Disclaimer: Yu-Gi-Oh!-Kazuki Takahashi/Konami
Jason woke up in a bed not his own. His gaze wandered to the large window right over him. Recent memory soon came to him as he remembered being here before…
"It's good to see you awake," Jason turned to see nurse Fontaine approaching his bedside, "Are you feeling okay?"
"Did…something happen?" Jason asked, "How did I get here…?"
"You can thank your friends for that," Fontaine said, "When they brought you to me last night, you were burning up, as if you were in a sauna, or a volcano," it then came back to Jason, remembering that match he had with the high mage, "You've been cooled down overnight, so you should be okay by now."
"Okay…" Jason pushed himself to get up out of bed, and left the office with a farewell, "Thank you, Miss Fontaine."
"Make sure to drink plenty of fluids," Fontaine called back, "And no syrupy drinks either, okay?"
As he made his way to the Slifer dorm, a lot of questions ran in his head? Who are the Shadow Riders? Who were those two mages? Are they after the God Emperor cards? Are those two together? He didn't have time to think it over as he made it to the dorm's breakroom for breakfast.
But chaos was ensuring at the building as it got close enough to see. Students were running around with brooms and sticks going in and out of each others' rooms. Jason approached one of them and tapped their shoulder, the anxious look given to him unnerving him a bit, "Is there a problem…?"
"Yeah, we got a rodent problem!" the Slifer student said, "Someone caught it in the kitchen and now it's hiding somewhere in the dorm! Help out and get rid of it for us, alright!" without waiting for a reply the student ran back out to the hunt.
With a hidden rodent in mind, Jason decided the best way to catch it was with some bait. So after getting some scraps from kitchen, Jason went into his room hoping to lure the rat out. When he put the scraps on the floor he could hear a squeak close by so he grabbed a shoebox to catch the mouse in and hid on the top bunk of the bed. He made it just in time for him to see something small and furry crawl out from under the bed…
But what came out wasn't a mouse or a rat; it was a bat, small and white. As Jason watched it inch itself towards the plate of scraps, he didn't see any vermin, just a small creature looking for food. He jumped off the bed and knelt down to the furry creature.
Jason froze when the bat stopped eating and stared back at him with its glossy black eyes, not wanting to scare it with any sudden movement. It looked too cute to be labeled as a rodent, more like a house pet. But he knew better that it belonged in the wild with the others. So when the bat got back to eating Jason got up and opened the window, so it can leave when it's done while Jason left the room to its privacy.
The first class of the day was dull as usual with Crowler teaching more about dueling techniques. Even with his loud and obnoxious tone it's getting hard for him to keep up.
"So you see, any deck has a certain pattern behind it that defines how it's used. So by observing those patterns you can predict what your opponent will do and prepare a countermeasure for that pattern…"
A tap on the shoulder moved Jason's wavering thoughts from the lecture to the classmate sitting next to him.
"Hey, I kinda forgot, but you left these last night," Rock pulled out a dueling deck with a gold pendant tied to it.
"My deck…?" Jason took back his cards, "I didn't know I lost these…"
"And that's some piece of gold you got," Rock whispered with aspiration, "I didn't know you'd wear something like that. What's the story behind it?"
"Well…"
"Well, looks what he have here!" the necklace was then swiped away from him. Jason and Rock looked up to see Crowler swinging it where it was grabbed, "I'm not sure if you're aware, but we don't allow trinkets in class!"
"Hold up, it's my fault!" Rock argued, "This guy lost it and I was just giving it back to him!"
"Well I guess it's your fault he won't be getting it back. Too bad," Crowler snickered and returned to his lecture with Jason's pendant dangling in his fingers. Jason held his head close to the desk at the fact that he lost his necklace twice already.
"Uh, sorry…?" Rock said, with a groan his only reply.
After morning classes passed, Jason found a secluded spot at the school lobby. He was still sore about how his pendant was taken from him but now is time for lunch. Bringing out a paper bag he was ready to feed off the usual lunch slifers were given: a sandwich, some grapes and a juice box. He was ready to eat when he saw something moving around at the corner of his eye.
The white fur and wingspan marked the creature as the small fruitbat from earlier at his dorm room. Normally Jason would be jumpy around foreign animals, but when that bat landed vastly onto the bench nearby, he felt as familiar with it as if it was a dog or a cat. And he could guess what it was here for like any other stray. So, reaching into his lunch bag, he pulled out a few grapes and placed them between him and the bat. It approached with caution until it grabbed a grape with its wings' digits and took a bite out of it. Now it became an atmosphere of a boy and his bat enjoying lunch together…
"I should'a known you're behind this!" that moment was ruined however when his space was suddenly becoming invaded by a couple of Obelisk Blue students, Raikou and Torimaki, two former henchmen from when Chazz was sharing their dorm, "Figures you'd be hanging out with your fellow rats!"
"Whoa, wait a minute…" Jason stood up in caution, "What are you talking about?"
"Your little friend was crawling all over our food at our exclusive Obelisk buffet table!" Raikou said, "Now I know it's yours, you need to pay for it!"
"What…?" Jason looked back at the bat and then back to the Obelisks, "I don't understand, but I'm sure it was just looking for some food. It's not even mine anyway!"
"Well if it's not yours then you won't mind if I take if off your hands!" Torimaki said as he loomed over the bat, by Jason moved into his path.
"I don't think it was doing any actual harm!" he said, "I'm sure it was just hungry!"
"How about you stay out of our way!" Raikou pushed Jason aside and was about to grab the bat when it flew out of its grasp, "Get it!"
"Wait!" but Jason was ignored as the two Obelisks chased after the bat towards the school exit, where Doctor Crowler was just coming inside. The two paths crossed and the bat ended up flying into Croaker's face.
"Wah! What is this horrible beast?!" Crowler screeched as he tried to shoo away the bat, who managed to escape past Crowler to the outside, where it couldn't be caught, "What is the meaning of this?!"
"That thing was in our cafeteria and eating our food!" Raikou then pointed to Jason who was hurrying towards them, "And it turns out it was this Slifer's pet!"
"No, that's not true!" Jason tried to explain, "I…I did give it something to eat this morning but—"
"See? He admitted it!"
"No I didn't!"
"So that thing belongs to you?!" Crowler growled, straightening up his hair, "And you were letting it fly around in my dormitory?!"
"No! I don't even have any pets!"
"Don't listen to him, Doctor Crowler!" Torimaki said, "I saw him feeding that thing! We both did! And he was trying to keep us from catching him!"
"Is that so!" Crowler glared at Jason, his hands on his hips.
"I…just didn't want them to hurt it…" was all Jason had to say at that moment.
"So that creature was your!" Crowler assumed, "And you think you could lie and try to get out of it?! Why I never!"
"He needs to pay for this!" Raikou suggested, "I say we make him clean our bathrooms!"
"Nah, that's too good for him!" Torimaki said, "I say we get him kicked out for messing with our food!"
"Wait an minute!" Jason tried to explain.
"I've thought of a better idea…" Crowler straightened up and pointed upward with enlightenment, "Why don't we give our friend Jason a sporting chance. We'll have a duel!"
Jason blinked, "A duel…?"
"Yes, a duel; don't act like you've never heard of it!" Crowler hissed, "It'll be shortly after school. If you win, I'll forget about everything that's happened recently."
"What?!" Torimaki gasped in disbelief.
"You can't be serious!" Raikou added.
"But!" Crowler snapped, "If he loses, then he will be punished to the fullest extent!" as he said that he pointed a bony finger at Jason, causing him to gulp, "So if anyone here thinks they're right, they'll have nothing to worry about," he the lowered his finger and walked to the building interior, "We'll be waiting after school, Mr. Hutchins!"
Jason watched the two Obelisk students follow Crowler inside the building, turning back to sneer at him before leaving him alone in the lobby, where he slumped while hanging his head low. Something in his mind told him that this won't end well…
Eventually that time came, and the Obelisk arena was quickly being filled with spectators.
"Y'know, this is getting pretty old," Rock grumbled as he sat down, "What does it take for mad-doctor Crowler to take a hint?"
"Not that I don't like a good duel, but I'm starting to feel sorry for Jason," Aspen spoke to herself in vacant area, "How is it that one guy seems to attract so much rotten luck…?"
"Welcome, everyone!" Crowler announced, "I'm glad you can all attend today's very special Skills Class! A one-on-two match between Obelisk Blue and Slifer Red! From the blue corner, I give you Raikou and Torimaki!" he gestured towards his two students, "And from the red…well, no one important…" he waved off lazily towards Jason on the opposite side.
"Oh boy…" Bastion sighed from behind the railings, "I wonder what kind of trouble he's gotten into this time."
"You can say that again…" Zane Rehearsals appeared and stood beside Bastion, "The big question is what kind of excuse Crowler made to arrange this match."
"Aw good, it's starting!" Chazz popped in and plopped onto the nearest seat, "Now I'm glad I skipped lunch!" he pulled up a mashed-up ball from his lunch bag and unwrapped it.
"Bringing donuts to a class?" Bastion scowled with Zane, "Really?"
Even Chakra was present, leaning herself against the upper entranceway, 'How do you always get caught in the middle of these things? Don't you know better as to stay out of trouble's way? Here's hoping you actually learn something from this duel…" the Obelisk girl blinked with curiosity as she spotted Jason sliding his deck into his duel disk…
"Now let the duel begin!"
Jason: 4000
Raikou/Torimaki: 8000
Jason's eyes narrowed at the score he was given, "4000 life-points…?"
"Is there a problem?" Crowler eyed Jason with a sneer, "Remember, part of a skills test is learning how to adapt to difficult situations. But I'm sure someone of your…particular skills can manage just fine. And because of my usual, generous mood, I'll give you back your little trinket I confiscated," Crowler brought out the pendant he took from Jason.
Rock spotted the pendant as well, "Great, the stakes couldn't get any higher than this…"
"Now on with the duel!" Crowler announced, "I think the prosecution should go first."
"Time to get the show started!" Raikou drew his first card, "I activate the spell Card Destruction! This card forces everyone to discard our entire hand and replace it with a new one!" all three duelists discarded their hand, forcing Jason to throw away any good cards he had in favor of another hand, "Next I summon Giant Soldier of Stone in DEF mode!" a statue made of thick, rough stone appeared on the field (DEF: 2000), "Then I end my turn this this card face-down!" a reverse-card appeared.
"My turn!" Torimaki drew his card, "I summon Hunter Dragon in ATK mode!" a dragon with a blade on its lower jaw appeared (ATK: 1700), "That's it for me!"
"It's my turn," Jason drew, "I summon Elemental Hero Ocean in ATK mode," the merman hero appeared (ATK: 1500), "Then I place one card face-down and end my turn."
"It's my turn!" Raikou drew his next card, "I sacrifice my stone soldier to summon (*) Castle Gate(6/ATK: 0/DEF: 2400)!" replacing the stone soldier came another, taller stone figure, it's entire body an pair of actual red doors that made up most of the monster, the rest being small turrets for arms and head (ATK: 0).
'But why play a card like that…?' Aspen wondered, 'It doesn't even have he ATK points…'
"Next I activate Monster Reborn to bring back a monster I sent to the graveyard; or a wall, to be exact, the Labyrinth Wall!" a large slab of stone rose against either side of the Castle Gate (DEF: 3000), "And since this was a special-summon, I can activate Inferno Reckless Summon, which lets e summon two more Labyrinth Walls from anywhere from my hand, deck or graveyard!" as the cards were placed on the duel-disk the stone walls rose three times it's use, almost matching the length of Castle Gate (DEF: 3000x2), "Next I equip Castle Gate with my Ring of Magnetism spell card, lowering his ATK and DEF by 500!" a ring of electricity hovered over the monster's head like a crown (ATK: 0/DEF: 1900), "Now he's the only monster you can attack! I activate Castle Gate's effect!" the monster reached down and opened the big red gate that was its body. Behind those doors fell a large, iron cannon that fell outward, "By sacrificing a monster on my field, you take damage equal to its attack! So I'm sacrificing my partner's Hunter Dragon!" the dragon vanished and the cannon fired off a round that slammed into Jason.
Jason: 2300
Raikou/Torimaki: 8000
"That ends my turn!" Raikou concluded.
"So that's their game!" Rock exclaimed, "They plan to hide behind that big castle they set up while they fire away at Jason's life-points!"
"Then it's my turn!" Torimaki drew his next card, "I summon Komouri Dragon!" a small, black-scaled dragon appeared, perched on the Labyrinth Wall (ATK: 1500), "Next I equip it with the spell card Black Pendant! This gives my dragon 500 extra ATK points!" a small, black gem appeared on the dragon's forehead (ATK: 2000), "And now I'll have my dragon attack your hero!" the dragon fired a ball of flame at Ocean.
"I activate my trap card Kunai with Chain!" Jason opened his reverse-card and a bladed weapon flew out and cut through the fireball, wrapping he dragon in its chain it was attached to, "This card switches your monster to DEF mode, and after that, equips to a monster on my field and gives it 500 more ATK points!" Ocean grabbed onto the chain and pulled against the struggling dragon (ATK: 2000).
"Fine! I guess I'll end my turn with this face-down, then!" Torimaki concluded.
"It's my turn!" Jason drew his next card, "And I activate Ocean's effect and add an Elemental Hero from my graveyard to my hand!" Jason added the card to his hand, "Next I activate the magic card Polymerization!"
"I don't think so! Activate trap card: Non-Fusion Area!" Torimaki opened his reverse-card. Jason gasped as his spell card short-circuited and vanished, "As long as this card's out, no one can fusion-summon!"
'Not this again!' Jason grimaced, 'I think I better finish this quickly before things get too far…!' "I summon Elemental Hero Heat to the field!" the fire-armed hero appeared (ATK: 1600), "And this monster gains 200 ATK points for each Elemental Hero on my field (ATK: 2000), "Now both my monsters will attack directly!" the duo charged towards the gate and prepared to jump over the stone walls.
"I activate the trap card Spirit Barrier!" Raikou opened his reverse-card and a barrier rose in front of the castle, deflecting the monster's attack, " Now you can't take any damage as long as we got monsters out!"
'Now their field trust is a fortress,' Chakra mused, 'Let's see how well you do against it, Jason; and without your fusions…'
"I place one card face-down and end my turn…" Jason concluded.
"Good! Now it's my turn!" Raikou drew his next card, "I activate Castle Wall's special-ability!" Komouri Dragon absorbed itself into the cannon, emitting a violet glow this time, "Now to take Komouri Dragon's 1500 ATK points as damage! And since Black Pendant goes to the graveyard in the process, that's another 500 points of damage!" the cannon fired and smashed its round against Jason, as well as emitted an ominous, purple voltage through him.
Jason: 300
Raikou/Torimaki: 8000
"That's it for my turn!" Raikou concluded.
"My turn!" Torimaki drew his next card, "And I activate the spell card Premature Burial! By paying 800 life-points I can bring back a monster from my graveyard and equip it with this card! So I'll be reviving my trusty Prime Material Dragon!" the six-winged golden dragon appeared, then hiding behind the stone wall (ATK: 2400), "And I'll leave it at that, after placing one card face-down."
"It's my turn," Jason drew his next card, "I activate Ocean's effect and add another Elemental Hero from my graveyard to my hand. Next, I summon Elemental Hero Stratos in ATK mode!" the jetpack-wearing hero appeared (ATK: 1800), "And when this monster is summoned, I can destroy a number of magic/trap cards equal to the number of other Elemental Heroes on my field! So with 2 Elemental Heroes on the field, I'll destroy Spirit Barrier and your set card!" Stratos fired two miniature hurricanes from his jetpack, one destroying each targeted card.,With Spirit Barrier destroyed, the barrier itself vanished, "Next, I activate the quick-play magic card Spell-Shattering Arrow! This card destroys every face-down magic card on the opponent's field and, inflicts 500 points of damage for each one!" two arrows were then fired off: one that destroyed the Ring of Magnetism while another flew over the gate where a loud, pained roar was heard.
Jason: 300
Raikou/Torimaki: 7000
"Now all three of my monster attack your Castle Gate!" the three heroes started through the gate and attacked the two obelisks with their elemental attacks.
Jason: 300
Raikou/Torimaki: 1500
"Finally I place one card face-down and end my turn!"
"It's about time Jason finally caught up!" Rock cheered.
"My turn!" Raikou drew his next card, "I switch my Castle Gate to DEF mode and end my turn!" the gate monster pulled back it's cannon and closed its doors.
"It's my turn!" Torimaki drew his next card, "I sacrifice one of Raikou's Labyrinth Walls to summon Luster Dragon #2!" the Labyrinth Wall became one size smaller and there rose a large dragon with emerald wings and scales (ATK: 2400), "Now, Luster Dragon, attack his weakest Elemental Hero!" the dragon fired a stream of Jade fire towards Ocean.
"I activate my trap card!" Jason opened the reverse-card Fuh-Rin-Ka-Zan, "When there are four monster with each a fire, water, earth and wind attribute, I can activate one of the card's four effects! So with Elemental Heroes Ocean, Heat and Stratos on my field, and an earth-attribute Castle Wall on the other side, I can destroy every monster on your side of the field!" all four opposing monster shattered to pixels one by one.
"I supposed it's too early to underestimate our friend over there," Bastion said, "Even without his fusions, he still has the power of the elements at his disposal."
"It's also too early to reach a verdict," Zane said, "Jason still has to go through his next turn before anything's set in stone."
"Not a bad move," Chakra muttered, "Let's hope you can follow up and not fall for anymore surprises…"
"I activate the spell card Ante!" Torimaki slapped the card onto his duel-disk.
"Ante?! But with that…"
"Then this duel's over…" Zane finished for Bastion.
"It works like this: both of us can battle with a monster from our hand! And the duelist whose monster has the highest level inflicts 1000 points of damage to his opponent! Here's my monster!" a giant red dragon with a jade jewel on its forehead appeared.
"Tyrant Dragon?!" Rock gasped, "But that's a level-8 monster!"
'The last time you dealt with a card like that you were in the exact same situation,' Chakra thought. Even she could see the fear in Jason's eyes, 'And I can already tell you didn't prepare for anything like this. This match is already over for you…'
Jason stared into the eyes of the massive dragon staring down at him. He knew that monster to be higher than any card he could summon. So there was only one thing that could come to mind… "I…there are no monsters in my hand…"
"Then say goodbye to the rest of your life-points! Tyrant Dragon, end this!" the Tyrant Dragon fired a wide stream of flame the washed over Jason's field. His monsters were destroyed, and Jason was swept away by the fire.
Jason: 0
Raikou/Torimaki: 1500
Jason tumbled to his knees as his points his zero, embarrassed while staring at the floor. The obelisks however were jumping around in victory.
"Yeah! Score another one for Obelisk Blue!" Raikou cheered.
"Well, I guess it was unexpected…" Zane lowered his eyes and left with Bastion following.
"See, what'd I tell ya," Chazz popped the last donut into his mouth, "Guy's outta his league."
'I guess this just confirms what kind of duelist you are…' Chakra let out a sigh as she turned to go.
When he saw two pairs of feet stop in front of him, Jason looked up to find the sneering forms of the two obelisks who he lost to, "Alright punk, you know the deal! Give us that black duel-disk!" the Slifer looked down in dismay at his Card Professor disk, thinking about how he broke his promise to the duelist it once belonged to, "Quit stalling and give it up!" Jason sighed and got up, stripping off the duel-disk reaching it out towards them, which they swiped it away.
"Alright!" Torimaki cheered, holding the duel-disk over his head, "Now I'm the no.1 Card Professor! All is right in the world!"
"Hey, we were in this together!" Raikou argued, "Don't try to hog it all yourself!"
"Now, boys," Crowler came up placing a hand on both their shoulders, "You've other done well today. I'm sure we can come up with some sort of compromise. Oh, and Jason!" Jason, who was trying to shoo away unnoticed, stopped before he reached the stairs, "I just want you to know that by failing this simple skills test you agreed to our terms. That little scandal you pulled will be reported to Miss Anais. She'll be the one to deliver punishment for what you did. In the meantime, you'll be having detention for the rest of the week as well as the next," that usual voice, that perversely sweet tone Crowler was delivering, was really making his skin crawl. It lets him know that he intends to make it harder than it should be. And it's taking Jason whatever he could to not just march get his punch him in the face…
"Don't forget he's got bathroom duty!" Raikou quickly added.
"Yes, of course!" Crowler snickered, "One can never have too much work ethnic, after all," he then saved hand out, "Now run along, you got a lot to look forward to tomorrow."
"And don't forget your mop and duster!" Torimaki added.
Before Jason could even exhaust a sharp, he decided to hurry out of the arena before he did something he would regret; all the while he could hear Raikou and Torimaki laughing on the way out.
Not stopping for anything or anyone, he reached his room and shut the door, bolting it against himself as he slumped to the floor with his back pressing it. Today has just been so messed up and out of control. First his pendant and now his duel-disk. And now Crowler is going to tell Snake hat everything happening today was his fault. It was hard to believe all of this stemmed from one small, kind gesture…
Suddenly there was a knock on his door. Jason was in no mood for guests, but his ears perked up when they called out his name. He jumped onto his feet and opened the door, revealing Chakra on the other side. His excitement diminished a bit when he saw her face. It was the same solemn expression she gave while together at the Obelisk dorm, the last time they were this close.
Jason stepped aside to let Chakra inside. With the two of them in the same room, nether tried to make eye contact. Eventually Chakra spoke up, still refusing to look at him, "Jason, why exactly did you come to Duel Academy in the first place?"
The Slifer was a bit surprised by the question, so it took him a little bit of time to answer, "Now that I think bout it, it doesn't seem like anything special. I thought this school would be interesting and…kind of begged my parents to let me go," his face reddened a bit at the last part, "After getting enough good grades and doing all my chores the finally agreed to it. That's just about it…"
"Is that right…I guess that settles it."
Jason looked up towards her, "Settles what..?"
"Settles what I've been thinking about; that you don't belong in Duel Academy," Chakra looked towards Jason's widened eyes with her still-hardened ones, "I'll be completely honest with you. When we first met, I thought you were special. But the more times I've watched you duel, the more I realized how wrong I was."
Jason shied away from Chakra's piercing gaze, "I-I know I haven't been the best at dueling, but I think I've been doing my best…"
"I guess you don't know what 'best' really is!" Jason flinched from Chakra's rising tone, "I thought you needed guidance, so I decided to lend you a hand. But now, it's like you paid no attention to what I've taught you."
"I'm sorry if I made it look like you were wasting your time training me," Jason said, "But I did managed to win when it mattered the most…"
"That's not good enough!" Chakra snapped, "Most of the duels you won were merely by a hair. For all I know, you just got lucky. That can only get you so far, just like how you lost against Raikou and Torimaki; remember, the ones whom you forfeited the black duel-disk you were supposed to be guarding?" another reminder of how bad Jason messed up. He was supposed to represent one of the strongest class of duelists yet was beaten so easily, "That's reason enough to believe that at the pace you're going, you won't make it here."
"I'm sorry you feel that way!" Jason blurted you, "B-but I can do better! I will do better!"
"No you can't! No you won't! Face it, Jason, you reached your limit! You're just not a good enough duelists!" Chakra sighed and pulled her icy stare away, "Jason, I think you should drop out of Duel Academy."
Jason couldn't believe what he was being told. How could his own friend be so callous? "N-no. I can't do that."
"You said yourself that there was no special reason you came here, so it also means there's no reason you should be here. This school is placed to train those who will become future professional duelists. And clearly you're not qualified to be one. The best you're good for is to give an easy pass for those who have that potential; and that's not fair to them. Frankly, I don't really care whether or not you believe this, but it's the truth. And deep down, you know it as well," Chakra walked towards the exit before turning back with that solemn glare, "Consider what I told you, or soon enough, you'll end up disappointing everyone who calls you friend."
Those words were like a riddle as he was left alone again in his room. Chakra had made it thorough that she lost all faith in him. Could she be right about him? Is he just wasting everyone's time being here…?
Jason tried shaking that thought out of his head. He couldn't let that be him. All he had to do was get better, is all. He needs practice to better control his deck. But he couldn't think of even how to. His only choice is to get some sleep. So he slid into the bottom bunk, and closed his eyes…
A sudden alarm jerked Jason back awake. He scrambled around until he found his PDA on his bedside. Answering it he could hear Rock n the other side: "Hey, uh, you doing okay?!" Rock exclaimed, there was strange white noise on the other side with him, "If it's not too much trouble can you come by the forest for a sec? The spot's not exactly hard to miss! Just look outside!"
Jason looked out through the door; it was very windy all of a sudden. But what caught his eye was a giant bird coming out from the trees?! it is, he feels suddenly inclined to go out there and help. And taking his deck with him, he did.
The further he ran into the forest the stronger the wind became, and the more it tried to push Jason from his path. Eventually he managed to break through when he reached a large clearing. He looked around, the wind still whistling despite it being calm in this area, taking notice of a large stone altar in the middle of the area. Up above someone came soaring down from the sky and landed into some trees.
"Alright! You're here!" Rock said, running out from the treeline, "Remember that fire guy we met last night?" Jason precariously nodded, "Well look up there!" Jason looked towards Rock's pinpointed direction and spotted something descending to the ground. It looked like a bronze coffin, with the top half exposed to reveal a mummy-like figure inside, "It looks like there's more of them! He said his name was Anubis or something!"
"My name is Anubisius!" the demanding voice came from the person in the coffin, having just hovered down to one of the altar's pedestal, "And you have no place here, boy. Especially when I now have what I came for."
"He means that pendant you had, remember?" Rock gave the answer to Jason's incoming question. That would also mean that Crowler was the one who dueled and lost. This could be his chance to take it back. So he ran up to the altar, where his opponent's features, specifically his headdress that was styled as an emerald bird, its crest wearing two pieces of ruby as piercing red eyes."If you still have that pendant then I'm prepared to duel you for it!" Jason announced.
"You cannot possibly comprehend the stakes you are getting into," Anubisius growled, "But if you insist on throwing your soul away, I will be glad to help."
"Wait, that's kinda sudden, don't ya think?" Rock's question was ignored as Jason climbed onto the empty pedestal.
"Don't think I will take you lightly because this is what you asked for," Anubisius said, "And when you lose, your soul will be mine!"
"LET'S DUEL!"
Anubisius: 4000
Jason: 4000
"Since we are dueling on my altar, I will go first," Anubisius drew his sixth card, "And with this hand, I will unleash my true power from the start! I activate the magic card Double Summon. And as this card's name suggests it allows me to summon twice this turn. So first I will summon (7) Whirlwind Prodigy (4/ATK: 1500/DEF: 1600)!" a young boy appeared surrounded in a small cyclone of wind (ATK: 1500), "And then, by sacrificing my monster, I summon the mighty (10) Simorgh, Bird of Divinity(7/ATK: 2700/DEF: 1000)!" the cyclone grew and expanded obscuring its half of the field from view. The wind dispersed to reveal a giant green bird, shielding itself with a curtain of its large wings (ATK: 2700), "Finally, I shall place one card face-down to end my turn," a reverse-card appeared.
"Jason, watch out for that big bird!" Rock warned, "That's what did Torimaki in!"
"Torimaki…?" Jason repeated. Crowler must've given his pendant! But be can worry about that later, after he got this duel over with. He eyed the colossal bird in front of him, 'He did mention showing his true power. So if I destroy that monster, will that give me an advantage…?' "It's my turn!" he drew his sixth card, "First I activate the Branch continuous-magic card!" the spell came to life on the field.
Meanwhile, someone else was being drawn into the match. Torimaki, having just been in the area, was watching the duel from behind the treeline, 'Is that's really Jason dueling?! He's no idea what he's getting into!"
"Next I activate Polymerization and use Elemental Heroes Woodsman and Heat to summon Elemental Hero Gaia!" the two monsters merged into the earth-armored Hero hat appeared on the field (ATK: 2200), "And when Gaia is summoned, he can cut the ATK points of a monster in half!" Gaia then smashed into the ground and sent a fissure towards Simorgh.
"Simorgh! Take flight!" Simorgh obeyed Anubisius' command and spread its wings out, laughing itself into the sky to leave the breaking earth under it. Simorgh was now holding high above the arena and the forest, "This is the advantage my beast possesses. As a wind-attribute monster, it is unaffected by any effect made by an EARTH monster. And in addition, it gains a field-power-bonus for playing it in the sky (ATK: 3510)!"
"He did the same thing last time, too!" Rock said in awe.
Jason gulped, 'So I can't use earth-attribute monsters…' he then looked down at the field, 'But it's so far away from the field. I wonder…'
"Gaia! Attack his life-points directly!" Gaia charged forth with is fist reeled back.
"Impossible!" Anubisius recoiled from the action, just in time to endure the impact of Gaia's punch.
Anubisius: 1800
Jason: 4000
"What just happened?!" Torimaki wondered, "There's still a monster out; he shouldn't be able to attack directly!"
"Curse you!" Anubisius exclaimed, "There's no way you could have known that flying monsters can leave the player's field vulnerable!"
"That didn't happen last time," Rock muttered, wondering, "Just what kind of rules are these guys playing by?"
"I summon one more monster face-down and another card face-down!" a set monster and a reverse-card appeared on Jason's field, "That ends my turn."
"Not just yet! I activate my face-down cards Mystical Space Typhoon and Dust Tornado!" Anubisius' reverse-card opened, whereas the wind suddenly picked up, "Both cards have the power to destroy both cards on your field!" the wind was focused into a massive cyclone that swept away both Jason's Branch card and set card. It was even powerful enough to push Jason back to a certain degree if he hadn't gripped onto his pedestal, "And since this your end-phase, Simorgh's effect activates!" Simorgh's wings fanned the sky and managed to push a strong gust of wind over the opponent's field. Jason found himself once again holding a tight grip on his pedestal against the strong winds until it passed, "Simorgh can inflict 1000 points of damage to a player at the end of their turns. The only way to prevent that from happening is to have a spell or trap card on your field to decrease the damage by 500 per card."
Anubisius: 1800
Jason: 3000
"Now it is my turn," Anubisius drew his next card, "I summon (8) Bladefly(2/ATK: 600/DEF: 700) to my field!" a large red insect with a glade-like stinger appeared (ATK: 600), "And due to its effect, all wind-attribute monsters gain 500 ATK points, while all earth-attribute monsters lose 400 ATK points!" the insect shot up through the barrier and into the sky around Simorgh. With a few wing beats, the giant body unleashed a powerful that of wind that seemed to push Gaia down against the field.
Simorgh, Bird of Divinity: (ATK: 4010)
Bladefly: (ATK: 1280)
Elemental Hero Gaia: (ATK: 1700)
"Now, Simorgh! Attack Elemental Hero Gaia!" Simorgh summoned another stronger gust of wind that was able to sweep Gaia off the field into mid-air, where the bird managed to destroy him with a swipe of its talons.
Anubisius: 1800
Jason: 690
"Then I will have Bladefly destroy your face-down monster!" the bladed insect soared down to the field and slashed through the set monster, which was revealed as a Morphing Jar before it was destroyed.
"When Morphing Jar is flipped face-up, both players have to send our entire hand to the graveyard and draw 5 new cards!" both duelists then replenished their respective hand.
"At least Jason can have a plan b ready…" Rock said.
"All you have done is given me a new opportunity to defeat you!" Anubisius chuckled under his bandages, "I place two cards face-down to end my turn!"
"It's my turn!" Jason drew his next card, "First I activate the magic card Rain of Mercy! This card gives both players 1000 life-points!" the field was briefly drizzled on by a light rain.
Anubisius: 2800
Jason: 1690
"Next I activate Fusion Recovery to add Polymerization and a monster from my graveyard to my hand!" Jason returned his two cards, "Next I activate the magic card Lightning Vortex!" after placing the card on the pedestal, the sky began to gather rumbling black clouds, "By discarding one card from my hand, I can destroy every monster on the opponent's side of the field!" the clouds above Simorgh and Bladefly started to flash right before they were struck by bolts of lightning.
"Nice one!" Rock grinned, "With Simorgh out of the picture the rest is easy pickings!"
"I activate the Pole Position trap card!" Anubisius' reverse-card opened, "With this, the monster with the highest ATK power on my field is immune to magic effects!" Simorgh remained hovering alone as the clouds parted.
Simorgh, Bird of Divinity: (ATK: 3510)
"Figures it'd be too easy…" Rock grumbled.
"I summon Elemental Hero Ice Edge in ATK mode!" the petite ice hero appeared (ATK: 800), "Ice Edge, attack him directly!" Ice Edge formed a couple of ice daggers and threw them across the field.
"I activate the trap card Spirit Barrier!" Anubisius' other reverse-card opened and a wall of light shot up and deflected the attack. His entire half of the field was soon protected by a translucent barrier, "As long as I have a monster out, your attacks will never get through!"
"Then I activate Polymerization, fusing Elemental Hero Ice Edge with Woodsman from my hand to summon Elemental Hero Absolute Zero!" the two monsters merged into the ice-armored hero which appeared in Ice Edge's place (DEF: 2000), "Finally I place one card face-down and end my turn!" a reverse-card appeared, after which Simorgh set another gust of wind towards the opponent.
Anubisius: 2800
Jason: 1190
"Now it's my turn!" Anubisius drew his next card, "I activate the accessory card Cursed Bill, and equip it onto your Absolute Zero!" a small parchment suddenly attached itself onto Absolute Zero's forehead, "Now if your monster were to be destroyed while holding this Cursed Bill, you will take damage equal to its DEF points! I was made aware of how dangerous your Absolute Zero can be, so I've prepared my deck to counter it's nasty effect. It may still be able to destroy my monsters, but you'll lose the duel because of it! Now attack, Simorgh!" the giant bird fanned another gust of wind down to the arena.
"I activate my trap card Windstorm of Etaqua!" Jason opened his reverse-card, and another wind source blew upward, much stronger as it was able to push pack Simorgh's attack, and the bird itself, "It switches the battle-position of every monster on the opponent's field!" the wind continued carrying Simorgh through its powerful current until it abruptly stopped, leaving the giant bird to fall back down onto the arena with a hard crash (DEF: 1200).
"Close call…" Rock sighed.
"You can't avoid the inevitable forever! I activate the magic card Mist Body!" Simorgh dissipated into wisps of steam before reforming itself in an upright position, same as it was when it first appeared, "It's an accessory card that can protect the monster I equip it to from being destroyed in battle. Now Simorgh is practically indestructible! That will end my turn!"
"It's my turn!" Jason drew his next card, "I place one card face-down and end my turn," at that time Simorgh sent a gust of wind from another wingbeat against Jason.
Anubisius: 2800
Jason: 690
"It's my turn!" Anubisius drew his next card, "And I summon (9) Lady Ninja Yae(3/ATK: 1100/DEF: 200) to my field!" a green-haired woman in a purple ninja uniform appeared (DEF: 200), "Now for her monster-effect: by sending one wind-attribute monster from my hand to the graveyard, every one of your magic and trap cards will be sent right back to the hand!" after performing a few hand gestures the ninja fired a large cyclone straight towards the opposing field.
"I activate my quick-play magic card De-Fusion!" Jason opened he reverse-card before it was swept away by the tornado, "It returns a fusion-monster from my field to my deck, and summons the monsters used in its fusion!" Absolute Zero separated back into Ice Edge (DEF: 600) and Woodsman (DEF: 2000), "And when Absolute Zero leaves the field, all monsters on the opponent's side of the field are destroyed!"
Anubisius watched already in shock as both Simorgh and the ninja were encased in blocks of ice before they were shattered into pieces, "My monsters!"
"It's my turn!" Jason drew his next card, "I summon Elemental Hero Stratos in ATK mode!" the jetpack-wearing hero appeared (ATK: 1800), "And when this monster is summoned, it can destroy as may of my opponent's magic or trap cards for every Elemental Hero on the field with him!" Stratos fired a twin cyclone that ripped through Anubisius' only trap card and destroyed it, "And after switching Ice Edge and Woodsman to ATK mode, all 3 of my monsters will attack directly!" Stratos fired another twin hurricane while Ice Edge threw his ice daggers and Woodsman swung is fist into the opponent with his wooden arm. Their combined force knocked Anubisius through is shattered coffin and onto the ground.
Anubisius: 0
Jason: 690
"Jason! You won!" Rock cheered as Jason jumped off the burrowing altar.
'I must be seeing things! A Slifer slacker beating someone an Obelisk like me can't?!' Torimaki thought watching the Slifer approach the fallen mage, 'This must be some kind of trick! Yeah, there's no other explanation!" he backed away from the tree he's hiding against, 'Well, no one gets away from making a fool out of me! Just wait!' he then ran for his dorm.
"I think you have something that's mine…" Jason said, solemnly looking down at the mage.
"Fine. Then it's yours…" the pendant Anubisius was wearing glowed before vanishing. The same glow went to Jason as he awed at the pendant reappearing around his neck.
"That saves us the trouble of holding him down…" Rock muttered, standing next to Jason.
"But don't think this is over. I was able to protect my soul in this shadow game. And now that I saw your cards, I now know how to defeat you. I'll be back and then reclaim the Millennium Shield and then your soul!" through the time he was talking, Anubisius' began vanishing from the feet up and disappeared completely by the time he finished.
"Now that was freaky…" Rock muttered before turning towards Jason, "Hope that got you outta that funk you're in."
Jason looked over towards the treeline, "How did this happen…?"
"Remember how you lost your black duel-disk to those two Obelisk?" Jason could only grunt in dismay, "Alright, dumb question. I went over to their dorm after to take it back. The details of how it happened don't matter so I'll give you the shorter version: another one of those weird guys in capes came out of nowhere and called Torimaki out and those two vanished without a trace! I managed to find them clashing in the middle of the forest and, well, you know the rest."
"I didn't think I could get this back," Jason muttered, pulling up his pendant, "Crowler must've gave it to him earlier…"
"And look where that got him. You know what that means?" Rock said, "All you gotta do is take your duel-disk back from Raikou and you're good."
"I wasn't able to beat him last time…" was all Jason could say.
"You mean two Obelisks at the same time last time. But when you duel them one-on-one you got nothing to worry about!" Rock did have a point. Jason had to play against both Obelisks at a half-score handicap. He did well so far until he lost at the last second, "And what about how you were able to beat every shadow game you were in?" again, he made a good point, "So do you feel confident now?"
"I guess so," Jason gave a small nod, "Thanks…"
"Don't mention it. Hey, I've been meaning to tell you something that could cheer you up…"
"Why are we going to the lake…?" Jason asked as he and Rock were walking down the path towards Obelisk area.
"You must not have heard the rumors. Folks were going all day about seeing a vampire last night."
"A…vampire…?"
"Yep, that's right, you heard me. And it all happened somewhere around this lake… hey, we're here!" the two were now standing in front of the large lake.
"But if there's a vampire out then shouldn't we be indoors where it's safe…?"
"It's not like we're giving him an autograph, we're just gonna sit back and watch the show. It's be like a drive-in!"
"A vampire who duels…?" Jason was then getting pushed towards a large bush nearby, where he and Rock were then ducked down inside, "What is it…?"
"Tonight's entertainment…!" Rock pointed out to the shore where a group was approaching.
"I think we should go on back and leave it to them. I already got in trouble for breaking curfew before…"
"Hey, it won't be any problem. All we gotta do is watch the duel and stay outta sight. Then we an sneak back and no one would even know. Simple!" Rock peeked through the bushes, trying to listen in, "…I can't hear anything from here. Let's move in a bit closer…" taking the bush with them, the two scuttled closer to the lake and closer to the group that was Chazz, Zane, Bastion and Crowler, who was standing closer to the lake, his legs seen shaking.
"Yo, Crowler! What's the hold-up!" Chazz snapped to the teacher.
"If you're in such a hurry, why don't you go first!" Crowler hissed back.
"Gentlemen; vhy don't I come to you…" the fog seemed to part for way of a figure approaching, seeming like they were walking on the lake. The moonlight showed her appearance as they approach the shore: a tall woman with long green hair in a red sleeveless dress.
"That's a vampire?!" Rock breathlessly exclaimed, "She looks like she belongs on a centerfold!"
After reaching the end of the lake, the lady surveyed the shores until she spotted something that she could only reply with a blank stare, "Who might you be?"
Crowler gulped, "I'm your challenger…"
"…You are not worthy," the vampire lady finally sighed.
Crowler newly fell over from that insult, "I beg your pardon?!" he screeched, "I have a PhD in Dueling! That's nine years of duel-school, you know!"
"Not to mention that PhD's just as good as a coaster…" Rock muttered.
"Fine; if you are so eager to lose your key, you may duel me: Camula, Vampire Mistress of the Shadow Riders," as she took a bow, a flock of bats fluttered around behind her.
Rock gasped, "So she the vampire! That Transylvanian accent was a dead giveaway!"
"Rubber bats and plastic teeth," Crowler scoffed, "You don't scare me."
"Well perhaps this vill: if you lose, not only do I get your spirit key, I get your soul. Actually, this little doll does," the vampire held up a small burlap doll.
"Is that all?" Crowler snickered, "Don't you want something for your 'mummy'? Or even perhaps your 'pet werewolf' for something to chew on?"
"Be careful what you vish for, because it may just come true, key-keeper. Let's duel!"
Everyone else made room for the two duelists to face each other at the edge of the lake. While Crowler activated his custom duel-disk, Camula's was formed in the shape of a batwing skeleton.
"DUEL!"
Camila: 4000
Crowler: 4000
"So, key-keeper; you say you don't believe in verewolves..?" Camila drew her sixth card, "Well perhaps this vill convince you: rise, (3) Zombie Verewolf(4/ATK: 1200/DEF: 1200)!" a humanoid grey wolf in tattered pants appeared (ATK: 1200), "I'll end my turn vith a face-down," a reverse-card appeared.
"Please; what do you take me for, some kind of amateur?" Croaker scoffed, "That face-down is obviously a trap and that fleabag is obviously the bait. Even so, I'll bite…" he drew his sixth card, "You've bitten off more that you can chew, my dear. I play a spell known as Ancient Gear Castle!" the continuous-spell brought to life a giant stone castle that rose behind Crowler, "It gives all of my Ancient Gear creatures an extra 300 ATK points! Secondly, I'll play the (1) Ancient Gear Soldier(4/ATK: 1300/DEF: 1300) in ATK mode," a man-sized gear golem appeared, it's right arm hinging a machine-rifle (ATK: 1300), "As I said, with the castle out, all my gear monsters gain 300 ATK points (ATK: 1600)! Now Camula, I think it's one to give that slobbering, mangy mutt his shots! Ancient Gear Soldier, attack with Rapid-Fire Fury!" the soldier aimed at the Werewolf and its spinning magazine unloaded a flurry of laser fire that destroyed the monster.
Camila: 3600
Crowler: 4000
"I guess Crowler's more of a cat person," Zane smiled.
"That was fun!" Crowler giggled, jumping in place, "I should get out of the classroom more often!"
"On the contrary…" the calm expression of Camila said, "You should study up. Then you vill know that my Verewolf is coming back!" her smirk grew as Zombie Werewolf returned (ATK: 1700).
"But how?!" Crowler gasped.
"Ah, the living. I forget the ignorance of the beating heart. When Zombie Verewolf is attacked, I get to summon another one from my deck, one with 500 more ATK points!"
"And he teaches us?" Chazz groaned.
"Don't worry, everything is under control," Crowler assured as a reverse-card appeared, "I'll place one card face-down, and I believe it's your turn."
"Why thank you," Camila drew her next card, "I summon (4) Vampire Bat(3/ATK: 800/DEF: 800) in ATK mode!" a giant red-eyed vampire bat appeared (ATK: 800), "Now, vith my winged friend on the field, every zombie monster on my field gains 200 ATK points!"
Zombie Werewolf: (ATK: 1900)
Vampire Bat: (ATK: 1000)
"Don't the three of you look cute," Crowler scoffed, "Now if you had bags you could go trick-or-treating."
"The only 'treat' vill be your demise. Zombie Verewolf, go six on that Gear Soldier! Midnight Pounce!" the werewolf lunged towards the soldier and closed its jaws into it, crushing it into pieces.
Camila: 3600
Crowler: 3700
"Well, looks like your mutt still has some bite in him after all," Crowler smirked, "No matter. I still have no life-points."
"Perhaps, although not for much longer! Vampire Bat, attack vith Swarming Scourge!" the giant bat fell apart into a giant flock that were soon swarming around Crowler. The teacher had to smash his hands in his ears to block out the high-pitched screeching all around him.
'I can actually feel their little teeth! This isn't some dueling hologram; this is real!' Crowler grimaced as he fell to his knees, 'But that means…this is a real shadow-game!"
Camila: 3600
Crowler: 2700
Camula laughed as her flock formed back to her field, "For rubber bats the pack quite a vallop, don't they? Look, darling; you don't have to take this punishment. Step down and I'll duel the one in vhite."
"Hear that?" Chazz smirked to Zane, "Sounds like you're her type."
"I'll be happy to agree with Chazz if it stops us from losing," Rock said, "I mean what was Sheppard thinking giving Crowler one of those keys!"
"So how about it, darling? Give me your student and I'll let you go free."
"As tempting as your offer is…" Crowler staggered to his feet, "I don't think so! I won't let you lay a finger on me students! Do you understand?! I am the leading professor at the most famous Duel Academy in the world and if you want to get to my pupils, you'll have o get through yours truly!"
"But you can barely stand!" Chazz frowned.
"Don't worry about me… I still…have a deck in my hand, and a few…tricks up my sleeve. Like…this one: I play my face-down card known as Damage Condenser!" Crowler pressed a button on his dueling vest and his set card opened, "It let's e summon a monster with ATK points equal or less to the damage you just inflicted on me! In other words, the more pain you deal, the more hurt you feel! Rise, Ancient Gear Soldier!" a copy of the previous soldier appeared, "But he won't e around for long. I now sacrifice the Ancient Gear Soldier to summon own four-legged friend: the (2) Ancient Gear Beast(5/ATK: 2000/DEF: 2000)!" the duplicate soldier was replaced by a large, four-legged animal and of metal and gears (ATK: 2300), "And you're about to see that he's well-trained! Ancient Gear Beast, show that Zombie Werewolf who's top dog!"
"Don't do it! If you win, shell bring back the Werewolf again, hello!" Chazz warned.
"Appreciate the advice, Chazz, but you're forgetting his special-ability: Ancient Gear Beast negates the effect of any destroyed monster."
"What a clever calculation!" Bastion gasped.
"Now, attack Zombie Werewolf!" the metal beast closed its jaws into Zombie Werewolf and destroyed the lycanthrope.
Camila: 3200
Crowler: 2700
Crowler laughed triumphantly, "If you'd like some help in dueling strategy, feel free to drop by my class."
"Maybe Crowler's lesson plans really do work," Chazz muttered.
"Be quiet…" Bastion warned, "He'd only give us more homework."
"Nice move…" Camila few her next card, "Pity you von't have many more. I play the field card known as Infernalvania!" after the field-spell activated, the fog parted to reveal a gigantic castle floating in the mist far behind her.
"You can't!" Crowler gasped, "You'll destroy everything with that!"
"Exactly. By discarding one zombie-type monster from my hand, I an send every monster that's on the field straight to the graveyard!"
"True, but don't forget," Chazz warned, "By using Infernalvania, you're not gonna be able to normal-summon your monsters anymore!"
"So vat? Who says I need anymore monsters?" Camula then smirked towards Crowler, "Isn't that right?"
"Don't give me that!" Crowler snapped, "I know all about that bat of yours!"
"But do your students? Do they know my Vampire Bat can be made invincible simply by discarding another from my deck? Or did you skip that chapter…? But first, I'll sacrifice one of my zombie monsters for Infernalvania!" a pale man in a dark suit appeared and vanished from the field before the castle itself glowed. Both Ancient Gear Beast and Vampire Bat vere then destroyed, "Now, by discarding another from my deck, I can keep this Vampire Bat on the field," the giant bat returned after another card went into Camula's graveyard, "Now attack the good professor!"
"No! Not again!" Crowley howled over the screeching swarm of bats surrounding him, "I can't take much more of this!"
"He needs help!" Zane anxiously stated.
"No! Stay back!" Crowler shouted back, "This is my duel…and my duel alone! You must protect…your…keys…" by the time the bats retreated, he was already wearing out and fell to the ground.
Camila: 3200
Crowler: 1700
"Crowler!" Zane called out to the teacher, "We can't just stay here and do nothing!"
"Yes, I completely agree with you, darling," Camula smiled towards Zane, "Come and save your professor, seeing as he can't have himself."
"You're wrong!" everyone turned to see Jaden coming over, being carried over by Chumley and followed by Syrus, "Doctor Crowler can win this duel!"
'I know that voice…' Crowler slowly regained consciousness, 'It's slacker!"
"I know because I've dueled him! Believe me, he can throw down and he can beat you! Get up, Doctor Crowler, and get your game on!"
That seemed to be enough encouragement for Crowler to stumble back to his feet, "I'm not giving up!"
"Oh?" Camula blinked, "You're still here?"
"You had better believe it! I'm here to stay too, missy! You see, as much as I hate to admit it, Jaden is absolutely right! I can beat you, I an throw down, and I an get my game on! Oh great; now I feel like I've got to wash out my mouth or something…"
"C'mon, it's not that bad…" Jaden smirked.
"Yes, but you know what is? His life-points," Bastion said.
"To win, Crowler would have to mount quite a comeback," Zane added.
"If Jaden believes, then you better believe I got Crowler's back on this! …By the way remind me to kick myself for that later…" he glanced over to his fellow Slifer for confirmation when he saw him not only intensely focused on the duel, he was chewing on his lower lip as well, "…So is that a yes or a no?"
"Now; let's duel," Crowler drew his next card, "I summon Ancient Gear Golem in ATK mode!" everyone watched as the massive metal giant rose to the field (ATK: 3000).
"Check it! It's Crowler's best monster!" Chazz grinned.
"But where's the sacrifice…?" Syrus wondered.
"It's on the field: the Ancient Gear Castle," Zane explained with a smile as the castle vanished, "When it's on the field, and you summon a monster with the word 'Ancient' in its name, you can sacrifice the gear castle as it counts as how many sacrifice as to how many monsters you've summoned so far!"
"Now, Ancient Gear Golem! Attack Vampire Bat with Mechanized Melee!" the golem's gears spun as it shot it's fist right through Vampire Bat and destroyed it.
Camila: 1200
Crowler: 1700
"Did you forget? My Vampire Bat can't be destroyed," Camula hissed, "But thanks to Infernalvania your Golem can!"
"I'm afraid you're mistaken, my dear."
"Huh…?"
"What's he gonna do…?" Chazz wondered.
"Oh, nothing…except destroy every spell card on the field! Suffer the wrath of Heavy Storm!" Crowler presented the spell card before playing is, calling out a powerful storm that blew away Camula's reverse-card and field-spell, returning the location to its previous state.
"Huh, you must be a bore for your students," Camula sighed in disappointment, "So predictable…"
"Please. You don't know what you're talking about."
"Oh…Don't I?!" the vampire's face suddenly contorted; jaws stretched, fangs grew and long tongue wagging out of her mouth, she was beginning to play the part of a real monster, "I play Zombie Bed!"
Crowler scowled as a trap card came to life on the field, "You can't! I just destroyed that card!"
"Which is exactly vat I vanted you to do!"
"But why?!"
"Of course, it's obvious!" Zane grimaced, "In order to be activated, Zombie Bed must be destroyed!"
"Very good, my darling. Now thanks to its effect, I get to bring back Zombie Verewolf in ATK mode!" the savage wolfman returned (ATK: 1700), "Not only that, he gains the 200-point-boost from my Vampire Bat!"
"She knows Crowler's moves before he even makes it!" Chazz cursed.
"It's so easy to know people's moves and decks ven you have a hundred flying bats…" as if on cue a giant bat perched itself on Camula's shoulder, the vampire meanwhile having put away her monster face, "I play Book of Life! This resurrects my (5) Vampire Lord(5/ATK: 2000/DEF: 1500)!" the same pale man in a suit returned (ATK: 2200), "However, you cannot give life vithout taking it away; so I'll be taking your Ancient Gear Beast from your graveyard so you can't use him again! Now, I'm removing Vampire Lord from play to summon (6) Vampire Genesis(8/ATK: 3000/DEF: 2100)!" the gentleman-like vampire was then replaced by a massive, purple-skinned monster with a wing-like cape (ATK: 3000), "Since Vampire Bat is still on the field, my Genesis' power gains 200 ATK points!"
Looking up at the towering monster army and doing the math, Crowler was staring defeat right in front of him. But then instead of panicking, he turned to the others, "My students! No matter what happens to me, always remember this: it's true, I may have been hard on you at times, but only because I believe in you. Therefore, if I all here, there's still hope. I know that you will all rise!"
"Don't talk like that!" Zane snapped.
"Have you finished your final lesson yet, Crowler?" Camula yawned.
"Excuse me but that's Doctor Crowler to you!"
Camula laughed, "Very vell. I'll put that on your tombstone as soon as I'm finished! Vampire Genesis, destroy his Golem!" Genesis unleashed a violent mist that coiled around the Golem like a snake and crushed it into scrap like one as well.
Camila: 1200
Crowler: 1200
"Is that all?!" Crowler stumbled, "I thought you Shadow Riders were supposed to be tough!"
"You vant more? Very vell! Zombie Verewolf, attack him directly!" it was the lycanthrope's turn as it pulled a pained scream from Crowler with a swipe of its claws.
Camila: 1200
Crowler: 0
"Had enough? Here, try this as well! Vampire Bat, attack now!" the bat once again deformed into a giant swarm fluttering over Crowler, releasing the loudest choir of screeches they could.
"Doctor Crowler!" Jaden cried out.
"Jaden…avenge me, my boy…" the bats separated as soon as Crowler went tumbling to the ground, this time staying down…
Camila: 1200
Crowler: 0
"His key is mine!" Camula announced with a triumphant tone.
Chazz glared at her, "No way…"
"We can't stop her," Jaden grimaced, "Crowler lost the duel!"
Camula walked over and removed the key from Crowler's person, only for it to vanished in her hand, "One down, six more to go. Now children, for my second prize…" she stood and pulled out the doll. It slowly warped until it took the form of the same person who was no longer there: Doctor Crowler. Looking at the doll, her smile softened, "Dolls are pretty; this is decidedly not…" she let it slip from her hands like it were a worn-down toy, "It's garbage now."
"That's it!" Jaden was about to march up and avenge his teacher before someone blocked his path, "Zane…?"
"She's mine, Jaden."
"I'm afraid I must say farewell to you all for now, my children," Camula's smile grew as a giant castle revealed itself from being the parting fog.
"We'll find you!" Bastion swore.
"And duel!" Chazz added.
"Children…that is exactly vat I'm hoping for," her form seemed to have shift from place to places further back to the castle. Even as she disappeared into the building, her cold and haughty laughter was still clear in the air…
"I can't believe he lost to a Shadow Rider… I mean I guess I can, but it's just not right!" Rock turned his gaze towards Jason, whose eyes were felt to the ground with a grim frown on his face… 'I don't think I like where this is going…'
DUEL-MON DATABASE
(1) Ancient Gear Soldier
Stats: [Machine/Effect] LV4 ATK/1300 DEF/ 1300
Attribute: EARTH
Effect: If this card attacks, your opponent cannot activate any Spell/Trap Cards until the end of the Damage Step.
(2) Ancient Gear Beast
Stats: [Machine/Effect] LV5 ATK/2000 DEF/ 2000
Attribute: EARTH
Effect: Cannot be Special Summoned. Negate the effects of an opponent's monster destroyed by battle with this card (including in the Graveyard). If this card attacks, your opponent cannot activate any Spell/Trap Cards until the end of the Damage Step.
(3) Zombie Werewolf
Stats: [Zombie/Effect] LV4 ATK/1200 DEF/ 1200
Attribute: DARK
Effect: When this card is destroyed by battle, you can Special Summon a card with the same name from your Deck and it gains 500 ATK.
(4) Vampire Bat
Stats: [Zombie/Effect] LV3 ATK/800 DEF/ 1200
Attribute: DARK
Effect: All face-up Zombie-Type monsters you control gain 200 ATK. If this face-up card on the field would be destroyed, you can send 1 "Vampire Bat" from your Deck to the Graveyard instead.
(5) Vampire Lord
Stats: [Zombie/Effect] LV5 ATK/2000 DEF/1500
Attribute: DARK
Effect: When this card inflicts battle damage to your opponent: Declare 1 card type (Monster, Spell, or Trap); your opponent sends 1 card of that type from their Deck to the Graveyard. During your next Standby Phase after this card in your possession was destroyed and sent to your Graveyard by an opponent's card effect: Special Summon this card from the Graveyard.
(6) Vampire Genesis
Stats: [Zombie/Effect] LV8 ATK/3000 DEF/2100
Attribute: DARK
Effect: Cannot be Normal Summoned/Set. Must be Special Summoned (from your hand) by banishing 1 "Vampire Lord" you control, and cannot be Special Summoned by other ways. Once per turn: You can discard 1 Zombie-Type monster to the Graveyard, then target 1 Zombie-Type monster in your Graveyard with a Level less than the discarded Zombie-Type monster's; Special Summon that target.
(7) Whirlwind Prodigy
Stats: [Fairy/Effect] LV4 ATK/1500 DEF/1600
Attribute: WIND
Effect: When Tribute Summoning a WIND monster, you can treat this 1 monster as 2 Tributes.
(8) Bladefly
Stats: [Insect/Effect] LV2 ATK/600 DEF/700
Attribute: WIND
Effect: As long as this card remains face-up on the field, increase the ATK of all WIND monsters by 500 points and decrease the ATK of all EARTH monsters by 400 points.
(9) Lady Ninja Yae
Stats: [Warrior/Effect] LV3 ATK/1100 DEF/200
Attribute: WIND
Effect: By discarding 1 WIND monster from your hand to the Graveyard, return all Spell and Trap Cards on your opponent's side of the field to the owner's hand.
(10) Simorgh, Bird of Divinity
Stats: [Winged-Beast/Effect] LV7 ATK/2700 DEF/1000
Attribute: WIND
Effect: This card cannot be Special Summoned. If you Tribute Summon this card, all Tributes must be WIND. Each player takes 1000 damage during each of their End Phases, while this card remains face-up on the field. This damage is decreased by 500 for each Spell/Trap Card the player controls.
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