And folks, coming up on the left, you'll see a content creator having a mental breakdown...oh look, we can get a sneak peek of the new attractions being brought into Roger Eberts House of Pudding.

Adderall powers activate! Form of a quazi-competent writer!

Chapter 19: Angels and Pigeons

The day had arrived. Duel Academy's main campus was rampant with students, classes ended early, and it was time for the Freshman Tournament. 8 duelists had qualified as the elite of the school's youngest class: Jaden Yuki, Adagio Darling, Bastion Misawa, Kenny Drayton, Sydney Fujioka, Jake Weirson, Alexis Rhodes and Miles Palmer.

In the locker room, Alexis was preparing herself, as her duel with Miles would be the first among the quarterfinal matches.

"This is it. Miles may be the toughest duel I've faced to date. He's going to be unpredictable and if I'm not focused, his Blackwings will overwhelm me in the blink of an eye. I have to believe my preparation is sufficient to beat him, but I can only guess how focused Miles is right now..."

Meanwhile at the food court...

"WHERE'S MY BURRITO! WHERE'S MY BURRITO! WHERE'S MY BURRITO!" Miles chanted loudly while pounding his fist on the counter waiting for his pre-game burrito. "D'OH!" Unknowingly, his repeated counter pounds caused the retractable roof on the counter to fall on his head.

Down the hallway, the students began funneling through to the main duel arena. Ben was alone, still sulking a bit due to him being shafted for the tournament.

"Naturally, big tournament and I get the shaft." Ben pouted. "This is lame." He began walking up, and noticed an Obelisk guy, who was talking to a few Obelisk girls.

"Ya can tell me ladies. Don't make me guess." The guy was of course, Dante the Tormentor...the woman-chasing, pantie-raiding, fringe sex offending..tormentor.

"Yeah, why not guess in your head pervert." One of the girls stated, as they brushed him off and walked away. Unknowing to them, Dante didn't avert his gaze.

"I can take a swig of that..." He muttered to himself, referring to their apparently nicely shaped posteriors. Unknowing to him however, Ben was right behind him.

"You're ogling girls' asses?" Ben questioned, surprising the Obelisk blue.

"Holy chunder." Dante caught his breath after being startled. "You scared me, and no I wasn't ogling those sheilas' excellently sculpted arses."

"Sheilas? You sure you're actually Australian? I've been to Australia, spent 2 weeks learning Aboriginal tribe music. The locals definitely don't talk like that." Ben explained.

"You're Miles' bloke aren't ya?" Dante assumed. "From the States."

"Benjamin Bruford." Ben shook his hand. "Though I'm technically English. And it's fine. I for one can respect anyone willing to give a nice ass the attention it deserves."

"Kindred spirits I s'pose." Dante chuckled. Miles snuck up from behind them, burrito in hand.

"Stop talking about my ass." Miles cut in.

"You assume too much, far too much." Dante explained.

"Anyways don't you have a fancy schmancy tournament to prepare for?" Ben whined.

"Mimimimimi." Miles mockingly weaped. "My name is Ben, I'm sad because I apparently suck balls." He mocked. "Look, you'll have plenty of time to load up on tampons, while I'm out winning this tournament...and subsequently nursing my burrito-related head wound." Miles mocked, while scarfing down his burrito.

"Our last hope was that you choked on that burrito." Ben responded.

"Pretty fucked up." Miles admitted.

"Hey Miles!" A feminine voice came up from behind the Ra. It was Mindy, accompanied by Jasmine.

"No God please I'm too young!" Miles quickly bursted, flinching in fear for his life. "Oh it's you two..." Miles caught his breath.

"Did we startle you?" Mindy asked.

"Well yeah!" Miles paced. "I don't know if Alexis has you on her payroll. Perhaps she's attempting a Stalin-esque purge of her political enemies on her rise to power. Knowing I'm her first opponent, it would only seem sensible that I would be first on the list."

"I-uh what? No." Jasmine paused for a second. "We just wanted to tell you that sadly, we won't be able to root for you in this upcoming match."

"...You sure it's not the purging?" Miles asked.

"Fairly sure." Jasmine nodded.

"You're cute Miles, but we have to stick with our girl Lexi on this one." Mindy admitted, winking mischevously.

"...Ehhh good. Sticking with who you believe in, despite the painfully slim odds. It's good to hear that you'll remain faithful to your girl...and that doesn't involve anything potentially illegal...for the sake of political monopoly...something purgy in nature..."

"It's not a fucking purge!" Ben yelled. "You watch one documentary on the Moscow Trials and suddenly you're affixed on political stratagems from a country that has been debunked since 1991."

"Well it worked for Stalin!" Miles screamed back. "And you heard those guys outside of the LA Convention Center. They said the abstract construct of communism had sowed the seeds of doubt within the military industrial complex leading to the rise of former Soviet idealism..." He leans in to whisper. "If 20th century Marxism can rise from the dead, what's stopping Stalin from rising up with it?"

"Okay, you should probably go get ready for your duel before you begin to re-enact the McCarthy Trials." Ben suggested.

"Oh I'm goin' and I'm gonna McCarthy the fuck out of Alexis!" Miles yelled as he walked away amidst a huge crowd of people.

"Take your meds!" Ben yelled back.

"Oy, I zoned out there. What'd I miss?" Dante wondered.

"How could you miss all that?" Jasmine asked.

"Miles goes on these tirades at least once a day." Dante explained. "It's why I bought these." He pointed to the airpods in his ear.

"Wouldn't be bad to invest in those." Ben stated.

"Is it odd that even after all that, I'd still hit it?" Jasmine asked her friend.

"No way. I'll gladly sit through a stupid tirade if it was a attached a perfectly chiseled body." Mindy gloated.

"How deep." Dante chided.

"Yeah, who cares if he's insane...as long as he's a hot piece of ass." Ben mocked.

"Oh please, you two were oggling our friends' asses like 5 minutes ago." Jasmine retorted.

"I cannot confirm nor deny this." Ben commented.

While the students were convening in the arena, the chosen duelists had gathered in a standby room outside of the arena. Alexis was the first one there, but Jaden soon arrived.

"Hey Alexis." Jaden kindly greeted, equipped with his duel disk. Alexis looked up to notice the Slifer.

"Oh hi Jaden." Alexis responded, standing to greet him.

"I guess your match is the first one of the day." Jaden assessed. "Good luck out there!"

"Thanks, hopefully I won't need the luck." Alexis stated looking down at her duel disk.

"But you will Slifer." Jaden turned around to see Adagio behind him. "I hope you don't take things personally when I wipe the floor with you."

"You wish." Jaden sneered back.

"I don't need to." She remarked.

"Come now, let's be a bit civil." Bastion arrived with Kenny and Jake right behind him.

"Save all the insults for the duel field." Kenny added.

"You should keep a leash on your friends Bastion." Adagio replied.

"Greetings future doormats." Miles walked in loudly. "I have a question for you all. What has two thumbs and is going to win this tournament in record time?...This guy!" He gloated.

"What has two thumbs and will use them to break your nose if you don't shut it?..." Sydney asked trailing him.

"Well, somebody woke up on the wrong side of the assembly line." Miles played.

"He's not wrong..." Sydney winced.

"You look rough Sydney." Alexis commented.

"I was getting weird flashes and headaches all night." Sydney explained.

"Electromagnetic hangovers are quite common for androids during certain periods of the month." Miles hypothesized, rubbing his fingers on Syd's temples.

"No touch!" She growled as she swiped his hands away. "Also, don't think that period joke went over my head. You'll pay for that later, that is when my head has stopped throbbing."

"Congrats Zombie Boy, you get her for this round." Miles lauded. Jake gulped in fear. "I'd recommend pre-emptive ducking as soon as she starts firing lasers from her eyes."

"Oh good. Everybody is here." Chancellor Sheppard walked in. "Apologies for the short notice, but I hope all of you are prepared for the rule shift. This should make things very interesting today."

"I'm not concerned about it." Bastion flaunted.

"I should hope so." Sheppard nodded. "And speaking of the new rule, I suppose it's proper time to equip you with some new duel disks better adjusted for the new rule." Sheppard announced, revealing a rack behind him with brand new duel disks. All of them had similar structures, but design-wise, differed by color and certain aesthetics. "Each of them were custom made by Professor Satyr, with his own personal touch in mind. Obviously, they all have some elements of the dorm you belong to, for uniformity purposes. So go ahead my students."

"Well, I don't think there's any guesses as to which one of these is mine." Miles announced, as he grabbed one. All of them resembled the solid-vision duel disks used by Kaiba and Yugi. They wore almost like gauntlets. Miles' duel disk was the only black disk, with yellow highlights to indicate Ra Yellow, as well as a glowing yellow orb in the middle. "Sweet, a Bruins-themed duel disk."

"Think of it as a consolation prize." Alexis jabbed, as she grabbed her duel disk. Again, similar in design, but her's was a solid blue color with highlights of white and a white orb in the middle.

"Sure, just gimme." Sydney grabbed without hesitation. Her's was a darker blue, with black highlights and a lighter blue circle.

"Very intriguing aesthetics." Bastion noticed, examining his, which was white with yellow highlights and yellow circle.

"Really slick." Jake placed on his arm. His was solid yellow with white highlights and a blue glowing circle.

"That's what I'm talking about." Kenny gloated, waving his around. It was solid yellow, but had blue highlights instead of white.

"I suppose this will work." Adagio shrugged. Her's was the same as Alexis'.

"Sweetness! Can't wait to test this out!" Jaden grabbed his quickly in excitement. His was primarily red with white highlights and a blue circle.

"This is a huge deal for our academy. So remember what's at stake, and I want to see sparks fly today my students! Best of luck to you all! So then, Alexis, Miles. You have the honor of kicking us off."

"It'll be my pleasure." Alexis nodded, equipping her duel disk to her arm.

"I'm so revved up, I could probably go 300 hectares on a single tank of kerosine." Miles stated in a thick Eastern European accent.

Meanwhile, while the student's were all heading towards the arena, Gerard, still disguised in his Slifer uniform, had taken the opportunity to break away from the student base and took advantage of the diversion to sneak into the Academy record storage room.

"As expected. No one in sight." Gerard observed. "I picked a hell of a time to sneak into this school. Everyone will be distracted by that stupid tournament, I'll be able to get my dirt and be off this island before anyone catches on." He snickered.

The stadium began buzzing as the tournament began. Alexis and Miles were first up and walked up together to the arena floor.

"Students!" Crowler announced through the microphone. "The time has come to find out who will be representing our illustrious academy in the school duel!"

This was met with cheering.

"The first duel of the freshman tournament will pit, from the Obelisk Blue dorm, Alexis Rhodes!" Crowler yelled out ecstatically.

All of the blue students let out a cheer, while most of the guys fawned over her.

"Against Miles Palmer from Ra..." He muttered.

This was met with significantly less cheering, though some of the girls did cheer.

"Okay duelists, you've been briefed on the new rules, are you both ready to begin?" Crowler asked, but then Miles swiped his microphone from him.

"BONE-SAW IS REA-DY!" Miles yelled in a very gruff voice. "RIP Macho Man, amiright Lex!" Alexis didn't respond to his antics. "Stoic, I like it. I suppose we'll see what cracks first. Your smile or your spirit."

"Are you done with your silly antics? I'd like to win." Alexis nodded as she activated her new duel disk.

"Spirit it is!" Miles replied, activating his own.

Suddenly, the arena around them became digitized. Everyone responded in awe.

"Students, what you are seeing is Kaiba Corps new technology, an enhanced version of the solid vision systems previous used on old duel disk models." Sheppard announced over the PA system. "This will greatly enhanced the dueling experience, as it enhances the overall feel, simulating many of the different environments and actually being able to feel much of it."

"They just keep adding surprises." Alexis looked up in awe from the change in scenery.

"Whether it's augmented reality or real reality. Doesn't change what's about to transpire on this arena floor Alexis." Miles warned.

"DUEL!"

Miles LP: 4000

Alexis LP: 4000

"As the great hero Darkwing Duck once said, Let's get dangerous." Miles quoted as his drew. "I summon Blackwing - Shura the Blue Flame in Attack Mode!" He stated as he placed his black and blue feathered friend out on the field.

Blackwing - Shura the Blue Flame (1800/1200) *4 DARK

"Then a facedown card should be square for now." Miles concluded.

"Alright, my move!" Alexis drew. "I summon Cyber Capoeira to the field in Attack Mode as well!" She called forth her Latin American Cyber girl, donning dark dreadlocks, and wearing a white body suit with red stripes on the side and red match boots. Her eyes were covered by a white visor.

Cyber Capoeira (1600/1600) *4 EARTH

"Now then Miles, you'll likely get a real "kick" out of this." Alexis giggled as she played along. Everyone else groaned in pain.

"You deserved that." Miles pinned onto her.

"Oh shut up, activate my spell card, Typhoon Dance!" Alexis declared as her Cyber girl was enveloped in a whirlwind. "This card equips to my Cyber Capoeira and as part of it's first effect, it allows me to destroy any spell or trap on the field." She announced as her Capoeira unleashed a furious spiral leg at Miles' facedown, destroying it. "Now, for the second ability, the monster equipped with Typhoon Dance gains 400 ATK and can inflict piercing damage. Show 'em what you can do with them!" She unleashed her dancer, as she charged in, diving to the ground and beginning to spin her legs in a breakdancing fashion, only to pick up speed. "Oh and I may have forgotten to mention, but when Cyber Capoeira battles a monster, once per turn, I can switch your monster's battle position." She said, as Shura flinched into defense mode from the overwhelming barrage of spinning, only to get sideswiped by a spiral kick.

Miles LP: 3200

Alexis LP: 4000

"You could say your Shura was blown away by that move." Alexis punned. Further groaning ensued.

"Make it stop!"

"Ugh, I'll set one and end my turn." Alexis ended with a grunt in frustration.

"Man, these new effects are amazing!" Jaden exclaimed in excitement.

"Yeah, really goes to show you how much Pegasus was willing to shell out for entertainment value." Kenny added.

"More than that, it's almost as if what's occurring down there is real." Bastion added. "Almost of course..."

"Say Lex, I hope your strategy doesn't revolve around punning me to death...though, not gonna lie, that may be a good plan." Miles drew. "I'll start by summoning out Blackwing - Autan the Turbine!" He stated as his motorized, goggle toting bird joined him on the field.

Blackwing - Autan the Turbine (1600/1000) *3 DARK

"And of course, when he's summoned, I get the privilege of excavating the top of my deck for a level 4 or lower "Blackwing" to join him on the field." Miles explained, as he picked up cards until he found one. "And the lucky winner is...Blackwing - Gyre the Twin Shields!" He declared as his twin-shield clad bird warrior took to the field.

Blackwing - Gyre the Twin Shields (0/1900) *4 DARK

"Up next, since I control Blackwing monsters, I Special Summon Blackwing - Bora the Spear!" He announced as his lance-toting, giant grin endowed avian appeared.

Blackwing - Bora the Spear (1700/800) *4 DARK

"And the fun doesn't stop. Three's a crowd, but who doesn't love those? Crowds indicates fun, like carnivals...or angry mobs." Miles ranted. "...Oh right, because there are Blackwings out, I can Special Summon Blackwing - Oroshi the Squall." Calling on his large-waddled blackbird. "Just to tie it all together, it should be noted that he loves crowds...particularly in angry-mob form."

Blackwing - Oroshi the Squall (400/600) *1 DARK/Tuner

"Miles' swarming tactics are out in full force." Bastion stated.

"But you know what Oroshi loves even better? Sharing his joy with others! And the best way he can do that, is by tuning!" Miles declared as Oroshi flew up, turning into a tuning ring, for Bora and Autan to travel through, dematerializing and completing the Synchro Summon.

1 + 3 + 4 = 8

"He is the terror that flaps in the night! He is the refrigerator door of justice that you forget to close shut! He is, Blackwing - Spiral the Vortex!" He announced as his multi-colored dark-winged avenger of the night appeared, donning his trademark black sword.

Blackwing - Spiral the Vortex (3000/1500) *8 DARK/Synchro

Alexis looked on, clenching her teeth, clearly frustrated.

"You seem frustrated?" Miles grinned. "Here, let Spiral send a little pre-Christmas cheer your way!" Spiral then dove in at Alexis' Cyber Capoeira.

"Hate to burst your bubble, but I'll be putting an end to your little bird dance, activate trap card." She revealed, showing a card, depicting demonic armor staving off several foes. "With Sakuretsu Armor, your Spiral the Vortex is demoted to a gentle breeze."

"Is it though?" Miles poked. "...Is it REALLY?" Alexis stammered at his responded. She then noticed that his Spiral continued his charge, despite her cyber girl being engulfed in a dark aura from the trap card. Much to everyone's surprise, this didn't effect Spiral in the slightest. Cyber Capoeira attempted to stave off the assault, however he broke through and slashed her up.

Miles LP: 3200

Alexis LP: 3000

"Hold on." Alexis questioned.

"And now you can, thanks to SOLID VISION!" Miles blurted out, mimicking acoustics.

"I mean, how did my trap not work." Alexis reoriented.

"Silly girl. Traps don't work in a tornado. They just fly around aimlessly." Miles chuckled. "Spiral the Vortex has a second ability that allows him to negate the activation and effect of any trap card once a turn." He explained.

"Meaning taking the defensive isn't going to be a viable option for Alexis." Bastion contemplated.

"Things only get worse." Miles grinned. "It's Boras turn to joust to his hearts content." He stated as the birdman bowed up his lance and charged straight at Alexis, causing a whirlwind to engulf him as he attacked. Alexis was knocked back by this.

Miles LP: 3200

Alexis LP: 1300

"Set one facedown; End of demo." Miles bowed. "We can take a brief intermission if you so choose." Alexis didn't react how he expected however, letting out a quick chuckle, almost amused at the way the duel was turning out.

"Y'know, for a guy like you Miles, I didn't expect your dueling to be this...predictable." Alexis grinned.

"What can I say?" Miles shrugged. "Winning gets repetitive."

"Well then, I guess one way or another, you're strategy is going to change up." Alexis drew. "First, I'll summon to the field my Cyber Petit Angel." She declared as an adorable pink ball with beady red eyes and angel wings.

"Oh look, didn't know Kirby had wings?" Miles quipped.

"The parade of idiocy continues." Kenny facepalmed.

"Dumb joke, but it would at least explain why he's able to stay up in the air for so long." Sydney mumbled to herself.

"When Petit Angel is summoned, I can search my deck for any "Cyber Angel" monster and add it to my hand." Alexis explained, adding a monster to her hand. "With that, I activate my spell card, Machine Angel Ritual!"

"A ritual? Did I miss something?" Miles was up in arms. "Thought you had like, I dunno, fusion based Cyber girl things."

"Maybe do more research on your opponent next time." Alexis gave him a thumbs up. "From my hand, I send the Cyber Tutubon in my hand to the Graveyard and then I ritual summon Cyber Angel Ardana!" She declared as the Machine Angel Ritual materialized, with a large melting pot of iron being set ablaze, when the cyber girl was placed in as tribute. Out of the blaze, came an presumably cybernetically enhanced woman, donned in a red and black jumpsuit with a black visor and piercing red electronic eyes. She also carried what appeared to be an taser staff that emitted electrical shockwaves from it.

Cyber Angel Ardana (2100/1000) *5 LIGHT/Ritual

"Oh and before I continue, when Cyber Tutubon is tributed for a Ritual Summon, I can instantly add 1 Ritual Spell from my graveyard to my hand." She explained, returning Machine Angel Ritual to her hand. "So why not use it again?"

"Another one?" Miles shockingly retorted. "I like reruns of Seinfeld, but this is ridiculous. Though I suppose this Cyber Angel is sponge-worthy."

"Now, I tribute my Cyber Petit Angel on the field and Djinn Releaser of the Rituals from my hand." Alexis declared as her Cyber powderpuff was met on the ritual pyre by a portly feminine demon wearing Egyptian attire and donning a staff. They both disappeared in an instant and in a similar flash of fire to the previous one, unleashed another angel. This one, donning a dark blue and silver jumpsuit and no visor, so you could visibly see her eyes. She donned twin daggers, that when tapped together produced a spark of electricity.

"Behold, Cyber Angel Durga!"

Cyber Angel Durga (1900/1200) *4 LIGHT/Ritual

"Two Ritual Summons in one turn." Bastion nodded. "Impressive to say the least, but hopefully she has a plan to destroy Miles' monster, because he still has the strongest one in play."

"Yeah, she had to deplete her entire hand to pull that off." Jake added.

"If I'm Miles, I'm more so hoping that facedown can save him from what's about to happen." Sydney dropped, as the rest of the group looked at her with a confused stare.

"Our girl Alexis is got herself a fine and ripe harem goin' for her right now." Dante whistled.

"Hmm, Dundee brings up a valid point. Your harem-building skills are impressive grasshopper, but my Blackwings aren't interested in being tempted by cyber angel teases, and neither am I. Thanks to Syd, I'm immune to cyber seduction."

"Stop using me for your stupid punchlines." Sydney angrily gritted her teeth.

"You might want to take a good look, because your bird posse is about to be exterminated." Alexis deflected. "I activate Cyber Angel Ardana's special ability. With this I can return 1 LIGHT Fairy-Type monster from my Graveyard to my deck, and then I can destroy monsters on the field equal to the number of Cyber Angels that are out." She explained as she recalled Cyber Petit Angel from the graveyard. "Now Ardana! Take out both of his monsters!" She commanded, as Ardana moved in, charging up her staff, unleashing a wave of lightning that fried the birds to cinders.

"And just like that Miles is wide open." Bastion commentated.

"You should probably know in advance that while Durga is out on the field, all my LIGHT Fairy-Types, including all Cyber Angels, can't be targeted or destroyed by the effects of spells or traps. Now Cyber Angel Durga attack him directly!" She ordered as the blue-clad angel went in, clashed her daggers together creating another bolt of lightning that struck Miles, causing a cloud of smoke to engulf his side of the field.

"Next hit's going to end it." Alexis stated.

"Not exactly." Miles interrupted, and as the smoke cleared, it revealed that his facedown card had activated. "Activate Black Feather Reverse!" His card was a spell that depicted a Blackwing blocking off the residual explosion damage via wall of feathers. "When this card is activated, I can take any instance of damage, whether it's battle or effect and reduce it to zero."

Miles LP: 3200

Alexis LP: 1300

"He's still in it!" Jake sighed in relief.

"And in addition, I get to Special Summon a Blackwing from my Extra Deck whose ATK equates to the damage inflicted." Miles further elaborated, however Alexis chuckled a bit as he finished. "I'd say I missed the joke, but I'm a master of comedy, so that's not possible."

"What's funny is that you think that second effect applies." Alexis replied. "I think you're forgetting a little detail, and it lies in my Graveyard."

"Okay...?" Miles tried to remember. "Only things in there are Machine Angel Ritual..."

"Right." Alexis led on.

"Cyber Tutubon..."

"Getting warmer." She teased.

"Djinn the Releaser of...it's this wide-o isn't it?"

"When Djinn the Releaser of Rituals is used for a Ritual Summon, as long as that Ritual Summoned monster remains on the field, the opponent CANNOT Special Summon." She quoted the card text with her finger hanging in the air as if she was making a point.

"No Special Summoning, like...AT ALL?" Miles gulped.

"None." Alexis finished satisfyingly.

The whole crowd gasped in shock.

"That may be the death blow for Miles." Sydney stated.

"No Special Summons!? But that's practically his entire strategy!" Jake stammered.

"That's it, Alexis knew that if she was going to beat Miles, she'd have to shut down what he does best, Special Summons and lots of them." Bastion contemplated.

"This is over." Kenny plainly accepted. "Blackwings can barely fight their way out of a paperbag without the capability of Special Summoning."

"Cyber Angel Ardana attack him directly!" She declared as her red and black angel charged in with her staff aimed directly at Miles this time, jabbing him with volts of electricity, that caused him to get knocked backwards.

Miles LP: 1100

Alexis LP: 1300

"I'll end my turn, but you have fun." Alexis smiled as she concluded.

"Way to go Alexis!" Mindy cheered, as some of the fellow Obelisk girls followed suit.

"Talk about an uncomfortable blow to my nads. How can I do anything? Okay, don't panic, we're still wavy gravy." Miles drew. "WE ARE NOT WAVY NOR GRAVY!"

"What's the hold up?" Alexis teased.

"Don't rush me woman!" Miles barked, as he stammeringly scanned his hand. "Hmm...This might not be bad, but I'm gonna have to get a bit lucky here." He picked his card. "I'll start by bringing out Blackwing - Kochi the Daybreak in Defense Mode!" A gorgeous violet bird with black feathers on the edges of its wings, and dark blue beady little eyes appeared and knelt in defense using it's wings as protection.

Blackwing - Kochi the Daybreak (700/1500) *4 DARK/Tuner

"Not much else you can do is there?" Alexis boasted.

"I'm not done just yet." Miles held his last card. "This spell will give me a decent shot to get back in this. I activate Emergency Air Drop!" He revealed, showing an aircraft dropping off what appeared to be boxes of supplies, amidst constant barrage of enemy fire. "I can activate when you have more monsters on the field than myself, then I draw until I have as many cards in hand than you have monsters on the field. Since you have 3, I get to draw until I have three cards in my hand." He stated, drawing his three cards. "Only down side is that I can't conduct my Battle Phase this turn."

"Let's hope for his sake, those three cards were winners." Syrus commented.

"I set three cards facedown and that's all folks." Miles plainly stated as his three sets hit the field. Alexis seemed shocked that all three of his cards ended up being spell or traps. "What's wrong, you seem a bit hesitant? C'maaan, I promise, nothing to fret about down 'der." Miles just shrugged off any of her worries.

"I'm not hesitant at all. Case you forgot, Cyber Angel Durga protects all Cyber Angels from targeting and destruction by Spell and Traps." Alexis reminded him.

"She's right. A lot of good three facedowns will do Miles if he can't use them against her Cyber Angels." Bastion said.

"Now then, why don't we finish things off." Alexis drew. "First, I'll activate Cyber Angel Ardana's ability, which allows me to add another Cyber Angel from my Deck to my hand." Alexis stated. "While I'm at it, I'll also activate Preparation of Rites which let's me search for yet another Ritual Monster from my deck, as well as retrieving a Ritual Spell from my graveyard. And then I'll activate Machine Angel Ritual!" She declared as her ritual pyre appeared for a third time. "So say goodbye to Cyber Angel Idaten and from my graveyard I can banish Djinn the Releaser of Rituals and in exchange I can summon Cyber Angel Dakini!"

She announced as her newest angel appeared. She was more muscular than the previous 2 and had blue skin, along with large orange shoulder armor. She came armed with a bow-staff and twin swords. How does she hold all that? Oh right, she has 4 fucking arms.

Cyber Angel Dakini (2700/2400) *8 LIGHT/Ritual

"Three Ritual monsters." Sydney impressively listed.

"And with protection up the ass." Kenny added.

"And since she once again used her Releaser of Rituals for a Ritual Summon, now Miles has to get rid of 2 monsters to open up Special Summoning to him." Bastion further explained.

"As you may expect, my Cyber Angel Dakini comes with a special effect. When summoned, she instantly forces you to select one monster you control and send it to the Graveyard." Alexis explained.

"If that happens, then Miles will be left wide open." Jake blurted.

"Very smart, and it's non-destruction." Kenny commended.

"So any last words?" Alexis asked. Miles just snickered a bit, which confused the Obelisk.

"I suppose "contrite" would be appropriate, but I have more." Miles revealed. "Activate trap card! Delta Sparrow - Black Cell!" Suddenly Alexis' field was engulfed in a weather cell of darkness. This caused all three of Alexis' Cyber Angels to feel drained.

"But-what happened!?" Alexis questioned.

"The effect of my trap card. Black Cell instantly negates all face-up cards on your side of the field, which means your Cyber Angel Dakini's effect is about as effective as the printer in Office Space...and we all know how that ended." Miles smirked.

"I don't think any of us know how that ended." Sydney shook her head.

"He just lives in a world where everyone gets his obscure references." Bastion agreed.

"...I got it." Jake timidly responded.

"No one cares!" They all yelled, causing Jake to retreat nervously. "O-okay..."

"So my monster's effects are negated, but that doesn't stop me from attacking you, and with just 1 monster between me and your lifepoints, it's only a matter of time." Alexis brushed off.

"You raise a good point, one monster...and two facedowns." Miles pointed out. "Remember that now, because your Cyber Angel Durga's effects are negated, she can no longer protect herself or either of your other Angels from spells or traps. It basically comes down to a game of chicken. Do you have the girl balls Alexis?"

"Jesus, will he stop already?" Kenny grimaced.

"What do I do? If I attack, I could be walking into a trap, but if I don't and pass, he could be bluffing and he wants to save those cards for his turn. Miles may be locked down for now, but without any spell or trap support, I'm basically banking on my Cyber Angels to last and with Miles' style of play, he's not one to give an inch to. He's anticipating I play it conservative." Alexis gritted her teeth.

"Well?...We're waiting?" He gloated with crazy eyes.

"Alright, I'm attacking! Cyber Angel Durga, take out his last monster!" Alexis commanded as her first angel charged in with her twin daggers eyeing Kochi.

"I activate Gyre the Twin Shields' effect from the Graveyard!" Miles announced, as a sillouhette of Gyre appeared in front of Kochi. "Now when a Blackwing is attacked, I can use his effect and negate that one attack." Durga's attack was intercepted by one of Gyre's shields, and as the angel retreated, the same shield dissipated.

"Okay! Ardana finish him off!" Alexis commanded as the second strongest angel went in this time. Only it was met by the same Gyre, this time toting his second shield. "What!?"

"I mean, it's called Gyre the TWIN Shields for a reason Lex." Miles pointed out bluntly. "It can activate it's effect up to twice while he's in the graveyard." Ardana fell back, and as Gyre's second shield dissipated, he vanished. "After his effect is used a 2nd time, he gets banished from the graveyard."

"Now there's nothing to stand in the way, Cyber Angel Dakini attack his last monster!" Her final and strongest angle charged in, twirling her staff several times, heading towards Kochi.

"As expected. Like a moth lured to a 1000 watt zapper." Miles grinned. "I activate the facedown, another delta trap, This one the Falcon! Delta Falcon - Cursed Winds!" He stated as the entire field was engulfed in wild and uncontrollable winds.

"I can't see!" Alexis shielded her eyes from the harsh winds surrounding her.

"You might want to keep it that way." Miles stated. "Don't look..." When the winds stopped, Alexis finally reoriented herself, only to find her field was completely flipped upside down.

"Ah!" Alexis gasped. All three of her Cyber Angels had been flipped facedown.

"Curse these winds!" Miles shook his fist. "During battle when a Blackwing is involved, I can activate Delta Falcon and unleash these devastating, and quite erratic, winds onto the field, which causes all non-Blackwings to hunker down in their shelters like it's Hurricane season in Coral Gables...in other words, they go into facedown defense mode."

"Woah! Okay, that was a twist!" Kenny lauded.

"What I don't get is why did he have to use that Gyre's effect? Couldn't he have used Cursed Winds before?" Jake wondered.

"Because now Alexis has attacked with all three of them, she can't change their positions back to face-up Attack mode." Sydney explained with her arms crossed, still typing away as the lens on her laptop continued to focus in.

"It's more than that, because her Cyber Angels are no longer face-up on the field, the effect of Djinn the Releaser of Rituals is no longer in play." Bastion recalled.

"But that means..."

"The floodgates are open for business..." Miles grinned with a hungry look in his eyes. Alexis could only look on in frustration, as Miles drew. "Alright, time to play my last facedown card, Ties of the Brethren!" He revealed, showing a spell card depicting 3 reptile warriors that looked virtually the same as one another. "I can activate this by controlling a face-up level 4 monster, and then by paying 1000 lifepoints, I can Special Summon 2 level 4 monsters from my Deck!" He elaborated.

Miles LP: 100

Alexis LP: 1300

"I summon from my deck, Blackwing - Kris the Crack of Dawn and Blackwing - Sharki the Iron Claw!" First out was the lanky, gold mask wearing, swirvy dagger toting Blackwing, donning his trademark red and gold vest and sash. The next was a new one, a fully black bird, however his wing tips, claws and beak were metallic.

Blackwing - Kris the Crack of Dawn (1900/300) *4 DARK

Blackwing - Sharki the Iron Claw (1400/1000) *4 DARK

"Next, since I control a "Blackwing" monster...(s), I can Special Summon Blackwing - Gale the Whirlwind." He continued, as the adorable small bird with his beakless face and large green-feathered mane on his head.

Blackwing - Gale the Whirlwind (1300/400) *3 DARK/Tuner

"Now, I'm tuning my level 3 Gale the Whirlwind, with my level 4 Sharki the Iron Claw!" Miles announced as his birds took off and formed a Synchro ring, forming a cyclone of wind. "Give it up for a timeless classic, Blackwing Armor Master!" Miles' iconic black and red armor-clad, single optic Blackwing arrived in a flash of light.

Blackwing Armor Master (2500/1500) *7 DARK/Synchro

"Now it's time to activate Sharki's special effect. When he's sent to the Graveyard for a Synchro Summon, I draw a card and reveal it. If it's a Blackwing, then my Armor Master gains ATK equal to the ATK of the monster I drew for the turn." He drew. "Everything's coming up Millhouse! I reveal Blizzard the Far North, which means Armor Master gains 1300 ATK."

Blackwing Armor Master (2500 + 1300 = 3800/1500) *7 DARK/Synchro

"I also haven't conducted my Normal Summon yet, so without further adieu, I summon Blackwing - Blizzard the Far North!" He announced in a blizzard white gust, Miles' trademark tiny white bird appeared with his unusual squawking noise and vacant expression, and of course, landing on Miles head.

Blackwing - Blizzard the Far North (1300/0) *2 DARK/Tuner

"Now then, when Blizzard is summoned, I get to resurrect a Blackwing from my graveyard that's level 4 or lower." Miles explained, remembering to lift his disk up to Blizzard, so that he could tap it a few times with his beak. "I'll use it to bring back Gale the Whirlwind!" Miles declared as his tiny beakless bird reappeared.

"Now, I'll Synchro Summon again! Using Gale the Whirlwind with Kris the Crack of Dawn, for another level 7 Synchro!" Miles stated as the birds disappeared in a cyclone, only thing being visible was the 7 flashing orbs that formed a flash of light, out of it came the tanned, bulky human-bird hybrid warrior donning the large red feathered mane and scattered black feathered wings on his back.

"Blackwing Tamer - Obsidian Hawk Joe!"

Blackwing Tamer - Obsidian Hawk Joe (2600/2000) *7 DARK/Synchro

"Next I activate Hawk Joe's effect, which lets me Special Summon a level 5 or higher Blackwing from my Graveyard." Miles giddily explained, as a card emerged from his graveyard. "Welcome back Blackwing - Spiral the Vortex!"

From a gust of wind, Spiral returned to the field with a few slashes of his blade cutting the air.

Blackwing - Spiral the Vortex (3000/1500) *8 DARK/Synchro

"What can I say Lex, give Blackwings an inch, they'll fly across the Sea of Japan and shit on your dad's prized Mercedes." Miles explained. "Now, it's time to finish this!" Miles cracked his knuckles. "Hawk Joe, you're up first, attack her facedown Cyber Angel Durga!" Joe bowed up, and as Durga was revealed in a defensive pose, he lunged downward and slashed her several times with his bird claw.

"Next up Spiral the Vortex, attack her facedown Cyber Angel Ardana!" The bird warrior stretched out his wings, lunging forward and cutting the machine angel down to ribbons. "And of course, Spiral's ability activates, which allows him to attack another monster after he's finished with his first attack." Spiral turned to the now revealed Cyber Angel Dakini, doing the same to her as he did with the first angel. This left Alexis with no field left, she gritted her teeth and braced herself.

"That leaves the trusty cycloptic winged minion (and closet Jeff Goldblum enthusiast) Armor Master, attack Alexis directly!" Armor Master zoomed through the, performing a cross slash with his claws, causing Alexis to kneel over.

Miles LP: 100 WINNER

Alexis LP: 0

"I am the smartest man alive!" Miles pointed.

"Dang it!" Alexis pounded her fist on the ground. "I was so close!"

"It's over." Syrus mentioned.

"I can't believe Alexis lost to that moron!" Adagio shouted in disbelief.

"Moronic as he may act, Miles is no pushover my dear." Bastion crossed his arms.

"No, but I will push him over in the next round." Sydney commented.

Miles continued to commence with cutting his victory jig. Alexis broke his jig.

"Don't get too cocky just yet, there's still 2 more rounds to go." Alexis walked up to him. "But if you're good enough to beat me, then you should be in good shape."

"I'm always in good shape Alexis." Miles mentioned. "Have you seen these traps?" He pointed towards his traps. "Double entendre by the way."

"It was a good duel though." Alexis mentioned, extending her hand out.

"Just promise me you'll never use Djinn's. That nearly gave me a heart attack." Miles joked, while accepting the handshake.

"After today, I might just have to max out on Djinns." Alexis winked.

"I have to imagine there's a special place in Hell for people like you Lex." Miles grinned painfully.

"The first match of the freshman tournament has concluded!" Crowler began. "Miles Palmer from Ra Yellow will advance to the next round..." He gritted his teeth in frustration. "The next match will begin right away! Bastion Misawa of Ra Yellow vs. Kenneth Drayton of Ra Yellow!"

"It's chow time." Kenny cracked his knuckles.

"I'm afraid your aquatic friends will be leaving this duel with empty stomachs." Bastion crossed his arms.

NEXT TIME on Yugiball Z, the tournament of card games continues.

Ra vs Ra in a battle of mustards. Dijon or Brown? Who comes out on top?