It had been several hours since the first two duels of the Tag Team Tournament and most of the students were getting ready for bed that is except for the students who were visiting their girlfriends/boyfriends for a romantic evening and Chloe Richardson.
"Chloe, since when did you have any problems getting to sleep?" Chelsea asked as her head poked out from the top bunk, Chloe had been rocking back and forth in her bed unable to get any sleep. "You usually go straight to bed."
"Sorry but I'm having trouble getting to sleep." Chloe sighed as she sat up in her bed. "I've tried everything I can think off, counting sheep, listening to the most boring music I know on my IPod, you name it."
"You tried listening to Nickleback?" Chelsea suggested jokingly and Chloe shuddered.
"Thanks but I'd rather not subject myself to a Fate Worse than Death." Chloe responded as she looked over her IPod. "What do you usually do when you can't get to sleep? And having sex with Beth doesn't count." Chloe asked and Chelsea rolled her eyes.
"You're no fun." Chelsea responded with a cheeky grin before thinking for a moment. "Well you've already listed two of them so that's out of the question…" Chelsea trailed off before thinking for a moment. "I've got it!"
"If it's "play solitaire with my Duel Monsters deck" then forget it, I never learned how to play that game." Chloe sighed as she leaned back on her bed.
"Okay, time to think off a new idea!" Chelsea responded before thinking for a moment. "Okay, I got it! You know you mentioned that you listen to music on your IPod to help get to bed right?"
"Yeah, why do you ask? I already said that the music on it's not doing the trick." Chloe asked and Chelsea hopped off the top bunk as quietly as she could.
"Trust me; the stuff on my IPod is bound to be at least ten times as boring as the stuff on yours." Chelsea reassured her before looking through her playlist. "No, no, no, fuck no, aha! Here we go!" Chelsea muttered under her breath before finding the song in question and giving Chloe her headphones, Chloe took out the headphones connected to her IPod and replaced them with Chelsea's.
"If this works I'll leave your IPod by your laptop when I do wake up." Chloe commented once she remembered that Chelsea had a class in the morning.
"Appreciate it." Chelsea said with a nod before climbing back up to her bunk and lying down on it. "If this doesn't work I'll "borrow" some of Maria's music collection, it's not like she'll miss it." Chelsea thought to herself before hearing the sounds of Chloe snoring. "Ah Sully Erna, you may be a good singer and Godsmack may kick ass but you sure know how to put a girl to sleep." Chelsea thought before leaning back on her bed.
*inside Chloe's dream*
Chloe was in a place she had visited many times but that wasn't a good thing, it was the dark area that she often visited in her dreams where all she could hear was the sounds off the abuse she suffered as a kid, she looked down at her outfit and confirmed that she was wearing her outfit from earlier today minus the blazer.
"Same naval exposing tank top, same jeans, same boots…..but why does something feel different?" Chloe thought as she rubbed her scarred arm nervously. "Silent Magician, are you there?" Chloe called out as she glanced around.
"Chloe, you must leave at once!" Silent Magician's voice rang out as she appeared before her protégé. "Some very powerful magic is at work here, I tried to protect you by keeping you awake with a spell but…." Silent Magician never finished as she found herself trapped in a crystal.
"SILENT MAGICIAN!" Chloe called out as her duel spirit was hung above her head, she quickly noticed one other thing from her outfit, namely her duel disk, and activated it. "I know your there! Show yourself!" Chloe demanded as she glared at the darkness, a familiar voice rang out with an evil laugh and Chloe's eyes widened. "No, it can't be!"
"What's the matter?" The voice asked and Chloe tensed up as she heard footsteps approaching her. "I thought you'd be happy to see your dad again." The voice added and Chloe's eyes widened as her biological dad stepped into view.
"You….." She trailed off as she glared at her dad. "How are you even here? Phillip told us that your soul was destroyed!"
"I'll spare you the details." Robert chuckled as his Orichalcos duel disk activated. "My former employer may have ordered my soul destroyed but let's just say that my current employer decided to give me a second chance."
"Like you deserve it you bastard." Chloe grunted as she glared at him, suddenly the sounds of several people hitting the ground behind Chloe rang out and Chloe looked up. "Guys, what are you doing here?" Chloe asked once she saw Lance, Tyler, Chelsea, Andreas, Brandon, Theresa and Marcus behind her.
"That's a good question." Chelsea grunted as she got back to her feet. "One minute I was having a dream involving me and Beth….."
"Yeah, please spare us the details of that dream." Chloe said as a large sweat-drop rolled down her head.
"Please don't." Marcus said almost immediately but was shut up by a glare from Chelsea.
"The next I'm…..well…..here." Chelsea added with a shrug before noticing Robert. "Who is that anyway?" Chelsea asked as she pointed to Robert and the other students who competed in Battle City eyes narrowed once they saw him.
"That's my dad." Chloe said with a sigh and Chelsea's eyes widened once it hit her.
"YOU SON OF A BITCH!" Chelsea yelled at him before charging in with her fist outstretched.
"Chelsea, don't!" Silent Magician called out to her but Chelsea ignored her and tried to punch him in the face…..only to pass right through him.
"What the hell?" Chelsea yelled out before turning around and trying again only for her punch to pass through him, he smirked before backhanding Chelsea sending her flying towards the others. "I'm okay, pissed off but okay." Chelsea grunted as she forced herself back to her feet.
"I wouldn't try that again, here, I make all the rules." Robert chuckled before turning to Chloe. "Trust me, I'll deal with you pieces of shit later but first I have a job to finish."
"What do you want?!" Chloe demanded and Robert smirked.
"What do I want? Isn't that obvious? I want to finish the job I started ten years ago." Robert said as he grinned evilly. "I should've killed you that day along with that bitch but you got away!" Robert grunted and Chloe grit her teeth. "This is my chance to correct that mistake! We'll duel right here, right now, when I win then you'll be trapped here forever and you'll never wake up!"
"You bastard! What did she ever do to you?" Chelsea demanded and Robert smirked.
"She was born, that's what!" Robert answered before his evil grin grew. "You want to know the kicker though? You'll be fully aware the whole time, trapped in your body whilst your friends try desperately to wake you up before you're eventually taken off Life-Support." Robert added and Chloe shuddered at that memory.
"She can't accept that!" Lance snapped at him and Robert smirked.
"She doesn't have a choice, either we duel or you will all be trapped here." Robert answered and Lance grit his teeth.
"What if she beats you?" Tyler asked as he glared at the man and all eyes in the room turned to him. "What will happen then?"
"Well, I suppose there's no harm in telling you, it's not like she'll win anyway." Robert said as he folded his arms. "There's a machine that's allowing me to do this, right? Well it's only good to use on one soul that can't be brought back, I won't pretend to understand that specifics but if I'm defeated then you'll never see me again, not even in your dreams."
"How do we know you'll even stick to your word?!" Brandon asked and Robert smirked. "Your conviction may have been overturned but you're still a criminal!"
"Thanks for the reminder Brandon." Chloe grunted in annoyance and Brandon shook his head. "But yeah, he has a point."
"Do you think I have a choice? Victor Santiago promised me a new body if I could pull this off and…." Robert started before what he had just said hit him. "Forget what I just said."
"Yeah right, nice try." Brandon thought as his eyes narrowed.
"Well, if it means getting rid of you for good." Chloe conceded before drawing her opening hand. "I accept your challenge." Chloe added and Robert smirked before drawing his opening hand.
"Guys, what deck did he use in Battle City?" Chelsea whispered to the others and Brandon turned to her.
"Fiends mostly, his big play seemed to be based around the Destiny Board trap card." Brandon answered and Chelsea nodded once she remembered the card. "Most of his cards seemed to be high attack monsters with powerful effects."
"Like that knowledge will help them." Robert thought as he looked over his hand. "I have a new deck now, one that blows my old one out of the water and if this doesn't break the little bitch's spirit than nothing will." Robert thought before glaring at Chloe. "I'm going first!" Robert announced before drawing his card. "But before I continue….." Robert trailed off before snapping his fingers and the other students where quickly surrounded by the same type of crystal that held Silent Magician.
"What are you trying to do? Kill them?" Chloe demanded and Robert smirked.
"Don't worry, those crystals won't kill your friends, they'll just hold them in place until I'm done with you!" Robert answered before looking at his drawn card. "Now then, how about we take a trip down memory lane?"
"I took enough of those trips the last time we dueled!" Chloe snapped at him and Robert smirked.
"You don't get a choice! I activate the Continuous Spell Card Sad Story – Sorrowful Memories!" Robert played the card and the scenery seemed to change around them.
"What's going on? That wasn't a Field Spell!" Chelsea yelled out as she watched the scenery change showing the outside of a small apartment where several police officers were standing around. "This is getting weird….."
"Wait, is that mom?!" Theresa yelled out once she recognized one of the officers, Chloe looked up and saw the woman she recognized from the trip to New York.
"No one seems to be home chief." Theresa's mom told her superior officer, a large, heavyset man with short black hair and blue eyes. "You have any ideas?"
"Check the windows, the neighbors said they heard screaming and I'm not budging until we….." The chief trailed off when he saw a younger officer run towards them who looked like he had seen a ghost.
"Sir, you'd better see this!" The officer said before leading them to a window, they peered in and Chloe's eyes widened when she recognized the building.
"This…this is…" Chloe trailed off when she saw the inside.
"Yes, this is the piece of shit apartment that I could barely afford!" Robert finished for her as the officers saw a seven year old and barely conscious Chloe who was lay in a pool of her own blood with a massive gash down most of her arm, the chief personally kicked down the door and the officers ran in.
"Johnson, find and arrest the piece of shit that did this to her! Daniels, call an ambulance!" The chief commanded and the officer ran off whilst Theresa's mom went to call for an ambulance, the flashback ended and the scene returned to normal.
"Chloe…was…was that…?" Chelsea trailed off and Chloe turned to her.
"Yeah, that's the day I got the scar on my arm." Chloe said with gritted teeth before turning to Robert. "Was there a point to that?!"
"There was, from now on any monsters you draw during your draw phase get shuffled back into your deck." Robert explained before picking up two cards. "I set two cards facedown and end my turn." Robert announced and Chloe shakily drew her card.
"Apparently just reminding her of the abuse she suffered in Battle City wasn't enough for this bastard." Marcus grunted as he glared at him. "You guys ever hear of these Sad Story cards?"
"I've heard rumors of them; they are supposed to be incredibly rare." Tyler commented with a frown. "It's a set of five cards, three spells, one trap and a monster, and the Spell Cards share the same effect but with what it affects changed."
"What I don't get is what's with that flashback?" Chelsea chimed in as she folded her arms. "Not even the most powerful cards in duel monsters have that much power."
"There are rumors about that." Tyler said after thinking for a bit. "The rumor states that under normal circumstances the cards act like any other Spell Card, but when there's magic involved then there's the added effect of bringing back memories for the players, often painful ones."
"I guess we can confirm that rumor." Chelsea said with a nod as they watched the duel.
"So, is it a monster or not?" Robert demanded and Chloe growled at him.
"It's a Spell Card and I'm activating it now! Go Spellbook Inside The Pot!" Chloe played the card and Robert frowned before drawing three cards and Chloe did likewise. "Now I set two cards facedown and I summon Gemini Elf in attack mode!" Chloe played the card and the twin elves appeared on the field (4/1900/900). "Gemini Elf, attack his life-points directly!" Chloe commanded and the twin elves prepared their twin blasts…..
"I activate my Trap Card, Merlin's Barrier!" Robert announced as the trap flipped up depicting an old man in wizard's robes casting a Spell. "Not only does it negate the attack but if my opponent attacked with a Spellcaster than I get to add two Spell Cards to my hand free of charge."
"Gee, another broken card, what a surprise." Chloe muttered under her breath as Robert added the two cards to his hand. "I set two cards facedown and end my turn." Chloe announced and Robert drew his card. "That card's name can't be a coincidence; it's not exactly a secret that I'm a big fan of Sword and Sorcery adventure books." Chloe thought as Robert frowned.
"It's a monster so it goes back to my deck." Robert announced as he shuffled the card back into his deck. "But that doesn't matter; your little Spell Card gave me another monster I can use! I summon Giant Orc in attack mode!" Robert played the card and the massive muscular and ugly orc appeared on the field (4/2200/0000). "Now I activate a Spell Card called Smashing Ground which destroys your elves!"
"Oh crap!" Chloe gulped as the two elves shattered into many pieces. "This is going to hurt!" Chloe thought as she braced herself.
"Giant Orc, attack her life-points directly!" Robert commanded and the Orc charged towards Chloe before slamming its club into Chloe's stomach bringing her life-points down to 5800. "What's the matter? No Numinous Healer/Emergency Provisions combo to save you?"
"Just end your….." Chloe never finished her sentence as she felt the pain from the attack. "Since when did you activate the Seal of the Orichalcos?"
"I didn't and I don't need to, the damage in this duel is as real as you and me." Robert said snidely before picking up one of his cards. "And I will end my turn but first it's time for another trip down memory lane with Sad Story – Dreadful Day!"
"Not this again!" Chelsea grunted as the scenery changed again, they were back in the apartment and this time they saw Chloe's younger self happily reading a fantasy novel, the arm that now bore her scar was in a cast which had a few signatures on it. "Err, Chloe, why did you cast have autographs on it?"
"I was pretty popular at my school at the time." Chloe said sheepishly as she looked at the cast. "Most of them where get well wishes."
"Damn kids." Robert muttered under his breath before grinning as the sounds of a struggle where heard downstairs. "Ah yeah, I remember this day clearly!"
"Oh please tell me it's not what I think it is." Chloe pleaded as her eyes widened as she watched her younger self walk downstairs, the site that greeted the younger Chloe caused the other student's eyes to widen and Chloe's eyes to water as it showed Robert standing over Chloe's mom with a gun in his hand, her mother was beaten and bloody and Chloe couldn't help but turn her head away from the scene.
"You're worthless you hear me? You're worthless! First I'll kill you and that mistake of a daughter!" The younger Robert yelled at Chloe's mom whilst the younger Chloe watched on.
"Robert, no!" Chloe's mom pleaded with him but it was clear that Robert wasn't going to listen; the younger Chloe tried to run from the scene but tripped catching Robert's attention. "Chloe run!"
"Get back here you little bitch!" Robert shouted before firing a shot at her which grazed her good shoulder, the younger Chloe turned around in time to see Robert shoot Chloe's mom in the head before fleeing and the flashback ended.
"You bastard! When I get out of here I'll….." Chelsea yelled out as she pounded on the crystal.
"You'll what? Get swatted aside again?" Robert taunted her and Chelsea grit her teeth, Chloe returned her attention to Robert whilst glaring at him. "I suppose you want to know what Dreadful Day does, basically its Sorrowful Memories's effect applied to trap cards." Robert announced as Giant Orc crouched down in defense mode. "I end my turn with a facedown card."
"And I activate Shock Draw! Since I just took two thousand points of damage I get to draw two cards!" Chloe announced before drawing twice, Chloe then drew again due to her draw phase. "It's a trap which means it goes back to my deck." Chloe announced before returning the card to her deck and shuffling it. "But that doesn't mean that I can't use my other cards.
"Like what?" Robert asked rudely as Chloe played the card.
"I'll show you, first I Special Summon Level Warrior via his effect!" Chloe announced as she played the card and what looked like a superhero in a red full body costume and cape appeared on the field, it had three stars on its costume and struck a heroic pose (3/300/600).
"Is that supposed to scare me?" Robert asked and Chloe frowned as Level Warrior's level increased by one.
"No but this is, since I summoned Level Warrior using its effect and you have a monster on your side of the field it's level increases by one!" Chloe announced before playing another card. "Next I summon Rose Warrior of Revenge in attack mode!" Chloe announced as the red haired female warrior appeared on the field (4/1600/600).
"You should be lucky that my monster's in defense mode!" Robert said cockily and Chloe's eyes narrowed as she played another card.
"But that's not all I'm doing, I'm equipping Rose Warrior of Revenge with Big Bang Shot!" Chloe announced as Rose Warrior's attack increased to 2000. "Rose Warrior, attack Giant Orc!" Chloe commanded and the warrior charged towards Robert before skewering it with her knives bringing Robert's life-points down to 6000.
"I'm not down yet!" Robert said determinedly and Chloe just glared at him.
"And now Rose Warrior's effect activates inflicting 300 more points of damage to you!" Chloe announced and Robert winced as his life-points dropped to 5700, and again when Level Warrior's attack brought it down to 5400. "And finally I activate Urgent Tuning to tune my two warriors together!"
"Wait, what?!" Robert yelled out as Rose Warrior of Revenge and Level Warrior leapt into the air, Rose Warrior of Revenge dissolved into four Synchro Rings that quickly surrounded Level Warrior.
"That's right and I'm using them to Synchro Summon Colossal Fighter!" Chloe played the card and a bright flash enveloped the field, when it faded the massive warrior from Chloe's previous duels appeared on the field (8/2800/1000). "And since I used two warriors in his Synchro Summon Colossal Fighter gains two hundred attack points!" Chloe announced as Colossal Fighter's attack increased to 3000.
"All right! Now that Chloe has that monster on her side of the field she can cause some major damage!" Chelsea said with a massive grin which was shared by Chloe
"Colossal Fighter, attack his life-points directly!" Chloe commanded and the warrior charged towards Robert…..
"That's enough of that! By Special Summoning Battle Fader from my hand I can negate the attack and end the Battle Phase!" Robert announced as the small fiend appeared in front of him (1/0/0), Chloe frowned as her warrior called off the attack.
"I end my turn." Chloe said reluctantly and Robert drew his card.
"It's my lucky day; the card I drew is a Spell Card." Robert grunted before playing the card. "And I'm activating it now, go Allure of Darkness!" Robert announced before drawing two cards and banishing one card. "Now I activate Dark Spirit Art – Greed!"
"I should've guessed he'd have that card in his deck." Brandon grunted as Battle Fader vanished from the field and he drew two more cards.
"There's not much I can do except set one card facedown…" Robert announced before grinning evilly. "Oh yeah, and I can activate the last Spell Card in the Sad Story trilogy, go Sad Story – Unwavering Truth!"
"Not this again!" Chelsea grunted as the scenery started to change, no one noticed that Silent Magician had started to cast a Spell from inside her crystal as the scenery changed to the inside of a small building. "Wait, Chloe isn't that?"
"Yeah, that's my dad." Chloe said with a nod with a tone in her voice that revealed that she was just as surprised as Chelsea was.
"What's going on? This isn't the memory I was told would happen!" Robert thought as he saw the scene unfold, Chloe's step-dad was talking to an older woman with short grey hair whilst the younger version of Chloe sat inside a small room, her arm was still in a cast and like in the previous flashback she was reading a fantasy novel.
"Mr. Richardson, are you sure?" The woman asked as she glanced towards Chloe. "Chloe's a polite girl but we still don't know how much damage was caused by the events of the past few months, let alone facing her dad at trial."
"I'm sure; this is probably our only chance of raising a child of our own and I think she's seen enough heartache to earn a second chance." Scott nodded in response and the woman nodded.
"Very well, I'll go get the paperwork ready." The woman said before leaving them alone, she returned a few minutes later with some paperwork which Scott and Chloe's stepmom signed without hesitation before she entered the room. "Chloe, I have some exciting news for you." The woman said and Chloe set her book aside as her future stepparents stepped into the room. "This couple wants to adopt you."
"…..Really?" The younger Chloe managed to say as she glanced up towards Scott and her stepmom, she grinned broadly as her future stepdad sat down opposite her.
"End this flashback damn it!" Robert shouted out and just like that the flashback ended. "What the hell's going on? This thing was supposed to show the end of our last duel!"
"It was but you forgot one thing!" Silent Magician chimed in and Robert glared at her. "I am a Level 8 Spellcaster Duel Spirit, messing around with magic like that is kid's stuff for me!"
"But it did show one unwavering truth!" Chloe chimed in and Robert turned to her. "My stepdad is a much better dad then you'll ever be!"
"Just take your damn turn already!" Robert said through gritted teeth and Chloe folded her arms. "Oh right, Unwavering Truth's effect, basically it forces us to reveal any Spells we draw and shuffle them into our decks." Robert told her and Chloe nodded before drawing her card.
"It's a Spell Card." Chloe grunted before returning the card to her deck and reshuffling it. "Not like it matters anyway, Colossal Fighter, attack his life-points directly!" Chloe commanded and the massive warrior charged towards Robert…..
"You fell for it! Hook, line and sinker! I activate my trap card Dimensional Prison!" Robert activated the trap and Chloe's eyes widened as Colossal Fighter was sucked into a portal.
"Just make your move already!" Chloe snapped at him and Robert grinned before activating his other, long forgotten about Trap Card. "Sorrowful Chain!?"
"That's right and since I have the three Sad Story Spell cards on my side of the field this Spell Card will let me Special Summon Dragon Queen of Tragic Endings from my deck or hand!" Robert announced before playing the card, the monster was a large purple dragon with green wings which roared menacingly at Chloe (6/1900/2600).
"That queen doesn't look so tough!" Chelsea commented and Tyler shook his head.
"Looks can be deceiving." Tyler said plainly as Robert drew his card.
"It's a monster so it goes back to my deck!" Robert said before shuffling the monster back into his deck. "But you know what? I have all the firepower that I need on the field right now! Dragon Queen of Tragic Endings, attack her life-points directly, Tragedy Stream!" Robert commanded and the dragon breathed fire at Chloe who screamed in pain as her life-points dropped to 3700.
"Well, at least the worst of it is over." Chloe grunted and Robert grinned.
"You'd like that wouldn't you? But the fun's just beginning because now my queen's effect activates, with it I can force you to discard a card from your hand and I get to draw one card!" Robert announced and Chloe reluctantly sent a card to the graveyard before Robert drew another card. "That ends my turn." Robert announced and Chloe drew her card.
"It's a monster." Chloe said with a grunt before reshuffling the card into her deck. "But now I can play this! My Spell Card D.D.R. – Different Dimension Reincarnation!"
"No!" Robert shouted out as Chloe discarded another card and Colossal Fighter returned to the field, its power boost was intact except that it was now at 3200. "How….."
"The card you made me discard was another Warrior monster as was the monster I discarded for my Spell Card." Chloe said before retrieving the cards revealing them to be Blade Knight (4/1600/1000) and Gearfried the Iron Knight (4/1800/1600) before returning them to her graveyard. "Now it's time for some payback, Colossal Fighter, attack Dragon Queen of Tragic Endings!"
"You bitch!" Robert grunted as Chloe commanded her warrior and the monster charged towards the dragon before punching it through the stomach destroying it and bringing Robert's life-points down to 3100.
"I'll end my turn at that!" Chloe announced and Robert wasted no time in drawing his card.
"A Spell Card but that doesn't matter to me!" Robert said before picking up Sorrowful Memories and sending it to his graveyard. "You see, if Dragon Queen of Tragic Endings is in my graveyard during my standby phase I can send one Continuous Spell Card to the graveyard to Special Summon her from the graveyard!" Robert announced before playing the card and the queen returned to the field.
"I'll just destroy her again." Chloe said defiantly and Robert shook his head.
"Actually I was counting on you destroying her last turn." Robert responded before playing a card. "I activate Double Cyclone!" Robert announced and Chloe's eyes widened as Unwavering Truth and D.D.R. where both destroyed by a tornado taking Colossal Fighter with it. "But why leave it at that? I activate Shield and Sword!"
"Oh shit!" Chloe gulped as the dragon's attack rose to 2600 whilst its defense dropped to 1900.
"Now my queen, attack her life-points directly with tragedy stream!" Robert commanded and the dragon breathed fire at Chloe again bringing her life-points down to 1100, Chloe quickly discard a card and Robert drew again.
"You bastard, isn't attacking my life-points enough for you?!" Chloe grunted and Robert just grinned before looking at the card he had drawn.
"But why stop there? I activate Tremendous Fire!" Robert played the card he had drawn and Chloe screamed in pain as her life-points dropped to 100 whilst Robert winced as his life-points dropped to 2600. "That ends my turn." Robert announced as his dragon's stats returned to normal.
"Come on Chloe; don't let this bastard beat you!" Lance called out to her and Chloe grit her teeth before drawing her card.
"Okay, here goes." Chloe thought before turning to Robert. "The card I just drew is a Spell Card and since you destroyed Unwavering Truth I can now play it!" Chloe said before playing the card. "Go Arkhasic Record!" Chloe played the card and quickly drew two more cards. "I haven't played either of these cards so I get to keep them…" Chloe said before glancing up at Silent Magician.
"And you're glancing up at her, why?" Robert asked with a grunt and Chloe played one of the cards.
"Because this is just what I need to beat you." Chloe said as Silent Magician Level 4 appeared on the field (4/1000/1000) and she stepped back in fear when she saw Robert again. "Don't worry, you won't have to look at him for long, I activate Level Up!" Chloe played the card and the young magician started glowing and growing until it reached its adult form (8/3500/1000).
"That's it? Give me a break!" Robert scoffed as he looked at the card. "She may be strong but she isn't strong enough to beat me!"
"That's where you're wrong." Silent Magician said suddenly and Robert blinked before looking up at the crystal where Silent Magician was supposed to be only to find it empty. "My protégé has one more card to play, don't you Chloe?"
"That's right!" Chloe said with a nod before playing the card. "Go Monster Reborn!" Chloe played the card and Robert's eyes widened as Colossal Fighter returned to the field. "And I discarded another warrior due to your queen's effect which means he's even stronger." Chloe announced as Colossal Fighter's attack increased to 3200.
"No! I won't be beat by you again!" Robert shouted out and Chloe glared at him.
"Colossal Fighter, finish off his queen!" Chloe commanded and the warrior charged towards the queen before punching her through the stomach and bringing Robert's life-points down to 1300."Silent Magician…." Chloe trailed off and Silent Magician placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder.
"Say no more." Silent Magician said and Chloe nodded before Silent Magician fired a magical blast from her staff at Robert bringing his life-points down to zero.
"No! No!" Robert shouted out before he vanished into thin air alongside the holograms and the crystals suspending her friends, Chloe turned to them when she heard them land with a thud.
"You guys okay?" Chloe asked as they got up.
"I'll have a hell of a cramp when I wake up but I'm otherwise fine." Chelsea said with a grunt as she sat up and the others nodded in agreement. "What about you?"
"I'm…I'm not sure." Chloe said with a sigh as she folded her arms. "I'm just glad that bastard's gone."
"I'm still confused as to how we ended up in Chloe's dream in the first place." Marcus commented as he scratched his head in confusion.
"When I realized what was happening I sent out a message to the other Duel Spirits for help, unfortunately bringing you all into the same dream was the best that they could do." Silent Magician responded and the other students nodded in response. "You should be waking up soon enough, by now it should be 9:00 in the evening roughly."
"That duel only lasted an hour?" Chloe asked with a confused look on her face. "I could've sworn in lasted longer than that."
"Time seemed to go by slowly whilst he was in here." Silent Magician told her with a frown. "I'll investigate it during the tournament." Silent Magician added as a bright flash enveloped everyone.
*in the real world*
Chelsea awoke with a start and looked around, it was still pretty dark out but without her IPod she couldn't confirm what time it was.
"That was one weird dream." Chelsea thought before it hit her, the sounds of her roommate sobbing only helped confirm it. "Chloe, are you awake?" Chelsea called out to her before waiting for a few moments.
"Yeah, I am." Chloe answered in a shaky voice, Chelsea wasted no time in getting out of bed and hopping off the top bunk to check on her roommate who was sitting in a fetal position on her bed.
"That dream hit you hard huh?" Chelsea asked as she sat next to her.
"Yeah, I tried to put on a brave face throughout that duel but not even I could keep that up forever." Chloe answered before sighing. "I still have no idea how he came back."
"Hey we'll figure something out." Chelsea reassured her with a pat on the back. "And as soon as we find this Santiago guy I'll kick his ass so hard he won't be able to sit down for a year." Chelsea added and Chloe smiled at that. "In the meantime, let's try to not think about it."
"Yeah, that's a good idea." Chloe agreed with a smile. "Hopefully we can get a good night's rest now." Chloe added as she started to calm down a bit.
"That sounds good to me." Chelsea said before noticing her IPod next to her laptop. "Just remember Chloe, if you need a chat you know where to find me."
"Yeah, either at your laptop or on the topbunk and that's when you're in the room." Chloe answered getting a laugh out of her roommate. "I guess I won't need this now." Chloe said before picking up the IPod and passing it to Chelsea.
"Yeah you probably won't." Chelsea agreed as she went up to her bunk. "Good night." Chelsea called called out to her before lying down on the bed.
"Good night." Chloe responded as she lay down in her bed. "Here's hoping that what that bastard said about me never seeing him again is true." Chloe thought as rested her hands behind her head.
*elsewhere*
"Dr. Schwartz, I gave you resources and funding your former co-workers would kill to get, you gave me your word that the plan was foolproof!" Victor said angrily as he watched the end of the duel on a computer monitor. "Instead Robert is gone forever and we are no closer to our goal."
"Mr. Santiago, please understand." Dr. Schwartz, a tall lanky old man with wild grey hair and blue eyes behind a pair of glasses, pleaded with his boss. "This technology is still new; it'll take time to perfect."
"I will give you until no later than the end of the Tag Team Tournament to perfect this technology." Victor said bluntly and Dr. Schwartz nodded. "As for the trial run, I'd say it was successful, we know the technology works and that the Duel Monster cards work perfectly with it." Victor added and Dr. Schwartz nodded in agreement.
"What about the fact that that idiot mentioned your name to them?" Jack asked bluntly as he folded his arms and Victor waved his hand dismissively.
"Please, a character in a teenage girl's bad dream just happened to mention me by name?" Victor said with a cocky smirk. "Any lawyer dumb enough to take that case to court may as well feed his license to his pet dog."
"Whatever you say boss but I say we make our next strike soon, just to be safe." Jack said with a shrug and Victor stroked his chin.
"Perhaps we shall." Victor eventually answered before the two men left the laboratory.