It was the day after the big battle between the Slifers and the security team and the newly appointed Chancellor Stratton was addressing the press via a videoconference.
"Is it true that members of your staff hired mercenaries to get rid of just a few students?"
"Why is Crowler no longer Chancellor?"
"Duel Academy's reputation doesn't look so hot now does it?"
"Please! Please! One question at a time! Yes, Bonaparte went a little crazy; Bonaparte and Crowler is no longer welcome on campus! They will be leaving the island after our school trip," Stratton explained, "As for our reputation, no comment."
"Will Shepherd be returning…" But Stratton had cut the link as he turned to the older gentlemen, "I hope you're happy because even though you have tenure, our sponsor will no longer tolerate your presence on the island." The two teachers merely looked away.
"Start packing your things. You're out of here in three days. You will not receive pay for this month," Stratton declared as he pointed to the door, "Now get lost!" Wordlessly, Crowler and Bonaparte walked out.
I'm glad this is all taken care of. But my power won't last. When Shepherd returns, I must relinquish this power per the deal with the rest of the staff. Stratton reminded himself as he glanced at his watch, "Gosh! Is it that time already? I better get moving!" Packing up his papers into a briefcase, Stratton left the room and dashed down to the arena where Aster and Jaden standing in the center, their friends watching in the stands.
"Am I too late to catch the match?" Stratton asked as he sat down next to his students.
"You're just in time Chancellor!" Atticus grinned, "Those two look ready to rock the house!"
"Yeah, but this match isn't to decide who's louder," Lucia replied sarcastically.
"These two want to settle who's the better duelist," Hassleberry announced, "And my money's on Sergeant Jaden Yuki!"
"Sh! It's about to start!" Alexis hushed.
"So Jaden, your new heroes may have trumped Crowler and Bonaparte, but you still can't beat me!" Aster taunted, "So why not save yourself the embarrassment and quit now?"
"No way bro! I've been looking forward to this rematch ever since I got my new deck!" Jaden smiled but his grin quickly faded as he drew his opening hand.
"Bring it on!"
"I'll start things off!" Aster declared as his diamond studded Destiny Hero appeared, "And I'll do it with my Diamond Dude (ATK: 1400) and thanks to his ability, I can peek at the top card of my deck and if it's a spell, I can send it to the graveyard and use it next turn!" Snapping off the top card, Aster grinned.
"Nice! I just drew Graceful Charity so off to the grave it goes," He continued as he lay down two facedowns, "I love it when a plan comes together."
"We'll see about that! My move!" Jaden countered, drawing a card, "I summon Elemental Hero Sparkman (ATK: 1600) in attack mode and then I'll activate a little spell card called Common Soul! With it, my Neo Spacian Aqua Dolphin (ATK: 600) can come out and play!" In a flash of water and lightning, Jaden's electrically charged hero and water loving alien appeared, both of them glowing with the same electric blue aura. The energy was so powerful that Sparkman's strength increased (ATK: 1600 + 600).
"What's with Jaden's Sparkman? It's like supercharged," Lucia wondered.
"It's the Common Soul spell. Aqua Dolphin is sharing its attack power with Jaden's hero, powering it up!" Alexis replied as Jaden reached into his hand and discarded one of his cards.
"And now I'll use my Dolphin's special ability! By tossing my hero Avian, I can choose a monster from your hand and if it's weaker than Sparkman, it's destroyed and you lose 500 life points!" The Slifer continued, "Aquos, sonar wave!" Firing a stream of invisible energy at Aster's hand and revealed his Doom Lord (ATK: 600). Being weaker than Sparkman, the Elemental Hero fired a stream of electricity at the card and destroyed it, shocking Aster in the process (LP: 4000 – 500).
"Let's just hope that Jaden didn't make a mistake in using that ability this time," Kai prayed.
"What do you mean?" Syrus asked.
"Remember yesterday when Jaden used his alien's power on Crowler? Crowler brought back his monster and summoned a powerful one," Kai reminded his pal.
"At ease boys. I'm sure the Sarge knows what he's doing," Hassleberry replied.
"Now Sparkman, attack Diamond Dude with static shockwave!" Jaden commanded. Gathering energy in its hands, the Elemental Hero fired another stream of lightning at Aster's hero and wiped it out in a fiery explosion (LP: 3500 – 800).
"No worries! I'll just play this, my Destiny Signal!" Aster countered as a spotlight shone against the ceiling, the letter 'D' cast in the middle, "With this, I can replace my destroyed hero with another, like my Captain Tenacious (DEF: 800) for instance!" Jaden frowned in anger as the shield-bearing Destiny Hero emerged on Aster's field.
"Great, I'll just toss this facedown and call it a turn."
"My move then and thanks to the Graceful Charity I drew last turn, I get to draw three new cards and ditch two!" Aster began, increasing the size of his hand, "Next, I'll sacrifice my captain to summon Destiny Hero Double Dude (ATK: 1000)!"
"Huh? Why would he do that?" Kai wondered as the captain vanished for a monster in a tuxedo and top hat. A white scarf covered most of its face and it carried a black cane.
"It looks like his monster is meant to go to the theater, not go into battle," Bastion joked.
"And why is he called Double Dude? There's just one of him," Atticus frowned.
"My Double Dude is on double duty because he can attack twice in a round! But before I lay waste to your heroes, I think I'll change the scenery with my Dark City field spell card!" Aster continued as he placed a card in the end slot of his duel disk. The arena changed into a city of black buildings at night but everything was in two dimensions.
"Wow, this city looks like something out of one of Kai's comic books," Jaden commented, "Sweet!"
"Well it's not as sweet as you think because when a Destiny Hero does battle here against a stronger monster, its attack points increase by 1000!" Aster explained, "But you don't have to take my word for it – Just ask your dolphin friend!" Jaden watched as Double Dude catapulted himself high into the air before smashing Aqua Dolphin with his cane and destroying it (LP: 4000 – 400).
"Aquos!"
"We're not finished yet! Now that your dolphin is gone, so is your Sparkman's power boost (ATK: 2200 – 600). Now my Double Dude (ATK: 1000 + 1000) can take him out! Attack!" Everyone in the room gasped as Double Dude changed from its gentlemanly form into a beast-like muscular man, tearing its suit apart in the process. With its newfound strength, the dark hero smashed Sparkman into the floor (LP: 3600 – 400).
"Sorry Aster, but by destroying my hero you triggered my Hero Signal trap card! Now I can summon a new hero from my deck and I choose my Bubbleman (ATK: 800)!" Jaden countered as his blue, water hero emerged, "And since he's all alone on my field, I get to pick two cards from my deck."
"Fine, I'll just place this down and end my turn!" Aster replied, setting up a facedown.
"Just what is Aster up to? Sacrificing one of his best hero monsters…" Kai wondered as Jaden drew a card.
"Now I activate Miracle Fusion! As you probably already know, I can remove from play monsters on my field and in my graveyard to create a fusion monster. So I'll remove Bubbleman, Avian, and Sparkman to summon the Elemental Hero Tempest (ATK: 2800)!" Jaden declared as a new monster emerged on his field, having the body of Sparkman, the wings of Avian, spiked green hair, a visor over his eyes, and a blaster similar to Bubbleman's in place of his right hand.
"Awesome! That's one of Jaden's most powerful monsters!" Alexis smiled.
"Well played Sarge! Now you can take out his Double Dude!" Tyranno shouted.
"No need to shout Hassleberry," Elena warned, "This is supposed to be a field test."
"Sorry ma'am."
"Don't worry Hassleberry. I was going to do that anyway! Tempest, wipe out his Double Dude with powerhouse plummet!" Jaden commanded. Nodding, the aerial hero flew high into the air before coming down towards Aster.
"Not so fast airhead! You triggered my Draining Shield trap card!" Aster declared as a dome of light surrounded him and his warrior, "Not only does it cancel your attack but I also receive life points equal to your Tempest's attack points (LP: 2700 + 2800)."
"Nuts! I'm done," Jaden sighed as Tempest flew back to him.
"I thought you might say that. Now I'll start off with the spell card The Warrior Returning Alive! Now I can bring Captain Tenacious (DEF: 800) back to my hand and then summon it!" Aster said as his hero returned, "But he'll be getting an upgrade this time because I equip him with my Ring of Magnetism (DEF: 800 – 500) and end my turn."
"Wait a sec!" Lucia gasped, looking at Kai, "If he recall right, he pulled this on you."
"Yeah, and if I know Aster, that other facedown card he has is his D-Shield. He must plan to make his Destiny Hero invincible," Kai declared as a ring that sparked with electricity attached itself to Aster's hero.
"Nice move bro but," Jaden began, drawing a card, "But your hero is about to bite the dust! I activate Light Laser and equip it to my Tempest!" On the field, a blue energy beam shot out of Tempest's blaster and took on the form of a glowing energy sword.
"So what does Light Laser do anyway?" Syrus wondered.
"Glad you asked! Now when my Tempest battles another monster, that monster gets removed from play!" Jaden explained, glancing out at his friend.
"Which means that even if Aster throws out D-Shield, his monster will be gone!" Kai replied as Tempest flew up high.
"Exactly! Tempest, attack Aster's captain now!" Jaden commanded. Raising its new weapon, Tempest dove down and sliced Aster's monster, wiping it out, "Now I'll toss this down and call it a turn."
"About time," Aster frowned as he activated Pot of Greed, "And I think it's time we had a change of scenery so I'll activate my field spell card Mausoleum of the Emperor!" The duel field began to shake as Dark City vanished and in its place was a large stone tomb with a single walkway separating the two duelists. Below, hundreds of clay dolls sat.
"The basement of this new field contains lots of statues that we can use. All we gotta do is cough up a 1000 life points and we can use the dolls as sacrifices which I'll demonstrate right now (LP: 5500- 1000). I give up 1000 points to bring out the master of dread – Destiny Hero Dreadmaster (ATK?)!" Aster declared as the muscular, masked hero appeared on the field. Then to everyone's surprise, Diamond Dude (ATK: 1400) and Doom Lord (ATK: 600) reemerged beside him.
"As you may have noticed, my Dreadmaster can bring two Destiny Heroes out from my graveyard and as to his attack points, his power is the sum total of all Destiny Heroes in play (ATK: 3000)!"
"That's enough power to wipe out Jaden's Tempest!" Bastion gasped.
"And I think I'll do that right now! Dreadmaster, show them how you got your name!" Letting out a loud cry, the big hero thrust its fist at Jaden's hero only to be repelled by a golden barrier of light.
"Sorry to disappoint you Aster, but my Hero Barrier trap can stop your hero in its tracks, just so long as I have an Elemental Hero on my field," Jaden countered.
"Fine, I end my turn."
"Thought you might say that," Jaden smiled as he activated Pot of Greed, "Sweet! Time to bust out my Neo Spacian hero Flare Scarab (ATK: 500)!" As the Slifer held up the card, a stream of flame shot out from it and took on the form of a humanoid creature in the armor of a black beetle.
"Check it out!" Hassleberry gasped.
"Another extraterrestrial hero!" Bastion gulped.
"Big deal! Your martian mutant can't do anything compared to my Destiny Heroes!" Aster shouted.
"Oh really? Even if I activate smolder surge?" Jaden queried.
"Smolder surge?" Aster echoed.
"Yeah, it's my monster's ability. For every spell and trap card on your side of the field, my Flare Scarab gains 400 extra attack points and seeing as you have a field spell and that facedown, my scarab's points go up by 800 (ATK: 500 + 800)!" Jaden explained as a flaming aura surrounded his alien, "And now that his points are up, your Double Dude's going down!" Crying out, Jaden's black alien fired a stream of flame at the tuxedo-wearing hero and destroyed it in a flaming explosion (LP: 4500 – 300). It was then Dreadmaster's power got weaker (ATK: 3000 – 1000).
"Check it out! Dreadmaster got weaker!" Syrus gasped.
"That's because there's one less hero on Aster's field," Alexis nodded.
"Now Tempest can remove it from play by attacking!" Lucia concluded.
"Exactly! Go Tempest! Attack his Dreadmaster with powerhouse plummet!" Jaden commanded.
"We'll go out with a bang! Dreadmaster!" Aster countered. With the arena filled with the battle cries of the two heroes, they attacked.
Now if I'm right, Aster should use his D-Shield facedown. Kai thought but to his utter surprise, Dreadmaster was destroyed (LP: 4200 – 800).
"Now I'll lay these down and call it a turn," Jaden finished as he set two cards on his field.
"Is that all? Please, you don't have what it takes to beat my Destiny Heroes! You haven't even seen them all yet!" Aster informed him as he drew a card, "But first things first – Since you destroyed my Double Dude, it's ability summons two Double Dude tokens (ATK: 1000) to take its place."
"Nice ability Aster, for real!" Jaden smiled as two copies of Double Dude appeared on the field.
"Why thank you, but flattery won't get you anywhere when you duel against me! Now I sacrifice my tokens and my Diamond Dude to summon my Destiny Hero Dogma (ATK: 3400)!" The stadium was filled with light as the Pro League duelist's monsters vanished for a completely new hero. The new hero was a humanoid monster in black armor and hovered in the air by two black wings.
"That's a lot of points for one hero!" Kai winced.
"If you think Dogma's bad now, just wait because I activate the equip spell Heavy Storm Blade!" Aster continued, a three-bladed fan-like weapon appearing on his hero's right arm, "Now attack that beetle and remember Jaden, when my Dogma attacks with his storm blade, all spell and traps out are destroyed!"
"Sam hill! Won't that mean Aster'll lose his D-Shield too?" Hassleberry wondered.
"I don't Aster's facedown was D-Shield! I think he was bluffing!" Kai declared as a fierce gust of wind destroyed all of the spells in play as well as Jaden's Neo Spacian (LP: 3200 – 2500).
"My scarab!" Jaden gasped as he held up his two destroyed cards, "But at least he wasn't destroyed in vain! When your spell destroyed my two facedowns, you activated them! The first was Spell Calling, which lets me place two new spells on my field!"
"And I see you're holding the same card I am!" Aster grinned as he held up the facedown card he lost. The card in hand was the same one as the remaining one in Jaden's hand – It had the image of cards being taken out of a trashcan.
"Their cards are Card Scrap!" Elena gasped, "And when they're destroyed, the owner of the card gets to draw two cards during their next Standby Phase!"
"Aster had prepared to use that card from the beginning!" Dr. Stratton winced as Aster placed a facedown, "All the while, he was bluffing Jaden into thinking it was his D-Shield!"
"You know, this has been a really sweet duel," Jaden reflected.
"Yeah? Well I think it's just a waste of time! Beating amateurs like you has no worth," Aster frowned.
"Hey! The Sarge's no amateur! He's not done with you yet!" Hassleberry warned as his pal drew a card.
"I have to disagree! Dogma! Drain Jaden's life points!" A beam of darkness quickly smashed into Jaden from below as Aster's monster drained his power (LP: 700 – 350), "As you can see, my Dogma takes half your life points every standby phase!"
"I noticed," Jaden groaned as he slotted in Graceful Charity, "This is it Aster! First I activate from my field O-Over Soul! With it, my Elemental Hero Neos (ATK: 2500) returns from my graveyard! Second, I'll activate my other facedown card, R-Righteous Justice! Now you lose your blade and your facedown! Third, I'll combine my Burial From A Different Dimension and my De-Fusion to summon back Sparkman (ATK: 1600), Avian (ATK: 1000) and Bubbleman (ATK: 800)! Fourth, I'll use the ability of Necroshade from my graveyard to summon an Elemental Hero you've never seen before – My Elemental Hero Timelink (ATK: 3000)!" Everyone in the room shaded their eyes as Jaden's cards worked their magic, clearing Aster's field, resummoning Jaden's fusion material monsters and his most famous heroes to the field.
"I don't know where you got that card," Aster frowned, pointing at Timelink, "But he and the rest of your heroes can't match my Dogma!" That caused Jaden to smirk.
"Uh, actually yes he can, or should I say Neos and Timelink can together!" The two heroes glanced at each and nodded before leaping into the air, "Neos and Timelink, contact fuse together to form my newest hero!" As the heroes began to merge, Aster gasped in awe.
Wait, I remember this feeling. The feeling of when I was kid and dueling was still fun… Is this Jaden's true strength? Aster wondered as Neos returned with an all-new look. Leather boots and gauntlets covered his feet and hands and he had a sword in a scabbard tied at his side. A glistening white cape completed his ensemble.
"So this is your new hero…"
"That's right, my Elemental Hero Time Neos (ATK: 2500 + 3400 + 600) and even though his points start out low, they grow equal to the attack points of all other Elemental Heroes in play and he gains more power from a Neo Spacian in my graveyard!" Jaden explained as his new Neos gained a glowing white aura, "And he's still not done yet! Thanks to his future gaze effect, I can use the special ability of an Elemental Hero, even if he's not in play. So I'll choose my Wingman and then send my Time Neos to destroy your Dogma!" Body brimming with power, Neos drew his sword, which glowed with a flaming red aura. Crying out, he swung the blade and destroyed Aster's hero (LP: 3400 – 3100).
"I'm still standing," Aster gasped.
"Not for long because thanks to my Wingman's effect being transferred to my Neos, your Dogma's attack points come out of your life points!" Jaden informed him. The white-haired duelist gasped as his life points dropped to zero. "And that's game!"
I don't understand. Sartorius said I was destined to win this duel, yet Jaden came out on top. Could Jaden be even more powerful than destiny? Aster wondered as the Slifer walked up to him.
"Nice game bro," Jaden said as he held out his hand, "That was a close match."
"Yeah well, you better enjoy it while it lasts," Aster frowned as Jaden helped him to his feet.
Those two may not realize it, but they're more alike than they care to admit. Dr. Stratton thought as the teens gathered around Jaden, "Well, looks like we know who is our school's top duelist."
"Yes, now maybe things will get back to normal around here," Elena sighed.
"Define normal…" Elena's hopes were in vain for at that moment, Chazz Princeton was staring at the Obelisk dorm, duel disk in hand. Oddly enough, he was wearing a white blazer.
"The time has come… For the Obelisks to see the Light!" Chazz laughed as he walked to the dorm.
CHAPTER PREVIEW:
Lynn: The time has come… The Dark Lord hunt begins!
Lynn: Next time on Yu-Gi-Oh GX Legacy of Lynn: What Happens in Mexico!
Lynn: And the Society of Light is already on my tail!