It was the morning after the Semi-Finals but the finals of the Tag Team Tournament weren't scheduled to start for another three hours yet, still that didn't stop one girl who was competing in the finals from getting up early that morning, even if her roommate was having a lay in.
"Chloe's lucky that the duels aren't until ten." Chelsea thought as she glanced over at her roommate who was still fast asleep in her bed, as for Chelsea? She was waiting for her laptop to boot up she that she could check her Facebook wall, unlike her roommate Chelsea had already gotten dressed choosing to wear the Slayer shirt that left her midriff exposed and some torn jeans. "Otherwise? I would've dragged her out of bed physically! I'm not letting the fact that Chloe's not a morning person stop us from getting to the main duel arena in time for the finals." Chelsea thought before turning her attention back to the laptop and seeing her Facebook wall. "Huh, most of the Osiris Red Students are freaking out about something that happened last night, wonder what this is about?" Chelsea thought before checking Duel Academy's Facebook page.
What she saw on the page made her blood boil.
"This is what happens when you let retards attend an academy meant for the elite!" Jessica's voice rang out in a Facebook Live video that Duel Academy had shared from her Facebook wall, Cameron and Thomas were also in the vid and whilst it was Thomas that was holding the phone Cameron was holding up Nicola's bruised and bloody face by her hair. "And now we're going to make sure that she never returns!"
"That bitch!" Chelsea thought as she gritted her teeth and clenched her fists. "I know Jessica, Cameron and Thomas didn't take their elimination from the tournament well but this is too far!"
"I think we've done enough!" Cameron added before letting go off Nicola and letting her head fall to the ground, based on the trees surrounding the group the incident likely took place on the North Side of the island. "Let's get out of here before the retard wakes up but for now let's leave her in the dirt, where she belongs!"
"If this doesn't send a message to Richardson and the others, I don't know what will!" Thomas chuckled as they walked off. "I'm still not sure about livestreaming this."
"They won't expel us!" Jessica scoffed with a grin on her face. "Not with the amount of money our parents donate to the school! Hey, I've got an idea, let's take a selfie with the retard!"
"Are you sure? I'll have to exit out of Facebook Live." Thomas responded and Jessica shook her head.
"I don't care!" Jessica responded and seconds later the live video ended, the message it was shared with stated that immediate action would be taken by the school and that the finals would be delayed by a day so that they could investigate but Chelsea didn't care as she stormed out of her room and slammed the door shut not even bothering to exit out of Facebook.
"Chelsea?" Chloe wondered as the sound of the door slamming had woken her up, she sat up in her bed and after brushing some stray messy hair out of eyes Chloe looked around the room, however when she saw no sign of her roommate she went back to sleep. "She probably went downstairs to get an early breakfast, oh well, at least I can sleep in for once!"
*meanwhile*
Chelsea didn't have to go far to find Jessica as she was outside the Obelisk Blue Girl's Dorm talking on her cell-phone, or trying too as she was apparently having trouble getting through to whoever it was that she was trying to call.
"Come on, come on, Cameron, pick up already!" Jessica said as she glanced around, it was still early in the morning on Duel Academy island and as a result there wasn't that much foot traffic between the dorms with most of the students either being asleep or trying to get some homework done, those who hadn't gone to the main building to check in Nicola that is. "This is bad, Cameron and Thomas aren't picking up and all of my friends have abandoned me! I was just putting that retard in her place!" Jessica thought before pocketing her phone. "At least it can't get any worse."
"HEY!" Chelsea's voice rang out and Jessica turned around to see the Ra Yellow student storming up towards her with a furious look on her face but before the red-head could even try to run Chelsea grabbed her by the collar and pulled her in close. "Who do you think you are?! Attacking a fellow student like that, just when I thought you couldn't sink any lower!"
"Why does it matter to you?" Jessica asked with a nervous grin as Chelsea glared at her. "All we did was put that retard in her place, not our fault that the school overreacted."
"Call her that again." Chelsea said through gritted teeth as she clenched her free hand into a fist, whilst Jessica was a couple of inches taller than Chelsea she knew better than to mess with her, at least in theory.
"Call her what? A retard?" Jessica asked rhetorically and the next few minutes where a blur for Chelsea, on the outside Chelsea decked Jessica knocking her to the ground and mounted her before she continued to punch her without giving her a chance to respond and as the last punch connected Jessica lost consciousness and Chelsea rolled off her taking several deep breaths as she started to come to her senses.
"What just…." Chelsea wondered before looking at her bloodstained hands, she slowly looked up and her eyes widened when she saw Jessica's bloody, unconscious form. "SHIT! I need to get out of here before anyone wakes up." Chelsea thought before standing up and running off towards the main building with no destination in mind, she just wanted to get out of the area as quickly as she could, perhaps it was that which caused her to run, quite literally, into Tyler.
"Ah Chelsea, there you are." Tyler greeted her as she scrambled back to her feet. "I wanted to talk to you and Chloe about Nicola's assault…...is that blood on your hands?" Tyler asked but before he could ask anything else Chelsea barged right past him running towards the northern side of the island. "I wonder what's got her so spooked? And where did that blood come from?" Tyler thought before walking down the hill that led to the southern side of the island but even though the Obelisk Blue Girl's Dorm was the furthest dorm from the entrance to the area Jessica's unconscious form was the first thing he noticed. "Oh…."
*two hours later*
A couple of hours had passed but Chloe's sleep was interrupted again, this time by a loud banging on the dorm room door and it took her a couple of seconds to gain her bearings before getting out of bed.
"Okay, okay, I'm coming!" Chloe called out as the banging continued for a few minutes, she let out a yawn before approaching the door. "Good grief, can't a girl get some decent sleep around here? Honestly!" Chloe muttered under her breath before a male voice rang out.
"DAS, open up, now!" The voice responded and Chloe hesitated.
"The Disciplinary Action Squad? What could they want with me? I've been on my best behavior since my expulsion duel!" Chloe thought before glancing around the room and realizing that Chelsea was nowhere to be seen. "Wait a sec, where's Chelsea? She didn't mention having any classes before the duels!"
"Last chance Chelsea, open up!" The voice rang out again and Chloe quickly opened the door and saw a squad standing outside with Sarah behind them. "Where's your roommate Chloe?"
"I don't have a clue!" Chloe asserted as she rubbed some sleep from her eyes. "I literally just woke up, no thanks to you." Chloe added and the squad leader leaned his head into the room to do a quick scan.
"She isn't here, she left her laptop open though." The leader said into his walkie-talkie and Chloe could hear a voice on the other end but couldn't make out what they were saying. "Understood, move out men! She couldn't have gotten far!" The squad leader said before leading the troops away and Sarah went to follow them.
"Can you tell what this is about?" Chloe called out to them and whilst the squad ignored her Sarah stopped in her tracks and turned to Chloe. "I don't know if you noticed but the goon squad woke me up so I'm a little in the dark here!"
"Sorry Chloe, but it had to be done." Sarah responded as she walked up to the teenager. "Chelsea assaulted one of the Obelisk Blue students responsible for the assault on Nicola Hastings last night, she was last seen running towards…..."
"Wait, what?!" Chloe interrupted her as she looked at her dorm headmistress in shock. "Someone assaulted Nicola?!"
"Severely, Nicola is in the infirmary with her family as we speak." Sarah nodded with a grim look on her face. "I don't blame your roommate for getting angry but at the same time, if she texts you at any point today let me know immediately and before you ask, the final duel of the tournament has been delayed because of the assault but at the same time, I recommend getting dressed immediately."
"Yeah, sure." Chloe nodded in response before going to close the door. "Just tell me one thing, was it Cameron, Thomas and Jessica who assaulted Nicola?"
"Yes, it was." Sarah nodded in response as she turned to her. "Cameron and Thomas are outside Martin's office in the main building, the most likely outcome is that they'll be expelled without an expulsion duel but Jessica? Your roommates' actions have muddied the waters a bit there."
"She assaulted Jessica?" Chloe asked and Sarah nodded. "I'm almost afraid to ask but how bad was the assault on Jessica?"
"According to what I heard Chelsea punched her in the head until she was knocked out, she must've come to her senses not long afterwards because Chelsea fled the scene not long afterwards." Sarah responded before sighing. "The only reason we know any of this is because Tyler ran into her as she fled the scene, well that and the security cameras in front of the Obelisk Blue Girl's Dorm."
"I'm not sure where my roommate could've gone, sure Chelsea's lost her temper before but not to this extent." Chloe admitted as she rubbed her arm nervously. "They are allowing visitors to see Nicola, right?"
"Yes, they are." Sarah nodded in response and Chloe sighed. "If I were you, I'd brace yourself though, the aftermath is not a pretty site."
"Thanks for the warning." Chloe responded before closing the door behind her. "What the hell is going on this morning? And here I thought the worst thing I'd have to deal with is Theresa and Brandon's decks." Chloe sighed as she started brushing her hair. "Chelsea, wherever you are, just turn yourself in, it'll be easier for you that way." Chloe muttered under her breath as she glanced towards one of the windows in the room before she walked in front of the mirror.
*meanwhile*
The leader of the Disciplinary Action Squad group that had checked the room Chelsea shared with Chloe wasn't wrong as she hadn't gotten that far, in fact she had fled to the north side and only stopped in a clearing when she was too exhausted to run anymore at which point she plopped down into a seating position that left her leaning against a tree.
"Shit, shit!" Chelsea cussed herself out as she looked down at her bloody hands. "How could I be so fucking stupid?! I'll be lucky if I do get expelled for this because I just beat the crap out of another student!" Chelsea added as she punched the ground in frustration. "I can't stay here, Tyler saw me, he'd have alerted the teachers by now and they would've alerted the DAS by extension!" Chelsea muttered before glancing around and taking a deep breath. "Maybe I can swim back to the main land, yeah, if I hurry they won't detect me and…"
"You wouldn't even make it halfway before passing out from exhaustion, and that would be the least of your worries." Chelsea nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard Tracy's voice before she looked up and saw the Obelisk Blue headmistress leaning against a nearby tree. "Little hint Chelsea, you're not the first student who tried to flee to the north side of the island when you were in trouble and you won't be the last."
"Yeah, I kinda gathered that!" Chelsea responded as she took another deep breath. "But I wasn't thinking straight, at all, when I saw what I had done I guess instinct just took over."
"And you made it harder on yourself by fleeing the scene, I saw the assault on the security cameras and I was already on my way out when they told me that you had fled." Tracy added before taking a deep breath. "But it's not too late."
"What do you mean?" Chelsea asked as she started to pull herself to her feet. "I assaulted another student, I fled the scene, my folks may as well start looking for a military academy for me to enroll in and Martin may as well start looking for someone to replace me on Chloe's team tomorrow!"
"If it was that black and white I would've left the DAS to do their job and track you down." Tracy responded before turning to the student. "But as wrong as your actions were the truth is that the actions of Jessica, Cameron and Thomas infuriated the teachers even more, Nicola's a talented duelist no doubt but being the first autistic student at the academy was bound to be the target for some of the worst students here in the academy but we never expected this to happen." Tracy said before sitting down next to Chelsea. "To put it simply, I'm giving you a chance to turn yourself in before the DAS find you." Tracy added and Chelsea hesitated.
"There's still a chance that they'll expel me." Chelsea responded with an uncertain look on her face and Tracy sighed.
"Would you rather deal with me or the DAS? Because I can guarantee you that they won't be as merciful with you as I am being." Tracy responded and Chelsea hesitated again before nodding at which point Tracy stood up and Chelsea followed suit. "Good, I think the first thing we need to do is get your hands washed, I'll let Martin know that you turned yourself in willingly."
"Yeah, sure." Chelsea nodded in response before following her down the hill.
*an hour later*
Back in the main building things were tense as the news of Nicola's assault had spread quickly as had the news of Chelsea's assault on Jessica that morning, both girls were in the med bay being treated for their wounds but for two students the day was about to get worse for them.
"Take a seat, boys." Martin instructed them as Cameron and Thomas entered the room, they wasted no time in sitting down in front of the desk and they seemed confident that they would get off scot free as their parents were in the room as well. "I take it you know why you're here?"
"We took a Facebook Live video that got blown massively out of proportion by the school." Cameron commented with a smirk as he folded his arms. "And we now await the slap on the wrist before we can return to our normal everyday lives at the school."
"Exactly!" Thomas nodded in agreement with a scoff as he looked at the teacher. "Okay, so we roughed up some Osiris Red Reject, who cares? This school is meant to be for the elite, not some lowly gutter trash like Hastings." Thomas added and Martin messaged his forehead in annoyance.
"You lured an autistic girl to the north side of the island with a fake love letter from her lover and don't try to say that it wasn't you, we compared the handwriting on the letter to your signatures on your applications to be enrolled here and the handwriting matches yours Cameron." Martin explained as his eyes narrowed. "And from there the two of you and Jessica assaulted her for at least five hours, we still don't know the extent of the damage that the poor girl has suffered but listen to me, I served in the army for twenty years before I left and became a pro-duelist and even with that in mind the injuries Nicola sustained are some of the worst I've ever seen." Martin added before he leaned forward. "And you don't feel any remorse for what you did to her?"
"Not one bit." Cameron scoffed as he locked eyes with Martin. "Besides, we didn't go as far as we wanted too with the assault."
"We wanted to have our way with her, really put that retard in her place." Thomas added before frowning. "But Jessica would have none of it, even threatened to report the plan to Tracy if we went through with it."
"Then it's clear that you leave me with no choice." Martin responded before getting the paperwork out and signing it. "Effective immediately, the two of you are expelled from Duel Academy, you will never set foot on this island again and you may as well give up on any hopes you had of a career in Duel Monsters, aside from maybe being a janitor for the Domino Branch of I2." Martin explained and the two boys' eyes widened as it hit them.
"You can't do that!" Cameron responded as he started to panic. "But what about Jessica? She was assaulted as well!"
"The situation with Jessica will be resolved as soon as she regains consciousness." Martin responded as he leaned forward. "And to be frank, I have a half a mind to march over to the med bay and convince Nicola's parents to charge the three of you with assault but I have other matters to attend to first." Martin added before leaning back. "I expect the two of you to pack up and vacate your dorm rooms in the Obelisk Blue Boy's Dorm by lunch time, Duel Academy will be accepting new applicants once Summer Break has ended and I'm sure" that we will find two perspective male Obelisk Blue students who are far better behaved than the two of you, now get out of my sight!" Martin explained calmly and the two boys shared a look before standing up and leaving the room, as they left Martin saw Tracy standing near the doorway and his female counterpart stood aside to let the boys pass with their parents. "Did you want to see me Tracy?" Martin asked as she entered the room and closed the door behind her.
"I found Chelsea Cunningham on the north side of the island, I convinced her to turn herself in." Tracy responded as she took a seat and Martin nodded in response. "In my opinion? The girl was an emotional wreck, I think you'll find more remorse coming from her than either of the three students that assaulted Nicola."
"Noted." Martin nodded in response before calling off the DAS. "Where is Cunningham now?"
"Waiting outside to hear her fate." Tracy responded and Martin frowned. "I know that look Martin, this won't be as black and white as the situation with Cameron and Thomas, will it?"
"No, it won't." Martin sighed as he glanced at the fellow teacher. "I was going to call in the students who had been targeted by the Orichalcos Duelists anyway and not for good news I assure you, as for Chelsea, well that's a bit of a grey area." Martin added before sighing. "Whilst I can understand her anger, the fact of the matter is that she assaulted another student, the fact that she turned herself in will work in her favor and any other time I would've given her an expulsion duel as a result."
"But you won't because that would be her second expulsion duel." Tracy responded with a nod before frowning. "Even if she won the duel, suspending her this close to summer break would just be pointless."
"Exactly, and then the other students would be up in arms over the perception that students aren't allowed to stand up for each other." Martin nodded before putting a finger on the buzzer so that he could talk to Misty. "Misty, is Andreas waiting outside like I asked?"
"Yes Martin." His secretary responded and Martin nodded. "The other students you asked for are here too."
"Good, send them in." Martin responded before taking his finger off the button and Tracy got out of the chair just as the door opened, Andreas held the door open for the others before entering the room himself the group stood around the office with Andreas and Chelsea sitting down in the chairs previously occupied by Cameron and Thomas. "Andreas, I understand that you were causing quite a commotion at the med bay?"
"Yes, and you'll forgive me if I'm a little emotional whilst my girlfriend spends the last few days of term lying in a hospital bed." Andreas responded with a frown as he folded his arms. "Speaking of, what's the fates of her attackers?"
"You'll be pleased to know that I expelled Cameron and Thomas, effective immediately." Martin responded and the two teens grinned at that. "However, Chelsea's attack on Jessica has muddied the waters a bit."
"What do you mean?" Chelsea asked with a confused look on her face. "She was just as unapologetic as Cameron and Thomas was before I lost my temper."
"And it is because you lost your temper that I am forced to do this." Martin responded before sighing. "If it weren't for Chelsea's attack on Jessica, I would've expelled her alongside Cameron and Thomas, however on the advice of the school board she is scheduled to compete in an expulsion duel on Thursday."
"You can't be serious?!" Andreas asked with a look on his face that could be best described as a mix of shock and anger. "She was just as culpable as the boys were but we both know that if she wins the expulsion duel she'll get away with it."
"I understand your reservations Andreas but the school board believes that this is the only fair way to resolve this issue." Martin responded without noticing that Chelsea was clenching her fists. "That brings us to the point of Jessica's opponent for the duel…..."
"Fuck what the school board says!" Chelsea interrupted him causing the other students to wince as Martin locked eyes with her. "Have they even seen the extent of Nicola's injuries? I bet not because if they had they wouldn't be bothering with the expulsion duel!" Chelsea added before her eyes narrowed. "Or are they only doing this because the victim was an Osiris Red Student?"
"Chelsea, I'm only warning you once." Martin said as his eyes narrowed. "If you are insinuating that we are displaying bias towards Obelisk Blue students by doing this then don't, everyone in this room was up for expulsion a few weeks before the tournament started including three of the top Obelisk Blue Students."
"Yeah, for trespassing in the Abandoned Dorm." Chelsea responded as she folded her arms. "But the moment three Obelisk Blue Students attack an Osiris Red Student just for enrolling in the academy you decide to give one of them a second chance just because someone retaliated against her? I'm not just insinuating that you and the rest of the faculty are biased towards Obelisk Blue, I'm telling you straight to your…"
"THAT'S ENOUGH CHELSEA!" Martin raised his voice for the first time in the meeting and it was enough for Chelsea to stop dead in her tracks and the glare he was giving her didn't help matters at all. "You are free to have whatever opinion you want of me or the other faculty members but I will not sit here and have my integrity as a teacher questioned, do I make myself clear?" Martin asked and Chelsea gulped before nodding. "Besides, your fate is still up in the air because you chose to retaliate Cunningham so if I were you I'd think very carefully about what you say or do for the rest of the day, I will be having a meeting with the rest of the faculty to decide your fate later this evening, classes have been cancelled for the day whilst the investigation is still ongoing and as a precaution I have called your parents, they are flying in from Chicago as we speak."
"Great, that's just what I needed." Chelsea thought with a frown before sighing. "Fine but don't be surprised if I go on a rant on Facebook about this."
"Rant all you want, it won't change my decision." Martin responded before turning to others. "Before I was interrupted I was going to discuss Jessica's opponent, I did try to contact the Pro-League duelists we used for your expulsion duels but they were busy with tournament commitments so that leaves us with one choice, a fellow student will face Jessica on Thursday." Martin added before turning to Andreas and Chelsea. "And before you ask, I cannot allow Chelsea or Andreas to face Jessica for one simple reason, conflict of interest."
"At least that I can understand, I was the one who assaulted her and Andreas is Nicola's boyfriend." Chelsea responded and Martin nodded. "Have you thought about asking Nicola's step-brother? He's a pro-league duelist."
"Yes, but the fact that he's her step-brother creates an even bigger conflict of interest." Martin responded before turning to the other students. "To be frank, I would prefer to get this over with before summer break starts so that the reason for Jessica's expulsion is still fresh in everyone's minds so if any of you want to volunteer…."
"I volunteer." Chloe responded as she stepped forward. "Because if my hunch is right, then they attacked Nicola to get to me as revenge for my team eliminating all three of them from the tournament, obviously Chelsea can't volunteer so the way I see it? I'm your best choice, no offense to the other students in the room off course."
"Chloe, are you sure?" Martin asked and Chloe nodded in response. "I just need to confirm that you are truly neutral in the matter, where were you at the time of both assaults?"
"In my dorm room asleep, Chelsea can attest to that since we're roommates and all." Chloe responded and Martin turned to Chelsea who nodded to confirm it.
"Chloe wanted to get an early night last night because of the finals, and as for this morning?" Chelsea said before shaking her head. "Well, you were with the students for the Battle City trip, I'm sure you remember that Chloe is not a morning person."
"Yes, I do, I also remember that fact from the times she's nearly missed a class due to sleeping in." Martin added and Chloe laughed nervously as a large sweat-drop rolled down her head. "Very well, I'll inform Jessica of her fate once she regains consciousness and I'll reschedule the final for tomorrow afternoon, as for you Chelsea." Martin said as he turned to her. "As I said, your fate will be decided later, until then keep your distance from the Obelisk Blue Girl's Dorm, I realize that might be difficult as the Ra Yellow Girl's Dorm is within walking distance of the Obelisk Blue Girl's dorm but I'm telling you this for your own good."
"Encase any of Jessica's friends want some payback?" Chelsea asked and Martin nodded at which point she scoffed. "Have you seen her friends? I can take those pansy ass girly girls no problem!"
"That maybe but further violence, even in defense of yourself, might convince the school board that expulsion is the only option for you." Martin warned her and Chelsea gulped before nodding. "That is all for now, you are dismissed, Chelsea, I'll have Tracy come collect you when the time comes for the meeting."
"Fine, she'll know where to find me." Chelsea responded with a sigh before the students left Martin's office, from there they went their separate ways aside from Chelsea, Chloe and Andreas who went in the same direction. "Off to check on Nicola?"
"We were in that office for twenty minutes, it's only right that I should." Andreas responded as he checked the time on his watch. "I am not looking forward to telling her that one of her attackers is getting a second chance."
"Yeah, maybe leave out the part that I indirectly caused it…" Chelsea trailed off before Andreas span around.
"Actually, I won't." Andreas said as he folded his arms. "Look Chelsea, I don't blame you for getting angry at Jessica, I was furious when I saw the video this morning, but like it or not your actions might mean that Jessica will get away with this!"
"Are you serious?!" Chelsea asked as she glared at the German teen. "It's not like I woke up this morning thinking "I'm going to punch the crap out of an Obelisk Blue student" but Jessica had it coming and I lost control of my temper, what did you expect me to do? Walk away?"
"If you had, we wouldn't be having this conversation!" Andreas responded before walking up to her and looking her straight in the eye. "Chelsea, I like you, don't get me wrong, but your temper has gotten you dangerously close to being expelled from yet another school and maybe, just maybe, you should use this incident as a wake-up call and have a good, long hard look in the mirror as you wait for the meeting to start because, as I'm sure your parents will point out to you when they arrive, the real world won't be as forgiving as this school is if another incident like this happens." Andreas added before walking off leaving Chelsea speechless.
"Err, Chelsea." Chloe said after a few minutes and her roommate glanced over her shoulder at Chloe. "Shouldn't we get going? Or do you want to wait out the time until the meeting here in the main building?"
"Sorry Chloe." Chelsea apologized with a sigh before the two girls started making their way out of the building and down the stairs not noticing two familiar face waiting for them outside the Obelisk Blue Boy's Dorm. "But Andreas's words just got to me, as much as I hate to admit it, he's got a point."
"Well, step one to recovery is admitting that you have a problem." The two girls looked up and saw Tyler and Miranda waiting for them. "Step two is going to be trickier though."
"I don't remember asking you to play psychologist!" Chelsea responded as they walked up to the two Obelisk Blue Students. "And what do you mean by step two?"
"What do you think we mean?" Miranda asked as she folded her arms and Chelsea frowned. "I overheard your conversation with Andreas and Tyler told me about what happened during the meeting, frankly you should be lucky that Tracy didn't chew you out as well."
"Yeah, so what?" Chelsea asked as she folded her arms. "Even after everything Jessica did to Nicola last night they are giving her a second chance just because I was the only one who had the guts to confront her about it!"
"Did you suddenly forget that you ran into me, literally, just after you confronted her?" Tyler asked and Chelsea frowned in response. "Besides, I saw the aftermath of your confrontation with her, if it weren't for the fact that Tracy talked you into turning yourself in I think you'd be joining Cameron and Thomas on the boat back to the mainland and not because they suspended you." Tyler added as his eyes narrowed. "Like it or not, you need our help."
"Help with what?" Chelsea scoffed as she rolled her eyes. "No one's helped me manage my temper before and I've managed it just fine up to this point!" Chelsea added before she started to walk off.
"Let's have a look at just how you've managed your temper." Miranda responded as she folded her arms. "Expelled from four schools, a juvenile record that prevented you from joining the other students in Battle City, the fact that your parents threatened to enroll you in military academy if you got kicked out of Duel Academy and your assault on Jessica, I could go on but I think my point's been made." Miranda added causing Chelsea to stop in her tracks. "And before you ask how I know about the military academy thing, Tyler told me after your last meeting in Theresa's room."
"Okay, so my record for keeping my temper under control isn't exactly spotless." Chelsea commented with an annoyed grunt as she glanced at the two older teens. "Why do you care so much? It's hardly the first time that I've lost my temper, this was just the worst case of it since I joined Duel Academy."
"You haven't gone back to your dorm yet, have you?" Miranda asked and Chelsea blinked before shaking her head. "I passed some of the girls from Ra Yellow on my way to the Duel Theory class that ended up being cancelled because of everything that's happened, to put it bluntly they fear you and some are even considering dropping out."
"You're kidding, right?" Chelsea asked and Miranda shook her head, Chelsea ran a hand down her face as the implications hit her. "Great, even if they don't expel me I may as well drop out because no one from Ra Yellow aside from Chloe, Beth and our neighbors will want to ho near me."
"I was able to talk the girls considering dropping out of the school out of it but as for the point you just raised?" Miranda asked as she glanced at Chelsea. "We'll just have to try to get that temper under control!"
"Do you know how long I've been trying to get it under control?" Chelsea asked and Miranda shook her head. "Since my stint in juvie ended! And guess how well that worked?"
"Not well at all?" Tyler asked and Chelsea nodded.
"And don't even think about suggesting that I go see a shrink." Chelsea added when she saw that Tyler was about to make another suggestion. "Been there, done that, got a migraine and some pills for my trouble and made no progress."
"If you feel that way about it then fine, we weren't going to suggest that anyway." Miranda responded before grinning. "But what I am going to suggest is a duel."
"Now you're talking my language!" Chelsea said as a broad grin appeared on her face. "Do you think they'll let me use the Obelisk Blue Duel Field? Since my future at the academy is still up in the air and all?"
"We were able to use the duel field for my duel against Chloe and Miranda's duel against you when we were facing possible expulsion for the Abandoned Dorm incident, it shouldn't be an issue." Tyler pointed out and Chelsea nodded in response. "Now we just need an opponent for you."
"My deck's back at my dorm room with my duel disk." Chloe commented with a frown on her face. "My first class was supposed to be Hamden's class but that got cancelled and I don't think Chelsea wants to wait around for me to return since we don't know when the teachers will make their decision."
"True but I've got mine." Miranda said as she held up her duel disk. "And knowing how competitive Chelsea is I think it's safe to say that she's been wanting a rematch against me since I beat her."
"I'd be lying if I said otherwise." Chelsea responded with a nod before grinning. "Just get ready for your outdated dragons to go to the trash heap."
"I'll pretend I didn't hear the "outdated" part, as for the duel, just think of it like a therapy duel." Miranda responded with a frown on her face before leading the others into the main building.
*a few minutes later*
The med bay was as busy as ever as the nurse did her best to tend to Nicola's wounds, Jessica's injuries weren't as serious as they first appeared and she was discharged as soon as she regained consciousness but not before Martin told her the bad news, Nicola's family had a few words for Martin about it but they had backed off when they realized that Marin's hands were tied on the issue.
"I still can't believe that the school would allow this to happen." Nicola's dad said as he returned to his daughter's side having just been to the bathroom, by now the blood that was on Nicola's face from the assault had been cleaned off and her wounds were being treated though the broken nose and swollen eye would take a few days to heal. "You'd think that they would keep a better eye on their students."
"Dad, the north side of the island is almost completely forested and the only dorm on that side was abandoned a while ago." Zach explained as he turned to him. "There are guard patrols out there but because of how dense it is it's a popular place for duelists to have a practice duel in private, lovers to have some alone time…."
"Or three assholes to ambush me." Nicola groaned as she shifted her weight in her hospital bed. "Any idea what they are going to do to Chelsea?"
"None but considering the circumstances I think they'll let her off with a stern warning." Andreas responded with a sigh as he looked at his girlfriend. "I know that if I had found one of your attackers before the Disciplinary Action Squad I wouldn't have been accountable for my actions so as mad as I am at Chelsea for unintentionally allowing Jessica to get a second chance I can't blame her."
"I have to agree with Andreas, I don't think an army would be able to stop me if I found one of those bastards first." Zach nodded in agreement before there was a knock at the door and Chloe poked her head in.
"Hey, I know this is a private time but Miranda's having what she's calling a therapy duel with Chelsea at the Obelisk Blue Field." Chloe explained as she approached the students. "I figured it might be a nice change of scenery for Nicola but I'll understand if she can't come."
"Well, I was getting bored here anyway." Andreas nodded in response as did Zach. "As for Nicola, we'll have to ask the nurse first." Andreas added before turning to the nurse.
"I don't have a problem with it but take it easy young lady." The nurse said and Nicola grinned before getting out of bed. "You took quite a beating and your wounds still need healing, if your injuries act up return here immediately."
"Will do." Nicola said as she gingerly walked around the bed due to the pins and needles in her leg. "Let's get going." Nicola added before they left.
*a bit later*
Following Cameron and Thomas's expulsions the main building was back to relative normalcy but that didn't stop some of the Ra Yellow girls from keeping their distance from Chelsea as she followed Miranda into the Obelisk Blue Duel Arena with the other students sitting in the stands waiting for the two girls to start their duel.
"Okay, I doubt I have to explain the rules to you Chelsea but the duel will be using the standard rules." Miranda said as the two girls stood across the arena from them. "That said, just encase this does end up being your last duel at Duel Academy, I'll be happy to send you off with a bang."
"There's only one girl allowed to send me off with a bang and that's my girlfriend!" Chelsea responded before face-palming almost immediately. "That joke was terrible."
"No argument there." Miranda nodded as a large sweat-drop rolled down hers and the other student's heads, the two girls quickly activated their duel disks and drew their opening hands as the others looked on. "Back on topic, you up for going first?"
"Thought you'd never ask." Chelsea responded before looking over her hand. "Only one monster and he's better served in the graveyard, not my best hand but I did draw Beckoning Light, that trap will help a lot!" Chelsea decided before picking up two cards. "I set two cards facedown and end my turn." Chelsea set the two cards and Miranda raised an eyebrow before drawing her card.
"No monsters? Except for the Watt Synchros, Wattaildragon and Wattcentaur all the Watt Monsters are low level monsters, her hand must be pretty crappy." Miranda thought before looking over her hand. "And unfortunately for Chelsea, mine isn't!" Miranda thought before playing a card. "First, I activate Cards of Consonance, by discarding a low-level Dragon Type Tuner Monster from my hand I can draw two cards."
"Let me guess, White Stone of Legend so that you can search out one of the Blue Eyes White Dragons?" Chelsea asked with a frown on her face. "That's a pretty predictable move!"
"That's coming from the girl who opened most of her Tournament Duels with Wattcobra?" Miranda asked with a raised eyebrow and Chelsea sweat-dropped. "I believe the expression is pot calling the kettle black?"
"Yeah well, let's see you predict this!" Chelsea responded as her facedown card flipped up. "I chain Beckoning Light to Cards of Consonance's activation! So now I get to discard the rest of my hand and add an equal number of Light Type Monsters from my deck to my hand!" Chelsea added before she started inputting commands,
"Smart move using that card early in case I drew Night Beam." Miranda complemented her before holding the card that she was about to discard up. "But for the record, the card I'm discarding for Cards of Consonance's effect isn't White Stone of Legend, it's White Stone of Ancients!"
"From here that just sounds like a case of tomato, tomato." Chelsea responded whilst using the different pronunciations of the word to get her point across before adding the cards to her hand.
"To someone who's unfamiliar with this card? Sure." Miranda responded before discarding the monster and drawing two cards. "But you'll quickly find out just how wrong you are, for now I set two cards facedown and end my turn." Miranda set the two cards and Chelsea blinked in confusion which was further compounded when Miranda started inputting commands into her duel disk. "Problem Chelsea?"
"You could say that." Chelsea responded as Miranda retrieved the card. "You ended your turn without summoning a monster yet you just searched through your deck."
"Ah yeah, that was White Stone of Ancient's effect." Miranda responded as she held up her card. "Once per turn and during the End Phase if I have that monster in the graveyard I can special summon a certain monster from my deck!" Miranda added before grinning broadly. "A monster that needs no introduction."
"You don't mean…..." Chelsea trailed off as the infamous roar rang out as Miranda played the card and sure enough her father's ace monster the Blue-Eyes White Dragon appeared on the field (8/3000/2500). "Is it too late to go see the shrinks?"
"Yes." Miranda responded bluntly and Chelsea gulped. "It's your move by the way!"
"I was getting to that!" Chelsea snapped though this time it was more out of nervousness than anger. "Why am I so nervous? This is hardly my first duel and Miranda didn't last that long in the tournament, her deck can't be that hard to beat, right?" Chelsea thought before sighing. "But that also means that I can't use Electromagnetic Turtle's effect because that requires me to use the effect during the turn it was sent to the graveyard!"
"She's getting nervous already! Then again, this combo of mine does tend to make even the most experienced duelist sweat." Miranda thought before glancing over at Tyler. "I remember Tyler sweating bullets when I tested this deck on him a few weeks ago."
"Okay, I summon Wattcobra!" Chelsea played the card and the multi-colored snake appeared on the field (4/1000/500). "And whilst he can't defeat your dragon without a card like Honest there is one thing he can do! Wattcobra, attack her life-points directly!" Chelsea commanded and the cobra went to leap over the legendary dragon….
"You fell for the oldest trick in my father's book Chelsea! Activate Trap Card Attack Guidance Armor!" Miranda activated the trap and Chelsea's eyes widened as the cursed armor appeared on the legendary dragon. "Which means that the attack gets redirected to my dragon and as you just said, he's more than a little overmatched! Blue-Eyes White Dragon, attack Wattcobra with White Lightning!" Miranda commanded and the dragon fired its legendary attack at Wattcobra as it leapt over the dragon disintegrating it and bringing Chelsea's life-points down to 6000.
"Well, that backfired." Chelsea thought with a wince as she the two girls sent their respective cards to the graveyard. "What's worse is that there was nothing I could've done to prevent it, right?" Chelsea thought before glancing at her facedown card….and barely resisting the urge to facepalm. "Damn it! How did I forget that I set Trap Jammer last turn? With that I could've negated Attack Guidance Armor and I would've taken the lead! At least I have another move I can make, even if it will put me further behind in life-points!" Chelsea thought before picking up the card she had drawn. "I set one card facedown and end my turn!"
"Chelsea, there you are!" Chelsea's eyes widened before she glanced over her shoulder and saw her parents in the stand, even worse was the fact that they were angry at her and it wasn't that hard to figure out why.
"Mom, dad." Chelsea said with a nervous grin on her face as she turned to them. "Martin said that you were flying in but I wasn't expecting you until this evening."
"We flew in last night so that we could pick you up for the Summer Break." Eddy responded as he folded his arms. "We wouldn't have come to the island until Friday if it weren't for Martin's phone call this evening, we have a lot to talk about young lady." Eddy added and Chelsea lowered her head with a deep breath.
"Mr. Cunningham, I understand that you want to read your daughter the riot act for attacking that other student." Miranda chimed in and they turned to her. "But to be honest? The girl she attacked had it coming if you ask me, she and two boys attacked one of her friends last night."
"We had heard about that." Chelsea's mother sighed as she turned to Miranda. "But we also heard that Chelsea's actions might lead to Jessica getting away with it."
"Yes and no, the boys were expelled immediately but Jessica is getting an expulsion duel against Chloe on Thursday." Miranda explained before nodding towards Chelsea. "But in the meantime, I'm trying to help Chelsea with her anger problems just encase the school decides to keep her on after Summer Break starting with this duel."
"Well, that and it's better than being cooped up in my dorm room all day." Chelsea added before sighing. "So, could you at least let me finish this duel before chewing me out?"
"Fine, but we're not going to let you off easy." Eddy responded before they took a seat and Chelsea took a deep breath before turning to Miranda.
"Thanks for jumping to my defense there." Chelsea said sheepishly and Miranda shook her head.
"Don't worry about it, instead worry about what my dragon is about to do." Miranda responded before looking at her drawn card. "Make that dragons! I summon Alexandrite Dragon!" Miranda played the card and the beautiful sapphire dragon appeared on the field with a roar (4/2000/100). "Blue-Eyes, attack her life-points directly, White Lightning!" Miranda commanded and the dragon let lose its attack on Chelsea bringing her life-points down to 3000. "It's a pity, I expected a better fight from you Chelsea, especially after Tyler mentioned you talking back to Martin earlier."
"You want a better fight? I'll give you one! I activate my trap card Damage Condenser!" Chelsea announced before discarding a card and imputing commands into her duel disk, after a few seconds she played the card and Wattdragonfly appeared on the field in defense mode (2/900/100).
"Defense mode, smart, shame that it won't help you much! I activate my trap card Dragon's Rage!" Miranda announced as the trap card flipped up. "With this my dragons can inflict piercing damage and since both of my dragons are very powerful that means you're about to lose a chunk of your life-points!"
"Not on this turn I'm not! I chain Dragon's Rage with Trap Jammer!" Chelsea responded as her own trap card flipped up and Dragon's Rage was overcome with static electricity before shattering. "Which means your dragons are going to have to calm down for a sec!"
"Chelsea, why didn't you activate that during your turn?" Miranda asked as she sent her trap card to the graveyard and Chelsea hesitated. "You would've still had Wattcobra on the field and you'd be in the lead, honestly it's rookie mistakes like that that make me think that I'm dueling a raw Osiris Red Rookie, not a Ra Yellow Student who many consider to be a lock for Obelisk Blue when the time comes for her next promotion duel, and don't try to say that it was the trap card you just set, that card was one of the traps you set with Beckoning Light."
"I don't know, I just forgot about it, okay?" Chelsea responded with a frown on her face. "Why do you care? You've been kicking my ass all throughout the duel!"
"Because I know that this isn't like you." Miranda responded with a frown on her face. "Temper issues aside, your one of the most passionate duelists I know but your performance in this duel is so wildly out of character for you that it's starting to worry me." Miranda added and Chelsea glanced at the floor. "Be honest, it's the possibility of being expelled for your assault on Jessica, isn't it? It's weighing heavily on your mind and you can't think straight because of it."
"Yeah, so what?" Chelsea asked as she raised her head. "You said so yourself, I've been expelled from four different schools, the only reason my parents haven't tried home schooling is because they can't afford it."
"That is unfortunately true." Eddy admitted as he rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. "We were considering home schooling before we decided to enroll Chelsea here but the prices were too high for us to afford at the time."
"Exactly, and there's no way in hell I want to be expelled for a fifth time." Chelsea responded before taking a deep breath. "But that's the thing, I didn't want to be expelled the first time around, I had friends, a social life, a boyfriend…...that my dad didn't exactly approve off but still…...but my temper got in the way, it was the same story at all the other schools and it'll be the same story here!"
"But it doesn't have to be, that's why I'm trying to help you Chelsea." Miranda responded with a deep sigh. "Let's continue this discussion after the duel, otherwise it might go to long."
"Yeah, good idea." Chelsea nodded in agreement before sighing. "But if anything, that did help me clear my head a bit, I should be performing to my usual standard now."
"Good, now back to business!" Miranda responded before pointing to Wattdragonfly. "Dragon's Rage may be negated but I can still attack, Alexandrite Dragon, attack Wattdragonfly!" Miranda commanded and the dragon breathed fire at the dragonfly destroying it.
"I use Wattdragonfly's effect to Special Summon Wattaildragon!" Chelsea played the card and the massive blue dragon appeared on the field with a roar (6/2500/1000). "Seems we have a clash of dragons on our hands."
"And it's clear to me which dragon will win." Miranda responded before looking over her hand. "I'll save this for later." Miranda decided before nodding to Chelsea. "It's your move." Miranda added and Chelsea drew her card.
"Okay, not only am I two direct attacks away from defeat by turn three but my parents arrived a lot earlier than I was expecting!" Chelsea thought as she glanced over her shoulder at her parents. "At least things can't get any worse, short of me being expelled! Now to work on my comeback!" Chelsea thought before looking at her drawn card. "I play the Spell Card Gift from Zeus! Now I get to take three Light Type Monsters in my graveyard and shuffle them back into my deck." Chelsea explained before retrieving Wattcobra, Wattdragonfly and Electromagnetic Turtle from her graveyard and shuffling them back into her deck. "And in exchange for that I can draw two cards." Chelsea added before drawing her cards.
"I've only destroyed two of her monsters so that third one is likely something she discarded for Beckoning Light earlier in the duel." Miranda thought as Chelsea looked over her hand. "Draw anything good!"
"No comment." Chelsea responded before pointing to Alexandrite Dragon. "Wattaildragon, attack Alexandrite Dragon!" Chelsea commanded and the dragon let lose its attack on the weaker dragon destroying it and bringing Miranda's life-points down to 7500. "I set one card facedown and end my turn." Chelsea announced as the facedown card appeared on the field and Miranda drew her card.
"She's lucky, I don't have anything that can finish her off right now but at least I can get rid of her dragon." Miranda thought as she looked over her hand before pointing to Wattaildragon. "Blue-Eyes, attack Wattaildragon with White Lightning!" Miranda commanded and the dragon opened its maw to unleash its attack…...
"Sorry Miranda but I'm about to do something that you might want to keep quiet about when you next talk to your old man!" Chelsea responded as she discarded a card from her hand. "By discarding Honest from my hand, I can add the Blue-Eyes White Dragon's attack points to my dragon's!"
"WHAT?!" Miranda yelled out in surprise as Wattaildragon's attack shot up to 5500 and it flew over the blast from the larger dragon before frying it with its own attack bringing Miranda's life-points down to 5000. "Well played, but you still have a long way to go and I have another move I can make." Miranda responded before picking up a card in her hand. "For example, since I control no monsters I can special summon Kaiser Vorse Raider from my hand!" Miranda played the card and a light blue version of the monster made famous by her father appeared on the field crouching down in defense mode (5/1900/1200).
"Seems like a waste of a Special Summon to me." Chelsea responded and Miranda chuckled.
"Perhaps but I never said I was done!" Miranda responded before retrieving two cards from her graveyard. "I activate the second effect of White Stone of Ancients, if that card is in my graveyard I can banish it to add one Blue Eyes White Dragon from my graveyard to my hand!" Miranda explained before pocketing one card and adding the other to her hand. "I set one card facedown and end my turn." Miranda announced and Chelsea drew her card.
"Great, I managed to destroy one of her best monsters but now she has it back in her hand and has a new monster for me to contend with!" Chelsea thought with a frown before looking over her hand. "Wattaildragon, attack Kaiser Vorse Raider!" Chelsea commanded and the dragon unleashed its lightning attack on the monster destroying it. "That almost seemed to easy."
"Maybe that's because Kaiser Vorse Raider was bait?" Miranda asked and Chelsea blinked in confusion but realizing that Wattaildragon's attack had dropped to two thousand. "When Kaiser Vorse Raider is destroyed by battle the monster that destroyed it loses five hundred attack points, ever heard of look before you leap?"
"Even with the lower attack points Wattaildragon is still stronger than most Level Four Monsters and the ones that are stronger than it has terrible card effects." Chelsea pointed out before looking over her hand again. "I set one card facedown and end my turn." Chelsea announced and Miranda drew her card.
"I activate a Spell Card called Pot of Desires!" Miranda played the card and took the first ten cards from the top of her deck. "How this card works is simple, in exchange for banishing the top ten cards from my deck facedown I can draw two cards!"
"Come again?" Chelsea asked with a confused look on her face as Miranda pocketed the ten cards and drew the other two. "That card's risk vs. reward factor is raucously high!"
"Perhaps but the risk has paid off." Miranda responded before picking up a card. "First I activate Terra Forming and considering how popular this card is I shouldn't have to explain its effect!" Miranda announced before inputting commands into her duel disk and retrieving the card when it popped out. "And now I activate it, go Mausoleum of White!" Miranda activated the Spell Card and the scenery transformed into a beautiful white mausoleum so bright that Chelsea had to shield her eyes. "Quite the view, isn't it?"
"You can say that again." Chelsea muttered under her breath as her eyes adjusted to the bright light. "But if you plan was to blind me then you've failed!"
"Do you really think an Obelisk Blue Student would resort to dirty tactics like that?" Miranda asked with a frown on her face before remembering something. "Let me rephrase, an Obelisk Blue Student who isn't friends with Cameron, Thomas and Jessica?"
"No but anything's possible." Chelsea responded with a frown on her face before folding her arms. "So, you going to explain that thing's effect or what?"
"I was just getting to that, in truth Mausoleum of White has several effects and I'll be going over them in due time, for now I summon Kaibaman!" Miranda played the card and a monster that bared a very close resemblance to her father appeared on the field, it was wearing the outfit that he was often seen in from the first Battle City Tournament onwards alongside a helmet that concealed his face and had much longer hair than the real Kaiba (2/200/700) and whilst the other students (and Chelsea's parents) face-faulted when they saw the monster Chelsea barely managed to keep herself from falling over with laughter.
"Are you fucking serious?!" Chelsea asked as she doubled over with laughter. "Be honest, how much money did your old man pay I2 to have that card made?!"
"I'm not even going to consider dignifying that question with an answer." Miranda responded as a large sweat-drop rolled down her head and Chelsea continued to laugh and the others got up. "Here's what I am going to do though and that's activate Kaibaman's effect!" Miranda added as her monster disappeared from the field. "I can tribute him to Special Summon one Blue-Eyes White Dragon from my hand."
"Wait, what?!" Chelsea asked as she suddenly stopped laughing and sure enough the legendary dragon returned to the field. "Just how many ways do you have to Special Summon that thing?!"
"More than you know." Miranda responded before motioning to the field spell. "Next I activate one of the effects of Mausoleum of White! In addition to the normal summon I've already done I can Normal Summon another monster if it's a light type level one tuner monster! And since you've seen my duels in the tournament I don't think I need to tell you that I'm summoning Maiden with Eyes of Blue!" Miranda played the card and sure enough the young, blue haired woman appeared on the field (1/0/0).
"Crap, I know what's coming next!" Chelsea gulped before Miranda started inputting commands into her duel disk again. "Now what?"
"I'm activating another effect of Mausoleum of White, that's what." Miranda said before holding up a second Blue Eyes White Dragon. "Once per turn I can target one monster I control and send one Normal Monster from my hand or deck, then the monster I target gains defense points equal to the monster's level times eight hundred, my target is my Maiden!" Miranda explained before sending the monster to the graveyard and Maiden with Eyes of Blue's defense score increased to 800 as she started glowing. "But more importantly, this triggers my Maiden's effect!"
"Err, Miranda, if you've ever heard me call your dad's super cool Blue-Eyes White Dragon Jet his mid-life crises jet then is it too late to apologize?" Chelsea asked with a nervous grin as the second Blue Eyes White Dragon appeared on the field with a roar.
"No, I haven't." Miranda responded before sweat-dropping. "And to be honest, me and Tyler are embarrassed by that thing and constantly wonder what he was smoking when he ordered that thing built!" Miranda added before grinning. "But like it or not, this duel's over! Blue-Eyes, attack Wattaildragon with White Lightning!" Miranda commanded and the dragon unleashed its attack on the smaller dragon, this time the smaller dragon couldn't dodge it and was disintegrated bringing Chelsea's life-points down to 2000. "Blue-Eyes number two, finish her off with White Lightning!" Miranda commanded and the dragon prepared its attack.
"And this trap card is going to save my ass for the second duel in a row! Activate Rainbow Life!" Chelsea announced before she quickly discarded a card and the dragon's attack hit raising her life-points to 5000. "This duel's far from over, if anything I just evened the score."
"Fine, I guess I'll go with Plan B! Here's another card you used in your duel yesterday, Urgent Tuning!" Miranda played the card and the second Blue-Eyes White Dragon took flight with Maiden with Eyes of Blue on its back.
"Crap, that can only mean one monster!" Chelsea thought with a nervous gulp as the bright flash enveloped the field. "Azure-Eyed Silver Dragon!"
"I tune Maiden with Eyes of Blue with my Blue Eyes White Dragon to Synchro Summon Blue-Eyes Spirit Dragon!" Miranda played the card causing Chelsea to do a double take as the new monster appeared on the field, the monster looked a lot like the Blue-Eyes White Dragon but it was translucent but no less intimidating (9/2500/3000). "What's the matter Chelsea? Expecting Azure Eyed Silver Dragon?"
"Err, yeah, pretty much." Chelsea responded with a gulp as she looked up at the new Synchro Monster. "After all, that was the monster you used the most during the tournament."
"And my overconfidence in that dragon's abilities is the reason why I'm no longer in the tournament." Miranda responded with a sigh as she shook her head. "In my opinion, me and Sirocco could've made it further in the tournament if we had been paired up against any other team but those were the cards I was dealt and I lost." Miranda added before clearing her throat. "No pun intended, point is Chelsea is that when I suffer a setback like that I modify my deck so that it doesn't happen again, the fact that the new Blue-Eyes White Dragon support cards came out not long after I was eliminated helped with that."
"Yeah, I can see that." Chelsea gulped again as she looked at the two dragons. "Anything I need to know about that thing's effect?"
"It has several but the only one you have to worry about for now is that it limits us both to two Special Summons per turn." Miranda explained before looking over her hand. "Speaking of turns, there's no point in me attacking with my new monster because Rainbow Life's effect is still in play so I'll end my turn." Miranda announced and Chelsea quickly drew her card.
"Okay, no big deal, it's just two monsters that could easily knock out all of my life-points unless I draw something good." Chelsea thought before looking at her drawn card. "And this could help me along!" Chelsea thought before playing the card. "I activate Spellbook inside the Pot!"
"Fine by me, I'm not about to say no to three extra cards." Miranda shrugged before the two girls drew their cards one by one, Chelsea took one look at her three cards and took a deep breath.
"All traps and no monsters, good news is that one of the traps is Mirror Force and the other is Trap Stun, I'm going to have to be prepared on the off chance that she draws A Wingbeat of Giant Dragon though." Chelsea thought before picking the three cards and a fourth. "I set three cards facedown and a monster in defense mode!" Chelsea announced as her three cards appeared on the field. "Do your worst!"
"Not something I usually hear when I have two powerful monsters on the field." Miranda shrugged her shoulders before drawing her card. "I activate Dark World Dealings." Miranda announced before they drew their cards.
"Good, I drew into Electromagnetic Turtle, I can use him as a back-up plan encase she has drawn Wingbeat." Chelsea thought before discarding the card she had drawn whilst Miranda discarded another.
"I activate a Spell Card called Return of the Dragon Lords!" Miranda played the card and retrieved a monster from her graveyard. "With this I can target one Level Seven or Level Eight Dragon Type Monster in my graveyard and Special Summon it to the field, and no, you don't get any prizes for guessing what monster I'm summoning."
"I really shouldn't be surprised at this point." Chelsea responded as the second Blue-Eyes White Dragon returned to the field. "At least I've got Mirror Force and Electromagnetic Turtle ready to go!"
"Blue-Eyes Sprit Dragon, attack her facedown monster!" Miranda commanded and the dragon let lose its attack…...
"Sorry Miranda but the return of the dragon lords is going to be short lived!" Chelsea responded as her facedown card flipped up. "I activate Mirror Force! And this Trap Card…."
"Isn't going to work." Miranda interrupted her and Chelsea looked up. "Didn't think I'd be using this so soon but Return of the Dragon Lords has another effect that activates from the graveyard, if a Dragon Type Monster would be destroyed by battle or card effect I can banish the Spell Card instead!" Miranda said before pocketing the card and the dragon's attack continued disintegrating Wattcanine. "Ironic that you send a dog out to defend yourself because you're a cat who's just run out of her nine lives! Blues-Eyes number one, attack her life-points directly!"
"My lives aren't up just yet! I banish Electromagnetic Turtle from my graveyard to end the battle phase!" Chelsea said as she pocketed the card and the small turtle appeared on the field…only to be crushed by Blue-Eyes Spirit Dragon's tail. "Now what?!"
"That was the second effect of Blue-Eyes Spirit Dragon." Miranda explained as she folded her arms. "Basically, I can negate the activation of one card in the graveyard once per turn and during either of our turns, shame that you don't have another turn to spare." Miranda added as her dragon's attack hit bringing Chelsea's life-points down to 2000.
"Damn it! I can't think of any other ways to keep myself in the duel! There's gotta be something I'm missing!" Chelsea thought before thinking back through the duel. "Wait a sec!"
"Blue-Eyes White Dragon number two, finish what you started two turns ago with White Lightning!" Miranda commanded and the dragon prepared its attack….
"I don't think so! By banishing A/D Changer from my graveyard I can force your dragon into defense mode!" Chelsea announced as the small warrior appeared on the field and held up the red flag forcing the dragon to crouch down. "Told you that I still have lives left!"
"Indeed, but unless you can draw something good soon you won't be able to do much to prolong the duel." Miranda responded before looking over her hand. "It's your move." Miranda announced and Chelsea drew her card.
"Okay, so Mirror Force and Electromagnetic Turtle were total busts and if she draws Wingbeat of Giant Dragon I'm toast either way." Chelsea thought as she looked at the three dragons standing across from her. "I'm pretty sure that any other Ra Yellow Student would've given up by now but this isn't some regular duel for me, this could be my last duel at the academy and if it is I want to go down fighting." Chelsea thought before looking at her drawn card. "I set one card facedown and a card in defense mode, that's it for my turn."
"Funny, I think most students would've had the common sense to give up by now." Miranda commented as she drew her card. "But then again, you've never been one to give up easily, can't think of many teenagers who've been expelled from four different schools before they turned eighteen."
"I thought I said that I didn't want to talk about that?" Chelsea asked with an annoyed look on her face. "Besides, that had less to do with me and more to do with my folks, they weren't about to give up on me no matter how much I fucked up."
"Clearly but did you ever think why?" Miranda asked and Chelsea glanced over at her parents.
"Miranda, Chelsea's the youngest of five siblings and she and Jamie, the oldest, are the only females among then." Eddy explained as he stood up and approached the duel arena. "Her siblings have gone on to make successful careers for themselves in fields outside of Duel Monsters and we just want the same thing for Chelsea."
"Yep but my damn temper gets in the way every fucking time." Chelsea added with an annoyed grunt. "At this point, all I want to fucking do is graduate from a fucking school and not be expelled for once but once again my temper's gotten in the way."
"That's understandable but to do that you'll need our help." Miranda responded as she motioned to the other students. "Whether you like it or not, considering the circumstances I doubt you'll be expelled but you might not be so lucky next time." Miranda added before looking at her drawn card. "And as a demonstration of that, your luck's just run out! I activate A Wingbeat of Giant Dragon!"
"Shit!" Chelsea thought as she and her dad braced themselves and the first Blue-Eyes took flight before using its wings to fly high in the sky the force of which reduced Mausoleum of White to dust and sent Chelsea's three facedown cards, Trap Stun, Judgment of Thunder and Call of the Haunted, flying before their holograms shattered. "You may have destroyed my facedown cards but I still have a monster in play so unless you have another way of Special Summoning your Blue-Eyes White Dragon I'm still in the game."
"I wouldn't be so sure of that." Miranda responded before switching her other dragon to attack mode. "Blue-Eyes White Dragon, attack her last line of defense with White Lightning!" Miranda commanded and the dragon let loose with its attack destroying another Wattdragonfly.
"See, what did I tell you? I'm still in this!" Chelsea said as she played a card and Wattcobra appeared in defense mode.
"We'll see in a second, Blue-Eyes Spirit Dragon, attack Wattcobra!" Miranda commanded and the spirit dragon unleashed its attack on the much smaller dragon destroying it. "I guess this is as good a time as any to reveal the other effect of my dragon."
"Other effect?" Chelsea asked as Blue-Eyes Spirit Dragon vanished from the field.
"Yes, during either player's turn I can Special Summon a Synchro Monster with the same attribute and type as Blue-Eyes Spirit Dragon in defense mode if I tribute Blue-Eyes Spirit Dragon first and that monster will be destroyed during the end phase." Miranda explained before playing the card. "And well, you were asking about this card earlier so why not?" Miranda asked as Azure Eyed Silver Dragon appeared on the field in defense mode (9/2500/3000). "Obviously I can't attack with it but through his own effect he won't be destroyed once my turn ends."
"Great, just what I needed, another way for you to Special Summon your dragons!" Chelsea commented sarcastically as a large sweat-drop rolled down her head. "Are you done?"
"Not yet, I move to my second main phase and I activate Trade-In, by discarding the Blue-Eyes I just returned to my hand I can draw two cards." Miranda explained before sending her monster to the graveyard and drawing two cards. "My deck's running low, guess Chelsea was right about Pot of Desires but I'll finish her off long before I run out of cards." Miranda thought before nodding to Chelsea. "That ends my turn." Miranda announced and Chelsea drew her card.
"Okay, I'm officially out of options." Chelsea thought with a frown as she looked at her drawn card. "Wattpheasent could banish Azure Eyed Silver Dragon but it's on temporary and Miranda's dragon doesn't share Silent Magician Level 8's summoning restrictions, otherwise Miranda wouldn't have been able to summon it that way, still there's no way I'm surrendering." Chelsea thought before setting the monster. "Just get this over with."
"Sounds like you've finally run out of lives." Miranda said as she drew her card. "First, since it's my standby phase the Blue-Eyes White Dragon that I sent to the graveyard last turn returns to the field." Miranda said as her dragon returned to the field and from there it was inevitable that Chelsea would lose the duel, the second Blue Eyes finished off her last monster whilst the first one wiped out the rest of her life-points.
"Damn it!" Chelsea grunted as she sat up after being knocked off her feet by the last attack. "I can't get anything right, can I?"
"Chelsea, you know that's not true." Eddy reassured his daughter and she turned to him. "You lost the duel but you still gave her a hell of a fight, I would've been happy to lose a duel like that in my younger years."
"You never had glorified interventions posing as duels though." Chelsea responded before she turned to Miranda who had walked up to her. "Because be honest with me Miranda, that was basically what this was, wasn't it?"
"I heard your conversation with Andreas in the halls of the Main Building after the meeting." Miranda said as she offered the younger teenager a hand to help her up and the Illinois native took it without hesitation. "His choice of words could've been better in my opinion but he still had a point." Miranda added and Chelsea sighed as the others approached the arena.
"You guys aren't the first ones to try to help me control my temper." Chelsea responded as she folded her arms. "And depending on the outcome of the meeting you probably won't be the last."
"Miranda's right, they're probably not going to expel you." Chloe responded as the doors to the Obelisk Blue Duel Arena opened. "And considering how close we are to Summer Break they probably won't give you a second expulsion duel either."
"Swap out "probably" with "definitely" and you'll have at least one outcome of the meeting." Tracy's voice rang out and the teens looked up and saw Tracy standing at the doorway. "Chelsea, I hope you're ready to hear your fate, the rest of the faculty are waiting for you in Martin's office."
"Like I have a choice?" Chelsea asked with a sigh before leaving the duel arena.
*a few minutes later*
Chelsea had been sitting in a chair outside Martin's office for the past few minutes waiting to hear her fate, the only reason she had to wait was because Jessica's parents wanted to talk to the teachers before they passed judgment on Chelsea.
"This is just great!" Chelsea thought with a frown as she folded her arms. "They are probably listing every reason why I should be expelled and I can't do a thing about it! I may as well start preparing for whatever military school they send me to."
"Chelsea?" Chelsea looked up and saw Misty handing her a can of coke as she had requested and she took it. "You're worried about your fate, aren't you?"
"Is it that obvious?" Chelsea asked as she turned to Misty. "I just wish that they weren't dragging it out so long, I'd rather know whether I'm expelled or not before the end of the day."
"They shouldn't be too long." Misty reassured her before glancing up at the clock and returning to her desk whilst Chelsea opened her coke can, by the time the empty coke can was thrown into the bin near Misty's desk the door to Martin's office opened and a couple in their late forties who bore a strong enough resemblance to Jessica that Chelsea was able to identify them as Jessica's parents at a glance exited the office.
"I am glad that we were able to get that sorted out Mr. Wise." The woman said as she turned to the teacher. "We will see you on Thursday for Jessica's expulsion duel."
"Don't pay any attention to them Chelsea!" Chelsea thought as she quickly got her IPhone out and started checking her Facebook Wall. "Just don't look up and the…"
"Excuse me, are you the girl who assaulted our daughter?" The man asked and Chelsea winced before looking up from her IPhone and seeing the couple looking at her, Chelsea hesitated for a second before nodding and he put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Everything's going to be alright."
"Wait, what?!" Chelsea asked but they left without another word.
"Chelsea, we are ready to see you." Martin's voice rang out breaking Chelsea's train of thought and Chelsea stood up before entering the office, as Tracy had said the other faculty members were there as were her parents. "You have been in this position quite a few times since you hit puberty Chelsea so I suppose we should skip the pleasantries."
"Anything that will get this over and done with is fine by me." Chelsea responded with a sigh and Martin nodded.
"You know why you're here, you assaulted another student this morning and fled the scene once you came to your senses." Martin added and Chelsea nodded as she glanced down at the floor. "If this was any other time, you'd be expelled by now but Tracy was able to convince you to turn yourself in once she found you, normally we would give you an expulsion duel but that would be your second and a 30-Day suspension this close to Summer Break would be redundant, you've had a few hours to think about your actions, do you feel any remorse for them?"
"For letting my temper get that out of control? Yeah, I do." Chelsea responded with a sigh as she glanced up at the teachers. "But at the same time, can you really argue that what Jessica did to Nicola last night with help from Cameron and Thomas wasn't any worse."
"Off course not, otherwise I wouldn't have expelled the boys this morning." Martin nodded in acknowledgement before taking a sip from his drink. "Even so, you violated a major Duel Academy rule this morning and if you were out of this school you would be charged with assault, a situation that you've experienced before." Martin added and Chelsea nodded as she shifted her weight. "With that said, it is my duty to inform you that we will not be expelling you nor will you compete in an expulsion duel."
"Well, it was nice knowing you guys, I guess I'd getter go pack and…" Chelsea trailed off before it hit her. "You're not expelling me?"
"It's a complicated issue but surprisingly it was Jessica's parents who argued in favor of this, it seems that they were just as disgusted with their daughter's actions as we are." Martin added before leaning forward. "But with that said, do not be under the impression that we are letting you off easy, you are on thin ice from now on and whilst losing your temper during a duel is understandable, the next time an incident like this happens will be the last."
"Chelsea, you're a smart kid and I hope that this is a wakeup call for you." Tracy chimed in and Chelsea glanced up at her. "This school doesn't give second chances like this easily, you can ask Theresa about the last time we gave a student a second chance like this but Martin is serious when he says that this is also your last chance."
"I'm sure your friends have mentioned that the students in my dorm are afraid of you." Sarah added and Chelsea nodded in response. "It took some strong reassurances on my part to keep most of them from dropping out on the spot but some of them did mention to me that they were already considering another school, if this happens again I might not be able to convince them."
"It won't happen again." Chelsea asserted and Jeff shook his head.
"How can you be so sure? Jeff asked and Chelsea went to answer but couldn't find the words. "Just as I thought, Chelsea, being competitive is one thing but another incident like the one this morning will not be tolerated."
"I know it sounds like we're telling you off Chelsea but we're telling you this for your own good." Hamden added as he folded his arms. "We know that you can control your temper because since the students who attended the Battle City Tournament there haven't been many major incidents that directly involved your temper until this morning but if you want to stay here at Duel Academy the incident this morning will be the last one."
"If Maria's going to bring up the fact that my previous assault charge was the whole reason why I couldn't join the other students in Battle City then please don't." Chelsea grunted in annoyance as she glanced over at Maria. "I've been kicking myself over that fact since she told me."
"And so, you should, fortunately as you are turning eighteen next week your juvenile record will be expunged and the school already has you pegged as a student to represent us next year at Battle City alongside the other students who competed, Lance's brother and Nicola included." Maria responded before sighing. "On one condition."
"Name it." Chelsea responded as she folded her arms. "You guys have no idea how excited I was when I heard that Duel Academy was being represented at Battle City so just name your price."
"Starting after the summer break you will begin having regular sessions with the school psychologists." Martin responded and Chelsea hesitated. "I know you don't have the best experience with psychologists but the ones the school employ are some of the best in their field, besides, this condition was the only way we could get the school board to agree that you shouldn't be expelled so unless you want to start packing your bags you'll agree."
"I don't have much of a choice, do I?" Chelsea asked and the teachers nodded. "Fine, but I don't know how that'll help, they haven't helped me before, can I go?"
"You may, just take what we said to heart Cunningham." Martin responded as he rested his elbows on the desk. "I'd hate for a promising student like you to have their potential squandered." Martin added and Chelsea nodded before leaving the office.
*a few hours later*
It was now late at night at Duel Academy island but things were still tense because of the events of the proceeding day, most of the other girls in Ra Yellow were keeping their distance from Chelsea but the others at least understood her reasons for being angry.
"So, on one hand they basically let you off with a warning." Chloe commented as she finished brushing her hair, the two girls were still in their day clothes but since they had gotten the nightly dorm check a few minutes ago they were getting ready for bed. "But on the other hand, it was basically the sternest warning they've given anyone since we joined the school."
"Pretty much." Chelsea responded with an annoyed sigh as she turned to her roommate, Chelsea was sitting on the edge of her bed and had been recounting the results of the meeting to her roommate since she got back. "I don't know how talking to the shrinks is supposed to help me but it's either that or I get expelled and shipped off to military academy the moment I get home." Chelsea said before removing her blazer and tossing it in the laundry basket the girls shared. "My parents were even sterner with their warning but I kinda expected that."
"Yeah but at least they gave you a second chance." Chloe responded before walking up and sitting next to her, neither girl noticed that they were in each other's personal space as they continued their conversation. "And don't worry, I'll make sure that Jessica won't be returning to school once summer break ends."
"You'd better, otherwise I would've risked my position at Duel Academy for nothing." Chelsea responded before running a hand through her hair. "At least Beth wasn't too hard on me but she did say that if that happened again I should start looking for a new girlfriend." Chelsea added as she started to tear up.
"That's just another reason for you to keep it in check." Chloe said before pulling her roommate into a hug which Chelsea readily took. "For now, we just need to worry about the finals tomorrow."
"Heh, yeah, thanks Chloe." Chelsea said before pulling away from her roommate with both girls keeping their hands on each other's hips, at least until Chloe noticed were her hands were.
"Good grief, the only thing missing from that was us kissing and cheesy music playing in the background!" Chloe said with a laugh as she removed her hands and Chelsea laughed.
"You don't hear me complaining about that idea." Chelsea responded with a grin but Chloe just shook her head before standing up and starting to get changed into her nightgown. "Come on, don't you want to experiment with a bit of girl on girl action? I thought you said that you were bi!"
"I am but I want my first time having sex to be with Lance, no offense." Chloe responded and Chelsea pouted mockingly. "Still, if I did want to experiment with that, you'd definitely be my first choice."
"Thanks for that Chloe." Chelsea responded as she started getting changed. "Both the complement and the ice breaker, after the day I had, I needed that."
"No problem." Chloe responded before the two girls got changed into their nightwear and Chloe climbed into her own bed. "Good night."
"Good night." Chelsea responded before the two girls went to sleep.