"Ladies and gentlemen, today's duel decides the fate of this academy!" The announcer's voice blared through the speakers. "Slade Princeton versus Chazz Princeton! Are you two ready to duel?" The two brothers stood opposite each other on the stage in the Obelisk Blue Arena. How fitting, Chazz thought, that he found himself here again, in another duel that would determine his destiny—and yet again with another different deck too.

"During our duel, you're only allowed to duel with monsters with less than 500 ATK points!" Slade and Jagger both laughed from across the video screen three days ago.

"If you want to back out, tell me now," Slade mocked. "I don't even know why you insist on going through this charade. Your monsters don't even have 500 ATK! You won't last a single turn against my powerful monsters." Slade crossed his arms and flashed the younger Princeton a condescending smile. "You might be a failure, but you're still my little brother, and that should count for something, shouldn't it? Just say the word, and I'll spare you this public humiliation."

"Oh give me a break, I'm not afraid of you." Chazz scoffed. "You're not even a real duelist. In fact," Chazz turned to the crowd and made sure his voice cut through their noise, "to prove how easy it is to beat you, I'm going to defeat you with a deck of 0 ATK monsters!"

The crowd murmured at this revelation, while Slade burst out into laughter. "Well if you insist, little brother, it's your funeral! Please. 0 ATK monsters…" Slade shook his head. "What a joke. I bet you won't even get to inflict a single point of Life Point damage!"

"Wanna bet?" Chazz shot back, his Duel Disk whirring into place. "I didn't wanna make things too easy for you."

Slade scoffed. "Whatever. It's your execution." He raised his arm, his Duel Disk readying itself as well.

"Let's duel!" both cried out.

"Why don't you go first, Chazz?" Slade offered, faux-politely. "It's the least I can do for someone with a Deck as pitiful as yours."

"Gladly," Chazz responded, not rising to the bait. "I Set a monster card, and then Set four cards face-down." Each of the cards appeared one after another in rapid succession, as Chazz inserted each one into his Duel Disk. "I end my turn."

Jaden whistled from the audience. Their usual friend group had gathered to spectate Chazz's duel. "That's one hell of a backrow."

"Given the nature of the restriction imposed on Chazz, it seems he decided that a defensive game plan was the right way to go," Bastion remarked. "Most rational. Let's see what tricks Chazz has up his sleeve."

"Is that all you got?" Slade raised an eyebrow. "Let me show you a real play!" Slade played the card that he just drew. "I activate Graceful Charity, which means I draw three cards, and then discard two cards." Slade's Duel Disk fed three cards into his awaiting hand, as he placed a Divine Dragon Ragnarok and Lord of D. into his Graveyard.

"But you don't get as far as we have without knowing how to spin losses into profits! I activate Dragon's Mirror, letting me Fusion Summon a Dragon monster by banishing from my field and Graveyard. In this case, I'll Fusion Summon King Dragun (2400/1000) by banishing the two monsters I just discarded!"

An ornate mirror appeared by Slade's side, the reflective glass shimmering and rippling. Suddenly, a creature with a human torso and a dragon's head burst out of the mirror. It gripped its claws against the frame of the mirror and pulled itself into the world, revealing a bronze serpentine draconic body that trailed behind it.

"King Dragun protects my Dragons from your targeting effects. Also, once per turn, he can let me Special Summon a Dragon monster from my hand. So say hello to Luster Dragon #2 (2400/1400)! And I'm not done! I'll also Normal Summon the original Luster Dragon (1900/1600)!" King Dragun played a melody on the dragon-styled flute it carried in its claws, and two fearsome dragons—one made of emerald, and one made of sapphire—roared into existence.

"So this was Slade's game, how duplicitous," Bastion hissed. "Letting Chazz go first was no act of mercy. Slade wanted to go second so that his Dragons could attack immediately. He's looking to claim a first turn kill!"

"Isn't Chazz's brother just some bigshot CEO?" Jaden scratched his head. "I thought he didn't play Duel Monsters. For a total beginner, that was a pretty slick combo."

"That's Jagger—Slade's a representative in the National Diet. But to be fair, neither businessmen nor politicians get where they are by playing fair." Surprisingly, it was Mindy who chimed in. "Take a look at his hairstyle—he's wearing it differently today. In particular, his right ear is covered when it usually isn't." She crossed her arms under her chest. "I bet that slimeball's got an earpiece with some washed up pro feeding him instructions."

"Well, we'll just have to trust in Chazz's abilities. Chazz may be many things, but he plays by the rules and respects the game of Duel Monsters," Alexis stated. "Anyone lacking enough in honor to abet in this chicanery is no match for Chazz. I have a feeling this match isn't over just yet."

"I enter the Battle Phase." Slade swept an arm out. "King Dragun, destroy this whelp's face-down card! Then, Luster Dragons, direct attack! You're finished!"

"Don't get ahead of yourself!" Chazz sneered. Two of his face-down cards revealed themselves. "First, I activate the Trap card Good Goblin Housekeeping, which lets me draw cards equal to the number of Good Goblin Housekeeping cards in my Graveyard, +1. Then, in response, I chain the Continuous Trap Scrubbed Raid. During the Battle Phase, as cost, I can send one other card I control to the Graveyard, in order to end the Battle Phase immediately. I send my Good Goblin Housekeeping!"

"Tch!" Slade spat out. A town militia had appeared by Chazz's side, their spears and makeshift weapons somehow deterring the onslaught of his Dragons.

"Seriously man, I had four cards face-down. Did you really think it'd be that easy?" Chazz admonished. "And by the way, Good Goblin Housekeeping was sent to the Graveyard, but its effect still resolves. In fact, when it resolves, it counts itself in the Graveyard, so I get to draw two cards!"

"Cute trick," Slade huffed. "I Set two cards face-down. Your move."

"I draw!" Chazz looked at the card he just drew, and nodded. "I Normal Summon Spirit of the Breeze (0/1800)." A green-skinned angel with long blue hair floated down by Chazz's side. "I Set two more cards face-down and end my turn." Chazz's entire backrow was now filled with five cards.

"A 0 ATK monster in Attack Position?" Slade could barely hold back his laughter. "No wonder you've been losing all your duels, little brother. I should be insulted that all the money we invested into your Prep School tuition amounted to just this, but at least this duel will be even easier than I thought."

"Go ahead, attack her then," Chazz taunted.

"Maybe I will. I draw!" Slade grinned. "I activate Summoner's Art, which lets me add a Level 5 or higher Normal Monster from my Deck to my hand. I choose Tri-Horned Dragon (2850/2350), and use King Dragun's ability to immediately Special Summon it to the field!" Another melody on King Dragun's flute, and a hunched and sneering dragon covered in brilliant blue scales stomped onto the field. "You were a fool to turn down this Deck, Chazz. The strongest and rarest cards that money could buy... You wouldn't have suffered any of your shameful losses if you had just done as we said."

"Strongest and rarest? Give me a break." Chazz rolled his eyes. "That little lizard of yours doesn't have as much ATK as a Blue Eyes White Dragon! If you really wanted the strongest Dragons, then why don't you have one of those? You and Jagger claim to be all-powerful, but all I see is proof that Seto Kaiba is in a league beyond you two wannabes. In terms of business, influence, and Duel Monsters!"

Slade clenched his fists. "Bold words. Why don't you say them to his face when you have to report that you lost him his precious school? Tri-Horned Dragon, obliterate that puny Fairy!"

"You never learn, do you?" Chazz revealed one of his face-down cards. "As Chain Link 1, I activate my second copy of Good Goblin Housekeeping, then as Chain Link 2, I'll send it to the Graveyard as cost to activate Scrubbed Raid's effect. The Battle Phase is done!"

"I've had enough of these games. This rebellion of yours is over—by order of the king!" Slade revealed the first of his own face-down cards. "I know how to count, too, you know. As Chain Link 3, I activate the Continuous Trap Royal Decree, which negates all Trap effects on the field!"

"What?" Chazz gasped, taking a step back.

"Your deck is full weak monsters. It wasn't hard to predict you were going to be hiding like a coward behind Traps," Slade explained. "Sorry if that threw a wrench in your plans. No more delaying the inevitable!"

"Nice try, but no dice," Chazz revealed another Trap card. "As Chain Link 4, I activate Raigeki Break. By discarding my Ojamagic, I can target and destroy one card on the field. Since your Royal Decree hasn't finished resolving, our Traps aren't negated just yet."

"King Dragun prevents you from targeting my Dragons," Slade reminded.

"Of course I wasn't aiming for your Dragons, you moron! I'm going to destroy your Royal Decree!"

"Now, now, little brother, that's no way to treat a king. As Chain Link 5, I activate my other face-down card, the Continuous Trap Imperial Custom! Other face-up Continuous Trap cards can't be destroyed by card effects any more! Tough luck!"

Bastion slapped his forehead. "Chazz's brother is an idiot. Royal Decree and Imperial Custom is an infamous nonbo."

"What do you mean?" Syrus asked.

"You'd think that Imperial Custom gives protection to Royal Decree. But remember that Imperial Custom is a Trap as well. So its effect gets negated by Royal Decree, the very card it's supposed to be protecting. Seriously, did he not realize this?"

"Slade may have a pro piloting the Deck, but I think it's clear he just built it himself," Alexis sighed. "Chazz did say that Slade offered him a briefcase full of rare cards, once. I wouldn't be surprised if that guy just slapped that pile together and called it a day."

"Well, it's not negated yet, so it's going to stop Royal Decree from being destroyed by Raigeki Break." Jaden frowned. "Nonbo or not, it's still a thorn in Chazz's side."

Chazz gritted his teeth. "As Chain Link 6, I activate the Trap Waboku. For the rest of this turn, I take no battle damage, and my monsters can't be destroyed by battle. Also, as a lingering effect, its effects won't be retroactively negated by your Royal Decree. Finally, for Chain Link 7, I activate Accumulated Fortune, which lets me draw two cards, since it was activated as Chain Link 4 or higher."

"So be it, then," Slade said. "I have nothing more to add."

So, in summary, Chazz was able to draw two cards, and Waboku granted him and his monsters a protective blue aura. Imperial Custom protected Raigeki Break from destroying Royal Decree, which then went on to negate the effects of Chazz's Scrubbed Raid and Good Goblin Housekeeping (and it also now negated Imperial Custom's protection effect).

"Wait, why did Good Goblin Housekeeping get negated? Royal Decree only negated Trap effects on the field, right? Wasn't it in the Graveyard already?" Syrus asked.

"Effects always resolve where they were activated," Bastion lectured. "Since it was activated on the field, the effect resolves on the field—rather, it fails to, because Royal Decree negates it, even if Royal Decree never saw the card itself on the field."

Alexis swore. "That would have drawn Chazz three whole cards. Losing those resources is going to be rough."

"Yeah, he's obviously digging for something, isn't he?" Jaden mused. "What with all that stall and card draw he's running… I wonder what he's building towards?"

"I, too, am curious, but we'll just have to wait and see," Zane said, speaking up for the first time. "Now pay attention, the duel's resuming."

"Since Ojamagic was sent from my hand to the Graveyard as cost for Raigeki Break, I can use its effect to add one each of Ojama Green, Ojama Yellow, and Ojama Black from my Deck to my hand!" Not long after Chazz uttered these words, three lidded wicker baskets poofed into existence on the field. The lights dimmed, and a spotlight shone on the three baskets—and out sprang the three Ojama brothers in a shower of confetti. Chazz sighed at their antics, and the three nuisances zipped into his hand.

"How's the fight going, boss?" Ojama Yellow hollered, the three Ojamas' Duel Spirits now hovering over his shoulder. He turned to the Dueling field and the eyes on his eyestalks bugged out. "Oh wowza!"

Tri-Horned Dragon had reached Spirit of the Breeze and chomped down on her with its massive jaw—the poor angel was being tossed around like a ragdoll as the massive Dragon whipped its head back and forth.

"I do not want to be her! That poor thing!" Ojama Green covered his eye with his hands.

"Just watching this makes me wanna puke!" Ojama Black cover his mouth with his hands.

"Relax, you idiots." Chazz whispered back at them. "She's fine! See?" Despite the manhandling, Spirit of the Breeze did in fact appear completely unfazed. The blue aura from Waboku flared around the Fairy, and she managed to slip out safely and flit away.

"Hmph." Slade grunted. "I can't destroy your monsters, but I might as well see what it is you've got hidden. Luster Dragon #2, attack Chazz's face-down card!" It was a Soul Tiger (0/2100), who, with Waboku's blessing, managed to hold out against the assault from the emerald dragon. "You live to see another turn," Slade said drily. "Make it count."

"I will! I draw!" Chazz assessed the cards in his hand for a few seconds, before nodding, having made up his mind. He was going to have to sequence his plays carefully here. "First, in the Standby Phase, since Spirit of the Breeze is in Attack Position, her effect activates, and I gain 1000 LP (Chazz: 4000 LP → 5000 LP).

"I Normal Summon Royal Magical Library (0/2000)." A massive wall of bookcases towered behind Chazz. Magicians hooded in violet robes tended to the books, perched on platforms with strange green orbs. "Here's how it works. Each time either of us activates a Spell Card, Royal Magical Library gets a Spell Counter, up to three. And I can remove three Spell Counters from it in order to draw a card. So, let's start playing some Spell Cards!"

"I'm going to start with my own copy of Graceful Charity!" Chazz began. "I'm going to draw three cards, and then discard my Relinquished and Thousand Eyes Idol." (Royal Magical Library: 1 Spell Counter)

"Now, I activate Guard Penalty, targeting my Royal Magical Library. If it ever changes to Defense Position this turn, I get to draw another card." (Royal Magical Library: 2 Spell Counters)

"Next, I activate Earthquake, switching all of our monsters to Defense Position!" The ground started to shake, and both Chazz and Slade had to take a knee and hold a hand out to stabilize themselves. All of their monsters too were rattled by the earthquake—even the Royal Magical Library's bookcases had closed in on themselves. (Royal Magical Library: 3 Spell Counters)

"Because Royal Magical Library changed to Defense Position, Guard Penalty's effect allows me to draw a card. Also, I'll use Royal Magical Library's effect and remove three Spell Counters from it, in order to draw another card." (Royal Magical Library: 0 Spell Counters)

"Now, I activate Upstart Goblin. I draw a card, and you gain 1000 LP (Slade: 4000 LP → 5000 LP)." (Royal Magical Library: 1 Spell Counters)

"I activate the Field Spell Chorus of Sanctuary!" Roses bloomed around them, and singing cherubs aimlessly drifted by. (Royal Magical Library: 2 Spell Counters). "This increases the DEF of all Defense position monsters by 500 points!"

(Soul Tiger: 2100 DEF → 2600 DEF)

(Spirit of the Breeze: 1800 DEF → 2300 DEF)

(Royal Magical Library: 2000 DEF → 2500 DEF)

"It buffs your monsters' DEF too, but who cares!"

"Next, I activate the Continuous Spell The Dark Door!" A foreboding presence settled over both duelists. "Now, both of us can only attack with at most one monster during each Battle Phase." (Royal Magical Library: 3 Spell Counters)

"Once again, I'll use Royal Magical Library's effect. I'll remove three Spell Counters from it and draw yet another card!" (Royal Magical Library: 0 Spell Counters)

Chazz looked at the card he drew, and immediately played it. "I play the Continuous Spell Heart of the Underdog! It only takes effect during my next Draw Phase, so don't worry about it just yet." (Royal Magical Library: 1 Spell Counter). "And with that, I end my turn!" Chazz declared.

"Ugh, finally. It's about time!" Slade feigned a yawn. Unbeknownst to him, the Ojama brothers played into the gag, having pulled out sleeping caps and drifted off to sleep. "Did you really show up to this duel just to waste my time? Because it looks like you spun a bunch of wheels and ended up accomplishing a fat load of nothing."

"Too much for you to keep up, old man?" Chazz jeered.

Slade elected not to dignify that with a response, just drawing his card for the turn. "I activate Pot of Greed, which lets me draw two cards! Then, I activate Stamping Destruction. Since I control a Dragon, I can destroy a target Spell or Trap card on the field, and inflict 500 damage to its controller. I'm destroying The Dark Door!" Tri-Horned Dragon roared and stomped, a mighty shockwave emanating from the unworthy Dragon. Chazz's The Dark Door was blown to bits, and incidentally, this jolted the Ojama Duel Spirits awake from their slumber (Chazz: 5000 LP 4500 LP) (Royal Magical Library: 2 Spell Counters).

"I switch all my Dragons back into Attack position, and use King Dragun's effect to Special Summon Hyozanryu (2100/2800) from my hand!" King Dragun once again played that familiar melody on its flute, and a slender horned dragon carved out of sparkling diamond touched down onto the battlefield.

"Five dragons…" Chazz took another involuntary step back.

"I don't like where this is going, boss!" Ojama Green shrieked.

"Finally, I activate the Continuous Spell Banner of Courage. This gives all my monsters 200 ATK points during my Battle Phase!" The war standard appeared in Slade's free arm, which he raised into the air with a battle cry. All of Slade's Dragons glowed red, all of them simultaneously letting out piercing roars as adrenaline coursed through them.

(King Dragun: 2400 ATK 2600 ATK)

(Luster Dragon #2: 2400 ATK 2600 ATK)

(Luster Dragon: 1900 ATK 2100 ATK)

(Tri-Horned Dragon: 2850 ATK 3050 ATK)

(Hyozanryu: 2100 ATK 2300 ATK)

(Royal Magical Library: 3 Spell Counter)

"Uh oh. Not good…." Ojama Black whimpered.

"Too late for regrets now, little brother! Tri-Horned Dragon, destroy the Soul Tiger! Luster Dragon #2, destroy the Royal Magical Library! King Dragun, destroy the Spirit of the Breeze!" Without The Dark Door to throttle Slade's offense, Chazz was helpless to watch his monsters get torn apart by the ferocious Dragons.

"Boss! Boss! You're wide open!" Ojama Yellow sputtered out, waving his arms around frantically.

"Now, Luster Dragon and Hyozanryu. Direct attack!" The dragons of sapphire and emerald let loose shimmering crystalline dragonfire that engulfed Chazz, causing him to cry out in pain.

"AAAAGH!" Chazz was forced to one knee, panting heavily (Chazz: 4500 LP → 2400 LP → 100 LP).

"Boss!" the three Ojama Duel Spirits screamed in unison.

"Oh no, Chazz!" Jaden cried out. And he wasn't alone—many members of the audience were muttering among themselves. Although most had bad experiences with Princeton, even they had to sympathize with the show of brutality brought down by his own brother.

'If not for Spirit of the Breeze, I'd be toast. Even then, I'm barely alive as is!' Chazz thought.

"Well, well, well, the little cockroach manages to hang on." Slade had his arms crossed across his chest, impatiently tapping a finger against one bicep. "Go on then, it's your turn. When my turn rolls around, I won't hesitate to finish things off and squash you." As Slade's Battle Phase ended, his Dragons reverted to their normal ATK values.

"Boss, get up!" the Ojamas tugged at his shoulders and tried to hoist him up—but as they were incorporeal, they could not. "Boss, you gotta get up!"

Chazz growled. He hung his head low, and slammed the ground with his fist. Several seconds of tense silence passed. Then, he raised his fist, and slammed it down onto the ground once more. Slowly, shakily, Chazz stood back up, and drew a card from his Deck. "Don't count me out just yet. It's not over until it's over."

Chazz drew tor turn, and revealed the card he had just drawn—Hieratic Seal of the Sun Dragon Overlord. "Since I drew a Normal Monster during the Draw Phase, Heart of the Underdog says that I can reveal it to you in order to draw another card."

Slade scoffed. "A Level 8 Normal Monster with 0 ATK and 0 DEF? God, I was enjoying this a while ago, but this is just sad. I thought you'd put up more of a fight. I wanna see the barrel whose bottom you've been scraping in order to find cards as pathetic as these."

"Just because you're too dumb to see their applications doesn't mean they're pathetic," Chazz scolded. "I activate the Trade In I just drew. By discarding a Level 8 Dragon like Hieratic Seal of the Sun Dragon Overlord, I can draw two cards from my Deck." Chazz looked at his two new draws, and smiled. "Looks like you aren't going to be rid of me just yet!"

"First, I activate Fusion Sage, which lets me search Polymerization from my Deck. Then, I activate Recurring Nightmare, which lets me target two DARK Monsters with 0 DEF in my Graveyard, in order to add them back to my hand. I choose the Relinquished and Thousand Eyes Idol that I discarded for Graceful Charity!" Chazz's Duel Disk shot the two cards into his hand. "Next, I'll activate Polymerization to fuse those two cards into the great and terrible Thousand Eyes Restrict (0/0)!"

A grotesque creature sprouted out of the earth. Its shape resembled that of a torso of a man, yet everything about this entity screamed horrible and unnatural. A gaping maw came out of its main body. Where its head should have been, a single eyestalk squelched around, a facsimile of the Millennium Eye gazing about the arena. It had two broad wings that covered it like a cloak made of gnarled ebon skin. Adorning these wings—and its body, and its arms—were a thousand bleary eyeballs that blinked and shifted around.

"What…" This time Slade was the one taken aback. "What horror is this!"

"Let me introduce you to one of the ace monsters of Maximillion Pegasus himself, the Thousand Eyes Restrict!" Chazz boasted, gaining his breath and his momentum back. "Once per turn, I can target a monster you control, and Thousand Eyes Restrict equips that target to it, stealing that monster's ATK and DEF points!"

"King Dragun prevents my Dragons from being targeted!" Slade shouted back, having composed himself and regained some of his bluster.

Chazz frowned. "Hm. Annoying. But be that as it may, that doesn't stop its first effect. While Thousand Eyes Restrict is face-up on the field, other monsters cannot change their battle positions or attack. This is a Continuous effect, so despite your King Dragun, your Dragons are still pinned down." Indeed, Slade's army of Dragons was visibly unnerved by the Fusion's eldritch aura, finding themselves unable to move in the creature's presence. Even the Ojamas found themselves paralyzed in fear, and they were just Duel Spirits and weren't even on the board yet.

"It's your move," Chazz waved an arm dismissively. "You can't do a thing against me."

Slade drew for turn, and his jaw tightened.

"I'm guessing that wasn't useful?" Chazz taunted.

Slade remained stoic. "I end my turn," he simply said.

Chazz drew for turn. "I Set a monster face-down and end my turn."

Slade drew for turn again, and his visage remained stony.

"Well? Did you draw the out?" Chazz jeered once more.

Slade pressed his lips into a fine line, but said no more than, "I end my turn."

Chazz drew for turn. "I Set a Spell/Trap face-down, and end my turn."

Alexis breathed a sigh of relief. "It looks like that Thousand Eyes Restrict was exactly what Chazz needed to slow down the pace of this game. He's been dodging bullets from Turn 1, it's good that he finally got some breathing room."

"It seems you spoke too soon. No rest for the wicked," Zane muttered. "Take a look at Slade's face. It looks like he drew something good."

Mindy scoffed. "Look at his eyes. They're not focused on his cards, but looking to the right. I bet he's receiving instructions through that hidden earpiece of his."

"Well, whether it's versus Slade, or Slade's ghost duelist, let's see what Chazz has to face now," Zane said.

"Alright, Chazz, enough running. I finally have what I need to be rid of that abomination of yours." A cocky grin wormed its way back to Slade's face. "I activate Draconnection. By revealing a Dragon-Type monster in my hand, I can swap it out for a different Dragon in my Deck with the same Level. So, by shuffling back my Level 5 Yamadron, I can add the Level 5 Vice Dragon (2000/2400) from my Deck to my hand. I offer Luster Dragon as a sacrifice in order to Tribute Summon it!"

"Now, I activate the final card in my hand, Transmodify! By sending a face-up monster I control to the Graveyard, I can Special Summon from my Deck a monster of the same Type and Attribute, but one Level higher." Vice Dragon found itself encased in a metal shell, thrumming with lightning and electricity. "By sending the Level 5 DARK Dragon Vice Dragon, I can Special Summon from my Deck the Level 6 DARK Dragon Gravi-Crush Dragon (2400/1200)!" The metal shell exploded, and out of the smoke lumbered a massive black dragon with broken manacles around its wrists.

"Gravi-Crush Dragon has a special effect. By sending a face-up Continuous Spell I control to the Graveyard—like this Banner of Courage—I can target and destroy one monster you control. Say goodbye to your Thousand Eyes Restrict!" Gravi-Crush Dragon roared and snatched the Banner of Courage out of the earth where Slade had planted it. With one mighty heave, it hurled the banner like a javelin, spearing through Thousand Eyes Restrict and causing the horrific monster to shatter into particles.

"My monster!" Chazz cried out.

"Now that that's settled," Slade adjusted his cufflinks. "Tri-Horned Dragon, destroy Chazz's face-down monster, so we can end this duel."

Tri-Horned Dragon hobbled forward and snapped up the mystery monster in its jaws—it was revealed to be a forlorn young woman in a ragged blue dress. As her model shattered, dozens of strange floating creatures poured out of the basket she had been holding, and began to harass Slade's monsters.

"What the-" He batted them away as they tried to get at his face. "What's all this?!"

"The monster you just destroyed was The Unhappy Maiden (0/100), and when she's destroyed by battle, her friends here end the Battle Phase immediately!" Chazz explained. "Always good to have a backup plan, don't you agree?"

"Fine. Your turn. What new scheme have you got to annoy me this time?" Slade said flatly.

Chazz grinned at his new draw. "I'm glad you asked, dear brother of mine! I activate the Continuous Spell Level Limit - Area B, which forces all Level 4 or higher monsters to Defense position!" All of Slade's dragons once again found themselves borne down upon by an oppressive unseen force.

"I draw," Slade said. He frowned. "I activate the Continuous Spell Lighten the Load and end my turn. You can't stall forever, Chazz."

"Watch me," Chazz shot back. "I draw. In the Standby Phase, I activate the effect of the Golden Ladybug that I just drew. By revealing it in my hand, and keeping it revealed for the rest of this turn, I can gain 500 LP." (Chazz: 100 LP → 600 LP) "I end my turn."

"I draw!" Slade said. "I'll use Lighten the Load's effect to, once per turn, trade a Level 7 or higher monster in my hand for a brand new draw. I'll be shuffling back this Seiyaryu." Slade observed his new draw, and smirked.

"Finally! I offer Hyozanryu as a sacrifice in order to Tribute Summon Gravi-Crush Dragon's sibling, the Magna-Slash Dragon (2400/1200)!" A sleek white dragon arose, claws like glaives attached to the side of its arms. Immediately, it was forced to its knees as the oppressive force of Level Limit - Area B changed it to Defense Position. "Just like Gravi-Crush Dragon, I activate its effect by sending a face-up Continuous Spell I control to the Graveyard—in this case, Lighten the Load. But this time, it's a Spell or Trap card that I can target and destroy. Say goodbye to Level Limit - Area B!"

Magna-Slash Dragon roared, and like a fracturing sheet of ice, the weight bearing down on Slade's other Dragons was lifted. Slade changed all four of his other monsters into Attack Position. "You've got no monsters left. You're wide open! Direct attack!"

"It's not over! I activate the Quick-Play Spell Scapegoat!" Chazz rallied together his final line of defense. Four Sheep Tokens (0/0) popped into existence—only for them to be torn to shreds by Slade's four dragons.

"You're so annoying!" Slade snapped, finally losing his cool. "You've done nothing this whole game except stall, stall, stall. You haven't destroyed a single one of my Dragons. You haven't inflicted a single point of LP damage to me. In fact, I'm in an LP surplus thanks to you! I know your hand is filled with garbage—those Ojama losers and that little ladybug. You've got no more monsters, no more face-down cards—versus my five rare Dragons."

Slade pointed a finger accusingly at his little brother. "You've always been like this, Chazz. One day, you're going to have to face the music and grow up, in order to fulfill your duties as a Princeton! You keep running from it, you keep resisting, but to what end! You have no plan, you have no goals. You're just a spoiled little prince who's had everything handed to him, and can't do the one thing that was asked of him. You losing here would be the first time you've done anything right for this family!"

By the end of his impromptu rant, Slade was huffing. All throughout, Chazz remained silent, his head hung low, with a dark shadow cast across his face.

After what felt like an eternity of silence, Chazz finally spoke. "...are you finished? Good. It's my turn to speak." Chazz still kept his eyes firmly fixed on the ground. "You don't get to say that everything I am is because of you. Not when it was me working my ass off every night in Duelist Prep School. Not when it was me refining my Deck dozens of times until it was perfect. Not when it was me poring over hundreds of pages of match reports and analyses to really understand this game in and out."

"You call me a failure for my losses. But I realize now that the only reason you and Jagger have never failed, is because you've never stepped into a game that you hadn't rigged before it had even started. At least I'm willing to challenge myself in order to grow. At least I have honor! You and Jagger aren't great. You're bullies! Big fish in a little pond! You congratulate yourselves over dirty tactics and stolen valor. But when faced with a real shark, you run away with your tails between your legs, because you know you don't have any real power against someone who can actually fight back for once."

"Isn't that why you're here right now, after all?" Chazz laughed humorlessly. "Seto Kaiba. No matter how hard you and Jagger try, no amount of money or influence you amass will ever hold a candle to that leviathan. The only time you felt comfortable making a play for something that's his, was by forcing this Duel with a ludicrous restriction against a student you think is a failure."

"But I'm not a failure. And I'm not some spoiled prince, either—not any more at least." Finally, Chazz faced his brother in the eyes, and Slade flinched at what he saw. Pure, unadulterated rage. "I'm a duelist! And none of it—my skills, my titles, or my pride—are due to you! So you know what, Slade, I don't care about you or Jagger's plans. Because I do have a plan of my own. I'm going to be the best damn duelist this world has ever seen! And you're just going to be a footnote in my story. Someone so insignificant, that I beat them six ways to Sunday without even needing to use my real deck! That's what it means to CHAZZ IT UP!"

"Hah! Bold words for someone with 600 LP and basically no cards!" Slade barked back. "Admit it! You're out of tricks! All people are going to remember is that you talked a lot of smack for someone who got his ass beat moments later!"

"Let's see about that." Chazz placed two fingers on top of his Deck. He breathed in, and breathed out. "I draw!" Chazz swept his hand out in a wide arc, revealing the card he just drew. "Since Soitsu is a Normal Monster, my Heart of the Underdog allows me to reveal it in order to draw another card." Chazz drew another card—maybe a bit less dramatically this time—and then nodded.

"First, in the Standby Phase, I reveal Golden Ladybug in my hand, and use its effect to recover 500 LP!" (Chazz: 600 LP → 1100 LP). "Next, I activate the Pot of Avarice I just drew. I shuffle five monsters from my Graveyard into my Deck—Spirit of the Breeze, Royal Magical Library, Relinquished, Thousands Eyes Restrict, and The Unhappy Maiden—in order to draw two cards." Chazz's Duel Disk whirred as it automatically shuffled itself, before dispensing two cards into his hand.

"I activate Dark Factory of Mass Production, which lets me add two Normal Monsters from my Graveyard to my hand. I'll add back Soul Tiger, and the Hieratic Seal of the Sun Dragon Overlord that I discarded earlier."

"Congratulations," Slade drawled. "You've filled your hand with eight cards. Too bad most of them are trash!"

"Are you sure about that?" Chazz revealed the final card he had drawn. "I activate Card Destruction! Both of us discard our hands, and draw that many new cards from the Deck. You don't have any cards in your hand of course, but I'm going to cash in these seven of mine!" Chazz tossed his hand into the Graveyard, the Duel Spirits of the three Ojama brothers blowing raspberries at Slade before waving goodbye—not that Slade could see them, anyway.

Chazz assessed the seven new cards that had been added to his hand, gears whirring in his head. Eventually, he smirked. That smirk evolved into a full-blown cackle that left Slade feeling uneasy.

"What's so funny?" Slade demanded.

"Oh, nothing, nothing," Chazz waved it off. "Except that these seven cards are exactly what I need in order to completely crush you! Looks like fate is real after all, because I have no other explanation for the beating I'm about to give you."

"You're bluffing!" Slade scoffed, though he couldn't prevent a bead of sweat from running down the side of his face. Seven cards was a lot after all.

"How's this for a bluff? I'm going to start by activating Giant Trunade, returning all Spell and Trap cards on the field to our hands." Chazz got back his Scrubbed Raid (which had been negated for a while now) and Heart of the Underdog, while Slade got back his Imperial Custom (which was also negated) and Royal Decree.

"Now, I'll activate Ojamandala! By paying 1000 LP (Chazz: 1100 LP → 100 LP), I can Special Summon one each of Ojama Yellow (0/1000), Ojama Green (0/1000), and Ojama Black (0/1000) from my Graveyard!" A tapestry unfurled itself by Chazz's side—it had faux-Buddhist imagery, except in place of bodhisattvas were iconography of the three Ojama siblings. They sprung out of the tapestry with a jubilant cry, striking a pose on the battlefield.

"Boss, we're back!"

"This lets me activate Ojama Delta Hurricane! Since I control the three Ojama brothers, this card destroys all cards you control!"

"What!?" Slade cried out. "My dragons!"

"We're on it boss! One Delta Hurricane, coming right up!" The three Ojamas floated together, making butt-to-butt contact. In unison, the three of them started to spin—slowly, at first, but accelerating faster and faster until the three of them began to blur. A triangle of light began to shimmer into existence, until- BANG!

A massive pink laser beam shot out of the Ojamas' triangle. The three Ojamas turned, sweeping the laser beam left to right across Slade's entire field. Each of Slade's dragons cried out as the Delta Hurricane caused each of them to shatter into particles upon contact.

The Ojamas slowly decelerated, until they parted into three separated entities again—dizzy and delirious, but clearly satisfied. "Did we do good, boss?"

"Next, I'll activate Fusion Recovery. I can add back one Polymerization and one monster used as Fusion material from my Graveyard to my hand—I'll be taking back my Thousand Eyes Idol. But I'm immediately going to use Polymerization to fuse all three Ojamas together into the one and only Ojama King (0/3000)!"

"Boss, no! Not more spinning!" Ojama Yellow whined.

"I'm gonna hurl!" Ojama Black complained.

"We're Duel Spirits, we can't vomit!" Ojama Green pointed out.

Nevertheless, all three Ojama siblings were sucked into a swirling vortex—and out emerged a larger white Ojama, bigger than all three of them combined. On his back was a cape, and atop his head was a simple crown. "Thank you… thank you very much," he crooned, striking a pose.

"When Ojama King is summoned, I get to choose three of your unused Monster Zones. Those Zones can't be used! Lucky for me, it seems your field is full of vacancies at the moment. And for good measure, I'm going to activate Ground Collapse, a Continuous Spell that prevents you from using those last two Monsters Zones!" Ojama King began grooving and dancing, gyrating his legs and swishing his cape around. All five of Slade's Monster Zones became occupied with a big red X.

"Chazz has completely locked his brother out of playing any more monsters!" Alexis held a hand to her mouth.

"But wait, there's more!" Chazz cackled. "I replace Chorus of Sanctuary with a new Field Spell, Secret Village of the Spellcasters!" Suddenly, Chazz and Slade were plunged into a grove of twisting, ancient trees. The air was charged with magic, and beams of sunlight would cause wisps of magical energy to flicker in and out of existence. "As long as I control a Spellcaster monster, you can't activate any Spell Cards! And I've got the perfect one right here—I Normal Summon Thousand Eyes Idol (0/0)."

A curious creature hopped onto the battlefield, doing a quirky little jig. It resembled a melon, albeit one festooned with a cloak, a pair of short little arms and legs, and dozens of eyeballs sprouting out of it all over. More pertinently, atop its head was perched a wizard's hat—as strange as it was, this monster was a Spellcaster. It wiggled its fingers in Slade's direction, and the older Princeton was forced to stumble back as he felt the weight of all the magic in the area pressing into him at once.

"And you know what, older brother? You're right, I guess in order to win, I am going to accept something you'll give me." Chazz revealed the final card that he had drawn. "I activate Exchange. We'll each take a card from each other's hands." Chazz snatched one of the Continuous Traps from Slade's hand, not even bothering to check which of his cards that Slade had taken. "I Set a card, and end my turn."

"I… I draw…" Slade muttered, disbelievingly.

"In the Draw Phase, I activate your Royal Decree." Chazz smiled cruelly. "Lockdown complete!"

"I… what?" Slade whispered, still processing it. He tapped buttons on his Duel Disk, completely baffled as to why it wasn't responding to his inputs.

"Aw, is it too complicated for you?" Chazz mocked. "Well let me explain the situation. Due to Ojama King and Ground Collapse, you can't summon any monsters. Due to Secret Village of the Spellcasters, you can't activate any Spells. And any Traps you try to activate on the field will have their effects negated—thanks to your own Royal Decree. You can't do anything at all."

"This…" Slade's confusion gave way to outrage. "You can't do this! This is unfair!"

"Unfair?" Chazz scoffed. "That's rich, coming from you. Everything I've done is completely legal, older brother. Now come on, end your turn already, or I'll have you be awarded a game loss for slow play."

"I end my turn," Slade forced out, through clenched teeth.

Chazz shrugged. "I draw. I end my turn!"

"What!?" Slade howled. "What kind of turn was that? Don't mock me, little brother. You didn't even look at your card!"

"How am I mocking you? You shouldn't be so surprised. After all…" Chazz chuckled. "Wasn't it you who predicted I wouldn't be able to inflict a single point of damage? You were right. How could I? I only have 0 ATK monsters, after all."

"I draw. I end my turn," Slade gritted out.

"I draw. I end my turn," Chazz echoed.

"Do you think this is funny?!" Slade yelled.

"Oh yeah, I do, actually. This is hilarious. I draw. I end my turn." Chazz bared his teeth. "Here's what's going to happen, Slade, in case you somehow haven't picked up on it yet. I'm gonna sit here and keep passing my turn, and you're gonna pass back to me. I'm going to force you to draw through every single shiny Parallel Rare in that overpriced Deck of yours. You won't be able to play a single one. They're going to clog up your hand, completely useless, and starting in a few turns, you're going to have to start discarding them one-by-one during the End Phase. And once your entire Deck is gone, you're going to lose due to Deck Out." Chazz smiled cruelly. "The whole world is going to see every precious holographic card in your Deck. And they're going to see that you paid a small fortune only to lose to a Deck of 0 ATK monsters."

Slade paused, and then a mocking grin returned to his face. "Now hold on, Chazz. You've got fewer cards than me left in your Deck. You're going to Deck out long before I do!"

"What kind of fool do you take me for? Of course I thought of that." Chazz revealed a card in his hand. "This is Bait Doll. After it's done activating, it goes back right into Deck. So by all means... I can do this all day."

Slade's smile cracked. "You... I won't stand for this disrespect!" Slade stomped, fuming.

"You're getting exactly the amount of respect you deserve," Chazz intoned coldly.

"I draw. I end my turn."

"I draw. I end my turn."

Raigeki. Dust Tornado. Exploder Dragon. Heavy Storm. Eradicator Epidemic Virus. Chaos Emperor Dragon - Envoy of the End. The second and third copies of Dragon's Mirror.

The turns went on and on, and try as he might, Slade could not find a way around Chazz's perfect lockdown. His expensive cards had been rendered completely unusable, forced to be tossed into the Graveyard during each of his End Phases.

"Guys, I know Chazz's brother is an asshole, but…" Jaden cringed. "This is just embarrassing to watch."

"I can't watch this, man," Syrus groaned, slinking into his seat. "The secondhand embarrassment is killing me."

"He got what was coming to him," Zane said plainly. "Slade didn't respect his cards, and he doesn't respect the game. Chazz was right—Slade is getting exactly what he deserves right now."

After several long, painful minutes of silence of nothing happening, the announcer finally made the call.

"A-And the winner, by means of Deck out, is Chazz Princeton!"

The Dueling Arena was filled with an awkward silence. Until, a few seconds later, Chazz turned to the audience and raised a fist in the air. "This is what happens when you mess with Duel Academy!"

"Y-Yeah!" Jaden recovered, and stood up from his seat. "Chazz saved the school!"

"Yeah!" "He did!" "He sure showed that guy who's boss!" The audience started to find themselves, and they slowly grew more and more raucous. "Chazz! Chazz! Chazz!" They started cheering as one.

"Wait! You know the cheer!" Chazz pointed a finger to the sky. "Chazz! It! Up!"

"CHAZZ IT UP! CHAZZ IT UP! CHAZZ IT UP!" the crowd roared.

Slade growled in indignation. Despite the humiliating loss, he was aware that any new outbursts would paint him in an even worse and worse light. There was nothing more he could do besides walk away with his head held high, in order to save face, Jagger trailing behind him.

But Chazz didn't pay them any heed. At that moment, nothing else mattered besides the sweet taste of victory, the adoration of the crowd, and a lightness in his chest that he had not felt in a long time. For the first in ages, Chazz felt free. The master of his fate. The captain of his soul.

I'm back! And... with another Chazz chapter. A "period piece" chapter, after the modern fiesta of last chapter.

Again, I don't have any great designs from this fic-I'm just going to dump here all my cool ideas for scripted Duels. And it just so happens that Chazz ends up in a lot of them (he has many different Decks anyway, of course).

The main inspiration for this Duel was me rewatching the actual Chazz vs Slade Duel, and finding it a mild cop-out that we're counting Chaos Necromancer as a card with 0 ATK. I thought: wouldn't it be far more fitting and far more humiliating for Chazz to truly win with 0 ATK points whatsoever?

Can you believe Secret Village of the Spellcasters came out in 2008? Everything in the Duel should be pre-5Ds era, with the exception of Scrubbed Raid (a card I have fond memories of because of my own brother using against me in Stall), Hieratic Seal of the Sun Dragon Overlord, and also Draconnection and Transmodify.

Ojamandala is an anime-only card, but it was released in Duel Links, apparently! I could always have replaced it in the combo with Tri-Wight or Obedience Schooled, but archetypal cards always feel "cooler" to use, for me.

I hope you enjoyed this duel, and I hope to see you all when inspiration strikes again!