Vampiric Consolation and Chazzy Romance
In the depths of Banner's tome, Chazz was laying inside one of those weird bubbles, and was unconscious.
"Chazz...Chazz..." But just from a distance, inside another bubble, a soft and beautiful voice was heard... belonging to Alexis, who appeared to be giving him a lovingly look. "Wake up, Chazz. It's Alexis. I want to tell you how much you mean to me, how much I love you. Wake up! Wake up...!"
"Wake up! Wake up! Boss, wake up!"
Chazz opened his eyes and found himself on Duel Academy's roof, with his Ojama spirits floating near him.
Ojama Yellow leaned in close. "What's wrong with you, Chazz? You look happy. Tell me, who're you dreaming of, Romeo?"
Chazz ignored him as he looked up at the sky. 'My new love...'
Meanwhile, down on the cement path leading to the academy building, Jaden, Syrus, Chumley, Andrew, Jenny and Xander headed there. But it wasn't a quiet moment for them, because with the news of the Shadow Riders being defeated, countless students stood on each side of the cement path, cheering and rooting for them.
"Way to go, Jaden!
"Totally! Way to stick to those Shadow Riders, Andrew!"
"Why, thank you!" Jaden said, waving to them. "I'll be signing some autographs for you later!"
Syrus looked from side to side. "Wow! Look at this, Chumley! Everyone thinks we're heroes!"
"I don't know about you, but I prefer a hero sandwich." The koala duelist replied.
Jenny giggled. "I'm sure you can eat something that big, right Andrew?" When she turned to her boyfriend, she frowned when she noticed the sad look on his face. "Andrew?"
"Hm?" He snapped out of it and turned to her. "Sorry, did you say something?"
"What's wrong? You've been zoning out. Aren't you at least gonna wave to everyone?"
Andrew was silent for a moment before letting out a sigh. "I... don't fell like to celebrate. I mean, I'm glad that we defeated the Shadow Riders and all, but it's just... just..."
It didn't take Jenny long to figure out what was wrong. Now it was her turn to sigh. "It's about Clover, isn't it?"
Andrew nodded.
Xander felt the same. "I thought as much. I mean, why wouldn't it be?"
Flashback
"Clover, please. You don't have to beat yourself up." Xander said.
Clover, who was wearing her blue uniform again, gritted her teeth, her head hung low. "Don't you get it? I attacked the remaining key keepers. I did Banner's bidding. I even tried to destroy Andrew!"
"It wasn't your fault, Clover." Andrew said, trying to comfort her. He reached to her with his right hand. "Please, Clover."
But the redhead turned around immediately and ran off.
"Clover!" Andrew called out.
Flashback end
Andrew lowered his head. "I just want to make her understand that she wasn't truly the one to blame for what she did."
"Same here." Xander agreed.
Jenny could only nod in agreement.
Back on the roof, the Ojamas were talking amongst themselves.
"What's wrong with Chazz?" Black wondered.
"Maybe he's having a stomachache?" Blue guessed.
"Or maybe, he lost a boxing match!" Red added.
"You won't believe it." Yellow spoke up. "The boss... thinks he's in love."
Those words were a real shocker for his brothers and cousins.
"He's in love!?" Green asked.
"That's right." Chazz said while sitting up, getting their attention. "So I won't have any more time for you guys." He reached into his pocket and pulled out his deck. And when he did, a strong wind came and blew all the cards out of his hand. And of course, since the Ojama cards were included, the five duel spirits screamed as they blew away with them. "She has my heart now." Chazz sighed, looking down at the courtyard from his place on the roof. 'Alexis... and I know she feels the same way. It wasn't just a dream. When Alexis and I were trapped in that weird vortex, I felt her heart! There, in the blackness of space, the eternity of time! Her soul told me she loved me, that we were destined to be together! Okay, maybe it didn't exactly tell me, but it was in the air! I felt it! We belong together!'
Chazz clenched a fist. "But who does she hang out with? It's either her big bro, Atticus, or worse... Jaden! And even Andrew..." Chazz paused as he blinked before shaking his head. "No wait, he already has Jenny as a girlfriend, so he's off the list. But who else?" He turned and looked towards the docks. He noticed two familiar figures standing there. Squinting, he got a better look and saw Alexis and Zane. "Oh yeah... Zane too. So much competition. This might be tough."
Down at the docks, Zane and Alexis were talking about the latest incident...
"I'm glad you're okay."
"Okay?" Alexis repeated. "I was taken hostage... by some clone of who I thought was our professor!"
"Yeah, but, things like that aren't really that rare around here, are they?" Zane turned and smiled a little. "Maybe you need... a bodyguard?"
Alexis gave him a glance. "Oh, you think so? Well, thanks, but no thanks. I can take care of myself just fine, Zane. But even so, it's nice to know you care."
"Lexi, I'll miss you once I graduate from here."
Alexis smiled and looked away.
Zane looked back out at the ocean. "So, uh, it looks like your brother is back to being his normal self again."
Alexis almost scoffed. "Uh, yeah... if you call it normal."
Meanwhile, Clover was wandering in the forest. And she was still upset for what happened. 'I can't believe I ended up doing all of that.'
Flashback
Clover held up Polymerization, as Dark Paladin emerged from the fusion vortex. The spellcaster fired a purple energy wave that struck Shiori's Archfiend's Awakening, causing an explosion that engulfed him.
"AAAAHHH!"
Shiori: 1900-0000
A fusion vortex appeared behind Clover before two monsters were sucked into it. And then, from a flash of light, Buster Blader, the Dragon Destroyer Swordsman emerged. And then, the warrior swung his sword downward, sending out an arc of energy that destroyed one of Jenny's fairies (Turned into dragons) with an explosion.
"AAAAHHH!"
Jenny: 3000-0000
Clover's Five-Headed Dragon launched its 5 breaths and completely destroyed Andrew's Masked HERO Vapor.
Flashback end
She punched a tree right next to her. "Dammit!" She cursed. "I attacked my friends, including Andrew. How can I possibly see them in the eye?" She gritted her teeth while tears threatened to come out of her eyes.
"Clover?" A female voice spoke up.
The redhead looked up and saw a certain goth girl standing in front of her.
"Mahiru?" Clover blinked. "Why are you here?"
Mahiru frowned. "I could ask you the same thing. I've heard about Andrew and Jaden's encounter with the last Shadow Rider and what that villain did to you."
Clover winced before looking away. "I don't want to talk about it."
"But the others are worried." Mahiru insisted. "Andrew is worried..."
"I said DROP IT!" The redhead snapped, almost making the goth girl jump. "I don't want to talk about it, get it!?"
Mahiru gave her a sympathetic look. "Look, I understand that..."
"No, you don't!" Clover cut her off, really upset. "I was controlled... and forced to hurt my friends. You can't possibly understand a thing! Just leave me alone already!"
Not too long after Clover finished that sentence, Mahiru narrowed her eyes. "So, I don't understand you say... even though I was once controlled by that vampire lady and forced to come after you guys?"
Clover widened her eyes as she suddenly remembered that night. It was not easy to see one of her friends doing that vampire's dirty work. "Mahiru... I... I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..."
Before she could speak any further, Mahiru quickly walked over her and grabbed her right arm. "You're coming with me!" At that, she dragged the redhead.
"Hey! Where are you taking me!?" She protested.
After a while, they came to a clearing.
"Okay, what hell are you..." Clover tried to say, but stopped when Mahiru suddenly brought a duel disk from nowhere and strapped it on the redhead's arm. "What the...?"
The goth girl then walked away from her.
"What's with this duel disk?!" Clover questioned.
"Isn't it obvious?" Mahiru replied and turned around and put her own duel disk on her arm. "We're dueling."
Clover looked at the goth girl like she grew a second head. "A duel? Why this all of a sudden?"
"...To knock some sense into you."
"Huh?" Clover blinked.
"So let's stop talking and get this started." Mahiru activated her duel disk.
Clover hesitated before inserting her deck into her duel disk and activating it.
"Duel!"
Clover: 4000
Mahiru: 4000
"I'll go first!" Mahiru drew her sixth card. "And I activate the spell card, Call of the Mummy!" The named spell card appeared. "If I have no monsters on my field, I can summon a zombie type monster from my hand. I choose Vampire Lord!" The familiar gentleman vampire in dark suit and cape appeared. (ATK: 2000 DEF: 1500 LV: 5) "Then I'll summon Soul Absorbing Bone Tower in defense mode!" A certain tower made of bones rose up right next to Vampire Lord. (ATK: 400 DEF: 1500 LV: 3) "That's all for now."
"My turn then." Clover muttered and drew. She looked over her hand. "I... I... summon Marauding Captain!" The blonde warrior in rusty armor appeared. (ATK: 1200 DEF: 400 LV: 3) "And when he's summoned, I can summon a level 4 or below monster from my hand. I choose Exploder Dragon!" The blue dragon with the bomb appeared. (ATK: 1000 DEF: 0 LV: 3) "Now attack Vampire Lord!" The dragon took flight. Just as it was right above the gentleman vampire, he wrapped his cape around himself. And then he unwrapped it, and unleashed a swarm of bats that bit into the dragon.
"Your dragon is weaker than my monster." Mahiru pointed out.
"True, but when Exploder Dragon attacks, I take no battle damage. And when it's destroyed, your monster is also destroyed." The dragon dropped the bomb before it shattered into pixels. The bomb fell onto Vampire Lord's head and destroyed him when it exploded. Clover inserted a card into her duel disk. "I place one card facedown and end my turn."
"Alright then..." Mahiru drew. "I'll start by activating Vampire Lord's ability." A dark portal appeared, surprising Clover. "Since you destroyed him with a card effect, he comes back from the grave during my standby phase." The gentleman vampire emerged from the portal. (ATK: 2000 DEF: 1500 LV: 5) "And since a zombie type monster was special summoned, my Bone Tower's effect activates." The named monster glowed with a red aura. "Two cards go from the top of your deck to the graveyard."
Clover frowned as she was forced to get rid of two of her cards.
"Then I'll summon Mezuki in attack mode!" A brown horse demon with a big axe appeared. (ATK: 1700 DEF: 800 LV: 4) "Now attack her Marauding Captain!" The horse demon charged forward and swung its axe at the blonde warrior, cutting him in half.
Clover: 4000-3500
"And now my Vampire Lord attacks!" The named monster charged forward and looked ready to bite Clover.
"I activate my trap! Sakuretsu Armor!" Her facedown card flipped up. "This lets me destroy your attacking monster!" At that, the vampire exploded before he could reach her.
"You may have stopped him now, but since you destroyed him with a card effect again, he'll be back." Mahiru said calmly. "I end my turn."
Clover frowned before she drew her next card. "I... summon Rescue Warrior in defense mode." A man in an orange jumpsuit appeared and kneeled down. (ATK: 1600 DEF: 1700 LV: 4) "And that's all."
Mahiru scoffed. "Really? Is that all you're gonna do? Play defensive?" She drew. "Unless you strike back and damage my life points, you won't get anywhere."
Clover turned to the side, looking conflicted.
"Don't you see? Just because you won't attack doesn't mean I won't attack! And now, once again, Vampire Lord returns!" The gentleman vampire appeared again. (ATK: 2000 DEF: 1500 LV: 5) "And with that done, my Bone Tower's effect activates again. Send your two top cards to the graveyard."
Clover turned to her. "Fine! But first, I activate a card in my graveyard." Her graveyard slot released a light. "Since you special summoned a monster, I can discard one card from my hand in order to summon Dragon Ice." After she slid one of her cards into the graveyard slot, an iceberg rose up from the ground. And then, it shattered, releasing the familiar, black-winged dragon made of ice with the metal mask before it landed on the ground and crossed its arms. (ATK: 1800 DEF: 2200 LV: 5)
Mahiru narrowed her eyes while Clover got rid of her two top cards. "Like I said, defensive moves won't be enough." She then held up one of the cards from her hand. "I activate the spell card, Zombie Necronize! If I control a level 5 or higher zombie type monster, I can take control of one of your monsters until the end of this turn. So I'll be taking your Dragon Ice!"
Clover gasped as her dragon vanished for a brief moment before reappearing on Mahiru's field.
"And next, I'll sacrifice Mezuki to summon forth Vampire Grimson!" The horse demon vanished before a new monster appeared. It was a vampire wearing a red robe with a pair of red bat wings and wielding a scythe. The face was barely visible because of the hood, but judging from the long silver hair that reached the shoulders, Clover figured that it was female. (ATK: 2000 DEF: 1400 LV: 5)
"And I think it's time to crush your Rescue Warrior! Vampire Grimson, attack!" The winged vampire charged forward and swung her scythe, destroying Rescue Warrior. "And now, Vampire Lord attacks you directly!" The named monster began to move...
"That won't happen." Clover said as the spirit of Rescue Warrior appeared. "Since Rescue Warrior was destroyed in battle, his special ability activates. If you happen to have one of my monsters on your field, I can take control of it. In order words... I'll take back my Dragon Ice." The dragon vanished and reappeared on Clover's field.
Mahiru stared at her for a moment before nodding. "I see, in that case, I'll just end this turn with Vampire Grimson's ability..." A red portal appeared on the ground right next to the scythe-wielding vampire. And then, to Clover's surprise, Rescue Warrior emerged from it. (ATK: 1600 DEF: 1700 LV: 4) "Any monster that was defeated by her is summoned to my field."
Clover frowned as she drew. While looking over her hand, she struggled to decide what to do. "I... I..."
"How long are you gonna keep up like this?!" Mahiru shouted, getting her attention. "Why are you hesitating like that? Why are you so afraid?"
"Shut up!" Clover snapped. "Why do you even care?! Why... why..." She then lowered her head. "Why do you even care? I attacked my friends. I... tried to destroy Andrew. I can't possibly face them. I can't even see my best friend in the eye. What I did was terrible..." She trailed off as tears threatened to escape her eyes.
"...then what does that make me?"
That question caused Clover to look up, giving the goth girl a confused look.
"You and I are the same." Mahiru continued. "I was under Camula's spell and tried to steal the spirit keys from Andrew and the others. I was trying to take them down. You should know that since you witnessed it. But tell me... did you guys hate me for what I did?"
Clover shook her head. "N-no, we didn't. You were being controlled by that vampire. It wasn't your fault. There's no way we would hate you! You're our friend!"
Mahiru responded with a smile. "Then the same thing applies to you."
Clover's eyes widened.
"It's true that you attacked Andrew and the others, but that was only because you were controlled by the last Shadow Rider. Everything you did was his responsibility, not yours. The others know that, and would never hate you for any of those things. Especially not Andrew. As his childhood friend, you of all people should know that."
Clover went silent there and stared at her duel disk. 'As his childhood friend, huh?'
Flashback
"Ow!" A younger Andrew yelped in pain as his mom treated his left cheek, which was a bit swollen.
"Oh dear, I can't believe that Clover hit you like that." She commented.
"It was my fault though, since I tripped and accidentally dropped that can of paint on her."
"But that's no excuse for her to..."
DING DONG!
"Oh, who could that be?" Marie said as she walked over to the door. When she opened, she looked down when she noticed the person standing outside. "Clover?"
A younger and nervous Clover fidgeted in place. "Is Andrew home?"
Marie narrowed her eyes. "Sorry Clover, but I don't think he wants to talk to you..."
"Wait!" Andrew rushed over to them. "I do want to talk."
Marie frowned. "Andrew..."
"Please, Mom?" Andrew pleaded. "I just want to know what Clover wants."
Marie hesitated for a moment, but stepped aside, allowing Andrew to approach Clover.
"What is it, Clover?"
The redhead tried to find the words to say. "I... I..." And then, streams of tears came out her eyes as lowered her head. "I'm sorry! I'm really sorry! I didn't mean to hit you, Andrew! I got so angry I couldn't help it! I didn't mean to! I'm really really sorry!" She kept her head low while sobbing...
"Huh?!" Until she felt a pair of arms wrapping themselves around her. It took her a moment to realize that she was hugged... By Andrew no less.
"It's okay. I'm sorry too. I didn't mean to pour that paint over you. I should have been more careful."
"Y-yeah, but..."
"Come on, it's no big deal. I'm not mad at you. No need to worry." He pulled back and smiled. "And you don't need to cry either. You're tougher than that."
Clover's eyes widened for a moment before she smiled. "Right." She wiped her eyes with an arm. After that, she laughed a little, and so did Andrew.
Marie couldn't help but smile at this, and she felt (internally) a little guilty for trying to tell Clover off.
Flashback end
Clover smiled slightly. 'It's true. Guess I've been kicking myself for an unnecessary reason.' She then held up one of her cards. "I activate the spell card, Pot of Greed. So now I get two extra cards." She drew.
Mahiru smiled a bit.
"And guess what? One of the cards you forced me to send to my graveyard was a monster known as Amarylease." The named card came out of the graveyard slot, allowing Clover to grab it. "And by removing this card from play, I can summon a monster with one less sacrifice."
Mahiru's eyes widened.
"For example, I only need to sacrifice Dragon Ice..." The dragon vanished. "...to summon my Buster Blader!" From a flash of light, the purple armored warrior emerged, his big sword at hand. (ATK: 2600 DEF: 2300 LV: 7) "And now I can attack any monster on your field. Since your Vampire Lord can revive himself after being destroyed by a card effect, let's if he survives after this!" The warrior dashed towards the gentleman vampire.
Mahiru smiled. "Funny you should say that, because I'm about to activate Vampire Grimson's ability."
"Huh?" Clover blinked as the goth girl was suddenly surrounded by a red aura.
Mahiru: 4000-3000
And then, the same aura surrounded the winged vampire before moving to Vampire Lord. When Buster Blader swung his sword, it made a direct hit... but to Clover's shock, it did't do a thing.
Mahiru: 3000-2400
"What the hell just happened?" The redhead questioned.
"My Vampire Grimson happened." Mahiru explained. "Whenever you try to destroy my monsters, I can save them. But to do that, I have to pay 1000 life points for every monster that would be destroyed."
Clover stared for a moment before shrugging. "That's a tricky effect." She then inserted two cards into her duel disk. "I place two cards facedown and end my turn."
"Alright then..." Mahiru drew her next card and looked at it. "Now I'll use my own Pot of Greed." She drew her two extra cards, looked at them and nodded. "Time to up my game! I remove Vampire Lord from play..." The gentleman vampire vanished. "...in order to summon Vampire Genesis!" The familiar, purple vampire behemoth rose up behind her. (ATK: 3000 DEF: 2100 LV: 8)
"Whoa!" Clover muttered. "I don't need you to remind me of your Bone Tower's effect. But... what I need is to discard one card..." She discarded the remaining card from her hand. "...and then, I get to summon my Dragon Ice again!" The icy dragon rose up right next to Buster Blader. (ATK: 1800 DEF: 2200 LV: 5) After that, Clover drew two cards from her deck and slid them into her graveyard slot.
"Well, I'm about to do something as well. Do you remember Zombie Nerconize?" A light came out of Mahiru's graveyard slot. "It happens to have a second effect. If I return a zombie type monster that I removed from play to my deck, I can return my spell card to the field."
"No way." Clover muttered in disbelief as Vampire Lord appeared briefly before becoming a beam of light and entered Mahiru's deck.
"Yes way." The goth girl countered as a facedown card appeared. "But luckily for you, I can only use one of its effects per turn, so I can't activate it this turn. But I can do this..." She held up a card from her hand. "Activate the spell card, Foolish Burial. This lets me send a monster from my deck to the graveyard. The card I choose is Vampire Lord."
"Him again?" Clover muttered as the goth girl slid the named card into her graveyard slot.
"That's right. And next I'll sacrifice Rescue Warrior and Soul-Absorbing Bone Tower in order to summon Vampire Vamp!" The tower and orange clad man vanished and the silver-haired woman with batwings appeared. (ATK: 2000 DEF: 2000 LV: 7) "And with her summoned to the field, her special ability activates. I get to select a monster on your field that has more attack points than her. I can equip that monster to her and add its attack points to her strength. Which means, your Buster Blader is mine!" The vampire's eyes glowed red.
Clover smirked. "Guess again." One of her facedown cards flipped up. "I activate the spell card, Destruction Swordsman Fusion! With this, I can summon a fusion monster that lists Buster Blader as fusion material! So now I fuse Buster Blader and Dragon Ice together in order bring out Buster Blader, the Destroyer Swordsman!" The two monsters entered a fusion vortex. And after a brief moment, the blue and white armored and taller version of the original emerged. (ATK: 2800 DEF: 2500 LV: 8) "So now your Vamp's target is gone. Sorry about that."
The vampire woman's eyes stopped glowing. But despite this turn of events, Mahiru smirked. "Don't be, because I have a backup plan." She held up the last card in her hand. "I equip Vampire Vamp with the spell card, Megamorph! Since my life points are lower than yours, this card doubles my monster's original attack points!" Vampire Vamp grinned evilly as a red aura surrounded her. (ATK: 2000-4000)
"Damn." Clover cursed quietly.
"As you know, Vampire Lord is in my graveyard." Mahiru took a certain card out of her graveyard slot. "And by removing Mezuki from play, I can summon a zombie type monster from there, so guess who's coming back." From a flash of light, Vampire Lord appeared again. (ATK: 2000 DEF: 1500 LV: 5) "Now I have enough monsters destroy your monster and bring your life points down to zero! Vampire Vamp, attack Buster Blader!" The silver-haired woman charged forward.
"I activate my trap! DNA Surgery!" Clover's facedown card flipped up. "With this, I can change all monsters on the field to any type I choose. So from now on, all monsters on the field are dragons!" And so, all monsters on the field transformed.
Vampire Lord turned into a bipedal dragon whose head and claws were purple while the rest of his body had the same color as the suit he wore a moment ago. Vampire Grimson grew a tail and her batwings became more dragon like. Her face changed as well, but becaue that she was wearing the hood, only her new dragon snout was visible. Vampire Genesis became a bipedal dragon, with its strange wing-like appendages becoming actual wings. As Vampire Vamp kept charging, she became a bipedal dragon as well, with dark grey scales and her long silver hair becoming more mane-like. Finally, Buster Blader's armor changed, and made him look like a dragon. Even the face became dragon-like.
Mahiru raised an eyebrow. "How's that supposed to stop my attack?"
Clover smirked. "Simple. When the Destroyer Swordsman is on my field, all dragon type monsters on your side are forced into defense mode."
Mahiru gasped as the monsters that remained on her field crouched down. And as for Vampire Vamp, she was forced down on the ground, like she was affected by an invisible force. She was lying there helpless right in front Buster Blader. "My monsters can't move! I'm stuck!"
"You sure are. And there's more. For every dragon type monster on your field, Buster Blader gains 1000 attack points. So with 4 monsters, that makes 4000." Buster Blader glowed with a blue aura. (ATK: 2800-6800)
"6800!" Mahiru muttered.
"Yeah." Clover nodded and drew her next card. "Oh, one more thing. When Buster Blader attacks a monster in defense mode, you take damage equal to the difference between his attack points and your monster's defense points."
Mahiru's eyes widened. "Then that means..."
"It's over." Clover filled in as the swordsman raised his sword and chopped Vampire Vamp's head off, making her explode.
Mahiru: 2400-0000
But Mahiru wasn't upset with the loss. She simply smiled as the holograms vanished.
Clover smiled. "Thanks for the duel... and what you said earlier. I really needed that."
"Don't mention it. What are friends for?"
Clover nodded. "Right."
"Clover! Where are you!?"
The two girls turned and saw Andrew a good distance away from them, looking for Clover.
The redhead turned to the goth girl, who motioned her to go. "Come on. He's obviously worried about you."
Clover nodded again. "Yeah." At that, she left.
Mahiru watched as Clover approached Andrew, who seemed to be relived to find her. 'It's good to know that you understand and don't beat yourself up for what happened.'
Meanwhile, Chazz sat on the beach, staring at the waves and moping as a large crab scuttled sideways as the tide went back and forth. 'How can I get her to notice me?' The answer came in the form of a certain young man with long brown hair, wearing a wetsuit and riding a surfboard. "Alexis' brother, Atticus! That's it! He'll help me!"
"Hang ten, Chazz-dude!"
Chazz snapped to reality at Atticus' words, just as Jasmine and Mindy sped past him in their bikinis, squealing at the top of their lungs.
"Autograph please?" Jasmine said, holding out a notebook.
"No prob." Atticus replied as he grabbed the notebook, wrote into the paper and gave it back. "Here."
The girls looked at what he written. "He wrote B.F.F!" They cried.
Atticus raised a finger to the blue sky, smiling a charming smile to them. "That's right, ladies. It means Best Friends... Forever."
Both girls had heart-shaped eyes as they squealed again before falling backward onto the sand, fainting.
"What the...?" Chazz muttered as he stared at this scene.
"That always seems to happen." Atticus said, still smiling.
'This guy is a chick magnet AND Alexis' brother! He's my way in...' Chazz approached the older Rhodes and got down on his hands and knees. "Atticus! Ya gotta help me! Please!" He even bowed his head down.
"Huh?" Atticus blinked, a little bewildered at this.
And so, after he explained everything, Chazz and Atticus sat on the beach, looking out at the sunset.
"So, Chazz... You want a date with my sister, huh?" Atticus said, amused. "Well, keep dreaming!"
"Huh?" Chazz turned to him, stunned at what he just heard.
"Kidding!" Atticus grinned slyly. "Look, Chazz, if you want to date her, you've got to impress her. Yeah...!" An idea struck his mind. "In... a duel!"
"A duel?" Chazz repeated.
"She loves dueling. And if you beat her, she'll be all yours! That's it. You let all your cards tell her just what you're feeling."
Chazz looked back at the ocean. "I... ditched my cards."
"Guess again!"
"Huh?" Chazz turned to his right and saw the five Ojama spirit floating towards him... with Pharaoh running behind them with Chazz's deck in his mouth.
"We put your deck back together, Boss!" Yellow said.
"I put it together, knuckleheads!" Black replied, annoyed.
"No, I did!" Red said.
Chazz ignored their argument as he took his deck out of the cat's mouth. "My deck." He glanced at the five Ojamas before Atticus snatched the deck from him.
"Yeah, now we're talking!" He fanned the cards out and looked at them for a moment. "No no no! This is not cool at all! Chazz, you need... some love cards!"
"Love?" Chazz repeated.
"Right." Atticus handed the deck back. "I'll help you out there. Now the question is how we get her to duel you?"
"Hey guys!" The boys turned around and saw Kaito and Cynthia showing up.
"What's up?" Kaito asked.
Atticus smiled slyly. 'And I think I have just the answer.' He stood up. "Hey, you two! Do you mind doing us a favor?"
Cynthia blinked. "A favor?"
Later that night, Sheppard was putting away some documents into his bag, ready to leave his office. But then...
He turned to the side, his eyes scanning the room. "Who's there?"
No answer.
"I could have sworn that I... heard something." He then reached under his desk and pulled out the case that now held the 10 spirit keys. After making sure they were there, he sighed in relief. 'Still there. But, with that new threat that Jaden and Andrew was warned by that last Shadow Rider, you can't be too careful.' He thought as he looked for a new hideaway for the keys. He closed the case and walked over to a nearby potted plant. He picked up the tree and placed the case under the roots and soils before putting the tree back in place.
With that, Sheppard grabbed his bag from the desk, walked towards the door, and turned off the light before leaving his office.
A little later, the side door of his office opened up, letting Chazz slip in. As he made his way to the desk, a dark figure dropped in front of him from above, startling him. The figure quickly covered his mouth with one hand, keeping him from screaming. Chazz stared at the figure, who turned out to be Atticus, wearing a strange ninja outfit. "You're late." He whispered. "Now then, let's do this."
The next morning...
"THE SPIRIT KEYS ARE MISSING!"
Those were the words of a panicked Sheppard. This caused all the former key keepers, minus Crowler, to run out of the school building and find the person who stole them. Even Syrus, Chumley, Clover, Xander, Matt and Mahiru decided to help.
Meanwhile, Sheppard stared at the empty case, not believing at what he had seen. Only... the case wasn't completely empty. He found a piece of paper inside and read it. "A confession... from Chazz!?"
After a long while, Jaden and the gang came to the beach, where they found something surprising.
Chazz was standing in front of them, with all the spirit keys around his neck.
"Chazz has the keys!" Syrus noted.
"Uh, Chazz? What up?" Jaden asked, confused.
Clover gave Chazz an angry look. "What's this all about, you bastard?"
Alexis shared her anger. "Joke's over! Give us the keys, Chazz!"
"Not yet." Chazz simply said, his words suggesting that he wasn't really interested in them.
Alexis gave him a confused look. "Uh, well, when then?"
"When you..." Chazz started nervously. "...and I duel! So let's go Alexis!"
"Huh?" Alexis stared at him, not sure of what she just heard.
"A duel?" Mahiru blinked.
"Why do you want to duel her?" Xander asked.
"Because...I'm in love!" Chazz declared. "Got it? And Alexis is too! She just doesn't know it yet! But soon she will!"
"And how's that?" Jaden, Syrus and Chumley questioned.
Andrew rubbed his forehead. "Are you serious?" Jenny turned to Alexis, a somewhat ill look on her face.
"Honestly, why do you think that?" Alexis asked, not believing that all of this was because of a love crush.
"Cuz I told him so!"
"Hi guys!"
"Why are we doing this again?"
Everyone looked at the ocean and saw Atticus standing on a boat, wearing a Hawaiian print shirt, shorts and playing an ukulele. Kaito and Cynthia were standing on each side of the boat, holding a big sign that said 'Lucky for Love' in red, bold letters.
"Kaito?" Michael blinked.
"And Cynthia?" Shiori added.
Zane shook his head. "Atticus, I can understand, but you two?"
"Well..." Cynthia glanced back and forth at the siblings. "Atticus said that Alexis needed a helping hand with her love life, and I couldn't help but agree to help him." She then gave the older Rhodes a glare. "Even though he never told us who would be involved in her love life."
Kaito gave Chazz a weird look. "You mean it's Chazz? That's not a good guy for her." At that, he and Cynthia hopped out the boat and joined the others.
Atticus sighed. "Anyway..." He turned to his sister. "Come on. He stole the spirit keys... just for you!"
"And that's romance? News to me?" Syrus said, feeling weirded out.
"I second that." Jaden agreed as he and Chumley shared the feeling.
Jenny shook her head. "This actually reminds me of Norman and Tracey's shenanigans."
"Tell me about it." Clover replied.
'At times like this, I wish he was back in a coma.' Alexis thought, staring at her brother.
"Anyone up for just tackling him?" Zane suggested, face in his hand.
"Not a bad thought." Jaden agreed.
Clover had an annoyed look on her face and clenched her right hand. "I'm more up to beat the crap out of him and tie him up."
"As annoying as Chazz is, that's a little too far." Andrew said, trying to calm her down.
"What's the hold up?!" Chazz shouted, growing impatient.
Alexis stared at the black clad Slifer. After noticing the determination in his eyes, she sighed. 'Well, I guess one duel couldn't hurt.'
"Come on!" Atticus yelled from his boat.
"Fine! I'll duel! Whatever!"
Chazz and Atticus cheered. "You got her now, Chazz!" The latter said, waving a fan around.
"One thing." Alexis said. "Even if I lose this, the keys go back!"
"Alright, but then I get something to take their place. You as my girlfriend! And then we can hold hands! Take walks! Write notes! That's the deal!"
As Chazz spoke, the whole gang, even Zane, couldn't help but sweatdrop upon hearing him rant about their potential love life together should Chazz win.
"Fine! It's a deal! But it's not gonna happen!" Alexis said, activating her duel disk. "Now let's do this, Chazz!"
"I will!" Chazz said happily, activating his own duel disk. "And I'll show you that you love me!"
"Let's duel!"
Alexis: 4000
Chazz: 4000
"Here goes!" Chazz drew his sixth card. "Alright, I'll start with Ojama Red!"
The red-skinned, bikini brief wearing monster. (ATK: 0 DEF: 1000 LV: 2) "Aw yeah! Red is here and ready for action!" He shouted, all fired up.
"And he's got a special ability. Once he's summoned to the field, I'm allowed to summon up to four Ojamas from my hand in attack mode. I've only got one here, and his name is Ojama Blue!"
The blue-skinned, bikini brief wearing monster appeared. (ATK: 0 DEF: 1000 LV: 2) "Hello there!" He greeted. "Boss thinks your'e cute."
"And after two facedowns..." Chazz inserted two cards into his duel disk. He then held up a card. "...I'll play the spell card, Love Letter! And here is how it works: First off, if I got a facedown and a monster sitting on my field, you get a gift. You see, either one of my monsters or one my facedown cards becomes yours. Aren't I sweet? Yeah, I know, and that's just the first of lots of gifts you'll get from me."
Alexis felt a little disturbed, her face dropping at Chazz's antics.
"The Chazz knows how to treat his ladies..."
"I'm not your lady, Chazz!" Alexis snapped at him. "But if I have to take your gift, fine! I'll take one of your facedowns!"
Chazz smirked. 'Perfect! Everything is going according to the plan. Atticus was right, dueling can be just like old-fashioned courting.'
Inside Chazz's fantasy
'After all, her accepting my facedown card is just like her accepting a Valentine from me... A Valentine I probably would have been too scared to deliver in real life.'
Chazz hid behind a tree, watching shyly as Alexis passed by, not even seeing him there, holding a card in his hand. 'But with Atticus' help...' Someone's hand Chazz's shoulder, making him turn around and face Atticus, who pointed towards the sky.
"Onwards and upwards, Chazz! If you can't charm her, duel her!"
"Okay..." Chazz said.
"Go!" Atticus gave him a thumbs up, making him nod with a smile.
Chazz ran out in the open and caught up with Alexis. As he gave her the card, he laughed nervously, while Alexis gasped in surprise.
Back in reality
Alexis watched as one of Chazz's facedown cards moved over to her field.
"But there's more." Chazz held up the remaining card in his hand. "Next I play the spell card, Giant Trunade! What it does is bring all spells and traps back to our hands, so I'll take that facedown back now.
Back inside Chazz's stupid fantasy
Alexis and Chazz ran towards each other, laughing happily.
"Chazzy!" Alexis waved a Valentine card in her hand. "From me to you!" A wind blew the card out of her hand.
Chazz laughed as he jumped up and caught it.
Reality again
As soon as the two facedown cards returned to his hand, Chazz instantly revealed one of them. "Aw, that's so sweet of you to give this to me back so soon. And now I'll think I'll play it! Hidden Wish!"
Atticus nodded with a smile while playing his ukulele.
"When Hidden Wish returns from my opponent's field back to me, it deals 1000 points of damage to you!"
"Oh no!" Alexis' eyes widened at the point loss.
Alexis: 4000-3000
"And I regain a thousand points..."
Chazz: 4000-5000
"So I guess I should say 'Thanks, Darling. I just knew that us dueling would bring us closer.' Are you feeling the sparks?" He asked, eyes wide and gleaming.
Alexis grew more eerie and grossed out by Chazz's romantic attempts.
On the sidelines, Syrus groaned. "I'm feeling nauseous."
"You and me both." Matt agreed, not liking this either.
"And now, I'll activate my other facedown." Chazz held up the card in question. "The card known as Treasure Map! Once I send it to the graveyard, I get to draw two more cards." He slid the card into his graveyard slot and drew two new ones. He then inserted them into his duel disk. "And I'll lay them facedown and end my turn."
"Alright, Chazz, let's go!" Alexis drew. "I summon Blade Skater in attack mode!" The bald, skating warrior lady appeared. (ATK: 1400 DEF: 1500 LV: 4) "Now take out that Ojama Red! Whirlwind Slasher!" The skater spun around, making a whirlwind surround her as she approached the red Ojama who panicked.
"Aaah! Stay away, you crazy bimbo!"
"Ah, don't worry! Go!" One of Chazz's facedown cards flipped up. "Ring of Destruction!"
A metal ring with red bombs appeared around Blade Skater's waist before detonating, destroying her with a big explosion.
Chazz smiled as the smoke cleared. "Now we both get hit with your Blade Skater's attack points, like a couple."
Alexis: 3000-1600
Chazz: 5000-3600
"That's so romantic." Atticus said, strumming his instrument again. "After all, what's love without pain? Nice work, Don Juan." He gave Chazz a thumbs up.
Which he returned. "You know it, Atticus!"
"Can you feel the love?"
"Atticus!" Cynthia snapped. "Just shut your mouth already!"
"What she said..." Alexis added. "I play a facedown and end my turn." A card appeared near her feet.
"Then let's continue, my dear." Chazz drew his next card. "I activate the spell card, Pot of Greed. So I get two more cards." He drew his extra cards. "And one of them is the field spell, Ojama Country!" Seconds later, the beach turned into a small village. The houses were shaped like Ojama Yellow's head, among a hill. And the small size of this village made all students look like giants.
"Oh, we're home!" Ojama Blue cheered.
"Aw yeah!" Red shouted happily.
"Now here's how this field spell works, if I have an Ojama on my field, all monsters' original attack and defense points are swapped." (ATK: 0-1000 DEF: 1000-0) "So now, Ojama Red, attack Alexis directly!"
"Roger that!" Red dashed forward.
"I don't think so, Chazz! I play the trap card, Call of the Haunted!" Alexis' facedown card flipped up. "Now I can bring a monster back from my graveyard, so come on out, Blade Skater!" The skater appeared again. "And even with your field spell affecting her, she's still strong enough to keep your monster away from me." (ATK: 1400-1500 DEF: 1500-1400 LV: 4)
"Yikes!" Red exclaimed as he skidded to a halt.
"Playing hard to get, are you." Chazz commented with a smirk. "Very well, I'll just end my turn with a facedown." A card appeared near his feet.
"My move!" Alexis drew. "First I'll use Pot of Greed two draw two extra cards." She drew again. "Then I activate the spell card, Mystical Space Typhoon! Now I can destroy one spell or trap card on the field... like your field spell!" A whirlwind surrounded the entire field for a moment before the scenery changed back to the beach. "And that means all monsters' attack and defense points are back to normal." (ATK: 1500-1400 DEF: 1400-1500) (ATK: 1000-0 DEF: 0-1000)
"Uh oh!" The Ojama duo said simultaneously.
"And now I activate the spell card, Polymerization, and fuse Blade Skater with Etoile Cyber in my hand to create Cyber Blader!" The red haired dancer entered the fusion vortex with the skater as they merged together and emerged in the form of Alexis' signature fusion monster. (ATK: 2100 DEF: 800 LV: 7) "And since you have two monsters on the field, her attack points double." (ATK: 2100-4200)
"Chazz is going down." Jenny smirked.
"Cyber Blader, take out Ojama Red with Skate Blade Slash!" The blader dashed over to the red Ojama who panicked again.
"Sorry, but I play the trap, Defense Draw!" Chazz's facedown card flipped up. "Thanks to this card, the battle damage from your attack goes to zero."
"Wait a minute!" Red turned to Chazz. "You mean you're not gonna save me!" Since he was focused on his master, he didn't notice the blader who was right behind him and struck his back with her right skate. "YOW!" He yelped in pain before he exploded.
Alexis frowned at this. (ATK: 4200-2100)
"And there's more. My trap card also lets me draw an extra card." Chazz drew and smiled to her. "So thanks for the gift, my dear."
The gang groaned at his words. "Can't he take a break?" Xander asked exasperated.
"I end my turn." Alexis concluded.
"Alright then." Chazz drew and looked over his hand before making a move. "I'll switch Ojama Blue to defense mode and end my turn with a facedown." The blue Ojama kneeled down while a facedown card appeared behind him.
"My move!" Alexis drew. "Cyber Blader, attack!" The blader dashed over to Blue, who paled at the approach.
"Um, can we talk about this?" He asked. But the response he got, was a kick from Cyber Blader, which shattered him into pixels.
Chazz smirked. "Now I can play my trap!" His facedown card flipped up. "It's called Michizure. Since my monster was destroyed, this trap card lets me destroy yours." At that, Cyber Blader groaned in pain before she exploded.
"Oh no!" Alexis exclaimed.
"And with that, both of our monsters went down." Chazz said, smiling dreamily. "Kind of like Romeo and Juliet in their love tragedy."
Once again, the gang groaned. "Dude, that is so wrong." Michael muttered.
"But wait! Here's another surprise." Chazz took out his deck and fanned his cards out. "Since Ojama Blue was destroyed in battle, I get to add two Ojama cards from my deck to my hand. You're a such a sweetheart for giving me another gift."
Alexis started to get annoyed as a tick mark appeared at her head.
Clover were the same. "Are you guys sure I can't beat him up?"
"Just let Alexis handle this." Xander said, trying to calm her down.
Alexis looked over hand. 'And if his love nonsense wasn't bad enough, I don't have anything to summon and build up some defense.' She turned to her opponent. "I end my turn."
"In that case." Chazz drew. "I'll place this card facedown." A card appeared. He then held up card from his hand. "Then I'll play the spell card, Graceful Charity. Now I draw three new cards and discard two cards from my hand." He drew three cards and then discarded two spell cards. After that, the graveyard slot glowed briefly. "Oh, and one of the cards I just got rid of was the spell card, Ojamagic. And due to its effect, I can add Ojama Yellow, Green and Black to my hand." He took the three named cards from his deck.
"And the other card I discarded was Card of Compensation. So now I get two more cards." He drew. "And one of them happens to be the spell card, Bait Doll! With this, I can force a facedown card to activate, if it happens to be a trap card. Now go, facedown card!" The card in question flipped up. "Oh yeah! It's Ojama Trio!"
Alexis looked down as Ojama Yellow, Green and Black appeared on her field, shaking their bikini clad butts at her. (ATK: 0 DEF: 1000) x3
"Now three Ojama Tokens get to crash your field in defense mode, and if one of them gets wiped out, you lose 300 points. It's so great to share." Chazz said with a smile while Alexis tried to control herself.
"Next I'll cast my spell card, Polymerization! Let's go, guys!" At that, the three original Ojamas appeared. "Ojama Black, Ojama Green and Ojama Yellow! Fuse and form Ojama King!"
"Ojama!" The three original Ojamas grabbed each others hands and spun around as they were sucked into the fusion vortex. And then, from a flash of light, the big, white, overweight royal Ojama emerged, his cape fluttering behind him.
"Ojama!" The king yelled as he posed. (ATK: 0 DEF: 3000 LV: 6)
"And thanks to Ojama King's special ability, up to three of your monster card zones are reclassified as occupied!"
Alexis gasped as a mini version of Ojama King appeared with a stamp, which he used to mark her two remaining monster zones with red dots. 'No! Now I've got no room to play new monster cards! I'll be completely defenseless!'
"Next I'll throw down a facedown and end my turn." Chazz concluded as a card appeared near his feet. "So tell me, are you feeling the fuzzies yet? After all, I filled up your field to show how my heart is full of love, right?" He asked, using the big eyes again.
"He is so gone." Syrus muttered, earning a nod from Jaden and Syrus.
Bastion, however... "It is... sort of romantic."
Mahiru gave him a weird look. "You're kidding me, right?"
Alexis looked at her hand. Specifically, the monster card, Cyber Prima that she had. 'If I could just get her on the field, I might have a chance. But I can't even sacrifice those Ojama freaks to summon her.'
Atticus smiled, believing Chazz had this in the bag.
However... "Wait, I think I got it! Yeah!" Alexis said and drew, getting curious looks from the Ojama trio and Atticus.
"Got what?" The older Rhodes wondered.
'This little move should throw Chazz-anova for a loop.' Alexis thought. "I'm laying a facedown and that is it!" A card appeared behind the Ojamas.
"Fine, my turn!" Chazz drew. "I play a little card I like to call Dress up! The new duds give Ojama King an extra 300 attack points!" The big Ojama was suddenly dressed in a white tuxedo.
"Thanks for the threads!" He said. (ATK: 0-300)
"And, it's got another bonus! I get to switch one of your monsters to attack mode! Another gift for you!"
"But wait! All of her monsters have no attack points!" Syrus pointed out.
"No joke, and it gets worse." Jaden replied. "If Chazz attacks and takes out one Ojama, she'll lose 300 life points. And what's worse, is Chazz can keep doing this, dealing up to 1800 points of damage!"
"You got that right!" Chazz smiled confidently. "Because then she will lose the match and I will win a girlfriend!"
'Eww! Me and Chazz a couple? I better do something and I better do it fast!" Alexis thought.
Chazz then looked thoughtful. "Let's see, on one hand, I could win this duel right now and win a girlfriend. "But, what would Chazz having a girlfriend mean if she wasn't really madly in love with me!?"
"I agree!" Ojama King said.
"Wait! So he's not going to force any of the Ojamas into attack mode?" Andrew questioned. "They keep defending when he attacks?"
"Look out below! Here I come!" King warned, descending onto Alexis' field.
"Chowdahead!" Black exclaimed as he tackled the king, ramming him in the gut.
Chazz: 3600-2900
"See what a sweet guy I am?" Chazz asked. "But there's more. Next I play Dramatic Crossroads!" His facedown card flipped up "It's decision time! Now pay attention! Option number 1: You discard one random card! Option number 2: You show your entire hand to me and then, I am allowed to take one of your cards for myself!"
The gang was definitely confused by the second option. "Why would she do that?" Shiori asked slowly.
"Because, if Alexis really loves me, then she'll trust me and let me see her hand." Chazz explained his bizarre sense of love-stricken logic. "She'll give me her very best card as proof of our love! Then, she and I will live happily ever after!"
Alexis growled, staring at Chazz as he began to lose it again in his delusional feelings.
"So now, make your choice." He said and held up his hand, expecting her to go for option number 2.
"Okay, Chazz, listen up." Alexis looked straight at him. "You're not ever gonna see my hand, you got it?"
"I'M SHOT DOWN!?" Chazz yelled in shock before collapsing.
"Listen, want to know who I love? I am..." Alexis smiled and placed a hand on her chest. "...in love with dueling."
"Whoa! Ouch, Chazz!" Atticus rushed over to Chazz. "Crash and burn, dude!"
"Yeah, so what!?" Chazz suddenly quickly stood up. "Don't forget, if I win this..." He pointed to Alexis. "...you'll still be mine!"
Atticus, however, didn't seem to agree with him. "Dude, it's over."
Ojama Yellow appeared next to the black clad Slifer. "I dig you, Boss! We'd make a cute couple!"
But Chazz ignored him. "If you won't love me, then I'll defeat you and you have to go out with me!"
Alexis looked over her hand for a moment before turning the cards around. 'Well, then I simply can't let him defeat me.' She thought while shuffling her cards. 'I just hope I don't discard the one monster that can get me out of this mess.' After a few seconds, she picked the card to discard, and to her relief, it wasn't the card she needed.
"Alright, Chazz." Alexis began her turn. She looked at the card she drew. "Ha! If you really want a wedding, here's your one chance!"
Chazz was really surprised by her words.
"I play the spell, Ritual Sanctuary!" The sandy scenery changed into the interior of a church as the sound of a bell was heard. "Now by discarding a spell card from my hand..." Alexis explained while discarding one of her cards. "I'm able to add any ritual spell card from my deck..." She took a card from her deck and revealed it. "...right into my hand! And now I'll play it! Machine Angel Ritual!" The interior of the church changed from traditional decorations to a silvery color.
"What the...?" Chazz looked around until he noticed a red glow in the ceiling.
"Now any monster with Cyber Angel in its name I can summon!"
"No way!" Chazz protested. "You've got no monster zones, thanks to those Ojamas! And you can't get rid of them either!"
"Oh yes I can! Remember, this is a ritual summoning!"
"So what? What's that got to do with anything?"
"Everything." Alexis smirked. "Because that no sacrifice rule doesn't apply to ritual summonings and the monster I'm ritual summoning calls for me to sacrifice all three Ojamas, Plus, since they're not being destroyed, I don't lose any points! But you sure are going to, Chazz! Now come on out, Cyber Angel Benten!" From the glow of red light, the familiar warrior woman with the two chained fans appeared. (ATK: 1800 DEF: 1500 LV: 6) "Cyber Angel Benten, attack his King! Angel Flight Flurry!"
Chazz could only watch as the big Ojama was repeatedly fan slapped by the Cyber Angel until he shattered into pixels.
Chazz: 2900-1400
"Now for Cyber Angel's special effect..." Alexis continued as her monster came back to her. "...you take damage equal to the defense points of the monster that was destroyed in battle. I'm sorry, Chazzy!"
"That can't be! That would leave the Chazz with nothing!" He said in disbelief before falling to his knees.
Chazz: 1400-0000
"She beat me. My darling beat me." He lowered his head. "So much for true love... which is fine." He raised a finger. "Cuz The Chazz... always rides alone!" He shouted, rising to his feet as the waves crashed behind him. He then fell back down to his knees and sobbed out loud.
"Alexis!" Atticus called out as he rushed over to the dejected Slifer. "At least you can let him down gently."
Alexis ignored him and walked over to Chazz with a small smile. "Still be friends!"
But then suddenly, the entire island started to shake violently.
"What Banner warned us about!" Jaden said, realizing exactly what it was.
"It's here!" Andrew said, having the same idea.
Well, there you have it folks. I hope you liked this. Until next time.
