Evidently, I've gotten a lot better at cliffhangers, because a lot of you thought Yang was losing an arm a few chapters ago and Jaune had immediately failed when he messed up his Xyz Summon. Clearly, this means that I have ascended to realms of PHENOMINAL COSMIC POWER!

Happy Easter/Passover!

Beta-ed by xenosaiyan

"Hey, honey. How are you doing?"

"Fine, mom. Just going over my deck. Gotta make sure he doesn't steamroll me too easily, right?"

"... Jaune, I know you were really excited when that acceptance letter came in… but you didn't even have your aura unlocked. Beacon isn't like a duel combat school. Do you really think you're ready for it?"

"... what other option do I have? Stay here? Be the laughingstock of Ansel forever? The shame of the Arcs?"

"You're not a shame of the family, dear."

"Tell that to anyone who doesn't live in this house. It'll give them a good laugh."

"Dear…"

"It doesn't matter if it's dangerous. If I don't go to Beacon, I'm never going to be worth… anything. So I'm dueling dad, even if I can't beat him."

"... well, this might help then. A package from Saphron. I think it's your birthday present."

"Eeee! Really?!"

"Maybe it'll help your deck. I'll leave you to strategize."

"Thanks, mom! Oh, I hope it's the Gagaga Samurai foil she told me about… what's this? Some sort of key?"

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"Jaune! Are you okay?! Can you hear us!?"

"Get up, Jaune! You've gotta get up!"

"Rise up! Please, rise up, Jaune!"

In contrast to the frantic pleading of Pyrrha Nikos and Jaune Arc's other friends, Mercury struggled not to pull out his comicbook and get back to reading after the blond student he was supposed to be proctoring had smacked back against the hardlight dust wall and crashed facedown on the floor.

Honestly, what kind of moron was this guy? Who tried to use an Extra Deck summoning method they hadn't mastered in a real duel? What did he expect would happen? Mercury's father was a piece of work, but he'd made sure that his son knew, among other less pleasant things, to never try and overextend himself on a whim. The backlash of a failed summoning could wipe out a duelist's entire aura reserve, maybe even cause serious injury if they didn't have much. Frankly, Mercury was amazed the idiot's hadn't broken from that stunt.

"Professor Port!" Weiss Schnee called from the stands. She may not have been frantically pleading with the blond to wake up as Pyrrha and Ruby had been, but concern for him was still written over her face. "Is he–"

"His vitals are stable," the mustached teacher proclaimed to the crowd, observing the testing arena's medical readout on his scroll. "His aura is down to forty percent, but it is safely above the red."

Forty percent? How much aura did this clown have? No normal person should have had more than twenty after a blast like that.

"He has a minute to rise up and resume the duel. Still, we should make sure he truly is okay," Professor Port muttered, eyeing his downed student in concern. "Mercury, my boy! Check his pulse!"

Mercury resisted the urge to roll his eyes, noting Emerald's insistent stare from above demanding that he not jeopardize his cover by revealing that he could not care less about the blond noodle boy. Honestly, that just tempted him to ignore the guy more, especially given she was using her semblance on him already for her dumb prank.

Besides, given the state of the crowd outside his cheerleaders, it might have been kinder to let him stay unconscious.

"Wow. I think that might have been the fastest I've ever seen someone crash and burn in a duel."

"Epic fail, man. But then again, what do you expect from a Slifer Slacker."

"Nah, Slifer Slackers at least have half a brain cell. A dueling monkey could do better than this guy–"

"What the heck are you doing, Arc?!"

The entire crowd went silent. Mercury, Pyrrha, Ruby, Weiss, Emerald, Port, and every other pampered scrub student in the stands whirled toward the furious voice that had drowned out all the gossip: a bulky Ra Yellow Beacon kid with a flattop of red hair.

What was his name again? Mercury knew he'd seen him around in old Bushy Brow's class, but aside from Team RWBY who the boss lady had ordered him to keep an eye on, and Team JNPR, who he'd also been ordered to keep an eye on since Nikos was probably Ozpin's first choice for a replacement Fall Maiden, the colorful cast of future Grimm fodder just sort of blended together. Seriously, he thought it started with a 'C'? Christian? Carlos? Cardin…

Nah, it was probably Carlos. He had a good feeling about that one.

"Mr. Winchester," Port spoke up. "Please return to your seat–"

"What kind of joke was that, Arc?!" Carlos roared, smashing his fists down on the stands' railing as he roared at the unconscious blond. "You bring out a Number without breaking a sweat when no one's watching and then you pull out that garbage when all eyes are on you? Get used to it! A hunting duelist duels with everyone's eyes on them when the Grimm are coming in! And I'm not gonna bother crushing you at the Vytal Festival if you can't even duel like a man when it counts!"

"You've been acknowledged as the boss' rival, Slifer Slacker!" a guy with a mohawk shouted from next to the bulky boy. "So get up and prove that you deserve it!"

"Yeah!" two other boys yelled. "Get up and duel like you mean it!"

Ruby blinked. "Not where I expected that to come from, but I'll take it! Come on, Jaune! Listen to Cardin and his team… one of whom has a mohawk!"

"Yeah! Me!" the guy with the mohawk screamed. "Listen to me, Russel, and the boss, Arc!"

"You've taken harder hits than that, Jaune!" Pyrrha yelled. "You take blow after blow after blow and you always get back up! You're going to be a hunting duelist! Don't let a bump in the road keep you from climbing that mountain!"

"What in the Maidens' name is going on?" Mercury murmured.

Nikos and Rose he could understand, they were bleeding hearts. But he was pretty sure he'd never seen Carlos or his team have a single friendly interaction with Arc. Why in the world were they suddenly cheering him on like they were his biggest fans?

And why did any of them even care?! It wasn't like this was some life-or-death duel. It was literally just a school test. And unlike his dad's old tests, no one got the stuffing beaten out of them or went to bed without dinner if Arc failed. Who won didn't matter.

"Such a touching show of friendship and rivalry," Port sniffled, the mustached hunting duelist wiping a tear from his eye. "But rules are rules. Mr. Arc! If you can hear me, you have ten seconds to make your move! Nine! Eight–"

Arc's fingers curled into a fist and slammed against the arena floor, the disintegrating aura bodies of his monsters suddenly solidifying. His clothes smoked and his aura crackled, but bit by bit, his shaking body rose to its knees as he plucked a card from his hand. "I… I… tribute Gogogo Golem to summon his super mode, Gogogo Golem - Golden Form."

Mercury sighed as the big rock titan's stones shifted and morphed into a slimmer, blockier, and yes, golden version of itself (ATK 3600/DEF 1500) that definitely hadn't been on the advertisement in his comic. Seemed he'd have to wait until lunch to get back to reading his comic. Maybe sooner if he got lucky. The boss lady would read him the riot act (or with her, fireball act) if he slacked off too much in his 'aspiring hunting duelist' facade, but just because Arc and his gang were so invested in this duel didn't me he had to be.

This was just another part of the job. He'd fulfill it one way or another and move on. No matter how into it Arc, Nikos, Rose, and Carlos were.

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"Are you sure you're alright, Jaune?"

"Don't worry," Jaune muttered to his spectral companion, trying to hide how his body felt like it'd been run over by a Goliath at the moment. "Dad told me that I've got a lot of aura. I'll be fine."

Astral frowned with worry, glancing away with a guilt-ridden look. "I am sorry. I never wanted you to get hurt. I just–"

"Thought that I could do it. I know," Jaune said, a genuine smile crossing his face even as his jaw creaked with pain. "You believed in me. Thank you."

He didn't know how long he'd been out, probably not long given he hadn't been disqualified, but relieving the memory of who he'd been before he'd met Astral, the kid wallowing in self-loathing brought about by bullying and a family that loved him but didn't believe for a second that he could achieve his dream, it was a stark reminder of what he never wanted to be again. Who he would never be again. Deal or not, since the moment he'd first gotten the key from Saphron and met the spirit, he'd never once doubted that Jaune could be a hunting duelist. Even when he'd criticized him, he'd never once stopped trying to help him.

Really, the returned whispers of the crowd were easy to deal with in comparison.

"Looks like there's still more comedy to come."

"Is he seriously still gonna duel after that mess?"

"Maybe The Invincible Girl isn't as tough as everyone says if she's willing to let that clown lead her."

Jaune's eyes instantly narrowed at that last comment, whirling his head and zooming in on the Shade student he dared speak it. He was vaguely certain he'd heard that the Vacuo Academy let its students decide who was team leader by who was the strongest duelist, so the kid's thought process made sense.

But no one got to insult Jaune's friends, Pyrrha especially. His partner was, quite frankly, the nicest, most skilled, most considerate, and most compassionate person that he knew. She could have turned him in the moment she learned about his fake transcripts, no one would have blamed her. Instead, she'd become the second person after Astral to believe in him despite knowing the full depths of his imperfections. He owed them both so much. They'd helped him, trained him, believed in him.

Maybe it was finally time he believed in himself a bit.

"Hey, Astral?" Jaune softly inquired. "Backfire's a continuous trap, right?"

Astral tilted his head in confusion but nodded. "That is what Pyrrha and Yang said."

Jaune smirked, finally fully rising to his feet. "Good. Gogogo Golem - Golden Form! Attack Battlin' Boxer Glassjaw!"

The shining super mode of the Onomatopoeia Gang's biggest main member flashed across the field in the blink of an eye, its piston-like arm pulled back and aimed at its foe. The Battlin' Boxer leapt into action in turn, shoving its vulnerable chin forward.

"When Battlin' Boxer Glassjaw is attacked, its effect activates," Mercury boredly announced. "It self-destructs. And since it's sent to the graveyard by a card effect–"

"It won't be!" Jaune declared. "The first time a monster effect is activated each turn while Gogogo Golem - Golden Form is on the field, that monster effect is negated. But since Gogogo Golem hasn't learned to control his super mode yet, it has to activate against the first effect each turn, and he loses fifteen hundred attack points each time."

"Is that so? Then I activate my trap card Backfire as chain link three," Mercury replied, his facedown flipping up as Gogogo Golem - Golden Form's glow dimmed (ATK 2100). "You deal me a hundred points of damage, but you'll be taking five hundred points each time a fire monster of mine is destroyed."

Jaune's smirk grew. He fell for it. He'd revealed where Backfire was.

"As chain link four, I activate the Quick-Play Spell Mystical Space Typhoon!" the blond shouted, slamming the card into Crocea Mors' slot. "I destroy one spell or trap card on the field, Backfire in this case! And since it's a continuous trap, its effect is neutralized when it's destroyed."

A typhoon burst down from above and smashed Backfire to pieces, Mercury's key card eradicated from the field.

"You attacked to bait him out, to identify which of his facedowns was Backfire," Astral observed with a smile. "Well played. The card that nearly defeated Yang is gone."

Jaune pumped his fist. "Gogogo Golem - Golden Form! Shining Golden Smash!"

Gogogo Golem - Golden Form reeled back its arm and with a mighty thrust, punched straight for Glassjaw's chest.

Only for the Battlin' Boxer's glove to glow scarlet (ATK 3000), Blue Flame Swordsman's blade suddenly blazing white as the weapon was burnt away for kindling (ATK 1200).

"Counterpunch," Mercury yawned, pulling out a card ejected from his graveyard slot. "Blue Flame Swordsman."

Blue Flame Swordsman's inferno surged into Battlin' Boxer Glassjaw's glove, the towering warrior roaring with pride and power (ATK 3600). With a mighty heave, it ducked under Gogogo Golem - Golden Form's attack and obliterated the stone titan.

Jaune gasped as the backlash of the attack slammed into him, the blond duelist driven back to his knees by the sudden turnabout.

Jaune Arc: 2500 Life Points

"Wha… what?" Jaune mumbled. "What did you–"

"Once per turn, Blue Flame Swordsman can decrease its attack points by six hundred in order to increase another Warrior-Type monster on my field's attack by the same amount," Mercury explained. "I can also banish Battlin' Boxer Counterpunch from my graveyard to boost a batting monster of its archetype by another thousand points. Short version? Your golem's a pile of rubble."

Jaune ground his teeth in frustration. "And your swordsman is vulnerable. Dododo Buster!"

The blonde Slifer Red's other monster leapt forward to avenge its fallen comrade, smashing its spiked mace through Blue Flame Swordsman's reduced weapon.

Mercury Black: 3400 Life Points

"Yes!" Jaune cheered. "How do you like… that?"

Even though the swordsman was dead, the blue blaze of his sword remained. A blaze that soon flared up and conjured up another boxer, slimmer than Glassjaw but filled with a swift and eager pride (ATK 1500/DEF 1400).

"When you destroy Blue Flame Swordsman, it can banish itself from the graveyard to summon a fire attribute Warrior-Type from my graveyard," Mercury said. "In this case, Battlin' Boxer Switchhitter."

Jaune clenched his fist. "He is good. No wonder he pushed Yang so hard."

"Perhaps, but he's also clearly not taking this seriously," Astral noted. "He only needed to use his Counterpunch's ability to defeat the attack on Glassjaw. He didn't need to increase the damage by weakening his swordsman. It was sloppy."

Sloppy or not, he'd slammed Jaune without breaking a sweat. Every move the Slifer Red had made other than his gambit to destroy Backfire had been turned around on him. Haven's top first-year was dueling with one hand behind his back and he was still running rings around the Beacon boy. Something the crowd had well noticed.

"Did he really go to all that trouble getting up just to duel like that?"

"Build a big beatstick with his kiddie monsters and hope for the best. Classic slacker strategy."

"Don't listen to them," Astral advised him. "They're not dueling. Those with nothing on the line feel pleasure in looking down on those that do and don't win immediately."

Jaune chuckled. "That another observation?"

"It is not worth cataloging as such," Astral declared. "Perhaps your next move will be."

His next move, aye? Jaune glanced down at the two cards in his hand, pushing out all the nerves that'd been rattled by the crowd. Instead, he focused on those voices that had pulled him out of his brief unconsciousness. Not just Astral, but Pyrrha, Ruby, and even Team CRDL (couldn't say he'd seen that one coming).

He focused on those that had his back… and he planned his next move.

"I lay one card facedown," Jaune proclaimed, slipping his trap into his duel disk. "And then I activate The Shallow Grave."

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"The Shallow Grave?" Emerald remarked with a tinge of surprise. "Does your friend splash some Subterror in his deck or something?"

Pyrrha shook her head. "Jaune does not have a huge selection of cards at his disposal."

"Limited cash. Gotcha," Emerald nodded, watching as both Jaune and Mercury placed a monster from their graveyard in facedown defense position. "I suppose it's a useful enough card if you're strapped for better ones."

"Too much of a gamble to see play in professional circles," Weiss argued. "Giving the opponent a monster that they'll get to use first? It's just asking for trouble."

"Depends on the monster," Ruby countered, as supportive of her friend as ever.

But while Pyrrha could mirror Ruby's support for Jaune, she couldn't say she didn't concur with Weiss' evaluation. Since The Shallow Grave allowed both players to summon a monster in facedown defense mode, the opposing player would always get the chance to use their creature first.

She knew Jaune's deck well. Without Astral's support with Utopia, raw power was not its specialty. Gogogo Golem could provide a solid defense, but it was only a matter of time before Mercury pulled a monster capable of destroying it, or one of the Equip Spells like those he'd used against Yang that could strengthen his weaker warriors. Destroying Backfire was crucial, but If he didn't gain the upper hand soon, he might never get the chance.

"Draw," Mercury said, stamping his foot to launch his draw from his boot to his hand. He cocked an intrigued eyebrow at the card he'd pulled before stowing it away in his hand with Gearfried the Iron Knight. The gray-haired duelist flipped over his third monster on the field, revealing a slim warrior with a bandaged upper body (ATK 1100/DEF 1400). "I flip summon the Battlin' Boxer Big Bandage that you let me get back from my graveyard. Then, Glassjaw attacks your facedown monster."

"No dice!" Jaune yelled, flipping over his trap card as Dododo Buster vanished from his field. "I activate Scrubbed Raid! By sending one card other than it to the graveyard during the battle phase each turn, I can immediately end the battle phase each turn."

"Goodie for you," Mercury shrugged. "I end my turn."

"Phew," Ruby sighed. "He survived the turn."

"But he can't keep this up forever," Weiss noted, glumly but not unkindly. "Scrubbed Raid requires a card to be sacrificed each turn. Every turn he has to use it gives Mercury card advantage. It's not a way out on its own."

"No, but that facedown monster might be," Emerald pointed out. "That's why Mercury attacked it. It's the unknown quantity on the field. And your friend was willing to tribute his other monster to keep it from even being flipped up. It must be valuable."

Pyrrha was thinking something similar. But thinking over what Jaune had summoned, she couldn't think of what he could have brought back except… ah.

The Invincible Girl's grin widened.

"My move! I activate Pot of Greed!" Jaune declared. "And in case you didn't know, it lets me draw two cards from my deck!"

Mercury rolled his eyes. "Really. Had no idea."

Sniggers went up among the crowd, Cardin clenching his fingers around the stands' railing in irritation. Pyrrha was proud to say that Jaune only smirked as he stowed his two new cards into his hand.

"I activate Gagagarevenge!" he said, sliding the spell into Crocea Mors. "This lets me bring back a Gagaga monster from my graveyard and equip it with this spell. So Gagaga Magican, come on back!"

Pyrrha and Ruby chuckled as Weiss immediately perked up as the orange and black-robed magician flew onto the field (ATK 1500/DEF 1000).

"Next, I flip summon Dododo Swordsman."

Jaune turned over the monster he'd summoned with The Shallow Grave, a slim swordsman with a cape and wide-brimmed straw kasa hat (ATK 0/DEF 3000).

The crowd immediately broke out into a cavalcade of laughter. Students from all over Remnant cackled and jeered at the sight of Jaune's last hope.

"That's what he went to the trouble of summoning with a card like Shallow Grave?"

"Newsflash, dueling monkey. It's got zero attack points!"

"Heck, why'd you stop the attack on it? It might've finally done you some good–"

SWISH! SWISH!

Faster than the eye could see, a glimmer of steel flasher across the field, thick slices of razor-wind slashing Battlin' Boxer Glassjaw and Battlin' Boxer Switchhitter to ribbons. The only movement visible from Dododo Swordsman was the brief unsheathing of only a few inches of his weapon (ATK 3500/DEF 3000).

Students from all over Remnant went utterly silent.

"The ancient warrior who founded the Dododo Clan was too old to act often beyond training his disciples and their allies in the Onomatopeia Gang," Ruby reverently spoke from memory. "But when occasion arose when he must draw his sword, the forces of evil quaked with terror."

"Dododo Swordsman destroys up to two monsters on the field when he's flipped face-up," Jaune revealed. "And when he's flip summoned, that rest in facedown defense mode gives him time to gather his energy and gain thirty-five hundred attack points."

"Neat," Mercury shrugged, perhaps the only person in the arena without a sizable reaction to the decisive move.

Something that did not go unnoticed by his opponent.

"Neat?" Jaune asked, befuddled. "That's it?"

"Not exactly. Glassjaw's effect returns Switchhitter to my hand," Mercury admitted, flipping up his remaining facedown card. "Plus, I activate Kickfire in response to your move. Once per turn, I can put counters on this card when fire monsters on my field are destroyed by card effect equal to the number of monsters destroyed in that instance. Two Battlin' Boxers means two counters."

"Okay, that's something, but not really what I meant," Jaune said. "You're not really getting into this duel. Am I really that boring to you? I mean, I know that X-Ray and Vav issue is great, but I'm giving this all I've got and you're… not, even with the whole 'no Extra Deck' restriction you're under."

Mercury rolled his eyes. "I'm here to duel you for the test, kid, not 'have fun'."

"But I'm giving everything I've got into this," Jaune pleaded. "I've seen how great duelists, when they clash with other great duelists, bring out each others' spirits, the best of each other. I know that my friends have brought out the best in me. Am I… am I not good enough to bring out your spirit?"

"A worthy question, Mr. Arc!" Professor Port congratulated, the romanticist teacher preening at Jaune's passionate query. "What do you say, Mr. Black? I understand you're restraining yourself due to the guidelines of this examination, but can you gift this budding comrade of yours your underlying fiery will?"

Mercury showed no response to the mustache man, staring blankly at his blond opponent. "I'm here to do my job. Nothing else to it. Take your turn."

Professor Port deflated with a disappointed sigh. Pyrrha felt for the older man. Verbose his lectures may have been, it was clear he cared about his student teacher and wanted him to come out of the shell that she and Yang had noted in him. Unfortunately, his efforts were as effective as the huntress duelists' own in the infirmary.

Jaune gave a reprimanded puppy pout before vigorously pointing his finger at Battlin' Boxer Big Bandage. "Then I'll end this right here. Dododo Swordsman! Attack!"

The elder swordsman flashed across the field, striking the boxer with an iaijutsu slash that could have cleaved apart a mountain.

Mercury Black: 1100 Life Points

"Now I'll just have Gagaga Magician attack directly and–huh?" Jaune gasped, his eyes widening when all his mighty warrior's attack did was cut the boxer's bandages open. "How?!"

"Special ability. Keeps it from being destroyed in battle once a turn," Mercury indifferently shrugged. "About what you'd expect. So, you attacking with the magician or what?"

Jaune frowned. "Yes. But I'm doing it for me. Gagaga!"

The black and orange robed thrust out his arm, a surge of dark magic obliterating Battlin' Boxer Big Bandage.

Mercury Black: 700 Life Points

"I end my turn," Jaune declared.

Mercury stamped his foot, swiftly inserting the card pulled into his duel disk, revealing Pot of Greed and drawing two more. The silver-haired boy's eyes flicked over the five cards in his hand, his brow furrowing in consideration.

"You good?" Jaune queried. "You're thinking awfully hard for something you don't care about."

"Nah. Just considering how to test you without going outside the job. If I got stupid and used my Extra Deck because of 'spirit' or Burning Soul or whatever, I could just crush your dreams right now," Mercury bluntly said. "But that's not the point of this duel. So I'll just send Kickfire to the graveyard during my Standby Phase to activate its effect. You take a thousand damage for each counter on it."

BOOM!

"Jaune!" Pyrrha shouted, her partner once more blasted backward into the arena's hardlight barrier, smoke trailing from his clothes as he slumped down to his knees, trembling as he struggled not to collapse completely.

Jaune Arc: 500 Life Points

"He can't take much more of this," Weiss observed. "Even with as much aura as he has, it won't survive another big hit like that, even if his life points do. Mercury's winning attack might seriously hurt him."

"Come on, Weiss. He hasn't lost yet," Ruby argued. "Even if Mercury summons Switchhitter to get Glassjaw out to attack Gagaga Magician, Jaune still has Scrubbed Raid to–"

"I activate Malice Dispersion," Mercury announced, slipping Switchhitter into his graveyard as an eerie violet wind blew away Scrbbed Raid. "I discard a card and all continuous traps on the field are destroyed."

Weiss turned to Ruby with narrowed eyes, the red-hooded girl puckering her lips. "... well, I mean… he discarded Switchhitter."

"Why did he do that?" Pyrrha pondered, turning to Emerald for clarification. "Does he have another combo starter?"

A sly grin spread over Emerald's lips. "A few of his cards were destroyed right before we all met. Our team leader gave him a few of her old ones to compensate."

"I normal summon Gearfried the Iron Knight," Mercury said, placing his monster card on his duel disk as the completely metal-plated knight rose to the field (ATK 1800/DEF 1600).

"Just a few of her old cards? That doesn't seem like it'd synergize with the rest of his deck. Gearfried the Iron Knight negates any equip cards used on it… unless," Weiss suspiciously remarked before her eyes widened. "No…"

"In ancient times, it's said there was a warrior so powerful, so skilled, that the world itself could not survive his steps. To prevent those around him from suffering, he forged a suit of armor to suppress his strength," Emerald monologued. "But should that armor ever be removed, even if his strength had decreased with time, his skill would make him still a threat like few others."

"I activate Release Restraint!" Mercury yelled, shoving his spell into his duel disk as a card shot up from his deck and straight onto the field.

Gearfried the Iron Knight's armor blazed with blinding light, its all-encompassing plates springing forth from the warrior and morphing into a compact saber. A blade soon grabbed by the scarred, muscular man sprang forth from the brilliant surge (ATK 2600/DEF 2200).

"Gearfried the Swordmaster," Mercury smirked. His hand drifted forward and viciously thrust his finger at Gagaga Magician. "End this."

"That's more like it!" Jaune grinned, flipping around the last card in his hand. "But don't think it'll be that easy. When your monster attacks, I can equip it with Rainbow Kuriboh from my hand!"

Pyrrha grinned as the legendary warrior was stopped in its tracks by a multicolored light flashing into existence before it. Rainbow Kuriboh cheerily bounced in front of Gearfried, the joyful puffball easily protecting its comrades.

"Oh yeah," Jaune fistpumped. "As long as Rainbow Kuriboh is equipped to your monster, it can't attack, so it can't do a thing to–"

Gearfried's hand flashed out and grabbed hold of Rainbow Kuriboh, the multicolored puffball squeaking in surprise. The tiny spherical creature screeched as the legendary warrior squeezed it tight and swung it with perfect technique, a slice of razor-wind streaking across the field. Dododo Swordsman, a master blade-wielder in his own right, drew his sword to block, but the sheer force of the enemy strike cleaved his weapon apart and obliterated the mighty ronin.

"... hurt me," Jaune squeaked, his eyes wide and his mouth agape just like most of the rest of the duel's onlookers. "What… what just…"

"Whenever Gearfried the Swordmaster is equipped with a card, his skill allows him to destroy one of your monsters with that weapon. Even Kuribohs, apparently," Mercury revealed. "I lay one card facedown and end my turn."

"Uh, okay," Jaune gulped, placing his shaking hand on top of his deck. "I draw–"

"And I activate my trap card, Armory Call," Mercury blithely interrupted, another card launching up from his greaves and swiftly lodged into his duel disk. "I add any equip spell from my deck and immediately equip it to a monster on my field. So Gearfried the Swordmaster gets the Black Pendant and your Gagaga Magician gets…"

Gearfried the Swordmaster gripped the new dark jewelry (ATK 3100) in the same hand as Rainbow Kuriboh and somehow still swung the completely non-weapon item with perfect blade technique and obliterated Gagaga Magician.

"... dead," Mercury finished. "So, you were saying?"

Jaune's face paled, his eyes flickering down to the card he just drew, the only card in his hand or on his field.

Cardin staggered back and collapsed into his seat, his team equally stunned. The murmurs of the crowd started up again. But this time instead of derision for the leader of Team JNPR, there was only pity.

"Poor guy, I thought he actually had a shot there for a second."

"Bad luck, really. Getting matched up with one of the Exchange Program members. They're all monsters."

"Where'd this guy even come from? I barely saw him around back at Haven. And they say his team leader's even stronger?"

Emerald shot Pyrrha an apologetic look. "Sorry. Your leader's finished."

"It's not over yet," Ruby stuck up. "Rainbow Kuriboh still keeps Gearfried from attacking, so that gives Jaune time to get a defense up and get a monster out that can take it down–"

"That won't work," Weiss reluctantly piped up, eyeing Gearfried the Swordmaster's newest jewelry. "The Black Pendant is an older equip spell, but an effective one. In addition to increasing the equipped monster's attack, it also deals damage when it leaves the field. Five hundred points of damage."

Ruby's eyes widened. "So if Jaune can't stop Gearfried, he loses. But if he destroys Gearfried, then he still loses?"

Weiss nodded. "He can't overpower him."

Pyrrha looked down at the arena below, watching as Jaune's body trembled on his knees as he stared at the card in his hand… only for his lips to slowly break out into a determined smile as he rose to his feet.

And at that, The Invincible Girl let loose a proud grin of her own.

"Jaune knows better than to think that overpowering an opponent is the only path to victory," Pyrrha declared, earning an impressed appraisal from Emerald. "He's not finished yet."

The surest way to victory would not be easy. But she had no doubt her partner could do it.

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"No."

"You didn't let me say the plan."

"I know where you're going with it. And after your last attempt… you couldn't do it."

Jaune sighed. "No. I couldn't."

Even now, he was barely standing, his aura nearly depleted and his knees one strong gust of wind away from giving out. If he tried his plan and failed again, he'd lose the duel from aura failure and probably get a concussion at best.

"The safer move would be to play defense for now," Astral argued. "There's no guarantee that he will draw another monster or a card to destroy Rainbow Kuriboh–"

"But if he does, I'm dead," Jaune countered. "What's with you? You were the one who suggested it before."

Astral shrank back, glancing down in shame. "That… that was a mistake. I do not want to see you get hurt."

Jaune smiled. "Thank you. But it wasn't. You believed in me. That means more than you know."

It was strange. As much as he'd appreciated his family's love, he'd never felt any reassurance about how all but Saphron had done nothing to support his goals out of a desire to "not see him get hurt". Such was why his father had never trained him over the years no matter how hard he'd pleaded. Because they'd always taken him getting hurt, his defeat, as a matter of course, he'd come to view it the same. Even when Pyrrha and Astral had started to believe in him, even when he'd gotten his head out of his butt and learned to truly respect his Onomatopeia and Noble Knight cards, he'd struggled to have faith in himself.

But in this duel, where his opponent didn't care at all, he had everything on the line. Because he believed in himself. Because his friends believed in him. Because instead of the weight of being Team JNPR's leader, for the first time, he felt strength from that responsibility.

"I summon Gagaga Mancer!" Jaune yelled, slamming the only card he had left onto Crocea Mors in attack mode. A slim wizard wielding a glowing red sword (ATK 100/DEF 100) sprang up before him. "Once per turn, he can bring back a Gagaga monster from my graveyard, but I can only summon Gagaga monsters for the rest of the turn. So return to the field one more time, Gagaga Magician!"

Gagaga Mancer flourished his cape and sword and his archetype compatriot leapt out from his coat like… well… magic. They were magicians after all.

But it didn't take a magician to figure out what he was going for with two Level Fours brought onto his field.

"He's gonna try to Xyz Summon again?!"

"After what happened last time!?"

"Does he have a death wish?!"

Even Professor Port's bushy eyebrows furrowed. "Mr. Arc, I do not wish to discourage your efforts, but be aware, your aura is only just above the red. If you fail this summon, it could cause serious injury."

"I'm here to be a hunting duelist. Pain is an occupational hazard," Jaune declared, outstretching his hands.

"I can possess you," Astral offered. "You will be cognizant since you're conscious, but if you start to waver, I can back you up–"

"Please," Jaune softly cut him off. "If we're in a real fight, yes, but here… please believe in me."

Astral's eyes widened. He glanced out to the stands, Pyrrha and Ruby watching with huge encouraging smiles, Weiss' stare filled with hopeful curiosity. Even Cardin rose again from the stand, his eyes narrowed in expectation.

"Please don't fail," the spirit pleaded.

Jaune nodded and looked to his monsters. Gagaga Magician and Gagaga Mancer glanced back at him and gave him subtle nods of support and respect. For all he'd disrespected them and their fellows, somehow, they'd found it in them forgive him. And now, together, they'd rise to even greater heights.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, what aura he had left flowing into his fingertips and from there into his Gagaga monsters' bodies. He shifted their forms into a mercurial state, the spellcasters morphing into golden nodes of light. They weren't elegantly stable like Pyrrha's, or Astral's, or Weiss'. They shook and trembled, just like his last attempt.

"Don't panic. Don't panic," Jaune murmured, remembering Pyrrha's guidance from their late-night training sessions. "Don't hold too tight. Push them through but don't force them. You can do this. You can do this."

A spiralling galaxy opened up over the floor of the arena, electricity crackling over the network. However, in a few moments of calm concentration, it stablized enough to circle around itself without tearing apart.

Jaune gasped, falling to one knee as his muscles burned. A curtain of sweat budded down his forehead from strain.

Yet, he thrust his arms downward… and the energy nodes of his monsters followed into the stars below.

"X… yz… SUMMON!"

The galaxy crackled and erupted in a brilliant shining nova. Jaune collapsed to his hands and knees, panting with exhaustion as his aura crackled with his last scraps of energy.

And before him, a desperado with a wide-brimmed hat took a knee on a sideways card. It pulled its ragged cloak around itself, two bright orange Overlay Units orbiting around it as the crowd went silent (ATK 1500/DEF 2400).

"Round'em up," Jaune grinned, victorious even as his lungs burned and he couldn't rise from his knees, the foil promo his mom had gotten him for his birthday so long ago shimmering on his duel disk. "Gagaga Cowboy."

"Bravo! Bravo!" Professor Port clapped. "Good show, Mr. Arc! Good show!"

Ruby and Pyrrha mimicked the teacher's cheers from the stands. Even the crowd's murmurs started up again with a very different tone.

"He did it?"

"That Slifer slacker Xyz Summoned?"

"How? I've been trying to do that for years and I can't even get close!"

Astral floated around to Jaune's front, hurriedly looking over the blonde hunting duelist. "Are you alright?"

"I'll… I'll live," Jaune panted, looking through his ghostly partner across the field to his opponent. "Let's finish this."

"Not bad," Mercury whistled. "But you're not exactly looking too good. Even if that guy can protect you, you sure you want to try to go another round."

"Why would I… oh, right," Jaune panted. "You've never seen The Onomanotopia Gang. You've got no idea what Gagaga Cowboy can do."

"Can't say I do," Mercury cocked an eyebrow. "What, you gonna boost its attack on something?"

"Well, if it was in attack mode, yes," Jaune said, raising his arm and shaping it into a finger-gun. But instead of pointing it at Gearfried the Swordmaster, he aimed straight at Mercury himself. "But when it's in defense mode, once per turn, it can use an Overlay Unit to activate its effect."

Astral smirked. "Eat your heart out, Ruby."

Mercury rolled his eyes. "And that effect…?"

"Deals eight hundred points of damage straight to your life points."

Mercury's eyes widened.

One of Gagaga Cowboy's orange Overlay Units flew into the gunslinger's chest. The wandering warrior of righteousness threw his cloak to the side and drew two guns from the holsters on his hips. Both muzzles flashed and two bullets smashed into Mercury, his aura shattering apart.

Mercury Black: 0 Life Points

Winner: Jaune Arc

Jaune's own aura finally broke to pieces as he managed a lopsided smirk of victory and lowered the thumb of his finger-gun. "Bang."

He really wished he didn't collapse right after having an actual cool line. But he supposed he was still him, so his aura finally gave out and he slumped into unconsciousness the moment the final blow was struck.

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"Quite the duel, handsome."

Mercury groaned, finishing placing his Talaria duel disk and greaves into his locker and slamming the door. After the duel, old Bushy Brows and Arc's friends had hurried the victorious Slifer Red, soon-to-be Ra Yellow, off to the infirmary, leaving the silver-haired boy to return to the locker room with his usual nonchalant swagger. He'd expected Emerald to come check in with him afterward, but apparently a different thorn in his side had found him first.

"Don't you have your own procter duel to get ready for, blondie?" he accused, not turning around and continuing to lock up his gear.

Xiao-Long didn't get the hint and sauntered up next to him, leaning against the other rocket lockers. "I finished my prep early, decided to watch Jaune's match from here. Gotta say, I'm a bit jealous that he coaxed more spirit out of you than I did."

"Uh. This again?" Mercury rolled his eyes. "Like I said during the duel, I wasn't exactly trying my hardest."

"Don't need to tell me. You didn't even bother to use Glassjaw's effect when you first sent it to the graveyard with Painful Choice," Yang remarked. "But you did get a bit more heated than usual towards the end there. I'm flattered that I made enough of an impression on you for you to mention Burning Soul."

Mercury shoved his palm into his locker and whirled on the Beacon Obelisk Blue. "My job was to test him. I tested him. That's all."

Yang took his heated words without any signs of the biting rage from the end of their own duel. Indeed, her face morphed with compassion. "My team and Jaune's, we have a weekly night where we get together and watch The Onomanatopria Gang. If you want to give it a try, you could join in next week."

"Thanks, but no thanks," Mercury dismissively replied. "Arc rambled about it a bit. Doesn't seem like my kind of show."

Yang eyed the comic still sticking out of his pocket. "Fair enough. Though, Ruby and Jaune are probably the biggest X-Ray and Vav nerds I know. If you want to read more of those, they can probably–"

"I like the pictures. That's it," Mercury insisted. "Seriously, what are you even doing? You wanted to punch a hole in my head after our duel. Now you're inviting me to 'hang'?"

"Ugh. It's called being friendly, handsome. Try it once in a blue broken moon," Yang shrugged. "But hey, you want to keep being a grouch, that's your business."

Mercury scoffed. "Sure. Between you, Arc, and Bushy Brows, I've got enough people trying to get me to listen to nonsense."

"I mean, the rest of us have to listen to your nonsense," a familiar voice spoke up from behind the silver-haired duelist. "Seems fair."

Mercury rolled his eyes without turning around to the voice. "Oh yes, master fortuneteller Emerald. Share more of your divine wisdom with the rest of us mere mortals."

Yang looked behind him as the green-haired girl sauntered up to the conversation. "You're his partner?"

Emerald nodded.

"My condolences."

"Ha! Thank you," Emerald laughed. "Don't suppose I could get one of those invitations to hang? I mean, I know what The Onomanotopeia Gang is, but I can't say I've seen much of it."

"It's an open invite," Yang amiably responded. She pointed her thumb at Mercury. "You can even bring this grouch if he ever gets tired of being a fun-hating jerk."

"Don't count on it–oof!" Mercury snarked, only to get an elbow to the stomach courtesy of his partner.

"I'll see what I can do," Emerald promised.

"Cool," Yang grinned. "Welcome to Beacon. Later!"

The blonde Obelisk Blue sauntered off without a care in the world. When she was gone, Emerald's fake smile fell away as she scowled at Mercury.

"Cinder wants intel on the Signer and her team," she reminded her partner. "What the heck are you thinking not snatching up an opportunity like that?"

"I'm thinking I don't want to interact with those idiots if I don't have to," Mercury argued back. "Longer I spend with them, the more risk one of them finally gets on my nerves and my cover gets blown."

"Suck it up," Emerald insisted, hoisting up Mercury's furled-up comic which of course she'd snagged from his pocket. "Cinder is counting on us. We have to take this seriously."

Mercury snorted. "Yeah, tell me that after you don't spend an entire duel pranking me."

Emerald cocked an eyebrow. "What are you talking about?"

"You were using your semblance on me that whole match," Mercury accused. "Making me see that blue ghosty guy floating around Arc, making me see and hear Arc talking to it."

Emerald stared at him like he was insane for several long moments, a regular occurrence since they'd met. "You are the most annoying person I've ever met."

"Fine, deny it all you want. You know we're on the same level," Mercury mocked, rolling his eyes and snatching his comic back. "Though, I'm sure Neo would be insulted that you put me above her."

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"You know about Astral?!" Jaune squeaked at Ruby and Weiss. The blond leader of Team JNPR, currently laid up in an infirmary bed, whipped to his side, towards what appeared to be empty air to most. "When? How? Why?"

Pyrrha, not being most people in this case, saw Astral blink at his partner, completely nonpulsed. "Last night, they happened upon me when I was forging cards and I challenged them to a duel, and they noticed that my demeanor and skills were incompatible with my knowledge of you and it became impractical to continue to deny that I was a separate being."

"You're suddenly being quiet and looking at nothing for long seconds," Weiss analytically glared. "Are you talking to him? What is he saying?"

Jaune sheepishly translated Astral's response to the Team RWBY members.

"Hmmpf, impractical and implausible. He called out a Number without breaking a sweat while you struggled to summon Gagaga Cowboy," Weiss scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest. "That said, my congratulations on your success in that summoning. Our teams are filled with prodigies, but in the grander scheme of things, very few duelists are capable of Xyz Summoning in their first year at one of the academies."

"Oh! Thanks, Weiss. That means a lot coming from you," Jaune replied, a hopeful smile beginning to tinge his lips. "Speaking of, there's a new Spruce Willis movie coming out next week. Do you want to maybe–"

"Astral," Weiss interrupted. "I trust that you can hear me. Please remind him of my answer to his previous flirting."

Astral turned to Jaune. "I observed her saying 'no' in previous instances."

Jaune sighed. "Guess the new jacket won't change everything."

"No, it will not," Pyrrha confirmed, gently patting her partner on the back. "You should still be proud."

Jaune smiled her way. "Thanks. I couldn't have done it without you. You or Astral. You're amazing."

Pyrrha smiled, a warmth she wasn't familiar with growing in her chest. She'd heard such a simple compliment from more people than she could count since she'd begun dueling, but hearing it from her partner was… different, somehow.

"Pyrrha and Astral are exceptional. Their tutelage is most certainly a major factor in your growth," Weiss preened. "Pyrrha is Pyrrha, and Astral beat me and pushed Ruby to her limits in the same duel."

Pyrrha and Jaune's eyes widened, both team leaders whipping towards Astral.

"You dueled them two-on-one?" Pyrrha asked.

"You beat Weiss?!" Jaune gasped.

"Yes. To both," Astral confirmed.

"Heh, yeah, he did," Ruby confirmed at the same time, not being able to hear the spirit. "He came really close to beating me in the same duel. I don't think I could have taken him if he hadn't worn himself down going through Weiss first."

Pyrrha looked at Astral in a new light. She'd known he'd beaten Jaune's father, a veteran hunting duelist, but still, hearing that he'd engaged in such a lopsided match with prodigies she'd seen in action like Ruby and Weiss and come a move from beating them both made his strength feel far more… vivid.

"It'd be cool to see you and him go at it, Pyrrha. I mean, after you and I finally get to duel," Ruby said, though a flicker of confusion flashed over her face. "Though, when I asked Professor Ozpin about dueling you for my exam, he said that you weren't proctoring."

"What?!" Weiss and Jaune both shouted, turning to The Invincible Girl.

Pyrrha winced, really wishing that she'd known that Ruby's plan for getting into Obelisk Blue was to suggest dueling her to the headmaster. No Ra Yellow or Obelisk Blue was required to volunteer to proctor for the Promotion Exams, but it was rare that anyone declined to do so. They were a school of aspiring duelists. Most of them wanted to duel, and those that might not still sought out the social status of participating in the matches. Yet, the legendary Invincible Girl had neglected to participate. It wasn't due to Taiyang's warning about the headmaster, though she was contemplating how to handle that, but she'd submitted her forms to Professor Goodwitch before the break.

And the reason The Invincible Girl had was… she didn't want to be the Invincible Girl all the time.

She loved dueling. But she didn't want that to be all she was. She wanted to hang out with her team like they had during break, as just normal kids doing fun things as a friend group. She wanted to cheer on Jaune, Nora, Blake, and Ruby as they battled their hearts out, not away taking on someone else while crowds of people she didn't know praised her name.

"Well… you see…" Pyrrha stammered. "I just… you see–"

"Jaune!" Nora wailed bursting into the infirmary. The energetic girl's eyes span around the room before she finally spotted her team leader in the bed and let out a sigh of relief. "Oh, phew. The rumor was wrong."

"Good to see you too, Nora," Jaune said, cocking an eyebrow. "What rumor?"

"Everybody's saying that you blew yourself up trying to Xyz Summon in your duel," Yang chimed in, she and Ren calmly entering after Nora.

"About a quarter of the school thinks you're dead," Ren added.

Nora snorted. "Rumors. Completely unreliable. Like that one going around that you beat that Haven Exchange Program guy for your duel."

"He did do that," Ruby revealed.

"He did?!" Nora exclaimed, shooting her leader two big thumbs-up. "Attaboy, fearless leader!"

"It is a commendable achievement," Ren softly smiled, which for him was the equivalent of leaping for joy.

"That it is," Pyrrha said, grateful for the conversation being pulled off her. "So, Nora, have you gotten any confirmation about who you'll be facing?"

"Yup! It's a good one!" Nora grinned, pushing her scroll into Pyrrha's hands.

Pyrrha read over the official message sent to her teammate by the school. She skimmed over the basic affairs: time of exam, arena assignment, that stuff. Until she came to the assigned procter… and her eyes widened.

Often, it was expected that the strongest duelists among the student bodies of the academies would be in the upper years. It was only natural due to having more time to train under expert teachers, and it was often the case that lower-year students didn't stand a chance against the older ones.

Often. Not always.

The year before, there had been a freshman team that had arrived at Beacon Academy. One of their members, a rabbit faunus, had faced harassment from some racist members of certain upper-year teams. That team of freshmen had proceeded to duel all those upper-year duelists… and massacre them. And when other most respectable upperclassmen had sought these new students out to see what they could do, they as well were annihilated. The more challenges came in, the more the team's reputation grew, to the point that official news sources speculated that they could be the first freshman victors of the Vytal Festival since Winter Schnee's legendary win years before if the tournament had not been on its offseason that year. Those four students were the reason that Pyrrha was only considered 'possibly' the strongest student duelist in Beacon.

And Nora had just drawn their leader.

"Coco Adel," Pyrrha announced to her friends. "You're dueling Coco Adel."

Jaune winced on behalf of his teammate while Weiss flinched in sympathy. Ren maintained a perfectly calm expression while Yang chuckled in amusement and Ruby looked downright jealous.

And Nora? She looked like she'd just won the jackpot, patting her Extra Deck with eager anticipation.

"Finally. A worthy opponent," she grinned. "Our battle will be legendary!"

Splitting this into two chapters was the right choice. I don't want 10k chapters to be the norm. Hopefully, I can keep Nora vs. Coco to the single chapter I've got allotted for it.

Still, aside from it ending up in two chapters, I am very glad with how this duel turned out, from the uphill battle Jaune faces that he only wins due to utilizing everything he's learned since coming to Beacon to the contrast between how he's putting all his feelings into the duel while Mercury is actively trying to keep himself from caring about the match.

Also, thank goodness new Battlin' Boxer support's been announced. Wasn't entirely sure if I'd be able to emphasize Mercury's threat with the limited arsenal they had.

Remember to check out and add to this story's TVTROPES PAGE! I check my stories' pages often and I always enjoy it when they grow. :)

Thank you for Reading! I hope you enjoy what comes next!

Go Forth and Conquer!