Early the next morning Alexis was walking towards the lighthouse by the Slifer dorms. There was less fog than there was the last time she made the trip, which made what she saw all the more shocking. Two people were standing by the lighthouse, two people she knew, and the both of them were in the middle of a duel.
"I can't believe it… Yuri's actually dueling Zane…" Alexis said completely shocked that Yuri made good on his plan to duel Zane. Though said duel didn't seem to be going in Yuri's favor, as he had no monsters on his field.
Yuri-LP 2800
Zane-LP 4000
"You're skilled, but I'm afraid that this duel is over." Zane said, with a small air of confidence in his voice. "You have no monsters on your field, and my monster has enough attack strength to instantly end things."
Cyber Twin Dragon Atk-2800 Def-2100
"Now, Cyber Twin Dragon, end this! Twin Strident Burst!" Zane's monster reared both of its heads, and let out a powerful stream of energy at Yuri.
"Sorry Zane, but I'm not done yet." Yuri smirked in a similar fashion to his younger siblings. "Because you're attacking me directly, I can special summon this monster. Swordsman of Revealing Light!"
Zane scowled, as a warrior with bright armor, wielding the Swords of Revealing Light as his weapon appeared on Yuri's field, stopping the attack of Zane's monster. Atk-0 Def-2400
"See this monster is able to negate the attack of one of my opponents monsters." Yuri explained, his smirk still on his face.
"One attack sure." Zane countered. "However my monster is able to attack twice in the same turn."
"No he's not." Yuri replied, which caused Zane to frown. "My swordsman has another effect. See if he blocks an attack, and his defense is higher than the attacking monster, then that monster is destroyed!"
Both Zane and Alexis' eyes went wide at this news, right before Yuri's swordsman sliced both heads off Zane's monster.
"Then I guess it's your move." Zane's tone was somewhat between a growl of irritation, and a sigh of resignation.
"Alright." Yuri assessed both his new card, and the other cards in his hand. "Well the first thing I'll do is play Cost Down. By discarding a monster card, I can reduce another monsters level. Which is enough for me to summon Dark Red Enchanter!"
Yuri's monster was a spellcaster with golden armor, and a dark red robe. Atk-1700 Def-2200
"And then there's his special effect. See when he's summoned, he gets two spell counters placed on him. And he gains 300 attack points for every counter on him."
Dark Red Enchanter Atk-2300
'This isn't looking good for Zane…' Alexis thought to herself. 'Looks like Yuri is as good as Yuki and Yumei say.'
"Now I'll activate the spell Premature Burial." Yuri inserted the spell card into his duel disk, making Dark Red Enchanter grow stronger.
Dark Red Enchanter Atk-2600
Yuri-LP 2000
"I get it." Zane said, realising there was more to the spellcasters effect than Yuri let on. "Your monster gets stronger whenever a spell card is activated.
"Give the man a prize." Yuri smiled. "And I know just the reward to give you. A look at the monster I discarded with Cost Down. Rise Darkblaze Dragon!"
A wicked looking serpentine dragon rose from the ground next to Dark Red Enchanter. Atk-1200 Def-1000
"And since he was special summoned, his attack and defense are doubled." Yuri explained, as his dragon roared.
Darkblaze Dragon Atk-2400 Def-2000
"Now my two monsters attack directly!" Yuri ordered, before his two monsters wiped out Zane's life points in one move.
Zane-LP 0000
"I can't believe it." Alexis said, completely shocked. "Zane lost…"
"Now as promised, you and I talk." Yuri said, as his duel disk deactivated.
"And what do you want to talk about?" Zane asked, with an almost imperceptible tilt of his head
"Your little brother."
The sun had risen over the island, and Jaden was filling out a duel request form in the main building's card shop. "Jeez, is 'Zane' spelled with two 'n's'..."
While Jaden was attempting to fill out the mentioned request form, he hadn't notice Dr. Crowler. That was right up until the head of the Obelisk dorm snatchedthe duel request form out of the Slifer's hands. "Planning a duel are we? Against who?"
Dr. Crowler took one look at the form, and let out a sputtering laugh. "You must be joking!"
"No I'm not." Jaden shot back. "I'm taking Zane on to help Cyrus with his confidence problem, so he'll be ready for our duel."
"Ah yes, the big tag match where if you lose, you'll both be expelled. Well that's a shame, because there will be no duel." Crowler sneered, shredding the request form.
In the woods near the Slifer dorm, a certain heavy set koala loving Slifer was revising his deck.
"Look, it's not you, it's me. I just can't use you, and I gotta make room for another Koala. 15 oughta do." Chumley said, while talking to one of his cards.
"15? Chum, I think the rules say that you can't use more than 3 copies of a card in your deck." Yuki said, standing at the base of the tree Chumley was sitting in.
"Hey Yuki, what are you doing here?" Chumley asked, before climbing down from the tree he was sitting in.
"Taking a walk, trying to clear my head." Yuki replied, before further explaining. "It still bothers me that Jaden and Cyrus are in this situation, since Yumei and I were there with them."
"I know how you feel." Chumley huffed, leaning to pick up his koala cards, as they had fallen out of his hand when the heavier boy climbed down.. "I wish there was more we could do to help."
"Hey guys!" Both the Obelisk, and the Slifer jumped, when Jaden greeted them, which also caused Chumley to drop what cards he had in in his hand.
"Hey Jaden." Chumley greeted his friend. "Whaddup?"
"Chumley, there's like a zillion koala cards here…" Jaden said, walking up and picking one of Chumley's Des Koala cards off the ground.
"Koala's are great." Chumley replied with a fond smile, as Jaden handed him back his monster card. "Wanna have a pick-up duel against them?"
"A pick-up duel? Why didn't i think of that?" Jaden's eyes lit up excitedly, before he ran off.
"Wait a second, where are you going?" Yuki called after his friend.
"The Obelisk dorm!" Jaden replied excitedly.
"Why are you going there?" Both Yuki and Chumley asked simultaneously.
"To duel Zane!"
Both Yuki and Chumley groaned, the former pinching the bridge of his nose with his thumb and index finger.
"I really thought he was kidding about that yesterday." Yuki groaned, shaking his head.
"Apparently not." Yumei said, walking up to the two boys. "I only caught the last part of that exchange, but it looks like Jaden really is determined to duel Zane."
"Well, what are you doing here Yumei?" Chumley asked, having returned to picking up his scattered koala cards off the ground.
"I came to grab Yuki here. There's a really big duel going down by the Ra dorms, and you gotta see this!" Yumei grabbed her twin's hand, before running off.
Yumei wasn't lying, there was a very heated duel taking place in front of the Ra dorms. It had drawn quite the crowd, and not just what looked to be the entirety of the Ra students. There was a rather large number of Obelisks including Kai, Alexis, Fujin, Jasmine, and Mindy.
The reason for all the Obelisks gathered, was that one of their own. A tall Obelisk boy, with bright red hair was one of the student's dueling. His opponent, was a Ra student who's dark hair fell in front of his eyes, and who had a preference for insects.
Miko-LP 2000
Obelisk-LP 3300
"Okay, my draw." Miko announced, drawing a card off the top of his deck. "Now it's been two turns since I played my Cocoon, so now you're about to meet my new monster. Perfectly Ultimate Great Moth!" The large cocoon in front of the insect duelist cracked, and a large green moth crawled out of it. Atk-2600 Def-2500
"Now, my monster attack! Destroy Balrog!" At Miko's command, Great Moth flapped its large wings creating a large gust of wind, which destroyed the Obelisk's fiery looking demon, which in turn destroyed the two Armored Hornets on his field, that clearly belonged to Miko.
Obelisk-LP 2500
"Hey, he's improved since coming to the academy." Yuki said, smiling as he and Yumei joined the crowd of Obelisks.
"Told you you'd want to see this." Yumei said excitedly, while Chumley joined them huffing and attempting to catch his breath. He really did hate running.
"He keeps dueling like this, he'll be an obelisk soon." Kai said, clearly impressed with Miko's dueling.
"Well, Char is still ahead." Mindy countered, though clearly impressed with how well the Ra was dueling. "And his turn is starting."
"Okay, that was a good move." The Obelisk named Char said, drawing his next card. "But let's see how you deal with this. I activate the spell card Aetonix Flame!"
"Uh-oh…" The Hyoudou twins said at the same time.
"What?" Jasmine said, turning her attention to the twins.
"This spell card destroys all monsters my opponent special summoned this turn!" Char explained, and true to his word Miko's monster was engulfed in flames, before shattering in a cloud of pixels.
"But it doesn't end there. I activate the spell card, Monster Reborn and bring back my Balrog!" Char's fiery demon appeared back on his field, when the Obelisk boy slid the spell card into his duel disk. Atk-1000 Def-1000
"Now I'll activate another spell card; Flame Whip!" Char inserted yet another spell card into his duel disk. "This card brings back all monsters destroyed this turn, to my side of the field as Fire attribute monsters!"
The large crowd gasped, as Miko's Great Moth rose onto Char's field, which in turn strengthened Balrog.
Perfectly Ultimate Great Moth Atk-2600 Def-2500
Balrog Atk-1500 Def-1000
"However, due to the effect of Aetonix Flame, I'm unable to attack you this turn." Char said, having no choice but to end his turn.
"Okay…" Miko sighed, drawing his next card. "I'll activate Pot of Greed, and then I'll summon my Pinch Hopper in attack mode! But that's not my only move, since I have two more spell cards to play." The Ra inserted the last two cards in his hand back into his duel disk. "The first is Eradicating Erisol, and I'll use it to destroy my Pinch Hopper!"
"Wait, why would you destroy your own monster?" Char asked, as a can of insect killer appeared on Miko's field and destroyed the small grass hopper monster.
"Because, when Pinch Hopper is destroyed, I can special summon a stronger monster. Meet my Insect Queen!" A spider-like monster, with the upper torso of a woman appeared on the Ra's field. Atk-2500 Def-2400
"And her effect, gives her a boost of 300 attack points for every insect monster on the field." Miko began to smile, as his monster grew stronger.
Insect Queen Atk-2800
"And my second spell card is Change of Heart!" An excited gasp went through the crowd, as Miko revealed his second spell card. "Now I can take control of one of your monsters, so I'm bringing Great Moth back to my side of the field!"
"Looks like this duel is just about ready to wrap up." Kai said, smiling while Great Moth came back to Miko's field.
Balrog Atk-1000
"Now Great Moth, attack Balrog!" Miko's moth destroyed the fiery demon with another gust created by its wings.
Char-LP 900
"Now, my Insect Queen can't attack unless I sacrifice an insect monster. So I'll tribute my moth, so my queen can attack directly!" Miko's moth vanished from his field, depowering the other insect monster, however 2500 attack points was more than enough. "Insect Queen, direct attack!"
Char-LP 0000
There were cheers from the Ra's gathered, and from a good share of the Obelisks. Though there were a few disappointed groans from the students in blue, due to one of their own not coming away with the win.
"Looks like he's gotten over his shyness." Yuki said, indicating the victorious Ra student.
"True, but Char is no pushover." Alexis replied, while Char shook hands with Miko. "He had control for most of the duel."
"But it only takes the right card to mount a comeback." Kai countered, before turning his attention to Yuki. "I heard your brother is on the island."
"Yeah, but I haven't seen him since yesterday. So I don't know where he is." Yuki shrugged, knowing where his friend was going with this. "So you'll have to postpone your duel."
"Am I that predictable?" Kai asked, lightly rubbing the back of his head.
Over at the Obelisk dorm, a determined Jaden had attempted to make his way in, so he could challenge Zane. However, he was stopped by two other Obelisk boy's who pushed Jaden to the ground.
"Hey, what's your problem?" Jaden glared up at the two Obelisks.
The first was a rather tall boy with spiky brown hair. There was a rather disgusted look on his face, as he stared down at Jaden. "I don't have a problem, but you will if you don't beat it Slifer Slacker."
The other Obelisk was a boy with short black hair, who was slightly smaller than his friend. "Yeah, Zane wouldn't waste his time with you. You're probably still wet behind the ears from pre-duel school."
"Am not!" Jaden countered, before he was soaked when the two boys doused him with abucket of water.
"Now you are!" The taller of the two said, before the two of them walked away laughing.
Jaden growled, gritting his teeth in anger. "We will duel Zane … we will."
Later in the day, Jaden, Chumley, and Yuki were making their way towards the Slifer dorms. One of the three had given the hero duelist a towel to dry himself off with, after the rather rude treatment he'd received at the Obelisk dorms.
"Remind me to introduce those two to a few new dragons I added to my deck." Yuki growled, already knowing the perfect monster to use against those two Obelisks. If that was how they were going to treat his friends, then maybe it was time to bring him back out.
"What are you gonna do now?" Chumley asked, while the three ascended the steps to the second floor of the Slifer dorms.
"I'm not giving up." Jaden vowed, an uncharacteristically serious look in the Slifer student's eyes. "One way or another, I'm gonna duel Zane."
"Jaden, I know you're good." Yuki began, as the three entered Jaden's dorm room. "But Zane's the best duelist in the school."
"Oh come on." Jaden groaned, looking over his shoulder at the Obelisk. "You were on my side about this yesterday."
"I just want to make sure you know what you're getting into is all." Yuki countered.
"Best in the school or not." Jaden began. "If Zane's affecting the way Cyrus duels, I gotta find out why. And if that means I gotta duel him to get some answers, then that's what I'll do!"
"Alright." Yuki relented. "If you think you can take him on, you go for it. And I'll be in your corner when you do."
It was then, the three noticed that Cyrus was still in bed, his blanket wrapped around him.
"Why is he sleeping in the middle of the day?" Yuki asked frowning slightly.
"Come on Cyrus get up!" Jaden nudged the bundle that was Cyrus. "This is ridiculous, even Chumley got up today!"
"Yeah, lousey bladder…" The heavier boy groaned.
Jaden then yanked back on the blanket, revealing it was just a pillow. "Huh? Where'd he go?"
"Uh, Jay?" Yuki called, having noticed a letter addressed to Jaden on Cyrus' desk. "You might want to check this out…"
"What's it say?" Chumley asked, when Yuki showed them the letter.
"Dear Jaden, I'm leaving Duel Academy. Don't try to stop me, I'll only be holding you back. Cyrus." Yuki read aloud.
"Cy's not going anywhere." That determined look was back in look was back in Jaden's eyes.
Yuki nodded his agreement. "Yeah, he couldn't have gone far. Let's go look for him!"
"But after dinner right?" Chumley asked, with a hopeful tone in his voice.
"Nope!" Jaden said, much to the larger Slifer's dismay. "We're going right now!"
"But it's grilled cheese night!" Chumley groaned.
"Chumley!" Both Jaden and Yuki snapped.
"Alright, let's go." Chumley sighed, before the three boys ran out in search of their friend.
"If we don't hurry, it'll be Cyrus' last day!" Jaden said, as the three ran.
The sun had begun to set, while the three boys searched for their friend. In a small bay close to the lighthouse, Cyrus had constructed a small makeshift raft for his preparation to leave Duel Academy.
"So long Duel Academy." Cyrus sniffled, wiping away a tear.
"Cyrus! Cyrus where are you?" Jaden called, before he a bright light came from both his and Yuki's deck box.
"What the…?" Both boys asked, before noticing Winged Kuriboh and Neo the Magic Swordsman had appeared in front of them.
"You too?" They asked one another simultaneously, before Yuki shook his head.
"Questions for another time." The Obelisk said, before turning his attention to the duel sprits. "Can you two find Cyrus?"
Neo nodded once, motioning for Yuki to follow the duel spirits.
"So hungry … hearing voices…" Chumley groaned, tired from all the running. He really did hate running.
"Come on!" Jaden called to the heavier Slifer, before running after Yuki.
"Aw, first no grilled cheese, now I gotta run!" Chumley groaned again, before following his friends.
Around the same time Yuki, Jaden, and Chumley were looking for Cyrus, Zane stood by the lighthouse close to the Slifer dorm. It was there Alexis found him.
"Any new leads?" Zane asked, turning his attention to her.
Alexis shook her head. "I can't believe he's still gone. I keep looking for some sign, but it's like he vanished into thin air."
"You'll find him." Zane replied. "Besides, don't you have that Yuki kid helping you now?"
"He's trying." Alexis said. "But speaking of brothers, how did that conversation between you and Yuri go?"
Alexis could have sworn, a smile crossed Zane's face if only for a split second. "I'll tell you later, but why do you want to know?"
"Because I ran into your little brother the other day. He lost a practice duel to Jaden, and your name came up … and not in the good way." Alexis answered.
"The big bad brother huh? Does this Jaden kid want to scold me?" Zane asked.
"Actually, I think he wants to duel you." Alexis replied.
"Wouldn't be the first time today." Zane remarked.
Alexis was about to say something else, when she was cut off by the sound of Cyrus' voice. "Stay back Jaden!"
"Huh?" Alexis looked around, spotting the small Slifer in question. "Cyrus?"
Cyrus jumped onto his makeshift raft, in an attempt to put space between him and Jaden, however Jaden leapt onto the raft as well, thus making it too heavy, and causing the both of them to fall into the ocean.
"Help me! I can't swim!" Cyrus cried out, before Jaden grabbed a hold of him.
"And you were gonna sail away into the ocean?" Jaden asked sarcastically. "That's smart."
"Hang on guys!" Yuki called, preparing to jump into the ocean, when a pair of arms blocked him. Both Neo and Mahad appeared, and hand blocked the Obelisk boy. "But why?"
'Just wait for it partner' Neo's spirit replied.
Not two seconds after Neo spoke to Yuki, Jadne stood up revealing just how shallow the water actually was. "Really Cyrus?"
"Why did you come after me Jaden? I stink! They'll assign you a new partner! Just let me go, and you'll have a much better shot of winning!" Cyrus pleaded.
"Cy, that's your big brother talking." Both Yuki and Jaden said, as Jaden brought himself and Cyrus back to the shore.
"You gotta believe me, I'm a lost cause." Cyrus whined yet again.
"He's right you know." A cold voice said behind Yuki.
"In case you were wondering Jaden." Yuki began, as Zane and Alexis approached. "That's Zane."
"You dropping out little brother?" Zane asked.
"Uh, yeah kinda." Cyrus answered.
"It's about time." Zane said coldly, which made Cyrus hang his head in shame, and caused Jaden and Yuki to glare up at the Obelisk.
"He's your brother!" Jaden growled. "How can you say that?"
"Because I know him." Zane answered simply.
"Yeah I bet you know it all, but guess what you don't!" Jaden once again had that detirmined look in his eyes. "And I'm gonna prove it right now! Let's duel!"
"I'm with Jaden on this Zane." Yuki said, making good on his earlier promise to support his friends decision to take Zane on. "There are some line's you just don't cross."
"Duel a Slifer?" Zane thought about this for a moment. "Well it's been a while since I've gone slumming."
"Don't do it Jaden." Cyrus warned. "He's the best for a reason."
"I'm sure he is Cy." Jaden smiled. 'And I'm sure this will solve Cy's confidence problem without hurting mine.'
The sun had fully set by the time Zane and Jaden were ready. They were still on the shoreline where Cyrus had attempted to leave Duel Academy on his raft. Which ironically was where Jaden and Cyrus dueled the previous day.
"Duel!"
Jaden-LP 4000
ZaneLP-4000
"I'll draw first!" Jaden said, drawing his sixth card. "And I'll summon Elemental Hero Avian in attack mode!"
The familiar winged, green armored hero rose onto Jaden's field. Atk-1000 Def-1000
"Now I'll finish with a facedown!" Jaden declared, inserting a card into his duel disk.
"That's all huh?" Zane asked, drawing his sixth card. "Well I'll summon Summon Cyber Dragon in attack mode!"
A large metallic serpentine dragon appeared on Zane's field. Atk-2100 Def-1600
"Wait, hold on! How can you summon a level five monster on your first turn?" Jaden asked, completely shocked.
"It's because it's my first turn." Zane answered, before explaining. "If I have no monsters on my field, while my opponent does, I can summon Cyber Dragon without having to tribute anything. Now I'll activate the spell card Mystical Space Typhoon."
"Well that was fast." Jaden said, as his facedown card was destroyed.
"Not as fast as your life point meter is about to go down." Zane replied. "Cyber Dragon attack! Strident Blast!" Zane's monster let out a stream of bright fire from its mouth, engulfing and destroying Avian.
Jaden-LP 2900
'I tried to warn him Zane was good.' Cyrus thought.
"Cyber Dragons huh?" Yuki mused, looking down from the cliffside.
"What's going on now?" Yuri asked, joining the small group.
"Jaden's dueling Zane." Yuki replied not taking his eyes off of the duel.
"He's doing what now?" Yumei asked, stepping up on her twin's right side.
"See my previous statement." Yuki replied with a small huff of laughter. "And where did you two come from?"
"We were looking for you." Yuri said, now paying attention to the duel between Jaden and Zane. "But we'll talk about that later. I want to see how this plays out."
"Next, I'll play Different Dimension Capsule. It allows me to pick any card in my deck, and remove it from play. Then in two turns, I can add that removed card to my hand." Zane explained, as his chosen card was placed into a blue colored sarcophagus.
"He must have placed a really powerful monster in that capsule." Yuki mused.
"I bet I know which monster he chose." Yuri said, while the duel continued.
"It's your turn Jaden." Zane said ending his turn.
'Yeah and I better make it count. I'm starting to think not only is this guy is as good as everyone says he is, he's even better. But that doesn't mean he's better than me!' Jaden smiled, drawing his next card. "Round two! And first I'll rock Polymarization, to fuse Sparkman and Clayman, to summon Elemental Hero Thunder Giant!"
Both of Jaden's chosen heroes merged to create the powerful electric hero from Jaden's duel with Cyrus from the previous day. Atk-2400 Def-1500
"Here comes the pain." Chumley smiled.
"Yeah, and with Thunder Giant's effect, Zane's in for it." Yumei replied, smirking.
"And with my monster's effect, he can destroy any monster with attack points weaker than his. Meaning, your Cyber Dragon is toast!" Jaden smiled, as his monster destroyed Zane's. "Yes! Looks like Thunder Giant made the big man on campus even smaller!"
"Yeah, tell me about it." Chumley smiled.
"Get him Jaden." The Hyoudou said in unison.
"And since that blast was just his special ability, I still get to attack!" Jaden said, as Thunder Giant hit Zane with a giant bolt of lighting, though the Obelisk didn't even flinch.
Zane-LP 1600
"You could at least flinch. Oh well, maybe this facedown card will make you." Jaden said, inserting another card into his duel disk.
'Yeah, if Jaden lasts long enough to use it.' Cyrus thought yet again.
"Nice moves kid. But now that my field is empty, I can summon another Cyber Dragon." Zane said, as a second Cyber Dragon appeared on Zane's field. "Or better yet, how about two. I play Monster Reborn! And since there's only one monster in my graveyard, guess who's coming back?"
Zane's first Cyber Dragon appeared yet again on Zane's field. "But neither of them will be sticking around for long … in present form. I play my own Polymarization. Dragons unite! And Cyber Twin Dragon emerge!"
Cyber Twin Dragon Atk-2800 Def-2100
"Twin dragons? One was bad enough." Chumley said.
"Now my monster can attack twice in one turn!" Zane explained. "Which means double the trouble for your monster, and your life points. Attack!"
"Not so fast! I have a trap! A Hero Emerges! Normally you'd chose a card at random in my hand, but since there's only one card in my hand, let's skip that. Wroughtweiller in defense mode!"
Wroughtweiller resembled a mechanical looking hound. Atk-800 Def-1200
"You'll need him. Cyber Twin Dragon, double strident blast!" Zane ordered, as his monster destroyed both of Jaden's monsters.
Jaden-LP 2500
"Glad you did that, because when Wroughtweiller is destroyed, his special ability activates! I take one Elemental Hero, and one Polymarization from my graveyard, and add them to my hand. Just when you thought you could stop worrying about them, huh Zane?" Jaden smirked, grabbing his chosen spell card, and Clayman.
"I don't worry." Zane replied.
"Aw man! You're so chill, you are good." Jaden smiled.
"Thanks, you are too Jaden." Zane replied with a slight smile.
"Well at least he's being nice." Alexis said with a small smile.
'Since when does Zane give prompts?' Cyrus asked himself.
"Now where was I?" Jaden asked, drawing his next card. "I summon Elemental Hero Bubbleman in attack mode!" A male hero with blue armor, and cape appeared on Jaden's field. "And since he's here, I can use his special ability to draw two cards."
Elemental Hero Bubbleman Atk-800 Def-1200
Jaden smiled, as he took a look at his hand. 'Winged Kuriboh and Transcendent Wing! That's the same card combo I used to trash Chazz's Dragon Catapult Cannon! An evolved Winged Kuriboh would be enough to trash Zane's twin dragon, and deal its attack back at him as damage! That would be enough to win the duel, but I can't summon anymore monsters this turn. So I'm just gonna have to wait until next turn.'
"Alright Zane, I'll play Polymarization and fuse Clayman and Bubbleman to summon Elemental Hero Mudballman!" Jaden's new monster had a perfectly round body, round arms, and a blue head. Atk-1900 Def-3000
"Lishious! Mudballman has 3000 defense points! Twin Dragon won't be able to touch Jaden." Chumley smiled.
"Come on Jay, you got this." Yuki said, his fists clenched.
"I don't believe this, Jaden might actually win." Cyrus said, in disbelief.
"Alright Zane, gimmie your best shot!" Jaden said in a challenging tone.
"My best?" Zane asked. "Alright, you got it." He drew his next card, as a blue sarcophagus appeared on his field.
"Oh crap…" Yuki said. "The capsule."
"It's been two turns since I activated the capsule, and now I get to add the card I removed from play into my hand. You play well, but not well enough." Zane said, adding the new card into his hand.
"Gimmie your best shot. I'm ready." Jaden challenged.
"I'm sure you are. A good duelist is ready for anything. And knows the difference between using a card, and playing it. And you play your cards very well." Zane said, looking up at his brother.
'That's a good compliment, but even greater advice. I just hope Cyrus was listening.' Jaden thought.
'Of course! That's what he meant all those years ago! Using a card, and playing it are two different things!' Cyrus realized.
"First I play De-Fusion, to split my Twin Dragon into two separate Cyber Dragons. Next I activate the spell card Power Bond! It allows me to summon a powerful machine-type fusion monster, and with the final Cyber Dragon I have in my hand, I have everything I need to summon Cyber End Dragon!"
Everyone gasped, as the three headed machine monster appeared.
Cyber End Dragon Atk-4000 Def-2800
"Woah, that's a really powerful monster." Yuri said.
"Yeah, Mudballman doesn't stand a chance." Yumei agreed.
"It's like the second coming of Seto Kaiba." Yuki mused.
"And thanks to Power Bond's effect, when I fusion summon a monster with it, my monster's attack is doubled!" Zane said, as his monster's attack rose.
Cyber End Dragon Atk-8000
"And when my monster attacks a monster in defense mode, he deals the difference between his attack, and your monsters defense to you as damage!" Zane announced.
"Just hang in there!" Chumley said. "If you can survive this round, you can win thanks to Power Bond's effect!"
"That's right, at the end of the turn, the one who uses Power Bond is dealt damage equal to the monster's original attack." Alexis said.
'But it won't matter if you play it right. And Zane has … I just wish it wasn't at Jaden's expense…' Cyrus thought dejectedly.
"Cyber End Dragon, attack Mudballman! Super Strident Blast!" Zane's monster roared, before releasing three streams of bright fire, which obliterated Jaden's monster, as well as the rest of his life points.
Jaden-LP 0000
"I don't believe it…" Yuki was completely floored by what he just saw. "Jaden lost…"
"Jaden!" Cyrus cried out, running towards his friend.
Jaden lifted his head, revealing he was smiling. "Great duel Zane."
Zane smiled, and before turning away he made eye contact with his younger brother. And in that moment, there was some sort of mutual understanding between the two.
"I'll see you guys later." Alexis said, before following Zane.
"So what do you think?" She asked, as she caught up to him.
"I think Cyrus chose some good friends." Zane replied smiling.
"Wait, hang on." Yuki said, completely shocked. "You dueled Zane this morning?"
The three siblings were sitting in the rather spacious common room of the Obelisk dorm, Yuri explaining what he'd done earlier that morning.
"Not only that, but you won?" Yumei asked.
"Yes." The eldest of the Hyoudou siblings answered. "And he had some interesting things to say about Cyrus after."
"So you wanted to talk about Cyrus." Zane said, as the two walked alongside one another. "Why?"
"From what I understand, you're being rather … cold towards him. Like he doesn't belong here." Yuri explained his case to the Obelisk.
"Well he doesn't." Zane answered, before continuing. "At least not yet at least. There's a crucial piece of dueling that Cyrus isn't understanding. And that's knowing how to use a card, and knowing how to play it."
"Fair enough, but don't you think that it should be Cyrus' choice to decide wether he belongs here or not?" Yuri asked. "Here me out, you're the best duelist in this school right now, and Cyrus is intimidated by that. That's the cause of his…"
"Sloppy dueling?" Zane supplied.
"Exactly." Yuri continued. "I think Cyrus is here not just to prove to you he belongs here, but he wants to prove he's a good duelist in your eyes."
Zane huffed, a smile forming on his face. "Cyrus doesn't need my approval in order to be a good duelist."
"Huh … I had him pegged wrong. Yuki said more to himself, before remembering something from earlier. "Wait, what did you two want to talk to me about earlier?"
"Oh yeah!" Yumei said perking up. "Chancellor Shepard and Dr. Crowler, came to me earlier today. I'm up for a promotion duel!"
"What!?" Yuki nearly fell out of his seat at this news.
"Yup!" Yumei smiled brightly. "But it'll be after Jaden and Cyrus' tag duel."
"And speaking of that." Yuri said, the three not noticing two other Obelisk boys approaching. "I think those two need a test duel, to make sure they're ready for their upcoming match."
"Hey!" one of the Obelisk boys exclaimed, getting the siblings attention. It was the Obelisk with spiky brown hair, one of the two that had treated Jaden so poorly earlier that day, and his friend wasn't too far behind him. "What's a Ra doing here!?"
"Oh hey guys…" Yuki said, rising from his seat. "I hear you two were rather rude to a friend of mine earlier today…"
"The Slifer?" The smaller Obelisk with dark hair asked, before beginning to laugh. "You're seriously friends with a Slifer?"
"If you're gonna hang around with a Slifer, and invite a Ra into our dorm, then you don't belong here." The taller Obelisk sneered.
"If you're gonna treat other students like garbage, and only hide behind that blue coat of yours." Yuki growled, the new Millenium Ring beginning to glow. "You don't deserve to wear that blue coat."
"Those are fighting words." The brown haired Obelisk growled.
"Then let's duel." Yuki's expression was suddenly very serious.