"Is this what boot camp is like?" Aella spoke out loud as she, Sid and Sarah focused all their attention on performing the perfect shuffling technique.

"We've been at this for hours," Sid moaned, his hands feeling like they could fall off at any moment.

"Your movements are still too sluggish! Act with more grace!" Ren commanded, his gaze piercing into his students' very souls, "You must be quick and efficient, like this!" Ren demonstrated with his own deck a shuffling technique with absolutely no fault, a sleight of hand that left no card damaged even slightly.

"What's even the point when auto shuffle is a thing," Aella complained under her breath in the lowest volume she possibly could. She screamed in fright when Ren's bokken flew just a mere inch from her nose, dropping her deck on the table in a splattered mess.

"You think you can make snide remarks without me noticing, girl?!" Ren accused with fire in his eyes. Aella's rebellious bravado disappeared in an instant.

"Ugh… I can't take anymore," Sid whined as his stamina finally gave out. His deck slid out of his hands and splattered onto the desk as well. Sid thought he could rest his head down for just a moment, just a small reprieve was all he needed.

That was a mistake.

Ren's bokken made a loud and meaty smack on the table, jolting Sid awake from his sleep deprived delirium. The resulting shockwave sent Sid and Aella's cards flying across the room.

"Boy! There is no room for laziness in the training!" Ren shouted before pointing his wooden instrument towards the third occupant of the table, "Both of you should take notes from the child. She does not complain, nor does she slack off."

Both Sid and Aella looked over to Sarah, who diligently practiced her technique, even if it was sloppier than theirs. She looked tired, yet she continued to work. Ren began to take a curious look at Sarah, She faces the training with such vigor and resilience. I haven't seen this much determination since Charles underwent the training. What drives such a child to pursue these things? He turned his head back towards Sid and Aella, who looked at Sarah in wonderment. How did a little girl have more resilience than two teenagers? Ren immediately brought them back to reality.

"Stop staring into space, you deadbeats!" he yelled with the fury of a demon, causing both teens to scream in terror, "Collect your cards and continue practicing!" seeing Ren in a striking stance was more than enough motivation for the two teens to scramble for their cards.

Thankfully, the kids would not suffer for much longer. Ren had a date night planned with Samantha later so he cut the training short for the day, to which his students were very thankful for.

"I have no more feeling in my fingers…" Sid moaned as Chuck entered the room with a bowl of pork ramen in hand.

"Massage your fingers, it helps," Chuck recommended, setting his bowl on the table.

"I just don't get it. What's even the point of learning to shuffle when duel disk's do it for you?" Aella complained.

"I think you of all people should know how much of a double edged sword auto-shuffle is," Chuck commented. Aella couldn't even find a rebuttal to that statement. A week already passed and her duel with Max was still fresh in her mind, "Besides, it's a great ice breaker when you can do something like this," Chuck pulled out his deck. With eyes closed, Chuck performed the same perfect shuffling technique Ren demonstrated. His hands seemed to move at superhuman speed, his cards turning into a blur. Everyone present went slack-jawed as a result.

"Man, it looks so different when you aren't fearing for your life," Sid uttered.

"Yeah, it looks so cool I want to do it myself," Aella added.

"Exactly my point," Chuck replied as he picked up his ramen bowl of ramen. With what could only be described as god-like speed, the pro duelist ate the whole thing in less than three seconds, broth and all.

"ARE YOU A SUPERHUMAN?!" both Sid and Aella shouted in utter disbelief.

"By the way, where'd Sarah go?" Chuck asked.

"Uh, she already left awhile ago," Sid replied, still stupefied by Chuck's world-record feat.

"I see," Chuck muttered, feeling disappointed. After his dad told him about Sarah's determination throughout the training, Chuck wanted to inquire her about her reason for undergoing it. In that moment, Chuck noticed a small blue backpack lying on the floor, "Hey, isn't that Sarah's?"

The other teens looked over at the object in question, "Oh no, she must have left it behind," Aella said, "Her homework must be in there."

Chuck responded, "Be glad she left this behind and not her deck. If she did, my dad would make her regret the very nature of her existence."

Aella suddenly felt a chill run down her spine, "I don't like how nonchalantly you said that…"

"Either way, how do you leave a backpack behind?" Chuck questioned.

"Do you see how half-dead we are? How couldn't she forget?" Sid sarcastically replied before Chuck picked up the bag. He took special notice of the small card inserted into a transparent pocket on the front.

"Hey, there's an address written here," he observed. Strange, it didn't look like a home address. It seemed more like the address for a communal lot. An apartment?

"That's good," Aella said.

"I should get this back to her."

"Say, do you mind if I tag along?" Aella requested, "Something your dad said got me really interested in her."

"Sure thing. Sid, how 'bout you?"

"Do I look like I'm in any position to be moving?" Sid whined.

"Don't be such a baby," Chuck fired back, "Your hands are sore, not your legs."

"Okay, fine… Not like I have anything better to do anyway."

The three teens stared at the four story, red-bricked building before them in bewilderment. This was indeed the address from Sarah's backpack, but the sign at the front door gave the group a greater insight into what her life was like:

Honey Dew Foster Home.

"I'm not sure what I was expecting," Sid commented.

"So she was in foster care this whole time," Chuck uttered.

"I can't even imagine what that's like," Aella added.

"Nothing for it except to ring the doorbell, I guess," Chuck walked over to the door and pressed the outdated doorbell. Within a few seconds, the teens heard the sounds of startled running followed by the sound of five locks being undone in rapid succession. The door opened slightly, revealing that a chain lock was still tugging the door. Peeking through the semi-open door was what seemed like a wrinkled face with brown eyes.

"Whadaya want?!" the figure behind the door asked in a hoarse and raspy voice.

"Uh, we're here to see Sarah," Chuck answered.

The eye behind the door widened in bewilderment, "The skittish girl in the yellow dress?"

"Uh, yes."

The door suddenly slammed shut, startling the three teens. The final lock opened, allowing the door to open fully. On the other side was a middle aged woman wearing a long floral dress. Her ragged black hair, baggy eyes, and wrinkled face betrayed the intense glare and protective aura she presented.

"Whadda you youngsters have to do with her?" she interrogated.

"Uh, me and her go to the same school as Sarah," Sid answered lamely, motioning to himself and Aella.

"And?" the woman asked expectantly.

"She hangs around my dad's card shop alot," Chuck answered, holding up Sarah's bag, "We're here because she left her backpack there," the woman roughly snatched the bag from Chuck's grasp, surprising him with her speed.

"Get lost! Last thing that girl needs is more trouble," the woman venomously demanded.

"Everyone? What are you doing here?" Spoke a familiar voice. The three teens looked behind the woman to see a familiar girl peeking out the doorway.

"Sarah," Chuck addressed, "You left your backpack at the shop."

Sarah's face flushed as she noticed her bag in the woman's hands, "Oh, that's where that went…" she was agonizing over her lost backpack for the past hour or so.

"You were careless," the woman stated, "Make sure you thank these stupid kids for returning your belongings."

"Yes, Nanny," the little girl acknowledged as she collected her bag and turned to the group, "Thank you…"

"Good girl," Before any of the teens had a chance to respond, Nanny suddenly shouted at them, "NOW GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE!" shocking them to their core.

"No, please don't send them away," Sarah pleaded, "They're my friends."

"You don't know the first thing about them! How can they be your friends?!"

She has the same murderous aura as my dad, Chuck observed, noting how terrified Sarah was of Nanny, terrified enough to not answer the question asked of her.

"As for you three," Nanny addressed the teens once more, "I want you to stay far away from this child, do you understand me?!"

"What, why?" Aella questioned with fear in her voice.

"You're all duelists! That makes you a bad influence!" Nanny stated with evident contempt. Chuck could only widen his eyes at that statement. What did them being duelists have to do with anything?

"Um… I'm not really much of a duelist," Sid pointed out.

"DONT'T GET PEDANTIC YOU IDIOT!" Nanny roared, scaring Sid into silence. As this conversation was happening, some other children began poking their heads out of the windows.

"Hey, is that the pro duelist guy Sarah was talking about?" one boy asked.

"Can't be," a girl next to him replied, "You just know she was lying about that."

"Yeah, you know how much she likes to make things up."

While this was happening, the building next door's second floor was alive with activity. Through it, there was the sound of a woman speaking—well, screaming was a more accurate description. Her words were hard to discern through the obnoxious music.

Nanny took a break yelling at the teens to mumble under her breath, "Unbelievable… She's starting now?"

"What is that noise?" Sid questioned. This was comparable to his neighbor's banshee of a lawnmower.

Through all the noise, Nanny mumbled under her breath, "You know what, I'm going to say something to her."

"Oh dear," Sarah mumbled.

"What's going on?" Chuck asked.

"It's this woman in the apartment complex next door," Sarah explained, "She gets really loud sometimes. It gets on Nanny's nerves. And Nanny's scary when she's angry."

Sarah's statement proved to be true, for Nanny immediately yelled at the top of her lungs, "CUT THAT RACKET YOU DAMN IDIOT!"

A few seconds after her outburst, a young woman opened the window, "Hey, what's wrong with you?!"

"You're too damn loud, that's what's wrong!"

"How 'bout you mind your own business!"

"I's my business when you're being inconsiderate to everyone around you!"

"Don't make me come down there! I can make your life a living Hell!"

"Are you threatening me?!"

"Yeah, don't doubt the things I can do to you!"

"Try me!"

"Fine then!" With that, the young woman disappeared inside the building. It wasn't long before she walked out of the building to face Nanny.

She was a shapely woman in her early twenties with black hair that was inconspicuously dyed blond. She styled it in a way where it draped over the right side of her face and was held back on the left side with a pink hair clip shaped like a lemon. Her visible eye, which was adorned with a copious amount of pink eyeshadow, had an obvious contact lens that made her iris appear pink. Her attire consisted of a yellow crop top, hotpants and gogo boots accompanied with a pink jacket and headphones with built-in cat ears and a microphone. On her arm was a curvaceous pink and yellow duel disk with a base in the likeness of a lemon. With her was a floating pink, spherical camera that projected a holographic screen where messages were appearing at a fast rate.

"Holy crap! I've never seen anyone so cute!" Sid swooned with hearts in his eyes.

"Now you get your energy back," Aella deadpanned.

"Hey, chat! This here is that mean old lady I was telling you about!" the woman spoke to the camera with a toothy smile, "What a complete xoomer, amirite? And she's a social care worker too. You just know that these kids will turn out horrible!"

"You have alot of gall to insult me when I'm right in front of you," Nanny snarled.

"The truth hurts, doesn't it?"

"The truth? You know nothing about me!"

"Well, one of us has two million followers and the other doesn't," the younger woman brushed off, "You tell me who's in the right."

"Who are you?" Aella asked, disgusted with this girl's attitude.

"She doesn't know me?" the girl feigned surprise to the camera, "How sad. I'm only the most famous streamer/duel-fluencer in all of America, Lemon_Drop!" she declared with a wink and cutesy pose.

"You look like an idiot," Aella said.

Lemon_Drop over-dramatically collapsed on the floor before crying, "WHY ARE YOU SO MEAN?!"

"That woman is a source of constant headache," Nanny spat.

"I guess I can see why," Chuck said, gaining the attention of the sobbing woman.

"Ugh, I know you," Lemon_Drop scoffed in exaggerated disgust as she got up, "You're that poser, Charles Whosit."

"Ikari," Chuck corrected.

"Yeah, whatever," the girl waved off, "I know your type. You might seem like a nice guy, but I just know that deep down, your as elitist and gate-keepy as every male duelist out there. Men only want one thing, and it's disgusting!"

"Even when she's venomous, she's adorable!" Sid swooned.

"Don't prove her right," Aella sarcastically remarked.

"Noticed all your social medias are all gone," Lemon_Drop goaded Chuck, "Any reason why? Are you desperately trying to hide something from the world?"

Chuck looked at her straight in the eye and replied, "I have no obligation to answer that question."

"That's as obvious a declaration of guilt as anything," she looked over to her camera, "Can you believe this guy, chat? He's gotta be the worst thing that's ever happened to modern dueling."

"Stop it!" Sarah yelled, bringing all attention to her, "That's not true! Chuck is the strongest and kindest duelist ever!"

"And he's even resorted to propaganda too," Lemon_Drop said to the camera, "This poor girl is under his spell."

Sarah puffed up her flushed cheeks, "You're talking nonsense!"

"Look, fangirl, you defending this dueling fascist is nothing short of cringe. You need to wake up and support someone who does wonders for dueling, like me. I bet I could beat him in just one turn."

"He's way stronger than you could ever be! Take back what you said about him and Nanny too! Sure, she's scary, but she always does her best for us!"

"I don't change my mind, fangirl, especially when I'm on the right side of history."

Lemon_Drop's condescending attitude made Sarah's face go red. Without thinking, she blurted, "Then I challenge you to a duel! If I win, you need to take back everything you said about Nanny and Chuck!"

The amount of incredulous looks Sarah received was staggering.

"You're kidding me, right," Lemon_Drop asked, "You're just some little kid. Then again, the reigning world champion won when she was just ten. Let me do a poll with my chat real quick."

While Lemon_Drop pre-occupied herself with her viewers, Nanny spoke up.

"Sarah, you aren't going to duel! I forbid it!"

"Nanny, please. I need to do this!"

"You don't need to do anything! Why do you care what that moron says? She's clearly full of hot air! I bet she just insulted this kid for brownie points!"

"When I was in trouble, Chuck didn't even hesitate to stand up for me. How can I call myself my friend if I didn't do the same? Besides, I can't let her get away with what she said about you!"

Nanny gritted her teeth before responding, "Fine! I can't stop you from making a mistake it seems. Go on and make a fool of yourself. Maybe this will finally convince you to give up dueling."

Chuck strangely remained silent throughout this altercation, his expression unmoving. What a strange turn this day took.

"Hey, guess what, fangirl?" Lemon_Drop announced, "My chat says they want to see us duel," how perfect. She could humiliate this old hag and a pro duelist all at the same time.

The site of the duel was to be in the back alley behind the buildings. Both duelists stood opposite of each other. The other kids in the house, eleven in total, came down to watch this duel unfold.

"Sarah, are you sure about this?" Aella asked the little girl.

"S-sure I am!" Sarah answered, her knees shaking and forehead sweaty, "I have to defend Nanny and Chuck's good names," not that they asked her to.

"Sarah suggested this duel. She has to go through with it," Chuck said.

"How troublesome," Nanny grumbled.

"Smile for the camera, fangirl! You have the distinct honor of battling against the greatest livestreamer/duel-fluencer in all of America! Aren't I just swell? I'm giving all these orphans the opportunity of a lifetime! Watching Lemon_Drop herself duel! I'm a lean, mean, Dueling Queen!"

"She's talking to herself more than anyone," Nanny deadpanned.

Both combatants inserted their decks into their duel disks, springing them to life as they drew their opening hands.

"Let's duel!"

"Watch closely, dear viewers! You're gonna see how a truly great player duels. I place one card facedown. Now I play a handy spell card I like to call Terraforming. Now I get a field spell that's worthy for a Dueling Diva!" Lemon_Drop's duel disk automatically pushed her desired card out of her deck, where she pulled it out before auto-shuffle activated, "Now it's time for the real show. The field spell Trickstar Light Stage!" Lemon_Drop's field changed appearance to accommodate her field spell: a massive stage with three enormous screens, a plethora of spotlights, and one too many light fixtures.

"Now that the stage is set, it's time for the performance to begin! See, when I activate Light Stage, a Trickstar monster is put into my hand. So I can add Trckstar Corobane backstage!" her duel disk automatically drew out her desired card, which she added to her hand before auto-shuffle activated, "Now it's time for our first leading lady, Trickstar Candina in attack mode," dancing onto the field was a young blonde girl with wings wearing a gold and black dress carrying a megaphone, Trickstar Candina (Lv. 4, LIGHT, Fairy, Atk. 1800, Def. 400), "Since Candina has hit center stage, she can call up a friend for a colab," Candina's effect allowed Lemon_Drop to add a Trickstar card from her deck to her hand.

"Now I have Trickstar Lycoris waiting in the wings. Now, I know what you're thinking: why am I showing you this card in great detail? See, by showing you this card, I can summon it straight to the field by letting her take the stage away from another Trickstar monster. Center stage, Lycoris!" Candina disappeared from the field and went back to Lemon_Drop's hand. Taking Candina's place was Trickstar Lycoris (Lv. 3, LIGHT, Fairy, Atk. 1600, Def. 1200), a monster similar in appearance to Candina with the differences being a red dress, long black hair, and a sword as an accessory, "Now that my soloist is up and ready, I'll pass the mic over to you and end my turn."

"Does she even hear herself talk?" Aella questioned.

"She sounds so unnatural and manufactured," Chuck added, "How does she have so many followers?"

"She can say whatever she wants, so long as I hear her angelic voice!" Sid cried, waving off in his lovesick daze.

Both Chuck and Aella lowered their heads, "That answers that question," the former remarked.

"My turn. I draw!" Sarah declared as she drew her card.

"Hold it!" Lemon_Drop declared, "Because you just drew a card, Lycoris' special ability activates. Now you get dealt 200 points of damage!" Sarah gasped in shock as Lycoris conjured magical flames from her sword that she then flew into Sarah, dropping her lifepoints to 7600.

"What?!" Aella yelled, "That did 400, not 200!"

"Did I forget to mention my stage lets me double the damage of my monster's special ability?" Lemon_Drop said innocently.

"Double?"

"That's not what it actually does," Chuck clarified, "The Trickstar deck specializes in dealing effect damage to the opponent. Light Stage deals an additional 200 damage whenever a Trickstar monster deals effect or battle damage."

"Still, getting punished just for drawing a card…"

"If that set card is what I think it is, then Sarah's in real trouble."

Lemon_Drop continued, "Since Lycoris' special ability dealt you damage, this solo is now a duet with Trickstar Narkissus," Lemon_Drop was allowed to summon Trickstar Narkissus from her hand because a trickstar monster dealt effect damage, "But before that, I activate my trap card, Trickstar Reincarnation!"

"She has it!" Chuck shouted, his fear coming to fruition as Lemon_Drop's set card flipped face up.

"This trap removes all cards in your hand from play, and then you have to draw the exact same amount of cards you lost. Don't forget about Lycoris and Light Stage either. Every time time you draw a card, you get hit with a whopping 200 points of damage plus an extra 200 for good measure!"

Sarah was forced to draw an entirety new hand from scratch. For each of the six cards she drew, she lost 200 lifepoints, minus an additional 200 because of Light Stage. This left her with 6200 remaining.

"She dealt 1800 points of damage before Sarah even started her turn," Aella recapped in utter shock.

"Now that that's settled, I can actually summon Trickstar Narkissus," another idol girl appeared next to Lycoris, Trickstar Narkissus (Lv. 4, LIGHT, Fairy, Atk. 1000, Def. 1800), blonde with a green, black, and white dress and carrying a pistol with a flower on the end of the barrel, "Be careful around her, because this diva packs some punch, specifically whenever you play the special abilities of your monsters. When you do, you get dealt 200 points of damage!"

Sarah was now able to start her turn proper. Seeing two monsters on the field that could do damage to her for playing normally was nothing short of terrifying.

"I… I-I set one card and one monster facedown," Sarah did exactly what she said, creating a T-set with her cards, "I end my turn."

"How disappointing. Fangirl's so scared of little ol' me," Lemon_Drop uttered to the camera before initiating her draw phase, "Wohoo! Great! Fantastic! Look at what card I drew, chat!" everyone looked at her strangely as she rubbed the card against her camera before adding it to her hand, "Let me introduce an old friend, Trickstar Candina! Since I summoned her again, another Trickstar monster is added to my hand! Like another Corobane. And hey, why don't we have her enter stage right!" Trickstar Corobane (Lv. 5, LIGHT, Fairy, Atk. 2000, Def. 1000) had long purple tinted hair and wore a green and black dress. She carried a walking stick with a heart shaped headpiece that had three hanging bells.

"What could be better, chat? I know! A Link summon! Check it out as Trickstars Candina and Corobane combine to Link Summon Trickstar Holly Angel!" a Link gate appeared. In response, both Candina and Corobane dissipated into two red wisps that connected into the Link gate, bringing forth a new threat Sarah had to worry about. Trickstar Holly Angel (Link - 2, LIGHT, Fairy/Link, Atk. 2000) was a Link monster with arrows pointing to the bottom left and right, an angelic looking woman with pristine long blond hair, and a pale blue dress paired with black tights. She carried a long golden flail with a red mace head at the end. Since she was a Link Monster, she was required to reside in the extra monster zone.

"Lemon_Drop's board is growing more substantial," Chuck commented.

"Wow, Lemon_Drop is incredible, isn't she?" Sid droned away, his head swaying back and forth.

"Try not to sound so impressed," Aella sneered with an annoyed glare.

"Watch this, Chat! That Candina card I just sent to the graveyard, I'm about to get her back in a flash! I active the spell card, Trickstar Magical Laurel. With this, I can bring back a Trickstar monster from the graveyard, just so long as I equip her with this accessory onto her," Candina reappeared back on the field, "By the way, Holly Angel's ability now comes in to play. She can deal you 200 points of damage whenever a Trickstar monster is summoned, which is boosted by light stage," Sarah now had 5800 lifepoints.

"Oh, but wait. I'm not finished yet! I play the effect of my stage. See, when I have Trickstar Light Stage active on the field, I can target one facedown card on your field and stop it from activating."

"Sarah!" Chuck shouted, "Chain your set card if you can!" she jerked her head towards him.

"B-but…"

"Don't argue with me! Just do it!" Sarah awkwardly pushed a button on her duel disk to flip up her set card: Threatening Roar. Chuck breathed a sigh of relief, "Good, Threatening Roar prevents the opponent from attacking the turn it's activated. Chaining it to Light Stage allowed it to resolve it's effect without consequence."

"Hey, you," Lemon_Drop addressed Chuck, "Nobody appreciates backseat dueling. Tell your fangirl what to so again and I'll take it as a surrender. Let's not forget that Candina punishes her for playing that trap card," per Candina and Light Stage's effect, Sarah fell to 5400 lifepoints, "Well, I think I'll just end my turn there. It's your move."

Activating Light Stage's effect first was the more optimal play to make, Chuck considered. Lemon_Drop made a lapse in judgment somewhere, but why?

"I draw," due to Lycoris' effect, Sarah reached 5000 lifepoints. With trembling hands, she made her move, "I set a monster face down and end my turn."

"Thats it?" Lemon Drop said, "Wow, you bricked hard. Well, I'm not just going to let this opportunity go to waste. I'll attack your first set card with Narkissus. Go!" Narkissus obeyed, firing at the first of Sarah's set monsters, revealed to be Nimble Beaver (Lv. 2, WATER, Beast, Atk. 400, Def. 200). Chuck took special interest in the monster that was just destroyed, "Now, I'll attack your second monster with Candina. Show 'em what's what, girl!" Candina sprung into action, attacking the second set monster, a cartoonish mole with a flower nose and mining equipment, Mine Mole (Lv. 3, EARTH, Beast, Atk. 1000, Def. 1200). Strangely, Mine Mole stayed on the field despite Candina's attack being high enough.

"Hey, what happened?" Lemon Drop questioned in annoyance.

"Mine Mole can survive being attacked once per turn," Sarah quietly mumbled.

"What was that?" Lemon_Drop asked, "Doesn't matter, I'll just attack with Lycoris," and that's what happened, Lycoris destroyed Mine Mole, "Now, Time for the main star, Trickstar Holly Angel, attack directly!" Holly Angel swung her flail over her head. When she gained enough momentum, she directed the head towards Sarah, making her squeak in fright as it made contact, "Oh, and by the way, Light Stage deals just a little bit more damage to you," Sarah recoiled further when fire engulfed her once more. At the end of this onslaught, Sarah was left with a paltry 2600 lifepoints. Under such intense pressure, Sarah collapsed on her knees, her entire body trembling as her eyes started leaking.

"Hey, it's your turn now. Are you gonna go or what? Some of us have lives you know. Guess I'll use this time to catch up with the chat!" as Lemon_Drop turned her attention to the stream of constant messages she was receiving, the other kids were talking amongst themselves.

"Sarah's so weak."

"Well, that's what happens when you fight a grownup."

"That girl is such a crybaby."

This was a mistake. Sarah was floundering while Lemon_Drop was in full control of the duel. This was to be expected. How she could ever live up to his legacy? He was powerful and strong, and she was weak. What was even the point in continuing the game? It would be better if she just surrendered. That would've happened, if someone didn't speak up first.

"Sarah, get up! A duelist doesn't sink to the ground!"

Sarah swiveled her head to see the stern look in his eyes, "Chuck…"

"Sarah, you haven't been playing to the best of your abilities. I've been watching you duel, and I'm disappointed. Nimble Beaver's effect can special summon another copy of itself whenever it's normal summoned. You could have used that effect for an Xyz summon. Why didn't you?" the little girl didn't have the voice to answer him. Despite this, he continued, "Moreover, I've seen your deck. It doesn't benefit from setting monsters in defense. When we first met, you said you couldn't defeat Parker because your knowledge of dueling was limited. That's not true. I know why your dueling is sub par," Chuck paused for a brief moment before looking Sarah in the eye.

"It's because you're a coward!"

That statement stunned everyone who heard it, especially Sarah.

"You're the one who instigated a duel between the two of you, and then you start sniffling when she starts showing some form of opposition. It's pathetic. I don't need you to white knight me. I couldn't care less what Lemon_Drop says about me. I don't hate mean words, I hate cowardice. Sarah, dueling is a battle of souls. I know you have more determination than this. Your progress through the training proves it. If you truly want to become a duelist—show me the strength of your soul and finish what you started!"

Sarah didn't respond. How could she after getting chewed out like that? But he was right. She was playing very badly all because she was scared. If Sarah gave up now, she wouldn't disgrace Chuck or Nanny; she would disgrace herself. She took a glance towards Lemon_Drop, who was having an argument with someone in her chat.

"Why donate?! Uhh, because it supports the content that I am providing you! Duhhhh! If you don't want to support me, you can just leave."

With all the strength and bravery she could muster, Sarah stood back up and reached for her deck.

"My turn! I draw!"

The Ikari Corner

Aella: Chuck, that was a mean thing you said to Sarah.

Chuck: I won't apologize for that. That was something she needed to hear.

Sid: Still, did you have to yell at her?

Chuck: If you can't handle words, you have no future as a duelist.

Sid: The path of a duelist sounds arduous.

Chuck: Now it's time for Ikari family trivia:

Those with Ikari blood have an uncanny ability to eat one type of dish extraordinarily fast. The one dish is unique amongst each family member.

Aella: I ask again, are you a superhuman?

Chuck: It's a family thing, so no.

Sid: Your family sounds so nuts.

Chuck: Next time: The Merry Melffys.

To be continued…

In my attempt to throw Sarah into a duel, I struggled for the longest time creating a believable enough scenario. My original idea had her duel the spoiled daughter of Nanny's landlord to keep the foster home open. I decided against that as I thought it was too cliché and the idea wasn't coming together properly. Ultimately, I'm satisfied with what I came up with.

Lemon_Drop is meant to represent entitled live-streamers who care more about notoriety than creating quality content. What I'm getting at is that Lemon_Drop would not at all shy away from a hot tub stream. In hindsight, I think the Evil Twin archetype fits her better on a conceptual level, but I already finalized the events of the duel when I started writing. That, and I think the Trickstar archetype is more interesting.

I used 4Kids' dub work on Yu-Gi-Oh! as the basis for Lemon_Drop's dialogue. So instead of saying the snappier "effect," she opts to use the clunkier "special ability." She also tends to say unnecessary things and make bad puns. If it feels like I'm ragging on 4Kids, I'm sorry. The thing is, once you go subbed, you never go back.