It had been a few hours since Chloe's last Orichalcos duel and she and Chelsea where back in their dorm room at Osiris Red, as Chelsea said the room was no spotless and you'd never think that it was broken into in the first place.
Chelsea was at her laptop playing a game whilst her roommate was lying down on the bed with her hands behind her head and her blazer resting atop the chair facing the coffee table that wasn't occupied by Chelsea's laptop, pretty much the same position they found themselves in when they returned to the dorm after Chloe's duel with Sheamus earlier.
"Chloe, are you still beating yourself up over what happened earlier?" Chelsea asked as she paused the game and turned to her roommate, Chloe sat up and rested her hands on the bed. "You haven't said a word since we got back and I'm getting a bit worried."
"Yeah, I am a bit." Chloe said with a sigh of resignation. "I was the first duelist in Battle City to face off against an Orichalcos duelist and I ended up being on pain killers for the rest of the tournament, almost three months later and now I've used it myself."
"I'm not saying I blame ya but ya can't change the past Chloe." Chelsea pointed out and Chloe nodded. "Trust me, I wish I could go back and undo the aftermath of my first tournament duel but I can't."
"That's the one where you punched the opponent and got sent to juvie hall for it, right?" Chloe asked and Chelsea nodded. "Look, don't tell anyone but….using the Orichalcos was kind of a thrill."
"…tell me I just imagined that sentence?" Chelsea pleaded as she turned to her roommate. "You realize what you just said right?"
"Yeah I know but….well I guess it's kind of hard to explain?" Chloe trailed off as she sat up. "Trying to think of an example for comparison's sake…you ever tried alcohol?"
"Yeah, I tried it a few times, mostly when I was alone with my partners." Chelsea responded with a shrug of her shoulders. "Hangover wasn't fun but it usually resulted in a fun night."
"Yeah, you just dipped into the too much information area Chelsea." Chloe commented as a large sweat-drop rolled down her head. "Can you remember what it was like to try it for the first time?"
"Kinda, like I said, the resulting hangover does kinda hindered my memory of that night." Chelsea answered with a frown. "It was after my stint in juvie hall, I was staying over at my boyfriend's for the night…."
"Wait, you had a boyfriend?" Chloe asked with a raised eyebrow. "I was under the impression that you always preferred girls."
"Nah, that's Beth your thinking off." Chelsea said as she shook her head. "My first date was with a guy I met back home in Chicago, he took me home, we got drunk, don't ask me how he snuck the alcohol past his parents, and the next thing we knew we were making out in his bed." Chelsea said before laughing. "My parents weren't exactly thrilled when I came home the following morning."
"I bet they weren't." Chloe said as she shook her head. "So what happened after that?"
"That relationship didn't last that long, my dad threatening to kick his ass if he ever came near me again didn't help." Chelsea answered as she leaned back. "I dated a few boys after that but none of them really did anything for me, it wasn't until I somehow ended up having a one night stand with a girl at a house party that a friend of mine was holding that I realized that I preferred girls, I came out of the closet to my parents a couple a months later."
"So how did they take it?" Chloe asked and Chelsea sighed.
"They were shocked off course, especially since I had been dating a guy before the party." Chelsea sighed as she turned to her roommate. "The guy took it even worse, he thought we'd be together well beyond our high school years so when I broke up with him he wasn't happy, and that was before I told him that I was leaving him for a girl." Chelsea added with a sigh. "I didn't exactly hear much from him after that, from what I heard his parents moved from Chicago shortly after I came out but besides that I don't know what he's up too."
"Was he any good at Duel Monsters?" Chloe asked and Chelsea looked at her funny. "I think you know why I'm asking this."
"The Orichalcos, right?" Chelsea asked and Chloe nodded. "I don't think he was ever really into the game, he'd watch me play the game and give me some support but he preferred being a bystander, I can't even remember if he had a deck." Chelsea answered with a frown. "Speaking off, how about we get this conversation back on track?"
"Right, right, we were talking about your first time trying alcohol." Chloe commented with a frown. "I've never tried the stuff but I guess it would be accurate to compare it to the buzz you get from getting drunk for the first time."
"Yeah, I guess that makes sense, just don't join the Orichalcos Duelists behind our backs like Otto did." Chelsea commented with a frown. "Do we even know how long he's been with those bastards?"
"I don't know, I found out at the Battle City Semi-Finals like the others did." Chloe responded as she shook her head. "Didn't get much of a chance to ask him during our match in the finals either."
"Given how much he pissed you off over the course of the Semi-Finals I can't exactly blame you." Chelsea responded before letting out a yawn. "Man, what time is it?" Chelsea wondered but before she could check the clock there was a knock at the door.
"Nightly dorm check are you in there girls?" A female guard's voice rang out and Chelsea grinned sheepishly.
"That was almost on cue." Chloe commented a chuckle. "Yeah, we are, we'll be going to bed soon." Chloe called out and the guard subsequently walked off. "Man, I still can't get used to that."
"I can, they did that all the time back in juvie." Chelsea responded before letting out another yawn and closing the laptop lid. "I think we'd better get to sleep, we have tomorrow's duels, classes and whatever crazy scheme those bastards come up with to look forward to tomorrow after all."
"I don't think that last one could count as something to look forward too." Chloe pointed out as Chelsea grabbed her pajamas and headed to the top bunk to get changed, Chloe got up to get her pajamas out of the closet the two girls shared and turned to Chelsea. "You won't tell anyone about what I said regarding the Orichalcos, will you?"
"Not as long as you don't activate it again." Chelsea responded with a sigh. "I don't think your duel spirit will be too happy with you though." Chelsea added and Chloe winced before she started getting changed. "Good night Chloe."
"Good night." Chloe responded before getting into bed. "Silent Magician, I know I messed up today but…."
"We've been through this Chloe and mistakes happen, even big ones like what happened today." Silent Magician responded and Chloe sighed in response. "Oh and don't act on your feelings towards the Orichalcos or else I might need to do something drastic."
"Err, I'm afraid to ask but what do you mean by drastic?" Chloe asked and Silent Magician sighed.
"Remember when I almost got you and your classmates expelled?" Silent Magician asked and Chloe nodded. "Murdering your protégé is one of the worst crimes you can commit as a Spirit Guide but there are a couple of exceptions to the rule."
"Like what?" Chloe asked and Silent Magician frowned.
"If the protégé is dying from something that is painful such as cancer or bleeding out he/she can request a mercy kill." Silent Magician answered and Chloe winced. "Off course the methods used by duel spirits vary, warriors would stab them in the heart, spellcasters would cast a spell to stop it…."
"Err; wouldn't stabbing them in the heart make the bleeding worse?" Chloe asked and Silent Magician shook her head.
"Warrior spirits who use swords and other bladed weapons are masters of their craft, trust me, they know what they are doing." Silent Magician answered and Chloe nodded. "As for the other exception, that only counts when someone uses the Orichalcos or a similar card more than once."
"Oh…" Chloe trailed off with a sigh. "I think I'm ready to go to sleep now."
"Indeed you are, good night Chloe." Silent Magician answered and Chloe dozed off soon after.
*the next day*
The students at Duel Academy where getting up nice and early in preparation for the day ahead but another group was preparing for the day ahead as well, just for entirely different reason.
"So Victor, what will we do now?" Jack asked as he took a sip from his drink. "MacLeod was successful in getting Chloe to use the Orichalcos but he was defeated."
"Yes, I saw that." Victor said as he rested his hands on the desk. "We'll keep a close eye on them for now but maybe it's time we extended our target list?"
"Okay, first off are you suggesting that we install cameras into a dorm room shared by two teenage girls, one of whom is a lesbian?" Jack asked and Victor glared at him. "Thought not, second, what do you mean by that?"
"The other students at the academy should be easy enough to target, especially if they have no connection to Chloe and her friends." Victor responded with a frown. "Don't target the three Obelisk Blue students we've been watching, I think you know why." Victor added and Jack nodded. "I'll be sending an e-mail containing a list of all the students to my agents, including the new students that joined over the weekend, with instructions to target them."
"And that means I get to play delivery boy again." Jack grumbled under his breath. "Seriously Victor, why waste so much manpower when me and Sarah could probably duel circles around those students?"
"Because I will not and cannot risk losing my top agents." Victor answered and Jack frowned. "You'll get your chance but not today."
"That chance had better come soon! I know I can beat that punk with the Claw of Hermos, I know it!" Jack thought with a frustrated frown before turning to Victor. "You want me to pick up an agent or not?"
"I'll have to call an agent first but as soon as I can find one you will be the first to know." Victor answered and Jack nodded. "As for Richardson, I doubt she'll be in any shape to duel for the next few days, we both know how mentally tasking using the Orichalcos for the first time is, but I'll advise against targeting her, even with that in mind she is still a talented duelist."
"Please, the kid's a fucking rookie, how long exactly has she been dueling anyway? Last I checked she only has a little under a year's experience under her belt!" Jack scoffed and Victor frowned. "Yeah, yeah I know, what the boss says goes but my point still stands!"
"If you are done you can leave and go to the helipad, I should have an agent ready for pick-up by the time you get there!" Victor responded and Jack puffed before leaving the office, he put a hand on the phone and dialed his secretaries' number. "Juliana, send Dr. Schwartz up to my office, I have a task for him."
"Understood sir, I'm calling him now." Juliana answered before hanging up.
"All this effort over a children's card game," Victor thought as he glanced down at his deck. "When I was business partners with Kaiba I couldn't understand the fixation he had on it, until I did some research in the private files of Kaibacorp's database that is." Victor thought as he grinned broadly. "It was then that I saw its true potential, something I achieved when I revived the Orichalcos, in due time it'll be my turn to duel and not even the Legendary Dragons can save those brats from my wrath." Victor thought as the door opened and Dr. Schwartz entered.
*elsewhere*
Despite yesterday's events Chloe and the others were able to go along their school day routine without any interruptions, and in this case Chloe, Chelsea and Marcus where in PE.
"Good time on the obstacle course Chelsea." Jeff commented as he looked at his stopwatch, Chelsea was taking a moment to catch her breath having just run the course and Marcus was up next. "Cut down on the junk food a bit and you'll do even better."
"Tell that to the big guy over there and not the girl who's actually in shape!" Chelsea responded with a grunt before turning to Marcus. "No offense Marcus."
"No offense taken Chelsea," Marcus responded as he warmed himself up for his run off the course, the class was about to end and only he and Chloe hadn't run the course yet, Chloe, remembering what happened the first time she ran the course, was wearing one of her long sleeve tops. "Ready when you are Jeff."
"Just give me a second to reset the timer…." Jeff trailed off as he set the timer. "And go!" Jeff added and Marcus started running the course, whilst that was going on Chelsea joined her roommate who was currently warming up for her turn.
"Look on the Brightside Chelsea." Chloe commented as her roommate caught her breath. "At least we'll be heading over to the duel field after this class."
"Yeah, after we get changed out of these sweaty clothes you mean." Chelsea grunted as she stood up straight. "This has to be Jeff's idea of a sick joke, putting PE right before today's tournament duels?"
"Just be glad that we know for sure that we won't be competing today." Chloe pointed out and Chelsea nodded as Chloe finished her stretches. "Though given Marcus's running speed we may still be here by the time the third round's started…."
"Ha, ha, very funny Chloe, you're up next by the way." Marcus grunted as he finished the course and stopped the catch his breath, Chloe said nothing as she walked up to the track and Jeff gave her the signal the run the course. "So Chelsea, has Chloe talked about last night's events since you returned to your dorm?"
"Yeah, she did." Chelsea said as she ran a hand through a hair. "But the topic of the convo isn't something I'm comfortable talking about within earshot of a teacher."
"I hear ya; maybe we can talk about it over the arena?" Marcus suggested as he caught his breath. "You girls get up to much besides that?" Marcus asked and Chelsea shrugged.
"I played some Rome: Total War 2 like I said I would, almost done conquering the world on that game." Chelsea answered as she watched her roommate run the course. "Chloe on the other hand just spent the rest of the night on the bottom bunk; she did look exhausted after the duel so I'm wouldn't be surprised if she dozed off at one point."
"I'd like to say that I know that feeling but….well, you know." Marcus responded as Chloe rounded a corner on the course, the last corner before she would complete the course. "Well, she's already beaten my time."
"Marcus, a snail could beat your time." Chelsea teased him before shaking her head. "I doubt she's doing it as fast as I did though, those short legs of hers don't exactly make for great running speed."
"I can hear you Chelsea." Chloe grunted as she climbed over the second to last obstacle. "Silent Magician, can you cast some kind of spell that could make me run faster?"
"Well, I could…." Silent Magician trailed off as Chloe tumbled over the climbing frame landing face first into the safety matt and getting a few laughs out of a few students. "But that would be too easy, that and you wouldn't be able to stop running until you collapsed from exhaustion."
"You're kidding, right?" Chloe asked as she got to her feet and proceeded down the rest of the course, compared to the climbing frame the last obstacle was fairly easy but it was still something Chloe had difficulty with. "Man, I still hate that climbing frame, that thing led to the teachers learning about my childhood."
"Do you always carry grudges against inanimate objects?" Silent Magician asked as Chloe finished the last obstacle and crossed the finish line. "As for your question, no, I'm not."
"Good run Chloe, better than your run last week." Jeff complemented her as Chloe stopped to catch her breath. "Okay, that's all for today, I know you want to get to the Duel Arena for today's duels but I'm not letting anyone out until they get changed back into their uniforms." Jeff added earning a collective groan from the students. "My next class isn't until after the duels and I'm willing to wait." Jeff added and the students begrudgingly made their way into their respective locker rooms. "No matter how young they are duelists never change." Jeff thought as he shook his head. "I remember wanting to forego my personal hygiene to watch or participant in a duel as well, good times." Jeff thought as the students emerged from their locker rooms in their uniforms. "All right, unless you have classes during the duels enjoy them, and because I have class to prepare for myself please refrain from any spoilers because anyone who does gets to run around the course twice in a row the next time we have a lesson." Jeff added and the students nodded with gulps before leaving.
"Man, am I glad to be out of there." Chelsea groaned as she and Chloe made their way to the duel arena for today's matches, Marcus had gone ahead in order to find the others leaving the two girls to their own devices. "I mean, I would've been happy to just run over to the dorm room, get changed and run back with my laptop but nope, he had to make us wait."
"Chelsea, the girl's dorm would've taken you more than twenty minutes to get to by my watch." Chloe pointed out as she followed her roommate. "There's no way you could've made it back before the first turn."
"Yeah but at least I'd have my laptop." Chelsea answered as they neared the duel arena. "Instead I'll have to make do with watching the duels."
"Isn't that the point though?" Chloe asked and Chelsea sighed.
"It is but I have IT Class right after the duels, I won't have time to run over there and grab it." Chelsea responded and Chloe frowned before getting an idea. "Don't tell me, you're volunteering to get it for me?"
"Well, I don't have class after the duels; in fact my next class isn't until the early afternoon." Chloe answered once she checked her schedule. "It won't be a problem."
"Okay fine but be careful with that thing, my work is on it." Chelsea answered and Chloe nodded. "Oh and thanks."
"No problem." Chloe answered and Chelsea grinned before they entered the arena. "You know who's competing today? And by that I mean, as in, personally?"
"No I don't, Staci was with us at the lake on Sunday but Beth invited her, I never met her before then and I didn't really talk to her that much." Chelsea answered as she turned to her roommate. "Off course we both know who we can blame for that."
"That Orichalcos Duelist Lance faced." Chloe answered with a frown and Chelsea nodded. "It sucks that we can't get time off to take the fight to them….come to think of it why didn't we think of that sooner?"
"Believe me, I tried." Theresa's voice rang out and the two girls looked up and saw Theresa ahead of them at the top of the stairs. "After Lance got his hands on The Fang of Critius I went to Martin with a request for time off for all of us."
"By your tone of voice I'm guessing it didn't work?" Chloe asked and Theresa nodded. "Why?"
"Lance's cold played a factor but in the end it was the tournament that drove the final nail in that coffin." Theresa answered as the two girls caught up to her. "Martin understood my reasoning but he pointed out that it wouldn't exactly be fair on the other competing duelists, especially Lance and Andreas's tag team partners, I tried to get him to postpone it but Martin said that it was past that point."
"I'm guessing that's something you're not willing to disclose to anyone else?" Chelsea asked and Theresa nodded without hesitation. "That's good; the students have been anticipating this tournament for so long that any further delays wouldn't have helped."
"It gets worse than that." Theresa responded getting the attention of Chloe and Chelsea. "Martin pretty much said that the only way we could get time off at this point was if the tournament was cancelled all together."
"You're kidding?" Chloe asked and Theresa shook her head. "If that happened then what would've happened to the prize?"
"Martin already planned for that." Theresa said as she turned to them. "They were considering cancelling the tournament due to the long delays but it was Hamden who saved it, if that had happened the booster packs would've returned to the shops at a discounted price with the prize money being put in the school's budget."
"That makes sense." Chelsea responded with a nod. "Rare cards at a discounted price? That would've sold like hot cakes."
"That plus a little extra money in the budget on top of all that, either way the school would've made money." Chloe added and Chelsea nodded as the three girls made their way up the stairs.
"I think the cards will go on sale at the card shop at some point anyway." Theresa added as she turned to them. "Like you said, they'd sell like hot cakes." Theresa added before frowning. "Chelsea, can you go ahead? I want a chat with Chloe."
"Err; sure, I'll give you guys a shout if the match is starting and you're still down here." Chelsea responded before going up ahead, once she was out of earshot Chloe sighed.
"It's about my last Orichalcos Duel isn't it?" Chloe asked and Theresa nodded. "I know how stupid my decision was in hindsight but, well, you heard what I said after Silent Magician used that spell on me."
"Yeah, I did, can't say it made my feelings about it any better though." Theresa responded and Chloe winced once she sure the look on her face. "Chloe, you know firsthand how dangerous that card is, hell you ended up leaving the site of your first Battle City duel in an ambulance because of it." Theresa added as she folded her arms. "What were you thinking?!"
"I know this is going to sound crazy but compared to all the other stuff that's happened since I joined Duel Academy it may seem tame." Chloe said with an annoyed sigh. "You remember when Silent Magician mentioned a demonic force?" Chloe asked and Theresa nodded. "There was a voice in my head after I got the Orichalcos from Sheamus, it sounded nothing like Silent Magician and I think it was the force she mentioned."
"What did it say?" Theresa asked and Chloe thought back for a bit.
"I can't remember exactly, I had a lot on my mind for obvious reasons." Chloe admitted and Theresa nodded. "But the jist of it is that it was trying to get me to play the Seal every other turn, I was able to ignore it for the majority of the duel up until Sheamus played Spell of Sacrifice, I was this close to taking the bullet and letting someone take over like you and the others where suggesting but the voice said that he could've gotten away if I hadn't and well, you know the rest." Chloe added as she lowered her head in shame
"You are one stubborn girl sometimes Chloe." Theresa sighed and Chloe glanced up. "Like I said after your duel, we would've surrounded the area, left him with nowhere to go and eventually he would've found himself in a situation where he was either forced to use the Orichalcos himself or retreat giving his boss a mission failed report, either way his mission would've failed."
"And instead I used the Orichalcos and even in defeat his mission succeeded." Chloe sighed as she shook her head. "Man, I'd hate to think what my parents would think if they knew that."
"They won't, from what you've told me they will probably be too busy with their own work." Theresa responded and Chloe nodded. "Even if they do ask if you've been in any other Orichalcos duels you can still lie to them, I know your stepdad lied to you for years about your real dad's incarceration but considering the alternative…."
"Yeah, I get the idea." Chloe said before noticing her roommate motioning them over at the top of the stairs. "Come on, if we stay down here too long we'd miss the first move."
"Good idea." Theresa responded as the two women made their way up the stairs. "You don't have to worry about Tyler or Brandon chewing you out either, we drew straws to decide who got to do that."
"Wait, seriously?" Chloe asked and Theresa nodded. "Did you three want to chew me out that badly?"
"To the point where I could hear them practicing their chewing out sessions in my sleep, we spent last night in Tyler's room." Theresa said before blushing once she noticed the look on Chloe's face. "The Obelisk Blue students have an exam later, it's to do with who gets to graduate from the academy and who doesn't, and we were studying for that."
"Oh, okay." Chloe said with a shrug before realizing something. "Are you saying that you three could graduate during the tournament?"
"No, we'll graduate on the last day of the term; we'll get to choose our graduation opponents and everything." Theresa answered and Chloe nodded. "Don't worry; we plan to take out the Orichalcos for good before we even think about making our pro circuit debuts."
"That's a relief." Chelsea chimed in as they approached her. "Come on, the match will be starting in a few minutes." Chelsea added and they followed her to where the others were seated, once again they had good seats and the three of them took their seats. "The duelists haven't arrived yet but by my watch we're about five minutes out from the first duel starting."
"That sounds about right." Tyler answered as he checked his watch before turning to Chloe and Theresa. "Did you two talk about last night?"
"Yeah, we did." Chloe responded with an annoyed sigh. "And she told me that you and Brandon had your own plans on chewing me out."
"Guilty as charged but since Theresa kept her end of the bargain we won't go through with it." Brandon admitted and Chloe sighed in relief. "As much as you deserve it for using that thing in the first place we're men of our words."
"Gee, thanks for the reminder." Chloe grunted before noticing two teams of duelists entering the main arena. "Guys, the duel's starting." Chloe added as they turned their attention to the duel.
"Welcome to day seven of the Tag Team Tournament." Martin's voice rang out and the crowd cheered. "It's the second to last day of the first round and I'm sure that today's competing duelists will not disappoint! Today's first match is between the teams of Bettye Nanette Blanchard of Obelisk Blue and Kara Byers of Ra Yellow and Latoya Conley and Louella Schneider of Ra Yellow."
"Okay Kara, you can do this." Kara thought as she shuffled her deck, she was a short girl around Chloe's height with shoulder length red hair and blue eyes whose uniform identified her as a second year student. "Ra Yellow is seriously underrepresented in the second round but no matter who wins this match that fact will change."
"Are you nervous Kara?" A feminine French accent rang out and she glanced up, her tag team partner, Bettye, was a French transfer student who had transferred from a school in France that had trained the French national champion last year and she had quickly made a good impression, going up from Osiris Red to Obelisk Blue in the space of a year, she was around Theresa's height with elbow length black hair and brown eyes. "Don't be, you'll do fine with me on your team."
"Aren't you forgetting someone?" Louella's voice rang out and they looked up, the two Ra Yellow students on the other end of the arena where clearly American and Louella had shoulder length brown hair and blue eyes. "Kara, you may have an Obelisk Blue Student on your team but don't forget, four Obelisk Blue students were eliminated yesterday."
"Yeah, I know, I watched that duel as well." Kara answered with a frown. "But Chong's team only lost because his partner was an arrogant snob who couldn't back it up on the duel field."
"And Esther and Delia, well they were a team of Obelisk Blue snobs." Bettye added with a smirk. "A team that arrogant was only setting themselves up for their defeat no matter who they were against."
"Any way you look at it the Obelisk Blue dorm is not looking good going into the next round." Latoya responded with a smirk. "And they'll look even worse when we win this match!" Latoya added as she and Louella started shuffling their decks, she had short black hair and blue eyes and, like the other Ra Yellow students in the duel, she was clearly a second year student.
"We'll see about that." Bettye responded as she started shuffling her deck. "As for the order, how about Kara goes first, then Louella, then Latoya and finally me?" Bettye suggested and the other three girls nodded. "Good, now let's begin!" Bettye added as the four duelists drew their opening hands and once they nodded to confirm this Kara drew her first card.
"Well, at least there's no one I outright hate this time." Chloe commented as she listened to the opening trash talk between the two teams. "You guys know anything about them?"
"Bettye was a transfer student last year but quickly made it known that she was one of the best duelists at the school she transferred from." Theresa said as she turned to Chloe. "And once her turn begins you'll see why."
"I'm afraid I don't know much about the others though." Andreas added with a frown. "Yes, they are in Ra Yellow as well but I don't hang around the Ra Yellow Girl's Dorm as much as I'd like too." Andreas added only to be playfully elbowed in the ribs by Nicola who was sitting next to him. "I get the feeling that I shouldn't have said that out loud."
"Okay, not a bad hand so far, but I'd better play it safe." Kara thought before picking up two cards. "I set one card facedown and a monster in defense mode." Kara announced as the two set cards appeared on the field. "And I end my turn at that." Kara added and Louella drew her card.
"You think playing it safe will protect you? That's not likely." Louella responded before looking at her drawn card and smirking. "But don't take my word for it; first I activate Foolish Burial to send one monster from my deck to my graveyard." Louella played the card and picked up her deck before searching through it, once she found the card she needed she sent it to the graveyard, reshuffled her deck and returned it to the deck holder. "But more on that later, I summon Blazewing Butterfly to the field!" Louella played the card and a new monster appeared on the field, it was a large orange butterfly with wings made of flame (4/1500/1500).
"A Gemini deck, not bad but you've already used up your normal summon." Bettye pointed out and Louella grinned. "Besides I'm surprised that anyone still runs that after Ultimate Offering was banned."
"My deck would've taken a hit because of that but truthfully I've never ran that card." Louella responded as she picked up a card. "Not that I never considered it but all the shops I tried, even the DA shop, didn't have any copies off it and besides, the only way my deck was hit was when Monster Reborn and Pot of Avarice where banned."
"Join the club." Kara sighed and Louella shook her head.
"Anyway back to my move and I play another Spell Card Double Summon!" Louella said as she played a card. "And I'll use my second summon to activate Blazewing's Gemini mode and, most importantly, it's effect, in a way it's like that Gigaplant monster that Esther used yesterday but there's a big difference." Louella added as Blazewing Butterfly disappeared from the field. "All I need to do is tribute it and I can Special Summon one Gemini monster from my graveyard with its Gemini Mode already activated as long as it's not another Blazewing Butterfly."
"And you've already sent one there with Foolish Burial." Kara realized and Louella nodded as she retrieved the card. "So what is it exactly?"
"I'll show you, I summon Tuned Magician!" Louella played the card and a new monster appeared on the field, he was a tall man in weird white and gold robes with a gold colored wizard's hat (4/1800/1600). "I'll get to his effect on my next turn but for now I'll set this." Louella announced as the facedown card appeared on the field. "And I end my turn."
"A Gemini deck," Chloe said as she scratched her head. "I ran one in my old Battle City deck but never seen a whole deck based around it."
"They are a pretty tricky deck to work, even more so now that Ultimate Offering has been banned." Tyler responded with a frown. "But from what I've heard Louella's managed to work around that."
"That was also a pretty major misplay." Chelsea added getting Chloe's attention. "A better move would've been to use Supervise to activate Blazewing's Gemini Mode and once she used it to summon Tuned Magician use Supervise's other effect to bring back Blazewing."
"Why's that?" Chloe asked as Bettye looked over her hand.
"Tuned Magician is treated like a Tuner monster whilst its Gemini Mode is active." Chelsea answered with a frown. "With that move she could've made a Level Eight Synchro easily."
"That is true but I can think of a couple of reasons why she didn't." Theresa chimed in and the two girls turned to her. "Kara's facedown monster could've been something like Bottomless Trap Hole or a similar trap or she simply didn't have Supervise in her hand."
"I doubt your first theory, if Kara was smart she'd use that card on Tuned Magician if she had it." Chelsea pointed out with a frown. "That way any potential Synchro Summons get cut off at the pass unless she runs something like D.D.R. like Chloe does."
"My partner's playing it safe and Louella's setting up to bring out the big guns early." Bettye thought as she added her drawn card to her hand. "But I can still make a move of my own." Bettye thought before picking up two cards. "I set one card facedown and summon Milla the Temporal Magician." Bettye played the card and a new monster appeared on the field, it was a young woman in a white and gold dress with short silver hair who was wielding a golden staff (4/1800/1000).
"That monster's just as strong as Tuned Magician, why would you summon her?" Louella asked as Milla pointed her staff at Louella's facedown card and it started glowing. "What the…."
"This is why, when Milla is Normal Summoned I can look at one facedown trap card you control." Bettye responded and Louella grinned.
"Fine, I'll chain it, go Birth…." Louella trailed off when she realized that her duel disk wasn't responding to her command. "Err; I think my Duel Disk is broken."
"It isn't, simply put you can't activate Spells or Traps in response to this activation." Bettye explained as the facedown card flipped up revealing the trap card Birthright. "I had a feeling it was that trap card when you tried to activate it."
"Yeah well, now that you've seen it goes back facedown again." Louella responded as her trap card flipped facedown again.
"Obviously but most importantly I now have a solid idea of what your strategy is." Bettye responded before looking over her hand again. "I can't attack so I'll end my turn at that." Bettye announced and Latoya drew her card.
"Err; wouldn't a card like Night Beam work better?" Chloe asked as she scratched her head. "It features that Spellcaster's last effect but destroys it rather than reveals it."
"I was thinking the same thing but it's likely that Bettye hasn't drawn it yet, and that's if she runs that card." Brandon responded with a thoughtful look on his face. "It's not exactly a common card, the only reason I have a copy at all is because I basically got lucky when I was buying cards to replace the ones banned in that emergency banlist last week."
"Then again like most Obelisk Blue students Bettye's family is rich so it's possible she has it." Theresa chimed in and Chloe nodded as they turned their attention back to the duel.
"One set monster and two attack position monsters with equal attack, nothing that I can't handle." Latoya thought before looking at her hand. "If I had a decent hand that is, which I don't." Latoya thought with an annoyed look on her face. "I set one card facedown and a monster in defense mode to end my turn." Latoya announced and Kara drew her card.
"I think it's time I went on the offensive, I flip summon Road Roller!" Kara played the card a small roller appeared on the field; it was yellow and red in color and had spikes at the front (4/600/2100). "Why didn't I leave him in defense mode? I'll show you, I activate two Spell Cards, first up is Foolish Burial but since Louella's already used it I don't need to explain its effect." Kara explained before playing the card and picking up her deck, once she found the card she was looking for she sent it to her graveyard and shuffled her deck. "As for my second Spell Card, it's a special one called Charging Construction!"
"What's so special about that?" Louella asked as she picked up another card.
"I'll show you, for my normal summon I bring out Jumbo Drill!" Kara played the card and a new monster appeared on the field, it was another Machine Monster but this one was large, dark blue in color and seemed to be a drill off some king (4/1800/100). "When Jumbo Drill is Normal Summoned I can increase the levels of all Machine Monsters I control by one." Kara continued as Jumbo Drill and Road Roller's levels increased to five.
"So you're going for a Rank Five XYZ using your machines?" Latoya asked and Kara grinned.
"No, not exactly," Kara responded as she retrieved the monster she sent to the graveyard with Foolish Burial. "Remember Charging Construction? Well now that I've done my Normal Summon its effect activates, it's an effect that only works on three specific monsters, Road Roller, Jumbo Drill and the monster I sent to the graveyard."
"And what does it do exactly?" Louella asked and Kara frowned.
"I'll show you if you'd stop interrupting." Kara responded before playing the card. "It lets me Special Summon that monster from the graveyard, in this case it's Strong Shovel Excavator." Kara added as she played the card. It was a red excavator with a large metal claw (3/1800/100). "When Excavator is Special Summoned its level increases by one." Kara added before picking up another card. "But that's not good enough for me, you see you were correct when you guessed that I was going for a Rank Five XYZ Summon but this is different, this monster requires three Level 5 monsters."
"Then you're out of luck, Excavator's one level short." Latoya pointed out as Kara played another card. "Unless you have a card that can increase its level again I don't see how you're going to XYZ Summon this monster you're talking about."
"Just watch, I play one more Spell Card and it is called Resonance Device!" Kara played the card and Excavator and Jumbo Drill started glowing. "Since Excavator and Jumbo Drill are both Earth Type Machine Monsters I can change Excavator's level so that it matches Jumbo Drill's Level for the rest of the turn." Kara added as the overlay network opened up and the three machines where sucked in. "But Excavator, or my other machines for that matter, won't be around that long, I use all three of them to XYZ Summon my best monster, Digvorzhak, King of Heavy Industry!"
"We won't be required to try to spell the names of the monsters after the duel will we?" Latoya added as the monster appeared on the field, true to its name it was a massive machine, more specifically a Bucket-wheel excavator, that towered over the others (Rank: Five/3200/2000). "Wait a sec; I've heard of that monster, it's one of the rarest XYZ Monsters in the game."
"Yeah it is, and you don't want to know how much of a headache I had trying to get my hands on it." Kara responded as she sent Jumbo Drill to the graveyard. "Now I activate my king's effect, by detaching an overlay unit I can force you two to mill the top three cards in your deck, you'd better hope that you don't get any monsters though." Kara added as the two girls milled their cards. "Because if there are any monsters among the cards milled I get to destroy just as many cards on the field, so what's the result?"
"Well I'm safe." Louella responded with a sigh of relief. "The three cards I milled where all Spell Cards." Louella added before turning to Latoya. "What about you Latoya….." Louella trailed off when she saw her partner was sweating bullets. "Oh shit, how many monsters did you just mill?"
"All three of them where monsters…." Latoya said simply and Louella's eyes widened.
"Please tell me you have Effect Veiler in your hand?" Louella pleaded and Latoya shook her head.
"No, but I can do this!" Latoya said as her facedown card flipped up. "I chain activate Reckless Greed, it costs me two Draw Phases but I get to draw two cards before that thing goes on a rampage." Latoya added as she drew two cards.
"Fine, I'll destroy Tuned Magician, Latoya's facedown monster and Birthright!" Kara announced and the massive machine started picking up speed before running over the three cards destroying them all. "Now you'd think that my machine wouldn't be able to attack after an effect like that." Kara said before grinning broadly. "You'd be wrong, Digvorzhak, attack Louella's life-points directly!" Kara commanded and the machine picked up speed again before charging at Louella…..
"Not so fast, one of the cards I drew with Reckless Greed was Battle Fader!" Latoya played the card and the small pendulum fiend appeared on the field (1/0/0) causing the machine to stop in its tracks.
"Thanks." Louella thanked her partner with a sigh of relief before turning to Kara. "Your machine's powerful but it's not invincible, we'll find a way to defeat it!"
"You're welcome to try, for now I'll end my turn." Kara announced and Louella drew her card.
"No wonder that thing's so rare." Chloe said with a gulp. "That effect's deadly!"
"It's deadly but situational at best." Tyler corrected her and Chloe turned to him. "What if Latoya is running a Lightsworn deck? If she is then Kara just played right into her hand."
"I've never heard of a Lightsworn deck that ran Battle Fader and Reckless Greed before." Brandon responded with a frown. "I mean I did face a Lightsworn deck back in New York but now that I'm more familiar with it I know that it wasn't that good a Lightsworn build."
"How about we talk about that later and just focus on the duel?" Chelsea suggested as she turned her attention back to the duel.
"Okay, my first strategy is out the window thanks to that machine of hers." Louella thought as she looked over her hand. "Good thing I have a back-up plan." Louella thought before playing a card. "I activate a Spell Card called Swing of Memories, since my Gemini monsters are considered Normal Monsters whilst they are in the graveyard this Spell Card will let me Special Summon Blazewing Butterfly back to the field." Louella played the card and the butterfly returned to the field. "Next I activate Supervise and equip it to Blazewing."
"I think I know where this is going." Kara said as Blazewing started glowing. "Especially since Supervise was used in the last tournament duel."
"That's right; normally the monster summoned with Swing of Memories would be destroyed during the end phase." Louella responded as Blazewing vanished from the field and Tuned Magician appeared in its place. "But I can cut right to the chase by using Blazewing's effect, and speaking of which now that the equipped monster is in the graveyard I can use Supervise's other effect." Louella added as Blazewing returned to the field. "Now we've already gone over Blazewing's effect and how any monster summoned with its effect is in its Gemini mode but thanks to that machine's effect I never got a chance to go over Tuned Magician's effect, basically as long as it's in Gemini Mode Tuned Magician is a Tuner Monster."
"I thought so, with a name like that it had to have an effect like that." Kara said as Tuned Magician and Blazewing Butterfly leapt into the air, Tuned Magician turned into four Synchro Rings that quickly surrounded Blazewing Butterfly. "I don't care what you're summoning because it can't be stronger than my machine."
"No, but he's close enough, I tune Tuned Magician with Blazewing Butterfly to Synchro Summon Black Brutdrago!" Louella played the card and once the blight flash faded a new monster appeared on the field, it was a massive black dragon in terms of height and weight that had a horn sticking out of its head and large claws (8/3000/2600). "First I'll activate Brutdrago's effect, by sending one Gemini Monster from my hand to the graveyard I can destroy one Spell or Trap Card my opponent controls."
"To bad I didn't set any cards." Kara said with a smirk but Louella shook her head.
"No, but your partner did." Louella pointed out as Brutdrago slammed one of its feet down causing Bettye's facedown card, Magician's Circle, to shatter. "And whilst my monster won't be able to destroy that machine he can destroy Bettye's Spellcaster!" Louella announced as the monster charged towards the Spellcaster before impaling her on its horn bringing her life-points down to 6800. "First blood goes to us! I set one card facedown and end my turn." Louella announced as the facedown card appeared on the field and Bettye drew her card.
"First blood may go to you but the duel is far from over yet." Bettye responded before looking at her drawn card. "Not bad." Bettye thought before playing the card. "First I summon Necro Fleur in attack mode!" Bettye played the card and a small, red weltering flower appeared on the field (1/0/0). "Now I activate a Spell Card called Fragrance Storm, in exchange for destroying one plant type monster on my side of the field…." Bettye trailed off as Necro Fleur's hologram shattered. "I can draw another card, if it's another plant type monster I can reveal it to draw one extra card."
"That seems like a waste of a normal summon to me." Louella pointed out as Bettye drew her card, revealed it to be another Necro Fleur and drew again.
"Not quite, when Necro Fleur is destroyed by a card effect its own effect activates which lets me summon another card used in the last duel, Sorciere de Fleur!" Bettye played the card and in Necro Fleur's place stood the mysterious sorceress (7/2900/0). "Now I activate her effect which, as you may remember, allows me to Special Summon a monster from your graveyard to my field." Bettye added as Tuned Magician appeared on the field in defense mode. "One part of her effect that they didn't cover was the fact that the monster would be destroyed once I end my turn." Bettye added before playing a card. "But like you I'll cut to the chase, I play Magical Dimension!" Bettye announced and Tuned Magician disappeared from the field. "And now I tribute your Tuned Magician in order to Special Summon my Magical Exemplar to the field in attack mode." Bettye played the card and dark haired sorceress in the green robes appeared on the field (4/1700/1400). "But most importantly Magical Dimension's other effect now activates destroying Black Brutdrago!" Bettye added as the monster shattered.
"Black Brutdrago may be gone but he's not forgotten! When he's destroyed its effect activates meaning I can special summon one Gemini Monster from my graveyard with its Gemini Mode active." Louella responded as Tuned Magician returned to the field. "I may not be able to do much with him but he's stronger than Exemplar and we both know that Sorciere can't attack the same turn she's summoned."
"Very well, I set one card facedown and end my turn." Bettye set the card down and Latoya didn't draw due to Reckless Greed.
"I may not be able to attack or draw but what I can do is use my cards to buy us some time." Latoya thought before picking up the other card she drew with Reckless Greed. "I set one card facedown and switch Battle Fader to defense mode….yes; I summoned it in attack mode, shut up." Latoya said as she set the card and switched the monster to defense mode. "And I end my turn at that." Latoya announced and Kara grinned before drawing her card.
"I detach another Overlay unit to use my king's effect again!" Kara said as she sent Road Roller to the graveyard and the two girls sent their cards to the graveyards. "So what's it going to be?"
"I didn't mill any monsters." Louella responded before turning to Latoya. "Please tell me you had better luck this time?"
"I did, I didn't mill any monsters either." Latoya responded and Louella sighed in relief.
"Your luck will run out eventually." Kara responded before pointing to Tuned Magician. "Attack her monster!" Kara commanded and the machine started to pick up speed again…..but was stopped by an ear piercing screech. "What?"
"The card I just set was Command Silencer." Latoya responded as she held up her quick-play Spell Card. "Negates the attack and lets me draw one more card, not bad if I say so myself." Latoya added before sending it to the graveyard and drawing one card.
"Thank god that thing has been limited since the original Battle City." Kara grunted before looking at her drawn card. "I set this facedown and end my turn." Kara announced as the facedown card appeared on the field and Louella drew her card.
"A drawing card, we've milled a few cards thanks to her machine's effect so for all I know this could end up doing more harm than good." Louella thought as she looked at the card. "But it's a chance I have to take, otherwise my only move would be to move Tuned Magician to defense mode." Louella decided before playing the card. "I activate Spellbook inside the Pot."
"Thanks for giving my Exemplar her first Spell Counter by the way." Bettye responded as the four girls drew three cards.
"I know that." Louella responded before looking at her drawn cards and grinning. "But this risk has paid off! First I play A Feather of the Phoenix! Your Exemplar may get another Spell Counter but with this I can return Black Brutdrago to my Extra Deck at the cost of a card." Louella played the card and once she discarded the card she returned her Synchro Monster to her Extra Deck.
"I suppose you did that so you can Synchro Summon again?" Bettye asked and Louella grinned.
"Just watch, next I play Silent Doom which I use to bring back the monster I just sent to the graveyard, Dark Valkyria!" Louella played the card and a new monster appeared on the field, it seemed to be a Dark Counterpart to Dunames Dark Witch with an all-black outfit, black wings, silver hair and purple skin (4/1800/1050).
"Err, Louella, is there a reason your practically handing Exemplar tokens on a silver platter?" Latoya asked and Louella sweat-dropped.
"Relax; she isn't going to be around that long anyway." Louella responded before Dark Valkyria started glowing. "I activate Dark Valkyria's Gemini Mode and her effect, with this I give her a Spell Counter of her own and she gets three hundred attack points for it." Louella added as the monster's attack increased to 2100. "But that's not the best part, by removing that Spell Counter I can destroy one monster on the field and I think I'm going to destroy that eyesore of a machine!"
"Oh crap!" Kara cursed under her breath as Dark Valkyria casted a spell at her monster destroying it.
"And before you even think about getting revenge for that…." Louella trailed off as the two monsters leapt into the air for a Synchro Summon and seconds later Black Brutdrago returned to the field. "You're going to have some problems there."
"Nice, now you can destroy Bettye's strongest monster!" Latoya responded and Louella grinned.
"Yeah, but not just yet, I activate Dragon's Mirror!" Louella played the card and the two Gemini monsters used to summon Brutdrago reappeared briefly before vanishing again. "I remove Tuned Magician and Dark Valkyria from play to fusion summon Superalloy Beast Raptinus!" Louella announced as she pocketed the monsters and another new monster appeared on the field, it was another dragon but this one was snake like and was blue and gold in color (8/2200/2200). "I know he's pretty damn weak for a Level Eight monster but his effect makes up for it, as long as he's on the field all Gemini Monsters get their Gemini Modes instantly!"
"That's going to be a problem." Kara grunted as Louella played another card.
"And just so I can recycle Dark Valkyria and Tuned Magician I use Burial from a Different Dimension to return them to the graveyard." Louella added before returning the monsters to the graveyard. "Now, let's get to it, Brutdrago, attack Kara's life-points directly!" Louella commanded and the dragon prepared its attack….
"Sorry but it's not going to be that easy, I activate my Trap Card XYZ Reborn!" Kara announced as the facedown card flipped up. "Monster Reborn may be banned but this isn't! With it I can bring back my king and use this trap card as overlay material!" Kara added as the overlay network opened up and the monster returned to the field. "Care to reconsider your move?"
"Easiest decision ever, Brutdrago, your new target is Sorciere de Fleur!" Louella commanded and the dragon changed course before slamming its tail into Sorciere bringing Bettye's life-points down to 6700. "And sorry to disappoint you but you won't get a chance to use all those tokens I gave you, Raptinus, attack Exemplar!" Louella commanded and the dragon breathed fire at the spellcaster destroying her and bringing Bettye's life-points down to 6200. "I set one card facedown and end my turn." Louella announced and Bettye drew her card.
"You think you've seen the last of Sorciere? Don't forget, I drew another one with Fragrance Storm last turn." Bettye pointed out before looking at her drawn card. "But I won't summon it; instead I'll summon Gagaga Magician!" Bettye played the card and a new monster appeared on the field, it was a young looking magician wearing what looked like a blood red version of the Dark Magician's outfit (4/1500/1000). "Now I activate Double Summon!" Bettye played the card and quickly sent it to the graveyard. "Let's just say that Kara isn't the only duelist on our team capable of doing an XYZ Summon!"
"If you think that your monster can beat either of mine then bring it!" Louella said confidently and Bettye grinned.
"Famous last words, I use my second normal summon to summon Gagaga Girl!" Bettye played the card and another monster appeared on the field, as the name suggested it was a young blonde girl wearing a dark blue and pink magician's outfit (3/1000/800). "Now I could change Magician's Level by its effect but that's not needed, when both Magician and Girl are on the field Girl's level increases until it's the same as Gagaga Magician's." Bettye explained as Gagaga Girl's level increased by one and the overlay network opened up again. "And that means I can construct the overlay network to XYZ Summon Kachi Kochi Dragon!" Bettye played the card and a new monster appeared on the field, it was a large, metallic silver dragon that was very intimidating to look at (Rank: 4/2100/1300).
"You had me worried there." Louella said with a sigh of relief. "But that dragon isn't even strong enough to defeat Raptinus!"
"Are you sure? If I where you I'd be worried about Black Brutdrago." Bettye responded and Louella blinked in surprise before looking at her dragon, once she did her eyes widened when she saw that his attack had dropped to zero. "When Gagaga Girl is used in an XYZ Summon I can target one monster you control that was Special Summoned and reduce its attack to zero." Bettye added before playing another card. "Now I activate another Spell Card, Stoic Challenge! Whilst I can only control one copy of this card its effect is very deadly, by equipping it to my dragon it gains six hundred attack points for each material attached to it!" Bettye announced as her dragon's attack increased to 3300. "The unfortunate truth is I can't use its effect in exchange for this but with the battle damage doubled I'd say that it is worth it."
"Please tell me you're kidding…." Louella pleaded and Bettye shook her head.
"I'm afraid not." Bettye responded before turning to Kara. "May I use your monster?"
"Go for it." Kara nodded as her machine picked up speed.
"Let's see you negate this! Kachi Kochi Dragon, attack Brutdrago Dragon!" Bettye commanded and the dragon breathed fire at the dragon incinerating it and sending Louella's life-points plummeting down to 1400.
"I used Brutdrago's effect to Special Summon Dark Valkyria in defense mode!" Louella played the card and the dark angel returned to the field in a crouching position.
"That won't save your remaining dragon! Digvorzhak, attack her dragon!" Bettye commanded and the machine charged towards Louella's dragon before running it over and bringing her life-points down to 400. "If I were able to use Kachi Kochi Dragon's effect that would've been a One Turn Kill but alas, I cannot." Bettye sighed as Kara's machine returned to Kara's side of the field. "I end my turn which means Stoic Challenge gets sent to the graveyard alongside my dragon." Bettye announced as she sent the two cards to the graveyard and Latoya didn't draw due to Reckless Greed.
"Holy shit, that was brutal!" Chelsea said with an impressed whistle. "For a minute there I was wondering if she deserved her place in Obelisk Blue but now."
"Bettye's deck is full of surprises and it's very deadly for it." Tyler responded with a nod. "If her team wins this match then her deck will be one to watch out for."
"No kidding." Chelsea said with a nod before turning to Chloe. "Didn't you add the Gagaga monsters to your deck on Sunday?"
"Yeah, I haven't had a chance to use them though." Chloe responded with a nod. "And after that I can't wait for my chance."
"Louella's almost out of life-points and I still can't draw, things aren't looking good." Latoya thought before looking over her hand and grinning. "But I don't need too!" Latoya thought before picking up Battle Fader. "Say good-bye to your machine Kara!"
"You're going to destroy it again? Your welcome to try, I have more than one copy of XYZ Reborn." Kara responded as Latoya pocketed Battle Fader.
"I am going to get rid of it, but I never said anything about destroying it!" Latoya responded before playing the card. "I tribute Battle Fader in order to summon your machine's demise, Caius, The Shadow Monarch, come to the field in attack mode!" Latoya played the card Kara's eyes widened as the dark monarch appeared on the field (6/2400/1000). "And now I use his effect to banish Digvorzhak!" Latoya announced as the monarch launched his shadow ball at the massive machine banishing it.
"Fortunately for me Digvorzhak is an Earth Type Monster." Kara responded as she pocketed the XYZ monster. "So, are you going to attack directly?"
"I am but not just yet, I activate Dark Valkyria's effect to increase her attack score." Latoya added as Dark Valkyria's attack increased to 2100. "May I use Valkyria?"
"On one condition, target Bettye instead of Kara." Louella responded and Latoya nodded. "Her life-points are lower than Kara's and I want some payback for that move she just did."
"I got it! Caius, Valkyria, attack Bettye's life-points directly!" Latoya commanded and the two dark monsters launched their attacks at her bringing her life-points down to 1700. "One more attack and you're through, for now I'll end my turn."
"That may be true but by attacking me you played right into my hand." Bettye responded as her facedown card flipped up. "Literally, I activate Shock Draw!" Bettye announced before drawing four cards from her deck, once that was done Kara drew her card.
"Ugh, I could really use D.D.R. right now." Kara thought with a frown as she looked at the monster she drew. "But even if I drew it I wouldn't be able to use its effect, I'd better play it safe, especially if they are going to focus on taking out Bettye." Kara thought before playing the card. "I set one card in defense mode to end my turn."
"I may be almost out of life-points but at least there's a chance that we can win this." Louella thought before her eyes rested on her drawn card. "First I use Dark Valkyria's effect to destroy Kara's facedown monster!" Louella announced and Valkyria casted her spell again destroying the monster, revealed to be Card Trooper (3/400/400) which was quickly destroyed.
"I use Card Trooper's effect to draw one card from my deck." Kara responded as she drew a card. "D.D.R.?! I drew that now!? Ugh, knowing my luck I won't survive until the next turn!"
"Now I activate Spell Power Grasp, with this Spell Card I can give Valkyria one Spell Counter and add another copy to my hand." Louella played the card and once Dark Valkyria's attack was back at 2100 she added another copy of the card to her deck. "And now to bring this to the home stretch, I summon another Tuned Magician!" Louella played the card and the spellcaster returned to the field. "Tuned Magician, finish Bettye off!" Louella commanded and the magician casted his spell at Bettye bringing her life-points down to zero. "Valkyria, Caius, attack Kara's life-points directly!" Louella commanded and the two dark monsters launched their attacks at Kara bringing her life-points down to 3500. "From where I stand you have two choices Kara, surrender or take another direct attack."
"Make that one choice." Kara responded with a sigh as she surrendered. "I know when I'm beaten!"
"Here are your winners, Latoya Conley and Louella Schneider!" Martin announced over the cheering crowd. "Don't go anywhere, next up is the match between the teams off Grace Cathryn Craig and Staci Griffin and Vernon Chan and Charity Hensley and that match starts in just a few minutes!" Martin added as the four duelists hopped off the arena.
"The next match will have a tough act to follow, that's for sure." Chloe commented and the others nodded in agreement. "Think I'd have enough time to run over to my dorm and grab Chelsea's laptop?" Chloe asked as she checked the time.
"If you leave now then you should be back in time for the opening move." Tyler responded before standing up. "Still, I'll go with you just encase anything happens." Tyler added and Chloe nodded as the two of them made their way out of the arena.
*meanwhile*
"Jack, I'm in position." A robed female figure said as she watched the duel from a balcony. "Chloe and Tyler just left the arena, should I go after them?"
"That would be too risky, stick to the plan for now." Jack responded and the figure nodded. "Remember, Victor said to target either eliminated duelists or duelists who aren't competing for some other reason so that we can use this tournament to scout out our main targets' decks, understood?"
"Perfectly, don't worry; Victor will have another student's soul for his collection." The figure responded as she watched the action.