Well, this duel actually ended up different than expected. I kept changing the decks of the two and then it just ended up finishing quicker than I planned. So a shorter chapter this time, but I hope you still enjoy. Remember to review, please.

Chapter 11: The Next Generation, Part 2 – The Jerk

"You have got to be kidding me right now."

But as Isabelle Ledford looked around, it didn't seem like there was a joke she was missing. Everyone else in the room wore solemn faces, as if they were all fighting some deep internal battle. Isabelle turned to Chancellor Sheppard, a bit more nervous this time. "Please tell me you're actually kidding me right now."

"We're not." Came the voice of Seto Kaiba. Normally, Isabelle would have been ecstatic to be in the same room as three of the best duelists of all time, but given the situation, she instead felt like anywhere would be better than here. When she didn't reply, Kaiba continued to speak. "There is serious danger right now, coming from some of the greatest evil I have ever personally experienced. Make no mistakes, Miss Ledford, this is very much real."

Silence took over for a few moments as Isabelle took in her situation. She hadn't really questioned why she was dueling Scottie, but now part of her wished she had just declined. Maybe if she did she would be watching another duel with her friends as someone else was told the fate of the world was in their hands. "Why me?" She found herself asking. "There's an entire Pro League of duelists, why aren't you recruiting them?"

"Because we have reason to believe the Pro League has already been infiltrated." Kaiba answered, "But those three would never think to come here, they'd just look the obvious places for power." He looked directly at her. "We've looked at your file, Miss Ledford. Just like we've looked at the files for your other classmates. You may be feeling self-doubt right now, but you are a talented duelist, and you can do this."

Isabelle said nothing for a few moments. When she looked at Kaiba next, she looked determined. "Ok. I'll help save the world. Is it just the four of us?"

Joey chimed in for that answer. "We're looking at a few more of your students. Adrian Pratt and Tucker Southgate. According to Chancellor Sheppard, they're pretty good."

Isabelle smiled at that. "They really are. They're the two students here that have come the closest to beating me so far. Adrian is a jerk but he knows what he's doing, and Tucker has a massive brain when it comes to dueling. Feels like he plans so far ahead."

Yugi offered the Obelisk Blue student a small smile. He knew what it was like to have to save the world when you were so young. "And we look forward to seeing how your classmates fare in their own duels." He looked over to Sheppard. "When will Adrian be dueling, Chancellor?"

Sheppard stood up from his desk. "Both players should be ready by now, I imagine. All we need to do is return and everyone will be ready to go." All five people left the room to witness the next duel, ready to see if Adrian Pratt would be able to impress.

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The arena was still abuzz with everyone talking about the duel they had just witnessed. How Isabelle Ledford has responded to all of her opponent's moves with ease, and how whenever she was pushed into a corner, she expertly got out of it. And how in the end, despite being at a major disadvantage, she had beaten Scottie Clement, even when he had his legendary Five-Headed Dragon out. Silence fell as Dr. Crowler stepped into the centre to begin the next duel.

"Well, after the stunning performance from Miss Ledford," Crowler said into the microphone, clearly not too happy that his pick had lost the duel, "We move on to the next duel, this time featuring two promising Ra Yellow students! On my left is second year Adrian Pratt. Even though he is just in his second year Adrian has already attracted the attention of the Pro League with his aggressive dueling style. He also managed to represent us at the School Duel with North Academy, where he achieved a decisive victory against his opponent. Dueling him is first year Cato Black, the highest scorer in the history of Duel Academy's entrance exams. He's known among his classmates as The Genius Duelist. In the battle of brains against brawn, who could win?"

Cato and Adrian were now in the middle of the arena, shuffling each other's decks. Cato was wearing a smug grin, but Adrian seemed impassive to it all.

"I've got you all figured out, Pratt." Cato said confidently. "Your strategy is always just to hit your opponent enough times that they can't get up. But it's like Dr. Crowler said, this is a battle of brain against brawn, and brain always win when it comes down to that."

Adrian merely shrugged. "If you say so, kid." He extended his hand to give Cato his deck back. "Now are you done shuffling or did you have another speech ready to go?"

Cato snarled. Clearly, Adrian didn't quite understand yet what he had gotten himself into. But he would learn. Once he got to his side of the arena, he activated his duel disk, ready to show the world that he could take down anyone.

"DUEL!"

Cato: 8000

Adrian: 8000

"I'll go first!" Cato said, drawing his sixth card then smirking as he looked at his hand. "I summon my Armageddon Knight (4/1400/1200) in attack mode!" A knight in black armour appeared before Cato, its red scarf flowing behind it. "When my Armageddon Knight is summoned, I get to send one Dark monster from my deck to my Graveyard. I choose to send my Darklord Edeh Arae (5/2300/2000)." Taking the card from his deck, he slid it into the Graveyard slot. "I'll end it with that."

"What a weird opening move." Joey said, perplexed. "He's not even set up any kind of defense or anything. Doesn't seem very genius to me."

"That's because of what the Darklords can do." Yugi answered. "Most of them are focused on putting the high-level monsters in the Graveyard in order to swarm the field later. So that would be why he used Armageddon Knight."

Back down on the arena, Adrian drew his sixth card. He looked over his options for a few moments before he made his move. "I'll start with my Sabersaurus (4/1900/500) in attack mode!" A red dinosaur resembling a triceratops appeared, with a sword protruding from the end of its tail. Without another word from Adrian, it charged forward, cutting down Armageddon Knight with a simple swipe of its tail.

Cato: 7500

Adrian: 8000

"A dinosaur deck?" Kaiba said with a raised eyebrow. "Guess they weren't kidding when they called him an aggressive duelist. Most Dinosaur decks are just a bunch of heavy hitters."

"Adrian is different." Isabelle said with a smile. "Sure, he's an aggressive duelist, and his deck carries a strong beatdown strategy, but he's way smarter than most people give him credit for. It's why he's in Ra Yellow. People always underestimate him." They turned their attention back to the duel, where Adrian took another two cards from his hand. "These two cards will do it for me. I end my turn."

"Predictable as always." Cato said, drawing a new card and immediately discarding it. "I reveal the effect of my Hecatrice (4/1500/1100)! By discarding it to my Graveyard, I can take Valhalla, Hall of the Fallen and add it to my hand!" Once he had fished out the appropriate card from his deck, he slid it into his duel disk. "And I might as well activate it! It's a Continuous Spell, and with it, I can Special Summon any Fairy-Type monster from my hand once per turn, as long as I control no monsters first! And with my field empty, now seems like the perfect time to say hello to my Darklord Superbia (8/2900/2400)!"

Cascading red wings covered the field as the new monster arrived, its body was odd, as if it could hide itself entirely inside its wings. A navy body and a solemn red face, it looked ready to fight. And fight it did, once Cato sent it after the Sabersaurus.

Adrian moved quickly, revealing one of his face-down cards. "I activate Security Orb! This switches your attacking monster to defense mode." The fairy kneeled and covered itself with its wings. Cato let out a snarl. "Cheap tricks won't last forever. I end my turn with a face-down." Behind Superbia appeared a brown-backed card.

Adrian shrugged as he drew, taking a card from his hand and placing it onto his duel disk. "I sacrifice my Sabersaurus in order to Tribute Summon Dark Driceratops (6/2400/1800)!" Replacing the red dinosaur was a green one, though at its neck was a more colourful mane. "Dark Driceratops inflicts piercing damage. Attack Superbia."

Cato burst out laughing. "Wow, you really are an idiot! Our monsters have the same stats genius, so how do you plan on doing anything?"

Almost lazily, Adrian pressed a button on his duel disk, revealing the other card he had set. "Micro Ray makes the Defense of any monster zero. So, my attack actually will do something."

Cato had only a moment of pause before he watched his mighty angel taken down by the charging Dinosaur, the resulting shockwaves making him stumble.

Cato: 5100

Adrian: 8000

Adrian smirked a little as he placed another card into his duel disk. "You really need to do better, Cato. Otherwise I'm just going to keep steamrolling you. I place one card face-down and end my turn."

Cato seemed like he wanted to respond with his own snark, but managed to steady himself. He had watched Scottie lose his temper against Isabelle, and that had cost him the duel. He wouldn't let the same happen to him. "I use the effect of my Valhalla, Hall of the Fallen in order to bring out my Darklord Nasten (7/2600/2600) in attack mode!"

A horned fairy landed on the field with a thud. As it spread its wings, a magical symbol glowed over its head like a halo.

Cato gestured out to his next card. "And now I reveal Call of the Haunted in order to bring back my Darklord Superbia (8/2900/2400)! And its effect activates now! When my monster is Special Summoned from my Graveyard, I get to revive another Fairy-Type, like my Darklord Edeh Arae (5/2300/2000)!"

Returning to the field was the familiar fairy that had been felled by Dark Driceratops. It was joined by a new monster, however. Wings extended, the monster in black armour hovered above its allies, ready to strike. "Edeh Area gains Piercing when Special Summoned from the Graveyard, but that hardly matters." However, Cato's eyes widened as he realized Adrian had activated his face down. "Demise of the Land?" He muttered.

"That would be correct." Adrian said dryly. "I actually activated this when you brought out Nasten, but you were too busy going overboard to notice. When you Special Summon a monster, this card allows me to activate one Field Spell from my deck. And I'll opt for my Lost World!" Around the two duelists, a jungle appeared. Distinct roars could be heard, and Dark Driceratops looked right at home.

"In this place, all non-Dinosaur-type monsters lose 500 ATK and DEF." Adrian explained, as Cato's fairies began to decay (7/2600 – 500 = 2100/2600 – 500 = 2100) (8/2900-500 = 2400/2400 – 500 = 1900) (5/2300 – 500 = 1800/2000 – 500 = 1500). "You could suicide your Superbia into Dark Driceratops, if you think that's a good idea. It won't be a huge loss to me."

Cato snarled, looking over his hand. "I end my turn with a face-down card."

"This is as bad as the duel before." Kaiba said. "Cato is just like that Scottie kid, making way too many mistakes based on assumptions of his opponent. At least Clement got some decent hits in. If he doesn't hurry up and do something, he's going to lose spectacularly."

Adrian chuckled as he drew. "I activate Akashic Record. This allows me to draw two cards, but I have to banish them if they've already made an appearance in the duel." He drew the next two cards off his deck. "Huh. Not only am I safe, but I just got my favourite card, which means you're about to go even more into dangerous territory. But first, I use Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy Valhalla." His dinosaur faded away, and was soon replaced by one that looked made of ice. "This is my Frostosaurus (6/2600/1700)." He said simply.

Cato let out a derisive snort. "Favourite card or not, that was a bad strategy. You gave up a monster with Trample effect for a Normal monster that's only 200 attack points stronger. Get better or go home."

It was Adrian's turn to laugh again. "Who said Frostosaurus was my favourite card? I just needed to get Driceratops into my Graveyard so the real fun could begin. But first, I'll use another effect of my Lost World. When I Normal or Special Summon a Dino, you get a Jurraegg Token (1/0/0) on your side of the field. And now for the real fun. I banish my Sabersaurus and my Dark Driceratops in order to bring out my favourite monster, Ultimate Conductor Tyranno (10/3500/3200)!"

The spirits of Adrian's two monsters briefly reappeared before they were replaced by a new Dinosaur. One that seemed like if it was an inch taller it would break the ceiling. It let out a tremendous roar as electricity flowed through its body.

Adrian smirked. "I actually could win if I went a different way, but I think I'll be a bit more cautious right now. I use the effect of my Tyranno. By destroying a Dino in my hand or Graveyard, like my Frostosaurus, all of your monsters, except my Token of course, go into face-down defense mode!"

As the ice Dinosaur disappeared, the gigantic Tyranno let out a tremendous roar. Just like that, Cato's fairies were replaced by brown-backed cards.

"My Tyranno can attack every monster you control." Adrian said with a grin. "And when he attacks a monster hanging out in Defense Position, he can deal 1000 damage to you and send it packing. Ultimate Charge!"

It was over before it had even begun. By the time the dust cleared, Adrian's four monsters were gone, and his life points were in the gutter.

Cato: 1100

Adrian: 8000

Adrian chuckled. Fairies never really interested me anyway. I'll end it for now with a face-down. You're up, Black."

Cato was breathing heavily. "I activate Pot of Greed to draw two cards from my deck." Once he looked over the three cards in his hand, he smiled. "I use Pot of Adversity next. Since you're the only one who controls a monster, including a Special Summoned monster, I get two more cards." Four cards now. "Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy Lost World." The jungle faded away as the crowd became visible to the duelists again. "Through its own effect, I Special Summon Jester Confit (1/0/0) to my field." A small clown appeared on the field. "My ace will beat yours. Since I have at least 4 differently named DARK monsters in my Graveyard, I can tribute a single DARK monster in order to Tribute Summon my Darklord Zerato (8/2800/2300)!"

Replacing the clown was a monstrous being. The sword it carried was almost as big as its body, and its red wings made it look almost majestic. "Now I activate my Darklord's effect. By discarding a DARK monster, like my Darklord Marie (5/1700/1200), my monster destroys all of yours! And let's just call this his attack too!"

With a swing of his sword, Zerato cut down the Dinosaur, then brought his arm up to hit Adrian, knocking him back a few feet.

Cato: 1100

Adrian: 5200

Adrian shrugged as he recovered from the brute force thrown at him. "I guess we can count that as a scratch." He said nonchalantly.

Cato was already angry again. "Take me seriously, damnit. Why are you like that? You always look bored in your duels, except from maybe a select few!"

Adrian chuckled. "I look bored because my opponents are boring. This is the first hit you got on me and it was wasted in the end. They never should have picked you to challenge me."

"I'm not boring!" Cato yelled. "And I'll prove how much of a genius I am. Normally Zerato would self-destruct at the end of my turn, but my Interdimensional Matter Transporter will prevent that from happening!" For a few seconds, the Dark Angel disappeared, but it was back soon enough as Cato's turn ended.

Drawing his next card, Adrian stared at it for a moment before he looked over to Cato. "Do you want to know why I find you boring?" He asked, then continued without letting his opponent answer. "Because it's clear you don't have a connection with your deck. Scottie didn't either. But it's clear Isabelle did, and I do too. Even that idiot Southgate has a connection. You want me to give my passion in a duel? Use a deck that means something to you." He slapped the card he drew onto his disk. "I summon Tyranno Infinity (4/?/0) in attack mode!" As he announced it, another Tyranno, smaller than the one before, appeared on the field. It too crackled with some sort of energy. "For every banished Dinosaur monster, his original attack is multiplied by 1000. (0/2 * 1000 = 2000/0)"

Cato burst out laughing. "You're 800 points short, Pratt." He was about to continue his mocking when Adrian's set card began to reveal itself.

"Did you really not wonder why I didn't use my face-down as you assembled that strategy last turn?" Adrian asked with another chuckle. "Survival Instinct lets me remove any Dinosaurs from my Graveyard and gain 400 life points for each one." The spirits of Ultimate Conductor Tyranno and Frostosaurus appeared and turned into a green light that flew into Adrian.

Cato: 1100

Adrian: 6000

"And that comes with another bonus." Adrian pointed out as the spirits also joined the energy circling the dinosaur (4/4 * 1000 = 4000/0). He gestured towards Darklord Zerato. "End it." He said simply, and with a charge the Tyranno cut down the Dark Fairy as well as the rest of Cato's life points.

Cato: 0

Adrian: 6000

As the rest of the field faded away, Adrian turned without even a look at Cato. "Like I said, boring." He walked out without another word, though he did glance up at the five watching him from the chancellor's spot.

"Like I said, Adrian is difficult at times." Isabelle said, watching her classmate and rival walk away from the applause of the spectators.

"Doesn't matter if he's difficult." Kaiba remarked, intrigued by the boy's skill. "If he can keep dueling like he did there, he'll be a powerful ally to have." Joey and Yugi gave nods of agreement as the group stood and walked with Sheppard to meet with Adrian.

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"You've got to be kidding me." Adrian said as he sat next to Isabelle watching the duel field. "Out of all the people they could have picked, they pick the one who can't stay focused for ten minutes?" He complained.

The conversation with Adrian had gone better than Yugi would have expected. He seemed on board once the basics had been explained to him, and didn't question it as much as Isabelle had. He had grown up in Battle City, he knew enough about the strange happenings that always seemed to follow Yugi Moto and his friends.

"I know you don't like him." Isabelle said with a roll of her eyes. "But he is one of the best duelists on the island. He even beat you." She looked down at Tucker, who seemed to be lost in his own world as he stared at the ground. "And he came relatively close to beating me too."

"His victory against me was avenged quickly enough." Adrian pointed out. "But fine. I can agree Southgate is a competent enough duelist to maybe last more than five turns against one of these Shadow Realm obsessed weirdos they were telling us about." He put his feet up on the seat in front of him. If he was going to have to watch Tucker duel, he might as well be entertained.

"And here we find ourselves at the final duel." Dr. Crowler announced into the microphone. He was now wearing a duel vest. "This one, however, shall be a tad different than the others. While Tucker Southgate is a first-year Slifer Red, he will not be dueling another Slifer. Because frankly, that would be a boring duel between slackers." He ignored the raised eyebrow from Kaiba and the looks of anger from Yugi and Joey. "Instead, Mr. Southgate shall be dueling me to prove his worth." Handing off the microphone to one of the staff, he walked to stand across from Tucker. "Are you ready, boy?" He enquired, already drawing his five cards.

Tucker seemed to snap out of his daydream at that, and it was like he was a completely different person now. He seemed determined, more focused than ever.

"That's just gotten weird by now." Isabelle said dryly. "It's like he hears the drawing of the cards and then he's in fight mode."

But Tucker wasn't listening, he had already drawn five cards of his own as he stared at Crowler with a grin on his face, receiving only a snarl in response. Together the pair called out to begin the final match of the day.

"Let's duel!"