Alright, now we get into the duels! This will be intense because I'll be writing three of them!
Disclaimer: Wolf doesn't own Yu-Gi-Oh GX or any of the characters. She owns her OC's and the idea. Also, cards by Princessanime08 and Lightclaw's Shadow will be used, so creative rights go to them.
Chapter 6: The Shadow Duelist Part 2
Last time on Four Wild Hearts, Jaden and his friends were telling ghost stories together late one night, when Professor Banner came and joined in. This led to him telling them about the Abandoned Dorm, on old dorm that has been closed down due to the disappearances of several students. Being ones for adventure, Jaden, Dimitri, and Torrey talked the others into going there the following night to explore.
Unfortunately, Crowler overheard these plans and called a supposed shadow duelist named Titan in an attempt to scare Jaden and his friends off the island. Meanwhile, two other shadow duelists named Black Flame and Medea have been ordered by a mysterious boss to go after Dimitri and Torrey for their cards.
Titan's plan for the job involved kidnapping Alexis and Black Flame uses the same tactic by kidnapping Briar. While the group split up to go searching for them, Torrey fell through the floor to the basement where he found a room full of files on the missing students and was then ambushed by Medea.
Dimitri met Black Flame while Jaden and the Slifers met up with Titan. What's more, they have Millennium Items! Can the boys beat these guys, save Briar and Alexis, and make it out unscathed? Let's find out!
With Jaden
Jaden: 4000
Titan: 4000
"Prepare, you fool, to enter into the Shadows!" Titan began his turn to start the duel.
"I summon Infernalqueen Archfiend in attack mode!" Jaden watched as a large, bone-covered creature in dark robes appeared, screeching like a bat (900/1500).
"An Archfiend monster?"
"Yes, and now that this card's out, each and every monster with "Archfiend" in its name gains 1000 attack points!" A purple aura appeared around the archfiend's body as she grew more powerful (900-1900/1500).
Chumley gasped at the turn of events.
"Careful, Jaden!" Syrus called.
"I already knew that," Jaden smiled, sarcastically. "I also know that to keep those monsters on the field; you have to pay life points during every standby phase of your turn!"
Titan chuckled darkly, confusing the teens. "No, I don't. Not after activating the spell card Pandemonium!"
Titan inserted a field spell card into his duel disk, causing a bright light to shine over the field, forcing the others to cover their eyes. When they opened their eyes, the room had taken a disturbing turn with bone statues of horrible monsters and bone-covered walls with a lava pool in the middle of the field.
"Huh?!" Syrus and Chumley were freaked out.
"Wow… creepy, but, pretty cool." Jaden breathed.
"And it doesn't just change the scenery, it changes the rules," Titan declared. "Now I don't have to pay any life points for my Archfiends, and if they're ever destroyed outside of battle, I get to put another fiend right into my hand."
"I know what you're thinking," He pointed at the motionless Alexis. "Your little friend's fate is all but sealed!"
He paused as the coffin she was in closed and sunk into the ground. "Well, you're right!"
"Alexis!" Jaden shouted.
"That's not fair!" Chumley cried.
"Yeah, what have you done?" Syrus demanded.
Titan glared at them both. "The same thing that I will do to the both of you, should you continue to pester and annoy me!"
Naturally, this scared them.
"Hey! Your opponent's over here! Leave my friends out of this! My draw!" Jaden drew his card and looked over his hand. 'I don't have any cards that can go up against 1900 attack points! But maybe…'
"Elemental Hero Avian, I summon you out in attack mode!" The green-feathered hero appeared, ready to fight (1000/1000). "And I'm gonna throw down two face downs as well!"
"Too bad you won't have a chance to use them!" Titan said as he drew a card and slapped another on his duel disk. "I summon Terrorking Archfiend in attack mode!"
Another Archfiend, this time male with electricity sparking around it appeared. It also had a red king crown (2000/1500).
"Now, you have two vicious Archfiends to contend with, and thanks to the special ability of the Infernalqueen, the Terrorking's attack points automatically increase by 1000, making him an even more fiendish force to be reckoned with!" More purple energy surrounded the new Archfiend (2000-3000/1500).
"3000 attack points?" Jaden couldn't believe it. This thing could now take on his strongest fusions in a fight.
"That's right," Titan replied. "And now I'm going to put them all to use. Terrorking Archfiend, attack Avian! Locust Storm Barrage!"
The Terrorking's chest opened up, and a swarm of locusts flew out, heading straight for Avian.
"No way!" Jaden cried. "You forgot about my facedown card, Mirror Gate! This trap card causes our monsters to trade places. My Avian for your Terrorking! So, now all those 3000 attack points are gonna be going to work for me!"
A clear force appeared in front of Avian, ready to trigger.
Titan chuckled. "You really thought you could bait me into a trap? Look around you and tell me who's trapped."
"What do you mean?!" Jaden glared.
"I mean your trap won't work against my Terrorking! It simply activates his special ability, an ability that will determine our monsters' fate by way of chance!" He explained as six different colored balls rose from the lava pool in the center of the field and floated to his side.
"Oh no…" Jaden groaned, not liking this at all.
"You see, when he's targeted by an opponent's effect, Terrorking's special ability gives me a gambling chance," Jaden noticed that each ball had a different number on it from one to six. "A number between one and six is selected at random, and if it happens to be a two or a five, then your trap's destroyed, and Archfiend stays to fight on my side. So, let's spin the wheel of fate and see what happens, shall we?"
A burst of fire surrounded the first ball. Then it started to make its way to the other balls quickly.
"It's ok, the odds are way in Jaden's favor," Chumley said, hoping it didn't land on a two or a five.
"You flunked math, Chumley!" Syrus reminded him.
"No, I got a 54!" He shot back.
The flame slowed down until it came to a stop on one of the poison numbers.
"Two! It seems as though the chance has favored the Terrorking Archfiend! Mirror Gate is shattered!" Titan said triumphantly as the shimmering veil in front of Avian disappeared. "Locus Storm Barrage, finish him!"
Avian cried out in pain as the locusts attacked, tearing at him in a feeding frenzy before exploding.
Titan: 4000
Jaden: 2000
"Well, that stinks, but at least it activates my other trap!" Jaden countered. "Hero Signal!"
A searchlight with a big H on it appeared on the ceiling. "When my monster is destroyed in battle, this trap card allows me to automatically summon a monster from my deck or my hand with Elemental Hero in its name! And I summon Elemental Hero Clayman! Defense mode!"
Clayman took a defensive stance as he answered the signal (800/2000).
"Oh, way to duel!" Syrus praised his friend.
"That Clayman should keep Jaden safe!" Chumley added.
"I don't think so," Titan said, ominously.
"Hmm?" Jaden raised an eyebrow.
His opponent held up a gold pyramid. "At least, not from this!"
A fierce light shined from the item, causing the teens to become uneasy.
"Now the Shadow Games have truly begun!" Titan laughed coldly. Everyone was grunting as if they were in pain. "Don't your life points seem so utterly insignificant now that it's your very life that's at risk?"
The shine ended and Jaden was about to say nothing happened when…
"Jaden!"
"No!"
Hearing his friends call out to him, Jaden looked down to see his part of his arms and chest erased like they were rubbed out by a giant eraser. "Hey, my arm!"
Titan chuckled. "It is the way of the Shadows. Transcending the game, attacking your body!"
When Jaden tried to reposition himself, he found he couldn't. "Hey, I can't move my feet!"
Titan kept a serious look, but he was amused at Jaden's plight. "Of course not. As the Shadow Fog rolls past, you all will feel the darkness take you into its grip completely."
Syrus and Chumley started coughing and clutching at their throats as the fog went past them.
"The air! Getting tough to breathe!" Chumley wheezed.
"You are at the mercy of the Night, now!"
"I… I can't feel anything!" Syrus whimpered.
"Treasure the numbness, for it will not last! Soon, you will be drawn into an infinite chasm of eternal darkness where every waking moment will be filed with a gaping-"
"What? Give me a break!" Jaden interrupted. "How bad can it be? So what? Back at our dorm, we have blackout curtains so that we can sleep in later. I'm not scared of the dark!"
Titan held up his golden pyramid.
"But your blackout curtains do not wield the same kind of mystic power as my Millennium Item does." He pointed out as it started to glow again.
"Whoa."
"Oh, no. Trouble!" Chumley stated the obvious.
"It's your move. But make it count, it may be your last!"
Jaden looked back down at his arm.
'Wow, Millennium Items, a Shadow Fog… who could ask for a better challenge?!' He thought, giving a slight smile.
Titan frowned. 'What's he smiling about?!'
"Alright, Jaden… get your game on! Here goes, buddy. For my move, I play…" Jaden drew. "The spell card Pot of Greed!"
He drew two more cards. "And I'll fuse this Elemental Hero Sparkman with my Clayman on the field. Now, say hello to…"
He paused as Sparkman leaped into the air, quickly joined by Clayman and the two of them merged to create a massive monster in purple and yellow armor (2400/1500).
"Elemental Hero Thunder Giant! And now I'll use his special ability, which lets me destroy a monster whose original attack points are lower than his! Now, Thunder Giant, let loose Static Blast!" He ordered.
Thunder Giant fired off a blast of electricity from its, aimed directly for the Infernalqueen.
Titan Chuckled.
"Uh-oh."
"I activate Infernalqueen's special ability. It's the same as Terrorking's! Spin Roulette!" he declared as a fireball appeared on the set orbs next to him.
"Oh, no," Syrus moaned as the fireball started moving. "It just can't land on a two or a five again!"
Unfortunately, that's what happened. The flame landed on the number five.
Titan laughed. "I win again! It seems as though even fate isn't on your side half the time! And now you will pay the price!"
The lightning bolts were redirected from Infernalqueen back at Thunder Giant, destroying him.
Jaden groaned. "This stinks! Talk about a run of some rotten luck!"
"Jaden!" Syrus called out to him.
'This is totally anti-lishus. No matter what Jaden does, that Shadow Duelist's Archfiend deck can use that Roulette to save himself! And this choking dark fog isn't exactly helping things either! I mean, first Jade came here to save Alexis, and he might not even be able to save himself!' Chumley thought.
"Now, all your monsters are destroyed, and you're next!" Titan laughed coldly. "Your destiny is set! Soon, my Archfiend deck will finish off all your monsters and my Millennium Item will finish of your soul!"
"This match isn't over yet!" Jaden declared as he made another move. "I still have a few tricks up my sleeve! Like this one: Mirage of Nightmare!"
A spell card appeared showing a traveler being ambushed by mummies. "After that, I'll throw down a couple of facedowns!"
"Don't waste my time! Your life points won't last long enough for you to use any more of your cards! Alexis' soul will soon be gone, and so will yours!" Titan raised his hand to take a card. "It's my turn!"
"Hold on!" Jaden stopped him. "I think you're forgetting something! Mirage lets me draw until I have four cards in my hand."
Since his hand was empty, he could draw the full four.
"So go ahead then!" Titan boasted. "You could have four million, and it still wouldn't defend you against the crushing power of my monster! Allow my Terrorking Archfiend to give you an example! Attack! Locust Storm Barrage!"
Terrorking's chest opened up again, and a swarm of locusts came out and flew straight at Jaden.
"Talk about having butterflies in your stomach," Jaden muttered. "Good thing I have the trap card Mirror Force in play! Say 'good-bye' to all your monsters in attack mode!"
"Totally 'lishus!" Chumley pumped his arm. "If Jaden keeps this up, we can finally get outta here! And with Alexis, too!"
Titan watched as his redirected attack destroyed his Archfiends. He was not happy about that. "How dare you?!"
Jaden blinked, not sure what the big deal was. He was playing the game. "How? Because I'm daring, I guess?"
"Well, let's see how daring you are after this!" Titan took a card from his hand. "I'm using Desrook Archfiend's special effect! It allows me to resurrect Terrorking Archfiend by sending this card to the graveyard!"
He inserted the card into the graveyard slot and looked back at Jaden as Terrorking returned to the field (2000/1500). "Say 'hello' to a not-so-old friend."
"Him again?" Jaden asked, getting annoyed.
"And now I activate the effect of the field spell card Pandemonium!" Titan continued. "Its powerful magic allows me to draw a new Archfiend if one of my Archfiend monsters is ever sent to the graveyard."
He paused as he got his card. "Of course, this new Archfiend can't be as powerful, but then, my Terrorking Archfiend is packing more than enough power as it is! Now let's try this again, Locust Storm Barrage!"
"Will this storm ever let up?" Chumley groaned.
"Go, Emergency Provisions!" Jaden activated his second facedown. "This spell card allows me to sacrifice another spell or trap card and regain 1000 life points!"
With that, Mirage of Nightmare vanished in a flash and Jaden got his life points back, as well as a portion of his body.
Jaden: 3000
Titan: 4000
He barely had enough time to brace for the pain when the locusts hit him hard, knocking a chunk of his life points off.
Jaden: 1000
Titan: 4000
"You still stand?!" Titan snapped.
Jaden winced a little at the toll of the game, but he regained himself quickly. "I still have two good legs to stand on."
Titan laughed as he pulled out his Millennium Item again. "But your legs are not good, and now, with this latest strike on your life points, neither are your arms!"
Once again, the light from the item filled the room, and half of Jaden's right arm disappeared.
"Aw, man! Jaden's fading really fast!" Syrus fretted.
'Hanging on by a limb in more ways than one,' Jaden drew his next card. "Better make this turn count!"
"Alright, I use the spell card The Warrior Returning Alive! This brings back Elemental Hero Avian!" He picked up his revived Hero and looked over his hand.
"Now, fuse with Burstinatrix and create the Elemental Hero Flame Wingman!" The two Heroes fused and created Jaden's second-in-command (2100/1200).
"Now, let's turn up the heat, Flame Wingman! Attack with Infernal Rage!" Flame Wingman aimed his dragon arm at the Archfiend and fired a torrent of red flames at the creature, consuming it in a mighty blaze.
Titan: 3900
Jaden: 1000
"Oh, by the way, did I tell you about his superpower? Your beast won't be the only one hurting! You will, too! You take damage equal to your destroyed monster's attack points!" Jaden smirked.
Electricity sparked from the shadow duelist's gear as he felt the pain from the effect.
Titan: 1900
Jaden: 1000
The trio watched on as parts of Titan's left leg, and right arm started to disappear.
"Parts of him are starting to disappear now, too, Chumley!" Syrus pointed out.
"Think that could work on my waistline?" Chumley wondered out loud.
"It matters not," Titan shouted. "Because I have another Desrook Archfiend! I simply discard him to bring back my Terrorking! There's no escaping him!"
"Rise again, Terrorking!" For the third time, the Terrorking took the field (2000/1500).
"This guy's really overstaying his welcome." Jaden murmured as he took another card from his hand. "I've gotta find a way to get rid of him somehow, but first, I gotta protect myself with Dark Catapulter!"
A dark metal monster with two rods sticking out of his back appeared on the field, kneeling and guarding (1000/1500). "Now, do your worst!"
"You want my worst?! You should be careful what you wish for because you might just get it!" Titan threatened as he drew his next card. "Especially when this card is in the mix! I sacrifice my Terrorking Archfiend and call forth the Skull Archfiend of Lightning!"
Terrorking dissolved away in a dark wind. In his place stood a much bigger Archfiend, electricity crackling all over its body. It looked a lot like Summoned Skull, only scarier (2500/1200).
"You wanted my worst? Well, now you have it, every last supercharged volt!" Titan roared as the Archfiend shot an electric blast at Flame Wingman, electrocuting him and blasting him off the field.
Jaden tried to shield himself as best as he could from the blowback of the attack.
Titan: 1900
Jaden: 600
"Aw, man!"
"Jaden!"
Said person was trying to stay on his feet since that last attack had left him a little shaky. 'I have to hang on… for Alexis and the guys!'
Titan's Millennium Item started to glow again.
"Look into my Millennium Item, and feel yourself drifting further into the Shadows!" He said like he was trying to lull Jaden into unconsciousness. "You are defeated. Your life points are all but gone. Soon you will be nothing but a hollow, soulless shell! Feel yourself drifting, drifting, drifting…"
Jaden fell to one knee, breathing hard. He tried to stay focused, but thoughts were getting harder to form by the minute. His vision began to fade in and out, making it hard to see what was going on around him.
'I… I can't see anymore! What's happening to me?!'
Titan smirked and chuckled darkly as he watched Jaden fall victim to the power of the Shadow Realm.
"He can't even stand up!"
"Jaden!" Syrus called to his friend.
All Jay could do was groan. He could hear his friends from somewhere nearby, but all he could see now was a veil of darkness. Everywhere he looked, there was nothing but shadows.
'Look at him suffering!' Titan mentally gloated. 'The Shadows are a powerful weapon indeed, even the ones simply in your mind. If only he knew.'
While stuck in the dark, Jaden's deck started to glow.
Coo! A soft sound made Jaden open his eyes and look up. He saw a little light dancing around him and felt a familiar presence.
'Kuriboh?' He called out with his thoughts. 'What is it, pal? Are you trying to tell me something?'
Kuriboh's ball of light continued to move and dance around, mostly in front of the Shadow Duelist. As he moved, the darkness around them was starting to disperse a little.
'Hey, slow down, with that bright light you're gonna hypnotize me quicker than you help me.' Jaden complained.
Kuriboh came to a stop in front of Titan, revealing some of the room they were in earlier. Only this time, something was different. Something had changed.
Jaden blinked a few times and then gasped, realizing what Kuriboh was trying to tell him. 'Wait, that's it! That's what you're trying to tell me! We're not playing in the shadows. He's playing with my mind!'
Jaden opened his eyes to find himself back in the game. As he got back to his feet, he said, "Well, not anymore! I've got this Shadow Game scam figured out!"
"Did he saw Shadow Game scam?" Chumley asked.
"What's he mean?" Syrus added.
"I mean, my soul's staying right here!"
"Huh?" Both boys looked at each other, confused.
"Now, it's my turn! Let's keep going! My draw!" Jaden drew his next card.
'What's happening? Why isn't he scared anymore?' Titan wondered, growing nervous.
A small ball of light appeared on Jaden's monster. "First, I'm going to activate my Dark Catapulter's special ability! It allows me to remove one card that's in my graveyard for every turn Catapulter was in defense mode. Then, for every card I remove, I can destroy one trap or spell card that's in play!"
Jaden's graveyard slot began to glow. "So, since he was in defense mode for one turn, I'll remove Avian and then I'll destroy your Pandemonium card!"
Dark Catapulter leaned forward, a ball of energy gathering between the spires on its back, aiming directly for Titan's field spell slot. "Storm Shower Blast!"
"Uh oh…" Titan held up his duel disk to guard against the blast.
Within minutes, the statutes grumbled, and the field spell blew apart, leaving the group in the room they were in before.
Gritting his teeth, Titan held up his Millennium Item. "So what? You still haven't destroyed this!"
Jaden just smirked. "You should be careful what you wish for… you might just get it!"
He tossed his Avian card and watched as it got stuck right in the middle of the eye.
"What did you do?!" Titan cried as his and Jaden's bodies reappeared.
"Alright, Jaden! You got your body back!" Syrus shouted happily.
Jaden looked back at him. "I never lost it. This whole "Shadow Game" was one big fake!"
"Huh?" Both Slifers looked confused.
"It was all just hypnosis! A lot of smoke and mirrors to make me think I was losing my soul!" He explained. "This guy's a complete sham. He's probably just some out of work carny."
"I'm not out of work!" Titan protested. "I can get my job at the fair back anytime I want!"
"Yeah, I'm sure that you could, and I'm sure that paper mache Millennium Item goes over real well with the kiddies," Jaden added.
Titan was beginning to sweat by this point. "No! Be quiet! It's real! I'm real!"
"You're a sideshow phony!"
"You fool! You forget!" Titan remembered smirking.
Jaden raised an eyebrow.
"The girl!"
"Alexis!" Chumley spoke up.
"Yes, that's right! Imprisoned in a shadow tomb! Her soul is festering in the far recesses of the Netherworld! That proves this Millennium Pendant is real!" He cried triumphantly, holding up his cracked item. "What do you have to say to that?!"
The two Slifers looked at each other, terrified.
"Besides that you're a big dunce?" Jaden shot back, catching the other duelist off guard. "See, all the Millennium Items were etched into the wall of this dorm, and yours would be called the Millennium Puzzle, not Pendant."
Titan growled, knowing he was caught.
Jaden looked hard at him. "You don't have Alexis's soul, you never did. So hand her over, along with Briar and all the other kids you took!"
"Other kids? I don't know what you're talking about, and because of your earlier carny comment, you can find your friend by yourself!" Titan snapped, setting off a smoke bomb to cover his escape.
"No way! You're not getting out of here that easily, get back here!" Jaden called, chasing after him.
As he ran, he didn't notice that the statues around the circumference of the area started to light up. He did stop, though when the lights shot out from the figures and merged in the center of the room, right in front of him. Then, a symbol that looked like the Eye of Horus appeared on the floor.
The commotion was enough to catch Titan's attention and make him stop to look.
"What is this?! Another trick?!" Jaden scowled, eyes fixed on the symbol, though deep down he had a feeling this was no trick.
"I didn't do this…" Titan tried to back away from the symbol.
All of a sudden, the wind picked up, swirling the smoke around like a tornado was forming in the building. Jaden watched as the twister surrounded them, the wind blowing harder than anything he'd ever felt.
"What the-?!" He gasped.
The smoke covered the two duelists. Then, it condensed into a sphere of darkness, crackling with energy.
"Jaden!" Syrus called out to his friend.
Inside the shadow dome, Jaden and Titan were inside a void of endless darkness. Both were freaking out, but Jaden was doing a better job at not showing it.
"What is this place?!" Titan demanded, full of fear. "Where am I?!"
"Oh, come on!" Jaden scowled. "Enough tricks already!"
"A trick?! I can't do something like this!" Titan protested.
A presence nearby made the two turn to see a large mass of black blobs surrounding them.
Jaden stared. "What are those things…?"
Titan was the unfortunate one. The blobs quickly assaulted him as they began to cover every inch of his body.
"Help! They're attacking! Jaden, save me!" His cries for help were cut off as blobs began to be sucked into his mouth, muffling his screams.
"What in the…!" That was when Jaden noticed his own group of fiends also surrounded him. He couldn't move to get away from them, and they were closing in fast.
Just then, he heard a little 'coo' sound, the same one he had heard a few times now. He looked down at his deck and was startled when he saw a small brown furball trying to escape. When the furball finally got out, it turned out to be Kuriwolf.
"Now, that's weird. First I hear you, now I see you." Jaden blinked.
Kuriboh then floated down by his feet until he was level with the monsters. The blobs seemed to retreat at the sight of the little duel spirit.
"Thanks, Kuriboh. Those things were starting to give me the creeps," Jaden glanced over at Titan. "Too bad he doesn't have a friend like you."
The slimy blobs no longer covered Titan, but he wasn't like he was before. His eyes were glowing bright red behind his mask, and when he spoke his voice sounded more sinister.
"Jaden Yuki, the Shadows pang for a soul… only one shall survive."
Something in Jaden told him that there was a real danger here, though he refused to be intimidated. "Alright, I don't know what's going on, but I'm not backing down!"
"Titan" raised his duel disk as the army of fiends formed a circle around the two duelists, making sure the duel ends.
"This duel shall now continue in the Shadow Realm." He rasped as Skull Archfiend of Lightning and Dark Catapulter appeared back on the field.
Jaden glared. "Fine, as long as we can finish this!"
He took a card from his hand to play. "I play the spell card Monster Reincarnation! Now, by discarding one card from my hand, one of my graveyard monsters comes back! And I choose everybody's favorite golden boy, Sparkman!"
The lightning Hero appeared on the field, taking a defensive stance (1600/1400).
"Very well, my turn." "Titan" declared as moved to draw a card.
"Don't forget, Mr. Tall, Dark, and Creepy, without your Pandemonium field spell in play, you lose 500 life points for every Archfiend you have on the field!" Jaden reminded him.
"Titan" hunched over as dark smoke poured out of his mouth while his life points dropped.
Titan (?): 1400
Jaden: 600
He then straightened up as though nothing happened. "500 life points is nothing compared to a soul! Now, Skull Archfiend attack!"
Immediately, the Archfiend let out a stream of electricity that struck Dark Catapulter, blowing it to bits. Strangely, Jaden nearly felt the bits hit him as he tried to shield himself with his duel disk.
He lowered his arm when the attack died down. "Whoa, that was intense!"
"Titan" took two cards from his hand. "I now place one card facedown and summon Desrook Archfiend in attack mode to end my turn."
A new Archfiend appeared alongside the other. It was made of bone and red flesh, and it was built like a small tower. It also has a face that seemed to be grinning right at Jaden (1100/1900).
Kuriboh 'cooed' and looked at Jaden, who smiled. "Don't worry, Kuriboh! We're still in this! Here goes!"
He drew his next card and looked it over. 'All right! They say the best defense is a good offense. But with this card, I can have both!
"Sparkman, I'm putting you in attack mode and arming you with the spell card Spark Blaster!" Jaden inserted a card into the slot as his Hero rose to his feet, newly equipped with a high-tech firearm. "This bad boy has three blasts, and they let me change the position of any monster on the field! And I know just who to use it on…"
"So be it," "Titan" interrupted. "Change the battle mode of my Skull Archfiend of Lightning. His 1200 defense points should make for easy conquest…"
He paused as a familiar set of six balls appeared. "Unless the roulette negates your effect again."
"Sorry, but that's not the monster I was talking about!" Jaden said. "Sparkman's not even gonna use that blaster yet! First, he's gonna attack your Desrook Archfiend with Static Shockwave!"
Sparkman held up his empty hand and shot a lightning blast of energy. It struck the Archfiend head-on, eradicating it.
Titan (?): 900
Jaden: 600
"And for who I'm gonna use the Spark Blaster," Jaden continued. "It's Sparkman himself!"
Sparkman lowered his blaster and fired a round at his feet, making him kneel back down into a defensive position.
"Coward," Titan stared hard at Jaden. "First you have your Sparkman attack my life points, and then you have him switch to protect your own. But it matters not, nothing can protect you from this!"
He pressed a button on his duel disk, and his facedown card rose up. "The trap card Battle-Scarred! With it, the 500 life point per turn cost of my Skull Archfiend of Lightning affects not only me, but you, too! And for as long as he's out on the field!"
Titan: 400
Jaden: 100
"This is bad…" Jaden winced from the sting of losing his life points. "I won't be able to last another turn!"
The blobs started to move closer, but Winged Kuriboh shooed them away. "Thanks, Kuriboh! Don't worry; we still have Sparkman!"
"Wrong! Skull Archfiend, destroy that peon! Blast Stream of Fury!" Titan commanded as his Archfiend roared and sent out another blast of electrical energy straight at Sparkman, who cried in pain before exploding. "Next, I place a facedown card and activate the spell card Double Spell."
He inserted a card into a slot before continuing. "Now, by simply discarding one of the spell cards in my hand, I am allowed to use one of the spell cards in your graveyard, and I select Emergency Provisions!"
The chosen spell card appeared in Titan's hand. "Now, I sacrifice one meaningless card and regain a total of 1000 life points!"
His life points increased as his facedown card dissolved away.
Titan: 1400
Jaden: 100
"Your fate is sealed. You have not a single card remaining in your hand. Battle-Scarred will take your last life points next turn," Titan gloated. "Then you'll join the rest of the students I've taken in the Shadow Realm!"
Jaden looked down at the horde of slime creatures as Kuriboh fended them off. "Better make this turn count! One way or another, it's going to be my last! Here I come!"
The Hero duelist drew his next card. "I summon Elemental Hero Bubbleman in attack mode!"
A stocky man in blue armor with a white cape and two water hoses attached to his gloves appeared, facing down the Skull Archfiend (800/1200). "Now, Bubbleman prefers working with a team. So, if he's the last card in my hand when I summon him, I'm allowed to summon another monster! Also, if he's the only card on my field when he's summoned, I get to draw two more cards!"
Jaden took the top two cards from his deck and looked at them. "And I just happened to draw one of his favorites, Bubble Shuffle!"
A spell card with a picture of dancing bubbles appeared on the field. "Actually, it's more of a two-step. The dance goes like this: I switch him and one of your monsters into defense mode. Then, I sacrifice Bubbleman and summon another Hero!"
"If my Skull Archfiend's counter effect does not render your spell useless, that is," Titan gestured to the roulette wheel. "If this roulette lands on a one, three, or six, your Bubble Shuffle spell fails to activate."
Jaden groaned. "I have the worst luck at this thing…"
He kept his eyes on the roulette wheel, watching as the fireball moved around the set of balls until it came to a stop on one of them. It was the number two ball.
"Two?!" Titan stared in shock at the result.
"Finally, I win at this thing!" Jaden cheered as both Bubbleman and Skull Archfiend knelt into defense mode.
"Now, making a Shadow Realm debut, Elemental Hero Bladedge!" He called as a golden armored being appeared on the field, large gold blades coming out of his arms and legs (2600/2300). "Pretty sharp, huh? Well, it's not just for show! It's meant to cut through a defending monster and give all extra attack points to you! Now, Hero Bladedge! Show him how you got your name! Slice and Dice attack!"
Bladedge soared full speed at Skull Archfiend and effortlessly passed through it. Titan stepped back as the Archfiend became covered in large gashes, light flowing out of it right before it exploded in a fiery pillar of smoke.
Titan: 0
Jaden: 100
"NOOO!" Titan screamed as he once again was attacked by the horde of slimeballs.
Jaden could only watch as Titan fought helplessly against the creatures, but lost. He shivered a little at the sounds. "Even if I live to be a hundred, I will never forget these sounds."
Kuriboh got his attention, pointing out a crack of light in the darkness. "What's that? An exit? I'll take it, let's get out of here!"
On the other side, Chumley and Syrus were starting to get really worried. Suddenly, they saw Jaden diving out of a cut in the dome!
"Jaden!" Syrus called.
"You okay?" Chumley asked as they ran over.
"Yeah, I think so," Jaden answered, still a little shaken.
"What happened in there?!" Chumley asked.
Before he could reply, the dome started to implode on itself.
"Duck!" Chumley gasped, taking Syrus to the floor with him.
The process caused a strong wind to pick up, almost blowing away the coffin that contained Alexis. As the others held on for dear life, Jaden struggled to hold the casket down until the dark orb burst into particles.
The brunette was almost in shock when it was over, trying to regain his breath. "If that was a magic trick, it was a pretty damn good one!"
"Magic trick?" Syrus got up off the floor. "You mean you don't think that was the real Shadow Realm?"
Jaden just looked at his friend. "I have no idea…"
When he looked around, he noticed his friends still weren't there. "Where are the guys?"
"We're not sure," His shorter roommate answered. "They haven't come down here."
"Maybe they're outside, waiting for us," Chumley suggested, hoping they could finally get out of that creepy place.
Right after he said that, however, they heard another scream.
"What was that?!" Syrus yelped.
"That sounded like Dimitri!" Chumley gasped.
"Sy, Chum, you guys take Alexis and meet us outside! If the boys and I aren't out by sunrise, then go get help!" Jaden didn't even wait for an answer, he raced out the door and back the way they came.
That's the end of this chapter. Sorry, this took so long, I tried to write all the duels together in one episode, but it became too confusing. Dimitri's fight will be up next.
Until then, read, review, and stay tuned!