Now I know I sound like a broken record, but I digress: I do not own Steven Universe or any of its original characters nor do I own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of its original characters, I can say, however, that I do own Stephanie, her yami, Primrose, and all OCs I chose to make, including original Crystal Beasts, i.e. Bismuth Beaver, Crystal Myths, i.e: Garnet Mother Time, and other original cards. If I did own Steven Universe, trust me, things would've been a lot different and if I own Yu-Gi-Oh there would've been a way for Atem to stay and have all his memories.

Solartiger: I'm glad you're enjoying this fic! Hope you like this chapter too!

foxchick1: I'm also glad you're enjoying this particular dynamic, Leon's always been an intriguing character to me and seeing him interact with someone like Stephanie(Steven) is just a fun time to write, especially with the Crystal Beasts and Myths VS the Fairytales. Yami always helped out Yugi and vice-versa, so I see no reason why it wouldn't be the same here with Steph and Prim. Yeah, I figured since white is easily the best colored to be paired with pink (fashion-wise), so I figured the Gems would eventually get uncomfortable, especially Modern Homeworld Gems like Peridot and Jasper.

Lady Twilight Prime: I know it might seem a bit cliched at this point, but I really couldn't think of a better or more fitting wildcat for Rose Quartz, I'm really looking forward to the Wedding Arc too, but, patience is a virtue after all. Leon really is too cute for his own good! And I'm glad you like the Ancient Era Flashbacks, at least, that's what I call them, they're interesting to write.

Screwball6580: I'm glad you love this so much, and you're welcome for the shout out and for this one! As for Malachite and Obsidian...well...you'll have to read to find out, now won't you? Lol!

Frostlash: Huh, I wasn't aware Jet was a canon Gem, I will admit though I have thought about a Jackal Crystal Beast for a while now with a Graveyard related ability, just wasn't sure what Gem to use, at first I was thinking of Hessonite, but then thought 'nah, Hessonite Hyena sounds way better', so I've been stuck on that. I'll have to think more on it, thanks for the suggestion though! I really appreciate the suggestions for you guys, I just ask no one taking offence if I don't use or if I forget to credit you guys.

Guest(1): I'm only going say this once as nice as I can on the off chance your someone new; I really, really, really hate when someone just uses the default 'Guest' name, don't get me wrong, I know you all have your preferences and this is just my own knit pick, but I just need to say; if you really can't come up with a creative nickname just use your first or last name with some random letters; it just saves me the headache of labeling you guys as Guest1 and Guest2-21 and wondering if your the same 'Guest' from a previous chapter's reviews or from a different story or just someone new entirely. On a brighter note, I do get what you mean about messing with Yugi's deck, I mean, why mess with perfection, am I right? Still ya gotta feel bad for the poor red dragon. Apologies for the rant btw, P.

Guest(2): Yeah, this is exactly what I was talking about before, so not gonna repeat that rant. Anyways, I am not in the habit of being a spoilerist!...is that a word? If not I call it!

Now, last time, the second day and third match-up of the Duelist Kingdom Semi-Finals and it kicks off with the duel between Leon and Stephanie and Primrose. Leon's managed to knockout half of the girls' life points, but by summoning two brand new Crystal Myths they were able to knock some back. Now its time to see who's going to win and advance:

Crystal Myths or Fairytale Characters?


You could almost hear a pin drop with how silent it was in the two observation balconies, that's how intense and focused the silence and tension was as the two groups' attention was practically glued to the duel before them. Primrose's two Crystal Myths, her Sardonyx Dryad and Smokey Quartz Valkyrie remained in their relaxed stances as they waited for their next opponent, while Leon's field was bare of both monsters and supports after both Myths tore down his prior defense with their shocking strength.

'This is certainly turning into quite the supernatural turn out,' Pegasus mused glancing between the two dueling Finalists, 'Mythological Figures VS Fairytale Characters, its honestly quite a poetic scenario, all things considered; I couldn't have set this up better if I tried,' His eyes strayed over to his unaware niece-via marriage, 'It's no guess to your little nova's motivations, Shadow, all she wants is to have you and her maternal family figures back, the new friends were just a happy coincidence, but of course,' He couldn't help a tiny chuckle, 'She is your daughter, you never could resist helping those who needed help, so really, she is no better,' He then glanced over to the fabled German child prodigy he had heard so much about, to the point he couldn't resist sending him an invitation to his tournament, 'Leon...on the other hand...'

Pegasus' Millennium Eye gave off a subtle gold glow, that Marco once again caught glinting through his silver bangs, but again made no comment as the younger man peered into the youngest Finalist's mind to learn his motivations:

(Start Memory)

Leon knew he wasn't suppose to go into his father's office without explicit permission, but he couldn't help it. He really liked watching his father work, he always looked so important, even when just doing paperwork or taking taking the briefest moment to sip tea or nibble on whatever snacks were brought to him, so impossible to ignore when commanding the occasional meeting over video-feed. His father always had that commanding aura that just didn't completely filter away no matter how little or trivial the task he did.

It was something Leon hoped to one day obtain, to one day be looked at and not be seen as the Von Schroeder Spare first and Leon second, but to be seen as Leon Von Schroeder the second Head of the Von Schroeder Family. It maybe a while away, but he knew it'd be worth it, to finally stand with his brother as an equal.

Leon immediately noticed the stake of mail next to his father's desk on the servant's trolley and knew his father hadn't seen it yet because it was still there, along with the delicious little sandwiches the servant had brought up for his father's lunch.

He quickly went over and his big eyes were immediately drawn to the large package sitting on top of the neat stack of envelopes and gasped when he saw it was directly addressed to him. He immediately snatched it up and hurried before his father could return to notice him.

He couldn't help his burning curiosity, things in the mail were rarely ever addressed directly to one of the Von Schroeder boys and when they did, they were usually for Zig. Not that Leon was mad about it or anything, who wouldn't keep sending Zig things, his brother was always amazing. So when Leon reached his bedroom, he immediately hopped onto his bed and opened his package and gasped in surprise to find a weird looking glove with two gold-looking star-shaped objects in two of the star-shaped holes on the ring on the wrist. He picked up the letter and turned it over, finding a familiar logo.

He immediately scooped up his package and ran again, this time to his brother's room. Zig was always the smarter one, he'll know what this was all about. Plus, Leon was nervous to why Industrial Illusions would send him a package.

He knocked first and waited for the raspy 'come in', before hurrying and hopping onto his brother's bed. Zig somehow had the misfortune to catch a nasty cold and was confined to his room, since they were both so easily prone to getting sick. It always made Leon feel bad whenever Zig got sick, so he always went out of his way to cheer him up with his storybooks and drawings, which usually worked.

Zig looked at the glove weirdly as he listened to his explanation as he held the letter. Zig calmly blew his nose before opening the letter and reading it.

"What does it say Zig?" Leon asked confused and concerned as Zig's sharp green eyes widened in surprise. "It's an invitation to Maximillion Pegasus' dueling tournament!" Zig said in surprised-anxiousness, "A personal one if that signature is any indication." He turned the page around to point to the fancy scrawl at the bottom and Leon squinting made him realize it was in fact signed by the creator of duel monsters himself.

"But why would he send it to me?" Leon asked, "I'm just the second born, clueless kid."

"No, Leon, don't ever think that about yourself," Zig said with loving, yet sympathetic eyes, "You're a great gamer and an even better little brother."

"But why not invite you?" Leon asked feeling slightly better, "You've been playing longer."

"Maybe he knows I'm sick?" Zig guessed with a slight shrug before turning his head to cough into his elbow, trying to avoid getting his brother sick as well. "Don't see how, you've been in here since you started coughing," Leon remarked doubtfully.

"Who cares why he picked who he picked?" Zig said dismissing the question before his previous one, "Leon this is going to be the biggest tournament of the century! You gotta go!"

"Me?" Leon asked in surprise. "No, the pope," Zig said with such a deadpanned expression it would've made Leon flinch...if the effect wasn't ruined by the playful twinkle in his eyes, the nasally undertone to his voice and the obvious Disney reference/quote, the last of which became more obvious when Zig poked him lightly in the ribs with a smile, "Of course you!"

Leon giggled, but his smile faded, "But...but fa-"

"Forget him," Zig sniffed expression darkening slightly with something akin to anger, but not quite being anger, before softening into something more encouraging, "C'mon Leon, you always said you wanted to be in a big tournament and show the world you deserve to stand by my side as my equal, right?" Leon gave a little nod, gears turning in his head, "This is your chance!"

'Ziggy's not wrong,' Leon thought to himself, 'If I really do enter this and at least get into the Finals, Leon Von Schroeder will be the name in the papers and Father and Mother might be proud of me!' Leon felt his heart soar at the idea of earning his parents' praise for once rather then scolding, 'And if I win, Ziggy will be so proud!'

"Please, Lee," Ziggy said with a pleading tone, which hammer the nail in the coffin for Leon's final choice, "If you won't do it for you, do it for me."

Leon nodded, "Okay, I'll go! Just watch Ziggy! I'm gonna be the Duelist Kingdom Champion!" As Leon proclaimed this he jumped to his feet, forgetting he was still on Zig's soft mattress, which bent from his sudden increase in weight and shifted under his feet, throwing Leon off balance and made him fall backwards, thankfully right into more soft pillows and blankets.

Leon didn't really mind though as Zig started to laugh so hard he was holding his stomach, turning onto his side so he wouldn't cough on him, but his smile never left his face, which made Leon smile wider.

He was going to win this, for Ziggy.

(End Memory)

'Ah, what a classic and familiar set motives,' Pegasus thought to himself, softly shaking his head fondly, able to feel the bond the two brothers shared in that moment, 'Striving for family's praise and to stand as an equal by an elder sibling's side; something you would know all too well,' Pegasus let a smile slip onto his face, 'Eh, Shadow?'

"Man, could this duel get more intense?" Tristan asked rhetorically. "I can think of a way..." Jasper remarked mostly to herself, mind on the type of creatures under Stephanie's and Primrose's command. "Don't," Lapis said immediately having an idea of what Jasper had in mind, "Do. Not. Go. There." Jasper shrugged and it made then teens and Finalists all share a confused look between each other, wondering what was on the Gems' minds.

"I get where Tristan's coming from though," Ryou said softly, eyes on the field as Leon and Primrose continued to stare each other down, "We all know what stakes Stephanie has in this duel, but we have no idea what Leon is riding this duel for."

Rex nodded, "You're not wrong, kid could be dueling purely for the money to keep his orphanage open for all we know."

Joey just barely heard the expected 'what's that' response from Bismuth as he pondered this, mind immediately wondering to his sister, 'Kami, I hope that's not why he's dueling...' It would make dueling the kid so much harder then it would have to be; his sister could learn to live without her sight; Leon and who knows how many other kids would be without a home.

Seto's snort pulled Joey out of his worries, "I highly doubt it."

"Whadya mean, moneybags?" Joey asked irritably, "Know somethin' we don't?"

"I'm going to assume you don't pay much attention to the news outside of Japan," Maisie remarked as she hovered around the group lazily, "The Von Schroeder family owns one of the biggest Gaming Companies in Europe, the biggest one in their native Germany."

"Its the single biggest competitor against KaibaCorp," Mokuba added clearly not caring if that really was Leon's family, he still liked his new friend, he was just too sincere and genuine to be a deceiving manipulator.

"So Leon's like Kaiba?" Tea asked for clarification as they let this sink in. "No, his father, Derek Von Schroeder is the current CEO, he's gone on numerous public records claiming his older son Zigfried as his heir," Seto answered.

Yugi titled his head thoughtfully, "Could he be doing this for individual recognition?"

Seto shrugged, "He wouldn't be the first, doubt he'll be the last."

"It kinda comes with being apart of a high profile family," Mokuba added with a frown, "Unfortunately." Seto just shrugged.

"You might've gotten a lead, Princess Pink," Leon grinned excitedly and confident, despite his barren field, "But don't think it'll last for long, cause I still got plenty of Fairytales waiting to give you a big surprise!"

"Bring it Leon," Primrose smiled in anticipation for a good fight, her Valkyrie and Dryad smiling as well, her warrior standing proud and tall, and her fairy sat on one of her briars as if it were a bench or lounge-couch, both radiating power and confidence, "But you'll find it's going to take a lot more the sheer brutality to bring one of my girls down." The emphasis on the possessive noun wasn't lost to the gems, all of whom gave little twitches of frowns, though Pearl was the most obvious with her displeasure and concern, being eerily reminded of the time Pink was throwing that Diamond Possessiveness around over a few of her Amethysts when one of Blue Diamond's Emeralds came around.

"We'll see..." Leon shot back but without any malice to his tone as he drew his next card and grinned widely, "Now you're in trouble!" Primrose arched a delicate brow in response, "I summon Hexe Trude!"

His new monster was yet another human, a beautiful, slender woman with long, wild dark purple hair with a fair complexion and sharp, calculative and confident hazel eyes, long, narrow, red tattoos were printed beneath her eyes like streaks of of a tear or a fangs. She was bare-foot, wearing thick looking bangles made of what looked like gold on her wrists and ankles. She wore a form-fitting, flattering dark red dress with thin straps for sleeves and a slit up each outer side of her legs. A gold, thin-looking belt with a teal-bluish-green jewel for the buckle sat snug around her waist, a matching jewel hung from her neck on a dark red choker, matching the teardrop-like jewels that hung from her ears and the single on in the center of her forehead.

Hexe Trude. Attribute: DARK. Tribe: SPELLCASTER/EFFECT. Lv: 8. ATK/DEF: 2600/2100

Hexe smirked as she curtsied in a mocking fashion to the mythological figures, both of whom frowned slightly, tensing at the presence of the DARK spellcaster. From within Yugi's monsters' chamber within the puzzle, many a male monster turned bright red, particularly the Dark Magician, who turned away from the duel, and from within the confines of Peridot's gemstone, her male Elemental Heroes were no better, which made monsters like Mystical Elf and Burstinatrix to frown.

"Wow..." Tristan said as he, Ryou, Rex, Joey, Mako and Yugi blushed at the sight of the beautiful monster, even Seto's cheeks were a suspicious pink. Mokuba looked between his brother and Joey, as did Lion, before he turned to the pink cat, who looked just as confused and just shrugged, prompting Mokuba to shrug back.

Bismuth, Lapis, Peridot and Jasper all frowned in annoyance; Bismuth chuffed Tristan upside the head as gentle as possible, whilst Lapis had no problems just plain smacking Joey upside the head, only she used one of her wings, drenching him in the process, making him yelp in shock, gurgling when he got water in his mouth. Peridot simply elbowed Seto in the side, pouting and crossing her arms along with Lapis when both boys looked at them confused. Jasper bonked Mako on the head as gently as she was able, her only response to his inquisitive look being, "You were staring."

Tea and Dorothy took their cues to snap Ryou, Yugi and Rex out of it themselves. Though, no one noticed how Pearl had noticed how Ryou was staring at the new monster and was also pouting.

"She's beautiful..." Primrose admitted with sincerity, which made Hexe Trude blink in surprise, but smile, pleased.

"And she packs a punch too!" Leon grinned proudly, making Hexe puff up proudly, much to Pegasus, Marco and Star's amusement, "As she attacks your Valkyrie!" Hexe smirked widely as she conjured a ball of magic.

"Oh no!" Primrose realized with panic but could do nothing as Hexe launched her attack at Smoky Quartz Valkyrie, who tried to shield herself but was destroyed, much to Sardonyx Dryad's shock.

Primrose LPs: 500

"She's down to only five hundred life points!" Tea said in worry. "Don't worry, she always turns things like this around," Peridot said despite looking ready to panic herself. "Yeah, life or death situations, not card games!" Lapis reminded, prompting Bismuth to shush her. "Come on Steph!" Joey called supportively.

'Maybe I overestimated the power of a child's love,' Pegasus mused to himself, feeling a little bad for his unawares niece-via-marriage. 'At least she's made it this far,' Marco thought optimistically, unaware of the stakes for Stephanie's side of things.

Star clutched at her skirt tightly, silently cheering her granddaughter on. Up in the rafters, the cloaked woman continued to watch, 'Let's see how your baby girl gets out of this one Shadow...' Her lips twisted into an ugly frown at just the mere thought of the name.

"You might have beaten Smoky Quartz," Primrose said as the two cats used to create her warrior reappeared on the field, both crouching in low, defensive stances, "But when a Myth is destroyed, the Beasts used to make them return to the field."

"I'm not worried," Leon said calmly without smugness or arrogance as he simply stated, "Its not like they can destroy Hexe." His spellcaster in question giggled in amusement as both the lioness and wildcat bared their fangs warningly at her.

"Be that as it may, you won't be able to make any more dents into my life points as long as they're in defense mode," Primrose rebuffed just as calm, not taking offense to his stating the obvious, "Besides, even if you do destroy both of them before I can destroy Hexe Trude, she can't exactly take out my Dryad either," Her fairy in question gave the DARK monster a hard stare down, "They're evenly matched."

"For now..." Leon giggled mischievously in a knowing singsong-way that made Primrose arch a brow.

"Wow..." Rex blinked, "Just...just wow!"

"Kid's certainty got a pair, I'll give him that!" Mako smiled widely in amusement to Leon's confidence, "Speaking to royalty like that!"

Mokuba leaned to look at the Fisherman Duelist in confusion, asking, "A pair of what?"

Seto and Maisie shot him a death glare and the Water Finalist gulped, "Err...ask your brother!"

"Ask Maisie," Seto immediately deadpanned when Mokuba turned to look up at him, making Maisie huff.

"It's just an expression about how confident your friend is, Mokie," Maisie said as she hovered down to Mokuba's eye level, "I'll explain in context when your older," Mokuba went to open his mouth and she cut him off, "As in, when your sixteen, older." She then returned to her perch on Seto's shoulder as Mokuba pouted, only to giggle when Lion licked his cheek in comfort.

'I'm willing to bet that means Leon probably has another card like Battleguard Rage to boost Hexe's attack power,' Primrose thought as she drew, lips pinching slightly in a frown to see it was the magic card Rare Value, 'Then again, it could be a bluff to get me to change Dryad to Defense Mode so she'll be easier for Hexe to destroy, so I'll just leave things as they are, for now.'

Nodding to herself, Primrose declared, "I'll leave my monsters as they are and end my turn."

"You really should have switched her to Defense Mode," Leon remarked earning an arched brow in turn as he drew, "I'll prove it by playing a different card, "I play Hidden Armory!" Everyone rose a brow in intrigue as a blue portal appeared before Hexe Trude.

"And what, prey tell, does that do?" Primrose asked. "In return for sending the top card of my deck to the graveyard I can give Hexe Trude any weapon I chose," Leon answered with a wide smile, much to everyone's shock.

"Any weapon?" Mako and Bismuth echoed in shock. "Who knows what kind of power boost that could give!" Peridot exclaimed in worry. "Stephanie!" Yugi and Lapis called in worry as Hexe Trude stuck her hand into the small wormhole.

"And I chose to give her the power of the Wonder Wand!" Leon declared after placing the top card on his deck to his graveyard and Hexe Trude pulled out wooden wand with a tribal face on the metal section of the hand that had rubies for eyes and it had a large circular jewel atop of a sea-green color, "Which increases her attack points by five hundred!"

Hexe Trude. ATK/DEF: 3100/2100

"Ah!" Primrose gasped in shock as Sardonyx Dryad's eyes widened, along with Amethyst Cat's and Rose Quartz Lioness'. "But she only has five hundred life points left!" Ryou said in horrified realization. "If that attack hits she'll be out!" Tristan added.

"Stephanie!" Dorothy, Yugi, Rex and Joey called in alarm as Hexe Trude charged her attack.

"Sardonyx Dryad!" Primrose called getting her fairy's attention, "Crystal Nourishment!" Sardonyx Dryad's eyes widened before she nodded and placed her hands down on the branch she was sitting on, muttering her spell under breath.

"Hey look!" Mokuba exclaimed as two small branches reached up in the Spell & Trap Zone and coiled around Biggs' Geode.

They watched in shock as the color slowly faded from the crystals, the color turned into a glow that traveled up the branches to Sardonyx Dryad. "What's...going on?" Leon asked stunned as the Geode then crumbled to pieces and the branches fell away.

"If there's an EARTH Crystal Beast in the Spell & Trap Zone I can use it to give my Dryad a small power boost," Primrose explained as Dryad waved her arms in an upward motion, forming a wall of brairs just as Hexe Trude sent her attack hurtling towards her, "It may not be enough to match the power of your wand, but it keeps my life points...relatively safe."

Sardonyx Dryad. ATK/DEF: 2900/2100

The attack burned through the wall and struck Sardonyx Dryad head on, making her shriek before disappearing, Garnet Mother Time and Pearl Cottontail appearing in defensive positions in her place.

Primrose: 300

"Oh thank the stars!" Peridot sighed along with the others in relief at pink quartz's quick thinking. Star and Marco also sighed in relief, silently proud of how well a fight their granddaughter was putting up to keep herself in the match.

(Beach City, Sun Incinerator)

"Oh, gracias a Dios...!*" Kevin sighed in relief as he and a few others literally dropped to their knees in relief at the turnaround. Jenny was actually clutching at her chest, "I don't know how much more of this I can take!"

Kiki nudged her sister with a good-natured eye-roll, "You're not Grandma, Jen." Jenny nudged her back in response.

Lars, however, was grinning ear-to-ear, "She remind you guys of anyone?" To which the remaining two Cool Kids, Kevin and Jamie all groaned.

"Don't even," Jamie told the Captain, "Just don't." The other kids all shared a look of complete confusion, as did the Off Colors, but they all shrugged.

(Duelist Kingdom)

'What do I do now?' Primrose thought as panic started to creep in, her eyes wide and frantic as she search for something to do after drawing her next card and saw it was Crystal Abundance, another magic card that was useless at the moment, 'I might have a few myths that could beat Hexe Trude, but I can use my Beasts in a fusion again until my next turn, and if Leon summons another monster, he'll take out two of them by then, and I won't be able to use them!' The world around her started to turn dark, 'Wh-what am I doing? I-I can't think of what to do? What if I lose here? I can't just fail now! Not with Stephanie's family on the line, even if one at the very least isn't entirely on our side; what right do I have as an intruder on her life to gamble with the Gems? Her father?'

'Calm down,' A familiar voice told her as she felt a pair of arms encircle around her waist, making her blink in surprise and look to see it was Stephanie, both seemingly unaware of the dark space around them and how their cheek-marks were glowing softly. 'Stephanie?' Primrose questioned startled.

'Who said you had to carry these tensions by yourself? We're in this together, remember?' Stephanie asked with encouraging manner, 'We share the same body now and I chose to keep wearing the Earrings, no one's an intruder here.'

'I...' Primrose thought gaze softening as the panic began to ebb away. 'Besides, aren't you thinking a little far ahead?' Stephanie asked, 'Leon's most likely going to take out Mother Time first, so any further fusions with her are out, especially if he targets Ruby Carbuncle or Sapphire Pegasus afterwards, what does that leave us with?'

'Not exactly a lot of options,' Primrose answered, 'There's always Kunapipi, assuming he doesn't take out Amethyst Cat or Pearl Cottontail, but she can't match Hexe Trude's thirty-one hundred, our only other available monster is Jasper Rhino and she wouldn't even make a dent in them.'

'We'll just have to wait and see, for now,'Stephanie remarked with a gentle smile and Primrose nodded in agreement.

Primrose breathed through her nose to calm down fully before opening her eyes to the arena once more, and said calmly, "I'll have to pass my turn for now." Leon nodded his understanding and drew.

'Strange,' Pegasus though confused as he looked to the spirit of the Millennium Earrings, 'She was just panicking not even a second ago, she should've placed one of her magic cards down; now's just...dead calm; how can someone just switch how they're feeling on a dime?'

"First I'll play Polymerization!" Leon declared much to everyone's surprise, "You're not the only one with Fusions on their side, Princess Pink!"

Two monsters appeared on his field; one was about the size of Kuriboh, but less friendly looking with lighter brown fur, longer limbs with four digits instead of three, and three amber yellow eyes with cat-like, slit pupils. The other was a tall human woman with long, dark violet hair and had her eyes closed, she wore a long dress similar to the Mystical Elf, but black in color and creamy colored trim on the neck and shoulder-lines, a large eye symbol in the center, two dark brown, wing-like hair pins sat on either side of her head and, like her ally, had a third eye, which was wide open and a light greenish color, in the center of her forehead.

"I'll use it to merge my Sangan," Leon continued as his little furball growled with a wide, mischievous grin, "And my Witch of the Black Forest together!" His witch sighed as she was pulled into a vortex with Sangan, "To form the Sanwitch!"

His new monster was almost painfully short, like Ruby short, and could only be described as some sort of green imp rather then human as most spellcasters appeared to be. Like Sangan, his eyes were an amber yellow with cat-like pupils, but wore a brown robe under a cream-color cloak with a raised collar that hide the lower half of his mouth with big yellow shoes. A matching color-schemed turban-like hat sat atop his head with a single eye in the center of the band over his forehead and he held a staff made of bronze that ended at the bottom with a sphere and at the top with a tight spiral.

Sanwitch. Attribute: DARK. Tribe: SPELLCASTER/FUSION. Lv: 8. 2100/1800

Tristan and Joey snorted as they caught on to the pun of the new monsters' name despite themselves, Tea and Seto rolled their eyes as Mokuba, Dorothy, Rex and Ryou started to chuckle, Mako and Yugi cracked grins as well. Bismuth, Lapis, Peridot and Jasper, however, didn't get what was so funny and just shared confused looks. Even Lion and the other monsters on the field were all cracking grins, shaking with suppressed laughter.

Marco and Star, however, both shot Pegasus dry, incredulous looks. Pearl just slapped herself in the face.

"What?" Pegasus asked innocently. "Really?" Marco asked, "Just...just really?"

(Beach City, Sun Incinerator)

"I don't get it," Connie said as she, Peedee, Onion and the Other Colors watched the teens all laugh hysterically to the point they were all on the floor, including Lars, who had fallen out of his chair, "What's so funny?" Onion shrugged, not getting it either.

"Classic, just classic!" Jenny managed to breath out between peels of laughter. "Who...who...who knew Pegasus of all people was a...a..." Jamie gasped out, clutching his stomach, "Punster!"

Buck was actually banging the floor and kicking his legs out as he laughed, "Cream's gooo...going to be...sooo pissed that he missed that!"

"I still don't get it," Peedee said lost. "Bro...think about it, Sanwitch," Ronaldo told his brother, stressing out each part of the name, making his brother and the others think on it, before it suddenly clicked.

Peedee covered his mouth, trying to contain his laughter as he bent over, Onion grinned widely, shoulders shaking, while Connie fell over from laughing so hard.

Even with her damaged Future Vision, Padparadscha still couldn't figure out what so funny, so she just shrugged confusedly with the other Off-Colors.

(Duelist Kingdom)

"Next I summon Forest Wolf!" Leon continued with one more summon, his monster being a large grey wolf wearing a pink apron and night-cap.

Forest Wolf. Attribute: EARTH. Tribe: BEAST/EFFECT. Lv: 3. ATK/DEF: 1800/300

"Welp, we had Little Red Riding Hood 'n' her Hunter," Joey remarked looking a bit defeated along with a few of the others, "I was wonderin' if we were gonna see the Big Bad Wolf."

"Next I use Hidden Armory to give my Sanwitch the magic of Mage Power!" Leon continued sending another card to his graveyard as another wormhole opened up and a red aura filtered out, absorbing into Sanwitch's staff, before emcompassing the rest of him, "It grants him five hundred extra attack and defense points for each magic card I currently have in use, including itself," Leon then held up three fingers, "And I count three, giving him an additional fifteen hundred points!"

Sanwitch. ATK/DEF: 3600/3300

"Now he has two monsters with over three thousand attack points!" Tea said in worry. "And he can just power up his Sanwitch even further on his next turn by using Hidden Armory to pull out another equip spell for his other monsters," Yugi added thumbnail between his teeth as he watched, as proud as he was of Leon doing so well, he was just as worried for how Stephanie was going to pull out a win.

"Now first, Hexe take out Garnet Mother Time!" Leon ordered prompting the two spellcasters to stare each other time, before Hexe smirked as she obeyed, firing a blast of magic at her LIGHT counterpart, who tried to block with her staff, but was blasted off her feet and destroyed when her back hit the console.

Ruby Carbuncle and Sapphire Pegasus took up defense positions on the field as the fusion broke apart, one had her teeth bared in warning and the other lowered herself so she could defend with her horn if need be.

"Now Sanwitch attack Rose Quart Lioness!" Leon followed up and his shorter spellcaster slammed his staff into the ground, forming a red ball of magic at the spiral end, before shooting bolts of the magic at his ordered target. Rose Quartz Lioness managed to avoid two, but was hit by several more and was destroyed. Pearl covered her mouth with wide eyes as the pink shards reformed into a Geode.

"I know how much wolves like rabbits," Leon smiled mischievously as his wolf licked its lips, prompting Pearl Cottontail to gulp and start to sweat and shake nervously, "So, Forest Wolf, have fun." Without any further words, his wolf bounded forth on all forth, making a beeline for the smallest Crystal Beast.

Pearl Cottontail screeched in alarm and quickly turned and ran, but was soon caught in Forest Wolf's jaws by the neck, only to be suddenly tossed into the air. Pearl Cottontail shrieked as she flew while Forest Wolf opened its jaws wide and swallowed the rabbit whole.

"It swa-swa-swallowed her whole!" Peridot gulped in horror. "Yep, and no shards, means no Geode," Leon smirked as no Geode formed for the small Beast.

Primrose gritted her teeth before taking a deep breath to keep herself calm and level-headed, she drew and silently cursed at the sight of her trap card 'Rainbow Gravity', before saying, "I'll have to pass my turn again."

"Oh boy," Tristan said with a wince. "She's going to be all out of monsters her next turn!" Tea said in concern.

"Seto, why doesn't fuse her monsters again?" Mokuba asked. "I'm guessing there's a set-back to Contact Fusion is that it takes a turn or so before you can use them again after they split apart," Seto theorized as Leon drew.

"Sanwitch, Hexe, take out her Sapphire Pegasus and Amethyst Cat!" Leon ordered and his two DARK spellcasters obeyed, crossing the top of their wands together for one conjoined blast, which shot out in forms of dark red electricity, destroying the intended targets as Amethyst Cat tried in vain to avoid them and Sapphire Pegasus tried to shield herself.

Two Geodes formed, flanking the rose quartz one in Primrose's Spell & Trap Zone.

"Wolfie, the last one's yours," Leon said and his Forest Wolf immediately dashed forth towards Ruby Carbuncle, who immediately booked it, trying to avoid the hungry canine, only to be grabbed by her tail and flung into the air like Pearl Cottontail and swallowed whole in the same manner.

Only this time, Forest Wolf's stomach bugled a bit and a muffled shriek could be heard from Pearl Cottontail, followed by an equally muffled sound from Ruby Carbuncle and more sounds started to be heard, much Forest Wolf's annoyance as it punched the two through its stomach, making them squeak and fall silent. A few spectators sweat-dropped at this.

Leon suddenly cheered, "And that's one more step for me!"

"One more step?" Ryou and Rex questioned.

'Hey that's right!' Stephanie realized. 'What is it, Stephanie?' Primrose questioned a little surprised by her lighter half's suddenness. 'We know why Joey and Yugi are in this tournament, heck, everyone knows why Kaiba was on the island at all,' Stephanie pointed out, 'We even know why Mai was competing, even if was a lot more selfish compared to the rest of us, but, did anyone ever ask why Leon's here? I mean, he's younger then Mokuba; what could he possibly want out of all this?'

Primrose immediately saw what her lighter half was getting at, aside from the obvious fame and fortune that Pegasus was offering, what else could someone as young and as genuinely innocent as Leon could possibly really want out of a big tournament like Duelist Kingdom? Nothing immediately came to mind and if what Seto had said about Leon's family was true, there really wasn't much Leon could actually want in regards to that one special request he promised the winner should they beat him.

"Everything okay over there Princess Pink?" Leon called over when Primrose made no move to begin her turn, instead appearing to be deep in thought. "Before I continue this Leon, there's something I want to ask you," Primrose said in a firm, but gentle tone, making Leon tilt his head in confusion, "This tournament; why did you accept the invitation? Aside from the fortune and fame, I can't think of anything you could actually want out of all of this, even then, you never struck me as the type to really care for that."

Understanding dawned on Leon and he chuckled scratching a cheek with a wide smile, "To tell you the truth, I almost didn't accept or show up," Everyone looked shocked to learn this, "I'm not really used to being the brother everyone actually wants taking part in the big events, Ziggy's the one with all the talent, Father said so," Primrose was pretty sure she wasn't the only one who narrowed her eyes at that last part, heck, call her crazy, but his own monsters looked a little ticked, "But Zig was actually the one who talked me into it; he knows I really wanted the chance to show our family I'm just as good as he is at things."

"So, Leon's only in this for self-recognition among his family?" Peridot asked for clarification. "And apparently his own father thought he wasn't worth the chance," Joey growled darkly, already not liking the Von Schroeder Patriarch any more then he did Seto or Pegasus, which was saying something.

'How much do you want to bet this is more then self-esteem issues?' Yugi questioned the spirit of his puzzle. 'If there is, can I please Mind Crush his 'father' into the next millennium?' Yami asked and Yugi actually thought it over. 'Maybe...' Yugi answered, which was enough to placate Yami...for now.

'How many families have to keep making big wedges between siblings just for it blow up in everyone's faces for people to realize its not ideal?' Star wondered cringing at the memories the implications were bringing up in her mind. 'At least his brother appears to genuinely care for him,' Marco appeased himself despite how he could feel the dark thrum of magic burning in his cheeks at the likely scenarios that drove Leon into apparently being used to not being pacifically invited to things over his brother.

Up in the rafters, the woman bit the inside of her cheek and gripped onto the beam she was sitting on hard enough to cause a deep pair of dents into the thick metal.

'So he's dueling...so his family will acknowledge him?' Stephanie questioned feeling her heart breaking at the idea of Leon trying so hard to get some sort of praise, just to be shot down at every turn. In turn it fueled a protective fire in both her and the spirit of her earrings, but it was the later who spoke out loud, "Leon, I-" But she didn't get the chance to finish.

"You know, it's really sheer dumb luck I'm even here," Leon admitted to everyone's surprise, "If I didn't sneak into my father's office and found that letter, he probably would've forced Zig to enter instead," Leon then looked very upset and worried, "And Zig's still sick..."

Jaws hanged open at the admission. A father, who was suppose to be protecting his kids, would actually undermined one son and force the other to participate despite being sick.

'Yami, I changed my mind,' Yugi told his dark half, who was deathly silent, 'You can do whatever you want.'

'Hey, um...spirit?' Ryou reached out tentatively, knowing his darker half was still in the ring somewhere and was proven right by the dark, irritated hum he got in reply, 'I know I don't really like how you do things but...could you...possibly send Leon's father to the Shadow Realm?'

For a moment, Ryou was afraid he was being ignored, until Akifa finally spoke up, slight amusement coloring his voice, but Ryou wasn't deaf to the malicious and down right murderous undertones, 'I thought you didn't want anyone to suffer...'

'Even I have my limits,' Ryou pointed out gently, eyes narrowing darkly at the idea of crossing the man who would put-down a bright light like Leon, 'And emotional abuse of a small child is defiantly a line.'

Once again, Ryou feared he was being ignored, but a chill went up his spine as he felt the immense pleasure radiating from his ring and an image of Akifa's appeared in his mind, grinning with widely with murderous glee, 'I think we're finally starting to see eye-to-eye...Ryou...'

'He isn't just dueling for family, he's in this to protect his brother,' Stephanie realized. 'Like you and Amethyst...' Primrose added.

"I know its not exactly normal motive to be in things like this, but..." Leon said. "I get it," Primrose interrupted shaking her head with a soft expression, surprising Leon, "Remember, I'm in this for family too, remember? And one of those family members I'm dueling for, is my big sister," Marco and Star shared a surprised glance at this, "I know how it feels to do everything in your power to be worthy of standing by your older sibling's side," Primrose bowed her head as a deep feeling of strange understanding and sympathy welled in her chest, "Believe me, I get it, which is why I refuse to let things end here! I owe Amy that much."

Leon smiled at this, "Then come at me, Princess Pink! And don't hold back on me!"

Primrose nodded and finally drew her new card and looked at it, before gasping in surprise at the monster who greeted her, mind seeming to race a mile a minute, before speaking, "Leon..." Leon looked to her, "This has been one duel I don't plan to forget..." A smile then formed on her dark pink lips, "But now, I think its time for this to come to an end," Everyone gasped in surprise at her sudden confidence as she turned the card in her hand around to reveal her newly drawn monster, "Starting with this monster, Lapis Lazuli Swan!"

Long streams of blue light shone on her field before her elegant winged-beast emerged, prepared to fight.

"That's good, she's a strong one," Joey said confidently, shooting a side-ways glance at the real Lapis Lazuli, whose eyes were glued to her monster-counterpart in awe. "But not enough to take down Hexe Trude or Sanwitch," Mako said regretfully, he wasn't the only one with a tense stance.

Pearl crossed her arms as she continued to watch the duel.

"And per my Swan's special magic, I can summon as many Crystal Beasts as possible from my hand," Primrose stated with a smile as she plucked her only other monster from her trio of remaining cards, "And thankfully the one I have is the one I need; my Jasper Rhino!" Peridot, Lapis, Bismuth and Jasper gasped at this as the jeweled African mammal took the field, though, Lapis and Jasper looked especially stunned.

"They're strong looking..." Leon said in awe. "And they're about to get even stronger, believe me..." Primrose stated the Peridot, Lapis and Jasper's eyes widened in alarmed-realization as she brought her hands together in a familiar fashion.

Stephanie added regretfully and very apologetic, 'Sorry Lapis...sorry Jasper...' Before Primrose recited one last poem:

Wings of Water, flying high,

Horn of Earth, unyielding in your ways;

Lethal are the secrets you both keep in spite,

Join together and set my foes ablaze

Both of her beasts glowed as they joined together, their lights slowly turning and vibrant, powerful shade of green, which slowly took a humanoid shape as Primrose introduced, "Everyone give a warm welcome, to Crystal Myth Malachite Nixie**!"

A blue light shone on her field before diving down and disappearing into the floor. Then, few drops of water fell from seemingly nowhere above the field, before the field's floor began to ripple like the top of a lake or puddle. Then, her monster slowly began to emerge from the wet floor.

Her monster was yet another human female, but was shockingly tall, taller then Sardonyx Dryad and more muscular too, but not overly so, in a more lean, swimmer-like build. Her long hair curled at the end but was otherwise straight, being an inky black with rich, aqua-green tips. Her skin was a fair-tone from the face down to her neck, where her shoulders began to fade into rich green, iridescent scales, matching the ones on her legs, her nails sharpened to resemble claws and her ears were fin-like where they poked out of her thick hair, her eyes were a matching, rich green.

She was dressed in a traditional German dirndl***; the blouse was short-bell-sleeved and off the shoulders, the color being a shade of green that was slightly darker then her scales with a tight-fitting black corset around her abdomen and the skirt was the darkest shade of green, falling past her knees and was torn at the ends and dripping. Oddly, her dress was the only thing dripping well, her hair was strangely dry, and she was bare-foot save for a pair of silvery anklets with malachite beads, three on each side with a matching pair of bracelets and sitting in the center of her corset was a matching silver brooch with a shell-themed design that had a sphere cabochon cut malachite stone attached.

Crystal Myth Malachite Nixie. Attribute: WATER. Tribute: AQUA/FUSION/EFFECT. Lv: 8. ATK/DEF: 3500/3500

"My stars!" Bismuth gasped in shocked-awe. "Malachite..." Peridot whispered in just as much shock.

"She's more powerful then my Blue Eyes!" Seto said in utter disbelieved-shock as the water gathered under Malachite Nixie slowly rose up around her, reminiscent of tentacles. "The only other monster I've seen with power that high is...the Ultimate Dragon!" Maisie added stunned. "She's stronger then Hexe Trude and Forest Wolf!" Joey grinned. "But not Sanwitch, he'll just destroy her on the next attack!" Tristan pointed out.

Pearl was covering her mouth in horrified shock as Marco and Star stared in awe of the dark beauty.

"Of all the Fusions she could've used she just had to use ours..." Jasper muttered hanging her head and shaking it, but noticed Lapis was shaking, hands clenched tight in fists, a look of anger filling her face.

"Whoa..." Rex and Dorothy muttered in awe. "Beautiful..." Mako added in awe.

"She's powerful, but my Sanwitch can wipe her out on the next turn easily," Leon pointed out, "Plus, if I play another magic card, Mage Power will just increase his own power further once I use Hidden Armory to get another weapon for my fairy-tales to use."

"That's assuming you have any monsters by the end of this turn," Primrose smiled mischievously, much to Leon's confusion, as well as everyone else's, "You see, Nixie has this little...special talent, let's say," She then shrugged as Malachite Nixie grinned, reveal two rows of sharp, shark-like teeth, making her opponents all flinch as the skin on her neck flexed to reveal a set of gills, which seemed to release mist and two extra pairs of eyes opened above and below her first pair, "You know what, why don't I just show you; oh Nixie~!" Her Aqua Myth looked over her shoulder with anticipation, "Glacial Tsunami!"

The gemstones on Malachite Nixie's person all started to glow and the rippling effect beneath her extended to the entire field and Nixie slowly raised her arms up as her water tentacles as disappeared. As she did, everyone watched with jaw-dropped expressions of shock as tall walls of water slowly rose up from the field's edge on the fish-woman's command. Hexe Trude, Sanwitch and Forest Wolf all looked around in terror of the raising water.

"It's kinda interesting, so many different cultures all have a different adaption of the mermaid legend," Primrose mused as she leaned forward on her console, watching the rushing water, resting one cheek in one hand, "Scotland have the selkie, the Africans have the mamiwata, Brazil has the Iara, Russia has the rusalka, heck, even Japan has its own version in the ningyo," She then called, "You can drop it now."

To which Malachite Nixie replied by swinging her arms down and the entire water walls came crashing downwards in one gigantic splash, making everyone else shout in startled-alarm at the wind the hologram managed to stir, even the watching woman up in the rafters was startled. When Leon lowered his arms from shielding his face out of instinct, he gasped in shock; the entire field was now practically a giant pool, not a monster in sight.

"Her monster flooded the entire field!" Bismuth gaped in shock. "No way!" Tristan and Joey gasped in disbelief. "This is just like with the moon in Yugi and Mako's duel," Tea said with wide eyes as they continued to watch. "Look!" Mokuba pointed as three dark shadows suddenly formed in the water, before Hexe Trude, Sanwitch and Forest Wolf all popped up, gasping for breath, but Malachite Nixie was nowhere in sight.

"Strange, did she wipe out her own monster?" Rex questioned in confusion. "I don't think that's it," Yugi said thinking about how Primrose had strangely brought up the whole mermaid legends.

"I fact, German has their own version right?" Primrose asked Leon, who looked to her. "Yeah, but we have different ways to say it, not just Nixie," Leon answered. "But there is one thing all cultures can agree on, even the early Western cultures as a matter of fact," Primrose's smile turned dark and deadly, and it sent a chill up everyone's spines, "That they all lure their victims into the water..." A fourth shadow suddenly began to form, speeding towards Leon's floundering monsters, "And then they pounce!"

Suddenly, without warning, Malachite Nixie lunged out of the water, mouth open wide, like something out of the Jaws movies, making everyone, even Pearl, Marco and Star scream in fright as she wrapped her arms around a very startled Hexe Trude and dragged her underwater. It made Forest Wolf and Sanwitch shriek in alarmed-fear.

"Hexe Trude!" Leon cried. "You know, I've watched the Jaws Franchise so many times," Primrose commented mostly to herself, "But that never gets old."

"I think my heart just stopped," Marco commented hand over his chest. "I hate sharks," Star muttered.

(Beach City, Sun Incinerator)

The Rutile Twins, Rhodonite, Padaparadscha, Connie, Peedee and Ronaldo were all on their butts from the shock of Malachite Nixie's attack. The teens were all laughing at the others, while Lars just had a wide smile on his face and Onion just looked confused.

(Duelist Kingdom)

"Just because you got one, doesn't mean you'll wipe the other two out before Sanwitch can wipe your Nixie out!" Leon told Primrose stubbornly. "It can with Glacial Tsunami in effect," Primrose continued to smile, effectively creeping a few people out and making the shorter members of her audience hide behind the taller ones, "You see, my Nixie just hates groups, especially when she doesn't have backup, so, for the price of half my life-points, she wipes out your entire field," As she spoke, her points dropped as she made a circle in the air, cheek marks glowing as her wild magic formed a glowing pink circle as she did so, to emphasize her point, "And the total of their original attack points comes straight..." She then pointed at a stunned Leon with a more perky smile, "Out of your life points, so, hey, fair trade to me."

Primrose LPs: 150

"Their...original...attack points...?" Leon whispered in horrified-realization. "Yep, which means, this duel is over," Primrose remarked as Malachite Nixie suddenly emerged again, this time riding a small wave, making a wide upward arch with her arm, sending Forest Wolf careening upwards on a tall wave of water, "And I'll be taking my bunny and kitty back, please and thank you."

The sudden force caused Forest Wolf to hurl up both Pearl Cottontail and Ruby Carbuncle, who both cried out at being free, only to start screeching in terror as they realized they were falling straight towards open water. Malachite Nixie suddenly shot out of the water superhero style, catching the two mid-air and just as she started to fall, a whirlpool-like spurt of water shot up beneath her feet, lowering her down safely towards the water's surface, where it froze solid into a patch of ice under her feet, allowing her to set the two down.

"Nice save!" Tristan complemented as Malachite Nixie patted the two smallest members of Crystal Beasts' heads, before diving back into the water. "Not to mention a perfect dive!" Mako added, "Did you see that form?"

Suddenly, Lapis shoved herself away from the railing, turned and ran off, the movement only caught three people's reactions, Peridot and Joey called out in confusion as she made for the stairs, "Lapis?"

"I believe this is what some would call checkmate, Leon," Stephanie stated as she and Primrose switched forms as Malachite Nixie pounced one more time, this time from behind Sanwitch. "I...I lost..." Leon said with stunned eyes as his life points dropped in their entirety.

Leon LPs: 0

"Winner of the first duel of Block B!" Croquet announced as Pearl once again showed her hologram, framing Stephanie's picture and duplicating it to the next block, and fading own Leon's, "Princess Stephanie Quartz-Butterfly!"

"Wow, she actually did it," Tristan smiled bittersweatly. "She won," Tea nodded. "Poor Leon..." Mokuba mumbled looking at his friend.

"Leon, I-" Stephanie started but stopped as the holograms faded from the field and she realized Leon's frame was shaking, his head hung in defeat, immediately everyone's hearts sank, even Seto, being remained of when Mokuba was that small, "Oh Leon...I'm so sorry..."

Imagine everyone's immense surprise when Leon suddenly threw his head back, revealing a wide, happy grin on his face as he started laughing, "What for?" He gave her the widest, bright-eyed expression of happiness she's ever seen, "I just had the greatest duel of my entire life!" He laughed a little more before pointing out his more positive outcome of the duel, "I didn't just duel a princess, but I got her life points to under a thousand; how many duelists can say that?" Leon continued to laugh a little bit more and Stephanie gave a tiny, if a little unsure, one back, glad he was looking on the bright side.

"Right," She agreed, deciding not to mention her duel with Mai. Sudden clapping made both duelists turn to where Pegasus was standing and applauding them. "What a marvelous show of good sportsmanship," Pegasus smiled bemusedly, "It's so heart-warming to see that even in the midst of high tension of the finals and with family on the line, friendships can still hold so strong," He turned, staring directly into Stephanie's eyes as he asked innocently, "Right, Little Quartz?" Stephanie instinctively took a small step back, a frown blooming on her face.

Once done with his clapping, Pegasus sat back down, ignoring the stares from Marco and Star, and the glares from remaining in the balcony, instead he turn to Pearl and Croquet, "Proceed with the next match."

"The second duel of Block B shall be Mako Tsunami VS Dorothy Hale," Croquet stated, "Will the Finalists please make your way to the arena."

"Looks like we're next," Mako said turning to Dorothy. "Looks like, prepared to have your fish sashimied and deep-fried," Dorothy grinned. "In your dreams," Mako scoffed playfully. "We'll see~!" Dorothy replied in a singsong voice as Peridot and Joey hurried down the stairs first after Lapis.

"Hey, Stephanie?" Leon called surprising the hybrid when she was about to leave the arena. "You said my name..." Stephanie murmured in surprise. "Don't stop dueling until you beat Pegasus, okay?" Leon told her, much to Pegasus' amusement and Stephanie's furthered surprise. But she smiled reassuringly and touched, and nodded, making Leon nod back before suddenly turning around and jumping, suggesting he had been standing on something.

'I promise you Leon,' Stephanie silently vowed as she watched Leon walk away, 'I don't ever plan to stop, not when I've gotten this far.' With that in mind, she turned and walked away as well.

Up on the rafters, the woman continued to watch this before huffing and disappeared into another portal, never once aware of the sad looking spirit of Cecilia Nimbussia Diaz-Butterfly standing behind her, watching her with regret and longing. Cecilia sighed before disappearing.

When Leon opened the door that exited the arena's room, Leon softly closed, hanging his head again as he leaned back against it. His smile slowly vanished, the corners of his lips twitched as they pressed together and he clenched his fingers into the fabric of his pants. A tear slowly trickled down on cheek, then another down the other, and more started to join as he slid down onto the floor.

Just as Stephanie closed the door to the arena, she was immediate met with a shout, "Stephanie!"

She turned around in surprised-confusion, catching sight of Joey and Peridot, then a flurry of blue filled her vision.

SMACK!

Then, Stephanie's head snapped to one side.

Slowly, mostly in disbelief, her movement almost robotic despite its hesitance, one hand rose up to gingerly touch her stinging cheek, flinching instinctively at the pinch of protest the probed skin made. Slowly, she turned her head.

There stood Lapis Lazuli. Chest heaving as if she suddenly had lungs and ran a marathon with them. Shoulders shaking with what she recognized as rage. Eyes shimmering with tears. One hand raised up.

'Did Lapis...' Stephanie thought in utter-shock through the blank void, 'Did Lapis just...'

'Slap me?'


Now how's THAT for a cliffhanger?

Before anyone complains, need I remind you that Jasper basically outed that her relationship with Lapis was a two-way street of abuse? And that Lapis didn't deny it? I mean, remember how she broke Peridot's tape-recorder? I know Lapis is more or less turned around now, but, a lot of people have pointed out that she's never apologized for all the things she's done to others as far as we know, never reconciled with anyone really. So, is that hard to believe that she'd physically hit someone? Sure, she reframed herself from hurting those other two Lazuli in Future, but I'm talking about before Diamond Days.

But before anyone points out that she'd never hurt Steven, or Stephanie in this case, need I point out that everyone responds to anger and stressers differently? I mean, how would Lapis react had she seen another a different Malachite? There's no way to truly predict what anyone would really do under certain circumstances, so I feel this just a wee bit justified, even if I don't condone cinnamon roll abuse.

And gawd, I'm meeeaaaannn! I made Leon cry! Now I'm crying a little!

Lowkey, I do not like Leon's parents at all, like, who picks favorites with kids? No one should, that's who! Also, I de-aged Zigfried in this just cause: I like the idea of Zigfried being a good big brother, the age difference works better like this, I think Zigfried looks cute as a kid, both kid-Zigfried and baby-Leon are super cute, and this is my story and I'll damn well do as I please! Take your pick.

On that note, I'm going to get on with the *notes before I go into the 10,000 word mark again, and my inner writer kills me:

Gracias a Dios...!*: Is Spanish for "Thank God...!", self explanatory there.

Nixie**: As Primrose has stated is the German version of the Mermaid legend, I really had to think long and hard about what myth I wanted Malachite to be, I knew it was going to be a water-based myth because of Malachite's use of Lapis' water-abilities, but I wanted something original, and I happened across this, let me know what you guys think.

Dirndl***: Is a traditional German apron dress that's either an entire dress and the apron, or a skirt, blouse and the apron. Look it up, the sites can explain it better then I can.

Now, on to the unofficial polls:

Should Yugi keep his title as King of Games? Or should Stephanie become the Queen of Games?

King: 8, Queen: 2

Should Stephanie get an Egyptian God Card?

Yes: 5, No: 6

If yes, however temporarily, which one?

Obelisk: 2, Ra: 1, Slifer: 1

Huh, so no new votes; that's fine, that's hunky-dori! Yeah, I can't believe some of stuff I blurt...

Anyways, still time to vote, so no pressure. Now, as for the official poll about an alternate set of God Cards for Steph:

Well, Greek is still in the lead with eight votes; Roman, Norse and Mayan are all tied, surprisingly, with seven votes each, and Mesopotamian brings up the rear with five votes.

So...yeah. I hope you guys all enjoyed the chapter! And I hope everyone's doing okay with quarantine! Stay inside and keep healthy!

Till next time!