Author Notes: Thank you to everyone who has read this work and given me praise and advice. I've actually never written a duel before, so I hope that the formatting is making sense. In this chapter, we will see the conclusion to the duel, and hopefully you enjoy the investment of time and interest you made to this work. I did realize that Cyber Blader's effect on the last turn means she can't be destroyed in battle, so I made the edit. I apologize for the mistake, and I should check all the cards I wrote to make sure I used properly and in accordance with the source material. Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh GX, and I never will profit or seek profit off this work.

Chapter 5: All Skills Needed

"To win the game is great. To play the game is greater. But to love the game is the greatest of all." -Quote on the plaque inside the Palestra in Philadelphia.

Situation of the duel: Alexis is going into her turn with a face down, Cyber Blader, Ritual Cage, and 1900 Life Points. Harrington has 2400 Life Points in addition to Cyber Twin Dragon and a face down card.

30 minutes into the duel, and it was clear to Alexis that she missed dueling at a high level. Her adventures in her youth had made it clear that she could throw down with the best.

This time, there was no creepy forces from another dimension nor the fate of the universe resting in the result of a children's card game. Her peers had been amazed when she told her story, and that she had survived against incredible odds.

She owed Syrus one because they had shared being part of a journey that had to be seen to believed, and had dealt with threats that nobody outside of Duel Academy could understand.

What Alexis had gained the most from teaching and her experiences at Duel Academy was the realization that she was talented because she strove to be different. She was the only faculty member at the New York School that played her deck recipe. She had taught 50 duelists that had been successful in the ADL, and had done classes on those duels. It was high time that she began to repay the faith that Syrus was putting in her to help him.

She drew a card, and said "Harrington, I can see why you are the ace of the Generals. I've dueled plenty of guys like you in my day, and I push them to the very limits of their skills. Thankfully for me, you remind me of another duelist that uses your archetype."

Harrington was about ready to cringe. Boy, Alexis seemed to have a one liner for everything. "Yeah, I see that. You think I am Zane. Well, I couldn't hack it over in Japan. This is different, because your school never let me in and I went to Chicago."

Alexis wove her fingers in a dismissive manner and said "Not exactly. You showed the aptitude to get in, but I don't deal with admissions. The school laid out why, and you should be happy that Chicago was good to you. I'm not an amateur by any stretch. I've faced off with forces you could not understand, and shown intense emotional growth during that time in my life. This duel is about me getting back to a level where I can grow, and give that information to my students. "

Harrington nodded his head, and said "Well, you certainly have grown during this duel Alexis." Alexis nodded, and then revealed a spell card.

"I'll start with this spell. I activate the spell card known as Ritual Sanctuary. This Field Spell card allows me to discard one spell from my hand, and I can add a Light Ritual monster or a Ritual Spell Card from my deck to my hand. In addition, I can shuffle spells from my grave to my deck to summon 1 Light Fairy monster from the grave as long as the level matches the cards shuffled into my deck. I can use each effect once per turn."

Harrington had a look of disdain, and said "Well, that card is certainly useful to you. What difference will that make to this duel?"

Alexis grinned, and said "Everything. I discard one card and I add Machine Angel Ritual to my hand. I active Machine Angle Ritual. When this card is activated, I can summon any Cyber Angel card I choose through a Ritual Summon provided I tribute the exact number of stars. I tribute two monster cards in my hand in order to summon Cyber Angel Dakini in Attack Mode."

A shimmering light appeared as a female warrior wielding four swords popped up. (2700/2400). "When Dakini is summoned via Special Summoning, you are required to pick a monster to banish to the grave. I think that choice is going to be easy!"

Harrington looked stunned, and he shielded his eyes with his Duel Disk. "Dang you, I choose Cyber Twin Dragon." A veil of smoke enevoloped the mechanized dragon as it was destroyed.

Alexis said "In the words of an old friend, this might be game. Dakini, attack Harrington directly and end this duel right now."

Harrington put down his duel desk and flashed a wry smile. He chuckled, and said "Nice try, but this duel is not over yet. I activate my face down. This card is a trap called Threatening Roar, and I hang on for a bit longer. You are not allowed to attack this turn, so we'll continue this dance."

Alexis nodded her head, and said "Well played, Harrington. I see that you want to not embarrass your league at all. I'll end my turn right now, and hand you the keys to the next turn."

Harrington drew a card, and grinned. He was impressed, but not worried. This duel was going to represent that he was the best in North America, at least based on beating one of the best teachers and being the star attraction on the star league team. "I see that you think that everything changed in our duel. You're right, but not in the way that you anticipated. I'll begin by activating a spell card. The card is named Cybernetic Fusion Support, and here is how it works. I have to sacrifice half of my life points to do this."

He groaned as a white light enveloped him, and the light took half his life points. (Harrington 1200/Alexis 2100). "Next, I am allowed to summon a Fusion Monster so long as I banish Fusion Materials from my hand, field, and grave. I remove 3 copies of Cyber Dragon from play, allowing me to bring forth the Cyber End Dragon!"

A blast of smoke coated the theater as a metallic three headed dragon appeared, and settled on the field. (4000/2800). Alexis showed no emotion, as the monster looked at the Cyber Angel, daring it to battle when their masters would do the honor of combat.

Harrington then said "I'll next activate Pot of Greed. I'll draw 2 cards." He drew two cards, and smiled. "I activate the spell card known as Mystical Space Typhoon. I'll get to destroy one Spell or Trap, and the best choice is to remove your defense. Destroy Ritual Cage!"

Alexis gasped, and watched as her good stall card was destroyed instantly by the typhoon. Without the protection, things seemed to be hopeless. Harrington said "Oh trust me, it's going to get worse. I activate the spell card Limiter Removal! All Machine Type monsters I control have their attack doubled." (8000/2700 after effect.) "Alexis, this has been real fun, but, it's over! Cyber End Dragon, attack her Cyber Angel and end this freaking thing without mercy."

Alexis grinned, and it was time to unleash her secret weapon. She had made some calls to an old friend that owed her a couple of favors, and that friend had come through in the face down. She smirked, and turned into teacher mode. "The thing you forget Harrington is that I've studied your duels and used them as a way to teach my students about reading the game. You backed me into a corner, and I still have faith in my deck. I figured that you would try and go for a blitz win, since your deck is geared toward that and your stats back it up. Also, the best possible angle for the league is to have this be a good duel, with action."

Harrington was at a loss for words. Thank goodness that he had not enrolled at the New York School, because Alexis seriously seemed to have some secret plan up her sleeve. He said "What is your plan, and what card do you think that will counter me?"

Alexis nodded, and said "My face down is revealed as Sakuretsu Armor. Since Cyber End Dragon has been declared for an attack, that card is destroyed, and we play on."

Harrington screamed "What in the world? My best card and one of my best combos?" The dragon was pixilated and went to the graveyard, leaving Harrington wide open. It looked like it was over.

Harrington glanced up, and said "I end my turn. Well played, Professor Rhodes."

Alexis grinned, and drew a card. She said "Well, thank you. I'll cut straight to it. I got this card thanks to my old friend Aster Phoenix. He happened to be retooling his deck a bit, and needed to get rid of a copy of this card. He owed me a favor for a thing back in the school years we shared, and as an apology for the brainwashing thing second year that happened. He said that this card would help me beat you, and he was right. Dakini, this duel is over."

Dakini attacked, and the duel was over, as Harrington grasped his shoulder as his Life Points were removed from him. (Harrington 0/Alexis 1900).

Syrus was impressed backstage. It had been a quick duel, but it was an interesting tactical fight. Alexis had shown that given ample time to prepare and use her resources, that she could hang with the best. He had argued for weeks that he picked Alexis because she could mix it up with anyone and always dueled with a hunger and passion that most people at the Academy overlooked because of her natural beauty.

He walked back out and said "That was an interesting duel, and I thank our audience for watching both here in New York City and around the country." The crowd cheered, and Syrus smiled, as did both contestants.

Alexis walked over to Harrington, and said "You are an impressive duelist, and you would have beaten me if not for the face down. I never get to duel Cyber Dragon users as much, and I thank you." Harrington nodded, and said "Not the first time I have taken a loss, and not the quickest loss I've had in league play. Good ad for our styles of dueling, and your students always give me problems. Alexis nodded, and prepared to go into the press conference and answer questions about how this upset had happened, and to find out if Syrus's great gamble had paid off.