Took a little bit longer than usually, but here it is! Since this fanfic's following a calendar system, I'm wondering if you guys like a Christmas Plot added alongside a Chapter that will come soon that takes place during Christmas. But anyways, here's the Chapter!

Chapter 13: Frighten Little Princess Crystal

December 19, 2433…

Nature stretched and yawns once the bell for lunch break rang.

"Just a few more days till Christmas vacation," Nature said to Akane and Mark, who were sitting beside her.

"Yeah, but it hasn't snowed yet," Mark said, looking out of a window. The skies are pretty cloudy now, though no snow is seen falling. "In fact, I heard a few days ago, someone else got their card stolen, too."

"Again?" Nature asked. "Man…that guy's still going for that long? Now that I think about it, did any of you tell Crystal Ageina about this?"

Akane's insides lurched and Mark grunted. Akane had completely forgotten about it and based on Mark's reaction, so did he too.

And Nature knew it. "…I'm going to take it as a no," she groaned. "Darn it guys…"

"Sorry, but Theo's been asking for my help lately to hide him," Mark said, rubbing his head.

"To hide him?" Akane asked.

"You know Hikari Kite in our homeroom?" Mark asked. "She didn't forget about their duel canceled a while ago and demands a rematch. Theo's so tired of her that he's running away now."

"Really now?" Nature replied. "She doesn't seem to be the type to stalk people for duels. Now how about you, Akane?"

"Well…I don't have much of an excuse really," Akane admitted, reaching for her bag.

Nature sighed.

"I should try harder…" Akane said as she placed something on her desk. "Perhaps soon we can solve this mystery…"

"Yeah," Nature said.

"If we muscle up with this thing, we might find out who this cloaked guy is," Mark added.

"And before someone else gets hurt too," Nature concluded.

"…To find the little piece of meat in this rice ball." Akane opened the box on her desk to pull out a large rice ball. She then turned to Nature. "I'm sorry, but did you say something?"

Nature moved her hand off of the desk for a little bit as if to slap herself in the face. "You were talking about rice balls instead?" she groaned. "Oh well…you said that there's a piece of meat in it, right?"

"Yes," Akane said, looking down at the giant lump. "It's an interesting exercise that revolves around finding a piece of meat inside this rice ball while you eat it. However, you cannot damage or taste the meat in any way or else you automatically fail."

"Sounds hard…" Nature commented.

"Reminds me of something I had a few years back," Mark said. "Before transferring to Heartland, I was in a school out in another countryside called Inaba. There, there's a shop that serves a huge nikudon filled with only meat and a single piece of rice and you have to find it. The bad part about it is that it costs around 3000 yen…"

"Inaba, is it?" Akane asked. "From a map back at my home, Inaba is located very far from here."

"Yeah…I transfer to different schools a lot," Mark said. "Actually, in elementary school, there's this kid I know who says that she has this cousin who transfers into different schools because of his parent's job. When I hang out with Theo, he said that he transferred here because of his parent's jobs in Heartland City."

"At least Inaba didn't have stuff like this, does it?" Nature asked.

"Inaba's a small town, but when I was there, there were some pretty bad incidents…"

But before he continued, the door opened and Theo suddenly fell inside. Behind him is Hikari.

"Sheesh, can't you cut me some slack!" Theo groaned.

"You walked out in our duel," Hikari pointed out, who voice back in her duel state. "Now I want a rematch!"

Theo tried crawling on the floor, but Hikari seized him by the legs. Even though Theo's bigger than her, Hikari somehow managed to cling onto him.

"Help!" Theo cried.

Mark sighed. "What's so bad about not agreeing to duel? Or is it about being a wuss?"

"A-a wuss?"

"Just duel," Mark said.

"Well…alright, fine…" Theo sighed. "Let's duel outside in the hallways."

"Alright!"

Once outside of the classroom, the two pulled out their Duel Disks and turned them on. They each drew five cards…

"Duel!"

Hikari: 4000

Theo: 4000

Hikari drew first and took two cards. "I'm setting down two cards and end my turn," she simply said.

'Why's she not summoning a monster?' Theo thought as he drew.

"Oh well…I'm summoning Koa'ki Meiru Urnight (2000/1500)!" A flourish of light came and a centaur in bronze armor appeared wielding a sword and shield. Its symbol is on its breastplate and shield.

"I activate Urnight's effect. Once a turn, I can reveal an Iron Core of Koa'ki Meiru to special summon a level four or lower Koa'ki Meiru monster from my deck."

A blue portal appeared, and a heavily muscles warrior with a black biker's helmet and two swords appeared. Its symbol is on its chest.

"Meet Koa'ki Meiru Bergzak (2000/200)!" Theo declared.

"Ah, he already has two monsters with 2000 attack points," Akane noticed.

"Looks like this is going to be a One Turn Kill," Nature said. "At least is Hikari doesn't activate her facedowns…"

"Go! Koa'ki Meiru Bergzak!"

The twin sword warrior charged in to attack.

"Don't think so, because I activate the Trap A Hero Emerges," Hikari declared as the facedown flipped. "With this card, you pick a random card in my hand and if it's a monster, I can special summon it. But if it's not, I discard it. Oh…"

Hikari held out her hand. "I made sure that I didn't have a single Spell or Trap in my hand."

"So that was her plan…" Theo muttered. "Well…I'm picking the second to the left!"

"If that's the case, I'm summoning Elemental HERO Woodsman (1000/2000)!" Hikari shouted as the half man, half tree warrior appeared.

"But Woodsman's attack points are lower than Bergzak's. Also if he destroys a monster, it can attack again!" Theo declared.

"Not if I activate the other: the Trap Draining Shield. You probably remember what this does. When you attack, I can negate it and gain Life Points instead!"

Hikari: 6000

Theo: 4000

"But I can still attack your Woodsman with my other monster!"

Urnight reared its legs and charged straight at Woodsman, piercing its chest with its sword.

Hikari: 5000

Theo: 4000

"Now during my end phase, I reveal Beast Warrior Crusader and Warrior War Arms to keep Urnight and Bergzak on the field," Theo continued, ending his turn.

Hikari drew again. "I summon Elemental HERO Stratos (1800/300)," she declared as the propeller-winged warrior appeared. "When he's summoned, I can either destroy Spells or Traps on the field equal to the HERO monsters on my field or I can add a HERO to my hand."

Hikari added a card to her hand and she then took the card that she just drew.

"I'm now activating the Spell Polymerization! I fuse Stratos and Elemental HERO Heat from my hand!"

A vortex opened up as a man in a white bodysuit appeared. Both he and Stratos were sucked in as it flashed bright light.

"Fusion Summon!" Hikari shouted. "Appear, Elemental HERO Great Tornado (2800/2200)!"

The vortex subsided and the caped warrior appeared.

"Great Tornado's effect activates! When he's Fusion Summoned, he can halve the attack and defense of all monsters you have!"

A strong gust came. Urnight's armor and weapons began to chip and crack while Bergzak's swords split apart.

Koa'ki Meiru Urnight: (1000/750)

Koa'ki Meiru Bergzak: (1000/100)

"Go! Attack Bergzak!" Hikari commanded. Brandishing his sword, Great Tornado literally flew towards the warrior and slashed at its chest. The armor broke away and it shattered to pixels.

Hikari: 5000

Theo: 2200

"That should be enough," Hikari concluded. "And one more thing: Great Tornado's effect stays active to your monster that didn't get destroyed."

Theo growled as he drew and nearly broke into a grin.

'This should help a bunch…'

"…I activate Urnight's effect once more! I reveal Iron Core of Koa'ki Meiru to special summon level four Koa'ki Meiru War Arms (1400/1200)!"

Appearing besides the centaur is a bear in golden armor and wearing a red cape. It swiped the air with a spikey mace and on its shoulder pad is its symbol.

"War Arms won't be staying for long because I can sacrifice a Koa'ki Meiru monster to summon this level eight monster. Appear, Koa'ki Meiru Valafar (3000/2100)!"

War Arms disappeared in a burst of flames. But seconds later, a new monster emerged from the inferno. It is a tall demon that stood on the field. Most of its body, mainly its arms, back, legs and head are covered in magma-like armor. Though it's large red wings are dripping what seems to be magma down to the floor. On its gauntlets and knees are the symbols of its tribe.

"3000 attack points…?" Hikari gasped.

"Go, Valafar! Attack Great Tornado!" Balling up a crimson fist, it flew at the caped hero. Great Tornado tried to fight back by slashing at it, but its sword melted against the fist. Valafar punched the hero, sending him flying and shattering him.

Hikari: 4800

Theo: 2200

"Urnight, you're up!" The centaur charged, thrusting its spear at her.

Hikari: 3800

Theo: 2200

"Alright…I'm discarding the Iron Core of Koa'ki Meiru in my hand and reveal Crusader to keep Valafar and Urnight on the field," Theo concluded.

Hikari drew her next card. 'Not good,' she thought. 'Either these monsters are too high leveled to summon or these are too weak to take him on…'

"Time for some defense," Hikari stated. "I set a monster facedown and another card facedown and end my turn."

"I'm activating the effect of Iron Core of Koa'ki Meiru," Theo declared. "If it's in my graveyard, I can skip my draw phase to add it back to my hand."

"Next, I reveal it to activate Urnight's effect, allowing me to special summon Koa'ki Meiru Crusader (1900/1200)!" A rather fat warrior in white knight's armor appeared. It wielded a shield and sword and on its chest plate is the symbol.

"Crusader, attack!"

The fat warrior sliced through the facedown card, which is Elemental HERO Lady Heat (1300/1000). She gave a loud cry of pain as she burst into pixels.

"When Crusader destroys a monster, I can add a Koa'ki Meiru card to my hand," Theo spoke as he drew a card from his deck. "You're defenseless now. Valafar, direct attack!"

Valafar balled up a fist again and began flapping its wings. However, Hikari pressed a button on her Duel Disk and said, "I activate my facedown: another A Hero Emerges!"

She shown her hand again and Theo chose the card to the far right.

"The card you choose…is Elemental HERO Bladedge (2600/1800)!" A colossal warrior in golden armor appeared. He wielded gauntlets with blades attached to them, but even that didn't save him from the magma-hot punches that Valafar threw.

Hikari: 3400

Theo: 2200

"Urnight, attack!" The centaur charged once more, slashing at her. Hikari stumbled back as her Life Points decreased even lower.

Hikari: 2400

Theo: 2200

"I discard Iron Core of Koa'ki Meiru to keep Valafar on the field," Theo said. "However, I don't have anything to maintain either Urnight or Crusader, so they'll have to leave the field."

The symbols on the two monsters' bodies glowed and they erupted into light.

Theo looked at his hand, which included the card he added, Koa'ki Meiru Rooklord.

'Rooklord is a level seven monster, but I can sacrifice a Koa'ki Meiru to summon it instead,' Theo thought. 'When my next turn comes, I'll sacrifice Valafar for Rooklord and then use its effect, banishing a Koa'ki Meiru monster in my graveyard to destroy two cards on Hikari's field. This should be more than enough to defeat her!'

Hikari drew her next card and grinned at the sight of it. "This duel's over!" she declared.

"Huh?"

"I'm activating the Spell Miracle Fusion!" Hikari declared. "By banishing monsters in my field or graveyard, I can special summon an Elemental HERO Fusion Monsters whose Fusion Materials match the ones I banished!"

"What!" Theo shouted.

"I banish Elemental HERO Bladedge and Lady Heat," Hikari continued. Two ghostly images of the HEROES appeared before disappearing into another vortex. "Appear! Elemental HERO Gaia (2200/2600)!"

A massive being emerged from the vortex. It is a massive black golem, even bigger than Bladedge. It looked down upon Valafar with golden eyes.

"But it has only 2200 attack points!" Theo spoke. "That's too weak!"

"Is it?" Hikari smiled. "When Gaia is Fusion Summoned, I can target a monster you control. It loses half of its attack points and this guy gains that amount!"

Vine-like objects emerged out of the holes on Gaia's gauntlets. It raced towards Valafar and attached themselves onto the fiend. It began to shrink while Gaia grew larger.

Koa'ki Meiru Valafar: (1500/2100)

Elemental HERO Gaia: (3700/2600)

"No!" Theo yelped.

"Yes!" Hikari shouted gleefully. "Gaia, attack Valafar! Justice Smash!"

Balling up a fist, the golem rammed its fist into Valafar, who then flew right into Theo and the two were sent flying…

Hikari: *WINNER*

Theo: 0

Theo groaned as he is lying on the floor. Hikari, meanwhile, is jumping in joy as the holograms disappeared.

"Yeah!" Hikari cheered.

"Nay…" Theo groaned as he sat up. "Well, that settles the rematch, huh?"

Hikari nodded as she helped Theo up. "Yeah…" she said, returning to her shy nature quickly. "Though it was pure luck. If I haven't drawn Miracle Fusion, most likely you would have won…"

"So that wraps it up, huh?" Mark asked. "Hikari's happy with her win, now she's off Theo's back."

Akane nodded. "With that settled, let's…huh?"

Ahead of the crowd, Akane could recognize the blue hair of Crystal by the doors to the staircase. She is talking to someone that she doesn't know. The stranger had a seemingly proud and arrogant face. It is enough to instantly tell you that you shouldn't be near her.

"Mark, do you know who that is?" Akane asked as she pointed at the girl.

"Her?" Mark replied, squinting at the two figures. "That's Mary, a junior…well, that's what people say. I've heard she's both popular and disliked at the same time. She's good-looking and smart, but she's supposedly comes from a rather rich family who moved here a few years ago."

"Is there a problem being rich?" Akane asked.

"No…unless you're a snobbish prick, which I've heard she is," Mark said. "She even got her own followers, but I'm betting it's only to avoid meeting her bad side. It's probably best to just avoid her."

"But if she's somehow involved with Crystal, then something must be going on…" Akane muttered. She suddenly seized Mark's arm.

"H-huh?" Mark blinked, nearly blushing.

"Come on…" Akane muttered, yanking his arm and pulling him through the now diminishing crowds.

"Alright, alright!" Mark sighed. "Just stop holding my arm…"

The two carefully followed Crystal and Mary outside of the school. They saw Crystal and Mary talking by the gates.

"Stay here," Akane ordered Mark at the school lobby where they are seeing them through the window.

Mark nodded and Akane slowly exited through the doors. There, she hid behind a tree near them and listened in on their conversation…

"…Don't have a choice, Ageina," Mary told Crystal. "That, or I'll tell everyone."

"But aren't all those cards good enough…?" Crystal asked quietly. "Why Akane? Why Hikari Kite?"

'Me?' Akane thought.

"They possessed some pretty good cards that I want," Mary grinned. "Get them alone as usual, and you know what to do…"

Crystal went silent. Suddenly, Akane felt something pushing her from behind. She crashed to the ground…right in front of the two.

"Akane?" Crystal gasped.

"Ugh…what…?"

"Caught her eavesdropping on ya, Mary," a boy said behind Akane.

"Thank you Earl," Mary nodded before turning to Akane. "So you're Kuroyuki, huh? You don't look that impressive."

"What…what were you talking about me and Hikari?" Akane asked as she got up.

"So you heard it, huh?" Mary replied. "I've noticed that you have some nice cards when you dueled against Crystal the other day…"

'What? But there wasn't anyone around at that time!'

"…So I asked her to fetch me your cards and that Kite's, too."

"But that's terrible!" Akane shouted. "Why would someone like Crystal do that?"

"Would you defend someone if you find out she's a thief?"

Akane froze and Crystal flinched.

"But…but…" Crystal stammered.

"You know the thief that's been stealing cards all around town?" Mary asked. She then pointed at Crystal. "The thief is Crystal!"

Crystal looked at Mary with a shocked expression. "But…but you promised that you wouldn't say that…"

"…Unless you wouldn't do what I say," Mary responded. "I told you to duel Akane earlier after that day, but you wouldn't."

"But looks like the truth's out, isn't it?" the boy called Earl said.

"But based on what you say, it implies that you are actually telling Crystal to do this," Akane said.

"Then I guess I'll make an example if you try to tell somebody this…" Mary said. "Let's see…yeah…you got a Xyz Monster from a 'precious friend' a few years ago, didn't you?"

Crystal grunted but reluctantly nodded.

Mary sniggered as she pulled out a Heartland Duel Disk and Duel Gazer from her bag lying beside her feet.

"We'll go for a Tag-Duel then," Mary said. "Me and Earl against you and Kuroyuki. If you guys win then I'll leave you be. But if I win, I'll be taking Crystal's card! You don't have a choice here!"

'We're practically forced into this…!' Akane thought. "Alright, let's go!"

"Duel Disk, set!" Akane shouted as she slid the Heartland Duel Disk onto her wrist.

"Let's go!" Mary declared as her Duel Disk changed in her hands and she placed it on hers.

"Duel Gazer: Online," Akane continued as she placed the device over her eye. "Duel Targets: Lock-On."

"Connection between A, B, C, and D confirmed. AR Vision Link confirmed. Augmented Duel Reality is now in session."

"Duel!"

Tag-Duel

Akane: 4000

Crystal: 4000

Earl: 4000

Mary: 4000

"I'm going to begin this duel," Mary laughed as she drew. "I think I'll start by playing the Spell Cost Down. By discarding a card, I can reduce the levels of all the monsters in my hand by two."

Mary then placed two facedown cards on her Duel Disk. "I'm setting a monster and two cards to end my turn."

Akane drew her sixth card. 'In a Tag-Duel, no one can attack on their first turn…'

"…I summon Medium Piece Golem (1600/0)." Akane started as the light brown golem appeared. "Next, I place a card facedown and end my turn."

Earl started his turn and grinned when he looked at the card he drew. "I think I'll start by summoning Gatling Ogre (800/800)!" A fiend wearing a red coat appeared. It had a mechanical arm that also has a bullet holder which leads to a large barreled gun attached to its belt. Its real hand is holding onto a crank on its belt.

"I set three cards!" Earl declared as he grinned. "Now here's the fun part. I can send a facedown Spell or Trap to the graveyard. For every one that's sent, Gatling Ogre deals 800 points of damage!"

"What!" Akane gasped.

"Lock and load!" Earl commanded his ogre. Two of his facedowns dissolved away as two large bullet casings went into his ogre's belt.

"Fire away at Kuroyuki!"

Gatling Ogre spun the crank. Immediately, the gun lit up as several shots struck Akane in the chest. She cried out as she is slammed to the floor, already losing Life Points.

Akane: 2400

Crystal: 4000

Earl: 4000

Mary: 4000

"Already…losing…?" Akane groaned weakly as she slowly got back up.

"You're losers. You can't win," Earl chuckled. "I'm ending my turn."

Crystal grunted as she drew. "I summon Flyfang (1600/300), and when a Fish, Aqua, or Sea Serpent-Type monster is summoned, I can special summon Shark Stickers (200/1200)."

Both the winged shark and the blue remora appeared.

"Now, I overlay level three Flyfang and Shark Stickers," Crystal declared as the two monsters turned into blue energy.

"I construct an Overlay Network with these two monsters…Xyz Summon. Appear, Submersible Carrier Aero Shark (1900/1000)."

The ground burst apart as the two giant sharks appeared; their blue Xyz Materials orbiting around them.

"I activate Aero Shark's effect," Crystal continued. "By detaching a Xyz Material, I can deal 400 points of damage to my opponent for every card in my hand. There is four cards in my hand, and I pick Mary to take 1600 of total damage."

The two sharks spat out four missiles, which then break apart into sixteen rockets. They all collided with Mary, creating miniature explosions.

Akane: 2400

Crystal: 4000

Earl: 4000

Mary: 2400

However, Mary is completely unfazed by the attack.

"Weren't you supposed to be a Pro Duelist, Crystal?" Mary taunted. "I thought you can do better than that."

Crystal nearly clenched her teeth; this is the first time Akane see Crystal react angrily.

"…I end my turn," Crystal said reluctantly.

"My turn! Draw!" Mary grinned. "I'm summoning Goblin Attack Force (2300/0)!" A band of green-skinned monsters with helmets and clubs appeared.

"Next, I play the Spell Double Summon, which allows me to summon again! I summon Black Ptera (1000/500)!" A bat-like dinosaur appeared, dripping saliva from its mouth and howling.

"Such disgrace…" Crystal muttered as she looked at the monster.

"I now flip my facedown monster, Castle Gate (0/2400) to attack mode!" Her facedown monster flipped over, and it disappeared as a massive golem shaped like a castle entrance appeared.

"This duel's already done!" Mary smiled. "Goblin Attack Force, clear the field of that Rock-type scum!" the band of monsters charged and overwhelmed Medium Piece Golem, smashing it into bits with their clubs.

Akane: 1600

Crystal: 4000

Earl: 4000

Mary: 2400

"Unfortunately, when Goblin Attack Force attacks, they're force into defense mode until the end of my next turn. Next, I activate Castle Gate's effect," she continued. "When it's in attack mode, I can sacrifice a level five our lower monster and deal damage to my opponent equal to its attack points."

The doors of Castle Gate opened, and Black Ptera turned into a large ball of light.

"Black Ptera, offer yourself to your master and attack Crystal!"

The ball of light suddenly flew at Crystal, piercing through her chest.

Akane: 1600

Crystal: 3000

Earl: 4000

Mary: 2400

"When Black Ptera is destroyed other than by battle, I can return to it my hand. I end my turn with another facedown," Mary smirked. "Do you just notice the situation I put you guys into? If you don't hurry, then I can activate Castle Gate's effect at my next turn, causing you to lose, Kuroyuki."

'That's right,' Akane thought as she started her turn. 'If neither of us destroys that Castle Gate nor reduce Mary's Life points to zero, there's no chance of us winning!'

"I activate my facedown Continuous Trap, Call of the Haunted!" Akane shouted. "I revive Medium Piece Golem in attack mode! Attack her Castle Gate!"

The golem winded up its arm and stomped its way towards the golem.

"Castle Gate can't be destroyed, stupid," Mary replied. "But even though it's in attack mode, it still won't help you because I activate the Continuous Trap Spirit Barrier!"

As one of her facedowns flipped, a barrier surrounded her field.

"When I control monsters, I don't lose any Life Points!" Mary explained before breaking into a laugh.

Akane clenched her teeth. "How is she drawing these cards…?" she muttered. She turned to Crystal, though Crystal is fixated towards Mary. "Ugh…I end my turn!"

"To me again!" Earl spoke as he drew. "I summon Illegal Keeper (1500/1000)!" A cowboy wielding two pistols appeared.

"Next, I play the Spell Card Destruction! With this card, we discard our hands and draw new ones! But for you two…"

Right before Akane and Crystal could draw their cards, Illegal Keeper suddenly fired upon them.

"W…what…?" Crystal groaned as she tried to shake off the attack.

"When my opponent draws outside of the draw phase, Illegal Keeper forces you to return those drawn cards and as a warning, you take 1000 points of damage."

Akane: 600

Crystal: 2000

Earl: 4000

Mary: 2400

"It's true that Mary's Castle Gate does burn damage, but so does Gatling Ogre!" Earl added. "I set one card and send it to the graveyard to activate my Ogre's effect!"

"No…!" Akane gasped.

Earl's facedown that appeared quickly dissolved. Another gun clip is added and the fiend turned the crank. Another series of gunfire enveloped Akane, and she screamed in pain as she is lifted off of her feet…

Akane: 0

Crystal: 2000

Earl: 4000

Mary: 2400

"You see?" Mary laughed again as Akane hit the floor a few feet back. "You don't have a single chance of beating us. Our card combos just devastated your partner, and better yet, we're going to ruin you…"

"Say, didn't that Xyz Monster belong to a friend of yours?" Earl taunted.

"No…I…"

"You're pathetic, you know that?" Mary asked. "You're supposed to be a Pro Duelist, someone whose been liked by many people, but that's all a sham. Look at you now!"

"No…stop it…"

"Stop what?" Mary sneered. "I'm just stating the truth. You would do-"

"I SAID STOP IT!" Crystal yelled, viciously drawing her next card. "Aero Shark, attack Mary!"

The two sharks let out roars as loud as Crystal and dove for her…

Mary smirked. "I activate my facedown Trap, Attack Guidance Armor!" As her last facedown flipped, a giant piece of armor zoomed out of it and somehow fit over Aero Shark. The front's design eerily looks like a glaring face.

"When my opponent's monster attacks, I can redirect it!" Mary explained. "I'm redirecting it towards Gatling Ogre!"

"What?" Crystal gasped as the eyes on the armor lit up red. "But he's your partner…"

"I already have a plan for that!" Earl sneered as Aero Shark flew towards him. "I'm activating my own Trap, Magical Cylinder!"

Two giant jars appeared, both of them facing Crystal.

"When my opponent attacks, I don't take damage, but you do!"

Aero Shark flew straight into one of the jars. Seconds later, it flew out of the other, accidently ramming into Crystal.

Akane: 0

Crystal: 100

Earl: 4000

Mary: 2400

Crystal dropped to her knees and realized what is going to happen…

"Given up, did you?" Mary asked. "Sorry, but a duel's a duel…"

She drew her next card and smiled.

"Castle Gate! Use Goblin Attack Force as your next offering!"

The band of monsters each turned into balls of light.

"Go!"

They all raced towards Crystal, hitting her all at once and sending her flying into the air…

Akane: 0

Crystal: 0

Earl: *WINNER*

Mary: *WINNER*

"No…how…" Akane groaned as Augmented Duel Reality ended and everything turned back to normal.

"I'll tell you how…" Mary said as she and Earl approached the fallen. "You guys are too weak for us. You can't win with weak cards like those. And most importantly…"

Mary noticed the Leviair the Sea Dragon card lying on the ground besides Crystal. Mary sneered, and before Crystal realized it, she snatched it from her.

"It's my card now…" Mary declared as she examined it. "But then again, I'll be just like you since you stole cards…I think I'll return it to you…"

But then Mary ripped the card into two and Crystal's eyes widen. She dropped the two halves and Crystal's eyes followed them down to the ground.

"Hehe…that's my warning to what happens if you fail me," Mary said to Crystal. She then turned towards Akane. "This'll happen to you if you get in my way again, Kuroyuki. See ya later…"

Mary and Earl left, leaving Akane and Crystal by themselves.

'A loss…' Akane thought sadly. 'Not a game loss, but a serious one…'

"Crystal…" Akane turned to the blue-haired girl, who is just staring at the two halves of her prized card. "Are you going…?"

"…Just leave me be…" Crystal whispered. Akane noticed the earth the halves are lying on are stained. A cold wind blew towards them and something white slowly fell down in front of her. It is a snowflake.

It's snowing.

Bitter tears leaked from Crystal's eyes as she just kneeled there. "Please…just leave me alone…"

And Mark just stood there as he took off his Duel Gazer. His face disturbed by what he just saw, he started to back away…

Evening…

Heartland City is a very bright place, though the docks are usually dark and vacant at night. However, there is always a stranger who goes to the place and just looks at the calming waves. But this person this night is not a man or a worker, but a teenager.

The boy had dark blue hair slicked to look like an octopus. His blue eyes looked upon the ocean as he rests his head on his right hand, which he wore two silver rings on it. He wore a dark purple jacket over a black shirt and a fanged pendant with black pants and white shoes.

Snow is falling down from the dark skies. The boy sneezed, realizing that he should get going soon. He turned around to see his ride: a large red motorbike with a single wheel.

But seconds later, something began to beep in his pocket. The boy pulled it out, and is revealed to be a Duel Gazer; a gray and green one with red lenses and a yellow shark's fang attached to it.

The boy tapped the lenses once. "Yeah? Ryoga Kamishiro here."

Preview:

Chapter 14: Old Ties

Mary continues to make Crystal suffer as Winter Vacation begins. Unable to stand this, and frustrated by Mark's lack of help, Akane declares that she will duel Mary! But before they begin, an old acquaintance of Crystal appears...