Welcome to the second part of our duel between the stuffed animal lover Sera and the reptilian expert Rin. Sorry for the late posting; Leengard and I are heading back to college so we'll have less time to work on this. Hopefully with the holidays coming up, we'll be able to continue posting. Thank you all for your patience and we hope you enjoy this chapter.

Chapter 13

Initial Order Arc: Primordial Fluff

Part II

Duel Academy

Ra Dorm

Nighttime

The moon was already high in the sky, shining its dim light down on the island, giving it a sense of tranquility. Most of the students were already back in their dorms, chatting with their friends and eating dinner. There was the exception of one small group of students however who had decided to stay outside and watch the heated duel between Sera and Rin. What had started off as a one-sided beating was now on the verge of being turned on its head, giving Sera some hope.

For Rin, meanwhile, her confident, almost cocky attitude had become mild frustration. She'd had her rival broken and ready to surrender, but something had changed to renew her will. Rin hated having to start something over again, and whatever had just happened to Sera made that look like the only option.

Damn it all… what the hell just happened?

Sera - 4200 LP

Rin - 8000 LP

"It's my turn now," Sera declared as she drew her next card, hoping that it would turn the duel around for her. "Almathali…" she said with a sigh of relief.

"…What did she draw?" Rin remarked to herself in an annoyed tone.

"I activate Fluffal Bear's (3/1200/800) effect from my hand," she began to say, revealing the card. "By sending it to the graveyard, it allows me to set a Toy Vendor spell from my deck."

A pink, winged bear wearing a red neckerchief manifested itself and floated up into a shining sky created by the dome, leaving a single feather that dropped down gently onto Sera's deck. In that instant, the deck let out a single card that she revealed to be Toy Vendor before she grabbed it and placed it in her duel-disk.

"Next I activate it right now!"

The card flipped upward as a massive, colorful gashapon machine manifested behind Sera. It looked sort of like a blue, cylindrical frog wearing a tiny red top hat; two yellow bulbs just below the dome looked like frog eyes, and the pink plastic trough for the capsules appeared to be its tongue. Why it had a blue-and-red cane in one hand was a mystery to everyone.

"Alright, since I have Toy Vendor on the field, I can activate Fluffal Wings' (1/0/0) effect from my graveyard. By removing it and one other Fluffal monster from play, I can draw a card from my deck."

Both Wings and Fluffal Owl emerged from Sera's duel disk, slowly ascending into the sky as a creamy white feather gently floated down and landed on her deck.

"Wings' effect also means I send Toy Vendor to my graveyard," she said. The machine shuddered violently and broke apart as she put the physical card in the right place. "But on the bright side, this lets me draw another card."

One of the machine's capsules shot out and rolled up to Sera's feet, where it popped open.

"Now I summon the monster I just drew in attack mode!" Sera declared as another Fluffal Owl emerged from the capsule and landed on the field, looking directly at Rin. Another card popped out of the deck slot, which

"Like that will help, go ahead, call whatever useless monster you got. Still not strong enough to take down my monsters!" Rin exclaimed. "You sure about that? Now I activate Polymerization once again to fuse Edge Imp Sabres, Fluffal Cat, and Fluffal Leo from my hand with Fluffal Owl on the field. Say hello to one of my favorite fusion monster, Frightfur Tiger (6/1900/1200) in attack mode!"

All the monsters she'd just named jumped up and came together in a wormhole.

Moments later, a blue-green plush tiger with a pair of scissors bisecting it landed on the field and roared. Its body had a number of crude seams, and stuffing was leaking out in two places. Lines of energy connected its front legs to its body, and Edge Imp Sabres' glowing red eyes shone within its mouth.

"Now, Frightfur Tiger's effect activates. Whenever its Fusion Summoned to the field, I can target and destroy a number of cards on the field equal to the number of monsters I used to make it. Since I used four monsters to summon it…"

Rin's eyes went wide in shock. "Oh no…"

"Oh, yes. I choose all four of your monsters!"

The blades of the scissors extended out to Rin's side of the field and cut all of her cards in half, shattering them all to countless pieces.

"And another thing: Every Frightfur monster on the field, including Tiger himself, gets 300 more attack points as long as he's in play." Sera grinned smugly as Tiger's scissor blades started to glow.

Frightfur Tiger (1900 - 2200)

"Also, because I used Fluffal Cat as Fusion Material, its effect activates and allows me to return a Polymerization to my hand from the Graveyard."

The cat appeared from the grave holding the card in its mouth, which it tossed to Sera before ascending into the sky.

"And, finally, by placing a card from my hand on top of my deck, I can special summon Edge Imp Sabres from the Graveyard." As she did so, six pairs of scissors connected to each other at the hinges appeared on the field. The handles on one pair had glowing red eyes in them.

"Are you done yet?" Rin demanded impatiently.

"Well, yes and no," Sera replied. "My main phase is done, but there's still my battle phase. You're now wide open for a direct attack from Tiger. Frightful Slash!"

The monster shot across the field and grabbed Rin by the shoulders. Then the massive pair of blades at its midsection closed on her with a loud, distinctive snip. Rin screamed in pain, stumbling backwards and landing on the floor.

Sera - 4200 LP

Rin - (8000 - 5800) LP

"I end my turn." Sera sighed in relief.

Frightfur Tiger released his opponent and licked a paw as she tried to get her breath back.

Sera's friends looked on and sighed with relief as well, especially Barclay, who held a smile to his friend as she turned towards him and gave him a wink.

"You think I'm gonna go down that easy?!" a snarling voice barked out. Rin's eyes were faintly red as she got back up. "I still have more power in this deck than you all do! I'm going to win this duel no matter what!"

Soon enough, the petite girl drew her next card and looked at it, which made her yell out in frustration. All that she could do at that point was set a facedown card on her field before ending her turn.

Sera drew, retrieving the Polymerization she had placed on top of her deck to Special Summon her monster.

"If it makes you feel better, I'm making this turn shorter than my last one," Sera remarked while putting the spell in her hand. "Starting with switching Edge Imp Sabres into attack mode."

The scissors' red eyes glowed a little more fiercely, and their blades snapped open with a piercing ring. "And now, I attack you directly with Tiger and Sabres! Double Scissor Cut!"

The green-blue tiger and the scissors launched themselves at Rin's side of the field, the stuffed toy approaching from the right and the scissors from the left. Once they were close enough, both monsters closed their blades around Rin.

Again, the sound of metal scraping against metal rang out, along with the sound of Rin crying out in pain.

Sera - 4200 LP

Rin - (5800 - 2400) LP

"That's it for this turn. I look forward to seeing your next trick, Rin!" Sera declared as her friends cheered for her.

"Wow, Bar, you can give a pretty good motivational speech when you try," said Laura.

"Two or three sentences don't count as a speech." Barclay smiled anyway. "But thanks."

Close by, Tauni looked on from the shadows.

It had started out perfectly, but the power she'd loaned this puppet was clearly declining.

Damn brat… Another human who can't use the mistress' power… I won't get blamed for this one, she thought before disappearing back into the forest.

It was pretty obvious from Rin's scowl and annoyed huff that the card she just drew wouldn't help her. With a low growl, she set a monster in defense mode, hoping it would at least keep her from getting demolished the next turn.

After Rin ended her turn, Sera's small group of friends began to pity her. Despite everything that she did to them, it was sad to see a duelist backed into a corner, having to hide behind a monster just to prolong the inevitable when they had the upper hand prior.

"It's my turn, I draw!" Sera said as she drew. "I'll set this card," she said as the card appeared next to her other facedown card. "Then, Frightfur Tiger will attack your face down monster."

As Tiger's scissor blades closed on the card, a grey serpentine monster with underdeveloped legs and small bat wings appeared just long enough to get cut in half and dematerialize. "And now, I'll cut your LP in half with Edge Imp Sabres and end my turn."

As commanded, Edge Imp Sabres charged forward and slashed at Rin with the multiple blades that made up its body, slicing and making Rin fall to her knees in pain.

Sera - 4200 LP

Rin - (2400 - 1200) LP

"Alright, Sera! You finally got her on the ropes!" Laura cheered.

"Shut up!" Rin roared out suddenly, her eyes now glowing bright red. The trio looked over and saw a mysterious aura surrounding her. "All of your worthless cheering is just nonsense! I knew that she couldn't win on her own! You all… you all must've helped her cheat, it's the only logical explanation!"

"She's gain pure radge," Barclay muttered.

"That's right, you cheated! That's the only way you could've turned this duel around!" Rin continued angrily as she pointed at Sera accusingly.

"D-Does she usually act like this?" Nick asked Laura somewhat nervously. All he got in response was stunned silence from the pale girl standing next to him.

"Are you kidding?!" Sera yelled. "You insult my friends, hit on one of my friends, and now you have the gall to accuse them of helping me cheat?! I knew you were a sore loser, but this is immature and borderline insane!"

"You don't know anything about me!" Rin screamed back with tears in her eyes. "You can't possibly understand what this means to me! Everyone in my family's the best at what they do, great champions. I don't care about glory or whatever you peasants think I'm fighting for, winning is my family legacy and my destiny!"

She got back up and drew her next card. The fire went out of her eyes almost immediately after looking at it. "I set this face down and end my turn…" Rin fell to her knees again.

Seeing her opponent so broken and vulnerable, Sera couldn't help feeling a little sorry for Rin. She drew her next card without really looking at it. I could still use my facedown card here… but that seems like overkill at this point. Better just end it quickly.

"I attack your LP with Edge Imp Sabres," she said.

The blades extended, piercing her body before retracting.

Sera - 4200 LP

Rin - (1200 - 0) LP

The Dome shut down as soon as the match ended, revealing the starry sky above. Rin collapsed face-first into the ground, prompting everyone to rush up and check on her.

Sera carefully turned Rin onto her side. "It looks like she's still breathing, just unconscious."

"That's a relief," said Nick, kneeling and wiping the dirt off Rin's face.

"Should we move her?" Laura asked with concern.

"Probably not the best idea…" Barclay replied, subtly remaining a few feet back. "You two should go get the nurse, or at least a teacher."

"R-right… come on, Sera," Laura agreed, getting back to her feet and pulling her roommate along behind her as the two went into their dorm.

As soon as the girls left, Barclay moved forward, stopping next to Nick. Both of their marks started glowing, which caused Rin to convulse; Nick tried to keep her still.

"This mess again…" Barclay muttered.

The red-haired teen nodded in agreement. "Yeah… Just like with Jessie."

Ra Yellow Hallway

Sera and Laura ran through the dorm, passing corridor after corridor as they looked for their dorm head. Eventually, the two finally arrived at her main room, leaving Laura to move forward and knock a few times.

Meryem opened the door and pushed her sleep mask up onto her forehead. "Lights out was ten minutes ago, ladies," she said, looking as disapproving as she could while wearing a pink bathrobe. "Unless you're here to discuss punishment for breaking curfew, I'm-"

"Ma'am, Rin's unconscious outside the dorm!" Laura exclaimed with distress in her voice. "Sorry for cutting you off. It's just like what happened to Takashi!"

"What?" Meryem exclaimed, rushing out of her room and headed straight for the main entrance with the two students following her.

It didn't take the trio of women too long to reach where the two students left their Slifer friends, but what they encountered stopped the three in their tracks.

The once unconscious Rin was now sitting upward, rubbing her head and groaning a bit, feeling as if she had just taken a ride on a high speed roller coaster several times. Nick was the first to break the silence.

"She woke up not too long after you guys left, though she's been pretty groggy…"

Meryem approached Rin and put a hand on the petite girl's shoulder reassuringly. "What happened? Can you remember anything?" she asked.

Rin sat there quietly for several seconds, blinking in confusion as she wracked her brains trying to remember what had occurred.

"I… um… well... no." Rin struggled with trying to remember before having given up on doing so.

"That's alright," Meryem said softly. "You only just woke up, some confusion or memory loss is normal. We should get you to the nurse's office just in case. Can you walk or should I help you up?"

Rin tried to stand. "Whoa… ugh, still dizzy."

Meryem helped the other girl to her feet and the two started towards the main building. For the most part, Rin seemed to be just fine, though she stumbled a little a couple of times due to lightheadedness.

"As for the rest of you," Meryem said over her shoulder, "You'd best return to your own rooms immediately."

"Yes, ma'am!" all four replied as Meryem and Rin entered the dorm.

"I'm not the only one who thinks it's weird that she woke up that quickly, am I?" Laura asked.

"Well… sometimes people black out for only a few seconds," Barclay answered. "So, no, it's not really all that strange that she woke up 'just like that.'"

Laura noticed Nick looking fidgety, and her eyes narrowed. "Uh-huh…do you know something about this, Nick?"

Nick gulped and looked to Barclay for help. His roommate just shrugged and looked the other way.

Out of options, the redhead chuckled nervously before grabbing Barclay's arm and bolting towards the Slifer dorm.

"GET BACK HERE RIGHT NOW MISTER!" Laura yelled.

All Sera could do was chuckle tiredly, knowing that she'd have to hear all her complaints until she passed out from exhaustion. Though in her heart, she was just glad that they were there for her when she needed them.

Slifer Red Dorm

"I don't know how much longer I can keep this from them…" Nick groaned into his pillow.

After sprinting back to their dorms, the two roommates were lying flat on their beds in opposite positions. The mood in their room was heavy. Two of their friends had dueled people who had been possessed by those looking for the Gate and Key, and purifying Rin took more energy than helping Jessie had.

"At the rate things are going, I'm pretty sure they'll catch on soon enough," Barclay muttered at the wall. "When did our lives become a supernatural anime?"

"Probably the moment we stepped off of the helicopters onto the island…" Nick replied dully. He sat up and looked over at his friend with some annoyance. "Still think it was a good idea not to tell them?"

"So they could do what, try to help?" Barclay replied without turning around. "Get us committed? I went through all that with you and I think we're insane."

"I don't like lying to our friends," Nick insisted, his brow furrowed.

"We're not lying, we're—"

"Just not telling them everything, which still counts as a lie of omission."

"I was going to say, telling them what they need to know. "

"And they don't need to know about the whole possession thing?"

"Far as aam concerned, they ne'er need tae ken if we can help it."

A silence filled the room as the red-haired teen sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose before standing up, giving his roommate a stern glare.

"Maybe that's why you have such a hard time hanging out with us. You don't trust us, or anyone."

Nick grabbed a towel and a change of clothes, then left for the showers without saying anything else.

Don't trust anyone? Barclay thought after a few moments of silence. I trust them! … I do… I'm… I'm just trying to protect them. This situation is insane, and it's been dropped on me and Nick to deal with. We can handle it; we don't need to expose our friends to this.

"Right?" he asked the empty room. "I'm just trying to protect them…"

Forest

Tauni let out a roar of frustration as she stormed around the forest clearing. "That's TWICE now I haven't gotten them! Who do I have to control around here to get some results?!"

She picked up a small rock and threw it across the clearing. When she couldn't see it anymore, she whipped around and delivered a vicious punch to the tree behind her.

And immediately pulled her hand away in pain; two of her fingers were bleeding. "Dammit…this worked in that ridiculous kung fu movie…" She turned around, intending to go look for healing plants, but instead saw her compatriots from their previous meeting, cloaked as always.

"What do you two want?" she demanded.

"I would be careful how you address us, tovarish. You have suffered great shame," said the taller cloaked figure, dropping the rock she'd thrown to emphasize his point.

"As if!"

"You failed, deal with it. It'll make all of our lives easier," the other one replied. He leaned against a tree.

Tauni growled irritably. "It's hardly my fault if the Mistress' power can't improve those worthless Ra duelists' alleged skill."

The larger man pushed his hood back, revealing spiky white hair. "A shoddy craftsman blames her tools. You gave them the power to lure out the Gate and Key in the first place, Tauni. I will find a suitable puppet in the Obelisk dorm."

"Shut up, Ivor," Tauni snapped. "I can still prove I'm the Mistress' favorite!"

"We shall see," the white haired student replied before leaving.

Tauni huffed again and went off towards Ra dorm. The final figure paused for a moment, then turned around and went deeper into the forest.

Next Day

Ra Cafeteria

"Laura, I don't think stress eating will help us figure out whatever's going on with those two."

"Like I care what those two are doing! Besides, this isn't stress eating, it's just normal eating."

Sera raised an eyebrow. "So you normally eat three hamburgers with everything for dinner?"

"…Well, maybe it's a little stress eating," Laura admitted through a mouthful of burger. "But it's their fault anyway for just running out like that!"

"Oh, don't be like that. They wouldn't run without a good reason."

Laura stopped eating and sighed, feeling a bit sad from what her roommate said. "I just wish they'd talk to us about it, you know? Friends don't keep secrets from friends."

"I'm sure they will, in time. For now, all we can do is just be there and continue to support them like they do for us."

The pale girl looked over, giving a small smile at her response.

Before either of them could continue, there were sounds of whistling coming from the door of the cafeteria. Both of them turned to see what the commotion was and grinned widely.

Sera hadn't had enough time to finish one of her many works in progress, so she and Laura had bought Rin's first "punishment dress" from a costume shop in the academy mall. It was powder-blue and had ruffles almost everywhere ruffles could fit-the long sleeves, the skirt, the matching white shoes, even the white bow on Rin's head.

Laura pulled out her phone and opened the camera. "Did you know Rin was that good at walking in heels? I didn't." She hit record. "Smile for the camera, Princess!"

"Good thing that store had dresses in petite, huh?"

"I hate you both," Rin remarked in a venomous tone.

"Technically this was your idea. If you hadn't been so stubborn about dueling me, you wouldn't have had to wear that dress as punishment," Sera pointed out smugly. "Eat your heart out, AKB48."

Rin huffed and walked away as the two laughed.

Looks like the next antagonist will begin making a move. What will Ivor do? Who will Ivor use? We'll have to find out in the coming chapters! We'd like to thank our beta, Eneko95 for all of her help and dedication to our story.

Again, sorry to all of our readers for the continued interference from our daily lives for ruining any sort of regular updates for you all. Please continue reading and enjoying our chapters whenever we can get them out.

Translations

"Almathali" - Perfect

"She's gain pure radge."- "She's gone completely nuts."

"Far as aam concerned, they ne'er need tae ken if we can help it." - "Far as I'm concerned, they never need to know if we can help it."

"tovarish" - Comrade