Dark Fusion

by KuriMaster13

"Don't think that boat will keep them safe. Once I'm done with you, we'll catch that boat and make sure you're all put right back here."..."That's if, you win, and if you can find the boat again, the latter is unlikely since we took measures to prevent that from happening until were long gone, and the former won't happen because I won't loose."

4. Chapter 3: Trapeze Magic

Leo, from atop his throne, looked at the student in front of him, "Are you sure you are well enough to go back into action?"

"100%" The boy answered, "The only issue being that I can't do the same old job since my identity as a spy was uncovered."

"That is true," The Professor admitted, "Thankfully there are plenty of other jobs you can do."

"So what should I do then?" The student asked, "Help those in Xyz card any more stragglers? Prepare for when the Lancers make there way here? Round up ay traitors that are nearby?"

A thought occurred to Leo upon hearing that, "Actually, that last one sounds perfect."

The boy raised an eyebrow on that, "Got a certain traitor in mind?" he asked, "I think I overheard something about Sora turning from a few Obelisk Force members."

"Sora has turned traitor," The professor admitted, "but he is not who I am thinking of. A couple months ago, a certain Slifer student you may have heard of left on a boat and kept himself separate from most other traitors that abandon the Academy."

"A Slifer?" The student asked, as he searched his memories to think of any that was noteworthy.

"Do not let his rank fool you." Leo warned, "Jaden Yuki is easily one of the best Duelists we had in the academy, he chooses to stay in the red dorm, but can easily compete with those in Obelisk and win without breaking a sweat, as he has done many times before on record."

"Guess I'll need to check out the data we have on him then." The boy stated, "Has he encountered Xyz or Pendulum summoning yet?"

"That's why I am thinking you could defeat him." The Professor stated, "He hasn't fought Xyz summoning yet, and the possibility of him having even heard of Pendulum summoning is low."

"Thank you for the faith in me." The boy replied, "I'll get started on going after him right away."

"One more thing," Leo added, "Despite the fact that his potential of being an issue latter down he line is much greater then that of the other traitors, his location leaves the chances of that happening to be very low. Should you fail to get him, don't bother trying over and over again, just focus on the ones that are closer to the Island. A duelist of your skill should be at the ready in case plans take an unexpected turn."

"Understood." The student replied.

The Professor nodded, "Then you are now dismissed. Good luck, Dennis."

Linebreak

Jaden was looking over his deck. He needed to make sure any change in his deck caused by his special connection to his duel spirits was accounted for. In the two months since he left Duel Academy Island, the rest of his Elemental Hero Fusion monsters had transformed into Evil Hero versions of themselves. Furthermore, most, if not all, of his main deck cards had also changed to allow the use of the Evil Heroes... although most of the main deck Elemental Heroes haven't changed at all, a bit of a surprise, but Jaden is happy to see them stay the same. Same applied to the Neo-Spacians as well, He was glad whatever Academia did to his head wasn't effecting them once all of them re-appeared in his deck. Or, well, almost all of them.

He heard a click of a Door and looked up to see Bastion leaving the room in front of him, "So, how did it go?" Jaden asked, as they started to walk down the hallway.

"Not as good as I was hoping, but about as well as I was expecting." Bastion answered. "As expected the closer the city is to Duel Academy, the more influence it has over the city, and thus, the harder it is to get people to realize that it is not as it is advertising itself to be. I expect I'll need another conversation or two with him to get actions against Duel Academy to happen here."

Jaden smirked, "Ehh, you probably did better then you think you did. After all you got the last two guys on our side easy enough, So you should be getting in enough practice to make each iteration of your speech more effective then the last."

Bastion sighed, but smiled at the same time, "Thanks, but sadly it isn't quite that simple. Anyway how are you doing?"

Jaden blinked at that, "What do you mean?"

"Everyone can tell that you've been worried about something lately, your mind is constantly elsewhere practically all the time, especially during practice duels." Bastion clarified, "What is it that's been bugging you? Is it how Alexis is doing? Or maybe something concerning why Academia hasn't tried to re-capture us after Sanders failed?"

"Oh, that." The Hero user replied, "It's nothing you need to get concerned over."

"I believe the job of friends is to get concerned over whatever is bothering another friend." Bastion countered.

"Well, it is one of the things in the job description." The Red clad duelist confirmed, "But really, there's not much you could do anyway, as it is between me and my duel spirits." He then admitted.

"Okay then." Bastion said, "But remember, you can always come to me or anyone else with us if you need some help." He then offered, "Even without the ability to see what you see, Syrus, Tryanno and I are more then willing to give whatever insight or idea's we can come up with that might help. Furthermore Jesse and Chazz can see duel spirits as well, so they can be even more helpful."

"True." Jaden agreed. "Anyway, I'm thinking of taking a walk thorough town." He then said as they left the building. "Get some fresh air, you know. Need me to continue playing bodyguard for you to get back to the others, or are you good? "

"I should be fine." Bastion answered. "Be careful."

"Will, do. See ya latter." Jaden replied as he and Bastion split up and started walking in opposite directions along the street. It was a pretty nice day out, not to warm, not to cold, plus a nice breeze and a clear sky. It's been a while since he saw it be this nice out, might as well enjoy it while he can.

However, before he got to far along the mostly empty street, a voice called out to him, "Well, if it is between you and us, then now is as good as a time as any to talk about it." He looked to his side to see the transparent image of Neo-Spacian Grand Mole floating right there next to him. "It's better to talk about it sooner rather then latter after all," the mole said, "and there's not to many people here to think of you as some weirdo for talking to 'empty air' at the moment." he concluded, putting air quotes around the words empty air.

Jaden sighed, "I guess your right." He has been avoiding the talk for about a couple months now, and staring at his cards instead of talking to them wasn't giving him the answers... none of them were mind readers after all. "So to start things off, why leave when you did?" He then asked.

Now was the mole's turn to sigh, "Sorry about that, we would have mention it to you before we did leave, but by the time we figured it out ourselves, there wasn't enough time."

"Was it due to the same reason why my Heroes changed?" Jaden asked.

"Yep," the duel spirit confirmed, "the effect duel Academy had on you, and thus, indirectly onto us, was gradual. So we didn't notice it until we had about 2 seconds or so to get out of the deck and avoid being altered."

"So why come back when you did?" The duelist replied, "More of my cards were still changing even after you and the others came back, aren't you still at risk of changing then?"

"Nope," Grand mole replied, "At least I don't think so. Since you left duel academy the situation shouldn't get any worse for you, your remaining Heroes were changing simply because other related cards in the deck already changed. Since all us Neo-Spacians have little to no direct relationship with those Heroes, we aren't going to be changed from being so close to those Evil Heroes. But if something happened to you on the other hand."

"I see," the Duelist replied, feeling a bit better, "So is that why-"

"LADIES AND GENTALMEN!" came a booming voice that surprised Jaden enough to stop his question.

"What the?" Jaden looked to where the voice came from, seeing a small crowd around a stage like area, with speakers amplifying the speakers voice as the crowd got larger. "Is there a magic show or something going on?"

"Maybe, want to take a look?" The Neo-Spacian asked, "Might be fun."

Jaden shrugged, forgetting about his question, "Ehh, Sure, why not?" He then moved to join the crowd, and he had to say, it was a nice show. There was some magic tricks, but it was mostly a visual spectacle. There was only one performer, someone named Dennis Macfield, but he was able to use Solid vision to create "assistants" from duel monster cards, as well as make extra props from nowhere and add to the visual appeal. However somewhere in the back of Jaden's mind, he had a feeling that he should get going before long, he felt like he heard the performer's name somewhere before, but couldn't quite place it.

"And now for one final spectacle." Dennis proclaimed, "But for this one, I will need a someone from the audience to come step up and help out." The crowd seemed eager to participate, "Whoa whoa whoa, everyone calm down now." he tried to get them to quiet down, "After all. Not just anybody can help me out with this, I need a professional." He then turned to a solid vision construct of a Duel monster, saying "So I'm going to have Trapeze Magician here select the best one out of you for the job." The monster jumped up, created a trapeze swing from nothing and swung over the audience scanning all of them. As the audience waited, some holding their breaths hoping they would get chosen. The duel monster then spotted Jaden in the crowd and faster then he could react, picked up the former Duel Academy student, placing him on the stage.

"Uh, Oh." Grand Mole stated, "Maybe we should have left sooner."

"Nice choice Trapeze Magician." Dennis stated as he turned to Jaden. "Jaden Yuki, am I correct?"

"How did you-" Jaden began, but didn't finish, not that he needed to.

"You have almost a perfect win percentage on the Duel Academy records." Dennis answered, "A great duelist like you should easily be able help make a crowed wowing experience." He then put his hands together, "As my final spectacle to show everyone here... is a duel." He then re-opened his hands revealing a Duel Academy issue duel disk, conjured seemingly out of mid-air. "What do you say, want to duel?"

'He's from Duel Academy, that why his name sounded familiar.' Jaden thought to himself, 'Guess they haven't given up on catching us like I thought.' The crowed gave a roar of approval now wanting Jaden to accept. 'And he got a crowd to to back him up, so refusing isn't much of an option, clever.'

"Go ahead." Grand Mole said, turning to Jaden, "We got your back, you have nothing to worry about."

Jaden smiled as Grand Mole vanished from his sight, "Okay then. Get your game on!" He exclaimed as he pulled out his duel disk from his jacket and put it on.

Dennis smiled, "Oh I will," He said as he put on his duel disk "Just make sure you can keep up. After all it wouldn't be a good show if it is over in just a couple of turns after all."

Jaden's eyes narrowed, as both duel disks turned on.

"Duel!"

"Since I've been running this whole show from the start. You can take the first turn." Dennis offered.

"Okay, then." Jaden replied as he looked into his hand, "I'll set a monster face-down and end my turn." He declared moving only one card from his hand onto the duel disk.

"That's it?" Dennis asked, raising an eyebrow.

"For this turn, yes." Jaden answered. "Don't worry, I'll make my contribution to this show amazing, I just need some time to warm up first."

"Very well then, I draw." Dennis declared drawing a card, "And while you started simple, I'll start spectacularly!" He then turned to the audience saying, "Ladies and Gentlemen, get ready as I am about to set the stage for a summoning technique for the likes of which I am sure you have never seen before!"

Jaden narrowed his eyes at his opponent's antics, 'He sure loves being the show man.' he thought, 'but to summon using something other then Fusion? What else could he have learned? Maybe Xyz, if this guy was sent to that dimension for recon or something.'

"Pay close attention everyone, as it is super simple if you have the right cards." Dennis continued, "Fist up, I'll take two special monsters of mine, namely my 'Preformage Bubble Gardna' and my 'Preformage Fire Dancer', and I set them as my Pendulum Scales!" He then finished putting both cards onto the edges of his duel disk.

Jaden eyes widened at that, "What the, Pendulum Scales?" As he said that he saw two blue pillars of light appear on Dennis's field, each with one of the monsters he declared in them, and a number below both.

Preformage Bubble Gardna... PS: 2

Preformage Fire Dancer... PS: 6

The crowd gave 'Oooo's and 'Ahhh's upon seeing the pillars, as Dennis's grin grew bigger. "Now the stage is set! With two Pendulum Zones I am now allowed to Pendulum Summon once every turn!"

"Pendulum Summon? What dose that mean?" Jaden asked, genuinely interested.

"It means I can now special summon multiple monsters from my hand all at the same time as long as there levels are between my pendulum scales." Dennis answered. "And with Pendulum Scales of 2 and 6, that means I get to pendulum summon monsters level 3, 4, or 5."

'Many monsters all at once?' Jaden though to himself as he processed the information. 'And it's a special summon, so tributes probably aren't necessary. That could be more troubling if he had different scale values. Though it might still be trouble even with only those.'

"Now It's Time! I Pendulum Summon!" The Academia student declared. "Come Out, 'Preformage Water Dancer'!" As he said that a circle opened up in the sky between the two blue Pillars the declared clown-esq monster shot out of the circle and only Dennis's field.

Preformage Water Dancer... Attribute:Water, Type:Spellcaster/Pendulum, Level:4, ATK:1200 DEF:1400

"Your only summoning one?" Jaden asked, to him, it seemed like summoning many monsters was the appeal of this summoning mechanic. He could have just normal summoned that one after all.

"You'll get to see the full effects latter." Dennis replied, "This is just the warm up, Now lets welcome another cast member, namely my good pal 'Preformage String Figure'!" He then declared as another clown-like monster appeared on his field."

Preformage String Figure... Attribute:Dark, Type:Spellcaster, Level:1, ATK:0 DEF:0

"Now get ready folks, because from my Pendulum Summon, a Fusion Summon will now appear!" Dennis then announced, keeping the audience's attention on him. "String Figure lets me fusion summon using monster's on my field thanks to his effect, so I'll fuse him and Water Dancer together!" He then said as a fusion vortex appeared behind him, and both monster went in. "Dancer that communes with the Ocean! Merge with the infinitely form-changing strings that connect people, and become a new witch that spurs the sky! Fusion Summon! Appear, Level 7! Preformage Trapeze Witch!" He then chanted as a slender woman appeared from the vortex, riding in on a floating Trapeze swing.

Preformage Trapeze Witch... Attribute:Dark, Type:Spellcaster, Level:7, ATK:2400 DEF:1800

"Now, it's time for the supporting roles to do there thing." Dennis then stated, "I activate the pendulum effect of my Fire Dancer."

"They have effects in that state?" Jaden asked, looking to the, now glowing, Fire Dancer in her Pillar.

"Yep," Dennis replied. "And My Fire Dancer has an ability to grant the power of piercing damage to a monster I have out. Namely, my Trapeze Witch!" He then said as the dancer then shot flames toward the witch, giving her a red glow. "Now Trapeze Witch! Time to attack his face down monster!" Dennis declared, as his monster obeyed jumping of it's trapeze swing and headed right toward Jaden's face down monster that then revealed itself.

Card Trooper... Attribute:Earth, Type:Machine, Level:3, ATK:400 DEF:400

The witch gave the monster a momentum filled kick, causing it to somehow explode once she returned to her swing. "Once 'Card Trooper' is destroyed, I'm allowed to draw a card." Jaden declared grabbing a card from the top of his deck.

"But don't forget, that piercing effect means you took damage even though your monster was in defense mode." Dennis reminded.

Jaden's LP: 8000 - 6000

"I think that will be enough for now." Dennis concluded, "I end my turn, but I assure you, this show has only just begun."

"Okay then, I draw." Jaden declared drawing another card and looking at it, 'Neo-Spacian Flare Scarab'.

"Need a boost?" A duel spirit from inside the cards asked.

"Not yet." he whispered back to the card, "But thanks for offering." He then grabbed a different card from his hand saying, "I'll activate a field spell, 'Fallen Skyscraper'!" As he slipped the card into his duel disk, the surrounding around them changed, it now resembling a huge city with skyscrapers everywhere... but everything was torn up, glass was shattered everywhere, and many of the building had fire in them, with smoke pouring out.

The crowd seemed scared by the change in appearance, one boy even asking his mother what was happening, leading her to tell him that everything was alright and that none of it was real. Dennis meanwhile thought about the card played and mentally compared it to the data he was able to find on Jaden. 'This has got to be an alternate version of his regular 'Skyscraper' field spell, meaning it has got to have an effect that can make his Evil Hero monsters stronger.' Dennis thought as he looked down at one of the two cards in his hand, 'Which means I probably should have powered up Trapeze Witch with 'One-shot Wand' instead of saving it for latter. Okay, this could be an issue.'

"Now I activate the spell card 'Dark Fusion'!" Jaden declared, "With this I will fuse the Elemental Heroes Burstinatrix and Bubbleman in my hand together." The two heroes appeared next to him and went into a Darkened Fusion vortex as he chanted, "Heroes of flaming might and aquatic gadgets, combine as one as you vent your anger out on those foolish enough to stand against you! Dark Fusion! Rise Up! Level 5! Evil HERO Vapor Cutter!" Coming out of this darkened fusion vortex seemed to be nothing but pure steam at first, until compresses into a form resembling a woman.

Evil HERO Vapor Cutter... Attribute:Water, Type:Fiend, Level:5, ATK:1800 DEF:1000

"Thanks to the effect of 'Fallen Skyscraper'," Jaden said, "Whenever I fusion summon by the effect of 'Dark Fusion', I get to draw a card." He drew his card and smirked as he saw it. "Now I normal summon 'Evil Hero Infernal Gainer'!" The new evil hero appeared next to Vapor Cutter smiling like it was about to rip someone's head off.

Evil HERO Infernal Gainer... Attribute:Earth, Type:Fiend, Level:4, ATK:1600 DEF:0

"Now by banishing Infernal Gainer until my second standby phase I can use it's effect." Jaden declared as the monster vanished, "With this, Vapor Cutter will be allowed to attack twice during each battle phase. Furthermore, since Vapor Cutter has less attack points then your Trapeze Witch, my skyscraper can give her an extra 1000 attack points during the battle. Go! Vapor Cutter attack Trapeze Witch! Steam Slash Strike!" The monster obeyed and lunged at the Witch, who in retaliation swing up to counter attack.

"Hold on." Dennis stated, "Thanks to the effect of Trapeze Witch, your monster looses 600 attack points."

"Not today." Jaden Countered, "You need to target Vapor Cutter for that effect to work, but thanks to 'Dark Fusion' she can't be targeted by card effects this turn, leaving her in the clear, and your witch out of magic." As he said that, Vapor Cutter was able to get the upper hand in the midair fusion monster clash and sliced Trapeze Witch in two causing her to disperse into gold dust.

Evil HERO Vapor Cutter... ATK:1800 - 2800

Dennis's LP: 8000 - 7600

Evil HERO Vapor Cutter... ATK:2800 - 1800

"And that's not all." Jaden continued as his fusion monster went to his side putting a 'hand' on his shoulder, "When Vapor Cutter defeats a monster in battle, I gain life points equal to either the attack or defense of that destroyed monster, whichever is higher." a green aura appeared around him briefly as his life points went up.

Jaden's LP: 6000 - 8400

"And don't forget, Infernal Gainer gave Vapor here the ability to attack twice." Jaden reminded, "So Vapor, Direct attack!" He then declared as his monster shot forward again.

"Hold on there." Dennis said as he addressed to one of the two pillars beside him, "I'm activating the pendulum effect of my 'Preformage Bubble Gardna'!"

"More of those effects?" Jaden asked.

"Yep," Dennis answered, "But while Fire Dancer's was offensive, Bubble Gardna's is defensive, allowing me to half battle damage coming at me once per turn." He then clarified as a bubble appeared around him to deflect Vapor Cutter's attack.

Dennis's LP: 7600 - 6700

"I end my turn." Jaden concluded.

"And now it is time for this show to really get itself going!" Dennis proclaimed as he went to draw a card. "I Draw!" The entertainer then quickly went over the cards on the field, 'That Fallen Skyscraper didn't boost his monster's attack points any more then the regular Skyscraper did. So, if it is suppose to have an improved version of it's original effect like how his Evil Heroes work, it will probably give that boost when I attack it as well as opposed to just when he attacks me. If that's the case...' Dennis smiled, "Since I still have my pendulum scales set up, I'll Pendulum Summon!" As he said that, another hole appeared in the sky between the two pillars, only now two beams of light came out as Dennis introduced them. "From my hand, 'Preformage Hat Tricker' makes a cameo, while 'Preformage Water Dancer' revives from my extra deck for an encore performance."

Preformage Hat Tricker... Attribute:Earth, Type:Spellcaster, Level:4, ATK:1100 DEF:1100

Preformage Water Dancer... Attribute:Water, Type:Spellcaster/Pendulum, Level:4, ATK:1200 DEF:1400

The crowed seemed speechless as what just happened as Jaden widened his eyes, "Wait, 'revives from the extra deck'? How did-?" Jaden brought up his duel disk to look at the field and rewinding the visual display a turn, sure enough, Water Dancer was in the Extra Deck, face-up even.

"Surprise." Dennis said smirking, "Pendulum summoning is more then just a way to get out a bunch of monsters easier." He then rose his voice a litter and addressed to Water Dancer saying, "You see, much like my Bubble Gardna and my Fire Dancer, Water Dancer is a Pendulum monster. Not only dose that mean I also have the option of using her to set Pendulum scales if she were in my hand, but when she is on the field and to be sent to the Graveyard, rather it be by destruction or as material for a summon, she will go to my extra deck face-up, where pendulum monsters can be pendulum summon almost just like they were in my hand."

Jaden then spoke softly enough that only his cards could hear him, "Yo, anyone knew about this pendulum summoning and that it can revive monsters for free?"

Flare Scarab answered back, "Not me, nor do I think any of the others knew about this. This Pendulum summoning is either really old and really well hidden until recently, or it was just made recently."

"Of course," Dennis said, continuing his turn, "Why should I just stop at these two, when I can combine them into something greater. Namely I'll be using them to build an overlay Network!" Both Preformages then turned into streams of energy, one red and one brown, and then went into a galaxy themed vortex as Dennis chanted, "Show must go on! Artisan of the air, swing across the stage with grace! Xyz Summon! Appear now! Rank 4! Preformage Trapeze Magician!" Exploding from the vortex was another Trapeze hopping spellcaster, similar to Trapeze witch, and identical to the monster that pulled Jaden to the stage, but now with two yellow Xyz material orbiting around it.

Preformage Trapeze Magician... Attribute:Light, Type:Spellcaster, Rank:4, ATK:2500 DEF:2000

'He's got Xyz too?' Jaden thought, and then smirked. 'Well this just got even more interesting.'

Dennis gave a little wink to the audience and said, "I'll keep a lid the details on this summoning mechanic. Got to have this show's star have some secrets set up for his next performance after all."

Jaden raised an eyebrow at that. "So this is your ace? and Xyz monster?"

Dennis waved a finger at Jaden, "Don't let his summoning status fool you. He more then deserves his place and title in my deck. Your monsters may call themselves heroes, but to any outsider, it is clear that they have fallen far from the high places they started from. Just look at the city your monsters call home. Can you really look at this and say that they are making the place better? Trapeze Magician however is another story, grabbing powers from outside the context of our world, he can rise higher and higher, high enough to take down anything you throw at him."

Jaden smirked, "Is that so? In that case, do you mind telling me or the audience where you learned the skills for this? After all, I know first hand that Duel Academy doesn't teach it's students how to duel the way you've been so far."

Dennis returned the smirk, "Sorry, but that will have to wait for another time. After all, we got a Duel going... and I'll equip my Magician with a special wand to give a little bit more punch to his magic, an 800 point punch that is, coming from the 'One-Shot Wand'." He said as he put the spell in is duel disk, and the wand appeared in the Xyz monster's hand.

Preformage Trapeze Magician... ATK:2500 - 3300

"And that's not all," Dennis added. "By detaching an Xyz material from Trapeze Magician, it is allowed to attack twice during each battle phase." As he said that, one of the yellow orbiting Xyz material got absorbed into the wand as the magician glowed. "Now let's go. 'Preformage Trapeze Magician' attacks 'Evil HERO Vapor Cutter'!" He then declared as the Magician leaped off of the swing aiming it's wand to strike down the fusion monster.

"Hang on." Jaden cuts in. "Thanks to 'Fallen Skyscraper' since your monster has more attack, Vapor Cutter gains an extra 1000 points during this battle."

"That's not enough." Dennis replies as his Magician is still able to overpower the Evil Hero, dispersing it.

Evil HERO Vapor Cutter... ATK:1800 - 2800

Jaden's LP: 8400 - 7900

"And don't forget about his second attack!" Dennis then reminded, "Because now he can go in for a direct attack!" The Magician raises it's wand again, to strike down Jaden. While the former academy student was able to catch the attack with his hand, preventing major damage, the monster was strong, and the force of the attack was still able to knock Jaden onto a knee as he winced through the pain.

Jaden's LP: 7900 - 4600

Still wincing and holding the attack, Jaden looked at the Magician saying, "So, do you mind telling me where your boss learned this dueling style?"

There seemed to be a pause as the monster stopped it's attack and the flipped back to his owner's field. Dennis then smiled, "After Damage calculation, as the equipped monster attacked, I can get One-shot wand destroyed to draw a card." He then said as he drew another card.

Preformage Trapeze Magician... ATK:3300 - 2500

"Furthermore, before the battle phase ends, I'll play the quick-play spell 'Forbidden Dress'." Dennis continued, "You see at the end of the battle phase, my Magician's effect would unfortunately cause it to destroy itself, but with this card, that won't happen, even if his attack points do go down by 600 for the rest of this turn."

Preformage Trapeze Magician... ATK:2500 - 1900

"And now I play a different equip spell, 'Mist Body'." As his magician's body turned to be similar to that of Jaden's destroyed Fusion monster. "This spell will allow my magician to survive any attack you throw at it, no matter how strong your monster is. Your move." He then concluded, causing the Forbidden Dress to lose it's effect.

Preformage Trapeze Magician... ATK:1900 - 2500

"Than I draw." Jaden declares, starting his turn and drawing a card. "I'll play the spell card, 'Pot of Greed', so I can draw 2 more cards." He then states putting the card on his duel disk and doing exactly what he said it would let him do. "And to follow that up," He continued, "I'll play, 'Supreme Command', so now once per turn, I can add a 'Dark Fusion' from my deck or graveyard to my hand." and card then slipped out of his deck as he grabbed it to show, "Of which I'll be making use of right now, to fuse my 'Elemental HERO Wild Heart' with my 'Evil HERO Shadow Grave'." He then states, allowing both monsters to show up next to him before going into another darkened fusion vortex. The Evil Hero duelist then chanted, "Phantom of Vengeance, become one with the Hero of the Wild, and show us a new form capable of avenging those who were sent prematurely to the beyond! Go! Dark Fusion! Level 6! Evil HERO Wicked Shaman!" Exploding from the portal, the new fusion monster stood, ready to get climb right over the challenge presented before it.

Evil HERO Wicked Shaman... Attribute:Dark, Type:Fiend, Level:6, ATK:1900 DEF:1800

"The effect of Wicked Shaman activates upon it's fusion summon, and because that was a dark fusion, 'Fallen Skyscraper' chains in as well." Jaden explains. "So first I get to draw a card, and then I can destroy one monster you have out."

"Wait, you wiping out my Magician right now?" Dennis asked.

"Yeah, If I can't beat it in battle, I'll use an effect." Jaden said simply, as his fusion monster let loose some form of magic that destroyed the magician. "But, that's not all." Jaden continued, "After destroying a monster, I can revive a one form your graveyard to my field with it's effect's negated, so I'll take your Force Witch." As Jaden said that, the fusion monster Dennis summoned beforehand appeared on Jaden's field, looking kinda zombified.

"Well, that's not good, but luckily I'm not done yet." Dennis said with a grin on his face, "When Trapeze Magician was destroyed, he can call out a pal from my deck to help out with the unfinished job, namely my 'Preformage Plushfire'!" As he said that, a new monster appeared on his field, looking kinda like a stuffed animal... only that of fire instead of an animal.

Preformage Plushfire... Attribute:Fire, Type:Spellcaster/Pendulum, Level:4, ATK:1000 DEF:1000

Jaden took a quick look at his duel disk to monitor the locations of cards. 'So his Water Dancer is in the Graveyard now... guess having it be used as Xyz material won't let it be recycled. Good, now to deal with this new monster of his.' He then hit another button on the display and said, "I now activate the first effect of the Shadow Grave in my graveyard, once per duel, while he is in the graveyard, I can preform a dark fusion using monsters on my field."

Dennis raised an eyebrow at that, "But the only monsters you have to fuse are Wicked Shaman and my Trapeze Witch, no way you could make something using a monster that wasn't even in your deck before. "

Jaden smirked, "I guess you must have snoozed through a class or two on fusion summoning, because not only is it possible, but I assure you, I can fuse anything together." As he said that, another darkened fusion vortex appeared, prompting both fusion monsters to go in it as Jaden chanted "Fallen Hero, absorb the powers of this Chimera-esq creature to become a magical force that dispels all foes! Go! Dark Fusion! Level 7! Evil HERO Dark Destiny!" Coming out of this Vortex was a new monster, one that gave Dennis pause, because unlike all the previous ones, there was no Elemental Hero Jaden played in the database that this looked like this could be a counterpart too.

Evil HERO Dark Destiny... Attribute:Dark, Type:Fiend, Level:7, ATK:2500 DEF:2000

"And this is only the beginning." Jaden continued, "Because this fusion summon was treated as a fusion summon caused by dark fusion, 'Fallen Skyscraper' can let me draw another card." He stated as he drew again " And now, Shadow Grave's second effect can now activate. If I control an Evil HERO monster, I can normal summon any level 5 or higher 'HERO' monster without any tributes once per duel, so come on out! Evil HERO Malicious Edge!" Another HERO appeared on the field, the strongest of all of Jaden's main deck monsters had arrived once again.

Evil HERO Malicious Edge... Attribute:Earth, Type:Fiend, Level:7, ATK:2600 DEF:1800

"And if you thought it was bad now, It just got worse for you." Jaden said as he motioned toward his Fusion monster, "Once per turn, when I summon a HERO monster, Dark Destiny can banish any monster you have out on your field."

Dennis's eyes widened at that. "Say what?" As he saw his Plushfire get sucked into a black hole created by Jaden's fusion monster.

Jaden looked at his monitor once again, and smiled once he saw that Plushfire was, in fact, in the banished zone and not in the extra deck. "Now I'll use Dark Destiny's second effect. Once per turn, I can banish any spell card from your graveyard to give him 500 extra attack point and deal 500 points of damage to you." As he said that 'One-Shot wand' appeared in Dark Destiny's hand and got absorbed, boosting his strength while sending a ball of energy at Dennis to hurt him.

Evil HERO Dark Destiny... ATK:2500 - 3000

Dennis's LP: 6700 - 6200

"And I still haven't gone into my Battle Phase yet." Jaden reminded. "And your wide open, Dark Destiny, direct attack!" As he said that the monster then charged up and sent a magical beam of energy at Dennis.

Dennis replied by holding his hand up the Bubble Gardna in his Pendulum zone. "Not exactly, don't forget, with Bubble Gardna' effect, I can half the damage!" He said as the pendulum bound monster created another bubble around him to save him from the attack.

Dennis's LP: 6200 - 4700

"But that effect is only once per turn," Jaden reminded, and I have another attack right here. "Malicious Edge, Go! Needle Burst!" The monster replied by firing out sharp-knife like objects at Dennis, none-hitting anywhere fatal, but it did tear through some clothes.

Dennis's LP: 4700 - 2100

"And now I play a Quick-play spell card." Jaden said, grabbing another card from his hand. "'Sebek's Blessing', so I gain life points equal to the damage inflicted." Jaden declared as his life points went up.

Jaden's LP: 4600 - 7200

"I end my turn." Jaden said. "You're up."

"Very well then, I draw." Dennis declared drawing a card. He then looked down at it and smiled, "Well, this was a good top deck, I activate 'Last Ditch Effort', this card's effect allowed me to shuffle my non-existent hand back into the deck and then draw 6 new cards."

"Ah Shoot." Jaden muttered to himself... knowing that card can potentially change any situation around in an instant.

"You ready everyone!" Dennis calls out to the crowd, "Let's see if my new 6 cards can turn it around against these former heroes." The crowed roared waiting to see what cards will play once they are drawn. "Of course, because I played Last Ditch effort, I am not allowed to set any cards this turn, and any cards I don't use are shuffled back into my deck during the end phase. So if they can't help me out right now, they are dead draws." He then smiled, "So let's see what they ARE!" He declared as he drew 6 new cards.

'Not good.' Jaden though to himself, 'With Pendulum summoning, almost any monster he drew can get out onto the field. So even if it can't help him out immediately, he will still have a resurrecting wall of monsters he can use to stall until he get's something helpful.'

Dennis rose an eyebrow when he saw the cards he drew. 'Not a single monster? Weird. Aw well, this hand should do... somewhat.' He then grabbed a card from the new hand and said, "Now then, let's bring back an old pal, shall we. I'll let Trapeze Magician shine once more with the help of my 'Rank-up-Magic Phoenix Empowerment'!"

"Rank-up-Magic!?" Jaden repeated, thinking 'I thought only people from the Xyz dimension were good enough with Xyz to use Rank-up-Magic. Just how much time did this guy spend working there to get Rank-Up-Magic down?'

"Thanks to Phoenix Empowerment, I can bring back any Level 4 or lower Xyz monster from my graveyard." Dennis explained, "So return for an encore 'Preformage Trapeze Magician'!" As he said that, the Trapeze swinging magician from before came right back onto the field, soaring over the audience and dancing all over the field. "Oh, and remember what I said earlier about him being able to raise higher and higher?"

"Let me guess." Jaden cut in, "He's about to demonstrate that right now thanks to your Rank-Up-Magic allowing you to use it for an Xyz summon of a monster with a higher rank."

Dennis blinked a bit in mock surprise, "Oh My, clearly you must have obtained mind reading abilities, because that's exactly what is about to happen!" He then resumed his confident smile saying, " But not even that will allow you to allow your fallen heroes to continue their tyranny. Let's go Trapeze Magician!" He then declared as the revived Xyz monster turned into a yellow steam of energy that traveled back into a new overlay network. "Show must go on! Oh magician of the sky, more magnificently, more vividly, run across the even greater stage! Rank-Up Xyz Change! Appear now! Rank 5! Preformage Trapeze High Magician!" Exploding from the new vortex was what appeared to be the same magician as before, but with a fancier outfit, and a much more notable magical aura around him, as well as 2 new yellow Xyz material orbiting around it, one being Trapeze Magician, and the other being the Rank-Up-Magic card.

Preformage Trapeze High Magician... Attribute:Light, Type:Spellcaster, Rank:5, ATK:2700 DEF:2200

"And now for not one, but TWO additional Equip spells!" Dennis declared, putting two more cards on his field, "'Mage Power' and 'Magician's Life Force'!" As he said that the glowing magical Aura of High Magician glowed brighter. "Thanks to 'Magician's Life Force', my High Magician can't be destroyed or targeted by card effects once per turn, and any battle damage inflicted in battles involving it are added to my life points. Furthermore thanks to 'Mage Power' High Magician gains 500 attack and defense points for every spell or trap card I have out on the field."

"So it has protection, can boost your life points, and gets 1000 points stronger." Jaden summarized, "No big deal."

Dennis smirked, "Are you sure about that?" Before Jaden could ask what he meant, Dennis snapped his fingers, and the holographic attack and defense meters for High Magician showed up.

Preformage Trapeze High Magician... ATK:2700 - 4700

Preformage Trapeze High Magician... DEF:2200 - 4200

"What the-? 2000? How?" Jaden asked, trying to figure it out, "That requires 4 spell or Trap cards out, and 'Last Ditch Effort' keeps you from setting any cards, So you should only have your 2 Equip spells."

Dennis's smirk went straight to a full on grin, "Not exactly, I do have other cards on my field as well you know."

Jaden frowned as he tried to figure it out, "But besides the Preformage your equipping them to the only other cards you have out are-" He cut himself off and widened his eyes as it clicked.

Dennis addressed to the two blue pillars on his field, "That's right folks! In addition to being a gateway for other monsters and being creatures with unlimited resurrection potential, Pendulum monsters can also leave their bodies behind and become magic itself! While they have been in my pendulum scales my Bubble Gardna and Fire Dancer were treated as spell cards this whole time! Giving me a total of 4 spells on my field!" The Crowd cheered, finding the concept of Monsters that were also spells amazing, but Dennis raised a hand to get them to quiet down. "Now please, lets wait just a bit more, after all, my Magician isn't done showing you just how much stronger he is now." As he said that, a yellow Xyz material got absorbed into the Magicians trapeze swing, "Not only has his stats gone up, but so has the strength of his special ability, with that overlay unit detached, he can now attack, not once, not just twice, but a whole THREE times this turn!"

'Three attacks on a monster with that much attack points?' Jaden thought to himself, 'Oh, Bleep.'

"First up! High Magician, attacks 'Evil HERO Dark Destiny'!" Dennis declared as his monster left from the swing straight at the fusion monster.

Jaden braced himself, "Not so fast! Because your monster is stronger then mine, 'Fallen Skyscraper' gives it an extra 1000 attack points, furthermore, I can also use Dark Destiny's effect, and banish the 'Mist Body' in your Graveyard to power him up by another 500 attack points and deal 500 points of damage to you." His Fusion monster gained a black aura around it as it powered up and leaped at the incoming Xyz monster. Sadly, the clash wasn't long, as the magician quickly got the upper hand against the Evil Hero and turned it into golden dust.

Evil HERO Dark Destiny... ATK:3000 - 3500 - 4500

Dennis's LP: 2100 - 1600

Jaden's LP: 7200 - 7000

"Don't forget about 'Magician's Life Force'," Dennis reminded "when you take damage, I heal."

Dennis's LP: 1600 - 1800

Jaden grit his teeth, "Because an Evil HERO fusion monster was destroyed, 'Supreme Command' lets me add one of it's fusion material monsters from my graveyard to my hand. However, the only fusion material monster in my graveyard is Wicked Shaman, being a fusion monster, that means it goes back to my extra deck instead."

"That's nice and all, but now it is time for the second attack!" Dennis declared as his monster went from air, to Trapeze swing to air again, now headed for Jaden's only other monster. "High Magician attacks Malicious Edge!"

"'Fallen Skyscraper' gives Malicious Edge 1000 extra attack points." Jaden pointed out, as his monster seemed to make some of it's spikes grow into swords as it lunged at the Magician. However, like it's ally, the Clash would be short, and Malicious Edge would be turned into gold dust.

Evil HERO Malicious Edge... ATK:2600 - 3600

Jaden's LP: 7000 - 5900

Dennis's LP: 1800 - 2900

"And here is attack Number THREE! High Magician attack Jaden directly!" Dennis declared. With no monster left, Jaden had no choice but to take this attack full force, as the monster knocked him back and almost clear off the stage.

Jaden's LP: 5900 - 1200

Dennis's LP: 2900 - 7600

Dennis sighed, "Due to the effect of 'Last Ditch Effort', during the end phase, all cards left in my hand have to be shuffled back to the deck." He then saw the last 3 cards he drew; 'Mage's Fortress', 'Pinch Breaker', and 'Trick Box' and put them back into his deck. "Your Move."

"Sorry that I can't be much help here." Flare Scarab said, "As of now, I am the only card in your hand, but my effect is nowhere near enough to help you get past this magician."

"That's fine." Jaden replied, speaking quiet enough so only the duel spirit could hear, "After all, it typically takes more then 1 card anyway to wrap something up anyway." He then made a move to draw a card as he thought to himself 'and I better wrap it up this turn. First Pendulum, then Xyz, then Rank-up. if I let him get another turn, no doubt it will come with another surprise, one that will probably finish me off.' It also wasn't to hard for the former Academy student to imagine Dennis carding him on stage should he loose, and then play it as a part of the show. Jaden's eyes then glowed their golden glow as a dark aura appeared around him, "I Draw!" He declared drawing a card.

The crowed started muttering to each other wondering what was up with Jaden's visible aura or the golden glow in his eyes. Picking up on this, Dennis decided to incorporate it into the show, "Well well well. It looks like it is time for you to pull out your final effort, isn't it Jaden?" He then turned to the crowed saying, "Get ready everyone, because it looks like the climax of the duel is upon us! These tricks only show up when my pal is really ready to give it everything he's got." He then turned back to Jaden saying, "But seeing how much of a disadvantage you are at right now, it might just be to little to late Jaden."

Jaden smirked, "We'll see about that. First things first, this is the second standby phase after I banished 'Evil HERO Infernal Gainer' for it's effect, so that means he can finally come right back to my field." As he said that, the mid-sized Evil Hero from two turns ago re-appeared on his field once again. "Now, I'll activate the effect of 'Supreme Command' and add my third 'Dark Fusion' from my deck to my hand." A card ejected itself from Jaden's duel disk as he grabbed it. "And then I'll play this, 'Legacy of a HERO'! This card lets me take two fusion monsters in my graveyard and return them to my extra deck as long as they require HERO monsters as fusion material." He briefly explained as Vapor Cutter and Dark Destiny briefly appeared on his field before getting sucked into his extra deck slot, "And when I do so, I'm then allowed to draw three cards." He then concluded, drawing three more cards from his deck, he then smirked when he saw them, "I win."

Dennis raised an eyebrow at that, "Really, I find that hard to believe considering the current field. My High Magician has nearly 5000 attack points, and you can't defeat it with card effects, plus even if you get over it through battle, I can re-gain whatever life points I loose from the battle, and half-damage at that to ensure I survive long enough to re-gain those life points."

"Most of that won't matter after this one card." Jaden replies, "And to activate it, I'll discard the 'Dark Fusion' in my hand." He then says, discarding the card as a windstorm seems to be created around him.

'He's ditching his method to fusion summon?' Dennis mentally asked, as the crowed started to mutter having all there attention on Jaden right now.

Noticing the crowed attention on him, Jaden decided to raise his voice a bit for the audience, "Get ready everyone, as I am about to show you all the highest level of fusion summoning possible to be preformed! Completely unstoppable when started, when used correctly, this power can lead one to an absolute victory!" He then grabbed the card from his hand and slapped it onto his duel disk. "I activate, 'Super Dark Fusion'!" As he played it, the windstorm grew stronger as black lightning seemed to form and flow around Jaden.

"'Super Dark Fusion'!" Dennis repeated, having never saw anything like that card in Jaden't dueling data, though it did remind him of another card a certain comrade of his played on occasion.

"Remember when I said I can fuse anything together?" Jade asked rhetorically, "That was not an exaggeration, as this card lets me use the High Magician on your field for a fusion summon with the Infernal Gainer on mine."

"Say what?" Dennis replied. It really was like Yuri's card.

The Xyz monster was the sucked up into a super strong fusion vortex that Infernal Gainer just casually walked into as Jaden chanted, "Fallen Hero, merge with this vessel of anti-matter, and use it's power to take on a new form and power! Go! Dark Fusion! Level 7! Wipe them Out! Evil HERO Dimensional Destroyer!" Coming from this fusion vortex was a bat winged Humanoid holding a spear, and ready to end it all.

Evil HERO Dimensional Destroyer... Attribute:Dark, Type:Fiend, Level:7, ATK:2500 DEF:2000

"Whoa," said someone fro the audience, with another saying, "These kids are incredible duelists."

Jaden smirked at hearing those words, something about them felt nice, "'Super Dark Fusion' treats it's summon as the same as 'Dark Fusion', because of that 'Fallen Skyscraper' let's me draw another card. Furthermore, thanks to the effect of Dimensional Destroyer, upon summon, I can banish all the monsters in your graveyard that have a level or rank equal to or less then the rank of the monster I used for it's Fusion summon, and then it gains 300 attack points for each one." Ghostly images of Dennis's Water Dancer, String Figure, Hat Tricker, Trapeze Magician and Trapeze High Magician all appeared on Jaden's field, before they all turned into smoke and absorbed into the evil hero's spear.

Evil HERO Dimensional Destroyer... ATK:2500 - 4000

"And I'm not done yet." Jaden continued, "I still haven't Normal summoned yet, so say hello to my favorite golden boy, 'Elemental HERO Sparkman'!" As he said that, the electrical hero emerged forth, ready to fight.

Elemental HERO Sparkman... Attribute:Light, Type:Warrior, Level:4, ATK:1600 DEF:1400

"And crew is still coming in, because I target Sparkman to activate 'Common Soul'! So I can special summon 'Neo-Spacian Flare Scarab' to my field." He then added as the Flaming Betel-esq alien appeared on his Field.

Neo-Spacian Flare Scarab... Attribute:Fire, Type:Insect, Level:3, ATK:500 DEF:500

"Now here's the fun part." The Hero duelist explained "Thanks to Common Soul, Sparkman get's attack points equal to whatever Flare Scarab's attack points are. Including any boost Flare Scarab gets, and his effect grants him an extra 400 attack points for every Spell or Trap card on your field."

"And my pendulum cards are treated as spells right now." Dennis realized.

"Bingo." Jaden replied.

Neo-Spacian Flare Scarab... ATK:500 - 1300

Elemental HERO Sparkman... ATK:1600 - 2900

Dennis then smirked, "Well, done Jaden." He congratulated, "But I think you miscalculated, while the combined attack points your monsters have assembled are greater then my life points, The effect of my Bubble Gardna can still be used to half damage from one of your attacks. I haven't lost yet."

"Are you sure about that." Jaden said expression never changing. "Battle! Flare Scarab, go for a direct attack! Flame Bullet!" Jaden commanded.

"No Problem." The alien replied, even though only Jaden could hear him, as he launched a stream of fire right at Dennis.

Dennis braced himself for the flames, not bothering to use Bubble Gardna yet, as it would be better to save it for the strongest attack.

Dennis's LP: 7600 - 6300

"Sparkman, your turn." Jaden followed up, as the Electrical Hero charged up his lightning. At the same time Flare Scarab, summoned more flames that went around Sparkman and seemed to make the attack infused with both fire and lightning. "Flaming Shockwave!" Jaden then called out, giving a name to the combined attack as it shot forward right to Dennis.

Dennis's LP: 6300 - 3400

"See what I mean." Dennis then said, "Your monster will need at least 6800 attack points to finish me off through Bubble Gardna's effect. It falls to short."

"No, this is fine." Jaden says as he holds up the last card in his hand "After all, I still have this card to play." He then flipped it around to reveal it, "The Quick-Play spell, 'Mystical Space Typhoon'!"

"What!?" Dennis replied, in slight disbelief that THAT card is coming into play at THIS time.

"If your pendulum cards are treated as spells right now." Jaden stated as he put the card in his duel disk and let the miniature typhoon appear. "Then it has the weaknesses of one, meaning this card can destroy it." As if to confirm Jaden's statement, a lightning bolt came down electrocuting the Preformage monster in the blue pillar, causing it to explode into gold dust, and prompt the blue pillar it was on, as well the the number below Fire Dancer, to vanish.

"But this means-" Dennis started, but couldn't finish.

"- that my Dimensional Destroyer has more then enough attack power to wrap this up." Jade said, sure, the loss of the pendulum scale meant Flare Scarab and Sparkman's attack points went down, but at this point, that didn't matter. "Direct Attack! Antimatter Oblivion!" He then called out, as his fusion monster raised it's spear in the air, creating a huge dark sphere at the end of it, and the monster threw it down to Dennis field, causing it to explode right on top of him, and taking out the rest of his life points.

Dennis's LP: 3400 - 0

The Holograms faded, as did Jaden's dark Aura and golden glow in his eyes. "And that's game." Jaden said, he then walked up to Dennis, "I was being serious when I asked where you learned to duel like that, by the way." He stated, "It's clear that you pulled from somewhere other then Duel Academy teaching for your dueling style. Mind sharing it?"

Dennis then looked up to Jaden, before grimacing for a second as he then back flipped his way a few feet. He then put on a fake smile and said, "Sorry, but a good magician never reveals his secrets." He then turned to the audience saying, "Well folks, I'm afraid that brings us the conclusion of our show. So lets give a round of applause for our duels winner!" The crowd gave cheers just as asked, having enjoyed the duel. "And now it is time I give you all a found farewell for now. Until next time, whenever that may be." Dennis said.

"Wait a minute." Jaden said, as he turned and tried to reach Dennis. But there was no time, Dennis snapped his fingers, and in a puff of smoke, he was gone. "Man he is good with that magic stuff." Jaden then commented. He then looked to the crowd and waved a bit before walking off the stage, thinking to himself, 'Well, at least I got something out f this. Dennis dueling felt different, if I could find the source to give me a non-duel-academy diluted taste of it, it could help me reverse what happened to my deck.' He then smirked a bit as he started to head back to where his friends are. 'And while Dennis himself didn't want to help point me in the direction I need to go for that, I did at least get a name that should help.' He could probably get everyone's help in finding the guy off of a name... probably 'Yusho Sakaki, you better polish off your deck, because once I am done with Duel Academy, I'm going to come for a visit, wherever you are.'

AN:

*GASP* WHAT'S THIS? An UPDATE!?

Yep, I decided to make this two-shot into a full on short story. But to keep with my rules (making everything stick to cannon) That means I will need to make a slight adjustment to where the story seemed like it would go at first. So I thought of this, three more chapters, three more duels, and here is the first. The second one won't be to important, but the last one might be worth it.

And feel free to thank EternalKing for one of his reviews last June as he said that a better way to end this would be with a proper climax chapter... though in order to keep with cannon, I have to do it differently then what he suggested. After all, if there was an easy way to have Jaden fight Yuri while sticking to cannon (and have Jaden, you know, win... like he should in that match-up) Then this would have been stuck as a one-shot with that as the duel and Reluctant Choice never would have happened.

Hmmm, now should I work on finishing up this story first, or do another chapter in the life of Allan Burton over in Ghostrick Parade next?... Well, first I should probably finish reading this other fanfic. Shouldn't take to long... got past over half of it yesterday.

Oh, and before I forget... this is the first duel where I had a character use an abundance of anime-exclusive cards, because the bulk of his deck was anime exclusive... including 2 of the monsters I wanted to show up. So keep in mind that if you are reading this after these cards were released irl and there effects are different here then they are irl, it's because I only had the anime ones to work off of.

*mumbles to self* Really, they made so many freaking preformages, it was meta when paired up with Preformapals, but they only released a few, despite the fact that so many people were buying them up. Seriously Konami? At the very least you could have gave us the Witch and High Magician, since they also became as much synonymous toward Dennis as Trapeze Magician was.