"Speaking"
Thoughts
Spirit Speaking
Attack/Effect Name!
*Sound effects*
It was getting close to midnight and Academy Island was well under curfew for the night. That is except for three Slifers heading into the Academy building for a duel. Jaden was stoked for his first duel of the school year. Syrus was incredibly jittery and worried that they would get caught, but went along anyway, like a little lamb. And Max looked more resigned than anything with his arms behind his head and frequent yawning.
"You know Jaden, I don't think this is a really good idea. Maybe we should turn back?" Syrus looks back at Max who just shrugs and keeps walking.
"Good or bad. When someone challenges you to a duel, you gotta step up. There's no choice." Jaden replies with his font of wisdom.
Max rolls his eyes at this. Oh my God, I forgot how easy it was to get a Yu-Gi-Oh! character to do something even if they know they shouldn't do it. You just have to duel them…
Do you think if you turn down a duel, everyone's heads would explode? Cecilia inquires with almost genuine curiosity.
Probably. Or at least Jaden's would after what he just said.
Then again, you know we're gonna be getting into a few life or death duels while we're here, right?
I'm well aware.
The trio comes across a light at the end of the hallway. They entered the large room and Max takes a look around the Obelisk Blue's duel arena. The room is dome shaped with four jumbotron monitors circling the room on the ceiling. There is a raised platform in the center with lines indicating the dueling fields. And there are green bleachers around the room that could fit a few hundred students in the arena.
Not too bad granted this has to be a practice room. The arena for the major duels had actual seats instead of bleachers. Max shudders. Ugh, if I had to sit on bleachers to watch a duel, my interest would bomb immensely no matter how good the game gets.
Max is knocked out of his inner tirade as they come upon the other three occupants of the room standing on the stage. All three of the Obelisks sneer at them, but focus on Jaden.
"Well, well, well. He shows." Chazz smirks down at the wanna-be King of Games.
"No way was I gonna miss this." The wanna-be replies.
"I see you brought some Slackers to see you lose." Chazz looks at Syrus. "The pipsqueak from earlier and," When he looks to the other Slifer his eyes almost widen out of their sockets. "What the hell are you doing there, Max Pegasus?!" He shouts out in shock!
Pegasus?! Everyone else looks to the tallest Slifer in shock. Max looks around the room and at everyone else before pointing at himself mouthing 'me?'.
"Yes, you!" Chazz points at Max. "I was looking all over the Blue dorm to find you! What the hell are you doing with those Slackers?!"
"Wait," the blue haired Obelisk cuts in with his insult of a southern drawl. "You mean that Slifer created Duel Monsters?!"
*Wham!*
Chazz smacks him on the head. "No you dumbass! He's his kid. Do you really think they'd let some guy in his 30's be a student here?" He sighs at the end as he calms down.
"Wow, it's nice to actually be recognized instead of doubted, but how'd you figure that out?" Max questions him with a grin.
"I took a look at your exam scores a couple weeks ago." He casually admits with a shrug.
"How did you do that?"
"I'm rich."
Ah, so the Kaiba way of getting answers.
"Now, answer my question!" Chazz demanded unintentionally cutting off Max's response.
"Ugh, fine," Max sighs slightly annoyed. "If you must know, I wanted to let my cards and skills do the talking. Not my money, unlike most of Obelisk Blue." The said Blues in the room all glared down at him. "Oh don't give me that look." He points at the two stooges. "I bet that you two used your folk's money to get in here, didn't ya?"
They start to grit their teeth and look like they want to hop off the stage and beat the crap out of Max. However, Chazz puts his hands on their shoulders and pulls them back. "Why don't you two go sit on the sidelines. You're embarrassing yourselves, and most of all, me right now."
"Right, Chazz./Sure, Chazz." They both glare at Max once more before walking off to the stands.
Max looks at Chazz with an eyebrow raised and Chazz just shrugs and smirks as if saying 'Yeah, they're both morons.'
*Clap!*
Chazz claps his hands together and grins at Jaden. "Okay, let's get to the main reason why we're here tonight. Now, get up here, Slacker." He points at the other end of the arena.
"Alright!" Jaden fist pumps as he walks up. "Time to get your game on!"
Chazz just raises an eyebrow and scoffs to the side. "Well, it's time to see if you beating Crowler was a fluke or a fact."
"Yeah, well, we're gonna find out something else too. Like, which one of us is really going to become the next King of Games!"
"Whatever you say. Now, do you remember the stakes? Winner gets the loser's best card. So, I hope you're ready to hand it over in a few minutes." Chazz grins.
"Same to you. Now, game on!" Jaden replies with a confident smile.
"Duel!/Duel!" They both shout as their duel disks activate.
(Duel Theme: Pokemon Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire - Battle! Champion Music)
Chazz: 4000 LP
Jaden: 4000 LP
DUEL
IS
A
G-
"So, looks like you were right on the money, huh Lex?" A familiar voice easily drags Max's attention away from the duel. He looks behind and sees the familiar forms of Jasmine and Alexis standing not too far behind him in the entrance-way.
"Oh, hey Jasmine! Sorry that I didn't find you yesterday, what with all the mandatory orientation stuff." She just shrugs it off with a calm smile and Max looks to the other girl. "And who's your friend?"
"Hi, I'm Alexis and you must be Max." Alexis holds out her hand with a small grin, which Max gladly returns. "Jasmine's told me a little bit about you."
"Only good things I hope?" He smirks and looks at Jasmine as she just makes a 'meh' gesture with her hand.
"And that she really wants to duel you." She also looks at her friend who looks unabashed and instead smirks with a gleam of challenge in her eyes.
"Now, the reason that I'm here," Alexis shakes her head and walks forward up to Syrus. "I had a feeling you guys would be here." She stops with her arms crossed and watches the duel.
As, Alexis gets into a conversation with Syrus and the current duelists, Jasmine looks to Max. "So, how do you think this is gonna go?"
Max smirks and shakes his head. "I've got a pretty good theory about what's going to happen right now and how this duel is going to end."
"Lay it on me."
He looks up to the stage and sees Jaden's Elemental Hero Flame Wingman. "Well, I'm gonna take an easy shot in the dark and say that Jaden's an Elemental Hero player. And I remember seeing him make it to the exams as my helicopter was taking off."
"Mhm."
"I know that Chazz was there in the stands watching the exams because I caught him watching me after my duel was finished. He seems like the kind of guy to see who's the trash that he can walk over and who could actually challenge him. Judging by what Chazz said a moment ago I'm guessing that Jaden somehow dueled Crowler for his exam?"
"Yep! It was kinda cool to see him and his rare Ancient Gear Golem get smacked down when they were trying to do the same to Jaden."
"Then Chazz obviously saw that duel and can assume what kind of duelist Jaden is and prepare for it."
"Really?" Jasmine looks to Max in slight shock. "How would he do that?"
"Like that." He just points to the stage as Chazz reveals his facedown card to be Chythonian Polymer.
Chazz clenches his fist ensured of his victory. "I sacrifice my Reborn Zombie to take control of your Wingman."
The trap card glows as does Flame Wingman, who disappears a second later. "Ah, my monster." Jaden calls out looking and sounding a bit bummed that he can't do anything.
Flame Wingman returns on Chazz's side of the field through a flaming portal on the floor with a malevolent dark aura surrounding it. The monster roars out, now looking more like an actual monster than a hero, with his red eyes widened in a frenzied glare and he has an actual mouth revealing sharp fangs.
"Wow, good call," Jasmine looks on in slight awe. Max feels slightly embarrassed because he's lying to look cool and he knows this duel like the back of his hand, although his "prediction" logically makes sense. "Now, how do you think this duels gonna end?"
Max sighs. "There isn't going to be a winner."
"Why not?" She stares bemused at him.
"Where are we?"
"The Obelisk Blue Duel Arena."
"Right," He nods sagely. "And what time is it?"
"A little past midnight." She replies easily enough
...
"Oh crap! The security!" Jasmine whisper yells in realization quietly enough to not disturb the duel or possibly alert any night guards.
"Bingo!" Max whispers as well and gives her a thumbs up. Cecilia holds up a sign with a big green check mark on it, smiling at the brunette. "Now, I don't know about you, but I don't want my Dad or my butler hearing that I got caught watching a duel well past curfew on the first day of school."
"Oh God, my parents would freak if that happened!"
"How about we get back to our dorms then?" As he says this Max is already walking towards the exit. Cecilia just shrugs and throws her cardboard sign through the wall and floats ahead to keep an eye out.
Jasmine's eyes widen at what he's doing, yet she speed walks to catch up with him. "But what about everyone else?"
"Eh, Alexis seems smart enough to figure it out, so I'm sure she'll help everyone leave after watching the duel for a few more minutes."
"You're right she is."
"See, nothing to wo-." Max is cut off as his mother zooms over to cover his mouth
Shhh! There's some guards on the way! Cecilia grabs his wrist, and he turn grabs Jasmine's wrist, and shoves them into an alcove in the hall.
"What are you doing?!" Jasmine hisses out surprised by his random action.
He holds up a finger to silence her. "Shhh! Listen."
As they huddle up against the wall, they start to hear the voices of the approaching guards that are dressed in identical grey uniforms(complete with shades for the dark hallways at night).
"Hey, Buddy?"
"Yeah, Guy?"
"Do you wanna go and interrupt the very obvious duel happening in the Obelisk Testing facility like every first day of the term?"
"While talking loudly, stomping our feet, and waving our flashlights around to freak out the students?"
"Yep."
"Right as the climax of the Duel happens? Absolutely! That's the best part of the job!"
"Should we invite Captain Pal for this?"
"Duh! His career practically lives off of moments like this."
"Great!"
...
...
...
"Say did you know that Pal is making his own portable grills now...?"
"Wait, seriously? I thought he was kidding?"
"No, really. You can carry it with you, play music from your CDs and mobile devices, and it even tells time!"
"Wow!"
"Yeah, and if this one does well, then he'll try to make a version that can let you use it like a duel disk while cooking!"
"Okay, I'm pretty sure that would get Mr. Kaiba invested in it."
"Right? Anyway, I found out from him that..." The guards strange conversation quiets down as they get further away from the students clearly hiding against the wall... That they in no way paid attention too...
School has never felt so safe before.
Max, Jasmine, and Cecilia poke their heads around the corner watching the oblivious men continue walking and talking.
"That was strange right? It's not just me?" Jasmine blinks in confusion at what she just witnessed.
"Me too," Max nods. "Although, I kind of want to buy a grill just to see him make a duel disk that's also a grill."
"Well, we know how Officer Pal is going to make most of his money."/Well, we know how Officer Pal is going to make most of his money. She unknowingly deadpans at the same time as Cecilia, which makes the ghost laugh hard and wish she could high-five the girl.
"I feel so loved..." He says aloud shaking his head at his mother.
Outside of the Academy building, the trio make their way to the edge of the courtyard. Max and Jasmine both yawn at the same time, tired from their long day.
"Man, we still have school in the morning..." Max cringes
"Yeah, following Alexis out here doesn't seem like much of a good idea anymore." Jazz agrees while stretching.
"Well, I'll see you in class right?"
"Yeah, all first years that started this term are in the same lecture classes together."
"Huh, there really aren't that many first years here if they can put them all in one classroom during the day."
"Well, this school does rely on you either being really rich, talented in dueling, or just plain lucky."
"That's fair," Max says as he starts to walk off. Cecilia and him both wave back to Jasmine as they walk down the path. "See ya later!"/ Bye even though you can't see or hear me!
"Hold up there, Pegasus Jr!" She calls out making the duo stop in their tracks and look back at her bewildered. "Don't think you're out of the woods yet! We're going to have our duel today! I'll make sure of it!" She calls out with a wink at the end.
Max just grins and nods his head. "Hey, as long as there isn't any schoolwork to get in the way, I'm there."
"You better be!" She starts to jog past him down the path to the Girl's Dorm. "Goodnight Max and don't get caught by useless security guards!"
"Night and same to you!" The Pegasus family runs back to the Slifer Red Dorm so they can finally get some shut eye for their first class in less than 8 hours.
In one of the Duel Academy lecture halls, we see the students learning/relearning basic Duel Monster rules from the very eccentric Dr. Crowler.
"Now," Crowler looks to the class, preferably his Obelisk Blues. "Can anyone name a couple examples of the card types in Duel Monsters?"
Max raises his hand at the same time as another student, however Crowler...
"Ah, yes Ms. Rhodes if you would."
Would rather pick one of his students over a Slifer.
Alexis nods and stands up with clear confidence, while Max just gives a deadpan stare to Crowler.
"Duel monster cards can be grouped into Normal Monster cards, Fusion Monster cards, Ritual Monster cards, Effect Monster cards, Trap cards, and Spell cards."
Wow. Okay he asked for a couple examples not every single type, but whatever that was an easy answer anyway.
"Trap cards can be divided into Normal Traps, Counter Traps, and Continuous Traps."
Is she really going to just explain every single card type? Cecilia sweat drops while hovering behind Max's desk.
"Spell cards," Yes she is... "can be separated into Normal Spells, Continuous Spells, Equip Spells, Quick-Play Spells, Ritual Spells, and Field Spells." She finally finishes after droning on for a bit, not letting anyone else answer.
Crowler clasps his hands very pleased that only an Obelisk got to answer the question. "Perfect~! Well done, Alexis. Of course, I should expect nothing less from one of my Obelisks."
"Yes, Dr. Crowler." Alexis robotically replies before she sits down. Jasmine just looks at her with an eyebrow raised silently saying 'Really...?' Her friend just looks sheepish and shrugs.
"Hmm," Crowler hums as he looks for a student/victim from the Slifer Reds. "Now, who should answer my next question?"
Max and a few other students(none of them Red) raise their hands. Jaden just leans on one arm with his eyes upfront, while Syrus tries to make himself seem smaller in his chair.
"You! Syrus Truesdale!" Clearly his shrinking didn't work as the teacher picks on him with a slightly cruel smirk.
Syrus gasps and stumbles at his desk in order to stand up at attention.
"Please explain to the class what a Field Spell is."
"Um! Uh... A F-field Spell i-is... Umm..." Syrus gulps audibly as his nerves are killing him due to severe anxiety. "W-wait, I know this one..."
"Clearly you don't you Slifer Slacker!" The southern drawl of Chazz's Blue-haired henchman heckles out from the back of the class causing most of the class to laugh at the nervous wreck.
Syrus hangs his head low. "No, I do know it."
Crowler just keeps grinning and claps his hand to get the laughing students attention back to him. "Well that's too bad. Can anyone else answer the question?" He shakes his head dramatically sighing. "Preferably someone not wearing red."
What a jerkwad. Cecilia glares at the big blue fop at the front. Syrus clearly has stage fright and he's just letting everyone laugh at him for it.
It's alright Mom.
What do you mean? She looks back to her son
Max just nods his head over to the one other student that would defend Sy.
"You know something teach," Jaden starts with a calm smile. "You shouldn't make fun of us Slifers like that."
"Hm?" Crowler grunts in confusion.
"I mean, I'm a Slifer and I beat ya. So," His smile starts to looks more shakey, like he's trying to hold a laugh in." Why make fun of us? You're really making fun of yourself in the end!"
"Gah!" Crowler grabs a handkerchief from his pocket quickly and begins to grind it with his teeth in fury. Some of the Reds laugh in appreciation to Jaden.
That's it! The teacher fumes in his head. I will not tolerate him as one of my students at this school any longer! (Despite it only being the first day.) I will see to it that he is taken down! He vows.
"Uh, Dr. Crowler?"
"What?!" Crowler snaps at Max with his hand up yet again.
He stands up with a grin. "I was going to answer the question, since no one has yet."
"Hey," the dumb voice of Chazz's other henchman calls out. "He said someone NOT wearing red should answer!"
"Actually," Max turns to him. "I'm not wearing red at all right now." He points to his jacket hung on the back of his chair. "Thanks for showing us that you don't have much of an eye for detail." He gives him a thumbs up as the class continues its laugh track.
"Grrr." The Blue growls as he sits back down.
*Snrk.*
He suddenly looks next to him where the sound came from, but only Chazz is sitting there with an unamused look. He shrugs as it couldn't have been him that found him being insulted funny. Right...?
"So," Max looks back at Crowler, who had calmed down by now despite that Blue being made fun of. "Is it alright if I answer the question?"
"Fine, go ahead..."
"A Field Spell is a Spell card that can only be played in the Field Spell zone on your side of the dueling field. There can only be one Field Spell active on the field at a time. If another one is played, the previous one is destroyed. And these cards have effects that normally either raise/lower ATK and DEF points or it affects a monster on the field in a certain way. These effects can happen because of that monster's Attribute, Typing, or if their part of a specific Archetype." He nods to himself, while almost everyone else is shocked that a Slifer "Slacker" can even answer this question that well. He continues on. "For example: The Field Spell Mountain boosts all Dragon, Winged-Beast, and Thunder monsters on the field by 200 for their ATK/DEF. And the Field Spell Skyscraper," Max begins to laugh as he grins. " Heheh. Well from what I've heard, I think you're already very familiar with that one, sir."
Dr. Crowler puts handkerchief back into his mouth and pulls on it real hard.
*Riiiiip!*
*Wham!*
And ends up tearing it so hard that he falls back to the floor when it rips! All of the class minus the snobbish Blues all bust a gut laughing at him.
Ooooh! Cecilia yells out as she flies right into the red-faced teacher, who's picking up pieces of his hankie off the floor. You might want to use the Field Spell Umi for that burn! In! Your! Face! Meanie! Thankfully, for Crowler, he can't see or hear the hyped ghost doing a victory dance right above him. Max can, of course, and laughs harder at his ridiculous mother.
Sy has a small smile for his friends defending him although he wishes he didn't choke in the first place. Jaden holds his hand up high and Max reaches up over the smol boy and high-fives it. "That was pretty cool of ya Max." He says still laughing. "And here, I thought I was gonna make him go from blue to red hahaha!
"Thanks, Jaden. And I think you'll get there someday soon."
"As long as he's acts like that, here's hopin'!"
What a way to end the first class of the term. Students laughing, a ghost cutting a rug(or air is more like it), and a mean teacher picking up his pink hankie.
"So, as some of you students know. I am Professor Lyman Banner." The lanky Red Dorm teacher sits behind the podium in the front of the classroom stroking Pharaoh the cat. "I specialize in some of the lesser known tactics and strategies in the world of Duel Monsters. Some, that a few of you may consider to be, unnatural."
What counts as an unnatural Duel Monsters strategy? Cecilia tilts her head and asks aloud.
There's the OG Joey Wheeler strategy he used in Dad's tournament. Max offers with a shrug
What strategy was that?
Exactly. His strategy was to hit a powerful monster with weak monsters without knowing their ATK points and try to hit it till it died. That is until someone, mostly Yami, would give him advice on how to actually play the game.
Cecilia just puts her head in her hands with a sigh. Serenity is so lucky that Maximillion gave Yugi the cash prize for her surgery as well as his Grandpa's soul. Joey would've somehow lost against the rulebook and been disqualified on the boat ride to the island.
Max nods his head and looks to his left, seeing Syrus in between him and Jaden looking nervous.
"Hey, thanks you guys." Syrus manages to say with a smile.
Jaden yawns, clearly uninterested in this class. " Sure thing, but what're you talking about Sy?"
"For sticking up for me in class."
"No problem, Syrus." Max smiles and pats him on the shoulder. "We've all got our problems."
"Max."
The silverette snaps his head to the front of the class, seeing Prof. Banner looking sternly at him. "Yes sir?"
His strict facade immediately softens to a grin. "Could you please fetch Pharaoh for me? Unless you are minoring as a cat bed."
"Huh?"
*Mrrow*
Max looks at his feet to see the brown tabby completely sprawled out on his shoes. He laughs and picks him up in his arms. As he starts to walk away from his desk, the cat jumps out of his arms, onto his desk and plops down onto his side.
"I don't think he's going anywhere Prof." He looks at the cat and sees Cecilia cooing at him. The cat actually looks right at her and meows at her, surprising them both, but that only makes her ecstatic that she can be seen by something besides her family.
Ooooo! Max come over here so I can use you to pet him!
Max rolls his eyes and sits back down to start petting Pharaoh. Cecilia holds one arm onto her son's shoulder and she begins to pet the tabby as well, trying to hold herself back from trying to pick him up and hug him.
Banner just watches this with a betrayed expression. "I'm never going to get my cat back these three years, am I?" He asks to no one, but he already knows the answer to that.
"How dare those Slifer Slackers make fun of me!" Crowler is seen in his office ranting as he's writing a letter...with an inkwell and quill. "If only that Pegasus boy's father didn't literally invent what my PhD is for. I would have him out of here faster than I could say "Expulsion!" But that won't do unfortunately... However," His face gains an vindictive grin as he finishes his letter. "I can still get rid of that abhorred Jaden. It will be the last time anyone gets me laughed at in my own classroom for sure."
Crowler places the letter in an envelope and picks up a hand mirror. He looks at himself as he starts to apply red lipstick to himself. Which is unusual as his normal color is violet. As he finishes, he puckers his lips and grins at his handiwork. Satisfied, he holds up the letter to...
*Mwah~*
Seal the envelope with a kiss...
"Ah ha! The big kiss off. Hahahaha!" He cackles to himself as if enjoying his eggs before they hatch.
"Hey, Max?"
"Yeah, Jaden?"
"Do you know where Syrus wandered off to?"
Max looks around the gymnasium and sees that Syrus is not among the other students. He looks up to his mom to see if she caught where he went.
I think he was running off to use the bathroom before Gym started. I think he forgot to tell you guys. Max repeats Cecilia's reply which Jaden sighs at with an 'oh well'. It's too bad it made him tardy for the first PE class of the year. She points out as the gym teacher walks up to the students.
"Hi, everyone!" The voice of a peppy banshee is heard from the teacher and almost cause students to cover their poor ears. "My name is Fonda Fontaine and I will be your Gym instructor for this semester! Now! You ready to sweat?!"
"Am I the only one who feels bad for Jasmine and Alexis because they have to hear her every day as their Dorm Teacher?" Max asks out loud, but quiet enough that the very high pitched teacher doesn't hear him.
"Nope."/ Poor girls. /"Nuh-uh."Came the responses of Jaden, Cecilia, and surprisingly, the background students.
"Aw man! Why did they have to put Gym class right after Lunch? Well, I guess they want us to work off what we eat. Gah! I just answered my own question!" Syrus busts into the boy's locker room. Rather clumsily too because he's trying to take his shoes off as he ran. He reaches his locker and opens it.
"Wait, this is my assigned locker. Why are Jaden's shoes in here?" Syrus questions. He stops thinking about why his strange friend doesn't just use his own locker because of a letter with lipstick is on top of the red shoes in the locker.
"Huh?! But this isn't Jaden's!" He picks up the letter. "Does that mean it was meant for me?" After making sure the coast is clear he opens it. "I wonder what it says?"
Since I first laid eyes on you, I have been in love with you!
Meet me tonight behind the Girl's Dorm.
Endearingly,
Allexis Roades
Syrus falls to the ground in shock from the contents of the letter. He sits himself up, but seems to be in a slight daze.
"Wow, this sure is better than what my mom writes for me." He says with a goofy smile as he imagines him and Alexis declaring their feelings for one another in a field of rainbow colored roses. As he daydreams, he clearly doesn't notice that Alexis' full name is misspelled, and that she doesn't where lipstick, or the fact that he's only known her for one day. But such is life for a love-stricken fool.
*Knock! Knock! Knock!*
Max looks up from the last of his reheated five-cheese lasagna with a confused expression.
"Who is it?"
"It's Jaden!"
Oh. Max looks over all the nice stuff in his room and shrugs Eh, he's not the kind of person to care about this kind of stuff. "One sec!" He calls out before he unlocks the door and let's his friend in.
Jaden sits on the bottom bunk of the triple-decker bed as Max finishes his dinner. He looks around the room a little impressed.
"Nice place ya got here." Jaden compliments, not really caring about their room differences.
"Thanks. It cost a bit of money, but well worth the upgrades." He says as he turns his desk chair around. "So, what's up?"
The brunette crosses his arms with a slightly worried frown. "Have you seen Syrus since the end of school this afternoon?"
"No, I only saw him book it back here after Gym was over." He looks up towards Cecilia, who was peeking down from the top bunk, since she was the one who actually saw him.
"Well, Chumley said he left our room in a really good mood."
He was looking more chipper than usual when he left. She shrugs. Little guy had a bit more of pep in his step.
Realization hits Max in the face like a single napkin being tossed at him. Oh. Is that dumb love letter thing happening tonight? I thought that was a couple weeks into the semester?
Out loud he says, "Eh, don't worry. I'm sure he'll turn up soon."
"How do you know?"
At that moment Jaden's PDA starts ringing in his pocket, surprising only Jaden.
"Call it a hunch." Max replies as he and Cecilia take a look at Jaden's screen when he opens the video message. It doesn't show the person who made the video, but rather a blue static filled screen. A low toned voice starts to speak that clearly sounds like a girl using a pitch shifter.
"We have your roommate Syrus. If you want him back, come to the Girl's Dorm now. Alone." The video ends from there.
"Oh Syrus..." Jaden puts away his device with a sigh and makes his way to the door.
"Well, looks like you've got business to atten-" Max is cut off as, strangely enough, his own PDA starts to ring. He calls Jaden back over and opens it. However, instead of a message, it's a video call. The call is accepted and Jasmine's face pops up on the screen.
"Hey, Max. Is Jaden with you?" She spots said Slifer right next to him. "Never mind then. Anyway, I'm guessing you guys saw a weird message about Syrus?"
Both boys nod.
"Yeah, that's Alexis and Mindy's doing." Jasmine looks a little sheepish. "But there's a good reason for that. We caught your friend sneaking onto our dorm, which is against school rules." She shakes her head in disbelief. "Not only that, he also had a love letter supposedly from 'Alexis'."
"Wow, I didn't think Alexis was into Sy like that." Jaden mutters
"That's because she isn't!" She snaps at him. "It was an obviously fake letter. Whoever wrote it couldn't even spell her name right."
"What kind of bozo would mess that up?"
Crowler pops out from under the surface of the lake by the Girl's Dorm, wearing a ridiculous black bodysuit.
"Thank goodness," He looks over to the building where there are girls looking around with flashlights trying to find the second intruder. "I should be safe for n-AAACHOOOOO!" He lets out a suddenly loud sneeze.
A flashlight immediately shines over him. "I found the other boy!" One of the girls yells out.
"AAIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEKKKKKKKKK!" Crowler shrieks as he dives back under the water.
"Only the finest, Jaden." Max adds in. "Only the finest."
"Okay, so Jasmine, what's going on with Syrus?" Jaden asks to get back on topic.
"Alexis wants to duel you for Syrus' freedom. If you win he goes free and if you lose, well, she will probably say that she's going to get him expelled, but we already know it was an accident. She just wants to use this as an opportunity to duel you tonight."
"Well, why didn't she just say so?" He grins. "I would have come over if she just asked me for a duel."
"Yeah," Jasmine sighs. "Her and Mindy are having a lot of fun with this hostage thing for some reason. I swear they're gonna stuff Syrus in a briefcase to make it more like a hand off for some shady deal."
The little guy could probably fit in there somehow. Cecilia giggles making Max smile and nod.
"Oh, Max!" Jasmine suddenly points at him. "The video may have said for Jaden to come alone, but you're coming anyway."
"How come?" He tilts his head.
"I think that this situation has offered the perfect chance for us to duel. Plus I think the setting will be better than grass or one of the arenas for our first match. What do you say?" She is practically shaking with unused energy at the thought of the duel. Her smile is bright and her eyes are filled with determination.
"I think the answer's obvious." Max looks to his friend, who nods eagerly. "We'll both be there."
"GREAT! Oh crap!" The whole video shakes and she can be seen fumbling with her device. "Sorry, I kind of got psyched and jumped. Almost dropped my PDA on the floor." She laughs nervously. "I'll see you guys in a little while!"
The last bit seen is of Jasmine sticking out her tongue and holding out a peace sign, winking.
"Man, two nighttime duels in one day," Max laughs as they walk out the door. "Who would've thought?"
"I know right! Best school ever!"
The duo, plus one Ghost Mom, race off towards the girl's dorm as the moon shines high in the night sky.
At the top of the stairs by the lake at the Girl's Dorm, Alexis, Jasmine, and Mindy are watching for any newcomers on the water. Syrus is standing in between them with his hands tied with a rope leash that is being held by Mindy. The minutes tick by as they wait. Suddenly, two boats can be seen in the distance instead of one like two of the girls expected.
"I told him to come alone. Why did Jaden bring Max with him?" Alexis stares at the boats bemused, until her face deadpans in realization and she looks to her auburn bestie, who is smiling with no shame. "You called him didn't you?"
"Absolutely," She doesn't even try to hide it. "I rang him up the moment you guys finished sending your 'ransom video'."
"Why?"
Jasmine turns to her with an eyebrow raised. "I already told you that I wanted him to be my first duel here and now I'm making sure it happens. Duh."
At that moment Max and Jaden's boats arrive. Jaden steps out of his boat, while Max simply turns around and stays seated instead.
"Hi, Jaden... Hey, Max..." Syrus says very unenthused.
"Hey Sy, how ya feeling?" Jaden asks with slight concern.
"I feel like the biggest loser on campus..." He mumbles and drops his head.
"Hey, don't feel too bad. I'm pretty sure even I would've come down here if I got that letter." In the distance, a shrill voice yells out 'OH COME ON!' No one pays attention to it as Jaden continues. "Granted, I probably would have shown up confused more than anything." He chuckles and looks to Alexis. "Hey Lex, so are we dueling or what?"
Her eyes widen a bit in shock as her head snaps into Jasmine's direction. "You told them everything?"
"Mhm."
"Aw phooey!" Mindy whines. "The ransom was the best part of today."
...
Everyone just awkwardly stares at her, not knowing what to say to that.
That girl has some issues... Evidently, Cecilia knew what to say.
"Anyway, since Syrus and you guys have trespassed here, you guys are liable for expulsion if we turn you in. Which we will if you don't best us in a duel." Alexis and Mindy smirk down at them.
"Knock it off you two," Jasmine says as she walks down to her own boat. "I already told them that you aren't going to do that. Now, come on Max let's get this duel on the road!" She ignores the betrayed looks from her friends and takes her boat to the left side of the lake.
Max looks at the others and just shrugs his shoulders before he rows after her.
"What'd I tell ya," Jasmine smirks at him from her side of the lake. "Pretty scenic for our first duel of the school year, huh?"
"Gotta say you sure know how to pick em'" Max retorts. "I feel like the second duel just won't be up to par."
"Already thinking there will be a second duel before this one is over, huh?"
"I don't know. Honestly, I've just got a good feeling about this one." He smiles as he reaches into his pocket.
"I know the feeling." Jazz winks while she slaps her deck into her duel disk, activating it.
Cecilia cooes with her hands on her cheeks. You two are so cute!
Mom... Max groans in his head while he fishes out his lucky four-sided die.
"What's that?" Jasmine calls out, barely able to see the gold triangle between his fingers.
"Oh, this?" He holds it up. "This is a custom die I got made for me. I have a real tough time choosing which deck I should use for each duel. So, I got a four-sided die to decide for me. It actually makes things a little more fun for me. Each new duel is a little harder to predict." He finishes as he tosses it up.
Don't drop it in the water, sweetie. The ghost mom playfully nags.
I won't...
*Klak klak klak*
The die lands on 2.
The girls are going to be thrilled that they get to help you first this school year. Too bad it's not my turn yet... She whines a little at the end.
Don't worry. I'm sure you'll get your big moment soon. He rolls his eyes as he slaps in his second deck into his custom duel disk. The blank outer edge of the device glows yellow. And then it fades into red, then green, blue, purple, and finally orange before it repeats itself.
Jasmine looks on with curiousity. "I saw during your exam that your duel disk changed color to a weird orange shade when you placed your deck in it, but this one's just a rainbow? What's up with that?"
"I couldn't really pick just one color to use for this deck." Max sheepishly rubs the back of his head. If I did then the girls would never let me live it down if I picked one over the others. He finishes privately in his mind.
"Hey?" His opponent calls out, pulling him from his thoughts.
"Yeah, Jazz?"
"How about we make this game more interesting?"
"I don't play for cards, if that's what you're looking for." His mood takes a slight dive.
"No, no! Nothing like that," She swiftly denies. "I mean to at least have some fun stakes on this."
"Like what?"
"Loser has to take a dip in the lake!" She points to the dark waters below them.
"Sure, why not." He grins. "I just took a shower after Gym class, so I don't really plan on getting wet again."
"Same here. I literally just took a bath before that love letter crap came up. So, you better hope that rainbow deck can save you from a watery fate!" She finishes by pointing dramatically at him.
"Well, funny that you should mention fate..." He doesn't elaborate further on that as he pulls up his disk. "Ready?"
"Ready!"
"Let's Duel!/Let's Duel!" They shout at the same time.
(Duel Theme: Pokemon Colosseum - First Battle)
(AN: I promise that not every theme is from Pokemon!)
Jasmine: 4000
Max: 4000
DUEL
IS
A
GO!
Jasmine First Turn:
"I believe the challenger should go first, so it's my draw!" Jasmine pulls out a card from her deck and immediately activates it.
"Nothing wrong with grabbing a little extra from the Pot of Greed."
Pot of Greed
Normal Spell
Draw 2 cards from your deck.
She draws two more cards.
Thank God she's not explaining what it does. Cecilia breathes a sigh of relief at that.
You mean like Dad does every time he uses it. Max deadpans.
Oh, he's just messing with you.
"Time to get this duel started right," Jasmine calls out after looking at her new cards. "I activate the Spell Card Terraforming!"
Terraforming
Normal Spell
Add 1 Field Spell from your Deck to your hand.
"And I'll add an Umi to my hand."
"You use water attributes, huh?" Max asks. I thought both her and Mindy just used monster cards that have 'hot guys' on them. He wonders in his head.
"A little obvious with that isn't it?" She grabs the Field Spell and plays it. "Now, I activate Umi."
Umi
Field Spell
All Fish, Sea Serpent, Thunder, and Aqua monsters on the field gain 200 ATK/DEF, also all Machine and Pyro monsters on the field lose 200 ATK/DEF.
The surface of the lake where they're dueling glows with bright colors. It shines brighter and brighter until it reveals...
...
That the water looks exactly the same...
"Wow, that's a bit of a letdown." Max sweatdrops.
"I think it's because we're already on a big body of water. I'm pretty sure that if we were using a regular arena it would be flooded right now." She shrugs. "Well, it still gives a little bonus to my monsters. And this one thrives on it." She places a monster card onto her duel disk.
"I summon Mermaid Knight in attack mode!"
From the depths of the lake, a creature breaches the surface of the water. It's a mermaid with thick rose red locks of hair, green eyes, and where her ears would be are green fins. Her upper body is only protected by an armored breastplate, leaving her midriff exposed. Her arms are covered by violet steel gauntlets gripping a scimitar and a shield in each hand. Her lower half consists only of a green fish tail covered in armored belts where her waist and thighs would be on a human.
Mermaid Knight
Water Attribute
Level 4
Aqua/Effect
ATK: 1500(+200)
DEF: 700(+200)
While "Umi" is face-up on the field, this card can attack twice during the same Battle Phase.
She flips through the air with a flourish and dives back down into the water in front of Jasmine's rowboat. She resurfaces a short moment later with only her upper half above water. Mermaid Knight turns her head towards her master and bows her head with a beatific smile. Jasmine grins back and nods her head in return.
Good evening, my Lady. She surprisingly speaks slightly shocking both Max and Cecilia.
A Duel Spirit?!/A Duel Spirit?! They both exclaim causing Mermaid Knight to shift her attention to her master's opponent. Her eyes widen in surprise as she sees not just a human, but the spirit of a young woman next to the boy.
Yes, I was Jasmine's first card she received when she was a child and I have stayed by her side since. She smiles in remembrance that soon turns into a slight frown.However, I am quite curious. I did not believe that my Lady would find another spirit such as I so soon. The knight eloquently voiced her thoughts, despite it being telepathic, to the two.
I'm not a Duel Spirit. Cecilia waves her arms in front of her, but stops after a moment as she thinks about it. Well... I kind of am, but I was human originally before I died. And now I can do lots of cool ghostly stuff.
One of the gods' work? The mermaid smirks.
Got it in one. Max subtly nods.
Be that as it may. She lifts her sword and shield into a battle stance. Before I strike you down in this battle. I would ask of you to watch after my Lady. It is of great importance to me that she is safe and able to get stronger. Could I leave that task to you?
She's already among friends, so that would have been a given. He smiles.
That is most appreciated, good Sir.
Jasmine looks between her monster and her friend in confusion. Why is he just staring at Mermaid Knight? In fact, why does it look like her movements are in response to him? As she looks at her Mermaid Knight, she hears a very faint sound, like a whisper, in the back of her mind. Yet, when she tries to listen to it, it's silenced. She shakes her head trying to wrap her head around it.
What is going on?
Why are they just standing there doing nothing?! Crowler yells in his head as he "stealthily" smacks the water in frustration. I stuck around because I thought I could still see Jaden get humiliated by Alexis, but these two's duel is blocking my vision of the one I want to see. I thought that maybe this duel would be just as interesting to watch, but once the Mermaid Knight was brought out everything has been weirdly silent!
The cheap ninja suit wearing teacher hits the water again causing both duelists to flinch and look towards where the sound came from. However, Crowler had already dove back under.
Okay, weirdness later, Duel now, Jazz! Jasmine shakes her head again, now back into the game.
"I place one card facedown and end my turn." A card appears facedown behind Mermaid Knight.
Max 1st Turn:
"My turn!" Max draws his card and a voice calls out to him.
Oh my gosh! We're actually dueling today! A chipper female voice calls out as a small spirit pops out of the card he just drew.
Hello there, Carlee. I was wondering who I would draw first.
Welp, here I am. Are you putting me out there?She looks at the battle ready mermaid. I'm not going to be up there that long, right?
Don't worry. If you're taken off the field, you can just watch the rest of the show from here.
Great! She gives him a thumbs up and she adjusts her glasses. Go ahead and put me in, Boss!
Right. Out loud he says, "Since I just drew her I can show this monster card to you and special summon her." Max flips the card he drew and shows Jasmine.
His opponent just shrugs. "I don't even know what that is, but go right ahead."
"I special summon in defense mode, Fortune Fairy Carlee!"
On Max's side of the field a small orange ball of light appears and fades away, revealing the fairy that was inside. She's a sprite that is about the size of Max's hand. Her hair color is black and in a bob cut. Some of the hair on the sides of her head are formed into two long black wings. Covering her grey eyes, she has large bottle cap glasses. Her dress is orange and over it, a vest of a lighter shade of the same color with some white fur coming out of the arm holes. Her legs and feet are bare. Finally, she carries a golden wand that spreads out in a curved web pattern with a red crystal in the center, and is topped off with the shape of a brown mountain.
(AN: I will explain this design change at the end. I wanted to have some fun with this story and the spirits.)
Fortune Fairy Carlee
Earth Attribute
Level 6
Spellcaster/Effect
ATK: 0
DEF: 0
When you draw this card: You can reveal it; Special Summon it from your hand. If this card is Special Summoned from the hand: You can make each player draw 1 card. You can only use each effect of "Fortune Fairy Carlee" once per turn.
Okay, I'm here at the first duel of the school year! She spins her wand around in her excitement and immediately drops it. Oh crap! Not again! She dives for the wand before it hits the water and releases a breath she was holding as she floats back into place. Nailed it...
Oh Carlee... Cecilia sweatdrops.
"Once I've special summoned Carlee after I've drawn her we each get to draw one card."
The fairy waves her wand and it glows orange for a moment and she nods her head satisfied. You're welcome! She calls to both of them.
Both players draw one card.
"Besides giving each of us a card, I don't see much of a use for her. No attack or defense points and she's level 6. What's up with that?" Jasmine asks confused.
"She's able to do plenty, but right now an extra card is fine by me." He smiles at Carlee, who's confidence was shot a little after Jasmine's observation, which has her raise her head back up with renewed vigor.
"And since I've only special summoned, I can still normal summon. So, I'll bring out one of her sisters, Fortune Lady Wind, in defense mode!"
A green ball of light, one that is much larger than Carlee's, appears right next to her and fades away revealing a woman instead of a fairy. She has short spread out green hair with sharp emerald eyes. From her hair sprouts two, thin bat-like wings. She wears a black one piece suit that doesn't cover the sides of her torso. Over her chest is a green dress top with puff shoulders and she has a waist cape of the same color. Her leggings are black and leather that reach all the way up to the top of her thighs. Resting in her hands is a staff that looks like a tree branch that ends in a hook. Floating in the empty space of the hook is a green sphere that looks to be in the center of a gem in the shape of a rotating fan. At the opposite end of the branch is, surprisingly,a curved scythe's blade. Lastly, on her forehead is a glowing golden eye with markings surrounding it.
Fortune Lady Wind
Wind Attribute
Level 3
Spellcaster/Effect
ATK: ?
DEF: ?
This card's ATK and DEF are equal to its Level x 300. During each of your Standby Phases, increase the Level of this card by 1 (max 12). When this card is Normal Summoned, you can destroy a number of Spell or Trap Cards your opponent controls equal to the number of face-up "Fortune Lady" monsters you control.
Fortune Lady Wind stretches her arms up with her staff in hand. She yawns as if she just woke up and looks at her surroundings and spots her sister in her fairy form.
Hey, Carlee... Wind waves with another yawn, still waking up. Is Pillow dueling right now?
Yep! The orange fairy replies.
I hope I'm taken out quickly then. She gives her sister a lazy smile before she faces forward.
"Her attack and defense points are question marks?" Jasmine asks Max
"Yep because her points are based off of her level by 300, so right now she's at 900 because she's level 3."
Fortune Lady Wind
Level 3
ATK: 900
DEF: 900
"And because I've normal summoned Wind, she can activate her effect, which means your facedown is gone!"
The end of Wind's staff begins to glow as the fan and the sphere spin, creating a small green whirlwind. She swings and the vortex flies and smashes into Jasmine's facedown card. The card reveals itself to be Tornado Wall before it shatters into particles.
...
...
...
"Were you about to pull a Battle City Mako Tsunami and make this duel needlessly drawn out and possibly annoying...?"
"No...?" Jasmine looks off to the side with a little guilt visible in her eyes.
"I place two cards facedown and end my turn." He says feigning ignorance to what could have happened.
Jasmine: 4000
Max: 4000
Jasmine Second Turn:
"My turn." Jasmine draws, thankful that Max won't gripe at her. "I summon Lost Blue Breaker to the field."
Rising from the water is a dark blue, armored, crustacean-like two headed dragon. Its body has no limbs and the heads have two long, blue whiskers each. The underbelly of the monster is white with two large red gems under the base of the necks of the heads. The rest of its long body is under the water.
Lost Blue Breaker
Water Attribute
Level 3
Sea-Serpent/Effect
ATK: 1400(+200)
DEF: 0(+200)
If there is another face-up Fish, Sea Serpent, or Aqua monster on the field: You can Tribute this card, then target 1 Spell/Trap on the field; destroy that target.
Unlike the other monsters that have appeared so far, this creature remains silent as it glares at the spellcasters.
"Thanks to my Mermaid Knight being an Aqua type monster, I can tribute this fella to destroy one of the Spell or Trap cards on the field."
Please don't hit the one I need! Max nervously watches as Jasmine picks between the two he has on the field.
"Blue Breaker take out the card on the right!"
The crustacean(?) dives below the water with a growl. It's silhouette can barely be seen just before it jumps out of the water and crashes into the facedown. The card reveals itself to be Call of the Haunted before both it and the monster are shattered.
Phew. Cecilia grins.
Max keeps his pokerface on as he nods to the other duelist. "Alright you got my card, now what?"
"Now, I'll have Mermaid Knight take out your Fairy!"
The fairy in question gulps nervously holding her wand in defense.
"Mermaid Knight, attack with Saltwater Slash!" She commands as she points at Carlee.
As you wish, my Lady! The knight responds with a fierce nod. Her blade glows blue and drips with water particles before she dives.
Carlee looks down at the water nervously as she waits to get attacked.
*Splash*
Mermaid Knight breaches out to the far right of Carlee and swings her blade right at her.
Eep! Carlee squeaks out before she's destroyed. Mermaid Knight dives right back under after she attacked.
"Well, better luck next time." He says out loud, but it was focused on the spirit form of Carlee who appeared on his right shoulder.
"Oh and Mermaid Knight isn't done yet?" Jasmine smirks.
"Huh?"/Huh?
"When Umi is on the field she can attack twice in one turn!"
Oh. Wind simply says as she sees the mermaid appear beneath her and slashes her as well. Having finished her attack, Mermaid Knight returns to her position with pride.
"Yes," Crowler quietly cheers. "Now we're getting somewhere, Ms. Connors!"
"Since you've destroyed a Fortune Lady I control, I can activate the facedown that you didn't destroy. Inherited Fortune!" Max grins as he reveals his facedown.
Inherited Fortune
Normal Trap
Activate during the turn a face-up "Fortune Lady" monster you control was destroyed. Special Summon up to 2 "Fortune Lady" monsters from your hand during your next Standby Phase.
When nothing happens, Jasmine asks "So, what does it do?"
"You'll find out when you end your turn." He replies.
"Great, I end my turn then." She drawls out with an eyeroll.
Max's Second Turn:
Max laughs unashamedly. He pauses when he feels something land on his head and looks up.
Miss your favorite spot, Hu? Max says to the Fortune Lady in her Fairy form appears on top of his head.
She has a light green dress with a wooly underside. Her hair remains the same, but with hair wings like Carlee rather than bat wings. Now her eyes are small and her mouth is more shaped like a cat's. The last piece is her own unique wand that is similar to her sister's but it ends with a red gem surrounded by that green fan shaped crystal.
Hi, Pillow. Hu waves before she nestles down into his hair, tucking her wand beneath her. Goodnight, Pillow. She's out like a light letting out soft snores without a care in the world. Max shakes his head at her antics, which does not disturb her in the slightest.
Hehe! She sleeps harder than grizzly bear. Cecilia chortles.
"My turn!" He draws. "And now that it's my Standby Phase, my Inherited Fortune takes effect. I get to now special summon two Fortune Ladies from my hand!"
"Man, I wish I destroyed that one." Jazz groans.
Max looks to his shoulder. Ready to get back out there, Carlee?
Ready and hopefully able, Boss. Carlee goofily salutes as she disappears into a card in Max's hand.
"I special summon in Fortune Lady Earth and Fortune Lady Water in attack mode."
Carlee's Forune Lady Earth appearance is mostly the same as Fortune Lady Wind, except in orange and with her Fairy form's vest. She has the eye marking on her forehead, the bat wings, and the dress and waist cape. Her staff is the same as well except for the floating gem, which is a fire colored sphere in the center of what looks like an orange shockwave (AN: I don't know what it is). The rest of her own personal ensemble are her glasses and her hair. Her glasses are under the mysterious eye symbol and are the same but easier to see through, where you can make out her strong yet warm grey eyes. And finally, her hair is now long and goes straight down to the middle of her torso with two long bangs on the sides of her face.
Fortune Lady Earth
Earth Attribute
Level 6
Spellcaster/Effect
ATK: ?
DEF: ?
This card's ATK and DEF are equal to its Level x 400. During each of your Standby Phases, increase the Level of this card by 1 (max 12). When the Level of this card increases, inflict 400 damage to your opponent.
Fortune Lady Water's clothing and magical focus are also similar to her sisters, but in blue. Her water colored hair is thick and wavy and runs down to the small of her back. She has her own set of bat wings from her hair, but also from the sides her elf-like ears can be seen poking out. Her eyes are dark blue and hold a calm and maternal look to them even with the slightly ominous glowing eye above them. Her own gem is crystal blue in the center of splashed water.
Fortune Lady Water
Water Attribute
Level 4
Spellcaster/Effect
ATK: ?
DEF: ?
This card's ATK/DEF become its Level x 300. Once per turn, during your Standby Phase: Increase this card's Level by 1 (max. 12). If this card is Special Summoned while you control a "Fortune Lady" monster except "Fortune Lady Water": Draw 2 cards.
Lady Water bows her head to her sisters and the Pegasus family.
Sisters, Cecilia, Dear. Good evening. She speaks in a gentle tone.
Evening, Swee. Max nods back as the others respond in kind. "And because I special summoned Water while controlling another Fortune Lady, I get to draw two cards." He does just that.
"Those monsters also have stats based on their levels too, right?" Jasmine guesses.
"Yep. Water is level 4 with 300 points per level."
Fortune Lady Water
Level 4
ATK: 1200
DEF: 1200
"She's not enough for my Mermaid Knight." Jasmine points out.
"Don't forget about Earth," The orange Fortune Lady grins devilishly at the Mermaid Knight. "Because she's level 6 with 400 points per level!"
Fortune Lady Earth
Level 6
ATK: 2400
DEF: 2400
"One of those strange monsters is already 2400?!" A voice that is so obviously Crowler cries out from the water.
Everyone, including the spirits, all turn their heads towards the sound, only seeing water ripple where it originated.
"Dr. Crowler already knows we've seen him just floating there the whole time, right?"
"I just can't believe he thinks he's camouflaged when his giant pale face is sticking out of his wet suit."
Moving on...
"Fortune Lady Earth take out her Mermaid Knight with Fate's Spire!"
The gem of Carlee's staff begins to glow like the sun as she raises it. With finesse, she begins to twirl it in her hands above her, taking extra care to not drop it again.
HA! And with a battle cry, she sharply releases it into the water and it vanishes. The water begins to tremor causing the boats to rock. Mermaid Knight is on guard with her shield up, on the lookout for the incoming attack. However, with a smirk, Earth snaps her fingers and a great stone spire erupts from beneath the mermaid and destroys her upon impact.
Jasmine: 3300
Max: 4000
And that's probably the coolest I'm going to look for a while! Earth fist pumps in triumph with one hand and her staff cracks back into existence in the other hand.
"That's great! Now, Fortune Lady Water attack her directly with Fountain of Foresight!"
Of course, my Dear. Her maternal nature hardens as she holds her magical focus in front of her. The gem glows bright as she concentrates. Multiple water spouts suddenly attack Jasmine from all sides of her boat. Thankfully the water was holographic, so she wasn't soaked, but the damage is still done.
"And with that, I place a card facedown and end my turn."
Jasmine: 1900
Max: 4000
Jasmine's Third Turn:
Jasmine is silent, her hair covering her eyes as she draws her next card.
"Jazz?"
"You destroyed my favorite monster and I haven't gotten a single scratch on you yet." She raises her head with her eyes burning with resolve. "That's it. I'm kicking your ass right now. I summon Deep Diver."
A man wearing a red and orange 1800s diving suit appears in a flash, keeping himself above water holding a hammer in his hand.
Deep Diver
Water Attribute
Level 3
Aqua/Effect
ATK: 1000(+200)
DEF: 1100(+200)
At the end of the Battle Phase, if this card was destroyed by battle and sent to the Graveyard: Choose 1 monster from your Deck and place it on top of your Deck.
"However, he won't be sticking around for that long because I activate the Spell Card Big Wave Small Wave!"
Big Wave Small Wave
Normal Spell
Destroy all face-up WATER monsters you control, then you can Special Summon WATER monsters from your hand, up to the number of monsters destroyed by this effect.
A giant wave sweeps away the diver to the right and sends him to the graveyard.
"And in his place I special summon Levia-Dragon Daedalus in attack mode!"
From the left side of the lake, a smaller wave crashes onto the dueling field, but it's one-upped by a larger deluge of water. From the waves, a large blue and red finned sea serpent thrashes out with a roar. The monster's face has a sadistic sharp grin revealing it's many fangs. The top of its head is covered with armored scales housing a green gem in the center. Daedalus is so large that the rest of his body is coiled protectively beneath Jasmine's rowboat.
Levia-Dragon Daedalus
Water Attribute
Level 7
Sea Serpent/Effect
ATK: 2600(+200)
DEF: 1500(+200)
You can send 1 face-up "Umi" you control to the GY; destroy all other cards on the field.
Jaden vs Alexis:
The waves start to pick up as a loud roar is heard coming from the other duelists.
"Huh?" Jaden keeps his balance on his rocking ship and Syrus is fine because he's seated. The two look over to their friend's game and their eyes widen at the sight of the large beast. "Whoa ho! That looks insane!"
"That's Daedalus, Jasmine's biggest monster." The two Slifer look over to Alexis as she speaks up. "It's power and effect can be devastating. Even I've lost against that card a couple times." She admits with a shrug. "I don't know how well your friend is going to do now."
"How's Max going to fight that, Jae?" Syrus nervously asks.
"I'm sure he can handle it. After all, I don't think a guy like Max would lose against an over-sized inflatable pool toy." Jaden confidently answers.
"Maybe you should worry about yourself first." Alexis brings his attention back to her as she equips Fusion Weapon to her Cyber Blader.
Yes! We're finally getting somewhere! The floating freak of a teacher throws a party of celebration in the privacy of his thoughts. Now show this Slifer how an Obelisk does business Ms. Connors! This duel is as good as done!
...
Wait, that's a giant water monster that attack with waves... Maybe I should go over to the other match, so I don't get swept away from everything. Crowler nods his head and "stealthily" swims over to the other duel field. As this happens, the others clearly see him finally go away. Satisfied that the weird man is gone, they get right back to the game.
"With Daedalus on my side, I can activate his effect to get rid of my Umi Field Spell to destroy everything on the field, but him."
Carlee turns to Max, That facedown isn't gonna save us is it? She regretfully asks.
Sorry... I didn't think she had him for a boss monster.
I guess it's back to the shoulder, huh Swee?
Yes, it appears it is, Carlee... Water sighs.
"Destroy everything Daedalus! Ocean's Tribute!"
Her monster rears his head back as it bellows, commanding the lake water.
AAAAAAAHHHHHHH! The Fortune Ladies hug each other in futile defense of each other as a lake-sized tsunami crashes onto the field, dragging everything but Daedalus below the surface. Thank goodness for it only being just a hologram(?). Max watches helplessly as his entire field is wiped out in one move.
Uh oh. And he just realized Jasmine has yet to attack.
"Attack him directly with Ocean's Fury, if you would?" Jasmine calmly asks her monster with her arms crossed in absolute confidence.
Daedalus opens his mouth, where streams of water begin to converge in front of it. The streams combine into a giant ball of water that suddenly explodes forward into a beam heading straight for Max.
Max hits the deck and holds on to his boat in order to not get blown off due to the shockwaves. Hu, however, just peacefully holds on in her sleep.
Jasmine: 1900
Max: 1400
"I'd say this duel's about wrapped up wouldn't you say, Max?" Jasmine taunts. "You might as well have just let Daedalus' attack knock you into the water. It would save you from jumping in yourself. Oh, and I end my turn."
"Man," Max sighs as he gets up. "Someone sure is cocky. The game's not even over yet. I still have a couple cards in my hand and still have a draw left."
"Well then get on with your turn and let's see what you can do."
She really does need to be taught a lesson, my dear. The Fortune Fairy of Water, Swee, appears on Max's left shoulder as Carlee appears back on his right. Her outfit is the same as the others, but in blue. Her wand is also of a similar design, but the red crystal is surround by a blue gem that represents a waterspout. Her hair and eyes are the same color as her more mature appearance.
Yeah, give her what for, Boss! Carlee chimes in.
Max's Third Turn:
Then let's show her what she did wrong just now! "My draw!" He looks to his next card and smiles at the fairy to his left, who stands back up and inclines her head to him as she disappears into the newly drawn card.
"I've shown you how this goes with Carlee, but now this time I've drawn Fortune Fairy Swee!" He reveals her card in his hand. "Now, I can special summon her in defense mode."
Swee appears on the field from a blue light ball that washes away into the lake. She floats there with a sideways grin as if Jasmine just made a horrible mistake.
Fortune Fairy Swee
Water Attribute
Level 4
Spellcaster/Effect
ATK: 0
DEF: 0
When you draw this card: You can reveal it; Special Summon it from your hand. If this card is Special Summoned from the hand: You can target 1 other face-up monster on the field; banish it until the Standby Phase of your next turn. You can only use each effect of "Fortune Fairy Swee" once per turn.
"Okay, so you've got another Fairy on the field. Does she give out life points when she's special summoned or something?"
"Nothing much. She just banishes a face-up monster on the field until my next Standby Phase." Max replies casually.
...
...
...
"Oh man! I-!" Her realization is cut off as Swee raises her wand and points it at Daedalus.
Down you go. She swings downwards and as unseen force grabs the sea serpent and drags it down below. The water thrashes and writhes as he is submerged. Then everything goes still and silent as he is removed from play.
"And to finish things off, I'll activate Monster Reborn to bring back Fortune Lady Earth!"
Monster Reborn
Normal Spell
Target 1 monster in either GY; Special Summon it.
Carlee flies off of Max's shoulder and through the glowing Monster Reborn card. Once she passes through, she changes into her Lady Earth form. Looking right at Jasmine she waggles her finger in a 'no, no, no' gesture.
Man it feels a little cheap winning with Monster Reborn. Max hums in slight disappointment.
Yeah, Cecilia agrees. It feels too Jaden-esque. After all, he just used it and is going to win his own match. She points over with her thumb to Jaden and Alexis' duel. Where Jaden activated his own Monster Reborn to bring back Elemental Hero Sparkman.
"Alright, Lady Earth! Attack her directly and wrap this up!" And if you can, aim to the side of her boat. That'd be great. He finishes his command telepathically to Carlee.
You got it, Boss! Her staff glows as rocks begin to gather from nothing high above her head. All of them merge together as if they were made of a liquid rather than solid rock. Together they all form a massive spike made out of granite. Rock on! She yells out as she swings her staff forward. The spike rockets towards Jasmine's boat, who reflexively crosses her arms in front of her to guard herself. However, as it gets closer, the rock veers off to the left of the boat and crashes into the water. The attack causes Jasmine to go flying off her boat as it capsizes to the right.
*KASPLOOSH!*
Jasmine: 0
Max: 1400
!MAX WINS!
"Done and done!" Max says in victory.
Not bad for the first duel, huh Boss?
That was well done, my Dear.
Good Pillow...
Each of his Fairies offer their own forms of congratulations before they disappear back into his deck.
Well, that was definitely fun, but I think you should go help your friend out now. Cecilia indicates over to Jasmine swimming up for air from the water.
Already on it. Max sits down and rows his boat over to her. After a few strokes, he makes it over to her pretty quickly and holds his hand out to her.
"Need a hand?" He calls down to her.
The current swimmer just gives him a flat stare before reaching up... "Actually..."
Her stare turns into a mischievous smirk as she grabs his hand and pulls him in. "Misery loves company!"
"Whoa!" Max lets out an unexpected yelp before landing head first next to Jasmine.
*Splsh!*
"Pwahh!" He comes up quickly for air. "Really?!" He shouts in exasperation.
"Hahahahaha! You should have seen your face!" She busts out laughing, holding her belly.
"Yep. Ha. Ha. Ha. You're hilarious." Max sarcastically rolls his eyes.
"So," Jasmine stops laughing and looks a little nervous. "How was it dueling me?"
"Well..." He pauses to think. "I think that it was a good duel overall, but you got too overconfident once your biggest monster came out. You even left yourself wide open without anything to defend you in case Daedalus was taken out."
His critique stings her pride a little bit. "Yeah... I guess I've just been a little too overzealous with him. I mean I've actually beaten Alexis with him on a couple occasions and she's probably one of the top players in the Girl's Dorm, even though she's a first year." She looks down. "I don't really have much in terms of defense with Trap Cards, so I decided to dish out enough offense to make it as a good defense." Her eyes move back up with a hint of pleading. "Do you think you could help me out with that?"
"You kidding," He chuckles a bit as he messes with the top of her head, earning an immediate splash in retaliation. "I have an Ocean themed deck as one of my side decks that I use for practice games, so I have plenty to help you work with for your preferred attribute."
"Thanks a lot!"
"Don't mention it."
"Oh, hey strange question?"
"What's up?"
Jasmine looks to the side, trying to figure out how to phrase her query. "How come... Why were you silent a few times during our match? Like... you would just look at your monsters and smile at them. What's that about? I mean I know you're kinda weird, but come on hehe!"
"I actually painted and helped create most of the cards I use with my dad. It was definitely an experience growing up after I got to know him a lot better... I guess you could say that I've got a real connection with my cards." He puts one of his hands on his Fortune deck box, feeling warmth emanating from it.
Inwardly, he was very thankful that his deck boxes and technology were all heavy-duty waterproof.
"Had some problems with your dad early on, huh?" She slightly regrets bringing up this conversation, but can't help wanting to know him better.
"Yeah... My mom died giving birth to me and it broke my old man."
"Oh my God. I'm so sorry!" She regrets this even more now.
Max just smiles and splashes her in the face. "Haha. Don't be!" He looks at his mother, who's watching him from inside the boat with a tender smile. "She's always with me..."
Jasmine quirks up an eyebrow and looks where he's facing. In the boat, to her, it almost looks as if someone is actually there, but it's incredibly faded. And the moment she blinks, they're gone. She tilts her head, wondering what that was.
The two Pegasus members catch this and Cecilia is fascinated by this discovery. She might be able to see us Spirits at some point. Boy, won't that be a shock for her.
"Anyway," Max diverts Jasmine's attention back to him. "After the whole Duelist Kingdom Tournament fiasco, my dad changed. For the better. And ever since, we've gotten along like we should as a family."
...
...
...
"Max?"
"Hm?"
"Thanks."
"Hey, might as well let my good friend, Jazz, know a little about the weirdos that make up the Pegasus Family." He shrugs.
"Now with that done..." Her eyes gleam in the moonlight.
"Huh?" He turns to her in confusion.
"Race you to shore!" She yells out before she kicks a bunch of water in his face, getting an immediate head start.
"Oh it is so on Connors!" He swims after her as quick as he can.
"This is a match that you'll never win Pegasus!"
"Only because you called it out of nowhere!"
"Semantics!"
Cecilia lightly giggles into her hand as she watches the two try to out swim each other to shore.
He may actually be good for her after all. A voice speaks up from the water. The blonde looks down and grins at Mermaid Knight.
Yep! And she'll be good for him. She looks back to the teenagers. Jasmine had won the race and is clearly gloating at Max who then drags her back into the water. She shrieks out in surprise causing the two spirits to laugh.
After all... She continues. He should have someone that can be there for him and is another living person. He shouldn't rely only on his mother. I mean what teenage boy wants that? She rhetorically asks.
Indeed. The knight agrees. I am glad that he seems like he will be able to uphold his oath.
But of course! And if he doesn't She winks devilishly. I'm sure us girls can straighten him out!
The two spirits have another laugh as they disappear into particles. The leftover glowing orbs fly over to their respective teenager and return to them.
Holy Crap! It is 5 AM right now and I have just finished with a word count of 13,000+! That's the most that I have ever written in my life so far, and I'm including the time when I was at university. Once I got into the "plot" of Episode 3, I was kind of in the zone when it came to writing this. I just couldn't put it down when it came to my free time at work. Speaking of which! August 11th, the day I finally posted chapter for turned out to be an amazing day for another reason. One of my bosses from my hotel job was recently promoted and was transferred to another location in the area. After a couple months of not seeing him, and things were starting to go under at this place, he calls me up that morning and wants me to transfer to his hotel. BTW it's a hotel in the same company. I said yes, so now I'm a Night Auditor at a quieter location and a much more professional and prepared hotel. I have been working here for over a month and I now have my job done that I get most of it done quickly when it needs to be done. I also bought myself a new laptop, so it's made writing during free time a freaking breeze! So, yay new job!
Alright, enough about my more positive work environment! Let's talk about the chapter!
First off, the duel? How was it to you guys? I didn't want this to be a challenging duel after all it's still the beginning of the season. Oh, and I want to let you guys know that once I describe a card and give off their stats they won't be described that much in detail. So, their won't be a repeat description every time Pot of Greed is used or when a monster is regularly summoned. You'll only see what the effect does and a very brief description of the returning monster is/looks like.
What I really wanted to do with this was establish the Duel Spirits and personalities that they have. I want them to be a part of things when they are in play during a duel or maybe when their relaxing with their duelist during free period or something. Not everyone will have a Duel Spirit. I'm more just keeping it to the friend group that I'm building for Max and those that already have Duel Spirits eventually, like Jaden, Chazz, and Jessie/Johan. I really loved the Duel Spirits idea when Jessie/Johan showed up in Season 3. It was something that fascinated me and I would imagine little things like that when I would play as a kid. (Raging Flame Sprite was my Spirit because I couldn't stop drawing him and it would piss off my friends! And yes, I shuffled.) So, I wanted to have my own take at some Duel Spirits with my story. I'm actual interested to see how Jessie/Johan and his Crystal Beasts will interact with Max and all of his monsters.
Oh and the final thing for Spirits and I said I would explain it. Yes, I have turned Carly Carmine from 5Ds into Fortune Fairy Chee. Ever since her duel against Jack Atlas and seeing Chee's and Fortune Lady Earth's cards, I have never been able to unsee Carly as those monsters. I also love Carly's character and wish they did more with her. I got this idea because the website I'm using for my all things Duel Monsters is DuelingBook. This site allows for you to make and play with custom cards and even view replays of duels. This gave me a huge edge that I needed when it came to writing and organizing my thoughts for scripting out the Duel.
Anyway, I managed to finish this chapter off in a little over a month. And that was AFTER a work transfer and new job training! I'm honestly amazed that I managed to do it! Please let me know what you thought and feel free to PM me if you want to!
Oh and before I go to the reviews. For anyone that is curious about any of my other stories that I want to write. Well, I have notes for three of them that I'm currently building right now. Also my Persona 5 fic has been given a title: The Other Mask. And I've also inserted another girl into the relationship. I couldn't leave her out and she's my brother's favorite character. I just couldn't especially after the awesome ideas I designed for her. Please look forward to that some day!
Now let's hit into those reviews!:
johnymike98: I'm hating on them because those hippos are S.C.A.R.Y! Also thanks for the offer on the OCs, but they really would not fit in here.
dragon rose 11: Hey welcome back after your, what like, third name change? Lol! And thanks for the love although I'm not going to have it be like Chazz and Adrian in Season 3. I'm taking their relationship in another direction. More of an eventual best bro kind of thing, ya know bro? Oh and don't worry about any comments like that. If they become stifling, they'll just be banished to the Shadow Realm. Because I can do that as a writer!
QueenofNiii: First off, please tell me that your name is a Monty Python and the Holy Grail reference. Thank you for the love and I can't wait to have Max use the other decks. I've had to change one of them, which is what used to be there before I changed it to the Fortune deck, and I had to revamp and improve one of the other ones because the other half of the deck just wasn't fun to write. And yeah, I hope to write an Arc V story some day down the line. It's story premise is very fun. I could honestly see characters for this story being in the Fusion Dimension of the Academy as rebels when they show up there.
Geek-Mytho: I can't wait to see what I do either because I have so many ideas and yet no idea at all! Hahaha! For your deck suggestions, I'm actually already using two of them in a way. Look forward to that ;) Also I'm sorry, but I've never seen Star Vs. I've heard good things about it, but it's really hard for me to get into modern cartoons. Granted, I somehow got Steven Universe as a guilty pleasure watch, so who knows.
clank2662: Thank you for your absence of complaints! And yeah, I'm pretty sure we all suffer from procrastination. Oof...
AmanoRyO: Sorry it's not a Monarch Deck. Caius is just my favorite Monarch and the one I think is the most useful. And I have no idea if that grilled cheese koala will be a running gag. That was a joke I came up with out of nowhere and thought was hilarious. A lot of my jokes are like that, including the strange grills Drake & Josh reference. I make sure to run these by my friends and family just to make sure it's not only funny to me hahaha!
vitorsoares865: Thanks, it's good to be back and hopefully not have another too early hiatus. I hope I'm able to make the Pokemon story fun. Heck, I obviously enjoy Pokemon what with how many duel themes I've used with them. And I'll probably use more later depending on the duels.
stressedcollege: Mood is right, man. Also you've said that so many times hahaha! And yeah our problems are pretty relatable. Thanks for enjoying the story and I hope I can keep writing stuff that's quality enough to entertain. And feel free to PM me, I've never gotten one from you, but maybe next time. Lastly, I've gotten multiple suggestions for a Toon Deck for Max and I'm honestly thinking about it. It's just that Max already has four decks that he'll be alternating with and revealing what they can do with each duel. And while I love Toons and I can see them working into my Duel Spirits ideas and some other creative things I have, I just don't like their play style. Attacking directly and bypassing the monsters just isn't my style.
Valkoor123113: Leave me alone! Let me have my irrational fear of Yuya's Hippos! XD
Thank you so much for the support! And next time we'll be tackling the Duel Exams from Episode 4 "Rarin' to Go!" I hope that I can get into another writing groove again like this one!
Middl Mo out, peace!