Yu-Gi-Oh! Eternal
A Fanfiction by neomage
(DISCLAIMER: Dueling madness continues! But as always, I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!)
CHAPTER 26 – The Demon, the Masks, and the Aliens
DUEL ACADEMY FOREST
JAN: 8000; VASHA: 6000; CALHOUN: 8000
As the three-way duel between Jan, Calhoun and Vasha continued in the forest, the stats were shown: Both Jan and Calhoun had an untouched 8000 life points apiece, while Vasha was trailing behind with 6000. Jan held four cards in hand; Vasha had three; Calhoun had two. On the field, Jan had Terrorking Archfiend in Attack Mode and also one other facedown card; Vasha had Nuvia the Wicked—its ATK reduced to 1600 via its effect—and Infinity Dark in Attack Mode, plus her Mask of the Accursed was equipped to Jan's Terrorking Archfiend, and she also had one card facedown; and Calhoun had one facedown monster that he'd just Tribute Set, plus two other cards facedown, and his "A" Cell Breeding Device magic card was still on the field as well.
It was now Jan's turn again, and he drew his next card—and suddenly he flinched as red energy surrounded his body.
JAN: 7200; VASHA: 6000; CALHOUN: 8000
"Most of my Archfiend monsters require a life point cost during each of my Standby Phases…Terrorking Archfiend's asking cost is 800 life points," Jan explained. "But I'm going to rectify that shortly, for now I play this Field Magic card…Pandemonium!"
Suddenly, the forest around them vanished—replaced with skulls, sacrificial altars, and a blood-red sky with lightning crashing here and there! "Now, as long as this card stays on the field, nobody has to pay any costs for Archfiend monsters," said Jan. "Plus, the fact that Pandemonium is now active will allow me to summon this guy: Archfiend General (ATK 2100, DEF 800)!" Then a second later, his new monster emerged, swinging its sword above his head and leveling both Vasha and Calhoun with a cold, piercing stare…and, per its own effect, Nuvia's ATK went down a little further to 1400. "All right, then…time to attack! And since I've already taken a shot at you, girl, it's your friend's turn! Go, Archfiend General—attack that guy's facedown monster!"
Raising his sword and bellowing a loud battle-cry, Archfiend General stampeded toward Calhoun's side of the field, intent on slicing his facedown monster apart—but suddenly Vasha yelled, "I don't think so! I activate my Trap card, Mask of Weakness!"
All at once, a blue-and-red mask with spikes protruding from it appeared over Archfiend General's face! "My Mask of Weakness reduces the ATK of one attacking monster by 700 points until the end of this turn," Vasha informed Jan—and just like that, the General's ATK sharply dropped to 1400!
"NO!" Jan shouted. But it was already too late—Archfiend General was slashing down at the facedown monster, flipping it up and revealing it to be some sort of intricately-designed flying saucer. The flying saucer, in turn, suddenly emitted a force-field that knocked the General back, in the process lowering Jan's life points.
JAN: 6600; VASHA: 6000; CALHOUN: 8000
Calhoun now grinned slyly. "Say hello to my Flying Saucer Muusik'i (ATK 1000, DEF 2000)," he announced. "And thanks for the back-up, Vasha."
"It's nothing," Vasha answered. "I know every card in your deck, you know—so I knew that that was the monster you'd just Tribute Set, and that it wouldn't last long against an attack from a monster as strong as that Archfiend General. So I thought I'd just let you borrow the effect of my card. Now you owe me."
"And I'll repay you in full, and then some," Calhoun winked at her.
"Geez…how annoying," Jan grunted. "All right, fine. I'll end my turn for now." And then, as if nothing had happened, Archfiend General's ATK went back up to its original 2100.
"Then I'll go once again!" Vasha swiftly drew her card, so now she held four in hand—and then all of a sudden, the Mask of the Accursed that was still equipped to Terrorking Archfiend glowed with a sinister blue light! Even as Terrorking Archfiend grabbed at his face and moaned in pain, Jan flinched as his life points went down to 6100.
JAN: 6100; VASHA: 6000; CALHOUN: 8000
"Heh…your Mask of the Accursed is still on his monster," Calhoun observed. "So far, babe, you've got him pegged."
"Seems that way," Vasha agreed. "And now, time to give my Infinity Dark a bit of a boost! Tell me, have you ever heard of the Gemini monsters?"
Jan cocked an eyebrow at that. "Gemini monsters?"
"That's right," said Vasha. "They're a series of monsters that were released some time ago by Industrial Illusions…and my Infinity Dark is one such monster. Allow me to show you how the power of a Gemini monster works, first-hand!"
Suddenly, Infinity Dark pushed his chest outward as his body began to shine with bright white energy! "You see, Gemini monsters are treated as Normal monsters when they're in the deck, in the hand, or in the Graveyard," said Vasha. "And when they're initially summoned to the field, they're also treated as Normal monsters at that time. However, once a Gemini monster has been summoned, it can activate what's called a Second Summon—which in itself counts towards the player's Normal Summon for that turn—and then it gains an effect. In the case of my Infinity Dark, I've just activated his Second Summon, which means now he gets his effect…and his effect states that when he declares an attack, I can change the battle position of one monster controlled by my opponent! And right now, I'm looking at your Archfiend General!"
"What? But—" Jan cast a glance at Archfiend General. "If his battle position changes, his DEF won't be enough to…!"
"Go, Infinity Dark! Attack with your Shadow Fist Strike!" Vasha commanded. In response, Infinity Dark vanished in a cloud of thick shadow…and to Jan's consternation, Archfiend General knelt down in a defensive stance, mere seconds before a black-gloved fist slammed straight through his skull! Then, as the General's body split apart and vanished into dust, Nuvia's effect increased its ATK to 1600!
"…you'll pay for that trick…" Jan growled through clenched teeth.
"Suck it up, pal," Vasha answered indifferently. "I'll end my turn with that for now. Take it away, Calhoun."
"Be glad to!" Calhoun replied. "Now…it's my Draw Phase at this point, but instead of just drawing from my deck, I'm going to do something different, thanks to the effect of my Flying Saucer Muusuk'i!"
"Is that a fact?" asked Jan.
"Indeed it is!" answered Calhoun. "You see, my deck strategy revolves around Aliens…and Flying Saucer Muusuk'i's effect says that while it's face-up on the field, I can select and add from my deck to my hand one monster with 'Alien' in its card name, instead of drawing a card for my regular Draw Phase. And so…" He pulled his deck out of his Duel-Disk's slot, thumbed through it a moment, then located the card he wanted. "…the card I'll add to my hand from my deck via this effect is Alien Mother (ATK 2300, DEF 1500)!"
Jan watched him carefully.
"All right," Calhoun continued, slotting his deck back into its place. "Now it's my Standby Phase…and the effect of my 'A' Cell Breeding Device magic card activates! So now I can put an A-Counter on your Terrorking Archfiend!"
A moment later, a bright-green orb emerged and started floating all around Terrorking Archfiend. Jan looked at it, unimpressed. "I suppose this is meant to scare me somehow, right?" he asked.
"Oh, you ought to be scared," Calhoun sneered. "And I'll show you why! Now, I summon the Alien Mother that I added to my hand just now, offering Flying Saucer Muusuk'i as a tribute!"
Calhoun's flying saucer disappeared from the field…then all of a sudden, his enormous female alien emerged on the field, snarling as she flexed her four arms. "But that's not all," Calhoun continued. "I now activate my facedown Quick-Play Magic card, 'A' Cell Scatter Burst! By destroying one 'Alien' monster on my side of the field, I can distribute a number of A-Counters equal to that monster's level among my opponent's face-up monsters—so I'll destroy my own Alien Mother to give your Terrorking Archfiend six A-Counters, since Alien Mother is a Level 6 monster!"
As Calhoun's facedown magic card flipped up, Alien Mother suddenly exploded…into what looked like glowing green bubbles, numerous bubbles that gradually formed into six solid orbs that swiftly joined the one already swirling around Terrorking Archfiend. "Look, if this is actually going somewhere, hurry up and make it reach there, because you're already boring me," said Jan.
"No good strategy should be rushed," Calhoun answered, even as he picked one of the two cards left in his hand. "Now, I activate the Magic card, Monster Reborn, to revive my Alien Mother in Attack Mode!" A moment later Alien Mother came back to the field, hissing and growling at Jan.
"And now, for the coup de gras," Calhoun continued. "I activate my Trap card, Brainwashing Beam! This allows me to select one of my opponent's monsters that has at least one A-Counter on it…and then I gain control of that monster!" Immediately Calhoun's remaining facedown card was flipped face-up—and suddenly, to Jan's consternation, Terrorking Archfiend went to stand next to Alien Mother!
"Go, Alien Mother! Attack him directly!" Calhoun commanded—and in an eye-blink, Alien Mother rushed forward and pummeled Jan with her four fists, violently pushing him backwards.
JAN: 4300; VASHA: 6000; CALHOUN: 8000
Then: "Now, Terrorking Archfiend, attack also!" And in turn, Terrorking Archfiend raised his sword—albeit with a little reluctance—and jumped forward, slashing at Jan and reducing his life points further.
JAN: 2300; VASHA: 6000; CALHOUN: 8000
"Heh…now are you impressed?" Calhoun jeered Jan. "It's only too bad now that this wasn't a two-on-one duel, or else I'd be able to use Vasha's monsters to finish your sorry ass. And you call yourself a duelist—you're nothing but talk!"
"Never mind, Calhoun," Vasha said soothingly. "When it comes around to my turn again, I'll just decimate him. All we need to do is wait."
"Yeah…that's true," Calhoun answered, brightening. "In that case, I'll call it a turn for now…oh, and before I forget, Brainwashing Beam's effect also states that I need to remove one A-Counter from the monster I'm controlling each time I end my turn. Also, if all A-Counters are removed from that monster, or that monster is destroyed, Brainwashing Beam itself is destroyed." And then one of the seven green orbs floating around Terrorking Archfiend vanished from the field, leaving six.
Jan leveled a glare at Calhoun. "Just for that little stunt you just pulled…I'll personally make sure you pay dearly," he vowed. "Now, my turn! I draw!" And draw he did, so now he held four cards in his hand. "And it seems I've got quite a good set of cards here to take back my dominance of this duel," he commented. "All right…first, I'll activate Raigeki, to destroy all of your monsters on the field!"
"SAY WHAT?" Calhoun and Vasha exclaimed in dismay—but all at once a volley of lightning bolts shot down from above, completely obliterating Nuvia the Wicked, Infinity Dark, Alien Mother, Terrorking Archfiend, and even the Brainwashing Beam trap card!
"Next," Jan continued coldly, "Pandemonium's effect activates! When a player's Archfiend monster is destroyed by a card effect and sent to the Graveyard, that player can add one Archfiend monster with a level lower than that of the destroyed monster from their deck and add it to their hand…and that applies even if the destroyed Archfiend was under the control of the opponent! So, since Terrorking Archfiend was a Level 4 monster, I need to add to my hand from my deck one Archfiend that's Level 3 or lower…so…" He swiftly pulled out his deck and thumbed through it. "All right…I've decided!" he announced a moment later. "I'll add from my deck to my hand my Vilepawn Archfiend (ATK 1200, DEF 200), a Level 2 monster!" And he added the card to his hand, giving him four in hand again.
"Now, moving on," Jan continued, "I'm going to Special Summon a monster—a monster who requires that I remove three Fiend-type monsters in my Graveyard from play! So, Archfiend Soldier, Archfiend General and Terrorking Archfiend will all be removed from play…so I can call forth Dark Necrofear (ATK 2200, DEF 2800) in Attack Mode!"
The silhouettes of the three Archfiend monsters vanished from out of Jan's Graveyard…then a moment later, a black shadow appeared on Jan's side of the field. From that shadow materialized Jan's blue-skinned fiend, holding her broken baby doll in her arms. Then Jan examined the two cards he had left. "All right…next I activate this Magic card, Card Destruction! We'll all discard the cards in our hands, and then draw cards equal to the number we each discarded!"
Flinching, Vasha discarded her four cards and drew four more; Calhoun, looking apprehensive, discarded the one card he had in hand and drew another; and Jan, his face set like stone, discarded his two hand-cards and drew two more. "I hope you're not thinking that that wasn't for a purpose," Jan went on. "Because with this, I can take a hefty chunk out of your life points, regardless of which of you I select for that!"
"What? What do you mean by that?" Vasha demanded.
"Watch and learn, girly!" Jan replied. "Now…" He pointed to his still-facedown card. "I activate my Trap card, Archfiend's Roar! Now, at a cost of 500 life points, I can Special Summon one Archfiend monster from my Graveyard, even though that monster can't be tributed for any reason and will be destroyed at the end of this turn…but the monster I have in mind will be worth it!"
"But—if that's true, the only monster you should be able to get back that way would be Vilepawn Archfiend! And he isn't worth jack!" Calhoun exclaimed.
"You really think so, do you?" Jan jabbed at him. "Then you must think that Vilepawn Archfiend was the only monster in my hand when I activated Card Destruction…but I'm about to prove you wrong! For the monster I'm going to revive…is my Skull Archfiend of Lightning (ATK 2500, DEF 1200), in Attack Mode!"
JAN: 1800; VASHA: 6000; CALHOUN: 8000
Instantly Jan's life points dropped to 1800 for the effect of Archfiend's Roar…and then, in a burst of lightning, the Skull Archfiend of Lightning emerged on his side of the field, roaring as electricity coursed all over his body! "And now, with both of you as wide open as you are, it's only a matter of choosing which of you to attack! So…how about…"
Vasha tensed. Uh-oh…
Calhoun looked grim. This is going to suck…
Jan looked from one to the other of the two of them. "Now this is a tough one…the girl's life points are lower, so she'll be a much more likely target…on the other hand, the boy needs to have his life points touched even a little…oh, what the hell. You'll survive either way, so…Dark Necrofear, Skull Archfiend of Lightning, both of you—attack the Obelisk Blue boy directly!" And then, as Vasha looked on in horror and Calhoun braced himself, the Skull Archfiend and Dark Necrofear charged at him…
----------
Not far away, Jasmine and the Jewel Duelist were still walking together, in relative silence. Only their footsteps and Jasmine's heavy panting broke the stillness. "Are we there yet?" Jasmine asked presently.
"No. We are not there yet. Stop asking. That's the fifteenth time you've asked in the last fifteen minutes." The other girl seemed quite calm and patient as she pointed this fact out.
"You were actually counting?" Jasmine asked incredulously.
"Aside from walking and keeping an eye out for forest animals that might stalk us, there wasn't much else to do. At least I wasn't bored too much." The Jewel Duelist shrugged.
Suddenly—from straight ahead there came a loud explosion, followed by an agonized cry. "What was that?" Jasmine asked, instantly on her guard.
The Jewel Duelist frowned. "That certainly didn't sound like the usual sounds you'd expect in a forest. Let's go check it out—something might've happened."
"Yes…yes, let's," Jasmine nodded her head.
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JAN: 1800; VASHA: 6000; CALHOUN: 3300
Calhoun was currently on the ground, smoke rising from his body while his life point count went down to 3300 as a result of Jan's two monsters' attacks. "Calhoun! Are you okay? Say something!" Vasha cried, frantic.
"Ugh…" Gingerly, Calhoun tried to rise. "I…I'm all right…sort of, anyway…"
Across from them, Jan crossed his arms. "Honestly, I didn't think I'd have this kind of trouble from two no-names," he remarked. "But I will say this. Even though this is a triangle duel, which technically puts the two of you against each other as well as against me, your co-operation with each other is interesting, at least. In fact, I wonder just how well you'd be doing if you were dueling on your own, in a one-on-one match-up, without the burden of a partner to handicap your full ability."
Vasha and Calhoun looked at him. "Well, first of all, pal," said Calhoun, "we're both strong duelists, whether alone or as a team! And of course Vasha and I would willingly have each other as partners in something like this—even if our deck strategies are that much different, we can still work together nonetheless!"
"And secondly," Vasha added, "you may be meeting us for the first time, but we aren't no-names! We are Vasha Morrison and Calhoun Vincente, of Duel Academy's Obelisk Blue dorm!"
"Is that so…" For the first time, a faint smirk appeared on Jan's face. "Well, since you've given me your names so boldly and with such conviction, it would be a dishonor not to do the same. My name is Jan Shimizu. Remember it."
"Shimizu!"
Turning at the sound of his name being called, Jan beheld two familiar figures at the edge of the path. "Oy, what're you doing out here?" he called to Jasmine. "I thought I told you not to leave the boat…although it's not too hard to see how you could've been coerced to do so," and he fixed his gaze on the Jewel Duelist.
"Well, hello to you, too," the Jewel Duelist answered. "Unfortunately, I haven't got time to stick around and socialize with you. I have somewhere to be…but since I've run into you here, you can take back this bit of baggage that I was so kind to bring to you," and she gave Jasmine a slight shove, sending her stumbling forward.
"HEY!" Jasmine exploded, turning and glaring at the Jewel Duelist.
"Didn't I tell you already, you're way too noisy?" Jan rebuked Jasmine. Then to the Jewel Duelist he asked, "As for you, why are you here in the first place?"
"That shouldn't be your concern…after all, I haven't asked you why you're here, nor do I care to know the answer to that," the Jewel Duelist replied indifferently. "Anyhow, have fun with your little duel…I must now be on my way." And with that said, she turned and walked off in another direction, disappearing into the nearby trees.
"That girl is so…so uncivilized!" Jasmine glowered.
All this time Vasha and Calhoun hadn't said a word during the exchange. Now Vasha looked at Jasmine and remarked, "Hey, I've seen you before…you're that maid that was with Drake Phoenix when he was here on Monday…"
"Ah—yes, that would be me," and Jasmine bowed politely.
"But who was that other person just now?" Calhoun wondered.
"That's not important now, is it?" Jan cut in. "Right now, we have a duel to finish. So let's hurry and finish it."
"Right!" Vasha and Calhoun agreed immediately.
"Now…it's still my turn, isn't it? Well, I'll end my turn now," said Jan…and just like that, Skull Archfiend of Lightning vanished from the field, as per the effect of Archfiend's Roar.
"Um, excuse me, what sort of duel is this?" Jasmine asked uncertainly.
"It's a triangle duel," Vasha told her. "Me, Calhoun, and Jan Shimizu here pitted against one another…and if Calhoun and I can prove our stuff, we get to go see your boss, Drake."
"And we don't intend to fail here—not when we have such a golden opportunity at our fingertips!" Calhoun added. "Okay, Vasha, it's your turn now!"
"Got it!" said Vasha, and she drew her next card so she now held five. Her face lit up when she saw what she now had. "Well, well…hey, Calhoun, I've got a nice little way of kicking the crap out of that Dark Necrofear and clearing the way for you to blow his life points away on your next turn!"
"Really?" Calhoun seemed interested. "Then go ahead and do your thing, babe. Set me up for the finish!"
"All right!" Vasha then turned her attention to Jan. "All right…now, watch and learn! Because now I'm going to initiate a ritual, by playing this Ritual Magic card…Curse of the Masked Beast!" Then a huge stone altar with a big mask on the front appeared on her side of the field. "Next, I have to offer up as tributes a number of monsters from the field or my hand whose total level stars equal 8 or more," Vasha continued. "So, I'll offer two monsters from my hand, and call forth…The Masked Beast (ATK 3200, DEF 1800)!"
All at once, the stone altar shone with a massive light—then vanished into thin air. And…in its place was a grotesque-looking creature with various masks adorning its face and body. "Check it out—the strongest monster of my whole deck!" Vasha said proudly. "Masked Beast, wipe that Dark Necrofear off the field! Mask Explosion Blast!" And in answer, one of the masks on the Masked Beast's torso glowed with an intense red light—and from that mask, a huge red beam was fired, completely decimating Dark Necrofear.
JAN: 800; VASHA: 6000; CALHOUN: 3300
"So much for her," said Vasha. "Oh, well, I guess I'll end my turn for now."
But—hardly had Vasha finished the sentence when suddenly, from out of nowhere, a dark shadow wrapped itself around the Masked Beast's body! "Huh?" Vasha exclaimed, suddenly alarmed on seeing this. "H-H-Hey, what's going on? What's happening to my monster?"
Jan allowed himself a chuckle. "You thought you were rid of Dark Necrofear when you destroyed her in that battle just now? Well, you thought wrong," he informed Vasha. "During the End Phase of a turn when Dark Necrofear was destroyed in battle, her effect permits me to treat her as an Equip Magic card and equip her to one of my opponent's monsters…and as long as that monster's equipped, control over it belongs to me!"
"But that means—" Realization sprung up on Calhoun's face. "Vasha! He tricked us!"
"ACK!" Vasha shrieked—but there was nothing she could do as the dark shadow made itself known to be Dark Necrofear, even as the Masked Beast was forced to go to Jan's side of the field.
Jan then leveled a gaze at Calhoun. "What was that about taking out my life points, now…?"
Calhoun was sweating by this time. "Uh…fine. My turn." And he drew, so now he held two cards in hand. "I'll just set one monster in Defense Mode, and that's all for now."
Shaking his head and smirking, Jan drew again. "All right…time for you to meet the ace of MY deck!" he announced. "First things first, I'll summon Warrior of Zera (ATK 1600, DEF 1600)!" A moment later, his warrior appeared on the field, sword at the ready. "And next," Jan continued, "since my Pandemonium is still active on the field, I'll offer Warrior of Zera as a tribute and Special Summon his more fiendish form…Mazera DeVille (ATK 2800, DEF 2300)!"
At once Warrior of Zera swiftly underwent his transformation…and then, mere seconds later, Mazera DeVille emerged on the field, looking ready to rumble. "And now, Mazera DeVille's effect activates!" Jan continued. "When he's Special Summoned while Pandemonium is on the field, you have to discard three cards from your hand—and from here, it looks like you're both holding less than that, so…!"
Suddenly, two bolts of lightning shot down and hit the single cards that Vasha and Calhoun were holding! Yelping, the two swiftly discarded their cards, leaving them both empty-handed; Jan watched this with some faint amusement. "And now, Lady Morrison, your life points are wide open!" he added. "And between Mazera DeVille and this Masked Beast that my Dark Necrofear's controlling, I'd say they've got just enough ATK to wipe you out in one shot, wouldn't you say?"
Vasha took this in at a glance. "…eep…!" she squeaked.
"Both monsters, attack directly!" Jan commanded. And in response, Mazera DeVille ran forward and slashed at Vasha with one razor-sharp wing, lowering her life points to 3200…then, the Masked Beast blasted another beam from its chest-mask, hitting her and sending her sailing as her remaining score dropped to 0!
JAN: 800; VASHA: 0; CALHOUN: 3300
"Vasha! NO!" Calhoun yelled. Then he turned his gaze to Jan, eyes narrowed in anger. "Why, you…you'll pay for that!"
"Oh, well—at least now it's a proper one-on-one, like you'd originally intended, right?" said Jan. "I'm ending my turn right here…so now you can show me what you're made of when you fight alone!"
Eyebrow twitching, Calhoun drew his next card, replenishing his hand. "Vasha, you all right?" he called over his shoulder.
A short distance away, Vasha was picking herself up from where she'd landed after the Masked Beast's attack had knocked her back. "Whew…looks like I'm out of the duel now," she noted. "Calhoun, it's all up to you now, baby!"
"Got it," Calhoun affirmed. Then he examined the card he'd just drawn. "Crap…I can't use this card now…! Ugh, fine. I end my turn."
Shrugging, Jan drew another card. "You wanted to keep going for your girlfriend's sake…but I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you," he told Calhoun. "Because I'll now equip Mazera DeVille with a Magic card, the Axe of Despair, to increase his ATK by 1000!"
"What!" Calhoun cried.
But just as Jan had said, Mazera DeVille soon found himself holding the mighty axe in both hands, his ATK shooting up to 3800! "And now, you and your defense are going down!" Jan declared. "First, I'll use the Masked Beast to destroy your facedown monster! Attack now!"
Once again, the Masked Beast blasted an energy beam from its chest-mask, tearing the facedown monster to shreds and revealing it to be Alien Grey (ATK 300, DEF 800). "Ugh…you've activated Alien Grey's effect," said Calhoun. "When it's flipped face-up, I place an A-Counter on one of your face-up monsters…and after it's been flipped face-up, when sent to the Graveyard as a result of battle, I draw one card." And this he did.
"Well, it's just too bad your card-drawing won't save you here!" Jan rebutted. "Mazera DeVille, finish this duel now!" And Mazera DeVille flew forward, slashing at Calhoun with the Axe of Despair so hard that Calhoun flew backwards a few feet, his life points dropping to 0.
JAN: 800; VASHA: 0; CALHOUN: 0
At once Vasha ran to Calhoun's side. "Calhoun!"
"Ungh…" Calhoun sat up from where he'd fallen. "Sorry, Vasha…in the end, I couldn't do anything…"
Jasmine, having been watching from the sidelines, now strode up to Jan. "Well, congratulations, I guess…"
"Uh-huh," Jan said nonchalantly, switching off his Duel-Disk. Then he turned and strolled over to where Vasha and Calhoun were now standing up. "You two…let me tell you this right now, and pay attention when I tell it to you."
"Huh?" the couple looked at him questioningly.
Jan nodded knowingly. "Even though the two of you teamed up in this triangle duel…there's no way you would've been able to beat me as easily as you thought you would," he remarked. "I've been in duels where the stakes were far higher…where losing a duel meant, literally, losing your life. They probably don't teach you that here, but for some duelists, this isn't a game…they'll literally throw everything else away for the sake of this, or in order to fulfill some stronger agenda. A long time ago, I was like that—as a result, I've seen things that you couldn't even imagine. That's why, no matter how skilled you were, you wouldn't have been able to hold a candle to me…if you haven't had that kind of hard edge that comes with experience, you'll never survive long in a duelist's real world."
Jasmine's eyes narrowed as she heard Jan say this. Considering where Master Drake found you, it's no surprise you'd say a thing like that…
"Even so…" Jan chuckled a little. "…you did come close to beating me, even though you lost in the end. Only a handful of people, in the time I've been a duelist, have ever actually defeated me, or come close to doing it. In your case, your strategies were somewhat impressive, although they do need work…and I think that, if nothing else, allowing you to meet with Drake Phoenix will help you give your decks the overhaul that they need."
Calhoun and Vasha looked at each other, then back at Jan. "So we pass your test, then?" Vasha asked eagerly.
"I'd say so," Jan nodded. "Of course, I doubt I'd take you back with me to see him tonight—won't your dorm miss you if you leave unannounced?"
At that Calhoun scowled. "Oh, yeah…I'd forgotten about that…"
"So you were really planning to leave without saying anything?" Vasha asked incredulously.
"Well, you said you weren't going to let me go into this by myself, didn't you?" Calhoun countered.
"Ahem…anyways…" Jan interrupted them. "When we get back, we'll pass your names on to Phoenix—and once he hears about your deck strategies and motivations, surely he'll be willing to give you even a small trial to prove yourselves to him."
"Um, if I may…" Jasmine spoke up. "You could probably come to the Phoenix mansion tomorrow and have a meeting with Master Drake, provided you could get a leave of absence from Duel Academy for the day…"
"Hmm…that actually makes sense," Vasha said thoughtfully. "I don't have any classes scheduled tomorrow…do you, Calhoun?"
"Nope," Calhoun answered. "So, yeah, we could take a day from the Academy tomorrow, and nobody would miss us. All right, then, it's agreed—tomorrow, Vasha and I will come to Drake's place and have a chat with him."
"And I'll let him know to expect you two," and Jasmine nodded.
"All right…now that that arrangement's been made, I suppose you two had better get back to your dorm before people start wondering where you are…and it's definitely time for you to get back to the Phoenix mansion before your employers start wondering where you are," Jan directed the last bit at Jasmine.
"Ah—yes, I almost forgot! It's that late by now, isn't it?" Jasmine exclaimed. "What time is it?"
"About…7:40, it looks like…" Vasha checked her watch.
"Well, we'll have to take our leave now," said Jan. "Make sure you two come tomorrow and talk to Phoenix, that's all." Then he turned away. "Come, we're leaving now."
"Right!" Jasmine bowed briefly to Calhoun and Vasha, then turned and hurried after Jan. Watching them leave for a moment, Calhoun and Vasha turned and headed back toward the Obelisk Blue dorm.
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DUEL ACADEMY OSIRIS RED DORM, 7:45 p.m.
Principal Yuki, by this time, was walking along the pathway leading toward the Osiris Red dorm. "Heh…it's been a real long time, huh, Red dorm?" he asked softly. "Yeah…it sure has been…" He looked ahead toward the Osiris Red dorm. "Boy…the days when we all used to hang out here together…me, Chumley, Syrus, Alexis, Chazz, Blair, Bastion…and back when this dorm wasn't the most impressive building in the world…now, all these years later, look how far we've come…"
A slight movement caught his eye. Turning, he saw someone within the nearby tree-line, also heading toward the direction of the Osiris Red dorm. Hmm…? Who…?
Stopping where he was, Principal Yuki watched the figure for a moment. The figure in question was moving at a swift yet steady pace, with not a hint of hesitation. Principal Yuki cocked an eyebrow at this. "Interesting…"
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In his room, Janus was laying on his bed, hands behind his head on the pillow, eyes closed. Close by, Jiro was sitting at the nearby table, going through his stash of cards, shuffling his deck carefully. And then—Jiro abruptly paused mid-shuffle. He turned his head slightly toward the door. "Janus…"
Janus, in turn, opened his eyes. "You sensed it, too?"
"Uh-huh…" Jiro stood up slowly. "An extremely powerful dueling presence…and it's coming right this way."
In turn, Janus got out of bed. "What say we find out who this dueling presence belongs to, huh, Jiro?"
"Yeah, it would be interesting, at least," Jiro nodded. "Your deck is ready, I assume?"
"Always!" Janus answered, reaching for his Duel-Disk that was leaning on the wall near his bed. Strapping that on, he then walked over to the doorway and pulled on his shoes. "You coming?"
"Yeah, I'm coming," Jiro answered, slotting his deck into his own Duel-Disk. Then he walked over to the doorway, slipping into his own shoes. "All right, let's go."
Stepping outside, the two boys walked along the corridor, then headed down the staircase and soon ended up on the grounds. "All right, it's just to find this person now," Janus remarked.
Looking straight ahead toward the nearby forest, Jiro's eyes narrowed. "I think we're about to find out…"
And not a moment too soon; for mere moments later, there appeared from the forest a figure in a hooded jacket and wearing a Duel-Disk with what seemed to be sparkling gemstones on its design. "That Duel-Disk…" Jiro frowned.
There were stars in Janus's eyes. "That's so cool! I want a Duel-Disk like that!"
"Focus on the bigger issue here!" Jiro yelled at him, exasperated.
The jacketed figure walked toward the duo, halting when only twenty feet separated them. "Janus Yuki…" she spoke, her eyes giving him a searching glance.
"Uh, yeah, that's me," said Janus. "And based on your Duel-Disk…that Jewel Duelist that everyone was talking about, right?"
"Right," the girl nodded. "It seems you sensed my presence before I even reached this position…"
Janus nodded, a serious look on his face now. "Yeah. I tend to be able to sense immense dueling power when it's in close proximity…especially when it's being given off as strongly as you were doing."
"Impressive." The Jewel Duelist nodded approval. "Not many duelists nowadays can boast of having that kind of natural ability."
"Why are you here, if I may ask?" Jiro queried. "You'd be hunting down criminals as per your reputation, wouldn't you?"
"That's true, but…tonight I had a much more pressing mission to fulfill," the Jewel Duelist replied. "And it has to do with Janus, here."
"Well, given the fact that you were putting off so much dueling energy and that you're wearing your Duel-Disk so openly, it's fairly obvious you want to duel me," said Janus.
"It's not that simple," the Jewel Duelist answered. "I've also come…to give you a warning."
Janus and Jiro looked at each other when they heard that; then they looked back at the girl. "A warning?" they asked simultaneously.
"Yes." The Jewel Duelist nodded. "I'll be very brief about it. I have reason to believe that Drake Phoenix is gathering duelists together, for the purpose of defeating you, Janus."
"To defeat Janus?" Jiro asked.
The girl nodded again. "Drake and Janus have a rivalry that goes back several years, you see…and over time Drake has turned it into an obsession. By this point he's willing to do whatever it takes to prove he's the superior duelist…particularly in the wake of the Dueltropolis tournament, where Janus came in third behind Yugo Muto and Seta Kaiba."
Janus regarded her. "But even if that's the case, how would you know about my particular rivalry with Drake?"
"It pays to keep your ear close to the ground, especially whenever it concerns pro duelists like Drake," said the Jewel Duelist. "Even though he's a champion duelist in his own right, it's not exactly a secret that he's lost duels to you in the past—you, Janus Yuki, the one duelist who Drake has never officially been able to conquer. And when a perfectionist has a stain on his otherwise-spotless slate, he'll move heaven and earth to remove that stain. And, too, gossip has a way of serving as a negative motivator to even the best of people."
"Well, answer us this, then," said Jiro. "Why have you decided to come forward with this information? And how can we know that it's true?"
"Who knows…" The girl shrugged. "Maybe it'll turn out to be nothing more than a false alarm; maybe it'll turn out to be true. Still, given Drake's arrogance, I wouldn't put anything past him. I just figured Janus would like to know, is all, so as to be adequately prepared."
"Well, that's fine," said Janus. "So…a duel, you said?"
The Jewel Duelist nodded again. "This will be more like a test, actually—to see just how well you'll be able to fare against anything that may come your way, whether from Drake or anyone else," she informed him. "Additionally, I have something to give you, too…but that can wait until after this duel is over. I only hope you're not going to back down…?"
"Hell, no!" said Janus, and he swiftly activated his Duel-Disk. "It's not as if you woke me out of my bed or anything—if it's a duel, I'm ready anytime!"
The Jewel Duelist then looked at Jiro. "This doesn't involve you…but if you'd prefer to stick around and witness the outcome, I suggest you get a good enough distance between yourself and us. I will not be holding back my strength in this fight, you understand."
"I won't interfere," Jiro answered. "It's not like Janus needs my help to win this duel or anything. He can take care of himself—I've seen it first-hand."
With that, Jiro turned and walked a respectable distance away from Janus and the Jewel Duelist. The latter two, in turn, activated their Duel-Disks. "Shall we begin, then?" the girl asked.
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Neomage: This footnote replaces the one that was here before…and let's just say that I'm making a lot of changes in my life and trying to stick to them as best as possible. Nice, huh? Well, more to come, so read and review, meanwhile!