"Harriet! Wake up!" a voice called. Harriet Hartfield rolled over in her bed, pulling the covers with her. "No, really! You've gotta get up, Harry!" the voice repeated. Small hands began pushing her shoulder desperately. "It's Entrance Exam day, Harry! You can't be late for that!"
Harriet groaned and flopped onto her back. "I don't need to get there this early," she whined, flailing her hand at the entity shoving her.
The small girl dressed in white darted back through the air, her pink pig-tails drifting weightlessly. "But you said to get you up now! So you should get up!"
"If you don't, Adam's going to wow them all by himself," another small girl said, drifting up from the floor. She was dressed in a black maid-like outfit. She had her arms crossed and frowned down at Harriet.
"Yeah! And then you won't get in!" the girl in white said.
Harriet sighed again. "Alright, alright. I'm getting up," she said as she did so. She set about gathering her belongings and heading into the shower. As she cleaned herself, she began planning out her day.
First would be getting to the arena. With their parents at work, their best bet would be to catch a bus or a taxi. She'd checked the bus routes the night before and had timed it out. It would take them ten minutes to walk to the stop (twenty if they stopped for breakfast) and then a twenty minute ride.
Second came signing in. She'd filled out all of the paperwork, right? Right. She'd double and triple checked. Adam had checked for her as well and he insisted they were fine. He'd better be right or neither of them would be getting into the Academy!
And then there would be the dueling. That. That would be the tricky part. Everything she'd looked up told her little about the exams. Nobody had shared what decks the instructors had used, only that they had very basic strategies. It would be a matter of working out the instructor's strategy and then figuring out a way around it.
She toweled off and made her way back to the room. She changed into a simple grey long-sleeved shirt and jeans.
"Don't forget us!" the little girl in white piped up. Harriet snorted and grabbed her Duel Disk; an older model but still functional. The girl cheered as the girl in black nodded in approval.
The girls. Her Duel Spirits. When they'd first shown up, Harriet had been confused and scared. Her parents had insisted she'd made them up but she knew better. The two had chosen her to be their duelist. Their champion. White Magician Pikeru and Ebon Magician Curran floated over her shoulders as she made her way out. She spotted her brother as he made his way into the hall.
Once upon a time, the two had been nearly identical, despite the difference in gender. They were still the same height and they had the same deep blue eyes. But now? Adam had dyed his hair, taking it from it's dirty blond to pitch black. He'd lost weight, becoming slimmer than his sister. He'd also taken a liking to makeup, putting on black lipstick and nail polish. He wore a silver necklace with a skull on the end, dangling over his chest. He'd pulled on his best black jacket, his duel disk on his arm already.
He grinned at his sister. She grinned back. "Ready to get this started?" he asked, raising his hand for a high-five. She delivered with enthusiasm.
"Duel Academy's not gonna know what hit them," she said with a grin.
It was still early when the duo arrived. Very few students had shown up yet. Adam looked around, a small smile playing at his lips.
"So many lost, innocent souls. So many of them don't know what they're in for," he intoned.
"I weep for their impending doom," Harriet said, shaking her head with a sigh. They made their way into line and got registered. The women in the counter plastered on a fake smile which quickly became real when she realized they actually had the paperwork in order. It had widened when she'd realized they were twins, looking between them for similarities.
After a few moments, they were ushered inside. They stopped in the stands, looking down at the space before them. Numerous smaller locations had been set aside, with several exams currently underway. "Are you ready?" Harriet asked, looking to her brother.
"Are any of us ever truly ready?" he said. She raised an eyebrow at him and he laughed. "I'll be fine. Maybe a few nerves, but that's it." He eyed her, frowning slightly. "You? I notice the twins have been quiet," he said, gesturing towards Harriet's deck.
"They're nervous too. They've never seen an arena like this and don't know what to make of it," Harriet said. "But we're gonna be fine."
"Good. I'll hold you to that," Adam said as Harriet's name was called over the speaker. He smiled at her. "Good luck. I'll be watching from the stands."
The arena felt bigger on the floor of it. Harriet looked around at the stands slowly filling with people. She turned on her heel, jaw dropping slightly. "This's amazing," she said.
"I'm glad you're impressed."
Harriet turned to look at the speaker. She was a woman, well dressed in a deep maroon uniform, the coat of which flared out behind her. Her hair was long, curly, and bright pink, taking up a large amount of space. She stood with poise and grace, though she had a smile on her face. Harriet bowed slightly.
"Sorry! First time in an Arena like this."
The woman laughed. "No need to apologize. I get it. I was the same way when I first entered an arena." She walked forward and offered a hand. "I'm Professor Momoko Oda. I'm going to proctor your exam."
Harriet shook her hand jerkily, a wide smile on her face. "I-It's nice to meet you! I'm Harriet Hartfield." The woman nodded and after a few seconds raised an eyebrow.
"Are you going to keep shaking my hand, or are we going to duel?" she asked, not unkindly. Harriet snapped her hand back.
"Sorry! We're dueling!" Harriet said, scurrying back to her position as the Professor walked leisurely back to her own. They turned to face each other, their Duel Disks activating.
"Let's Duel!" They said in unison.
"According to Duel Academy tradition, it's always the student who makes the first move," Oda said. Harriet's posture shifted. Her back straightened and her breathing steadied. Her smile was all teeth.
"Gladly. I'll start by summoning Royal Magical Library (0/2000) in Defense mode." As Harriet spoke, a large column of shelves rose from the ground. Three jade green platforms moved up and down the wall of books. "Next, I'll place a card face-down and end my turn."
"I see. My move," Oda said as she drew a card. "I'll summon my Giant Red Seasnake (1800/800) to the field in Attack position!" A large serpent materialized, writhing in the air. It hissed loudly, fixating on Harriet and licking its lips. "Next, I activate the Field Spell Umi! This'll increase the Attack and Defense of all Sea Serpent, Fish, Thunder, and Aqua-type monsters by 200 points." Water rose, seemingly from the floor. It didn't go above ankle deep, but the Seasnake submerged itself with a pleased hiss.
As the card was played, one of the platforms on the Royal Magical Library lit up. Oda's eyebrows furrowed for a moment.
"And it'll let you access a huge array of cool cards, like Legendary Fisherman or Mermaid Knight," Harriet muttered. "Very versatile. Is this your own deck?"
Oda laughed. "Oh, no. If I were using my own Deck, this duel would already be over. This is just the school's deck." She picked another card from her hand. "But it's still nothing to sneeze at. Because it has cards like Stop Defense. This'll switch your Royal Magical Library to Attack mode, leaving it vulnerable to my Seasnake." The Library shifted, it's platforms rising up to the top of it. A second platform lit up.
"Alright, I'll bite. What's up with your Library?" Oda asked, tilting her head.
"Glad you asked! Every time a Spell Card gets activated, I put a Spell Counter on my Magical Library. And once it has three counters on it, I get to do something fun!" Harriet said with a fierce grin.
"Shame your Library's getting closed down. Giant Red Seasnake, attack!" Professor Oda ordered. The Serpent lunged forward. Harriet snapped her fingers.
"You activated my Trap Card." The card raised along with Oda's eyebrow. "Magic Cylinder negates your monster's attack, sending it right back to you as damage!" The Snake vanished into a large Cylinder before emerging from the second. It slammed into Professor Oda, who instinctively raised her arms to guard herself. (Oda: 4000 - 2000) She looked up.
"You set a Trap Card in case I could break through such a tough monster on the first turn?" She asked, slightly confused.
"Hey, gotta cover my bases," Harriet said with a shrug.
"Huh. I see. Okay, then. I'll set one card face down and end my turn," Oda said, lips pursed in contemplation.
"My move. I draw," Harriet said, calmly drawing a new card. She reexamined her hand and nodded. "Okay. I'll switch my Royal Magical Library back to Defense Mode," she said, the Library shifting itself as its platforms began to raise and lower.
"And with that done, I summon Mythical Beast Cerberus (1400/1400) to the field," Harriet said. A swirling purple and blue mass rose from the field, manifesting into a large canine. It's teeth gnashed in the air, it's jaws snapping wildly.
"Okay. You know that's not enough Attack Points, right?" Oda teased.
"If this game were only about Attack Points, I'd never win a Duel," Harriet said with a laugh. "But it's not, so don't worry about it! I activate the Spell Card Lightning Vortex! By discarding a card in my hand, I can destroy every monster on my opponent's side of the field." The card rose in front of Harriet. Almost immediately, energy lashed out, destroying Giant Red Seasnake in a blast of electricity.
"And hey, that's another Spell Card activated! So my Royal Magical Library gets it's third counter." The last platform on the Library lit up. "And that's not all. See, my Mythical Beast Cerberus gets a Spell Counter too!" A second head sprouted from the canine's neck. It looked over towards Oda and then howled. "And for each Spell Counter on Mythical Beast Cerberus, it gains 500 Attack Points! (1400-1900)"
"You run a very Spell Counter heavy deck, don't you?" Oda asked with a soft smile.
"Yeah! They combo well together and they're fun! Like my Royal Magical Library! See, when it gets three Spell Counters, I can check out a book and draw a card," Harriet said. The lights on the Library dimmed as Harriet added a card to her hand.
"Cool. Now, Mystical Cerberus! Attack her Life Points directly!" Harriet ordered, pointing dramatically. The Cerberus lunged, fangs gnashing at Professor Oda. They stopped in midair before the Cerberus exploded, vanishing into fragments.
"Ha! You've activated my Trap Card! Mirror Force! You're not the only one who covers their bases," Professor Oda said. Harriet smiled and shook her head.
"I didn't forget. I just needed it out of the way for next turn. I Set a card face down and end my turn," Harriet said.
"Man, it's a shame I'm stuck with this proctor deck. You're actually pretty good at this," Oda said as she drew a card. "Let's see. I summon 7 Colored Fish (2000/1000 w/ Umi) in Attack Mode!" An enormous fish with a sparkling rainbowed body leaped out of the sea before diving back in. It's head poked back out and it bared a huge row of teeth.
"But we're not done here yet! I'll equip my Fish with Fairy Meteor Crush!" An enormous rock formed, which the Fish picked up…in it's mouth. Harriet blinked at the fish with a rock in it's mouth. So did the Professor. "Not…quite how I imagined that looking, but okay. Anyway, now when my 7 Colored Fish attacks a Defense Position monster, the difference comes out of my opponent's Life Points."
"Are you seriously going to break my Library with a Fish with a rock in it's mouth?" Harriet asked skeptically.
"Nope. I'm going to break your Library with a Fish with a Rock on a Jet Pack!" Oda said. Both of them blinked for a moment. "You know, I never thought I'd say those words. But I activate Aqua-Jet! This increases my Fish's attack by 1000 points! (2000-3000)" The spell activated and a large, turbined device appeared, attaching itself to the Fish's back. "Okay, 7 Colored Fish with a Rock on a Jet Pack! Attack her Royal Magical Library!"
The Fish leaped high into the air, coming down rock first, intending to smash the Library to pieces.
"I'll activate my Face Down card before this gets weirder," Harriet said. "Magical Dimension lets me target a monster I control. I Tribute it to Special Summon a Spellcaster from my hand." A large metal coffin rose up, wrapping around the Library. It slammed shut and stayed still for several seconds before opening.
"Yay! My turn to come play!" White Magician Pikeru said as she leapt out of the coffin. (1200/0)
"I thought you didn't want to make this weirder," Oda said flatly. "Now my Fish is going to smash a little girl with a rock."
"No, it won't. Because my Magical Dimension also lets me destroy a Monster on my opponent's side of the field," Harriet said. A large coffin rose from the floor, wrapping itself around the 7 Colored Fish and sinking back into the ground with it. Oda blinked and then burst out laughing.
"Wow! That was…wow! Nice turn! And it was my turn!" Oda said. "I'll set a card face-down and end my turn. Okay, your move! Can you end it now, I wonder?"
"Dunno. Probably," Harriet said as she drew a card. "Well, it's my Standby Phase. Which means my White Magician Pikeru's effect activates."
"Yaaay! I get to help!" Pikeru cheered, floating into the air. She descended by Harriet and waved her wand, causing white sparkles to sprinkle down on her.
"White Magician Pikeru lets me gain 400 Life Points for every monster on my side of the field. Which is just her for right now," Harriet said (4000 - 4400). "And I'll activate Pot of Greed. Now I get to draw two more cards," she said as she drew the cards. She nodded her head. "Okay, perfect. Just what I needed. I activate Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy your face-down card!"
A swirling vortex of wind sped forward, engulfing Professor Oda's card. It lifted, showing itself to be Call of the Haunted, which shattered. "Uh oh," Oda muttered.
"Darn right uh-oh! I now summon Ebon Magician Curran (1200/0) in Attack Mode!" Harriet said. The small girl in black appeared, smacking a purple riding crop into her hand.
"This's our opponent? Doesn't look that tough," the Ebon Magician said.
"Hey, be nice! I bet she was real good!" the White Magician said, fuming slightly.
"Tch. Whatever. Let's get this over with."
"Couldn't agree more, girls! Now, both of you, attack Professor Oda directly! White Magical Spark and Ebon Magical Jolt!"
Pikeru and Curran both raised their staffs towards Oda. Two streams, one of white glitter and the other of black crackling lightning shot forth, slamming into Professor Oda. She grinned as her Life Points dropped to zero.
"That was some great dueling! You didn't even take any damage! Heck, you had more points at the end than when you started!" Oda said, stepping forward again. Harriet's posture changed once more, relaxing out of her dueling stance.
"Thanks! You did well for not having your deck," Harriet said with a nervous smile.
"Well, it's official. You're now a student of Duel Academy. Congratulations," Oda said, offering her hand. Harriet shook it enthusiastically.
"Thank you! Thank you so much! You have no idea how much this means to me!"
Over the loudspeaker, a voice said "Adam Hartfield, please report to Arena 4. Adam Hartfield, please report to Arena 4."
Harriet perked up. "Oh! My brother's gonna go duel next! I gotta go watch this! Thanks, Professor, I'll see you on the island!" Harriet said as she turned and rushed back into the hallway.
Oda waved to her retreating back. "Huh. That girl's certainly something," she muttered to herself.