Crowler and Bonaparte sat across from each other.

"The Chazz versus Reginald Duel was a great success! I wasn't expecting Reginald to win, but this is still in our favor!" Crowler said. "Chazz is more than hardworking enough to get back to Obelisk Blue the regular way, but it's time to move on to bigger things!" Crowler could feel the imaginary money in his hands gaining shape and form with each passing second.

"Alright, so who's our next big star?"

"Of course, her!" Crowler pointed to a picture of Wilona Konami on the desk. "The only reason she's stayed in the Red Dorms for so long was her financial status. However, if we make her duel in front of potential investors and sponsors, we'll be able to give her a full scholarship, and she'll rival Alexis in Duelist Potential!"

"Are you sure she has what it takes?" Bonaparte reached for her file under the picture and started speed reading. "Hey, wait a second, she's not even trying to be a Pro Duelist! She's going for a desk job in Duel Tourney management."

"You make it sound like those aren't interchangeable. I'm sure employers would love to have someone who can bridge the worlds between viewer, duelist, and behind-the-scenes!"

"I guess you have a point."

Chancellor Crowler smirked. "I do, my Waterloo-hating friend."

"How'd you know I hate Waterloo?"

"...Canada or Belgium?" Crowler shook his head. "Wait, it doesn't matter. We will need to find an opponent worthy of elevation. We should do the same we did with Reginald, pit someone of equal potential and see who rises to the top!"

Crowler turned to his vice principal. "So, who do you have in mind?"

A second passed.

"Me? Wasn't this your job!?" The co-commander countered.

"I tried! I even bribed Missy Kochou for a chance to head to the pros, but she said she'd rather eat bug spray than duel that 'Witch'! It turns out that the entire school is afraid of her because..." Chancellor Crowler slowed his rant when he realized that was still classified information for those in the school that year. "An event last year! The newcomers are afraid because they saw her duel against Sera while the rest knows what she's capable of!"

"Why not have her duel her friend, Alexis Rhodes? You said she was also a top student. I think I even overheard them wanting to duel each other for the title of Queen now that Ms. Kohinata left."

Crowler slumped into his seat. "I thought about that, but that deserves a bigger setting than the start of the year. And I also wanted Ms. Konami to get out of Slifer Red before we go on with that duel." He groaned before looking up at the ceiling. "If only a potential and skilled female Duelist appeared right now!"

The two heard knocking on the door before it opened.

"Chancellor Crowler? I have the papers from the Student Council filled out. The others and I should be able to handle the duties before the elections later this year. I hope I'm not bothering you."

The former school Secretary, and future Student-Body President, entered the room.

"Ms. Madison Managold!" Bonaparte smiled as he realized Crowler didn't ask anyone from the Student Council because of their different paperwork and duties. "Come on in! We have a proposition for you!"

The Vice-Chancellor turned to Crowler with a sly smile, thinking they had found their solution, only to see Crowler quietly and frantically shaking his head while mouthing "No" repeatedly with desperation the shorter man had never seen before.

"What is it, sirs?" When Madison came up, Crowler stopped his movement and stood absolutely still.

Bonaparte raised his brow before turning to the Council Member. "Ms. Managold, how would you like to participate in a School Exhibition duel?"

The girl blinked before smiling politely, unaware of Crowler stunned into silence. "Truly? I haven't dueled publicly since my match with Zane two years ago."

"You dueled against Zane?"

"Zane challenged me, and I lost, but it was a fierce duel. It's odd to think I never got a chance to duel again in this school outside of Ms. Kohinata."

"Wait, Zane Truesdale—the star of Duel Academy— challenged you? Not the other way around and accepted?" Bonaparte couldn't believe that someone as stoic as Zane would go out of his way to challenge someone else, let alone a freshman at the time.

She shrugged her shoulders. "Ms. Kohinata told me he wanted to see how well his style would work against my deck."

Wait, she dueled Zane and Seika? What the heck!? Why didn't Crowler tell him about this hidden gem?!

"Who would you like me to duel?" Madison asked, already willing to participate.

Bonaparte smiled while Crowler started sweating to the point of drenching his collar.

When Madison left, Bonaparte was about to give Crowler a piece of his mind. He wasn't expecting Crowler to grab him by the collar and look him in the eye.

"What did you do!?"

"Let go of me! I did what you couldn't! I found a duelist for your Little Red!"

"Not Madison! There's a reason why we stopped making her duel publicly!"

"What? Why!? She said that she only dueled the previous Kaiser and Queen!"

"Because they were the only ones willing to duel her! I want people to get entertained when dueling, not utterly traumatized!"

"Trauma—wait—what!? Why would anyone be traumatized by her dueling!?"

[Tag Force: Heroes and Villains]

"She's horrifying! Scary! Just looking at her sends chills down my body!"

"Truesdale," Wilona blinked before her eyes narrowed at the Slifer Red. "Who are you referring to?"

"M-M-Ms. Hibiki!" Said the stammering boy.

Jaden fixed the net he carried. As he tied the Duel Disks securely, Jaden looked to Syrus. "Really? She's so nice!"

"Is she?" Wilona looked to her right and saw that Blair was the one speaking up. The usually peppy girl scowled at how the conversation centered around Ms. Hibiki. "She's tall and mean and..." She looked down at her 'torso' when recalling 's 'prominent' features. "She's also fat."

"She's not fat. She's pretty muscular." Jaden recalled how easily she once carried both Koyo and him without breaking a sweat. Then again, she might have been high on anger and adrenaline.

Wilona watched Blair's expression get darker while Jaden innocently spoke up to defend the older woman. To be honest: Wilona begrudgingly admitted that hearing Jaden speaking highly of another woman irked the green-haired girl in a way she recognized and abhorred.

It didn't stop the second year from pointing out things that looked contradictory. "Although you say such nice things, I clearly recall you wincing when Ms. Hibiki called your name before tasking us to bring these duel disks."

And Jaden winced again. Wilona covered her mouth as if to hide her chuckle, but many noticed the action.

As the four made their way, Wilona's PDA started to beep. "Oh? A Message from Chancellor Crowler. The subject says..." The girl trailed off as she read the last two words. "Promotion Duel?"

"You're getting one too, Wilona?!" Jaden looked excited about hearing the news. "Seeing you duel is always a treat!" However, he quickly noticed the frown on her face as she stared at her PDA.

He was about to ask what was wrong until the Slifer Reds had their attention stolen by...

Well...

Wilona later wondered how many more odd gimmicks she'd see later in the school year if Tyranno Hassleberry was the first one.

[Tag Force: Heroes and Villains]

Hearing Truesdale and Mr. Hassleberry arguing, Wilona decided to walk out of the dorms to avoid the noise.

"Are you alright, Wilona?" Honest appeared, following closely to his new friend.

"Why do you ask?" The girl turned her gaze towards the sea.

"You've been distracted ever since you had that message."

"Why should I be? Chancellor Crowler is helping me. I wanted to get a job in Duel Tourney management, and he's going to help me get it."

Honest spotted it—or rather, he spotted the lack of drive the girl once had for her goal.

"Yet you are bothered." Honest was gentle in his observation. "Why do you think so?"

"I don't bloody know," She kicked a pebble off the cliff. "And it ticks me off! I should be happy! I don't have to worry about bills anymore, and once I leave the Slifer Dorms, I'll be rid of daily headaches that plagued me since last year! I could even be living the good life at last instead of..." She shook her head. "So I don't know why I'm upset about leaving this rat-infested, noisy, and rundown..."

Honest and Wilona turned back to the dorms as they heard the voices of both Hassleberry and Syrus. Chazz soon shouted at the two to shut up, only adding to the noise and dragging the other students into the argument when trying to quiet his loud voice.

Wilona inhaled.

Luckily for the girl, Ms. Midori Hibiki's voice overpowered the noise. "IF YOU ALL DON'T SHUT UP, I'LL MAKE YOU WISH YOU WERE REPAINTING THE DORMS!"

Silence filled the air around the tool shed, cleverly disguised as a school dorm.

"See?" Wilona turned to Honest. "Why would I miss that?"

The question was rhetorical, but that didn't stop the Duel Spirit from answering.

"You tend to hide it, but you care about things that get close to your heart. And even if you wouldn't be gone too far, you'd miss them." The angel was true to his namesake, stating what he observed of his new friend. However, honesty did not mean the angel had no sense of humor. "After all, the world almost ended because you cared too much."

"Must you bring that up?" Wilona flushed at the memory before she sighed. "If you're so wise, I'd rather hear an answer to my question: what do I do?"

Wilona disliked how the Duel Spirit chose to be silent now instead of the other times she preferred.

"Duel," He finally said. "Duel your opponent with everything you have, and see what comes after."

Wilona picked up Honest's card. She had to admit the answer sounded like something Yuki would come up with.

[Tag Force: Heroes and Villains]

"Alright, folks! We've got a special Duel today!" Vice-Chancellor Bonaparte began hyping the crowd.

"I'm excited to see Wilona duel again! She's an amazing duelist!" Jaden pumped himself up among all their friends.

"Amazing?" The newcomer, Hassleberry, started to sweat. It didn't help that even his instincts told him to run when Wilona busted out Mega Caius. "Y-You sure about that, Sarge?"

"What's up with that question?" Jaden turned to his new roommate.

Luckily for the Ra Yellow, Bonaparte's voice reached the far corners of the auditorium. "And now, for our main event! Let's welcome these fierce Femme Fatales! In one corner, we have Wilona Konami! The other!? Welcome Madison Managold!"

The two entered the dueling arena.

"Seika expressed interest in you last year, Ms. Konami." Madison activated her duel disk. "I would like to see why."

"It's an honor to duel you, future President. But please keep the mischievous tendencies to a minimum, alright?" Wilona did the same.

"I lack Ms. Kohinata's... eye for entertainment. But I admit it did look interesting."

With their preamble done, the two girls placed their hands on their duel disks.

"Let's Duel!"

Wilona: 4000 LP

Madison: 4000 LP

Turn 1.

"I'll take the first turn!" Madison drew her card. "I summon King Fog in defense mode, then set 2 cards facedown."

Mist appeared around Madison's feet before forming into a cloud on the field.

King Fog [Type: Normal Monster/Sub-Type: Fiend/Attribute: DARK/Level: 3/ATK: 1000/DEF: 900]

"I now activate Lord of the Heavenly Prison's effect from my hand!"

Madison flipped the card, showing it to everyone but keeping it in her hand. When she did, a giant, see-through figure appeared behind the Obelisk Blue duelist. The title of Lord was fitting; the creature oozed with presence enough to make anything want to prostrate themselves before it.

"The ability works like this. While this card is revealed, set cards cannot be destroyed by card effects!"

Bastion narrowed his eyes. "That's an impressive defense. Wilona is a cautious type who usually wants to destroy facedowns before attacking. She now has to take more risks than she wants to."

Back on the field, Madison lowered her stance. "With that, I end my turn."

Turn 2: Wilona. Cards: 5.

Wilona narrowed her eyes at both the facedowns and the towering monster overheard of Madison. She didn't like how Madison protected her facedowns, but the Slifer Red knew she couldn't play defensively for this duel. "I play the spell card, March of the Monarchs!" She pointed toward her opponent. "And because you have two set cards, I'm allowed to special summon Esher the Frost Vassal in defense mode!"

Esher the Frost Vassal [Type: Effect Monster/Sub-type: Aqua/Attribute: WATER/Level: 4/ATK: 800/DEF:1000]

The servant of water spun into the field with a watery dance.

"I sacrifice him for Zaborg the Thunder Monarch!" Wilona swiped her hand before storm clouds appeared above Esher. The vassal lifted his hands before thunder struck him down. After the flash, Zaborg floated in the air, towering above the field and crackling with energy.

Zaborg The Thunder Monarch [Type: Effect Monster/Sub-type: Thunder/Attribute: LIGHT/Level: 5/ATK: 2400/DEF:1000]

"When Zaborg is tribute summoned, I can destroy one monster on your side of the field! And the only target I see is your King Fog!"

Zaborg gathered energy before throwing a bolt of thunder as one would a lance. The attack incinerated the cloudy being as he dispersed into the air.

While the monster was gone, Wilona noticed the fog had not lifted. In fact, was it changing color? And come to think of it, before the attack launched, the purple-eyed girl swore she saw her opponent reaching for... her duel disk button?

The fog around the duel turned purple and purple electricity started to shock Wilona's deck.

"What!?"

"Oh no! Oh no!" Wilona's friends looked down several rows to see Crowler biting a piece of his shirt. "I was afraid of this! Why did she draw that combo so early!?"

"What are you talking about!?" Bonaparte asked as he looked up to his boss.

"I reveal my facedown!" Madison cried out. "I play Crush Card Virus!"

As soon as the words left her mouth, the entire stadium gasped in levels of shock or stayed still in stunned silence.

"W-Wait, d-did she say what I think she just said!?" Blair found her voice first.

"Sam Hill!? C-Crush Card Virus!? As in THE Crush Card Virus!?" Hassleberry leaned forward, not believing what he was hearing.

"By everyone's reaction," Madison began speaking. "We all recognize this card. But for formalities sake, I'll explain it anyway: I can choose 1 Dark Monster with 1000 or fewer attack points, and if it is destroyed, I'm allowed to destroy all monsters my opponent controls in their field, hand, and even their deck if they have more than 1500 attack points!"

"But more than half of Wilona's monsters are above 1500!" Syrus yelled as even he knew the strength of the Monarch cards.

Wilona herself looked stunned after hearing the trap but shook her head. "March of the Monarch prevents my tribute summoned monster, such as Zaborg, from being destroyed by card effects!"

A barrier appeared around the Monarch, blocking out the purple mist.

"You protected one? Impressive considering how this card usually works, but do you have anything else?" Madison asked.

Wilona became silent as she discarded 1 other monster from her hand before sending around 15 cards from her deck to her graveyard.

The green-haired girl inwardly winced at the thought of losing that many cards already. Yet, it wasn't all for naught; Zaborg still had an attack.

But before she could call it, Madison swiped her hand. "I activate Mirror Wall!"

A wall of mirrors was erected from the ground, protecting Madison from Zaborg.

"This continuous trap card halves the attack of my opponent's monsters when they declare an attack!" Madison shouted.

"She has Mirror Wall too?" Chazz folded his arms. "I know Regi has one because he bought it, but I didn't know she had that rare trap too."

"W-Wait," Bonaparte started to sweat as he turned to Crowler. "H-How many powerful trap cards does she have?"

Crowler gulped as he felt many eyes on him. "She built her deck around powerful traps. It's why only Zane and Seika were the only ones who dueled her!"

Meanwhile, Wilona blinked as she wondered why Madison activated the card before she called an attack, but then...

"I'm not done!" Madison cried out as she threw her hand upward. "I activate Lord of the Heavenly Prison's effect! If a set card gets activated outside the damage step, I can special summon this beast from my hand!"

The mighty ghost stepped forward, gaining color and mass as it entered the battlefield. As its form completed, its roar unleashed a shockwave that carried throughout the arena.

Lord of The Heavenly Prison. [Type: Effect Monster/Sub-type: Rock/Attribute: DARK/Level: 10/ATK: 3000/DEF: 3000]

"Once he's summoned, I'm allowed to reveal a trap and set it directly from my deck to my field! I choose Negate Attack!" Madison cried out as she picked up and set the card on the field.

Wilona remained silent before she found her words again. "I end my turn."

Turn 3: Madison. Cards: 2.

"Unbelievable!" Alexis gasped. "She destroyed Wilona's best cards and summoned a powerful monster while it wasn't even her turn!"

"I never knew there was a scarier duelist than Wilona!" Syrus cried out.

"I draw! Now, Lord of the Heavenly Prison, destroy her Zaborg!"

The titan lifted his hand, revealing it composed of lesser snake-like beings before they struck down the electric giant.

Wilona: 4000 → 3400 LP

Madison: 4000 LP

Wilona gritted her teeth as the one Monarch immune to the famous trap card fell to an even stronger monster.

Madison raised her voice as the dust settled. "I set a card and end my turn!"

Turn 4: Wilona. Cards: 2

Powerful trap cards, a 3000 Attack Monster, and all of her best monsters gone from her deck? Those odds were unbelievably unfair.

Wilona half-scoffed, half-laughed. "Was this what Yuki felt when dueling me?" She whispered. Still, even as she drew her card, the green-haired girl couldn't help but feel an odd sense of familiarity with this situation outside of what she did to her friend.

"Oh well," Wilona sighed before her shadow started to extend unnaturally. "I believe we'll do this the hard way."

As if rivaling Lord of the Heavenly Prison, a figure towered behind Wilona. The green-haired girl swiped her free hand. "You sent all my strongest monsters to the graveyard. However, one of them thrives there! I reveal Erebus the Underworld Monarch's graveyard ability: by discarding a Monarch spell or trap, I can return one monster to my hand with more than 2400 attack but exactly 1000 defense! I choose Mobius The Mega Monarch!"

"Another one of her Mega Monarchs?" Alexis asked.

"Wait? Mega? Wilona's monsters have a Mega form?! That sounds so cool!" Jaden smiled at the thought of seeing more powerful versions of Wilona's deck. And a small part of him was glad he didn't duel those monsters.

The green-haired girl took a card out of her hand. "I play my field spell, Domain of the Monarchs!" She activated the card after placing it in the designated spot. The area changed into the familiar looming area with a giant throne behind her. "Now, I activate my field spell's ability to downgrade a monster's level to level 6! I reveal Mobius for its stipulation! Next, I activate Mithra, the Thunder Vassal's effect! I summon a defense position token on your field so I can special summon this monster!"

Mithra and her token appeared in a flash of thunder.

Mithra, the Thunder Vassal. [Type: Effect Monster/Sub-type: Thunder/Attribute: LIGHT/Level: 2/ATK: 800/DEF: 1000]

The token sported the same stats as the summoned vassal.

Madison felt that without the Heavenly Lord's protection, Wilona would aim for her set cards again. She looked down on her last trap card: Fake Trap. Just in case her opponent tried, this card would protect her other traps.

"I now reveal the card I discarded: Strike of the Monarchs! By banishing it from my graveyard, I change the attribute of all monsters on the field! I choose WATER!" The monarch duelist inhaled. "I sacrifice Mithra to summon Mobius' Mega form!"

A blizzard brewed into the duel. Everyone shielded themselves and started to see a figure taking the throne behind Wilona. As the blizzard lessened, the entire area turned into a frozen throne room.

Mobius The Mega Monarch. [Type: Effect Monster/Sub-type: Aqua/Attribute: WATER/Level: 8/ATK: 2800/DEF: 1000]

Wilona pointed forward. "Mega Mobius can destroy up to 3 spell or trap cards on the field! I choose Your Mirror Wall, your Negate Attack, and your last set card!"

"Nice try, Wilona! I activate that last set card, Fake Tra—" As Madison looked down, she noticed something: all three of her cards were frozen solid!

"When Mobius uses a WATER monster as tribute," Everyone turned to Wilona. "My opponent cannot active cards in response to his effect!"

Madison gasped as Mobius made a crushing motion with his fist, destroying all three cards, including the Mirror Wall.

Like sharks to blood, Wilona capitalized on her momentum. "Now, Mobius! Use my Field Spell to attack and destroy her Lord of the Heavenly Prison!" (ATK: 2800→3600)

The Ice Monarch summoned large ice lances above his form before they shot out at the speed of bullets. Each weapon pierced through the rock creature until it collapsed under the assault.

Wilona: 3400 LP

Madison: 4000 → 3400 LP (ATK: 3600→2800)

"Master is amazing!" Blair gasped with wide eyes. "She turned around that entire situation!"

"Yes, I must admit I never expected her to have a counter to one of the most devastating cards in Duel Monster's history. Let alone being able to turn things around to that degree." Bastion said. "Then again, Wilona has always been near unflappable to whoever she duels against."

Turn 5: Madison. Cards: 2

Madison lowered her hands, and a smile appeared on her face. "Looks like I've got to get serious! I play Monster Reborn! I resummon Lord of the Heavenly Prison!"

The monster returned to the field, it was hard to see if it had eyes, but the entire body postured aggressively towards Mobius.

"I move your token to attack mode, and let's have my monster get his revenge on that monarch!" Lord of the Heavenly Prison gathered electricity in his hand. It launched the energy like a lance, mirroring how it was downed a while ago, and struck down Mobius from where he sat.

Wilona: 3400 → 3200 LP

Madison: 3400 LP

"Don't forget your token is here too!" The Mithra Token danced before striking the girl with a punch. Wilona held her Duel Disk to take the blow, but her life points fell regardless.

Wilona: 3200 → 2400 LP

Madison: 3400 LP

"I end my turn!"

Turn 6: Wilona. Card: 0.

Again without anything...huh... Now that Wilona thought about it: the duel felt like her life right now.

Here she was, fighting her hardest without her best monsters. Or, here she was, going through the motions of her life without her best motivator: her mother. The Slifer Red girl never answered her own question on why she came back to Duel Academy. She had money now, so why did she come back to a school that only held memories of dark magic and world-ending hatred?

"Come on, Wilona!" The girl stilled when she heard the familiar voice. "I've seen you come back from worse than this! Show them how great you are at dueling!"

Wilona exhaled and shook her head with a smile. "Yuki, you're the loudest out of all of them." She quietly said as she put her hand on top of her deck.

That was the answer: as many bad things as there were in this school, there were good things too.

The green-haired girl realized she was being silly. She almost destroyed the world single-handedly, but she was moping again over something as simple as her future?

Maybe now was the time she started trying to find out who she really was.

Wilona drew her card, but Madison quickly revealed her latest facedown. "I reveal my new trap, Ice Dragon's Prison! I can target one monster in my opponent's graveyard and special summon it with its effect negated! I choose," Madison pointed to Wilona before... "your Erebus!"

The shadowy figure vanished from Wilona's side of the field. A giant hand broke through the ground before Erebus climbed out of the ground and stood tall on Madison's side of the field.

Erebus The Underworld Monarch. [Type: Effect Monster/Sub-type: Zombie/Attribute: DARK/Level: 8/ATK: 2800/DEF: 1000]

Everyone gasped at how Madison stole one of Wilona's best monsters! Not only that, Erebus was the monster that allowed Wilona to revive her lost cards! With Heavenly Lord still on the field, if Wilona didn't summon a monster soon, she'd lose the duel after her turn ended.

The green-haired duelist disliked the fact she could no longer access her graveyard. However, she looked down at her card.

She fought the urge to smile and kept her poker face up. "I play the spell card, Card of Sanctity! We draw until we have 6 cards in our hand!"

"Does she even have a card that will turn this around?" Dimitri asked aloud while the two refilled their hands.

"Wilona never relies on one card." Everyone turned to Jaden. "To her, even her opponent's board is part of her strategy to win! That's why her duels are always a treat to watch!"

Wilona reached for her deck but quickly noticed how her deck was now less than half of what she put in. As she eyed the drawn cards, Wilona's mind went over the board and what cards she could play. At first glance, the cards didn't look like much, but a combo appeared as she saw a specific card in her hand.

"I play the spell card, Change of Heart! I target one monster my opponent controls, and I take control of it until the end of the turn!"

Everyone looked at both Erebus and Lord of the Heavenly Prison. Would Wilona take the stronger monster? Or would she use some combo by taking back her stolen monster?

"I choose my Mithra token!" Wilona pointed over towards the weakest monster on the board.

Everyone gasped as they watched the Mithra Token jump to the other side of the field before bowing before her duelist.

"What? She's taking the token!? Why!?" Chazz screamed as many were thinking the same thing. "That's the weakest monster on the field!"

"Is she planning to tribute summon again?" "How!? All her Monarch monsters are in the graveyard!" The rest of the group cried out.

However, Jaden started to see something when others didn't: the attributes. "Hey, wait. What were his attack points again?"

"I now play Double Attack! By sending Landrobe to the graveyard, my token can attack twice this turn! Next, I play Power of the Guardians and equip it to my Mithra Token!"

"What are you up to?" Madison couldn't understand what was going on. Why would Wilona boost such a weak monster? She was better off stealing her monster or Heavenly Prison for those boosts.

"Now, Mithra Token, attack Lord of the Heavenly Prison!"

The token raced for the rock titan. "Now, with Power of the Guardian, Mithra gains 500 attack and defense points!" (ATK: 800→1300/DEF: 1000→1500)

"That's not even close to halfway!" Sora shouted.

With a single bound, Mithra leaped high as if trying to punch the massive lord. The rock monstrosity felt insulted as he reeled his fist back and sent it flying towards the speck of dust.

Yet Wilona pulled out her last two cards. "I activate Half-Shut! This spell will cut Heavenly Lord's attack but make him unable to be destroyed in battle! Now, I Chain Link Honest to it!"

"Honest?!" Everyone in the Music Club besides Jaden cried out the name. They had all forgotten Honest had less than 1500 attack points. Honest's effect resolved first, allowing Mithra to gain attack points equal to 3000 before Half-Shut activated next and lowered the attack of the rock monster.

(ATK: 1300→4300/DEF: 1500) (ATK: 3000→1500/DEF: 3000)

Mithra overpowered the fist that was five times her size. Everyone stared in shock as a mere token overpowered the strongest monster on the field.

Wilona: 2400 LP

Madison: 3400 → 600 LP

"And don't forget," Madison turned back to Wilona before blinking repeatedly. The school secretary thought she was facing down Seika for a second there. However, her eyes adjusted and instead spotted the equally fierce look on Wilona's eyes. "Mithra can still attack a second time! Mithra, send Erebus back where he belongs!"

The Vassal copy raced off, gathering energy that surpassed her monarch before unleashing a storm of thunder on the traitor. (ATK: 4300→4800/DEF: 1500→2000)

As the token destroyed Erebus, Madison could only smile before the light engulfed her. "Even without your monarchs, you defeated me with something lesser than your vassals? You are truly frightening, Ms. Konami."

Wilona: 2400 LP

Madison: 600 → 0 LP

Silence filled the field as everyone realized that Wilona had done it. Even with a deck deficit, and the loss of all her strongest monsters, Wilona stole victory from her opponent.

"Way to go, Wilona!" Jaden began whooping at the amazing duel. He was the spark to light the fuse as everyone else started to cheer at the mind-boggling play they had just witnessed.

Crowler saw his chance, grabbed the mic from Bonaparte, and ran to the Duel Arena. "And there we have it, folks! The Winner of the Duel is Wilona Konami! As a reward, she will now be a part of Obelisk Blue!"

"Ah," Wilona thought to herself. "I forgot about that."

She did feel better than before. But what would she do about her promotion?

[Tag Force: Heroes and Villains]

"So Wilona's gone, huh?" Jaden leaned on his hands.

"Hmph! Now we can sleep easy. That girl watches for everyone's weakness like a hawk!" Chazz complained but felt how the Slifer Dorms changed without the green-haired girl.

"I'm going to miss, Master! I wanted her to teach me more things!" Blair shouted aloud.

"Well, I'm not!" Syrus huffed, finally released from a source of stress. "She was nightmarish, manipulative, conniving..." The teal-haired teen noticed everyone looking at him with wide eyes.

The gears started to shift in Syrus' mind, and he hated what his mind was telling him. "S-She's standing right behind me, isn't she?"

"By all means, Truesdale, keep going." It would not be an exaggeration to say the teal-haired teen broke into a cold sweat before he turned to see Wilona still sporting her Slifer Red clothes. "You always have a nasty habit of getting backbone at the worst moments."

Luckily, Syrus swallowed his spit, stood his ground, and unleashed every pent-up aggression he ever had at that point!

Okay, no. Syrus collapsed to the floor with all the grace of an unmanned puppet.

"And he fainted. What a surprise." Chazz rolled his eyes as he watched Syrus fall where he sat.

"You came back to Slifer Red?" Jaden asked.

Wilona shook her head. "Only temporarily. I asked Chancellor to delay my moving to the Blue Dorms." She thought back to how Crowler almost broke to tears after she asked to stay in Slifer Red. The Chancellor always seemed to have a soft spot for Wilona and relented, allowing her to stay for at least the next month. "I simply want to make sure everything is in top shape before I leave. Last thing I need to hear is that you burned down the dorms without my supervision."

"Ha! She's right! How'd you slackers even run anything halfway decent without her?!" Chazz smirked.

"Princeton, I saw the construction on one side of the Dorms. Do not think you're exempt from some ground rules." Wilona took Syrus' seat next to Jaden. "One more thing."

Thud!

"Oww! What was that for!?" Jaden cried out after Wilona punched his arm.

"For being too loud during my duel, there were other ways to cheer for me than making yourself look like a tool." The girl smirked before easing into her seat.

"Can't ya just say thank you normally?!" Jaden rubbed his arm. The brunette recognized Wilona's roundabout way of thanking him for that morale boost. Though, he did wish she'd express it less painfully.

Wilona giggled at Jaden's reaction. The girl still had trouble being true to herself, but she was beyond thankful someone could see her for who she was despite her walls.

Yet, as Wilona smiled at the brunette, she didn't notice Blair staring at her. The younger Slifer Red girl swore the look on her master's face was like every princess in the stories she's read when they found their prince.

To Blair, she had to be imagining things. There was no way her Jaden and master got along like that.

...Right?

[Author Notes]

Poor Syrus, everyone forgot about him. Don't worry; you stop being a comic relief after a few more episodes/chapters.

And here comes the next chapter! A little bit filer, but this is just to show that Wilona is officially part of Obelisk Blue! Whoo! Though, it's not going to come in until later.

Allow me to re-introduce Madison (Managold)! She's a Duel Links NPC. And I wanted to include the Duel Links NPCs because it was Duel Links that got me into writing this story again. There is nothing more traumatizing than playing someone with a mostly-trap card deck, so that translated into this duel! I originally planned her to also use Kaiba's other trap cards like Deck Destruction Virus, but I couldn't fit it in. Maybe next time.

I am excited as the next chapter is going to be my take on the Zane Vs Aster Duel! Whoo! It's pivotal, considering what happens to both characters and everyone else.

Anyway, thanks for reading and I hope this finds you well.

Altered Cards: (Whoops! Thanks again, Kuri, I made a few mistakes this time!)

Card of Sanctity: Anime version.

Crush Card Virus: Anime Version.

Mirror Wall: Anime Version.

Honest: What I did was legal, but I originally had a different idea of Honest. The play was to boost up Mithra before attacking, but EDO PRO would NOT let me activate Honest if the monster was already boosted in attack before the damage phase.