Yugioh GX: Konami/Kazuki Takahashi
The first day of the next week went by very slow but Jason managed to be patient. Now he found himself in a room on a boat on the way to the academy. Even after the exams he still wondered how a card game was such a big deal. He knew it was very popular, but where he came from, it wasn't much of a big deal. He was the only one in his town to carry cards like this and the only others he could duel with were at a flea market where he bought his cards. Problem is he lost those very few games he was lucky enough to play. Now he's on his way to a school where he could be a professional in this card game. He overheard the captain said the trip to the school was a hour away, so he wondered how long it's been. So he got up from the bed and went out for fresh air.
Once outside on the top deck he went to the bow and leaned against the rail. He could see nothing but water wherever he looked, even the mainland where he came from long disappeared. Although he liked how the sun reflected on the moving waves...
"Hey, you over there!" Jason turned to see the person shouting at him, a boy his age with short and spiky fire-red hair, then who came to the railings also, "I know you! You were at the KaibaDome! I saw you have to go up against Anais!"
"Oh; Ok..." Jason looked back over the water.
"I mean, there's gotta be something to you and that other guy having to go up against faculty!" he continued, "Did you do something to tick them off?"
"What other guy?"
"You know; that other guy who was with you! You were both using the same kind of cards!"
Jason then thought back to when he took the exam. There was indeed someone who used different Elemental Hero cards. But he already forgot what his name was, "Oh. That guy."
"I still couldn't believe you managed to beat Anais' real deck! Trust me, I saw her duel with it before and it's nothing to laugh about!"
Soon they heard the ship's foghorn on speaker, "We will soon be arriving on Duel Academy Island. Please take all personal belongings with you." the captain said.
"Hey! I see the island!" and so had Jason. There was looked like a piece of land fit for a small city. Near the back their was smoke coming out of what looked like a volcano.
Soon the boat was docked and Jason stepped off at a concrete port. "Hey! Wait up!" he spotted the red-haired boy catching up to him with his bags. "Wanna pair up? Principal's giving a welcoming speech in the main building!"
"Do you know where it is?" Jason asked.
"Sure! I've been here before so I know where I'm going! Let's hurry!" Jason followed the kid into the large building in the middle of the island. That main building of the academy looked rather unique in its architecture. The topmost roof was a white, shiny dome, with smaller domes in blue, red, and yellow for lesser roofs. At the back corners of the building were two tall rectangular pillars made of yellow stone, capped with square-based pyramid points. The one on the right tilts to the side, and another from outside the building leaned against it. The front of the building was framed by two more of those pillars, tapering down to a first story of that same brownish-tan stone. Concrete legs flared out from above the front entrance, creating shadows of shade as the two students walked into the building.
Inside a large classroom, a neatly ordered group of thirty five row/six column students, each wearing a red, yellow, or blue school blazer, stands at attention. Jason and the boy he followed were standing in the back wearing red. A group of faculty were at the front of the room, also part of the assembly. At the head of the class is a video screen, and after a moment a face of a middle-aged bald man with a brown mustache and goatee appeared on it.
"Good morning and welcome, my students!" the man introduced, "I'm Chancellor Sheppard, the headmaster here; and you are the best and brightest young duelists in the world!" Jason's eyes lit up a bit. He wouldn't consider himself the best of very smart, "Now please, get yourselves settled in at your assigned dorms. I think you'll find them quite comfortable... depending upon how you ranked, of course." Sheppard gave a hearty laugh before the screen turned off.
"C'mon! It's over that way!" Jason followed the fellow student down the dirt path towards their dormitory. They walked until they reached the edge of the island, where they saw a small building looking over the ocean. It was a yellow building with a bright red roof. From the front, they could see two stories with four doors each, with external stairs and walkways. They soon got up the stairs and stopped at the forth door at the end. The other guy pulled out a key and unlocked the door before opening it and the two peered inside, "Here we are, the old home away from homestead," The room was plain, dark with the curtains closed. There was a long desk with two rolling chairs at it along the right-side wall, and next to it on the near side was a TV. The only window in the room was on the opposite wall, covered with a dark green curtain. Against the left-side wall, there was a triple-decked wooden bunk bed, and a small stool sat near the foot of the bed. Against the wall beside the door was some sort of small kitchen area. "Hey, take the bottom bunk and I'll take the top."
"Yeah," Jason nodded and dropped his bags in a corner before sitting down on the bottom bunk.
"Hey, I gotta use it! So make yourself at home, okay!" he said before leaving out the room. Jason lied down in the bed until he heard someone screaming. He looked towards the opposite wall as that was where it came from.
"Wouldja stop your screamin'!" a voice came through the wall, "Who are you and what're you doin' in my room?!"
"Oh, sorry, my name's Jaden Yuki."
"And I'm Syrus."
"We're your new...roommates." Jason recognized those two latter voices from when he came for his exam. He decided to listed in and leaned his head against the wall.
"Yeah, you're new all right, so let me tell you how things work here." the grumpy voice said.
"Uh, what things?" Jaden asked.
"Like when Parents' Weekend's gonna be?" Syrus guessed.
"Duh, like how the whole color thing works? That's more important than anything," the voice corrected, "Ya got three different kinds a' students here: Obelisk Blue students, Ra Yellow students, and Slifer Red students. Now, the Blues're the highest-ranked students; some kids're blue 'cause a' grades, others through connections. The Yellows're second-highest, mostly younger students with lots a' potential..."
Jason became startled when he was interrupted by a loud ringing sound. He looked over and found is newly-acquired PDA ringing. Picking it up, he found a message on it and opened it...
The moment he read it he had to go back into the main building. He had to ask a few teachers until finally he found the door he was looking for. He was a few steps away from the door when it somehow opened on its own.
"TIME WAITS FOR NO MAN!" someone bellowed before a student in red ran out and past him. He looked back at the student who kept running away screaming, and then back towards the door. He swallowed the lump in his throat before working up the courage to walk inside. It was a slightly large office with regal decoration, it even had a suit of armor.
"Ah, Jason. I've been waiting for you!" Jason turned to the end of the office to find someone else he noticed from the exams, "Come in, come in! Sit down, there's something important I need to tell you..." he sat down in a leather chair in front of the wooden desk in which Crowler was sitting behind. "Now, I assume you're wondering why I called you here. Well, I'll just get straight to the point. You see, I've been overlooking the tuition checks brought in, as well as the list of new student. The thing is, your name's among this list of students, yet I do not see you check."
"I... don't know what you mean..."
Crowler spun his chair so the back was facing towards Jason, "Let me make this more easier for you to understand: I never got your check, yet I find you here. Which means you didn't pay for your tuition."
Jason became confused. He was sure he gave his check at the front of the building before the speech earlier. And he showed it to the teachers on the mainlands before he got on the boat. "I'm sorry, but I don't understand. I'm sure I brought in my check. If you could just ask the people in front of the building..."
"I checked with them already; we all looked through them and checked them twice..." Crowler spun back around, "Yet yours was never among them."
"But I'm sure I-"
"Ah, ah!" Crowler cut him off, "The evidence are stacked against you, Mr. Hutchins! Now before we finish this conversation, I feel I have to make this clear; this isn't a discriminatory thing."
More question marks littered over Jason's head, "Uh, discriminatory...?"
"Never mind, that's irrelevant anyway. Tell me, do you know why certain students are made to wear certain colors in this establishment?"
Jason then remembered back to what Jaden and Syrus' roommate told them, "I heard that blue students are here because they're rich, and yellows are here because they're smart..."
"My, I've had many students give me such short, plain answers, but yours seem to be the best, or just the most plain I've ever heard," Crowler stood up and went around the table, "And do you know which color those people are? Red. And do you know what kind of students they are?"
"I don't know, but I have a feeling you're about to tell me-"
Jason was interrupted by a slam Crowler made on his desk with his hand, "Those who enter this academy as Slifer Red are the lowest-ranked among all students!" he shouted, "The reason they entered this academy was either by unsatisfactory grades, or some unholy miracle! Remember, I was there when you took you duel exam! And trust me when I say your dueling is sorely lacking, as poorly as you did in your written exam!" Jason shrank into his seat, the teacher's shouting starting to scare him some more. Luckily, Crowler seemed to calmed down and straightened his suit.
"I... I'm a but confused here. You said that this isn't a dis... discrim..."
"And this isn't a discriminatory thing, kind sir," Crowler said, "It's a deadbeat thing."
"Uh, what?"
"Tell me, what was that card you used to defeat Anais?"
"I think it was Ookazi, sir."
"Do you mind if I can see this card for a second?"
"Okay..." Jason pulled his cards from out of his pants pocket and pulled out the magic card to give it to Crowler. The teacher examined it closely, some sort of smile spread across his face. Them he did something Jason didn't expect... Crowler threw the card onto the floor and began stomping on it!
"DEADBEAT! DEADBEAT! DEADBEAT! DEADBEAT! DEADBEAT!" Crowler shouted. Then he stepped back with his calm expression, with the card left on the floor. Jason slowly reached out to grab it... "DEADBEAT!" Crowler stomped on it one more time. Jason felt as crushed as the crumpled card that was left on the floor. The teacher picked up the card and presented it to Jason, which the student regretfully taken back, "Now, if you don't pay your tuition by the end of the day, you'll have five seconds to convince the chancellor to let you stay here; then I'll have great pleasure of kicking you out of this academy," Crowler sneered with a sweet, "This is a place for the next generation of duelist, not brain-dead dropouts. Stand up, please," Jason slowly stood up from his seat, his eyes not leaving the crazy teacher, "I'll be waiting, Mr. Hutchins," Jason felt his world crumbling, distorting as he felt himself somehow distancing away from Crowler, "And remember: TIME WAITS FOR NO MAN!" that was Crowler's final words before giving Jason a 'peace' gesture, "Peace."
SLAM!
Many thoughts ran through Jason's head when he ran back into his room. He thought about what Crowler said and his tuition check suddenly went missing when he knew he turned it in. He emptied out his bags bus couldn't find it. He could think of nothing else then but sit on the bottom bunk, unable to think what he was supposed to do. How was she supposed to tell his parents he lost the money on his first day of high school? Only one thing came to mind; and he didn't like that idea any more than dropping out. His PDA rang in his pocket, which told him his hour was up. Sighing in defeat, he went out the door and on his way to his uncertain fate. He's been through so much in such a short time, yet he didn't feel bad about the decision he made for the faculty.
Afterwards Jason returned to his room. He just opened the door when... "Hey, Jason!" Jason cried out when someone shouted behind him. He looked back to see his next-door neighbor standing behind the open door, with a smile on his face and duel-disk on his arm.
"Jaden...? Uh, why are you here?"
The chestnut-haired slifer's smile dropped for a moment, "Hey, don't you remember back at the exam? I said you'd be my first opponent when we came here! Don't tell me you forgot!"
"Your opponent...?" Jason thought over what happened back at the Kaibadome, the last thing Jaden said to him... "I did remember you saying that... You're saying you want to duel now?!"
"What'd you thing I got my deck ready for!" Jaden answered, "C'mon! You ready or not?"
Jason doesn't feel like a game right now from what he went through this afternoon and what he need to tell his roommate. But then again he figured a duel would calm his nerves before the fact. "Alright, where should we do it?"
"Outside, in front of the dorm, right now!" Jaden suggested.
A few moments later both Jaden and Jason were in front of the Slifer Red Dorm, both with their duel-disks ready. Syrus and Jason's roommate were standing on the top deck watching.
"Get ready, Jason!" Jaden declared, "And get your game on!"
Jaden: 4000
Jason: 4000
"I take the first move!" Jaden said, drawing his sixth card, "I summon (1) Elemental Hero Clayman(3/ATK: 800/DEF: 2000) in DEF mode!" A large, golem-like warrior appeared in brown rock-based armor, sitting on one knee with its arms crossed (DEF: 2000), "Now I throw down a face-down and call it a turn!" a reverse-card appeared behind Clayman.
"It's my turn," Jason drew his next card, "I activate the magic card A Hero Lives! While I'm the only one without monsters on my field, I can summon an Elemental Hero from my deck! I choose Elemental Hero Ice Edge!" the small, ice-armored warrior appeared (ATK: 800).
Jaden: 4000
Jason: 2000
"And since it's a special-summon, I can summon Elemental Hero Knospe from my hand!" the plant-man joined the ice warrior on the field, "Next I activate Ice Edge's special-ability: by sending a card from my hand to the graveyard, I can have Ice Edge attack directly!" both heroes attacked Jaden with a combination of ice shards and flower seeds.
Jaden: 2400
Jason: 2000
"And when they inflict damage, both of their effects activate: for Ice Edge, he can destroy 1 face-down spell/trap card on your side of the field!" Ice Edge created a spear of ice and pierced Jaden's reverse-card, which was Hero Signal, "And Knospe's ATK is raised by 100 while his DEF points are lowered by 100 (ATK: 700/DEF: 900), "Now I place a card face-down. I end my turn."
"Okay, my turn!" Jaden drew his next card, "I summon Elemental Hero Avian to the field in ATK mode!" the green-feathered, winged superhero appeared (ATK: 1000), "Next, I activate the spell card known as Feather Shot! So for the rest of this turn, Avian can attack every monster on the field! Avian, take to the skies!" Avian raised himself higher into the air and stretched his wings, where he fired a series of razor-sharp feathers that cut into the two smaller heroes and destroyed them, Knospe after Ice Edge.
Jaden: 2400
Jason: 1500
"Now I set 1 card face-down! That's it for my turn!"
a reverse-card appeared, "Hey, you gotta do better than than if you want to beat me!"
"Okay, I'll do that..." Jason drew his next card, "I summon Elemental Hero Lady Heat in ATK position!" the fiery female hero appeared (ATK: 1300), "Attack Elemental Hero Avian!" Lady Heat fired a large ball of fire and destroyed Avian.
Jaden: 2100
Jason: 1500
"Now I end my turn, which activates Lady Heat's ability and inflict 200 points of damage!" Lady Heat hits Jaden with a smaller fireball.
Jaden: 1800
Jason: 1500
"I guess that's a good comeback..." Jaden said, drawing his next card, "But not as good as (2) Elemental Hero Sparkman(4/ATK: 1600/DEF: 1400)!" Jaden's next hero was a man in blue spandex lined with yellow, suited in pieces of lightning-yellow armor and a pair of arched blue metal wings on his back. The shaded blue visor mask over his face covered his identity (ATK: 1600), "His Shining Surge Flash will give Lady Heat something to be really shocked about! Go!" Sparkman shot several volts of lightning that destroyed Lady Heat.
Jaden: 1800
Jason: 1200
"That ends my turn!" Jaden concluded.
"Then it's my turn," Jason drew his next card, "I summon (4) Elemental Hero Heat(4/ATK: 1600/DEF: 1200) in ATK position!" that new male hero looked similar to Lady Heat, with gold-and-red gauntlets and a mask covered over his face (ATK: 1600), "And his effect increases his ATK points for each Elemental Hero on my side of the field, and I have 1. So Elemental Hero Heat now has 1800 ATK points! Now attack Sparkman!" Heat's fists ignited and charged at Sparkman.
"Sorry, but I activate my face-down, Hero Barrier!" Jaden's reverse-card opened, creating a barrier deflecting Heat's punches, "This trap protects Sparkman from an enemy's attack! Better luck next time!"
"Then I'll end my turn."
"It's my turn now!" Jaden drew his next card, "I equip Sparkman with the Spark Blaster spell card!" a large high-tech blaster attached itself to Sparkman's right arm, "This little gizmo give Sparkman the ability to switch a monster's battle-position! Show 'im what I mean, Sparkman!" Sparkman fired a blast of electricity on Heat, who was forced to DEF position, "Now attack Elemental Heat with Shining Surge Flash!" Heat was destroyed by Sparkman's signature attack. "And the neat thing about Spark Blaster is that it has a total of 3 charges! So whatever monster to summon next, I can have Sparkman switch it to ATK more or DEF mode! Let's see what you can do about that!"
"It's my turn," Jason drew his next card, "I set a monster in DEF mode and end my turn." a face-down card appeared on Jason's monster-card zone.
"I guess that's one way to luck out..." Jaden drew his next card, "After all, Spark Blaster only affects face-up monsters. So let's see what monster you're hiding under that face-down card!" Sparkman attacked Jason's set monster, which was revealed as a green-skinned hero with a wooden right arm and leg (DEF: 2000), "Hey, that's (5)Elemental Hero Woodsman(4/ATK: 1000/DEF: 2000)! I know someone who has one of those! Too bad I also know it's superpower! So I summon Elemental Hero Burstinatrix!" Jaden's fiery heroine appeared (ATK: 1200), "And I'll use the power of the Burst Return to return all other heroes to our hands!" Woodsman was forced back into Jason's hand while Sparkman and Clayman returned to Jaden's "Now I'll throw down a face-down! You're up!"
"Then it's my turn," Jason drew his next card, "
I summon (*) Elemetal Hero Ocean(4/ATK: 1500/DEF: 1200)!" an armored merman-like warrior appeared, who had a large, long fin erected on his head, and wielded a crescent-bladed lance (ATK: 1500), "Now I'll attack with Ocean!" Ocean truck Burstinatrix down with his lance.
Jaden: 1500
Jason: 1200
"That ends my turn."
"A water-based warrior monster, huh?" Jaden drew his next card, "Two can play at that game! I summon (3) Elemental Hero Bubbleman(3/ATK: 800/DEF: 1200)!" a blue-suited masked warrior with light-blue armor appeared, fire-hose nozzles mounted on his wrists (ATK: 800), "And the best part about him is when he's the only one out on the field, I get to draw 2 new cards!" Jaden drew another two cards, "Now this I can work with! I equip Bubbleman with Bubble Blaster, giving him double the ATK points!" Bubbleman was now holding a large bazooka-like weapon with a water dispenser on top (ATK: 1600), "Now attack Ocean with Bubble Barrage!" Ocean was destroyed by a flurry of bubbles from Bubbleman's blaster.
Jaden: 1500
Jason: 1100
"That end my turn!"
"It's my turn," Jason drew his next card, "I summon Elemental Hero Woodsman in DEF position and end my turn." the Woodsman return to the field.
"It's my turn now!" Jaden drew his next card,
"I'll play a little defense of my own with Clayman!" the stone golem reappeared (DEF: 2000), "And with that, I end my turn!"
"It's my turn," Jason drew his next card, "I activate the magic card Monster Reborn. This lets me summon a monster from the graveyard. I summon Elemental Hero Ice Edge," the small ice warrior appeared (ATK: 800), "Now I activate Polymerization! By fusing together Elemental Hero Ice Edge and Woodsman, I can summon Elemental Hero Absolute Zero from my fusion-deck!" the two heroes combined to form the larger ice warrior (ATK: 2500), "And because of his effect, he gets 500 ATK points for every Water-Attribute monster on the field (ATK: 3000), "Now attack Bubbleman!" Absolute Zero charged in and jabbed Bubbleman, but the other water monster used its blaster to shield himself from the attack.
"Sorry, but when Bubbleman's battles a stronger monster, not only can he use Bubble Blaster to take the hit, it also cancels all battle-damage!"
"Then I'll end my turn."
"It's my turn!" Jaden draws his next card, "
Absolute Zero attacks Bubbleman!"
"I activate the quick-play spell card Bubble Shuffle! This switches Bubbleman and a monster you have in ATK mode to DEF mode! Then, by sacrificing Bubbleman, I can summon another Elemental Hero from my hand, like Sparkman!" Bubbleman was then replaced on the field by Sparkman (DEF: 1400).
"Then I end my turn."
"It's my turn!" Jaden drew his next card, "There's nothing to do here so I'll end this turn for now."
"Then it's my turn," Jason dre his next card, "I switch Absolute Zero into ATK position and attack Elemental Hero Clayman."
"Then I'll activate my trap card, Clay Charge!" Jaden's Clayman then rose up to face the charging monster, "If Clayman's gonna be destroyed then he's not giving up without a fight..." both heroes reeled back their fists and then they collided in a deadlock, "because once he's targeted for an attack, then both monsters are destroyed!" they separated from each other and dropped to their knees before being destroyed, "And then we both take 800 points of damage!"
Jaden: 700
Jason: 300
"If Absolute Zero is destroyed, then all other monsters on your field are destroyed as well," Jaden's Sparkman froze solid then shattered. "I'll end my turn for now."
"Then it's my turn!" Jaden drew his next card, "I activate The Warrior Returning Alive! I'm sure you noticed this spell card! It lets me add a warrior like Elemental Hero Avian from my graveyard to my hand, who I'll then summon to the field in ATK mode!" the winged hero returned to the field (ATK: 1000), "Now attack directly with Featherbreak and end this duel!" Avian flew up and launched a dozen feathers at Jason.
Jaden: 700
Jason: 0
The holograms disappeared as Jason and Jaden stood there closer into the field. Jaden looked away scratching his head, clearly disappointed, "Okay, well this wasn't what I expected, but that's a good duel, right?" he said before he started beeping. Jaden pulled aside his blazer and took his PDA out of its hip holster. Jason looked with him to see a video message. It was Chazz Princeton from the exams.
"Hey, Slifer Slacker. Don't think you're off the hook," the message said, "Tonight, at midnight, it's on. Oh, and why don't we make it interesting. Whoever wins, gets the other guy's best card!"
"Cool! I guess I'll get to duel at that arena after all." Jaden smiled as he ran back to his room, leaving Jason outside.
Jason went back to his room sitting on his bed. He thought about the duel he just had with Jaden Yuki. He won but he didn't look too happy about it. He only changed his attitude when he got sent this so-called challenge, like he was expecting something from that other black-haired student that Jason himself didn't manage to give him. Was he expecting a bit more excitement from this card game? Once again he wondered why this game was such a big deal as to create a boarding school on an island he's standing on now. He wonders what he's missing. Maybe he could find it in that match going on at midnight.
He remembered passing a sign to the auditorium last time he was here to see the vice-chancellor. So it took him a while to actually get there and see it again. Someone must be in there because he could see the lights seeping through the double doors. When he opened them, he was standing at the edge of a large, domed stadium, with bleachers all the way around it, centering around a stage in the center. He walked in and looked around. It's clearly made for duels so he's at the right place.
"Hey! What are you doing here?!" Jason looked up towards the arena and found three boys in blue blazers standing on it, one of them being the guy who called Jaden out earlier.
"I'm here for a duel!" Jason simply said.
"You're kidding!" the one in glasses said, "We ain't got time for some slacker!"
"Wait!" the black-haired student called out, "I know you. You're that guy who's with that other Slifer, the one who had to duel Anais, right?" he didn't wait for an answer and smirked, "Hey, why don't you get up here! You are here for a duel, aren't you?"
"Yeah..." Jason went and climbed up onto the arena where he and Chazz stood on opposite ends.
"Y'know, believe it or not I've been looking for you. It's not every day one of Duel Academy's best of faculty. But then again, you did get lucky. Let's put that theory to the test..." Right before he could turn on his duel-disk...
"Hey, looks like someone's started without us!" Everyone turned to find Jaden and Syrus entering the arena.
"So you decided to show up..." Chazz muttered.
"You better believe it! There's no way I was gonna miss this!" Jaden said, "But you didn't tell me you already got someone else taken!"
Chazz smirked, "Well, today's your lucky day. Why wait?" he pointed to Jaden and then Jaden, "I'll take both of you on at the same time!"
"Works for me!" Jaden then climbed up to the arena and stopped next to Jason, "Hey, looks like we'll be teaming up, right?" he tapped his hand against Jason's arm.
"Uh-huh..." Jason mumbled, rubbing his arm.
"Since this is a 2-on-1 duel, let me go over a few ground rules!" Chazz explained, "I'll keep this as simply as possible: both of you get the usual 4000 points while I get twice the amount; that's 8000! Also, none of us can attack on the first turn! Any questions?"
"None here!" Jason remained quiet.
"Good. Now it's time to if two amateurs beating the academy's top faculty was a fluke, or a fact!"
"Yeah, well, we're gonna find out somethin' else, too. Like which one of the two of us is really gonna become the next King of Games!"
"Yeah, yeah, just make sure you have your best card ready to hand over when you lose."
"You, too. Now game on!" Taking this as a cue, Jason activated his duel-disk along with Jaden and Chazz. When he looked closer, he realized that the latter twos' disks are different that the one he and Jaden used earlier. Their card-playing surfaces nested partway into the side of the core of it that sat on the wrist, and is divided into two portions. The portion with the three card slots that extended from the wrist to the elbow nested, and the other two extended from the wrist end of those, a central, circular piece that lit up red when the disk was in use. The core of the duel-disk itself, as always, contained the deck slot, graveyard slot, and the life-point counter is probably on there somewhere. Where the life-point counter is on his, there's instead a big, rounded, translucent blue centerpiece. The entire design is smooth, futuristic and rounded.
Chazz: 8000
Jaden: 4000
Jason: 4000
"All right, slacker!" Chazz drew his sixth card and looked at it, then at his other cards in his hand, "For my first move, I'll summon (6) Reborn Zombie(4/ATK: 1000/DEF: 1600) in DEF mode!" a hideous-looking zombie in tattered robes appeared (DEF: 1600), "And I'll also place one card face-down." a reverse card then appeared. "That should do for now."
"Okay, now it's my turn," Jason drew his sixth card, "I activate the magic card Fusion Sage. This lets me take a Polymerization magic card from my deck and add it to my hand." he picked the magic card from his deck, and then sat down to shuffle his deck.
"This again?!" the blue student with glasses groaned.
"Let me guess, can't shuffle your deck while standing up?" Chazz taunted.
Jason ignored him and stood up to continue, "Now I activate the magic card Polymerization. With this I send Elemental Heroes Ice Edge and Heat from my hand to the graveyard to special-summon Elemental Hero Absolute Zero from my fusion-deck!" the two monsters combined and the warrior in white armor appeared (ATK: 2500).
"I was hoping you would do that..." Chazz sneered, leaving Jason confused, "because that card I just played face-down was a trap, slacker. That you've set off!" the reverse-card on his field rose up, "Chthonian Polymer, do your stuff!"
"What's Chthonian Polymer's... 'stuff'?" Syrus wondered.
"I had a feeling I'd find you guys here," Syrus quickly turned to see the blonde girl in the while-and-blue school uniform walk over to the sidelines next to him, not looking happy herself, "Chthonian Polymer's a nasty trap. It allows you to take control of an opponent's fusion-monster by sacrificing one of your own creatures."
"Oh no... Jason just summoned a fusion monster!"
"Now I sacrifice my monster to take control of one of yours! Red Rover, Red Rover, send that Absolute Zero right over!" Reborn Zombie spontaneously combusted in a sinister burst of light, and Absolute Zero glowed white and disappeared from Jason's side of the field onto Chazz's. Covered in a shadowy aura, Absolute Zero rose again, this time as an enemy.
"How did he know I was gonna summon a fusion-monster...?" Jason mumbled to himself.
"How did I know?!" Chazz laughed, "Apparently I know more about Elemental Heroes than you do! Using fusion is second nature! You're as predictable as its strategy!"
"Well... Well that's a special-summon. So I can still summon a monster from my hand. But I'll set a monster face-down in DEF position instead. Then, I'll place one card face-down and end my turn." two face-down cards appeared.
"Alright, my turn!" Jaden drew his sixth card, "I summon Elemental Hero Clayman in DEF mode!" the large, rocky hero knelt in front of him (DEF: 2000), "There. All set."
Chazz drew his next card, "Yeah; set up, to get knocked down! Rise, (7) Chthonian Soldier(4/ATK: 1200/DEF: 1400)!" a warrior in dark armor appeared, wielding a large, curved sword in hand (ATK: 1200),
"Now I activate yet another spell card Double Attack! By sending a monster card from my hand to the grave, my Chthonian Soldier can now attack twice this turn!" Chazz discarded the monster Helpomer, "And now, Absolute Zero, attack that face-down!" Absolute Zero smashed into Jason's face-down, which was revealed as Elemental Hero Woodsman, "Now it's Chthonian Soldier's turn! Attack, Double Windstorm Slash!" the soldier heaved its sword and charged at Jason, striking him with his sword.
Chazz: 8000
Jaden: 4000
Jason: 2800
"Now I'll enhance him with the equip-spell, Cursed Armaments! This reduces my soldier's ATK points by 600!" the soldier suited in venomous violet armor with a shield, his sword replaced (ATK: 600).
"Why would he lower his monster's points?" Jason wondered.
"Now I'll end my turn with a face-down card," a reverse-card appeared, "Care to give another try?"
"Okay, it's my turn," Jason drew his next card, "I activate the magic card A Hero Lives. While I have no monsters on my field, I can summon an Elemental Hero from my deck. So I summon Elemental Hero Ocean in ATK position!" the merman hero arrived on the field (ATK: 1500).
Chazz: 8000
Jaden: 4000
Jason: 1400
"Elemental Hero Ocean, attack Cthonian Soldier!" Ocean struck down the soldier, resulting in a small explosion. Out of the cloud of smoke and debris, the cursed sword came twisting up in the air, and shot straight for Jason, striking right through.
Chazz: 7100
Jaden: 4000
Jason: 500
"Now you did it! When Chthonian Soldier's destroyed, you receive the same amount of damage to your life-points as I do. Difference, is, you hardly have any to spare!" Chazz said, "And that's not all; since Cursed Armament's was equipped to my soldier when it was destroyed, it moves onto a new monster as its new host!" the cursed armor then attached itself onto Elemental Hero Ocean (ATK: 900). "Are ya starting to know your place here at the Academy yet? I don't know what kind of duelist you were back at home, and frankly it doesn't matter! Because here in the big leagues, you're nothing but a pathetic little amateur, Slifer Slime!" somehow what Jason had been told had hit a nerve as he stared at the floor. He was hardly able to meet other duelist due to being the only person in town who had a deck. That was because he thought this game wasn't such a big deal, it was just some card game. When he learned that game became a spectator sport and there was a school made for such a thing, he was excited. But now, in his first day at the academy, he felt put down and humiliated. It's just like the 8th grade all over again. Those were horrible times in middle school.
"Hey, what's wrong with you!" Jason looked up to see Jaden scowling at him, "Are you breaking down just by listening to what this guy's saying? You gotta toughen up!
you want to in to the world of dueling, you can't just take the parts you like! You gotta take in the trash-talking, along with action! you gotta take the humiliation along with victory! If you wanna duel, you gotta take in the good with the bad!" Jaden words were deep. Maybe there are good points in this game like there are bad in any other. And whether he wins or loses, he want's to play the game. "So, win or lose, are you ready to play the game?"
Jason took a deep breath, "Thank you."
"Hey, don't mention it!"
"If you're quite done with this little soap opera...!" Chazz interrupted, "I'd like to take your rare cards sometime tonight!"
Jason took a card from his hand and place it in his duel-disk, "I place 1 card face-down and end my turn."
"My turn!" Jaden drew his next card, "I play Elemental Hero Sparkman in DEF mode!" the electric hero appeared (DEF: 1400). "Next I throw down a face-down and end my turn!"
"Play what you like. My next move will finish off your life-points!" Chazz drew his next card, "First I activate the trap card Call of the Haunted!" the face-down card lifted as a continuous-trap card, "It lets me select one monster card from my graveyard, and summon it back to the field in ATK mode. Rise, Infernal Warrior!" the warrior in black armor reappeared (ATK: 1200), "But he won't be staying on the field for long, because I'm going to sacrifice him to summon, (8) Mefist the Infernal General(ATK: 1800/DEF: 1700)!" the warrior disappeared and was replaced my a taller dark warrior wielding a large staff-axe, mounted on a fearsome-looking steed (ATK: 1800).
"Not bad." Jaden said, looking impressed.
"Not bad?" Chazz scoffed, "You're somethin' else, slacker, ya know that? Acting all confident. Too bad I can't say the same about you little friend over there! Go, Absolute Zero! Attack Elemental Hero Ocean!" Absolute Zero rushed across the field ready to pummel the merman. But before he was able to attack, the monster somehow split into two monster, Elemental heroes Ice Edge and Heat. "What just happened!? That monster should've been fish-food!"
"Before you attacked, I activated the quick-play magic card, De-Fusion!" Jason's reverse-card opened, "This separates a fusion monster into its 2 original monsters! And since it's a quick-play spell-"
"I know what a quick-play spell does!" Chazz snapped, "You must be forgetting I still have a monster on the field! Mefist, attack!" but the dark horseman remained a frozen statue before it shattered, "No!"
"And you must've forgotten about Absolute Zero's special-ability!" Jaden said, "When Zero's removed from the field, every one of your monsters are destroyed!"
"Pure luck! Just make your move!"
"Will do..." Jason drew his next card, "I activate Ocean's effect, which lets me add an Elemental Hero from my field or graveyard to my hand! I choose my Elemental Hero Woodsman! Next, I summon Elemental Hero Lady Heat in ATK mode!" the female flame-throwing hero appeared (ATK: 1300), "And for Heat's effect, he gains 200 ATK points for each Elemental Hero monster on my field! And since there are 4, he gets 800 ATK points (ATK: 2400), "
And since you don't have any monsters on your field, my monsters can attack you directly!"
"Not while I have the Negate Attack trap card out!" Chazz's reverse-card formed a barrier that repelled Jason's monsters. "You're gonna have to do better than that, Slifer!"
"Then I place 1 card face-down and I'll end my turn, which activates Lady Heat's effect, dealing 200 points of damage to you for every Elemental Hero on my field." four small fireballs hovered around Lady Heat before they shot towards Chazz, causing explosions around him.
Chazz: 6300
Jaden: 4000
Jason: 500
"That was pretty good..." Chazz muttered to himself.
"Okay, my turn!" Jaden drew his next card, "I activate my Polymerization, to fuse Elemental Heroes Avian And Burstinatrix to form Elemental Hero Flame Wingman!" the bird-like hero and flame-throwing heroine combined into the same monster that was used to defeat Crowler at the exams (ATK: 2100), "Next, I activate the spell Monster Reborn! With this I can bring back any monster as long as it's in the graveyard! So I'll bring back Elemental Hero Absolute Zero!" the decorative ornament appeared on the field. A bright light shown to bring in the new monster. But eventually... "Uh, what's going on? Where's Absolute Zero?"
"See, that's the thing..." Jason told him, "Absolute Zero can only be summoned in a fusion! Once he leaves the field, that's it!"
"Oh... Then I'll just bring back Burstinatrix!" the fiery heroine descended onto the field (ATK: 1200), "Now, Sparkman, attack with Shining Surge Flash and put a shock to his system!" Sparkman threw a series of lightning volts.
Chazz: 4700
Jaden: 4000
Jason: 500
"Next up, is Flame Wingman!" Flame Wingman rose to the sky and fired a streak of flame from his dragon-like arm at Chazz.
Chazz: 2600
Jaden: 4000
Jason: 500
"And last but not least, Burstinatrix! Attack with Burstfire!" Burstinatrix formed an orb of red fire and tossed it at Chazz causing an even bigger explosion on impact.
Chazz: 1400
Jaden: 4000
Jason: 500
"And that's it for my turn!" Jaden concluded.
"Well, it's about time!" Chazz drew his next card, "I summon (9) Diskblade Rider(4/ATK: 1700/DEF: 1500)!" a fiendish-looking, green-skinned warrior appeared sitting on a terrifying-looking motorcycle (ATK: 1700), "And it has enough ATK points to run over the rest of Slifer no.2's life-points wait 'till you see his special-ability! He gains 500 extra ATK points until the end of your next turn, just by removing a normal-rap card like Chthonian Polymer from play!" Chazz took the card from his graveyard slot and placed it into his pocket (ATK: 2200), "Now I equip his with the Sword of Deep-Seated spell card! This gives him 500 extra ATK and DEF points!" a large sword with a violet blade was now held in Diskblade's hand (ATK: 2700/DEF: 2000), "Not it has more that enough strength to take out any one of your monsters! And I think I'll use that strength on your Elemental Hero Ocean!"
"Uh, guys!" Alexis called, "We got company. Campus Security. If they find us all in here, we'll get seriously busted."
"What?!" Syrus yelped.
Jaden turned to her, nervous, "W-why? I mean, we're all students here."
"Ahem..."Alexis took a little book out of her pocket and pointed to it, "The rules say no off-hour arena duels! Chazz knows that!" she looked towards the blue-wearing student who began to blush, "But lemme guess: he didn't tell you."
One of his classmates leaned forward from the stands. "Come on, let's go!"
Chazz snorted and turned to leave, the holograms vanishing behind him, "Well, well, slackers. Looks like you lucked out, this time!"
"Whaddaya talkin' about, the match isn't over!" Jaden protested.
"Yeah it is. I've seen what I came here to see," Chazz jumped down from the arena platform and walked away with his classmates, "You're a sorry duelist. You beating Doctor Crowler was just a fluke! And your partner is way worse! He'd be the prized example of where Slifer's belong: at the bottom!"
"Guys, we gotta get outta here!" Syrus urged, "Come on, let's go!"
Jason felt a little upset because of the last thing Chazz had said, but had to step off the arena anyway, see Jaden standing miffed with his arms crossed.
They managed to sneak back out to the front entrance; Syrus pushed Jaden over to Alexis, having apparently shoved him the whole way there, "You certainly are stubborn, Jaden." Alexis groaned.
Jaden still looked aggravated over the duel ending early, "Only about my dueling."
"Thanks for showin' us the back way out!" Syrus thanked Alexis.
"Sure. I'm sorry that you didn't get to finish your match with Chazz."
"It's okay. I know just how it would've ended anyway." Jaden said, smug.
"Wait..." Jason spoke up, "Did you mean you knew what my face-down card was?"
"Hm, what?" Jaden wondered, confused, then realized what Jason was talking about, "Say, you had a face-down too, right? What was it?"
"Really. No offense, but, from my point of view, it could've gone either way between you and Chazz when you guys stopped. " Alexis said cynically.
"No way; not after I threw this down!" Jaden showed everyone the card he had laid face-down. Jason squinted his eyes to look at a picture of a series of mirrors. He head Alexis gasp a bit and figured out that Jaden would've won. Jaden nodded slightly; he knew he would've won. But what does this card do? "See ya." he smiled as he and Syrus ran back to the red dorm, with Jason unconsciously following.
Jason made it back to his room without waking up his roommate, and sat on the bottom bunk. He looked at the card he had laid face-down when he was dueling. It looked like some kind of short, pudgy man in makeup floating around. Someone told him it was based off of some japanese spirit that caused trouble or pull pranks or something. He already forgotten its name; it was too hard to pronounce. He knew if Chazz had attacked, he would have had won the duel. He felt proud of himself. But there was still his matter in staying in the academy...
DUEL-MON DATABASE
(1) Elemental Hero Clayman
Stats: [Warrior] LV: 3 (ATK: 800/DEF: 2000)
Attribute: EARTH
(2) Elemental Hero Sparkman
Stats: [Warrior] LV: 4 (ATK: 1600/DEF: 1400)
Attribute: LIGHT
(3) Elemental Hero Bubbleman
Stats: [Warrior/Effect] LV: 3 (ATK: 800/DEF: 1200)
Attribute: WATER
Effect: If this is the only card in your hand, you can Special Summon it. When this card is Summoned, if you control no other cards, you can draw 2 cards.
(4) Elemental Hero Heat
Stats: [Warrior/Effect] LV: 4 (ATK: 1600/DEF: 1200)
Attribute: FIRE
Effect: This card gains 200 ATK for each face-up "Elemental HERO" monster you control.
(5) Elemental Hero Woodsman
Stats: [Warrior/Effect] LV: 4 (ATK: 1000/DEF: 2000)
Attribute: EARTH
Effect: Once per turn, during your Standby Phase: You can add 1 "Polymerization" from your Deck or Graveyard to your hand.
(6) Reborn Zombie
Stats: [Zombie/Effect] LV: 4 (ATK: 1000/DEF: 1600)
Attribute: DARK
Effect: While you have no cards in your hand and this card is in Attack Position, it cannot be destroyed by battle.
(7) Chthonian Soldier
Stats: [Warrior/Effect] LV: 4 (ATK: 1200/DEF: 1400)
Attribute: DARK
Effect: When this card is destroyed by an opponent's attacking monster and sent to the Graveyard, the Battle Damage you took from this battle is also inflicted to your opponent.
(8) Mefist the Infernal General
Stats: [Fiend/Effect] LV: 5 (ATK: 1800/DEF: 1700)
Attribute: DARK
Effect: When this card attacks with an ATK that is higher than the DEF of your opponent's Defense Position monster, inflict the difference as Battle Damage to your opponent's Life Points. When this card inflicts Battle Damage to your opponent's Life Points, discard 1 card randomly from your opponent's hand.
(9) Diskblade Rider
Stats: [Fiend/Effect] LV: 4 (ATK: 1700/DEF: 1500)
Attribute: WIND
Effect: Once per turn, you can remove from play 1 Normal Trap Card from your Graveyard. This card gains 500 ATK until the End Phase of your opponent's turn.
DUEL-MON TRIVIA
"Hey, Duelists! Did you know..."
"Mefist's Japanese name, 'Hell General-Mephisto', is named after Mephistopheles, a demon to whom Faustus sold his soul in the play The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus by Christopher Marlowe."
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