(Author's Note: If you'll allow me I'd like to dedicate this chapter to my Labrador Digby who sadly passed away at the age of 12 whilst I was writing this chapter)

A couple of hours had passed since the duels between Amelia and Mia and Chloe and Jared had ended and most of that was spent bringing the other students up to speed on what happened during the expulsion duels, the other half? That was spent trying to figure out who had been assisting the Orichalcos Duelists since those duels and they all came to the same conclusions; their best chance was to call them and fortunately Theresa had a couple of them as contacts on Skype.

"So, let me get this straight." Phillip Masters, the Irish national champion who had faced Theresa during the duels and Lance during Battle City, asked as he messaged his temples, behind him stood Francesca, his girlfriend and fellow duelist who had faced Brandon during the duels and Chloe during Battle City. "Some guy told you guys that one of your opponents the expulsion duels had defected to the Orichalcos Duelists? You realize how big an accusation that is to throw around, right?"

"I wouldn't throw that around lightly if I wasn't confident in my source." Theresa responded and Phillip nodded in response, she was alone in her room because they had taken to long trying to contact them on Skype and by the time they had contacted Phillip and Francesca it had gotten late so they agreed that Theresa would text them with what she had learned. "Problem is that our source didn't give us any info beyond that, I'm beginning to think that they were just as clueless as we were."

"So, in other words, you're flying blind." Francesca chimed in and Theresa sighed before nodding in response. "Look, we want to believe you but we're going to need some solid proof before we start asking around about that, merely accusing a pro-league duelist of being an Orichalcos Duelist is a career killer after the damage they caused during Battle City but if the accusations prove to be false it could end the career of the accuser instead."

"I understand that." Theresa nodded in understanding before thinking for a moment. "Okay, let's narrow things down, who would have the most time right now to help them out?" Theresa asked and Phillip thought for a moment.

"Well, me and Francesca are heading over to London tomorrow for the UK championships and before that we were busy with the qualifying matches here in Dublin, Ricardo's currently defending his title in a tournament in Barcelona and that tournament won't be over until the end of the month." Phillip responded and Theresa nodded. "Same goes for Mark except his tournament's in Sydney, Adriene and Amanda are competing in a couple's tag team tournament in Canada with their boyfriends which will take them through to the beginning of Summer."

"I'm surprised you guys weren't invited to that thing if it's a multi-national tournament." Theresa commented and Phillip shrugged.

"We were but the dates clashed with the UK Championship and that took priority, especially since it was just a charity event, don't get me wrong I do like donating to charity but my titles on the line in the UK Championship and if I drop out it's an automatic forfeit of my title." Phillip explained and Theresa nodded in response. "Then again, Adriene and Amanda are probably relieved that we're not competing, they were worried about their boyfriends dragging them down because they are apparently inexperienced but you saw how talented those ladies are so they should be fine." Phillip responded and Theresa nodded in response. "Speaking of Adrienne, I don't know if she will stay in Canada over the Summer as she has family up there but we'll see and Dmitri is busy getting a work visa sorted out for his participation in next year's Battle City Tournament, I don't think I need to remind you off how long those things can take."

"Yeah, part of the reason why it took the academy so long to announce participating duelists was because of the red tape surrounding getting work visas for seven students." Theresa responded and Phillip nodded before frowning. "You just remembered about Erick, didn't you?"

"Yeah and he's the only guy I haven't heard anything about, he's been flying under the radar since Chloe beat him." Phillip responded before remembering something. "He didn't even sign up for the Scottish qualifiers for the UK Championship despite being a favorite to win."

"Not that I'm complaining." Francesca added with a smirk. "Less time I spend with that arsehole the better."

"Well, considering his attitude during the duels he is the one guy who I would've pegged as the most likely to defect to the Orichalcos Duelists and I can't really blame you on that part Francesca." Theresa commented and the two Irish Duelists nodded in agreement. "But as you said, we don't have anything solid right now and unless Erick suddenly shows up at a tournament wielding the Orichalcos we don't have much to go on."

"Yeah and whilst Erick may be hot headed and a sore loser, he isn't stupid." Phillip nodded in response and Theresa sighed. "We'll keep an eye out for any suspicious activity from him and as soon as the others become available we'll ask them if they've heard from Erick since the expulsion duels, it's not much but it's the best we can do for you right now."

"Yeah and I wish I had more than just a gut instinct to work on." Theresa sighed before getting an idea. "Well Duel Academy is about to break up for summer break so we should be able to focus our attention on finding out as much about the Orichalcos Duelists as we can."

"And if you guys want any help on that give us a call, it shouldn't be too hard to persuade the others to help." Phillip nodded in response and Theresa grinned. "Anything else you can think off?"

"Actually, yeah, remember the news reports on the duel monster attacks right before the expulsion duels?" Theresa asked and the two duelists nodded. "We haven't had much time to keep an eye out for any similar attacks, have you heard of anything like that happening since then?"

"Mostly isolated incidents but there have been attacks, seems like the attack on the students was the worst one." Francesca nodded in response and Theresa frowned. "Again, if we find anything else out, we'll let you know."

"Thanks guys." Theresa said before checking the time on her computer clock. "I have to go, it's getting pretty late here at Duel Academy and I'm pretty sure that I've missed the nightly dorm check."

"Yeah sure, we're about to eat dinner anyway." Phillip nodded in response and Francesca's eyes widened before she ran off camera. "If the food isn't burnt, see you around Theresa." Phillip added before hanging up.

"Okay, not sure what I was expecting to happen but at least we've narrowed down the field a bit." Theresa thought as she removed her headset and looked around her room. "Then again if those guys weren't already busy with their Pro-Duelist commitments I wouldn't have pegged them as Orichalcos Duelists, I already knew that Phillip and Francesca where decent people from our encounter with them in Battle City but the others, aside from Erick, where nice guys as well." Theresa thought before turning off her desktop PC and standing up. "Still, part of me wants the Redemption Seekers to be wrong about this, the students here look up to the pro-duelists for the most part but after Felix was revealed to be an Orichalcos Duelist in Battle City despite being a regional champion I could easily see that pedestal being shattered."

*the next morning*

The weekend was finally here but whilst there wasn't anything as exciting as last week's promotion duels going on that weekend the students were excited all the same and for good reason, it was the final family day of the semester which meant several of the students' families were coming from all over the world to see them, however for two girls in Ra Yellow they had other things on their mind.

"Man, I still can't believe Sarah gave us an earful about the stain my spit take left on the floor." Chelsea grumbled under her breath as she glanced at where the stain once was. "The way she was acting, you'd think that it was one of those stains that'd never come out of the carpet!"

"Well yeah, it's like she said." Chloe shrugged her shoulders in response as she lay on the bed and absentmindedly went through her deck. "Ra Yellow students are held to a higher standard than Osiris Red Students and we're expected to keep our rooms tidy."

"At least she brought the story about the stain being caused by me accidentally spilling my coke." Chelsea responded with a grin and Chloe nodded in response. "Speaking of the real reason for the stain, when are you planning to tell Lance?"

"I'm not sure if I will to be honest, Marie did try to come on to me again right before my duel against Jared but I pushed her away." Chloe shrugged her shoulders in response as she glanced up at her roommate. "She didn't try anything else after that, made the odd sex joke here and there but she didn't really interact with me until she gathered up my cards with me." Chloe added as she continued to go through her deck. "Makes me think that she got the…." Chloe trailed off before she laid eyes on one of the cards in her deck, the one that Marie had slipped into it. "What the?!"

"Something wrong?" Chelsea asked as she walked over and Chloe sat up.

"Whilst I was going through the deck I came upon this card." Chloe responded as she held it up revealing it to be a Spell Card. "Necromancy, I've never heard of it, let alone added it to my deck."

"Let me have a look." Chelsea offered and Chloe nodded before handing it over. "Well, it's a powerful card, that's for certain, question is, how did it get into your deck?"

"Your guess is…." Chloe trailed off before it hit her. "Marie, she must've slipped the card in whilst my back was turned!"

"That's the only explanation I've got." Chelsea shrugged her shoulders before giving the card back to Chloe. "I don't know why Marie's handing out rare and powerful cards like this, I kinda wish she'd do the same for me but this is odd."

"Tell me about it." Chloe responded as she looked at the card. "What do you think? Should I hold onto it?"

"Hey, if it helps us win the tournament then I won't object." Chelsea shrugged her shoulders in response and Chloe grinned before putting it back in her deck. "And if anyone asks where you got the card, just say the same thing I said to the Troys when they asked about Wattcanine."

"That I imported it? But what if Martin doesn't back up my claim?" Chloe asked and Chelsea shook her head.

"He won't object, the question was mote about whether it was okay to use imported cards in the tournament or not." Chelsea responded and Chloe grinned at that, before the two girls could say anything else there was a knock at their door. "You want to get it? I want to get back to my game of Total War Rome II."

"Sure." Chloe nodded in response before standing up, by the time she reached the door her roommate was already at her desktop computer and she answered the door seeing three men standing in front of it, all of them had dark hair but other than that their looks varied.

"Hi, we're looking for one of the students here." The youngest of the three greeted her and Chloe nodded once she remembered that it was visitor day, the guy who had spoken up had neck length black hair and blue eyes behind a pair of glasses and was wearing a black t-shirt and jeans. "She has shoulder length black hair with blue streaks, a nose piercing…"

"Let me guess, she's also 5ft 6, has a temper as short as the life-span of a butterfly, is a lesbian and goes by the name Chelsea?" Chloe asked with a knowing smirk and the men were caught off guard. "I'm her roommate Chloe, you guys must be Danny, Chris and Mark, right?"

"That's us." Danny nodded in response with a grin on his face, he was easily the biggest one of the three and towered over the petite Chloe, he had short black hair and was wearing a football jersey with matching pants. "Is she in there?"

"Yeah, she's just in the middle of a game…." Chloe trailed off before an outburst from inside the room caught her off guard.

"OH, FUCK OFF! WHY DID YOU DECLARE WAR ON ME?!" Chelsea's voice rang out and Chloe and the three men sweat-dropped. "IT'S YOUR FUCKING FUNERAL LUSTANI!"

"Glad to see that her time in Duel Academy hasn't changed her competitive spirit." Chris chuckled before turning to Chloe, he was the shortest off the three with shoulder length hair in a ponytail and was wearing a green jacket over a black shirt with the words "Tech Superhero" on the front and blue jeans. "So, can we come in?"

"Yeah, sure." Chloe nodded before stepping aside to let the three men in, once they were inside the room Chloe closed the door behind them and turned to Chelsea. "Err, Chelsea, I know you're in the middle of a game but someone's here to see you."

"Huh?" Chelsea asked before looking up from her desk chair, the moment she saw her three older brothers Chelsea grinned broadly before spinning around to face them. "Hey guys! I didn't think you guys would get here this early."

"We arrived in Domino City last night and checked into a hotel, we're going back to Chicago on Monday." Mark explained as he sat down on a chair. "So, how's life here in Duel Academy? I heard you had found a girlfriend, is it Chloe?"

"I wish." Chelsea joked whilst Chloe did her best not to laugh. "Seriously though, Chloe's straight and already taken so no, I'm not dating her but I am dating another girl in Ra Yellow." Chelsea explained before glancing at her computer clock to check the time. "Speaking of the time, you didn't see anyone else who looked like family members of the students, did you?"

"Eh, a couple but no-one I really recognized." Mark shrugged his shoulders before glancing over at Chloe. "Asking for your roommate?"

"Yeah, pretty much." Chelsea nodded before shaking her head. "But enough about me, what have you guys been up too?"

"My football career was going great, then I suffered a knee injury and had to retire." Danny responded before motioning to his right knee to indicate that that was the one that had been injured. "These days, I spend my time coaching but it's a high paying job so I can't complain."

"I've been getting job offers from tech companies but I mostly stick to freelance work." Chris added with a shrug before turning to Danny. "Mark's still working on getting his book out."

"It's a work in progress!" Mark insisted and his brothers shook his head. "So, Chelsea, how about you? Beat anyone up yet?"

"I've come close a couple of times but both times were against asshole students who think it's okay to call someone with autism a retard." Chelsea grunted under her breath and the boys frowned at that. "The girl they were targeting is on the high end of the spectrum but that didn't stop them from targeting her."

"Yeah, Jamie said something about that when she called us about your promotion to Ra Yellow last week." Mark nodded in response before he heard his stomach rumble. "Heh, mention the one sibling that can cook and I get hungry, if that's not perfect timing I don't know what is."

"Good thing that it's coming up to Lunch time." Chelsea commented as she glanced over at her computer clock. "And besides, this room is cramped enough without three men in it, how about we continue the discussion downstairs?"

"Lead the way." Mark responded and Chelsea grinned before leading her brothers out of the room, Chloe held the door open for them again and once they had left Chloe let out a deep breath.

"Dad did say that he was coming over even though mom can't make it." Chloe thought as she leaned against the door with her arms crossed, glancing around the hallway she could see several other girls happily greeting their families and her ears picked up what sounded like a conversation in Italian. "That's probably Gabrielle speaking with her family, she did say that she's from Italy so there's a good chance that most of her family doesn't speak English as a first language." Chloe thought before hearing her dad's voice.

"I know you haven't seen her in years Margaret." Her dad's voice rang out though she was confused by who he was talking too, especially since her mom was working at the hospital that day. "But she has grown up a lot."

"I know, I could hardly believe how much she's matured when I saw her in the Battle City finals on TV." A voice Chloe hadn't heard in years responded causing Chloe to do a double take. "I may have retired from the orphanage where she was looked after not long after you adopted her but I do like to keep tabs on the Children I looked after."

"No way, is she actually here?!" Chloe thought as she saw her dad go around the corner that would lead him to the hallway where the room she shared with Chelsea was, alongside him was the older woman who she last saw during her dream duel. "Hi dad." She greeted him as she grinned broadly, Margaret walked up to her next and Chloe's grin widened. "Been a long-time Margaret."

"I'll say young lady, look at how much you've grown." Margaret greeted her as she looked her up and down and Chloe grinned. "Scott mentioned that you have a roommate, is she in?"

"You just missed her, her brothers flew in from Chicago to see her and Chelsea took them downstairs to get a bite to eat." Chloe explained before sighing. "I wasn't expecting to see you again after I was adopted."

"Well after your success in Battle City she had been wanting to see you in person, she never got a chance during the tournament so we've been waiting for the visitor day since then." Scott said before motioning to the door. "Can we come in or are you going to lean on the door all day?"

"I don't know, I was just getting comfortable." Chloe joked before leading them in and closing the door behind them, once the door was closed she turned to Margaret. "I never got a chance to thank you for everything you did for me after my dad's trial." Chloe said as she sat down on the edge of her bed and Margaret smiled.

"Don't worry about it, the fact that you've grown into a fine young lady is thanks enough." Margaret reassured her and Chloe grinned before Margaret glanced down at her exposed midriff. "All though, I still think you could afford to gain some weight."

"Give me a break Marge." Chloe laughed as she shifted her weight. "It's not like I'm dangerously underweight or something, especially considering my height."

"Yes, but you look like you're not at the healthy weight for a girl who's 5ft 2." Margaret responded and Chloe shook her head in response. "Enough of that though, any boyfriends yet?"

"If there are any it'll be the first I've heard of it." Scott responded and Chloe laughed nervously.

"I should probably avoid mentioning the incident with Marie." Chloe thought as she glanced at the two adults. "The fact that I'm dating Lance will come off as enough of a surprise for dad, no need to give him a double whammy like that." Chloe thought before grinning. "Actually, yeah I've started dating a boy." Chloe responded before turning to her dad. "Yes, it is someone you know before you ask."

"Let me guess, Lance?" Scott asked and Chloe nodded. "Your mother and I had a feeling you'd end up as his girlfriend eventually, you haven't had sex with him yet, right?"

"Dad, really?" Chloe asked with a deadpan expression on her face. "No, we haven't, he wants to wait for some…. protection to arrive first."

"Do you mean condoms or protection from your dad?" Margaret joked getting a laugh out of them.

"I meant condoms." Chloe responded and Scott sighed in relief. "I really don't want to get pregnant at eighteen, that's all I'm saying."

"That's good." Scott nodded in response before shifting his weight. "But at the same time, I feel I should talk to Lance about your new relationship with him." Scott added before standing up. "I heard that he graduated to Obelisk Blue, am I, right?"

"Yeah, we graduated at the same time because the school decided to put us in a match against each other for our promotion duel and the duel ended in a draw due to double deck out." Chloe nodded before frowning. "And I don't really know where Lance's dorm room is, whenever we've gone up to the Obelisk Blue boy's dorm for a meeting with the others we usually used either Tyler's or Brandon's dorm rooms because they are the biggest."

"Not surprised that Tyler got one of the biggest rooms considering who is dad is." Scott commented and Chloe chuckled a bit. "Well, it shouldn't be too hard to find it, do you mind taking me there Chloe?"

"Like I have a choice?" Chloe asked with a sigh before standing up. "Are you coming Marge?"

"Well, between sitting in here and waiting for you to return or watching the fireworks go off I think I know which one I pick." Marge responded before standing up and following them out of the dorm room.

*meanwhile*

"Okay, dad, mom and Zach should be here soon." Nicola thought as she sat down whilst leaning against the wall of the Osiris Red Girl's dorm and looked over her deck, she had been awake for a couple of hours now and her first date with Andreas was scheduled for today but it was rescheduled when they remembered about visitor day being today, in fact that was the reason why she was out there because she wanted to get away from the noise and she was currently sitting to the side of the dorm room. "And the plan is to challenge Zach to a duel to show him how much I've improved, hopefully he's remembered his duel disk."

"Well, well, what do we have here?" Nicola groaned in response as she heard the familiar voice of Cameron and looked up seeing him with Thomas and his girlfriend. "Did you get kicked out of the Special Needs Dorm?"

"What do you idiots want?" Nicola asked with a sigh as she glared at them. "I mean seriously, it's family day and you guys are still looking for excuses to bully me? Or does Thomas want to take out his frustrations at being eliminated yesterday?"

"I'll have you know that I was sabotaged…..." Thomas didn't even get a chance to start his tangent before Cameron stopped him.

"She's not worth one of your tangents Thomas, besides we have a plan to deal with Richardson." Cameron reminded him and Thomas nodded in response. "And as for family day? Give me a break, why should we care about that?" Cameron asked before picking Nicola up roughly by the collar and pinning her against the wall. "Where's your knight in shining armor now? Oh, that's right, among the elites." Cameron said as Jessica cracked her knuckles. "No one around to save you this time…..."

"HEY!" Cameron looked up and saw a tall, muscular man standing to the side of them, he had shoulder length black hair in a ponytail, blue eyes and was wearing a muscle shirt with blue jeans and boots and, most importantly, had a duel disk on his arm. "Put her down, now."

"Why don't you mind your own business?" Cameron demanded as the man approached them not noticing that Nicola seemed to recognize him. "We were just about to teach a lesson to this retard here, that's…" Cameron never finished his sentence as the man angrily grabbed by his shirt and pulled him in closer causing him to let go of Nicola.

"What did you just call her?!" The man demanded as his eyes narrowed and Jessica scoffed.

"Why does it matter to you what we call her?" Jessica asked as the man glanced up at her. "It's not like you're a student here or anything."

"My name is Zach Hastings." The man responded as he turned to Jessica. "And I'm Nicola's older brother." Zach added at which point all color drained from the faces of the Obelisk Blue students. "So, I'm going to ask you again, what did you just call her?!"

"Nothing, honest." Cameron responded with a nervous gulp and Zach's eyes narrowed. "Look, if you let me go we'll leave your sister alone for the rest of the day."

"I should punch you because it was blatantly obvious that you were about to assault my sister." Zach said as he let go of Cameron's shirt. "And calling a girl with special needs that horrible name? That's just the icing on the cake! But I'm more concerned with my sister right now so I will let you go and if you keep your word you won't have to worry about me." Zach added before getting in Cameron's face. "But if I see you or your cronies anywhere near my sister there will be hell to pay and I'm going to be spending all day with her, understand?"

"Perfectly." Cameron gulped before motioning for Jessica and Thomas to follow him, once the three Obelisk Blue Students left Zach immediately turned his attention to Nicola.

"Nic, are you okay? Did they hurt you?" Zach asked as he ran up to his younger sister and Nicola turned to him.

"I'm fine, I'm just a bit shaken up." Nicola responded as she gathered up her cards that were scattered when Cameron picked her up. "It would've been a lot nastier if you hadn't shown up when you did, those three are nasty."

"You don't have to tell me twice." Zach said with a nod as he glanced towards the area that Cameron, Thomas and Jessica had ran off too. "Can't believe they'd let assholes like them into the school." Zach said with a frown and Nicola shook her head.

"Unfortunately, they are good duelists, problem is that they all come from money and they think that they can use said money to get out of any trouble they find themselves in." Nicola explained as she folded her arms. "That mindset's gotten them in trouble before, it's not the first time I've been called that word by them."

"We should try to make sure that it's the last time they call you that." Zach responded before motioning for Nicola to follow him. "Come on, mom and dad are waiting for you outside your dorm room, the only reason I came out here in the first place was because they sent me to look for you."

"Yeah, the dorm was getting a bit too noisy for my tastes, especially with all the families being reunited with the other girls, hence why I came out here." Nicola explained and Zach nodded in understanding, however a thought soon crossed her mind and she frowned. "You're not going to tell them what happened, are you?"

"I'm sorry Nic but there's no way of getting around it." Zach responded as he turned to her. "I understand that you don't want them to worry especially on a day like today but this way we might get something achieved."

"Yeah but I know a guy who might help us out here." Nicola responded and Zach turned to her. "You were in Duel Academy when I was twelve and like me you started in Osiris Red, did any Obelisk Blue students pledge to protect you from bullies?"

"Oh yeah, at least three, mostly because of how scrawny I was back then." Zach responded with a nod as he turned to her. "Once I made it to Obelisk Blue I pretty much did the same thing and I'm still friends with the students who protected me to this day." Zach added before getting the idea. "Another student pledged to protect you?"

"Yeah, you may remember him from Battle City." Nicola nodded in response before blushing a bit. "Remember Andreas?"

"How couldn't I? You wouldn't stop gushing about him in the months that followed Battle City." Zach responded before noticing the blush. "Okay, so he's the one who's protecting you but that doesn't explain the blush…." Zach trailed off before he got the idea. "You've started dating him, haven't you?"

"Yeah, I was hoping to tell dad under happier circumstances but we made it official the other day." Nicola said as she rubbed her arm nervously. "I had been meaning to confess my feelings for him since I got here but stuff kept getting in the way, Andreas stopped by my dorm room and we made it official." Nicola added before blushing like a madwoman. "I just made it sound like we made it official by having sex in my dorm room, didn't I?"

"Yeah, you did." Zach commented with a chuckle before folding his arms. "So, did you?"

"Well we did kiss but that's as far as it went." Nicola responded as she ran a hand through her hair. "We probably would've taken it further but Andreas forgot to close the door behind him, the other girls interrupted us before I could even get my blazer off."

"Yeah, that must've been awkward." Zach nodded in agreement before frowning. "Still, if he's pledged to protect you then he can help, he was in Ra Yellow, right?"

"Was, he moved up to Obelisk Blue last weekend." Nicola responded with a nod as she glanced towards the Osiris Red Girl's Dorm. "Well, I guess I've put this off long enough, we'd better go find mom and dad before they send someone else to look for us."

"Good idea, I don't think I need to tell you that they are waiting outside your dorm room." Zach responded before leading her back into the dorm, the dorm was quiet for the most part so they just heading up to Nicola's room where they found their parents chatting outside. "Mom, dad, I found her outside." Zach commented once they were close enough and they looked up. "Right as she was about to be roughed up by three Obelisk Blue Students."

"What?!" Nicola's dad responded before immediately turning his attention to Nicola. "They didn't hurt you, did they Nicola?"

"I'm fine dad, just shaken up." Nicola reassured him before motioning to Zach. "It's thanks to him that they didn't get a chance to do anything anyway."

"Yeah, Nicola was lucky that I showed up when I did." Zach commented with a nod before turning to Nicola. "I think our next step should be a visit to the Osiris Red Girl's Dorm's headmistress to file a complaint, I'm guessing Maria still has the job?"

"Yeah, she does all though rumor is that she's considering retirement at the end of the school year." Nicola responded with a nod before turning to her mom. "Sucks that we had to meet up again under these circumstances mom."

"I'm just glad you're okay Nicola." Her mother reassured her and Nicola grinned at that. "Even so, we should let the headmistress of your dorm know what happened, is it safe to assume that you know where her office is?"

"Yeah, it's this way." Nicola responded before leading them to the office, the walk took a couple of minutes and Nicola did notice that a couple of the other girls were checking out her older brother. "I know he looks younger but he's twenty-two, most of the girls at the dorm are at least fifteen and I'm among the oldest at seventeen, so was Chloe and Chelsea before they were promoted." Nicola thought before glancing up at her older brother. "Then again if he was as young as he looks he still has his girlfriend." Nicola thought before they reached Maria's office. "Okay, we're here." Nicola said as she turned to her parents. "Do you want us to come in with you?"

"We'll be fine Nicola, this shouldn't take more than a few minutes." Her dad responded before they knocked on the door, once they were let in Nicola sat down on one of the nearby chairs with a huff and an annoyed look on her face.

"I would've thought you'd relish the opportunity to not sit in on a meeting with a headmistress, especially one with mom and dad." Zach commented as he sat down next to her and Nicola let out a sigh.

"It's not that, it's just that, speaking from personal experience, meetings involving some aspect of my life tend to take quite a bit longer than a few minutes." Nicola said as she turned to her older brother. "I guess it comes with being autistic but if we wait for them we'll never let Andreas know what happened because he'll probably be busy with his parents by the time they are done."

"Yeah, I can understand that." Zach nodded in response before getting an idea. "How about we head over there now? I'll send dad a text saying that you wanted to show me around."

"Are you sure?" Nicola asked as she glanced at Maria's office only to sweat-drop as she could already hear angry shouting from the other side. "That does sound like a good idea I'll take dealing with Cameron over hearing my dad argue with the headmistress."

"And with me around you won't have to deal with him." Zach responded with a nod before checking the time on his phone. "Should we get going?"

"Yeah, let's." Nicola responded before the two siblings stood up and walked off.

*meanwhile*

Whilst that was going on the rest of the students on the island where either awaiting the arrival of their families or hanging out with their family members, for two girls in Ra Yellow who fell in the former party they were more than a little nervous about waiting for their families and for good reason.

"Any sign of them?" Latoya asked as she glanced up at her girlfriend Louella who was sitting at her desk which was facing the window facing the front entrance to the Ra Yellow Girl's dorm, the two girls were in their dorm room anxiously awaiting the arrival of their respective parents, well Latoya was, Louella seemed cool and collected about it which was confirmed when she looked up and shrugged before she shook her head.

"No sign of them." Louella responded before standing up and sitting next to Latoya on the bed. "You don't need to be nervous, do you really think your parents will disown you after we come out as gay?"

"Considering how many horror stories I've heard about gay kids coming out to their parents? I think I have plenty to worry about." Latoya commented with a sigh as she glanced up at Louella. "Getting disowned would be the best-case scenario, worst case? I get sent off to one of those "Pray the Gay Away" camps, at least you have nothing to worry about." Louella commented before sharing a brief kiss with Louella. "You were brought up by a lesbian couple."

"Yeah and that's why I'm confident that you'll have nothing to worry about." Louella responded with a grin. "If they do seem reluctant at first my parents could easily sway them around, like I said you have nothing to worry about."

"I hope your right." Latoya responded before Louella stood up and went back to her desk. "And to think, before you convinced me that we should come out of the closet together I was more worried about my parents finding Beelzeus in my extra deck." Latoya commented with a laugh and Louella shook her head.

"You still haven't told me how your shopaholic tendencies got to the point where your parents trust you with five bucks at the most." Louella commented and Latoya shook her head.

"It's a long story, I'll tell you it on a day were we're less likely to be interrupted." Latoya responded with a grin on her face. "So, do you think Chloe's introduced her dad to Lance yet?"

"From what I've heard, they knew each other before Duel Academy so the fact that she's dating a metalhead won't come as that big a surprise to him." Louella responded with a shrug of her shoulders and Latoya nodded. "The stuff that he's into however is a different story."

"If he doesn't mention that balloon popping fetish vid that he mentioned during the Battle Royal she'll be fine on that front, porn stash on the other hand? Well I hope for her sake that he has a good hiding spot somewhere in his room." Latoya responded with a grin before realizing something. "Then again he's probably already hidden it in preparation for his family's arrival."

"And considering how big Obelisk Blue Dorms are he probably has more than one hiding spot." Louella added and Latoya nodded in agreement before Louella looked out the window and grinned. "Okay, it's the moment of truth, both of our parents have entered the building."

"I don't think I've been this nervous about a meeting with my parents since that time I got caught shoplifting a puppy from a pet store down my blouse." Latoya commented earning an odd look from her girlfriend. "It was a cute puppy!"

"I'm not even going to ask." Louella commented as she shook her head. "So, did you get sent to Juvie?"

"My parents convinced the store owner to not press charges." Latoya commented as she grinned a bit. "I had been wanting a puppy for a while so they at least understood why I did it!"

"At least tell me they let you keep the puppy?" Louella asked and Latoya shook her head.

"No but they did take me to the rescue center the following weekend to let me pick out one, the one I tried to shoplift already had an interested buyer." Latoya commented and Louella shook her head. "That puppy's still with the family two years later, they managed to convince the school board to let them bring it to the island."

"So, if we hear several girls cooing over a dog we know that your parents are nearby." Louella commented and Latoya grinned before nodding.

"Yeah but do me a favor and don't mention that story to the other students?" Latoya asked and Louella nodded.

"I will, if you don't mention the time I came home with about twenty stray cats following me because I smelled like fish." Louella responded and it was Latoya's turn to give her an odd look. "Long story involving a fishing boat and my deck."

"I'm not going to ask about that either." Latoya commented as a large sweat-drop rolled down her head, moments later there was a knock at the door and Latoya got up to answer it as she was the closest to the dorm room, once she had opened the door she was almost immediately greeted by an excited one year old Golden Labrador and her dad. "Hey dad…." Latoya trailed off as the dog jumped onto her shoulders and started licking her face. "Hey Rocky!" Latoya greeted the dog once it had jumped down. "Good thing I don't wear make-up."

"If you did you'd need to apply new make-up." Her dad joked as the dog started going over to the other girls in the dorm as they walked past. "So, can we come in before Rocky drags me off?"

"Sure!" Latoya said before standing aside to let them in and they were accompanied by her mom as well. "Did you see Louella's parents on the way up?"

"They grabbed a bite to eat in the café, they said that they'll be up in a few minutes." Her mom responded as her dad let Rocky off the leash and let him walk about. "So, how's life with your roommate anyway?"

"It's been great, aside from being eliminated from the Tag Tournament yesterday." Latoya responded as Louella started stroking Rocky. "We were up against two Obelisk Blue Students including Lance from Battle City, it didn't go well."

"I thought he was another Ra Yellow student?" Her dad asked and Latoya shook her head.

"He got promoted last week after a draw against Chloe, she also got promoted to Ra Yellow." Latoya explained before glancing at Louella, once she saw the look her girlfriend was giving her Louella stropped stroking Rocky and sat next to Latoya as Rocky plopped down on the floor lying down. "Mom, dad, I have something to tell you and well, I'm not really sure how to say it."

"Latoya, you know you can talk to us about anything." Her dad reassured her and Latoya grinned.

"Then I guess I'd better just go ahead and say it." Latoya said before taking a deep breath. "I'm gay, I've been dating Louella since we got promoted to Ra Yellow last year and we're happy together." Latoya said and to drive the point home the two girls held each other's hands, her parents shared a look and Latoya began to get nervous. "Crap, they are going to disown me! I just know it!"

"We had a feeling that was the case." Her dad responded and Latoya did a double take. "Short hair, no make-up unless it's a party like the one we threw for your admittance into Duel Academy and rarely wearing dresses, I just thought you were being a tomboy but now?" Her dad said before locking eyes with Latoya. "Are you sure about this?"

"I've never been more sure about anything like this since I decided that I wanted a dog." Latoya responded before glancing over at Rocky. "Besides, I've known that I'm gay for a while now, I just wanted to wait until we saw each other again face to face before I came out of the closet." Latoya added before sighing as she lowered her head. "I was so worried that you'd reject me because of my orientation."

"Latoya, don't be silly." Her mom reassured her and Latoya looked up. "You're our daughter, nothing will change that and besides, what kind of mother would I be if I disowned you for loving another woman." She added and Latoya's dad nodded in agreement, Latoya grinned before hugging them.

"You have no idea how happy I am to hear that!" Latoya responded as they returned the hug. "All that's left is for Louella to tell her parents."

"And I'm not as nervous as Latoya was." Louella commented as Rocky walked up to her and she started stroking the dog. "Don't know if you noticed but my parents are a lesbian couple, coming out to them should be a lot easier." Louella added before glancing at Latoya. "You guys mind if I go tell them myself? I can tell you have a lot to talk about."

"Sure, go ahead." Latoya's dad responded and Louella grinned before standing up and leaving.

*meanwhile*

Just because it was family day didn't mean that the infirmary wasn't busy, the parents of the three comatose students had come over to take them to the mainland so that they could get better treatment at a proper hospital leaving the two students who weren't comatose, Caitlin and Tyler, alone in their infirmary beds.

"God, can I just be discharged and go back to my dorm room already!" Caitlin thought with a moan as she read an old Spider-Man comic. "I wasn't even that busted up from my duel against Mia! At least Makayla was kind enough to bring me some of my comic books so that I won't die of boredom!"

"Enjoying your comic books?" Caitlin did a double take before realizing that Tyler was talking to her from his bed, she had known him in passing as he was present at some of her practice duels against Amelia and Daniel but they rarely spoke.

"Not like there's much else to do in here." Caitlin shrugged as she glanced at the small pile of comic books Makayla had brought over that morning. "I just thought that I would be discharged by now, I was looking forward to spending time with my family." Caitlin added and Tyler let out a sad sigh. "Something wrong?"

"You know how my father is Seto Kaiba right?" Tyler asked and Caitlin nodded. "He never comes to family days, too busy running his company, the most me and Miranda usually see of him is through Skype Chats and that's if he finds the time."

"Oh." Caitlin responded as she lowered her head. "Sorry if I came off as insensitive."

"It's fine, you're hardly the first." Tyler shrugged his shoulders before the nurse approached them.

"Well Caitlin, Tyler, I have good news, you will be discharged soon." The nurse told them and the two teens grinned. "And by soon, I mean once the weekend's over."

"What?" Caitlin asked as she glanced at the nurse. "But I'm not even that badly injured!"

"I know Caitlin but with your medical history the school doesn't want to take any chances." The nurse responded with an apologetic look on her face and Caitlin let out an annoyed grunt. "As for you Tyler, we still don't know the full extent of the injuries you suffered at Jack's hands and the board has advised me to keep you under observation, especially now that Billie Prince, Frank Goff and Sarah Baker have been taken to the main land."

"I understand, doesn't mean I'm happy about it." Tyler responded and the nurse nodded in response before walking off, once she left Tyler turned to Caitlin. "If you don't mind me asking, why would the board advise the nurse to keep you here over the weekend?"

"It's a long story." Caitlin responded before setting aside her book. "A couple of years before I joined Duel Academy I was at an all girl's school back home in San Diego, the other girls at the school bullied me relentlessly because I'm petite and it caused me to have serious self-image issues, I didn't realize it at the time but I developed a serious case of anorexia."

"Sorry to hear that." Tyler responded before looking her up and down. "But just by looking at you the issues are obviously behind you."

"Yeah, that took Child Services stepping in and having a local hospital force-feed me." Caitlin responded as she took a deep breath. "When I saw the horrified look on my parents' faces I knew I needed to tell them the truth, once I was at a healthy weight they pulled me out of the school and eventually enrolled me here." Caitlin added before sighing. "And then more issues came, my mom mentioned my weight issues to the school board because she's really scared that I'll relapse, I don't blame her but that led to it being mentioned under medical history."

"I think Amelia told me about it, some Obelisk Blue students were bullying you because of your weight, right?" Tyler asked and Caitlin nodded.

"Yeah, I by the time Amelia and Daniel had stepped in I had already ran off crying thinking that this would be the Girls School all over again." Caitlin added before taking a deep breath. "That is until they tracked me down, at first I thought that they were friends with the other students but Amelia comforting me put those fears to rest, she told me that I was under their protection and I didn't understand it at the time but they made sure no one made fun of my weight again." Caitlin explained before picking up her book. "You know what's strange? It was comic books that helped me overcome my anorexia."

"Your right, that is strange." Tyler commented as he leaned forward. "How so?"

"When I was recovering a boy a few years younger than me in a nearby bed was reading some comic books, I was bored so I asked him if I could read them and, with the help of a nurse as he had a broken leg, he passed me some of his comics." Caitlin said before grinning a bit. "I was hooked and, well, seeing these strong characters inspired me to get better, my parents thought I was too old for comic books at that point but I plead my case and won them over." Caitlin added before her grin grew wider. "Once I had fully recovered and they pulled me out of my old school my dad took me to a local comic book shop and let me buy as many as I wanted."

"Out of curiosity, how many did you buy in the end?" Tyler asked and Caitlin grinned sheepishly.

"Just over a hundred dollars' worth, I was lucky that my dad had just gotten his paycheck that day." Caitlin added before glancing at her deck. "I discovered the game the same way, they had an Elemental Heroes Structure Deck inspired by Jaden Yuki on sale and well, I pretty much wanted it the moment I saw the word "heroes" and my dad brought it for me." Caitlin added before picking her deck. "Still have that deck to this day, I've improved it quite a bit since then but my newly discovered love of the game led me to this school."

"That's quite a story." Tyler responded before grinning. "I have some comic books in my room, if you want I could let you read them."

"I'd like that." Caitlin responded before going back to her comic book.

"Tyler, you realize she's underage, right?" Serene Psychic Witch asked him and he sighed.

"I know, it' called being nice to a girl who's endured a lot of shit in her life." Tyler responded as he leaned back. "Besides, even if she was over eighteen, she's not my type, I prefer to date girls that don't need a step ladder to kiss me."

"Just making sure." Serene Psychic Witch responded before leaving him alone.

*a bit later*

It was now early evening on Duel Academy island and the students' reunions with their families were winding down for the most part, off course there were families who couldn't make it for one reason or another but for one Ra Yellow student that was the last thing on his mind.

"It's a shame that my family couldn't fly in from India." Rajin thought as he walked down the hallways of the Ra Yellow Girls' dorm, he passed several female students saying goodbye to their families including Latoya and Louella but paid them no mind as he reached his destination. "It was good to chat with them on Skype though, for now I have to talk with Chloe and Chelsea, they need to know what went on during the time that I spent teaming with Thomas in the tournament." Rajin thought as he stopped in front of the door to the dorm room that the two girls shared and knocked, ten minutes passed but there was no answer and he frowned.

"Rajin?" He looked up and saw the source of the female voice that had called his name seeing Chloe and Chelsea's neighbors Stacey and Gabrielle standing outside their dorm room. "I haven't seen you since your duel against Chloe and Chelsea yesterday." Stacey added and Rajin sighed.

"That was my own choice, I had a lot on my mind so I only left my dorm room so I could attend classes." Rajin explained as he turned to the two older girls. "You haven't seen Chloe and Chelsea, have you?"

"No, not since this morning." Gabrielle responded as she shook her head. "And even then, it was in passing because I was so busy catching up with my family, I saw Chelsea heading towards the cafeteria with three older men who looked to be her brothers, didn't see Chloe though."

"I did, she left with her dad and an older woman I didn't recognize but she seemed quite friendly with." Stacey added before turning to Rajin. "Maybe it was her grandma or something, didn't get a good luck at her, but I did overhear Chloe mention that they were going towards the Obelisk Blue Boys Dorm, presumably so that her dad can have "the talk" with Lance."

"I didn't see Chelsea in the cafeteria and frankly, I'm in no hurry to go over to the Obelisk Blue Boys' Dorm." Rajin shrugged his shoulders in response before he turned to leave. "When they come back, could you tell them that I wish to speak with them? It's important."

"Off course." Gabrielle responded and Rajin went to leave. "Wait, are you sure it's not something that you could discuss with us?"

"Yeah, we're all friends here, aren't we?" Stacey asked and Rajin glanced over his shoulder and shook his head.

"I appreciate the offer but the things I wish to speak to them about? Well, no offense but I think it's something that only they would understand." Rajin added before walking off.

*meanwhile*

"Okay, porn stash successfully hidden from my mom." Lance thought as he glanced around his room, he had gotten up early that morning so that he could get as early a start on hiding his porn stash as possible, fortunately he had been spending most of the week deciding on the best hiding places. "Under the bed, at the back of the top shelf of the closet, hidden behind a stack of homework, behind the mini-fridge, the only thing I should worry about and that's Chloe's dad since it's inevitable that she'll mention that we're dating now, not to mention the fact that she knows about my porn stash." Lance thought before there was a knock at the door. "Who is it?"

"It's me Lance." Chloe called out from the other side of the door and Lance grinned broadly upon hearing his girlfriend's voice. "And my dad's here as well."

"Come in." Lance responded and Chloe opened the door before entering the room and holding the door open for her dad. "If your over here then I'm guessing Chloe told you that we're an item now?" Lance asked once Chloe closed the door behind her.

"Yes, I am." Scott responded before glancing around. "Glad to see that they kept the dorms up to scratch from when I was a student here, may I?" Scott asked as he motioned to a couch.

"Sure." Lance shrugged and Scott sat down on the couch whilst Chloe went over to the mini-fridge to get herself a drink. "Hey Chloe, you mind getting me a drink whilst your over there?"

"Sure, what do you want?" Chloe responded as she glanced up at her boyfriend and Lance shrugged in response telling her that he didn't mind. "Coke it is, I guess." Chloe responded before closing the door after she grabbed the cans and tossed one to Lance before opening her own can, whilst she was over there she spotted some of Lance's magazines and shook her head. "I guess I know where he's hiding some of his stash, probably best that I don't mention this whilst dad's in the room." Chloe thought before sitting down and going over her deck.

"Lance, I may not be her biological father but as far as she's concerned? I may as well be." Scott started as he glanced over at Chloe. "And considering that for the past eleven years I've been a much better father than Robert, that's saying a lot, with that said I want to make one thing clear to you." Scott added before leaning forward. "First, do you love her?"

"Off course, you wouldn't believe the stuff I went through trying to ask her out in the first place." Lance responded with a nod before looking at Scott in the eye. "If you're asking if I'm going to do anything to hurt her, off course not! I was one of the first students who knew about her abuse growing up."

"I'm glad we understand each other." Scott nodded with a smile and Lance grinned. "But if you do, there will be hell to pay, she is my baby girl and I won't tolerate any abuse, understood?"

"Perfectly." Lance said as he put his hands up. "If anything, you'd probably have to get in line behind my friends considering how well known it is…." Lance trailed off as he saw the smile disappear from Scott's face. "And I just picked the worst possible time for me to crack a joke, great!"

"You dare disrespect me, like that?!" Scott demanded as he raised his voice and Lance winced whilst Chloe's head snapped up upon hearing her stepdad's angry voice.

"No disrespect was intended, I swear!" Lance gulped as Scott stood up and Lance did likewise. "I was just saying…..."

"I know what you were just saying, in fact I understand the point that you were trying to make." Scott responded as his eyes narrowed. "But a joke about the abuse my daughter suffered?! I thought you were better than this Lance!" Scott added and at that point Chloe stood up and got in between her dad and her boyfriend. "This doesn't concern you Chloe."

"Dad, I heard what you two were arguing about, it does concern me!" Chloe pointed out and Scott nodded in resignation. "Look, I'm not condoning whatever dumbass joke Lance just made but I don't want to see my father fighting my boyfriend, this was supposed to be a day for family to catch up, not argue with my boyfriend!"

"Your right." Scott admitted as he took a deep breath. "But he had better apologize." Scott added and Chloe turned to her boyfriend expectedly.

"I'm sorry I disrespected you sir." Lance responded and Scott nodded in approval. "If there's anything I can do to make up for it, just name it!"

"Just treat my daughter right and produce healthy grandchildren when you feel the time is right." Scott responded and the two teens nodded in response. "Well, despite the argument I'm glad that we had that talk and I'm happy that you two made it official, your mother and I always thought that you and Lance were made for each other Chloe."

"Even when I first met him during that school tournament?" Chloe asked and Scott laughed.

"Okay, maybe not always." Scott responded before turning to Lance. "Just remember what I said before the argument, I should get going Chloe, I'll see you next weekend for the start of Summer Break." Scott added before leaving the room and closing it behind him, once he was gone Chloe turned to Lance.

"Okay, what the hell was that about?" Chloe asked as she sat down on the couch. "I wasn't really paying attention to the first half of your conversation with my dad but before I even knew it you two were arguing because you apparently disrespected him."

"All that happened was Scott was giving me "The Talk", you know, the one every dad gives a perspective boyfriend when they start dating their daughter." Lance responded and Chloe nodded in response. "Things were going well at first but after he warned me not to hurt you in any way I made the mistake of cracking a joke about how long the line would be if I did do that."

"And knowing her, I think it's safe to say that that line would start with Chelsea kicking you in the balls." Chloe responded with a grin before shaking her head. "Don't worry about it too much, dad's just being overprotective and after the childhood I had he has every right to be as far as I'm concerned." Chloe added before sighing. "But on the other hand, I'm kinda glad he's gone, I wanted to talk with you, the kind of talk that would get incredibly awkward with a parent around."

"Yeah, you mentioned that after me and Evan beat Louella and Latoya yesterday." Lance nodded in response before sitting down and finally opening his coke can. "If this is about my porn stash, I can explain…."

"You love porn but don't want to get in trouble with the school for looking it up whilst on the school's network, am I, right?" Chloe asked and Lance nodded. "Chelsea had the same problem during the first week, except she just installed so much privacy software on her laptop that the technicians are still trying to crack it." Chloe added and Lance laughed. "I'm being serious."

"That doesn't surprise me." Lance responded with a grin. "So, was that what you wanted to talk about?"

"Not exactly, remember Theresa's duel against Drew the other night?" Chloe asked and Lance nodded. "After the duel, Marie stayed behind and had a chat with me, she was trying to make me feel better about playing Timaeus again after, well, you know." Chloe added and Lance nodded in understanding before taking a sip. "And then she kissed me." Chloe added and Lance near spat out his drink. "And before you ask, there was no tongue. It only lasted a few seconds and Marie didn't come back for more." Chloe added as Lance recovered from the shock.

"Is there a reason why you're telling me?" Lance asked as he turned to his girlfriend. "I mean, I enjoy the sight of two girls kissing as much as the next man but still."

"Yeah, I could tell that from the top magazine behind the mini-fridge." Chloe responded and Lance laughed nervously. "But yeah, there's more to it, when Marie kissed me I returned the favor for the length of the kiss and well, I thought it was the end of it, especially after Marie told me that it was to boost my confidence about using Timaeus, but that night I had dream sex with Marie in that clearing and well." Chloe said as Lance took another sip. "I think I'm bi." Chloe added and Lance did a spit take. "I talked with Chelsea about it yesterday just before we went off to watch your due and participate in the second duel, she said that I should tell you."

"So, did you have any similar dreams last night?" Lance asked and Chloe nodded.

"Yeah but there was one major difference, it was in my old dorm room in Osiris Red." Chloe responded with a confused look on her face. "Not sure why my subconscious chose that location and not my current dorm room but still."

"Chloe, I can name the number of dreams I've had that made sense on one hand." Lance responded and Chloe grinned at that. "So, do you plan on telling your dad?"

"I'm not sure, Chelsea said that I shouldn't have a problem based on how he reacted to meeting her but I'm still not sure if it's a one-off thing." Chloe responded with a frown as she leaned back. "Marie tried to come onto me several times last night during my duel against Jared, from going to kiss me again to making the occasional crude sex joke, I turned her down the second time around."

"You didn't think to ask Jared to take a picture?" Lance asked half-jokingly and Chloe gave him a mock death glare. "Seriously though, even if you are bi I still love you, I started dating you because of who you are, the fact that you're a hot chick who shares my love for Duel Monsters is a bonus don't get me wrong, not for who you kiss."

"Thanks for that Lance." Chloe responded with a grin before the two teens leaned in and kissed each other, what started as a simple kiss didn't take long to escalate to a full on make-out session especially after Chloe kicked her shoes off and lay on the couch to let Lance climb on top of her, once he did the kissing continued but just when Lance was about to remove Chloe's tank top…

"Hey dude, I heard you arguing with Chloe's dad, everything…." Marcus trailed off as he walked into the room without knocking and saw the two teens about to have sex on the couch and by that point Chloe's top was up over her bra. "I guess everything is all right, if you want me to come back later I will…"

"It's fine, you killed the mood anyway." Lance said with an annoyed sigh after he broke off the kiss with Chloe and Chloe sat up before pulling her top backdown and putting her shoes back on. "Seriously, have you ever heard of knocking?"

"Sorry man, it's like I said I heard you argue with Chloe's dad and wanted to check on you." Marcus apologized as the two teens glared at him.

"Don't worry about it." Chloe reassured him before glancing at her boyfriend. "My dad was giving Lance the talk, I wasn't paying much attention but one dumbass joke from him later and my dad felt that Lance was disrespecting him." Chloe explained as Lance laughed nervously. "I intervened before the argument could escalate any further."

"Knowing how protective he is off you I think the Obelisk Blue Boy's Dorm would've been reduced to a smoking ruin if you hadn't." Marcus responded and the two teens laughed. "Anyway, Andreas is about to duel Nicola's brother, want to watch?"

"She has a brother?" Chloe asked and Marcus nodded. "I thought she said her mom died giving birth to her."

"She did, her dad remarried and Nicola's brother was a child from another marriage, apparently, he was a student here himself a few years ago, and is a pro-duelist nowadays." Marcus responded before motioning to the door. "So, you up for it?"

"Why not? I was just thinking that the day was getting a bit boring, you know, aside from the fact that you interrupted me and Chloe's first time having sex with each other." Lance responded with an annoyed look on his face and Marcus laughed nervously before the two teens followed him out.

*a few minutes earlier*

Whilst that was going on things had been a bit quieter in Andreas's room which was mostly attributed to the fact that his parents couldn't make it due to work commitments, still that didn't stop Andreas from talking to them over Skype but other than that it had been a quiet day for the German Teenager.

"Hmmm, this card would make an excellent addition to my deck." Andreas thought as he looked through various websites for now cards for his deck. "Such a shame that they don't have it in stock, oh well, I've got it on my wish list so I should get an e-mail the moment it becomes available." Andreas thought before closing the tab and scrolling through other cards that had been listed under "beast/beast-warrior support", before he could check out another card there was a knock at the door and he got up. "It's probably Nicola, I did promise her that we'd rearrange our first date." Andreas thought before answering the door and seeing Nicola and Zach on the other side. "I had a feeling it was you Nicola."

"Why? Are you psychic?" Nicola joked and Andreas chuckled. "Can we come in?"

"Certainly." Andreas responded before glancing up at Zach. "I'm guessing your Zach?"

"That's me." Zach nodded in response before Andreas stepped aside to let them in and closed the door behind them, Nicola and Zach sat next to each other on the couch and Andreas sat down. "I know we didn't meet during Battle City but I was there, cheering my little sister on."

"Yes, she did do quite well considering her skill level at the time." Andreas responded with a nod. "That said, I have been wondering something, Nicola said that you were a Pro-Duelist, did you compete in Battle City?"

"Yeah, I did, unfortunately I got knocked out in the City stage by Alex Fenix not long after Chloe's first duel." Zach sighed in response before looking at his deck. "I was using a Machine Deck at the time but he took my best card, Power Bond, so I changed decks whilst I was watching Nicola compete."

"Yeah, sucks that I didn't do much better." Nicola commented before standing up. "Mind if I go grab a drink from your mini-fridge?"

"Go ahead." Andreas nodded and Nicola grinned before going over to the fridge, whilst that was going on Andreas turned to Zach. "I suppose you have a few questions regarding my relationship with your sister."

"You could say that." Zach responded with a frown as he looked up at Nicola. "I'll skip the usual "if you do anything to hurt her you'll pay" stuff because I think that goes without saying but look, you and I both know she's autistic and you saw how she was during Battle City, since your duel against her she's really opened up as a person."

"Yes, I noticed." Andreas responded with a nod before leaning back. "But even before I started dating her I was very protective of Nicola, I suppose she told you that I put her under my protection?"

"Yeah, in fact that was why we came over." Zach nodded in response and Andreas frowned. "There was an incident between her and three Obelisk Blue Students that looked like it was going to get ugly, I intervened in the nick of time and sent them running."

"I don't suppose those students were called Cameron, Jessica and Thomas, were they?" Andreas asked and Zach nodded. "Yes, that's not the first time she's had problems with them, I'll be happy to file a report but I'm going to need details."

"Off course, just keep in mind that our parents have already filed one with the Osiris Red Girl's Dorm Headmistress." Zach commented and Andreas nodded before Zach relayed what had happened that morning to him, once he was finished Andreas was clearly unhappy to say the least. "I got them to leave her alone for the rest of the day but the fact that such bullying still goes on at the school disgusts me."

"I completely agree, fortunately the school has done everything in their power to stamp out the bullying since Jaden Yuki's time." Andreas responded with a frown. "I'll file a report later today once things have quietened down a bit, I think the teachers have enough on their plates today as it is."

"Just be sure to let Nicola know when you file the report since I'll probably be on my way back to the hotel by then." Zach responded and Andreas nodded in response. "Anyway, I've always said that if Nicola ever dated someone I would want to duel them, what do you say?"

"Well things have been quiet for the past few days." Andreas responded as Nicola walked over with a frown on her face. "Something wrong Nicola?"

"I was hoping to duel my brother to show how much I've improved." Nicola responded with a sigh. "But you've beaten me to the punch there."

"Sorry Nic, we'll duel during Summer Break I promise." Zach responded and Nicola grinned at that before he turned to Andreas. "Just name a time and place."

"Well the Obelisk Blue Duel Field should be open, off course we'll need an Obelisk Blue Student to accompany…." Andreas trailed off before clearing his throat. "Forgive me, I'm still not used to the fact that I'm in Obelisk Blue."

"I know that feeling, took me a while to get used to it when I graduated to Obelisk Blue." Zach nodded in response before standing up. "Shall we go?"

"Let's." Andreas said before leading them outside his dorm, once they were outside Andreas spotted Marcus standing nearby waving goodbye to his dad. "Hello Marcus." Andreas greeted him and Marcus turned around. "Things go well between you and your dad?"

"Yeah, though I didn't tell him that we ran into Maria again, didn't want to worry him." Marcus responded before spotting Nicola and Zach. "Hey Nic, who's the big guy?"

"I'm Zach, Nicola's older brother." Zach introduced himself with a nod. "Marcus, I'm guessing you're the same Marcus that almost beat Brandon back in Battle City?"

"That's me, except for the fact that since then I've been promoted to Obelisk Blue." Marcus responded before turning to Andreas. "So where are you guys off too?"

"The Obelisk Blue Duel Field, Zach wants to duel me." Andreas explained and Marcus nodded. "Perhaps Lance will be interested in joining us."

"I'll ask him but a few minutes ago, I saw Chloe and her dad enter his room, pretty sure her dad is giving him "the talk"." Marcus responded and before Marcus could say anything else they heard an argument coming from inside the dorm room. "And it sounds like World War 3 is about to break out between Lance and Chloe's dad."

"Indeed, well if Lance survives the argument tell him that we'll be over at the Obelisk Blue Duel Field and see if Chloe wants to come over as well." Andreas said as a large sweat-drop rolled down his head and Marcus nodded in response before they walked off.

*a bit later*

Most of the parents had left by this point but there were still some parents around, this included Chakra and Jason's parents and they were currently at the duel field.

"Okay, how did I get talked into this again?" Jason thought as he stood across the field from Chakra, the French Obelisk Blue Student had Silver Dungeon active on the field alongside Iris, The Earth Mother and one facedown card, Jason on the other hand only had Genex Recycled (1/200/400) on his side of the field which he had just summoned with Damage Gate after a direct attack from Chakra's monster with the life-point scores being 2400 for Chakra and 500 for Jason. "Oh right, because Chakra's parents actually think that I'd be a good husband for her and want to see if I can hold my own in a duel against her! If you had told me last week that a rich girl's parents would think highly enough of me that they'd want me and her to hook up I would've called you crazy!"

"Jason, are you going to make a move sometime before my parents have to go home?" Chakra asked with an annoyed look on her face. "I appreciate the need for strategy and all but if this was the second round of the tag team tournament we would've been disqualified by now due to how long your taking."

"Heh, sorry." Jason apologized with a nervous laugh. "I was just thinking about how crazy this whole situation is, I'm pretty sure my dad still hasn't recovered from the shock."

"Okay, I will grant you that this is not what I was expecting to happen when my parents arrived this morning." Chakra admitted as a large sweat-drop rolled down her head and she glanced up at her parents who, naturally, where dressed in the finest clothing. "But at the same time, I'm sure they'd like to see the end of this duel."

"Don't worry yourself Chakra, it's obvious that you have this duel won." Chakra's mother reassured her and Jason sweat-dropped, their parents weren't the only ones in the audience as Chelsea and her brothers were watching as well alongside Lance's brother/Jason's roommate Mike, his sister Sophie and his mom. "I mean, he wasted his Damage Gate Trap Card on that weak monster, what more could he do?"

"I thought you said that your parents followed Duel Monsters." Jason commented as Chakra turned to him. "In fact, you said that they enrolled you here because of that."

"They did, but they haven't watched a duel since the days of the original Battle City Tournament, what with politics and finance taking up all of their time and all." Chakra admitted with a sigh. "I'm just surprised that they have been able to follow the duel at all after you summoned Thermo Genex earlier."

"Well if my next move works then I'm sure their heads will spin." Jason responded as he drew his card not noticing Zach, Andreas, Nicola, Marcus, Lance and Chloe enter he arena. "YES!" Jason thought with a smirk. "I activate Genex Recycled's effect, using this I can target one Genex Monster in my graveyard and treat it as if it was that monster once per turn, I chose the monster I discarded for Damage Gate, Genex Controller!" Jason added as his monster turned into a rusted version of Genex Controller and its level went up by two. "Next since I already control one Genex Monster I can Special Summon Onmi-Genex from my hand!"

"I think I know where he's going with this." Chakra thought as the tall android appeared on the field (5/1000/1000). "I know Genex Recycled is a Tuner Monster, well I've got a nasty surprise waiting for him."

"And if you haven't figured it out already, Genex Recycled is a Tuner Monster!" Jason said as he pointed to his two monsters. "So, I tune my two monsters together…..."

"Let me guess, Genex Dragon?" Chakra interrupted him and Jason turned to her. "I saw that thing in action during our recent tag duel Jason and frankly, I have no intention of being on the receiving end of that monster! I activate my Trap Card Vanity's Emptiness!"

"But that means I can't Special Summon!" Jason realized as his eyes widened and Chakra nodded with a smirk on her face. "There's nothing else I can do so I end my turn."

"And that means the duel is mine!" Chakra said as she drew her card, off course both teens knew that her draw phase was basically a formality at this point. "Iris, attack Genex Recycled with Earth Song and end this duel!"

"I knew I should've summoned that thing in defense mode!" Jason thought as Chakra's monster sang out in a harsh tone destroying Genex Recycled and taking the rest of Jason's life-points with it. "Well, dueling you again certainly wasn't on the cards for today but thanks for the great duel."

"On the cards? Really?" Chakra asked with an unimpressed look on her face and Jason laughed nervously when he realized how bad a pun he had just made. "Other than that, I agree." Chakra added before they heard applause coming from where her parents were seated and she looked over.

"Bravo, bravo, a fine showing indeed." Chakra's father applauded her as the holograms disappeared from the field. "After that showing I'm sure Jason will make a fine husband for you."

"I've only known her for two weeks!" Jason responded with an exasperated sigh as Chakra got off the duel arena. "Next thing you'll be telling me is that you'll want her to be pregnant with my kid by the time Summer Break ends!"

"Come now Jason, we are reasonable." Chakra's mother responded as the newcomers approached the duel arena. "I wouldn't want such a heavy burden on my daughter's shoulders before she turned twenty, same goes with marriage."

"Then what's with the whole "good husband" stuff?" Jason asked though he had an idea where this was going.

"Why we were talking about an arranged marriage off course!" Her mother responded and Jason sweat-dropped. "It's something of a tradition in our family."

"You ever tell your folks that their traditions are so outdated that it's not even funny?" Jason asked Chakra as she approached him and Chakra sighed.

"More times than I care to count, not that they ever listen." Chakra responded before motioning to the new arrivals. "Besides, it looks like they want to use the duel arena."

"Oh, don't mind us, it's not often that we see a soap opera storyline unfold before our eyes." Chloe responded with a grin and two teens laughed. "Anyway, Andreas and Nicola's older brother Zach want to duel, is the arena free?"

"Yeah, we just finished." Jason responded before turning to Lance. "Your brother's in the audience by the way."

"And I'm guessing my sister and my mom are there as well?" Lance asked and Jason nodded. "Say no more, we may as well go up there and see them." Lance added before leaving for the stands with his girlfriend, Nicola, Marcus, Jason and Chakra leaving Andreas and Zach to take up Jason and Chakra's spots on the area.

"Nice to see this place hasn't changed much." Zach commented as he glanced around the arena. "Let's see if the Obelisk Blue Standards are as high as I remember them."

"You saw me duel in Battle City and it has been argued that I would've made it further than I did if I wasn't drawn against Otto in the Semi-Finals." Andreas responded as they activated their duel disks. "And I've only improved since then, who's going first?" Andreas asked as they drew their opening hands.

"If you want to go first feel free." Zach commented with a shrug and Andreas nodded before looking over his hand.

"Very well! I set two cards facedown and I summon Baby Racoon Ponpoko in attack mode!" Andreas played the cards and a small yellow racoon wearing a stereotypical thief's mask and carrying a drum appeared on the field (2/800/0).

"Cute but you'll forgive me for not seeing the point in opening with a weak monster like that." Zach responded with a skeptical look on his face as Andreas started inputting commands into his duel disk.

"I'll show you the point! When Ponpoko is Normal Summoned her effect activates allowing me to Special Summon a Level 2 Beast Type Monster from my deck in facedown defense position." Andreas explained before setting the monster and letting his deck auto shuffle. "However, it comes with the caveat that I cannot Special Summon anything other than Beast Type Monsters for the rest of the turn."

"Fair enough and I'm guessing that if you could summon something else, you would." Zach responded with a nod and Andreas nodded in response. "Can I take my turn?"

"Go for it." Andreas responded and Zach drew his card.

"I summon Chemicritter Hydron Hawk in attack mode!" Zach played the card and a new monster appeared on the field, it was a small light blue hawk as the name suggested and it let out a squawk at Andreas's two monsters (2/1400/700). "You don't have to worry about my Hawk's effect just yet because he, alongside the other Chemicritters, is a Gemini Monster, in fact if I where you I'd worry more about your monster! Hydron Hawk, attack Ponpoko!" Zach commanded and the hawk took flight…...

"You'll have to take a raincheck on that Zach, I activate my Trap Card Beast Soul Swap which allows me to return Ponpoko to my hand!" Andreas activated his trap and Ponpoko disappeared from the field before Zach's hawk could launch its attack. "And now Beast Soul Swap's other effect shall allow me to bring her back allowing me to use her effect a second time." Andreas added as Ponpoko returned to the field and he started inputting commands into his duel disk.

"If your plan is to swarm the field with weak Beast Type Monsters then you've succeeded." Zach commented as Andreas set another facedown monster. "But it won't do you much good since you summoned Ponpoko in attack mode, Hydron Hawk, continue your attack!" Zach commanded and the hawk swooped down at Andreas's monster…...

"This is where my other facedown card comes into play." Andreas responded as his facedown card flipped up depicting several well-known but weak Beast Type Monsters being petted by humans at a petting zoo. "I activate Enchanted Petting Zoo, since I control at least one Level Four or lower Beast Type Monster for the rest of the turn my Beast Type Monsters can't be destroyed by battle but I still take damage!" Andreas explained as the hawk launched its attack at the racoon, Ponpoko survived the attack but Andreas's life-points took a hit bringing them down to 7400. "You may have drawn first blood but I keep my monsters."

"There's only one reason I can think off for why he'd go through such lengths to keep a weak monster on the field, he wants to do a Synchro Summon and I'll bet good money that either his facedown monsters have a Tuner Monster among them or he has at least one in his hand." Zach thought before looking over his hand. "I set two cards facedown and end my turn." Zach announced as he set the two cards and Andreas drew his card.

"Well, that just happened." Chelsea commented with an amused look on her face as she watched everything unfold. "And to think, we only came here because I wanted to show you guys around but now we're getting two duels out of it!"

"Well you know us, we're never ones to deny watching a duel or two." Danny responded with a grin as Chelsea's friends sat next to them. "So, I'm guessing Andreas runs a petting zoo deck?"

"I'm pretty sure he'd deck you for saying that about his deck." Chelsea responded with a deadpan expression on her face. "Not exactly, his deck is a Beast deck that specializes in Special Summoning, his deck has the capability of summoning Synchro, XYZ and Fusion Monsters."

"Yeah that last part just flew over my head." Craig admitted and Chelsea grinned.

"You'll see in a second." Chelsea responded before turning her attention back to the duel.

"To begin my turn, I flip summon the monster I Special Summoned during my first turn." Andreas announced as another small racoon appeared on the field, this one was dark brown in color and like Ponpoko he was carrying a drum but his was strapped to his body "Baby Racoon Tantan!" Andreas announced as the racoon played a quick drum solo (2/0/800). "And when this monster is flip summoned I can Special Summon One Level Two Beast Type Monster except for Baby Racoon Tantan, such as my Tuner Monster Elephun!"

"Just as I thought." Zach commented as he folded his arms and sure enough the floating elephant's head with wings appeared on the field (2/500/300). "Why else would you flood the field with weak monsters like that?"

"True but who said I was done? For my Normal Summon this turn I summon Mine Mole!" Andreas played the card and the small mole in the worker's helmet carrying a pickaxe with a flower for a nose appeared on the field (3/1000/1200). "Let's get this show on the road! I tune Elephun with the Baby Racoons and Mine Mole!"

"A level nine Synchro Summon?" Zach asked as the four monsters leapt into the air for the Synchro Summon with Elephun leading the way. "That's a new one."

"True but the monster I'm about to summon should be a familiar face to you." Andreas responded as he played the card and once the bright flash faded Leogun, Lord of the Jungle appeared on the field with a growl (9/2500/2000). "Before I attack I have an effect to resolve, when Mine Mole is sent to the graveyard for a Synchro Summon I can draw one card." Andreas added before drawing another card. "Now Leogun, attack Hydron Hawk!" Andreas commanded and the lion leapt towards the hawk…

"I'm afraid that the lion must sleep tonight, I activate Negate Attack!" Zach announced as his trap card flipped up and the lion was stopped mid pounce by an invisible force-field.

"Very well." Andreas responded before looking over his hand. "I set two cards facedown and end my turn." Andreas set the two cards he had drawn that turn down and Zach drew his card.

"Okay, so he has one very powerful monster on his side of the field and one facedown monster, if that's not obvious bait for an attack I don't know what is." Zach thought as he glanced over at Andreas's facedown monster. "The only consolation is the fact that since he summoned that monster through Ponpoko's effect it can only be a Level Two Beast Monster and even then, it could be something like Nimble Mogomba." Zach thought before looking at his hand. "I use my Normal Summon to activate Hydron Hawk's Gemini Mode!"

"I had a feeling you would." Andreas commented as Hydron Hawk started glowing. "So, are you going to tell us what Hydron Hawk does?"

"I'm glad you asked but I have another move to make first." Zach responded before playing a card. "First I activate my Field Spell Card Catalyst Field!" Zach played the card and scenery transformed into what looked like outer space. "You don't have to worry about this Spell Card's effect for now but here's something for you to worry about, I play Double Summon!"

"Now you can bring out another monster." Andreas commented before looking at Zach's hand. "That's all well and good but you seem to have forgotten that you only have two cards in your hand."

"I noticed." Zach commented before playing a card. "For my second normal summon I bring out Chemicritter Oxy Ox in attack mode!" Zach played the card and a small, emerald green ox with flames sticking out of its horns appeared on the field (2/0/2100) and when Andreas saw the monster's stats he frowned.

"Why would you summon a monster with no attack points in attack mode?" Andreas asked as he looked at Oxy Ox. "Even if I didn't have a powerful monster like Leogun on my side of the field it makes no sense!"

"True but he's not going to stay on the field either! I activate my Spell Card White Elephant's Gift!" Zach played the card which only confused Andreas even more as Oxy Ox disappeared from the field and Zach drew two cards. "Why would I do that? It's all part of the plan! I set two cards facedown and end my turn." Zach played the last two cards in his hand and Andreas frowned before drawing his card.

"I was confused enough when Andreas summoned that big lion." Mark commented as he scratched his head in confusion. "But Gemini Modes? Normal summons? Field Spells? They're just reminding me of why I could never keep up with dad's duels, let alone yours Chelsea!"

"Yeah, I'd be lying if I said that this game can't get a little confusing for someone who's never played it." Chelsea admitted as she rubbed the back of her head in confusion. "All though, to be honest, even as someone who's been playing the game for a little under three years, Zach's moves are making no sense to me, he didn't even more Hydron Hawk to defense mode to protect his life-points from Andreas's monster."

"Even as someone who never had that much interest in the game, I get what you're saying Chelsea." Danny nodded in agreement with a frown on his face. "Plus, I've seen enough of your duels with dad to get a basic grasp of the rules, it's almost like Zach wants to lose."

"Which makes no sense since he's apparently a pro-duelist and attended this academy." Chelsea nodded in agreement before getting an idea and turning to Nicola. "You've dueled against your brother, right?" Chelsea asked and Nicola nodded. "Do you know anything about these Chemicritters?"

"Sorry but no." Nicola apologized as she shook her head. "Truth is, Zach's a lot like Theresa in that he runs several different decks and I've never seen these monsters before so it must be a new deck he's trying out."

"How many decks does he have?" Chelsea asked and Nicola thought for a moment.

"Before I left home to move here he had four and was working on a fifth deck for an upcoming tournament." Nicola responded before turning to the duel. "I'm guessing that this Chemicritter deck is that deck."

"They are right, this is strange." Andreas thought as he glanced towards Zach's side of the field. "On top of the things that they mentioned, Zach never used Hydron Hawk's effect after activating his Gemini Mode and I still don't know what this Field Spell does, I'm not sure what I should do." Andreas thought with a frown before looking at his drawn card. "But I can set up a move for later!" Andreas thought before playing the card he had drawn. "I activate Foolish Burial."

"Foolish Burial in a Beast Deck? I can think of only one card you could be using that Spell Card on." Zach commented with a frown as Andreas inputted commands into his duel disk and retrieved the monster. "Green Baboon, Defender of the Forrest."

"I'm not commenting on that." Andreas responded as he sent the monster and his Spell Card to the graveyard. "I activate Leogun's effect, by banishing one Beast Type Monster from my graveyard I can destroy one card you control in exchange for skipping my Battle Phase, I can use this more than once but since you only have Hydron Hawk to protect you I only need to use it once." Andreas added before retrieving Mine Mole from his graveyard and pocketing it.

"That's all well and good." Zach commented as the lion pounced towards his hawk again. "If it works, I activate my trap card Interdimensional Matter Transporter to remove Hydron Hawk from play for the rest of the turn!" Zach activated the trap and pocketed the monster causing the hawk to vanish before Leogun could swipe it with his claws. "And what was that about skipping your Battle Phase to use that monster's effect?"

"Very clever." Andreas grunted as Leogun returned to his side of the field. "If we had this duel last week I would've used Mischief of the Time Goddess to get around that effect like I did in my duel against Maria, unfortunately that card got banned earlier this week." Andreas thought before looking at his drawn card. "Obedience Schooled, with this I could summon another Synchro Monster as back up for Leogun but I don't know what his other facedown card is." Andreas thought before turning to Zach. "I end my turn which means Hydron Hawk returns to the field." Andreas announced as the hawk reappeared on the field.

"And since I summoned it again it loses its Gemini Mode." Zach responded before drawing his card. "I start my turn by playing the card I just drew, the ever popular Spellbook inside the Pot." Zach played the card and whilst Andreas gave him a skeptical look they drew three cards each. "Next I activate Hydron Hawk's Gemini Mode!"

"Again?" Andreas asked with a raised eyebrow as Hydron Hawk glowed again. "Are you going to end your turn without using it like last time?"

"Not this time, I activate Hydron Hawk's effect, by discarding a card from my hand I can Special Summon one Gemini Monster from my graveyard in defense mode, such as Oxy Ox." Zach responded as he discarded a card and retrieved the monster he had sent there last turn before playing it causing Oxy Ox to return to the field. "Next, I activate the Spell Card Supervise which I equip to Oxy Ox!"

"And in turn that allows you to activate Oxy Ox's Gemini Mode." Andreas commented with a nod and Zach raised an eyebrow. "A girl whose team was eliminated yesterday runs Gemini Monsters in her deck, I've never heard of the Chemicritters but I am familiar with how the support cards for Gemini Monsters works."

"You know what? I'm going to be completely honest here." Zach responded as he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "I only found out about this archetype the other day." Zach added causing everyone else in the arena to face-fault. "I've had plenty of practice duels with this deck but you are my first real test of this deck."

"Your using my boyfriend as a Guinee pig for your new deck?" Nicola chimed in as she walked to the front of the stands and placed her hands on the barrier. "What happened to the deck you were making when I left home to come to the school?"

"I did finish building it, I'm just saving that for my next tournament." Zach responded and Nicola sweat-dropped. "Honestly, I was planning on bringing my strongest deck with me but those plans changed when I found out about the Chemicritters."

"Just tell me one thing." Nicola asked with an exasperated sigh. "How many decks have you created since I came here?" Nicola asked and Zach thought for a moment.

"I kinda lost count at around ten." Zach admitted causing Nicola to face-fault. "Hey, if using twenty decks worked for Theresa in Battle City then why not, right?"

"Zach, after she came back with Battle City with us Theresa sold/traded most of her decks because she found it to be more trouble than it was worth to run that many decks at once, including the zombie deck she used in her duel against Alex Fenix" Chloe chimed in as she face-palmed. "The fact that she never got to use most of those decks had a hand in it as well but have you ever heard of the phrase "less is more"?"

"I get what you're saying but I do rotate my decks regularly so that they all get regular play." Zach responded before turning to Andreas. "Back to what I was about to do, I activate Oxy Ox's effect which allows me to Special Summon one Gemini Monster from my hand and make the level off all my other monsters the same as the summoned monster." Zach explained as he picked up the sole remaining card in his hand. "Best part is? There's no level restriction so I special summon Polly-Chemicritter Dioxogre!" Zach played the card and a large fiend appeared on the field, it was ogre like and had an orange chest and head, blue flaming hair and yellow claws (8/2800/200) and just as Zach said the Hydron Hawk and Oxy Ox's levels increased by six.

"I'm beginning to think that Sophia Pegasus got into her stepfather's wine stash when she okayed most of these cards." Andreas deadpanned as he looked at the new monster. "So, what's your plan? Attack Leogun with Dioxogre and take out my facedown monster with Hydron Hawk?"

"I could but why go big when I can go bigger?" Zach asked before pointing to his monsters. "I use Hydron Hawk and Oxy Ox to construct the overlay network!"

"He's doing what now?" Craig asked with a confused look on his face as the two monsters were absorbed into the portal.

"Remember when I mentioned XYZ Summons?" Chelsea asked and her brothers nodded in response. "That's what he's doing, though it's not often that you see Rank Eight XYZ Summons, most duelists stick to Rank Fours."

"Well I'm not most duelists." Zach responded as he overheard Chelsea talking with her brothers. "Anyway, I XYZ Summon Vola-Chemicritter Methydraco!" Zach played the card and from the portal emerged a massive purple beast with wings that were light blue in color that had orange claws (Rank: 8/3000/3000). "And if you thought one XYZ Monster was bad enough, how about two?"

"Could you not?" Andreas asked and Zach shook his head.

"No can do, I activate Methydraco's effect!" Zach said as he motioned to his monster. "When Methydraco is XYZ Summoned I can Special Summon one Gemini Monster from my graveyard!" Zach explained and Andreas frowned.

"But you only had one XYZ Monster in your graveyard and which your special summoned using…." Andreas trailed off before it hit him. "Hydron Hawk's effect!"

"Exactly! I special summon the monster I discarded to the graveyard for Hydron Hawk's effect and wouldn't you know it? He happens to be Dioxogre's partner in crime." Zach responded before retrieving the monster from his graveyard and playing it, a few seconds later a crystal blue dragon appeared on the field though this one was more snake like than anything else. "Polly-Chemicritter Hydragon!" Zach added as his monster coiled up into defense mode (8/200/2800). "I guess there's no point in putting my next move off, I use Hydragon and Dioxogre to construct another Overlay Network!"

"This could be troublesome." Andreas said with a gulp as the portal opened again and the two monsters were sucked in.

"That's probably the most nonchalant reaction I've had to this combo since I created this deck." Zach chuckled in response before he retrieved a monster from his extra deck. "Since there's not much point in me summoning another Methydraco I'm using my monsters to summon Thunder End Dragon!" Zach played the card and, not noticing Andreas face-palm when he heard the monster's name, a massive dragon emerged from the portal which was white and blue in color and very intimidating (Rank: 8/3000/2000). "Not bad, huh?"

"I'd be inclined to agree with you if it weren't for your rather blatant miss-play." Andreas responded as he ran a hand down his face. "I am very familiar with Thunder End Dragon's effect, by detaching an overlay unit you can destroy all other monsters on the field." Andreas added as he folded his arms. "If you had summoned that thing first you could've used its effect to wipe out my two monsters and then XYZ Summoned Methydraco using his effect to summon Dioxogre." Andreas added as he took a deep breath. "I'm not one who usually points out a misplay but coming from a pro-league duelist like yourself who used to be a student here? No offense but it's no wonder you got eliminated during the city stage of Battle City by Alex Fenix!"

"Okay, so I haven't been doing that great on the pro-league circuit since I graduated from here." Zach admitted as he rubbed the back of his head nervously. "But dueling on the pro-league is much different to dueling in an academy like this one, most of the students here have been dueling for a couple of years at most, most of the guys in the pro-league have been dueling their whole lives."

"Did you forget something?" Andreas asked as he folded his arms. "Me and my friends represented Duel Academy at Battle City, a Pro-League Tournament, not only did all of us get to the Semi-Finals but two of us made it to the final three over duelists like Miranda Trayson, Alex Fenix and Axel Loather whilst you, as I already said, was knocked out of the tournament before the semi-finals could begin."

"That doesn't mean anything, l just got bad draws when I went up against Alex." Zach asserted before shaking his head. "You know what? If we continue arguing like this, we're going to have to call the duel off because of the curfew! Methydraco, attack Leogun!" Zach commanded and his monster pounced towards Andreas's lion before taking his head off with his claws bringing Andreas's life-points down to 6900. "It's a good thing that Ponpoko's effect summoned that monster in defense mode, for you at least! Thunder End Dragon, attack his defense monster!" Zach commanded and the dragon let lose a stream of thunder at the facedown monster, revealed to be a second Elephun, which was quickly destroyed. "Huh? Why did you summon the other Elephun if you already had one on the field?"

"Here's why! When Elephun is destroyed, and sent to the graveyard because of battle I can take one Beast, Winged Beast or Beast Warrior Type Monster that's been banished and add it to my hand." Andreas responded before retrieving the card from his pocket and adding it to his hand. "But that's not all you've done to help me." Andreas added as his life-points dropped to 5900.

"Yep, I knew it." Zach grunted as Green Baboon, Defender of the Forrest appeared on the field all though this time around it was crouching down in defense mode (7/2600/1800). "Don't know how much it'll do you Andreas, both of my monsters are stronger than your overgrown monkey."

"I'm aware of that." Andreas responded before pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "But right now, it's the best monster I can summon given the circumstances."

"True enough I guess." Zach shrugged before looking at his monsters since he didn't have a hand to speak off. "My strongest Chemicritter has other effects, like the effect that means that if it has XYZ Material on it Gemini Monsters can't be attacked or targeted for card effects."

"I had a feeling that it would have an effect like that." Andreas nodded in response before looking over his hand. "And there's a good chance that his monster has another effect that he hasn't mentioned yet." Andreas thought before turning to Zach. "Are you done?"

"I don't have any cards left in my hand, what do you think?" Zach asked rhetorically and Andreas nodded before drawing his card.

"Misplay aside, how two monsters are certainly powerful but there's no such thing as an unbeatable monster." Andreas thought before looking over his hand. "I start my turn with a Spell Card called Obedience Schooled." Andreas played the card and started inputting commands into his duel disk. "With this I, can Special Summon Three Level 2 or Lower Beast Type Monsters from my deck so I summon the Tuner Monster Key Mouse alongside Unilflorna, Mystical Beast of the Forrest and Playful Possum!" Andreas played the cards and three monsters appeared on the field starting with the mouse that had made a few appearances in Andreas's duels (1/100/100), a large dog-like creature that was pale and had leaves covering its face and lower half of its body (1/700/500) and the small possum (2/800/600).

"Yeah, I know what that card does, I lost a tournament final to a guy using it." Zach commented with a frown. "It also negates the summoned monster's effects, destroys them during the end phase and means that you can only Special Summon Beast Type Monsters." Zach added before his frown deepened. "But if you're using the same strategy my opponent did then that's a moot point."

"Exactly! For my normal summon I bring back Mine Mole!" Andreas played the card and the small mole returned to the field. "I have to thank you for helping me get this card back, this was the card I banished for Leogun's effect and you helped me retrieve it by destroying Elephun."

"Smart move, no wonder Nicola gushed about you so much." Zach commented with a chuckle not noticing his younger sister blushing like a madwoman. "So, what's the plan exactly? Use them in a Level 7 Synchro Summon?"

"I could but I have something else in mind! I tune Key Mouse with Unilflorna and Mine Mole!" Andreas announced as the three monsters leapt into the air, once the bright flash faded Thunder Unicorn appeared on the field ready for battle (5/2200/1800). "Before I continue I shall use Mine Mole's effect to draw another card." Andreas added before drawing his card. "Now I use Thunder Unicorn's effect, by targeting a monster such as Methydraco I can cause it to lose five hundred attack points for each Beast Type Monster I control and I count three, so unless I2 made that thing the first Gemini XYZ Monster he's about to lose half of his attack points."

"Much as I'd like to say otherwise, your correct." Zach nodded in response as Methydraco doubled over in pain as it's attack dropped to 1500. "But that still means that you can only beat Methydraco and I'll still have Thunder End Dragon ready and willing to use his effect!"

"True but I'm not about to let that happen." Andreas responded as he played the card he had drawn. "I activate Sacrifice to the Jungle Gods! By destroying one Beast Type Monster with One Thousand Attack points or less I can allow one of my monsters to attack twice and I chose Thunder Unicorn."

"Smart move, or it would be if Thunder Unicorn stood a chance against Thunder End Dragon." Zach pointed out with a frown. "Besides, I know what Thunder Unicorn does and during the turn that it's effect is activated only it can attack so your kinda up shit creek without a paddle."

"Then I had better make this move count, shouldn't I?" Andreas asked rhetorically as he played another card. "I activate Wild Nature's Release! Thunder Unicorn will be destroyed during the end phase but with this card his defense points get added to his attack points for the rest of the turn." Andreas added as Thunder Unicorn let out a loud whinny as his attack shot up to 4000. "Thunder Unicorn, attack Thunder End Dragon and Vola-Chemicritter Methydraco now!"

"Oh, this is so going to hurt in the morning!" Zach said with a gulp as Thunder Unicorn charged into battle and first skewered Thunder End Dragon and then Methydraco sending Zach's life-points plummeting down to 4500. "Never thought I'd say this but thank god Green Baboon is in defense mode."

"Why do you think I left him in defense mode?" Andreas asked before switching Green Baboon's position causing it to stand up. "I move to my second main phrase and switch Green Baboon to attack mode, that'll do it for my turn." Andreas announced as Thunder Unicorn disappeared from the field and once the monster was in his graveyard Zach drew his card.

"Okay, I've used my two best monsters and he's got past both, going to have to think of something." Zach thought before looking at the one card in his hand. "I activate Silent Doom to revive Hydron Hawk in defense mode." Zach played the card and Hydron Hawk returned to the field using its wings to shield his face. "And before I end my turn I'll use my normal summon to activate its Gemini Mode." Zach added as Hydron Hawk started glowing. "And that ends my turn."

"I'd be surprised if it weren't for your empty hand." Andreas responded as he drew his card and looked it. "I summon Canineataur in attack mode!" Andreas played the card and a rather odd monster appeared on the field, it looked like a centaur except it had the lower half of a dog with what looked like a man's upper body except it had a dog's head and was wearing armor on the upper half and was wielding a sword and shield (3/1500/200). "Canineataur, attack Hydron Hawk!" Andreas commanded and the monster charged into battle before cutting Hydron Hawk in half. "Looks like you wasted its Gemini Mode again."

"Did I?" Zach asked and Andreas blinked before realizing that his facedown card had flipped up. "I activated Gemini Trap Hole! Since you just destroyed a Gemini Monster with its effect active this Trap Card destroys all monsters you control!"

"Oh no!" Andreas yelled out before Green Baboon and Canineataur suddenly had the floor beneath them give out sending the two monsters plummeting to their deaths. "Your persistent, I'll give you that, and I will say that I can see where your sister gets your tenacity from."

"What can I say? It's a shared family trait, even if I am her stepbrother." Zach shrugged his shoulders in response and Andreas grinned.

"Even so, how do you plan to capitalize on this situation with no cards in your hand or on your side of the field?" Andreas asked as he folded his arms. "And for that matter, you never explained the effect of your field spell."

"Huh, I knew I forgot to do something." Zach commented and the others sweat-dropped in response.

"Is this guy really a former Obelisk Blue Student or did he spend the whole time in Osiris Red and lies about it to make himself look good?" Andreas wondered before shaking his head. "No, that can't be it, Lance is just as much of a goofball as this guy and he's in Obelisk Blue alongside me!" Andreas thought before turning to Zach. "I end my turn." Andreas announced and Zach drew his card.

"Well, you wanted to know what I can do with just one card in my hand so I'll show you." Zach commented before playing the card he had drawn. "I activate Arkhassic Record, I draw two cards but if I've used either of them both get removed from play." Zach explained before making his draws. "And I'm in luck."

"You haven't used either of those cards?" Andreas asked and Zach nodded.

"Not only that but I'm about to win this duel." Zach responded and Andreas gave him a skeptical look. "Don't believe me? I'll let my move do the talking, I set two cards facedown and end m turn." Zach set the two cards down and Andreas raised an eyebrow before drawing his card.

"As I control no monsters I can Special Summon Kaiser Vorse Raider from my hand." Andreas played the card and a monster that resembled the Beast-Warrior used by Seto Kaiba from the original Battle City onwards appeared on the field, only difference? Its skin was light blue in color and its armor was purple (5/1900/1200). "Kaiser Vorse Raider, attack his life-points directly!" Andreas commanded and the Beast Warrior charged into battle….

"You've fallen for another one of my traps! I activate my Trap Card XYZ Reborn!" Zach activated the trap and Andreas's eyes widened when he heard the name. "And judging by the look on your face you know what this does."

"Yes, it allows you to Special Summon an XYZ Monster from your graveyard and attach that trap card to the monster like it was an XYZ Material." Andreas responded with a nod as his eyes narrowed. "And if I'm right then I know exactly what you're about to summon, Thunder End Dragon!"

"Heh, I can't get anything past you, can I?" Zach chuckled before playing the card and sure enough Thunder End Dragon returned to the field with a roar. "I also know what Kaiser Vorse Raider does so you could weaken my monster by crashing yours into it."

"And leave an opening for you to finish me off?" Andreas asked as he pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "Just because I'm not a pro-league duelist like you are doesn't mean that I'm naïve, even after Kaiser Vorse Raider's effect weakens your dragon by five hundred points you'll be left with a very powerful monster, and if that other facedown card is Birthright and your plan is to bring back Dioxogre with that effect then it won't matter how much I weaken it, this duel will be over, so instead I end my turn with a facedown card." Andreas set the card facedown and Zach nodded before drawing his card. "My strategy for surviving his move is crude but effective, after he uses Thunder End Dragon's effect to destroy Kaiser Vorse Raider I'll pay the life-point cost and summon Green Baboon and once he attacks my baboon I'll use Rush Recklessly to take his monster again."

"I hope you weren't counting on that facedown card." Zach commented before playing a card. "I activate Mystical Space Typhoon!" Zach announced and Andreas's eyes widened as a storm washed over the field destroying Rush Recklessly. "And the destruction's only just begun! I activate Thunder End Dragon's effect!" Zach announced before sending his trap card to the graveyard and the dragon roared before sending out lighting that struck Kaiser Vorse Raider destroying him.

"You destroyed one of my monsters, now you'll deal with another!" Andreas announced before retrieving Green Baboon from the graveyard as his life-points dropped to 4900 and Green Baboon appeared on the field again crouching down. "Not how I intended to survive this move but it's better than nothing!"

"That won't help you much." Zach responded as his other facedown card flipped up. "I activate Birthright to bring back Dioxogre!" Zach announced as his monster returned to the field. "I never explained this guy's effect."

"Among other things." Andreas said as he motioned to the scenery around him and Zach sweat-dropped.

"Going to be honest here, I can't really do much with this Field Spell whilst I have an empty hand." Zach responded and Andreas nodded in understanding. "Back to my point, I use my Normal Summon to activate Dioxogre's Gemini Mode." Zach announced as Dioxogre started glowing. "Now this guy has two effects whilst he's in Gemini Mode, the first one means that the normal summon of a Gemini Monster can't be negated."

"A moot point since, as you've pointed out already, your hand's empty." Andreas pointed out and Zach nodded.

"True, besides it's his second effect that I'm most interested in." Zach added before retrieving Oxy Ox from his graveyard. "Once per turn I can banish one Gemini Monster from my graveyard to destroy a monster you control." Zach explained and Andreas's eyes widened as the fiend pounced on Green Baboon and destroyed him. "And unlike you when you used Leogun's effect earlier, off course you could surrender now."

"You're expecting me to surrender?" Andreas asked as he got back to his feet. "Any other duelist would've done so in my shoes but I won't surrender in front of the woman I love." Andreas responded as he glanced over at Nicola.

"Is this a Duel Monster's game or a romantic comedy?" Chelsea asked as a massive sweat-drop rolled down her head. "Because I definitely prefer the former!"

"You never were into girly things." Danny chuckled and Chelsea laughed.

"You just noticed?" Chelsea responded with a grin as she leaned back. "Hell, Beth's probably the most girly thing I've been into…..." Chelsea trailed off before blushing like a madwoman as the others laughed. "I swear to god, I did not mean for that sound so sexual!"

"Wait, she's gay?" Zach asked with a confused look on his face and Andreas sweat-dropped.

"You're not the first one to be surprised by that fact, you won't be the last either." Andreas responded before shaking his head. "Just end the duel."

"You got it, Dioxogre, Thunder End Dragon, finish it!" Zach commanded and the two monsters launched their attacks bringing Andreas's life-points down to zero, once the holograms disappeared Zach approached Andreas. "That was a great duel man." Zach responded before offering him a handshake which Andreas accepted. "I'm not into that arranged marriage stuff like that French Girl's parents but I can safely say that my sister made a good choice by starting a relationship with you."

"I appreciate that, thank you." Andreas nodded in response. "And I apologize for questioning your skills during the duel."

"It's no big deal, you did bring up some good points." Zach nodded in agreement before turning to Nicola. "You know, if we have time I could squeeze in a duel with you sis!" Zach added and Nicola grinned broadly.

"Err sorry kids but it's past the student's bed times." The security guard working the Obelisk Blue Duel Arena that night chimed in and the students turned to him. "As in, it's 1:00am."

"You're kidding?" Lance asked before checking his watch and confirming it. "Why didn't you say so earlier?"

"Honestly? I was enjoying the duel as much as you guys." The guard responded and everyone else sweat-dropped. "If the students hurry they can get back to their dorms in no time flat."

"That's easy for you to say, I'm in the Osiris Red Girl's Dorm!" Nicola protested before sighed. "Zach, will you have enough time for a duel tomorrow morning?"

"We're probably not going to leave the island until tomorrow afternoon now so yeah, same place?" Zach asked and Nicola nodded. "I'll see you here."

"And I'll accompany her so that she'll be allowed onto the duel arena." Andreas added before the students left the arena.

*a couple of hours earlier*

Aside from the parents and family members who were at the Duel Arena the families of the students where back on the ship for the night as the ship needed to be refueled before it could take the parents back home, the students on the other hand where fast asleep for the most part.

"It was good to catch up with mom and dad today." Theresa thought as she surfed the internet on the Desktop PC in her room, she had Skype open but hadn't used it since her call with Phil and Francesca the previous night. "Even if mom does tend to embarrass me by asking about Brandon but other than that it was good." Theresa thought with a chuckle before checking the time on her computer. "I should get to bed, it's getting late…." Theresa trailed off before she heard the incoming skype call sound and when she saw who was calling her she raised an eyebrow. "Adriene and Amanda? Why are they calling at this hour? Better answer it." Theresa decided before answering the call and selecting the option for video call. "Hey guys, it's been a long time."

"Theresa, as much as we'd like to catch up with you, this is urgent." Adriene's voice rang out and Theresa frowned as the French girl sounded panicked, seconds later she got a request for a video call from them and when she accepted her frown deepened as both Amanda and Adriene appeared on screen looking panicked, their hair was wet and Theresa assumed that they had been swimming.

"Adriene, calm down, you too Amanda." Theresa responded and the two girls took a deep breath. "What happened?"

"We were relaxing by the pool at our hotel after Adriene's team won the Tag Team Couple's Tournament." Amanda commented as she ran a hand through her hair. "Our boyfriends had retired to the rooms we're sharing with them for the night so we were alone, or so we thought."

"I'll cut to the chase." Adriene chimed in before taking another deep breath. "We were just in a Tag Team Orichalcos Duel!"