Heroes No More

The First Test

She rounds a corner and the heat of the fire pours down on her neck and back with the orange glow reflecting off of the cars parked down the street. The "Street Closed" signs melt into a molten pile as they take the hit of fire for Yumi so she can make her dash down the busy street.

The whole sidewalk on her left side is full of people in cosplays, fandom apparel, and so much more. She scans the panicking yet oddly excited crowd. No, nope, nope, there!

The whirling noise of the fire gathering in the dragon's mouth buzzes through the air. She instantly spins on her heels and extends the two cards out towards the dragon. The cards glow brighter and suddenly a wall of Kuribohs saturates the air in front of her and the people on the sidewalk. Those wonderful creatures take the heat, literally, by absorbing the fire. Each Kuriboh hit with the flames disappears in a puff of smoke only to have another Kuriboh instantly takes it place, keeping the fire at bay and everyone safe. Kuriboh and the spell card "Multiply"; what a combo.

The crowd cheers enthusiastically, but Yumi isn't even close to celebrating. The Kuriboh wall buys her some time, however; the moment the dragon decides to stop using its fire to attack the wall isn't going to stand a chance.

She runs up to a man dressed up like who she thinks is the ninth doctor from Doctor Who. "No time to explain. Can I use your deck?"

His eyes light up like he just won the lottery. "Sure! Yeah!"

Yumi stretches her hand out and in a flash of light the deck of cards jump from his coat pocket and into her hand. She runs back out to the center of the street just as the dragon stomps on the wall of Kuribohs.

She calls off the cards causing the remaining Kuribohs to disappear in mini flashes of gold light. Orange tongues of fire gather in the back of the dragon's opened mouth. No one screams, all eyes are on the dragon and Yumi. What is she going to do?

Then, a challenging smile graces her lips and the dragon releases the flames. The card in her hands flashes. Suddenly a large magic hat takes her place and it disappears with a poof when the fire hits. The crowd cheers at the appearance of the three hats (now two thanks to the dragon's fire).

The dragon roars in frustration. Yumi can see through the hat's material and it's easy to tell that the dragon doesn't like this at all. Another card jumps to her hand and the two remaining hats disappear. A mechanical silver sphere appears beside her. The device blooms open on the top and bottom like a strange flower. Next the spears hidden within start to spin and whirl around creating sparks of energy. Finally, a blue shield springs out to shield the people on the sidewalk and Yumi both as the dragon stomps down as if to crush Yumi beneath its feet.

Suddenly the cards fly from her hand, adrenaline pushing Yumi's powers to a new level. They rapidly fly around her body as if creating a protective cocoon around her. The fifty cards speeding past aren't enough to block her vision, but it is enough to show her that the Duel Monsters stand beside her in this battle.

The flashes of cameras and the sight of so many phones now pointing on her catches her attention for just a moment. Oh boy. This is going to be everywhere when all of this is done. At least the world will know she's not actually dead. Alright, if they want a show then she's going to give it to them.

"Swords of Revealing light!" She extends her hand out and a card flying around her starts to glow. Three swords form in the air above the dragon before they come crashing down into the ground around it shaking the earth with their force. A gold layer of energy throws itself around the dragon. The creature roars out, but that's all it manages to do. The rest of its body is petrified thanks to the spell that comes with the swords. "Normally I get three turns to figure out a strategy to beat you. Thankfully for me I only need one."