The Duel Off: Part 3 - Clash of Heroes
Just like before, it was still some time before the next duel was about to start. Therefore, Andrew was sitting on a bench the locker room, once again, going through his deck.
"Well, this is it. My duel against Jaden is about to start. And he has overcome many tough situations, including Bastion's anti-fusion strategy. This is going to be tough."
The spirit of Phantom Magician choose at that moment to appear. "Are you nervous?"
"Maybe a little." Andrew replied, but gave him a confident smile. "But that won't stop me. I'll give Jaden a duel he'll never forget."
Phantom Magician nodded before he disappeared. Andrew then gathered all his cards together and stood up.
"Alright Jaden, time to meet your match."
At the same time, Jaden was in a different locker room, and looked over his own deck. "This is it. I'm about to face Andrew, and based on how well he played, he's gonna be a very tough opponent."
Winged Kuriboh appeared at that moment. "Coo."
Jaden turned to his duel spirit. "Don't worry, buddy. With all you guys on my side, I'll be fine." The duel spirit nodded before he disappeared. "Alright, time to throw down."
The intermission was close to the end, and the audience was more than eager to see the final duel.
"It's almost time." Syrus said. "This is gonna be one of the greatest duels of the year."
"Yeah, I can't wait to see how this is going to turn out." Chumley added.
"Same here." Gerard replied. "After seeing both of them duel, I can tell this is going to be a fun duel."
"It will be an interesting duel indeed." Bastion spoke up. "Both Jaden and Andrew are hero duelists. Only, there are differences between their Elemental heroes. And there is also Andrew's set of Masked heroes."
"True, but Jaden is so unpredictable that he's not easy to defeat." Matt said.
"Well, Andrew is not easy to defeat either." Shiori replied.
"And that's what's gonna make this duel awesome." Michael added.
"This duel is going to be interesting." Zane said.
"No kidding." Alexis replied. "Jaden and Andrew have similar dueling styles with a few differences."
"And both of them are the kind of duelists who keeps fighting no matter how tough the opponent is." Jenny added.
Crowler came up to the platform once more before speaking into the microphone. "The intermission is now over. Will our two duelists, please take their places on the field for the final match!"
Andrew and Jaden walked from opposite ends, with confident smiles on their faces. The people in the audience cheered loudly for the both of them as they made their way onto the platform in the middle of the arena.
"And now, introducing from Ra Yellow, Andrew Wilson!" Many students from the audience, including the other Ra students, cheered for him. "And from Slifer… ugh... Jaden Yuki!" Crowler did his best to not sound disturbed of introducing him. Many students, including the slifers, cheered for him.
"Alright! It's finally time." Jaden said. "Good luck Andrew."
"Same to you Jaden." Andrew replied. "You better not hold anything back. I know I won't."
"You bet I won't! Now let's throw down!"
"Let the duel Begin!" Crowler announced, then jumped off from the stage.
Both duelists activated their duel disks.
"Get your game on!" Jaden said.
"You got it." Andrew replied.
"DUEL!"
Andrew: 4000
Jaden: 4000
"You can go first." Jaden offered as they drew their starting hands.
"Fine by me." Andrew drew his sixth card. "And I think I'll start by activating the spell card Polymerization. And I'll use it to fuse Elemental HERO Heat with Lady Heat." The red and white fire couple appeared before being sucked into the fusion vortex.
"Both Heat and Lady Heat?" Jaden noted. "I've never seen you fuse those two before."
Andrew smirked. "That's because I'm usually fusing them to create this monster..." And then, a new monster came out from the fusion vortex. This was a fiery hero with the same traits as his fusion materials. Flame designs on his shoulders and helmet, and hands made of solid magma, and in the center of his chest was a ball of the same material as the hands. "Jaden, say hello to Elemental HERO Inferno." (ATK: 2300 DEF: 1600 LV: 8)
"Wow, that monster is hot, literally." Jaden cracked.
"Trust me, you don't even know half of it. But let's save that for later. I play the spell card Supply Squad." The spell card appeared behind the fusion monster. "I end my turn."
"Then here goes!" Jaden began his turn. "I summon Elemental HERO Bubbleman in attack mode!" The blue clad water hero with white cape appeared from a pillar of bubbles. (ATK: 800 DEF: 1200 LV: 4) "And thanks to his special ability, I get to draw two cards since I have nothing else on the field." After drawing his two new cards, Jaden looked at them and smirked. "And it looks like I've got two good ones, starting with this: Bubble Blaster." The familiar bazooka appeared on the hero's shoulder as he grabbed it. "And now Bubbleman gets 800 extra points." (ATK: 800-1600) "Now for my other card, the field spell Skyscraper." The two duelists found themselves surrounded by tall buildings. "And now if my hero battles a monster that has more attack points than him, my Skyscraper gives him 1000 extra attack points." The water prepared himself to fire. (ATK: 1600-2600)
"Lishus!" Chumley said.
"Now he's going to destroy that Inferno!" Syrus added.
"But it's weird that Andrew would summon a strong monster right at the beginning." Michael stated. "Doing that might be good sometimes, but there's always a chance that the opponent will be able to play something that can destroy it. Kinda like what Jaden just did."
"Yeah, it's not like Andrew to be so overconfident." Shiori added.
"Unless, he actually wants Jaden to attack him." Bastion said.
"But why would he want that?" Matt asked.
Before anyone else could answer, Jaden gave his monster the word. "Now fire! Bombarding Bubble Barrage!" The hero fired a stream of bubbles that went straight toward Andrew's hero monster. But...
"Sorry Jaden, but I'm about to burst your bubble." Andrew said.
"Huh?" Jaden was confused at that statement. But then, he saw the fire hero lighten up his solid magma hands. He then held them up in a defensive way and took the hit from Bubbleman's attack. And Jaden was shocked to see the bubble stream getting vaporized. "What's going on?"
"This is Inferno's ability. Every time he battles with a water monster, his attack points are temporarily increased by 1000." (ATK: 2300-3300)
"Uh oh." Jaden voiced.
"So even with Skyscraper, Bubbleman is still too weak to destroy that hero." Gerard said.
"Aw man." Syrus said.
The fire hero shot a stream of fire that vaporized Bubbleman's attack until it reached him and destroyed Bubble Blaster. (ATK: 2600-1800) (ATK: 3300-2300)
"Wow! Didn't see that coming." Jaden commented. "Good thing the blaster took the hit."
"Surprised by my monster's effect?" Andrew asked.
"Definitely. I never thought there was a hero with such a sweet effect!"
"Looks like Jaden was caught off guard." Zane said.
"Yeah. Andrew actually expected him to play a water monster and attack Inferno." Jenny added.
"This will be tough for Jaden." Alexis muttered.
"I'll throw down a facedown and call it a turn." Jaden concluded as a facedown card appeared.
"My move." Andrew drew. "Inferno, attack! Destroy his Bubbleman!" The fire hero shot another stream of fire.
"Hold it! I activate my trap, Hero Barrier!" Jaden's facedown card flipped up and created a blue barrier that blocked the fire stream. "Since I have an Elemental HERO on my field, I can negate your attack."
"And Jaden is safe." Matt commented.
"Of course he is." Chumley said.
"I place a card facedown and end my turn." Andrew set a card facedown.
"Then here I go!" Jaden drew a card. "And I think I'll play the spell card Bubble Shuffle. Now I can switch Bubbleman and your monster to defense mode. And then I can sacrifice him to summon another Elemental HERO from my hand." Both hero monsters crossed their arms and kneeled down. "And now I summon Elemental HERO Bladedge!" The water hero disappeared and was replaced by the golden armored hero. (ATK: 2600 DEF: 1800 LV: 7) "And I think I'll let Wildheart join the party." Jaden added as he summoned the same brown-skinned hero he used to defeat Bastion. (ATK: 1500 DEF: 1600 LV: 4) "And watch as Bladedge cuts your monster to pieces. Slice and Dice Attack!" The hero's jet wings extended from his back. He then flew towards the fire hero.
"Stop right there! I play Mirror Force!" Andrew's trap card flipped up and created a wall of glass. When Bladedge collided with it, a light erupted from the spot and destroyed him. "Thanks to this, all your monsters in attack mode are destroyed."
"Whoops. Looks like you got me there, again."
"Sorry about that."
"Don't worry, because I'm not done yet. For in case you have forgotten, Wildheart is immune to all trap cards. Which means he has no trouble to go after your monster, especially since Skyscraper is still in play. Go, Wild Slash!" The dark-skinned hero leapt in the air and grabbed his big sword from the hilt on his back. (ATK: 1500-2500) And then he sliced the sword across the fire hero.
"Nice one, Jaden." Andrew praised. "But since you destroyed my monster, you triggered the effect of my Supply Squad, allowing me to draw one card from my deck." He explained while drawing a card.
"You better get a good one. I end my turn." Jaden concluded.
"Then it's my turn." Andrew a card and looked at it. He widened his eyes. 'This card. I haven't used it for a long time, despite of having it in my deck for so long.'
Flashback
A hand held up the card in question. And then, a female voice spoke up.
"You can have this card. So you have something to remember me with."
Flashback end
'Since then, this card has been special to me.' Andrew thought while smiling.
Jaden looked at him confused, wondering what was with him. "Hey, is something wrong?"
Andrew snapped out of his thoughts and shook his head. "No, I'm fine. Anyway, I place one card facedown." He inserted a card into his duel disk. "And then I summon Zombina in defense mode." The monster that appeared was a little girl. Only... she was zombie-like, with a a bunch of stitches over her body. Her long hair was orange and appeared to have stitches as well. It also had a purple ribbon with blue polka dots and a small shovel. Her eyes had orange pupils while the sclera in her eyes was black instead of white. She was wearing a blue dress with a red ribbon tied around her waist and it could have looked better, if it wasn't a little worn out. She was also wearing a pair of brown shoes. Additionally, she was holding a little plushy in her hands and it had a few stitches, just like her. (ATK: 1400 DEF: 1500 LV: 4)
"That's new." Shiori noted.
"That's one creepy girl." Syrus commented, almost shuddering at the sight of Andrew's new monster.
"Indeed, it is." Bastion agreed. "But it is one useful monster."
"And how useful is it?" Matt asked.
"Well, I think we'll find out soon enough." Michael said.
"I've never seen that monster before." Jaden admitted. "Did you get her recently."
Andrew shook his head. "Actually, this card has been in my deck for a long time. I just haven't used it for a while. It means a lot to me."
"Really? What's so special about it?"
"That's a story for another day. Right now, let's focus on the duel."
"Whatever you say. I draw." Jaden drew a card. "And I play the spell card Pot of Greed. Now I can draw two cards." After drawing his extra cards, he placed one of them on his duel disk. "And now I summon Elemental HERO Avian!" The feathered green hero appeared next to the dark-skinned man. (ATK: 1000 DEF: 1000 LV: 3) "Alright, Avian, time to take down that zombie girl! Quill Cascade!" The wind hero flew up and prepared to flap his wings.
"Sorry Jaden, but you just triggered my trap card, Trap Hole of Spikes." As soon as Andrew's trap card revealed itself, a hole was materialized right beneath Avian. And then, like the gravity became stronger, he fell right into it and exploded. "When you attack with a monster that was normal or special summoned this turn, my trap card destroys it, and you take damage equal to half of its original attack points."
Jaden groaned at the life point loss.
Jaden: 4000-3500
"Whoops. Looks like the first one to lose life points is Jaden." Michael commented.
"And Andrew takes the lead." Matt added.
"And his Zombina keeps him safe from Wildheart's attack." Bastion said. "After all, his attack points are equal to her defense points, and Skyscraper won't work since her attack points are lower."
"Man, talk about bummer." Jaden said while scratching the back of his head.
"It seems you're a little unlucky today." Andrew replied.
Jaden shrugged. "Maybe now, but I'll repay you later. For now, I'll end my turn."
"Alright then." Andrew drew a card. "I summon Elemental HERO Ocean in attack mode." The aquatic hero appeared rose next to the zombie girl. (ATK: 1500 DEF: 1200 LV: 4) "And that's all for now."
"Then here goes!" Jaden drew a card and looked at it. He smirked. "Sweetness! Just what I needed. But first, I'm summoning Elemental HERO Sparkman in attack mode!" The blue and golden, electric hero joined his sword wielding comrade. (ATK: 1600 DEF: 1400 LV: 4) "And to kick things up, I activate the equip spell, Spark Blaster." The familiar gun appeared in the electric hero's right hand. "Now Sparkman's got three shots and each one of them can change the battle mode of any monster on the field. And I'm gonna use one of them on your Zombina." Sparkman fired a ball of electricity that zapped the zombie girl and caused her to stand up. "And with that done, I'll let Sparkman take down your Ocean. Go, Static Shockwave!" The electric hero fired a stream of electricity from his left hand that destroyed the water hero.
Andrew: 4000-3900
"Not bad, but now I can draw another card from my deck, thanks to Supply Squad." Andrew said as he drew.
"Oh yeah? Well I still have Wildheart ready to go. Now attack his Zombina!" The dark-skinned man dashed forward and slashed the zombie girl with his sword.
Andrew: 3900-3800
"Nice." Gerard commented. "He managed to destroy both of those monsters."
"That's Jaden for you." Syrus added. "He never takes long to make a comeback."
"Unfortunately, Jaden made a mistake." Bastion said, making everyone look at him.
"What do you mean?" Chumley asked.
And it was then a pillar of light appeared on Andrew's field. And what happened next was something Jaden didn't expect. Someone stepped out of the pillar, and it was none other than Ocean. (ATK: 1500 DEF: 1200 LV: 4) "Um, wasn't he destroyed a moment ago?"
Andrew smiled. "He was, but you allowed him to come back by attacking Zombina." He explained. "You see, if my opponent destroys her and send her to the graveyard, I can summon any other monster from there, as long as it's level 4 or less."
"Wow! That's a handy special ability." Shiori commented.
"You can say that again." Matt replied.
"And with Ocean back on the field, Jaden better watch out." Michael said.
"Alright, I end my turn." Jaden concluded.
Andrew drew a card. "In that case, I'll start by using Ocean's ability. Now I can take a HERO monster from my field or graveyard and add it to my hand. And I choose Heat." The named card came out of the graveyard slot before he placed it in his hand. "And now I summon Elemental HERO Stratos." A whirlwind appeared, and out of it, came the turbine winged hero. (ATK: 1800 DEF: 300 LV: 4) "And now with him summoned, his special ability activates. For every other HERO monster I control, one spell or trap card is destroyed. There goes your Skyscraper."
Jaden could only watch as the buildings disappeared one by one. "That's not good."
"Now Jaden's heroes can't get extra points." Syrus pointed out.
"Which essentially means he's at disadvantage now." Bastion added.
"Now Stratos, attack his Sparkman!" The wind hero used the turbine wings to create a cyclone that enveloped the electric hero until he disappeared.
Jaden: 3500-3300
"And I think I'll end my turn."
"My turn." Jaden drew a card. "Alright, first I play the spell card The Warrior Returning Alive. Now I can take back a warrior type monster from my graveyard, like Bladedge." The named card came out of his graveyard slot. "And now I activate the spell card Polymerization, and combine Wildheart with Bladedge to form Elemental HERO Wildedge!" The two heroes were sucked into a fusion vortex, and the fusion monster that came out of it looked like Wildheart, but with a different outfit. He was wearing parts from Bladedge's armor. One part covered his right leg, and another part covered his left arm. Additionally, there were a bunch of blades attached to that arm. The hero was also wearing a helmet that used to be Bladedge's head. And there was a large sword strapped on his back. (ATK: 2600 DEF: 2300 LV: 8)
"Hey, another new hero." Matt noted.
"Looks like Andrew isn't the only one full of surprises." Shiori added.
Even Andrew was surprised. "Wow! I've never seen that before." He commented.
"If you like him now, just wait until you see what he can do. Now Wildedge, attack his Ocean with Scimitar Slash!" The new hero fired one of the blades from his arm and it slashed the water hero, making him explode.
Andrew: 3800-2700
"Impressive, but once again, Supply Squad lets me draw a card." Andrew drew his next card.
Jaden smirked. "You better need it because Wildedge is not finished yet. Know why? Because he has the power to attack every monster on your field."
"Say what!?" Andrew exclaimed. The hero dashed forward, took the large sword from his back and slashed Stratos with it.
Andrew: 2700-1900
"And that's all she wrote." Jaden concluded.
"This duel is looking pretty good." Sheppard commented.
"Indeed." Banner replied. "It's clear that none of them is giving up."
"Well, looks like Jaden has taken the lead now." Zane said.
"I'm not surprised." Alexis replied. "He always turn things around when the odds are against him."
"But Andrew will no doubt make a comeback." Jenny pitched in.
"Okay, that was an impressive comeback." Andrew commented.
"Why thank you." Jaden replied. "You think you can take down my Wildedge?"
"Only one way to find out." Andrew drew a card and looked at his hand. 'Hmm, none of these can take down that hero, or rather, not destroy him.' Andrew took two cards from his hand. "I place a monster and another card facedown." Two facedown cards appeared. "That's it for now."
"Not much, huh?" Jaden said. "Oh well, my move then." He drew a card.
"I activate my trap…" Andrew's facedown card flipped up. "Waboku. This keeps all monsters on my field from being destroyed in battle during this turn, and I also take no damage."
"Then Andrew's monster is safe." Shiori said.
"Yes, indeed." Bastion added. "But I wonder what his facedown monster could be. Surely his trap card would have been better use when his life points where at risk, not his monster."
"Maybe it's a monster with an effect that he want to use during his turn?" Matt wondered.
"If so, then what kind of monster could it be?" Michael wondered.
Jaden raised an eyebrow. 'That's weird, he could have waited for a better moment to use that trap card. Like when he's about to take damage. So why would he use it right away?' He eyed on Andrew's facedown monster. 'I wonder...' And then… "Go Wildedge! Attack his facedown monster!"
Many people were surprised by this, especially Andrew. "What the…!?"
"Huh? Why is he attacking?" Syrus asked. "Andrew's monster can't be destroyed because of Waboku."
"Yeah, what's the point?" Gerard wondered.
"Looks like Jaden is eager to find out what Andrew is hiding." Zane said.
"Then let's see what it is." Alexis added.
Wildedge dashed forward and raised his sword. And then, he used his it to cut the facedown card in half. After that, it was replaced by a familiar brown potted plant. (ATK: 500 DEF: 500 LV: 3)
Jenny's eyes widened. "Fiber Jar!"
Jaden smiled. "So that's what you were hiding."
Andrew sighed before smiling. "That's right. My plan was to keep you from attacking, so I could use Fiber Jar's flip effect on my turn. But apparently that didn't work. Anyway…" All the cards, including the monsters disappeared. "Due to Fiber Jar's effect, all cards we have on the field, and in our hands and the graveyard goes back to our decks. And then, after we have shuffled them, we must draw 5 new cards." At that, both duelists gathered all their cards and shuffled them up. And they drew their new hands.
"Alright! Then let's get a new start. I summon Elemental HERO Clayman in defense mode." The stone hero appeared and kneeled down with his arms crossed. (ATK: 800 DEF: 2000 LV: 4) "Next I'll throw down 2 facedowns and play Mirage of Nightmare." Two facedown cards appeared along with the continuous spell card. "That ends my turn."
"Then it's my move." Andrew drew a card.
"And that triggers the effect of Mirage of Nightmare. During your standby, I get to draw until I have four cards in my hand." Jaden drew his extra cards. "And then I play Emergency Provisions." One of his facedown cards revealed itself. "Now I'll toss out my Mirage card to regain 1000 life points." The continuous spell card disappeared.
Jaden: 3300-4300
"I think I'll draw extra cards as well, and I'll do it by playing Pot of Greed. So, two cards for me." Andrew drew two extra cards. "And next I summon Elemental HERO Wildheart."
Jaden watched as Andrew summoned the familiar, dark-skinned warrior. (ATK: 1500 DEF: 1600 LV: 4) "Is there any hero in your deck that isn't the same as one of my heroes?" He asked.
Andrew smirked. "It's funny that you asked, because I'm about to play something new. But first I play this, the spell card A HERO's Bond. With a hero on my field, I can summon two level 4 or lower Elemental heroes from my hand. And I choose Knospe and Lady heat." The little plant hero, along with the red and white clad fire heroine joined their comrade. (ATK: 600 DEF: 1000 LV: 3) (ATK: 1300 DEF: 1000 LV: 4) "And now I activate the spell card Rose Bud." He held up the named card. "With this card, I can make Knospe even more powerful."
That made Jaden really curious. "Really? And how much more powerful are we talking about?"
"By sacrificing her, I can summon her true form." The plant monster's body glowed brightly and was enveloped by a whirlwind of flower petals. Inside the whirlwind, the plant hero became bigger.
"Never thought that little monster had some hidden power." Matt said.
"Me neither." Shiori admitted. "Let's see what Andrew is about to unleash."
The whirlwind surrounded Andrew's monster for few more seconds before it died down, and so did the light. At that, everyone could see the plant monster's new form. It was a young, purple skinned woman, clad in a knee-leangth dress made of leaves, he hair formed from daisy petals, a gold belt around her waist set with an amethyst. She twirled like a ballerina. (ATK: 1900 DEF: 2000 LV: 6) "This is Knospe's true form; Elemental HERO Poison Rose."
"Wow, that's what I call a sweet move." Jaden complimented.
Unlike Jaden, many boys were looking at Andrew's new monster dreamily.
"Wow! Look at her." Syrus said with a blush on his face.
"Well, what do you know? It really is a woman." Michael said. "I was actually skeptical about what Andrew said about her."
"That makes two of us." Shiori added.
"Now it's time to take down your Clayman. But first I activate the spell card Enemy Controller, and I'll use its effect to change his battle mode." The stone hero stood up. "Now Poison Rose, attack his Clayman with Blossom Kick!" The woman spun on herself and gave the stone hero a strong that destroyed him.
Jaden: 4300-3200
"I play my trap, Hero Signal!" Jaden's facedown card flipped up. "Now I can summon an Elemental HERO from my hand or deck, as long as it's level 4 or less. So let's welcome back to my old friend, Sparkman!" The blue and golden hero appeared once again." (ATK: 1600 DEF: 1400 LV: 4)
"Nice, but don't get ahead of yourself. Since Poison Rose caused battle damage, her special ability kicks in. She gains 200 attack points but loses 200 defense points." The plant heroine gave off a grass-green aura. (ATK: 1900-2100 DEF: 2000-1800)
"I see now why that monster is stronger than its weaker form." Jenny commented.
"Yeah, but that's not something Jaden can't handle." Alexis replied.
"I place a card facedown…" Andrew inserted the last card from his hand into his duel disk. "and let my Lady Heat activate her special ability. At the end of my turn, you take 200 points of damage for every Elemental HERO I control." The fire heroine created a fireball and threw it at Jaden.
Jaden: 3200-2600
"Now their life points are getting closer to each other." Matt pointed out.
"Yes, but Jaden only has one monster on the field, while Andrew has three on his side, staring down at him." Bastion added.
"But Jaden can turn this around." Syrus said confidently.
"Yeah, totally." Chumley added.
"Here goes!" Jaden drew a card. "First I play the spell card O-Oversoul. This lets me summon a normal Elemental HERO from my graveyard. So I'll bring back my Clayman." The stone hero appeared next to his electric comrade. (ATK: 800 DEF: 2000 LV: 4) "And now I activate the spell card Polymerization. And with it, I fuse Clayman and Sparkman to form Elemental HERO Thunder Giant!" The two heroes entered the fusion vortex and came out as the yellow, giant, electric hero. (ATK: 2400 DEF: 1500 LV: 6) "And now, thanks to his special ability, he can destroy a monster whose original attack points are less than his own. Alright Thunder Giant, zap his Poison Rose with Static Blast!" The giant held out his right hand and shot a stream of electricity.
"I activate Elemental Recharge!" Andrew's facedown card revealed itself. "This trap card gives me 1000 life points for every Elemental HERO I have."
Andrew: 1900-4900
Not too long after Andrew's life points increased, Poison Rose was struck by the electric shot from Thunder Giant.
"You're going to need them, because Thunder Giant still has his attack. Go, Voltic Thunder!" The giant fired another stream of electricity. And this time, Lady Heat was the one who was struck by it.
Andrew: 4900-3800
"I'll throw down a facedown and let you go." Jaden inserted a card into his duel disk.
"My turn." Andrew drew. "And I play the spell card Legacy of a Hero. With at least two level 4 or higher Elemental heroes in my graveyard, I can draw three cards from my deck." Andrew drew his extra cards. "And I'm gonna use one of them, the spell card Mask Change." Wildheart glowed brightly. "Now I can send my HERO monster to the graveyard and summon a Masked HERO with the same attribute. So in Wildheart's place, I summon Masked HERO Dian!" The swordsman was then transformed into the warrior in silver armor. (ATK: 2800 DEF: 3000 LV: 8)
"He actually traded one monster for something as strong as that?" Gerard asked.
Michael smirked. "Got that right. The Masked heroes are very strong. Each one of them is more powerful than next."
"Those heroes are the best monsters in Andrew's deck." Shiori added.
"Impressive." Zane said. "That Masked hero is more than strong enough to destroy Thunder Giant."
"I knew Andrew would make a comeback." Jenny said.
"Come on, Jaden. You can win this." Alexis encouraged him.
"Now Dian, attack his Thunder Giant." The silver armored hero dashed forward, ready to strike down with her sword.
"Activate trap! Negate Attack!" Jaden's facedown card flipped up and created a barrier that blocked the attack. Jaden smirked. "Sorry Andrew, but thanks to my trap card, your attack is cancelled."
"I end my turn with a facedown card." A card appeared behind the Masked hero."
"Here goes!" Jaden announced as he drew. "Sweet! I activate the spell card Spy Hero. By sending two random cards from my deck to the graveyard, I can take a spell card from your graveyard." A man in a dark purple and gray suit with a red 'H' on his chest appeared before he became invisible.
Andrew looked around, wondering where he was. He then gasped when he felt something touching his duel disk. He realized that it was the Spy Hero, who caused one of his cards come out of the graveyard slot and fly over to Jaden who caught it.
"And I choose Legacy of a Hero. So just like you, I'll draw three cards since I have two level 4 Elemental heroes in my graveyard." Jaden drew three cards. "And I think I'll play one them, H-Heated Heart! This spell card gives Thunder Giant 500 attack points, making him stronger." A blue, glowing 'H' came out of the spell card and entered the hero's body. (ATK: 2400-2900) "Then I'll play this spell, R-Righteous Justice! This lets me destroy one spell or trap card for every Elemental HERO I have, so say goodbye to your facedown card." A glowing 'R' came out from the spell card and approached Andrew's field.
"Big mistake, Jaden!" Andrew said, making his opponent confused, before the facedown card flipped up. "I activate the trap card, Blast with Chain. And I'll add it to my Dian, giving her 500 attack points." The Masked hero glowed. (ATK: 2800-3300) The glowing 'R' collided with its target and destroyed it. (ATK: 3300-2800) "And now for my trap card's second effect! After being destroyed by a card effect while equipped to a monster, it destroys one card on the field. Guess who?"
"Uh oh." Jaden turned to his electric hero who exploded.
"And there goes Thunder Giant." Matt commented.
"Aw man, Jaden fell right into that one." Syrus said.
"Yeah, that trap card is very tricky." Shiori added.
"Now the question is, what will Jaden do next?" Bastion wondered.
"Wow! Sweet move, Andrew. I didn't see that coming." Jaden complimented.
Andrew smiled. "Thank you. I hope you're not disappointed."
"No worries, bro. I've still got some moves left, starting with this." Jaden held up another spell card. "Dark Factory of Mass Production. Now I can take two normal monsters from my graveyard and add them to my hand. So I'll take back Sparkman and Clayman." The named cards came out of the graveyard slot and he placed them in his hand. "And now I summon Winged Kuriboh in defense mode." The brown furry monster with wings cooed when he appeared. (ATK: 300 DEF: 200 LV: 1) "Then I'll throw down a facedown and end my turn" Jaden concluded as he inserted a card into his duel disk.
"My turn." Andrew drew. "Now Dian, Attack" The silver armored hero dashed forward.
Jaden smirked. "Hold it, Andrew! I discard two cards from my hand and activate my facedown card." As soon as he discarded his two remaining cards, his facedown card revealed itself. "Transcendent Wings!" His duel spirit partner cooed as he glowed brightly and transformed. When the light down, he was now in his evolved form. (ATK: 300 DEF: 200 LV: 10) "Thanks to my spell, Winged Kuriboh is now in his level 10 form, giving him a super sweet ability. Bu sacrificing himself, he can destroy all monsters you have on the field in attack mode, and you take damage equal to their original attack points." The Masked hero stabbed the now stronger Winged Kuriboh. And then, he glowed brightly again, only this time, he exploded, taking the hero down in the process.
Andrew: 3800-1000
"Whoa! Jaden destroyed Andrew's monster and caused a lot of damage." Matt noted.
"That's incredible." Gerard added.
"So much for that attack." Andrew said while scratching the back of his head.
"Sorry about that." Jaden apologized.
"Don't be. I'm not giving up that easily. I play a facedown monster in defense mode and end my turn." A facedown card appeared in front of Andrew.
"Then here goes." Jaden drew a card. "And I'll play the spell card Fifth Hope. This lets me take 5 Elemental heroes from my graveyard and shuffle them back into my deck." After five cards came out of the graveyard slot, the spirits of five heroes appeared behind him. Three of them were Sparkman, Clayman and Thunder Giant. The other two was who Andrew didn't expect.
"Avian and Burstinatrix."
Jaden nodded. "That's right. These two were the cards I discarded for Spy Hero. Talk about lucky huh?"
Andrew smiled. "Definitely."
Jaden took the five cards and shuffled them into his deck. "Now then, due to Fifth Hope's effect, I can now draw two cards from my deck, plus another card since I have nothing in play." He drew his three extra cards. "And now I summon Elemental HERO Bubbleman in attack mode." The blue-armored water hero appeared. (ATK: 800 DEF: 1200 LV: 4) "And as you know, he lets me draw two more cards." He drew two more cards. "And now I'll equip him with Bubble Blaster, and you know what that means." The familiar bazooka appeared on Bubbleman's shoulder. (ATK: 800-1600) "Alright Bubbleman, let's see what's hiding under that card!"
The water hero fired a stream of bubbles at the facedown monster. It flipped up to reveal a certain masked skeleton with a crimson red cape. (ATK: 600 DEF: 700 LV: 3) And then, he was destroyed.
"You attacked Phantom Magician. And since he was destroyed in battle, I can summon a HERO monster from my deck in defense mode, as long as its attack points are up to 1000. And I think I'll summon my own Bubbleman." A duplicate of Jaden's monster appeared and kneeled down with arms crossed. (ATK: 800 DEF: 1200 LV: 4) "And just like you, I'll use his ability to draw two cards." Andrew drew.
"Fine by me. I end my turn.
"Now then." Andrew drew. "I activate the spell card Mask Change II. By discarding one card from my hand, I can send a monster from my field to the graveyard and then summon a Masked HERO with the same attribute but higher level than that monster." Andrew discarded one of his cards. "Now Bubbleman, transform into Masked HERO Acid!" The light-blue water hero glowed and transformed into the dark-blue armored warrior with his gun in his hand. (ATK: 2600 DEF: 2100 LV: 8)
"This isn't good." Jaden commented.
"It gets worse. Because due to his special ability, Acid destroys all spells and traps on your field." The hero fired a stream of acid that destroyed the Bazooka on Bublleman's shoulder. (ATK: 1600-800) "And if that was successful, your monster loses 300 attack points." (ATK: 800-500) "Now Acid, attack Bubbleman with Acid Blast!" The masked hero fired another stream of acid that destroyed Jaden's monster.
Jaden: 2600-0500
"And with that, I end my turn."
"Andrew has Jaden in a tight spot now." Zane noted.
"No kidding." Jenny replied. "Not only is Jaden down to 500 life points, but Andrew has a powerful monster on his side."
"Come one, Jaden." Alexis muttered.
Jenny gave Alexis a teasing look. "Are you worried about your Jaden?"
Alexis turned to her. "Of course. He's my friend and…" But then, Jenny's question began to sink in, making the blonde blush a little. "Wait a minute? What do you mean my Jaden!?"
Jenny giggled. "Nothing."
Alexis gave her a sour huff and concentrated on the match.
If Zane was amused by their talk, he hid it quite well.
"Okay, I have no monsters on the field, and my life points are almost gone. But still, I can get out of this situation!"
"Then bring it." Andrew said.
Jaden smirked. "You got it. Here goes!" He drew a card. "First I play the spell card E-Emergency Call. Now I can take an Elemental HERO from my deck and add it to my hand, like Burstinatrix." He took the named card from his deck and held it up.
"Okay, You've played Heated Heart, Emergency Call, Righteous Justice and Oversoul." Andrew noted. "As far as I know, there is a certain spell card that works along with them."
"You're right, and it's this card." Jaden held up another card. "Hero Flash! This lets me remove all four of those cards from play in order to summon a normal Elemental HERO from my deck... like Avian." First, the four letters from the four spell cards appeared to form the word 'HERO' and flashed brightly. And then, the green, feather-winged hero appeared. (ATK: 1000 DEF: 1000 LV: 3) "And here comes the second effect of Hero Flash; all normal Elemental heroes I control can attack you directly."
Andrew gasped.
"Dude, that means Jaden can get past Acid." Michael realized.
"And Avian has enough attack points to end this duel." Matt added.
"Awesome!" Syrus cheered.
"Lishus!"
"Alright Avian, let him have it! Quill Cascade!" The wind hero spread his wings and fired a flurry of white feathers. Everyone watched as they got closer to Andrew. "Game over!"
"Not yet!" Andrew countered as he was suddenly surrounded by an electric barrier that blocked the attack. He then smirked. "Nice try, Jaden. But this duel is not over yet."
"Um, what just happened?" Jaden asked dumbly.
"Come on, Jaden. Like you wouldn't know." Andrew held up a card that he recognized.
"Electromagnetic Turtle!"
"That's right. I discarded it earlier when I played Mask Change II, so I was prepared for your attack."
Jaden was silent for a moment before he laughed. "Man, I gotta say, you're really good, Andrew."
Andrew smiled. "Thanks. You too."
"Well, this has to be one of the best duels in Duel Academy history." Sheppard commented.
"That is so true." Banner agreed.
"I never thought it was possible, but this duel is getting better." Gerard said.
"That's true." Shiori said while smiling.
"Indeed." Bastion agreed.
"Yeah." Syrus said.
"Totally." Chumley agreed.
"Both of them just refuse to lose." Michael added.
"Got that right." Matt replied.
"I'll throw down a facedown and end my turn." Jaden concluded as inserted a card into his duel disk.
"My move." Andrew drew a card and looked at it. 'If this attack won't get through, then I'm going to need this.' Andrew placed the card into his hand. "Now Acid, take down Avian!" The masked hero was about to fire with his gun.
"Hold it right there! I activate Hero Ring!" Jaden's facedown card flipped up and disappeared. It then was replaced by a red shield that got attached to Avian's right arm, and he held it up. Andrew's monster fired another stream of acid, only for it to get blocked by the shield. "Thanks to my trap card, Avian is safe from attacks by monsters that has 1900 or more attack points."
Andrew smiled. "Not bad." He then looked at the card he drew. 'I guess this is it. Knowing Jaden, he's going to pull off something big to take down Acid.' He then inserted the card into his duel disk. "I end my turn with a facedown."
"Those two have been dueling with everything the have since the beginning." Alexis said.
"And something tells me, this is the last turn." Jenny added.
"Then let's see who is going out as a winner."
"My turn." Jaden drew a card and smirked at what he got. "I hope you're ready Andrew. Cuz I'm about to take your Acid down."
Andrew smirked in return. "Then show me what you have up your sleeve."
"With pleasure! First I play Polymerization to fuse Avian on the field and Burstinatrix in my hand in order to create the one and only Elemental HERO Flame Wingman!" The green and red heroes merged together and formed Jaden's Headliner. (ATK: 2100 DEF: 1200 LV: 6) "And guess what. The card I just drew is the one that brings us to my favorite city. Skyscraper!" He inserted the named card into his duel disk and both duelists were surrounded by tall buildings, once again.
Andrew smiled. "So this is how it's going to be huh?"
"Got that right. Since your monster is stronger than Flame Wingman, he gains 1000 attack points."
"Simply remarkable." Bastion said. "Now Jaden has a monster strong enough to take down Acid."
"And not just that." Matt replied. "When Flame Wingman destroys a monster in battle, that monster's attack points are dealt to the opponent as damage."
"Then Jaden's going to win!" Syrus cheered.
"Unless Andrew has a way stop him." Michael said.
Shiori eyed on Andrew's field. "That's right. His facedown card."
"Now Flame Wingman! Attack Masked HERO Acid with Skydive Scorcher!" The red and green hero jumped off from the highest building and dived toward his opponent.
"Thanks for this duel, Jaden. It was great." Andrew complimented his friend.
"Thanks Andrew. You played well."
Andrew smiled. "And I'm not done just yet. If I'm going down, I'll take you with me. Activate facedown!" His facedown card flipped. "Final Fusion!"
"What does that do?"
"I can only activate it when both of our fusion monsters are battling each other. Due to to its effect, the attack is negated and both players take damage equal to their combined attack points."
Jaden widened his eyes in shock. But that lasted for a moment before he smiled. "Well in that case… Go, Flame Wingman!"
"Acid!"
The green hero got closer as the masked hero aimed his gun at him and fired a stream of acid. That caused a massive explosion, a huge cloud covering the dueling platform. When the resulting smoke cleared, both monsters were gone, along with the buildings, and both duelists had fallen down to one knee.
Andrew: 1000-0000
Jaden: 0500-0000
The people in the audience remained silent for a moment longer and then, they suddenly burst out on cheer as if they'd never done it before.
"Way to play!" Syrus exclaimed.
"That was totally lishus!" Chumley added.
"Yes, simply amazing." Bastion agreed.
"That was awesome!" Shiori cheered.
"You said it!" Matt agreed.
"Really cool!" Michael added.
"Looks like neither of them was going to walk out of here with two wins." Zane said.
"It appears so." Jenny replied. "But they gave everyone quite a show."
"No joke." Alexis agreed.
Andrew and Jaden walked up to each other and shook hands.
"Well Andrew, I guess we have to duel again someday." Jaden said.
"Yeah. But this one was fun, wasn't it?" Andrew asked.
"You bet it was."
Bastion and the others came down to congratulate them. "Good show, you two."
"You guys were amazing!" Shiori praised.
"Yeah, what a duel." Gerard added.
Bastion had then a thoughtful look on his face. "But this duel ended with a draw, so who's going to represent Duel Academy?"
"Don't worry. I have a solution for that." Sheppard said as he walked up to them. "Just earlier today, I had a call from the Chancellor of North Academy, and he told me that he had three candidates of his own dueling each other for the spot. But according to him, it all ended with a draw. So, he suggested that the School Duel of this year could be three separate matches where the academy with most victories becomes the winner. So I'm glad to say that all three of you will represent Duel Academy."
Everyone hearing this cheered loudly.
"No way! For real!?" Jaden asked.
"My, this is unexpected." Bastion said with a smiled.
"This is great!" Andrew said, smiling as well.
"Alright you guys!" Syrus exclaimed.
"So, all three of them are representatives?" Matt asked.
"It appears so." Michael replied.
"Then what was the whole point of the duel off?" Shiori wondered. Michael and Matt just shrugged, not having a clue.
Crowler was sitting down at the platform, not being happy about a certain detail of this result. "I can't believe it. That Slifer Slacker is representing us, representing me."
Jaden pumped his fist in the air. "Alright! School Duel, get your game on, cuz here we come!"
Later that day, Gerard was walking away from the Academy building. After all that fun, he decided that it was time for him to leave the island. As he was walking, he noticed a certain, purple-haired Slifer standing in front of him. "So you're going home now." Matt asked, with a look that said that he still didn't trust him.
Gerard just smiled and looked at the academy building. "Yeah. I have no reason to be here anymore. But I'm glad I came here. I mean, I found some secrets that would ruin Duel Academy." As he spoke, he took out the disk with missing students data from his pocket. "But by doing so, I ended up watching a duel that reminded me what dueling is all about. And for that, I don't want to ruin this place. Instead, I want to help to find the missing students." He then approached Matt and handed over the disk, to the boy's confusion. "And I think you and the others can have a good use for this."
Matt just blinked, not knowing what to say.
"Well then, I better get going. Goodbye, and good luck." At that, Gerard walked away.
Matt stared at the walking man for a moment and then glanced at the disk he was given before he smiled. "Well, that's good to hear." He then headed to the Slifer dorm."
Somewhere else, far far away, someone was sitting in a room in building. The only light source was the sun light that came through the window. The person inside was sitting on a chair in the shadows, making it hard to see who it was. Right now he was talking to someone through the phone. "Ah, so you managed to get three representatives? That's good, Sheppard. Well then, I look forward to the upcoming school duel. Of course. Goodbye." The person turned off his phone, got up from the chair, and walked up to the window to look up to the sky. "And so it begins. Now all that's left to find a third representative. What Sheppard don't know is that I lied about having three representatives. Two of my dear students have proven themselves to be good enough. And as good as Czar is, I believe that there is someone out there that might be a better candidate for the third spot."
And that's it. Andrew and Jaden had finally faced each other in a duel. Until next time.
