Sekhmet: Yuko partially gets over herself and Gits Gud.
Susano-o: Also Rose takes even less Obelisk bullshit than normal and reveals her love of the Chappelle Show, Spongebob, and random forum questions.
Sekhmet: And we sow the seeds for a trend of evil spirit possession. How unfortunate.
Susano-o: At least they don't help her cheat like other possessing spirits do (Millenium item users are all cheaters and Joey and Kaiba are the only real duelists in the main cast don't me.)
Sekhmet: Stop ruining my childhood. I'd threaten to sic Don Thousand on you but he can be beat with an MST.
Susano-o: Anyway on with the show.
Duel 4: Unfair Advantage
In a not so shocking twist of events, Yuko was fast asleep while Rose was doing push ups on the carpet.
"THIS WAS A MISTAKE!" Yuko shouted, still asleep.
"Yes it was," Rose said putting in her headphones. "Going for my run!" She yelled leaving the room.
"1 2 3 4! We Are Cells at Work! 1 2 3 4! We Are Hataraku Fuu!" Rose yelled as she ran around the island. "Kyō mo hakobu yo sanso sanso! Karadajū no sumi kara sumi e! Dakedo hirokute maigo maigo! Tedasuke sareteru hataraku saibō! Sā ikou!" She yelled as she passed a few Ra yellows, making them stare at her like she had grown a second head. "Hataraku zo! Hataraku zo! Mainichi Mainichi shugyōchū Ooh!"
Rose continued her run around the campus till she was met by an odd site, the card shop owner Ms. Dorothy trying to shove her car up the slope to the main campus building. "Hey let me help you!" Rose yelled getting behind the car and shoving as well.
"Oh thank you!" Ms. Dorothy said happily as the two of them managed to get the car up the slope.
"No problem," Rose grunted as the majority of the weight was on her. "Next time though, check the gas gauge," She joked with a chuckle.
...
Yuko was silent for the rest of her sleep, up until her alarm rang.
"Get outta my BRAIN!" She growled, before trying to smack the alarm. It was too low, however, and she slammed her hand into the side of her bunk, waking her up. She screamed in the pain it caused her.
Yuko saw that no one was in the room, she jumped on the chance to brush her hair out.
Yuko practically sprinted out of bed and grabbed her hairbrush. She ripped her beanie off, letting her waist long braid, tipped with a half foot of purple fall down her back. Her feathery front bangs shone a golden yellow in all directions because it was really frazzled from being kept under a beanie all hours.
Unfurling her braid, she tenderly brushed it out, then re-wove it. She piled it back into her beanie, and stuffed her bangs in as well.
With that done, she opened her notebook to study a combination of Midori's and her own notes. The advancement exams were today, although she had no plans on going up a dorm.
"I'm so fresh!" Rose yelled throwing open the door to her room from after her shower. "And I'm ready to duel!" She yelled dressing herself for the day. "Wonder who I'll be up against?"
"Hopefully no one out of our leagues." Yuko responded, not looking up from her notes. "Easy enough for you, though."
"Oh yeah," Rose said looking through her deck. "Come on, time for the written exams!"
Yuko flinched. "Yeah…" She murmured, grabbing her bag.
"What's wrong Yuko?" Rose asked crashing into her chair and rolling backwards towards Yuko.
"Eh, written tests are and I have a bad history, is all." Yuko explained.
"Oh come on," Rose said ruffling her friends beanie. "No one cares about the written test, it's all about the practical!" She whispered conspiratorially. "That's why I wanna get it over with already!"
"I don't know. Why would they have two tests if only one mattered? Yuko argued.
"For the smart kids and kids not going into the dueling profession obviously," Rose explained.
"Rose it somewhat right," Midori said from the doorway. "Passing either will allow you to move onto the next dorm level," she explained. "However," She said glaring at Rose. "That doesn't mean you neglect the written exam."
"Still, that means it's important." Yuko said. "Knowledge is power, after all."
"Fine," Rose said sarcastically getting up from her chair. "Well come on you two we got to get Syrus!"
"I hope he's in a better frame of mind than I am." Yuko said.
Unfortunately, Syrus was not in a better frame of mind. He was praying to Slifer to let him go to Ra Yellow.
"Slifer please let me move on to yellow, red is a terrible color!" He prayed. "N-not on you though, it looks good on you!" He quickly backtracked.
"Syrus," Chumley said from his bunk. "A photo isn't gonna help you pass."
"He's right," Rose said from the doorway. "Slifer helps those who help themselves!" She yelled grabbing the smaller boy and picking him up to her eye level. "Are you a man or a duelist?"
"A-a-a duelist?" Syrus stuttered.
"Louder!"
"A duelist!" Syrus said.
Rose walked outside and held Syrus out facing the main building. "Shout it to the campus! What are you!"
"I'm a duelist!" Syrus shouted.
"Yes you are!" Rose yelled turning him around again. "So go out there and duel your heart out!" She yelled setting him down on the ground. "Now go make me proud," She said with a smile.
"Yes, ma'am!" Syrus shouted, and took off running towards the classrooms.
"Was that really necessary?" Yuko asked. "I mean I know he's a timid guy but…"
"He's a good duelist, he just needed a good kick in the ass," Rose said proudly. "And if I have to literally kick him in the ass to bring out his potential I'll do it."
"Well alright then. We should get going. We don't want to be late." Yuko said.
…
"'Burstinatrix' attack Shrek with Flare Storm," Rose muttered as she nuzzled her head into her arms, having finished her exam a few minutes ago.
"Well it's good for her that she already finished her test, but what am I gonna do?" Yuko thought, looking at one of her last questions. "Alright, just calm down and think for a second."
The question at hand was "What does this card do?", and it had a picture of Riryoku. Yuko knew what Riryoku did; it halved the attack of one monster on the field and gave the lost points to another monster. The problem was, Yuko couldn't connect the answer with the image of the card.
Panicking, she wrote down an answer that was almost right: "It halves your opponent's life points and gives those points to you." And moved onto the last two questions, which were both multiple choice.
"Pencils down students," Professor Banner said a few minutes later. "Please turn in your exams."
Yuko sighed in relief, and stood up. She pushed Rose's head in an attempt to wake her up.
"This is my swamp now!" Rose yelled slamming her hand onto the table as she shot to her feet.
"You sure have interesting dreams." Yuko said, test in hand. "Time's up, we gotta turn in our tests."
"Huh?" Rose asked scratching her head. "I just sleep duel, what's odd about that?"
"I've just never seen it is all." Yuko said, starting down the stairs.
"Oh well," Rose said with a shrug she said following her down front.
"So what now?" Yuko asked after handing over her test.
"What else?" Rose smirked. "We get those new rare cards!" She yelled before grabbing Yuko's hand and charging through the doors, despite the fact class hadn't been dismissed yet. Yuko made a surprised noise as she was dragged out the door.
"We're not supposed to leave yet!" Yuko said when they were out in the hall.
"Students are allowed to leave class in emergencies," Rose quoted running towards the card shop.
"This is NOT an emergency." Yuko argued. While the prospect of rare cards was interesting, rare did not always mean powerful or worth the effort.
"Uh yeah it is," Rose countered smacking a random blue student out of their way to avoid slowing down. "Out of my way douchebag!" She yelled over her shoulder.
"Woah!" Yuko exclaimed, looking back to see if that student was ok. They were. "Rose, this is excessive enthusiasm! You're gonna get in trouble!"
"What he was just a blue?" Rose asked whirlwinding another blue out of her way. "It's not like they matter."
"They're still people though. They can be troublesome but they're still people." Yuko said. She couldn't help it, she was empathetic.
"Them being people is debatable," Rose muttered as they finally reached the card shop, where she leaned against the metal security door to catch her breath. "Ha! I am first in line! And no one is going to tell me otherwise!" She shouted to the empty hall.
Yuko was struggling to catch her breath and stick loose hairs back in her beanie. "They're not even open yet, we're too early."
"They're open," Rose said glaring at the empty hallway behind Yuko. "They're just getting ready, and I'm not gonna miss it, I saved up for a month for today, I will get a new card to add to my deck!"
"Good luck. I probably won't find anything, but it's always nice to look." Yuko said.
Rose smiled before turning to glare again at the hallway. "It's time," She whispered into the eerily silent hallway.
"Time for what? Why did you say that so-" Yuko started, but soon felt the rumbling of a massive amount of footsteps. She pulled down her beanie, making sure it was extra secure.
"Hold the line!" Rose yelled digging her heels into the ground.
"Oh Ra!" Yuko shouted, bracing herself against the door. Dozens of students burst into the room and gang rushed the metal door, banging on it when they could. "Rose, I'm scared!" Yuko shouted over the chatter, narrowly avoiding a fist that would have slammed into her face.
"Fuck! Your! Couch!" Rose yelled kicking people back.
"Rose, they're gonna take my beanie!" Yuko shouted. "They think it's a card pack!" No one actually thought that, but Yuko was paranoid with all the hands close to her head. One accidental grab and her whole reason for coming here was moot.
"Back, back you hungry hand, back!" Rose yelled with a well placed kick to the grabby french student's hand. Yuko crouched so she could get away from the hands trying to bang the door. She clutched her beanie for dear life.
"Oh no you don't!" Rose yelled grabbing Yuko and bringing her back beside her. "Hold the line!"
"They're gonna hold my head in their hands at this rate!" Yuko argued. "Not in a romantic way either!"
"It's just like fighting second graders!" Rose yelled. "Just bottleneck them and start kicking!"
"This is NOT like that one forum question! These second graders are full grown teens!" Yuko argued
"Same principle!" Rose yelled kicking one of them in the thigh, causing him to collapse onto a few others.
"It's not the same! These are adult bodies, they're harder to take down!" Yuko shouted.
Rose didn't respond, she just continued to kick till the sound of footsteps could be heard coming from down the hall.
"Alright kids," A thick southern voice yelled out "I got your rare cards right here!" He yelled holding up a briefcase.
With a chanting of "CARDS CARDS CARDS", the aisle cleared. Yuko scrambled to get out of his way, Rose moved slightly over to let him under, but was back into her original position a second later.
The students cheered. The metal door opened up…
And inside the briefcase was a single packet, clearly not cards. A few students questioned the lack of their promised cards.
"What is this bullshit?" Rose yelled.
"You know how it is. First come, first serve." The clerk said. "And he got here first," she said pointing to the nearby man in a long trench coat.
"Yes, and I bought them all," The man said chuckling.
"Ok number 1!" Rose yelled angrily. "I was here first so how was he allowed underneath the door! Number 2, is he even a student, if not why is he here?" She yelled accusingly. "And number 3, the guy literally just dropped these cards off, so you should have opened the door before this jackass was able to snatch them all up!" She yelled. "I for one won't stand for this! And I know these people won't either!" She yelled pointing at the crowd.
The crowd looked around for a second, before swiftly descending on the remaining card packs like a pack of wild animals. "Oh well fuck you all then!" Rose yelled shoving her way inside. With a lack of anywhere else to go, Yuko pulled down her beanie and pushed her way inside as well.
Chaos was an understatement. Everything Yuko saw was a flurry of hands, foil packs, and Yen. She got elbowed a couple times just attempting to find Rose.
"Which one of you assholes just bit me!" Rose yelled as she was thrown against the wall. "I will shove my boot up your ass!"
"Rose are you there? I can't see you through the foil packaging!" Yuko called out. "This mob is crazy! We need to get out of here!"
Rose said something almost indistinguishable from the screams of the crowd.
"I don't care if you find a card that's the lynchpin in an Ojama mirror match! You don't play Ojamas! It's not worth it at this point!" Yuko had to scream over the crowd.
"Oh fuck this," Rose muttered forcing her way out of the shop. "I will remember this!" she yelled into the crowd. Yuko got out of there as well, and heaved a heavy sigh.
"We should come back later." She offered.
"Ugh," Rose groaned. "Everythings gonna be gone!"
"I doubt EVERYTHING'S gonna be gone. They'll have to have something no one else wanted." Yuko said.
"Not with exams coming up," Rose grumbled. "Everyone is gonna clear this place out."
"Still, people were fighting tooth and nail in there. If you go back in you could get really hurt." Yuko argued.
Rose snorted, but sat down on the ground and waited for the place to clear out. When the store became much more navigable, the two walked back in. The shelves where empty.
"This is all my fault…" Yuko said, clutching the sides of her beanie.
Rose blew out a sigh of annoyance as she navigated the destroyed card shop. "Scuse me," She said to the clerk. "Do you have any packs left?"
"Yeah," she said looking around under the counter and coming back with one pack.
"A single pack…" Yuko said.
Rose blew a strand out hair out of her face. "Take it," she muttered. "I don't have the money to buy it."
"Then I'll give it to you." Yuko said, stuffing a fistful of Yen coins into Rose's hand. "You've been waiting for this, you take the pack."
"No I refuse," She said stubbornly.
"Take it, I don't need it." Yuko insisted. "Besides, whatever's in there could be a cornerstone for your deck. I don't run anything that specific, so finding a card for my deck is gonna be harder."
"My deck is consistent enough," She said crossing her arms so Yuko couldn't get to them. "It's your money."
"And I want you to have it." Yuko insisted.
"And I don't want it," Rose insisted back.
"Well no one wins then." Yuko said.
"No I win!" Rose smirked as she grabbed the coins and put the down the back Yuko's shirt.
As Yuko hopped around trying to get the coins out the back door of the shop opened and the other clerk came out.
"Oh hello deary!" Ms. Dorothy said smiling at Rose.
"Hello again Ms. Dorothy," Rose said with a wave as Yuko finally managed to dislodge the coins. She bent over and stuffed them back in her coin purse. Real mature of Rose to pull that one.
"Hello Ms. Dorothy." Yuko greeted.
"What are you two doing here?" Ms. Dorothy asked.
"We were waiting in line for the new cards to get released but got caught up in the mob." Yuko explained.
"We didn't get a single card!" Rose groaned sadly. "And now all the packs are gone too!"
"Well there's one left…" Yuko said, a little irritated that Rose wouldn't just take the pack and her Yen.
"Not a single one left!" Rose said dramatically. Yuko gave her a deadpan look. "Empty!" Yuko got more and more frustrated as Rose went on. "The dark void of no cards!"
"Such a thing does not exist." Yuko said.
"An endless void of nothing but duel spirits and no cards!"
"That's not a thing." Yuko said, rage starting to creep into her voice.
Ms. Dorothy giggled as she watched Rose's overly dramatic display. "Well don't tell anyone this," She said smiling. "-But I always keep a few card packs in the back for helpful student's like you," She said rifling around behind the counter and handing a pack over to Rose. "Consider it a gift for helping me earlier today," She said happily.
"Oh," Rose said taking the pack. "Well thank you," She said with a big smile.
"What did you do to earn this favor?" Yuko asked, genuinely curious.
"Oh she helped me push my car up a hill this morning," Ms. Dorothy explained happily.
"Looks like kindness pays off." Yuko said.
"It's really nothing," Rose said blushing. "Anyone would have done it."
…
"Looks like we've got an hour left till the practical exams." Yuko noted, glancing at her PDA.
"Yep," Rose said nodding.
"Now listen you two," Midori said with her hands on her hips. "I expect you two to do well in these duels," She said smiling. "You two are good, and I know you have the skills to advance, so go out there and beat whoever they dare to throw at you!"
"Hell yeah!" Rose yelled fist bumping the air.
"I'll do my best, Midori." Yuko said.
….
"Ms. Muto, you will be dueling Mr. Princeton," Crowler said smirking.
Yuko gulped, and stepped forward. "With all due respect sir, there must be some mistake. We're two levels apart." She said timidly. "Surely you don't think I could take on one of your Obelisk Blues."
"Hmm yes normally I wouldn't let degrade of my Obelisk's by making them duel a Slifer," Crowler said ignoring Rose's glare from the nearby field. "But since you and your slacker friend have already dueled one, I felt it was only fair," He said smirking. "After all, pitting another poor Slifer up against you two would be unfair to the poor student," He laughed. "Hope you both got some of today's rare cards so your decks are up to snuff," He said casting a side glance at Yuko. "Though in your case, I know you already have a very rare card in your deck."
Yuko froze. How did he know about Dreadroot? That duel was- of course. There were probably security cameras all over the school. Yuko started to breathe heavily. She felt like a hand was closing around her throat. This isn't what she planned for. This wasn't supposed to happen.
"Hey Yuko what's wrong?" Rose asked raising an eyebrow.
"They know about Dreadroot. No one's supposed to know. He's only for serious situations. This isn't what I planned for." Yuko said, her voice shuddering.
"Welp too late to switch decks now," Rose shrugged. "You're gonna have to roll with it."
"People will be after him." Yuko said. She looked like she was about to cry.
"People will piss themselves looking at him," Rose argued back.
"And then they'll want that power for themselves." Yuko said. "Rose, I don't know if I can do this."
"Yes you can!" Rose yelled in a tone that made Syrus from the stands flinch in remembrance. "And if anyone comes after you I'll kick their ass myself!" She yelled. "Now I'll help you, first puff out your chest!"
Yuko took a shaky breath in, and her filled lungs, puffing out her chest.
"Now say tax exemption!" Rose yelled making Crowler, Chazz, and Rose's opponent raise an eyebrow.
"Tax exemption!" Yuko repeated, somehow already feeling more confident.
"Now you must acquire a taste for, free-from jazz!" Rose declared.
As Yuko and Rose assumed inquisitive poses, Syrus dug out a boom box that Rose has given him and pushed play. A loud blast of intense jazz echoed throughout the stadium.
"Syrus where did you get that?" Bastion asked raising an eyebrow.
"Rose, she said if I didn't do this she'd punch my shins," Syrus said turning red as the crowd started staring at him.
"Ok Yuko you're ready!" Rose said giving a beaming grin and a thumbs up as she returned to her duel.
"I can do this. People are gonna poop themselves at the sight of Dreadroot." Yuko thought to herself, stepping up to the field. "I apologize. I'm ready, sir."
"Umm yes," Crowler said looking between Rose and Yuko with an odd stare. "Anyway, begin!"
"Duel!" (LP: 8000)
"I'll go first. I draw." Yuko said. Hmm. Not the best hand to start with, but it'll do.
"I set this monster and two more cards face down and end my turn." Yuko said. The lump in her throat was returning, but she repressed it.
"What a waste of a turn. I draw." Chazz sneered. "Appreciate the rare cards, Crowler." "Fresh off the presses, meet Magical Mallet!"
A small mallet with angel wings appeared on the card as the spell activated. "All the cards in my hand that I don't want, I put back in my deck. Then I shuffle and redraw the same amount of cards. Pretty cool, don't you think?" He taunted.
"I suppose." Yuko thought.
"Hey that's one of the rare cards!" Syrus yelled from the stands. "How did he get it?"
"I have a hunch a certain doctor isn't playing fair," Bastion said looking over at Crowler, who appeared to be on nearly hopping out of his seat in anticipation.
"And it comes in handy when I'm looking for this! 'V-Tiger Jet'! Sharpen your claws for Attack mode!"
A jet with animal features burst onto the field, claws extending. (1600/1800)
"And there's a lot more where that came from! Check out the magic of 'Frontline Base'! It lets me summon a level four or lower union monster from my hand this turn! And I have just the one! I play "W-Wing Catapult in Attack mode!"
A double cabin spaceship appeared on the field. (1300/1500)
"Gentlemen, start your engines! Now merge!" Chazz declared. Without the use of a 'Polymerization', the two mechanical monsters stacked on top of each other, making a new monster.
"All right! VW Tiger Catapult!" (2000/2100) "But I'm not done yet, cause he still has his special ability."
"Oh no." Yuko said.
"Oh no," Syrus whispered.
"Oh yeah!" Chazz yelled. "By sending a card to the graveyard, I can force one of your monsters into Attack mode!"
Yuko's facedown monster flipped up, revealing a very angry looking flying squirrel. (1000/100)
"So now after this Heat Seeker Blitz from my Tiger Catapult, your Life Points are toast!" Chazz gloated, as Tiger Catapult fired a barrage of missiles, annihilating the squirrel. (Yuko's LP: 8000-7000)
"Well it's a good thing you got rid of him. When 'Nimble Momonga' is destroyed in battle, not only do I gain 1000 life points, but I can summon two more of him from my deck face down." Yuko said. Two cards stuck out of her deck, which she grabbed and placed on the board. (Yuko's LP: 7000-8000)
Chazz grit his teeth. "I'll finish up with one card facedown." he said, and a card appeared on the field.
"Oh no," Syrus said nervously. "Yuko has two monsters out."
"What? Why is that bad?" Bastion asked confused by Syrus's paling face.
"Her main monster," He whispered shifting down in his seat to hide himself.
"My turn. I draw." Yuko said. An electric shock type feeling went through her arm. She had drawn Dreadroot. "Hello old friend. I'm sorry I got you wrapped up in this." She thought.
"You should be," A voice growled lowly in the back of Yuko's head. "-But not for that, you should be sorry you are so weak."
"Yeah, I am pretty- excuse me what? Have I finally had a mental break or something? Who is that?" Yuko thought.
"No, you have not had a breakdown yet you weakling," The voice answered with a dark guffaw. "Though I hope you do soon, so that I may go to a more deserving host."
"Well then what's happening? Is someone in the crowd a telepath, have I developed schizophrenia or something?" Yuko thought.
"Foolish mortal child," The voice boomed in Yuko's head. "You knew from the insolent brat that possessed your weakling of a brother what I was when he gave you that card."
It was then that Yuko remembered how she got Dreadroot in the first place. Yugi had headed across town one day with little information given. All she knew was that Tea, a childhood friend of his, had been in trouble. When he finally came back, he looked like he had been in horrible shape.
He told her everything that had happened. Someone had taken over the KaibaCorp building and was trying to resurrect Pegasus using Tea as a living battery of sorts. At least, that's how she had interpreted it. The next day, he had gifted her a card. It was the very same card that she had just drawn.
"You were alive in there this entire time?" Yuko asked.
"Of course not you foolish girl," Dreadroot responded with a growl. "That brat masquerading as a pharaoh thought with the power of his false Gods he could destroy me and my brothers forever," Dreadroot said laughing loudly. "All that brat succeeded in doing was severing our current connection to this accursed mortal plane through that boy with delusions of grandeur," He explained as Yuko felt his card's eyes seemed to turn to look at her. "-But now we have a new connection," He said vaguely as his card seemed to smirk at her before she blinked at its artwork returned to normal.
"Ominous, but ok." Yuko thought. She honestly didn't know how else to respond.
"Do not take that tone with me you pitiful mortal!" He roared blasting Yuko with his fear aura. Yuko felt like a giant hand had just squeezed her soul to the point of bursting. She'd never feared for her own life before. She couldn't even scream, instead she fell to her knees and clutched her head. "You think you can talk to me like that?" He boomed in her ears. "I am Dreadroot! The Wicked God of Fear and Terror! You are a lowly mortal who I could crush under my fist if I so desired!" He yelled slamming his fist down before letting off his aura.
"With all due respect, what do you want from me?!" Yuko asked.
"I do not want anything from you," Dreadroot responded. "The very fact I have to interact with you sickens me to my very core, but until a more worthy host comes at takes me from you, my soul shard will remain tethered to your weak soul," He said casting a sideways glance at Rose. "I wonder if I can convince her to take me, that little furball of a spirit protecting her would be eradicated if I could unleash my full power upon it," He said with an evil chuckle.
"I don't know about full power, but if you're looking for someone or something to fight, I've almost got all the pieces I need to summon you to the field." Yuko noted absentmindedly.
"I know," Dreadroot growled. "I am in your empty head, but fine summon me if you dare, maybe my aura will actually kill you this time," He laughed darkly.
"Yeah, maybe." Yuko said, laughing a bit despite herself.
"Well?" Dreadroot asked. "What are you waiting for?"
"Right. This'll take a couple turns and bank on a trap, please bear with me." Yuko said.
"Not that you weakling," Dreadroot growled. "Why are you waiting to end this conversation?"
"I can do that?" Yuko asked, making Dreadroot laugh and shake his head. "Your brother was even more foolish than I thought," He laughed. "He never taught you about your mindscape, that does explain the lack of protection in your empty head," He said activating his aura for a few seconds making Yuko shake. "We are talking in your mind, time moves much slower here, in the real world, you have just drawn my card."
Yuko was suddenly thrust back to reality. So she guessed this was NOT like ending a Skype call. She looked down at Dreadroot. She was going to have to talk to him about her brother later.
"I place a monster face down, as well as a face down card. I end my turn." Yuko said.
"Ready for round two you Slifer slime?" Chazz taunted. Despite having the power of free form jazz on her side, which would have nullified his taunts anyway, what Yuko just went through made Chazz' insults seem like nothing.
"Because my 'X-Head Cannon' is! And thanks to Frontline's magic, so is 'Z-Metal Tank!'"
Two huge machines teleported onto the field. (1800/1500) (1500/1300)
"Now I play my face down card, 'Call of the Haunted'! It allows me to bring back a monster from my graveyard! And I choose the 'Y-Dragon Head' that I discarded with my Catapult's special ability!"
A mechanical dragon rose from the grave. (1500/1600)
"And now I combine them all to create 'XYZ-Dragon Cannon!" The three monsters flew up and combined their parts to create an amalgam of a monster. (2800/2600)
"Not good," Syrus said nervously.
"Indeed, Chazz now has two incredibly powerful monsters on the field," Bastion said looking at the field. "Yuko is in for quite the fight."
"But wait, there's more! Actually, less. They say that two heads are better than one, but I have to disagree."
"Don't you do it…" Yuko thought.
"Especially when the one in question is the ultimate 'VWXYZ-Dragon Catapult Cannon!'" Chazz called out. Both his monsters combined further to create something akin to a Megazord. (3000/2800)
"Makes those little squirrels look like fur rugs, at least they did." He sneered.
A whirlwind picked up around one of the Nimble Momongas, and it disintegrated off the field.
"Oh, that's not good." Yuko thought.
"Oh no!" Syrus yelled.
"Oh no," Bastion said nervously.
"Oh yeah!" Chazz yelled. "Oh I'm sorry, didn't I mention VWXYZ's special ability? Once per turn, I can target one card on your field and banish it! And if you think that's impressive, wait until you see his attack!"
"I won't see it yet. I activate the trap card Threatening Roar! This card makes it so you can't attack this turn." Yuko said. The card flipped up and let out a booming roar across the field.
"That bought her a turn," Bastion said looking at the field. "But if she doesn't deal with that mechanized menace soon, she'll be done for."
Alexis looked down from the skywalk with a glare. "This is a complete mismatch!" She thought. "Chazz's deck is full of those rare cards, how can Yuko fight back if she doesn't know what she's fighting?"
"I end my turn." Chazz grumbled.
"I draw." Yuko said. That's a good one.
"I special summon 'Gillasaurus' from my hand using its special ability." An angry velociraptor teleported onto the field, snarling. (1400/400) The downside of this is that you can special summon a monster from your graveyard if you wish." Yuko said.
"I don't need help from a Slifer slacker, but I'll take it, one more monster to blow you away with." Chazz sneered. "You're lucky I don't have any monsters in my graveyard to summon."
"Ok. I also use 'Monster Reborn' to bring back 'Nimble Momonga' and tribute all three monsters to summon 'The Wicked Dreadroot'!
"Finally!" Dreadroot roared in happiness. "Now, lets see if I can make you a proper duelist!"
"What does that mean?" Yuko said, a bit spooked at the ominous phrase.
Dreadroot laughed as a cold feeling washed over Yuko. "Lets see if you can handle this."
The entire stadium started shaking. The floor crumbled and a huge hand ripped out of the ground. The lights shuddered, and turned off. It pulled out a huge demon armored in bone, wings unfolding and dwarfing VWXYZ. (4000/4000)
"Evil maniacal laughter!" Yuko shouted, and cackled.
"Hey what happened to the lights?" Rose asked looking around before looking over at Yuko's field. "Oh it's that thing again," She said shrugging. "Oh well, my turn then."
Syrus had already dropped to the floor and crawled under his chair when he saw Yuko's third monster appeared, and now he was thanking his lucky stars because the stands around him had erupted into a mixture of mass confusion and stunned silence. People were actually running for the exit while others were huddling together to try and hold themselves together. Bastion meanwhile had managed to get over his fear long enough to run down the stairs to get closer to the arena. "Bastion what are you doing!" Syrus yelled from his hidey hole.
"I must analyze this monster up close!" He yelled back.
"Don't do it Bastion!" Syrus yelled. "It's not worth it!" But Bastion had already reached the edge of the arena and was now contemplating jumping down into it to get even closer.
"When Dreadroot hits the field, the attack and defense of all monsters on the field except for itself are halved!" Yuko shouted over the screams and general chaos, though she would have screamed it anyway. A purple fog pooled at Dreadroot's legs and expanded outward. (3000-1500/2800-1400)
"H-how did a slacker like you get a card like that!" Chazz yelled taking a few steps back as Dreadroot loomed over him.
"Insolent whelp! You say that I am a slacker, but I am a greater duelist than you will ever be!" Yuko roared. "Dreadroot! Attack with Fears Knockdown!"
Dreadroot reaches over and picked up VWXYZ and held it in his fist. He crushed it like a paper cup. (Chazz' LP: 8000-5500)
Yuko giggled and swayed. "I am feeling it."
"You've lost it," Chazz growled looking at his next card, which caused him to break out into laughter. "You're in for it now Slacker, I play 'Monster Reborn' to bring back my 'VWXYZ-Dragon Catapult Cannon' now I'll use its effect to banish your Dreadroot, say bye bye chump!"
A whirlwind started to form around Dreadroot.
"I activate the trap card 'Divine Wrath'! This puts a stop to your pathetic tin soldier's effect and destroys it!"
A bolt of red lightning shot down from the rooftops and disintegrated VWXYZ.
"I place one card face down and end my turn," Chazz said nervously.
"Hey Yuko you ok over there?" Rose asked walking away from her duel, her opponent for some reason had stopped playing a few turns ago.
Yuko cackled madly. "Never been better."
"Ok then," Rose said walking over back to the stands and taking Bastion's previously occupied seat. "Hey Syrus," Rose said looking under the chair. "Are you ok?"
"No," Syrus whined nervously.
"Do you want me to hold you?" She asked clearly seeing her normal methods wouldn't work on him.
"Yes," He said crawling into Rose's lap and curling into a ball.
"There there," Rose said calmly. "Just lay back and think of England."
"I draw!" Yuko said. Her card was irrelevant to the situation. "Dreadroot! Attack directly with Fears Knockdown!"
Dreadroot swept the field with an open handed slap. (Chazz' LP: 5500-1500)
"Hey Chazz give up!" Rose yelled from the stand as she continued to pet Syrus like a scared puppy.
"I end my turn." Yuko said.
"I play 'Chthonian Soldier' (1200/1400) and end my turn," Chazz said with a sneer.
"I draw!" Yuko said. "What a pathetic last move. Dreadroot! Attack with Fears Knockdown!"
Dreadroot smacked Chthonian Soldier into the ground, and if it were real, it would have left an awful splatter of blood and guts. (Chazz' LP: 1500-0. Winner: Yuko)
"You are a third rate duelist with a fourth rate deck." Yuko boomed. And as she turned to exit and Dreadroot gave back control, she stumbled and regained her footing.
"Whoop," Rose yelled from the stand. "I'd say that was a win!"
Yuko broke out into the fastest run she ever ran and booked it to the bathroom.
"Well, you did not disappoint me as much as I thought you would."
Yuko was hunched over a toilet, vomiting harder than she ever had before.
"You are still a weakling though."
"Yeah." Yuko said, and lurched forward again.
Dreadroot laughed as he let his host puke her guts out before fading into the back of Yuko's mind. Yuko didn't return to the stadium for a good half hour.
"Well that was nice," Rose said picking Syrus up and throwing him over her shoulder like a sack of potatoes. "Well let's go back to dorms then," She said walking out of the stadium, ignoring the pandemonium around her.
…
"So I saw what happened at the exams," Midori said evenly.
"Please don't be mad at me Midori, I didn't mean to short out the power grid!" Yuko pleaded.
"Its ok," Midori said pulling Yuko into a hug. "I also heard you passed your exams."
"Yeah I passed, but I gave a lot of people too good a scare." Yuko said.
"Well then they'll think twice about dueling you now!" Midori said happily.
"I would hope so." Yuko said.
"Chillin' out with your crew in the school yard!" Rose sang as she threw open the door. "Findin' trouble never lookin' too hard!" She yelled directing that last line at Yuko. Yuko just gave her a tired glance. "Well back at class, they never taught us this! Some things you gotta learn, hit or miss!"
"Hi Rose." Yuko said tiredly.
"We passed!" Rose yelled grabbing her two roommates and spinning them around.
"Rose, I don't feel well." Yuko said.
"Oh you're fine," Rose said patting her head. "You just need a good night's sleep."
"Yeah you're right." Yuko said, and climbed into her bunk.
"So that brings me to another question I have," Midori said with a kind smile and a 「Menacing」aura. "Why are you two still here, if you passed?"
"Eh, red is a better color," Rose said trying to play it cool despite the cold sweat down her back.
"I don't think I need to move up." Yuko said. "Besides, I'm most at home here."
"Well then," Midori said not breaking her smile. "I'm gonna have to train you two even harder than before," She said making Rose pale. "I think a nice jog around the island at 4:00am is just what you two need!"
Rose groaned and banged her head against the beds. "Kill me," She whispered.
"Kill me first." Yuko murmured.