The Wrath of Mother Nature
It was dark at night, and everything seemed to be peaceful on Academy Island. But somewhere, deep in the forest, a figure was walking and came to a clearing. Due to the dark, it was relatively hard to tell the the stranger's appearance. The only thing that was obvious about this person, was her feminine figure, which was proof enough that she was a girl/woman. She held up her right hand, with what appeared to be seeds on her palm. She simply dropped them on the ground. And when she did, they entered the ground. And then, there were vines sprouting out of the ground, much faster than any normal plant would do.
"It's time for Duel Academy to face the power of nature." The stranger said.
Two days later, it was another day at Duel Academy. But, the students have been gossiping about a rumor of some kind.
"Hey, have you heard?" A Ra Yellow asked. "Some students have gone missing recently."
"Yeah, they just walked into the forest and never came back."
"I've heard there were some hissing noises coming from there." An Obelisk Blue boy said.
"What? You mean, like some wild animal?" An Obelisk girl asked.
The rumor was heard practically everywhere. Therefore, the remaining key keepers decided to have a little meeting. Jaden, Andrew, Alexis, Jenny, Bastion, Chazz, Shiori and Michael met up near the Academy's main entrance.
"Okay, any thoughts about the students who disappeared?" Andrew asked.
"Like what?" Chazz replied skeptically. "For all we know, they probably just got lost in the forest."
"I don't know about that." Michael said. "It's been two days, and we're already missing about 30 students."
"With that number of students in mind, it is quite unlikely that they simply got lost." Bastion added.
"Which means there is something more serious going around here." Jenny said.
"Yeah, but what?" Alexis wondered.
The group pondered on the topic for what felt like minutes. The one who chose to break the silence was Shiori. "Maybe a Shadow Rider is behind this?"
The others looked at him surprised.
"You really think so?" Jaden asked.
The ritual duelist shrugged. "Well, I don't have any proof to back that claim up, but I think it's possible. I mean, ever since we defeated Camula, nothing strange has occurred around here, until recently. What if one of the Shadow Riders is kidnapping the other students to get our attention?"
That made them look at each other thoughtfully.
"Well, like you said, there's no solid proof to back your claim up." Bastion mused, rubbing his chin. "But given the circumstances, I can't say it's impossible."
"In that case," Jaden spoke up. "Let's head to the forest and find them!"
Chazz scoffed and crossed his arms. "Yeah, sure. And then we'll just let the kidnapper greet us with open arms."
"Chazz's got a point there." Andrew said. "If there is a possibility that a kidnapper is behind this, then we can't just walk in there blindly."
"He's right." Alexis agreed. "If we walk in the forest, they might get a jump on us, especially if we try to search in groups."
"What else can we do?" Jaden asked.
Before anyone could answer his question, they all suddenly heard some weird noise. Everyone looked down at the ground and found the source. To their surprise, it turned to be a small toy car. It was dark green with black wheels. But what made it stand out was the camera attached to the front. The key keepers watched as the camera turned up to face them.
"What the heck is that thing?" Chazz asked.
"A toy car?" Jaden answered.
"With a camera." Michael noted.
"What's with that?" Jenny wondered.
"Pretty neat, right?"
Everyone blinked upon hearing the new voice. They turned and saw Xander waving to them with one hand, and noticed a remote control in his other hand.
"Xander?" Andrew noted.
"Is this yours?" Bastion asked.
"Yup." The mechanic replied proudly. "Something that I made."
"Really?" Michael asked impressed. "How did you even find the parts needed?"
"That's something I thanked Professor Banner for..."
Flashback
Xander was sitting at a tree near the Slifer Dorm, tinkering with an old microwave. But he seemed quite bored.
"I spent some time, fixing some broken machines and devices. My favorite pass time. But it was hard to find something to fix. That is, until Professor Banner showed up."
The Slifer headmaster approached Xander with Pharaoh in his arms. During the few following minutes, Xander found himself listening to Banner.
"After I told him about my situation, he told me about a junkyard at the north end of Academy island."
Xander was eager to find the junkyard.
"So after Banner gave me the tip, I headed to the junkyard."
Xander arrived at the junkyard and he was instantly amazed by the sight. There were big piles of scrap metal, old machines, everything. Xander searched through the place, like a child looking for new toys.
"And boy what I found so much I could rebuild. Like the car you guys see in front of you."
The toy car he found was pretty broken, with a hole in the front. He then noticed an old video camera laying next to it. He picked both of them up and noticed that the hole in the car was big enough for the camera to fit. And that gave him an idea.
Flashback end
"...And I just mixed these two things together to make my spy car." Xander finished with a proud smile.
"So you made a toy. Good for you." Chazz commented sarcastically.
"Well, I'm quite impressed." Alexis said.
"By chance, is this spy car connected to a computer?" Bastion asked, seemingly fascinated by Xander's piece of work.
The mechanic smirked. "You have to ask?" He then picked up a laptop, opened it up and showed the screen to everyone. "See?"
The key keepers watched at the screen showing everything that was seen from the camera's perspective.
"Cool." Michael grinned.
"You said it." Jaden agreed.
Andrew suddenly had an idea. "Hey, I think this is just what we need."
Everyone turned to him confused, Xander more than the rest of them.
Later that night, everything seemed to be peaceful. However, deep within the forest, someone was sneaking around. It was a boy dressed in blue, had short dark green hair...
You guessed it. It was Norman, the stalking fiend duelist.
"Now if I were the punk kidnapping the other students, where would I be?" He muttered. "Man this forest is so damn big." He was clearly frustrated. "No matter, I'll find the punk who took them, give him a smackdown. And once everyone sees me as a hero..." A thought bubble appeared above his head, with the image of himself with a proud smirk, with Jenny's arms wrapped around him as she swooned at him.
Norman laughed giddily at the thought. "There's no way my lovely Jenny will ignore me after...
BONK!
"Ow!" He groaned after bumping into something. He rubbed his head as he looked forward. "Okay, what just..." He paused when noticed a person in front of him. An Obelisk blue boy with messy brown hair. Norman just stared blankly when he recognized the boy known as Victor Harris. When he looked up after rubbing his own head, he noticed Norman and just stared blankly.
Norman blinked.
Victor blinked.
And then they both reacted at the same and pointed a finger to each other. "Hey! What are you doing here!?" They blinked when they realized this and argued, but ended up talking at the same time again. "I asked you first... No you didn't... STOP THAT!"
"Enough of this nonsense!" Norman snapped. "Now why the hell are you here!?"
"Like you deserve to know that!" Victor retorted.
Norman however had a good idea what the pickpocket was up to. "Are you trying to find the kidnapper?"
Victor glared at him. "What if I was?"
"Then you can forget it! Because I'm the one who's gonna take him down!"
"Yeah, right! Like you would stand a chance against someone who kidnapped 30 people!"
Norman scoffed. "Well as I recall, I defeated you fair and square!"
Victor growled as he got into his face. "What was that, stalker!?"
"I was telling the truth!"
"You little..."
RUSTLE RUSTLE
"Huh?" They both blinked before they looked around, and then to their shock...
There were vines moving around them, like they were alive.
"AAAAAHH!" The yelled in fear and ended up hugging each other.
"What's going on?" Norman asked fearfully.
"Don't ask me!" Victor replied.
And then, they suddenly heard hissing sound. When they turned to the direction it came from, they paled when they saw... I giant Venus flytrap! It was green with thorny teeth, and thorny vines.
The two Obelisks were shaking by the sight of it.
"Um, okay, you can be the hero. You'll take care of that." Norman suggested, his voice sounding fearful.
"Uh no. I think you should." Victor replied, feeling the same.
"No, you."
"No, you."
"You."
"You."
The Venus flytrap got closer, making the Obelisks shake even more as they kept saying 'you' all the time. Once the plant was like a half meter away from them, they turned around to see vines surrounding them. Now they certain they were about die. The Venus flytrap opened its mouth slowly, making them close their eyes, expecting to get eaten...
"Now now, boys.~" A husky female voice spoke up.
Once they heard that, they opened their eyes, and were now utterly confused. Why?
Because they saw someone sitting inside the flytrap's mouth. It appeared to be a young woman, wearing a strapless dress that seemed to be made of black leaves. The dress appeared to have a golden eye symbol in the middle of the chest area. She was also wearing green boots. She had long, wavy rose-red hair. Her eyes however were hidden because of a green eye mask she was wearing.
"There's no reason for you to fight over little old me.~" She said seductively before she kissed her right palm and blew on it. And when she did, some kind of pink dust came out of her palm and hit on the two Obelisk boys, who suddenly started to look dizzy...
Meanwhile, the key keepers, plus Xander, gathered together at the outskirts of the forest, with the mechanic sitting on a rock with the laptop on his knees and the remote control in hand, while Andrew placed spy car on the ground.
"Okay, all set." He declared.
"Then let's do this." Xander replied.
"Do you still want to do this?" Bastion asked. "It might be bad if something happened to your creation."
"I'm sure. This is a good opportunity to test it out."
"Then let's get started." Michael said.
"Get what started?" A female voice spoke up. The group turned around a saw Clover standing behind them, accompanied with Syrus and Chumley.
"Hey guys." Jaden greeted nonchalantly.
"What brings you here?" Shiori asked.
"Well, we heard that you guys were about to do something here at the forest." Syrus replied while Chumley nodded.
"That being said..." Clover spoke up with her hands placed on her hips. "Why are you guys even doing here. Haven't you heard about the recent disappearances?"
"Trust me, Clover. We all know about it." Andrew said.
"And that's why we're here. To investigate." Xander said as he pressed some buttons and started up the spy car.
"What's with that car?" Chumley asked.
"We're going to drive it into the forest and see what it can find." The mechanic replied as he used his remote control and the spy car drove away into the forest. The gang gathered around Xander and watched the screen showing what the car saw.
Some time passed, and so far nothing unusual was found. And some of them were bored.
"Found anything?" Jaden asked, sitting at a tree, almost yawning.
"Not since you asked me the third time 3 minutes ago." Xander replied.
"This is stupid." Chazz stated annoyingly. "There's no way anything crazy is going on in there."
"Says the guy who dealt with abandoned cards inside a well." Michael replied.
"Shut up!"
"We can't give up just yet." Jenny said. "Let's wait a little longer and..."
"SSHHH!" Xander hushed loudly, making everyone turn to him.
"What is it?" Andrew asked.
"I think I saw something." They turned to the laptop as Xander gave his car a few commands, making the camera turn to left and right. And it was then the screen showed everyone some movement nearby.
"What was that?" Alexis asked.
"Give me a moment." Xander drove the car in that direction. After a while, it came to a small clearing. Nothing was there. "Hmm. I could have sworn it came from..."
Suddenly, something showed up from nowhere. It was so fast that everyone jumped at that. They didn't have time to identify the attacker because the screen suddenly showed static before it went black.
"What happened?" Syrus asked nervously.
"I don't know." The mechanic replied. "Something happened to my spy car."
"So what now?" Michael asked.
"There's only one thing to do." Andrew declared.
"Don't say it. Don't say it." Chumley whimpered.
"We're heading into the forest." Jaden said, to which everyone agreed, except for Syrus and Chumley who didn't like the idea.
The gang walked around in the forest, following the path the spy car took.
"Can we go home now?" Syrus whimpered.
"Why are we always walking into scary places?" Chumley added.
"If you two want to run home and cry for mama, then be my guest." Chazz replied annoyingly.
"Quiet. We don't know who or what might jump on us." Clover whispered.
Andrew, who took the lead, noticed something ahead. "Look."
Everyone followed the finger he was pointing with, and saw Xander's spy car. Only, the camera was crushed and separated from the car itself. And there were some red flowers surrounding them for some reason.
"My spy car." Xander gasped.
"Whoa! Someone teared it apart." Shiori noted.
"Or something." Michael added.
Andrew hummed in thought, staring at the flowers. "What are we dealing with here?"
"Uuuuh." Jaden had a confused on his face.
"What is it, Jaden?" Alexis asked.
All the Slifer did was staring in one direction. They all followed his gaze, and were surprised to see a big arch made of leaves and vines. And behind it were a bunch of bushes on opposite sides, forming a single path.
"How long had this been here?" Shiori asked incredulously.
"How long, indeed." Bastion said.
Jaden walked into the path.
"Jaden, where are you going?" Andrew asked.
"To wherever this road leads." He said as if it was the most obvious in the world.
"Don't walk away alone!" The Ra called out and went after him.
"Andrew!" Clover called out as she and the others followed them.
They walked in silence, keeping their eyes open, in case something showed up. After a while, they reached the end of the path that lead to a big clearing.
As everyone got a good look at the place, their eyes widened as Jaden voiced their thoughts. "No way!"
What they saw before them looked like a garden. But it was kinda creepy looking. And it was because of the thorny vines that were moving around the area. There were also a bunch of bushes with red flowers positioned in a big circle. But that wasn't all. The key keepers, plus their four friends, saw a big number of boys everywhere, trimming the bushes. The gang noted that all of them were wearing different kinds of Academy uniforms. Slifer, Ra and Obelisk. Which means...
"Those are..." Andrew said.
"The students who disappeared!" Michael filled in.
"My word! What a predicament!" Bastion noted.
"So uh... why are they trimming the bushes?" Chumley wondered.
Shiori looked around and when his eyes landed on some bushes at the other side of the area, he noticed an Obelisk blue boy. And that was someone who made him angry. "Victor!"
Everyone turned to him before following his gaze. And sure enough, they saw the card thief, trimming the bushes. And surprisingly enough, Norman was standing next to him, doing the same.
"It really is Victor." Syrus said.
"And Norman." Jenny added, not really happy to see him.
The ritual duelist stomped over to the two Obelisks, worrying the others.
"Um, Shiori?" Jaden called out.
"Hey you!" The Ra called out to Victor. "What do you think you're doing here!? Are you trying to steal flowers now?" But no answer came. Victor just kept trimming the bushes, much to Shiori's annoyance. "Are you deaf or something!? I'm talking to you!" He grabbed Victor's shoulder and forced him to turn around... "Huh?" Shiori stared at him blankly for a moment... "Yikes!" before jumping away in shock.
Once everyone focused on the Obelisk boy, they found the reason behind Shiori's reaction; Victor's eyes were glowing eerie green.
"What on earth is up with his eyes!?" Clover asked in shock.
Xander turned around and paled. "Um, he's not the only one."
The others looked around and sure enough, all the other boys here had the same glowing eyes. As they surrounded them, the gang noticed that some of them made their way to the path they came from and blocked it.
"Just great. We're surrounded." Chazz said.
"What's wrong with them?" Alexis wondered.
"They're just doing my bidding." A new voice spoke up. Everyone turned and saw some of the hypnotized boys stepping aside, allowing a new figure approach them. It was a young woman with long, wavy rose-red hair. She was wearing a green eye mask, a strapless dress that seemed to be made of black leaves, and green boots. The gang also noticed the golden eye symbol in the middle of the chest area. "Welcome to my little paradise." She greeted.
"Who are you?" Jaden asked.
"And what did you do to all these guys?" Andrew demanded.
The girl giggled a bit. "Oh, I'm sorry. I forgot to introduce myself. My name is... Black Thorn."
"Black Thorn?" Michael repeated. "Isn't that..."
Jenny interrupted him as she glared at the one named Black Thorn. "Atticus and Kaito warned us about you! You're a Shadow Rider!"
The gang gasped as they remembered now. Black Thorn smiled evilly.
"I figured those two traitors would mention me. That's right, I'm here to collect your spirit keys."
"Ya know, if you wanted to duel, you could have come to us." Jaden stated.
"What did you do to all these guys?" Andrew repeated his question.
"Oh? I just offered them the job to trim my babies." Black Thorn replied as she walked over to one of the bushes and petted it like it was her dear pet. "It's not easy for one single person to keep the garden healthy. So they agreed to help me. Isn't that right, boys?~"
"Yes, Mistress." All the hypnotized answered in unison, sounding like brainwashed zombies.
"Okay, this is so wrong." Xander shuddered.
The Shadow Rider shrugged. "It's easy to make men do your bidding, if you're as charming as me." She then lightly blew her right palm, making some pink dust appear for a moment before it disappeared.
"Correction, that is so wrong." Clover said bitterly.
Jenny didn't like Black Thorn's attitude either, despite the fact that she was a brainwashed student. "Okay, I've heard enough of you. If you want our spirit keys, then you'll have to go through us." She then activated her duel disk.
Alexis stepped in with her own duel disk activated. "That's right. So bring it!"
Jenny turned to her friend. "Alexis are you sure you want to..." But she was interrupted when a pair of vines suddenly erupted from the ground and wrapped themselves around the girls' waists. "What the..."
"What is this!?" Alexis exclaimed.
The others were alerted.
"Alexis/Jenny!" Jaden and Andrew cried out.
"What are you doing!?" Michael turned to Black Thorn, who was chuckling.
"I just thought I could make this game a little more interesting." She then snapped her fingers. It was then everyone heard a hissing sound. It sounded like it came from above.
They all looked up and what they saw frightened them. A giant head of a Venus flytrap hanging above them. It had green thorny teeth and thorny vines. It lowered its head towards the Obelisk girls and hissed at them, frightening them more.
"WHAT IS THAT!?" Syrus and Chumley yelled in fear.
"A giant plant!?" Shiori exclaimed, not believing his eyes.
"No way!" Chazz muttered.
Black Thorn giggled. "I'm sorry. My baby can be upset when he gets hungry." Everyone was now focused on her. "Now then..." She said, turning to Alexis and Jenny. "Since both of you are so eager to duel me, then let's make this two against one. Each of you will start with 4000 life points and I will start with 8000 points. None of us can attack until every duelist has finished their first turn. So, what do you say?"
The Obelisk girls looked at each other, then the frightening plant, and then each other again.
"Guess we have no choice." Jenny said, looking a little nervous.
"Definitely." Alexis answered, feeling the same. But almost immediately she gave her a confident look. "But I know we can win this. Are you with me?"
Jenny stared at her for a moment before mimicking her look. "You can count on me."
"Are they really going to do this?" Xander asked worriedly.
"They'll be fine." Clover said confidently. "From what I've heard, Alexis and Jenny are very good. They should be able to defeat her."
"True." Bastion agreed. "With those two combined, they are strategically at advantage. Although, who knows what Black Thorn has up in her sleeve?"
"I know they can win." Andrew said confidently.
"You bet they will." Jaden added.
Black Thorn grinned evilly. "You better hope so. Because if they can't win, then it's dinner time for my baby."
The Obelisk girl glanced at the hungry plant but didn't back down. "Bring it on!" They said in unison.
"Very well." Black Thorn snapped her fingers, making all hypnotized boys move away to give them space. And then, one of the vines gave her a duel disk, which she put on her arm and activated.
"LET'S DUEL!"
Alexis: 4000
Jenny: 4000
Black Thorn: 8000
"I'll go first." Black Thorn declared and drew her sixth card. "I summon Rose Lover in defense mode." A young woman with platinum blonde hair, wearing a red dress and gloves decorated with roses appeared. (ATK: 800 DEF: 800 LV: 1) "Then I'll place two cards facedown and end my turn." Two cards appeared behind the woman.
"Then I'm up next." Jenny drew. "I summon Nova Summoner in defense mode." The orange circle-like creature with wings appeared. (ATK: 1400 DEF: 800 LV: 4) "I place two cards facedown." Two cards appeared at her feet. "And then, I'll end my turn..."
"And before I let your friend begin her turn, I activate my trap card." Black Thorn interrupted and revealed one of her facedown cards. "Ivy Shackles."
"What does that do?" Alexis wondered.
Black Thorn smirked. "I could tell you now, but that would spoil the surprise."
The blonde Obelisk frowned as she drew. "I summon Etoile Cyber in attack mode!" The red-haired woman dressed in red bluish leotard appeared. (ATK: 1200 DEF: 1600 LV: 4) "Then I'll end my turn with a facedown." A card appeared behind the ballerina.
"And now it's time for you to feel the wrath of Mother Nature!" Black Thorn drew and her face-up trap card started to glow. And then, to the Obelisk girls' shock, some vines grew out of their monsters' bodies.
"What?" Jenny gasped. "What is this?"
"This is the effect of Ivy Shackles." Black Thorn explained. "During my turns only, all monsters you have on the field become plant type."
The Obelisk girls glared at her.
"And this is useful when I play this spell card." Black Thorn held up the card in question. "Fragrance Storm. For starters, this lets me destroy a plant type monster on the field. And I choose Nova Summoner." The vines on the named monster's body started to glow.
"I activate a trap!" One of Jenny's facedown cards flipped up. "Riryoku Field! With this counter trap, the effect of a spell card that targets exactly one monster is cancelled out."
Black Thorn chuckled. "Sorry but that won't work, thanks to the trap card, Pollinosis." Her facedown card flipped up. "With this, I can negate your trap card. All I have to do is sacrifice a plant type monster, like Rose Lover." The woman in red dress disappeared as Jenny's trap card shattered into pixels. And then, Nova Summoner exploded.
"Aw man. That didn't go so well for Jenny." Syrus stated.
"It gets worse." Bastion replied.
"Indeed. Because due to the effect of Fragrance Storm, I get to draw a card, and if it happens to be a plant type monster, I can draw one more card." Black Thorn drew a card and looked at it. She then smirked, which her opponents noticed.
"What did you get?" Alexis asked.
"A monster known as Gigaplant." The Shadow Rider revealed the named monster.
"What's so special about that card." Chazz wondered.
"It's a Gemini monster." Michael replied grimly.
"What's a Gemini monster Jaden asked.
"Wait and see."
After revealing her monster card, Black Thorn drew another card. "And now I activate Rose Lover's special ability. If I have her in my graveyard, I can remove her from play and summon a plant type monster from my hand. So I'll trade her in for Gigaplant." The woman dressed in red appeared for second before disappearing in a flash of light. And then the ground shook violently as a new creature rose up behind the Shadow Rider. It looked like an immense tree that had a red Venus flytrap looking head with six blue eyes. There were some scythed blades all over its body and its shoulders were covered in thick moss. (ATK: 2400 DEF: 1200 LV: 6)
"Gyah! Another monster plant!" Chumley screamed.
"Ugly." Shiori commented while shuddering.
"And now my baby, time for Gemini Summon!" Gigaplant glowed white.
"Gemini summon?" Xander repeated.
"That's one of the features of a Gemini monster." Bastion explained. "When they're on the field or in the graveyard, they are considered normal monsters. However, they can get access to their special abilities by being normal summoned while they're on the field."
"What the what now?" Jaden asked, looking his head was about to implode.
"Don't bother yourself, Slacker." Chazz said.
"Now then..." Black Thorn began. "... let me show you what Gigaplant can do. Once per turn, I can summon an insect or plant type monster from my hand or graveyard. So now, let me introduce to you, Mariña, Princess of Sunflowers!" Everyone watched as a giant sunflower sprouted from the ground next to Gigaplant. They saw a woman on top of the flower itself. She had a purple leotard and a headdress made from another sunflower. (ATK: 2800 DEF: 1600 LV: 8)
Andrew frowned. "Two monsters with more than 2000 attack points? This is bad."
"And Jenny is wide open!" Shiori added.
"I think it's time for my baby to have his first bite!" Black Thorn declared. "Gigaplant, attack Jenny directly!" The monstrous plant creature raised an arm and swung downwards.
"I discard a card from my hand to activate this; Rainbow Life!" Jenny discarded a card as her facedown card flipped up. And then a pillar of rainbow-colored light enveloped her, and blocked the attack. And then...
Jenny: 4000-6400
"What!?" Black Thorn exclaimed. "What just happened!?"
"During the turn my trap card is activated, any damage I would take becomes life point gain instead." Jenny explained.
"Sweetness!" Jaden cheered.
"Nice one!" Michael added.
"I should have known she would pull something like that." Andrew commented.
Black Thorn growled. "Extremely disappointing." But she smirked and turned to Alexis. "But I doubt your friend will be so lucky. Now Mariña, destroy Etoile Cyber with Sunflower Burst!" The Princess' eyes glowed as a bunch of sunflowers sprouted from the ground and stretched out towards the ballerina...
"I activate the trap card, Doble Passe!" Alexis' facedown card flipped up. And then, Etoile Cyber spun gracefully while avoiding the attack, causing the sunflowers to strike Alexis instead.
Alexis: 4000-1200
"Huh?" Black Thorn raised an eyebrow.
"Confused?" Alexis asked. "With Doble Passe, I can change your monster's attack to a direct attack. And in return, my monster gets to attack you directly." Etoile Cyber dashed forward, shocking the Shadow Rider. "And when Etoile Cyber attacks someone directly, her attack points are increased by 600." (ATK: 1200-1800) The ballerina spun on herself before landing a round-housed kick on Black Thorn.
Black Thorn: 8000-6200 (ATK: 1800-1200)
She grunted before scoffing. "I'm not impressed. 1800 points of damage is nothing. Your little dance cost you more life points than me."
"I have my reasons to do that." Alexis replied confidently. "So don't think you've won just yet."
"Oh, I know I'll win. I end my turn with a facedown." A card appeared at Black Thorn's feet, and the vines on Etoile Cyber's body disappeared.
"My move." Jenny drew. "I activate Pot of Greed." She drew two more cards. "Then I activate the spell card, Valhalla, Hall of the Fallen. Since I have no monsters on the field, I can summon a fairy type from my hand, like Neo-Parsath, the Sky Paladin!" The evolved version of Airknight Parsath appeared. (ATK: 2300 DEF: 2000 LV: 7) "Then I'll equip him with the spell card, Cestus Dagla, giving him 500 more attack points." The fairy monster's shield transformed into a 'D' shaped dagger. (ATK: 2300-2800) "Now attack her Gigaplant with Celestial Judgement Blade!" Neo-Parsath raised his sword and swung it downward, sending out an arc of golden energy that destroyed the named monster.
Black Thorn: 6200-5800
"Oh, and when Neo-Parsath deals battle damage I get to draw a card from my deck." Jenny drew. "And that's not all, my Cestus Dagla gives me life points equal to the battle damage you just took."
Jenny: 6400-6800
"Awesome!" Syrus cheered.
"Lishus!" Chumley said.
"Nicely done, Jenny!" Clover called out.
But it was then everyone heard Black Thorn laughing, much to their confusion. It was then replaced by shock when a bunch of sunflowers sprouted from the ground, wrapped themselves around Neo-Parsath, and then squeezed him until he shattered into pixels.
"My Neo-Parsath is gone!?" Jenny asked in disbelief.
"How observant of you." Black Thorn taunted. "And it's all because of Mariña's special ability. Whenever one of my other plant type monsters is destroyed, she lets me destroy one of your cards."
"Seriously?" Xander asked disbelieved.
"This is bad." Andrew muttered.
"So, what are your plans now?" The Shadow Rider asked mockingly.
Jenny frowned before she took the two remaining cards from her hand. "First I'll place this card facedown." A card appeared at her feet. "Then I summon Nova Summoner in defense mode." Another orange ring with wings appeared. (ATK: 1400 DEF: 800 LV: 4) "And that's all."
"My move then." Alexis drew. 'I don't have anything to destroy her monster, but that doesn't mean I can't play something right now.' She held up a spell card. "I activate Polymerization! And I'll use it to fuse Etoile Cyber with Blade Skater to create Cyber Blader!" The ballerina entered a fusion vortex, along with the bald, skating warrior, and in their place, The red and purple skater with visor appeared. (ATK: 2100 DEF: 800 LV: 7) "Then I'll end my turn with a facedown." A card appeared behind the skater.
"Is that all you got? Pathetic." Black Thorn drew while Ivy Shackles made vines grow out of the bodies of her opponents' monsters. "I activate Call of the Haunted." He facedown card flipped up. "Now I can summon a monster back from the graveyard, so say hello to my little baby." In a flash of light, Gigaplant reappeared. (ATK: 2400 DEF: 1200 LV: 6)
The audience gasped.
"That's right. All of you know what happens next. I'll Gemini Summon Gigaplant, so I can use it ability again." The giant plant glowed again. "Now I summon Talaya, Princess of Cherry Blossoms!" The ground shook as a giant cherry blossom sprouted from the ground next to Mariña. And out of it emerged a woman wearing a purple kimono and holding a folding fan (ATK: 2800 DEF: 1200 LV: 8)
"Great. So now they have to deal with a royal flower family." Clover commented.
"This sucks." Michael added.
"You should know that fighting Mother Nature is suicidal." Black Thorn stated. "Especially since my new monster gets stronger. For every plant type monster on my field, Talaya gains 100 attack points."
"I'm afraid your monster won't get anything." Alexis declared, smirking.
Before Black Thorn could question her, she noticed Cyber Blader glowing brightly. And then, to her shock, the vines on her and Nova Summoner's bodies vanished. "What was that?"
"Didn't you know? My Cyber Blader has a special ability that changes with the number of monsters on your field. So with three monsters, my Cyber Blader negates your spells, traps and monster effects."
The Shadow Rider's eyes widened. "Which means..."
"Our monsters are back to normal, and your princess doesn't get any points."
"Wow! Alexis' Cyber Blader is tougher than I thought." Jaden said.
"You should have seen how tough it was when she dueled me." Andrew replied.
Black Thorn scoffed. "Alright then. I'll just have to get rid of your monster, and then you, while I'm at it! Gigaplant, attack!" The named monster roared and approached the skater.
"I activate Hallowed Life Barrier!" Alexis' facedown card flipped up. "By discarding one card from my hand, any damage I'd take this turn becomes zero, and my monster is safe." She discarded a card as a barrier surrounded Cyber Blader, protecting her from a slam from Gigaplant.
"Nice one, Alexis." Jenny praised.
"Thanks."
Black Thorn growled. "Talaya, destroy Nova Summoner!" The cherry blossom princess waved her fan in the air. And then, the winged ring creature was swallowed by a tornado of cherry blossom petals.
"Thank you. By destroying Nova Summoner in battle, you triggered its ability. But first, I activate my trap card." Jenny's facedown card flipped up.
And then, Alexis gasped as a blue aura surrounded her for a moment...
Alexis: 1200-2600
"What?" She then turned to the fairy duelist, who gave her a smile.
"It's called Wish of Final Effort. I can activate it when my monster is destroyed. Normally, I would use it to add my monster's attack points to my life points. But I figured you need them more."
Alexis smiled in return. "Thanks for that."
"No problem. Now then..." Jenny turned back to their opponent. "Due to Nova Summoner's special ability, I can summon a light fairy type monster with up to 1500 attack points. And I choose Marshmallon!" The pink blob with its upside down face appeared. (ATK: 300 DEF: 500 LV: 3) "And just so you know, this monster can't be destroyed in battle."
Black Thorn clicked her tongue. "Fine, you're safe for now. To end my turn, I activate the spell card, The World Tree." A gigantic tree rose up behind her.
"What does that do?" Xander wondered.
"Something that can be dangerous for the girls, if they're not careful." Bastion replied.
"My move." Jenny drew a card and looked at it. She was slightly disappointed at it. "I pass." She concluded.
"In that case..." Alexis drew. "I'll use Pot of Greed to draw two cards." She her extra cards. "And then I summon Cyber Gymnast in defense mode!" A woman with long, blonde hair, tied in a ponytail appeared. She was wearing a white mask and a dark gymnast's suit. (ATK: 800 DEF: 1800 LV: 4) "And she's got a special ability. Once per turn, I can discard one of my cards in order to destroy one of your monsters that's in attack mode."
Black Thorn gasped while the blonde Obelisk discarded one of her cards.
"Now Cyber Gymnast, destroy her Mariña!" The masked woman jumped up high in the air and landed a kick on the sunflower princess, making her explode. Everyone was so focused on this scene, that no one noticed a white flower blooming on The World Tree.
"No! My Mariña!"
"You've got bigger problems now." Alexis pointed out. "Now there are two monsters on your field, so Cyber Blader's ability is changed. Sure, your Talaya gains extra attack points now..." (ATK: 2800-3000) "But so does Cyber Blader. In fact, her attack points are doubled!" The skater glowed brightly again. (ATK: 2100-4200)
"Whoa! 4200 attack points!" Shiori noted.
"Alright! Now that's a sweet move!" Jaden cheered.
"Now Cyber Blader, attack Gigaplant! Whirlwind Rage!" The skater spun on herself and slashed the monstrous plant with her skate.
Black Thorn: 5800-4000 (ATK: 3000-2900)
(ATK: 4200-2100) "And that's all for now." Alexis concluded, not noticing a second flower blooming on the tree.
"My turn." Black Thorn drew a card as vines grew out of Cyber Blader and Cyber Gymnast's bodies while mushrooms grew out of Marshmallon's body. "And now, I'll use The World Tree's ability!"
The Obelisk girls widened their eyes. "Say what!?"
Black Thorn smirked. "You should have payed attention to my tree." She pointed at the two flowers that bloomed earlier. "You see, every time a plant type monster is destroyed, it gets a Flower Counter. And by removing enough counters from it, I can activate one of its effects. For example; by removing two Flower Counters, I can destroy one card on the field."
The Obelisk girls gasped.
"So I'll remove my two counters to destroy Marshmallon." The two flowers on the tree disappeared, and the mushrooms on the pink blob's body glowed brightly before they exploded, destroying it in the process. "And since Ivy Shackles turned that thing into a plant type monster, that monster's destruction gives my tree a new Flower Counter." Another flower bloomed. "And now I activate the spell card Miracle Fertilizer." A spell card appeared. "As long as this card remains on the field, I can summon a plant type monster from my graveyard once per turn. However, I'm not allowed to normal summon or set monsters during the turn I use this effect. But that's fine, because now I summon back Mariña, Princess of Sunflowers!" Everyone watched as the sunflower princess returned to the field. (ATK: 2800 DEF: 1600 LV: 8)
"Not her again." Clover groaned.
"They just can't get rid of her." Xander noted.
"But now she's got two monsters out, so Alexis' Cyber Blader's attack are doubled again." Chumley pointed out. (ATK: 2100-4200)
"That doesn't matter." Black Thorn said. "Because with what I have in play now, that monster won't save you, especially since Mariña's presence gives Talaya 100 additional attack points." (ATK: 2900-3000) "But first things first! Mariña, destroy Cyber Gymnast!" The sunflower princess raised her arms, summoning sunflowers from the ground, allowing them to squeeze the gymnast until she shattered into pixels. "Another plant type monster destroyed, another Flower Counter for me." Another flower bloomed on the tree. "Now Talaya, attack Jenny directly! Cherry Blossom Storm!" The named monster raised her fan and summoned a storm of cherry blossom petals. Jenny raised her arms and tried her best to endure the attack.
Jenny: 6800-3800
"Jenny!" Andrew called out.
"Are you okay?" Alexis asked concerned.
"I'm okay." Jenny assured her.
"None of you will be okay for long." Black Thorn smirked. "Especially now with two new Flower Counters on my tree, I can use its effect again. Now say goodbye to Cyber Blader!" The two flowers on the tree disappeared, and the vines on the skater's body glowed brightly before she exploded.
"Cyber Blader!" Alexis cried out.
Black Thorn chuckled. "I'm finished.
"My move." Jenny drew. "First I activate Cards from the Sky. This spell card lets me remove a light fairy type monster in my hand from play and draw two cards." She removed the one card from her hand and drew two new ones. "Then I summon Fairy Archer in defense mode!" The fairy with a bow in her hand appeared. (ATK: 1400 DEF: 600 LV: 3) "And then I'll activate her special ability. For every light monster I have, she deals 400 points of damage to you!" The archer held up her bow, created an arrow of light and fired it at Black Thorn.
Black Thorn: 4000-3600
"I end my turn with a facedown." A card appeared at Jenny's feet.
"My turn." Alexis drew. "I summon Cyber Tutu in defense mode." The pink-haired ballerina with visor appeared. (ATK: 1000 DEF: 800 LV: 3) "Then I'll end my turn with a facedown." A card appeared at her feet.
"Well then..." Black Thorn drew a card, and Fairy Archer and Cyber Tutu had vines growing out of their bodies."I play Pot of Greed and draw two more cards." She drew her extra cards and looked at them. "Next I activate the spell card Trade-In. This lets me discard a level 8 monster and draw two more cards." She discarded a card and drew two more. She then smiled evilly. "Let's see. I could use the effect of Miracle Fertilizer again. But I have a better idea. I summon Lonefire Blossom." A plant with a twisted stem and lit fuse came out of the ground. (ATK: 500 DEF: 1400 LV: 3) "And with another plant type monster, Talaya gets stronger." (ATK: 3000-3100)
"That's a weird flower." Jaden commented and raised an eyebrow.
"What's with that?" Chazz scoffed.
Andrew frowned. "I bet it's something big."
"The cutie there is right." Black Thorn replied. "My Lonefire Blossom has a special ability. Once per turn, I can sacrifice a plant type monster, and then summon another one from my deck."
"No way!" Jenny gasped.
"What will it be this time?" Alexis asked.
"I sacrifice Lonefire Blossom in order to summon Chirubimé, Princess of Autumn Leaves!" The little plant disappeared, and a large tree with autumn leaves grew out of the ground next to Talaya. And on top of it was a woman wearing a green, leaf-like leotard and autumn leaves on her head. (ATK. 1800 DEF: 2800 LV: 8)
"Another flower themed princess?" Shiori asked.
"How many are there?" Michael wondered.
"I got four." Black Thorn replied. "And I'm about to bring out the fourth one. By playing this..." She held up a spell card. "Monster Reborn."
"Uh oh!" Jaden said.
"Could it be!?" Xander asked worriedly.
Clover grimaced. "That level 8 monster she discarded earlier...
"Yes! That monster is the final member of the royal family! Tytannial, Princess of Camellias!" The ground shook as a giant camellia came out of the ground. After that, a woman came out of its center. She was wearing a regal dress made of pink rose petals, the sleeves woven of dark green ivy and the shoulders formed from crimson roses. She was also wearing a crown of rose petals and leaves. (ATK: 2800 DEF: 2600 LV: 8)
"Aw man!" Syrus said nervously.
"Not lishus!" Chumley added.
"This is bad!" Andrew muttered.
"And of course, with another plant type monster on my field, Talaya grows even stronger." (ATK: 3100-3200) "And it's about time to crush you both. Chirubimé, destroy Fairy Archer! Autumn Reign!" The named princess raised an arm and some of the leaves fell off the tree before they were spinning like shurikens and sliced through the bow wielding fairy, making her explode. "And that gives The World Tree a new Flower Counter." A flower bloomed on it.
"Now Mariña, destroy Cyber Tutu!" Mariña's eyes glowed and a bunch of sunflowers came out of the ground and squeezed the ballerina until she exploded. And with that, The World Tree got another counter.
"And now the two of you are wide open, and I think the one who deserves the two remaining attacks is..." Black Thorn pointed at Jenny. "...you!"
Everyone gasped.
"Oh no!" Andrew screamed.
"Now Tytannial, attack her directly! Camellia Rage!" The named princess raised an arm and the ground shook as another giant camellia came out of the ground. Jenny braced herself as the giant flower slammed itself on her.
Jenny: 3800-1000
"Jenny!" Alexis called out.
The Venus flytrap growled as its head got closer to the fairy duelist. "Now Talaya, finish this!" At Black Thorn's command, the Cherry Blossom princess prepared to launch an attack.
Everyone watched in horror. "Jenny!" Andrew called out.
"Reveal facedown card!" The fairy duelist commanded, surprising everyone. Her facedown card flipped up. "Miraculous Descent!" The sky lit up. "With this trap card, I can summon a fairy type monster that is removed from the game. So now, let me introduce you to Splendid Venus!" The sky shined brightly and a new figure descended from it. This monster was an angel and she was wearing a golden armored dress, mask and helmet. She had four elegant wings and a golden scepter with a red jewel inside. (ATK: 2800 DEF: 2400 LV: 8)
"Wow!" Shiori said in awe.
"She's beautiful!" Syrus muttered.
"My word! I knew that Jenny was a skilled fairy duelist, but I never thought she would posses one of the legendary planet cards.." Bastion said.
"Legendary planet cards?" Jaden cards.
"That's right." Michael replied. "There are 10 special cards with one of them being based on the sun, while the rest of them are named after the 9 planets."
Andrew turned to Jaden. "And in case you didn't know, my Terra Firma is one of those cards."
"Really?" The brown-haired Slifer asked in surprise. "Wow! That's cool!"
Black Thorn eyed at the new monster for a moment before she scoffed. "Hmph, that might save you from losing the duel this turn, but Talaya can at least destroy it! And don't forget, Ivy Shackles is still in play." A few vines grew out of Venus' body.
"Now Talaya, get this over with..." But before she could finish her sentence, the angel raised her scepter and unleashed a light that made all her monsters blind. (ATK: 1800-1300 DEF: 2800-2300) (ATK: 2800-2300 DEF: 1600-1100) (ATK: 2800-2300 DEF: 2600-2100) (ATK: 3200-2700 DEF: 1200-700) "What the heck!?"
Jenny smirked. "Sorry, but I wouldn't attack if I were you. Because with Splendid Venus on the field, all non-fairy type monsters lose 500 attack and defense points."
"Brilliant!" Bastion said.
"Nice!" Shiori added.
"Nice one, Jenny!" Andrew cheered.
Black Thorn gritted her teeth, but that was short-lived when she started to laugh.
"What's so funny?" Jenny asked angrily.
"You think I can't attack?" Black Thorn asked. "You fool! You miscalculated. My Ivy Shackles turns all monsters on your into plant type. So that means your monster is affected by her own effect." Some vines grew out of the angel's body. (ATK: 2800-2300)
"I never thought of that." Jenny mused. "But still, even if your monster is strong enough to get rid of her, I won't lose this turn."
Black Thorn shrugged. "Perhaps. But it seems you forgot about someone."
Jenny looked confused, not understanding what she meant. That is... until she turned to her partner. "Alexis!" The girl in question gasped.
"That's right! You may have saved yourself this turn, but what good will it do to your partner?" Everyone gasped in horror at Black Thorn's question. "Now say goodbye to your friend! Talaya, attack!" The named princess unleashed another Cherry Blossom Storm that headed straight the blonde Obelisk.
"Alexis!" Jaden called out.
"I activate my trap!" Alexis' facedown card flipped up. "Limit Reverse! This lets me summon a monster from my grave in attack mode. But only if that monster has 1000 or less attack points. And I choose Cyber Tutu!" The pink-haired ballerina returned. (ATK: 1000 DEF: 800 LV: 3)
Black Thorn scoffed. "Fine, but you still takes some damage. And by the way, your monster becomes a plant type, thanks to my trap card. Not to mention your friend's monster makes her weaker." Some vines grew out of Tutu's body. (ATK: 1000-500) And then, she was caught in the blossom storm and was destroyed instantly.
Alexis: 2600-0400
"So now there are three Flower Counters on The World Tree." Black Thorn pointed out as a third flower bloomed on it. "But I only need two of them in order to destroy Splendid Venus." Two of the flowers disappeared as the vines on the named fairy's body glowed before she exploded. "And she was a plant type monster as well, so now I have two counters again." Another flower bloomed. "But more importantly, my monsters are back at full strength." (ATK: 1300-1800 DEF: 2300-2800) (ATK: 2300-2800 DEF: 1100-1600) (ATK: 2300-2800 DEF: 2100-2600) (ATK: 2700-3200 DEF: 700-1200)
"And with two Flower Counters, I can destroy another card." Black Thorn smirked as she turned to Jenny, who glared at her. "I know. How about that Valhalla card of yours?" The two flowers disappeared and the continuous spell in question shattered into pixels. "And finally I place one card facedown." A card appeared at the Shadow Rider's feet. "Now then, let's see what you can do."
"Man, this is not good." Michael stated. "Alexis and Jenny are wide open. They got no monsters out. No spells or traps. They don't even have a single card in their hands. And if that wasn't bad enough, they staring at four powerful plant type monsters. I hate to say it, but I'm not sure if they can pull this through."
"Of course they can!" Jaden replied confidently. "A duel is not over until the last card is played."
"He's right." Andrew added, feeling the same. "We can't give up on them just yet."
Clover nodded. "Yeah. They can still win this." She then called out to her fellow Obelisk girls. "Come on, girls! You can do it!"
Alexis frowned, not feeling convinced. "I don't..."
"Alexis." The blonde Obelisk turned when she heard Jenny say her name. The fairy duelist gave her a smile. "I know this looks bad, but that doesn't mean it's over. We can win this duel. We can't let everyone down. So don't give up. Keep fighting. Do it for everyone's sake. For your brother's sake."
Alexis' eyes widened as she let the words sink in. Jenny was right. She can't let it end here. She had to be there for all her friends. And her brother, who finally returned to her life. With that in mind, she smiled back and nodded. "You're right. Let's do this!"
Jenny nodded. "In that case, I draw!" She drew her next card. She looked at it before she held it up. "First I play Card of Demise! Now I can draw until I have 5 cards in my hand." She drew her extra card. After looking at the new hand, she smirked. "Yes!"
Black Thorn became curious.
"Now I activate the spell card Celestial Transformation. With this spell card, I can summon a fairy type from my hand. However, a monster summoned by this effect loses half of its attack points and is destroyed at the end of the turn. But... the monster I'm about to summon is worth it. Now I summon Athena!" A pillar of light erupted from the ground and new figure stepped out of it. It was a tall beautiful woman with long silver hair under a helmet, wearing a toga and held a silver spear and a shield in her hands. (ATK: 2600 DEF: 800 LV: 7)
"Wow!" Xander gasped.
"Incredible!" Shiori added.
"Indeed." Bastion agreed.
"Now that's cool!" Jaden said, earning a nod from Andrew, who smiled at Jenny's move.
Black Thorn scoffed. "And what good would that do? That monster can't stand up to my babies. The effect of your spell card makes her even weaker against my weakest monster." (ATK: 2600-1300)
Jenny smirked. "Maybe, but I'm not done just yet. For my next move I summon The Agent of Creation - Venus!" In a flash of light, a female golden angel with long blond hair rose up next to Athena. (ATK: 1600 DEF: 0 LV: 3) "And this activates Athena's special ability. Whenever at least one fairy type monster is summoned, you take six hundred points of damage!" The silver-haired woman pointed her spear at the Shadow Rider and shot out a golden energy beam at her.
Black Thorn: 3600-3000
"And next I play the spell card Dian Keto the Cure Master. This spell card gives me 1000 life points."
Jenny: 1000-2000
"With that done, I activate my Agent's special ability. By paying 500 life points, I can summon a Mystical Shine Ball from my hand or deck."
Jenny: 2000-1500
From a flash of light, a floating crystal ball appeared. (ATK: 500 DEF: 500 LV: 2) "And that will cost you another 600 points." Athena fired another energy beam at Black Thorn.
Black Thorn: 3000-2400
"Let's do this again."
Jenny: 1500-1000
Another Mystical Shine Ball appeared. (ATK: 500 DEF: 500 LV: 2) And Athena fired another energy beam.
Black Thorn: 2400-1800
"And now I activate Athena's second ability. Once per turn, I can sacrifice a fairy type monster and summon another one from my graveyard. So I'll sacrifice my Agent in order to summon back Splendid Venus!" The golden angel disappeared and was replaced by the four-winged angel, who raised her scepter in the air. (ATK: 2800 DEF: 2400 LV: 8) "Remember her? You should, because with her back, your monsters get weaker again." The angel unleashed a bright light that weakened the plant monsters again. (ATK: 1800-1300 DEF: 2800-2300) (ATK: 2800-2300 DEF: 1600-1100) (ATK: 2800-2300 DEF: 2600-2100) (ATK: 3200-2700 DEF: 1200-700) "And since I just summoned another fairy, Athena strikes again." The silver-haired woman shot out another energy beam from her spear.
Black Thorn: 1800-1200
Black Thorn recoiled at the blast before growling at the fairy duelist.
"Then I place one card facedown and end my turn." A card appeared at Jenny's feet and Athena disappeared. "Alright Alexis. The rest is up to you."
The blonde nodded. "Right." She placed her fingers on her deck, preparing to begin her turn. 'This is it. This is our last chance to defeat her. Here goes...' She drew. "I activate the spell card Pot of Avarice. This lets me take 5 monster cards from my graveyard and shuffle them back into my deck. After that, I get to draw two more cards." She took her 5 monster cards from the graveyard and shuffled them back into her deck. And then, she drew her extra cards and looked at them. She smiled at what she got. "Alright..."
Black Thorn watched anxiously.
"I summon Cyber Petit Angel in attack mode!" A small, pink sphere-like creature with small limbs and a cute face appeared. It had blue wings and a halo. (ATK: 300 DEF: 200 LV: 2)
The Shadow Rider laughed at the new monster. "You gotta be kidding me! There's no way you can win with that thing!"
Alexis however smirked. "For your information, this 'thing' has a special ability. When Cyber Petit Angel is summoned, I can take a Machine Angel Ritual card from my deck to my hand."
Shiori's eyes widened. "She's about to summon a Cyber Angel!"
Everyone looked at him.
"What's that?" Chazz asked.
The ritual duelist smiled. "There is a set of special cards in the game, with most of them being ritual monsters. And those monsters are known as the Cyber Angels."
"Cool! I've never heard of that before." Jaden said.
"Then let's see what Alexis is gonna bring out." Andrew declared.
After getting the desired card from her Alexis held it up. "Now I activate Machine Angel Ritual!" Suddenly, the whole ground became encased in metal. "And with this ritual spell card, I can summon a Cyber Angel."
Black Thorn scoffed. "You're obviously making a mistake. The only monster you have is that pink pipsqueak. No way you can summon a monster strong enough with just that!"
Jenny smirked. "Whoever said that Cyber Petit Angel is the only monster she can sacrifice?"
Alexis nodded. "That's right! Remember, Jenny and I are dueling as a team. Which means..." She paused for a moment letting Black Thorn, who gasped in shock, figuring out where she was getting at. "...I can sacrifice her monsters as well. So I'll sacrifice my Petit Angel and the two Mystical Shine Balls in order to summon..." The three named monsters disappeared. "Cyber Angel Benten!" And then from a flash of red light, a beautiful woman with long black hair rose up. She wore a tight suit, red and white mixed in, and a golden tiara on her head. She had glowing green eyes and held two fans in her hands that were linked to each other by a chain. (ATK: 1800 DEF: 1500 LV: 6) "And because she's a fairy type monster, she won't be affected by Splendid Venus."
The Shadow Rider glared at her.
"Now Benten, attack her Chirubimé!" The Cyber Angel dashed toward the named princess.
"Not so fast! Activate Wall of Thorns!" Black thorn interrupted while revealing facedown card. "Since one of my plant type monsters is targeted for your attack, I can use this trap card to destroy all monsters you have on the field in attack mode!"
Alexis gasped in horror. And so did everyone else.
Everyone except Jenny, who spoke up. "I won't let you!" Everyone's attention was focused on her. "I activate Trap Jammer!" Her facedown card flipped up.
"No!" Black Thorn screamed.
"Sorry, but thanks to my counter trap, your trap card is cancelled out!" The Shadow Rider's trap shattered into pixels. "Now you're clear, Lex!"
Alexis nodded to her before focusing on her attack. "Cyber Angel Benten, destroy Chirubimé! Angel Flight!" The ritual monster spun one end of her weapon like a nunchaku and threw it at the Princess of Autumn Leaves, cutting her through and destroyed her.
Black Thorn: 1200-0700
"And don't think my Angel is through with you just yet." Alexis said. "Because now her special ability activates. You take damage equal to your destroyed monster's defense points!"
"It can't be!" Black Thorn exclaimed. The Cyber Angel appeared in front of her, and struck her with one of her fans, making her cry out as she fell on the ground.
Black Thorn: 0700-0000
Everyone cheered as the holograms disappeared.
"Alright!" Jaden exclaimed.
"Nicely done, girls!" Andrew called out.
But it was then everyone saw the vines, bushes and the groaning Venus flytrap release some dark energy. And then, they all turned into dust. After that, all the boys who've been hypnotized collapsed.
"All the students." Michael muttered.
"They're free from Black Thorn's control." Bastion noted.
"So what about the tree hugger herself?" Chazz asked.
Everyone turned to the unconscious Shadow Rider and saw that her appearance started to change. First, her eye mask disappeared while the rest of her clothing changed into an Obelisk girl uniform. And then, her long red hair turned to grass-green.
"Wait a minute." Shiori said as he pulled out his PDA and scanned the list of the missing students until he found a matching face. "This girl is Cynthia Pepper."
"Another missing student?" Xander asked.
"Yeah, it appears so." Clover replied.
"According to Atticus and Kaito, she was the last Academy student who became a Shadow Rider." Alexis mentioned.
"That's a relief." Syrus said.
Chumley nodded. "Yeah."
"Everyone!" Someone called out. The group turned around and saw who it was. It was Chancellor Sheppard, who just arrived, along with Zane, Dr. Crowler and Professor Banner. Sheppard looked around the area. "What happened here?"
Jaden smiled proudly. "Well, besides from searching through the forest, finding one of the Shadow Riders, who by the way, kidnapped all the boys here, and defeated her in a duel... not much."
"Shadow Rider?" Crowler repeated in shock.
"Oh dear." Banner muttered. "Thank Goodness that all of you are okay."
Zane walked over to the unconscious Obelisk girl. "I remember her. That's Cynthia."
Jenny nodded. "Yeah, apparently, she was the Shadow Rider Atticus and Kaito warned us about."
"I see."
"That makes her the fourth Shadow Rider out of the picture." Michael pointed out.
"Which means there are 8 left." Andrew said. "We better prepare ourselves. And who knows what they might be capable of?"
Everyone nodded in agreement.
"Well, one thing's for sure; I'll be skipping the veggies for a week." Jaden said jokingly, earning some annoyed groans from the others.
Another Shadow Rider defeated. The Key Keepers better be careful. Until next time.
