Aha! You guys thought that the next chapter would be Episode 3 of the GX anime, but it was not! It was I, filler chapter-kun! Hehehe! But, in all seriousness, I'm not going to the next part of the anime juuuusssttt yet! I'm setting some stuff up, after all! You'll see! For now, enjoy!

AO3: /works/43069185/chapters/137778601

Disclaimer: Mage of Hope doesn't own any Yu-Gi-Oh series, only the OCs!


Things were...progressively slow as Elize was getting used to life in Duel Academy. It's hardly been a full month since arriving and Elize was starting to understand that her new lifestyle was several times different than her normal quiet lifestyle back at home. Well, she's been homeschooled pretty much her entire life, so adjusting to a new environment while having to interact with people a lot could be a bit challenging and needed some getting used to.

On the other hand, Elize was happy to have made new, actual human friends like Alexis and Jaden. Oh, she still valued her Duel Spirit friends, but there was a clear distinction between spirit and human, especially in her new lifestyle where she has to attend multiple classes per day. One time, what really made her day was when Syrus and Jaden introduced her to two new friends; Chumley and Bastion.

Although she didn't interact with him much the first time they met at the entrance exams, Elize had a good impression of him being a strong duelist and even liked his cool composure during dueling. Therefore, she didn't find it surprising that a lot of students and teachers respected him, Elize included. He was pretty smart as well, possibly the smartest friend she's ever had, as he had helped her out a bit in her homework before.

Chumley, on the other hand, well, she was starting to get used to him. At first, he seemed uncaring and lazy, but Elize knew that he wasn't a bad person at least. There were two things he loved: koalas and grilled cheese sandwiches. Although she never downright said it, as she didn't want to offend Chumley, Elize thought that Chumley looked like a koala himself. Perhaps he would be more friendly towards her if she cooks a grilled cheese sandwich for him sometime, if she ever gets the chance.

It wasn't just Duel Academy's lifestyle that she was getting used to, but living in the Obelisk Blue Girls Dorms as well. She was well-acquainted and friendly with Fonda Fontaine, the head of the Obelisk Blue Girls Dorm, who was also Duel Academy's head nurse and the gym instructor. Just recently, she's befriended Miss Dorothy after greeting her many times at the duel shop and cafeteria.

"It's still strange how we have this school system to exchange our DP like some sort of money currency here," Elize commented, as she had swiped her student iD card down the scanner to exchange her some of her current DP points for one card pack and a small pastry treat.

"Well, that's just the way things work around here," Miss Dorothy commented, handing her the card pack and the pastry treat.

Every Duel Academy student had their own student ID, which not only proves their identification as a Duel Academy student, but also stores a special currency called DP, commonly known as Duel Points or Duelist Points. There were two ways to pay for things in Duel Academy, one of which was actual money, while the other was DP. It was more common for people to use the DP system as not everyone was rich like Chazz Princeton. One could earn more DP through winning duels or at least how well one expertly played. At the same time, though, one could lose DP if they placed less effort in winning a duel or even losing a duel, which was a way for nobody to exploit the system.

"Thank you again, Miss Dorothy!" said Elize. "Um...If it's alright with you, may I ask you something?"

"Why, of course! Anything!"

"Well...I was wondering if you could share any recipes with me? Specifically a grilled cheese sandwich recipe?"

Miss Dorothy smiled. "Certainly! Why, it's not every day that I get requests to share my cooking recipes! But tell me, is it just for the sake of cooking? Or..." She narrowed her sly eyes and gave her eyebrows a wiggle. "Is it for a...special person?"

Being naive and clueless to the actual intent behind Miss Dorothy's question, Elize smiled and nodded. "Of course! It's for Chumley!"

"...Huh? Him?" Miss Dorothy certainly wasn't expecting Elize to be interested in someone like Chumley. "Well...I can't say that he's the best lover out there, but I don't know him that well to dispute that."

"Lover? What are you talking about, Miss Dorothy?" wondered Elize. "I just want to cook him some grilled cheese sandwiches and try to get to know him better! His favorite food is grilled cheese sandwiches, after all!"

"...Ah, a sign of friendship, eh? My...mistake," said Miss Dorothy, flustered.

"Hmm? Is something wrong, Miss Dorothy?"

"Well, it's just...I thought about young love, and when you mentioned about cooking recipes, I figured...You know what? Never mind. Here, let me be right back." Miss Dorothy retreated into the backroom, returning a few minutes later with some papers in her hands. "Oh, and I'd like you to return the recipes back to me whenever possible, alright?"

"Does that mean I can copy and write down the recipes before returning the original copies to you?"

"Yes, precisely!"

"Thank you!" Elize glanced over at the recipes she was given before giving her a confused look. "Um...but I asked only for the grilled cheese recipe. I mean, I'm still happy that I got these other recipes, but..."

"It wouldn't hurt to learn some other recipes, you know," commented Miss Dorothy. "Maybe the grilled cheese idea doesn't work out somehow. You could try out the new recipes, instead!"

"Oh, okay! Thank you, Miss Dorothy! I'll return these recipes back to you as soon as I can!"

After she left, Miss Dorothy sighed and thought, 'What a kind, sweet girl...I wish that there were more girls like here at Duel Academy. Nowadays, it's just the girls caring more about their looks and make-ups. Not that that's a bad thing, but it does get rather tiresome hearing nearly the same thing pretty much everyday. If it was a romantic partner that Elize was cooking for, he'd be one lucky guy!'

'Okay, these recipes are new to me, so I might mess up at the beginning, but I don't think it'll be that bad,' thought Elize as she made her way back to her dorms.


Later...

'...I...I have no idea if this is going to work or not,' thought Elize, standing in front of the room that Jaden, Chumley, and Syrus were sharing. She was also carrying a picnic basket full of her cooked food. 'B-But I have to try! I-I wanna try and make friends! Like, human friends! I mean, Wynn and the others are good friends and all, but this is my chance to make friends! Yeah! Okay! Let's do this! I can do this! I-'

A hand clasped on her shoulder. "Hey, Elize!"

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"

Elize must have been startled enough to let out a high-pitched scream, certainly startling any other Slifer Reds occupied in their own rooms as well as surprising the three people that she had been looking for, whom were right behind her. Some of the other Slifer Reds peered out of their rooms, wondering what was happening.

"Ah! I'm so sorry! It-It's nothing, really!" Elize assured nervously, waving away any worries. Believing her, and not wanting to be involved in any trouble, the Slifer Reds returned to whatever they were occupied with back in their own rooms, leaving Elize with just her Slifer Red friends outside. Bowing her head, Elize apologized to them. "I'm...I'm so sorry for suddenly screaming like that. You just-You just startled me, that's all."

Jaden grinned. "Hey, no problem! Sorry we scared ya!"

"Yeah, right! She nearly blew my eardrums off!" complained Chumley, who had been covering his ears before. "Seriously, were you THAT frightened?"

Feeling her face heating up from embarrassment, all Elize could do was bow her head and apologize once more. "I'm...I'm so sorry..."

Syrus rubbed the back of his head. "Well, it's fine, Chumley. She also apologized twice. Plus, it's not really that big a deal, if you ask me..."

"Mmm...Yeah, I guess," said Chumley, nonchalantly forgiving Elize as what had occurred earlier wasn't that much of a problem and had already resolved itself.

"So, what brings you here today, Elize?" Jaden asked. "Came to hang out? Oh, wait, this is the first time you've been at the Slifer Red Dorms, isn't it?"

Elize nodded, holding up her picnic basket. "Yes, and...and I was wondering if we can eat the food I cooked. It-It was my first time cooking these new recipes, but they've got rice balls, grilled cheese-"

"GRILLED CHEESE?! Well, why didn't you say so, earlier?! Come on in!" Chumley sprung into action the moment the words "grilled cheese" left Elize's mouth, even opening the door for her to step in inside.

"T-Thank you!"

Despite the sudden change in mood from Chumley, Syrus and Jaden weren't about to pass down a free meal from Elize, especially since they were feeling a bit hungry themselves. "Sweet! Free grub! Let's head inside!" said Jaden, running in.

"Yeah! I can't wait to dig in!" agreed Syrus, following in after him.

Once settled inside, everyone was seated on the ground with a blanket laid underneath them and the contents of the picnic basket spread out for all to enjoy. It was like a miniature indoor picnic, which none seemed to mind at all.

"Alright, time to dig in!" said Chumley, happily taking a bite of his grilled cheese sandwich. Even Jaden, Elize, and Syrus chowed down on their choice of food other than just the grilled cheese sandwiches and everything seemed alright.

...For the first few seconds, that is.

"BLEH! What is this?! Ugh, it doesn't even taste cooked! It's practically nothing but just melted cheese!" complained Chumley, spitting out bits of the bite he just took.

"Ugh...the rice for this is too wet..." said Syrus, dropping the rice ball he just bit into.

"I don't think the meat inside these dumplings are properly cooked," Jaden said, sticking his tongue out.

Even Elize herself distasted her own cooking after eating a bit of her own food. "Ugh...Yeah, I figured this might happen."

"Huh?! If you knew your cooking was this bad, then why did you cook for us?!" demanded Chumley, getting up angrily. "This is like, the worst cooking I've ever had! You're totally disrupting the most delicious food of all: Grilled Cheese Sandwiches!"

'I think that's just a you thing,' both Jaden and Syrus thought, sweat dropping.

"I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry!" apologized Elize repeatedly, bowing her head over and over. "It's just...normally, I'm good at cooking, but when it comes to cooking something new, I tend to mess things up from the beginning!"

"How can you mess up something as easy as grilled cheese sandwiches? They're like, really simple to make!" scolded Chumley.

"H-Hey, calm down a bit," said Syrus. "I mean, she already apologized, didn't she? And it was just a bit of bad cooking-"

"NO! There's no way I can forgive anyone who disturbs the taste of the most delicious food ever!" Chumley said before pointing to Elize. "You know what? Maybe you should re-cook everything as an apology!"

"Hey, lay off a bit, Chumley," Jaden said, frowning. "I mean, the food was a bit bad, but Elize did work really hard to cook all of this. And now you're going to make her cook again when she should rest? That's a bit unfair."

"Yeah! If you're so strict with the food, then why don't YOU cook?" Syrus said before cowering away from Chumley's glare. "I-I mean, that seems to be the most plausible case..."

"No way! I can't forgive anyone who disrespects the delicious taste of grilled cheese sandwiches!" declared Chumley. "Alright, that does it! Let's duel!"

Elize was taken aback by Chumley's sudden rashness. "W-what?! Chumley, please wait a moment!"

"Yeah, aren't you exaggerating a bit? I mean, it was just some bad cooking," said Syrus before turning to Elize. "No offense or anything."

Elize shook her head. "No, no. It's alright..."

"Hmm...actually, you know what? A duel might be good right about now!" Encouraged Jaden.

"What?" Both Elize and Syrus cried out, looking at Jaden in disbelief.

Jaden shrugged. "Why not? I mean, Chumley's raring to go, and in tight spots like this, a duel's the best way to resolve this!"

"That...I don't really-" Elize sighed. She didn't really have a rebuttal to Jaden's words nor a solution to calm down Chumley at the moment, so perhaps allowing him to take some steam off using a duel might be good. "Alright, if it'll make you happy, Chumley. But, I really am sorry that my cooking wasn't up to your tastes."

"Come on, Chumley! It was a bit of a mistake!" Defended Syrus.

Chumley shook his head. "Nope! I'm not going to be satisfied until we duel!"

"All this because of grilled cheese sandwiches?"

"Yes!"

"Ooh! Wait!" Jaden snapped his fingers. "Why not a Tag Duel, then?"

"What's a Tag Duel?" Asked Elize.

"Basically, two duelists versus another pair of two duelists! A 2v2! Winner take all! Me and Chumley versus the two of you! What do you say?"

Syrus and Elize looked at each other. It really didn't seem like they had any other choice in the matter. Chumley didn't seem willing to pair with Elize, and Syrus didn't want to pair up with him either, so that left Elize and Syrus having to work together against a vengeful Chumley and excited happy-go-lucky Jaden.

They decided to take their duel outside the Slifer Red Dorms, distancing each other yet close enough to make an appropriate dueling field.

As they equipped their duel disks, Syrus whispered to Elize, "I still feel like this was such a ridiculous reason to duel."

Elize sweatdropped. "I know...but I don't want Chumley to stay mad forever. Let's...let's just duel. Hopefully, by the end, Chumley will have calmed down. I hope, anyways."

"Ready, Chum?" Jaden asked Chumley.

Chumley nodded. "Definitely! Let's do this!"

"DUEL!"

- DUEL -

Elize and Syrus - 8000 LP

VS

Jaden and Chumley - 8000 LP

Turn 1: Elize

"I've never been in a Tag Duel, before! I wonder how difficult it is compared to a regular duel?" wondered Elize out loud.

"Oh, it's way different! In fact, I could teach ya as we play! What do you say?" suggested Jaden, grinning.

"Jaden, you've been in a Tag Duel, before?" wondered Syrus, surprised.

"Well, a couple of times when I was a kid! I did get into a bunch of Tag Duels with some kids in the playground, so I've got some experience! How about the rest of you?" asked Jaden.

Elize shook her head. "This is my first time in a Tag Duel, so I don't know anything."

"Me either! People were willing to duel against me, not with me, though..." admitted Syrus, quietly trailing away.

"Hmm...I think I did get in a Tag Duel once or twice when I was younger, but I barely remember," said Chumley.

"Alright, then leave it to me to give you all a refresher!" said Jaden. "First off, someone should go first! How about...you, Elize?"

"Me? Um...I kinda prefer it someone goes first before me, but...I guess I'm sorta curious about this whole Tag Duel thing, so okay," said Elize, drawing her card. "I summon Fox Fire in Defense Mode!"

Fox Fire - (FIRE/Pyro) - LV2 - (300/200)

Syrus blinked in surprise. "Wait, Elize, I thought you owned a Spellcaster deck."

"True, but not all of my Monsters are Spellcasters," said Elize. "My deck is more of a...Charmer-oriented deck. But just because the main Monsters of my deck are Spellcasters, doesn't mean all of my Monsters are automatically Spellcasters, you know?"

Jaden nodded. "I feel you there, Elize. I mean, not all of my Elemental Heroes are Warrior-Types, either. Like, uh...Wroughtweiler! Yeah, he's no Warrior-Type, just a Machine-Type! Plus, there's Winged Kuriboh! He's no Elemental Hero, but he's still my best buddy, no matter what category he belongs in! You get it, Sy?"

"I...I guess I do? Maybe just a little," said Syrus, sounding a bit unsure, but his formerly confused expression more at ease. "Anyways, sorry, Elize. I interrupted your turn, didn't I?"

Elize shook her head. "It's no problem. I end my turn!"

Turn 2: Jaden

Syrus placed his hand on his deck. "It's my tur-"

"Actually, hang on! It's my turn, really," replied Jaden, much to the confusion of the others. "It's because of the positioning. So, right now, Elize and Syrus are both Team A, while me and Chumley are Team B. Elize can be...Player 1A and Syrus can be Player 2A. As for me, I'll be 1B, and Chumley is 2B. Is everyone following me so far?"

Elize and Syrus nodded while Chumley was still trying to comprehend with what Jaden was saying. "So...since we're in Team B, that makes Jaden 1B, and me 2B...I think I got it now!"

Jaden nodded. "Good. So, since Elize, who was in Team A and the first to go, the next turn automatically goes to Team B. And since I'm 1B, I go next. After my turn, it goes to Syrus, and then after him, Chumley, and then it rotates back to Elize. Got it?"

"Right!" everyone else said, understanding a little bit more clearly now.

"Great! My move!" After drawing his card, Jaden made his next move. "I summon Elemental Hero Burstinatrix to the field in Attack Mode!"

Elemental Hero Burstinatrix - (FIRE/Warrior) - LV3 - (1200/800)

"I end my turn with that! Sy, it's your turn now!"

Turn 3: Syrus

"O-Okay! My move!" Syrus drew his card and pondered on what to do for his first move. One of the cards in his hands caught his attention, though, so he decided to play it. "I summon Submarineroid in Attack Mode!"

Submarineroid - (WATER/Machine) - LV4 - (800/1800)

'If I remember correctly, I think Submarineroid can attack my opponent directly! So, I'll go just for that!' thought Syrus. "Submarineroid, attack-!"

"Hold on, Sy!" said Jaden. "That's another great thing you just brought up?"

"H-Huh? What are you talking about, Jaden? What did I do?"

"Just now, you were about to attack me with your Monster, right? I mean, I dunno why you would want to attack Burstinatrix since she has higher Attack Points, but anyways, you can't do that! It's because the first duelist that's allowed to attack first is the player who goes fourth! In other words, Chumley, when your turn comes, you're allowed to attack if you want!"

"Really? Oh, 'licious! That's awesome!" cheered Chumley.

"O-Oh...I guess I messed up," muttered Syrus, feeling down. Even if he didn't know about that particular rule, he still felt stupid for attacking anyways, even with his Monster's special ability.

Seeing Syrus down, Elize had reached out her hand, but stopped herself and instead, tried to encourage him with words. "W-Wait! You didn't mess up, Syrus! I mean, I didn't know about that rule, either! If anything, you helped out by attacking! I mean, I know you weren't supposed to attack, but because you did, we found out about that rule, and-Um...Well, I'm...messing the encouraging part up, aren't I?"

Jaden knew what Elize was trying to do and attempted to help her out. "Sy, just because you made one mistake doesn't mean the end of the world! Don't be so down with yourself! Look, you can try and make it up in your next turn or something!"

"Yeah...I guess. I...I guess I set a card and end my turn."

Turn 4: Chumley

"My move, now!" Now Chumley seemed more excited at the concept of the Tag Duel, especially since he's technically given the privilege to attack if he pleased, especially with his two opponents having Monsters with low Attack Points. "Let's see...I summon Tree Otter in Attack Mode!"

Tree Otter - (WATER/Beast) - LV2 - (1200/100)

"Both Chumley and Jaden's Monsters have the same Attack Points!" pointed out Syrus. "Now, what will he do?"

"Take this! Tree Otter attacks Elize's Fox Fire!" declared Chumley.

Tree Otter perked his head up before shooting out a fast-paced ball of water at Fox Fire, sending the drenched FIRE-Attribute fox flying out of the field and then shattering into pieces.

"Fox Fire might have been in Defense Mode, but now that he's out of the picture, you're wide open!" Chumley pointed out.

"Actually, there's another thing I have to point out," said Jaden. "Even if your partner's side of the field is empty, as long as his or her partner's field still has Monsters, you can't attack directly."

"Wha-? Alright, fine! I end my turn!"

"Fox Fire's effect activates!" said Elize. "During the End Phase, if he was destroyed by battle, sent to the Graveyard this turn, and was face-up the whole time, I can Special Summon him back from my Graveyard! Go, Fox Fire! In Defense Mode once more!"

Fox Fire - (FIRE/Pyro) - LV2 - (300/200)

"What?! You can bring him back even if he was taken down this turn?" exclaimed Chumley. "Then what was the whole point of my attack?!"

"Chill, Chum!" assured Jaden. "At least we got to know Fox Fire's special ability, thanks to your efforts!"

"Yeah, but she might use Fox Fire to Tribute Summon something on her next turn! I just know it!"

Elize scratched her cheek sheepishly. "A-Actually, I can't. Fox Fire's other ability is that I can't use him for a Tribute Summon. But he's definitely perfect for wall tactics like this!"

"Wall tactics?" wondered Chumley.

"Oh, it's another term for Monsters being difficult to destroy either by battle or card effects. Sorta like really high defensive Monsters!"

Turn 5: Elize

"Oh yeah, you do tend to focus a lot on defense, do you?" said Jaden. "Well, it's your turn, Elize! Show us what you've got!"

Elize nodded. "Okay! I draw! I set one Monster facedown and then I end my turn!"

Turn 6: Jaden

"My move!" Jaden drew his card and grinned. "Alright! Time to activate my Polymerization Spell card! I fuse Burstinatrix that's on my field with the Avian in my hand in order to create Elemental Hero Flame Wingman!"

Jaden's supposed signature and ace Monster of his entire Elemental Hero deck, combined with the elemental forces of both fire and wind, emerged from his Extra Deck and took to the field, fully prepared for anything that may come his way.

Elemental Hero Flame Wingman - (WIND/Fusion/Warrior) - LV6 - (2100/1200)

"Ah! We're done for! It's Jaden's most strongest Monster! How are we supposed to beat that?" exclaimed Syrus, increasingly growing concern about his and Elize's chances of winning.

'I'm not through yet! Next, I summon Elemental Hero Lady Heat in Attack Mode!" continued Jaden.

Elemental Hero Lady Heat - (FIRE/Pyro) - LV4 - (1300/1000)

"Go, Flame Wingman! Attack Elize's facedown Monster!"

As Flame Wingman flew forward, Elize took this chance to activate her facedown card. "I activate my Trap, Magic Cylinder! When you attack with your Monster, the attack is negated, and now YOU take damage equal to Flame Wingman's Attack Points!"

Two large cylinder-like objects hovered above Elize's head just as Flame Wingman unleashed the firepower from his monstrous claw, sending the flames packing. One of the cylinder-like objects absorbed the firepower before the other cylinder-like object glowed as the firepower was transferred onto it. That object then released the firepower onto Jaden and Chumley from above, damaging their Life Points significantly.

Elize and Syrus - 8000 LP

Jaden and Chumley - 5900 LP

"Gah! Man, that was pretty sweet move you pulled there, Elize!" praised Jaden. "Guess I should have been more careful, huh? But, even so, I'm not done yet! Lady Heat, destroy Syrus' Monster next!"

Lady Heat summoned forth blazing fire within her palms before throwing it towards Submarineroid with all of her might. Submarineroid burst into flames first before a second later, exploded.

Elize and Syrus - 7500 LP

Jaden and Chumley - 5900 LP

"I'll set a card and end my turn!" declared Jaden. "And now, Lady Heat's ability activates! During each of my End Phases, you get hit 200 Points of Damage for every Elemental Hero I control, including Lady Heat herself! I have two Elemental Heroes out, so that means 400 Points of Damage!"

Lady Heat unleashed her special ability by sprouting two flames from her hands and then slamming them down onto the ground. The two flames formed a path heading straight towards Elize and Syrus, circling around them before the flames sprang up in the form of fire-like walls, inflicting damage to them.

Elize and Syrus - 7100 LP

Jaden and Chumley - 5900 LP

Turn 7: Syrus

Nervously, Syrus drew his card, unsure of how they were going to turn things around. "M-My turn! Oh! This might be a good one! No, wait...um...that might be a bad play...but that might not work against Flame Wingman! Oh...um...hmm..."

A few minutes had passed since Syrus' turn and he's still hasn't made a move before having already drawn his card. As time passed, everyone was starting to lose their patience and even Syrus was growing more panicked as time passed.

Finally, Jaden spoke up. "Sy, it's alright! Just do your best and everything will work out!"

"Work out? B-But...what if I mess up?" exclaimed Syrus.

"Then, just trust in your partner!" Jaden advised.

"Partner...? You mean, Elize?"

"Um...Jaden, I can't play my turn while Syrus is still on his own turn," reminded Elize.

"Not exactly. Tag Team partners are meant to find ways to support and help one another," Jaden explained. "Basically, just trust in your partner! If you can't beat Flame Wingman right now, then trust in Elize to do the job! Or better yet, the two of you can try and come up with a plan to take me and Chum down!"

Taking Jaden's words into consideration, Syrus managed to calm down a bit and glanced at the cards in his hands before ultimately coming up with a decision for his turn. "...Okay! Elize! Could you trust me on this? If something happens and I can't take down Flame Wingman, could you help me in whatever way you can?"

For Elize, she didn't really care too much about being the victor or loser of this Tag Duel, but seeing how Syrus was determined to try, especially since he was placing his trust in her, how could she refuse. "Right! Okay!"

Syrus nodded. "Okay! I summon Tankroid in Attack Mode!"

Tankroid - (EARTH/Machine) - LV4 - (1500/1900)

"Next, I activate the Spell, March of the Roids! Because I have one Roid Monster on my field, I can Special Summon one Roid Monster to my field that's Level 4 or lower! I choose to Special Summon Steamroid from my hand!"

Steamroid - (EARTH/Machine) - LV4 - (1800/1800)

"Alright! Let's do this! I'll start by attacking Flame Wingman with Steamroid, now!"

"What?!" everyone else exclaimed in shock. Attacking with a low-Attack Point Monster? It was ludicrous! Crazy! Downright a suicidal move!

"But, Steamroid has less Attack Points than Flame Wingman!" pointed out Chumley.

"I know! But then, I remembered Steamroid's really awesome effect!" called out Syrus. "Whenever he attacks a Monster, he gains 500 Attack Points during the Damage Step only! Let it rip, Steamroid!"

Steamroid - (EARTH/Machine) - LV4 - (2300/1800)

As if answering to his master's call, Steamroid released steam from its blast pipe aggressively. He zoomed forward and crashed head-face into Flame Wingman, taking him out with his strength.

Elize and Syrus - 7100 LP

Jaden and Chumley - 5700 LP

Steamroid - (EARTH/Machine) - LV4 - (1800/1800)

"Nicely done, Sy! Not all of my opponents managed to take down Flame Wingman so easily, so good on you!" praised Jaden.

Feeling embarrassed, Syrus twiddled his fingers together with a red face. "R-Really...? W-Well, I'm glad! Thank you!"

"..."

"..."

"..."

"...Um...Syrus?" said Elize. "Aren't you going to...continue your turn?"

"H-Huh? Oh yeah! I guess so! Um...Okay, Tankroid! Take out Chumley's Monster next!"

Tankroid's machinery charged up energy from within before firing straight at Tree Otter, effectively taking him out.

Elize and Syrus - 7100 LP

Jaden and Chumley - 5400 LP

"Yeah!" cheered Syrus, jumping up. "We're gonna win! We're gonna win!"

"H-Hold on," interrupted Elize. "I mean...We're not really there yet. There's still a lot more to do, you know?"

"Yeah, we're not through yet!" called out Chumley. "Just hurry up and finish your turn so I can start mine!"

"Eep! Alright, alright!" said Syrus. "I end my turn! Let's see you get out of this one, Chumley!"

Turn 8: Chumley

"Absolu-licious-ly!" Chumley said, drawing his card. "Awesome! What a sweet card I drew! Alright, first, I activate the Continuous Spell, Spiritual Forest! That means that any Beast, Beast-Warrior, and Plant Monster I control isn't destroyed the first time each turn!"

"Aw, nice one, Chumley!" said Jaden, throwing a fist pump in the air. "Now, go for it!"

Chumley nodded. "Yeah! Now to bring out my newest Monster, Vampiric Koala!"

Vampiric Koala - (EARTH/Beast) - LV4 - (1800/1500)

"Wait, did you have that card the entire time?" wondered Elize. "Or did you just draw that card?"

"Uh...I mean, I had it all along."

"Wha-?! Then, why didn't you summon him the first chance you got?" Jaden asked Chumley, surprised.

"W-Well, he always looks so scary! I try not to bring him out a lot! B-But now, he's the only Monster I had left in my hand, so...go, Vampiric Koala! Take down Tankroid!"

Vampiric Koala pounced from the ground and onto Tankroid, digging his claws deeply into the metallic Monster before sinking his fangs in and ripping apart chunks of the metal material. He tore enough to stuck his entire head in; his body gesturing indicating that he was drinking something before pulling his head back for air. Bits of gasoline could be seen dripping from his fangs and chin before he pounced back to Chumley's side just in time before the damaged Tankroid exploded.

Elize and Syrus - 6800 LP

Jaden and Chumley - 5400 LP

"...Um...I can't tell if that's actually sanitary or not," said Elize in an awkward tone, scratching her head.

Syrus spoke up. "When Tankroid is sent from the field to the Graveyard, I can draw one card!"

Chumley seemed to have recalled something, because he then stated, "I-I activate Vampiric Koala's effect! If he manages to inflict Battle Damage by battle with a Monster, we gain Life Points equal to the Battle Damage inflicted! 300 Points of Damage was dealt with, so me and Jaden gets 300 extra Life Points!"

Elize and Syrus - 6800 LP

Jaden and Chumley - 5700 LP

Chumley sighed in relief. "Whew! That was a close one! Good thing I remembered! Anyways, I end my turn!"

Turn 9: Elize

Now it was Elize's turn. "It's my turn now! I draw! I activate the Equip Spell, Scroll of Bewitchment, and equip it onto Vampiric Koala! Then, I declare that his Attribute is changed to DARK!"

Vampiric Koala - (DARK/Beast) - LV4 - (1800/1500)

"Wait, why would you do something like that?" wondered Chumley as a hazy smog surrounded Vampiric Koala, symbolizing his descent towards the DARK elemental Attribute. "Eep! Now he's even more scarier now!"

"So that I can Flip Summon my Set Monster, Dharc the Dark Charmer!" declared Elize, revealing her Set Monster.

Dharc the Dark Charmer - (DARK/Spellcaster) - LV3 - (500/1500)

"Then, I activate his Flip effect! As long as he remains face-up on the field, I can control one DARK-Attribute Monster my opponent controls! And I choose Vampiric Koala!"

"HA! My Koala's an EARTH-Attribute, so there's no way that you'll-!"

As Chumley spoke, Dharc raised his ominous-looking staff high in the air, swirling darkness magic around the tip of it before the darkness magic spread towards Vampiric Koala; the darkness merging with the hazy smog as one before Vampiric Koala's eyes glowed red and he reappeared next to Dharc on Elize's side.

"What the-?! Why did that happen?! My Koala's an EARTH-Attribute, not a DARK one!"

"It's probably because of that Equip card that Elize used earlier, Chum," Jaden tried explaining. "Remember? Using that Spell card caused her to change your Monster's Attribute to DARK. And then, using Dharc's effect..."

Chumley started to catch onto what Jaden was saying. "Oh, I see! Then, she used her Monster's effect to take control of mine and-hey! That's bad! Like, super-viciously bad! Now I have no Monsters! I'm completely defenseless!"

Jaden shook his head. "Uh...not quite. Remember, in a Tag Duel, you can't really attack directly until both of your opponents' sides have no Monsters. So, you're safe so long as I've still got Lady Heat on my side!"

"Yeah! ...But wait, isn't Lady Heat weaker than Vampiric Koala?"

"...Crap."

"Alright! I got this!" said Elize more confidently than before. "Vampiric Koala! Attack Lady Heat, now!"

Vampiric Koala transformed into a swarm of koala-like bats before surrounding Lady Heat, biting her in various places that caused her to glow until she vanished entirely. Vampiric Koala returned to himself once he flew back to Elize's side; body glowing green due to his healing effect.

Elize and Syrus - 7300 LP

Jaden and Chumley - 5200 LP

"Yeah, Elize! Quick, attack them directly! I mean, you've got two Monsters, right? Let's take them down!" encouraged Syrus.

"Um..Syrus? Fox Fire is in Defense Mode, so I can't attack with him," corrected Elize. "But, since Dharc is in Attack Mode, I can still fight back! Dharc, attack them directly!"

Dharc spun his staff above his head, charging up the magic power of darkness before slashing twice; his magic taking the form of two slashes of darkness heading straight for Jaden and Chumley. Both boys grunted when they felt the slashes hit them, knocking down their Life Points.

Elize and Syrus - 7300 LP

Jaden and Chumley - 4700 LP

"I set a card and end my turn!"

Turn 10: Jaden

"Time for my time!" said Jaden, drawing his card. "Alright, lemme show you my awesome moves! First, I activate my Trap card, Hero Blast! I can select one Normal Elemental Hero Monster from my Graveyard and add it to my hand, and in addition, I can destroy 1 face-up Monster with less or equal Attack Points than my selected Monster's Attack Points! The Monster I'm choosing to add to my hand is Elemental Hero Avian!"

"Avian's Attack Points are about...1000, right?" wondered Syrus before glancing around his field of Monsters. "But...which Monster will Jaden destroy?"

Jaden pointed towards Elize's side of the field. "The Monster I'm choosing to destroy is...Elize's Fox Fire!"

A bolt of flashing lightning crashed down from the skies, destroying Fox Fire in an instant.

"Ah! Fox Fire!" cried out Elize.

"But wait! I'm not done!" said Jaden. "I activate the effect of Cross Keeper from my hand! By sending him from my hand or field to the Graveyard, I can Special Summon an Elemental Hero from my hand or Graveyard, but the Special Summoned Monster's effects are negated! I'm choosing Burstinatrix!"

Elemental Hero Burstinatrix - (FIRE/Warrior) - LV3 - (1200/800)

"Next up, I activate the Spell, Fusion Sage, which adds Polymerization from my deck to my hand!"

"Polymerization?! Another Fusion Summon?!" gasped Elize.

"Gah! He must be planning to Fusion Summon Flame Wingman from the Graveyard!" cried out Syrus.

Elize turned to him. "Um...Syrus? Even though I've never Fusion Summoned before, even I know that you really can't Fusion Summon from the Graveyard."

"Eh? Really?"

"It would be pretty cool having a Fusion Summon from the Graveyard," commented Jaden. "But no, that's not it! My next Fusion Summon is gonna be awesome, so just hang on for a second! I activate the Spell, Polymerization, and fuse both Burstinatrix and Avian to become...! A new life form! Elemental Hero Grandmerge!"

With the combined forces of the two Normal Elemental Heroes, their powers aided in the creation of a newer, stronger hero. This new Elemental Hero was equipped in heavily-garbed armor along with stronger, larger gun-like weapons, further emphasizing his image as a hero.

Elemental Hero Grandmerge - (LIGHT/Warrior/Fusion) - LV6 - (0/0)

Well, his image as a hero would have been met with more awe...if it weren't for the display of his own statistics.

"...Wait a minute, what? Why'd you bring out such a weak Monster, Jaden?" questioned Chumley. "I mean, he's really super cool and all, but he doesn't have any Attack or Defense Points!"

"That's where you're wrong, Chum! It's time for the awesome effect of Grandmerge!" said Jaden. "He gains Attack and Defense Points equal to the combined Levels of the Fusion materials used for his Fusion Summon x 300! Both Burstinatrix and Avian were Level 3, and adding to that would make Level 6! Level 6 x 300 equals...1800!"

Elemental Hero Grandmerge - (LIGHT/Warrior/Fusion) - LV6 - (1800/1800)

"..."

"..."

"..."

Only Elize ended up clapping for Jaden's efforts in the awkwardness that occurred.

"That's...I mean, he's a really cool-looking Monster, Jaden, but overall, that effect-"

"Yeah, Sy. I know. Kinda didn't think the whole thing-" Jaden shook his head. "Gah, never mind! He's still strong enough to take out any of your Monsters! Though, maybe not Sy's..."

"Huh? What about you talking about, Jaden-" Syrus paused, realizing what Jaden was going on about. Jaden must not want to attack Steamroid due to mistakingly believing that his 500 Attack Point boost would activate.

But, what nobody but Syrus were aware was that Steamroid's 500 Attack Point effect would activate only if Steamroid himself attacks another opponent's Monster. Otherwise, if another Monster chooses to attack Steamroid, the secondary effect of Steamroid would activate; Steamroid would lose 500 Attack Points instead of gaining them during the Damage Step.

"Go, Grandmerge!" called out Jaden, continuing his turn. "Attack Dharc the Dark Charmer, now!"

Grandmerge flew up towards the skies, charging up his various artillery before unleashing all the firepower he had towards Dharc. In an attempt to defend himself, Dharc casted a shield spell in the form of a magic circle in order to block Grandmerge's artillery assault. However, the firepower proved too much for Dharc and he was annihilated faster than the blink of an eye.

Elize and Syrus - 6000 LP

Jaden and Chumley - 4700 LP

Jaden was far from done, however. "Now that your Monster was destroyed, I get to now activate Grandmerge's effect! When he destroys a Monster in battle, I can Tribute him, and then Special Summon 1 Fusion Elemental Hero Monster from my Extra Deck!"

"Wait, no fusion?!" exclaimed Syrus.

Jaden shook his head. "Nope! This effect completely ignores any Summoning Conditions! Although, this new Elemental Hero Fusion Monster can't attack Monsters with Levels equal or lower than it. But that's fine since the Monster I choose is quite interesting! Come here, Elemental Hero Rampart Blaster! In Defense Mode!"

With the disappearance of Grandmerge, a much sturdier warrior whose power specializes mainly on higher defense emerged onto the field. She held up her unscathed shield to protect her and her master from any harm whatsoever with no hints of fears anywhere.

Elemental Hero Rampart Blaster - (EARTH/Warrior/Fusion) - LV6 - (2000/2500)

"But I'm not done yet!" said Jaden. "Next, I activate the effect of Cross Keeper from my Graveyard! If I Special Summon an Elemental Hero Fusion Monster while Cross Keeper is in my Graveyard, I can banish him, and then draw two new cards! Then, I have to place 1 card from my hand into the bottom of my deck! And now, I'll have Rampart Blaster attack!"

"Wait, but he-I mean, she's in Defense Mode! How can she attack while in Defense Mode?" asked Elize, confused.

Jaden chuckled. "Oh, sorry me! I mean, I'll activate her special ability now! When she's in Defense Mode, she can attack you guys directly! But, in exchange, she has to cut her Attack Points in half!"

"What?!" exclaimed Syrus.

"Syrus, watch out! Here comes the attack!" Elize warned, shielding herself with her arms.

Elemental Hero Rampart Blaster - (EARTH/Warrior/Fusion) - LV6 - (1000/2500)

Rampart Blaster got into position, aiming her rocket launcher towards the direction where both Elize and Syrus stood. A few seconds later, Rampart Blaster pulled the trigger, firing a rocket that bypassed Syrus' remaining Monster and towards the ground near their feet, which caused an explosion of fire and smoke.

Elize and Syrus - 5000 LP

Jaden and Chumley - 4700 LP

Elemental Hero Rampart Blaster - (EARTH/Warrior/Fusion) - LV6 - (2000/2500)

"I end my turn!" declared Jaden.

Turn 11: Syrus

"O-Oh man...Oh jeez...! M-My turn!" sputtered Syrus, drawing his card with shaky hands. 'Oh, man! What should I do? I mean, Steamroid's Attack Point bonus can kick in if I attack, but 2300 Attack Points is less than 2500! That's not enough to take down Jaden's newest Fusion Monster! Well, I do have one Monster in my hand that can defeat her, but...he's way too high-leveled! I've only got one Monster on my field! I need two to summon him! Oh, man! What should I-?'

"Syrus? Syrus? Is everything alright?" asked Elize with a concerned look on her face.

"H-Huh...? I-I mean, I'm alright, really! I-I'm just trying to think of a really, really good strategy, that's all!"

Elize nodded. "Okay, but please don't push yourself, alright? It's alright if you try your best."

"That's right, Sy. You should relax a bit. This is just a regular, fun ol' duel, after all!" Jaden agreed cheerfully. "Everyone started off like this is a game, so let's continue treating it like such!"

'But...didn't we start this duel to cool our heads off from earlier?' everyone else thought, sweat dropping. Though, they knew that Jaden had a point; they really did start the duel off with a bit of fun.

"W-Well, truth be told...there is something I want to try out, but...But I don't want to mess things up!" admitted Syrus, twiddling his fingers. "I-I mean, if I mess things up, we could lose the duel, and-!"

"Syrus, it's alright," assured Elize. "Even if you do mess up, it's fine, so long as you do your best!"

"Yeah, she's right!" agreed Jaden. "If you're worried about making a mis-move, then no worries! Even though I love dueling, even I tend to make mistakes! Honest! But, what's most important is that you do your best and have fun! Right, Elize?"

"Right!"

"Right, Chumley?"

"Hmm."

"...Come on, Chum, you've gotta do more than that!"

Chumley crossed his arms. "Yeah, yeah, alright...Syrus, even if you make a mistake, I guess it's alright. I mean, everyone does make mistakes every now and then. Like that one time when I accidentally sprinkled salt on my grilled cheese sandwich! That was totally not-licious!"

Both Elize and Jaden sweatdropped at Chumley's..."odd" example. "That's...I mean, that's not really the right example I'd use for that," admitted Jaden, scratching his cheek.

"Yeah, maybe there could have been a better way...but, I think I understand the message behind that regardless," agreed Elize before turning to Syrus. "But anyways, Syrus, if you're really worried about messing up, it's really no trouble if you do make a mistake. I won't get mad!"

"Well...alright! I'm just going to have to try my best in this new move!" Syrus said. "Here goes! I activate the Quick-Play Spell, Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy one Spell or Trap on the field! And you know what? I'm choosing...to destroy my Set card!"

"What?!" everyone exclaimed, watching as a tornado burst up from underneath Syrus' formerly Set card, blowing it away so that it could never be found again.

Syrus then said, "My facedown card was a Trap called Wonder Garage! And when it's destroyed and sent to the Graveyard, I can Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower Roid Monster from my hand! I Special Summon Gyroid in Attack Mode!"

Gyroid - (WIND/Machine) - LV3 - (1000/1000)

"Oh, that's actually a really good move you pulled there, Syrus!" praised Elize, clapping her hands. "I would have never thought up a pretty clever move like that!"

Jaden nodded. "Yeah! Sweet move there, Sy!"

"Aww! I would have never done that sort of sick move!" Chumley said, impressed.

Feeling a bit sheepish and embarrassed, yet happy at the comments, Syrus blushed. "W-Wow, really...? Thanks! But I'm not done yet! With two Monsters on my field, I sacrifice them in order to bring out Armoroid!"

Armoroid - (EARTH/Machine) - LV8 - (2700/2000)

"Daaaamn, Syrus! That is one badass-looking robot!" exclaimed Jaden.

Chumley nodded. "Yeah! Makes it so that everything you did just now was totally worth it!"

Syrus placed his hands on his hips and puffed his chest out proudly. "Am I awesome or what? But there's more! Armoroid's special ability activates! So now, if he was Tribute Summoned using a Roid Monster, then all Spells and Traps on the field are banished!"

"What?!" Everyone shouted, especially Elize.

Elize turned to Syrus frantically as Armoroid started charging power within his robotic arms before fireworks exploded all around, banishing all available Traps and Spells on the field. "U-Uh, Syrus?! That-that's kinda a bad thing for me!"

Syrus tilted his head in confusion. "Huh? Why?"

"Because, my Set card is gone! I was going to use it for later!"

"What? But I meant for only Jaden and Chumley's Spells and Traps to be banished, not yours!"

"Yeah, you probably should have checked the wording more," said Jaden. "Remember, Armoroid's effect makes it so that ALL Spells and Traps on the field are banished, and that includes your and your partner's fields too. Sorry."

Syrus groaned. "Oh, man! I thought I was being clever!"

"Actually, you managed to banish my Spell card, Spiritual Forest, so I can't really use its effect," stated Chumley, frowning in annoyance. "So, thanks a lot, Sy."

Syrus perked up. "Really? So something good did show up!"

"Syrus! It's still your turn! Make your move!" Called out Jaden.

"Oh, right!" Syrus eyes his surroundings, wondering which Monsters his new Monster should face. "Um...which one should I choose...? Hmm...Okay! I made my decision! Say goodbye to your Rampart Blaster, Jaden! Go, Armoroid! Destroy Rampart Blaster!"

Armoroid's arms surged with overwhelming power that was previously charged up before blasting Rampart Blaster with full power. Although her speciality relied on defensive purposes, not even her top-notch defenses could have withstood the power Armoroid contained.

"Gah! What a powerfully-licious Monster!" exclaimed Chumley.

"Yeah! That was pretty awesome! Lucky for us, Rampart Blaster was in Defense Mode!" said Jaden, growing excited. "Alright, you two! Keep this up, and you'll be able to win against us! Haha!"

Syrus gasped. "R-Really?"

Elize nodded. "Well, we do have a strong Monster on our side. Um...technically, you do. But, if we play our cards safe, then I think we'll be able to win!"

"Yeah, you're right, Elize! Alright, let's do this!"

"..."

"..."

"...Um...Syrus? Your turn is still-"

"Oh, oh, oh! Right, right! Sorry, sorry! I end my turn!"

Turn 12: Chumley

"My turn!" Chumley said, drawing his card. "Oh! I got a totally-licious card! Alright, I play Pot of Greed, letting me draw two new cards! Awesome sauce! I'm on a roll today!"

"What's up, Chum? Got anything good?" asked Jaden curiously.

Chumley nodded. "Yeah! I activate the Spell card, Polymerization! I fuse together two Monsters from my hand, Sea Koala and Tree Otter, in order to form Koalo-Koala!"

Suddenly crashing from above and creating a large, deepened crater was a buff, muscular, and large koala-like Monster whose muscles looked as though they could crush mountains. Every ounce of his own aura screamed power as he slowly stood up, brimming with strength.

Koalo-Koala - (EARTH/Fusion/Beast) - LV6 - (2800/200)

Everyone was taken aback by the sudden, powerful appearance of the new Fusion Monster that just emerged. Even Chumley, owner of said Monster, was amazed, as there were only few, rare times that he successfully brought out Koalo-Koala. As he should be, as Koalo-Koala was one of, if not, the most powerful Monster he had in his deck.

"T-that's a really strong-looking Monster!" said Elize, startled and shaking a bit.

Syrus nodded. "Y-Yeah...B-But wait! I still have Armored and...his Attack Points are 2700...Oh, man! This is bad!"

"Wait, but I thought that Armoroid's Attack Points were also 2800!" Elize said, panicking. "Or...did I think that because of how similarly close 2700 and 2800 were?"

"Yeah! Sweet Monster, Chum!" praised Jaden. "I'm guessing you're going to attack them next, right? It'll be pretty awesome to see two giant Monsters clash it out!"

Chumley smiled and shook his head. "Nah! I'm not attacking just yet! Because Koalo-Koala has a super duper sweetlicious effect! First, I'll send one Beast-Type Monster from my hand to the Graveyard, Des Koala! That way, I can use Koalo-Koala's effect to now destroy 1 Monster on the field! And I choose Armoroid!"

"Wait, what?!" exclaimed Syrus before his top-notch Monster exploded into pieces in an instant. "My Monster! Aaaaaahh! This is bad! Really, really, REALLY bad!"

Although she was just as shocked and panicking as Syrus, Elize was still slightly the more focused one of the pair as she examined hers and Syrus' fields. They both had no more Monsters to protect themselves with, thus leaving them vulnerable for a direct attack.

"Yes! I can do this! I can definitely take down Elize and Syrus this turn!" declared Chumley. "Alright, let's do this! Koalo-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! Chumley, wait!" interrupted Jaden, stopping him. "I may not like math, but even I can tell that if you attack them now, you're not going to be able to finish them off this turn! I mean, I can try to when my turn comes, but next turn will be Elize's. I think she might be able to put up a Monster to defend against."

"Then...what should I do?"

"Well, do you have any other Monsters you can summon? After all, you only really Fusion Summoned, so you haven't had the chance to Normal Summon. Anything?"

"Uh...let's see..." Chumley glanced down at his last two remaining cards in his hands. 'I'm not really good at strategizing or pulling off that sick move Syrus did earlier in his last turn...um...Well, Koala March seems like a good card, but do I have any Monsters that'll-Oh wait, if I do this, and that...Okay! I can do this! I'll do my best, like Syrus tried before! Besides, if I mess up, I still have Koalo-Koala!'

Seeing Chumley nod to himself, Jaden asked, "So? Did you figure out something?"

"Yeah! Yeah! I've got this in the bag now!" said Chumley. "Okay, I activate the Spell, Koala March! I have to choose a Level 4 or lower Koala Monster in my Graveyard and then I can Special Summon him! I choose...the Des Koala I just sent to the Graveyard! And then, I can Special Summon 1 Monster that's the same as Des Koala! Another Des Koala! So, in total, that's 2 Des Koalas!"

Des Koala - (DARK/Beast) - LV3 - (1100/1800) X2

"Jeez! Now he's got three Monsters on the field!" said Syrus.

"Alright!" said Chumley. "Everyone, attack those two directly! Big Koala Parade!"

With two Des Koalas at his sides, Koalo-Koala pounced off the ground at the same time as the two Koalas, crashing down near both Elize and Syrus with the two crying out in pain from the impact after-effects.

Elize and Syrus - 0 LP

Jaden and Chumley - 4700 LP

Winners: Jaden and Chumley

The moment Elize and Syrus' Life Points hit 0, the entire dueling fields vanished in an instant, as though nothing happened. No craters, Monsters, or damage seen anywhere. It was just four friends distanced from each other in the middle of an empty field near the Slifer Red Dorms.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"...Wait, what just happened?" Jaden asked, speaking up. "Uh...does anyone have any idea what just happened?"

Elize and Syrus stood up, still recovering from their previous Direct Attack assaults. "U-Um...well, we were just attacked directly by three of Chumley's Monsters and then we lost..."

"Wait, but we had 5000 Life Points left!" protested Syrus. "Can someone do the math or-Oh, jeez! We need a calculator for this!"

"Hmm...hang on a minute, please," Elize said, trying to calculate in her head. "Um...Well, if we did start off with 5000, then with Koalo-Koala's Attack Points...Okay! I think I got it! 5000 - 2800 = 2200! We would have had 2200 Life Points left!"

"See?" said Syrus.

"But then, there were two other Monsters, the Des Koalas! They each had 1100 Attack Points! 1100 x 2 = 2200! And since the Des Koalas attacked next, then we had no more Life Points left!"

"...Awww! That's it? Then, we did lose! And after I worked so hard to summon my awesome Armoroid! Awww..."

"Cheer up, Sy! Everyone did an awesome job! That was a really cool duel!" Jaden said.

Chumley nodded, feeling more confident now that he actually won a duel for the first time in a long while. Most of the time, he usually lost because the opponent was much more experienced and stronger than him, or he kept messing up his moves. Many times, it was usually him messing up the duel, but not this time.

But, now that the thrill and adrenaline of winning the duel has died down, Chumley had to say...he felt quite silly and a bit embarrassed now.

After all, he did initiate this duel because of Elize's bad cooking over some grilled cheese and her other foods. He was the oldest out of the four of them, so he should have acted mature and not lose his temper over some bad grilled cheese, but...here they were now. While winning the duel was satisfying, Chumley still couldn't help but feel the silly sensation and embarrassment of acting like a child crying over spilled milk. Or, in this case, bad grilled cheese.

Feeling somewhat guilty, Chumley decided that maybe it would be best to make up for his childish behavior.

"Hey...are you guys hungry or something?" asked Chumley.

Elize perked up. "O-Oh! I mean, I can try to make something even bet-"

"Er...Actually, I was thinking maybe I should be the one cooking."

Jaden looked at Chumley. "You can cook, Chum?"

Chumley nodded. "Yeah. Dad taught me the basics! I know how to cook a couple of things, like the riceballs and grilled cheese sandwiches!"

"Not surprising," muttered Syrus under his breath, which only made him receive an annoyed glare from the older Slifer Red.

"Well, if it's okay with you, can I watch you cook, Chumley? O-Or maybe even help you cook?" Elize asked.

"Ooh, a cooking activity? That might be fun! Can I join in?" Jaden chimed in.

Syrus really didn't seem interested in cooking, but seeing as his friends seemed inclined to cooking and since he had nothing better to do, he decided to join in, too. "I...Well, I guess it wouldn't hurt to learn some cooking."

Chumley had to admit, he didn't expect his friends to want to help him out. He initially planned on doing the cooking all by himself, but then again, having some help might not be so bad. Besides, the cooking might go faster if he had some help.

What he didn't anticipate was just how BAD Jaden and Syrus were at cooking.


Chumley and Elize had to spend half of the majority during their cooking trying to fix Jaden and Syrus' portions of cooking or even stop them from adding in more ingredients that might "potentially make the meals even more delicious." It was an exhausting chore; akin to watching over 2 troublesome kids.

"Jaden, that's way too much salt! Put it back!"

"Ah! Syrus, I think that's too much water! Maybe pour some out?"

"Bleh! Why would you put vinegar here?!"

"Syrus, I think you're supposed to melt the cheese after, not beforehand!"

By the end, both Chumley and Elize were exhausted, sitting down in one of the dining rooms while Jaden and Syrus agreed to clean up the rest of the kitchen mess, considering that it was their fault that the kitchen was so messy from their various attempts at cooking.

"Hah...who knew that teaching someone was really hard?" wondered Elize, laying her head on the table.

"Yeah, that's the first and last time I'm ever teaching anyone anything," agreed Chumley, slumped back in exhaustion. "But, at least we finished cooking! Let's chow down! I'm starving!"

"Wait, shouldn't we at least wait for Jaden and Syrus? I mean, eating before those two return from cleaning? That sounds a bit rude..."

"Awww, but the grilled cheese sandwiches will be totally cold by the time they come back!"

"Still, they're cleaning, and it wouldn't really feel right if we ate before they returned..."

Chumley fought the urge to roll his eyes, but agreed to Elize's request. "Alright, fine...They did help out with the cooking after all...even though that was the fourth attempt. I guess we can just talk or something? I dunno, I'm not good with starting conversations."

"Yeah...me neither," admitted Elize shyly. "I didn't really have any friends growing up...No, wait, I'm sorry, I did have friends, but they're not exactly...human. I mean, well-"

"Now you're just confusing me even more, Elize. Did you or did you not have friends?" wondered Chumley. "Or were you referring to a pet?"

"I wouldn't really say pet. That sounds a bit rude. Um...here." Elize took out her deck, flipping over some of her Monster cards to reveal some of her Charmer Monsters and other Monsters. "Growing up, I had these cards as my friends. We grew up together and I really adore them! They're like, a second family to me! Ah...I'm sorry if I'm being weird about all this..."

Chumley shook his head. "Huh, nah. It's fine. I mean, I guess I do find it a bit weird since cards aren't people, but there's nothing wrong with admiring your own cards. Check it!" Chumley took out his own deck and took out his Des Koala card. "Koalas are totally my favorite animals, so I'm really glad to have a Koala deck! I mean, I'm still pretty bad at dueling, but that doesn't mean I don't like my own deck!"

"Same here!" Elize said. "I'm not a really good duelist, but I value my deck a lot! Honestly, I prefer using my time repairing things and dealing with technology than dueling."

That caught Chumley's attention. "Huh? You didn't come to Duel Academy to become a duelist? But everyone does that to be the best of the best! Well, except for me, anyways."

"No, I came to Duel Academy to become a dueling technician. I love tinkering with machinery and fixing things up. If you ever need something fixed like your own duel disk, let me take a look at it, and I'll see what I can do."

"Wow, thanks! I'll take you up on your offer sometime in the future!"

Elize asked, "What about you, Chumley? You kinda sounded like you didn't come here to be a duelist, either."

Chumley nodded. "Yeah, I wanted to be a card designer. That's why I've spent a lot of my time practicing my artistic skills. My favorite things to paint are koalas and a lot of things relating to Australia! My Dad took me there for a trip one time and I loved it!"

"Yeah, I've heard about Australia and that place having stuff like kangaroos! I wonder if I'll ever travel there," pondered Elize. "But a card designer is really interesting, too! I heard Industrial Illusions is a good company for card designers! Are you planning to apply there?"

"Yup! It's been my dream to! If you're planning to be some future mechanic or technology person or whatever, I guess that means you want to be in KaibaCorp?"

Elize nodded. "Well...kinda. Originally, my dream was to become a mechanic, so I was alright working with any companies in need for mechanics. But, that dream's changed. I guess my dream has a bunch of other challenges now. Or rather, it's expanded to working as a technician for KaibaCorp since I'm in Duel Academy. I still have to understand the technology behind the machinery, after all, so it's a bit difficult for me now."

"Why did you change your dream all of a sudden?" asked Chumley, curious.

"I...well, it was mainly because of my Grandma," explained Elize. "Grandma...she's never really been fond of me. In fact, she doesn't really like me. But, she's never hurt me or anything! She always makes sure I'm well-fed, educated, and gets my chores done! But, she does try to avoid any contact with me any chance she has...like, she doesn't eat with me during breakfast, lunch, or dinner. She just leaves the food for me wrapped up. I think she eats separately from me, or she probably ate earlier than me during those times, but yeah...eating by myself was really lonesome during those times."

Chumley then realized that possibly one of the reasons why Elize didn't want to immediately start eating was because it would feel rather lonesome if he and her ate before Jaden or Syrus came back. Even if he was with Elize if they ate first, Elize would still feel guilty. Just the thought of actually ignoring Elize and eating ahead of his friends made his mouth sour with shame.

Perhaps it was well-worth not eating and learning more about each other.

"...Wait, what does your Grandma have anything to do with your decision-changing, anyways?" asked Chumley.

"Well, Grandma doesn't really like me and she tries to avoid contact with me. I did mention this, right?" Elize asked, allowing Chumley to nod and for her to continue. "Well, originally, I was planning on attending a technical school, but then Grandma presented another opportunity to me: Duel Academy. Sure, it was a school to train duelists, but it also had technical classes. It's a great choice, but...I always had the lingering feeling that she wanted me to attend just so we can be far apart from each other."

Chumley frowned. "Your Grandma doesn't really seem nice at all!"

Elize was quick to defend her. "W-Wait! Grandma may be...strict and mean at times, and sure, maybe she wanted to send me away, but she's still my Grandma! I still love her!"

"Still...Are you really okay with her treatment towards you?"

Elize looked down. "Well...it's okay. I've gotten used to it by this point. Besides, she's taken care of me my entire life! When I graduate and get a good job somewhere, it'll be my turn to support Grandma! Furthermore, I heard those who graduate Duel Academy with high marks in the technical classes get a good position in KaibaCorp."

Chumley nodded. "Yeah, I heard that a lot of students who graduate here get to go on and be great card designers! But...that just makes my dream even harder to reach..."

"What's wrong?"

Chumley looked up. "Well, I'm pretty passionate about my art. I like art, along with naps and grilled cheese and-Ahhh, I'm getting off topic. The point is, I'm good with art, but I'm pretty awful at dueling. Like, I suck at it."

Elize was surprised. "But earlier today, you won."

"Yeah, only because it was a Tag Duel and I was partnered with Jaden, the guy who managed to beat Crowler in his entrance exam. I just got pretty lucky that duel."

"Maybe, but you also managed to Fusion Summon a really strong Monster. That has to be something, right?"

Chumley smiled. "Yeah, I guess you're right. Still, I'm far off from being the best duelist ever."

"If it helps, I'm not too good with dueling, either," Elize said.

"Yeah, but losing sucks. And you have to be a really good duelist in order to graduate Duel Academy."

"What?! Really? I didn't know that!"

Chumley nodded. "Well, that's a basic requirement of graduation and barely worth mentioning. I mean, most folks attend here in order to become Pro Duelists, so naturally, their skills have to be top-notch in order to graduate."

"Wait, so even if you and I are attending for different reasons, we have to have good high marks to graduate?" asked Elize, horrified.

"Pretty much. But, I think you have a pretty good chance to graduate since you're in Obelisk Blue. Obelisk Blues are always meant for the best of the best."

Elize looked down at her Obelisk Blue uniform, signifying her as a student of Obelisk Blue. "I...I don't really feel like the best."

"Well, the best of the best Obelisk Blues is Zane," said Chumley. "Handsome, top marks, and a skilled duelist. He's even got his own fan club!"

"Um...I actually never heard of Zane before."

"Wha-Oh." Chumley's face relaxed in realization. "That's right, you're new here, so you wouldn't know. Well, you would have found out about Zane eventually, so it wouldn't have mattered either way."

Elize asked, "So, we need to be as good as this Zane guy if we want to graduate?"

"Okay, that's a level too high for our standards! Maybe not really as good as him, but just enough to pass!" Chumley looked down at the plate of grilled cheese sandwiches, nearly drooling before he got ahold of himself. "Man...I can't believe I started that Tag Duel earlier all because of some grilled cheese sandwiches."

Elize rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. "Um...I really am sorry for messing up the recipe."

"Nah. Now that it's all over and done with, I feel kinda silly, getting all worked up because of some food. I mean, grilled cheese is my favorite food and all, but I can't believe that I got THAT worked up," admitted Chumley. "I...I'm sorry. I guess I must have hurt your feelings, huh?"

"No, no!" Elize said. "You were fine! It was all my fault, anyways!"

"Yeah, but you worked hard, and I got mad about how bad the food was, so I started the duel out of spite. That really was pretty petty of me, if I'm being honest." Chumley looked at Elize. "How about...uh...look, we both apologized, so we just forgive and forget? Like, start all over?"

"Huh?" Elize wanted to apologize all over again, but upon hearing out Chumley, she imagined that a fresh new start might be good for the both of them. "That...does that mean we're friends?"

"Yeah, I don't have a problem with that. Why not?"

Elize suddenly started growing nervous as she twiddled her fingers. "Um...Then, would it be okay if I asked for something...?"

"What's up?"

"Can...Can I please handshake you?!" asked Elize. "T-This is where people handshake each other, right?"

Chumley nodded and took out his hand. "Yeah. You don't even need to say this is a favor or anything. You can go ahead and handshake me."

Elize's expression lit up as her hand shot out and started shaking his hand. "Wow! So, this is what handshaking is like! It feels so warm!"

Confusion filled Chumley's expression. "Wait, have you actually never did a handshake before?"

Elize tried to recall the other times when she did handshakes. Sure, she did them with her other Duel Spirits, but it just wasn't the same compared to humans like her. So, in a way, this was the first time she ever handshook anyone. "Yeah. I was homeschooled up until this year."

"Oh, that makes sense. Well, I guess here's a fresh new start for our friendship, I guess."

"Yeah!"

"Hey, glad to see you two getting along!" said Jaden as he and Syrus returned from the kitchen, carrying some plates full of rice balls. "Here, added in the finishing touches! Now, let's all chow down and eat!"

Chumley and Elize wasted no time in getting their own grilled cheese sandwiches and being the first to take the first bites. The food was just as good as the evergrowing feelings of friendship in their hearts; warmth of heart and sticky with their friendship sticking together no matter what. They had a feeling everything was going to be alright from here on out.

Then, everyone bite down on their rice balls...before all but Jaden spit out their flavored rice balls.

"Pah! Gah! What the-CHOCOLATE?!"

"Mine's sweet, but it's also bitter! Wha-is this strawberry inside here?"

"Aaah! Sour! Sour! Lemon?! Jaden, you were in charge of the flavoring! What did you do?!"

"Hmm? Oh, you like them, guys? They taste SO GOOD! Who doesn't love chocolate, strawberry, and lemon-flavored rice balls?"

"...JADEN!"

Thus began the fresh start of a new, evergrowing friendship...and the end of Jaden ever cooking again.


Hi, guys! It's been a while, huh? Okay, I may as well get started on a couple of notes here for this chapter.

It sorta sucks that Chumley only manages two duels in the entire series and he loses both of them! I mean, he's improved, but still! So, I thought maybe he should get more spotlight in this fanfic as more than just a minor side character! He's not my most favorite character, but he's an okay guy to me!

Chumley might be a bit OOC here, but there's not too much known about him. I know he loves grilled cheese sandwiches, so I exploited that information to contribute to this chapter and start off his friendship with Elize. I'm going to, or at least try to, add him more to the story even more than the anime did.

Yeah, so more of Elize's childhood past is revealed in this chapter, and some of her behaviors will be explained further down the path, although you can all try and guess what's going on.

Anyways, read and review!