Birthday Bash

Another bright day at Duel Academy, and everything was peaceful around here. Even the ocean was calm. But if one took a look out there, one could see a sailing ship make its way to the island. And onboard the ship was a short, old man with a grey beard. He was wearing a white robe and a straw hat.

"Ahh, Duel Academy." He sighed delighted. "Just as great as ever. Now on to business."


In the infirmary, Alexis was sitting next her brother's bed, who was sleeping peacefully. He had become better, but nothing more has changed. That saddened the Obelisk girl.

The doors opened and allowed Jenny to enter. "Hey Alexis. How are you doing?"

"So so." She replied almost quietly.

The fairy duelist took a chair and sat next to her. "And how about your brother?"

"He's getting better. He woke up some time ago, but he hardly said anything before falling asleep again."

Jenny gave her friend a sympathetic look and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry. He'll be back on his feet again. Just give him some time."

Alexis nodded slowly. "Yeah."

"Man, what a bummer." Someone muttered. The Obelisk girls widened their eyes before turning to the bed next to Atticus, upon which was lying Kaito (formerly known as Death). Only, he was now wide awake and rubbed his head.

"Oh, you're awake." Jenny noted, getting the Obelisk boy's attention.

"Oh! Hi there." He greeted with a small smile. "How long have I been asleep?"

"Only a few days." Alexis replied. "Right after you told us about Camula's powers."

"Oh yeah, I remember now." Kaito's eyes widened in remembrance. "I think I also mentioned the Shadow Rider named Black Thorn."

Jenny nodded. "Yeah, you did. In fact, we dueled her quite recently." She pointed at a bed on the opposite side of the room. Kaito followed her finger and saw a sleeping Cynthia Pepper laying on it.

"Cynthia? So it was her."

"Yeah, she was hard to defeat, even when we teamed up against her." The fairy duelist mentioned.

"I hear ya." The former Shadow Rider glanced at the sleeping Rhodes. "So how is Atticus?"

Alexis eyes were sad again. "Not entirely well."

Kaito frowned. "Poor guy. He's probably been the most affected by the Shadow Realm, out of the three of us."

"He just needs more rest." Fontaine said while entering the room.

"Hi Miss Fontaine." Kaito greeted.

She smiled in return. "Good to see you awake."

"Thanks." He replied before wincing and placed a hand on his head. "Though, I'm still a little worn after that shadow duel."

"Then let me check on you before letting you rest more." The nurse approached him.


After a while, Alexis and Jenny decided to leave the infirmary and headed to their dorm. Once they arrived, they were surprised to see Clover pass by with a relatively big box containing a chocolate cake. It was quite big. The girls noted the white icing that was used to write the words 'Happy Birthday'.

"Clover?" Jenny called out.

The red-head turned around and faced them. "Oh, hey girls."

"What's that cake for?" Alexis asked.

Clover smiled. "You mean this? Well, it's for the..." She paused as she realized something. "Oh, I guess you two don't know?"

"Huh?" Alexis and Jenny blinked.


In the Chancellor's office, Sheppard was sitting at his desk and did some paperwork. He heard the sound of the hissing of the door that opened and looked up to see a short, gray-bearded man with a straw hat approach him. "Hello there, Sheppard!" He greeted happily.

The Chancellor smiled. "Well, if it isn't Hartmut? How have you been?"

"Haha! Just great as usual." The man now named Hartmut replied happily. "And what about you?"

Sheppard didn't drop his smile, but internally, he sighed. He didn't want his old friend to find out about the whole Shadow Rider deal. "Oh, everything's been fine around here. A little busy though."

"Speaking of business..." Harmut trailed off as he took a piece of paper from his robe and handed it to the Chancellor.

Sheppard read it for a moment before nodding and looked at him again. "Yes, everything is fine here. You have my permission to do business here."

"Thank's a lot, my friend. Now, if you excuse me..." Harmut turned around walked away while grinning giddily. "...I'm about to earn some money!"

As soon as he left the office, Sheppard shook his head as he smiled in amusement. "I see you haven't changed at all, my friend."


"Andrew's birthday?" Jenny asked in surprise

"That's right." Clover confirmed him. "Didn't he tell you?"

Jenny gave her an embarrassed look. "Actually, he did. But, all these crazy thing that occurred here kinda made me forgot about it."

Clover gave her an understanding look. "I can't say I blame you. I'm sure anyone could forget because of that. Especially with all those Shadow Riders. Anyway, I thought we could have a surprise party for him."

"Sounds great." Alexis replied with a smile.

"Yeah." Jenny agreed. But then, she looked thoughtful. "If I haven't forgotten about it, I would have more time to pick out a present."

"Don't worry, I'm sure he'll like whatever you get." Clover assured her.

"Yeah, but..." Jenny started to speak up, but stopped when Alexis placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Listen, you don't have to make a big deal about this. You know as well as I do that Andrew will treasure your gift, no matter what it will be."

Jenny let the words sink in for a moment. She then smiled softly. "You're right. Thanks for that." And then, she proceeded to leave the dorm.

"Oh! Just to let you know..." Clover called out. "The party will take place in the Ra Yellow dorm."

Jenny turned back and nodded. "Got it." She then left.


Jenny walked around the campus, pondering on the birthday present dilemma. "What should I get Andrew?"

As she kept walking, she arrived at the beach. And it then she noticed a group of students, gathered around a stand. That was quite confusing to her. She never even heard of anything about a stand being here.

"Looks like Hartmut is getting many customers today." A voice spoke from her side.

She turned and saw Sheppard standing there with his hands behind his back. "Chancellor Sheppard?"

He greeted her with a smile. "Hello there, Jenny."

"What's going on here, Chancellor?" The fairy duelist asked, turning back to the group of people.

"Oh, it's just my old friend, Hartmut. He's a merchant who travels around the world to sell nice items. Once a year, he always comes to this island to sell some of them to the students... after he gets the permission of course."

"Uh-huh." Jenny nodded, understanding the situation now.

"So," The Chancellor gave her a curious look. "Are you going to have a look?"

Jenny glanced away. "Well.." She trailed off as she remembered that she was looking for a birthday present. Maybe this traveling merchant could help her. "Maybe."

Sheppard nodded. "Then I suggest you do. Hartmut comes here once a year, after all." With that said, he walked away, leaving Jenny alone.

She turned back to the stand, now knowing what to do.


Meanwhile, Clover and the others were in the Ra Yellow dorm's cafeteria and prepared for Andrew's surprise party. Michael, Shiori and Bastion were hanging up decorations on the walls. Syrus, Chumley and Matt were placing plates on one of the tables. Xander was sitting at another table and was staring at his laptop for some reason. Alexis and Clover were inside the kitchen and worked on the food... after getting permission from the chefs, of course. As for Jaden...

He was staring at the chocolate cake, drooling at the sight. "Man, that cake looks tasty." He commented as his right hand reached out for it. "Can I please just..."

SLAP!

"Ow!" He yelped after his hand got slapped by Clover, who gave him a glare.

"Don't even think about it! That cake is for later. Touch it before the party gets started, and you lose your fingers. Got it?"

Jaden gulped. "Crystal."

Alexis shook her head. "Honestly, Jaden."

Clover came out of the kitchen and turned to the others. "How's it going?"

"There are a few more decorations to add." Michael replied.

"The table is set." Matt said as he, Syrus and Chumley finished placing the cups.

"Good." Clover smiled. She then turned to Xander, was curious about his focus on the laptop. "What are you doing, Xander?"

The mechanic looked up. "Just keeping watch, so we know when Andrew arrives."

Shiori turned to him. "Are you using your toy spy car again?"

"Nope." Xander replied nonchalantly. "Instead, I'm using this..." He then held up an item high enough for everyone to see. It was a small, black sphere with three spider-like legs. The gang also noticed the camera lens sticking out of it.

"What's that?" Chumley asked.

"A spy camera. One of the few I built and placed outside the dorm building. Look..." He showed everyone the screen and they were surprised to see about four windows. Each one of them showed one of the areas outside the building.

"Wow." Syrus said in awe.

"Quite brilliant of you." Bastion complimented.

"Thank you." Xander replied gratefully.

"You certainly know how to whip up something from the junkyard." Michael commented.

"Speaking of whipping up." Matt said, turning to Alexis. "How's the food going."

"Well, so far so good." The blonde girl replied. "But it's gonna take a while before it's ready."

"Hmm." Bastion hummed in thought. "And how long has it been since Andrew left?"

"About 15 minutes or so." Shiori answered. "If I remember correctly, he went off to rearrange his deck."

Jaden frowned. "It might not be long until he's finished and heads back."

"Then we won't be able to finish the preparations in time." Alexis added.

Clover smirked confidently. "Don't worry guys. I'll give you as much more time as possible."

"How are you gonna do that?" Syrus asked.

To answer his question, Clover reached down under the table and picked up a duel disk.

Jaden's eyes widened in realization. "Oh, that could work."

"You really think so?" Matt asked skeptically.

"Duh, those two got a great rivalry." Chumley said. "The way they duel should make it take a while."

"He's got a point there." Michael agreed.

"Alright then! Get your game on!" Jaden said.

"Right." Clover nodded. "I'll go find Andrew. You guys finish the preparations." She turned around and walked away.

Once she left, Jaden snuck back into the kitchen and approached the cake. But before he could lay a finger on it, he heard Clover's voice. "Oh, and make sure Jaden stays away from the cake!" He flinched while the others laughed at getting busted.


"Thank you! Have a nice day!" Hartmut said to an Obelisk Blue girl, who left with a swan shaped necklace. His stand was full of many kinds of items. Necklaces, rings, even small statues in different forms. Hartmut counted the money he just earned. "Ah, a good business so far today. I'm glad Sheppard allows me to do this here on the island, hehehe!"

"Excuse me?" A girl's voice spoke up.

Hartmut turned to see another Obelisk girl standing in front of him. She had light-blue hair tied in a ponytail. "Oh! Good day, young miss. You here to buy something?"

Jenny nodded. "Yeah, I was hoping to buy something for my friend." She almost blushed. "It's his birthday today and..."

"Oho! So you're hoping to get something special for him." Hartmut deduced. "In that case, let me recommend you this..." He picked up one of the necklaces. It had a round plate with a red jewel shaped like a winged dragon. "This one is a replica of the legendary Dragon Heart Amulet."

"Dragon Heart Amulet?" Jenny repeated.

"That's right. There's a legend it's related to. Once in the dark ages, there was an evil knight in black armor who was undefeated in battle. He cared about nothing else than battling other warriors to prove his superiority. Many knights have tried to defeat him, but failed, costing their own lives.

In desperation, one knight searched aid from a mage. The mage deduced that the evil knight's black armor was enhanced by black magic, allowing him to keep fighting, no matter how many times his enemies struck him down. And so, the mage gifted the noble warrior a magic amulet. The Dragon Heart. Created with a jewel mixed with dragon blood.

The mage claimed that some dragons were immune to magic. Therefore, this amulet was made to give its wearer the power to cut through any other type of magic. Once he was given the amulet, the brave warrior rose up to oppose the black knight. The first strike given to the evil warrior cut through his chest plate. In retaliation, the black knight unleashed more magic to ensure that he would destroy his opponent. But thanks to the amulet, the noble knight was able to block his attacks.

The battle went on, until a storm occurred. Heavy rain fell down. Thunder roared loudly. The two knights were battered, struggling with all their might to keep fighting. None of them gave up. The black knight, furious for the battle being dragged on for so long, mustered the last remaining amount of his black magic, and charged to take down the noble warrior, once and for all. But just as he was about to give the killing blow, lightning struck down on the ground between both of them. The black magic got mixed with the lightning, and as a result, everything became bright.

The noble warrior was able to survive, thanks to his amulet. But, for unknown reasons, the black knight was gone. He disappeared without any trace. Some people believed he died. Others believed he just fled. In any case, no one could ever find him. He was never seen again."

Jenny was a little fascinated by the legend. "Ohh..."

"So then..." Hartmut spoke up with a big grin. "...how about it? Does this sound like a good gift for your friend?"

Jenny pondered on it. She did remember that history was Andrew's favorite subject, he might like the story behind this amulet, even though the story behind the amulet was just a legend. "Yes! This will be perfect. I'll take it."

"Loud and clear." Hartmut replied happily.

Unbeknownst to them, someone was hiding behind the bushes, eavesdropping their conversation.


Meanwhile, Andrew was sitting at a tree, sorting the cards on the ground in front of him. He also had his duel disk laying right next to him.

"Okay, I already used this, so maybe I'll take that one. Oh, and I'll get rid of this trap card, and um..." He trailed off.

"Hi there!" Someone greeted.

Andrew looked up and saw Clover standing right in front of him. He noted that she had a duel disk on her arm. "Hey Clover. What brings you here?"

Clover smiled. "Well, I was looking for a certain birthday kid."

Andrew couldn't help but chuckle. "Is that so?"

"Uh-huh." She noticed the cards on the ground. "Working on your deck, I see."

"Yeah. I was thinking about to try something new. Something that my opponents wouldn't expect from me."

Clover nodded. "In that case..." She held up her duel disk. "How about to test some of your new moves in a duel, right now."

Andrew perked up at that. "Good idea! You're on."

Clover internally smirked. 'This should give the others more time.'


Jenny was heading to the Ra Yellow dorm, with a white gift box, containing the amulet she bought. "This wasn't too hard." She said to herself, glancing at the present with a smile. "Andrew's gonna like it. I'm sure of it."

"Sounds like a reason for me to give it to him." A female voice spoke up.

Jenny stopped and looked up to see a familiar, black-haired Obelisk girl standing in front of her, her arms crossed and a smirk formed on her face.

Jenny scowled at her. "Tracey! What are you doing here!?"

"Oh, I was just looking for a birthday present for my dear, Andy. And it looks like you saved me the trouble." She held her right hand expectantly.

That of course caused Jenny to hold the gift box protectively. "If you think I'm just gonna hand this present to you, then you're as dumb as Norman!"

Tracey glared at her in response. "Don't you dare compare me to that loser! And don't think I'm gonna let you walk away with Andrew's birthday present..." She then picked up a duel disk. "Not without a fight!"

"Fine, if that's the case, then bring it!" Jenny replied.


Andrew and Clover took their position and activated their duel disks.

"Alright, are you ready?" Andrew asked as he drew his opening hand.

"You bet I am." Clover replied and drew her own hand. "Just don't expect me to go easy on you because it's your birthday."

Andrew smirked. "I hope not. Well then..."

"DUEL!"

Andrew: 4000

Clover: 4000

"Since it's your birthday, you can start." Clover offered.

"Thank you." Andrew drew his sixth card. "I'll start with Fortress Warrior in attack mode!" The monster that appeared was a four-legged stone figure. It was using its arms to hold up a round structure with windows. (ATK: 600 DEF: 1200 LV: 2) "Then I'll end my turn with a facedown." A card appeared at Andrew's feet.

Clover raised an eyebrow. "That's an interesting move." She then drew her sixth card. "Not that I will fall for it. I summon Lancer Lindwurm!" The green, bipedal dragon with its purple crystal spear appeared. (ATK: 1800 DEF: 1200 LV: 4) "Then I activate the spell card Night Beam. This lets me destroy one facedown spell or trap on your field, and as a bonus, you can't activate the targeted card as a response to this card's activation."

Andrew's eyes widened. "That's not good."

Once the image of the spell card appeared, it shot out an energy beam and destroyed Andrew's facedown card. "And now, your monster is next. Lancer Lindwurm, attack!" The few up in the air, and landed in front of Fortress Warrior. It stabbed him with its spear... but nothing happened. "Huh?" Clover widened her eyes.

Andrew smirked. "Sorry Clover. But my Fortress Warrior has a special ability. Two actually. The first one is that he can survive in battle once per turn. And, I take no battle damage when he's in a battle."

"Not bad." Clover complimented. "Let's see what else you got. I play a facedown and that's it." She concluded and inserted a card into her duel disk.

"My move then." Andrew his next card. He looked at it and smiled that it was his new duel spirit, Wynn. 'Good to see you.'

The spirit in question appeared. "Hey Andrew!" She greeted. "Let me get out on the field! I can take care of that dragon!" She declared eagerly.

Andrew made sure to not let out a chuckle. 'Worth a shot.' He then placed her card on his duel disk. "I play a monster in defense mode." A facedown card appeared next to Fortress Warrior. "Then I'll end my turn with a card facedown." Andrew inserted a card into his duel disk.

Clover drew. "In that case, I'll start by playing Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV 4!" The small, metallic bird-like dragon appeared. (ATK: 1600 DEF: 1000 LV: 4) "Then I activate the spell card Level Up! And I'll use this to level up my dragon to its LV 6 form!" The dragon was engulfed in black flames and rose up from them as Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV 6 (ATK: 2300 DEF: 1600 LV: 6) "Now let's try this again! Lancer Lindwurm, attack Fortress Warrior!" The green dragon stabbed the stone creature with its spear, getting the same result as before. "That was the first strike! Time for the second! Horus, attack with Black Flame Burst!" The dragon spat a torrent of black flames that engulfed the stone monster, destroying him successfully.

"And there goes Fortress Warrior." Andrew noted.

"And with that done, I activate my dragon's ability. At the end of the turn it destroyed a monster, it evolves into Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV 8." The metallic dragon was enveloped in black flames again. And this time, it rose up in its most powerful form. (ATK: 3000 DEF: 1800 LV: 8)

Andrew almost grimaced. "I was afraid of that."

Clover smirked. "And I'm sure you remember its ability. When a spell card is activated, I can negate it."

Andrew drew a card and smirked. "Then it's a good thing I was prepared."

Clover looked at him disbelieved. "What? Already?"

"Got that right." At that, a trap card came out of Andrew's graveyard, confusing the redhead. "Remember the facedown you destroyed? Well, that card was a trap card known as Breakthrough Skill. And during my turn, I can remove it from play and negate the special abilities of one of your monsters. And my choice is Horus." The metallic dragon groaned as a dark purple aura surrounded it for a moment.

"Were you actually planning to let me destroy your trap card?" Clover asked accusingly.

"Not really." Andrew shrugged. "I actually never thought it would be sent to my grave so soon. Anyway, I reveal my facedown monster." The facedown monster card flipped up, and allowed the young, green-haired spellcaster appear. (ATK: 500 DEF: 1500 LV: 3)

"What's that?" Clover asked curiously.

"This is Wynn the Wind Charmer, and she has a handy flip effect. As long as she remains on the field, I can control one of your wind monsters, like Lancer Lindwurm.

Clover gasped at that.

Wynn smiled and nodded to Andrew before she raised her magic staff, as the jewel at its tip glowed. And then, the spear wielding dragon's eyes glowed green and flew over to Andrew's side of the field. "And with that done, I play the spell card Polymerization! I fuse your Lancer Lindwurm and my Ice Edge to create the Elemental HERO Great Tornado!" The named dragon entered the fusion vortex, along with the icy kid. And then, the green, black and yellow armored wind hero emerged. (ATK: 2800 DEF: 2200 LV: 8) "And with this monster fusion summoned, his special ability activates. Your monster loses half its strength."

Clover watched as her dragon groaned while a whirlwind surrounded it and drained its energy. (ATK: 3000-1500 DEF: 1800-900) "You really got me there."

"I'm not done yet. Because I'm about to give Wynn an upgrade." Andrew declared, making the named spellcaster look at him curiously. He then held up a card. "I activate the spell card Mask Change II. By discarding one card, I can send one of my monsters to the graveyard, and then summon a Masked HERO with the same attribute, but higher level."

"Ooooh!" Wynn got eager at that.

Andrew discarded the last card in his hand. "And now, time for my Wind Charmer to transform!" The green-haired girl closed her eyes, allowing the spell take effect, as her body was enveloped in light. "I summon Masked HERO Blast!" Once the light died down, Wynn was standing in the form of the warrior in green and black with a red scarf. (ATK: 2200 DEF: 1800 LV: 6)

Apparently, that move fused Wynn's spirit with the new monster's body as she looked at herself. "Wow! Incredible! I feel so much stronger!"

Andrew smiled. "You are stronger as well. Just let me explain things here." He then turned to Clover, who didn't hear him whisper to her, or even her voice. "Now I activate Blast's ability. When she's summoned, I can cut your monster's attack points in half."

"What!? Again!?" Clover exclaimed.

"Righto!" Wynn/Blast said as she formed a ball of green energy and threw it at the dragon. It groaned as the green energy enveloped it and weakened it even more. (ATK: 1500-750)

"And since I don't trust your facedown card..." Andrew said, making Clover gasp. "...I'll use Blast's second ability. Once per turn, I can pay 500 and send one spell or trap card on your field back to the hand."

Andrew: 4000-3500

Once again, Blast threw another energy ball.

"I activate Castle of Dragon Souls!" Clover's facedown card flipped up. "Due to its effect, I can remove a dragon type monster from my graveyard and then give my monster 700 more attack points. So I'll remove Lancer Lindwurm from play to increase Horus' strength!" The soul of the green dragon appeared and entered the metallic dragon's body. (ATK: 750-1450) After that, the trap card was hit by the energy ball, disappeared from the field, and reappeared in Clover's hand.

"Nice one. But that doesn't mean your dragon is safe. Masked HERO Blast, attack the Black Flame Dragon!"

"With pleasure!" Blast dashed forward and pulled back her right arm. "Take this!" She delivered a punch right in the face of the dragon, making it explode.

Clover: 4000-3250

"Now, Great Tornado, attack her directly!" The wind hero held up his right palm and created a whirlwind, sending Clover flying before she landed on her back.

Clover: 3250-0450

"That ends my turn." Andrew concluded.


Meanwhile, Jenny and Tracey took their positions and activated their duel disks.

"Are you ready to lose?" Tracey asked cockily.

"More like ready to take you down!" Jenny replied.

"In your dreams!"

"DUEL!"

Jenny: 4000

Tracey: 4000

"I'm gonna make Andrew mine. Just wait!" Tracey declared and drew her sixth card. "I play a facedown monster in defense mode." A facedown monster appeared. "Then I'll end my turn with a facedown card." Another card appeared behind it.

"My turn." Jenny drew. "First I activate the spell card, Terraforming. This lets me take a field spell from my deck and add it to my hand." A card came out of her deck and she took it. "And I'll use it right away. The Sanctuary in the Sky!" The ground was turned into clouds and the big stone palace appeared behind her. "Next I play, Valhalla, Hall of the Fallen." The named spell card appeared on her field. "Since I have no monsters on my field, I can summon a fairy type monster from my hand. So now I play Radiant Jeral!" The unique emerald statue with glowing wings and golden halos appeared. (ATK: 1000 DEF: 2000 LV: 4) "But there's more. I sacrifice it in order to summon Airknight Parsath!" The statue disappeared, and the fairy centaur took its place. (ATK: 1900 DEF: 1400 LV: 5)

Tracey scoffed. "Is that all?"

"Not quite. My Radiant Jeral's effect activates. When it's sent to the graveyard while my field spell is in play, I gain 1000 life points."

Jenny: 4000-5000

"Now, Airknight Parsath, attack!" The centaur galloped forward.

"I activate my trap!" Tracey's facedown card flipped up. "Dimension Wall!"

"What does that do?" Jenny asked.

Tracey smirked. "I'm glad you asked. I haven't forgotten about your little pony's piercing damage effect, So I added this trap to my deck. What it does is to make you take the battle damage from your own attack!"

Jenny gasped at the revelation.

"And that's not the only thing for you to worry about!" The facedown monster flipped up and revealed a familiar giant celled organism. (ATK: 1000 DEF: 100 LV: 2)

"Giant Germ!?"

"Exactly!" Tracey grinned as a dimensional portal opened up behind the disgusting creature. Jenny heard another portal open up behind her. And it was then when the centaur slashed the Giant Germ with his sword, making it explode. The explosion was sucked into the first portal, and came out of the other one, enveloping Jenny, who cried out.

Jenny: 5000-3200

"And here comes Giant Germ's special ability. You take 500 points of damage, and I get to summon two more Giant Germs from my deck." Jenny cringed as a red aura surrounded her.

Jenny: 3200-2700

And then, true to her words, two more Giant Germs appeared on Tracey's field. (ATK: 1000 DEF: 100 LV: 2) x2 "Let's see, if I remember correctly, your Airknight Parsath lets you draw a card. But only when he deals battle damage to your opponent. Too bad for you."

Jenny glared at her before inserting a card into her duel disk. "I play a card facedown, and end my turn."

"Then it's my move." Tracey drew her next card. She looked at it and smirked. "I sacrifice one of my Giant Germs in order to summon Cannon Soldier MK-2!" One of the germs disappeared and a new monster appeared. It was a big robot, with its shoulders, midriff and thighs being purple, while the rest of its body was turquoise. It had silver colored cannons on its shoulders. (ATK: 1900 DEF: 1200 LV: 5)

Jenny frowned. "What's with that robot?"

"You'll see after this. I activate Fiend's Sanctuary. Thanks to this card, I can summon a Metal Fiend Token." A small gray featureless creature rose up on the field. (ATK: 0 DEF: 0 LV: 1) "And then I activate my Cannon Soldier MK-2's special ability. I can sacrifice two monsters and deal 1500 points of damage to you!"

Jenny gasped. "No way!"

"Let me show you!" The Gian Germ and Metal Fiend Token turned into light particles that were absorbed into the robot. And then, it aimed its cannons at Jenny. "FIRE!" It shot out two blasts of energy that blew up the clouds at her feet.

Jenny: 2700-1200

"Now that's what I call fire power." Tracey said smugly. "I end my turn with two facedowns." Two cards appeared at her feet.


Clover stood up, trying to recover from Andrew's attacks.

"You okay?" The Ra asked.

The redhead smiled to him. "I'm just fine. Nice moves by the way!"

Andrew smiled back. "Thanks."

Clover didn't drop her smile, but internally frowned. 'Damn! Andrew's on a roll today. I have to make sure this duel doesn't end too soon.' She drew. "First I activate Level Modulation! For starters, you draw two cards." Andrew did just that. "After that, I can summon a LV monster from my graveyard, ignoring its summoning conditions. And I'll bring back, Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV 8!" From a pillar of black flames, the big metallic dragon appeared again. (ATK: 3000 DEF: 1800 LV: 8)

Andrew frowned. "Him again, huh? Too bad you can't attack with him this turn."

Clover smirked. "Maybe not, but I can do this..." She held up a spell card. "I activate Level Down!"

Andrew widened his eyes. "There's a card that's the opposite of Level Up?"

"That's right, and it works like this; First I get to send a LV monster back to the owner's deck. And then, that monster's weaker form returns from the graveyard and takes its place. So I'll let my dragon change back into its LV 6 form!" The metallic dragon's body glowed brightly as it shrunk in size. And when the light died down, it was now back in its LV 6 form. (ATK: 2300 DEF: 1600 LV: 6) "And with that done, my dragon is no longer unable to attack. Now Horus, destroy Masked HERO Blast!" The dragon spat out a torrent of flames.

Wynn/Blast yelped in fright. "Mommy!" She was then engulfed in the flames and destroyed.

Andrew: 3500-3400

"Sorry Wynn." Andrew muttered.

"And then, I play a facedown and let my dragon's ability wrap things up." While a facedown card appeared at Clover's feet, the dragon glowed brightly and turned back into its level 8 form. (ATK: 3000 DEF: 1800 LV: 8)

Andrew drew and looked at his hand. 'Okay, this will be harder than I thought. With her dragon back on the field, my spells are practically useless.' He then eyed on her facedown card. 'And even if I had something to make Great Tornado a little stronger, it's possible that her facedown card is Castle of Dragon Souls. I need to be careful'
"First I'll switch Great Tornado to defense mode." The wind hero crouched down and crossed his arms. "Then I summon Elemental HERO Shadow Mist, also in defense mode." The black armored heroine appeared. (ATK: 1000 DEF: 1500 LV: 4) "And that ends my turn."

Clover drew. "I activate Pot of Greed." She drew her two extra cards. "Then I'll summon Obnoxious Celtic Guardian!" The elven warrior rose up. (ATK: 1400 DEF: 1200 LV: 4) "And now I equip him with the Magnum Shield spell, giving him extra attack points that are equal to his defense points." While the elven warrior was holding his sword in his right hand, a shield appeared on his left arm. (ATK: 1400-2600) "Then I activate the trap card, Dragon's Rage!" Her facedown card flipped up.

Andrew gasped.

"From now on, my dragons can make piercing damage! Now Horus, attack Shadow Mist! Black Mega Flame!" The dragon spat a torrent of flames and destroyed the black armored heroine.

Andrew: 3400-1900

"When Shadow Mist is sent to the graveyard, I can take a HERO monster from my deck and add it to my hand." Andrew said while searching through his deck and took the card he wanted.

"But I'm not done! Celtic Guardian, attack Great Tornado!" The elven warrior leapt in the air and struck the wind warrior with his sword, making him explode. "I end my turn with a facedown." A card appeared next to Dragon's Rage.

"My move." Andrew drew. "I summon Elemental HERO Flash in defense mode!" The blue and silver clad, electric hero appeared and crouched down in front of him. (ATK: 1100 DEF: 1600 LV: 4) Andrew then inserted a card into his duel disk. "I play a facedown and that's all."

"That's all you say?" Clover asked and drew. "In that case, I activate the trap card, Castle of Dragon Souls!" Her facedown card flipped up.

"I almost forgot about that card."

"And I'm pretty sure you remember what it does. First I'll remove a dragon type monster, like Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV 4." The spirit of the named monster appeared. "And then, for one turn, I can give one of my monsters 700 more attack points." The spirit of the LV 4 dragon entered the LV 8 dragon's body. (ATK: 3000-3700)

"Uh oh!" Andrew said.

"Now Horus, end this duel!" The dragon spat out another torrent of flames...

"I activate Elemental Recharge!" One of Andrew's facedown cards flipped up. "This trap card gives me 1000 life points for every Elemental HERO on my field!"

Andrew: 1900-2900

And it was then when Flash was engulfed in the black flames and destroyed.

Andrew: 2900-0800

"And now I activate Flash's special ability. When he's destroyed in battle, I can remove him from play, plus 3 other Elemental Heroes from my graveyard. And then, I can take back a normal spell card from the graveyard." The spirits of Flash, Ice Edge, Shadow Mist and Great Tornado appeared behind him before they disappeared. He then took Polymerization from his graveyard and placed it in his hand.

"But I still got my Celtic Guardian! Now, attack him directly!" The elven warrior ran forward and raised his sword.

"You forgot about my other facedown card." The card in question flipped up. "Call of the Haunted! Now I can summon a monster back from my graveyard, like Fortress Warrior." The four-legged stone creature rose up on the field. (ATK: 600 DEF: 1200 LV: 2)

The elven warrior stopped himself, and Clover frowned. "Without another monster, attacking that thing is pointless." She then held up a spell card. "I activate Card Advance. This lets me take a look at the top 5 cards from my deck and place them back in any order I want." She took the 5 top cards and looked at them. After a moment, she changed the order and placed them back on her deck. "That's it for now." (ATK: 3700-3000)

"Then here goes!" Andrew drew. "I activate Polymerization! I'm gonna fuse Fortress Warrior with..."

"Stop right there!" Clover interrupted. "You just triggered Horus' ability! Your spell card is negated." The dragon spat out black flames the spell card. But then, Clover noticed Andrew's smirk.

"That's fine. While your dragon is focusing on this spell card, I'll chain its ability with a quick-play spell. Enemy Controller!" The image of the named card appeared. "And I'll use it to switch your dragon to defense mode!" The metallic dragon crouched down.

"No way!" Clover said in surprise.

"And with that done, I summon Elemental HERO Blazeman in attack mode." The flame headed hero in red armor rose up. (ATK: 1200 DEF: 1800 LV: 4) "And now I activate his special ability. Once per turn, I can send an Elemental HERO from my deck to the graveyard, and then, his attack and defense points and attribute become the same as that monster. And I choose Poison Rose." The woman in leaf dress appeared for a moment before getting absorbed into Blazeman's body. After that, his armor turned brown. (ATK: 1200-1900 DEF: 1800-2000) "Now Blazeman, attack Horus!" The now brown armored hero dashed forward and punched the dragon on its stomach, making it cry out before it exploded.

"My dragon destroyed? Again?"

"Yup, and that means I can use spell cards without much problems. Like Pot of Greed." Andrew drew two more cards. "Then I'll play a facedown and end my turn." A card appeared at his feet, and Blazeman's armor became red again. (ATK: 1900-1200 DEF: 2000-1800)

"My move then." Clover drew a card. 'I could attack his Blazeman, but since I only have 450 life points, it's a little risky, especially with that facedown card of his.' She glanced at the card she drew. "First i activate Mirage of Nightmare." The named spell card appeared on her field. "Then I'll switch Celtic Guardian to defense mode." The eleven warrior kneeled down. "And since he's in defense mode now, the second effect of Magnum Shield kicks in. His defense points are increased by the same amount as his original attack points." (ATK: 2600-1400 DEF: 1200-2600) "And that's all."

Andrew raised an eyebrow. 'She probably saw what cards she's going to get.'
"Alright then. I draw." He drew.

"And now when it's your standby phase, I get to draw until I have 4 cards in my hand." Clover drew her extra cards.

"You do that. As for me, I'm using Blazeman's ability again. And this time, I send Heat to the graveyard." Andrew slid the named card into his graveyard slot and the red armored hero glowed with an orange aura. (ATK: 1200-1600 DEF: 1800-1200) "Then I'll activate the spell card Legacy of a Hero. Since I have two Elemental Heroes in the graveayrd that are at least level 4, I get to draw three cards." He drew his extra cards. "Then I'll switch Blazeman to defense mode and end my turn." The fire hero kneeled down. (ATK: 1600 DEF: 1200-1800)

"In that case..." Clover drew. "I'll use my own quick-play spell before my Mirage card activates its second effect." She instantly took a card from her hand. "I activate Emergency Provisions. By sending one of my spell or trap cards from my field to the graveyard, I gain 1000 life points." The Mirage card disappeared.

Clover: 0450-1450

"Then I'll switch my Celtic Guardian back to attack mode." The elven warrior stood up. (ATK: 1400-2600 DEF: 2600-1200) "Now my Guardian, attack his Blazeman!" The warrior leapt in the air.

"I activate my trap! Mirror Force!" Andrew's facedown card flipped up. "Thanks to this, your monster is destroyed."

Clover clicked her tongue as a glass wall appeared right in front of Blazeman. When Obnoxious Celtic Guardian struck the wall with his sword, it unleashed an energy wave from that point and destroyed. "I was afraid it would be something like that. Anyway, I summon Axe Dragonute in attack mode." The axe wielding dragon in black armor appeared. (ATK: 2000 DEF: 1200 LV: 4) "Then I'll end my turn with a facedown." A card appeared behind the dragon.

"My turn then." Andrew drew. "I sacrifice Fortress Warrior and Blazeman in order to summon Elemental HERO Bladedge!" The fire hero and stone creature disappeared as the horned hero in golden armor took their place. (ATK: 2600 DEF: 1800 LV: 7) "Now attack, with Slice and Dice Attack!" The hero's jet-like wings extended from his back before he flew across the field. He then cut the dragon in half with his arm-blades.

Clover: 1450-0850

"I play two cards facedown and end my turn." Andrew inserted his cards into his duel disk.

Clover drew her next card. She looked at it and smirked. "This will do."

Andrew's eyes widened.

"First I'll use my own Call of the Haunted." She started while revealing her facedown card. "And I'll use it to bring back Axe Dragonute." The black-armored dragon appeared again. (ATK: 2000 DEF: 1200 LV: 4) Clover then held up a spell card. "Then I activate Dragon's Gunfire!"

"What does that do?"

"I can only activate it when I have a dragon type monster on my field. It has two effects and I get to use one of them. I choose this one; you take 800 points of damage."

Andrew gasped.

"Now finish this!" The dragon reared back its head and spat out a fireball that straight to Andrew.

"I activate Fusion Guard!" One of his facedown cards flipped up. "This lets me negate the effect damage by randomly sending one of my fusion monsters from my fusion deck to the graveyard." In a flash of light, Elemental HERO Nova Master appeared and blocked the fireball with his hand. And then, he disappeared. Andrew smirked. "Thought you had me, did ya."

Clover smirked back. "Nicely done. But I'm not done with you just yet."

Andrew frowned. 'That doesn't sound good.'

"I sacrifice my Axe Dragonute in order to summon White-Horned Dragon!" The black-armored dragon disappeared. And then, a new dragon appeared with a mighty roar. It was red with a long tail, wide wings, white claws and a long white horn. (ATK: 2200 DEF: 1400 LV: 6)

Andrew looked weary. "I'm almost afraid to ask, but, what does that do?"

"I'm glad you asked. When my dragon is normal or special summoned, it removes up to 5 spell cards in your graveyard from play. And for each card removed by this effect, it gains 300 attack points."

Andrew gasped. "But there are 5 spells in my grave!" He watched as Polymerization, Mask Change II, Enemy Controller, Pot of Greed and Legacy of a Hero came out of it.

"And that gives my dragon a grand total of 1500 attack points!" The dragon roared as its horn glowed brightly. (ATK: 2200-3700) "Now my dragon, attack with White Lightning Shock!" The dragon shot a bolt of lightning from its horn.

Andrew gritted his teeth before he turned to his other facedown card and revealed it. "I activate the trap, Desperate Tag! When my attack position monster is destroyed in battle, I can reduce the damage to 0 and summon a level 4 or lower warrior type monster from my hand!" Bladedge was destroyed when he was struck by the lightning and exploded, but Andrew was unharmed. "Now I summon Elemental HERO Ocean!" The blue-skinned, aquatic hero appeared. (ATK: 1500 DEF: 1200 LV: 4)

"Ooh! Almost had you there!" Clover commented. "I end my turn."


"What's wrong? Are you getting tired?" Tracey taunted.

"You wish!" Jenny retorted. "I'm just getting started! I draw!" She drew her next card...

"I activate my trap!" Tracey said and revealed one of her facedown cards. "Ring of Destruction!" A metal ring with red bombs appeared around Airknight Parsath's torso. "With this trap card, I can destroy a monster on the field. And then, both of us take damage equal to that monster's attack points."

Jenny gasped as the ring detonated and caused a massive explosion. The whole area was engulfed in smoke for 5 seconds before it faded away.

Tracey smirked smugly. "And that's game! Now the birthday present is... huh?" She widened her eyes when she noticed Jenny, who was still standing. And also...

Jenny: 2300

"Wait a minute! This isn't right!" Tracey protested. "Your life points were supposed to go down to 0, not go up! How are you still standing!?"

"Before you destroyed my monster, I activated my trap card..." Jenny explained and pointed at the face up trap card on her field. "Aegis of Gaia. When this trap card is activated, I gain 3000 life points. And that's enough for me to survive your blast."

Tracey growled.

Jenny smirked. "Which means you wasted your trap card."

But Tracey smirked in return. "Actually, I didn't. For in case you haven't noticed, I didn't take any damage at all...

Tracey: 4000

"And it's all thanks to my Ring of Defense." She pointed at the face up spell card on her field. "I used this to protect myself from the effect damage from my trap card. So you're the only one who took damage."

Jenny narrowed her eyes. "Maybe so, but now I have no monsters on my field, so I can use the effect of my Valhalla card and summon a fairy type monster. So I'll bring out Tethys, Goddess of Light!" The beautiful, winged woman dressed in white appeared. (ATK: 2400 DEF: 1800 LV: 5) "Now Tethys, attack her Cannon Soldier MK-2 with Heavenly Burst!" The goddess held up her hands and fired a beam of light energy at the robot and destroyed.

Tracey: 4000-3500

"And that ends my turn." Jenny concluded.

Tracey scoffed. "That's just lame." She drew her next card and looked at it. She then grinned evilly. "This will do. I activate Hinotama! This spell card deals 500 points of damage to you." A fireball was created and rushed at Jenny, burning away some of her life points.

Jenny: 2300-1800

"And now with no monster on my field, I can summon Metaion, the Timelord!" The thin torso with arms and chest screen with mustached face appeared. (ATK: 0 DEF: 0 LV: 10)

Jenny grimaced.

"Now Metaion, attack her Tethys!" The timelord shot a spurt of fire from its hands. "Oh, by the way, Metaion can't be destroyed in battle and I take no damage. However, after he battles a monster, all other monsters on the field return to the hand and you take 300 points of damage for each one." The flames engulfed Tethys and Jenny.

Jenny: 1800-1500

After she recovered from the attack, she noticed the Tethys card in her hand.

"I think you suffered enough for now. I end my turn."

Jenny drew. She hesitated. 'This is bad. So far, I didn't do so much damage, and Tracey almost had me earlier. And with that Metaion on her field, attacking is no option.'

"Don't give up."

Jenny blinked before she turned to the source of the new voice: the Tethys card.

"There's always a way. Don't give up just yet."

Jenny didn't know what to say about this. But... she agreed with what the voice said. 'I won't let Tracey win. Not now, not ever!'
"I'll use the effect of Valhalla and summon Tethys again." The goddess rose up on the field again. (ATK: 2400 DEF: 1800 LV. 5) "Then I'll summon Spirit of the Pot of Greed." The famous green pot with its grinning face appeared, as well as the small, grinning spirit living inside. (ATK: 100 DEF: 100 LV: 1) "And now I activate the spell card, Pot of Greed. Normally, it would let me draw two cards, but with the spirit on the field, I get to draw three cards, instead."

After she drew her three extra cards, Tethys glowed with a white aura. "And now I activate Tethys' ability. Whenever I draw a fairy type monster from my deck, I can reveal it and draw another card. I drew Fairy Archer, so I'll draw again." She drew a card and revealed. "Zeradias, Herald of Heaven." She drew again. "The Agent of Force - Mars." She drew once more. And this time, it wasn't a monster. "No more extra cards here. "I play two facedowns and end my turn." Two cards appeared at her feet.

"Hmph, just you wait. This isn't over. I draw." Tracey drew. And right after that moment, Metaion suddenly vanished, much to Jenny's confusion.

"What happened?"

"My Metaion can't stay on the field for long. He only remains on the field until my standby phase. And then, he returns to my deck."

Jenny raised an eyebrow. "Then that makes you defenseless."

Tracey smirked and held up her card. "Not necessarily. I play Card of Demise, letting me draw until I have 5 cards." She drew her new hand. "And it looks like I drew Mystical Space Typhoon. Now I can destroy one spell or trap card. There goes your Aegis of Gaia." The spell card released a cyclone.

"I activate the trap card Rainbow Life!" One of Jenny's facedown cards flipped. She then discarded one of her cards. "By discarding one card, I can use this to make any damage I'll take this turn life point gain."

"What!?" Tracey exclaimed as the cyclone destroyed the continuous trap.

"As you know, my Aegis of Gaia would normally cause 3000 points of damage when it leaves the field. But thanks to Rainbow Life, I'm safe." A rainbow colored aura enveloped Jenny for a moment.

Jenny: 1500-4500

Tracey gritted her teeth. "Don't think you're off the hook! I play a facedown monster in defense mode." A facedown card appeared. "Then I'll end my turn with another facedown and the spell card Wave-Motion Cannon." Another facedown card appeared, along with a strange looking green and golden cannon with gauges.

Jenny's eyes widened. "No way!"

Tracey smirked. "Here's how it works; when I feel like it, I can send this card to the graveyard and give you 1000 points of damage for each of my standby phases that've gone by since I played it."

"That won't shake me." Jenny replied determinedly. "And before I begin my turn, I activate Solemn Wishes." Her facedown card flipped up. "This trap gives me 500 life points whenever I draw cards from my deck." She drew.

Jenny: 4500-5000

"And for my next move, I activate Monster Reincarnation. By discarding one card, I can take back a monster from my graveyard." She slid a card from her into the graveyard and took the monster card she wanted. "Next I'll sacrifice my Spirit of the Pot of Greed to summon Airknight Parsath." The pot disappeared and the fairy centaur appeared again. (ATK: 1900 DEF: 1400 LV: 5) "Now attack her facedown monster!" The centaur galloped forward and swung his sword making contact with the facedown card. But then, the card disappeared and was replaced by red, ticking ball with claws. (ATK: 1400 DEF: 1400 LV: 4)

"Ha!" Tracey grinned "You attacked Blast Sphere! And since you attacked it, it becomes an equip card and equips itself to your attacking monster!" The ball clung to the chest of the centaur. "And, when you reach your next standby phase, my Blast Sphere will detonate and destroy your monster, and also give you damage equal to that monster's attack points."

Jenny clicked her tongue. "But you're still wide open! Tethys, attack!" The goddess fired another energy beam from her hands.

"I activate my trap! Counter Gate!" Tracey's facedown flipped up and created a dimensional portal, that absorbed the energy beam. "With this trap card, I can negate your direct attack. After that, I draw a card from my deck, and if it happens to be a monster that can be normal summoned, I can summon it right away." Tracey drew her next card and looked at it. She smirked. "And it looks I can summon it. Go, Bowganian!" The spiky, one-eyed ball with crossbow appeared. (ATK: 1300 DEF: 1000 LV: 3)

Jenny frowned. "I end my turn."

"I thought you would." Tracey drew and one of the cannon's gauges went from 0 to 1. "And now, since it's my standby phase, you'll take 600 points of damage, thanks to Bowganian!" The one-eyed ball shot Jenny with its crossbow.

Jenny: 5000-4400

"Now I activate Pot of Greed." Tracey drew two extra cards. "Next I'll sacrifice Bowganian in order to summon Needle Burrower!" The ball disappeared and a big, red, metallic scorpion appeared in its place. It had needles on its pincers and a sharp blade on the tip of its tail. (ATK: 1700 DEF: 1700 LV: 5) "Then I'll play the equip spell card Mage Power, giving my monster 500 attack and defense points for every spell and trap on my field." The scorpion glowed briefly when the spell card behind it. (ATK: 1700-3200 DEF: 1700-3200) "Now Needle Burrower, destroy her so called Goddess!" The scorpion stabbed Tethys with its tail, making her cry out before she shattered into pixels.

"Thanks to my field spell, I take no battle damage since my monster was a fairy type."

"Perhaps, but my Needle Burrower has a special ability. When it destroys a monster in battle, you take 500 points of damage for each of that monster's level."

Jenny gasped just before the scorpion used its tail to stab her.

Jenny: 4400-1900

Tracey smiled smugly. "Now then, I know you'll gain some extra life points when you draw your next card, so I'll let my Wave-Motion Cannon fire away!" The cannon charged up and fired a blast of electric energy that exploded when it collided with Jenny, sending her flying before she landed on her butt.

Jenny: 1900-0900

(ATK: 3200-2700 DEF: 3200-2700) She inserted a card into her duel disk. "You're as good as finished, but just to be sure, I'll end my turn with a facedown." (ATK: 2700-3200 DEF: 2700-3200)

"My move." Jenny drew.

Jenny: 0900-1400

"And this is now Blast Sphere's effect kicks in! Time to lose!" The red ball glowed brightly.

"I play my quick-play spell, Poison of the Old Man!" "Jenny held up one of her cards. "And I'll use it to give myself 1200 extra life points."

Tracey scoffed as the fairy duelist was surrounded by a blue aura.

Jenny. 1400-2600

And then, the Blast Sphere exploded, destroying Airknight Parsath in the process.

Jenny: 2600-0700 (ATK: 3200-2700 DEF: 2700-2200)

Jenny sighed in relief. "Okay, I'm still in this. Now I... Gah!" She stopped as a laser beam suddenly struck her right into her stomach.

Jenny: 0700-0200

She grunted while looking at Tracey, who smirked at her. "What did you do?"

"I activated my trap card when you used your spell card." The black-haired girl pointed at the trap card on her field. "It's called Minor Goblin Official, and this card gives you 500 points of damage during of your standby phases. So your life points will remain low."

"Not as low as you think. I activate Card of Demise. This lets me draw until I have 5 cards in my hand." Jenny drew her extra cards.

Jenny: 0200-0700

"I place three cards facedown and end my turn." Three cards appeared at her feet.

Tracey scoffed again. "That's the best you got? Pathetic. I don't see why Andrew would waste his time on someone like you."

Jenny scowled. "Big talk coming from someone who lost the last time we dueled."

"That was a tag duel. This is now you have no one to hold your hand. My move!" Tracey drew. "Needle Burrower, attack her directly!" The scorpion crawled over to Jenny's field.

"I activate Negate Attack and Call of the Haunted!" Jenny revealed two of her facedown cards. "With Call of The Haunted, I can summon a monster from my graveyard, like Tethys." The white clad goddess appeared once again. (ATK: 2400 DEF: 1800 LV: 5) "And with Negate Attack, I can stop your attack and end your battle phase." A barrier surrounded Jenny's field. This caused the scorpion to stop.

"So you stopped my attack. No matter, you can't win. I play a facedown and end my turn." Tracey inserted a card into her duel disk. (ATK: 2700-3200 DEF: 2200-2700)


Andrew was recovering from that last attack. "Man, I'm in a tough spot now. Nice move, Clover."

The redhead smiled. "Thank you. It seems your new strategies did some good work this far. How about we call it quits."

Andrew chuckled. "Are you kidding? There's no way I'm gonna quit now..."


"Can't you just give up already?" Tracey asked annoyed. "Let's face it! You can't possibly win! Just hand over that birthday present and stay away from Andrew!"

Jenny stood there in silence. She's been quiet for a moment long enough to let Tracey speak up again.

"What's the matter? Did I hit a nerve?" She taunted.

But then, Jenny smiled. "No. I just needed to prepare myself for your defeat."

Tracey scoffed. "Nonsense!"

"That's where you're wrong. After all...


"This is when I..." Andrew continued, placing his fingers on his deck.


"...will put this duel to an end." Jenny placed her fingers on her deck.


"Now it's..." Andrew began.


"My move!" Jenny drew.

Jenny: 0700-1200

"I activate Tethys' ability again." She held up a fairy type monster. "I drew a Hoshiningen, so I'll draw again." She drew.

Jenny: 1200-1700

"Soul of Purity and Light!" And drew again.

Jenny: 1700-2200

Jenny looked at the card and nodded. "No more fairies here."

"Big deal! You still take damage from my trap card!" Tracey retorted as her trap card shot out another energy beam at Jenny.

Jenny: 2200-1700

"That doesn't matter. First I'll remove Airknight Parsath and Spirit of the Pot of Greed from play..." The two named monsters appeared briefly before disappearing. "...so I can summon Soul of Purity and Light!" The shining, transparent angel appeared. (ATK: 2000 DEF: 1800 LV: 6) "Then I'll play Hoshiningen!" A yellow star with a face and boots appeared.. (ATK: 500 DEF: 700 LV: 2)

"None of those monsters can stand up against my Needle Burrower." Tracey pointed out. 'And even if you got something to power them up, I have a backup plan.' She glanced at her facedown card.

Jenny smirked. "I beg to differ. When Hoshiningen is on the field, it gives all light monsters 500 attack points, while draining 400 points from dark monsters."

"What!?" Tracey exclaimed. The star creature shined brightly, causing a white aura surrounded Jenny's monster, while Needle Burrower shuddered in place. (ATK: 2400-2900) (ATK: 2000-2500) (ATK: 500-1000) (ATK: 3200-2800)

"Now Tethys, attack her Needle Burrower!" The goddess fired another light energy beam.

"You're so predictable!" Tracey said cockily. "You forgot about my facedown card! The trap card, Magic Cylinder!" The card in questioned flipped up and summoned two identical cylinders. "Now you'll take damage equal to your monster's attack points! I win..."

"Wrong!"

"What?" Tracey blinked.

"You said I forgot about your facedown card. But it's actually you who forgot about my facedown card!" Jenny revealed her facedown card. "I activate Divine Punishment! With the Sanctuary in the Sky in play, I can use this counter trap to negate your card."

"Oh no!" Tracey watched as her card was enveloped in light and disappeared.

"And now your trap is gone, and your monster gets weaker!" (ATK: 2800-2300 DEF: 2700-2200) The scorpion was struck by the energy beam and exploded.

Tracey: 3500-2900

"And now you're wide open for a double attack! Soul, Hoshiningen, end this." The star creature shined brightly again, making a white aura surround the transparent angel again, before she unleashed a light wave that sent Tracey flying, causing her to land on her back.

Tracey: 2900-0000


Andrew drew his next card, looked at it and nodded. "First I activate Ocean's special ability. During my standby phase, I can take a HERO monster from my field or grave and add it to my hand. I choose Blazeman." He took the named card from his graveyard. "And I'll summon it right away." The flame headed hero rose up next to the water hero. (ATK: 1200 DEF: 1800 LV: 4) "And with him summoned, I can take a Polymerization from my deck to my hand."

Clover's eyes widened. 'Looks like Andrew's about to call out the big gun.'

Andrew held up his spell card. "Now I'll use it to fuse Blazeman and Ocean in order to summon Elemental HERO Absolute Zero!" The two heroes merged together, and rose up in the form of the hero in white armor with equally white cape. (ATK: 2500 DEF: 2000 LV: 8) "Now, Absolute Zero, attack White-Horned Dragon!" The ice cold warrior dashed forward.

Clover widened her eyes. "But your monster will be destroyed!"

"Exactly." Andrew replied smiling as the dragon shot a bolt of lightning from its horned and destroyed the hero monster. "For with my Desperate Tag, I can summon a new monster... after Absolute Zero lets the storm come in!"

That statement made Clover realize where this was going. "His special ability!"

"That's right. Once he leaves the field, every monster on your field is destroyed." A violent blizzard occurred, freezing the dragon solid before it shattered. "And thanks to my trap card, my life points are safe and a new monster is summoned, like Elemental HERO Stratos!" The hero with turbine wings appeared. (ATK: 1800 DEF: 300 LV: 4) "Now attack her directly!" The hero dashed forward and punched Clover, making her cry out and fall to her knees.

Clover: 0850-0000

The holograms disappeared and Andrew approached Clover. "Are you okay?"

The redhead looked up and gave him a smile. "Yeah, I'm fine." She stood up and stretched a little. "That was one heck of a comeback you pulled there. Nicely done!"

"Thanks. I was almost certain you had me there. Your dragon combos were really tough!"

"I aim to please." Clover replied. 'I hope that bought the others enough time.'

Just then, Andrew PDA beeped. He picked it out and answered it. "Hello?"

Shiori's face appeared. "Hey Andrew."

"Hey Shiori. What's up?"

"I need your help with something. Can you meet me at the Ra meal hall?"

Andrew blinked. "Sure, but what's the problem?"

"You'll see. Just meet me here." At that, the screen turned black.

"Okay, what's that about?" Andrew wondered.

Clover shrugged. "Guess we just head over to your dorm and find out."

And so, the two headed to the Ra Yellow dorm. Andrew failed to notice the smirk on Clover's face.


Meanwhile, Jenny sighed in relief as the holograms disappeared. She walked over to Tracey, who was laying on the ground with swirling eyes. "Now you might think twice before you bother me or Andrew." At that, she walked away and headed back to the Ra Yellow dorm.


At the time she arrived at the building, the sun was about to set. And just as she was about to enter... she noticed someone in a far distance. It was Andrew and Clover. "Oh, he's here!" She then quickly went inside.

Andrew didn't seem to notice her as he and Clover arrived. "Now then, let's see what Shiori needs."

"Yeah." Clover replied. Once inside, the went through the hallway that lead to meal hall.

But when they opened the door, the whole place was dark for some reason, much to Andrew's confusion. "Huh? Who turned off the light?" He used his right hand, trying to find the switch. Eventually, he could feel it. "Ah, there's the switch..." He said as he turned it on.

"SURPRISE!"

Andrew jumped due to Jaden, Syrus, Chumley, Matt, Xander, Bastion, Shiori, Michael, Alexis and Jenny screaming like that while popping out from nowhere. Once he calmed down, Andrew got a good look in the meal hall. The place was full of decorations and there were some food on one of the tables. "No way." Andrew said with a smile. "Did you guys really..."

"You got it!" Jaden grinned.

"Happy Birthday, pal." Michael said.

"Oh, you guys didn't have to."

"But we wanted to." Xander said.

"And for the record, this was Clover's idea." Alexis pointed out.

Andrew turned to the girl in question. "Really?"

"Well, you usually celebrate your birthday with your family at home. But since we're far away from home now, I decided to make something like this for you."

Andrew smiled gratefully. "That's really nice of you. Thanks."

"Anytime." The redhead smiled.

"Alright! Time to chow down!" Jaden declared and headed to the kitchen... only for Matt and Shiori to grab his jacket and drag him back.

"The cake is for everyone!" They said firmly.

"You guys are no fun." He pouted.


And so, everyone settled down and enjoyed the food. Once they were full, they moved on to the birthday presents. Most of the gang managed to get some new cards for Andrew. Michael and Xander however, got some interesting gifts for him.

From Xander, it was an alarm clock. "Hey, nice alarm clock." Andrew commented. "Did you find it in the junkyard?"

"Yup. It was some issues with its screen, but I managed to fix it. Took me almost half the night though."

"Well, thanks." Andrew then picked up Michael's present, which was an envelope. He opened it and found two tickets of some kind. "Whoa!"

"There you have it!" Michael announced. "Two tickets for a journey on board on one of the Kageyama Cruises!"

"Man, did you ask your dad to get those?" Shiori asked.

"Actually, he sent them to me a few weeks ago. He said I could invite a friend or two to go on a sea cruise. And then I thought, maybe Andrew would want them?"

"That's great. Thanks." Andrew said.

"So, is that all of them?" Matt asked, eyeing on the presents on the table.

"Only mine is left." Jenny said. Everyone turned to her as she held up the gift box she's kept hidden. "Here." She handed it to Andrew.

"Thank you." He slowly opened it. And then, he gasped when he picked out the amulet. "Wow!"

"Oooh." Syrus said.

"Lishus."

"Hey, that's a nice amulet." Clover commented before turning to Jenny. "Where did you get that?"

"I bought it from a traveling merchant who visited the island."

"Is that so?" Bastion asked curiously. "I've never heard of such a thing."

"Well, according to the Chancellor, that man only visits here once a year."

"That makes sense." Alexis said.

Andrew put the amulet around his neck before looking at it. "The Dragon Heart, huh?"

"So you've heard of the legend?" Jenny asked.

"What legend?" Jaden asked.

"This is a replica of the Dragon Heart amulet." Andrew explained. "According to the legend, a warrior used it to fight against an evil black knight."

"Sounds like an interesting story." Shiori said.

Andrew turned to Jenny. "This is a great gift, Jenny. Thanks."

"I'm glad you like it." The duelist said smiling.

"Okay, with that done..." Clover walked into the kitchen. And almost immediately, she came out,, holding up the chocolate cake, which had a lit candle in the middle. "Time for some cake."

"Sweetness." Jaden said.

"Finally." Chumley added.

Clover placed the cake on the table, right in front of Andrew. "Okay Andrew, make a wish."

"Sure thing." Andrew thought for a moment before he took a breath, and blew the candle...


Okay, that's enough for now. And I was hoping to finish this chapter one week earlier. But, I hope you guys liked it. Until next time.