Barbecue and Dueling
Today, it was weekend, so the students of the Academy did whatever they wanted. Out of all of them, one student was just walking around the campus, not really in good mood. Ever since Andrew and Jenny started dating, Clover has been keeping her distance from them. And who could blame her? She had feelings for Andrew, just like Jenny. But in the end, he ended up with the fairy duelist. And it only pained the redhead by seeing them together.
As she kept walking, Andrew happened to be nearby and saw her. And he was of course concerned, since he hasn't been able to talk to her for a while. "Oh Clover."
"So she's still keeping her distance?" Michael asked. Andrew just met up with him, as well as Jenny, Shiori, Cynthia, Nathan and Xander near the main building.
"Yeah." Andrew sighed. "She's just avoiding me. I can't get her talk to me. I know that I should give her some time, but I'm starting to think that simply give her some space and wait won't be enough. I'm really worried."
"Sounds really serious, huh?" Nathan said.
"Did you try to call her via the PDA?" Cynthia asked.
"I did. But no matter how many times I call her, she doesn't answer me."
"Dude, that's not cool at all." Michael shook his head.
"I really don't know what to do." Andrew said, sighing again.
"It's clear that we need to do something." Jenny said thoughtfully.
"And what exactly can we do?" Shiori questioned.
"Maybe we... could try to cheer Clover up?" Jenny suggested.
"But what should we do?" Michael asked.
"What do you think, Andrew?" Nathan turned to him. "You've known her since childhood. Any ideas of what we could try?"
Andrew thought about it. "Hmmm." He was trying to remember something that Clover would've liked. And then... "Barbecue party!"
"Barbecue party?" Shiori repeated.
Andrew smiled nodded. "Yeah. Clover always loved barbecue. Since the childhood, we used to have barbecue parties a few times during the summer..."
Flashback
It was a bright day. And there were a lot of people who came to a big lake. Some of them were playing in the water. Others were just relaxing. And among those people, were a 9 years old Andrew and Clover, who were with Andrew's parents, who were standing right next to a barbecue grill. Both kids were waiting eagerly for their food.
Eventually, Andrew's mom handed them hamburgers. Both of them were happy that it was done. Andrew almost laughed as Clover instantly munched on her burger happily.
Flashback end
"She certainly loved barbecued food." Andrew finished.
"Of course, who wouldn't?" Nathan asked with a smile.
"Then that settles it!" Jenny declared. "We'll prepare a barbecue party!"
"Great! I can get the grill." Xander offered.
"And I can prepare the food." Michael added.
"Let's invite some others." Cynthia suggested.
"I guess we have a lot to do." Andrew commented. "Let's go!"
With that, they all went to separate ways...
Nathan and Xander arrived at the Slifer dorm and met up with Jaden, Syrus and Chumley.
Andrew and Shiori met up with Bastion, who was reading some books in the library.
And Jenny and Cynthia met up with Alexis who was just leaving the docks.
Some time later, somewhere else, Clover was walking around, still feeling depressed. She certainly didn't know what to do. She sighed heavily.
"Hey Clover!" Someone called out.
She looked up and saw Xander right in front of her. "Xander?"
The mechanic walked up to her, smiling. "Do you have a moment?"
The redhead looked away. "Not really."
"Please? I just want to tell you something. It's about Andrew."
Hearing his name got her attention. "Hm?"
"Well, we've been discussing about what to do this nice day. And... Andrew suggested that we should have a barbecue party on the beach!"
"Barbecue?" Clover repeated as she almost lit up at the idea.
"Yeah, that would be great, right? Some nice activities on the beach, and then wrap things up with some barbecued food. It would be nice if you come."
Clover started to consider it. She truly liked barbecue. She even remembered all those times she and Andrew had barbecue parties when they were kids. 'Andrew...' She then frowned and looked to the side. "I... I don't know."
Xander was a little surprised. Andrew did say that she loved barbecue, so he was certain that she would say yes. This was more serious than he thought. He gave her a concerned look. "Come on. I'm sure it'll be fun."
Clover kept avoiding her eyes. "I..."
Xander felt that he shouldn't force her, so he just placed a hand on her shoulder. "Okay, if you don't feel like it, then that's fine. But you should think about it at least. In my opinion, Andrew would be really happy to spend some time with you." At that, he walked away.
Clover just stood there. She was still feeling depressed because of her feelings for Andrew. She stood there, letting Xander's words sink in slowly. after what felt like a long while, she finally made her decision. "Alright then..."
And so, friends were gathering on the beach...
"Okay, looks like this is it." Andrew said. He was wearing a blue t-shirt and black shorts. "Is everything ready?"
"Well, I've brought the grill!" Xander said, standing next to a barbecue grill. He was wearing a grey t-shirt and red swimming trunks.
"And I've brought the food." Michael added, holding up a plastic bag full of stuff. He was wearing an unbuttoned, white shirt and purple shorts.
"What kind of food." Chumley asked, arriving with Syrus and Jaden. Jaden was wearing a red t-shirt and beige shorts. Syrus' t-shirt was yellow and his shorts were dark-blue. And Chumley himself was wearing nothing but a pair of black swimming trunks.
"Well, I figured we could have some burgers." Michael replied. He then gave the koala duelist a smirk. "I could add some cheese to your burger."
Chumley smiled. "It's not grilled cheese, but that's good enough for me!"
"The weather is nice today." Nathan commented, looking up to the sky. He was wearing the same outfit he had when he first met Jaden. A white t-shirt with a picture of a surfer on the chest area and black shorts.
"I'll say." Bastion agreed. He was wearing a light-grey t-shirt that had a few stripes in the chest area. Yellow and dark-grey. And brown shorts.
"And here's the watermelon!" Shiori called out as he arrived with a water melon in one hand and a wooden stick in the other hand. He was wearing his orange swimming trunks and a white t-shirt with the image of Black Luster Soldier. "So now we can have a game of watermelon splitting!"
"Sweet! Now we're talking!" Jaden said excitedly.
"Okay, what about the girls?" Andrew wondered.
As if on cue...
"Sorry to keep you waiting!" Jenny called out as she showed up, along with Alexis and Cynthia. She was wearing her blue bikini, with a white t-shirt over the bikini top. Alexis was wearing a mint-green, short-sleeved shirt over a pink t-shirt with a hood and dark-green shorts with a flower image on the left. And Cynthia was wearing a red tank top and a white skirt with pink and blue flower patterns. "We were getting some soda from our dorm." Jenny said, holding up a cold storage box.
"Glad you could make it." Andrew said.
"Soda? This is getting better!" Jaden said eagerly.
"Easy there, dude." Michael stepped. "The soda is for everyone."
It was then that Andrew noticed something about the girl trio. "Where's Clover?"
Cynthia blinked. "You mean she hasn't come yet?"
Some of the guys frowned and looked around. "She's not here." Shiori noted.
"Hey Xander." Andrew turned to the mechanic. "Didn't you say that you found her earlier? Haven't you told her about the barbecue party?"
Xander lowered his head. "I did. But... she seemed hesitant to come."
"Really?" Jenny asked.
"Yeah. I didn't want to push her, so I just told her to think about it."
"I see." Andrew said, looking a little sad. "I guess this plan was a bust."
"Hey guys." Someone called out. Everyone turned to the direction voice came, and saw Clover standing in front of them, smiling a bit. She was wearing a red and white striped t-shirt and jeans shorts.
"Clover!" Xander smiled.
And so did Andrew and the others. "So you did come after all."
"What can I say? I couldn't pass up the chance to have some barbecue."
"I guess this is everyone then." Michael noted.
"Then we can prepare the food." Xander said as he and Michael walked over to the barbecue grill.
"So, how about watermelon splitting?" Syrus suggested.
"I'm in!" Jaden replied.
"Me too." Alexis added.
Shiori wiped some sweat off his forehead. "It is kinda hot today. I think I'll go for a swim." He took off his t-shirt.
"Oh, then I'll join you." Cynthia said as she started to take off her clothes.
Shiori stared dumbfounded and almost dropped his jaw as he now saw her in her swimsuit. It was a strapless one-piece suit in two different shades of green and rose patterns in the midriff area. He just kept staring until Cynthia snapped him out of it by grabbing his hand.
"Don't just stand there. Come on!" She dragged him to the water, much to Andrew, Jenny and Alexis' amusement.
"Alright! Time to party!" Jaden declared.
"Take this!" Shiori said and splashed some water to Cynthia.
"Hey! Alright, you asked for it!" The plant duelist retaliated in kind.
As the two of them were splashing each other, Michael and Xander were getting the grill ready. And as for the rest of the gang...
"Come on, Jaden! You got this!" Syrus called out.
"Okay, okay! I think I know where it is!" Jaden said as he walked to the right.
Everyone watching this noted that he was getting a bit further away from the watermelon, which placed on a sheet on the sandy ground.
"He's getting colder..." Chumley said, right before Nathan placed his right hand over his mouth.
"Sshh! Don't say it out loud." He whispered.
"Oh wait! Maybe over there?" Jaden turned around and walked back. The gang watched as he got closer to the melon... only to walk past it.
"He almost reached it." Clover whispered.
"Come on." Andrew muttered to himself.
"Waaait a minute!" Jaden stopped again and then, he slowly turned back and was facing right in the watermelon's direction.
'He's getting closer.' Bastion thought.
"Okay..." Jaden stopped and held up the stick right above his head. He was standing right in front of the melon. "HAAA!" He then swung the stick downwards...
SPLAT!
And split the melon in half.
"WHOA!" Everyone cheered.
"Haha! Nailed it!" Jaden cheered and took off his blindfold.
"Nice swing, Jaden." Jenny complimented.
"Good show." Bastion added.
"Thanks. You know what the best part of watermelon splitting is?" Jaden asked.
"What's that?" Syrus asked.
The brown-haired Slifer picked up on of the halves. "To eat the watermelon afterwards!"
"Then you better save some for us, dude!" Michael said as he and Xander walked over to the gang.
"What he said." Shiori said as he and Cynthia returned.
"Relax, I wasn't gonna eat all the whole thing."
Clover gave him a deadpan look. "Sure, whatever."
Moments later, the watermelon was cut in pieces, which the everyone was enjoying.
"How's the food going?" Andrew asked Michael.
"Well..." The purple-haired Obelisk boy walked over to the grill. It was currently burning. "I just lit the grill, so it's gonna take some more time before we can start cooking."
"So what are we gonna do til then?" Chumley asked. "I can't think of anything, besides swimming."
"Well, maybe..." Syrus started to to say, but...
"Let's duel!" Jaden exclaimed, startling the smaller Slifer. "A barbecue party is not complete without some dueling."
Andrew, Xander, Clover, Alexis and Jenny sweat dropped at that.
"That's so like you, Jaden." Alexis commented.
"But it's not a bad idea, though." Cynthia said. "I can't think anything more exciting than dueling."
"Me neither." Clover agreed with a smile.
"Same here." Jenny added.
A some more of the friends agreed. Shiori, who was the only one who didn't reply yet, smirked. "I had a feeling we would come to this, so... I had this prepared!" He then picked a small red box. Everyone noted all the small sticks that were... well, sticking out of it.
"What's that?" Xander asked.
"I figured we could draw numbers to decide the order of the matches. It's quite simple: the first match will be between number 1 and 2. Then 3 and 4. etc."
"That sounds fair enough." Bastion said.
"Works for me." Nathan added.
"How about you, Michael?" Andrew asked.
"Tempting, but someone has to keep an eye on the grill." The dark duelist replied, watching the fire carefully.
"That's cool." Jaden shrugged. "Alright then, let's draw!" At that, 10 people drew numbers: Andrew, Jaden, Alexis, Jenny, Bastion, Shiori, Nathan, Cynthia, Clover and Xander.
"Looks like I drew number 10." Andrew noted, holding his stick with a '10'.
"Tough luck, Andrew." Clover said, holding number '5'.
"Well it looks like I got number '2'." Jaden noted. "So who's got number '1'?"
Nathan smirked and approached him and then held up his number. "That would be me."
"Then the first match is between Jaden and Nathan." Shiori said. He then picked up two duel disks. "Alright guys, get ready!"
Moments later, after taking the duel disks, Jaden and Nathan took their positions and activated them.
"So, you ready, Jaden?" Nathan asked, drawing his opening hand.
"You know me. Always ready to throw down!" Jaden replied and did the same thing.
"Then let's duel!"
Jaden: 4000
Nathan: 4000
"I'll go first!" Nathan drew his sixth card. "And I'll start by summoning Mother Grizzly in defense mode!" The monster that rose up in front of him was a bear with blue fur, growling threateningly. (ATK: 1400 DEF: 1000 LV: 4) "I place one card facedown and end my turn." A card appeared at his feet.
"Alright then, my turn!" Jaden drew. "I summon Elemental HERO Bubbleman in attack mode!" The blue armored, caped water hero appeared. (ATK: 800 DEF: 1200 LV: 4) "And when this guy is summoned, and my field happens to be empty, I get to draw two more cards!" Jaden drew his extra cards, looked at them and smirked as he revealed one of them. "And it looks like I drew one of my favorites! Bubble Blaster!" The familiar blue bazooka appeared on Bubbleman's right shoulder. "Thanks to this, my Bubbleman gets a bubbling 800 attack point boost!" (ATK: 800-1600) "Now attack with Bombarding Bubble Barrage!" The hero fired a stream of bubbles that destroyed the blue bear.
"You just triggered Mother Grizzly's ability!" Nathan said with a smirk. "When it's destroyed in battle, I can summon a water monster with up to 1500 attack points. So say hello to my Mermaid Knight!" A mermaid with a green lower body, reddish hair, wearing blue armor and holding a wicked sword and shield came up before Nathan. (ATK: 1500 DEF: 700 LV: 4)
"She sure looks wicked." Jaden commented before inserting two cards into his duel disk. "I throw down two facedowns and end my turn!"
"If you think she's wicked now, just watch this!" Nathan drew. "First I activate the equip spell, Steel Shell!" The mermaid's shield grew some spikes. "Thanks to this card, my Mermaid Knight gains 400 attack points, but loses 200 defense points." (ATK: 1500-1900 DEF: 700-500) "And next I summon Maiden of the Aqua in defense mode!" The mermaid was joined by the blue-haired woman in skin-tight body suit, wielding a trident. (ATK: 700 DEF: 2000 LV: 4)
"She's pretty." Syrus said with a blush in his face.
"Really?" Clover gave him an annoyed look while Andrew and Jenny sighed.
"Um, is it just me, or is there more water here than usual?" Chumley asked.
And everyone noticed that the sea water was rising. It only took 5 seconds before the beach was hidden beneath its surface.
Michael almost panicked at the thought of the water pushing the barbecue grill. But much to his relief, it wasn't budging. "Phew, good thing this is just a hologram."
"Okay, so what is this?" Jaden wondered.
"My Maiden of the Aqua has a special ability." Nathan explained. "As long as she remains on the field, the entire field becomes Umi."
"Umi. That's a field spell that would give certain monsters a power boost." Andrew said.
"Yes. Specifically, Fish, Aqua, Sea Serpent and Thunder type monsters." Bastion added. "Of course, the Maiden doesn't give extra points."
"And now I attack with my Mermaid Knight!" The mermaid lunged at the water hero.
"I play Hero Barrier!" One of Jaden's facedown cards flipped up and created a blue barrier that protected Bubbleman from the mermaid's sword slash. "Sorry Nathan, but since I have an Elemental HERO on the field, I can negate your attack."
"Oh yeah?" Nathan smirked. "Then I guess I'll just have to attack again."
"Say what?"
"If Umi is on the field, then my Mermaid Knight can attack twice! So let's try this again!" The mermaid made a second attempt with her sword. And this time, she landed a hit. Except that Bubbleman's Blaster got hit and shattered into pixels. (ATK: 1600-800)
"Sweet move. But when Bubbleman would be destroyed, Bubble Blaster takes the hit."
"Better luck next time then." Nathan shrugged. "I end my turn."
"Alright then." Jaden drew his next card and looked at it. "Sweet! I summon Elemental HERO Burstinatrix!" The fire heroine clad in red appeared next to Bubbleman. (ATK: 1200 DEF: 800 LV: 3) "And now I activate the spell card, R-Righteous Justice!" A glowing 'R' came out of the named card.
"Lishus!" Chumley cheered. "Now Jaden can destroy a spell or trap card for every Elemental HERO on the field."
"So with Burstinatrix and Bubbleman, that makes two." Shiori added.
"Meaning I can destroy your facedown card and Steel Shell!" The two named cards shattered into pixels, causing Mermaid Knight's shield change back to normal. (ATK: 1900-1500 DEF: 500-700)
'There goes Torrential Reborn.' Nathan thought.
"And with that done, I play Polymerization and fuse Bubbleman with Burstinatrix to form Elemental HERO Steam Healer!" The two heroes entered the fusion vortex and fused together. And then, a man emerged from it, clad in a big, mechanical armor that was purple with some red and metal pipes coming out of his back. (ATK: 1800 DEF: 1000 LV: 5)
"He looks tough." Syrus commented, looking at the new hero.
"Tough enough to take down Mermaid Knight, at least." Xander replied.
"Alright Steam Healer, take down his Mermaid Knight!" The heavy armored hero hovered towards the mermaid and and held his right, three fingered hand, before firing some hot steam, making her cry out before she exploded.
Nathan: 4000-3700
"Phew! That was hot!" Nathan said, using his free hand to fan himself.
"It sure was." Jaden replied. "Oh, did I mention Steam Healer's special ability? When he destroys a monster in battle, I gain life points equal to its attack points."
Jaden: 4000-5500
"Looks like Jaden's got a good start." Alexis said.
"But I wonder how long his advantage will last?" Cynthia replied.
"We'll just have to wait and see." Jenny added.
"And that's all she wrote. Your move!" Jaden concluded.
"Okay, Jaden. You want to play tough? Then watch this!" Nathan drew. "Looks like you're in deep trouble, Jaden. Because I just drew my favorite field spell: A Legendary Ocean!" And so, the water rose even higher, and everyone found themselves at the familiar underwater ruins.
Michael glanced at the barbecue grill. It was still burning. "Again, good thing this is just a hologram."
"I bet you remember this field spell, Jaden." Nathan spoke. "For starters, it gives all water monsters on the field 200 attack and defense points."
"Yeah? Well, Steam Healer is a water monster, so your Maiden isn't the only one who gets a power boost." (ATK: 700-900 DEF: 2000-2200 LV: 4-3) (ATK: 1800-2000 DEF: 1000-1200 LV: 5-4)
"True, but my field spell also lowers their levels by 1. And not just the monsters on the field, but also in our hands. Which means, I only need one sacrifice in order to summon this monster..." Maiden of the Aqua vanished. "Say hello to Citadel Whale!" With a cry, a big, blue whale came from above and swam down to Nathan's field. It had a big horn on its face, It also had some kind of fortress on its back, with cannons and all. (ATK: 2350-2550 DEF: 2150-2350 LV: 7-6)
"Oh boy." Jaden muttered.
"Looks like Nathan is about to deep six Jaden's hero." Andrew cracked.
"You got that right! Citadel Whale, fire away!" At that, the cannons on the whales back fired a bunch of shots and blasted Steam Healer until there was nothing left of him.
Jaden: 5500-4950
"You got me there, but I've got a trap! Hero Signal!" Jaden's facedown card flipped up and released a beam of light that shone an 'H' in the higher water levels. "Now I can summon another Elemental HERO to the field. And I think Clayman would like to play! Come on out, buddy!" The stone hero appeared and crouched down in front of Jaden. (ATK: 800 DEF: 2000 LV: 4)
"You're going to need more than a defense to defeat my Citadel Whale." Nathan pointed out. "In any case, I'm done with my turn."
"Then I'll start with mine!" Jaden drew. "And now I play Pot of Greed! Now I can draw two more cards!" He drew his extra cards. "And it looks like I got Fusion Recovery! With this spell, I can take a Polymerization back to my hand, along with a monster I used for a fusion summon." At that, Polymerization and Bubbleman came out of the graveyard slot.
"According to my calculations, Jaden is about to play another fusion monster." Bastion deduced.
"And with Polymerization, I'm gonna fuse Clayman with Sparkman in my hand..." The blue and golden electric hero appeared before entering a fusion vortex with the stone hero. "Now come on out, Elemental HERO Thunder Giant!" The yellow, giant electric hero emerged from the vortex and unleashed some lightning. (ATK: 2400 DEF: 1500 LV: 6) "I hope you like deep-fried fish, Nathan. Cuz thanks to his superpower, Thunder Giant can destroy a monster whose original attack are less than his own!"
"And Citadel Whale's original attack points are 2350." Shiori remembered.
"Awesome! That means he's gonna sink that whale!" Syrus cheered.
"Now Thunder Giant, go! Static Blast!" The electric hero thrusted his right palm and fired a powerful bolt of lightning that completely engulfed the whale. "Gotcha!"
"Guess again, Jaden!" Nathan countered as the whale shook it off and was completely unharmed.
"Whoa! It survived!" Cynthia gasped.
"But how?" Jaden questioned.
"Its special ability, of course." Nathan smirked. "Once per turn, when exactly one of my water monsters is being targeted by a card or effect that you activate, my Citadel Whale can negate it and destroy it. Which means the only one getting deep-fried here is your Thunder Giant!" The whale's cannons fired some more shots.
"Uh oh!" Jaden panicked as his fusion monster was blasted to oblivion.
"Ouch! That was unexpected." Xander said.
"I gotta say, Nathan's got some mad skills." Clover said, impressed.
"Even better than that Admiral." Jenny added.
"Okay, looks like I goofed there." Jaden rubbed the back of his head. "But I can still summon another monster. So I'll bring back Elemental HERO Bubbleman." The water hero appeared and kneeled down. (ATK: 800-1000 DEF: 1200-1400 LV: 4) "And I don't have any other cards on my field, which means two more cards for me." He drew his extra cards. "And one of them is the spell card, O-Over Soul!" The named spell card unleashed a glowing 'O'. "This lets me summon a hero from my graveyard. So let's all welcome Clayman back to the field!" The stone hero joined Bubbleman. (ATK: 800 DEF: 2000 LV: 4) "And then I'll throw down a facedown and activate Mirage of Nightmare." A facedown card, along with the continuous spell appeared. "That's all for now."
"Then it's my move!" Nathan drew.
"And this is when the effect of Mirage of Nightmare kicks in!" Jaden declared. "During your standby phase, I get to draw until I have 4 cards in my hand!" He drew 3 new cards. "And now I play the spell card, Emergency Provisions!" His facedown card flipped up. "By sending a spell or trap card to my graveyard, I gain 1000 life points!" His Mirage card vanished as a blue aura surrounded him.
Jaden: 4950-5950
"So you don't need to discard your hand next turn." Nathan noted. "But I've got a spell card of my own! Moray of Greed!"
"What's Moray of Greed?" Chumley asked.
Nathan turned to him. "This lets me take two water monsters from my hand..." He put his two remaining cards into his deck. "And then, I shuffle my deck before drawing 3 new cards." He shuffled his deck before inserting it into his duel disk and drew 3 new cards. He looked at them and smirked. "And here comes another spell: Rage of Kairyu-Shin!"
"Rage of what now?" Jaden asked in confusion."
"Kairyu-Shin." Nathan repeated. "And this spell is gonna wash your monsters away. For every water monster I have whose original level is 5 or higher, I can destroy one fo your monsters!"
"And Citadel Whale's original level is 7." Cynthia pointed out. "So there goes one of Jaden's monsters."
"Time to sink your Clayman!" At Nathan's declaration, the whale cried out as a whirlpool was formed and swallowed Clayman. After only a brief moment, he exploded. But as the smoke cleared, the whirlpool was still there. "Huh?" Jaden raised an eyebrow.
"Oh yeah." Nathan spoke up. "For every monster that was destroyed, you can't use one of your monster zones until next turn."
"I guess that's what you call a wash out." Jaden cracked.
"That's just the beginning, because now I play the spell card, Salvage." Nathan held up another spell card. "This lets me take two water monsters with up to 1500 attack points from my graveyard and add them to my hand." Two cards slid out of his graveyard slot before he grabbed them. "And I think you remember this one: Mermaid Knight!" The red-haired mermaid with sword and shield appeared. (ATK: 1500-1700 DEF: 700-900 LV: 4-3)
"Uh oh!"
"Now attack his Bubbleman!" The mermaid lunged at the water hero again, slashed him with her sword. "And now, direct attack!" At that, she landed a second slash on Jaden, who cried out.
Jaden: 5950-4250
"And you're not off the hook just yet! Because I still have Citadel Whale! Attack!" The whale blasted Jaden with its cannon. Once the smoke cleared, everyone could see Jaden getting up on his feet.
Jaden: 4250-1700
"And that ends my turn!" Nathan concluded.
"Wow! Those moves were sweet!" Jaden complimented. He then drew a card and looked at it. He then smiled. "Well, what do you know? Looks like your field is about to dry out."
Nathan blinked. "What's that mean?"
"Why don't you ask that to my new friend here?" Jaden slid the card into his duel disk. And then, a new figure appeared in front of him. It was a man in golden armor, wearing a golden helmet with horns and a visor. He was also wearing a red cape.
"Okay, who is that?" Shiori wondered.
Andrew smiled. "Something that I got for Jaden a while back..."
A few days earlier
Jaden and Andrew were sitting at a table in the card shop and looked over their cards. "I think you could use this, Jaden." Andrew said as he handed the card in question to him.
"Whoa! Really?" Jaden asked and took it. "Are you sure?"
"It's fine." Andrew smiled. "I think you'll have better use for it than me."
Jaden smiled. "Thanks pal."
Back to the present
"This guy is called Elemental HERO Captain Gold." Jaden explained. "And if I discard him from my hand, I can add a certain field spell from my deck to my hand." He fanned his deck out and took a card.
"A Field spell?" Syrus repeated.
"But which one?" Chumley wondered.
"I think I have a good guess." Alexis said with a smile.
"And now it's time to change the scenery! I activate Skyscraper!" At that, the ruins vanished as the water dried out. And at the same time, tall city buildings appeared around everybody.
"My ocean is gone!" Nathan cried out. (ATK: 1700-1500 DEF: 900-700 LV: 3-4) (ATK: 2550-2350 DEF: 2350-2150 6-7)
"Afraid so." Jaden replied. "My Captain Gold sure knows how to shine. In fact, I like him so much, that I think I'll bring him back with The Warrior Returning Alive!"
"That spell card lets him take a warrior type monster back from his graveyard!" Clover pointed.
"Really cool." Michael commented before focusing on the barbecue grill again.
Jaden took HERO monster from his graveyard slot. "Alright Captain Gold, time for your big entrance!" And then, after noticing a flash of light, Everyone looked up and saw the golden hero standing on top of a skyscraper with his arms crossed. (ATK: 2100 DEF: 800 LV: 4) "Now Captain, go and make a fillet of that Citadel Whale!" The golden hero leapt up in the air.
"But why?" Nathan questioned. "My monster has more attack points!"
"That's true. And because of that, my Skyscraper gives my hero 1000 extra attack points!" (ATK: 2100-3100) And then, the hero came down and landed a strong kick that made the whale cry out before it exploded.
Nathan: 3700-2950
"And now I'll throw down a facedown and call it a turn!" Jaden inserted a card into his duel disk. And then, the whirlpool died down.
"It's my move." Nathan drew his next card and looked at it. "Looks like I'm lucky today." He said, smirking.
"Hm?" Jaden raised an eyebrow.
"I discard Warrior of Atlantis from my hand." As Nathan slipped his card into his duel disk, a blue-skinned humanoid figure. He had a fin on its head, a tail and white boots. He also had a crossbow on his right arm. "Like your Captain Gold, this guy lets me take a field spell from my deck to my hand." Nathan took a card from his deck and held it up. "And it happens to be A Legendary Ocean!"
"Oh boy."
"Which means we're back to the bottom of the ocean!" At that, the skyscrapers vanished and everyone found themselves at the underwater ruins again. "And I..." Nathan was about to say but stopped himself when Captain Gold shattered into pixels. "Huh? What happened?"
"Well..." Jaden smiled sheepishly. "The Captain prefers being in the big city. So if Skyscraper isn't on the field, then he's automatically destroyed."
"Is that so? Then that's bad news for you, because my Mermaid gets extra points again." (ATK: 1500-1700 DEF: 700-900 LV: 4-3) "And that's enough for her to take you out! Now attack!" The mermaid swam towards Jaden.
"I play a trap! A Hero Emerges!" His facedown card flipped up. "Now before you strike, you have to pick a card in my hand." Jaden held up his two cards. "And if it's a monster, I can summon it."
Nathan narrowed his eyes in thought before making his decision. "I choose the one on the right."
Jaden grabbed the card in question. "A good choice... for me that is! Here comes Winged Kuriboh!" He was joined by brown-furred duel spirit with white rings. (ATK: 300 DEF: 200 LV: 1)
"That little fella doesn't stand a chance against Mermaid Knight." To prove Nathan's points, the mermaid cut the little monster in half, shattering him into pixels.
"Maybe not, but he knows how to take a hit for the team. When Winged Kuriboh is destroyed, all the battle damage I'll take this turn becomes 0."
"In that case, I summon Maiden of the Aqua!" The blue-haired woman appeared again. (ATK: 700-900 DEF: 2000-2200 LV: 4-3) "Now then, do you remember Citadel Whale?"
Jaden an eyebrow. "Yeah, why?"
"I figured you should know that it has another special ability. By sacrificing two water monsters, I can summon it from my hand or graveyard!"
Everyone gasped.
"You serious?" Xander questioned.
"No way." Alexis said disbelieved.
At that, Nathan's two monsters vanished. And then, from a flash of light, the horned whale appeared with a battle cry. (ATK: 2350-2550 DEF: 2150-2350 LV: 7-6)
"Wow! That is one wicked whale!" Jaden grinned.
"And there's more..." Nathan held up a trap card. "After my Citadel Whale is special summoned, I can take a Sea Stealth Attack card from my deck and place it facedown." He inserted it into his duel disk. "And that's all."
"A trap card, huh?" Jaden muttered and drew his next card. "In that case, I'll start by playing the spell, Legacy of a Hero! With two level 4 or above Elemental heroes in my graveyard, I can draw 3 more cards." He drew his extra cards. "And now I play the spell card, E-Emergency Call!" The named spell card unleashed a glowing 'E'. "Now I can take an Elemental HERO from my deck and add it to my hand." He searched through his deck until he found what he wanted. "And I'll summon him right now! Elemental HERO Wildheart!" The green hero with feather wings appeared. (ATK: 1000 DEF: 1000 LV: 3) "Then I'll throw down a facedown and end my turn!" A card appeared at Jaden's feet.
"If you think that facedown card can save you, then think again!" Nathan drew his next card. "Now then, I think my Citadel Whale wants to take your Avian even deeper than he is now!" The whale's cannons started to charge up.
"Sorry, but I play the trap card, Soul Union!" Jaden's facedown card flipped up. "With this, I can give my Avian a power boost, by increasing his attack points with the attack points of an Elemental HERO in my graveyard. And I choose... Thunder Giant!" The spirit of the electric giant appeared and entered Avian's body. (ATK: 1000-3400)
"Damn!" Clover exclaimed. "3400 attack points!"
"That's enough to defeat Citadel Whale." Cynthia added.
"Awesome!" Syrus cheered.
"That's exactly what I would have done." Chumley said.
"Oops! Looks like I'm in trouble!" Nathan said, before smirking. "Or not! I activate Sea Stealth Attack!" His facedown card flipped up.
"Oh right. I forgot about that card." Jaden said.
"Well you won't after this. With Umi, or in this case, A Legendary Ocean in play, I can activate one its two effects. And I think the second one should do the trick. Since my water monster's original level is over 5, any monster it battles with is instantly destroyed."
"Say what!?" Jaden exclaimed as Avian charged forward.
"So as strong as your Avian is now, my trap card makes Citadel Whale even stronger!" At that, the whale's cannons fired away and destroyed Avian instantly.
"It's clear that Nathan has created an impressive combo." Bastion said. "Along with its special abilities, that continuous trap makes his Citadel Whale almost invincible."
"Maybe, but Jaden would always get out of situations like this." Andrew replied.
"That's true." Syrus added.
"I end my turn." Nathan concluded
"Now that's a sweet combo you got there." Jaden complimented. "But I'm gonna make something even sweeter!"
"Really?" Nathan asked skeptically.
"Sure thing! Let me show you!" Jaden drew. "First I'll play the spell, Fifth Hope! This lets me take 5 Elemental Heroes from my graveyard and return them to my deck." The spirits of Avian, Burstinatrix, Sparkman, Clayman and Bubbleman appeared briefly. After that, Jaden shuffled his deck. "And after shuffling my deck, I get to draw two more cards." He drew his extra cards. "And now I summon, Elemental HERO Sparkman!" The blue and golden electric hero appeared again. (ATK: 1600 DEF: 1400 LV: 4) "And then I'll play the spell, H-Heated Heart!" The spell card unleashed a glowing 'H'. "Thanks to this, my Sparkman gains 500 extra attack points!" The 'H' entered Sparkman's body. (ATK: 1600-2100) "And now I activate Hero Flash!"
"Hero Flash?" Nathan repeated.
"Uh huh. And I can play this card since I have these 4 cards in the graveyard: Heated Heart, Emergency Call, Righteous Justice, and Oversoul!" The four named spell cards appeared and formed the word 'HERO'. "For starters, I get to summon an Elemental HERO, like Avian." The green wind hero appeared again. (ATK: 1000 DEF: 1000 LV: 3) "And there's more, Nathan. My Hero Flash lets both of my heroes attack you directly!"
"No way!" Nathan exclaimed.
"Alright guys, wrap this up with Hero Flash!" The two heroes turned into beams of green and yellow light that struck Nathan, who cried out and fell on the ground.
Nathan: 2950-0000
As the holograms disappeared, Jaden gave him trade mark pose. "That's game! And what a game!"
"Nice dueling you guys!" Andrew said as he and the other applauded.
"Good show." Bastion said.
"Way to go!" Clover added.
Nathan stood up and rubbed the back of his head. "And here I thought I was going win." He smiled. "Still though, it was a great match, Jaden. You're good!"
"Thanks! You too."
"So how's it going over there, Michael?" Shiori asked the dark duelist, who was keeping an eye on the grill.
"Only a few more minutes, and I can put the burgers on it."
"Then maybe we can have one more duel?" Jaden suggested.
Xander, Syrus and Chumley looked at each other before shrugging. "Why not?" The mechanic said.
"Then who's up next?" Jenny asked.
"Well, I've got number 3." Shiori replied and held up his number. "So who's got number 4?"
On cue, Cynthia walked up to him and smiled as she held up her number. "That's me."
"So it's Shiori versus Cynthia." Nathan noted.
"Then let's get this duel started!" Jaden declared excitedly.
Moments later, Shiori and Cynthia were facing each other and activated their duel disks. "Okay, are you ready?" Shiori asked and drew his opening hand.
"Of course." Cynthia said and drew her own hand. "Just don't get too rough on me." She joked and winked.
"Right." Shiori blushed a bit. "Now then..."
"Let's duel!"
Shiori: 4000
Cynthia: 4000
"Ladies first." Cynthia said and drew her sixth card. "First I activate the spell card, Seed Cannon!" A spell card appeared. "And then I summon Baobaboon!" A big tree with four roots acting like its legs appeared. It had a baboon-like face. (ATK: 1200 DEF: 1000 LV: 3)
"That is one bizarre tree." Chumley commented.
"And now I activate its special ability. After being summoned, Baobaboon lets me draw one card from my deck." Cynthia drew. "And then, I have to take a card from my hand and place it on either the top or bottom of my deck." She picked a card and put it on the bottom of her deck. "And there's more. Whenever a plant type monster is summoned, my Seed Cannon gets a Plant Counter." The spell card glowed briefly. "With that done, I end my turn."
"My move!" Shiori drew. "I summon Luster Dragon in attack mode!" The blue dragon with strong arms and legs appeared. (ATK: 1900 DEF: 1600 LV: 4) "Now attack her Baobaboon!" The dragon spat a torrent of flames that burned the baboon-faced tree to ashes.
"Nice try, Shiori. But when my Baobaboon is destroyed, I can summon up to two more Baobaboon's from my deck!" As Cynthia said this, two more baboon-faced trees appeared. (ATK: 1200 DEF: 1000 LV: 3) x2 "And with both of them summoned, my Seed Cannon gets another counter." Her spell card glowed briefly again.
"Oops." Shiori said.
"And of course, now that they are summoned, I can use their ability again." Cynthia drew a card, looked at it and then put one of her other cards on the bottom of her deck. She then did the same thing again.
"I place one card facedown and end my turn." Shiori concluded as a card appeared at his feet.
"Back to me then." Cynthia drew. "First I activate the field spell, Forest!" Everyone found themselves on the familiar, grassy place surrounded by trees. "Thanks to this, all plant type monsters on the field gain 200 attack and defense points." (ATK: 1200-1400 DEF: 1000-1200) "Next I summon Botanical Lion in attack mode!" As Cynthia placed her card on her duel disk, everyone heard some growling coming from the forest. And then, the new monster leapt out and landed on the field. As the name suggested, it was a lion. But its main body was made of wood. And its mane was made of red flower petals. (ATK: 1600-1800 DEF: 2000-2200 LV: 4) And just like before, Seed Cannon glowed briefly.
Shiori blinked. "I'm not sure how I should react to that thing."
Cynthia smiled. "Well if I were you, I should be worried about its special ability. For every plant type monster on my field, Botanical Lion gains 300 more attack points."
The others gasped. "Whoa! For real?" Syrus asked.
"It's true." Bastion replied. "And including the lion itself, that's 3. Which means it now gains 900 more attack points."
The lion growled as its power increased. (ATK: 1800-2700) "Now my lion, destroy Luster Dragon!" The lion pounced on the blued dragon and sank its teeth into its left shoulder before it exploded.
Shiori: 4000-3200
"And now I attack with Baobaboon!" One of the baboon-faced trees charged forward.
"Hold that thought!" Shiori said as he revealed his facedown card. "With my Birthright trap card, I can summon a normal monster from my graveyard! Which means my dragon comes back to me!" From a flash of light, Luster Dragon appeared again. (ATK: 1900 DEF: 1600 LV: 4)
The tree stopped and returned to Cynthia's field. "I switch my other Baobaboon to defense mode and end my turn." The baboon tree bent its legs to lower itself.
"My turn!" Shiori drew. He looked at his new card and smirked. "And now I summon Gene-Warped Warwolf in attack mode!" The dragon was joined by bipedal white wolf with four arms and sharp claws. (ATK: 2000 DEF: 100 LV: 4) "You probably already know this, but plant type monsters aren't the only ones that get extra points from your field spell. There are also insects, beasts, and finally, beast-warriors. And my Warwolf happens to be a beast-warrior." (ATK: 2000-2200 DEF: 100-300) "And to kick things up a bit, I activate the spell card Black Pendant!" A purple pendant in a gold casing appeared around the Warwolf's neck. "Thanks to this equip spell, my monster gains 500 more attack points!" (ATK: 2200-2700)
"Now both of their monsters are evenly matched." Xander noted.
"But not for long." Clover replied.
"Time to attack!" Shiori declared. "Luster Dragon, let's start with the Baobaboon that's in attack mode!" The blue dragon spat another torrent of flames and burned the monster in question down.
Cynthia: 4000-3500
"And now that one of your plant types are gone, your Botanical Lion loses 300 attack points!" (ATK: 2700-2400) "And that means my Gene-Warped Warwolf can take it out!" The Warwolf roared and dashed forward before landing a double right hook on the lion's face, making it explode. That made Cynthia skid back a bit.
Cynthia: 3500-3200
"I end my turn with a facedown." Shiori concluded and inserted a card into his duel disk.
"Nice moves, man!" Michael cheered. When he turned to the barbecue grill..." Oh!" He placed some burgers on it as it was now ready.
"Are you okay?" Shiori asked.
Cynthia looked up and smiled. "No harm here. But thank you for asking." She then drew. "Now I activate Pot of Greed." She drew two extra cards. "Next I'll sacrifice my Baobaboon in order to summon Queen Angel of Roses!" The baboon-faced tree vanished as a whirlwind of roses erupted, before coalescing to form what seemed be a cocoon of crimson petals. The cocoon slowly unfurled and spread into two wide angelic wings, extending from the shoulders of a woman clad in along rose-red dress that spread into segments like flower petals around her legs, her long hair a lustrous golden-blonde and her face covered by a white mask. The beautiful rose-themed angel drew a longsword with a cross guard formed from a rose flower, raising it as it landed right in front of Cynthia. (ATK: 2400-2600 DEF: 1300-1500 LV: 7) Seed Cannon glowed briefly again.
"Wait a minute. Isn't that a level 7 monster?" Shiori questioned.
Cynthia smiled. "She is, but when I summon her, a plant type monster is the only sacrifice she needs."
"That's a nice effect." Jenny said.
"Cynthia's field just keep growing with powerful monsters." Andrew added.
"Now my Queen Angel, destroy his Luster Dragon!" The angelic woman soared forward.
"I activate the spell card, Book of Moon!" Shiori's facedown card flipped up and released lightwaves that forced the angel back to Cynthia's field. "With this card, I can force a monster on the field to facedown position." The angel was then replaced by a facedown card.
"Not bad." Cynthia said. "I activate the spell card, Spiritual Forest!" The spell card appeared. And then, the trees around the area glowed slightly. "I end my turn."
"Then here goes!" Shiori drew. "Luster Dragon, attack her facedown monster!" The blue dragon spat out another torrent of flames. Cynthia's facedown monster revealed herself. (ATK: 2400-2600 DEF: 1300-1500 LV: 7) And then, her entire body was engulfed in flames. "Now you're wide open!"
But Cynthia smiled. "Am I?" It was then the flames died down, and to everyone's surprise, the Queen Angel was still there.
"No way!" Alexis said.
"She survived!" Jenny said.
"But how?" Shiori asked, completely confused.
Cynthia giggled. "I'm sorry, but you have to try harder." She then pointed to her spell card. "With Spiritual Forest on my field, the first beast, beast-warrior, or plant type monster I control that would be destroyed in battle is not destroyed."
"Seriously?"
"What does she mean?" Syrus asked.
"She means, Syrus, that her spell card makes it so that one of her monsters can survive the first battle each turn." Bastion explained.
"In that case..." Shiori spoke up after getting over his shock. "I'll just attack you again with Gene-Warped Warwolf!" The Warwolf gave the Queen Angel a double left hook, shattering her into pixels. "I end my turn."
"Now then..." Cynthia drew. "I activate the spell card, Miracle Fertilizer! With this, I can summon a plant type monster back from my graveyard, once per turn. And I choose Queen Angel of Roses!" The rose-themed angel appeared again. (ATK: 2400-2600 DEF: 1300-1500 LV: 7)
"Her again?" Shiori said.
"Yeah, that's right. But that's not all..." Cynthia pointed to her Seed Cannon, which suddenly glowed with a red aura.
"Whoa! What's going on!?"
"My Seed Cannon has reached its limit and received its fifth counter. So now is the perfect opportunity to activate its effect. By sending it to the graveyard, I can deal 500 points of damage for every counter it has!"
"Say what!?" Shiori exclaimed as the spell vanished and was replaced by some kind of orange flower that was charged of energy.
"Now fire!" The flower fired a beam of energy and blasted Shiori.
Shiori: 3200-0700
"Ow! That's gotta hurt." Jaden commented.
"No kidding." Andrew replied.
"And it seems that this duel is over." Bastion said.
"What do you mean?" Chumley asked.
Clover looked over the field, wondering what Bastion meant. And then... "He's right! Cynthia's Queen Angel has 2600 attack points. And Shiori's Luster Dragon has 1900. Which means if she attacks..."
"She wins!" Xander realized.
"It's been fun, Shiori. But I'm afraid this duel is over!" Cynthia declared as the rose-themed angel soared forward and raised her sword, ready to strike the blue dragon.
"I don't think so!" Shiori said and discarded one of his cards. When he did, a familiar, brown sphere-like creature and took the hit. It exploded and sent the Queen Angel back to Cynthia's field.
"Huh?" Cynthia's eyes widened.
"By sending Sphere Kuriboh from my hand to the graveyard, I can force your attacking monster to defense mode." As Shiori said that, the angel kneeled down.
"That was a nice move." Cynthia complimented, making Shiori blush.
"Thank you." He muttered.
"There's nothing more I can do this turn, except playing a facedown card." A card appeared at her feet. "It's your move."
"Okay then." Shiori drew. "First I summon Djinn Disserere of Rituals!" A familiar, purple and chubby fiend appeared, wielding its big shield. (ATK: 200 DEF: 200 LV: 1) "Then I'll play Card of Demise! This lets me draw until I have 5 cards in my hand!" Shiori drew his new hand. "And now I play the ritual spell card, Contract with the Abyss! And one of the monsters I'm gonna sacrifice is a surprise guest!" From a flash of light, Sphere Kuriboh appeared again.
"That's the monster you sent to the graveyard earlier!" Cynthia noted.
"Yup. My Sphere Kuriboh has another effect. When I ritual summon a monster, I can remove it from play in order to use as one of my sacrifices. So now I'll sacrifice it, Djinn Disserere and Luster Dragon in order to summon Archfiend's Awakening!" The three monsters vanished, and a blue lightning struck the spot where the dragon was. And then, everyone could see the new monster. It looked just like Summoned Skull. However, its horns and wings were blue. It growled and unleashed blue electricity. (ATK: 2500 DEF: 1200 LV: 6)
"That's a new one." Andrew commented.
"A fine creature." Bastion added.
"Now my Archfiend, attack her Queen Angel!" The skeletal fiend fired a stream of electricity.
"I activate the trap card, Wall of Thorns!" Cynthia's facedown card flipped up. "Since my plant type monster is being targeted for an attack, I can destroy all monsters that are on your field in attack mode!" Before her was struck, thorny vines sprouted in front of her, forming a wall. When it was hit by the electric attack, it was reflected and struck both of Shiori's monsters.
"My Archfiend's Awakening won't be going anywhere." Shiori declared. "Since I used my Djinn Disserere for its ritual summon, it's immune to all trap cards!" The fiend fiend simply absorbed the electricity.
"That may be, but your other monster is a different story." The Gene-Warped Warwolf exploded.
"True, but with him gone, my Black Pendant is also destroyed. And since that's the case, you take 500 points of damage."
Cynthia winced as a red aura surrounded her.
Cynthia: 3200-2700
"I end my turn with a facedown." A card appeared at his feet.
"My move!" Cynthia drew. "And now I activate my Queen Angel's special ability!"
"Hm?" Shiori got curious.
"You see, during my standby phase, while she's on the field, a monster with the lowest attack strength is automatically destroyed. In this case... your Archfiend's Awakening!" The named monster was swallowed by a whirlwind of roses. "Too bad for you."
"I wouldn't say that." Shiori replied with a smirk as blue lightning suddenly erupted from the whirlwind. And when it was gone, his ritual monster was revealed, completely unharmed.
"No way!"
"Sorry, but my Archfiend has a special ability. Of all monster effects in the game, only those of ritual monsters can destroy it."
"That's impressive." Cynthia said, smiling. "In that case, I summon Lonefire Blossom in attack mode!" A familiar plant with a lit fuse appeared. (ATK: 500 DEF: 1400 LV: 3) "And by sacrificing a plant type monster, this little thing lets me summon another one from my deck."
"Ooh, I almost forgot about that." Shiori said.
"So I'll sacrifice my Blossom and summon Talaya, Princess of Cherry Blossoms!" The little plant vanished as a giant cheery blossom bloomed on the field, revealing the woman in purple kimono. (ATK: 2800-3000 DEF: 1200-1400 LV: 8) "This beauty gains 100 attack points for every plant type monster on my field, including herself." (ATK: 3000-3200) "And that should be enough to take you out. Now attack with Cherry Blossom Storm!" The woman waved her fan and summoned a whirlwind of cherry blossoms that was approaching Archfiend's Awakening.
"I activate my trap! Malevolent Catastrophe!" Shiori's facedown card flipped up. "When you attack, I can use this to destroy all spell and trap cards on the field!"
Cynthia gasped as a giant whirlwind surrounded the whole place. First, Spiritual Forest was destroyed. And then, the whirlwind died down, revealing that the forest was gone. Everyone found themselves on the beach again.
"And without your field spell, your monsters lose their extra points." (ATK: 2600-2400 DEF: 1500-1300) (ATK: 3200-3000 DEF: 1400-1200) "Which means I'll be able to survive this attack!" The whirlwind of cherry blossoms swallowed the fiend monster.
Shiori: 0700-0200
"Nicely done!" Cynthia complimented. "Too bad your monster isn't as lucky as you."
Shiori smirked. "Actually..." The whirlwind died down and the gang was shocked to see the ritual monster unharmed. "My Archfiend's Awakening is tougher than you think. Since your Talaya isn't a ritual monster, it can't be destroyed in battle."
"Whoa! Shiori just doesn't give up!" Jaden commented.
"I gotta say, this duel is really good." Nathan said.
"This won't be easy." Cynthia admitted. "I end my turn."
"Alright then!" Shiori drew and looked over his hand. "Hmm. Nothing to use here. I'll switch my Archfiend to defense mode and end my turn." The fiend kneeled down.
"Now let's see." Cynthia drew her next card.
"Hang on a second!" Shiori interrupted. "You still have your Queen Angel on the field, so her special ability kicks in. And because she's the weakest monster on the field, she's going to destroy herself." A red aura surrounded the rose-themed angel.
"Not really." Cynthia replied as Talaya suddenly released a pink aura. As it spread, the red aura faded, leaving the Queen Angel safe. "As long as Talaya is on the field, she keeps the other plant type monsters from being destroyed by card effects."
"Wow! That's a cool combo." Michael commented.
"Now then, as for me." Cynthia looked at her new card and revealed it. "I activate the spell card, Forbidden Chalice!" A golden cup appeared above Shiori's monster and drenched it with water. "This spell card gives a monster on the field 400 extra attack points." (ATK: 2500-2900)
"Why would you give my monster extra attack points?"
"Because while this spell gives it some extra points, it also negates its special abilities."
"In other words..." Bastion spoke up. "Archfiend's Awakening is no longer invincible in battle."
"And that's bad news for Shiori." Jenny added.
"Now I switch my Queen Angel to attack mode!" The angel stood up. "Now attack his Archfiend's Awakening!" The angel soared towards the fiend and cut it in half with her sword. "And now I..." Before Cynthia could proceed, lightning erupted from the ground in front of Shiori.
"You just triggered my monster's final ability!" Shiori declared.
"But I thought its abilities were negated." Chumley said.
"They were negated while it was on the field, but that doesn't apply anymore since it left the field." Nathan explained.
"Since you sent Archfiend's Awakening to the graveyard, I'm allowed to summon a certain monster to the field." Shiori explained. "And that monster is Summoned Skull!" The lightning intensified briefly before dying down, and revealed the original skeletal fiend that was kneeling down in front of him. (ATK: 2500 DEF: 1200 LV: 6)
"Wow, Shiori." Cynthia muttered before smiling. "Talaya, attack his Summoned Skull with Cherry Blossom Storm!" The princess waved her fan, and the fiend was swallowed by a whirlwind of cherry blossoms. Moments later, Shiori's field was empty. "And that ends my turn."
"Shiori's hanging in there." Andrew said.
"But it looks to me that he's out of options." Xander stated.
"Not necessarily." Clover replied. "At this point, anything could happen."
"My turn!" Shiori drew his next card. He paused for a moment before he looked at it. He couldn't help but smile.
"Someone's suddenly happy." Cynthia quipped.
"That's because I drew just what I need." Shiori revealed his new card. "The spell card, Pre-Preparations of Rites! This lets me add a ritual spell card from my deck to my hand. And I also get to add the ritual monster that's compatible to it from my deck or graveyard to my hand." He searched through his deck and picked two cards from it. "And next I play Black Illusion Ritual. And with its effect, I sacrifice Djinn Disserere of Rituals!" The shield wielding fiend appeared again.
"From the graveyard?" Cynthia questioned.
"Yup. This is just like Sphere Kuriboh. So, goodbye Djinn Disserere..." The fined vanished. "And hello Relinquished!" The golden eyed creature with its vein covered body rose up on the field. (ATK: 0 DEF: 0 LV: 1) "And next I activate his special ability. By absorbing one of your monsters, he can absorb its original attack and defense points!"
Cynthia gasped as Relinquished's circle opened up and sucked in Talaya. And then, her upper body appeared one of its armor pieces. (ATK: 0-2800 DEF: 0-1200)
"And now I'll equip him with the spell card, Opti-Camoflage Armor!" The spell card appeared behind Relinquished. "Thanks to this card, since Relinquished is a level 1 monster, he can attack you directly!"
"No way!" Cynthia exclaimed.
"Now Relinquished, end this duel with Pilfered Power Attack!" The ritual monster's golden eye fired a beam of energy at Cynthia, who fell on the ground.
Cynthia: 2700-0000
Everyone applauded as the holograms disappeared.
"Nice one, Shiori!" Andrew said.
"You too, Cynthia!" Jenny added.
"Now that was wicked!" Jaden cheered.
Cynthia moaned a little before she noticed a hand in front of her. She looked up and saw that one who offered it, was Shiori. "Are you okay?"
She smiled and grabbed, letting him help her. "Yeah, I'm fine. I gotta say, you surprised me there. That was impressive."
"But you didn't make it easy though. You're really good."
"Modest, aren't you. That's cute." That caused Shiori to blush.
"Hey guys!" Everyone turned to Michael who spoke up. "The food's ready!"
"Sweet!" Jaden exclaimed.
And so, everyone was sitting together and ate the burgers. And given the fact that Jaden was a big eater, Michael was prepared with lots of burgers. Andrew was sitting together with Clover, and he couldn't help but smile at how much she enjoyed her meal.
"Damn, it tastes good." The redhead said.
"Yeah. This is like the old times, isn't it?" Andrew asked.
That caused some childhood memories of them having barbecued food pop up in Clover's mind. And as they did, sad look was formed on her face. "Hey... Andrew."
"Hm?" He turned to her.
"I... I'm sorry about what I did."
"Did what?" Andrew asked, concerned.
"Ignoring you of course! I was so upset about you and Jenny being together that I couldn't stand it!" As Clover spoke, tears threatened to come out of her eyes. "Because of that, I just kept myself away from you! I... I..." She couldn't speak further as she suddenly felt a pair of arms wrap themselves around her. And they belonged to Andrew.
"It's okay. I understand. I was just worried that you kept your distance from me."
"Sorry..."
"Don't! I'm the one who should apologize for making you upset. The only thing I'm asking you, is not disappear from my life."
"Andrew?" Clover were surprised.
"You're one of the most important people in my life. After all, you inspired me to become a duelist. And you've been a really good friend. I can't imagine how things could have been if I never met you. And that's why I'm glad I did."
Clover didn't react for a moment. But when she did, she wrapped her arms around him and smiled. "Thanks Andrew."
The only person who paid attention to this was Jenny, who smiled. 'Looks like the plan is successful.'
Cynthia just finished her burger and stood up. "Sorry guys, but I have to head back to the dorm."
Shiori stood up, facing her. "You're leaving so soon?"
"I happen to have some extra homework. The downside of returning to school after being gone for so long."
"I see." The ritual duelist said, disappointed. But he was then surprised as Cynthia suddenly hugged him.
"But I certainly had fun with you today, and I hope we can do it again someday."
"Um... sure." He said nervously as he hugged back.
She leaned back and smiled to him. "I look forward to it." And then... she pressed her lips against his right cheek.
Shiori could hardly believe what was happening. The others watched this as well. Jaden, however was too focused on his burger. Syrus and Chumley were shocked. Xander, Nathan, Andrew and Micheal looked amused. And so did Alexis and Clover, while Jenny kept herself from squealing.
Eventually, Cynthia pulled back. "Well then, gotta go. See ya!" At that, she walked away.
Shiori just watched her leave as he slowly reached for the cheek where the kiss was planted. And then, he blushed again.
"Hey, what's the matter Shiori?" Michael asked teasingly. "Do you find her legs attractive or something?"
"It's not what you think!" He exclaimed, his face completely red.
"Don't worry, we understand.~" Nathan replied, sounding like Michael.
"Shut it!"
"Well at least the two of you became together faster than these two lovebirds." Clover said pointing to Andrew and Jenny, who blushed in embarrassment.
"That's true!" Alexis replied as everyone started to laugh together.
Except for Jaden who was still eating. "Hm? What's so funny?"
Geez! Almost a month since my last update. This chapter was really hard to make. I could have wrapped things up after Jaden and Nathan's duel, but REALLY wanted to have Shiori and Cynthia face each other as well. But I hope the wait was worth it. Until next time.