Authors Note: Hello, readers! So I had some very good advice in my comments and I've rethought things a bit. This story was actually already written so I'm editing a bit - hopefully for the better. Anyway, thank you Time Thief. This won't be perfect, but hopefully I'll get better. Also just for you I have options - read the whole duel in (1) or just the brief summary in (2) before continuing with the rest of the chapter. This is probably very weird, but oh well. It was kind of nice writing a full duel, but man it took some research!

Chapter Three - It's Time To Duel (2)

(Short Duel Version)

Alexa was right when she had guessed a duel against Kaiba wouldn't come close to the match she had against Carter. Every move she made was met with opposition; she played her favourite combo of 'United We Stand' with 'Maha Vailo' achieving an attack of 2850 through the monsters ability to increase its attack by 500 for every equip card attached. He countered with a 'Negate Attack', using his next turn to summon his 'Blue Eyes', now a six star monster, in combo with 'Cost Down'.

In retaliation, she revived her monster with 'Premature Burial', allowing her to equip it to her 'Maha Vailo'. Adding 'Bright Castle' to the mix allowed her monster to beat his 'Blue Eyes' by 250 points, only to see it revived itself to finally evolve into his 'Ultimate Dragon'. Even defeating this, his best monster, didn't throw him. He just kept coming back, hacking at her life points until they reached zero. It was the outcome she had expected, but she had never felt so bitter over losing a duel before, even if she had dealt her fair share of damage. Kaiba had ended the duel with a mere 400 points himself.

What annoyed her most was that he had destroyed the walls she had built up to protect herself. She frowned, recalling the moment in the duel when haunting words had echoed around her head; 'You stupid girl. Do you even think before you act? You're supposed to be better than this, but you're just a pawn to sacrifice, a soldier to mindlessly follow orders.'

Kaiba regarded her, arms crossed, as she removed her duel disk and sighed, accepting the outcome. Meeting his blue eyes with curiosity within her own, she wondered what he was going to do.

"Nice duel, bro," Mokuba complemented his brother, emerging from behind the wall. It seemed Kaiba had been aware he was watching all along, but Alexa hadn't noticed since he had rounded the entry point to the roof, favouring his brother's side. "You've got to admit, that was a close one."

"Barely," Kaiba muttered. "Did you review the security tapes?"

Mokuba gave his older brother the highlights of her route to his office. This time the mention of her walking straight through the door was much more satisfactory. As the older Kaiba listened with disinterest, be cut his younger brother off as he admitted she had stole his own access card to gain entry to secure areas, without him noticing. Alexa was almost impressed with how smoothly the kid lied.

"I've heard enough. Roland, escort her to a meeting room. After that, come and find me," Kaiba commanded, grabbing his briefcase as he headed back inside.

Once again, Alexa found herself trailing Roland, deeming this portion of the test a success. If she had failed to impress, Kaiba would have kicked her out the building without a moment of hesitation. Unfortunately, she had the feeling she wasn't going to the meeting room to sign her employment contract quite yet.

XxX

Alexa tapped her fingers on the oak table as she waited for someone to appear. The room she was in was long, your typical boardroom complete with table, chairs and a display screen for presentations. She also noted holographic projectors, smirking as she envisioned business men giving Kaiba a PowerPoint presentation and then being blown out of the water as they were given a damn 3D experience. Don't forget the cameras, she reminded herself, not even trying to be subtle as she stared them down. Her face dropped as Roland entered the room and took a seat across from her.

"Miss Kage,' he nodded in greeting, sliding a file across the table for her to view. Inside, Alexa found a personal profile. Running her eyes along the page, she saw a photo of herself, most likely taken from the laptop webcam, given she was in her top from that day at her breakfast counter. The information they had found on her was everything she had wanted them to find; mainly nothing but minor details like her name and a vague school and employment history. The bulk of the folder contained details on how she had fared on the trials. They were even aware she had duelled Carter to complete the hack, it seemed. She wasn't exactly surprised.

"I'm going to be honest with you, Miss Kage. Your performance throughout has been impressive. But now it's time that you are honest with me. Who the hell are you?" He took no time getting to the point, hands resting on the table to support his weight as he loomed over her. "We run obligatory checks on candidates as soon as they complete the computer hack, but it was like you barely existed."

"That's just the way I like it I'm afraid, but I'm not going to lie to you. Just ask me what you want to know. Hook me up to a lie detector if you have to," she answered, hoping he could see she was taking this seriously.

"Alright. Where did you go to school?" He questioned her.

"Like the file says I was homeschooled and I took all standard testing at a registered school with all the other students." Roland frowned as she supplied information he already knew. "But, unlike most students, let's say I had a lot of extracurriculars. You've seen the result of a lot of it. I learnt how to survive."

She hesitated, mind still fragile from the mental toll she took in their duel. Even grazing the details of her past caused her to wince. She scolded herself, wondering how she could be so weak.

"And your employment history?" He prompted.

"The real thing is a lot longer than that, I can tell you," she sighed. "Those were the jobs I would take that were, let's say, 'above board'. Every so often I would expand my network and allow myself to maintain a glowing employment history for the public eye. I don't limit myself, so if a genuine opportunity arises, I can take it. If you want me to explain further I will, but let's just say for now my work is varied, and I'd be more than capable at any task you choose for me to do."

"Why do you even want to work for Kaiba Corporation?" He added, hesitantly.

"Because we need each other. Your company always seems to be central to the misfortunes of the world. I won't bore you with my reasons, but I think it's time to use my expertise to do a little good in this world." She finished, arms crossing as she relaxed into her chair.

"We're not a charity, kid, we're a business." he stated, matter-of-factly.

"My personal agenda won't get in the way of my duties. In fact, they'll only make me a better employee. We both want the same thing; for the big bad wolf of the month to be sent back to whatever evil guy land he came from, so this company can do what it does best and bring joy to the children of the world," she chuckled, outlining the shape of a rainbow to end her speech.

In response, Roland grunted, excusing himself as he left the room. Alexa smirked as she pictured Kaiba's face as she suggested his technology brought joy to children, like he was some damn Saint. He would probably deny it, saying they were his damn test subjects, she chuckled to herself quietly. With that thought, the man himself walked in.

"If the decision was left to me you'd be kicked out of here as fast as you can say 'Blue Eyes'. However, my brother seems to think you could be useful to us. Even asked if you could work for him personally," he mocked. "But if you think I'd let someone we don't know anything about work for my little brother, you're even more deluded than he is."

"I wouldn't expect anything less," she conveyed sincerely.

"You'll be working for me where I can keep my eye on you, and don't look smug about it. The only reason you're here is because Mokuba is an equal partner around here now, and I promised I would value his opinion," Kaiba practically growled his words in warning.

The message was clear; she was here because a sixteen year old had insisted on it, and if she even put one toe out of line, he would be within his rights to fire her ass on the spot, like he wanted to from the very beginning. Fortunately, Alexa didn't care. She was in, and that was all she wanted.