Yu-Gi-Oh! Eternal
A Fanfiction by neomage
(DISCLAIMER: The action's getting hot! But like I said before, I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or Yu-Gi-Oh GX.)
CHAPTER 3 – Childhood Grudge
DUEL ACADEMY GROUNDS
JANUS: 2250; DRAKE: 3150
Janus's life points stood at 2250, he had no cards in his hand, and on the field he had Elemental Hero Clayman in Defense Mode and equipped with the Hero Ring trap card, and Elemental Hero Sparkman in Attack Mode and equipped with the Light Laser magic card. On the other hand, Drake had 3150 life points, three cards in his hand including the one he'd just drawn, and on the field he had his Destiny Hero – Double Dude in Attack Mode and equipped with the D – Chain trap card.
"All right, Janus…the buck stops here!" Drake declared venomously. "Now, time for me to activate the field Magic card…Clock Tower Prison!"
All at once there was a loud rumbling noise…then suddenly, all around them sprung up a massive courtyard with a huge clock tower directly behind Drake. On seeing this, several of his fans in the crowd began to whoop. "All right! The Clock Tower Prison! Now Drake's really gonna give it to him!" they cried out.
"Let me explain for your benefit what this card does," Drake spoke up, crossing his arms and smirking triumphantly. "From now on, during each of your Standby Phases, the clock tower behind me will get what is known as a Clock Counter. What does that mean, you ask? Well, you'll find out in due time. For the moment, though, I'll just set one other card facedown. Your move, now."
"All right, then!" Janus drew a card to replenish his hand…and suddenly froze as the clock began to chime loudly. "Whoa…what on earth…?"
"Did you forget what I said already?" Drake asked derisively. "I told you, during each of your Standby Phases, the Clock Tower Prison will get a Clock Counter! Observe!" And he pointed to the face of the clock; its minute hand was pointing to the numeral 1, where a big blue orb was now suddenly glowing. "Right now, though, that Clock Counter shouldn't concern you too much. Just continue your turn."
"As you wish," said Janus. "Now, time to take that Double Dude out! Go, Sparkman—blast him away!"
Sparkman raised the Light Laser again, firing a shot at Double Dude. But suddenly Drake exclaimed, "And now I can activate the effect of a card from my hand: Destiny Hero – Blade Master (ATK 300, DEF 600)! During your Battle Phase, by discarding Blade Master from my hand, all Destiny Hero monsters on my side of the field get 800 ATK points this turn only!"
As Drake discarded his last remaining card to the Graveyard, the silhouette of a blue-haired man wearing bladed armor and a dual-bladed weapon on his arm appeared behind Double Dude…and in turn, Double Dude's ATK shot up to 2300! "No way!" Janus cried—but much to his dismay, Double Dude raised his cane, blocking Sparkman's attack somewhat, and charged forward. As he did, suddenly Double Dude's muscles seemed to bulge and ripped his clothes off, revealing a ferocious hulk of a man as he barreled into the hapless Sparkman, swiftly lowering Janus's life points.
JANUS: 1550; Drake: 3150
"Argh…well, at least the effect of the Light Laser holds out," Janus reminded Drake. "Any monster that battled a monster equipped with Light Laser is removed from play after the Damage Step." And then, just like that, Double Dude vanished from existence. "Now your side of the field is wide open," Janus continued. "All I need to do now is summon a powerful enough monster, and you'll be in some serious trouble!"
"Oh, will I?" Drake asked mockingly. "We'll soon see about that, now won't we?"
"I guess we will," Janus nodded. "Anyways, I end my turn now."
Immediately Drake drew another card. "Well, I can't risk leaving my life points wide open for you to assault me. So, I'll set one monster in Defense Mode, and end my turn for now."
Again Janus drew his card—and again the clock chimed as its hand pointed to the numeral 2 and as the Clock Tower Prison got another Clock Counter. Okay, that's two of those things now…I have to beat this guy soon, before any more of those Clock Counters appear! And I've got just the card I need to deal with his case!
"All right now," Janus spoke aloud. "I summon Neo-Spacian Glow Moss (ATK 300, DEF 900) in Attack Mode!" And then he called to the field a glowing humanoid amoeba-moss creature. "And never mind his stats; he's got a really useful effect…"
"And what would that be—taking up valuable space?" Drake sneered.
"Nope!" Janus chuckled. "Here's how his effect works. When he attacks or is attacked, you get to draw a card from your deck. Then, you reveal that card, and what happens next is based on the type of card that it is—if it's a Monster card, the Battle Phase is automatically ended; if it's a Magic card, then Glow Moss's attack is changed to a direct attack on your life points; and if it's a Trap card, Glow Moss is automatically shifted into Defense Mode. And now…Glow Moss, go!"
Glow Moss swiftly shifted into a watery form and slid towards Drake's side of the field. "All right! Now I'll draw a card for that creature's effect!" Drake cried, immediately drawing his card as he did so. "And I should show it to you, right? Well, here it is!"
He swiftly held up the card for all to see—and it was revealed to be a Trap card, D – Shield. "Now, your Glow Moss is changed to Defense Mode!" Drake announced…and Glow Moss swiftly did a U-turn and went back to Janus's side of the field, transforming into a miniature shield as he did so.
"What was the point of that? Drake managed to get a card from his deck regardless!" said Natasha.
"Perhaps Janus was hoping to use Glow Moss's effect and do a direct attack on Drake," Ricardo reasoned. "But you're right—whichever way Glow Moss's effect went, Drake would still have gotten to draw a card regardless. And allowing your opponent to draw a card is not always a safe tactical choice."
"Well, so much for that pathetic attempt of yours at a decent move just now, man," Drake laughed. "Ha! Well, now it's my turn again!"
He quickly drew another card from his deck. "Okay…now, first I'll activate my facedown trap card, Eternal Dread! This allows me to put two Clock Counters on the Clock Tower Prison!"
At once the clock chimed twice more, its hand swiftly spinning to the numeral 4, even as two more Clock Counters made themselves visible. "Now, the circle is complete," Drake said smugly. "When there are four or more Clock Counters on the Clock Tower Prison, I take no Battle Damage whatsoever. Which basically means, even if you can destroy my monsters, you can't hurt me at all."
"Oooooh! Drakey-wakey's so tough! He's not gonna be beat so easily!" the fan-girls among the spectators cooed loudly.
"Next, I'll set one card facedown," Drake continued. "Then, I'll summon my terrifying Destiny Hero – Doom Lord (ATK 600, DEF 800) to the field in Attack Mode!" And he brought forth a white-faced man dressed in spiky gray armor and a maroon cape, and sporting claws on his gloved hands. "And now, time to utilize his effect…"
"What?" Janus's eyes widened.
"You see, if Doom Lord is in Attack Mode, then once per turn I can remove one of your monsters from play!" Drake explained. "All right, Doom Lord—send his Clayman packing!"
Doom Lord's eyes opened wide—and then the next thing Janus knew, Clayman got sucked into a mysterious vortex, even as the Hero Ring card he'd been equipped with got destroyed! "Aw, crap!" he cried.
"Calm down, little man—it's not permanent," Drake told him. "In my next two turns after this, you'll get your Clayman back in the same battle position he was just in. Plus, I'm not allowed to attack you in the same turn I use Doom Lord's effect. So, go ahead…I end my turn now."
"In that case, my move!" Janus swiftly drew his next card, so now he again held two in his hand…and again the clock chimed, putting a fifth Clock Counter on the Clock Tower Prison even as the clock hand pointed to the numeral 5. "Okay, that's getting really annoying…but what do you know! All right, Drake, now I'm going to activate the magic card, Soul Exchange!"
Drake reared back in shock. "What the hell? Not THAT card!"
"It seems you're familiar with what the card does," Janus remarked with a smug expression. "But I'll say it out loud, anyway. Soul Exchange allows me to select one of your monsters, and…this turn, if I would need to tribute a monster on my side of the field, then I get to tribute your monster that I selected instead. And I choose your Doom Lord as a tribute to summon…Elemental Hero Necroshade (ATK 1600, DEF 1800)!"
Green mist emerged on Janus's side of the field, then swiftly crossed over to Drake's side and engulfed the hapless Doom Lord entirely. And then…coming from that mist was a red-skinned being with bone plates all over his body. "Now, most unfortunately, Soul Exchange prevents me from attacking in the same turn I used its first effect," Janus added. "So now, I'll end my turn for the moment."
"All right—that was a lowdown, dirty trick, using that card!" Drake stormed. Several members of the crowd roared in agreement.
"Well, it was a legit lowdown, dirty trick," Janus smirked. "So stop fussing and make your move already."
"Fine!" Drake drew once again. "And now, I'll summon my Destiny Hero – Captain Tenacious (ATK 800, DEF 800) in Attack Mode!" Then he brought forth an orange-haired warrior wielding massive spiked shield-gauntlets on his arms. "And…that'll do for now."
Janus narrowed his eyes at this even as he drew his next card, pointedly ignoring the chiming from the Clock Tower Prison as it got its sixth Clock Counter and its hand pointed to the numeral 6. Hmmm…why would he throw his Captain Tenacious into Attack Mode…unless…wait a sec! He must want me to attack him! He looked at Drake's side of the field more carefully. Of course—his D – Shield trap card that he drew earlier when I activated my Glow Moss's effect! He must be waiting to spring it on me when I attack Tenacious! Well…I'll take care of that!
"All right, Drake!" Janus announced. "Now, it's time for me to activate this magic card: R – Righteous Justice! Now, I can destroy a number of Magic and Trap cards on the field equal to the number of Elemental Hero monsters I control—and since I've got one on the field at present, that means I can destroy one of your Magic or Trap cards! And I choose your facedown card!"
All at once, to Drake's horror, his facedown card exploded! "No! I needed that!" he cried.
"Oops, looks like I spoiled your strategy," Janus chuckled. "Well, now I'll attack your Captain Tenacious with my Necroshade! Attack with Mist Corruption!" And in response, Necroshade vanished in the same mysterious green mist he'd first appeared in—then second later emerged behind Tenacious, shoving his clawed hand right through the other warrior's chest!
Drake gritted his teeth as he watched his monster's demise. "Why, you…that was so uncalled for!" he spat.
"C'mon, man, would you relax?" Janus asked in exasperation. "After all, your Clock Tower Prison's still preventing you from getting any battle damage, right?"
Drake huffed. "Well, no matter…I'll get you back. It's only a matter of time before I have you on your knees at my feet like the mongrel you really are!"
With a vengeful flourish, he drew his next card…and all at once, the removed-from-play Clayman reappeared on the field, crouched in Defense Mode as he'd been before. "Hmph…it's been two turns since I used Doom Lord's effect to remove Clayman from the game," Drake noted. "And now he's back, defending you…like that's going to stop my warpath!"
Then he took a look at the card he'd just drawn…and a huge grin spread over his face. "All right, then! Now, time for some payback!" he cried. "Remember my facedown monster that you seem to have been ignoring up to now? Well, it's time for me to reveal it! I Flip Summon the mighty Destiny Hero – Diamond Dude (ATK 1400, DEF 1600)!"
His facedown monster was immediately revealed: a man with huge diamond chunks protruding from his body, and sporting a green cape. Then Drake held up the card he'd just drawn. "And next, I'll set one card facedown, and end my turn for now."
"Your loss!" Janus drew his next card—and the Clock Tower Prison's clock chimed as it got its seventh Clock Counter and its hand pointed to the numeral 7. "Now, I'll set one card facedown as well…and attack your Diamond Dude with my Elemental Hero Necroshade!"
Necroshade got covered in his mysterious green mist once again—but suddenly Drake shouted, "As if! I activate my trap card…another D – Shield!"
In that instant a burst of electrical energy surrounded Diamond Dude, and he in turn went on his knees in a defensive stance. "Crud…you had a second D – Shield trap card even though I destroyed one already," groaned Janus.
"Got that right, shrimp," said Drake. "And I could only activate D – Shield when a Destiny Hero, like Diamond Dude, was in Attack Mode and was targeted for an attack. Then, I treated D – Shield like an Equip card, equipped it to Diamond Dude, and he simply got switched to Defense Mode…and in addition, as long as D – Shield is active, he can't be destroyed in battle."
"Well, all right, then. Make your move," Janus invited.
"Ever hear the saying, 'Be careful what you wish for'?" Drake asked as he drew a card to replenish his hand again. "Well…this time it'll apply specially to you! For now I'll activate another field Magic card—Dark City!"
All at once several shadowy buildings burst out of the ground, upsetting the structure of the Clock Tower Prison and breaking it apart! At the same time, a huge full moon appeared in a rapidly-darkening sky overhead. "Now…vengeance will be mine!" Drake announced triumphantly. "Because if Clock Tower Prison is destroyed while it has four or more Clock Counters, I'm allowed to Special Summon one of the greatest monsters of my whole deck, either from my hand or deck! Now, come forth from the deck…Destiny Hero – Dreadmaster (ATK ? DEF ?)!"
As Drake said that, suddenly a massive, hulking figure burst out of the ground and landed on the field next to the unflinching Diamond Dude. This new arrival wore only pants ripped off at the knees, shackles on his hands and feet, and an iron mask on his face. "Ooooohhh! Look at that BODY!" several of the girls were swooning over Dreadmaster's muscular physique.
Ricardo ran a hand over his face. "I wonder if they realize it's only a Duel Monster?"
"And I hate to bear even more bad news, chump," Drake addressed Janus, "but when Dreadmaster is summoned via the Clock Tower Prison's effect, he allows me to call up to two other Destiny Heroes from the Graveyard. And I have the perfect two in mind: Destiny Hero – Fear Monger and Destiny Hero – Malicious!"
A few seconds later both Malicious and Fear Monger emerged on the field, ready to do battle once again. "And to make matters even worse for you," Drake finished, "Dreadmaster's ATK and DEF are determined by the total ATK of all other Destiny Hero monsters I've got on the field! So, take Diamond Dude's 1400, Fear Monger's 1000, and Malicious's 800…and Dreadmaster's ATK and DEF both become 3200!" And, as if to underscore the point, Dreadmaster's body began to glow with a malevolent red energy as his ATK and DEF were adjusted accordingly!
"My goodness! That thing's got enough power to take out both Necroshade and what's left of Janus's life points!" Ricardo exclaimed.
"Janus! Do something!" Natasha cried out.
"Come on, Drake! Finish the guy!" Drake's fans screamed.
Janus gritted his teeth upon seeing Dreadmaster's stats. "No way!" he shouted. "I activate my trap card, Elemental Recharge! This will give me an extra 1000 life points for each Elemental Hero I have on the field—and I have two!"
All at once a burst of electricity flooded Janus's entire side of the field, and his life points instantly shot up to 3550! "WHAT! No way!" Drake yelled.
JANUS: 3550; DRAKE: 3150
"Afraid so," Janus chuckled. "Looks like your 'finishing' me will have to wait a while longer."
"Grr…in that case, why don't I set the precursor for you?" Drake demanded. "Because I'll now shift my Diamond Dude into Attack Mode! And you better listen to this: If Dark City is active and a Destiny Hero monster does battle with another monster that has higher ATK, then that Destiny Hero's ATK increases by 1000 for that Damage Calculation only! So, Diamond Dude, get rid of his Necroshade with Diamond Fist!"
Diamond Dude rushed forward, Dark City increasing his ATK to 2400, and slammed his fist into Necroshade's chest, wiping him out and lowering Janus's score again.
JANUS: 2750; DRAKE: 3150
Then: "Go, Dreadmaster! Take down his Clayman once and for all!" And Dreadmaster, with a howl, lunged forward and slammed a fist into Clayman, reducing him to nothing more than pebbles.
"And now, Fear Monger, continue the charge and attack the Neo-Spacian Glow Moss!" Drake continued. "And don't think I've forgotten about his effect, Janus—but the bulk of it only really works when it's your turn! Meaning, if that effect makes me draw a card, and that card is anything but a Monster card, then it's curtains for your Glow Moss!"
Fear Monger raised his blaster and prepared to fire as Drake drew a card due to Glow Moss's effect. "And I was right! This here's a Magic card—which means Fear Monger's going to blast your monster away for good!" Drake held up the card for everyone to confirm, and indeed it was a Magic card, the card Misfortune. "Now, Fear Monger! Continue with your attack!" And Fear Monger's blaster fired right then, blowing Glow Moss into numerous tiny pieces.
"And now, your life points are wide open for a direct assault!" Drake laughed. "Go, Destiny Hero – Malicious! Spiteful Claw Attack!" And Malicious wasted no time in flying over to Janus and slashing him repeatedly, dropping his life points even further.
JANUS: 1950; DRAKE: 3150
"Way to go, Drake! That's showing him!" several of the spectators cried out.
"Beat him, Drakey-wakey! Beat him!" some of the girls screamed.
"Humph." Drake contemptuously rubbed his nose with his thumb. "The only thing that saved you just now was your Elemental Recharge trap card—if not for that, Dreadmaster would've been able to take out your life points with just one blow. As it is, you've gotten lucky for one more turn, but…luck will only keep you going for so long. Come next turn, my Destiny Heroes will all be able to attack you with full force! And then when that happens…you'll pay for trying to upstage me!"
"Nice going, Phoenix! Now kick his ass!" several of the spectators screamed.
"Drakey, Drakey, you're our boy! Beat this guy and bring us joy!" the fan-girls sang out.
Hearing the fan-girls' song, Ricardo grimaced. Do they even know how BAD that song sounds?
Natasha was much more concerned with what was happening on the field. Janus…!
Drake, however, laughed. "You hear that, brat?" he asked Janus. "Your own schoolmates are calling for your defeat! And who can blame them? After all, your chances of victory at this point are non-existent! You've got no cards on the field to help you out, and I've got four Destiny Heroes just gunning to destroy what's left of your life points! You may as well just surrender now—at least you can still keep a little of your dignity…not that you had any to begin with when this duel started."
"Oh…yeah…?" Janus said slowly, managing to straighten up after the assault he'd just suffered from Destiny Hero – Malicious. "Well, I'm not going down without a fight! I still have one draw left, and I'm gonna use it…no matter what it gives me in exchange! I have faith in my deck to win me this duel!"
"Faith in your deck?" Drake scoffed. "What a babyish idea! Well, fine. Go ahead. Draw your next card. Let's see if this 'faith' of yours is worth the price of mud."
Janus then looked down at his deck slot. Okay…it all comes down to this one draw. If I don't get a good card now, Drake's gonna win on the next turn…and the students here will never let me live it down! He placed his hand on the deck, preparing to draw. But I have faith in my deck, for real…I know the cards won't let me down! So, then…my loyal deck…let's win this together!
Then he drew. And he looked at the card he now held…and smiled. "Well, sorry to disappoint you, Drake—but I'm still in this duel after all!"
"What? But how do you figure that? You're only holding one card!" Drake exclaimed.
"One card can make all the difference in the world!" Janus answered. "Now I'll prove it to you! I'll Special Summon from my hand in Defense Mode…my Elemental Hero Bubbleman (ATK 800, DEF 1200)!"
A shower of bubbles burst out from the ground on Janus's side of the field…then there appeared a man clad in a blue outfit with a helmet and a white cape, sporting twin blasters on his arms, kneeling in a defensive stance. Drake took one look and laughed scornfully. "Ha! That's your big move? So much for your faith!"
"Actually, that's only the start of it all," Janus replied. "See, if Bubbleman is the only card in my hand, I can Special Summon him like I did just now—and, if there are no other cards on the field or in my hand when I summon him, I get to draw two more cards!"
That said, he swiftly drew two cards…then started laughing when he saw what they were. "Ha, ha, ha! Listen up, Drake…looks like my faith in my cards is worth a lot more than gold, after all! For I'm holding the two cards that'll ensure your defeat right now!"
"No way!" Drake snapped.
"Then allow me to show you!" Janus held up one of his cards. "I summon in Attack Mode…Elemental Hero Neos!"
To Drake's astonishment, Neos appeared on the field in a burst of energy! "WHAT! But—how'd you get him?" Drake demanded. "And besides that, he's a Level 7 monster! You can't summon him without giving up two tributes first—you're cheating!"
"Let's take it one at a time," Janus said coolly. "Remember when I did the Contact Fusion between Neos and my Neo-Spacian Air Hummingbird? Well, as you should recall, when I did that Contact Fusion both of those monsters were returned to my deck instead of going to the Graveyard. And as for Neos's summoning just now…I have the effect of Elemental Hero Necroshade to thank for that—for when Necroshade's in the Graveyard, then I'm allowed to summon any high-level Elemental Hero monster once without offering any tributes!"
"This can't be!" Drake cried out.
"And that's not all I'm gonna do," Janus continued, holding up the very last card in his hand. "Now, I'll equip Elemental Hero Neos with this Magic card—Neos Force, which will increase his ATK by 800 points!" And as he played the card, Neos's fist suddenly started glowing with an immense white light as his ATK rocketed up to 3300!
"Aw, crap! That's enough to take out any of my monsters!" Drake yelled.
"That's right! And I've got my sights set on your Destiny Hero – Malicious!" Janus replied. "Go, Neos! Strike down Malicious with your Neos Force Fist!"
Neos jumped high in the air, then came right down fist-first on the flinching Malicious. As his punch connected, Malicious exploded in a burst of light, and Drake got pushed several feet back by the force of the attack as his life points drastically shot down. "ARGH!" he cried.
JANUS: 1950; DRAKE: 650
"And there's a little bit more," Janus went on, a grin on his face. "When Neos destroys a monster in battle while equipped with Neos Force, my opponent gets life point damage equal to the original ATK of the destroyed monster! So go ahead, Neos—end this duel now!"
Neos promptly jumped up and went airborne again as his fist glowed with power once more. He punched downward, in the direction of Drake's side of the field—and unleashed a hail of light energy that exploded all over the field, consuming Diamond Dude, Dreadmaster and Fear Monger in the process! "AAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!" Drake screamed out in horror as the attack hit him head-on, knocking him back and to the ground as his life points dropped to 0.
JANUS: 1950; DRAKE: 0
"Merciful goodness…he actually did it…" Ricardo said softly, though his face sported a look of great and obvious surprise.
"Great one, Janus! You won! You really won!" Natasha cheered.
"Oh, no! Drakey-wakey!" the fan-girls cried out in disappointment.
Jasmine quickly ran over to where Drake lay on his back. "Young master!" she cried, kneeling by his side. "Are you all right? Please, say something!"
Groaning, Drake struggled to sit up. "Argh…no way…I lost?" he grunted.
"I'm afraid so, Master Drake," Jasmine nodded solemnly. "But only barely…"
"It doesn't matter—a loss is a loss," Drake replied harshly. "But it doesn't make any sense…how could he possibly have gotten just the right cards to beat me? It isn't logical!"
"Seems you really still haven't changed a single bit, little Drake."
All heads turned at the sound of the voice. "Vice-Principal!" the students spoke in subdued whispers.
Indeed, standing not far away from the gathering was Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki; now she stepped forward. "Okay, everyone, fun's over! Get to class, all of you!" she shouted, waving her arms to disperse the crowd. Then she cast a sideways glance at Ricardo, Natasha and Janus. "YOU three, wait just a moment."
The rest of the students filed away, chattering excitedly about the duel that had just ended. In a few moments, only Janus, Ricardo and Natasha were left, with Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki standing mere feet away from Drake and Jasmine. "Hello there," she addressed them.
"Madam…" Jasmine bowed her head slightly.
"Mm-hmm," Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki acknowledged her. Then to Drake: "So, little Drake, up to your old tricks again, are you? You may have gotten a couple inches taller and become more handsome since last time I saw you, but you're still the same spoiled brat from eight years ago. I guess the more things change, the more they stay the same, after all."
Drake narrowed his eyes. "How long have you been watching?"
"Not too long, actually," she replied. "Your father called and alerted me that you'd stop by, probably to challenge Janus to a duel. So I decided to take a little time and find you guys...and here you were, dueling."
"H-h-huh?" Janus walked up to his mother. "So…you really were watching the duel, then?"
"I was." Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki nodded. "And I saw enough to know that in spite of his status, Drake here isn't deserving of the devotion his fans shower on him. Not only was his manner unsportsmanlike, but his motivation was less than honorable, as well."
Ricardo and Natasha, walking up to the group, looked at each other on hearing this. "His motivation?" Natasha queried.
Drake's eyes widened as he glared at Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki. "You wouldn't…!"
"I would, I can, and I will." Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki then turned to the children. "Listen, you guys. This isn't the first time Drake has challenged Janus to a duel—and lost. It's been a recurring thing over the last eight years…although I have to admit, this is the first time I've seen him use the Destiny Hero cards. I wouldn't have expected his father to pass them on to him just like that."
"Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki, you said it's been a recurring thing…how did it all start?" Ricardo asked.
"Well, now, that's a really interesting story." Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki nodded. "Of course, Drake here might not think the same way, but then again…"
"No! Stop!" Drake exclaimed, in a sudden panic.
"Oh, be quiet, you. It wasn't a secret back then—why should it be a secret now?" Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki rebutted.
Then she turned back to Ricardo and Natasha. "You see, kids, eight years ago both Drake and Janus were participants in the under-12 division of a Duel Monsters tournament sponsored by Kaiba Corporation, in New York City. There was a cash prize and a trophy up for grabs, but the two of them were in the tournament for another reason: to impress a girl, named Racquel." She chuckled as she recalled this.
Janus, listening, suddenly looked thoughtful. Racquel…
"What? Oh, that's so sweet!" Natasha exclaimed, stars in her eyes.
"Quite so," Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki agreed. "The three of them had met a few months earlier, at a Duel Monsters children's camp sponsored by Maximillion Pegasus, the head of Industrial Illusions. Janus and Drake both fell into puppy-love with her, but unfortunately she couldn't choose between the two since she liked both of them equally. To settle the matter, the boys entered that tournament, and the two of them worked their way right up to the final round…"
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NEW YORK CITY, EIGHT YEARS EARLIER, 2010
Janus and Drake were staring each other down, standing across from each other on the dueling floor, their Duel-Disks active. Janus's life points were at 700, he held three cards in hand, and on the field he had Petit Angel (ATK 600, DEF 900), a cute little fairy with a halo and blue wings. On the other hand, Drake had 2500 life points, one card in hand, and on the field he had Needle Burrower (ATK 1700, DEF 1700), a mechanized red scorpion with a dangerous stinger and pincers.
"Now what're you gonna do, crybaby?" Drake teased Janus. "All of your monsters are weak! You don't have any cards that can beat my Needle Burrower! You're nothing but a loser!"
"Am not!" Janus shouted.
Nearby, in the stands, Racquel was watching. She was a pretty little girl with long red hair and blue eyes…and on her face was a worried frown. "Drake, that's not nice! Janus, you're doing great, really!" she called out.
"Yeah, right!" Drake yelled back to her. "His life points are way lower than mine, and his monster's weaker than mine! How's he possibly doing great, huh?"
"I can beat you! You'll see!" Janus exclaimed.
"Whatever," Drake scoffed. "Make your move, crybaby."
Janus defiantly drew a card. "Ha-ha! Now I'm gonna win for sure!" he said joyfully. "I summon Shining Friendship (ATK 1300, DEF 1100) in Attack Mode!" And then he summoned a pudgy green fairy with brown wings.
"What? Geez, how did you EVER get this far in the tournament with such weak monsters?" Drake wondered aloud.
"They're not weak! You take that back!" Janus cried.
"Make me!" Drake puffed himself up.
Janus then held up two of his cards. "Okay! I activate my Silver Bow and Arrow, which'll increase my Shining Friendship's ATK and DEF by 300 points!" Then, in the next instant Shining Friendship found itself wielding a bow and arrow as its ATK and DEF went to 1600 and 1400 respectively. "And then I'll activate another Silver Bow and Arrow, to increase my Petit Angel's ATK and DEF by 300!" And Petit Angel was soon holding a similar bow and arrow as its stats rose to 900 ATK and 1200 DEF.
"That's a stupid play! They're both still weaker than my Needle Burrower!" Drake laughed mockingly.
"Not for long, he isn't!" Janus then held up the last card in his hand. "Because now I'll activate the magic card Acid Rain, to destroy your Needle Burrower!"
Drake suddenly turned white. "What? But—that card destroys all face-up Machine monsters! This isn't fair!"
But even as he complained, suddenly a corrosive rain cloud emerged over Needle Burrower's head—then a sudden shower melted its metallic surface away into nothing! "Which means now, you're wide open for a direct attack!" Janus grinned.
"NO! MOMMY!" Drake screamed as Petit Angel and Shining Friendship advanced on him…
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DUEL ACADEMY GROUNDS, THE PRESENT DAY
"…and so, Janus managed to come from behind and defeat Drake," Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki finished her tale. "He'd been watching all the matches carefully, taking note of the types of cards the various other kids were using—quite insightful for his age at the time. And since Drake was using mostly Machine monsters, Janus had enough sense to put that Acid Rain card in his deck for preparation…and it won him the cash prize, the trophy, and a girlfriend. Although, I think Racquel would've chosen Janus even if he had lost—Drake's constant put-downs of weaker duelists back then were enough to make even the referee of that tournament fed up with him, so imagine how she must have felt."
"Unfortunately…" Janus spoke up quietly. "I…lost contact with her a year after that. I haven't heard from her since."
Natasha regarded Janus as he spoke. Whoa…all of a sudden he looks so…sad…
And Ricardo's eyes narrowed. They may only have been little kids back then, but this Racquel must've been really important to Janus…for him to look the way he does right now…
Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki noticed Janus's change in mood, too. "And ever since then, Drake here has been harboring a grudge against Janus—always goes on about how Janus stole his one true love from him and all that. The makings of a kiddy soap opera, if there is such a thing." And now she allowed herself a chuckle.
"Please, madam, don't say such things," Jasmine spoke up quite firmly. "It's not as if Master Drake comes to your doorstep every single day to challenge Mr. Janus—the last time was three years ago, when Master Aster brought the family to your school reunion…"
"Quiet, Jasmine. There's no need to explain anything to these…people." Drake's voice was acidic as he now stood up and leveled a glare at Janus. "Listen, you. You got lucky today, that's all. But next time, things will definitely be different, you hear me?"
Janus shrugged. "Well, if you want a rematch, Drake, just come and look for me here. I'll take you on anytime. Just remember, though…your cockiness is only gonna get you so far."
Drake scowled at that. "I don't have to take advice from you. Just know that you and I will duel again, in the very near future…and next time, you will fall. Mark my words on that." Then he turned and started walking toward the helicopter that had brought him there. "Let's go, Jasmine."
"Right away, young master," Jasmine answered. She paused to bow briefly to the group, then turned and followed after Drake.
Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki and the kids headed away from the helicopter as its rotors started up and as Drake and Jasmine boarded. Moments later, the chopper was lifting up into the sky and turning its nose seaward as it flew off. "Well…seems you were right, Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki," Ricardo remarked. "He really IS a spoiled brat."
"But he's a real better duelist now, too, no joke," added Janus, "especially with that new Destiny Hero deck of his. And if he's gonna use it again next time he and I meet up, I think it'll be very entertaining."
Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki smirked. "Well, you want to know what else will be entertaining? Seeing you run like mad kids to get to your next class period!"
Suddenly the sound of the school bell caused all their heads to turn. "Eek! We're gonna be late for second period!" Natasha squealed. "Guys, let's go!"
"Got it!" Janus answered. "See you later, Mom!" And with that, he, Natasha and Ricardo ran off.
Mrs. Rhodes-Yuki just smiled as she watched them leave. Now that's the Janus I like to see…guess that duel really was just what he needed to start off this new school year! Well…things are bound to be as interesting as ever from here on out, I think…
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neomage: This revamped chapter was originally Chapters 5 and 6…but what a difference under this revamped format, eh, folks?
Anyhow, the duel is now over, the reason for Drake's hate is revealed…and the school year is off to a great start, wouldn't you say? But what new challenges await Janus and his friends? Stay tuned for the next set of chapters to find out!