Welcome back everyone! It's been a little while since I've been able to post new content, but hopefully this chapter will be worth the wait. Special thanks goes to the "Signs of Renewal" team, CorinnetheAnime, Epsilon Tarantula, and Nox Descious, for creating cards, designing duels, and proofreading my work in order to help this chapter come out as soon as it did. As always, thank you for everyone for your continued contributions. As a special announcement, on my profile page, I have set up a new poll. In the past, I have striven to post an update chapter at least once weekly in order to keep you all informed of the progress of the story as well as give you all something to read while you wait for the official releases of some chapters. I, however, would like to know your opinion on this policy. Would you all prefer it if I continued posting these update chapters, or would you prefer it if I instead focused my time and effort exclusively on the official chapters? Please note that the ultimate decision on what policy I take for "Signs of Renewal" lies with me, but I'd like to gauge what my audience thinks before I continue. So after reading and enjoying this chapter, please take some time to go to the profile page and submit your vote. I will keep the poll up until the 21st of October. With that out of the way, please enjoy!

Part 1: Chapter 11 – Escalation (Scene 4: Day Jobs Part 1)

"And if you have all three of these monsters out, you can summon Gate Gaurdian." Gin explained to a teenage Common boy about twice her height as he stared back down at her with a confused expression on his face. It was not every day that a member of the Tops would even enter a Common neighborhood, much less start handing out extremely rare and expensive cards. Gin, however, had felt the need to visit the neighborhood despite the constant warnings of danger she had received from both her parents. She had always been grateful that she could live where she didn't constantly have to worry about thieves, gangs, or other shady characters harming her, but she had decided to take the risk of entering the slums, for one, because this was the neighborhood of her friend, Lilly, and she needed to see if anyone knew where she was, and for two, because, and it was strange to explain, but she never really minded giving any of her things away, especially if she could help others some way by doing so.

"Why are you doing this?" The boy asked, looking back and forth from the cards Gin handed him to Gin and Akio, who were both standing next to their bikes while distributing some other cards to a gathering group of kids.

Gin paused after hearing the boy's question, thinking about what her dad would say. Most likely, he would scold her for just handing out cards like that when they hadn't done anything to earn them. Charity, he had taught her, was best served when it involved providing ways for the Commons to better themselves, such as with a job or access to a public library, not by throwing resources at them so they could feed themselves for another week before coming back for more. "A Tops man who only has wealth because he inherited it, does not deserve that wealth and will soon lose it." Mr. Tami had explained, "A Common man who's had wealth thrown at him for the cause of charity is no better."

People like her mother and Tops relations would also raise their concerns, but theirs would be of a different kind.

"You can't mingle with the Commons in the slums like that!" Her mother would say, "Haven't we taught you anything! They will beat you within an inch of your life just so they can steal from you! Don't go anywhere near them! Not without me or your father accompanying you!"

"But Erika and Lilly are okay." She would reply.

"Yes… but I don't know if I like Lilly… she's a little course, even for a Common. And as for Erika… there's something strange about that one. You really need to be more careful! It's one thing to be friendly, another thing to be foolish!"

Her uncle, Goro, would have raised an even stranger concern.

"Ever hear of the Earthbound?" he would whisper, eyes darting around the room as if he were afraid of summoning a demon.

"Earthbound?" Gin would ask.

"I've seen 'em!" Goro would whisper, trembling ever so slightly. "They skulk in the Slums, stealing corpses at night and placing the ghost mark on them!"

"Ghost mark?" Gin would then ask, feeling scared.

"Ooh… it was terrible…" Goro would shudder, shaking his head theatrically, "…I was out for a midnight walk, when I made a wrong turn and ended up in the dark slums of the Commons. I turned to head back but…"

"But what?" Gin would whimper, still too young to understand the concept of a ghost story.

"But the path back was gone!" Goro would tremble. "So I called out into the misty night, trying to find someone who would help me. And that's when I saw it… the ghost mark! It was shining against the chest of a dark hooded man who stood there… watching me… holding a hook in his hand. I called out to the man to see if he would help me, but he only stared back at me, slowly advancing on me while raising the hook into the air. I backed away, but he continued approaching me, and soon, I saw other figures. Ghostly lizards, birds, monkeys, and spiders, all advancing on me, all watching me, all bearing ghost marks! I closed my eyes… hoping it was all a dream, when I suddenly woke up, lying in a gutter in the middle of the slums with nobody around me. It must have all been a dream after all. I picked myself up to walk away, but then I saw it…"

"Saw what!?" Gin would squeak, burying her head in the folds of her dress.

"A large hook, buried in the sidewalk!" Goro would whisper, to which Gin would suddenly scream and run away before her mother would enter the room, grab Goro by the ear, and give him a severe scolding for filling Gin's head with frivolous ghost stories.

Gin, however, had decided after turning eight that most of the horror stories she had heard about the Commons were untrue. Part of this resolution had been due to her befriending Erika and Lilly, but most of it had come about simply due to her realizing just how outlandish and silly some of the horror stories were. Sure, some of the Commons may have been dangerous, but she was finding it hard to believe such gruesome accounts such as the, "Commons-sacrificing-children," stories and the, "I-saw-a-Common-baking-the-governor's-wife-into-a-pie," accounts. All-in-all, Gin felt like she had inherited more of her Dad's practicality.

And as for her father's more practical objections about unnecessary charity, Gin had mostly waved them aside in the face of Security's assault. She didn't want any of them to suffer what she had suffered when she lost her father.

"Security will be attacking this place." Gin explained, handing a young boy a copy of Star Eater and a Tuner. "I'm not giving these away just for charity. You'll need to be ready for when they attack, so train yourselves using these things, otherwise, Security will be dragging everyone away."

The gathering Commons suddenly didn't look as eager to collect the cards as they had before. Groups started muttering between themselves about whether or not they should trust what a Top said while others began earnestly discussing the possibility of leaving the city.

"We should go, Gin." Akio warned, placing his hand on Gin's shoulder as his golden eyes vigilantly swept the area.

"What's wrong?" Gin asked, looking around.

Akio made a subtle movement of his head, indicating a pair of shady-looking duelists who were playing a game against each other. "We're being watched."

Gin glanced at the duel that was taking place. One of the duelists was a teenage goth girl with blue hair, black make-up, and multiple criminal marks over the left side of her face that made her cheek look like a circuit board. The other was a teenage boy with spikey short brown hair, two dagger shaped criminal marks stabbing through both eyes, and multiple knife scars on his arms and cheek. The girl controlled a copy of Mermaid Archer equipped with Skystarray and Hydro Pressure Cannon while the boy controlled a copy of Mataza the Zapper equipped with Magnum Shield. Both controlled a face-down card. Between the two duelists, a very tall and muscular man in his very early twenties seemed to be recording the duel with his Duel Disk, but Gin didn't fail to notice just how unserious the two duelists seemed to be and how the man's camera seemed to be pointed more directly at her and Akio. Growing uneasy as she started recalling the stories she had heard of the horrible things Commons did to Tops who wandered in their slums, Gin felt herself begin to tremble.

"Erika and Lilly are not like that." Gin reminded herself. Even though she had had the horror stories of the Commons drilled into her head on a weekly basis with repeated warnings not to visit the slums, Erika and Lilly had all been very nice to her. Maybe she was being too hasty judging these Commons. After all, one didn't have to believe all the Common-attacking-a-Top horror stories any more than one had to believe the ridiculous ghost stories about the Earthbound some people insisted were gospel truth. It was the same with these Commons. Just because they looked scary, didn't mean they were the predatory demons she had been warned about.

Akio, however, seemed to disagree.

"However disgusting they may be…" he whispered as if understanding Gin's thoughts, "…there is usually some truth behind the stereotypes. None of these people know where Lilly is and we have already armed this neighborhood. The good people here will remember what you did. Best not to stay here and see what the bad people will do."

Gin slowly nodded her head, deciding it would be best to trust Akio's word. He was, after all, a Common. He probably knew better how to judge his own kind better than she did. Putting on her helmet, she picked up her bag and walked back towards her small sleek grey, silver, and black bike.

"I ought to take that bag." Akio insisted, putting his hand on Gin's shoulder while still keeping a wary eye on the three individuals who had suddenly and inexplicably ended their duel, the girl proclaiming that she was bored, before walking away towards their own trio of D-wheels, one quite large while the other two were smaller and rustier.

"I can carry it." Gin replied, mounting her bike. It was kind of funny really. Normally she would have just had Akio carry her things because it was expected of her to let the servants do things for her, but being away from her parents, hard on her emotions as that was considering her father had been forcefully taken from her, had made her feel free to do those little independent things she had craved to do for a long time. And besides, Akio had usually been the one who had encouraged Gin to develop her self-reliance over the course of her sparring sessions with him.

Akio, however, seemed to be rapidly shifting into his role as her servant and protector.

"I insist." Akio grunted, pulling the bag off her shoulders and strapping it to his own immense load on the back of his bike.

"But you're already carrying the other three bikes and riding outfits!" Gin protested, feeling that they would do a lot better if the work were more evenly distributed. She tried to explain this to Akio while indicating a large bundle of heavy compact cases on the back of Akio's larger and older-looking grey bike, but Akio just ignored her.

"We need to get moving." Akio insisted, pressing the ignition button on his bike handles until his bike roared to life with a series of loud screeches, pops, and a final smoky explosion out the tail-pipe. Pulling ahead of Gin, he waved to her, indicating she should follow him.

Reluctantly, Gin started her own bike, which instantaneously and smoothly purred to life with a quiet, steady, and strong humming. With just a slight press of the accelerator, she almost instantaneously caught up to Akio's larger, older, and slower bike, following close behind him as they entered a highway.

"Mental note." she thought to herself. "Be sure to thank Akio by buying him a better bike."

Racing down the highway at break-neck speeds, they continued eastward, heading towards the neighborhood where Lilly lived when suddenly, Akio made a rapid U-turn and indicated for Gin to follow him.

"What's wrong?" Gin asked, noticing the worried expression on Akio's face.

"We're being followed." Akio called back. "Have your deck at the ready and stay close!"

"Security?" Gin nervously asked, suddenly feeling very frightened despite her efforts to remember her combat and duel training. For a moment, thoughts of the ghost stories she had heard flickered through her mind, but she quickly tried brushing them aside, reminding herself that they were no truer than the mystical fairy dragon spirit she used to believe in as a toddler.

"No." Akio replied, gripping the handles of his bike. "But potentially just as dangerous. Be on your guard, Gin."

Akio and Gin raced down the highway, Gin making sure to not let herself pull ahead of Akio's bike, when she and Akio suddenly noticed that their path had been blocked by the large blonde-haired man she had seen recording the duel a few moments ago. He was riding a massive brown Motorbike more than twice the size of Akio's bike, with two massive front wheels and two equally large back wheels. The front of the bike was styled to look like a massive bear head with its mouth gaping wide. The man was wearing a large white leather riding outfit with spikey black shoulder pads and a large black helmet decorated like a bear head. Smiling at Gin and Akio, he waved to them, before revving up the massive engines of his bike and charging towards them.

Gin and Akio prepared to turn around, but were stopped dead in their tracks when two other riders pulled up and blocked their path. Looking at their rusty bikes and the faces beneath their cheap helmets, Gin recognized them as the duelists she had seen in the neighborhood.

"Gin, go!" Akio growled, activating his bike's duel disk.

"What's the rush?" the large blonde-haired man boomed in a deep rumbling voice, slowly circling Gin and Akio with his buddies.

"Yeah! What's the rush?" the brown-haired boy giggled, eyeing the packages on Akio's bike with a hungry expression on his face.

"It's not every day the Tami family visits us." The blue-haired girl snickered.

"We noticed you giving out all those free cards." The brown-haired boy sneered, making a grabbing motion for some of Akio's bags on one of his passes.

"Pretty rare and expensive cards." The girl added with a grin.

"VERY expensive cards." The blonde-haired man agreed, revving up his engines with a threatening roar. "It's always nice to see someone being so generous with their property, but we were wondering, when was it our turn?"

Gin felt her heart pounding against her chest. She was starting to recall some of the stories she had heard. The tales of people beaten half to death and robbed of everything they had on them, people drowned in the gutter by mobs of hooded individuals, and even more outlandish tales of shadowy individuals with glowing marks commanding evil ghosts to disembowel their victims began to feel more ominously realistic by the second as the gang of duelists circled her bike.

"NO!" she firmly thought. "Those stories aren't real… I'll just calmly tell these people I can't…"

"HEY MISSY!" the girl shouted, looking Gin in the eyes with the kind of look a shark gives its prey. "When do we get some!?"

Gin nervously opened her mouth to respond, but Akio gripped her shoulder, giving her a warning look before turning his attention back to the circling gang.

"I think someone's being stingy." The brown-haired boy snickered.

"TERRIBLY stingy." The blonde-haired man growled, starting to sound more serious. "So if you don't mind, I think we're going to finish your little charity drive and take back the stuff your dad stole from us."

"Stole from you?" Gin nervously whimpered, feeling extremely embarrassed and even more scared after hearing how wimpy and cowardly her voice sounded.

"Yes, your highness." The blonde-haired man gruffly replied. "Did you ever wonder just how your dear little daddy got so rich? How many Commons he's had to trample under his feet to get to where he is today?"

"But dad gave you that library…" Gin whimpered, "…and-…"

"GAVE IT TO US!?" the blonde-haired man laughed, "More like took from us before building that library just so he could create a publicity stunt and convince idiots like you that he actually cared about us! But we're not buying it! We know what he's REALLY like! There's no difference between him and any other Top thief! So in consideration of your father's thievery, my compatriots and I feel it would only be appropriate to steal back some of the stuff you've taken from us. But we'll let you keep your butler and his bike. It's not like we want those anyway."

"Ugh… yeah!" the girl agreed, sticking out her tongue in disgust before pointing to Akio's rough face. "Look at that guy! He looks even worse than Benji!"

"Hey!" the brown-haired boy named Benji protested. "My scars make me look manly! Not like Mr. Acid Victim over there!"

"Right." The girl sarcastically replied, rolling her eyes. "You look about as manly as Freddy Krueger's wimpy two-year-old kid."

"Benji! Unagi!" the blonde-haired man growled. "I'm not giving you guys your cut unless you help out! Whoop the old man if you have to, but grab those bags and make sure the girl's wallet is taken. She's gotta have one and it'll have A LOT on it."

"Chill out Kuma." The girl named Unagi snapped. "We're on it."

"Can we uh… take the girls clothes too?" Benji snickered, eyeing Gin with a menacing expression on his face. "I'm sure that uhm… a little girl in our neighborhood would really appreciate them."

"We're staying professional." The man named Kuma growled. "We're just taking back what her dad took. There's no need to do anything else unpleasant." He narrowed his eyes, "Unless of course we have no other choice."

"Ugh… gross!" Unagi gagged, seemingly coming to a realization regarding what Benji had been implying. "Benji! She's like… ten! At least show some class and do it to someone your age!"

"I don't think she even knows what 'it' is." Benji guffawed, earning him a hard stare from Kuma before he quieted down.

Gin had no idea what they were talking about, but she could tell that whatever "it" was, "it" was very bad. She did not want to believe the ghost stories or the demonic characterizations she had heard from some of the other Tops about the Commons when she had met and gotten to know so many Common friends, but these guys weren't helping her shake the feeling that the Tops may have been right about the Commons all along. Akio, meanwhile, was holding out his arms protectively and eyeing the circling riders with an expression of pure rage in his golden eyes.

They were tightening the circle, coming closer and closer to them with every pass. Beneath her helmet, Gin could feel sweat beading on her forehead.

"LEAVE NOW!" Akio barked. "I will not hesitate to strike down dishonorable dogs like you who would reward her kindness with evil!"

"Did he just call us dogs!?" Unagi hissed, gripping her bike handles tighter.

"I think he did!" Benji snarled. "Let's show this Tops dog we mean business!"

"We're not messing around." Kuma agreed with a deep growl. "You think just because Tami's spawn goes around throwing cards at us that we're gonna fall on our feet and worship her like a goddess after all her father's done to us! My dad was scammed after he worked for Mr. Tami and then left to die of cancer after getting no health benefits from his work! While Mr. Tami's spoiled little princess has been living in her tower eating cake and lobster every day, her dad has left us to live in the slums, scraping by on whatever scraps we can scrape off the sidewalk!"

"There is no dishonor in either poverty or prosperity." Akio sternly replied. "Whatever evil you feel Master Tami-Sama has committed, you gravely dishonor yourselves by seeking to prey on his innocent daughter like wild animals… cowardly wild animals."

"The only dishonor here is with the thieving Tops and the cowards who serve them… coward!" Kuma retorted. "We're way more honorable than traitorous scum like you, so don't even think about lecturing us!"

"Prove your honor then!" Akio spat. "Show your true character in a duel! If your team wins, I will concede to your demands. If we win, you let us go."

"Akio." Gin nervously whimpered, desperately trying to contain her growing fear.

"I'm here for you." Akio reassured her. "Remember, dueling is the great equalizer. On the battlefield, there is only skill in battle, and you are far more skilled than any of them."

Kuma seemed to be considering Akio's words. Turning his head towards Benji he asked, "How are we looking on Security?"

Benji quickly looked through a screen on his bike. "I'm not picking up any Security in a wide radius. We should be good."

"Fine." Kuma growled. "Okay old man. We accept your offer." He signaled to the other duelists who formed up next to Gin and Akio like racers at a starting line. "We're gonna do a team Battle Royal. My team verses your team. The team who goes first doesn't get to attack while the second team does. Everything else is a pretty standard battle royal, our own fields, our own life points, our own skills."

Gin felt herself panting with anxiety. She had hoped her experiences in martial arts classes would have prepared her to face them, but she couldn't get over her growing worry that something horrific would happen to either herself or Akio. It was just like when Security had captured her father earlier that day. Her limbs were locking up like they were paralyzed, her chest was heaving as she began panting, she was sweating, her chest and throat were in pain as her worry grew, and her heart kept hammering against her ribs like it would explode.

Suddenly, she felt a hand on her shoulder. Whipping her head around, she saw Akio, looking at her with a calm and reassuring expression on his rough face, almost as if to say, "Don't worry. You're not alone. This isn't like when you faced Security. You're not alone and you're not defenseless. We can fight them and we can beat them."

Nodding her head at Akio, Gin closed her eyes and began taking a few deep breaths, in through her nose and out her mouth, before opening her eyes, pulling down the visor on her silver helmet and gripping the handles of her bike for comfort. He was right, even if the horror stories she had heard were true, Akio was here for her. He had taught her to master her fear in his sparring sessions with her. She just needed to think of this as another sparring session with him, not as an episode from a scary ghost story. And this card would help her do that.

"Turbo Field Activate!" Gin declared, slotting a card from her deck into her Field Spell Zone. "Speed World Acceleration!"

A shockwave emanated from the center of Gin's bike, bathing the highway in a light blue tint. Over the distant track, several evenly spaced pillars of light appeared with the first labeled, "Checkpoint 1" the second labeled "Checkpoint 2" and so forth. Over each of the duelist's heads, an indicator showed a picture of each of their faces along with score counter labeled "SC."

"This is now a turbo duel." Gin explained, trying to muscle through the pain and fear by acting like the announcer at the Friendship Cup, Melissa Claire. Okay… maybe not as flamboyant as she was, but still, Gin had always admired how confident she looked whenever she spoke. "The team who goes first will be determined by whose team-member reaches Checkpoint 1 first. In addition, the first player to reach each checkpoint gains five-hundred life points and one Speed Counter. Each player will also gain one speed counter at the end of each player's turn. The more speed counters we gain, the faster our bikes will go, plus, we can also pay speed counters during either player's turn in order to pay for certain effects. One speed counter increases the attack of one monster by five-hundred until the end of the turn, two speed counters can negate one attack, and four speed counters can reduce damage to zero."

"Fine by me." Kuma growled, revving up his engines till they sounded like a sleuth of roaring bears. "But once we finish this game, we're taking everything you've got!"

"You will honor your agreement." Akio countered, revving up his bikes old engine, which sounded, by contrast, like a dying frog.

Kuma rolled his eyes. "Look, I'm not gonna let Benji touch her if that's what you're worried about. That was just a joke. We just want your stuff. Just hand it over and nobody has to get hurt."

"We will not back down, and you will not touch Gin!" Akio growled, gripping his bike handles tighter.

"Then let's go!" Kuma snarled.

"DUEL!" all five duelists proclaimed as a holographic timer counted down from three.

THREE

TWO

ONE

GO!

All five of the duelists blasted forward on their bikes, racing towards the first checkpoint at breakneck speeds. All, that is, except Gin, who hesitated for just a second as she thought of the potential danger before speeding forward on her little bike, struggling to catch up with the others. She realized, with frustration, that she had already messed up. She needed to focus on the duel and nothing else!

That, however, was easier said than done. As she struggled to catch up, she found herself looking at the other players with fear and worry more than she was managing to focus on catching up.

Kuma's muscly bike was in the lead, engine roaring like the gravelly roars of a thousand bears. Puttering behind him while carrying an immense load on its back, Akio's bike trailed just behind, managing to keep up despite being obviously outclassed. Behind him, Benji was pulling up with Unagi just on his tail.

Despite being unfocused, Gin's bike was still superior to everyone else's. Gently humming, it managed to quickly pull up, coming closer and closer to catching up to and passing Unagi and Benji, when Unagi suddenly pulled her bike directly in front of Gin, cutting her off while Gin instinctively slammed on the brakes in order to avoid a collision. Laughing her head off, Unagi sped forward while Gin tried to regain her lost momentum.

Akio, meanwhile, continued to make rapid progress along the course, rapidly shifting gears at just the right times in order to juice as much speed as he could from his bike. Inch by inch, his bike steadily caught up to Kuma's massive bike until the wheel was just inches ahead of Kuma. His bike was now in the lead and the checkpoint was almost in sight.

Just

a little

SLAM!

With an aggressive roar, Kuma slammed his bike against Akio's, sending the man spinning out of control and falling back as Kuma raced past Checkpoint 1, followed closely by Benji and then Unagi.

"Akio-San!" Gin cried, desperately trying to catch up.

Akio managed to right his bike and speed through Checkpoint 1 just before Gin caught up to him and passed the checkpoint herself. Holding up his hand, he called to Gin to focus on the duel before gripping both handles of his bike and attempting to regain his lost distance.

"Ha!" Kuma laughed at Gin as his Life Points rose to 4500 and his Speed Counters rose to one. "Looks like all your money couldn't buy you a descent rider! It's my move, and I'll start by playing two Magic Cards, my Field Magic, War Bear Encampment, and my Continuous Magic, War Bear Banner!"

On the sides of the track-way, a forest of massive evergreen trees rose up, blocking out the sun and bathing the track-way in ominous shadows. In the distant shadows of the trees, Gin could swear she saw distant fires and eyes watching her in between the branches. Behind Kuma's bike, a wooden tower with a large banner depicting a growling bear head over a pair of crossed axes appeared. Eyes widening, Gin suddenly felt like one of the ghost story characters who died after wandering into the woods late at night, just at the time when shady Commons and demonic Earthbound Spirits roamed through the shadows like predators.

"When War Bear Banner is activated, I can immediately add one Warlord-Bear monster from my deck to my hand." Kuma explained, tearing a card from his deck. "And I know just the monster, say hello to my Tuner monster, Warlord-Bear Grizzly Hero!"

From the distant trees, Gin could hear the sound of deep growling as something thundered through the woods, cracking through trees and underbrush as it charged towards them. Letting out an involuntary scream, Gin nearly fell off her bike, screaming as a massive grizzly bear clad in a red cape and thick iron and leather armor like a barbarian's armor, punched through a tree with a single blow from one of its massive paws before jumping in front of Kuma, standing up on its hind legs, and unsheathing a massive two-handed ax from its back. The monster looked like it had seen its fair share of scuffles. It had a massive scar running down its shut right eye while its fur was matted and torn out in different places. Its crimson cape was ragged at the bottom while its armor and ax were each chipped in many different places. Letting out a blood-curdling roar, a holographic indicator appeared, showing an ATK of 2000 and a Level of four.

"But I'm not even close to done yet." Kuma grinned after watching Gin panic, throwing down another card from his hand. "My War Bear Encampment allows me to Normal Summon one Warlord-Bear monster from my hand in addition to my Normal Summon or Set. Come forth! Warlord-Bear Brown Spy!"

From a tree branch, a smaller brown bear leaped onto the duel field, landing lightly on its feet while concealing its appearance with a midnight-black hood and cape. Appearance-wise, the monster looked like a Syrian Brown Bear, with milky brown fur on its body and darker-brown fur at the base of its arms and legs. Next to the monster, a holographic indicator showed an ATK or 1800 and a Level of two.

"I now pay one-thousand Life Points…" Kuma roared, sweat beading on his forehead as his Life Points dropped to 3000, "…in order to perform a Synchro Summon with my Warlord-Bear Grizzly Hero and Warlord-Bear Brown Spy!"

Beating its chest while roaring with fury, Warlord Bear Grizzly Hero raised its axe into the air before morphing into four green rings of light that flew up into the air before descending and encircling Warlord-Bear Brown Spy, which faded into a golden outline of itself before leaving behind two spheres of white light as Kuma began his summoning chant:

"Warriors of Primal Fury, conjure forth the warrior priest whose magic sounds the drums of war! SYNCHRO SHOUKAN! APPEAR NOW! LEVEL SIX, WARCHIEF-BEAR BLACK SHAMAN!"

Suddenly, Gin heard crows cawing through the air as they flew from off the branches of the trees and a strong wind blew through the forest. Feeling the hairs of her neck stand on end, Gin gripped the handles of her bike, as the street darkened with the growing shadows of the trees and her bike's lights automatically activated in order to illuminate her way. The rings of Kuma's Synchro Summon had long faded away, but Gin still couldn't see his monster. Or perhaps it was more accurate to say, she couldn't tell what actually was his monster. In the twisted shadows of the forest, Gin thought she saw Kuma's monster everywhere, crouching behind trees, looming over branches, or leaping across a pair of stumps. Where was it?

Suddenly, Gin heard a roar behind her.

Whipping her head around, Gin let out a scream when she suddenly saw it, standing right behind her, a massive black bear with glowing red eyes, white war paint over its face and body, golden armor over its chest, legs, and arms, and a massive blood-red cape over its back. In its hand, it carried a massive staff adorned with crow-feathers, beads, teeth, claws, and a wolf's head. Leering down at Gin and her bike, a holographic indicator appeared next to the monster and showed an ATK of 2800.

"Help me!" Gin screamed to Akio, as she tried to speed away from the massive dark monster.

"Stay focused Gin!" Akio harshly commanded, furiously keeping up with the other riders on his bike. "Their team cannot attack on the first turn, so he can't harm you."

"Clearly you haven't heard of my Warchief-Bear's hospitality." Kuma retorted, extending his hand towards his monster. "Once per turn, my Warchief-Bear Black Shaman can Special Summon one Warlord-Bear monster from my graveyard. So return to my field now, Warlord-Bear Brown Spy in defense position!"

Shaking its staff in the air while chanting in a deep growling voice, Warchief-Bear Black Spy conjured a black portal in the ground, through which Warlord-Bear Black Spy rose to the field. Keeping its face shrouded in its dark cloak, a holographic indicator appeared and showed a DEF of 0.

"Brown Spy effect activate!" Kuma triumphantly declared. "I can add one Warlord Bear Monster from my deck to my hand, but here is the catch! Under normal circumstances I would have to pay five-hundred of my Life Points to use this effect, but since I control a Warchief-Bear monster on my side of the field, I can force you to pay those Life Points instead, and that's not even the best part! The best part is the second effect of my Black Shaman! Remember that hospitality I talked about? Well, my Shaman doubles the amount of Life Points you are forced to pay, so now you'll get a taste of what your father has put us through! GO! NOBLE THEIVERY!"

As Kuma yanked a card from his deck and added it to his hand, Brown Spy suddenly charged towards Gin, before pulling out a knife. Gin lurched to the side, but not before taking a small blow from the bear's paws, reducing her Life Points to 3000.

"GIN!" Akio called, sounding worried.

Heart hammering against her chest, Gin just struggled to stay upright as she recovered from the attack, feeling a slight throbbing on her shoulder and back from where the paw had struck her.

"I will now set two cards face-down." Kuma continued, a satisfied expression on his face. "And on my End-Phase, my Brown Spy's effect sends itself to the graveyard. Turn end."

As Kuma ended his turn, his Brown Spy vanished while Black Shaman leaped into the forest and disappeared into the thick trees, rumbling with deep malevolent laughter. Feeling her bike begin to speed up, Gin looked up to see the holographic displays show Kuma's Speed Counters rise to two, while everyone else's Speed Counters rose to one.

Laughing his head off, Benji next began his turn.

"Oh man!" he laughed, "I wish I could get a recording of that! Aint nothing like seeing a Top get knocked down! My move now! Draw!"

Looking through the cards in his hand with narrow eyes, his face suddenly brightened as he continued his move.

"I activate the Magic Card, Double Summon! With this card, I can now Normal Summon two monsters this turn! So come forth now, Dawnbreak Guardna and Torapart!"

Two portals opened up in front of Benji's bike and two monsters appeared. The first was a very heavily armored knight with a masked face and 1500 ATK while the second was a strange jack-in-the-box like creature with two doll-like men attached to each other by the waist and an ATK of 600.

"The battlefield has been set!" Benji laughed in triumph. "Now I can tune my Level two Torapart with my Level 3 Dawnbreak Gardna! Veteran Warrior of many battles! Rise up again to show that no matter how many scars you receive in battle you will always triumph in victory! SYNCHRO SHOUKAN! APPEAR NOW! SCARRED WARRIOR!"

Appearing in a flash of light, a large cyborg warrior with bandages over his right arm and multiple jagged scars over his left and right leg appeared to the field. Next to the monster, a holographic indicator showed an ATK of 2100.

"Benji! Up ahead!" Kuma called, pulling back as the riders approached Checkpoint 2.

"Right you are, Kuma-Sama!" Benji grinned, slamming down on the accelerator and speeding ahead in order to pass through the checkpoint first. Whooping as his Life Points rose to 4500 and his Speed Counters rose to two, Benji sneered back at Akio and Gin.

"I dare the two of you to get past me now! Turn end!" Benji laughed, as his and Kuma's Speed Counters rose to three and the other duelist's Speed Counters rose to two.

"My turn!" Unagi declared, ripping a card from the top of her deck.

"Time to summon something that's actually strong!" she declared. "I'll start by summoning Deep Sea Diva, and I'll use her effect to Special Summon one Level three or Lower Sea Serpent-Type monster from my deck! So come on out, Lost Blue Breaker!"

In a distant pool within the forest, Gin heard the haunting voice of a lone singer in the distance. Peering through the trees, she noticed a mermaid-like woman singing in the pool before a large two-headed sea-creature poked its heads out of the water. Transforming into a pair of two green rings, the mermaid-like creature engulfed the sea creature in its light before Unagi began her summon chant:

"Ancient Creature of the Deep! Rise up from the ocean to terrify all with your power! SYNCHRO SHOUKAN! APPEAR NOW! SEA DRAGON LORD - GISHILNODON!"

Suddenly, with a mighty splash of water, a massive sea creature rose from the pool of water before snaking its way through the dark forest with the speed of a serpent. Pulling back in fear when she saw the massive creature leer at her with a crocodile like mouth, Gin desperately tried to focus less on her fear and more on the monster's base stats, such as its 2300 ATK, not really low, but not ridiculously high like Unagi had made it sound like it would be.

"I next activate Aqua Jet!" Unagi declared, throwing down a Spell Card, "This gives my monster another 1000 ATK!"

"Nevermind." Gin nervously thought as the Sea Creature let out a loud hiss as its ATK rose to 3300. As Gin gawked at the power of Unagi's monster, Unagi managed to pull forward and zip through the next Checkpoint, boosting her own Life Points to 4500 while increasing her Speed Counters to three.

"Turn end!" Unagi declared, racing forward with her two companions as She, Benji, and Kuma's Speed Counters rose to four while Gin and Akio's Speed Counters rose to three.

"This isn't good!" Gin thought to herself, heart racing as her breathing increased. It was times like this where she was grateful, more than ever, that her bike had an autopilot function, otherwise she would have probably crashed a long time ago. "They're so far ahead, and they have so many strong monsters! If they keep getting Speed Counters, at the rate they're getting them, they'll be unstoppable, and then…" Gin couldn't bear to think what would happen next, instead only wishing that she had listened to what her mother said about not approaching the Common slums.

"WATASHI NO TURN!" She suddenly heard Akio boldly proclaim. "DRAW!"

Gin looked over to where Akio was dueling. Despite the overwhelming odds against him, he looked remarkably calm and composed, taking every opportunity to juice as much power from his bike as possible, as if he wasn't aware of how inferior his bike was. Did he actually think they could win?

"I activate the Continuous Magic Card." Akio boldly proclaimed, "Shien's Dojo! While this card is face-up on the field, each time I Normal or Special Summon a Six Samurai monster, this card gains a Bushido Counter."

Above his bike, a massive hexagonal castle rose into the air. Unlit torches decorated each of its corners and Gin could hear swords clashing against each other within the walls of the building, as if soldiers were training within.

"Next…" Akio continued, "…I activate a second Continuous Magic Card, Gateway of the Six!"

In front of the massive castle, Gin saw a massive gateway with a circular mark on its face materialize into existence before illuminating the forest with its brilliant blue glow.

"Each time a Six Samurai monster is Normal or Special Summoned, this card gains two Bushido counters." Akio explained. "And now, for me to begin. Since you all control monsters on your sides of the field and I control none, I can Special Summon Elder of the Six Samurai from my hand! Appear now!"

Riding on a large sedan chair propelled with a set of four steampunk robotic legs, Akio's monster appeared to the field, a holographic indicator displaying a DEF of 0 and a Level of three while the elderly occupant read a scroll. Above Akio's head, a single torch lit up above Shien's Dojo while two circles lit up with light in front of the gateway.

"I next summon the Tuner Monster, Kagemusha of the Six Samurai." Akio continued, summoning a red-haired samurai wearing green robes and black armor with yellow highlights. With the arrival of his new monster, a new torch lit up above Shien's Dojo while two more marks lit up on Gateway of the Six.

"That's a lot of counters." Benji whistled. "It's almost a shame we're gonna have to tear that little castle of yours down."

"Stay focused." Kuma growled. "He's planning something."

"For once you show wisdom." Akio dryly replied. "With two Six Samurai monsters out on my field, the master of the dojo can now appear. Come forth! Level seven! Great Shogun Shien!"

In front of Akio, a massive wall of blue fire erupted from the ground, which Akio jumped his bike through, an extremely fierce expression on his face. Next to him, a massive warrior in crimson armor and a flame-decorated helmet appeared, wielding a sleek white katana in his hands. Next to the monster, a holographic indicator appeared and showed an ATK of 2500.

"A Level seven monster!?" Unagi exclaimed, looking flabbergasted as another torch and two more gateway marks lit up on Akio's castle, "Without tributing!"

"You threatened the family I serve!" Akio growled. "For that I will show you no mercy! Now for a Synchro Summon of my own! I tune my Level two Kagemusha of the Six Samurai with my Level three Elder of the Six Samurai in order to Synchro Summon! Legendary Samurai Warrior wielding the power of the Blue Flame, become a roaring inferno and burn all traces of evil to the ground! SYNCHRO SHOUKAN! APPEAR NOW! LEGENDARY SIX SAMURAI - SHI EN!"

Swinging its sword through a pillar of blue flame that appeared in front of Akio, Shi En stormed onto the battlefield before raising a mighty battle cry into the air as a holographic indicator appeared and showed an ATK of 2500. Above Akio's head, Shien's Dojo was illuminated by four burning torches while Gateway of the Six glowed with eight marks.

"OH NO!" Kuma exclaimed, looking extremely worried. "He's got both of them out!"

"It would seem you know of my monsters' effects." Akio observed, staring back at Kuma with a calculating expression on his face.

"Yes!" Kuma seethed, looking extremely irritated.

"Then you should be aware that I have essentially locked out your Magic and Trap Cards with this simple field." Akio replied. "And unfortunately, things are about to get worse for the three of you."

"We can't use our Magic and Trap Cards?" Benji asked, looking nervous.

"Yes you idiots!" Kuma snapped. "Great Shogun Shien limits us to using one Magic or Trap Card per turn and Legendary Six Samurai Shi En can negate one Magic or Trap Card per turn, so we're basically stuck with using our monsters!"

"Speaking of monsters…" Akio continued, "…it's time for me to bring out some more."

"MORE!?" Unagi exclaimed.

Akio nodded grimly before stretching his hand towards his castle. "I tribute Shien's Dojo in order to activate its effect. By sending it to the graveyard, I can summon one Six Samurai Monster from my deck whose Level is equal to the number of Bushido Counters I had on my Dojo. Since there were four Bushido Counters on Dojo, I summon the Level four Six Samurai Enishi!"

Flipping over the gate of the dojo, Enishi appeared to Akio's field, drawing its sword as the Dojo vanished into thin air and Gateway gained another two counters.

"And now…" Akio continued, "…since there are now ten Bushido Counters on my Gateway, I remove eight counters from my gate in order to add both Grandmaster of the Six Samurai and Legendary Six Samurai Kizan! And now that they are both in my hand, I will use each of their respective effects to Special Summon both of them to the field! Appear now! Grandmaster of the Six Samurai and Legendary Six Samurai Kizan!"

Bursting through the gateway in twin bursts of white light, two new Samurai swarmed Akio's field, one a samurai in black armor with gold highlights, and the second an elderly samurai with a long white beard and a mechanical eye-patch over his right eye.

"Gateway of the six gains four more counters." Akio declared, "And Kizan and Enishi's effects are each applied. Enishi's ATK rises by five-hundred and Kizan's rises by three-hundred."

Over Akio's field, holographic indicators appeared, displaying an impressive force of five monsters with Great Shogun Shien and Shi En each having 2500 ATK, Enishi having 2200 ATK, and Grandmaster and Kizan having 2100 ATK.

"I will now activate Gateway's first effect!" Akio declared. "I remove two counters to increase Legendary Six Samurai Shi En's attack to three-thousand and I remove four counters to increase Great Shogun Shien's attack to thirty-five hundred!"

Crossing their Katana's together, Great Shogun Shien and Shi En each roared with fury as their blue flames burned with intensity and their attack power rose. Watching in awe, Gin began wondering if Akio had been holding back against her the many times they had sparred.

"I now activate Enishi's effect!" Akio proclaimed, stretching his hand towards his green-armored samurai. "I banish Elder and Kagemusha from my graveyard in order to return Gishilnodon to the owner's hand!"

Obediently rushing forward, Enishi sprinted through the forest with the agility of a monkey, leaping across tree trunks and tree branches Enishi quickly closed the distance with Unagi's monster. Hissing angrily, Gishilnodon took a snap at Enishi, but Enishi was too quick. Leaping onto Gishilnodon's own head, he brought his Katana down on the monster's skull, causing the serpent to vanish away as it left Unagi's field.

"What!?" Unagi exclaimed. "Why are you suddenly picking on me!?"

"Because you insulted both my honor and the honor of my master's family." Akio coldly declared. "BATTLE! Legendary Six Samurai Kizan, attack Unagi directly!"

"Reach the next checkpoint!" Kuma ordered, moving aside to give Unagi some room as Kizan began sprinting forward, Katana drawn and at the ready.

"Got it!" Unagi replied, pressing down on the accelerator and zooming through the checkpoint just as Kizan came within three feet of her.

"Turbo Field effect!" Unagi declared as her Life Points rose to 5000 and her Speed Counters rose to five. "I remove two Speed Counters to negate your attack!"

Swinging his sword down, Kizan barely missed Unagi's head as a sudden speed burst enabled Unagi to evade the attack before her bike rapidly began slowing down as her Speed Counters dropped.

"Grandmaster of the Six Samurai Attack!" Akio ordered.

Letting out a wild war cry, Grandmaster leaped forward, raising his sword into the air and preparing to bring it down on Unagi's head when Unagi suddenly managed to evade the second attack with a sudden burst of speed.

"You're not taking me out!" Unagi bellowed as indicators showed her Speed Counters drop to one. "I activate Speed World Acceleration's effect again!"

"But now you don't have enough Speed Counters." Akio growled, extending his hand towards Enishi. "Legendary Six Samurai Enishi, direct attack!"

Slamming down on her accelerator, Unagi attempted to speed forward, but her bike had slowed down too much. Closing the distance with her, Enishi brought his sword down on Unagi, lowering her Life Points to 2800.

"AND NOW TO FINISH YOU!" Akio bellowed, "LEGENDARY SIX SAMURAI – SHI EN, ATTACK HER LIFE POINTS DIRECTLY! BLUE FLAME KATANA!"

Sword igniting with blue flames, Shi En charged forward so fast, it looked like he was flying through the air. With a quick swipe of his sword, he lowered Unagi's Life Points to 0, causing the girl to spin out and come to a stop as she lost the duel.

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?" Benji exclaimed as they sped away from Unagi, "YOU'LL PAY FOR THAT YOU OLD FART!"

"Then here's your chance." Akio coldly replied, "GREAT SHOGUN SHIEN, ATTACK SCARRED WARRIOR! BLUE FLAME WHIRLWIND!"

Raising his sword into the air, Great Shogun Shien caused a massive whirlwind of blue flame to launch from the end of his sword blade before launching himself forward with the force of a tornado and bringing his burning blade down on Scarred Warrior, who deflected the blade with his bandaged arm.

"YOU'RE NOT TAKING MY MONSTER OUT!" Benji roared back, fury evident on his features. "I REMOVE ALL OF MY SPEED COUNTERS IN ORDER TO INCREASE MY MONSTERS ATTACK POWER BY TWO-THOUSAND! COUNTERATTACK NOW! VETERAN BLADE!"

Roaring with fury, Scarred Warrior kicked Enishi back with a kick of his robotic foot before charging forward with his blade extended, ready to strike back at Great Shogun Shien as its ATK rose to 4100.

Akio, however, while maintaining a fierce expression on his face, looked completely calm and in control of the situation.

"I remove two of my own Speed Counters!" Akio declared, "In order to increase my Shien's attack power to forty-five hundred! Overwhelm Scarred Warrior!"

Deflecting Scarred Warrior's blade with his burning katana, Shien twirled through the air, hitting Scarred Warrior in the face with two of his own kicks, before slashing at Scarred Warrior, who managed to block Shien's attack with his arm as Benji's Life Points dropped to 3600.

"Scarred Warrior can't be destroyed once per turn." Benji growled. "Just you wait, once my next turn comes, I'm tearing you apart! Nobody gets to do that to Unagi!"

"You don't get to say what you did to Miss Tami and get away with it." Akio countered, looking back at Gin. "Nevertheless, since I can't continue, I'll let her defend her own honor. Turn end!" he declared as his Speed Counters rose to two, Benji's rose to two, Gin's rose to four, and Kuma's rose to five.

Gin was amazed by Akio's power. In all her years knowing him, she had never seen him fight with this level of skill. His presence definitely made her feel better about her odds, but the question was, could she really help out?

She looked over at Benji, who almost literally stared daggers at her with his tattooed eyes, rage evident upon his features. Kuma was looking even more enraged, and behind him, his massive monster loomed over the field with the strongest attack power. Gin had certainly faced some challenges when she dueled Akio, but she had never gone against two people at once, and her opponent's had never been bent on actually harming her. What was she supposed to do in this situation?

"Gin." Akio's gentle voice called, noticing her hesitation.

Ashamed by her weakness, Gin looked up at Akio, preparing to apologize when she noticed Akio's expression. He was not looking at her with either pity or frustration, but instead seemed to be regarding her as if expecting her to rise up to the occasion and meet his expectations, like a master teaching his apprentice.

"You do not need to fear their posturing." Akio declared. "You are stronger than all of them! Now show them the power I know you possess! Do it for your friends, family, and everyone else who is counting on you!"

Gin stared back at Akio, letting his words sink in as she continued navigating the field with her bike. She thought of the faces of her friends, Erika and Lilly. Erika was in danger and needed her help, and Lilly needed to be found before she walked into a trap. They would risk their lives for her if she was ever in trouble, regardless of either the fact that she was a Top or the level of danger they faced. She thought of her father, unjustly taken by Security for the sake of an unjust law. She had counted on people like Security to protect them, but now they had become the enemy. She couldn't count on them to save them, so it was up to her.

Taking a deep breath, Gin placed her hand on top of her deck.

"Watashi no turn… DRAAAAAAAW!" she declared, yanking a card from the top of her deck.

"Wait for me, Dad, Erika, and Lilly." Gin whispered, "I'm coming for you!"

There were a lot of people gathered around the beach. Under normal circumstances, the trash-filled dump of sand wasn't the most savory resort, even for Commons, but today, thanks to the Friendship Cup, Commons from all across the neighborhood had gathered along the beach edge to catch the action on the run-down holographic projectors. It was sunny, there were big crowds, and they were all looking extremely anxious as they waited for the next duel, Shun vs. Crow, to begin.

Perfect conditions for a show of her own.

Wandering behind the crowds while clearing away a few pieces of trash, a small girl with straight purple hair down to her neck, a pair of bright sea-green eyes, a pink-and-white baseball cap on her head, a white T-shirt bearing an image of the now tragically deceased model, Misty Lola, a blue jean vest over the T-shirt, a pair of short jeans, and a pair of short beige boots with black bottoms, set down a small sand pail with a few coins and wadded up bits of paper currency in the bottom before activating her Duel Disk, a much older version that didn't project a solid vision duel field but which had been modified to incorporate the technology into its system so it could project solid monsters, and clearing her throat.

Neya had been wandering the neighborhood all morning, scoping for just the right opportunity to begin her entertainment routine. It wasn't really renowned, though she dreamed it would be one day, but between the income she got from her performances and what her older brother did, it did put food on the table. All she had to do now was reel the crowds in.

"ATTENTION PLEASE!" Neya called, earning a few startled looks from some members of the crowd. Most, however, kept their eyes glued to the screen, ignoring her. That was okay though, she'd soon have their attention. She just needed to push through, keep up the showman image, and above all, not let her embarrassment show.

"MY FELLOW COMMONS!" Neya continued, tipping her hat towards the crowds. "WE HAVE BEEN WELL ENTERTAINED BY THE FRIENDSHIP CUP… baring those weird audio difficulties and the Tops' obvious attempts to rig the games against the Common participants."

This earned her some laughs from the gathering Commons. One of them even threw a coin in the direction of her bucket, shouting "FORGET THE TOPS!" at the top of his lungs.

"BUT WE NEED MORE!" Neya went on, casually scooping up the coin and dropping it into her bucket before winking in the direction of the Common. "LIFE'S TOO SHORT AND MISERABLE TO WAIT FOR MELISSA CLAIR TO GET HER HEAD OUT OF HER COWBOY BOOTS AND GET ON WITH THE FREAKING FRIENDSHIP CUP. WE NEED ENTERTAINMENT NOW!"

There was a roar of assent from the gathering crowds. Slowly but surely, Commons were turning their heads away from the screen, which was showing nothing but re-runs and some boring reports about the stock market, and over to the direction of the short fifteen-year-old girl who was addressing them like a travelling magician.

It was time now. Show them the cards, and get the children's attention. If she could get the children's attention, she could get the parents to stay and pay, even if they didn't really want to.

"AND SO, FELLOW COMMONS, WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, HERE TO ENTERTAIN US WHILE WE SLOG THROUGH THE COMMENTARY ON THE FRIENDSHIP CUP, I GIVE YOU, THE LIVELY, THE LOVELY, THE PLAYFUL, THE ONE AND ONLY… AQUAPERFORMER FLIP DOLPHIN!"

Slamming down a card onto the metallic V-shaped duel field of her Duel Disk, Neya spread out her arms dramatically into the air as behind her, a cute baby dolphin suddenly jumped up from the sea, front flipping through the air before swimming above the heads of the crowds as if the air was liquid water. The monster had a smooth blue body, bright shiny black eyes, and a cute yellow star on both its forehead and underbelly. Squealing with laughter, the dolphin swam down to a group of Common children who began running up to the dolphin and petting it like was a puppy. One of them, a small boy with messy brown hair, even climbed onto the little dolphin's back and began riding it like a cowboy. Obliging the little boy, the dolphin rose into the air, causing the boy to momentarily panic and grab the holographic creature's neck, before squealing with delight once the Dolphin began zooming around the beach in little circles. The gathering children started going crazy, tugging on their parents' legs, pushing each other out of the way, and generally begging to pet and ride Neya's monster.

Neya smiled at the success she was getting. Some parents, growing weary of their children's whining, were already promising to talk to the girl to see if they could pay for just one ride.

"Perfect!" Neya thought to herself, "Absolutely perfect! Now all I have to do is make sure I don't get too many kids upset waiting around for Flip Dolphin."

"FLIP DOLPHIN HAS MORE FRIENDS, EVERYONE!" Neya enthusiastically called. "SO EVERYBODY GIVE A BIG ROUND OF APPLAUSE FOR THE AQUAPERFORMER MASCOT! Since I control an Aquaperformer monster, I Special Summon the Level two Tuner monster, Aquaperformer Seal Pup!"

Bursting free from the water, a small fuzzy white baby seal began swimming through the air, barking happily at the gathering crowd. The seal had a small blue bow on its head and a small golden star on its left cheek. Turning their attention from the blue dolphin, the eyes of the children bugged out of the heads when they saw Neya's new monster.

"IT'S SO FUZZY!" A little girl with pink hair squealed, before stampeding towards the baby seal along with a roaring crowd of equally young children. Eyes bugging out of its own head, the baby seal looked a little nervous as the mobs of children began tackling it and squeezing it like a stuffed animal. As the children diverted their attention to the new monster, Flip Dolphin glared at Seal Pup with what looked like a resentful expression on its face.

"Alright kids." Neya continued, smiling as they thronged the little baby seal. "Flip Dolphin and Seal Pup are both very happy you're enjoying the show so far, but the real act begins when they work together!"

"WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THEY WORK TOGETHER!?" One little boy squealed, excitement building.

"YOU WANNA SEE WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THEY WORK TOGETHER!?" Neya asked as they began thronging her, one boy and one girl still fighting over who got to hold the baby seal, much to Seal Pup's discomfort.

"SHOW US! SHOW US!" The little kids chanted.

"Okay then!" Neya enthusiastically cheered, "But first… uhm… if you could let go of Seal Pup for a second… we don't want to break her."

Begrudgingly, the two kids let go of the baby seal, who gratefully swam up to Neya before receiving a gentle pat on the head from its master.

"It's time for the real show to begin!" Neya called, blowing a whistle that was hanging around her neck. Immediately, the dolphin and the baby seal began swimming through the air, intertwining with each other as they swam while leaving behind a trail of sparkles from their tails until the sky was decorated with patterns of interwoven light.

"I tune my Level two Aquaperformer Seal Pup with my Level four Aquaperformer Flip Dolphin in order to Synchro Summon!" Neya declared as Seal Pup morphed into a pair of green rings that encompassed Flip Dolphin in their light. As the children and adults looked on in awe, Neya began her summoning chant:

"Nobility of the ocean, grab the starlight reflecting off the water and spread to it all! Synchro Shokan! Wow them, Aquaperformer Star Sea Lion!"

Exploding in a blast of sparkling water, Neya's Synchro Monster twirled onto the field, trailing water droplets and sparkling stars wherever it went. As might have been expected, Neya's monster was a large Sea Lion with a sleek body and majestic flippers. Its body, however, was painted with multi-colored stars and polka-dots like a circus animal, it had a golden star painted over its right eye, a large clown collar over its neck, and trailed large leafy fins over its back and fins like a sea-dragon. Slapping its fins together, it flopped its colossal body next to the children, allowing them to rush forward and rub its fat belly while climbing onto its back, some of them jumping on it like a trampoline. Star Sea Lion, however, didn't seem to mind one bit. Regarding the children with half-lidded eyes, it nuzzled a couple kids with the fluffy moustache on its snout, causing some kids to squeal in delight and others to squeal in fright upon being touched by its nose. Neya, meanwhile, was receiving a descent shower of coins from some grateful parents who were thanking her for the performance.

"Thank you, thank you!" Said Neya, bowing to the crowd. "You've all been a great audience! I'm here all week. If any of you have a specific request for a trick my Aquaperformer's should perform, just drop a tip in the bucket here and we'll be glad to entertain you!"

Suddenly, a crumpled bill with the number "20" on the face and a roll of coins plunked into her bucket.

"I've got a request." A small girl with short bobbed navy hair, sky-blue eyes, a gold, tear-drop shaped criminal mark over her left cheek, a white choker with a silver cross-charm, a blue T-shirt with a green water drop on the front, a pair of black boot-cut jeans, and a pair of white tennis shoes over her feet said with a sigh. Her tone of voice made it sound more like a challenge than an actual request. She was staring down at Neya, a somewhat morose expression on her stony face.

"Oh… uhm… well what do you know!?" Neya exclaimed, recovering from her momentary shock. It wasn't so much that she was uncomfortable performing tricks in front of the crowd, it was just the girl's appearance was so sudden that she had to take a moment to compose herself. "We already have a volunteer! And what would you, young lady, like to see my Aquaperformer's do!?"

"Call me young lady and your dead..." the girl sighed, rolling her eyes, "…and I think…" she continued, whipping out a navy-colored Duel Disk, which projected a sky-blue duel field, "…that I'd like to see your duel monsters actually duel against an opponent."

There were some cheers from the crowd who had already exhausted themselves waiting for the next duel of the day. Neya, however, felt uncomfortable with this. Sure, she had dueled plenty of times against her older brother, and she had usually won, but she wasn't too sure if an actual duel fit the cute performance of her Aquaperformers. She was used to having her monsters swim around and do tricks for people, not fight other monsters. If one of her Aquaperformers was destroyed fighting in a duel… it might provoke an altogether different response from the children, which would end up hurting her business more than help it.

"Uhm… that's a very… interesting request…" Neya stammered, trying to think of a way out of the duel without offending anyone, "…I uhm… am sure we could do that another time… but uhm… let's see if some of the younger children want something first… we wouldn't want to… exhaust our Aquaperformers in a long duel."

"Don't worry Onee-Chan." A little boy called out to Neya, reassuringly. "Big Seal can handle it…" he continued, slapping Star Sea Lion on its fat belly before smiling at Neya, "… Big Seal can do anything!"

"Thanks you little tike." Neya angrily thought to herself. "Now I HAVE to duel her, and I'd sure as heck better make sure I DO NOT lose Star Sea Lion!"

The little girl shrugged her shoulders. "If you're not going to duel, I can just leave. I'm just looking for something to distract me." The girl sighed, walking over to pick up her money while Neya looked on, trying to decide if the money she had deposited was worth it.

The children, however didn't look happy.

"She just needs some encouragement." A little girl chirped. "Everybody, tell her she can do it! DO IT! DO IT! DO IT!" She chanted before being joined by the other kids, who began thronging Neya, begging her to duel the other girl.

"Oh… uhm… alright then…" Neya agreed, plastering a fake smile on her face in an effort to maintain her act, "…I guess it's a duel then! Yay!" she cheered, feeling more apprehensive than excited. Walking over to a nearby pile of sand in order to face the girl, who had walked up to a different sandy hill, Neya shuffled her Aquaperformer monsters into the deck before bowing to the audience and proceeding to hold her Duel Disk in front of her opponent.

"So… what's your name, volunteer?" Neya began, trying to maintain a friendly feel to the duel.

"What's it to you?" The girl replied, sounding unnecessarily hostile.

"Oh… I… uh…" Neya stammered, trying to keep her composure. She had dealt with some troublesome members of her audiences before, but this one was doing a really good job of getting her uncomfortable.

The girl stared back at Neya, seemingly aware of Neya's discomfort.

"I'm just bustin' your chops." the girl sighed, letting a smile that looked more like a grimace creep onto her face. "It's Lilly, Lilly Hoshi." She explained, folding her arms over her chest. "And what's your name?"

"Neya." Neya replied, not sure what she was supposed to think about her opponent. She was acting rather odd. And then of course, there was the matter of her criminal mark. Neya had, of course, seen plenty of people with criminal marks in her time, but this girl looked like she had only just barely become a teenager. What had she done in such a short time, or had she even deserved the mark? Either way, Neya would have to be careful in this duel.

"Well… nice to meet you, Neya." Lilly replied with a shrug. "Now then, let's get to the duel. Like I said before, I've been needing something to distract me."

"Distract… you?" Neya asked, a quizzical expression coming over her face.

Lilly suddenly looked embarrassed.

"Never mind!" she snapped, "Just… do your turn first or… whatever."

"Okay…" Neya replied, drawing the top five cards from her deck while silently adding, "…you weirdo."

Looking through the cards in her hand, she thought about how to open her turn before glancing up at the gathering crowd of Commons who were eagerly awaiting her first turn.

"Okay…" she thought, "…I've still got to make this entertaining, but I've also got to play it safe and make sure my monsters don't get hurt so the children don't get upset. If I can drop her Life Points to zero without making this into a bloody gladiator match then everyone goes home happy. And so…" she thought, pulling a card from her hand, "…let's start with a little scenery change, just to set the mood."

"From my hand…" Neya declared, "…I activate the Field Spell Card, Aquaperformer Oceanarium! With this card, I set the stage for our spectacular performance!"

Above the heads of the two duelists, a massive tidal wave rose up. Some of the Commons began hastily backing away as the massive holographic wave crashed into the Duel Field, sweeping aside the trash and replacing much of the beach with a pool of sparkly water and the two duelists standing on top of their own islands. Breaking through the surface of the water, dolphins, seals, whales, and other aquatic mammals began flipping through the air, scattering sparkling water wherever they went and eliciting a roar of applause from the audience. Bowing to the audience, Neya let out a dazzling smile while thanking the crowd for their continued support.

"Thank you, thank you!" she exclaimed, spreading her arms out wide as a pair of dolphins jumped over her island, scattering droplets of water above her head. "And now, following the appearance of this absolutely spectacular, stupendous, and…"

"…and really wet arena." Lilly muttered, ringing some holographic water from her hair.

"…and really FABULOUS arena!" Neya snapped, almost losing her temper at Lilly's suffocating depression before regaining her composure and resuming her role as an entertainer, "…we now have a mystery for all of you watching! From my hand, I set a very secret monster face-down in defense position."

"But what is it!?" one of the kids asked, jumping around and trying to see what was under the face-down card, which materialized in front of Neya.

"That's a secret for later!" Neya called back, winking at the kid, who folded his arms in frustration. "For now, I'll activate an effect of my Oceanarium. Once per turn, I get to send one Aquaperformer Equip Spell Card from my deck to the graveyard. Using its effect, I send the Equip Spell Card, Aquaperformer Dodge, to my graveyard."

Above Neya's head, a Spell Card with an image of a platypus dodging a harpoon appeared before sinking into the depths of the pool.

"And with that I end my turn." Neya smiled, before extending her hand towards her opponent. "And now, Lilly Hoshi, it's your turn to wow the audience!"

"I draw and send the monster, Aqua Avatar – Photic Zone Drifter from my hand to the graveyard in order to add two WATER or LIGHT Plant-Type monsters from my deck to my hand." Lilly abruptly began, yanking a card from the top of her deck before nonchalantly depositing a card into her graveyard. In a swirl of water, a small feminine creature that seemed to have a body composed of liquid water, and which wore a covering of thick seaweed with glowing orbs of light and a laurel of white water lilies in her liquid hair, appeared above Lilly's head before the monster let out a watery giggle and descended into the sea as Lilly plucked two cards from her deck and added them to her hand.

"Using its effect…" Lilly continued, "I add the monsters, Aqua Avatar – Benthic Drifter and Aqua Avatar – Water Lily to my hand." She looked through her hand, looking bored… or calm… or depressed… it was hard for Neya to tell which, before plucking one card from her hand and slapping it face-down on the field.

"I set one monster face-down and end my turn." Lilly finished, almost yawning.

Neya's eye twitched.

"Tha-that's it?" she asked.

"That's it." Lilly nodded, folding her arms. "It's pretty much exactly what you did."

"You're not going to even attack?" Neya gawked.

"Why would I attack?" Lilly asked, arching one of her eyebrows, "Especially when you basically just told me I should attack you."

Neya gritted her teeth. Wanting to protect her monsters was one thing, but she didn't want the duel to become boring! She'd already set up a defense for her monster, so attacking it wouldn't have been an issue. Of course, then again, maybe she had been so obvious about it that Lilly wasn't willing to take the risk. Unfortunately, the Commons didn't look too impressed.

"SHOW SOME ACTION ALREADY!" One of them called.

"WHERE'S BIG SEAL!" Another little boy cried.

"Oh dear…" Neya thought to herself, "…I'd better find a way to remedy this… and fast!"

"Boku no turn… Draw!" Neya declared, ripping a card from the top of her deck. Extending her hand towards her face-down monster, she continued her turn.

"It's time to reveal the surprise I told you all about. I will now reveal my set monster!"

"About time!" an angry Common man in his early twenties yelled.

Doing her best to ignore the Common, she continued with her turn.

"I begin by flip-summoning the marvelous, stupendous…" she threw back her head melodramatically as if she were an actress, "…dramatic, Aquaperformer Drama Platypus!"

As the holographic projection of her card flipped face-up, a furry brown platypus wearing purple renaissance robes and a hat flipped out of the water before splashing into the depths and swimming around with great acrobatic skill despite its heavy clothing. Jumping out of the water, it posed next to Neya, throwing back its billed face in a dramatic sigh, before a holographic indicator appeared and showed an ATK of 1500.

"Drama Platypus's effect now activates!" Neya declared. "If it is Normal Summoned, Special Summoned, or flipped face-up successfully, I am allowed to set one Aquaperformer Spell or Trap Card directly from my deck, and the card I choose to set is the Equip Spell Card, Aquaperformer Rush, which I think I'll activate now and equip to Drama Platypus!"

Setting a card face-down onto her old Duel Disk, she quickly flipped the card face-up, revealing a picture of Aquaperformer Seal Pup charging forward through the water at incredibly high speeds, leaving a massive wake behind itself. Mimicking the picture, Drama Platypus dived into the water and began zooming around the field.

"Aquaperformer Rush increases the ATK of my monster by eight-hundred while it is equipped to my monster." Neya explained as the holographic indicator showed Platypus's ATK rise to 2300. "In addition, any time an Aquaperformer monster I control attacks, I can increase the attack of that monster by four-hundred until the end of the Damage Step."

"That's pretty good." Lilly calmly observed, not sounding too impressed. "Most likely you'll be able to defeat my face-down monster.

Neya gawked at her.

"Most likely!? Most like-… since when was there a monster you can just set that has more than twenty-seven hundred defense!?"

"I don't know." Lilly shrugged. "Maybe you should attack and find out."

Neya eyed Lilly suspiciously. She was obviously planning something. Or at least… she thought she was. Could she really just be resigned to defeat? Fortunately, whatever was going on with Lilly, Neya's own strategy involved a lot more than just powering up her one monster. It was time to set up for her real play.

"I will continue with my move by setting another monster face down." Neya continued, slapping down another face-down.

"BOO!" One of the Commons, Neya was pretty sure it was the same obnoxious Common who had mocked her last turn, "NO MORE FACE-DOWNS!"

"That…" Neya thought to herself, gritting her teeth, "…is not going to be too easy given the way my deck works… but I think I can oblige him with something else."

"From my hand…" Neya continued, "I Special Summon Aquaperformer Seal Pup!"

Much to the delight of the children, Neya's familiar baby seal flipped out of the water before swimming around the ocean, playfully waving at the audience as it did. Next to the monster, a holographic indicator appeared and showed a DEF of 800.

"FUZZY!" One of the little girls exclaimed when she saw her favorite monster appear.

"Oh come on!" the rude Common groaned. "It's only in defense position, I wanna see some blood already!"

Neya noticed Lilly lose her composure and become very angry.

"Clamp it you skel!" Lilly barked back at the man, angrily picking at the mark beneath her eye. "I wanna focus on this duel!"

"We'll you're not doing anything either!" he protested.

"You wanna go again?" Lilly threatened, cracking her knuckles.

The man shut up at that and Lilly's expression once again became impassive.

"Sorry for the rudeness." Lilly apologized, popping some muscles in her neck before returning her face to its impassive expression. "I used to duel that guy before, before he became no fun after he lost for the umpteenth time. Please continue your move…" she instructed, scratching at her criminal mark is if it was irritating her, "…this is actually looking like it might be interesting."

"Uhm… right." Neya replied before remembering what her next move was. Still, she was feeling distracted. There was something about Lilly, but she couldn't figure out what it was. She was younger than herself, and she acted like nothing more than a typical depressed Goth, and yet, she had shut up somebody much older than either of them, as if she was feared or respected by him.

"Another time…" Neya whispered to herself, "…I've got more important things to worry about now." Recomposing herself, she extended her hand out towards the ocean.

"I next activate the effect of my Oceanarium!" she declared. "Using its effect, I send the Equip Spell Card, Aquaperformer Hoop Jump from my deck to the graveyard!"

Above Neya's field, a Spell Card with an image of a beaver jumping through a flaming hoop appeared before slowly sinking into the water.

"BATTLE!" Neya declared, extending her hand towards her Platypus as her confidence slowly returned. Now that the rude Common had been taken care of, she felt like she might actually enjoy the duel. It was starting to feel more and more like the duels she'd do against her brother and the children actually looked like they were quite entertained. It was probably time to do like her platypus and up the drama a bit.

"It's time to see what the face-down is folks!" Neya proclaimed, extending her hands into the air. "Our brave Platypus is ready to rush forward and face the hidden danger, but will he make it!?"

"PLEASE DON'T DIE, MR. PLADIPIS!" A little girl wept, clearly VERY worried about the safety of Neya's monsters.

"Don't worry, little girl." Neya thought to herself. "I'm not gonna let anything happen to my monsters. There's no way that face-down could actually be a threat… or at least I hope it isn't. And besides… I do have a back-up plan."

"Aquaperformer Drama Platypus…" Neya ordered, "…attack that face-down card!

Saluting its master, Drama Platypus charged forward, drawing a prop sword from a scabbard on its side as its ATK rose to 2700 due to the effect of the Equip Spell Card. Slicing through the center of the card, the Platypus seemed to recoil slightly as a petit girl made entirely from water, with long flowing blue hair, golden eyes with orange bands, and a large lily-pad in her hair with a white water lily growing out of the top appeared in front of it, taking the sword in its watery chest. Rather than seeming bothered by the impalement, the monster giggled mischievously at the platypus before exploding into a shower of glowing water droplets, leaving behind the water lily and lily pad behind.

"The monster you just destroyed is Aqua Avatar – Water Lily." Lilly explained, face remaining bland and impassive. "When it's destroyed, I can add it back from my graveyard to my hand and Special Summon one Aqua Avatar or Thunder Avatar from my deck or my hand. So come to my field, Aqua Avatar – Algae Lily."

Poking her liquid head out of the water, just beneath where the lily pad lay, a tiny water sprite with foamy white hair, green eyes with red polka dots, and green algae covering her extremities like a bikini, slowly and nervously rose out of the water, wearing the lily pad over its head before Water Lily reformed behind the monster, snatched her beret from the diminutive monster, placed it on her own watery head, and leaped up into the air, transforming back into a card, which Lilly caught in her hand. As a holographic indicator appeared and displayed a Level of three and a DEF of 200, Lilly extended her hand towards her new monster.

"If Algae Lily is summoned, I can Special Summon one Aqua Avatar Monster from my hand. So come forth in defense position, Aqua Avatar – Seaweed Lily." Lilly continued, barely even looking at the cards she gently placed on her duel field.

Algae Lily began swaying back and forth, closing her colorful eyes while singing a gentle song. Suddenly, right next to her, a small whirlpool appeared, and a new water sprite arose from the water, carefully braiding her liquid hair while wearing a vain expression on her face. Tying her hair back into a long ponytail, a large blue water lily decorated her hair while the rest of her body was wrapped in elegant seaweed, which wrapped around her arms, chest, legs, and waist like a swimsuit, the monster tossed back her head before opening four large eyes, two positioned where human eyes would be, and two above those eyes. Her four eyes were a deep aquamarine with vertical black stripes. Regarding Neya's monsters narrowly, the monster put a protective arm around the smaller Algae Lily while a holographic indicator appeared and showed a Level of three and a DEF of 1000.

Neya looked through the stats of each of the monsters. Both had a Level of three, but the smaller one, Algae Lilly, was a Tuner. If they survived next turn, Lilly would definitely use them for a Synchro Summon. Fortunately, Neya had a Synchro Summon of her own, and she could do it during the Battle-Phase. The only trick, was making sure she continued entertaining the audience while she did.

"The problem is…" Neya thought to herself, "…is that my duel partner isn't exactly being a bright ball of sunshine. Oh well..." she sighed to herself, "…I guess I'll just have to provide the entertainment."

"Everybody give a hand to Lilly here!" Neya proclaimed, trying to maintain her showmanship, "She's managed to survive a very powerful attack from our brave platypus…"

"I wouldn't call it powerful." Lilly sighed, folding her arms before picking at her arm.

"…but my Aquaperformers and I have more surprises in store for you." Neya ploughed through, gritting her teeth as she maintained her smile.

Neya looked over at Lilly, there was something that was clearly upsetting her. She had said this duel was all about distracting her and even if her moves were descent, she had barely seemed to be paying attention to the duel. Instead, she was constantly picking at her arms, scratching her shoulders, fingering the mark on her cheek, and looking off into the distance as if she were thinking about something else. Neya didn't want to pry, but she didn't like it when a member of her audience was depressed like this.

"Uhm… if you don't mind me asking…" Neya whispered, trying not to raise her voice so that the other members of the audience wouldn't listen, "… but uhm… is something…" how can one be tactful about these things? Should she just drop it and ignore it? But the showgirl in her wouldn't let it drop. Something was upsetting the girl, and as an entertainer, she almost felt like it was her job to cheer up her audience, however depressed they may be. Swallowing a little, she continued.

"…is something bothering you?" she finished, almost coughing.

Lilly looked at her, face darkening.

"Uhm… forget about it…" Neya hastily apologized, looking back at her field, "…I'll just uh…"

"What business is it of yours?" Lilly asked, folding her arms.

"It… it's not…" Neya hastily replied, "…it… it's just you looked sad and… uhm… well… I kind of like to make people happy." She started picking at her own arm, realizing that there really was something therapeutic about the action.

Lilly looked back at Neya before glancing over at the children who were staring at the duel with happy and excited expressions on their faces. Pursing her lips, she looked back at Neya.

"Don't mind me…" Lilly sighed, staring down at the water. "…I've got some… personal issues to deal with… I'm not usually like this… but today… with my sister…" She stopped herself before looking up at Neya, and shrugged, "… tell you what…" she sighed, "…I'll start playing seriously from now on and help you… entertain these people. If you beat me, I'll tell you what's going on… not that you ever will beat me." She added, narrowing her eyes at her opponent.

Neya felt a smile creep over her face.

"Okay Lilly…" she agreed with a nod of her head, "…challenge accepted. You still haven't seen me go all out either."

Lilly let a small smile of her own creep onto her face. "Hmmm…" she shrugged, "…I'd like to see that."

"Then get ready to be amazed!" Neya proclaimed, adjusting her baseball cap over her head as she relaxed back into her entertainer role. "From my graveyard, I activate the effect of my Aquaperformer Hoop Jump which I sent to the graveyard!"

"Awww…" said Lilly, nodding her head in understanding, "…so that's why you were using the effect of that Field Magic."

"Exactly…" Neya agreed. "…all of my Equip Spell Cards have a second effect that can be activated in the graveyard if they are properly sent there. My Aquaperformer Hoop Jump can activate during either player's turn in order to Synchro Summon one Aquaperformer monster from my Extra Deck using monsters I control!"

"That would include during the Battle-Phase." Lilly realized, eyes widening. "You really are pretty good."

"Hopefully we can duel some other time…" Neya smiled, "…I'd love to see how you do when you're actually trying."

Lilly eyed Neya, a smirk playing on her lips. "Oh… you think I'm going easy on you?"

"We'll see soon." Neya replied, extending her hands towards her monsters, "Using my Aquaperformer Hoop Jump, I tune my Level two Aquaperformer Seal Pup with my Level four Aquaperformer Drama Platypus in order to Synchro Summon-…"

"BIG SEAL!" one of the little kids squealed.

"Yes!" Neya agreed, "BIG SEAL… even though that's not really his name, but…" she added under her breath as her Seal Pup morphed into a pair of green rings before encompassing Drama Platypus in its light and beginning the Synchro Summoning process while Neya began her familiar summoning chant:

"Nobility of the ocean, grab the starlight reflecting off the water and spread to it all! Synchro Summon! Wow them, all of them…" she added, smiling at Lilly, "…Aquaperformer Star Sea Lion!"

"BIG SEAL!" the other kids cheered as Neya's Synchro Monster burst out of the water, corkscrewing through the air before happily slapping its flippers at the crowd and letting out little barks of delight as a holographic indicator appeared and showed an ATK of 2400. Even Lilly cracked a small genuine smile after seeing the entertainment of the crowd. Smiling at the happiness of her audience, Neya continued her move.

"Since my Equip Spell Card, Aquaperformer Rush, was destroyed by an in-game mechanic with the loss of its target, my Aquaperformer Oceanarium activates its second effect! I get to Special Summon one Level four or lower Aquaperformer monster from my deck or graveyard in face-down defense position! With this effect, I choose to Special Summon Aquaperformer Flying Porpoise from my deck in face-down defense position!"

Lilly narrowed her eyes as a new face-down card appeared to Neya's field. She no longer looked bored and unfocused on the duel. Instead, she was beginning to pay attention and give Neya her full focus as the entertainer continued her plays.

"I next equip Aquaperformer Star Sea Lion with the Equip Spell Card, Aquaperformer Flip! With this card, once per turn, I can either flip summon one "Aquaperformer" monster I control or set one Aquaperformer monster I control face-down. So with this effect, I flip summon my face-down, Aquaperformer Flip Dolphin!"

Swimming up to the face-down card, Star Sea lion let out a low bellow and slapped his fins in the direction of the face-down card, until Flip Dolphin burst out from underneath the water, chattering with delight as it flipped through the air and acrobatically swam around the Oceanarium.

"When Flip Dolphin is Flip Summoned, I can activate her flip effect!" Neya declared, "I get to draw two cards!"

Yanking the two cards from the top of her deck, she continued her turn.

"The stage is now set for the ultimate trick!" Neya declared with delight, "I first begin by equipping my Star Sea Lion with two more Equip Spell Cards, Aquaperformer Pass and Aquaperformer Corkscrew!"

As Neya slapped her two new Equip Cards onto her Duel Disk, Star Sea Lion began going wild, flipping, barrel rolling, diving, and corkscrewing through the air and water as the audience cheered with delight.

"We are almost at the climax!" Neya declared, "My Star Sea Lion… or Big Seal if you prefer… has a Special Ability! Now on my opponent's field are two defensive monsters, making it almost impossible to get to her Life Points!"

Lilly inclined her head in agreement, tapping her finger against her arm as she waited for Neya to continue with her turn.

"However…" Neya smiled, "…Star Sea Lion-…"

"BIG SEAL!" One of the kids insisted.

"BIG SEAL…" Neya hastily corrected, "…has a trick of his own! For starters, he gains two-hundred attack for every differently named Aquaperformer Equip Spell Card I control and in my graveyard! With Aquaperformer Flip, Pass, and Corkscrew under my control, and Hoop Jump, Rush, and Dodge in my graveyard, that's twelve-hundred extra attack!"

Barking with delight, Star Sea Lion began slapping his fins together as his ATK rose from 2400 to 3600.

"And there's more!" Neya declared, "While my Star… I mean… BIG SEAL, is equipped with three or more Equip Spell Cards, it can attack my opponent's Life Points directly!"

Lilly arched her eyebrows in surprise.

"A direct attack with thirty-six-hundred attack." Lilly whistled, "That's almost enough to destroy me… except…" her eyes widened as she suddenly realized something. "…but you can activate the effects of your Equip Spell Cards in the graveyard! If you activate Aquaperformer Rush from your graveyard when your monster attacks… you'll beat me."

Neya smiled back at Lilly.

"That would be convenient…" she admitted, "…but fortunately for you… my monster does have a restriction. Any Battle Damage it inflicts is halved, so it won't be able to beat you with just one attack."

Some of the children sighed, upset that their hero, Big Seal, wouldn't be able to win yet.

"However…" Neya winked, "…that's where the Equip Spell Cards come into play. With the effect of Aquaperformer Corkscrew, if the equipped monster attacks, my opponent cannot activate any cards or effects until the end of the Damage Step. Also, each time an Aquaperformer monster I control attacks, I can destroy one card on the field at the end of the Damage Step. Furthermore, with Aquaperformer Pass equipped to my monster, up to thrice per turn, if my monster attacks, I can, immediately after it attacks, reduce its attack by one-thousand in order to attack again with the monster!"

"Huh… so you really can beat me this turn." Lilly observed, smiling with approval.

"Like I said…" Neya smirked, "…hopefully we'll be able to duel again some time."

Lilly smirked back at her.

"I'd like to duel again… but I still don't think I want to share my secret with you." Lilly replied, plucking a card from her hand.

"You don't have to share anything." Neya replied, reassuringly. "I never really meant to pry."

"Well… that's nice of you…" Lilly acknowledged, "…but… I still don't think I want to lose.

She threw down the card in her hand.

"I activate the effect of the Aqua Avatar – Benthic Drifter, which I added to my hand." Lilly declared, extending her hand towards Neya's monster. In front of her, a larger water sprite composed of darker water rose to the field. Her eyes were black with white pupils giving them the appearance of spotlights, she had a black water lily in her long floating watery hair, and she was wrapped in long tendrils of sea plants which gave off a fluorescent white glow from sacs in the leaves. "Before you can enter your Battle-Phase, I discard this card from my hand and tribute my Algae Lilly in order to change the attack and defense of all monsters you control to zero."

"What!?" Neya exclaimed as the Benthic Drifter shot out several tendrils of sea plants, which wrapped themselves around Star Sea Lion like ropes before reducing his ATK to 0.

"BIG SEAL!" the kids cried, sounding upset.

Lilly inclined her head in the children's direction. "Did I overdo it?" she asked, sounding somewhat concerned.

Neya shook her head reassuringly.

"It's alright everyone!" she proclaimed, calming down the groups of children. "Big Seal may have met an obstacle, but that won't stop him from trying!"

"Good to know." Lilly smirked. "Since Algae Lilly was sent to my graveyard, Its effect allows me to draw one card." She explained, plucking a card from the top of her deck.

"But like I said before…" Neya countered, "…we're not giving up!"

As if in affirmation of her statement, Star Sea Lion chewed through the sea plants that were binding him before howling in triumph and resuming its swim around the duel field.

"Battle!" Neya declared, "Even if my Star Sea Lion's attack is at zero, I can still activate the effect of my Aquaperformer Rush! I attack your Life Points directly and increase my Star Sea Lion's attack to 400!"

Letting out a determined bark, Star Sea Lion rushed forward, twirling through the air before diving into the water and charging at Lilly at full speed. Lilly assumed a defensive marital art stance, burying her feet in the stand, ready to take Sea Lion's attack head-on. However, instead of ramming her as Lilly seemed to expect, the massive monster leaped above Lilly's position, scattering sparkles and water above her head, which rained down on her, reducing her Life Points to 3800.

"Corkscrew's effect activates!" Neya declared. "Since my Star Sea Lion attacked, I can destroy your Seaweed Lily! So go ahead and gobble her up!"

Most of the kids started laughing at the joke as Star Sea Lion started charging towards Lilly's monster. One little girl, however, looked upset.

"But miss Lily!" She cried as Star Sea Lion caught the small water sprite in its mouth, chewing up the seaweed as it did.

"She'll be back." Lilly reassured the kid with smile, who blinked back at her, not quite sure if she could believe her. "Aqua Avatar – Seaweed Lilly also has an effect." Lilly explained, "If she is destroyed, I can add one Plant-Type monster from my graveyard to my hand, and I choose to add Aqua Avatar – Benthic Drifter."

The girl began drying her eyes as the dark form of Lilly's Benthic Drifter rose from the water before returning to her hand.

"You're keeping hand advantage." Neya observed. "But it still won't be enough. Fortunately for you, since I can't reduce my monster's attack any more with Rush's boost ending at the end of the Damage Step, I'll have to call it good for now. Which means that my monster's attack goes back to normal.

Shaking off its wet flippers, Star Sea Lion grunted as its ATK returned to 3600.

For one of the first times in the duel, Lilly looked genuinely happy.

"Alright Neya… you've piqued my interest. Let's see how well your entertainment does against me on my turn. Atashi no turn! Draw!" she declared, yanking a card from the top of her deck with much more energy than she had previously shown. On the contrary, far from looking lackadaisical, Lilly was looking much more serious. She had assumed a solid martial arts stance and there seemed to be a fiery glow in her eyes now. Neya began to wonder if helping her had been the right choice. She might lose now!

"Remember what I said about my Seaweed Lily coming back?" Lilly began, throwing a card onto her Duel Disk, "Well I meant it. I'll start by Normal Summoning the Level three monster, Aqua Avatar – Kelp Lily."

Emerging from the water, a human-sized water sprite rose from the ocean. Her hair was tangled in long tendrils of healthy green kelp, which was held together with two large red water lilies, which acted like hairclips. Her six eyes were a deep sandy brown with white speckles over the surface of the eye. Over her shoulders, and trailing down her body, tangles of large leafy kelp served as a covering for her body.

"When she is Normal Summoned, her effect activates." Lilly declared, smiling at the crowds of children. "I get to summon two Aqua Avatar monsters from my graveyard with their effects negated, and if I do, I can change Kelp Lily to defense position. The cards I choose to summon are Aqua Avatar – Algae Lily and Aqua Avatar Seaweed Lily."

Extending out her hands, Kelp Lily launched twin trails of long stringy Kelp from her body, which sank into the water like fish lines. Pulling at the lines of kelp, she pulled the two water sprites up from the depths of the ocean, Seaweed Lily holding on to the left train of Kelp with one hand while Algae Lily sat on the right train of Kelp like it was swing-set. As all three water sprites assumed a defensive stance, holographic indicators appeared next to each monster showing a defense of 200 for Algae Lily, 1000 for Seaweed Lily, and 2300 for Kelp Lily.

Neya's eyes widened at the play, by summoning just one monster, she had already set herself up for a Synchro Summon. Fortunately, she was ready with a counter of her own.

"In response to the activation of that effect…" Neya declared, "…I activate the effect of my Aquaperformer Flip in order to Flip Summon my face-down Aquaperformer Flying Porpoise!"

Beneath the face-down card, a chubby blue porpoise wearing a fiery red crash helmet and a cape leaped from the water. Behind the monster, a large water cannon materialized, which the porpoise loaded itself into, wriggling about a bit to fit its fat body inside.

"When Flying Porpoise is Flip Summoned successfully, its effect activates!" Neya declared, "I get to Special Summon one "Aquaperformer Monster from my deck in face-down defense position, and the monster I choose is Aquaperformer Design Beaver! Let her rip Flying Porpoise!" She commanded.

In response, Flying Porpoise gave a little salute before adjusting its helmet over its head, a determined expression coming over its chubby face. With an explosive blast, the water cannon fired the porpoise into the sky like a cannonball, eliciting several "ooh's" from the crowd as they watched the porpoise fly through the air, before dropping a package into the water, which materialized into a face-down card upon hitting the waves.

"Your setting up for something next turn…" Lilly observed, "…but I don't think I'm giving you the chance to make it to your next turn. It's time for a Synchro Summon of my own. I tune my Level three Algae Lily with my Level three Seaweed Lily in order to Synchro Summon!"

Giggling with happiness, Algae Lily rose into the air, tiny red flowers blooming from the algae on her body, before the miniature water sprite morphed into three bluish-green rings of light, which encircled Seaweed Lily in their light as Lilly began her summoning chant:

"Majestic and beautiful embodiment of the sea's life, bloom and grow into royalty and become my power to wash away my enemies! SYNCHRO SHOKAN! Arawayo! Level six, Aqua Avatar – Reef Queen!"

From the depths of the water, a massive white, red, and blue water lily rose up before unfolding and revealing a tall and beautiful water sprite inside. Her eyes were heterochromatic with the right eye sporting blue sclera, a yellow iris, and a green pupil, and the left eye sporting brown sclera, a red iris, and a white pupil. Woven into her hair and wrapping around her body like clothing, choral, seaweed, anemones, kelp, seaweed, and other sea plants and animals adorned her figure while wriggling about and steadily blooming and growing. Next to the monster, a holographic indicator appeared and showed an ATK of 1000 and a DEF of 2000.

"Since Algae Lily was sent to the graveyard, its effect activates." Lilly declared, "I get to draw one card. In addition, I'll activate the second effect of my Algae Lilly. After drawing a card with its effect, I can reduce the attack of all monsters my opponent controls by one-hundred for each card in my hand. Since I have eight cards in my hand right now, your monsters lose eight-hundred attack."

Poking its head over the water, Algae Lilly momentarily appeared after Lilly drew her card, before the water sprite ducked under the water once again. From her previous position, a massive cloud of algae suddenly bloomed over the ocean, tiny red flowers sprouting from the top of the heap of algae before unleashing fumes of gases, which caused Neya's monsters to start going into a coughing fit as Star Sea Lion's ATK dropped to 2800, Flip Dolphin's dropped to 800, and Flying Porpoise's dropped to 200.

"Reef Queen's effect now activates." Lilly explained. "Each time the attack or defense of a monster changes, except by the effect of my Reef Queen, my Reef Queen gains five-hundred attack and defense."

Raising her liquid arms into the air, Reef Queen closed her eyes and began swaying back and forth, seemingly soaking in the sunlight as the water plants on her body began slowly growing and her ATK rose to 1500 while her DEF rose to 2500.

"It's only fifteen-hundred attack." Neya observed. "Still not that much."

"Plants grow." Lilly countered, "And your about to see just how much." Plucking a card from the massive fan of cards in her hand, she continued with her turn.

"I discard Aqua Avatar – Coralline Lily in order to activate its effect."

Above Lilly's head, a small water sprite with what looked like purple lumps growing in her hair with tiny blue flowers blooming at the top, and clumps of purple algae covering her extremities appeared before descending into the water. Immediately as she descended into the water, purple algae began blooming over the surface of the sea, unleashing their own fumes of blue gas.

"By discarding this card…" Lilly explained, "…I can return the attack of all monsters on the field to their original attack."

"What?" Neya exclaimed, watching as Star Sea Lion's ATK dropped to 2400, Flip Dolphin's ATK rose to 1600, Flying Porpoises' ATK rose to 1000, and Reef Queen's ATK dropped to 1000. "But what's the point of that?"

"That's just the first part of the effect." Lilly explained, "Afterwards, my Coralline Lily increases the attack of all LIGHT and WATER monsters I control by three-hundred for each monster whose attack changed with this effect while all monsters my opponent controls lose attack equal to the number of monsters whose attack changed with this effect. First however, Reef Queen's effect resolves since the ATK of all monsters changed once again."

Smiling widely, the flowers on Reef Queen's body began expanding in size as her ATK rose once again to 1500 and her DEF rose to 3000. After the effect resolved, the plants on her body began growing even larger as Coralline Lily's effect resolved, causing her ATK to rise to 2700, while Kelp Lily's ATK rose to 1200, Star Sea Lion's dropped to 1200, Dolphin's dropped to 400, and Flying Porpoise's dropped to 0.

"And with another attack change, comes another activation of Reef Queen's effect." Lilly declared as Reef Queen's effect caused her ATK to rise to 3200 and her DEF to rise to 3500.

"Oh boy…" Neya muttered, "…I think I know where this is going."

"And I still have seven cards in my hand if you can believe it." Lilly smirked before placing another card on her Duel Disk.

"Since I control a face-up WATER monster, I can Special Summon the Level three Aqua Avatar – Coral Lily from my hand before activating its effect, to Special Summon one Aqua Avatar Monster from my graveyard. With its effect, I will Special Summon the Level three Tuner monster, Aqua Avatar – Coralline Lily."

Materializing in front of Lilly, a teenage-aged water sprite stepped onto the water before tossing back her long mane of watery hair and coral plants. Her eyes were a bright pink with yellow pupils and the cluster of coral plants over her watery body gave her the appearance of wearing a prom dress with a bright yellow water lily over her left breast. Opening her right hand, she let loose what looked like a cloud of yellow pollen from the palm of her hand, which descended into the water before Coralline Lily emerged from the water and took up position next to her, holographic indicators displaying a DEF of 2000 for Coral Lily and a DEF of 500 for Coralline Lily.

"Ooh… pretty!" Some of the little girls exclaimed as Coral Lily smiled at them and posed like a beauty queen.

"Sadly, I'm afraid Coral Lily and Coralline Lily are gonna have to leave the stage pretty soon." Lilly continued, extending her hand towards her monsters. "I tune the Level three Aqua Avatar – Coralline Lily with the Level three Aqua Avatar – Coral Lily in order to Synchro Summon."

"Again!?" Neya exclaimed as Lilly closed her eyes and began her summoning chant:

"Regal serpentine ruler of the seas, call forth the watery strength of your dominion and shape a kingdom in your image! SYNCHRO SHOKAN! Arawayo! Level six! Aqua Dragon Ryu Jin!"

Bursting forth from the depths of the ocean, Lilly's new Synchro Monster appeared as a massive blue-and-white dragon with glittering rainbow-colored scales, fish fins over its back and neck, a thin snout like a barracuda, glowing green eyes, and a wreaths of brilliant pink coral over its head, the base of its neck, and back. Next to the monster, a holographic indicator appeared and showed an ATK of 1700.

"Ryu Jin's effect activates!" Lilly declared, face suggesting she was steadily growing more excited, "When it is Special Summoned, successfully, I can target one monster my opponent controls and change its ATK to 0, and I choose Aquaperformer Star Sea Lion. Go! Oceanic force!"

Unfolding a pair of fin-like wings, Aqua Dragon Ryu Jin began flapping them back and forth until it generated a hurricane from its wings, which sent a massive wave crashing into Star Sea Lion, which reduced its ATK to 0. With the attack change, Reef Queen's effect activated once again, causing her own ATK to rise to 3700 while her DEF rose to 4000.

"Now that that's done." Lilly continued, "I'll activate the second effect of Aqua Dragon Ryu Jin. Once per turn, I can equip one Level six or lower WATER Synchro monster from my extra deck to my dragon in order to enable my dragon to gain that monster's effect. With its effect, I will equip a second Aqua Avatar – Reef Queen from my Extra Deck to my monster!"

Roaring with pride, Aqua Dragon Ryu Jin spread out its wings as a colony of sea plants began growing along its back like a layer of armor.

"I next activate the second effect of my Aqua Avatar – Kelp Lily. Once per turn, I can increase the attack and defense of all Plant-Type monsters I control by three-hundred.

Spreading out her arms and glowing with yellow light, Kelp Lily caused her ATK to rise to 300 and her DEF to rise to 2600 while Reef Queen's ATK rose to 4000 and her DEF rose to 4300.

"And let me guess…" said Neya, folding her arms over her own chest.

In reply, Aqua Dragon Ryu Jin's and Aqua Avatar – Reef Queen's ATK and DEF each began rising, Ryu Jin's ATK rising to 2200 and DEF rising to 2900 while Reef Queen's ATK rose to 4500 and DEF rose to 4800.

"That's way more attack power than you need." Neya commented, gazing up at the massive ATK of Lilly's monsters and back down to the very tiny ATK of her own monsters.

"No kill like overkill." Lilly sighed, before placing another card on her Duel Disk.

"I activate the effect of my Magic Card, Reef Hazard. With this card, I can destroy any number of Aqua Avatar monsters on my side of the field or my hand in order to target a number of cards you control equal to the number of Aqua Avatar monsters I destroyed with this effect plus the number of Aqua Avatar monsters I control and negate their effects. With this card, I destroy the Aqua Avatar - Kelp Lily I control along with the Aqua Avatar – Anemone Lily and Aqua Avatar – Water Lily from my hand in order to negate the effects of your Aquaperformer Oceanarium, Corkscrew, Pass, and Star Sea Lion."

Behind Lilly, a massive tidal wave began rising into the air, darkening the field and eliciting some "oohs" and "aahs" from the crowd. Inside the tidal wave, Neya saw Lilly's Kelp Lily, Water Lily, and another water sprite with orange eyes with green wave patterns, and large orange anemones in her hair and over her body, get washed up as the wave charged towards her opponents.

"Water Lily and Anemone Lily's effects each activate." Lilly declared, leaping onto her Reef Queen's back as the wave caught up her monsters. Together, she and her Synchro monster began surfing along the wave, the massive water lily at the base of Reef Queen's feet acting like a surfboard.

"First…" Lilly declared, "…since my Anemone Lily was destroyed, I get to reduce the attack of your Flip Dolphin by one-thousand before Special Summoning my Aqua Avatar – Seagrass Lily from my deck!"

"Guess we're gonna get wet!" Neya exclaimed, leaping onto the back of Star Sea Lion as the wave crashed on top of her island. Spitting out a mixture of some holographic and real water from her mouth, she watched as her Flip Dolphin got stung by Lilly's Anemone Lily, reducing its ATK to 0, before a new water sprite clothed in what looked like interwoven strands of grass appeared in the wave. Glancing over to Lilly, who was still surfing along with Reef Queen, Neya watched as the attack change of her Dolphin caused Lilly's Ryu Jin to gain 2700 ATK while her Reef Queen's ATK climbed to a staggering 5000.

"My Water Lily's effect also activates!" Lilly continued, smiling as Neya struggled to keep balance on her Star Sea Lion. "Since it was destroyed, I Special Summon Aqua Avatar – Chaeto Lily from my deck and return Aqua Avatar – Water Lily from my graveyard to my hand!"

Next to Lilly, Aqua Avatar – Water Lily appeared next to her, calling out to the ocean and summoning another water sprite, this one with hair made up of a mass of what looked like tangled green vines, before Water Lily returned to Lilly's hand.

"While Aqua Avatar – Chaeto Lily is face-up on my field…" Lilly explained, spraying some water into the air as her hand brushed along the edge of the wave, "…so long as the total ATK of all WATER and LIGHT monsters I control is higher than the total ATK of all monsters my opponent controls, the effects of my opponent's monsters are negated! Furthermore, I'm activating the effect of my Seagrass Lily. Once per turn, I can target one monster my opponent controls whose current attack is different from its original attack. While that monster is face-up on the field, face-up LIGHT and WATER monsters I control gain five-hundred attack. In addition, if a LIGHT or WATER monster I control destroys a monster by battle, that monster can attack once again in a row!"

"Your monsters are pretty powerful…" Neya admitted as the combined effects of Lilly's monsters caused Ryu Jin's ATK to climb to 3700, Reef Queen's ATK to climb to 6000, Seagrass Lily's ATK to climb to 2100, and Chaeto Lily's ATK to climb to 1700, "…but I've dealt with powerful offenses before. It doesn't win duels on its own!"

"It sure helps though." Lilly shrugged before slapping another card onto her Duel Disk. "But just in case… and just because I can be a major prick when I want to be… I activate the Quick-Play Magic Card, Reef Tide. This card enables me to destroy any number of Aqua Avatar monsters I control from my side of the field or my hand in order to destroy a number of Spell and Trap Cards you control up to the number of monsters I destroyed with this effect plus the number of Aqua Avatar monsters I control. I won't destroy any monsters, but since I control Aqua Avatar – Reef Queen, Chaeto Lily, and Seagrass Lily, I choose to destroy your Aquaperformer Oceanarium, Flip, and Pass!"

Just as the last wave began settling down, a new wave began rising up, picking up Lilly and her monsters as they began surfing down the edge of the wave and coming towards Neya and her monsters.

Neya seemed to be ready for this, urging Star Sea Lion forward, she threw a card onto her Duel Disk.

"I activate the effect of my Continuous Trap Card from my hand!" Neya triumphantly declared.

"From your hand!?" Lilly exclaimed, as Neya and her monster let themselves get picked up by the wave before the two of them began surfing right alongside Lilly.

"Yep… from my hand." Neya smirked. "With the effect of my Aquaperformer Determination, I can activate this card from my hand while I control at least two Aquaperformer Equip Spell Cards. With its effect active, once per turn, Aquaperformer Equip Spell Cards I control cannot be destroyed, also, my opponent cannot activate cards or effects in response to the activation or effects of my Aquaperformer Equip Spell Cards."

"So you've saved the Equip Spell Cards…" Lilly observed as she surfed right alongside Neya… but your Oceanarium will still be destroyed."

"Meh… can't always be perfect." Neya shrugged as she deposited her Field Spell Card into the graveyard.

"It's still pretty cool." Lilly commented with a smile. "I've actually never seen someone activate a Trap Card from the hand. Your deck is pretty interesting."

"Yours too." Neya agreed, tipping her baseball cap to Lilly.

"Sadly, I'm still not letting you win." Lilly smirked as she extended her hand towards her opponent. "Aqua Dragon Ryu Jin, attack Aquaperformer Star Sea Lion!"

"BIG SEAL!" The kids screamed as the massive form of Aqua Dragon Ryu Jin burst from the water, jaws opening like a shark as it descended on Neya and her monster.

"I activate the effect of Aquaperformer Dodge in my graveyard!" Neya countered, blowing on a whistle and directing Star Sea Lion to dive under the sea and corkscrew to the right. Creating a massive splash, Ryu Jin crashed its jaws into the water, just where Neya and her monster had been a second before, but came up empty handed as Neya and her monster broke through the surface of the water, Neya dripping wet with real and holographic water.

"While Aquaperformer Dodge is in my graveyard…" she explained, "…I can negate an attack from your monster."

"Well I still have another attack!" Lilly countered, face brightening as the challenge of the duel increased. "I'm not letting you get off without at least SOME damage this turn! Aqua Avatar – Reef Queen…" she commanded, as the two of them zoomed towards Neya and her monster on their water lily, "…attack Star Sea Lion!"

"OH NO!" the kids exclaimed as Lilly's monster sprouted a pair of massive multi-colored water lilies from her back before shooting a jet-stream of water from the center of her flowers, straight towards Neya and her monster.

"Sorry Lilly!" Neya taunted, "But I don't think I quite explained how Aquaperformer Dodge works! You see, I can activate its effect a number of times, equal to the number of differently named Aquaperformer Equip Spell Cards I control!"

Leaping into the air with Neya on its back, Star Sea Lion just barely managed to doge the blast of water from Lilly's monster as Lilly looked on with an impressed expression on her face.

"So that's why you activated that Trap Card earlier." she concluded as Neya safely landed next to her before having her monster swim around to face her opponent.

"It's all part of the act." Neya explained, wiping some sweat from her brow. "But I never reveal all my tricks in one show. But I admit… I've never had to surf around like that before. You and I seriously ought to partner up! I could teach you more of what I know!"

"Well, I think I would like to see more of your tricks." Lilly replied with a smile. "But for now, I think I've battered you and your monsters enough. So I'll set one card face down and end my turn."

After setting her card face down, Lilly looked back at her opponent, both of them standing on their own Synchro Monsters which were drifting above the water, just a few feet from each other. Assuming a defensive martial art stance, Lilly extended her hand out towards Neya before beckoning to her, daring her to attack.

Neya smiled back at Lilly, surprised that she was having as much fun with this duel as she was. She never would have expected this kind of experience based on the beginning of the duel, but Lilly had probably made this one of her most exciting performances ever. Turning her head in the direction of the crowd, she readied herself for the thunderous applause she and Lilly would receive for their performance thus far.

And that's when she saw them.

"NO!" Lilly suddenly screamed, eyes widening with horror.

Two armored Security vehicles had driven right up along the beach and had begun attacking the crowds of Commons, scooping them all up in massive holographic nets, which they shot from turrets mounted on their tops. Instead of the sounds of laughter or applause, the air was rent with the sounds of screaming, trampling, and general panic as Commons trampled each other in vain to escape the brutal efficiency of the vehicles' assault. The few Commons who managed to escape the nets were quickly incapacitated by a pair of Goyo Emperors, who used an array of weapons to subdue groups of fleeing Commons before the weapons from the vehicles ensnared those Commons in their nets.

From Neya and Lilly's Duel Disks, a pair of voices suddenly sounded.

"BATTLE ROYAL…" Their Disks declared, "…JOINING!"

FEATURED ORIGINAL CHARACTERS

Name: Gin Tami / Original concept by: Greninja / Deck: Ninja/Ninjitsu / Allegiance: Her friends and family / Status: Active

Name: Akio Fujimoto / Original concept by: Donjusticia / Deck: Six Samurai / Allegiance: The Tami Family / Status: Active

Name: Kuma Mizuki / Original concept by: thetiger39 / Deck: Warlord Bear / Allegiance: Kuma's Gang / Status: Active

Name: Unagi / Original concept by: Donjusticia / Deck: Sea Serpent / Allegiance: Kuma's Gang / Status: Active

Name: Benji / Original concept by: Donjusticia (name contributed by Nox Descious) / Deck: Warriors / Allegiance: Kuma's Gang / Status: Active

Name: Neya Mizuki / Original concept by: thetiger39 / Deck: Aquaperformer / Allegiance: None: Synchro Dimension Civilian / Status: Active

Name: Lilly Hoshi / Original concept by: Greninja / Deck: Aqua Avatar / Allegiance: Unknown / Status: Active

FEATURED FANFIC CARDS

Kuma's monsters

Warlord-Bear Brown Spy/ EARTH/ Level 2/ Beast/ Effect/ ATK 1800/ DEF 0/ Pay 1000 LP to add 1 "Warlord-Bear" monster from your deck to your hand. (If you control a "Warchief-Bear" monster, you can make your opponent pay 500 LP to activate this effect instead). (This card is always also treated as a Beast-Warrior-Type monster). Cannot be destroyed by battle. During the end-phase of the turn this card is face-up on the field, destroy this card.

Warlord-Bear Grizzly Hero/ EARTH/ Level 4/ Beast/ Tuner/ Effect/ ATK 2000/ DEF 2000/ Cannot be destroyed by battle. (This card is always also treated as a Beast-Warrior-Type monster). The controller of this card must pay 1000 LP to Synchro Summon with this card. (If you control a "Warchief-Bear" monster, you can make your opponent pay 500 LP instead).

Kuma's Extra Deck

Warchief-Bear Black Shaman/ DARK/ Level 6/ Beast/ Synchro/ Effect/ ATK 2800/ DEF 2700/ Warlord-Bear Grizzly Hero + 1 or more Non-Tuners

Cannot be destroyed by battle. (This card is always also treated as a Beast-Warrior-Type monster). Once per turn, you can Special Summon 1 "Warlord-Bear" monster from your hand or graveyard in face-up attack position or face-down defense position. If your opponent pays LP for a card effect, double the amount of LP he/she must pay.

Kuma's Spells

War Bear Encampment/ Spell/ Field/ Once per turn, you can Normal Summon/Set 1 "Warlord-Bear" monster in addition to your Normal Summon/Set. Once per turn, if your opponent declares an attack on a "Warlord-Bear" or "Warchief-Bear" monster you control, you can pay 1000 LP: Negate that attack. (If you control a "Warchief-Bear" monster, you can make your opponent pay 500 LP to activate this effect instead).

War Bear Banner/ Spell/ Continuous/ When this card is activated, you can add 1 "Warlord-Bear" monster from your deck or graveyard to your hand. Increase the ATK and DEF of all "Warlord-Bear" and "Warchief-Bear" monsters you control by 200. If a Beast or Beast-Warrior-Type monster you control would be destroyed, you can destroy this card instead.

Neya's monsters

Aquaperformer Seal Pup/ WATER/ Level 2/ Beast/ Tuner/ Effect/ ATK 900/ DEF 800/ If you control an "Aquaperformer" monster, you can Special Summon this card (From your hand). You can discard 1 "Aquaperformer" Equip Spell Card from your hand and tribute this card: Special Summon 1 "Aquaperformer" monster from your deck.

Aquaperformer Flip Dolphin/ WATER/ Level 4/ Beast/ Effect/ ATK 1600/ DEF 1800/ Flip: If you control an "Aquaperformer" monster and at least 1 Equip Spell Card, draw 2 cards. Once per turn, you can activate this effect: Equip 1 "Aquaperformer" Equip Spell Card from your deck to 1 "Aquaperformer" monster you control.

Aquaperformer Drama Platypus/WATER/Level 4/Beast/Effect/ATK: 1500/DEF: 1300
If this card is Normal Summoned, Flip Summoned, or flipped face-up, Set 1 "Aquaperformer" Spell/Trap Card from your deck. Once per turn, you can switch this face-up card to face-down Defense Position. If this card is sent to the graveyard by battle or by card effect, add 1 FLIP "Aquaperformer" monster from your deck to your hand. If this card is as a material for a Synchro Summon, add 1 "Aquaperformer" Spell/Trap card from your deck to your hand.

(Original concept by: Epsilon Tarantula.)

Aquaperformer Flying Porpoise/WATER/Level 3/Beast/FLIP/Effect/ATK: 1000/DEF: 1200
FLIP: Special Summon 1 "Aquaperformer" monster from your deck in face-down Defense Position. It cannot be destroyed by battle this turn.
During the turn an "Aquaperformer" monster is flipped face-up, you can Special Summon this card from your hand. If this card is used in the Synchro Summon of an "Aquaperformer" monster, you can Special Summon this card from your graveyard in face-down Defense Position. You can only use this effect of "Aquaperformer Flying Porpoise" once per turn.

(Original concept by: Epsilon Tarantula.)

Aquaperformer Design Beaver/WATER/Level 5/Beast/FLIP/Effect/ATK: 1500/DEF: 2100
FLIP: Destroy 1 card on the field, then, if it is not face-up on the field, activate from your deck or graveyard, 1 "Aquaperformer Oceanarium". Its activation cannot be negated. If "Aquaperformer Oceanarium" is face-up on the field, this card cannot be destroyed by battle, also, you can set this card face-down.

You can send 1 Set card on the field to the graveyard to Special Summon this card from your hand in face-down Defense Position. Once per turn, if an "Aquaperformer" Equip Spell Card equipped to this card would be destroyed via a card effect, negate the destruction.

(Original concept by: Epsilon Tarantula.)

Neya's Extra Deck

Aquaperformer Star Sea Lion/ WATER/ Level 6/ Beast/ Synchro/ Effect/ ATK 2400/ DEF 2000/ 1 "Aquaperformer" Tuner + 1 or more WATER monsters
Any Battle Damage this card inflicts is halved. This card gains 200 ATK for each differently named "Aquaperformer" Equip Spell Card you control and in your graveyard. If this card has 3 or more "Aquaperformer" Equip Spell Cards equipped to itself, this card can attack your opponent's LP directly. If this card would be destroyed, Destroy 1 Equip Spell Card you control instead.

Neya's Spells

Aquaperformer Oceanarium/Field Spell Card/Once per turn, you can send 1 "Aquaperformer" Equip Spell Card from your deck to your graveyard. Any "Aquaperformer" Equip cards that are sent to the graveyard are treated as if they were sent from the field to the graveyard by their own effects. Once per turn, if an "Aquaperformer" Equip Spell Card you control is destroyed, Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower "Aquaperformer" monster from your deck or graveyard in face-down Defense Position.

(Original concept by: Epsilon Tarantula.)

Aquaperformer Hoop Jump/ Spell/ Equip/ Equip only to an "Aquaperformer" monster. The equipped monster is treated as a Tuner monster. Once per turn, during either player's turn, you can: Immediately after this effect resolves Synchro Summon 1 "Aquaperformer" Synchro Monster from your Extra Deck using monsters you control. If this effect is used three times, you can send this card from your side of the field to the graveyard: Add 1 "Aquaperformer" Equip Spell Card from your deck to your hand. If this card is sent from the field to the graveyard with this effect, this card's effects can be activated from the graveyard.

Aquaperformer Flip/ Spell/ Equip/ Equip only to 1 "Aquaperformer" monster you control. Once per turn, during either player's turn, you can change 1 "Aquaperformer" monster into face-down defense position or Flip-Summon 1 face-down "Aquaperformer" monster you control, and if you do, you can equip this card to 1 other "Aquaperformer" monster you control. If this effect is used three times, you can send this card from your side of the field to the graveyard: Add 1 "Aquaperformer" Equip Spell Card from your deck to your hand. If this card is sent from the field to the graveyard with this effect, this card's effects can be activated from the graveyard.

Aquaperformer Rush/ Spell/ Equip/ Equip only to 1 "Aquaperformer" monster you control. Increase its ATK by 800. If an "Aquaperformer" monster attacks, you can activate this effect: Increase the ATK of that monster by 400 until the end of the Damage Step. If this effect is used three times, you can send this card from your side of the field to the graveyard: Add 1 "Aquaperformer" Equip Spell Card from your deck to your hand. If this card is sent from the field to the graveyard with this effect, this card's effects can be activated from the graveyard.

Aquaperformer Dodge/ Spell/ Equip/ Equip only to 1 "Aquaperformer" monster you control. If the equipped monster is attacked, you can negate the ATK, and if you do, reduce the ATK and DEF of the equipped monster by 500. (You can only use this effect of "Aquaperformer Dodge" once for each "Aquaperformer" Equip Spell Card with a different name on your side of the field). If this effect is used three times, you can send this card from your side of the field to the graveyard: Add 1 "Aquaperformer" Equip Spell Card from your deck to your hand. If this card is sent from the field to the graveyard with this effect, this card's effects can be activated from the graveyard.

Aquaperformer Pass/ Spell/ Equip/ Equip only to 1 "Aquaperformer" monster you control. Once per turn, the equipped monster cannot be destroyed by battle. Up to thrice per turn, if an "Aquaperformer" monster you control attacks, you can reduce the ATK of that monster by 1000: That monster can make an additional attack. If this effect is used three times, you can send this card from your side of the field to the graveyard: Add 1 "Aquaperformer" Equip Spell Card from your deck to your hand. If this card is sent from the field to the graveyard with this effect, this card's effects can be activated from the graveyard.

Aquaperformer Corkscrew/ Spell/ Equip/ Equip only to 1 "Aquaperformer" monster you control. If the equipped monster attacks, your opponent cannot activate any cards or effects until the end of the Damage Step. If an "Aquaperformer" monster you control attacks, you can activate this effect at the end of the Damage Step: Destroy 1 card on the field. If this effect is used three times, you can send this card from your side of the field to the graveyard: Add 1 "Aquaperformer" Equip Spell Card from your deck to your hand. If this card is sent from the field to the graveyard with this effect, this card's effects can be activated from the graveyard.

Neya's Traps

Aquaperformer Determination/Continuous Trap/If you control at least 2 "Aquaperformer" Equip Spell Cards, you can activate this card from your hand. Once per turn, your opponent cannot destroy "Aquaperformer" Equip Spell Cards you control by card effect, also, once per turn, your opponent cannot activate cards or effects in response to the activation of an "Aquaperformer" card. Destroy this card during your 3rd Standby Phase after activation. If this card is destroyed, Special Summon 1 Level 6 or lower "Aquaperformer" monster from your graveyard in face-down Defense Position.

(Original concept by: Epsilon Tarantula.)

Lilly's Monsters

Aqua Avatar – Photic Zone Drifter/ LIGHT/ Level 1/ Plant/ Effect/ ATK 0/ DEF 0/ You can discard this card: Add 2 WATER or LIGHT Attribute Plant-Type monsters from your deck or graveyard to your hand. (You cannot Special Summon during the turn you activate this effect). You can banish this card from your graveyard to target 1 "Aqua Avatar" monster you control and declare a Level between 1 and 4: Change that Target's Level to the declared Level.

Aqua Avatar – Benthic Drifter/ LIGHT/ Level 6/ Plant/ Effect/ ATK 2000/ DEF 2000/ During either players turn if you control 2 or more WATER and/or LIGHT Attribute monsters, you can discard this card from your hand and tribute 1 monster you control: Until the end of this turn, The ATK and DEF of all monsters your opponent controls are changed to 0.

Aqua Avatar – Water Lilly/ WATER/ Level 1/ Plant/ Tuner/ Effect/ ATK 0/ DEF 100/ If this card is destroyed, you can activate this effect: Special Summon 1 "Thunder Avatar" or "Aqua Avatar" monster from your deck, and if you do, add this card to your hand. (You can only use this effect of Aqua Avatar Water Lilly once per turn).

Aqua Avatar – Choral Lilly/ WATER/ Level 3/ Plant/ Effect/ ATK 900/ DEF 2000/ If you control a face-up LIGHT or WATER monster, you can Special Summon this card from your hand, and if you do, Special Summon 1 Plant-Type monster from your graveyard. (You can only use this effect of "Aqua Avatar – Choral Lilly" once per turn). Once per turn, you can activate this effect: Reduce the ATK and DEF of 1 monster your opponent controls by 300, and if you do, increase or decrease the Level of 1 monster you control by 1.

Aqua Avatar – Anemone Lilly/ WATER/ Level 3/ Plant/ Effect/ ATK 1400/ DEF 800/ If this card is destroyed, you can activate this effect: Special Summon 1 "Aqua Avatar" monster from your hand or deck, and if you do, you can target 1 monster your opponent controls: That target loses 1000 ATK. (You can only use this effect of "Aqua Avatar – Anemone Lilly" once per turn). A monster that battles an "Aqua Avatar" monster has its effects negated at the End of the Damage Step while this card is face-up on the field.

Aqua Avatar – Kelp Lilly/ WATER/ Level 3/ Plant/ Effect/ ATK 0/ DEF 2300/ If this card is Normal Summoned successfully, you can target 2 "Aqua Avatar" monsters in your graveyard: Special Summon those Targets with their effects negated, and if you do, change this card to face-up defense position. Once per turn, you can increase the ATK and DEF of all Plant-Type monsters you control by 300.

Aqua Avatar – Seaweed Lilly/ WATER/ Level 3/ Plant/ Effect/ ATK 1000/ DEF 1000/ Once per turn, during either player's turn, you can activate this effect: reduce the ATK of 1 monster your opponent controls by 1000, and if you do, 1 LIGHT or WATER monster you control gains 1000 ATK until the End Phase of this turn. If this card is destroyed, you can target 1 Plant-Type monster in your graveyard: Add that card to your hand.

Aqua Avatar – Algae Lilly/ WATER/ Level 3/ Plant/ Tuner/ Effect/ ATK 300/ DEF 200/ If this card is summoned, you can Special Summon 1 Level 3 or lower "Aqua Avatar" monster from your hand. If this card is sent from the field to the graveyard, you can activate this effect: Draw 1 card, and if you do, monsters your opponent controls lose 100 ATK for each card in your hand.

Aqua Avatar – Seagrass Lilly/ WATER/ Level 3/ Plant/ Effect/ ATK 1600/ DEF 100/ Once per turn, you can target 1 monster your opponent controls whose current ATK is different from its original ATK: Face-up LIGHT and WATER monsters you control gain 500 ATK while that target is face-up on the field. If a LIGHT or WATER monster you control destroys an opponent's monster by battle, you can activate this effect: That monster can attack once again in a row.

Aqua Avatar – Coralline Lilly/ WATER/ Level 3/ Plant/ Tuner/ Effect/ ATK 1300/ DEF 500/ During either player's turn, you can discard this card from your hand: the ATK of each monster on the field changes to its original ATK, and if it does, all LIGHT and WATER monsters you control gain 300 ATK for each monster whose ATK changed with this effect and all monsters your opponent controls lose 300 ATK for each monster whose ATK changed with this effect.

Aqua Avatar – Chaeto Lily/ WATER/ Level 3/ Plant/ Effect/ ATK 1200/ DEF 400/ While the total ATK of all monsters your opponent controls is less than the total ATK of all LIGHT and WATER monsters you control, negate the effects of all monsters your opponent controls. A monster Synchro Summoned using this card as a material gains this effect.

If it is Synchro Summoned, while that card is on the field and the total ATK of all LIGHT and WATER monsters you control is higher than the total ATK of all monsters your opponent controls, negate the effects of your opponent's monsters.

Lilly's Extra Deck

Aqua Avatar Reef Queen/ WATER/ Level 6/ Plant/ Synchro/ Effect/ ATK 1000/ DEF 2000/ 1 "Aqua Avatar" Tuner + 1 Non-Tuner

Each time the ATK or DEF of a monster(s) changes (except by the effect of this card), increase the ATK and DEF of this card by 500. Once per turn, during either players, you can send 1 Level 3 or lower LIGHT or WATER monster from your side of the field, hand, or deck to the graveyard: This turn, this card cannot be destroyed by card effects.

Aqua Dragon Ryu Jin/ WATER/ Level 6/ Dragon/ Synchro/ Effect/ ATK 1700/ DEF 2400/ 1 Tuner + 1 or more Non-Tuners

When this card is Special Summoned successfully, you can target 1 monster on the field: Change that Target's ATK and DEF to 0. Once per turn, during either player's turn, you can equip 1 Level 6 or lower WATER Synchro Monster from your Extra Deck or graveyard to this card: This card gains the effects of that card. (Only 1 monster can be equipped to this card at a time with this effect). If this card is destroyed by battle, you can banish 2 WATER monsters from your graveyard: Special Summon this card from your graveyard.

Lilly's Spells

Reef Hazard/ Spell/ Quick-Play/ Destroy any number of "Aqua Avatar" monsters from your side of the field or hand. Afterwards, negate the effects of a number of cards your opponent controls, up to the total number of "Aqua Avatar monsters" you destroyed + the total number of "Aqua Avatar" monsters you control.

Reef Tide/ Spell/ Quick-Play/ Destroy any number of "Aqua Avatar" monsters from your side of the field or hand. Afterwards, destroy Spell/Trap cards your opponent controls up to the total number of "Aqua Avatar" monsters destroyed with this effect + the total number of "Aqua Avatar" monsters you control.