The next morning, Evan smelled the tangy scent of sea salt as he approached the Slifer Red dormitories near the coast. They weren't anything spectacular, just buildings resembling motel bungalows and mediocre motels in the islands of Key West or something.

Still, it beats living in the smelly swamps. These living quarters were reserved for the Slifer Red students who were skilled enough not to get stuck in bronze. Evan loved it right away. The ocean breeze cooled his face and there was a river flowing by in front of the dorms surrounded by bushes with tropical flowers, stones, and a white limestone bridge.

Below the hill were the Slifer Red girls' dormitories. They, too, were placed by a cliff with a grand view of the ocean and were surrounded by a wall of palm trees for added privacy and iron fencing for security. A waterfall gracefully cascaded down a rocky cliff next to the dorm. It flowed by a river in front of the dorms and fell down another waterfall into a jungle lagoon below. Laying near the main gate was a Rhodesian Ridgeback named Huon, who was the mascot of the Slifer Girl's dorm and watchdog, belonging to the dorm supervisor, Dixie McKnight, who serves as a proctor in the Duel Exams and coach of the Duel Academy girl's soccer team. Their dorm was slightly unique in that it was placed directly in the middle of a river that flowed off a waterfall into a pool in the jungles below.

"Heads up!" a girl shouted from the jungle around the dorm.

Evan turned around and screamed. A Dragunity Knight Romulus soared towards him, his lance up and ready to strike him down.

"NO!" cried Evan. He fell to the ground, holding up his arms in a poor attempt to shield himself from the oncoming attack. "Don't spear me!" he pleaded.

Romulus flew over him and clashed with a massive machine monster called Crystron Quariongandrax. Their weapons collided, sending a rain if sparks falling to the ground. Their battle was interrupted when an Ignister Prominence, the Blasting Dracoslayer swooped down from the sky brandishing a large flaming sword. Dragunity Knight Romulus kicked his dragon mount. The dragon turned its head in time to see Ignister Prominence rocketing towards him. The two monsters collided then took off into the blue sky, creating a horrible gust that caused Evan to cry out and shield his face with his arm.

"Get ready!" shouted a Slifer Red girl with a Cajun accent. "I activate the trap...Hey get out of there! You're in the middle of our duel!"

"Huh?" Evan wondered. He gulped when he realized he was interrupting a match. Ignister Prominence flew back to the Cajun girl who had her arms crossed in anger. She had messy dirty-blondr hair under a dirty brown baseball cap. And she sported an orange neckerchief. Evan then looked behind him and saw another young lady tapping her foot on the ground as Crystron Quariongandrax hovered behind her snarling.

Evan picked himself up and patted the dust off his trousers. "I'm so sorry, everyone."

The girl who summoned Romulus ran towards him. Her flaming ruby-red hair with teal highlights was tied into a long ponytail that flowed past her buttocks. Each time she ran, the ponytail coiled over one of her thighs. Her eyes were lime green and she had a pendant around her neck that resembled a sword used by Dragunity Knight - Ascalon. She only wore a black sports bra and the skirt of her uniform, her jacket and blouse were hanging from the branch of a tree nearby.

"Time out, you guys!" The girl formed a T with her hands.

"Nah, I'm gonna fold," said the Cajun girl. She powered off her duel disk and Ignister Prominence slowly vanished. "I gotta get ready for class. Hopefully, we can finish this three way later." She looked at Evan sternly. "And with no interruptions."

The duelist with Crystron Quariongandrax did the same. "Yeah, same here. See you guys later."

"Bye guys," said the player who controlled Dragunity Knight Romulus. She then laughed as she stopped in front of Evan, her boots crunching the pebbles beneath her. She started rubbing the back of her head in distress. "Hey, that was a close call. Sorry about that. You okay there, fella?"

Evan ogled at her, his eyes sparkling as he was dumbstruck by her curvy body and beautiful face. "Yeah, yeah, I'm all right. Was that your monster?" He heard something soaring over him. He ducked with a yelp, feeling the dirt sprinkling up around him. The girl laughed as whatever it was stopped moving. Evan looked up cautiously and saw Romulus hovering behind her. The Solid Vision Holograms were clearly a work of magic. Even though the monster wasn't real, the advanced technology in the Duel Disk gave it a physical form that players could see and even touch. As it flapped its wings, the trees swayed and clouds of dust rose around the girl's ankles.

"Eh-heh, I guess he was your monster," Evan chuckled nervously.

The girl let out a giggle. "Yup. That he is. Seems he's taken a liking to messing around with you. I'm Trix by the way. Nice to meet you."

Evan shook her hand. "I'm Evan. Nice to meet you, Trix. I take it you run a Dragunity deck. Neat. I heard it takes a lot of skill to use those. What are you doing here in Slifer Red?"

"Dragunity monsters aren't that hard, bruh. You make it sound like rocket science or something. And I'm out here in Red because I can't pass those written exams for crap."

"Oh, I see. Well, you duel pretty well, Trix. I'm sure you'll climb the ranks pretty soon."

Trix shrugged. "Eh, I kinda like it here, actually. It's nice and cozy. The waterfalls and the lagoons below are great places to swim on a hot day. And we've got our own little beach down below the cliffs. Besides, I'm not into that hoity-toity rich stuff. It's a little too glamorous for me. This here is just right. Not to mention Red's my favorite color and Slifer the Sky Dragon is my favorite of the Egyptian God Cards."

"Well, good for you, Trix. Hey, school is about to start. Shouldn't you...you know. Be getting dressed?"

Trix snapped her fingers in his face. "My dude, eyes up here! And, yeah, I should, but we like to have a little warm-up before class starts. Your coat of arms has no decorations on it. That means you're from the swamp. What are you doing all the way out here?"

"I was looking for Jaden Yuki."

Trix giggled. "Aren't we all. You want to duel him or something?"

"No, I already did that and got trounced. That's sort of why I'm here. I just wanted to apologize to him and his friend for coming off as a jerk the other day. I let my ego get the best of me."

"It happens all the time. You're not the only one who suffers from that. You're in Duel Academy after all. At least you're sweet enough to acknowledge that."

"Aw, shucks. I…"

"Hey, Trix!" the Cajun girl called out from a lit-up path. "We need to get going. The tram's in service."

"All right. I'll be right there." Trix pressed a button on her duel disk and the hologram disappeared. "If you're looking for Jaden, he's in that room right there at the far right entrance up the staircase; first door when you get up there."

"Thanks. Uh…" Evan chuckled nervously and rubbed his neck. "You're really...cute, Trix. Do you, uh, wanna meet up sometime and…"

Trix laughed and held up her gloved palm. "Sorry, my dude, but I'm already taken. I'm going out with another Slifer, but don't let that fool you. He's strong. And he's got a Red-Eyes deck that he'll have no problem pummeling you with just to prove it."

"Oh, I see. Sorry. Well, see you around, I guess."

Trix shook her head. "So long as you're out in the swamp dorms, that's not likely hotshot."

She turned and walked away, leaving Evan feeling awkward.

"Aww, man, she's so awesome! I bet she'd make an amazing girlfriend. I don't envy the guy who's going out with her." Evan hurried up the stairs of the motel-like dorm to the room where Jaden was supposed to live. He knocked on the door. No answer.

"Jaden?" Evan said, knocking on the door. "Jaden. It's Evan. From yesterday. I just want to talk to you if that's okay."

Out of curiosity, he turned the knob. "Hey, the door is open." Evan walked in. The room was dark and it smelled of dirty laundry, which there were piles of all over the floor. Evan sniffed the room again. Augh. Smelled like someone was cooking grilled cheese earlier. They must have had it for breakfast.

"Jaden?" Evan whispered. "Are you in here? Syrus? Hey, I just wanted to apologize for what happened yesterday. I might have come off as a jerk."

No one answered. He could hear the seagulls outside and the waves crashing against the shore below the cliff where the dorm was perched. He walked towards the window, knocking over piles of cards and kicking crushed soda cans. He peeled back the curtain to let in some light into the room and to gaze at the wonderful scenery below.

"Wow, what a view!"

"Those were shut for a reason!" someone barked at him.

Evan froze. Someone was sleeping on the top bunk. Someone big. The guy loomed over the guard rail, growling like an angry beast. He had a round face and a round pink nose with two fluffy parts on both sides of the top of his head that made it look like he had ears.

Evan screamed and tripped over an old shoe, landing hard on the floor.

"So you're the one making all that racket, huh?" said the boy. "What the hell do you think you're doing in here? You're not assigned to this dorm."

Evan stood up, his legs shaking. "I'm sorry. I was looking for Jaden Yuki. I thought this was his room."

"This IS his room. He's my roommate along with Syrus Truesdale. You just missed him, though. He went out to the Dueling Fields to look for some action before class began."

"I understand. Sorry. But what about you? Uh…"

The big kid yawned and rolled to his back. "Chumley's the name. Chumley Huffington."

"Okay, Chumley. Shouldn't you be going to class?"

Chumley turned and slid the covers over himself. "Don't care. Class sucks. Besides, I haven't gotten enough sleep yet. Now do us all a favor and get out of our room. Don't forget to close those curtains."

Duel Academy - East Sector

Alice and Alexis walked to class together with Jasmine and Mindy after having a big breakfast at the Mcdonald's in the food court below the main atrium. They were all stuffed and completely energized from their meal. Despite their satisfaction, Mindy was unfortunately quite sad this morning. The night before, she claimed she was ambushed by Boris and his Red Crusaders. After defeating her, they made off with her deck.

"One of his goons used his Duel Disk to summon some ghost Duel Monster to chase me!" said Mindy. "In my horror, I left my backpack on the wall where I was sitting to text this cutie I saw in class the other day. Sadly, my binder with all my rarest cards was in there. I tried to get them back, but Boris wanted to duel me for them. When I accepted, his two buddies joined in the duel at random moments and they tore me to pieces."

"I guess that was the victory that gave him the sense of power to think he could hunt down girls for his harem," Jasmine said with a shudder. She was finishing the last of her orange juice as they strolled down the halls of the school's upper levels with a view of the mountains and the jungle. Two Black Hawk helicopters from CAMP-SEC thundered by, shaking the halls. Some students were looking out the window to marvel at the views or stopped to have a conversation in the sitting areas located here and there.

"I'm about to duel him today," Alice said, throwing her empty milk carton away into a nearby trash bin. "I could force him to return your cards, Mindy."

Mindy beamed at her. "That's so sweet. You'd do that for me?"

"I don't think that's a good idea," said Alexis. "You've already got enough on the line as it is, Alice. If you add Mindy's cards to the pot, Boris might want something more."

Alice shrugged. "So. I don't have to listen to his terms if I lose."

"Of course not," said Jasmine. "You're tough."

"But what do you think Boris is going to do if she doesn't agree to her end of the bargain? He could ruin Mindy's cards or worse. He could hurt you."

They all went quiet. They knew she was right.

Alice pouted and stomped her foot on the ground. "But we can't just let that bully run around harassing people and forcing girls into a nasty harem."

"Look," said Alexis, "I want Boris kicked off the island as much as any of you, but the sad matter is Campus Security is only here to safeguard three things. The technology, the cards, and the money. They're not friendly campus liaisons like back home. These guys are mercenaries plain and simple. Unless your parents forked over some extra cash for your protection, they don't really care what's going on with us students. In short, we're on our own and have to settle things with our enemies the only way we know how."

"And that's by dueling, right?" Jasmine asked.

"Yes."

"That's so dumb," said Alice. They went down a set of stairs to the next floor. "You mean there's nothing they can do to help us with bullies?"

Alexis nodded. "Unless the bully starts going on a killing spree or does something super, super, illegal, then no. Campus Security won't waste time on you because lost cards don't mean anything to them. Look, don't look so glum. It's not all bad, girls. The only thing assholes like Boris have is reputation. You take that away from them, and they have nothing. Show the school these guys are nothing to be scared of, and they'll lose their power."

Mindy nodded, happily agreeing with what she said. "Well, thank goodness we've got duelists like Zane, Elizabeth, Chazz, and what's that guy's name again? Jaden?"

"Well, they're good," said Alice. "I seriously doubt the duel gangs out there are going to want to mess with a guy like Zane. And Chazz is surrounded by his own groupies. There's no way they'll want to lay a finger on him with all that muscle."

"Maybe they won't pick on us if we stick together," Jasmine said with a warm smile.

Alexis looked over her shoulder to peer at Jasmine. "Well, players like Zane are far too dedicated to the game and to their studies to care about these petty dorm disputes. But you're right, Jasmine. There's safety in numbers. Keep your chin up, there's going to be peace order around here. You'll see."

Jasmine and Mindy parted down the hall for an elevator to go to their calculus class, while Alexis and Alice stepped through an opening with tall wooden doors into a lecture hall. Alice felt her nostrils being assaulted by a very fruity smell.

She coughed in the middle of the entrance toward the lecture hall, for she wasn't prepared for such a smell. It was like she had entered the perfume department at the mall. The glass walls showed a lovely view of the mountains in the distance. Opera was playing from a record player on the corner of the lecture hall. The seats were built with a theme similar to a theatre and the large windows were almost veiled by large, carmine-colored curtains with gold cords that had large tassels hanging at the end. In the seats below, Alice heard someone snoring.

"Oh, it's Jaden and his little friend again," Alice whispered.

"Dozing off as usual," Alexis said, leading Alice upstairs to the upper rows. "He's got so much potential but he's looking more like the laziest kid in school."

Chazz and his friends had conquered the left side of the stands. One of his buddies came up to him serving him buttered scones and a glass of very sweet ice tea. Evan was in the class, too. He tried to get Alice's attention, but she stuck her nose up in the hair.

"Hmph!" she said, storming behind Alexis.

"Trouble with that Slifer?" Alexis asked, finding them two free seats. The desks were mahogany and each seat had a lamp with a green-glass shade.

Alice set her bag and books on the table, still frowning at the thought that she and Evan were in the same class. "He's a perv. I'd rather not talk about it."

"What happened? Did he hurt you?" Alexis asked as she sat down. It was warm in the class, so she took off her blazer and set it on the back of her seat.

"Oh no, nothing like that. He just likes to stare at...certain things." She bent over and patted her backside before sitting down.

"Yikes," Alexis whispered, trying to keep back her laughter. She gave Alice a chocolate chip cookie she bought but suddenly didn't want to eat.

"Oh, thank you!" Alice took it and ate it at once. "Mmmm," she savored the sweet and salty flavor and her face flushed pink with serenity. "So good."

Alexis giggled. "Someone's got a sweet tooth. Oops, your bow's messed up again." She adjusted it with the tenderness a mother could give. "There you go."

The music suddenly stopped and the students stopped talking once they heard the sound of the wooden doors at the entrance slamming shut. They then heard stern footsteps echoing throughout the lecture hall. He was a tall man clad in blue robes with gold epaulets on the shoulders.

"There will be no food or drinks…" the professor began. Alice's eyes darted from left to right and she slowly lowered the cookie from view. The teacher continued. "Or friendly card trading or other silly activities in this class!" He smashed his fist on his desk to wake up Jaden. "Or sleeping!" he shouted. He narrowed his eyes and looked at Jaden like a roach that needed to be terminated immediately. "You...I should have known I would see you here."

"Hey, teach, top of the morning to ya!" Jaden said.

"Be silent, slacker!" Dr. Crowler ordered, much to the joy of the other Obelisks who started sniggering. Crowler looked about the stands and was displeased by how many students were wearing red jackets or coats. He ran his fingers down both sides of his mouth; his lips colored purple, standing out against his pale skin. "Hmph. We have quite a few undesirables in here. I do not expect many of you to succeed in the world of Duel Monsters nor fully grasp and appreciate the art that is dueling. Many of you, after graduating from this institute, will be trading the phrase: "It's time to duel" to "Hey, buddy, got a QUARTER!"

Alice grimaced. This man looked like he had no tolerance for failure or the students who had Slifer in the coat of arms.

"However, I see many of you who possess the qualities of an elite duelist." He eyed Chazz and Alexis, and a few other Blues. He then smiled and folded his arms. "In this class, I will teach you how to read your opponent's every move, counter even the strongest of beasts, make up strategies on the fly, and turn things around in a duel, even in your most harrowing of situations."

He went for his desk, but before he sat down, he spotted Alice. "Ah, so there you are." He walked forward, hands behind his back. Alice looked around and shrunk in her seat feeling hundreds of eyes drilling into her like lasers.

Crowler chuckled in his throat. "Miss Alice Fenix. Sister of the legendary champion Sara Fenix. You look almost like her. I must say when I heard you had been enrolled in the academy, I was ecstatic. I've been looking forward to seeing you in my class." He held up his hands in triumph. "Huzzah! A second chance to teach greatness, that is no jest, my dear. Your sister was one of my brightest students. I see you've come to walk in her regal footsteps, no?"

"Uh…"

"Well, being a sibling to arguably one of the greatest stars in the pro leagues, perhaps you can answer me some questions. That won't be too much trouble, would it?"

"Professor I…"

"What's the matter, Miss Fenix. Nervous? Fine, I'll start with an easy one. What is it called when your opponent activates an effect and you retaliate by using one of your own?"

Damn! It was at the tip of her tongue. What was it? What was it? Reaction? Continuation? Chain?

"No?" Crowler said. He tapped his foot against the red-carpeted floor. "Fine. What is the term for a monster's effect that can react immediately?"

"Quick effect?"

"Hmm, not bad, not bad. Perhaps you're not a total loss."

Alice glared at him. Gentleman? Sara was kidding.

"Now," said Crowler. "Turn your textbooks to page 15 and we can begin." He stopped and noticed Syrus was dozing off. "SYRUS!" he yelled, waking the poor boy up.

"Stand up. Now!"

Syrus did as he was told and gulped.

"If you feel you know so much about Duel Monsters that you can sleep through my class, perhaps you can share your infinite wisdom with us and explain what a field spell does."

"Uh, right. Field spell. It's the thing...that affects the thing and uh…Oh no!"

"Parmesan cheese!" Crowler groaned, slapping his hand over his eyes. "Sit down! You worthless slacker! Oh, no-no-no neh! Is there anyone around here who can answer the question?" Crowler pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head. "And preferably someone not wearing red."

The Ras and the Obelisks started to laugh at all the Slifers in class.

Jaden scoffed. "You know somethin' teach. You really shouldn't be dissing us Reds. After all, I'm a Red and I beat you. So when you're making fun of us, you're kind of making fun of yourself."

Crowler's face dropped in horror. Insubordination! In his class! The nerve! "How dare you!"

Soon the whole class erupted into laughter. Even the higher-ranking students had to agree with him there. Crowler clamped a pink handkerchief between his teeth and pulled on it.

When the final bell of the day rang, Alice felt her stomach drop. She felt like the pit was freezing over. It was time to face Boris and show him once and for all that she was not to be picked on.

She just hoped her Sacred Phoenix cards could handle whatever kind of deck he was using. True, Xyz, Links, and Pendulums had to take some getting used to, but anybody could pick them up and play with them once they figured out how to get them to work. The Slifer Red students were no exceptions, especially Boris, who felt confident enough to be hunting Obelisk Blue students with his gang.

As they approached the Dueling Fields, Jasmine and Mindy came down from the stairs, calling for them to wait up. They wanted to see Alice duel Boris as well.

"I wouldn't miss this!" Mindy said, placing her hand on Alice's shoulder. "I can't wait to see you get my cards back and show that bully what for."

"Speaking of which," Alexis said, stopping. She pointed ahead.

They saw Boris and his friends eating apples under the shade of a tree. Zack then spotted Alice with the others and elbowed Boris to let them know they had come.

"Well, Princess Pee showed up, huh?" Boris said standing up.

Alice stomped her foot on the ground. "That's getting so annoying! Stop that!"

"Aww, wut wong, princess? You gonna cwy?"

"Yeah, big baby!"

"Waaaaa! Waaa!"

"Oh, you mindless apes!" Alice shouted. "Look, you took my friend Mindy's cards last night. She told me everything about it and I demand them back this instant!"

Boris crossed his arms. "Pfft, you want her cards back? Fine, but I'm going to want something else, too. I want all three of you to fork over your binders of rare cards if Alice loses."

"What!" they all shouted.

"You can't do this, Boris!" shouted Alexis.

"I can and I will."

Alice took a deep breath and exhaled through her nose. "You. You can't do this to other students! I'm going to report you to the..."

"Go ahead! Report me. My gramps is just gonna pay the academy to look the other way. I've got what I need to do whatever I want here, toots, and there's nothing you can do about it. Now, I'll say this again. You want Mindy's cards back, fine, she'll get them back. But I want something more when I win this duel. Whoa!" His eyes lit up when he saw Alice's advanced Kaiba Corp duel disk hanging from the side of her backpack. "Wow! Is that the new Generation V model? What's a crybaby panty-wetter like you doing with one of those!"

"Let me guess," said Alice. "You want me to fork it over if I lose?"

"Heh, heh. No, but now that you mention it, that sounds like a good idea. A duel disk as new as that should belong in the hands of a real duelist."

"You can have anything you want. I just want you to hold your end of the bargain."

"Alice!" Alexis yelled. Enough was too much. Cards, her duel disk, and being stuck in Boris's so-called harem if she loses? It was too much. A deck of cards was not worth such a ridiculously large pool.

"I will," Boris said before Alexis could say another word, in case she had the power to convince Alice not to agree to the terms and bitter the sweet prize pot he had before him. "All right, Alice, it's a deal. Your duel disk and your binders for Mindy's cards. And your sweet ass by my side. Right?"

Alice gulped, her face a mask of fury. She squared her shoulders, held her chin up, and agreed. "You have my word."

"Good girl. Now, all of you, put your binders up. Come on, let's see them."

Alice, Alexis, and Jasmine took off their backpacks and held up their binders so he could see. Boris rubbed his hands together as though he were a pirate who found buried gold.

"Ooooo, lovely. Those books are nice and thick. So are you Alexis."

"Ugh, you pig. Alice. Show him what you've got."

"I will. You can count on me, Alexis." She patted herself down. "Uh oh. I left my deck at the dorm."

"You what!" Jasmine cried.

"Girl, seriously?" Mindy groaned as Boris and his friends laughed.

"You forgot your deck?" Boris guffawed. "Ha! That's a forfeit. You lose!"

Alice grinned at him and wagged her finger. "Not quite. I still got my deck added in the Crystal Cloud Network. So this duel is still on!"

Alice took off her jacket, loosened her tie, and rolled up the right sleeve of her blouse before strapping on her Duel Disk. She followed Boris to a playing field near the river. Mindy, Jasmine, and Alexis sat down by a bench under a lamp post and watched with anticipation. They had confidence in their friend, but deep down, they were still fearful that she might lose. They were putting up binders with more than $3000 worth of rare cards inside. One of them was a card Alexis could not part with. Meteor Black Comet Dragon. It was supposed to be a present for someone she held dear to her heart.

Come on, Alice. I'm counting on you. I can't afford to lose that card. Not to mention, I don't want to pay to replace all these Red-Dragon Archfiend cards I've collected. It's going to cost me a lung.

"I'll go first!" Alice said.

She put on her eyepiece. A holographic hand with virtual cards and a complex interface glowing blue and teal appeared in front of her. She took a deep breath and began. Little did she know, her hero was watching from a cliff overlooking the field. Jaden was having an after-school snack with Syrus, Chumley, and Bastion Misawa, whom they had met back in the entrance exams.

"Look, Jaden!" Syrus called out. "Down there. It's Sara Fenix's sister."

"Alice!" Bastion said. He set down his flask of tea and stood on the edge of the cliff to get a view. "That's her all right. And she's with Alexis and her posse. She's having a duel by the looks of it."

As soon as he heard the word 'Duel' Jaden dropped his sandwich and ran from the bench to get a good view of the match. "Sara Fenix's little sister in a duel!? Well, it's about time."

"Indeed," said Bastion. "I wonder if she's any good as her sister."

"She's gotta be," Jaden jeered with excitement. "Her sister was a former world champ and is the new Duel Monsters Women's Champion. She's had to have taught her little sis some tricks."

Boris 4000 LP

Alice 4000 LP

Turn 1

Alice tapped on a virtual card on the interface in front of her. "I summon Maju of the Ten Thousand Hands!"

She summoned a grey-bodied entity whose body seemed to be made of arms. He floated in front of her and hummed eerily as he moved his arms around.

"With Manju's effect, I can add a ritual monster to my hand." Alice added the card to her deck and it shuffled automatically. "Next, I use the spell, Pre-Preparation of Rites! This card lets me add a ritual spell and ritual monster to my hand. Now, I activate the ritual spell, Rebirth of Nephthys! I sacrifice Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands and summon Devotee of Nephthys in defense mode!"

Manju growled when he was overtaken by blue flames which formed into a sorceress dressed in decorative blue robes that resembled the mighty card Alice hoped to play soon.

Devotee of Nephthys

ATK/1200 DEF/1200

The Devotee locked her hands in prayer. Her body was then enveloped by a flaming blue aura, activating her special ability. Alice giggled, for she was about to unleash quite the combo on her opponent. "All right, now Devotee of Nephthys allows me to summon Matriarch of Nephthys. Now, I'm going to use both Devotee and Matriarch to Link Summon, Nephthys, the Sacred Preserver!"

The two female sorceresses jumped into a portal with arrows marked around it. After a dazzling display of light and sparks, a giant statue of a winged creature stood over the field. Cauldrons blazed in the temple underneath it and strange hymns could be heard from within the chambers. They were the chants of the women devoted to the winged goddess.

Nephthys, the Sacred Preserver

ATK/1200 LINK -2

The eyes of the statue started glowing with blue flames, signaling Alice that it was time to activate one of its effects.

"What the hell?" said Zack. "Princess Pee can LINK Summon?"

"She's in Obelisk Blue for a reason!" said Alexis. "And her name is Alice! You'll do well to call her that!"

"I don't care what her name is," sneered Boris. "She deserves that title I've bestowed upon her. Let her serve as an example to those who get in my way. She's living proof that you Obelisk Blue students aren't all that. Her little accident shows my dominance over her! She's scared, Alexis. And if she's scared, she's in my power. Soon you all will be too. And so what if she can LINK Summon? Her giant stone chicken isn't strong. It doesn't scare me!"

"We'll just see about that!" shouted Alice. "I'm going to activate my Sacred Preserver's effect. Now, I can add a level eight Winged Beast monster and a ritual spell to my hand. From the graveyard, I return Devotee of Nephthys to the field at the cost of this monster I have in my hand. All right, now I have what I need to awaken the great phoenix from her slumber. I use Devotee of Nephthys and the Sacred Preserver to Link Summon, Nephthys, the Sacred Flame!"

The Devotee of Nephthys held her hands together and prayed. Soon, she was turned into a red flame, which was sucked into the statue. The portal with the arrows appeared in front of the statue, zapping it with electricity until it started to crack. The statue collapsed and a bright light erupted from inside, followed by a heavenly screech. Out of the statue's wreckage flew out a crimson red bird cloaked with white-gold flames.

Nephthys, the Sacred Flame

ATK/2400 LINK-3

"Wow! Pretty!" Mindy exclaimed. "Way to go, Alice!"

Bastion and the others looking from the cliff couldn't help but cheer when she summoned her monster.

"Interesting," said Bastion. He rubbed his chin. "So she uses a Nephthys deck."

"A what?" Syrus asked.

"Nephthys," Bastion repeated. "An archetype of monsters that revolve around a magical group of women who can call upon very powerful phoenixes into battle. And they reflect on the power of these phoenixes by resurrecting each other from the graveyard. A very good archetype if you know how to use it."

"A deck full of phoenixes," said Jaden. "Man, that's pretty cool. Let's see if Alice can capitalize on their power."

Back in the field, Alice tapped another card to activate. "I now use Pot of Desires, banishing the top ten cards from my deck face down to draw two cards. I end my turn."

Turn 2

"You think your little chickens are enough to scare me? My turn! Okay, Alice, I'm going to show you what real dueling is all about! I play Pot of Greed and draw my two extra cards. Now, this is what I'm talking about baby! I summon Hieratic Dragon of Tefnuit!"

He put the card down on his red Duel Disk, which was scrapped and held together with duct tape. The hologram came out staticky making Boris curse and smack it hard with his palm until the picture was clear. The dragon looked like light made into an organic form protected with gold armor pieces.

Hieratic Dragon of Tefnuit

ATK/2100 DEF1400

Hold on a minute! Mindy thought. Is that…

"What's going on?" asked Alice. "That dragon is level six! How were you able to normal summon it like that?"

Boris slammed both his knuckles on his hips and laughed. "When you have a monster on the field and I don't, I can summon this guy without tribute. Lucky for you, he can't attack. Impressed?"

"Pfft! In your dreams."

Boris hooted and wiggled his fingers around. "Oh, well then maybe this next move will. I use Monster Reborn and bring back your Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands back to my side of the field!"

Alice gulped and nervously took a step back. "Uh oh! He's planning to ritual summon a monster!"

"Heh! Not quite, dollface. I'm going to sacrifice my dragon and your monster to tribute summon Divine Dragon Lord Felgrand!"

The two monsters were consumed by fire which then rose to the sky and formed into a dragon with a golden body that glittered like a gold nugget. He was covered in spikes and had regal wings that looked like blades. His eye glimmered and he roared into the sky, announcing that he had arrived.

Jasmine stood up. "I knew it! Alexis! He's using Mindy's deck!"

Alexis looked at the monsters in shock. She looked closely and saw the border sleeves Mindy put on her cards with an illusion effect to make them look like they were made of diamonds. The sunlight made the sleeves reflect with shiny rainbow gleams. "You serious? He took that, too!"

"Yes," Mindy sobbed. "That's the ghost rare Divine Dragon Lord Felgrand my crush gave me. Look, it even has my lipstick stain on the front of the card."

"He's a thief!" Syrus said.

"So what they say about Boris is true," said Bastion. "A liar, a cheater, and a thief. How scum like him can go to this school is beyond me."

"Man, that's totally lame!" Jaden said. "Come on, Alice!"

Alice bared her teeth at Boris like an angry dog. "You're so despicable!"

"Finders keepers!" laughed Zack, the other members of the gang laughed and bumped fists for God knew what reason.

"That's right," sneered Boris. He held up Divine Dragon Lord Felgrand's card and moved it back and forth with his fingers to make it sparkle with the effect of the sleeves. "And now that he's been used as a tribute summon, heh, heh, I can use Hieratic Dragon's special ability and summon Hieratic Seal of the Sun Dragon Overlord!"

Alice felt the ground shaking. Boris laughed as a giant orb with red glowing markings rose from behind him and blocked out the sun.

Boris scoffed. "He's a weak monster with no attack points, so let's sacrifice him for something much better. I use Felgrand and my Hieratic Seal to Link Summon, Hip Hoshiningen!"

A bright light burst from out of the portal that consumed the two dragons and out came a golden star with a face. He was wearing boots and was covered with golden stars and he wore a gold star coronet on his head, with streamers coming out of his back in all the colors of the rainbow.

"Next, I'm bringing back my Felgrand with this card. Return of the Dragon Lords. Welcome back Divine Dragon Lord Felgrand. Hey, Mindy, since you know all about him, I guess you should explain to Alice what his special power is, huh?"

"What does he mean, Mindy?" Jasmine asked.

"When Divine Dragon Lord Felgrand is summoned from the graveyard, he can target a monster on your field or in your graveyard and banish it. Not only that, Felgrand gets one hundred attack points times the level of the monster he banished."

"Good girl," said Boris. "Now, let's see what Alice's got for me to strengthen my dragon with?"

Mindy stood up and shouted. "Your dragon! He's mine!"

"Not anymore he's not," said Zack. "Now shut up, bitch! My brother's got a duel to win!"

Alexis held Jasmine's hand and squeezed it. "Calm down. I'm pretty sure Alice knows what to do to take care of this guy. Have a little faith, okay?"

Mindy sniffed. Tears formed in her eyes. She felt so helpless seeing her cards being used by someone else. Even worse when that person was a person like Boris, who stole them from her. Alice tightened her fists. Now she was more determined than ever to win her new friend's cards back from Boris. But could she survive dealing with this dragon though?

Once Boris finished teasing them, he continued. "All right, I think I'm gonna banish your chicken, Alice! No, I may not get the bonus from his effect, but that's what my Hip Hoshiningen is for! So long as he's out in the field, he gives Light attribute monsters a five-hundred point boost, raising Felgrand Dragon's attack to 3300! All right, Felgrand! Banish that stupid chicken!"

Felgrand Dragon spread his massive wings. He stretched his neck up and charged a ball of light the color of molten gold. Felgrand Dragon then released his attack and struck down Alice's monster. "AAAAHHH!" She screamed. Her skirt flapped around her thighs and her tie struggled to stay around her neck as she was struck by the blast. Flying dirt and pebbles scraped against her delicate skin. Boris's friends started to cheer and high-fived one another. Alice was going to lose once her Phoenix was banished. In a few short moments, they would lose all their cards.

Mindy shielded her eyes. "Oh no!"

Alexis looked away. "Damn! This is going to leave Alice wide open for a direct attack from his monsters. She...she lost."

"Don't celebrate just yet, Boris!" shouted Alice from inside the cloud of smoke.

"Huh?" Alexis looked back at the field. The dust settled. Rays of sunlight peered through, revealing Alice's silhouette, along with the outline of Nephthys, the Sacred Flame. It survived Divine Dragon Lord Felgrand's special ability.

"Hey!" shouted Boris. "My monster's special effect hit your sacred flame dead-on. It should have been banished!"

"Sorry to have disappointed you, Boris. I activated the effect of my Ghost Ogre and Snow Rabbit!"

"Aw, no! A hand trap!"

"Good show!" Bastion said aloud.

"Yes!" Alexis cheered. "Oh my God, that was close!"

"What does she do, Alexis?" Mindy asked.

"When a card activates its effect, Alice can discard her Ghost Ogre and destroy it!"

Boris sneered. "Nice moves, but not good enough. Remember my card Return of the Dragon Lords? Well, all I have to do is banish it, and it will protect my dragon from being destroyed."

"Aw no!" shouted Alexis. "No! No! No!"

Sacred Phoenix shrieked and took off to do battle with Divine Dragon Lord Felgrand. The dragon blew flames at her, and she dodged. They flew over the fields turning hard left like two fighter jets in a dogfight. But there was no escaping the effect. Divine Dragon Lord Felgrand intensified his beam and struck the bird down, banishing it.

"Now, Hip Hoshiningen, attack her directly!"

The star opened its eyes and shot rainbow laser beams at Alice, striking her hard on the chest. She flew backward a few feet and landed on her back on the ground. She rolled to a stop.

Alice 2600 LP

"Now, Alice, your ass is mine! Divine Dragon Lord Felgrand, attack her directly!"

The dragon hovered over Alice and assaulted Alice with a bath of hot flames. Alexis and the girls sighed. They felt as though someone had dropped an anchor on the chests. Boris and his boys were jumping up and down, excited to finally claim their prizes. They started marching down the hill to pick up the binders.

"She lost," Syrus sighed.

"That's too bad," Bastion lamented. "Now they lose everything."

"Not quite," said Jaden. "Even from up here, I can see that look in Alice's eye. She's not done yet."

Boris raised his fist in the air. "I win, Alice. Now, girls, your binders are our now. Huh?"

The holograms were still up. Divine Dragon Lord Felgrand was crouched down and his wings were shielding him.

"What's this? The duel is still going on?"

"Yeah, it is," Alice said standing up. She coughed and fanned her face to get the smoke away from her nose. "Thanks to this little guy." She showed him the card that saved her. Sphere Kuriboh.

"Oh noooooo!"

"What happened?" Mindy asked. "I'm so confused...and...and I think I need new underwear."

Alexis laughed. "When she discards it from her hand, Sphere Kuriboh can force an attacking monster in defense mode. She's safe!"

Boris had lost his patience. Normally, this combo of his would have won him the match already. But he could tell Alice was a different breed. "Safe?" he said. "I don't think so, Alexis! Not if my trap cards have anything to say about it!" He slapped the last couple of cards in his hand down. "I end my turn."

Turn 3

Alice stood up and dusted her skirt and socks. "All right, Boris. It's time to show you the aces of my deck. But first, I'm using Raigeki to blast your dragon back to the graveyard!"

Alice conjured a powerful lightning storm. A strong bolt shot out of the sky and zapped Felgrand, shattering him to pieces. Boris's eyes were locked onto the spot where his dragon once stood. He was gone! Just like that? His legs started wobbling. This couldn't be happening, he thought. His pride was too great to be shattered like this. He couldn't lose. Not now. All those rare cards were so close. What were people going to think of him now that he was defeated by a person who wet herself when she got scared.

"No...n-n-no."

"Now, remember the card I used earlier to use Devotee's effect was none other than Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys. And when she's destroyed by a card effect and sent to the graveyard, she can summon her!"

Flames burst out of the ground in the center of the field. BOOM! From the explosion flew out a golden phoenix with a flaming plume on the top of her head. She screeched and spread her wings, which were coming out of her upper thighs.

Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys

ATK/2400 DEF/1600

"I hope you're not depending on those traps to do me any harm, Boris. When my phoenix returns from the graveyard, she can destroy all spells and traps on the field!"

Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys fired a beam of flames from her mouth at his face-down cards, shattering them to pieces. Boris screamed as he was surrounded by a wall of fire. "Oh no! No! I'm wide open!"

"Yes, now I activate the spell card, Pre-Preparation of Rites, allowing me to add a ritual spell and monster to my hand. Now, I use Rebirth of Nephthys, tributing this monster in my hand to summon Cerulean Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys!"

This time, blue flames erupted from the ground. Another shriek echoed across the fields and then the flames formed into a cerulean-colored and larger version of the Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys.

"Wow..." Alexis whispered in wonder. "Two phoenixes."

Bastion admired the way the two Sacred Phoenixes looked standing on either side of Alice. Both of them let out heavenly calls that rocked the landscape and created a fierce wind that caused the flowers and the grass to shiver.

"Not bad," said Bastion.

Cerulean Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys

ATK/3000 DEF/1000

Alice held out her hand and shouted: "Attack him directly! Double Sacred Flame Attack!"

Both Sacred Phoenixes flew in circles around Boris. They surrounded him in a wall of bright yellow and cerulean flames and reduced his Life Points to 0. He flew backward and landed on his friends, knocking them to the ground.

"That's game!" said Jaden. "Wow, she's good! Can't wait to go against her phoenixes myself."

"Impressive," Bastion said. "Most impressive."

"You did it!" cried Jasmine.

"Thanks, girls!" Alice said. She saw someone spying on her from the trees. A Slifer Red student. When their eyes locked, the student scoffed and headed back into the woods.

"Who was that?" Alice asked.

Alexis saw him too. She rolled her eyes and shook her head. "That was Andre Neromaki. A hotshot from Slifer Red. Don't let that get into your head. He's beaten a few Obelisk Blues today so Zane tells me. Looks like he was scouting the school's newest rising star."

"Me?! Oh no, no, no. I don't think so."

"Oh, stop being so modest," said Mindy. Her smile suddenly turned into a frown as she looked toward Boris and his Red Crusaders.

"Alright, losers, fork over the goods!" she commanded.

"Run for it!" Boris ordered. He and his friends got up and ran for the hills.

"Hey! Come back here!" shouted Alice.

"My cards!" Mindy cried.

They were going to run away from the deal, but then a Dragonic Knight appeared in front of them and stopped them in their tracks. Chazz walked out from behind a tree, hands in his pockets.

"Stealing cards, huh? Then again, you Slifer Slackers don't surprise me. Hand the cards back to the girl. Or there's gonna be trouble, Boris."

Boris heard growls behind him. He saw Chazz's friends surrounding the tree where Boris and his friends were hanging out. They had monsters out as well like Gilford the Lightning, Void Ogre Dragon, and Magical Musketeer Max. These were Solid Vision Holograms from Generation 5 duel disks, meaning they could hurt Boris if the Obelisks wanted to.

"Well?" said Chazz.

"Fine!" shouted Boris. "I don't need this stupid, pathetic deck! Or these cards." He put her deck back in its case and threw it at Alice's feet. Then Zack tossed Mindy's binder right on top of the pile.

Chazz nodded. "Good. Now, do you and your goons a favor, and don't ever show your faces on our turf again. Otherwise, we'll hunt you down like the dogs you are. My father has Campus Security well in his pockets. Believe me, he'll make sure to make them look the other the way after what we do to you. Not even your pappy or his money will be able to save you from me."

Boris turned and pointed his finger at Alice. "I won't forget this, Alice. Mark my words, the next time we meet, your chickens will get roasted! Let's go, boys."

The holograms disappeared and the field was empty and quiet.

"Not bad, Alice," Chazz said as he was walking away. "I guess you've proven why you're here with us. Just watch your back next time, cuz I won't always be around. Later." He walked away, followed by his friends.

Alice picked up Mindy's things. She was about to hand them back to her, but Jasmine raced towards her and wrapped her arms around her neck kissing her cheek over and over and over again.

"Jasmine?" giggled Mindy.

"You were so great!" Jasmine cheered. "Absolutely the hero of the day!"

Alice tried to escape but she couldn't. "Jasmine! Jasmine! You're kissing me! You're kissing me!"

"All right, fish lips, back off," Alexis said, patting Jasmine's butt and getting her to step away.

"That was so great!" Jasmine said again jumping up and down. "You really showed that jerk!"

"And you got my stuff back, too," Mindy said. "I was calm, though. Never doubted you for a second."

Alexis laughed. "Uh-huh, and I guess your nails got chewed on by themselves. Ugh, there it goes again." Alexis turned Alice around and fixed her bow again. "Sheesh, do I have to glue this thing on you, or what?"

"Sorry," Alice said bashfully.

"No worries. Well, you did good, Alice. Your Sacred Phoenix cards were pretty impressive. I have no doubt in my mind the Red Arrows are going to love having you on the team. Enora is known for having a sixth sense of talent. And I don't know about you, but I think you've got great potential."

"Thank you. You know, all of a sudden, those tryouts don't sound so scary anymore. I think I am ready to join the team."

"Well, you've got my support, Alice."

"And mine," said Jasmine.

"Me too," Mindy butted in at once. "Thanks for getting my cards back. I'll never forget this. Never."

Alexis giggled as she shook her head, patting Mindy on the shoulder. "All right, girls, I don't know about you, but I'm stressed out from all this excitement. Wanna wade in the springs to relax a bit?"

"Oh, I'm game," said Alice. "Let's go."

Duel Academy - Faculty Towers

Dr. Crowler scratched his head and growled ferociously as he sat behind his desk. He concocted something terrible in his mind and began to write down a letter with a pink feather quill.

"How dare that slacker, Jaden, make a mockery of me in front of my class like that. Well, I'll show him once and for all. After Campus Security catches him committing this terrible act of debauchery, he's going to be on the first boat off Duel Academy."

He folded the letter and stuffed it in an envelope. Then, he applied purple lipstick and kissed the front of it, and laughed.