Well, here we go again.
And if anyone was wondering who that figure was last chapter, well, that's my little secret.
Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or Metroid. I also don't own the character Feral, he is the creation of my good friend Irae K. Strife.
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Well, this is a strange predicament I am in right now.
No, its not a duel against a member of the Space Pirate Confederacy, nothing nearly that elaborate.
Well, you see one thing I've made it a habit not to do is to fall in love, it can get in the way of work, and it does strange things to you.
However, now what I was sure would never happen has happened, I have fallen in love with a student here at the Academy.
Lets hope that this duel doesn't hinder my feelings.
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CHAPTER 7:
WILD HEARTS
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Sarah, Cassie, Lauren, and Theo are sitting in the office of Chancellor Roberto Griffin, looking a little uneasily at each other as the Chancellor hears their story.
"So, your saying that the Cafeteria was destroyed by aliens, is that correct?" Griffin asks, and the students nod. "Well, I have to say that this all sounds a little bizarre to me. As a matter of fact, if it wasn't for the fact that our cameras captured images of these Space Pirates, and your story is supported by every student that was in the Cafeteria at the time, which is a good quarter of the school. And it looks like that if it where not for your efforts, every student would have been captured by these, Pirates."
"Yes, that is true," Sarah says.
"And of course, there is the issue of you two carrying weapons on school property," Griffin says.
"I only use it if it necessary for self defense," Cassie says. "And with all due respect sir, I think that an impending invasion warrants some, change in policy."
"I don't have a choice, I lost my arm when I was younger, they outfitted me with a cybernetic one that doubles as a weapon, it's a long story," Sarah says. "I would never shoot a fellow student with it."
"Well, I have checked with the board, and they do believe that in light of these occurrences, it will be allowed, but neither of you can draw your weapons on another student," Griffin says.
"Yes sir," Sarah and Cassie says.
"Though, I should tell you one thing," Griffin says. "This island has, special properties, some of which are more well-hidden than others. Like the original Duelist Academy, this one was designed to contain a great power within its walls. If it becomes necessary, I am leaving it up to you four to develop sort of a, small army of duelists in order to fight against this coming evil."
"What you are suggesting could put other students in danger," Theo says.
"If what you told me about these Pirates is true, then we are already in danger," Griffin says. "I don't like it either, but it might be the only way."
"He has a point," Lauren admits. "We are the only defense the world has against the Pirates, and we are going to need all the help we can get."
"Well, we can try I guess," Sarah says.
"Good, now you kids go ahead and take the rest of the day off, its been a long day for us all," Griffin says, and the four kids nod, and leave the office. I couldn't tell them, but we have been planning for this day for a long time, and we aren't entirely defenseless, its all a matter of defeating the Pirates before they come, he thinks to himself.
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Later, Cassie is lying back in the grass on a hillside overlooking the ocean, and looking out at the sunset.
She remembered one thing her mom had told her once about sunsets: "I remember my first sunset, I had never seen one before because there are no sunsets on Bryyo. I remember how I felt, that it was like a way the Gods where telling me that everything would be all right, that the past can be put behind me. It was, the second most beautiful thing I had ever seen," her mother had once told her.
"Then, what was the first?" Cassie had asked her mother.
"It was seeing you for the first time, because I knew that I had brought a real treasure into the world," Ariadne had told her.
Cassie had thought it was kind of silly back then, but she figured that she would understand someday. Now here she was, her mother was probably worried sick about her by now, and all she had to hang on to her ways her memories.
Well, that and her spaceship, but lets not get into that.
She sighs contently, having removed her trench coat to feel the last rays of sun on her skin, she sits up as she hears a growling sound from nearby. Sitting up, she spies a male Gray Wolf coming out of the bush, barely even noticing her, he crosses the grass, and disappears into the forest.
Cassie, more out of curiosity than anything, slides her trench coat back on, and follows after securing her duel disk. She makes her way down a trail cut through the forest in the direction the wolf had gone, and comes into a clearing a minute later.
Seated there is a young man with spiked red hair and golden eyes, he is wearing a black coat and t-shirt with blue jeans, and has the badge at his belt showing him as a Sliffer Red Freshman.
Cassie blushes a little bit, getting a strange feeling, but she shakes it off. I can't be falling in love with this guy, I don't even know his name, and besides, I'm trying to get back home, it would save me a lot of heartache if I didn't fall in love…she thinks, shaking her head.
The young man suddenly turns, and stares right at Cassie. "Do you want something?" He asks.
"Well, uhh oh, I don't know what to say…" Cassie says, turning away, and blushes a little.
"You want a duel or something?" The young man asks.
"Uhh, yeah, sure a duel, I'm Cassandra, you can call me Cassie though," Cassie says, activating her duel disk.
"Feral," he replies, and activates his own duel disk after taking a deck out.
"LETS DUEL!" The two say in unison.
"Ladies first," Feral says, giving Cassie a smile.
Cute, and a gentleman, I like it… Cassie thinks and draws. "I start with one monster in defense mode, and call it a turn."
Feral draws, and grins. "I summon my Mad Dog of Darkness (1900/1400), in attack mode!" He says, and a wicked looking orange dog appears, his eyes glowing red as he growls. "Now, attack her face down monster, rabid bite attack!"
The dog pounces on the face down monster, which is revealed to be a red dragon with a white mask covering its face.
"That was my Masked Dragon, and thanks to his effect, I can special summon a dragon with 1500 attack points or less from my deck to the field, and I choose my Darkblaze Dragon (1200/1000)," Cassie says, and a black dragon with a red underside and red veined wings appears.
"That's an, interesting monster, but its too weak to destroy my Mad Dog of Darkness, heck, most level 4 monsters could destroy it," Feral says.
"Hmm, true, but my Darkblaze dragon has a useful effect we'll get to later, is that your turn?" Cassie asks.
"Yeah, one card face down, your move," Feral says.
Cassie draws. "I activate Magical Mallet," she says, and takes 3 cards out of her hand, and shuffles them back into her deck before drawing 3 more. "And I'll sacrifice my Darkblaze dragon to summon my Luster Dragon #2 (2400/1400)!" She says, and a large emerald dragon appears with a roar. "And I think I'll place this card face down as well, and have my dragon attack your Mad Dog with Emerald blaze attack!"
The dragon sends a burst of green flames at the dog, which shatters as Feral's life points fall to 3500.
"Wow, I'm impressed Cassie, you managed to use your Masked Dragon to summon a weaker monster, and sacrificed it for higher level dragon," Feral says.
"Darkblaze Dragon is actually level 7, but his effect makes up for that, but that isn't important right now, I end my turn," Cassie says, trying not to blush. He seems like a nice enough guy… she thinks to herself.
Feral draws, casually looking over his hand. "I activate Graceful Charity," he says, and draws 3 cards before discarding 2. "And then, I activate my Advanced Ritual Art spell card, so I will discard my Nin-Ken Dog and my Wolf Axwielder from my deck, to summon this monster, the mighty Lycanthrope (2400/1800)!"
He discards two cards from his deck, and suddenly a tall grey wolf wearing torn pants, and several cybernetic enhancements on his body appears.
"According to the stories, the Lycanthrope was once a man, but he was captured by the Mad Scientist Kozaky, no one is sure if he took the experiments willingly or not, but when it was over, he had been transformed into a beast, and now wanders the land, searching for prey."
"That's interesting, but, uhh, your wolfman is too weak to destroy my Dragon," Cassie says.
"Hmm, that is true, I'll just have to equip him with my Mystical Moon spell card," Feral says, and a full moon appears over the field, and the werewolf howls as his attack points rise to 2700. "Now, destroy her dragon, Lycanthropy Bite attack!"
The wolfman howls, and bounds forward, biting into the dragon who roars as he shatters. Cassie's life points fall to 3700, then they fall further to 2900.
"What, how did I lose even more life points?" Cassie asks.
"My Lycanthrope's special ability, you lose 200 life points for every normal monster in my graveyard when he damages your life points, which at the moment totals 4," Feral says. "Its your move, Cassie."
Cassie draws. Okay, that will protect me for now, she thinks. "I'll set one monster in defense mode, and call it a turn."
Feral draws, and grins. "I summon my Gene-Warped Warwolf (2000/100), in attack mode!" He says, and a bizarre beast appears, it is a tall white wolf-like animal with dripping fangs, and it snarls. "All right Warwolf, destroy her face down monster!"
The white wolfman bites at the face down monster, which is revealed to be a small group of dragons carrying swords and shields.
"That was my Troop dragon (700/800), now I can summon another one to the field," she says, and the dragons appear again.
"Fine, Lycanthrope, destroy them!" Feral says, and the wolfman bites at the dragons, which shatter, and re-appear. "Your move again."
Cassie draws, and grins. "I summon, my Decoy Dragon (300/200), in attack mode!" She says, and a cute little dragon appears, looking up at the two beasts with adorable little eyes. "And I'll place this card face down as well, and end my turn."
Feral glances at Cassie a little confused. "Why did you summon that monster?" He asks.
"I have my reasons, now make your move," Cassie says.
Feral shrugs, and draws. "I'll set this monster in attack mode, and attack your Decoy Dragon with my Lycanthrope!" He says, and the wolfman charges forward towards the small dragon, who grins wickedly.
Suddenly, in a burst of fire, the Darkblaze Dragon appears (1200/1000)-(2400/2000).
"My Decoy Dragon has a useful effect, when he is targeted for an attack, I can special summon a level 7 or higher dragon from my graveyard and you have to attack the revived monster, and when my Darkblaze dragon is revived, his stats are automaticaly doubled," she says with a grin.
"Fine, Lycanthrope, your new target is her Darkblaze Dragon!" Feral says, and the wolfman charges at the dragon.
"And I activate Rush Recklessly!" Cassie says, and the dragon's attack rises to 3100, and he blasts fire at the wolfman, lowering Feral's life points to 3100, and then the dragon blasts him, lowering his life points even further to 400. "And whenever my dragon destroys one of your monsters, you lose life points equal to its attack points."
"Okay, I switch my Warwolf to defense mode, and place this card face down to end my turn," Feral says. My only face down card is Dust Tornado, and its just a bluff for now, he thinks.
Cassie draws. No monsters I can summon, but this will win it for me now, she thinks. "I equip my Darkblaze Dragon with Big Bang Shot!" She says, and a blaze of flames appears around the dragon.
"Go trap card, Dust Tornado, which will get rid of your equip card!" Feral says, and a tornado of wind blows away the inferno, then the dragon vanishes.
"When Big Bang Shot is destroyed by a card effect, the monster it is equipped to is destroyed as well," Cassie says with a groan. "I summon my Komouri Dragon (1500/1200), in attack mode!" She says, and the purple dragon appears. "Now, destroy his Warwolf!" She says, and the dragon destroys the white wolf creature.
She's not really giving her all, I can tell, she must have something else on her mind, Feral thinks. "Is everything okay, Cassie, you don't seem to be giving this duel your all?"
"Well, I, uhh…" Cassie says, blushing a little.
"Oh great, you have a crush on me, don't you? You and most of the girls in the Xavier Institute," Feral says.
'Uhh, yeah, I know its weird, but… wait, did you say Xavier Institute? You're a mutant?" Cassie asks.
"Yeah, you have a problem with that?" Feral asks.
"No, not at all," Cassie says.
She wasn't going to say anything, but the Xavier Institute still existed where she came from. Her mother had allowed a branch of the school to be built in the Thorn Jungles of Bryyo when a number of Colony children had been born with an X-Gene. Cassie herself, though she wasn't a mutant, had spent some time at the school, and had gained a great respect for the mutant team known as the X-Men.
"Whats your powers?" She asks curiously.
"I have limited shape shifting, I can transform into different canines at will," Feral says. "Why are you so interested?"
"Well, I'm not exactly a mutant, but I have some, similarities to you guys," Cassie says. Dragons have been persecuted for years, and things haven't changed much in the future. Mutants aren't much different, there is mostly tolerance where I come from, but prejudice still exists, she thinks. "I'll end my turn there."
Feral draws. "I play Card of Sanctity," he says, and they both draw until they have six cards. "And I activate Polymerization, fusing together my Big Koala and Des Kangaroo to summon my Master of Oz (4200/3800)!" He says, and a tall green koala wearing a purple vest, boxing gloves, and wearing a champion's belt. "Now, destroy her Komouri Dragon, Ayers Rock Uppercut!"
The giant koala punches the dragon hard, and he shatters, lowering Cassie's life points down to 200.
"Okay, its your move Cassie," Feral says. She is, cute, I might ask her out when this is over, he thinks to himself.
Cassie nervously draws. This is it, this next card could decide everything, she thinks, and draws, and glances at Feral. "Sorry Feral, but this is over. I place two cards face down, and activate Cost Down," she says, and discards a card. "And I can sacrifice my Troop Dragon to summon this monster, Gandora the Dragon of Destruction!"The black and red dragon from her initiation duel appears.
"And I'll use his effect now!" She says, and her life points fall to 100, and every card on the field other than Gandora shatters as the dragon's attack rises to 1200. "Now, attack him directly!"
The dragon sends a huge burst of flame at Feral, and his life points fall to 0.
"Good duel, Cassie," Feral says giving her a smile before starting to walk off, but then turns around. "Hey, are you doing anything on Friday?"
"Uhh, no," Cassie says.
"Dinner and a movie sound good, then?" Feral asks, and Cassie nods before heading off towards her dorm.
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By the time she has gotten to her Dorm room, she is practically skipping. Sarah and Lauren are working on their decks.
"Oh, hi Sarah, hi Lauren, you missed a great sunset!" She says in an uncharacteristically cheerful way.
"Uhh, Cassie, are you feeling okay?" Sarah asks.
"Yep, I'm feeling fine, just fine, never better," Cassie replies, and gets into her bed after removing her trench coat, and reads a book.
Sarah and Lauren exchange glances, and turn back to their cards.
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Well, there's another chapter done, and love is in the air as Cassie finds love.
Next chapter, the first major test of the year has started. Up first for your viewing pleasure is Sarah dueling against an opponent with a deck similar to that of the Dark Knight from MichaelDJ54's fanfiction "Seal of the Orichalcos: The Next Generation." Can she beat the coming plague? Find out in, "Infection."