Struggling to get on her wig, Riley hastily arranged her straight brown hair into the hair net. The dark wig was then placed haphazardly on her head, while she checked her outfit one more time. Today, she would be taking her practical dueling test to enter the prestigious Duel Academy, she had already taken her written test and gotten the second best score, she had expected better but was passed only by some guy named Bastian Misawa. She knew she should have scored better, but the question about the MACHINE-typed monster abilities threw her for a loop. She had used many types of decks in the past, but had never been able to grasp the details of the Machines. This was her final chance to earn a spot in Obelisk Blue. Of course, after receiving her spot in the best dorm at DA, she would fly her true colours. By taking off her wig and icy blue contacts. And she couldn't afford to be late.

She zipped up her brown jacket, made sure her boots were tied, and hid her necklace under her collar. She had had the pendant for as long as she could remember, and a few years prior as well. It was an Egyptian ruby Sun Disk, connecting to the cord holding it by two wings thinning into entwining coils around the leather. As she touched the red gem, it seemed to take on a black shine for a brief moment, and Riley quickly put the necklace away. She made sure her deck was in its case, and quickly exited her flat, paid for by her brother, professional duelist Leon Calaenos. After he graduated Duel Academy, he had been the most happy-go-lucky pro in the league. But Leon hadn't been the same since she dueled him. She couldn't put her finger on it, heck she couldn't remember much of the duel. But she was sure the necklace had something to do with it.

She walked through the streets of Domino City, making her way to Kaiba Corp, a landmark known to all in Domino. She could hear the excitement of her Duel Spirit, Harpie Queen, who was always eager to duel, even when she was summoned just so Riley could use her ability. She strolled through the metropolis, soon finding herself in front of the duel testing building.

"Hi! Welcome to the KaibaCorp dueling arena! Are you here for the Duel Academy entrance exams?" An attendant in an orange uniform asked Riley, jolting her out of her silent conversation with Harpie Queen.

"Uh, yes. My name's Riley Calaenos." She said, signing the paper the attendant handed her.

"Alright Riley! Just wait until they announce your name! Good luck!" The attendant waved her off with a smile. Riley shoved her hands in her pockets and strolled into the arena. There were four separate dueling areas, each containing a proctor and a Duel Academy hopeful. Riley managed to find her way up a flight of stairs to get a better view when a boy in a white shirt, black pants, and short-ish black hair came up to her.

"Hello. You must be trying out for the Academy. Have you dueled yet?" He said, and Riley shook her head, getting a feel for the way the proctors dueled.

"No. But soon," She responded, and glanced at the boy.

"Ah, I see. My name's Bastion Misawa, by the way. May I ask yours?"

"Riley. Riley Calaenos." At that exact moment in time, the intercom buzzed, and a man alerted her that she would be dueling in area two. "That's my cue," she said to Bastion, who nodded and wished her luck.

She rose up on a metal platform to face a guy with short brown hair, and striking blue-green eyes. He was young, probably just graduated, and of course, like all proctors, seemed a bit too arrogant for her liking.

"All right applicant," he said, his arms folded across his chest. "This is the most important duel of your life thus far. Don't waste my time."

"All right," Riley said. "But only if you don't waste mine." She activated her duel disk in sync with the proctor, and they both drew their first five cards.

Riley: 4000

Proctor: 4000

"All right," the proctor said. "Why don't you show me what you've got?"

"Fine," Riley said. She drew another card, and looked over them all. "I'll start by activating the Spell card: Double Summon! It's kind of in the name, but it allows me to summon two monsters this turn. So, I'll start off big, by summoning Harpie Channeler and Harpie's Pet Baby Dragon!" As she placed her cards down, the field lit where her monsters rose. Channeler, woman with black wings, talons, and bright red pigtails, and Pet Baby Dragon, a cute little orange dragon with a collar and chain around its neck. (Channeler-4/1400/1300) (Pet Baby Dragon-4/1200/600)

"I'm not done yet! I also activate this: Elegant Egotist!" Riley said, interrupted by the proctor.

"Rookie mistake! Elegant Egotist can only be activated when a Harpie LADY is on the field, and last I checked, you only have Harpie Channeler!" Riley scoffed at the proctor.

"And last I checked, you need to brush up on your Harpie abilities, because Harpie Channeler is treated as Harpie Lady on the field and in the graveyard! So, as I was saying, I use Elegant Egotist to bring forth the devious trio: The Harpie Lady Sisters!" Three winged women rose from the card, one with short spiky orange hair, one with long pink hair, and the last with short blue hair. As they hovered, Harpie's Pet Baby Dragon seemed to grow, as his Attack and Defense points doubled. (Sisters-6/1950/2100) (Pet Baby Dragon- 4/1200-2400/600-1200)

"I end my turn with a facedown card," Riley said, and the proctor drew his card.

"If there's something to be said about Harpie decks, they sure can summon monsters easily. But they're also overused rookie decks. Sorry, little man," the proctor said, his demeaning nickname causing Riley's cheeks to burn with fury. Not only did he insult her deck, he called her LITTLE MAN. Rude.

"So, I'll start off with a little spell called Magical Mallet. With this, I can return my hand to my deck, shuffle, and begin again." And he did as he explained. "Then, I'll play the spell card Double Summon! Which you so thoughtfully explained. So I'll summon this monster facedown," he Set a card, a holographic image appeared on the field, "and then, Flip Summon the exact same monster! Four Starred Ladybug of Doom! You see, he'll destroy all level four monsters, so you won't be able to use your Channeler's ability to bring another Harpie to the field." The insect began to charge towards Channeler, but she raised her wand, creating a barrier and sending the insect back to the opponent's side. (3/800/1200)

"You see, that strategy would work, if not for the fact that Channeler becomes a six-star monster when there's a dragon in play. Nice try though," Riley said, folding her arms across her chest.

"Fine, then I'll set a card facedown."

"Finally, now I can end this duel," Riley said, drawing her next card. Looking down, it was her favourite, her Spirit, the Harpie Queen.

"Alright, I start by summoning Harpie Queen in defense mode! But she won't be staying for long, because I'll activate her special ability. By sending her to the graveyard, I can bring one Harpie's Hunting Ground to my hand. And I'll do just that." The green haired, winged, green clad, talon bearing woman shattered into pixels, and Riley deftly drew her desired card.

"Then, I'll activate it, raising my all Harpie monster's attack and defense by 200." Her dragon grew in size, and her Harpie's claws became longer, sharper, and more defined. (Dragon-4/2400-2600/1200-1400) (Channeler-6/1400-1600/1300-1500) (Sisters-6/1950-2150/2100-2300)

"Finally, I'll activate my facedown card, Call of the Haunted! It lets me summon my Harpie Queen back from the grave, and because of Harpie's Hunting Ground, she gets a boost as well. And she can destroy that convenient facedown of yours." As Riley spoke, her Queen rose into the air, firing razor sharp feathers at the card, which burst into pixels. (4/1900-2100/1200-1400)

"Well, seems I've underestimated you, applicant," the proctor said, as his only defense was a small ladybug.

"Seems you have," Riley said, and her mind went back to a time after she dueled Leon, when he said no one would take her seriously in a duel and how she would never be great without THAT card. She quickly cleared her mind, and went back to the duel. "Now, Dragon, Sisters, Queen, finish him! Feathered Flare, Triple Talon Terror, and Regal Slash Attack!" Her dragon reared his head back, shattering the ladybug into pixels, causing the proctor damage.

Riley-4000

Proctor-2200

Then, the Harpie trio slashed at him in rapid succession, dropping his points almost to zero.

Riley-4000

Proctor-50

Finally, the green haired queen scratched him with her claws, effectively ending the duel.

Riley-4000-WIN

Proctor-0-LOSE

The holograms faded as there was applause from the applicants watching Riley. She looked around, knowing she'd see him, and finally managed to spot the man she was looking for-Leon. The black haired man walked out of the arena as Riley looked at the final card left in her hand. It was THAT card.

Millennium Lock Dragon.