[IC] The Duel Tower: The first year students. (A Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Academy Roleplay.) [Axed]

[Jangel13]

Angelo soon found his way back into the duel tower and he looked at his D-ciever checking on his file and Angelo decided it was time for an upgrade. When Angelo went through that placement duel he was completely unprepared for Ben when he brought out a xyz monster. He couldn't become as unprepared as that again if he was going to start getting some wins here. So Angelo headed for the shop nearby and asked for 2 booster sets, each set had 2 booster packs to take so Angelo asked the shop keeper for one set of hidden arsenal 3 and hidden arsenal 4. If Angelo remembered correctly back home when he got his own booster packs it was these ones that had the highest chance of him getting a synchro dragunity card. Angelo needed some synchro cards that will go well with his deck or he will be screwed...

[Satoshi Kyou]

Hayate had a cute confused look her face when she was caught and looked at Ethel who had tripped her who looked at her as if she was a insect. it was obvious due to how Shinrei was talking to Ethel that it wasnt a accident after a while Shinrei looked her and asked if she was ok in which she simply stated "Y-yes" as she was yawning and shortly after started to nod off "Why did you try and catch me...?" Hayate tried to ask but it came out very silent as she was starting to fall asleep and started to try to talk back to ethel but was sadly only audible for Shinrei "You are a big meanie miss Ethel I will duel you and teach you a lesson" but as she was talking she slowly started to get more silent and started to get more and more sleepy after every word she said... she never had a good night sleep after all... "Thank you for catching me and sorry for this..." Hayate said before closing her eyes and fell asleep in Shinrei's arms, Sadly Hayate wasn't really someone who could force herself to stay up all day after working so hard on that paper-craft

[EviiPaladin]

In one word, Brad's experience at the Duel Tower was... overwhelming. While the heat was almost reminiscent of home, it wasn't enough to keep him as grounded as he'd like to be. Between the fact that he had apparently accidentally crossed over into one of those Chinese cartoons his little brother always watched, he had gotten defeated in a rather humiliating performance against someone who used spaceships, landing him in the bottom dorm.

As Brad walked around aimlessly, he took a moment to shuffle through his new deck. Worms... A deck that specialized in techniques that Brad had never really practiced. If he ever set a card before, it was a Trap or a Spell, not a monster. Still, he had decided to learn how to better use a deck like this, so he wouldn't quit after one bad loss. The deck had potential, that was for certain. Now he just needed to figure out how to use it...

Looking up, he spotted another first-year. Racking his brain, Brad seemed to remember that this guy lost too. Might explain why he was picking up packs... Might not be a bad idea.

"Howdy," said Brad, waving at his fellow student. "Yer Angelo, right? Name's Brad Morrison." He offered a hand to shake and a weak smile.

[Jangel13]

@EviiPaladin
Angelo sighed as he picked up his booster packs looking through them saying "crap, crap, okay now that is useful" Angelo said as he looked through the cards to see what he could do with what he had knowing he only had a few cards that could be used in his deck. Angelo needed to get some more points to spend and he needed at least one synchro monster for his deck otherwise he might get left behind. Angelo then turned around to see someone come over to him he doesn't really remember this person but maybe it was because he wasn't really paying attention to all of the placement duels but he had the uniform of an earth dorm member so that was probably why. "Oh hey yeah im Angelo nice to meet you brad Angelo said as he shook the guys hand wondering what he would want with Angelo unless this was a chance for Angelo to get more points an possibly try again with the booster packs...

[Xeiyenreisha]

Shinrei really paid no attention to Ethel after she basically recycled the same nonsense duelist said to him in the past. His eyes turned away from her as he turned his back toward her to watch his own sister walking by him accompanied by someone who was from Wind. He pressed his finger up against his lift slightly extended and also lightly curled a bit. He proceeded to cress the exterior of his lip for a moment as he pondered the thought of why his sister was with this person. Judging by the aura around this person they didn't seem to be at all a hazard toward Tsukiko so he decided to just let them pass by. At that time, Ethel had already gotten to 'Hey hey, your girlfriend's fine you know. No need to be so overprotective.' part of her speech that he didn't really care about hearing either. He had made it clear earlier that he had no interest in letting anyone ever get close to him. She was too naive at the time to hear what he said to that annoying girl named Camryn then it certainly wasn't his problem. He said with a voice of disinterest as he noticed she paused for a moment, "Continue on."

Shinrei didn't listen at all to a single word she said. His serious attitude changed to a more disappointing one as he could just glimpse her from one of eye of his until he pulled the skin over his eyeballs closing them as he sighed softly a bit. This girl sure does a lot to say, but none of her words have any definitive meaning behind them. It's just a bunch of mule's bray and fool's talk. That's all it is. I probably shouldn't waste any more time or breath on this. At this point, it's gotten to where my mind is being lead astray just for the simple fact that everything she says is just repetitive garbage I've heard from the past. Though, a little more lightweight than what I've previously experienced. He decided he would at least let Ethel finish what she was saying even though he had ignored her completely without her really noticing it. Seemed like she was caught up in her words on him that she really didn't pay attention that his attitude completely transformed into the 'you're dull as a knife so cease speaking with me' attitude. He did notice the gestures she made which some people would find 'cute' but he was different. He was not a moth that was drawn to her flame and she was certainly barking up the wrong tree, that's for sure.

He did notice a bit earlier she looked to be annoyed by his actions. He didn't really care that much because she wasn't the one who had any authority over what he could and could not say. If it bothered her that much, it just meant that she was frail when it came to composure. He wondered if it was a fragile as glass, but he wasn't about to find out for himself. He had wasted enough time listening to her lecture.

"Want something of me before I leave~?" Ethel asked with her back turned to the duo. Unfortunately for Ethel Shinrei had already walked passed her right when she said that. It seemed he had finally stopped taking any interest in standing where he was and listening to that asinine nonsense she flicked at him like a bully would shoot paperwads at their prey. "Are you finished?" Those were the first three words spoken from his mouth. Changing his tone ever so slightly to show that he was completely disengaged from her completely. His language wasn't really one of irritation because his tone was less vulgar than it was after he caught Hayate and confronted her for doing it. "You really are no different than anyone else. Hierarchies are for foolish believers who succumb to their own fetishes. When it comes to dueling there are two types of people. Those who destroy their competition and those who do not. What you said is no different than the nonsense I've heard in the past from duelists. I've come to realize that words are a useful vocal tool for intimidation. But that's all they are. Is words, power comes from experience. Not some foolish pep talk you try to use to heighten your spirit."

His eyes shifted a bit into a more sinister approach as he felt something inside him change the way he was thinking. He grinned with an evil cold smile on his face and his eyes were full of more hatred letting the darkness inside them consume them warping his mind just a bit. He was about to say something as Ethel was able to catch a glimpse of his darker self until he turned his eyes back at the girl in his hands and he came back to his senses. When he returned to himself from that sinister side that took him over for a moment he had no idea what just happened. It felt like he lost sight of himself for a moment. "I will take my leave now." He concluded as he wanted to tell her not to get involved with him or follow him; however, he rethought those words as it could work in complete opposite. That feeling he just a moment ago left an aching feeling near his heart. When he looked at Hayate exited the arena then made his way toward a place where he could be alone, he thought about that awkward feeling just a moment ago. That felt like the same shadow version of himself that he encountered in his dream accompanied by one that looked like Hayate. My mind is playing tricks on me... I shouldn't think too much of what happened. After all, it was just an illusion from a dream. He decided as he denied what happened just a moment ago and instead of taking Hayate to his room he would make an exception and take her with him.

Ben smiled and nodded at Tsukiko as he motioned for her to follow him, "Alright let's get going shall we? Don't want to miss our next class right? But we can take our time." After hearing that, Tsukiko couldn't help but laugh a bit. Classes were over for the day and she thought it was a bit funny that he'd think that she was going to class. "You're funny, Ben..." She giggled at him as she thought it was just a bit amusing he would say such a thing. But maybe that's what she needed. Was some sense of humor to lift her spirits and pull her from the constant void that tried to swallow her whole everyday. "Thank you, I needed someone to show me the warmth of a pure smile and I felt that from your words." She paused for a moment as she continued to laugh until she saw her brother where that radiant smile was immediately erased off her face in an instant as if it were instantly annihilated.

"You doing alright? If you need someone talk to I'm a good listener. And I don't tell other people's secrets easy makes me feel like trash when I hurt someone. But I'm rambling sorry I tend to do that when I'm with people I don't know." Ben said with a shrug still trying to keep his upbeat smile on his face. Tsukiko managed to catch a glimpse of the evil inside her brother which made her skin crawl. That dangerous deadly look in his eyes and that lack of emotion in his body. It was like his eyes were completely dead betraying the liveliness of his own body. "Ben, did you see that?" Tsukiko said troubled for a moment as she did hear what Ben had spoke toward her, but that feeling she just felt from her brother bothered her a lot. Even if it was just for a moment, to think her brother's darker half was still a part of him. The same part of him that caused people in the past so much harm. She hated it when he was like that, because he enjoyed causing harm to other people. The duelists he put in a coma because of a certain monster he used in the past he didn't care about at all. She tried to shield herself from all that concern and worry that was inside the depths of her past. She too, like her brother, was on the edges of despair clinging to the radiance within the light by just at thread. "I thought that part of him left him after the accident, but I guess I was wrong. But don't worry about it, you don't need to get yourself involved." She said as she was hiding something from Ben that give him an idea of understanding what just happened to her brother a moment ago. Tsukiko didn't want to burden Ben with her past or with the problems her brother had.

"Where we're going huh? I'm not entirely sure where we're going I just thought you could use a hand. But if you're missing a card the best place to look would be the fusion room first. After that if we don't find it we'll look 'round the halls some and if it's not there we can try the stadium or I'll help you look around your room if you like. Might miss a class but if that card is important to you I know the feeling." Ben said as he pulled the rough Sacred Noble Knight King Artorgius from his pocket and handed it to Tsukiko. "That card has been with me through the toughest of times I don't want you to lose something like that no one should." Ben said calmly as he went along with Tsukiko towards the fusion room. Tsukiko nodded at the question 'where we're going huh' even though she was a bit distracted by what just happened with her brother. Luckily, no words were exchanged when he became like that and even if it was for just a moment meant that people saw him in a different way. Some of the students were petrified in fear by that evil pose he displayed a moment ago. He's still battling the darkness, isn't he? But he hasn't lost sight of the light otherwise he wouldn't have broken free of it so easily. Brother, I wish you wouldn't carry this whole burden by yourself. Tsukiko noticed that Ben handed her a card which caused her to query, "What is this?"

She later found out when Ben told her that it was one of his cards. She took the card and turned her eyes toward it glimpsing into it closely. She thought to herself as she examined it more closely. This must be his signature card or what my brother calls an ace monster. I must say, this card is certainly interesting. So, he likes knights in armor? That's a rather interesting thought to say the least. She thought to herself as she handed his card back and it was able to remove the worry she felt a moment ago from their encounter with her brother. She really wished it would have been on better circumstances, but it seemed like that blue haired girl named Ethel crossed the line which is probably what her brother thought. Tsukiko took a glimpse at Ethel she passed by noticing her brother had already left. She managed to catch the girl's eyes. She looked like she wasn't vivid, but the atmosphere around her betrayed that thought. She would have to leave that for another time as she accompanied Ben toward the exit of the arena.

The two finally made it to the Fusion classroom and surely enough, there was a card that had a dark and mysterious dragon on it laying on her desk. "Thank you for showing me it, Ben." She replied politely as she returned Ben's card to him then thanking him for letting her see it. This was actually the first time someone had done anything nice for her in awhile instead of just throw random stares and act all perverted because of her looks. She walked over and picked up the card which was titled Void Dragon. She then proceeded to show it to Ben by handing it to him. That card meant something to her but she wasn't sure what. She just remembered that she had a memory of where a boy who was faceless show her that card. She couldn't remember for the life of her who that was. "It's called Void Dragon. You may find it strange that a girl would use a card like this, but this card brings back so many memories that I cannot put my finger on. Most of them more confusing than the other. I sense a radiance within that card which gives me warmth despite it charms my mind so." She informed Ben as she thought a moment about the memories she was thinking about still with her mind set on that little boy who showed her that card he randomly pulled from his deck. "Unfortunately, I don't really remember a lot about my past." She paused for a moment as she looked a bit sad. She looked sad enough like she was about to cry with a painful expression on her face. Even though it looked like she was about to cry she managed to hold back her emotions and keep them in check.

"My brother always said. The past isn't important. To always strive ahead even if you don't remember everything that happened in your past. It's not that those memories are gone. More like I'm just disconnected from them, I guess." She said not so sure of herself. It was very true that her brother always told her not to worry about forgetting the distant memories that come and go. He didn't want her to exhaust her mind with trying to recall those memories that flashed in her mind. Despite heeding his advice, they still bothered her so much that caused her to lose sight of herself at times. Could I be just like my brother? Is there another side of myself that I haven't seen in the mirror? And if so... would I... She stopped at one of those thoughts shaking her head and shrugging it off. It was obvious something was still bothering her, but she didn't really want to tell Ben why. It was just too difficult for her to explain. "Ben, what would you do if you forgot parts of yourself? Before you get confused, I meant parts of your memories that continue to flash in your mind but you can't find the meaning behind them?"

"Sorry if I bother you with this nonsense that probably bores you." She strangely added for some reason though her reason for apologizing wasn't apparent at the time. It just was clear that something was troubling her greatly and the grim look on her face and her eyes full of sadness despite the fact she tried to act all tough showed even more. The thought of being alone scared her. Scared her more than that evil side of her brother. But the thought of losing her memories almost completely petrified her in fear. They were about the only thing she had left to think about other than her brother, but they were like one giant jigsaw puzzle completely unsolved.

[vancexentan]

Ben was a bit curious about the 'accident' that had befallen the girl's brother but he figured he'd find out on his own or the boy would tell him if it really was something he needed to know. Ben knew full well not to pry open some one's dirty laundry without them asking for you too do so. It ended badly for the relationship between the two people. Of course he had his big brother he could always count on so that didn't really allow him to really feel where some people came from in this sort of matter. His brother was the biggest nerd ever but he listened when it counted and he was also always a shoulder to lay on when he needed it as well. His younger brother Andre probably felt that way about him too. All the same he just wished there was something he could say to the girl next to him. Ben rubbed his chin and breathed in deeply, "I kind of saw it. That's why I wanted to come and help you but I try not to put my nose into other people's business unless I have too. I won't ask questions as everyone has their darker side in them but I'd like to tell you everyone's got baggage. Especially in my family. The most you can do is keep a pretty smile on your face, give your brother support and a hug, and try to make things better one day at a time. I won't press further in on your family's personal stuff but I want you to know I get ya." Ben stated to Tsukiko as he put his hands into his pockets and continued to walk with the young lady down the hall. When she handed him back Artorgius he had hoped for something...well more. Maybe a story, or maybe just some comment about how rough the card was. But hey she was entitled to keep personal stuff to herself so Ben didn't say anything on the matter.

After all what kind of squire would he be if he tried to be pushy on the matter of what was up with her. When they finally arrived back at the Fusion Class Ben went over to where Tsukiko was and tried to help her look for it without saying much of anything until she found the card she was looking for and Ben was handed the card. He looked it over. It was in better condition that Artorgius that was for sure but hey not all people were so haphazard with their ace like he was. It was a interesting design but in the end he couldn't really see himself using this card. It didn't match his style too much. He handed the card back to her soon after looking the card over. "It's not my style of card but hey if it works for you then that's all that it needs. I'm glad you got a card like my King that you can glimpse at and say, 'This card is my friend.' trust me when I say you should hold onto that and you'll be able to get through more than some people could. A tangible sign that you are you and not someone else's puppet. That you have individuality and aren't some run of the mill bumpkin. When you say girls like you don't use that card it's fine by me it means you like those cards and hopefully they like you. If you like something stick to it and don't let it go. I have had a lot of people make fun of me because of my choice of cards. But I love my knights and I wouldn't give'em away for anything. So yeah do what you want not what others want you to do. Be a person not a statistic." Ben said as he patted Tsukiko on the shoulder and handed her back the card she had handed to him with a nod.

When she mentioned her past however he was unsure about how to approach that it was a tricky obstacle that got in his way there. Ben hadn't dealt with too many people like her in this case. Was she unsure about her past or did she genuinely not now about it? Ben however didn't take long to think up an answer he gave her a reassuring grin and a thumbs up. "Look I don't mind you that you can't remember anything about it or what have you. The simple answer being I can't possibly judge you because I don't know you. But here's what I say on the matter. Your brother has a cernel to the truth in his mind when he says you should push on. But you shouldn't push on more so that you need to go with the flow. Stay true to yourself now and in the future. Be who you are now and don't live in the possible past. As you get older and you get wiser the past you becomes something of a shadow. It will follow you and you'll reconcile with it at some later point or another but today is today not yesterday or tomorrow. You got to look yourself in the eyes and say 'this is me today, not me tomorrow, not me yesterday. I am myself and nothing more.' ACCEPT WHO YOU ARE. That's all that matters in the end. It helps you be happy and stay happy. If you're not proud of yourself now then try changing some things around meeting new people and doing new things. Just understand that things in the past still matter and you should try to keep an eye and ear to the wall to find out if you're happy with who you were in the past. When it comes to you then you'll know and then you can change whatever you want to about you or do nothing with that knowledge. It's all on you not your brother and not me. You're the boss of your body and mind. You decide how you press forward in this world. And you decide how things will change. You're Tsukiko and you're as Tsukiko as Tsukiko gets and no one can take that away from you." Ben said calmly but softly as he kept his award winning grin on his face. Hopefully it wasn't coming off as patronizing or that he was making fun of her. He wasn't he was honestly trying to get her listen to him be it she actually wanted to or now was up to her.

"After all that I'm not so sure that you think what you said was nonsense and are thinking 'why is this weird random dude talking to me about how I should be acting' is nonsense instead. But hey that's just how I am. I like to help people it's what I like to do. I feel like I've let people down before and I don't want that to happen again. So feel free to ignore my words or take them at face value if you want I just hope I helped. I'm sure it'd make a world of a difference if a content smile was on that pretty face of yours and not a confused frown. Just...do with what I said as you will." Ben said unsure if he came off as weird or not.

[The Irish Tree]

Maisy stared in a mix of shock and disappointment, shock at how quickly a Light Dorm student got beaten, but dissapointed because IT WAS OVER ALREADY!? Sighing in utter disbelief, she held her face in her hands, elbows poised in the center of her thighs. That kinda sucked. There weren't even any good pulls or Action cards to save someone from a pinch...absolutely no style or flair in any of it. If this was Standard rulings then yeah, it'd be a little more impressive, but Action Duels were just sorta different. At least to her. Where was the entertainment value of an opponent barely being able to retaliate? Placing her hands in her Uniform's pockets, Maisy got up without saying anything. She really wanted the thing to go on long enough that she'd find someone who she cheered for, or someone with good cheesy one-liners for special summonings that didn't blow.

Getting up, she felt nature call and trotted off to the bathroom, doing her business and washing her hands...noticing a somewhat odd looking girl with a normal looking wind-dorm uniform, save for it having a green hood. As the girl was washing her hands, she had a somewhat suspicious feeling that she'd seen someone similar...hmm. Scooting over slowly, she asked: "Heeey...are you a ninja? in the most blunt, straightforward, in her face way. Maisy knew all and saw all, and right now she saw a ninja in the bathroom. "...Crud, I think that was racist." was all that filled her mind afterwards.

[TBKrunk]

Akemi Ael

---

A long sigh drew out of her mouth after two occurrences; the first was Venwyn's unnecessary, lazy use of the magic they had been taught simply to get to the seats quicker, whilst the second time was at the pathetic excuse for an action duel that had been displayed before her. Sure, each side may good plays, but there wasn't anything much that separated it from a normal duel, so it just appeared as a really boring attempt to be something it wasn't. After which, Akemi realised that the gift of free time meant that people could be fought and packs could be bought, so naturally she face Lifebeater for the second time to arrive at the shop, tearing open six in total and finding a minuscule amount of Sylvan support, which was unfortunate. Despite this, she remained unvexed and put the few cards in her deck, some of which really complimented each other, for example the Gigantic Cephalotus made up for most of the useless cards she had received. It went so well with a deck that was based around sending plants to the grave!

The repeated journey across Lifebeater's scorched land once more took a toll on Akemi - she could feel burns beginning to form underneath her eyes, so her immediate response was to run to the bathroom in the arena and apply some cold water to the areas. The girl had to admit, it did help slightly, however for the most part she knew the inevitable was that they were eventually going to blister. Such sadness. The reflection that faced her in the mirror was one with scorn; disapproving of how useless the hood had been at providing shade successfully. The immediate and abrupt voice of the other girl almost caught Akemi off guard, if she had not sensed her arrival prior to her speaking. The question, whilst simple, actually made her laugh. For the first time in so many years, snorts and giggles erupted from her mouth continuously and it made her so happy. "Ahaha, I mean, y-yes, I am a ninja, I just found it hilarious that something my whole life had been based on was put to question. Not to be rude to you! It's not like I'm dressed that way currently or anything, so you made quite an astute observation! I'm Akemi, by the way, you probably saw my cousins Venwyn and Mary. The cold ninja and the non-ninja." A hand was stretched out towards Maisy, with a grin on her face.

[EviiPaladin]

@Jangel13

Nice firm handshake. Nice to know some people still cared about the little things, even in this world of crazed teens with expensive holographic equipment. "Kinda overwhelming, huh?" Brad quickly gestured at the pristine walls and the window, showing nothing but barren desert. "Closest thing to this high I've ever been was the four-story mall back in Austin..."

Wait, this guy wouldn't care about his smalltown adventures. Focus, Brad.

"But uhh..." He pointed at the cards Angelo had been sorting through. "Anything good?"

[Jangel13]

@EviiPaladin

"yeah this place really is something" Angelo said with a smile hearing that the guy was from Austin meant he was a small town guy like Angelo so maybe they would get along. Soon he decided to ask Angelo about the cards he got with his points Angelo sighed with a shake of his head "not really most of the cards I got are reptiles and out these 4 packs I only 2 or 3 that were both new and useful to me. I need to earn more points and try again im trying to find a specific card but im also trying to get at least one synchro monster that will work with my deck" Angelo explained unsure if Brad will understand what he means since in reality Angelo needs to get one of the dragunity knights into his deck for it to be full effective after all a dragunity deck was meant to use huge combos that will lead to a synchro monster.

[The Red Seelie]

Vincent Gulfus & Hayato

Vincent disliked the Tsukiko girl, mostly due to her ignorant nature and the fact she hated him on sight without any prior knowledge of him, and she didn't show any likeable quality. Vincent noted down his disdain as she left before turning to deal with Hayato. He nodded in acceptance of the Young Hayatos reasoning for a duel. Mentally noting in his mind about the gift that Hayate had left him, It was probably a paper craft of some-kind knowing her and what she was doing last night. Never the less Vincent wanted another duel his blood-lusting Ire raising ever so slowly, It was temporary the satisfaction he had received from his duel with Leander, such temperance could only sate his hunger for battle for only so long. Vincent glanced over the entrance and noticed Hayate asleep in a guys arms. Did he feel jealous not really, instead he just felt a little suspicious of the guys motives for holding a sleeping Hayate. Not really to matter though he was going to go to the entrance anyway. It wasn't like he was going to duel in the observation stands, hes not that stupid. "Hey Hayato I accept your challenge for a duel but first lets go out of the arena your come too Leander,, and you also might wanna check your sister at the entrance" Vincent said as he began to get up walking towards the entrance slowly giving Hayato time to walk beside him and catch up.

"Hey wait up a for a sec," Hayato said putting away his mothers invention again not paying any attention to Leander and Tsukiko as his sister seemed more important "What do you mean?" Hayato said running to the entrance noticing Shinrei holding a sleeping Hayate and sighed but noticed another girl who was about to walk away, but he knew better to just leave him alone to his own accords "So? its just my sister who fell asleep she does that when she overloads herself with paper-craft" Hayato readied his disk "Were here for a duel not some mystery solving,Ready your blade and come at me"

Vincent whom had waiting for just a second before continuing his travels to the entrance had finally seen whom was also nearby, he could see Ethel facing away from him, Noting down the eagerness of the guy he was going to duel he settled with not speaking to Hayate or the guy holding her. He just kept silent as he walked past the group outside. only stopping for a few seconds to mouth something only Ethel would hear "If your gonna duel, win win and win again, now excuse me as I go fight and probably annihilate this guy" Vincent exited the arena as he walked a few dozen paces to the left front so he was diagonally away from the door as he waited for Hayato to come out and take his position. Vincent readied his duel disk under the Sun, the heat causing his iris to twinkle with a sombre red colour.

Hayato sighed and walked over to Vincent to start the duel and took out a coin, and asked Vincent if he wanted heads or tails.

Knowing that his blood-lust would soon be sated Vincent choose heads to for the idea that heads would roll if he lost. Vincent had a nice smile on his face giving away none of his interior thoughts as he waited for the coin to fall.

Hayato flipped the coin and caught it without an issue revealing a literal tail as it was a coin designed by his mother "It was Tails... i go first then" Hayato proclaimed

The Chaos Ambassador VS Desert Samurai Warlord

Turn 1: Hayato
Vincent: 4000 LP, 5 cards, 0 Mon, 0 S/T
Hayato: 4000 LP, 5 cards, 0 Mon, 0 S/T

Hayato drew his 5 cards and set a monster in Face-Down defence position thinking it'd help him in the long run "I set a monster in face down defense position and end my turn"

Turn 2: Vincent
Vincent: 4000 LP, 6 cards, 0 Mon, 0 S/T
Hayato: 4000 LP, 4 cards, 0 Mon, 0 S/T

Vincent had already drawn his first 5 cards before he drew his next due to go second his eyes looking over his cards, he couldn't do anything stupidly fancy like last time but he could try and set up for the late game. "Firstly I will set 2 cards face down, before I activate Veil of Darkness." Once more the dark aura surrounded his deck basking it in darkness. "Next I shall summon Lightray Grepha! Come forth fair steward of light" Vincent said as a muscle man burly lumbered out of thin air to his side of the field and readied its sword. "And now his effect by discarding one LIGHT monster I can banish one LIGHT monster from my deck" Grepha absorbed a ball of light that eminated from a card in Vincent hand as he banished his monster of choosing, it was Mystical elf and his discarded monster was D.D Scout plane.

Lightray Grepha - Level 4, ATK 1700

"Now Grepha Attack that face-down monster" Vincent cried as Grepha charged at the face down card

The monster was revealed to be The immortal bushi but called that he would return but for now he would feel the pain of Grepha running him through with a sword. Which caused the monster to fragment into sparks

Immortal Bishi - Level 3, DEF 600

Disappointed that the card would soon return. Vincent ended his turn. His mouth slowly curling downwards in annoyance. "I end my turn" He said quickly with a face full of sad disappointment.

Turn 3: Hayato
Vincent: 4000 LP, 1 cards, 1 Mon, 3 S/T
Hayato: 4000 LP, 5 cards, 0 Mon, 0 S/T

Hayato sighed "Return to me Bushi!" He called out special summoning it in defense position just in case the previously destroyed monster returned back into the field in the same postion he was before facing the monster in front of him "I will summon The six samurai Zanji in face-up attack position"

"Sorry friend but I drew the card i used last time in a vain effect to slay a dragon" Vincent smirked with a look of malice flashing across his happy face for what was a simple barely noticable second. "Bottomless Trap hole!" He cried as the Ogre reached up from its bottomless pit with increased Malice

Hayato sighed "well thats too bad then turn end." Hayato said ending his turn

Turn 4: Vincent
Vincent: 4000 LP, 2 cards, 1 Mon, 2 S/T
Hayato: 4000 LP, 4 cards, 1 Mon, 0 S/T

Vincent drew his next card looking at it he decided to activate veils effect "I activate Veils effect to reveal the DARK monster I just drew to draw another card." Vincent said as he revealed a Angel with black wings and a harp, the sister of Lux and the evil one of the pair. "Go to the grave Chaos Emissary, Umbra" Vincent said as he he placed the card in the grave and drew another card.

"I set 1 monster face-down and I end my turn" Vincent said as the back of a card appeared on his field hiding the set monster. He couldn't really be bothered to attack if the Bishi would just return next turn and protect Hayato from the damage he would inflict.

Turn 5: Hayato
Vincent: 4000 LP, 2 cards, 2 Mon, 2 S/T
Hayato: 4000 LP, 5 cards, 1 Mon, 0 S/T

Hayato drew his card 'hmm... this could come in handy' Hayato thought to himself and set a face-down card, "I set this card face-down and summon legendary six samurai Kizan to the field" after setting the cards on the disk a black armoured samurai came to his side wielding his Katana and started to think to himself... until deciding to attack Grepha "i got enough ammunition... i can keep going" he said to himself and attacked the face-up monster

Legendary Six Samurai - Kizan - Level 4, ATK 1800

"Before you kill Grepha I just want to Activate Mystical space typhoon to destroy your face down" Vincent said as Grepha burst into sparks. then a Cyclone proceeded destroy Hayato's Face down card.

Vincent 4000 LP -> 3900 LP

"You fell for my bait..." Hayato proclaimed as Shien's scheme was destroyed "i knew you'd have that card... so i set a card to trigger your MST... but i don't care what gets destroyed i got better cards in arsenal so... now i simply end my turn"

Turn 6: Vincent
Vincent: 3900 LP, 2 cards, 1 Mon, 1 S/T
Hayato: 4000 LP, 3 cards, 2 Mon, 0 S/T

"I Draw" Vincent said as he drew his next card, It wasn't Chaos Sorcerer but it was something and he wasn't going to bother with Veils effect as it was a worthwhile card to draw. "I FLIP summon Chaos Emissary Umbra, Its effect causes me to discard one card. Sorry Effect Veiler" Vincent said as he discarded the angel to the graveyard. "Next I banish D.D Scout Plane to fulfil the contract of Black dragon Collarserpent" Vincent said with a grin that was starting to show some blood lust. "Due to its Effect D.D Scout Plane is special summoned" Vincent yelled as D.D Scout plane appeared on his side of the field in face up Attack position

D.D Scout Plane - Level 2, ATK 800

Black Dragon Collarserpent - Level 4, ATK 1800

Chaos Emissary Umbra - Level 4 ATK 600

"Now Its Battle Time,I attack your Legendary Six Samurai Kizan with my Chaos Emissary Umbra, Which because she has less ATK she is destroyed and I take the damage. But her Effect allows me to add 1 LIGHT or DARK monster from my deck to my hand. The Card I choose Is 'Chaos Emissary, Emperor Dragon!'" Chaos Emissary Umbra Charged into Kizan and was promptly Executed but her soul dragged out a card that seemed to pulsate with power from Vincent deck and placed it in his hand before she went to the grave.

Vincent 3900 --> 2700

"Now Collarserpent Attack Kizan!, Black Dragons Eradicators Stream!" Vincent said as his dragon attacked the Six Samurai monster they both had equal attack so the battle would destroy them both. The dragon attacked with its whitish black plasma breath but was cut in half by Kizan's sword before it could finish the job, both monsters shattered into sparks.

"Seppuku tactics?" Hayato questioned

"No Calling new allies from the void!" Vincent said with a look of battle hunger on his face as his agression continued. "Effect of Collarserpent allows me to add 1 White Dragon Wyverbuster from my deck to my hand" Vincent continued as he added the effected monster to his hand. "Now My battling is done I banish 1 Black Dragon Collarserpent from my grave to fulfil the contract of White dragon Wyverbuster" Vincent smirked as the white dragon descend to his side of the field in ATK position. rearing its head ready to ATK next turn. "I end my turn" Vincent finished with a grin. Next turn all hell would break lose.

White Dragon Wyverbuster - Level 4, ATK 1700

Turn 7: Hayato
Vincent: 2700 LP, 1 cards, 2 Mon, 1 S/T
Hayato: 4000 LP, 4 cards, 1 Mon, 0 S/T

Hayato chuckled "Alright then... Draw..." and checked his hand twice not realizing he skipped over a important card "I activate Supply squad. and after that i activate Shien's smoke signal" A puff of Purple smoke rose up behind Hayato signaling for support "and I choose Legendary six samurai Kageki" Hayato stopped and thought for a moment "do i thow him out now? or do I wait..." Hayato sighed knowing what he'll do "I set a card in defence position" Hayato simply set another card in defence position keeping Kageki for later "I end my turn"

Turn 8: Vincent
Vincent: 2700 LP, 2 cards, 2 Mon, 1 S/T
Hayato: 4000 LP, 2 cards, 2 Mon, 1 S/T

Vincent drew his next card it wasn't a DARK type monster In fact it wasn't a monster at all.
"Firstly I will set one card face-down, and now we get to the fun part my friend" Vincent said as he left a card into the air. "by banishing 2 light and 2 dark monsters from my grave I can fulfil the contract of the monster I added to my hand last turn" Vincent said as he began his summoning chant the bloodlust looking extremely notable on his face.

"Emperor of Chaos, hear my plea for your presence on this battlefield, with body of darkness and blood of light, descend to this lower plane. I fulfilled the contract. Descend destroyer of boundaries, Kill thy enemies and prove to the mortals why you are to be feared. From the Void between realitys where even the gods do not pass! I summon the true being of Chaos, Chaos Emissary, Emperor Dragon! " Vincent yelled as a sound of a far off thunderstorm could be heard heralding the arrival of something powerful, as the wing-beat grew louder, foreshadowing what was coming downwards onto the battlefield. The Dragon planted its claws firmly on the ground before it proceeded to release a roar so inhuman that could cause witnesses to fear it. It was a powerful looking beast, signifying all that the Chaos Emissarys stood for in one creature.

Chaos Emissary Emperor Dragon - Level 10 - ATK 3000 due to 5 banished monsters

Hayato started to brace himself as he witnessed the monster appear

"Sadly due to its effect It cannot claim your head this turn" Vincent said under his breath with a annoyed sigh "D.D Scout plane Attack that face up Immortal Bishi, Gatling shooter!" Vincent said as the small plane fired a hail of bullets Destroying the immortal one once again. "Next Chaos Emperor Dragon Annihilate his Face down card, Void Bombard!" Vincent said as the Emperor Breathed mutiple bombs of Pure black light that exploded around Hayatos set card.

which was revealed to be the six samurai Yaichi

"Goodbye Yaichi... You wont be forgotten friend" Hayato said slightly annoyed by the fact he had no other choice but to be careful

Vincent watched Hayato draw his card from the supply squad. No biggy it wasn't like he suddenly going to draw all 5 pieces of Exodia next turn and proceed to obliterate his dragon. "White Dragon Wyverbuster, Attack his Life points directly Purifer's Burst Stream!" Vincent said with a look of blood-lust as his white dragon reared its head back and unleashed its stream of blackish white plasma.

Hayato 4000 LP - 2300 LP

"I end my Turn" Vincent said finishing with a look of assurance that the other guy literally have to get lucky to win. Unless Hayato drew a card that special summoned itself, Vincent pretty much had it.

A token appeared on Vincent side of the field, a pulsating mess of energy.


A Token which nobody really cares about - Level `1, ATK 0
Turn 9: Hayato
Vincent: 2700 LP, 0 cards, 4 Mon, 2 S/T
Hayato: 4000 LP, 2 cards, 1 Mon, 1 S/T

all right... "Draw..." he said special summong bushi once again "i set a card facedown and activate Six Samurai United" Hayato looked at his hand and sighed hoping on this move to work "i summon Legendary Six samurai Kageki" Hayato said "When he is normal summoned i can summon a level 4 or lower six samurai"

Legendary Six Samurai - Kageki - Level 4, ATK 200

"I activate the card effect of Skill Breakthrough!" Vincent said as his trap card flipped face-up revealing a monster smashing through a orange object. "This card allows me to negate the effect of one face up effect of one monster you control until the end of this turn." Vincent said as Kagekis effect was locked down. "Carry on" Vincent said, done with his counter.

Hayato Sighed at this moment and decided "Six samurai united activates i draw one card" Hayato growled at the card he drew "this card again.?" Hayato thought and sighed and simply said to Vincent "You win... i surrender" Hayato paused "you may still attack me as i now end my turn, show me your true power..." Hayato stated as he really didn't care how he lost by the accepted surrender or the blast of a monster

Turn 10: Vincent
Vincent: 2700 LP, 1 cards, 3 Mon, 1 S/T
Hayato: 4000 LP, 2 cards, 2 Mon, 1 S/T

"Alright this is the final turn, I draw" Vincent said obviously pleased that he was allowed to use the dragon to end it, as he drew his card from his deck as he instantly went straight into the battle phase. "Chaos Emissary, Emperor Dragon, Show this warlord why you lead the Emissary and why you are feared, REQUIEM OF THE VOID!" Vincent yelled as the Emperor unfurled its great wings, and begun inhaling. Dark lightning crashing all around it as it charged up a breath attack. You could almost notice the souls of the banished cards appearing and entering the breath attack to support their Ruler. for a few seconds the dragon stood charging before it quite suddenly expelled a constant stream of darkness and light in a double helix directly into the air with such force that that you could see it inside the arena for a few seconds. The beautiful stream then exploded in an almost blinding flash as blasts of volatile light and darkness cascaded onto Hayatos Kageki, in a unending torrent that would seem like a overkill to anybody watching the duel. "That Is the true power of the Emissarys" Vincent said as his monster finished its attack.

Hayato 2700 --> 0

When Hayatos Life-points hit 0 the battlefield began to fade, the Emperor dragon was the last to go probably due to its mass.
Winner: Vincent - The Chaos Ambassador

After the Duel

Hayato sighed after watching the finish and shook his head throwing the idea of him losing due to him being a bad duelist away "that was a good duel but this made my mood even worse..." He said to Vincent and was tempted to just walk away but instead offered something else "how about we go buy some packs...?"

Vincent was pretty damn pleased he finally got to see his other ace monster for the first time, never the less though he was getting his regular persona back for a few moments before responding to Hayatos offer. "I don't really want to get packs, I wanna hang around here for a few minutes to catch my thoughts " Vincent said declining Hayatos offer. "I was going to get packs in a few minutes Just wait a sec" Vincent said as he walked out to desert a bit more to stretch after standing still. Maybe he would see Ethel, someone whom he actually could look up to. Even though they lost their entry exam Ethel still got into light which was amazing. So that was someone he could actually respect after he had gotten crushed during his entry duel.

"In that case i'll go in advance then Hayato said making his way to the academy again, simply leaving Vincent to do what he wants and checked his D-Ciever remembering he needs to ask Hayate the code to add her but sadly... Shinrei had already left after the duel.

[Ammokkx]

Ethel took notice of the fact Shinrei hadn't listened, proceeding to attempt to lecture her as if he still didn't get the point he was nothing in this area. Whatever much of a big shot he was in the past, all this edgy 'I am better than you' was just like a little kid bragging. It was adorable... And hey, Ethel didn't even get mad at Shinrei. No, instead, that burning feeling welled up even more. A desire to... Hurt them. Humiliate them. Crush whatever ego they had... The white haired boy even mentioned a hierarchy, completely forgetting the fact he is inside of one. Even when Shinrei walked past Ethel, making it clear he had no intention of staying any longer, she just continued to enjoy herself more. Even when they just walked off with Hayate, Ethel couldn't help but smile. She was experiencing such glee at the prospect of humiliating them...

...But to all good things come an end. Someone else walked past Ethel, and actually whispered 'If you're going to duel, Win and Win again.' or something of the like in her ear. This brought her our of her little fantasy world, even jumping a bit due to it. Whatever else they said flew right past the girl, who turned her head to see who it was that did that. The boy from earlier... The one from the duel. Why he-! What right did he have to interrupt her like that?! Though calling them out was out of the question, Vincent having gone over to duel some boy from earth. Tch... Taking on someone weaker than themselves? Now this Ethel had to see. She backed off again, going back over to the wall on the other end. Somehow she wasn't getting any sunburns from standing out in the open for so long, and not even a drop of sweat was on her pale body. She scanned the duel carefully, deciding to gauge the boy's worth through the next duel.

It didn't last very long. Hayato had taken some kind of early lifepoint lead, but it seemed more like Vincent was toying with them rather than anything else. As soon as they got a decent monster out, nothing the samurai did had any effect on the chaos-wielding Wind dorm. Well, it's honestly expected. Earth wasn't know for having the best of players. That boy though... He showed more promise than you'd think. Maybe they dueled the Earth to put them in their place? Now there's a pleasing thought... Ethel smirked. Now there's one more person they took an interest in... And probably the most of all. She pushed herself off of the wall, walking up to Vincent who'd gone a little off the road for some stretching. Truthfully, it was a little annoying sand would get in Ethel's shoes. Though that didn't really matter right now.

"You dueled well." the girl called out from a bit away, her hands folded behind her back. She didn't really fake a smile, that'd be silly, but some form of congratulatory feeling was hidden in Ethel's eyes. She'd met this person before, the day before. Wasn't their name Vincent? "Vincent, right?" they asked, not really caring all that much. "Keep dueling like that. If you do, I'd love to face you some day." Ethel put on a little smile, closing her eyes at the same time. It wasn't completely faked, but she was exaggerating her feelings on the matter a little to grab the other's attention. They needed to become stronger... And Ethel'd make sure that would happen. "I'll be seeing you, Vincent." After those words, Ethel went back to the Action Duel arena. He wasn't the only one who needed to get stronger... And Ethel knew someone that would be able to push her to further lengths.

If she'd make it back to the stairs, a quick scan around the area would reveal the person Ethel was looking for. A dark-haired boy, playing his harmonica in solitude. Andre was sitting on his lonesome, and that's exactly who the girl wanted to see. She let her arms rest next to her as she approached Andre, keeping a neutral look on her face. The walking pace wasn't particularly hurried, keeping a slow temp whilst she approached the boy. Once close enough, all Ethel felt to do to grab his attention was a quick "Hey.". No need to rush it, after all.

[vancexentan]

Andre barely heard the muffled 'hey' over the harmonica's music. It wasn't something he was expecting but he felt slightly curious now. Was this girl coming over to try and make him stop playing his little tune or was she just here to say hello to him. He hadn't recognized the girl but he figured she wasn't anyone he probably should have known about. Andre stopped slowly as he finished his note just to put a final punctuation on the song, he hated to leave things half finished, and then took a deep breath to clear his head. Playing the harmonica had left him a bit winded to say the very least. He looked up towards the girl with his deep blue eyes looking over the young woman to confirm if he knew her or not. He didn't to his knowledge. "Hey what's up?" Andre said with a calm and cool tone unsure if she wanted him to say something or not but he decided it'd be awkward if he made her start up the conversation. He may not have been looking for a person to talk to and he certainly didn't care for friends but at the moment he was bored and he figured this should at least distract him for a bit, "So what's up? Need something? Just want someone to talk to and don't mind talking to the creepy dude in the corner?" Andre asked with snarky undertones under his calm voice.

[Xeiyenreisha]

Tsukiko listened to the full extent of the lecture that Ben kindly offered her as he handed Void Dragon back to him. She noticed that Ben was trying to comfort her though she found letting someone get closer to her rather difficult. "I..." She mumbled toward Ben hardly letting him hear a word she said. She tried to say it again, but she stuttered right as she tried to say the next word. Something inside her was preventing her from saying what she wanted to. "I don't know who the real me is anymore." She said unsure of herself and with her face engraved with denial. The doubt could be seen in her eyes as the radiance left her face and the coldness of being abandoned started to overtake her.

The words he offered her did alleviate some of the pain, but it did also burrow another wound anew inside her. A painful wound that reminded her that her brother was never going back to his old self. It was a cruel reality she had to be faced with, the brother that was kind and polite in the past and had lots of respect from other people was just devoured by the shadows and there was nothing she could about it. She put her cards down and palmed her hands on her head staring downward trying to hold back her tears.

"Why..." Tsukiko mumbled under her breath as she stared down keeping head face down so Ben couldn't see her face. Her face was wrought with calamity which tried to pour into her body through her veins as her past continued to haunt her. "Why won't that bastard see what he is doing to me!" Tsukiko replied as her voice began to raise a little bit at the end of her plea. She hated the thought that there was nothing she could do to get her brother to stop thinking about the past. That it was impossible for her to get to see that old radiant smile he used to show to his mother and father. "If mother were here, SHINREI WOULD GO BACK TO NORMAL!!! All I want is him to be happy again. I can't stand seeing him like that. THAT'S NOT WHO HE IS! THE WAY HE LIVES NOW IS A COMPLETE LIE! COMPLETE LLLIIIEEE!!!" She screamed out loud as she slammed her palms that were extended outward flat onto the desk. When she said that she remembered the memories that she shared with him with her mother. It was a part of her memory that had just returned. She remembered that Shinrei had become like he was after he qualified for the World Circuit when he won Nationals. She remembered that radiant beautiful smile on her mother's face and the liveliness of her spirit which brought warmth to them all. Shinrei was even smiling widely happy that he managed to make his dream of becoming a professional duelist a reality.

[vancexentan]

"Look the real you is you. You don't have another person wandering around pretending to be you. Past, present, future it really doesn't matter. You're you and that won't change. Even if you were someone different before that just means you've changed a bit it doesn't mean that person isn't there it just means they've put on a different style. Think of it this way: An actor from hollywood doesn't throw away his real life for a role. He is still that person even though he's calling himself something different or even acting like a different person entirely. But he's still himself even if the line between character and person is different. The point I'm trying to get across is a person has many different sides just not sides of him or her that they know of. Somewhere deep inside a person's mind there are things they haven't tried yet that they could love if they just tried them out. But they're still the same person if they don't....I'm making this a whole lot more complicated then it needs to be. All I'm saying is that you're not someone else, the past you isn't a different you, and you're going to be alright by the end of it. Maybe you'll get what your looking for or maybe not but you'll still have the experiences you have now and that won't change what has happened before." Ben said trying to bumble out his good natured rhetoric but he wasn't sure if it was what the girl needed to hear or not. He wasn't some psychologist. He didn't know this young lady had all these problems. He couldn't solve them either he was after all just Ben. He wasn't special and while he wished he was one he wasn't a hero.

When she broke out in anger and what he assumed was fear of something Ben couldn't have helped himself but feel taken aback. This was way more personal than he expected his little trip to be. But...he had to do something. He couldn't just stand there and do nothing. She needed a hand and who else was going to give her one but him at the moment? He just hoped no teacher thought he was doing something bad in the fusion room right now. Ben took a deep breath and let her say what she was going to say. When she stopped talking Ben once again mentally berated himself for pushing on through all of this but he wasn't going to just sit there through all of this. So despite the warm feeling in his face for the idea he decided he had to do it. Ben went over to Tsukiko and gently put his hand on her shoulder and gave her a smile. "Hey hey hey chill. No need to scream and no need to shout everything will work itself out if you reach out to it and try to grasp your true self." Ben said as he wrapped his armed around her and pulled her in for a gentle hug. It was a simple gesture nothing more nothing less. Some people just needed a hug. This seemed like one of these moments when it was needed. He was blushing a bit because he felt awkward but he tried to be as reassuring to her as possible without seeming like a total creep. "If you want I'll let you go just say so. I don't want to say anything on the matter because I don't know what's up. I don't know about who you're talking about but just too let you know...I know the feeling of having lost someone...but he came back to me eventually. You just got to wait patiently with an hand held open and wait until they take it." Ben said calmly as he wondered if he had overstepped his bounds...oh god he could see it now the school kicking him out for hugging a GIRL awkwardly...welp...that's just life for you...It didn't help that he probably smelt like sweat and dirt. He had after all not gotten much in the way of a shower today...should've thought about that before going on his mile runs today.

[EviiPaladin]

"Reptiles, huh?" Brad wasn't sure if that meant Angelo was packing Worms or not, but getting any support at all wouldn't be bad. "Unfortunately, I don't got no Synchros..."

Suddenly, a brainwave hit Brad. "Hey, Coach always said that the way to success was to work like a team. If the two of us worked together, we could help each other out, y'know?" Brad could use some help but he could only hope that the other students were as open to teamwork as he was.

"Speakin' of Coach, another important lesson he liked to teach was practice made perfect." Brad activated his Duel Disk, a toothy grin crossing his face. "An' I got a way to go if I'm gonna be perfect. So how about a duel? Maybe do some tradin' after we cash in, y'know?"

[Jangel13]

Angelo sighed again hating the fact he got stupid worms then the kid proposed something that Angelo never thought he would hear, he wanted to work together with Angelo. Honestly it was nice to think that someone was that nice to others and willing to work with almost a complete stranger right off the bat. "yeah I know what you mean" Angelo said with a grin as he activated his duel disk grinning and ready to fight. Angelo got up putting the spare cards in his pocket before making sure the cards he would need are already in his deck. Angelo then walked a few paces away and turned on his own duel disk as it came to life and got into its dueling position "lets see how good you are Brad, give me a run for my money and ill work with you" Angelo said with a grin as their dueling field was set...

[Xeiyenreisha]

"If you want I'll let you go just say so. I don't want to say anything on the matter because I don't know what's up. I don't know about who you're talking about but just too let you know...I know the feeling of having lost someone...but he came back to me eventually. You just got to wait patiently with an hand held open and wait until they take it." Ben said calmly as he wondered if he had overstepped his bounds...oh god he could see it now the school kicking him out for hugging a GIRL awkwardly...welp...that's just life for you. Tsukiko noticed Ben hugged which almost caused her to push him away then she noticed the warmth he brought with the hug. The heat inside the gesture was enough to warm the coldness inside her mind and burn away the blizzard that had her petrified in denial and fear. "No, it's okay." She kind of laughed as she continued after pausing for a moment trying to illuminate her face with a radiant smile, "You're not used to girls, are you? Heh..." She then apologized if she offended him when she laughed for a moment, because that was her intention at all. She just found a little cute, but then she continued. "It's just hard for me to smile now. I feel like I'm on the edge of oblivion right now about to lose everything, but I will certainly try to keep myself afloat and not fall victim to the dark mist within the deep abyss of despair." She reminded Ben as the smile of euphoria just completely vanished on her face replaced again by the gloomy clouds that cast a rain shower on her heart as she put her head against his shoulder and allowed it rest there. This was actually the first time any boy ever tried to understand how she actually felt rather than think about her beauty. At least one boy wanted to try to understand what she went through rather than mesmerize themselves by her own looks. "If you don't mind, please stay for a little while. To be honest this is the first time a boy ever tried to understand who I am rather than just pursue me for my looks. I know you didn't just decide to comfort, because I'm a girl but still it's just that being with you makes me feel at ease."

Tsukiko felt like her mind was at peace with Ben around. The way he hugged was just like the many times her brother and mother cradled her when adversity had become a cruel mistress with fangs that dug into the flesh. They reminded her no matter how painful it felt that the agony wouldn't last forever eventually she would recover though it still did leave scars on her soul which were scattered completely through out her mental complex.

It was true, Tsukiko actually felt like she was being abandoned because of the fact her brother hardly did anything with her anymore other than check up on her. She also felt like he hired Hayato so he could just no longer have to burden himself with her. She loved her brother but it was so excruciatingly painful when he just decided to dump her onto Hayato when he had problems of his own with Hayate it looked like. "I do wish my mother was still around, Ben. My brother and I both got our silver hair from her. Me and my brother are identical twins since we were born on the same day." She paused for a moment as she handed Ben a photo of her mother who had silver hair and was wearing a long blue dress in the photo. Tsukiko looked a lot like her mother sharing almost every quality of her mother other than her eyes. "I know what you're going to say. I look exactly like my mother." She paused once again to acknowledge that fact if Ben were ever going to ask it before she continued. "She passed away from illness just before my brother started the World Circuit and he forever changed then. I know I got upset for a silly reason and understand that he is trying to protect me from our father but I just can't stand to see him taking all the weight and shouldering the blame of our father's side of the family. I probably should stop there since the rest isn't your problem and I shouldn't just go throwing my own personal problems on you. That's selfish and I am sorry I did so." Tsukiko apologized even though she was still confused on how to feel. She understood the depth and meaning behind Ben's words, but she wasn't sure how to exactly comprehend them. Her past was one giant big maze in her mind and there were so many pieces of it that were missing. She continued to lay her head on Ben's shoulder with her welled up eyes which were swollen with tears of sadness as they trickled down her face hitting the surface of the floor.

Meanwhile Shinrei had gone to his hideout which was higher up on a tall structure that looked like a damaged old building that was a distance away from the Duel Tower. Probably a half mile or so in the distance of some forestry which mainly consisted of very tall trees. The building was run down and in disrepair, but there was an area missing a roof which looked like a balcony except it was actually a room that was missing a roof on the damaged part of the building. There was a bed still in the room though only the mattress and comforter remained. He decided to set Hayate down on the bed and allow her to rest while he stroked her head to notice she didn't have a fever or anything. He looked at her and she was panting a little where he immediately knew that she was exhausted. "You push yourself too hard like I do." He mumbled to himself with a light voice as he looked at the sight he had from the area he was seeing it was quite a distance down below to the ground. It was a place he found the other day when Hayato left his room where he decided to go off to see if he could find a place where he could do his work without everyone else bothering him. Especially that kid Leander who annoyed him to no end. One of the students told him about an abandoned tower which had a room that looked like a balcony, because of the roofing was completely missing. Though they also warned him that the academy forbade anyone from going there and that is he did go there proceed with extreme caution and do not let them catch him there. He decided to go check it out and surely enough it was an ideal location for his new hideaway. "I probably shouldn't have brought you here, but I couldn't just leave you on the ground. It would be going against my word I made toward your brother." He said toward Hayate as he stroked her head a little like he did when Tsukiko was still asleep and he was just checking up on her. He knew he had to be cautious about when he went there or people would become suspicious and think he was up to something. It wasn't as much as he was plotting anything, just that he was investigating a certain matter that involved his father. He turned away from Hayate then picked up a document that his company forwarded to him the other day. He was about to take a look at the contents when he noticed he heard an 'Oooohhhh' wail from behind. That is when he knew it was Hayate since she was the only person that was with him.

"So you're awake?" Shinrei questioned as he noticed a groan where he turned around from what he was doing to notice that Hayate was starting to come to. He noticed she started to open her eyes a little where he questioned toward her though he wasn't sure if she was waking up or if she was making sounds about her dreams. Regardless, he would still inquire, "Are you okay?" He grabbed the document file and slid it underneath a book that laid on the desk out of Hayate's sight. Shinrei wasn't about to read that document's contents while she was around. Hopefully she didn't notice him move his hid slowly to give it a nudge where it did get slid under the book out of sight so no one could see it.

[Tojin]

Preduel

"Awesome, guess I get to see how that Deepspace deck of yours works out after all!" Megan said to Camryn excitedly when she heard they could get to duel. Now she could get a little bit better idea of what action dueling was like, she'd never learned very well just by watching anyway.

Camryn winced; that teacher was loud. Oh well. At least she'd get to do an Action Duel. "Heh. Yeah, you do. I hope you put that Solidarity I traded you to good use!"

Action Duel, Warriors Against A Heart Of Steel

Turn 1: Megan
Megan 4000 LP, 5 cards
Camryn 4000 LP, 5 cards

Megan grinned and looked around, sweet, it looked like they were in some sort of floatin bamboo forest thing. However, when she looked at her hand her face fell briefly. Well, at this rate it was going to be shaping up to be even worse than her last duel. She had almost literally nothing to play, sooooo, she probably should look for an action card to bail her out. Thats what they were for right? "Weeellllllll," Megan said drawing the word out as she looked for a card running along the thin path leading to the forest, "I guessssss, I'llll set two cards and end my turn!"

Turn 2:Camryn
Megan 4000 LP, 3 cards, 2 spell/trap set
Camryn 4000 LP, 6 cards

Camryn, meanwhile, was less than enthused about the choice of arena. A forest this dense meant that her ships didn't have a ton of maneuverability. She'd probably be better off looking for Action Cards on foot. She drew her five cards almost absentmindedly. Her hand was... pretty decent, actually, and it only got more solid as she drew her sixth card. "Let's see here... I'll set one card, then activate Burden of the Mighty!"

A set card and the infamous Spell appeared in front of her. "Next, I'll activate Deepspace Beacon, which lets me add a Light Machine-type monster from my deck to my hand." A sound similar to sonar pinging was heard around the arena as Camryn riffled through her deck, grabbed the card she wanted, and put it in her hand. "And to finish things off, I'll summon Deepspace Scout in attack mode!"

A small, basic-looking spaceship arrived on Camryn's side of the field, seemingly rocketing in from space. It would have been quite impressive if the ship didn't look like it was built for Smurfs. (ATK: 1200)

"...Aren't you a little small for a spaceship? Eh, whatever. Due to Scout's effect, I can Special Summon Deepspace Stunner from my hand!"

Scout revved its engines, and another small spaceship, this one looking less built and more grown, right down to its dark green paint job and asymmetrical structure, swooped in from above and landed next to Scout. It beeped occasionally, the small cannon on its underside glowing blue. (ATK: 1200)

Camryn hopped onto Scout, using it almost like a surfboard. "And with that, I'm outta here to look for some Action Cards. Your turn!" Scout zoomed away with Camryn on board (though she had to switch to all fours to keep from falling off).

Turn 3: Megan
Megan 4000 LP, 3 cards in hand, 2 set S/T
Camryn 4000 LP, 2 cards in hand, 1 set S/T, Deepspace Scout (1200 ATK), Deepspace Stunner (1200 ATK)

Megan drew her next card almost reluctantly, she had a feeling this duel was just going to get worse, either way she'd have to bluff her way out of getting annihilated until she got something better. As it was Camryn could've already wiped out half Megan's LP if she hadn't been cautious of those set cards. But it would probably wouldn't last for another turn. Really? Another useless trap? Those were her inner thoughts at least, on the outside Megan grinned and set the card she'd just drawn. "With one set card-" Aha, finally an action card on the level below her. She jumped off her path and landed on the one below snatching it up eagerly.Awesome. It wouldn't save her entirely but it was helpful at least between that and her traps she might be able to live long enough to put up a decent fight. "Its your turn." Megan said with a confidence that she didn't feel.

Turn 4: Camryn
Megan 4000LP, 4 cards in hand(1 action spell), 3 set S/T
Camryn 4000 LP, 2 cards in hand, 1 set S/T, Deepspace Scout (1200 ATK), Deepspace Stunner (1200 ATK), Burden of the Mighty.

As Camryn's ride flew away, she drew her card while scanning the ground below for an Action Card. Her draw was... less that great, but not actually bad. "Hmm... Oh!" She spotted an Action Card wedged in a bamboo stalk that had been split in half. She steered Scout towards it, and managed to reach out and grab it when they passed by. Looked like a good one, too, in case she got caught overextending. "Now that I've got some insurance... Deepspace Stunner, attack Megan directly!"

The bulbous green ship beeped an affirmation, then flew towards Megan, cannons warming up and firing down on her.

"Ha, I won't even have to use my trap card. I play the Action Spell Evasion negating your attack!" Megan announced as the shots veered off course into the open sky below her. She was already moving again, searching for another action card. And of course she'd half way lied to make it seem like her traps could do something but hey, it might work. Hopefully.

Camryn narrowed her eyes in thought. If Megan had had the chance to destroy any of my monsters, I'm sure she would have with those traps. But she used her Action Card instead, which probably means that they wouldn't do anything as they are. That means I can go ahead and attack with Scout! Probably. Meh, if I get caught with my pants down, I'll at least have some kind of defense. "Deepspace Scout, attack... actually, wait a second." Camryn hopped off of Scout onto the ground, stumbling a bit. She managed to right herself without losing too much dignity. "Anyway, Deepspace Scout, attack Megan directly!"

The starship zoomed towards Megan, laser cannons already firing a barrage of reddish blasts at her.

Fugdesickles. She'd probably been too obvious. Didn't mean she would stop bluffing. Megan reached for one of her facedown cards as if considering it, then pulled her hand away, instead grabbing onto a bamboo shoot with one hand to steady herself from the incoming attack and raising the other to shield herself from the oncoming attack.

Megan 4000 LP -> 2800 LP

"I'll end it there. Your turn." Camryn hopped back onto Scout and flew away, this time keeping rather low to the ground to search for Action Cards.

Turn 5: Megan
Megan 2800LP, 4 cards in hand, 3 set S/T
Camryn 4000 LP, 3 cards in hand (1 action card), 1 set S/T, Deepspace Scout (1200 ATK), Deepspace Stunner (1200 ATK), Burden of the Mighty.

"Ouch" Megan muttered as she drew her next card just barely surpressing a moan of despair. She really needed to get some new cards or something, this really wasn't working at all. Megan just needed some monsters, sheesh. Megan would just barely survive another attack and if Camryn summoned another monster then it was over. An action card might destroy what little hope she had left, but without it she might be dead anyway. What's more if she tried to bluff by setting yet another card her spell and trap card zone would be severly handicapped as well. ARGH. "Your turn." Megan said in a surprsingly netural tone that didn't at all show the level of panic she felt.

Turn 6: Camryn
Megan 2800LP, 4 cards in hand, 3 set S/T
Camryn 4000 LP, 4 cards in hand (1 action card), 1 set S/T, Deepspace Scout (1200 ATK), Deepspace Stunner (1200 ATK), Burden of the Mighty.

Camryn drew her next card, and gave a small "Pff." of amusement. At this point, it was honestly just icing on the shit cake for Megan. She figured that the instructor probably wanted the duel to last longer than 6 turns, though, so she decided to hold off for right then. "Scout, Stunner, attack Megan directly!"

The tiny starships promptly spun and began strafing Megan with a combination of red laser blasts from Scout and blue, spherical shots from Stunner.

Megan saw an action card high up in the bamboo forest and was tempted to run for it. But she could at least live this attack and the chance that it would screw up what little chance she had was too great. Instead she did the same thing as before, hopelessly shielding herself from the numerous glowing blasts of light.

Megan 2800 LP -> 400 LP

"And that's my turn. Shame this is going so badly for you, I'd love to see what your deck can really do. Camryn said sincerely.

Turn 7: Megan
Megan 400LP, 5 cards in hand, 3 set S/T
Camryn 4000 LP, 4 cards in hand (1 action card), 1 set S/T, Deepspace Scout (1200 ATK), Deepspace Stunner (1200 ATK), Burden of the Mighty.

Megan gave the smallest of sighs and muttered ruefully, "Me too" before drawing her next card. ABOUT TIME SHE GOT A MONSTER. Megan quickly checked the field to see if it would do any good. YES! Even with burden of the mighty it would still have enough attack to beat those stupid spaceships. "I'll normal summon my ninja grandmaster sasuke to the field!" Megan called out the relief evident in her voice. 1400 ATK wasn't much more but it was good enough. Now which of those pesky spaceships did she want to get rid of? Or did she want to risk attacking at all?

She could stop any danger if it was a spell or trap but if Camryn had a monster effect and Megan's only monster got destroyed it would be over regardless of what happened next. Screw it. "Grandmaster-" Megan realized that this kind of thinking was exactly what lost her last duel. Was she really going to make that mistake again? "Uh, carry me to that card. Your turn"" Megan said awkwardly in an attempt to cover up her change of mind. Her ninja obidently grabbed her and agily leapt up the trees to the next action card.

Turn 8: Camryn
Megan 400LP, 5(1action) cards in hand, Ninja Grandmaster Sasuke(1400 ATK), 3 set S/T
Camryn 4000 LP, 5 cards in hand (1 action card), 1 set S/T, Deepspace Scout (1200 ATK), Deepspace Stunner (1200 ATK), Burden of the Mighty.

Camryn drew her card and studied it for a while. "I'm gonna use Mystical Space Typhoon on... that one!" She pointed at the far left Trap card, and the bluish typhoon obediently followed her finger.

Megan paused torn, did she need it badly enough? Another moment passed and Megan relaxed and the typhoon tore through the card, which was revealed to be malvolent catastrophe.

Malevolent Catastrophe. That would have actually messed her up pretty badly, since it would have made Sasuke even stronger by virtue of getting rid of Burden of the Mighty. Good thing it was a non-entity now. She still needed a good boost to get over him, though... Oh yeah, her trap! "I activate my Trap card, Rare Metalmorph! It lets me target a monster I control - Deepspace Stunner, in this case - and increase its ATK by 500!"

Stunner became a shiny chrome color, and it sprouted a new, nasty-looking weapon that glowed red. (ATK: 1700)

Right, well, here went nothing! "Deepspace Stunner, attack Ninja Grandmaster Sasuke with Pike Beam!" A wide red beam fired from Stunner's new weapon, sweeping across the ground towards Sasuke.

"I'm afraid I'll have to stop your plans right there, I activate my trap card, Royal Decree, to negate the effects of all trap cards!" Megan cried triumphantly, glad that her trap card had finally had a chance to do something. Unfortunatly she couldn't use her other trap card now, but that was okay.

Well, shit.

Stunner's new paint job exploded, and with it, its fancy new beam weapon. "Agh!" Fortunately, when the smoke cleared, Stunner was still there, albeit smoking slightly. "Fortunately, Stunner can't be destroyed by battle once per turn."

Camryn LP: 4000 LP -> 3800 LP

"Well, since that didn't quite work, I'll move to my second Main Phase and set 1 card. Your turn."

Turn 9: Megan
Megan 400LP, 6(1action) cards in hand, Ninja Grandmaster Sasuke(1400 ATK), 1 set S/T, Royal Decree.
Camryn 3800 LP, 4 cards in hand (1 action card), 1 set S/T, Deepspace Scout (1200 ATK), Deepspace Stunner (1200 ATK), Burden of the Mighty, Rare Metalmorph.

Having her other trap card avaible for use would've been real handy right now. Megan looked at her next card, great something else useless. Unless she could directly send it to the grave somehow. She had like five equip spells in here right?. At least she could out attack her opponent now without fear of traps and she had like two back up plans now so even if her ninja got zapped it would still be managable. "Aight, Ninja Master, slice up that Deepspace Scout for me!" Megan commanded. Her ninja set Megan down gently then leapt forward with blinding speed towards the space ship, steel weapons slicing forward at the fun-sized ship.

Deepspace Scout didn't react well to being sliced up, to say the least. It let out a few warped beeps before exploding into scrap. One particularly large chunk smacked Camryn in the stomach, winding her briefly. "Oof! Sheesh, if that's only 200 LP worth, I'd hate to see what more is like."

Camryn LP: 3800 LP -> 3600 LP

Megan looked at the heavy partly virtual burns on her arms, "Ya got that right. I'll enter my second main phase, set one monster and end my turn"

Turn 10: Camryn
Megan 400LP, 5(1action) cards in hand, Ninja Grandmaster Sasuke(1400 ATK), 1 set monster, 1 set S/T, Royal Decree.
Camryn 3600 LP, 5 cards in hand (1 action card), 1 set S/T, Deepspace Stunner (1200 ATK), Burden of the Mighty, Rare Metalmorph.

Camryn's next draw was less than stellar. Looks like my luck is running out on me. She decided to set it. Hopefully it would come in handy eventually. "I set one card facedown."

Well, here goes nothing. "Stunner, attack Megan's facedown monster!" The small green ship warmed up its weapons again and fired a barrage of blue projectiles at the facedown monster.

Megan grinned, she couldn't have asked for a more helpful move. Her facedown mosnter was revealed to be a puny Mystic Swordsman LV.2, he valiently raised his sword before he shattered into the pixels that indicated its destruction. "Anything else?" Megan asked, feeling more confident with every passing turn.

Camryn narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "...I summon Cyber Larva in attack position." What looked like a small grub with a stinger on the end appeared on Camryn's field, squirming around and making a weird sound, like a snake hissing into a tin can. (ATK: 400)

"That's the end of my turn. Go ahead."

Turn 11: Megan
Megan 400LP, 5(1action) cards in hand, Ninja Grandmaster Sasuke(1400 ATK), 1 set S/T, Royal Decree.
Camryn 3600 LP, 5 cards in hand (1 action card), 2 set S/T, Deepspace Stunner (1200 ATK), Cyber Larva (400 ATK), Burden of the Mighty, Rare Metalmorph.

Perfect, another monster to work with. Combined with her next move the battlefield was about to turn around real fast. "Alright, first thing I'll do is play the spell card Solidarity, I don't have to explain this one. Then I'll summon Gearfried the Iron Knight from my Hand." Now with both her monsters at 2200 ATK cleaning up should be a breeze, plus Camyrn couldn't use any trap cards.

Obviously the larva wasn't a threat so she should get rid of the space ship first, in case Camyrn could boost its attack somehow. "Ninja Master slash apart that spaceship!" He once again ran forward, small knives slashing with lightning speed.

Fortunately, Stunner's effect kicked in once again, Sasuke's knives shattering on impact. Unfortunately, most of the debris went on to hit Camryn, covering her in small cuts and nicks.

3600 LP -> 2600 LP

The ninja leapt backwards pulling out two knives that looked even more dangerous than the first, "Now Gearfried, tear apart the ship once and for all!" With a deep rumble similar to a mountain moving her monster crashed through several trees to grab the spaceship and hurl it into the ground.

With that final, massive blow, Stunner was finally destroyed for good, exploding into a hail of weird glowy bits and sharp pieces of metal that rained down onto the field, especially onto Camryn.

2600 LP -> 1600 LP

Megan smiled, it was much funner to be on the winning side. Still she reigned it in. She wasn't about to go power crazy like some of the earlier duels she'd seen, in the end it was just a duel. "Now I'll turn it over to you." Who'd thought the card she traded for would've come in handy so soon?

Turn 12: Camryn
Megan 400LP, 5(1action) cards in hand, Ninja Grandmaster Sasuke (2200 ATK), Gearfried the Iron Knight (2200 ATK), 1 set S/T, Solidarity, Royal Decree.
Camryn 1600 LP, 6 cards in hand (1 action card), 2 set S/T, Cyber Larva (400 ATK), Burden of the Mighty, Rare Metalmorph.

Camryn drew her next card... and sighed ruefully. Any other time, it would have been great. Now, though, it was only a dead draw. What's more, her hand was overflowing, which meant she either needed to clog her Spell/Trap zones even more, or sacrifice a monster. "Man, who knew that Solidarity would come in handy so soon? Anyway, I can't really do anything. I set a monster and end my turn."

Turn 13: Megan
Megan 400LP, 6(1action) cards in hand, Ninja Grandmaster Sasuke (2200 ATK), Gearfried the Iron Knight (2200 ATK), 1 set S/T, Solidarity, Royal Decree.
Camryn 1600 LP, 6 cards in hand (1 action card), 2 set S/T, Cyber Larva (400 ATK), 1 set monster, Burden of the Mighty, Rare Metalmorph.

Alright not bad. She couldn't remember Cyber Larva's effect but it didn't really matter. "Alright then we'll go into the battlephase. Sasuke, destroy that larva!"
This time only a smoke bomb heralded the ninja's swift attack.

Camryn breathed a sigh of relief. "When Cyber Larva is targeted for an attack, I take no battle damage for the rest of the turn."

Indeed, though Cyber Larva shattered on impact, some of the pieces had reformed into a small, silvery buckler on Camryn's left arm, which she used to block the rest of the debris from the destruction of Cyber Larva.

Ah, that was its effect. Eh no matter. "Gearfried, finish off that facedown monster for me." Once again the lumbering iron giant went forward to destroy another monster.

The set monster turned out to be the original Gradius, who, fortunately, exploded in such a way that all the debris flew upwards, rather than outwards.

"Alright good work, back to you." Megan said cheerily.

Turn 14: Camryn
Megan 400LP, 6(1action) cards in hand, Ninja Grandmaster Sasuke (2200 ATK), Gearfried the Iron Knight (2200 ATK), 1 set S/T, Solidarity, Royal Decree.
Camryn 1600 LP, 6 cards in hand (1 action card), 2 set S/T, Burden of the Mighty, Rare Metalmorph.

Camryn's buckler dissipated as she drew her next card. It was, again, lackluster. It would definitely help her, that much was certain, but she needed a bit more "oomph" to be able to turn her current situation around into a win. "I activate my second Burden of the Mighty!"

As the spell came into existence, Camryn took another card from her hand and placed it on her duel disk. "Next, I'll summon a second Cyber Larva."

Another grub appeared in front of her, this time staying silent. (ATK: 400)

"And that's the end of my turn. Your turn." Camryn decided to hare off into the forest and see if she couldn't find an Action Card that would let her turn things around.

Turn 15: Megan
Megan 400LP, 6(1action) cards in hand, Ninja Grandmaster Sasuke (1800 ATK), Gearfried the Iron Knight (1800 ATK), 1 set S/T, Solidarity, Royal Decree.
Camryn 1600 LP, 5 cards in hand (1 action card), Cyber Larva (ATK: 400), 2 set S/T, Burden of the Mighty x2, Rare Metalmorph.

Another Gearfried? Well it couldn't hurt, since her opponent had just played ANOTHER burden of the mighty dropping her mosnters back down to 1800. "Alright now its time for an all out assault, everyone attack!" Her mosnters leapt forward, sasuke leading the charge and the two Gearfrieds following close behind.

"Fortunately, Larva's effect kicks in again! Otherwise, I'd be up shite creek without a paddle." In fact, depending on what I draw next, I may be that way anyway. The silvery buckler manifested on her arm, just in time to let her parry the two Gearfrieds' swords, though not without a certain amount of pain and strain. After the monsters' twin assault was fought off, her shield disappeared once again.

Oh. it worked for the whole turn. Rats. "Uh, your move again." Megan looked at her LP again. Goodness just one good card could finish her off.

Turn 16: Camryn
Megan 400LP, 6(1action) cards in hand, Ninja Grandmaster Sasuke (1800 ATK), Gearfried the Iron Knight (1800 ATK) x2, 1 set S/T, Solidarity, Royal Decree.
Camryn 1600 LP, 5 cards in hand (1 action card), 2 set S/T, Burden of the Mighty x2, Rare Metalmorph.

Before Camryn drew her next card, she stopped and thought If ever there was a time for Heart of the Cards to kick in, this'd be it. C'mon... She drew her next card...

Shit. It was a trap. As Camryn riffled through her hand, checking for options, she noticed an unfamiliar green card...

It was the Action Card she had picked up earlier! Oh hey, this thing! I forgot all about it! At least I have some insurance now. "Right. Looks like there's nothing else for it. I summon a second Deepspace Scout in attack position, and using its effect, I'll summon Cyber Larva from my Graveyard."

The two mechanical monsters appeared again, whirring and hissing, respectively. (Scout ATK: 1200) (Larva ATK: 400)

"That's all I can do. Your turn."

Turn 17: Megan
Megan 400LP, 6(1action) cards in hand, Ninja Grandmaster Sasuke (1800 ATK), Gearfried the Iron Knight (1800 ATK) x2, 1 set S/T, Solidarity, Royal Decree.
Camryn 1600 LP, 5 cards in hand (1 action card), Deepspace Scout (ATK: 1200), Cyber Larva (ATK: 400), 2 set S/T, Burden of the Mighty x2, Rare Metalmorph.

Two of these buggers? She could keep stalling for a while at this rate and the trap she drew wasn't helping things. Oh well. "Oh well nothing for it. Sasuke destroy the scout. Gearfried A destroy that little larve." The two monsters quickly rushed forward intent on smashing the rest of her robots.

Camryn grimaced. Damn. Was hoping she'd attack Larva first. Though I guess now I can say for absolute certain that she isn't stupid. Scout blew up almost immediately after being hit with several kunai, leaving room for the last one to stab Camryn in the arm. "Gah, shit!" she hissed, removing the kunai gingerly. "I thought these duels weren't supposed to be painful!" Fortunately, the wound looked more like she had just gotten a bad scrape, but it still hurt like hell.

1600 LP -> 600 LP

Meanwhile, the Cyber Larva was cut in twain, and as usual, the buckler formed on Camryn's arm, too late to be of any use.

"Yeah I thought so too. Hope these burns aren't permanant." Megan said looking at her arms again. Even the slight breeze that ran through the field agaited the burns. It was really freaking annoying actually. "Anyway, your turn again."

Turn 18: Camryn
Megan 400LP, 6(1action) cards in hand, Ninja Grandmaster Sasuke (1800 ATK), Gearfried the Iron Knight (1800 ATK) x2, 1 set S/T, Solidarity, Royal Decree.
Camryn 600 LP, 5 cards in hand (1 action card), 2 set S/T, Burden of the Mighty x2, Rare Metalmorph.

Camryn didn't even bother invoking Heart of the Cards. It was a good duel regardless of outcome, and she was just happy to have been part of it. Though it'd certainly be nice if she won. Her next card turned out to be something incredibly aggravating. "Ugggh, if I'd drawn this guy before, I could have won last turn!" She sighed. "Since I only have Machines in my Graveyard, I can Special Summon Gearspring Spirit from my hand in defense position."

A tall, spindly, antique robot in a tattered cloak who clearly took design inspiration from some kind of goat appeared on Camryn's field, arms crossed over its chest. (DEF: 100)

"Right, that's all I've got. Your move." She tried not to sound despondent. It didn't work.

Turn 19: Megan
Megan 400LP, 6(1action) cards in hand, Ninja Grandmaster Sasuke (1800 ATK), Gearfried the Iron Knight (1800 ATK) x2, 1 set S/T, Solidarity, Royal Decree.
Camryn 600 LP, 5 cards in hand (1 action card), Gearspring Spirit (DEF: 100), 2 set S/T, Burden of the Mighty x2, Rare Metalmorph.

Reload? Well this was good since most of hand was kind of useless right now. Anything she should set first? Hm. Nah. But she could also save it for later. Set it in case it got triggered by another effect? Megan broke from her inner ramble to look at the field, unless Camryn had some tricks up here sleeve this duel was over. Hm. "Well, Sasuke slice that Gearspring to pieces, Gearfrieds, finish it off!" She could've held off. Put she had a feeling Camryn wouldn't thank her for it. Megan had learned from last duel that being given a 'mercy turn' didn't feel that great, especially when you lost afterwards.

Gearspring Spirit practically disintegrated, though more from old age than the force of Sasuke's attack. Meanwhile, Camryn decided to go out with a large serving of ham. She took her Action Spell from her hand and held it up high. "Go go Action Spell Card! Evasion!" The card disappeared, and she blurred away from Gearfried A... directly into Gearfried B. She smacked head-first into his body, which was enough to get rid of the last of her LP.

600 LP -> 0 LP

WINNER: MEGAN

Post game

Once the duel field dissipated, Camryn walked up to Megan. "Honestly, I admit that I thought I had that one in the bag. I'm still kinda in shock that you pulled such a huge comeback! Congrats for turning it around so quickly!" With a cheeky grin, she added "And thanks for showing me that my card found a good home with you, haha."

Megan gave a cheeky grin in return, "Well that makes the two of us. Not sure I could've make it out of there without that card. Two of those spells would've made my mighty monsters look like action figures. Can't wait to see you win your next duel, though I think we should scram, looks like some other poeple might want to duel."

TL:DR

Camyrn had the lead for a while but Megan stalled until she got out some monsters with solidarity and ended up winning the battle.

[vancexentan]

Ben patted the girl on the back while averting his eyes to make sure he wasn't seemingly like he was staring at her. When she told him it was alright for him to hug her for the moment he felt a but more relieved but that more or less went down the hole when she wanted to stay like this for a bit. It wasn't because he didn't like her, he barely knew Tsukiko, but that was the thing. He barely knew her so he was in the middle of an empty class hugging a girl he just met. But Ben didn't want to disappoint her and he figured it was best for everyone involved in this whole thing if she got it out of her system. Day two here and he was already running into some interesting folks. "I gotcha don't worry just take your time and breath. I'm here for you I would be a poor friend if I just up and left you here right now. As for this whole thing about boys pursuing you for your looks...well I ain't going to say you're not a pretty young lady but just like you say I didn't try to pull you out of the conversation because you looked pretty I saw someone in need and I tried to help. It's what I do. I'm here for you through thick and thin Tsukiko. Not a lot of strangers would risk their neck for another person but I'm not that kind of guy. So take your time and chill." Ben said though he did say it a bit awkwardly. He wasn't so sure if what he said was the right thing to say in this sort of situation. Andre had his moments from the past...maybe he could help her out here. At least that's what Ben figured knowing his relationship with their cousin and all...

"I'm sure your momma was a wonderful and gracious person Tsukiko and you two were born lucky to have her. But don't go wishing for things that can't happen. I know you probably don't remember much about her but I'm sure you and your bro will find out more about her in the future together. Take what you do have and remember it fondly. She gave you life and it just happens she couldn't see you through it. If she's anything like my old lady she's probably wishing you would be more happy right now. My mom was always busy when I was a younger dude back home. Never got a chance to see her much but when I do see her I make the most of it. She's a busy business woman after all and I know she'd like to see me. I just cherish the moments I do have with her and Andre and my own big bro. Being the middle boy means I got to juggle a lot of things. If you like maybe sometime I can try to call her up and you can talk with her about stuff. The world is a big place and it's wonderful. You just got to take what it throws at you and muscle through it. I hope that isn't making you more sad by the way I just...don't know really what else to say. For what it's worth though I'll be here for you. I am not sophisticated, I'm not the best man to ever walk the earth, and I can be vain, profane, and dirty but I am nothing but a friend to those who simply want someone to be there for them. So come on why not dry up those tears. Not because they don't need to come out but because you still got a lot to live for and a lot to discover besides your past you got your future. That should be enough to make anyone smile. Not everyone has a bright future and some people are out there suffering right now. But if it makes you feel better you can cry and cry a bit more and get it all out of you. But I want to see you smile not frown. It takes more muscles to smile than to frown you know. And if there is anyone who knows anything about smiles it's me and my friends." Ben said trying his best to comfort the girl. He still didn't think he was properly able to get out all of his thoughts in a cohesive and well spoken manner but he hoped they did their job. He meant every word of what he said and if he could he'd say more things to Tsukiko but...yeah that's just how things were. Whatever this girl had in her brain maybe it needed to stay hidden or maybe it will come out a blossom like a flower during spring sometime in the future. Who knew right? What right did Ben have to dictate anyone's thoughts? It was up to HER how things went in the future but at least he could be the cheer leader and make sure everything went towards the right direction.