((Collab -- Rethel34 & Joshua Tamashii))

"For all you kids out there in the audience today, whether you're a student here at LDS or a visitor," the MC said, "we have a treat for you today. This morning, you will witness an exhibition Duel between two of our four pillar classes. First up is a representative of our Fusion Course . . . Brent Rytora!"

Somewhat nervously, Brent made his way to the center of the stage. Once the Duel was going and his focus was on his opponent and not the thousands of eyes around him, he knew he'd be at the top of his game, but for the moment, nervousness was taking its toll on him.

Meanwhile, in the stands, Gale stared in awe as her brother stepped onto the court. "How did he make it?" she whispered, trying to figure out how in the world he could have made it to school on time after missing the bus this morning.

"And now, Brent's opponent for today, representing our Synchro Course is Amelia Averyonna!" the MC continued, gesturing to the opposite side of the stadium.

Amelia looks up at her name was announced. Looking around she made her way out of the stands and, with some help from the staff of the school, made her way down onto the central court. Once there she went over to where Brent was standing, while looking around nervously at the crowd. She could feel herself shaking from her nerves and shook her head in a vain attempt to get rid of them. Nothing she could do now though.

"Uuummm... h-hello." She said to Brent once she reached him, her voice shaking as she spoke.

"I guess I'm not the only nervous one down here, huh?" Brent said to try to loosen the tension within both of them. He wouldn't be able to do anything if all he cared about were the people in the stands. "Good luck," he offered with a nod as the MC continued to ramble. 

Next thing he knew, the MC was shouting, "Action Field, Activate! '[url=http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Action_Kitchen]Action Kitchen[/url]'!" In a single moment, a massive kitchen seemed to materialize around them, with larger-than-life appliances like blenders, toaster ovens, a massive sink, and a titanic refrigerator. Dishes hovered here and there, with a few utensils and other random items just laying around.

Brent was initially shocked by the instantaneous change, but they could no longer see the audience as easily as before, which put his mind at rest. [i]That takes care of the stage fright,[/i] he thought.

Amelia looked around as their surrounding changed. She felt her shaking go away and she let out a sigh of releif. So long as she couldn't see the audience, it was easy to pretend that they werent there. Raising her duel disk, which was silver with green trim, he activated it, her board being a rainbow of colors.

Taking from Amelia's example, Brent also raised and activated his Duel Disk, the machine itself being orange with a maroon projection. Then the MC started talking again. Well, actually, it was more like a ceremonial chant, but Brent had almost ceased worrying about what he said, only worried about the Duel's cue to begin.

“Duelists locked in battle, kicking against the earth and dancing through the skies with their monsters, they storm through this field! Behold, the newest and greatest evolution of Dueling! Action . . . !” The MC snapped his fingers above his head, and the Action Cards scattered across the field. A beat later, the audience shouted as one.

“DUEL!”

"So pretty," Amelia said in awe as the cards floated down around them.

[i](Turn 1: [b][Brent 4000][/b] [Amelia 4000])[/i]

Brent sprung into action the second the audience called out. Firstly, he'd have to put something together that would either be a formidable enough offense to get Amelia going defensive, or he'd have to play defensive until he could Fusion Summon. His hand didn't yet hold what he needed, but he had a decent offensive card to start the Duel with.

"I start by Summoning '[url=http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Volcanic_Slicer]Volcanic Slicer[/url]', in Attack Position. The monster had a solid 1800 ATK, which wasn't half bad for a Level Four monster. "Now I get to activate the effect of 'Slicer' right out of the gate, which inflicts 500 damage to my opponent."

Amelia didnt even move as Slicer opened its mouth and shot a fireball at her, blasting her back a bit and causing her to land on her back. "Ow," she muttered, getting to her feet and dusting herself off.

"Now that that's done, I end my turn," Brent said, taking off in search of an Action Card.

[i](Turn 2: [Brent 4000] [b][Amelia 3500][/b])[/i]

"Alright. Draw." Amelia said, drawing a card." I Set one monster face down and then Set two cards. I end my turn with that."

[i](Turn 3: [b][Brent 4000][/b] [Amelia 3500])[/i]

Brent had barely gone anywhere when Amelia's turn ended. She had hardly done anything. He was less worried about that, though, and more concerned about the fact that he couldn't find any Action Cards.

"Draw!" he shouted, and instantly took interest in the new card in his hand. "There we go. I activate the Spell Card, '[url=http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Fusion_Sage]Fusion Sage[/url]', which in turn allows me to add one '[url=http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Polymerization]Polymerization[/url]' from my Deck to my hand."

Brent's Duel Disk ejected the card, which he quickly activated. "I'll now use that 'Polymerization' to fuse 'Volcanic Slicer' with '[url=http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/The_Dark_-_Hex-Sealed_Fusion]The Dark - Hex-Sealed Fusion[/url]', which can take the place of any Fusion Material Monster, in this case, a Machine-Type monster, so I can now Fusion Summon '[url=http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Blaze_Fenix,_the_Burning_Bombardment_Bird]Blaze Fenix, the Burning Bombardment Bird[/url]'!" Brent couldn't help but smile as his favorite card took flight from the vortex that had absorbed his other two monsters.

"Battle Phase!" he declared. "'Blaze Fenix', attack Amelia's face-down monster!" The great bird reared its head, then lowered it, loosing a massive stream of fire toward the face-down card.

Amelia didnt activate anything as her opponents monester attacked her own and destroyed it, causing alot of smoke to appear. When it cleared though Amelias feild was far from empty, as two new monsters were on the field.
"The monster you attacked and destroyed was '[url=http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Chiwen,_Light_of_the_Yang_Zing]Chiwen, Light of the Yang Zing[/url]'. When it's destroyed I can Special Summon a 'Yang Zing' monster from my Deck. I summon '[url=http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Bixi,_Water_of_the_Yang_Zing]Bixi, Water of the Yang Zing[/url]'," She said. "On top of that I activated the Trap Card '[url=http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Yang_Zing_Creation]Yang Zing Creation[/url]'. While it is active, whenever a 'Yang Zing' monster is destroyed I can Special Summon another 'Yang Zing'. I Summon '[url=http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Jiaotu,_Darkness_of_the_Yang_Zing] Jiaotu, Darkness of the Yang Zing[/url]'."

The two new dragon like monster let out roars as the smoke cleared and stared down at Brent. "I'm a total novice at this game but I made sure to study my Deck and the basics before coming here," Amelia said. "So I hope I'll be able to put up a fight."

It took Brent a minute to register what had just occured. "Put up a fight?" he replied. "You just Summoned twice during my turn! You're going to be one tough opponent." He took a moment to examine his hand and decided he'd be done for now. "I guess I don't have anything else to do. My turn's done."

[i](Turn 4: [Brent 4000] [b][Amelia 3500][/b])[/i]

"I draw." Amelia said looking at her hand and then her feild. "Bixi" and "Jiaotu" had a combined total of 4 Levels. Her lowest Level Synchro was level 5. However, only one of her Synchro Monsters had the ATK needed to get rid of her opponent's monster. At least it did right now.
"I sacrifice 'Bixi' to summon '[url=http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Taotie,_Shadow_of_the_Yang_Zing]Taotie, Shadow of the Yang Zing[/url]'," she said. The blue turtle like dragon on her feild vanished only to be replaced by a black dragon with four legs and a pair of hands. "Then I tune 'Taotie' with 'Jiaotu' to Synchro Summon a Level 7 monster. Come forth, '[url=http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Yazi,_Evil_of_the_Yang_Zing]Yazi, Evil of the Yang Zing[/url]'!"

"Jiaotu" became transparent before it became two stars that flew into the air which further transformed into a pair of rings. "Taotie" then became 5 stars that flew between the rings. There was a bright flash of light before a dark portal formed behind Amelia in the air. From it a dark dragon with spines going down its entire back and several pairs of armored limbs appeared and let out a roar at Brent. Despite the impressive display, the dragon's ATK points were still 200 short of Brent's monster.

Even without the power to defeat "Blaze Fenix", a Synchro Monster like "Yazi" was impressive. Brent had to hold himself back from showing that the beast intimidating to him. Instead, he decided to compliment Amelia. "That's one strong monster you've Summoned there, Amelia. I can't wait to see what else your Deck can do."

"What about this then?" Amelia said as she played a card from her hand. "The Spell card, '[url=http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Yang_Zing_Prana]Yang Zing Prana[/url]'."

All around them, streams of energy came out of the various appliances and began going all over the place. "'Yang Zing Prana' gains effects based off the number of different Attribute 'Yang Zing' in my Graveyard. Since there are more than two different Attributes in my Graveyard my 'Yang Zing' monsters gain 500 attack and defence points"

Brent's eyes widened as "Yazi's" ATK rose to 3100 and the dragon accordingly grew in size. "Crud," he said to himself. He was starting to get worried about finding Action Cards as well. They didn't seem to be anywhere that a normal human could find them, though he had climbed all the way to the top of a small stand which held a massive blender.

"Yazi, attack his monster," Amelia said. Her monster reared back its head before breathing out a stream of pure darkness at Brent's monster. The stream engulfed Brent's "Fenix" before stopping, leaving the "Fenix's" lifeless husk to go crashing to the ground.

The blast from the attack knocked Brent backward into the blender, his back hitting a button, knocking the wind out of him. But the button had done something. The blender was going haywire, and a few seconds later, an Action Card was launched into the air, which proceeded to flutter to the table's surface beside Brent. As he pushed himself back up, grabbing the card. "The Action Cards are inside the appliances?" he asked, utterly stunned.

"What was that card?" Amelia asked, looking confused

"It's called an Action Card," Brent explained, realizing just how foreign this whole concept must be to her. "You know how the cards scattered all over when the Duel started? Well, finding those can help you to win a Duel easier, and I think I just found one that I'll have to save for later."

"Okay.I'll end my turn then." Amelia said. Next to her, "Yazi" lowered its head before letting out a huff. Amelia gave the monster a gentle smile before climbing on and taking to the air with it, a small laugh escaping her lips.

[i](Turn 5: [b][Brent 3700][/b] [Amelia 3500])[/i]

Brent brushed himself off before returning to his previously determined stance. He wasn't sure if he could get off of the table without another monster, and, quite frankly, he was glad he could now look up at Amelia rather than looking down at the huge drop between himself and the floor.

"I draw!" Brent said, taking a look at the card in his hand. "I think what I'll do next is activate '[url=http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Reinforcement_of_the_Army]Reinforcement of the Army[/url]'! This lets add one Level 4 or lower Warrior-Type monster from my Deck to my hand, so I choose to add my '[url=http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Elemental_HERO_Blazeman]Elemental HERO Blazeman[/url]'. Next up," Brent continued, "I'll Summon that 'Blazeman' that I just added to my hand, which reels in another 'Polymerization' to my hand.

"Excuse the pun, but now I have all the ingredients for my recipe. I'll activate my second 'Polymerization', fusing 'Blazeman' with the '[url=http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/King_Pyron]King Pyron[/url]' in my hand to Fusion Summon the master of the greatest infernos, '[url=http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Elemental_HERO_Nova_Master]Elemental HERO Nova Master[/url]'!"

The muscular blazing hero stepped out from a vortex of flame, shouting to proclaim its presence on the field. It was 500 ATK short of "Yazi", but that could be sorted out quickly.

Brent smiled as he was carried to the ground by "Nova Master". Before they reached ground-level, he placed the Action Card he had grabbed earlier on his Duel Disk. "I activate the Action Spell, '[url=http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Victory_Topping]Victory Topping[/url]'! This gives my monster 600 additional ATK, which happens to be just enough for this 'knight' to fell your dragon. 'Nova Master', attack!"

"That's not good, is it?" Amelia asked herself as "Yazi" landed and allowed Amelia to dismount before flying towards the hero. Mid-flight, a comet even larger than "Nova Master" collided with "Yazi", creating a huge cloud of smoke. When the smoke cleared, Brent was surprised to see "Yazi" scarred, but still hovering over the ground.

"'Prana's' second effect. When three 'Yang Zings' of different Attributes are in the Graveyard, I can sacrifice 'Prana' to protect a 'Yang Zing' from destruction," Amelia explained as "Yazi's" ATK points dropped.

"Nice job," Brent complimented while the streams of golden energy faded away. "It looks like my turn is over, and with it, the effects of 'Victory Topping' also end."

[i](Turn 6: [Brent 3700] [b][Amelia 3400][/b])[/i]

Amelia smiled as she drew her card. "Final turn," she declared." I summon another 'Bixi' to the field! Then I use 'Yazi's' effect: by destroying 'Bixi', I can destroy 'Nova Master'!"

Brent hardly had time to react as "Nova Master" was shattered in a display of golden snow. "No," he muttered. "But then that means . . ." Without hesitating, Brent scrambled to the countertop to see if he could find an Action Card.

"Now 'Bixi's' effect and 'Yang Zing Creation' activate. From my Deck I Summon Bi'an and a new 'Yang Zing': [url=http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Pulao,_Wind_of_the_Yang_Zing]Pulao, Wind of the Yang Zing[/url]'. Also from the Graveyard, I activate 'Chiwen's' effect to Summon it to the field as well," Amelia said as the three monsters appeared on the field. "Then I use these three monsters to Synchro Summon '[url=http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Armades%2C_Keeper_of_Boundaries]Armades, Keeper of Boundries[/url]'."

Next to Amelia, two pillars, one of fire and one of ice, appeared and collided in a flash of light. When it vanished, A humanoid figure was floating next to Amelia.
"Now, 'Armades', attack Brent directly!" Amelia said. The humanoid summoned a ball of fire and a ball of ice before combining them and launching the result at Brent.

Brent had made it as far as the kitchen's bread box and was now struggling to force it open, but to no avail. The multi-element sphere collided with Brent, launching him off his feet and against the wall of the kitchen, reducing his Life Points to 1400.

"'Yazi', finish him off" Amelia said before her monster unleashed a stream of darkness at Brent. With the collision of the attack, Brent's Life Points dropped to zero, and the stadium resounded with a ringing that confirmed the end of the Duel.

[i](Duel End: [b]Amelia Wins![/b])[/i]

Once the field and Amelia's monsters had faded away, Brent struggled to his feet.

"Are you okay?" Amelia asked, running over to Brent and offering a hand to help him up.

"Yeah," he replied, accepting the help. "Just a little banged up. That was good. We should Duel again sometime. Or maybe just hang out, if you'd rather . . . uhm. . . ." Brent stuttered, getting nervous in only a moment of talking to Amelia. He was bad enough with words, let alone the fact that he rarely talked to a person of the opposite gender.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Amelia asked sounding confused "And what do you mean by hang out? And why are your cheeks red all of the sudden?"

Brent didn't know which of Amelia's questions he should answer first, and his ears feeling almost painfully warm right now didn't help anything. "Uh . . . well, what I meant was that we could maybe . . . you know, spend some time together?" He tried to keep from stuttering, but it was difficult. He also did everything possible to keep his voice below that of the MC's end-of-Duel commentary in the background. "Anyway, we should probably . . . uhm . . . we should proably get off the court. Maybe we can continue talking on our way up to the stands?" Really, Brent was scared to death to keep talking, but more than anything he just wanted out from in front of people.

"Huh?... Oh okay." Amelia said before giving Brent one last smile before running off.

---

"Gale... Do you see what I see?" Joshua asked Brent's sister.

Gale was startled, not realizing Joshua, her brother's closest friend, had taken a seat near her. "You mean Brent's cheeks lighting up like a reindeer's nose?" she said in reply.

"Oh, yeah. Wanna double team him?" Joshua asked, a small smile on his face.

"Of course!" she piped up.