It did not take long for Meltlilith to return once more, thankfully not having to stop what may have been one of the first interdimensional human-on-human murders this time around.

Ripper stood as the void resumed its neutral state of being the same endless white expanse everyone was tired of. With Melt’s arrival, he seemed to resemble more of a human than a statue still in the shape of Sarah’s dad, but continued to wordlessly stare at the woman before him.

Breaking the silence, Sarah squatted down, “Alright, you ready for the last round?”

“Squeak!” Carbuncle waved his bushy tail as Sarah directed her attention to her two opponents.

The ACE creature held her wielder close. The ice cold exterior of the serial killer melted within her embrace.

Sarah’s hands opened and closed as she looked on. It’s so weird how close they are. At least when we fought against the giant turtle, he was basically holding Bruno’s kid captive. They’re way closer than me and ‘Buncle…

“Terrence, we should wait until we are freed from the duel. Better to return and be chastised than potentially not at all.” The way the female alien held the man who looked like her father made Sarah even more uneasy than she already was.

Tall as he was, ‘Tim’ continued to hold onto his ACE. After a moment’s consideration, his eyes opened once more to glare at the short woman across from him. “But Melt, I ‘ate ‘er. I fuckin’ want ‘er to die.”

Before Sarah could protest, the alien’s thoughts permeated their minds once more, almost singing within, “Shh… Just breathe Terrence. There’s nothing she can do to hurt you. There’s nothing she can do to hurt me.”

“You-” She started, “You two sure are close, aren’t you?” For once she addressed the woman in azure.

After a moment, Melt turned her featureless head in that direction, “We are. Many discarded Terrence, unable to see the treasure that lies within him. While some have their uses for him, I chose to see for him. To fight for him.” Her words carried weight. A story.

“Do you have any interest in The Treasure? Why are you fighting in the World Game?”

She pondered a moment, still holding the old man, “No. I seek not The Treasure. My superiors, on the other hand, desire it above all else. As to why I fight,” She looked at the man smiling broadly, “It is to give him the justice he deserves.”

Looking at Carbuncle once more, something clicked within her. “Why are you telling me this now?” Her hand still itched, the thrill of battle called her once more now that she stood upon the precipice between victory or total defeat.

“Well,” Terrence slowly shifted down to an even more familiar sight. He resembled Sarah herself, “We have a lot in common. Not many treat their ACE as an equal. Many of you see us as burdens, dragging you into an foreign war. Whereas a majority of us see you all as tools to win said war.”

Melt’s words grew quieter, “Something that even our superiors believe.”

“So why fight for them?” The urge to continue the duel spurned her forward, “Why not join us and go against your superiors if they believe in something so fucking fundamentally different?”

“Even if we were to join with you, it is only a temporary peace. There can only be one victor. The pursuit of justice is an ideal, not something ever attained.” Meltlilith played with the girl’s curls, “Our time together is short, but Terrence has been given opportunities that he has never seen before. Even if it’s for their own purposes, we have given our superiors a glimpse of the treasure within him.”

Sarah’s already overtaxed brain swam with questions and urges. The fact that the woman before her now cradled a serial killer that looked like her did not help in processing all of this. “You keep fucking talking about your ‘superiors’ like you can’t go against them! Just walk away! Even if you only have a short time left together, spend it the way you want!”

Her facsimile opened their eyes and responded in her own voice, “But this is what we fucking want to do! Melt’s following what she was made for and I get to be myself.”

The tone of her own voice, though unnervingly foreign, told her everything she needed to know. They let him kill people when it’s necessary. An essential part of a war.

Her hand began to form a rash. By giving her temptations the inch, it demanded the entire mile and wished to see the end of this duel.

“He is correct. I was made for the purpose of those stationed above me. Going against them is sacrilege.” Melt let go of Sarah’s lookalike, “Miranda’s right hand should have informed the Lockbreaker of the circumstance. All we need to do is wait and you may go home with your ACE this time.”

Carbuncle looked up at his partner. His brows furrowed in concern and seemed to agree with the Justicar.

It seemed she was the only one who wanted to continue. Looking at Terrence across from her, connections began to form. Wearing the same loose brown houndstooth sweater, he examined his new dainty hands that only recently had ever seen work.

When I met him this morning, he acted like my dad. Giving me advice and everything. As that kid, he was goofing around and teasing me. The theory seemed far-fetched, but she needed to finish the duel.

“Hey, bitch girl!” Ripper lifted her head immediately, already making Sarah upset with the explorations he has made in his new form, “I bet you’re fucking scared to see if you can beat me this round! Looks like all your brains went to those tits of yours, shortstack!”

The second short girl in the ivory stretch of a room bit her lip and glared angrily.

Hell fucking yes, it looks like he took the bait! I would’ve fallen for it myself…

As the pint-sized serial killer stepped forward, Meltlilith held out her hand, “What are you doing? Don’t you want to go home?”

“Why?” Sarah shouted, “So you and your fucking midget continue to stalk us? Who would you pretend to be next? My fucking mom?”

“If she wants to duel, Melt, then let’s give her one!” The much taller alien had a hard time restraining the fuming ball of fire within her arms, “I’ll fucking kill her! Let’s fucking go, bitch!”

Meltlilith’s grip grew weaker the more the short woman tested it, “No! Terrence! Don’t-”

“Let’s go, slut!” Sarah knew her opponent’s ‘ape brain’ was raging wildly, “I’ll even let you fucking go first!”

Five shields appeared between the both of them as the final duel commenced.

The air around the two ACE users outside of the bubble grew tense. Ortelanus had stopped her analysis, quite possibly finding this much more interesting.

“So, uh…” Jesse tried to break the tension, “Like, y-your half sister or-”

“She’s my full blooded older sister.” The response was curt.

Stepping forward, Orty bridged the gap between the two, “Looks like you got all the height, and she got all the bitchiness, huh?”

Rebecca finished looking away and whispering something, “Shut up, I don’t want to deal with you right now.”

“Shiiiiit… Looks like it didn’t skip the sibling afterall…” The Sea Sage shrugged and went back to the duel dome, leaving the two wielders alone once again.

Rubbing the back of her neck, Jesse took a half step forward, “Sorry about that, she means well, but is kind of a handful…”

“Bitch, I am a boat full!” Orty shouted in the background.

“It’s fine. I’m just having a rough day right now…” Rebecca’s loose curls shifted as she crossed her arms.

“Y-yeah… I’m sure having your sister in another dimension would not make for an easy time.” Holding out her hand, Jesse’s blush took its rightful place emblazoned within her cheeks, “I’m Jesse, by the way.”

Looking over her hand, a conceded smile met the nervous one, “I’m Rebecca. Rebecca Weatherford.” With a quick shake, the empty field felt slightly less barren.

As the two finished, a crack appeared within the air beside Rebecca.

“Weatherford.” An older Asian man, his square jaw lending him a look that would place him in his mid-thirties, emerged from the crack with a groovy-looking bespeckled man with a voluminous afro, “Is Ripper still within the other dimension?”

Clyde had to duck to get his near perfect sphere of hair out from the crack of time and space, a surreal mess of shapes and movement briefly showed behind him as it closed shortly behind the both of them. “Imaishi, baby, you gotta remember to greet your co-workers, ‘member?”

With an exasperated sigh, Imaishi raised the pitch of his voice, “Howdy Miss Weatherford! How can Imaishi and Clyde’s Pop-a-Lock help you out today?” Turning to his partner, looking around the field he returned to his usual serious tone, “There. Happy?”

“Always!” Finally turning around and seeing Jesse, he held out his hand, hosting four golden rings, “And I’m even happier to see quite a b-e-a-utiful rose in a dreary place like this!”

Jesse daintily gripped the man’s fingers before receding once more.

“So Weatherford, we’re getting Ripper out?” Imaishi wore a simple suit, more than likely he was disturbed in the middle of work. His short black hair was coiffed perfectly, not a hair out of place, matching his ebony glasses.

“Yes. Thank you both for coming out here on short notice!” Rebecca shook both of the older men’s hands, moving in quick bursts.

“Ain’t no prob, doll!” Clyde cracked his knuckles, before violently jostling his neck side to side, “Before we get to crackin’ this bad boy, I should probably ask: is this a new recruit or something?”

He pointed towards Jesse who grew from her ever present peach color to apple red in record time, “I- I, uh…”

“Yeah. She’s looking like she’d be quite the ally.” Rebecca flatly answered.

“Sweet!” Clyde stepped up to the bubble, not before looking Ortelanus up and down who was beside it. “Mind giving me some space, sweet thing? A man needs some space to work.”

With a roll of her eyes, Orty backed from the sphere.

Putting his fingers to his lips, Clyde whistled. Echoing over the desolate field, yet another figure came into vision beside him. A feminine looking figure, a young pale-complected figure wearing garishly colored pink and blacks clothes stepped in beside the man in the bleach white coat.

“What’s shakin’ bacon?” The pink hair of this individual stood out against the wash of color around them, a tiny red heart appeared drawn before their right eye. “Is it time to get to work, boss?”

“Hey Melchias, mind cracking this one open for me?” Clyde turned to his partner, looking down at what could be a passable, if not gaudy, person standing chest high.

With a quick glance at the bubble, Melchias did a quick salute, “Can do, captain!”

“I’ll pass.”

Her doppelganger made a handwave to signify the end of her first turn. Having managed to escape from the grasps of her interdimensional babysitter, Ripper, having taken the form of Sarah, looked just as driven to duel as the original.

A card entered Sarah’s hand, a reward for choosing to go second. Pulling it from the fan, she held it outward, “I’ll summon Scrapper!”

Her only play point dimmed, summoning the masked man from the void. Scrawny, but as she had seen from the previous rounds, he certainly lived up to his name in more ways than one.

“Are you sure we should be doing this, Terrence?” Melt hovered around the shapeshifting serial killer, nervously pacing back and forth.

The second blonde girl in the room shrugged, “If this bitch wants to fucking throw down, than who am I to deny her?” Pulling a card from her grip, the robot with its bulky body and dangling arms arose from a portal formed in what could be construed as the floor, “I’ll summon a Topaz Spellbot, swap my shields, and end my turn!”

While still looking like her, Sarah felt relieved that the murderer that adopted her traits lightened the space once again. What does that say about my dad though?

Without a card to play, she pointed towards her foe, “Scrapper, break a shield!”

The lanky man covered in rusted tools threw himself forward once again, whooping battle cries as he cleared the distance between her side of the field and her lookalike’s. Launching his full body into the glass pane, he quickly rolled, catching himself as he got up and dashed back.

Her ‘evil twin’ frowned. Down one shield on turn three was a large step towards one of their demise. “Not bad, not bad... “ Ripper held out his hand once more, forming the yellow fungus in his hand yet again, “I’ll spend 3 play points to summon Starlight Palm.”

Forming out and up, the hyphae organized itself into what could be construed as a palm tree if one squinted their eyes just to the point of closing them.

It was time for the real Sarah to scowl. Welp. That’s gonna stop Scrapper or any other creature with less than 2 attack points from attacking. Glad that it also helps me out… Looking at the Topaz Spellbot, she sighed from relief.

“‘Buncle, we’re gonna go home soon, hold tight!” Receiving her next card, she nodded her head, “I’ll summon a classic, Sixth Storm Oracle!”

The shamanistic wolf-like man fell in line with the taller figure that looked like he belonged in a water-starved world. Bringing a dull play point with him, it joined the orbit around his summoner, bringing her up 4 points on her third turn.

“You’re not fucking going anywhere! Once we beat you, we’ll just live your happy little life for you until we take out your little fucking friend group.” Pulling out the knife and twirling it around, he continued, “I don’t think Miranda would have a problem with that!”

Melt shook her head, “Terrence, now you’ve got as bad of a potty mouth has her…”

“I’ll play The Second Sun’s Light!” Finding themselves within the reaches of space again, the strange fungal tree appeared more vibrant and grew a bit larger. “So, you better fucking enjoy your time before that!”

Sarah gestured towards her quadrupedal partner, “News flash fuckface, anyone can easily see that if you don’t have Carbuncle with you, you’re not me!”

Meltlilith stepped forward slightly, sighing solemnly. Before all of their eyes, what was a tall, faceless woman was now a small purple furred animal-hybrid with a black diamond shaped cavity in its forehead, “Ta-daaa.” She sung unenthusiastically.

“Shit. You guys are good.”

The doppelganger placed her hand on her chest and closed her eyes, “Of course we are! We’re fucking professionals!”

“Gross dude, I don’t want to hear about your sex life.” Sarah received her card and shuffled her grip. All five of her play points dimmed as she summoned another creature, “Let’s go, Storm Silver Compass!”

A larger wolf-like man strode forward from the void beyond, armed with a large fur coat and various survival tools hanging from a belt. Nearly twice the size of the two duelists, he towered over the field with just his great stature. Taking up a stance, glaive at the ready, another card appeared in Sarah’s hand; the one she had been looking for.

“Storm Silver Compass lets me pull a creature from the deck, nabbing me another Sixth Storm Oracle. With that, I’ll hand it back to you.”

Melt, still in the form of Carbuncle, stood on her hindlegs. Unnerving both the subject of her imitation as well as his partner, she watched as the other double shuffled through his hand.

Biting his lip, Ripper finally closed his hand and pointed forward, “For 5 play points, I’ll call forward my Strike Leader, Magnus, Dreamscape Painter!”

The space around them exploded into surreal splotches of vibrant color. Brushstrokes took to the air, painting and repainting the ‘walls’ surrounding them, the textures vivid and masterfully placed. Finally as the painting slowed, they felt foreign within a world under the sea. Rather, an artistic interpretation of them, an ideal seascape that could only be envisioned within a master’s mind. Appearing after the work was done, a man similar to Ortelanus emerged from a dark spot. But skin and hair tone was where the comparisons came and went, he was clearly much older, hunched over and dressed in might be sackcloth. His hair flew outwards in a frizzy mess, nearly as large as his body mass itself. With thick glasses, he ambled onto the field and stood between each duelist’s shields.

That’s the same Strike Leader Jesse used… Sarah pondered. Any time I break a shield while he’s on the field will let it be used for free by giving it [Shield Skill].

The sixth play point joined Sarah’s orbit, denoting her foe’s turn ending. Looking through her hand, the play was clear having set it up last turn. “I’ll summon another Sixth Storm Oracle!” A second shamanistic wolf man appeared, identical to the first, bringing the same gift as the former. “But I’ll go ahead and evolve this one into Bhuran, Legendary Guide!”

Shifting to a familiar form, the second wolf man stretched in height until reaching the same stature as the Storm Silver Compass. Materializing and donning higher quality leather and steel armor onto him, he towered over his previous form. “I’ll also [Expend] the Storm Silver Oracle underneath, and gain a whole ‘nother play point!”

Between summoning the first oracle and playing another before evolving him, she now stood three whole play points above what was expected. I fucking got him now…

Sarah 2 shuffled his hand once more, this time with a more decisive look on his face. “How about we shut down any fucking stupid spells you’re thinking about playing?” Holding up a blue spell card, it shattered. The space above them filled with crackling electricity, arcing to and fro through the sky. As it grew louder and louder at its peak, everything went dark to the tune of the sound of thousands of machines shutting down. “That was System Outage doing exactly as I said and shutting down spells and traps for both of us until the end of your next turn!”

Glancing through her hand, Sarah gulped.

“But that ain’t all! Since I’m already stealing your look, why don’t I steal your play and evolve my Topaz Spellbot into Spellbot Unit Medusa Emerald?!”

The shoddy machine shifted once more into the chimera of machine parts, impressive in both its craftsmanship and its abnormal design. “Lastly, I’ll go ahead and have it break one of your shields just to tie us up!” While still under the effect of his own Starlight Palm, his Topaz Spellbots could not declare an attack with their palty 2 attack points, but by evolving it into Medusa Emerald it inherited a much more imposing 4 points, placing it above the ‘Miracle’ card’s restriction.

As the creature fired a laser through one of her glass panes, the card hidden within manifested in her hand. Her frown widened as the card revealed itself. Shit. This ‘The Bell Tolls’ would be perfect right now if it wasn’t shut down by the spell he just played…

Gaining her 9th play point and starting her 6th turn, she still felt the effects of System Outage. Shuffling her grip, every line she could see developing immediately ended when it reached either by being blocked by Starlight Palm’s effect or System Outage’s lingering hold over spells. With their shields tied up, her High Prosecutor, Judgement would lack the bite it would have had if she was behind. Worst of all, any offensive plays towards her opponent’s shields would allow them to activate for free under the effect of Magnus.

The easiest play would be just to drop a Beltran Street Special negating the Palm and summoning a Kellja to negate the effects on his Strike Leader…

“Knock, knock! Is the little bitch home?” The doppelganger leaned forward making overt gestures while still appearing to look like her. “Hey Melt, I guess she really is just all fucking talk! We can easily just replace her!”

Dropping her Carbuncle visage, Melt shook her head.

Loosing a deep sigh, Sarah stood upright. “At least I don’t have to pretend to look like a fucking winner to be one.” Holding out a card, it shattered. A small cloaked bird dropped down from the sky above, slicing the strange hobbled man before bounding backwards to her side of the field.

“I’ll summon Kellja, Nights Wing, negating your Magnus’ effects! Next, I’ll keep up the trend and evolve her into Leilah, Night’s Wing Leader!”

The tiny bird once again turned into the taller confident corvid woman armed with a multitude of knives. “I’ll use her to take out your Medusa Emerald!”

A storm of knives appeared from her, each thrown with skillful expertise and found purchase within the hull of the machine before it’s explosion. With her 5 attack points overpowering Medusa Emerald’s 4, the battle was won handily.

“You better count your fucking stars you still have that Starlight Palm or you would’ve had no fucking shields. Instead, I’ll just take one with Bhuran!”

With Magnus negated, he sat on the field with only 2 attack points and no longer granting [Shield Skill] to his summoner’s shields, allowing Sarah’s Tundrafolk to destroy the glass pane with the greatest of ease.

Ripper cleared his throat, “Not bad, but I’ll just take care of your field right now with my [Shield Skill], Victorious Claim!”

Descending from the stroke marks denoting the light above, a battalion of ships of foreign make and surreal size encircled the duel. Tiny ships like Nyx hovered around gargantuan structures defying the laws of physics. “Every fucking card on your field are going to be rendered ‘Strikeless’ and open for attacks on the next turn!”

Sarah grinned.

“I’ll [Expend] from Leilah, Night’s Wing Leader and negate your [Shield Skill]!”

The bird woman took to the air, becoming a whirling dervish. Knives flew from her spinning form, striking every ship from the air.

A ring of explosions erupted from around them, bathing the painted seascape around them in flames. The detonations stood out violently from the lovingly crafted underwater fresco, almost confusing those involved on how such a fiery event could even occur under these depths. Landing once more, Leilah took a bow before returning to her position on Sarah’s field.

As the debris settled, Sarah crossed her arms, “Also, fucker, that was an illegal move. System Outage lasts until the end of my turn.”

The clone bit her lip. Blood dribbled from the busted lip and onto the brown sweater. “You fucking bitch! You think you’ve got this in the fucking bag? You think you’re fucking better than me?”

Sarah kept her arms crossed. “Hell-fucking-yes to both of those.”