This was it. The day of Jaden and Cyrus' judgement duel. It was something that both excited and infuriated Dr. Crowler, while he paced through the halls of the main building. He was grinding his teeth while glaring at all the Slifer students he was passing.
'Just look at them! Pathetic slackers littering the campus like vermin! The halls of Duel Academy are for the elite! Not the lame, and especially not Jaden Yuki!' Crowler thought angrily "He's made a fool of me for long enough!" Dr. Crowler's outburst mad every Slifer in the hall he was in, run in the opposite direction. "But soon, he will be the one looking like a fool!"
"Dr. Crowler."
Crowler turned to see a familiar Obelisk walking towards him. "Ahh Chazz, what can I do for you?"
"You can put me in the elimination duel between Jaden and Cyrus." Chazz replied. "This time I know I can win, and send them packing."
"Sorry Chazz, but you'll be sitting this one out. Don't get me wrong, your skills are admirable, but I am leaving nothing to chance. If Jaden loses, he'll be expelled! Which is why I've hired the best tag duelists in the world!"
At the Slifer dorm, both Jaden and Cyrus were going over their decks, while Chumley watched from his bed. "How can you be so calm?"
"Because it's just another duel. Right Cy?" Jaden asked, even though Cyrus was silent.
"But it's not." Chumley countered. "If you lose, you'll be on the next bus out of here."
"Bus, Chumley? We're on an island." Jaden really had to fight to keep from laughing.
"Well, you guys should give me your meal cards just in case." Chumley said.
Jaden shook his head, even though he was smiling. "Thanks for the vote of confidence."
"Hey, someone's gotta eat your grilled cheeses if you go." Chumley laughed, getting down from his bed. All the while Cyrus had remained silent, just staring at his Power Bond card.
"Come on Cy, let's get going." Jaden got to his feet a few moments later. "We got a duel to win!"
"Good luck guys." Chumley hugged his two friends, before Jaden and Cyrus made for the door. "I really want you to win."
"Even more than extra grilled cheese?" Jaden asked teasingly.
"I'd rather have you guys here than the grilled cheese." Chumley admitted.
Jaden smiled, opening the door to their dorm. "I think I might cry."
"Well, see you soon." Cyrus said, as the two left for the main building.
"I hope so." Chumley sounded incredibly worried.
People were beginning to file into the main dueling arena, including all three Hyoudou siblings. Yuri had decided to stay at the academy until after Yumei's promotion match. His exact words being: "I'm not missing the chance to watch my baby sister become an Obelisk."
"I hope they can make it through this…" Yumei sounded rather nervous, as she took her seat.
"They'll be fine." Yuri assured his younger sister. "They were good enough to beat me."
"Yeah, but that was a one on two match." Yumei countered. "Dr. Crowler has hand picked opponents for the two, and with his hatred of Slifer students, you know whoever he picked isn't going to be any pushover."
"Well, unless Dr. Crowler hired Yugi and Joey." Yuki gave his twin sister's shoulder a reassuring squeeze. "I'm pretty sure Jaden and Cyrus will pull through."
"I don't think it's Jaden you need to worry about." Bastion said, from the row of seats behind the three siblings. "Cyrus on the other hand…"
"Neither of them would be in this position if it wasn't for me…" Alexis sighed, taking a seat next to Yuki.
"And there was more than just those two in the abandoned dorm that night." Yumei was still upset that it was only Jaden and Cyrus that had to go through this. "This whole thing stinks of a set up."
Alexis and Yuki both nodded in agreement, before Dr. Crowler stepped into the center of the dueling platform. "The upcoming duel will be held under disciplinary rules. Should the students in question lose, they will be immediately expelled. Now send in the accused: Jaden Yuki and Cyrus Trusedale."
Far up in the stands, almost near the entrance to the main arena Zane was standing with his arms crossed. His normal neutral expression on his face. 'Well little brother, time to see if you belong here or if you'll be on the next boat home.'
Cyrus looked up towards the stands, making eye contact with his older brother. 'Zane! I gotta believe in myself! I gotta believe in myself!'
"Hey look Cy, Chumley made it!" Jaden clapped Cyrus's shoulder and pointed up to where the heavy set Slifer was, having just entered the arena.
"Just barely." Cyrus managed to lightly laugh.
"And I thought running … was supposed to be healthy." Chumley panted.
"And now, please allow me to introduce our special guest duelists!" At some unseen cue, a pair of duelists backflipped into sight behind Dr. Crowler. The pair were both bald, had chinese symbols tattooed into their forehead. One was wearing an orange gi, while the second wore a dark green gi. "The Paradox Brothers!"
"What!?" The three Hyoudou siblings exclaimed.
"Uh, who are these guys?" Jaden asked rather obliviously.
"Me either." Cyrus shrugged. "Maybe this tag duel won't be so bad."
"Perhaps." Crwoler then smirked. "Their last duel was against Yugi Muoto and Joey Wheeler, but they are the best tag duelists in the world."
"Salutations you fools." Para, the brother dressed in orange began.
"Hope you're ready to duel." Dox, the brother in green finished.
"I've heard about these guys." Alexis said. "They're supposed to be the best tag duelists in the world."
"Best in the world huh?" Yumei huffed, even though she was nervous about this whole situation. "If that's true, then why was their last tag duel ten years ago?"
"And just how would you know that?" Bastion asked.
"Because I was there." Yuri filled in. "I was there with Yugi and Joey when the two dueled these guys. But this was when the game was incredibly broken, and you could summon any monster without tribute."
"Enough with the pleasantries." Para began.
"And onto the duel." Dox finished.
"We didn't come here to talk." Para began.
"We came…"
"To destroy you!" Both brothers said in unison.
"Duelists prepare to battle!" Crowler spoke into the mic. "The rules are simple. Both teams will start with 8000 life points instead of 4000 separately. There will be no sharing of strategy, advice, or any card that isn't already in play. However, you may use your partners cards. Understood?"
"Yes!" All four agreed.
"Then let the duel begin!" Crowler then stepped back from the main platform.
Jaden/Cyrus LP-8000
Paradox Brothers LP- 8000
"Get your games on!" Jaden exclaimed, drawing his cards, before looking to Cyrus to make the first move.
"Here goes!" Cyrus announced drawing his cards. "Okay, I summon Gyroid in attack mode!" Cyrus said, while summoning his cartoonish helicopter. Atk-1000
"You must be joking! I'm surprised that thing even has an attack mode!" Para sneered, drawing his sixth card. "This on the other hand, Jurai Gumo!" A large creature that looked to be a cross between a spider and a scorpion appeared on Para's field. Atk-2200
"What? An overgrown bug?" Jaden scoffed, drawing. "It's nothing my deck can't take squash! Elemental Hero Burstinatrix in defense mode!" Jaden's fiery red costumed hero took a knee upon appearing on Jaden's field. Def-800
"The best defense is a good offense!" Dox drew, and smirked. "Kaiser Seahorse attack mode!" A humanoid sea creature rose onto Dox's field. Atk-1700
'Alright, if they're dueling like how I think they're dueling, they're going to attack next.' Cyrus thought.
"Next I chose to activate a spell card." Dox announced, which caught Cyrus off guard. "Tribute Doll! To activate it, I must sacrifice a monster on our side of the field. Good thing my brother is so gracious with his! Now, farewell Jurai Gumo! I can now summon a level seven monster this turn! And I chose Kazejin!" The spider scorpion was replaced by a green skinned creature, which was only a pair of arms, with the symbol for wind on its center.
Kazejin Atk-2400
"He sacrificed his brother's monster to summon a far stronger one." Bastion mused. "That's tag dueling."
"Just who's side are you on?" Both Yuki and Alexis asked.
"This isn't good." Yuri was leaning forward in his seat, as he had seen these two duel before, he knew what their ace monster was. "They only need two more monsters in order to summon their ace. And since they have Kaiser Seahorse on their field…"
"They'll be able to summon another piece of their ace monster during their next turn." Yumei finished.
"Do you think you know anything of this game?" Para asked.
"You're losers, you're jokes, in other words: you're lame!" Dox finished mockingly.
"And if you think this is starting to get grueling…"
"Just wait until I truly start dueling! I play Dark Designator! This powerful spell allows me to call out the name of any monster, and if my brother has it in his deck, it is automatically added to his hand." Dox announced, while pretending to think. "Now let me see… Sanga of the Thunder!"
"What do you know? It is right here, ready to tear them asunder!" Para sneered, adding the chosen card to his hand.
"There's the second monster they need." Yumei was now nervously tapping her right foot.
"The duel's just started." Para began.
"And yet it's almost done!" Dox finished.
"For your demise, has already begun!" Both brothers said in unison, which scared Cyrus.
"Don't worry Cy, they're just saying that because it's an easy rhyme." Jaden said reassuringly.
"What do you think Jaden, if we quit now, we'll have extra time to pack." Cyrus sounded incredibly nervous.
"The only thing we'll be packing is some serious punch. Come on Cy, we can beat these guys!" Jaden gave Cyrus a smile, that suddenly inspired the shorter Slifer.
"You know what? You're right!" 'Jaden's right, we are packing some serious dueling punch! Not only am I gonna show these Paradox Brothers, I'm also gonna show Zane!' Thanks to Jaden, Cyrus had a sudden burst of inspiration, as he drew his next card. "All aboard! I summon Steamroid in attack mode!" Cyrus announced, summoning the cartoonish looking train monster to his field.
Steam Gyroid Atk-1800
"And I play Polymarization, so now I'll fuse my two monsters and summon Steam Gyroid!" Cyrus' two monsters were sucked into a vortex, merging into a combination of the two previous monsters. Atk-2200
"Now that's locomotion! You see you made a mistake! By sacrificing Jurai Gumo, you left your brother's field wide open!"
"Uh, Cy…" Jaden began, trying to get his partners attention, but Cyrus was way to pumped up to hear him.
"Steam Gyroid, attack Para!" Cyrus announced as his monster rushed at the orange clad twin.
"An attack!?" Para sounded rather surprised.
"Got that right!" Cyrus said confidently, despite the nervous looks of Alexis, Bastion, and the Hyoudou siblings. Crowler smirked, while all Zane did was scowl.
"If you please brother?" Para asked, earning a nod from his twin.
"Kazejin defend! Squall barricade!" A large gust of wind blew Cyrus' monster back to his side of the field. "Our monster's special ability. Do you like?"
"It brings your damage to zero without even a fight!" Para rhymed.
"So I goofed…" Cyrus felt more deflated than a popped balloon.
"These two think they can beat Para and Dox?" Dr. Crowler laughed, watching his master plan unfold. "They stink worse than my sweaty socks! Gah! Now they have me doing it!"
"Forget it Cy, no biggie." Jaden said, trying to cheer his friend up.
"Yeah, right." Cyrus let out a defeated sigh.
"Come on Cy, you can bounce back." Jaden reassured.
Cyrus took a few moments, then took a deep breath. Jaden was right. "Okay, since I can't attack again I'll end my turn with a face down card."
"Finally, a smart move." Para said, drawing a new card. "I play Monster Reborn, and bring back the dreadful Jurai Gumo. However, he will not stay around for long, as I also have the Tribute Doll spell card."
"Oh no, not again…" Cyrus groaned.
"Yes again, and I will use it to summon another level seven monster! Suigen!" Para's new monster was a pair of blue legs, and the marking for water.
Suigen Atk-2500
"But it doesn't end there. Mind if I borrow a monster brother?" Para asked.
"Please, that is why he is there." Dox agreed.
"Now I tribute Kaiser Seahorse. And incase you didn't know, he is treated as two tributes when summoning a light attribute monster! Now say hello to Sanga of the Tunder!" Para smirked as the final monster the brothers needed to summon their ace appeared.
Sanga of the Tunder Atk-2600
"This isn't good…" Yuki said.
"It's about to get worse." Yuri riplied.
"Three monsters on our field. What could be better?" Para asked.
"I think I know. When they come together!" Dox finished.
"Prepare yourselves! I sacrifice Suigen, Kazegin, and Sanga of the Thunder inorder to summon the ultimate monster: Gate Guardian!" Para announced, as all three monsters were sucked into a vortex, merging into one incredibly powerful monster.
Gate Guardian Atk-3750
"And there it is." Yuri gulped.
"Now I put there odds of winning at-" Bastion began.
"Bastion I swear if you finish that sentence, I will personally introduce you to a 5,000 year old Egyptian spirit." Yuki cut across.
"Gate Guardian…" Cyrus sounded as nervous as he looked.
"He's ginormous!" Jaden said in the same nervous tone.
"Wait until you see his attack! Gate Guardian, attack Steam Gyroid with Tidal Surge Attack!" At Para's orders, Gate Guardian let out a stream of water, wind, and electricity that blasted Cyrus' monster away.
Jaden and Cyrus LP-6450
"This isn't a duel, this is target practice for the Paradox Brothers." Bastion began.
"Yeah, and right now, Cyrus is the bulls-eye." Yumei finished. "Come on guys, fight back."
"He just made a few bad moves. I'm sure he can come back… at least I hope he can." Alexis said. She unknowingly had a hold of one of Yuki's hands. "Jaden may be good, but he can't win this by himself."
"Come on Cy…" Yuki whispered. "Jayden needs you to get back in this."
"Alright, the bigger the are, the harder the fall." Jaden said. "Come on Cy, let's take this thing down!"
"I'd like to see you try, so I will end with with a face down." Para unknowingly rhymed with Jaden, while setting the card into his duel disk.
"Here goes." Jaden said, drawing his next card, which turned out to be Polymarization. "Alright I'm gonna play Polymarization, and fuse the Elemental Hero Clayman from my hand, and Burstinatrix, and summon Elemental Hero Rampart Blaster!"
Jaden's new monster was a female hero with heavy armor, a shield in one hand, and an arm mounted rocket launcher in the other. She was kneeling since Jaden had placed her in defense mode. Def-2500
"She's good alright Jaden, but she's not as good as Gate Guardian. She's only got 2500 defense, and Gate Guardian has 3750 attack." Cyrus was truly beginning to become nervous. "Rampart Blaster will be blasted."
"No sweat, that's what her special ability is for." Jaden's grin was back on his face. "See when she's in defense mode, she can attack directly."
The Paradox brothers gasped when they realized what was about to happen. "Our life points!"
"Go Rampart Blaster! Attack!" Jaden ordered his monster, who then sent a barrage of missiles that went past Gate Guardian, and hit the twin brothers. "Sure, it may only be half damage, but it's a special effect. What are you gonna do?"
Paradox Brothers LP-7000
"A lucky move!" Dox growled, while Cyrus smiled.
"We're back in this!"
Jaden laughed, ruffling his partner's hair. "We were never out of it!"
'Jaden's right!' Cyrus thought. 'We can win this!'
"It's my turn!" Dox declared, as he drew his card. "I'll play Fairy Meteor Crush, and equip it to Gate Guardian. Now when he attacks a monster in defense mode, the difference is taken from your life points!"
"Not so fast!" Cyrus said, revealing his facedown card. "Forget about my face down? Mystical Space Typhoon, it can destroy one of your cards in your back row! So say goodbye to your equip spell!"
"Right into my trap!" Para smirked, revealing his own face down. "I activate Judgement of Anubis! Foolish boy, this let's me stop your spell by discarding one card from my hand. Your typhoon has been reduced to nothing but a gentle breeze! But that is not all, it also allows me to destroy one of your monsters.
Rampart Blaster exploded, which made Dox's smirk grow wider. "And you take damage equal to its attack points!"
Jaden/Cyrus LP-4450
"I know it feels like your back is to the wall, but in reality the wall is right in front of you!" Dox announced, revealing his newest monster. "I play this in defense mode!"
Dox's new monster was a rather large wall. Def-2100
"It's called Defense wall, and while he's on the field, all monsters you have can only attack him!"
"Gate Guardian on offense, and that wall on defense." Bastion mused. "An almost flawless strategy. Almost…"
"We get it already!" Yuki and Alexis snapped, shooting Bastion irritated looks.
"Bastion, I get that you're impressed." Yumei said, just as irritated as her brother. "But you are cheering for the wrong team."
Dox cast a rather confident look at Cyrus. "It's your turn, what are you waiting for?"
'To be honest, a myracle.' Cyrus thought, as he drew a card. "I summon Cycroid in defense mode…"
Cycroid Def-1000
"You summon a bike? Well it is about to get a flat!" Para sneered, as he drew a card. "Gate Guardian, Tidal Surge Attack!" Gate Guardian's combined elemental attack blasted Cyrus' monster away, and thanks to its equip card the attack followed through and hit the smaller Slifer.
Jaden/Cyrus LP-1700
"Your life points are falling…"
"Your gameplay is appauling…"
"There's nothing left, but to give up and start bawling!" Both brothers rhymed in unison.
"It's two monsters to none." Bastion sighed. "They'll be knackered."
"Great, now you're doubting them in words I don't even understand." Alexis retorted, in a very irritated manner. She was really starting to get sick of Bastion's doubting her friends. "I'm sure Jaden has a strategy."
"Jaden I'm sure of." Bastion replied. "It's Cyrus I'm worried about. He's fallen into every trap the brothers have laid. He's been horrible."
Yuki couldn't take this anymore. He grabbed Bastion by the front of his yellow blazer, and got right in the Ra's face. "One more word. Just one." The Millenium Ring began to glow.
'Please let them win!' Chumley began to pray. 'I swear I'll give up grilled cheese for a week if they win!'
"I'm a genius! A pure genius! I lure Jaden into the abandoned dorm, I arrange this tag duel as punishment! And then I hire the best tag duelists in the world, to ensure he and Cyrus get expelled!" Crowler then began to laugh like a maniac.
"Enjoying the boys' punishment a little too much are we?" Chancelor Shepard asked from his front row seat, which startled the head of Obelisk Blue.
"Oh my no. You misinterpret!" Crowler quickly backpeddled. "I'm laughing because this duel is almost over. I don't want to prolong their suffering, as they look so weary."
"Doesn't look that way to me." Shepard pointed towards back to the dueling ring. "In fact, I think Jaden just got his second wind."
True to Shepard's point, Jaden had gotten back to his feet, a confident grin on his face.
"So the Slifer Red forges ahead." Para began with a new rhyme. "When the smart duelist…"
"Would have fled." Dox finished his brother's rhyme.
"I kinda wished they had named us Slifer Orange. That way, we wouldn't have to put up with their awful rhyming." Jaden's remark earned him an irritated look from the brothers, who were clearly insulted. That look made the hero duelist chuckle, as he drew his next card, while Winged Kuriboh appeared above his left shoulder, cooing in agreement with Jaden's remark about the rhyming. "Yeah, I don't think they get it either."
"Forget about our rhyming…"
"Just concentrate on your card play…"
"For the partner you have…"
"To win, you have a long way!" The brothers rhymed once again, which caused Cyrus to hang his head.
"Don't listen to them Cy." Jaden said in an attempt to buck his friend up.
"But-" Cyrus began, only to be cut off by his friend.
"No. No 'buts'. You're gonna be the one to take down that thing!" Jaden pointed to Gate Guardian. "So let's go! I summon Elemental Hero Sparkman in attack mode!"
Elemental Hero Sparkman Atk-1600
"And I'll give him the equip card Spark Blaster! And with each blast, I can change the battle position of one monster on the field, so take a knee Gate Guardian!" Sparkman leveled his blaster at Gate Guardian, and the blast forced the large monster into defense mode.
"An odd move." Bastion mused. "Unless he has a plan, I feel he's wasted turn."
Yuki had a retort, however he stopped since he realized Bastion had a point. "Good point, I'd have used that blast on Defense Wall."
"You must be a fool, when Gate Guardian's in defense he never tires!" Para began with another rhyme. "Your situation is dire!"
"And though I hate to feed the fire." Dox continued his brother's rhyme. "Our Defense Wall you have yet to retire!"
"Yeah, thanks. I'm just gonna play a face down and end my turn." Jaden set his chosen card into his duel disk.
Dox then drew his next card. "I'll set one card. No more, no less. Now brother, you do the rest."
"Excellent decision, as I think that's best." Para rhymed, while drawing his next card. "For next turn, I'll win us this contest!"
"Jaden…" Cyrus looked desperately to his partner.
"Listen to me Cy. One draw is all it takes to turn things around and win." Jaden began. "Remember the last time you had one last draw?"
Cyrus perked up, when he recalled the exact moment Jaden was talking about. "Alright, but still. The only win is if I draw that card…" Cyrus closed his eyes, as he picked the top card of his deck. "Jaden!"
"You drew it!?" Jaden asked excitedly, only to receive an excited nod from his partner. "Alright buddy, show 'em the drill!"
"Alright, I summon Drilloid in attack mode!" Cyrus said, summoning a cartoonish looking drill-like monster. Atk-1600
"And when Drilloid attacks a monster in defense mode, he's automatically destroyed!" Cyrus' confidence began to rise once again, as the Paradox looked to one another in shock. "So open wide!" Drilloid rushed at Gate Guardian.
"Defense Wall!" Dox cried out. His monster intercepted the attack, and was destroyed instead.
"A nice try!" Para began to rhyme.
"But not nice enough." Dox continued.
"For Gate Guardian stands, despite your best stuff!"
"But that wasn't his best stuff, right Cy?" Jaden smirked.
"That's right, since your wall is down, your Gate Guardian is wide open! I play Shield Crush, and the name says it all! When I play it, one monster in defense mode is automatically destroyed!" Cyrus matched Jaden's smirked, as a green beam shot from his card, destroying Gate Guardian.
"Gate Guardian is cooked!" Para groaned.
"I can hardly look!" Dox finished.
"Nice going Cy! The bigger they brawl, the harder they fall!" Jaden exclaimed, while the crowd cheered. All except for Dr. Crowler and Chazz.
"No! This is supposed to be a punishment, and the crowd is treating them like heroes! Chancellor Shepard, please tell me you're seeing this!" Crowler ground his teeth once more.
Chancellor Shepard had a bright smile on his face. "I am Crowler, this duel is showing teamwork and duel fortitude. Good job."
"Fried cheese here I come!" Chumley cheered, while Zane simply grunted. Though there was a smile on the Obelisks face. A small one, but a smile none the less.
"Did you see that!? Tell my you saw that!"
"Yes Bastion! We saw that!" Alexis cheered, once again unknowingly gripping Yuki's hand.
"Great move Cy!" Yuki called out!
"I place one card face down." Cyrus said, giving Yuki a thumbs up. "Thanks for the pep talk."
"Thanks for the sweet move." Jaden replied.
"Mind if we join in on the praise you two?" Para asked, his tone making Jaden and Cyrus nervous.
"For in destroying out monster, we should really…"
"Thank you!" Boh brothers finished.
"They say what doesn't destroy you, makes you stronger." Para began, selecting a card from his hand. "We believe this is true. After all we aren't destroyed, and we are about to become more powerful than ever! I play the spell card Dark Element! This card can only be activated when Gate Guardian is in the graveyard, and by paying half our life points it allows us to summon a monster that cannot be destroyed in battle! Dark Guardian!"
Paradox Brothers LP-3500
A hole opened up in front of the brothers, and a large dark armored warrior crawled out from the hole. Atk-3800
"Invincible in battle, and has those attack points?" Bastion was floored.
"Okay, this is bad." Yumei's foot was rapidly taping once again.
"Now, Dark Guardian attack Drilloid!" Para's monster raised his axe to strike Cyrus' monster.
"This is it! If this attack connects, it's all over!" Bastion looked away, while both Yuki and Alexis clenched the others hand out of fear.
"Not yet! I activate a trap card, Hero Barrier! Sorry fellas, but this card allows me to stop one attack so long as I have one Hero monster on my field. And as you can see, I still have Sparkman!" Jaden smirked, while a blue barrier appeared in front of Jaden and Cyrus' monsters that deflected Dark Guardian's attack.
Jaden's move caused Yuki and Alexis to sigh in relief, only to blush furiously when they realized they were holding hands and quickly letting go, turning their attention back to the duel.
"An impressive trap card." Para began.
"I never thought they would fight this hard." Dox finished.
"I know, we bombard and bombard. But at least our precious Dark guardian…"
"Has kept up his guard!"
Para smirked once again. "Quite right brother, he will blast them to shards!"
"He'll finish them off next turn…"
"And this duel will be ours!" The brothers rhymed in unison yet again.
'Oh man, just when I step up my game, they step up theirs even more' Cyrus thought.
"Chin up Cy, this duel isn't over yet." Jaden was still smirking.
"But Jaden…"
"But nothing pal. Chin up." 'Because you're about to get a good view as to what I'm about to do next.'
"It looks like the boy still wants to proceed." Para began, which made Yuki and Yumei both roll their eyes at the constant rhyming.
"I thought it would be for mercy, he would surely plead." Dox rhymed.
"No, it would seem he would need smarts to know when to concede." Para smirked, which irritated Jaden.
"Can it you two! It's my turn, and I activate the spell card Pot of Greed giving me two new cards. And next I'll play the field spell card Fusion Gate, which means I no longer need my Polymarization card. So I'm gonna fuse my Elemental Hero's Sparkman, Avian, and Bubblemn and summon Elemental Hero Tempest!"
Jaden's new monster was a tall male hero with blue armor, green hair and visor, a cannon on his right arm, and green metallic wings. Atk-2800
"Impressive move, but it's useless boy!" Para began.
"For Dark Guardian is still deployed! And since in battle he cannot be destroyed!" Dox filled in.
"Your beast is null and void!"
"Void this! Skyscraper!" Jaden discarded his Fusion Gate card, and inserted his new field spell, causing multiple buildings to spring up around the duelists. "Now when a weaker Hero monster attacks a stronger monster, they'll get a 1000 attack point boost!"
Elemental Hero Tempest Atk-3800
"Now Tempest attack! Powerhouse Plummet!"
"Didn't I warn you that in battle, he can't be beat? You monster is wasted, so just accept…"
"Your defeat!"
"Cy can you spare a card?" Jaden asked, while Tempest and Dark Guardian clashed.
"Sure!"
"Alright, I activate Tempests special ability!" Jaden exclaimed, while Cyrus' face down card vanished. "By sacrificing one of our cards, he can survive being destroyed in battle!"
"I don't get it, what was he hoping for? A tie?" Alexis asked.
"I'm not entirely sure." Yuki shrugged.
Zane however was not confused, in fact there was an actual smile on his face. "Good move. Now let's see if Cyrus knows what to do next."
"Jaden, what are you up to?" Cyrus asked.
"Relax Cy, it'll work out so long as you draw the right card on your next turn." Jaden smiled.
"If he has a next turn!" Dox exclaimed as he drew his next card. "I activate the spell card One on One Fight! This forces our strongest monsters to do battle!"
"But why? It'll be a tie." Cyrus was clearly confused at Dox's strategy.
"I have my reasons." Dox replied, as Dark Guardian and Tempest clashed again.
"And they're sneaky reason at that." Alexis said. "Jaden will have to keep discarding cards to keep Tempest on the field."
"And all he's got left is Skyscraper." Yuki's tone was filled with worry, as Jaden discarded his field spell.
Elemental Hero Tempest Atk-2800
"So you saved your monster, but not your life points!" Dox exclaimed, while Jaden and Cyrus' life points dropped.
Jaden/Cyrus LP-700
"That's all from me." Dox said, finishing his turn.
"And next turn, I will finish it. Just wait and see." Para rhymed.
"This duel will be ours I guarantee!"
"Alright Cy, remember what I told you. It all depends on if you play the right card." Jaden said, while Cyrus gave a nod of understanding.
'Play a card… wait, that's it!' In that moment, something finally made sense to Cyrus. Something he had asked Zane a long time ago. The difference between knowing how to use a card, and knowing how to play it was something that could never be taught. It took a moment of clarity. When dueling on a whole other level, all the angles, all the pieces. One wouldn't think. They'd just act.
'Alright, no more thinking. It's time for action!' A look of determination suddenly replaced Cyrus' nervous expression. Cyrus drew his next card. "Alright, here we go! I sacrifice Drilloid, and summon UFOroid in attack mode!" Drilloid vanished, to be replace by a cartoonish looking space saucer. Atk-1200
"And next I activate the spell Power Bond! It's a spell card that allows me to summon a strong machine-type monster! And I know just the monsters to fuse! You mind Jaden?"
"What's mine is yours buddy!" Jaden smiled.
"Alright, I'll fuse Tempest and UFOroid with Power Bond, and summon UFOroid Fighter!" Cyrus' fusion monster looked as if Tempest had just leapt onto the top of UFOroid. However, the attack points were more than enough to offset the silly appearance of the monster. Atk-4000
"It matters not, so cease your useless prattle!" Para began.
"You know Dark Guardian cannot be destroyed in battle!" Dox finished.
Cyrus now had a smirk that matched Jaden's. "It doesn't really matter, since Power Bond Doubles my monsters attack!"
UFOroid Fighter Atk-8000
"To make 8000!?" The brothers gasped in surprise!
"Sure your monster will survive, but your life points won't! Go UFOroid Fighter! Cosmic Flux Blast!" Cyrus' monster raised his arm cannon, and unleashed a powerful blast, which hit Dark Guardian and continued onto the Paradox Brothers.
Paradox Brothers LP-0000
The packed arena went crazy with cheering students. Yuki and Alexis hugged one another, before letting go and joining Yumei, and Yuri in rushing the stage to congratulate their friends.
"No!" Crowler growled in dismay. "How could they have won!?"
"Obviously because of your splendid teaching." Professor banner said, walking up to Dr. Crowler with his large cat in his arms. "Oh wait, they're in my dorm." Banner laughed, as Pharoah licked Crowler's face, causing him to panic.
"That furball licked me! Does he have rabies!? Call the pound!"
"We did it Cy!" Jaden cheered, before the two were nearly tackled by their friends, and it took some time before Chancellor Shepard was able to separate them.
"Well done you two!" There was a bight smile on his face. "You've proven you deserve to stay at this academy!"
"Oh yeah, that reminds me!" Jaden turned his attention to the Paradox Brothers. "That was a sweet duel, I hope we can have a rematch someday~"
"Well said Jaden!" Shepard clapped the Slifer student on the shoulder. "And I'm sure it will sound even better written. I'd like a five page paper on what you've learned on dueling today."
"Talk about a bummer." Jaden groaned, which made Shapard laugh jovially.
"How about ten pages then?"
'Id like to think I impressed you today Zane. But I know I have a ways to go before I'm at your level. But at least I know I can do it here.' Cyrus thought as he looked up to where his brother was standing.
Zane was still smiling, as he walked away.