Family Business and Rituals
On a dark and foggy night, two men were on a rowboat. One of them was standing at the back, steering the craft. The other one was sitting at the front, staring at the direction at hand. The man at the front was muscular. He was wearing a white muscle shirt and black pants. And his face was identical to a certain Slifer student.
"Put your back on it. I wanna reach Academy Island by daybreak." He said.
"Yes sir." The other man replied in a strained voice.
'I won't have my son wasting one more slacking day at that school. Chumley's coming home.'
Later on, Andrew was relaxing in his dorm room. He was laying on his bed, taking a nap. He was snoozing peacefully, that is until he heard the sound of a knock on the door.
"Hm? Who could that be?" He asked himself, almost with a sleepy tone. He got up from bed, went to the door and opened it. The person on the other side was none other than Bastion. "Oh, hey Bastion. What brings you here?"
"Well, I was working on some dueling formulas for my deck. And then, when I was just leaving my room to take a break, one of our fellow Ra yellow students asked me to give you this message." The intellectual duelist explained as he gave him a piece of paper.
"Oh really?" Andrew asked as he took it. "Let's see here." He then began reading it.
Andrew Wilson
Ever since I saw your duel during the promotion exam,
I couldn't help but feel eager to see your skills close at hand.
That's why I challenge you to a duel.
If you accept my challenge, meet me at the docks within thirty minutes.
Signed: Shiori Koizumi
"A duel, huh? That sounds interesting. Do you know anything about this Shiori person?"
Bastion put a hand on his chin as he was trying to remember anything about him. "Let's see, Shiori is a first year student. I don't have much info about him so far. But I hear he duels with a deck full of ritual monsters."
This caught Andrew's interest. "A ritual duelist, huh? It's not everyday you meet a duelist like that."
"Indeed. Ritual summoning requires a specific ritual spell card, as well as the ritual monster, not to mention monsters to sacrifice. So building a ritual themed deck takes a lot of formulating and strategizing."
"Then he must have worked really hard to build his deck." Andrew went to his desk and grabbed his duel disk. "Let's see how I can handle him."
"Good luck, then. Something tells me that you're going to need it."
"Thanks Bastion." And so, Andrew headed out.
It took Andrew almost twenty minutes before he made it to the docks. He looked around to find any sign of his challenger. He kept searching and was about to give up. But then, he finally noticed someone standing near the water. The person was wearing a Ra yellow jacket, a white shirt and black pants. He also seemed to wear a black scarf with flame designs around his neck. He had light blonde hair with his bangs covering his left eye. His eye color was chocolate brown.
"Hello there. Are you Shiori Koizumi?"
The blonde headed boy nodded and gave Andrew a smile. "Yup, that's me. So I take it you accept my challenge."
"Yeah. Mostly because I wanted to see how well I can do against someone with a ritual deck."
Shiori raised one eyebrow. "How did you know I'm a ritual duelist?"
"Well, Bastion told me about that. But that's all he knew. He didn't seem to know anything specific about your ritual deck."
Shiroi let out a laugh. "Hahaha. Oh really? I'm surprised that he doesn't know so much about me."
Andrew let out a chuckle. "I guess Bastion didn't have so much time to study you." He then activated his duel disk. "Anyway, how about we start our duel?"
The blonde haired Ra gave him a nod of approval and activated his own duel disk. "With pleasure."
"Let's duel!"
Andrew: 4000
Shiori: 4000
"As the challenger, I'll start." Shiori drew. "First I summon Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands in attack mode." A human like figure with grayish skin and arms all over its body appeared on the field. (ATK: 1400 DEF: 1000 LV: 4) "And now I activate his special ability. Since he was summoned, I'm allowed to take any ritual monster or spell card from my deck and add it to my hand. And I choose the ritual spell card known as Synthesis Spell. And now I activate the spell card Painful Choice. This lets me take five cards from my deck and show them to you. Then you get to choose one of them. The card you choose goes to my hand, and then I have to discard the other cards."
The images of five normal monsters appeared above him. The first one was Armored Zombie. The second one was Battle Footballer. The middle one was Beast of Talwar. The fourth one was Blazing Inpachi. And the fifth one was Earthbound Spirit.
Andrew was really curious about this. Why would Shiori send four monsters to his graveyard just like that? Was he planning to use a card to summon them? Or maybe he wants to use them for something else. Andrew looked at one certain card.
'Beast of Talwar. A level six monster with 2400 attack points. That monster is pretty strong. Why would Shiori use the effect of Painful Choice on that card? Is he expecting me to send it to the graveyard so he can resurrect it?' Andrew hummed before shaking his head. 'Nah, that can't be it. If that would be the case, he could just use a card like Foolish Burial. It would be stupid to get rid of four cards, just to bring out one monster.' But then, Andrews eyes widened. 'Wait a minute. Could this move be related to his ritual monsters somehow? If so, then what could his plan be?' He thought about it for a moment, but couldn't figure out something. So he decided to make his choice 'Hmm. Whatever his plan is, I will probably find out, no matter which card I choose.'
"Alright, I choose Beast of Talwar."
"Okay then." Shiori replied as he kept the card Andrew chose and put the rest in his grave. "I place one card facedown and end my turn."
"I draw." Andrew drew a card. "I summon Elemental HERO Heat in attack mode." The white and red armored fire warrior appeared on the field. (ATK: 1600 DEF: 1200 LV: 4) "This monster gains 200 attack points for every Elemental HERO I have on the field. And the only Elemental Hero here, is Heat himself." (ATK: 1600-1800) "Now attack his Manju with Burning Fist!" The hero ignited one of his fists and dashed towards Shiori's monster.
"Not so fast! I activate the trap card Sakuretsu Armor." Shiori announced as his facedown card was revealed. "With this I can destroy your attacking monster."
"Not if I can help it!" Andrew declared, as he inserted a card into his duel disk. And then, a spell card appeared in front of him. "I activate the spell card Mask Change II."
"Mask Change II?" Shiori wondered. "I've heard about your other 'Change' cards, but not that one."
"Then allow me to explain its effect. First I have to discard one card from my hand." Andrew explained while discarding one of his cards. "Then I get to choose any monster I have on the field and send it to my graveyard. After that, I'm allowed to summon a Masked HERO with the same attribute, but higher level than the monster had when it was on the field. So now Heat, time to transform!" The fire hero was surrounded by a pillar of light. "I summon Masked HERO Goka." The light faded and revealed a warrior clad in a red and black outfit with red spiky shoulder pads and a mask that had blue eye plates. (ATK: 2200 DEF: 1800 LV: 6)
Shiori whistled in fascination. "That was a nice move."
"Thanks. And before I tell you about his power, let me tell you about the card I discarded." As soon as those words left Andrew's mouth, the spirit of a certain black armored heroine appeared. "It was Elemental HERO Shadow Mist. And since she was sent to the graveyard, I can activate her special ability. I'm allowed to take a HERO monster from my deck and add it to my hand. And I choose Stratos." He revealed the turbine winged hero card. "And now there is Goka's ability. For every HERO monster in my graveyard, he gains 100 attack points. So with Heat and Shadow Mist in there, that makes 200 extra attack points." (ATK: 2200-2400)
"Oh boy." Shiori commented nervously.
"Masked HERO Goka, attack his Manju with Inferno Kick!" The masked hero jumped into the air and ignited his right foot. And then, he landed on Manju's chest with an explosive kick.
Shiori: 4000-3000
The hero then jumped back to his owner's side on the field. "I place one card facedown and end my turn."
Shiori smiled. "Impressive. But let's see how you handle this." He drew his next card and smirked when he saw what he got. "All right, time to perform a ritual. I activate the spell card Synthesis Spell."
Andrew gasped. "The ritual spell card."
"That's right. And this card requires monsters with a total level of 6 or higher as sacrifice. So I sacrifice my level six monsters Beast of Talwar." The green demon with blue wings and twin swords appeared for a moment before being swallowed by blue flames. "And now I summon the big bad Lycanthrope." Jumping out of the flames, a dark-blue skinned werewolf appeared. It was wearing torn, blue pants and had remnants of test tubes stuck to his chest. (ATK: 2400 DEF: 1800 LV: 6)
"A monster with 2400 attack points. That's the same as my Goka."
"That's why I saved this equip spell for this moment, Black Pendant." A dark purple pendant in a gold casing appeared around the werewolf's neck. "Thanks to this card, Lycanthrope gains 500 attack points." (ATK: 2400-2900)
Andrew held up his duel disk in a defensive way, preparing himself for taking a hit.
"Lycanthrope, attack his Goka!" The werewolf charged at Goka. Then it pounced on its prey and tore him apart with its claws.
Andrew: 4000-3500
Andrew winced a little. "Okay, that hurt."
Shiori smirked. "Well, I'm afraid you're about to suffer even more. Know why? Because Lycanthrope's special ability activates. Whenever he deals battle damage to you, you take an additional 200 points of damage for every normal monster in my graveyard."
Andrew's eyes widened. "So that's what your Painful Choice card was for."
"That's right. Four monsters were sent to my grave by its effect. And then, I sacrificed my Beast of Talwar for my ritual spell. Therefore, I have five normal monsters in there. Go, Lycanthrope!" Andrew braced himself as Lycanthrope raised one of its arms and clawed him.
Andrew: 3500-2500
Andrew winced again, but recovered quickly. "Well, that was a nice move, but now I can activate my trap card, Hero Signal. This lets me summon a level 4 or lower Elemental HERO from my hand or deck. And I choose Elemental HERO Bubbleman." The blue armored water hero kneeled down in front of him. (ATK: 800 DEF: 1200 LV: 4) "If he is the only card on my field when he's summoned, I'm allowed to draw two cards." Andrew explained as he drew cards from his deck.
Shiori nodded. "Okay then. I place one card facedown and end my turn."
"Here goes." Andrew looked at the card he drew and smiled. "I hope you're ready, because I'm about to take down your doggy. I activate the spell card Mask Change."
"What? Another Masked hero?"
"Yep. And I'll summon it by sending my Bubbleman to the graveyard." The said warrior disappeared in a wave of water. "I summon Masked HERO Acid." The dark blue armored hero appeared with his gun at hand. (ATK: 2600 DEF: 2100 LV: 8) "And next I activate his special ability. As soon as he's summoned to the field, all your spells and traps are destroyed." The warrior fired a stream of acid. Lycanthrope took a direct hit and the Black Pendant shattered to pixels. (ATK: 2900-2400) The same thing happened to Shiori's facedown card. "And since Acid successfully destroyed your cards, your monster loses 300 attack points." The werewolf groaned as it struggled to stay on its feet. (ATK: 2400-2100)
Shiori frowned for a moment before smirking. "Well, you might be able to take down Lycanthrope, but not without paying the price. You see, when Black Pendant is destroyed, you take 500 points of damage." As he explained, a dark purple cloud came out of Shiori's graveyard slot, before it flew over to Andrew's side of the field and assaulted him.
Andrew: 2500-2000
"That's fine, because that won't change my plans. I summon Elemental HERO Sparkman." The gold and blue electric hero rose next to the masked hero. (ATK: 1600 DEF: 1400 LV: 4) "Now Acid, attack his Lycanthrope with Acid Blast!" The masked hero let loose another shot that tore through the werewolf. It let out a howl of pain before it shattered into pixels.
Shiori: 3000-2500
"And now I'll have my Sparkman attack you directly. Go, Static Shockwave!" Sparkman shot a stream of electricity from one of his hands at Shiori.
Shiori: 2500-0900
"I place one card facedown and end my turn."
Shiori brushed off some dust. "Well, so far you haven't been disappointing. You really are good."
Andrew nodded. "Thanks. And so are you. Although, it seems that you're in a bad situation right now."
Shiori smirked. "Heh, don't worry. You won't be able to defeat me that easily. You may have defeated one ritual monster, but there are still other monsters in my deck. And I'm about to unleash them. My move." He drew his next card. "I play Graceful Charity. This lets me draw three cards from my deck, as long as I discard two cards from my hand." He drew three cards and discarded two. "And now I activate the spell, Card of Demise. Now I get to draw until I have five cards in my hand. But after five turns, my hand goes to the graveyard." He drew a new hand and was pleased when he saw what he got. "Okay, the stage is set. I summon Sonic Bird in attack mode." A bald eagle appeared in the air and landed on the ground. It was wearing glasses and had a jet pack on its back. (ATK: 1400 DEF: 1000 LV: 4) "And since this monster was summoned, I'm allowed to take a ritual spell card from my deck and add it to my hand. I choose the card known as Emblem of the Awakening. And I think I'll use it right away."
"Uh oh."
"For this spell, I have to sacrifice monsters with a total level of four or higher. Luckily, my Sonic Bird is the only monster I need." A small emblem with three different colors (green, red and blue) appeared above the eagle. The monster then changed into light particles which were then absorbed by the emblem. "I summon Cú Chulainn the Awakened." The emblem unleashed a light that was so bright, that Andrew covered his eyes. When the light died down, he opened his eyes and saw the emblem around the neck of a new monster. It was a warrior girded in heavy armor, his entire stance with haunches pulled back. He was holding a finely-crafted spear in his hand. (ATK: 500 DEF: 1000 LV: 4)
"Hm?" Andrew was actually expecting something more than a monster with 500 attack points. But then again, that monster must have a strong ability.
"You're probably curious about Cú Chulainn's capacity, right? Well, just like my Lycanthrope, he is a monster that can benefit from normal monsters."
Andrew was a little surprised. He knew that monster had some ability, but never thought it was something similar to Lycanthrope. "So what can he do?"
"I'll tell you. Once per turn, I can take a normal monster from my graveyard and remove it from play. And then that monster's attack points are added to my Cú Chulainn." Shiori explained as he took out a card from the graveyard slot. "And I choose Tri-Horned Dragon." The monster card he held up had the picture of a blue dragon with three horns sprouting from its head and four spikes protruding from its back. (ATK: 2850 DEF: 2350 LV:8)
Andrew raised an eyebrow. "Wait a minute, when did you send that…" He stopped at mid sentence when he suddenly remembered a certain spell card Shiori used earlier. "Graceful Charity."
Shiori nodded. "Bingo. My dragon was one of the cards I discarded when I played that spell. Now Cú Chulainn, power up!" The spirit of the dragon rose from the ground, before it flew into the warrior's emblem. He roared when he was surrounded by a strengthening aura. (ATK: 500-3350) "Now attack his Acid!" The warrior ran towards the masked hero and was about to stab him with his spear.
"I activate the trap card Waboku." Andrew's facedown card revealed itself and created a barrier. It simply blocked Cú Chulainn's attack. "Thanks to this, all battle damage I take this turn becomes zero, and my monsters can't be destroyed in battle."
Shiori frowned, before inserting two cards into his duel disk. "I place two cards and end my turn. And just so you know, my Chulainn's power boost will last until my next turn."
'Sounds like a problematic effect.' Andrew thought. He then looked at his deck. 'I better get something good or I'm toast.' He drew his next card and looked at it. 'This might give me something.'
"I activate the spell card Pot of Greed. So now I can draw two cards." He drew his two cards and looked at them. Andrew smiled when he saw what he got. "Then I activate the spell card Mask Charge. With this I can take a HERO monster and a Change card from my graveyard and add them to my hand. So I'll take back Shadow Mist and Mask Change II."
"Here it comes." Shiori muttered to himself.
"Now I activate the spell card Mask Change II. I discard one card from my hand so my Sparkman can transform." Andrew discarded one card. A light was starting to surround Sparkman. But then...
"I activate my trap!" Shiori exclaimed, as one of his facedown cards were revealed. "It's called Riryoku Field. Since you activated a spell card that targets exactly 1 monster, I can use this card to negate it." Andrew's spell card was then destroyed and the light died down.
"In that case, I summon Elemental HERO Stratos in Defense mode." The turbine winged hero rose beside Sparkman and kneeled down. (ATK: 1800 DEF: 300 LV: 4) "And thanks to his special ability, I can take a HERO monster from my deck and add it to my hand." Andrew explained as he took out Blazeman from his deck. "Then I switch Sparkman and Acid to defense mode and end my turn." The two named heroes kneeled down.
"My turn." Shiori declared. "And now my Cú Chulainn's attack strength goes back to normal. (ATK: 3350-500) "I summon a second Manju of the Ten Thousand hands." A copy of the creature with many arms appeared. (ATK: 1400 DEF: 1000 LV: 4) "And once again, I can take a ritual card from my deck. The card I choose is the spell card Black Illusion Ritual." He explained as held up the named card. "Next I activate Cú Chulainn's ability and remove another monster to increase his strength. And I think I choose Blazing Inpachi." The monster Cú Chulainn absorbed this time was a wooden figure burning in flames. It had number 18 engraved on its chest. (ATK: 500-2350) "Now attack is Acid!" The warrior dashed towards the masked hero.
"I don't think so!" Andrew cried, as a card ejected from his duel disk. And then, a certain mechanical turtle appeared on the field and created an electric barrier, blocking Cú Chulainn's attack.
"What the…?" Shiori stared at this, taken back.
"Since Electromagnetic Turtle was in my graveyard, I was able to end your battle phase by removing him from play."
The ritual duelist stared at him for a moment, wondering how he managed to send that monster to the graveyard. Then he figured it out. "You used Mask Change II to send it to the graveyard, didn't you?"
Andrew nodded. "Yup, that's correct."
Shiori chuckled. "Well, you certainly know how to keep yourself in the game. I end my turn."
"My move." Andrew drew. "I switch my Acid back to attack mode." The named monster stood up. "Now Acid, attack his Manju!" The masked hero fired let loose another shot.
"Stop right there! I activate the trap card Draining Shield." A green dome appeared around Shiori's monster, blocking the incoming attack. "Sorry Andrew, but thanks to my trap card, your attack is cancelled out. But that's not all. It also gives me life points equal to your monster's attack points.
Shiori: 0900-3500
Andrew frowned. "I end my turn."
"Back to me then." Shiori drew. (ATK: 2350-500) He looked at the card and smirked and placed it in his hand. "Alright, time to kick things up a bit." He took another card from his hand and held it up. "I activate the spell card Black Illusion Ritual."
Andrew widened his eyes. "Another ritual summoning? So soon?"
"Yes, and this spell lets me summon a certain ritual monster, in exchange for monsters with a total level of 1 or higher. And I think I'll sacrifice my Manju." The named monster disappeared and was replaced by a dark blue circle. Out of the circle came a dark blue monster with grey veins running all over it. Two rumored looking pieces raised up from the front of the monster and its single, golden eye looked straight at Andrew. (ATK: 0 DEF: 0 LV: 1) "Say hello to Relinquished."
Andrew was really shocked by this. "Relinquished? You mean Pegasus wasn't the only one with that card?"
"Yeah. Many people would believe that. But the truth is a few copies of it were released. And I was lucky enough to get my hands on this one. But now, let's get back to business. I activate Relinquished's special ability. Once per turn, I can turn one of your monsters into an equip spell card and attach it to Relinquished. And then, that monster's attack and defense points are transferred to him. And the monster I choose is Masked HERO Acid." There was a grey circle on the center of the ritual monster that opened up and a vacuum effect started that sucked in Andrew's monster. And then, the upper body of the masked hero appeared on one of the armor pieces. (ATK: 0-2600 DEF: 0-2100)
"And once again, I activate Cú Chulainn's ability. I remove Beast of Talwar to increase his strength." The winged demon appeared and was absorbed into Cú Chulainn's emblem. (ATK: 500-2900) "Now attack his Sparkman!" The warrior dashed towards the electric hero and stabbed him with his spear. "Relinquished, attack his Stratos!" The eye of the strange looking monster shot a beam of light energy and destroyed the turbine winged hero. "And now, I'll end my turn."
"Alright. I summon Elemental HERO Blazeman." The red armored hero with flaming head appeared. (ATK: 1200 DEF: 1800 LV: 4) "When this monster is summoned, I'm allowed to take a Polymerization from my deck and add it to my hand. And I'll use it right now so I can fuse Blazeman with Shadow Mist." The two named heroes fused together. "I summon Elemental HERO Ezcuridao." The dark armored warrior with shadow wings came out of the fusion vortex. (ATK: 2500 DEF: 2000 LV: 8)
"And since Shadow Mist was sent to the graveyard, I can take another HERO from my deck and add it to my hand. And I choose Elemental HERO Ocean." Andrew held up the card he took from his deck. "And then there is Escuridao's special ability. She gains 100 attack points for every Elemental HERO in my graveyard. And right now, there are six heroes, so that gives her 600 attack points." The transparent forms of Andrew's heroes faded into Ezcuridao, giving her a boost. (ATK: 2500-3100)
"3100 attack points!" Shiori exclaimed.
"And that's enough for her to take down any one of your monsters. And I'll start with your Cú Chulainn. Go Escuridao! Attack with Night Claw Slash!" Escuridao flew forward and slashed the spear wielding warrior with her claws.
Shiori: 3500-3300
"I hope you're ready, because your Relinquished is next."
Shiori smirked confidently. "I don't think you'll be able to take him down during your next turn." He then drew his next card. "Now I play my own Pot of Greed. So I get two cards." He looked at the two cards and was pleased when he noticed one of them. "I place one card face down and then I activate the equip spell Mage Power." The spell card appeared and a blue aura surrounded Relinquished. "Thanks to this spell, my monster gains 500 attack and defense points for every spell and trap card on my side on the field, including itself. And since your Masked HERO is attached to Relinquished like an equip spell, he counts as a spell card as well." (ATK: 2600-4100 DEF: 2100-3600) "Now attack his Escuridao!" It shot another beam of light energy and destroyed the dark armored hero.
Andrew: 2000-1000
"And I'll finish it here." Shiori declared.
"My turn." Andrew drew. He looked at the card he drew. 'This card might be useful.'
I summon Elemental HERO Ocean in attack mode." The blue-skinned water hero stood up and held up his trident, ready for battle. ATK: 1500 DEF: 1200 LV 4) "Then I'll place one card facedown and end my turn." A facedown card appeared right behind Ocean.
Shiori narrowed his eyes. 'A monster in attack mode and a facedown card? I guess Andrew wants me to attack so he can use his facedown card.' He smirked. 'There's no way I'm gonna fall for that.' He drew a card and inserted it into his duel disk. "I activate the spell card Mystical Space Typhoon. This lets me destroy one spell or trap card on the field. There goes for your facedown card." A typhoon flew towards Andrew's side of the field. Shiori was still smirking… until he heard Andrew chuckling.
"Thank you. That's exactly what I was hoping for."
"What!?"
"I activate the trap card Blast with Chain." Andrew's trap activated, making several sticks of dynamite, held together by a long chain appear in front of Ocean. "When this card is activated, it becomes an equip card that gives the equipped monster 500 attack points." (ATK: 1500-2000)
"So? That won't stop me from destroying it." The typhoon blew away the trap card. (ATK: 2000-1500)
"That's true, but my trap card has a second effect. Whenever it's destroyed by a card effect while equipped, one card on the field is automatically destroyed."
Shiori gasped. "Destroyed!?"
"Yup. And I think I'll destroy your Relinquished." The water hero picked up the bomb and threw it. It exploded on Relinquished and destroyed it.
"Damn!" Shiori cursed. "You got me."
"I sure did. So, what now?"
Shiori sighed. "I end my turn." He held a disappointed expression, but inside, he was confident. 'Little does he know, I have my trap card Attack and Receive on the field. As soon as I take damage, I'll use it to deal 700 points of damage. And for every "Attack and Receive" card in my graveyard, this card deals an additional 300 points of damage. And I was able to discard one copy of it, thanks to my Graceful Charity. You fought well, Andrew. But not good enough I'm afraid.'
"I draw." Andrew drew. "And now I activate Ocean's special ability; Once per turn, I can take a HERO monster from my field or graveyard and return it to my hand. The one I choose is Stratos, and I think I'll summon him to the field in attack mode." The turbine winged appeared beside Ocean. (ATK: 1800 DEF: 300 LV: 4) "And now I activate his second ability. He can destroy spell and trap cards up to the number of other HERO monsters I control. And you know what means, don't you?"
Shiori was starting to panic. "My facedown…" He watched in horror as Stratos unleashed a cyclone, thanks to his wings, and destroyed his trap card.
"And now you're defenseless. Now my heroes, attack him directly." The two heroes dashed towards Shiori. Stratos punched him, and Ocean stabbed him with his trident.
Shiori: 3300-0000
Shiori fell to his knees as the holograms were shut off. Andrew walked over to him and held out his hand.
"That was a great duel Shiori. You almost got me there." He said while smiling.
Shiori smiled and took his hand, allowing him to help him up. "Thanks. I actually thought I could win. But still, I'm not disappointed. You're really good. I hope we can duel again someday."
"Sure, just let me know you're ready."
"Thanks. Until next time." Shiori said and left, but not before giving Andrew a thumbs up and a toothy grin.
Andrew watched as he walked away. "Well, guess I got a new rival then. It seems my life is getting more interesting." He said to himself, then set off for the Ra dorm.
On the way, he noticed Syrus a distance away, running with panicked look on his face.
"Hm? Syrus?"
"Jaden! Where are you Jaden?" Syrus called out.
"Hey, Syrus! What's up?"
The blue-headed Slifer student turned and saw Andrew. "Oh, Andrew?" He ran up to him. "Please, tell me you have seen Jaden somewhere." He pleaded.
Andrew didn't like the worried tone in Syrus' voice. "No, I haven't. Why are you asking? Did something happened?"
Syrus lowered his head. "Well, you see…"
As for Jaden, he was relaxing on the ground, under a tree near school. "This the life. Green grass, some warm sunshine, my own private..."
"JADEN!"
"Huh?"Jaden sat up and saw Syrus and Andrew running in his direction. "Maybe not so private."
"Jaden, you've gotta come quick. Something terrible has happened." Syrus told him.
"Traps test. You flunked, huh?"
"Actually, I got a B." Syrus said proudly, but then got serious again. "But… but that's not the reason we came here, Jaden. It's Chumley. His dad just showed up!"
"Yeah? So what? He raid our fridge?"
"No Jaden!" Andrew replied. "He came here to force Chumley to drop out!"
Jaden's eyes widened at Syrus' words. "Drop out!? No way! Not our buddy!"
The three boys ran to the Slifer dorm where a group of other Slifer students where standing outside professor Banner's room, looking inside to see what was happening. They looked inside. They could see Banner sitting at a small table on the floor. They could also see another person sitting across from him. It was a man with a nose and hair like Chumley, but with a more muscular body.
"No way. That's his dad?" Jaden asked.
"Looks like a bodybuilder, huh." Syrus commented.
"Yeah." Andrew agreed.
"Though, carrying around Chumley as a kid, you'd kind of have to be."
The boys quieted down as the two adults continued talking.
"I mean, don't get me wrong," Mr Huffington was saying. "If Chumley was any good at dueling it'd be one thing. But clearly he's not, he's wasting his time here. It's time for him to give up dueling and come home."
"I see your point. Chumley is a bit uh…" He was started chuckling, while choosing his words in front of the father.
"He's a bit dense, you can say that. That's why I want him to come home and join the family business." He slammed his fist on the table while talking. "The hot sauce business." He paused for a moment before asking Banner. "You do like hot sauce?"
"Oh yes. I love it. I can't get enough of it." Banner said, trying be on the man's good side.
"Loud and clear. Here..." Huffington said as he reached down and placed a big bottle on the table. It was wrapped in red paper with a picture of red chili fruits. "Free sample."
"Oh no, I really couldn't." Banner politely tried to refuse.
"Oh yes, you could." Mr Huffington glared at the teacher. "Come on. Just think of it as a goodbye gift from me and Chumley."
"So he's really dropping?" Syrus asked his friends.
"No. Not if we can help it Syrus." Jaden replied. "Come on, we've gotta talk some sense into him." The three boys ran up to their room (Well, except that Andrew is a Ra yellow student, but you know what I mean.). "Chumley." Jaden called out as he opened the door. When they got in, they saw Chumley on his knees packing thing into his backpack. "Hey, what are you doing Chumley?"
"What does it look like?" He asked harshly.
"It looks like you're giving up. Like you're taking everything you worked for and throwing it away. Like you're abandoning all your dreams. All your dueling goals… And you don't even care!" But as Jaden grabbed Chumley, the big Slifer turned around and to everyone's surprise, tears were running from his eyes. Jaden stood back upon seeing his friend in this state. "Chumley?"
"He does care." Syrus realized.
"No. I got something in my eye okay? Both of them. Now just leave me alone, would ya?" Chumley attempted to rub his tears away on his sleeve. "I mean, it's not like I'm worth wasting your time on anyhow. At least according to my dad I'm not. But he doesn't know, I really could be a champion duelist. Because I have a special power that I haven't told anybody. Sometimes, duel monsters talk to me."
"You talk to duel monsters cards? Then you're just like us." Andrew said, being surprised that Chumley could hear duel spirits too. "Did you tell this to your dad, Chumley?"
"Of cours not. Everything to him is just hot sauce, hot sauce, hot sauce."
Jaden had enough of this and grabbed Chumley's arm. "Come on." Jaden dragged him out the door with Syrus and Andrew following them.
The boys went to see Chancellor Sheppard to explain the situation. Mr Huffington and Banner were also there to hear them out. "So there you have it…" Jaden finished. "Chumley can't be allowed to drop out. He's got a gift."
"Oh sure, a gift for eating grilled cheese." Chumley looked down at hearing his dad's comment.
Andrew glared at the man and clenched one of his hands. 'What kind of father treats his son like that?'
"Look, I know Chumley, I'm his roommate." Jaden vouched. "Not to mention his pal.
"Yeah, me too. Uh, what Jaden said." Syrus added.
"And even though I'm not a Slifer anymore, I'm his friend too." Andrew added in.
"Look boys," Sheppard spoke. "I respect you sticking up for your friend here. But I'm afraid that this is a personal matter. It's not your business."
"That's right, it's family business." Mr Huffington added.
"But sir…" Jaden tried to speak, but the muscular man interrupted him.
"Which is why I propose a duel."
"Huh?" Chumley was surprised by this proposal.
"That's right. Father versus son. If you have this special gift your friends say, you should beat me easily. And I'll let you stay at the academy. But, if you lose, then, you come home."
Chumley's look changed to one of determination. "It's a deal."
"Good. Then let's duel first thing tomorrow morning. How does that sound chancellor?"
"So be it. Tomorrow morning it will be decided. Will Chumley stay, or go home?"
"Haha. See guys, What'd I tell ya?" Jaden asked as the four boys left the main building, accompanied by professor Banner. "It was a piece of cake to convince Chumley's dad to let him stay at the academy."
"Jaden, we just convinced him to a duel. Chumley still has to win if he's going to stay." Syrus pointed out.
"Yeah, but come on. Chumley's dad doesn't know how to duel. He's an amateur. Am I right?"
Andrew didn't seem to agree with Jaden's opinion. "I don't know about that. I mean, we just met this man. Save from his hot sauce business, we don't know anything about him. He might be an expert duelist."
"Nah. I bet he's been thinking about hot sauce so much that it comes out of his ears."
"Uh hum. Actually, he's been state duel champion three years in a row." Banner stated. "Why do you think he was so insistent Chumley go to this school. He wanted his son to be like him. Ohh wait until you see his deck. As you all know, he earns a living with his special hot sauce. Well, his deck reflects the kick of his sauce. It can take you out in one turn, like a spicy buffalo wing takes you out in one bite." The boys gasped. "And all the morning after."
"So Chumley accepted knowing all of that?" Jaden asked. The boys turned towards their friend who had an expression of grim determination. "Chumley, he must really want to stay here, huh?" Jaden wrapped one arm around Syrus' neck and the other around Chumley's neck. "Now come on. Let's go get your deck ready Chum."
Later on, Andrew headed to his dorm room to get what he needed to help Chumley prepare. He opened one of his drawers and took a little wooden box, filled with leftover cards. Then he left the room and headed straight to the Slifer red dorm. On the way, he heard someone called out to him.
"Hey Andrew."
He turned to see a familiar Obelisk blue girl. "Oh, hey Jenny."
"Where are you going?" She asked, walking to him.
"I'm heading to the Slifer dorm to help Chumley prepare for a duel tomorrow."
Jenny was a little surprised by this. "Chumley? What for?"
Andrew seemed unease for a moment, but then sighed, thinking it would be best to tell her. "Okay, this is what happened…"
And so, he explained to her about Chumley and his father. Once he finished, Jenny was really shocked.
"No way. So if he loses, he'll be forced to leave the academy?"
"Yeah, that's right." Andrew replied with a sad look, before it changed to one of seriousness. "So that's why I'm going to help him. If he's going to defeat his dad, Chumley must be prepared." He then headed to the Slifer dorm. "There's no way I'll let that man force his son join the family business."
As Andrew walked away, Jenny was standing on the place. She looked down toward the ground, with her eyes covered by a shadow. And then… she gritted her teeth with anger.
'Forced into family business, against their own will… No-one deserves that.'
Back at the Slifer dorm, Professor Banner and Mr Huffington were sitting down at table eating dinner, which included a large bottle of hot sauce.
"Ah, come on. Ha! Just a little bit more hot sauce. You can handle it." Mr Huffington said as he poured some in Banner's cup.
"You are so very generous." He replied politely.
"My pleasure. And your cat's from the look of it." Mr Huffington said as he looked at Pharaoh who was slurping hot saucef from his dish.
"Yes, good thing I stocked up on kitty litter."
"Oh, speaking of, nature calls." He stood up and walked out the door.
As soon as he left the room, he heard talking from the slifer trio's dorm room.
"What's with Chumley's cards?" Jaden asked as he, Syrus, and Andrew helped the latter to rebuild his deck. "They're all koalas."
"Koalas are my favorite, duh!" Chumley snapped.
"Don't get me wrong Chumley, koalas are cool, but can you win with them?"
"Here, try this card out." Syrus handed Chumley a card with a picture of a green kangaroo dressed like a boxer on it. "I got it a while back but never used it. Maybe you can."
"Wow Sy. Really?"
"Yeah, if you join it with one of your koalas, you'll have yourself a deck from down under."
Chumley strained to keep himself from crying.
"And since your deck is full of beast type monsters, I got something useful for you." Andrew said as he took a card out from his wooden box. He showed it to him, revealing a spell card. It had a picture of fangs covered by something toxically green.
"You would really just give me a card like that?"
Andrew nodded while smiling. "Of course I would. I can't run this card in my deck anyway. Besides, we're friends and that's what friends do to each other."
Chumley smiled and took the card.
Andrew scratched the back at the back of his head while having an ashamed look on his face. "Although, I might be a little busy tomorrow, so I don't think I'll be there to cheer you on."
Jaden placed a hand on his shoulder. "Nah, it's cool. I think your card is all the support Chumley need from you." And then, he realized something. "Oh. And I got something for you too. It could really come in handy." Jaden went to his bed and fished a card from it.
"Huh?" Chumley blinked, being curious about what card Jaden had.
Outside, Mr Huffington heard the boys talk, contemplating on what he just heard.
The next morning, Jaden and Syrus joined professor Banner and the Huffingtons inside a practice room. It kind of looked like a ninja dojo.
"All right. Chumley, Mr Huffington, you both know what the stakes are for this match." Professor Banner said. "If Chumley wins, he gets to stay at school. However, if he loses the duel, well then, he has to go back home."
"That's right." Mr Huffington agreed. "Or my hot sauce won't chap your lips."
Banner turned to look at Chumley. "Chumley, you sure you are okay with this? Can you handle going to work for your dad's hot sauce company? Chapped lips."
"I can handle anything right now." Chumley said as he narrowed his eyes.
Banner nodded his head. "Fine. Then without further ado, let's begin the duel gentlemen."
"All right." Chumley activated his duel disk.
"Go time." His dad did the same.
Chumley: 4000
Mr Huffington: 4000
"Here I come." Chumley announced as he drew a card. "Totally lishus. First I'll place Des Koala in attack mode." A koala with brown and white fur appeared in front of him. It had leaves in its mouth and a belly pouch. (ATK: 1100 DEF: 1800 LV: 4)
Chumley's dad saw the mistake he made. "In attack mode? Don't you know that if you first placed him in defense mode first, and then flipped him into attack mode later, Des Koala's special ability would have caused me 400 points of damage for every card in my hand?"
"Duh, of course I knew that…" Chumley then slumped his shoulders. "At least now I do."
"Now it's too late. You should have taken your studies more seriously. Maybe now you'll learn." His drew a card.
"Watch him closely children…" Banner said to Jaden and Syrus. "You may learn something."
"Seeing as how he's a state champ, I don't doubt it." Jaden said. "I just hope it's not that one turn finisher he's known for."
Syrus gulped.
"Ready son?"
"Uh oh."
"Here I come. I summon Dizzy Tiger in attack mode." A humanoid tiger a pair of wife beaters, khaki pants, sunglasses and holding a bottle of hot sauce appeared. It started to move around uncontrollably, like it was drunk or something. (ATK: 1800 DEF: 600 LV: 4)
Chumley was obviously a little confused by the monster's state. "A Dizzy… Tiger?"
"Weird." Jaden commented.
"So, why is he dizzy?"
"It looks like too much hot sauce. But that doesn't mean that beast doesn't have some bite left."
"Dizzy Tiger attack. Hot Sauce Slash!" The humanoid tiger lunged forward and swung its paw at Des Koala. The strike then continued on to Chumley, leaving a red mist with a strong smell.
"Oh. That's hot sauce all right." Chumley said covering his mouth.
Chumley: 4000-3300
"Oh boy. That stinks." Jaden said.
"But his attack sure didn't." Syrus said.
Back on its owner's field, Dizzy Tiger still had hard time standing straight. "Hahahahaha. At this rate we'll be home before dinner. Which will be hot sauce I might add."
"I'll tell what you can do with your hot sauce!" Chumley snapped.
"Hey, keep your cool there Chumley."
"It's nice that he's standing up for himself in front of his dad though." Syrus commented. Upon receiving a look from Mr Huffington, Syrus ducked behind Jaden.
"Chum, fight back."
"I know." Chumley said exasperated as he drew a card. "Lishus. Yeah this might just work." He then took a card from his hand. "All right, I activate the spell card Koala March. With it I can summon a koala monster back from my graveyard, as long as it's a level four or bellow." Des Koala reappeared from the graveyard. (ATK: 1100 DEF: 1800 LV: 4)
"Hey look Jaden, Chumley has his Des koala on the field again."
"That's true. I just hope he can work it better around this time around."
"Not it, them." Banner corrected. "Koala March also lets him summon another monster from his hand, if it's the same as the one he brought back from the graveyard. And if I know Chumley…"
"I summon another Des Koala." A second brown and white koala appeared beside the first one. (ATK: 1100 DEF: 1800 LV: 4) "I sacrifice both of them to summon Big Koala." The two beast type monsters left the field and were replaced by a giant blue-furred koala without the leaves in its pouch and mouth. (ATK: 2700 DEF: 2000 LV: 7)
"Not bad." Mr Huffington commented.
"No duh not bad. Now Big Koala, Attack Dizzy Tiger!" Big Koala carved towards the tiger on all fours. "Take Down from Down Under!" The giant koala picked up the tiger and slammed it into the ground.
Mr Huffington: 4000-3100
"Dizzy Tiger's gonzo." Chumley announced.
"All right! That's the way you do it." Jaden said as he and Syrus cheered.
"So, you want to fight? All right, let's fight." Mr H. drew a card. "I call Dizzy Angel." The angel-like monster was a man with long blonde hair wearing a white suit and a black hat. Like Dizzy Tiger, he was holding a hot sauce bottle and couldn't stand straight without wobbling. (ATK: 1800 DEF: 600 LV: 4)
"He reeks of hot sauce too." Chumley commented. "And from how he can hardly stand up, I'd say he's had his fair share of it." And then he heard a strange sound from the angel. 'Whoa. I'm starting to hear those weird monster voices again.'
"Now I activate the spell card, Hot Sauce Bottle." A large red bottle appeared in front of Mr Huffington's monster who stared at it. "And I also activate the spell card, Flipping the Table." The ground underneath the dueling field became a low-leg table. Mr Huffington flipped it, sending both monsters into the air. Chumley's Big Koala fell to the ground and was destroyed. His dad laughed. "What a card! It destroys everything on my field… everything except for itself that is. And then the same number of cards on your field are also destroyed. Now you're left defenseless."
"That must be his special one strike attack." Syrus said.
"Yeah, and I don't know if I like it. It totally resets the field. It's hardly even fair." Jaden commented.
"That's just like you!" Chumley argued with his dad. "You don't like something so you trash it."
Mr Huffington laughed at his son's words. "I didn't get to be a hot sauce tycoon by being nice son." And then for some reason, Dizzy Angel was back, acting as weird as earlier.
"Hey! Why is Angel back? Wasn't he destroyed by Flipping the Table?"
"Wishful thinking. But you see, Dizzy Angel has a special ability. He can't be destroyed by the effect of Flipping the Table."
"What!? Oh great. Now this guy's gonna keep weird me out."
"It gets worse. Because when my on Hot Sauce Bottle is destroyed and sent to the graveyard, its special ability activates. That causes you 500 points of damage." A red smoke washed over Chumley's field, making him cover his mouth.
"Eww, is that what stinks too?"
Chumley: 3300-2800
"But I'm not done yet. Dizzy Angel, go in for your attack! Hot Sauce Sizzler!" The angel fired a gush of hot sauce from his bottle.
Chumley: 2800-1000
"Chumley!" Jaden called out.
"I just can't win."
'Don't worry son. This will be over soon.' Mr H thought. "Make your move why don't ya?"
"But make sure you think it through Chumley," Banner advised. "Otherwise you'll be back home bottling hot sauce."
"Duh! I know." Chumley drew a card. "I activate the spell card Pot of Greed. With it I can draw two cards from my deck." He drew his two cards, getting the one he got from Syrus, and the one he got from Andrew. 'Hey, it's these cards.'
Flashback
"Here, try this card out." Syrus handed Chumley a card with a picture of a green kangaroo dressed like a boxer on it. "I got it a while back but never used it. Maybe you can."
"Wow Sy. Really?"
"Yeah, if you join it with one of your koalas, you'll have yourself a deck from down under."
"And since your deck is full of beast type monsters, I got something useful for you." Andrew said as he took a card out from his wooden box. He showed it to him, revealing a spell card. It had a picture of fangs covered by something toxically green.
"You would really just give me a card like that?"
Andrew nodded while smiling. "Of course I would. I can't run this card in my deck anyway. Besides, we're friends and that's what friends do to each other."
Chumley smiled and took the card.
Flashback end
'Well, I guess now's as good a time as any.'
"First I activate the spell card Silent Doom. With it I'm allowed to summon one monster back to the field from the graveyard. And I choose Big Koala." His big blue koala monster appeared in defense mode. (ATK: 2700 DEF: 2000 LV: 7) 'He won't kick me out without a fight.'
"Next I activate the spell card Poison Fangs." The continuous spell he got from Andrew appeared behind Big Koala. "And I activate Polymerization. And fuse Big Koala with the Des Kangaroo in my hand..." The named kangaroo appeared before jumping into the air and merged with the giant koala. "To create Master of Oz." The fusion monster was a creature with a kangaroo-like body, but with a koala-like face. It was wearing red boxing gloves, boots, a purple vest, a championship belt on its shoulder and carried weights in its front pouch. (ATK: 4200 DEF: 3700 LV: 9)
'Hm. Like I didn't see that coming.' Mr Huffington thought as recalled what he learned while spying on the boys.
Flashback
"Oh hey. And I got something for you too. It could really come in handy." Jaden said as held out the Master of Oz card. "After all, with 4200 attack points, it packs a pretty good wallop."
"You would really just give such a powerful card Jaden?"
"Yeah, of course I would. Like Andrew said, we're buddies. And that's what buddies do for each other. Besides, you belong here with us."
Chumley stared at the card for a moment before he smiled. His dad has been looking in on them and listening at the same time.
Flashback end
Back to the present, a small smile formed on Mr Huffington's face as he remembered how much the other boys cared about his son.
"Now go Oz! Outback Attack!" The Master of Oz reared back one of his fists and swung forward. The punch hit Dizzy Angel so hard that it flew back and exploded in a shower of pixels.
Mr Huffington: 3300-0700
And then, Chumley's continuous spell card started to glow. "And now the effect of Poison Fangs activates. Since you took battle damage from a beast type monster, you take another 500 points of damage." The spell card shot a beam of energy, and pushed Mr Huffington back a little.
Mr Huffington: 0700-0200
"What a shock!" Jaden commented.
"I'm still here." Mr H said.
"Yeah? So bring it." Chumley challenged.
"Aw man, Chum almost had him there. This is close." Syrus said.
"Yeah, this one is going right down to the wire."
"Chumley, you fought a good duel, but you've lost." Mr H declared.
"What are you talking?" Chumley demanded. "Master of Oz has 4200 attack points."
"It doesn't matter. You forget, with one flip of the table, he'll be gone."
"That card doesn't scare me dad. You forget, I know its weakness."
"Flipping the Table has a weakness?" Jaden asked.
"That's right. Once you use it, you can't summon up a monster. And that means, you'll be defenseless dad. I'll win, you'll lose. Ha!"
"Not bad son." Mr Huffington said eerily calm. "You've accurately spotted the card's weak spot. I'm very impressed with you. But still, it won't change things. See, with what I have planned, so what if I'm defenseless. Two Hot Sauce Bottles!" Two more red bottles appeared on the field.
"Wait. If one bottle's destroyed, he takes 500 points of damage. So if two are destroyed…"
"It'll be bad." Jaden said, finishing Syrus' math.
"I activate Flipping the Table." Mr Huffington up the table again, destroying his Hot Sauce Bottles and Chumley's Master of Oz in the process." That's two bottles down, so that means, 1000 points of damage to you!" The familiar red scented mist appeared around Chumley again, making him cough and lose the rest of his life points.
Chumley: 1000-0000
"I can't believe it. He lost." Syrus said.
"Poor Chumley." Jaden was as down as Syrus.
Chumley fell down to his knees, defeated.
After returning to their room, Chumley started to pack his backpack for the trip home. His friends to convince him to do otherwise. Even Andrew and Jenny who heard about the outcome of the duel tried to convince him.
"Chumley come on. You don't really have to go, do you?" Syrus asked.
"Duh! I made a promise I've gotta keep it."
"Then this is really it?" Syrus looked on the verge of crying.
"You're a good duelist Chumley." Jaden said.
"Good luck." Andrew stretched out his hand to their friend.
Chumley grabbed his offered hand. "Same to you." Syrus and Chumley were both crying. "Anyway I better get going now. There's a lot of hot sauce out there that needs bottling."
"And I'm sure you'll bottle it great." Jaden said.
"Come on, we'll walk with you." Jenny offered.
The students walked to the place where they were to meet up with Professor Banner and Chumley's father. But when they arrived, only Banner was there.
"Hey professor, where's my dad?"
"Your father had to go. Something went wrong with the milds. But he wrote you this and wanted me to give it to you."
Chumley took the note that Banner passed him. He unfolded it and read it out loud. "Dear son, there's more to school than just your studies. And while you may not have made great grades there, you've made some great friends…" Tears of happiness dropped from his eyes. "That's reason enough for you to stay." He crumpled the paper. "DAD!" He ran to the edge of a cliff andsaw that his father was riding away from the island in a small boat. He cupped his hands together. "DADDY! I won't let you down! I won't let any of you down! From here on out, I'm gonna make you proud of me! My family and my friends!"
His friends smiled at seeing him like this. Jenny was especially glad for him.
'It seems Chumley's father is a good-hearted and reasonable man after all.' She then lowered her head. 'Which is more than I can say about my father.'
As for Mr Huffington and the man steering the boat...
"Come on, put your back into it! There's a case of hot sauce in it for ya if we get back before dawn."
And another chapter finished. As you just saw, Chumley used a card he got from Andrew. I thought that would um… 'spice' things up a bit. I hope you like this chapter. Until next time.
