The Fear Factor

Andrew found himself in a dark place, surrounded by dense black fog. And he was dueling a dark, mysterious figure. The figure was wide open, while Andrew had his Elemental HERO Ocean. "It's over!" Andrew declared and drew. "Go, Ocean! Attack him now!" The water hero dashed forward and stabbed the dark figure with his trident.

But once the weapon made contact, A strong whirlwind pushed the hero monster back and surrounded the dark figure, who suddenly started to change form. What Andrew saw in front of him now was a big dragon, that roared as it spat out a blast of blue flames, burning Ocean into ashes and going onward to hit Andrew, who cried out. "No... I lost!"

Andrew: 0000

"Andrew, help!" The Ra in question turned around and was horrified to see Shiori and Matt being engulfed in blue flames. "Help us!" The former called out.

"Shiori! Matt!" Andrew went to move forward, but was stopped by a mass of black, slimy blobs that appeared around his feet and started to drag him down. "Ah! Guys…" He called out as he struggled helplessly. "NOOOOOOO"


"AH!" He jolted after waking up from that horrible nightmare. He panted, taking in the sight of his dorm room. He placed a hand against his forehead. "Man, that was awful." He muttered.

Phantom Magician appeared at the corner of the room. He was definitely worried about his partner.


The next day, Andrew, Shiori and Matt decided to visit the water of a wading pool. The ritual duelist thought it'd be good to relax a bit here, especially with the Shadow Rider business on hold for now. They changed and grabbed some pool gear, and made their way towards the huge body of water, surrounded by potted trees, waterfalls and large boulders that dotted the area. The three boys found themselves in the water, near a waterfall.

"This is just the best." Shiori said, enjoying the fresh dip.

"Oh yeah. I could relax here all day." Matt agreed, laying on a green tube, floating on the water.

Shiori turned to Andrew, who for some reason, was sitting in silence and in deep thought. "Andrew?"

The boy in question snapped out of his musing and turned to him. "Huh?"

"Are you okay? You seem so quiet."

"Oh…" Andrew hesitated for a moment. He wasn't sure what he should say. But he had to say something. "Well, I...

SPLASH

The trio turned to the source of that sound, and saw Syrus a distance away with a yellow tube, and a smile on his face as he shook his head. "Oh yeah! This is the life, huh guys?" He asked Jaden and Chumley, who showed up and looked down at him from a large rock. "I mean, could it get any better than this?"

"Sure it could, Syrus." Jaden smiled. "Like if you hadn't jumped in with your towel!"

The blue-haired Slifer turned around and saw his now soaked towel floating in front of him. "Aahh! And it was was dryer fresh!"

"Hey, guys!" Shiori called out, getting the Slifer trio's attention.

"Hey, what's up?" Jaden greeted back.


All six people settled down in the pool.

"Come on, guys." Chumley spoke up. "The water's really warm over by Syrus."

"Actually… that's why I'm chilling over here." Jaden responded sitting at a big rock.

"Same here." Andrew added.

"And I'm fine over here." Shiori said, sitting near the waterfall with Matt, who nodded, floating next to him.

"So Jay, are you over that nightmare yet?" Syrus asked.

That question caused Jaden to sigh and lean against a rock.

Andrew gave the brown-haired Slifer a curious look. 'Nightmare?'

Chumley gave Syrus a glare for Jaden's reaction.

"What? Look, I ask cuz I care. Sorry Jay."

"Yeah." Jaden mumbled and sunk into the water.

"Hey, Jay?" Syrus called out.

"Way to go." Chumley said.

"What are you guys talking about?" Matt asked curiously.

"Jaden had some dream about losing in a shadow game, and we all totally suffered because of it." Chumley explained.

"About that dream…" Andrew spoke. "Was it something about a dragon that spat blue flames?"

Syrus and Chumley stared at him, while Shiori and Matt gave him confused looks.

"Actually, yeah, Jaden mentioned that." Syrus answered. "How'd you know?"

"Because I had the same dream, except that I was the one who dueled."

They all widened their eyes.

"Seriously?" Matt asked.

"Aw man." Syrus said. And it was at that moment he gasped when he felt something in the water.

A short distance behind them, Jaden resurfaced, holding up a towel. "Hey guys, look what I found!"

"Gimme back my towel!" Syrus demanded as he doggie paddled after his friend, who just kept swimming away.

"Yours? No! Yours was dryer fresh! This one's a wet mess!"

"You'll be messing with me if you don't give it! Wait up!"

At that moment, a wave of cold water hit the blue-haired Slifer's in his face, causing him to stop chasing after Jaden. Everyone turned to see Chazz sitting on a nearby rock, a small bucket in his hand, legs crossed.

"Take a chill pill, shortstack."

"Hey, what's new… Chazz-a- roo?" Jaden greeted jokingly.

"That's cute…" Chazz rolled his eyes.

"Why, thank you." Jaden said cluelessly. "Thought of it all by myself. So, you here to hang out?"

"With you?" Chazz scoffed. "Ha, that's a good laugh, Slacker." He was then surprised when Syrus splashed some water at him.

He stuck out his tongue. "And that's an even better one."

Chazz snarled angrily. "You'll pay for that!"

"Ohh." Syrus taunted him before he swam away. "I don't think so. Cuz that was priceless!"

Chazz chased after him. "I'm gonna Chazz you up!"

"Uhh, want to tell?" Jaden asked Chumley.

"Nah, I kinda want to just let them get tired, before the Chumpster comes in... with a game of tackle Marco Polo!" The koala duelist jumped in after them.

"By the way, there's something you should know." Andrew spoke, getting Jaden's attention. "Last night, I had the same nightmare as you."

The brown-haired Slifer widened his eyes. "For real?"

"It's true." Andrew replied. somberly. "Watching our friends lose their lives right in front of me... That was scary."

"With what's been going on lately, it's no wonder we had that bad dream. After all, dueling used to just be about having fun. But now, everything's about winning. Cuz if we lose, we'll be losing a lot more than just a game."

"Yeah, but we can't let that affect who we are." Shiori said. "Otherwise, we'll really lose everything."

"But still…" Andrew said, still not convinced.

"Listen…" Matt spoke up. "It doesn't matter what obstacles we face, as long as we just stay being ourselves. How else did you guys win against the Shadow Riders.

Jaden and Andrew thought about what their two friends said while watching Syrus and Chumley playing Keep Away from Chazz, tossing his own towel back and forth while the irritated Princeton swam back and forth to get it.

"Coo!"

"Hello!"

Jaden and Andrew turned around and looked in the direction they'd heard those voices. And to their surprise, they saw their duel spirits.

"Winged Kuriboh?"

"Phantom Magician?"

"Huh?" Shiori and Matt blinked their eyes in confusion before the two hero duelists swam after the duel spirits.

"Where are you guys going?" The ritual duelist asked as he followed them.

"Wait up!" Matt called out and followed them.

Not too long after the four boys left, Syrus and Chumley arrived and were confused to see them missing. "Jaden? Andrew?"

"Hey, where did they go?" Chumley wondered. He then suddenly noticed the spirit of a certain koala monster running in the water. "Des Koala?" He then swam after it.

Syrus noticed this. "Chumley? Hey!"


"There should be a kiddie pool for those slackers." Chazz complained as he wringed his towel a little after putting it back on. "Or better yet, just wet them down with a hose."

Ojama Yellow appeared next to him. "Yeah, I'm with you there Boss."

"You're not with me!" Chazz snapped as he smacked the spirit into the pool. "You got that? Now just go on! Get lost!"

The yellow spirit his head out of the water. "Alright, fine. I've gotta get to the Spirit Festival anyhow."

Chazz turned to the duel spirit and was befuddled by his words. 'Spirit Festival?'


Jaden and Andrew walked to a secluded part of the wading pool, looking for their duel spirits.

"Kuriboh?" Jaden called out.

"Where did they go?" Andrew wondered.

"What are you guys talking about?" Shiori asked as he and Matt arrived.

"Yeah, who are you looking for?"

The hero duelists turned to them.

Andrew rubbed the back of his head, thinking carefully before he answered. "Well, we uh…"

But before he could say more, all four boys were suddenly pulled underneath the water and sank. And the next moment, everything went dark.


Once Jaden came to his senses, he realized he wasn't sinking anymore. Instead, he was sitting on solid surface. He looked around and saw he was now in a large cave of light blue. And, to his surprise, he noticed that he was wearing his Slifer uniform, along with a duel disk on his arm and his deck at the ready. "Hey! What the. Who the?" He wondered.

"Where are we?" Someone asked.

Jaden turned to the source of the voice, and saw Andrew, along with Matt and Shiori, who were also in their uniforms. Andrew was the only one among them who had a duel disk with his deck.

"Didn't we sank underneath the water a minute ago?" Matt asked completely confused.

"How did we end up in a cave?" Shiori wondered.

"Beats me." Andrew replied before he turned before he noticed something really unexpected. "Um, guys. We're not alone."

Jaden, Shiori and Matt followed his gaze and saw a bunch of Duel Monsters in the cave, staring at them. Jaden's logical reaction was screaming in surprise, prompting the duel monsters to do the same.

"What's up?" He greeted after calming down. "My name's Jaden. Sorry to drop in... or out... or whatever."

Andrew looked up and saw a large hole, which he assumed was where they all came from. And then, he noticed three dark shapes coming down fast. "Incoming!" He jumped and pushed Jaden out of the way as three invisible things landed hard, sending up clouds of dust into the air. When it dissipated, they could clearly see Chazz, Syrus and Chumley, fully dressed just like them.

But their surprise, especially for Shiori and Matt, they were accompanied by Ojama Yellow and Des Koala, solid like the other duel monsters.

"What's going on here!?" Chazz asked.

"How are we back in our clothes?" Chumley wondered.

"My glasses…" Syrus felt around on the floor. "I can't see without my glasses." Des Koala, who was sitting behind the blue-haired Slifer, picked them up and handed them to him. "Thanks Chumley."

"We're in... some kind of spirit world." Chumley noted, looking at all the duel monsters.

Syrus was confused when he heard the koala duelist's voice in front of him. "Wait a sec. Chumley?" He put his glasses back on, turned around and yelped when he saw who was sitting behind him. "Des Koala!?"

"This is weird." Chazz commented. "It's like a bunch of Duel Monsters cards have come alive."

"It's cool, huh?" Ojama Yellow asked.

"Okay, this is just way too crazy for taste." Matt stated.

"First those ruins and now this?" Shiori asked. "I don't know if I ever get used to this duel spirit thing."

"This is bizarre." Jaden commented.

"Who are you calling bizarre?" A new voice spoke up. The boys looked in the direction it came from, and saw a tall man dressed in black, also wearing a long, sleeveless, white trenchcoat. He had long, red hair flowing behind him and wore a white, dragon head shaped helmet.

"It's Kaibaman!" Ojama Yellow pointed out.

"Kaibaman?" Jaden repeated.

"As in, the Duel Monsters card?" Andrew asked. "Are you the one that brought us all here?"

"The one that's in charge of this place?" Jaden asked further. He then scowled. "Hey wait, or is this all some of Shadow Rider scheme?"

Kaibaman merely smiled in amusement. "You two ask a lot of questions. But I'm afraid you won't get any answers... Unless the both of you take me on in a duel now." He held out an arm with a duel disk on, which extended so that it looked almost like a dragon's wing. Jaden and Andrew held up their arms and activated their own duel disks. "From the looks of you, I'd say you accept my challenge. But from what I sense, I'm not so sure. I sense fear…"

The two hero duelists grimaced at his words.

"Yes, deep fear! That you'll lose and you and your friends... will pay most dearly!"

"What's this guy talking about?" Chumley asked.

"This is about your dreams, isn't it?" Syrus inquired.

"Based on how they described them, I'm pretty sure that's the case." Shiori said.

"Don't let that thought discourage you guys." Matt added.

"Look, if you're all scared, I'll duel him." Chazz suggested.

But Jaden and Andrew shook their heads, with determination on their faces.

"No? Not backing down?" Kaibaman noted. "Well…" He held up a card. "Then you can look forward to facing this card." It showed a mighty blue and white dragon.

"Blue-Eyes White Dragon!" Jaden gasped.

"No way!" Andrew widened his eyes.

"That's one powerful beast." Chazz commented. "Ya know, on second thought, I think I'll sit this one out."

"Aw man." Syrus said nervously.

"Can we go back to the pool now?" Chumley whined.

"But I thought there were only three Blue-Eyes White Dragons." Shiori said. "How did he get another?"

"The only possibility I think of is if that guy is actually Seto Kaiba in disguise." Matt pondered.

"What's wrong? You two like you've just seen a ghost." Kaibaman taunted, still holding up his card.

"Try a nightmare." Jaden mumbled. "But still, I won't run!"

"Neither will I." Andrew added.

"Fine then. For this duel, I'll have 8000 life points, while the both of you will share the same amount. That way, when one of you takes the hit, both of you will feel the pain."

"Then let's get this started." Andrew suggested as the duelists took their positions, with both hero duelists sharing one side facing their opponent.

"Now Kaibaman! Let's give all these monsters a show!" Jaden said.

"Let's duel!"

Jaden & Andrew: 8000

Kaibaman: 8000

"Well, alright then, here goes!" Jaden drew his sixth card. "First I summon the Elemental HERO Bubbleman in attack mode!" The blue-armored water hero stood up in his field, cape billowing behind him. (ATK: 800 DEF: 1200 LV: 4) "Oh, and if Bubbleman's summoned out, by himself, well then, I get to draw two more cards out of my deck. Pretty sweet, huh?" He drew his extra cards. "Especially since one of the cards I drew was... the equip spell, Bubble Blaster!" The water bazooka appeared on Bubbleman's shoulder.

"Lishus!" Chumley cheered. "That gives Bubbleman 800 more attack points." (ATK: 800-1600)

"And I'll call it a turn." Jaden concluded.

"My turn, then." Andrew drew. "I summon Elemental HERO Woodsman in defense mode." The green-skinned, wooden man appeared and crouched down. (ATK: 1000 DEF: 2000 LV: 4) "I end my turn."

Chazz crossed his arms as he watched the duel. 'Rumor is that Kaibaman card was created by Kaiba himself. This could be tough...'

'Talk about dreams coming true.' Jaden thought to himself. 'Just last night I dreamt about a Blue-Eyes, and he's got one.'

Andrew was as worried as him. 'I just hope this doesn't end the same way... with my friends in great danger because I failed. We can't lose here!'

"Wishing you could back out now? Too late. My move!" Kaibaman drew his sixth card and looked at it, as well as his entire hand. He smirked as he knew what to do. "I summon forth… myself, Kaibaman!" Everyone watched as a second Kaibaman appeared right in front of the original. (ATK: 200 DEF: 700 LV: 3)

"Whoa! I'm seeing double!" Syrus said in shock.

"And trouble." Chazz added.

"What do you mean?" Matt asked.

"And now I'll sacrifice him... to bring out the one and the only!" Kaibaman declared, making his opponents gasp.

"No…" Andrew said.

"Not him!" Jaden added.

"You better believe it's him!" The Kaiba lookalike replied as he held up a card from his hand. "I summon the legendary Blue-Eyes White Dragon!" The moment his doppelgänger disappeared, a fierce wind was released, causing all the monsters watching take shelter. "Feast your eyes, on the beast that will feast upon your soul!" A huge, powerful blue and white dragon appeared above him, letting out a powerful roar.

"On our souls!?" Jaden asked.

"Not good!" Andrew added.

"This could be a very short duel." Chazz commented.

"Unless Andrew and Jaden fight back." Shiori said as he took note of the dragon's strength. (ATK: 3000 DEF: 2500 LV: 8)

"3000 attack points?" Syrus asked as he stared at the beast.

"Yes and now watch them all in action!" Kaibaman screamed. "Blue-Eyes, destroy Bubbleman! White Lightning!" The dragon opened its mouth and fired off a stream of bluish-white electrical energy. The attack engulfed Bubbleman completely.

"Hold it, Kaibaman!" Jaden yelled over the attack. "Since that Bubble Blaster is out, it takes the hit for Bubbleman." The blaster shattered into pixels.

"So Jaden doesn't take any damage." Syrus noted.

"Yeah, but now that the equip spell is gone, Bubbleman's point bonus is too." Chumley pointed out. (ATK: 1600-800) "Which isn't good when you're facing down a Blue-Eyes White Dragon."

"But this is just the beginning of the duel. It's not over yet." Matt said confidently.

"I end my turn with a facedown." Kaibaman concluded and inserted a card into his duel disk.

"Alright then, my turn!" Jaden drew. "And I'm gonna be turning two monsters into one! I play Polymerization to fuse Bubbleman and Clayman to create, Mudballman in defense mode!" The water and earth heroes fused together formed the large monster with the round, Clayman-like body. (ATK: 1900 DEF: 3000 LV: 6) "That's all."

"In that case…" Andrew began his turn. "I activate Woodsman's special ability. During my standby phase, I can take a Polymerization from my grave or deck and add it to my hand." He searched through his deck until he got the spell card in question. "And now I'll use it to combine Woodsman and Ocean to create, Elemental HERO Terra Firma!" The wooden hero merged with the trident wielding water hero and formed the white armored hero with gems on his shoulders and chest plate. (ATK: 2500 DEF: 2000 LV: 8) "And then, I'll summon Elemental HERO Shadow Mist in attack mode!" The woman in black armor rose up next to the white-armored hero. (ATK: 1000 DEF: 1500 LV: 4)

"Big deal. None of them can stand up against that Blue-Eyes." Chazz said.

"Don't be so sure. My Terra Firma has a special ability. By sacrificing an Elemental HERO, he can absorb its attack points. So I'll sacrifice Shadow Mist to add her attack points to him." The black-armored heroine turned into a dark energy orb, before being absorbed into Terra Firma's body. (ATK: 2500-3500)

"Now he's stronger than Blue-Eyes!" Syrus cheered.

"But that's not all." Andrew continued. "Since Shadow Mist was sent to the graveyard, I can take a HERO monster from my deck and add it to my hand." He took Stratos from his deck and placed it into his hand. "Now, Terra Firma! Attack his Blue-Eyes with Earthen Fury!" The white-armored hero dashed forward and smashed the mighty dragon, causing it to explode.

Kaibaman: 8000-7500

"He just destroyed a Blue-Eyes White Dragon!" Matt pointed out.

"Awesome!" Shiori cheered.

"I end my turn with a facedown card." A card appeared at Andrew's feet.

"Oh yeah! Take that!" Jaden cheered.

"No, I'll take this!" Kaibaman's facedown card flipped up. "Birthright! This lets me summon a normal monster back from the grave in attack mode. And unfortunately for you two, there's only one monster in my graveyard that fits the bill." In a flash, the Blue-Eyes was back. (ATK: 3000 DEF: 2500 LV: 8)

"Are you serious?" Andrew asked disbelieved.

"It gets worse." Kaibaman drew. "First I'll play Pot of Greed. It lets me draw two cards from my deck." He drew his extra cards. "But I will only need one! The spell, Burst Stream of Destruction!"

"Isn't that an attack that the Blue-Eyes uses?" Jaden asked.

"Yeah, what's the deal with it being a separate card?" Chazz added.

"You're about to find out." Kaibaman said. "You see, I can only use this when Blue-Eyes is out. But since he is, I can now play it to destroy all your monsters."

"What!?" Jaden and Andrew exclaimed.

"Go! Obliterate their monsters with Burst Stream of Destruction!" The spell card appeared on the field and launched an orb made of the same electrical energy as the dragon's attack.

"I activate my trap!" Andrew interrupted and revealed his facedown card. "Necro Fusion!"

"Necro Fusion?" Matt repeated.

"What does that do?" Shiori wondered.

Andrew smirked as he explained. "This lets me combine monsters in my graveyard and summon a fusion monster. So I'll combine Ocean and Shadow Mist!" The two named heroes merged together. "Now come forth, Elemental HERO Absolute Zero!" The icy hero in white armor with cape appeared next to Terra Firma. (ATK: 2500 DEF: 2000 LV: 8)

"You do realize you just placed another monster in the line of fire, right?" Kaibaman stated as the orb exploded and destroyed all monsters on the hero duelists' field.

"That was my plan. You see, when Absolute Zero leaves the field, all monsters on your field are destroyed." The field was suddenly surrounded by an icy wind, and the dragon was instantly frozen solid, before it shattered into pieces.

"Whoa! Andrew destroyed that Blue-Eyes a second time." Syrus pointed out.

"Totally lishus!" Chumley added.

"I guess it wasn't too bad." Chazz admitted. "Especially since even if Kaibaman would summon it back right now, Blue-Eyes can't attack on the turn that Burst Stream of Destruction is used."

"It won't matter." Kaibaman replied. "I summon Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands!" A certain humanoid figure with grayish skin and arms all over its body rose up on the field. (ATK: 1400 DEF: 1000 LV: 4)

Shiori's eyes widened in recognition. "Uh oh."

"And now he'll lend me a hand. See, when he's summoned, He allows me to select a ritual monster or spell card from my deck and place it into my hand." Kaibaman fanned out his deck and took the card he wanted. "But it won't stay in my hand, because I'm playing it. Go, White Dragon Ritual! Now I'll sacrifice Manju to summon Paladin of White Dragon!"

Manu was replaced by a monster that was hovering above him. It was a smaller, pale dragon, carrying a white-armored man with a lance. (ATK: 1900 DEF: 1200 LV: 4)

"Like I said, it doesn't matter Blue-Eyes can't attack if it returned at this moment. You see, with Paladin, I don't need him to. He'll fill in for Blue-Eyes just fine. Sure, he may not be a dragon, but he's managed to tame one. And in my book, that's tough. Now, Paladin of White Dragon, attack! Ionic Spear Burst!" The ritual monster's body turned into a twisting aura, striking Jaden and Andrew, who yelled as the attack went through.

Jaden & Andrew: 8000-6100

"Jaden!" Syrus screamed.

"Andrew!" Matt screamed.

When the ritual monster returned to his field, Kaibaman spoke up again. "And I'm not done yet. By sacrificing Paladin, I can now summon another monster from my hand or deck. And it's one you've already met. Care to guess which?"

"Actually… no." Jaden answered.

"Me neither." Andrew added.

"Let me give you a hint then. It has blue eyes, white scales... the Blue-Eyes White Dragon!" Paladin disappeared and a second Blue-Eyes appeared in his place. (ATK: 3000 DEF: 2500 LV: 8)

"Another one?" Andrew asked disbelieved.

"This is bad." Syrus yelped. "They just got rid of one Blue-Eyes, and now they're facing another one?"

"Looks like the card created by Kaiba is a chip off the old block." Chazz muttered. "Jaden and Andrew better hope that deck of his isn't an exact copy, or they're in for it."

"It's your move." Kaibaman concluded.

"About time. Now." Jaden drew. "First I'll play Monster Reincarnation!"

"Lishus!" Chumley said. "By discarding one card from his hand, he'll get a monster back from the grave."

"Alright, goodbye Elemental HERO Necroshade…" Jaden slid the card into his graveyard. "…and hello Clayman."

"Going to try to hide behind that puny monster again? Pathetic." Kaibaman scoffed.

"No way! I don't have to hide anymore! You see, even though I'm happy to have Clayman back on my field, I'm even happier to have Necroshade down in the grave, because when Necroshade goes to the graveyard, I can summon a high level monster without having to sacrifice. And the monster I'm gonna summon is, Elemental HERO Bladedge!" The golden hero appeared, flexing his blades. (ATK: 2600 DEF: 1800 LV: 7)

"But as strong as Elemental HERO Bladedge is, he's still no match for that Blue-Eyes White Dragon." Syrus whimpered, turning to the named dragon.

"Don't be so sure." Jaden replied. "Next I'll play, the field spell, Skyscraper!" Everyone found themselves surrounded by tall city buildings. "With this out, if Bladedge takes on a stronger monster, he gains an extra 1000 attack points." (ATK: 2600-3600) "And that's just enough to edge out Blue-Eyes! Now go! Slice and Dice Attack!" The golden hero soared past the dragon, its arm blade cutting deep into its stomach, causing an explosion. Kaibaman grunted a little by the blast but smirked.

Kaibaman: 7500-6900

"Whoa! Jaden actually did it." Chazz said, surprised by this.

"Of course. As powerful as the those Blue-Eyes are, there's always a way to defeat them." Shiori explained.

"Next I'll throw down a facedown." Jaden inserted a card into his duel disk.

"Then it's my move." Andrew drew. "I summon Elemental HERO Stratos!" The turbine winged hero rose up on the field. (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, like Lady Heat." He took the named card from his deck and held it up. "Then I'll play the spell card HERO's Bond! With my hero on the field, I can summon two level 4 or lower Elemental Heroes from my hand. And I'll bring out Elemental HERO Heat and Lady heat!" The two whit and red fire heroes joined their comrade. (ATK: 1600 DEF: 1200 LV: 4) (ATK: 1300 DEF: 1000 LV: 4)

"Yes, he summoned three monsters in one turn." Matt cheered.

"And now for Heat's special ability. He gains 200 attack points for every Elemental HERO on our side of the field."

"That's right. Since Jaden and Andrew teamed up, Bladedge is included." Chumley realized.

The fire hero glowed with a fiery aura. (ATK: 1600-2400) "Now it's time for a triple attack! Strike Kaibaman directly!" Straos started up by using his wings and created a cyclone. Then, the two fire heroes shot out fire from their palms into the cyclone, creating a fire cyclone that struck Kaibaman.

Kaibaman: 6900-1400

"Yeah! Way to go, Andrew!"

"And to end my turn, I activate Lady Heat's ability. During my end phase, you take 200 points of damage for every Elemental HERO we have." The fire heroine conjured a fireball and threw it at Kaibaman.

Kaibaman: 1400-0600

"Sweet move, Andrew!" Jaden complimented. "And to think I was worried we'd lose. Well not anymore!"

Kaibaman smirked. "Is that so?"

"For sure! I'm so over my fear! The trick's to take what you're scared of, and not let it happen!"

Andrew frowned. "It's too early to celebrate, Jaden. We haven't won yet."

The Slifer looked at him confused. "What are you talking about? There's no way that Kaiba Knockoff can beat us now."

"Are you sure? Anything can happen." Kaibaman spoke, getting his opponents' attention. "Did you really think by beating my two Blue-Eyes, you've won this duel? You've avoided that defeat that you fear? I think not! You're a long way from winning this contest! And Blue-Eyes is a long way from being beat!"

"I don't believe you!" Jaden shot back.

"It's true, like it or not. Your fate and the fate of your friends all still hang in the balance! You have to accept that and face it head on!"

Andrew frowned again. "What is this?"

"This is how a true duelist lives. Not afraid of the thought of defeat, but always prepared to accept it. This is the nature of dueling…" Kaibaman drew his next card. "..and it is high time that you both learn it! First I'll play Monster Reborn to resurrect my Blue-Eyes!" The mighty dragon rose up again. (ATK: 3000 DEF: 2500 LV: 8) "Then, I'll play Card of Demise! This lets me draw until I have five cards in my hand!" He drew his new hand. "And now I play Silent Doom. With it, I can bring back my other Blue-Eyes from the graveyard in defense mode!" The second Blue-Eyes appeared and crouched down next to the first one. (ATK: 3000 DEF: 2500 LV: 8) "Next I'll play Polymerization!"

"Uh oh!" Andrew said.

"It's the same!" Chazz stated.

"What's the same?" Syrus asked.

"Kaibaman's deck is exactly the same deck as Seto Kaiba's."

"Which means…" Jaden gritted his teeth. And so did Andrew.

"Which means I have one more Blue-Eyes and I can therefore summon... the all powerful… Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon!" Everyone gasped as a third Blue-Eyes appeared and merged together with the others and formed a big, three-headed version that looked more destructive than the original. (ATK: 4500 DEF: 3800 LV: 12) "Behold! The most mighty and devastating dragon of them all!"

"The monster from our dreams…" Andrew said. "It can't be!"

"It can be, and it is. And it gets worse. With 4500 attack points staring at you, that defeat you dreamt, will now become... a reality. Now go, Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon! Attack with Neutron Blast!" The dragon's three heads started to gather destructive energy in their mouths.

"Go, trap card! Edge Hammer!" Jaden's facedown card flipped up. "Now, by sacrificing Bladedge, I can destroy one of your monsters, and then you take damage equal to that monster's attack points!" The dragon's three heads fired off their energy, which converged into one powerful shot. Bladedge endured the torrent of energy and pushed himself through it. "You said we should accept defeat? Don't think so!" The hero monster collided with the dragon, and a massive explosion occurred as a result. This caused Heat to lose a few points. (ATK: 2400-2200)

"Alright!" Chumley cheered.

"Way to play!" Syrus whooped.

"No way!" Chazz said in disbelief.

"Yes way!" Shiori pitched in.

"Awesome!" Matt exclaimed.

Andrew started to feel relieved. "Nice one, Jaden. I'm glad this is… huh?" When the smoke cleared, everyone was surprised to see Kaibaman standing tall, completely unharmed. He also held up a card.

"If you won't accept defeat, then I'll force it on you." He showed them the card he held up.

"De-Fusion?" Jaden noted.

"That's right. It reverted Ultimate Dragon back to its pre-fusion form." The hero duelists looked up and saw the three Blue-Eyes White Dragons hovering in the air. (ATK: 3000 DEF: 2500 LV: 8) x3 "So since Edge Hammer's target was no longer there, it swung and missed. Something my three Blue-Eyes will not be doing! Attack with White Lightning!" Each of three dragons fired off a blast of energy, destroying Lady Heat… (ATK: 2200-2000)

Jaden & Andrew: 6100-5400

…then Stratos… (ATK: 2000-1800)

Jaden & Andrew: 5400-5200

…and finally Heat.

Jaden & Andrew: 5200-5000

Andrew grunted. "This is bad. But at least Skyscraper gave my heroes enough power to reduce the damage a lot."

"So, are you ready to give up?"

"Never!" Jaden shouted back. "We'll never give up!"

Kaibaman smiled in amusement. "It's your move."

Jaden stared at his deck. 'Man, every time we step up our game, his goes even higher. I better get something good. Right now!' He drew.

"Coo!" He drew his loyal duel spirit.

"Good to see you again, pal. I summon Winged Kuriboh in defense mode!" The brown furry monster with wings appeared on his field. (ATK: 300 DEF: 200 LV: 1) "And I'll leave it at that."

"Here goes." Andrew muttered as he drew his next card. He smiled as he saw that it was his duel spirit. "I summon Phantom Magician in defense mode!" The masked skeleton spellcaster appeared. (ATK: 600 DEF: 700 LV: 3) "And that's all."

"Really?" Kaibaman asked and drew. "I'm afraid that won't be enough to save you this turn."

"What does he mean?" Matt wondered.

"I don't like the sound of that." Shiori said nervously.

"First I'll play the spell card White Elephant's Gift. This lets me send a non-effect monster to the graveyard and draw two cards from my deck." One the dragons disappeared, and Kaibaman drew his extra cards. "Then I'll play Dragon's Mirror!"

"Not good!" Shiori exclaimed

"What? What does it?" Syrus asked nervously.

"With this spell card, I can fusion summon a dragon type monster by using monsters on my field and grave."

Jaden and Andrew gulped at this revelation.

"Therefore, I can once again fuse my three dragons and create Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon!" The third dragon reappeared and merged with the others and formed the three-headed behemoth. (ATK: 4500 DEF: 3800 LV: 12) "And I'm not done yet. I activate Enemy Controller!"

"Not that one!" Andrew said.

"Due to its effect, I can force one of your monsters to switch modes. And I'll force Phantom Magician to attack mode." The spellcaster stood up.

"You have to do better than that to take us down!" Jaden shouted.

Kaibaman smirked in response. "Be careful what you wish for…" He then held up his last. "I activate the spell card Megamorph!"

"Oh no!" Matt exclaimed.

"Great. They're toast." Chazz added.

"Don't say that! They can turn this around!" Syrus snapped.

"Not this time!" Shiori disagreed. "Megamorph is an equip spell with than effect that changes wether Kaibaman's life points are either higher or lower than his opponent's!"

"And since my life points are lower than yours…" Kaibaman began to explain. "My monster's attack points are doubled!"

Jaden and Andrew gasped as the three-headed dragon roared and grew much bigger. (ATK: 4500-9000)

"Which means there's nowhere left to run! Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, Neutron Blast Attack!" The mighty dragon fired off its powerful energy blast and hit Phantom Magician dead on. On contact, the field exploded, sending up a huge cloud of smoke as Kaibaman laughed triumphantly.

"Jaden!" Syrus called out.

"What gives!?" Chumley asked.

"Andrew, no!" Shiori screamed.

When the smoke cleared, everyone could see both hero duelists laying on the ground facedown.

Jaden & Andrew: 5000-0000


"Coo!"

"Andrew, wake up!"

The two hero duelists woke up and found themselves lying on the ground of the spirit cave, their respective duel spirits hovering near them.

"Syrus! Chumley!" Jaden called out as they looked around and saw their friends sitting nearby, enjoying the company of all the other duel spirits.

Andrew smiled. "Oh, good. They're okay… ow!" He winced, briefly clutching his chest where he'd been hit hardest by the attack.

Kaibaman walked over and looked down at the two of them. "Defeat is nothing to be scared of. What matters, is if you can get up after."

Andrew and Jaden did just that. "So does that mean, this entire duel was to teach us that?" The former asked.

"Tell me, are either of you afraid now?"

"Actually… no, I'm really not!" Jaden admitted.

"Me neither." Andrew added.

"And do you know why? Because you both faced it. You lost, and you're okay."

Andrew nodded. "Yeah. We are."

"Jay/Andrew!" Syrus and Shiori called out as the two them and the others ran over to them.

"And so are they." Kaibaman added.

"Hey guys, I think we're finally over bad dreams now!" Jaden said with a grin.

"Got that right." Andrew added with a smile.

"Good to hear." Shiori said patting his fellow Ra's back.

"I gotta admit, this adventure was quite epic." Matt commented.

Chazz scoffed and crossed his arms. "Oh yeah? Well I'm over this place. Can we please get out of this weird spirit cave? It's low rent."

"Uhh, Kaibaman?" Jaden asked. "Think you can help us out of here… huh?"

The group noticed that Kaibaman was gone.

"Where'd he go?" Chumley asked.

"There he is!" Andrew pointed behind Jaden, where everyone could see the kaiba lookalike walk away through a mist.

"If you're looking for help, ask Winged Kuriboh and Phantom Magician." He stopped and looked over his shoulder. "After all, they're the ones who brought you down here." He then turned around and walked away, disappearing in the distance.

"Coo."

"That's all we gotta do?" Andrew asked.

"Yes. Just close your eyes and wish for it." Phantom Magican confirmed.

The group then closed their eyes, focusing on being back in the wading pool. "I really wanna go back home!" Syrus pleaded. And just a brief moment later, they were pulled out of the cave, returned to the deep water and and came back to the pool they came from.


After that, they decided that they'd had enough for the day and headed back to their dorms. At this moment they were crossing the bridge while the sun set.

"This is the first time I've left the wading pool more wound up than when I came. Syrus noted. "I'm just glad that we're back in a world where Des Koala, Winged Kuriboh and Phantom Magician are just cards. You know what I mean, guys?"

"I'll tell you what I know, Kuriboh." Jaden turned to his spirit friend. "Who I owe a big fat thank you to."

"Coo."

"You're the best. Thanks pal."

"And you too, Phantom Magician. You're a real friend." Andrew added.

"You're welcome."

"Duel spirits, huh?" Matt muttered. "Incredible."

"I know, right?" Shiori replied.

"By the way, Sy." Jaden spoke up. "I still have your towel!"

"What? Give it!" He demanded-

"Sure!"

SNAP

"OW!"

The boys all laughed at the spectacle, glad to have survived today's adventure.


And that's that. Until next time.