((Collab -- Rethel34 & StarInaBox))

"Of course," Gale replied, heading toward the hallway after Korbin. "What course are you in?"

Korbin's face screwed itself up in to an expression of annoyance. This one is a talker, isn't she? "I'm part of the Xyz Summoning class," he responded, choosing not to say anything afterwards.

When they stopped, Gale activated her Duel Disk. "I'll let you go first, if you'd like," she said as the Disk ejected her hand.

"That would be nice." Korbin nodded, accepting the offer of going first. He raised his arm, the disk spreading out after being activated.

(Turn 1: [Korbin 4000] / [Gale 4000])
Korbin reached for his deck, drawing five cards from it accordingly. He scrutinized each card, coming up with a strategy for them. It wasn't a very good hand, but he could do something with it. "First, I activate 'The Sanctuary in the Sky'," Korbin announced flatly, placing the card in his Field Spell Zone. His side of the field suddenly morphed from the normal hallway tile to that of a stone temple, clear blue sky and clouds circling the edge. "Next, I set two cards face down to end my turn."

(Turn 2: [Korbin 4000] / [Gale 4000])
"My turn; draw!" Gale said. Her hand wasn't perfect, but, within the right number of turns, she could use a really nice combo. "I'll start things off with a Ritual Spell Card: 'Advanced Ritual Art'! This allows me to send 'Neo Aqua Madoor' from my Deck to the Grave as a Tribute for the Ritual Summon of my Level Six 'Cyber Angel - Idaten'!" The magenta creature leapt into existence on Gale's field in Attack Position.

Korbin crossed his arms. "Ah, so that's a Ritual Summon," he said, not the least bit impressed. So you get a free monster with 1600 ATK. Big deal. "I chain to your Ritual Summon my face-down, 'Mystical Space Typhoon'." The card flipped up, a tornado beginning to take shape. "I target my other face-down card, 'Artifact Caduceus'." The tornado grew suddenly, shooting up in the air before coming down on "Artifact Caduceus", shattering it in to glowing pieces.

"Why would he do something like destroy his other card?" Gale wondered aloud, baffled by the seemingly insane maneuver.

Korbin smirked. "I thought you might ask. See, when 'Artifact Caduceus' is destroyed on your turn in the Spell and Trap Card Zone, it can Special Summon itself from the graveyard right after. Before it Special Summons, I activate the card 'Artifact Labrys' from my hand. Whenever an Artifact I control is destroyed, except in the Damage Step, I can Special Summon it from my hand in attack position." Korbin placed the card down, and in front of him, a shadowy sillhouette of a human rose out of the ground, gripping a double-bit axe, the axe being "Labrys". "Now that 'Artifact Labrys' is summoned, it's time for 'Artifact Caduceus' to do the same from my Graveyard." Beside "Artifact Labrys", another sillhouette appeared, this one orange, holding a staff with a beautifully decorated top.

"Regardless of that, the effect of 'Idaten' allows me to add one Spell Card from my Graveyard to my hand after she's been Special Summoned, so I return 'Advanced Ritual Art'," Gale explained. "My turn's not even halfway done, yet. I still haven't Normal Summoned, so with that done, I Tribute 'Idaten' in order to Tribute Summon the Level Six . . . 'Trance the Magic Swordsman'!"

"Idaten" became a sphere of light that entered a portal. Moments later, the swordsman emerge from the same portal, his ATK registering at 2600, one thousand more than what Idaten had been.

"Now everything's been taken care of. I enter my Battle Phase; 'Trance', Attack 'Artifact Labrys'!" Gale exclaimed, feeling she had been successful with her first turn. The swordsman leapt into the air, his blade colliding with that of 'Labrys'. At the collision, the axe shattered into gold pixels, spraying out and signifying its destruction.

"I think that covers it," Gale said. "I end my turn here."

(Turn 3: [Korbin 4000] / [Gale 4000])

Korbin narrowed his eyes, a bit more attention being focused on the duel. I'll admit, that was unexpected. "Alright then. Draw," Korbin exclaimed, reaching for his deck and picking up the top card. He looked at it carefully, sighing once he realized he had not a lot to do for the turn. "I set two cards face down, one a monster, before ending my turn."

(Turn 4: [Gale 4000] / [Korbin 4000])
Gale wasn't sure what to take of her opponent going defensive. It wasnt every day something like this happened. "Alright. I draw," she said. "Hmm . . . not quite yet. I'll now have my 'Trance' attack your 'Caduceus'!"

"Trance the Magic Swordsman" jumped up, descending toward the staff, the sword passing through it like butter. Like the other "Artifact", it burst in a shower of gold dust, finalizing its removal from the field.

"Next, I Set one card and end my turn," Gale finished.

(Turn 5: [Korbin 4000] / [Gale 4000])

Korbin was leery as soon as the face-down appeared on the field. He knew the back row was a dangerous place, and that card was probably no exception. "I draw." He nodded appreciatively before setting the card in the Spell/Trap Zone. "I set a card and end my turn." This was getting dangerous. Hopefully this next turn Korbin would get something a little more useful.

(Turn 6: [Gale 4000] / [Korbin 4000])
Gale, for one of the first times in her Dueling career truly felt that nothing would go wrong in this Duel. This never happened to such a degree. She had felt confident a few times before, but nothing like this. "Draw," she declared, not looking at the card immediately. If it was a monster, she had her signature monster out, and it likely wouldn't be going anywhere. That's perfect, she thought as she zeroed in on the card: "Queen's Knight".

"I activate the Ritual Spell Card: 'Ritual of Grace', from my hand! This allows me to Tribute 'Trance the Magic Swordsman' from my field, and 'Queen's Knight' from my hand. Now I Ritual Summon the Level Seven . . . 'Divine Grace - Northwemko'!" As Gale spoke, her field was set into action. A bright flame surrounded "Trance the Magic Swordsman" and a translucent "Queen's Knight". When it dispersed, "Northwemko" stood in their place.

"I now target 'Sanctuary in the Sky'!" Gale declared. "With the effect of 'Divine Grace', she can't be destroyed by card effects while it remains face-up on the field. Battle Phase! 'Divine Grace', attack the face-down monster!"

As the attack was announced, the card flipped up, reavealing it to be "Absorbing Jar". "About time," Korbin murmurred. "Since you attacked 'Absorbing Jar', its Flip Effect activates, destroying all Set Spell and Trap cards on the field. We also draw the same amount of cards as the cards destroyed by 'Absorbing Jar', as long as we controlled them." "Absorbing Jar" sucked all of the face-down cards in to it's opening, spewing out cards to each duelist from their decks: one to Gale, and two to Korbin.

There goes 'Magic Cylinder', Gale thought as she drew her next card.

Korbin reached for his deck, drawing two cards. He didn't bother to look at them yet. "Also, an 'Artifact' was destroyed by 'Absorb Jar's' effect, so I'll go ahead and Summon the destroyed card, 'Artifact Chakram', in Defense-position." A red sillhouette appeared next to the "Absorbing Jar", holding a pair of circular throwing devices with four sharp spearheads on four sides of it. After "Chakram: was summoned, "Divine Grace" continued her attack; a swing of her staff sent a shimmering wind in the direction of "Absorbing Jar", destroying it.

"I guess I end my turn," Gale said, hoping that the next turn would not see the Summon of a monster too powerful for "Divine Grace" to handle.

(Turn 7: [Korbin 4000] / [Gale 4000])

Korbin could feel the tides shift in his favor after "Absorbing Jar" let him draw two cards the previous turn. After looking them over, it was just what he needed to begin his counter-strike. "First, I draw," he said, picking up the top card of his deck with a swipe. He looked over the card before making his next move. "Next, I Set three cards face-down, ending my turn."

(Turn 8: [Gale 4000] / [Korbin 4000])
"My move, then. Draw," Gale said. It wasn't a bad card, but she couldn't play it yet. "I'll once again jump to my Battle Phase. 'Northwemko', attack his monster!" Once again, "Northwemko" swung her staff, but unfortunately, Korbin had plans other than Gale's.

"Hmph." Korbin flipped over a face-down card, revealing it to be "Artifact Movement". "I activate the Quick-Play Spell Card 'Artifact Movement'. This allows me to destroy a Spell or Trap card on the field. I'll select my own face-down, 'Artifact Failnaught'."

The face-down card was shattered in a shower of glowing pixels. Then, as soon as the card was destroyed, a green sillhouette appeared next to "Artifact Chakram", holding a bow and arrow. "When 'Artifact Failnaught' is Summoned, I can Set an Artifact card from my graveyard. I set 'Artifact Labrys'. But that's not all. Artifact Movement also allows me to set an Artifact card from my deck." A card partially ejected from Korbin's deck, which he set accordingly. "I'm not done yet. I activate the Trap card 'Theosophy of the Artifacts'. This card allows me to Special Summon an Artifact monster from my deck. I choose 'Artifact Beagalltach'!"

Korbin was starting to get fired up as he grabbed the next partially ejected card from his deck and summoning it. This one was a red sillhouette, grasping an absurdly broad sword. "'Artifact Beagalltach' allows me to destroy my own Set card. I'll do that now." The sillhouette swung 'Artifact Beagalltach' through Korbin's face-down card, 'Artifact Achilleshield'. After its destruction, a purple sillhouette appeared on the field, grasping a large shield. "'Artifact Achilleshield's' effect makes it so you can't target 'Artifact' monsters for an attack. I suppose that ends the Battle Phase, considering there's nothing but 'Artifacts' on my side of the field."

Gale stood baffled. Through a long chain of effects, her "Divine Grace's" attack had been negated. Her hand lacked the cards she needed to stop what had just happened, to add to the difficulty.

"I guess . . . I end my turn," Gale said, her mind still swimming over what had happened.

(Turn 9: [Korbin 4000] / [Gale 4000])

"It's my turn. Draw!" Korbin drew the card, not bothering to look at it. "With four Level five monsters on the field, I can Xyz Summon two Rank five monsters. I'll do that now, if you don't mind. With 'Artifact Failnaught' and 'Artifact Moralltach', I construct the Overlay Network to Xyz Summon 'Constellar Pleiades'. And with 'Artifact Beagalltach' and 'Artifact Chakram', I construct the Overlay Network for the Xyz Summon of 'Artifact Durendal'!"

All four of Korbin's monsters suddenly turned a hue of gold before shooting into a swirling cloud of dust akin in appearance to the night sky. Then, two new monsters appeared on Korbin's side of the field: One being a warrior-like humanoid, donned in gold and white armor, holding an intricate sword in his hand, "Constellar Pleidas." The other being a giant, imposing broad sword held by a shimmering white sillhouette, "Artifact Durendal."

"After Summoning 'Constellar Pleidas', I activate it's effect: By detatching one Xyz material from him, I can send one card on the field back to it's owners hand. I target 'Divine Grace - Northwemko." "Constellar Pleidas" raised it's sword, a lightning strike hitting "Northwemko", shrinking it in to a ball of light, the ball shooting back to Gale's hand. "Next, I'll go to my Battle Phase. 'Constellar Pleidas', attack Gale directly!"

"Constellar Pleidas" raised his sword, slashing at Gale with all of it's might, depleting Gale's Life Points to 1500.

"Let's get this over with, shall we?" Korbin remarked. "My 'Durendal', attack Gale directly! Ancient's Slash!" The sillhouette jumped forward, slashing at Gale ruthlessly with Artifact Durendal, depleting her Life Points to zero.
(Duel End: Korbin wins)

Gale fell backward at the double-collision. For a moment, she didn't even bother to get up; she was too stunned that such a comeback had been made. When at last she rose to her feet, she shook her head and said to Korbin, "That was impressive. Nice job."

Korbin grunted dismissively. "Hmph. If that's what a Ritual Summoning deck looks like, then you should really rethink the course you're taking." He gathered his cards and placed them back into his deck box, deactivating his Duel Disk. "Truly, I've seen better from a Fusion duelist." He sighed and grabbed his bag, packing up and leaving. "But that's to be expected from someone with a 35% win record."

Michelle and Freya were finalizing the results of Michelle's deck when Freya suddenly asked, "Hey wait, isn't this the Ritual Summoning class?" Michelle turned and there it was to her left. "You wanna visit Gale? Not like we have anything better to do," Freya continued on, laughing at her remark. Curious, Michelle opened the door, wondering if Gale was there. Fortunately, she was, and it seemed that she was going to Duel someone. Her curiosity increased, so she sneaked inside while nobody was (hopefully) looking, and grabbed a chair to watch.

The Duel was quite interesting to watch, especially when the Artifacts appeared. Michelle was fascinated with Fairy-type monsters, and she began to wonder how she could incorporate them into her deck if she could. Then the Duel ended, though Korbin, the Artifact user, looked at Gale with contempt. Then the comments were voiced, making Michelle forget her fascination, replaced with seething anger. She stood up and walked out of the room after Korbin, ignoring stares and comments from the other Ritual students, some of who looked ready to destroy Korbin themselves, or die trying. "Hey," Michelle said, her voice laced with venom.

"Um, what are you doing, Michelle?" Freya asked.

"Teaching this boy a lesson," Michelle replied to Freya in her mind. Out loud she said, "You have no right to say that to anybody. Stats are not what makes a Duelist a Duelist. Where is your respect?"

Korbin continued walking despite the comments coming from the Ritual Summoning class. The rest of them were probably just as bad. Besides, he got what he had came for. But then, a voice rang out, closer than the rest, He turned around, facing the challenging tone. "Are you a Ritual student, too?" Korbin asked. "Well, since you're brave enough to step up, let me be clear: I never said she was a bad duelist. I said a loss was to be expected, and guess what? She lost. Also, I have no respect for a duelist who couldn't even deal damage to me." He turned and continued walking. "You must be part of the Ritual class, too, seeing as you stepped out of that class room. In that case, you're probably just as weak as she is. I don't have time for you. I've somewhere to be."

"You're going to regret saying those words," Michelle said. "I'm not part of the Ritual Summoning course, but on behalf of them, I can guarantee your ass on a golden platter!" She raised her arm and brought in down in front of her, turning on her Duel Disk. "No one is going to insult my friend like that and get away with it! Duel me!" she snarled at Korbin, her expression showing that she is very serious.

Korbin stopped in his track as the notion of a duel was brought up. He turned around to face his challenger. It had been a while since someone had actually challenged him to a duel. He smirked, unzipping his bag and preparing for the upcoming duel. "Alright. I'll make your defeat quick. Like I said, I've somewhere to be. What's your name?"

"I now activate the effect of 'Mask of Weakness', which will reduce the ATK of the 'Lava Golem' I so kindly gave to you by 700 points," Kaeru said, his face obscured by a mask that looked like a zombie's bloodthirsty countenance. "With that done, I now will have my 'Red-Eyes Zombie Dragon' attack and destroy 'Lava Golem'."

The infernal dragon raised its head, its maws filling with a wispy blue flame. When it lowered its head again, the flames roared outward, engulfing and destroying 'Lava Golem'. "Now, because 'Lava Golem' is treated as a Zombie-Type monster by the effect of 'Zombie World', I can Special Summon it to my field in Attack Position when it is destroyed by 'Red-Eyes'! Now, to remove this facade," he continued, taking the mask from his face, revealing a look of anger. "It's time . . . 'Lava Golem'! End this Duel with a direct attack!"

A flood of magma poured from the massive monstrosity, burning away what remained of his opponent's Life Points. As he turned and left, his more joyful personality took over to a bit of an extreme. He donned his Mexican mask again and actually began scaring other students between his suddenly bubbly demeanor and the celebratory songs he had begun to sing. Any crude remarks they made, he simply shrugged off. Their reactions didn't matter. He was happy, and that was what mattered to him.

Interesting battles.commented a girl to herself, always staying towards the back of the massive groups that form around the on going duels. Her gold eyes examined each and every move while her hand wrote on the page of the small notebook she had in her free hand. She didn't need to look down at what she was writing to know what she was writing about exactly. Isn't multi-tasking great? In all truth she was writing things down around interesting duelists and their styles along with their most used strategy for her to study and learn from along with just being prepared just in case she is prepared up against any of them in the near or far future.

Amaya didn't really blend in with the group since she wasn't one for cheering and all that at these duels...To here their was no sense other then to raise the anxiety of a duelist to make a mistake due to ego or to simply cause one to not concentrate on the match at hand. Plus, all this shouting and cheering must hurt one's lungs cause it certainly hurt her ears. She adjusted some of her hair to behind her shoulder while watching the duel "There are some very interesting and probably powerful duelists facing each other "I don't think my deck can handle these duels.."She said to herself getting kind of worried that she might not be up to these other duelist's level of dueling "I hope I know what I am doing brother...you had faith in me....give me some of that faith."She whispered to herself gently.

Amaya took a deep breath before shaking the bad thoughts out of her head before she continued to watch the match and take notes.

~Collab, featuring StarInaBox (Korbin) and Scarifar (Michelle)~

"Michelle Kine. Special Summoning course," Michelle introduced herself, determined to beat Korbin. "I'll take the first turn." Without waiting for a reply, she drew her first five cards and began to play.

Korbin laughed at Michelle as she drew her first five cards. He hadn't even activated his Disk yet. He was still grabbing his deck out of the box. Once he set the deck in it's rightful place on the Disk, he activated it, drawing his opening hand. "Alright."

Turn 1: Michelle 4000 / Korbin 4000

"I discard 'Hecatrice' from my hand to add 'Valhalla, Hall of the Fallen' to my hand," Michelle said, taking the card as it ejected itself from her deck. "Now I play the Spell Card: 'Valhalla, Hall of the Fallen'!" Michelle said, creating a building with long red drapes. "Now I can Special Summon 1 Fairy-Type monster from my hand without the need to sacrifice, and I choose 'Splendid Venus'!" A golden goddess descended from the opening on the roof of the building, shining brilliantly. Michelle then said, "I then throw 2 cards face-down and end my turn.

Turn 2: Michelle 4000 / Korbin 4000

"Draw," Korbin said, picking up the top card of his deck. He had a fantastic hand, one that would hopefully dispatch Michelle quickly. He needed this to be over with as soon as possible. He analyzed the field at a glance. She had summoned a Level 8 monster on turn one. Impressive, but the way he saw it, her field may just be empty by turn four. "I set five cards face down before ending my turn. Your move."

Turn 3: Michelle 4000 / Korbin 4000

Michelle yelled out, "Draw!" drawing her card.

As she drew her card, Korbin flipped over a card in his Spell/Trap card zone. "I activate the Spell card: 'Double Cyclone'. I'll target my face-down 'Artifact Beagalltach', and your 'Valhalla, Hall of the Fallen'." Two cyclones appeared, emmanating from the card. They each reached out and destroyed the announced card.

"When 'Artifact Beagalltach' is destroyed on your turn, I can Special Summon it from the graveyard." "Artifact Beagalltach" made it's appearence on the field as soon as it was destroyed by "Double Cyclone", the sword being held in a defensive position. "When 'Artifact Beagalltach' is summoned, I can destroy two of my own face-down cards."

"I activate my Trap Card: 'Breakthrough Skill'!" Michelle said, revealing a face-down. "This negates the effect of 'Artifact Beagalltach'!" A giant clawed hand then emerged from the Trap Card and attempted to strike the sword.

"In response, I activate the Trap Card, 'Seven Tools of the Bandit'. By sacrificing 1000 Life Points, I can negate the activation of a Trap Card like 'Breakthrough Skill'."

As Korbin's Life Points dropped by 1000, a narrow beam of light suddenly shot forth from "Venus", destroying "Seven Tools of the Bandit". "Sorry, but 'Venus' won't allow you to negate any of my Spell and Trap Cards," Michelle said, smiling evilly. The giant hand continued undeterred, successfully striking the sword. "Now then, where were we? Ah yes, I now activate the Spell Card: 'Photon Sanctuary'!" Michelle said, 2 little bluish orbs appearing on her field. "This creates two 'Photon Tokens' on my field, allowing me to sacrifice them for 'Angel 07'!" Michelle yelled, the two orbs combining to create a giant white creature with a halo.

Michelle then pointed at 'Beagalltach' and said, "Let's take out that weapon of yours. 'Angel 07', destroy 'Artifact Beagalltach'!" "Angel 07" fired a strong beam of light from its halo straight at 'Beagalltach', engulfing it in light and leaving no trace of it. "Now, 'Venus', attack him directly!" Michelle commanded, and Venus fired another beam of light from her staff, dealing 2800 points of damage to Korbin. Michelle couldn't stop smiling even after she said, "Turn End."

Turn 4: Michelle 4000 / Korbin 200

Korbin's eyes narrowed. "She got a good hand," He thought to himself. "That's all it was." He inhaled a gulp of air, letting it out slowly a few seconds later. After that, he deactivated his Duel Disk. "Satisfied?" He asked Michelle, without expression.

As the message showing Michelle as the winner by default came up, Michelle looked at Korbin in surprise, not believing how quickly he had just given up. Then she narrowed her eyes again and said, "Not even any pride as a Duelist. No Duelist should just give up, no matter how bad the Duel goes." As Michelle's monsters faded, she said, "You don't even deserve to be called a Duelist." With nothing more to say, Michelle turned and walked away, heading back toward the Ritual Class to find Gale, ignoring the comments and cheers from the other Ritual students.

Korbin already had a response for Michelle, expecting the short speech about "pride" and all of those meaningless things. But by the time he had opened his mouth to deliver his rebuttal, Michelle had made her way back in to the Ritual Classroom. He sighed and followed her in, his Duel Disk still on his arm. Michelle seemed to be looking for someone, probably Gale. He had seen her run away towards the Action Dueling pavilions in tears during the duel. He walked behind Michelle and tapped her lightly on the shoulder. "If you're looking for the weak one, she went towards the Action Dueling pavilions."

Michelle turned her head around and sent a glare towards Korbin, then curtly said, "Thanks," leaving the classroom to find Gale.

Amelia had left the synchro class room to watch some duels she heard were going on. She managed to catch the end of Gale and Korbin's duel and was watching the entirety of Korbin's duel with Michelle. She didn't like this Korbin guy, he seemed way too cocky with himself and like he looked down on others. She hated people on that and almost wanted to duel him to put him down a notch or two, though she wondered if she would've been able to. Sighing she got up and went to go back to the class room and look over her deck and see if there were any ways she would improve it.

She glanced over towards where the three-way duel was going on. It seemed like they were taking their time. Maybe they needed to think out their moves a little more carefully since there was a third person instead of the usual two. Did that add a new level of strategy? Her curiosity overcame her and she sat back down again to watch that one. Besides, Brent was in that duel and she was curious about how well he was doing.

As soon as Michelle left to find Gale, Korbin decided it would be best to make his way back to the Xyz Summoning classroom. The Ritual Summoning classroom wasn't exactly the safest environment for him right now, as students were hitting him with a torrent of insults and put downs, however rightfully so. He didn't have time to deal with them right now, though. Not only could he defeat most of them easily, but he had somewhere to be. But even before he could go to that, he had something a little more important: "Angel 07."

Korbin entered his classroom with haste, walking directly to the back of the room where a whiteboard was hanging on the wall. He quickly grabbed one of the markers on the tray and popped it open, beginning to scribble things on the whiteboard. "Angel 07" was written in the middle, a bunch of lines protruding from the card name. On the other side of the lines were different card names thay could potentially counter "Angel 07." One was "Bottomless Trap Hole", but not only did he only have one in his deck, but school rules read that one could only use one in a deck, so he wouldn't be using it much. He crossed it out, moving on to "Artifact Moralltach." He stared at the name for a while, crossing it out, as it's effects would be negated because of "Angel 07's" own effect.

A few other cards he came up with, mostly traps, were "Torrential Tribute" and "Mirror Force." "Torrential Tribute" was crossed out for the same reason as "Bottomless Trap Hole", but "Mirror Force" showed some promise as a reliable card. After he had brainstormed what he deemed to be enough cards, he dragged a white board eraser through his writing, cleaning the board.

After that, he was on his way for what he was going to in the first place. He went out in to the courtyard, pulling out a soccer ball from his bag. He took a deep breath, held the ball high in the air, then dropped it. On the way down, he hit it with his thigh, beginning to juggle the ball with his legs. All of his attention was focused on the ball, as even the slightest distraction would cause him to lose his streak.

Amaya finally found the room she wanted, the synchro class, to be exact. Amaya stood outside the room as she debated whether to enter or not. She took a deep breath before reaching her hand forward.

She opened the door before walking in to find a single girl. The same girl that beat one of the other students first thing that day. "Uh...you were great in that battle with that boy"said amaya hoping the girl was nice and friendly; not snouty and rude like a lot of the duelists seemed to be.

Amelia didn't initially look over at Amaya when she entered the room, as she was too focused on other things. She only registered the other girl's prescense after Amaya addressed her, by congratulating her on her win against Brent the day before. Amelia looked a little irked at the mention of that match, since it had done nothing but brought her trouble but she let it go and shrugged.
"I only won because of pure dumb luck. The action cards favored me. Next time they might not." Amelia said, shrugging before looking up at Amaya curiously" Who are you? I don't think I've seen you before... then again I've only been here one day."

((Collab -- Rethel34, Scarifar, & Joshua Tamashii))

Brent noticed Joshua in the Fusion Classroom and went inside, returning the greeting offered by his friend. "Thought I might find you here," Brent said. "Duel yet this morning?"

"Yeah I've had several. None of them were worth my time though. I won every single one. We need something interesting, like a three-way fusion duel or something. Probably you, me and someone else." Joshua said before looking curious" Run into that Amelia girl yet? Did you challenge her again?"

While Joshua and Brent were chatting, Press was immediately challenged by a fusion student. Long story short, Press annihilated him in an FTK using 'Ancient Gear Gadjiltron Dragon'. It was an interesting Duel, but Press was hoping for a Duel that wouldn't end so quickly. Then he overheard the words "three-way Duel". That actually sounded like it would prove to be a challenge. He turned toward the location of where he thought he heard it, and his eyes focused on two students chatting. He recognized both, the one who lost the exhibition duel yesterday and another he saw practicing in the courtyard yesterday. They might prove to be fine opponents, and Press was in the mood for fine opponents today. After a quick nod to the defeated fusion student, he walked toward the duo and said, "Excuse me, I couldn't help but overhear something about a three-way Duel."

"Nah, haven't seen her yet, today" Brent started to say, but then another student jumped in on the conversation asking about the mention of a three-way Duel. "Hm? Yeah, you want in?"

"Yes, if you'd be so kind," Press replied. "I'm having trouble finding Duelists who last longer than one-to-two turns against me, and I feel like you make potential opponents. Plus, a three-way Duel sounds like something that will certainly make things more interesting."

Brent glanced over at Joshua as if asking what he thought. The idea of a challenging opponent was always fun. "Sounds like you're pretty confident. What's your name?"

"Press Dalton," Press said, "of the Tribute Summoning class." He extended his hand for a firm handshake.

Joshua glanced at Press and shrugged. "If you want in, fine by me. We needed a third person anyway," he said before turning back to Brent. "You know some people are saying she cheated against you. Most of them are members of your little fan club, the girls in particular. You know, the usual stuff that happens when you lose. Maybe a little worse this time though."

"I'm Brent, and this is Joshua," Brent said, accepting the handshake. After Joshua's comment, he chuckled a bit. "Never understood those 'fans', you know? It was a fair-and-square Duel. That, and I'm not worth having any fans. Anyhow, how about we get this Duel started?"

"Absolutely," Press said, preparing his Duel Disk. "Either of you can go first. I'd like to see what I'm dealing with before I attack."

"Hold it, hold it," Joshua said, before smiling. "A three-way duel is fun and all but you know what's even better and never been done before? A three-way Action Duel. Since I'm the one that came up with this idea, how about I chose the Action Field?"

Brent was about to engage his own Duel Disk when Joshua had posed the idea. Stopping himself, he thought for a moment. "Actually . . ." Brent considered, "that sounds like a good idea."

Press raised his right eyebrow at the mention of a three-way Action Duel. He pondered the choice, then decided that it might make for a very interesting duel. "Very well then," Press said, smiling for the first time, "a three-way Action Duel it is."

"Well, since we're all agreed, let's head down to the court." Joshua said, getting up and walking away, not caring if the other two fell behind or not. When they reached the Courtyard he ran to his spot and slapped on his black duel disk. Once the other two were in position, he pressed a button and selected his favorite Action Field. Buildings erupted all around them, forming a dark, somewhat seedy-looking city. Joshua himself was on the tower in the center of the river that ran through the city." Welcome to the Dark City, where ones fate is determined by how strong and skilled they are. Will you triumph and rise above the rest or just end up as another poor soul being tormented on the streets? Let's find out. DUEL!"

(Turn 1: [Joshua 4000] / [Press 4000] / [Brent 4000])
"Whoah!" Brent exclaimed as a building began to rise beneath his feet. Seeing the other two at other points around the city, he knew from their expressions that neither was going to take the first turn. He was used to it, though. Typically people wanted to be able to draw. Brent shrugged and snatched up his first five cards.

"I start this Duel by Summoning 'Cyber Phoenix' in Attack Position!" Brent declared, the burning machine appearing beside him. "Next, I Set one card and end my turn. Let's take to the skies, 'Phoenix'!" With that, he leapt on his monster's back and began to fly around the field searching for Action Cards. He hated heights, but as long as nothing happened to his monster, he'd be okay.

(Turn 2: [Joshua 4000] / [Press 4000] / [Brent 4000])
Press drew a card, and examined the rest of his hand. He took a card and said, "I Summon 'Machina Gearframe' in Attack Position," the orange-and-grey robot appearing on the field in a fighting stance. "When 'Machina Gearframe' is summoned, I can add one 'Machina' monster to my hand, such as 'Machina Fortress'," taking the card as it ejected itself from his deck.

"Now," Press continued, "I discard 'Psychic Armor Head' and 'Machina Fortress' to Special Summon 'Machina Fortress' from the graveyard." Next to the robot spawned a giant tank-like machine, immense and ready for combat. "Now, 'Machina Gearframe', combine with 'Machina Fortress'," Press commanded, and 'Gearframe' jumped on top of 'Fortress'. "I play two face-downs, and end my turn." Having said that, Press climbed on top of "Fortress" to get a small vantage point to search for Action Cards.

(Turn 3: [Joshua 4000] / [Press 4000] / [Brent 4000])
"My turn. Draw." Joshua said, looking at his hand" I activate 'Destiny Draw'. I discard 'Destiny HERO - Dasher' from my hand and draw two more cards. Then I activate 'D-Spirit' to Special Summon 'Destiny HERO - Doom Lord' from my hand. I also Summon 'Destiny HERO - Captain Tenacious' in Attack Mode"

In front of Joshua, two portals opened up and two monsters rose from them. One was a pale man dressed in black leather and armor, his gauntlets ending in long sharp claws. The second was a man with long orange hair in a speedo and two oversized dark teal gauntlet things on his arms and regular dark teal armor on his legs.
"Next I use 'Doom Lord's' effect to send one monster into the future. Lets go with . . . 'Cyber Pheonix'." Joshua said before "Doom Lord" began gliding towards Brent and his monster.

"Get us down to ground level, quick!" Brent commanded "Cyber Phoenix". When it was only feet away, Brent revealed his face-down card, jumping from its back. "I activate the Trap Card: 'Interdimensional Matter Transporter'! This banishes my monster until the End Phase, a much shorter time than what it would have been if your effect had succeeded."

Joshua shrugged as "Doom Lord" returned to his side. "I Set two cards face-down and end my turn."

(Turn 4: [Joshua 4000] / [Press 4000] / [Brent 4000])
When "Cyber Phoenix" returned to Brent's field, he instantaneously began his turn. "I draw!" he exclaimed. "I'll Summon 'Volcanic Scattershot' in Attack Position! Now I activate the Spell Card: 'Flash Fusion'! With this card, I fuse together my 'Cyber Phoenix' and 'Volcanic Scattershot'! Be born, the explosive beast: 'Ignition Beast Volcannon'!

"I activate the Trap Card: 'Bottomless Trap Hole," Press interjected, raising a face-down card. "When you Summon a monster with 1500 or more Attack, it is destroyed and removed from play." A hole in the ground appeared, sucking in "Ignition Beast Volcannon", then sealing itself once it was done.

"Brent you fool." Joshua muttered to himself, sitting at the edge of his tower.

"Fine," Brent said. "However, the effect of my 'Volcanic Scattershot' activates, inflicting 500 damage to Joshua in return for his attempt at banishing 'Cyber Phoenix'. I then Set one card and end my turn."

(Turn 5: [Joshua 3500] / [Press 4000] / [Brent 4000])
Press drew a card, then said, "During my Standby Phase I summon 'Psychic Armor Head' from my graveyard." A high-tech helmet then appeared on Press' head, fitting him perfectly, and showing him stats on all monsters on the field. More importantly, it also showed him where some Action Cards were. "Now I activate the Spell Card: 'Trade-In'. I discard a Level 8 monster, such as 'Ancient Gear Gadjiltron Dragon', and in return I draw 2 cards. Press sent his monster to the Graveyard, then drew 2 cards as he described. He took one of the cards he drew and continued, "I now play the Spell Card: 'Ancient Gear Castle'. As Press activated the Spell Card, an old castle appeared behind him, rising from the ground. "Now I summon 'Ancient Gear Soldier in Attack Position.

"Due to 'Ancient Gear Castle's' effect, all 'Ancient Gears' on the field gain 300 Attack," Press said, 'Soldier's' Attack rising from 1300 to 1600. "Now, 'Ancient Gear Soldier', attack Brent directly." 'Soldier' aimed its submachine gun at Brent and opened fire, dealing 1600 points of damage. "I play a face-down card and end my turn," Press said. "Now Fortress, drive," he commanded, and it went off toward the direction of an Action Card.

(Turn 6: [Joshua 3500] / [Press 4000] / [Brent 2400])
"Draw," Joshua said calmly. "I Set one monster in face-down Defense Position and then use 'Doom Lord's' effect to banish 'Ancient Gear Soldier' and end my turn."

'Ancient Gear Soldier' did not resist as 'Doom Lord' touched it, engulfing it in light, then disappeared.

(Turn 7: [Joshua 3500] / [Press 4000] / [Brent 2400])
"I draw," Brent said, picking up his next card. Not much for him to do either. "I Summon 'Cyber Valley' in Attack Position. With that, I end my turn."

(Turn 8: [Joshua 3500] / Press 4000] / [Brent 2400])
Press took the Action Card he was going for off the ground. Fortunately, it was not an Action Trap, so it would prove to be useful. The temporary loss of his 'Soldier' would not be a disappointment, as he had little use for him right now. "I Summon 'Ancient Gear Knight' in Attack Position." A rusty robot wielding a joust and a buckler appeared on the field, Attack registering as 1800 before being boosted to 2100 by 'Castle'.

"Now I attack 'Captain Tenacious' with 'Ancient Gear Knight'," Press said, and "Gear Knight" charged, joust raised to pierce "Captain Tenacious" through the chest.

"Think again. I activate 'D-Shield'." Joshua said as his one face-down was revealed. "This changes 'Captain Tenacious' to Defense Position, and prevents him from being destroyed by battle."

"Tenacious" crouched down and put his armored arms in front of him as several stones rose into the air and surrounded him, blocking "Knight's" attack.

"Hmm, fortunately I had anticipated this," Press said after "Knight's" attack was blocked. "I activate a face-down Quick-Play Spell card: 'Gemini Spark'. I tribute a Level Four Gemini monster, such as my 'Ancient Gear Knight', and in return I get to destroy one of your cards, which will be 'Captain Tenacious'." "Ancient Gear Knight" was suddenly converted into lightning, which shot toward "Captain Tenacious", destroying it.

"Alright then," Joshua said, shrugging as "Tenacious" was destroyed, taking "D-Shield" with him. "I wonder how long until your fate is sealed though."

Press, not rising up to continue the banter, said, "Now I can draw one card thanks to 'Gemini Spark'," drawing one card. "Now, 'Machina Fortress', destroy 'Doom Lord'." "Machina Fortress" lowered its cannon to aim at "Doom Lord" and charged its cannon, then fired a beam of energy straight toward "Doom Lord", destroying it and dealing 1900 points of damage.

"Doom Lord" was engulfed by the light but when the smoke cleared from the resulting explosion, a new monster was in its place. "'Destiny Signal'. Since a monster on my side was destroyed by battle, I get to summon another 'Destiny HERO', so long as it's Level four or lower. Lets go with 'Destiny HERO - Diamond Dude'." A man in a dark blue outfit and green cape with diamonds growing out of his body was on Joshua's field in Defense Position.

"Interesting," Press muttered. "I end my turn."

(Turn 9: [Joshua 1600] / [Press 4000] / [Brent 2400])

"Draw," Joshua said. "There you are my friend. I summon 'Destiny HERO - Diamond Dude' in Attack Position. Then I sacrifice all three of my monsters to Special Summon 'Destiny HERO - Plasma' from my hand!"

All three of Joshua's monsters vanished into the sky as a storm suddenly whipped up through the city. Lighting arced across the sky as Joshua's new monster descended and took its place in front of him. This one was a tall skinny man in dark pink armor, with one hand that looked like a dragon's head and what looked like a dragon's claw coming out from his back.

"Now, only one monster on each person's fields. 'Plasma', absorb 'Machina Fortress' please." Joshua said before 'Plasma' moved towards 'Fortress' and began absorbing the monster into his wings.

Press said, "Before that happens, I use 'Machina Fortress'' effect. When it's targeted by an opponent's monster effect, I look at your hand and-" Press was interrupted when "Plasma" began absorbing "Fortress" without pause. Press chose the wisest option and jumped off "Fortress" as it was lifted off the ground. "Machina Gearframe", however, was not so fortunate as it slipped off and burst into a shower of shards as it touched the ground.

"Did I forget to mention? 'Plasma' has another, rather nasty, skill. So long as he's on my field, all face-up monsters my opponent, or opponents in this case, control have their effects negated. All monsters except mine are Normal Monsters essentially." Joshua said as Plasma returned to his field, its attack rocketing up to 3150.

Press said nothing, merely looking at "Plasma" with dismay as "Psychic Armor Head" began showing its stats. He knew it was powerful, with his helmet confirming what was already said, and there was nothing he could do to stop it. Not yet, at least. There was something he wanted to ask, though. "Hmm... 'Plasma' is a powerful monster, but aren't you a Fusion user?" Press asked. "I haven't seen a single Fusion Monster from you."

"That's probably because all of the pieces for his Fusion Summon haven't shown up yet. Trust me when I say that you don't want to see his Fusion Monsters," Brent explained. "If you think 'Plasma' is nasty, the Fusions can get worse." Brent glanced down at his field. Unfortunately, the effect of "Cyber Valley" was currently useless, but Brent had more than that available for defense.

"Fusion might be my course, but it's not my only means of attack. To be a good Duelist, you need to know how to do more than one type. I plan on learning either Xyz or Synchro Summoning at some point. Anyway, 'Plasma', destroy that wierd piece of headgear on our one friend will you?" Joshua said before Plasma opened his wings and fired what looked like blood rain at Press.

"I activate my Trap Card: 'Scrap-Iron Scarecrow'." Press said, lifting up his face-down and creating a rusty metal scarecrow that quickly collapsed under Plasma's attack, but, as a result, left Press' helmet intact. "This Trap negates your monster's attack, and I can Set it back down instead of sending it to the Graveyard."

"So a once per turn wall. Only delaying the inevitable. Turn end." Joshua said.

(Turn 10: [Joshua 1600] / [Press 4000] / [Brent 2400])
Nice job, Press, Brent thought to himself. "Guess it's my turn; draw!" he shouted. Looking at his hand, he didn't have much to do to play it safe until his next turn came around. "I'll switch my 'Cyber Valley' to Defense Position. Then I Set one card and end my turn." With any luck, his next card would be something he needed to defeat one or both of his opponents.

(Turn 11: [Joshua 1600] / [Press 4000] / [Brent 2400])
Press drew his card and examined it. It wasn't a monster as he had hoped, but perhaps he could work with it. "I put 'Psychic Armor Head' in Defense Position, and play one card face-down. Turn End."

(Turn 12: [Joshua 1600] / [Press 4000] / [Brent 2400])
"Draw." Joshua said, looking at his meager hand of two cards.

"During your Standby Phase, 'Ancient Gear Soldier' returns to my field," Press said, the rusty robot reappearing in a flash of light.

Nothing he could do really and he trusted neither of his opponents' face-down cards. "Turn End."

(Turn 13: [Joshua 1600] / [Press 4000] / [Brent 2400])
Brent was surprised Joshua hadn't done anything to take the offensive again. "Draw," Brent said, starting his turn. "I'll take this moment of quiet then, to activate 'Future Fusion'. Now I can banish the appropriate Fusion Materials for 'Chimeratech Overdragon' from my Deck, and soon, I'll be in control of a powerful Fusion Monster. So I'll banish 'Cyber Dragon', 'Proto-Cyber Dragon', 'Electromagnetic Turtle', 'Karakuri Muso "Haipa"', 'Gear Golem the Moving Fortress', and 'Ancient Gear Knight' from my Deck as those Fusion Materials. I guess that, for now, that's all I can do. I end my turn."

At that, Brent decided he might as well begin looking to grab an Action Card, remembering that even if he found a Trap Card that would lower his monster's ATK, it couldn't hurt, as not only was it in Defense Position, but it also had zero points.

(Turn 14: [Joshua 1800] / [Press 4000] / [Brent 2400])
Press was moderately surprised by the amount of Fusion Materials being used. He knew that not even the "Five-Headed Dragon" had that many Fusion Material requirements, so chances were it had something to do with the Fusion Monster's effect. It must be pretty powerful, so I can't let it out, Press thought. But wait, it won't matter if it has a powerful effect because of 'Plasma'[i].

Press was stuck on this quandary, but he knew he could only draw and see what his Deck gave him. He drew, then looked. A Monster, and one that could destroy "Plasma", but then again, he wondered whether or not he should. He looked at Brent's "Future Fusion", debating whether or not he should try it, and decided to take the chance. "Both of you are Summoning powerful monsters, so it seems I should respond in kind," Press said.

"I sacrifice 'Ancient Gear Soldier' and 'Psychic Armor Head' to summon one of my most powerful monsters: 'Ancient Gear Golem'." Both 'Soldier' and 'Psychic Armor Head' disappeared in a column of light, and behind Press emerged from the ground a giant rusty golem, its one visible eye glowing red. Its Attack registered as 3000 before being boosted up to 3300 by 'Ancient Gear Castle'. "'Ancient Gear Golem', destroy 'Destiny HERO - Plasma' with 'Mechanized Melee'," Press commanded, and "Golem" drew back its fist, its gears spinning rapidly, then lashed out, sending a ghostly image of its fist straight at "Plasma".

"Yeah, whatever," Joshua said as "Plasma" was struck, vanishing from his field, taking "Machina Fortress" with it. He looked at the two cards in his hand and knew if he drew what he needed, he might stand a chance and deal some damage to Press, who seemed pretty unstoppable at this point.

Press pushed his glasses up sligtly with his index and middle finger, then said, "I play one card face-down and end my turn." He only had his one Action Card left in his hand, but that was of little consequence.

[i](Turn 15: [Joshua 1650] / [Press 4000] / [Brent 2400])

"Draw." Joshua said. "I summon 'Destiny HERO - Doom Lord'. Then I use his effect to banish 'Golem' into the future."

"Doom Lord" moved forward to strike "Golem" with his claws, Joshua waiting to see if Press had any response.

Like 'Soldier', 'Golem' did not resist as 'Doom Lord' sent it into the future. Press, however, was slightly ticked off that his monster was removed so easily.

"Now, here's a problem. If I lose this game soon, 'Golem' will never come back. After all, it's returned during my turn. If you want it back, Press, you'll have to keep me alive. However, Brent will also want to get rid of me, so you'll have to protect me from him if you want 'Golem' back as well." Joshua said. "So let's see how things turn out. Turn end."

Press adjusted his glasses slightly, then said, "You are a fool to think that by removing 'Golem', you have me by the ropes." In his mind, he did have to think about this unexpected problem, but Press believed that his current defenses were enough to keep him safe for now. As for "Golem", well, only time would tell.

(Turn 16: [Joshua 1650] / [Press 4000] / [Brent 2400])
Brent had locked on to an Action Card right as Joshua's turn had ended. He decided that he'd wait to start his turn until he found out what the card was. Snatching it up, he found it was not a Trap Card at all, but actually something that could be of use later on.

"Draw," he said, picking up his next card. To his astonishment, it was actually a monster. And one that would help him out, too. "I Set one monster. And without anything else to do, my turn draws to a close here."

(Turn 17: [Joshua 1650] / [Press 4000] / [Brent 2400])
Press drew a card, and it turned out to be fairly useful. Definitely something that would help. "I play the Spell Card: 'Mirage of Nightmare'," Press said, the card appearing on his field. "This allows me to draw until I have four cards on my opponent's next Standby Phase, but during my Standby Phase, I need to discard the same amount of cards I drew. Turn End." On that note, Press ran off to go find another Action Card.

(Turn 18: [Joshua 1650] / [Press 4000] / [Brent 2400])
Joshua drew his next card with the usual formality of calling out, "Draw." His hand gave him three options, but one of them seemed like a bad idea as things stood.
"I Set one monster and switch 'Doom Lord' to Defense Position, then end my turn." He said. Time to see how things would go from here.

Press had drawn three cards from "Mirage of Nightmare", and now it was time to remove it. "During your End Phase I activate a face-down card: 'Emergency Provisions'," Press said. "Using this, I send 'Mirage of Nightmare' to the Graveyard, and in return I gain 1000 Life Points." "Mirage of Nightmare" faded away, and Press' Life Points rose up to 5000.

(Turn 18: [Joshua 1650] / [Press 5000] / [Brent 2400])
"Impressive, but now it's my move. Draw!" At first, Brent didn't even look at the card. "As the effect of 'Future Fusion' reaches its full strength, I Fusion Summon the great and powerful . . . 'Chimeratech Overdragon'!" With his declaration, a massive, multi-headed, cybernetic dragon rose onto his field, letting loose a sound akin to a roar mixed with the sound of a machine that had just been activated.

"Now I Flip Summon my face-down monster: 'Supply'. When this monster is flipped face-up, I get to add two monsters that were used as Fusion Materials from my Graveyard to my hand. Therefore, I can return my 'Cyber Phoenix' and 'Volcanic Scattershot'. I'll follow this up with the effect of 'Cyber Valley', banishing both it and 'Supply' from my field so that I can draw two cards.

"All the pieces are here. I activate the Spell Card, 'Polymerization' from my hand. Now by sending 'Cyber Phoenix' and 'Volcanic Scattershot' to the Grave again--this time using the effect of 'Scattershot' against Press--I can Fusion Summon the blazing spirit of rebirth that resides within me. Take flight, 'Blaze Fenix, the Burning Bombardment Bird'!" The bird took form, entirely encompassed in flames. When it had completely materialized, it shrieked in a manner that pronounced that its victory was imminent.

Press merely watched as his Life Points dropped from 5000 to 4500. After all, it was the only thing he could do, and he fortunately had Life Points to spare.

"Firstly, I'll wipe the field clear of monsters; 'Chimeratech Overdragon', attack 'Destiny HERO - Doom Lord'!" At Brent's command, the dragon opened wide its mechanized jaws and a laser-like beam of energy burst forth, aimed toward the much smaller "Doom Lord".

Joshua watched as "Doom Lord" was destroyed by Brent's monster. He still had his face-down monster, so for now, things were fine for him.

"Now, because of the effect of 'Overdragon', I can attack my opponents' monsters a number of times equal to the number of Fusion Material Monsters used in its Summon, meaning it can attack monsters a total of six times. 'Overdragon', continue and destroy Joshua's face-down monster!" Another of "Overdragon's" heads fired a second beam of energy in Joshua's direction, the dragon claiming its second victim.

Brent hesitated now, as both opponents were open for an attack. He could easily defeat Joshua with an attack from "Blaze Fenix", which would keep "Ancient Gear Golem" from returning since Joshua's Standby Phase would never occur again. But he wouldn't be proving his strength by just imprisoning such a strong monster.

He had made up his mind. "Alright, 'Blaze Fenix', attack Press directly!" In response, the large bird rose into the sky, then dived straight at Press, blazing brighter than before.

"I once again activate my Trap Card: 'Scrap-Iron Scarecrow'," Press said, creating the fragile metal scarecrow that was instantly crushed by "Blaze Fenix", while allowing Press to take no damage. The card that created the scarecrow was again Set back down instead of being sent to the Graveyard.

"All within the realm of expectation," Brent said calmly to himself. "I end my turn here."

(Turn 19: [Joshua 1650] / [Press 4500] / [Brent 2400])
Press drew his next card, then placed it with the rest of his cards, examining them thoroughly. A few options to choose from, but only one would prove to be the best. He had no luck finding an Action Card, especially since he was without monsters to guide him to one, but that was of little consequence, seeing as he already had one in his hand. "I Special Summon 'Psychic Armor Head' from my Graveyard during my Standby Phase," Press said, the helmet reappearing on his head. Walls of text appeared the helmet, giving Press large descripitions of "Chimeratech Overdragon's" and "Blaze Fenix's" stats and effects. It also showed how "Future Fusion" worked, giving Press a list of strategies to use, each with varying percentages of success, none of which very high. All Press could do was play his cards correctly, no pun intended. Also, thanks to "Psychic Armor Head", he now had a good idea of where other Action Cards were.

"I sacrifice 'Psychic Armor Head' to summon the destroyer of the back row: 'Ancient Gear Engineer'," Press said, the helmet returning to the Graveyard to be replaced with a giant rusty metal robot wielding a drill as its right hand. Now Press hesitated. He couldn't attack Brent's monsters without having it be a suicide attack, and if he attacked Joshua, Joshua would lose the Duel, and more importantly, "Golem" would not reappear. On the other hand, if he attacked Joshua, he could use "Engineer's" effect to destroy "Future Fusion", which would also destroy "Chimeratech Overdragon". Press had plenty of protection against attacks, so Press believed it was for the best. Besides, it wasn't like it was the only "Ancient Gear Golem" in his deck.

"'Ancient Gear Engineer', attack Joshua directly," Press commanded. "Engineer" spun up its drill and charged at Joshua, drill raised to crush him.

"Guess destiny didn't smile on me today," Joshua said before "Engineer's" drill hit him, sending his Life Points to 0 as he fell off the tower he had been on. He was quick though, and used the chains surrounding it to break his fall as he made his way to the water below.

Press then adjusted his glasses slightly and continued on. "Now I activate 'Engineer's' effect. If it is still on the field after damage calculation, I can destroy one Spell or Trap Card my opponent controls, and I choose 'Future Fusion'." "Engineer" spun up its drill again and charged at "Future Fusion".

Brent couldn't hide his surprise that his "Future Fusion", and by extension, "Chimeratech Overdragon", had been destroyed. "You have surprised me time and time again this Duel, Press," Brent complimented. "But you haven't seen everything this Deck is capable of."

"Then I look forward to seeing what you have to offer," Press replied. "Turn End."

(Turn 19: [Joshua 0] / [Press 4500] / [Brent 2400])
"My move, then. Draw!" Brent declared. "I'll start with the Spell Card: 'Re-Fusion'; this allows me to Special Summon 'Chimeratech Overdragon' back from my Graveyard by paying 800 of my Life Points, though without his power-boost from before. However, that's of no consequence once I activate my other Spell Card: 'Different Dimension Reincarnation', which allows me to discard my Action Card in order to Special Summon my banished 'Cyber Dragon'!"

The two mechanical dragons arose on Brent's field, and when they had, all he could do was smile. "I now fuse my 'Cyber Dragon' and 'Chimeratech Overdragon' with your 'Ancient Gear Engineer' without the use of a 'Polymerization' card through Contact Fusion. I now Fusion Summon 'Chimeratech Fortress Dragon'!"

Three machines merged into one shining light, which then took the form of another cybernetic creature akin to a snake, though with three heads: one for each of its Fusion Materials. "I'll follow up that Summon with the activation of my face-down Trap Card: 'Fusion Reserve'! With this card, I can reveal to you the 'Elemental HERO Nova Master' eagerly waiting in my Extra Deck and add 'Elemental HERO Blazeman' from my Deck, and one 'Polymerization' from my Graveyard to my hand."

Brent's Duel Disk ejected the appropriate cards for him to add to his hand, and he quickly used one of them in response. "I activate 'Polymerization', fusing 'Blazeman' with 'Laval Magma Cannoneer' from my hand to Fusion Summon the very same 'Elemental HERO Nova Master' I revealed to you earlier!"

Now three Fusion Monsters stood on Brent's field. Granted, he had used every card in his hand and nearly every card on his field in doing so. "Checkmate! I'll kick off my Battle Phase with an attack from 'Nova Master'!" The "Elemental HERO" created a fireball between its palms and threw it in Press' direction.

"I activate 'Scrap-Iron Scarecrow'," Press said, creating the metal scarecrow that was instantly destroyed by the fireball from "Nova Master".

"Doesn't matter," Brent replied as the scarecrow returned to its face-down position. "It can only be used once per turn, right? Then 'Fortress Dragon'! Attack with Cyber Hydra Burst!" At his command, all three of "Chimeratech Fortress Dragon's" heads fired beams of energy at Press.

"You forget my other face-down. Trap Card, reveal: 'Dimensional Prison'," Press said, raising his other face-down card. "This Trap banishes your attacking monster."

Brent was familiar with the card, as he owned a copy in his personal Deck, so when his dragon vanished, he wasn't entirely surprised. "Maybe that was unexpected, but I'll do what I can; 'Blaze Fenix', it's time for your attack! Inferno Skydive!"

Press had nothing left to negate this attack, so he could only take the full force of 2800 points of damage, wincing as he did.

"I guess that's all I've got. I end my turn," Brent said. The two may be on more even ground than before, but he had to stay on his guard. He only hoped his face-down card and an Action Card, if he could find another, would suffice for defense should anything threatening arise. "Let's go, guys! Time to find an Action Card," he directed his monsters.

(Turn 20: [Joshua 0] / [Press 1700] / [Brent 1600])
Press drew his next card, hoping that it would be one that would help. It was 'Ancient Gear Golem', which had more than enough ATK to destroy either one of Brent's Fusion Monsters, but he had no tributes for it. Except...

As he examined the rest of his cards, he realized he could do something better. Press looked up from his cards at Brent and said, "I respect the power of Fusion Monsters, so I will use one myself." He grabbed another card and played it. "I activate the Spell Card: 'Power Bond', Press said. "This allows me Summon a Fusion Monster, and double its ATK. However, I don't have the Fusion Materials in my hand, so I also activate 'Cybernetic Fusion Support', which allows me to use Fusion Materials in the Graveyard in addition to my field and hand, although I must pay half my Life Points," Press explained.

"So, I fuse 'Ancient Gear Golem' in my hand with 'Ancient Gear Soldier' and 'Ancient Gear Knight' in my Graveyard, all to Summon my number one monster: 'Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem'," Press said as a giant rusty robot, larger than the others, emerged from the ground. It's ATK registered as 4400 before being boosted up to 9100 from 'Power Bond' and 'Ancient Gear Castle'.

Brent landed on the central bridge of the field in time to see the monstrous, centaur-shaped machine rise onto Press' field. "Woah, that's a lot of ATK!" he exclaimed, snatching up an Action Card in the process. It was a Spell Card, but not one that could save him from the brunt of the attack that was to come. Somewhat nervous, Brent stared at the giant machine, deciding he had to stand his ground.

"Battle Phase. 'Golem', destroy 'Blaze Fenix'!" Press commanded, and 'Golem' launched a ghostly fist like its regular counterpart, but this one was much larger.

"Since you declared an attack, I'm activating my face-down: 'Dimension Wall'!" Brent said in his haste, but when he hit the button on his Duel Disk, it sounded with a buzz, and an error message appeared. "Why didn't it work?!" he exclaimed.

"You can't activate Spells or Traps when an 'Ancient Gear' monster attacks," Press explained, the attack still continuing undeterred.

Brent could only watch now in horror as the fist smashed his monster and reduced his Life Points to zero. He dropped to his knees as the Action Field faded away, leaving them in the familiar LDS court. "I miscalculated again," he muttered, staring at the ground in his shock.

Press calmly walked over to Brent and extended his hand to lift him back up. "That was a fantastic Duel, Brent," Press said. "We should have another one another time."

Brent forced a smile as Press helped him to his feet again. "Yeah, that was pretty awesome," he replied, but was unable to hide the disappointment in his voice. He hadn't messed up two Duels in a row like that in a long time.

"We should also check on Joshua," Press said, turning his head back and forth to find him. "Hopefully he's around somewhere."

"That is dueling for you, its a game of chance, the luck of the draw " amaya commented "I just started today at this school, father forgot yesterday was the first day"she commented "the name is Amaya Yashia.. .my family is amongst the rich but I don't care"she commented scratching the back of her head. She was obviously nervous with just talking.."I am also in the synchro class...would you like to see my deck? My brother helped me build it "she commented reaching into her light blue bag pulling out a square looking deck wrapped in a blue cloth.

Joshua sighed as he deactivated his duel disk and gave his deck a quick shuffle.
"Good game you two." he said before walking off. He wondered the hallways for a little bit before coming across Gale. He could tell she was a bit upset since he knew her by extension of his knowing Brent. Stopping by one of the vending machines to grab her favorite snack he walked over and held out his hand and the treat to her" You look like you've had a rough time. Care to talk about it?"

---

"Oh, you're the heiress of the Yashia family?" Amelia asked, slightly surprised. She knew of the family but she had never actually met any of them, even at the banquets her parents had occasionally forced her into attending. She could see the other girl was as uncomfortable talking as she was but this actually brought a small smile to Amelia's face and made her feel a bit better" I'm Amelia Averyonna. I'm sure your family knows mine. We might even handle your family's finances... truthfully I don't care about any of that though. Why should family matter in here? Everyone is equal right?"

"Yeah...I been told some other family was assisting mine and your right, in this school we are just two girls who took a liking to synchro summoning and the various cute monsters within"she commented with a smile before she moved over to Amelia "you wanna be ordinary friends...enjoying each others company as equals?"asked amaya gently.

Amaya was honestly enjoying her small conversation with Amelia as Amelia didn't holds her on a high pillar and Amelia didn't think bad of her. This amaya liked greatly... being treated equally.

Gale ran almost blindly down to the Action Dueling pavilions, where she expected Brent would be. Though she had passed Josh along the way, and though he had seemed to offer something to her, she was beyond worrying about that. She wanted nothing more than the protection her brother could give her. Gale had guessed his location right, and found him there standing next to some other guy. "Brent!" she cried. "This guy . . . he just . . . we Dueled and . . . he said . . . " Gale was trying to tell Brent what had happened, but was having difficulty gathering her thoughts and speaking between her sobs.

"Calm down Gale," he coaxed, putting a relaxed hand on her shoulder. "Breathe slowly, okay?"

She followed his advice and did what she could to slow her breathing. She was still sniffling, but she would be able to speak finally.

"Better?" Brent asked.

Her only response was a very subtle nod.

"Alright. Start from the beginning. Who is 'this guy'?"

"Some guy named Korbin," she began, her voice still shaky. "He came to the Ritual classroom and Dueled me. Then he beat me and said that I was . . . I was . . . " she stopped again and started crying.

Brent's resolution became fierce in the single moment it took her to begin bawling again. He hadn't heard what this "Korbin" character had said, but he had heard enough. Normally, he wasn't the fighting kind of person, but he was also very protective of his younger sister. No one would hurt her on his watch, and he would make this known to whomever tried to.

"Press?" Brent asked, now trying to keep himself from becoming overly angry until he could look the culprit in the eye. "I know I've barely met you, but I've got to go settle some scores for my sister. Mind sitting here with her just to make sure she's alright? I'm trusting I'd be leaving her in good hands with you."

---

"'Masked Beast Des Gardius', attack his face-down monster," Kaeru commanded, completely unentertained that he and some other student were being used as examples in front of his Special Summoning class.

"That triggers its effect," his opponent said. "'Giant Rat' now Special Summons my 'Superheavy Samurai Big Benkei' from my Deck in Attack Position. Then, since it was Special Summoned 'Big Benkei' switches itself into Defense Position."

Kaeru yawned.

"What, not impressed, yet? Quick-Play Spell activation: 'Inferno Reckless Summon'! This Special Summons two additional copies of 'Big Benkei' to my field! And since the effect of your 'Des Gardius' requires Tributes for its Special Summon, and you only have that one monster on your field, it looks like you won't be getting the same benefits," the other boy taunted.

Kaeru didn't even care. "You know, I think I'll take advantage of your quick Summoning. I Tribute two of your new trio, Special Summoning 'Lava Golem' to your field," he explained calmly, throwing the card across the classroom to the other student. Then, moments later, the monster appeared on his side of the field. "I'll continue by equipping that 'Lava Golem' with 'Mask of the Accursed'." With his words, the hideous mask appeared on the head of the already gruesome golem, engulfing its face. "I end my turn here," Kaeru said blandly.

"I draw," the other student said as his turn started.

"Then during your Standby Phase, 'Lava Golem' melts away 1000 of your Life Points," Kaeru said.

The other student seemed slightly annoyed as his Life Points were whittled down to 1600. Then again, said student was trapped in a cage. "I activate 'The Reliable Guardian', boosting 'Big Benkei's' DEF by 700 points," the student said, and "Big Benkei" was increased to 4200 DEF. "I'll also activate 'Acidic Downpour', which is a Field Spell that also increases 'Benkei's' DEF, this time by 400." Again, "Benkei" grew stronger, now becoming 4600 DEF points.

"Now for my Battle Phase," the student said. "Since 'Benkei's' effect allows it to declare attacks while in Defense Position, using its DEF for its ATK, I'll have 'Benkei' attack 'Masked Beast Des Gardius'!"

Kaeru made no attempt to negate the attack or even reduce the damage he was about to take. His monster was struck down and he was reduced from 4000 Life Points to 2700. "This activates the effect of my destroyed monster, allowing me to activate 'The Mask of Remnants' straight from my Deck. When activated via this effect, this mask will take control of one monster it equips to, so my mask which turns the heart of its wearer, the very spirit of betrayal, seize 'Benkei'!"

The mask latched onto the giant machine, which wrestled to remove it from his face. After a few moments, "Benkei" ceased struggling and simply marched to Kaeru's side of the field. "Hehehehe . . . " Kaeru chuckled darkly. "Do you enjoy the face of the traitor? For your own card will be your destruction."

"I end my turn," Kaeru's opponent said.

"Then it's my move," Kaeru began, picking up his card. "Now the effect of my 'Mask of the Accursed' inflicts you 500 damage." The student's Life Points dropped to 1100, and Kaeru didn't bother with what card he had drawn. "I activate my face-down card, 'Phantom Knights Shadow Veil'. This increases both the ATK and DEF of 'Benkei' by 300 points." The monstrously powerful monster became 4200 DEF, towering over "Lava Golem". "Now, 'Benkei', attack and end this Duel!"

The titan smashed the ground, creating a fissure that erupted, destroying "Lava Golem" and depleting the last of his opponent's Life Points. "Nice try," Kaeru said, certain the student would be having nightmares from the view of such hideous cards, but that was the way Kaeru's Deck worked. The two returned to their seats, and the professor began lecturing again.

Press looked at Gale, who had just come in unexpectedly, then nodded to Brent, saying, "Sure."

---

Michelle ran, heading toward the Action Dueling pavilions. "The nerve of that guy!" Michelle muttered angrily. "Can you believe him, Freya?"

"You were going to draw me next turn too," Freya said, equally angry. "but noooo, he just HAD to give up without a fight."

Then Michelle slipped and fell, landing on her face, her glasses slipping off her face. "Ow... that hurt," Michelle said in a pained tone as she slowly got up and began fumbling around for her glasses.

"No wonder why people say not to run in hallways," Freya said, half-joking and half-concerned.

"Shut up, Freya, you're not helping," Michelle said, finally finding her glasses and rubbing the lenses on her shirt to remove any dust, then placing them back where they belonged. "Alright, let's go," Michelle said, continuing on.

Michelle soon found the Action Dueling pavilions and looked around, quickly finding Gale, who was with who appeared to be... Press? Michelle didn't know why he was here, except maybe to Duel, of course. Michelle also saw Brent heading off toward her, and Michelle waved to him. She didn't know what Gale had said to Brent, but she could easily guess, and it seemed Brent was off to find Korbin. Michelle knew that if someone made her sister cry, she'd go after that person too.

"Hi, Michelle," Brent said with a rather deep attitude, though still remembering the name of his sister's new friend. He didn't say anything more after that as he marched out of the pavilion, a set determination on his face and a blazing inferno in his eye. As he passed Joshua in the hall, he gave a short nod to him, still looking as ready to lash out against someone as a lion prepared to pounce on its prey and devour it. He had lost all sense of mercy. His sister had been hurt, and there would be no friendly "talking it over" when Brent found Korbin.

He did a quick search on who this person was, finding what course he attended, and discovered that, much to his regret, it was the Xyz Course. Brent would hate to send a negative message to the Xyz Professor who had helped him with his essay only the previous day, but he figured it would be better to ask forgiveness than permission at this point.

He located the Xyz classroom, but didn't find Korbin there. After asking around, he finally tracked the boy to the courtyard. Brent stormed up to him, grabbing a fistful of his collar. "Don't ever hurt my sister again," Brent said in a hushed, but venomous, voice. "I don't care if she's a great Duelist or a terrible one. You let her be, and if I ever so much as catch you within fifty feet of her, I swear, I'll--" Brent made himself stop speaking before he said something he'd regret, but still keeping his eyes focused on the younger student's with such rage that he was sure, should he have looked in a mirror, would have terrified even himself.

Michelle was about to tell Brent about how ridiculously easy she had beaten Korbin, but then she saw the fire in his eyes and instinctively knew that he was out for revenge. She was about to say something again, to tell him to stop, but he marched past her without giving a second glance. Michelle watched him go for a second, and decided that it was probably for the best. Instead, she decided that she should go to help comfort Gale.

---

Press was a bit uncomfortable about having to watch over Gale. He had little to no idea about what to actually say or do, and only stayed to watch her because of Brent. It was then that a girl came over and asked, "Hey, Gale, you alright?" Press then identified her as the girl that bumped into him the other day. Press never asked about her name, and was about to do so now, but then the girl turned to him and asked, "Excuse me, um, Press was it? Do you... mind if I... spend a little time, with Gale here? You know, alone?" Press replied, "Well.... sure, of course," relieved that he didn't have to stay there any longer, and walked away.

---

Michelle hugged Gale and said, "Hey, it'll be alright, Gale."