Andre - Augustus Senior High School/Standard Dimension

Tel III - Year 18 4AOS

Aquarius was passing through the waters near South Florida. Outside was getting blistering hot, but the students were cool and fresh inside the school. It was a perfect day for doing laps in the pool during gym period. Their gymnasium was built underwater since the school was so close to the ocean. All they had to do was take a slow and long ride down the escalator to get there.

Andre marched out of the locker room clad in the red and gold trunks emblazoned with the coat of arms of the school. He didn't even enter the pool, he just stood outside the entrance and stared at the beautiful architecture of the gym and glass dome with hexagon-shaped tiles. They were dozens of feet under the water. Above him was a world of azure blue. He saw schools of fish swimming by and even a pod of dolphins swimming by. The walls were lined with waterfalls pouring into an indoor river that connected with beautiful organic environments. It amazed him what people could create when they let their imaginations run wild. Although, they didn't have much imagination when it came to the athletic uniforms the girls wore.

"Damn," Andre thought as he saw a few girls walking past him to play volleyball. Just then, he spotted Yuri and his friends walking by to find a spot to lay their towels so they could swim. He gulped spotting Patty in the blue once-piece she wore. It really accented her...features. She must have said something provocative, for her friends backed up from the shock.

"You're gonna get what!?" Carter cried out.

"Patty you can't be serious," Yuri said with a groan.

She laughed at their faces and turned around to show off her plump backside. "Yeah. For my eighteenth birthday, I wanna get a butterfly tattoo on my butt? What do you think? Maybe I could get them to draw a wing on each cheek?"

"And then what?" Tyson snickered. "You get people to think you've got a butterfly trapped in your ass?"

Nick sighed with disappointment and slumped his shoulders. "Awww no. Please don't. You've got a cute butt, Patty. Don't ruin it by putting ink on it."

"Mmm-mmm," Carter croaked in his throat. "I hate myself for saying this, but I have to agree with Nick on this one. Patty, don't ruin yourself with tattoos. Your skin is so radiant and pure." He ran a finger down her arm. "So silky smooth. No, no, no. No tattoos. You're fine just the way you are?"

"What?" Patty whined. "I was hoping at least you'd be on board with this Carter."

"Honey, I helped you with that skin in the salon. It's my creation. Beauty is art, girlfriend. And I don't want to see my art ruined by ugly tattoos. Do you think Leonardo Da Vinci would approve of someone spraying graffiti on the Mona Lisa? Mmm-mmm, I think NOT! You ruin your skin with any of that ink, Patty, and I will give you such a spanking!"

As he watched the group, Andre noticed that Yuri was looking rather distraught this afternoon. He had bags under his eyes and he was yawning awfully.

"What's with him?" Andre wondered. He walked on over to see what was wrong with Yuri.

"You don't want me to get you a soda or something?" Tyson asked.

"Don't, that'll make things worse," Patty retorted. "I mean, yeah, he'll get a quick buzz but the sugar's gonna make him pass out even quicker. Just get into the pool and take a few laps. I'll join you."

"I appreciate it," said Yuri. "But I'm going to head back to the locker room and catch some Z's for the next thirty minutes."

"You're not going to get credit for the day," said Carter. "Your grade is going to suffer and that's the last thing you need. You're so close to ruling a big business empire. Your grades need to be at their best. Come on, Yuri, what's going on?"

Yuri looked around, his face creased with unpleasantness. He rubbed the back of his neck with his palm until Patty placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "I had another dream last night."

"Uh oh," the gang said together.

"Was it Mr. Hairdo again?" Patty asked.

"Not exactly. Some kid named Jaden Yuki challenged me to a duel last night."

Andre stopped and kept his mouth closed to keep himself from gasping from shock. "Jaden?"

"Jaden Yuki?" Natalya asked. "Who's that?" She took a gulp of her cherry energy drink.

"I don't know. Another person I keep seeing in my dreams. He kicked my ass with a giant fusion card. I checked the card database and there's nothing like it in existence. Why do I keep seeing fake monsters in my dreams?"

"Maybe it's destiny," said Carter. "I think you're seeing some cool concepts that can easily get implemented into the game."

"Maybe he's right," Patty said. "Perhaps all this excitement about running the company with your dad and then inheriting it has probably filled your head with everything Duel Monsters related. And I've got to admit they do sound kinda cool. All this stuff you've talked about. Xyz and Synchro, right."

"Yeah, I agree," Tyson blurted. "Maybe these dreams are your creativity going wild."

"They're going a little too wild," Yuri replied. "They don't feel like dreams. They're more like nightmares. No matter what I do, or what card I play, the people I'm Dueling are always one step ahead of me. I can't beat them no matter what I do. If I start strong, they always come back stronger. My dreams always end with their best monsters coming to get me. I don't think I'm ever going to get a good night's sleep."

Carter crossed his arms. "Have you tried taking sleeping pills?"

"Sleeping pills don't work anymore, man. I take them like M&M's and I still wake up screaming in the middle of the night."

"Damn yo, this is tough," said Tyson. "It really bugs me seeing you like this, man. I wish there was something I could do to help."

"Why don't you spend the night with me?" Patty suggested.

Yuri felt like he was short on breath and his face went red, though it was hard to tell from the blue light that filtered the room. "Spend the night with you? I don't know, Patty. After you got arrested last year, my parents aren't that comfortable with us hanging together. I can't imagine what they'll say if I ask to sleep over at your place."

"You can always lie and say you're chilling with me," said Tyson.

"There's no need to lie," said Patty. "Let's go talk to your parents after school. Let them know that we have a big, big, project that needs finishing up."

"That's no ruse either," said Nick. "You guys do have a big project on The Elephant Man that's due in a couple of days."

"Right," said Patty, "and since me and Yuri are quite the study bugs, we wanna get it done now. Come on, Yuri, let's do it. You need the grades, you need the sleep, and this could be a great opportunity for me to be on better terms with your parents."

"I guess uh..." Yuri stopped, noticing Patty had some kind of bruise on her thigh. "Wow, that looks bad, what happened?"

Patty scowled and hid the bruise with her towel. "I...I fell down the stairs last night. Max scampered too close to my feet and I tripped."

"You've been tripping a lot lately," Carter said suspiciously. "What about those welts on the back of your legs? The scar on your shoulder and the..."

Patty whipped around so fast her hair gave a woosh. She scowled at Carter and shouted: "I have accidents, okay! Quit making such a big deal. So Yuri are you going to stay with me tonight or not?"

"What's spending the night with you going to do?" Yuri asked.

"I think you need some company by your side. Whenever I got scared, I always snuck to my...my friend's house and I always felt better. And since we're working on a project, you'll be too busy to think about Duel Monsters. It'll be fun. I'll order some pizza. Deep dish, pepperoni with extra cheese. Oh, and that cookie dough pie for dessert. C'mon, I know it's your favorite."

"Ugh," Yuri chortled and nodded feverishly. "You know I can't resist that."

"Can I come over?" Nick asked.

"No," Patty said at once. "This is just a night for me and Yuri."

Andre felt he heard enough and finally approached the group. "Hey, guys."

"Hey, it's that Andre guy," said Nick. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, I'm new around here so I thought I'd get used to everyone. You guys are the ones they call the Misfits of St. Augustus, huh?"

"Just the haters," Patty replied. "So you're new in town. Where did you come from?"

Andre scratched his chin, wondering what to say. "Oh, uh...from a place much farther than you guys have ever traveled, I'm sure."

"Dude, piss off," said Carter. "The five of us traveled around the world last summer. We've been all over Europe, partied in the Maldives; went on road trips in Peru. We've been to places you've never even heard of. Try us."

"Oh, um, you probably wouldn't have heard of it. I come from a place with lots of castles and stuff."

"You mean Europe?" scoffed Tyson. "Been there done that, dawg. My dad opened up restaurants in Paris and London and I've been to both of their grand openings. But if you wanna keep where you came from on the down-low, we get it."

Andre grinned and breathed a sigh of relief. "Uh, thanks. I heard you guys are some good Duelists. You especially. The one with the green eye."

Nick got a little flustered by this and stood up. He crossed his scrawny arms, making him look like he was Yuri's bodyguard or something. "One with the green eye? Man, you're not from Europe. You're from another planet. How can you not have heard of the Prince of Duel Monsters? This is Yuri Montgomery!"

"Ah...so you're Yuri, huh. You're the one everybody's talking about. Do you play Duel Monsters, too? Maybe you and I can Duel sometime."

"Sorry chum," Nick said with a mocking tone, "but Yuri doesn't waste his time with just anyone. You wanna get to Yuri, you're going to have to get through me."

Patty rolled her eyes. "Ignore the Terminator, here. He gets mad if someone else beats Yuri instead of him."

Andre grinned. "So, you think I can beat your friend, Yuri?"

Patty's grin faded. "I didn't say that. Nor did I think you could. I saw your deck yesterday. You know, that's quite an impressive assortment of monsters you've got there. But there's more to this game than brute strength. Yuri's no pro by any standards but he can hold his own against some tough monsters. I've seen it with my own eyes."

Andre could only nod. "I'd like to see that skill for myself. Are any of you acquainted with the shop, Ruby Dragon Gaming?"

"Dude, we only go there every day after school," said Nick. "And Yuri's godfather owns the place, too."

"Is that so? Well, why don't we meet up there after school and have a few squash matches? As I said before, I've heard talk that you guys are some of the best in school. I sure hope you are. I'm getting really bored going up against scrubs. With the money some of these guys have, I'm surprised they can't afford to find themselves better cards."

"We can Duel you if you want," said Carter. "I think it could be fun."

"Sounds good," said Andre. "I'll walk with you there."

"No can do," said Yuri. "We have to pick up Nick's little brother from school today. His mom's too busy to watch him this afternoon."

Nick nodded in agreement. "Yeah, and we can't be late this time, Yuri. Consuelo, was all up on my grill last time I forgot to pick him up."

"I understand, I guess I'll meet up with you guys there later." Andre waved goodbye as he turned and walked away.

After school, Yuri and his friends proceeded out the door of the school's courtyard where Yuri squinted after stepping out the door and the bright afternoon sun assaulted his eyes. There was a tall fountain of silver in the shape of a monk carrying books and scrolls in the crook of his arm. Sitting by the fountain was a group of girls from the varsity volleyball team, huddling around the fountain trading cards as they awaited their rides. A few of them were even Dueling, the captain showing off her new Super War-Lion monster.

"Hi, Yuri!" one of them called out. "Thanks again for the packs."

Yuri waved at her bashfully.

"What are you doing giving free packs to girls and not me? Me! Your best friend!" said Nick.

"She's new in town," said Yuri, "Her name's Natalya - She's my uncle's niece. Most of the cards in her deck are from the beginner's structure deck. I just chipped in with a few Magic Ruler packs to help her out."

"That's so nice of you, Yuri," said Patty. "Care to show me the same courtesy someday?"

"Wouldn't she like to tag along with our group?" Tyson asked. "I'd like to get to know her a little better."

"Not a good idea," said Yuri. "Besides, we still have to pick up Sam."

Tyson shrugged. He looked back at the girl with a smug grin.

Yuri breathed out of his nose to let out his frustration. "Don't get any ideas, my godfather was once the world sambo champion back in Russia. So, behave around her, please. For your sake."

As they walked over a bridge to another island, the weather grew awfully humid. So much so that Yuri felt his flesh getting cooked in the light of the sun. He also found it hard to breathe as beads of sweat ran down his brow. Patty waved her black baseball cap in front of her face to cool herself. Tyson could no longer endure the humidity. He took a water bottle from his backpack and poured it over his head.

Patty yawned while giving a stretch and putting her arms behind her head. "Hey," she said. "Let's get some water. It's not healthy to be walking around this heat without water."

None of them disagreed. Along the way, they thankfully encountered a vendor truck on the sidewalk. They each bought cold drinks. Yuri, not satisfied with his lunch, bought himself a chicken sandwich. Patty wasn't in the mood to eat, but the chicken in the sandwich was cooked to perfection and handled with love and care by the vendor. She shrugged and bought one for herself.

"This is so good!" Patty said. She savored the buttery bun but grunted in disdain when her mouth got covered with mayo. "Ugh, they're always putting so much of this stuff, I swear."

"Yeah, I hate it when they drown the food in so much," Yuri agreed. His fingers were getting covered with mayonnaise. Eventually, he had to wipe his fingers as best he could on the paper wrapping the sandwich, and eventually his school slacks.

As they continued down a hill, they passed by an alley. There, Yuri saw a very heartbreaking scene. Two children — a girl, and a boy — both very young. Their clothes were worn and old and they were dirty from head to toe. They smelled awful, a sign that they were searching for food from trash cans all day. The girl managed to find a half-eaten burger in a white take-out box, but it was covered with flies. They flew all over her face, getting into her eyes. The little boy whimpered and started swatting them away.

Suddenly, both children looked at Yuri and his friends in their expensive school uniforms, nice shoes, and accessories. Their faces turned red in shame of their old, smelly, raggy clothes. The girl looked like she was going to burst into tears. Patty wanted to keep on walking and avoid them. Then she noticed Yuri looking at the kids.

"Yuri, one day that kindness is going to nip you in the bud."

Yuri didn't listen to her. He looked at his sandwich before walking to the children. The little boy hid behind the girl, most likely his sister, and peered from behind her hip. Yuri knelt down so he could look them in the eye. He stretched his arm forward, offering them the sandwich. "Here. Go on, take it."

The little girl's mouth widened with glee and she swiped the sandwich away. She could have eaten it herself, but she gave it to her brother instead. Yuri ruffled the boy's hair as his sister giggled. Tyson approached and handed them his bottle of water. He held up his hand over the boy's head. The boy jumped, giving him a high-five.

Patty sighed heavily in defeat. She approached the girl and gave her the sandwich. "Here," she said. She then reached into her purse and gave the girl a twenty-dollar bill. "Use it wisely, okay."

The children thanked them without a word and ran off into the alley, no doubt hoping to get away from RAPTOR. The children were most likely Stowaways, and it was RAPTOR's job to remove Stoways from the upper levels. Yuri and the others watched the children until they were gone and continued to the elementary school to pick up Sam.

As they walked down the sidewalk in front of the school Nick waved to get his young foster brother's attention. Sam looked like a miniature version of Nick, save that his hair was even more ragged and hidden under a cap placed backward on his head.

He wore a basketball jersey and baggy jeans, and a silver chain around his neck giving him the appearance of a rapper.

"Nick!" he called out swaying his shoulders from side to side as he walked. The boy was ten years old and proud of it. You could tell from the way he smiled and from the energy that radiated from his joy. "I thought you'd never show up. You know Consuelo's not going to be happy about this." He clicked and gave Patty a wink after lowering his sunglasses. "How ya doin' doll face?"

"Right..." Patty said cringing.

Nick grimaced at the thought of facing Consuelo's wrath. "Sam, if you promise not to snitch me out to Consuelo, I promise to get you a pack at the game shop by the harbor."

Sam's face lit up. Then he turned his head to look at Yuri. "Yo, Yuri, you work today?"

"Yeah," Yuri answered, "I work every day."

"Great, maybe you can give me a discount."

"Let me see your grades," said Yuri.

Sam slid off his backpack and opened it. He searched for his most recent quiz. "Here, I think you'll be impressed."

Yuri took the quiz and examined it. He smiled, bobbing his head up and down with approval.

"An A-plus, huh? Awesome work, Sam, that's a free pack."

"Killer, Yuri, you da bomb dot com." Sam snatched the quiz from Yuri's hand and stuffed it into his pocket. He held his hand up for a high five. Yuri went for it, but Sam ducked his hand. "Too slow!" he teased. His friends mocked him for falling for that.

With Sam now in the group, they left the school grounds to make the journey downtown. They took many buses and trains through the islands of Aquarius before they made it downtown to the central island where Yuri worked. The largest tower in the western hemisphere, Phobos Tower, dominated everything in sight. The bus took them up a bridge called the Emerald Highway which spiraled upward to get them to the top of the city.

"Isn't it amazing?" Nick said, looking out the window of their bus. "To think that one day, Yuri's going to be sitting on the top of that tower."

Yuri whimpered. "I hope not."

"You're the crown prince of Duel Monsters, Yuri," said Patty. "You have to. Now that your older brother has refused to take the reigns of your father's business."

Yuri shook his head. Tyson sighed sympathetically and patted his back. "Come on, guys, leave him alone. He doesn't have to do it if he doesn't want to."

They decided to drop the conversation for Yuri's sake. The boy was rather sensitive about his inheritance to the family business. None of them blamed him. Though he played a good game as the gang boasted but he was nowhere near to being at the level of top-tier Duelists from the pro leagues. How could one be the president of the most popular game on the planet and not know how to play it?

"Oh, Yuri, I didn't mean anything by it," said Patty.

"It's okay," said Yuri, trying his best to smile.

The bus dinged. The synthetic woman's voice announced the oncoming destination. "Next stop. Cornerstone Galleria on Fourth Avenue."

Yuri and his friends picked up their things. The bus came to a heavy stop, forcing the friends to jerk forward. The vehicle hissed and then lowered itself to convenience the passengers.

"Have a good day, Yuri," said the bus driver.

"Thanks, Mike," Yuri said getting off.

His friends followed him into the megastore, Ruby Dragon Gaming! What a store it was! Five floors with shops catering to customers with different tastes in games. Standing over the door as if guarding the shop itself was a massive state of a red dragon with steam coming out of its mouth. And there were holographic dragons flying around the windows, roaring at people passing by. There was a long walkway with a great fountain in the middle and gardens with tables for customers who wanted to play games or eat outside.

Yuri always grew a broad smile on his face whenever he entered the store. It was truly a marvel to behold. The architecture, the dragons flying around outside, and the gardens. He was so proud to be the assistant warehouse manager of such a place. It was a home away from home for all the youths of Aquarius.

As the group walked inside, the smell of good quality food sizzling in the kitchen of the store's diner perfumed their noses and tempted their stomachs for some food to go along with their afternoon of Dueling. Nick took a nickel out of his pocket and tossed it into the fountain at the center of the atrium. They went upstairs to greet the man who had grown to be the father of the entire group. Yuri's uncle, Sergei.

"Yuri!" the large and muscular man exclaimed happily. He was standing behind the counter of glass with an assortment of cards, booster boxes, custom playmats, and figurines. "What are you doing here?" he asked.

Yuri stopped in front of the counter with his friends. "I work today, remember?"

"Oh no, you don't work till this weekend, my young friend. Remember? Claudia is filling in for you because you needed some time off for your mother's birthday."

Yuri slapped himself on the forehead. "Oh, that's right. I have to buy cake and ice cream later. Well then, I guess I'm just window shopping today, Uncle. Oh, and my little friend here got an A-plus on his quiz."

Sam nodded triumphantly and crossed his arms.

"Oh, did he now?" Sergei said looking down at Sam. He went to the booster box displays and pulled out a new pack. "Well, Ruby Dragon Gaming's policy says, kids with good grades get...a free pack."

"Thanks!" Sam said taking the pack from Sergei. He wasted no time in opening it.

"Remember," said Nick, "Any holos are mine."

"In your dreams, homie," said Sam. "This is my pack!"

"Ah, and this is for you Carter," Sergei said tossing him a water monster structure deck.

"Wow!" Carter remarked in joy, catching it with ease.

Nick was beginning to grow rather flustered. "Hey, what gives Sergei? Everybody's getting free stuff except me."

"What do you mean, Nickolas?" Sergei asked with a sneer.

Nick bellowed in anger. "How come he gets a free deck and I don't?"

Sergei laughed. "Because I saw the grades from your math tests. A-plus beats C-plus, so Carter gets the deck. But here, a card for your effort. It's better than the F you got last year, so I see you're improving."

"What kind of card is it?" Nick asked, lunging for the counter with excitement.

Sergei slid the card across the counter. He sniggered cruelly.

"Spirit of the Mountain?!" Nick whined picking up the card.

Patty laughed when she saw the monster. It was a fat little gnome wearing scarlet overalls with gray sleeves and an oversized green cap. He had a brown horn to his lips covered in a white beard.

"Oh, Nick," she cooed, "how cute!"

"Son of a bitch..." Nick groaned.

"Why the long face?" Sergei said with a tease. "He's super rare from the Tournament Pack. This card is hard to get."

"Yeah, because he stinks!" said Nick. He looked down the glass counter at the rarer more expensive cards on display. "Come on, Sergei, don't you have a warrior for me like Gaia the Fierce Knight? Or a dragon just like Yuri's Jungle King? Or maybe even a powerful Spellcaster like the Dark Magician?"

"Those cards are only for good students," Sergei said strictly. "You want good cards, I want good grades."

"Yeah, like that'll ever happen," said Sam. "Say, Pats, why don't you blow on this pack for good luck? I might get something really rare."

"I'll chuck that thing in a shredder if you ask me that again," Patty answered sternly.

"Guess I gotta hit the books more," Nick said in defeat.

"Da," Sergei agreed. "But because your grades improved last year. I think I'll present you with this card."

He opened one of his thick binders for cards he was willing to give away as gifts for his favorite customers. Yuri and the gang were no exception.

"Meteor Dragon?" Nick asked, gently taking the card from him. "Interesting. I think I'll hold on to this one. Maybe he'll come in handy someday."

"I'm looking forward to seeing that," Patty said, fanning her face with her hand. "Hey, Yuri, you play a good game. Why don't you enter the locals or something."

Yuri chuckled. "No way. Just because I beat my buddy a few times doesn't make me tournament-ready. Not that I want to mind you. Those guys play aggressively."

"Aww, I forgot," Nick said with a leer, "you don't want your pretty little petals getting plucked by the competition."

Tyson let out a loud laugh and slapped Yuri on the back. "Well, his name doesn't mean flower for nothing."

"Laugh it up, Tyson," Yuri muttered. He hated that name. "Hey, Nick, if you want to play, that Andre guy is over on Table 3. Looks like he's got no challengers today."

"Well, obviously," Tyson said looking over toward the table. A young man was sitting alone at the Duel Table, flipping through his cards as he waited for an opponent to play against him. "Hey, guys, check it out. It's Mr. Hotshot himself."

"Andre's here already?" said Patty. "I'd like to see what he's made of, but unfortunately, I didn't bring my deck."

"But I did!" Nick said aloud. He hurried toward Andre's table. "Hey!" he said. "You want to play? I'll take you on."

"Sure," Andre said, holding his palm out toward the empty chair.

Nick took off his backpack and sat down. He fished his deck out of the pocket of his trousers and placed them on the Duel Table. The screen beside them displayed the 3D battlefield where the monsters would play. It would switch with every match. This time, the screen displayed the ramparts of a giant castle in the mountains.

"Hey, you're Yuri Montgomery's friend, right?" Andre asked.

"That's right."

"Is he here? I'd like to try my hand against him."

"Sorry, big guy, but if you wanna get to my friend, you've gotta get through me first. Now, let's do this."

"All right, then," Andre replied. He shuffled his deck one last time and placed them on the liquid-crystal display that acted as the game mat. His cards were covered with black sleeves, but the screen could sense the cards he played thanks to the microchip built inside of them.

LP 2000

"Who should go first?" Andre asked

"I'll go first," Nick rudely declared. "I summon Man-Eating Plant! Ha!" He slapped his card on the mat very hard. The screen beside them showed the monster rendered with the Unreal Engine. The Man-Eating Plant snarled and snapped its thorny vines around, waiting for a monster to devour.

"Your turn!" said Nick. "What have you got?"

"Man-Eating Plant, huh? That's a very interesting opening move."

"No need to be so modest," Patty said walking towards the table. "You and I both know he made a dumb move."

She stood by Nick and cocked her hip to the right and placed her hand on it. Andre looked at her curved figure with a wolfish smile and adjusted his glasses. "Well, now. I see someone's not afraid to call it like it is. Sorry, we never got acquainted at the pool earlier. What was your name again? Patricia? Penelope?"

"The name's Pamela McKnight. But my friends call me Patty. So, handsome, what have you got to counter that big, scary, plant Nick summoned?"

"Oh, I've got just the thing," said Andre. "Celtic Guardian!" He summoned one of the most famous monsters in the game. The sword-wielding elf warrior appeared on the Duel Screen and slashed his blade through the air. He stood still and his attack points were displayed. 1400.

"I hope you can do better than that, Andre!" Nick sneered. "My Man-Eating Plant is going to eat your Celtic Guardian alive. Attack!"

"Nick...don't!" Patty groaned covering her eyes.

"Is he really going to..." Yuri began.

Tyson crossed his arms and shook his head in dismay. "Yup," he answered.

Celtic Guardian dodged the Man-Eating Plant's attack by jumping backward. He moved like the wind. He was so fast that he looked like a blur. The elf warrior then lunged into the air, sword up over his head in a falcon guard, and then he slashed the plant's head off with the greatest of ease.

Nick's mouth fell wide open while Andre leaned back in his chair and snickered. "What?" Nick gasped. "He lost? But he's the Man-Eating Plant?"

Carter slid both his hands across the air and walked away from the embarrassment that was Nick's Duel with Andre. He hurried to the cafe to get himself a nice, cold, lemonade. Yuri and Tyson followed, but Patty stayed behind. There were a few things in this world that entertained her, and one of them was seeing Nick getting his ass kicked in a Duel. He was what the kids called a 'Decker' a player who's all talk but no game.

"I set a card face-down and end my turn," Andre said.

"A lucky move," Nick boasted. "Let's see. Hey, this guy is pretty tough. I summon Zanki!" He summoned a samurai in red armor. He appeared on the field after a display of Japanese kanji popped up. His bright yellow eyes flashed in the darkness of the arena. He raised his long katana over his head and charged once Nick declared his attack.

"I activate, Reinforcements!" said Andre, revealing his trap card. "Now Celtic Guardian's attack increases by five hundred points. He's much stronger than your Zanki!"

Celtic Guardian raised his sword, blocking Zanki's attack. The horse cut attack he did would have cut Celtic Guardian's sword in half, but it was protected by magic elvish runes and was durable thanks to the magic steel it was made from. Celtic Guardian pushed Zanki away then kicked him in the stomach with his boot to knock the wind out of him. He then charged and slashed Zanki across the chest in a flash. Zanki fell to his knees, his throat rattling with death. He fell face-first on the cobbled stone and shattered to pieces.

"Not again!" Nick grunted.

"Trap cards will do wonders for your deck," Patty commented. "I keep telling you that, but you never listen."

Patty shook her head no. "He has no traps or spells in his deck. It's just pure aggression."

"That's right. I filled this deck with every butt-kicking monster I could find!"

"What good that's done you," said Andre. "I activate the spell, Ookazi. This will deal 800 points of damage to your Life Points. Next, I summon the Mysterious Puppeteer and set another card face-down."

"Oooo," Patty hotted, shaking her hips to tease Nick. "One more wrong move and it's over for you, dumbass."

"I can take him!" Nick declared. "I summon Garoozis! With an attack strength of 1800, he'll prove more than a match for your two monsters. Go, Garoozis, attack his Celtic Guardian."

"First off," said Andre. "Since you Normal Summoned a monster, I gain 500 Life Points. Secondly, I activate the spell, Rush Recklessly. This will boost Celtic Guardian's attack by 700. That's goodbye to your Garoozis and the rest of your Life Points."

"Whaaaaaa!" Nick grimaced. "Aww, man. Beaten by the new kid."

Patty giggled at his defeat and looked at Andre. "Don't worry, big guy. Not all of us are hopeless like he is. If you want a challenge, face my buddy, Yuri."

"I think I will. His dad only created the game, so I have no doubt he's good." He shuffled his deck and put it in his pocket. "But I have to get home and finish my homework. Say, do you guys hang out here often?"

"Every day after school," Patty answered. Yuri then came to the table with a bag of chips and a soda in hand.

"Damn, Nick," he said. "You lost already? That's a new record."

"Laugh it, up, Yuri. I just got a bad hand."

"That's what they all say," Andre said, shouldering his backpack. "So, this is the famous Yuri. Wow, your eye really does glow."

"Don't ogle at it," Patty said, covering Yuri's eye with her hand. "He doesn't like that."

"Sorry, sorry. I didn't mean to stare. It's actually pretty cool-looking, Yuri. I hope I can play against you tomorrow."

"Sure," Yuri replied. Being the shy guy that he was, his responses were often brief and dry. He stepped back to let Andre pass so he could leave.

Meanwhile, Nick leaned towards Patty and put his arm over her shoulder. Before he got comfortable she walked forward to escape. "Yes?" she said.

"Nothing. It's just there's a really nice restaurant close by where we can get some good Chinese."

Patty crossed her arms. "I can't. I have a date tonight."

Carter let out his hideous high-pitched twittering. "Girl, who? Who? Tell me who?"

"You serious, Patty?" Tyson asked. "Who are you dating?"

"My shower, my bed, a hot bowl of ramen noodles, and my favorite pink panties."

Yuri looked at her sternly. Even though she was a wild card, there was no need to be so damn crude all the time. But he knew Patty was saying such things just to press Nick's buttons, building up his emotions to make him hit on her again just so she could burn him with another dose of rejection.

"Ooo," said Nick, unsurprisingly falling for her bait. "Sounds like a party."

"Uh, yeah. One that you're not invited to, jerk. See you guys later. Come on, Yuri." She grabbed Yuri by the hand and led her away from the others to the bus stop.

Yuri - Azalea Island/Patty's Home

Yuri let out a loud yawn as he shut his textbook and closed his laptop. "Well, that's all she wrote," he said. "You want the last slice of pizza?"

"I'm good," Patty replied. She got up from her desk and went to her drawers to find some pajamas.

"So where are your parents?"

"They're at a party on the central island," Patty replied, fishing out pink pants with yellow stars all over them and a white tank top. "They won't be back until morning since they always drink the night away and stay the night with their host. My dad says he's honored you decided to stay here nevertheless. You're always welcome here. You're like a son to him. Wish he had that same affection for me."

"What do you mean?"

Patty picked up Max and set him on her bed. "Nothing. It's just me talking out loud. Anyway, you can have the bed. I'll sleep on the loveseat by the window. Do you mind turning around while I change?"

"You can't go to the bathroom?"

"I would but it's bedtime and if Max sees us going this way and that, he's going to start howling and he'll wear the sleep out of you. Come on, I won't take long."

Yuri turned and clasped his hands over his eyes and looked out the rain-splattered window. The palm trees swayed eerily against the dark purple sky. He heard Patty's belt jingling as it came undone and it slumped on the floor.

"So, Yuri. I couldn't help but listen to what that Andre guy had to say earlier. About you going pro."

"I need better cards to go pro. And with my dad the way he is, I can't get money. So I have to work. Sergei pays well but it's not enough to get the best cards on the market. I need a new hustle if I plan to get new cards and make it pro. What about you, Patty? Have you ever thought about being a pro Duelist? You're a lot better than me."

"Nah, I told you before. I'd rather create monsters. I want to excel with my painting so I can land a job in Phobos Corp as an artist for the Duel Monsters Department. Maybe you and I can work together or something. Oh, that'll be great. Maybe we create our own archetypes or something. Oh, we've got to make Zera the Mant support. You can look now."

Yuri turned in time to see Patty buttoning up the sleep shirt that matched her pajama pants. She picked up Max and held him up to her cheek so she could rub it against his furry head. He started licking her.

"I figured you want Zera the Mant support," said Yuri. "But what if being an artist wasn't in the cards? What if you had no other choice but to go pro?"

Patty chewed on her bottom lip as she pondered the question. "I suppose I'd consider it. It'll be great. If I could...I'd do it for the traveling. On stage with my cards, wowing the crowd with my Feast of Fiends deck. Going from city to city around the world and going up against the best of the best. Meeting new people, seeing new places. I love Aquarius, don't get me wrong, but I wanna see other things, too."

"Yeah, same here. Other countries, other cities. I wanna see them all."

"Maybe someday you will," said Patty. "I think it's in the cards for you. A guy as gifted and blessed and..." She bit her lip and giggled. "Cute as you can do anything he wants. Hey, Yuri. Can you make me a promise?"

"Sure."

"If you ever do make it big and become all these things. Promise you'll never change. Promise you'll always be the same Yuri I know and love...er...I mean, we all know love."

"Well, I can't guarantee I'll always be the same. So is it okay if I promise I won't change too much?"

Patty thought about it for a moment and shrugged, wagging her head from side to side. "Meh. I guess that'll do. Oh. And one more thing."

"Okay."

"Will you promise me that...promise me we'll always be friends. No matter what. No matter how badly I screw up. No matter how bad things get. No matter what life throws at us. Promise you'll always be my best friend. Always?"

Yuri smiled. "That's something I can promise."

Patty swooned. "You're the best thing to ever happen to me, Yuri. I'd be so lost without you." She held out her free arm. "Hugs?"

Yuri rolled his eyes. "All right." He got up and embraced her. "Friends forever. Got it."

"Thank you, Yuri." Patty was glad they were stuck in their embrace. She tried to keep it together but eventually, a big happy tear rolled down her cheek. "Thank you."