Sorry it took so long! But here it is! It's a filler chapter, yes, but it's important for my OC characters plus it has two duels in it. I hope that you enjoy it

Anyway, thank you to Guest, Fantasymaker76, Guest, Kamen Rider Necrom, EndlessNight025, decode9, and IDoNotKNowMyFate for reviewing the last chapter.

And, as usual, a huge thank you to EndlessNight025 for being an awesome beta-reader and co-author.

I hope you enjoy this chapter and reviews, as always, are much appreciated.

25

Light Distractions

Nathan didn't know exactly where it was he was going. With the majority of the students being part of the Society of Light, including his own sister, there weren't many that he could explore Domino City with. He had never been a real big believer in the supernatural or in such things as mind control, and yet what had happened to his sister was something that could only be explained as unnatural.

They had always been close growing up and Zoey giving him the cold shoulder as often as she had hurt. Not to mention her constant talk of the Light and how she wished that she could show him that Light but felt that he was too weak and wouldn't be useful to the Light's cause. That had been the day after Jaden's duel against Rose, and Nathan still felt hurt by his sister's words.

It was a change because Nathan had always been close to his sister. Their parents were rich and often spent their time away from home. It was their older sister who raised them more so than their parents did and it was their older sister Briana that actually got them into Duel Monsters. It was because of their older sister and their maid that they were attending Duel Academy, having signed up without their parents' knowledge. Nathan suspected that their parents probably wouldn't have even noticed that they were gone; they never noticed anything that happened to them before. It was for that reason that Zoey tried to get their parents' attention by constantly rebelling against what they wanted for her. While it worked, sometimes, it didn't work all the time.

Nathan was suddenly pulled out of his thoughts by the sound of yelling, followed by someone slamming into him at full speed, causing him to fall to the ground.

"Hey! Watch where you're going!" he growled in annoyance as he pushed off the blue-haired idiot that had plowed into him.

"Heh, sorry 'bout that..." the other boy apologized, laughing the whole thing off, though Nathan was less than amused.

"Dante!"

Both boys looked over to see a black-haired Slifer with glasses running up to them.

"Didn't I tell you to watch where you were going? Now look at what you've done..."

"I already said I was sorry. Geez..." Dante muttered as he got up and dusted himself off.

The bespectacled boy shook his head in disapproval before turning to Nathan and holding out a hand to him. "Sorry about him. I'm Justin, by the way."

"Nathan," the Obelisk replied, taking Justin's hand, who then helped him back to his feet.

"Nathan, eh?" Dante hummed. "Ah, I remember you now. You're the brother of that hottie Zoey, aren't ya?"

Nathan glared at Dante, now recognizing him as the pervert Zoey had told him about in the beginning of the school year.

"Hey, hey, that was a compliment," Dante insisted. "Still, it's a shame she went all white and joined that cult."

Nathan scowled at the Ra harder, and was this close to hitting him, but Justin beat him to it, whacking the boy on the back of the head with a loud smack.

Dante winced. "Hey! What was that for?!"

"Being an idiot, for starters," the Filipino boy shot back. "Honestly, do you really not have that little voice in the back of your head that tells you when to not say or do something stupid?"

"Maybe...?"

Justin rolled his eyes at that before noticing that Nathan was beginning to walk away from them.

Dante noticed, too, and called out to him. "Hey, Nathan! Where ya off to, buddy?"

Nathan stopped momentarily, stuffed his hands into his pockets, and shrugged. "Don't know, really... I've just kind of been wandering around for a while now."

"Well, if you're interested in seeing some of the sites, Dante and I were heading over to the Domino City Museum. Wanna come with?" Justin offered.

Nathan thought about it for a moment and then shrugged again. "Sure. Why not?" It's not like he had anything better to do, anyway.

With that, he followed Dante and Justin as they headed deeper into the city.

. . .

"This is unacceptable! A complete outrage, really!"

"Don't you think you're overreacting a little, Diana? I mean, it's still a pretty nice room..."

It was true. The hotel room Veronica Stanton and her best friend Diana Hawley were currently residing in was large and quite posh, with two clean full-sized beds covered in comfy-looking green comforters, and a balcony that overlooked Domino City.

"And that's exactly the problem!" the white-clad lavender-haired girl exclaimed, resting her hands on her hips as she glared around the room, her green eyes flashing. "You and I deserve so much better than just 'nice'. Master Sartorius promised to make us stars, after all!"

She then threw herself onto her bed with a huff and gazed up at the ceiling. "You know what this means, don't you?"

"Not really, but I'm sure you'll tell me anyway..." Veronica muttered, turning her attention to outside the balcony, her light green hair dancing in the gentle breeze as she frowned at the gray clouds that now blanketed the sky.

"It means we obviously haven't done enough to show Master Sartorius our true potentials! I mean, why else would he settle for relying on losers like Kasumi and Chazz, when he could have us instead? We gotta do something to impress him!"

"And what exactly do you have in mind...?"

Diana hummed in thought for a moment before suddenly sitting up, her eyes lighting up with an idea. "I know! There are still a bunch of duelists that haven't been shown the Light. If we can hunt down the rest of them and convert them to Master Sartorius's cause, we'll be sure to get the recognition we deserve! Now, if we only knew where to start..."

"How about with them?"

Rushing over to her friend's side on the balcony, Diana peered down at the street below and soon found to what Veronica was referring. Walking down a sidewalk on the opposite side of the street were three students from their school—an Obelisk, Ra, and Slifer boy, to be more exact.

"Good eye, V! Those guys'll do perfectly!" Diana exclaimed excitedly. "Now let's get a move on, before they get away!"

Veronica blinked phlegmatically and simply allowed herself to be dragged out of the room by her over-enthusiastic friend.

. . .

Nathan and the others were still making their way to their destination, when they suddenly heard someone yell from behind them.

"Hey, you three!"

The boys all turned around to see two girls approaching them. The first girl had green eyes and long lavender colored hair tied up in twin-tails, while her companion possessed medium length light green locks with long side-swept bangs that covered her left eye, leaving only one violet iris visible.

Nathan frowned when he noticed that both of them were dressed in the Society of Light's white uniforms. "Who are you two, and what do you want?"

"I'm Diana, and this is Veronica. You'll do well to remember our names. And what we want is quite simple, really..." the twin-tailed girl began before striking an odd pose she probably thought made her look dashing, "And that's for you losers to see the Light!"

Nathan narrowed his eyes and frowned harder. "Sorry; not interested," he said coolly. "I want nothing to do with you freaks, especially after what you guys did to my sister."

Justin and Dante nodded in agreement.

"Huh?!" Diana shrilled, obviously not expecting her challenge to be denied so easily, and didn't seem to know how to respond to that.

"So, you boys are going to back down, just like that?" her companion spoke up in a bored tone. "How disappointing... I'm beginning to see why no one else has bothered trying to convert you..."

"Bait us all you want, but it's not going to work," was Justin's response.

"And as hot as you ladies are, your cult's a bit too far out there for me," Dante added.

Veronica turned to Diana and muttered, "Well, challenging them directly was a bust... What are we supposed to do now?"

Diana pondered that for a moment before seeming to come up with an idea. "We move on to Plan B, naturally," she replied in the same hushed tone.

Veronica had no idea what "Plan B" even was, and she was fairly certain that Diana was just making things up as she went, but she didn't care enough to be bothered by it and decided to just go along with whatever her friend had in mind.

Diana then turned back to the three male Academy students. "We didn't want it to come to this, but you leave us no choice. Either agree to duel us, or we'll make sure that you three never set foot on Duel Academy again."

"And how do you plan on doing that?" Nathan demanded.

The lavender-haired girl gave a wicked smile. "Why, by having you all expelled, of course."

"E-expelled?" Dante blanched, having flashbacks of the time he was kicked out of South Academy. His parents were so going to kill him if he got thrown out of another school.

"On what grounds?" Justin questioned. "We haven't done anything wrong, after all."

"Like that'll matter," Diana scoffed. "One of you is a known pervert, and the other two are his stupid pals. It shouldn't be hard to convince the teachers that you crossed the line and harassed a couple of poor, innocent girls like us. V and I are greatactresses, after all. Also, Veronica's dad's a lawyer, so we could even sue you, if we wanted to!"

Veronica's lips quirked a little at that last part, since both her partners were actually florists, but she stayed quiet since just because she and Diana knew the truth, doesn't mean those boys needed to know.

All three boys glared at Diana, before sharing uncertain looks with one another.

"Well, what's it gonna be, boys?" Diana pressed. "It's rude to keep ladies waiting, you know."

"I still think you're full of it, but if you're thatdesperate for a duel, then fine. I'll take one of you on," Justin proclaimed, stepping forward as he strapped on the duel disk he had produced from his backpack seconds earlier.

"What? Are you sure about that, bro?" Dante asked. Nathan looked like he was wondering the same thing.

Justin shrugged. "I have a feeling they won't stop pestering us until we do. And I really wanted to check out that museum before it gets too late, so..."

"Whatever, then," Nathan muttered.

"Might be a good idea, on the off-chance they do make good on their threat and all..." Dante reasoned, sweating slightly.

Diana looked pleased to hear she was getting her way, but then grimaced slightly when she noticed Justin's red blazer. "The Slifer's up first, huh?" she huffed. "In that case, I'll let you be my opening act, V. He looks easy enough for you to beat, after all."

"Gee, thanks..." both Veronica and Justin sarcastically muttered in unison, though the former was upset for being tasked with dueling the supposedly weakest duelist of the bunch, while the latter was annoyed for even being assumed to be a pushover in the first place.

"Whatever..." Veronica sighed, her tone still listless. She then turned her gaze towards Justin. "Are you ready to go...um...uh...Do you even havea name...?"

The Filipino boy frowned. "Of course I do. It's Justin. But to answer your initial question: yes, always," he replied, activating his duel disk and inserting his deck into it.

Veronica did the same and they declared "duel" as they drew their opening hand.

Justin: 8000

Veronica: 8000

"Since you challenged me, I'm going first," Justin said and Veronica shook her head acquiescently as the Slifer drew his sixth card before picking one out to play. "I'll start by activating Gem-Knight Fusion. With this, I fuse Gem-Knight Lapis and Gem-Knight Lazuli in order to Fusion Summon Gem-Knight Lady Lapis Lazuli."

As a vortex of a myriad of different colored lights materialized in the air above Justin's head, a young girl made of pale-purple rock with pupilless violet eyes and a lapis embedded into her chest appeared on the field with another female rock monster that looked identical to her, except that she was gray with pupilless green eyes. Both of them joined hands as they were swallowed by the swirling vortex of light. There was then a great burst of energy. Out of the explosion, a new monster descended. She was a tall woman made of pale-blue rock and dressed in a gold-accented dark-blue dress with an over skirt that fanned out around her waist and long, wide sleeves and a dark-blue headdress that resembled bangs with a silver portion that hung down her back like hair and two longer strands of dark blue framing her face. Her pupilless blue eyes fixed on Veronica as she landed on the field, her arms falling to her sides (5/2400/1000).

"I now activate the effect of Lazuli. Since she was sent to the Graveyard due to a card effect, I can add one Normal Monsters from my Graveyard to my hand, and I'll go with Lapis," Justin added and retrieved the card before holding up another in his hand. "And next I activate Absorb Fusion."

"Whoa, two Fusions in one turn?" Dante wondered from the sidelines.

"Yep. Due to Absorb Fusion's effect, I first can add one Gem-Knight card from my deck to my hand. I think I'll go with Garnet," Justin said and searched through his deck for the aforementioned card. "And next, I can Fusion Summon a monster by banishing the materials needed from my hand or field, so I'm banishing Garnet and Lapis to bring forth Gem-Knight Ruby!"

A vortex of red, pink, and black materialized in the field as Lapis and a monster with a flaming fist appeared and were then absorbed into the vortex. There was another explosion of light before the new monster appeared.

The new monster was tall and muscular dressed in gold-accented red armor with a dark-blue cape, attached to his shoulders by rubies, that flowed down to his legs. His helmeted head lifted and Veronica could see blue eyes peering at her as the monster grasped his gold-and-red scythe in both of his hands, preparing himself to strike (6/2500/1300).

"Next, I activate Lady Lapis Lazuli's effect," the Slifer proclaimed. "By sending a Gem-Knight—like Sapphire—from my deck to my Graveyard, she can hit you with 500 points of damage for each Special Summoned monster on the field."

Veronica's bored expression turned into a slight frown as Lady Lapis Lazuli held up a hand and sent two balls of blue energy flying at her. She shielded herself instinctively as the orbs struck her duel disk.

Justin: 8000

Veronica: 7000

"V, what are you doing?!" Diana shouted. "How could you let that loser get in such a cheap shot like that?"

The green-haired girl shot her friend a mild glare. Just how did Diana expect her to do anything when she hadn't even had her first turn yet?

"And then I'll place these two cards facedown and end my turn," Justin finished, bringing Veronica's attention back to him as two facedowns appeared at his feet.

"Draw," Veronica tersely muttered as she drew a card. After seeing what it was, she subsequently inserted it into her duel disk. "I activate Smashing Ground. This card destroys the monster on your field with the highest Defense Points."

Since Gem-Knight Ruby's 1300 Defense trumped Lady Lapis Lazuli's 1000, he was the one that ended up biting the dust, falling into a fissure that suddenly opened up from under his feet.

Justin pressed a button on his duel disk the second after his monster was destroyed. "I activate my face-down, Brilliant Spark. Since a Gem-Knight was destroyed by an attack or card effect, I can target that monster and inflict damage to the opponent equal to its original Attack."

As Ruby was the only Gem-Knight destroyed, Justin naturally picked it for Brilliant Spark's effect. A brilliant flash of ruby red light shot out from the ground, enveloped Justin's Trap and then shot across the field at Veronica.

Justin: 8000

Veronica: 4500

If the girl had been phased by the loss in Life Points, she didn't show it, and instead simply surveyed her hand as she went on with her turn. "I summon Lonefire Blossom."

A golden bomb-shaped flower bud with sparks jutting out of its fuse-like stigma rose up from the ground (3/500/1400).

"I activate Lonefire Blossom's effect," Veronica announced. "Once per turn, I can tribute one face-up Plant-Type monster I control—such as Lonefire Blossom—to Special Summon one Plant-Type monster from my hand or deck. I'll go with Mariña, Princess of Sunflowers."

The sparks emanating from Lonefire Blossom began to burn even brighter until the whole plant spontaneously combusted, going out in a blaze of red and gold before vanishing.

A fountain of sunflower petals then descended upon the field as a large sunflower bloomed, allowing a dark-skinned woman to emerge. She was dressed in a maroon top with a sunflower at the base of her neck and leaves covering her shoulders. On her arms were bicep-length maroon opera gloves, and on her head was a headress made of sunflower petals with long blonde hair draping down her back (8/2800/1600).

"Next, I activate Foolish Burial," Veronica continued, holding out the card between her index and middle finger before inserting it into her duel disk. "With its effect, I send Rose Lover from my Deck to my Graveyard." She did so and then added, "I'll now activate Rose Lover's effect, banishing it from the Graveyard to Special Summon one Plant-type monster from my hand, and I choose Talaya, Princess of Cherry Blossoms."

An apparition of a blonde woman dressed in a red ball gown decorated with vibrant vermillion roses briefly appeared on the field before vanishing in a whirlwind of rose petals.

The hundreds of red petals then magically transformed into bright pink cherry blossom blades as a giant cherry blossom rose up onto the field, blooming and allowing a pale-skinned woman to emerge from the large petals that surrounded her. She was dressed in a purple tunic with dark-green straps, along with long, wide pink-linked purple detached sleeves adorned with two large metal cherry blossoms on either side. Her long black hair draped over her shoulders and, in one hand, she held a fan colored pink and purple (8/2800/1200).

"Due to Talaya's effect, she gains an extra 100 Attack Points for every Plant-Type monster I control. Since I currently have two, that's an extra 200 Attack," Veronica explained as the Princess of Cherry Blossom's offensive power increased to 3000. "Also, due to the last effect of Rose Lover, Talaya will be unaffected by the opponent's Traps this turn."

Talaya was then surrounded in a bright crimson aura.

"That's not good..." Dante gasped.

"Which part? That girl having two powerful monsters, or Justin not being able to use any Traps on the strongest one?" Nathan inquired.

"Both."

Justin's lips pressed together as he stared down as he remaining set card, but he said nothing as Veronica switched over to her Battle Phase.

"Battle... Talaya attacks Lady Lapis Lazuli," Veronica announced.

Talaya sliced her fan towards Lady Lapis Lazuli, conjuring up a storm of cherry blossom petals that shot forward like throwing stars.

"I activate my facedown, the Quick-Play Spell Battle Fusion," Justin said, revealing his facedown.

"You mean it wasn'ta Trap?" Dante gawked.

Nathan shrugged. "Looks like it."

"Thanks to Battle Fusion's effect, since a Fusion Monster in my field is battling an opponent's monster, that Fusion Monster gains Attack equal to that of its combatant until the end of the Damage Step," Justin explained as Lady Lapis Lazuli began to glow a bright blue as her power increased (5/2400-5400/1000).

"Lady Lapis Lazuli, counterattack!" Justin ordered.

Lady Lapis Lazuli conjured up another ball of blue energy and tossed it at the storm of cherry blossom petals that were flying at her. The ball of energy shot threw the petals, scattering them to the winds, and slamming through Talaya, causing her to burst into a million golden pixels.

Justin: 8000

Veronica: 2100

Veronica, who had been sent skidding back just a little by the aftershock of that attack, quickly recovered and droned, "I activate Mariña's effect. Since exactly one other Plant-type monster I control was destroyed, I can target one card you control and destroy it. Since it's the only card you have, I choose Lady Lapis Lazuli."

The Princess of Sunflowers unleashed a whirlwind of golden petals upon Justin's Gem-Knight, enveloping her and causing her to shatter.

"Next, Mariña attacks you directly," Veronica declared, and Mariña launched a storm of sunflower petals that slammed into Justin, sending him skidding a foot back.

Justin: 5200

Veronica: 2100

"I place one card facedown. That's it..." the Plant duelist finished, inserting a card into her duel disk.

"That's more like it, Veronica! Keep it up!" Diana shouted her approval.

Justin drew a card and glanced at it as he started his next turn. "I activate Pot of Greed," he said and drew two cards before adding, "Next, I activate Monster Reborn to Special Summon Gem-Knight Lady Lapis Lazuli back to my field."

In a column of blue light erupting from the ground, the pale-blue skinned form of Lady Lapis Lazuli returned to the field (5/2400/1000)

"I activate Lady Lapis Lazuli's effect again, sending my second Lazuli from my Deck to the Graveyard to inflict 500 damage times the number of Special Summoned monsters on the field, which is, again, two," the Gem-Knight duelist added, fishing out the card and inserting it into his Graveyard slot as Lady Lapis Lazuli's hands glowed blue again before she threw two balls of blue energy at Veronica.

Justin: 5200

Veronica: 1100

"And since Lazuli was sent to the Graveyard due to a card effect, I can add Gem-Knight Sapphire from my Graveyard to my hand," Justin added and retrieved the card, now giving him three. "Next, I activate the effect of Gem-Knight Fusion and banish one of my Lazuli's to add it to my hand."

After pocketing the specified Gem-Knight, he added the Fusion card back to his hand. "And I'll activate it, fusing Gem-Knight Sapphire with Crystal in my hand in order to Fusion Summon Gem-Knight Zirconia!"

Gem-Knight Sapphire, a pale-blue monster embedded with sapphires on his hips and chest, and Gem-Knight Crystal, a silver-armored warrior with crystals jutting out of his shoulder plates and around his wrists, leapt into the vortex. There was a bright flash of light and a large silver-armored rock warrior descended to the ground. He had a black cape around his shoulders and a blue zirconia gem on his chest. (8/2900/2500).

"Zirconia, attack Mariña," Justin ordered.

Zirconia shot forward, slamming his zirconia-covered fist into Mariña, throwing her off the field where she shattered into golden pixels.

Justin: 5200

Veronica: 1000

"Lady Lapis Lazuli, direct attack!"

"If this attack lands, Justin'll win," Dante pointed out as Lady Lapis Lazuli's hands began to glow bright blue.

"Veronica, you better not lose here and make us look bad!" Diana yelled at her friend.

The blasé girl let out a short sigh. "Calm down. That's not going to happen, because I activate my Trap, Call of the Haunted to Special Summon Talaya from my Graveyard," she said as her facedown flipped up and the ground opened up in front of it. Rising out of the ground was the Princess of Cherry Blossoms, fanning her face as she took up a position between Lady Lapis Lazuli and her mistress (8/2800-2900/1200).

As she was now up against an opponent she couldn't take down, Justin had Lady Lapis Lazuli call off her attack, and instead switched over to his second Main Phase.

"I activate Gem-Knight Fusion's effect again, banishing Gem-Knight Sapphire to add it back to my hand." He did so and added, "Next, I activate Brilliant Spark's effect, discarding a Gem-Knight card—like Gem-Knight Fusion—to add it back to my hand. Then I'll set a card facedown and end my turn."

Veronica looked at the card that was facedown in front of Justin, already knowing that it was Brilliant Spark since it was the only card Justin had had in his hand. But she knew of just how dangerous that card was, and that she needed to get rid of it so it wouldn't cost her the duel.

"My move," she said and draw a card. "I activate Spellbook Inside the Pot."

Both duelists drew three cards.

"I activate Graceful Charity," Veronica added and drew three more cards before discarding Tytannial, Princess of Camellias and Lord Poison. "Next, I activate Nobleman of Extermination. This lets me select your facedown, destroy it, and then banish it. Also, if it's a Trap—which it obviously is—then both of us have to banish all copies of that card from our decks."

Justin's Brilliant Spark flipped face-up before shattering and he pulled out his deck and fished out the other copies of the Trap before pocketing it and shuffling his deck.

"Darn... There goes his win condition..." Dante muttered.

"Ha ha~" Diana taunted, sticking out her tongue.

Veronica just rolled her eyes at her friend's immature behavior as she went on with her turn. "Next, I play the Continuous Spell, Miracle Fertilizer. Once per turn, I can Special Summon one Plant-Type monster from my Graveyard at the cost of not being able to Normal Summon or Set. I'll use it to revive Mariña."

The sunflower princess returned to the field to stand alongside Talaya (8/2800/1600) (Talaya 2900-3000/1200).

"Now, Talaya, attack Zirconia."

Talaya complied, swiping her fan towards Zirconia, letting lose a blast of cherry blossom petals that coiled around Zirconia until he was completely surrounded before shattering amidst the cyclone of petals.

Justin: 5100

Veronica: 1000

"Mariña, get rid of Lady Lapis Lazuli," Veronica ordered and Mariña unleashed a powerful stream of sunflower petals that struck Lady Lapis Lazuli through the chest, destroying her.

Justin: 4700

Veronica: 1000

"Then I'll place this facedown and end my turn," Veronica added, placing her second to last card into a slot before waving her hand to Justin, who drew a card.

"I'll set a monster facedown and place three cards facedown, and call it a turn," he said and a horizontal facedown appeared with three vertical facedowns behind it.

Veronica frowned. "That's it? Okay..." she droned as she drew a card. "I activate Miracle Fertilizer's effect to Special Summon Tytannial, Princess of Camellias from my Graveyard in Attack Mode."

A hurricane of crimson camellia petals erupted onto the field and a pale-skinned woman emerged from a blooming red camellia that sprung from the ground. She had a pink petal dress around her body with long gloves made of leaves. Foliole also decorated her shoulders, and a red petal headdress with lime-green leaves draping down her back (8/2800/D: 2600) (Talaya 3000-3100/1200).

"Now, Tytannial, attack that facedown monster," Veronica commanded.

The Princess of Camellias conjured up a whirlwind of camellia petals that shot straight through the card, causing it to flip up to reveal an emerald-shelled turtle embedded with similar greed stones on its head and toes before it shattered.

"Gem-Turtle's effect activates," Justin announced. "Since it was flipped face up, I can add one Gem-Knight Fusion from my deck to my hand."

Veronica shrugged as Justin retrieved the designated card from his deck. "A lot of good that'll do you right now... Especially when I have Talaya attack you directly."

Talaya launched another storm of dazzling cherry blossom petals towards Justin.

"Not happening, because I activate my Trap, Fragment Fusion," the Gem-Knight duelist declared. "This allows me to banish Gem-Knight monsters from my Graveyard in order to perform a Fusion Summon, though the monster summoned will be destroyed during the End Phase. I remove Gem-Knight Lazuli, Gem-Knight Ruby, and Gem-Knight Crystal to Fusion Summon Gem-Knight Lady Brilliant Diamond!"

Everyone watched as Ruby, Lazuli, and Crystal floated out of the ground jumped into the fusion maelstrom. Out of the explosion of bright light that followed was a tall female rock monster in tan-colored armor with diamonds jutting out of it, a sword held at the ready in one hand, and a red hip-length cape billowing out around her (10/3400/2000).

"That's not enough to stop us," Veronica said as she pointed at Justin's new monster. "Talaya, attack Lady Brilliant Diamond."

"What?" Justin looked bewildered. "But Lady Brilliant Diamond's stronger."

"That's why I'm activating the Quick-Play Spell Raging Mad Plants... This allows all of my face-up Plant-Type monsters to gain 300 Attack Points for each Plant-Type monster in my Graveyard until the End Phase. As there are two Plant monsters in my Grave, my Princesses all gain 600 extra Attack," Veronica explained as Talaya, Mariña, and Tytanial were surrounded in a bright green aura and grew stronger (8/3100-3700/1200) (8/2800-3400/1600) (8/2800-3400/2600).

Talaya's storm of cherry blossoms then struck Lady Brilliant Diamond, blowing her off the field.

Justin: 4400

Veronica: 1000

"Next, I activate my reverse card, Blossom Bombardment. This inflicts damage to you equal to the Attack of Lady Brilliant Diamond since it was destroyed by a Plant-Type monster I controlled," Veronica added, revealing her facedown and Justin shielded himself as a cyclone of glowing pink petals crashed into him.

Justin: 1000

Veronica: 1000

"Now, Mariña, end this with a direct attack," Veronica ordered.

"Not so fast! I activate Return from the Different Dimension and pay half my Life Points to Special Summon Gem-Knight Garnet, Gem-Knight Lapis, Gem-Knight Lazuli, Gem-Knight Sapphire, and Gem-Knight Ruby from my Banished Zone, all in Defense Mode," Justin said, revealing his facedown before he was surrounded by a red aura as his Life took another drop.

Justin: 500

Veronica: 1000

A dimensional rift then opened up from the sky, first allowing a red-armored monster with a flaming fist to come through (4/1900/0). He was proceeded by the pale-purple rock girl from the beginning of the duel (3/1200/100) and her gray counterpart (1/600/100). Then came the pale-blue knight with armor covered in sapphires (4/0/2100), followed by the gallant Gem-Knight Ruby with his red-stone-encrusted scythe in hand (6/2500/1300).

Veronica blinked. "So, you managed to find a way to survive one more turn... Oh well..." she sighed. "Since your monsters will return to the Banished Zone during the End Phase, I'll just end my turn now."

Just as the Plant duelist said, as soon as her End Phase rolled around, the same rift in space Justin's monsters had come through sucked them all back in to the other dimension known as the Banished Zone.

"And since it's the End Phase, that also means the effect of Raging Mad Plants expires, and its final effect activates, destroying all face-up Plant-Type monsters I control," Veronica explained, but then added, "However, since Talaya's effect prevents other Plant-Type monsters I control from being destroyed by card effects, only Talaya is destroyed."

The cherry blossom princess created a mystical pink veil that shielded her fellow Plant Princesses before she finally succumbed to the after-effects of Veronica's Spell.

As they were no longer under the influence of Raging Mad Plants, both Mariña's and Tytannial's Attack returned to normal (8/3400-2800/1600) (8/3400-2800/2600).

"Also, since one of my Plants was destroyed, I can activate Mariña's effect and destroy your last facedown," Veronica added and Justin's final facedown—which was Call of the Haunted—shattered right in his face.

"Great... Just like that, Justin's field's empty again and that Veronica chick still has two strong monsters staring him down," Dante groaned.

Diana gave an obnoxious laugh at that. "Do you finally see how outmatched your little friend is? He should just admit defeat now."

"No way," Nathan shot back. "Real duelists don't give up until their Life Points hit zero."

"I believe, at that point, you would just call that 'losing'..." Veronica reasoned as Justin drew his next card at the start of his turn.

"Perhaps, but I'm notgoing to lose," the Gem-Knight duelist vowed after seeing the card he drew.

"You really still think you can win?" Diana sneered.

Justin grinned. "Correction: I know I'm gonna win, but first I activate the effect of Gem-Knight Fusion in my Graveyard one last time, banishing Gem-Knight Lady Lapis Lazuli from my Graveyard to add my Spell back to my hand."

Justin pocketed the aforementioned Fusion Monster before retrieving Gem-Knight Fusion.

"But what's the point of getting that card back?" his opponent wondered. "With only one other card in your hand, you obviously don't have enough material for another Fusion Summon..."

"Yeah, but I didn't get it back to Fusion Summon with it," the Slifer explained, which seemed to befuddle everyone until he added, "Truth is, I just needed a card to use as fodder for my Spell Card, D.D.R. - Different Dimension Reincarnation. By discarding a card, I can Special Summon a monster from my Banish Zone and equip it with this card. And I know just the one: Gem-Knight Lady Lapis Lazuli!"

Out of another rift in space, the blue-skinned woman in the dark-blue robes descended back onto the field, her blank lapis lazuli colored eyes fixed on Veronica and her Plant Princesses (5/2400/1000).

"Yeah! Justin's got this in the bag!" Dante cheered.

Veronica let out a sigh, knowing that what the Ra said was true, since even though she had the stronger monsters, Lady Lapis Lazuli's effect would be enough to end the duel itself.

"N-no way..." Diana seethed, appearing to be taking Veronica's impending loss a lot harder than she was.

"Yes way. I activate Lady Lapis Lazuli's effect, sending Gem-Knight Tourmaline from my deck to the Graveyard to inflict 500 damage to the opponent for each Special Summoned monster on the field," Justin declared as he slipped Tourmaline's card into his Graveyard slot. "With three currently on the field, that's 1500 points!"

After charging up her power, Lady Lapis Lazuli then launched three glowing balls of blue energy at Veronica, each slamming her head-on and taking out the last of her Life Points.

Justin: 500 WINNER

Veronica: 0

"I lost..." was the green-haired girl's languid remark as she deactivated her duel disk. "Still, that was a fun duel, so thank you..."

A sweatdrop ran down Justin's face. "No problem, I guess," he replied and then added under his breath, "Though I never would have guessed you were having a good time, what with that poker face of yours."

"Wh-what are you saying, V? Don't thank that loser!" Diana yelled as she ran up to her listless friend and started shaking her by the shoulders. "Did that last hit scramble your brain, or something?!"

"N-o, but if yo-u don't qu-it shaking m-e, you mi-ght," Veronica managed to say as she was continually jerked to and fro. "Plea-se stop..."

Diana did, much to her friend's relief, but only to shoot Justin a vicious glare. "You may have gotten lucky in beating Veronica, but that won't happen again, because now you're gonna have to deal with the real star of this show: ME!"

While Justin looked up for another duel, at that moment Nathan stepped in between the two of them, his own duel disk at the ready as he glowered at Diana.

"You know, I'm really sick of that obnoxious self-centered attitude of yours, twin-tails, so I'll duel you since I think you need a wake up call."

Diana puffed out her cheeks at Nathan's remark, clearly insulted. "As if! The only one who'll wake up is you, once I defeat you in spectacular fashion and show you the brilliance of both me and the Light!" she vowed, striking another dramatic pose as she inserted her deck into her duel disk and activated it.

Nathan just rolled his eyes as he and the lavender-haired girl drew their opening hands.

Diana: 8000

Nathan: 8000

"I'm going first!" Diana proclaimed as she picked up her sixth card. "I'll start by activating Pot of Greed, so that's two more cards for me!"

After drawing two new cards, she added, "Next, I set one monster, and two cards facedown and end my turn!"

"Eh? For a wannabe star, that was a pretty lackluster move..." Dante commented.

"No one asked for your opinion, loser!" Diana snapped at the Ra, making him flinch.

"Such an annoying woman..." Nathan muttered to himself as he drew a card at the start of his turn. After studying his hand, he picked out a card and opened up the compartment to his Field Spell Zone. "I activate the Field Spell, Temple of the Six."

After the card was played, the surrounding area was transformed into a feudal dojo where the two duelists now stood in the center of a hexagon-shape courtyard. On the ground ran a network of black lines within a giant circle, creating an intricate symbol of some kind. The same insignias could be seen adorning all of the building's friezes.

"What is this place?" Diana demanded.

"The training grounds of the Six Samurai," was the Obelisk's laconic remark.

"Six Samurai?" Dante wonder aloud.

"I don't remember him using any cards like those in that tag duel he had with Zoey in the beginning of the year," Justin mused.

Nathan shrugged. "Yeah, well, that's because she and I use different decks when we're not tag dueling," he explained.

"Oh..." the Ra and Slifer said in understanding.

"I guess, as of late, you've been having to only use that deck, considering your sister ditched you and all, huh...?" Veronica bluntly remarked.

Nathan scowled at the untactful reminder before going on with his turn. "...Anyway, I'll also activate the Continuous Spell, Six Samurai United. Both this card and my Field Spell gain what's called a Bushido Counter each time I summon a Six Samurai monster. As for what they're used for, I'll get into that later, because right now I'm summoning Legendary Six Samurai – Kageki in Attack Mode."

Onto the field appeared a warrior garbed in bronze high-tech samurai armor with golden accents and two robotic arms attached to his back. In each hand, both real and mechanical, he wielded a sharp katana (3/200/2000).

Upon the arrival of this new monster, one of the insignias on the temple's friezes glowed a bight blue while another floated above Nathan's Continuous Spell (TotS BC: 1) (SSU BC: 1).

"Kageki's effect activates," Nathan declared. "Since he was successfully Normal Summoned, I'm now able to Special Summon one Level four or lower Six Samurai monster from hand. Come forth, The Six Samurai - Irou."

Next to Kageki emerged a samurai with long black hair wearing black and purple armor under a tattered hakama. He also wore a visor over his eyes and carried a sheathed nodachi in his hand (4/1700/1200) (TotS BC: 2) (SSU BC: 2).

"And because I control a face-up Six Samurai with a different name, Kageki's second effect now applies, increasing his Attack Points by 1500."

Sparks of electricity appeared around the bronze armored samurai as his power increased (3/200-1700/2000).

"Your monster may be a little stronger now, but that won't matter this turn, because I activate my face-down, Threatening Roar!" Diana declared as her reverse card flipped up, and a loud disembodied roar shook through the air. "Now your monsters won't be able to declare an attack this turn!"

Nathan clicked his tongue in irritation. "Whatever. In that case, I activate the effect of Six Samurai United," he said. "By sending it to the Graveyard, I can draw one card for each Bushido on it. Since there were two counters, I get two new cards."

The Continuous Spell vanished from the field as Nathan drew a pair of cards from the top of his deck.

"Finally, I set one card and end my turn."

The image of a vertical card appeared behind Nathan's two samurai.

"About time!" Diana sneered as she drew a card. "I activate Scroll of Bewitchment and equip it onto Irou to change his Attribute to whatever I want, which, in this case, is Earth!"

An orange-brown aura appeared around the blind samurai to signify the change in Attribute.

"Now that that's taken care of, I Flip Summon one of the stars of my deck: Aussa the Earth Charmer!"

Diana's face-down monster was revealed to be a young bespectacled girl with short spiky brown hair and matching brown eyes. She wore a dusty beige coat over a light green top and shorts, as well as a pair of fingerless brown gloves. In her left hand she held a staff with sharp brown crystals atop it (3/500-300/1500).

"Huh? Why'd her monster suddenly get weaker like that?" Dante wondered.

"It's due to my Field Spell's effect," Nathan elaborated. "For each Bushido Counter on it, monsters my opponent controls lose 100 Attack Points."

"How annoying..." the purple-haired girl huffed before shrugging it off. "It's but a minor setback, though. Anyway, on to Aussa's effect. When she's flipped face-up, her effect activates, letting me take control of one of your Earth Attribute monsters for as long as she's on the field, so come on down, Irou!"

The crystals on the Earth Charmer's staff began to glow, which, despite Irou's blindness, somehow managed to hypnotize him anyway, and he soon made his way to Diana's field (4/1700-1500/1200). With the loss of his comrade, Kageki's power was diminished as well (3/1700-200/2000).

"Aw... Your samurai's looking a little lonely over there, all by himself..." Diana taunted. "With what I have planned, he won't have to be that way for very long, though~"

Nathan shot her a glare. "Why don't you just get on with it already?" he growled.

"If you insist! I set one monster facedown and then activate the Spell, Book of Taiyou, to flip it to face-up Attack Position!"

A horizontal Monster Card appeared on the field before being turned upwards the next instant, revealing another young girl wearing a beige coat under a white top and dark skirt. She had long green hair tied in a high ponytail that feathered out at the ends, and held a silver staff with a dragon design on the top that held a shimmering green crystal in its center (3/500-300/1500).

"Meet Wynn the Wind Charmer," Diana proclaimed. "Like Aussa, her effect allows her to take control of one of your monsters when she's flipped face-up. Her power only works on Wind monsters, though, but as luck would have it, your Kageki fits the bill. Do your thing, Wynn!"

Wynn held up her staff as the crystal in its center began to pulse with dazzling green light. Soon, Kageki fell under the light's spell and went over to join his bewitcher (3/200-0-1500/2000).

"Oh man... It's bad enough that Society of Light members keep brainwashing people, but now even their monsters get in on it, too?!" Dante gawked.

"Do you always have to be so loud?" Justin griped. "Still, with both of his monsters stolen from him like that, Nathan's not in the best position right now..."

"You got that right!" Diana cackled as she switched over to her Battle Phase. "First, I think I'll have my two new samurai friends here attack your pal directly! Go!"

Upon command, the bewitched Irou and Kageki turned their blades on their former master, cutting out a good chunk of his Life Points as he felt the sting of betrayal.

Diana: 8000

Nathan: 5000

"Now it's your turn, Aussa, Wynn!"

The two Charmers both conjured up spells from their staffs, a storm of rocks and wind soon slamming into Nathan.

Diana: 8000

Nathan: 4400

"And while I can't attack you anymore this turn, I'm far from done, because next, by sending my two Charmers to the Graveyard, along with a monster of their respective Attributes, I can summon their advanced forms from my Deck: Familiar-Possessed – Aussa and Familiar-Possessed – Wynn!"

At that moment, Aussa and Irou were incased in a rock tomb while Wynn and Kageki were surrounded by a wall of wind. When both barriers came down, the two samurai had vanished and the two Charmers were revealed to have transformed into beautiful teenaged versions of themselves (4/1850-1650/1500 each).

"Finally, I set one card and end my turn," Diana finished, another set card appearing at her feet as she smiled smugly. "So, what did you think of that?"

"I think...that I'm just gonna start my turn now," Nathan deadpanned as he drew a card, completely denying his opponent's yearning for recognition, much to her displeasure and his amusement. "I activate Pot of Greed."

He drew two new cards and then added, "Next, since you have monsters on your field while I don't, I'm able to Special Summon Elder of the Six Samurai from my hand."

An elderly man in white robs then appeared, sitting in a palanquin outfitted with four robotics limbs, two of which held crossbows. His face was obscured by a black veil and pair of red color-lensed glasses he wore over his eyes (3/400/0).

At that moment, Temple of the Six gained another Bushido Counter (TotS BC: 3), subsequently weakening Diana's monsters (FP - Aussa/FP - Wynn: 1650-1550/1500).

"I'll then summon The Six Samurai – Yariza in Attack Mode."

A samurai in dark blue armor with pale green accents took his place on the battle field. He wielded a yari with a glowing blade, which was linked to his kusazuri by a black cable (3/1000/500) (TotS BC: 4) (FP - Aussa/FP - Wynn: 1550-1450/1500).

"So, you summoned a pair of weaklings—big deal!" Diana jeered.

"In this case, it is a big deal," Nathan insisted, "because now that I have at least two monsters with 'Six Samurai' in their names, I can Special Summon their boss: Great Shogun Shien!"

The doors to the dojo suddenly slammed open, startling Diana's Spellcasters, and soon a warlord decked out in blood red armor with a flowing blue cape stepped out onto the field. The brass maedate on his kabuto was in the shape of a flame, and a blue flame insignia also appeared in the center of his dou, while the shogun's weapon of choice was an exceptionally sharp-looking katana (7/2500/2400).

Justin whistled. "Now that's cool."

"Totally," Dante agreed.

"W-Well, that monster's admittedly a little stronger than the others," Diana stuttered, "but, even so, he's the only one that can overtake my monsters, even with your Field Spell weakening them."

"For now, but that won't be the case after I activate my Continuous Spell, Solidarity," Nathan said as he played the card. "Since I only have Warrior-Type monsters in my Graveyard, all Warriors on my field gain 800 Attack Points."

The offensive power of all of Nathan's monsters increased (Elder: 400-1200/0) (Yariza: 1000-1800/500) (Shien: 2500-3300/2400).

"Next, I activate my face-down, Swift Samurai Storm!" the Samurai duelist went on. "Due to this card's effect, each turn after the first time one of my Six Samurai battles, all Six Samurai monsters I control gain 300 Attack Points until the End Phase."

Diana's scowl intensified at that.

"Now, let's battle," Nathan declared, commencing his Battle Phase. "Up first is Yariza, and thanks to his effect, since I control another Six Samurai monster, he can attack directly. Go!"

The spear-wielding warrior jumped forward and launched his weapon at Diana, which surely would have pierced her chest, had she not blocked it with her duel disk.

Diana: 6200

Nathan: 4400

Since Yariza had just battled the effect of Swift Samurai Storm! activated, increasing his and Elder of the Six Samurai's Attack (Yariza: 1800-2100/500) (Elder: 1200-1500/0).

"And now that he's stronger, I'll have my Elder attack Aussa," Nathan went on before the elderly warrior raised his hand, prompting the crossbows on his palanquin to fire two arrows at the aforementioned Spellcaster, empaling her before she was destroyed.

Diana: 6150

Nathan: 4400

"Finally, I use Shien to destroy your Familiar Possessed – Wynn!"

"You go ahead and do that, but not before I activate my face-down, Unpossessed!" Diana interjected as the Continuous Trap was revealed.

Whatever effects this new card had, negating attacks wasn't one of them, Nathan realized, as it did absolutely nothing to stop his shogun from cutting down Wynn with his katana.

Diana: 4300

Nathan: 4400

"Thanks for doing that, because now that you destroyed one of my monsters, I can activate Unpossessed's first effect to Special Summon one Spellcaster-Type monster with 1500 DEF from my deck in face-up Attack Position or face-down Defense Position, just as long as its Attribute is different from the destroyed monster's original Attribute," the Charmer duelist said before fanning out her deck to look an appropriate monster. When she found it, she slapped it onto her duel disk, and the image of a horizontal card appeared.

Nathan narrowed his eyes. "I bet that's going to be your Fire Charmer... It totally is, isn't it?"

"Huh? How'd you kno—" Diana started to blurt out, but caught herself, albeit a little too late, and then yelled, "I mean, what makes you say that?"

"Forget it," Nathan dismissed as he grabbed the last card in his hand and inserted it into his duel disk. "I set one card and end my turn."

During the End Phase, the effect of Swift Samurai Storm! then wore off (Yariza: 2100-1800/500) (Elder: 1500-1200/0).

"My move!" Diana drew her next card, looked at it, and instantly played it in her Spell Trap Card Zone. "I activate Harpie's Feather Duster! Now all of your Spells and Traps will be blown away!"

"In that case, I activate my Trap, Return of the Six Samurai, to Special Summon Legendary Six Samurai – Kageki from my Graveyard in Defense Mode. The only downside is that'll he'll be destroyed during the End Phase," Nathan said as the four-armed samurai returned (3/200-1000-2300/2000) ((TotS BC: 5).

Seconds later, a powerful storm of feathers erupted from the Charmer duelist's Spell Card, totally demolishing Temple of the Six and taking out his other Spell and Traps as well (Yariza: 1800-1000/500) (Elder: 1200-400/0) (Shien: 3300-2500/2400) (Kageki: 2300-1700/2000).

"Aw man... There goes all his monsters' Attack buffs..." Dante lamented.

"Those samurai are about to lose a lot more than a few Attack Points," Diana vowed, "because now I Flip Summon Hiita the Fire Charmer!"

"Called it..." Nathan muttered as his opponent's hidden monster was revealed to be a young girl with fiery red hair and eyes, dressed in a beige coat, a half-open white and black top, and a short black skirt. Like the other Charmers, she held a staff, hers made from ash wood, with the top set ablaze like a torch (3/500/1500).

"Maybe, but being right won't stop her effect!" Diana reminded. "When Hiita's flipped face-up, I can take control of one of your Fire monsters, so your shogun's coming with me!"

Although he tried to resist, Shien was ultimately no match for the Fire Charmer's hypnotic magic, and was soon lured in by the bewitching light from her fire until he had joined Diana's field.

"Men are always so weak-willed—They're hardly worth even keeping around," Diana mocked with a smug smile. "Actually, I won't even bother! I send Hiita and Shien to the Graveyard to Special Summon Familiar-Possessed – Hiita from my deck!"

Hiita and Shin were suddenly surrounded by a large column of spontaneous combusting fire. When the flames died down, the shogun had vanished, and Hiita was now a few years older and much more powerful (4/1850/1500).

"Now why would she give up Shien for a monster with less Attack Points...?" Justin wondered.

"Probably because she's smoking hot!" Dante joked. "Eh, see what I did there? Since she's a total babe and a Fire monster, and all."

The Slifer understood perfectly, but was still less than amused with his friend's terrible pun. "...Do I need to hit you again?"

"Next," Diana went on, "I banish my Earth Attribute Aussa the Earth Charmer and my Wind Attribute Wynn the Wind Charmer and Familiar Possessed – Wynn from my Graveyard to Special Summon Desert Twister from my hand!"

A powerful tornado of dust then blew in from out of nowhere, bringing with it a new monster. Unlike Diana's attractive Charmers, this new creature was a terrifying reptilian demon covered in dark green and tan scales and bulging muscles (6/2300/2000).

"Now I'll have Hiita attack Kageki, and follow that up by activating my Trap Card, Magician's Circle!" Diana announced. "When a Spellcaster of mine declares an attack, we both get to Special Summon a Spellcaster-Type monster with 2000 or less Attack from our decks in Attack Mode! I'll go with Familiar Possessed – Eria!"

A magic seal appeared on the field in that moment, allowing a portal to open up and a teenage girl with long blue hair to emerge. She was dressed similar to Hiita, but instead of a flaming wooden staff, she wielded one made of cool metal with a blue raindrop-shaped stone and green leaves decorating the top (4/1850/1500).

"I don't have any Spellcasters to summon..." muttered Nathan.

"Too bad!" Diana giggled. "Anyway, Hiita's attack continues!"

"A lot of good that'll do you, seeing how she's not strong enough to get past Kageki," the Obelisk male pointed out.

"That's where you're wrong, because thanks to the second effect of Unpossessed, when a Familiar Possessed monster attacks one of your monsters, she gains 800 Attack Points during damage calculation only," the Charmer duelist explained as Hiita's Attack suddenly jumped to 2650. "Not only that, but because Familiar Possessed – Hiita was Special Summoned by her own effect, she can also inflict piercing damage! Now, let him have it!"

The red-haired Spellcaster unleashed a blast of fire from her staff, incinerating Kageki.

Diana: 4300

Nathan: 3750

"Up next, Eria attacks Elder of the Six Samurai, which means Unpossessed's effect activates again!"

Eria's strength rose to 2650 just as a blast of water shot out of her staff like a geyser, which soon slammed into Elder, causing him to shatter in a shower of golden pixels.

Diana: 4300

Nathan: 1500

"Finally, take out Yariza, Desert Twister!" Diana commanded.

Her last monster conjured up another dust tornado that quickly headed Yariza's way, sucking the samurai up in its powerful winds and completely blew him away.

Diana: 4300

Nathan: 200

"Nice comeback there, Dia..." Veronica praised listlessly.

"Comeback? Please! I had control of this duel from the start!" the twin-tailed girl boasted, and then turned her attention back to Nathan. "Anyway, I end my turn. Enjoy your next move, because it's gonna be your last~"

Nathan just shot Diana a glare and drew his card in silence, knowing that if he were to say anything at that moment, it wouldn't be very appropriate. "I activate the Spell, Card of Sanctity. With this, we'll both draw until we're holding six cards!"

As both their hands were currently at zero, Nathan and Diana each drew six cards from their decks.

After getting a load of his new hand, Nathan, with a blank expression, stated, "Huh... I guess you were right about this being my last turn..."

"Oh? Does that mean you admit defeat and are giving up?" Diana asked hopefully.

The Samurai duelist allowed a smirk to form on his lips at that. "Hardly. In fact, it's the opposite, seeing how I now have what I need to finish you off."

"L-liar!" his opponent childishly argued.

"Liar? That's rich, coming from someone who joined a brainwashing cult that does nothing butlie." Nathan couldn't help but laugh at the irony. "Though if you need more convincing, I guess I'll just go on with my turn. I activate the Quick-Play Spell, Mystical Space Typhoon, and use it to destroy Unpossessed!"

As Nathan played his card, a cyclone suddenly whipped across the field and took out Diana's Trap.

"Next, I activate Reinforcement of the Army to add The Six Samurai – Nisashi from my deck to my hand, and then activate the Continuous Spell, Gateway of the Six."

Behind Nathan appeared a large feudal castle gate made of iron, and at its center was the same insignia that appeared on the other Six Samurai Spells played previously.

"Every time a Six Samurai monster is summoned, my Gateway'll gain two Bushido Counters," Nathan explained. "And I'll start adding to that right now by summoning The Six Samurai - Nisashi in Attack Mode."

A samurai garbed in green armor appeared, armed with a katana and a wakizashi that both glowed a bright green (4/1400/700). At that moment, two of the smaller symbols on Gateway to the Six lit up with blue light (GotS BC: 2).

"Next, I'll equip Nisashi with Legendary Ebon Steed, increasing his Attack and Defense by 200."

A black horse outfitted with black and purple armor galloped onto the field, and allowed the samurai to mount it (4/1400-1600/700-900).

"Big deal," Diana sneered. "Your warrior and his little horsy still don't stand a chance against any of my monsters."

"Maybe not by himself, but you should have learned by now that my samurai never work alone," Nathan said with grin. "Now that I have a Six Samurai monster out on the field, I can go ahead and Special Summon both Legendary Six Samurai – Kizan and Grandmaster of the Six Samurai from my hand!"

The next warrior to appear was a samurai with long black hair, dressed in black armor with gold accents and armed with daishō (4/1800/500), and next to him appeared his older counterpart who now sported long sliver hair and a beard, as well as an eye patch over his right eye. He wore a dark gray shitagi with gold trimmings, black gauntlets on his arms and wielded the same weapons as his younger self (5/2100/800) (GotS BC 2-4-6).

"Also, since I control at least two Six Samurai monsters, Kizan's effect comes into play, increasing his Attack and Defense by 300."

The Legendary Six Samurai was surrounded by a faint glow as his power increased (4/1800-2100/500-800).

"Those Six Samurai sure have some serious synergy," Dante marveled, and Justin couldn't help but nod in agreement.

"Now, I activate the first of my Gateway's effects," Nathan announced. "By removing two Bushido Counters from my field, I can target one Six Samurai or Shien monster I control and increase their Attack by 500 until the End Phase, and I pick Nisashi."

Two of the glowing seals on Gateway of the Six grew dark, their power transferring to the larger symbol in the door's center, which then cast a blue light onto Nisashi as his power increased (4/1600-2100/900).

"And I'll use that same effect two more times on Nisashi."

The four remaining Bushido Counters went out in pairs, their power used as fuel for the Gateway to power up Nisashi even further (4/2100-2600-3100/900).

"But why power up thatmonster?" Diana questioned, furrowing her eyebrows in confusion.

"There's a reason, but I don't think I'll share that until after I have Kizan and Grandmaster attack your Spellcasters," Nathan said with a grin before ordering the aforementioned samurai into action. The two warriors ran forward, skillfully using their katanas to take out Diana's temptresses, along with some of her Life Points.

Diana: 3800

Nathan: 200

"Next, I'll have Nisashi take out Desert Twister!"

With a battle cry, Nisashi took off on his steed and soon dealt a fatal blow to the fiend's mid-section with his swords, slicing it in two.

Diana: 3000

Nathan: 200

"Nice try, but I still have plenty of Life Points left!" Diana jeered.

"Not for long, though," Nathan retorted, grin still prevalent on his face. "Remember how you wanted to know why I kept making Nisashi stronger, twin-tails? Well, ya see, that's because while I control another face-up Six Samurai monster with a different name, he can attack twice this Battle Phase!"

Diana's face drained of all color as she began to realize exactly what that meant for her. "B-but that... But that means..."

"It means that we're done here," Nathan finished. "Attack her directly, Nisashi!"

On command, the samurai charged forth once more, and dealt two slashes to Diana's mid-section with his glowing blades, making her stagger back with a shriek as her Life Points hit zero.

Diana: 0

Nathan: 200 WINNER

"I...lost...?" Diana gasped as she fell to her knees, obviously still in shock. "No way... How could both Veronica and I have been defeated by a couple of unenlightened losers? It's not fair!"

"With an attitude like that, it's pretty easy to see why you lost," Nathan said as he walked up to his fallen opponent. "Maybe next time try not to underestimate your opponents so much, yeah? Would sure make you a bit more likable, at least."

Despite still not caring for the girl all that much, Nathan figured he'd at least show a little chivalry and offered her a hand.

Diana gave him an incredulous look and quickly swatted his hand away before jumping back up to her feet on her own. "Humph! As if I need your advice!" she huffed, and then childishly stuck her tongue out at him for good measure.

Nathan's eyebrow twitched in annoyance. Could this girl be any more of a brat? Seriously...

"Diana, wasn't that a little rude...?" Veronica sighed, evidently at least somewhat irked by her friend's behavior as well.

"So what if it was?" she replied with a haughty hair flip before turning her attention back to the boys. "Anyway, Veronica and I will regroup, for now, but we'll be sure make you losers all see the Light one day! Just you watch!"

With that, the two girls were off, Diana making a hasty getaway whilst dragging away her green-haired companion, who was barely able to give an airy wave goodbye before they were out of sight completely.

"Well, that sure was...interesting," Dante commented, not sure how else to describe the events that had just occurred.

"That's one way of putting it..." scoffed Nathan, once again jamming his fists into his pockets.

"Yes, but now that that's been taken care of, can we please just go to the museum already?" Justin asked.

The other boys nodded, thinking that a museum's quiet atmosphere was exactly what they needed right now.

. . .

Meanwhile, in another portion of Domino City, a white limousine pulled up in front of KaibaCorp Headquarters.

Walking up to the limo were two men wearing black suits and sunglasses.

"The President is expecting you," one of the men said as the limo doors opened up to reveal none other than Sartorius.

The tarot reader offered an enigmatic smile before stepping out of the vehicle and allowed himself to be escorted into the building. He was then led into an office on the top floor, where a tall man with short brown hair stood with his back turned as he stared out his window.

The man turned around once he heard the door close, cold, calculating blue eyes now trained on the psychic.

"So, you'reSartorius, leader of the Society of Light?"

Sartorius smiled and dipped his head in greetings. "How surprising it is that the famous Seto Kaiba is aware of my name... It truly is an honor."

Kaiba narrowed his eyes. "The Society of Light... That's a name I've been hearing a lot lately, even when I'd rather not, after all. I've also heard that you act like a god, able to predict all fates..."

Sartorius chuckled. "It's awe-inspiring that you see me as a god, but all humans are bound by the chains of destiny. Even I am no exception. However, because I happen to possess a power that is slightly unlike other humans, I am occasionally able to catch a glimpse of destiny through the cracks in the doors of the future".

The KaibaCorp CEO let out a hollow laugh himself at that before Sartorius continued. "The reason I have visited you today was because I had a request to ask of you, Mr. Kaiba. I would like ask if you would let me use your Kaiba Land Amusement Park for the duration of Duel Academy's field trip here in Domino City."

Kaiba looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "Use Kaiba Land?" He then closed his eyes and smiled again while he turned away. "Fine. You can do as you like."

"I am grateful for your generosity," Sartorius said as he bowed in respect. "That was all I have to ask of you. And so, now I will bid you farewell, Mr. Kaiba."

With that, the Society of Light leader took his leave.

Kaiba looked after him for a second before he closed his eyes again and mused, "That Sartorius is quite the suspicious-looking man..."

Roland, who was Kaiba's right hand man, looked at him. "Should we keep an eye on him?"

Kaiba, however, shook his head. "Just leave him alone. I've no interest in what he's up to."

"Yes, sir."

. . .

Sometime during Sartorius's meeting, Sachio had arrived at KaibaCorp Headquarters as well and waited outside, his gaze fixed on the building and his thoughts on Raiden Yuki—the young man who supported his brother and cared for him and was determined to find him, so much so that it distracted him from their duel.

He had decided that he would speak to Sartorius during the Field Trip. He had tried to talk with him after his duel against Raiden, but his elder brother had avoided him and continued to avoid him to the point where Sachio was unable to find him half the time. He had only found out recently that his brother had gone to Duel Academy again but, this time, as a student. When he noticed the Academy students arriving at the docks of Domino, he realized that this was his chance to speak to his brother. One way or another, he would speak to his brother and find out just what was going on.

Before, he had been too cowed by his brother's intimidating presence, unable to actually talk to him about his concern for him. But now, now he would have to do it. He told himself that he could do it. He cared for his brother just as much as Raiden cared for his; if Raiden could put his brother's welfare ahead of his own then so could Sachio.

The door to the headquarters opened and Sachio pushed himself away from the car he'd been leaning against as Sartorius walked towards him. Sartorius frowned, his eyes narrowing as he came to a stop in front of the younger man. "Sachio, what brings you here?"

"I need to speak to you, Big Brother," Sachio said firmly, swallowing his nerves. He did shift a little at those piercing eyes that, once again, burned a hole in him but, this time, he was not going to back down. He was not. He wanted to know what was going on with his brother and he wanted to help him and he would do it.

"Very well," Sartorius said and gestured toward the car. "Come, we will speak in the car."

Sachio, relieved that Sartorius seemed willing to listen to him, climbed into the car and Sartorius climbed in after him, giving instructions to the driver to head back to the hotel. He then turned to Sachio.

Again, Sachio felt those nerves and he was still feeling very unnerved by his brother's eyes. "I'm concerned about you, Sartorius," he said finally. "So is Sarina. You…You haven't been acting like yourself for a while now and have been keeping your distance. Something's wrong. I know it is. Please talk to me."

Sartorius continued to gaze at him with that unnervingly intense stare that made Sachio fidget. "I am perfectly all right, Sachio," he said finally.

Sachio could hear the tone of his brother's voice that suggested he should shut up and just accept his words. He almost did so until he remembered the determination that shone in Raiden's eyes, the determination that motivated him to find and help his younger brother, even if his younger brother was keeping his distance. Once again, feeling inspired by Raiden's determination, Sachio didn't let that stop him.

"I don't believe that, Big Brother. I know something's wrong. Please talk with me about it. I can help you," Sachio said firmly, determination in his voice as he held Sartorius's gaze unflinchingly. He was not going to back down. He would get his answers.

Sartorius's lips curved into a frown, his eyes softening just a fraction and, for a moment, Sachio thought he had gotten through to his older brother. However, then, Sartorius's eyes darkened again and that intense stare grew more intense and piercing. Sachio suddenly shivered, a chill running down his spine at the look on his big brother's face.

"You are starting to become a thorn in my side, Sachio," Sartorius said and his eyes seemed to light up. "But you are still loyal. Therefore, I will ensure that your loyalty remains mine."

Sachio's eyes widened as pure white Light filled his vision and then there was nothing.

. . .

Sartorius observed his vacant-eyed little brother impassively. Briefly, he felt a shred of guilt for doing that, but it was quickly squished. Normally, Sachio would have backed down after Sartorius told him that he was 'all right' and yet he had continued to push. Just where did such determination come from, he wondered silently as they came to a stop outside the hotel. "For now, return home and I'll call when I am need of help," he ordered.

"Yes, Big Brother," Sachio said monotonously and, almost robotically, climbed out of the car and walked away. Sartorius watched him go, his lips still quirked into a frown as he wondered just what had caused Sachio's sudden determination.

Could it be the one represented by the Justice card? The cards did say that he could potentially shape Sachio's fate as well as mine, Sartorius thought. Then he is as big a threat as Jaden.

Sartorius pushed all thoughts of his brother out of his mind as he also climbed out of the car and headed into the hotel room.

. . .

A/n what do you think?

Blaze: that ending is not one of mine or Misha's better works but I couldn't think of a decenter way to end it so ah well. At least it's an update!

Bakura: it's about damn time

Blaze: like you actually care

Bakura: tch

Blaze: anyway, the next chapter won't be out for a while. I'm trying to write the duel for it and figure out what actually happens so it may be a few weeks if not more. Sorry 'bout that.

Bakura: hmph, you probably won't update for another year

Blaze: shut up, Bakura. Just 'cause I'm slow on updating doesn't mean it'll take a year!

Bakura: it probably will

Blaze: (shoves Bakura into a vat of honey)

Bakura: WHY YOU (lets loose a string of curse words)

Lelouch: (peers into vat of honey) I thought you didn't do things like that to characters you like

Blaze: who told you that? I just don't kill the character I like (stabs Charles who randomly appeared out of nowhere)

Charles: what did I do?

Blaze: do you really need to ask? I'd run, by the way

Charles: why?

Lelouch: (ignites twin lightsabers and smirks at Charles)

Charles: oh...that's why (takes off running)

Lelouch: (chases after Charles)

V.V.: does that sadistic bastard ever get tired of killing Charles?

Blaze: about as often as Bakura gets tired of stealing

Suzaku: which is to say...never.

Blaze: so I hope that you guys enjoyed this chapter, even if it is a filler chapter, and reviews, as always, are much appreciated.