Hey guys, it's me again...finally. I know it's taken me a while to get this new chapter up, but here it is so please enjoy.

Chapter 6:

Duelling Day of Disarray

The Casper City Annual Duel Fair was underway. All around the park, duellists began to fall in defeat while others hurried to their next location. Jaden was having a great time against his first opponent. He was behind but had the perfect combo to defeat his opponent. This guy duelled with a Koa'ki Meiru deck and currently had two monsters on the field. The first one was Koa'ki Meiru Wall: ATK – 1900, DEF – 1200 in defense mode and Koa'ki Meiru Crusader: ATK – 1900, DEF – 1300 in attack mode while his life points were at twenty-three hundred. Jaden had Sparkman on his field in defense mode, Emergency Provisions and Dummy Marker face down on his field. In his hand he had Burstinatrix, and Avian. His life points were down to six hundred and it was his turn.

"If I had polymerization, I could fuse Burstinatrix and Avian to bring out Flame Wingman. However, it doesn't matter which monster I destroy with him, he'd still have life points left, not to mention that Koa'ki Meiru Wall has one nasty effect of cancelling the activation of a spell card by being tributed. There's only one thing to do," Jaden decided.

"I draw!" he said. He glanced at the card and grinned. "Victory is mine. First I'll activate Emergency Provisions. By sending one face down card to the graveyard, I gain back one thousand life points."

"I won't let you," said his opponent. "I activate the effect of Koa'ki Meiru Wall. By sending it to the graveyard, I can negate the activation and destroy your spell card." Emergency Provisions dissolved into light and Jaden grinned.

"I had hoped you'd do that," he said.

"Why?" asked the boy, slightly confused. "You can't regain life points now so what was the point of that?"

"My goal wasn't to gain life points, it was to get rid of that monster so I could activate this," Jaden said. He pulled a card from his hand and slid it into a spell and trap card zone. "It's called Double Fusion. Now I can fuse twice this turn. Of course, it cost me some life points but it'll be worth it." Jaden lost five hundred life points before he continued.

"First I fuse Avian and Burstinatrix in my hand to form Elemental Hero Flame Wingman! Next, I'll fuse Wingman with Sparkman to form the Elemental Hero Shining Flare Wingman!" Jaden said. Shining Flare Wingman was absolutely glowing on the field. ATK – 2500, DEF – 2100. "Now for the attack," Jaden continued. "Shining Flare Wingman, attack Koa'ki Meiru Crusader! Shining Flare Shoot!" Crusader was easily destroyed and Jaden's opponent took six hundred points of damage.

"I've still got life points," the boy protested.

"Not after Wingman's effect," Jaden said. "He deals damage equal to the attack points of the monster destroyed." The boy's life points deteriorated and he slumped to the ground. Jaden walked up and gave him his traditional end of duel salute.

"That's game," Jaden said.

Meanwhile, Pearl was about to lose her first duel. Not only was it difficult trying to control her abilities, but she also had to focus on staying upright and duelling all at the same time. With her attention split, she had fallen behind in the duel. Her opponent, a boy named Drake used a dragon deck, to which Pearl saw some irony. After all, there are a lot of medieval stories about knights slaying dragons. That's beside the point, though.

Somehow, Pearl had managed to destroy all the monsters on Drake's field, leaving his field almost empty except for one facedown card that he'd had from the beginning of the duel. However, after activating Card of Sanctity last turn, he had six cards in his hand and who knew what kind of combinations could come out of it. Currently, his life points were at thirty-seven hundred.

Pearl on the other hand, had three monsters on her field; the first was Gem-Turtle Diopside in defense mode: DEF – 2000. The second was Gem-Knight Alexandrite, a glowing white armoured knight with shards of alexandrite embedded within his armour in attack mode: ATK – 1800. The last one was Gem-Knight Emerald, a knight with light green armour with emerald gems embedded in it, much like Alexandrite's and a long green ponytail that stuck out of his cat like helmet in defense mode: DEF – 800. Alexandrite had just barely been able to destroy Drake's other dragon and dealt him a full two hundred points of damage, bringing her to the end of her turn. However, she only had thirty-two hundred life points left.

"I'll set these two cards and end my turn," Pearl said, almost falling over. Then she looked at her hand and cursed herself silently. "I put the wrong ones face down!" she realized. "Hopefully the ones that I did will at least fool him."

"My turn, I draw," Drake said. A grin crossed his face and Pearl knew he had something big. She could feel the joy of his nature change into the confidence that winning was in the bag. "I'll activate the spell card Polymerization and fuse the five dragons I have in my hand," Drake said.

"Five dragons?!" Pearl exclaimed. "There's only one monster that powerful."

"That's right," Drake said. "I fusion summon the magnificent Five-Headed Dragon!" The beast was so huge that the rollercoaster was like a grape vine to this beast. Five-Headed Dragon: ATK – 5000, DEF – 5000. "Five-Headed Dragon, attack Alexandrite!" Drake ordered. The oversized dragon reeled back all five of its heads and let out a large burst of energy that slammed through Alexandrite and hit Pearl with thirty-two hundred points of damage, bringing her down to one hundred points.

"Alexandrite!" Pearl shouted as the blast hit her and she lost her balance. She fell over the railing and held on to the strap that kept her from falling too far.

"Pearl, are you alright?" Drake called. He couldn't get to her because of the strap but he prayed that she'd be able to pull herself up. Suddenly, Gem-Knight Emerald turned and hurried to the edge.

"Milady!" he called.

"Emerald, help me!" Pearl said. Emerald grabbed the strap and carefully pulled her back over the bar. Drake stood at the other end of the platform in awe. Pearl gasped for breath as her heart rate began to slow down again.

"Milady, are you alright?" Emerald asked.

"I am now," she said shakily. "Thank you."

"I am here to serve you, mistress," Emerald said before returning to his defensive position.

"Are you…psychic?" Drake asked.

"Yes…unfortunately I am," Pearl said.

"Unfortunately?" Drake questioned. "Most people would literally give their souls to be able to converse with and make their monsters come to life. I'm seriously jealous."

"You wouldn't be if you knew how uncontrollable my power can be," Pearl thought.

"Anyway, it's your turn now," Drake said.

"I draw," Pearl said. She glanced at Pot of Greed and then back at Five-Headed Dragon. "I'll need a miracle to defeat him," she thought, but she activated Pot of Greed anyway and drew two more cards. She was almost surprised to see Garnet come to her hand.

"There is a way to slay this beast, milady," Garnet said to her. "The trick is in the cards." Pearl had to stop and think for a moment. She now had three monsters in her hand and three spells, on her field; she had two defense position monsters and two traps that she couldn't use for defense. Suddenly she remembered one of the traps on her field. Combined with the spells in her hand, she could win.

"I activate a trap card," Pearl said. "It's called Pyroxene Fusion. This card can be used as a fusion card for Gem-Knights. So from my hand, I send Gem-Armadillo and Gem-Knight Garnet to the graveyard to fusion summon Gem-Knight Zirconia!" The big fisted silver armoured gem-knight made his appearance in attack mode. ATK – 2900, DEF – 2500.

"He can't even touch my dragon," Drake said. "Besides, Five-Headed Dragon can only be destroyed by a monster with a light attribute."

"Light attribute?" Pearl said. "Zirconia is an earth attribute. However, I activate my second facedown card: DNA Transplant. This one changes all monsters on the field to whatever attribute I declare and I say light!"

"It doesn't matter, because your monster is still weaker," Drake pointed out.

"Is that so?" Pearl asked. Drake started and Pearl took a deep breath. "If I want to win, I've got to stop focusing on staying in control. I have to put my all into every card I draw, into every combo and fight with everything I've got."

"I activate three spell cards!" Pearl said. "The first one is Burden of the Mighty. This card lowers your monster's attack point by two hundred times its level. That means it loses twenty-four hundred attack points!" Five-Headed Dragon: ATK – 2600.

"The second one is Banner of Courage and this raises all of my monster's attack by two hundred," Pearl continued. Gem-Turtle: ATK – 200. Gem-Knight Emerald: ATK – 2000. Gem-Knight Zirconia: ATK – 3100.

"Now, I'll switch Emerald into attack mode and activate the equip spell, United We Stand. This raises Zirconia's attack by eight hundred for each monster that I control, giving Zirconia a twenty-four hundred point power up!" Pearl said. Zirconia: ATK – 5500.

"Oh boy," Drake said.

"Now, Zirconia, attack the Five-Headed Dragon! Go Zirconia Double Pound!" Pearl said. Zirconia attacked and destroyed the dragon and Drake took twenty-nine hundred points of damage, bringing him down to eight hundred.

"I've got another attack," Pearl said. "Emerald, attack him directly. Emerald Sword Strike!" Emerald attacked and Drake fell to the ground as his life points deteriorated.

"I guess you got me," Drake said with a grin. "Those are some cool monsters you got there."

"They're my knights," Pearl said as the rollercoaster stopped. She looked at her deck and smiled. "Good Knights."

Duels continued throughout the day and Pearl and Jaden rose through the ranks quickly and fiercely. Pearl slowly began to gain confidence in her duelling, trusting in her own strength to keep herself in control. Jaden made new friends and laughed as he had the best time in a long while.

Jaden faced the girl known as Elizabeth the Queen. She used a deck archetype called Allure Queen and was really good. She currently had Allure Queen Lv. 7 and Queen's Bodyguard in attack mode, while Defender, the Magical Knight was in defense mode on her field. Her life points were at six hundred.

Thanks to Allure Queen's effect of stealing monsters as equip spells, Jaden didn't have any monsters on his field. Sparkman had been stolen two turns ago and the others didn't last long either. Not only that, but by destroying the equipped monster, Allure Queen couldn't be destroyed in that battle, but then Queen's Bodyguard automatically stepped in to protect their queen, and Defender could remove one spell counter to prevent a Spellcaster type monster from being destroyed. Currently, Defender didn't have any spell counters and it was Jaden's turn.

"I draw!" Jaden said. He glanced at the card and the cards in his hand and grinned. "I summon Burstinatrix in attack mode!" Burstinatrix: ATK – 1200, DEF – 800.

"She won't do you any good," Elizabeth said. "She's far too weak."

"She doesn't need to be strong, your highness," Jaden said with a grin. "I activate a spell card called Burst Return. This returns all elemental heroes to my hand. Sparkman, come on home." Sparkman left Allure Queen and returned to Jaden's hand.

"You can't!" Elizabeth said.

"Sure I can, Liz," Jaden said. "And I'm not done."

"For goodness sakes, don't call me Liz!" Elizabeth demanded.

"I activate Burst Impact!" Jaden said, ignoring Elizabeth's demands. "This destroys every monster on the field except for Burstinatrix. And you take three hundred points of damage for every monster destroyed." Elizabeth gasped as her monsters were destroyed and she lost the duel.

"That's Game and a good one too," Jaden said. "You've gotta duel me again sometime, Lizzy."

"It's…oh, never mind," Elizabeth said. Jaden smiled and looked up at the standings. Currently, one of the TV screens was showing a duel between Pearl and some guy who was older than her.

"Looks like she's doing fine," Yubel said.

"I'm glad," Jaden replied. "She seems happy with herself and in complete control. If this keeps up, she should be able to last until the end. Keep fighting, Precious Pearl."

Pearl grinned at her opponent and then gazed at the field. She was about to win and was enjoying herself. The guy looked absolutely enraged.

"I can't lose!" he shouted. "I won't lose to a little girl!"

"Well then, you'll have to fight against this little girl's indestructible spirit. Time to say good knight," Pearl said.

"But it's still the middle of the day," the man said.

"No I mean say, 'Good knight,'" Pearl explained. "Gem-Knight Crystal, show him what I mean. Attack with Adamant Burst!" Crystal moved in to attack and the guy took a half step back.

"Good knight, be nice," he said. Crystal attacked and the guy fell to the ground, defeated. Pearl cheered.

"That's my knight! Good job," Pearl said.

"Always for you, milady," Crystal said before disappeared.

"That's it folks!" Mr. Phool said over the park's speaker system. "The first day of the Duel Fair is over and look at who's still in it. We've got a great standing for tomorrow's event so be here bright and early to begin the semi-finals. This is your host, Mayor Phool, saying good day and see you tomorrow!"

Pearl found Jaden in the food court area with Pharaoh chowing down on a burger and fries. She was so excited that she hurried over as fast as she could. Jaden spotted her as she ran and stood up to greet her, or rather almost get tackled by her hug.

"I made it!" she said. "I made it to the semi-finals!"

"Good for you, cousin," Jaden said. "Come on, I got you a burger."

"What time is it anyway?" Pearl asked, taking the seat across from him. That was when her stomach growled loudly.

"Time for food," Jaden said, smiling. Pearl blushed with embarrassment and hid behind the burger Jaden had bought for her. After a moment of eating, Jaden decided to ask.

"So, no accidents?" he asked. Pearl grinned slightly.

"No, none that were caused by me at least," she said. "I almost fell off the rollercoaster, though. Luckily, I was saved by Emerald."

"How'd your opponent react to that?" Jaden asked.

"He told me that most people would literally give their soul to have powers like mine," Pearl said.

"He's right," Jaden said. "I've met some of them. Of course, they didn't know what they were getting themselves into and didn't last long, I regret to say. Some people just don't understand that you need to be responsible with the power they already have before they go for more." Pearl noticed that there was a different look in Jaden's eyes, one that she had seen before…while looking in the mirror. It was gone a moment later and his bright smile returned.

"Anyway, no sense in dwelling on it," Jaden said. "Hey, are you interested in having a contest?"

"What kind of contest?" Pearl asked, forgetting what she had seen.

"Let's see who can finish their meal first," Jaden said.

"Drink included?" Pearl asked, with a competitive gleam in her eye.

"You bet," Jaden said.

"Alright," Pearl agreed. "Let's see how fast boys really can eat."

"Oh, it's on now," Jaden said. "We'll go when Pharaoh meows, alright?" Pearl agreed and they both looked at Pharaoh, waiting for him to tell them to go. They didn't have to wait long, because Pharaoh let out a meow just barely a few seconds later and the two of them started crazily eating their food. They got several stares and odd looks from passers-by but neither of them paid any mind to them. It was good to relax with an eating contest. While it's no surprise that Jaden was a fast eater, Pearl was almost just as fast and their contest ended in a tie and some slightly upset stomachs. After several deep breaths the two of them started laughing at their frivolous competition.

"You're good," Jaden complimented. "Where'd you learn to do that?"

"Justin and I always had competitions at lunch to see who could finish first," Pearl explained. "I always won."

"I can see why," Jaden said. "Well, we're at a fair with full access passes, what do you say we hit some rides while we still have a chance?"

"I'm all for it!" Pearl said.

"Great, I'll race you to the Go Carts!" Jaden said, grabbing his bag.

"You're on!" Pearl said. The two of them ran off in the direction of their first chosen attraction with an annoyed tabby cat lagging behind. They had so much fun together on the Go Carts, Bumper Cars, Ferris Wheel, Roller Coaster, Merry-Go-Around and so much more. It was almost time for the park to close when the two of them were racing towards the exit to catch their cab back to the hotel. Neither of them noticed a dark shape lurking in the shadows behind them. He wore a cloak with a hood that he had pulled up to shadow most of his face and a scarf around his mouth and neck area. His breathing was heavy and almost sounded like it was coming out of an air vent. He watched the two teens running and smiling and almost growled.

"I've found you," he said to himself. "Finally, after all this time of searching, I've found you. But who is this girl with you? What sort of trick did you play on this girl to make her travel with you…unless she doesn't know the truth." The man paused to contemplate this for a moment. "I must warn her before she becomes your next victim….Haou." With this last decision made, the man lifted his single eye to the Pearl's smiling face and silently prayed that he wouldn't be too late before retreating into the shadows and disappearing without a trace.

Jaden paused just before getting into the cab and looked around. He was sure he sensed something other worldly a moment ago, but it was gone, almost like it wasn't existent anymore. Pearl noticed Jaden's hesitation to get into the cab and leaned over to see what was wrong.

"Jaden, you alright?" she asked.

"Ya, I'm fine," Jaden said. "Just fine." Deciding not to dwell any longer, the slifer red boy slid into the seat beside Pearl as the driver drove them back to the hotel.

So, did you guys like it? Hopefully the next chapter won't take so long to post up. Anyway, be patient until it is up and...reread the whole story, send me messages, suggestions, anything that can help me out would be welcome...good and bad. See you later.