Disclaimer: I do not own anything. All rights go to their creators.
"…Monsters are real, ghosts are real too. They live inside us, and sometimes, they win."-Stephen King
Chapter Three: Dino-Girl Appears!
"I can't believe that you slept through another one of Crowler's lectures, Jay." Syrus whined.
Currently, our favorite Slifer Red duo, along with their new transfer friends, were lugging numerous duel disks from the supply boats to the main building.
"I'm sorry, but I already know about 99% of this stuff. Plus, I'm more of an audio learner. I mean, I do have some pretty good grades."
"That is true Syrus. I heard from Jay's dad that she got a perfect score on her final exam last year."
"That's amazing Jay!"
"Seems that our Sheila here is a real genius."
"Jaden, you got a perfect because you freaked and bubbled in a picture of a Kuriboh at the last minute." Syrus deadpanned. Jaden ducked her head to avoid the stares that she was receiving.
Jaden looked at Syrus with concern. "You okay Sy? You seem a bit…"
"Sapless, languid, anemic, lackadaisical, torpid?" Jim suggested.
"No need to go speaking Australian on us Jimbo."
Jesse laughed while Axel shook his head and Jim muttered on about speaking Australian. Syrus gave a weak smile at his friends.
"So, just what's eating at ya, bud? I mean, we get to watch your brother in the pro leagues soon, so what's eating at ya?" Jesse asked after he recovered.
"There's a nasty rumor going around, and it's true too." Syrus started. Everyone leaned in. "People are saying that there's this bully who sits on the bridge that we have to cross up ahead and challenges anyone who comes through there to a duel. If you lose, you have to give up your duel disk. They already have 99 disks."
"This sounds pretty familiar." Jaden muttered, thinking back to Beauregard and Brier their previous year.
"So they're the reason why we have to lug all these to the main hall?" Axel asked, a bit irritated at their predicament.
"I have got to duel this person!" Everyone gave Jaden a look as she took off running.
"Hold your horses Jay! This person isn't going anywhere!"
"It's official, she isn't going to change anytime soon." Axel sighed.
"C'mon man, we have to catch up or we'll miss everything!" Jim called out as he ran.
"...Miss Jesse and Jaden have a moment, or miss the duel?"
"BOTH!"
Once Jaden arrived at the bridge, she was surprised to see a girl a little younger than her standing in the way, multiple duel disks strapped to her back. She was slightly more muscular than Jaden herself and had slightly tanned skin. She wore a Ra Yellow vest with a green shirt and beige cargo shorts and white bands on her wrists and ankles. A bandana featuring a dinosaur face adorned her head, along with a pair of bone earrings and a necklace of dinosaur bones. Her hair consists of long, black dreadlocks.
"Hold it right there, civilian." She barked in a military fashion. "If you want to cross this here bridge, you'll have to beat me."
"That's what I'm here for!" Jaden said as she put down her cybernetic cargo and got her duel disk on.
"Whoa, looks like we got a live one here boys." The younger girl turned to a group of boys that were wearing the same headband as her. They all grinned. "Anyway, names Tyranno Hassleberry, leader of Troop Tyranno and daughter of the great General Hassleberry."
"Well, I'm Jaden Yuki, only girl in Slifer Red and daughter of the one and only Lo-I mean LD!"
Almost slipped up there Jay.
Not now Haou!
"JADEN!"
"Huh?" Jaden turned around to see Jesse and Syrus, whom she had left behind in her haste. "Oh, hey Syrus, Jess! I was just about to challenge Hassleberry to a duel here with the disks as a prize."
"Here I thought I was going to beat you, but oh well." Jesse said in a disappointed tone before regaining his composure. "You better win then, 'cause I don't think that the rest of the gang is going to want to go back and get more disks."
"Even if I don't win, you still get to see what I'm made of." Jaden answered with a playful wink.
"ENOUGH WITH THE FLIRTING! LET'S DUEL ALREADY!"
"Alright already." Jesse mumbled as he trudged to the bridge along with the tyranno troop.
"Go Troop Jaden!" Syrus yelled over the sounds that the rest of the audience was making.
"At attention, soldier." Hassleberry activated her duel disk.
"Time to roll up our sleeves and get to work!" said Jaden, complete with clap and point. She then got into her usual pose and activated her disk. "Get your game on!"
"…What in the world was that?" a kid with a red megaphone yelled from the bridge.
"That's what my dad does before a big project." Jaden chirped.
"WAIT!"
"Hey, it's Jim and Axel. HURRY UP!" Syrus shouted from the red megaphone he took from the kid next to him.
"Okay, since I'm the upperclassgirl here, I'll go first. My move!" Jaden drew a card and put it in her hand. "I play Elemental Hero Wildheart in defense mode and I end my turn."
Hassleberry gave a small 'hmph' and drew a card. "Alright, Gilasaurus, front and center! And since that was a special summon, normal summon another monster. So Gilasaurus, you're dismissed for next monster. I summon Dark Driceratops in attack mode! Now attack Wildheart! And because of my dino's special effect, you take damage no matter what position your monster is in!"
Jaden shielded herself as the winged triceratops destroyed her hero and sent particles flying. She then stood up straight and smiled. This was getting interesting.
Meanwhile elsewhere, Aster Phoenix was furiously pacing in the room he was staying in before the duel against the up-and-coming duelist, Zane Truesdale. What he had just found out enticed him to no end.
"That-that-that BRATTY LITTLE SLIFER not only has two decks chock full of heroes, but also one that she doesn't use unless she finds someone worthy of facing it and some unknown power!"
[Flashback]
Aster walked into a white circular room decorated with various bobbles and trinkets. In the middle of the room was a man with long navy hair sitting in front of a circular white table, shuffling a deck of tarot cards. He spoke without looking at Aster.
"I take it you did not think highly of your last opponent?" the man asked.
Aster rolled his eyes and walked over to the man. "It was a joke. Why on earth did you want me to fight some girl? She isn't even that half as good as I am and I lost on purpose."
The man turned his wide violet eyes onto the teen and gave a chilling smile..
"However useless a battle, this may actually be the step up in your career that you've been looking for" The man put five cards down on the table in a circular manner with one in the middle. He flipped them over in a clockwise manner, starting with the middle card, which was revealed to be The Empress. Above it was Temperance. The next three were The Fool, The Lovers, and The High Priestess. Aster raised an eyebrow.
"I don't speak tarot card. What does this mean Sartorius?"
The man, Sartorius, gave a mysterious smile. "It seems that Jaden Yuki is not all that she seems." Sartorius flipped over one last card which made his frown drop and caused Aster to shiver. It was Death. "Listen to me, Aster. Go back to duel academy and challenge Jaden at her own game. It seems that she has some sort of mysterious power and an aura that teeters on the borderlines of this world and the hereafter"
Aster gasped. Why in the world would someone so immature have a powerful gift like that? "So, what do you think I should do?"
"Confront her and try to take it for yourself."
Aster gave the man a determined look and nodded. "Sounds good to me. She doesn't seem worthy of a gift like that." He stopped, and then smirked. "I think I have an idea to draw out her true potential."
Sartorius gave a slight laughed and collected his cards. "That's the spirit Aster. Who knows, maybe within this power of Jaden's are the answers that you seek."
[End Flashback]
Aster punched a wall. "Why? Why would she have that kind of power?"
Tears hit the floor as he whispered his next sentence. "Why does she have the power that could bring you back, Dad?"
Hassleberry slunk down as Jaden revealed that she had another Insurance Card in her hand, causing her fans to switch sides. Her opponent had only 100 Life points and she had over 3000!
"It's always like this. No matter what I do, my battalion keeps abandoning me. I'm a great leader and I always win, so who wouldn't want to cheer for me? I mean, I'm beating you like my last 12 opponents, so why?"
"That's just it." Everyone turned to Jesse. "You said that you've been using the same moves for the twelve duels. People are getting bored."
They're getting bored with me? Hassleberry turned back to Jaden, who was smiling.
"It's just like Jesse said. You need to evolve your strategy. Changes are always happening, so you need to go with the flow or risk extinction."
Hassleberry thought for a moment and got up with a smile when she heard someone yell 'I'm not bored anymore!'
"Alright! Bring it on!" Jaden drew a card and smirked.
"I play the spell card Pot of Greed and draw two cards! Next, I play the field spell Skyscraper!"
Everybody watched in wonder as the Jurassic World card turned to the Ice Age and then to a city landscape, taking 300 Atk Points from Dark Tyranno.
"It's not over yet! Next I play Polymerization and fuse Wildheart with Avian from my hand to bring out in his Duel Academy debut, Elemental Hero Wild Wingman, and because of Skyscraper, he gains 1000 Atk Points! Now go! Attack Dark Tyranno!"
Wildwingman's attack caused Hassleberry's Life points to drop down to 3500.
"Next, I'll have Bladedge attack you directly!"
Hassleberry only had 900 points left.
"Now, I activate De-fusion and attack once more with Avian!"
Hassleberry couldn't help but smile when her Life points hit 0.
Everyone on the bridge cheered as Jaden gave her signature salute and catchphrase.
"I have a request." Hassleberry shouted from across the river. Jaden cocked her head to the side. "I want to go back with you to Slifer Red. I feel that I can learn more there!"
Jaden blinked then smiled. "I'd like that. Been looking for a roommate!"
"So Hassleberry, why are you trying so hard to be number one?"
Hassleberry sighed. "Since I didn't go to a preparatory school that transfers credits and stuff like that, I couldn't get into Obelisk Blue. Even though I got really high scores, the most they could do was make me a Ra Yellow. What's your story?"
"My train ran late to the testing center and I could only complete about half of my test. I had to get in on dueling alone." Jaden smiled. "Beat Crowler and got in! Pretty nice huh?"
Jaden and Hassleberry were about to start unpacking the younger girl's possessions when they heard a knock on the door. When they opened it, they were surprised to see Alexis standing there with her bags.
"Whoa! What's up Alexis? What are you doing here?"
"It's Crowler. Ever since he became the temporary Chancellor, he's been trying to turn everyone into some sort of star for publicity and money. I can't take it!"
Jaden sighed. "I really feel for you Lax, I really do. I would have you stay here, but my room isn't big enough for three…"
"Allow me to remedy that!"
The three girls turned to see Chazz in the doorway. He gestured for them to follow. Shrugging, they gave into their curiosity.
"Since I got here, I've been doing some renovations to make sure that this place was fitted to my liking. I overheard about your little predicament so I decided that the needs of the lovely lady outweighed mine."
Chazz opened a set of doors to reveal a dorm room that would put an Obelisk Blue dorm room to shame.
"Whoa!"
"This is amazing!"
"You actually did something nice for once, Chazz."
The black clothed Slifer smirked and gave a wave of his hand. "Well, you know The Chazz. I am a ladies man after all."
Chazz was then toppled by a triple glom.
"Whoa! You all together are kinda heavy! Get off!"
"Now I can't wait for tomorrow!" Jaden said as she jumped around.
"Why's that Serge?"
Jaden turned to the young Ra and smiled. "We get to see Zane duel on a big screen and play video games in high-def!"
Alexis and Chazz sighed. Jaden would never change.
Chibi: So here is chapter 3! Yes, I gender bent Hassleberry too because I wanted to include Fossil shipping but I'm kind of iffy about writing slash. I have nothing against people liking it, I just don't to write it. I blame a certain person on deviant art for that. Anyway, as I said before, I will skip some duels and briefly mention them, but the duel between Jaden and Aster is going to be all out, with Jaden using Koyukuk's mystery deck! No, it is not any Hero series, so you'll just have to wait.
