The match between Lance and Evan and Louella and Latoya had ended just a few short moments ago, and whilst Chloe and Chelsea where getting ready to duel Thomas and Rajin Lance and Evan where on their way to the stands so that they could watch the duel.
"Funny how this duel started with sixty teams and now we're down to the final five." Lance commented as he walked alongside Evan. "Especially since the duels only started two weeks ago, and with your new cards we've got this tournament in the bag!"
"Time flies, that's definitely for certain." Evan nodded in response before sighing. "But we shouldn't put too much faith in my monsters, it was your monster that landed the finishing blow and my monsters aren't invincible, there were many ways that duel could've ended with us eliminated and Louella and Latoya facing Cameron and Jessica in the fifth round."
"Yeah but what matters is that we made it through and they didn't, we just have to make sure that Cameron and Jessica don't make it any further than they have." Lance responded not noticing someone else just ahead of them. "That being said, it'll be a lot easier said than done when you consider the fact that Cameron and Jessica's decks have two extremely nasty XYZ Monsters in them."
"True enough but you were able to find a way around Ophion during the Battle Royal, in fact I'd wager that that is the main reason why Cameron and Jessica aren't occupying the spot in the finals currently occupied by Theresa and Brandon." Evan nodded in response before frowning. "Acid Golem of Destruction on the other hand will be significantly trickier to overcome since Jessica's strategy for that mind is to get rid of its overlay units and then switch control over to the opponent."
"Five words, Remove Brainwashing and Owner's Seal." Lance responded with a grin before frowning. "Then again, they had a countermeasure ready for Mask of Restrict, I think it's safe to say that they'll have one for those cards." Lance added before noticing Amelia looking around with a worried look on her face. "Something wrong Amelia?" Lance asked and she looked up.
"You boys haven't seen Caitlin, have you?" Amelia asked and they shook their heads. "We were meant to meet up for today's duels but she never showed up, she isn't in the arena either."
"Maybe she slept in?" Lance asked getting a funny look from Amelia. "What?"
"Lance, it's 11:00am, if she did sleep in don't you think we would've seen her rushing into the arena by now?" Amelia asked and Lance nodded with a frown. "I wanted to give it until after the duels finished before I went looking for her but after your duel ran so long I decided to hurry things up a bit."
"Have you asked the teachers?" Evan asked and Amelia frowned.
"Last I checked, attending the duels was only mandatory for when you were competing that day and, well, our team's already been eliminated." Amelia responded before sighing. "But if we get a PA announcement saying that she's late for class then we can worry."
"In any case, we'll keep an eye out for her." Lance responded before motioning to the stairway leading to the stands. "But maybe you shouldn't worry so much, who knows? Watching the duel might take your mind off things."
"I'm not one to turn down an opportunity to watch a duel, especially one with as much history behind it as this one." Amelia nodded in response before following the boys up the stairs.
*back in the duel arena*
"Welcome to the start of the fifth round!" Martin announced over the PA System and the crowd cheered as Chloe and Chelsea hopped onto the arena where Thomas and Rajin were waiting for them. "The first match is a grudge match between Ra Yellow's Chloe Richardson and Chelsea Cunningham and Obelisk Blue's Thomas Newborne and Ra Yellow's Rajin Kanda!"
"Excellent, just one team left before I can ensure that the finals will be an all Obelisk Blue affair." Thomas commented with a grin as he glared at his opponents. "And a chance to finish what I started with you Richardson just makes it that much sweeter!"
"Oh really? Does that mean you're going to give me a Tuner Monster and not expect me to Synchro Summon Colossal Fighter again?" Chloe asked with a grin and Thomas growled. "Make all the excuses you want Thomas, I beat you fair and square that day and I'll beat you again in this duel!"
"Did you guys forget that you aren't the only duelists in this duel?" Chelsea asked as she and Rajin gave their respective partners odd looks before Chelsea turned to Thomas. "And for that matter, out of the remaining teams you're the only team left representing two different dorms so even if you do beat us the next round won't be completely dominated by Obelisk Blue."
"She does have a point." Rajin commented with a nod before turning to Thomas. "And just because I have those cards that you gave me and your deck is very powerful doesn't mean we're guaranteed to win the tournament."
"Please, against a mismatched deck of Spellcasters and Warriors and a Watt deck they may as well surrender now and get it over with!" Thomas scoffed as the four duelists drew their opening hands. "And once I beat Chloe and Chelsea and Cameron and Jessica beat her pathetic boyfriend's team the tournament semi-finals will be set and as soon as my turn begins in that duel I'll surrender and let Cameron and Jessica finish off Rajin just as we planned."
"Enough of this." Chelsea grunted before glancing up towards Martin's pod. "Are you going to announce the order sometime before the morning ends?"
"I was just about to." Martin responded as he cleared his throat. "Chloe will go first followed by Thomas then Chelsea and finally Rajin!"
"Why am I not surprised?" Chloe thought as she watched Thomas and Rajin switch places, Chloe and Chelsea didn't need to switch places as they were already in position. "Martin probably arranged the duel this way to take full advantage of my feud with Thomas! Oh, who am I kidding? If the order was still up to the students I'd probably suggest the same thing!"
"Begin!" Martin called out and Chloe looked at her hand.
"Okay, not my best opening hand but definitely a lot better than what I started with during the Battle Royal." Chloe thought before glancing up at Thomas. "Last time I faced him outside of the Battle Royal I had to fight without Silent Magician Level 8 in my deck, we'll see how he handles her once I summon her." Chloe thought before playing a card. "I open my turn by playing Arcane Barrier!" Chloe played the card and Thomas scoffed as the Continuous Spell Card appeared on the field.
"This again? Didn't you learn your lesson from the Battle Royal?" Thomas asked her with a mocking grin on his face. "After all, if it weren't for that Spell Card and others like it you wouldn't have decked out!"
"I do learn from my mistakes Thomas, we'll find out soon enough if you can do the same!" Chloe responded before picking up three cards. "I set a monster in defense mode and two cards facedown to end my turn." Chloe announced and Thomas drew his card. "He probably thinks that I've got Apprentice Magician set, let's see if he takes the bet."
"I could blow her whole strategy away if I had my copy of Mystical Space Typhoon in my hand, fortunately for her I don't." Thomas thought before picking up a card. "I summon X-Saber Parsuul in attack mode!" Thomas played the card and Chloe did a double take as the weak X-Saber monster appeared on the field (2/100/0). "What's the matter Richardson? Don't appreciate the blast from the past?"
"More confused as to why you would summon that thing in attack mode, if it weren't for the fact that Chelsea has to wait a turn she could deal you some major damage with any of her Watt Monsters before you have to pay the life-point cost." Chloe pointed out and Chelsea nodded in agreement whilst Thomas merely scoffed.
"You may have been promoted since our last duel Richardson but that doesn't make you a know-it-all!" Thomas responded before picking up two cards. "And whilst you are correct about Parsuul's life-point cost there is a method to my madness as you'll soon discover! I set two cards facedown and end my turn." Thomas set the two cards and Chelsea drew her card.
"If I didn't know any better I could've sworn that those two were an old married couple with how they've been arguing!" Chelsea thought as she glanced up at Chloe and then to Thomas. "Still I am just a little bit concerned with Thomas's line of thinking here, I watched their last duel on Duel Academy's website and Thomas opened his first turn in almost the exact same way, except he left Parsuul in defense mode and only had one facedown card, what's he planning?" Chelsea thought before picking up three cards. "I set two cards facedown and summon my old favorite, Wattcobra!" Chelsea played the card and the small, multi-colored snake appeared on the field (4/1000/500). "And unless Rajin has a snake charmer in his deck you guys are in trouble, that ends my turn."
"Like I haven't heard that one before." Rajin responded with an annoyed look on his face before drawing his card. "I start my turn by playing Spiritual Energy Settle Machine! Now if I have this Spell Card on the field my Spirit Monsters won't return to their hands." Rajin played the card and Thomas smirked as the Spell Card speared on the field. "Next I set two cards facedown and I summon Hebo, Lord of the River!" Rajin played the cards and a new monster appeared on the field, it looked like an old man with a long beard wearing a blue and green cloak (4/1800/600), "He is a Spirit Type Monster but with my Spell Card on the field he's safe for now, I end my turn but not before I discard a card to keep my Spell Card on the field." Rajin announced as he discarded a card and Chloe drew her card.
"Thomas's move still makes no sense to me, unfortunately I only have two cards in my hand and neither of them are Monster Cards." Chloe thought as she looked at her two remaining cards, a Spell Card and the Trap Card that she had just drawn. "The only monster I have is Apprentice Magician and whilst it is stronger than Parshuul that's not saying much, and then there's the fact that I can think of more than a few monsters in Thomas's and Rajin's decks that could defeat her easily, well if Latoya can take a risk with this card then so can I!" Chloe decided before activating her trap card. "I activate Reckless Greed!"
"Anyone else feeling a sense of déjà vu?" Thomas asked with a yawn as Chloe drew her cards. "Honestly Richardson, if it weren't for your Brooklyn accent I'd be expecting you to mention that you are from Vegas and your parents work for gaming commission."
"Yeah, because no one's ever moved away from their home city." Chloe muttered sarcastically as she looked over her two cards. "And besides, Reckless Greed is a good card even with its drawback and just like Latoya my gambles paid off." Chloe added before playing a card. "I summon Gemini Elf!" Chloe played the card and the twin elves appeared on the field ready for battle (4/19000/900). "Gemini Elf, attack X-Saber Parsuul!" Chloe commanded and the elves prepared their attacks.
"And here I thought that leaving Parshuul in attack mode was to easy a ploy, guess I expected too much from Ra Yellow." Thomas responded and the two girls glared at him. "I guess it's true what they say, once an Osiris Red Reject, always an Osiris Red Reject! Activate Trap Card Negate Attack!" Thomas's trap card flipped up and the elves' spells where deflected off an invisible barrier. "So much for that gamble paying off, then again I seem to remember that same gamble not paying off for Latoya either and now you're stuck with three cards in your hand for your next two turns."
"I know what my own trap card does Thomas." Chloe responded before looking over her hand. "Make that two cards in my hand, I set one card facedown and end my turn." Chloe set the card down and Thomas smirked before drawing his card.
"Your foolish move will seal your team's fate." Thomas responded as he drew his card. "There's one thing I never brought up in our original duel Richardson, Parsuul has to be in defense mode for its effects to resolve, that includes it's life-point cost." Thomas added before playing a card. "But Parsuul won't remain on the field long enough for that effect to resolve its self either! First I activate Heaven's Lost Property!"
"Thanks for the extra cards." Chloe responded with a smirk as she made her draws and the others did likewise, it didn't take long for Thomas to decide what cards he was sending to the graveyard whilst the others took a moment to decide before sending them to the graveyard. "Great, now I draw Magician's Circle!"
"Like those will help you with my next move, I activate my trap card Gottom's Emergency Call!" Thomas activated the card and Chloe's eyes widened once she realized what he was up too. "What's the matter Richardson? Don't appreciate the blast from the past? But you were so eager to take me on a trip down memory lane during the Battle Royal!"
"Just summon your monsters already." Chloe responded with a frown and Thomas grinned.
"Suit yourself, I summon XX-Saber Darksoul and X-Saber Anu Pariah!" Thomas played the cards and the two monsters appeared on the field, first the cloaked X-Saber (3/100/100) followed by the only female member the X-Sabers (4/1800/1100). "I suppose you know what's coming next but I do have one more move to make, I special summon XX-Saber Faultrol through his effect!" Thomas played the card and the mountain of a man appeared on the field ready for battle (6/2400/1800). "Now then, let's take this show on the road! I tune Parshuul with Anu Pariah and Darksoul to summon XX-Saber Gottoms!"
"What were you saying earlier about a case of Déjà vu?" Chelsea asked with a deadpan expression on her face as the Synchro Summon finished and the mighty king of the X-Sabers appeared on the field ready for battle (9/3100/2600). "All though I was wondering where the big guy was during the rest of the tournament."
"Oh, I had the means to summon him during the previous rounds, I was just saving him for when I would face your team." Thomas responded with a smirk as he folded his arms. "Granted, I didn't think that you would make it as far as you did but I suppose miracles do happen."
"Aren't you forgetting something?" Chloe asked with a frown as she glanced at Gottoms. "I beat that big guy off once and I'll do it again!" Chloe added before blushing like a madwoman. "Great, I guess Lance has been rubbing off on me since I started dating him…wait!" Chloe realized too late what she was saying causing the crowd to erupt in laughter.
"Please refrain from mentioning what you do with Lance behind closed dorm room doors, quite frankly over these past few days I've learned things about that moron that I would rather forget." Thomas responded as a large sweat-drop rolled down his head before pointing to Gemini Elf. "Gottoms, show this bitch some real power by crushing her pathetic elves!" Thomas commanded and Gottoms slammed his sword down onto the ground sending shockwaves towards Gemini Elf destroying them and bringing Chloe's life-points down to 6800.
"Since Gemini Elf is a Spellcaster Type Monster Arcane Barrier gets its first token." Chloe responded and Thomas smirked.
"And that's exactly why I'm not targeting your facedown monster for my next attack, Faultrol, attack Wattcobra!" Thomas commanded and the swordsman charged towards the snake before cutting it in two bringing Chelsea's life-points down to 6600. "And if you think for even a second that I'm going to repeat the mistakes I made during our first duel Richardson then you are sadly mistaken, I set one card facedown and end my turn, however before Chelsea draws her card Darksoul's effect activates, since I sent him to the graveyard this turn I can add one X-Saber Monster to my hand." Thomas added as he inputted commands into his duel disk and once he retrieved the monster Chelsea drew her card.
"Yeah, things aren't looking that good for us." Chelsea thought with a frown as she looked over her hand. "Thomas has two of his strongest monsters on his side of the field and unless I drew a monster I'll be a sitting duck for Rajin's monsters." Chelsea thought before looking at her drawn card. "Perfect!" Chelsea thought with a grin before setting the monster. "I set one monster in defense mode and end my turn."
"That's it? I summoned two powerful monsters and that's the best you've got?" Thomas asked as Rajin drew his card. "Then again I shouldn't expect anything less from a Ra Yellow student who runs Watts."
"Her Watt Monsters have carried her this far in the tournament Thomas." Rajin reminded him before looking at his drawn card. "And didn't underestimating your opponent lead to you being defeated by Chloe in the first place?"
"Shut up and make your move already!" Thomas warned him and Rajin nodded.
"Very well, I start my turn with the Spell Card Offerings from Beyond, since I have a Spirit Type Monster in my graveyard thanks to Thomas's Spell Card I can draw until I have six cards." Rajin added before drawing his cards. "Next I summon Aratama in attack mode!" Rajin played the card and a new monster appeared on the field, one that looked like a bull's head made of fire that had a strange pink being inside it (4/800/1800). "As I have just normal summoned this monster his effect activates allowing me to add another Spirit Type Monster to my hand." Rajin added before he started inputting commands into his duel disk.
"I can think of several Spirit Type Monsters that I'd rather not deal with, especially with Thomas's monsters on the field." Chloe thought as Rajin retrieved the monster that he was looking for and added it to his hand.
"You can worry about that later but for now I'll attack Chelsea's facedown monster with Hebo, Lord of the River!" Rajin announced and the robed man started casting a spell which caused a tidal wave to wash over Chelsea's facedown monster, revealed to be Wattdragonfly (2/900/200) which was quickly destroyed. "Wattdragonfly? But that means…."
"You got it! I'm about to bring out the big guns!" Chelsea responded with a big grin on her face before she started inputting commands into her duel disk and she retrieved the monster. "I know what you're thinking, Wattaildragon right?"
"Considering that it's the only decent monster in your deck, yes." Thomas responded with a scoff and Chelsea grinned.
"Wrong! I have a new toy that I want to bring out, Wattcentaur!" Chelsea played the card and a new monster appeared on the field, as the name suggested it was a centaur from Greek Mythology done in the traditional Watt Colors (6/2400/1200). "And guess what Thomas? He's a Thunder Type Monster!"
"So?" Thomas scoffed with a grin…...which subsequently disappeared when he saw Chelsea's facedown card flip up. "JUDGMENT OF THUNDER!?"
"That's right and that means that the big guy over there is about to get thunder struck!" Chelsea responded as lightning crashed into Gottoms destroying him. "And that means that the only thing you've got to protect you is Faultrol and it won't be long before he bites the big one!"
"Rajin…..." Thomas trailed off as he glared at his partner who gulped.
"How was I supposed to know that she had that combo in mind?" Rajin asked before regaining his composure. "I won't bother attacking Chloe's facedown monster as it is clearly Apprentice Magician. Instead I will end my turn without paying for Spiritual Energy Settle Machine's Cost!"
"I'm sorry, what?" Thomas asked as the Spell Card disappeared alongside the two monsters. "You realize that you've just left yourself wide open, right?"
"Not exactly." Rajin responded as he played a card and Spirit Shaman appeared on the field in defense mode (1/0/2000) and once Thomas got the idea he grinned.
"I see, you want Chelsea to attack your monster." Thomas nodded in acknowledgement as Rajin picked up three cards and discarded them due to the hand size limit, once that was done Thomas turned his attention to Chloe. "Aren't you going to draw? Oh, that's right, you wasted Reckless Greed last turn!"
"Just because I can't draw doesn't mean I can't do other things." Chloe responded as she flipped her facedown monster up revealing it to be Apprentice Magician (2/400/800). "Rajin was right about the identity of my facedown monster and now I use her effect to add a second Spell Counter to Arcane Barrier!" Chloe added as the magician cast a spell causing her Spell Card to glow. "Next, I activate Book of Moon to flip her back into defense mode." Chloe added as the monster disappeared from the field. "And I end my turn."
"You would've been better off sacrificing that magician, you do realize that there's no way I'm going to attack your monster if I can attack over Chelsea's new monster, right?" Thomas asked before looking at his drawn card and frowning. "It's your lucky day Richardson, first I summon X-Saber Galahad in attack mode!" Thomas played the card and the fish headed armored warrior appeared on the field (4/1800/800). "Next I activate Faultroll's effect to special summon Anu Pariah from the graveyard." Thomas played the card and the female X-Saber appeared on the field.
"Yeah, that's right, keep summoning weak monsters so that my centaur can run them down." Chelsea commented with a grin as Thomas turned to her. "Unless you're planning to do an XYZ Summon once your battle phase is over your monsters are toast."
"If you must know, I only have one Rank 4 XYZ Monster in my deck and that's One-Eyed Skill Gainer." Thomas responded with a frown. "And I don't know if you've noticed or not but that monster requires three Level Four Monsters and Faultrol is two levels too high to qualify." Thomas added before pointing to Chloe's facedown monster. "Faultrol, attack Apprentice Magician!" Thomas commanded and the swordsman charged towards the facedown monster, she briefly reappeared on the field only to be cut down just as quickly.
"Arcane Barrier gains another counter and I activate Apprentice Magician's other effect!" Chloe announced as she started inputting commands into her duel disk, once the card was ejected from the duel disk she promptly played it. "Want another shot?"
"Considering that Arcane Barrier can only hold a maximum of four counters, yes! Galahad, attack her new monster!" Thomas commanded and the monster charged into battle against Chloe's facedown monster, revealed to be her second Apprentice Magician, which was promptly destroyed. "If you want to deck yourself out again Richardson then feel free, it'll just make my road to the finals easier!"
"Don't you mean "my team's road to the finals?", oh right, I forgot, it's all about you." Chloe responded in a way that seemed to strike a chord with Rajin but if any of the other duelists noticed it they didn't comment on it, in Chloe's case it was because she was too busy inputting commands into her duel disk and once the card was ejected she played it. "I get the feeling that this is a dumb question but do you want to go three for three?"
"I wouldn't have used Faultrol's effect to summon Anu Pariah if I didn't, Anu Pariah, attack her facedown monster and if it's a third Apprentice Magician it'll confirm that you haven't learned from your mistakes in the Battle Royal!" Thomas announced as Anu Pariah charged towards her facedown monster, revealed to be her last Apprentice Magician who went down as easily as the others. "Hah! I knew it!"
"Yeah well, I'm just making sure that I can defend myself if Rajin goes on the offensive during his turn." Chloe responded as she inputted commands into her duel disk one last time before the card ejected and she played it. "I don't see a fourth monster so I'm guessing you're done."
"And you'd be correct." Thomas responded before looking over his hand. "At the rate, she's going she'll deck out by the time Reckless Greed's side effect wears off, this is perfect." Thomas thought before turning to Chelsea. "I end my turn." Thomas announced and Chelsea drew her card.
"Never thought I'd find myself agreeing with Thomas but Chloe seems to be going down the same route she took which led to her being one of the first duelists eliminated from the Battle Royal, difference is if we lose this duel we won't get a second chance." Chelsea thought before looking over her hand and glancing up at Wattcentaur. "I bet your expecting me to attack either Galahad or Anu Pariah with my new monster, aren't you?"
"I don't know, Spirit Shaman is a valid target." Thomas pointed out and Chelsea scoffed.
"Please, I saw your opening round match and I know exactly how broken that thing is." Chelsea responded before frowning. "There's also the fact that you ignored Sarah's surrender but I'm getting off topic."
"People are still going on about that?!" Thomas asked with a frown as he ran a hand down his face. "That crybaby surrendered during my turn, what did you expect me to do? Not attack? If you ask me she was practically begging for that Orichalcos Duelist to take her soul!"
"And if it weren't for the fact that your partner is one of the youngest students in the academy I'd be shoving your duel disk where the sun doesn't shine for that remark!" Chelsea responded with a growl and judging by the reactions from the crowd she wasn't the only one disgusted by that remark.
"I don't know about you Marie but if I where Chelsea I would've gone ahead and done it." Jared commented with a look of disgust on his face. "Making light of an Orichalcos Victim is one thing but making a comment like that? Isn't that what rapists use to excuse their crimes?"
"Don't get me started on that." Marie responded with a frown on her face. "And as for Thomas, I get the feeling that he's going to be kicked in the balls by Sarah's partner in the tournament for that considering how close they are." Marie added before getting a message through the earpiece. "Hello? Oh, hey boss, what's up?"
"As I was saying." Chelsea said as she regained her composure. "The truth is, I'm targeting none of your monsters for an attack! I activate Wattcentaur's effect, by cutting his attack in half I can have him attack your life-points directly!"
"Wait, what?!" Thomas asked before the centaur drew a sword and charged right past the three X-Sabers before slashing him with his sword bringing his life-points down to 6800. "A minor setback." Thomas commented as Wattcentaur returned to Chelsea's side of the field. "But I shouldn't be surprised since the main theme surrounding Watt Monsters is attacking directly."
"Yeah, but who said I was done?" Chelsea asked as her other facedown card flipped up. "I activate Call of the Haunted! Now I can bring back Wattcobra from the graveyard!" Chelsea announced as the monster returned to the field. "Oh, and guess what Thomas? I'm still in my Battle Phase! Wattcobra, attack his life-points directly!" Chelsea commanded and the snake leaped over Thomas's monsters before biting him on the arm bringing his life-points down to 5800. "And since my snake just damaged your life-points I can add another Watt Monster to my hand." Chelsea added as she started inputting commands into her duel disk and once she had the card she was looking for in her hand she glanced up at Thomas. "What? No snide remarks? No accusations of cheating? I think I finally broke him!"
"Far from it! Activate trap card Damage Gate!" Thomas activated the trap and Chelsea frowned when she saw it. "Now one thousand attack points is normally not much to work with but that's all I need to bring back Parshuul!" Thomas added as Parshuul returned to the field. "And that means that I'm free to do another Synchro Summon on my next turn."
"Aren't you forgetting something?" Chloe chimed in with a smirk. "My turn is right after Rajin's and I have Arcane Barrier to make up for the lack of draw phase, just saying, depending on what I draw you'll be toast before your next turn even begins!"
"We'll see about that!" Thomas growled before turning to Chelsea. "Are you done yet?"
"I set one card facedown and end my turn." Chelsea announced and once Wattcentaur's attack returned to normal Rajin drew his card.
"Chelsea's new monster certainly is powerful, too powerful for any of the monsters I could summon right now even if I used Spirit Shaman in a Synchro Summon." Rajin thought before grinning. "But as the old saying goes, there's more than one way to skin a cat." Rajin thought before playing a card. "First I summon Hebo, Lord of the River back to the field." Rajin announced as the old man returned to the field. "And I activate his effect, once per turn I can target one monster on the field and treat it like it was a Spirit Monster, complete with the side effect of returning to the hand during the end phase!" Rajin explained before pointing to Wattcentaur. "And Wattcentaur is my target!"
"Can't say that I didn't see that coming." Chelsea grunted as the old man casted a spell at Wattcentaur causing it to glow. "This is bad, if Rajin attacks Wattcobra I'll be a sitting duck for Thomas's monsters on his turn and I don't have enough life-points to survive attacks from all those monsters, my only hope is my facedown card but if he draws something like Trap Jammer and MST Chloe will be all alone against them!"
"And now for your weaker monster, Hebo, attack Wattcobra!" Rajin commanded and the old man cast a spell causing a tidal wave to crash onto Wattcobra destroying it and bringing Chelsea's life-points down to 5800. "I'm sorry but as much as I like you girls your days are numbered in this tournament."
"We'll see about that." Chloe responded with a confident grin on her face and Rajin frowned.
"Thomas, I would like to strongly advise against attacking Chelsea." Rajin said as he turned to his partner. "We have no idea what her facedown card is…."
"How many times do I have to tell you?" Thomas asked as he pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance. "You are not the one who makes decisions for the team, I am!"
"I'm just advising you!" Rajin asserted and Thomas scoffed.
"Me, an Obelisk Blue Elite, take advice from a Ra Yellow student who's barely hit puberty?" Thomas asked with a cocky grin and Rajin lowered his head in response. "That's what I thought, end your turn already so that I can finish the dyke off!"
"I end my turn which means Hebo returns to my hand and Wattcentaur returns to Chelsea's hand." Rajin announced as the two duelists picked up their cards and Chloe skipped her draw-phase due to the side effect of Reckless Greed.
"Well, here goes nothing." Chloe thought before flipping up her facedown monster. "I flip summon Old Vindictive Magician!" Chloe announced as the grumpy old Spellcaster appeared on the field (2/450/600). "And I use his effect to destroy Parshuul!" Chloe added and the Spellcaster casted a spell on the Tuner Monster destroying him.
"A minor setback, nothing more." Thomas scoffed as he sent his monster to the graveyard. "Or have you forgotten that I can just as easily bring him back using Faultrol's effect?"
"I know, that's why I'm putting all my eggs in one basket so to speak." Chloe responded before pointing to Arcane Barrier. "I activate Arcane Barrier's effect, by sending it and Old Vindictive Magician to the graveyard I can draw four cards." Chloe announced as the holograms for Old Vindictive Magician and Arcane Barrier disappeared from the field simultaneously and she drew her four cards.
"Richardson is finished, even if she draws something good her deck has to be running low." Thomas thought with a grin as Chloe looked over her cards. "So, was the risk worth it?"
"You could say that! I set two cards facedown and I summon Silent Magician Level Four in attack mode!" Chloe announced as she played the three cards and the younger version of her ace monster appeared on the field (4/1000/1000), however when Thomas saw the monster he scoffed.
"Give me a break Richardson, your monster needs at least three draws from myself or Rajin to even stand a chance against my army!" Thomas responded with a grin and Chloe frowned. "In fact, if it weren't for the fact that I am this close to defeating your partner I'd snuff your little magician out just like that!" Thomas added whilst snapping his fingers to drive the point home.
"I'm usually the last one to agree with Thomas but he has a point, plus Rajin can easily reset Silent Magician's score using Hebo's effect, here's hoping that I'm right about Chelsea's facedown card." Chloe thought before looking over her hand. "That ends my turn!"
"And your time in the tournament!" Thomas said as he quickly drew a card causing Silent Magician Level Four to gain her first Spell Counter and five hundred attack points. "I activate Faultroll's effect…..."
"And I negate it by discarding Effect Veiler (1/0/0) from my hand!" Chloe responded as she turned the Tuner Monster around and Thomas growled as he returned Parshuul to the graveyard.
"Have it your way Richardson but you've done nothing to save your partner! Faultroll, Aru Pariah, Galahad, finish her off!" Thomas commanded and the three warriors charged towards Chelsea…
"I activate my Trap Card!" Chelsea announced as her facedown card flipped up but she never got a chance to announce the card's name as the three swords slammed into her.
"No Trap Card could save you from my warriors!" Thomas scoffed before quickly turning to Chloe. "Now your all alone, unless you pull off a miracle you are not winning this duel!"
"Guess again Tommy!" Chelsea interrupted him and Thomas looked up to see Chelsea making her way to her feet with her holograms intact. "I'm still in this!"
"But how…" Thomas trailed off before he glanced at Chelsea's trap card, when he saw it his eyes widened. "Rainbow Life?!"
"That's right Thomas, you just gave me a little over six-thousand life-points!" Chelsea responded with a grin as she held up her duel disk to show that her life-points had skyrocketed up to 11,800. "I mean you could try again on your next turn but with my life-points this high you'll be here all day trying to knock them down to zero!"
"I told you not to attack her!" Rajin asserted and Thomas glared at him.
"Shut it Rajin!" Thomas snapped at him before turning to his opponents. "Not that it matters anyway, we'll inevitably win this duel and once we do go on to meet Cameron and Jessica in the finals I'll throw the match and leave you to the wolves!" Thomas responded before realizing too late what he had just admitted. "I really shouldn't have said that out loud!"
"What did you say?!" Rajin demanded as he glared at his partner. "You were planning to surrender to Cameron and Jessica if we won this match and they beat Lance and Evan?!"
"What are you? A parrot? Off course that was my plan!" Thomas responded with a grin as the other Ra Yellow students in the match glared at him. "This school is meant to be for the elite, not for near-do-wells like yourself and our opponents and what better way to ensure that than to make sure that the finals of this tournament is an all Obelisk Blue affair."
"This is low, even for you Thomas!" Chloe responded with an angry look on her face. "No offense Rajin but you made it further than anyone expected you too, that must've done wonders for your self-esteem."
"Like you wouldn't believe." Rajin responded with a nod as he glared at Thomas. "But now I don't know what to do."
"This is partly the competitive side of me talking but why not give him a taste of his own medicine?" Chelsea suggested and Rajin scratched his chin in thought.
"As much as I'd like to win the tournament, I realize now how impossible that is." Rajin commented before glancing up at Martin's skybox. "May I surrender during Thomas's turn?"
"What are you doing?!" Thomas asked as his eyes widened. "We have the match won!"
"You may Rajin." Martin nodded in response and without a second thought Rajin surrendered the duel and turned off his duel disk. "Thomas, we will talk about your plan to undermine the tournament after the duel."
"Not that it matters, I can beat these two on my own!" Thomas responded with a confident grin before turning to Chelsea. "I end my turn." Thomas announced and Chelsea drew her card.
"Hey Thomas, guess who's back?" Chelsea asked rhetorically before playing a card and Wattcobra returned to the field. "Wattcobra, attack his life-points directly!" Chelsea commanded and the Cobra leapt over his warriors and bit him on the arm bringing his life-points down to 4800. "You feel that, Thomas? It's called karma and she can be a real bitch at times! I end my turn and since Rajin just surrendered the turn automatically goes to Chloe." Chelsea added as she nodded to Chloe who drew during her draw phase for the first time in a couple of turns since Reckless Greed's effect just expired.
"It doesn't matter what she does, I still have more than enough life-points to survive her attack!" Thomas asserted confidently and Chloe grinned in response. "What's so amusing?"
"You are, because I have the cards I need to win this duel!" Chloe responded before holding up her card. "I activate Level Up! You never faced her during our original duel Thomas but now you are about to meet my best monster! Silent Magician Level 8!" Chloe played the card and Silent Magician Level 4 started glowing and growing until she emerged as the grown-up version of herself and Chloe's best monster (8/3500/1000).
"Don't make me laugh Richardson, your magician is powerful but there's one major flaw in your plan." Thomas responded with a scoff. "She can only attack my monsters one at a time!"
"I wouldn't be so sure off that." Chloe responded as she played a card. "Three words Thomas, Diffusion Wave Motion!"
"NO! NO!" Thomas yelled out as his eyes widened in fear and Chloe's life-points dropped to 5900 and her magician prepared her spell.
"Chelsea just talked about karma and considering that you've been saying to anyone who'd listen to you for more than five minutes that I cheated in our original duel, well, it's like Chelsea said." Chloe added as Silent Magician prepared to unleash her attack. "Karma's a bitch! Silent Magician, attack XX-Saber Faultrol, X-Saber Anu Pariah and X-Saber Galahad and end this duel!" Chloe commanded and the magician unleashed her attacks on Thomas's monsters destroying them one by one and sending Thomas's life-points plummeting to zero.
"Here are the winners of the match, Chloe Richardson and Chelsea Cunningham!" Martin announced and the crowd cheered as the holograms disappeared. "That's all for today's duels but be sure to be here on Monday as the last match of the fifth round will take place! It's a clash of Obelisk Blue as Lance Alvers and Evan Grant team up to take on the team that everyone loves to hate, Cameron Matthews and Jessica Stevens! Immediately following that duel we will proceed to the semi-finals as the winner of that match will take on the team of Chloe Richardson and Chelsea Cunningham!"
"Not going to lie Chelsea." Chloe said with a grin as she gathered up her cards and Chelsea approached her. "That felt good."
"Yeah, kicking his pompous ass will do that to you." Chelsea responded with a grin as she watched Thomas storm off, however as she looked around she realized that Thomas's partner was long gone as well. "Did you see where Rajin went?"
"He left during your turn, I don't exactly blame him for wanting to be alone for a while." Chloe commented with a frown and Chelsea nodded in agreement. "Just one more duel left and we'll be in the finals."
"Yeah and I'm not sure which team I'd rather face, sure my gut instinct is telling me Cameron and Jessica but I'm sure we could get a great duel out of Evan's team." Chelsea nodded in response before motioning to the stands. "Come on, we'd better catch up with the others."
"Good idea." Chloe nodded in agreement before the two girls walked off.
"Wow, Chloe hasn't lost a step since Battle City." Jared commented as he leaned on the railing not noticing that Marie was still talking to their boss. "Hell, she might have improved! I'd hate to face her in the next round, am I right Marie?" Jared asked only to get no answer. "Marie?" Jared asked before turning around and realizing that she was still on the phone.
"Understood, me and Jared will be down there ASAP." Marie responded before hanging up and turning around. "Did you say something Jared?"
"I was just commenting on how I wouldn't want to duel Chloe and Chelsea in the next round if I was in the tournament." Jared explained and Marie nodded in agreement. "What was that phone call about? You missed the rest of the duel."
"True but I could make out what was happening just based on what I heard." Marie responded with a nod before frowning. "Besides, we have a situation."
"What kind of situation?" Jared asked before noticing the grim look on Marie's face. "No…..."
"I'm afraid so, an Orichalcos Duelist has been sighted on the island." Marie added with a frown on her face. "The boss sent me the co-ordinates of her last known sighting, I'll lead the way." Marie added before the two teens walked off.
*a bit later*
The excitement from the day's duels was just winding down and most of the students either had class right after it, the rest of the students either headed back to their respective dorm rooms or met up with their loved ones as was the case with two eliminated duelists.
"Where is she?" Latoya commented to herself as she leaned against the three, ever since her team was eliminated she had been hoping for a chance at some alone time with her partner but her partner was nowhere to be seen. "Did she go over to the boy's dorm to check on Rajin? At least I can understand that."
"Hey babe." Louella greeted her as she walked up and Latoya grinned, once Louella was close enough the two girls shared a passionate kiss. "Sorry for the wait, I was looking for Rajin but he's nowhere to be seen."
"Forget him, if anything he'll need some alone time after what Thomas said during the duel." Latoya responded with a shrug before the two girls kissed again. "So, plan is to come out of the closet when our parents visit over the weekend, right?"
"That's the plan, don't worry, I'm sure they'll except you for who you are." Louella responded as she kissed her girlfriend on the neck. "Besides, my next class isn't for an hour so we may as well enjoy each other's company." Louella said with a playful wink and Latoya grinned.
"You read my mind." Latoya responded before they backed into a nearby clearing, Latoya tripped on a stray twig causing Louella to land on top of her but that didn't stop the kissing, in fact Louella went as far as to start unbuttoning Latoya's blazer before she stopped abruptly halfway down her top. "What's the matter? Is someone coming?"
"Not exactly." Louella responded before rolling off Latoya and getting to her feet, Latoya sat up and turned around to see Caitlin Acosta's unconscious form meters away from them. "Latoya, get Martin, quickly!"
"I'm on it, as soon as I do up my blazer." Latoya responded as she started doing up her blazer, once she was done Latoya ran off in the direction of the main building.