The second match of the day hadn't started yet so most of the students who were watching the match, either at the arena or through the stream like our heroes, were taking the chance to stretch their legs including Chloe and Chelsea.

"The two teams we want to beat in this tournament seem unbeatable, don't they?" Chloe asked Chelsea as she leaned against the wall next to Tyler's dorm room door, the two girls were taking a break to stretch their legs outside of the dorm room and had told the others to let them know when the match was going to start. "Jessica and Cameron have that nasty XYZ Monster whilst Thomas and Rajin seem to have a dozen ways between them to win the match!"

"Chloe, relax." Chelsea responded as she turned to her roommate. "Their decks may be strong but no duelist is unbeatable, you know it as well as I do." Chelsea added as she folded her arms. "We just need to find a way to keep Acid Golem off the field when we face Cameron and Jessica, as for Thomas and Rajin we'll just have to be ready for anything!"

"We both know that that's going to be easier said than done." Chloe responded as she folded her arms. "Take my match against Cameron a while back for example, I had the match won but….well we both know what happened there."

"They won't get away with pulling the same stunt this time though." Chelsea responded as she shook her head. "For one thing that will be an official tournament duel and they'd be stupid to try that stunt when we face them." Chelsea added as she thought for a moment. "Actually I think I have a way around Acid Golem."

"I'm listening." Chloe responded as she turned to Chelsea.

"There's a Quick Play Spell Card out there called XYZ Encore, from what I heard I2 released it to try to counteract the XYZs but so far it hasn't helped." Chelsea responded before getting out her IPod and accessing the internet. "Let's see here…." Chelsea trailed off before she found the card and showed it to Chloe.

"Can you order it?" Chloe asked once she read the effect and Chelsea nodded.

"I can but I have no way of knowing if it'll arrive on time." Chelsea responded as she turned off her IPod and pocketed it. "We had the same problem when we ordered the Endymion cards whilst you were still in New York…..come to think of it you never really used them since you got back."

"Trust me, I've wanted to but I can never draw the cards when I need them even after adding Terraforming to my deck." Chloe responded as she shook her head. "By the way Chelsea, how much alcohol have you drank since Lance raided Martin's stash?"

"I've only had a couple of glasses, why do you ask?" Chelsea asked before taking a moment to smell her breath. "Oh shit! My breath reeks of the stuff!"

"How strong is that alcohol exactly?" Chloe asked and Chelsea shrugged. "Who do you have for your first class?"

"I got Jeff in PE and hopefully he won't be able to smell anything." Chelsea responded with a frown and before Chloe could respond the door opened and Andreas stuck his head out.

"Ladies, sorry to interrupt but the match is about to start." Andreas explained to them and the two girls nodded before returning to the dorm room.

*meanwhile at the arena*

"Azure-Eyes Silver Dragon helped to secure our team's victory in the last round." Miranda thought as she looked at the Synchro monster whilst making her way to the arena alongside Socorro. "But against my fellow Obelisk Blue Students? I may have added the new Blue-Eyes White Dragon support cards to help combat them but I get the feeling that I'll need something more."

"Usually it's me who's lost in thought." Socorro commented as she glanced over at the older student. "What's up Miranda?"

"Nothing much really, I'm just thinking about potential strategies that I can use with this card." Miranda responded before returning it to her extra deck. "Don't worry Socorro, once the match starts I'll be totally focused." Miranda added as the two girls reached the stairs to the arena and started climbing up it. "And given the caliber of our opponents we are going to need it!"

"No kidding, especially since Kimberly has the new Archfiend monsters." Socorro responded as they reached the top of the stairs and she went to open the door. "Are you ready?"

"I was born ready." Miranda responded and Socorro nodded before opening the door and the two girls stepped out into the arena where they were greeted by cheering students.

"Welcome to the second match of the day!" Martin's voice rang out over the PA system and the crowd cheered. "Today's final match will feature Miranda Kaiba and Socorro Stanley taking on Kimberly and Nathan Troy in what promises to be a very good match!"

"I hope you guys don't plan on going through to the next round." Miranda said as the four duelists activated their duel disks. "Because we have already booked our spots in the next round thanks to a monster in my extra-deck and we'll use it to win!"

"What? You mean that Blue-Eyes White Dragon Synchro Monster?" Nathan asked as they drew their opening hands. "Don't get us wrong, it's definitely a powerful monster but no monsters unbeatable."

"The Creator God of Light, Horakhty says otherwise." Miranda responded as she folded her arms.

"True but that card's almost impossible to summon!" Kimberly responded as she shook her head. "It needs all three Egyptian God Cards on the field, as in the originals which are hard enough to summon one copy of those cards to begin with, but otherwise your right." Kimberly added as she shook her head.

"Not to mention the fact that only one copy of it exists in the world and that copy is deep with I2's vaults." Nathan chimed in and the others nodded in agreement. "Enough of this, isn't Martin supposed to announce the order by now?"

"The order will be as follows, Miranda followed by Kimberly followed by Socorro followed by Nathan and finally back to Miranda." Martin's voice rang out and the students moved into position. "Now, let the duel begin!"

"I've actually never heard of the card they were just talking about." Chloe commented as she sat down next to Chelsea. "Can someone fill me in?"

"Most duelists even doubt that it even exists, that's how rare it is." Theresa responded as she turned to Chloe. "Basically, like they said, it requires all three Egyptian God Cards to be sacrificed, it's summon can't be countered at all and you pretty much win the duel the moment you summon it."

"Wait, seriously? Man, I'd hate to imagine what would happen if one of the Orichalcos Duelists got their hands on it." Chelsea responded and Tyler shook his head.

"You have nothing to worry about, for one thing you can't use cards that can be treated as different monsters, it actually requires the original Egyptian God Cards and those things are buried somewhere in Egypt, they could try counterfeiting them but let's just say that they'd have to be suicidal to even try that." Tyler explained as he shook his head.

"Well, why don't we just try convincing them to try it?" Lance suggested with a shrug. "It'd save us a lot of trouble and they'd probably get struck down by lightning before they could even summon that monster."

"Yeah, that's the other problem, no one has seen The Creator God of Light, Horakhty's artwork outside of the Pegasus family and the guys who made the card and most of the card designers who worked on the card are either dead or retired." Theresa chimed in as she shook her head. "They may be talented counterfeiters but that would require starting from scratch and I think they are burning enough money as it is getting agents to the island or setting up those dream duels."

"Gee, thanks for reminding me that I was recently in one of those things!" Chelsea grunted in response and Theresa winced. "Whatever, let's try to focus on the duel." Chelsea added as she and the others turned back to the duel.

"I set two cards facedown and summon Vorse Raider!" Miranda played the cards and the halberd wielding beast warrior appeared on the field (4/1900/1200). "And I end my turn at that!" Miranda announced and Kimberly drew her card.

"It seems Miranda's sticking to her old tricks even with the new monsters in her deck." Kimberly thought before looking at her hand and grinning. "First I activate the Spell Card called Trade In! I discard one Level Eight Monster and I get to draw two cards in response!"

"And I'm willing to bet good money that that monster is Infernalqueen Archfiend." Miranda commented with a frown as Kimberly drew two cards. "Reusing your strategy from your last duel?"

"Maybe I am, maybe I'm not." Kimberly responded before discarding another monster. "For my next trick I discard Archfiend General so that I can add Pandemonium from my deck to my hand!" Kimberly explained before retrieving the Field Spell from her deck and adding it to her hand before shuffling her deck. "And let's cut to the chase, I activate Pandemonium!"

"I called it." Socorro commented as she shook her head and the scenery changed to the hellish arena. "Honestly Kimberly, your deck is so predictable!"

"Yeah but so are your decks." Kimberly responded as she shook her head. "Honestly between Miranda practically using a carbon copy of her dad's deck and you using a Fairy Deck it's almost like the pot calling the kettle black."

"I'm using my dad's deck with improvements, don't forget about that." Miranda responded as she rolled her eyes and Kimberly shook her head.

"Improvements or no improvements my point still stands, I set two cards facedown and end my turn." Kimberly set the two cards she had drawn with Trade In down and Socorro looked at her in confusion before drawing her card.

"My deck may be predictable but why fix what isn't broken?" Socorro thought to herself as she looked at the card she had just drawn. "Besides, Kimberly opened her move by discarding her only two monsters and playing her field spell, two facedowns and nothing else, unless she has something like Battle Fader waiting in the wings I don't see the point." Socorro thought before playing a card. "I activate Cards from The Sky!"

"There's a surprise." Kimberly commented as she shook her head and Socorro pocketed one of her monsters and drew two more cards. "Let me guess, one of your next cards will be Spiritual Light Art – Hijiri?"

"Give me a break, I may be an Osiris Red student and the only non-Obelisk Blue duelist in this duel but I know better than to reveal my plans to my opponent before putting them into action." Socorro responded as she rolled her eyes. "Anyway I set two cards facedown and I summon Dunames Dark Witch!" Socorro played the cards and the brunette fairy type appeared on the field (4/1800/1050). "And I end my turn." Socorro added and Nathan drew his card.

"I activate the Continuous Spell Card Arcane Barrier!" Nathan played the card and the spell card appeared on the field. "Next I set a monster in defense mode and end my turn." Nathan set the monster down and Miranda drew her card.

"If that facedown monster isn't Apprentice Magician I'll eat my Duel Disk." Miranda thought as she looked at her drawn card. "Wonder Wand, if I had Maiden with Eyes of Blue in my hand I could use this in a combo, still I have other combos." Miranda thought as one of her facedown cards flipped up. "I activate my Trap Card Castle of Dragon Souls!"

"That's a new one." Nathan commented as Miranda picked up her deck. "What does it do?"

"I'll show you! Once per turn I can take one Dragon Type monster from my deck and banish it." Miranda responded as she pocketed the monster and shuffled her deck. "And in exchange for that Vorse Raider gets a power boost of seven hundred points." Miranda added as Vorse Raider's attack increased to 2600. "Granted it may seem like it would've been easier to use Rush Recklessly but there's two problems with that, Castle of Dragon Souls is a Continuous Trap Card which means I can use it as many times as I want as long as I have Dragon Type Monsters in my deck."

"And since you based that deck on your dad's I'm willing to bet that there's more than a few." Nathan commented and Miranda nodded. "Wait can you use that effect more than once per turn?" Nathan asked and Miranda shook her head.

"Don't worry I think I2 learned their lessons from the Dragon Ruler babies and Dragon Rulers in general when they made this card." Miranda responded as she pointed to her Trap's Hologram. "I can only use this trap once per turn but it has another effect."

"It has another effect? What's that?" Kimberly asked and Miranda grinned before playing a Spell Card. "Magic Planter?"

"That's right, so I'll send my Castle to the Graveyard and draw two cards." Miranda responded as her trap card's hologram shattered and she drew twice. "Why would I pass up a chance to use Castle of Dragon Soul's second effect? Simple, to activate its other effect it needs to be sent to the graveyard and this effect allows me to summon one Dragon Type monster that I banished with its effect."

"And you just banished one." Nathan realized as Miranda reached into her pocket and produced the monster. "And I think I know what that card is!" Nathan added as the famous roar echoed throughout the arena and the Blue Eyes White Dragon appeared on the field (8/3000/2500). "Just how many ways do you have of summoning that monster?"

"More ways than I care to count." Miranda responded before playing another Spell Card. "But I'm not done with my deck yet, I activate Foolish Burial!" Miranda played the card before picking up her deck again and searching through it, once she found the card she was looking for she sent it to the graveyard.

"Err, Miranda, did you forget about the time limit?" Socorro asked as she turned to her partner. "You might want to hurry things up."

"Don't worry, I'm almost done anyway!" Miranda responded before pointing to Kimberly. "Blue-Eyes, Vorse Raider, attack her life-points directly!" Miranda commanded and the two monsters leapt into action…..only to be stopped by Battle Fader (1/0/0). "I had a feeling you had that or a similar card in your hand."

"Did you honestly think I'd leave my field open without a backup plan?" Kimberly asked and Miranda shook her head.

"I set one card facedown and end my turn." Miranda set the card down and Kimberly drew her card.

"Well, Miranda's not messing around." Chelsea commented as she watched the duel on her laptop. "It's barely her second turn and she's already summoned one of her aces."

"I'm not surprised." Tyler commented and the others turned to him. "She has been practicing that combo a lot since she secured her spot in the second round last week including in a duel against me, however it is weaker than it once was."

"I'm going to assume that this combo featured Return from a Different Dimension?" Lance asked and Tyler nodded in response. "Man and I thought my deck was hit hard by that ban."

"A lot of duelist's decks were hurt by that ban, not just yours." Brandon responded as he shook his head. "It was going to be a key component of my Chaos Deck but, well you know what happened there." Brandon added before they resumed watching the duel.

"Too bad Miranda didn't keep Castle of Dragon Souls on the field I could've used it to summon Trap Eater." Kimberly thought with a frown before looking at the monster she had drawn. "Actually this could work out better." Kimberly thought before playing the card. "I summon the Tuner Monster Devil Jester!" Kimberly played the card and a new monster appeared on the field, it was a small demon in a twisted version of a court jester's outfit (1/500/600).

"Cute but I don't see the point." Miranda commented as she rolled her eyes. "There aren't any Level Two Synchros, everyone knows that!"

"True but I'm not going for a Level Two Synchro." Kimberly responded before sending a card from her hand to the graveyard. "I activate his effect! By sending one Level Four or lower Fiend type Monster to the graveyard I can increase his level until it matches the monster, so I send my Level Four Trap Eater to the Graveyard and…." Kimberly trailed off as Devil Jester increased in size as its level increased to four. "And that means that I can use him and Battle Fader in a Synchro Summon!" Kimberly added as the two weak fiend monsters leapt into the air.

"It doesn't matter what you summon Kimberly, I still have the advantage here!" Miranda bragged before the bright flash enveloped the arena and when it faded Stygian Sergeants appeared on the field in Devil Jester's place (5/2200/1800). "If you're thinking of attacking Vorse Raider and then crashing into my dragon I have bad news for you! Castle of Dragon Souls may be gone but Vorse Raider keeps its power boost."

"I saw that but that's not my target, or did you forget about Socorro?" Kimberly asked as the demon biker revved up his engine. "Stygian Sergeants, attack Dunames Dark Witch!" Kimberly commanded and the biker ran over the witch destroying her and bringing Socorro's life-points down to 7600. "And now his effect activates, he gains eight hundred attack points and can attack again but rather than attack directly I'll have him deal with Vorse Raider!" Kimberly added and the demon biker's attack increased to three thousand before charging towards Vorse Raider and running it over bringing Miranda's life-points down to 7600. "I don't want my turn to run as long as yours did so that's it for now!" Kimberly announced and Socorro drew her card once Stygian Sergeant's attack had returned to normal.

"Okay, I think it's pretty clear what I need to do here, I need to get rid of that Synchro Monster before it does any more damage." Socorro thought before glancing up at Miranda's dragon. "And Miranda has provided me with the best opportunity to do just that!" Socorro thought before grinning. "Miranda, do you mind if I borrow Blue-Eyes White Dragon?"

"Go for it!" Miranda responded and Socorro grinned as the dragon flew over to his side of the field. "Just be careful, Kimberly has two unused facedown cards."

"You have nothing to worry about!" Socorro responded as one of her trap cards flipped up. "Next up is my Trap Card Spiritual Light Art – Hijiri, now unless you have a trap card that you can reveal I'm about to summon the monster I banished last turn."

"That was as predictable a move as it gets." Kimberly deadpanned before shaking her head. "In any case I don't have any Trap Cards in my hand, what about you Nathan?"

"Same here go ahead and summon your monster." Nathan responded and Socorro grinned as she retrieved the monster from her blazer pocket. "Truth is I do have a trap card in my hand but I want her to be able to destroy my facedown monster so I can use Arcane Barrier's effect."

"I use my Trap Card's effect to summon Athena!" Socorro played the card and a new monster appeared on the field, she was a tall, beautiful woman with long, flowing silver hair who was wearing a white dress and wielding a sword and a shield (7/2600/800). "First things first, Blue-Eyes White Dragon, dismiss those sergeants with White Lightning!" Socorro commanded and the dragon opened its maws before letting lose with its famous attack destroying the fiend type Synchro and bringing Kimberly's life-points down to 7200.

"Don't even think about following that up with a direct attack! I activate my Trap Card Shadow Impulse!" Kimberly activated the trap and retrieved another card from her extra-deck. "Since a Level Five Fiend Type Synchro Monster has just been destroyed this Trap Card lets me Special Summon a second Synchro Monster with the same type and level such as Armades, Keeper of Boundaries!" Kimberly played the card and in Stygian Sergeants place, he was a tall muscular man wearing only a robe around his waist with long silver and gold hair who had a flaming ball of fire around his right hand (5/2300/1500).

"I was worried for a moment there but that monster's barely stronger than Stygian Sergeants making him target practice for Athena!" Socorro responded as her fairy type monster leapt into battle…..

"Sorry but I don't intend to take any more damage this turn! I activate my other trap card Attack Guidance Armor!" Kimberly activated the trap and the hideous looking armor attached itself to Nathan's facedown monster causing Athena to change her target to the facedown monster, revealed to be Apprentice Magician (2/400/800) which was quickly destroyed.

"And not only does that mean that my spell card gets its first counter." Nathan added as Arcane Barrier glowed. "But Apprentice Magician's effect activates!" Nathan added before picking up and searching through his deck, once he found the monster he needed he set it on the field and shuffled his deck. "So thanks!"

"Why didn't you use that combo when I attacked Stygian Sergeants?" Socorro asked and Miranda nodded in agreement. "That seems like a pretty major misplay to me."

"Maybe but I never intended for Stygian Sergeants to be my main monster, he was just a means to an end." Kimberly responded as she sent her trap cards to the graveyard. "Besides I wanted to try out Shadow Impulse anyway and that attack gave me the perfect opportunity."

"Well, whatever you say, I still say it's a major misplay." Socorro responded before looking over her hand. "I end my turn." Socorro announced and once Blue-Eyes White Dragon was back on Miranda's side of the field Nathan drew his card.

"I flip summon my facedown monster!" Nathan announced as the monster appeared on the field revealed to be another Apprentice Magician. "And her often forgotten about effect activates, since she was flip summoned I can add another counter to Arcane Barrier." Nathan added as his spell card glowed again. "Next I activate Book of Moon to flip her back into facedown position." Nathan played the card and Apprentice Magician was set back down again. "Next I set a card facedown and I summon Breaker, The Magical Warrior!" Nathan played the card and the sword wielding spellcaster appeared on the field (4/1600/1000).

"I think I know what's going to happen next." Socorro commented with a wince as Breaker's attack increased to 1900 thanks to his effect.

"I activate Breaker's effect to destroy Socorro's remaining facedown card!" Nathan announced and once Breaker's attack points where back to normal he charged at the facedown card before striking it with his sword destroying it.

"Well, so much for Mirror Force." Socorro grimaced as she sent her trap card to the graveyard. "But that just means I'll have to destroy him on my next turn."

"We'll see if you get the chance, for now I end my turn." Nathan announced and Miranda drew her card.

"Don't get me wrong, Mirror Force is a powerful trap card and its reputation as a comeback card is well deserved but by the time I'm done Nathan's going to wish that he had targeted my trap card instead!" Miranda thought before looking at her drawn card and playing it. "I activate Summoner's Art! With this I add one Level Five or higher Normal Monster from my deck to my hand!" Miranda announced before picking up and searching through her deck, once she found the card she was looking for she added it to her hand. "And no, there are no prizes for guessing what card I just added."

"Good, because knowing your dad's deck that would be pretty easy to figure out." Nathan responded as Miranda shuffled her deck and sent her Spell Card to the graveyard. "And even if she did add one of her other Blue-Eyes White Dragons to her hand she'd need two tributes to summon it, even if she had another monster that would require her to sacrifice one Blue-Eyes and another monster to summon it."

"And now that I know that one of Kimberly's Trap Eaters is in the graveyard I'm free to activate my trap card!" Miranda added as her trap card flipped up.

"Oh shit! It's Dragon's Rage!" Nathan realized once he recognized the artwork.

"Exactly and the only reason I didn't activate this last turn was because I wasn't sure what your facedown monster was." Miranda added before pointing to her dragon. "But now that I know that it's another Apprentice Magician I can strike her down safely with White Lightning!" Miranda added and her dragon took it as its cue to let loose with its famous attack destroying the young magician and bringing Nathan's life-points down to 5800.

"Arcane Barrier gains its third counter!" Nathan announced as the Spell Card glowed. "And I summon another monster from my deck!" Nathan announced as he set his facedown card. "These next two turns will hurt like hell but if I can survive I'll draw a total of four cards with Arcane Barrier's effect which might mean the difference between life and death for our team."

"What good will those counters do when your life-points run out?" Miranda asked before setting two facedown cards. "I'm setting these just in case but for now I end my turn." Miranda announced and Kimberly drew her card.

"Maybe I should've used my combo first last turn, Stygian Sergeants would be a very handy card to have right now." Kimberly thought before looking at her drawn card. "Damn, I needed another Trap Eater to get rid of Dragon's Rage before Nathan's life-points dropped into the red but I didn't draw it." Kimberly thought before surveying the field. "I have no choice but to pass, no point in shifting my monster to defense mode with that trap card on the field." Kimberly announced and Socorro drew her card.

"I activate my Spell Card called Spellbook inside the Pot!" Socorro played the cards and all four duelists drew three cards. "Miranda, can I borrow your dragon again?"

"You didn't even need to ask." Miranda responded as the dragon made its way to Socorro's side of the field again.

"Good because I'm continuing what your started!" Socorro said before pointing to the facedown monster. "Blue-Eyes, attack with White Lighting!" Socorro commanded and the dragon let lose its famous attack destroying the final Apprentice Magician and bringing Nathan's life-points down to 3600, once Arcane Barrier's and Apprentice Magician's effects where resolved Socorro pointed to Breaker. "It's your turn Athena! Attack Breaker and destroy him!" Socorro commanded and Athena charged towards Breaker before slashing him down the middle and bringing Nathan's life-points down to 2600. "This has to be my easiest match against a team of Obelisk Blue Students ever!"

"Don't get cocky, we may be behind on life-points but we're hardly out of the match." Nathan responded and Kimberly nodded in agreement.

"We could wipe you out with a direct attack from either of our monsters! You seem pretty out of it to me!" Socorro responded before setting two cards facedown. "I end my turn with these facedown cards." Socorro announced and Nathan drew his card.

"Well for starters one of your monsters won't be around for much longer! I flip summon my facedown monster, the Old Vindictive Magician!" Nathan flipped the monster up revealing the cranky old magician (2/450/600) and it casted a spell at Athena destroying her. "Now I sacrifice Old Vindictive Magician and Arcane Barrier to use Arcane Barrier's second effect!" Nathan added as the two holograms shattered and Nathan drew four cards.

"Careful Nathan, you'll deck out at this rate." Kimberly pointed out as Nathan sent his cards to the graveyard.

"I still have plenty of cards left!" Nathan responded before looking at his drawn card and grinning. "Perfect!" Nathan thought before discarding a card. "By discarding a card from my hand I can Special Summon The Tricky in attack mode!" Nathan played the card and the mysterious spellcaster appeared on the field (5/2000/1200). "And for my normal summon I'm bringing out my own Tuner Monster, Night's End Sorcerer!" Nathan played the card and the young Spellcaster in tattered robes appeared on the field (2/1300/400).

"So you're going for your own Synchro Summon, do I get a prize for guessing which monster?" Miranda asked and Nathan shook his head.

"You didn't offer any prizes for guessing that you had added Blue-Eyes White Dragon to your hand via Summoner's Art's effect so I won't either." Nathan responded as The Tricky and Night's End Sorcerer leapt into the air. "But your right, I'm tuning Night's End Sorcerer and The Tricky together to Synchro Summon Arcanite Magician!" Nathan played the card and once the bright flash from the Synchro Summon faded the tall magician in white and purple robes appeared on the field (7/400/1800). "Since he was Synchro Summoned he gets two Spell Counters and two thousand attack points." Nathan added as the Spellcaster's attack increased to 2400.

"That may be enough to do a decent amount of damage to Socorro's life-points but it's still not enough to defeat my dragon!" Miranda pointed out and Nathan shook his head.

"True but who said that that was my plan?" Nathan asked as he played another card. "I activate Miracle Synchro Fusion! I fuse together Arcanite Magician in my hand and The Tricky in my graveyard to summon Supreme Arcanite Magician!" Nathan played the card and the mysterious Spellcaster appeared on the field again for a few seconds before being sucked into the fusion vortex alongside Arcanite Magician and a few seconds later Supreme Arcanite Magician appeared in its place (10/1400/2800) and its attack rose to 3400 thanks to its effect.

"I suppose your about to use its effect to destroy my Blue-Eyes White Dragon?" Miranda asked and Nathan shook his head.

"No, not really, instead I'm just going to attack your dragon with Supreme Arcanite!" Nathan announced and the magician started firing up a spell…..

"I won't let my dragon be defeated that easily! I activate my Trap Card Interdimensional Matter Transporter!" Miranda activated the trap and the dragon disappeared from the field in short order just before the attack hit. "And that means that my dragon is removed from play until the end of the turn!"

"And you called Kimberly's move a misplay?!" Nathan exclaimed as he and Kimberly stared at Miranda like she had just grown two additional heads. "You off all people should know that since the field's changed in the middle of the Battle Phase a replay will occur!" Nathan added and Supreme Arcanite Magician fired up another spell that hit Miranda in the chest bringing her life-points down to 4200.

"Oh, I know! In fact I was counting on it! I activate my Trap Card Damage Condenser!" Miranda activated the trap and Nathan's eyes widened when he realized the implications. "All I need to do is discard one card from my hand and I can use this effect to summon one monster from my deck with an attack equal to or less than the damage I just took." Miranda explained before discarding the card. "Now I know what you thinking and the answer's no, I'm not summoning another Blue-Eyes White Dragon because I have two of the three in my hand and the third will be back on the field as soon as your turn ends."

"Wait, are you telling us that you opened things up with two Blue-Eyes White Dragons in your opening hand?" Nathan asked as he raised an eyebrow. "Either you have some of the biggest luck of the draw ever or that is some legendary top decking!"

"Actually there's a third and accurate option, I had no Blue-Eyes White Dragons in my opening hand." Miranda responded and Nathan frowned. "I summoned the first one with Castle of Dragon Souls, added the second to my hand via Summoner's Art and the third was one of the monsters I drew with Spellbook inside the Pot."

"Okay, you convinced us but some of us do have classes to attend at the end of the day." Nathan responded as he checked his watch. "So can you hurry things along?"

"Sorry, got sidetracked there." Miranda apologized as she picked a card out from her deck and played it. "I use Damage Condenser's effect to summon Kaiser Seahorse!" Miranda played the card and the trident wielding Sea Serpent appeared on the field (4/1700/1650).

"So that was your plan, you took the damage to summon Kaiser Seahorse to open things up for you to summon one of your other Blue-Eyes." Nathan realized as his eyes widened and Miranda grinned.

"You'll have to see for yourself when my turn begins." Miranda responded as she glanced towards the graveyard slot. "What they don't know is that I discarded my other Blue-Eyes White Dragon to summon Kaiser Seahorse! Monster Reborn might be banned but I have other ways to bring it out!"

"I'm not ending my turn just yet." Nathan decided once he looked at his hand. "Instead I'm removing a Spell Counter from Supreme Arcanite Magician to destroy Dragon's Rage!" Nathan announced and Supreme Arcanite Magician's attack dropped to 2400 before it casted a spell at the trap card destroying it. "And I set one card facedown to end my turn." Nathan set the card down and Miranda drew her card once Blue-Eyes White Dragon was back on her side of the field.

"Wait why did he destroy that Trap Card and not Kaiser Seahorse instead?" Chloe asked as she watched the duel. "I mean I know that Dragon's Rage had caused a lot of damage to Nathan's life-points and it would've caused a lot more damage with two of them on the field but still."

"I was wondering that myself, but I have the feeling that his facedown card has something to do with it." Tyler responded as he glanced up at Chloe. "Nathan isn't stupid he wouldn't make a move like that without a back-up plan."

"Well, I'd better not waste any time then!" Miranda commented as she sent Kaiser Seahorse to the graveyard. "First since Kaiser Seahorse counts as two tributes for a Light Attribute monster I'll tribute it to summon my second Blue-Eyes White Dragon!" Miranda played the card and Kaiser Seahorse vanished from the field, in its place stood the second Blue-Eyes White Dragon in all its glory (8/3000/2500).

"I had a feeling that that was…" Nathan trailed off as realization hit him. "Wait, you said first?!"

"That's right, remember Damage Condenser? The card I discarded for its effect was my third and final Blue-Eyes White Dragon!" Miranda responded before playing a card. "And what do you know? I have the means to bring it back! I activate my Spell Card Swing of Memories to revive my final Blue-Eyes White Dragon from the graveyard!"

"You're kidding?" Kimberly asked as her eyes widened and the fact that the third Blue-Eyes subsequently appeared on the field denied that possibility. "Nathan, if your misplay costs us the duel you are carrying my books for the rest of the month!"

"But you have so many books!" Nathan protested and Kimberly nodded in response. "Good thing it's not going to cost us the duel then!"

"But before I take out Nathan….." Miranda trailed off before playing another card. "I activate Faustian Bargain! With this I send Kimberly's Synchro Monster to the graveyard…." Miranda trailed off as Kimberly's monster shattered. "And in return I get to Special Summon one Level Four or Lower Monster from my hand like Alexandrite Dragon!" Miranda played the card and the beautiful sapphire dragon appeared on the field (4/2000/100). "You know, it's sad, I was expecting more of a challenge from my dorm mates but I guess you can't win them all, Blue-Eyes White Dragons, eliminate Nathan with White Lightning!" Miranda commanded and the two dragons fired up their attacks…

"We're not of the duel yet but your dragons are! I activate my trap card Mirror Force!" Nathan activated the trap and Miranda's eyes widened as the infamous trap card flipped up and the attacks were reflected back at Miranda's monsters destroying them all. "You spent so much time trying to get your dad's monsters on the field that you forgot about my trap card."

"Maybe but that was hardly my only trick up my sleeve." Miranda responded as she looked over her remaining cards. "If I can get Maiden with Eyes of Blue in my hand I'll have a great way to summon Azure Eyes Silver Dragon but as it stands I have no way of adding it to my hand, at least not directly!" Miranda thought before playing a card. "I move into my Second Main Phase and I activate Card of Demise! With this I draw until I have five cards in my hand as long as I don't mind discarding my remaining cards after five turns."

"That will be a process that's sped up by the tag team duel format." Kimberly pointed out as Miranda drew her cards. "I hope for your sake that it's worth the risk!"

"I guess we'll have to see won't we?" Miranda asked as she drew her final card, whilst she maintained her poker face on the outside on the inside she was ecstatic. "This is better than I could've hoped for! I'll have to hope that I can hold out until my next turn!" Miranda thought before picking up two of the cards. "I set these cards facedown and end my turn." Miranda set the cards and Kimberly drew her card.

"I have to give Nathan credit he definitely knows how to lead his opponents along." Kimberly thought as she drew her card. "But still, Miranda has five new cards to play with and we still don't know what other plans she has in mind." Kimberly thought before looking over her hand. "Huh, I was wondering when I was going to draw one of the new Archfiends."

"I've seen that look before. Kimmy's just drew something good." Nathan thought as he watched his step-sister make his move.

"I summon Archfiend Cavalry!" Kimberly played the card and a new monster appeared on the field, it was a skeleton demon in red armor that was carrying a large spear and riding a purple horse in gold armor that had a strange blue glow in its eye (4/1900/0) "He has an effect but I won't go into it yet! Archfiend Cavalry, attack Miranda's life-points directly!" Kimberly commanded and the monster charged into battle…..but was stopped in its tracks by an ear piercing screech.

"Sorry Kimberly but it won't be that easy." Miranda responded once the screech faded and the source, Miranda's "Command Silencer" Quick Play Card, revealed itself. "Defense Draw may be more popular than this but it's still a good card to have handy." Miranda added as she drew another card through Command Silencer's effect.

"And I was worried about Nathan decking out." Kimberly thought as Archfiend Cavalry made its way back to her side of the field. "But Miranda's manipulated her deck even more literally from the start of the duel and for what? Just to get her dad's dragons on the field, well Nathan made sure that it was all for nothing!" Kimberly thought before looking over her hand. "I end my turn. "Kimberly announced and Socorro drew her card.

"This is bad, Miranda still has her remaining facedown card but if Nathan decides to destroy it before attacking then we're in trouble." Socorro thought before looking at her drawn card and setting it in defense mode. "I end my turn." Socorro announced and Nathan drew his card.

"That was definitely one way to turn the duel around, better late than never to keep it up!" Nathan thought before pointing to Miranda. "Supreme Arcanite Magician, attack her life-points directly!" Nathan commanded and the magician started firing up another spell….

"Nice try." Miranda responded as her trap card flipped up. "But I still have some tricks up my sleeve like the Trap Card Birthright! And I use it to bring back one of my Blue-Eyes White Dragons!" Miranda added as the Blue-Eyes returned to the field with a mighty roar.

"In that case I call off my attack and move to my second main phase." Nathan added as Supreme Arcanite Magician stopped casting the spell. "And I use my Arcanite Magician's effect one last time to destroy Birthright!" Nathan announced and the magician casted another spell destroying the trap card and taking the dragon with it. "I set a monster in defense mode and end my turn." Nathan set the card down and Miranda drew her card.

"Sorry Nathan but by doing that you've practically signed your team's Death Warrant!" Miranda boasted before quickly playing a card. "I summon Maiden with Eyes of Blue!"

"I was wondering when that monster was going to show up." Nathan commented with a smirk as the young woman with long white hair and blue eyes appeared on the field (1/0/0). "So what's next?"

"I'll show you! I equip my Maiden with Wonder Wand!" Miranda played the card and a small wand appeared in the woman's hands and seconds later the dragon that her family had made famous appeared on the field again. "I'd use the combo that I used in the last round but with Monster Reborn banned I can't." Miranda added before grinning. "So I may as well cut to the chase, I'm tuning my two monsters together!" Miranda announced as the two monsters leapt into the air to perform to Synchro Summon.

"Trying to end the duel the same way you ended your last duel?" Nathan asked and Miranda didn't answer as the bright flash enveloped the field and seconds later Azure Eyes Silver Dragon appeared on the field (9/2500/3000). "You realize that our life-points are in better shape than your last opponents, right?"

"Oh, I know that." Miranda said as a huge grin appeared on her face. "But that won't be an issue for much longer! I activate Dragon's Mirror!"

"Kimberly, tell me I just imagined that last sentence." Nathan said as he and his step-sister started sweating bullets as the three dragons appeared on the field one last time before they were sucked into the fusion vortex. "Tell me she's not summoning the Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon!"

"I'd love to but I'd be lying!" Kimberly responded as the massive, three headed dragon appeared on the field with a roar (10/4500/3800). "That was one hell of a series of draws you did last turn Miranda, you realize that right?"

"Oh trust me, I know!" Miranda said with a grin before playing another card. "Next I activate Burial from a Different Dimension to move the three Blue-Eyes White Dragons back into my graveyard!" Miranda announced as she retrieved the three dragons from her blazer pocket and put them back into her graveyard slot. "Now to bring this duel to an end….." Miranda trailed off before a loud roar, not from either dragon as they had both cowered from it, echoed through the arena. "Threatening Roar?"

"I was waiting for the perfect time to use it." Kimberly responded with a shrug as she sent her trap card to the graveyard. "And I'd say preventing an attack that could end the duel in your favor a pretty perfect time, wouldn't you?"

"I guess I would, I set one card facedown and end my turn." Miranda set the card down and Kimberly drew her card.

"I'm pretty sure we're looking at a nightmare scenario for most duelists." Brandon commented with a wince. "Seriously that has to be one of the luckiest series of draws in Duel Academy history."

"I don't think even Yugi Motuh had that much luck on a good day." Theresa agreed as they watched the duel. "It's either that or she topdecked but Miranda has too much pride and dignity to resort to cheating."

"Either way unless Nathan and Kimberly get a lucky draw between this turn and the next they'll be knocked out of the duel on the next turn." Chloe commented with a frown. "Okay, it's pretty obvious that Miranda's going to use Azure Eyes Silver Dragon's effect on Blue Eyes White Dragon next turn, how much damage would that cause?"

"That would cause a lot of damage." Chelsea shrugged her shoulders and Chloe sweat-dropped. "What? You wanted an exact number? Give me a sec." Chelsea added before booting up the Calculator app on her laptop. "That would cause Ten Thousand Points of damage in one turn." Chelsea responded as she showed the number to Chloe. "Even more if Miranda finds a way to Special Summon the other dragons, in other words Kimberly and Nathan are screwed unless Kimberly draws something good."

"I hate to admit it but it's not looking good." Kimberly thought as she glanced towards Miranda's two dragons. "Unless I draw something that can buy me some time…." Kimberly trailed off before looking towards her remaining facedown card. "I shift Archfiend Cavalry to defense mode!" Kimberly announced as the monster crouched down. "And I activate Dark World Dealings! This spell card allows us all to draw one card and discard one card each." Kimberly played the card and discarded a monster to her graveyard, once the others followed suit Kimberly sent her spell card to the graveyard. "That ends my turn, oh Miranda if my math is correct your five turns are up."

"You're right." Miranda admitted once she did the math in her head and once she discarded her remaining cards Socorro drew her card.

"I know what you're going to say Socorro and the answer's yes, go ahead and take control of my dragons." Miranda said once she saw Socorro looking at her and the dragons flew over to her side of the field. "But attack Kimberly, I'll take care of Nathan!"

"Got it Miranda, but first I activate a Spell Card called Lightning Vortex!" Socorro played the card and discarded another card from her hand before lightning crashed down on both Supreme Arcanite Magician and Archfiend Cavalry destroying them. "Now the coast is clear for us!"

"Or so you think!" Kimberly shouted out as she retrieved a monster from her graveyard. "Since you destroyed Archfiend Cavalry by a card effect his own effect activates which lets me Special Summon another Archfiend from my graveyard like Shadowknight Archfiend!" Kimberly played the card and demonic knight appeared on the field in defense mode. "And yes, that was the card I discarded for Dark World Dealing's effect."

"Your Shadowknight's strong but he's no match for Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon! Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, attack with Neutron Blast!" Socorro commanded and the three dragon heads fired their attacks vaporizing the knight. "It's your turn Azure Eyes Silver Dragon! Attack her life-points directly!"

"Nice try but the third attempt won't be the charm! I activate my Trap Card Archfiend's Roar!" Kimberly activated the trap and winced as her life-points dropped to 6700. "It may cost me five hundred life-points but compared to the three-thousand life-points that I would've lost instead I'll take it!" Kimberly added as Archfiend Cavalry returned to the field again in defense mode.

"Azure-Eyes Silver Dragon, attack Archfiend Cavalry!" Socorro commanded and the dragon let loose with its attack vaporizing the monster in seconds. "That may not have had the desired effect but it did wipe out the last line of defense you had! I end my turn." Socorro announced and Nathan drew his card.

"If this works I can buy us another turn." Nathan thought as he looked at his newly drawn trap card. "But if it isn't then I'll never get my match against Chloe, well here goes." Nathan thought before setting the card. "I set one card facedown and end my turn."

"Do you honestly think that any trap card can save you from this onslaught?" Miranda asked as she folded her arms with a cocky smirk. "First my Azure Eyes Silver Dragon's effect activates allowing me to Special Summon an old friend!" Miranda added as another Blue-Eyes White Dragon appeared on the field. "Don't worry Nathan, I'll make this quick! Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, attack his life-points directly and eliminate him with Neutron Blast!" Miranda commanded and the dragon prepared its attack.

"I activate my Trap Card Rainbow Life!" Nathan activated the trap and quickly discarded a card from his hand.

"Weren't you listening? No trap card can save you!" Miranda responded as the blast hit Nathan nearly knocking him off the arena in the process. "One down, one to go, Blue-Eyes White Dragon….."

"You might want to hold off on that attack Miranda!" Nathan cut her off as he got to his feet and got back into position. "Take another look at my life-points!" Nathan instructed her as he held up his life-point counter and Miranda's eyes widened when she saw it.

"You have 7100 life-points?!" Miranda blurted out before shaking her head. "So you have a faulty Duel Disk that means nothing!"

"Your Kaiba's daughter and you've never heard of Rainbow Life?" Nathan asked as he held his trap card up. "Let me spell it out for you! All for the cost of discarding one card from my hand any life-point damage I would've taken this turn is turned into life-points and added to my score." Nathan added before grinning broadly. "Oh and by the way, since this is a tag duel that effect applies to Kimberly as well!"

"I knew I heard that Trap Card's name before but I couldn't put my finger on it." Miranda thought with a frown before looking at the remaining card in her hand. "Well, look at what I just drew." Miranda commented with a grin. "It seems Rainbow Life was a blessing in disguise, I move to my Second Main Phase and I equip Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon with Megamorph!"

"Oh shit!" Kimberly and Nathan said simultaneously as the already massive dragon doubled in size and attack power all the way up to 9000.

"Do the math guys, unless you have another copy of Rainbow Life left then this duel is going to end in our favor!" Miranda commented with a grin as she folded her arms. "I end my turn." Miranda announced and Kimberly drew her card.

"I hate to admit it but she's right, unless we draw something useful we're done for!" Kimberly thought before looking at her drawn card. "Not what I was hoping for but it'll buy us a bit of time." Kimberly thought before setting it down. "I set this card facedown and end my turn." Kimberly announced and Socorro drew her card. "Don't bother asking if you can use Miranda's dragons Socorro, I activate Thunder of Ruler!"

"Crap." Socorro grunted in annoyance before looking at her drawn card. "I haven't drawn a single monster since my facedown monster! It seems Miranda's getting all the luck and I'm getting nothing but crappy luck!" Socorro thought before shaking her head. "I pass in that case." Socorro sighed and Nathan nodded before drawing his card.

"Kimberly brought us some time but I don't know how long….." Nathan trailed off before looking at his drawn card. "It's a big risk, if Miranda draws something like MST or A Wingbeat of Giant Dragon than we're out of the duel!" Nathan thought before shaking his head. "If I want to win I'll have to take the risk!" Nathan thought before setting the card. "I set this facedown and end my turn." Nathan set the card down and took a deep breath as Miranda drew her card.

"Synchro Boost, not exactly the ideal time for a dead draw but with my dragons on the field I have nothing to lose!" Miranda thought before adding the card to her hand. "Azure Eyes Silver Dragon's effect activates again allowing me to summon my second Blue-Eyes." Miranda announced as another Blue-Eyes White Dragon appeared on the field. "But it's not like that matters! Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, eliminate Nathan with Neutron Blast!" Miranda commanded and the dragon prepared the attack…..

"Sorry Miranda but if anyone's being eliminated it's you! I activate my trap card Dimension Wall!" Nathan activated the trap and Miranda's eyes widened. "I'll still take the hit but you'll take the damage, in other words you've just eliminated yourself!"

"No….." Miranda trailed off as the blast hit her sending her flying back and sending her life-points plummeting to zero, Socorro's eyes widened as the weight of the situation hit her as the holograms of Miranda's dragons disappeared one by one. "Socorro, you have something that can still win this match for us right?"

"Unfortunately no, I don't." Socorro winced as she looked over her hand and field Kimberly had already drawn a card as Miranda's elimination meant that the turn had passed to her automatically. "As much as I'd like to say otherwise I have no choice but to surrender." Socorro sighed as she surrendered.

"Here are your winners, Kimberly and Nathan Troy!" Martin announced over the PA system and the crowd cheered. "There won't be any tournament duels over the weekend but tomorrow the promotion duels will begin! If you haven't seen the line-up you can find it on Duel Academy's website but on Monday the duels will begin anew starting with the team of Kristopher O'Neill and Lamont Berry taking on Lance Alvers and Evan Grant followed by Vernon Chan and Charity Hensley taking on Latoya Conley and Louella Schneider, and on Tuesday the third round will begin, however before all of that the new banlist will be posted first thing in the morning, be sure to check the website before you prepare for your promotion duels!"

"Oh for the love off….." Brandon trailed off as it hit him. "Yet another banlist? Hasn't I2 hit enough decks already?"

"Blame Sophia Pegasus, she's apparently doing all this to try to make the game fair and balanced again." Tyler responded as he shook his head. "As for the result of the duel I'm not surprised, Miranda's strategy was powerful but she was hit hard by Card of Demise's side effect, and then there's Socorro."

"What about her?" Theresa asked whilst in the background Chelsea started packing up her laptop with Chloe's help.

"She was relying on Miranda's monsters so much towards the end that if Miranda had lost she would've followed suit soon after." Tyler responded with a frown. "For an Osiris Red Student she was okay….."

"And what's THAT supposed to mean?!" Chelsea's voice rang out and Tyler winced as he glanced up at Chelsea who was glaring at him along with Chloe

"Chelsea relax, you to Chloe." Theresa quickly intervened as she stood in between them. "What he was saying is that you two are two of the best duelists in the dorm and your both up for promotion tomorrow, let's face it most of the students in your dorm are in the worst dorm for a reason."

"Yeah, I guess." Chelsea sighed before checking her watch. "Chloe, can you take my laptop back? I have PE soon and if I take a detour to our dorm I'll be late for class."

"You got it I'll meet you back at the dorm." Chloe responded as she took the laptop and the two girls left quickly followed by the others.