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

[The Irish Tree]

Maisy listened as Hayate talked, nodding to show interest every so often. You know, for the school being on lockdown, there wasn't really much security or danger at all...unless Maisy just got lucky and reached the only safe place with a man who enjoyed flashing young girls and running away. Then the cards...oh lordy the cards. Looking over the cards appraisingly, Maisy started breaking into a nervous sweat. She had no fucking idea what any of these cards did. She didn't even understand how her OWN cards worked. Looking at Hayate's deck, Maisy sighed, defeated. "I...have no idea what I'm doing."she admitted, before quickly adding: "Don't get me wrong, I mean, a lot of these cards seem good, buuuut...I don't have much experience with deck building myself." as an explanation. Then she saw Vincent...hey, that guy was good at dueling things!

Quickly waving at him after handing all of Hayate's cards back, she called: "Hey Vincent! You got a minute?", hoping to ask him to help with the black haired girl's deck. And maybe even her own.

[The Red Seelie]

Vincent Gulfus

Vincent had come over to the group of people generally looking to talk to someone. It took a few moments or was it minutes, Vincent honestly couldn't keep track of the time currently. Either way The Hat wearing tomboy wanted his services, who was he to do anything but oblige and try to help. Opening his mouth he began to talk. "What do you need me to do?" He questioned as he looked at Maisy with curiosity in his eyes. His tongue silently clicking with slight boredom. How could the day get any worse? It was only uphill from here after all that had happened. Wondering, Vincent though about what he would actually be needed for, If it was help for a extra deck... He was going to be, oh so royally screwed.

Ignia Nosfera

Ignia whom had barely managed to stay successfully out of the sight of Vincent quickly ducked away. Speed walking to follow Ethel to were she went, It seemed Ignia wasn't in the mood to reintroduce herself back to her old friend. after all, people change. Ignia saw Ethel take the Elevator up, She didn't make it in but she did manage to observe the number the elevator stopped at. Ignia ran for the stairs up to floor 17. Panting heavily as she made her way in after exerting a ton of energy to run at a constant fast pace. Ignia noticed that Ethel still hadn't seen her. Ignia was kinda trash as a duelist compared to them. so she would never be much of a challenge but she can at least watch. Right. After all they are friends. That Ignia was 95% sure about. Making her way over Ignia stood to the side of Ethel and spoke up. "I-Is there any chance I could sit here Ethel" Ignia said her voice had a bit of shyness to it.

[Xeiyenreisha]

Shinrei had followed Ethel, but only since he wanted to return something that belonged to her that he had no use for. Besides, he wasn't known for using anyone else's power aside from his own. When he saw that black haired girl he had heard about earlier come into view he decided not to approach Ethel. He had no interest in introducing himself to a girl he didn't even know and she didn't look like someone who would interest him anyway. Ethel's deck said a lot about her which he could read from that one card he held in his hand still. He had taken it out previously and was about to get Ethel's attention only to have someone else get mixed into his business. Shinrei when it came to two people only wanted those two people in the room. He saw Ignia as an obstacle so he decided to just let her have her time with Ethel. It wasn't like he cared if the card got back to its owner anyway. He turned his cold eyes toward Ignia for a moment, "Do what you want. You aren't part of my business so I'll dismiss myself for now." He paused for a second as he had a more sincere look on his face when he turned toward Ethel. "I have something that belongs to you. Come find me at your earliest convenience. When you come, do not bring extra baggage with you such as her. She has nothing to do with what I want to talk to you about." He reminded Ethel as he turned the corner stepped in the elevator and disappeared out of sight. Even if she wanted to get in the elevator with him he was already long gone if she tried to reach the elevator.

'Why would she affiliate herself with nobodies?" He whispered to himself as he rode the elevator back down to the Card Shop. He gave a strong hmph as he slightly tilted his neck toward the left indicating he didn't really care either way. Wasn't his problem if her card never got back to her, but he wasn't about to hold onto something that made him feel guilty about not returning. As much as he wanted to drop it on the floor of the elevator, he couldn't. He shook his head as he pocketed card wondering what was preventing him from just getting rid of the card so he didn't have to drag people into his own problems.

[Joshua Tamashii]

"My deck... is my friend?" Amelia said, looking down at her cards. She supposed that made some sense. You needed your deck to get anywhere. Turning back to it, she looked at the cards again, but was still frowning. "I don't know... how to use them."

"That's no problem! I can help you!" Leander said, still smiling. Using his arms, Leander pushed himself off the bed into the air to land on his feet. As he landed, though, he felt a small pain in his stomach where he got stabbed earlier. Leander clutched his stomach as he bent over slightly and his face contorted into a grimace, but the pain was already quickly subsiding. Resuming his smiling demeanor, Leander turned towards Amelia and asked, "What do you want to know?"

"I... I don't know... how to play...really." Amelia said, her voice growing smaller and more hesitant as she spoke while her face grew a bit redder. She knew the basics of the game sure but she didn't understand how the individual cards worked together, which seemed to be important from all the duels she had seen such far.

"Hmm..." Leander wondered out loud. "Well, you do know how to play monsters, activate Trap and Spell cards, how to attack, the basic things, right?" Leander asked.

Amelia silently nodded in response.

"Good. That saves time," Leander said in approval. Then Leander extended an open palm toward Amelia and asked, "Now, could I see your deck? Maybe I can help you learn how to play it."

Amelia once again nodded before handing her deck over to Leander. Part of her was scared he would run away with her cards, but given how he seemed to be injured, she doubted he would get very far if he tried.

Leander took the deck and started to look at random cards by lifting up several cards at a time to view a card in the middle of the deck, repeating the motion a few more times before handing back the deck to Amelia. "I have no idea how to play your deck, so I'll just show you mine," Leander said matter-of-factly.

"How? By playing a game? Or just showing me?" Amelia asked, slightly curious. She hadn't seen anyone else's deck since her opponent's on their first day and her lack of knowledge on individual cards made her want to see more.

Leander's eyes widened, then looked up at the ceiling as if he were contemplating an idea, which he was. Then he looked back at Amelia and said, "Yeah, let's have a Duel. That's the best way to learn!"

"O-okay. But I'm... not that good." Amelia said, looking at the ground. She doubted she could win a game but if she could at least learn something, it might not be a total loss.

"Don't worry, it's not a real Duel. It's just for practice," Leander reassured her. Sitting back down on the bed he was lying on, Leander took out his deck and his extra deck and placed it on the table between the two beds. "Alright, I'll go first, cuz it's easier to explain that way. Is that ok?"" Leander said as he drew his first five cards.

Amelia nodded before she shuffled her deck and placed it down on the table before drawing her own hand. She also took out her Extra Deck and placed that on the table as well.

Time to Duel (and teach, sort of)

Turn 1: Leander
Leander: 4000 LP, 5 cards, 0 Mon, 0 S/T
Amelia: 4000 LP, 5 cards, 0 Mon, 0 S/T

"Ok, so I'll start by discarding a Zeradias, Herald of Heaven, which has an effect that lets me add a Field Spell called "The Sanctuary in the Sky" to my hand," Leander explained, searching through his deck and showing the card to Amelia before placing it on the field. "Field Spells do cool things for both players most of the time. In this case, players who battle with Fairy-type monsters don't take battle damage." Leander then took another card from his hand and showed it to Amelia, saying, "I can also discard this "Hecatrice" card from my hand to add a Spell card called "Valhalla, Hall of the Fallen" to my hand."
Leander again searched through his deck and placed it on the field. "This card lets me Special Summon a Fairy-type monster if I don't have any other monsters on my field, so I'll go ahead and Special Summon Nova Caller in Attack Position," Leander said, placing the monster on the field. "Nova Caller has the effect to let me Special Summon a 'Parshath' monster from my deck if 'The Sanctuary in the Sky' is on the field, but that monster's ATK and DEF drop to zero." Leander searched his deck yet again and placed Airknight Parshath on the field. "Finally, I can use these two monsters to perform a Synchro Summon," Leander said. "I would normally say some sort of awesome Summoning Chant, but I'll let it go this time." Leander took the two monsters on his field and placed them in the Graveyard, then took a Rising Knight Parshath from his extra deck and placed it on the field.

Leander then realized that he was supposed to be teaching Amelia. "So, did you get all of that?" Leander asked.

"Not really... it was a lot going on really quickly, but you just used a lot of effects to bring out a really big monster, right?" Amelia said, looking a little disheartened. She didn't think she could pull something off like Leander just had.

"More or less, yeah," Leander said. "Don't worry, though, it's very easy once you get the hang of it. I'm sure you and your deck can do stuff like what I just did too. Anyway, I'll end my turn here, and you can take your time learning how to use your deck."

Turn 2: Amelia
Leander: 4000 LP, 2 cards, 1 Mon, 1 S/T,1 Field
Amelia: 4000 LP, 6 cards, 0 Mon, 0 S/T

"Alright. I'm second, so I draw." Amelia said, drawing her card. She glanced at her hand and frowned before looking back up at Leander and the monster he had just summoned."Other then battle, is there anyway to get that monster off the field?" She asked.

"Uhh..." Leander thought out loud as he racked his brain. "You can use card effects to destroy my monster or something. There are many cards that can do that. You could also, like, use an effect to send it back to my hand, although since this is a Synchro monster, it would go to the Extra Deck instead."

Amelia nodded before looking at her hand again. She didn't seem to have alot of options with it. So, she would have to go with what she had.
"I set one monster and two face-downs. I'll end my turn with that." She said, placing the cards on the table.

Turn 3: Leander
Leander: 4000 LP, 3 cards, 1 Mon, 1 S/T,1 Field
Amelia: 4000 LP, 3 cards, 1 Mon, 2 S/T

"Alrighty then," Leander said as he drew a card from his deck. "I'll have my Rising Knight Parshath attack that face-down monster of yours."

Amelia flipped the monster face-up. It was Kamui, Hope of Gusto.
"It says 'Flip', so, I guess I can use his effect now?" She asked.

Leander took a look at the monster, and confirmed that it indeed said Flip. "Yup," Leander said. "So, search your deck for a... ''Gusto' Tuner monster'."

Amelia didn't need telling twice. She looked through her deck and placed Gusto Falco on the field in Defence position before moving Kamui to the grave.

"Also, my Rising Knight Parshath monster deals piercing damage, which means that even if your monster was in Defense position, as long as the DEF was lower than my monster's ATK, you take damage," Leander explained.

"So, since Kamui's DEF is 1000, I take... 1100 points of damage?" Amelia asked.

"I.... think so. I'm not great at math," Leander confessed, chuckling. "I just let the Duel Disks do that for me."

"Oh," Amelia said before double checking the math in her head. "Yeah, it's 1100. So I'm down to 2900. Anything else for your turn?"

"Hmm..." Leander thought out loud as he stared at his hand. "Oh yeah, I nearly forgot. When Rising Knight Parshath deals damage, I get to draw 1 card." Leander drew a card, then went back to examining his hand. "I'll put one monster face-down and place one card face-down. Yeah, that's it," Leander ended.

Turn 4: Amelia
Leander: 4000 LP, 2 cards, 2 Mon, 2 S/T,1 Field
Amelia: 2900 LP, 4 cards, 1 Mon, 2 S/T

"I draw." Amelia said, examining her hand again. She tried to recall what was being taught in class about Synchro monsters before it had been interrupted. After a few seconds, she made her move."I Summon Musto, Oracle of Gusto to my field. Then, I'll tune Falco with Musto to Synchro Summon Daigusto Sphreez." She said before taking the two cards off her field, she took the monster from her extra deck and placed it on her field in Attack Position. "When I summon Sphreez, I can take one Gusto Monster from my Graveyard and add it to my hand. So I'll add Kamui back to my hand."

Glancing at the field, she measured her options. she knew face-down spells were bad, so she would have to take a slight risk.
"I activate Contact with Gusto. With this spell, I return Falco and Musto to the deck and destroy your face down spell... or trap." She said, returning the two monsters to her deck and shuffling it.

Leander picked up his face-down card and looked at it, wondering whether or not he should use it, then decided it wasn't worth the bother and placed it in the Graveyard, revealing it to be Dark Bribe. "Not a bad move, there," Leander commented. "Good thing it wasn't anything too important, though."

Amelia's face turned a bit red at the compliment.
"Thanks." she said, her tone lower then before. "Uumm... I'll have Sphreez attack your face-down monster now."

Leander picked up his face-down card and placed it in the Graveyard, revealing it to be Nova Summoner. "When Nova Summoner is destroyed and Sanctuary in the Sky is on the field, I can Special Summon an Airknight Parshath from my deck," Leander said happily, taking out that monster and placing it on the field in Attack position.

"I end my turn." Amelia said.

Turn 5: Leander
Leander: 4000 LP, 2 cards, 2 Mon, 2 S/T,1 Field
Amelia: 2900 LP, 4 cards, 1 Mon, 2 S/T

Leander drew his next card and stared at Sphreez, thinking long and hard about how to destroy it. The more he thought, the more that something was nagging in his mind. At first, he didn't know what it was, but then the realization hit him. Leander didn't have any cards that destroyed things by card effects. Leander placed his face onto his hand and started laughing.

Amelia's expression turn to one of confusion.
"What's so funny?" She asked

Leander had to calm down a bit before he could respond. "Your Daigusto Sphreez is the one card that completely ruins my deck," Leander explains. "I don't have anything that can destroy Sphreez, so you've basically won."

"I don't understand. She can't be destroyed by battle, but you can still damage me, right?" She said. She had only placed Sphreez in attack mode because that was the higher stat and she would take less damage then.

"No no, take another look at the effect there," Leander said, pointing at the card. "If I attack, I would take the damage you would have taken."

"But she's a Daigusto, not a Gusto." Amelia said

"As long as the word 'Gusto' is in the name, even if it says 'Daigusto' or something, it's all the same," Leander explained.

"Oh. So, if you attacked her, you would take 100 points of damage instead of me. And I could attack you and use her effect until you ran out of Life Points, I guess." She said

"Yeah, that's basically what'll happen if this goes on," Leander said. "I normally don't like to do this, but I'd much rather speed things up." Leander raised his hands in the air and said, "So, I give up. You win."

"Don't you have to place your hand on top of your deck?" Amelia asked, knowing the formality.

"I think so, yeah, but I don't really care about doing that myself," Leander answered. "I think the Duel Disk senses that or something, and that's why people do it. I'm not really sure. Either way, I just give up." Leander gathered his cards back into his deck, then extended a hand to Amelia for a handshake. "Good game," Leander said.

Amelia looked at Leander's hand for a second before giving him a shy smile and shaking it.
"Thank you." She said.

[Xeiyenreisha]

With her cards fanned out, Tsukiko continued to reflect on her past and how much the card Void Dragon was a huge part of it. At that time it wasn't in her hands and was her brother's card, but she could feel its influence flowing out of her brother. She could feel what felt like a mist creep out of the card when her brother held surrounding him what looked like a dark purple aura. She questioned toward herself as she placed her index finger which she extended into a a straight as an arrow line against her moist lips. The thought was such a sour taste which was hard to savor. Not only that, it was hard for her to swallow that her past was the way it was no matter how much she hated or wanted it to be changed. During the duel with Vincent, she could feel a force that suffocated just like the one she felt in the morning after she woke up from her bad night with Angelo. She wondered if that force was responsible for how she was acting today. After the card was banished she was finally baptized by fire where it didn't feel like a noose was around her neck anymore.

She ran her hand and fingers gently across the surface of each one of her cards. Sure it wouldn't really do anything to them or cause anything different about them, but that's how much she valued the deck that was presented to her. She remembered she came there to do one thing and she let some force detour her away from the goal she was going to accomplish. Her greatest burden was that her past haunted her like a ghost or a nasty nightmare that wouldn't go away. Perhaps Vincent was meant to become her dream-catcher and drive those terrible dreams away from her. Turning her index finger into a ninety degree angle it was now positioned in a horizontal position which was positioned between the position of both her lips right in the center gently caressing her lips. She slightly slid the smooth surface of her skin across her lip as she then turned her finger back into a vertical position positioned upward. It was obvious by her gestures that she was thinking deeply about what happened when she dueled Vincent and how much that boy she met earlier had affected her personality.

As much as she didn't want to stand up and thank Vincent for what he did earlier, it wasn't in her nature not to do so. She wasn't quite sure how to see Vincent. He seemed gentle but also had that ferocious attitude that her brother displayed. Of course, unlike her Shinrei would know the weakness inside Vincent's deck being that he is from the professional caliber. That's probably why her brother had no respect for Vincent either, because he won't recognize how pathetic he really is. She saw how strong he was, but she knew her brother would still refuse to acknowledge him, because when it came to tournaments, people would exploit your weaknesses and crush you. "He's weak, Tsukiko. That deck of his could easily be exploited. Do not trust someone who is so conceited that they refuse to acknowledge that they are only fooling themselves." A voice inside her head said which sounded like her except it didn't sound very friendly. In fact the voice sounded very wicked and somewhat distorted making it hard to understand what it was saying but she managed. When she interpreted its words she was under the impression that it didn't want her to trust Vincent at all. From what she saw he wasn't that bad of a person and the only way she could know his true intentions was if she allowed him to get closer to her. She wondered if her mind created a duplicate version of how she acted during Vincent's duel. She was ruthless not allowing Vincent to intimidate her. The only reason she collapsed was most likely due to the reason that she was under the influence of possession.

Tsukiko touched the card where she was immediately transported to a hospital room which had a silver haired woman lying in bed. She saw her brother sitting in a chair right beside this woman who was currently still asleep. She wasn't quite sure what was going on since she was struck by surprise to see a woman who looked exactly like her mother. She then saw what looked like herself, but what she wore was well not something she would wear in public that's for sure and too embarrassing for her to explain. "The world killed your mother. They killed your mother. Your brother didn't care. This world is weak. That's the problem." The girl with silver hair said toward Tsukiko as she showed her that monitor showed her mother's pulse was a straight line meaning she was gone. Tsukiko wanted to know why this person was showing her this? "Are you a personification of myself from Void Dragon?" Tsukiko asked only to have the girl laugh hysterically. "You still don't understand, do you? Hah, how such a lonely pathetic girl as yourself still exists I don't know. You're pathetic so why don't you just cease to exist!" The girl said with fire burning in her eyes as her anger exploded like a raging volcano spilling its ashes onto her affecting the way she perceived the situation which made a little scared. "You and I are one and the same. You created me to vent all your anger and hatred toward. Why should I have to live with your dramatic midlife crisis bullshit while you get to stand atop the mountain? Your sweet girl attitude makes me sick to my stomach. I want to puke all over your grace."

"It's simple, I should be Queen. I was until that damn chaos moron threw a monkey wrench into my plan. Eventually I will crush that fool into the foundation of his own existence. Though you're wrong, I've been around since your father abusing you using you as a test subject. You were most interesting as a crash dummy for his duel experiments." The girl said ferociously breathing her flames onto Tsukiko as she was hinting toward Vincent freeing her from the force of her card earlier or was that what she was hinting at? That wasn't the case when she brought up Tsukiko's father not treating his daughter like a normal father would. "Fine, I'll allow you to use my influence, but if you prove that you're not worthy of the throne. I will dethrone you in the blink of an eye. But always remember, I will remain no matter how much you urge for my nonexistence. You created me after all."

Tsukiko immediately jumped out of her chair when she came to again. She felt like she had just had a really bad nightmare which made her feel a little under the weather. She felt a slight sharp pain in her head where she pressed her fingers against her forehead. It had felt like someone has just poked her with a nail. The pain subsided though she still wasn't feeling the greatest and looked slightly pale white as she approached Vincent after standing up from her chair fanning her cards together and returning them back into her duel disk. Tsukiko approached Vincent as he was helping Hayate with her deck saying, "I still don't know why I feel this way when I'm around you. I don't know whether to say it's scary or relieving. I don't exactly know what happened to me back there or why I acted the way I did today. Everything is just one big blur to me. I still don't know who I am. I still don't know what I stand for. But I want you to thank you for removing the veil of darkness that was clouding my perception. I don't know whether that was me or not. I still have a lot of questions about myself that I would like answered. I want you to help me search for the light inside myself that I have lost sight of. If it's not too much trouble. Give me your response whenever you feel. It's not like I'll be going anywhere anytime soon." Tsukiko concluded her words toward Vincent as she would now make her way toward the elevator unless Vincent wanted to say something to her. Piecing together the mysteries of what happened today and how it affected her character would take time. It wasn't something that was going to be solved overnight, that's for sure.

[The Irish Tree]

Maisy smiled and pointed at Hayate's duel disk and her cards. "She needs some help improving her deck, and I figured who'd be better to ask than the Day Two Wiz Kid?" she explained with a smile, wondering herself the secrets of how exactly one builds a deck to be...well...not crap. Because right now, Maisy had crap. "Like...she has Blue-Eyes Cards, so I don't know if any of these will mesh very well...what do you think?" she asked, before looking to Hayate. "If you wanna test it out afterwards, I have nothing planned. It'd be fun." Maisy was legitimately glad that she wasn't the only student wandering around...things were boring after all that. All she did was jot down notes on math problems and get flashed.

When the familiar silver-haired-lady-with-a-chip-on-her-shoulder came over and...oh wow she looked terrible. Well, it wasn't like she was UGLY, more like she looked like she just lost a lot of color...or sleep. Somewhat concerned, and standing right next to Vincent, she listened intently to Tsukiko's words.

...Did she have a crush on Vincent?
Smiling smugly, she discretely wrote VincentxTsukiko OTP in the margin of her notes, before hurriedly putting them away before anybody could see. She'd have to look into this later...or actually help Tsukiko with her problems. Either way, it was a win-maybe-win situation. All that junk about finding the light inside herself and wanting Vincent's help...if that wasn't a dramatic way of asking someone out, Maisy didn't know what was. Maybe something involving scattering leaves and a boombox outside of someone's house at midnight would be moreso...but whatever. Maisy had her shipping material now. She just needed to find the stamps.

[Ammokkx]

Ethel sat with her legs crossed in one of the audience seats as she scouted the duels in progress. She was very disappointed in the sight, with all duelists being either Wind or Earth, and not even a shred of skill to be noticed. How very droll. It was surprising enough the arena had activity, but she had a hunch. 'I'm supposed to improve around these bumbling idiots?' she thought to herself. The girl would have left, had it not been for a surprising voice coming out of the left corner. "I-Is there any chance I could sit here, Ethel?" Ignia had asked from next to her, which Ethel turned her head to. "...Sure." she answered, figuring it'd be more fun to watch with someone rather than alone. If nothing else, she had to show Ignia what not to do as much as what she did need to do. And spectating some rookies was the first step to that.

The fleeting moment of some calm with her, admittedly only, friend didn't last very long. A hostile aura entered the room as a silver-haired individual decided to take his sweet time strolling over. When they arrived, they had a few things to share. The first comment wasn't directed at Ethel and mostly flew over her head, but the second she paid more attention to. With a strong opener like "I have something that belongs to you", how could she not? Though Shinrei's tone wasn't pleasant. All he did was basically say 'Come find me' and insulting her friend while he was at it, which earned him Ethel's scorn. "Fine. Treat her like trash. I'll give you that honor too." she commented, keeping it as brief as possible. She wanted whatever Shinrei had back, sure. But not with that tone off his, and not now. He walked off before Ethel could really do much, anyway. "Ignore him." she said to Ignia, focusing her gaze back down to the arena. "He's full of himself." Ethel added, trying to be somewhat comforting... Though admittedly, that wasn't something the girl was used to.

---

Ever seen those moments in some kind of animated series where a character is drawn in pure white, to show pure schock? Dissapointment? Something of that like? Well, imagine that happening to Haas right now and you'll get pretty much how he feels. The poor boy was outright ignored on the stairwell by Joshua, and wordlessly watched them descend down to the card shop. "Thanks, Asshole!" they yelled back when the guy was out of earshot, sighing. Man, that actually felt bad. Cursing. Maybe something Haas shouldn't do too often from now on. They ruffled one hand through their hair, trying to think of what to do now. He could do some exercise, but his spare clothes are in the dorms still. Going down anywhere else... Well, honestly? The guy just didn't feel like it. "Ah, what to do...?" he asked himself, pulling out the D-ceiver and scrolling around for just about anything to do.

It was about 11:22, so a little more than half an hour before lunch. There wasn't much to do, and he had forgotten to register pretty much... Anyone in the friends list. "Well, this sucks." they commented bluntly, wheezing. His energy was leaving again, and honestly, it was a bad day. After a minute or two of being the Grinch, Haas settled on going down to the dorms to take a nap. Couldn't hurt, right? Well, that's what the boy figured anyway. Pocketing his red D-Ceiver, he shot another glance at the stairwell to confirm nobody being there. After that, he casually strolled down the stairs one by one, not in any rush to reach the dorms. Eventually he reached the destination, exiting the stairwell and following the brown lines to his dorm hall. "Might be somebody around, I guess..." he mumbled whilst walking, honestly wishing to run into just about anyone to relieve the boredom.

[Jangel13]

Angelo soon sighed feeling so much better after being in the pool for a while to just swim and relax in the cool water. Angelo had to remember that yes he was loosing but that only meant that he needed to get better with his cards and to do that he needed to duel more and get new cards that will help him. Ironic that the only way he can make sure to win is to loose again. Angelo had to get out of this funk he was in and start winning some duels he had to find a way to get back on his feet. Even just winning once will be enough for Angelo to go through anything if he knows he can win then it will boost his confidence in his cards.

Angelo got out of the pool and dried off with his towel before going back into the elevator so he could change back into his uniform and get ready for lunch then the next class. Angelo wanted to see about making his duel runner from scratch again so that way he will have something to focus on other then winning. When Angelo was working on his runner it was like nothing else mattered...

[EviiPaladin]

Pre-Duel

Brad looked at Nathaniel, his brow furrowed. Why would they duel here and now? Especially when the thought of dueling Nathaniel filled Brad with this feeling of defeat.

The realization hit like a bolt of lightning. Against people like that lady who attacked the security, losing wouldn't be an option. Through whatever bizarre hocus pocus mumbo jumbo they used, they could hurt people through the game. If Brad was to stand a chance of surviving against someone like that, he had to get better. Practice makes progress.

"Okay," he stated, flicking on his own Duel Disk.

"Duel!"

An Out-Of-This-World Performance!! Worms vs Perfomapals!

Turn 1: Brad
Brad: 4000 LP, 5 cards
Nathaniel: 4000 LP, 5 cards

As Brad drew his cards, he saw only one option. At least, for now. "Main Phase 1. I set one monstah an' one more card." Hardly a gamewinning play but not every play had to be a touchdown. Sometimes inching towards the first down was more reasonable. "I end ma turn."

Turn 1: Brad End
Cards in Hand: 3
Monsters: 1 Set
S/T: 1 Set

Turn 2: Nathaniel

"Draw!"

Nathaniel took a moment to analyze his hand before putting down a monster.

"Please welcome Performapal Spikeagle to the field!"

Performapal Spikeagle: Level 2, 900 ATK

A brown eagle with spiked wings and sunglasses appeared beside Nathaniel, although the Attack Points showing up on the Duel Disk indicated that it wasn't very strong. Nathaniel would be the first to admit that it probably wasn't going to do a lot by itself, but he needed something to stir the waters a bit.

"Spikeagle has a poignant ability. I can target one monster I control, and that monster can inflict piercing battle damage this turn. This, of course, includes itself. Now go, Spikeagle! Give us a show!"

Performapal Spikeagle did a loop in the air before diving down onto Brad's facedown monster, which revealed itself to be Worm Cartaros. The pink alien thing stood no chance with its defenses, and shattered under the force of Spikeagle's admittedly weak attack.

Worm Cartaros: Level 4, 500 DEF

Brad LP: 4000->3600

As the stray pixels of the deceased Worm scattered near Brad's face, he flinched. But once he realized there was no pain, he visibly relaxed. For a moment, the former footballer sort of just looked at the board before realizing there was something he was supposed to do.

"I activate tha effect of Worm Cartaros. When they are flipped, I can add one Level 4 or lowah Worm ta ma hand." As he placed his hand near his deck, one card pushed out into his grip. "I choose ta add Worm Xex ta ma hand."

Worms, eh? Don't think I've seen these guys before.

Despite his caution, Nathaniel still cannot help but feel good about his chances for some reason. He had no idea why, but he put that aside for now.

"I'll then set two cards and end my turn!" He said as the images of the card backs appeared behind Spikeagle.

Turn 2: Nathaniel End
4000 LP
Hand: 3
Monsters: Performapal Spikeagle (Level 2, 900 ATK)
S/T: 2 Set

Turn 3: Brad

"Draw." Brad quickly glanced at the newest addition to his hand. Useful later, probably, but he already knew what he was going to do this turn.

"Main Phase 1. I summon Worm Xex in Attack Mode." A bizarre circular creature rose out of the ground, covered in a bright green slime. The teeth moved rhytmically in time with the soft purring it made.

Worm Xex: Level 4, 1800 ATK

"Worm Xex has an effect that activates when I Normal Summon it. I can send any Worm monster from ma deck to ma graveyard. I choose ta send Worm Yagan." The mouth opened wide as the ghostly image of a Y-shaped rainbow-coloured creature burst into pixels.

Brad wasn't finished yet. "Next, I activate tha effect of Worm Yagan. While tha only monstah I control is Worm Xex, I can Special Summon Yagan face-down." Yagan once again appeared, this time crawling out of Xex's mouth before being hidden beneath a card back.

"Battle Phase. Worm Xex, take out Spikeagle." The alien creature seemed to dissolve into the ground only to appear beneath the dressy avian. With surprising quickness, it shot off the ground, wrapping its mouth around the feet of its prey, before devouring it whole.

Nathaniel LP: 4000 -> 3100

Nathaniel cringed as he witnessed Spikeagle's demise. These things were pretty disgusting and vicious, which was totally not what he was used to. Still, it was probably a learning experience, no matter how cringeworthy.

"Main Phase 2. I set one more card face-down an' end ma turn." Brad was beginning to feel something dangerously close to confidence in this duel. What on earth had he been fearing from the little guy? If Nathaniel's deck was anything like that funny-looking bird he had played, Brad definitely stood a chance.

Turn 3: Brad End
3600 LP
Hand: 3
Monsters: Worm Xex (Level 4, 1800 ATK), Set [Worm Yagan (Level 4, 1800 DEF)]
S/T: 2 Set

Turn 4: Nathaniel

"My turn! Draw!"

Looking over his hand, Nathaniel figured there really wasn't much he could do here. Although maybe there was one thing he could try.

"Alright, let's give a warm applause for Performapal Secondonkey!"

In a flash of light appeared on the field a little purple donkey in a top hat and a bowtie. Despite having hooves and no fingers, it reached up and raised the little hat on its head before returning to all-fours.

Performapal Secondonkey: Level 4, 1000 ATK

"Now Secondonkey gets to show us what it has in store. When it gets Normal Summoned or Special Summoned to the field, I can send one Performapal monster in my Deck to the Graveyard. I'll have Performapal Whip Snake bow out."

The image of Performapal Whip Snake appeared in the air above the field before disappearing in a puff of confetti.

"That's it for this turn."

Turn 4: Nathaniel End
3100 LP
Hand: 3
Monsters: Performapal Secondonkey (Level 4, 1000 ATK)
S/T: 2 Set

Turn 5: Brad

"Draw." Brad looked at the goofy looking monster on the opponent's side of the field. Had his intuition been that far off? After all, Nathaniel was a fellow Earth Dorm student. Taking a moment to check the effect of Whip Viper, he suddenly felt less sure of himself. That thing would play havoc with his deck, given half a chance. So, naturally, he would have to not give it that chance.

"Main Phase 1. I flip ma Worm Yagan inta face-up Attack Mode." Yagan revealed itself, in all of its slimey glory, rather than a far less creepy silhouette.

Worm Yagan: Level 4, 1000 ATK

"When Worm Yagan is flipped face-up, I pick one face-up monstah ya control an' send it back ta ya han'. I choose ya Secondonkeh." The top purple hair-like tentacles wriggled eerily at Secondonkey, who decided he didn't much care for this weird thing and returned to Nathaniel's hand.

With that out of the way, Brad found himself at a crossroads. There was a few paths to take, frought with many risks. Maybe he wouldn't put all of his eggs in one basket, but nothing wrong with putting most of them in one. "Conqueror of infinite galaxies, I pay ya tribute!" Brad's declaration grew in volume as Worm Yagan exploded into pixels. "Tribute Summon... Lend me ya strength! Worm King!"

Worm King: Level 7, 2700 ATK

As the golden behemoth let loose a roar, Brad smiled. So far, every time he had summoned Worm King, he had won shortly thereafter. Of course, that sample size being one duel wasn't what crossed his mind.

Oh boy... Nathaniel twitched a little. That was certainly a big monster. Not even Performapal Elephammer had the Attack Points to take that beast on. He was going to have to rely on some of his other Performapals if he wanted to take it out. That is, if he even manages to live that long.

"Worm King requires a tribute to ensure victoreh... I offer Worm Xex in tribute ta Worm King. By doin' so, Worm King'll destroy a card ya control. Blast away tha left-most card!" The gaping mouth looked frightened before being flatened by Worm King's fist, transforming into a pale yellow light. Feeding it to the lower mouth, a shooting beam of light shot forth towards Nathaniel's set card.

Nathaniel covered his face as his set card was blown away by Worm King's beam, revealing itself to be Jar of Avarice before shattering into pieces.

"Next, I activate ma Spell card: Mystical Space Typhoon!" The green card appeared in front of Brad, who did, in fact, appreciate the irony of this particular moment. "It lets me destroy one Spell or Trap card on tha field. I destroy ya last face-down card!"

Once again, Nathaniel had to shield himself from the force of the winds as the last of his defences revealed itself to be Counterforce before being blown away.

Looking at what he destroyed, Brad frowned. If he had simply attacked with both Xex and King, he would've won. But that was not a realistic expectation to go forward with. Any number of cards would've set him back his strongest card. No, it was better to leave Nathaniel with a smidgen of life points and keep King safe than gamble it all. "Battle Phase. Worm King, show ya strength! Conqueror's Charge!" The alien monstrosity howled before leaping forward, throwing out a hail of blows at Nathaniel.

Nathaniel gritted his teeth as Worm King charged forward. It was a survivable blow, but a small breeze would be enough to topple Nathaniel afterward. No, he had to play it safe.

"When my opponent declares a direct attack, I can activate the effect of Swift Scarecrow! By sending this card from my hand to the Graveyard, I can negate your attack and end the Battle Phase!"

As Nathaniel slid the card into the Graveyard slot of his Duel Disk, the metallic scarecrow suddenly appeared in front of Nathaniel. It stood unyielding, shielding him from Worm King's barrage before disappearing once more.

Brad almost breathed a sigh of relief. Even if the attacks weren't real, there was something that unsettled him about watching Worm King attack a classmate so viciously. "With that, I end ma turn." Brad couldn't help himself from smiling. "Now let's see ya get past ma King."

Turn 5: Brad End
3600 LP
Hand: 3
Monsters: Worm King (Level 7, 2600 ATK)
S/T: 1 Set

Turn 6: Nathaniel

"Oh don't worry. The fun's just getting started. Draw!"

Nathaniel drew his card and silently kicked himself for accidently using someone else's catch phrase. Still, things were about to get interesting. Maybe.

"I'll begin this turn by bringing Performapal Friendonkey out to the field!"

A blue donkey with white legs slowly trotted its way onto the field. Much like Secondonkey before it, it had on a small top hat and a spotted bowtie. Unlike Secondonkey however, it also had a pink box with a star strapped to its side. It also had on the biggest smug grin in possibly Duel Monster's history.

Performapal Friendonkey: Level 3, 1600 ATK

"And when it's summoned to the field, it brings with it a surprise. Let's see what we have here."

Nathaniel waved his hands in the air and the pink box strapped to Friendonkey blew open, as out popped Performapal Whip Snake amidst a shower of confetti.

Performapal Whip Snake: Level 4: 1700 ATK

"Of course, Whip Snake has its own surprise as well! Once per turn, I can target one monster on the field and switch its current Attack and Defense Points. Let's see what Worm King's hiding behind those 2700 Attack Points."

Whip Snake slid its way to the middle of the field and began to wiggle its little dance. Soon, Worm King began to slouch as its ATK was brought low.

Worm King: 2700 ATK->1100 ATK

"Now for the moment we've all been waiting for! Let's get this show on the road! Performapal Friendonkey attacks Worm King!"

Friendonkey made no hurry to charge Worm King, but instead took its leisurely time getting there before hitting its opponent with a headbutt.

Brad LP: 3600->3100

"And now Performapal Whip Snake attacks you directly"

Whip Snake quickly made its way to Brad, or at least comparatively quicker than Friendonkey, and smacked Brad with the end of its tail.

Brad LP: 3100->1400

Brad groaned, less from non-existant pain and more from very existant embarrassment. He had played straight into Nathaniel's game plan and even bragged about it. Now his opponent had control of the field, dismantling Brad's strongest card in the process. He at least took solace in the fact that he had felt this coming.

"Now I'll just set a card facedown and leave the stage to you.

Turn 6: Nathaniel End
3100 LP
Hand: 2
Monsters: Performapal Friendonkey (Level 3, 1600 ATK), Performapal Whip Snake (Level 4, 1700 ATK)
S/T: 1 Set

Turn 7: Brad

"Draw." A strong card... that meant nothing in the face of that snake. That such an adorable creature would cause so much chaos in Brad's deck filled him with annoyance. No doubt the point of that card. "Main Phase 1. I summon Des Feral Imp in Attack Mode." The scaley imp jumped up from a previously non-existant crack in the floor, a maniacal grin playing on its lipless face.

Des Feral Imp: Level 4, 1600 ATK

"Battle Phase." Brad paused for a moment to ponder if Nathaniel saw this as a bluff or an actual move. Only one way to find out. "Des Feral Imp, attack his Whip Viper."

Nathaniel could not help but grin as Brad summoned Des Feral Imp. It had a sizable 1600 ATK, but it was not getting past either of Nathaniel's monsters without destroying itself in the process. But then Brad declared an attack and Nathaniel could help but look on in cautious confusion. Brad may be an Earth Dorm student and a bit of a meathead, but his moves so far seem pretty intelligent and calculated. He had previously taken care to destroy all of Nathaniel's visible defenses before proceeding with an attack instead of trying to end the game on the spot, so such a suicidal play probably had more to it than it seemed. Still, it was the Battle Phase, which meant Whip Snake could not activate its effect. There was nothing Nathaniel could do.

Judging by the confused look on Nathaniel's face being his sole reaction to the attack declaration, Brad swung his arm out. "I activate ma face-down... Forbidden Dress!" As Des Feral Imp charged towards his slippery foe, a glittering white dress rocketed past him, to clothe Whip Viper. "Forbidden Dress makes one monstah on tha field immune to targetin' an' destruction by card effects. Howevah..." Just as Whip Viper was getting comfortable in the fabric, its eyes widened as it shrunk to fit the clothing. "It also reduces their ATK bah 600!"

Whip Viper: 1700ATK->1100ATK

Des Feral Imp leaped up before the purple snake before slamming a fist down, crushing Whip Viper.

Nathaniel LP: 3100->2600

"Main Phase 2." Brad looked at his hand, trying to start thinking ahead. He had begun turning the tables in his favour but was far from victory. "I set one card face-down an' end ma turn."

Turn 7: Brad End
1400 LP
Hand: 2
Monsters: Des Feral Imp (Level 4, 1600 ATK)
S/T: 1 Set

Turn 8: Nathaniel

Nathaniel frowned as Whip Snake was destroyed. If Nathaniel had to choose, Whip Snake was probably one of best cards. Although looking at the field, all Nathaniel needed was one final push. He has Brad on the ropes. Now he just needs to... tighten them? Swing from them? Look, he feels confident.

"My turn! Draw!"

Taking a look at the card he drew, he immediately slapped it onto his Duel Disk.

"I Normal Summon Performapal Sword Fish to the field!"

A virtual hole begin to open up from the ground as a blue fish popped out of the ground. It was wearing sunglasses and had a pompadour that was sharp as razors, hence the name. It also looked quite angry.

Performapal Sword Fish: Level 2, 600 ATK

"Now watch as Sword Fish works its magic... and makes 600 of Des Feral Imp's Attack Points disappear!"

On command, Sword Fish stabbed itself into Des Feral Imp, who leaped into the air and ran around the field as it tried to pull Sword Fish out of its butt.

Des Feral Imp: 1600->1000 ATK

"Battle Phase! Performapal Friendonkey attacks Des Feral Imp!"

Just as last time, Friendonkey slowly made its way to Des Feral Imp, and slammed its head against the monster.

Brad LP: 1400->800

"And Sword Fish then attacks you directly!"

Now freed from its previous victim, Sword Fish turned its sights on Brad. Its eyes narrowed, although it was had to see behind the shades, and it angrily charged at Brad, hair first.

Brad LP: 800->200

Nathaniel was feeling pretty smug right about now. It wasn't usually in his nature, as his self-esteem wasn't tyically very high. But something about this Duel just made Nathaniel feel very confident that he was going to win.

"I'll end my turn here. Good luck!"

Turn 8: Nathaniel End
LP: 2600
Hand: 2
Monsters: Performapal Friendonkey (Level 3, 1600 ATK), Performapal Sword Fish (Level 2, 600 ATK)
S/T: 1 Set

Turn 9: Brad

Brad took a moment to reflect. It seemed almost comical to think he had thought he had been close to victory this duel. As he looked over at Nathaniel, in all of his tiny smug glory, he had to admit it was clear that the two were in entirely different classes despite being in the same dorm.

That being said, it wasn't in Brad's nature to give up. Giving up led to stagnancy and if there was the chance that his life would be on the line in the future, he couldn't risk that. "I guess I'll have ta pull out all tha stops ta match ya, huh?" Brad chuckled. "Well, then I bettah get ta it. Draw."

Looking at the drawn card, he shook his head. Not useful right now and there wasn't much point trying to plan ahead at this point. It would be best to just give it his all now then try and wait it out, since that Swordfish would only become more and more troublesome as time goes by.

"Main Phase 1. I summon Worm Tentacles in Attack Mode." A yellow squid appeared before Brad, wiggling its namesakes in a part menacingly, part seductively manner.

Worm Tentacle: Level 4, 1700 ATK

"Worm Tentacles can banish a Worm monstah from ma graveyard to make a second attack durin' ma Battle Phase." A brief ghostly afterimage of Worm Xex appeared before being devoured by Worm Tentacles, who grew extra tentacles on its other tentacles, now more appendage than squid.

"Battle Phase. Worm Tentacles, attack Sword Fish." The creature lashed out, wrapping up the angry fish in a dozen noodly wriggling arms before devouring it.

Nathaniel LP: 2600->1500

"Time for tha feedin' frenzeh. Worm Tentacles, destroy Friendonkeh." Once more, an assault of epic wiggling proportions claimed another victim on Nathaniel's field.

Nathaniel LP: 1500->1400

Brad let a small smile grow on his lips. He was on the verge of defeat but he was pulling Nathaniel down to his level. If he could survive another turn, he might actually turn it around. "With that, I end ma turn." He couldn't help but wonder what new trick Nathaniel would pull out next. Regardless of the outcome of the duel, Brad felt like he learned something. And, truth be told, that was what he had hoped to gain from this duel.

Turn 9: Brad End
200 LP
Hand: 2
Monsters: Worm Tentacles (Level 4, 1700 ATK)
S/T: 1 Set

Turn 10: Nathaniel

Nathaniel could not help but smile. This Duel had been nothing but back-and-forth, each turn player wrestling the field advantage away from the other player before losing again the next turn. It was just like in his Duel with Megan. If the school hadn't been under attack from a bunch of hooded maniacs, Nathaniel might have genuinely enjoyed his time her. Regardless, he was going to enjoy this Duel, right down to the finish.

"My turn! Draw!"

Looking at the card he drew, Nathaniel smiled. This last turn will decide it.

"Now get ready for our show's final performance! And it begins with Performapal Sword Fish!"

A second copy of Performapal Sword Fish dug its way to the field again, this one just as angry as the last.

Performapal Sword Fish: Level 2, 600 ATK

"I'm sure we all remember Performapal Sword Fish's effect. When it gets Normal Summoned to the field, all monsters my opponent controls lose 600 Attack Points."

Sword Fish charged again at Brad's monster, this time lodging itself right in Worm Tentacle's giant yellow noggin. It flailed its tentacles in an attempt to lose the fish, to no avail.

Worm Tentacles: 1700->1100 ATK

"But this performance isn't going to be a solo. It's going to be a duo! When a Performapal monster is summoned to my side of the field, I can Special Summon Performapal Helpprincess!"

A swirl of confetti apeared on the field, and out came a girl dressed in purple with a big staff. She gave a wink to Brad before raising her hand-staff high.

Performapal Helpprincess: Level 4, 1200 ATK

"And when a Performapal is Special Summoned to my field, Sword Fish gets to decrease my opponent's monsters' attack even further!"

Helpprincess raised her staff high, and gave Sword Fish a big hand by slamming it down onto Sword Fish like a hammer to a nail, burying it in Worm Tentacle's head even further, which caused it to flail even more wildly.

Worm Tentacles: 1100->500 ATK

"Now it's time for your final bow! Performapal Helpprincess attacks Worm Tentacles!"

On Nathaniel's command, Helpprincess raised her staff high once again, and gave Worm Tentacles a great big slap across its huge yellow face.

Brad couldn't help but chuckle as the blow landed on his only remaining monster. "Hey, Nathaniel. Ya know what a turnovah is?"

Nathaniel looked at Brad quizically. "A turnover? You mean like an upset?"

Brad nodded. "In football, it's an upset but tha only way a turnovah can happen is when ya opponent makes a mistake. Like right now. Trap card activate! Lumenize!" The set card on Brad's side revealed itself. "I can negate one attack ya declare an' give a LIGHT monstah I control ATK equal ta tha ATK that I negated."

Helpprincess was knocked back as an intense light envelopped Tentacles. As it faded, the tentacles had formed a tall, humanoid body, posing menacingly as it glared at its former assailant.

Worm Tentacles: 500 ATK->1700 ATK

"Ouch... That sucks." Nathaniel had a pained look on his face as he saw that his big finish was ruined... before proceeding to turn that frown right upside down. "Just kidding! I have my own Trap Card: Seven Tools of the Bandit!"

Nathaniel's own Set card flipped itself face-up, revealing a pink card with an image of a swiss army knife.

"I can activate this card by paying 1000 Life Points. Then I can negate the activation of my opponent's Trap Card and destroy it!"

Nathaniel LP: 1400->400

The big flash of light got smaller and smaller until it was no more. When the light finally faded, Worm Tentacles was a tiny speck compared to its former self. It kept the pose but it was noticeably less menacing and, judging by its panicked expression, it was painfully aware of this.

Worm Tentacles: 1700 ATK->500 ATK

"And now, Performapal Helpprincess will wrap up our show! It's curtains!"

Helpprincess stood above Worm Tentacles, her shadow looming over its tiny form. She raised her staff high, and brought it down, squishing the little critter underneath her giant hand.

Brad LP: 200->0

VICTORY: NATHANIEL

Post-Duel

Brad smiled and slowly shook his head. "Flag on tha play, I guess." He offered a hand to Nathaniel. "Ya certainly play ta ya deck's namesake. Quite tha performance."

"Ha! Thanks!" Nathaniel took Brad's hand in his own and shook it, all the while maintaining a big grin on his face. "You're a pretty good duelist too, Brad. You really made this little performance of ours great."

"I suppose I did help..." A thought suddenly popped into his head and Brad looked Nathaniel deep in the eyes. "Ya could call it... outta-this-world." The awful joke made the bigger boy throw his head back with laughter, partially from the sheer terribleness of it and partially because he finally stopped thinking about the earlier horrors of the day.

"Haha!" The joke was pretty terrible, but Nathaniel's can't help but laugh with him. Even with everything that happened, laughter was important. Now that he thought about it, that was kind of like an Entertainment Duelist's creed, and they achieved it with dueling. Maybe this day wasn't all that bad. Not when Nathaniel can learn something as important as this.

TL;DR

As prophecized, Nathaniel rises victorious against Brad, although far closer than expected. Highlights include Swift Scarecrow saving from early domination via Worm King, Whip Viper in a dress, Sword Fish stabbing reptiles in places that they don't like to be stabbed, and keikaku kombat.

[Satoshi Kyou]

Hayate looked at Tsukiko with a concerned look on her face when she showed up "is she alright? she looks like something is bothering her... maybe big sis Hayate can help!" Hayate thought to herself in her mind and wanted to jump at the chance of helping her but quickly hesitated and opened her mouth attempting to say something to Tsukiko but stopped to face Vincent instead "Y-yes yes I was asking her if she could help me with my deck and i was wondering maybe you can help? Hayate asked explaining how she didn't know what packs to buy and went with the latest and thus faced the girl with the hat "oh right i forgot to ask... what is your name actually?" Hayate asked and suddenly snapped came up with a idea How about we all duel after this we will take turns dueling each other after were done" Hayate suggested as she always dueled with her brother whenever he came over to explain a few things about dueling

[Tojin]

"Ooh, cool, free time! Later, Angelo!" Camryn walked cheerfully out of the garage, intent on celebrating her victory. It was still very hot outside, this being the desert and all, but now a cool breeze blew across it, taking some of the edge off the heat. Indeed, Camryn felt quite invigorated by the fresh air, and she took a deep, satisfied breath, content in the feeling that, for her, everything was going pretty well, all things considered.

When she arrived back at the school proper, she decided to go to the card shop. They ought to have the pack with all the Deepspace cards in it, so hopefully I can buy a bunch of them and improve my deck some. As she arrived at the card shop, she noticed a large knot of people, including a silver-haired girl talking to a guy about... "finding the light inside herself", apparently. Camryn decided to avoid that entire group; God knew what was even going on there. She stepped up to the cashier and said "I'd like to buy... Let's see here... 4 packs of Rewinding the Clock, please!", accompanied by an earnest smile.

[Xeiyenreisha]

Tsukiko noticed that Vincent wasn't going to answer her where she was about to leave the room not caring whether he answered or not. Then Maisy did manage to catch her attention pulling it away from Vincent where she thought she had just saw her write something into her book though it could just be dueling notes she was acquiring through Vincent by asking him how to help with Hayate's situation. She fixed her attention toward the elevator since there was absolutely no other reason for her to stay in the Card Shop. She showed a little bit of confusion on her face as her eyes looked like they were caught a little bit by surprise. She also had a hint of doubt and suspicion also that covered her face as she waited for the elevator to arrive on her floor so she could take it back to the dorms. She respected Vincent as a person, but his deck was not as impressive as she had been lead onto think even though it was mixed emotions that had surfaced during that duel making tensions inside her high when it came to her thoughts about him at the time. When she had a chance against it she was very disappointed with how layered his deck was with cards that could only be stopped by a select few cards. Also, his deck was just too old-fashioned where most of the monsters he had she had seen before in the World Tournament when she was watching her brother duel. She had saw nothing really impressive that was new in his deck. Letting off a deep sigh as she gently ran her fingers into her hair she stared at the elevator door waiting for her ride to appear. "As much as I would want to think Vincent is cool, he just doesn't give me that sensation. Sure, he does help people but the way he duels is just boring. As arrogant as my brother and thinks winning is everything willing to destroy anything that gets in his way. The worst part is, he and my brother are not that much different aside from my brother built everything with his own two hands. It's just so pathetic I don't even want to think about it."

Tsukiko really wanted to believe that Vincent might be trustworthy, but the ruthless nature of his duels made her think he only cared about himself. He made that more evident by not even answering her focusing his attention on his duels with Hayate and Maisy which might have hurt his chances with her. She wasn't ready to give him the benefit of the doubt after being ignored outright. But she wasn't about to give up on him just yet. She would see if he tried to make up for his lack of empathy toward her just a moment ago. But she wasn't holding her breath for anything. She wouldn't be disappointed either way if he didn't. It would just confirm that maybe her demon's suspicions about him might be quite accurate.

With that thought wrapped around her brain, she wondered if that question before asked by the part of her which was far more cold than she is right now was true? She had reason to believe that maybe that part of her character maybe correct in not wanting to trust Vincent. Failing to answer her after being so sincere and open didn't really help him gain any leverage with her. In fact, the fact that he ignored her might have pushed her more to believe that her demon inside her might be telling the truth. The frustration nearly built inside her nearly exploding from the capacity being too pressured. This troubled her leaving her with mixed opinions on what to think about Vincent even though there was a hazy mist inside her mind that made it hard for her to fully concentrate which was obviously her dizziness. "His deck is too dull. A lot of those cards like Chaos Sorcerer I've seen before and there wasn't really anything in there that was fresh off the press. Also that ultimate dragon of his is just a dried up version of the old Chaos Emperor Dragon."

"Could I really consider him a friend? I don't know..." Tsukiko questioned as she trying to keep her thoughts in check so they didn't overwhelm her. There was truth that his deck really disappointed her, but not as much as his character made her question whether she could actually let someone who had little understanding on how the cruel reality of the world works get closer to her. She still had that sudden fear of being betrayed and used for their personal gain which she could not shake from her thoughts. No matter how much she wanted to, it clung to her like if it were glued to her mind to begin with.

Tsukiko heard a ding where the large metal doors flapped opened allowing her complete entry where she pressed the floor button which lead to the dorms as she contemplated her thoughts while the doors closed. She didn't quite understand what drove her to ask Vincent that question nor did she know why she was provoked to say what she did in front of him. It wasn't like it was embarrassing since what she said was something any normal person would say when they were in need of someone who could provide them comfort and safe haven from what haunted them that they were trying to escape. "I need some sleep." Tsukiko said while in the elevator thinking that she didn't know what she was saying when she approached Vincent before entering the elevator. After all, she was confused and she was a little discolored from the slight paleness which you could see on her face. She shook her head knowing that she would forget completely about what she had told him. He still didn't completely convince her that he was someone who could be worthy of her trust even though he did save her from the influence of that card she used earlier. She still had her doubts where she thought he just pretend to care. "Why did I say that to him?" She shook her head in disbelief slightly nudging it from left to right. Still confused and still plagued by the fatigue and dizziness she was going through she tried to retain her focus even if she wasn't in the greatest condition to do so.

The elevator had finally reached the floor as Tsukiko found it hard to think in the current condition she was in. She walked out of the elevator turning the corner as she headed toward her room. She was about to arrive at her room when she didn't notice someone was in front of her though she was also a little disoriented still at the time. She heard a sound for a moment where she turned around to look then ran right into the back of someone where she stumbled backwards falling down on her butt as her deck of cards popped out of the holder and scattered all over the floor. She cringed as she fell to the floor with cards all around her as her eyes were still closed from the sudden impact.

[Tojin]

As Camryn opened her new packs, her eyes lit up greedily. "Ohh man, this is awesome! I've got so much good stuff now! ...I wonder if I can trade any of these for other good stuff. First, though, I should set aside the cards I want to keep. Uhh... All the Deepspace stuff, of course... A copy of Cyber Dragon, a copy of Void Dragon, this Machina Fortress... Yep, that's about it!" After removing some cards to make room for her new monsters and gathering her newly-obtained trade bait, she confidently approached the cluster of people nearby. It looked like silver-haired girl and the boy she was talking to had scarpered, leaving the small girl in the newsboy cap and a thin-faced guy with a ponytail. "Hey, guys! I just opened a bunch of new packs, and I was wondering if there was anything you would be willing to trade for? I'm Camryn, by the way."

@Joshua Tamashii
@The Irish Tree

[vancexentan]

-Removed by personal choice-

[The Irish Tree]

Vincent & Maisy & Hayate

Vincent was mostly Ignoring Tsukiko, probably because he was concentrating on something else. All he managed to hear was 'search for the light' and 'Veil of darkness' was she describing his deck or something? Honestly he didn't know he just waved his hand with a shoo motion as he was thinking of how to respond to maisy. "Alright I guess I can see what you have here." Vincent said as he looked at Hayate and Maisy "May I take a look at your decks." Vincent asked holding out his hands.

Hayate nodded since she was still holding her deck with her new cards on top of the deck she instantly just put the pile of cards in Vincent's hand "Please do!" Hayate said confidently but then thought for a second "Maybe we should find a table...? it would make sorting out all the cards a lot earier" Hayate suggested before already running to find a empty table leaving Vincent behind with Maisy waving them over when she found a empty table somewhere

"Good idea!" Maisy said, taking her deck out from her disk and approaching the table, exctiedly patting the seat beside her for Vincent to take a sit down. "Please don't say its trash, please don't say its trash..." Maisy pleaded mentally, adjusting her hat before Vincent reached the table.

Vincent took the cards Hayate had given to him and slowly began looking through her deck, musing to himself as he walked over to the table and sat in the the spot that Maisy had designated for his bottocks. It had cards sure, The main card of note was the Blue-Eyes White Dragon of course. It appeared to have a done of support for it in the deck too, but there was only one copy. Such a weakness that could cause the entire deck to fall apart was never a good thing. It also seemed like underneath a small piece of paper was a random assortment of cards, none of which was even helpful, to her deck anyway, Chaos Emergence looked like it would be at home in Vincents but he didn't say anything. Looking up from the cards he looked across at the girl whoms panties he had seen only a few days ago. "Why didn't you buy any dragon booster packs or anything?" Vincent asked as he looked at the other random cards that wasn't going to help her at all. "Other then that, it seems the main weakness in your deck is the one blue-eyes" Vincent finished as he placed down Hayates deck and the extra cards and slide them across the table back to her. Turning to Maisy,he asked, "So you asked me to look at your deck, so may I" Vincent said as he waited for a response.

Maisy nodded and excitedly splayed her deck out like a fan, all cards face up. "Sure! I only bought one pack before, and I only got one Fabled out of it, so I'm kinda looking to see what I can add that'll give it some more kick. Y'know?" she said excitedly, really wanting to make her deck better.

Hayate sighed ashamed that she kinda wasted her points on packs that didnt look like would help her a lot "I never really bought packs to build a deck so i didn't really know what packs would help my deck... but maybe next time i can ask the shopkeeper for help" Hayate casually added to the conversation

Vincent took Maisys deck and began looking through the cards in detail. It seemed Maisy was running an archtype deck, and that made Vincent smile slightly. He had never seen The Fabled monsters before, only their non beastic counterparts. Maisys deck looked decent, had a few punchs but what made Vincent sad was the lack of a decent follow up to finish the job if the opponent had a counter. Also seemed to relie on discard yet had no way of restocking the hand. Seemed risky is all that Vincent was thinking. Over all though It seemed like a deck that really needed some support. "My thoughts on that deck" Vincent began as he began rummaging through his rucksack. "It seems like it needs to use its graveyard somehow to get the maximum value, and maybe a way of keeping the hand stocked, So its not trash but its not the best as it is thats all." Vincent said as he pulled his deck out of his rucksack and placed it down on the table. "Though where are my manners. If you want you two can look through my deck, It revolves around filling the grave and then using those monsters in it." Vincent explained before his eyes narrowed in seriousness. "After all, I am the Chaos Ambassador." He said with imposing voice that made him sound kinda dorky outside of a battle.

Excitedly, Maisy raised her hand, like a kid in the first grade who really, really, really, REALLY wanted to let people know they had the right answer to a math problem. "Do you know any specific cards or card types I can add in to try and fill my grave and keep my hand up as well?" she asked excitedly, before looking at Vincent's deck curiously. Maybe it'd be super good...but...nah. She wanted to stick with Fabled for now. After all, she couldn't afford to just buy an entirely new deck. Just supplement her existing one with booster packs, and, if she was desperate, with direct purchases of cards. Head spinning from just reading the cards, she says"I...don't get how these work..."

Hayate looked at Vincent's deck confused "Ha...? It looks a bit evil don't you think...?" Hayate said as a reaction upon looking at vincent's deck and started to inspect it a little more "I heard about this deck... isn't this one where you end up overwhelming your opponent with powerful dark monsters... and wasnt this also the one who beat Hayato?" Hayate randomly added at the end after looking at it a little more as she read about it in a book somewhere before she got here though she was probably wrong about it just being dark but she wasnt really sure though his tone of voice wasnt very amusing and was tempted to just slap him awake for it but she decided not to and instead just pat him on the head with a piece of paper

Vincent was about to speak up but his head was tapped by a single sheet of paper like somebody was annoyed about his self given title. 'Tough crowd' Vincent thought as he spoke up, addressing Maisy first. "I think." Vincent began as he began tapping his index finger against his temple trying to conjure ideas to mind. "You could add a Fabled raven, I saw it on TV once, it was an awesome card. Speaking of seeing things on TV, I saw a deck once that contained these 'Dark World' monsters they ran on discard too." Vincent shrugged unsure of what other advice he could give. Though after he had given them both his deck to read. It seemed Maisy was having trouble understanding how Chaos worked. While Hayate was just commenting on how evil the cards looked. Vincent agreed with her on the Dark Attribute cards, but the Light Attribute monsters looked pretty tame and badass. Each to their own he supposed though Vincent had to awnswer the last question, cause how could he forget his match with hayato and the 1/6th samurai. "Yea I was the one who beat Hayato though it wasn't this exact deck, I have added and changed a few cards since then." Vincent said nodded with a grin in his mouth. "So What now." He questioned.

Hayate looked at her deck and nodded "I think its a good time to start dueling how about we just take turns but... how do we determine who duels first... Vincent do you know?" Hayate suggested but instantly questioned who should duel first... and started to shuffle her deck while trying to think of a turn order for the 3 of them

"Hmm...maybe you should go first." she suggested to Hayate...who's name she still didn't know. Woops. "Maybe after he sees how you play he can try and work your new cards in slightly better?" was what she added on, also really wanting to see just how Hayate would play with her Blue-Eyes deck.

"So I guess that means" Vincent began as he took his deck back and shuffled it before placing it on the table ready for a game. "That its gonna be me and you, Hayate." He said as he looked at them. After all Vincent quite literally lived for a fight.

"Alright I was hoping to sit the first duel out or least not duel Vincent first but alright lets begin then you but ms.hat you probably just dont want to give up that spot next to Vincent don't ya." Hayate said before placing down her deck on the table facing Vincent

"Yup." Maisy said with no hesitation at all, before adding "I wanna make sure I can see the cards in his hand so I can try and quiz myself on what plays hes going to make."

Vincent shuffled his deck again just to doubly make sure it was shuffled. "I guess I can deal with someone looking at the cards in my hand. Though no telling of course besides, I think its time we duel." Vincent said in a happy tone. His fingers litterally twitching to draw the first card.

"A duel it shall be!" Hayate said doing a bad impression of Hayato tossing a coin at Maisy "Can you flip the coin for us? it makes sure we dont end up cheating... I always take heads..."

Shrugging, Maisy agreed and flipped the coin, dramatically catching it on the bill of her hat. "Tails." she says.

"I guess that means I am going First" Vincent said as he drew his starting hand.

"DUEL" (do this half of their colour code.

The Chaos Ambassador VS Hayate the Blue-eyes Lover

Turn 1: Vincent
Vincent: 4000 LP, 5 cards
Hayate: 4000 LP, 5 cards

"I am gonna start this off slow, Savor it a little" Vincent began. "Firstly I activate Allure of Darkness" He continued as he placed the card on the table. "It allows me to draw two at the cost of banishing a dark type monster after." Drawing the new cards Vincent looked at his hand to see what to banish, he drew a good card but he wanted to keep what he had in his hand. " I banish battle fader as a cost then I set one monster and one card and I end my turn." He said as he looked at Hayate to see how she responded

Turn 2: Hayate
Vincent: 4000 LP, 3 cards 1 monster / 1 S/T
Hayate: 4000 LP, 6 cards

"Well ok... Drawing..." Hayate said taking a card from her deck and inspected her cards "i will set a monster and end my turn" Hayate said placing a card facedown on the table putting her cards back down on the table on her side

"Looks like everyone's having a slow start." she commented, glancing at Vincent's hand. She didn't know how long this duel would be, but she doubted it would be going this slowly for long.

Turn 3: Vincent
Vincent: 4000 LP, 4 cards 1 monster / 1 S/T
Hayate: 4000 LP, 5 cards 1 monster

"I draw" Vincent said as he drew his next card. "I set one card Facedown and I End my turn" Vincent said as he placed down another set card.

Turn 4: Hayate
Vincent: 4000 LP, 3 cards 1 monster / 2 S/T
Hayate: 4000 LP, 5 cards 1 monster

"Drawing..." Hayate said once again inspecting her new card "I summon mirage dragon" Hayate said placing her card on the table "Any traps? Hayate instantly asked politely

"Why don't you try and find out." Vincent replied quickly.

"in that case i flip summon the white stone of legend and activate dragonic tactics.., Hayate said picking up her deck and searching her deck for a dragon to summon which she opted to summon rabidragon rather than blue-eyes and took out rabidragon out of her deck "the card i have chosen is rabidragon and because i tributed the white stone i also get to add Blue-eyes to my hand!" Hayate said putting both rabidragon on the field and blue-eyes in her hand as well as placing the 3 cards into a mall pile above where she placed her deck "Turn end!" Hayate declared forgetting she can attack

Maisy looked in awe of the pretty-strong dragon with rabbit ears that Vincent had to take down, wondering if he would be able to manage despite the odds."That's a lot of attack points."

Turn 5: Vincent
Vincent: 4000 LP, 4 cards 1 monster / 2 S/T
Hayate: 4000 LP, 5 cards 1 monster

"I Draw" Vincent said simply as he drew his next card. "I set one card and once again I end my turn" Vincent finished

Turn 6: Hayate
Vincent: 4000 LP, 3 cards 1 monster / 3 S/T
Hayate: 4000 LP, 5 cards 1 monster

"drawing..." Hayate said drawing her next card "I wonder if this would hurt me more than it hurts you but... I activate A wingbeat of giant dragon and send rabidragon back to my hand to destroy all your spells and traps" Hayate pondered but declared putting rabidragon right back into her hand "and I set a monster" Hayate added putting another facedown monster on the table and a facedown card forgetting to mention to vincent that she did "and with that my turn ends"

Bottomless trap hole, MST and Skill breakthrough was put into the graveyard.

Turn 7: Vincent
Vincent: 4000 LP, 4 cards 1 monster
Hayate: 4000 LP, 4 cards 1 monster 1 S/T

"I draw" Vincent began as he looked at the card he drew. "I summon Mystery Shell dragon" Vincent continued "I attack your face down monster with My Shell dragon." He carried on.

Hayate flipped her facedown card to reveal Maiden of with eyes of blue and sighed "I suppose i shouldnt expect too much" Hayate said forgetting about something as she placed her card into the graveyard

Maiden went to the grave without so much as a hitch. "I end my turn" Vincent said as he finished.

Turn 8: Hayate
Vincent: 4000 LP, 3 cards 2 monsters
Hayate: 4000 LP, 5 cards 1 S/T

"Drawing another card" Hayate said and sighed "Turn end... and looked at the field oh yeah vincent i set a card last turn... I kinda forgot to mention it... i kinda forgot i put it there too..." Hayate added slightly wondering if it would have made a difference if he didnt notice.

Turn 9: Vincent
Vincent: 4000 LP, 3 cards 2 monsters 1 S/T
Hayate: 4000 LP, 5 cards 1 S/T

"I draw." Vincent said as he was getting bored of playing passively. "I set one card and I attack your life points directly with my monster!" He yelled but was quickly interrupted by the sound a card being flipped and slammed on a table "Kunai with chain activates" Hayate said your attacking monster is changed to defense postion. "That is fine" Vincent said as he turned his card on its side making a small swish sound as he did so. "I end" He finished.

Turn 10: Hayate
Vincent: 4000 LP, 3 cards 2 monsters 1 S/T
Hayate: 4000 LP, 6 cards

Hayate silently drew her card "i summon luster dragon" picking up a card from her hand and putting it on the field "It attacks your now defenseless dragon and afterwards i will end my turn" Hayate said and quickly declaring the end of her turn. Vincent placed Mystery shell dragon into his grave before starting his next turn.

Turn 11: Vincent
Vincent: 4000 LP, 4 cards 2 monsters 1 S/T
Hayate: 4000 LP, 5 cards

"Again I draw, and now things get interesting." Vincent said as he started his turn. "How about I get a little chaotic. Since so far its been so tame. so boring." Vincent mumbled. "I Summon Thunder king Rai-Oh In attack position And I flip my face-down card, Chaos Emissary Umbra into attack position!"

Chaos Emissary, Umbra ATK 600 DEF 1900

"Their flip effect causes me to discard one card, I discard White dragon wyverburster." Vincent paused to take a breath. "Now then, I attack your Luster dragon with my Chaos Emissary Umbra!" Vincent declared as he waited for a response. Seeing as her nod with nothing, he put Umbra into the graveyard.

Vincent 4000 -> 2700

Hayate grabbed the piece of paper she just tapped Vincent with and noted his new life points after some calculations and proceeded to continue to do that as the game went on.

"Umbra. Effect activate!" Vincent said as he began searching through his deck. "I add one 'Black Luster Soldier Envoy of the Beginning' from my deck to my hand." Vincent said with a smirk appearing on his lips. "I attack your Luster dragon with my Thunder King Rai-Oh, due to equal attack they are both destroyed!" Vincent shouted quitely with truimph as he placed The Thunder king into his grave. "And before I finish up, I activate Swords of the Revealing light, and then I pass the torch to you." Gasping as he finished his last sentence Vincent smiled at his board.

"Huh? Wait...why'd you do that?" she questioned at the suicide. She didn't really get it...was the effect really worth taking that much damage?

Turn 12: Hayate
Vincent: 2700LP 2 cards 2 S/T's
Hayate: 4000 LP, 6 cards

"drawing..." Hayate uttered to herself and drew her card and quickly played the card she drew "i activate one for one, i discard blue-eyes white dragon and search for flamveil guard" Hayate declared as she searched her deck, then special summon flamveil guard "and i activate silver's cry to special summon my blue-eyes once again! and i learned this from class earlier" Hayate said slightly proud of herself "Synchro summon Azure-eyes silver dragon in defense position and with that my turn ends" Hayate smiled with her first ever synchro summon

Turn 13: Vincent
Vincent: 2700LP, 3 cards 2 S/T's
Hayate: 4000 LP, 3 cards 1 Monster

"I draw" Vincent said as he took his next card from the deck, "I activate the effect of the Chaos Emissary, Gateway in my hand to special summon it in face up defense position and now I set one monster face down and I end my turn"

Chaos Emissary Gateway, 1000 ATK 2100 DEF

Turn 14: Hayate
Vincent: 2700LP, 2 cards 2 monsters 2 S/T's
Hayate: 4000 LP, 4 cards 2 Monsters

"card draw..." Hayate said drawing her card following it up by smiling "My blue-eyes returns to the field thanks to Azure-eyes's effect" Hayate smiled as she put her blue-eyes back on the field "i summon shining angel and end my turn"

Turn 15: Vincent
Vincent: 2700LP, 3 cards 2 monsters 2 S/T's
Hayate: 4000 LP, 4 cards 3 Monsters

"Draw" Vincent said as he continued and started doing something kinda cool. "I banish 1 light and 1 dark monster to special summon Chaos Sorceror from my hand, and I am not finished." Vincent said with a primative grin. "I banish another set of a light and dark monster to special summon my TRUMP CARD! Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning!" Vincent yelled as he slammed both cards down on the table. "Effect of both my cards, I banish Blue eyes and Azure eyes!" Vincent said with a truimphant grin."I end my turn" was all he said

Hayate's smile instantly vanished with the shock of her favorite cards being banished without a way of getting them back and silently put them on a pile above her graveyard "blue-eyes...?" Hayate uttered and folded her hand of cards up onto a pile and placed it on the table and simply folded herself up

Turn 16: Hayate
Vincent: 2700LP, 3 cards 4 monsters 2 S/T's FINAL TURN Swords
Hayate: 4000 LP, 4 cards 1 Monsters

Hayate looked picked up a card from her deck and put it on top of her hand pile and uttered "turn end..."

Maisy suddenly raised her hand. "HOLD ON JUST A SECOND THERE!" she said suddenly before pointing at Hayate. "Are you just giving up now, or do you really have nothing left to play?"

"I mean god damn." Vincent interjected. "The cards aren't permantly gone, only for this battle. Your disgracing the legacy of the blue-eyes if you stop fighting, Can you live with yourself if you give up, So Fight Hayate. Fight with tooth and nail and try with all your soul to win. Otherwise. Then your truely a loser." Vincent quickly ended his sentence thinking maybe he went a bit far.

Maisy looked back to Vincent. "Uh..wait he said, but way less rude."

"Sorry... there is just nothing else i have that can beat this except burst stream of destruction... but..." Hayate simply said "at least i had some fun... you win... i lose... there is always next time" Hayate clambered up with her usual smile "i just love my card that much..."

"That Right, there is always next time" Vincent said with a slight smile even though he was kinda sad it ended that way, he didn't really get to satisfy his lust for a fight at all.

WINNER: VINCENT!

"You did awesome still!" Maisy said before going over and giving Hayate a big pat on the big with a grin on her face. "I mean, heck, I saw Vincent win super duper quick, and you lasted longer than I think I...will..."

"Well Vin-san Winner stays... Good luck! Um... what was your name again?" Hayate said with a slight smirk on her face then proceeded to as for the girl's name which was ignored a couple of times due to multiple things happening at the same time

"I'm Maisy. Maisy McKellen." she said, smiling happily. Friend number...Three, she guessed, made!

"Well Actually Hayate I think you should go again against Maisy. I need a break" Vincent said as he put his hand to a forehead. Sitting beside Maisy he guess he could help her in her next duel unless Hayate got mad.

"again? well ok... but just don't look at her cards and study her strategy alright?" Hayate said cleaning up her cards and shuffling everything almost putting her synchro in her actual deck

Maisy smiled and adjusted her cap, pointing at Hayate. "This time, I wanna see your Blue-Eyes at full power. she says, trying to add a bit of dramatic tension to the mix. That and Blue-Eyes was cool.

Hayate smiled back clearing her throat "Very well... You better not disappoint me" Hayate tried to imitate a certain duelist she watched a few old tapes of at home

Maisy pulled her deck from her disk and started shuffling it before placing it down on the table. "Ready?"

Hayate quickly took out the synchro monster out of her when she accidentally shuffled it in then reshuffled and nodded "N-Now i am!" Hayate said then quickly suggested she should go second since she lost the last duel

Maisy was fine with that.

"DUUL"

Maisy the Not-So-Fabled Vs Hayate The Blue-eyes Lover

Turn 1: Maisy
Maisy: LP: 4000, 5 cards in Hand, 0 Monsters, 0 S/T
Hayate: LP: 4000, 5 cards in Hand, 0 Monsters, 0 S/T

Maisy drew her starting hand and hummed to herself, looking over her options. Picking one card out by itself, she declared: "First, I'll summon Infernity Knight in Attack mode...aaaand that's it." she says, slapping the card down dead center in the Monster Card Zones.

Infernity Knight: ATK: 1400, DEF: 400

Turn 2: Hayate
Maisy: LP: 4000, 4 cards in Hand, 1 Monster(s), 0 S/T
Hayate: LP: 4000, 6 cards in Hand, 0 Monster(s), 0 S/T

Hayate drew the top card of her deck and inspected her hand "I summon luster dragon in attack position and set a card facedown" Hayate placed her cards on the field and started her battle phase immediately "I will attack your monster" Hayate declared quickly

Maisy LP: 4000>3500

Hayate looked at her hand once again and thought for a moment "I end my turn" Hayate called out declaring the end of the turn deciding against the card she was considering

Turn 3: Maisy
Maisy: LP: 3500, 5 cards in Hand, 0 Monsters, 0 S/T
Hayate: LP: 4000, 4 cards in Hand, 1 Monsters, 1 S/T

Maisy drew her next card and mulled over her options once more, before she says: "I'll activate Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy your face-down card." as she placed the card face-up on her S/T zone.

Hayate flipped her facedown card revealing Champion's vigilance and placed it into the graveyard

Maisy continued her main phase by declaring: "Then I'll use the effect of my Fabled Nozoochee from my hand to discard a Fabled to Special summon it, and since I'm discarding The Fabled Catsith, I can destroy your luster dragon." she explains, plopping the cat in the grave and special summoning the weird little lizard in attack mode.

The Fabled Nozoochee: ATK: 1200, DEF: 800

"And now, since that was just a special summon, I can still Normal Summon my Fabled Kokkator." she says before slapping down the weird little magic chicken next to Nozoochee.

The Fabled Kokkator: ATK: 1700, DEF: 1500

Moving into her battle phase, Maisy says: "Now, I'll attack with both Kokkator and Nozoochee for a total of 2900."

Hayate LP: 4000>1100

"I'll end with that." she says, letting Hayate take her turn.

After that turn Vincent was impressed, Fabled was a archetype after his own heart with the discarding and the destroying of things. My my, He was growing some respect for the wind girl sitting beside him. Now to see how it ends considering the hand difference.

Turn 4: Hayate
Maisy: LP: 3500, 1 cards in Hand, 2 Monsters, 0 S/T
Hayate: LP: 1100, 5 cards in Hand, 1 Monsters, 0 S/T

Hayate drew her card and sighed when she looked at it and moved her hand to a different card which was once again one for all "i activate one for all and discard herald of creation and special summon Maiden with Eyes of Blue Hayate said putting the herald of creation in her graveyard and searched her deck for the card she called out and put it on the table "and with that my turn ends" Hayate folded her cards back into a simple stack holding it up

Turn 5: Maisy
Maisy: LP: 3500, 2 cards in Hand, 2 Monsters, 0 S/T
Hayate: LP: 1100, 3 cards in Hand, 1 Monsters, 0 S/T

Maisy smiled confidently as she drew her card, completely unaware of the Maiden's effect. Immediately, Maisy said: "I'll activate my spell card, Pride of the Weak. So when I have no cards in my hand, and I destroy a monster of yours with a Level 2 Monster, I can draw two cards. Now I'll set a monster, and attack your Maiden with Nozoochee."

Hayate shook her head in response "You just targetted her which means her effect activates!" Hayate said searching her deck for blue eyes "When maiden is targetted for a attack... the battle will be negated and i can summon blue-eyes from my deck or hand Hayate continued placing her powerfull dragon on the field "and the battle is negated and her position is switched from attack to defense, sadly she is now vulnerable"

Maisy stared blankly in disbelief. She just screwed herself over SO HARD, and there wasn't anything she had that could beat three thousand attack points. The least she could do was get rid of Maiden..."I-I'll attack with my Kokkator against your maiden." she says, dissapointed that she just made things infinitely harder for herself.

Hayate placed her maiden into the graveyard zone

"That's it for me..." she says, worried since now she was literally drawing blindly in the hopes of getting a card that could save her.

Turn 6: Hayate
Maisy: LP: 3500, 0 cards in Hand, 3 Monsters, 1 S/T
Hayate: LP: 1100, 4 cards in Hand, 1 Monsters, 0 S/T

Hayate drew her card and looked at it and sighed "i suppose i can summon Shining Angel" Hayate said placing it on the field and moved to her battle phase "I use my Shining angel to attack nozoochee and my blue-eyes attacks kokkator" Hayate declared tapping on her targets once clarifying who is attacking who...

Maisy moved Kokkator and Nozoochee to the grave, taking her lumps.

Maisy LP: 3500>2200>2000

"and i set the rest of my cards facedown and end my turn Hayate said placing her last 3 cards on the S/T zone

Turn 7: Maisy
Maisy: LP: 2000, 1 cards in Hand, 1 Monsters, 1 S/T
Hayate: LP: 1100, 0 cards in Hand, 2 Monsters, 3 S/T

Maisy gulped and drew her card, before saying: "I'll summon another Fabled Kokkator in Attack Mode, and flip over my Fabled Nozoochee." as she flipped the werid little snake over into attack position beside the new Kokkator. A comeback from this was unlikely, but it all depended on if she could last long enough to get a strong enough level 2.

Moving to her battle phase, Maisy says: "I'll have my Kokkator attack your Shining Angel."

Hayate LP: 1100>800

"Angel's effect activates i can summon another light monster with 1500 or less attack from my deck and i will summon another shining angel" Hayate declared and searched her deck for shining angel and replaced the other one

Maisy nodded and said: "Alright...I'll end my turn there.", dreading the realization that she might have screwed herself again.

Turn 8: Hayate

Maisy: LP: 2000, 0 cards in Hand, 2 Monsters, 1 S/T
Hayate: LP: 800, 0 cards in Hand, 1 Monsters, 0 S/T

Hayate drew her card and smiled "This is the last turn then..." Hayate declared and placed a spellcard on the field "I activate Burst stream of destruction! Blue-eyes destroys all your monsters!" Hayate said adding a fake roar the end of her sentence though rather than menacing it was rather cute for the joke of it

Maisy put her monsters into the grave and gulped. If this were an action duel...she'd probably get blown away by that kind of power. And then Hayate roared. Dawww.

Hayate continued her turn moving to battle phase "My monsters attack your life points directly Go Blue-eyes! Burst stream- no no this would be more fun in one of those duel disks duels..." Hayate declared but stopped herself from getting too excited

"HOLD IT" Vincent shouted out before the duel could continue any further. Besides Hayate being cute she was also making a newbie mistake of not reading the card properly. "You can't attack the turn you annihalated the field with blue-eyes, you know that right?" Vincent questioned the girl opposite the table from him. "It explains so in burst streams effect but you would know that if you took time to read a little and plan before hand."

"ah... right... sorry sorry... Shining angel attacks directly... i don't get to use that card often against Hayato..."

Maisy smiled slightly. She wasn't getting creamed this turn, it seemed. Still, ouch, angel punchies.

Maisy LP: 2000>600

"Well in that case my turn ends..." Hayate said moving her used cards to he grave

Turn 9: Maisy

Maisy: LP: 400, 0 cards in Hand, 0 Monsters, 1 S/T
Hayate: LP: 800, 0 cards in Hand, 1 Monsters, 0 S/T

Maisy drew her next card and sighed, before smiling warmly at Hayate. "Welp. I lose." she says before summoning The Fabled Cerburrel in attack mode. "That's my turn."

Maisy: LP: 400, 0 cards in Hand, 0 Monsters, 1 S/T
Hayate: LP: 800, 0 cards in Hand, 1 Monsters, 0 S/T

Hayate drew her card and didnt even look at it and moved to the battle phase and attacked the cerburrel with her blue-eyes "Blue-eyes attack that monster and finish this battle Hayate declared tapping cards and smiled a little

Maisy 400>0

WINNER : HAYATE

After that match Vincent was kinda annoyed, not as maisy but at Hayate for attacking such a fickle little archetype. Though he didn't declare it. It was kind of obviously apparant on his face.

Maisy gathered her cards up and shuffled them back into her deck, a smile on her face. That was fun! Although now her record was 2 losses, 1 win...Ah well. She'd just have to get better and build her deck up more. "How would you say I did coach?" she asked Vincent, nudging him with her elbow.

Hayate left the table quickly after the duel was over after hearing a guy yelling out loud "SUCH MISFORTUNE" and walked towards him asking what was wrong "Well... my new cards have vanished... and I don't have the points to buy new cards..." The young man responded to Hayate where she in response looked at the 15 cards she had pulled "Since you lost your cards... i can give you mine..." Hayate said with a gentle smile on her face and put it into his hand "Are you sure...?" the young man responded to the kindness confused "No I insist take them" Hayate responded quickly going to the table

"Honestly I say you did great." Vincent mumbled under his breath almost disliking the way he was praising them yet they did deserve it after all. Their deck was cool though it could do with someone more cards. Speaking of more cards Vincent quickly ducked into his backpack. he looked kinda stupid the way he was digging through it.

Maisy smiled to herself proudly. Great he says. Maybe she just had terrible luck then. Ah well. Looking over, she tilted her head to the left and asked: "Looking for something?"

"Got it!" Vincent declared as he emerged from his backpack holding a card in his hand. 'Goldd, Wu-Lord of Dark World' was slammed on Maisys side of the table. "I guess you could use this in your deck since you use discarding so much!" Vincent declared with a grin. His hands put behind his head as if he had just cracked a extremely complex code.

Maisy blinked a couple of times and picked the card up, examining the effect."Woah...this is actually...INSANELY good for this!" she says before rummaging through her bookbag. "Um...I don't...really think I have anything decent I can trade you. I-I have Naturia Strawberry!" she says, slowly offering the card to him.

Vincent smiled at her response of the card he gave her. He had the sort of smug look on his face like 'yea i had that card' but it quickly turned to hesitatation when she tried to offer him a card in return. "N-No its fine its a gift" Vincent said almost sweating in response as he gently pushed the hand back. "I mean I want to fight you when your strong after all. Morsels are for the dogs. I WANT A FEAST OF BATTLE!" he said blurting out with a Hungry look of fire in his eyes.

"Okay!" Maisy said before digging through her bag and pulling out what appeared to be a bag of chips. Putting it in his hands, she says: "Battle Chips are pretty good...but how'd you know I was saving them?" she questioned before adding: "Maybe you have a nose for chips like I have a nose for talent."

"I meant it Figuratively" Vincent said as he was handed a bag of chips. "Though this will do I guess." He said as he quickly dug in. "So what brought you to the academy Maisy? What do you plan to do here and do you need any help with it, maybe i could lend a hand or two."

"Hmm...well, I dunno about needing any help with it, but its kind of a long story anyways that just equates to me really really REALLY wanting to make it to the pro scene. Even if it means I'm just on the sidelines." she says before flipping open her notes. "I guess I can at least tell you that my dad runs a little diner with a lot of pro-duelist apparel involved...mostly posters and maybe some cardboard cut-outs I helped him make. Watching the pros makes you want to be like them, y'know? The spotlight's a great place to want to be."

"Well I guess that makes sense, Yet the story is still going, So when It comes to me and my homelife I don't have much good praise to say about anyone but my mother, she was at the world tournaments twice, An underdog she got all the way to the quarter finals before she lost both times." Vincent said with his eyes remembering his good homelife before remembering his lonely childhood moments which caused him to stop remembering. "So yea I am just here to duel and play card games, Maybe make some sort of rag tag team of light and dark users but that would probably be too nerdy and wierd even for here." He mumbled to himself.

Maisy was listening intently to Vincent's story about his mother, before smiling wide. "Wow! She must be some duelist. Probably where you got all that skill from huh? I've heard a lot of tourney-level duelists' kids do really well in academies." she says, patting his back enthusiastically, not having heard his bit about the rag-tag team.

"I am not my mother, or else I would not be playing a chaos deck and rambling about how I am the Chaos Ambassador of some fantasy embassy." Vincent said before mumbling something about tag teams and group tournaments and Dark world. "So yea" He suddenly spoke up again. "Don't we need to start our duel soon?" He said with a glint in his brown eyes.

Maisy nodded. "Yeaaaah...buuut..." she suddenly slumped against the table. "I don't wanna move from my seat." she says, sounding very lazy all of a sudden. Maisy seemed to have selective hearing, since she didn't hear a word of what Vincent said while he mumbled.

Vincent let out a groan as he stood up and moved to the other side of the table, Honestly what was with this girl, her personality was magnetic yet she was also on a self rightous conquest. If only she was brutal like Vincent then maybe he would have found a rival but hell. She can still do, maybe serve as a foil or something to his personality for duels who knew. "When your ready" Vincent said as he shuffled his deck wondering if Hayate had anything to say before it started off, speaking of Hayate where is she? It seemed to wondered off.

Maisy also didn't know exactly where Hayate went...huh. Now she felt kinda bad. Or...maybe Hayate was just busy? Either way, she'd have to be sure to get her number tomorrow. Hopefully, classes would be back on schedule...wait. Was Maisy technically skipping? Shaking the thoughts of a ruined perfect attendance by day 2, Maisy shuffled her deck quickly and says: "I'm all ready." as she suddenly remembered Goldd, putting him into her deck and re-re-shuffling it.

"I'm here I'm here!" Hayate said coming back and asked if she missed anything obviously missing her new cards.

Maisy replied to Hayate by just saying that they talked for a bit about their lives. "So, Hayate...wanna exchange contact info? It'd help to keep in touch." she asked, since it was kinda normal to ask for contact info after having a blast dueling someone. At least she thought so.

"Y-yea sure... i wouldn't mind" Hayate responded

Nodding, Maisy gave Hayate her contact information quickly, including her email just in case she needed it for whatever reason.

"Hopefully we can duel again..." Hayate said though she wished the duel was less one-sided handing over the information

Nodding eagerly, Maisy replied quickly with: "I'll play you again any day.", a smile on her lips as she entered Hayate's info into her D-Ciever.

Vincents waited for them to finish their exchange before his deck was slammed onto the tabled with such force he looked as though he might break said table. "When your ready" He said his battle hungry grin was back, he was looking forward to this.

"DUEL!"

= The Lonely Chaotic Ambassador VS DEMON ROAR GOD WIELDER MAISY now with extra Goldd

Turn 1: Maisy
Maisy: LP: 4000, 5 cards in Hand, 0 Monsters, 0 S/T
Vincent: LP: 4000, 5 cards in Hand, 0 Monsters, 0 S/T

"I'll start first-Oh, there you are Hayate!." Maisy declared before drawing her five cards, and then acknowledging Hayate. Humming, she picked one out of her fanned-five and picked one out. "I'll start by summoning my Infernity Knight in attack mode, and setting one card face-down. That's all I have for now." she says before setting her cards in their respective zones.Truth be told, she was a little nervous about playing Vincent. He seemed...really good. Better than her at least.

Turn 2: Vincent
Maisy: LP: 4000, 3 cards in Hand, 1 Monsters, 1 S/T
Vincent: LP: 4000, 6 cards in Hand, 0 Monsters, 0 S/T

Vincent whom had already drawn his original five cards looked at the Infernity knight across the table. It was better to not take any risks. Though it might be a fun idea to try something new or just crush all resistance. which ever was coolier. "I summon Summoner monk in ATK position, however its effect forces it to Defence. That is not all I activate its effect by discarding my Book of Moon to the graveyard! It allows me to special summon one level 4 monster from my deck but it cannot attack this turn, The monster I choose is!" Vincent paused to let it gain tension "Chaos Emissary, Lux!" He finished as he took the card from his deck placed it on the table and shuffled his deck. "And now I probably overlay them like this right?" Vincent said as he nervously placed the two cards over eachother. "I guess I Xyz summon! Chaos Emissary, Lady nox. Treat her with respect please." Vincent finished as he placed the black card over the top of his other cards, so did the materials effects activate or. Probably not Vincent didn't see Ruki do it so maybe it didn't happen. "I end" Vincent finished"

Turn 3: Maisy
Maisy: LP: 4000, 4 cards in Hand, 1 Monsters, 1 S/T
Vincent: LP: 4000, 4 cards in hand 4 monster 0 S/T

Maisy stared blankly at the extremely quick XYZ summon. This was...already taking a turn for the worst for her. Drawing her next card, she mulled over her options before sighing.

"I'll summon Fabled Urostos in Attack Mode, and ctivate my Constellar Belt. With that, no light monster's effect can be nageted while its on the field. And, since I only have two cards in my hand now, Urostos gives every other Fabled Monster an extra 400 Attack Points. I'll end it there." she explains, figuring that she was safe for now, since Nox had really low attack points for an Xyz Monster.

Turn 4: Vincent
Maisy: LP: 4000, 2 cards in Hand, 2 Monsters, 2 S/T
Vincent: LP: 4000,5 cards in hand 1 monster 0 S/T

"My turn, I draw!" Vincent drew his next card as he looked through his hand, still not a single chaos summon in sight, though he had other options. "I activate my Mystical space typhoon'" Vincent said as he placed the spell card on the table "I target your face down card" he said tapping the card in question.

Maisy flipped it over after he tapped it, saying: "I activate my Side Effects? Trap card. You can choose a number from one to three, and draw that many, and for each card you draw I get 2000 Life points." as an explanation. Thank goodness it wasn't Constellar Belt that got hit.

"I draw 1 card" Vincent said as he drew the top card of his deck. 'This Changes everything' He thought to himself as he added it to his hand.

Maisy LP: 4000>6000

"I am not done though so don't count me out yet" Vincent said as he placed down a monster. "I summon Thunder king rai-oh in attack position and attack your fabled monster!"

Thunder king rai-oh, 1900 ATK

"Anything in response?" Vincent questioned as he waited for a response.

Maisy shook her head. "No, but...Urostos has just as much attack, so they'll both be destroyed." she explained, confused on why he wouldn't attack Infernity instead.

"Now then after that lovely battle phase." Vincent said slightly sarcastic, he didn't like having to ram his monsters to their own deaths yet he was doing it way more then avarage with this deck. "I banish Thunder king rai-oh from my graveyard. To special summon Black Dragon Collarserpent in Defence Position" Vincent said as he placed Thunder king rai-oh above his graveyard and placed down the little black dragon. "I end"

Turn 5: Maisy
Maisy: LP: 6000, 3 cards in Hand, 1 Monsters, 1 S/T
Vincent: LP: 4000,3 cards in hand 2 monster 0 S/T

Maisy drew her next card and thought about what she could do for a moment...this was getting tricky. Collapserpent had more attack and she didn't have a good way to counter that until she had more Fables...

"I'll place one card face down and end my turn." she says, unable to do much of anything.

Turn 6: Vincent,
Maisy: LP: 6000, 2 cards in Hand, 1 Monsters, 2 S/T
Vincent: LP: 4000,4 cards in hand 2 monster 0 S/T

"I draw" Vincent said as he drew his next card "I activate D.D.R Different Dimension Reincarnation." Vincent said as he discarded Chaos Emissary, Gateway from his hand. "Now that D.D.R's cost is payed I can special summon one of my banished monsters of course I am choosing Thunder King Rai-Oh." Vincent said as he placed the king of lightning back onto his side of the field. "The army is ready and the battle is forthcoming! Charge forth!" I change Black dragon Collarserpent to attack postion and I attack your Infernity knight!" Vincent said with a cry as he tapped the card he was attacking in question.

Maisy didn't have a response, and as such, placed Infernity in the grave. "When Infernity Knight is destroyed, I can discard two cards to special summon him back onto the field." she explained, moving him back onto the field.

Maisy LP: 6000>5600

"Thunder king Rai-oh Charges in on Infernity knight!" Vincent declared as he once again tapped the revived knight.

Maisy flipped her face-down card over, revealing Forbidden Lance. "I activate Forbidden Lance and target your Thunder-King, bringing him down to 1100 Attack Points."

Vincent smiled seemed like this wasn't going to be a complete landslide after all.

Vincent 4000 > 3700

"well i guess thats it for me" Vincent said "I end my turn"

Turn 7: Maisy
Maisy: LP: 5600, 1 cards in Hand, 1 Monsters, 1 S/T
Vincent: LP: 3700,2 cards in hand 2 monster 0 S/T

Maisy stared blankly at the card she just drew before switching Infernity Knight to defense mode. "...Welll...uhhh...that's it for me." she says, visibly dissapointed with her hand.

Turn 7: Maisy
Maisy: LP: 5600, 1 cards in Hand, 1 Monsters, 1 S/T
Vincent: LP: 3700,3 cards in hand 2 monster 0 S/T

"I draw" Vincent said as he drew his next card, "Alright then I guess I summon Freed the Brave wonderer in attack position!" Vincent said as he placed the fraughty knight on the table. "But of course" Vincent said as his face took on a more serious tone. "Did you honestly think that was it!" Vincent cried as he began moving Chaos Emissary, Gateway and Thunder king rai-oh to the banish zone. "By banishing one light and one dark monster I special summon My Strongest monster! 'Black Luster Soldier, Envoy of the Beginning'." Vincent roared with truimph as the card was not placed but Slammed down on the table like it was a meteor.

Maisy stared blankly. "At this point, no. I didn't." she says, looking like someone just spat in her ice cream. This hand was...abyssmal.

"Well I guess I'll make it simple, My Envoys is charging in on Infernity knight!" Vincent said tapping the little monster. "And after your monster goes my Envoy can attack again with my dragon and my freed, and that is game!" Vincent declared

The knight stood no chance and just got plopped into the grave. Maybe Maisy could survive a turn...nope. That was too many attack points.

Maisy LP: 5600>0
Maisy slumped forward onto the table and buried her face in her hat. That was...terrible.

WINNER : Vincent

Post-Duels banter

"So how was that?" Vincent asked after he had won the match and was starting to shuffle his cards away.

Hayate had, at some point, left without a word. Her good deed done, she

Maisy slowly looked up. "My deck didn't give me anything..." she lamented. She didn't mind losing if it was slightly even, or she at least got more than two monsters out, but that was just...frustrating. Her deck LITERALLY just didn't give her anything useful at all. Gathering her cards up, she started putting them away. "Buuuut it did help me learn a little about how to play this deck better. So, thanks for that."

---
@Tojin
Now done with the duels, Maisy noticed that someone was actually talking to her outside of the small trio of kinda-sorta-totally-friends at the table. Seemed like the girl with the ponytail wanted to trade some cards. Looking over her stash of stuff that wasn't in her deck, Maisy wondered if anybody really even wanted any of this crap. Holding out her fan of spare cards, she said: "Um...this is pretty much all I have for the moment. So unless you're looking for Ice Barriers, a Flamvell Hedgehog, some Genex Allies, or a Naturia Strawberry, you'd probably be better off asking someone else. Sorry." Which...reminded her. She had points now!

[Xeiyenreisha]

Haas was really dissapointed, in the fact, nobody was in the dorm area. Try as he might, not a soul was to be found. Well, it made sense, with the time being so close to lunch. But hell, you'd assume someone needed something! And nobody needed anything, apparently. The guy was about to give up and just jog off to his own room after verifying yet again nobody was in here, before suddenly feeling a lot of forced applied to his back. "W-Whoa!" he cried out, stumbling forward and nearly falling flat on his face. From behind the boy also heard scattering of some sort, turning his head to look at what just happened.

"...H-Huh? Tsukiko?" he stammered out in surprise, blinking a few times. Wasn't she in the infirmary? What is the girl doing here of all places? Haas then took a better look, and saw her deck strewn all over the floor. Not only that, the girl was clearly hurt by falling down. "Ah, damn... Sorry, let me help you up!" Haas apologized, taking a step toward her and holding out a hand with a slight look of panic on his face. He always felt terrible when hurting others by accident and felt the need to apologize, even when it wasn't his fault.

Tsukiko finally opened her eyes though she had a frustrated look on her face. When the light pierced through her pupils bringing color back to her vision she noticed that someone handed out their hand. From the voice she could judge it was a boy and the voice sounded like someone she knew. Despite having such an upset look on her face she held out her hand and allowed him to lift her up. "Why don't you..." She snapped in anger then stopped herself from finishing that statement when she realized it was Haas. "Oh, it's you, Haas." She hadn't noticed that her cards were knocked out of her holder. When she stood up on her feet she appreciate Haas apologized though it probably wasn't the right move to just lay into him by mistake her frustration then have to restrain herself from finishing what she was about to say.

Her voice changed from sincere to more relaxed knowing that Haas wouldn't make her feel uncomfortable. She snapped a moment ago, because she was frustrated with her current condition and did not like how Vincent just ignored her even though she didn't really care. what upset her was more the fact she had open herself up only to feel betrayed misplacing her trust and being foolish enough to put any faith into Vincent. This made her very skeptical about him which ate her mind causing her tremendous stress which added onto the fogginess she felt in her mind.

"What?" She said in surprise when she noticed there were cards scattered all over the place. She took a look toward her deck holder and noticed her deck was gone. "Dammit, all my cards ended up on the floor? This just isn't my day..." She complained as she knelt down to pick up each one of the cards which scattered after her deck was dislodged from its deck holder when running straight into Haas.

Speaking of him, the boy was quite startled when Tsukiko's tone shifted to a low growl, spouting out three words before cutting herself off mid-sentence. He'd almost stepped back as if he did something wrong, but it seemed like the girl noticed who the person she bumped into was before long. "...Yeeeaaah, it's me..." he awkwardly tried to joke, though that came out way lamer than Haas ever intended it to. He helped her up to her feet, not really to dare anything because of him assuming it was his fault she wound up on the floor in the first place. Luckily for Haas, Tsukiko managed to get distracted by something else. Her cards.

Oh, right. Her cards. Haas had totally forgotten about those. "Wait, here, let me help you with that!" he offered rather quickly, still feeling bad. Haas crouched down and started picking up the cards that fell a little ways away from Tsukiko which she would have trouble picking up from her position. One card in particular that seemed to have flipped face-up caught the boy's attention. A black, sleek robot designed like a dragon of some sort was drawn menacingly on the cover, with purple accentuating the theme it had going in the background. The boy actually found it quite pretty, but didn't want to dawdle too much on it. Haas picked it up and placed it on top of the small stack he'd gathered by now, about thirteen or so cards.

Tsukiko finished at around the same time, it seemed. The boy pushed himself away from the floor and stood up, holding out the pieces of Tsukiko's deck he'd gathered to her. "Erm, I hope you don't mind me picking up your cards?" He tried, damage controlling it to the best of his ability. Then something he'd noticed earlier popped back into the boy's head: Tsukiko wasn't supposed to be here. "Erm, weren't you just in the infirmary Tsukiko? Is it fine for you to just walk around like that?" he relentlessly questioned, honestly curious. She'd probably find it annoying, but Haas was concerned the person he's talking to right now were needlessly straining themselves.

"It's fine." Tsukiko nodded as she neatly pushed her cards together to form a deck again. She then took the cards out of Haas hands before telling him, "Thank you." Though those seemed to be the only words that came out of her mouth. It seemed something was still on her mind, but she did recall him asking why she was out and about in the hallway after being taken to the infirmary. It was a long story and even if she told him every piece about it she doubt he would believe her or understand. "No, I'm fine. Appreciate your concern, I really do but I'll manage." Tsukiko tried to convince him despite she was still a bit pale looking like she wasn't one hundred percent back to the normal.

"Say, I haven't had the chance to look at what your deck looks like. What do you say we duel each other? Don't say no because you're concerned for me because I will not take no for an answer." Tsukiko reminded him as she slid her deck back into her holder after she thoroughly shuffled her cards. She wondered if Haas might have something different which she hadn't seen before and a more interesting deck than the old Chaos Summoning standard. She remembered her brother told her most people don't Chaos Summon anymore, because Pendulum Summoning has really became a thing and there just really isn't a need for chaos summoning in this day and age. She wondered what he meant by that, but could confirm that she agreed when she saw how old fashioned and boring Vincent's deck was. There was no point in challenging him since the result would almost certainly be the same which made her yawn, because she liked competition and not one sided battles. Of course, she could add two cards that her brother told her about when she was in the Card Shop, but that would also go against the style she uses. Though she still did consider maybe adding Chaos Hunter since it did have a rather unique effect which she might find useful in duels.

Haas was skeptical of the girl's claim of being fine, especially after how she was basically knocked out just moments earlier. She also looked the part, her already pale skin was even lighter than normal. But the boy decided to not pursue the subject, since it didn't look like Tsukiko was willing to let up on her stubbornness at all. And then she did something that completely blew Haas' mind: Ask him for a duel. "...Wait, what?" they replied in disbelief. She did not look at all like she was ready for that yet. Even worse, she was basically forcing his hand where she was already expecting him to say no. "I... I really don't think you should-" he started, but cut himself off midway.

The boy had a revelation. If he beat Tsukiko in a duel, he could probably convince her to go rest. "...Nah, y'know what? Fine, let's duel!" Haas excitedly accepted, taking a few steps back and flicking open his deckbox. "Just under one condition; If I win, you go get some rest. You look like you'll be needing some, honestly." Haas somewhat bluntly blurted out, avoiding any sense of tact. It probably wasn't a wise idea to duel in the middle of the Earth Dorm's hallway, but it wasn't like anybody was here in the first place. Haas picked up his deck of cards and slotted it into the disk, which flared up and had its field jut out.

Tsukiko let of a very deep sigh when Haas requested that she rest if he won. She didn't understand why he was so concerned about her. They haven't known each that long and it wasn't like the two were friends. Sure she approached him on the first day, but that was only to get back at her brother for being a total ass that day. That was the only reason she really approached Haas though she didn't show that her deceptive side remaining how she was on the first day.

She let off a deep long breath which was meant to release the stress she was going through so the tension didn't feel like it was suffocating her. As much as she wanted to reject Haas request, she was someone who lived by the code of honor since she learned it through her training of martial arts. She had no choice, but to agree to his condition even if she didn't like it. "All right, if you win I'll do as you request." She told him as she prepared her duel disk. She had gone first last time so she decided she would let Haas start things off. "I'll let you take the lead and I'll follow."

"Alright then!" Haas excitedly yelled, getting into position.

"Duel!"

Haas Vs. Tsukiko: Toys & Machines

Turn 1: Haas
Haas: 4000 LP, 5 cards in hand
Tsukiko: 4000 LP, 5 cards in hand

Haas drew his first five cards with gusto, pretty clearly announcing "It's my turn!" a few moments after. He scanned over the cards in his hand and had to grimace. No good plays, not during this turn anyway. Now the question was, what'd he do with it? "Looks like I'll be startin' it off a little slowly, so I set one monster and another card facedown. That'll be it!" Haas exclaimed, one horizontal and one vertical card appearing on his field in a T-shaped form.

Turn 2: Tsukiko
Haas: 4000 LP, 3 cards in hand, 1 Set monster, 1 S/T
Tsukiko: 4000 LP, 6 cards in hand

Tsukiko also drew five cards into her hand and since it was her turn after Haas ended his turn she first analyzed the field. She took notice to one set monster and a card in the Spell/Trap Zone which was most likely a Trap Card. "I draw." She said as she flung her hand across her duel disk where the deck sat and shot a card out from the top of her deck then caught it into her hand. She wanted to use a certain card she drew, but another card she also drew prevented her from doing so making her rethink her strategy. "I summon Eclipse Wyvern in attack position." She said as she laid the card on her duel disk in face up position where a silver dragon with red lining appeared.

Eclipse Wyvern: 1600 ATK 1000 DEF Level 4 LIGHT Dragon

"If that's a Trap Card, I might want to save this card since I could use it later if he doesn't activate it." She said toward herself as she tried to retain her focus while staring at her cards carefully. Despite her condition making a very hard to keep her eyes mainly on Haas, she was able to select probably the best option at the moment for her and summon it to the field.

"Battle, Eclipse Wyvern attack Haas face down card." She commanded the silver dragon as it shot a blast right at Haas face down monster. She was curious if he was going to activate his face down Trap Card.

Haas didn't try anything as the face-down monster get shred to pieces, revealing a cartoonish Hyena blasting into a hundred little pixels. "Ngh...! When Hyena is destroyed by battle, I can Special Summon a second copy of it from my deck!" Haas exclaimed with excitement, a card jutting out of his disk. He grabbed it, spun it around and slammed it straight down onto his Duel Disk horizontally. From a vortex a gray little Hyena rose... That looked like it was asleep. Cheeky bugger.

Hyena: 1000 ATK 300 DEF Level 3 EARTH Beast

"Not bad." Tsukiko said as she ended her Battle Phase then set one card face down. She wanted to wait and activate the other card in her hand until later. She may need to use it for another purpose and if she used it now it might just be a wasted move especially since she knew it would work in conjunction with her face down card. "I set one card and I end my turn." She said as she took her hand away from her duel disk after laying the card face down in the Spell/Trap Zone.

Turn 3: Haas
Haas: 4000 LP, 4 cards in hand, 1 monster, 1 S/T
Tsukiko: 4000 LP, 4 cards in hand, 1 monster, 1 S/T

Haas started to feel a little wound up himself, his blood boiling with energy at the possibilities of this turn. "Alright then, My turn! Draw!" he announced, swiping a card from the top and looking at what it was. His face showed some obvious disappointment, but it was a minor setback. "Hey, Tsukiko? You wanted to see what my deck was capable of, right? Well, I'll show you!" he declared, putting the freshly drawn card into the hand and picking out a different one. "First, I'd like a warm welcome for my little friend: The cute little Wind-up Snail!" Haas announced, and for a little while nothing happened. Then a few sounds of something rotating came from behind him, and soon enough, a little pink toy that somewhat resembled a snail with a magnet on its head rolled out from behind Haas. It had a gold key sticking out from the back of its shell.

Wind-up Snail: 100 ATK 2000 DEF Level 2 WATER Aqua

"And when a Wind-up monster is summoned to my field, a new toy comes along to greet you alongside them! I special summon Wind-up Shark, in Defense mode!" Haas continued his turn, and a whirlpool of water suddenly opened up in the middle of the field. Out of it sprang a toy shark, painted blue and white, with the same key sticking out of its fin.

Wind-up Shark: 1500 ATK 1300 DEF Level 4 WATER Fish

"Interesting..." Tsukiko said since this was something new she hadn't seen before. At least it wasn't those old Chaos Monsters would have made her yawn constantly since she had seen a vast majority of them aside from maybe the new Chaos Emissary ones which knew by name only. "I take it you enjoy toys then?" Tsukiko questioned toward Haas as she did find his deck rather interesting though a bit unorthodox.

Haas blushed a little at the question, awkwardly rubbing the back of his head with their free hand. "Ehehe... Guess you've found me out. I used to make a lot of toys like these at home." he admitted, but his grin didn't lower. "But you've not seen anything yet! The strength of these toys lie in their effects! Wind-up Snail's effect activates, which allows me to return your Set card to the hand!" Haas explained, with the little key on the pink toy's back starting to slowly rotate. The toy itself started to really rev up the wheels with which it crawled around. Once the spinning key stopped, and promptly fell from its back, the snail suddenly burst forward and drove circles around the card, creating a gust to lift it up from the floor.

Tsukiko didn't do anything as she allowed the card to return to her hand. She closed her eyes for a moment and realized she had made a wise move not to play the other card from her hand. It was a slight setback to have the card returned to her hand, but she could still use it so it wasn't that big of a deal. "..." She didn't say anything as she caught the card with her hand and returned it to the rest of cards that were fanned out.

Yes! Everything was going to plan right now. Wind-up Snail returned back to its position on the field, but looked extremely tired and lifeless now that that key had fallen out of it's back. Haas' last piece of the combo now wouldn't get interrupted for sure! "From my hand I activate the Spell card: Weights Zenmaisures!" Haas spoke, and a crane appeared behind the two toys. "I select two of my Wind-up monsters, and you choose one of them. The monster you don't choose will have its level become equal to the one you do, but, by choosing the lower level I get to draw one card. So, choose!" the boy invited Tsukiko, looking content with himself at being able to pull this off.

"I choose..." Tsukiko said as she analyzed the cards closely. It was hard to process these two cards and try to remained focus toward her own strategy. "I'll choose the monster you first summoned this turn." She said as she pointed at Wind-Up Snail.

The crane let two ropes drop from it and picked up both Snail and Shark, before throwing them onto a weighing scale behind Haas. It violently rocked side to side, and Shark seemed to look a little sick whilst it was doing so. When it came to an end, Snail rolled off fine whilst Shark just kind of... Flopped back. "Because you picked the lower level, I get to draw a card!"

Wind-up Shark: Level 4 > 2

Haas picked up his card, frowning a bit as it's again something the boy can't use. But it was good enough. "Now the real fun is going to begin! I activate my Wind-up Shark's effect, allowing me to raise its level by one!" Haas declared, and the key on Shark's back started to rotate as well now. The fish toy became a lot more energetic, even whilst they were still dizzy, and jumped onto its tail to stare Tsukiko down.

Wind-up Shark: Level 2 > 3

"I now overlay my level three Hyena with my Level three Wind-up Shark!" came out of the boy's mouth, and a swirly black hole opened up in the middle of the arena. It whipped up a strong gust, Hyena and Wind-up Shark turning into swirly brown and blue lines respectively. At the same time, they jumped into that hole and started to mix together before a bright flash of light erupted. "Your fixing of machines never ceases, so lend me your aid! Xyz Summon, Rank 3! Mechquipped Angineer!!" Haas yelled. Out of the hole in the floor rose a blue, odd looking fellow. They were completely covered head-to-toe in armor and didn't seem to have any legs, with all arms and legs being wings of sorts. A red vizor covered their face, which was staring down at Tsukiko while two yellow orbs were floating around it.

Mechquipped Angineer: 1800 ATK 1000 DEF Rank 3 LIGHT Fairy / OL 2

"Xyz Summoning, huh? Haven't seen someone perform one of those ever since my brother did so when I traveled with him. It's nice to see more people using the extra deck as I see it has a lot of potential and I learned that from my brother." Tsukiko said after she had questioned the fact Xyz Summoned which did catch her attention. It had been the first time in almost a year she had seen an Xyz Summon. She recalled though during the Entrance Exams which she didn't have to partake in due to her brother's status that she saw Haas, Venwyn, Ethel, Ben and Akemi all Xyz Summon. Though she wondered what happened to Akemi since she hadn't seen her since then. She also didn't see Venwny around anymore too long after since he suddenly disappeared too. But perhaps that was the code of the ninja. A silly thought to be honest. Though it wasn't that important to her since Ben and Haas were still around. The only difference this time was she got to see them closer up just like that time when her brother did it. "Y'know, ever since the Entrance Exams it had been over a year that I've seen Xyz Summoning. But this time I get to see it closer up. This is actually the closest I've been to see one so I'm actually amazed by your abilities, Haas. The first thing my brother learned to master was Xyz Summoning before he was introduced to Fusion Summoning." Tsukiko said as she for a moment cracked a vivid smile, but it was immediately erased within seconds. She wanted to smile, but everything that overwhelmed her soul continued to pull her down into her abyss of unhappiness and despair.

Haas always felt proud of himself when he could get a big, imposing monster out on his field with just a snap of his finger. He looked at the glorious monster with the biggest dumb grin, before noticing Tsukiko started talking and instead paying attention that. He kind of blushed a little at the compliments, putting is free hand on his neck again and scratching. "Aw, c'mon, stop... You're making me blush." he admitted, but regained his composure soon enough. It wasn't anything special, his friends and him all learned to do it on their own after enough mock duels. "Anyway, my turn isn't over yet! Battle Phase! Mechquipped Angineer, attack Eclipse Wyvern!" Haas declared, and the Xyz monster responded by flying up and then divebombing the monster.

Eclipse Wyvern was shattered and Tsukiko's lifepoints dropped minimally, but Haas soon declared "Wind-up Snail, Attack her directly!" to follow. The little pink-colored, fake insect rolled up and just kind off... Bopped its head against Tsukiko's ankle, for the grand total of 100 extra damage.

Tsukiko's LP 4000 > 3700

"And THAT, is my turn! I now end it and move the game back to you." Haas announced, looking more confident than he did at the start of the duel.

Turn 4: Tsukiko
Haas: 4000 LP, 2 cards in hand, 2 monsters, 1 S/T
Tsukiko: 3700 LP, 6 cards in hand

"I draw." Tsukiko said as she drew another card into her hand. Wasn't the card she wanted, but it was something she could use when she saw it. she moved her hand over then grabbed one of her cards from her then flipped toward Haas as soon as she gripped it in between her thumb and index finger. "I activate the Spell Card Different Dimension Capsule. I'm sure you are well aware of what I can do with this card? But anyway, I can choose one card in my deck and banish it. During my second Standby Phase I can add that selected card to my hand." She said as she was about to search her deck for a card and then soon banish it unless Haas had a counter card, but noticed he didn't activate his Trap Card though she was curious what it was.

"I then place one monster down in face-down position and I set one card ending my turn." She announced as she placed one monster face-down in defense position then set another card right across from her Spell Card. She then took her hand away from her deck as she was ready to see what Haas next move was.

Turn 5: Haas
Haas: 4000 LP, 3 cards in hand, 2 monsters, 1 S/T
Tsukiko: 3700 LP, 3 cards in hand, 1 Set monster, 2 S/T

"My turn, then! Draw!" Haas cried out, swiping another card from his deck. No good. He didn't have much choice now... "Alright then, Battle! Mechquipped Angineer attacks your face-down Monster!" Haas declared, and the Xyz monster rose up high into the sky. It dashed down again, but before it made contact with the card the Angineer got bounced back by some kind of forcefield. The card flipped up, revealing a demonic looking fellow with red skin and a green dragon coiled around them.

Dragonic Guard: 1500 ATK 1800 DEF Level 4 FIRE Dragon

Haas clicked his tongue, knowing he was unable to do much of anything against it. "I'll switch my Wind-up Snail to defense, and then Set a card to end my turn." he finished, with the snail curling up into its shell.

Turn 6: Tsukiko
Haas: 4000 LP, 2 cards in hand, 2 monsters, 2 S/T
Tsukiko: 3700 LP, 4 cards in hand, 1 monster, 2 S/T

"My turn, I draw!" She said as she drew another card from her deck. Wasn't entirely the card she wanted though she kept her poker face despite this. Tsukiko knew she would have to wait one more turn before she could retrieve her card. When she saw a monster of hers remained on the field and the card she looked at shocked her finger. She wanted to hesitate playing it, but decided she needed to get more use to it. "I tribute Dragonic Guard to summon Void Dragon from my hand! Arise, dragon of black chaos, reign down terror in your wake!" She exclaimed as she had a hard time resisting the urge to become even more aggressive after summoning the monster. A dark sleek metallic dragon descended from above onto the field right beside her as she could feel the dark surge of it in her body.

Void Dragon: 2200 ATK 1900 DEF Level 6 DARK Machine

"Allow me to show you what Void Dragon does. By discarding one card, depending on the card type I choose, it can destroy one face up card on your side of the field. I'll send Exploder Dragon to my graveyard and I think you know what that means." Tsukiko said as she grabbed Exploder Dragon and deposited it into her graveyard. The dark metallic dragon swung around its tail releasing a shockwave at Haas Xyz Monster. "Black Chaos Strike!"

Haas looked amazed at the dragon when it descended down upon the field, as it was the same one he'd seen earlier. "Aw man, that's such a cool card!" he congratulated the girl, but it didn't seem like she paid much mind. Tsukiko wanted to activate an effect, but Haas couldn't let that go through. "Sorry, but by activation my Angineer's effect, I can detach one Overlay Unit to switch it to Defense position and prevent it from being destroyed!" Haas explained, one of the yellow orbs splashing open on Angineer's chest as it crossed their four wings in front of them. A barrier formed around the monster, which stopped the tail dead in its tracks.

Mechquipped Angineer OL 2 > 1

"Rather an interesting move. I'm impressed you managed to stop my non-extra deck ace card though it isn't my best." She said calmly as she tried her hardest to resist the crazes to smirk evilly. In the current condition she was in, it probably wasn't the best idea to summon that monster. She was just barely manage to resist its urge that usually made her go insane. "Despite how weak it really looks, your deck has a lot to offer. Looks can be deceiving indeed." Tsukiko remarked as she complimented Haas on the way his deck was setup. "Turn end."

Turn 7: Haas
Haas: 4000 LP, 3 cards in hand, 2 monsters, 2 S/T
Tsukiko: 3700 LP, 2 cards in hand, 1 monster, 2 S/T

Haas blinked twice when Tsukiko brought up his deck, grinning like an idiot again. "Heh, I know right? Wind-ups don't look like much, but they're really good when you know how to use 'em!" was his response to the whole thing. Then he realized it was his turn. "Oh, right! My turn, Draw!" he cried out once more, then looked at what he actually drew. This was a little risky, but... "I'll summon my Wind-up Hunter!" Haas declared, and a toy-like centaur rose up from the ground. It had a green-and-white paintjob, as well as having a crossbow built on its left arm. Their left eye was also covered with some kind of visor, and a black cape fluttered in the wind.

Wind-up Hunter: 1600 ATK 500 DEF Level 3 DARK Beast-Warrior

"By tributing one Wind-up monster, I can make you discard one random card. I tribute my Wind-up Snail!" Haas explained the effect, with Snail turning into an arrow of light that mounted itself on Hunter's crossbow. It then fired, striking the left card in Tsukiko's hand.

Tsukiko grabbed the card he chose and sent it to her graveyard, but her poker face still remained as her confidence wasn't shaken. She wouldn't miss her Spell Card since she didn't have any use for it and good thing she already played her most important one earlier.

Okay, gamble time. "I set one card, then end my turn."

Turn 8: Tsukiko
Haas: 4000 LP, 1 card in hand, 2 monsters, 3 S/T
Tsukiko: 3700 LP, 2 cards in hand, 1 monster, 2 S/T

"I draw!" She said as she drew another card. She also just remembered it had been two turns since she activated Different Dimension Capsule so now she could add the card she banished to her hand. "Since it has been two turns since I activated Different Dimension Capsule, I am now allowed to add the card I banished to my hand." She said as the capsule dissipated and out of the banish zone came the card which she added to her hand.

"I summon Cyber Phoenix from my hand in attack position." She said as a metallic phoenix looking bird appeared right beside her Void Dragon. She remembered the effect of his Xyz Monster and didn't want to dig herself a hole by gambling on its effect again.

Cyber Phoenix: 1200 ATK 1600 DEF Level 4 FIRE Machine

This was the best day of Haas' life. "I activate my face-down trap card, Attention!" Haas declared, as the Goblin Attack Force was shown and blew up from all sides. "I target one monster on your side of the field that is level five or lower, and destroy all cards with a different level!" he explained, having a smug grin. Surely this wouldn't backfire?

"I'm afraid that won't work. When a Trap or Spell Card activates that would target one of my Machine-Type monsters Cyber Phoenix's effect activates. It negates the effect of that card." She said as Cyber Phoenix let off a burst of flames from its shockwave to block his attack.

Haas grimaced as he saw his 'Attention!' go up in flames, realizing his plan might not have been as well thought out as he initially figured. This was probably the reason he was in Earth...

"Battle then. Void Dragon attack Wind-Up Hunter with Black Chaos Stream!" Tsukiko as she commanded her dragon to take out Haas Wind-Up Hunter. The dragon charged up its energy as it surged through its body then let off a massive column of dark light in his card's direction.

"I activate Angineer's effect, which switches it to Defense position and prevents its destruction!" Haas explained again, the last remaining Overlay Unit splashing open and creating a barrier around Hunter.

Mechquipped Angineer: OL 1 > 0

"All right, Cyber Phoenix. Destroy Angineer." Tsukiko said as she commanded her fiery metal phoenix to strike at Angineer. She though remembered that other face-down card he had and wondered if it would activate.

Haas held up his arms in front of him to shield himself from the pixels that got carried with Angineer's destruction, disappointed that one of his Xyz monsters is gone.

"I have to admit your monsters do have useful effects and I'm quite amazed by how well your deck synchronizes with itself. My brother always told me its the quality of the deck not the quantity. Unlike my other duels which had people using old cards I've seen before this one is proving to me quite a test for my prowess." Tsukiko said as she took her hand away from her deck then ended her turn allowing Haas to make his next move. She wondered if he could gain some momentum after he lost it earlier.

Turn 9: Haas
Haas: 4000 LP, 2 cards in hand, 1 monster, 2 S/T
Tsukiko: 3700 LP, 2 cards in hand, 2 monsters, 1 S/T

Tsukiko's opponent nervously laughed at her compliments, but was too focused on the duel to make any specific remarks on them. "Ergh... My turn, draw!" Haas declared, turning his eyes only slightly to check the card he just drew. No use. Dammit, nothing was going his way these last few turns... "I summon my Wind-up Bat!" the boy announced, and something small poked its head from behind Haas' shoulder. It was a small, black toy in the shape of a bat with little eyes but rather large fangs. It also sort of stayed on that shoulder, not bothering to move to the field.

Wind-up Bat: 300 ATK 350 DEF Level 1 WIND Machine

"Its effect allows me to switch it to defense, then add one Wind-up monster from my graveyard to my hand. Bat, use Winding Echolocation!" Haas commanded, and the toy responded by having its key turned and letting out a cry aimed at the floor. It created a small, black hole which had a flash of light hop into Haas' hands. A brief image of Wind-up Shark was on the field before Bat got tired and decided to take a nap on Haas' shoulder.

"I... End my turn."

Turn 10: Tsukiko
Haas: 4000 LP, 2 cards in hand, 2 monsters, 2 S/T
Tsukiko: 3700 LP, 3 cards in hand, 2 monsters, 1 S/T

"I draw!" Tsukiko said as she drew a card into her hand. She then took a look at the card and wondered if she should summon it or use Void Dragon's effect. She didn't want to be second guessing herself or making a mistake. So as long as Cyber Phoenix remained on the field she remembered her Machine-Type monsters were safeguarded from Spell and Trap Cards. Closing her eyes she pondered whether to summon the monster she just drew or not.

"I tribute Cyber Phoenix to summon Blowback Dragon from my hand." She said as she grabbed Blowback Dragon's card and summoned the blue and red metallic warrior like dragon from her hand. She also didn't forget that Blowback Dragon had quite a unique effect which she could use. She then opened her eyes and gazed upon Haas trying to remain like she was and not pushing herself over the edge into her more aggressive side. You could notice a slight hesitation from her eyes and take note that she looked somewhat troubled even if she tried to hide it under her poker face.

Blowback Dragon: 2300 ATK 1200 DEF Level 6 DARK Machine

"I activate Blowback Dragon's effect. Once per turn, I can target one card on your side of the field, if two of the results are Heads I can destroy that target." She flipped the first coin and it landed Tails. A disappointed look overshadowed her face and a sigh came out of her mouth when the second result was Tails. Shaking her head in disappointment that was not the greatest coin toss for her. "Looks like lady luck is on your side this time." She mused as she decided it was time to move into the Battle Phase.

Haas's face scrunched up when he heard about Blowback Dragon's effect, getting the feeling that if it went through, this was going to get very ugly. The first coin toss took ages for him, but when it landed on the floor a huge wave of relief washed over the guy. And then the second followed, which Haas also looked at with fear. But who would've guessed they were also tails? "Booyah!" He cried out in relief, fistpumping the air. "But, I don't plan on winning my duel by luck. Show me what you've got, Tsukiko!" he challenged, his eyes shining with confidence.

"Be careful what you ask for." Tsukiko warned as she decided to stop resisting her urge to become more aggressive. Tsukiko's eyes turned very serious and there was somewhat a cold smile on her face. "Battle!" She declared as she was ready to move into her Battle Phase now. Her tone changed and didn't seem as polite or nice as it was before and her eyes became a little more sinister. "Blowback Dragon deliver pain onto his monster Wind-Up Hunter and obliterate it!" Blowback Dragon fired a blaze of darkness at Wind-Up Hunter where it was swallowed into its darkness dragged into the gates of oblivion.

"Now, Void Dragon." Tsukiko said as she started to grin feeling a refreshed after knowing she delivered pain onto her foe. The same pain which tormented her and plagued her which she wanted everyone to feel, because it was one reason she hated entire society. A dark aura enveloped her when she commanded Void Dragon to attack Haas' other monster. "Black Chaos Stream! Rip through and burn to ashes!"

Wind-up Bat woke up at around the same time Tsukiko announced her attack, slowly flickering open its eyelids. Then it saw a big scary dragon charging up a breath attack and felt the most awake it's ever been, frantically flapping its wings and moving off of Haas' shoulder. It flew around in circles in front of the boy, before eventually getting obliterated by the powerful burst attack. Haas held up his Duel Disk to shield himself from the smoke, but at least his lifepoints were safe.

"Turn end." Tsukiko said as she didn't have cards to set down on her duel disk. She moved her hands away from her deck as she would allow Haas to take his next turn.

Turn 11: Haas
Haas: 4000 LP, 3 cards in hand, 2 S/T
Tsukiko: 3700 LP, 2 cards in hand, 2 monsters, 1 S/T

Haas had no monsters on his field, and Tsukiko was staring him down with two big ones... Man, if there was ever a stupid grin, Haas would have it on his face right now. He's been having a lot of fun with this duel so far. "Heh... Thanks, Tsukiko. I'm kinda glad I dueled you now, you're great!" he complimented her, then looked down at his deck and placed his hand over it. "I'll admit, right now, I don't have anything to deal with your field. So... I guess this is sort of like a 'Destiny Draw', right?" he asked, closing his eyes and placing two fingertips on the top most card. "It's my turn! DRAW!" he shouted, swiping the next card with gusto. When he opened his eyes again to look at what it was, the grin only got more intense. "ALRIGHT! Here we GO!" he yelled, slamming it down onto the Duel Disk instantly.

"I normal summon Wind-up Juggler!" Haas begun, with a green toy in a dress rising up from the floor. It had an hourglass shape, with the dress ending in a spring and a golden key on its back. "And then, I can Special Summon my Wind-up Shark!" he went on, and an image of the same shark from before soon showed itself next to juggler.

Wind-up Juggler: 1700 ATK 1000 DEF Level 4 WIND Psychic

Wind-up Shark: 1500 ATK 1300 DEF Level 4 WATER Fish

Alright... Haas now had two level 4 monsters on his field. It was time to show Tsukiko his OWN ace! "I overlay my Level 4 Wind-up Juggler with my Level 4 Wind-up Shark!!" Haas announced his Xyz summon again, and the same vortex from before opened up with a similar gust. Juggler became a green swirl and Shark a blue one, which both jumped inside and mixed together much like before. "Creator and overseer of the toys, enter upon the battlefield and demonstrate your might!" Haas chanted, with a flash of light erupting from the vortex. Xyz Summon! Rank 4, Wind-up Zenmaister! he finished, and from the Xyz vortex rose another green contraption. Well, green white and purple. Four rockets kept it floating in the air, all connected to an upside-down pyramid. From the middle of that pyramid jutted some golden gears, connecting to a small upper body. Two gigantic arms hung from its side, and the head was comparatively tiny to the rest of the body.

Wind-up Zenmaister: 1900 ATK 1500 DEF Rank 4 EARTH Machine / OL 2

"..." Tsukiko didn't really have anything to say to his monster. She kept her focus on it though. Due to the fact she had become more aggressive she concentrated more on herself rather than her opponent.

Haas didn't expect Tsukiko to really get it just yet, but smirked anyway. "Wind-up Zenmaister's effect! It gains 300 ATK for each Overlay Unit attached to it!" Haas explained, as the two orbs floating around Zenmaister rotated more intensely. With this powerup, neither of Tsukiko's monsters would be able to withstand the attack!

Wind-up Zenmaister: ATK 1900 > 2500

"Heh, you know what that means right? Battle! Wind-up Zenmaister, attack Void Dragon with Rotation Smash!" the boy called his attack, with the left arm or Zenmaister detaching itself. A rocket from its rear end flared up, and the fist launched itself right at Void Dragon, intending to punch it straight into the ground. It was spinning whilst flying also, acting like some kind of drill on impact.

Tsukiko eyes narrowed a little bit when she saw her own monster about to be destroyed. A shockwave was through her body as the dark aura around her body continued to pulse around her. "Urgh..." She said as she looked like she was in a lot of pain from the destruction of her own dragon, but the look in her eyes was one full of emptiness.

Tsukiko LP: 3700 > 3400

Haas was screaming in celebration, at least on the inside. On the outside, the boy pretended to be completely calm and collected. "Heh, I'm glad I at least got to show off my ace this duel. Turn end!"

Turn 12: Tsukiko
Haas: 4000 LP, 1 card in hand, 1 monster, 2 S/T
Tsukiko: 3400 LP, 3 cards in hand, 1 monster, 1 S/T

Tsukiko didn't say a word as she drew another card from her deck. The loss of her dragon almost felt like the same when she lost her mother. The empty look in her eyes continued to look on at Haas. She didn't even take a look at the card she drew. "Activate Blowback Dragon's effect." She said as she activated the effect of the card then pointed at Haas' Wind-up Zenmaister. The first result was tails. The second result was heads. The last result she was hoping was heads, but it spun around for awhile then landed tails.

"Battle, from my hand I activate Limiter Removal. The attack of my Machine monsters doubles when I use this card." She said as she commanded Blowback Dragon to attack and destroy his monster. Though she also remembered she would have an empty field at the end of her turn, because of the card though she had a plan.

Blowback Dragon: ATK 2300 > 4600

Haas LP: 4000 > 1900

Haas held up his disk again, trying to shield himself from the incoming impact. Zenmaister had a huge hole in his chest from Blowback Dragon's blast, crouching down on his knees and slowly fading into nothing. The smoke from Blowback Dragon still made quite the mess, though.

"I tribute Blowback Dragon to summon a second Void Dragon from my hand." She said as she tributes her Blowback Dragon to summon a second Void Dragon from her hand which saved her from the negative effect of the card at the end of her turn giving her a monster to defend her Life Points with. Still she had empty eyes like she had been through tremendous suffering and had almost lost faith in everything as she ended her turn.

Void Dragon: 2200 ATK 1900 DEF Level 6 DARK Machine

Turn 13: Haas
Haas: 1900 LP, 2 cards in hand, 2 S/T
Tsukiko: 3400 LP, 1 card in hand, 1 monster, 1 S/T

Haas whistled at the second Void Dragon, knowing full well he's in trouble now. That thing had a deadly effect, and even more deadly ATK points. That last turn had been a destiny draw, but now it was more important than ever. Though, he did notice something a little off about Tsukiko. These last few turns, she'd been a lot less talkative and expressionless. What was up with that? "Guess I already used up my Destiny draw, huh? It's my turn!" he announced, picking up the next card from his deck. And it was a card that felt familiar to him, as what he was about to do was exactly to same at the entrance duels. Though... He'd lost that, didn't he? Was this really the wisest move?

"I..." Haas hesitated a little. He was holding up his card, having it float just above the Duel Disk. "...Augh, whatever! I summon my Wind-up Kitten!" he announced, placing the card down onto the Disk. From the ground rose a small, orange little toy that was sleeping on its side... Which looked odd, considering it used wheels to drive around.

Wind-up Kitten: 800 ATK 500 DEF Level 2 EARTH Beast

"Wind-up Kitten lets me return your Void Dragon to the hand!" Haas activated his effect, with Wind-up Kitten yawning as it woke up. A tuft of air hit Void Dragon, which seemed to get tired itself (even though it is a machine) and slammed straight into the floor whilst it napped. Naturally, the dragon then bounced back into Tsukiko's hand.

Tsukiko took her dragon back into her hand though she had really no reaction. She had become rather quiet for some reason which was unknown at the time. She slid the card back into her hand with her other card.

"Alright!" Haas celebrated, glad this could go through. "Wind-up Kitten attacks you directly!" Haas announced, and the lazy cat got back on its side. It rushed forward, bonking its head against Tsukiko's leg and managing to somehow land on its back from it. Haas awkwardly scratched his head, looking at how Kitten struggled to get up. Eventually, though, they did and returned to their spot on the field... To take another nap.

Tsukiko LP: 3400 > 2600

"Not bad." Tsukiko said as she took the attack head on without really flinching any. It felt like she was being a bit forced back, but she had stood her ground and was able to come out of it nearly unfazed. Perhaps all that torture she went through with her father was finding some actual use.

Okay. This was somewhat good, Haas figured. He'd gotten rid of Tsukiko's ace again, and now had to hold out until he drew another Wind-up to strengthen his field. "Alright, turn end!"

Turn 14: Tsukiko
Haas: 1900 LP, 1 card in hand, 1 monster, 2 S/T
Tsukiko: 2600 LP, 3 cards in hand, 1 S/T

Tsukiko again didn't say a word as she drew her next card. A disappointing look on her face appeared as it wasn't the card she wanted, but it wasn't absolutely useless either. She could still use the card even though all it would really do was give more time. "I set one card and end my turn." Tsukiko said as she slid the card into her Spell/Trap Zone right beside her other card which she hadn't had a chance to activate yet.

Turn 15: Haas
Haas: 1900 LP, 2 cards in hand, 1 monster, 2 S/T
Tsukiko: 2600 LP, 2 cards in hand, 2 S/T

"My turn, then! Draw!" Haas cried out, disappointing again with what he actually drew. "I'll attack you with my Wind-up Kitten!" the boy called out, pointing his Kitten forward. This time it was smart, rolling up next to Tsukiko and clawing at her leg instead of bonking their head against it.

Tsukiko LP: 2600 > 1800

"I'll set a card, and then end my turn." Haas finished, a holographic image of a cardback appearing in between the two already on the field. At least he had the lifepoint advantage now?

Turn 16: Tsukiko
Haas: 1900 LP, 1 card in hand, 1 monster, 3 S/T
Tsukiko: 1800 LP, 3 cards in hand, 2 S/T

Tsukiko drew her next card and it was the exactly the card she wanted though it would be very risky to do what she was about to do. With 1800 Life Points it could end up a game ender if it backfired on her. "All right then." Tsukiko said as she showed Haas the Power Bond card then her two Void Dragons. It was time for him to see what exactly those Void Dragons were for. She couldn't summon her most powerful Void End Dragon since she didn't have her other dragon, but still she could summon the LV8 Void Twin Dragon which she used on Vincent though she summoned two of them with Polymerization + Overload Fusion. "This is one of my most powerful monsters in my deck. I am a Fusion Summoner and now allow me to show you the might of the Princess of Darkness. This is the embodiment of my soul Shower forth, my greatest creation Void Twin Dragon!"

A giant red and black metallic two headed dragon emerged from a gigantic black and purple vortex that spun around above. The monster descended right beside her which was even bigger than she was. It was so big that the room was almost too small to house it. "This is my ace, Void Twin Dragon. Not the best card I have to offer, but it is close to that." She said toward Haas as she grinned introducing him to her enormous two-headed dragon. "Because I used Power Bond, Void Twin's Dragon's attack is double its original."

Void Twin Dragon: 2500 ATK 2200 DEF Level 8 DARK Machine

Void Twin Dragon: ATK 2500 > 5000

Haas looked on as Tsukiko activated the Power Bond spell card, at first confused. He'd heard about Fusion Summoning from that class they'd all gotten, but didn't quite understand it fully yet. But then Tsukiko merged two of the dragons in her hand, opening up a vortex sort of similar to the one used when Xyz summoning. Descending on the field was... Something amazing. A two-headed behemoth of a monster, with the same sleek black armor as Void Dragon and an even more menacing look. Not only that, but it had 5000 ATK points?!

Haas grinned. Such... Such an amazing monster! "Wow, Tsukiko... You really are amazing!" he complimented. The sheer power that monster emanated was intense. But the card Haas had set... Just that turn earlier... Now was the time! "I.. Almost feel bad for doing this. Trap card, activate! Void Trap Hole!" he called, with a card flipping over that showed the three Dragons of the Ice Barriers getting blown to bits. "When my opponent Special Summon a monster with 2000 or more ATK, I can negate its effect and destroy it!" Haas explained, as the entire room shifted. Colors got inverted, time slowed down. Void Twin Dragon let out an almost demonic cry due to the distortion, and started to... Implode. Once Twin Dragon had completely inverted itself, the room turned to normal as a gigantic, holographic explosion rocked it.

Tsukiko thought about placing her hand over deck then decided she wouldn't. Haas wouldn't get another turn, because her own card effect would defeat her. "Unfortunately, I am defeated by my own card effect. You see when I activate Power Bond I take damage equal to the original attack of that card. Since Void Twin Dragon's attack is 2500 you won't be getting another turn." Tsukiko said as she ended her turn and when she did that her Life Points were reduced to zero due to the effect of Power Bond ending the duel. She retracted her duel disk back knowing without a card like Cyber Kirin the duel would end on Turn 16. She flipped over the card she would have drawn next and decided maybe it was better this way. She didn't have a disappointed look on her face when she flipped the card over then returned it to her deck, but she also wouldn't reveal what that card would have been.

Tsukiko LP: 1800 > 0

WINNER: HAAS!

Aftermath

Haas wheezed as the field dissipated into nothing, falling onto his behind after such a tiring duel. The last card in his hand, Level Lifter, unfortunately didn't get to see much use. But man! That was intense. "Heh... Thanks for the duel, Tsukiko, I had fun!" he laughed, moving his head to be able to look her in the eyes. "We had a promise, though, right? I won." Haas grinned, closing his eyes innocently.

"Tch..." She sighed as she had made a promise though she wasn't satisfied, because she lost due to her own card. As much as she didn't like the result about her defeating herself, because it tasted bitter in her mouth she had no choice to oblige. "Fine." Were her words as she was about to walk away then handed Haas a note which was her registration number that would allow to register her as a friend. She hadn't even given that kind of information to Ben. "You earned it. It's my registration number so you can add me to your friend list." Were her final words as she walked off to her dorm and closed the door. She had a very disappointed look on her face when she entered her room. Losing to a technicality did not sit well with her which she would have to revisit when she felt like she wasn't so confused. She knew full and well her brother wouldn't call her loss a win for the other person since he was very critical when it came to winning. You either win by your own power or you'd never be respected by him. It was a reality Tsukiko had to face which she knew she wouldn't ever be able to change. She was concerned that her loss with Haas might affect her relationship with her brother which was kind of shaky still. Like the duel, she would have to revisit that when she woke up in the morning.

The boy was a little confused when Tsukiko gave that note to him, wondering what the code was for. He was also very confused as to when she actually jotted that down. Though, Tsukiko explained what it was before long. "Oh, thank y-" Haas was about to speak, but Tsukiko was already going out of view. The boy sat there for a little while, letting it sink in. Wait. Did he just get a girl's number? He started becoming a little red in the face, awkwardly laughing to himself. Oh man, what the hell had he gotten himself into?

Tsukiko went over to her bed and lied down on it. She reflected on the duel she had a moment ago. "..." The girl didn't have any words after the sight of losing her powerful Fusion monster not only once but twice. A hatred for Haas grew on one side of her. The side she had met earlier when she was in the Card Shop sorting out her deck. "You're worthless. You really know that? Hahahah! You are as worthless as your cards are. Your brother probably thinks you're a joke by now. To lose like you did. You don't deserve to even own those rare cards you have." Tsukiko heard the voice speak in her mind. She couldn't stand its hysterical laughing and the fact it made fun of her. "SHUT UP!" She screamed as she grabbed her three Void Dragons and threw them at the wall. She then threw her two Void Twin Dragons and Void End Dragons at the wall too. She didn't say a word when she did this and she didn't even get up to go retrieve them.

"Your mother died like a dog and so did your monster. What are you going to do? Cry? It's the only thing you know how to do, pathetic Tsukiko." The voice again said in her mind trying to arouse her anger once again. Tsukiko noticed that getting rid of her cards didn't help get rid of that annoying voice she had to deal with earlier. Now it was making fun of, because of her loss to Haas. It was becoming harder and harder for her to accept the result of what just happened a moment ago. Part of her called Haas win a fluke. Thought he won because she let him win. The same side which tormented her mind by making fun of how she lost to him in such a pathetic way too. "When I was in control, you didn't have to go through this. Just let me take over. You won't ever have to suffer again. We will show what true pain is to the entire world. What do you say?" The voice said toward her trying to get Tsukiko to surrender to it. It was the same side of her that took her over when she was with Angelo. Though Angelo made her so angry that it was hard not to resist it. "No..." She refused the request as she tried to close her eyes and fall asleep. But the urge was very persistent and wouldn't leave her alone.

"Without me, you would have been crushed by that foolish child Vincent. You're nothing without me. Just a helpless girl who is so depressed that she doesn't want to do anything other than be worthless." The voice reminded her trying to get a reaction out of her with that insult. Tsukiko ignored what they said since she didn't want to listen to it. There was truth the words it was speaking. She was starting to lose faith in her cards thinking how worthless her cards really were. Maybe Shiyura was right, that it was better not to use such a worthless Pandora's Box. She had lost twice due to a Trap Card, but the second time her Power Bond card's recklessness cost her the duel which made it hard to accept Haas really won. What if they were right? That Haas won because of a mere technicality and that his win really wasn't a win. She thought in her mind as she pondered the words they spoke and questioned the validation behind them. "I'm done with Void Dragon... I'm tired of being reminded of the death of my mother. To hell with that card and its Fusions." She said with emptiness in her eyes in voice deciding she might just stop using those cards forever. If she did that, what new strategy would she use?

She loved her brother's cards, because they weren't only used by him. They were also used by her mother before him who gave them to her brother when he wanted to start dueling at the age of five. But when she thought about that it reminded her of her mother which caused to hate Void Dragon even more. Her dark aura erupted around her body as she lied in bed still enveloped in anger over what the voice said to her. "I don't give a damn about you stupid dragon. Just leave me alone. I want nothing to do with you anymore!" She screamed at it while her eyes were closed but the aura around her body grew even more intense. Despite her having such a strong hatred for her cards now they resonated with her even more. "Why don't you just die? All you do is bring me pain! All you do is bring me nightmares and hateful memories! I wish you would just perish and never return! To hell with this entire world!" She said as the pain from all the loss she had experienced was starting to overwhelm her mind. Even though she hated the dragon its essence and influence over her remained.

"I hope I never wake up... I'd rather die than have to face my brother after that disgrace. I might as well toss away my family name. I am such a disgrace to our family. Mother must hate me right now. Losing like that, there is no honor in it. There is only shame. It would have been no different had I surrendered. I am not going to class tomorrow. I can't stand it have those people look down on me and have my brother look at me like he doesn't even know me anymore. If I talked to him now, he would act like I don't even exist." She paused for a moment as she was still very upset about her loss to Haas. She just couldn't accept the result no matter how much she processed it. She also saw visions of her brother laughing at her and calling her weak and pathetic. "You're disgrace to this family, Tsukiko. I hereby now disown you. Anyone that loses like that allowing someone to win without showing their true power has no affiliation with me. You can go down in flames on your own. I will retain my reputation." She imagined he would say as his words were painful to her heart. Hearing those words almost made her cry, but she wasn't going to cry. it wouldn't solve anything even if she did.

"I HATE THIS!!! I HATE THIS WORLD!!! I HATE EVERYTHING!!!" Were her last words as she finally fell asleep after how much she threw a tantrum about losing. Finally she was at ease after all that jerking around in bed and pounding her fist on the side of her bed. Her eyes were bloodshot and her eyes were so empty that there was no emotion to her face anymore. The dark aura that erupted around her body didn't leave her while she was asleep. No matter how much she urged it to leave her alone it didn't. There was much mystery behind the Void Dragon cards and the connection they had to Tsukiko and her brother. Many that were still have yet to be solved.

[Ammokkx]

The day continued on pretty frantically, and the staff didn't seem to get much rest. Eventually, when the higher-ups found out, even Turbo Dueling class got cancelled and all students were asked to stay in 'Safe Zones' inside the main building. The chaos died down near the end of the day, and come the next one things were looking a lot better. Classes continued like normal, with everyone participating in every class now at least once. Soon enough, an entire week passed for the students at the Duel Tower. Some dueled their free time away, others stayed in their room with the luxuries they'd ordered. Others were wild and decided to go out and explore the desert, only to get caught an hauled back by force. Rumors even started spreading of students having modified their disks, participating in illegal dueling much past the hours they should. The academy was now truly starting to shine, even if the first few days had been extremely chaotic.

Some of the students were finding themselves in Xyz Summoning, getting taught by Colonel. They'd already gone over the basics, with him now showing the students how different monsters could manipulate their levels to make Xyz Summoning easier, and ways to counter exactly those switches. The lesson did come to an end soon enough, though. "ALRIGHT! That is it for Level manipulation on Xyz Summons! You all rest up , next LESSON we'll watch some DEMONSTRATIONS of professional duelists performing them online." they shouted to everyone, standing in the middle of class with their arms crossed. He pointed to a girl and two guys in the back of the room, who were interrupting the class the entire time. "YOU THREE! You have detention. Report to class FJ, on floor 27. Not showing up will yield PUNISHMENT. The rest of you CADETS are DISMISSED!" Colonel shouted out, shooing out everyone but those three.

Some other students had found themselves in generic classes like Math and Chemistry, though the looney duo of Ryder and Melchior were assigned to those and made sure to cause as much confusion as possible with them using examples of Duel Monsters to explain away everything. Especially cringeworthy was when Melchior had used Cloudians, Tremendous Fire, House of Adhesive Tape and Charcoal Impachi to explain the way thermolysis worked. Ryder also seemed to love using Tokens with different values on them to explain the various ways you could calculate unknown values. Both of them had also dismissed their classes in similar ways, though. And Melchior's entire class may or may not be deaf by the end of this day.

Some students would see the next thing on their to-do list being Standard Dueling, and the academy had started giving out lists of names to the students so they could check who was with them in class. Many of them were unfamiliar, but people like Hayate would notice her brother's name and Ignia could notice Ethel's presence. Oddly enough it was always a certain group of misfits that found themselves being paired together on most dueling classes, for whatever reason. Still, the class was said to be held in the arenas O-P on floor 28.

Some that decided to show up for class would dread the sight, as they would see the image of a mountain they had met just once before, in the same class. A beast of a man, ripped to the extreme with the manliest, broadest shoulders imaginable. They were a whopping 2m27, with their feet buried solidly into the ground. Their skin was the tightest it could possibly get even when their grey beard and bald head betrayed their age, though no doubt it is because of the relentless exercise and never ending stream of testosterone honing his body. The famous professional duelist who had earned the title of 'Manliest Being on Earth', as well as a reputation for transforming the bones of those who did not follow the rules into mush. His chest exposed, his feet only home to wooden sandals... Ripped blue shorts, and perhaps the most important thing were those sunglasses that never left his eyes. Rumors have it that those are part of transformer's body, and others talk about how they're secretly nightvision goggles. But no matter what... This was the one, the only Transformer.

Transformer, the lecturer on Standard dueling did not budge an inch until he saw every student he needed to arrive.

---

Ethel took notes of the various things spoken about in Xyz summoning, as the concept of manipulating your levels to make it easier was foreign to her. She had only learned how to perform it a little while ago, and whilst proficient at it, didn't understand it fully yet. Snipes was a little rough on the lecture, but he did manage to get every point he needed to across and was scarily effective at silencing a classroom. When it ended, Ethel had wrote an entire sheet of paper full of notes. None of her monsters did what was spoken about, so she'd have to study this later. Class got dismissed, and she pulled out her D-ceiver to check what was next on the list. Seems like it was Standard Dueling, something she looked forward to about as much as Action Dueling. Neither of them were her preferred ways of doing things, but rules were rules... The only thing that really motivated her to go was seeing Ignia's name on the student list, a girl Ethel had started to grow more and more fond of as time went on. Even if she was annoying sometimes.

Ethel got up with a little hum, reciting the lyrics of a song she liked in her head. She was in a surprisingly good mood today. The girl decided she had a bit of time to spare before everything started, so she made her way down to the dorm area to lessen the load. Some rumors have started spreading on how she's a crazy bitch in duels, acting as if the monsters are supposed to die. Others speak of how much of a goddess of beauty she was, practically drooling over the fanservic-ey outfits that filled up her closet. Not that the girl cared or even knew about them. It was merely something that caused students to either admire her from afar, or stay away from and laugh about behind her back. She found herself inside of her room before long, seeing a note having been slid under her door. Picking it up revealed it to be some anonymous love letter, a completely foreign concept to her. She got disgusted at the words written on it, tossing it right into the trash bin to get rid of it.

She dropped off her notes and papers, feeling as if they weren't going to be needed anymore for the rest of the day. She'd not picked up any new cards recently, the girl realized when looking at the deck softly resting atop her desk. She probably should work towards that... Picking that up as well as her Hybrid Disk, Ethel made her way back up the elevator to the arenas her Duel Tranceiver pointed out. The girl grimaced at the sight of Transformer, remembering the lectures from last time she was here. Ugh, this wasn't going to be fun for her at all. She scurried off to the side, isolating herself from the rest of the group as much as possible.

---

Haas groaned when Ryder was using SHEEP TOKENS again to explain the values, slamming his head down on the desk in front of them. Math was not the boy's best friend, and neither were all these confusing formulas and exercises. When the bell finally rang and Ryder had dismissed everyone, Haas was one of the first to bolt on out of there. "I hope there's no test soon..." the boy whined, pulling out his D-ceiver once far enough away. Seems like the next thing on the list for him to do was go to Standard Dueling, the course he'd chosen at the start of the year. He remembered the instructor as kind of a scary guy, but also sorta good? It was all a haze, really. One thing he wouldn't forget was the tremors, though! That guy was like a walking earthquake... No, he WAS a walking earthquake. How has the school not collapsed yet with him around?

Though Haas was probably best off not to just loiter in the hallways like that. He scrolled around a bit, found the location he needed to arrive at, and booked it. Storming up the stairs like Sonic Duck, Haas was the first to arrive... And sorely disappointed in himself because of it. Nobody wanted to be that guy that arrived first. He frantically looked around, but nobody that entered the room for a little while was anyone he knew, or alternatively, anyone that cared to know him. Which majorly sducked.

---

Shinrei hadn't bothered with Xyz Summoning at all. It didn't matter to him what drivel they'd try to sell, it's not like he didn't already know. They were skipping class again, leaning against the wall of the Duel Tower whilst staring at the endless desert stretching out in front of him. The guy wondered if the students here even realized they're basically caged birds, dancing to the strings of this place because they couldn't go anywhere else anyway. In the distance he could see a certain arena made for high speeds, and nearly gagged as a result. Turbo dueling was nothing more than a suicidal gamble in his eyes, and he wouldn't be caught dead dueling there. Not that he'd been dueling in general. The academy had warned him that the path Shinrei's going in will not lead to any success, but he knew his skills were far superior to anything the second-rate duelists running around here could conjure up.

He felt something buzz inside the pockets of his long, black coat. He looked down, grabbing the phone-like device out of his pocket that the academy had supplied to everyone for some reason. It was just another notification of the school telling him to go to class, which made the silver haired boy click his tongue. Even if he was a pretty big deal, this was still an academy and it'd probably be best to follow along at least a little. Shinrei scrolled through the various pages, trying to find what class he'd have to attend. And the result was strangely pleasing to him, spotting it to be Standard Dueling with a few interesting names in it. Two of them were duelists that had quite a bit of buzz floating around them, namely Vincent and Ethel. Then there was also his sister, Tsukiko, which he hadn't seen in a while for some strange reason... Honestly, that alone convinced him to go. He's starting to feel like they're getting isolated from each other, which isn't the intent. Though he almost reconsidered when he saw Leander on the list, someone that had made it their lifegoal to annoy him to death, or so it seemed.

Reluctantly Shinrei pushed himself off of the wall and dusted off the black overcoat, shoving the D-Ceiver back into the pocket her got it from. He pulled up the Duel Disk, mounted firmly on his wrist and stared. Maybe he'd find some talent floating around in that class, some people actually worth dueling. After a few minutes of this, the boy walked back into the building and climbed the stairs in no particular hurry to get there. The longer he'd avoid running into a certain hyperactive Light dorm, the better.

[Xeiyenreisha]

Tsukiko continued to sit in class though a lot of students gave her unusual stares when she had entered with the outfit she was wearing earlier. She didn't care if she wasn't wearing her uniform; she would go back to wearing what she wanted and stop giving a damn about what people wanted her to wear. She liked wearing dark clothes anyway especially black since it fit her character, nature and personality. The outfit she was currently wearing gave a dark aura into the atmosphere toward those around her. It made her look more mysterious and made people think twice about approaching her, because it also gave off the vibe that she was disturbed. That meant approaching her for a conversation might be bad idea seeing as she gave the impression by her fashion statement that she was not the friendly type. Which was actually true even if she put on her usual facade of being the sweet and kind girl to get her through the day. She turned her attention toward Haas and gave him a dirty look with his eyes even though he probably wasn't watching. She wasn't going to waste anymore time looking at him. Not like she cared what naive thoughts were going through his mind anyway.

She then turned to look at Ethel which made her grimace. Part of her laughed at the thought some of the students had the audacity to call that kind of figure a "goddess". One part of her almost giggled out loud, but she was able to suppress the thought from escaping her. Seriously, her fashion is so out of taste. I mean look at what she wears? It's a joke to call what she wears fashionable. She has no idea that she looks like a lolicon. She only wears it for attention, how lame... I'm not even that desperate. Ugh... I swear some of these idiots are literally fashion illiterate. The same part of her thought that though the other focused on trying to listen to the teacher.

At the moment she was wearing a cloak like cape that was raven black as the night with a pair of black gloves mostly concealed underneath the long sleeves. which also had a hood and a muffler which covered most of her face aside from her eyes. With the girl's appearance mostly hidden, it was hard for anyone to tell what the girl was actually thinking in her mind. She also wore a short red skirt and black thigh highs that went underneath her long black boots. She thought to herself while keeping her words to herself as she kept one watchful eye on the teacher. I still have to be around a bunch of worthless people. Having to be nice to them is becoming such a chore too... Not like I have much of a choice. Drawing too much animosity toward me could prove problematic. She then paused from her thinking and pulled out her current deck. She had noted adding two of the three Tri-Fusion Dragons. She also recorded the last name of the set that still had yet to be released. The one she heard that was useful in preventing Monster Effects. Currently she had two of the three which were Chrysantheum, The Spell Breaker Dragon and Retsugrata, The Trap Buster Dragon. Which made her think about her duel with Vincent. Retsugrata would foil Vincent's Trap Cards especially his annoying ones like Bottomless Trap Hole and Into the Breach. Chrysantheum would help her against Michelle preventing her from using her Spell Cards to shield her monsters with. These two thoughts made her grin a bit. Now she just needed Zarathustra, The Ruin Dragon to get rid of Vincent's annoying Chaos Monsters she had heard about. The only one she remembered was Chaos Sorcerer. But that also reminded her how much of a jerk Vincent was which made her angry inside that the volcano almost erupted spilling its ashes onto the entire class, but she was able to control her urge to blow up in front of Vincent. That inconsiderate jerk. Who the hell does he think he is? He might be good at dueling, but this fist of mine when it collides with that face of his would hurt badly. How dare he exploit me like that! She yelled in her mind until then she started to grin a bit when she thought of the most devious and evil way to get back at Vincent.

She pondered the thought about the duel with Haas. As much as she wanted to put it behind she couldn't. She would not forget Haas face nor the face she blundered on her own Spell Card. It was fuel for the fire many know as revenge. Best served when you least expect it as a surprise. "So many other cards out there that have yet to be discovered. The possibilities are nearly endless. Maybe along the way I can create my own style which branches off my brother's old style he used in the World Tournaments." She whispered to herself as she didn't really pay attention to any of the other students. They were pretty much irrelevant to her as she was only there to learn anything that could prove useful to her and think about new strategies she could use against her opponents.

She had spent two days in here room in complete isolation after Haas duel not wanting to associate herself with anyone. She also hardly ate during those days and still doesn't eat very much now either. No one has seen her face since the day of the attack where people wonder why she hides her face from everyone. She doesn't really care since hiding her appearance has actually helped avoid some unnecessary attention from some of the boys, but it certainly hasn't caused her fan club to disband. In the midst of all her thinking, she realized that not including Void Dragon wasn't possible. The card had a really strong resonance to her like they were connected someway in some sort of bond that she didn't know about. Much to her dismay since she didn't know anything about the card or its past regarding her mother.

"Void Twin Dragon has proven to be one of the most worthless monsters in my entire deck. Twice the thing has only caused me pain and I'll be damned if I allow it to do what it did to me the other day. I hate seeing visions about my mother's death." She said to herself silently thinking about how ineffective Void Twin Dragon had been to her. The regular form had proven some use to her and maybe Void End Dragon would prove more useful to her than Void Twin Dragon. "I don't know what you're trying to do, but I think you wanted me to lose on purpose, Void Twin Dragon. Why the hell should I put my trust in someone I hardly even know and looks like he's not only the laughing stock of the school but a class clown to boot? I swear, I'm too nice at times. More so than I need to be." She spoke silently again to herself as her lips did move, but no one could hear a word she said. The fact she gave Haas her registration bothered her. She didn't now what possessed her to do that after her loss. Maybe it was because she was so light-headed and out of it that day. She could still remember the anger that burned in her eyes that stayed with her after the loss even though she hid it with friendly eyes. She stared off to the side of her seat thinking clearly about what drove her to give him her registration number allowing him to register her as a friend. "Did I do that because of the fear for the future? That I might go down the path of ruin and need someone to stop me? I learned from my brother that despair is a dangerous thing. In the wrong hands, it can be a weapon of destruction. Is this emptiness I feel? The same feeling he felt back then? The endless torture spiral circle of death known as despair?" Tsukiko said softly to herself still reflecting on that day. The day she flew too high in the sky with wax wings and the sun melted them away bringing her back to the surface one calls reality.

Tsukiko had a lot of uncertainty which was like a weight on her heart which kept her hopes weighed down toward the ground. This same feeling is what lead to convince herself that she was a faithless child doomed to continue down the path of ruin. Her hatred for everything was strong and that hatred grew and swelled the two days she remained locked inside her room refusing to come out after her loss. The feeling inside her surged inside her like lightning and burned like a raging inferno wanting to explode from the depths below and release the animosity that was kept inside.

Guess I'll just fake being fine again. Not like it takes much effort to deceive people here anyway. Most are pretty naive. Tsukiko thought to herself as it would be yet another day where she would have once again be nice to everyone and try to be a likeable person. Part of that thought made her want to puke. To have intermingle with this society was rather disturbing toward a part of her mind. Who needed friends anyway? Most of them just weighed you down anyway which made her think that what her brother believed actually had some truth to it. That made her think about Haas and how she allowed him to befriend her so easily or that's what she thought anyway. She wished she could go back in time and rip up that note she gave him. What was she thinking? Obviously she wasn't thinking to allow someone like that to be trusted. So naive and foolish to the point that they could be a literal reckless endangerment to her. But another side of her liked the thought of danger. Risk was such a great aptitude. It came with a hefty price though this didn't stop her from thinking the idea was intriguing.

A dangerous side of her thought about how she used Power Bond. How she empowered her Overdrive Mode making it even stronger. It recalled that Overdrive Mode got even more intense as you inflicted more pain and suffering onto yourself where you drove yourself toward the edge of despair. If you threw yourself into the abyss below the power insider her would grow and swell. It wanted more pain to feed its hunger with. Pain was a great satisfying sensation that caused despair to grow even stronger driving a person toward complete emptiness. Not caring about their well-being nor the anyone else. The time will come when I even the balance between you two. I will finally make you both see how worthless everyone in this world is and they are just pawns for obtaining power. Everything has a purpose to be sacrificed for the greater good. It thought about how monsters were mere tools of war to serve as servants for their masters to utilize. They had no feelings and served on purpose. To destroy or be destroyed. All beings deserved to be hated. None were worthy of being trusted. It's simple, Tsukiko. You have been listening to your foolish egos for too long. Let me explain how dueling works. When you duel you do not make friends. Friends are for the weak. Duel for power and to destroy anyone who gets in your way. Show them no mercy. Do not hold back. Annihilate everything you hate. Enlighten yourself toward your own starvation of wanting to hurt others. Monsters are just tools of war. They serve no other purposes other than to destroy or be destroyed. Care not about destroying your opponent. Care more about your opponent destroying you. Everyone is evil. Everyone.

When you lose, use that as a fuel toward your own hatred. Hate that person strong so next time you can show them what hell really is. All beings evil deserved to face their indignation. Trust absolutely no one. They cannot be trusted. All will stab you in the back. Crush your opposition and walk over their corpses as you make your march through the battlefield. Only by extinguishing evil can you really find peace in your heart.

"Walk the path of ruin?" She murmured to herself not saying it loud enough for anyone to hear her. After she said she started to question whether there was underlying truth to what was being said. This part of wanted to hurt others which would probably get her in trouble with the academy not the mention that there was an attack on the academy last week. "Maybe you're right. Void Twin Dragon has been nothing but a Pandora's Box to me. It's been a useless monster both times I used it. Monsters are tools of war. They only are summoned to be destroyed. There is no heart of the cards. There is no faith or hope. There is only power and succession. They are servants that serve their masters bending to their will. They have no emotions or feelings. Useless cards are just worthless. That makes me even more worthless for putting my faith into such a weak spirited being that cannot overwhelm my opposition. Then again, all cards serve the purpose of destroying or being destroyed. Thus is the way of war. That is the true nature and world of dueling whether people want to accept it or not.

There is truth that all power should be discovered only by yourself. My brother's words that becoming stronger on your own is the only way to find true power have truth behind their meaning. I shall rely on no one from this moment forward. I will become stronger on my own using my own two hands to carve my path with." Tsukiko spoke silently toward herself again as she once again considered the words that were spoken to her in her mind.

[vancexentan]

The time since the event hadn't been all to exciting for Andre in particular. He was as he always was, calm, cool, collected, and full of self-confidence. The event hadn't shook Andre in the least but he was now more wary of this place then he was before. He had been in a total of one duel here and had somehow made it into gold...or rather light. His black hair and contrasted pretty drastically with his uniform and he looked like a fool with his scarf still around his neck. But until he found a better way to...well keep what was under it hidden he had no choice in the matter. He'd definitely not be in a good place if he wore his casual clothes everywhere. Ben was off with his dumb little squad somewhere doing what Ben was often to do...be a goody two shoes with a emphasis on goody. Andre had hardly even understood what happened next as he stumbled forward someone suddenly running into his back wondering if someone had the balls to actually jump him after the boost in security around the place. Not only was he one tough nut to crack but he had one hell of a mean streak if he had to get into a fist fight. His uncle had saw to that. The lesson itself was rather boring to Andre but he listened if only for the sake of updating his deck with possible Archfiend related Xyz cards. In reality Andre only really cared about synchro summoning his monsters. Thought Ruler Archfiend in particular was something he was eager to use. It was an arguably a more annoying card to deal with than some other synchro monsters. He needed to learn what to expect though so he paid attention. Ben, who was sitting across from him by himself this time around, was by far the more talented Xyz player. He knew combos and the ins and outs of his noble knights like the back of his hand. The only thing that could stop a king in his tracks were trap cards but so helped the man who didn't get traps to deflect the monstrous king...the colonel was blunt...really loud too. It kind of put Andre off but he knew what to expect from someone who went by a military title. Or maybe it was just for show who really could say? Regardless his only thought was simple: When would he use this? The follow up thought was slightly more complicated...would it be more advantageous to his archfiends to use xyz over synchro monsters.

[Jangel13]

The week passed by fast with different and chaotic things happening during the week. Angelo went and got the parts he needed and like he was told he was allowed as the week went by Angelo made sure not to take part in any illegal dueling whatsoever and to just focus on making both his duel runner and duel disk custom with the parts he was given. He even started to make a business for it to make custom designs for everyone. Of course it wasn't free as he charged 15 points for each customization. it was the same cost of loosing a duel but Angelo believed that his work would speak for himself. If dueling doesn't work out then he would be able to become an engineer instead.

The day for Angelo went on normally as one would expect and he still hasn't won a single duel yet and it was a little depressing but with the way he has been focusing on his duel runner he hasn't had time to be sad.

The next thing Angelo did was go to the next class which was standard dueling after the Xyz class. The thing that greeted him was a huge hulk of a man if he remembered correctly this guy was known as the manliest duelist in the world right now. He was huge and Angelo got the sense that he shouldn't make to many jokes this time around since he doesn't want the professional to actually break his arm for doing so. Why is it that everyone here is a little bit crazy or disproportional to what one would expect from a professional or a teacher. Angelo soon sat down to wait for everyone to join. Once classes were over he would be able to go and start his customization business for the others.