AJ: I'll start my next chapter on my snow day. Don't expect to finish, however.
Bil: Hurry up and start typing. Less talk-y, more type-y.
AJ: Alright, alright…sheesh, you're like my mother.
Chapter 24: FratricideSho, Kenzan, Asuka, Fubuki, Areka, Momoe, Junko, and Misawa all looked on as the two duelists began their duel. Manjoume and Saiou were on the other side of the room, watching the duel. Manjoume still scowled from the punch Judai gave him.
"This is just so unnecessary," Sho said. "Aniki shouldn't have to duel like this."
"I'm more worried about Jaycen's deck," Misawa announced. "What kind of deck will he be using?"
"He used a machine deck against me, so it will probably be that," Fubuki said. "But we can't be sure till his turn comes."
"It doesn't matter!" Asuka told them. "Judai hasn't lost when it mattered before. He won't start now."
Manjoume began chuckling. The group turned and looked at the Society's last duelist. "What's so funny?" Kenzan demanded.
"You mean you don't know?" Manjoume asked haughtily. "Look at Judai. Why would he wear dueling gloves and a jean jacket when he hasn't before?"
"What do you mean?" Areka demanded.
"I mean that he still hasn't fully recovered from his burns from his last duel," Manjoume informed them.
"What?" Asuka inquired.
"He's hoping to cover up his burns and hide them from his opponent, hoping that it will give him some psychological edge," Manjoume continued. He smirked and licked his lips. "But looking at his opponent, I doubt it will."
Judai stood across from his brother, scowling at his opponent. 'What kind of deck will he be using?' the youth thought. 'Will he still use his old Machine deck, or will it be something else. He saw my duel so he knows I'm using the Elemental Heroes. Man, I wish he'd give me some hint.'
Jaycen glared back at Judai, before smirking and blowing Judai's glower aside. "Are you going first, or shall I?" Jaycen scoffed.
This snapped Judai out of his train of thought. "Draw!" he called. 'Since I don't know what kind of deck he'll be using, I'll start out on the defensive,' the boy thought.
"I'll summon Elemental Hero Avian, in defense mode! Then I'll place two cards facedown, and leave it there!" Judai declared.
"Pathetic," Jaycen said.
"What's that?" Judai shouted, annoyed.
"Your move," Jaycen stated. "You go defensive just because you haven't seen what kind of deck I'm using. I'll give you a hint; the deck I'm using will help to make you remember the old days. This deck is the deck that sent so many others down to the depths of hell. How ironic that's its next target will be you!"
"No way…" Judai whispered. His eyes widened. "How did you…?"
"I draw!" Jaycen tore a card from his deck, and looked at it. "I activate the Field Spell, Villain's Lair!" Shooting up from the ground came a dark shaft. All around, there were platforms and catwalks. The whole scenery let out a cold, distinct aura.
"Remember this card, little brother?" Jaycen called mockingly. "This is the spell you used so many times against so many opponents. As you know, it raises the attack and defense of all monsters with Arch Villain in their name by 300 points! It saved you time and again, up until our last duel! Do you think you can defeat your old deck, Judai?" Jaycen burst into laughter.
"Is that your turn?" Judai angrily asked.
"Hardly," Jaycen stated trough his mirth. "I now summon Arch Villain Temptress (1000/800), in attack mode!" Judai's brow furrowed, as a woman clothed in blue veils and appeared. The creature bore a blue veil over most of her face. The hologram displayed black hair and icy blue eyes. "I see you remember this card, too. As long as Villain's Lair is on the field, this card can switch the battle position of one face up monster on the field! I'll switch your Avian into attack mode!" Avian slowly stood up into an attack position.
" And, because of Villain's Lair, her attack increases to 1300! Now, Temptress, show Avian what happens when you trust your opponent! Attack him!" Temptress sped over to Avian, suddenly drawing a dagger out of the back of her clothing, and stabbing the monster through the heart. Judai roared in pain, as he was charged with red lightening from the black shackles.
"Aniki!" Sho and Kenzan yelled.
"Judai!" Asuka and the rest called.
Judai staggered for a moment. He picked his head up, glaring at his opponent. "I…I activate my trap card, Hero Signal!" Judai grunted. "With this, I can special summon one Elemental Hero with a level of four or lower! I'll special summon Burstinatrix, in attack mode!"
"How's that for a wake-up call, hmm?" Jaycen stated as he began laughing again. Judai winced as the he felt the electricity subside, though it seared his already pained burns. "It appears those burns you were trying to cover from my sight couldn't hold back that electricity from those shackles," the elder brother mocked.
"Just finish your turn," Judai stated as firmly as he could.
"Hmph, fine, I'll set a card. Go ahead, little bro."
"Good, Draw!" Judai looked at his card, and grinned. "I'll send that damage back at you and more, right here!"
"Tch, this I got to see," Jaycen scoffed at his younger sibling.
"You asked for it, scumbag!" Judai spoke with his eager smirk. "I activate The Warrior Returning Alive! This card allows me to bring one Warrior-type monster back from my graveyard to my hand! I bring back Avian! Now, I activate Polymerization! I fuse together Elemental Heroes Avian in my hand with Burstinatrix on my field to summon Elemental Hero Flame Wingman!"
The two heroes joined together, and a ball of light formed around them. When the light faded, the Judai's favorite green, black, and red hero descended to the ground. Judai's smirk grew bigger.
To Judai's surprise, Jaycen also smirked. Judai's smirk melted away into a frown. He then noticed Jaycen's facedown card. 'That card must be a way to destroy or weaken my monster. I should probably stall for a turn or two; maybe I'll be able to draw it with another monster.'
"You've got to be kidding me," Jaycen said as he began laughing heartily.
"What's so funny?" Judai growled, getting very annoyed with his elder's cocky attitude.
"You're going to be defensive again! I knew you became soft and instinctive in your time away from dueling, but never would I thought you to be gutless!" Jaycen mocked.
"Gutless!?" Judai flared. "I'll show you gutless! Wingman, attack his Temptress! Infernal Rage!" Judai ordered.
"No, it's a trick!" Fubuki yelled.
"He's goading you into an attack!" Misawa told the boy.
"It's too late, he's already declared his move," Manjoume sneered. His grin grew wider.
The hero leapt into the air and aimed his dragon-arm at Temptress. A stream of fire spewed out of the lizard's mouth in Temptress's direction. 'He may have grown older, and he may have tempered down, but his anger is still easily drawn out,' Jaycen grinned as he mulled over the thought. 'Yet more proof that he's enjoying this duel, whether he'll admit it or not. And if he's enjoying the duel, then he'll become closer to his old self. Then, only then, will he defeat me, and Saiou.'
He glanced to the side at Saiou, and quickly looked back at the duel. "I activate my facedown trap, Villain's Tripwire!" Judai's brow furrowed, and he grunted in dismay. "As you already know, this card can only be activated when an Arch Villain is attacked. Then your monster's attack is lowered by sum of the combined levels of our monsters times 100. Now, I know your math isn't up to par, so I'll help you out," Jaycen jeered. "Four, my monster's level, plus six, your Wingman's level, equals ten. I believe that is 1000 attack points down, if I'm not mistaken," Jaycen scoffed.
Wingman's attack was blasted with a black, evil aura, reducing the effectiveness of the attack to 1100. Temptress punched into the middle of the fireball, knocking the blast back into the hero's chest. The monster dropped to the ground in a giant ball of fire.
Judai howled in pain again, as more red electricity tore through his already battered body. His LP dropped down to 3500, but the small decrease in his score didn't reduce the anguish Judai found himself in. The lightening soon subsided, but the agony remained in the aftermath. Smoke rose from the scarred jacket of the youth. Beads of sweat gathered on Judai's forehead, as he breathed rapidly, in an attempt to soothe the physical pain his body was feeling.
'Excellent!' Jaycen thought. 'The look in his eyes; the sweat on his face; the heavy breathing; his will to survive is beginning to surface! That is the key to bring out his original self!'
"I end my turn," Judai gasped.
Jaycen smiled again. "Still believing in your friends now?" Judai's brow furrowed at the taunt. "I see they're helping you out, just standing over on the side, watching you. When did they ever do anything to save you, hmm? Who was the one who had to save everyone when the Seven Stars came? Wasn't it you who brought your girlfriend's brother back from his 'Darkness'? Who defeated Camilla? It wasn't Chronos, nor was it Kaiser. Who defeated Taniya to knock some sense into Misawa? When the chips were down, who defeated your revered Daitokuji? I believe your friends lost, and gave your Dorm Head leverage in your duel?"
Judai's glare became fiercer. "You keep my friends out of this. They've done more for me than you ever have!"
"Oh, you mean like allowing me to force you to come here and becoming bait for our duel?" Jaycen shot. Judai's frown became less wild at this last statement. "Ahh, touched a nerve did I?"
Judai thought this over for a few moments. "Don't listen to him, Aniki!" Sho called.
"We were trying to get rid of the Association while you were out!" Kenzan told him.
"Judai," Asuka began, "You know we wouldn't do anything to try to hurt you. We're your friends!"
Judai looked at his friends with a somewhat glazed look in his eyes. He shook his head, and glowered back at Jaycen. "You're just trying to play mind games! You're trying to divide and conquer!"
Jaycen frowned. "Then I'll prove it to you by force! Draw!" Jaycen looked at his cards. An evil gleam formed in his eyes. "I'll summon Arch Villain Sniper (300/500)!" Jaycen declared. A figure dressed in a black skintight full body suit appeared, wearing Infrared Goggles, and holding a long sniper rifle. "Thanks to Villain's Lair, he gains 300 more attack points! Plus this card can attack you directly! And finally, as long as Villain's Lair is on the field, he cannot be the target of an attack!" The figure disappeared in a flash somewhere in the scenery.
"Now, Temptress, attack him directly!" Temptress dashed across the field, pulling out the dagger hidden inside Temptress's skimpy outfit. She closed in on Judai.
"Trap Card, open! A Hero Emerges!" Judai declared with a grin. "Here's how it works, you choose one of my two cards in my hand, and if it is a monster, I can summon it! Otherwise, it goes to the graveyard. So, choose!"
Jaycen shook his head. "You go even so far as to rely on luck? How humiliating, that I have to face you as you are now."
"Quit stalling, and choose!" Judai demanded.
"Fine, the card on my right," Jaycen half-heartedly called.
"Congratulations, you chose E-Hero Clayman! I'll special summon him in defense mode!" Judai smiled.
"Awesome!" Areka called.
"Now, he can't attack Judai!" Momoe cheered.
"Hopefully, Judai can make a comeback off of this," Junko grinned.
"You guys are forgetting something," Fubuki told them, as the Obelisk frowned. They all looked at him.
A red dot appeared on Judai's forehead. "Your girlfriend's brother is right, Judai," the older brother informed him. "You're forgetting about my Sniper! Attack that fool directly!" A bang was heard, and a bullet passed through the center of Judai's head.
Again, red electricity ripped Judai's body to shreds. Again, Judai cried out in pain. And again, Judai's Life Points dipped slightly, this time by 600 to 2900. Asuka began to quiver in fear as her hands slowly rose to her mouth in reaction to her friend's torture. "This is just horrible," she finally breathed.
"Aniki hasn't even scraped Jaycen's Life Points yet," Sho worriedly stated.
"In a normal duel, I wouldn't count Judai out yet. But due to the fact this is a Death-match, not to mention he hasn't fully recovered from the Metsu Hadou, I don't know if Judai will hold out till then end, unless something drastically changes, very soon," Fubuki explained.
"I have to agree. So far the only thing that has happened has been Judai getting electrocuted and tortured. This isn't a duel, it's fratricide!" Misawa declared.
"I set one card. Turn end," Jaycen spoke.
Judai wobbled a bit from the unequivocal pain. "Judai, don't embarrass yourself anymore," Jaycen ordered. Judai picked his head up. "It seems your abilities have peaked. There is no way you could defeat Saiou and Manjoume over there, let alone me, as you are now. You should resign yourself to this fate; it's kill or be killed. If you keep dueling in an attempt to rescue both of us from death, you'll lose, and you'll die. Do you think you could face your friends on the other side, or watch them from your ghostly state, knowing you failed them?" Jaycen mockingly smirked at Judai.
'I need to think of a way out of this. But…can I do it, and rescue both of us at the same time?' Judai thought. His eyes immediately widened. 'No! I can't think like that! I have to rescue both of us…for myself, and for Jaycen. I may be down, but I ain't out yet!'
"It's my turn, Draw!" Judai tore a card out of his deck, praying it'll be something that would pull him out of his present predicament.
(Judai's Life Points 2900, Jaycen's Life Points 4000)
AJ: HELL'S YEAH, I'M PUMPED!!! That must've been my best chapter in a long time! Too bad it's a school night, or I'd begin the next one!
Bil: Even I gotta admit, that was one good chapter.
AJ: Oh yeah, a few more of those, and I'll be back in business! Stay tuned in for Chapter 25!