Valentines Day Tag Team

Another day at Duel Academy, and some people are taking easy today, mostly because it's weekend. However, today wasn't any regular day. Today is Valentines Day. The day of romance and romantic love. Therefore, the hallway had a bunch of heart-shaped decorations attached on the walls. Some students were chatting about what they're going to do with whoever they like. Andrew was walking in the hallway, along with Shiori.

"Sounds like many people are excited today." Andrew stated.

"Well, who wouldn't be? They are looking forward for the Valentines Day Festival, after all." Shiori replied.

"Guess they want to spend time with someone special they like."

The ritual duelist turned to his friend. "Speaking of which, do you have someone special in mind? Someone you would like to be with at the festival."

The masked hero duelist shook his head. "No."

Shiori gave him a teasing grin. "Are you sure about that?"

Andrew thought about it. He couldn't think of anyone. Except for one. A certain ponytailed girl. He almost blushed at the thought of that. But, he wasn't really sure how he felt about that someone, so he decided to shrug it off. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure."

The ritual duelist shrugged. "Okay, if you say so."

And with that, they kept walking, completely unaware of the slim, feminine, shadowy figure watching them from around the corner.

"Andrew Wilson. What a handsome boy. And I want him. Yes, today he'll be mine."


At the same time, Alexis and Jenny were walking in another part of the hallway, along with Jasmine and Mindy.

"I just love Valentines Day. The one day of the year when you give chocolate to a cute boy." Mindy said dreamily.

"Well, we got the whole day of flirting ahead of us. So we better start looking for potential dating candidates." Jasmine added.

Jenny and Alexis shook their heads.

"There they go again." Jenny said.

"Well, they were always like that, so what did you expect?" Alexis asked.

"That's true."

They kept walking for a while, until Alexis asked her blue-headed friend. "So, do you have something planned for the festival?"

Jenny looked at he curiously. "Nothing special, really. Why do you ask?"

"I'm just curious. So, are you sure you don't have anything special planned?"

Jenny turned away to think for a moment. It was then a certain Ra Yellow boy popped in her mind, making her blush a bit. When she realized what she was thinking, she shook her head and turned to her friend again. "Yeah, I'm really sure."

Alexis smiled at her friend. She could tell that there was something more in Jenny's mind than she admit. But she decided to let it go. With that, the girls kept walking, unaware of someone watching them from around the corner. The figure was an Obelisk Blue boy with dark green hair and brown eyes and he was well built.

"Jenny, my lovely angel. Your beauty is unsurpassed." He said dreamily, before he clenched his hands in anger. "But then, that Andrew had to ruin my chance to be with her." And then, raised his right fist in the air, and looked up with his eyes with burning determination. "But this time, it will be different. Today Jenny will be mine."


Back to Andrew and Shiori

The two Ra Yellow boys were still walking around i the halls.

"What do you think the others are going to do?" Shiori asked.

"Who knows? I guess we'll find out when…" Andrew replied as he took a turn around the corner, when he suddenly bumped into someone.

"Ow!"

"Ow!"

He rubbed his forehead for a moment before he noticed the person in front of him.

"Oh, Jenny. I'm sorry, I didn't see you there."

The girl in question rubbed her own forehead before glancing at Andrew. "Andrew. Don't worry I'm fine." Her female friends who were with her approached them.

"You alright, Jenny?" Jasmine asked.

"Yeah, don't worry."

Then, it was Shiori who approached them. "You okay?"

"I'm fine, thanks for asking." Andrew replied.

"So, what's going on?" Alexis asked.

"Nothing in particular. We were just wandering around until the festival gets started."

"Same here. We were just hanging around for a while." Jenny replied.

"Well, I'm looking forward to see how it's going to be." Andrew said. "And you?" He asked the fairy duelist.

"Oh, um, yeah, me too." Jenny stammered, a little red on her cheeks. And it was then, Andrew remembered what Shiori asked him earlier and blushed a little as well. The two of them didn't seem to notice Shiori grinning teasingly. Alexis seemed to smile at their state. As for Jasmine and Mindy, they gave them sly looks while covering their mouths with their hands.

After a moment of chatting, the groups went their separate ways. It was then, the girl stalking Andrew and Shiori stepped away from the corner. She had long, black hair with a part of it covering her left face and grey eyes. She was wearing the standard Obelisk Blue girl uniform. She was glaring at Jenny who walked away with her friends.

"Jenny Siegrain. I can't believe that she get Andrew's attention. I'm the one who deserve to be with him. I'd do anything to get her away from him."

"Anything, you say?" Someone asked from behind. The girl yelped before turning around to see who it was. It was the green haired Obelisk boy who followed Jenny's group.

She glared at him. "Where did you come from?"

"Don't you mind about that. More importantly, you are worried about Jenny getting Andrew for herself, right?"

The girl scowled. "And what does that matter to you?"

The boy smirked. "Well, I am also having some problem with romance. And the irony with my problem is that the one I want, is the girl who is getting in your way."

The girl raised an eyebrow. "And your point is?"

"I have a plan to make sure that I get the girl in my dreams. And you can help me with that. And if the plan succeeds, not only I'll get the girl I want, but you'll get the boy you want. It's a win-win situation." He boy held up his hand, offering her a handshake. "So, what do you say?"

The girl didn't really trust this guy that much. But then again, this might be the only chance she had to win Andrew's heart. And if this guy really is interested in the obstacle named Jenny Siegrain, then she would give this a shot. She shook hands with him.

"Okay, I'm in. So, what's your plan?"

The Obelisk boy grinned evilly as he was about to set his plan in motion.


Later on, the Valentines Day Festival was in full swing in the main dueling arena. Just like in the hallway, there heart-shaped decorations on the walls. There were also a bunch of tables with some food standing around the dueling platform of the arena. Many students enjoyed the food while other students chatted with each other. Speaking of food, the Slifer student Jaden was standing at one of the tables and stuffed his mouth with anything edible he found.

"Man, this is great!" He said as he paused for a moment before stuffing himself even more.

Syrus and Chumley, who were with him, sweat dropped at his action.

"He better leave some for other people as well." Syrus said.

"Well, not that it would be very likely." Chumley replied.

Michael and Shiori, who were holding drinks, stood nearby and shook their heads at this.

"Geez, how much can Jaden even eat?" Michael wondered.

"It's almost like his stomach is a bottomless hole or something." Shiori added.

Andrew was standing somewhere else, enjoying a drink of his own.

"This festival isn't so bad." He said to himself while smiling, before taking a sip.

Just a few steps away from him, Jenny was standing behind him, with her own drink in her hands. She just stood there, staring at her cup in deep thought. Just standing there with him, on Valentines Day of all days, made her contemplate everything she went through with him. From when they first met, when he saved her from one of the shadow duelists in the abandoned dorm, and other things that happened. Good and bad things. While she thought about it, she could feel her heart beat faster than usual.

'What's with this feeling? Whenever I think about these things or when Andrew do something nice to me, I can't help but blush. It's not like I'm...' She paused as she glanced at Andrew. 'Andrew may be a good friend, but it feels like a part of me wants to be more than friends with him. I wonder how he's feeling?' Jenny stood there for a moment and before she knew it, she approached Andrew slowly.

Andrew slet out a delighted sigh as he finished his drink. It was then he noticed Jenny walking up to him. "What's up Jenny?"

The blue-headed girl was silent for a few seconds with a hesitant look on her face, then she spoke up. "W-well... I um…"

Andrew was a little confused by her state. "Is something wrong?"

"Oh... I um…" Jenny took a deep breath before she looked at him with determination in her eyes. "Andrew, there is something I would…"

"Get in line, sister!"

Both jumped due to the voice who surprised them. They turned to see an Obelisk Blue girl standing in front them with her hands placed on her hips and a smirk on her face. She had black hair with a part of it covering her left face and grey eyes.

"Um, who are you?" Andrew asked weirdly.

The girl approached him while giving him a seductive look. "Tracey Medina, an Obelisk Blue."

"Nice to meet you." He greeted. "I'm…"

"Andrew Wilson, I know who you are." Tracey said. "I've seen some of your duels. You are a skilled duelist, and cute too."

Andrew blushed a little. Jenny on the other hand, didn't like this.

"Um, thank you. If you don't mind, I'm talking to my friend here for a moment, so…"

"No no no." Tracey cut him off. "There is something I want to say that is more important than her."

Jenny started to get annoyed. "What's that supposed to mean?"

The black-haired girl glared at her. "I'm not talking to you." She then turned to Andrew and smiled. "As I was saying, there is something I want to say." She paused for a moment, letting Andrew waiting patiently for her to speak up again. When she did, her next words was something really unexpected; "I want you to be my date for the day."

Both Andrew and Jenny widened her eyes by this. An Obelisk Blue girl, who Andrew hardly knew, asked him out for a date. Jenny was really shocked by this.

'Did she just ask him out for a date!?' She exclaimed in her mind.

As for Andrew, it took him for a moment before he recovered from his own shock and spoke up. "Um, I'm sorry, while I am flattered by your affection, we hardly know each other. Therefore, I have to say no."

His words made Jenny sigh in relief. Tracey on the other hand, wasn't pleased.

"That wasn't a question. I want you to be my date, and I won't let you get away that easily."

Jenny was now starting to get angry. "Can't you take a hint? Andrew said he doesn't want to be your date, so beat it and leave him alone."

"Why leave him alone with you, when you could have some fun with me?" A new voice spoke up from behind Tracey. Andrew and Jenny saw the person who spoke up. An Obelisk Blue boy with dark green hair and brown eyes. And this person was someone they recognized.

"Norman?" They both said.

"In the flesh." He replied with a smug look on his face.

"What are you doing here?" Andrew asked angrily.

"What do you think? I'm here to help Jenny come to her senses and be with me."

Now Jenny was getting really angry. "My senses!? You're the one who needs to come to your senses. I think it was made clear to you that I don't want to be with you."

"Come on now, Jenny dear, what is so wrong to spend some time with someone like me." The Obelisk boy asked he gave her a 'charming' smile.

Andre crossed his arms. "As I recall, you and I dueled each other and agreed that the loser would leave Jenny alone. And the one who lost, is you. So go away."

Those words just made Norman shrug. "That's too bad, cuz I was about to offer you a chance to make Tracey here leave you alone."

The Ra Yellow boy raised an eyebrow. "What are you plotting?"

"Not much. Just a way to settle this since you two are being stubborn."

Andrew, having an idea what Norman was about suggest, scoffed. "Are you suggesting that we settle this in a duel."

Norman gave him a determined smirk. "Yes, but it won't be a simple one on one duel."

"Huh?"

"It will be... a tag duel."

"What?" Andrew and Jenny said.

"That's right, me and Tracey vs you two. If you win, then we'll leave you alone. But, if we win…" Norman pointed at Jenny. "You will become my date."

The fairy duelist gasped at this.

"And the same thing applies to us, Andrew." Tracey said, addressing the boy in question.

"Are you serious?" The masked hero duelist asked.

"I think they are." Jenny said.

"What should we do?"

The blue-headed girl sighed. "This might be a pain, but I don't think we have a choice."

Andrew stared at her for a few seconds before nodding and turned to Norman and Tracey. "Okay, we accept your challenge."

The two stalkers smirked. "I thought so."

And so, the four duelists stepped on the dueling platform and took their positions. Many students were gathered around them, including Jaden, Syrus, Chumley, Shiori and Michael.

"Look guys. It's Andrew and Jenny." Jaden said. "And they're going to duel."

"No way. A tag team duel?" Syrus asked.

"Looks like it." Chumley replied.

"And it looks their opponents are Norman and that girl, whoever she is." Shiori said.

"I think her name is Tracey." Michael said. "But I don't really know anything about her."

"Then maybe I can tell you what I know." Someone spoke up from behind. The group turned around to see who it was.

"Alexis?"

"Tracey is an Obelisk Blue student from second year, and she's using a burn deck, meaning that she's focusing on direct damage and using cards to stall for time."

"Wow! Sounds like a dangerous deck." The ritual duelist said.

"Well, I know that Norman has an obsession over Jenny, but why did he convince someone like her to team up with him in a tag duel?" Michael wondered.

Alexis crossed her arms. "From what I saw when they went up to the platform, Tracey was focusing on Andrew the whole time. My guess is she is obsessed over him and want to make him date her."

"So, if Andrew and Jenny loses, then they'll be forced to date with them?" Syrus asked, making the blonde-haired girl nod.

"Well, I'm not worried." Jaden said. "Andrew and Jenny are great duelists. With their decks combined, there's no way they can lose."

"I hope you're right." Michael replied.


Over on the platform, the duelists strapped on their duel disks and inserted their decks.

"Okay, this is it." Jenny said. "We better not lose."

"Don't worry." Andrew said, getting her attention. "I know we can win. I believe in your dueling skills. Do you believe in mine?"

Jenny widened her eyes of Andrew's belief in her skills. She then smiled. "I do. Let's do this."

"Are you two done yet?" Norman asked from the other side. "We want to end this quick, so I can have some fun with Jenny."

"And Andrew will be mine." Tracey added.

"Never gonna happen." Jenny scowled.

"Let's get this started." Andrew announced.

Everyone activated their duel disks and drew their opening hands.

"DUEL!"

Andrew & Jenny: 8000

Norman & Tracey: 8000

"I'll go first." Jenny announced as she drew her sixth card. "And I'll start by activating the field spell The Sanctuary in the Sky." The duelists found themselves at the familiar stone palace in the clouds. "Then I summon Radiant Jeral in defense mode." Appearing on her field was a creature that looked like some kind of statue made of emerald and glass. It had three eyes on the front of its head, and on its back was a pair of glowing white-feathered wings. Floating above and below its body were two large golden halos. (ATK: 1000 DEF: 2000 LV: 4) "I'll place one card facedown and end my turn." She concluded, inserting one card.

"I'll show you a real move." Tracey said while drawing a card. "First I summon Nurse Reficule the Fallen One." A woman appeared in front of her. She had long purple hair and bat-like wings on her back. She was covered from head to toe in bandages that were styled like a dress. (ATK: 1400 DEF: 600 LV: 4) "Then I activate the spell card Upstart Goblin. This lets me draw one card from my deck, then you gain 1000 life points." She drew a card and observed as the spell carrd unleashed a blue aura that surrounded her opponents.

"So she just give us some points just to draw a card?" Andrew wondered.

Jenny on the other hand grimaced. "No, this is a trick."

"Exactly." Tracey replied while smirking. "You see, with Reficule on my field, any life points you would gain are inflicted to you as damage, instead."

"No way!" Andrew exclaimed.

"Unleash your Anti-Cure!" The purple-haired woman held her palms and fired a beam of energy which caused the aura surrounding Jenny and Andrew turn red. They winced as their life points went down.

Andrew & Jenny: 8000-7000

After recovering the assault, Jenny frowned. 'This is bad. That monster will be troublesome. Especially against my life point increasing strategies.' She glanced at her facedown card.

The second year Obelisk Blue girl noticed the look on Jenny's face and smirked deviously. "Oh, are you worried about your facedown card?"

Jenny gasped upon hearing her question that.

"Then let's see what you're hiding." Tracey held up another spell card. "I activate the spell card Bait Doll. With this I can flip up one facedown card, and if it happens to be a trap card, I can force its activation. And there's only one card available, so…"

Jenny watched in disbelief as her facedown card flipped up, and showed everyone what it was.

"Solemn Wishes." Andrew said, grimacing at where this is going.

"That trap card would normally increase Jenny's life points when she draw cards from her deck." Norman said.

"But that won't be the case, thanks to Reficule." Tracey said.

The fairy duelist glared at her.

"Don't worry, the sooner this duel ends, the less humiliation you will suffer. I end my turn with two facedown cards." Two card appeared behind the bat-winged woman.

"It's my turn." Andrew announced. "And I summon Elemental HERO Woodsman in defense mode." The wooden hero appeared and kneeled down in front of him. (ATK: 1000 DEF: 2000 LV: 4) "Next I play a facedown and end my turn." A card appeared behind the hero.

"Then it's my move." Norman drew a card and smirked at what he got. "I summon Shadowslayer in attack mode." A monster rose from the ground. It was a humanoid creature wearing a green outfit with a sword strapped on its back. It was holding a small, curved blade in its right hand. What made this creature creepy, was its head which happened to be the skull of an animal, like a horse or something. (ATK: 1400 DEF: 200 LV: 4) "And this monster has a special ability. If all monsters you have on the field are in defense mode, then he can attack you directly."

Andrew and Jenny gasped at this.

"And since I'm the last person to go, I can attack right now. Shadowslayer, attack!" The skull-headed monster dashed at the Woodsman and disappeared. Before Andrew could say anything, the monster appeared right in front him and slashed him with its blade.

Andrew & Jenny: 7000-5600

"Are you okay?" Jenny asked, worriedly.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Andrew assured her.

"Not for long." Norman said as he inserted two cards into his duel disk. "I place two cards and end my turn.

"Okay, now I…" Jenny said as she drew a card.

"Don't forget, Reficule will cause you to take damage instead of gaining life points." Tracey reminded her. "Which means your Solemn Wishes card will take away 500 points from you."

Jenny glared at her opponent as the trap card took effect.

Andrew & Jenny: 5600-5100

"Aw man." Syrus groaned. "Andrew and Jenny are on a bad start here."

"How wouldn't they be? The duel has just started, and they already lost 2900 life points." Shiori pointed out.

"They need to get rid of that Reficule, or they will lose the rest of their life points in a few turns." Michael said.

"I know they can win. Just wait." Jaden said confidently.

Jenny looked at her hand. She glanced at one card in particular. 'Airknight Parshath. My plan was to summon him by sacrificing Radiant Jeral and increase my life points. But because of Tracey's monster, that is out of question. I need to get rid of it and I know how.' She took another card from her hand. "I summon Nova Summoner in attack mode." The orange circle-like creature with wings appeared in front of her. (ATK: 1400 DEF: 800 LV: 4) "Now attack her Reficule!" The Summoner's core glowed with a green light and fired a blast of energy at the bandaged woman.

"You just walked right into my trap." One of Tracey's facedown cards flipped up. "Magic Cylinder."

"Not that one." Andrew said.

"Oh, but it is. And due to its effect, the attack is sent back to your life points." Two cylinders appeared, one of them absorbing the attack. The blast came out of the other one and Jenny took a direct hit from it.

Andrew & Jenny: 5100-3700

"Jenny." Andrew said worriedly.

"I'm fine." She assured him.

"Yeah right." Tracey scoffed. "This is your second turn, and you have already lost over half your life points. I've heard you were skilled, but so far, pretty lame. Even more reason that Andy should dump you."

"Andy!?" The boy in question asked as his eyes bulged outward.

"You don't even know him and you're treating him like your soulmate!?" Jenny screamed. "What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing's wrong. Just saying that you don't deserve someone like Andrew. Now, make your move."

Jenny was starting to get really annoyed by her.

"Cam down, Jenny." Andrew said, getting over the shock of the nickname Tracey gave him. "Don't listen to her. If we're going to defeat them, we need to stay calm, be rational. Let's show them what we can do." He said the last part with a smile.

Jenny took a deep breath and smiled back. "You're right. Let's do this." She then took a card from her hand. "I place one card facedown and end my turn.

"My move." Tracey drew a card. "I activate the spell card Pot of Greed. It lets me draw two cards. And then I summon Bowganian in defense mode." The monster that appeared next to Reficule was a green, spiky ball with one eye and a pair of arms. The creature was also carrying a crossbow and floated above an image of its card. (ATK: 1300 DEF: 1000 LV: 3) "Then, I'll place one card facedown and end my turn." A card appeared behind Bowganian.

"My turn." Andrew drew a card. "I activate Woodsman's special ability. During my standby phase I can take a Polymerization from my deck…"

"And add it to your hand, right?" Tracey cut him off. "Sorry Andy, but I was prepared with this trap card." One of her facedown cards flipped up. "It's called Divine Wrath, and it lets me negate your monster's special ability and destroy it. All I have to do is discard one card from my hand." Tracey discarded one card from her hand and the trap card shot a stream of energy that destroyed the wooden hero.

"Not my Woodsman."

"And it gets worse. You see, the card I discarded was Burning Algae." A soon as those words left Tracey's mouth, the spirit of a tree with an ugly face appeared. Its branches were covered in flames instead of leaves. "When this card is sent to my graveyard, it would normally give my opponent 1000 extra life points."

"But because of Reficule's ability…" Andrew said.

"Those points will damage you instead. Go Anti-Cure!" The bandaged woman fired another beam of energy, causing damage to Andrew and Jenny's life points.

Andrew & Jenny: 3700-2700

"Okay, then I'll go with plan B. I summon Elemental HERO Blazeman." The armored warrior with the burning head appeared. "Then I activate his special ability. Since he was summoned I can take a Polymerization from my deck and add it to my hand."

As Andrew searched through his deck, Tracey clicked her tongue upon her attempt to stop his fusion summoning failed.

"And now I'll use it to fuse Blazeman and Avian in my hand to form Elemental HERO Nova Master" The green hero with feather wings appeared and was absorbed into a fusion vortex along with the red armored warrior. And then, the red and orange armored fire hero appeared in their place. (ATK: 2600 DEF: DEF: 2100 LV: 8) "Now Nova Master, destroy Reficule!" The fire hero started to form a fireball with his palms.

"Stop right there!" Norman called out. "I activate my trap card." One of his facedown cards flipped up. "Anti-Fusion Devise! In case you're too dumb to figure it out, this card lets me destroy a fusion monster on the field, like your Nova Master." A big, sphere-like capsule appeared. There was a glass dome on it that opened up and started a vacuum effect, trying to suck the fire hero in.

"Sorry, but you won't destroy my hero that easily." Andrew took a card from his hand and inserted it into his duel disk. "I activate the quick play spell card Form Change. With this card, I can take my HERO fusion monster back to my fusion deck and replace it with a Masked HERO with the same level as that monster." Nova Monster's entire body glowed brightly and started to change form. "I summon Masked HERO Dian!" The transformation was now complete and Nova Master was now standing on the field as the silver armored hero. (ATK: 2800 DEF: 3000 LV: 8) "And Nova Master was your original target, which means your trap card won't do anything.

The capsule stopped what it was doing and disappeared. Norman gave Andrew a glare. "Why you…"

"Now, let's try this again. Masked HERO Dian, attack Reficule!" The silver armored warrior dashed at the bandaged woman.

"I play my trap…" Tracey's facedown card flipped up. "Wall of Revealing Light! When this card is activated, I must pay a certain amount of my life points, and then, this trap card prevents you from attacking with monsters whose attack are lower or equal to the life points I paid. And I think 3000 points should be enough." And like the name suggested, the trap card created a wall made of light, blocking the attack.

Norman & Tracey: 8000-5000

"And now, my Reficule is safe." She said triumphantly.

"Guess again." Jenny called out, getting everyone's attention. "I activate the trap card Trap Jammer." The trap card flipped up. "During the battle phase, I can use this to negate the activation of a trap card and destroy it."

"B-but then... that would mean…"

"Andrew's attack will get through." Jaden said.

"Awesome." Syrus cheered.

"That's more like it." Michael added.

Tracey's trap card shattered into pixels, making the wall of light disappear.

"Now Dian, strike her down!" The masked hero stabbed the bandaged woman, making her shatter into pixels.

Many people were confused by the fact that Norman and Tracey didn't take any damage.

"That's weird. Why didn't they lose any life points?" Jaden wondered.

"Did they use some kind of card effect or something?" Syrus added.

"No, it's the field spell." Alexis said.

"What do you mean?" Chumley asked.

"As you guys know, The Sanctuary of the Sky can protect the player from taking battle damage when their fairy type monsters are in battle." Michael explained. "Which means…"

"Reficule is a fairy type monster." Shiori filled in.

"So you got rid of that monster, but that didn't cause any damage to us." Norman sneered. "You just wasted your attack."

"Do you think so?" Andrew asked as the masked hero held up her sword in the air and caused a portal appear.

"What!? What's happening?" Tracey asked.

"This is Dian's special ability; when she destroys a monster in battle and sends it to the graveyard, I'm allowed to summon a level 4 or lower Elemental HERO directly from my deck."

"Are you kidding me? There's no way you can do that." Norman protested.

"Watch me." Dian lowered her sword and stepped back as a monster came out of it. The monster was a certain turbine winged hero. (ATK: 1800 DEF: 300 LV: 4)

"Stratos." Jenny said as she recognized it.

"Indeed it is. And since he was summoned, I can activate one of his abilities. And I choose the first one; for every other hero monster I control, he can destroy one spell or trap card on the field. So there goes for Norman's facedown card." The propellers on the hero's turbine wings rotated and and created a cyclone and forced Norman's card reveal itself before it was destroyed. "That was Bark of Dark Ruler. So if I attacked your Shadowslayer with Dian, you would have been able to reduce her attack points to zero by giving up some of your life points."

Norman growled.

"Whoa! That would have been really bad." Syrus commented.

"I actually wondered why he didn't attack Shadowslayer first." Shiori admitted.

"I guess Andrew suspected that Norman would do something to destroy his monster." Alexis said.

"No doubt about it. Way to go you guys!" Jaden cheered.

"Now Stratos, attack his Shadowslayer!" The turbine winged hero jumped over to Norman's field and punched the fiend type monster really hard.

Norman & Tracey: 5000-4600

"I end my turn."

"Look what you've done!" Norman screamed while glaring at his partner. "Because of you, they are catching up on us."

"What!?" Tracey asked, feeling offended. "Don't blame me! That bimbo Jenny is the one who messed up with us!" That part earned her a glare from the latter.

"Don't you dare talk about her like that! You just stay out of my way." Norman drew a card and looked at his hand. 'Hmm. Not much to do, but better than nothing.'
"I play a monster in defense mode." A facedown in a sideway position appeared. "Then I'll place one card facedown and end my turn." Another card appeared.

"Wow, good move." Tracey commented sarcastically.

"Shut up!"

"Sorry to interrupt, but it's my move now." Jenny called out as she drew a card. "And with Reficule gone, I'll regain 500 life points thanks to… gyah!" She stopped at mid sentence when she was surrounded by a red aura that seemed to damage her.

Andrew & Jenny: 2700-2200

"What? But Reficule is gone. So why did we still lose life points?" Andrew asked, being shocked by the loss of points.

"Take a look, Andy." Andrew and Jenny turned to Tracey who pointed at a face up trap card on her field. "I used my trap card Bad Reaction to Simochi. And as you probably guessed, this continuous trap card's effect is the same as Reficule."

"What!? Then they're back to square one." Syrus said.

"Not Lishus." Chumley added.

"Tracey knows how to make sure to damage her opponent's life points. This won't be easy." Alexis said.

"They're still in this. A duel is not over until the last card is played." Jaden said.

"Then let's see what they'll do." Michael added.

'Okay, so we're still not out of Tracey's life point damage strategy. But we can still win this if we play our cards right. And I know how to start.' Jenny looked at the card she drew before inserting it into her duel disk. "I play the spell card Magic Planter. This lets me send a continuous trap card from my field to the graveyard, like Solemn Wishes." The named card disappeared. "And then I can draw two cards from my deck." She looked at the cards she drew and smiled at what she got. "Next I place one card facedown. And now I sacrifice Nova Summoner in order to summon Airknight Parshath." Jenny's monnster disappeared and was replaced by the centaur fairy. (ATK: 1900 DEF: 1400 LV: 5) "Now Parshath, destroy Bowganian!" The Airknight galloped forward and raised his sword.

"I activate my trap card." Norman's facedown card flipped up. "It's called Shift, and this lets me change the target for your attack. So instead for Bowganian, your target will be my facedown monster." The trap card glowed and as if being attracted by the glow, the centaur galloped over to Norman's field and swung his sword, making the facedown monster flip up. The monster that was revealed was a writhing, disgusting giant single celled organism, the very living manifestation disease itself. (ATK: 1000 DEF: 100 LV: 2)

"Is that... Giant Germ?" Andrew asked.

"Looks like it." Jenny replied. "But right now, let's focus on Airknight Parshath's special ability. If he attacks a monster in defense mode, he'll cause damage equal to the difference between his attack points and the opposing monster's defense points." The Giant Germ was then slashed by the centaur's sword and exploded.

Norman & Tracey: 4600-2800

"And since he caused some battle damage, I get to draw a card from my deck." Jenny explained while drawing a card.

"That's not the only thing you get." Norman said. "Since Giant Germ was destroyed in battle, its special ability activates, giving you 500 points of damage." And once again, Jenny was suffering by a red aura.

Andrew & Jenny: 2200-1700

"And as a bonus, I'm allowed to summon up to 2 other Giant Germs from my deck." Two copies of the first germ appeared on the field. (ATK: 1000 DEF: 100 LV: 2) x 2

Jenny looked at the card she drew and inserted it into her duel disk. "I play another card facedown and end my turn.

"My turn." Tracey drew a card and smirked. "And now it's time to experience my Bowganian's special ability. During my standby phase, you'll take 600 points of damage." The one-eyed giant ball took aim at Jenny and shot her with its crossbow. The arrow went through her body, causing her to grunt by the damage.

Andrew & Jenny: 1700-1100

"Then I'll place two cards facedown and end my turn." Two cards appeared behind her monster.

"Don't tell me that's all you can do." Norman scowled.

"Shut your mouth!" She snapped. "It's not like you did any better."

"What was that!?"

While the two Obelisks were bickering, Andrew and Jenny shook their heads.

"They may be tough duelists, but it seems that Norman forgot to add teamwork to his plan." Andrew said.

"All true. That's at least one advantage we have." Jenny added.

Andrew nodded before calling out to their opponents. "Excuse me!" They stopped their bickering and turned to him. "I wish to make my move, please. I don't have time for some fight." He then drew a card and looked at it.

"Don't worry, Andy. It's already over, thanks to my trap card…" Tracy's facedown card flipped up. "Just Desserts."

The spectators gasped at this.

"Oh no! That card can end this duel right now." Shiori said.

"This is not good." Michael added.

"What? What's with that card?" Syrus asked.

"Just Desserts is a nasty trap card." Alexis replied. "It gives the opponent 500 points of damage for every monster on their side of the field."

The blue-headed gasped in horror.

"And since this is a tag team duel, Andrew and Jenny are on the same side." Jaden said in realization. "Which means both Andrew and Jenny's monsters are included."

"Not lishus." Chumley commented.

"Let's see, there are two monsters on your field, two more monsters on that bimbo's field." Tracey counted. "So there are four monsters on your side, meaning you will take 2000 points of damage."

"Excellent." Norman said while grinning evilly. "With that amount of damage, this duel is over."

"And I'll have Andy for myself, just like you promised. Now Just Desserts, finish this!" The trap card fired a beam of energy that went straight toward Andrew. "Now you're mine!" Tracey said triumphantly.

Andrew closed just closed his eyes and smiled. "I think not."He said, making the opposing Obelisk girl confused. And then something surprising happened; The energy beam was blocked by an invisible wall, protecting Andrew from any harm.

"What!? What hell just happened!?"

Andrew opened his eyes and glanced at his partner. "How about you ask Jenny?"

Tracey came over her shock and turned to the fairy duelist and noticed a face up trap card on her field. "What's that?"

"It's a trap card known as Divine Punishment. It's a special counter trap that I can only use while I have The Sanctuary in the Sky in play. With this I can negate your spell, trap, or monster effect and destroy it. I could have used it on your Bowganian, but I had a feeling you would play something in an attempt to wipe out the rest of our life points in one turn. And it seems I was right."

Tracey glared at her. "How dare you?"

"How? Because I don't like when someone like you would try to force my friend to be your date, even after he said he's not interested." That caused Tracey to harden her glare. "And if you don't mind, I think he would like to make his move."

"Thank you. And I'll start by playing Pot of Greed, letting me draw two cards from my deck." He drew from his deck and smiled at what he got. "Then I activate the spell card Mask Change. And I'll use it to change my Stratos to a new hero." The turbine winged warrior was surrounded by a pillar of light. "I summon Masked HERO Blast!" The light faded and revealed a warrior clad in a green and black with a red gem in the middle of the chest plate and a golden belt around his waist. He was also wearing a red scarf around his neck. (ATK: 2200 DEF: 1800 LV: 6)

"Sweet! A new Masked HERO." Jaden commented.

"I wonder what that one can do." Michael said.

"When he's summoned, a monster loses half of its attack points, and I choose Bowganian." The new hero conjured a ball of green energy and threw it at the one-eyed creature, weakening its points. (ATK: 1300-650)

"Then I play another spell card, Enemy Controller." A giant video game controller with a cable appeared. "This card has two effects, and I can use one of them. I choose its first effect, which lets me change one of your monsters' battle mode, so I'll force your Bowganian to attack mode." The cable of the controller attached itself to the named monster. And then, some of the controller's buttons were automatically pressed in following order: A, down, left, B, left, up. After that, the image of Bowganian's card disappeared. "Then I activate my Blast's ability. By paying 500 life points, I can send one spell or trap card on the field back to its owner's hand.

Andrew & Jenny: 1100-0600

"And I choose your facedown card, Tracey." The hero held up his palm and made her facedown card glow.

"Then I'll use it before that happens." Her facedown card flipped up. "I activate the trap card Threatening Roar. Due to its effect, you can't attack this turn."

Andrew widened his eyes before sighing. "Then I'll just end my turn."

"My move." Norman drew a card and glanced at it. He smirked. "This is just what I needed. It seems that our direct damage plan is not busted after all." He said triumphantly as held up the card he drew. "I play the spell card Rain of Mercy." A bunch of gray clouds appeared above the field. And then, it started to rain.

"Huh? What is this?" Jenny wondered.

"Don't you know? My spell card can give extra life points. In fact, its effect is to give both sides 1000 points."

Jenny gasped in horror. "But then…"

"That's right my dear. With Tracey's trap card in play, your points will be reduced instead."

"Finally! We won, Andy is mine." Tracey cheered.

Jenny couldn't help but look down in disbelief. Is this really the end? Is she really going to be forced to be Norman's date? Is this...

"This isn't over." Andrew spoke up, snapping Jenny out her thoughts.

"What are you talking about? You're about to take damage." Norman retorted.

"That's what you think. Masked HERO Blast, activate your special ability!" At his command, hero held up his palm again. And then, everyone noticed a certain card on the field glowing.

"Bad Reaction to Simochi?" Tracey asked. And it was then the trap card suddenly disappeared. "What the…?" And then, the card appeared in her hand. "What the hell happened?"

"This is my Blast's ability." Andrew replied, smirking. "You remember, don't you? I can send a spell or trap card back to the hand by paying 500 life points."

Andrew & Jenny: 0600-0100

"What!?" Norman exclaimed angrily. "Are you saying that is some kind of effect that can be used during either player's turn?"

"That's right. So that means the damage we were supposed to take will increase our life points instead." True to Andrew's words, the rain caused a blue, healing aura surround both teams.

Andrew & Jenny: 0100-1100

Norman & Tracey: 2800-3800

"Sweet! They're still in this." Jaden said.

"For a moment there I thought it was over." Shiori said.

"Awesome!" Syrus cheered.

"They'd better keep this up." Alexis added.

Norman growled. "Okay, if that's how it's gonna be, then I'll just take down your hero pest. I sacrifice my two Giant Germs in order to summon Zoa." The two germs disappeared and a new monster rose up. It was a huge, blue-skinned demon with powerful limbs and yellow fangs. (ATK: 2600 DEF: 1900 LV: 7)

"2600 attack points." Andrew mused. "This one is tough. But at lest my Dian is stronger."

"Maybe, but that can be fixed later. You should worry about your other monster. Time to say goodbye to your Masked HERO Blast. Zoa, attack! Glimmer Strike!" The huge demon bent down and fired off a glowing X mark that flew toward Andrew's monster.

"I play my trap." Andrew announced as he revealed his facedown card. "Trap Hole of Spikes!" At that moment, Zoa's attack disappeared, and a giant hole materialized beneath its feet. ANd of course, it fell down and was destroyed.

"What!? What did you to my monster!?" Norman demanded.

"I used my trap card to stop him. With my Trap Hole of Spikes, I can destroy an attacking monster that was either normal or special summoned this turn."

"No way!"

"But that's not all." Andrew continued as he smirked. "You also take damage equal to half of that monster's original attack points."

Norman winced as he was surrounded by a dark, purple aura.

Norman & Tracey: 3800-2500

"Nice move, Andrew." Jenny commented.

"Thanks."

Norman was now glaring hard. "Andrew Wilson, don't you ever quit?"

"No, I won't. Because I'll keep dueling until the very end." The masked hero duelist said determined.

"Yeah, you tell him." Jaden cheered.

"Keep fighting, you two!" Shiori cheered.

The fiend duelist started to get frustrated.

"Nice going, idiot." Tracey scowled.

"Shut up! Just shut your mouth and stay out of this! I play a spell card. Card of Demise. So now I can draw until I have 5 cards in my hand." Norman drew a new hand and looked at the cards he got. "This should do. First i activate the spell card Offerings to the Doomed. This card forces me to skip my next draw phase. But in return, I can destroy a monster on the field. So there goes for your Masked hero Blast." The green and black armored hero surrounded by a purple aura before shattering into pixels. "Then I'll play Monster Reborn in order to bring back Zoa." The blue-skinned demon rose up on the field once again. (ATK: 2600 DEF: 1900 LV: 8) "Then I activate the equip spell Pestilence. This card can only be equipped to a warrior, beast-warrior, or spellcaster type monster. So I'll add this card to Dian." As soon as the the spell card appeared, a dark, evil-looking ghost appeared and flew over to Andrew's field. The ghost entered the body of the silver armored hero, making her cry out in pain.

"What's happening?" Andrew asked.

"This is the curse of my Pestilence card. The attack points of the equipped monster are reduced to zero." (ATK: 2800-0) "There's more. During my standby phase, this card gives the controller of the equipped monster 500 points of damage. And then, I'll place one card facedown and equip my Zoa with the spell card Raregold Armor." A facedown card appeared on the field, and the spell card that appeared right next to it made the skin of the huge demon turn golden. "WIth this equip spell in play, my Zoa is the only monster you can attack, so don't even try. I end my turn."

Jenny bit her lower lip. 'That means we can't attack Bowganian before getting through him. What can I do?' She was about to draw a card but stopped herself.

"Hey, Jenny. Are you hesitating?" Andrew asked, getting her attention.

"Huh?"

"I know the situation is pretty bad, but there's no reason to hesitate. I know we can win this. You're one of the best duelists I ever seen, so I know you can turn this around. Because, like I said earlier, I believe in your dueling skills." He finished with a smile.

Jenny widened her eyes at those encouraging words. She then smiled softly. "Thanks Andrew. She then focused on the duel. "We can still win. I draw."

"You can't possibly win now." Tracey said smugly. "Remember, Bowganian will take away 600 of your life points on my next turn."

"And during my standby phase, my Pestilence card gives the controller of the equipped monster 500 points of damage." Norman added. "So be a dear and stand down."

"I don't think so." Jenny replied. "As a certain someone would say; I won't stand down until the last life points expires." That earned her a smile and nod from Andrew. "Besides…" She glanced at the card she drew. "This duel is over."

"What?" Norman asked.

"What do you mean by that!?" Tracey demanded.

"I'll show you, starting with this; I summon Fairy Archer in attack mode." The new monster was a fairy with yellow and red wings. She had red, short hair. Her outfit was a skirt made of leaves, a dark-blue body suit with light-blue frills, and light-blue gloves. She was holding a bow in one hand. (ATK: 1400 DEF: 600 LV: 3) "This monster has a special ability; in exchange for not attacking this turn, she can deal 400 points of damage for each light-attribute monster I control. So by including Fairy Archer herself, I got 3 light monsters, so you'll take 1200 points of damage." The fairy held up her free hand and borrowed some power from Airknight Parshath and Radiant Jeral to create an arrow made of light and shot the Obelisk girl on the opposing side of the field.

Norman & Tracey: 2500-1300

Tracey grunted. "Is that all you got?" She asked angrily.

"No, this just the beginning. I activate the spell card Mystic Wok. With this, I can sacrifice a monster and add its attack or defense points to our life points. I choose to add Radiant Jeral's defense points to our life points." The emerald statue disappeared and Jenny was surrounded by a healing blue aura.

Andrew & Jenny: 1100-3100

"But that's not all, Radiant Jeral's ability activates. With The Sanctuary in the Sky in play, it gives me a thousand more life points when it goes to the graveyard."

Andrew & Jenny: 3100-4100

"Sweet! They regained some of their life points." Jaden said.

"They're going to need it in order to win." Alexis added.

"Now I'll play the last card in my hand." As Jenny held up said card, the centaur fairy started to glow brightly. "I sacrifice Airknight Parshath in order to summon Neo-Parshath, the Sky Paladin!" The light died down, and Airknight replaced by its stronger form, with shield and sword in hand. (ATK: 2300 DEF: 2000 LV: 7)

"That's the strongest monster in Jenny's deck." Michael pointed out.

"Really cool." Shiori added.

"Now when my Parshath has evolved, he will get even stronger. When The Sanctuary in the Sky is on the field, and if I, or rather we, happen to have more life points than you, the difference is added to his attack and defense points." The majestic fairy glowed with a golden aura. (ATK: 2300-5100 DEF: 2000-4800)

Everyone gasped at its extra power.

"Sweet! With that many attack points, They can win this duel." Jaden said.

"Awesome! Way to play!" Syrus cheered.

"Yup, that's exactly what I would do." Chumley added.

"You don't say." Shiori replied while rolling his eyes.

"Well played, my dear Jenny." Norman complimented, before smirking. "But not good enough I'm afraid. Because you triggered my trap…" His facedown card flipped up. "Black Horn of Heaven."

"What does that do?" Andrew wondered.

"I'm glad you asked. I can only activate it when my opponent would special summon exactly 1 monster. I get to negate the summon and destroy the monster." A big, black horn with wings appeared and let out a trumpeting sound as it fired a beam of black energy.

"Not good. If Neo-Parshath gets destroyed, then Andrew and Jenny might not last long enough to win." Michael said worriedly.

"Come on." Shiori muttered.

The beam got closer to Jenny's fairy.

"Your monster is finished!" Norman said triumphantly.

But then...

"I play my trap card." Jenny announced as her facedown card flipped up. "Counter Counter!"

"What? What's with that card?" Norman asked.

"Well, it's just like the name suggests. I can use this counter trap in order to negate another counter trap, like your Black Horn of Heaven." The energy beam was blocked by Jenny's trap and the horn disappeared. "So there's nothing to stop my monster."

"No! Hang on a second!" Norman pleaded in a panicked manner.

"I don't think so. Neo-Parshath, attack! Destroy his Zoa with Celestial Judgement Blade" The super powered fairy raised his sword and swung it downward, creating a large arc of energy which destroyed Norman's fiend monster and struck him head on, causing him to fall down.

Norman & Tracey: 1300-0000

The holograms disappeared, and the spectators cheered loudly.

"They won!" Syrus cheered.

"That was wicked!" Jaden said.

"Well done." Alexis said.

Andrew sighed in relief before turning to Jenny. "Nicely done, Jenny."

"Thanks. I'm just glad we won."

"I never doubted you for a sec. I knew you could lead us to victory."

Jenny smiled softly. "Thanks."

On the other side of the platform, the fallen opponents weren't so happy.

"I can't believe it." Tracey moaned as she slumped her shoulders. "I lost my chance to have a date with Andy."

As for Norman, he stomped toward her with an angry look on his face. "I demand an explanation, Tracey! You said the life point damage plan was fool proof. And yet, they managed to defeat us. What do you have to say?"

Tracey was really offended and gave him a glare. "Are you saying it's my fault? You said you knew everything we needed to know about their dueling styles. Besides, this whole thing was your idea, so don't blame me for your plan being ruined."

Norman scoffed. "I guess the only mistake I made for this plan was teaming up with someone like you. I should have known that your deck was pathetic, just like your obsession over And… GYAH!" He stopped at mid sentence as he got kicked by Tracey. And the worst part of this was that she aimed at a certain area between his legs.

Everyone who saw this couldn't help but cringe at that.

"Aw man." Syrus said.

"That wasn't fun." Jaden added.

"Ouch." Michael grimaced.

"I know Norman is a jerk, but still…" Alexis said.

Norman fell to his knees and grunted uncomfortably while covering his crotch. Tracey huffed angrily before leaving the arena. Andrew and Jenny stepped off the platform and joined their friends.

"That was a great duel, guys." Shiori praised.

"You were amazing there." Michael added.

"I thought you were going to lose for a while." Syrus admitted.

"Yeah, but you two made a sweet comeback." Jaden said.

"Thanks. That duel wasn't easy." Andrew replied.

"I'm just glad it's over." Jenny added.

Everyone then heard a growling sound from Chumley's stomach. "Can we eat now?" Everyone laughed.

"Sure. There's a lot of food left." Jaden said as he went to grab some.

"Didn't he had enough?" Michael asked disbelieved.

"Apparently not." Syrus replied.

And so, they all rejoined the festivities. Jenny however remembered that she was trying to tell Andrew something important. She glanced at him, considering about telling him. But then she shook her head.

'Maybe this isn't the right time. I'll wait until I'm absolutely sure about how I feel.' She then smiled. 'Besides, I don't know how he feel, so there's no reason to push it.'

Alexis noticed the look on her face and smiled herself.


And done. I'm sorry for taking a month to update my story. I just hope this chapter was worth the wait. Until next time.