Arc 1: Help Wanted

Duel!

Oleander Hemlock: 4000 LP VS Shinji Abiko: 4000 LP

"I will begin!" Shinji declared before yanking a card from his deck "Draw!"

Turn 1: Shinji's Turn - Cards in hand: 6

"I will begin by activating my spell card Future Fusion!" he slided the card in his duel disk and the ghostly image of a fusion monster appeared hovering over Shinji's head, it was Five-Headed Dragon.

"Now I will send five Dragon-Type monsters from my deck to the graveyard" he smirked as 5 cards were ejected from his deck which he promptly dumped in the graveyard.

"Next in line I will activate two copies of Solidarity!" From the ground two holographic images of the aforementioned cards appeared

"And finally I will summon Assault Wyvern!" a dark blue dragon descended from the ceiling and into Shinji's field it branded it's at Oleander's direction in a failed attempt to intimidate him.

Assault Wyvern [LV: 4] - [LIGHT-Attribute] - [Dragon-Type] - [ATK: 1800 → 3400]

"Now what will you do? I end my turn" he placed a hand on his hip and smiled deviously.

"Gotta say," Oleander whistled as he saw the whole set-up. "That's an impressive game plan you built for yourself," he said, cupping his chin and nodding to himself.

"What're you talking about slacker" Shinji rolled his eyes in a unamused fashion "You barely saw what my plan to crush you is"

"Oh, but I do know," he smiled wickedly. "I know for a fact you sent Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon to your graveyard, and your plan was to destroy one of my monsters using Assault Wyvern and then use its effect to bring Darkness Metal Dragon to summon dragons from your graveyard." He finished his explanation with an exasperated sigh while wiping his forehead.

"How the hell did you figure it out so soon?" Shinji inquired, the shock audible in his voice and visible on his face.

"Oh it's very simple" he jerked a thumb to himself "Because that's the kind of thing I'd do"

"So, what?" The smirk returned to his face as he pointed a finger at Oleander "My Assault Wyvern is stronger than a Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"

"And just like that overglorified beatstick, it's easily beatable," he sneered as he placed a hand in his deck and yanked a card. "Draw!"

Turn 2: Oleander's Turn: Cards in hand: 6

He added the card to his hand and started to carefully analyze his starting hand, letting out an amused snort he picked one of the cards and slipped it in the Spell/Trap Zone.

"I will begin with the continuous spell Seed Cannon!" From the ground in front of him a spiky looking plant sprouted "Every time I summon a Plant-Type monster this card will get a Plant Counter" his attention then returned to his hand as he slipped yet another card in the Spell/Trap Zone.

"Next in line, the card known as Rapid Fire Seed, I can now send a level 4 or lower Predaplant monster to my graveyard, and you will lose 300 Life Points" A card was ejected from his deck, that being Predaplant Byblisp. He showed it to Shinji before sending it to his graveyard. From the ground, another plant sprouted, this one having multiple eyes growing on it.

The plant then started to bulge before it spat out a barrage of seeds that pelted Shinji, with him using his duel disk to shield his eyes.

Shinji Abiko: 4000 → 3700

"Oh but that's not all" he wagged his index finger "When Byblisp is sent to the graveyard I get to add a Predaplant monster from my deck straight to my hand" he smiled as another card was ejected from his disk, that being Predaplant Ophrys Scorpio.

"It'd be so rude of me not to introduce you to him," he said, slapping his newly acquired monster in the Monster Zone. "Let's go! Predaplant Ophrys Scorpio!" A little seed jumped from the card and burrowed itself into the ground.

After a few seconds, it sprouted a plant that resembled a scorpion. The plant abomination beared its pincers and tail at Assault Wyvern in a failed attempt at intimidating the dragon.

The dragon, on its part, roared, which caused Ophrys Scorpio to promptly scurry and hide behind one of Oleander's legs, causing the purple-haired Slifer to burst out laughing at its failed attempt at being scary.

Seed Cannon – Plant Counters ( PC for short ) 0 → 1

"Is that all you got?" The snob asked while dusting himself and crossing his arms "You barely put a dent on my Life Points and summoned a useless weed"

And that got to Ophrys Scorpio as the plant monster suddenly started to make various snarling noises at Shinji's direction.

"Anyhow, I will use my monster's effect; I can discard a monster card." He revealed Predaplant Spinodionaea and slipped it in his graveyard. "Then I can special summon any Predaplant monster from my deck." A card was ejected from his duel disk, and he promptly slapped it into his machine.

Ophrys Scorpio tail then started to bulge before shooting a batch of seeds, which sprouted a creature that resembled a two headed snake.

"Here's Predaplant Darlingtonia Cobra!" Oleander exclaimed while opening his arms wide as his newly summoned monster snarled at Assault Wyvern.

Seed Cannon – PC 1 → 2

"And now my Cobra's effect will activate." His plant snake spat out a batch of seeds, which sprouted a giant flower. When it bloomed, it revealed the card ´Polymerization´ "When it is special summoned by the effect of a Predaplant monster, I get to add Polymerization to my hand." He snatched the card from the flower, which quickly withered before crumbling away.

"And I think it's high time we saw some fusions, don't you say, Shouji?" He slipped the card in the Spell/Trap Zone. "And I will fuse Ophrys Scorpio with Darlingtonia Cobra to create a new Predaplant!"A swirling portal appeared at Oleander's feet at the same time as the two plant monsters started to glow with a red and blue aura, respectively, before being sucked into the portal.

"Fusion Summon!" He declared while clasping his hands together "Come forth! Predaplant Chimerafflesia!" from the portal a giant flower rose, when it bloomed it revealed a gaping hole filled with rolls of sharp teeth.

Seed Cannon – PC 2 → 3

"Well, that's impressive, but that overgrown weed still is no match for my Assault Wyvern," he stated while crossing his arms.

"But I'm not done yet because I use Chimerafflesia's effect!" He pumped his fists high in the air. "I can target a monster on the field with a level equal to or lower than Chimerafflesia's own and banish that target!" He then brought his hand down and pointed at Assault Wyvern.

The giant plant then extended its tendrils, wrapping them around Assault Wyvern. The beast tried to fight, but with every tendril cut, another one would quickly take its place, and eventually the dragon got overwhelmed and quickly got swallowed.

"Battle!" He punched the air in front of him and a giant tendril lashed against Shinji, causing him to fall to his knees.

Shinji Abiko: 3700 → 1200

"And now to finish the job! Seed Cannon's second effect!" The plant turned his attention to Shinji, who was still scrambling to his feet "I can send it to the graveyard and you will lose 500 Life Points for every counter it had" The plant then shot out three giant seeds which exploded upon contact with the Obelisk Blue snob.

Shinji Abiko: 1200 → 0

Winner: Oleander Hemlock

Once the holograms disappeared and the smoke from the seeds had settled, all that was left was Oleander standing above the defeated Shinji, who was now on his knees. The Slifer Red turned to face Crowler and gave the man a two-finger salute before making his way to where the other Slifer Reds were sitting.

The dueling field was so silent that it was possible to hear a pin falling from a mile away, but it got broken when Crowler got up and cleared his throat.

"W-well class I hope you all took note of the duel" He shifted uncomfortably on the spot he was standing "Class dismissed."

Everyone got up in unison and left the duel field, and Oleander could feel Crowler's glare burning a hole through the back of his neck and that made it all the more sweet.

[At the corridors]

Oleander was practically skipping on his step as he made his way through the halls of the Central Academy. His test drive with his new deck was a complete success, although he was a bit disappointed since he didn't get a chance to summon Starving Venom Fusion Dragon, but it was too late to cry over the spilled milk.

After a bit more walking, he reached the card shop and decided that it'd be a nice time to browse some cards and structure decks, and maybe get a or two sandwiches, and who knows? Maybe he gets to draw a golden egg sandwich!

The first thing he noticed when he set foot in the card shop was the smell of sandwiches that was emanating from a crate filled to the absolute brim with wrapped sandwiches. Rubbing his hands, the purple-haired duelist strode over to the pile and pulled one of them.

After biting, he concluded that it was a turkey sandwich. He was a bit disappointed but shrugged at the very least; it tasted really good, so it wasn't all that bad. Looking around, he spotted the card shop owner, Ms. Dorothy, working in the counter, and it was clearly obvious that she was tired.

But what really piqued his interest was the sign beside her; it had big red letters against a white background with the words ´HELP WANTED´ written on it. Did Sadie not exist in this world? Curiosity got the better of him, and he made his way to where the old woman was working.

"Hey there, lady." He greeted the older woman while taking a bite out of his sandwich.

"Oh, hello there, sweetie." Ms. Dorothy responded with a warm smile on her face, "What would you like to buy today? We have many options available." She motioned to the many booster packs hanging behind her.

"Nah, I'm not here to buy." The purple-haired youngster wagged his finger before he picked up the sign and showed it to her. "You don't have anyone to help you?"

"Of course I do!" She waved the concerns away from the Slifer Red with a giggle. "But I only have my granddaughter Sadie to help me." A sigh escaped from her lips. "But with this year's batch of students, the two of us need some extra pairs of hands."

"Well, you're in luck!" He declared while throwing the sign over his shoulders. "Cus' I'm here." He proudly jabbed himself with his thumb while taking the last bite from his sandwich.

Ms. Dorothy smiled before leading Oleander into the back room, where they did a small interview. Once everything was said and done, Oleander was told to come back tomorrow for his first day.

Seeing no further point on sticking around the purple-haired duelist said his goodbyes to the older woman and made his way back to the Slifer Red Dorm.

[Oleander's Room]

Leaving his bathroom Oleander was wearing his pajamas, which consisted of a shirt with violet and red stripes and a pair of shorts with purple and lime green stripes. As soon as he laid his head on the pillow, his mind started to race with possibilities about his new life; he could go pro right now if he wanted! Just make some bold statement against someone like Weevil or Rex Raptor and beat them on live television; he could be living like a king in no time!

But no, he wouldn't do that, not now. At least the plan was simple: enjoy himself as much as he could. He had a full new life ahead of him, so why rush through things? And besides, he finally got what he once could only dream of: freedom.

Placing the last of those toughs to rest, he closed his eyes, and soon after he fell asleep, a peaceful smile gracing his lips as he drifted away to dreamland.