YuGiOh GX The Future

by judodave

Rewritten version of an old fanfic, original cast: It's been 20 years since Jaden graduated from Duel Academy and now Chloe and Lance, two friends who love to duel have enrolled in the school but what challenges await them at Duel Academy? Complete, sequel coming soon!

112. Post Party Hangover

It was the day after the promotion duels, the party that followed and Chloe's duel against Damien outside the Ra Yellow Boy's dorm and at the moment the students were getting settled into their dorms including Chloe and Chelsea.

"Oh man, do I have to get up yet?" Chloe moaned as she used her finger to run some sleep out of her eye, the girls' new dorm room was much bigger than their old one and had two desktop PCs one for Chelsea and one for Chloe, and two separate beds, Chelsea looked up from her desktop and smirked.

"Don't blame ya I didn't want to wake up either." Chelsea said with a grin as she turned to her roommate. "Don't get me wrong, I'll miss sleeping with you in the bunk bed in our old dorm room but….." Chelsea trailed off before blushing like a madwoman as Chloe laughed her head off. "Not a word of this to anyone, especially not the boys!"

"You got a deal Chelsea." Chloe responded as she stopped laughing and sat up. "How about you just try that sentence again?"

"What I meant to say is that I'll miss sleeping in the top bunk of our old bunk beds but it feels good to have my own bed again, not to mention a comfy bed at that." Chelsea responded with a sheepish grin as Chloe got out of bed. "Speaking of the boys, what do you plan to do about Lance?"

"I'll pop by his new dorm room later, I still need to figure out if I want to go through with this relationship upgrade and he's probably getting himself sorted out." Chloe responded before she started making her way to the closet nearest Chelsea.

"Oh right, almost forgot, we also have our own separate closets, mine's the one nearest my desktop and yours is the one nearest your desktop." Chelsea told her and Chloe nodded before turning around and walking over to her closet.

"Thanks for the warning." Chloe sighed as she made her way over to the closet. "I was actually wondering something about your sister last night but by the time I got around to asking you, well you had dozed off."

"It was nearly half past midnight by the time we found our dorm room, give me a break." Chelsea responded as she shook her head. "What were you wondering?"

"It was the age difference, the only other time I saw an age difference that big was in a family with five kids in it, is it the same situation with you?" Chloe asked and Chelsea nodded.

"Yeah, I'm the youngest, Jamie's the oldest." Chelsea responded as she turned to Chloe. "We have three brothers, Danny's the second youngest, Mark's in the middle and Chris is the second oldest." Chelsea added with a grin. "Because of that they affectionately called me runt growing up but they thankfully dropped that nickname when I hit puberty, mostly because I threatened to kick them in the nuts every time they called me that."

"I'm almost tempted to ask if you really meant it but knowing your temper…." Chloe trailed off and Chelsea sighed.

"Yeah I did get an earful from my parents for that but it did get the message across." Chelsea responded with a grin. "Nowadays the boys refer to me as a boy who was born a girl due to my hobbies and lesbian status but Jamie doesn't." Chelsea added with a grin. "Then again the last time I saw my brothers was when they took me out for a good old Deep Pan Pizza at my favorite pizzeria to celebrate my admittance into the academy though I still talk to them on Skype occasionally."

"So they took you out to eat a pizza that's not as good as the pizza in my home city, good to know." Chloe said with a broad grin as she got changed into a crop top and jeans and Chelsea's eyes narrowed.

"Oh you did NOT just say that!" Chelsea said as she span around in her computer chair. "No offense Chloe but New York pizza fucking sucks! It's nowhere near as good as Chicago Deep Pan!"

"Please, they make the pizza that way to make up for its awful taste!" Chloe said as Chelsea stood up. "New York pizza is so much better that it can't even be compared!"

"I don't know what pizzerias you've been too in Chicago but they must've been shit if you think that!" Chelsea responded as she marched up to her roommate. "Because otherwise I could smell the bullshit you're spewing from the North Side of the island!"

"Fine, be delusional, but we both know New York's pizza is better!" Chloe responded with a smirk.

"Chicago!" Chelsea yelled and Chloe frowned.

"New York!" Chloe responded and the two girls went back and forth on the subject for a few minutes.

"Silent Magician, should we intervene before they hurt themselves?" Wattchimera asked as the telepathic forms off the two duel spirits appeared alongside their passionately arguing protégés.

"Normally I would, but I was expecting a dull day today so I may as well enjoy this whilst it lasts." Silent Magician responded as they watched the two girls go back and forth, eventually their arguing was cut off by a knock at the door.

"I'll get it." Chloe said after a few seconds before she took a deep breath and answered the door, she saw two girls standing there and one of them looked Italian. "Err, hi, something wrong?"

"Well, we heard you two arguing and we didn't want to disturb Sarah." The girl who had knocked on the door, a short girl with shoulder length red hair and green eyes, explained to them and Chloe and Chelsea sweat-dropped in response. "So are you two okay?"

"We're fine." Chelsea said as she approached the door. "We were just having a friendly discussion."

"You call that friendly? It sounded like you were about to come to blows!" The red head pointed out and Chloe shook her head.

"It was a pizza discussion, I'm a New Yorker and she's from Chicago." Chloe explained and the two girls nodded in response. "It was friendly compared to some of the arguments I've seen on that topic, I'll say that much."

"I'll bet." The Italian girl, who was quite a bit taller than her friend and had elbow length dark brown hair, said with a grin. "I'm Gabrielle and she's Stacy, we're new students and your new neighbors."

"I'm Chloe and the girl with no taste in pizza is Chelsea." Chloe introduced herself and Chelsea laughed hysterically.

"That's rich coming from the girl from New York!" Chelsea responded as she wiped away tears of laughter. "Seriously though, we just graduated from Osiris Red ourselves and I've known Chloe so long that I could never hurt her, you had nothing to worry about."

"If you say so as for pizza well I'm from Indiana and I'm not even a big fan of pizza." Stacey responded and the two girls rolled their eyes.

"You just haven't had good pizza, like from New York!" Chloe chimed in and Chelsea scoffed.

"And by that she means Chicago." Chelsea responded and Chloe went to retort but Gabrielle shook her head.

"You're talking about pizza in front of a girl from Italy do I even need to say anything else?" Gabrielle responded as she shook her head. "Seriously, American pizza can't even compare to pizza from Italy!" Gabrielle added and the two girls went to say something but stopped.

"It's not worth it Chloe, I lived next door to an Italian family back home and my dad, also known as the biggest pizza enthusiast I know, gave up arguing about it with them after a while," Chelsea responded and Chloe sighed.

"Look we're sorry for disturbing you guys, we're only just getting settled in to our new rooms and I haven't even used my desktop yet." Chloe admitted as she rubbed the back of her head nervously. "Honestly as long as you don't mind Chelsea playing Heavy Metal we shouldn't have any more problems right?"

"Sure, just don't play it too loudly and we have a deal." Stacey responded with a nod before she and Gabrielle returned to their room, Chloe closed the door behind her as Chelsea returned to her desktop.

"Well, that was stupid." Chloe grunted as she sat down at her desk and Chelsea looked up.

"You mean the argument about pizzas? Yeah, I guess but to be fair how were we supposed to know that one of our neighbors is Italian?" Chelsea asked with a shrug. "Thanks to your duel last night we didn't exactly get a chance to get acquainted with them."

"In my defense I didn't think that it would take as long as it dif." Chloe responded with a frown on her face. "And I also thought that my duel against Lance would be my last one of the day."

"I guess those are good points." Chelsea admitted with a nod. "Speaking of your duel against Damien, I looked up that XYZ Monster you used against him."

"You mean Alchemic Magician?" Chloe asked and Chelsea shook her head.

"You didn't play any others last I checked." Chelsea teased her and Chloe sweat-dropped. "Anyway that card is ridiculously rare, it's not even out in the states yet, how'd you get your hands on it?"

"My dad, that's how." Chloe answered before pausing. "My stepdad that is, I told you he runs a card a card shop right?"

"Yeah, you did what about it?" Chelsea asked and Chloe turned to her.

"Well he was going to get me a laptop for my eighteenth birthday but he couldn't find a decent one online." Chloe started with a sigh. "He promised to make it up for me and when my eighteenth birthday did roll around I got Alchemic Magician in the post."

"Seems like a fair trade to me." Chelsea responded with a grin. "Don't feel too bad about the laptop though, I know from personal experience that it's nearly impossible to get a halfway decent computer of any size or make for a reasonable price and hey, who knows? Maybe you'll buy yourself one once you graduate?"

"That's the plan actually I've been saving up for it since my eighteenth birthday." Chloe responded with a grin. "Speaking of computers, didn't you promise to help get me set up so that I have an idea of what I'm doing?"

"Sure, just give me a sec to finish transferring my albums from my laptop to the desktop." Chelsea responded and Chloe grinned.

"That's what you've been doing all morning?" Chloe asked and Chelsea nodded. "Jesus Christ, how many albums do you have?"

"A lot and the CDs I took to the party last night didn't even make up half of my collection." Chelsea responded and Chloe looked at her dumbfounded. "Before you ask were I've been keeping them, well at our old dorm room I kept them under the coffee table that originally housed my laptop but now they are on that shelf above my desktop." Chelsea added as she pointed to the shelf.

"That reminds me are you still going to use your laptop or are you moving to the Desktop permanently?" Chloe asked and Chelsea shook her head.

"I'll be alternating between the two, as good as the desktop is it isn't good enough to run games whilst my laptop was a gaming one I brought years ago and besides, I still need my laptop for IT." Chelsea added before noticing that Chloe was going to say something else. "You're about to ask what I'm going to do when I move up to Obelisk Blue right?"

"Am I that obvious? Don't answer that." Chloe responded and Chelsea smirked.

"I know I'll be doing the same thing when I move up to Obelisk Blue but I have a while before I get to that point at least, besides I have a ton of USBs for that purpose so I have that going for me." Chelsea responded as she transferred another album.

"By the way, have you heard from Beth? I heard she has a roommate now." Chloe asked and Chelsea frowned.

"Yeah, her roommate is the only other girl who graduated with us, you know, Rachel Travis?" Chelsea asked and Chloe nodded. "Fortunately Rachel is okay with me popping over thee for sex with Beth as long as it's not on a study night or if she's out of the room." Chelsea added and after half an hour she was done and she walked over to Chloe. "Okay, let's get you set up!"

*meanwhile*

Whilst the four girls who graduated to Ra Yellow were getting settled in to their new dorms on their own it was a different story at the Obelisk Blue Boy's Dorm as they had chipped in to help each other pack.

"Dude, just how many porno mags do you have?" Marcus asked Lance as he carried a ton of porno mags from a small bag that Lance had brought with him. "And how do you plan on explaining this to Chloe if she stops by your room for sex and she sees all these?"

"Marcus I don't even know if she wants to speak with me after my stunt last night, let alone wants to start dating me." Lance responded with a frown as Marcus plopped the mags down. "And if she does find them I'll tell her the truth, that I have them for my "personal time"." Lance said adding air quotes to the last section and it took Marcus and Andreas, the other boy helping him, a second to figure it out.

"Lance, you just sped past the "too much information" line on a motorcycle whilst jumping over seven school busses and through a ring of fire." Andreas responded with a deadpan expression on his face. "And as for your stunt last night, I think it would've gone over better if you hadn't chosen "Baby" by Justin Bieber."

"For the last time the DJ chose that song for me, and before you point out how poorly thought out that idea was Chelsea beat you too it last night." Lance responded with a frown and Andreas shook his head. "Hopefully we'll be able to talk it out at some point anyway."

"Chloe's likely getting settled into her new room with Chelsea as we speak so you should have some time to think about what you're going to tell her." Marcus responded as he put the last of the porn mags away. "Seriously dude, you realize that the school never bothered to install a firewall on the network right? You can look this stuff up on the internet."

"Marcus, the first time I did that the technicians caught it and I almost got expelled during my first week at the academy." Lance responded with a frown. "I have ways to protect me from suffering through that again but at least with the mags I won't have to worry about some stuffy technician catching on and getting me in trouble."

"As much as I disagree with the idea of porn I'll admit that that is a well thought out plan." Andreas admitted as he shook his head. "Really though, as long as you're not one of those boys who base their expectations of sex on porn you shouldn't have a problem with Chloe."

"Do I look that stupid? Don't answer that." Lance responded and Andreas sweat-dropped. "Speaking of Chloe…."

"You're going to try your luck with her again?" Andreas interrupted him and Lance turned to him. "Don't you remember how long she tends to sleep in from the Battle City Tournament?"

"Yeah I do, and I bet she's thankful that the school decided to hold the promotion duels on a Saturday because of it." Lance responded before shaking his head. "Like I told Chelsea last night when she came to collect me, I'll work it out with Chloe later right now I just want to get settled into my new dorm room."

"Well you would get settled in much quicker if you would actually help us!" Andreas responded as he unpacked Lance's belongings. "I thought we made it clear that we're not touching your clothes with a ten foot pole?"

"And that is why I'm waiting for you guys to leave." Lance responded as he rested his hands behind his head and leaned back. "Besides, I've had a tiring day."

"You woke up barely an hour ago." Andreas responded with a deadpan expression on his face and Lance waved him hand dismissively.

"Details, details, complaining isn't going to get the job done any faster, you know?" Lance asked him and Andreas shook his head. "Besides, neither of you have tried to get me to help in any convincing way so who will?" Lance asked and before either boy could respond there was a knock at the door.

"Are you going to get that or have you been stricken with a case of lazyitus so bad that you can't be bothered to get out of that chair?" Andreas asked and Lance shook his head, Andreas sighed before getting up and answering the door. "Nicola? You came over from the Osiris Red Girl's dorm?"

"Well, I'm here, aren't I?" The autistic teenager asked with a grin on her face. "I wanted to congratulate you on your promotion yesterday but they weren't letting Osiris Red students into the party so here I am."

"That sucks but I guess I can see why." Lance responded as he leaned forward. "How are things in the Osiris Red Girl's Dorm now that Chloe and Chelsea have moved out?"

"Boring, that's what." Nicola responded with a sigh. "Since I got accepted into the academy Chloe is the only one I could hang out with since I knew her from Battle City and, being a fellow New Yorker, we had some things in common, that eventually extended to Chelsea but after they graduated the Girl's dorm is just boring."

"You realize that you can still visit them in Ra Yellow, right? I mean, the dorm differences didn't stop you from coming here." Lance pointed out and Nicola nodded. "Hell I plan on doing that myself later but I still got some stuff to pack."

"And by that he means "get us to pack most of his stuff for him."." Marcus muttered and Lance rolled his eyes. "Seriously dude, what did your last slave die off?"

"He died of non-stop complaining." Lance responded with a deadpan expression on his face. "Anyway, you were saying Nicola?"

"The Ra Yellow Girl's Dorm is my next stop but I figured I'd stop by here and…." Nicola's response was cut off by a very annoying and very familiar laugh. "Jessica Stevens is behind me, isn't she?"

"I can't even see the hallway from here but yes, I'd recognize that laugh anywhere." Lance responded with an annoyed expression on his face as Jessica stepped into view. "Sorry lady but the convention for "annoying strippers posing as students" is two islands over, can you please leave before you annoy us to death?"

"Is that anyway to speak to a fellow Obelisk Blue student Alvers?" Jessica asked as she pushed Nicola out of the way. "Besides if anyone needs to leave it's the retard here before she gets hurt…."

"EXCUSE ME?!" Nicola interrupted her as she stepped into Jessica's view clearly furious over being called that. "I expected some trouble from the students in this dorm but to be called that?!"

"What are you going to do about it huh? I'm at least five inches taller than you and I can duel you under the table any day of the week!" Jessica responded before laughing again as Nicola's frown deepened. "Aww, the retard's trying to be angry I'm so scarred…." Jessica said in a mocking tone and Nicola clenched her fist.

"Nicola, let me handle it, she's not worth getting in trouble over." Andreas whispered to her and Nicola took several deep breaths before unclenching her fist. "She won't do anything but I will!"

"And what are you going to do about it?" Jessica asked him and Andreas smirked.

"What I'm going to do is place Nicola under my protection, effective immediately." Andreas responded and Jessica's smirk quickly disappeared. "Now if I were you I'd hurry on over to the Obelisk Blue Girl's Dorm before I report your disgusting comments to Martin, am I clear?"

"Crystal." Jessica sneered before glaring at Nicola. "Your boyfriend won't be around to protect you forever." Jessica warned her before storming off and Andreas let Nicola in to Lance's dorm room before closing the door behind them.

"Thanks Andreas, I don't know what I would've done if you weren't there." Nicola responded as she took her final deep breath. "But what was that about me being under your protection?"

"It's something Tyler told me about last night at the Ra Yellow party, basically it's an unofficial rule that states that an Obelisk Blue Student can place a student from Ra Yellow or Osiris Red under their protection for as long as they are at Duel Academy and it's a rule that the staff take very seriously." Andreas explained with a nod. "Depending on how respected that student is any students under their protection won't be bullied and, despite how my tenure in the tournament ended, my status as a Battle City Semi-Finalist should stop most of the bullies from harassing you."

"So theoretically we could do the same for other students?" Lance asked and Andreas nodded.

"It is possible for a student to be protected by more than one Obelisk Blue student, Tyler told me that he considers all members of the Ra Yellow and Osiris Red dorms under his protection, but in the meantime I need to use your desktop quickly Lance." Andreas told him and Lance nodded before finally standing up and letting Andreas take his place.

"Reporting those comments to Martin?" Lance asked and Andreas shook his head as he logged Lance out and logged himself in.

"No, I'm going further up the chain of command and reporting them to Kaiba himself." Andreas responded earning dumbfounded looks from the other students. "Another thing Tyler told me, he said that his step-father takes bullying very seriously and will happily resolve any issues that occur about a student being bullied, on top of that that Nicola being the academy's first ever autistic student was a major PR move for him so if anyone will make sure something gets done about those comments its him."

"Yeah and I'm sure that the teachers will be just thrilled about having a pissed off Kaiba yell down the phone to them so that should keep Jessica out of Nicola's hair." Lance responded with a grin as Nicola hugged Andreas tightly.

"Andreas, you're the best." Nicola said with a broad grin and Andreas chuckled.

"I do try my best to not make the other students feel insignificant to me." Andreas joked as Nicola let him go. "Oh for fuck's sake, I just sounded like Thomas Newborne, didn't I?"

"If Thomas Newborne was a German Student you mean." Marcus responded before pausing. "If anything you sounded more like Otto."

"Gee, thanks for me feel even worse." Andreas muttered sarcastically under his breath as Nicola looked around the dorm room. "Lance, are you sure about having a girl in your dorm room when most of your magazines haven't been packed yet?" Andreas whispered to Lance as he pointed to Nicola. "Especially considering her close friendship with Chloe?"

"Oh come on, what's the harm?" Lance asked with a shrug. "I know she's on the High Functioning end of the autistic spectrum but for all we know she's never even heard of some of those mags."

"Lance, what are some of these magazines?" Nicola asked curiously as she looked at the mags. "They look like the porno ones my brother keeps in his room." Nicola added and Lance's eyes widened before he rushed over and blocked her view.

"Nothing, nothing, just some duel monster magazines…..that happen to feature topless and/or naked women on them…." Lance trailed off as he started sweating bullets. "I have a huge collection of them for no reason whatsoever!"

"…..why would Duel Monster magazines feature that on their cover?" Nicola asked with a raised eyebrow. "Aren't those things put out by I2? I don't think Sophia Pegasus wants that kind of bad press a few months into her reign as CEO of I2 and I didn't see anything about Duel Monsters on the covers."

"Sure there was, let me show you!" Lance responded before quickly turning around and pretending to search through the remaining mags but in actuality was writing on one of them with a pen. "See? This one has details about the next banlist!" Lance added before turning around and holding it up whilst covering the model's naked breasts and the rest of the text with his free arm.

"Well a new banlist was announced today on I2's website." Nicola responded not sounding entirely convinced. "In fact that was the other reason I stopped by."

"Oh that's a coin…..what was that about a new banlist?" Lance asked as a large sweat-drop rolled down his head. "Andreas?"

"Looking it up now, I've already sent the e-mail to Kaiba." Andreas reasoned as he looked it up. "Okay, nothing new is banned but some cards were unbanned or had their limits lifted."

"What cards were limited?" Marcus asked as Lance put the magazine down and the three teens approached the computer screen.

"Infernity Archfiend is limited, Soul Charge and Super Polymerization are limited…." Andreas trailed off as he took a sip from a drink he had helped himself too. "As for the unbanned cards, Grow-Up Bulb and Raigeki are now limi…." Andreas said before spitting the drink back into its can "WHAT?! Raigeki is limited?!"

"Isn't that the card that could basically wipe out the opponents monsters with no cost?" Lance asked as his jaw dropped. "Magician of Faith I could understand since her effect doesn't really hold up nowadays but Raigeki? And they didn't bring back Heavy Storm?"

"Unfortunately not all though it is funny that you bring up Magician of Faith." Andreas responded as he recovered from the surprise. "As for the semi-limits they are Gale the Whirlwind, Gorz, Ceasefire and Transmigration Prophecy, the unlimited are Coach Soldier Wolfbark, Magician of Faith, Reinforcement of the Army and Formula Synchron."

"Well I can think of three people off the top of my head that'll be happy with the unlimits." Lance commented as he folded his arms. "Chelsea since she's been teching Magician of Faith in her Watt Deck, Chloe since she runs Magician of Faith and Reinforcement of the Army and Hu since he runs Fire Fists."

"Indeed but I can't see anyone being happy that Raigeki is back." Andreas responded before turning to Nicola. "Nicola, I'm sorry for what happened with Jessica back there."

"Yeah in hindsight I should've invited you in and avoided the trouble." Lance added and Nicola nodded.

"It's fine, really." Nicola sighed as she glanced towards the door. "Even as a high functioning autistic person I face difficulties sometimes, usually from idiots who don't know better like Jessica, as you can imagine being called….that word….just pisses me off."

"We understand if anyone uses that disgusting word against you or bullies you in any other way you know where to find me." Andreas responded and Nicola nodded in response. "Well this got depressing quickly, any ideas for a change of subject?"

"I have one." Nicola said and the boys could've sworn they saw a light bulb go off above her head. "I haven't had a decent duel since Battle City ended, not even the proctor I faced to gain admittance to the school was a challenge, what do you say Andreas? Are you up for a rematch?" Nicola asked with a determined grin on her face and Andreas blinked for a second before nodding.

"Now that sounds fun." Andreas said with a grin as he logged out of Lance's desktop. "Just be warned that I'm a lot better than I was back in Battle City."

"I noticed." Nicola responded with a grin.

"You're not going to duel in here I just got the place cleaned." Lance sighed and the two teens shook their heads.

"That wasn't what we were suggesting and besides we've been doing the work for you!" Andreas responded before turning to Nicola. "Name a time and place and I'll be there." Andreas added and Nicola thought for a moment.

"Besides the lake in twenty minutes, that should give you enough time for Lance to get you to finish packing his stuff." Nicola said with a grin and Lance laughed nervously.

"I'll see you there." Andreas responded and Nicola grinned before leaving.

"Quick question, has she even dueled since she joined the Academy?" Lance asked and Andreas shook his head.

"Not from what I've heard, she's been using her first week here to get used to living away from home and the school's schedule." Andreas responded as he looked at his deck. "I did ask several students who were at the duels how she did and she wasn't wrong."

"Didn't she tell you that her deck's improved a lot since Battle City?" Lance asked and Andreas nodded.

"She did but I guess I'll have to see for myself." Andreas added before standing up. "One thing I know for certain is that she still runs Crystal Beasts, that's what I've heard from the students who actually went to the duels, anyway Lance you're helping this time because I don't want to keep her waiting, let's finish packing already."

"Right, let's do it." Lance nodded in response before they started packing his stuff.

*meanwhile*

"Have you had any problems so far Chloe?" Chelsea asked her roommate after she paused a game of Total War: Rome II and Chloe groaned.

"You've asked me that about ten times already and the answer's still no." Chloe responded as she turned her attention to Chelsea. "I've mostly been doing some work in Word and looking at any Duel Monster websites I know are safe."

"Good and sorry, most first time users of computers, in my experience anyway, encounter a few problems and I usually have to bail them out." Chelsea responded and Chloe raised an eyebrow.

"Let me guess, your bothers right?" Chloe asked and Chelsea shook her head.

"Yes and no, Chris is a college major and he majored in IT, if anything he helped me get as good at tech as I am today, with mom's help off course, Dan and Mark on the other hand are total geeks in areas that have nothing to do with tech, namely sports and creative writing." Chelsea responded as she shook her head. "All though, to be fair they are making careers out of their hobbies, Mark's working on getting his first book published and Dan plays college football back home in Chicago."

"So like you and Jamie in other words?" Chloe asked and Chelsea nodded. "I didn't think Jamie would go to culinary school and work for a Michelin Stared Chef if she wasn't seriously into her cooking."

"Yeah, I'll be the first to admit that as far as hobbies and careers go me and my siblings are pretty diverse." Chelsea responded with a nod before sighing. "That said I think that's why my parents have been so hard on me every time I've gotten expelled from a school, they want me to do as well as my older siblings but my damn temper keeps getting in the way."

"Jamie looked like she had a temper during my duel last night and she's done well for herself." Chloe pointed out and Chelsea shook her head.

"Chloe, she's a chef, having a short temper is practically a job requirement for her." Chelsea responded before there was a knock at the door. "Is it Stacey and Gabrielle again?"

"I'll check." Chloe responded before standing up and answering the door, when she opened it she grinned seeing a familiar female Osiris Red Student. "Hey Nicola, what's up?"

"You guys mind if I come in for a sec?" Nicola asked and Chloe turned to Chelsea who shrugged her shoulders in a way that seemed to say "why not" and Chloe let her in. "Thanks, I wanted to congratulate you on your promotions yesterday." Nicola added as Chloe closed the door behind her.

"Thanks Nic, but looking back it was all down to luck of the draw." Chelsea responded with a frown and Nicola shook her head.

"Don't most duels come down to that at the end of the day?" Nicola asked and the other two girls sweat-dropped in response. "Anyway, there is another reason I stopped by here, I stopped by the Obelisk Blue Boy's Dorm first to see Andreas."

"Considering your crush on him is almost as obvious as Chloe's crush on Lance that's not really a surprise." Chelsea responded earning mock death glares from the other girls. "What? I'm just saying!"

"Anyway…." Nicola trailed off as she shook her head. "Long story short, after a nasty encounter with Jessica I ended up challenging Andreas to a rematch from our first encounter during Battle City, I was wondering if you could give me some insights into how much his deck has changed."

"Well just of the top of my head, he uses a lot more swarming cards and his extra deck nowadays is a hybrid of Fusion, Synchro and XYZ monsters." Chloe responded and Nicola nodded in response. "Wait, what was that about Jessica Stevens?"

"It's nothing, really." Nicola lied and Chelsea shook her head.

"Nic, trust me, with that bitch it's never just "nothing"." Chelsea responded as she stood up. "We're friends aren't we? You can tell us."

"Fine, like I said I bumped into Jessica outside Lance's new dorm room." Nicola said as she folded her arms. "And….."

*meanwhile outside the dorm*

"Finally found my sister's new dorm." Jamie thought with a grin as she approached it, her flight wasn't due to leave for a few hours so she still had time to chat with Chelsea. "We may have run out of time last night but I don't think they'll be a problem today, as long as Chelsea keeps her temper in check…."

"SHE CALLED YOU A WHAT?!" Chelsea's clearly enraged voice rang out from inside the dorm and Jamie sweat-dropped.

"I've literally known her all her life and I still get caught off guard by Chelsea's temper." Jamie thought with a sigh as she approached the girl's dorm. "Better see what this is about before she hurts someone."

*back inside the dorm room*

"Seriously, you call THAT nothing?!" Chelsea asked as Nicola gulped. "At least tell me you filed a complaint against her?"

"Andreas filed the complaint for me." Nicola responded with a nod. "Not only that but he filed it to Kaiba himself, I don't think Jessica will be bothering me for a while."

"What was Jessica even doing in the boy's dorm?" Chloe asked as she folded her arms. "I thought I heard that Cameron had gone to his parents' home for a couple of days following an incident at the Obelisk Blue party?"

"He did but if I had to guess she was cheating on him with someone, it's pretty much the worst kept secret at Duel Academy." Chelsea responded as she shook her head.

"Look, it doesn't matter okay?" Nicola sighed as she sat down on a chair. "Like I said, Andreas reported the insult to Kaiba himself and as far as I'm concerned that's the only thing that matters." Nicola added and the two girls frowned.

"It seems that Nicola is getting stressed just talking about that incident." Silent Magician commented as she appeared alongside Chloe in her transparent form. "I'd suggest changing the subject."

"Can't help but agree there Silent Magician." Chloe responded before sighing. "Nicola, we're sorry we pressed you about the incident with Jessica, we've had our own nasty run-ins with her and we know what she's like."

"Don't worry about it Chloe, I shouldn't have brought it up in the first place." Nicola sighed in response and Chelsea sighed. "I should've known better and I really don't need this stress right now, not with a duel coming up."

"Wait, you're facing someone in a duel?" Chelsea asked and Nicola nodded. "Well if anything it'll be a good stress reliever, who's the duel against?"

"Andreas, we were talking about the incident with Jessica and he decided to try to take our minds off it." Nicola explained as she took a deep breath. "The duel was my idea as I haven't had a decent challenge since I enrolled here and we agreed to meet up near the lake in twenty minutes."

"Well to be fair, you haven't done much dueling either." Chelsea pointed out and Nicola shook her head.

"I wanted to get used to the school schedule and living away from home first." Nicola explained before there was a knock at the door. "Is twenty minutes up already?"

"From the sounds of it you challenged him a couple of minutes ago, relax, you're okay for time." Chelsea reassured her before going to answer the door, when she opened it she grinned broadly. "Jamie, I thought you had left!" Chelsea greeted her older sister who shook her head.

"My flight isn't until much later and besides, I wouldn't miss out on a chance to chat with my little sis." Jamie responded with a grin as Chelsea let her in. "I recognize Chloe from the duel last night but who's she?"

"Hi, I'm Nicola." Nicola introduced herself with a grin. "I'm a friend of Chelsea's."

"Nice to meet you I'm Jamie, Chelsea's older sister." Jamie responded before turning to Chelsea and frowning. "I heard you yelling from outside the dorm Chelsea." Jamie commented and Chelsea sighed.

"Nicola, you okay with me telling her?" Chelsea asked and Nicola nodded. "I'll keep this short and sweet, Nicola's the academy's first ever autistic student and she had a nasty run-in with a student in Obelisk Blue."

"How nasty are we talking here?" Jamie asked and her tone of voice made it clear to the three girls that she didn't like where it was going.

"The student, god I hate saying this word, called Nicola a retard to her face, twice." Chelsea responded and Jamie's frown deepened. "A complaint's already been filed but I was pretty pissed about it."

"I don't blame you, especially since she doesn't seem that different from any other student." Jamie responded with a frown. "Let me guess, your high functioning right?"

"That's right." Nicola responded with a nod. "Truth be told, I probably would've punched her if Andreas hadn't talked me down."

"Based on what you told us I doubt you would've gotten in trouble for that since you would've had three students, including Andreas, backing you up," Chloe pointed out and Jamie frowned.

"Andreas was just playing it safe, not saying I support the idea of solving the issue with your fists but I don't blame you either." Jamie responded before turning to the girls. "Anyway, Nicola, it's been great meeting you, same to you Chloe, but me and Chelsea have a lot of catching up to do."

"I understand I have a duel to get too anyway." Nicola responded as she stood up and turned to Chloe. "Are you coming Chloe?"

"I wouldn't miss it." Chloe responded as she walked up to Nicola and glanced over at Chelsea. "You'll try to make it in time for the duel right?"

"That's like asking how long a piece of string is, can't really make any promises but I'll see what I can do." Chelsea responded with a nod and the two girls nodded before leaving.

*later on*

Whilst Chelsea was catching up with her older sister another reunion of sorts was happening not far from the Ra Yellow Girl's Dorm, however this one was more of a reunion of how these two duelists met than them catching up.

"Okay Nicola, standard rules apply of course." Andreas commented as the two teens stood opposite each other with the large lake in the background. "I'd suggest using the Battle City rules except neither of us have any locater cards to spare and ante duels are forbidden at the academy."

"Well that and Battle City used the traditional format which the school, obviously, doesn't." Nicola responded and Andreas nodded in response. "Hell I've heard that they are dropping the traditional format for next year's tournament."

"Given the ridiculous amounts of banned cards used in that tournament, some by my fellow students." Andreas commented and Lance started whistling innocently whilst Chloe laughed nervously. "Seriously people, Mirage of Nightmare and Delinquent Duo? I'm surprised you didn't bust out Raigeki at the time!"

"That is coming from the guy who once ran Zemen the Ape King and actually led Duel Academy to ban that card after you fought Rajin and only won because he surrendered." Lance pointed out and Andreas sweat-dropped in annoyance. "Hello Mr. Pot, I'm Mr. Kettle and I must inform you that you are black."

"Yes, yes, I get it I once ran that damn card." Andreas grunted in annoyance as he turned to Lance. "But I've since sorted out my differences with Rajin and that card's in some scrap heat somewhere, besides I only used it once!"

"And I can say the same for Delinquent Duo!" Lance pointed out before pointing to Chloe. "Hell she's even worse than the both of us because she used Mirage of Nightmare several times!"

"Lance, do me a favor and leave me out of this before I get a headache." Chloe responded as she pinched the bridge of her nose in annoyance. "Besides, I thought this was supposed to be a rematch between Andreas and Nicola, not a dick measuring contest between you and Andreas."

"Well we both know who'd win that contest but your right." Lance responded with a grin and Andreas shook his head. "Where were we again?"

"I was basically saying that this duel will be under Duel Academy rules." Andreas responded with a sigh before they activated their duel disks and drew their opening hands. "Now if I remember correctly I went first when we faced off in Battle City, just for the sake for fairness you should go first this time Nicola."

"That sounds good to me." Nicola responded as she made her first draw. "For starters I activate Terra Forming!"

"Nicola runs Crystal Beasts so it's a safe bet that she's retrieving Ancient City – Rainbow Ruins." Chloe thought as Nicola picked up and started searching through her deck. "I'll take that field spell over The Seal of the Orichalcos any day of the week."

"I think it goes without saying that I'm retrieving Ancient City – Rainbow Ruins." Nicola continued as she found the field spell, added it to her hand and shuffled her deck. "And now I activate it!" Nicola played the card and the scenery changed to the ancient ruins with the rainbow above them.

"It has been too long since I've seen this Field Spell." Andreas commented as he looked around. "Very beautiful indeed, almost as much as you….." Andreas trailed off before realizing what he had said. "I did not mean to say that out loud."

"Sure you didn't." Marcus teased him earning a death glare from Andreas.

"Ahem, anyway, I still remember the Field Spell's effect and I know that you need to have at least one Crystal Beast Monster in your Spell/Trap card zone if you want to keep it around long enough to take full advantage of it." Andreas continued and Nicola smirked. "And with Mystical Space Typhoon in my hand it'll be a simple matter to destroy it."

"That may be true but I think you forgot that I have a Crystal Beast Monster that can add another one to the Spell/Trap Card zone." Nicola responded before she played another card. "I summon Crystal Beast – Sapphire Pegasus!"

"Okay, so it won't be that simple." Andreas thought with a frown as Sapphire Pegasus appeared on the field (4/1800/1200).

"And when she's summoned her effect activates letting me place another Crystal Beast in my Spell/Trap Card zone from my deck, hand or graveyard, I chose deck because Sapphire Pegasus was the only monster in my hand." Nicola continued as she picked up her deck again and searching through it, once she found the card she wanted she placed it in her Spell/Trap Card zone.

"Yes and since you have one in your Spell/Trap card zone your field spell can't be destroyed." Andreas responded with a frown. "Doesn't matter, I have everything I need to summon Thunder Unicorn on my turn and since she doesn't have enough monsters in her Spell/Trap Card zones to cut the damage in half I'll be able to do some decent damage."

"I set two cards facedown and end my turn." Nicola announced and Andreas drew his card. "Did he really call me beautiful? Oh man, maybe I have a chance with him after all!" Nicola thought before shaking her head. "Focus Nicola, focus, he may have protected me from Jessica earlier….and from those boys back when we first met…..but he's still my opponent!"

"I don't have enough destruction cards to get rid of all her cards, really missing Heavy Storm right now, but I can destroy one." Andreas thought before playing the card. "I activate Mystical Space Typhoon and I destroy the facedown card on the left!" Andreas announced and Nicola braced herself as the tornado ripped her facedown card to shreds. "It's true that I could've destroyed the Crystal Beast card instead but knowing your deck you have more than one way of getting Crystal Beast monsters in there."

"Yeah, well, you may have destroyed my facedown card but you still have to contend with Sapphire Pegasus!" Nicola retorted as Sapphire Pegasus neighed at Andreas.

"Yes but that will soon be remedied." Andreas responded before looking at his hand. "I was going to summon Thunder Unicorn but this is a much better move." Andreas thought before discarding a monster from his hand. "By discarding one Beast Type Monster from my hand I can Special Summon the Tuner Monster Egotistical Ape!" Andreas played the card and the large monkey shadow appeared on the field (5/1200/1200). "And since I special summoned my Ape this way I can activate one of two effects, either I can decrease its level by the level of the discarded monster or I can increase it by that same level."

"You said it was a Tuner Monster so I'm guessing that you're going to decrease its level?" Nicola asked and Andreas nodded as Egotistical Ape's level decreased to four.

"And for my normal summon I bring out Lock Cat!" Andreas played the card and the white cat with the gold lock around her neck appeared on the field (3/1200/1000). "This in turn activates Lock Cat's effect…."

"Aww she's so cute!" Nicola cawed and the others sweat-dropped, once Nicola realized that she said it out loud she laughed nervously. "Sorry, I'm a bit of an animal lover in general but cats are my favorite." Nicola explained as a large sweat-drop rolled down her head.

"Anyway as I was saying, by summoning Lock Cat I activate her effect, this allows me to special summon one Level One Beast Monster from my graveyard with its effects negated." Andreas said as he retrieved the monster he discarded for Egotistical Ape's effect. "As you may remember I discarded such a monster for Egotistical Ape's effect so I summon Key Mouse!" Andreas played the card and the small mouse with a lock around his neck and a key around his tail appeared on the field (1/100/100). "Key Mouse's effect may be negated but effect or no effect he's still a tuner monster!"

"And what good will two Tuner Monsters do you?" Nicola asked as she tilted her head in confusion. "I don't even use Synchro Monsters and even I know that you only need one Tuner Monster for the Synchro Summon."

"Why don't I show you? I tune Egotistical Ape with Lock Cat!" Andreas announced as the two monsters leapt into the air, the Synchro Summon was performed successfully and Voltic Bicorn appeared on the field (7/2500/2000). "Now I could go on the attack but I won't, not just yet anyway." Andreas responded before pointing to Key Mouse. "Now I tune Voltic Bicorn with Key Mouse to Synchro Summon another Synchro Monster!"

"Wait, another Synchro Monster? What are you summoning now" Nicola asked and her question was soon answered when the Synchro Summon was performed and Lightning Tricorn appeared on the field (8/2800/2000). "You do know you could've summoned it quicker by just using Egotistical Ape and Lock Cat right?"

"I have my reasons." Andreas responded with a frown. "She's clearly not familiar with the Unicorn series of Synchro Monsters I guess I'll have to give her a crash course." Andreas thought before pointing to Sapphire Pegasus. "Lightning Tricorn, attack Sapphire Pegasus!" Andreas commanded and the unicorn charged into battle….

"I activate my Trap Card Beast Soul Swap!" Nicola activated her trap card and Andreas frowned when he heard the name. "And being a Beast Type user you should know what this does!"

"Yes, it'll allow you to send one Beast Type Monster you control back to your hand in exchange for Special Summoning a monster with the same level." Andreas responded with a nod as Sapphire Pegasus disappeared from the field. "And since you said that you only had Sapphire Pegasus in your hand…."

"You got it! Sapphire Pegasus is coming back!" Nicola played the card and Sapphire Pegasus returned to the field crouching down in defense mode. "You know what the best part is though? Sapphire Pegasus doesn't care if she's normal, flipped or Special Summoned, her effect activates anyway!" Nicola responded before picking up her deck and searching through it.

"It would appear that I destroyed the wrong facedown card." Andreas thought as Nicola placed another monster in the Spell/Trap Card zone. "Luckily I have some tricks off my own." Andreas thought as Nicola shuffled her deck. "I'm in no hurry to give you a third monster Nicola so I'll end my battle phase." Andreas continued as Lightning Tricorn stepped down. "I set two cards facedown and end my turn." Andreas set the two cards and Nicola drew her card.

"I wanted to use Crystal Raigeki to clear his side of the field like I did in our first duel." Nicola thought with a frown as she glanced at her graveyard. "But Andreas put a stop to that with Mystical Space Typhoon I guess I should be lucky that he didn't draw another destruction card."

"Nicola's taking her time, which likely means she's planning her next move." Andreas thought as he glanced at his field. "But my two facedown cards will keep her at bay for the moment."

"Hello…." Nicola thought with a grin as she looked at her drawn card. "You've played a cat and now it's my turn!"

"Oh no, don't tell me you drew Amethyst Cat?" Andreas asked as Nicola played the card and Crystal Beast Amethyst Cat appeared on the field (3/1200/400).

"You know it and I'm about to draw first blood with her effect! Amethyst Cat, attack his life-points directly!" Nicola commanded and the cat leapt over the much larger unicorn before slashing Andreas with her claws bringing his life-points down to 7400. "The damage may be cut in half by Amethyst Cat's effect but Battle Damage is still Battle Damage."

"And I'll be dealing a lot more when I attack with Tricorn." Andreas responded with a frown. "Nicola has two monsters in her Spell/Trap Card zone meaning that any battle damage I inflict will be cut in half thanks to Rainbow Ruins, at most I can inflict eight hundred points of damage." Andreas thought before turning to Nicola. "You have any other moves?"

"Nope, I'm done." Nicola responded and Andreas drew his card.

"It seems that my luck is paying off, with the monster I just drew I can replenish my hand next turn and Synchro Summon Thunder Unicorn this turn." Andreas thought before frowning. "However Nicola has seen my new monsters in action twice, when I competed against Chelsea and Chloe in the Tag Tournament and when I dueled Maria in my promotion duel, should I run the risk?" Andreas thought before looking at his hand. "It appears that I'll have too, I don't have any cards that I could use outside of this combo!"

"Andreas is taking a while which is strange since he practically has me on the ropes." Nicola thought with a frown as Andreas looked over his hand. "When he does decide to make a move I'll be ready!"

"By banishing one Spell Card from my hand I can Special Summon Monoceros!" Andreas pocketed the Spell Card and the large brown unicorn appeared on the field (3/1000/1000). "And for my normal summon I bring out the Tuner monster Uni-Horned Familiar!" Andreas played the card and the small, ugly beast appeared on the field next to Monoceros (2/0/100).

"He's doing another Synchro Summon, this could be trouble." Nicola thought with a frown as she realized what Andreas was up too. "Just have to stay calm Nicola, your only facing your future husband…..did I really just call Andreas that?!"

"From the look on your face you know what's next." Andreas commented as his two weakest beast monsters leapt into the air. "I tune Monoceros and Uni-Horned Familiar together to Synchro Summon the third member of the Unicorn family, Thunder Unicorn!" Andreas played the card and once the bright flash faded the midnight blue unicorn with the orange mane appeared on the field (5/2200/1800). "Before I continue, since I used Monoceros in a Synchro Summon I can use his effect to Special Summon the tuner monster used in the Synchro Summon."

"I know I watched your duel against Maria." Nicola responded as Uni-Horned Familiar reappeared on the field in defense mode. "But unless you're planning another Synchro Summon I don't see the point!"

"I am not and I will get to the point of this later, for now I activate Thunder Unicorn's effect which allows me to reduce the attack points of one of your monsters by five hundred." Andreas continued as Amethyst Cat's attack dropped to 700. "The damage may be cut in half by the effect of your field spell but this will put me in the lead, Lightning Tricorn, attack Amethyst Cat!" Andreas commanded and the stronger unicorn charged towards Amethyst Cat before impaling her on its horn bringing Nicola's life-points down to 6950.

"I think you know how my Crystal Beasts work by now Andreas." Nicola commented as Amethyst Cat appeared in her Spell/Trap Card Zone. "And since I have three monsters now in my Spell/Trap Card Zone the third effect of Ancient City – Rainbow Ruins can be activated."

"Yes, that effect…that I can't remember you explaining for the life of me." Andreas admitted and everyone else face-faulted. "Give me a break, the last time I dueled her was when the Battle City Tournament was on its second day!"

"Honestly I can't remember explaining it either." Nicola admitted as she got up. "But I'll cross that bridge when I come to it, are you going to attack Sapphire Pegasus?" Nicola asked and Andreas frowned.

"Now this effect I do remember, attacking Sapphire Pegasus will give her four monsters in her Spell/Trap Card Zone which means that she'll be able to draw an extra card during her main phase and besides, I have Mirror Force in my hand which will solve the problem for me if she tries to attack Uni-Horned Familiar." Andreas thought before shaking his head. "I set one card facedown and end my turn." Andreas announced and Nicola drew her card once the facedown card appeared on the field.

"Rare Value, I could use this to gain some draw power but I don't trust his facedown card and I need my three Crystal Beast Monsters in the Spell/Trap Card zone to deal with it." Nicola thought before adding the Spell Card to her hand and moving Sapphire Pegasus to attack mode. "Sapphire Pegasus, attack Uni-Horned Familiar!" Nicola commanded as the Pegasus charged into battle…..

"That's just what I was hoping for! I activate Mirror Force!" Andreas activated his trap card with a smirk before closing his eyes. "Any moment now she'll get anxious because she screwed up like she did in our first duel…."

"Gotcha!" Nicola called out breaking Andreas's train of thought, when he looked up he saw that Sapphire Pegasus was gone alongside his trap. "By activating that trap you allowed me to activate the third effect of Rainbow Ruins, all I needed to do was send Sapphire Pegasus to the graveyard and your trap card is negated!"

"Yes but you seem to have forgotten that your still basically defenseless even with my trap card negated." Andreas pointed out and Nicola shook her head.

"Not for long! First I move to my second main phase and activate Rare Value!" Nicola played the Spell Card and Andreas frowned. "Oh, so you remember this effect?"

"Considering how long ago our last duel was and how long it's been since I've seen you duel I'm surprised that I remember that many of your cards." Andreas commented before nodding. "I chose Amethyst Cat to go to the graveyard allowing you to draw two cards."

"That suits me just fine!" Nicola responded before sending her monster to the graveyard and drawing her cards. "I set two cards facedown and end my turn." Nicola announced and Andreas drew his card.

"Nicola might be on the autistic spectrum but she's not stupid, I'll bet my bottom dollar that those facedown cards are something to protect her." Andreas thought before looking at his drawn card. "I can't use this, not yet anyway but it might make for a decent combo with Uni-Horned Familiar, first things first though." Andreas thought before reaching into his pocket. "The spell card I banished to summon Monoceros last turn was Card from a Different Dimension, since a turn has passed since I banished it I get it back and we both draw two cards."

"Thanks for the extra cards." Nicola responded as the two duelists drew their cards.

"Don't thank me just yet, next I set two cards of my own facedown." Andreas announced as his two facedown cards appeared on the field. "Now then Lightning Tricorn, attack her life-points directly and give me an even bigger lead!" Andreas commanded and the golden unicorn charged towards Nicola.

"That's just what I wanted to happen!" Nicola responded and Andreas blinked. "I activate my Trap Card Crystal Raigeki!"

"Oh shit…." Andreas trailed off as one of the monsters in Nicola's Spell/Trap Card zone vanished from the field and Lightning Tricorn was consumed by Crystal mid-charge before shattering.

"You're in Obelisk Blue yet you still fell for that one." Nicola said with a smirk before realizing that Andreas was chuckling. "What's so funny?"

"You are and I'm about to explain why." Andreas responded as he retrieved a monster from his graveyard. "Do you remember the Synchro Summons I performed earlier? It may have been easier to summon Tricorn using Lock Cat and Egotistical Ape but I get more of an advantage this way!"

"What do you mean?" Nicola used before Andreas played the card the Voltic Bicorn returned to the field. "Where did he come from? You didn't play any revival cards!"

"I did, you've been staring at it this whole time." Andreas responded as he held up Lightning Tricorn. "You see, when Lightning Tricorn is destroyed, either via battle or card effect, his own effect activates and this effect allows me to Special Summon either Thunder Unicorn or, in this case, Voltic Bicorn from my graveyard." Andreas explained before frowning when he saw Nicola's hair overshadow her eyes. "She may be a much better duelist nowadays than when I faced her in Battle City but Nicola is still prone to anxiety attacks whenever she screws up, if she can't handle it now how will she handle it in the pro leagues?"

"I don't think that's the case Andreas." Master of Oz responded and Andreas frowned.

"You weren't even partnered with me at the time Master of Oz, how would you know that?" Andreas asked before turning his attention to Nicola. "You can stand there feeling sorry for yourself all you want Nicola but I have a duel to win! Thunder Unicorn, Voltic Bicorn, attack her life-points directly!" Andreas commanded and the two unicorns charged into battle…..

"Who said I was feeling sorry for myself? You just fell for my bluff Andreas!" Nicola responded as her remaining Trap Card flipped up. "I activate my own Mirror Force!" Nicola announced and Andreas's eyes widened as the attacks where reflected back to his unicorns destroying them both.

"You were bluffing?" Andreas asked as his jaw dropped. "But I remembered your anxiety attacks from your duels against me and Theresa like they were yesterday….."

"It's like you said Andreas, that was months ago!" Nicola interrupted him as Andreas regained his composure. "My duels against you and Theresa helped build up my confidence enough for me to get over my anxiety problems in time for my duel to determine if I would join the school or not, do you want to know how many misplays I made during that duel?"

"I get the feeling that there was more than a few." Andreas responded and Nicola nodded.

"Yeah, misplays that I wouldn't normally make, must've been stage fright or something, do you want to know how many anxiety attacks I had?" Nicola asked and Andreas raised an eyebrow. "None, I put on that little show because I knew you'd expect it!"

"As happy as I am for you Nicola Voltic Bicorn has an effect of its own to resolve." Andreas responded as he held up the monster. "Like Lightning Tricorn this effect activates regardless of whether it was destroyed by battle or card effect and with it we have to send seven cards from our decks to the graveyard." Andreas explained as they both milled their cards. "Let's just hope that Rainbow Dragon was one of them."

"You do realize that you could've helped me get enough monsters in my graveyard to summon Rainbow Dragon right?" Nicola asked and Andreas nodded in response.

"I am aware of that risk yes, but for now I end my turn." Andreas announced and Nicola drew her card. "Hold on a minute, if you didn't know about Lightning Tricorn's effect then why didn't you use Mirror Force first?"

"I didn't but I figured you had sent Voltic to the graveyard for a Synchro Summon for a good reason so I wanted to see it through." Nicola responded before looking at her drawn card. "Not Rainbow Dragon but maybe it got sent to the graveyard?" Nicola thought before turning her attention to Andreas. "You mind if I go through my graveyard quickly?"

"Be my guest." Andreas responded and Nicola grinned before retrieving the contents of her graveyard. "This could mean one of two things, either she has drawn Rainbow Dragon and wants to make sure that she has enough monsters to summon it or she didn't draw Rainbow Dragon and wants to see if it was one of the monsters she milled through Voltic's effect, either way this could be trouble."

"I'm short two monsters to Special Summon Rainbow Dragon." Nicola thought with a frown before sighing in relief. "At least I didn't mill Rainbow Dragon, I only have one copy in my deck and I don't have that many cards that can add monsters to the hand from the graveyard." Nicola thought with a frown before she played her drawn monster. "I summon Crystal Beast Amber Mammoth!"

"Another blast from the past, I'd better be ready for his attack." Andreas thought as the mammoth with the amber crystal in its forehead appeared on the field (4/1700/1600). "I chain his summon with one of my trap cards, Limit Reverse!" Andreas announced as his facedown card appeared on the field. "This trap card lets me Special Summon a monster with one thousand or less attack points in attack mode however it'll be destroyed if I move it to defense mode!" Andreas explained as Key Mouse returned to the field. "Nicola's not the only one who can bluff, let's see if she takes the bait."

"Well, thanks for making this an easy target for me." Nicola responded with a grin before pausing. "Wait, maybe he wants me to attack Key Mouse? He still has one facedown card that he could use to destroy Amber Mammoth at worst and at this point I really can't afford to let him hit me with a direct attack." Nicola thought before shaking her head. "Nice try Andreas but I'm not falling for that one, Amber Mammoth, attack Uni-Horned Familiar!" Nicola commanded and the mammoth charged into battle…..

"Perfect!" Andreas thought before pointing to his tuner. "By attacking Uni-Horned Familiar whilst it's in defense mode you have allowed me to activate his effect, it requires me to banish Uni-Horned Familiar and one other monster." Andreas explained as Uni-Horned Familiar and Key Mouse disappeared from the field and he pocketed both cards. "I'll get Uni-Horned Familiar back during my stand-by phase but until then you must attack me!"

"So you activated that to take a direct attack?" Nicola asked with a raised eyebrow before shrugging. "It's your funeral! Amber Mammoth, attack him directly!" Nicola commanded and the mammoth continued his charge.

"Not quite Nicola, I activate my trap card Battle Instinct!" Andreas activated his other trap and grabbed a monster from his hand. "As you should remember this allows me to Special Summon a Level Four or lower Beast Type Monster from my hand to counter a direct attack!"

"Yeah, I remember!" Nicola responded as Andreas played the card and Berserk Gorilla appeared on the field (4/2000/1000). "So does the effect about me being required to attack him still apply?"

"Yes, it does." Andreas responded and Nicola sighed as Amber Mammoth continued his charge only to be met with a punch from Berserk Gorilla bringing her life-points down to 6650.

"Since Amber Mammoth was destroyed I send it to my Spell/Trap Card Zone instead of the graveyard." Nicola continued as she placed the card there, she then looked at the two cards she had drawn with Card from a Different Dimension and set them. "I end my turn by setting these cards facedown."

"I've been in control of this match for most of it but I'd be a fool to discount Nicola at this point, she got accepted into the school for a good reason!" Andreas thought before retrieving a monster from his pocket. "Uni-Horned Familiar returns to the field." Andreas said as the tuner appeared on the field again. "Next, since I no longer have any need for Limit Reverse I activate Magic Planter, destroying Limit Reverse in exchange for drawing two cards." Andreas played the card and once the now useless trap card shattered Andreas drew two cards.

"It's clear to me what he's up to, he plans to use Berserk Gorilla and Uni-Horned Familiar to Synchro Summon a Level Six monster but I'm ready for it." Nicola thought as she glanced towards her facedown cards. "As long as one of the cards he drew with Magic Planter wasn't a card that can destroy either of my facedown cards."

"And I'm not going to waste any time here, first I activate Foolish Burial!" Andreas played the card and picked up his deck, sent a monster to his graveyard and shuffled his deck. "Next I move Berserk Gorilla to defense mode."

"Wait, what?!" Nicola asked as Berserk Gorilla moved to defense mode and, true to his effect, was destroyed. "Why would you even do that? Berserk Gorilla was your best monster!" Nicola asked but it soon hit her when Andreas's life-points dropped to 7000. "Unless…."

"That's right! The monster I sent to the graveyard with Foolish Burial was Green Baboon, Defender of the Forrest!" Andreas played the card and the massive green baboon appeared on the field (7/2600/1800). "But Uni-Horned Familiar won't be neglected, for my normal summon I bring out Beast Striker!" Andreas played the card and a new monster appeared on the field, it was a humanoid boar that was wearing blue jeans and carrying a giant hammer (4/1850/400).

"I thought I had seen it all when it came to weird monster designs but that takes the cake." Nicola commented as a large sweat-drop rolled down her head.

"That may be true but Beast Striker has a very lethal effect." Andreas responded as Beast Striker slammed his hammer down. "I can only use it once per turn and to use it I must discard a card from my hand." Andreas explained as he sent a card to the graveyard. "But in exchange I can summon this from my deck!" Andreas played the card and a small strange black being appeared on the field, it had a yellow face with big black eyes and yellow teeth (1/100/100).

"That's the lethal effect? Andreas even my weakest Crystal Beast can destroy that thing!" Nicola responded and Andreas chuckled. "Wait a sec you played that card when you and the others took on Chloe's dad didn't you?"

"Thanks for the reminder." Chloe grunted in annoyance and Nicola laughed nervously whilst sweat-dropping.

"Bad memories aside, no, I didn't play Moja during that duel." Andreas responded as he shook his head, "In s way you could say that I played his older brother, the King of Beasts, however I can't summon that monster via his effect right now so instead I'll do the next best thing, I tune Uni-Horned Familiar, Beast Striker and Moja together!" Andreas announced as the three monsters leapt into the air.

"He's already summoned his three unicorns so I don't think he's bringing out another copy of one of those monsters." Nicola thought with a frown as Uni-Horned Familiar dissolved into two Synchro Rings that surrounded Beast Striker and Moja. "So what's he summoning?"

"I Synchro Summon Sacred Horseman!" Andreas played the card and a new monster appeared on the field, well I say new but in actuality it was a heavily armored version of Mystic Horseman that was carrying a sword and a spear (7/2300/2550).

"Hold on, first Leogun gets an upgrade, then Silver Fang and now Mystic Horseman?!" Nicola asked with a raised eyebrow and a quick glance around the others confirmed that they were thinking the same thing more or less. "What next, Witty Phantom gets an XYZ version?!"

"Considering we actually met a Witty Phantom a couple of months ago that's not exactly outside the realm of possibility." Andreas thought before shaking his head. "These three monsters were released shortly after Sophia Pegasus took over I2, considering that she's known to be a Beast Type user like myself I can't help but wonder if that has something to do with it."

"We can speculate on that later." Nicola responded before turning her attention to Sacred Horseman. "Does that thing have an effect or did you just Synchro Summon it to be a beatstick?"

"It has an effect, one that I'll get into shortly but in the meantime." Andreas said before pointing to his monsters. "Attack her life-points directly!" Andreas commanded and the two beasts charged into battle….

"I activate my Trap Cards, first up is Draining Shield which I use to negate Green Baboon's attack and restore a good chunk of my life-points!" Nicola announced as Green Baboon's club bounced off a transparent shield raising Nicola's life-points to 9150. "As for my other Trap Card, it's an old one but an old favorite none the less, Call of the Haunted! I use this to Special Summon a new Crystal Beast monster!"

"First upgraded versions of old Beast Monsters and now a new Crystal Beast Monster, this is just confirming my theory." Andreas responded as Nicola retrieved her monster. "I'm guessing that was one of the monsters you milled when Voltic Bicorn was destroyed?"

"You got it, say hello to Crystal Beast – Malachite Dog!" Nicola played the card and a new monster appeared on the field, like Nicola said it was a dog that closely resembled an adult Labrador that was green in color (3/100/1000) almost as soon as it appeared the dog crouched down into defense mode. "Don't bother trying to attack it, as long as I have at least one Crystal Beast in my Spell/Trap Card Zone Malachite Dog can't be destroyed by battle."

"We'll see how long that lasts." Andreas responded as Sacred Horseman called off the attack. "I could use Sacred Horseman's effect but I can't risk being defenseless if she's able to summon Rainbow Dragon." Andreas thought before looking over his hand. "I end my turn." Andreas announced and Nicola drew her card.

"Okay, I have the lead for now but unless I get a way to summon Rainbow Dragon and fast that lead won't last very long." Nicola thought before looking at her drawn card. "This card may end up helping Andreas more than it helps me but at this point I'll take anything." Nicola thought before playing the card and the hologram of Spellbook inside the Pot appeared on the field.

"You realize that that Spell Card helps me as well, right?" Andreas asked as the two duelists drew three cards and Nicola shook her head.

"At this point I'll take anything I can get." Nicola responded as she sent her Spell Card to the graveyard and looked over her cards. "I drew Rainbow Dragon! Okay I have Malachite Dog on the field and four other monsters including Amethyst Cat, Amber Mammoth and Sapphire Pegasus in my graveyard just need two more monsters in my hand or graveyard and I can turn this around!" Nicola thought before she spotted the other two cards she had drawn with Spellbook. "Let's hope he doesn't draw anything that can destroy facedown cards." Nicola thought before setting the card. "I end my turn with a facedown card." Nicola announced and Andreas drew his card.

"Sorry to say this Nicola." Andreas said as he picked up one of his cards. "But Spellbook inside the Pot will prove to be your downfall."

"What do you mean?" Nicola asked with a nervous gulp as Andreas played the card.

"I'll show you what I mean, I activate Forbidden Chalice and I target Malachite Dog!" Andreas played the card and Nicola's eyes widened as the chalice appeared in front of Malachite Dog, the dog started licking the contents of the chalice but doubled over in pain after a few licks. "As you should know Malachite Dog gains four hundred attack points from Forbidden Chalice in exchange for losing his effect, this in turn activates Sacred Horseman's effect."

"I'm afraid to ask but what effect?" Nicola asked and Andreas smirked.

"When a Quick-Play Spell Card this increases the attack of an enemy monster is activated Sacred Horseman gets the ability to inflict piercing damage for the rest of the turn." Andreas announced before pointing to Malachite Dog. "It's a pity that you don't have enough Crystal Beasts in your Spell/Trap Card Zones to reduce the damage by half but you don't hear me complaining! Sacred Horseman, attack Malachite Dog!" Andreas commanded and the Horseman charged into battle before decapitating Malachite Dog bringing Nicola's life-points down to 7850.

"Like all Crystal Beast Monsters Malachite Dog's effect allows me to send it to my Spell/Trap Card Zone instead of the graveyard." Nicola said as she placed the monster in the Spell/Trap Card Zone. "And that means that the damage I'll take from Green Baboon's attack will be cut in half."

"Battle damage is still battle damage, no matter how much it is." Andreas responded before pointing to Nicola. "Green Baboon, attack her life-points directly!" Andreas commanded and Green Baboon charged into battle…..

"Sorry but I have to intervene here, I activate Battle Instinct!" Nicola activated the trap and Andreas frowned. "And since my favorite Crystal Beast is a Beast Monster I'm using it to summon my second copy of Sapphire Pegasus!" Nicola played the card Sapphire Pegasus returned to the field. "And that in turn lets me use her effect!" Nicola added before retrieving a card from her deck and placing it in the Spell/Trap Card Zone previously occupied by the now destroyed Call of the Haunted.

"She could've used it to summon another Malachite Dog as that monster was clearly a Beast Type, what is she planning?" Andreas thought before pointing to Sapphire Pegasus. "Fine, have it your way, Green Baboon, your new target is Sapphire Pegasus!" Andreas commanded and the baboon span around before smashing Sapphire Pegasus with his club bringing Nicola's life-points down to 7450.

"You should know the routine by now Andreas." Nicola commented as Sapphire Pegasus appeared in the Spell/Trap Card Zone that was once occupied by Battle Instinct. "I have the four monsters I need to use this Spell Card, better hope this works."

"She's setting something big up, fortunately I can bide my time with the other cards I got from Spellbook inside the Pot." Andreas thought before setting two cards. "I set two cards facedown and end my turn." Andreas announced and Nicola drew her card.

"Okay, here goes nothing." Nicola thought before drawing another card. "Since you were kind enough to give me four monsters in my Spell/Trap Card Zone I can draw an extra card during my Main Phase." Nicola explained as she drew the card. "But to be honest, that will be the last time I use that effect during this duel because this one's over!"

"I knew it." Andreas thought with a frown. "But my Negate Attack trap card will block any attempt she makes at my life-points."

"I activate my Spell Card Crystal Abundance!" Nicola played the card and Andreas's eyes widened as the four monsters in Nicola's Spell/Trap Zone shattered. "Since I have four monsters in Spell/Trap Zone I can send them and all cards on the field to the graveyard!" Nicola added as the field spell crumbled into dust alongside Sacred Horseman, Green Baboon and Andreas's facedown cards. "And since you had two monsters on your side of the field I can Special Summon two others from the graveyard, I chose Sapphire Pegasus!" Nicola announced as the two monsters appeared on the field. "And you know what that means!"

"Yes, I do." Andreas responded as Nicola placed two monsters in her Spell/Trap Card Zone from her deck. "I'm surprised she hasn't decked out yet, she can't have that many cards left." Andreas thought as Nicola shuffled her deck. "If your plan is to summon Rainbow Dragon next I have bad news for you, I've kept count of the number of monsters in your graveyard and you had four before you used Crystal Abundance, sent four there with Crystal Abundance and Special Summoned two with Crystal Abundance, in short you have six in your graveyard and two on the field meaning that you have to many cards to summon Rainbow Dragon."

"I'm well aware of that but you seemed to forget that part of Rainbow Dragon's requirement is having seven monsters with different names on my field or in the graveyard." Nicola responded before playing the card she just drew. "And I'm about to correct that, I activate Rare Value!"

"I see and I take it that it is a safe bet that neither of the monsters in your Spell/Trap Card Zone are currently in your graveyard?" Andreas asked and Nicola nodded. "Since it appears that I don't have a choice I chose the second monster." Andreas announced and Nicola sent the monster to the graveyard before drawing two cards.

"Shit, those were my last two cards!" Nicola thought as she glanced towards her empty deck slot. "It doesn't matter, I have more than enough fire power to cause a OTK, sorry Andreas but your first day as an Obelisk Blue Student is about to end in defeat!" Nicola thought before playing the card. "Now that I have seven different Crystal Beasts in my graveyard I can Special Summon my best monster, Rainbow Dragon!" Nicola played the card and the massive silver and gold dragon appeared on the field (10/4000/0).

"I have to say, I wasn't exactly in a hurry to face that thing in a duel again." Andreas admitted as he stared down the monster.

"Then you have nothing to worry about because the combined totals of my three monsters' attack points are 7600, more than you have since you paid for Green Baboon's effect!" Nicola responded as she pointed to Andreas. "Sapphire Pegasus, attack his life-points!" Nicola commanded and the two Pegasus charged into battle….only to be stopped by an invisible wall. "What the…."

"I sent two facedown cards to the graveyard thanks to the effect of Crystal Abundance." Andreas explained as he held up one of them. "One of them was Negate Attack and the other was Sacred Jungle Shrine!"

"I don't understand…." Nicola trailed off and Andreas shook his head.

"Sacred Jungle Shrine is a Trap Card that can only be activated by banishing it from the graveyard during the turn that it was sent there." Andreas explained as he pocketed the Trap. "But by doing so I have negated the attack of a Beast Type Monster and ended your battle phase, nice try but you can try again next time."

"There won't be a next time." Nicola sighed as she held up her duel disk revealing the empty deck slot. "I decked myself out when I played Rare Value the second time around that was meant to be an OTK."

"And it would've worked if I hadn't drawn Sacred Jungle Shrine when I did." Andreas responded and Nicola responded. "I'll save you the indignity of losing via deck out by allowing you the chance to surrender."

"Well I would've lost either way." Nicola sighed as she surrendered, the holograms subsequently disappeared and both duelists retrieved their cards. "Thanks for the duel Andreas, one of these days I will beat you."

"It's like you said, you would've won if you hadn't decked yourself out." Andreas responded with a nod as Nicola walked up to him. "Maybe next time you should dial down on the number of drawing cards, you go through your deck fast enough with Sapphire Pegasus as it is."

"Yeah, I guess." Nicola nodded in response before blushing a bit. "So err, about that beautiful comment earlier…." Nicola trailed off and Andreas laughed nervously.

"How about we talk about that later, away from prying eyes?" Andreas offered and Nicola nodded before walking off in the direction of the Osiris Red Dorms. "She's definitely not the same duelist I faced in Battle City but is she really ready to take our relationship to the next level?"

"She seems to be Andreas, and I know you are too." Master of Oz responded as the others approached him.

"Dude, why didn't you go after her?" Marcus asked as he patted Andreas on the back breaking his train of thought. "She's obviously crazy about you!"

"That may be the case." Andreas responded as he regained his composure. "But she obviously isn't thinking straight because she cost herself the duel and lets face it, that's not exactly an easy thing to get over." Andreas responded and Marcus nodded. "I'll talk it over with her tomorrow after the tournament duels, that should give her plenty of time."

"And speaking of talking things over, Chloe are you up for a chat about last night?" Lance asked as he turned to her and Chloe thought for a moment before nodding.

"Sure, let's go somewhere a bit more private though." Chloe responded before the two teens walked off.

*meanwhile*

The duel between Nicola and Andreas may have been watched by their friends but they weren't alone in that as someone else was watching it from his penthouse in Los Angeles, California.

"Very interesting indeed…." Victor trailed off as he watched the closing moments of the duel through a security camera that Jack had hacked into. "Andreas is as skilled as ever but this Nicola Hastings girl could be a potential threat…." Victor trailed off before picking up the phone and pressing the button to contact his secretary. "Adriana?"

"Yes Victor?" His secretary responded and Victor frowned.

"Has Dr. Schwartz reported on his progress towards targeting either Nicola Hastings or Chloe Richardson next?" Victor asked and Adriana was silent for a moment.

"Yes, he just sent in his latest report." Adriana responded and Victor smirked. "Chloe will take longer but Nicola is good to go."

"Excellent, tell him to target Nicola tonight, in the meantime you are to send a message to Sarah, she is to drop off two more duelists on the island overnight, I don't care who they target as long as we have more souls." Victor responded as he waited for the answer.

"I'll get on that right away sir." Sarah responded before hanging up.

"And now I wait, purifying this wretched world is a tough job but if anyone's qualified it's me." Victor thought as he put the phone down.