A few hours had passed since Jessica lost her expulsion duel to Chloe and the Obelisk Blue student was already on her way home by this point, the rest of the student body were getting ready for the start of Summer Break that weekend but for some students there was other things on their minds like the graduation duels that were set to take place the next day and those competing, both teachers and students, were getting ready for their duels but for one of the girls competing tomorrow that was far from the only thing on her mind.
"I am so wishing that Theresa had chosen someone else as her opponent tomorrow." Chloe thought as she sat on the edge of her bed in the dorm room she shared with Chelsea in the Ra Yellow Girl's Dorm, as Sarah had promised after the duel against Jessica she had been left alone by the other students and whilst she had calmed down by now and whilst the tears she had shed had been dried she was still preoccupied by what had happened that day. "At least my duel against her is on last, gives me time to clear my head." Chloe thought before the door opened and she looked up.
"Hey Chloe, I know Sarah said that the other students would leave you alone but in my case the only alternative would either be sleeping on the couch downstairs or sleeping with Beth and she has homework to catch up on." Chelsea greeted her roommate as she entered the room and Chloe grinned in response as Chelsea closed the door behind her. "I get the feeling this is a stupid question but how are you feeling after everything that happened during your duel against Jessica?"
"I'm feeling a lot better but I'm still feeling pissed off." Chloe responded with a deep breath as she looked over at her roommate. "It's a good thing that she was escorted off the island because I think a long line of people would be lining up to punch her after what she said about me and Nicola."
"Funnily enough, I pretty much said the same thing to Tyler and Andreas after your duel ended." Chelsea responded before walking over to her desk and setting up her laptop. "By the way, your parents do have wi-fi, right?"
"Just because my dad runs a Game Store doesn't mean he lives in the Stone Age." Chloe responded with a grin getting a laugh out of Chelsea. "How do you think I've been able to send him card requests from time to time."
"Good point, I figured that it was worth asking though." Chelsea responded before remembering something. "Oh yeah, they announced two other graduation duels, didn't they?"
"I think it was less "announcing" and more "finding opponents for Evan and Miranda" but yeah." Chloe responded with a nod as she leaned back. "Sarah's facing Evan and Tracy's facing Miranda, funny how it's the two teachers that we've never seen duel, huh?"
"To be fair, based on what Tyler told me they were promoted to their positions just before the start of last year's Summer Break after the original Ra Yellow and Obelisk Blue headmistresses retired, they were among the best proctors before their promotions and that explains why they are the two youngest Dorm Heads, just behind Hamden who was promoted in the same way." Chelsea explained and Chloe nodded in understanding. "Since Tracy's also the IT Teacher I'm guessing she runs a machine deck of some kind? Not so sure about Sarah because she's the only head who doesn't teach a class."
"Yeah but based on that logic Lance should run a dark deck because the only thing he wears that isn't black is his Obelisk Blue Blazer." Chloe pointed out and Chelsea nodded in agreement. "Same can be said for you for that matter."
"I have blue streaks in my hair and it's not like my Ra Yellow blazer is the only thing I wear as a top that isn't black." Chelsea pointed out before shaking her head. "It doesn't matter, we have two things to worry about tomorrow, the graduation duels and the plans for dealing with the Orichalcos."
"If Theresa can find the time I think she'll try to arrange a meeting after the duel but since we all have packing to do I don't think they'll be any meetings until the break starts." Chelsea responded before grinning. "By the way, thanks for making it so that my near expulsion wasn't in vain."
"There was no way I was going to let Jessica get away with everything she's done since we eliminated her team." Chloe responded as she shook her head. "By the way, Nicola wanted me to tell you that she isn't mad at you for setting the expulsion duel in motion and that she's still accompanying us to take out the Orichalcos."
"That's a relief, as for the second part, is she sure?" Chelsea asked and Chloe nodded.
"Asked her that myself, she said that she will be accompanied by her brother Zach." Chloe explained and Chelsea laughed out loud.
"Oh man, Lance and Zach in the same building? Stick them in front of a camera and boom! New YouTube sensation!" Chelsea said with a laugh and Chloe grinned when she heard that. "Presuming the world doesn't implode from those two goofballs being in the same building."
"It survived them being in the Obelisk Blue Boy's Dorm and the Main Building at the same time, they didn't interact with each other but still." Chloe joked and Chelsea grinned in response. "Are you worried about facing Tyler tomorrow? I had a hard-enough time against him when I faced him during the lead up to the Expulsion Duels and your track record against Miranda isn't that great."
"In my defense, I wasn't exactly performing at my best when I dueled Miranda on Wednesday." Chelsea responded as she glanced over at her duel disk. "As for my first duel against her, I had no way of knowing that she had the Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon in her extra deck and, well, I've been looking up some of the new Blue-Eyes White Dragon support cards that Miranda used against me and there were several that she didn't use against me."
"Why do I get the feeling that your thankful for that?" Chloe asked as she turned to Chelsea and she nodded.
"As competitive as I am, I don't think my deck would've done so well if she had brought out some of the other big guns." Chelsea added before shuddering. "I'm just glad that I won't be in Tracy's shoes tomorrow morning, that's all I'm saying! That said, there's one duelist that I'm even more worried about facing and that's Tyler."
"That reminds me actually." Chloe said as she folded her arms. "Did you guys make any progress on the laptop?"
"Good news is we cracked the encryption, progress was slowed a bit because of your duel against Jessica but Tyler managed to crack it right after your duel ended." Chelsea responded and Chloe grinned broadly when she heard that. "Here's the bad news, the info we found on that file? Well let's just say there's a good reason why the techs were reluctant to hand it over."
"Wait, if the techs knew what was on the laptop, why did you have to crack the encryption?" Chloe asked with a confused look on her face and Chelsea shrugged her shoulders.
"I'm guessing the lead tech personally re-encrypted it once the magnitude of what that info could do in the wrong hands hit him." Chelsea responded with a frown on her face. "And he wasn't wrong, we're not telling anyone until Summer Break starts for one reason, if this info got out it could bring down Duel Academy, maybe even Kaibacorp, it's that bad."
"You're not kidding, aren't you?" Chloe asked and Chelsea shook her head. "I'll take your word for it, when do you plan on sharing the info with the others though?"
"We agreed to hold off on the info sharing until we knew for certain that we were ready to go after the Orichalcos and take them out once and for all, in the meantime Tyler's been trying to get as much help as he can get." Chelsea added before thinking for a moment. "He's got most of the duelists we faced during our expulsion duels on board, the only names we haven't confirmed are some of the guys you and the others faced in Battle City, some of the students who pledged to help us and the North Academy students you met in Battle City, their Summer Break doesn't start for another month so don't hold your breath on them."
"There's also the fact that North Academy is so far away from us that there's no telling how quickly they can come over here on a moment's notice." Chloe responded with a frown and Chelsea nodded in agreement. "Any other ideas?"
"I can think of one." Chelsea responded after a minute of thinking. "What about Lance's younger siblings? They made it to the Semi-Finals of Battle City but got bad draws against Eddie and one of the North Academy guys."
"True but there's one problem with that idea." Chloe responded with a sigh as she turned to her roommate. "Not long after my second duel in the Battle City Tournament an Orichalcos Duelist made his presence known and challenged me to a duel but I was still shook up from my first Orichalcos Duel so I was reluctant to accept it." Chloe responded before rubbing the back of her head uncomfortably. "It was then that we noticed that Sophie had disappeared."
"I don't like were this is going." Chelsea responded with a wince as it dawned on her.
"Yeah, Sophie snuck off to challenge him to a duel, she won obviously but the experience left her injured and traumatized." Chloe responded with a frown as she folded her arms. "I haven't spoken to Lance about it since we got back from Battle City and I haven't seen Sophie since she came over last weekend for the Family Day but since she was with family I ask him because I didn't want to risk reducing a twelve-year-old girl to tears."
"Can't say I blame you there and besides, Lance will be staying over with us over the Summer Break at your dad's place so you could ask him then." Chelsea added before grinning. "When you're not having sex with him obviously."
"Do you really think I'd risk having my dad walk in on me and Lance?" Chloe asked and Chelsea giggled.
"The risk of getting caught making out with your boyfriend whilst he's over at your parents' house with you is part of the fun, take it from me." Chelsea responded and Chloe rolled her eyes response, before either girl could say anything else there was a knock at the door.
"Nightly dorm check." The guard said and the two girls shared a surprised look. "Are you in there, girls?"
"Yeah, we'll be going to bed soon." Chloe called out and the guard moved on to the next dorm. "Christ, how long were you at Tyler's dorm room?"
"Well after we cracked the encryption we played a Hot Seat Game of Civ V on Tyler's desktop." Chelsea responded as she started picking her pajamas before noticing the confused look on Chloe's face. "Basically, a hotseat game is like a single player campaign of a game only we take it in turns playing, we managed to get up to the modern era before Ghandi decided to nuke Rome to hell and back."
"I'm guessing you were playing as Rome?" Chloe asked and Chelsea nodded as the two girls started getting changed.
"Yeah and by that point we realized what time it was and hurried back to our dorm rooms." Chelsea responded before thinking for a moment. "Your duel against Jessica ended around 5:30 and I'm guessing you took the long route back to the Girls' Dorm to avoid the crowds?"
"Yeah but even then, it only took me about twenty minutes to get back to our dorm room." Chloe shrugged before sighing as she put her night gown on. "Night Chelsea."
"Night." Chelsea responded before the two girls climbed into their beds.
*next morning*
It was the last day before Summer Break and for the students that meant a few things, some were getting their homework done at the last second, some were just looking forward to spending time with their families and for a select few students they were getting ready to graduate.
"Just one last day left in term." Theresa commented as she finished tying her hair up and glanced over at her boyfriend who, like her, had a big grin on his face. "And for us that also means possible graduation."
"Yeah, we just have to beat Chloe and Lance to get that far." Brandon nodded in agreement as he leaned back. "But before that Evan must beat Sarah, Miranda must beat Tracy and Tyler must beat Chelsea for a complete set on graduating students, at least we've been able to confirm that Chelsea will give Tyler the best fight possible."
"Yeah and then there's the fact that a complete set of graduating students hasn't happened since Jaden Yuki graduated." Theresa responded with a frown as she glanced over at her duel disk which was on the coffee table. "No pressure."
"I think the staff would just be glad if just one of the students graduated." Brandon responded as he walked up to his girlfriend and got in her personal space. "Still, I guess a little good luck charm wouldn't hurt, right?" Brandon asked and Theresa grinned when she got the idea.
"You read my mind." Theresa responded before they started making out, the session went on for a few minutes with them even falling onto the couch with Theresa on top but just as Theresa was starting to remove her blazer.
"Tracy said that I'd find you in here." Martin said as he entered the dorm room without knocking and the two teens stopped in their tracks as he looked around. "I cannot even begin to tell you how…. oh…" Martin said once he realized what he had just walked in on. "You know, if you want me to come back later…."
"No, no, it's fine!" Theresa said as she rolled off Brandon and quickly redid the top two buttons of her blazer. "Have you never heard of knocking?"
"I tried that but you didn't answer so Tracy let me in." Martin responded and Theresa gave Tracy a mock death-glare. "In hindsight, I should've guessed that this was the case but now that we're here, you mind giving me some time alone with your boyfriend?"
"Just don't try to cure his blue balls." Theresa joked and Martin chuckled before Theresa left the dorm room and turned to Tracy. "Seriously Tracy? You knew I was with Brandon last night."
"I know but I wanted to make sure that you two were ready for the duels." Tracy said with a proud grin on her face as she glanced at Theresa. "Seriously though, after coming second in Battle City if anyone's earned this graduation, it's you and I can't begin to tell you how proud I am of you."
"Maybe save the congratulations until after I beat Chloe." Theresa responded before sighing. "Speaking of Chloe, I heard you and Sarah went to check on her after the expulsion duel against Jessica, how she's doing?"
"When we found her in the room she was using to prepare her deck before the duel she was about as upset as you can imagine." Tracy responded with a frown on her face as she leaned against the wall. "By the time we got her back to her dorm room in Ra Yellow she was in batter spirits and she should be fine in time for your duel against her, are you using your Black Luster Soldier Deck again?"
"It's my best deck and it's potentially my last duel here at the school, I'd be a fool not to." Theresa responded with a nod. "After all, Chloe did well against the deck during the finals of the Tag Team Tournament so we'll see how well she stacks up once the time comes." Theresa responded before folding her arms. "So, what's this I hear about you dueling Miranda?"
"Guilty as charged, if you're worried about me playing favorites don't be, I want the students I face in their graduation duels to earn their careers as pro-league duelists." Tracy explained and Theresa nodded in approval. "Plus, I haven't had a chance to duel since my promotion to Obelisk Blue Headmistress so it's a good way to shake the rust off."
"Not sure if I'd use a graduation duel to shake the rust off but whatever works for you." Theresa shrugged her shoulders in response before checking the time on her watch. "Just gotta go grab by Duel Disk and I'll be off to the Main Duel Arena, I know I've got a few hours to go before my duel against Chloe but I still want to get there early."
"Sure, Martin and Brandon should be done soon." Tracy responded before Theresa went back into her room, retrieved her duel disk and left for the main duel arena.
*meanwhile*
"Can't believe I'm about to graduate already." Brandon commented with a small grin on his face as he looked over his deck, whilst Theresa and Tracy were talking outside Brandon had taken a few minutes to wipe off the lipstick that had ended up on his neck and facial area due to the make out session with Theresa before talking to Martin. "Feels just like yesterday that I was competing in my test duel."
"If I had a dollar for every time I heard a student tell me that I'd be able to retire comfortably." Martin responded with a chuckle as Brandon returned the deck to his Duel Disk holster. "And I'm sure Lance will prove to be a worthy opponent for your last duel here."
"Yeah, I was disappointed that me and Theresa never got to face him and Evan during the tournament but then again I think we would've felt the same way if Chloe and Chelsea had been eliminated instead." Brandon responded with a nod before frowning. "So, speaking about Chloe, what's the latest words about assault charges on Cameron, Thomas and Jessica?"
"You no doubt saw that Nicola was up and walking around yesterday, she was discharged by the nurse because the nurse had done all she could for her and well, as a school nurse she's unequipped to deal with injuries that severe." Martin responded with a frown and Brandon nodded in understanding, "From what I hear, her parents will be taking her to a hospital on the mainland as soon as they depart from the ship tomorrow so they can have her injuries assessed but the word is that they plan to press charges, the good news is that she is looking a lot better than she did after the assault and the swelling around her eye has gone down significantly, with any luck the swelling will go down completely in no time."
"Here's hoping." Brandon responded with a sigh as he leaned against the wall. "I'm just glad that she decided to stay at the school, I've seen way too many promising students drop out due to bullying by the so called elite since I enrolled here."
"You get no argument from me and I've been here a lot longer than you." Martin responded with a sigh as he looked at Brandon. "That poor girl, she is the academy's first autistic student and she came here with such high hopes and dreams, more than I've seen in most new students, to have that happen to her within her first year at the academy is unacceptable to say the least."
"At least with Cameron, Thomas and Jessica expelled we won't have to worry about that anymore since they were by far the worst bullies in Obelisk Blue." Brandon responded with a frown as he folded his arms. "There's still a few bad apples in the dorm, some who were friends with them and some new students, but the punishments you handed to the three of them should be a wake-up call for them."
"If not then I'll be expelling more students than we can fill in, at least with the academy accepting new students in the fall we should be able to find more respectable students." Martin added as Theresa entered the room to retrieve her duel disk. "And you and the others can eliminate the Orichalcos before then you'll have my eternal gratitude."
"With the talent roster we've got helping us out? It should be easy." Brandon responded before leaving the dorm with Theresa.
*a few minutes later*
For the third day in a row the students had poured into the main duel arena for one reason, to watch some duels but today was a special occasion as not only was it the last day of term but several students were graduating from the academy provided they won their respective matches and today the opponents included three students.
"So, for the second duel in a row I'm deciding a student's fate at this academy." Chloe muttered to herself as she sat between her roommate Chelsea and her boyfriend Lance, the students that were up for graduation were sitting across from them much like the Pro-Duelists were for the expulsion duels that took place before the Tag Team Tournament started. "At least Theresa will keep it civilized."
"Compared to Jessica? That's not saying much!" Chelsea responded with a grin before sighing. "I'm just worried about my match against Tyler, on one hand the competitive side of me wants to win, on the other hand if I win Tyler won't graduate so I'm a bit torn to say the least."
"I feel the same way about my duel against Brandon." Lance nodded in agreement as he looked over his deck. "And you already mentioned how torn you are about beating Theresa Chloe."
"Well, yeah, she's the only duelist in the academy who I haven't beaten despite several tries." Chloe sighed as she glanced at her disk. "And as much as I want to end my losing streak against her I also want to see her move onto the pro-league, is surrendering an option?"
"Duel Academy has guidelines for that, basically Graduation Duels are the only duels where surrendering isn't allowed." Chelsea responded as she shook her head. "Seriously Chloe, did you ever read the handbook that you got when you enrolled here?"
"I did read the first page but then I kept getting sidetracked by everything that happened during my first week at the academy." Chloe admitted as a sweat-drop rolled down her head. "You try finding time to read anything whilst training for Battle City! Besides my handbook got lost at baggage collection after me and the other students arrived in New York."
"That's it, I'm giving you my copy of the handbook the moment we get back from Summer Break!" Chelsea responded with a face-palm. "And I'm making sure that you know it like the back of your hand before the first day of term!"
"Yeah, well, let's just worry about the Graduation Duels for now." Chloe responded and almost on cue a spotlight shone on the podium revealing that Martin had been standing there for the past few minutes with a microphone in his hand.
"Welcome students to the last day of the term!" Martin announced and the crowd cheered in response. "I can't tell if the cheers mean that your glad that I'm finally out of your hairs or that Summer Break is just one day away but regardless of the reasons we do have one final piece of business to attend to before the Summer Break starts and that is the graduation duels! Over the next few hours you will see six students compete for the right to graduate from Duel Academy including against their fellow students and the first duel will begin right now!" Martin added as the Sarah and Evan stepped onto the podium. "In our first match, we will see Evan Grant take on the headmistress of the Ra Yellow Girl's Dorm Sarah Baker!"
"As much as I want to see you graduate Evan." Sarah commented as she activated her duel disk and Evan did likewise. "It's my duty to give you the best duel possible and I'm not backing down from it."
"I would expect no less." Evan responded with a chuckle as he shuffled his deck. "But I made it to the Quarter Finals of the Tag Team Tournament for a reason and that reason will become clear soon!"
"As much as I enjoy a good spot of trash talk I have rules to explain." Martin continued as the two duelists turned to him. "Standard Duel Monsters rules apply, there will be a strict five-minute turn limit per round and if you exceed the five minutes limit the turn will automatically pass to your opponent and yes, that rule does apply to all graduation duels, is that clear?"
"Crystal." Sarah nodded in response and Evan did likewise.
"Then let the first graduation duel of the day commence!" Martin called out and the two duelists drew their opening hands.
"Ladies first." Sarah commented and Evan nodded in response as Sarah looked over her hand. "I set two cards facedown and end my turn."
"No monsters? Either she has a bad opening hand or she wants me to think that." Evan thought as he drew his card and gave his hand a once over. "I set two cards facedown as well." Evan announced as the two facedown cards appeared on the field. "But unlike you, I'm summoning a monster! Come on out, Breaker the Magical Warrior!" Evan announced as he played the card and the magic knight appeared on the field ready for battle (4/1600/1000) and his attack increased to 1900 thanks to his effect. "I didn't think my graduation duel would be this easy but I'll make do, Breaker, attack her life-points directly!" Evan commanded and the swordsman charged into battle…...
"Your right Evan, it won't be that easy! I activate my trap card!" Sarah announced as her trap card flipped up and Evan braced himself expecting a card like Mirror Force or Sekeretsu Armor, however what he got instead was a weird clay statue of a spider like-being appearing on the field in what appeared to be defense mode (7/0/2500). "Statue of Anguish Pattern! What's the matter Evan, you look like you were expecting something different!"
"You could say that, and before you ask I call off my attack." Evan responded as Breaker returned to his side of the field. "But your statue is about to be torn down! I move to my Second Main Phase and I activate Breaker's effect!" Evan announced as Breaker's attack dropped back down to 1600. "And as if it wasn't obvious my target is that statue!" Evan added as Breaker charged towards the statue.
"It won't be that easy either Evan, I activate my other Trap Card Embodiment of Apophis!" Sarah announced as her other trap card flipped up and the reptilian humanoid in gold armor appeared on the field ready for battle (4/1600/1800).
"Okay, I don't see how summoning another Trap Monster helps…." Evan trailed off before Statue of Anguish Pattern brought one of its legs down on Breaker destroying the monster. "What?!"
"As you correctly guessed, my two monsters are trap monsters." Sarah responded with a grin on her face as she folded her arms. "And aside from Embodiment of Apophis's effect there's two reasons why I summoned my statue first, as long as there's another Trap Monster on the field it can't be targeted by card effects and when I Special Summon a monster from my Spell/Trap Card Zone to my side of the field whilst this card is a monster I can target one card on the field and destroy it!"
"And I bet you were jumping for joy when Heavy Storm was banned." Evan sighed and Sarah shook her head.
"This card wasn't even out yet when that card got banned but rest assured, if it was available back then you would've heard me cheering from my office in the Ra Yellow Girl's Dorm." Sarah explained and Evan frowned in response. "And yes, I know the obvious weakness of a deck like this is that it severely limits my ability to play Spell/Trap Cards but trust me, my deck has a lot more tricks up its sleeve than just my statue."
"Then I'll just have to beat you before you can play them! I end my turn." Evan announced and Sarah drew her card.
"Fortunately for Evan the only two Trap Monsters in my hand are currently on the field." Sarah thought before picking up a card. "Unfortunately for him, I have one of the key cards in my hand." Sarah thought before setting another card. "I set one card facedown, now Embodiment of Apophis, attack his life-points directly!" Sarah commanded and the snake warrior charged towards Evan before slashing him with his sword and bringing his life-points down to 6400. "And that's first blood to me!"
"But at what cost? I activate my trap card Damage Condenser!" Evan announced as his trap card flipped up before discarding a card from his hand. "I use this trap card's effect to summon Night's End Sorcerer!" Evan announced as the young blonde sorcerer in brown clothing appeared on the field (2/1300/400). "And if you had cards in your graveyard his effect would let me banish them but for now I'll make do."
"It couldn't be more obvious that he's setting up for a Synchro Summon, his method might be different this time around but aside from that?" Sarah thought before glancing at her newly set facedown card. "Well, if his plan is to Synchro Summon Arcanite Magician using the card he discarded to the graveyard and another one if the levels don't add up I'll be ready for it." Sarah thought before glancing up at Evan. "I end my turn." Sarah announced and Evan drew his card.
"Perfect, I have everything I need to summon Arcanite Magician, let's get this show on the road." Evan thought before playing a card. "I summon Magical Exemplar!" Evan announced as the green robed dark-haired sorceress appeared on the field (4/1700/1400). "Next I activate Demotion to drop her level by two!" Evan added as Magical Exemplar's level dropped to two and two green floating orbs appeared around her. "This off course gives her two spell counters through her effect but I'm not done playing Spell Cards, I activate Foolish Burial!"
"Setting up your graveyard for Magical Exemplar's effect, right?" Sarah asked as she folded her arms whilst Evan sent the monster and the Spell Card to the graveyard and Magical Exemplar's effect gave her two more orbs. "Nice try Evan but we both know that you can only use Exemplar's effect once per turn."
"Indeed, so I might as well make the most of it." Evan responded as two of the orbs vanished. "I activate Exemplar's effect to special summon the monster I discarded for Damage Gate during your turn, Clear Effector!" Evan announced as the young, brown haired sorceress appeared on the field (2/0/900). "And now I activate my other trap card Graceful Revival to bring back the monster I sent to the graveyard with Foolish Burial, the Carizzard!" Evan announced as he played the card but rather than the car/wizard hybrid that people were expecting instead we got a wizard with a long white beard in a Card Dealer's outfit (1/0/0).
"Carizzard?" Sarah asked with a raised eyebrow. "I've been a duelist for most of my life and that includes my time at Duel Academy as a student but that's a new one, never mind the fact that the monster's one letter away from sharing a name with a Pokemon."
"Don't look at me, I'm just the guy playing the card." Evan responded before pointing to his four monsters. "But onto my point, I tune Night's End Sorcerer with Magical Exemplar, Clear Effector and Carizzard!" Evan announced as the four monsters leapt into the air for the Synchro Summon and once the bright flash faded Arcanite Magician appeared on the field ready for battle (7/400/1800) and his attack increased to 2400 thanks to his effect. "I don't know how much time I've got left so I'll go through the effects I have to resolve as quickly as I can, since I used Clear Effector and Carizzard in a Synchro Summon of a Spellcaster type monster I can draw two cards." Evan announced as he drew his two cards. "But why stop there? I activate Magic Planter to destroy Graceful Revival to draw another two cards!"
"Because I'm not going to let you do that!" Sarah responded as her trap card flipped up. "I chain Imperial Custom! Now you can't destroy any Continuous Trap Cards on the field until you destroy this one first!" Sarah added and Evan frowned as he sent his Spell Card to the graveyard. "And before you ask, I checked with Martin before he headed over to the Obelisk Blue Boy's Dorm to congratulate you, Tyler and Brandon on your potential graduations, since they are continuous trap cards this Trap protects my trap monsters from being destroyed."
"But it doesn't protect you from taking damage, Arcanite Magician, attack Embodiment of Apophis!" Evan commanded as the Spellcaster casted a spell at the reptile warrior damaging it but not destroying it as Sarah's life-points dropped to 7200. "It seems we're at a stalemate, your Trap Monsters can't be destroyed by battle or card effects but thanks to Clear Effector the same can be said for Arcanite Magician, I set two cards facedown and end my turn." Evan announced as the two cards appeared on the field and Sarah drew her card. "Sarah's not stupid, with Imperial Custom and two Trap Monsters on the field she knows that she'll eventually run out of Spell/Trap Card zones meaning she won't be able to use her statue's destruction effect, I'll be surprised if that card is still on the field once the duel ends!"
"I have no doubt that Evan's realized the flaw in my strategy, it's just a case of whether he gets to exploit it or not." Sarah thought before looking at her drawn card and playing it. "I activate Spellbook inside the Pot and yes, this card is just as popular among the teachers as it is among the students." Sarah announced and Evan said nothing in response as they drew their three cards, Sarah took one look at her three new cards and grinned. "I continue my turn by switching my Statue to attack mode."
"Wait, what?!" Evan asked as the statue moved slightly indicating that it was in attack mode. "What's she thinking? That thing has no attack points!"
"Confused? Let me clear the air a bit." Sarah responded as she played another Spell Card. "I activate Shield and Sword!" Sarah announced and Evan's eyes widened as the three monsters' attack and defense points swapped around leaving Embodiment of Apophis, Arcanite Magician and Statue of Anguish Pattern with 1800 and 2500 attack points respectively. "I don't need to be a teacher to know that you're in big trouble Evan and just to drive the point home I equip Embodiment of Apophis with Big Bang Shot!"
"Your right, I am in trouble." Evan responded with a gulp as Embodiment of Apophis's attack went up to 2200.
"At least you admit it, Embodiment of Apophis, attack Arcanite Magician!" Sarah commanded and the snake warrior charged towards the magician before slashing him with his sword bringing Evan's life-points down to 6000. "And the trouble you're in just got worse! Statue of Anguish Pattern, attack his life-points directly!" Sarah commanded and the statue moved with surprising quickness for a statue before hitting Evan on the head with the same arm he destroyed Breaker with bringing Evan's life-points down to 3500.
"It's not over until the fat lady sings and I don't hear any opera singers!" Evan responded as he got to his feet and glanced up at the two monsters. "Besides, shouldn't you be concerned that your statue will be a sitting duck once Shield and Sword wear off?"
"I'm aware of that, I didn't get promoted to Ra Yellow Headmistress for nothing." Sarah responded before setting the third card she had drawn. "I set one card facedown and end my turn."
"She's filled up her Spell/Trap Card zones, either she doesn't have a lot of Spell/Trap Cards in her deck or she's confident that her facedown card will protect her statue." Evan thought as he drew his card causing the stats of Sarah's two monsters to return to normal before Embodiment of Apophis's attack went up to two thousand. "But still, if I can destroy Big Bang Shot I'll be out one problem, pity that my only copy of Breaker is currently in my graveyard." Evan thought before looking at his drawn card and the three cards he drew with Spellbook. "I set two cards facedown and I summon Gemini Elf!" Evan announced as the twin elves appeared on the field ready for battle (4/1900/900). "They may not be as strong as Embodiment of Apophis but they are still more than strong enough to tear down that eyesore of a statue! Gemini Elf, attack Statue of Anguish Pattern!"
"Did you really think it would be that easy?" Sarah asked with a grin on her face and Evan blinked as her facedown card flipped up. "I activate my trap card Zero Gravity! With this I can change the battle positions of all face-up monsters on the field meaning my statue returns to its natural state." Sarah explained as her statue crouched down. "And your elves are sitting ducks for Embodiment of Apophis!" Sarah added as the elves stopped casting their spell and crouched down, naturally Embodiment of Apophis also crouched down but Sarah didn't seem to notice. "I was expecting more of a fight for your graduation duel Evan."
"And as soon as I can get past your statue you'll get it!" Evan responded with a frown as he looked over his hand. "I end my turn." Evan announced and Sarah drew her card.
"Nothing good in my hand, doesn't matter because I have the field advantage." Sarah thought before switching Embodiment of Apophis to attack mode. "Embodiment of Apophis, attack Gemini Elf!" Sarah commanded and the snake warrior charged in before slashing at the elves destroying them and bringing Evan's life-points down to 2400. "I was hoping for a better challenge than this but as it stands? All I need is one Shield and Sword and you'll have to wait another year before you get another chance to graduate, I end my turn."
"Much as I hate to admit it, she's right." Evan thought as he drew his card. "My facedown cards are Dust Tornado and Reckless Greed, only reason I haven't used Dust Tornado is because I'm hoping that I can draw Mystical Space Typhoon and destroy Big Bang Shot and Imperial Custom, still I have Carizzard's effect as well." Evan thought before looking at his card. "I activate the second effect of Carizzard from my graveyard, by banishing it and one Spell Card from my hand I can draw two cards."
"I'm aware of what it does Evan." Sarah responded as she folded her arms whilst Evan drew his cards. "You know what else I'm aware off? Unless you use those two cards before the end of my next turn Carizzard's side effect will cost you two thousand life-points, life-points you can't afford to lose." Sarah added as Evan looked over his hand. "For your sake, I hope it's worth the risk."
"We'll see in a second, I activate my facedown card Reckless Greed!" Evan announced as his facedown card flipped up and Sarah raised an eyebrow as he drew two cards. "Obviously, this costs me my next two draw phases but it's not called Reckless Greed for nothing."
"Thank you for reminding me why I never understood that card's popularity." Sarah responded with a frown as Evan looked over his hand. "Even so, unless your plan is to deck yourself out I don't see the point."
"We'll soon see about that." Evan responded as he played the card. "I activate Mystical Space Typhoon and I use it to destroy Imperial Custom!" Evan announced as he played the card and Sarah's eyes widened as she shielded herself from the storm destroying her trap card. "But why stop at one storm? I activate Dust Tornado which I use to destroy Big Bang Shot!" Evan announced as his facedown card flipped up and another storm washed over the field destroying Big Bang Shot and taking Embodiment of Apophis with it. "And why don't I go three for three? I activate another Magic Planter to destroy Graceful Revival."
"You realize that you just drew six cards in one turn, right?" Sarah asked with a skeptical look on her face. "And even if you had used one of the two cards you drew with Carizzard's effect how do you plan on using all of them?"
"I've already used the first two cards I drew, Mystical Space Typhoon and Magic Planter!" Evan responded as he played another card. "And here's another two, I activate Miracle Synchro Fusion! I fuse Dimension Jester from my hand and Arcanite Magician from my graveyard to summon my best monster, Supreme Arcanite Magician!" Evan announced as he played the card and a strange blue man in a jester outfit (1/0/0) appeared alongside Arcanite Magician before they were both sucked into the fusion portal to make way for Arcanite Magician's upgraded form (10/1400/2800) and his attack increased to 3400 thanks to his effect. "And I suppose that I shouldn't have to explain Dimension Jester's effect to you?"
"No, you shouldn't, when Dimension Jester is banished for the fusion summon of a Spellcaster type fusion monster you can banish one card I control." Sarah explained with a nod as Statue of Anguish Pattern vanished. "But just because you've got a powerful monster on the field doesn't mean you're out of the woods yet Evan, I still hold a significant lead and you should know better than anyone that the tide of a duel can change just like that." Sarah added whilst snapping her fingers to emphasize the point.
"I know, that's where the last two cards in my hand come into play!" Evan responded as he played the card. "I start by activating Megamorph!" Evan announced and Sarah remained unmoved as Supreme Arcanite Magician doubled in size and attack points, all the way to 6800. "And now for the last card I drew this turn and quite frankly, the last card I'll play at the academy, Wonder Wand!" Evan announced as he played the card and Sarah sighed as Supreme Arcanite Magician's attack went up to 7300.
"Well played Evan." Sarah complemented him and Evan grinned. "I'm sure that with quick thinking like that you'll make an excellent Pro-League Duelist."
"That's the plan! Supreme Arcanite Magician, finish her off!" Evan commanded and the magician pointed his staff at Sarah before firing a beam of light at her striking her in the chest and bringing her life-points down to zero.
"Here is the winner of the match and the first student to graduate from the academy, Evan Grant!" Martin announced and the crowd cheered in response as the holograms disappeared. "We here at Duel Academy wish Evan the best of luck in his future as a Pro-League duelist and remind him not to miss the after party, don't go anywhere folks because coming up next we will see the arguably more sensible Kaiba Sibling Miranda take on the headmistress of her dorm Tracy Simmons!"
"Well, it's been an interesting ride." Evan thought as he shuffled his deck, Sarah had already left by this point and once Evan hopped off the duel arena he joined the others. "But the excitement isn't over yet."
"More sensible Kaiba sibling?" Tyler asked with a look of mock offense as Miranda shuffled through her deck. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"I could give you a list but my duel would have to be bumped up until after Theresa and Chloe's duel!" Miranda teased her younger brother and Tyler chuckled at that. "Now if you excuse me, I'm off to make sure that I join Evan at the after party!" Miranda added before standing up and walking off.