Hello! I'm back, and I've finally worked out how to get the formatting how I like it ^_^. We have two duels for you today, one completely of my own invention! Please, hold your applause ^_^ Anyway, I think Caleb can disclaim today.
Can do! Disclaimer:Kjel doesn't own Yugioh GX, or any of the other characters. There'd be a lot more friendship if he did!

'Man, why'd y'all have to fill in these duel request forms...' Jesse had just found out the hard way how tedious rules and regulations could be. 'I mean, all this for one lil' duel...?' He'd asked professor banner earlier about how to go about arranging a duel, and the professor had gladly obliged. Since then, Jesse had secluded himself in a corner of one of the study rooms, drafting and re-drafting his application. He was on the seventh attempt when Crowler walked past.
'What's this? A duel request form? Strange to see you following regulations... Let me see that, slacker.' Crowler snatched the form from Jesse's hands.
'Hey!'
'Oh, stop complaining. Now, let's see... Yes... Ahem... Oh, quite so... Zane!?' He started to laugh, not quite manically. 'Is this some form of joke?'
'Um, actually y'all, I'm completely serious. I was thinking it might give Syrus a lil' confidence boost for our match. Y'know, the one y'all organised.'
'Ah, yes. And I must say, it sounds like an excellent idea! I'll approve it right away!'
'Really?'
'No! Of course I won't allow it. In fact...' Crowler took that moment to shred the form, and walked away laughing, maniacally this time.

Jesse was still sulking later on, when he met up with Syrus, Chumley, Alexis and Caleb.
'Jesse, why didn't you just ask? I talk to Zane every day, I could've just asked him for you.'
'Sorry Alexis, I just wanted to do it properly. Y'all know Crowler hates me enough as it is.' Chumley took the lull in conversation to satisfy his curiosity.
'So, what did Miss Fontaine want you two for yesterday?'
'Oh, she just wanted to know more about the tag duel. Checking it was our choice, and we weren't in trouble, things like that,' Caleb chipped in. 'Oh! That reminds me! Jesse, do you and Syrus want a practice tag duel?' They both nodded, Syrus somewhat reluctantly. 'Great! Because I already asked Mindy and Jasmine, and they said they'd be happy to. I can call them now if you want.'
'Yeah, y'all do that. Thanks Caleb.'
'Well then, while you do that, I'll go hunt down Zane.' Alexis waved as she left.
'Done. They're on their way.'

The girls arrived a few minutes later.
'Hi guys! We got here as fast as we could.' Mindy was slightly out of breath, puffing a little, but Jasmine still seemed fresh.
'Now we find out if you beating Lex was just a fluke!' Jesse sighed.
'I thought y'all agreed quickly. So that's what this here duel's about, huh?'
'Jesse, c'mon, let's just get this over with.'
'Alright! Just a quick reminder, you can use any cards your team mate plays, but you cant look at each other's hands or share tactics. Got it?' Everyone nodded, wondering who'd decided Caleb should ref. 'Alrighty then! Duel away!'
[Jesse+Syrus:8000/Mindy+Jasmine:8000]
'Jasmine drew first. 'I'll start. Ladies first after all. I summon Harpie Lady 1 in attack mode, play a face-down, and end my turn.'
'Well then! I'll start by summoning Crystal Beast – Cobalt Eagle in attack mode, and I attack your harpie!'
'Hah! Thanks to my harpie's effect you have less attack points than me! My harpie gives all wind monsters on the field an extra 300 attack points.'
'Well then, I guess it's a good thing my Eagle's a wind attribute too.'
'What? No!' Jasmine cried out as her harpy was destroyed. 'I activate my face-down, call of the haunted, letting me bring back my harpie!'
[Jesse+Syrus:8000/Mindy+Jasmine:7800]
'Ah, well. It's all over to y'all Mindy.'
'Fine! I start by sacrificing Harpie lady 1 to summon dark magician girl.' Said monster appeared in her trademark cute victory pose.
'D-dark M-magician girl?' Syrus' blush was unmistakeable... except to Jesse.
'Y'all okay there Sy?'
'What? I'm fine! No really, there's absolutely nothing wrong with me!' He sighed.
'Well, if y'all sure.'
'Hello? It's still my turn! I play sage's stone, which, because I have Dark magician girl on the field, lets me summon Dark Magician from my deck! Now, Dark magician Girl, attack Cobalt eagle!' Jesse grunted as his monster retreated to it's crystal form.
[Jesse+Syrus:7100/Mindy+Jasmine:7800]
'I'm sure I don't need to tell y'all about my monster's effect now, do I?'
'No, we remember.'
'Actually, Jas, I don't...' Everyone sighed. 'Anyway, I attack you directly with dark magician!' Jesse cried out fully this time, the blast knocking a hefty chunk from his lifepoints.
[Jesse+Syrus:4600/Mindy+Jasmine:7800]
'Nice! Y'all better duellists than I thought!'
'What, did you think we'd be poor because we're girls?'
'What Jas? Y'all got it wrong there! Anyway, y'all done?'
'Yeah! Over to you Syrus.'
'Uh... Thanks, I guess...' He paused. 'But what can I do against the dark magician? And dark Magician Girl...' He made up his mind. 'I summon Gyroid in defence mode, and play a facedown. And, I guess I'll just have to leave it at that... not that it did much...'
'Y'all did great Sy! We're up against a lot here. Y'all just need some confidence.'
'Enough with the pep talks. My move! I'll attack Gyroid with Dark Magician Girl! Go with dark burning attack!' The blast impacted, but Gyroid remained intact. 'What? That thing should be toast! Our monster had way more attack points!'
'Um... Gyroid has a special effect. He isn't destroyed the first time he's attacked each turn.'
'See Sy, I told you y'all doing great.'
'Uh, thanks, I guess...'
'Doesn't matter! I can still attack with the dark magician. Go, dark magic attack!'
'I'll, uh, activate my facedown, magic cylinder. Uh, it stops your attack and you take damage equal to its attack points... I think.'
[Jesse+Syrus:4600/Mindy+Jasmine:5300]
'All right! Y'all done Jas?'
'Ugh... I play a face-down and end my turn.'
'Alright, y'all better be ready for this!' Jesse glanced at his hand. 'I'll start with pot of greed, letting me draw two more cards. Next, I summon this here Crystal Beast – Amber Mammoth in attack mode. Next, I play E-Force, letting me special summon my cobalt eagle back to the field, and I'll end with a face-down. Over to y'all Mindy.'
'Let's go then! I'll attack your Cobalt Eagle with my Dark magician!'
'Not so fast y'all! I activate Amber Mammoth's effect, letting me change the target to him y'hear? And I activate Amber Crystal Circle, adding Cobalt Eagle's attack to his, so y'all can say buh-bye to Dark magician!'
[Jesse+Syrus:4600/Mindy+Jasmine:4700]
'No way! But I can still follow up with Dark Magician Girl, and she has enough points to take your Eagle out!'
[Jesse+Syrus:4000/Mindy+Jasmine:4700]
'Alright! I end my turn.'

Caleb and Chumley were quite enjoying themselves. The match had turned out to be quite a good show, and Chumley had snacks, which he was willing to share.
'I've gotta say Chumley, I'm really impressed. Mindy and Jasmine are a lot better than they look.'
'Yeah, it's totally 'liscous. And who'd've thought Mindy was the stronger of the two?'
'Maybe she just got better cards. It's too soon to say really.' He looked up. 'Alexis! You're back! With a certain someone in tow, I see.' Alexis walked over, Zane close behind. 'They're still at it, and it's been a really great match! Jesse just took down Mindy's Dark Magician, and now it's Syrus' turn.' Zane took up position where he could see the field, but was himself out of sight.
''Liscous idea. Sy's got enough pressure as it is.'

'Uh... My move, I guess... I'll play polymerisation, to fuse my Gyroid with the Steamroid in my hand, to form Steam Gyroid! And since that was a special summon, I can summon my Stealthroid as well! And because you're Dark Magician was destroyed, my Steam Gyroid has enough points to take down your dark magician girl! Sorry about this... Go, attack with Steam Vortex!' The collision shattered Dark Magician Girl, the cry coming from Mindy this time. 'And now, I'll follow up with Stealthroid, attack her directly!' She cried out again, the girl's lifepoints taking another hit.
[Jesse+Syrus:4000/Mindy+Jasmine:3300]
'And now I can activate Stealthroid's effect. Because he dealt damage, I can destroy one set spell or trap on the field, and I pick that one!' Jas' facedown exploded. 'I guess I'll end my turn...'
'That was great y'all! But... Did y'all forget y'all could attack with my mammoth too?'
'What? You mean I messed up again?'
'Again? That was the first time y'all even came close! Y'all doing fine, and it's your first tag duel, so y'all bound to slip up somewhere.'
'Well, I'm not complaining. My move! I'll start by Summoning Harpie Lady 3 in attack mode. Next, I'll play Elegant Egotist, letting me summon Harpie lady Sister's from my deck. But I'm not done! I play Triangle Ecstasy Spark, increasing my Harpie Lady Sister's Attack to 2700! So I'll have them attack Steam Gyroid!'
[Jesse+Syrus:3500/Mindy+Jasmine:3300]
'Guess I'll have to leave it at that. Your move, Jesse.'
'Alright y'all! I summon Crystal Beast – Sapphire Pegasus in attack mode. And his here effect let's me add a crystal beast from my deck to my spell card zone, so I chose Ruby Carbuncle. And her effect lets me special summon all my beasts that are gems as monsters! So it's take three for Cobalt eagle, and Ruby gets to join the fray too! One last trick before we head on over to the battle phase – I play M-force, raising Sapphire Pegasus' attack by 500 points! Now, Sapphire, attack Harpie Lady Sisters!' All three fell, along with the girls' lifepoints. 'Now, Cobalt Eagle, attack her Harpie Lady 3!' She too fell.
'Uh... But now your eagle can't attack next turn!'
'Don't matter! Ruby, Amber, attack them directly!'
[Jesse+Syrus:3500/Mindy+Jasmine:850]
'I'll leave it at that.'
'Guess I'll have to make this turn count... I summon the skilled Dark Magician, and I attack your Ruby Carbuncle!'
'Ah! I activate Prism Wall, letting me change the target to another monster I control, and we both take damage equal to the new target's attack, and I choose Amber Mammoth!'
'But that means...'
'Yep! Y'all just went down!'
[Jesse+Syrus:1800/Mindy+Jasmine:0]

The watchers chose that moment to join them. 'Hey guys, that was a great duel! Everyone was great! You all pulled off some really strong moves!'
'Yeah, that was some totally 'liscous duelling!'
'I'll say. I haven't seen you two duel that well in a long time.' Then Syrus looked up.
'Z-Zane? H-How long have you been watching?'
'Long enough.' Everyone held their breath, waiting to see if he'd carry on. They were disappointed.
'So, uh, Zane? Are y'all here to duel me?' Zane nodded. He'd apparently done enough talking for one day. Suddenly, Caleb span around.
'Jaden? Are you here to watch too?'
'Yes, and I recommend you stay away from me. We're near a cliff.' A few people gulped.
'Aww, you really need friends. How about Zane? He needs friends too, so you can be anti-social together!' Jaden took a deep breath.
'Just one little fireball... Is that too much to ask for?' As it was, he settled for the Golden Death Glare™, which had little impact on Caleb, but did cause a barely repressed squeal from Mindy.

'Y'all ready to duel then?' Zane nodded, and both activated their duel disks. Alexis settled herself next to Caleb and Chumley.
'Wow, I don't know who to root for... Hey, is that popcorn?'
'Yeah! Chumley brought it, though...' Caleb rubbed his neck, 'I guess I ate most of it...'
'Any left for me?'
'Sure thing Lex. It's totally 'liscous.'
'Hey, Syrus? Aaren't you watching?'
'What? Oh, yeah, I guess...'
'You guess? This is a defining moment in the history of duelling! Two duellist, both undefeated, in a titanic clash of wills!' Everyone stared at him.
'Caleb?' He spun around, eyes full of stars.
'Jaden spoke to me? Willingly?' He took a deep breath. 'Yes, Jaden?'
'Shut up.' Caleb gently deflated, coming to rest somewhere near Chumley's feet. Then everyone turned at a new voice.
'So the rumors were true. Zane is duelling a Slifer slacker.'
'Chazz? There were rumors?'
'Of course. Duel academy couldn't keep a secret like this if its life depended on it.'
'Bastion, was it? You too?'
'Well, someone has to keep back Zane's sreaming fans.' This got a few incredulous looks.
'Fans, I can accept, but screaming? Would the screamers really go for Zane?'
'Oh, they do. They follow him around in groups between lessons. It's really creepy.'
'Wow, Alexis. He has it rougher than I thought. Oh! Looks like they're ready!'

[Zane:4000/Jesse:4000]
'Y'all mind if I start?' Silence. 'Alright then! I'll summon Crystal Beast – Emerald Turtle in defence mode, and I'll throw down this here facedown. Over to y'all Zane.'
'Hmph. I special summon Cyber Dragon with its effect, and destroy your facedown with mystical space typhoon. Next I attack your turtle with my dragon, destroying it.' Emerald Turtle retreated to crystal form. 'I'll end with different dimension capsule, letting me remove one card in my deck from play for two turns. I end my turn.'

'Wow, Zane talks a lot more when he's duelling, doesn't he?'
'Sure Caleb. It's not like he can really talk less, after all.'
'Got it.' He pulled out a notepad, adorned with a smiley face, and Mindy gave him a puzzled glance.
'What's that for?'
'Oh, this? It's my friend journal. I keep track of any info that I can use in getting those two friends. Zane – duelling definitely the way to go.'
'I could probably add something to the list...' Caleb's face lit up.
'Really Mindy? Let's get to it then!' The two of them huddled around the notepad, sharing whispered ideas, and partaking in much writing and crossing out. Chumley and Jasmine edged away slightly.

'Y'all got some moves Zane, but this here duel ain't over yet. I activate Crystal Tree. It might not do much now, but y'all see soon enough just what it can I'll throw down a face down, and summon this here Crystal Beast – Topaz Tiger in defence mode. Over to y'all.'
'Fine. I attack your Tiger with my dragon. Go, with Strident Blaze!' Said tiger exploded, and also retreated to crystal form. At the same time, a crystal fruit appeared on Jesse's tree.
'Told y'all it'd be working soon. See, when one of my beasts is turned to crystal, I get to add a crystal counter to this here tree. Then, I can tribute it to add as many beasts as I have counters to my spell card zone. But, y'all know, I think I'll hold off that for now.'
'In that case, I'll play a face down and end my turn.'
'Right y'all, I'll start with Crystal Beast – Cobalt eagle in defence mode. Heh, looks like y'all get an easy ride this turn. Over to y'all.'

'Well, he's up to something.'
'What makes you so sure Caleb?'
'Why, Alexis, it's quite simple. When does Jesse ever sacrifice his monsters?'
'Actually, you have a point there...'
'And with crystal tree's effect? He must have something planned that needs him to have plenty of beasts as crystals... What for, I have no idea...'
'Maybe his Rainbow Ruins? Doesn't that gain abilities when he has more crystals?'
'Maybe...'

'Fine. My different dimension capsule's effect just activated, returning the card I removed from play to my hand. Now, I attack with my Cyber Dragon. Strident Blaze!' Cobalt eagle joined the other two creatures, and a second fruit formed. 'Your move.'
'Just what I was waiting for! I activate my Crystal Tree, letting me add Crystal beast – Amber Mammoth to my spell and trap card zone. Next, I activate Crystal Abundance! By sending my four crystals to the graveyard, I can destory every card on the field. But that's not all. For every card it destroys, I can summon a crystal beast from my graveyard a a monster! So say Buh-bye to Cyber dragon and that face down!' Zane didn't even flinch. 'Hey, I'm impressed y'all! Not even flinching? Y'all really are just as good as they say.'
'...You too.' Shocked silence ensued. Caleb turned to Alexis.
'Did Zane just compliment Jesse?' He asked under his breath.
'Yeah,' she whispered back, 'He must really have a high opinion of him...'
'Anyway, now I can summon Amber mammoth and Topaz Tiger back to the field, and I'll attack y'all directly!'
[Zane:900/Jesse:4000]
'Hate to leave a job half done, but it looks like I'll have to leave it at that.'
'I activate monster reborn, Bringing back Cyber Dragon. Then I activate the spell card, Powerbond, fusing that dragon with the two in my hand, forming the Cyber End Dragon! And thanks to Powerbond's effect, his attack is doubled, to 8000! Now go, destory his Mammoth with Super Strident Blaze!'
[Zane:900/Jesse:0]

'Jesse lost!?' The cry was pretty much unanimous, shock registering on everyone. Well, almost everyone.
'I don't get why you're all so surprised. I mean, did you actually think that slacker could beat Zane?'
'Hey Zane! Y'all played a sweet duel there, y'hear?'
'...You too. It's a long time since I had a match that close.' Zane's mouth twitched ever so slightly, possibly hinting at a smile.
'Whatever. The action's over, so I'm outta here. If you losers want to stay out here in the cold, it's your problem.' Chazz said, as he walked off.
'Loathe as I am to agree with him, I'm forced to conceed the point. It is getting rather late, and I'm sure the speeches can wait until the morning.' Bastion added, as he too took his leave.
'C'mon Jesse! We don't want to be caught out too late! We're in enough trouble as it is!''
'Well, y'all got a point there lil' buddy. Last one back's a Kuriboh!' Jesse ran off, tailed by Syrus and, to a lesser extent, Chumley.
'So, Jaden, what did y'think?' Asked Caleb, before he looked around to find Jaden had stalked off already while he wasn't looking. 'Oh... Fiddlesticks.'
'So Zane, what did you think?'
'He was a good opponent.' Alexis sighed.
'You know I meant Syrus.' Zane paused for a while before replying.
'He's improved. He might just pull through this.'
'Y'know, it'd do him a ot of good to hear you say that.' Alexis stopped mid sentence, considering it. 'Well, the first part anyway. It might just give him the confidence boost he needs.'
'Yeah, after all, he didn't play his best move yesterday because he thinks you told him he wasn't good enough to use powerbond.' Caleb chipped in.
'I only ever said he needed to learn to use the card, not just play it. It's his own lack of confidence that's told him otherwise.' Caleb rubbed his neck.
'Didn't you also say you'd have never given him the card if you'd known he'd mis-play it though?' Zane stayed silent. 'Aha! Guilty as charged!'
Er, guys?' Mindy piped up. 'Do you thnik we could walk back while we have this conversation. We're all going the same way after all.'
'Well Mindy, you just had a good idea.'
'Jas! There's no need to sound so surprised!'
'Sooo, Zane...' Caleb began, preping a set of puppy-dog eyes. 'I don't suppose I could duel you sometime? After the tag duel of course.'
'I don't see why not.'
'Yay!' Caleb jumped in the air, then became aware of the stares. 'What? I'm happy.'
'Yeah... Well, we need to head off this way now...' Alexis looked at Zane. 'Have fun you two.' Zane fixed her with a Death Glare, which she promptly ignored.

Zane attempted to hold the silence, but it didn't last long.
'You know Zane, Syrus really looks up to you.'
'...I know.'
'Really? Then why is it you act like you don't even want to know him?'
'...I just want him to be stronger.'
'Relying on others isn't a weakness Zane. Think about it.' Caleb started to speed ahead, but he turned back and shouted 'Friendship solves everything you know!'

So, there we have it. Chapter 7. By the way, in case you haven't seen it, there's a poll on my profile about pairing up Alexis. Atticus'd be so proud ^_^. And yes, by chapter 7, Mindy and Jasmine have already duelled more than they did in the whole 4 seasons. ...I think they're stealing Bastion's screen time.