No Such Duel Chapter 13:
International Dueling
3 Months Later, at the Juvenile Facility,
1 week before the Loud Sisters get released,
The Loud Sisters were getting their lunch from the mess hall, and were just heading to get a table, when some of the inmates put their feet out in front of them, causing them to trip. This incited a large amount of laughter from the other inmates.
"Looks like the Klutzy Loud Sisters are planning for fall!"
"Hope they had a nice trip!"
"Talk about stupid! They need to watch where they're going!"
"Hey, we wouldn't have fallen if you guys didn't trip us!" Lynn yelled.
"Oh, how unexpected! Lynn LAME Jr. is blaming others for her own mistakes!" one of the inmates, getting more laughs.
"Quit laughing at us, or I'll get the warden involved!" Lola threatened.
"Ooh, we're so scared! But that's just like you, Lola! Always tattling to others!" another inmate laughed obnoxiously.
"That's enough out of all of you!" one of the guards yelled, causing the laughing to die off, "As for the five of you, get your food, and sit down!" he said unsympathetically. The Loud Sisters picked up their food that hadn't touched the ground, and made their way to one of the far tables. The other inmates made it very clear that the five of them were not welcome at any of their tables.
"Are we any closer to getting out of here?!" Lori snarled, as she ate her lunch.
"We've only been here for 3 months. We still have one additional week of court ordered behavioral rehabilitation left," Lisa replied.
"This is all Stinkcoln's fault! Him, and his bad luck! If we never went to confront him at the Duel Dome, none of us would ever been in this mess!" Lynn ranted.
"Highly improbable. Uncles Ross and Randy were the ones who found Lincoln, meaning our brother told them about our mistreatment of him because of your misguided delusions of grandeur. Even if he never announced that Open Tournament, there's no doubt that the two of them would've gotten a warrant to search our home for the incriminating evidence against us. After all, we never took down those chains or boards, or the sign that banned Lincoln from his room, which was already substantial evidence against us. And if you take into account the shoddy repair jobs that our parental units put into repairing the house, there's no doubt they would also add that to our list of charges," Lisa explained.
"I didn't understand a word you just said," Lynn stated dismissively.
"She said that even if Lincoln never announced the Open Tournament, the cops would get a warrant to search our house, and find all the incriminating evidence to use against us in the trial," Luan stated.
"And besides, this never would've happened if you had just acted maturely, and just accepted your loss like a proper athlete instead of making up a bullshit excuse like bad luck!" Lori chastised.
"But it's true! The Squirrels were dominating the Softball league all season, until Stinkcoln came along and jinxed the game out of spite!" Lynn countered.
"As mad as I was at Lincoln for getting us into this mess, I'm getting sick of hearing you blame him for YOUR loss, Lynn!" Lola chimed in. Apart from Lynn, who still refused to admit she was wrong about her brother, the other four Loud Sisters had learned their lesson thanks to the harsh, yet effective, methods used by the staff.
"Lola has a point. Is it really that hard for you just to take loosing with a grain of salt and just get over it?" Luan asked.
"My name rhymes with 'win'. And a winner is what I am, and what I'm supposed to be! Besides, what other excuse could there be for MY loss against the Lions that day!?" Lynn yelled.
"I have a perfectly sound explanation; The Lions simply practiced harder, and had a strategy built around your Good Luck Rituals during the game," Lisa quipped.
"LOUDS! The warden wants to see you, immediately!" one of the guards yelled.
"The Warden? They never have anything to do with the rest of the inmates, so why us?" Lola wondered.
"Well, let's not keep him waiting. If we're in trouble with him somehow, I'd rather not get in any more trouble," Lisa said, as the five of them got up and the guards escorted them to the Warden's office. It took about seven minutes to get there. Inside, both Alistor and Lila Venomous were sitting at the desk.
"You wanted to see us, Warden Venomous?" Lori asked.
"Yes. I am proud of you girls. Each and everyone of you has made excellent progress in your rehabilitation, and are ready to be released next week," Warden Venomous said, before quickly glancing at Lynn, "Well, four of you, any way," he quickly said. He and Lila both knew that Lynn was still stubbornly hanging on to her misguided grudge against Lincoln, despite all the harsh punishments that the sporty sister had endured.
"That's great! But, I assume that there's more to this visit rather than your praising us?" Lisa asked
"Always the observant one, eh, Lisa? Well, you're right. There's a major reason we had you called in here. As you know, the TV in the Juvenile Facility commons room gets all manner of TV programming. The TV in our office is just the same. Your brother is going to be on, as he takes on 7 of the best Duelists in the world," Lila explained.
"That's right. Towards the end of our Duel against him, he said that he, along with seven others received a Spirit Key to keep the Forbidden Deck from ever being released, since he's one of the Top 8 Duelists in the world," Luan commented.
"Right. And the other seven have arrived from around the world for an End of Summer Duel Exhibition Tournament," Alistor replied, as he turned on the TV, "We invited the five of you here to watch the match alongside us," he explained.
At the Royal Woods Boot Camp,
"So we get to see Lincoln in action against seven other Duelists from around the world?" Luna asked, as she and Lana were in their Aunt Rhonda's office.
"Right. From what your brother said, the other seven are all exceptionally talented. Some of them being even stronger than he is," Rhonda replied.
"Stronger than Lincoln? But he totally destroyed us in our match against him!" Lana exclaimed.
"This just goes to show that there's always someone stronger," Luna replied.
At the Royal Woods Mental Institute,
"Oh goody! We get to see Linky!" Leni exclaimed, as she and Lucy were seated in front of the TV.
"I wonder how this will turn out," Lucy commented, as the opening ceremonies were beginning.
At the Royal Woods Duel Dome,
"Welcome, one and all, to the Royal Woods Duel Dome! Today, we've got something truly spectacular, as Royal Woods has been chosen to host the International End of Summer Duel Monsters Exhibition Tournament, featuring the strongest of the strongest Duelists from around the world! And here they are!" the announcer bellowed, as smoke filled the arena stage, "First up, from Bombay, India, he's a good hearted boy, but nevertheless a vicious Duelist, please welcome the number 8 Duelist in the world, Hadji Khatari!" the announcer bellowed, as a boy dressed in Indian Clothes emerged from the smoke, a big smile on his face.
"It's an honor to be here!" Hadji exclaimed, waving to the stands.
"Next up, number 7 in the race for first, from Boden, Sweden, we have Sven Gustavsson!" the announcer declared, as a teen boy, dressed in a fancy purple suit emerged, a smug smirk on his face, "Number Six on our countdown, this girl is as feisty as her martial arts prowess, all the way from Hong Kong, China, Mei-Mei Chang!" the announcer declared, as a rather busty girl in traditional Chinese attire, with her hair done up in buns, did a back-flip onto the stage, along side the other two Duelists. She had a cute smile on her face all the time, "And now, from Berlin, Germany, is our number five Duelist, it's Fritz Banwart!" the announcer said, as a short boy with messy brown hair emerged from the smoke, "Next up is our Number Four Duelist! In the past, he had to hide his identity to keep certain individuals from knowing who he was, but now, here he is, Lincoln Loud of Royal Woods, Michigan!" the announcer exclaimed, as the stadium erupted in cheers, as the aforementioned boy walked onto the stage.
"This is a surprise. You're not wearing that mask?" Sven asked.
"Don't need it anymore. Those certain individuals that the announcer mentioned got in trouble with the law, and now I'm free to show my face," Lincoln replied.
"Well, it will make things much more interesting facing you, head on," Mei-Mei said.
"Moving on, from Sierra Leone in Africa, we have Kimba Mensah, our number 3 Duelist!" the announcer said, as an African boy, wearing tribal African Robes walked up to the group, a proud look on his face, "As next up is our Number 2 Duelist, from Madison, Salt Lake City, Utah, we have Julie Sanderson!" the announcer declared, as a girl about Lincoln's age walked up to the group, wearing an intense look on her face, "And now finally, our Number 1 Duelist in the world! From Tokyo, Japan, it's Yusuke Hagiwara!" the announcer said, as a Japanese boy, dressed in an outfit that looked like something out of Jojo's Bizarre Adventure, walked onto the stage, a hardened look on his face.
"It's been a while since all 8 of us have been together," Yusuke commented.
"I'd say it had to have been right around the time Lincoln joined up with us as one of the Top 8," Fritz commented.
"I still remember that day," Julie commented, her expression never once changing.
"And we wouldn't be here if not for Lincoln's triumph over Night Hawk," Kimba added.
"Yes. You have my gratitude, my friend," Sven said.
"And now, for the tournament to get underway, we'll now randomly select the match-ups for the Tournament!" the announcer declared, as a tournament bracket appeared on the Jumbo Tron, with each spot shuffling between the numbers 1 – 8 at blinding speeds, "And stop!" the announcer said, as the shuffling stopped, showing the match ups, "Alright! Now that we have our match-ups, I'll explain how this works! Each Duelists Ranking is their spot in each bracket, and which ever other number is in that same bracket is that Duelist's opponent! And here we have Mei-Mei VS Sven! Kimba VS Julie! Fritz VS Hadji! And finally our Man with the Plan, Lincoln Loud will be taking on Yusuke! Now, if all other Duelists will vacate the arena floor, the first match-up will now get underway!" the announcer said, as everyone, apart from Mei-Mei and Sven left the arena.
"I can't say I remember the last time you and I dueled," Sven commented.
"Right, because we were always put in different brackets! But now, we'll see which of us is superior!" Mei-Mei said, striking a martial arts pose.
"And now, the computer will now randomly select the Action Field! And it has chose The Misty Forest!" the announcer proclaimed, as the ARC System generated a Dark Forest with a soft mist.
"Ready Sven?" Mei-Mei asked, activating her Duel Disk.
"Whenever you are, Mei-Mei!" Sven called back, activating his Duel Disk.
"LET'S DUEL!" they said.
Mei-Mei: LP: 8000 Hand: 5
Sven: LP: 8000 Hand: 5
