Chapter 3: Double Date
As usual, Amy was home before Jack was. It never failed to amuse Amy how she was the one still going to school while Jack wasn't and yet she was somehow always home before him. Maybe that's what it was like to get caught up in duelling just about anyone you met in the streets, you get carried away and lose track of time.
As soon as she was home, Amy quickly changed out of her school uniform and back into her usual clothes and flopped down onto her bed to chill out for the time being. Her favourite way to relax after a day at school was to listen to her tape player for a minute or two. Most teenagers would have CD players in this day and age but Amy preferred her tape player and likened it to a nostalgic keepsake from her pre-teen years. She put on a tape which contained rock music from an overly edgy boyband and lay on her bed listening to it for a few minutes until finally, Jack arrived home. Amy ran downstairs to greet her brother.
"Hey big bro! How was your day today?" she asked sweetly.
"Same old." Jack said casually, "I got into some real intense duels today! I was close to losing a few times but I managed to spring back in the nick of time! I was even able to use the Black Luster Soldier you got for me yesterday and it really helped me out of a jam." he added, winking.
"Epic! I'm so glad I found it for you now! I bet you feel unbeatable with that card in your deck!" Amy cheered.
She then suddenly noticed something odd about Jack. It was nothing to do with his appearance, he looked completely fine. It was just…he appeared to be hiding something. His arms had been behind his back the whole time and he hadn't moved them since.
"What are you hiding back there, Jack?" Amy asked curiously.
"I wondered how quickly you'd notice." Jack laughed, "I came home with a little present for you. I guess you could consider it thanks for the Black Luster Soldier yesterday…"
He presented his surprise to Amy. The 16 year old gasped in amazement as Jack handed to her a box. The box contained a Duel Disk, the very item that every duellist was required to carry with them on their travels! Amy was so stunned that she thought she was imagining herself holding the Duel Disk. How could this be?!
"I don't believe this! You got me a Duel Disk?!" Amy screeched incredulously, "Jack, how did you get this? You know how much these things cost!"
"I know, which is why I was so lucky in getting it for you." Jack explained, "You see, one duellist I came across was so arrogant and full of himself he was willing to bet money that he could beat anyone he came across. I decided to knock him down a peg by kicking his butt. He bet me $1000 that he'd beat me and, well, he lost. So I spent the money on the Duel Disk for you. I thought it'd save mom and dad having to save up themselves to buy you one as they did for me."
"Ha! Serves that jerk right for thinking he could beat you!" Amy jeered, "Nobody can beat my brother in a duel!"
"Heh, I wouldn't oversell me so much Amy." Jack said modestly, "I'm glad you like your present though. As a new duellist, you really needed that Duel Disk."
"I'll put it to great use Jack, that's a promise." Amy swore as she opened the box and slipped the device onto her arm.
The Duel Disk felt a little heavier than she expected but it didn't feel uncomfortable to wear. Hopefully wearing it for long periods of time would've give her wrist cramp. Amy slipped her deck into the device and the arm blades clipped together to make one long blade that ran the length of her lower arm. Amy imagined that she could use the Duel Disk to bludgeon someone across the head if they tried to attack her. Her eyes lit up with joy as she admired the disk all over. How cool it felt to actually have one in her possession! Naturally she couldn't resist drawing a card from her deck and placing it on the disk. She'd whipped out her Ground Attacker Bugroth and played it in Attack Mode. At once, the holographic sensors on the disk displayed a realistic holographic image of her monster. It was as if her card had come to life! Amy stared at it in amazement.
"Oh my gosh that is so cool!" she exclaimed, "I've wanted to do that ever since Kaiba hosted that Battle City tournament!"
"Believe me, I felt the same way after getting my own Duel Disk." Jack concurred, motioning to the one on his own arm, "Now me and you can go around duelling together whenever you can."
"I'd love that!" Amy cried excitedly.
"Of course you would." Jack agreed, "So how about you? We got so carried away with your present that I almost forgot to ask how your day went."
Amy took her deck back out of the Duel Disk and took the duelling gadget off her arm.
"I had a good day, especially since I got to have my first duel too." she answered.
"With who?" Jack asked with interest.
Amy filled Jack in on the whole story. She described how Chloe had pointed out Kazuki to her, how she'd challenged him to a duel, how he'd been so nice and supportive to her despite losing and even the moment he'd helped her find her hair ties. The red-haired boy took everything in with interest. He of course was delighted to hear Amy had made a new friend. He was very surprised when Amy presented to him the Blue-Eyes White Dragon Kazuki had given to her.
"And no joke, he just let me have it! No strings attached!" Amy said breathlessly.
"I'm speechless…I couldn't ever imagine anyone just giving a total stranger a card like that out of the goodness of their heart!" Jack gasped, "No way! That Kazuki really is a nice guy to just do that simply because you said you were looking for it!"
"I know, I'm still wondering how it's possible that anyone can be that kind other than us two but here we are!" the red-head said with a chuckle, "I didn't think I'd ever find a boy that's like you out there, and yet I have. I think I'll like having Kazuki as a friend." she added brightly.
"If he's really as nice as you describe than I'd say you've really found a great guy to be friends with." Jack said approvingly, "I'm very happy for you, little sis. Though don't think I won't hesitate to deck him if he mistreats you in anyway." he added jokingly.
"Please, I'd have done it myself before you ever found out what happened!" Amy retorted, "But I don't think we'll have to worry about that. I don't think Kazuki's gonna be mistreating me anytime soon."
"And that's the way we want it." Jack declared, "Still, I'll be happy to meet him some day and get an idea on what my sister's new friend is like."
"You two will get on just fine, trust me." Amy swore, "Speaking of friends, Chloe says hi by the way." she added.
"That's kind of her." Jack said appreciatively.
Amy knew that Chloe would appreciate Jack saying that about her. She knew that Jack was aware that Chloe seemed to like him but he didn't seem too bothered about romance for now. Chloe was too shy to make a move so Amy wondered if she might have to do it for her. Chloe did say she would try this weekend but she doubted that the blonde girl would finally do it. Amy was about to bring it up but she decided against it. Best not to make things awkward while they were enjoying themselves for now.
"Soooooo…wanna duel me in the backyard?" Amy offered, "We may as well do something before dinner."
"Why not?" Jack said kindly, "It'll give you the perfect time to truly play with your new toy after all."
A month went by and Amy had been enjoying how life was treating her so far.
With her duelling deck constructed and a Duel Disk to use with it, Amy had gone out with Jack on his travels around the city during the weekends to practice duelling against any wandering duellists that came their way. Both she and Jack were able to win every single duel they got in, whether they were playing single or double matches. To Amy, this was the most exciting thing that had ever happened to her. Her and her brother, together in Domino City, duelling to their heart's content and winning no matter what cards were thrown their way! Could life get any better than this? One particular duel that Amy enjoyed had seen her with Blue-Eyes White Dragon and Jack with Black Luster Soldier on the field together with the two monsters combining their attacks together to finish off their opponents single-handedly. That moment had been so epic that Amy had struggled to calm down for several minutes. Jack joked about how he was amazed Amy had still remembered how to breathe during that freak out.
School life was also going pleasantly for Amy. While some students still made fun of her for her loss against Kazuki, she paid them no attention. What did they know about duelling anyway? Their opinions were completely worthless to her! Kazuki remained ever helpful and kind to Amy during their times together. They would mostly hang out during lunch break and either chat together or duel each other. While Kazuki won most of the time, Amy had ended up surprising everybody by managing to score at least one victory against Kazuki. That duel had seen him Fusion Summon his Five-Headed Dragon again and attempt to attack directly, only for Amy to bring his dragon's threat to an end with Mirror Force. This had left him wide-open for Amy to take the win on the next turn, which she did single-handedly by Fusion Summoning her Black Skull Dragon and attacking him directly. The other students were so shocked that they thought they'd imagined it. Amy Spears, this total newbie, this wannabe rookie duellist had actually ended up breaking Kazuki's winning streak?! While some refused to accept Amy was a good duellist, most of the students stopped taunting her and ended up congratulating her on the win. Kazuki was a good sport about it and even seemed happy to have lost for once.
"It does kinda get boring after a while if you just win all the time." he'd said as he shook Amy's hand, "Well done Amy! You truly earned that win!"
"I guess all that persevering paid off in the end." Amy said casually, "My brother always said that it's important never to give up in a duel. Any loss can be turned into a victory later on."
"Your brother knows his stuff, clearly." Kazuki said with admiration, "He must be a skilled duellist too."
"Where do you think all my duelling skills came from?" Amy said with a wink, "I'd love for you two to meet one day, I think you'll both get on great!"
"Sure thing. How's about we meet up over the weekend?" Kazuki asked.
"We should be available then so let's do it." Amy said brightly.
And so for the following weekend, they arranged the meet-up. Amy decided to invite Chloe to come along with the hopes that this meet-up would lead to her finally getting to ask Jack out. She'd still been too shy to make the move after all and so Amy hoped her and Kazuki backing her up would give her some more confidence.
"I guess if I make a complete fool of myself, you two will be able to catch me when I fall." Chloe joked.
"You'll be fine Chloe. Don't worry too much." Amy said supportively, "With me and Kazuki around, you should feel a little braver now you know you're not alone."
"Yeah, it should help." Chloe agreed, "I can't thank you enough for giving me this opportunity. It's so kind of you. I honestly don't know what I did to deserve a friend like you."
"You're a good person with a great sense of humour and a big heart, Chloe. That's all you needed to do to deserve that." Amy said kindly, "And I'm sure that will win Jack over too."
The blonde bookworm just blushed and smiled with pleasure.
Amy discussed the weekend plan with Jack and he was more than happy to take it up.
"Absolutely. If it means seeing Chloe again and meeting your new friend, I'm all for it." he'd said, "It'll be nice to meet Kazuki at last."
"I'm glad you're up for it." Amy said brightly, "We'll meet up in the local park Saturday morning and we'll decide what to do for the day after we've met up. Does that sound alright?"
"It sounds fine Amy." Jack said casually, "I'm looking forward to it."
And so come Saturday, the day before Halloween was due, the meeting took place. Amy and Jack arrived first, walking to the park together in the early hours of the morning. They sat down at a bench and waited for Jack and Chloe to arrive. Several people walked through the park as well, some walking dogs and some taking their children here to play. The park wasn't overly large but it had enough benches for visitors coming in to sit in and pigeons were often gathering around to feed on whatever people threw for them. Occasionally, duellists would come here to duel one another but they usually did so when the park was less populated. There were no duellists here today. Amy enjoyed visiting the park. It was a relaxing place to visit on days like this and if duellists were duelling here, she'd enjoy watching them play. Jack glanced down at his watch. It was just a few minutes past ten. They'd arranged to meet-up by ten o'clock or at least anytime near then. The Spears siblings looked around for any sign of their friends. A minute later, Amy spotted them.
"Oooh, here they are!" she said quickly, almost yanking Jack out of his seat.
Chloe and Kazuki had arrived together, making the timing better than anyone could've predicted. This was Amy's first time seeing Kazuki out of his school uniform and she immediately thought these clothes he wore suited him better. He was dressed in a blue t-shirt with a red dragon's face printed across it, grey trousers, brown pointed shoes and a black jacket that had a pair of red dragon eyes and gold dragon fangs that met in the middle to form a whole face when he zipped it up. This boy sure loved to wear his love of dragons on his sleeve, or in this case all over his upper body!
Chloe was also dressed casually. Her usual attire she wore outside of school consisted of a smart red jacket, a white t-shirt, a black mini-skirt that stopped halfway down her thighs, black socks she wore up to her calves and black flats. Amy greeted her friends happily.
"Chloe, Kazuki! You both made it, and together no less!" the rookie duellist cried excitedly, "Perfect timing if I do say so myself!"
"We're as amused as you are." Kazuki chuckled, "We didn't think we'd both get here at the same time."
Kazuki took a moment to observe Amy. This was his first time seeing her wear something other than a school uniform. He could see Amy was the kind of girl who didn't mind showing a bit of skin and that she didn't care what anyone said. She dressed how she wanted and nobody could tell her otherwise.
"I like your look. It really suits you." he said with a flirtatious smile on his face.
"Oh don't start that again, you're making me blush!" Amy said shyly.
"And I thought I was the shy one." Chloe snickered.
"Very funny Chloe. Gotta get in at least one jab at my expense, haven't you?" Amy joked.
"Says the one who always has a sarcastic quip at the ready if anyone's heckling her." Chloe noted.
"Touché again." the red-head snickered.
Chloe seemed to be the only student in the whole school who could keep up with her wit, something she always liked about the shy, skinny teen. Chloe maybe a socially awkward mess but she had a surprisingly sharp mouth sometimes! Amy coughed and quickly changed subject.
"Jack? Chloe's here as you can see. She's been looking forward to seeing you again." she said.
"It's nice to see you too Chloe." Jack said kindly, "You're looking well."
"I am? Th-th-that's f-fortunate! I'd be mortified if I didn't look well!" Chloe piped a little louder than she'd meant to, "Uh…th-thank you Jack. It's great to see you too and you're still as cute as ever! OHMIGOSH! I did NOT just say that out loud! Please tell me I didn't just say that?!" she shrieked, clutching her blonde locks in worry.
Amy and Jack fought to keep the smiles off their faces.
"You did just say that." Amy teased.
"Oh dear lord, I've messed up already! Somebody send a tornado to whisk me away now!" Chloe yelped, her face blushing so brightly that any onlookers could swear she was glowing like a flashlight.
Keen to change the subject, Amy quickly moved on.
"Uh, Jack? This is Kazuki Shudo, my new friend." she introduced, "Kazuki, this is my big bro, Jack."
"So you're the dragon duellist Amy's been telling me about." Jack said, offering a hand out for Kazuki to shake, "Gotta say, that jacket's well cool! I've never seen anything like it."
"It's a unique design, I know." Kazuki acknowledged, shaking Jack's hand, "I thought it suited a dragon enthusiast like myself. Anyway, it's a pleasure to meet you." he said kindly, "Amy's told me much about you, how you're her biggest influence to be a duellist and you're the one who taught her everything about duelling. She tells me you're very skilled yourself."
"It's all a lie! I'm no duellist at all!" Jack joked.
All four teens laughed out loud at the humorous response.
"I kid of course. I am a duellist at heart and I like to think I play it well enough." Jack said modestly, "Too bad that a lot of duellists I meet can be right jerks sometimes. Do you deal with that kind of crap as well?"
"More than I'd care to admit." Kazuki muttered, "Most duellists I face can't take losing lightly and some who watch me play always feel the need to insult my opponents for daring to face me. At least some of those students are starting to respect Amy some more after she broke my winning streak earlier this week." he added.
"You should've seen everyone's faces!" Chloe put in, "They looked as if the entire lunch room had been transported to Wonderland or something!"
"Wow, my little sis was the one to break your winning streak? That's cool!" Jack exclaimed, "Well more for Amy than you I mean…how many duels did you win in a row before Amy beat you?"
"Twenty-six." Kazuki answered, "I didn't think I'd keep it up for that long but I did!"
"Shut up…twenty-six?!" Jack exclaimed, "I'm lucky if I can get a winning streak of ten going before I lose! How'd you do it?"
Kazuki shrugged.
"I constructed a strong enough deck and I also got lucky draws in most of my matches. Nothing special." he said casually.
"You sure?" Jack asked, "I'm sure there's more to it than that. Can I see your deck?"
"I'll show you mine if you show me yours." Kazuki joked.
Despite it being a joke, Jack thought it'd be fair to do so anyway so he let Kazuki see his deck while Kazuki showed his off. Chloe turned to Amy with a knowing grin on her face.
"They're gonna be here a while." she snickered.
"You hush, they're making friends with each other and I'm glad it's going as well as it is." Amy retorted.
She looked back to the boys as they looked through each other's decks. Both seemed to be impressed with what the other had.
"Golly…these are some powerful dragons! And you have the Five-Headed Dragon on top of all that!" Jack exclaimed, "I bet that took some hunting down in order to find it!"
"Pretty much." Kazuki confirmed, "Your deck's pretty strong too from the looks of it. Amy told me how she found the Black Luster Soldier for you." he added, showing it to him, "She was lucky to get it for you as that's pretty rare too."
"It is and I couldn't be more thankful to my sister for finding it." Jack said graciously, "Both me and the soldier have been kicking serious butt together!"
"I can believe it." the dragon duellist said, sounding impressed, "If you're up for it, maybe me and you could duel each other while we're here."
"How's about another time?" Amy said quickly, "As much as I'd LOVE to watch you two duel, I'd rather we didn't take up too much time just duelling and we should think about Chloe here. We maybe duelling enthusiasts but she isn't." she noted.
"Oh no, don't let me stop you all having fun." Chloe insisted, "I don't mind watching, especially if Jack's playing." she added with a simpering look on her face that an especially loyal dog might show its owner when begging for attention.
"How's about we play on a time limit so we don't spend too long?" Kazuki suggested, "The duellist with the most amount of life-points left when time's up is the winner."
Everyone agreed that that would be satisfactory. The agreed time limit was half an hour. That would give them the rest of the day to enjoy together once the boys had had their duel. Chloe felt her stomach tingle excitedly. While she wasn't a Duel Monsters fan, she was keen to watch her crush in action. Amy just knew that watching her friend and brother duel together was going to be fun. Jack and Kazuki loaded their Duel Disks with their decks and took up their positions. Some civilians walking by stopped to watch how this game could go. Unknown to Amy and her group, a robed figure was sitting on a bench and also watching the duel. It stared ahead as Lord Hallows watched the game through its eyes.
"Yes my victims…show me your duelling passion. Show me that you are worthy of becoming my playthings!" he purred darkly to himself.
Jack and Kazuki drew their starting hands and the duel began. Jack decided he'd go first. He studied his hand closely. He had three monsters, one Spell and one Trap in his hand. Not a bad start. He had one that needed to tribute summon first but he was OK with that.
"I set one card face down and then I'll set a monster in Defence Mode." Jack decided as he placed the cards in their respective places on his Duel Disk, "That ends my turn."
"You've sure got me curious about those face-down cards." Kazuki said with interest, "Now let's see…" he drew from his deck and thought for a moment. "I'll set two cards face-down," he decided, placing two cards in his Spell and Trap Zones, "And then I'll play Koumori Dragon in Attack mode."
A holographic image of a four-legged purple dragon with large wings and sharp claws appeared on the field as Kazuki played his monster. (1500 ATK/1200DEF) Chloe stared in amazement as the holograms appeared. It never ceased to amaze her that KaibaCorp could make technology like this and have the holograms look so real! Maybe this was why Duel Monsters was so exciting for many players. Jack raised an eyebrow.
"Say, Amy has that in her deck too." he noticed.
"I guess we're alike, me and her." Kazuki joked, "Now Koumori Dragon, attack that face-down monster!" he commanded.
Koumori Dragon lunged forwards with its claws raised and ready to rip Jack's monster apart. It slashed at the hologram of Jack's card, which then revealed what Jack's face-down monster was. To Kazuki's shock, it was Cyber Jar. An image of a metal creature with a singular optic and a wide grin appeared briefly before disappearing as it was sent to the Graveyard. Cyber Jar's flip-effect was a devastating one for any duellist to experience. Once activated, all monsters on the field were destroyed. Then both players drew five new cards and any Level 4 monsters they drew could be Special Summoned to the field. Koumori Dragon's image shattered like glass as it was destroyed by Cyber Jar's effect and both Jack and Kazuki drew five new cards. As they drew, Jack was able to Special Summon Giant Soldier of Stone (1300ATK/2000DEF) in Defence Mode and Obnoxious Celtic Guard (1400ATK/1200DEF) also in Defence Mode. Kazuki Special Summoned Winged Dragon Guardian of the Fortress (1400ATK/1200DEF) in Defence Mode and Eclipse Wyvern (1600ATK/1000DEF) in Attack Mode. It proper looked like a battle from the medieval realm with Jack's mighty warriors defending their king from Kazuki's mighty dragons and Amy couldn't help but squeal in excitement.
"Those two look so cool out there! Go boys! You're giving us quite a show!" she cheered.
Jack and Kazuki just waved back to her. Kazuki's turn wasn't over yet as despite Cyber Jar's effect, the Battle Phase wasn't concluded so Kazuki was able to attack again. He ordered his Eclipse Wyvern to destroy Obnoxious Celtic Guard. The elf warrior's defences were no match for the black and red dragon as it was burnt alive by Eclipse Wyvern's fire breath. Jack wasn't worried. He knew that his Giant Soldier of Stone would keep any threat Kazuki posed at bay with its mighty defences.
With Kazuki's turn now over, Jack made his next draw. He had eight cards in hand thanks to Cyber Jar's effect and he was quite pleased with that he had to use.
"It's my move now and I've got a big one for you." Jack declared, picking one card out of his hand, "First of all, I play my Spell Card, the Black Luster Ritual! By sending Sabersaurus and Silent Magician LV4 to the Graveyard, I can now Ritual Summon my almighty Black Luster Soldier!"
Amy's eyes widened with joy as the very card she'd bought for her brother made its grand debut on the field. Black Luster Soldier (3000ATK/2500DEF) appeared as this powerful warrior clad in blue and gold armour with a long ponytail and a huge sword and shield in its hands. Chloe adjusted her glasses as she observed the mighty monster. It looked like something out of a medieval fantasy novel and she thought it looked impressive. Kazuki looked amazed that Jack had gotten his soldier out so quickly.
"And now to finish off, I play my last Spell Card, Monster Reborn!" Jack announced.
Amy just grinned. Of course her brother was going to get a chance to use his favourite card in this match! Jack used his Monster Reborn to bring back Obnoxious Celtic Guard, but it didn't stick around for long as Jack then Tribute Summoned the last card he had in his hand, which was the all-powerful Dark Magician (2500ATK/2100DEF). He'd used his Guard and Giant Soldier as tributes for his magician's grand entrance. Chloe grinned excitedly. Her crush looked so cool out there and he was clearly going to win! Now Jack had made all the moves he could, he ordered his Black Luster Soldier to attack Eclipse Wyvern. But Kazuki had other plans…
"Activate Trap Card, Shadow Spell!" he cried.
One of his face-down cards flipped up and a bunch of chains suddenly lashed out and tightly bound up the Black Luster Soldier. As long as Shadow Spell was in play, it couldn't attack or change its battle position and it lost 700 attack points, leaving the once 3000ATK monster with only 2300ATK. Jack cursed himself for not anticipating the possibility of a Trap Card. He ordered his Dark Magician to attack next. Luckily, Kazuki's second card wasn't anything that could stop the attack and Eclipse Wyvern was destroyed. Kazuki was now down to 7100 Life Points. Jack barely had the lead now but Amy knew that this duel was just getting started. Jack couldn't even dare to relax now, not against a duellist like Kazuki. The dragon duellist started his move. He had seven cards in hand and it looked as if he had the right ones to play.
"OK, to start off this turn, I'll activate my second face-down card." he began.
His second Trap Card revealed itself as The First Monarch. Kazuki had to discard one card from his hand and after that, he could declare a attribute and The First Monarch would Special Summon itself as a monster with that attribute. He chose DARK and Amy quickly saw why as he then Tribute Summoned his Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon (2800ATK/2400DEF) by using The First Monarch as both tributes. Next he used its effect to bring back a Dragon Monster he'd just discarded, which was a powerful monster named Tyrant Dragon (2900ATK/2500DEF). He had to sacrifice his Winged Dragon as Tyrant Dragon could only be Special Summoned from the Graveyard if he offered another Dragon-type monster as a tribute. Amy recognized it from the duels she'd had with Kazuki over the past month and knew that Jack was going to be in trouble now. Tyrant Dragon's effect allowed it to attack twice if the opponent controlled more than one monster. Tyrant Dragon chose Black Luster Soldier as its first target, but Jack was ready for it.
"I have a Trap Card of my own to activate!" Jack declared, "Go Defence Draw!"
With this card, Tyrant Dragon inflicted no damage to Jack after destroying Black Luster Soldier and Jack was able to draw another card afterwards. This didn't stop Tyrant Dragon from then destroying Dark Magician, which left Jack wide-open for an attack from Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon. It blasted him with a fiery energy blast and Jack winced as his Life Points decreased. He was down to 4800 Life Points. While Amy was happy for Kazuki, she was also worried for Jack. Things didn't look good for him at all. Even Chloe was doubting Jack's chances in this match.
"This looks bad! Jack doesn't stand a chance against those incredible dragons! How did Kazuki get so many powerful cards?!" the blonde teen screeched.
"No idea. All I know is that Kazuki truly shows off the power of the dragons." Amy whispered in awe.
"I see why Amy talks so much of you." Jack complimented, "You don't mess around! I think this might be the toughest spot I've been in for a while!"
"Don't sell yourself short, Jack. I'm sure you've got a way to come back from this." Kazuki said supportively.
Jack nodded as he drew his next card. He only had a Polymerization leftover from his earlier hand, a Red-Eyes Black Dragon he couldn't use and he'd drawn Breaker the Magical Warrior with Defence Draw. He hoped this draw would be the break he needed. He looked at it and sighed with relief.
"Just what I was hoping for." the red-haired boy said eagerly, "OK, I start off by setting one card face-down and then next I'll play Card of Sanctity! Now we both draw until we're holding six cards in our hands!"
An image of a card displaying a picture of two people collecting coins appeared on the field as Jack activated his Spell Card. He and Kazuki drew until their hands contained six cards as Jack said. Jack had two left in his hand thanks to setting Polymerization face-down so he could draw more cards with Card of Sanctity. He drew four extra cards while Kazuki drew only one as he had five left. Next, Jack played one of the new cards he'd just drawn, Pot of Avarice. This card let him shuffled five Monster Cards back into his deck and then draw two more cards. Jack chose his five monsters, shuffled them back into the deck and drew his two extra cards. Now his hand had eight cards to use.
"This should help me immensely." Jack deduced, "OK, I'll set three cards face down," he declared, doing just that, "And then I'll set a monster in Defence Mode. That's all for now."
Amy and Chloe were impressed. THREE face-down cards?! Jack was practically making it suicidal to even think of attacking him right now! Even Kazuki looked worried. How could he possibly even think of declaring an attack when Jack could potentially have three Trap Cards to throw him off his game? The blonde boy drew to start off his turn and his cautiousness turned to contentment as it seemed he didn't have to worry too much after all.
"I don't exactly trust your face-down cards, so I'll make sure at least one of my dragons is well protected." Kazuki declared, "Lucky for me I just drew my Dragon Shield Spell Card!"
Jack gasped. He knew what that card did. As long as Kazuki's monster was equipped with Dragon Shield, it couldn't be destroyed by battle or card effects. The only side-effect was that Kazuki's monster also couldn't do any battle damage but that was a small price to pay for essentially making his monster invincible. He chose his Tyrant Dragon to be shielded.
"Next I'll use my Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon's effect to bring back Eclipse Wyvern from the Graveyard." Kazuki went on.
But that ended up being a waste of a move for Jack activated the first of his three face-down cards. It was Bottomless Trap Hole. It could banish any monster that was summoned in any way from play, meaning Kazuki couldn't use Eclipse Wyvern anymore. Amy could tell what Jack was planning. He wanted to stop Kazuki from building up his forces so he couldn't deal too much damage to him. Undeterred, Kazuki made his next move in which he played the Field Spell, Mountain. Holographic images of mountains surrounded the two players as the field changed into a mountainous terrain. Thanks to this card, all Dragon-type monsters on the field gained 200 extra attack points. Now Kazuki entered his Battle Phase by ordering Tyrant Dragon to attack Jack's face-down monster. Tyrant Dragon obliterated the monster, but it wasn't an ordinary monster. It was Magician of Faith, an effect monster that allowed Jack to add a Spell Card back to his hand after it was flipped face-up. He chose Monster Reborn.
With no monsters to protect him, Jack was wide-open for an attack from Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon. But that was when Jack's next two cards were revealed.
"Sorry Kazuki but this is gonna hurt real bad! Activate Mirror Force and Mystical Space Typhoon!" he yelled.
Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon's attack was redirected back to itself and it was destroyed as a result. Dragon Shield would've protected Tyrant Dragon from the effects of Mirror Force but Jack's Mystical Space Typhoon had thrown a wrench in that plan. It had destroyed Dragon Shield and thus Tyrant Dragon was destroyed. Kazuki was completely speechless. Jack had proper played him like a trombone in this round! How amazing! But he wasn't completely defenceless at least. He surprised Jack by bringing out another monster. Because his previous monsters had been destroyed by a card effect, it allowed him to Special Summon his Interplanetarypurplythorny Dragon (2200ATK/1100DEF with Mountain boosting it to 2400ATK/1300DEF) directly from his hand in Attack Mode. He had his second Main Phase left to conduct and because he hadn't Normal Summoned yet, he could at least still play one more monster. Of course, that had been his plan the whole time in case Jack's face-down cards were as bad as he feared.
"I'll finish off by playing The Dragon Dwelling in the Cave in Defence Mode and set one card face-down." the blonde boy concluded.
The girls found themselves at a loss for words. It looked to be Kazuki's game and now it seemed Jack might have a chance to win in spite of everything. He had four cards left in hand to use and one face-down left so chances are, Jack had plenty of moves left to make, especially as it was his turn next. Kazuki had a monster in attack mode, another monster in Defence Mode, one face-down and only one card left in his hand. It seemed the tides were going to turn immensely for this duel.
Jack drew his next card and glanced at it. He grinned happily.
"Just what I needed!" he cried, "OK, I activate my face-down Polymerization to Fusion Summon my ultimate monster!" the red-haired boy called, "By fusing Summoned Skull and Red-Eyes Black Dragon in my hand, I can bring forth the almighty Archfiend Black Skull Dragon!"
A huge, powerful dragon-type monster with flames billowing from either side of its head appeared on the field in a mixture of flames and thunderbolts. With 3200ATK/2500DEF, Archfiend Black Skull Dragon was Jack's strongest monster and a large part of why he won so many duels. Thanks to Kazuki's Mountain Field Spell, his dragon was now at 3400ATK/2700DEF. Amy loved it whenever he got to bring it to the field as it looked so awesome and pretty much signified that Jack had this duel won. Jack wasn't finished yet as he then played Monster Reborn to bring back Black Luster Soldier from the Graveyard. And then finally, he Normal Summoned his Breaker the Magical Warrior (1600ATK1000DEF). Now he had three powerful monsters to use that would surely bring an end to the duel.
Before Jack attacked, he decided to use his Breaker the Magical Warrior's effect. When summoned, he placed a Spell Counter on it. He could now remove that counter to destroy one Spell or Trap on Kazuki's field. But Kazuki had been quicker. The moment Jack had summoned his warrior, Kazuki had activated his face-down card before Jack could destroy it. Amy recognized the familiar Dragon's Rebirth Trap Card Kazuki had used on her many times in the past. Kazuki banished his Dragon Dwelling in the Cave in order to bring back his Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon from the Graveyard. Undeterred, Jack ordered his Black Luster Soldier to attack and destroy Kazuki's dragon. He then had Archfiend Black Skull Dragon destroy Interplanetarypurplythorny Dragon, which took Kazuki's Life Points down to 6100. But then they went down even lower as Breaker the Magical Warrior attacked directly. Because Breaker still had a Spell Counter on it, it had 1900ATK instead of 1600 which ended up adding 300 more damage to Kazuki's Life Points. He was now down to 4200, which left him 600 points behind Jack. Amy felt her heart skip a beat in excitement. Her brother was actually winning now! How incredible! Chloe of course was even more excited.
"Yay! Jack's winning now!" she cheered.
"I know! My big bro's really turning this duel around!" Amy cried incredulously, "I really thought he was a goner but nope, here he comes to take the lead!"
All eyes were on Kazuki as he made his next move. Despite the odds being heavily stacked against him, Kazuki didn't look particularly worried. If anything, he was just curious to see what his next draw would give him. He drew the card and smiled as he saw what it was.
"This should help." he said brightly, "I play my Spell Card, Pot of Greed!" he declared, slotting the card he'd just drawn into his Duel Disk. An image of a green pot with a huge smiley face on the side flashed on the field as Kazuki drew his two cards. He looked at the cards he drew and grinned happily.
"And now I play one of the two cards I just drew, which is Brain Control!" he cried.
He played the card and jack watched in horror as an image of a brain appeared on the field and a pair of hands came out from the brain towards his Archfiend Black Skull Dragon. Brain Control allowed Kazuki to take control of any monster Jack had on the field for one turn. He had to pay 800 Life Points to use it, which left him with only 3400 now. But that didn't matter as now Kazuki had one of Jack's monsters under his control for this turn. He then had Archfiend Black Skull Dragon destroy Black Luster Soldier, which took Jack down from 4800 Life Points to 4400. Then to finish his turn, Kazuki tribute summoned Curse of Dragon (2000ATK/1500DEF with Mountain boosting it to 2200ATK/1700DEF)) by using Jack's dragon as a tribute so once the effect of Brain Control ended, Jack wouldn't get it back. Jack now only had Breaker the Magical Warrior left to protect him and his only remaining card in hand was Silent Magician LV8 which he couldn't currently use.
"Looks like we celebrated too soon." Chloe said grimly, "Now Jack's back on the back foot."
"Not necessarily Chloe." Amy noted, "Time's starting to run out so if Jack still had the most Life Points left in the next ten minutes, then he wins."
Chloe nodded. She'd almost forgotten that the duel was timed as they'd agreed on. If Jack could stall out until time was up, he'd win anyway! The girls watched as Jack made his next move. He drew Trap Jammer. He didn't think it'd do much for now but he set it anyway as a just in case. He then finished off by using Breaker's Spell Counter to destroy Mountain so Kazuki's monsters couldn't get a Field Power Bonus anymore. The mountain terrain vanished and the park was back as it was before.
It was now back to Kazuki and he drew. He had two cards in hand and he contemplated his choices. He had DNA Surgery which wouldn't do anything for him so he didn't bother playing it. That left him to just play the one card he'd drawn to start the turn, which was Spirit-Ryu (1000ATK/1000DEF). He had Curse of Dragon destroy Breaker the Magical Warrior and then had Spirit-Ryu attack directly. Jack winced as Spirit-Ryu created a tornado of wind with its wings that swept over him, threatening to whisk him away. His Life Points fell down to 3400, which now left him and Kazuki tied. Amy and Chloe could feel the tension building now. Could any of them do any more damage before time was up? Jack drew his next card. He'd drawn Marshmallon, an effect monster that was no use in battle, but its effect was what made it worthwhile.
This'll help out. Jack thought, If I put this in defence mode, Kazuki will attack it and then I'll inflict 1000 damage to his Life Points! And because it can't be destroyed by battle, I can stall the battle until the time limit is reached and then I'll win!
With his plan in mind, Jack placed his monster face-down on the field in Defence Mode and ended his turn. Kazuki was curious on what Jack had in mind. He was sure the face-down monster was going to have some kind of devastating effect so he had to play cautiously. He drew for his turn. He'd drawn Scapegoat. That was lucky. If he drew Polymerization on his next turn, he'd be able to bring Five-Headed Dragon to the field!
"I'll set two cards face-down." Kazuki decided, setting both DNA Surgery and Scapegoat, "And with no other monsters I can play for now, I'll just attack your face-down monster. Spirit-Ryu, attack!" he commanded.
But before anything could happen, Amy's phone suddenly started to beep. Her timer was going off, which meant half an hour had passed.
"Time's up!" she declared, "Sorry Kazuki but your attack wasn't in time. So how about that? It's a draw!"
She was right. Both players still only had 3400 Life Points left, and all because Kazuki's attack hadn't been able to finish!
"That's amazing! I really thought that it would end with at least one of them winning!" Chloe exclaimed, "But in the end, they played each other to a stand-still! I'll admit, that was a pretty amazing duel! You two were so cool out there!"
Jack and Kazuki tidied all their cards away and closed up their Duel Disks. The holograms disappeared. Jack and Kazuki shook hands to congratulate each other on a well-played duel. Jack was disappointed that the timer had gone off before Kazuki's attack could finish as he would've won in the end but he didn't mind that. There was nothing wrong with finishing in a draw after all.
"Well played Kazuki. It's easy to see how you kept up that winning streak for so long." Jack complimented.
"You're a real duellist yourself!" Kazuki praised, "Amy clearly had a great teacher with how well you play. If you don't mind me saying so, I noticed that your deck and playstyle seemed rather similar to Yugi Muto. Is that a coincidence or…?"
"Not really. I was inspired by him but I didn't want a carbon copy of his deck so I added a few other things to make it my own." Jack admitted, "This deck's served me so well and has never let me down."
"It sure didn't in this match." Kazuki agreed, "If we weren't on a timer, I'm sure that you might've eventually won."
Jack wasn't so sure. He suspected that Kazuki would've turned things around, a suspicion that ended up being justified for Amy couldn't resist asking Kazuki what his next card would've been if the duel had lasted longer. He would've drawn Polymerization next, which would've allowed him to summon his Five-Headed Dragon with his DNA Surgery and Scapegoat combo and two of his other Dragons to Fusion Summon it with. And on the turn after that, he would've drawn Burst Breath, a Trap Card that would've dealt away with Marshmallon so Five-Headed Dragon could attack directly for game. Jack's next two draws wouldn't have helped at all so it was truly his duel to lose if it had gone on any longer.
"Doesn't matter who would've won if this hadn't been timed, I think you were both epic out there and I loved every minute of it!" Amy cheered, "Great game guys! Now that's done with, let's enjoy the rest of the day, shall we?"
The four friends headed off together to explore the city and go about their day. As they left, the robed figure got up from its bench and headed off too. Lord Hallows sat back in his throne, delighted with what he'd seen through the figure's eyes. He had to admit, it had been a while since he'd enjoyed watching a duel that wasn't between himself, his minions and their victims.
"The energy radiating off of those boys is infectious!" he cackled, "It's clear to me they are skilled duellists who have been at it for quite a while. Their souls will provide me with plenty of energy for my Halloween takeover!"
"Do you want me to duel either of them, my lord?" the robed figure asked.
"No! You and the others will not touch them! They are MINE to duel!" Hallows declared, "Such skill is worthy of my time and energy so I will do it myself. You just keep finding me other victims in the meantime."
The figure nodded and carried on walking, looking for another duellist's soul to claim for Lord Hallows.
The day went on nicely for Amy, Jack, Kazuki and Chloe. They'd roamed around the city for a while, had their turns checking out different clothes shops to see if there was anything they fancied wearing and they all had lunch together at an All-You-Can-Eat buffet restaurant that Amy and Jack themselves recommended. Of course, Amy and the boys couldn't resist looking through any card shops they came across to see what kind of Duel Monsters cards were available. Chloe got her revenge by making them wait on her as she dropped into a bookstore and spent a while looking through different books before deciding on which ones to get. It was now late afternoon with the evening fast approaching. They decided to go through one last shop before heading off for home. Kazuki had spotted a tool shop and requested to go in.
"I'm a bit of a technician in my non-duelling time." he explained, "I like to tinker with machines and see if I can fix them if they break. My old toolset's running worn so I could do with a new one."
"No problem." Amy said brightly, "I'll go in with you and maybe help you pick one out. How about you two?" she asked Jack and Chloe.
"We'll wait out here for you." Jack decided, "I'm not fussed about tools and that."
"We can keep each other company while you two are in there." Chloe said, winking at Amy.
Amy understood what Chloe meant. Maybe she was going to finally pluck up the courage to ask her brother out while they were in the shop. Amy followed Kazuki inside, leaving Jack and Chloe to wait for them outside the shop. Chloe felt her insides turn to jelly. This was her chance to finally ask the question she'd been meaning to for months! She could do it! She looked over at Jack. Why was he so cute looking compared to all the other boys she'd met throughout her life? Amy really was lucky to have such a good-looking, kind and supportive brother like Jack. Hopefully she'd be lucky to have him as a boyfriend. Chloe inhaled to ease her nerves and blew it out again as she spoke.
"Soooooo…have you enjoyed it today?" she inquired.
"It's been a great day with you, Amy and Kazuki." Jack said happily, "I've really enjoyed it. Duelling Kazuki was a real blast of course but I enjoyed everything else. I'm still regretting overeating at the restaurant though. I'm still feeling stuffed from that…" he muttered, rubbing his stomach.
"We did warn you that just because it says "All-you-can-eat", you don't have to try and eat everything!" Chloe giggled.
"Yeah, I'll remember for next time." Jack chuckled.
The blonde girl giggled again. She inhaled and exhaled once more as she steeled herself for the big question. She tried not to blush as she went on.
"Jack…there's something I've been wanting to ask you. Is that OK?" Chloe asked.
"Sure, what is it?" Jack replied.
"Well…you probably know that…um…I like you. By that, I mean REALLY like you!" Chloe stammered, "And I was wondering if…if…you um…if you'd like to…"
She was about to finish the sentence until something caught her eye and her voice trailed off. She looked over Jack's shoulder and blinked. Chloe adjusted her glasses and blinked again. Was it her imagination or did a shadow on that wall nearby…move? Jack could see Chloe was distracted and he coughed.
"Uh, you were saying?" he asked.
"Jack, look over there!" Chloe cried, "I think there's something there!"
Jack turned to where Chloe was pointing and he saw just what she did. There was a shadow on the wall and it appeared to be moving. Was there someone nearby? It looked strange whatever it was. The shadow shrunk away.
"Let's check it out." Jack said bravely, "Hopefully it's nothing and we're just seeing things."
Jack and Chloe ran over to the wall and turned to their right. The shadow had gone down an alleyway and they could see it moving on the ground just ahead of them. Curiously enough, there didn't seem to be anyone actually there in the alleyway. So what was casting this shadow? It seemed to just be painted on the ground with no solid form nearby! Jack and Chloe approached it cautiously. They were beginning to feel uneasy. What was going on here? Then suddenly, the shadow started to move again. It expanded in size, forming a huge carpet of black that spread under their feet and up the walls. It looked like spilled ink rapidly spreading across the surface, only this ink seemed to be alive in some way. Chloe clutched Jack's arm in fright. She whimpered worriedly. A barrier of blackness formed at the entrance of the alleyway, completely blocking them off from the rest of the city. No one would ever know they were here. Then the darkness started to form a shape. It rose up from the floor just in front of Jack and Chloe. They stared in disbelief as the shadow began to expand up and up.
"Jack, I-I'm scared!" Chloe whimpered, "W-w-what's g-going to h-happen to us?!"
"Stay behind me Chloe!" Jack said, trying to sound brave. Deep down, he was as terrified as his friend was.
The shadow finished its transformation. It had formed into the shape of a skeletal creature clad in large robes and a huge cloak and was holding a cane. Two glowing yellow orbs stared from the blackness of the creature's eyes. Chloe screamed and buried her face in Jack's chest. Jack hugged her protectively, unable to believe what he was seeing. This had to be some kind of trick! The monster grinned, clearly relishing the teen's fear. It then bowed to them like a servant to his king.
"Greetings mortals." it purred, its voice sounding like it had come out of Hell itself, "I am Lord Hallows, the Keeper of the Shadow Realm. And I wish to challenge you, Jack Spears, to a duel! If you win, you and your friend leave here alive. If you lose? Then your soul belongs to me and you will spend an eternity banished to the Shadow Realm!"
What was supposed to be a nice time for Amy and Jack having their dates with Kazuki and Chloe is going nicely for Amy and Kazuki, but not so for Jack and Chloe. Lord Hallows has risen and he's out for Jack's soul! Will he claim it or will Jack defeat him? Maybe the card that Amy got for him could be his ticket to victory. Find out next time as we're thrust into a terrifying "Shadow Duel"...
Trivia: I was going to make this chapter when Jack and Hallows duel each other but I worried it'd feel like I was rushing the story a little and I didn't want to skip over the character stuff with Amy and Chloe and rush the set-up for the double dates so I saved the duel for the next chapter and devoted this one to what we got now.
The whole Jack and Kazuki duel was improvised by the way. I didn't plan for this but with how the story played it, it felt like it had to happen and it'd be a missed opportunity if it didn't. Also it benefitted the story as it provided a convenient way for Lord Hallows to watch the two in action and thus target Jack like he does at the end.
