I'm not even going to make excuses as to why this chapter took as long as it did to come out. Let's just say not only is my overall motivation for writing very low right now, but YuGiOh isn't exactly on the front of my mind... in fact Vrains has pretty much drained any and all love I have for the fandom, not that my love for YuGiOh was amazingly strong in the first place. But enough about my moping.

Thanks to Draen, D3lph0xL0v3r, king of the lion, Ethan Kironus, and pokemonking0924 for reviewing Chapter 9... but please guys do check out my other stories if those are fandoms you are into. I tend to have better writing in those thanks to my beta reader. Speaking of, I do not have a beta reader for this story, and honestly that doesn't help much. Every other story I have a beta reader for (the same one in fact), but he isn't into YuGiOh so he refuses to touch this one. If you guys know of a good beta reader out there, let me know.

That being said, enjoy the chapter.

"All junior and senior students are to gather in the gym for the third period class time," the speaker system announced, echoing through the halls.

"Well, doesn't this seem familiar?" Naomi asked, with a sly grin, as the announcement continued to boom all around them.

"Well, it's been more then two months since this whole thing started," Asami muttered, looking slightly worried. "Maybe they finally chose the eight students… though I bet you anything I wasn't chosen. I struggled so hard…"

"You aren't the only one…" Naomi muttered back, a frown on her face. "I barely won most of my duels…"

"Let's not get too worked up about it," Ruka warmly said to them, placing her hands on both of their shoulders. "In the end, in or not, we're fighting this as a school."

"That's right!" Roku grinned, nodding in conformation. "Even if you two don't get chosen, those who do are still going to need your support."

"Let's save the mussy stuff for after," Vince grumbled. "When I'm not around."

"Aww, don't be like that, Vince," Yuga stated, grinning his signature grin. "All we're doing is trying to cheer our friends up! And besides, you don't want them upset either, right?"

"Especially Asami," Tamiko muttered, causing Vince to blush, Asami to look confused, and for everyone else to burst into laughter.

The eight of them sat down in the front row of the bleachers, where all of the juniors and seniors were gathered up to await whatever announcements were to come. They didn't have to wait long, however, as Principal Mondo soon approached the mike, and was greeted with awe induced silence due to him holding eight envelopes in his hand. "Students of Union Duel School. Two months ago, I called you all in here for an important announcement considering a Grand Tournament that would be taking place all throughout Fortune City; a competition that, per our esteemed Acting Mayor, would rival Battle City in scale and importance… and while I don't believe that is entirely the case, there will be no Egyptian Gods after all, I do feel that Union does have a lot to gain in this tournament… and a lot to lose as well.

"I therefore gave you all a task," Mondo continued, eyeing each of the students in turn as he spoke. "To compete against one another in an elimination. If you signed up, each and every duel you fought against another one signed up was monitored and scored based on your performance, and after two long months we finally have a significant point scoring to say these SIX students are the best of the best we have to offer." Murmurs of SIX were spreading across the bleachers like wildfire, causing Mondo to have to raise his hand to silence the crowd. "I will be getting to that in a moment, but for now, I wish to invite the six chosen to receive the envelope I have here… though I ask that none of them open the envelope until they get into a private area, such as their dorms. Now, I call to the platform… Shin Kenyo!"

"M-Me!?" Shin gasped, standing and almost fumbling over in shock.

"Of course!" Yuga shouted amidst the applause all around them. "I knew you would be chosen buddy!"

Shin power walked to the front, where Mondo handed him his envelope and shook his hand before a blushing Shin returned to his seat, sweat pouring from his face.

"Roku Naigi," Mondo read again, and as confident as ever, Roku stood and began to walk to the stage to receive his envelope, this time the called individual hadn't rushed back to their seat so fast that the next name was said before he could return. "Tamiko Honda."

"I think they're getting angry that it's so far everyone in our friend circle," Ruka muttered to Yuga, who was also listening to the crowd among them begin to stur in fury.

"Ruka Naigi,"

"Well, you aren't helping much there," Yuga smirked, elbowing her a little.

"Very funny," Ruka stuck her tongue out at him as she left to take her letter.

"Y-you think they really are mad?" Shin asked, looking nervous still.

"Who cares?" Vince muttered, his arms crossed. "They're just jealous."

"Vince Koba,"

"And I'll give them more of a reason to be," Vince smirked, standing and walking confidentially up to the platform where Mondo was.

"And finally… Yuga Suzuki!"

"OH, come on!" A student called in rage. Sure enough, an uproar began from the students, who were all quickly attempted to be calmed down by the teachers, though most of them were silenced by the angry outburst. Finally, Hirose sighed, walked up to the mic, and got close enough that his breathing could be heard.

"Any student who continues their childish tantrums will be given 10 hours a day worth of homework for the ENTIRE. WINTER. BREAK!"

Silence came on the students almost as fast as one could blink. All the students immediately sat down and shut their months, their eyes still conveying anger but their mouths no longer expressing it.

"That's better…" Mondo chucked, sweat dropping as he watched Hirose walk away. "Now, you all might be confused as to why only six students are confirmed for this… well, that is because there is a four-way tie for seventh and eighth duelist slots, therefore we might have a tie breaker round to determine who will get the final two envelopes. Therefore, I ask Naomi Fujiwara, Asami Ikeda, Zane Watanabe and Jack Watanabe to come to the front."

"Better then not being chosen at all!" Yuga clapped. "Go get them girls!"

"Thanks, Yuga!" Naomi smiled, heading to the front with Asami. They were soon joined by the two best senior students, who both smirked confidently at the junior year girls. The brother on the left, Zane, wore a black leather jacket, ripped blue jeans and a black shirt underneath. He had blue hair spiked to the side, and green eyes. The second brother, jack, wore a black undershirt, white leather jacket and ripped jeans, with blonde spiked hair and blue eyes. Both wore leather boots, black in color, and had a duel disk of the opposite color of their jacket, white for Zane and black for Jack.

"Now, since there are four of you, we might have to do three rounds so we can determine…"

"Hold on Principal," Zane spoke, smirking. "I'd rather not knock my brother out on accident, and honestly I don't think either of these two girls can cut it in this competition."

"You what?" Asami growled, clenching her fists.

"I'm inclined to agree, brother," Jack smirked, crossing his arms. "Why not make it easy on all of us and have a single round, a duel with partners. If we win, we enter and get the envelopes. If you two win, you enter and get the envelopes… but you won't."

"Oh, is that so?" Naomi narrowed her eyes, angry at the lack of respect coming from her opponents. "Alright then, we accept."

Mondo looked between them all and sighed, stepping back with the microphone so that the platform he was standing on could become a dueling area. "Alright then… this will be an Tag Duel, you both will share 8000 life points, as well as the field. You are not allowed to initiate an attack until everyone has gone at least once. The first to get to 0 will lose as normal, agreed?"

"Agreed!" the four duelists shouted, getting into place and activating their duel pads.

"Then let's begin!"

"Duel!"

Naomi & Asami: 8000 vs Zane & Jack: 8000

"We'll take the liberty of the first move, ladies," Zane confidentially said, smirking as he looked at his hand of 5 cards. "I summon my Sylvan Flowerknight in attack mode (1800/1000)! Now, her special effect activates. I look at my top card in the deck, and if it's a plant type monster, I send it to the graveyard. If it is not, I send it to the bottom of my deck."

"Uh, why would he do that?" Shin asked.

"Because Sylvan monsters have a unique playstyle," Ruka explained, watching the field. "Some my view him sending monsters to the graveyard as a hinderance, but in return for sending monsters to his grave, the other effects of the monsters activate when they are excavated from the Deck and sent to the Graveyard."

"So, he gets to use their abilities when he does that?" Tamiko asked.

Ruka nodded, "They're a tricky deck to play against, much like my Aromages."

Zane looked at his pulled card and smirked again, "Well what do you know, it's my Sylvan Hermitree. I send him to the graveyard per the effect of my Sylvan Flowerknight. Next, my Sylvan Hermitree's special effect activates! Since I sent him to the graveyard from my deck, I can take a look at the top three cards of my deck and arrange them in any order I want!"

"Any order?" Yuga gasped, wide eyed.

"Which means he can choose which effect he wants to activate next turn if he desires," Ruka noted, looking worried.

Zane pulled the top three cards of his desk, arranged them with a confident grin, and placed them back into his deck. "I'll end my turn with a single card facedown."

"My turn then!" Naomi declared, drawing a card. "I activate the spell card Lunalight Fusion! With this, I can fuse together the Lunalight Blue Cat and the Lunalight Purple Butterfly in my hand! Blue cat that prowls through the darkness, butterfly with violet poison, spiral into the moon's gravity and become a new power! Fusion Summon! Come to be, beautiful beast that dances in the light of the moon! Lunalight Cat Dancer (2400/2000)! I place one card facedown and end my turn!"

"My turn," Jack said, drawing a card and briefly smirking at it. "I summon Lumina, Lightsworn Summoner (1000/1000)!"

"Lightsworn," Roku clenched his fist looking at the monster. "A dangerous enemy. Naomi and Asami are in for a fight here…"

"I next play the continuous spell card Lightsworn Sanctuary!" Jack declared, placing the card on the field. "And I end my turn, but not before Lumina had me send the top three cards of my desk to the graveyard."

"That is the price for playing such a powerful desk," Roku stated, narrowing his eyes. "However, it works to his advantage too."

"My turn then," Asami stated, drawing her card. "I play the field spell card Harpies' Hunting Ground, which grants all Winged Beast-Type Monsters 200 attack and defense points! In addition, whenever I normal or special summon a monster, I can destroy one spell or trap on the field!"

Zane smirked at that, "Is that all you got?"

It was Asami's turn to smirk confidently, however, "I summon my Harpie Lady 1 to the field (1300/1400 - 1500/1400), and her special effect grants all Wind monsters 300 attack points (Harpie Lady 1: 1500/1400 - 1800/1400), and since I summoned a Harpie, I can destroy your Lightsworn Sanctuary! Now I play the spell card Elgant Egotist, which automatically special summons a Harpie Lady when I have one on the field! Come forth, Harpie Lady 2 (1300/1400 - 1600/1400)! Now, since I summoned another Harpie, I can destroy that facedown card of yours as well!"

The facedown exploded, causing Zane and Jack to lose their smirks for the first time. "Oh man, that's both of our cards!"

Asami placed a card facedown on the field, "I place a card facedown and end my turn."

"This isn't over yet," Zane stated. "Don't forget I know exactly what I am going to draw next! I play the spell card Miracle Fertilizer, which allows me to special summon a monster from my graveyard! Come forth, Sylvan Hermitree (2700/1800)! Once per turn, he allows me to pull the top card of my desk, and like before, if it's a plant type monster, I send it to the graveyard. If it is not, I send it to the bottom of my deck. Unfortunately for you, since I had rearranged the top 3 cards of my deck beforehand, I already know what it is!" He drew the card and held it up for them to see. "I send Sylvan Marshalleaf to the graveyard, which means that I can destroy one monster I choose, and I decide to destroy Lunalight Cat Dancer!" The dancing monster exploded, causing Naomi and Asami to both flinch a bit.

"Now, I attack!" Zane declared. "Hermitree, destroy her Harpie Lady 1!"

"Not so fast!" Asami declared, activating her facedown. "You activated my Negate Attack! The battle phase immediately ends and my monster is not destroyed."

Zane huffed at that, "Lucky you."

"It's my move," Naomi stated, drawing a card. "I activate my facedown card, Call of the Haunted, which allows me to bring back one monster from the graveyard that I choose, and I choose Lunalight Cat Dancer!"

"Really?" Jack shook his head. "We already destroyed that monster once, and we will do it again!"

"I don't think so!" Naomi declared, playing a spell card. "I use the spell card Polymerization, to fuse together my Lunalight Cat Dancer with my Lunalight White Rabbit! The beautiful beast dancing in the moonlight, the lively white rabbit illuminated by the moonlight, spiral into the moon's gravity and become a new power! Fusion Summon! Come to be, elegant beast dancing in the moonlit wilderness, Lunalight Panther Dancer (2800/2500)!"

"Awesome, with that Naomi has enough attack power to take down that overgrown tree!" Tamiko cheered.

"Lunalight Panther Dancer, attack his Sulvan Hermitree!" Naomi ordered, causing Panther Dancer to dash forward and slash the tree apart (Zane and Jack: 8000 - 7900). "I end my turn."

"Wait, why didn't she attack one of the weaker monsters?" Shin asked, confused.

"Because that tree could be used to keep pulling cards from his desk with it's special effect, while the other Sylvan monster only can do it when they are normal summoned," Ruka explained. "So Naomi thought it was best to take out the tree so he cannot activate the effect constantly."

Mericle Fertilizer exploded as well, as the monster that it was supporting was gone. To their surprise, however, Zane was smirking and looking at his brother. "Alright, it's your turn, bro!"

Jack nodded, drawing a card and immediately discarding it to the grave. "By discarding one card from my hand, I can activate Lumina's special effect and summon one level 4 or lower Lightsworn monster to my field! Come forth, Garoth, Lightsworn Warrior (1850/1300)! Garoth, attack her Haprie Lady 1!" The Harpie Lady didn't stand a chance and was instantly taken out by the axe like weapon the warrior wielded (Naomi and Asami: 8000 - 7950). "With that, your monsters are weakened due to no longer having Haprie Lady 1's effect (Harpie Lady 2: 1800/1400 - 1500/1400). I end my turn with a face down, however I discard three cards from my desk to the grave due to Lumina's effect… however, Garoth's effect now activates! Whenever I send card(s) from my desk to the graveyard by a Lightsworn monster effect, I send the top two cards from my desk to the grave, and draw a card for each Lightsworn monster I send this way… lucky for me, I send two, so I draw two cards!"

"He's gonna deck out if he isn't careful!" Tamiko noted.

"No," Roku shook his head, looking grim. "He knows what he is doing. I've seen him play before."

"My turn!" Asami declared, drawing a card. "I summon my Harpie Queen (1900/1200 - 2100/1200)! Next, I play the magic card Hysteric Sign, allowing me to add one Elgant Egotist from my deck to my hand, then I activate it, allowing me to special summon Harpie Lady 3 to the field! Next, I overlay my Level 4 Harpie Queen, Level 4 Harpie Lady 2 and Level 4 Haprie Lady 3! Xyz Summon! Come forth, Rank 4, Harpie's Pet Phantasmal Dragon (2000/2500, 3 OLU)!"

"Um, wasn't she better off keeping Harpie Queen?" Shin asked.

"Do you think at all?" Vince scorned him, shaking his head. "Harpie's Pet Phantasmal Dragon can make a direct attack as long as she has overlay units attached to him. Due to this, she can take away 2000 life points over the next three turns, which might be enough to win them the duel!"

"Might be," Roku noted, staring at the field. They don't know what the Lightsworn deck can really do.

"Harpie's Pet Phantasmal Dragon, direct attack!" Asami declared, the dragon breathing in fire and roasting them, causing them to yell in pain (Zane and Jack: 7900 - 5900). "At the end of my turn, one overlay unit is detached from my dragon (Harpie's Pet Phantasmal Dragon: 3 OLU - 2 OLU)."

"Alright then, it's my turn!" Zane declared, drawing his card. "I play the magic card Miracle Growth Formula, which increases the level of any monster on the field that is plant type by three, and I choose my Sylvan Flowerknight, changing her level from 4 to 7!"

"Uh oh, that can only mean he's planning on summoning something!" Ruka gasped.

"Next I summon my Copy Plant (0/0)," Zane stated, playing his monster. "Copy Plant takes the level of one plant type monster on my fiend and mimics it, and thus he becomes a Level 7! Now, I overlay my Level 7 Sylvan Flowerknight and my Level 7 Copy Plant! Xyz Summon! Come to me, Rank 7, Orea, the Sylvan High Arbiter (2800/2500, 2 OLU)! Once per turn, by sending one plant type monster from my hand to the graveyard, I can arrange the top cards of my desk to any order I choose, the number of cards I can arrange equal to my monster's level. I send the Level 2 Sylvan Komushroomo to rearrange the top two cards of my deck." He took the cards out, but only smiled at he put them back in the order they were. "They're fine how they are… now, since I sent Komushroomo to my graveyard from the deck via a Sylvan's effect, I can destroy one card on your side of the field, and I choose Harpies' Hunting Ground! That's not all, Orea, destroy her Harpie's Pet Phantasmal dragon!" Orea breathed in and unleashed a gust storm and vaporized Asami's monster (Naomi and Asami: 7950 - 7150). I'll end my turn with a card facedown."

"Alright, I go next." Naomi stated, drawing a card. "I play Pot of Greed, which let's me draw twice. Next, I play the spell card Lunalight Fusion! This allows me to fuse together the Lunalight Panther Dancer on my field with the Lunalight Black Sheep and Lunalight Crimson Fox in my hand! Fusion Summon! Come to be, Lunalight Leo Dancer (3500/3000)! Lunalight Leo Dancer can make two attacks during the same battle phase! Lunalight Leo Dancer, attack their Orea and Lumina!"

"Not so fast!" Zane declared, revealing his face down card. "I activate my own Negate Attack, ending your battle phase."

Naomi grit her teeth for a moment, "I end my turn!"

"That's all you can do, now watch this," Jack said, drawing a card and grinning. "Brother, it is time!"

"Our two most powerful monsters will destroy you!" Zane stated, pointing at them.

"I activate the spell card Beacon of Light's Hope!" Jack declared, playing the card. "My discarding two cards, this card allows me to turn any Light attribute monster I choose into a tuner monster, and I choose my Level 4 Garoth! In addition, this card negates the effects of all monsters present on the field, without targeting them!"

"That means…" Asami's eyes went wide.

"Lunalight Leo Dancer normally cannot be targeted by opponent's card effects, but that card can negate that effect without directly targeting the monster," Naomi said, clenching her fists.

Jack held out his hand, "Now, I tune my Level 4 Garoth to my Level 3 Lumina, Lightsworn Summoner Synchro Summon! Level 7, Michael, the Arch-Lightsworn (2600/2000)! Now I activate the special effect of my Arch-Lightsworn! By paying 1000 life points (Zane and Jack: 5900 - 4900), I can banish one card on the field, and I choose Lunalight Leo Dancer!" The monster vanished instantly, causing Naomi to gasp. "Next, I activate his secondary special effect, allowing me to shuffle any number of Lightsworn monsters that I choose into my deck, and restoring 300 life points for each one. I have 7, so we regain 2100 life points (Zane and Jack: 4900 - 6900)!"

"Wait, seven!?" Shin asked, confused. "But I thought the only Lightsworn in his graveyard was Garoth!"

"That you saw," Roku corrected. "He sent several other cards to his graveyard thanks to Lumina's effect, and most of them must have been monsters."

"Now I place two cards facedown and activate the spell card Mage Power!" Jack declared. "With this, my monster gains 500 attack points for every spell and trap card we have on the field, and I count three (Arch-Lightsworn: 2600/2000 - 4100/2000). Now, Arch-Lightsworn and Orea, attack them directly!" Both monsters sent beams of light and gusts of wind at the girls, who shrieked and were damaged, each one of them falling to their knees (Naomi and Asami: 7150 - 250).

"Only 250 life points left," Zane taunted, shaking his head. "As I said before, I don't think either of you two girls can cut it in this competition."

"And we have proven that in our duel," Jack declared. "I end my turn and discard three cards due to my Arch-Lightsworn's effect."

Asami began to get up, panting to herself. "W-well… this is quite a predicament we're in, huh?"

"Y-yeah," Naomi panted, looking grim as well. "Y-you got any bright ideas?"

"Just one," Asami said, placing her fingers on her deck. "And that's if I am lucky enough to draw it."

"Go for it," Naomi nodded, grinning.

"Alright, here I go!" Asami declared, drawing a card. "I activate Pot of Greed, which allows me to draw two cards!" Asami had her eyes tightly shut for a brief moment, but when she opened them her eyes lit up with glee. "Alright, I play the spell card D.D.R – Different Dimension Reincarnation! By discarding one card, I can summon back a banished monster, so come back Naomi's Linalight Leo Dancer (3500/3000)!"

"Excellent, now they have a fighting chance!" Shin cheered. "Since Lunalight Leo Dancer can attack twice in one battle phase!"

"But that still won't be enough, cause that Lightsworn monster has 4100 attack points total," Yuga stated.

"I'm not done," Asami declared, grinning.

"But you have no more cards in your hand!" Zane and Jack declared at the same time.

Asami smirked at that, "True, but who said it is in my hand? The card I discarded for D.D.R's effect is called Final Desperate Call, and I activate it's effect now! Whenever it is discarded as the final card in my hand, I can draw one final card from my deck and play it."

"Here we go…" Ruka whispered, on the edge of her seat.

"If this card isn't the one…" Tamiko muttered, chewing on her fingers.

"Then they lose the duel," Vince bluntly said, though even he looked nervous.

"Come on girls!" Yuga cheered.

Naomi and Asami looked at one another and nodded. Asami looked down at her deck, slowly pulling the card out, everyone watching her with held breaths. Asami looked at the card, before looking up at her opponents, breaking out into a smile. "The card I drew… is the spell card Megamorph!"

"NO way!" Zane shouted.

"Talk about luck of the draw!" Jack declared, stepping back a bit in shock.

Asami held up the card and activated it on her duel pad, causing Lunalight Leo Dancer to grow in size. "Megamorph causes my monster's attack to double as long as my life points are lower then yours! And with you guys having 7600 life points to our 250, I say that qualifies (Lunalight Leo Dancer: 3500/3000 - 7000/3000)! Now, Lunalight Leo Dancer, attack both of their monsters!" Lunalight Leo Dancer charged, and slashed both of the monsters at the same time, causing them to explode in a sea of dust. Everyone held their breaths again as the dust lingered, but when it cleared both Zane and Jack were on the ground, each one of them defeated (Zane and Jack: 6900 - 0).

Naomi and Asami Win!

"And with that, the duel is complete!" Mondo declared, holding his hand out towards Naomi and Asami. "Your winners, and seventh and eighth reps for this school… Naomi Fujiwara and Asami Ikeda!"

Yuga and his friends stood up, clapping loudly. It took a few moments, but slowly one by one the other students of the school began to stand up and clap as well, the duel moving them enough for their anger to dissipate, accepting not only Naomi Fujiwara and Asami Ikeda as their reps, but the other friends in the same circle as well. Naomi and Asami grinned and waved at the crowd, happiness radiating off them.

XxXxXxX

"Alright, here we go," Yuga declared, holding his letter in his hand.

"This is it," Shin gulped, his hands trembling at the letter he held.

"It's not gonna explode or anything you idiot," Vince glared, though he too looked back at his letter with a worried expression.

"There's no use waiting around," Roku said, tearing his letter open. "Let's do it."

Yuga and the others nodded, one by one opening their letters as well. Yuga looked at the parchment, a nice tone and texture to it as if made of the finest tree just for the rich. He looked at the seal of Lennox on the back for a moment before flipping it over and beginning to read.

Duelist,

If you are reading this, you have been chosen as one of the eight representatives of your school, and I congratulate you. Enclosed in this envelope, along with this letter, you will find a single, clear card with my seal printed on it. These cards are one of a kind, and only a certain number of them exist. They were specially printed for this tournament and will be what you are gambling on in this competition.

For a student to make it to the finals, which the location of will be revealed to any student who qualifies, a student needs to gather 10 of these cards in order to qualify for the finals. No student is to just exchange a card for a different prize, nor can a student give a card to another. Each card has a special chip that will be registered to you the day of the tournament's beginning, and only one student per card will be accepted. By betting your cards against one another in duels, the winner will walk away with all cards bet in a winner takes all type of battle, with the card chip automatically being overwritten once a duel has been won. After obtaining the 10 cards, you will obtain the location of the finals. Of course, just having the 10 cards is not enough, as you must keep the ten cards until you have obtained and made it to the final area. Only then can cards no longer be gambled and your entry into the finals guarantied.

Much like Battle City before it, my tournament will have the entire city be a battle field. You can be challenged at any time, anywhere, so long as you have a single card remaining on you. Few safe areas exist, such as your school dorms, but to win you must venture out to collect the cards. Any student found loitering in a safe zone for too long will be forced to surrender their card, and it will become a "free card" that any student can grab, as long as they can find the location of it.

May you ready yourself, and the best of luck to all.

Mayor Lennox