Disclaimer: Still don't own Yugioh GX, etc, etc...
Here we are, part 2 of Jeremy & Jaden vs Kagemaru.
Side note: I've decided that I'm at some point I'm going to make a side story (or maybe re-do chapter 1) to list each character's made-up cards.
And now, lights, camera... action!
Rise of the Sacred Beasts - Part 2
Last time on Yugioh GX - The Samurai Kid…
Jeremy: After Chazz got his butt kicked by Alexis in a duel, the ground started shaking, which we figured meant that the thing Banner warned us about was going down.
Jaden: Then the spirit keys dragged Chazz into the forest, we ran after him, Chazz hit a tree, and the spirit keys flew off into these pillars that popped out of the ground.
Jeremy: Kagemaru, some really old man in a wacky test tube, dropped down from a plane, took the Sacred Beasts, and challenged me and Jaden to a duel.
Jaden: We managed to destroy the first Sacred Beast and we were doing alright, but Kagemaru kept bringing it back.
Jeremy: Then he pulled out the second Sacred Beast, things were going downhill, and they started absorbing the power from all our friends' cards, and he used that power to become young again.
Jaden: And now the duel for the fate of the world continues. So… no pressure.
Jeremy's field: Grandmaster of the Six Samurai (5/2100/800), Six Samurai United (2 bushido counters)
3 cards in hand
LP: 1600
Jaden's field: Empty
4 cards in hand
LP: 1500
Kagemaru's field: Uria, Lord of Searing Flames (10/5000/5000), Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder (10/4000/4000), Fallen Paradise
2 cards in hand
LP: 4800
Jaden grimaced as he looked at everyone's field. 'Staring down two Sacred Beasts with no monster on my field… not good.'
'I don't like the looks of this…' Jeremy thought to himself. 'Here's to hoping I get something good, because I'm not gonna hold out for long with just Grandmaster.'
"Daunting, isn't it?" Kagemaru taunted the two Slifer boys. "But fear not, my Sacred Beasts will end this for you soon."
"Don't bet on it." Jeremy drew his next card, then nodded to himself. "I play The Warrior Returning Alive to grab Hand of the Six Samurai from my graveyard, and then I'll summon her." The female warrior returned to the field. (3/1600/1000) (SSU: 3 counters) "Then I activate Polymerization, fusing Hand, a fire attribute monster, with Grandmaster to create Bushido's Apprentice - Firestorm." Jeremy's monsters merged together to form the fiery armoured woman, who kneeled down. (6/2200/1300) (SSU: 4 counters) "That's it for now."
"My turn," Jaden declared. "And I summon my old pal Bubbleman." A mass of bubbles rose from the ground, announcing Bubbleman's arrival. (4/800/1200) "And because he hates being alone, if I summon him and he's the only card on my field, I get to draw two more. Then I play my own Polymerization, fusing Bubbleman with Avian and Sparkman to summon Elemental Hero Tempest." The three heroes swirled together for a moment, then formed the powerful fusion monster. (8/2800/2800) "Then I'll throw down a couple of face-downs."
Kagemaru laughed at this. "Two face-downs and a couple of weak monsters? That's your big move? That's how you plan to stop my two Sacred Beasts? Please, don't insult them. After all, it's these monsters that will soon empower me to rule the world."
"Man, you love hearing yourself talk, don't you?" Jeremy shot back.
Kagemaru merely scoffed and drew his next card. "Now then, where were we? Oh yes, due to Fallen Paradise, I can draw two cards from my deck. Next I'll use Uria's effect." Uria let out a loud roar, destroying one of Jaden's set cards, a trap that showed a muscular man in a blue super suit with an 'H' on his chest.
"Thanks," Jaden said. "Since you destroyed my Hero Medal, I can shuffle it into my deck then draw a card."
"No matter. Hamon, strike down his Tempest." Hamon shot several lightning bolts up into the sky, which rained down on Tempest, causing an explosion and kicking up a dust cloud around him.
"Hold on," Jaden interrupted as his remaining face-down disappeared. "By sending a card to the graveyard, Tempest can't be destroyed in battle." The dust cleared to reveal Jaden's hero was still there. "That means Hamon's effect doesn't activate, so I take no damage."
"In that case I'll have Uria destroy Firestorm instead."
"Hey, she's got an effect of her own," Jeremy spoke up. "When I don't have any spell or trap cards out, I can play traps straight from my hand, like Spirit Barrier."
"That still won't make a difference. Go, Hyper Blaze!"
Jaden loudly cleared his throat. "Ahem! Did I forget to mention? Tempest can use his effect to protect monsters other than himself. So I'll send Spirit Barrier to the graveyard, which means Firestorm can't be destroyed either." Jeremy's trap turned into red energy that surrounded Firestorm, shielding her from Uria's attack.
"Hmph. I place three cards face-down. It's only a matter of time before your defenses crumble."
"We'll just see about that," Jeremy countered. "I summon the Six Samurai Nisashi." The green armoured samurai appeared kneeling next to Firestorm. (4/1400/700) (SSU: 5 counters) "Then I'll send Six Samurai United to the graveyard, and since it had five bushido counters, I get to draw that many cards. And here's one of em, Fusion Recovery, which I'll use to grab Hand of the Six Samurai and Polymerization from my graveyard. Next I'll play Polymerization to fuse Hand with Nisashi, a wind attribute monster. Now I summon Bushido's Apprentice - Typhoon." A fusion portal appeared behind Nisashi, sucking in both him and Hand of the Six Samurai, then it spat out the green, masked warrior who crouched down next to his compatriot. (6/2300/2300) "Next I'll switch Firestorm to attack mode…" The red woman got to her feet. (6/2200/1300) "And before anyone says anything about attack points, I'll play Soul Release, which means I can target five cards in any graveyard and remove them from play. And guess which ones I'm going for?"
"I play Jar of Avarice and Solemn Wishes," Kagemaru butt in. "Now I gain 500 life-points every time I draw a card, and Jar of Avarice allows me to shuffle 5 cards from my graveyard into my deck, then draw one. And I'll put my trap cards back in my deck so they won't be removed from play."
Kagemaru: 4800-5300
"That may be, but now you've got one just one trap card trap in your graveyard, so Uria loses a few points." (10/5000-1000/5000-1000) "Firestorm, take em out." The red warrior woman drew her flaming blade and jumped up at Uria, slashing its throat, defeating the Sacred Beast one more time.
Kagemaru: 5300-4100
"I end my turn."
"My turn again," Jaden said. "I play Pot of Greed to draw two cards. Then I summon Elemental Hero Wildheart in attack mode." The tattooed tribal hero let out a war cry as he made his appearance. (4/1500/1600) "And thanks to him, I can play the spell Wild Half. This cuts Hamon in half and summons a token with the same points." Hamon shrunk in size and a copy appeared next to him. (10/4000-2000/4000-2000) (10/2000/2000) "Finally, I play Heated Heart to give Wildheart 500 extra attack points." (4/1500-2000/1600) "Wildheart, destroy that token." Wildheart brandished his sword and leapt at his enemy, striking it down just as it called forth a lightning bolt in retaliation. "Now Tempest will take out the other one." Tempest raised his cannon arm and fired a blast of energy that destroyed Hamon.
Kagemaru: 4100-3300
"I'll place this card face-down and call it a turn."
"Nice moves, Jaden," Jeremy said, giving him a thumbs up.
"I think we're getting the hang of this."
"Is that so?" Kagemaru said forebodingly as he drew his next card. "We'll just see about that."
Kagemaru: 3300-3800
"First, I discard a trap to summon back Uria." The pillar of flames shot up again and Uria returned to the field. (10/1000-2000/1000-2000) "Now I can use Fallen Paradise to draw two cards."
Kagemaru: 3800-4300
"Then I'll activate Spell Absorption, along with a second one."
Kagemaru: 4300-4800
"Next I play Graceful Charity, drawing 3 cards and discarding 2. This grants me 1000 points for Spell Absorption, and 500 for Solemn Wishes."
Kagemaru: 4800-6300
"And because one of the cards I got rid of was Repayment of Loses, I can draw again."
Kagemaru: 6300-6800
"Then I reveal my second Jar of Avarice, and return five spells to my deck so I can draw one card."
Kagemaru: 6800-7300
(10/2000-3000/2000-3000) "And I'm not finished yet. I activate Magic Planter, sacrificing Solemn Wishes to draw two cards.
Kagemaru: 7300-8300
(10/3000-4000/3000-4000) "And of course, Uria gains another thousand points. Then I play Book of Life to bring back Spirit Reaper I discarded and banish Hand of the Six Samurai from Jeremy's grave." Jeremy pocketed his card as the small zombie in purple robes appeared before Kagemaru, crouched down and holding its scythe. (3/300/200)
Kagemaru: 8300-9300
"I've got a bad feeling about all this," Syrus muttered.
"With all the cards he's playing, I hope he's not about to do what I think he is," Christine added, looking grim.
"Now this is where it gets interesting," Kagemaru said with a grin. "Go, Different Dimension Gate. To activate this spell, I have to target a monster on each side of the field, then those monsters are banished. So I'll remove Spirit Reaper, Firestorm and Tempest."
kagemaru: 9300-10300
Jaden and Jeremy grimaced as their monsters were removed from the field.
"Finally, I play Monster Reincarnation, discarding a card to add a monster back to my hand."
Kagemaru: 10300-11300
Jeremy's face fell as Uria returned to its previous power level. (10/4000-5000/4000-5000) "Oh no…"
"Don't tell me…" Jaden moaned.
Kagemaru let out a dark laugh at their expressions. "I sacrifice Different Dimension Gate and both copies of Spell Absorption to summon Hamon once more." The three spells formed an ice pillar again, from which Hamon returned to the field. (10/4000/4000) "And as an added bonus, since Different Dimension Gate wasn't destroyed, the monsters I banished don't return to the field. Now I'm going to wage an attack with Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder. Go, Cerulean Sky Fire." Hamon brought down a flurry of lightning bolts that destroyed Jeremy's warrior. "Then I'll activate Hamon's effect. Since he just destroyed your monster, he also deals 1000 damage straight to you, Jeremy."
"Hang on, Jeremy!" Syrus called out.
Another lightning bolt fell down from the sky, striking Jeremy directly. The blond boy screamed in pain, before he was blown off his feet and tossed like a rag doll, landing several feet away.
Jeremy: 1600-600
"I'm… still… in this…" Jeremy stubbornly insisted, getting up onto his knees.
Kagemaru chuckled. "Not for much longer. In fact, you're both about to lose everything."
"Yeah? How'd you… figure that?"
"Because I have one more card to play. Mischief of the Time Goddess, meaning the duel skips straight to the battle phase of my next turn."
Jeremy stared up at the two Sacred Beasts. "… shit."
"Hamon, finish him off." Hamon reared its head back and roared.
"It's all over!" Sheppard exclaimed.
"They're done for!" Bastion said.
"Not so fast, Kagemaru!" Jaden interrupted. "I play my spell card, Flute of Summoning Kuriboh. It lets me summon Winged Kuriboh from my deck." Jaden's furry winged friend appeared on the field… (1/300/200)… just in time to intercept the lightning before it hit Jeremy. "Now we don't take any battle damage for the rest of the turn."
Kagemaru growled in annoyance. "So be it. But you still take damage from Hamon's effect." Another lightning bolt fell from the sky, striking Jaden and blasting him off his feet.
jaden: 1500-500
"This is… ugh… getting old," Jaden said as he sat up, clutching his chest.
"Coo!" Jaden saw Winged Kuriboh's spirit floating next to his head, waving a paw at his deck. He looked down and saw one of his cards glow before it popped out of the top of his deck. Jaden pulled out the card in question and had a surprised expression when he saw what it was. "It's Banner's card. The one that was in that book of his."
Jeremy realized the same was happening to him and drew his own card. "Hey, I got his card too." He looked over at Jaden's spirit partner, who waved at him before fading away. "Thanks, Winged Kuriboh."
The two of them stood and Jaden looked across the field at Kagemaru. "You know… I've gotta a hunch that he wanted us to have it, so we could beat you."
"You give him too much credit. He was a dullard, a simple pawn I used."
"Hey!" Jeremy snapped. "I might not agree with his methods, but Banner wasn't your pawn! He believed in something other than himself. He gave up his life so we'd be able to stop you. And mark my words, we will."
"Hahahahaha. You'll soon see that his efforts were all for naught. Once I win this duel and take your souls… my reign's assured."
"That's why you won't win!" Jeremy said, drawing his next card. "I'll start with Graceful Charity." Jeremy looked at his cards for a moment, before discarding a trap card and Shien's Footsoldier. 'Sorry buddy,' he thought as he placed his spirit partner's card in the grave. "Then I discard Shien's Tactician to add Gateway of the Six to my hand, and I'll activate it, along with a second copy." The black gateway appeared behind Jeremy, but with two symbols of the Six Samurai.
"Shame he lost Hand of the Six Samurai," Erik said. "With a double Gateway she could nuke Kagemaru's field."
"He still seems confident," Christine remarked. "I'm sure he's got something planned."
"With that done, I activate Monster Reborn to bring back Shien's Tactician I just discarded." (4/1700/1000). (Gateway: 6 counters) "Since he's treated as a Six Samurai, each gateway gains two bushido counters, plus I get two more with his effect. Then I'll use my Gateway's second effect, removing 4 counters to add a Six Samurai from my deck or grave to my hand. And since I picked Grandmaster, I'll summon him right back." The veteran samurai returned to the field. (5/2100/800) "Then I'll use it again, this time to grab Yariza. And I'm gonna summon him too." The dark blue samurai joined his allies, spear at the ready. (3/1000/500) "And just for fun, I'm gonna use the first effect. So for every two counters, a Six Samurai or Shien monster gains 500 attack points." Yariza raised his weapon in the air as he powered up. (3/1000-2500/500) (Gateway: 0 counters)
"Pathetic. He can't even scratch my Sacred Beasts," Kagemaru declared.
"Doesn't need to, because thanks to his friends, he's going straight for you." Yariza hurled his spear, which flew across the field and struck Kagemaru, drawing a grunt from the man.
Kagemaru: 11300-8800
Yariza then pulled back on the cable attached to his spear, returning the weapon to his hand. "That's my turn." (3/2500-1000/500)
"My turn. I play Legacy of a Hero. Since I have at least two level 4 or higher Elemental Heroes in my grave, I can draw three cards. Then I play The Warrior Returning Alive to add Bubbleman from my grave to my hand, and now I'll summon him." Another mass of bubbles rose on the field as Bubbleman returned. (4/800/1200) "And since he's all alone on my field, I can draw two more cards. And here's one of them, Elemental Recovery. Thanks to this, as long as I control an Elemental Hero, I can remove one Polymerization from my grave to add a spell to his hand. So I'll grab Legacy of a Hero and play it another again for 3 more cards. Next up, the spell card Metamorphosis. Now I can sacrifice my Bubbleman to summon a fusion monster that's the same level as he is. Such as… Elemental Hero Neo Bubbleman." Light rippled around Bubbleman as he began to change. His helmet became narrower and sleek, his cape disappeared, and fins sprouted from his back, wrists, helmet and his blaster. (4/800/1200)
Kagemaru crossed his arms and gave Jaden a smug smirk. "Hmph. You've just sacrificed one weakling for another."
"Oh yeah? Guess it's a good thing I have this, Bubble Blaster!" Neo Bubbleman caught the water bazooka as it appeared in the air above him, setting it on his shoulder. (4/800-1600/1200) "Now go, Neo Bubbleman, attack Hamon with Bubble Slamming Stream!" Jaden's hero fired a jet of water from his new weapon.
"You think that little water gun makes a difference? Hamon, strike back!" A lightning bolt fell on Hamon, who reared its head back and roared, then fired a blast of yellow energy that slammed into the incoming attack. The two monster were locked in a stalemate for a second, until the water jet powered through and blasted Hamon. "Hamon! He's been destroyed!"
"Got that right," Jaden said. "It's Neo Bubbleman's special ability. When he battles with a monster, that monster's destroyed."
"But Hamon was stronger, so you should still take damage."
"Shoulda, woulda, coulda… Sorry, but by just destroying Bubble Blaster, all damage you would've done becomes zero." (4/1600-800/1200)
"Nice move," Sheppard commented.
"That's what I would've done," Chumley said.
"Way to play, Jay!" Syrus cheered.
"Next I'll throw down a face-down and call it a turn."
"Your last turn. First, due to Fallen Paradise I can draw two cards." Kagemaru drew his cards and paused for a moment as he looked across the field at the two Slifers. 'I could finish off Jeremy now, then I'd stop him from attacking me directly, although I have enough life-points to take a few hits. On the other hand, they would've been finished last turn if it weren't for Jaden, and his Bubbleman might be a problem…' "Uria, finish off Jaden. Hyper Blaze!" Uria reared its head back, then spat out a stream of fire at Neo Bubbleman.
"Do your stuff, Bubble Illusion!" Jaden's face-down was revealed to be a spell that showed Bubbleman in a magician's outfit. "See, when Bubbleman's on the field and I use this, I can play a trap straight from my hand. And I choose this one, Hero's Rule 1: Five Freedoms. Five traps now leave the graveyard."
Kagemaru's eyes widened in surprise. "What!?"
"That's right, removed from the game. And this time you've got no Jar of Avarice at the ready."
"Well done," Bastion said. "With those traps now gone, Uria's attack points will go down dramatically."
"Yeah, a thousand per trap card," Chazz pitched in. "Which means Uria's new attack points will be-"
"Zero," Crowler finished for him. "Nothing. A big fat goose egg."
Uria's flames withered away completely. (10/5000-0/5000-4000)
"Nice one, Jay," Jeremy commented.
"Thanks. Now, Neo Bubbleman has the edge in this fight. So let 'im have it."
Kagemaru looked nervous as Neo Bubbleman aimed his water gun at Uria. Jaden's hero then fired a blast from his weapon that sent the Sacred Beast back to the graveyard.
Kagemaru: 8800-8000
Kagemaru growled angrily at this. "You're only postponing the inevitable! You can't stop the beasts! Especially when I play this, Resurrection Tribute. Since my monster was destroyed in battle, I can destroy one of yours, meaning that Bubbleman will now burst." Neo Bubbleman suddenly exploded in a shower of pixels. "But there's more… I also get to summon back a monster from my grave to the field in defense mode. So rise again… Hamon!" Several lightning bolts struck the ground behind him, kicking up a large cloud of dust, and a moment later Hamon was back. (10/4000/4000) "And next I'll activate Uria's special effect, discarding a trap from my hand so that Uria resurrects." A giant pillar of fire burst from the ground, taking the shape of the red beast. (10/1000/1000)
"Not again," Alexis groaned. "How many times do Jaden and Jeremy have to destroy those things?"
"And then I'll play Card of Demise to draw until I hold five cards. Then I'll activate the spell Phantasmal Martyrs. When Uria and Hamon are both out, I can send two cards from my hand to the graveyard, and then I can summon three of these: Phantasmal Martyr tokens." Three dark fiends with bat like wings appeared on the field. (1/0/0) x3. "And since I just sent Repayment of Loses and Divine Wrath to the grave, I draw another card and Uria gains a thousand more points. (10/1000-2000/1000-2000) "And just like that, my two Sacred Beasts are out again. It's like you're back where you started. But you're not, because now I'm sacrificing my three tokens and summoning my last Sacred Beast. So you see… things are not the same, they're much, much worse." A pillar of bright blue light fell from the sky onto Kagemaru's field, forcing everyone to shield their eyes. "BEHOLD… RAVIEL, LORD OF PHANTASMS!" A massive blue monster emerged from the ground, with large blue wings, wicked claws, and overall looking like a twisted version of Obelisk the Tormentor. (10/4000/4000)
"Yep… this is worse," Jeremy agreed.
"Definitely not friendly," Jaden added.
Zane scowled at the sight of the three beasts. "Not good. He's gathered all three of them out at once."
Uria, Hamon and Raviel all began to glow as hundreds, thousands of golden orbs flew towards them.
At a small game shop, two young boys were looking at rows of cards in a glass display case when the images started fading. "What the…?"
"The cards… they're disappearing."
Both of them started to cry as a short elderly man in green overalls walked up to them and saw what was happening. "Oh my…"
Chazz's brothers stared in shock as their briefcase full of rare and powerful cards faded away as well. "All our cards!"
"They're vanishing…"
Chazz had a horrified look on his face as his yellow duel spirit's image decayed until there was only a skeleton. "OJAMA YELLOW!"
Des Koala decayed like Ojama Yellow, Cyber Dragon rusted, Shining Angel lost his glow and turned dark, Water Dragon dried up, and every other monster suffered similar fates.
Kagemaru laughed as he began to glow. "Yes… come to me… come to me… COME TO ME!"
Jaden blinked twice. "That's freaky."
"Oh my…" Sheppard spoke. "It's as though Kagemaru is somehow absorbing duel monsters, and using their energy."
"That's not in the rules…" Crowler whined.
"The spirits sense the two of you are close to defeat," Kagemaru gloated. "Already they're surrendering themselves to me, yielding their might, so that I can free the three Sacred Beasts and rule the world, with a new life that will be eternal."
"So then… if Jeremy and Jaden lose…" Chazz began.
"Every duel spirit out there will be sucked up," Zane finished for him.
"I don't care how powerful you or those Sacred Beasts are," Jeremy said with determination. "There's no way I'm letting you do that to my friends."
"Spirits aren't for being friends with," Kagemaru shot back. "They're for using to get what you want. And right now, what I want is to destroy you!"
"Just finish your turn so I can get back to kicking your butt."
"Hmph. I place one card face-down. Make your move, boy."
"Finally. I summon the Six Samurai Irou." Jeremy's dark samurai rose next to Grandmaster. (4/1700/1200) (Gateway: 4 counters)
"Very well, but now Raviel's special ability activates. You see, when you summon a monster, I get to summon a Sacred Beast token." A miniature copy of Raviel appeared in front of Kagemaru, crouched in a defensive stance. (1/1000/1000)
Jeremy stopped to consider his options. 'I could keep using Yariza to attack his life-points, and with Shadow of the Six Samurai in my hand I can protect myself, but he's still got a lot of life-points. If we could get those Sacred Beasts out of the way, we might be able to do some real damage.'
"Jaden… Jeremy…" a strange but familiar voice called out.
"Huh? Jay… did you hear that?"
"Yeah. It sounded like… Professor Banner?"
A glowing orb of light suddenly appeared, leaving ripples in the air like a stone breaking the water's surface. As it floated towards the two Slifers, Pharaoh meowed and jumped at it, trying to grab it. "Not now, Pharaoh! My boys… you must use the cards now!"
"But… how?" Jaden asked.
"That is for you to decide. You see, it is only as good as its owner. It will grant you three card covets. That is, it will transform into whatever card you wish three times. Then, after the third card covet, it's true power will be revealed. And, if you played your card right, it wi-" Banner was interrupted when Pharaoh jumped up and swallowed him.
"Pharaoh!" Jeremy exclaimed in irritation. The chubby feline meowed and ran away, disappearing in the same place Banner had come through, leaving ripples in the air as he vanished. Jeremy held up Banner's card and stared at it. 'So.. I just wish for a card and this turns into it? Guess it can't hurt to try.' He then closed his eyes for a second and concentrated for a few seconds.
Jeremy: 600-300
When he opened his eyes again, Jeremy was holding United we Stand. 'Whoa, that actually worked. Banner, you beautiful crazy alchemist!' "Alright, I'm using Gateway's effect to grab Nisashi from my graveyard, and discarding Shadow of the Six Samurai to summon him." A pool of shadows stretched out on the ground, from which Nisashi emerged. (4/1400/700)
"Then I get another token." A second mini-Raviel appeared next to the first. (1/1000/1000)
"What's Jeremy thinking?" Chazz wondered. "None of his monsters can survive an attack from Hamon or Raviel, and without Shadow he can't protect himself."
"Actually…" Julianne spoke up. "If he's about to do what I think he is, then Kagemaru's the one in trouble."
"Now check this out. I activate the spell United We Stand and equip it to Nisashi. And for every face-up monster I control, he gets an extra 800 points. And with five of them, that's 4000!" Nisashi let out a war cry as energy flowed from his allies into him. (3/1400-5400/700-4700)
"That can't be!" Kagemaru exclaimed in surprise. "5400 points!?"
"That's right. Now go, Samurai Storm Blade!" Nisashi raised his swords above his head, combining them to form a single weapon glowing with green energy, then brought it straight down in a slashing motion. Hurricane winds shot across the field, tearing up the ground and striking Hamon with such force that he fell to pieces. "Oh, and by the way… when he's on the field with another Six Samurai, Nisashi can attack twice per turn." Nisashi swung his sword again, calling forth another wind blast that smashed through Raviel. The green samurai then leapt across the field towards Kagemaru, but as he came down, the shattered pieces of Hamon's body floated up to form a barrier, shielding Kagemaru from any damage. "Huh?"
"A good try," Kagemaru said with a smirk. "Unfortunately for you, if Hamon is destroyed while in defense mode, all damage to me becomes zero."
"Yeah? Well unfortunately for you I can still take out the rest of your monsters." Grandmaster jumped high and stabbed his sword into Uria's forehead, while Irou and Shien's Tactician cut down the two tokens. "Then I'll use Gateway to pickup Shadow of the Six Samurai." (Gateway: 0 counters) 'Now for my second card covet…'
Jeremy: 300-150
"I'll throw this little number face-down and call it turn."
"Time to step up," Jaden declared. "I play the spell Dark Factory of Mass Production and Emergency Provisions, so I can sacrifice Dark Factory to gain a thousand life-points."
jaden: 500-1500
"Now I can take two monsters from my graveyard and add them straight to my hand. And the ones that I'm picking are Avian and Sparkman." Jaden then held Banner's card and looked at it for a second. 'Like Banner said… just wish for the card I want.' He concentrated for a second, and the card turned into Double Fusion.
Jaden: 1500-750
"Alright! I pay 500 life-points to activate Double Fusion."
Jaden: 750-250
"So I'll combine Avian and Burstinatrix to summon… the Elemental Hero Flame Wingman." Jaden's trademark hero emerged from a swirling portal. (6/2100/1200) "I'm not done yet, because Double Fusion lets me fuse twice per turn. That means the Elemental Hero Shining Flare Wingman is created!" Another fusion portal appeared, drawing in Flame Wingman and Sparkman, who emerged as the white armoured hero with razor wings. (8/2500/2100) "And guess what? Flare Wingman gets 300 attack points for each hero that I have in my graveyard. And right now there's nine." Jaden's hero began to glow as he powered up. (8/2500-5200/2100) "Now go get im! Shining Emerald Orb!" Shining Flare Wingman conjured a ball of green energy that flew at Kagemaru and exploded.
Kagemaru: 10000-4800
"Finally!" Alexis exclaimed. "They get a solid hit on this guy."
"Nice work, guys!" Sean cheered. "Keep up the pressure!"
'Alright, here's my second card covet.'
Jaden: 250-125
"Now I'll throw down a face-down and end my turn."
"And I'll begin mine. First, I activate Pot of Greed. Then I summon Dark Beckoning Beast." A small gold creature appeared, with bat like wings, a spiky tail, and gold tusks sticking out from the side of its mouth. (2/0/0) "When this creature's summoned, I can add Dark Summoning Beast from my deck to my hand, then I'm allowed to summon again, provided I summon a fiend with zero attack and defense points, such as Dark Summoning Beast." Kagemaru's monster disappeared, making way for a creature with black/grey skin, horns, long arms, red wings with grey, and a red robe covering the lower half of its body. (5/0/0) "And by sacrificing it, I can summon all three Sacred Beasts back from my graveyard, ignoring any summoning conditions."
"WHAT!?" "WHAT!?"
"But… they were just destroyed…" Chumley complained.
The fiend was surrounded by a shroud of shadows, and then three pillars of light shot into the sky in his place, one red, one yellow, and one blue. The lights expanded and changed shape, forming the three Sacred Beasts. (10/4000/4000) Raviel (10/4000/4000) Hamon (10/2000/2000) Uria.
"Aww man, aren't they ever gonna be rid of them?" Syrus whined.
"Fortunately for you, I can't attack the same turn I use this effect. However, I can still draw two cards thanks to Fallen Paradise." Kagemaru drew his cards and smirked at what he had. "Perfect. I activate the spell Chaos Healing, then I discard one card to chain my face-down, Spell Reclamation." Kagemaru's spell showed the three Sacred Beasts creating a massive orb that rejuvenated them. "With all three Sacred Beasts on my field, I gain 2000 life-points for each and draw a card, then Spell Reclamation puts Chaos Healing back in my hand."
Kagemaru: 4800-10800
(10/2000-3000/2000-3000) "Not only does Uria gain another thousand points, but I can play Chaos Healing again."
Kagemaru: 10800-16800
"Now I activate Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy one of Jeremy's Gateways." A whirlwind emerged from Kagemaru's card, blowing away one of the symbols of the Six Samurai. "Then I'll play Nightmare's Steel Cage." A huge wall of criss-crossing metal bars appeared in-between the two Slifers and Kagemaru. "This remains on the field for two of your turns, and as long as it's face-up, none of us are allowed to attack. Finally, I place one card face-down and end my turn."
"This is hopeless…" Chazz said dejectedly.
Christine frowned at the black clad Slifer. "Chazz…"
"Come on… Jaden and Jeremy destroyed those things I don't know how many times and they're still here. All the damage they've dealt… and Kagemaru's life-points are more than twice what he started with."
"The duel's not over yet," Alexis reminded him. "They can still win this. They just need something big."
"Big uglies are back, and we can't attack right now," Jeremy muttered. "Alright… I play my Pot of Greed, and of course, I get to draw two cards. Then I play Six Scrolls of the Samurai, so I can tribute Grandmaster and Shien's Tactician to summon Great Shogun Shien from my deck." The two warriors faded away, and in their place rose and red armoured warlord, who crouched down a little with his sword held in front of him. (7/2500/2400)
"If you wanted to make room, then you're about to get a lot more. I play Battle of the Elements." Kagemaru's card flipped up, revealing a trap that showed a warrior in icy armour staring down a man with a fiery mane of hair, with ice and fire clashing in the background. "When all monsters on the field are face-up, this forces all players to send monsters to the graveyard until they control only one attribute. And while my Sacred Beasts are safe, your warriors are a different story."
Jeremy bit his lip as he stared at his monsters, before sending Yariza, Nisashi and Irou to the graveyard.
"Of course, another trap in the grave means more power for Uria, and I still get a Sacred Beast token." Another mini-Raviel rose on Kagemaru's field. (10/3000-4000/3000-4000) (1/1000/1000)
'So much for that plan,' Jeremy mused. "I summon the Six Samurai Kamon in defense mode." The fiery warrior appeared next to Shogun, standing on one knee. (3/1500/1000) (gateway: 2 counters)
"That means another token." (1/1000/1000)
"I end my turn."
"I draw… and end my turn." With Jaden's turn over, Nightmare's Steel Cage vanished.
"And now I'll end you. I activate Raviel's effect. By sacrificing two monsters on my field, for this turn only, I can add those monsters' attack points to Raviel's." The two tokens vanished, their essence being absorbed by Raviel. (10/4000-6000/4000)
"So that's why he summoned those tokens…" Bastion said in realization. "To power up Raviel… and power down Jaden."
"Go Raviel! Clean your claws with that Shining Flare Wingman." Raviel roared and pulled its arm back as its claws began to glow.
"I play a face-down!" Jaden announced. "A face-down that happens to be the second card I wished for, De-Fusion!" Raviel then brought it's claws down on Flare Wingman, though it missed when he suddenly split into Flame Wingman and Sparkman. (6/2100/1200) (4/1600/1400)
"Very well, but De-Fusion counts as two summonings, which means two tokens for me." Two more mini copies of Raviel appeared. (1/1000/1000) x2 "Now Raviel, destroy the Elemental Hero Flame Wingman with Shimmering Scrapper." Raviel pulled back its arm again, but this time when it brought it down Jaden's Wingman did not survive. "Uria, finish off the other one. Hyper Blaze!" Uria spat out a blast of fire, incinerating Sparkman. "And now Hamon, destroy Shogun with Cerulean Sky Fire."
"Not so fast!" Jeremy interrupted as Hamon raised it's head to attack. "I play the second card I wished for, Book of Moon. This puts Hamon into face-down defense mode, so your attack's cancelled out." Hamon vanished and was replaced by a face-down card.
"You may have saved yourself, but who's going to save Jaden?"
"What are you talking about?"
"This. I play Impact Revive. During my second main phase, I can choose a monster that was destroyed this turn and summon it to its owner's field with an extra 500 attack points." Sparkman returned to the field. (4/1600-2100/1400)
"But why would you do that?" Jaden wondered.
"Because, I get another battle phase this turn. Go Uria, finish him off!"
"You wish," Jeremy said. "By sending Shadow of the Six Samurai from my hand to the graveyard, Jaden's damage this turn becomes zero." Uria blasted Sparkman again, but the shadowy warrior appeared in front of Jaden, protecting him from the flames.
Jaden looked at Jeremy and gave him a thumbs up. "Thanks man."
"Hey, you saved me. I figure it's only fair I return the favour."
Kagemaru growled. "Grrr! I'm not finished! I can still destroy your monster with Raviel. Crush his Shogun!"
"Nope. See, I'm gonna use Shogun's effect to destroy Kamon instead." Kamon sprung up and jumped in front of Shien, taking the hit for him. "Was that all?"
Raviel's attack points returned to normal as Kagemaru ended his turn. (10/6000-4000/4000)
"Good. I play Shien's Blessing to summon back Zanji and Shien's Tactician in defense mode." The two warriors returned to the field, kneeling down. (4/1700/1000) (4/1800/1300) (gateway: 6) "Then I'll sacrifice Zanji to summon Izura - Shien's Guard." The female defender appeared next to Shien. (5/0/3000) "Thanks to her effect, by discarding Yaichi, I can grab Shien's pet from my deck. Finally, I use my Gateway's third effect, removing six counters to summon a Shien effect monster from his grave." Shien's Footsoldier rose from the ground, giving Jeremy a two finger salute. (2/700/300) 'My last card covet…'
jeremy: 150-75
"I play… Six Samurai Summoning. With this, I fuse Shien's Footsoldier, Shien's Guard, Shien's Pet, Shien's Tactician, and Great Shogun Shien himself." Jeremy's monsters turned into energy that intertwined and flew up into the sky. "Now presenting… The Great Six Samurai Dragon!" A booming roar was heard up in the clouds, then Jeremy's dragon flew down, hovering above Jeremy's field. (10/4500/1500) 'Alright Banner, that's my third card covet. Let's see what this baby can do.' Banner's card began to glow. "I play Sabatiel - The Philosopher's Stone." A glowing rainbow colored amulet attached itself to the dragon's forehead. "And when it's equipped to a dragon that's level 10 or higher, I can banish two monsters from my extra deck, and give him their attack points and effects." The ghostly images of Radiant and Tremor appeared next to the dragon and were absorbed into the amulet. (10/4500-7600/1500)
"Now that's big," Christine remarked.
"And it gets even bigger," Syrus added.
"Now let's show that Slifer the Sky Dragon knock off what a real dragon can do." As Jeremy's dragon flew up high above the Sacred Beasts, the amulet on its forehead began to glow brighter. "By the way, thanks to Radiant's effect, my dragon gains 400 points for every Six Samurai in my grave whenever he gets in a fight. And with ten of them, that's 4000!" (10/7600-11600/1500-5500)
Kagemaru's eyes bugged out, but before he could say anything, Jeremy's dragon thrust its head downward and unleashed an inferno of biblical proportions that blocked the man's entire field from view. When things cleared up, Uria had been obliterated and Kagemaru was down on one knee.
Kagemaru: 16800-9200
Jeremy's dragon then flew back to his side of the field. (10/11600-7600/5500-1500) "Your turn Jay. Now let's finish this."
"You got it! I summon Elemental Hero Clayman." Jaden's stony hero appeared on the field." (4/800/2000)
A third mini-Raviel joined the other two. (1/1000/1000)
'Alright, this is it. My last card covet…'
Jaden: 125-63
"I play… Miracle Fusion! Thanks to this, I can take monsters from my field and grave and combine em to create a fusion monster. So I'll remove Bubbleman, Avian and Burstinatrix that's in my graveyard, and the Clayman that's on my field, to summon… Elemental Hero Electrum!" The three heroes emerged from Jaden's grave to join Clayman, then they all swirled around each other until Jaden's golden hero was standing in their place. (10/2900/2600) Jaden then held up Banner's card, which began to glow. "Now I'll play Sabatiel - The Philosopher's Stone." A massive double bladed sword appeared in front of Electrum, who grabbed it with both hands. "And because Electrum's a level ten warrior, his attack points are multiplied by the number of monsters you have on your field, and that would be five. So Electrum's new attack points are now…"
(10/2900-14500/2600)
Kagemaru stared in surprise. "14500!?"
"It's over. Now go, Hero Electrum! Seal his fate!" The golden hero jumped high into the air, crossing the field in a single bound. As he came down towards Raviel, he swung his new weapon, drawing a line into its body as he split it perfectly in two. Raviel stood still for a second, then light shone from the crack and it suddenly burst in a massive explosion. When the smoke and dust cleared, Kagemaru was down on his knees.
Kagemaru: 9200-0
"Impossible! The Sacred Beasts can't be defeated! NOOOOO!"
With the duel now over, the holograms faded and the terrain and sky returned to normal.
"Come on, Jeremy!" Jaden exclaimed, walking over to his friend and holding an arm out. "Put er there."
Jeremy smiled and the two of them grasped hands, giving each other a hearty pat on the back. "Now that… was a sick duel. Thanks for having my back, Jay-man."
The two of them separated and Jaden grinned. "Right back atcha, buddy."
The two Slifers' attention was caught by Kagemaru, who was glowing with a blue aura as all the energy he'd absorbed flowed out of his body.
At the game shop, the two boys who'd been crying about the cards disappearing perked up when the pictures returned. "Whoa…"
"They're back to normal!"
The old man let out a sigh of relief. "Whew."
In their office, Chazz's brother's cards returned to normal as well. "Hey look. They've come back."
"Too bad we can't dock them pay for time missed," the other commented dryly.
And on Academy Island, everyone cheered as their cards returned to life, which included a certain annoying yellow duel spirit. "You're back…" Chazz said.
Ojama Yellow jumped out of his card and perched himself on Chazz's shoulder. "Oh, you ain't ever gonna get rid of me, boss!"
Jaden and Jeremy looked down at their copies of Banner's card, which were still glowing. "Man… what a card…" Jaden muttered.
The faint sound of Banner's voice laughing was heard as the cards glowed brighter for a second, and then vanished into nothingness. "Thanks, Professor Banner," Jeremy said, looking up at the sky. "We couldn't have done it without you."
"What the…?" Jaden approached Kagemaru as he groaned. "Are you…?" Kagemaru remained still for a second, and then he yelled at the top of his lungs as the aura surrounding him shot into the sky. When he was gone, he'd shrivelled up and aged into the old man that he'd been before.
"Dear me…" Sheppard said in surprise.
"Whoa…" Chumley muttered.
"It's true, I'm an old man," Kagemaru bemoaned sadly, lifting his head up to look at Jaden, and Jeremy who stood a little behind him with a disgruntled expression. "I only wanted what every old man wants… to be young again."
"I can understand wanting to be young, but this is taking a bit far…" Lyna muttered under her breath.
"No kidding…" Julianne replied.
"Harnessing the power of the Sacred Beasts… that was the only way I found to do it."
"Yeah, and to take over the world," Jaden shot back.
"Can't you forgive a decrepit old soul?" Kagemaru begged, grabbing onto Jaden's Slifer jacket and trying to pull himself up. "His delusions of grandeur?" The old man looked from Jaden to Jeremy with pleading eyes before he slid back to the ground.
Jeremy grumbled unhappily and kicked a stray rock. "This'd be a lot more satisfying if we could just kick his butt."
"Don't you see, old timer?" Jaden said. "Stealing from something or someone isn't the way to feel alive again. You gotta find the strength in yourself."
"I can't… it's too late for that."
Jaden gave him a genuine smile. "It's never too late. Come on, try and get up. Right now. Just go for it! Give it your all!"
Somehow finding the strength within himself, Kagemaru grabbed onto Jaden and managed to pull himself up until he was standing on his own two feet. "Ah… Oh… Look, I'm standing!" He exclaimed happily.
Jeremy walked over to Jaden's side, shaking his head a little. "Jay… you are such a hopeless optimist…"
"Why thank you."
"I can't believe it… I'm standing…" Kagemaru joyfully repeated himself. "It must have been our duel. Yes, that's it! All the excitement put the spring back in my step."
Jaden grinned at his friend and gave him a nudge with his elbow. "I mean… take away the world being in danger, getting pummelled by those Sacred Beasts, and all the shadow game shenanigans… then yeah, it was fun," Jeremy admitted with some reluctance.
"Thank you so much, boys. I never would've imagined this."
Jaden opened his arms wide and hugged the old man tightly.
Jeremy sighed. "Jay, you should probably-"
"Ow, ow, ow, ow!"
"… Never mind."
A while later, everyone was watching as Kagemaru was air lifted off the island in a helicopter. "… I guess bear hugs and old people don't go so well together," Jaden remarked.
Jeremy waved his hand dismissively. "Meh, he'll be fine."
"Hey, he may have bruised a few ribs, but I bet his heart is all healed up," Atticus said cheerfully.
Chazz scoffed at this. "Some bruised ribs? He's lucky that's all he got. After everything he's put us through…"
"After all this craziness, maybe things will actually go back to normal next year," Sean suggested.
Erik snorted. "Don't bet on it."
Sheppard held up the three Sacred Beast cards and sighed in relief. "Finally… it's over." Turning around towards the pedestal that re-emerged, he placed the cards back in their place. The machine started whirring and the golden orb re-appeared around them. "From now on, the Sacred Beasts will be under my guard and mine alone." The machine and the pedestal underneath it sunk back into the ground, along with the giant pillars around them.
"It sure is going to be quiet around here now," Syrus commented.
"Oh, I wouldn't be so sure," Crowler spoke up, a small smirk on his lips. "You see… next week are the Duel Academy promotion exams."
Jaden's eyes bugged out in panic. "PROMOTION EXAM!?"
Jeremy made a strange gurgling sound at this.
Crowler looked rather satisfied as he took in their reactions. "Yes."
"Oh no! I totally forgot!" Jaden exclaimed, falling over as Crowler chuckled.
Jeremy immediately made a beeline for Christine and went down on his knees, grabbing her hands and looking up at her with desperation. "Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease…"
The corners of Christine's mouth curved up as she considered her reply. "Hmm… I could help… but it's gonna cost you."
"I'm all yours," Jeremy said, completely serious and without hesitation.
Chazz shook his head as he watched his fellow Slifers. "Pathetic…"
Atticus smiled in amusement, strumming his ukulele. "Saving the world is one thing, but making the grade…"
"Not really Jaden's cup of tea," Bastion commented.
"True enough," Alexis said. "Of course, Jeremy's not much better off. Someone's gonna regret their life choices soon."
The others all laughed as Jeremy was led away by his smug girlfriend and Jaden curled into a ball and freaked out.
Hope you liked it, please review, and I'll see you next time. Only 2-3 chapters left before I'm finished with the year 1 arc (depending on what I decide to do for "The Graduation Match").
Anime card, with modifications
Sabatiel - The Philosopher's Stone
Normal Spell
When a "Winged Kuriboh" is destroyed, add this card from your deck to your hand. When you activate this card, pay half your life-points to switch this card with 1 spell card from your deck. After you activate that card and it resolves, add this card from your deck to your hand. After you have used this effect 3 times, you can equip this card to one of the following monsters:
A level 10 or higher warrior type monster: Multiply the equipped monster's ATK by the number of monsters your opponent controls.
A level 10 or higher dragon type monster: Banish two monsters from your extra deck. The equipped monster gains ATK equal to the combined ATK of the monsters banished and gains any effects they have.
Created by "The Duelist of Dawn"
Chaos Healing
Normal Spell
Activate only when you control 1 "Uria, Lord of Searing Flames", "Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder", and "Raviel, Lord of Phantasms". Gain 2000 life-points for each of the three monsters on the field, and draw 1 card.
Image: The three Sacred Beasts creating a massive orb that's rejuvenating them.