Yugioh GX: Konami/Kazuki Takahashi
It's an early morning in Duel Academy when Jason was given a new assignment: helping unload cargo from the delivery boat to sell at the the card shop.
"Keep it moving fellas, keep it moving!" Dorothy ordered to the other older workers as she lead them back and forth through the shift like a crossing guard. "Booster packs go there and starter packs go there, you guys!"
A noise he heard from the ocean made Jason stop what he was doing and look towards its direction. But there was nothing beside the waves crashing against the shores, so it could've been nothing.
"C'mon! I didn't say it was break time!" Dorothy clapping her hands snapped Jason back to his current objective and he continued the task at hand. "Move it, move it, move it!"
But right under their feet a dark shadow moved from under the water and emerged to the bedrock shore. It was a tall man in a scuba-gear and wetsuit. After coming out of the water he pulled his ponytail from out of his suit and remove his snorkels and goggles to look over the cliffside."There it is, the scoop of a lifetime: Duel Academy," he removed his wetsuit, not taking his eyes off the large building, "Now, let's see what kind of dirt I can dig up on the story that will make me my fortune!"
"ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND!?" Doctor Crowler jumped from his seat where the principal, Professor Banner and other major faculty were sitting around a large, oval-shaped table. "The School Duel between Duel Academy and North Academy is the biggest event of the year! We can take no chances! So it's clear that Zane should be our rep!" the doctor gestured towards the Obelisk Blue standing nearby.
"Zane is out best student," Sheppard agreed. "But he's a third-year student and I've received word that North Academy will be using a first-year student."
"Why would they do that?!"
"They must feel either invincible or desperate to send out a first-year against us..." Anais mused.
"Who knows? But in the spirit of competition I think we should use a first-year student too," he then turned to the upperclassman. "You understand, don't you, Zane?"
"Of course, Chancellor." Zane replied.
"Now then, our only question is who this first-year should be..."
"...Jaden Yuki." the thought made everyone's head turn, and Crowler cringed at the idea.
"I agree," Banner said. "Jaden is the best of our new students. Don't you agree?" he looked down at Pharaoh who mewled in response.
"Oh, well if the cat said so..." Crowler grumbled.
Zane turned to the principal. "Chancellor, he'll make Duel Academy proud. Trust me."
"Actually, if I may..." Banner interrupted. "One student came to me the other day and suggested this to me, and I think we should consider Jason Hutchins a possible candidate as well."
Anais pressed back to her seat at the suggestion. "Whoever suggested that?"
"Yes! Who came to you with that idea?!" Crowler exclaimed.
"They wanted me to keep it confidential, but they were seem to have faith in Jason's abilities."
"Hm, I can sympathize," Sheppard said. "He did managed to win against the top Card Professor, among other duelist."
"I cannot help but notice that the one thing the two have in common besides being in Slifer Red is that they both use Elemental Heroes," Anais said.
"It would be interesting to see them duel each other for a change. We can have a duel-off to see who gets to represent us; unless someone has other suggestions..."
Meanwhile, Crowler was gritting his teeth at the thought of someone from Slifer Red representing the event. 'Those Slifer Slackers! Everytime one of those rejects do well, they make me look bad, like with the Paradox Brothers! Or with Bandit Keith! I can't even get that big-nosed lumox expelled! There has to be someone else...' "Wait! Of course, Bastion Misawa! He should represent us!"
"Bastion?" Sheppard asked, intrigued.
"Oh yes!" Crowler climbed onto the tabled and scrabbled towards the principal, "He's far more qualified. He's scored the best on the written exams of all new applicants and his dueling and grades are remarkable," he reached the principal and leaned over. "It should be him!"
Sheppard backed away a little before he replied. "Well, we can make it a battle-royale for the spot."
"Chancellor, if I may!" Anais interrupted. "Perhaps it would be better if we made this a bracket-style tournament, with a forth nominee." in reality she would rather have an orderly tournament instead of a discorded free-for-all.
"Anyone on your mind?" Sheppard asked.
After sneaking into the school and dodging several students and staff, he managed to find the boy's locker room and rummaged through the first locker he found. He smirked when he found a large Slifer Red blazer. "Gotta blend in somehow..."
"Huh? A School Duel?" Jason asked, sitting across Chakra at the table in the store.
"Please don't tell you don't know about it," Chakra said, "It's the biggest event in Duel Academy. And this year we're competing against North Academy."
"There's a Duel Academy like this one?"
"Okay..." Chakra sighed, "Look just as there's a Duel Academy here in Japan, there are others stationed on the four corners or the globe. Those are North, West, East and South Academies. You follow me?"
"Yeah, so did the others duel in the School Duel like North Academy?"
"It's kind of complicated. You see, each year the four academies of the North, West, East and South choose a candidate from each academy to duel each other to see who gets to represent their school to play against ours. And this year it's North Academy's turn."
"So who represents here?"
"Well...how would you feel if you represent Duel Academy this year?"
Jason slightly jumped back against his seat when hearing that. "Um, me...? I don't know about that."
"Are you afraid you'd lose?" Chakra asked. Jason didn't respond and just looked away, "I know, everyone would be counting on you and you don't want to disappoint them, right?"
"I just don't know if I'm ready for that. I don't think they'd want me to represent them, anyway."
"What if you prove them wrong? If people know how capable you are in dueling, wouldn't that mean they would respect you?"
"I guess so. But there's a lot of students here and it could take a long time."
"I guess it will. But it's never too late to start. How about it?"
Jason weighed his options. If he loses against a stronger duelists, he's only make himself look worse. Dueling someone more of his level wouldn't help any. Maybe showing the others he's not some weak Slifer is the best idea. It's better late than never. "Maybe a duel won't hurt."
Chakra smiled at his answer, "Well then, let's get started."
Now in disguise, the stranger from overseas wandered aimlessly in the halls of the school. As he walked on, he saw a few obelisk student coming his way and smiled, "Hey, fellow duelist! What's shakin' around here-"
"Out of the way, you Slifer Slime," one of them shoved him aside and kept walking.
"Hey..." he called to the obelisk, but they ignored him. He decided to try again when he saw a yellow student approaching, "Hey, how's it going-"
"Beat it, Slifer Sludge!" the yellow student hissed and pushed him as he went on.
"What is going on here?" the man shook his head, "Why wouldn't anyone talk to me?"
"Hey!"
He turned and saw a student in red with brown and bronze hair and brown eyes, among two other students, "Oh... uh, hey..."
The boy looked him over and smiled, "You're old. How can you be a Slifer?" the stranger winched at the questioning remark. Then Jaden grinned and slapped him on the back, "Hey, no worries, it cool. We totally understand! It just took you a while to get accepted here! Don't be ashamed, old timer! Are you Jason's new roommate?"
'Jason? Who's that...?' the stranger wondered, trying to make something up, "Uh, yeah, I'm his new roommate! He just doesn't know it yet..."
"I can help you with that! Let's go find 'im!" Jaden ran off pulling the stranger with him, with Syrus and Chumley trying to catch up.
'Not running...' Chumley huffed.
They went as far as to see a crowd standing around a bulletin on the screen. When they got closer, they saw the announcement:
PARTICIPANT'S IN TODAY'S SKILLS LESSON:
Obelisk Blue's 1st Year Jasmine
VS.
Slifer Red's 1st Year Jason Hutchins
Jaden lead the way back outside, where a crowd of students stood in the circle. When they pushed through they found both the Obelisk and Slifers in the center with their duel-disks strapped on.
"In today's skills lesson, at the suggestion of...some Slifer...we will be holding an extracurricular duel! That's why today's Skills Lesson will be between Jasmine from Obelisk Blue and Slifer Red's...well, doesn't matter. Let the duel begin!"
"So Jason arranged it?" Syus wondered, "I wonder why?"
"To practice." The Slifers turned to see Chakra standing beside them, "With the duel-off coming up, he'll want to be prepared for it.
"You went out of the way to set this up?" Jasmine said to the Slifer, "I don't know whether to be flattered or feel sorry for you."
"By the way, be sure to duel like your grade depends on it," Crowler announced, "Because it does!"
Both duelists activated their duel-disks and drew their starting hand.
"DUEL!"
Jasmine: 4000
Jason: 4000
"I'll start thing off," Jasmine drew her sixth card, "I summon (1) Harpie Channeler(4/ATK: 1400/DEF: 1300) in DEF mode!" a black-feathered harpie with styled red hair appeared with a staff in one of her talons (DEF: 1300), "Next I activate the field-spell Harpies' Hunting Ground!" after the spell was played, five stone pillars rose behind Jasmine, the far left one in which Harpie Channeler flew up and perched herself on, "And when this card's out, all winged-beasts on the field gain an extra 200 points!"
Harpie Channeler: (ATK: 1600/DEF: 1500)
"Next I activate the continuous-spell Hysteric Sign to add an Elegant Egotist to my hand!" Jasmine showed her opponent the card before shuffling her deck and adding it to her hand, "And activate Harpie Channeler's ability: by discarding one of my harpie cards in my hand to the graveyard, I can special-summon a Harpie monster from my deck! And the monster I choose to summon will be the queen of the harpies herself, (2) Harpie Queen(4/ATK: 1900/DEF: 1200)!" raising her staff a whirlwind of black feathers formed over the field and dispersed to reveal a taller, more mature harpie, this one with white wings and teal hair up in a ponytail (DEF: 1400), "And when a harpie monster is summoned on Harpies' Hunting Ground, they destroy one spell/trap card on the field," Harpie Queen shredded Jasmine's Hysteric Sign before perching herself on the center pillar; a move Jason couldn't help but notice.
'But why did she destroy her own card...?' the Slifer wondered.
"I place once card face-down on the field, and activate the spell card Elegant Egotist! With a Harpie Lady on my field, I can special-summon Harpie Lady Sisters from my deck!" from Harpie Queen, three additional harpies formed from behind her (DEF: 2300), "And as soon as they appear, another card in the spell/trap card zone is destroyed!" the lead harpie with long red hair dove down and pierced the reverse-card with her lower talons.
"But you're just destroying your own cards!" Jason said.
"That's because I have cards that are actually worth destroying, this one being my Dark Coffin trap," When the Harpie sister pulled away, a stone coffin rose from it, "because when it's destroyed by a card-effect, you have to make a choice; to either destroy one of your monsters, or discard one random card from your hand. And since you don't have any monsters out..." the coffin opened up and a dark shadow jumped out of it that shot at Jason's hand. Jason got the message and discarded his Waboku card.
"C'mon, Jasmine! Give us another in over those slifers!" one of the obelisks shouted, with the others cheering her on.
"Finally I place two cards face-down on the field!" three reverse-cards appeared, "And before the end of my turn, the effect of my Hysteric Party activates. It allows me to add up to three Harpie cards from my deck to my hand. And there's more. Remember the card I sent to the graveyard for Harpie Channeler's effect? It happens to be another Hysteric Sign. So that's another three card from my deck!" Jasmine restored her hand to six cards.
"It's my turn," Jason drew his sixth card, "I activate the magic card, A Hero Lives! When there are no monsters on my field, I can pay half my life-points and special-summon a level-4-or-lower Elemental Hero from my deck, and I summon Elemental Hero Stratos!" the jetpack-wearing hero appeared (ATK: 1800).
Jasmine: 4000
Jason: 2000
"And when Stratos is summoned, I can add another Elemental Hero from my deck to my hand!" Jason revealed Elemental Hero Heat before shuffling his deck again, "Next, I activate Polymerization and send Elemental Heroes Ocean and Woodsman from my hand to the graveyard in order to fusion-summon Elemental Hero Absolute Zero!" the two heroes merged and formed the armored ice hero (ATK: 2500), "Next I summon Elemental Hero Heat in ATK mode!" the fire-type hero appeared (ATK: 1600), "And he gains 200 ATK points for each Elemental Hero on my field (ATK: 2000)! Elemental Hero Absolute Zero, attack Harpie Channeler!" Absolute Zero charged towards the Harpie Channeler.
"You just fell into my trap! Activating Aqua Chorus and Mirror Wall!" Jasmine opened her reverse-cards, both continuous-trap cards. A wall of crystal shards shot of from the ground and rose to heights even higher than the pillars, where Absolute Zero's attack was met with the walls surface, not even being scratched.
Elemental Hero Absolute Zero: (ATK: 1250)
"What just happened?!" Jason gasped.
"What just happened is my Mirror Wall trap," Jasmine exclaimed, "And monster you use to attack triggers the trap, summoning a wall that absorbs half you monsters ATK points. So now your Absolute Zero is weaker than my Harpies; especially when I have Aqua Chorus face-up on my field. It adds 500 ATK and DEF points to my monsters when they share the same name."
"Because they all have the word 'Harpie' in it?"
"Close, but that's not what I meant. Certain Harpies share a very special ability, giving then the title 'Harpie Lady' while on the field or in the graveyard. So Harpie Channeler and Harpie Queen are now both Harpie Ladies!"
Harpie Channeler: (ATK: 2100/DEF: 2000)
Harpie Queen: (ATK: 2600/DEF: 1900)
"Now take the difference between your monsters ATK points and Harpie Lady Sisters' DEF points!"
Jasmine: 4000
Jason: 1250
"I activate the Rain of Mercy magic card!" Jason said, "This increases both our life-points by 1000!"
Jasmine: 5000
Jason: 2250
"I end my turn."
"Then it's my turn," Jasmine drew her next card, "And during my standby-phase, I send Mirror Wall to the graveyard," the continuous-trap vanished, "It's time we brought this duel to a close. Remember the cards I added to my hand?" she pulled a card from her hand to show to Jason, "This is one of them. I activate the spell known as Harpie Lady Phoenix Formation!" right after the spell was inserted, the harpies launched themselves into the sky, "Since there's at least three Harpie Lady or Harpy Lady Sisters, I can activate this spell! It destroys a monster for each Harpie that I have and then you take damage equal to original ATK points of the strongest monster among them!" the flock of harpies formed in a v-formation and became engulfed in blue fire in the form of a giant bird.
Jason stared at the phoenix and then at Absolute Zero, "But..."
"Harpie Lady Phoenix, incinerate!" Jasmine's phoenix let out an ear-piercing screech and made a dive against Jason's field, before it burst into a sea of flames on contact, "First it destroys your monsters!" the intense white flames obliterated Jason's Elemental Heroes, "Then you take Absolute Zero's ATK points as damage! That's 2500!" Jason shielded himself to no avail as the flames swirled over and around him, only burning out when the last of his life-points dropped to rock bottom.
Jasmine: 5000
Jason: 0
"An the winner of this duel, by flawless victory, is Jasmine from Obelisk Blue!" Crowler announced, "As if there were any doubt..."
Jasmine deactivated her duel-disk and stared down at Jason, who had his head lowered and was on his knees, "I would say it's a good game, but let's not kid ourselves." she turned and left with the crowd dissipating.
"I can't believe that duel ended so quickly."
"I can. What else do you expect from a Slifer?"
"I guess winning against Bandit Keith really was a fluke after all."
"What a croc! And to think I almost have respect for him!"
"Guess it's true; one a Slifer Slacker always a Slifer Slacker."
With the crowd gone, Jaden and the other three Slifers went with Chakra to Jason, "Talk about having rotten luck," Jaden said, "I really thought you actually stood a chance at this one."
"It's my fault," Chakra said, "I was the one who talked him into it. I didn't think he'd lose this bad."
"I guess that practice duel for the duel-off backfired." Syrus said.
"Duel-Off?" Jason lift his head, "what are you talking about?"
"You must've been out of class when Professor Banner made the announcement!" Chumley said, "There's gonna be a duel tournament to see who gets to represent Duel Academy in the School Duel! And the students dueling are you, Jaden, Bastion and-"
"Chumley!" Chakra snapped at the older Slifer, "I think Jason's gone through enough today. Maybe we should call it a day and worry about that later."
A ringing soon got their attention which came from Jason's pocket, and he took out his PDA to find a call waiting on it. He answered it to see Anais on video.
"Jason Hutchins, you are to report to the school's duel-arena in ten minutes for an extracurricular practical exam. Failure to do so will result in an automatic failing grade." the video turned off there.
"Well, so much for calling it a day." Chumley muttered.
"And Jason still looks out of it from that last duel," Jaden said, "Talk about bad timing."
"But what is he gonna do?" Syrus asked, "You heard her, skipping out will just add another bad mark to his record!"
"I guess there's no way out of it," Chakra said, and knelt down to Jason, "Listen, that was just one duel. It's not the end of the world that you lost."
"Even though it's the same as flunking a test?" Chumley added; Chakra shot a glare at him and caused him to stay quiet.
"Jason, do you think you can do one more for the day?" Chakra asked.
"Did you tell them to put me in that tournament?" Jason asked Chakra, not looking at the Obelisk.
"What? Look, I wanted to tell you when the time was right, but I didn't want you to feel any pressure before then. I wanted to build some confidence in you, but I guess I messed that up. How about we forget about that for now. Let's just go to the arena and get it over with, okay?"
"...Alright." Jason stood up.
"Thanks. Let's get going."
'Ugh, I'm getting nowhere fast being dragged around with these kids,' the man groaned, 'But then again, they could be my best chance at getting this story...' with that he followed the Obelisk and the Slifers back to the school building.
With a couple of minutes to spare, Jason managed to enter the arena floor with Anais waiting on the opposite side.
"I'm pleased you decided to show up, Mister Hutchins," the disciplinarian greeted, "I hope you came prepared."
"Before we begin, are there any questions you would like answered?"
"Yes, ma'am," Jason said, "Am I really going to be graded on this?"
"Yes, you are. How well you do on this test will depend on how well you perform. Whether you win or lose will not affect your final score as much as how well you respond to the situation, Will that be all, or do you have more questions?" Jason shook his head, "Good. Then no more questions. Now to decide who goes first," Anais pulled out a coin and tossed it up, "Call it."
"Uh, heads!" The coin fell to the ground.
"Tails. So I will go first. Let's begin the extracurricular duel," the staff Anais held morphed into the duel-disk podium she had used before. After equipping her dueling platform on it, she drew her starting hand; Jason meanwhile activating his duel-disk and drawing his own, "And begin."
Anais: 4000
Jason: 4000
"As I said before, I will start things off," Anais drew her first card, "First I activate the continuous-spell card Senet Switch," the card came to life on her left-most spell/trap zone, where the field before then briefly lit with a 4x5 grid.
"Senet Switch? I didn't think she'd use that card." Syrus said.
"Yeah, ditto," Chumley agreed, "I mean what's the point of moving cards around?"
"Next I summon (4) Giant Rat(4/ATK: 1400/DEF: 1450) in DEF mode," a giant, beady-eyed rat appeared in the center monster zone (DEF: 1450), "Finally I place one card face-down, and end my turn." the reverse-card appeared in the center spell/trap zone.
"It's my turn," Jason drew her next card, "I summon Elemental Hero Ocean in ATK mode," the merman hero appeared in the center monster zone (ATK: 1500), "Attack her giant rat!" Ocean cut the rat down with his trident.
"When Giant Rat is destroyed in battle, I'm allowed to special-summon an earth-attribute monster with 1500 or less ATK points to the field in ATK mode. And the monster I choose is (6) Rampaging Rhynos(3/ATK: 1500/DEF: 1500), replacing my rat in my central column," a petite, man-like rhinoceros in blue-and-gold armor appeared in the same spot the rat used to be (ATK: 1500).
"I place one card face-down and end my turn." a reverse-card appeared behind the monster.
"It's my turn," Anais drew her next card, "I attack with Rampaging Rhyno and activate its ability," Rhynos raised its battle-axe as a gold aura surrounded him, "When it battles in the same column as the monster it attacks, it gains 500 ATK points during the damage-step (ATK: 2000). Now Attack his Elemental Hero!" Rhynos charged forth before it found itself bound by a chained weapon held by Ocean.
"I activate my trap card Kunai with Chain!" Jason revealed his reverse-card, and Ocean's new weapon bound the rhino in its chains (DEF: 500), "It switches your monster to DEF mode and increases Ocean's ATK points by 500 (ATK: 2000)!"
"I activate the effect of Senet Switch," Anais said, "Once per turn, I can move one of my monsters to an unoccupied monster card zone. So I move Rampaging Rhynos one space to the right," the bound Rhynos slid over one space to Anais' inner-right column, "Then I summon (5) Winged Rhynos(4/ATK: 1800/DEF: 500) in the central column," a man-like rhino in silver-plated armor, with legs and wings of a bird, appeared in Rampaging Rhynos' previous spot, in front of Anais' reverse-card (DEF: 500), "That ends my turn."
"It's my turn," Jason drew his next card, "I summon Element Saurus in ATK mode," the bronze-scaled dinosaur appeared to the left of Ocean (ATK: 1500), "Then I equip it with Scroll of Enchantment and change its attribute to EARTH, which allows it to negate the effects of any monster it destroys. Element Saurus, attack Winged Rhinos!" the dinosaur stomped towards the winged monster.
"I activate my trap, Blasting Fuse," Anais opened the reverse-card she placed in the center, "When there are three more cards in the same column where Blasting Fuse is activated, then those cards are destroyed."
"She just sacrificed her monster to destroy Jason's Elemental Hero!" Syrus said.
"I don't think a sacrifice is what Anais has in mind for Winged Rhynos." Chakra corrected.
"I activate Winged Rhynos' ability: when a trap card is activated, I can return Winged Rhynos from the field back to my hand," Winged Rhynos stretched its wings and hovered off the field and soon, back into Anais' hand. Jason looked on helplessly as a series of explosions blasted across the column, destroying Ocean and Kunai with Chain, this freeing Rhynos of its bindings.
"You see, this is why Winged Rhynos was chosen to become bait," Chakra said, "its special-ability allows it to move out of the line of fire from Blasting Fuse."
"I end my turn," Jason gloomed.
"It's my turn," Anais drew her next card, "I switch Rampaging Rhynos to ATK mode, and summon (7) Alien Infiltrator(2/ATK: 800/DEF: 500) to my center column, on the offensive as well," a small, grey alien with tentacle-like arm appeared in the center spot (ATK: 800), "Next, I switch Rampaging Rhynos' battle-position and attack your Element Saurus; and since your monster is in the same column as Rampaging Rhynos, my monster gains 500 ATK points during the damage-step (ATK: 2000)," Rampaging Rhynos destroyed the dinosaur with a swing of its axe.
Anais: 4000
Jason: 3500
"Next, I attack you directly with Alien Infiltrator," the alien lashed out at Jason with its tendril arms.
Anais: 4000
Jason: 2700
"I place one card face-down and end my turn," Anais set her card on her right-most field.
"It's my turn..." Jason muttered and drew his next card, "I set one monster in DEF mode," a reversed monster appeared in the central field, "I place one card face-down and end my turn." a reverse-card appeared behind the monster.
"It's my turn," Anais drew her next card, "I activate Senet Switch's effect and move Alien Infiltrator one space to the left," the alien moved to Anais' inner-left column, "Next, I attack with Rampaging Rhynos," the rhino destroyed the sent card, which was revealed as Phantom Magician.
"When Phantom Magician is destroyed in battle, I can special-summon an Elemental Hero monster from my deck with 1000 or less ATK points from my deck. I summon Elemental Hero Woodsman in DEF mode," the wood-limbed hero appeared in Phantom Magician's place (DEF: 2000).
"I attack with Alien Infiltrator," the alien leap over Woodsman and gave another lashing at Jason.
Anais: 4000
Jason: 1900
"Wait, did I see that right? Jason still has a monster on the field!" Jaden gasped.
"When Alien Infiltrator stands in a column with no cards on the opponent's space, it can attack directly," Anais explained.
'I think I understand now...' Jason silently anguished, 'Those cards Anais is using allows them to do certain stuff when they're in a certain space...'
"Now I activate the continuous-spell card Ground Collapse. With this, two of your monster card zones are off-limits, meaning you cannot summon any monster in that space," she placed her card in her center spell/trap zone, and the two spaces between Elemental Hero Woodsman, the inner-left and inner-right spots, lit up, showing that they are off-limits, "With that, I end my turn."
"It's my turn," Jason drew his next card, 'My Woodsman can handle that rhino, but that alien can attack me directly when it's on an empty line across. And with that Senet Switch, she can move it to any spot she wants to! But if I can destroy it...' "I activate Woodsman's effect and add Polymerization from my deck to my hand," the fusion card removed from his deck, "Next I activate Polymerization and use Elemental Heroes Heat and Voltic to summon Elemental Hero Nova Master!" the two heroes from Jason's hand merged into the armored fire hero, who was placed in Jason's left-most field (ATK: 2600), "Nova Master, attack Alien Infiltrator!" Nova Master charged towards the alien.
"I activate the trap card Gravity Bind," Anais opened a continuous-trap card, and a grid-like barrier formed over the field that pressed Nova Master down to the floor where he dropped, "As long as this card is on the field, no monsters higher than level-3 can attack."
"I place one card face-down and end my turn," Jason sighed and set his card in his inner-right spell/trap zone parallel to Alien Infiltrator.
"It's my turn," Anais drew her next card, "I summon (5) Numbing Grub of the Ice Barrier(4/ATK: 1300/DEF: 1800) in DEF mode," a small, white grub worm appeared in her center field (DEF: 1800), "And when this monster is normal-summoned, one of your monster-card zones become off-limits," the grub spewed out an icy substance onto Jason's only remaining unoccupied monster zone, which then lit up, "Next, I activate Senet Switch and move Alien Infiltrator three spaces to the left," the alien moved itself to her far left, "Now I will attack you directly with Alien Infiltrator," the alien lashed out at the Slifer.
Anais: 4000
Jason: 1100
"I place one card face-down and end my turn," Anais set the card in her inner left zone.
"Of all the strategies I've seen here, I've never seen anything as wierd as this," Chumley said, "And I should know!"
"Yeah, but it works!" Syrus said.
"You said it, moving her monsters around and blocking off Jason's spaces, where did she come up with that idea?" Jaden wondered.
"It's my turn," Jason drew his next card, "I activate Woodsman's effect and add Polymerization back to my hand. Next, I place 2 cards face-down and end my turn," he set the two cards in his inner-left and far-right spell/trap zones, 'Okay, I may not be able to attack, but I did manage to put a card in each of my columns, so Alien Infiltrator can't get to my life-points...'
"It's my turn," Anais drew her next card, "I sacrifice Rampaging Rhynos and Alien Infiltrator to summon (8) Storm Shooter(7/ATK: 2300/DEF: 500)," the two monster vanished and was replaced by a man-shaped harpie with green feathers on its wings and over its head forming a crown. The avian was placed on Anais' far-right field in front of Nova Master (ATK: 2300), "Next I activate Storm Shooter's ability, which allows me to remove a card from the same column as this monster and return it to the hand," Storm Shooter beat its wings and sent a whirlwind towards Nova Master.
"I activate my trap card Spiritual Fire Art!" Jason opened his center reverse-card, "by releasing a fire-attribute monster on my field, its ATK points are inflicted to the opponent's life-points!" Nova Master ignited in an aura of flame and flew over Storm Shooter before diving into Anais.
Anais: 1400
Jason: 1100
"Since he can't attack with Gravity Bind on the field, he sacrificed Nova Master to land a direct attack," Chakra said, "It's a good move as usual, but still..."
"Next I activate the spell Monster Reborn; and with it I summon Alien Infiltrator back to the field in ATK position," Alien Infiltrator returned in its previous position, "Next I activate Senet Switch to move Storm Shooter three spaces to the left," Storm Shooter was placed on the inner-left monster zone.
'So since she can only use Senet Switch with one monster per turn, she she has to wait for later to put that alien on a different spot,' Jason realized, 'If I can get a card on that column on my next turn, that could buy me enough time...'
"Next I activate Alien Infiltrator's ability, and move it four spaces to the right," Jason's heart sank as Alien Infiltrator moved to the far right, "And since you have no cards in this monster's column, Alien Infiltrator will attack you directly," the alien lashed out with its tendril arms.
"I activate my trap card, Windstorm of Etaqua!" Jason opened his inner-left reverse-card and a hurricane erupted against Storm Shooter (DEF: 500) and Alien Infiltrator (DEF: 500), "It changes the battle-position of every face-up monster on my opponent's field!"
"I switch Storm Shooter back to ATK position (ATK: 2300). Then I place one card face-down and end my turn," Anais set her card in her inner-right zone.
"It's my turn," Jason drew his next card, 'This could work...' "I summon Elemental Hero Knospe in ATK mode," the flowerbud hero appeared on his far-left field (ATK: 600), 'This monster can't be attacked while there's another Elemental Hero on my field, so Alien Infiltrator can't destroy it,' "And with her effect, I can attack you directly!" Knospe fired her projectile seeds.
"I activate the trap card, Spirit Barrier," Anais opened her reverse-card and a barrier formed around her protecting her form Knospe's attack, "As long as this card is face-up on the field, I cannot receive damage so long as there is a monster on my field."
"Then...I'll end my turn," Jason groaned.
"Hey Chakra, you seem to know alot about that Senet stuff," Jaden said, "Is there a secret on how to break that strategy?"
"Well...if you're facing a Senet deck, the field itself, this the duel itself, becomes a modified chessboard. Instead of just concerning yourself about your opponent's cards, you also have to pay attention to their position they're in."
"I'm glad I'm not in Jason shoes," Chumley admitted, "I'm no good at chess." the other two Slifers sympathized and admitted the same thing themselves.
"And just like chess it's best to think at least two steps ahead of your opponent," Chakra continued, "A Senet deck usually holds monsters with the ability to move spaces at will. And with cards that quarantine an opponent's spaces, it makes it more easier to meet the requirements for their additional effects."
"It's my turn," Anais drew her next card, "I move Alien Infiltrator one space to the left due to its ability," the alien moved to the inner-right space, "And since there are no cards in that column, Alien Infiltrator can attack you directly," the alien lashed out once again at Jason.
Anais: 1400
Jason: 300
"Next I activate Senet Switch to move Numbing Grub of the Ice Barrier two spaces to the left and then use Storm Shooter's ability to move it one space to the right," Numbing Grub moved to the far-left column and Storm Shooter the center, "I end my turn."
"So what's the trick for Jason?" Jaden asked.
"There's no specified trick against a strategy like this. I'm sure Jason has what he needs in his deck. All he has to do is think ahead of Anais."
"It's my turn," Jason drew his next card, "I activate my face-down card, Polymerization!" the far-right reverse-card opened, "I remove Elemental Heroes Knospe and Woodsman to fusion-summon Elemental Hero Gaia!" the two woodland heroes merged and became the armored earth hero, who appeared in the center column (ATK: 2200), "And when Gaia is summoned, the ATK points of an opponent's monster are cut in half, and then Gaia's ATK points increase by the amount taken!" Gaia pounded into the ground and sent forth a shockwave that hit Storm Shooter.
Storm Shooter: (ATK: 1150)
Elemental Hero Gaia: (ATK: 3350)
"Next I summon Elemental Hero Stratos in ATK mode!" the jetpack-wearing hero appeared on the far-left column (ATK: 1800), "And when Stratos is summoned, I can destroy one spell or trap card on the field for every other Elemental Hero monster on my field!" Stratos fired a pair of cyclones that ripped through Anais' trap card, "Elemental Hero Gaia, attack Storm Shooter!"
"Spirit Barrier's ability activates," Anais the barrier rose over her just before Storm Shooter was smashed against Gaia's attack, "And even though my monster in in ATK mode, it still protects me from all battle-damage."
"Elemental Hero Stratos, attack!" Stratos launched another cyclone and destroyed Alien Infiltrator, "I end my turn."
"Okay, this is it. If he can make it through the next turn, he can win this," Jaden hoped.
"So...what's stopping him?" Syrus asked.
"Well, for one thing, Anais was able to bring back her Alien Infiltrator from the graveyard a while back," Chakra said, "And Jason had just left himself open for its special attack. So if she manages to recover that monster a second time, I'm afraid there's nothing stopping her."
"It's my turn," Anais drew her next card, "I activate the spell card Monster Reincarnation. By discarding one card from my hand, I can return one monster from my graveyard to my hand," she replace one of the cards in her hand with the chosen monster, "Next I summon Alien Infiltrator to the field in ATK position," the small alien returned for the third time, in Anais' inner-right column (ATK: 800), "Next I activate the spell card Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy a spell or trap card on your field," her card came to life and summoned a cyclone coming towards Jason's only reverse-card.
"I activate the trap card Spiritual Wind Art!" Jason's reverse-card opened and Stratos flew towards the cyclone as a twister himself, holding it back, "By releasing a wind-attribute monster, I can return any card on the opponent's field to the bottom of their deck!" Stratos' cyclone finally pushed back and blew Alien Infiltrator off the field.
"I end my turn."
"So it wasn't just a bluff after all!" Jaden said, "It just needed the right card to be played with it!"
"And that means Jason has Checkmate," Chakra smirked.
"It's my turn," Jason drew his next card, "I activate Fusion Recovery to return Polymerization and a fusion-material monster from my graveyard to my hand. Next I summon Elemental Hero Ocean in ATK mode," the merman hero appeared for a second time in the center column (ATK: 1500), "Elemental Hero Gaia, attack!" Gaia destroyed the grub worm, "Elemental Hero Ocean, attack her directly!" Ocean swing his trident and cleaved into the opponent.
Anais: 0
Jason: 300
"So you managed to completely deplete my life-points. Not many has managed to do so with the strategy I had planned; and I've rarely take these cards out unless I feel like I need to. Is this your first time playing against Senet Switch?" Jason nodded, "Well, you were able to manage in an unfamiliar situation. However, you've won with a score away from losing, so defense was lackluster. On the other hand, you were able to adapt to the situation presented to you; thinking strategically and holding a defensive line against the threat, albeit immediate. So as your final score...you've passed; barely. You're free to go." as Anais left Jason at the stage, Chakra and the others gathered around him.
"So, you won your duel," Chakra said, "I think that evens out one-to-one. How do you feel?"
"I don't know," Jason shrugged, looking away, "I don't feel any different."
"You're still bummed about what happened outside?" Chumley asked, "I'd feel down too but I'd always feel better after I try again."
"He's right," Jaden said, "If first you don't succeed, get back up and try again."
"And isn't that what you did, Jason?" Chakra asked, "Now that you redeemed yourself, doesn't that make you feel a little better?"
The loss he was given by Jasmine still bothered him. But the fact that he won against Anais seemed to have balanced it out. In a way, his victory here may have gave him some degree of peace, "I guess...I feel a little better."
"I'm glad to hear that," Chakra smiled, "So you wanna call it a day and head back to the dorms?"
"Okay," Jason nodded.
'Well, that's another pointless duel out of the way,' the man thought as he watched the students gathered at the arena, 'Maybe now they'll give me space so I can find that scoop,' he the turned for the door to leave...
"Hey, old-timer!" the man flinched as he stopped at Jaden's call, "You know, I was so caught up in the action I forgot to introduce you!" Jaden moved aside from the man's view on Jason, "Hey, Jason! This is your new roommate! Um...what's your name?"
The man stared at the black-haired Slifer who stared back with a blank expression, 'Great. Guess I'll have to sit around with these kids a bit longer...' he gave him a reluctant grin, "Eh, nice to meet ya!"
DUEL-MON DATABASE
(1) Harpie Channeler
Stats: [Winged-Beast/Effect] Level 4 ATK/1400 DEF/1300
Attribute: WIND
Effect: You can discard 1 "Harpie" card; Special Summon 1 "Harpie" monsterfrom your Deck in face-up Defense Position, except "Harpie Channeler". You can only use this effect of "Harpie Channeler" once per turn. While you control a Dragon-Type monster, this card's Level becomes 7. This card's name becomes "Harpie Lady" while it is on the field or in the Graveyard.
(2) Harpie Queen
Stats: [Winged-Beast/Effect] Level 4 ATK/1900 DEF/1200
Attribute: WIND
Effect: You can discard this card to the Graveyard; add 1 "Harpies' Hunting Ground" from your Deck to your hand. This card's name becomes "Harpie Lady" while it is on the field or in the Graveyard.
(3) Giant Rat
Stats: [Beast/Effect] Level 4 ATK/1400 DEF/1450
Attribute: EARTH
Effect: When this card is destroyed by battle and sent to the Graveyard: You can Special Summon 1 EARTH monster with 1500 or less ATK from your Deck, in Attack Position.
(4) Numbing Grub of the Ice Barrier
Stats: [Aqua/Effect] Level 4 ATK/1300 DEF/1800
Attribute: WATER
Effect: When this card is Normal Summoned, select 1 unused Monster Card Zone. While this card is face-up on the field, that selected Monster Card Zone cannot be used.
(5) Winged Rhynos
Stats: [Beast-Warrior/Effect] Level 4 ATK/1800 DEF/500
Attribute: WIND
Effect: During either player's turn, when a Trap Card is activated (except during the Damage Step): You can return this face-up card from the field to the hand.
(6) Rampaging Rhynos
Stats: [Beast-Warrior/Effect] Level 3 ATK/1500 DEF/500
Attribute: EARTH
Effect: Once per turn, this card can move to an adjacent unoccupied Monster Card Zone. If this card attacks the monster in its same column, this card gains 500 ATK during the Damage Step.
(7) Alien Infiltrator
Stats: [Reptile/Effect] Level 2 ATK/800 DEF/500
Attribute: EARTH
Effect: Once per turn, this card can move to an adjacent unoccupied Monster Card Zone. If no Spell, Trap or Monster Card on your opponent's side of the field is in the same column as this card, it can attack your opponent directly.
(8) Storm Shooter
Stats: [Winged-Beast/Effect] Level 7 ATK/2300 DEF/500
Attribute: WIND
Effect: Once per turn, you can select and activate 1 of these effects: ● Move this card to an adjacent unoccupied Monster Card Zone. ● Return 1 Spell,Trap or Monster Card on your opponent's side of the field in the same column as this card to its owner's hand.
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