Chapter 32: Diamonds in the Rough

In a different part of the ruins area, Sora scanned the area for duelists.

"Come on, this is getting boring! Where's some duelists to crush!"

Just then, he spotted Julia up ahead. A mad grin crossed his face.

"Well, maybe its my lucky day after all. Hey, Julia!"

Julia glared in his direction, not happy to be snuck up on.

"What do you want?"

"I just thought you might want a rematch. After all, if someone trounced me as badly as I had you, I would want revenge as well!"

Julia growled, and brought her duel disk up.

"You're on! I'm betting two Pendulum Cards."

"Works for me. I'll even let you have the first turn."

DUEL!

Julia: 8000

Sora: 8000

"You'll regret that decision. I activate the spell card, Gem Knight Fusion! I'll fuse Gem Knight Sapphire with Gem Knight Crystal in order to fusion summon Gem Knight Aquamarine (1400/2600) in defense mode! I end my turn with one card face down."

"Is that the best you've got? I summon Fluff Owl, and his effect lets me add Polymerization to my hand. Next, I activate Polymerization, fusing him with Edge Imp Saw to bring out an old friend. Come on out, Frightfur Leo! And his handy little effect lets me take your Knight!"

Julia didn't even react as her monster was torn to shreds, just simply shielding herself from the backblast.

Julia: 6600

"Big mistake. When my Aquamarine falls and goes to the graveyard, I can return one of your monsters to your hand. Or in the case of your kitty cat, your Extra deck."

Sora grimaced as his monster left the field, scanning his hand for options.

"I summon Fluffal Dog in attack mode, and with his effect I'll add a Fluffal Bear from my deck to my hand. Fluffal Dog, attack her directly."

"Not so fast, I activate my Birthright! This lets me summon a Normal Monster from my graveyard, such as Gem Knight Crystal!"

"Grr, I end my turn!"

"Getting scared? You should be. I activate Brilliant Fusion! This lets me fuse monsters in my deck to fusion summon a Gem Knigt!"

"From your deck? How is that fair?"

"The monster I summon by this method has its attack and defense reduced to zero. I send Gem Knight Garnett, Tourmaline, and Lapis to the graveyard to fusion summon Gem Knight Lady Brilliant Diamond (3400-0/2000-0)!"

"Big whoop! Thanks to your Brilliant Fusion, she can't lay a finger on me."

"Oh, did I forget to mention? By discarding a spell card, Brilliant Fusion gives them back every point they lost, so by discarding the Miracle I picked up she goes back to full power until my next turn!"

"What?!"

"I'm not done! I activate Re-Fusion! By paying 800 life points, I can re-summon a fusion monster in my graveyard, such as Gem Knight Aquamarine!

Julia: 7200

"But he won't be around for long, because Brilliant Diamond lets me tribute him to bring out another Gem Knight from my Extra Deck, such as Gem Knight Zirconnia (2900/2500)!"

Sora gulped nervously. This was going to suck.

"Brilliant Diamond, cut that pup down to size!"

Julia's new ace drew her sword in an extravagant manner and charged, cleaving the poor pup in half while Sora ducked for cover.

Sora: 6300

"Now Zirconnia, Crystal, attack him directly!"

Sora spotted an Action card nearby, but before he could grab it the two knight swatted him away, leaving him grasping at air.

Sora: 950

"If I were you, I'd stay down. I end my turn."

But Sora just chuckled. Quietly at first, but it got louder over time.

"What's so funny?"

"Oh, nothing. I must admit, I'm enjoying our duel. Its been a long time since anyone has gotten me this low on life points, so I admire your growth. This will make my victory just that much sweeter."

"Excuse me? Correct me if I'm wrong, but you have no monsters on the field compared to my three."

"Oh, that's about to change. I activate the spell card, Extra Fusion! You know what's cool about this card? This lets me take monsters from my Extra Deck and fuse them together, as long as I banish them from play!"

"No way!"

"Way! So say goodbye to Frightfur Bear, Leo, and Wolf and say hello to Frightfur Chimera (2800/2000)!"

"Big whoop. Both Zirconnia and Brilliant Diamond trump him in attack points."

"That may be true, but not or long. I equip him with Megamorph, doubling his attack points (2800-5600)! Attack her Crystal!"

Spotting an action card, Julia quickly ran and grabbed it, but Sora just laughed.

"Don't even bother. When Chimera attacks, you can't activate any cards or effects until the end of the damage step!"

Julia could only watch in horror as her weakest monster was tossed into the air and swallowed whole. The demented toy giving off a satisfied purr as he finished.

Julia 4850

"And the best part is, your monster comes back to my side of the field with half of its attack (2450-1225). What's more, for every monster of yours that I steal, he gains 300 attack (5600-5900). I'll end my turn there. Ready to give up?"

"On the contrary, I'm ready to win! I discard Polymerization so my Lady can keep her attack. Next, I'll tribute Zirconnia through her effect to bring out Gem Knight Ruby (2500/1300)!"

"Summon all the weaklings you want, my Chimera will eat them all!"

"Then its a good thing I'm not done yet. Gem Knight Ruby's effect activates! By tributing Brilliant Diamond, he gains all of her attack points (2500-5900)!"

"So what? They'll just wipe each other out if you attack Chimera."

"Who said he was my target? Ruby can inflict Piercing damage."

"What? But that means-"

"Game Over. Gem Knight Ruby, take out the treacherous Crystal!"

Swinging his polearm wildly, Ruby smashed it into his former comrade, shattering it and sending Sora flying.

Sora: 0000

Julia wins!

Sora picked himself, disbelieving that he had lost. But then he noticed a blinking light on his duel disk, and he smiled.

"Alright punk, hand them over!"

Quickly covering up his duel disk, Sora hastily handed them over.

"Here you go! Great duel, we should do it again sometime. Bye!"

Julia was suspicious, but left. Sora breathed a sigh of relief before looking down at his duel disk again. This could mean only one thing...

Duel Academy was here.