The duel between Amelia and Mia a bit further into the forest was still going on but for Chloe she had other things on her mind hence why she had told Chelsea to go on ahead without her, as the eighteen-year-old entered the clearing with Marie right behind her she saw Jared standing across the field from her and her eyes narrowed.
"Okay Jared, I'm here." Chloe said as she stared at her former friend with her arms crossed. "What do you want?"
"Is that really a way to greet an old friend?" Jared asked and Chloe frowned. "I mean, we haven't seen each other since you returned to the academy after you put the Battle City branch of the Orichalcos Duelists out to pasture."
"Gee, maybe it has something to do with the fact that you almost stole and destroyed my original deck before getting cold feet?" Chloe asked as she glared at Jared. "Theresa filled me in on the details as I traveled to the arena to battle Otto so don't even think about lying to me Jared!"
"Why would I lie to you at this point? It's not like I have anything to gain from it!" Jared asserted and Chloe frowned. "Look, I realize how bad that was but Otto just told me to steal your deck, he never said anything about destroying it." Jared added and Chloe's frown deepened. "Scout's honor!"
"You may have been a scout at one point Jared but it'll take more than that for me to believe you." Chloe responded before she turned to leave. "Now if you excuse me, I'm off to catch up with my roommate and watch Amelia kick an Orichalcos Duelist's ass!"
"So, you're not interested in dueling me?" Jared asked and Chloe stopped in her tracks before turning to him and seeing that he had a duel disk on his arm. "That was the reason I wanted to see you."
"And if I refuse?" Chloe asked and Jared grinned.
"That's your choice but I know you have a big match coming up on Monday." Jared responded and Chloe frowned. "You don't want to go into a match with either Lance and Evan or Cameron and Jessica unprepared, right?"
"You realize that I have a whole weekend to prepare for either of those matches, right?" Chloe pointed out with a frown on her face. "And even then, my match will be the second match of the day! I'll have plenty of time to prepare either way."
"Don't you want to get as much practice in as possible?" Jared asked and Chloe frowned.
"What do you think Silent Magician?" Chloe asked her Duel Spirit Partner as Silent Magician appeared next to her. "I know Amelia will need my support but he has a point!"
"It is a difficult situation." Silent Magician nodded in response as she looked at Jared. "But he does seem genuine, besides Amelia didn't get into Obelisk Blue for nothing, she'll be fine."
"I hope your right." Chloe responded before activating her duel disk. "Suit yourself Jared but if you couldn't beat Axel Loather in Battle City then what hope do you have against someone who finished above him in that tournament?"
"I was using my original deck at the time, a generic Warrior Toolbox, I couldn't hope to compete with someone on his level." Jared responded with a frown before activating his duel disk. "But my new deck is a lot better and should be familiar to you!"
"Considering that I never saw you duel during Battle City, I doubt it." Chloe responded as she drew her opening hand and Jared did likewise. "Hell, we didn't even bump into each other until after the Semi-Finals had already started."
"True but it's like they say, better late than never." Jared responded with a shrug before drawing his cards. "Just look at how long it took you to make the relationship was Lance official! Even if Marie wants to play homewrecker before you've even moved in together…."
"Cute." Marie responded as she rolled her eyes. "Besides, there is another reason why I asked you to come into this clearing Chloe."
"So, you can check out my ass?" Chloe asked as she glanced over her shoulder at Marie who laughed.
"Not commenting on that." Marie responded with a grin. "Don't get me wrong, it's a bonus but the boss has a message just for you, one so urgent that he sent us to the island a couple of days ahead of schedule."
"Why didn't you just say so?" Chloe asked with a frown on her face as she turned to her and Marie shook her head as she approached Chloe.
"You brought up James Bond during the duel between Drew and Theresa last night, well let me put it this way." Marie said as she got into Chloe's personal space before leaning in close like she was going to kiss the taller girl on the neck. "You ever seen the film "For Your Eyes Only"?" Marie asked and Chloe nodded before Marie pulled away. "Well, this info is for your ears only, at least for now." Marie said and Chloe looked at her expectedly. "What?"
"Last time you leaned in like that you kissed me." Chloe responded and Marie grinned.
"What? You want another kiss? Or should we skip the duel and just have sex whilst Jared watches?" Marie asked and without waiting for an answer she leaned in to kiss Chloe again…. only for the taller girl to push her away. "You could've just said no."
"Look, I have enough confusing thoughts in my head regarding our kiss last night, I don't need any more." Chloe responded before turning around to face Jared again. "So, if you do that again I'll tell you exactly where to shove whatever info your boss has for me and trust me, it won't be as pleasant as the possibility of us having sex!" Chloe warned her and that was all Marie needed to back off from the taller girl before Chloe turned her attention to Jared.
"Can I still watch you girls have sex?" Jared asked awkwardly and the two girls glared at him. "I'll take that as a no, who's going first?"
"Jared, if you want to see that, stick to porn, that or the porn stash Marie probably has." Chloe responded as she turned to him ignoring Marie's innocent whistling in the background. "Anyway, I'll let you go first." Chloe added and Jared drew his card. "Maybe now I can get a clear idea of what he means by something familiar."
"I set two cards facedown!" Jared played the cards and the two facedown cards appeared on the field. "And I summon Neo, the Magic Swordsman!"
"Wait, WHAT?!" Chloe yelled out as the familiar blonde magician in grey armor appeared on the field (4/1700/1000). "That card's rarer than proof that Chelsea doesn't dye her hair and it was the weakest card n my original deck, what the hell is he doing?"
"That ends my turn." Jared announced and Chloe drew her card.
"Two facedown cards and Neo the Magic Swordsman, this is almost like the duel I won to gain admittance to the academy, well aside from the fact that I don't run Tiger Axe, Swordstalker, Jinzo or Dangerous Machine Type Six." Chloe thought before playing a card. "I summon Gemini Elf in attack mode!" Chloe played the card and the twin elves appeared on the field (4/1900/900), however as soon as they appeared on the field a large hole opened up beneath them and they fell in. "What the?!"
"I activated my Trap Hole Trap Card!" Jared responded as he pointed to his newly flipped trap. "And since your elves have over one thousand attack points they are destroyed."
"Neo and now Trap Hole, what's he running? A Retro Deck that just so happens to be like my deck when I first applied to the school?" Chloe thought with a frown on her face as she sent her monster to the graveyard. "Just because you destroyed my elves doesn't mean that there aren't other moves I can make! I set two cards facedown and end my turn." Chloe announced as the facedown cards appeared on the field and Jared drew his card.
"Then I'll cut to the chase, Neo attack her life-points!" Jared commanded and as Chloe got ready to activate her own trap Jared activated a trap of his own. "But not before I activate my other facedown card Magician's Circle!"
"I don't know what you're up too Jared, you off all people should know that I run Spellcasters." Chloe responded before she started inputting commands into her duel disk and Jared did likewise, Jared was the first one to retrieve a monster and he quickly summoned it. "Okay Jared, what have you…..." Chloe trailed off as Silent Magician Level 4 appeared on Jared's side of the field. "You're kidding?"
"Something wrong Chloe?" Jared asked as she ran a hand down her face. "You're not the only one with Silent Magician Level 4 in their deck you know!"
"It's not just that." Chloe responded as she gave Jared an odd look. "Neo the Magic Swordsman, Trap Hole, Magician's Circle and now Silent Magician Level 4, you're running a carbon copy of my original deck, aren't you?"
"Well, it's not a complete copy." Jared responded with a grin on his face. "In fact, I improved it!" Jared said proudly and Chloe face-faulted. "What?"
"Jared, my original deck was constructed when I was a raw rookie with barely a month's worth of experience, I didn't know anything about deck synergy, searching for cards, anything like that." Chloe responded as she got back to her feet. "Hell, I didn't add cards like Reinforcement of the Army, Marauding Captain and other cards like them until I was already in the Battle City semi-finals, all I cared about back then was which cards looked the coolest whilst still working with my Spellcaster/Warrior theme." Chloe responded as she ran a hand down her face. "What I'm saying is, you don't exactly have to do much to improve on my deck's original build! Hell, just look at my current deck if you want an example of a Spellcaster/Warrior Deck done right!"
"What you are saying is true Chloe." Marie commented as she leaned against the tree. "In fact, whilst I was watching your duel with Damien on TV I was wondering just how the hell you made into Duel Academy in the first place! But Jared has some cards that you never got your hands on."
"What is she talking about?" Chloe asked Jared who shrugged his shoulders.
"That would be telling, now are you going to summon a monster or not." Jared asked and Chloe nodded.
"Fine, since your using Silent Magician Level 4 we may as well make this a mirror match of sorts." Chloe responded as her copy of Silent Magician Level 4 appeared on the field. "And since there's a new monster on the field a replay occurs."
"I know that, Neo, attack her Magician!" Jared commanded once their decks had auto-shuffled and the swordsman charged towards her monster…
"And I negate it with Negate Attack!" Chloe responded as her trap card flipped up and the swordsman's blade bounced off the force-field. "Try again next time!"
"I will!" Jared responded before looking at his hand. "I set one card facedown and end my turn." Jared set the card down and Chloe drew her card causing Jared's Magician's attack points to increase to 1500 as she gained her first counter.
"Okay, so he's practically copied my old deck card for card, how tough can it be to beat?" Chloe thought as she looked over her hand. "I mean hell, the best effect monster I had that I could summon normally back then was The Unhappy Maiden because of her use as a stall card and even then, I have much better stall cards now than I did then." Chloe thought before looking at her drawn card and grinning. "Sorry Jared but I know Silent Magician Level 4's effect like the back of my hand and I'm not going to let you summon her stronger form!"
"You're welcome to try." Jared responded and Chloe grinned.
"Don't say I didn't warn you! I summon Breaker, the Magical Warrior in attack mode!" Chloe played the card and the warrior in red wizards robes appeared on the field (4/1600/1000). "And thanks to his effect he gains a counter of his own." Chloe added as Breaker's attack went up to 1900. "I could also use Breaker's effect to destroy his facedown card and if it's Mirror Force then I'll be in the clear, on the other hand that would leave Breaker vulnerable to Neo's attack and whilst the attack difference isn't that much it's still more than Breaker can handle." Chloe thought before she eyed another card. "Unless…"
"You know, your friend will probably finish her duel by the time you make a move at this rate." Jared commented as he folded his arms. "Just saying."
"You want to rush me? Fine! It's your funeral! First I set one card facedown!" Chloe set the card down and Breaker's attack dropped down to 1600. "And I use Breaker's effect to destroy your facedown card!" Chloe announced as Breaker charged past Jared's two monsters and slashed the facedown card in two. "And he's not done destroying cards either! Breaker, attack Silent Magician Level 4…" Chloe commanded before sweat-dropping as Silent Magician Level 4 gave her a hurt look. "I mean his Silent Magician Level 4!"
"It doesn't matter because that was what I wanted! You see the Trap Card you just destroyed was Revival of the True King!" Jared responded as he held up the card. "When this card is destroyed, and sent to the graveyard I can target one monster you control and destroy it, like your Breaker!" Jared explained before Breaker's hologram shattered into a million pieces. "So, do you still want to attack?"
"What do you think? I end my turn." Chloe responded and Jared drew his card.
"I'm surprised you included that card Jared." Marie chimed in and Chloe glanced over at her. "Doesn't really fit in with the whole "blast from the past for Chloe" theme, does it?"
"You're right, it doesn't." Jared admitted with a shrug. "But I needed something to prepare me for a card like Breaker so I borrowed this one from my main deck."
"Thank god, this isn't your real deck." Chloe commented as a large sweat-drop rolled down her head and Jared nodded.
"I'm still a pro-duelist Chloe and no offense but I'd be laughed out of any tournament I enter trying to use this deck." Jared commented and Chloe nodded in agreement.
"No offense taken or have you forgotten that I've pointed out how shit my old deck was already?" Chloe asked before grinning. "Anyway, since you just drew a card my Silent Magician gains her first counter!" Chloe added as Silent Magician's attack went up to fifteen hundred.
"True but I'm about to do something you couldn't do last turn." Jared responded before looking at his drawn card and adding it to his hand. "Namely destroy Silent Magician Level 4! Neo, attack her monster!" Jared commanded and the Spellcaster charged into battle….
"You'll have to take a raincheck on that Jared! I activate my Trap Card Pitch-Black Power Stone!" Chloe's facedown card flipped up and she quickly pointed to Silent Magician Level 4. "Since your using a carbon copy of my old deck you should know how this trap card works!"
"Yeah, when it's activated Pitch-Black Power Stone gets three counters placed on it and once per turn you can move a counter to another card you control." Jared commented as he folded his arms. "And I think it's safe to say that Silent Magician Level 4 is your target?"
"Well, considering that she's the only other monster I control, yeah!" Chloe responded as Silent Magician Level 4's attack went up to 2000. "Silent Magician Level 4, counter attack!" Chloe commanded and the magician casted a spell at Neo destroying him and bringing Jared's life-points down to 7700. "And that's first blood to me!"
"What's the adage? Oh yeah, it's not how you start, it's how you finish." Jared responded before looking over his hand. "I set one card facedown and end my turn." Jared announced as the facedown card appeared on the field and Chloe drew her card causing Jared's Silent Magician's attack to increase to 2000.
"If I attack his Silent Magician with mine they'll both be destroyed." Chloe thought with a frown as she glanced up at Jared's side of the field. "I can easily rectify that by using Pitch-Black Power Stone's effect on my Magician again but he has that facedown card and if he is running a carbon copy of my old deck there's a good chance that that facedown card is Mirror Force." Chloe thought with a gulp before looking at her drawn card. "Magical Exemplar, good as a Synchro or XYZ Material but not good for much else, besides I don't have any Spell Cards in my hand so I couldn't use her effect if I wanted too." Chloe thought before turning to Jared. "I pass my turn."
"Nothing you can do? Too bad." Jared shrugged his shoulders before drawing his card causing Chloe's Silent Magician's attack to increase to 2500. "And as much as I don't want to make your magician stronger, this will make mine stronger too! I activate my Spell Card Spellbook Inside The Pot!"
"You realize that I can summon Silent Magician Level 8 now, right?" Chloe asked as they made their draws causing Chloe's magician's attack to increase to 3000 and Jared's magician's attack to increase to 2500. "In fact, I'll speed up the process! I activate Pitch Black Power Stone's effect and I use it to transfer a counter to my Magician." Chloe announced as her magician's attack increased to 3500. "Man, I can't even remember the last time I summoned Silent Magician Level 8 through Silent Magician Level 4's effect!"
"Good, this duel's finally getting interesting." Marie thought with a grin as the two duelists went over their hands.
"In that case, I'll do the same, I activate Heaven's Lost Property." Jared announced as he played the card and both duelists drew three cards before discarding two and whilst Chloe's Silent Magician's attack didn't increase since it was at full already Jared's attack increased to 3000. "But I'm not done, I activate my facedown card Disgraceful Charity to retrieve the two cards I just discarded to the graveyard." Jared said as he retrieved the cards.
"And here I was worried that it was something like Mirror Force." Chloe sighed in response and Jared shrugged.
"If I had that card I would've used it when you attacked earlier." Jared responded before picking up three cards. "I set three cards facedown and end my turn." Jared announced and Chloe drew her card causing Jared's magician's attack to increase to 3500.
"Since your running your own copy you should know what's about to happen." Chloe said as she picked up Silent Magician Level 4. "Since Silent Magician Level 4 has Five Spell Counters I can level her up to bring out my best monster." Chloe added before sending the monster to the graveyard and inputting commands into her duel disk, once she retrieved the monster she wasted no time in playing it causing Silent Magician Level 8 to appear on the field (8/3500/1000).
"Not bad but I have three facedown cards, do you really want to risk it?" Jared asked and Chloe grinned in response before picking up a card.
"Silent Magician won't take the risk alone! First, I summon the monster I drew last turn, Magical Exemplar!" Chloe played the card and the woman in the green dress appeared on the field (4/1700/1400). "Next I move the last Spell Counter on Pitch Black Power Stone to Magical Exemplar, since it doesn't have any more Spell Counters my trap card is destroyed." Chloe added as her Trap Card's hologram shattered and a green floating orb appeared above Magical Exemplar's head. "Next I activate Arcane Barrier."
"I don't see the point in this." Jared commented as the Spell Card's hologram appeared in Pitch Black Power Stone's place and two more green orbs appeared above Magical Exemplar. "The only monsters in your graveyard are Gemini Elf, Breaker the Magical Warrior and Silent Magician Level 4 and their levels are all too high for Magical Exemplar's effect."
"Jared, your half right." Chloe responded with a grin on her face. "When you activated Spellbook inside the Pot and Heaven's Lost Property on your last turn it allowed me to drew six more cards, two of those cards where monsters that I subsequently discarded for Heaven's Lost Property and guess what?" Chloe asked as her grin grew wider. "The two monsters I discarded where a Level One and a Level Two Monster!"
"That's all well and good but you can only summon one monster per turn using Exemplar's effect." Jared pointed out as he folded his arms. "I get what you're going for Chloe, a Level Seven Synchro Summon, right? But it's a shame that your cards fall just short!"
"I'm aware of that Jared, I mean hell, I've been using Exemplar for so long that I practically know her effect life the back of my hand." Chloe responded before picking up three of the cards in her hand. "First I set three cards facedown and I use Exemplar's effect to Special Summon Clear Effector from my graveyard!" Chloe played the cards and once two of the orbs disappeared the young woman with even longer hair than Chloe's appeared on the field (2/0/900). "And for the record, I summoned her in defense mode!" Chloe added as the young woman crouched down.
"Smart move and it figures that you'd have that monster in your deck." Jared commented as he folded his arms. "You may not have seen us but we were present for today's duels."
"Yeah, I thought I heard Marie's annoying voice." Chloe deadpanned earning an annoyed glare from Marie whilst getting a laugh out of Jared. "Anyway, there's nothing else I can do so I end my turn."
"And if anyone should know what's about to happen to my Silent Magician, it's you!" Jared responded as he drew his card and sure enough his Silent Magician started glowing and growing until she grew into her adult form (8/3500/1000). "I'm not going to waste any time here, Silent Magician, attack Magical Exemplar!" Jared commanded and the magician prepared her attack.
"Might want to reconsider that Jared! I activate my trap card Graceful Revival!" Chloe activated the trap and retrieved a monster from her graveyard. "With this I can revive one Level Two or Lower monster from my graveyard which is lucky because the only monster in there that fits the bill is a Level One Monster, Effect Veiler!" Chloe played the card and the young, green haired Spellcaster appeared on the field (1/0/0).
"I run that card as well and if anything, you just made a huge mistake!" Jared responded as he grinned broadly. "Graceful Revival brings it back in attack mode and with zero attack points you may as well have activated a card that destroys all your monsters!" Jared added before pointing to Effect Veiler. "Silent Magician, attack Effect Veiler!" Jared commanded as the magician prepared her attack again….
"I know how my own card works Jared but let's see if you know how this one works." Chloe responded as her other facedown card flipped up. "I activate Urgent Tuning!"
"No! That means that you can Synchro Summon during my Battle Phase!" Jared responded as his eyes widened and Chloe's three weaker monsters leapt into the air for the Synchro Summon.
"That's right! And you could say that I'm bringing out the big guns!" Chloe responded as she played a card and a bright flash enveloped the field. "I tune Magical Exemplar, Clear Effector and Effect Veiler together to Synchro Summon Arcanite Magician!" Chloe played the card and once the flash faded the magician in white and blue robes appeared on the field (7/400/1800). "Let's get a couple of effect resolutions out of the way before you continue your Battle Phase, first since Clear Effector was used in a Synchro Summon I can draw one card and Arcanite Magician can't be destroyed by card effects." Chloe explained before drawing her card. "And speaking of Arcanite Magician, since I just Synchro Summoned him he gains two counters."
"And one thousand attack points for each counter." Jared responded with a nod as Arcanite Magician's attack went up 2400. "Not bad but not good enough, your magician's powerful but you would've been better off summoning his fusion counterpart, not like it would've done you much good." Jared responded before pointing to the monster. "Silent Magician, I know I keep changing your attack target but your new target is Arcanite Magician!" Jared commanded and Silent Magician prepared her attack again….
"Better luck next time Jared! I activate Negate Attack!" Chloe activated the trap and the Magician's attack bounced off the invisible forcefield. "Now are you done or…..." Chloe trailed off when she saw the odd look she was getting from Jared and a quick glance over her shoulder confirmed that Marie was giving her the same look. "What?"
"You Synchro Summoned a monster using Urgent Tuning and then used Negate Attack?" Jared asked with a confused look on his face. "Why didn't you just use Negate Attack first and Synchro Summon during your turn?" Jared asked and Chloe sweat-dropped.
"Honestly? There was no real reason." Chloe responded causing Marie and Jared to face-fault in response. "Look, I rarely go into duels with any plan beyond winning, most of the moves I make are ones that I just make up on the fly." Chloe responded as they got back up to their feet.
"So, in other words, you made it to the Battle City Semi-Finals, and the Tag Team Tournament Semi-Finals for that matter, by dueling by the seat of your pants." Marie pointed out and Chloe nodded as Marie ran a hand down her face. "As much as I'd like to get into your pants, why did Timaeus pick you again where duelists like Brandon, Andreas, Marcus or Chelsea probably would've made a better choice?!"
"Was that sex joke really necessary?" Chloe asked and Marie shook her head in response.
"To be fair to Chloe Marie, the "dueling by the seat of your pants" tactic has served her well as you just pointed out, besides she is still a rookie." Jared pointed out and Marie frowned. "Then again, you've admitted to me several times that you tend to apply the same strategy, or lack thereof, to your duels so I'm going to have to say pot calling the kettle black on this one!"
"Yeah but unlike her I don't have a boyfriend!" Marie responded before getting odd looks from the other two teens. "And by boyfriend, I mean a Legendary Dragon in my deck! Then again, her boyfriend also has a legendary dragon in his deck and based on his recent behavior I must say that the Legendary Dragons' standards have seriously slipped in recent times!"
"First off, my counter argument to that is Theresa." Chloe responded and Marie went to respond but couldn't find the words. "Second, can we get back on track?"
"Good idea, I end my turn." Jared responded and Chloe drew her card.
"Okay, so far so good, I have two of my most Powerful Spellcasters on the field and the only way it could be more perfect is if I had a way to summon Colossal Fighter." Chloe thought before glancing at her graveyard. "Just one problem, the only monsters I have in my graveyard are Spellcaster type monsters so unless I Synchro Summon Colossal Fighter with two Warriors he won't get a boost." Chloe thought before looking at the last two cards in her hand, the one she just drew with Clear Effector and the one she drew during her draw phase. "Well, at least Arcane Barrier will have a purpose beyond giving Magical Exemplar the Spell Counters she needed to Special Summon Clear Effector, man I should've saved Pitch Black Power Stone for this!" Chloe thought before picking the two cards. "I set one card in defense mode and one Facedown Card, now I activate Arcanite Magician's effect which I use to destroy your Silent Magician!" Chloe announced as Arcanite Magician's attack dropped to 1400 and he started casting a spell…..
"You took all that time just to use a predictable move like that? What happened to dueling by the seat of your pants?" Jared asked and Chloe frowned in response. "Not like it matters, I chain my Facedown Card Divine Wrath! I discard one card from my hand to negate Arcanite Magician's effect and destroy him!" Jared announced as he discarded the card and sure enough lightning struck Arcanite Magician destroying him.
"Why did you wait to use that trap? You could've negated Magical Exemplar's effect and destroyed her." Chloe pointed out and Jared shook his head.
"Why waste Divine Wrath on a glorified Synchro/XYZ fodder?" Jared asked with a smirk. "I mean sure, you went plus one with Clear Effector's effect but it was the only method I had of negating effects."
"Suit yourself." Chloe grunted before looking over her hand. "Well, since my original plan's gone out the window I'll pass the rest of my turn." Chloe responded and Jared drew his card. "Well, at least he's used up one of his facedown cards…..." Chloe's train of thought was interrupted when a blood curdling scream rang out from an area a bit further into the forest. "Sounds like the Orichalcos Duel has ended."
"Yeah and as much as I'm curious to see who won I'm enjoying this duel too much." Marie shrugged her shoulders and Chloe sweat-dropped. "Besides, they will probably come back down this path unless they take a different route, off course Chelsea could always lead them back here."
"Are you sure it's the duel your enjoying or the fact that you are blatantly undressing me with your eyes." Chloe asked as she glanced over at Marie. "And no, that wasn't an invite to try kissing me again."
"No comment." Marie said with a chuckle as she folded her arms. "And are you sure you don't want to kiss me again? You enjoyed it last night."
"Yeah, I enjoyed it but I still don't want another kiss." Chloe responded before turning to Jared. "Can we please change the subject before my boyfriend arrives on the scene and gets the completely wrong idea?"
"What? You didn't tell him?" Marie asked with a raised eyebrow and Chloe glared at her. "Shutting up!"
"Anyway, my move!" Jared announced before drawing his card. "And since Divine Wrath took care of Arcanite Magician for me, Silent Magician, attack her facedown monster!" Jared commanded and the magician fired a beam of white light at Chloe's facedown monster, revealed to be Apprentice Magician (2/400/800) which was quickly destroyed.
"Huh, so that's what it's like to be on the receiving end of that attack." Chloe commented before shaking her head. "Anyway, since you destroyed Apprentice Magician her effect activates but since you guys were apparently present for my duel against Thomas and Rajin I won't bother explaining it."
"That and I run three copies in this deck." Jared responded before Chloe started inputting commands into her duel disk. "And off course, since Apprentice Magician is a Spellcaster Type Monster Arcane Barrier also gets its first counter." Jared nodded as Chloe's Spell Card glowed whilst Chloe retrieved her monster. "I was wondering if you'd get to use that effect, it seemed like you just used it as an excuse to give Exemplar her effect."
"Arcane Barrier was the only Spell Card in my hand." Chloe explained as she set another monster down. "You have to work with what you've got, that's all I'm saying! Anyway, are yo…..." Chloe trailed off as Jared's middle facedown card flipped up. "Oh, you have got to be kidding."
"I bet you forgot that you had this card during Battle City." Jared commented as Enlightenment revealed itself. "Granted Diffusion Wave Motion is better because it doesn't rely on a monster being destroyed first but still! Silent Magician, attack her facedown monster!" Jared commanded and the magician launched her attack again, revealing it to be her second Apprentice Magician, which met the same fate as the first. "Granted my original plan was to use this to get rid of the Silent Magicians but still."
"That would've been a stupid plan." Chloe responded as she inputted commands into her duel disk. "You just said it yourself, I ran that card during Battle City and you can't summon the same turn you use Enlightenment, you would've left your life-points wide open and whilst Silent Magician is my strongest monster I have plenty of other powerful monsters." Chloe explained as she stared at Jared in disbelief. "No offense but seriously, how were you considered for Battle City in the first place? I only got in the tournament in the first place because I was representing Duel Academy, if I wasn't? I probably would've been laughed out of the sign in station the moment they looked through my deck!"
"I already said that I was running a different deck back then." Jared responded as he ran a hand down his face. "And honestly, it was my attempt to break the deadlock between us!"
"Yeah, I have to agree with Chloe." Marie chimed in as she facepalmed. "You could've just let Arcanite Magician's effect go through instead!"
"Which would've left me open to over four thousand points of direct damage." Jared pointed out before he realized something. "Hey come to think of it, how did the Orichalcos Duelists get into Battle City in the first place? Most of the champions competing got in on their pro-circuit credentials, same goes for guys like Miranda and Alex and guys like the Battle City Students had to be sponsored by some company involved in the game but you guys, save for Otto, pretty much came from out of nowhere."
"Felix was the Regional Champ of Louisiana before he was recruited, granted they stripped him off the title after he was outed as an Orichalcos Duelist but still, so he was allowed in on those credentials, the others? Victor's company is a gaming one so he had the company sponsor us." Marie explained and Chloe went to say something. "Before you ask how that wasn't a PR Apocalypse for him, we were sponsored through a shell company and Victor was very good at covering his tracks."
"Off course he was, otherwise the only thing I'd be worrying about in regards to Summer Break is whether I'd finally get a sun tan or not." Chloe muttered under her breath before turning to Jared. "Anyway, since you just destroyed my second Apprentice Magician I can Special Summon a third monster in defense mode." Chloe announced as the third monster appeared on the field. "And unless your third facedown card is another copy of Enlightenment I don't see you being able to destroy it."
"I'm not that lucky with draws." Jared admitted with a slight laugh. "But that doesn't mean I won't be destroying your monster! I activate Call of the Haunted and I use it to bring back Neo!" Jared added as Neo the Magic Swordsman returned to the field.
"There you are!" Chloe glanced over her shoulder and saw the other students with Duel Spirit Partners entering the clearing and it was Theresa that spoke up, however the unhappy look on Theresa's face quickly turned to a look of confusion. "Silent Magician Level 8, Neo the Magic Swordsman, what on Earth?"
"Trust me, I'm just as surprised as you are." Chloe responded as she turned to the older student. "And yeah, I know I missed the Orichalcos Duel, at least tell me the threat's been dealt with?"
"Yeah, Amelia defeated the Orichalcos Duelist." Theresa nodded in response and Chloe grinned. "Amelia and her boyfriend Daniel also pledged to help us out and I get the feeling that Caitlin would've said the same thing if she wasn't in the infirmary." Theresa added before taking a deep breath. "So, anyone want to tell us what's going on here?"
"How about we start with what you already know?" Chloe asked and Theresa nodded.
"Right, after Amelia won her match Chelsea told us about your little run in with Marie and Jared." Theresa responded before glancing around and quickly locating the two teens. "She also mentioned that you were in a duel, I just didn't think that it was going to be a mirror match."
"It's not an exact mirror match." Chloe responded with a frown. "For one thing, I haven't used Neo the Magic Swordsman since my first week at the academy! He's basically using an improved version of the deck I had when I first arrived at the academy."
"You did point out how bad your original deck was, right?" Theresa asked and Chloe nodded in response. "Okay but that still doesn't explain why you chose to compete in this duel instead of supporting Amelia."
"I was going to ignore Marie but then she pointed out Jared saying that he wanted to see me." Chloe responded with a frown on her face. "I just wanted to see what he wanted, I didn't expect to be dragged into a duel."
"Don't worry, this will be the last time we'll do something like this." Marie added and Theresa turned to her. "Anyway Jared, you were about to attack Chloe's facedown monster when her friends joined us, right?"
"Right, Neo, attack her defense monster!" Jared commanded and the swordsman charged into battle again before cutting Chloe's last Apprentice Magician in half. "I know the drill Chloe."
"I should hope so, I've used this combo more times than I can count." Chloe responded as she started inputting commands into her duel disk and quickly played the facedown monster. "And unless Neo suddenly has an effect that lets him Special Summon a monster I think you're done."
"And you'd be right there." Jared nodded in response before looking over his hand. "I end my turn by setting two facedown cards." Jared announced as his facedown cards appeared on the field and Chloe drew her card.
"Then I won't waste any time, I flip summon my facedown monster Old Vindictive Magician!" Chloe flipped the facedown monster up and the old cranky Spellcaster appeared on the field (2/450/600). "And now I use his effect to destroy your Silent Magician!" Chloe added as the old magician started casting a spell…...
"I don't think so, I activate Interdimensional Matter Transporter!" Jared responded as his facedown card flipped up and his Silent Magician disappeared from the field. "Which means that my Silent Magician is banished for the rest of the turn, hey Marie, why are you face-palming?" Jared asked his companion as she ran a hand down her face.
"Do I need to spell it out for you?" Marie asked with a groan. "Old Vindictive Magician needs a new target and you only had one other monster on your side of the field!"
"Oh." Jared said with a gulp as Old Vindictive Magician changed his target to Neo destroying him. "Well, at least the only monster you have on your side of the field aside from Silent Magician is Old Vindictive Magician."
"That won't stay that way! I send Old Vindictive Magician and Arcane Barrier to the graveyard so that I can draw three cards!" Chloe announced as the holograms for her Spellcaster and her Spell Card vanished from the field and she drew three cards, when Chloe took one look at the three cards she had drawn she couldn't help but grin. "Jared, you have no idea how bad things are about to get for you! First I activate Reinforcement of the Army!"
"I don't like where this is going." Jared commented with a nervous gulp as Chloe started inputting commands into her duel disk and retrieved the monster from her duel disk once it ejected from her deck slot.
"Your right to be nervous." Chloe responded with a grin before playing a card. "I summon Marauding Captain!" Chloe played the card and the brunette captain appeared on the field (3/1200/400). "And now I activate his effect which I use to summon Rookie Knight!" Chloe played the card and the weak looking knight appeared on the field (4/0/0). "Now I activate his effect, by discarding another warrior I can target another monster I control and change my knight's level so that it matches that warrior's level, my choice is Marauding Captain!" Chloe explained as Rookie Knight's level dropped to three.
"So, your plan is an XYZ Summon?" Jared asked and Chloe shook her head.
"If I wanted to do that I would've just summoned the monster I discarded for Rookie Knight's effect." Chloe responded before playing a card. "I activate Tuner's High! Now I discard one monster from my hand to Special Summon a Tuner Monster from my deck if that Tuner Monster is at least one level higher than the monster I discarded and is the same type and attribute as the monster I'm summoning which won't be that hard since the monster I just discarded was a Level One Monster!" Chloe explained before she started inputting commands into her duel disk.
"I can't believe that such a blatant drug reference made it past I2's quality control." Jared commented dryly and Chloe shrugged her shoulders.
"I'm just the duelist, it's not like I named my cards!" Chloe responded before playing the card. "Anyway, I use Tuner's High's effect to Special Summon Torapart!" Chloe played the card and the small strange warrior appeared on the field (2/600/600). "I guess there's no point in dragging this out any longer! I tune Torapart with Rookie Knight and Marauding Captain!" Chloe announced as the three warriors leapt into the air for the Synchro Summon.
"Why do I get the feeling that I know exactly what you're about to summon?" Jared asked as the bright flash enveloped the field.
"Because either your psychic or you have your own copy of this monster in your extra deck." Chloe responded before playing the card. "I Synchro Summon Colossal Fighter!" Chloe played the card and the massive warrior monster appeared on the field ready for battle (8/2800/1000). "So, Jared, you are now facing off against the best monsters among my Spellcasters and my Warriors, starting to regret the challenge yet?"
"Just a little." Jared gulped as he stared at the two monsters.
"Then here's something to really make you nervous! I currently have five Warrior Monsters in my graveyard, Marauding Captain, Rookie Knight, Torapart and the two monsters I discarded for card effects and Colossal Fighter gains one hundred attack points for each monster!" Chloe added as her monster's attack increased to 3300. "Any last requests?"
"Please, anywhere but the face!" Jared responded with a nervous gulp and Chloe grinned.
"Suit yourself, Silent Magician, Colossal Fighter, attack his life-points directly! And whilst you're at it, avoid hitting him in the face." Chloe commanded and the two monsters launched their attacks at Jared who braced himself as the attacks hit his torso sending his life-points plummeting down to 900.
"Jared, if you end up being the first Redemption Seeker to lose a duel because of a fucking misplay I am never letting you live this down." Marie warned him and Jared gulped as he got back up to his feet.
"I can come back from this." Jared asserted and Chloe gave him a skeptical look.
"With only nine-hundred life-points left? I doubt it!" Chloe responded before motioning to Silent Magician. "Normally Interdimensional Matter Transporter would bring back your Silent Magician but I think you forgot one crucial detail when you used that trap."
"What?" Jared asked and Chloe's grin grew wider.
"Here's a hint, it's printed on her card." Chloe said as she held up her duel disk. "The only way you can Special Summon traditionally her is through the effect of Silent Magician Level 4, obviously, cards like Level Up and Level Modulation are work arounds but you've only got two cards left in your hand, somehow I doubt you have the means to bring her back." Chloe added as her grin grew wider. "Come on Jared, I wouldn't have made that move even when I was still learning the game because I know Silent Magician's effect like the back of my hand! You had better face it Jared, you just defeated yourself!"
"Maybe, maybe not, but I'm about to take another page from your book!" Jared responded and Chloe's grin disappeared. "I activate my facedown card Shock Draw!"
"But you just took over six thousand points of damage!" Chloe realized as her eyes widened as Jared drew his six cards. "Even if you manage to draw something good there's no guarantee that you can turn the duel around!"
"That's why they call it Luck of the Draw." Jared responded before looking over his hand. "Are you done?"
"Yeah, I'm done, and so are you if you don't draw the right card." Chloe responded with a nod as Jared drew his card.
"And what do you know? I drew the right card." Jared responded before playing a card. "But first, I need to do a bit of setting up! First I activate Burial from a Different Dimension to move Silent Magician Level 8 from my banished pile to my graveyard." Jared explained before retrieving the card from his pocket and moving it to his graveyard alongside his Spell Card. "Now I activate a card you should be familiar with, after all you've just mentioned it! I activate Level Modulation!"
"Yeah, I know what that does, I've used it more times than I can count." Chloe commented dryly before drawing two cards and looking at them as Jared's Silent Magician returned to the field. "Two more warriors, if I can draw a way to get them to the graveyard on my turn I can crash Colossal Fighter into his Silent Magician then use his effect to bring himself back and win the duel." Chloe thought before looking up at Jared. "And I also know that the monster Special Summoned with Level Modulation can't attack the turn its Special Summoned, I used to get around that with Mischief of the Time Goddess but that card was banned a while back."
"Yes, a card that lets you skip to your next Battle Phrase is just a little bit broken, I'm surprised it took them this long." Jared responded with a nod before picking up two cards. "I set two cards facedown and end my turn." Jared announced and Chloe drew her card.
"I'm not sure why your bothering with those facedown cards, Torapart's effect makes it so that you can't activate Trap Cards when Colossal Fighter attacks." Chloe pointed out as she drew her card. "In fact, let's get this over with, Silent Magician, attack your counterpart…." Chloe never finished her command as an ear-piercing screech rang out and Chloe covered her ears. "What the hell?!"
"Command Silencer, that's what." Jared responded as his facedown card flipped up. "Silent Magician's attack is negated and I get to draw one card."
"Or it would be if Silent Magician was affected by my opponents Spell Cards, which she isn't!" Chloe pointed out as the attack continued.
"I know, I just wanted to go plus one." Jared responded as another facedown card flipped up. "But the same doesn't apply to trap cards, does it? I activate Threatening Roar to end the Battle Phase!" Jared added as the load roar rang out causing Chloe's monsters to cower and the spell to drop.
"You can't stall forever Jared!" Chloe responded before looking over her hand. "I end my turn." Chloe announced and Jared drew his card. "He can't have that many cards in his deck left! He's falling into the same trap I did in the Battle Royal." Chloe thought with a grin before she noticed the look on Jared's face. "I don't like that grin."
"What? I'm not allowed to enjoy a great duel?" Jared asked and Chloe shook her head. "Oh, I get it, you figured out that I've drawn a good card and you're worried, well you have every reason to be worried because I'm about to use your favorite combo against you!"
"What are you talking about?" Chloe asked and Jared grinned.
"Let me show you! First I activate Emergency Provisions to send my remaining facedown card to the graveyard to give my life-points a boost." Jared announced as his life-points increased to 1900. "Now I activate a Spell Card you should be familiar with!" Jared announced as he played it and Chloe's eyes widened when she saw it. "Megamorph! And I equip it to my Silent Magician to give her a major Power Boost!" Jared added as his Silent Magician's attack increased to 7000. "And this would be bad enough, if it weren't for the card I drew with Command Silencer, not to mention the reason why I used Emergency Provisions just now!"
"Please tell me that you're not about to play Diffusion Wave Motion?" Chloe gulped but her fears where confirmed when Jared played the card and his life-points dropped back to 900. "And now I know how each of my opponents felt whenever I used this combo!"
"I can only imagine how unfun this is to be on the receiving end off, especially in an Orichalcos Duel!" Jared responded before pointed to Chloe's monsters. "Silent Magician, attack!" Jared commanded and the magician unleashed her attack destroying Chloe's magician and Colossal Fighter in one fell swoop and sending Chloe's life-points plummeting down to twelve hundred. "I'm lucky that your life-points had been untouched for most of the duel because otherwise you'd have the match won on your turn since Silent Magician's attack would've been cut in half and Colossal Fighter has his self-revival effect."
"Don't remind me." Chloe grunted as she played a card. "I'm still bringing my monster back but for obvious reasons I'm summoning him in defense mode." Chloe explained as Colossal Fighter returned to the field crouching down.
"Smart move, let's see if you can somehow pull this back." Jared responded before looking over his hand. "I set one card facedown and my turn." Jared announced and Chloe drew her card.
"Turning duel around will be easier said than done considering that his magician has more attack points than most monsters in the game!" Chloe thought with a gulp before looking over her hand. "But I can pull this off, I hope." Chloe thought before playing a card. "I activate Heaven's Lost Property, now we draw three cards and discard two!" Chloe announced before both duelists drew three cards and discarded two. "And guess what Jared? The two cards I discarded where warriors and you know what that means." Chloe added as Colossal Fighter's attack points increased to 3500.
"So? You still have a long way to go before you can destroy Silent Magician and I doubt you have enough Warriors in your deck to power him up to seven thousand." Jared pointed out and Chloe grinned.
"I don't but I don't need to do that either! I activate Mystical Space Typhoon and I use it to destroy Megamorph!" Chloe announced and Jared's eyes widened as the storm washed over the field destroying Megamorph and restoring Silent Magician's attack points to normal, not to mention her size. "Now I move Colossal Fighter back into attack mode." Chloe added as Colossal Fighter stood up. "And he's going to win this duel for me! Colossal Fighter, attack Silent Magician!" Chloe commanded and Colossal Fighter charged into battle….
"Sorry Chloe, but I'm about to win this duel and not you!" Jared responded as his facedown card flipped up. "Dimensional Prison! Now there's no way that your Fighter can come back!" Jared added and Chloe's eyes widened as Colossal Fighter was sucked into a portal. "Unless you have a monster you can summon this is over!"
"The only monsters I had in my hand where the two monsters I discarded for Heaven's Lost Property." Chloe sighed in response and Jared nodded. "I'm not about to surrender before you ask, I may be in Ra Yellow nowadays but I still live by the words that I'll never surrender if I have life-points left, go ahead and take your turn." Chloe announced and Jared nodded before drawing his card though both duelists knew that this was just a formality at this point.
"Silent Magician, finish her off." Jared commanded and the magician fired a beam of white light at Chloe hitting her in the chest and sending her flying backwards as her life-points dropped to zero.
"You okay babe?" Chloe looked up and saw Lance standing over her and realized that she had landed at her boyfriend's feet, not only that but most of her cards had been sent flying.
"Bruised ego, I'll live." Chloe responded with a grin before Lance helped her up, after a brief kiss Chloe looked up and realized that Marie was gathering up her cards. "What are you doing Marie?"
"Helping you gather up your cards, what? Don't you trust me?" Marie asked and Chloe shook her head before turning her attention back to her boyfriend, whilst Chloe's back was turned and she was sure that no one else was looking Marie slipped a card into Chloe's deck before gathering up the rest of the cards and handing it over. "Look, I know that my history of theft and as an Orichalcos Duelist doesn't make me the most trustworthy person on the island but those days are behind me, honestly." Marie said and Chloe hesitated before taking her deck. "See? No harm, no foul!"
"If you want us to trust you Marie you'll give Marcus his card back." Theresa pointed out and Marcus nodded in agreement whilst Marie frowned.
"If he wants it back he'll have to beat me in a duel." Marie said and Marcus stepped forward without hesitation. "What? You want to go now big man?"
"If it means getting my Red-Eyes Black Dragon back, yes!" Marcus responded and Marie grinned in response before stepping into position whilst Jared walked over to Chloe, however before they could activate their duel disks Marie got a call on her earpiece and she answered it.
"Sorry Marcus but we'll have to take a rain check on this duel." Marie said once she hung up. "Security are on their way with a stretcher for Amelia's opponent and we can't risk being seen." Marie added before calling over to Jared. "Jared, deliver your message to her and quick!"
"I'm on it." Jared said before turning to Chloe. "Remember your expulsion duels?" Jared asked and Chloe nodded. "Let's just say that one of your opponents from that day has fallen in with the Orichalcos Duelists."
"And considering how tough they were that's really bad news." Chloe nodded with a frown on her face. "Any idea who?"
"No but as soon as we find out you'll be the first to know." Jared responded before running off to catch up with Marie, once they were out of site Chloe turned to the others and frowned.
"I know, I know, I should've texted you guys saying that I was about to duel Jared." Chloe said with a frown on her face. "But I honestly had no idea what they had in store for me when Marie called me over, besides I had plenty of questions for Jared as well."
"Did you get your answers?" Theresa asked and Chloe shook her head. "It's fine Chloe, besides I think we'd better focus on who the duelists might have recruited, you guys want to meet up at my room?" Theresa asked and the others nodded in response. "Brandon, Andreas, think you can drop Nicola, Amelia, Daniel Jason and Chakra a text to meet up with us? I'd say text Caitlin as well but I doubt she's out of the infirmary just yet."
"Will do." The two teens nodded before the group walked off, whilst that was going on Jared had caught up with Marie as they walked down a different path.
"So, how are we staying out here for the weekend?" Jared asked as he caught up with Marie. "I didn't bring any camping equipment."
"Fortunately, I did, we're camped in one of the more remote areas of the forest, they'll never find us." Marie responded with a grin as she turned to Jared. "Granted, I'd much rather sleep in a comfy bed but with this weekend being the weekend where family's coming over to see the students there's no way we can slip out stealthily, too many ships."
"Right, right." Jared nodded in response before turning to Marie. "So, did you slip the card in?"
"They never suspected a thing." Marie said as she led him to the campsite. "And when Chloe does find it, I doubt she'll complain about having a card that powerful in her deck." Marie added as they walked off.