Yu-Gi-Oh ! GX : Destiny's Dawn
CHAPTER 14
The day of the quarterfinals had finally come. The finalists, and their companions stood at the long path that led to the academy. It was long enough to accommodate an airship, a blimp of massive proportions with the KaibaCorp logo inscribed on its side.
Jaden whistled at the sight of it, he was impressed. "This thing's huge! And we're going to duel in that? While we're so high in the air?! That's awesome!" The energetic slifer red stated.
"Er, I wish the dueling was on the ground, instead." Syrus sighed. "Scared of heights? Yeah, I get ya," Chumley stated, "But you won't have to worry about anything, we're not doing any dueling."
"I'll admit, that's a pretty large toy," Chazz said, he was not truly impressed, "But I've seen bigger. I have five blimps like this one."
"Truly typical of a Princeton, doesn't miss any chance to gloat and brag." The red-haired boy with glasses said, Adrian Gecko, "You lot are a very sad bunch."
Chazz was particularly offended by the statement, "What's that? I thought I heard something. It couldn't be the guy from that little insignificant family, The Gecko family?!" He turned to him. Adrian met him with a silent yet deadly glare, he too wasn't fond of this situation.
"Leave the hostility for the duels later." Axel stated as he walked forwards, in between them.
Adrian adjusted his glasses. "Axel Brodie…Hm, indeed, that would be best. But I do not intend to lose anytime soon."
"Bah! Same! I'll beat you all!" Chazz exclaimed. "Especially you two!" He pointed at Bastion and Jaden. Bastion crossed his arms and smiled. "I am looking forward to our rematch, Chazz, I am curious to know if you did truly evolve."
Jaden grinned, "Me too. Let's see what you've got, Chazz."
"Ahem, now that everyone is here," Mokuba stated, after clearing his throat, "You have right in front of your eyes, made by KaibaCorp's state-of-the-art technology, Kaiba Craft 3's successor…Kaiba Craft 4!" He exclaimed, causing everyone to clap.
"Thank you, thank you. I'll explain how the tourney will go, but first, let's get inside." Mokuba added as he reached into his coat's breast pocket and brought up a small remote. He pressed various buttons and the door of the blimp opened, with stairs leading to the entrance.
Everyone then followed the younger Kaiba brother as he led them all into a large room with a giant monitor hanging on the wall.
Mokuba then turned around to meet everyone. "Pretty impressive, huh? That's all thanks to my bro. Now, then, for the tournament- Let me start by saying that only four of you will advance to the next phase." He said, causing everyone to be surprised.
"Wait, only four?" Alexis asked, blinking a few times in surprise. "Isn't it supposed to be eight of us first- which then becomes four?"
"If this was a normal tournament, sure," Mokuba shrugged, "But we like to do things differently, here. For starters, instead of just having to go through so many boring 'one against one' duels- We'll have four duelists duke it at once, with the only one remaining to advance. Saves time, and is more interesting anyways."
"A four-way duel." Zane said, narrowing his eyes, "That happened too in battle city- It was how the pairings of the semifinals went. It's also a free for all- but I'll have to ask this," added Zane, "Is partnering up with another duelist against the rules?"
Mokuba smirked at that question, "Of course not. You're free to team up with anyone- it adds to the experience. However, at the end, only one will remain. I suggest you to choose your teammate carefully."
Zane was quiet before he nodded. "I see, thanks for answering."
"Crikey! Well, Shirley, looks like I gotta find a partner." Jim said, smiling as he put his hand on his hat.
"Anyways, before we start, I need to insert all of you guys in our database," Mokuba added. "It won't take too long, come back in an hour. Why don't you simply take a look around, and see what the Kaiba Craft 4 has to offer?"
"Hmm, not a bad idea." Konrad who had been leaning against a wall said. The duelists were then dismissed with them heading their own way.
"Yo, Konami," Jaden, alongside Chumley and Syrus, reached up to Konrad. "Congrats on making it this far, man. I'm real proud of you."
"Thanks, Jaden, it means a lot to me," Konrad replied. "So, you, uhm, really forgive me now?"
"Of course, I do!" Jaden said with a smile, "Just forget the bad stuff that happened between us. You kept your promise." He later added. "By the way, I've noticed you were quiet for a while. Can I ask why?"
"…The guy who beat me is here," Konrad replied. "I knew he would join the tournament and I kept searching for him all week but I couldn't find him…And now...He's here, in this plane, with us."
"He is?" Syrus asked, curious. "I mean, I don't know half the people here. Which guy is that?"
"Whoever he is, that doesn't sound 'licious. He is still one of our enemies and if we lose to them- Duel Academy's gone!" Chumley said.
"No, it will be alright," Jaden said with confidence. "I still don't know who the guy you're talking about is, Konami, but you're still going to beat him, right?"
Konrad looked at Jaden before he faintly smiled. "Yes, I'll try."
"Not try," Jaden winked, "You will! Let's grab a snack before it's too late."
The hour then passed and the duelists were once again gathered.
"Sorry for the disturbance," Chancellor Sheppard stated, "But we are happy to announce that we can finally proceed. Mr. Mokuba, if you will."
"Right." Mokuba nodded. He then clapped to get everyone's attention, and as he did so, the monitor turned on. "The computer will random generate the match-ups, using the duelists, or rather, you guys, that we have stored in its database. So, without further ado, let's see what the first match up will be. Contestant number one is…" Mokuba said as the names of the duelists were being filtered through, until a name was settled on. "HIROTO TAYLOR"
"T-Taylor?" Mokuba went, muttering to himself, "I-Isn't that Tristan's family name?" He asked himself before he shook his head. "Er, Hiroto Taylor! Please step forward!"
"Hmph, Here I am." Hiroto said as he walked out of the group, crossing his arm. "This is the first step to becoming the greatest duelist of all time."
"…" Mokuba stared at him. "What?" Hiroto turned to him. "Oh, nothing, you just remind me of someone I know." Mokuba simply replied. "My brother, perhaps? I get that often." Hiroto rolled his eyes. "Ah, I didn't know he had a brother. Moving on," Mokuba said as the next name was being generated. It was one "BENJAMIN FLETCHER".
"Who's Benjamin Fletcher?" Mokuba turned to the group and saw a hand rising up. It belonged to a blonde-haired man donning a leather vest and gray pants. Konrad recognized him- After all, this was the same person who handed him a crushing defeat all those weeks ago.
"Is that the guy?" Jaden asked as he saw Konrad narrowing his eyes. "That's him, alright," Konrad said. "The guy I want to duel again and beat."
"He does seem very skilled." Syrus admitted. "He's no slouch if he came this far, Sy. But let's have faith in Konrad or at the very least…Him." Chumley referred to Hiroto. It was quite uneasy to know that Hiroto was chosen, the boy barely spent any time with them and always kept to himself.
"Next one is…" Mokuba looked at the monitor before the third duelist was revealed. "KONRAD AMIRIAN"
"A-Amirian?!" Mokuba shouted out loud. "Hey, that's me," Konrad said as he saw his name on the monitor. "I'm going in, guys, wish me good luck." Konrad said as he went to join the others. He then looked at Mokuba, "I'm here! By the way, uh, why did you shout my name like that?" He asked him.
"I-It's nothing." Mokuba replied. "And the last duelist is.." Mokuba shortly stated.
The final duelist's name is…"AXEL BRODIE."
"Looks like I'll have to go on first," Axel said as he calmly walked and stood alongside the three other duelists.
Mokuba glanced at the four duelists. "Then, the first turn will pit Hiroto Taylor, Benjamin Fletcher, Konrad Amirian and Axel Brodie in a four-way duel. Now, we need to determine the turn order of the duelists." Mokuba went.
"And how will that be done." Benjamin asked Mokuba, crossing his arms.
"Select a monster from your deck, and whoever owns the monster with the highest attack point starts first. The owner of the monster with the lowest attack point goes last." Mokuba replied. "And…That monster will be removed from play. You won't use it in the duel."
"I see, it will have to be a wise choice." Axel said as he grabbed his deck and began looking for a suitable card. The others did the same.
Konrad observed Benjamin. (I doubt he's going to choose Gilford the Lightning- A monster like that can change the tides of a duel…But does he have something even stronger?) Konrad wondered while he was still looking for a monster.
Soon, all the duelists had chosen their card:
Konrad Amirian: Gogiga Gagagigo (ATK/ 2950 | DEF/ 2800)
Hiroto Taylor: Zombyra the Dark (ATK/ 2100 | DEF/ 500)
Benjamin Fletcher: Gearfried the Iron Knight (ATK/ 1800 | DEF/ 1600)
Axel Brodie: Volcanic Rat (ATK/ 500 | DEF/ 500)
"Wahaha, what a pathetic monster!" Hiroto pointed at Axel's choice. "Hey, last time I remember, you played a deck full of these monsters," Konrad told Hiroto.
"Hmph, I used to, back when I was a weakling. Now I am stronger than ever," Hiroto arrogantly said, "And you, Konrad Amirian, don't think I'm going to go easy on you! I will get back at you for that duel, you hear me?!"
"I didn't think I would see you ever again," Benjamin told Konrad. "I thought that you left the island after I crushed you long ago, but looks like… I underestimated your resolve." Benjamin narrowed his eyes. Prove to me that I was wrong about you; that you were actually worth my time. Don't disappoint me, Konrad Amirian."
(…Don't worry, I won't. I'm not planning on losing easily like last time. And you, Hiroto, you'll find it hard to beat me. Now I'm just curious about that guy, Axel.) Konrad looked at Axel who simply remained silent.
"Alright, so Konrad's turn is first. Followed by Hiroto's, Benjamin's and then lastly Axel's. I suppose you know the rest of the rules such as not attacking someone unless they had a turn," Mokuba said. "Let's go then, let the games begin." He smiled as they all headed above, towards the roof of the airship.
The atmosphere was fitting for such a high-tension duel- They were at a high altitude. The wind was harsh and if one was not careful, could easily be blown away by it and even fall out of the airship. Not a comforting situation to be in the slightest.
"Brr! It sure is cold here!" Jaden went, and looked at the four duelists who stood on the arena, facing each other. "Well, let's root for Konami. He's definitely gonna win this."
"I wouldn't be so sure," Bastion replied. "They are still fearsome opponents, and to be honest, I am most afraid of Hiroto. He doesn't seem like he will ally with Konrad at all."
"If he tries anything funny, I'll make sure I'll beat some sense into him." Alexis said. Zane simply stared up, "…He is the type to do anything to win, regardless of the consequences. His eyes tell me as much."
"Oh boy."
"Not 'licious."
Both Chumley and Syrus sighed, scared of this duel. "Come on, let's not give up hope so easily. Besides, no matter what happens," Jaden smiled, "I still think this is going to be a sweet duel."
"Is everyone ready?" Mokuba said as he stood in the center of the four duelists. There was no need for an answer as they had all activated their duel disks, all while glaring at each other.
"In that case, let the best man win! BEGIN!" Mokuba raised his arm then quickly raised it down.
"DUEL!" The duelists shouted in unison. The first duel of the quarterfinals had begun.