Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh Gx! Plain and simple.
So, as usual, this took a while, sorry for the delay, etc, etc... enjoy!
The Samurai Kid
By: Patattack
Of Friends and Family
Mid-morning, a ship was making its way through the ocean, heading towards Academy Island with a load of passengers on board. One of said passengers was a short (almost midget) teenage girl with round blue eyes and long red/black hair with blond bangs, dressed casually in a plain t-shirt, baggy jeans and sneakers. "Hikaru," someone called out, coming up behind her. The girl, apparently named Hikaru, stood straight from where she was leaning on the railing to admire the view and turned around face a mature, brown haired woman with eyes exactly like her own.
"Hey mom," she replied to the woman. "Where are Lily and Serenity?"
"Lily was feeling a little queasy, so Serenity's down below looking after her. But there's no need to worry, it's nothing serious. So, meet anyone interesting on the ship yet?"
"Yeah, there's this guy, I think he said his name was Gale Storm, his parents put him on the ship by himself to visit Duel Academy to see if he wants to join up next year like Lily and I. And there was a set of twins, Rita and Reina Johnson. They're here for the same reason, and to visit a friend of theirs who goes to Duel Academy. Somehow, I have a feeling those girls won't be lacking for attention if they do decide to attend next year."
"Oh, and what makes you say that?" Hikaru's mother asked, curious.
"Well…" Hikaru gave a heft of her modest bosom. "You know."
"Yeah, I get the idea," she replied, rolling her eyes at this. The two of them remained quiet for a moment, simply enjoying the view, when they were approached by a young girl with shoulder length orange hair, brown eyes and wearing a white sleeveless summer dress. Accompanying her was an older woman who was clearly her mother, given the uncanny resemblance. "How're you feeling now, Lily?" Hikaru's mother asked the girl.
"All better," she replied with a bright smile. "Thanks for asking, Ms. Moto."
"Please, none of the "Ms" stuff, just call me Tea, alright?"
"Yeah, apparently being called "Ms" makes her feel old," Hikaru spoke up with a snicker.
"So, Serenity," Tea addressed the other woman, pointedly ignoring her daughter's comment. "Do you have any news from Jeremy? Seems like it's been a while since the last time I heard from him."
"Well, I suppose there's no harm in telling you… Apparently Jeremy's found himself a girlfriend."
"I didn't know about that!" Hikaru exclaimed. "Who's the lucky girl?"
"It's true, we heard it from his mother," Lily confirmed. "And her name's Christine Kaiba."
"Really? Jeremy is dating Seto Kaiba's daughter?" Tea said in surprise, to which Lily nodded. "Didn't expect that, considering how Joey and Kaiba never got along back in the day."
"They still don't, you know," Serenity pitched in.
"Yeah, that doesn't exactly surprise me."
"Attention all passengers!" a voice was heard over the ship's loudspeakers. "We're approaching Duel Academy and will be docking in approximately 20 minutes. Please be sure to secure your belongings, and we hope you had a pleasant trip."
"Well, it'll be nice to see Jeremy again after so long," Hikaru stated. "And I can't wait to tease him about having a girlfriend. This is going to be fun."
"Shouldn't we perhaps consider going easy on him?" Lily questioned.
"Lily, Lily, Lily… You're Jeremy's cousin/little sister figure, and I'm his childhood friend. And, as such, it's our job, no, our duty to tease him about stuff like this."
"I suppose you're right," she said with a small smile.
Later at noon, Jeremy could be found in the main building's cafeteria, having lunch at a table with Syrus and Chumley. "Hey guys, did you get a look at the group that came in on the boat this morning?"
"Yeah, it's a bunch of potential future students who're here to get a tour of Duel Academy," Syrus said. "Funny thing, Zane mentioned that one of the girls sitting in on one of his classes kind of reminded him of Yugi Moto."
"Wait a sec," Jeremy spoke up, his attention having sparked. "Repeat that last part, will you?"
"Umm… Zane saw a girl that looked like Yugi Moto?"
"Was she really short and look like a tomboy?"
"I have no idea. But you could always ask Zane yourself, he's sitting right there," Syrus pointed to another table where his brother was sitting with Erik and Sean. Jeremy then got up from his seat and made his way other to the Obelisk boys' table, Syrus and Chumley giving each other confused looks as he talked to Zane, then returned to his table a moment later.
"That girl Zane mentioned, she's a childhood friend of mine," Jeremy explained. "Her name's Hikaru, and the reason she looks like Yugi Moto is because she's his daughter." Syrus and Chumley's eyes widened in surprise at this. "But that's not all. I also confirmed that my younger cousin Lily is also visiting Duel Academy. And even though we're only cousins, she's always been more of a little sister figure to me, meaning I can be… protective of her. So, bottom line, I trust the two of you, but I swear I will go all kung-fu on any guy who makes inappropriate advances on her. And by 'inappropriate advances', I mean any advances at all."
"Jeremy, does your cousin have brown eyes and orange hair?" Chumley inquired.
"Yeah, how'd you… she's standing right behind me, isn't she?"
"Pretty much."
Jeremy slowly turned around, upon which he could see his cousin Lily, as well as Hikaru, Serenity and Tea. "I guess this explains why Darion was too scared to hold Lily's hand," Serenity mused. "And here I thought it was Tristan's fault."
"Actually, that one was entirely his doing," Jeremy pointed out.
"What about Shiseo?" Tea asked. "Was that you?"
"It was a joint effort."
"Takeshi?" Hikaru inquired.
"I might have had something to do with that."
"Isamu?" Lily piped up.
"... Anyway, these are my friends, Chumley and Syrus," Jeremy said, attempting to change the subject. "Guys, this is my aunt Serenity, my cousin Lily, my friend Hikaru, and her mom Tea."
"Hello."
"Hi."
"Nice to meet you both," Serenity said with a smile.
"Why don't you all sit down," Jeremy offered, which they did. "By the way, there's another friend of ours, Jaden, who isn't here right now because this weird dude called 'The Admiral' tricked him into leaving Duel Academy behind and coming with him to this school he's built at the bottom of the ocean, but a couple other guys we know managed to get a hold of him after Mokuba Kaiba let them use one of Kaibacorp's satellites, so he's going to be coming back here in a few days or so."
"Does weird stuff like this happen around here often?" Tea asked.
Jeremy, Chumley and Syrus looked at each other before the latter answered the question. "You have no idea."
"So…" Hikaru a grin spreading across her face. "What's this I hear about you dating Seto Kaiba's daughter?"
"How… do you know about that?"
"Your mother told Lily and I, and we told them," Serenity explained, smiling in amusement.
"Mom, you traitor," Jeremy muttered under his breath.
"Come on, don't leave us out of the loop," Hikaru insisted. "Inquiring minds want to know."
The blond Slifer breathed in deep before providing an answer. "Yes, I am going out with Christine Kaiba and have been for a while now."
"How did you get with her in the first place?"
"I am not telling you that. And neither will Syrus and Chumley. Right, guys?" The two Slifers mimed zipping their mouths shut, though that didn't stop them from smiling at his embarrassment. "So, since we're pretty much finished lunch, why don't we all go outside for now?" The others nodded in agreement at this and stood up from the table, the three boys leading the way. As they walked through the school, their conversation continued, though Jeremy managed to steer the subject away from his love life, inquiring as to where the rest of Lily and Hikaru's families were. Serenity explained that her husband, Tristan Taylor, who worked as a private detective, had been hired by the Tokyo Police to help them with an important case, and Tea informed him that her son Akio had caught a cold, so her husband Yugi had stayed behind to take care of him. Then, just as the group was stepping outside, a certain green haired boy from Obelisk Blue happened to bump into Hikaru.
"Watch where you're going, girly," Damian spat out.
"Hey, you're the one who bumped into me!" the tomboy shot back at him.
"Not this asshole again," Jeremy muttered angrily under his breath.
"You wanna make something of it, midget?"
"Hey! Only my friends and family get to poke fun at me about my height, and you most certainly don't qualify as either one, you big dumb ape!"
"Oh yeah? You think you're all that just cause you look like you're Yugi Moto's kid?"
"FYI, I look like Yugi Moto's kid because he's my father, jerk face."
"Hikaru, I know he's rude, but there's no need to resort to calling him names like that," Tea spoke up.
"Yeah, don't let this son of a b-" Jeremy began, then looked at his cousin and thought better of it. "I mean, don't let this guy off so easily."
"What were you really going to say?" Lily inquired innocently.
"I was about to use a word one should not say while in polite company."
"If you're sure you're all that, then why don't you prove it in a duel?" Damian challenged.
"I don't think I'm better than everyone, but just because you're so rude, I'm gonna knock you on your butt," Hikaru retorted. Both duelists then stepped a little ways from the main building to have some room, the others standing aside to watch.
"That was fast," Chumley commented.
"Not as fast as it was with Jeremy though," Syrus pitched in.
"Hey, he called me a dueling monkey," the blond boy said in indignation. "What did you expect me to do?"
"I'm getting some déjà vu vibes here," Tea muttered, thinking back to some of the moments when Joey had lost his temper.
"Kick his butt, Hikaru," Jeremy called out to his friend, the two duelists standing opposite each other at the ready. "Better yet, kick his nuts!"
"You got it," she replied, turning her attention towards her opponent. "Now then, ladies first, if you don't mind?"
"Whatever."
Hikaru: 4000
Damian: 4000
"So, for my first move, I'll summon Botanical girl in defense mode." A young girl dressed in large, red and green flower petals emerged on the field crouching down. (3/1300/1100) "Then I'll set one spell or trap card face-down and end my turn."
"My turn," Damian declared as he drew. "And I'll activate Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy your face-down."
"I'll just activate it first, Hallowed Life Barrier. Thanks to this, by discarding one card, I take no damage this turn, battle or effect."
"Nice move," Chumley commented.
"Now if he pulls out one of his Masked Knights he won't be able to do anything with it," Syrus added.
"Fine," Damian growled unhappily. "I can still play Tribute to the Doomed to destroy your monster just by discarding a card of my own." A mass of bandages erupted from the ground, enveloping Hikaru's monster and dragging it down under.
"Sorry, but Botanical Girl doesn't leave without saying goodbye. You see, whenever she's sent from the field to the grave, I get to add a plant from my deck to my hand, provided it has 1000 defense points or less. So I'll grab Puppet Plant."
"And I'll play Level Modulation, so you get to draw two cards, and I get to summon back the Masked Knight Lv7 I just discarded." The tall warrior decked out in gray and gold armor appeared on the field, standing tall. (7/2900/1800) "I set two cards face-down. Make your move."
"Don't mind if I do…" Hikaru said, smiling as she saw what she'd pulled. "Hey, jerk face, you ever heard about using your enemy's strength against them? Because that's exactly what I'm about to do. For starters, I summon Evil Thorn." A short green shrub rose up out of the ground, a pink flower hanging from one branch and a large, nasty purple bulb with spikes hanging from the other. (1/100/300) "Next up, I'll discard the Puppet Plant I picked up earlier, which grants me the unique privilege of taking control of one of your warrior or spellcaster type monsters until the end of my turn." A small, but vicious looking potted plant latched onto the back of Damian's Knight, at which his eyes turned red, just before he walked over to Hikaru's side of the field. "Then I'll use his effect to hit you for 1500 damage."
"Don't bet on it. I play my face-down, Breakthrough Skill, which negates the effect of a monster you control until the end of the turn."
"You wish. Since I control a plant type monster, namely my Evil Thorn, I can send Rose Archer from my hand to the grave in order to negate and destroy your trap card." A black haired woman wearing dark clothes and a golden headpiece appeared behind Hikaru, remaining just long enough to fire a golden arrow that pierced Damian's trap card. That done, the cross on Masked Knight's helmet glowed for a second before firing a blast of light that struck his former master dead on.
Damian: 4000-2500
"You're still not going to win so easily," Damian declared. "I play my other face-down, Dark Wall of Wind, so I take no damage from direct attacks this turn, meaning as soon as you finish your turn, I get my knight back without taking any more damage."
"You're only half right," Hikaru corrected him. "You are going to get your knight back, but not without taking more damage. In fact, you won't even have a next turn."
"What're you talking about? He can only use his effect once."
"That's not what I'm talking about. I equip Masked Knight Lv7 with Vengeful Servant. Thanks to this nasty little number, when control of the equipped monster changes, its new controller takes damage equal to that monster's original attack points. In this case, that'd be 2900, and since you only have 2500 life-points... well, you do the math."
"… Oh shit."
"That said, I'll just end my turn and let Vengeful Servant do its thing." Damian's warrior then went back to his side of the field, pausing for a moment before he threw a punch that took out the rest of the Obelisk boy's life-points.
Damian: 2500-0
"Now that's game."
"I wonder how Jaden would react if he knew someone was using his catchphrase," Syrus mused out loud.
Someone in the middle of the ocean, Jaden sneezed for no discernable reason. "Someone must be talking about me," he guessed. "Or maybe they're using one of my catchphrases. I hope that doesn't mean Dmitri's dressing up like me again."
Outside Duel Academy, albeit in a different area, Julianne and Lyna were meeting with two of the latter's friends, twin girls who'd arrived on the boat with the other future students and company. While both had the same height, face, long brown hair, curves and… assets, one of them had blue streaks in her hair, wore a dress and looked more elegant, whereas the other had red streaks, was wearing shorts and overall looked like a tomboy. "So, Rita, how did you guys get acquainted with Lyna in the first place?" Julianne addressed the tomboy during their conversation.
"Interesting little story, that. See, we've lived in Greece pretty much all our lives, and one day in Athens we came across this girl wandering around by herself like she was lost. Of course, that girl was none other than Lyna."
"Actually, you left out the part where you ran into me," Lyna specified. "And I mean that you literally ran into me."
"We didn't really 'run into you', per say," Rita insisted. "And besides, it was an accident."
"You ran into her, I did not," Reina said coolly. "And it may have been an accident, but you really did run into her. Don't you remember those bruises?"
"I certainly remember my own bruises," Lyna pitched in. "But yeah, I got lost in Athens during a vacation to Greece, spent the day hanging out with them and we've regularly kept touch since then."
"Cool," Julianne commented. "I met Lyna when she was assigned to me after I recovered from being abducted and brainwashed into being a Shadow Rider."
"Beg your pardon?" Reina questioned. The broad Ra girl proceeded to explain about the Shadow Riders, the abandoned dorm and her own involvement in the whole mess, with Lyna occasionally filing in details she'd picked up from Jeremy, Jaden and the other key-keepers. "Huh… and here I always thought that that story about how we were supposedly blessed by Aphrodite, Athena and Artemis sounded a bit far-fetched."
"Really?" Julianne wondered.
"It's something our mother used to tell us. It's a cool story, but still just a story."
"Well, I can assure you that what happened to me most certainly was not just a story. So, since we're officially acquainted with each other, how about a tag duel?"
"You're sure?" Lyna asked. "Brian notwithstanding, I didn't think your deck would work all that well in a team."
"I do have more cards than just Skill Drain."
"In that case, I'm game. What about you guys?"
"I don't see why not," Reina answered.
"Ditto," Rita pitched in. That said, the four of them walked out to an open area and strapped on their duel disks, Rita facing Lyna and Reina facing Julianne. "Visiting team first?"
"Go right ahead," Lyna said with a nod.
Rita & Reina: 8000
Lyna & Julianne: 8000
"My turn then," the tomboy declared as the others drew five cards and she drew six. "I summon UFO Turtle in defense mode." A large turtle appeared before Rita, withdrawing into its metal, flying saucer like shell. (4/1400/1200) "That'll be all for now."
"Alright then," Lyna said. "As for me, I'll summon Royal Magical Library in defense mode. A stack of large shelves filled to the brim with all manner of books materialized in front of the spellcaster duelist. (4/0/2000) "Then I'll throw in the field spell Magical Citadel of Endymion." The four duelist were suddenly surrounded by a giant, majestic gray castle with blue torches and strange magical runes floating about. "So, for starters, my library gains a spell counter whenever a spell card is played." A floating orb of light then appeared on top of the bookshelves. (RML: 1)
"Also, my field spell gets a spell counter whenever a spell is played, such as Spell Power Grasp, which, in addition to giving me a couple counters just for playing it, automatically places an extra one on a card I choose, namely, my library. Then I get to add another Spell Power Grasp from my deck to my hand, even though I can't play it this turn." One of the citadel's torches lit up at the same time as two more orbs appeared atop the bookshelves and Lyna grabbed her card. (RML: 3) (MCoE: 1)
"Well, that's a mouthful," Julianne commented. "Nice move though."
"Thanks," she replied. "Now, by removing the three counters from my library, I get to draw an extra card." The three floating orbs disappeared as Lyna drew her card. (RML: 0) "That ends my turn."
"And it begins mine," Reina said while drawing a sixth card. "For myself, I'll place Mother Grizzly in attack mode." A large grizzly with blue fur stood tall on the field. (4/1400/1000) "Then I'll end my turn with one card face-down."
"My move then," Julianne stated. "And I'll be busting out Machine Lord Ür." The red machine monster appeared on her field, floating in mid-air. (4/1600/1500) "Then I'll equip him with Gravity Blaster." One of the machine's arms morphed into a gray cannon, powered by what looked like a miniature sun. (RML: 1) (MCoE: 2) "In case anyone's wondering what this thing does, once per turn, I'm allowed to permanently increase my monster's attack points by 400." The weapon's core sent out a pulse of energy into Julianne's machine, giving it a boost. (4/1600-2000/1500) "Also, when the monster it's equipped to battles an opponent's monster, your guy's effect is negated during the battle phase. Unfortunately, because of his effect, Machine Lord Ür prevents you from taking any damage. But on the bright side, he can attack every monster you control. So let er rip." The weapon's core glowed brightly as it powered up, before spewing out a blast of energy that made short work of the twins' monsters. "With that done, I'll set this little number face-down and call it a turn."
"Not bad," Rita spoke up. "But check this out. First off, I play the One for One, discarding a monster from my hand to summon the level one Flamvell Poun from my deck." A small monkey wearing clothes and with fire sprouting from its head, hands and tail appeared on the field. (1/200/200) (RML: 2) (MCoE: 3) "Then I'll sacrifice the little guy in order to summon Flamvell Commando." The flaming monkey vanished, making way for a man with fiery hair, wearing pieces of armor and holding a large blaster type weapon. (6/2200/200) "As for his effect, I can banish a monster with 200 defense from my graveyard to hit you for damage equal to its attack points. And since I discarded Flamvell Firedog because of One for Once, you lose 1900 points." Rita pocketed the card from her grave as her commando fired a shot at the two Ra girls.
L & J: 8000-6100
"Now I'll have him attack-"
"Nothing," Julianne interrupted. "I play Threatening Roar, so you can't declare an attack this turn."
"Well that's kind of inconvenient. I guess I'll just end my turn."
"Fine with me," Lyna said. "For my next monster, I'll pull out Apprentice Magician." The blond magician dressed in purple kneeled in front of Lyna. (2/400/800) "And when he's summoned, I can place a spell counter on any card I want. So I'll add a third to my library and remove them all to draw an extra card." (RML: 0) "Then I'll play my second Spell Power Grasp and target my library." (RML: 2) (MCoE: 4) "Next I activate Magical Dimension, sacrificing my Apprentice Magician so I can summon White Magician from my hand." A sarcophagus rose from the ground, opening up so the spellcaster could step inside, then closing around him. It then glowed for a brief moment, before opening again to reveal Lyna's headliner. (7/2500/2100) "And it also destroys one of your monsters, so Commando's gonna have to sit this one out." Chains burst from the sarcophagus, enveloping Flamvell Commando and dragging him inside before it closed up again, sinking back into the ground. (RML: 3) (MCoE: 5)
"Damn, girl, you are on fire," Rita commented. "Which is kind of funny to say, since I'm the one with a fire deck."
"And I'm not even done yet, because since my library has three counters, I can remove them to draw again." (RML: 0) "Now, White Magician, attack their life-points-"
"Hold that thought," Reina spoke up. "I reveal my face-down, Bubble Bringer. Thanks to this, level four or higher monsters can't attack directly."
"Nice save. Well, since I can't attack, I'll show you what my Citadel can do. Once per turn, if I activate an effect by removing spell counters from my side of the field, I can remove them from my citadel instead, so I'll have it substitute for my library to draw another card." Three of the citadel's torches' lights transferred over to the bookshelves for a moment, before going out as Lyna drew her card. (MCoE: 2) "I'll end my turn by placing this little number face-down."
"And I'll begin mine by playing Graceful Charity, drawing three cards and discarding two." (MCoE: 3) (RML: 1) "Next, when my opponent controls at least 4 cards more than I do, I can special summon Medium of the Ice Barrier." Reina's monster was a beautiful woman with pale blue hair, wearing a light blue/white dress. (7/2200/1600) "And as useful as my trap card's been, I'll use its other effect, sending it to the graveyard to summon back two level 3 or lower water monsters with the same name, such as the two Secret Guards of the Ice Barrier I discarded with Graceful Charity." Two men with stark white hair rose on the field, dressed in light blue clothes, with pieces of blue armor and wielding a blue sword in each hand. (2/100/1600) x2
"Since their effects are negated, I can only assume that means you're going to sacrifice them," Lyna surmised.
"Correct. I sacrifice both of them to summon General Gantala of the Ice Barrier." The two guards faded away and were replaced by a bald, dark skinned man with an ice blue gauntlet on one hand and light blue markings on his forehead. (7/2700/2000) "Now he's going to attack your White Magician with Ice Palm Strike." Lyna pressed a button on her duel disk, flipping her face-down as the stern man lunged forward.
"I play Half Shut, which makes your monster indestructible in battle, but more importantly, cuts his attack points in half." (7/2700-1350/2000) (MCoE: 4) (RML: 2)
"Sorry, but I'm not going to make it that easy. I play Forbidden Scripture, so all other effects are negated until the end of the damage step, and damage is calculated using our monsters' original attack points." (MCoE: 5) (RML: 3) Reina's general struck a blow with his icy hand, destroying White Magician.
L & J: 6100-5900
"Medium of the Ice Barrier, attack Machine Lord Ür." The woman in question chanted a short spell, summoning forth a dark icy dragon with glaring yellow eyes that crushed Julianne's machine.
L & J: 5900-5700
"That ends my turn, which not only returns Gantala's attack points to normal, but also activates his effect, allowing me to summon an Ice Barrier Monster from my graveyard. So I'll bring back Secret Guards of the Ice Barrier." One of the white haired guards re-emerged on the field, arms crossed and kneeling beside the General. (2/100/1600) (7/1350-2700/2000) "And as long as he's on the field, Ice Barrier Monsters I control can't be targeted by opponents' monster effects. And as for Medium, my opponent can only activate one spell or trap card per turn."
"Fortunately for me, I'll only need one," Julianne declared after drawing her next card. "But before that, I summon Fusilier Dragon, the Dual-Mode Beast." The draconic machine roared as it appeared on the field. (7/2800-1400/2000-1000) "Summoning it without tribute does cut its points in half, but I've got Forbidden Chalice. Not only does it negate its effect, but it also gives it an additional 400 attack points." (7/1400-3200/1000-2000) (MCoE: 6) (RML: 3) "Now hit Gantala with Artillery Barrage." Julianne's machine fired a salvo from its cannons, obliterating the powerful general.
R & R: 8000-7500
"One card face-down ends my turn." (7/3200-2800/2000)
"My turn again," Rita declared. "I play Pot of Greed to draw two cards." (MCoE: 7) (RML: 3) "Then I summon Flamvell Firedog in attack mode." A fierce looking dog made of lava rose from a fiery pool. (4/1900/200) "And I'll equip it with Burning Spear, increasing its attack points by 400 at the cost of 200 defense points." A spear covered in flames materialized in mid-air, to be seized in the fiery hound's mouth. (4/1900-2300/200-0) (RML: 3) (MCoE: 8) "Now sick em, boy, burn that magical library." The beast charged forward, jamming its spear into the bookshelves, burning them down in a flash. "Thanks to Firedog's effect, when he destroys a monster in battle and sends it to the grave, I can summon a fire monster with 200 defense points or less from my deck. And I choose Raging Flame Sprite." A little boy with elf-like ears poofed into existence, smiling mischievously as he waved his torch. (3/100/200) "Say, what's up with that?" she asked, motioning to the three orbs of light floating where the magical library had been.
"That would be another of my citadel's effects," Lyna replied. "You see, whenever a card with spell counters is destroyed, they get placed on my citadel instead of being lost." The orbs floated over to light up more of the citadel's torches. (MCoE: 11)
"Some field spell. In any case, my new guy can attack you directly, and while I'm at it, I'll juice him up with Rush Recklessly, even if your citadel does get another counter." (3/100-800/200) (MCoE: 12) "Now let em have it." The imp-like being flew above the draconic machine, diving down to strike Julianne with its torch.
L & J: 5700-4900
"Because he damaged your life-points by a direct attack, he gains 1000 attack points, just like that." (3/800-1800/200) "I set one card face-down and that'll do it." (3/1800-1100/200)
"Hold that thought," Julianne jumped in. "I'm playing my own face-down, Mystical Space Typhoon, which I'll use to rid the field of whatever you've got hiding there." A blue vortex of wind shot out from the Ra girl's card, blowing away Rita's Mirror Force. (MCoE: 13) (3/1800-1100/200)
"Thanks for the assist," Lyna said to her partner. "This'll make things easier, though not for them."
"It sounds like you've got something up your sleeve," Reina commented.
"You'll see. But first, I summon Magical Exemplar." A dark haired woman wearing light green robes appeared in front of Lyna, decorated with several pieces of gold jewelry. (4/1700/1400) "Second, her effect allows me to remove any number of spell counters she's got in order to summon a spellcaster from my hand or graveyard with the same level as the number of counters removed. Obviously, since she has none, I'm going use my citadel instead."
"Kinda starting to regret having played this many spells," Rita muttered.
"So I'll remove seven spell counters in order to bring back my White Magician." Seven of the citadel's torches went out as their light flew into Lyna's mage, who conjured a portal, through which Lyna's headliner was able to return to the field. (7/2500/2100) (MCoE: 6) "Now by sacrificing my two spellcasters, I can summon Blaine – Street Magician." The two magicians vanished in a flash of light, which when it subsided, revealed an ordinary looking man with short black hair, tan skin and dressed in a t-shirt and jeans. (7/?/?)
"Doesn't look so special," Julianne commented. "But given his summoning conditions, I can only assume appearances are deceiving."
"And they are, because his attack and defense are equal to those of both monsters I sacrificed to summon him." (7/?-4200/?-3500) "For the final step, I play Diffusion Wave-Motion, paying 1000 points so my magician can attack all monsters on the opponent's field."
L & J: 4900-3900
(MCoE: 7) "Time to show em what you've got." The magician nodded at this and pulled a deck of cards out of nowhere, holding half in each hand for a second, until he flicked them at the twins' field, the cards flying like a deadly hailstorm, striking Flamvell Firedog…
R & R: 7500-5200
Raging Flame Sprite…
R & R: 5200-2100
Medium of the Ice Barrier…
R & R: 2100-100
And Secret Guards of the Ice Barrier.
"With that out of the way, I'll just toss this card face-down and call it a turn."
"An impressive turn it's been," Reina commented. "I don't think I've ever seen my life-points drop so quickly. But I don't intend to go down easy, because now that I have exactly five water monsters in my graveyard, I can special summon Moulinglacia the Elemental Lord." A giant, winged sea-serpent descended onto the field, covered in white armor encrusted with gold. (8/2800/2200) "And just for successfully summoning him, I can force my opponent to discard two random cards. So, Lyna, if you'd be so kind…"
'This could be problematic,' Lyna thought to herself as she got rid of her only two cards. 'Now that my hand's empty, I can't activate Magic Jammer.'
"Of course, I still haven't normal summoned yet, so I'll bring out Nightmare Penguin in defense mode." A chubby looking penguin wearing a tuxedo and top hat dropped down next to the mighty sea-serpent. (4/900/1800) "He may not look like much in comparison, but as long as he's face-up, all my water attribute monsters gain 200 attack points." (4/900-1100/1800) (8/2800-3000/2200) "That gives my Elemental Lord just enough power to take out Fusilier Dragon." The great beast reared its head back, then spat out a massive amount of water, blasting the machine away.
L & J: 3900-3700
"I set one card face-down and end my turn."
"My move," Julianne declared. "I play Pot of Greed to draw two cards." (MCoE: 8) "Next I'll bring back Fusilier Dragon with Monster Reborn." The powerful draconic machine rose again. (7/2800/2000) (MCoE: 9) "Now send that flightless bird flying." Nightmare Penguin suddenly went bug eyed as Fusilier Dragon aimed its cannons, though its panic was short lived, as it was promptly hit by a salvo and put out of its misery, its absence causing Moulinglacia's points to drop a little. (8/3000-2800/2200) "One card face-down and that's it for me."
"Actually, before your turn's quite over, I'll activate Mystic Wok, sacrificing my monster to regain 2800 life-points." Reina's Elemental Lord disappeared in burst of energy that replenished the twins' power.
R & R: 100-2900
"Unfortunately, when he leaves the field, we have to skip our next battle phase, but I have a feeling that this duel won't be resolved by battle anyway."
"You're right about that, sister," Rita said as she drew her next card. "Because I have five fire monsters in the grave, meaning I get to summon Pyrorex the Elemental Lord." A plume of lava erupted from the ground, from which came a giant, armored, bi-pedal dinosaur, its body covered in flames. (8/2800/2200)
"Damn, did someone light Godzilla on fire?" Julianne joked.
"Nope, but this guy's got one hot special ability. When he's summoned, I can target a monster you control, then half its original attack points come out of both sides' life-points. So I'll have him burn up your Fusilier Dragon." The giant flaming dinosaur roared out, before spewing forth a torrent of fire, melting the machine into slag.
R & R: 2900-1500
J & L: 3700-2300
"One card face-down ends my turn."
"Now I-" Lyna began, only for Rita to interrupt.
"Before you do anything, I'll activate my face-down, Spiritual Fire Art – Kurenai. Thanks to this, I can sacrifice a fire attribute monster I control, and you get hit for damage equal to its attack points. So I'll give up my Elemental Lord, and you can say goodbye to the rest of your life-points."
"Hey Lyna," Julianne spoke up as Pyrorex turned into a pillar of flames. "Wanna take em down with us?"
"Seeing as we're about to lose, I guess we might as well do it."
"Alright then, I reveal my own face-down, Ring of Destruction, so by destroying Blaine – Street Magician, we all take damage equal to his attack points." A ring of red bombs appeared around the spellcaster's neck, exploding before Pyrorex's flames could blast outward, dropping both teams' life-points down to zero and ending the duel.
R & R: 1500-0
J & L: 2300-0
"Man, that was one sweet duel!" Rita exclaimed.
"You said it, girl," Julianne replied. "You've both got some serious skills."
"Thank you," Reina said gracefully. "You're quite skilled yourselves."
"Does this mean we'll be seeing you two at the start of next year?" Lyna asked.
The twins looked at each other for a moment before answering: "You can count on it!" "I believe you will."
Later in the day, after classes were finished, the students, along with the visitors, were all gathered in the main duel arena, the three Slifer boys sitting together with Jeremy's cousin and company. Christine would have joined the group, were it not for the fact that when she'd met up with them earlier, Jeremy had abandoned her to Hikaru's mercy, resulting in the bluenette girl getting rather flustered and embarrassed by the questions regarding her relationship with him. "I kind of have the impression that throwing Christine under the bus like that might not have been the best idea," Syrus spoke up.
"Yeah, I know, and I'm probably going to regret doing so at some point," Jeremy admitted. "But, for now, I'm content with knowing I got one up on her."
"I wouldn't count on being content for too long," Tea whispered to Serenity, who nodded in agreement.
"Could I have everyone's attention please?" Chancellor Sheppard, standing in the center of the stage, spoke into the microphone. "As part of our program of student for a day, anyone who wished to participate in a duel before the school was asked to submit their name, so we will now choose two candidates to duel each other right here, right now. Ms Dorothy, if you would?" Dorothy then came up to the stage, holding up a bowl with a bunch of paper slips for Sheppard to pull out two of them at random. "... Gale Storm and Lily Taylor."
"Good luck, Lil," Jeremy encouraged his cousin. "Knock em silly."
"I'll do my best," she replied, standing up to make her way down to the stage, where she met a teenage boy who was practically the definition of 'ordinary', with short brown hair, brown eyes and wearing a white t-shirt and blue jeans.
"Here's to hoping for a good duel," the boy Gale said as they shuffled each other's deck.
"I've got a feeling it'll be fun," Lily replied. The two of them returned their cards, then stepped away from each other, standing on opposite ends of the platform, strapping on their duel disks and inserting their decks.
"Duelists… you may begin!" Sheppard declared, removing himself from the stage to give them room.
Gale: 4000
Lily: 4000
"Alright, I'll start off nice and easy by placing a monster in defense mode and end my turn," Gale said after drawing his sixth card, a face-down monster appearing in front of him.
"My turn then," Lily declared, looking over her cards for a moment before she made her move. "I summon Blackwing – Shura the Blue Flame in attack mode." A bird like humanoid figure rose on the field, with bird legs, a tail, large wings and blue feathers covering most of its body. (4/1800/1200) "And now I'll have him attack whatever monster's hiding on your field." Shura rose into the air with a few flaps of its wings, then dived down at Gale's monster, which revealed itself to be a small purple figure with arms and legs, but with a body like a cobra. (3/1200/600) It was then struck by Shura's talons.
"That was my Gorgonic Golem," Gale spoke up. "And when he's destroyed by battle and sent to the graveyard, his effect activates, reducing the attack points of the monster that destroyed him to zero." Shura sagged a little as his attack points were drained. (4/1800-0/800) "And I'm not done yet, because I can summon this guy: Interplanetarypurplythorny Dragon." A vicious looking purple dragon materialized on the field, covered in a bunch of wicked spikes. (4/2200/1100)
"Interplane-whatsit dragon?" Jeremy said, visibly confused.
"Interplanetarypurplythorny Dragon," Hikaru clarified. "It's a monster that can summon itself from the hand whenever a monster the owner controls is destroyed and sent to the graveyard."
"Okay, you've got game," Lily admitted. "But Shura has a special ability of his own. You see, when he destroys an opponent's monster in battle, I get to summon a Blackwing from my deck with up to 1500 attack points, even though its effects are negated. So I'll pull out Blackwing – Boreas the Sharp." Another humanoid bird figure appeared, kneeling down in front of Lily, this one with smaller wings, larger claws and talons, and wearing a blue robe as well as a red scarf around its head. (5/1300/900) "I'll set one card face-down and call it a turn."
"So… first off, I'll activate Gorgonic Golem's second effect, removing him from my graveyard in order to target one of your face-downs so you can't use it this turn," Gale said as he grabbed and pocketed his monster. "Incidentally, you're not allowed to activate the card I'm targeting in response to Golem's effect. And with that done, I'll summon Great White in attack mode." A great white shark with a blue back came into existence next to Gale's dragon, safe that it had two arms and hands. (4/1600/800) "Now for some damage, my dragon's going to attack Shura." A mass of wild purple fire gathered in the dragon's mouth before being released, making short work of Lily's monster.
Lily: 4000-1800
"Great White, destroy Boreas the Sharp." At the command, the shark lunged forward, as if swimming through the air and chomped down on Boreas. "That's all for now."
"Come on Lily, you can do this," Serenity cheered.
Lily smiled at her mother's encouragement as she drew her next card. "I play the spell Black Whirlwind and summon Blackwing – Sirocco the Dawn." Lily's monster's feathers were mostly dark brown, with light brown feathers on its arms and legs, and blue feather covering its head. It was wearing a black chest piece with red markings and had an impressive wingspan and tail. (5/2000/900)
"Wait a minute, how can you summon a level 5 monster without sacrificing anything?" Gale questioned.
"By the fact that you control a monster and I don't, as per his effect. And when a Blackwing is normal summoned, Black Whirlwind activates, allowing me to search my deck for another with less attack points and add it to my hand. So I'll grab Bora the Spear, and since I already control another Blackwing, I can special summon him, no questions asked." The next winged beast had a blue tail and wings, a red head, beige torso and wielded a large spiral spear. (4/1700/800) "He also has another effect: Once per turn, I can target one Blackwing I control, such as Sirocco himself, and until the end phase, he gains the attack points of all the others I have on the field." Bora then opened its mouth and let out a loud cry, energizing Sirocco. (5/2000-3700/900) "Here comes the fun part. Sirocco, attack Interplanetarypurplythorny Dragon."
"I swear I get dizzy just hearing that name," Jeremy lamented as Lily's monster flew at the purple dragon, raking it with his claws.
Gale: 4000-2500
"Unfortunately, no other monster I control can attack except the one targeted by Sirocco's effect, so that'll be all for now." (5/3700-2000/900)
"Not bad," Gale complimented his opponent. "But here comes a little payback. First I play Hammer Shot, and since it destroys the monster on the field with the highest attack points, I'm afraid you'll have to bid goodbye to Sirocco." A giant hammer came down from the sky, crushing Sirocco. "Then I summon Leotaur in attack mode." The monster that came to be was a furry humanoid lion wearing armor and wielding a sword in one hand. (4/1500/1600) "Now he's going to take out Bora the Spear. And before anyone says something about his attack points, he gains 500 when he's fighting a non-normal monster." (4/1500-2000/1600) Gale's monster lunged forward, cutting down Bora with a swing of his sword.
Lily: 1800-1500
"Don't think you're going to pull one over me that easily," Lily butt in. "Because I'm activating my trap, Black Wing Revenge, which summons two Blackwing - Black Crest Tokens since a winged beast monster was destroyed in battle." Two eggs materialized on the field, from which a pair of small blue chicks broke out of. (2/0/800) x2
"Even though Great White can't get to your life-points, he can at least take out one of your tokens," Gale said, his shark chomping down on one of the little chicks. "One card face-down and that'll be all for now." (5/2000-1500/1600)
"Despite the difference in life-points, looks like she's holding her own pretty well," Syrus noted out loud.
"Alright," Lily spoke up. "I play Cards for Black Feather, so I banish one Blackwing from my hand in order to draw two cards. And because of it, I can't special summon for the rest of the turn. But that's okay, because I have Blackwing – Kris the Crack of Dawn." This Blackwing was covered in blue feathers and wore a red vest with a gold outline, and a golden mask on his face. (4/1900/300) "Of course, since he was normal summoned, I can use Black Whirlwind, this time to add Kalut the Moonshadow to my hand. Next I'll place my remaining token in attack mode…" (2/0/800) "And uses Boreas' effect from my graveyard, removing it from play in order to make my token invincible in battle, take no damage and destroy its target automatically. Now go on little guy, attack his big bad lion." (4/1500-2000/1600) The blue chick ran and stumbled forward, Boreas' ghost appearing beside it before it crashed into Leotaur. "Now Kris will attack Great White." Kris flew straight towards Gale's shark, cutting him up with a swipe of his claws.
Gale: 2500-2200
"I'll place this card face-down and end my turn."
"Actually, before my turn starts, I'll activate Dust Tornado to destroy your face-down." A tornado emerged from the trap, blowing away Lily's card, which was revealed to be Icarus Attack. "With that done, now I'll take my turn. And I guess I'll start off with Pot of Greed to draw two cards. One of which is a monster known as Hyper Hammerhead." What appeared on the field was a brown dinosaur that stood on two legs, with a beige underbelly, wicked claws, and a snout shaped like the head of a sledgehammer. (4/1500/1200) "Now something tells me it isn't going to be this easy, but I'll try it anyway. Attack her token." The dinosaur let out a roar and stampeded towards the apparently defenseless chick.
"You're right that it's not going to be that easy, because by discarding Kalut the Moonshadow from my hand, I can increase the attack points of a Blackwing I control by 1400, including my token." The little blue chick screeched as its power increased… (2/0-1400/800) Though ultimately not enough, as Hyper Hammerhead ran over it a second later.
Lily: 1500-1400
"I may not have been able to save the little guy, but at least I've prevented most of the damage."
"True enough. So I'll set one card face-down and turn things over to you once more."
"For my turn, I'll summon Blackwing - Damascus the Polar Night." Lily's next creature was wicked looking monster mostly covered in black feathers, with a sharp golden beak, claws and talons and holding a short sword in one hand that crackled with electricity. (3/1300/700) "And with Black Whirlwind, I add Blackwing - Jetstream the Blue Sky to my hand. Now Kris, attack his Hyper Hammerhead." The Blackwing in question flew again towards Gale's field, raking his claws across the enemy monster.
Gale: 2200-1800
"Whenever Hyper Hammerhead battles a monster that isn't destroyed, that monster returns to the hand."
"He's going to be in for a little surprise," Serenity commented as Lily grabbed Kris and put him in her hand.
"Damascus, attack his life-points directly." The dark feathered Blackwing raised his sword, shooting a blast of lightning straight towards his mistress' opponent.
"Sorry, but I'm not about to make things any easier than you are," Gale interrupted as he triggered his face-down. "I play Defense Draw, reducing the damage to zero and allowing me to draw one card." The lightning suddenly faded just before it hit Gale, leaving his life-points unharmed.
"Not bad, but before I end my turn, I'll give you something to chew on. Just like Bora, as long as I control a Blackwing with a different name, I can special summon Kris the Crack of Dawn, no questions asked." Kris appeared once again on her field, standing next to Damascus. (4/1900/300) "So we're right back where we started."
"I did not quite see that one coming," Gale admitted as he drew his next card. "No matter, I set a monster in defense mode and activate Dian Keto the Curemaster to boost my life-points by 1000."
Gale: 1800-2800
"And I'll finish up with one spell or trap card face-down. Your move."
"Okay… So, I'm going to forgo summoning any monsters and use Kris to attack whatever you've got hiding on your field."
"You'll be sorryyyyyy…" Gale said mischievously as his monster flipped face-up, revealing a green stone statue with a face and two hands. (4/300/2000) "You see, not only does Stone Statue of the Aztecs have 2000 defense points, but it also doubles the damage you take from attacking it. And just for good measure, I'll activate Castle Walls, giving it 500 more defense points." (4/300/2000-2500) Kris then slammed into the statue head on.
Lily: 1400-200
"Ouch, that hurt," the Blackwing duelist winced as Kris bounced off the statue and crashed down on her side of the field. "I'll switch Damascus to defense mode…" The dark winged beast went down on one knee, arms crossed in front of itself. (3/1300/700) "Then set one card face-down and call it a turn."
"My turn again," Gale declared as he drew his next card. "I summon La Jinn the Mystical Genie of the Lamp in attack mode." Green smoke suddenly poofed on the field, coming together to form a green genie with a long, thin moustache. (4/1800/1000) "Then I equip him with Black Pendant, giving him enough points to take down Kris the Crack of Dawn, and then some." A golden amulet with a large, dark jewel materialized around the Genie's neck. (4/1800-2300/1500) "Now let 'im have it." Gale's monster flew towards Kris just as Lily revealed her face-down, a trap that showed a small winged beast holding a Graverobber card in its hands.
"I activate a trap called Fake Feather. Here's how it works: I send a Blackwing from my hand to the graveyard, in this case, Jetstream the Blue Sky. Then I can pick one normal trap in your graveyard and copy its effects. And I choose Defense Draw." La Jinn then took down Lily's monster, though causing no damage to her life-points.
"Well, you're still hanging in there, but I've got a feeling that it's going to come to an end pretty soon, so I'll just set this little number face-down, and you can go right ahead."
"Come on Lily, don't give up," Serenity cheered. "Whatever he's got, you can still win this duel."
"Yeah… what she said," Jeremy pitched in, drawing a smile from the two adults near him.
"Alright-y then, my turn."
"Hold that thought," Gale butt in. "I play Battle Mania, which puts all your monsters to attack mode…" Damascus uncrossed his arms and stood straight, forcibly complying with the trap's effect. (3/1300/700) "... And makes it so they have no choice but to launch an attack this turn."
"Not a problem, because I plan on attacking anyway. But first, I activate Creeping Darkness, banishing two dark monsters from my graveyard in order to add one from my deck to my hand with exactly four stars, like Blackwing - Zephyros the Elite. Then I'll throw in Unicorn Beacon, removing Zephyros from my hand in order to summon a monster that's removed from the game. So come on back, Sirocco the Dawn." Sirocco rose again on Lily's field, standing tall as he made his return. (5/2000/900) "For the final piece of this puzzle, I summon Blackwing - Fane the Steel Chain." A dark bird-man dressed in black ninja garb joined his brethren, seemingly appearing out of thin air. (2/500/800)
"Okay, I still don't see how you plan on winning," Gale said cautiously. "I mean, even if you use Sirocco's effect to combine your monsters' attack points, you can't inflict enough damage by attacking La Jinn, plus Black Pendant would knock your life-points down to zero. And even if one of your monsters can inflict piercing damage, running over my Stone Statue wouldn't be enough to win either."
"But unlike last time, I'm not using Sirocco's effect on himself, I'm giving the boost to Fane the Steel Chain." Sirocco and Damascus let out a shrill cry, transferring their power unto their ally. (2/500-3800/800) "And as it happens, Fane has a special ability which includes being able to bypass your monsters and attack your life-points directly. So go get him." Lily's monster then leapt high into the air, throwing a pair of kunai that struck Gale's duel disk, depleting the rest of his life-points.
Gale: 2800-0
"Not bad at all," Gale commented as the holograms disappeared. "I sure didn't see that one coming."
"Thanks," Lily replied. "That was a fun duel."
"A splendid performance," Sheppard spoke into the microphone. "Let's give these two duelists a big hand, everyone."
"Woo hoo!" "You go, girl!" Jeremy and Hikaru cheered with enthusiasm amidst everyone else's congratulations.
"Now I'd just like to thank everyone who came here to visit us today, and I hope to see you all among our student population next year."
Yugi Moto gently closed the door as he stepped out of his son's room, having just checked up on him. As he walked away the phone suddenly started ringing, so he rushed down the stairs, picking up after a few rings. "Hello?"
"Hey dad!"
"Hikaru, how're you doing?"
"I'm doing great, and we're on our way home. How's Akio holding up?"
"The worst of it's already behind us, and he should be back to normal soon enough. So how was your day?"
Hikaru then related to her father what had happened, from touring around the Academy and some of the classes they'd sat in on, to her duel against Damian, and so on and so forth. When she mentioned what Jeremy and his friends had told her about Jaden, he couldn't help but think back to his first meeting with the boy, when he'd giving him his Winged Kuriboh. "… then Lily pulled out a super powered Blackwing and hit 'im directly for the win. And that's pretty much it."
"Well, it sounds like you had fun. Have you decided to join up next year?"
"You betcha!"
Yugi chuckled a little at the sound of his daughter's eagerness. "Alright then, I'll start filling in the application forms. Have a safe trip back, and tell your mother I said hi."
"Will do. Bye dad."
And with that said, Yugi hung up the phone, musing about Jaden and Jeremy. "What adventures await you both, I wonder?"
Hope you all liked it and please review to leave me your thoughts/criticism.
The OCs appearing in this chapter belong to the following authors:
Lily Taylor (Bloodwitch Raven)
Gale Storm (Guestspirit)
Rita & Reina Thompson (DJ Scales)
Hikaru Moto (Okami Princess)
Next chapter: Jaden's back!
