Eight people reviewed the last chapter. Yay! You guys are awesome!
Thank you to bobmanv2.0, DarkZorua100, TRAINER RUSS, reven228, EndlessNight025, iloveyugiohGX93, Vanishing Raptor and decode9 for reviewing the last chapter. You guys are the greatest.
And, as always though I forgot to mention this in the last chapter, thank you to EndlessNight025 for being a great beta-reader and for her suggestions and I decided to do the Japanese version of the scene with Crowler after the deck is stolen rather than the dubbed version as per her suggestion.
Also, I am strongly considering including some characters from the original Yu-Gi-Oh! Series (because that is my second favorite series of the Yu-Gi-Oh! Franchise) during the GX Tournament in Season 2, though it may only be cameo appearances and, maybe, I'll let them participate in the tournament since they are, technically, pros. What do you think of that? On that note, there's a poll on my profile of which characters from the original series you would like to see in the sequel to Shadow Rise, which will cover Season 2; I may or may not include them but I would like to see what people think so please vote.
Oh and I'm eight reviews away from making 100! HURRAY! Let's see if I can make it there before the next chapter.
Here is the duel which, unfortunately, is not much different from the episode but I still hope I did it justice. I hope that you enjoy this chapter and reviews, as always, are much appreciated.
14
Copycat
Kasumi stood in line at the card shack. The lines heading toward the counter were very long as everyone waited impatiently, for some, to get some tickets. These weren't just any tickets, however; these were tickets to see the deck of the legendary King of Games, Yugi Mutou. It was going on tour and Duel Academy was its first stop; Kasumi was there because she was curious to see the King of Games's deck. Syrus, Bastion and Arina were with her as she stood in line. Posters lined the wall, advertising the event.
"Where's Jaden? I would've thought he wouldn't want to miss this," Kasumi said as the line slowly moved forward.
"I figured he would be late. That's why I'm here," Syrus said.
"Oh."
The line moved again and, before long, Kasumi and Syrus were at the counter; Bastion and Arina had already gotten their tickets and were standing off to one side, waiting.
"Next, please. Syrus, Kasumi, how may I help you?" Dorothy asked when the two stepped up to the counter.
"We need three tickets please," Syrus said. "I'm getting one for Jaden since he's late."
"That's sweet," Dorothy said, smiling. "Here, we only have three left, unfortunately." She looked around at all of the students who had been able to buy tickets. "Everyone's been able to buy them, so…"
"Wait!" a shout sounded and a Ra Yellow hurried through the crowd to stand in front of Syrus; Kasumi recognized him as Dimitri.
Dimitri caught his breath before saying, "I wanted to buy a ticket. They can't all be gone."
"Sorry but these two bought the last ones," Dorothy said.
Dimitri growled before glaring at Syrus and Kasumi. "You guys already have tickets, who's the third one for?"
"Syrus got it for my brother since he couldn't make it to get it," Kasumi said.
"So what?" the frustrated Ra snapped. "Tough for them."
"Calm down, everyone," Bastion said, walking through the crowd and everyone turned to look at him. "All right, you three, how about you guys duel for that last ticket?"
"It won't be fair for all three of us to duel," Dimitri whined.
"That's not what I meant," Bastion said. "Since Syrus is buying the ticket for Jaden, how about you duel him and whoever wins gets it. Sound good?"
"Me?!" Syrus protested.
Dimitri looked at Syrus and grinned. "Fine with me. With the new deck I built, you won't be able to beat me with your deck," he said.
"Hey, he's stronger than you think," Kasumi growled, glaring at the Ra.
"He won't last," Dimitri said.
"Fine then," Syrus said, surprising everyone.
"Syrus?" Kasumi said with a frown.
"I'm tired of people seeing me as the weak one," the spiky-blue haired Slifer said. "I'll show 'em."
"Well then, good luck," Kasumi said before she walked away as the crowd spread out to give the two duelists some room.
"A Ra versus a Slifer?" one guy whispered.
"This'll be over quick," another guy said.
"Or Dimitri's losing streak will continue," a third person said.
"Duel!" Syrus and Dimitri declared as they drew their opening hand.
Syrus: 4000
Dimitri: 4000
"I'll start," Dimitri said, but Kasumi noticed he sounded different.
"Did he change his voice?" Bastion asked.
"Weird," Kasumi murmured.
"I wonder why he did that," Arina said.
"I summon out the Ancient Gear Soldier," Dimitri said.
A smaller version of Ancient Gear Golem appeared on the field; he had a machine gun in place of his right arm (A: 1300/D: 1300).
Kasumi frowned. "Wait, that's one of the cards Crowler uses, isn't it?"
"Looks like it," Bastion said.
"I end my turn with that," Dimitri said.
"My turn," Syrus said, drawing a card. "I summon Submarineroid to my field in Attack Mode."
A blue-and-yellow submarine with eyes carrying a blue-and-orange missile also with eyes appeared on the field (A: 800/D: 1800).
"And thanks to Submarineroid's effect, it can attack you directly!"
Submarineroid disappeared beneath the ground before reappearing on Dimitri's side of the field before attacking with its missile, knocking out some of his Life Points.
Syrus: 4000
Dimitri: 3200
"And, because I attacked with Submarineroid, I can switch him into Defense Mode," Syrus added and his submarine took a defensive position. "I end my turn."
"And my draw," Dimitri said before he drew a card. "I summon out a second Ancient Gear Soldier."
Another rusted mechanical soldier appeared on the field (A: 1300/D: 1300).
"Next, I'll activate Stop Defense to force your Submarineroid into Attack Mode!"
The magic of Dimitri's Spell compelled the cartoonish submarine to go on the offensive.
"Soldier, attack with Rapid Fire Flurry," Dimitri command and the machine gun started to rotate as it aimed at the maritime Roid monster, firing off a barrage of bullets that soon sunk Syrus's battleship.
Syrus: 3500
Dimitri: 3200
"Now my second Ancient Gear Soldier will attack you directly!"
The second corroded automaton instantly fired off its own round of ballistics, all of which hit the little Slifer, dead on.
Syrus: 2200
Dimitri: 3200
"I end my turn," Dimitri said.
"My turn," Syrus said, drawing a card. "I summon Steamroid to my field in Attack Mode."
The black-and-red train appeared on the field (A: 1800/D: 1800).
"Steamroid, attack one of his Ancient Gear Soldiers. When he attacks a monster, he gains 500 Attack during the damage step," Syrus said and Steamroid moved forward before crashing into Ancient Gear Soldier, causing it to shatter.
Syrus: 2200
Dimitri: 2200
"I end my turn," Syrus finished.
"My draw," Dimitri said before he drew a card. "I place two cards facedown and then sacrifice Ancient Gear Soldier in order to summon Ancient Gear Beast to my field in Attack Mode."
The soldier disappeared, soon to be replaced by a beast with gears for its joints on the field (A: 2000/D: 2000).
"Ancient Gear Beast, attack Steamroid," Dimitri ordered.
"Ah man, and he loses 500 Attack whenever he's attacked," Syrus said as the gear beast pounced on Steamroid and it shattered.
Syrus: 1500
Dimitri: 2200
"I end my turn," Dimitri said.
"All right, my turn," Syrus said as he drew a card. "I summon Jetroid in Attack Mode."
A pale-red jet with the cartoonish eyes appeared on the field (A: 1200/D: 1800).
"Next, I play the Spell Card, Block Attack. It's a lot like the Stop Defense you used earlier, only this card switches an Attack Position monster you control into Defense Mode, and since it's your only one, I'll go with your Ancient Gear Beast."
The metallic creature was forced to crouch down into a defensive pose.
"So? Even with its Mode changed, your Jetroid still can't touch my monster," Dimitri scoffed.
Syrus made a small smile then. "Yeah, but my Shield Crush sure can," he said as he activated the Spell Card. "Thanks to this, I can destroy a monster that's in Defense Mode, which means your Beast is going down!"
A green beam of light shot forward from Syrus's card, hitting Ancient Gear Beast and causing it to shatter.
"Now, Jetroid, attack Dimitri directly," Syrus ordered and Dimitri winced as the jet flew into him, knocking out more of his Life Points.
Syrus: 1500
Dimitri: 1000
"With that, I end my turn," Syrus said.
"He's getting good," Kasumi commented.
Bastion nodded in agreement. "I believe it was the tag-duel," he said.
"I agree," Arina said.
"Hey, Bastion, Kas, Arina, what's going on? Is it eggwich day again?"
The two Obelisks and one Ra turned to find Jaden weaving his way through the crowd to join them.
"You and food," Kasumi said, rolling her eyes.
"No, Jaden, it's just some lunchtime dueling," Bastion said with a shake of his head as he smiled.
"Who's dueling?" Jaden asked curiously before his eyes widened. "Syrus?!"
"Hey, Jaden," Syrus said with a wave of his hand.
"What's going on?" Jaden asked again as he moved to stand on Kasumi's others side.
"A high-stakes duel," Syrus explained before pointing to the posters on the wall above and around them. "Check it out."
Jaden looked and his eyes widened when he noticed that the posters all had pictures of Yugi Mutou on them.
"Yugi's deck is going on tour and its first stop is Duel Academy," Syrus explained. "Isn't that the coolest?"
"Yeah, it is," Jaden said. "The original King of Games's deck, to see with my very own eyes."
"Yeah, and if I win, I get…" Syrus trailed off before sighing when he noticed that Jaden was still staring at the posters.
"Hello?" he said, waving his hand in front of Jaden's face before groaning, "Dang, I knew this was going to happen."
"I'll snap him out of it," Kasumi said before she brought her hand back and smacked Jaden hard on the back of the head.
"Ow!" Jaden exclaimed before glaring at Kasumi. "Kas!"
"Well, you were spacing out," Kasumi said with a shrug.
"I wasn't spacing out. I just can't believe Yugi's deck is going to be here! It's a piece of history, with all it's been through," Jaden said.
Syrus nodded, glad Jaden had snapped out of his daze, before looking at the posters. "Yeah, think about it. It's the deck he took to Duelist Kingdom where he beat Pegasus, the creator of Duel Monsters."
"Don't forget Battle City," Jaden added, "where he used it to beat Seto Kaiba."
"I know and the way he used those Egyptian God Cards?" Syrus said. "Man, that was amazing. Of course, the deck won't be on tour with the Egyptian Gods. But luckily all the classics from his deck will still be there. Aw man, I can't wait," Syrus almost squealed in excitement as he bounced on the balls of his feet. "It'll be the biggest thing ever. We gotta go, we hafta go."
Jaden raised an eyebrow to his friend. "I'm with you, Sy, what are you doing dueling?" he asked, looking at his opponent. "Let's go get some tickets."
"Jaden," Dorothy called out from behind the counter. "That's why Syrus is dueling. There's only one ticket left for the exhibit and whoever wins gets it." She pulled out the ticket stub before adding, "Can you imagine a better prize than that?"
"Uh yeah"—Jaden eyed Syrus—"One with two tickets…"
Syrus blinked. "Two? You wanna bring at third person, Jaden?"—he reached into his pocket for his ticket—"I already got mine."
Jaden stared at his friend before he smiled broadly. "You're dueling for my ticket?" he exclaimed.
"Of course," Syrus said as he walked back to his original position. "I'm gonna win too."
"You're the best, Syrus," Jaden said.
Syrus smiled before returning his attention to the duel.
"My turn," Dimitri said before he drew a card and smiled. "I play Heavy Storm. That, young scholar, will destroy all Spell and Trap cards on the field."
Jaden frowned before looking at Kasumi. "Wasn't that the move Crowler used on you?" he asked.
Kasumi nodded. "It was. Wow, what an odd coincidence," she said.
Dimitri smiled as two Wicked Tokens appeared on the field. "Now, I sacrifice the Wicked Tokens that were created and summon forth the legendary Ancient Gear Golem!"
The huge monster with gears for joins appeared out of the fog (A: 3000/D: 3000).
"Wow, déjà vu," Kasumi mused.
Jaden raised an eyebrow when he noticed that the smile on Dimitri's face was very similar to the one that Crowler had worn when he was dueling Kasumi.
"Ancient Gear Golem, attack with Mechanized Melee," Dimitri ordered.
The huge golem pulled back a fist and threw it toward Syrus's monster.
"Not so fast," Syrus said. "I activate my Jetroid's Special Ability. When he's attacked, I can play a Trap from my hand like"—he held up one of his cards—"Magic Cylinder."
A pair of red cylinders appeared between his monster and Ancient Gear Golem. "This Trap takes Mechanized Melee and throws it back at you," Syrus said with a big smile.
Dimitri stepped back. "Time out!" he cried, but it was too late as the golem's attack entered one tube and shot out of the other to collide with Dimitri, knocking him down and taking out the rest of his Life Points.
Syrus: 1500 WINNER
Dimitri: 0
"Yeah, that's how you duel," Syrus exclaimed as he raised an arm in victory.
"Sweet move," Jaden said, moving to his friend's side. "You sent that golem to the junkyard."
Syrus rubbed the back of his head. "It was easy, really. I've already seen you beat Dr. Crowler and since Dimitri copied his deck, I knew exactly what to do," he said. "Oh, that reminds me." Syrus walked over to the counter where Dorothy handed him the ticket stub before he held up the ticket and walked back to Jaden. "Here's your ticket, Jay."
"Sy, you're the best," Jaden said as he accepted the ticket.
"All right, show's over. Time to get back to class," Dorothy called.
The crowd dispersed and Dimitri could hear some of the students talking about his duel with Jaden.
"Another stunning performance by Dimitri," one student said.
"As a Ra Yellow, he should've creamed that Slifer loser," another student said.
"I guess copying a great duelist and being a great duelist are two different things."
"What a joke."
"Really. It's a wonder he's still here."
Bastion looked around as the crowd got thinner and then turned to Dimitri, smiling. "Well, I think that's the worst of it," he said.
"Sure, until the next time I lose," Dimitri snapped as he got to his feet, his voice returning to normal. "Well, I've had it!" He stalked off, his face darkened with anger.
. . .
"I don't get it! It doesn't make sense," Dimitri was saying to himself. He was sitting in his dorm room at his desk, surrounded by countless books and notebooks; he was thinking about all of his duels and how many times he had lost. He banged his fists on his desk.
"I watch, I study, and I still lose," he exclaimed.
His papers were filled with deck outlines, equations and formulas that suggested Bastion would find a kindred spirit in him; they fluttered to the floor as Dimitri tossed them off the table and seethed with anger.
"Crowler's deck, it was as useless as all the rest of them," he said with gritted teeth. "Kaiba's or Zane's, it doesn't matter who I copy, I always lose. What is there left to do? After all, if copying the greatest duelists in the world won't help me win, what can?"
As he said that, a small flyer brushed against his knuckle and he looked at it before noticing what was on it. "Of course; it's so obvious. In order to win, I need to become the greatest duelist."
. . .
"…then I said, 'No, you don't, Dimitri, 'cause I'm putting your Mechanized Melee in reverse', well, like that, only cooler," Syrus said; he was talking about his duel with that Ra that he had won earlier with Chumley, who was nodding.
Both of them turned to see that Jaden wasn't listening to a word they were saying; he was staring at his Winged Kuriboh card.
"What's the matter, Jay?" Syrus asked.
"Thinking," Jaden said, lifting his head. "I can't get Yugi's deck outta my mind," he admitted.
"Why?" Chumley asked, turning his head slightly to look at Jaden.
"Why?" Jaden grinned. "Why do you like grilled cheese?" He rose from his seat before adding, "Look, I can't wait another second to check out those legendary cards. Who's up for going to the exhibit with me right now?"
Chumley sat up. "You mean while they're setting up?"—Jaden nodded—"Good idea, that way we can avoid the rush."
"So wait, I went through all that trouble, dueling to get you that ticket, and you're not even gonna use it?" Syrus protested with a frown.
"Sy,"—Jaden ruffled his hair—"we'll go and take a sneak peak tonight and, tomorrow, we'll be the first ones in line."
"Oh."
. . .
In the exhibit hall, two security officers had just finished their rounds and were speaking to Dr. Crowler.
"All right, Mr. Crowler…" one began.
"That's Doctor Crowler," Crowler snapped.
"Doctor Crowler," the officer said and handed the Headmaster of Obelisk a small chain. "Here's the key to the exhibit hall."
"Thanks for letting us off early," the second officer said with a small salute. "We'll catch you here bright and early tomorrow for the big opening."
"Have a good one, Mister…uh Doctor…"
"Goodnight, sir."
Crowler waved at them as they walked away. "Yes, yes, good night," he called, trying to hold back his laughter. He looked at the key. "Quite a good night, indeed." He turned and started down the hallway, looking at the numerous posters of Yugi on the wall. "After all, how many can say that they were in the presence of greatness? Of the world's most famous dueling deck?"
He opened the door and walked inside. In the middle of the room was a display case with a mini-pedestal inside of it. As he walked closer, he noticed something was wrong; the glass had a hole in the side and there was broken glass on the ground that crunched as he walked over it. The deck of Yugi Mutou, the King of Games, was gone.
"It's not there!" Crowler screamed.
. . .
The two guards were making their way down the hall, unaware of what had just happened.
"You know, I didn't know he was a doctor," one said.
"Yeah, well, I didn't even know he was a dude," the other said.
While those two talked to each other, the three eager Slifers turned the corner and quietly ran the opposite way down the hallway, towards the exhibit hall. When they neared it, the Slifers saw two others making their way towards them.
"Bastion? Kasumi? What are you guys doing here?" Syrus asked as he blinked.
"What else?" Bastion said, pointing to the hall. "Getting a glance at the deck."
Jaden grinned. "Great minds do think alike, huh?" he said.
Kasumi smiled. "Besides, it beats trying to get through the crowds tomorrow," she said.
A shrill shriek sounded at that moment, making the five look towards the door at the end.
"Hear that?" Syrus asked, looking at Jaden.
He nodded. "Someone's in trouble," he said.
"C'mon, let's help her," Bastion said before running down the hall with the others following him.
They burst into the room to see Crowler jump at their entrance. He was standing at the display case where the deck was supposed to be, only it wasn't there.
Kasumi's eyes widened. "Where's the deck?" she exclaimed.
Bastion frowned. "Someone must have taken it and I doubt it was Crowler. Why would he break the glass when he has the key?" he said.
Jaden looked at the others. "Let's go tell Chancellor Sheppard."
Nodding in agreement, the five turned to leave, only to be sent face-first into the ground when Crowler tackled them; he was rewarded with a firm kick to the face from Kasumi, who was glaring at him.
Ignoring the pain in his face from the kick, Crowler pulled himself to his knees. "No, don't tell him. I don't want it to be known that the deck was stolen on my watch," he said quickly.
"Why am I not surprised?" Kasumi muttered, folding her arms across her chest.
"Well, if you don't want anyone to know. Let's split up and look for this creep ourselves," Jaden suggested.
Crowler nodded rapidly. "Yes, yes. We must find this wrong doer, this pillager! Of course, when I say 'we', I mean you."
Kasumi rolled her eyes.
. . .
On a large outcropping of rock, overlooking the ocean, Dimitri stood in the moonlight; he had a large green scarf wrapped around his neck and his blazer was blowing around him; he was gazing at the beautiful artwork on the cards of Yugi's deck.
"Finally, now that I have the best cards, I'll be the best duelist in the world," Dimitri said as he reached up and pulled the scarf away from his face.
"Hey!"
"Truesdale. I'll test this deck out on him," Dimitri murmured softly, recognizing the shout.
"Someone just stole Yugi's deck. You know anything?"
Chuckling, Dimitri turned around. "Stole? What do you mean 'stole'?" he asked in a much deeper voice. "This is my deck."
Syrus just stood before catching the duel disk that Dimitri had tossed at him; he then noticed that the Ra also had a duel disk on his arm.
"Put that disk on and I'll prove it to you. Right here, right now," Dimitri said as he inserted the deck into his now activated duel disk.
"Ah man," Syrus muttered as he placed the disk on his arm and it flared to life.
. . .
Jaden, Chumley, Kasumi and Bastion met up at the bridge that connected the island to the docks.
"Dorms are clear," Bastion reported.
"Nothing in the classrooms," Chumley panted.
"Nothing at the docks," Kasumi said, taking deep breaths and resting a hand on her chest.
"I couldn't find anything either," Jaden said.
A yell sounded nearby and everyone turned toward its source.
"That was Syrus," Jaden gasped before taking off with the rest of the group behind him.
. . .
Dimitri smiled as Syrus lay defeated on the rocks.
"Ah yes, it's good to be the King of Games," he said before he laughed in that deep voice he was using as Jaden and the rest of the gang ran up to their fallen friend.
"Syrus, you okay?" Jaden asked, kneeling down beside his friend. "What happened?"
"He has it," Syrus said as he slowly sat up. "Yugi's dueling deck."
Kasumi shook her head. "That's just messed up, taking a deck that doesn't belong to you," she said.
"Fun time's over, Dimitri," Jaden said, glaring at Dimitri. "Give that deck back, right now."
"Dimitri?" Dimitri scoffed. "I'm Yugi. Dimitri's just some child who would copy other people's decks. You see, with this deck,"—he held up his duel disk—"I'm not just copying the King of Games, I am the King of Games." He looked at Jaden before adding, "If you want this deck back, you'll have to prove that I'm not."
"Fine then," Jaden said, activating his duel disk. "Then get your game on, Dimitri."
"Yugi," Dimitri corrected.
"Whatever."
"Duel!"
Jaden: 4000
Dimitri: 4000
"I'll start," Jaden said, drawing his sixth card. "I summon Elemental Hero Burstinatrix to my field in Defense Mode."
The fiery female heroine in the red bodysuit with the gold headdress and gray skin appeared on the field, holding a defensive position (A: 1200/D: 800).
"And I'll end with that."
"Very well," Dimitri said, drawing his sixth card before he held up three cards in his hand. "I use Polymerization to fuse Gazelle, the King of Mythical Beasts and Berfomet to create Chimera, the Flying Mythical Beast."
A brown-skinned winged monster with large curved horns on his head and a beast with black fur, sharp claws, and a single horn on his head appeared momentarily before they fused together to create a two-headed beast with yellow skin, black fur, two curved horns on each head and large white wings; it also had a brown snake for a tale (A: 2100/D: 1800).
"Uh oh," Jaden murmured but he was excited because he was actually dueling Yugi's deck.
'Even if you beat his deck, there is no guarantee you'll beat him if you ever dueled each other,' Yubel said.
I know,but I'm still excited, Jaden thought.
"Chimera, attack Burstinatrix with Pulverizing Pounce," Dimitri ordered and Chimera leapt forward before tackling Burstinatrix and causing her to shatter.
"And I shall end with that," Dimitri said.
Jaden drew a card. "All right then," he said before he looked at his card and added, "Then I'll bring out my own fusion monster. I play a Spell I call Dark Fusion. I fuse Elemental Heroes Clayman and Sparkman in my hand in order to summon Evil Hero Lightning Golem to my field in Attack Mode."
The stone gray warrior and the blue-and-gold warrior appeared before fusing together. They were replaced by a large giant warrior with aqua-blue and purple armor with lightning bolts-shaped shoulder plates and a lightning bolt on either side of his head (A: 2400/D: 1500).
"Next, I activate Lightning Golem's Special Ability, which allows me to target your Chimera and destroy it," Jaden added, his now golden eyes watching as Lightning Golem let lose a lightning bolt that struck Chimera and caused it to shatter. He rarely noticed it when his eyes changed color whenever he used an Evil Hero, but they usually always did. Thankfully, it was too dark and none of his friends had noticed.
Dimitri lowered his duel disk. "Nice Ability; let me show you mine. When Chimera is destroyed, I'm allowed to summon Berformet from the Graveyard in Defense Mode," he said and his winged, four-armed beast reappeared, kneeling on the field (A: 1400/D: 1800).
"Syrus, you dueled this guy. Any advice on how to beat him?" Chumley asked, looking at Syrus.
The little Slifer shook his head. "No, I tried everything I could think of, but I just couldn't do it."
"Then what are you saying? Jaden doesn't stand a chance against him?" Chumley asked.
"I'm saying against Yugi's deck, it's a very good possibility," Syrus replied.
Bastion folded his arms across his chest. "It's more than a possibility. Dimitri's a Copycat duelist and, in order to beat him, you must exploit the weaknesses of the duelist he's copying as you did when you first dueled him, Syrus," he said, looking at the pale-blue haired Slifer. "You saw him use Crowler's deck and you already knew how to beat him. But the problem with this one is that he's copying Yugi, a duelist who's weaknesses are not so well known, if he has any at all."
"Then I'll just have Lightning Golem attack him," Jaden said, inwardly not letting Bastion's words get to him—he'd figure out a way to beat Yugi's deck, somehow—and Lightning Golem unleashed a bolt of lightning that slammed into Berfomet and caused him to shatter. "I end my turn with that."
Dimitri drew a card. "And it is my turn. I place this card facedown and then I activate Monster Reincarnation. I discard one card in my hand and add Gazelle, the King of Mythical Beasts from my Graveyard to my hand. I then summon him in Defense Mode."
His furry beast with the single horn at the top of his head appeared, holding a defensive position (A: 1500/D: 1200).
"Next, I activate Swords of Revealing Light, which prevents you from attacking for the next three turns," Dimitri added, placing the card into a Spell/Trap Card slot and bright yellow swords appeared around Jaden.
"Well, that's not good," Syrus said worriedly.
"I shall end with that," Dimitri said.
Jaden eyed the swords. I need to figure out a way to get rid of these swords, he thought as he drew a card before he glanced at it. This could work. "I'll start by summoning Dark Catapulter to my field in Defense Mode." A monster with dark-purple, purple and pale-blue-green armor with a dragon-like head appeared on the field (A: 1000/D: 1500).
"And I activate my Trap, Dark Renewal," Dimitri said, revealing his face-down and a coffin appeared. "With this, I can sacrifice my Gazelle and the monster you just summoned to the Graveyard and Special Summon one DARK-attribute Spellcaster-type from my Graveyard to my field."
The coffin took out Gazelle and Dark Catapulter and sent them to their owners' Graveyards.
"Wait, you don't have any of those cards in your Graveyard, right?" Syrus said with a frown.
"Wait, when you used Monster Reincarnation," Jaden began.
"I discarded the exact card I'm summoning with Dark Renewal," Dimitri finished for me. "So come forth Dark Magician!"
The legendary Spellcaster and one of the headliners of Yugi's deck rose out of the coffin when it opened again; he was dressed in purple robes that swirled round him in the wind and wielded a long green staff in his hands, his blue eyes were fixed on his opponent (A: 2500/D: 2100).
"Wow," Jaden said, eyes wide and he smiled. "I'm star-struck! The Dark Magician is like the headliner for Yugi's entire deck."
"You think he gives autographs?" Syrus wondered aloud.
"I wish I brought my camera," Chumley said. "This is so lishus."
"I wish I had a camera," Kasumi said.
Well played, Bastion thought. I doubt Yugi could've done it better himself. Dimitri's copying him perfectly. However, that's bad news for Jaden.
'No matter how star-struck you are, you can still blow that monster to bits easily even if you can't attack yet,' Haou murmured in the back of Jaden's mind.
Jaden knew that Haou was right about that and it may help him win back that deck."Well, however star struck I am, I'm still in this and your monster is gone," he said.
"Excuse me?"
"I still have my Lightning Golem's Special Ability, which lets it destroy any monster on the field once per turn and that includes your Dark Magician," Jaden said and Dimitri scowled as a blast of lightning shot past the glowing swords and slammed into Dark Magician, causing him to shatter.
"Did Jaden just destroy Yugi's most powerful monster with little to no effort?" Syrus said, stunned. Bastion also looked surprised, having forgotten about Lightning Golem's ability.
Kasumi nodded. "That was a good move," she admitted. "Shame he can't attack because he could've knocked out a chunk of Dimitri's Life Points and we'd be that much closer to getting that deck back."
"Your turn, Dimitri," Jaden said.
"That's Yugi," Dimitri snapped as he drew a card before he smirked and picked another card from his hand. "First, I play Monster Reborn to bring back Dark Magician." His purple-cloaked magician returned to the field (A: 2500/D: 2100). Dimitri then inserted the card in the card slot beneath where Dark Magician was placed and added, "Then, I play the Spell, Thousand Knives."
Thousands of glowing knives appeared, floating around him and Dark Magician.
"With this, since I control Dark Magician, I can target one of your monsters and destroy it."
The knives shot forward before slamming into Lightning Golem, causing him to shatter.
"Jaden's Lightning Golem has been cut down to size," Syrus moaned.
"Size zero, 'cause he's gone," Chumley pointed out.
"Now, Dark Magician, attack Jaden directly, Dark Magic Attack," Dimitri ordered.
Dark Magician raised his staff before the end glowed brightly and he unleashed an orb of crackling energy at Jaden that crashed into him and knocked out a large chunk of his Life Points.
Jaden: 1500
Dimitri: 4000
"Give up?" Dimitri called out.
Jaden glared at him. "Never," he said.
"That's the spirit. Never give up. Always believe in the Heart of the Cards. That's what I say," Dimitri said.
Jaden decided not to respond to that as he drew his next card. "I activate Graceful Charity to draw three cards and then discard two." He did so before picking one card and adding, "Next, I summon Wroughtweiler to my field in Defense Mode," he said and his black metal dog appeared (A: 800/D: 1200). "That's it for me."
"Well, well, there may be no known blueprint on beating Yugi, but it looks like Jaden's trying to design one," Bastion mused. "And if my hunch is correct, what he's planning might work."
"Don't forget, with Swords of Revealing Light still out, you cannot attack. However, I still can. Dark Magician, once again, attack with Dark Magic Attack," Dimitri said.
The blast of magic crashed into Wroughtweiler and destroyed him.
"Thanks for that. By destroying Wroughtweiler, I'm allowed to add Elemental Hero Burstinatrix and the Polymerization I discarded with Graceful Charity to my hand," Jaden said before retrieving those cards.
"Way to play. You show great promise," Dimitri said with a nod as he signaled the end of his turn.
'It's as if he really believes himself to be Yugi,and it's getting irritating,' Yubel said.
Jaden didn't respond out loud, but, in his mind, he would admit that he agreed with Yubel a little.
He drew a card before looking at it. Not much I can do now, he thought before he glanced at the other cards in his hand. This could work,though.
"I summon Burstinatrix in Defense Mode and then I'll throw down a facedown and end my turn." At that moment, the glowing yellow swords around him vanished as the effect of Dimitri's Swords of Revealing Light ended.
"Very well, my draw," Dimitri said before he drew a card. "Dark Magician, attack Elemental Hero Burstinatrix."
"I activate my Trap, A Hero Emerges," Jaden said, revealing his facedown. "Now, you can select a card in my hand and if it's a monster, I can summon it." He held up the cards.
"Very well, the far right," Dimitri said.
"Sweet, I summon Evil Hero Malicious Edge in Attack Mode," Jaden said, placing the card on his disk and a tall midnight-blue armored warrior covered with spikes appeared on the field (A: 2600/D: 1800).
"Yes, Malicious Edge is stronger than Dark Magician," Syrus cheered.
Bastion smiled. "There's also the fact that, without the Egyptian God cards, that Dark Magician is the strongest monster Dimitri has," he said.
Dimitri, calling off his attack, laughed. "I'm afraid you're wrong," he said.
"Care to explain why?" Jaden asked.
"You see, Dark Magician may be the strongest monster in my deck but, as a duelist, it's rarely about the card, it's what you do with it. And what I'm going to do is play this. Dedication through Light and Darkness."
"What's that do?" Syrus asked.
"It's big trouble. If I'm right, it summons a more powerful Spellcaster," Kasumi said.
"You're right," Dimitri said with a nod toward the Lightsworn duelist. "This card takes Dark Magician and turns him into something more powerful…" He chuckled as he inserted the card into his disk and dark mist came out of it before wrapping it around Dark Magician.
"This isn't good," Jaden murmured.
"…the legendary Dark Magician of Chaos."
"That doesn't sound friendly," Chumley said as the Spell pulled Dark Magician into it and a bright purple light illuminated the area as it poured out of the card.
"It's not," Bastion said, using an arm to shield his eyes from the light. "It's one of the most powerful monsters you'll ever see."
"And I'm about to unleash him on you, Jaden. Chaos Magician, rise," Dimitri ordered.
The new monster that arrived from the card, darted a few times back and forth before coming to a stop on the field. It was covered in dark blue and magenta armor with black hair jutting out from beneath its dark-blue and magenta headdress; its skin was pale-blue and it was wielding a dark-blue and magenta staff in his hands (A: 2800/D: 2600).
"When Dark Magician of Chaos is successfully summoned, I can add one Spell from my Graveyard to my hand," Dimitri added before adding Monster Reincarnation back to his hand. "Now, Dark Magician of Chaos, attack Malicious Edge. Scepter Strike."
His magician darted forward before striking Malicious Edge with his scepter, causing the midnight-blue armored warrior to shatter.
Jaden: 1300
Dimitri: 4000
"Also, because of Dark Magician of Chaos's effect, when it destroys a monster in battle, that monster is removed from play," Dimitri added and Jaden scowled before pocketing the card.
"Just face it,"—Dimitri held up his duel disk—"This deck and I fit perfectly. Always have, always will."
Syrus looked at the field, taking in both sides before he looked at Bastion. "Jaden's in deep trouble," he said.
"Unfortunately, Syrus, that's the understatement of the year," Bastion said. "Look at what he has to contend with; the Dark Magician of Chaos, a 2700 Life Point gap, the King of Games' deck. It's not deep, it's subterranean."
"Jaden's been through worse. He can get through this," Kasumi said.
Now I just have to figure out how, Jaden thought, scanning his cards as Dimitri signaled the end of his turn. He then drew a card and smiled when he heard a coo as Winged Kuriboh appeared on his shoulder. "Nice to see you, buddy. I take it you want to get in on the action? You do know we're going against your old master's deck, right?" he said softly before he looked at the card when Winged Kuriboh cooed again. "Well okay then. I summon Winged Kuriboh in Defense Mode."
His winged ball of fur appeared on the field (A: 300/D: 200).
"Next, I place this card facedown, and that's it."
"Winged Kuriboh? Good to see you. Of course, there's nothing like the original," Dimitri said, drawing a card before summoning a Kuriboh to the field, though his was in Attack Mode; it was like Winged Kuriboh, but it lacked the wings (A: 300/D: 200).
"Dark Magician of Chaos, attack Burstinatrix," Dimitri ordered.
"I activate my Trap, Super Junior Confrontation. This negates your monster's attack and forces our weakest monsters to battle each other instead. So it'll be your Kuriboh versus mine."
The two Kuribohs attacked each other, but Winged Kuriboh was destroyed and Dimitri set a card before signaling the end of his turn.
Winged Kuriboh took one for the team there. Losing Burstinatrix would've put Jaden in a tight spot, Bastion thought.
Jaden drew. "I activate Pot of Greed to draw two more cards," he said before he drew two more cards. "Then, I summon Elemental Hero Bubbleman to my field in Attack Mode." His water hero in the blue armor with a white cape around his shoulders and a gray blaster on his arm appeared (A: 800/D: 1200).
"Next, I play a field spell, one you may need a hard hat for. Skyscraper." Jaden inserted the card into his field card slot and tall buildings began to rise around the duelists.
"What the…? What's the meaning of these buildings?" Dimitri exclaimed.
"Meaning? To kick your butt, Dimitri," Syrus said.
Jaden smiled. "That's right, 'cause here, if an Elemental Hero battles a monster that is stronger than him, he gains 1000 Attack. I also equip Bubbleman with Bubble Blaster, which increases his Attack by 800," he said and his monster lifted up the blaster that was placed in front of him (A: 800-1600).
"Now, Bubbleman, attack Kuriboh," Jaden ordered and Bubbleman unleashed a blast of bubbles.
"Let's go, Bubbleman, clean that Kuriboh's clock," Syrus said.
"But which one?" Dimitri asked. "I play the Spell, Multiply."
The furball split into four, which were exact replicas of the original and were in Defense Mode (A: 300/D: 200).
"Now there's four of them," Syrus exclaimed.
"Correct. By sacrificing one Kuriboh, I can summon Kuriboh Tokens on all open spaces in my Monster Card Zone. Of course, your blast is still in play,"—one of the tokens shattered—"but it's significance has been deflated."
"Fine. I end my turn with my last card facedown."
"And I begin mine, by playing Card of Sanctity. It forces both of us to draw until we each are holding six cards."
Both players drew until they had full hands.
"Excellent, I drew the monster Watapon. When it's drawn with the effect of a Spell, Trap or monster effect, I can summon it to the field."
A little white puffball with antennas on its head and large blue eyes appeared amongst all the Kuribohs (A: 200/D: 300).
"But he won't be here for long. I sacrifice Watapon to summon Dark Magician Girl," Dimitri said.
Watapon vanished to be replaced by a beautiful light-skinned magician in a blue-and-pink outfit with a pointed hat on her head and long blonde hair who winked at the audience and giggled (A: 2000/D: 1700).
"She's cuter in person," Jaden commented.
Kasumi rolled her eyes while Syrus was just staring with a dreamy look on his face.
"She has both beauty and brawn. For every Dark Magician in the Graveyard, she gains 300 Attack," Dimitri said as Dark Magician Girl was powered up (A: 2000-2300). "And on the subject of Dark Magicians, don't forget about this one. Dark Magician of Chaos, attack." The magician fired off a blast of magical energy that Bubbleman blocked with his blaster and caused it to shatter (A: 1600-800).
"Now what he started, she'll finish. Dark Magician Girl, Dark Burning Attack," Dimitri ordered and the Dark Magician Girl twirled her staff before firing off a sphere of pink magic at Jaden's hero; though his power was increased because of Skyscraper, he was still destroyed.
Jaden: 800
Dimitri: 4000
"The Heart of the Cards are indeed powerful, aren't they, Jaden?"
"So you got in a few good shots," Jaden said with a shrug as he drew his card. "Now it's my turn. And with the cards in my hand, I'll be able to return the favor and then some. I reveal my face-down, Polymerization, to fuse Avian in my hand and Burstinatrix on the field in order to summon Elemental Hero Flame Wingman."
The heroine on the field and the feathered hero in Jaden's hand vanished to be replaced by the red-and-green hero with the dragon's head for one arm and the feathery wing on his back (A: 2100/D: 1200).
"Nice move, Jay!" Syrus called.
"But that's not all. I also play The Warrior Returning Alive to add Sparkman from my Graveyard to my hand,"—he retrieved the hero from his Graveyard—"And I summon him in Attack Mode." The blue-and-gold armored warrior appeared next to Flame Wingman (A: 1600/D: 1400).
"Now, don't forget about Skyscraper. Since your monster is more powerful, Flame Wingman gains 1000 Attack," Jaden said as his monster's power increased (A: 2100-3100).
"Wait. 3100 Attack Points," Dimitri said with surprise. "That's…"
"Yup, just enough to take out either of your magicians. I have a soft spot for girls though so we'll start with Dark Magician of Chaos. Go, Flame Wingman, Skydivce Scorcher," Jaden said and Flame Wingman flew to the top of one of the buildings before jumping down; he was surrounded by an aura of flames as he crashed into the Chaos Magician and he shattered.
Jaden: 800
Dimitri: 3700
"And there's also his special power. Now you take damage equal to the Attack of the monster you lost," Jaden added as Flame Wingman appeared in front of Dimitri and bathed him in flames.
Jaden: 800
Dimitri: 900
"Take that!" Chumley cheered. "Yugi, Dimitri, whatever your name is."
"Way to play, Jay," Syrus cheered.
"Nice job," Kasumi said.
"Crazy, I'm beating Yugi's deck," Jaden said.
Simply remarkable, Bastion thought. Dimitri is dueling just like the King of Games would, yet Jaden is staying competitive, winning even. Sure, he was a bit overwhelmed at first but now he's really turned things around. Maybe his deck will go on tour right beside Yugi's, assuming he can win it back,that is.
"Sparkman, attack; Static Shockwave," Jaden ordered and the blue-and-gold armored warrior unleashed a spiral of electrical energy that fried one of the tokens. "Next, I'll throw down two face-downs and use the Spell Emergency Provisions. By sacrificing one of those face-downs, I get back 1000 Life Points."
Jaden: 1800
Dimitri: 900
"Sweet, don't ya think?" But not as sweet as what's about to happen. I mean, one more attack and I'll have beaten the King of Games' deck.
'Duel's not over yet. Don't get cocky,' Yubel warned.
"Jaden, he's all yours. You've got him," Syrus said.
"You have nothing!" Dimitri shouted. "My deck is prepared for anything. First, I switch Dark Magician Girl to Defense Mode."
The female magician knelt down.
"Then I'll activate Spider Web." A white string came from the spell and reached into Jaden's Graveyard. "It allows me to take one of the cars you sent to your Graveyard last turn and place it directly into my hand. And soon, it will go directly into my Life Points." The string deposited the card into Dimitri's hand. "Because I chose Emergency Provisions. Next, I'll place two cards facedown and then I'll activate Monster Reincarnation. Next, I'll play Emergency Provisions to sacrifice my three cards to regain 3000 Life Points."
Jaden: 1800
Dimitri: 3900
"Finally, thanks to Monster Reincarnation, I'll take back the Kuriboh I lost. Did you follow all of that?"
"Not a word of it," Syrus said.
"Well, I did," Jaden said, drawing a card. "Those were some sweet moves, but they won't save you from Flame Wingman. Go, Skydive Scorcher." Wingman flew into Dark Magician Girl and she shattered.
"And, because of his ability, you take damage equal to your monster's Attack," Jaden added as Dimitri was bathed in flames from Flame Wingman.
Jaden: 1800
Dimitri: 1600
"It's a good thing I padded my points last turn," Dimitri said.
"Yeah? Well, good thing I have a couple of attacks left. I play De-Fusion. Now Flame Wingman splits back into Avian and Burstinatrix."
Avian and Burstinatrix appeared on the field (A: 1000/D: 1000) (A: 1200/D: 800).
"Jaden is impressing me more and more every turn," Bastion said, amazed. "What skillful play. Now he can attack with both monsters, separately."
"Now, Avian, take out one of those Kuriboh tokens," Jaden ordered and Avian attacked, taking out one of the tokens. "Burstinatrix, your turn; attack."
Burstinatrix formed a fireball in her hands and threw it at the remaining token.
"That's how you duel," Syrus said.
"Lishus! One more attack and he'll nail Dimitri's Life Points," Chumley said.
"You go get him, Jaden."
"Go, Sparkman; attack."
Dimitri smiled. "You're forgetting about someone. Kuriboh." An image of the furball appeared in front of Dimitri, taking the hit.
"What the…?"
'Kuriboh's effect,' Yubel told Jaden.
Oh right, forgot about that, Jaden thought.
"By discarding Kuriboh, I don't take any damage from Sparkman's little firework display. Good thing Monster Reincarnation let me bring him back." Dimitri then looked at the duel disk before adding, "Thank you, Kuriboh. That move takes me back to our Battle City duel against Seto Kaiba."
"Battle City? This guy's gone even crazier," Syrus exclaimed.
"Just smile and nod, Syrus, smile and nod," Chumley said.
Kasumi chuckled, though she definitely agreed with Syrus.
"Now let's continue, for Kuriboh. His fall won't be in vain," Dimitri said as he drew a card before he looked at it. "Perfect. The Heart of the Cards has served me again. I remove one DARK monster and one LIGHT monster from my Graveyard…"
Jaden frowned. "Why are you doing that?" he asked.
"I've never seen this. Is it a summoning?" Syrus asked.
"Nah, no way," Chumley said.
"You're wrong," Bastion said in realization. "There are two monsters that can be summoned like this. Two rare cards of such power duelists have scoured the world to obtain them. The first is Chaos Emperor Dragon - Envoy of the End. A card so powerful, it has been banned from official Duel Monster tournaments. The second has comparable powers but has never been forbidden. In fact, some say not a single copy exists."
"Is that so?" Dimitri said. "Well, they're wrong because I have one right here. Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning."
The group all watched, amazed, as the Kuriboh and Watapon Dimitri had removed from play disappeared. The warrior emerged from the vortex the two monsters had disappeared into; he had dark blue armor outlined with dark gold and pale skin, wielding a curved blade (A: 3000/D: 2500).
"So, Yugi really did have that card. I always thought it was a rumor," Jaden commented.
"I'm afraid not. This card's been part of my deck for a long time, but I only take him out for special occasions. Like now, Luster Blade attack."
The mighty armored warrior stabbed the air and a flurry of smaller blades shot downward to cut into Avian, though his Attack was increased because Skyscraper was still in play, and he shattered.
Jaden: 800
Dimitri: 1600
"Ouch, that hurt," Jaden said.
"Well, that was just the beginning. Now I'll show you the true power of this card. You see, if he destroys one of your monsters in battle, he can attack again."
"No way," Jaden exclaimed.
"Aw man. Now I'm beginning to see why monsters like this are outlawed," Syrus said, quaking in fear.
"Now, Black Luster Soldier, end this," Dimitri ordered and the monster dashed towards Burstinatrix with his sword, ready to strike.
"He's through. Jaden's Life Points can't take another hit," Bastion said.
"You're still in this, Jaden," Kasumi called.
"It's not over yet. I play the Trap, Hero Spirit," Jaden said and a spirit form of Avian emerged in front of Burstinatrix, blocking the attack.
"What's this?" Dimitri demanded.
"It's not the end of the duel," Jaden said. "'Cause if a Hero is destroyed and I play Hero Spirit, I can turn all the following damage to zero."
"Fine then, I'll just finish you off next turn. The Heart of the Cards will see to that," Dimitri said.
'Does he honestly believe that? The Heart of the Cards is basically just another way of saying to believe in your own deck and that's not his deck,' Yubel said.
"True," Jaden said. "And I believe in my deck, Dimitri. I activate the Spell, Silent Doom. This card allows me to summon a monster from my Graveyard to my field in Defense Mode. So, come on back Avian."
The feathered green hero appeared again (A: 1000/D: 1000).
"Next, I play Double Spell. And by discarding a Spell from my hand, I can use one Spell Card from your Graveyard."
"Sounds like Jaden has a plan," Bastion commented.
Kasumi nodded in agreement.
"So I'll discard this and help myself to your Polymerization. Now, I fuse Avian and Burstinatrix to create my deck's headliner one more time. The Elemental Hero Flame Wingman."
The two heroes merged and Flame Wingman reappeared on top of the tallest skyscraper (A: 2100/D: 1200).
"And with Skyscraper still out, he gains an extra 1000 Attack in battle. Now, attack Black Luster Soldier with Skydive Scorcher."
Wingman flew downward before his flaming body crashed into the soldier, causing him to shatter.
Jaden: 800
Dimitri: 1500
"He's gone! My Luster Soldier's gone," Dimitri exclaimed.
"He was never yours to begin with. Besides, if you wanna worry, worry about Wingman's ability. Now you lose Life Points equal to Luster Soldier's Attack," Jaden said as his monster flew up in front of Dimitri before blasting him with fire from his dragon arm.
Jaden: 800 WINNER
Dimitri: 0
"And that's game," Jaden said, giving Dimitri his two-fingered salute.
"I've been beaten," Dimitri said, falling to his knees. "Even with my…Yugi's legendary cards"—his voice returned to normal—"What's wrong with me? Why can't I ever win?"
"The answer to that should be obvious."
The group all turned to see Zane, accompanied by Alexis and Arina.
"Hey, you're Zane," Dimitri said.
"Why're you guys here?" Jaden asked.
"Why else? We came to see the deck. But it was missing," Alexis explained.
"Yeah, we figured the thief couldn't have gotten far, so we started looking and we spotted you dueling," Arina said.
"We came earlier, but we didn't want to interrupt the duel," Zane said.
"Kind of you," Bastion said with a smile.
"Wait, you mean you saw the whole thing?" Jaden echoed.
Zane smiled before looking upward behind the others. "Not just us; your duel drew quite an audience," he said.
Everyone in the group turned to see at least a dozen other students on the cliffs above where they had been dueling; Slifers, Ras, Obelisks, a lot of people were standing there, watching and cheering the duel.
"Glad you could make it!" Jaden shouted cheerfully.
"So, what now?" Dimitri asked.
Zane shrugged. "Well, the punishment for stealing has always been crystal clear; straight-up expulsion. But, since everyone here enjoyed seeing Yugi's deck in a duel rather than in a display case, I doubt anyone will turn you in."
"What difference does it make? I still lost," Dimitri said, looking at the ground.
Jaden chuckled. "You didn't lose, the person you were pretending to be did, Dimitri," he said.
"Yugi?" Dimitri frowned, looking up at him.
"No," Jaden said with a shake of his head. "You could never be Yugi."
"Then who was I?"
"You were you, but you weren't. You see, when you copy someone, it's not like you're that person. You're you copying that person, ya know? Yeah, that makes sense, right?"
'Absolutely not,' Yubel and Haou said at the exact same time.
"No, it didn't," Kasumi said.
Zane sighed. "I'll attempt to try and explain what Jaden means, Dimitri. You'll never win unless you put yourself out there. That means you need to use your own deck and your own strategies instead of piggybacking off someone else's. There is no amount of studying you can do to be able to use someone else's deck as well as they can."
"Yeah, what he said. That's exactly what I meant," Jaden said. "Now, how about we put that deck back where it belongs?"
"Okay," Dimitri said softly.
. . .
The next morning, the exhibit hall was filled with students walking around, taking in the posters of Yugi and his deck. As Zane promised, no one reported Dimitri, so no one got into trouble, which was good.
Jaden smiled as he and Chumley leaned against the wall. "It's good to see things get back to normal," he said.
Chumley nodded. "Well, as normal as things get around here," he said before he turned to his friend. "So what's that you got there?"
Jaden chuckled as he unrolled it. "Check it out. A poster of Yugi Mutou with his signature on it. Pretty sweet, huh?"
Chumley just smiled.
"Hey, Jaden, Chum," Kasumi said, walking over to join them.
"Hey, Kas, what's up?" Jaden asked.
Kasumi shrugged. "Nothing much, just wandering around," she said.
"Jaden! Jaden!"
The group turned to see Syrus running up to them.
"Hey, Sy, what's the matter?" Jaden asked.
Syrus panted as he attempted to catch his breath. "It's Dimitri. He's at it again!"
"What?!"
. . .
The three Slifers and one Obelisk ran through the woods until they came across Dimitri; only he didn't look like himself. He wore the same red blazer, the same pants and had the same haircut as Jaden.
"I've been waiting for you," Dimitri said.
Kasumi blinked, looked at Dimitri, looked at Jaden and then back at Dimitri before she burst out laughing while Jaden face-faulted. "Dimitri, c'mon!"
"Who's Dimitri?" the Copycat duelist asked. "My name's Jaden and I'm a Slifer Red. Now listen, we're going to duel, so turn your game on."
Kasumi lost it there and fell to the ground, laughing so hard it hurt while Jaden face-palmed and Syrus and Chumley face-faulted.
"It's get your game on. Say it right, geeze," he exclaimed.
Dimitri whipped out a deck. "C'mon, were gonna settle this right now. Let's throw-up…I mean…throw down. C'mon, get your deck out, this is gonna be swell." He then threw a pose that made everyone feel uncomfortable, except for Kasumi, who just started laughing again. Even Yubel was giggling.
"It's sweet," Jaden snapped. "And you're not even doing my pose right."
"Well, how am I doing it wrong?" the Copycat duelist asked.
Syrus and Chumley sighed, Kasumi had finally managed to control her laughter and Jaden began to give Dimitri pointers on how to imitate him; Yubel was shaking her head with amusement in her heterochromatic eyes.
"Wish I had a catchphrase," Chumley said.
"I just wish we were outta here," Syrus said.
"I wish I had recorded this whole thing," Kasumi said with a chuckle.
. . .
A/n what do you think?
Blaze: well, that was the infamous Jaden versus Yugi's Deck (I mean Dimitri) duel and I hope I did it justice with all the little changes that I made. It may still look a lot like the episode but, eh, I did my best.
Darth: I liked it
Jaden: it was sweet! Now I wanna duel the real Yugi
Blaze: go watch the last two episodes of Season 4; that was an EPIC DUEL! But then, Season 4 was an EPIC SEASON! I CAN'T BELIEVE 4KIDS DIDN'T DUB IT!
Jaden: (takes a step back from the raging Blaze, who was holding a chainsaw in her hands. Where she got that, no one knew) Uh, not to interrupt your ranting or anything but what's gonna happen next?
Blaze: (calms down a little and powers down chainsaw) the duel that I agree is the funniest duel that Jaden has ever been in, plus introducing JxA fan 2000's OC. It's going to be a short chapter, only 11 pages.
Jaden: sweet and what do you mean 'funniest duel'?
Blaze: you'll see. Also, I'd also like to let ya know that there are going to be a total of three 8000 point duels in Shadow Rise but the sequel to Shadow Rise (which will remain nameless until SR is finished) will include all 8000 point duels. I just had so much fun writing the first of the three 8000 point duels (guess which episode this is going to be in) that I decided to do that with Season 2 and the seasons following.
Jaden: wait, you're already there in this story?
Blaze: actually, I'm further, part way through the Shadow Rider arc actually, but I've been going back and editing the previous chapters and I wanted to put some time between updates to give my beta-reader a break in between chapters. As of right now, updates are looking to be once, maybe twice, a week; if things in college start getting too stressful than the updates may take longer but I'll let you know if/when that happens. I will post chapter 15…let's try for Sunday…and reviews, as always, are much appreciated.