Last time our heroes arrived on Duel Academy Island in search of the next Rainbow Crystal. After encountering Jaden's nemesis, Dr. Crowler, our heroes met Aster Phoenix, who had information on the location of the crystal. Will and the others then met the spirit of Professor Banner, who explained that the crystal landed in an ancient temple that's being guarded by powerful magic. Elyon decided to call in Lillian and Christopher to help dispel the protective enchantments. So what's a bunch of young Duelists gonna do while some magic users try to get into an ancient temple? Duel of course! On with the show!

Chapter 21: Blue Duel Royal part1

"How much longer?" Beck moaned.

"Look, Beck," Cal said, "You're my sister, and I love you very much, but if you keep complaining, I'll have to do something about it, something nasty."

"This is a very delicate operation we're attempting," Dylan said as he, Elyon, Cal, Lillian and Christopher stood at different points around the ancient temple, forming a pentagram, with Elyon at the top point, Dylan at the upper left, Lillian at the upper right, Cal at the lower right and Christopher at the lower left.

"One misstep and we're all done for," Elyon said, "The protective enchantments are riddled with booby traps, both mechanical and magic-based. I think that's what Professor Banner tried to warn us about, before he was eaten by that cat."

"We have to peel the enchantments away layer by layer," Cal said, "Without triggering any traps. If we rushed into this blindly, without taking the time to examine just how well protected this temple is, someone could have gotten really hurt, or worse. Like Dylan said, this must be done delicately."

"Well what's the worst that could happen?" Beck asked.

"How about having your body completely turned inside out," Cal said, "For starters."

"But I like my body the way it is," Beck said in a slightly defeated tone.

"Then let us do what we do best," Lillian said, "Magic."

"Just stand back," Christopher said, "And hope there won't be any explosions."

"But I wouldn't mind seeing someone turned inside out," Lillian said, "Assuming we can put that person right-side in again, that would be something to see."

"Magic users," Beck muttered as she moved back to the edge of the clearing, while Dylan, Elyon and the others began dispelling the protective enchantments.

Fifteen minutes later Elyon and co. were still at it, focusing their powers on carefully removing the protective layers, while disarming any magical or mechanical booby traps that lay in wait.

Impatient as usual, Beck dialed a number on a spare cell phone Will loaned her. "They're be a while," Beck said into the phone, "What's going on at your end, Over!"

"You don't have to say 'over,'" Martin said into his cell phone, "This isn't a radio. Anyway, there's a storm brewing at Duel Academy, and that storm's name is Hay Lin."

Inside the main arena of the school, the summer students were being treated to the first in a series of exhibition matches set up by Will, Jaden and the others. There, on the big platform in the middle of the arena, stood Hay Lin and Syrus as they battled their way through an overdue rematch.

The Duel at this point:

Syrus's Life Points: 2200

Hay Lin's Life Points: 1600

Syrus had on the field 2 facedown cards and…

Drillroid

Attribute: EARTH

Type: Machine/Effect

Level: 4

Attack: 1600

Defense: 1600

Rescueroid

Attribute: FIRE

Type: Machine/Effect

Level: 6

Attack: 1600

Defense: 1800

…on the field.

Hay Lin had on the field 2 facedown cards also, as well as…

Harpie Lady 2

Attribute: WIND

Type: Winged Beast/Effect

Level: 4

Attack: 1300

Defense: 1400

Harpie Lady 3

Attribute: WIND

Type: Winged Beast/Effect

Level: 4

Attack: 1300

Defense: 1400

…on the field.

It was Syrus's turn. He drew his card, "I summon Patroid in Attack mode!" The monster that appeared in front of Syrus looked like an old-fashion police cruiser that had cartoon-like features.

Patroid

Attribute: EARTH

Type: Machine/Effect

Level: 4

Attack: 1200

Defense: 1200

"Next," Syrus said, "I activate my facedown card, Rising Energy. By sending one card from my hand to the Graveyard," he did so, "I can give one of my monsters a 1500 Attack point boost, and I'm equipping it to my Patroid!"

Patroid

Attack: 2700

"I don't think so!" Hay Lin said, "Activate Trap! Dust Tornado! Your Rising Energy is negated!"

Patroid

Attack: 1200

"So," Syrus said, "I still have enough machine muscle to take you down! Drillroid! Rescueroid! Attack!" His two monsters raced across the field and literally flattened Hay Lin's two harpies.

Hay Lin's Life Points: 1000

"Oh man," Eric said, "Hay Lin's wide open. One more attack and she's done for!"

"It's not over yet," Irma said, "Come on, Hay Lin! You're still in the game! Rule the Duel!"

"Patroid!" Syrus said, "Attack Hay Lin directly!"

"Activate Trap!" Hay Lin said, "Call of the Haunted!" Her Trap card then brought back from the Graveyard…

Swift Birdman Joe

Attribute: WIND

Type: Winged Beast/Effect

Level: 6

Attack: 2300

Defense: 1400

"How'd that get in your Graveyard?" Syrus asked as his Patroid tried to run over Swift Birdman Joe, but was repulsed by the higher Attack points of Hay Lin's monster.

Syrus's Life Points: 1100

"I discarded him when I played Graceful Charity a few turns back," Hay Lin said.

"Oh, I forgot," Syrus said, "Anyway, I throw down one facedown and end my turn."

"Oh goodie!" Hay Lin said eagerly as she drew her card, her customized braces gleaming in the arena lights as she grinned, "I play the Spell card 'Costdown,' allowing me to summon a Level 5 or 6 monster without need for a sacrifice, so I summon Roc from the Valley of Haze in Attack mode!"

The monster that Hay Lin summoned was a huge eagle with red wings, a brown torso, two snake-like tail feathers, horns and a head colored like steel.

Roc from the Valley of Haze

Attribute: WINDType: Winged Beast/Effect

Level: 6

Attack: 2400

Defense: 1400

"Swift Birdman Joe!" Hay Lin said, "Attack Patroid!"

"Activate Trap!" Syrus said, "Threatening Roar! You can't attack me this turn!"

"Drat!" Hay Lin fumed.

"And since you declared an attack when I had only Machine-type monsters on my side of the field," Syrus said, "I can activate my other Trap, Super Charge. This allows me to draw two cards." He did so.

"I play one card facedown and end my turn," Hay Lin said.

"My move!" Syrus said as he drew his card, "I play the Spell card Earthquake. This forces all your monsters into Defense mode."

"Not good," Cornelia said, "Hay Lin's monsters all have Defense points less than 1600. Syrus can easily destroy Hay Lin's with his Drillroid and Rescueroid, leaving Hay Lin open to attack again."

"It's still not over," Irma said, "You can do it, Hay Lin!"

"We believe in you!" Eric said, "Rule the Duel!"

Irma and Eric then began chanting, "Rule the Duel! Rule the Duel!"

"Your friends are kind of weird," Syrus said to Hay Lin.

"No weirder than Jaden?" Hay Lin asked.

"Good point," Syrus said, "Okay! Time to win this Duel! Drillroid! Rescueroid! Attack!"

"Activate Trap!" Hay Lin said, "Magic Jammer! This nullifies the effect of your Earthquake!"

"Oh no!" Syrus exclaimed, realizing it was too late to call off his attack as Hay Lin's monsters returned to Attack mode! His Rescueroid and Drillroid tried to attack, but were repulsed by the superior Attack points of Swift Birdman Joe and Rock from the Valley of Haze.

Syrus's Life Points: 0

"That's game," Hay Lin said as the holograms faded from the field. The audience of summer Duelists cheered loudly for the great Duel they just watched.

"Looks like we're even now," Syrus said.

"You alright?" Hay Lin asked as she shook Syrus's hand, "You don't look so hot."

"I'm fine," Syrus said sounding kind of down, "I've taken my fair share of loses at Duel Academy; I'm used to it by now."

"That's no attitude to live by," Addicus said, "Turn that frown upside down! What would your brother say if he saw you taking a defeat like that?"

"If my brother were here," Syrus said, "he'd…" Syrus seemed to have frozen in mid-sentence, "Please excuse me," with that he left the arena.

"What was that all about?" a confused Hay Lin asked.

"Syrus has some major issues with his older brother, Zane," Aster said.

"No thanks to you," Hassleberry said.

"I didn't know the whole story at the time," Aster said, "Nobody knew. If you're going to be mad at anyone, it should be Sartorious, and if you're going to be mad at him, be mad at The Light of Destruction, which we can't be mad at since Jaden destroyed it."

"You didn't answer my question," Hay Lin said, "What's going on with Syrus and his brother?"

"There's always been tension between the Truesdale brothers," Addicus said, "Zane had a natural talent for Dueling. When the brothers were younger, Zane taught Syrus the basics of Dueling, but Zane always saw his brother as weak. Yet Syrus kept trying, mostly to seek approval from Zane, especially after Zane started at Duel Academy. Things got worse when Syrus started at school. Zane distanced himself from Syrus, still believing that his brother was weak

"Now as you know, Zane is the only Duelist to ever defeat Jaden…"

"Excuse me," Aster interrupted, "But I also defeated Jaden once."

"Negative," Hassleberry interjected, "You cheated, so that Duel doesn't count."

"I never cheat!" Aster said, "I don't need to. Destiny was on my side that time."

"I have to agree with Hassleberry," Addicus said, "Aster, you were being coached by Sartorious at the time, right?"

"He was more like my manager," Aster said, "But yes, he helped me plan my strategy, until I learned what his true motives were."

"Putting aside his real motives," Addicus said, "You got your strategies from Sartorious. He used his fortune telling powers to predict what cards Jaden would use. Ergo, you cheated."

"I did not cheat!" Aster snapped, "And I'll thank you if you wouldn't slander Sartorious' name. He's my friend after all."

"Wait a second," Cornelia said, "This Sartorious, the same one who tried to brainwash the world, he's still alive?"

"As we said before," Addicus said, "Sartorious was under the control of The Light of Destruction; what happened wasn't his fault. But I still believe that Aster cheated."

"Stop saying that!" Aster said.

"Well how else do you explain defeating Jaden?" Hassleberry said, "He would have beaten you if you weren't using the intel that Sartorious provided."

"Is this true, Jaden?" Will asked, "Could you have beaten Aster if he wasn't being coached by Sartorious?"

"Managed," Aster corrected.

"Well, actually," Jaden said, "We did have a Duel before that one where he beat me. It was on the first day of the school year. Aster had to leave before the game was finished, but I was winning. Then again, he wasn't using his real deck that first time. So, maybe…I don't know."

"I didn't cheat," Aster grumbled.

"Yes you did," Hassleberry said.

"Quit it, both of you!" Hay Lin snapped, "Aster didn't know that he was being used at the time, therefore he didn't cheat."

"Thank you," Aster said.

"Your welcome," Hay Lin said, "So, Addicus, please continue with your story."

"Okay," Addicus said, "Putting aside who did or didn't cheat, Zane defeated Jaden in a fair and square Duel. Fast forward to the end of the school year, after the whole fiasco with the 3 Sacred Beast. It's Zane's last day before graduation, so he and Jaden have another Duel. The game ends in a tie. With no ill feelings, Zane graduates and passes the unofficial mantle of Top Duelist to Jaden.

"Over the summer, Zane enters the professional Dueling circuits, and does really well. Some would say that he had the potential to defeat Yugi Moto and become the next King of Games.

"But then Zane was matched up against Aster Phoenix in a hugely promoted Duel. Millions of people around the world are watching as these two up-and-coming champions go head to head. As you can guess, Aster won."

"For the record," Aster said, "I won that Duel fair and square, with no help from Sartorious at all. I studied Zane's past Duels and made a prediction of my own on his strategy."

"I agree that Aster won fairly," Martin said, "I saw that Duel, and I can honestly say that he won fair and square."

"Moving on," Addicus said, "Zane took the defeat really hard; like Aster took away his confidence or something like that. He couldn't win anymore. The professional circuits wouldn't let him enter any major competitions, and he kept losing in whatever tournaments that would accept him.

"Things got so bad for Zane, he wound up in some sort of black market, underground Dueling circuit, where anonymous gamblers would bet on Duels, while the Duelists had to wear shock collars that would inflict great pain when you lost Life Points.

"At some point in this electrifying illegal Dueling, Zane succumbed to his inner darkness, afterwards he started winning again. He eventually got back into the professional circuits, but he was now a more aggressive, unsympathetic Duelist. Things got even worse after he picked up a new set of monster cards; Cyberdark monsters. To Zane, Duel Monsters was no longer about having fun and making friends. All he cared about was winning, while hurting his opponents as much as possible.

"Fast forward to the GX tournament. Zane arrived on the island, hoping for a rematch with both Jaden and Aster."

"I would have gladly Dueled Zane," Jaden said, "But I was kind of occupied with stopping Sartorious and The Society of Light."

"We both were," Aster said, "But that's another story."

"Anyway," Addicus said, "I saw what Zane had become; a heartless sadistic who cared only about victory. At the time I was still feeling guilty about being brainwashed and joining The Shadow Riders. I tried to reason with Zane, but he wouldn't listen.

"So I challenged him to a Duel; there was a tournament going on after all. But I knew that I couldn't beat him, not the way I was at the time. Jaden may have defeated the personality of Nightshroud, but Nightshroud still existed, within my subconscious.

"I knew that the only way I could save Zane from himself, while at the same time redeem my own transgressions, was for the both of us to face and defeat our inner darkness. I allowed Nightshroud to take over my mind.

"We two dark Duelists battled each other; but in the end, Nightshroud wasn't strong enough to defeat Zane's darkness; Zane won. Nightshroud was pushed back into my subconscious, but Zane was still twisted, perhaps even more than before.

"Meanwhile, Syrus was preparing a strategy that would free his brother."

"Actually," Jaden interrupted, "Syrus was hiding out so he wouldn't get eliminated, not to badmouth my best friend, but Syrus was just trying to stay alive, so to speak."

"I don't follow," Irma said.

"At the start of the tournament," Hassleberry, "Each contestant was given a small medal. After each Duel, the loser had to give his or her medal(s) to the winner. As long as you had one medal, you were still in, but the tournament would go on until one Duelist had all the medals."

"So when you Dueled Chazz at the start of the tournament," Cornelia said to Jaden, "You allowed him to keep his medal so he could keep going."

"Well, Chazz wasn't his usual self at the time," Jaden said.

"Private Princeton was one of the first that Sartorious brainwashed," Hassleberry said, "That creep tried to brainwash the whole school."

"How did you avoid getting sucked in?" Matt asked.

"I didn't," Hassleberry said, "This old soldier faced Sartorious in person and lost. But for some reason, he couldn't put the whammy on me."

"That's when you told us that you've got Dinosaur DNA," Addicus said, "Moving on, Syrus eventually confronted Zane with is actions. He tried appealing to whatever little humanity that was left in Zane, but Zane refused to acknowledge Syrus, not at a fellow Duelist, or as a brother.

"Knowing that he may not come out of it in one piece, Syrus challenged Zane. He accepted, but made Syrus agree to use underground Dueling rules, meaning that Syrus was forced to put on a shock collar.

"Syrus had a strategy that minimized the amount of damage to his Life Points he would take with each attack, thereby minimizing the pain from the shock collar, and for a while he was able to hold his own. But then Zane admitted that he was enjoying the pain, and that Syrus would never defeat him unless he too learned to enjoy pain, both in inflicting and receiving. Zane then unleashed his Cyberdark monsters on Syrus. Poor little guy never stood a chance."

"That dirty bastard!" Taranee snapped, "How dare he force his own brother to go through something like that. My brother would never do anything like that to me."

"And I'd never make my brother wear a shock collar," Irma said, "Maybe a studded collar, but never a shock collar, that's just cruel."

"What about you, Cornelia," Hay Lin said, "Would you do something like that to Lillian?"

"Um," Cornelia said. It seemed that she was really thinking this through, "Would you be angry if I said 'maybe'?"

"Well I'd never do something like that if I had a little brother," Matt said, there was a fait but sharp edge to his voice, "There are some lines that should never be crossed, and Zane Truesdale has gone way beyond them. I mean, forcing one's brother into a painful situation like that, it's stuff like that that really grind my gears."

"Me too," Will said. But she was concerned that Matt was taking this more seriously than she was. He sounded like he hated Zane for what he did.

"What happened to Zane?" Caleb asked.

"He still wanted a rematch with Jaden and Aster," Addicus said, "I think he was going to challenge them both to a 2-on-1 Duel. But as said before, they were occupied with stopping Sartorious. So Zane dropped out of the tournament, and we haven't seen or heard from him since."

"Ain't no complains from me," Hassleberry said.

Just then Syrus came back into the arena. "Feeling better?" Hay Lin asked.

"About what?" Syrus asked.

"No need for denial," Eric said, "We know what happened between you and Zane."

"What your brother did to you was unforgivable," Hay Lin said, "If he were here, I'd kick him in the teeth, kick him in the family jewels, and finish up with a Sennin Goroshi."

Syrus, having already seen Hay Lin deliver 'A Thousand Years of Pain' on more than one occasion, laughed at the thought of Zane getting exactly what he deserved.

"See," Hay Lin said, "Not everything is all gloom and doom."

"Thanks, Hay Lin," Syrus said "I'm feeling a lot better."

"Glad to hear that," Hay Lin said.

"Hate to butt in," Addicus said, "But there's a couple dozen young Duelists waiting to be entertained."

"He's right," Jaden said, "We need to show all these kids what Dueling is all about!"

"So who's next?" Cornelia asked.

"Taranee and Hassleberry are up," Martin said as he read from a list.

"Outstanding!" Hassleberry as he and Taranee took positions on the arena floor, "Time for this soldier to march forward into victory!"

"Oh really," Taranee said, "I'll have you know that I'm not so easy a pushover. I've got a new strategy and it's gonna burn you up!"

"I don't think so!" Hassleberry said as he and Taranee shuffled their decks, "My strategy shall trample yours into extinction!"

"We'll just see about that!" Taranee said as they both activated their Duel Disks.

"DUEL!!"

To be continued. Who shall win this fiery clash of brains over brawn? And just how much longer will it take for Elyon, Dylan and the other magic users to finish their job? All this and more to come. Reviews will be rewarded with cake and pie. See you next time!