Oleander was sitting cross-legged on the floor. In front of him was a chess board, and his opponent was none other than Predaplant Ophrys Scorpio, and boy, he was getting his ass absolutely mopped. He had already lost his queen, bishops, one tower, and half of his paws.

"God damn," he looked as the plant monster took down his last tower, leaving his king wide-open. "You are not messing around, huh?" He shifted his gaze to the monster, who clicked its pincers triumphantly.

He had started to interact more and more with his monsters ever since he witnessed Starving Venom's display of affection to see if the others would also display the same level of autonomy he saw, and to his delight, they did. Each of his monsters showed distinctive traces of personality, and Ophrys Scorpio just so happened to love games like chess.

But alas, his train of thought prevented him from paying attention to the game, and the plant scorpion seized the opportunity to move his queen and win the match, much to the dismay of its master.

"Awww" he visibly deflated as he sighed but quickly regained his usual self as he extended his index finger, offering a "handshake" to the scorpion, who took it by gently pinching said finger.

On his bed was Predaplant Chlamydosundew, who was busy taking a power nap, and besides him were Predaplant Byblisp and Darlingtonia Cobra, who were watching a nature documentary about poisonous plants.

And on the support beams of the ceiling was Starving Venom Fusion Dragon, who was lying there, his tail lazily swishing back and forth. The glowing yellow orbs he had for eyes were half-libbed, making them look like a pair of fireflies.

A knock on the door was heard, but Oleander was having a bit of difficulty getting up due to the fact that his ankle hasn't fully healed yet.

That was until Starving Venom, noticing his friend's struggle, lowered his tail a bit more, allowing Oleander to have a better grip and get up.

"Thanks buddy, I owe you one." He gave the dragon a two-finger salute, earning an amused snort from the mighty beast, and Oleander couldn't help but laugh a bit. He put on this whole act of being a big, scary dragon, but he was a big softie.

… Granted, he was a big softie who wouldn't think twice before eviscerating someone for looking at him funny, but a softie nonetheless.

He opened the door and was greeted by the sight of none other than the Slifer Gang.

"Hey bro!" Jaden greeted him while raising his fist, and Oleander was more than happy to return the fist bump. "How's it goin'?"

"I am good," he said with a smile, which faltered a bit as his ankle flared up in pain. "Well, save for the occasional pain in my ankle, but hey, I can at least walk normally."

"Good to know" he nodded to himself "Me and gang were thinking on telling some spooky stories this evening at the dorm's cafeteira, and we thought on inviting you"

It took Oleander s few seconds for the gears in his brain to spin as he tried to process what they told him, this whole spooky story thing sounded familiar…

And then it finally hit him—this must be the set-up for the Titan Filler episode! Alexis will go to the abandoned dorm to mourn her brother and get kidnapped by that Titan weirdo. So if Oleander plays his cards right, he might be able to get something out of this whole situation.

"Oh, this evening? Sorry, but I will be busy." He lied while scratching the back of his neck. "Gotta study some things and turn in some assignments; you know how it is, right?"

"Awww" Jaden visibly deflated as his shoulders slumped down "Are you sure man?"

"What can I say? Crowler's been hounding me recently." He sighed to make his little act more believable.

"It's cool bro" he waved his friend's concern off "He's like that with me all the time" and just like that he recovered all of his child-like enthusiasm

Both youngsters exchanged a few more words before Oleander went back into his room. Once the door was closed, he broke into a massive grin while rubbing his hands in a mischievous fashion.

And that did not go unnoticed. Starving Venom fully opened his eyes before letting out a confused growl in order to catch his friend's attention.

"Buddy," he said, looking up at his ace monster, his grin growing ever so slightly. "It seems like Ra itself decided to bless us." He chuckled at that last part, causing the dragon to tilt his head in a mix of curiosity and interest.

He gathered all of his monsters for a meeting and wasted no time in explaining everything about the Titan Filler episode and how he was going to spin that to their advantage.

And the plant monsters got visibly excited after hearing his plan, save for Chlamydosundew, who was still lying on its back, sleeping the day away while snoring quite loudly, which bothered Oleander a bit because it meant he would get interrupted, meaning he would have to explain things twice.

But setting aside his annoyance for the lazy plant iguana, he pulled his PDA and set an alarm since he would need to do a little nighttime venture.

Now all he needed to do was wait, and it would not be a difficult task as he saw Ophrys Scorpio dragging an old-looking board game from under his bed, but he wasn't the only one interested in the game as the other Predaplants expressed interest in the game; even Starving Venom wanted to join the fun.

Just like that, Oleander and his monsters spent the next several hours playing and re-playing the same game, with Ophrys Scorpio always winning.

At night

The PDA that was on top of Oleander's table started to ring as the clock hit eleven o'clock. The alarm was quickly shut down by the PDA's owner, who wasted no time in slipping his uniform. He grabbed his duel disk and deck and made his way to the docks.

At the docks

Oleander hid himself at the very top of the lighthouse, and he was now lying and waiting. As much as he wanted to bring one of his Predaplants, he was afraid that they would attract unwanted attention, and besides, he didn't plan on taking Titan head-on; let Jaden be the one to take care of him.

His sights were locked on Crowler and his little antics, and if everything went smoothly, the good doctor would be dancing on the palm of his hand.

Speaking of the devil, he had arrived at the docks carrying a suitcase, no doubt money to give to the creep, and soon the fog started to get a bit more dense, and from the shadows, Titan emerged.

While they were having their little conversation, the purple-haired Slifer wasted no time in pulling his PDA and opening the camera function, and as soon as they shook hands, he took the photo.

He smirked as he looked at the screen of his PDA. It was perfect in every sense of the word, best part of all? Crowler's ugly face was very clear to see.

Both men left the docks and went their separate ways, and once they were out of view, Oleander made his way down the lighthouse and straight to the Slifer Red dorm, all the while fighting the urge not to burst out laughing from the top of his lungs.

His plan was a complete success, and soon, very soon, Crowler would be put in his place. Things were about to change around Central Academy, and Oleander Hemlock would be the agent to bring forth those changes.

Author's Notes

Hey there folks! It's ya boy! Mac!

And zoo wee mama Oleander just got one hell of a trump card against Crowler, eh? Yet another instance of everyone's favorite purple-haired rapscallion plotting and scheming.

Now I would like to say that I will be taking a brief hiatus for two reasons.

1. Let my head come up with new ideas because I am afraid the fountain is starting to dry up and it's starting to hurt the quality of the writing.

2. I will be fixing Chapter 1 and 2 because of their atrocious writing and grammar, but when I say fix I mean start then from scratch.

But don't worry! I don't plan on abandoning this story; I am merely taking a break to rest and to polish things up.

Anyhow, that's it, folks! Don't forget to leave a review with suggestions and/or criticism!

Mac sign' out!