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Unexpected Bet

Elena's ears swiveled back and forward as she tried to listen for Zara's voice. This on its own was already difficult, as Zara naturally spoke in a quieter tone. What didn't help was the fact that the lunch area was filled with other students. The Glaceon was determined to find him though. From what Cerci had told her, the Zoroark apparently had a crush on someone. However, as fitting to his more reserved personality, he had yet to share his feelings with said person. This didn't sit well with Elena, as she was familiar with Zara's habits. She knew that, when it came to most things, Zara never went out of his way to go after something he wanted. Most of the time, she couldn't do anything about it. One or two things, she and her sister could help him with, but when it came to things like expressing his feelings and speaking up for himself, they couldn't really force him to. However, today provided a rare opportunity for the ice sibling. She was determined to get the dark type to come out of his shell for this one instance, even if it meant pushing some of his buttons.

She perked up as she spotted a familiar purple ponytail amongst the large cluster of morphs. With an almost shark-like grin, she began to close in on the unsuspecting Zoroark.

"And with no other monsters left on the field," said the morph sitting across from him, slipping a card out from his hand, "I summon Dark Magician. Attack you directly."

"Ah, you got me," sighed Zara in defeat, placing the cards in his hand down on the table.

"I told you I was the master," said the other morph with pride, collecting the other cards on the table and shuffling them back together. He glanced up as he noticed someone approaching them. Zara noticed him looking up and followed his gaze. He blinked in surprise upon recognizing Elena. She smiled and waved at him.

"Hey there, Zars," she greeted, taking a seat next to him, "I've been _looking_for you."

"Oh, really?" Zara replied, nodding to his friend as he handed him back his deck and left, "Why didn't you text me or something?"

"I did," Elena answered with a playful jab at his shoulder, "You weren't answering!"

"Seriously?" Zara blinked, slipping out his phone. He clicked the home button and was surprised to see multiple unanswered notifications. He bit his lip and put away his phone. "Sorry..." he apologized sheepishly, "I-I guess I got caught up in my game..."

"Well, it's alright," Elena sighed, "I managed to find you anyways. Thankfully."

Zara started shuffling the other deck absentmindedly as he asked, "So why'd you need to find me? Is something wrong?"

"Yes, Zara," Elena nodded, taking on a more serious tone, "Something is wrong.Terribly wrong, actually..."

Zara stopped shuffling. "Oh..." he said, flattening his ears against his head, "...What's wrong?"

"What's wrong?" Elena asked as though the answer was obvious. She jabbed a finger into Zara's shoulder as she went on. "What's 'wrong' is that, even a whole year of me n' sis being away, you're still keeping everything to yourself!"

Zara blinked, growing more and more worried. "What...do you mean?" Elena gave him a look.

"Come on, Zara," she said, "You don't need to hide it anymore. Cerci already told me you have a crush on someone." Zara's face immediately lit up bright red. With her suspicions having been confirmed, Elena only grew more encouraged. She began to bounce on her seat as she took hold of Zara's shoulders. "Why haven't you said anything? What do you have to lose by going up to whoever this person is?!"

Zara groaned inwardly as he feebly tried to pull away. "Well I...I'd just rather not..." Elena gave him another look.

"Zara, come on..." she scolded, "you really shouldn't be like that... If you like someone, you should just go up to them!" Zara kept his gaze to the side, trying to avoid eye contact with the ice type. Noticing this, Elena pursed her lips. "What's wrong? Is it because something's stopping you?" Zara dug his toes into the ground beneath the table, keeping his silence. "Well come on then, is it because you're afraid to talk to her? Is it because you don't wanna look bad?" Zara bit his lip and continued to remain silent. Elena sighed in slight irritation. "Is it because it's a guy? Are you afraid of being judged about it or something?"

Zara closed his eyes and shook his head. "No no, it's nothing like that..." Elena chuffed.

"Well why don't you just tell me then?" she said, tossing her paws up in the air before returning them to Zara's shoulder, "Like seriously. We're adults now! It's okay to talk about your feelings with others, especially close friends like sis n' I." Zara whimpered softly and kept his gaze down on his lap. Seeing this, Elena's ears lowered slightly, and she let up on him a bit. "You know...you don't have to keep doing this to yourself..." she said in a gentler tone, "It's okay to go after what makes you happy... Sis n' I only push you because we want you to be happy... And for something like this? Well...none of us want you to be lonely in the future... After all, we're not gonna be around forever, y'know..." Though his gaze still remained away from Elena's, Zara still nodded in response. The ice type gently stroked the side of his arm. "So like...how about letting us help...huh?" Zara bit his lip and shook his head again, making Elena go back to her more assertive tone. "What?! You're seriously bailing after a speech like that?!"

"I-I just..." Zara stammered, reluctant to go on, "I'm just not comfortable with saying anything..." Elena puffed her cheeks in frustration and looked around, seeming to search for anything that she could work out her frustrations on. She stopped searching as she noticed Zara's paws once again shuffling with his deck. She looked back to him and saw that he was still keeping his gaze away from her. She pursed her lips again and drummed her fingers atop the table as she tried to think of something to do. As she pondered, she found her eyes wandering back to the cards Zara was shuffling. She glanced up and noticed an extra deck lying around across from the Zoroark. She furrowed a brow as an idea began to form in her head. Though the chances were slim, she felt as though she had a chance at reaching to him with this idea. After deciding that there was nothing else to lose from trying, she stood up from her seat and began to move towards the other side of the table. Zara finally looked up as he felt her move away and was surprised to see her seat herself opposite to him and grab the other deck.

"Alright," she said, shuffling the cards in her paws, "How's about this then? I'll play you at your own game! And if I win, you have to agree to do whatever I say!" Zara stared back at the girl in disbelief, finding himself at a complete loss for words. Elena raised a brow. "Well come on then! You game or_not_?!"

"You're...you're serious?" Zara asked, seeming to question whether or not this was really happening.

"As serious as a heart attack," Elena quipped, continuing to shuffle the deck, "Come on! I can take you! I've seen the show! I know how this game works!kinda."

Zara stammered for a moment, struggling to find where his voice went. "You're...you're not gonna win... You don't know what the cards in that deck do... A-and plus there are these new rules that--"

"Hey don't count me out just yet!" Elena cut him off, pointing a finger at him, "Besides, I can READ!" You just watch! I'm gonna sweep the floor with you, n' you're gonna be staring back at me with your mouth hanging open like they do in the show!" Zara lowered his ears, still unsure of how to go about the situation. "So we doing this or WHAT?!"

Zara sighed in defeat and shrugged, setting his deck back down on the table. "Alright, I...guess we're doing this..."

"Damn STRAIGHT we are!" Elena exclaimed with an excited grin, slamming her deck down on the table and drawing five cards. "You ready?!"

"As ready as I'll probably ever be..." Zara sighed, drawing five cards as well.

"Alright! Then LET'S DUEL!" Elena shouted, prompting several morphs to glance over at their table. Zara couldn't help himself from smiling. Elena smiled back at him before putting on a game face. "Ladies first!" she exclaimed in an over exaggerated tone. She reached out with her paw and grabbed a card off the top of the deck. "Draw!"

"U-UH!" Zara suddenly spoke up, holding up a paw. Elena looked to him with a raised brow. Zara bit his lip and shrunk back down. "N-nothing... J-just go ahead."

"Hmph," Elena nodded in satisfaction before checking the card she had just drawn. Her eyes suddenly widened in recognition. "WHOA! You have EXODIA?!" Zara chuckled a little and nodded. Elena smiled again and started to giggle maniacally. "Booooyyyyy, you in troooooouuuuubllllleeeee." She looked back at her hand and started to read them each. "Okay um..." she began, plucking a card from her hand, "I acti-oh wait-AHEM. I activate the spell card, Hand Destruction!" She then placed the card down on the table. "With this card, we both discard TWO cards in our hand, and then DRAW_two cards from our _DECK!" She then followed the instructions that she had announced and discarded two cards from her hand. Zara smiled and did the same, drawing two cards from his deck as Elena drew two from her own. "Next, I summon to the field...my Chocolate Magician Girl! In ATTACK MODE!" This elicited a chuckle from Zara as she placed the card down on the table. "Next, I'll activate...her SPECIAL ABILI-stop laughing! I'm gonna break character!" Zara stifled his laugh and let her continue. "Ahem, so by DISCARDING one Spellcaster from my hand, I'm allowed to draw another card from my deck! So by discarding my Lemon Magician Girl, I get to draw ONE CARD!" As she drew her card, she swung her arm out wide in an exaggerated manner. Zara struggled to keep his laughter down as Elena went on. "OooOOOOH! I mean-ahem. I then set one card face down. Your move!"

Zara nodded at her in acknowledgement before drawing a card from his deck. He shuffled through the cards in his hand as he formulated his first move. "Okay...so first...I'll activate the field spell, Sky Iris." He then placed the card in the middle of the table. "This card will prevent you from destroying any Pendulum Monsters I play on my field."

"Pendulum Monsters?" Elena questioned, tilting her head slightly, "What are those?"

Zara lowered an ear as he tried to think of a way to explain. Once he found that he couldn't he shrugged and said simply, "You'll...you'll find out. I'll explain when it happens." Elena just shrugged as well and signaled for him to continue. "Next...I'll summon to my field, Performapal Skull Crobat Joker."

"Dialga, what a name," Elena commented as Zara placed the card down on the table.

"Once he's summoned, I get to activate his effect," Zara explained, "With it, I can search out any 1 Performapal, Magician, or Odd-Eyes Monster in my deck and add it to my hand." He then picked up his deck and shuffled through the various cards. "So I'll add Dragonpulse Magician to my hand." He added the card to his hand before shuffling his deck and placing it back down on the table. He then pointed to the field spell he had placed. "Then I'll activate the effect of Sky Iris. By destroying a face up card on my field, I can add an Odd-Eyes card from my deck to my hand. So I'll destroy my Crobat Joker to add Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon to my hand." As Zara moved Crobat Joker to the side of the table, Elena perked up.

"Wait a sec," she spoke up, "doesn't that guy go to the Graveyard?" Zara blinked in realization and set his deck down.

"Um...it's because it's a Pendulum Monster," he explained, "They get sent to my Extra Deck whenever they leave the field."

"Why though?" Elena asked. Zara bit his lip as he struggled to simplify the concept.

"It's...complicated," he eventually sighed, "You'll see, don't worry." Again, Elena shrugged and signaled him to continue. After adding the card from his deck to his hand, he went on. "Next, I'll activate Wisdom-Eye Magician and Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon." He then placed the two cards down on the table, earning another confused look from Elena. "...Y-you'll see... Just don't worry about it for now." Zara checked his hand again before continuing, "I'll then end my turn, and during my End Phase, I can activate the effect of my Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon. Once my turn ends, I can destroy it to add any Pendulum Monster from my deck to my hand that has an attack of 1500 or less. So..." He trailed off as he searched through his deck. He stopped to pluck a card out and place it on the table. "I'm adding Nobledragon Magician from my deck to my hand." After placing the card in his hand and shuffling his deck, he motioned to Elena. "Go ahead."

"Wait, really?" Elena questioned, "No monsters on your field or anything?" Zara simply nodded in confirmation. The Glaceon narrowed her eyes at him. "You're not going easy on me, are you?" Zara shook his head, stifling a chuckle. Elena smiled at him. "Well, well, well. Looks like you do want us to help you then." Zara blushed and bit his lip, lowering his gaze to the cards in his hand. Elena chuckled before drawing a card from her deck. "Okay, my move. DRAW!" Again, she swung her arm out in an exaggerated manner. "First, I'll summon...SANGAN to the field...IN ATTACK POSITION!" She slammed the card down on the table, shaking it slightly. "And now...with your field devoid of any monsters, I'll have my Chocolate Magician Girl attack you DIRECTLY!" She then thrust a finger out towards Zara. "GO!!! Uh...HOT...CHOCOLATE...s-SPLASH!" Zara fought to suppress his laughter as he brought his phone out to calculate his life points, bringing it down from 8000 down to 6400. "But that's not all," Elena continued, "Now, Sangan, attack him DIRECTLY!" Zara's fingers went back to his phone, bringing his life points down from 6400 to 5400. Elena then folded her arms across her chest and huffed. "It's your move."

Zara nodded and drew a card from his deck. "So first," he began, plucking a card from his hand, "I'll activate my Dragonpulse Magician." He placed the card down on the table nearby his Wisdom-Eye Magician. "Then I'll activate Wisdom-Eye's effect. Since I have another Magician card in my Pendulum Zone, I can destroy him and replace him with another Magician Pendulum Monster from my deck." He then moved Wisdom-Eye to where he had placed Crobat Joker. "So I'll place...Timegazer Magician on my field." Zara sighed after placing the card down from his deck. "Okay...so what I'm going to do now is called a Pendulum Summon--"

"Aw come on," Elena cut him off, "If you're gonna explain the cards, at least put a little pizazz into it! Y'know, like they do in the show!" Zara blushed and bit his lip, glancing around the area. "NONO! Screw what everyone else thinks! We're just trying to have some fun, so if they think it's weird, then screw 'em." Zara blushed again and looked back down at his cards. He glanced up to see Elena smiling at him, and he sighed in defeat.

"Okay then..." he began, "I uh...I'm going to--"

"Louder."

"...I'm going--"

"Louder." Elena chuckled.

"...I-I'm going--"

"Louder!" Elena laughed, "I can't hear you!"

Zara blushed brightly before taking a deep breath. "I'm going to perform a PENDULUM SUMMON!" Elena clapped with delight as he went on. He pointed to the two cards on his field. "With these two cards on my field, I've set my p-Pendulum Scale! Since their scales are 1 and 8 respectively, I can Special Summon as many cards as I want to from my hand and Extra Deck with Levels ranging from 2 to 7!" He then picked up the cards he had placed to the side. "So I summon...Skull Crobat Joker, Wisdom-Eye Magician, and Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!"

"WHAT?!" Elena shouted in an exaggerated manner as Zara placed the cards on his field, "Oh I mean-NANI?!" Zara laughed as he went on.

"B-but I'm not done," he exclaimed, his voice faltering slightly as he hesitated, "N-next I activate the effect of my Nobledragon Magician!" He plucked the card out of his hand and revealed it to Elena. "If this card is in my hand, and I have an Odd-Eyes monster on my field, I can reduce that monster's Level by 3 in order to special summon it to my field!" He used the card to point at Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon. "So, I reduce Pendulum Dragon's Level by 3 and Special Summon Nobledragon Magician to my field!" He placed the card down before reaching for another set of cards he had placed to the side. "But that's-ahem, but that's only the beginning. Because Nobledragon Magician is a Tuner Monster, I can use her to perform a Synchro Summon!" He hushed himself midway as someone walked by their table. He took away Nobledragon Magician and Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon and moved them to the side. "So I tune my Level 3 Nobledragon Magician with my Level 4 Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon to Synchro Summon...Odd-Eyes Meteorburst Dragon!"

"Not so fast!" Elena shouted, flipping up the card she had set down, "I activate my Trap Card...OBLITERATE!!!" Zara caught himself gasping as she announced the card. "By activating it, I can send 1 Forbidden One or Exodia card from my deck to the Graveyard in order to return a monster on the field to the hand! And you know what? Your Meteorburst Dragon's lookin' a little homesick, so I target HIM!" Zara blushed as he returned the card back to his Extra Deck. "And the card I'm sending to my Graveyard is...The Left Leg of the Forbidden One!" She did as she announced and moved the card from her deck to the Graveyard. Zara then glanced down at his field, then to Elena's.

"...I end my turn," he announced, motioning to Elena with a paw, "Your move."

The Glaceon nodded with satisfaction. "DRAW!" She checked the card she had drawn before continuing. "I activate the effect of my Chocolate Magician Girl ONCE MORE!" She plucked a card from her hand and placed it in the Graveyard. "So by discarding my Dark Magician, I'm allowed to draw ONE CARD!" After drawing it, she checked what she had drawn. "Oh and what a card I've drawn! I now activate...MYSTICAL SPACE TYPHOON! With this card, I can destroy 1 Spell or Trap Card on the field! And since it looks like your Timegazer Magician is a Spell, I target HIM!"

Zara held up a finger. "Um...actually...you can't." He then pointed at the Field Spell he had placed. "Sky Iris is protecting my Pendulum Monsters from those kinds of effects."

"Oh..." said Elena, "Whoops."

"It'd be better for you to target it," Zara suggested, "That way you could try and destroy them later."

"Oh...okay," Elena shrugged, "I do that then." Zara nodded and moved the card from the field to the Graveyard. "...Where was I? ...Oh yeah-Now I use my Chocolate Magician Girl to attack your WISDOM-EYE MAGICIAN!" Zara moved his card to the side as he reduced his life points from 5400 to 5300. "Hmph. It looks like girls make for better magicians after all~" She then shifted Sangan's card sideways. "I switch Sangan to Defense Mode and end my turn..."

Zara nodded and drew a card. He flinched as he saw what he had drawn. He then glanced up at Elena as he contemplated. ...Should I? he thought, glancing back down at what he had drawn, Well...I still don't wanna lose this...so I guess I should... He shrugged and took in a breath. "First off, I'll activate the effect of my Dragonpulse Magician. As long as I have another Magician card in my other Pendulum Zone, I can discard a Pendulum Monster from my hand to destroy any 1 monster on the field and destroy it! So...I discard the Timegazer Magician I have in my hand to the Graveyard, I destroy your Chocolate Magician Girl!"

"NOOO! NOW who will deliver delicious chocolate treats to the little boys and girls?!" Elena exclaimed, making Zara chuckle.

"Next, I'll perform another Pendulum Summon!" He reached for the cards he had set aside and began placing them down. "So I summon...Nobledragon Magician, Pendulum Dragon, and Wisdom-Eye Magician back to my field!" Once they were all in place, he looked back down to his hand and pursed his lips. "And...well...now I'm going to perform a Tribute Summon..." Elena tilted her head, noticing his shift in tone. "So...I tribute...Nobledragon Magician...Wisdom-Eye Magician...and Skull Crobat Joker..."

Elena's eyes began to widen as Zara took away the third monster. "...No...you wouldn't..."

Zara bit his lip before slipping out the card he had drawn. "By tributing those three monsters, I summon...Obelisk The Tormentor...to my side of the field." Almost reluctantly, he placed the card down on the table. He let out a sigh, all of his enthusiasm from before seeming to have disappeared. "And due to Obelisk's effect, you won't be able to use Obliterate's effect on it...since it targets... Ahem, first, I'll have my Pendulum Dragon attack your Sangan." There was a pause before Elena realized that she needed to act. She silently moved the card from the field to the Graveyard. Zara waited a moment before speaking up. "...Aren't you going to activate Sangan's effect?"

"...Huh?" she asked with a tilt of her head, "...OH right, yeah. Um..." She picked up her deck and sifted through her cards. "I'll add...uh...The Right Leg of the Forbidden One to my hand..." She silently placed her deck back down after adding the card.

"And then..." said Zara, his ears beginning to lower, "I'll have Obelisk...attack you directly..." Seeing that Elena was doing nothing to respond, Zara slid his phone over and reduced her life points from 8000 to 4000. "Um...your turn..."

Elena nodded slowly before drawing a card from her deck. ...Wow..._she thought, _he...he's legitimately trying to win this... He wasn't going easy on me at all... She looked down at her hand, noting what she had. The Right Leg...The Right Arm...Exodia himself...Hand Destruction... Just two pieces left... She cringed. Shoot, but I sent one of the pieces to the Graveyard with Obliterate... What's the point of that card? Why would you get rid of an Exodia card? She then glanced at the card she had just drawn; Gold Sarcophagus. ...From the looks of things...this card would take too long... I'd probably lose before I got what I needed... She then glanced over to Zara's field, noting the cards he had out, as well as the cards set to the side. ...Man...what's with that stupid overpowered Pendulum stuff anyways?! How's that any fair?! She puffed her cheeks in frustration as she contemplated what to do. Man...if I lose this...then Zara's never gonna express himself to his crush... Man...I wish_you could just come out of your shell...at_ least_for this..._ She furrowed a brow and shook her head before looking over to Zara. "Hey," she began, "Don't think I'm out just yet! I've still got cards in my hand, life points to spare, and something-something perseverance! So if you think that I'm gonna turn tail because of your little God Card, then you've got another thing comin,' mister!" Seeing that Zara still wasn't convinced, Elena slipped a card out from her hand. "Watch this! From my hand, I activate the spell card, Hand Destruction!" She smiled confidently as she returned her gaze to Zara. "In case you forgot, Hand Destruction makes us both discard 2 cards from our hand to draw two cards from our decks! So I'm discarding my Gold Sarcophagus...and the Right Leg of the Forbidden One!" Silently, Zara picked two cards from his own hand and discarded them to the Graveyard.

"Now for the moment of truth!" Elena announced, hovering her paw over her deck, "Alrighty...Heart of the Cards...time to do your thing... I...DRAW!" She swung her arm out to the side and held it there for a moment. Zara blinked in confusion, waiting for her to check her cards. Realizing that she was apparently pausing for dramatic effect, Zara decided to draw his own two cards. Come on baby, money's on black... Slowly, Elena brought the cards she had drawn closer for her to see. She read each card carefully, and once she was done, a smile spread across her muzzle. "Jackpot," she whispered before looking back to Zara, "Looks like the Heart of the Cards is on my side, Zars, because I activate...the spell card...DARK HOLE!" As she slammed the card down on the table, Zara let out an audible gasp. "With THIS card, all monsters on the field are destroyed! And since it doesn't say anything about targeting, your little Obelisk is ALSO destroyed! So say goodbye to your precious God Card!" Left completely speechless, Zara moved Obelisk to the Graveyard and moved Pendulum Dragon off to the side. "But wait! THAT'S NOT ALL!" Elena shouted confidently, waving around the other card she had drawn, "I've still got one card left! I already know that you're going to bring all of those monsters back with that Pendulum nonsense, so I'm activating my other spell card...the SWORDS OF REVEALING LIGHT!!!" Again, she slammed the card down on the table as Zara gasped in shock. "With THIS card, you're not allowed to attack me for, not 1, not 2, but 3 TURNS!" Letting out a huff of pride, she folded her arms across her chest and sat back down. "This duel ain't over YET! YOUR MOVE, ZARA!"

For a moment, all Zara did was stare back at Elena with a dumb-founded look. He was still having a hard time processing what had just happened. Against all odds, she had somehow made a comeback. His heart began to race at the thought of losing this duel and subjecting himself to the ice type's whim. There was no telling what she'd make him do, but he knew for a fact that he couldn't allow that to happen, not if he wanted to keep their friendship intact...

Recollecting himself, he drew a card from his deck and checked his hand. He took a moment to formulate what he wanted to do before putting everything into motion. "I'll start things off with a Pendulum Summon," he announced, grabbing the cards he had set aside once more, "So I summon to the field...Pendulum Dragon, Wisdom-Eye Magician, Skull Crobat Joker, Nobledragon Magician, and from my hand, Oafdragon Magician." Once he had placed everything on his field, he pointed at Oafdragon. "Now I activate his effect. Whenever I Special Summon him to my field, I'm allowed to add a Magician Pendulum Monster from my Graveyard to my hand. So I'm adding to my hand...the Dragonpit Magician that I discarded from Hand Destruction!" He then pointed to Nobledragon Magician. "Next, I'll tune my Level 3 Nobledragon Magician with my Level 4 Wisdom-Eye Magician." He moved Wisdom-Eye to the side, but didn't do the same to Nobledragon. "Since the monster I'm Synchro Summoning with isn't an Odd-Eyes Monster, Nobledragon Magician gets sent to the bottom of my deck." He then reached over to his Extra Deck and slipped out a card. "And with the two of them, I Synchro Summon to my field...Clear Wing Synchro Dragon!" He let out a sigh as he placed the card on the table, anxiously shuffling the cards in his hand. "Your move..."

Elena smirked slightly, noticing how serious Zara had suddenly become. Still think you're gonna win this, huh? she thought, Sorry Zara, but I don't plan on losin' this thing... She plucked a card from her hand and placed it down on the table. "I set a monster card face down on my field. Then...I activate the effect of Obliterate!" She picked up her deck and pointed at Synchro Dragon. "So by sending the Left Arm of the Forbidden One to the Graveyard, I return your Dragon back to your Extra Deck!" Zara flinched, having forgotten that she still had that card out. "Your move," she announced after placing the Left Arm in the Graveyard. Zara nodded and drew a card from his deck.

So this will be the second turn of Swords, he thought, _and she doesn't seem to have anything but that facedown to protect her..._Zara looked back up to meet Elena's gaze. "I end my turn."

Elena nodded and reached for her deck. "Okay then... Draw!" She checked the card she had drawn before furrowing a brow. Once she was done, she smiled before setting the card down on the table. "I'll set this card face down and end my turn."

And this makes 3 turns, Zara thought as he drew his next card. He checked it, and his eyes widened slightly. He looked back to Elena as he placed his drawn card on the field. "I'll activate my Mystical Space Typhoon," he announced, pointing at Obliterate, "and with it, I'll destroy your Obliterate."

Elena smirked and moved the card to the Graveyard. "Why thank you, Zara, because now I get to activate Oblierate's second effect! Since it was sent to the Graveyard, I get to add an Exodia piece from my Graveyard to my hand. So I'll add the Left Arm to my hand." She did as she announced and added it to her hand. "But that's not all, because next I activate my face down card...Eternal Soul!" She quickly flipped it up as she reached for her deck. "And with this card, I'm allowed to add a Dark Magic Attack from my deck to my hand."

Zara nodded as she got the card she was looking for. "I end... Your turn." He then pointed at her Swords card. "Also, uh...that makes 3 turns, so Swords of Revealing Light has expired."

"Hm?" Elena asked, looking up from her hand, "Oh yeah, forgot that was there. Heh..." Eagerly, she tossed the card onto her Graveyard and reached for her deck. "Alright, my move... DRAW!" She only glanced at her next card as she suddenly stood up. "Okay, alright, Zara, you ready for this? Cuz I don't think you're_ready_ for this! It's a good thing you're sitting, cuz you're gonna fly out of your seat once I'm through with my turn! You ready?!" Despite the serious tone Zara had put on earlier, he was finding himself smiling once more from Elena's antics. "What was that?! I didn't hear you! I said you READY?!"

"I'm ready," Zara replied with a smile, sitting up in his seat slightly.

"Good!" Elena exclaimed, grabbing the cards in her Graveyard, "Cuz I'm about to make my super-awesome comeback! I activate the other effect of Eternal Soul! With it, I'm allowed to Special Summon a Dark Magician in my hand or Graveyard!" Her smile widened as she searched out a card in her Graveyard. "And guess what? This guy's been sitting in my Graveyard since several turns ago! Now it's time that he finally took the stage and entered the spotlight! So how's about a warm welcome for the one and only...DARK MAGICIAN!" She slammed the card down on the table, giving Zara a look of confidence. "And because of Eternal Soul, he won't be affected by any of the junk you throw at him! But that's not all! Oh no, FAR from it!" She then plucked out a card from her hand and waved it around. "Remember this from earlier?! Well, it's Dark Magician's personal card, Dark Magic Attack! And with it, I can destroy ALL of your Spell and Trap cards! And that INCLUDES your stupid PENDULUM CARDS!" Once again, Zara found himself in a state of shock as he moved his cards to the side. "And now that that's out of the way...Dark Magician, show that Crobat Joker the door!" Elena laughed victoriously as Zara moved the card aside and reduced his life points from 5300 to 4600. "Take THAT, sucka! Your move!"

There was a brief pause, Zara seeming to have gone quiet again. Suddenly growing concerned, Elena looked back down to see Zara looking down at his lap. She bit her lip, suddenly regretting being so strong in her exclamations. But before she could say anything or apologize, she heard Zara...laugh? She blinked as she realized that the Zoroark was indeed laughing. His gaze slightly raised and allowed her to see the smile across his muzzle. This made her smile, as she was thankful that she hadn't gone too far or anything. They were still having fun. If anything, from the way Zara was blushing, he was having the time of his life. "That was a good move, I admit," he sighed, straightening back up, "and honestly...I'm glad it isn't over yet... I'm having a ton of fun..."

Elena smiled. "Me too, Zars... I haven't had fun like this in a while."

"Yeah..." Zara nodded, closing his eyes, "and I gotta say...I'm really glad you guys came to this school. It makes me...really happy." Elena fought the urge to squeal. The boy had finally opened up to her! This was the first time in what felt like an eternity since he had last done so to her or her sister. "But..." Zara continued, wiping the smile off of Elena's muzzle, "I agreed to put something on the line for this duel...so that means I can't hold back..." He opened his eyes again and locked his gaze with Elena's in an unbreakable grip. "You said you'd beat me at my own game... Now let's see if you can deliver on that promise." Zara's bright yellow eyes suddenly flashed, and lights began to trail up from the ground behind him. Elena gasped as the lights rose up and formed the image of a winged warrior and a giant dragon. Their sudden presence startled the rest of the students, and all eyes went to them. It took a moment for Elena to realize that the two of them were the monsters Zara had summoned to his field. Her heart leapt as she whirled around and saw the Dark Magician himself floating behind her, with a large stone tablet floating behind him. She smiled as she realized that this was all Zara's doing, his illusions having gone to work. "It seems like the real duel is starting now, Elena," said Zara, grabbing the ice type's attention once more. She blinked in surprise as she noticed that Zara's hair had turned from its usual bright purple to a crimson red. Just from the way he was sitting, Elena could see just how confident he had suddenly become.

This guy just pulled a Yugi-friggin-Moto on me, she thought, Goddamn!

"It's my turn now!" Zara shouted with energy, "I DRAW!" He checked the card first before nodding to himself. Right away, he placed his new card down on the table. "I activate the spell card, GOLD SARCOPHAGUS!" An aura streamed out from the card before floating up and forming a large golden sarcophagus behind him. "With this card, I can banish a card from my deck for 2 turns! And once those turns are up, the card that I banished gets added to my hand! So I'm banishing the card...Pendulum Call!" He tossed the card up in the air, and it shot into the open sarcophagus before it closed shut. "Now, Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon, attack Elena's face down card!" The dragon let out a roar as it leapt into the air and spread its "wings." As it opened its mouth and gathered its energy, a large face down card appeared over Elena. A smirk suddenly crossed her face.

"Sorry, Zara!" she shouted at him, matching his energy, "But you shouldn't have done that! I reveal my face down monster, MARSHMALLON!"

"What?!" Zara exclaimed as the card flipped up, allowing the gelatinous creature to emerge. Pendulum Dragon roared as it fired off its attack. The stream of energy bounced off of Marshmallon and rebounded it towards Zara, who grunted as the stream struck him instead. Everyone in the courtyard gasped in awe at the ongoing spectacle. "Because of Marshmallon's effect," Elena shouted, "it can't be destroyed by battle! On top of that, since you attacked it when it was face down, you take 1000 points of damage!" A frame suddenly popped up next to Zara, displaying his life points dropping from 4600 to 3600. Zara huffed and brushed a strand of hair away from his eyes.

"Fine then," he said, turning one of his cards sideways, "I switch my Oafdragon Magician to Defense Position and end my turn. Your move!" As he said this, Oafdragon kneeled down beside Zara and leaned against his staff.

"Alright, it's my turn, DRAW!" Elena shouted with a slight laugh. Man, he's really getting into this! "First, I'm activating the other effect of Eternal Soul!" The tablet behind Dark Magician began to glow as she went on. "So like before, I can add a Dark Magic Attack card from my deck to my hand! Next, I'll have my Dark Magician attack your Oafdragon Magician!" Dark Magician shouted out as he shot forward, whirling his staff around as he closed in on the crouching target. "GO! DARK MAGIC ATTACK!" Dark Magician let out a battle cry as he swung his staff up above him to allow a purple aura to gather around it. He then whirled around and hurled the gathered up energy at Oafdragon. The attack exploded upon impact and filled the area with smoke for a moment. Once it was clear, Oafdragon was nowhere to be seen, and Dark Magician had returned to Elena's side. She smiled as she heard the crowd around them begin to cheer. "Your go, ponytail!"

"Right, DRAW!" Zara shouted as he drew his card. He grunted as he realized what he had drawn. With a nod, he returned his gaze to his opponent. "Before I do anything, this is the first turn for my Gold Sarcophagus!" Right on cue, the floating sarcophagus glowed brightly and the cover on top began to raise ever so slightly. "During my next turn, the Pendulum Call that I banished will be added to my hand!" He then tossed his card down on the table. "I then set one card face down and end my turn!"

"Ha! That's it?!" Elena shouted, once again exaggerating herself, "You're gonna need to do more than that if you plan on beating me! My move! DRAW!" She checked the card she had drawn and furrowed a brow. After taking some time to understand what she had just drawn, she moved on. "First, I think I'll get rid of that little face down card you placed earlier... So I'm activating...my DARK MAGIC ATTACK!" She slammed the card down on the table, and Dark Magician began to whirl his staff around. "And in case you forgot what it did, Dark Magic Attack allows me to destroy all Spell and Trap Cards you control! So say goodbye to that face down of yours!" Dark Magician let out a roar as he prepared to fling his attack at Zara.

"Well then," he shouted, reaching for his card, "if you plan on destroying it, then I might as well USE IT! I activate my trap card...DUST TORNADO!!!" Suddenly, a freak tornado emerged from Zara's card and flung itself towards the tablet set behind Dark Magician. "With this card, I can destroy any Spell or Trap Card on my opponent's side of the field! So I'm picking...your Eternal Soul card!" The tornado powered through it until it was reduced to dust. As it was destroyed, the tornado spread out and struck Dark Magician and Marshmallon. They both cried out before being reduced to dust as well.

"What?!" Elena shouted in confusion, "W-what happened to my monsters?!"

"It's the additional effect of Eternal Soul," Zara explained, folding his arms across his chest, "Whenever it's destroyed, it takes any monsters you currently control with it!" Elena clicked her tongue before remembering to exaggerate herself. She then let out a low snarl. "But that's not where it ends! I'm activating the second effect of my Dust Tornado! With it, I'm allowed to set 1 Spell or Trap Card face down on my field!" He tossed one of the cards in his hand down onto the table. "Okay, Elena, give me your best shot!"

Elena pursed a lip. "...I WILL!" ...once I figure out what the heck to do..._she thought. She looked back down at her hand and read through her new card again. _Okay...so if this thing lets me get back Exodia cards from my Graveyard, then it must be why Obliterate is in this deck in the first place... She shifted her gaze over to the three Exodia cards in her hand. ...Ah what the hell...I'll give it a shot..._With a firm nod, she grabbed one of the pieces and looked to Zara. "Here goes nothing, Zara! First, I summon to the field...The Left Arm of the Forbidden One!" Zara gasped as the arm of Exodia emerged behind Elena and floated in place. "Now I'm sure you're asking yourself; why would you _ever summon to the field one of the cards you need that lets you win the game all at once?! Well...I'll show you...RIGHT NOW!" She then tossed her arm up before shouting, "I tribute the Left Arm of the Forbidden One...in order to summon...the LEGENDARY EXODIA INCARNATE!!!"

A pillar of light shot up around the Left Arm, surrounding it and blocking it from sight. It began to emerge from the pillar, but then it was followed by another arm. Then a leg, and then another leg. And finally, the hulking figure emerged from the pillar of light to reveal its face, and it was the face of none other than Exodia. Elena then punched the air with pride before shouting, "Now, Exodia Incarnate, attack Zara's Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!" Incarnate raised its hands close to its chest as a strong aura began to focus between its palms. "And since this guy's attack is based on how many Exodia pieces are in my Graveyard, he gains an attack power of 3000, making it STRONGER than your Pendulum Dragon! Now...GO! Take him OUT!" With a roar, Incarnate thrust its palms forward and shot out a torrent of power, annihilating Pendulum Dragon within seconds. As the smoke cleared away, the crowd gave another round of applause. Zara cringed as his life points went from 3600 down to 3100. "I then set one card face down and end my turn!" Suddenly, Incarnate itself began to flash. "Oh right! At the end of my turn, I get to add an Exodia piece from my Graveyard to my hand! So I think I'll be getting back the Left Arm that I used earlier!" She let out a satisfied huff as she added the card to her hand. "Now...give me your best shot, Zara!"

"Gladly. I DRAW!" Zara glanced at the card he had drawn before placing it in his hand. Nothing I use on this guy will work..._he thought, _so...that means I'm gonna have to use nothing but brute force... "FIRST OFF!" Zara announced, pointing at the floating sarcophagus behind him, "The effect of my Gold Sarcophagus now activates! Two turns have passed, so now the Pendulum Call I banished earlier gets added right to my hand!" As the sarcophagus opened and vanished, a card flew out of it and shot into Zara's waiting paw. He wasted no time in tossing it down on the table. "And now, I activate it! Now I discard a card in my hand to add 2 differently named Magician Pendulum Monsters from my deck to my hand. So I'm tossing my Performapal Salutiger in exchange for...Nobledragon Magician and Stargazer Magician! And now..." He plucked two cards from his hand and tossed them onto the field. "I activate my Stargazer Magician and my Dragonpit Magician in my Pendulum Zones!" Two pillars of light appeared behind Zara as the two Magicians descended from the sky, floating in their respective pillars.

"And now that the Pendulum Scale is set...I perform a PENDULUM SUMMON!" He tossed his paw up in the air as a large pendulum tip swung down from nowhere, forming a line of light above Zara. "Now...return to my field...my MONSTERS!" The line of light suddenly opened up, and jumping through it were the monsters Crobat Joker, Pendulum Dragon, Oafdragon Magician, Wisdom-Eye Magician and Nobledragon Magician. As they all landed on the ground, the crowd let out a roar of approval. "Next, the effect of my Oafdragon Magician activates!" Zara shouted over the crowd, "Because he was Special Summoned, I can add a Magician Pendulum Monster from my Graveyard to my hand. And I'm adding...Timegazer Magician!" The card flew out of Zara's Graveyard and into his hand. He gripped it before tossing it back in. "But I'm afraid he's not staying for long, because I'm activating the effect of Dragonpit Magician! As long as I have another Magician Pendulum Monster in my Pendulum Zone, I can send a Pendulum Monster from my hand to the Graveyard to destroy 1 Spell or Trap Card on the field. So I'm destroying...your FACE DOWN CARD!" Dragonpit Magician swung his staff around with his eyes locked on Elena.

"Hmph, you know what they say..." she huffed with confidence, "What comes around goes around! Just like you did to me, I'm going to activate my face down before you can destroy it! So go...WABOKU!" Zara gasped as the card was revlealed. "Now, for the rest of this turn, not only are monsters protected from being destroyed, but players are also protected from BATTLE DAMAGE!"

Zara let out a huff and folded his arms across his chest. "Well then...you may be safe for this turn, but on my next turn, I'm ending this duel! So in preparation for that..." He tossed an arm towards the air again as he shouted out, "I perform a Synchro Summon!" Suddenly, Nobledragon and Wisdom-Eye shot up into the air. As they soared upwards, Nobledragon burst into a ring of light and surrounded Wisdom-Eye. "By tuning my Level 3 Nobledragon Magician with my Level 4 Wisdom-Eye Magician, I call back to my field...my Odd-Eyes Meteorburst Dragon!" A pillar of light shined down upon the ground, and with a thundering roar, Meteorburst Dragon emerged from it and stood proud alongside all of Zara's other monsters. "Sorry, Elena," said Zara, "but it's all over on my next turn. With Exodia Incarnate losing attack points from you adding Exodia pieces from your Graveyard back to your hand, you're gonna be defenseless against all of my monsters. It was fun... Really fun... But like all good things, this duel...must come to an end... It's your move..."

Elena gulped as she stared back at all of the different monsters towering over her. He's right..._she thought with dread, _I don't have a way to discard all of my Exodia pieces to make Incarnate stronger... And once I end my turn...I'll only have 4 out of the 5 pieces that I need! I...might actually lose against him... A sad expression crossed her face as she looked across the table to Zara. Her heart dropped at the thought of him keeping his true feelings bottled up for the rest of his life. She cringed and shook her head. No...I'm not letting that happen... Her gaze drifted over to her deck. Heart of the Cards..._she thought, _you've been good to me so far... How's about one last time? She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, slowly moving her paw over her deck. Come on, baby...mama needs a new pair of miracles! "I...DRAW!" She swung her arm to the side, holding it there not for dramatic effect, but out of fear of what was to come. This legitimately was going to either make it or break it. If this didn't win her the game, Zara was going to go back to his regular old self. He was going to let himself miss his opportunity for happiness, and that was something that Elena didn't think she'd be okay with living with. Taking one last deep breath, she brought her card closer and checked what she had drawn. She stared at it for a moment before silently placing it down on the table. "I...set one card face down...and end my turn..." Low murmurs could be heard all around her as she reached for her Graveyard. "And with Incarnate's effect, I add the Left Leg of the Forbidden One to my hand... Your move, Zara..."

Zara pursed his lips and let out a sigh. He silently drew his card as he said, "Elena...I'm actually really glad that you wanted to do this... But...with what I've put on the line...I can't let you win this duel... I'm...sorry..."

A shark-like grin suddenly spread across Elena's muzzle. "Who said that I've lost?" Zara blinked in confusion, taking a moment to process what he had just heard. Elena's smile remained bright as she raised her gaze back up. "Sorry to tell you, Zars, but it's ME that's winning this game. And here's why! I activate my face down card...BACKUP SOLDIER!!!" Zara gasped as the card was revealed, his ears lowering and his jaw dropping open. "With THIS card, as long as I have 5 or more monsters in my Graveyard, I can add up to 3 Normal Monsters from my Graveyard to my hand! And there's only ONE card that I need, and that's the Right Leg of the Forbidden One...the FINAL PIECE of Exodia!!!" Elena dropped her hand down on the table as lights began to shine off of Exodia Incarnate. "And now I have ALL 5 PIECES OF EXODIA! This duel is OVER, Zara!!!" Elena stood up from her seat and thrust a finger towards Zara as Exodia raised its hands up to its chest. A raging aura surged out from it as Elena stood there with a prideful look on her face. "Now...Exodia...OBLITERATE!!!!!!!!!!!!" Exodia let out a tremoring roar as it thrust its arms forward, hurling a blast of immense power at Zara. The Zoroark cried out as the blast wiped out all of his monsters in one single strike and knocked him down to the ground.

The crowd burst into cheers as the illusions faded away. Elena laughed and bowed to everyone before she hurried over to Zara's side. She knelt down beside him and couldn't help but chuckle as she saw the slack-jawed, dumbfound look on his face. "...Wow..." he gasped, "...you really did it... You managed to beat me..."

"Heh...yeah I did, didn't I?" she said with pride, brushing several strands of hair out of Zara's eyes. "Y'know...I wasn't really sure about this plan at first...but...I actually had a lot of fun! We should do this again sometime, huh?"

"...Y-yeah..." Zara stammered, offering her a soft smile, "...I-I'd like that..."

"Great," Elena replied with satisfaction. Then, with a clap of her paws, she stood back up. "So, 12:00 tomorrow, we'll start with you showing me who your crush is, got it?"

Zara's smile instantly vanished. "I...I-I-but--"

"Good," Elena cut him off before she started skipping away, "See ya later then! GG or whatever you're supposed to say!"

"Hey sis!" Zara heard Cerci call from a distance, "Did I just see you play a children's card game?!"

"Shut up, Cerci!" he heard Elena back before the two of them faded amongst the noise of the crowd. After a moment of staring up at the sky, Zara stuffed his face into his paws and groaned.