP, 4 cards, 1 Mon, 3 S/T Joshua: 3600 LP, 3 cards, 1 on, 1 S/T Joshua drew his card and looked at his hand. Nothing useful. Horus was blocking a quarter of his deck and the entirity of the Action Cards he could use to help him out. But, he had to work around that and pray he got the one card in his deck that he needed. "Turn end." [b][u]Turn 7: Megumi[/b][/u] Megumi: 1100 LP, 5 cards, 1 mon, 3 S/T Joshua: 3600 LP, 3 cards, 1 mon, 1 S/T "Draw!" Megumi yelled, drawing a card from her Deck. Megumi would love to be.able to attack, but not if it meant that Brilliant Spark would activate again. Still, it wouldn't be a problem for long. "I place a card face-down and end my turn," Megumi said. [b][u]Turn 8: Joshua[/b][/u] Megumi: 1100 LP, 4 cards, 1 Mon, 4 S/T Joshua: 3600 LP, 4 cards, 1 Mon, 1 S/T Joshua drew his card and glanced a it. Good. "I Summon Gem-Armadilo in Attack mode. With his effect, I search for a Gem-Knight Monster from my Deck and add it to my hand. I then set one card face-down and end my turn." He said [b][u]Turn 9: Megumi[/b][/u] Megumi: 1100 LP, 5 cards, 1 mon, 3 S/T Joshua: 3600 LP, 3 cards, 2 mon, 2 S/T "Draw!" Megumi yelled, drawing yet another card. A smile appeared on her face as she realized what she drew. "I Special Summon Grinder Golem to your side of the field!" Megumi declared, an odd-looking machine with a sawblade protruding from its upper body appearing on the field. [b]Grinder Golem - Level 8, ATK 3000[/b] "When Grinder Golem is Summoned like this, I can Special Summon two Grinder tokens on my side of the field," Megumi explained, two smaller versions of the Grinder Golem appearing next to Horus. [b]Grinder Token - Level 1, ATK 0[/b] "Finally, I play the Spell card: Fiend's Sanctuary!" Megumi declared. "This card Special Summons a Metal Fiend token onto my field." A metallic being composed primarily of steel orbs then appeared from the ground via a magic circle. Her smile grew wider as she then declared, "I Tribute all three Tokens in order to Special Summon my ace monster!" Megumi then began chanting, "Strike fear into your foes, and let none oppose you! Take their power and use it as your own! Arise, 'Destiny HERO - Plasma'!" The warrior with webbed wings and purple armor appeared on the field in all his imposing glory. [b]Destiny HERO - Plasma - Level 8, ATK 1900[/b] "I surrender." Joshua said, putting his hand on the top of his deck. The objects around them disappeared and Joshua landed on the ground with barely a buckle of his knees, despite being several feet up at the time. Megumi was disappointed, but not surprised. Things had been pretty one-sided for a while. Megumi went over to Joshua and extended a hand for a handshake. "Good game?" Megumi said as a common courtesy. "For you maybe. For me, I got trampled from beginning to end. So it's less of a game and more like a one-sided romp." Joshua said, glancing at his deck. "The duelist around here are so odd... right, no more joking around then. First stop, Industrial Illusions. Enjoy your tournament." Turning around, Joshua left while raising his hand as a way to say good-bye. Megumi didn't know what to say after that, though she eventually waved back and yelled, "Bye!" after Joshua turned around and walked away.