[hider=THE NOBLEST OF DUELS[/hider]
The battle betweeen the fairies and the spirit beasts had, of course, been a skillful and wonderful match to witness, although by the end, it was clear that Michelle had an overwhelming advantage. Anna kept er gaze to the floor, not quite wanting to watch someone cry. Especially when she had a sneaking suspicion that was going to happen to herself in about two minutes.

Jumping at the sound of her name, Anna was immediately on her feet, shaking nervously. She had her deck, her disk... well, she was all set, but...

[i]I'm not gonna win, am I?[/i] Anna fretted as she glanced in Xi's direction, [i]There's no way I can. I can't play the deck properly, right? I've got no-[/i]
A reassuring hand gripped her shoulder, the familiar voice of her king speaking, "there's nothing to fear, my loyal knight. Regardless of the outcome, you are stilla noble warrior."

Anna stopped shaking, though she still harbored doubts. Even though Artorigus gave this kind of motivation all the time, she still lacked a 100% win rate. Well... at least she could walk to the stage without breaking down now.

[i]I'm a knight, I'm a knight, I'm a knight...[/i] she told herself, taking position. After a few moments of internal chanting and slow breathing, she stared at her opponent, seemingly lacking the dread that once gripped her, and instead gave a resolute stare from behind her glasses.

By contrast, Xi seemed plenty confident already. Even if she didn't, very much unlike Anna, there was no spirit partner on Xi's side to reassure her. Her, and only her. She wouldn't have it any other way. Setting her deck in her duel disk, Xi looked across the dueling field at her opponent. "You know, you could always just surrender now. Save us both the trouble."

"...A true knight would never surrender without just cause," Anna replied, activating her disk.

"Well well, looks like somebody's got guts. Guess I'll have to do this after all," Xi retorted, activating her own disk, awaiting the signal to go from the one and only Student Council Prez. Did she really care who went first? No. To her, what counted was whose turn the duel ended on.

"The computer has decided," Kim's voice rang out. "Anna will go first! DUEL!"

[b]Anna: 8000[/b]
Xi: 8000

"Very well," Anna drew her first five cards, "may the best duelist win."

Anna's hand looked... less than optimal, honestly. Only one monster to summon... well, at least he was powerful.

"I shall summon my first ally!" Anna declared, "Come forth, Noble Knight Peredur!"
As the card was placed on the disk, a knight with long, blonde hair, shining as brightly as his armour, emerged, riding atop an armored horse. His stats of 1900/300 were displayed as Anna placed a card face-down in her S/T zone.

[i]There's not much point in using these yet, is there?[/i] she wondered, looking at her remaining cards. Powering him up was pointless at this stage, and the last card couldn't be used now that she had summoned the knight. Oh well. "I pass my turn to you!"

Anna: 8000
[b]Xi: 8000[/b]

"I draw," Xi declared, drawing her starting five cards plus her sixth. This hand...words didn't even begin to describe it. Anything would have been better. The monsters in her hand weren't bad, but without any way to bring them out...not so useful anymore. "I activate the spell card Foolish Burial! This card allows me to ditch one monster from my deck, and send it to the graveyard. And I choose Redox, Dragon Ruler of Boulders! And with that, my turn is over!" [i]Where's the fusion spells when you actually need them?[/i]

[b]Anna: 8000[/b]
Xi: 8000

Surprised at her opponent's lack of defense, Anna drew her next card. Excellent, a monster. But with no opponent for even Peredur to battle...
Most likely to the surprise of everyone present who weren't familiar with her dueling mannerisms, Anna simply declared, "My turn is over."

Anna: 8000
[b]Xi: 8000[/b]

[i]She's not attacking...what's that girl up to?[/i] Drawing her next card, Xi grinned. "You'll regret not dealing some damage while you had the chance, because I summon Delta Flyer!" The hologram of the small legless dragon emerged, complete with the display of 1500/900. "He's not much on his own, but with a partner he's fearsome. So now I'll activate the spell card Instant Fusion! Sure, it may cost me 1000 Life Points, but now I can summon a low-level fusion monster right from my Extra Deck. And I choose the level 5 Alligator's Sword Dragon!" The hologram of cup of instant ramen appeared and burst open, revealing the figure of a lizard knight riding a dragon.

"And we're just getting warmed up. By combining the three stars of Delta Flyer with the five on Alligator's Sword Dragon, I can Synchro Summon a Level 8 synchro monster! Feast your eyes on [i]this[/i] hunk of metal, because I summon Scrap Dragon!" The holograms of Delta Flyer and Alligator's Sword Dragon vanished, and were replaced by that of a large dragon built from scrap metal. With a mechanized roar, the display of 2800/2000 appeared over the dragon's head. "Now then, time to turn that knight's armor into scrap metal! Scrap Dragon, you know what to do!"

Anna gritted her teeth as the synchro monster emerged, realising she was going to take quite a hit. Peredur himself brandished his sword valiantly, despite the impossibility of him withstanding the attack. When he was struck, he dissolved into pixels as Anna lost 900 Life Points.

"With that, I end my turn," Xi said.

[b]Anna: 7100[/b]
Xi: 7000

"I draw!" Anna glanced at her new card, and smiled slightly. Tis card would definitely come in useful.
"It may be mechanical, but a dragon is still a dragon," Anna stated, placing her next monster onto the field, "and if there's one thing us knights are skilled at, it's slaying dsragons! Come to my aide, Noble Knight Gawayn!"

Before the summoner rose a man with bright, blonde hair, shorter than Peredur's. A small ponytail rested upon his golden armour, his stats of 1900/500 flashing above him as he stared down the dragon before him.

And next, I'll equip him with the Noble Arms - Gallatin!" Anna declared, activating the equip spell. Gawayn's silver-bladed sword flashed brilliantly as the monster eld it aloft, seemingly absorbing light from the sun itself as his ATK was boosted to 2900.

"This is the power of one of King Artorigus' mightiest knights!" Anna boasted with a smile, "and, as I said, slaying a dragon is not a problem! Battle Phase!"
Gawayn charged forward, sword raised high as he leaped towards Scrap Dragon. With a yell laden with sheer manliness, he sliced downward, cleaving the scrap monstrosity in two as he descended, flourishing his blade and leaping away once the monster had been thoroughly beaten.

"And with that, my turn is over." Anna stated.

Anna: 7100
[b]Xi: 6900[/b]

Her big scary dragon was gone. That was a problem; now she was facing off with a high-power monster she couldn't handle. Her only option was to just put up a wall. Or hope for the best out of this draw...which she didn't get. A fusion spell would have been a godsend right now.

"I activate the effect of Redox in my graveyard! By banishing the Delta Flyer and Alligator's Sword Dragon in my graveyard, I summon Redox in face-up defense mode!" The hologram of the massive rock dragon emerged from the "ground", displaying a 1600/3000 over the dragon's head. "That's all I've got this turn. Go ahead."

[b]Anna: 7100[/b]
Xi: 6900

Another dragon, huh? All right, then. "Draw!"

Well, she'd drawn a useful spell card... albeit very useless in this situation. "During my Standby Phase, Gallatin's effect will lower my monster's attack power by 200!" Anna declared, the sword dimming ever so slightly as the knight's ATK fell to 2700. Well, even with that decrease in power, Anna [i]could[/i] overpower that dragon's defenses... but it just didn't feel right to do so. After all, the armaments she had in reserve were not blades for Gawayn to wield, right?

Well, since she wasn't going to do much else... "I activate Hidden Armory! At the cost of my normal summon, I can add an equip spell to my hand!" Anna activated the spell card, and retrieved the Noble Arms of Destiny from her deck, promptly shuffling it, "and with that, my turn ends!"
[/hider]