The night was short. Well, for me it was. I couldn’t sleep due to worry on Mikey & Dash’s duel tomorrow afternoon. How will things turn out for my friend was the question that tossed and turned in my thoughts all night as my sister and roommate slept the night away. Finally, I passed out from exhaustion and fell asleep, only to be greeted by the bright rays of the sun beaming from our room window… “Nghh…that was the worst rest I’ve ever had.”, I said to myself softly, sitting up in my bed. I looked to my left and saw Crystal still fast asleep. I smiled softly, then looked over at Mikey’s bed, only to see that he was already fully dressed and overlooking his deck. I yawned and asked, “What time is it, Mikey?” Mikey eyed a few cards in his deck and said, “It’s 11:45. This is the latest you and Crystal have ever slept. Lucky for you, school is still closed due to the snow, which gives me perfect time to go over my strategies for my duel against Dash today.” I raised an eyebrow and said, “Still going to duel Dash, huh?” “I have no choice, Onix. He has to pay up for how he treated Jessie yesterday.”, Mikey said, looking at one card from his deck. I looked at it and said, “Hey, that’s Jinzo! I didn’t know you used a Jinzo card in your deck, Mikey.” He nodded and said, “Yeah. I love machine cards, so my entire deck is chocked full of them. Trust me; Dash is going have a tough time in this duel.” I grinned and said, “A bit overconfident aren’t we, Mikey?” Mikey giggled and said, “I think it rubbed off from you, Onix. Don’t worry, I’ll be fine.” I nodded as Crystal yawned loudly, looking directly at us. “You two are loud. The duel isn’t even until this afternoon, so why rush it?”, she said. I grinned and smacked her with a pillow and said, “Better safe than sorry, sis. Dash is a really tough duelist, so it’s best for Mikey to come up with a strategy that will help him win, NO MATTER WHAT.” “Yeah yeah, noise noise. Just keep it down, you two.”, Crystal said, dozing back off in her bed. Mikey chuckled and said, “So yeah, if you don’t mind, I’m going to continue practicing.” I nodded then walked into the bathroom, hopping into the shower. Meanwhile, over at the Obelisk Blue dorm, Dash wasn’t having such a pleasant morning like the Slifer trio… “What are you doing here?!”, Dash exclaimed, frowning at a woman who was in his room. The woman smoothed out her business uniform and said, “Now Dash, that is no way to talk to your mother. SHOW SOME RESPECT!” Dash snorted as he turned away and said, “Respect? That’s a laugh, coming from you. What do you want, mother?” Dash’s mom pulled out a few photos from her jacket and held them up for Dash to see. His eyes widened when he saw photos from his duel against Onix in her hand. “Where did you get those?!”, he exclaimed, his face red with anger. “That is not important. How is it, that out of all my children, you’re the only one that is losing at what he does best?! I raised you to be a winner, not a loser! Especially losing to a Slifer Red!”, his mom stated. Dash flinched when his mother said that, remembering how his childhood was robbed of him due to this woman and his elderly sisters. “I…I tried my best. Isn’t that enough?”, he said softly. “Of course it ISN’T! You could’ve been great at Anderson Academy, but instead, you wanted to come here.”, she replied. “It wouldn’t be right, Mother! I would’ve gotten my rank, my grades, and everything else thanks to YOU! I wanted to do something myself for a change!”, Dash stated. His mother grinned coldly and said, “That won’t be for long. I also know of your duel against Jonathan Redheart’s son today. If you don’t win against him, you’ll have no choice but to pack your bags and leave Duel Academy, understand?” Dash’s eyes grew even colder and heavier when his mother said that. He slouched slightly and said, “Understood, Mother. He WILL NOT WIN. And I will not be leaving Duel Academy.” Meanwhile, overlooking the entire predicament… “Do you know who she is, Sanji?”, Yami asked softly, looking over at the Exodia Purple Headmaster. She sighed and said, “Her name is Valerie Anderson, the founder of the Anderson Academy, a duel school that literally got popular overnight due to her mass fortune and fame. And she is spelling trouble for Dash.” I nodded and said, “The poor kid is being backed into a corner on this one. I think it’s time you stepped in and did something about it?” Sanji closed her eye and said, “In good time. In the meantime, I want you to go to the lake and keep an eye on their duel. I’ll have everything ready later.” I chuckled and said, “Are you going to do THAT again, partner? You always were in love with the dramatics.” She smirked and said, “Off with you, Yami.” In the blink of her eye Yami vanished, leaving behind two white feathers. Sanji continued to watch Dash as he went outside the Obelisk Blue dorm and walked over to a snow-covered tree. He removed a small trowel from his jacket and dug at the tree, searching around for something. A few minutes passed until he heard the trowel hit something metal… He dug down into the earth, revealing a small metal box. He pulled it out and said, “Sorry, old friend. It’s just like old times, huh? You and me against the world, trying our best to make a difference after all the bad luck that has touched us. I need your help, one last time….Light and Darkness Dragon.” Behind him, a soft aura of a dragon appeared, and its wings wrapped around Dash softly. He stood to his feet and frowned even harder than he ever did, knowing he had to try his hardest and win his duel against Mikey, otherwise, it would be his last at Duel Academy. Meanwhile, back with Onix, Mikey, & Crystal… Crystal looked towards the door when she heard someone knock at it. “It’s open, Jessie. Come on in.”, she said, finally fully dressed after her shower. Jessie walked in, and the first thing everyone noticed was that she was sad. “Jessie, what’s wrong?”, Crystal asked, walking over to her. Jessie sighed and said, “All of this is happening because of me. I don’t like conflict. Mikey, it’s not too late. You don’t have to do this.” Mikey shook his head as he placed his deck into his Duel Disk and said, “Sorry, Jessie. He tried to hurt you. I got to do this. Now, I’m heading to the lake. Are you going to come with us?” Jessie sighed again and nodded, being hugged close to Crystal. I walked over to the others and said, “Well then, let’s be on our way. We shouldn’t be late.” With that, we all left the room and entered the elevator. It only took a few minutes for us to reach the bottom floor. Once we did, we immediately left for the lake. Ten minutes later, we finally arrived, seeing that Dash was waiting for us… “Glad you could make it, Slifer reject! You ready to lose?!”, Dash said, looking over at Mikey. I watched as he walked forward and said, “I think you should be asking yourself that, Dash. No way am I going to lose.” Dash growled as he heard someone walk up behind him. He looked and saw his mother standing right behind him, watching him with cruel intent. Jessie noticed her and said, “Wait, is that….no, it couldn’t be.” I saw her too and said, “That is her. That’s Valerie Anderson, founder of the Anderson Academy. What’s she doing here? Wait….Anderson? NO WAY! Dash, is that your mother?!” Dash growled and said, “SHUT UP! We’re in the middle of something here!” I flinched and said, “I didn’t think it was possible, but Dash seems to be even angrier than yesterday! Mikey, something is definitely off here!” Mikey nodded and said, “I can feel it. And I think I know why. My guess can only be proven by winning this duel.” Dash snapped and said, “I told you: YOU WON’T WIN.” “Then prove it!”, Mikey said, activating his Duel Disk. Then both he and Dash said, “Let’s Duel!” Mikey – 8000 Dash – 8000 “I’ll be starting first, Dash! I’m gonna place three cards facedown, and then play a monster in defense mode! And that’ll be it for my turn!”, Mikey stated. “Typical move! My turn! I draw! I’m gonna Special Summon Hardened Armed Dragon to the field by discarding the Lv 8 Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon in my hand! Then, I’m going to activate Dragon Treasure and equip it to my monster to raise its attack and defense points by 300!”, Dash replied. “Not if I activate Mystical Space Typhoon, you won’t!”, Mikey said, activating the facedown Quick-Play spell. Dash snorted and said, “Fine then! You’ll still be losing a monster! Hardened Armed Dragon, attack his facedown monster!” Mikey smirked when Dash said that. “You fell for it! My facedown monster was Blast Sphere, and now it’ll equip itself to your dragon! During your next Standby Phase, it’ll erupt and take 1500 points of damage from your Life Points!”, he said. Dash clicked his teeth and said, “Alright then. I’ll place two cards facedown and end my turn.” “My turn again. I draw!”, Mikey said. “Not so fast! I activate Dragon’s Rage on my field! With it, whenever I attack a monster with lower Defense points than my monster’s attack points, the difference is dealt to you as damage!”, Dash stated. “Alright. And from my hand, I’m going to summon Reflect Bounder to the field in Attack Mode! And that shall end my turn.”, Mikey said. Crystal looked over to me and said, “Mikey is doing pretty well. He’ll be first to give damage in this duel.” “Don’t get too happy, sis. Something tells me that this duel is going to be ugly.”, I replied. I looked around and noticed something in the snowy winds. It looked like another person was watching us, but I couldn’t tell from the distance. “My turn! I draw!”, Dash said, before watching his dragon explode, taking 1500 points of damage with him. “I’ll play a monster in defense mode and call it a turn!”, he said. Mikey – 8000 Dash – 6500 “My turn, I draw! And from my hand, I’ll tribute Reflect Bounder in order to Tribute Summon my Cyber Dragon! Next, I’m gonna activate the second facedown Spell Card I have: Big Bang Shot! I’ll equip it to Cyber Dragon, raising his Attack points from 2100 to 2500!” “Big Bang Shot? What does it do”, Jessie asked. I was about to say, but I was interrupted by another voice. “Its effect rivals that of the Mad Sword Beast card and Dash’s Dragon’s Rage trap. If a monster is on the field in defense mode, the owner takes the difference in Attack and Defense points according to the opponent’s monster.”, the voice said. I looked back to see Yami standing right behind us, writing in a gigantic journal with the Sacred Seal emblazoned on the cover. “Prof. Nomura! What are you doing here?”, Jessie asked. “I’m like a ninja: I’m everywhere and nowhere at the same time. I’m watching the duel. Looks like it’s starting to get interesting.”, Yami said, readjusting his glasses on his nose. “Although, this wind is ghastly on my glasses. They keep fogging up.”, Yami continued, wiping his glasses clean with a tissue. “Then take them off. I doubt you need them.”, I said. “Instead of contradicting me, perhaps you should watch what happens next. Mikey’s attacking.”, Yami stated, motioning back to the duel. “Cyber Dragon, attack Dash’s facedown monster with Strident Blaze!”, Mikey stated. “Not this time, Redheart! I active Negate Attack, which ends your attack for this turn!”, Dash said, activating his trap. Mikey grinned and said, “Very well, I end my turn for now. But on my next turn, your monster AND your Life Points are going to take a hit!” Crystal’s eyes widened when she heard Mikey say that. “Oh wow, Mikey. I hope he isn’t getting too overconfident. Dash isn’t an Obelisk Blue for nothing.”, she said. I shook my head and said, “I don’t think its overconfidence. I think he is doing that to get under Dash’s skin. He’s analyzing Dash’s style and feelings in this duel. That’s what I think he is doing.” “Very wise, kid. I think you are quite correct on your assumption.”, Yami said, still writing in his journal. Crystal raised an eyebrow and said, “Yami, what is in that journal anyway? I never see you without it.” Yami chuckled and said, “That’s for me to know and for you to never find out. Ooh, Dash is starting his turn.” We all turned to see Dash breathing heavily as he said, “It’s my turn! I draw! I’m going to turn the Element Dragon I had facedown into Attack Mode, then I’ll play another monster in Defense Mode! That’ll end my turn.” Valerie clicked her teeth and said, “Defense, Defense, Defense! DO SOMETHING ALREADY, DASH! That Slifer really does have you in a corner!” Dash snarled and said, “SHUT UP! THIS IS MY DUEL! STAY OUT OF IT!” Mikey frowned and said, “Got’cha. So it’s his mother that is the root of his anger.” “His mother? How awful!”, Jessie said. “I think I see what the problem is. Another student that used to be in Duel Academy had the same problem: his family was rich and they only wanted one thing for him – to be the top duelist in the world, NO MATTER WHAT.”, Yami said, closing his journal. “I see. His mother must have put so much stress on him, his love of dueling had shriveled down to nothing.”, Crystal said. “The poor guy. I didn’t know he carried such a heavy burden on his shoulders.”, I said, looking back to the field. “I’m sorry for what your mother has done to you, Dash. But, I’m still going to win this duel. And so, I draw! And from my hand, I’ll activate the Field Spell Mausoleum of the Emperor! And with it, I’ll activate its special ability! By paying 1000 of my Life Points, I can summon an Lv 5 monster directly to the field without the need of a tribute! And I have just the monster in mind: Ancient Gear Engineer!”, Mikey said, summoning another monster from his hand. “So what?! Don’t be feeling pity for me just because I’ve been dealing with some stuff! You better go all out, Redheart!”, Dash said. “Of course. That’s why I’m going to do this!”, Mikey said. “What?!”, Dash stated, seeing Mikey reach into his Deck box. “I sacrifice Cyber Dragon and Ancient Gear Engineer in order to build the Overlay Network! I Xyz Summon Cyber Dragon Nova! Now, Cyber Dragon Nova! Attack Dash’s Element Dragon!”, Mikey said, watching Dash’s monster get sent to the Graveyard. Dash frowned and said, “My turn, I draw!” He eyed the card he drew and sighed. “What’s wrong? Didn’t get anything?”, Mikey asked. “Don’t pity me. Just take your turn.”, Dash said, ending his turn. Mikey – 7000 Dash – 5900 “Very well! My turn! And I’m gonna summon Hyper Synchron to the field! Now, Hyper Synchron! Attack his facedown monster!”, Mikey said, watching to see Dash flip up a Golem Dragon. “My dragon has higher defense points than your monster’s attack points. So, you’re getting dealt with 400 points of damage.”, Dash said, watching Mikey’s life points drop. “Still, I got another attack! Nova, destroy Golem Dragon!”, Mikey replied, destroying Dash’s monster. “And that’ll end my turn.”, Mikey said. Mikey – 6600 Dash – 5900 ‘What on Earth is going on here? Am I going to really lose again and have to leave? …No! I won’t lose! I have to win, no matter what!’, Dash thought to himself. He looked over to Mikey, Mikey noticing the sheer confidence in his eyes. He smiled and said, “That’s the Dash I wanna duel right there! The Dash that duels with everything he got!” “You want it, you got it! I draw! And now, I’m gonna activate Mausoleum of the Emperor’s special ability! I’ll pay up 2000 of my Life Points in order to summon Light and Darkness Dragon!!”, Dash exclaimed, summoning his favorite monster. Mikey’s eyes widened when he saw the monster, looking back at Dash. “2800 ATK points?! That thing can strike down Cyber Dragon Nova with one breath!”, Jessie said. “Not so fast, Jessie. Look at Mikey’s face: he’s not worried. It must be that facedown he still has on the field.”, Crystal said. “Light and Darkness Dragon, attack Hyper Synchron!”, Dash said. Mikey grinned and said, “Sorry, Dash. I activate Mirror Force!” “What?! Stop your attack!”, he said, looking up at his dragon. “Too late, Dash! You already launched your attack, and it is coming right back at you!”, Mikey said, watching Dash’s dragon disappear. “It’s gone…my monster is gone….thank you for that, Mikey.”, Dash said, grinning coldly. “What?!”, Mikey exclaimed. “When Light and Darkness Dragon is destroyed, I can Special Summon another Dragon monster from my Graveyard. And I have just the one in mind: Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon, appear on the field!”, he replied, a new monster appearing on the field in its place. “Whoa. Did not expect that.”, Mikey said. Dash smirked and said, “I’ll end my turn with a face down. Your move.” “My move, I draw! Hmm….all I got is this facedown card for this turn. Your move, Dash!”, Mikey said, placing a card facedown. “What do you think is gonna be the outturn of this duel, guys?”, Jessie asked. Crystal looked at me, and then I said, “I don’t know, Jessie. It’s too close to tell. It could go either way.” Jessie looked back to the duel and said, “Good luck, Mikey.” “My move, I draw! Red-Eyes, attack Hyper Synchron!”, Dash exclaimed. “Not so fast! I activate my trap card Magic Cylinder! It’ll deal you a whopping 2800 points of damage!”, Mikey replied, activating his trap. Dash grinned and said, “It would, IF I didn’t have the trap card Dark Bribe on the field! It negates your trap and you lose a monster as well as 1200 Life Points!” Mikey clicked his teeth as his LP counter dropped. “Good comeback, Dash. Wasn’t expecting that.”, Mikey said. Mikey – 5400 Dash – 5600 “I’ll end my turn with that. Your move, Redheart.”, Dash said. “I draw! And from my hand, I’ll activate the spell card Fissure! Say good-bye to your Red-Eyes!”, Mikey said, destroying Dash’s monster, leaving his field empty. “Now, Cyber Dragon Nova & Cyber Dragon, attack Dash directly!”, Mikey continued, attacking Dash with both his monsters. Dash grunted slightly, watching his LP counter drop drastically. “Lucky draw.”, he said with a soft growl. “Lucky? Not in the slightest. I believe in my deck.”, Mikey said. “But I digress. I end my turn with that. Better make your turn count, because if you don’t, this duel is over.”, he said, bringing his turn to an end. Mikey – 5400 Dash – 1400 Dash nodded then looked at his deck. He looked back his mother whose face was beet red in anger. He then turned back to Mikey and the others and smiled softly and said, “No matter what, it was a good game. Right, Redheart?” Mikey’s eyes widened when he saw Dash smile. “Dash….of course!”, Mikey said. “It’s my turn! I draw! And from my hand, I’ll place a monster in Defense mode and a card facedown! And that’ll end my turn!”, Dash stated. “Alright, it’s my…!”, Mikey started to say, but was stopped by a sharp “STOP THE DUEL!”, from Dash’s mother. “Stop the duel?! Are you crazy?!”, Mikey exclaimed. Valerie grimaced and said, “This duel NEVER happened, you hear me, Redheart? Come, Dash. You and I are leaving.” She turned on her heels, and then heard Dash say “No.” “Excuse me? Did you just say NO?”, Valerie asked. “I’m done bending over for your foolish ambition, Mother! I’m a duelist, and you are not only taking away my love of the game, but my pride! I know what is about to happen, SO LET IT HAPPEN!”, Dash said, turning back towards Mikey. “That’s the way, Dash! My turn, I draw! Cyber Dragon, attack Dash’s facedown monster!”, Mikey said, his attack destroying the facedown Armed Dragon Lv3 on the field. “Cyber Dragon Nova, END THIS!”, Mikey continued, sending his final attack towards Dash. Mikey – 5400 Dash – 0 “Now you did it, Dash. I gave you a chance, and you blew it. You’re leaving Duel Academy today!”, Valerie said. She reached out for Dash, but was stopped by a black gloved hand. Yami smiled softly and said, “Cutting it a bit close, are we….Headmaster?” I looked back at Yami and said, “Headmaster?!” The wind finally died down, and I could see a black robed person holding tightly to Ms. Anderson’s arm. I could tell who it was because they wore a white mask with the Exodia Purple logo. “No way…it’s THE Headmaster. I didn’t think he would show up.”, I said. Crystal nudged my arm and said, “It’s a she, Onix. Look closely.” I squinted my eyes and said, “Wow, it is! So the Headmaster of Exodia Purple is a woman?” Jessie was amazed that the Exodia Purple Headmaster had shown up. “Keep your eyes on this, kids. You’ll want to watch what happens next.”, Yami said. A deep voice was heard from behind the mask, and Mikey said, “A voice changer in her mask? Well, the rules did say that Exodia Purple’s headmaster kept their identity a secret.” The Headmaster said to Valerie, “That’s enough. Leave the campus grounds immediately, Ms. Anderson. You have no right to take this child away from here.” “Get your hands off of me! You have no right on stopping me! Who says I can’t take my son out of this school?”, Valerie said, snatching her arm out of The Headmaster’s grip. “That would be…me.”, another voice said behind Valerie. My eyes widened when she turned to be facing Chancellor Yugi Muto. “You? You’re going to tell me I can’t take my son from this school?” “It’s a rule made by our Superintendent. Once you are enrolled in this campus, the only ways to leave is if the student himself or herself want to go.”, Yugi said. Mikey smiled when Yugi said that, but Valerie then said, “That’s a stupid rule, one I intend to break once I see this Superintendent of yours. Who is he?” Yugi chuckled and said, “Have you forgotten where you are? This is the Amaria Branch of Duel Academy, and our Superintendent is none other than the DPU President, Allen Henegan, himself. And I know him quite well enough to say this: leave this campus. Your son will come back AFTER he has graduated.” Valerie snorted then walked away, the sound of a helicopter was heard as she left the campus. Dash walked over to Yugi and said, “Thank you for that, Chancellor Muto.” Yugi shook his head and said, “Thank The Headmaster. She was watching your duel the entire time and called me here.” He turned and walked away, leaving Dash and the others behind. “Thank you, Headmaster.”, Dash said. “You’re welcome, Dash. Also, be nicer to those guys. They are your friends after all.”, The Headmaster stated with a deep voice. She looked over at Yami and nodded, leaving for the Exodia Purple dorm. “Wow, she truly is something, huh Yami? …Yami?!”, I said, looking back to see Prof. Nomura had vanished as well. “How does he do that?”, Crystal asked. I shrugged, looking back at Mikey and Dash. “Way to go on standing up to your mother, Dash! Maybe now you can drop the tough guy act and be our friend.”, Mikey stated. “A friend? ….Heh. Maybe. We shall find out later. In the meantime, good duel.”, Dash said, leaving for his dorm room. Mikey giggled and bounded over to us and said, “Well, that was fun! Let’s go home, guys!” Him and Jessie walked ahead of me and Crystal as we went back home for the day. Today was certainly an interesting day. Not only did we find out what secret Dash was hiding, but I think we may have made an interesting friend in him as well. Also…we saw him smile. I guess, even though he lost, he was the true winner of the duel after all…
