A few days later before dawn, two men in a row boat were very slowly making their way through the heavy fog, heading straight towards Duel Academy. One of the two men was in the back of the boat rowing, the other stood towards the front just staring ahead at Duel Academy. What's more, this particular man had a shocking resemblance to a certain heavy set Slifer Red student.

"Put your back into it." The man who could have only been Chumley's father said. "I want to reach Duel Academy by daybreak."

"Yes sir…" The other man replied in a strained tone of voice.

'I won't have my son spend one more slacking day at that school. Chumley's coming home.'

"Remind me again what we're doing?" Yumei asked with a yawn, as she stood outside the Obelisk Blue girls dorm. It was still very early, as the sun had barely risen. Fujin had, to Yumei's chagrin, woken her up and brought her here.

"Because you have a promotion match coming up soon." The Obelisk girl replied, crossing her arms. "And you need to practice, because your opponent is more likely than not, going to be another Obelisk."

"Is that why I'm here?" Sora asked, with a rather pronounced yawn. Sora's hair was slightly unkempt, because she like most people suffered from pillow hair. "Seriously, I was having lunch with Mai Wheeler when you woke me up…"

"Well would you rather help someone get into Obelisk, or go back to sleep?" Fujin asked, quickly pulling Sora back when the other Obelisk made to go back into their dorm. "Come on."

Sora sighed, placing her duel disk on her left arm. "Fine."

"Duel!"

Yumei-LP 4000

Sora-LP 4000

"So, I'll draw first." Sora began, though her voice was still groggy. "And I'll start things off with Harpie Lady One in attack mode."

Sora's familiar monster rose from her card and onto the Obelisk's side of the field. Atk-1300 Def-1400

"And let's not forget about her effect." Sora said. "This particular Harpie Lady raises the attack of all wind monsters by 300 points!"

Harpie Lady #1 Atk-1600

"Next I'll set a card face down." Sora said with a yawn, while inserting a cad into her duel disk. "And I'll end my turn there."

"Alright, my turn." Yumie assessed her next move, as she drew her sixth card. 'Okay, Sora likes to build up her front row by easily summoning her Harpie monsters. Her combo of Harpie Lady One and Hunting Ground is going to end up being a real problem if she can get the more powerful Harpie monsters out. So I need to start by building an offensive wall of my own.' "Alright, I'll start things off with a new monster. The Eternal Flame Swordsman, in attack mode."

"Eternal?" Sora asked with another yawn.

"Yeah. It's a variant of the fusion, but I don't need to fusion summon him." Yumei explained as her new monster appeared on her field. Atk-1800 Def-1600

"And a little backup never hurts either." Yumei continued, while inserting another card into her duel disk. "So I'll give my swordsman a boost with the continuous spell card; The A. Forces! Now my monsters get a 200 point boost to their attack."

Eternal Flame Swordsman Atk-2000

"Alright, Flame Swordsman, clip that birds wings!" Yumei ordered, and her monster sliced Harpie Lady #1 in half at the waist, before the monster shattered in a cloud of pixels.

Sora-LP 3600

"Not bad, but…" Sora paused to yawn yet again. "Not good enough. Remember my facedown card? Well, now I get to activate it. And I think you'll remember it from my duel with your brother. Hysteric Party! Now by sending a card from my hand to the graveyard, I'm allowed to special summon as many Harpie monsters as I want from my graveyard. So not only is my first Harpie Lady coming back, but so is the monster that I discarded. My Cyber Harpie Lady!"

Harpie Lady #1 Atk-1300 Def-1400

Cyber Harpie Lady Atk-1800 Def-1400

"And don't forget about my first Harpie's effect. She raises all Wind attribute monsters attack by 300!"

Harpie Lady #1 Atk-1600

Cyber Harpie Lady Atk-2100

"Now I draw." Sora smiled, as she got a look at her new card. "And I'll summon the monster Birdface in attack mode." Sora's new monster was a humanoid bird, with a blue colored chestplate, and wings where its arms should be. Atk-1600 Def-1600

"Alright, now it's time to cut your monster down to size. Cyber Harpie, attack that Flame Swordsman!" Sora's strongest Harpie slashed Yumei's swordsman across the chest with her talons, before the warrior shattered.

Yumei-LP 3900

"You know, with how much hype that's surrounding you, I'm kind of disappointed. No other monsters on your field, and no cards face down. You're wide open for a direct attack." There was a disappointed smile on Sora's face.

"No I'm not." Yumei countered, then proceeded to explain due to the confused look on Sora's face. "See when Eternal Flame Swordsman is destroyed, I can take another level 4 warrior monster from anywhere in my hand, deck, or extra deck, and summon it to the field. Provided that monster is a Fire attribute monster. So say hello to the original Flame Swordsman!"

Flame Swordsman Atk-1800 Def-1600

"And don't forget about my A Forces spell card." Yumei continued. "My swordsman gets an additional 200 attack points!"

Flame Swordsman Atk-2400

"You were saying something about being disappointed?" Yumei asked rather smugly.

"Clever." Sora's disappointed smile changed into a rather impressed one instead. "Well, I suppose that's the end of my turn."

"Right then, my draw." Yumei couldn't hide her smile as she saw her next card. "Okay, I'll play my Pot of Greed, and with two more cards in my hand let's see how you handle this. I summon my Command Knight in attack mode."

Command Knight Atk-1200 Def-1900

"And with her on the field, you can't attack any other monster but her, and she gives every warrior monster on my field an extra 400 point boost. Oh, make that 600 points in her case due to the A Forces effect."

Command Knight Atk-1800

Flame Swordsman Atk-2400

"But I'm not done there." Yumei said, inserting another card into her duel disk. "The equip card Rare Gold Armor. See when I play this, you can't attack any other monster but the one this card it's equipped to. And I think I'll equip it to my Flame Swordsman."

"Wait, that means…" Sora said, beginning to realize what Yumei had just done.

"You can't touch my monsters." Yumei finished.

"Smart move." Fujin smiled, clearly impressed as she thought Yumei's deck was a simple beatdown-style deck, and was happy to be proven wrong.

"Okay, now let's see how that Cyber Harpie stands up to my Flame Swordsman! Attack!" Yumei ordered her monster, and the warrior gave Cyber Harpie Lady the same treatment Eternal Flame Swordsman had given Harpie Lady #1.

Sora-LP 3300

"Okay, now Command Knight take down that overgrown bird!" Command Knight rushed Birdface, and ran the avian monster through with her sword.

Sora-LP 3100

"And with another facedown, that brings an end to my turn." Yumei said, as a card appeared beside the active A. Forces card.

"Okay, well before I draw, I'll activate Birdface's effect." Sora began, while searching through her deck. "See, when you destroyed my monster his effect activates, which allows me to add a Harpie Lady card from my deck to my hand. Of course, it has to be a monster card. Oh, but speaking of my Harpie Ladies, guess who's coming back?"

"Cyber Harpie?" Yumei asked, really trying to not roll her eyes.

"Give the girl a prize." Sora smiled, choosing her new card, while her Cyber Harpie reappeared, and thanks to Harpie Lady #1, her attack went up.

Cyber Harpie Lady Atk-2100

"Okay now, I'll summon the original Harpie Lady in attack Mode." The sleepy Obelisk said, placing her new card on her duel disk. Atk-1300 Def-1400 "And don't forget, thanks to Harpie Lady One, her attack goes up."

Harpie Lady Atk-1600

"And now, I think I'll activate another spell card. Harpie Lady Phoenix Formation!" There was a major smirk on Sora's face as she activated her spell card.

"That's not good." Fujin said, wishing she'd brought some popcorn as this duel was getting very interesting.

"Let me tell you how it works." Sora began. "See, for every Harpie Lady I control, I can destroy one monster on your field. Then you'll take damage equal to the original attack of your strongest monster. And since I have three Harpie Ladies…"

"Wrong." Yumei countered. "I only count one Harpie Lady."

"One?" Sora was clearly confused. "I think you need to get your eyes checked."

"No, I only count one." Yumei said, smirking as she knew something Sora didn't. "See, I know when Hysteric Party is destroyed, all special summoned Harpie monsters are destroyed. So, I activate my face down card! Mystical Space Typhoon!"

Sora gasped. "But that means!"

"When I destroy Hysteric Party, you lose two of your monsters!" Yumei's smirk widened. Sure she was still going to lose one of her monsters, and take damage. However, it was worth it since she wasn't going to leave herself open to attack.

Sora covered her face with her duel disk as a large gust of wind destroyed her card, and her Harpie Monsters. "That's fine, because I still have one Harpie Lady on my field. So, say goodbye to your Flame Swordsman!"

Yumei winced, as her swordsman was blasted away.

Yumei-LP 2100

"But since I can't do special summon the turn I activate Harpie Lady Phoenix Formation, I'll end my turn with a face down." Sora said, inserting a card into her duel disk as her turn ended.

"Alright, my draw." Yumei began, however Sora cut her off.

"Not just yet." The rather sleepy Obelisk girl announced, revealing her face down card. "I have a trap, and it's a rather familiar one! Hysteric Party!"

Yumei rolled her eyes at Sora's trap card. "Oh great, that's back…"

"That's right, and so are my Harpies!" Sora smirked, discarding a card as her two previously destroyed monsters to come back to the field.

Harpie Lady #1 Atk-1600

Cyber Harpie Lady Atk-2100

Harpie Lady Atk-1600

"Okay, well looks like I'll have to get rid of that card again." Yumei sighed, drawing her next card. She sighed, setting it into her duel disk. "I set a card face down, and end my turn."

"That it?" Sora asked, drawing her next card. "That's a little disappointing. Oh well, I suppose I'll just attack your Command Knight with my Cyber Harpie Lady!"

Yumei smirked. "Gotcha."

"Wait what?" Sora sounded confused.

Yumei's smirk widened. "I gotcha. You fell right into my trap. Or more specifically, my trap card Defense Draw! My monster isn't destroyed, I don't take any battle damage, and I get to draw a card."

"Well, then I guess it's your turn." Sora conceded, as her Cyber Harpie came back to her side of the field.

'Okay Yumei think. You need to find a way to deal with these Harpies. I either need to destroy her back row, or find a way to blast her front row.' Things then clicked for the Ra, realizing she had just the cards to make either option happen. 'Alright, let's just keep up the poker face.'

"Oh come on…" Yumei made it sound like her next draw was rather disappointing.

"Uh oh." Sora couldn't keep the smugness out of her tone. "Bad draw?"

"Yeah…" Yumei huffed, hoping her bluff would work. "Ugh, for now I'll set this face down…"

"Okay, well I'm not taking any chances this time." Sora said taking a card from her hand. "I activate the field spell Harpie's Hunting Ground!"

"Uh-oh…"

"Oh yes." Sora smiled, while placing the card onto the field spell portion of her duel disk. "Now all my Harpies get an additional 200 attack points, and whenever I summon a Harpie Moster, I'm able to destroy one set spell or trap card on your field."

Harpie Lady #1 Atk-1800

Harpie Lady Atk-1800

Cyber Harpie Lady Atk-2300

"Now with that out of the way, I summon Harpie Lady Two." Sora announced while placing the monster card onto her duel disk.

Harpie Lady #2 Atk-1300 Def-1400

"And thanks to my Harpie's effect, and the effect of Harpie's Hunting Ground, her attack goes up!"

Harpie Lady #2 Atk-1800

"Oh! And my Hunting Ground's effect activates, allowing me to destroy that face down card you had. I hope it wasn't anything you desperately needed."

"Actually it was…" Yumei sighed, before her look of defeat turned into one of triumph.

Sora paused. A puzzled look spreading across her face. "Okay, what's with that look?"

"It's because of my face down card." Yumei said, revealing her trap. "Blast With Chain!"

"Oh no!" Sora's confused look soon changed to one of horror.

"Oh yeah! See when I activate Blast With Chain, it becomes an equip card, and gives the monster an additional 500 attack points. So I'll equip it to my Command Knight."

Command Knight Atk-2300

"But since you're destroying it, the second effect activates." Yumei's look of triumph grew. "See, when it's destroyed, I can destroy one card on your field … like Hysteric Party!"

"No!" Sora shielded her face with her arms, as her trap card and the majority of her Harpies were destroyed. And without her Harpie Lady #1, her remaining Harpie's lost the 300 point boost to their attack.

Harpie Lady #2 Atk-1500

Harpie Lady Atk-1500

"And with that, I guess it's my turn! Draw! Alright, I'll play Card of Demise." Yumei took the top 5 cards from her deck. "I'm allowed to draw five cards from my deck, but I have to discard my entire hand after five turns pass. So first, I'll activate Double Summon. This allows me to normal summon twice this turn. So I'd like you to meet my Queen's and King's Knight!"

A pair of regal looking warrior monsters appeared on Yumei's field, when both monster cards were placed on her duel disk.

Queen's Knight Atk-1500 Def-1600

King's Knight Atk-1500 Def-1400

"And when they're on my field, that allows me to special summon my Jack's Knight!"

The youngest of the three royal knights appeared on Yumei's field. Atk-1900 Def-1000

"Oh, and my thanks to my two cards, they get a boost to their attack." Yumei explained further, as her monster's strength grew.

Queen's Knight Atk-2100

King's Knight Atk-2100

Jack's Knight Atk-2500

"Did you teach her that?" Sora shot an accusing look towards Fujin.

"Hey, don't look at me." Fujin responded slightly holding her hands up.

"Excuse me." Yumei cut in. "Can we get back to the duel? Because now I activate the spell card Polymarization. And I'll fuse my three royal knights together!"

"No way…" Sora's eyes were wide.

"I didn't see that coming." Fujin remarked, both surprised and impressed.

"Now meet my new monster! Arcana Knight Joker!"

"...Hey what's going on?" A sleepy voice asked. Who turned out to be Alexis.

"Practice match." Fujin explained, motioning to the duel in progress as Alexis walked groggily up to her.

Alexis yawned widely. "That explains a… lot…" Her words fell flat when she saw Yumei's monster.

Arcana Knight Joker Atk-3800 Def-2500

Alexis let out another yawn, before speaking. "Well, things aren't looking good for Sora."

"Oh, and let's not forget about Command Knight and my A. Forces card effects."

Arcana Knight Joker Atk-4400

"I take it back." Alexis said, with a small albeit sleepy laugh. "Things just got worse for her."

"Alright, now my Arcana Knight Joker attack's Harpie Lady!" Yumei's knight, raised his blade with both hands, and split bifurcated Sora's monster, which promptly shattered into pixlels seconds later.

Sora-LP 2900

"Now I'll have my Command Knight lay waste to Harpie Lady Two!" Command Knight rushed forward, stabbing Harpie Lady #2 with her sword.

Sora-LP 2600

"I know to never count Sora out." Alexis began. "But she's in a really tight spot here. She's got no monsters on her field, and even if she did…"

"She couldn't attack Yumei's Command Knight, because of her effect." Fujin finished. "Still, you said it yourself. Don't count Sora out of this duel yet."

"Alright then, my draw." Sora then smirked. "Okay, well lets see how you handle this. I'll set a card face down, then I'll remove Birdface to the out of play zone, and summon my new monster. Harpie Lady With Rose Whip~"

Sora's new monster resembled the Cyber Harpie Lady, the exception being the deadly looking whip in the monsters right claw. Atk-2100 Def-1800

"And let's not forget about the attack boost my Hunting Ground gives my monster~" Sora continued, a sing-song tone in her voice.

Harpie Lady With Rose Whip Atk-2300

"Okay…" Yumei began with a confused tone in her voice. "But you still don't have the attack strength to beat my Joker. And my Command Knight can't be attacked because Joker is still on the field."

"Not for much longer~" Sora still had that sing-song note in her voice, which only added to Yumei's confusion. "I play the spell card De-Fusion~"

"That's not good…" Alexis said, covering her mouth as she had let out a yawn seconds later. "Now Sora can split Yumei's monster back into its original fusion material.

"Well then why doesn't Yumei seem worried?" Fujin asked.

Sure enough, Yumei did not look worried. In fact, it looked as though she was starting to smile. "Sorry Sora, but I know something you don't."

"...and that is?" Sora no longer had that sing-song not in her voice.

"That would be, once per turn, if my Joker is targeted for destruction by a magic, trap, or monster effect, I can discard a card corresponding to whatever is attempting to destroy my monster, and negate that cards activation." Yumei explained, a look of triumph spreading across the Ra student's face. "And since your De-Fusion spell card technically does destroy my Joker, all I have to do is get rid of one of my spell cards, and no more De-Fusion for you!"

"Hope Sora has a Plan B." Alexis said, while Yumei discarded a spell card from her hand, and set into the graveyard slot in her duel disk.

Sora sighed in defeat. Her entire plan revolved around her De-Fusion card. "I … have to end my turn."

"That would be a 'no'." Fujin supplied, as Yumei's turn began.

"Okay, here we go! Draw!" Yumei sighed, and shook her head when she saw her next card. "Sorry Sora, but it's over. I activate the spell card Fissure!"

"But that!" Sora gasped.

"Destroys the weakest monster on your field." Yumei finished. "And since there's only one monster on your field, guess what happens?"

The ground beneath Sora's Harpie Lady opened up, and the monster fell into the chasm below, before vanishing and leaving Sora completely defenseless.

"Now, Arcana Knight Joker! Direct attack!" At Yumei's order, Arcana Knight Joker raised its blade, and brought it down with a heavy two handed strike in front of Sora, reducing her life points to nothing.

Sora-LP 0000

"Not bad!" Fujin said, clapping her hands together. "You perform like that during your promotion duel, you'll be a Blue in no time!"

"That's all well and good." Sora yawned. "But can I go back to sleep now?"

Far later, and when it was moe appropriate for the students of Duel Academy to be active, Jaden found himself relaxing under a tree close to the main building. "Ah, this is the life. Green grass, warm sun. My own private…"

"JADEN!"

"Huh?" Jaden sat up, his attention now fixed on Cyrus, who was sprinting towards the Slifer. "Okay, maybe not so private…"

"Jaden…" Cyrus panted, when he finally caught up to his friend. "Something terrible's happened."

"Trap test?" Jaden asked sitting back up. "Let me guess, you flunked?"

"Actually, I got a B." Cyrus sounded rather proud of himself. However, that wasn't why Cyrus was searching for Jaden. "But that's not why I came here Jaden! Chumley's dad just showed up!"

"So what? He raid our fridge?"

Cyrus shook his head. "No Jaden! He came to make Chumley drop out!"

"What!? Not our buddy!" Jaden suddenly got to his feet, and made for the Slifer Red dorms, unaware that Yuki had exited the main building at that exact moment, and decided to follow his friends.

"No way, that's chumley's dad?" Jaden asked completely slack-jawed. The three boys were looking inside of Professor Banner's office, having explained the entire situation to Yuki on the way to the Slifer Dorms. The man sitting across from Professor Banner had a face and nose similar to his son, but with a far more muscular body.

"He looks like a body builder." Yuki commented. "But carrying Chumley around, I'd guess you'd have to be."

The three boys then quieted down, having heard Mr. Huffington speaking. "Now don't get me wrong, if Chumley was any good at dueling it'd be one thing. But he's clearly not. He's wasting his time here, and it's time for him to give up dueling and come home."

"I see your point. Chumley is…" Professor Banner began to chuckle in a nervous tone, as given the size of Mr. Huffington, he'd rather not say anything insulting.

"He's a bit dense, you can say it. That's why I want him to come home, and join the family business." Mr. Huffington slammed his large fist on the table that separated the two men. "The hot sauce business." He paused for a moment to stare at Professor Banner. "You like hot sauce right?"

"Oh yes, I love it. I can't get enough of it." There was a nervous tone in Banner's voice, as he wanted to get on the man's good side.

"Loud and clear. Here!" Mr. Huffington placed a large bottle that was clearly a bottle of hot sauce. "Free sample."

Professor Banner tried his best to politely to refuse. "Oh no, I really couldn't."

"Oh yes you could." Mr. Huffington said, giving Banner an intense stare.

"So he's really dropping?" Cyrus' voice began to break, not wanting to lose his friend.

"Not if we can help it!" Jaden began to make for the second floor of the Slifer dorms. "Come on, we've gotta talk some sense into him!" The three boys then made for the room that Jaden and Cyrus shared with Chumley.

"Chumley." Jaden called out when he swung his dorm room open. When the three boys entered, they saw Chumley packing his belongings into his backpack. "Hey, what are you doing?"

"What does it look like?" Chumley asked harshly.

"It looks like you're giving up. Like you're taking everything you worked for, and throwing it all away. Like you're abandoning all your dueling dreams and goals, and you don't even care!" Jaden grabbed Chumley's shoulder, and all three boys got a shock when they saw that tears were streaming down Chumley's cheeks. "Chumley…?"

"He does care." Syrus and Yuki said in unison.

"No! I just got something in my eyes! Both of 'em! Now just leave me alone would ya?" Chumley made an attempt to wipe his eyes on his sleeve. "I mean, it's not like I'm worth wasting your time on anyhow. At least according to my dad I'm not. But he doesn't know, I really could be a champion duelist. Because I've got a special power I haven't told anybody. Sometimes Duel Monster cards talk to me."

"You talk to…" A smile broke out over Yuki's face as Neo appeared by the Obelisk boy's side. "Then you're just like us. Did you tell your dad this Chumley?"

Chumley shook his head. "Of course not. Everything to him is hot sauce, hot sauce, hot sauce."

"Alright, come on buddy!" Yuki grabbed Chumley's arm, and dragged the heavier boy out of his dorm room, Jaden and Cyrus following behind.

The four boys had gone straight to Chancellor Sheppard's office. Mr. Huffington and Professor Banner not far behind the four, having seen them leaving the Slifer Dorm, and had decided to hear the boys out.

"Chumley has a gift." Yuki explained. "He can't drop out."

"Oh, he's got a gift alright." Mr. Huffington piped up. "A gift for eating grilled cheese."

Yuki glared daggers at Mr. Huffington, nearly activating the power of the ring around his neck.

"Look I know Chumley." Jaden spoke up, placing a hand on Yuki's shoulder to calm his friend down. "He's my roomate, not to mention his pal."

"Yeah, uh… me too." Cyrus added.

"Make that three of us." Yuki said, after taking a breath to calm himself. No need to call on Mahad's power for a family matter, he probably knew very little about.

"Look boys." Sheppard began, a little shocked at all this, especially seeing Yuki there for the second time today. "I respect you for sticking up for your friend. However I'm afraid this is a family matter, this really isn't any of your business."

"That's right." Mr. Huffington said. "It's a family matter."

"But sir…" Jaden made to plead his case, however Mr. Huffington cut across the Slifer boy.

"Which is why I propose a duel."

"Huh?" All four boys said at the same time.

"That's right, father versus son." A smile began to form on Mr. Huffington's face. "If Chumley has this special gift you say he does, he should be able to beat me easily. If he does, I'll let him stay at the academy. But if he can't then Chumley comes home and joins the family business.

Chumley's look of shock changed to one of determination. "You're on dad!"

"So be it!" Chancellor Sheppard clapped his hands together. "Tomorrow morning it will be decided if Chumley stays, or goes home!"

"Haha, see guys? What did I tell ya?" There was a big smile on Jaden's face as he spoke. The four boys were exiting the main building accompanied by Professor Banner. "It was a piece of cake to convince Chumley's dad to let him stay!"

"Jaden, we just convinced him to a duel…" Cyrus shook his head, pointing this little fact out. "He still has to win, if he wants to stay."

Jaden shrugged. "Yeah, but come on. Chumley's dad is an ammeture, he doesn't know how to duel. Am I right?"

"I'm not so sure about that Jaden…" Yuki frowned, not sharing his friend's sentiment. "We don't know anything about Mr. Huffington, except he's a bit of a jerk and he's a hot sauce tycoon. That aside, the guy could be an expert duelist."

"Nah, I bet he's been thinking about hot sauce so much, it's coming out of his ears!" Jaden laughed.

At that, Professor Banner cleared his throat. "Actually, he's been state duel champion three years in a row." Yuki then gave his friend an 'I told you so' look. "Why do you think Mr. Huffington was so insistent on his son attending this school? Just wait until you see his deck. As you all know, he makes a living with his special hot sauce. Well, his deck reflects the kick of his sauce. It can take you out in one turn, like a spicy buffalo wing takes you out in one bite. And all the morning after."

"Looks like we're gonna have to get Chumley's deck ready for tomorrow." Yuki once again shot Jaden an 'I told you so' look, before heading towards the Obelisk Blue dorms. "I'll meet up with you guys in a bit, I'm gonna go grab my spare cards."

"Yuki?" Kai had poked his head into the doorway of Yuki's room. "What are you up to?"

"Looking for-oh nevermind." Yuki had dug out his case of spare cards from under his large bed.

"Doing some deck editing?" Kai had entered his friend's room, and was now staring at his case over his shoulder.

"Yeah, but it's not for me." Yuki then explained the entire situation to Kai, including his irritation towards Mr. Huffington.

Kai took a deep breath after Yuki finished his explaination. "You and family matters…"

Yuki found himself laughing at that. "Am I cursed or something?"

"You might be." Kai laughed, clapping Yuki on the shoulder. "So, how do I help?"

"Grab your spare cards, and meet me at the Slifer dorm."

"Chumley what is with all your cards?" Kai was looking through the heavy set Slifer's deck when he posed his question. The five boys had taken to using Yuki's old room in the Slifer dorm. It had been empty since both twins had switched dorms. "They're all koala monsters…"

"Duh! Koala's are my favorite." Chumley snapped.

"We don't have a lot of room to talk Kai." Yuki interjected. "You and I both use dragons."

"Fair point." Kai looked through his case of spare cards, until he found some that Chumley could make use of. "Here, use these. Invigoration may lower your monsters defense, but the equipped monster will get a buff to its attack. And Giant Rat will yet you search out for another monster. Perfect for your earth attribute deck."

Chumley looked like he was about to cry, with such generosity coming from an Obelisk.

"And try this out." Cyrus handed Chumley a card with a picture of a kangaroo with green colored boxing gloves. "I got this a while back, but never could put it to good use. Maybe you could."

"Cy, really…?" Tears were forming in Chumley's eyes.

"Yeah, if you join it with your koala's, it'll be the take down from down under."

Yuki grabbed a card from his case of spares, and handed it to his friend. "Here, use this too."

"Poison Fangs?" Chumley's voice was definately breaking. "Yuki are you serious?"

"Yeah, I can't run it in either of my decks, plus it fits better with your beast deck."

"Hey, I got something for you too. It could really come in handy." Jaden said, handing the card in question to Chumley.

Unbeknownst to the five boys, Mr. Huffington was listening in on their conversation. While having dinner with Professor Banner consisting of hot sauce, Mr. Huffington had slipped out under the guise of needing to use the bathroom, and was now eavesdropping in on the exchange between his son and his friends, since the door to the unused dorm room was still open.

The next morning, the two Obelisks and two Slifer boys had joined Professor Banner in a training room of the Slifer dorms which looked remarkably like a martial arts dojo.

"Alright. Chumley, Mr. Huffington, you both know the stakes for this match." Professor Banner clapped his hands together. "If Chumley wins, he gets to stay at school. However if he looses, then he must go back home."

Mr. Huffington had a smile on his face. "That's right, or my hot sauce won't chap your lips!"

Banner turned to face his student. "Chumley, you're sure you're okay with this? Going back to work for your father's hot sauce company? Chapped lips."

"I can handle anything right now." Chumley's beady eyes were narrowed.

"Right. Well without further ado gentlemen." Banner began, glapping his hands together once again. "Let the duel begin!"

"Alright!" Chumley had a detirmined look on his face, as he activated his duel disk.

"Its go time." Mr. Huffington did the same.

"DUEL!"

Chumley LP-4000

Mr. Huffington LP-4000

"Alright dad, here I come." Chumley announced, drawing a card. "Toatlly licious. Alright, I'll play a monster in defense mode."

"Defense mode huh?" Mr. Huffington gave a slow nod, it was a decent opening move. But it was one every ammeture duelist started out with. "Alright, here I come son. I play Dizzy Tiger in attack mode!"

A humanoid tiger wearing a wife beater, khaki pants, sunglasses, and holding a bottle of hot sauce in one paw appeared on Mr. Huffington's field. Atk-1800

Everyone was obviously confused about Mr. Huffington's choice of monster, especially Chumley. "A dizzy … tiger?"

"Weird." Jaden commented.

"So … why is he dizzy?" Cyrus asked.

"My guess." Yuki began. "Too much hot sauce. Still it doesn't mean that tiger doesn't have a nasty bite."

"Dizzy Tiger, attack! Hot sauce slash!" The humanoid tiger leapt forward, and sunk its claws into Chumley's face down monster, which turned out to be Giant Rat. the monster that Kai had given to him the previous night. "Giant Rat?"

"That's right, and now that he's gone." Chumley sounded rather excited at this news. "I can bring out an Earth monster with less than 1500 attack points! So I summon Des Koala in attack mode!"

Chumley's monster was a big white furred koala, with leaves in its mouth and belly pouch. Atk-1100

"And it's my turn again, so I summon another Des Koala in attack mode." A second large white furred koala appeared next to the first. Atk-1100

Mr. Huffington frowned, as he instantly saw the mistake his son had made. "Attack mode? Didn't you know that if you played him in defense mode, and then flipped him up, it would have cost me 400 points of damage for each card in my hand?"

"Duh, of course I know that … at least now I do."

"Well it's too late now son." Mr. Huffington said, while drawing his next card. "Dizzy Tiger attack the first Des Koala! Hot sauce slash!" The humanoid tiger leapt forward, slashing at Chumley's koala, and leaving a red mist in the air that had an incredibly strong and distinct smell.

"Ugh, that's hot sauce alright…" Chumley groaned, plugging his nose.

Chumley LP-3300

Jaden groaned, plugging his nose just like Chumley was doing. "Oh boy, that stinks."

"But his attack sure didn't…" Cyrus groaned, mirroring his two friends.

Mr. Huffington let out a booming laugh, once his battle phase ended. "Hahahahaha! At this rate, we'll be home before dinner … which will be hot sauce!"

"I'll tell you what you can do with your hot sauce!" Chumley snapped at his father.

"Hey, keep your cool Chumley!" Kai shouted.

"It's good that he's standing up for himself though." Yuki spoke up, and recieved a stern look from Mr. Huffington, which he returned with an icy glare.

"Watch your tone boy." Mr. Huffington growled. "Like your teacher said, I've been state duel champion three-"

"And I've beaten Seto Kaiba." Yuki cut across, holding up his duel disk. "If you want a piece of me, I'll be happy to step in and mop the floor with you."

"It's alright Yuki. I got this." Chumley drew his next card as he spoke. "Licious. Alright, I'll play the spell card Koala March. With it, I can summon a koala monster from my graveyard as long as its level four or below."

Chumley's first Des Koala appeared on his field, where it had been before Dizzy Tiger had attacked. Atk-1100

"Next, I'll sacrifice both koalas, to summon Big Koala!" Both of Chummley's koala monsters vanished, and a large blue furred koala with no leaves in its mouth or belly pouch took their place. Atk 2700

"Not bad." Mr. Huffington commented.

"No duh not bad! Now Big Koala attack Dizzy Tiger!" The large koala picked up Dizzy Tiger, and tossed it across the room, where it shattered in a pixelated cloud upon hitting the opposite wall.

Mr. Huffington LP-3100

"And Dizzy Tiger's gonzo." Chummley smirked.

"That's our boy!" Yuki, Jaden, and Cyrus all cheered.

"So you wanna fight? Alright, let's fight!" Mr. Huffington drew a card. "Alright, I call Dizzy Angel to the field!" This new monster was indeed an angelic-like creature, wearing a white suit and pants, with dark glasses, and holding a hot sauce bottle in his hands. And just like Dizzy Tiger, he didn't seem to be able to stand up straight. Atk-1800

"Ugh, he reeks of hot sauce too." Chumley plugged his nose again. "And from the looks of it, I'd say he's had way too much." Chumley then heard a sound coming from the angel. 'Woah, there it is. I'm hearing those voices again!'

"Now I'll activate the spell card Hot Sauce Bottle!" A large bottle of hot sauce appeared behind Dizzy Angel. "And then, I'll activate another spell card, Flipping The Table!" The field between father and son changed to a large low-legged table which Mr. Huffington then flipped. Both monsters were then sent flying into the air, and were destroyed upon hitting the table after coming back down. "What a card! It destroys everything on my field, except itself that is. And then the same number of cards I destroyed, are also destroyed on your field, leaving you defenseless!"

"That's gotta be his special two turn attack." Cyrus commented.

"Tch, that's just like you." Chumley growled. "You don't like something, so you trash it."

"I didn't get to become a hot sauce tycoon by acting nice son." Mr. Huffington replied as Dizzy Angel came back to his field.

"Okay? Why is he back?" Kai was clearly confused. "Wasn't he destroyed by Flipping The Table?"

"Wishful thinking!" Mr. Huffington laughed. "But Dizzy Angel can't be destroyed by Flipping The Table! Oh! And there's something else! Since Hot Sauce Bottle was destroyed, you take 500 points of damage!"

Chumley LP-2800

"But I'm not done yet! Dizzy Angel attacks you directly!" The drunken angel then whacked Chumley over the head with the hot sauce bottle in his hand.

Chumley LP 1000

'Don't worry son, this'll be over soon.' "Make your move son!" Mr Hufington said ending his turn.

"Make sure you think this through Chumley." Professor Banner said. "Otherwise you'll be back home, bottling hot sauce."

"Duh! I know that!" Chumley said, a hint of worry in his voice. "Alright, I'll pay Pot of Greed!" Chumley announced, drawing two cards from his deck … which turned out to be the two cards that Yuki and Cyrus had given to him the night before.

"Okay, first I'll activate Silent Doom. With it, I can summon one monster back from the graveyard, and I chose Big Koala!" 'He won't kick me out without a fight!' Chumley thought, while his Big Koala appeared back on his field in defense mode. Def-2000

"Next, I'll activate the spell card Poison Fangs! The continuous spell card that Chumley had gotten from Yuki appeared behind Big Koala. And now I'll activate Polymarization, and fuse Big Koala and the Des Kangaroo in my hand … and summon Master of Oz!"

Chumley's new fusion monster had the body of a large kangaroo with green colored boxing gloves, but had a koala-like face. Atk-4200

'Like I didn't see that coming' Mr. Huffington thought, while he remembered what he had heard while spying on Chumley and his friends. However, a smile appeared on his face, as he realized just how much Chumley's friends cared about him. Especially if one of them was willing to stand up to him the way Yuki was.

"But I'm not done there! I activate the spell card Invigoration! Now Oz gets a 500 point boost to his attack!"

Master of Oz Atk-4700

"Now go Oz! Outback Attack!" Chumley's monster reared its right fist back, and hit Dizzy Angel so hard he exploded in a large shower of pixles.

Mr. Huffington LP-500

"And there's more! Thanks to Poison Fangs, you take an additional 500 damage since you were attacked by a beast type monster!"

Mr. Huffington LP-0000

The four boys all rushed, and tackled their friend in a many armed hug as the duel came to an end in Chumley's favor.