「Kaijudo Generation Arc: Team Zeta. 003 - A Vendetta's Cost!」


Dr. Orland Scrivener was sweating as he paced the sectioned alcoves of the DCA's R&D department. With his squat body and bald head, he looked like a damp turnip at the best of times. He'd had medical treatments - the needles that'd jabbed his underarms had quelled the sweating but nothing could be done about his hands. As such as he was grotesquely self-aware every time he met someone new. His superior, Dr. Jonah Collins, stepped out from a cubicle ahead and turned to him. He remembered the first time they shook hands, Jonah had immediately wiped his palm off on his coat afterwards. Of course Orland had noticed.

"I need those papers on my desk within the hour."

"Of course, Sir." Dr. Scrivener sniveled.

"Good."

"Thank you, Sir." He quickly continued down the hall, internally cursing everyone who worked in this miserable place.

Dr. Scrivener slowed when he reached the testing rooms. He looked around and after seeing nobody he ducked inside lab 3. His nephew Jeremy was lying on a gurney, his eyes sunken. He'd not been able to eat and had lost some weight. As he approached his guinea pig he could see tear marks on the boy's face.

"Uncle…"

"I'm here, my boy." As he reached the gurney the boy grabbed his slippery hand. It was a tight grip, but he didn't have any strength.

"I want you to kill me."

"That's nonsense, Jeremy."

"Please kill me, I can't take this."

"According to the calculations you'll be fine in a couple of hours. We have to hold out until then," at his words fresh tears of anguish fell from the boy's face "…or don't you want to be able to beat CJ?"

This brought some determination back into his hopeless gaze "…yes."

"Then hold out for a couple more hours," he withdrew his hand with a look of disgust. "Nobody here ever appreciated my intelligence. But soon they all will. They'll all see! Nobody will ever laugh at me again!"

"Have a nice day at school!" Catharine's voice called from another room.

"See ya, Mrs. Henderson!" Heidi waved and followed CJ out. They made their way down a hall "I wonder how different schools on Earth are."

"Probably the same," he answered. "Why do you keep saying Earth like that?"

"I don't know, it just sounds like a dumb name for a planet. Not very elegant. Kinda like it's the home of orcs."

"I can't believe my Dad stayed up showing you Lord of the Rings last night."

"Star Wars was good too."

They made their way to the elevator and got in, it closed and they began to descend. CJ was quietly frowning and Heidi noticed.

"Still thinking about Collin?"

"Yeah…"

"Well at least you beat him – on a bit of a winning streak there CJ."

"Best not talk too soon."

"Remind me, I want a rematch before I'm done with whatever Yukari wants me to do here."

"Do you think whatever this Yukari wants you to do involves Collin and the attack?" CJ asked as his phone buzzed.

"Maybe. But Collin's already arrested right? Unless it really wasn't him, and something like that is going to happen again?"

"Let's hope not." CJ read the message. "Oh. Jamie's going to walk down to the station with us."

"Is Jamie your girlfriend?"

"No! She's my partner. Not like that." He added at her quizzical look.

"Whatever CJ, but even I can tell she's a very pretty girl..."

"You're kind of a brat, you know that?" At his remark she stuck out her tongue and the elevator opened.

They headed out the apartment building and there was Jamie by the sidewalk; considering last time her text had warned she was waiting a couple minutes tops. They greeted each other on approach.

"Hiya Jamie!"

"Hey, Heidi."

The three made their way down a busy and dirty city. Cars moved at a crawl, there was honking and yelling. A pollution smell in the air that Heidi wasn't used to. The skyscrapers were staggeringly tall. One street had no cars parked on it as a huge street-sweeper went by to clean the roads. They passed a hotdog stand.

"I've been to the capital city of my planet and the buildings weren't as big as here," Heidi breathed, once more shocked at all the people going by.

"Really?" Jamie asked.

"There's something like a sixth of Earth's population there," CJ recalled.

"I hope school won't be boring, I'd much rather see this Statue of Liberty." Heidi said.

"Well same here I guess, but education's important. When I'm not at school I'm interning." Jamie said.

"Man I hated school. First chance I got to leave and save the world, I took it."

"We don't have that luxury. Even if our job's already chosen for us."

"What kind of heroes have to do math tests?"

"The responsible kind," Jamie answered back, on her way to peeved.

Their back-and-forth went on all the way to the station. By the time they stepped foot on the packed tram both girls were annoyed with each other, but Jamie's quips landed better. The last one flew over the short girl's head, Jamie somewhat satisfied while Heidi was frowning. No one spoke until they stepped off the other platform, something randomly occurred to CJ.

"Jamie, I need a favour."

"What?"

"Something still isn't sitting right with me about Collin. We should check in with the rest of Team Zeta to see if there's anything they know that we don't."

"You don't think they've already been questioned?"

"Maybe. But if they talk to us, who knows, they might be willing to say more if they think they're not going to get in any trouble. So how about I talk to Jeremy and you talk to Tafiya?"

Jamie sighed "I dunno."

"Come on, you don't hate Tafiya?"

"That doesn't mean I want to talk to her."

"Pleeaaase Jamie," CJ begged "do this and I'll love you forever."

"Ugh fine, you creep."

"Sore loser," at his remark she rolled her eyes and headed up the steps of a long institutional building.

"What civilizations does Jamie use?" Heidi asked curiously.

"She's a fire player."

"Hmm, I can't wait to duel her too then."

"Come on, we got Kaitlyn's class first." CJ took the steps quickly and Heidi followed.

Classes at Fiona Academy turned out to be just as boring for Heidi as they were in her hometown. Seeing that Earth was an alternate universe, she'd really hoped they were going to be taught something science-fiction like in Star Wars. New York had become quite technologically advanced after the appearance of a suspicious Alpha Code. Still it turned out plain old Physics and Math were the only things responsible for the gigantic skyscrapers in Manhattan. Heidi was only briefly introduced to the class as a temporary student from Iceland, which was a grassy country Heidi kept mistaking for Greenland, which was full of ice. Sometimes Heidi felt like this Earth dimension was one big joke.

It'd turned out Jeremy wasn't at school that day. At lunch time Jamie reported that she'd seen Tafiya around but was waiting until second lunch to talk to her, she was building up to what could be an unpleasant encounter. The other members of Team KG were mostly indifferent to Heidi, though Dylan confessed he found her 'a riot'. Heidi had a few conversations with random classmates but kept it to a minimum. If she was here because the mysterious Yukari wanted her to solve an incident, she couldn't afford to get random civilians involved.

At the end of the day Heidi left the classroom beside CJ at the sound of the last bell.

"Finally!" she exclaimed.

CJ's phone started buzzing and he huddled by the lockers to hear his father. Heidi stepped after him and waited.

"Hey Dad," CJ was saying. "Yeah. Alright, we'll be there. Oh? Hmm. Well that's why Jeremy wasn't at school then. Huh? Seriously? So it's Jeremy? Wow. Are you sure? Wow. No, good for him. That's just unexpected …are you sure? Alright, alright. See you soon. Love you too." He hung up then stared blankly at Heidi who raised an eyebrow.

He started walking "let's go. Dad's going to pick us up out front and take us to the DCA's training facility."

"Alright," Heidi walked with him. "What about Jeremy? He's one of the Team Zeta kids right?"

"Jeremy's had a massive K-wave spike. Now his are stronger than Jake's, stronger than Luke's. Apparently he's the DCA's new wonderkid."

"Oh. Good for Jeremy?"

"Yeah. I mean, completely unexpected. He was the last person any of us thought would ever be competent. All anyone ever said about Jeremy was that he was surprisingly… average. And that before the Survivor incident his K-waves were negligible."

"Hm. You sound like you still don't believe it?"

"Well seeing is believing, I guess. We'll be at the facility soon and see for ourselves."

When Nate picked them up in the SUV he seemed just as surprised as CJ. Nevertheless they drove off to see for themselves. The trio entered the building through its sliding doors into a spacious lobby. The other members of Team Kaijudo Generation were present, minus Jamie. The three boys were staring at a crowd of people in the room who all surrounded their new saviour. Jeremy was hidden from view, but there was his bald and weird uncle beaming at the attention. He basked at the witnessing of his family's unrecognized talent. Before CJ could take a single step he felt an invisible wave crash into him.

"What?" he blinked then looked both sides to check with his company.

Heidi looked confused, evidently unfamiliar with the sensation but able to feel something even without honed skills. Nate looked scared.

"That's some jacked up waves," Bolt appeared on Heidi's shoulder.

"Is it even possible for a human to have such power?" Tsume commented, appearing as well.

"Heidi's phoenix card felt strange but this isn't like that," CJ confessed. "It's just… power."

The sliding doors were trying to close but couldn't. They moved away from the entry to CJ's friends.

"Isn't it disgusting?" Dylan commented, staring resentfully at all the people.

"Surely that's not Jeremy Scrivener?" CJ asked. "Jeremy?"

"Either way, you better watch yourself CJ." Jake commented mysteriously.

"What are you-?" before CJ could respond he was cut off by the approach of Jonah.

"Isn't it disgusting?" the scientist commented.

"We need to have a word about this," Nate told him. "Excuse us, kids."

The adults stepped aside. Once the newcomers were seen CJ heard his name spoken and saw the crowd part. There was Jeremy strutting forth like he was the shit. They couldn't help but be nervous at his approach. It was the same Jeremy: dumb haircut and smug grin – though this time the smugness was less of a front. Beside the obvious intensity of his waves, his eyes were glowing green in his natural state. The air around his body warped. Aside from that Jeremy was slimmer – CJ didn't recall the hollow of his neck being so plainly visible before. After remembering Collin Hoxham and the reason he'd wanted to talk to Jeremy at school that day, his resolve hardened.

"Is this safe?" Dylan murmured. "Jeremy's not the most in-control guy, emotionally speaking?"

"Heck if I know," Heidi answered him.

"Ahhh CJ," Jeremy began.

"Jeremy. At least someone in Team Zeta is thriving."

"Oh this?" his glowing eyes observed his hands and the way light warped around them. "Yes it's quite the surprise. My hidden potential has finally bloomed, the scientists are saying. Guess that makes me your new saviour, huh?"

"Nobody is buying that you came across these powers naturally." CJ replied.

Jake stepped up "When they find out what Dr. Scrivener's done he's getting fired, and you're getting all that energy pumped out before you explode and kill someone."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"I mean, really Jeremy? You couldn't live with being ordinary so you resorted to this?" CJ asked and his voice started to raise. "Is that how that seven-eleven exploded? You tried intimidating the cashier to give you the money? You tried to get a date and still got rejected so you strangled the poor girl then went nuclear? Did you threaten to kill Collin's family if he didn't take the fall? You dumb bastard!" He felt Karon's hand on his shoulder.

"Hey, hey. That's a completely separate situation that was super effed up. You guys may not like me but that doesn't mean I'm a killer."

"I know you're a dude that hasn't got a clue, who suddenly has jacked powers and is in way over his head!"

"Okay, let's pretend for a second I didn't come across these powers naturally… so what? I'm still the DCA's new super-soldier. And I have a meeting with Director Roman himself in a few hours. If I didn't know any better CJ, I'd say you're jealous."

"You delusional piece of- look. I'm not stopping until I find out what's really going on with Collin!"

"Then duel me. I'll tell you everything I know about Collin."

"Uh-uh," Jake stepped in-between them "no way."

"Fine." CJ accepted coldly.

"Dude, no." Jake turned to his teammate. "We don't want to mess with Jeremy right now, he's dangerous."

"And this place is full of DCA agents. He's not going to try anything. Let's go." CJ indicated to a training space and the two of them walked over while the excited followers flocked to get a look.

"Is CJ really gonna do this?" Heidi was concerned.

"This is such a bad idea…" Dylan groaned and they stared amidst the crowd while the combatants retrieved their K-VYZRs and took their marks.

"K-VYZER: on!" this time the two boys were surrounded by wilderness forestry. Their tables and decks appeared before them and soon the duel was underway.


Phantom Power Music - Overpowered (Extended Version)


"I set nature mana and end." Jeremy began.

"Same for me." CJ ended and felt ready for this fight. He'd won his last two matches, he'd make sure to win here too. Jeremy's power boost shouldn't make him a better player after all.

"I cast Faerie Life and add extra mana. Your turn." Jeremy stated.

"I do the same…" CJ replied and discarded his spell once finished.

"No you don't! I cast Mana Crisis to discard the Natural Snare you set." A dinosaur bit into CJ's land, shattering an emerald mana crystal. "I've always been the better nature player and now I'm going to prove it! I rule over mana, not you! You won't be walking around like a bigshot when I'm done with you!"

"I… what? I never pretended to be a bigshot you crazy bastard!" CJ drew "I summon Leaping Tornado Horn!" The horse-beast with multiple dark horns leapt out.

Leaping Tornado Horn

Civilization: Nature

Power: 2000+

Jeremy began his turn "I summon Tangle Fist, the Weaver." A shamanic cat-person appeared with staff in hand.

"Guys?" CJ called.

"Still just a hologram!" Dylan called back.

Tangle Fist, the Weaver

Civilization: Nature

Power: 2000

"You just keep yourself under control, got that?" CJ warned and his opponent raised his eyebrows, a few green sparks going off at random parts of his body. Nate and Jonah were also watching, his father unhappy but keeping out of it for now. CJ played his next creature "Mighty Bandit, Ace of Thieves!" His own cat-warrior lunged out with its circular case full of swords.

Mighty Bandit, Ace of Thieves

Civilization: Nature

Power: 2000

CJ tapped his card "Leaping Tornado Horn breaks a shield!" His first creature charged and speared a panel with its horns.

Jeremy

Shields: 5-4

Jeremy drew and didn't add mana "I use Tangle Fist's tap ability to send three cards to my mana zone." His creature shimmered green and he added his entire hand to mana. Murmurs rippled through the watching crowd.

CJ blinked "are you serious?"

"Completely. Your move."

"I'm leading on the field, now's not the time to be sacrificing your whole hand for mana." CJ drew and decided to be cautious just in case. "I summon Torcon."

Torcon

Civilization: Nature

Power: 1000

The blue beast folk joined his other two creatures, dragging those boulder beads. CJ tapped his card "Leaping Tornado Horn gets extra power depending on how many other creatures I have. Attack Tangle Fist!"

Leaping Tornado Horn: 2000-4000

Tangle Fist, the Weaver: 2000

Jeremy grimaced at the sight of his creature getting impaled. After the attack CJ straightened "turn end."

"He's not attacking…" Heidi observed.

"Since Jeremy just threw out his entire hand CJ doesn't want to give him more cards." Jake explained. "And since they both play mono-nature nobody has blockers, he's going to attack his shields all at once so Jeremy never gets to use the cards he gets."

"I see… makes sense." Heidi agreed.

Jeremy drew and immediately played the unimpressive one-cost creature "I summon Sniper Mosquito and end!"

Sniper Mosquito

Civilization: Nature

Power: 2000

"Wait a second…" Jake murmured. His eyes narrowed and Heidi glanced back-and-forth between him and the duel.

The giant green insect clicked its jaws as CJ began his turn. He was also running low on cards at this point. Instead of another attacker like he'd hoped CJ drew Barkwhip. He added a spell to mana and played his last card.

"Torcon evolves into Barkwhip, the Smasher!"

Barkwhip, the Smasher

Civilization: Nature

Power: 5000

The four-armed fighter raised its weapons, eager to smash. Alright, if I break two shields now I can break his other two next turn and try for a win.

CJ pointed "Leaping Tornado Horn break his shield!" His horned beast charged once more, shattering glass. "Mighty Bandit go!" It drew a second sword and did an elegant flourish before leaping out and cutting through a panel.

Jeremy

Shields: 4-3-2

"Shield trigger, Mana Crisis!" the card reassembled in Jeremy's hand. That dinosaur returned to chomp more land. CJ did a quick assessment, he had five mana. Enough for him to finish the game.

"I end my turn."

Jeremy now had three cards in his hand, he charged his ninth mana then summoned both creatures "Earthstomp Giant and Brood Shell!" The white behemoth towered over the battlefield and CJ's head went back to witness its dizzying height.

Earthstomp Giant

Civilization: Nature

Power: 8000

It was joined by a colony beetle that looked like a craggy boulder.

Brood Shell

Civilization: Nature

Power: 3000

"Ugh I thought so," Jake muttered before yelling "CJ be careful!"

"Wait a second…" Heidi's brow furrowed as she started to catch on as well.

"What?" CJ turned at their voices. "What is it?"

"Sniper Mosquito breaks a shield then I add Stratosphere Giant from my mana zone to my hand!" Jeremy declared and turned his card. The insect flew, its sidelong jaw decimated a shield.

CJ

Shields: 5-4

After recalling the effects of Jeremy's new creatures CJ quietly swore.

"Brood Shell has a tap ability that lets me return a creature from my mana zone to my hand. When Earthstomp Giant attacks all creatures in my mana zone return to my hand. Mana is more than just paying for creatures and spells, it's a resource and any good nature duelist knows this!" Jeremy yelled.

"So your deck's strategy is to mana ramp quickly, then later in the game you have more options cause most of your creatures can retrieve cards from it." CJ deduced.

"Exactly! And once again I prove to be a better nature duelist than you!"

CJ noticed that his broken shield had been Fighter Dual Fang. He smirked "Question is, can your strategy pay off before I rush you?"

"We'll just have to see, won't we!" Jeremy yelled with determined spite. "Then your great leader can see he should've let me fill the nature spot on Team KG instead of wanting you!"

The reason for Jeremy's dislike suddenly clicked in CJ's head. If he's about to recall all his mana then he also intends to end the game soon. I have to clear the last of his shields and win before he summons his second Giant. CJ drew and used the other card to set his sixth mana. Just enough.

"I evolve Barkwhip into Fighter Dual Fang!" CJ declared. A green evo crystal fell then Tsume joined the battle with a roar.

Fighter Dual Fang

Civilization: Nature

Power: 8000

CJ top-decked two mana. It's now or never. "Tsume, double break!"

Jeremy

Shields: 2-0

Eyes widened as glass pieces flew. The huge beast folk heaved breaths through his jaws. Green sparks zapped around Jeremy's body, the K-waves reacting to his fear. Then a shield mercifully reformed into his second trigger. A Natural Snare wouldn't have been enough, but thankfully "Mana Nexus!" Jeremy shouted with joy. He added a Natural Snare from his mana zone.

Jeremy

Shields: 0-1

"Damn…" Nate murmured from the crowd.

CJ tried to roll with the immense disappointment. He thought through his next move before continuing "Leaping Tornado Horn attacks Sniper Mosquito!"

Leaping Tornado Horn: 4000

Sniper Mosquito: 2000

The insect shrieked as it died. CJ turned his other card "Mighty Bandit breaks your last shield!"

Jeremy

Shields: 1-0

"Natural Snare on your oh so special partner! You guys all thought you were so cool with your synced creatures. This time I'm the hero! What do you think of that, CJ?" A giant tree exploded upward, branches as thick as cars bound CJ's signature creature and dragged him away. The pained animal roar was strangely upsetting.

"I'm still here," Tsume's little hologram appeared by CJ's deck.

"I know… just go already, Jeremy!"

"With pleasure. I summon Stratosphere Giant!" The looming green behemoth was even larger than his first giant.


Soul Eater - Krieg (Fighting Theme) HD


Stratosphere Giant

Civilization: Nature

Power: 13000

"Seemed like the perfect time to bring him out. Normally you'd get to summon two creatures for free now, but you have no cards in your hand and I'm about to have plenty." Jeremy taunted. "Brood Shell attack Mighty Bandit!"

Brood Shell: 3000

Mighty Bandit, Ace of Thieves: 2000

The beetle used its legs to snag and crush the bladed fighter. CJ heard its back breaking and winced.

Jeremy laughed "I guess you evolved Barkwhip instead of Mighty Bandit so Dual Fang could get a power boost if he needed it? Too bad that failed."

"Will you shut up with the dumb gloating already!"

"Earthstomp Giant attacks Leaping Tornado Horn and I get six cards to my hand!"

Earthstomp Giant: 8000

Leaping Tornado Horn: 2000

All but one card was taken from Jeremy's mana zone. CJ had no cards in his hand and couldn't see how his next draw could save him. The last person he could stand losing a duel to was Jeremy Scrivener.

"Stinger Horn, the Delver…" he played the creature and decided to put his hope on a trigger.

Stinger Horn, the Delver

Civilization: Nature

Power: 3000+

The beast with a whip-stinger tail slinked out, facing down three mightier creatures.

Jeremy drew and added mana. When he looked up with a smile it wasn't just his irises, Jeremy's eyeballs were entirely green light "Stratosphere Giant triple break!"

With a long howl it slowly swung its arm, smashing through a storm of glass.

CJ

Shields: 4-1

The only trigger he got was Faerie Life. Probably the last shield trigger CJ wanted at that moment. After deliberating amongst his creatures Jeremy chose his weaker one, he wanted to finish CJ off with his giant.

"Brood Shell break his last shield!" Jeremy shouted with glee.

CJ

Shields: 1-0

This time luck wasn't on his side. How insufferable. It would almost be worth it to get crushed by a giant. CJ's Dad didn't agree. When Nate saw Jeremy brimming with power, a malicious grin stretching across his face, he sprinted toward his son.

"Earthstomp Giant, finish it!"

"No!" Nate yelled and tackled CJ to the ground. An influx of green energy hit the wall behind him and left a dent, cracks spreading outward.

"GAME OVER: WINNER: Jeremy Scrivener!"

Jeremy blinked in surprise at the destruction he caused. After turning around he saw Bolmeteus Steel Dragon and Ballom, Master of Death. Both creatures had hand and claw raised, ready to incapacitate as necessary. Jason and Karon both held glowing cards. Jeremy pulled off his K-VYZER, his eyeballs returning to white.

Dr. Scrivener was outraged as he walked through the crowd "what are you doing?"

"Back off!" Jeremy threatened.

He stormed to the exit and nobody was willing to stop him. The power flowing off his skin was electric and could be felt by everyone he passed. He exited the sliding doors and was gone. His uncle hesitated a moment before rushing out after him.

"Well that was a thing…" Dylan commented as the teens walked to CJ and his father. Nate helped his son stand.

"Sorry you lost to that guy, dude." Jake said.

"Yeah, why did it have to be him…" CJ muttered. "Did Jeremy seem off to any of you?"

"How do you mean?" Jake asked.

"Something about his eyes…" CJ murmured.

"Yeah they were glowy and green, it was terrifying." Dylan said.

"Not that. His eyes were… wider. And… it's hard to explain…"

"At least now you know why Jeremy doesn't like you," Heidi shrugged while offering comfort. "Even I picked up on that."

CJ turned to Jake and waited for an explanation.

"Alright…" the jock took a breath "So you know Jeremy's uncle was already working for the DCA? As soon as Jeremy showed signs of having K-waves Dr. Scrivener got him tested multiple times. Yes, Jeremy had K-waves before the World Tree incident, but they were so negligible he would've found it tough to bring out a weak creature on his best day. Since the secret was out Jeremy wanted to join Team KG but his waves just weren't strong enough. That and the fact he's unlikeable, irresponsible and not too bright."

CJ sighed "well he's plenty strong now…"

"He won't be allowed to walk around like that," Nate began. "When he talks to Director Roman he'll notice it too. They'll ask questions and Jeremy will get detained. Hopefully he'll come quietly and not make a scene."

"Or blow up a convenience store…" CJ spoke darkly, his mind back on the murder incident. The teens shared looks with grave faces.


⟨author's note⟩

Hello dudes and dudettes. What do we have here? A spicy new chapter of my cross-over story. I better read over this again before uploading and then see what my fellow authors think. I am excited for reader theories and opinions. Hopefully everyone's in character and all that jazz.