Ah. So lack of posts isn't healthy. Hmm. Maybe I should post more often… nah, I'm way too lazy to do that. Either way, I'm getting the followers so I don't rly care. Anyways, Last time on DRAGON BALL Z, Zane is ready to face off against the one and only… JADEN (SUPREME KING/HAOU) YUKI!
ooh, so apparently I'm a sucker for dub names, but I refuse to watch an anime where the main character is named Judai. Idk. But I know a lot of you come from the sub version, so imma just get the formalities done with really fast
jaden=judai
syrus=sho
alexis=asuka
zane=ryo
Hassleberry = I think it was tyranno kenzen
Fujiwara is probably still fujiwara
Chazz=manjoume (i happen to like this one better)
Finally, this entire chapter is basically dedicated to Knoctis00, who gave not one but TWO reviews, and all but forced me to actually start writing again with his highly intelligent "next chapter please." So TY Knoctis00 as well as anyone who supports me. 21 favs is not to be taken lightly
Also, I don't own GX or Dragon Ball Z, but I own the plot of this story
—
"Duel!"
Jaden remained expressionless as he drew his five cards, his gaze never leaving Zane's face. The latter put up a stone-cold front and drew, yet there was something in Zane's defensive posture, something off about him. It was strange for Zane, that was for sure. It wasn't fear, no, far from it, but there was something. Perhaps it was doubt, perhaps it was something else. Perhaps he was only remembering the graduation duel with Jaden.
But he didn't hesitate. "I summon Infernal Dragon in attack mode!" he cried.
(Infernal Dragon: (2000/0) If this card attacks, it is destroyed and sent to the Graveyard during the End Phase. When this card is destroyed and sent to the Graveyard from the field, you can Special Summon this card by Tributing 1 monster.)
Without missing a beat, he set two cards on his field, and ended his turn. The spectators watched with bated breaths. "He already lost his chance to play his Cyber Dragon," said Hassleberry, looking concerned. "Why would he want to go first?"
Chazz shook his head slowly and exhaled. "I think he has something he wants to prove. But what that is, I'm not sure yet."
Beside him, Alexis stood trembling, barely even noticing the duel. Her eyes were fixed onto the figure dressed in red, trying to discern exactly what he wanted. "Jaden," she whispered.
The figure in question turned his head and glanced at them. He gave a menacing grin. "I think we need to call the exterminators. It seems that a few mosquitoes have found their way into my lair."
Everyone staggered in shock, as if hit by a train. Sure, they had heard of Jaden's evils, heard of what he had become. But they never really thought that Jaden could be so -so not like himself. In all their memories, he was an energetic and positive person, filled without any hatred. But this…
"Snap out of it, Jaden!" Atticus called, the first to recover. "This isn't you, and you know it! Why are you being like this?" Of course, Atticus already knew the reason thanks to Kuriboh, but he wanted to prove a point.
Jaden only scoffed and turned back to the duel. "It's time we get this started," he said flatly. "I summon Clayman in defense mode." Then, a single set card appeared on his side of the field. "End turn."
Zane studied his hand. "I activate Graceful Charity, allowing me to draw three cards at the cost of discarding two!"
"Next, I play Pot of Greed!"
Hassleberry looked confused. "Wait, what does that card do again?"
"It let's me draw two new cards!"
"Oh, okay. I forgot for a second."
Zane smirked at his new hand. "I play Polymerization, and fuse two Cyber Dragons from my hand that I drew from Pot of Greed to summon Cyber Twin Dragon!"
A silver dragon with two heads, gleaming with steel scales, emerged onto his side of the field, giving a metallic roar.
(Cyber Twin Dragon: (2800/2100) This card can attack twice during the same Battle Phase.)
"But that's not all," Zane said calmly. "I play Cybernetic Fusion Support! By paying half my lifepoints, I remove from play all fusion material monsters I used for this summon."
With that, two Cyber Dragons suddenly vanished from the grave. Suddenly, Zane groaned as his lifepoints dropped to 2000.
Pain. So much pain. "Urgh," he muttered to himself.
A gasp emerged from the spectators. "Zane!" cried Alexis, who had snapped out of her stupor. "Your legs!"
Glancing down, Zane saw his lower body shimmering for a brief moment, becoming translucent, then vanish altogether. But he barely gave it a passing glance. There was no need to concern himself with anything but the duel. Turning his entire attention to the field, he knew that this was his opportunity to win.
"Now attack Clayman!" Zane shouted, voice finally showing emotion at the chance of victory.
Cyber Twin Dragon reared one of its heads, launching a bolt of pure, white energy towards the kneeling clay figure. But before it hit, a translucent wall materialized in front of Clayman, fizzling out the attack.
"Mirror Wall!" called Jaden. "A continuous trap card that halves the attack of any attacking monster!"
Zane's lifepoints dropped to 1900. He could see the darkness threatening to overwhelm his entire body, inching forward. Like a tsunami, held by only by his fragile lfiepoints.
"B-But that card is so strong!" said Atticus, awed. "That shouldn't be allowed!"
Chazz scoffed. "At least it wasn't Mirror Force."
Zane was forced to end his turn, having exhausted his resources.
After drawing, Jaden chose to pay the 2000 lifepoints necessary to maintain his mirror wall. Even he winced as darkness began to overtake him as well. Then, a dark smile danced on his lips, matching the card he had drawn.
"I play Dark Fusion to summon Lightning Golem (2400/1500)!"
No one had actually seen Jaden duel with his Darkness deck, and were, unsurprisingly, greeted with horror when they saw Clayman and Sparkman fuse together to form a towering fiend, crackling with black electricity.
"Once per turn, I can target and destroy one monster on your field! And I choose Infernal Dragon!" Unfortunately for Zane, none of his backrow could defend against this monster. Infernal Dragon gave a roar of pain after a lightning bolt struck its center dead on, and shattered into a flurry of light shards.
Lightning Golem continued its offense, about to destroy Cyber Twin Dragon, its attack still reduced by Mirror Wall.
Before the lightning bolt reached it though, Twin Dragon vanished into thing air, and was replaced by two Cyber Dragons (Atk: 2100).
"Dimension Explosion!" Zane called, trying to put on an air of confidence. "It sends my fusion monster back to the Extra Deck, and both players special summon as many monsters removed from play as they can!"
For the first time in the duel, Jaden looked impressed. "Fine. But Lightning Golem still destroys one of your dragons!"
With that, Lightning Golem shot a beam of dark energy at the leftmost Cyber Dragon, instantly vaporizing it. Zane's lifepoints took a hit, dropping him down to a mere 1600. A groan escaped his lips. This was nothing like the underground duels. It was far more pain-inducing than mere shock collars, and infinitely times more real. This wasn't some cheap entertainment. This was a shadow game.
Darkness had already risen up to his stomach, and he suddenly felt like something had invaded his lungs. Each breath took energy, and his breathing became ragged and painful, like a drowning man taking his last gulps of air.
Jaden set two more cards, then ended his turn.
Zane couldn't help it, he hated himself for it, but the extra effort to even breath forced him into a kneeling position. He was weak, he didn't deserve to live, as he remained in bowed to the darkness before him. He clutched his chest, trying to gain air.
Jaden only watched with amusement. "Hmm? The Kaiser kneeling to me? What a twist." He paused for a moment, before smirking. "Do you think that boy, what was his name? ah, that's right, Syrus, felt the same way as you?"
Zane's head flicked up sharply, face contorted with emotion. "What did you say?" he hissed, glaring at Jaden. "Where is Syrus?"
His smile only grew wider. "I don't really know, actually. Maybe you'll find out when I send you to the same place."
On the sidelines, disbelief, sadness, anger, regret, hopelessness, all pervaded their hearts. Even Chazz wasn't thinking. "No way," he muttered. "There's no way that this is…" He couldn't finish the sentence. HIs hands clenched the metal railing, its uneven edges digging into his palm.
Tears stained Alexis' face. It just can't be! There's no way… "JADEN! Please… stop!" she screamed, almost hysterical. She wasn't alone. Her expression and tears were mirrored in the faces of everyone watching.
Hearing her voice, Jaden's head flicked towards their direction. His stony eyes seemed to melt for a split second -was it recognition? fear? hope? -before hardening back into its cold gaze again.
Still kneeling, Zane couldn't maintain his composure any longer. His face contorted into a snarl and he forced himself into standing position. Even from a distance, one could tell that it was taking a lot of energy from him.
Gasping, Zane called out. "I know you're in there somewhere Jaden, and I intend to pull you out of whatever you're feeling. I play Cyberdark Horn!"
(Cyberdark Horn: (800/800) When this card is Normal Summoned, select 1 Level 4 or lower Dragon-Type monster in the Graveyard and equip it to this card. This card gains ATK equal to the equipped card's ATK. This card inflicts piercing Battle Damage. If this card would be destroyed by battle, the equipped monster is destroyed instead.)
"Next, I equip it with Cyber Dragon, bringing its attack to 2900!" However, due to Mirror Wall's effect, he couldn't attack else his monster would lose half its attack points, and he set one card before ending his turn.
Jaden was forced to destroy his own Mirror Wall, but seeing his new card made him smirk. Took you long enough, he thought.
A metallic sounding voice answered, with a slight tinge of laughter. Sorry. Traffic was a killer. Malicious Fiend really doesn't know how to share the road.
"I play sheep tokens, allowing me to summon two 0/0 tokens. Next, I sacrifice them both to summon Yubel!" A towering fiend with pale skin and wings rose up. If it weren't for the third eye and mascara, one might have called her beautiful. Zane sucked In a breath. This was the demon that had possessed Jesse, that had "killed" him. It was the reason that they had been brought into the Duel World.
But Zane no longer felt pain or fear. What replaced those emotions was pure anger. If this monster needed to be killed, then he would do it at all costs. He had failed so many times in the past, unable to eliminate the threat before his friends, relying on others to save him. This time, he would not fail.
"Yubel, huh," muttered Hassleberry, extremely nervous. He, like everyone else, had heard Kuriboh's story through Alexis. Yubel clearly was not an ally.
"Zero attack?" taunted Zane. "That's nothing." But he wasn't an idiot either. He knew that behind Yubel's nonexistent attack existed a powerful effect. Only what that was…
Jaden ignored the remark and continued with his play. "Lucky for you, I have to play Yubel in defense position, thanks to the sheep's effect." But that didn't seem to faze him at all. "I play O-Oversoul, allowing me to special summon Clayman back onto the field in defense position. Then, I activate Lightning Golem's effect, destroying Cyberdark Horn!"
However, a glowing trap card -the one that Zane had just set -appeared on the field. "Divine Wrath! By discarding a card, I can negate your monster effect and destroy it!" With that, Lightning Golem was gone in a burst of light.
Jaden narrowed his eyes, his expression giving away none of his inner feelings. "Very well, I end my turn. I tribute Clayman to keep Yubel alive."
As Zane drew, Jaden suddenly sensed something. A dark presence, familiar yet foreign. Hmmm, he thought to himself. Interesting.
"Hey Yubel," he called, softly enough so the others wouldn't hear. "Do you sense it as well?" Without turning back, he saw her give a brief nod.
Whatever. I'll find out after this duel. He was honestly quite annoyed. Jaden had thought that Honesty was behind the darkness, and seeing that the creature was still collapsed onto the ground, there had to be something else. He had been wrong, and that didn't please him one bit. Additionally, it had however briefly interrupted the duel.
But he only shrugged it off, snapping out of his thoughts to see Zane playing a facedown and ending his turn.
"Not attacking, huh Kaiser?" taunted Jaden. "Scared?" He didn't expect a response, nor did he get one. Zane was playing it safe, making sure that he didn't fall for some trick. Out of all his opponents, Zane was the one Jaden had respected the most. He remembered when Zane had joined the Underground dueling, desperate for power. Power-hungry. Now that, Jaden could understand.
So he wasn't really surprised when Zane didn't attack, being cautious. He wasn't the type of person who would rush headlong into a fight. Unlike…
As a memory surfaced, Jaden grimaced and forced it back down. "Argh," he muttered, clutching his head. Now was not the time for distracting thoughts.
After focusing on the duel, Jaden realized two important pieces of information. One, that the facedowns that Zane had placed at the beginning of the Duel didn't stop monster attacks. This was evident when Lightning Golem had attacked Cyber Dragon without resistance.
Secondly, that the last facedown Zane had placed was meant to stop any aggressive plays from Jaden, as well as detect the special effect of Yubel. Which meant…
He grinned. The duel was as good as finished. "I play Cosmic Cyclone, banishing your last facedown! In return, I pay 1000 lifepoints!" he called triumphantly. With that, he saw Curse of Anubis disappearing from play. His instincts didn't lie. Yubel crashed into Cyberdark Horn, and her effect dealt plenty of damage to Zane, more than enough to bring him to the ground, motionless.
Atticus gasped as he saw that only a dim, white orb remained where Zane once stood. "No way," he breathed. Beside him, Chazz and Hassleberry were white faced and wide-eyed. To have Zane defeated so easily…
"Jaden, STOP, PLEASE!" Alexis screamed, as she saw Yubel inching towards the sphere, a look of pure anticipation in her eyes. There was a slight hesitation before Jaden motioned for her to continue.
Suddenly, he flung himself backwards before a shadow nearly impaled him. The shadows around the room began to melt, hissing as they combined into a single form in front of Jaden.
Growling, Jaden glared at the form which slowly materialized into a smirking man wearing sunglasses. It rushed towards him, a dagger in hand. Thinking fast, Jaden drew Neos while Yubel rushed to intercept the attack. But it wasn't fast enough.
There was no time to react, no time to defend himself, no time to flee. But Jaden forced himself to stand tall. There was no way he was going to cower down to this man during the last few seconds of his life.
You know, death wouldn't be unwelcome. He gave an internal, humorless laugh, awaiting his fate.
As he stared down death, a few cards whizzed by his face from behind him, embedding into the figure, forcing him to drop his knife. Snarling, the figure withdrew, tending its wounds. Jaden sighed, partly out of relief, partly because the owner of those cards was the last person he wanted to see.
"Axel," he said in a flat tone. He didn't need to turn to see the man reload his card/gun, firing off a few more shots. However, this time, he was prepared, dodging and leaping through Jaden, too slow to dodge the onslaught of shadows.
As the mysterious figure passed through him, Jaden suddenly felt a blanket pass over his mind, darkness completely enveloping him. His senses grew dull, and his vision completely blacked.
—
Deep in his consciousness, Jaden felt a dark force tugging at him further into the darkness. However, this darkness was unlike the darkness that he had embraced, the one that he had given his mind and body to. This darkness felt dirty and grimy, so different from the pureness that he had previously experienced.
Although Jaden resisted the pull, he knew that he alone wasn't strong enough. Although he held on, he too would be dragged into the depths of whatever the darkness had in store for him.
But suddenly, he felt another hand holding his own, guiding him, giving him the strength he needed. The grip of darkness slowly loosened, and released Jaden. Don't think you've gotten away so easily, came a monotone, hissing voice, as if thousands of souls were speaking at once. We'll come back, and when we do, we'll take you with us.
—
Zane opened his eyes to a very familiar audience. "Ah," he remarked dryly. "I'm alive."
A woman spoke up, her tone icy, yet at the same time, soft. "It seems so. Although you have much explaining to do."
He smiled without any humor, and spoke in a slightly sarcastic tone. "Of course, Adelina, Queen of the Underworld."
—
Woah, what the heck, how did Zane get back into the Underworld? And what's happening to Jaden? Is he gonna go back to the real world? Honestly, I'm writing this story chapter by chapter and also depending on my mood, so I'm as curious as you are. Honestly, I have no plan. The underworld thing was a whim that I came up with last minute. Bite me.
Chapter End time. Also, POLL TIME! (totally not for reviews). WHO WANTS AN OC THAT DOESNT ABSOLUTELY DECIMATE THE PLOT (besides Adelina, she's not important)? This story is mainly for my writing skillz, so I wanted to include an OC as practice, but didn't wanna tilt too many people
Also, I'm sure you noticed my rants about some cards (PoG, Mirror force) in the story. Sorry. Just feeling really tilted by those. Also, it wasn't too bad of humor right?