Okay, chapter 3, here we go!
Disclaimer: Wolf doesn't own Yu-Gi-Oh GX or any of the characters. She just owns her OC's and the idea. Also, cards by Princessanime08 and Lightclaw's Shadow will also be used, so creative rights go to them.
Chapter 3: A Duel in Love
It was morning at Duel Academy and the start of classes. The seating chart was so that first years were toward the front and the higher grades were near toward the back. However, since the Obelisks pretty much got whatever they wanted, it was more like Slifers at the bottom, Ras in the middle, and the Obelisks at the top.
Torrey sat near the top, in the row right before the Ra section. Speaking of Ras, Dimitri was to the right of Bastion while Briar and Beauregard sat together in front of them. In the Slifer section, Jaden sat next to Syrus with Chumley sitting behind him.
Soon everyone was seated, and class began, the first one being Dr. Crowler, who started by quizzing them to see what they already knew about Duel Monsters. He had started by asking Alexis the different categories of monsters and their sub-groupings.
"Duel Monster cards can be grouped into normal monster cards, fusion monster cards, ritual monster cards, effect monster cards, trap cards, and spell cards. Trap cards can be divided into normal traps, counter traps, and continuous traps. Spell cards can be separated into normal spells, continuous spells, equip spells, quick-play spells, ritual spells, and field spells."
"Perfect!" Crowler praised. "Well done, Alexis! Of course, I wouldn't have expected anything less from one of my blue Obelisks!"
"Yes, Dr. Crowler," Alexis responded as she sat back down.
'That's Alexis, always top of the class.' Torrey thought, watching her.
"Hmm, now who should we question next?" The doctor directed his attention toward the lower seats. "You, Syrus Truesdale, please tell the class what a field spell is."
Syrus tried, but because of his test anxiety, he just stuttered the whole time.
"If you can't answer a simple question like that then sit down." Dr. Crowler said after a few minutes.
After that Syrus sat down, thoroughly embarrassed, much to the boys' anger, especially when some of the Obelisks started laughing.
Jaden responded to it first, speaking up. "You know you really shouldn't diss Slifers, Doc. I mean, I beat you and aren't I a Slifer? So that means that in the end, you're just insulting yourself."
This got a laugh out of everyone at the expression Crowler made.
Dimitri made the next move, hurriedly scribbling a drawing on a piece of paper. When his masterpiece was done, he called attention to himself, Briar begging him not to with his eyes.
"Hey, Doc! I found this drawing on the floor that looks like you getting flattened by a piano with the words 'death to the crossdresser' written on it!"
This caused Crowler to turn a lovely shade of red, and the whole room was now busting a gut. Even the more mature of the class, like Bastion and Alexis, were laughing.
'That's it!' Crowler thought in a fury, looking at Jaden who had a smug look on his face. 'I won't tolerate this Slifer slacker any longer! It's time I get him removed from this school, permanently!'
He then eyed the boys he knew hung around with him. 'And then, I'll do something about his little friends, starting with the artist!'
Next Class
Thankfully the next class was being taught by the Slifer headmaster. "Hello class, my name is Professor Lyman Banner. I specialize in teaching some of the lesser-known tactics of duel monsters, tactics that some might even call unnatural…"
While he was talking, Syrus leaned over towards Jaden, who was listening with genuine interest, and whispered, "Thanks for standing up for me, Jaden."
Jaden gave Sy a smile. "No prob, Sy."
The class went on uneventfully, ending peacefully. Torrey was definitely fascinated with the course, having always been fascinated by the unexplainable. He was going to have fun with this class.
Crowler's Office
Since he didn't have a class for a while, Crowler was writing a letter with a feather pen and still fuming over what had happened earlier.
"How dare that Slifer slacker Jaden make a mockery of me in front of my class like that!" He grumbled, folding the letter and placing it in an envelope.
"It'll be the last mistake he makes at this academy!" He then picked up a mirror and started applying red lipstick to his lips. When he finished, he kissed the front of the letter where the folds met.
"Aah! The big kiss-off!" He laughed maniacally as he set to put his plan into action.
Gym Class
Later, the boys were in the gym with their other classmates for their next class with Fonda Fontaine, who was also the school's nurse and head of the Obelisk girl's dorm. They had changed into gym clothes and waited for the teacher to show up.
The Hero duelist noticed that Syrus was nowhere to be seen. "Hmm? I wonder where Sy is?"
"No idea. You want to sneak out and go look for him?" Dimitri asked, wanting an excuse to ditch class.
"No, he's probably just running late, it'll be fine," Torrey answered for Jaden, knowing that he would have gone along with it.
Dimitri pouted at the interference.
Meanwhile, in the boy's locker room, Crowler was sneaking around while chuckling sinisterly.
"Now, to plant the bait where Jaden will be sure to find it," He said, searching the lockers for the one he thought was Jaden's. He believed he found it when he saw Jaden's boots at the bottom.
"Ah! His shoes!" He chuckled again, placing the letter on them and quickly left.
Back at the gym, the teacher, a woman with brown hair in a bun wearing gym clothes, finally showed up and walked to the front of the class.
"Hi everyone! My name is Fonda Fontaine, and I'll be your gym instructor for this semester! You ready to sweat?!" She spoke in a perky voice.
Briar got a look on his face that said 'kill me,' which made Dimitri chuckle.
During this time, Syrus had been running late and had just gotten to the boy's locker room.
"Lousy girl's gym!" He said running towards his locker, trying to pull his shoes off as he went. "They should make the signs bigger."
When he opened his locker, he noticed Jaden's shoes in it. "Hey, those are Jaden's sneakers. Guess he's borrowing my locker."
He went to move his shoes, causing the letter on top to fall off.
"Huh?" Syrus wondered, picking up the letter to examine it. He instantly saw the lipstick mark.
"But this isn't Jaden's!" He gasped, before looking around to see if anyone was nearby. He then ducked between two sets of lockers to hide so he could read the letter in semi-privacy.
"Someone wrote me a letter?! Wonder what it says," Syrus muttered opening the letter to read it. "Since the moment I first saw you, I've been… in love with you!? Meet me tonight behind the girl's dorm. Endearingly… Alexis Rhodes!?"
Syrus actually fell backward after reading that.
"Oh boy, this sure is a lot better than what my mom usually writes me…" Syrus said before slipping into a daydream about him and Alexis getting together.
"Oh, I'm yours!" He said with a dreamy look on his face.
Later that night, the Slifer Dorm
True to her word, Ms. Fontaine had definitely made them sweat. First, they ran laps, then they split up for three-way dodgeball. Dimitri and Torrey had a blast, leading Jaden to think that most of the class now hated them.
Speaking of the Slifer, Jaden had headed back to his dorm after classes were over to work on homework, eat dinner, and shower.
"Hey, Sy, the outhouse is all yours if you want it. I'm done." He said, coming back to their room, dressed for bed and drying his hair.
"Sy's gonzo," Chumley said offhandedly.
"Huh?"
"Yeah, he just left," The older boy went on to explain. "And he was in a real good mood, too."
"A good mood?" Jaden repeated as if he wasn't sure if he heard that right, before taking a seat.
"That really doesn't sound like Syrus." Now he was worried.
Lake Shore
Dimitri was taking a walk late that night when he saw Syrus running off somewhere with a big, happy look on his face.
"Syrus?" Dimitri followed him to see what was up, but as soon as he caught up with him, he was already in a rowboat heading off to the girl's dorm. "Not good!"
"Alexis! I'm coming for you my darling, I'm coming!" He exclaimed, so deep in this fantasy that he didn't stop to think this was a bad idea.
"Darn it!" Dimitri swore. "This can't possibly get worse!"
"Hey, you!" A voice called from behind him.
He turned to see Taiyou standing a few paces away. "What're you doing over here in Obelisk territory, Ra reject?"
"Taking a walk," Dimitri responded coolly, turning to face the Obelisk. "Is that a problem?"
The blue haired Obelisk looked at him for a moment before realizing something. "You're one of those Ras that were cheering for that slacker!"
"His name's Jaden. Learn people's names, will ya?" The Ra retorted.
"Whatever, you're just punching bags to us elites!" Taiyou yelled.
Dimitri huffed. "If you were really elite, then you would spend more time dueling and less time talking smack."
The Obelisk growled. "I'll show you who's superior! Let's duel!"
He pulled out his duel disk and turned it on.
"Bring it on, blue boy!" Dimitri pulled out his own duel disk and did the same.
"Duel!"
Taiyou: 4000
Dimitri: 4000
"Best duelists, first!" Taiyou shouted as he drew his opening hand and his sixth card.
"I summon Mechanicalchaser in attack mode!" On his side of the field appeared a round six-armed machine with only one eye and two green wings. Each hand either held a weapon or it was the weapon (1850/800).
"I'll end by placing one card face down."
"Maybe I should've gone first." Dimitri mocked while drawing his next card.
"I play Jewel Beast Amethyst Wolf in attack mode!" An amethyst jewel appeared and then burst apart to reveal a white wolf with dark blue eyes and gold armor over its chest with a purple gem in the center (1400/700).
"Time for a hunt!" Amethyst said, giving a wolf-like smirk.
Dimitri smiled at the voices that had become familiar to him. It had scared him at first, making him think he was going crazy, but his monsters were quick to reassure him that he was still sane.
"Jewel what?" Taiyou asked, dumbly.
"Jewel Beasts!" Dimitri clarified, smugly. "They're one of a kind!"
"He's still too weak to stand up to my Mechanicalchaser!" Taiyou taunted.
"That's why I'm activating his special ability," Dimitri responded. "By cutting his attack points in half, he can attack you directly!"
"What?!" The Obelisk cried (1400-700/700).
Amethyst's attack power decreased, but he was still ready for battle. He charged at the Obelisk, ducking under Mechanicalchaser's swinging arms and then slashing his claws across Taiyou's torso.
Taiyou: 3300
Dimitri: 4000
"I put one card face down and end my turn," Dimitri finished, as his wolf's attack points went back to normal (700-1400/700). "If blues are supposed to be the best then we need to switch dorms."
"That's it!" Taiyou snapped, drawing his card.
"I summon Robotic Knight in attack mode!" A red and black robot that looked like a military general appeared next to Mechanicalchaser (1600/800).
"Then, I activate my facedown: DNA Surgery!"
"Uh oh."
"Uh oh is right! With this card, I change all monsters to machine type!" The trap card bathed the field in silver light and turned Amethyst into a robot. He looked like a mechanical dog.
"Dude, not cool!" The Jewel Beast duelist whined.
"I'm not finished! Next, I'll sacrifice Mechanicalchaser to summon my powerful Machine King!" Taiyou boasted as his robot was sacrificed for a taller and more powerful robot. It had red arms while the rest of it was silver, and it had a visor for eyes (2200/1500).
"And for every machine monster on the field, he gains 100 attack points!" Machine King's visor lit up with power (2200-2400/1500).
"Now, Machine King, attack that mutt with Shock Rocket Fist!" The King raised its arm and launched it Amethyst.
"I activate my facedown!" Dimitri called, a spell card with a picture of a circle surrounding Jewel Beast Amethyst Wolf and a purple cat with similar armor. "Crystal Circle! Whenever a Jewel Beast or Crystal Beast is destroyed, I get to draw a card and add a gem counter to this card."
Amethyst was struck and destroyed a moment later, which drew a card, and Machine King's power went down a little (2400-2300/1500).
Taiyou: 3300
Dimitri: 3000
But Amethyst didn't go to the graveyard. Instead, the pixels came together and formed a hunk of amethyst on Dimitri's field.
"What the-?!" The Obelisk said when he saw it.
"All my beasts have the same ability," Dimitri explained. "When they're destroyed, they turn into crystals in my spell and trap zone."
Taiyou huffed. "So what?! I still have my knight to attack with!"
The other robot came at since he was wide open, knocking him to the ground.
Taiyou: 3300
Dimitri: 1400
"I think I've done enough this round, at least now you're starting to learn your place."
"This isn't over!" Dimitri growled, getting to his feet and drawing his card.
"Heavy Storm, blow away his trap card!" A heavy wind blew through the field and destroyed DNA Surgery. "That's better!"
"It won't change anything!" Taiyou countered.
"It will after I do this. I summon Jewel Beast Zircon Pegasus in attack mode!" A zircon stone appeared and then burst apart to reveal a white pegasus with zircon gems in its wings and a matching horn (1800/1400).
"When he's summoned, I can special summon one Jewel Beast from my hand! Rise, Jewel Beast Citrine Tiger!" A white tiger with gold armor over his chest and a citrine jewel in the center appeared in the same manner (1600/1000).
"Now, I equip Citrine with the spell Citrine Claw, giving him 600 extra attack points and the ability to cause piercing damage!" Citrine Tiger's claws began glowing orange, and his power increased (1600-2200/1000).
"Now, Citrine, let's show him what you jewels can do!"
"Why don't you tell our friend here about my special talent." Citrine turned to his master.
"Oh, yeah, I almost forgot. When Citrine battles a monster, he gets a 500 attack point bonus!" Dimitri added.
"What?!"
"You heard me! Show him, Citrine, use Citrine Pounce!" The tiger's attack points increased as he got ready to spring (2200-2700/1000).
He then leaped at Robotic Knight, smashing him to pixels, before going back to his boss's side (2700-2200/1000).
Machine King's power went down at the loss of his comrade (2300-2200/1500)
Taiyou: 2200
Dimitri: 1400
"My turn's not through! Next, I play the spell, Zircon Blaze!" The spell card had a picture of Zircon Pegasus flying through the sky surrounded by flames. "By cutting his attack points in half, he can attack you directly!"
"To the skies!" The pegasus' body was covered in flames as his strength decreased (1800-900/1000).
He took flight, flew over Machine King, and rammed himself into the Obelisk snob.
Taiyou: 1300
Dimitri: 1400
Dimitri smiled at the turn of the duel. "I end my turn." (900-1800/1000)
Taiyou regained his breath and glared at the Ra. "You'll pay for that!"
He drew his next card. "I summon Machine King Prototype in attack mode!"
A smaller version of Machine King appeared sitting on a stone throne (1600/1500).
"And he gets 100 attack and defense points for every machine on the field!" Both monsters got a power boost from the presence of the other (1600-1700/1500-1600) (2200-2300/1500).
"Now, Machine King, attack his tiger!" The bigger robot launched its fist at Citrine, but instead of him being destroyed, the equip spell was destroyed instead (2200-1600/1000).
"Sorry, but instead of Citrine being destroyed, the equip spell is instead!" Dimitri clarified.
"Then what Machine King started, Machine King Prototype will finish!" The smaller one performed the same attack and destroyed Citrine Tiger, turning him into a citrine shard.
Taiyou: 1300
Dimitri: 1300
"My turn!" Dimitri said. 'Come on, deck, give me a miracle!'
He drew his next card and smiled when he saw what it was. "I summon Jewel Beast Turquoise Lioness in attack mode!"
A turquoise stone appeared and burst apart to reveal a white lioness with three tails embedded with turquoise shards and a gold collar embedded with turquoise gems around it (1100/800).
"Neither of those monsters can beat me!" Taiyou taunted.
"Yes, they can," Dimitri retorted. "Since I have a Jewel Beast on my field, Turquoise Lioness can attack you directly!"
"What?!"
"Go, Turquoise, attack with Turquoise Roar!" Turquoise Lioness nodded and let off a mighty roar, making the Obelisk cover his ears.
Taiyou: 300
Dimitri: 1300
"And I'm not done yet!" Dimitri added, playing the last card in his hand.
"I play the spell Zircon Flame!" The spell card had a picture of Zircon Pegasus surrounded by flames.
"Zircon gains 600 attack points until the end of my turn! The monster that's attacked won't be destroyed, but you'll still take damage!" Zircon was surrounded by flames as his power increased (1800-2400/1000).
He did the same maneuver that he did with Zircon Blaze, only this time he flew at Machine King Prototype. He may not have been destroyed, but the flames came off and swept towards Taiyou.
Taiyou: 0
Dimitri: 1300
Dimitri smiled at his victory. "I was right, color doesn't mean a thing!"
He then remembered why he was here in the first place. "Oh, man! I need to go tell Jaden!"
He rushed off toward the Slifer dorm.
Obelisk Girl Dorm
Meanwhile, up at the gates, Crowler, wearing a tight, black bodysuit, cut the lock off with bolt cutters and headed inside. He then dashed from bush to bush in a ninja fashion as a way to get closer to the windows, so he had better light to see but also couldn't be seen.
Meanwhile, Alexis was talking with her friends inside.
"Hey, Alexis, want to chill out in the Obelisk wading pool?" A girl with brown hair, named Jasmine, asked her.
"No, thanks," She declined. "We'll wade, and the guys will rage. I'm not in the mood for a game of tackle marco polo."
"Hello! Girl's dorm! No guys allowed, remember?" She persisted until Alexis finally agreed.
Meanwhile, Crowler had finally gotten into a position he liked to spring his trap.
"This will be perfect, thanks to that faux love letter I wrote!" Crowler said gleefully, going over his plan again. "Jaden will show up looking for Alexis, but all he'll find is trouble instead! Once he arrives, I'll snap a picture of him. And then, I will have caught him red-handed breaking campus rules! He will be ruined!"
The wading room was all gold and kind reminded you of a Greek bathhouse. Alexis was talking with her friends about the day, and the subject of what happened in Crowler's class came up.
"Can you believe what that Jaden kid said to Dr. Crowler in class today?" Jasmine said. "He's got some nerve to talk to a teacher like that. Completely disrespectful!"
"And what about what that other guy, Dimitri, did? "Found the picture on the ground." Yeah, right!" The other girl, Mindy, added.
"What do you think, Alexis?" Jazz asked her friend.
"Actually, I thought it was kind of cool," Alexis said, in a kind of dreamy voice.
"What?!" Jasmine cried in shock. "Them, cool?!"
"They could be," Mindy said. "If they had the talent to back up that talk maybe…"
"I think they just might," Alexis interjected. "Still, I won't know until I duel them myself."
Suddenly, some girls shouting caught their attention. They had wrapped themselves in towels and found Syrus being tied up by other girls.
A short time later
"A love letter from Alexis?" Mindy asked after hearing Syrus' explanation. "You've got to be kidding."
After being seen, Syrus had been tied up and was now kneeling before the Obelisk trio, being interrogated. Jasmine and Mindy had changed into pajamas and Alexis into her uniform.
"Yep! Ask her!" Syrus replied with a giggle, giving Alexis a wink.
"Um, hello," Jasmine retorted. "Like Alexis is really tall, and you're really short. She's really good at dueling, and you're really not. She's really hot-"
"But it's true, just tell them, Alexis! I even have the note right here!" Syrus protested, pulling out the letter. "Look, see?!"
Jasmine took the note, and the girls looked it over.
"Syrus, my name's not even spelled right," Alexis said.
"Sorry, Syrus, but I think someone's yanking your chain here," Mindy said, but her tone said she wasn't sorry at all.
"So then, you don't love me?" He asked.
"Hey, wait a second," Jasmine interrupted, looking over the letter again. "This note is made out to Jaden Yuki."
"What? Jaden?! But…" Before Sy could finish his protest, the brunette turned to him for him to see. Sure, enough, Jaden's name was at the top of the letter. "Oh. So, I can't even get a fake love letter."
"I'm sorry, Syrus…" Alexis apologized.
"Me, too."
"I don't buy it." Jasmine wasn't ready to let the matter go.
"What?" Mindy asked her friend.
"He could've written the note to have an excuse to come here!"
"What are you saying, that we should report him for trespassing then?" Mindy asked.
"But I was invited! I swear!" Syrus persisted, now panicking slightly.
"Girls, just what on earth is going on down there?" The girls looked up at the balcony to see Ms. Fontaine looking over the rail.
The brunettes worried, but Alexis took control of the situation. "Get down! Hurry!"
The girls pushed Syrus down and pretty much sat on him to hide him from view of the gym teacher.
"All right, what's up?" Ms. Fontaine asked suspiciously.
"You guys are heavy!" Syrus grumbled, squirming under the three girls.
"Beg your pardon!" Jasmine snapped.
"Maybe you're just brittle!" Mindy hissed.
"Gee, sorry Ms. Fontaine," Alexis spoke to the Obelisk headmistress. "We'll make sure to keep a lid on things!"
"Well, I should hope so, it's nearly midnight, and I have pilates in the morning!" Miss Fontaine said before heading back to her room.
As soon as they were sure she was gone, they got off of Syrus.
"So, what now?" Jasmine asked.
"I'll tell you what now, girls…" Alexis answered, crossing her arms with a smirk. "I say we use Sy here as a kind of bait to find out what we were wondering about before. Just how good Jaden really is. And I think I know just how we can get him to show us his best!"
Slifer Dorm
At the Slifer dorm, Chumley was sleeping, and Jaden was playing a handheld video game, which he was winning.
"Sweet, 300 move combo!"
Jaden then got a knock on the door. He got up and answered, and found Dimitri there, panting hard since he had run all the way there.
"Dimitri, what's wrong?"
"It's about-" He was cut off by Jaden's Duel Pilot beeping, sounding that he had a message.
"Hold that thought," The Slifer said, looking at the message.
There wasn't a video, just static and a distorted voice. "We have your roommate, Syrus. If you want him back, come to the girl's dorm, now. Alone."
Dimitri paled at the message. 'Too late!'
"What happened?" Jaden asked, worried about Syrus.
"He went over to the girl's dorm, probably wandering into someone's prank," Dimitri explained. "He looked weirdly happy."
"Chumley told me the same thing. Why didn't you stop him?"
"I tried, but one of Chazz's snob pals got in the way and challenged me to a duel. I won, by the way."
"Aw, I missed the beasts in action?" Jay complained. "Give me details!"
"Later!" Dimitri interrupted. "Syrus is in trouble and whoever did this wants you, too!"
"You're right," The Slifer said, grabbing his deck and duel disk. "I'll go over there myself, you stay here and cover for me until I get back."
"Got it, be careful," Dimitri told his brother.
The Hero duelist nodded and headed out the door.
Obelisk Girl's Dorm
Back at the scene of the incident, in the lake, Crowler came up for air after hiding for a while. He was shocked at the fact the wrong Slifer showed up and even more shocked when the girls started screaming that a boy was on the grounds. Knowing that he had to get away, he dove into the lake.
"You try to expel one kid, and the entire world turns against you!" He muttered, before hearing the creaking of a rowboat to his left. He glanced over and saw the object of his misfortune rowing to the girl's dorm.
"You're a little late." He muttered again and moved closer to get a better look.
When Jaden got to the main entrance, he found Alexis and her friends, now in uniform, waiting there with a tied up Syrus with them.
"Hi, Jaden…" Syrus greeted, glumly.
"Hey," Jaden replied. "So, what's going on here?"
"Well, uh…" The shorter Slifer explained, embarrassed. "To make a long story short, I'm basically a big loser."
"Your friend here trespassed into the girls' campus!" Jasmine explained, sound crossed.
Jaden could tell she didn't like him but didn't say anything to it. "Is this true, Syrus?"
"Hey, it's not like that!" The shorter boy interjected.
"And now that you're here, Jaden, you're trespassing, too!" Mindy added, ignoring Syrus and sounding like a total snob.
"That's right," Alexis said, issuing her challenge. "So if you don't want us to turn you in, you're gonna have to win your freedom by beating me in a duel right now!"
"But if you turn us in, we'll be expelled!" Syrus cried.
Jaden closed his eyes and sighed. He then opened his eyes and looked at them with fierce determination. "Since you're not giving much of choice, then I accept. Let's duel, Alexis!"
Said girl gave Jaden an intense stare, which he returned.
The duel was going to take place on the lake with Jaden and Alexis each standing on a boat. Syrus was in Jaden's boat while Mindy and Jasmine were with Alexis.
"I hope you know what you're doing, Jaden," Syrus said, nervous.
Jaden didn't respond, he just continued his stare down with Alexis.
Crowler had gotten a little closer, but still far enough away that he wasn't seen. "Well, well, well. A Slifer versus an Obelisk! Put him in his place, Alexis!"
Crowler wasn't the only one watching. Over in the bushes behind him, Torrey had shown up.
He had called Dimitri about some notes, who had told him what was going on. So, he had headed toward the dorm himself, but he found the duel before he could get there.
"Good luck, Jaden." He whispered, knowing how good Alexis was first hand.
"Ready?!" Alexis called.
"Oh, yeah!" The Hero duelist answered.
"Duel!"
Alexis: 4000
Jaden: 4000
"Get your game on, Alexis!" Jaden challenged.
Alexis's friends were watching in a mix of curiosity and disdain.
Syrus watched with mostly worry. "Here we go."
"All right! Let's see!" Alexis drew her sixth card. She looked over her hand and acted on a strategy.
"Etoile Cyber, rise!" A red-headed ballerina in an orange leotard appeared with pirouette (1200/1600). "And I'm also going to play one card face down!"
"Time to throw down!" Jaden said, starting his turn.
"First, I'll summon Elemental Hero Sparkman in attack mode!" The hero of thunder appeared on the late, in a flash of lightning (1600/1400).
"Now, Sparkman, attack with Static Shockwave!" The hero fired bolts of lightning at the ballerina.
Alexis growled. "Hold it right there! I activate the trap card, Doble Passe!"
The lightning stretched around Etoile Cyber and struck Alexis.
Alexis: 2400
Jaden: 4000
Jaden glared as Alexis explained. "Doble Passe changes your monster's attack into a to a direct attack on me! And now my monster that you were about to attack gets to wage a direct attack on you!"
"Great!" Jaden muttered.
"Oh, and when Etoile Cyber attacks someone directly, her attack points increase by 600," Alexis added.
Her monster danced and spun across the water before she round-house kicked Jaden in the ribs.
Alexis: 2400
Jaden: 2200
"Jaden!" Syrus gasped, as Jaden clutched his side in pain.
Torrey cringed. "I remember that combo."
"That Alexis is something else," Jaden murmured. "Sacrificing her own life points just to get at mine."
"So, you impressed?" Alexis asked.
"Very, and it takes a lot to impress me," Jaden responded, as he laid a face down.
"You're sweet. Too bad I have to crush you. Now then, where were me?" She drew a card.
"Ooh. I play Blade Skater!" A bald, gray-skinned woman with an ice skate blade on each wrist appeared, skating on the water before joining her comrade (1400/1500).
"And I activate the spell card Polymerization to fuse Etoile Cyber and Blade Skater together to summon Cyber Blader!" Alexis's now monster had dark blue hair and light blue skin wearing an orange and white leotard and a pair of futuristic goggles over her eyes (2100/800).
"This just got more complicated," Torrey muttered since Alexis had just summoned her headliner.
"Now, Cyber Blader, attack Sparkman with Whirlwind Rage!" The monster went into a spin and headed towards Sparkman. Her foot lashed out and destroyed Sparkman.
The Slifers braced themselves against the wind.
Alexis: 2400
Jaden: 1700
"Well, there goes that defense," Jaden said.
"Way to go, Alexis!" Mindy cheered.
"Yeah, you got him now!" Jasmine added. "I knew when this kid beat Dr. Crowler, it was just luck!"
From where he was Crowler was smirking at the turn of events, and Torrey was silently glaring at Alexis' friends. He never liked those two anyway.
"The duel's still young. It's anybody's game right now. My draw!" Jaden said taking his turn.
"I activate the field spell Fusion Gate! Now, I can summon fusion monsters without a Polymerization. And I'm gonna summon this one: Elemental Hero Flame Wingman!" Without a fusion sequence, Flame Wingman appeared on the field (2100/1200).
"Ok. It looks like it's going to be one fusion monster against another, huh, Jaden?" Alexis said, staring at the hero with a confident smile. "That's fine by me! Although, since they have the exact same number of attack points they're just going to destroy each other.
"Not after I play this they won't!" Jaden activated spell card with three magicians performing a ritual of some kind. "I activate the equip spell Mage Power!"
Flame Wingman began to glow as his power increased (2100-2600/1200).
"Now Wingman gains 500 extra attack points for every spell and trap card on my field!" Alexis growled.
"Now go, Flame Wingman, and attack Cyber Blader!" Flame Wingman charged at the other fusion monster.
'Someone hasn't done their homework.' Alexis thought, not worried at all.
'Looks like someone's done their homework.' Torrey thought, not worried at all.
Flame Wingman's dragon hand made a fireball and went to fire it. But Cyber Blader managed to stop the attack, and they were forced apart.
Jaden growled, knowing what had happened, but Alexis assumed he didn't. "Cyber Blader's special ability makes it so she can't be destroyed by an opponent with only one monster."
"Yeah, I know that. This is why I played Mage Power, you still take damage!" Jaden explained.
Alexis noticed a spark on her duel disk before it went off.
Alexis: 1900
Jaden: 1700
"Not bad, Jaden," Alexis drew her next card. "But it'll take more than that to beat me. I equip my spell Fusion Weapon to Cyber Blader."
Cyber Blader's hand transformed into what looked like a tri-pronged blaster that also increased her power (2100-3600/800-2300).
"Uh-oh. I think you might want to brace yourself for this one, Sy." Jaden told Syrus.
Torrey scowled, not liking this at all.
"Go, Blader! Attack the Flame Wingman with Trident Shock!" A lightning blast came from the transformed and destroyed Elemental Hero Flame Wingman.
Jaden had to cover his face from the blowback.
Alexis: 1900
Jaden: 600
"Uh-oh. Your life points are looking a little low," Alexis teased. "Hope you didn't unpack your bags yet!"
"Yeah, because if you lose, you're both getting expelled," Mindy added in the same manner.
"We are?!" Syrus asked frightened.
"That's not going to happen, Sy," Jaden reassured.
"Come on, Jay," Torrey whispered. "Hang in there."
'Hmm. You shouldn't make promises you can't deliver.' Alexis thought, feeling like she's won.
'I hope I'm not making a promise I can't deliver,' Jaden thought. 'The only card I have out is Fusion Gate. But there's still a chance for me to win. It just all depends on what I draw right here and now!'
Jaden drew his next card. When he saw what it was, he gave off a smirk that Kaiba himself would have been proud of.
"Perfect," He said getting a reaction out of Alexis and a smirk from Torrey.
"I play the Elemental Hero Clayman! Rise up!" The bulky hero appeared (800/2000).
"And now I activate Monster Reborn! So rise again, Elemental Hero Sparkman!" The armored hero reappeared (1600/1400).
"What difference will he make?" Alexis asked. "My Cyber Blader has way more attack points than them. Your Sparkman won't stand a chance."
"True, but with Fusion Gate's effect, I can fuse them together to summon someone who will!" Jaden explained. "Rise, Elemental Hero Thunder Giant!"
The two heroes stood back to back and started spinning. Lightning shot into the air and formed a vortex, the force rocking the boats and Crowler around. A large, yellow-armored creature with a blue center of electricity appeared (2400/1600).
"Hate to break it to you," Alexis told him. "But my Cyber Blader's attack points are still higher at 3600!"
"I know, but Thunder Giant's special ability makes him able to destroy any monster whose original attack points are less than his own," Jaden explained.
"Wait! Original attack points?!" Alexis asked to clarify.
"That's right," Jaden confirmed. "Attack points without any kind of enhancement."
"But, before I played Fusion Weapon, her attack points were only 2100!" Alexis realized she was in trouble.
"Exactly," Jaden confirmed. "Lower than Thunder Giant's, so your Blader is automatically destroyed."
Thunder Giant glided across the water toward Cyber Blader. When he reached her, he held out his hand and destroyed her with lightning.
"And here's the best part, he can still attack! And that's what I'm going to have him do! Go, Voltic Thunder!" This time electricity came out of both hands and hit the Obelisk girl, causing her to scream in pain.
Crowler wasn't safe from this since we all know what happens when electricity and water meet.
Alexis: 0
Jaden: 600
"Alexis!" Jasmine said, worried for her friend.
"Uh, what just happened?" Mindy asked, stunned by what had happened.
"Yeah!" Syrus cheered, giving Jaden a hug.
Jaden looked to Alexis and gave his usual salute. "Alright! Looks like that's game!"
"Good job, Jay!" Torrey called, deciding it was time to come out.
The boaters and Crowler saw Torrey come to the water's edge to wave to them.
"Hey, Torrey!" Jaden waved to his friend. "When did you get here?"
"Would probably be easier if we talked on shore!" He called back, motioning the others to come dock.
They soon moved to boats over to the shore and stood on a neutral strip of land by the lake. "A deal's a deal. I won, so we get to go free!"
"Ok, guys, I won't back out. We'll keep quiet about what happened tonight." Alexis promised.
"Well, if you ask me, I think we should turn both of them in right now!" Jasmine said, really wanting to snitch.
Torrey was going to say something, but Alexis beat him to it.
"Well, no one asked you!" She snapped at her friend.
"Alexis?" Jazz gasped.
"Jaden beat me in a duel fair and square, and that's all there is to it." Alexis reprimanded the brunette.
"Well, actually, there might be more than that," Jaden said, getting the girls' attention. "You've got game, Alexis."
Alexis was surprised by the compliment.
Before she could say anything, Jay turned to his childhood friend. "By the way, Torrey, how did you know we were out here?"
"Dimitri," Torrey stated simply before explaining further. "I had called him to ask about some notes, but he said he didn't have his notebook on him. When I pressed, he told what was going on."
"Wait, how did Dimitri know about this?" Alexis asked.
"He saw Sy heading towards the girls' dorm earlier. He was going to stop him, but then one of Chazz's sidekicks showed up and challenged him to a duel."
Torrey then turned to Syrus. "But now for the most important question, Syrus, why were you going to the girls' dorm in the first place?"
Syrus looked down at his shoes, embarrassed and feeling like an idiot. "Well, I had found a love letter in my locker earlier, and I thought it was for me, but it was actually for Jaden."
"What love letter?" Both boys asked.
Syrus reached into his pocket and gave it to them. Torrey read it over while Jaden looked over his shoulder.
"Syrus, my name's not even spelled right on this." Jaden looked at his friend.
"Sorry, Syrus, but I think this was someone's idea of a bad prank," Torrey told him. "Even without the name misspellings to give it away, I know Alexis, and she's not the kind of person who will fall in love with someone she barely knows. Jasmine and Mindy on the other hand…"
"Hey!" Both girls complained.
"Whoever wrote this wanted the recipient to get in trouble, and I don't think they care who gets caught in the crossfire."
"If that's true, then why pick on Jaden?" Alexis asked.
Torrey and Jaden exchanged looks. They both had a feeling who was behind this and why, but they decided not to make any accusations, yet. So instead, they both just shrugged.
"Either way," Torrey said, folding the note. "I'm going to hang on to the note for evidence."
He then turned to the Slifers. "In the meantime, you guys might want to get back to your dorm."
"Good idea. See you guys tomorrow," Jaden said, as he and Syrus got back in their boat and shoved off. "Later."
Syrus waved timidly as they rowed away.
As the Obelisks watched them leave, Alexis turned to Torrey. "Hey, Torrey."
"Yes?"
"Just so you know, even if I had won, I wouldn't have turned those two in."
"What?!" Jasmine gasped.
"Why?!" Mindy asked.
Even though her friends were the ones who asked the question, she directed her answer at Torrey. "Because I saw how miserable you were back at prep school without your friends around, and I didn't want you to be depressed again."
Torrey looked at her, surprised she was thinking about his feelings. He then smiled, appreciative. "Thanks, Lex."
Alexis then turned back to the direction the Slifers left and smiled. "Besides, this place is a lot more fun with the whole group than only part of it."
'I've never seen Alexis act this way before,' Jasmine thought, looking at the blond. 'I wonder, is she actually falling for Torrey, or that Slifer?'
Crowler growled as he watched the whole scene. "Hmm! Lucky brat! He escaped this time, but I'll still find a way to expel him. After I find a way home."
He then dived into the water to swim home.
Chapter done! Those two girls get on my nerves! Anyway, read, review, and stay tuned