Memory Is All We Are

by DisneyOUATgirl1437

Serena never asked for any of this. She never asked for her parents to send her to Duel Academy. She never asked for Duel Monsters to be in her life. In fact, she hated them! And, she definitely never asked for her fate to rest on her shoulders by dueling! But, seeing there's nothing she can change, she might as well make the most of her time here.

14. Going Against Bonaparte

Kias: Thank you for reviewing! :) We'll see how much preferable Viper will be to Serena once Season 3 kicks off lmao… I have for the first half of her deck, the one she's currently using. However, I'd rather not post it yet until all of her cards are revealed in duels, since it would spoil the surprise then… ;)

I only own my OC's!

By the time we were in front of the dorm, Ben frowned. "I think Jaden is currently in our room…" He trailed off in thought, with a right finger on his chin. "Then we'll go to my room." I responded impatiently, and was about to go…

Only for Ben to grab me by my wrist. "Wait, maybe we should check my room first." He pointed out. I shook my head with a frown. I didn't want anyone to be beside him and me, no matter the circumstances. "Just leave Yuki be and follow me." My cousin kept looking at me for a few moments. He then sighed. "Fine."

With those words, he started walking after me towards my room.

Once I opened the door, I walked into the room. Ben followed me, closing them in process. I started taking off my red boots. After taking them in my hands, I put them next to the door.

Even though they've technically lived in Japan for more than a few years, my parents never adapted to some of Japanese habits. One of those was taking off footwear right after walking into the house. Since they were always in some sort of hurry, they'd just walk around, sometimes even leaving trails of mud in process!

It would always (reasonably) annoy both Sartorius and Sarina. Of course, they never complained about it in front of Mum and Dad, but I could hear it from their conversations with Aunt Maria. I, on the other hand, was a completely different case.

Since both Sarina and Sartorius used to look after me, they taught me to respect Japanese traditions. They always told me how important it was to respect other cultures, especially if I lived in the places where they were present. Even though I obeyed, I naturally didn't understand the point when I was a kid.

But now, I understood it completely. I even agreed with them. If a person lived in a different country, they had no right to just barge in and disrespect someone's traditions! That was something Mum and Dad never learned… But I did. The lesson stayed with me, which was why I was taking off my boots even now, when I was alone in the room.

My cousin did the same with his shoes. He had learned the custom before, just like Aunt Maria and Uncle. He then jumped on the bed as well. "I have to admit, your room looks a lot more comfortable than ours."

I rolled my eyes. "Maybe because there's four of you in there, Benjamin." I replied sarcastically. "Good point." My cousin agreed sheepishly while rubbing the back of his head. "Now, let me see what you have." He pointed at the Deck Box strapped to my waist.

Without another word, I took my deck out of the box and put it in front of both of us. Ben sprawled the cards, looking at each of them. After about a minute, a frown appeared on his face. "Incredible…" He trailed off.

I didn't like the way he said those words… Something was definitely up. The question was what.

"What is it?" I asked a bit perplexed. "Those are some pretty good cards you have there… I never got to see all of them." He looked up at me a bit surprised. "Remind me again, where did you get this deck?" "Aunt Maria gave it to me." I replied while folding my arms. "However, that's only a half of the actual deck. The other half is still with her." I then added.

Ben gave me a curious look. "Why didn't she give you the entire deck?" He questioned. "She thought this would be enough for now. She said she'd give me the other half once I proved to be 'worthy' of the deck." I explained with a sigh. He simply nodded, taking one card in his right hand.

"From what I can see, this half of the deck relies on Spells, Traps, and Special Effects." He noted. His green eyes were still looking at the card. "Is that a bad thing?" I asked slowly, but hoping that wasn't the case. I definitely didn't want to be told my deck was bad right before my duel with the French… Excuse me, my neighbor.

Finally, Ben looked away from the card. "It's not," He started, putting it down. "I'm just used to seeing either Polymerization or Ritual Monsters in other decks, so it surprised me a bit." I frowned at those words. Ben had some Ritual Monsters in his deck, I knew that… However, I still couldn't take Polymerization seriously. Whoever named the card that way was an idiot… Polymerization was an actual process in biology, that's why! However, I kept my mouth shut.

"I think your deck is perfectly fine the way it is." Ben finally said, putting all cards together. "However, I think you could use these." He suddenly offered me two cards. I took them with a raised eyebrow. After looking at them for a few seconds, I simply nodded and put them alongside other cards. Those things could sure come in handy…

I then looked up at my cousin. "Thanks." I smiled. "Prego, cugina!" Ben smiled back. "But, seriously, please don't lose." He then added with a frown. After shuffling my deck and putting it back in the box, I looked up. "You know, even if I do, we'll probably scare Crowler and Bonaparte away with our singing." I pointed out. "I don't want to play risky." He declared firmly.

"Bene, bene!" I responded with my hands lifted in front of me. He had a point, I had to agree! Stakes were pretty high at the moment… But I wasn't going to sing. I was going to win the damn duel and get both of our butts out of this terrible situation! Crowler was going to regret trying to pull us into this thing in the first place…

Ben let out a sigh. I, on the other hand, started playing with the edge of my fingerless glove. Once my fingers touched the bracelet under it, I remembered I had wanted to call Aunt Maria earlier. I took my phone and was about to get off my bed, when…

"Who are you calling?" My cousin asked me curiously. "Your mother." I replied simply. "Oh, I forgot to tell you!" He suddenly exclaimed, something dawning on him. "She's extremely busy during these three days, so if you need anything, just ask Dad."

I let out a groan at hearing those words. My plans for today have officially gone to waste… I didn't want to call Uncle Luca, not with his current state. I'd just wait for Aunt Maria to finally be free for talking. That was the only solution I had at the moment…

Not knowing what else to do, I closed the phone and put it back in my pocket. "Why did you want to call Mum anyway?" Ben raised an eyebrow. I looked up at him with my arms folded. As much as I wanted to keep this a secret, maybe he knew something…

"Have you maybe heard of someone named Naomi?" I asked. My cousin blinked at me for a few moments. He then looked at the ceiling with a finger on his chin. "I did hear that name somewhere before…" He trailed off.

That was when a look of realization appeared on his face. "From what I remember," His gaze landed on me. "Naomi is name of a woman Mum used to be close to. She mentioned her quite a few times while talking to Dad." He explained. "Was there anything else about that woman?" I asked, hoping to get more information.

Ben frowned, staying silent. Finally, he nodded. "I accidentally heard Mum and Dad talking a few months ago in the living room. They mentioned that the woman had a child." He stated. I was looking at him, hoping he had actually heard more. "A boy, yes." My cousin then added.

"I also remember Dad forgetting the child's name, and Mum saying how the family used to live in Domino City." He then remembered. "Have you maybe caught his name?" I asked, not paying attention to how much hopeful my voice sounded. "No. I had to go solve my problem then, so I couldn't hear the rest." Ben shook his head.

I let out a sigh and ran hands through my red hair. That information was what I've already known, more or less… It did manage to confirm one thing though. The name of the boy's mother was Naomi, and they used to live in Domino City…

"Why are you asking?" Ben suddenly gave me a questioning look. "I was just curious, since I've already heard the woman's name somewhere." I lied. He didn't seem to be convinced though. He opened his mouth, only to close them right after.

"Hold on a sec," He finally spoke up, his green eyes widening. "You never told me what Crowler was talking about!" Just great. He still remembered Crowler's words… "What?" I asked, pretending to be clueless. "About Aster Phoenix wanting to meet you!" He quickly explained.

I frowned. "It was nothing important." I tried to wave it off. "Serena…" Ben looked at me expectantly. Seeing he wasn't going to drop this subject; I knew I had to tell him. I didn't want him being mad at me again after all, once was more than enough!

"Fine." I sighed in annoyance before looking up at my cousin. "Aster Phoenix wanted to meet me, yes." I admitted while tugging at my hair out of pure nervousness. "Why?" "He apparently wanted to see my deck in action. We had a duel, and I won." I explained. "Which cards did he use?!" Ben demanded, the curiosity getting the better of him.

"Different cards from the ones he used against Truesdale. My guess is those are the cards he had used against Jaden before." "Back when he let Jaden win on purpose…" My cousin trailed off in realization. The only thing I did was nod. "But that means he let you win as well?!" He then looked up at me in astonishment. "Apparently. No idea why though." I shrugged my shoulders. "Why would he want to duel Jaden and you, and want to lose? It doesn't make any sense…" "Beats me." I shrugged yet again. Again, I really had no idea why Aster Phoenix was so interested in dueling me…

Suddenly, it felt like everything around me stopped. It was like I couldn't even see Ben, or anything else in the room. It was as if I were in a place filled with bright, white light…

"Serena…" A male voice started calling from somewhere. I wasn't sure where exactly it was coming from, yet I could hear it clearly. It sounded so hypnotizing, and also familiar for some reason… I couldn't throw it out of my head. I wanted to know who was calling me, and I didn't want to stop looking… It was a bit frightening; it was as if I had lost complete control over myself!

"Serena…" The hypnotizing voice called yet again. "Who is it?!" I shouted with my eyes wide, not caring about my surroundings at all. "Come…" It encouraged. It was almost as if the voice knew I wanted to go looking for its source… "Where?!" I demanded, jumping on my feet. "Come to me…" With that, the voice started going away further.

I quickly put on my boots and ran out of the room, right towards the forest. "That's it, come to me…" The voice encouraged me. "Who are you?!" I exclaimed and was about to run into the forest, when…

"CUZO!" Someone was shaking me by my shoulders vigorously. My hand lifted itself up, and was about to slap whoever was doing that… Only for that person to grab my right wrist firmly. "SERENA, WHAT'S GOT INTO YOU?!"

At that moment, everything started coming back to me. I wasn't in that room anymore. Instead, I was right in front of Ben, who was the one shaking me and still holding my wrist.

I started shaking my head to completely get back to my senses. By now, I had no idea why he was acting like this in the first place. In fact, the last thing I remembered was two of us being in my room… "Ben, why are you doing this?" I looked at him in confusion. My cousin looked at me incredulously. However, he did take hands off my shoulders.

"Why am I doing this?" He repeated in disbelief. "First, you're shouting at nothing, then you don't notice me, run out, try to slap me, and now you're asking me that?!" "Wh… What? We were in my room, weren't we?" I tilted my head to left in confusion.

My cousin looked at me as if I had grown two more heads. "You're telling me you don't remember what just happened?" He demanded. "The last thing I remember is us being in my room!" I exclaimed, upset because he didn't seem to believe me.

By now, my cousin was gaping at me. I wouldn't be surprised if he thought I had lost common sense. What I'd just told him did sound rather crazy… Was I going insane?

"Whoa, wait, wait," Ben motioned for me to listen to him with his right hand. "You're telling me you don't remember you were in a trance?" Judging by the tone of his voice, he did think I had gone crazy.

I looked up at him with a frown. "Trance?" I repeated in annoyance. "But you were!" "Benjamin, stop exaggerating." I glared. "Serena," He gave me a serious look. "I've called your name at least six times, but it was like you didn't hear me at all. You didn't do anything to even acknowledge I was in the room!" I was staring at him in surprise.

What was even worse, I didn't remember anything… What in the world just happened?!

"Fine," I grumbled. "But I still don't remember anything." I added more firmly. Ben gave me a hesitant look. "Please, I'm telling you the truth." I looked at him pleadingly.

Finally, my cousin let out a sigh. "As much as I think the whole thing is just nuts, I'll try to believe you." He spoke up. I sighed in relief. "Do you have any idea why this happened?" "None." I shook my head at his question.

"It's all so confusing…" Ben let out a groan. I nodded in agreement. "I wish I knew what just happened…" I frowned. "As much as I'd like to figure it out, I think we have more important things at the moment. We'll deal with your trance episode later." He finally declared.

I looked at him for a few moments before nodding. I still had a duel to win, and I wasn't even sure what exactly happened, we had absolutely nothing to help us… "If something like this happens again, then we'll react?" I asked, making him nod.

---

"Benjamin, let's get going!" I grabbed him by his hand and pulled him towards the door. "Don't panic." He looked at me disapprovingly. "I'm not panicking," I retorted while putting boots on my feet. "I just don't want to be late!"

"We won't be late. We're just going out. The duel is starting in fifteen minutes." He responded calmly, putting on his blue shoes. I quickly took my Duel Disk. After that, he opened the door. I followed him outside, closing the door behind me.

---

"Wait," Ben stopped me just as we were passing one door. "What?" I gave him a questioning look. "Let's see whether Jaden wants to come along to watch the duels." He explained.

I frowned at once. Honestly, why was he bothering so much with that guy? If the fanatic wanted to be alone, then let him be!

Ben knocked on the door and then opened them. He came inside with me peeking over his left shoulder. "Jay?" He called. When I finally got a good view from behind my cousin, I could see him.

Jaden was on his feet with his arms folded and back against the wall. I couldn't help frowning. The look on his face was still as depressed as it had been this morning…

"Yes, Ben?" He asked simply. "Alexis and Serena are about to have duels in the arena. Do you want to come and watch with us?" My cousin suggested with a smile. "Sorry, Ben, but I'll pass." The brown-haired guy shook his head.

I couldn't believe it. From what I've seen of this guy so far, he definitely wasn't the type to turn down watching duels…

"Are you sure?" Ben raised an eyebrow. Jaden nodded quietly. "Come on, Ben. It's his problem if he doesn't want to go, let him mope there." I muttered to him. "Serena." He hissed at me angrily. "She's right." Jaden suddenly spoke up.

Both of us looked at him in surprise. "It's my problem, so just leave me be." He added quietly. I could have sworn he looked even more depressed now.

"Jaden, that's not what she meant," Ben started only to be cut off. "Just go, Ben!" The brown-haired guy repeated with a frown. Ben sighed but closed the door.

At that moment, a feeling of… Guiltiness washed over me. For some reason, I was feeling bad… Why did I even say that?! Now I made the fanatic even more depressed! I could have kept my mouth shut, but nooo, Serena Accardi just had to go and open her big mouth…

"Congratulations, Serena." Ben grumbled and strode past me down the stairs. "Ben, I didn't mean it!" I responded frantically. "Then next time keep your mouth shut." He glared at me. I let out a sigh but followed him towards the main building.

I still couldn't help feeling a bit bad about what I'd just said…

---

When we walked into the Duel Arena, I could see most of the people were seated already. That was when Crowler ran up to two of us. "Since Atticus and Alexis will have their duel first, wait outside until I call your name." He told me. I simply nodded with a frown.

That was when Syrus, Hassleberry, Bastion and Chazz walked up to where we were. "Is Jaden coming?" Syrus asked Ben who shook his head. "I asked him to come, but he refused to." "Jay never misses a duel…" The short guy sighed. "I'm sure he'll be fine; he just needs some time off." Bastion folded his arms.

"Hope you're right, soldier." Hassleberry frowned. I stayed quiet, looking between all of the guys. It was technically my fault he refused to come… But why was I feeling sorry? He was a fanatic, and I shouldn't worry about them!

"Is that Mrs. Fontaine?!" Chazz suddenly pointed somewhere, bringing me back to reality. He was pointing at a group of girls sitting on left side of the arena. I turned around to see them better. All of the girls were sitting next to each other, in two rows.

They were wearing some sort of green jackets and white binds tied around their foreheads. There were some girls I had seen before… Chazz was right! Mrs. Fontaine was sitting right next to them, with the jacket and the bind as a bonus! I couldn't believe it…

Ben, Hassleberry, Syrus and Bastion were gaping at the sight along with Chazz. I, on the other hand, face palmed. "Somebody please pinch me." Ben pleaded. I quickly did so, making him yelp in pain. His green eyes widened yet again. "She's still there…" He pointed out the obvious. "Of course, she is, Benjamin." Chazz said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"But… Isn't she a bit too old for this?" Syrus suddenly asked quietly. He had a point, I had to admit… All the other girls were teenagers, but she was standing out since she was obviously an adult! "I told you she was compensating for her old age." Bastion frowned.

All of us looked at him, wide-eyed. Was he asking for another detention?! Hassleberry then jumped on him. "Quiet, soldier!" He hissed, covering his mouth. "Please, Bastion, keep quiet. For your own good." Ben looked at him pleadingly. "If he keeps up this way, never let him near women." Chazz grumbled.

Suddenly, light turned off. Everything was dark. "ATTENTION! Today's duels shall prove that our school is not only home of the world's future dueling stars; it's also the place where pop music legends are made!" Crowler declared through his microphone.

"We'd better get going then." Chazz sighed before starting to walk towards the seats. "Are you coming, Ben?" Syrus looked at my cousin who shook his head. "Sorry, Sy, but I'll stay here with Serena so we can go through her deck once more before her duel." He told him sheepishly. "Oh." He nodded in understanding. "Makes sense, because if she loses, both of you will have to sing." Hassleberry sighed.

"Precisely." Ben confirmed it. "Good luck then." Bastion said. I simply nodded. The three of them then left to join Chazz up on the seats. My cousin pulled me by my hand to the side. We were against the wall where no one in the arena could see us, right next to the exit.

Just as we were about to get out, something else happened.

"Well, as you kids like to say, time to raise the roof off this joint! So, give it up for our first star, Atticus Rhodes!" Crowler said through the microphone. My eyes widened in surprise once Atticus came flying down, his body tied to some strings while lights were on him.

"What in the world?!" I whispered to Ben frantically while Atticus was flying around, dressed in a suit. People were cheering like crazy, especially the girls from those two rows… "Let's just say Atticus loves being dramatic." Ben whispered back. I shook my head in disbelief while the guy finally landed on the dueling field.

I hated heights… How could he just fly over the arena like that?!

"Hey, at least he's not dressed as a clown." Ben told me cheerfully. I glared at him instantly, my heart rate increasing in panic at the mention of clowns. "Say that again and you're dead. I don't care if you're my cousin or not!" I growled at him.

Just the mention of the… Clowns… Made my skin crawl. I hated them more than anything! Kids thought they were funny, huh? Well, they weren't! They were scary…

"Fine, don't get your knickers in a twist." My cousin frowned. "Then don't mention those things!" I hissed at him.

Before we could say something anything else, light turned off. Smoke started coming from the entrance, making us cough and cover our eyes. "Now, for his opponent, and sister, Alexis Rhodes!" Crowler's voice could be heard.

By the time I could see again, there was quite a sight. Alexis was riding a moving swan carriage towards the dueling field. However, it looked like she was rather embarrassed about it. I couldn't blame her though. I sincerely hoped I wouldn't come in the same way because it was damn awful!

"Let's get moving." I pulled Ben by his hand and out of the arena. Once we were out, I took my deck and started looking through it. "You know, cuzo, I think all of your cards are there." He told me while looking at the cards in my hands. "Hopefully." I muttered.

I then looked at two cards he had given me. Hopefully they would help, because I had no intention of singing, lo guiro!

While I was looking through all of my cards yet again, Ben was apparently paying attention to what was going on inside the arena. I could hear him commenting on every move he had heard a second before.

"He… He summoned lamb tokens!" I heard him commenting at one point. Looking up, I could see my cousin frowning. My thoughts began racing. Lamb tokens, lamb tokens, I had heard about them before, I was sure… Yes, I did! Those tokens had zero points! Why he summoned them though, I had no idea.

"Why? They have only zero points, don't they, Ben?" I asked him. Ben sighed. "It doesn't matter; he can still sacrifice them so his monster can attack. His panther can't attack unless he sacrifices a monster." He explained.

Raising an eyebrow, I looked down at my cards. From what I could hear inside, a lot of things were going on. I just didn't know what exactly. I was too focused on my deck to pay attention, until…

"SHE WON!" Ben shouted, making me yelp and my heart rate go faster. I quickly put the deck in my box and looked up to see him pumping his fists in the air. It was nice at least one of us didn't have to sing, that was for sure… But I was going to win too. I had to!

Suddenly, lights turned off. "I'm going to join the others now. Good luck." My cousin winked at me. "Thanks." I muttered with a sigh. "Hey," He put a hand on my shoulder. "Don't worry, I know you're going to kick Bonaparte's butt!" He smiled at me reassuringly. I simply nodded. After he gave me one more smile, Ben ran inside.

"And now, for our second duel…." My eyes widened once I looked to the side to see a man pushing a swan carriage. Oh, hell, NO! I wasn't going in like that!

I quickly ran inside before I could get embarrassed like Alexis. "Wait!" I could hear the man shouting. However, I didn't care. My goal was to just get into the arena… "Give it up for Serena Accardi!" Crowler declared, but then looked at me in surprise. Seeing smoke behind me appeared, I managed to avoid the embarrassment. A smirk appeared on my lips. Mission accomplished!

I climbed up the stairs towards the dueling field. Thankfully, there was no cheering. Crowler then cleared his throat. "Her opponent shall be… Our vice-chancellor Jean-Louis Bonaparte!" He declared. The light then turned on. I could see Bonaparte frowning at Crowler. However, he took the Duel Disk and jumped over a seat. He then walked to the opposite side of the field.

"I can see you're as unwilling to duel as me." I noted with a frown while shuffling my deck. "Let's just duel and finish with this, voisine." He huffed, putting his deck in the Duel Vest. My eyebrows furrowed in confusion once I heard those words. I looked up at him. "What does that word even mean?" I questioned.

Bonaparte sighed in what seemed to be annoyance. "Voisine means neighbor, Accardi." He quickly explained. Oh, so that explained it… "Bene," I started while putting my deck in the Duel Disk. "Let's get down to neighbor business, il vicino!" I declared. Both of us activated our Duel Disks/Vests.

Bonaparte: 4000 LP

Me: 4000 LP

We drew five cards each. "I'll start!" Bonaparte declared, drawing his sixth card. I couldn't help rolling my eyes. Here he was, a real gentleman…

"I'm summoning my Toy Soldier in Attack Mode!" He declared. A small soldier, dressed in red uniform appeared with a rifle in his hands(ATK/DEF:800/300). "I'll set two facedowns and end my turn." The French man finished.

I frowned while drawing my sixth card. Those little soldiers didn't look like such a big deal… However, I decided not to underestimate the fellow. He still had a rifle in his hands after all! Bonaparte's deck didn't surprise me though. French people were known for the French Revolution and Napoleon… We were going to ignore that small stereotype about their army being weak. That would just (reasonably) piss off the French man.

After looking at the cards in my hand, I couldn't help smirking. It was my first turn, yet I've already drawn one of cards Ben had given me! Could my luck be any better?! "I'll begin with Ocean Amoeba in Defense Mode!" I spoke up. An amoeboid, blue creature, with inconsistent body shape and eyes appeared on the field (ATK/DEF:900/400). " I'll set two facedowns." I finished my turn.

Bonaparte drew another card. "There's one detail I forgot to mention, Mademoiselle." He spoke up with a smirk. "And that is, Signore?" I demanded. However, I was also wondering whether I really wanted to know… That smirk wasn't helping!

"If my Toy Soldier is on field during change of turns, I can automatically get two more from my deck and summon them to the field!" The French man explained, taking out two cards. Two more soldiers appeared.

I frowned. "They still have less points than my Amoeba." I pointed out. "It doesn't matter, because I'll activate 'Forced March'!" Bonaparte lifted up a card in his right hand. It glowed for a few moments. "By halving their Attack Points, I can have them attack you directly!" He clenched his right fist.

My eyes widened in surprise while Toy Soldiers started marching towards me. However, I then smirked. My neighbor was basically asking for his loss…

"I activate 'Fair Trade'!" I cried, just as Toy Soldiers came in front of me. The facedown lifted itself up, revealing Ben's Trap Card. I could see Bonaparte looking at the card in confusion. Smiling, I mentally thanked Ben for letting me borrow this thing. If he didn't, I'd lose at least 1200 points by now!

"When this card is activated, I can switch your direct attack to one of my monsters," I started. "And since Amoeba is the only one on my field, one of your soldiers has to attack it." I explained smugly. I may still lose some Life Points, but at least it will be worth it…

One of Toy Soldiers marched to the Amoeba. He fired a cork from its rifle, destroying the monster. I covered my eyes with a right arm. Then I quickly looked up to see two more Toy Soldiers marching towards me.

"Those two haven't attacked yet." Bonaparte reminded with his arms folded. That was when the soldiers fired their corks straight towards me. My eyes widened and I quickly covered my head with a loud yelp. Toy Soldiers, huh? Did they realize it was impolite to hit a lady?!

I let out a yelp of surprise once I felt something hitting me into head. It wasn't strong, but I could still feel it! "Damn it!" I exclaimed and quickly turned away from the field. I could feel something hitting me in the back. "Cazzo!" I cursed and started rubbing the place where I had been hit.

With that move, I lost 800 points.

Bonaparte: 4000 LP

Me: 3200 LP

Once I quickly recomposed myself, I turned around to face the man. "By destroying my Amoeba, you activated its Special Effect," I started as calmly as I could. "Once it's destroyed, you lose the amount of Life Points equal to its Attack and Defense Points combined."

"Quoi?!" Bonaparte's eyes widened in shock. "You heard me right." I nodded smugly. Blue light started glowing around his body, costing him 1300 points.

Bonaparte: 2700 LP

Me: 3200 LP

"I end my turn with a facedown." Bonaparte frowned. "SHOW HIM, SERENA!" I could suddenly hear Ben's voice from somewhere in the arena. "Con piacere, Ben. Con piacere…" I responded with a smirk while drawing another card.

I looked at it for a moment before nodding. "I activate 'Graceful Charity'," I lifted up the card in my right hand. "It allows me to draw three cards, but I'll have to discard two after." I drew three cards and put them in my left hand. I then took 'Nitrogen Boost' and 'Forest Fungus', discarding them.

Those cards were definitely useful, but I couldn't activate the former without Wetland Flycatcher… As for the latter, absorbing points worked more on monsters with higher ones, which wasn't the case with Bonaparte… He was good, I had to admit. His monsters may have been weak, but direct attacks made up for it!

"Then I'll activate 'Mother Nature!" I lifted the card which began glowing. "Once this card is played, I'm allowed to Special Summon a monster from my hand," I explained before taking another card. "And I choose Wetland Dingo!"

The dingo appeared on the field with a howl (ATK/DEF:2400/1800). "I'll also summon Desert Rose in Defense Mode." The plant appeared on the field (ATK/DEF:1000/500). "Wetland Dingo, attack one of his Toy Soldiers!" I then cried, clenching my right fist.

"Not if I activate my 'Toy Cannon'!" Bonaparte suddenly shouted, revealing one of his facedown cards. A cannon with three Toy Soldiers appeared. My eyes widened in surprise. 'Toy Cannon'? What the hell was that thing supposed to be?!

"Thanks to my cannon, your monster is forced into Defense Mode." The French man smiled smugly. I looked at my monster, my eyes widening even more as it was forced into Defense Mode. Damn… "You also lose 400 points as a bonus!" He added.

I let out a growl while my Life Points fell to 2800.

Bonaparte: 2700 LP

Me: 2800 LP

Crowler played it smartly when he chose Bonaparte as my opponent… Ben could have told me everything about Crowler's deck, but no one has seen the French man dueling so far!

"Questo significa la guerra." I growled. "C'est la vie, Mademoiselle." The man smiled smugly. I quickly looked at my cards to see whether I could do something else during this turn. Thankfully, I could.

"I'll activate 'Mystical Space Typhoon' to destroy one of your two facedowns." I took the card and lifted it up. Once of the facedowns lifted themselves up. It looked like some sort of chains. However, it was quickly destroyed. I didn't even want to think what those chains were supposed to represent… Thank goodness I managed to destroy it!

Seeing I had no cards in my hands now, I knew there was nothing else I could do. "I end my turn." I said simply.

"I activate 'Pot of Greed' to draw two cards! Then I'll summon Toy Lieutenant in Attack Mode!" Bonaparte declared. A monster similar to Toy Soldiers, but with a bit different uniform with medals appeared on the field (ATK/DEF:1400/900). It had a bigger rifle in its hands.

"And thanks to his summoning, I can activate 'Lieutenant's Command'!" The French man lifted up another card, which showed the Lieutenant marching alongside two soldiers. "By halving their points, two Toy Soldiers can join Toy Lieutenant in a direct attack!"

By now, I was gaping at Bonaparte. Those little idiots were going to attack me again?! What did I do to deserve DIRECT attacks?!

"But I'm not done with it, because I'll activate 'Fife and Drum Corps' to double Toy Soldiers' Attack Points!" The man used another card yet again.

A marching band consisting of several soldiers appeared. They marched up to those three. Toy Lieutenant and Toy Soldiers then marched up to me…

"I activate 'First Aid'!" I quickly exclaimed, revealing Ben's second facedown. "It gives me 150 Life Points for each monster you have on field." I explained the card's effect. "Since you have three, I think you know what that means…"

My points rose to 3250.

Bonaparte: 2700 LP

Me: 3250 LP

"It doesn't matter, you'll lose points nonetheless! FIRE!" Bonaparte shouted.

I let out a scream and quickly covered my head for the second time today. That was when I could feel one cork hitting me in the head yet again. "Damn it!" I cried, dropping hands off it. The second one hit me in a cheek, making me yelp in pain. But the third one hit me in the torso near chest, which was definitely the worst…

Bonaparte: 2700 LP

Me: 250 LP

Once I looked at my gear, a feeling of panic washed over me. I had only 250 Life Points left!

"Mademoiselle, I'm not done!" Bonaparte then said, making me look up in fear. What now?! "I activate 'Unequal Treaty'!" The man revealed his facedown card. "With this, you agree to lose 100 points every time you draw a card, and your loss becomes my gain!" He declared smugly.

My jaw dropped to the floor as he ended his turn. By now, I was in complete panic. My loss was practically there… He was going to win, and Ben and I were going to sing... Why?! I might as well give up!

"You can't give up now!" The boy exclaimed. "But I have 100 points left." I told him with a sigh. "It's not over yet. Never give up, even when things look bad." He responded encouragingly.

I blinked for a few moments, processing what just flashed through my head. Another memory, that was for sure…

However, those words suddenly gave me a huge boost of confidence. The boy was right, this wasn't over yet… I could still turn things around if I had luck with cards! I had been in a similar situation before!

"My turn." I growled while drawing a card. I lost 100 points while Bonaparte gained them.

Bonaparte: 2800 LP

Me: 150 LP

Once I looked at it, a small smile appeared on my face. This was just what I needed! "I activate 'Card Of Sanctity'!" I cried. "Now both of us get to draw cards until we have 6 each." I drew 6 cards while Bonaparte drew cards as well.

After looking at all of my cards, I smirked. I had what I needed to win… "I'll summon Arctic Fox in Attack Mode." The fox appeared on the field (ATK/DEF:1800/1600). "Now, attack his Toy Lieutenant!" I ordered, lifting up my right hand.

The fox ran to the Lieutenant and slashed at him with its claws. It was destroyed, costing Bonaparte 400 points.

Bonaparte: 2400 LP

Me: 150 LP

"Then I'll sacrifice Arctic Fox, Desert Rose, and Wetland Dingo to summon my Desert Cobra!" I exclaimed. Three monsters disappeared while I lifted up the card in my hand. The cobra appeared on the field (ATK/DEF:0/0).

"Now, for every card I send to graveyard from my hand, my cobra gains 1000 points!" I explained the monster's Special Effect. I then sent three cards, making it gain 3000 points.

Bonaparte frowned. "Not good enough to win. My Soldiers still have 800 points." He pointed out. "I'm aware of that." I sighed in annoyance. "Which is why I'll activate this!" I lifted up another card with a smirk.

"I activate my Field Spell, Earth!" I put the card in slot meant for Field Spells. Scenery around us changed immediately. It consisted of forest, wetland, desert, island, mountain, grassland, ice and ocean combined as one. Or, in other words, it contained a bit of every creature's natural habitat.

I could hear people gasping in the arena. I took a moment to look at the scenery. This was the first time I actually played this card in a duel, and I had to admit, it looked beautiful… I quickly shook my head to get back to my senses. I still had a duel to win!

"Once my field spell is activated," I started, making Bonaparte look at me. "All monsters' on your side of field decrease by 600, and mine increase for the same amount." I explained smugly. The snake's points rose to 3600. "Sacre bleu." The man's eyes widened. "That means…" "Si, Vice-Chancellor, this duel is over." I nodded with a smirk.

I then looked at my monster. "Desert Cobra, attack his Toy Soldier!" I ordered. The snake hissed and charged at one of the soldiers. It bit it with its fangs, destroying it in process. Smoke appeared, and Bonaparte covered his eyes while his Life Points dropped to zero.

Bonaparte: 0 LP

Me: 150 LP

I deactivated my Duel Disk and put my deck in the box on my waist. The monsters disappeared from the field. That was when it finally dawned on me. I… I won…

However, I realized everything was deadly quiet. Looking around, I could see Bonaparte frowning. Everyone else was looking at the two of us. I bit my lip. What was up with everyone being quiet?

As if they had heard me, there was no more silence. Suddenly, people stood up and started cheering loudly.

"CUZO, YOU WON!" Someone suddenly tackled me to the ground. I let out a yelp and quickly turned around to see Ben on top of me. "Yeah, I won," I let out a laugh. "But could you please get off me?" "Sorry." He did so and then helped me up.

Look on my cousin's face was pure happiness. "You totally kicked Bonaparte's butt, now we don't have to sing!" He shouted ecstatically. "You helped me with your cards." I reminded with a frown. "Yeah, but you still played them right." He grinned.

Suddenly, a pure feeling of joy washed over me. I was feeling so happy I wouldn't have to sing… I was feeling so happy I won! And knowing that felt so good…

Ben suddenly pointed at something to me. My eyebrows furrowing, I turned around to see what he was pointing at. I could see Crowler walking up to Bonaparte. Both of us were looking at Ben and me with frowns. We smirked in response.

"That was a good duel, Mademoiselle." Bonaparte said simply, with the frown still on his face. I was a bit taken aback by that comment. I could tell he was angry, so I didn't actually expect from him to say something like this... "Thank you, Signore. You sure gave me a run for my money with your direct attacks." I responded with a nod. He nodded as well before striding away. Crowler ran after him.

Ben's hand on my shoulder made me turn around. Chazz, Syrus, Hassleberry, Alexis and Bastion were walking up to us. "That was a good duel." The black-haired boy said simply. "Thank you." I nodded blankly. "Now we don't have to sing!" Alexis smiled. "Thankfully, because that would be a catastrophe." Ben let out a sigh of relief.

Alexis and I looked at him in surprise before the three of us burst in laughter. I couldn't help it, what Ben said was true… Bastion, Syrus, Hassleberry and Chazz blinked at us for a few moments. However, they then burst in laughter as well.

---

"Are you completely sure I was in some sort of a trance back then?" I asked my cousin again to make sure. Right now, we were in my room. Sun was slowly setting, marking the end of the day.

Ben nodded. "I am. You literally didn't hear me calling you!" He argued. I sighed. I still couldn't remember what exactly happened during that time… But, thankfully, Ben had an idea what to do. He was the one who saw what my 'trance' looked like, since I wasn't aware of it.

"Fine then, call Aunt Maria." I pleaded. "I'll do it on Friday, and I'll ask her if she knows anything about trances." He nodded in agreement.

Once he said those words, I turned around to look through the window. First Yuki couldn't see his cards, and then I was in some sort of a trance… Things were getting stranger and stranger by the day here!

Well, finally done with this chapter!

Words in Italian:

Bene-fine;

prego-you're welcome;

cugina-cousin;

con piacere-with pleasure;

il vicino-neighbor;

lo giuro-I swear;

Signore-Mister;

Questo significa la guerra-This means war.

Words in French:

Quoi-What;

C'est la vie-It's life.

I hope you liked it and until next time! :)