Rise of the Sacred Beasts
Just a few moments, the entire island went through what seemed to be an earthquake. when all of a sudden, all activity of the island stopped. The former key keepers, plus friends, just stood there in place, wondering about this unexpected turn of events.
"What's going on?" Jaden wondered.
Meanwhile, deep underground, the spirit gates glowed a bright light, followed by a green beam of light bursting from the locks and up through the roof, shooting into the sky like some kind of light signal.
And then, the island started to shake again. But there was more than that. In the dense forest, many trees were uprooted as 10 stone pillars shot through the ground, sending trees and huge chunks of dirt falling to the ground as they jutted upwards at different angles.
"What Banner warned us about!" Andrew gasped. "It's here!"
At that moment, all spirit keys that were hanging around Chazz's neck started to glow. "Ah, the spirit keys! Something's happening to them!" And then, the keys started to float. After that... "Ah!" they dragged Chazz away.
"Where are you going, Chazz?" Alexis wondered.
"I don't know!" The black clad Slifer passed by Jaden, Andrew and a few others as he was dragged into the forest.
"Hey, can we come?" Jaden asked.
"HELP MEEEE!" Chazz cried out as all the others ran after him.
They ran deeper and deeper in the forest, with keys leading them (mostly Chazz) to the very location where the 10 pillars were. And then suddenly, the key started to lift themselves upwards, unintentionally dragging Chazz along with them.
"Just hold on!" Jaden called out.
"Well, what do you think I-gah!" Before Chazz could finish his sentence, he crashed into a tree branch and fell to the ground, letting the spirit keys fly out of his grasp and towards the 10 pillars.
The gang stopped near Chazz and looked up to see the keys disappearing into the pillars, one by one. "They keys! They're being absorbed into the pillars!" Zane said.
"Not lishus." Chumley muttered.
"They're opening up all the spirit gates!" Andrew said.
"What did you do, Chazz!?" Alexis snapped, turning to the black clad Slifer.
"It's not my fault!" He exclaimed while all the others glared at him.
"Oh yeah?" Clover looked down to him. "Then how you can refute the fact that you stole the keys?" That question caused Chazz to cringe.
The top of the 10 pillars lit up all at the same time.
"Children!" Everyone turned to see Sheppard and Crowler running up to them.
"What's happening?!" Crowler wondered at first. But then he glared at Jaden. "I'm sure this is your fault, Jaden!"
"Hey wait, I didn't steal those keys!" Jaden frowned.
"It was Chazz!" Everyone pointed at the Black clad Slifer.
"I was just borrowing the keys for Alexis!" Chazz said defensively, grinning a little.
Jenny and Mahiru glared at him, making him flinch. "Don't you dare drag Alexis into your mess!" The fairy duelist hissed.
And then suddenly, the ground began to shake again. "Now what?" Shiori wondered.
The answer came in the form of a large, square object that rose up from the ground. Everyone watched in curiosity as another, smaller object appeared on top, followed by a bright orb of light. Inside the orb, were three cards; One was blue, one was yellow and one was red.
Andrew stared at those cards for a moment, before realizing what they were. "It's the..."
"Sacred Beast cards!" Michael filled in.
Jaden, Andrew and Chazz jumped down in the clearing but stopped as soon as a deep voice echoed through the air.
"Those cards don't belong to you!"
Everyone looked up at the sky and saw some kind of airplane. As it came closer, the rear of the plane opened up and a large, metal object was seen.
"What is that?" Jaden asked.
"Yeah, ask me, like I'm gonna know." Chazz said sarcastically.
It seemed like the metal object was going to crash from the high altitude and distance it was from how high it was towards the ground, but parachutes shot out of it, gently making it float down. Once it was halfway close to the ground, the parachutes released themselves, and caused the metal object to fall down safely with a crash. When the smoke around it cleared, everyone could see what the object was. It was a strange mechanical body, with four, curved legs on the corners, what looked like a huge battery on the back, and the front... was a very large tube. Inside the tube, was a very, very old man, hooked up to wires, tubes and wearing an oxygen mask while his mane of white, scraggly hair floated around him. And even though no one could see it, he was also wearing a ring on one of his fingers. A golden ring shaped like the millennium symbol.
"Those cards belong to me!" The man inside the tube spoke.
Everyone stared at him in bewilderment. Clearly, no one could have expected an old man equipped with a strange machinery to drop from the sky and stop them from getting the Sacred Beast cards.
"Wait a moment... I know that man!" Sheppard said, seemingly recognizing the newcomer.
"I'm so glad you recognize me, Sheppard, even though the years have not been kind."
"It's Kagemaru! Our superintendent!" All the students, plus Crowler, stared at the Chancellor, unable to believe what he just said.
"Come again?" Matt asked.
"Superintendent?" Jaden repeated.
"I've built this school." The one now named Kagemaru said, confirming what Sheppard said. "And now I've returned for my Sacred Beast cards!"
"Wait just a sec there, test-tube!" Jaden stepped forward.
"If you want them, you're gonna have to get through us first!" Andrew added.
"Fools! I am Kagemaru, master of the Shadow Games! It was I who first sealed the cards here! It was I who gave Sheppard the ten keys!"
"Sheppard!?" Crowler turned to the Chancellor who glared at the superintendent.
"Alone, they are worthless." As he spoke, Kagemaru moved his machine towards the cards. "To unlock the spirit gates, all that is required is dueling energy! Energy you expanded trying to protect those keys."
"See? This isn't the Chazz's fault." Chazz muttered.
Xander rolled his eyes. "Whatever you say, Chazz-ball."
"This is why I arranged for all the best duelists in the world to come here! I hoped year after year, class after class, a student would arise with enough dueling spirit to unlock the power of the cards. My Shadow Riders were sent to test you, and only two passed; two with the potential to finally unlock the Sacred Beasts and give me the strength to rule the world!"
"A cute story, so why all the tricks?" Alexis asked, glaring at the old man.
"Were you too weak to get the Sacred Beast cards for yourself?" Jenny added.
"Alexis, Jenny, don't make the scary man mad." Syrus told them, his eyes focused on the superintendent.
"He don't look so tough. More like some kind of reject science project." Chumley commented.
"Listen up!" Zane stepped forward. "There is no way you're getting those Beast cards, not so long as I'm here, you've got that, Kagemaru? You'll have to duel me for them!"
"Back off!" Chazz stepped in. "It's my duel and I'll Chazz you up. big time! So let's go!"
"No way! He's all mine!" Atticus glared at the old man, strumming his instrument. "After all, he and I are old friends. He transformed me into one of his Shadow Riders!"
"The same thing applies to me!" Kaito stepped in. "I'll duel him!"
"No way!" Cynthia snapped. "The way I acted and what I did when I was possessed was disgusting! I won't let him get away with that!"
Bastion was about to say something...
"No!"
But fell over due to Kagemaru not letting him say a thing.
"My opponents will be... Jaden Yuki... and Andrew Wilson!"
"Excuse me what?" Jaden questioned.
"Come again?" Andrew added.
"You two have proven to be the only duelists with the power to unlock the Sacred Beast cards." And then suddenly, electricity flowed around the ten pillars, creating a circled perimeter around the students and teachers. "And if you refuse, I will see to it that this island and everyone on it sinks to the depths of the ocean deep."
"You can't!" Jaden protested.
Some of the mechanical parts of the tube carrier moved away, revealing two robot arms; one wielding a duel disk. "I can do anything with these..." Kagemaru said as he used his robot arms to grab the three cards.
"The Sacred Beast cards!" Andrew gasped.
"Good luck now." Chazz said sarcastically.
"Let this Shadow Game begin!"
"Listen, guys..." Chazz turned around and walked back. "If you need any advice, don't ask."
"Where are you going?" Jaden questioned.
"To find a boat." The black clad Slifer replied as he climbed up from the clearing.
"Catch!" Syrus called out and tossed a backpack... which hit Chazz in the face before flying over to Jaden who caught it.
"Andrew, here!" Shiori called out and tossed his own backpack... and just like the first one, this one hit Chazz in the face. The second hit caused him to fall down as the backpack was caught by Andrew.
"You okay?" Jaden asked.
"Feeling dandy." Chazz muttered, glaring at him and Andrew. "You guys better not lose. Just got my room looking cool."
"Like it was any cool at all." Matt muttered.
"No sweat!" Jaden promised before turning to the old man. "I hope that you brought A-game, Kagemaru!" As soon as he pulled out his duel disk, a familiar book fell out of the backpack.
Andrew noticed it as soon as he brought his own duel disk. "Professor Banner's tome."
Jaden kneeled down and pulled out two cards that stuck out. The boys took a look at them. One of them was a spell card, and the other was a trap card. "Banner must have wanted us to have these."
"Yeah, I think so too." Andrew agreed and grabbed one of the cards. "Mind if I use this trap card?"
"Sure, why not?" Jaden nodded before glancing at the spell card. "Then I'll put this one in my deck. What have I got to lose?" At that, they slid their respective cards into their decks and shuffled.
"Hey, Jaden! Rock his world!" Chumley called out.
"Take him down, Andrew!" Clover added.
"Got it!" Andrew replied, and tossed his backpack back to them.
"Will do!" Jaden and tossed his own backpack.
Unfortunately, Chazz got hit by both of them before he could climb up again.
"Oops!" Andrew said.
"Sorry, Chazz! My bad!" Jaden apologized.
"He really needs to learn to duck." Michael commented.
"That does it, I'm outta here!" Chazz growled.
"Come on, Chazz, I need you!" Jaden said.
"You need a big kick in the..."
"SILENCE!" Kagemaru roared. "This is why I hate teenagers."
"Alright, Kagemaru, let's do this!" Jaden challenged before turning to his partner. "You ready?"
"Way ahead of you!" Andrew replied and activated his duel disk. Jaden did the same. And so did Kagemaru.
"Guys, if you lose, he'll take over the world!" Syrus pointed out.
"And that's, like really bad!" Chumley added.
"No kidding." Matt said.
"In that case... time to get our game on!" Jaden replied.
"But wait! How are we gonna duel a two-on-one duel?" Andrew asked Kagemaru.
"That's quite simple." Kagemaru replied. "While the two you start with 4000 life points each, I'll start with 8000 points. But since I'm a reasonable man, this duel won't allow any of us to attack on the first turn."
"Fine by me." Jaden said.
Andrew nodded. "Alright then..."
"Let's duel!"
Jaden: 4000
Andrew: 4000
Kagemaru: 8000
"I'll go first!" Kagemaru drew his sixth card. And after a moment, he simply inserted that card into his duel disk. "I activate the spell, Cauldron of the Old Man." The named spell card appeared "When this card is activated, it gets a counter." A red glowing 1 appeared above the card. "And then, I can use one of my spell's two effects each turn. And I activate its first effect! For each counter, my spell card grants me 500 extra life points." A blue aura surrounded Kagemaru.
Kagemaru: 8000-8500
"I end my turn."
"Dude, like he didn't have enough life points already." Michael commented.
"Looks like the guys will work hard in order to win this." Cynthia said.
Andrew raised an eyebrow. "Is that all? I expected more."
Kagemaru chuckled. "Not to worry. You boys will witness something greater soon enough. But for now, make your move, Andrew."
"Fine, you asked for it!" Andrew his sixth card. "First I summon Elemental HERO Solid Soldier in defense mode!" The purple warrior in silver armor appeared and crossed his arms. (ATK: 1300 DEF: 1100 LV: 4) "And with him summoned to the field, I can summon another HERO monster from my hand. So here comes Elemental HERO Woodsman!" The green-skinned, wooden hero appeared and crouched down. (ATK: 1000 DEF: 2000 LV: 4)
Andrew held up another card. "Now I activate the spell card, Hero's Bond! Thanks to my heroes on the field, I can summon two more Elemental Heroes from my hand. I'll bring out Elemental Heroes Ocean and Lady Heat!" The aquatic, trident wielding hero and the white and orange clad fire heroine appeared. (ATK: 1500 DEF: 1200 LV: 4) (ATK: 1300 DEF: 1000 LV: 4)
"What a line up!" Shiori said.
"Yeah, Andrew's not wasting time." Clover added.
"With that done, I activate the spell card, Supply Squad..." The continuous spell appeared behind Solid Soldier. "And to end my turn, I activate Lady Heat's special ability! During each of my end phases, you take 200 points of damage for every Elemental HERO I have. 4 heroes, 800 points!" Lady Heat conjured a fireball and threw it at Kagemaru.
Kagemaru: 8500-7700
"Nice one, man." Jaden complimented. "Alright, here goes!" He drew his sixth card. "I summon Burstinatrix in defense mode!" The red clad fire heroine appeared and crossed her arms. (ATK: 1200 DEF: 800 LV: 3) "And one facedown!" Jaden concluded as he inserted a card into his duel disk. "Now let's see if... those Beast cards are all bad!"
Kagemaru chuckled. "Yes, let's." He drew his next card. "First, since this is my standby phase, my Cauldron of the Old Man gets another counter." The glowing 1 turned into a 2. "So now I'll activate my Cauldron's effect again. And with two counters, the amount of life points I regain this time is 1000."
Kagemaru: 7700-8700
"Next I'll move on by placing three trap cards facedown." He slipped three cards into his slots.
"Three trap cards?" Chazz repeated. "I think this guy's got a circuit crossed."
"What do you mean?" Syrus asked him.
"When you lay facedown cards, you never have to say wether or not they're trap cards or spell cards." Bastion explained.
"That's true." Kaito agreed. "Doing that would be stupid."
"Unless you happen to be summoning a Sacred Beast." Kagemaru added.
"Good." Jaden said. "Ya know, I always wanted to see one up close."
"You should be more careful of what you wish for. I sacrifice my three trap cards to summon the first Sacred Beast! Uria, Lord of Searing Flames!" Everyone watched as Kagemaru's three traps cards were revealed before disappearing behind the tree line, in front of one of the pillars. And then, as the blue sky turned dark, a huge pillar of flames erupted high into the air.
"Oh my god!" Cynthia gasped.
"What's happening?" Alexis cried out.
"Something really bad!" Syrus replied.
The flaming stream disappeared, and in its place, a gigantic, red, winged serpent-like creature hovered above the ground. It let out a mighty roar from its mouth... which appeared to have a second mouth inside.
"On second thought... maybe I don't need to see it up close." Jaden commented, staring at the great monster.
"Incredible." Andrew muttered, astounded by the monster's appearance.
As everyone stared at the mighty beast... "Boss!" Chazz heard a familiar voice coming from his deck. He pulled it out and looked at Ojama Yellow's card, who looked like he was suffering. "Help me, Boss! That thing... it's doing something to us!"
"Suck it up. I'm sure you're fine." Chazz dismissed and looked back at the duel as a strong wind picked up.
"No, he's right..." Jenny looked down at her own deck and saw Tethys on her knees, breathing hard.
"What's wrong, Tethys?" Jenny asked.
"That Sacred Beast! Its presence is hurting us!"
"Now I activate its special ability! Trap Destruction!" Uria opened its mouth and let out another earsplitting roar. The roar's shockwave destroyed Jaden's facedown card, which was the trap card, Mirror Gate.
"All traps are useless against my Sacred Beast and are destroyed. And... if you were curious as to Uria's attack points, he receives 1000 per trap card in my graveyard. And at last count, I have 3 for a total of 3000 attack points!" (ATK: 0-3000 DEF: 0-3000 LV: 10) "Now, reduce Burstinatrix to slag! Hyper Blaze!" Uria opened his mouth again. But this time, a stream of extremely hot fire shot out from between his jaws and engulfed Burstinatrix, burning her to a crisp. And even though her being in defense points protected his life points, Jaden could feel some of the flames coming right at him.
"Damn." Andrew cursed, not liking this at all.
Kagemaru chuckled. "Your turn, Andrew."
"Turn for what?" Zane asked. "That monster's too powerful. What can Jaden and Andrew do?"
"Whatever they can." Kaito said confidently. "We just have to believe in them."
Jaden grit his teeth and glanced up at Uria. 'This is it! I've waited my whole life to duel the best. That's why I came here in the first place. Now, I got the best.' He smiled. 'And I'm staring him down in a duel to take over the world! What more can any kid want?"
"Are you okay?" Andrew asked worriedly.
"Don't worry." The Slifer replied, giving him a thumbs up. "I won't go down that easily."
"In that case, I draw!" Andrew drew. "And I activate Woodsman's ability!" The wooden hero glowed with a green aura. "During my standby phase, I can add a Polymerization to my hand." He took his deck and fanned the cards out, grabbing the named spell card. "And next I'll switch Ocean to attack mode." The aquatic hero stood up.
"It's not gonna make a difference, dude." Atticus said.
"What's Andrew thinking?" Chazz scowled. "With Ocean in attack mode, he'll be a sitting duck. He can't beat that monster anyhow."
"I can't watch this!" Crowler whimpered,.
"Why not?" Zane asked. "This duel might be the last thing we see."
"Come on, don't give up on him yet!" Matt protested.
"Yeah, I'm sure he knows what he's doing." Shiori added.
"Now I activate the spell card, Polymerization!" A fusion vortex appeared, sucking Lady Heat and Solid Soldier in. "I fuse Lady Heat with Solid Soldier to create the Elemental HERO Gaia!" The black armored giant emerged. (ATK: 2200 DEF: 2600 LV: 6)
Kagemaru chuckled again. "He still doesn't have enough attack points to defeat Uria."
Andrew smirked. "He will, once his special ability kicks in! As soon as he's fusion summoned, he can absorb half of your monster's attack points for one turn!"
"What!?" Kagemaru watched as the giant hero held up his right palm and absorbed red energy from the Sacred Beast. (ATK: 3000-1500) (ATK: 2200-3700)
"And since Solid Soldier was sent to the graveyard because of a spell card, I can summon a level 4 or lower HERO monster from my graveyard in defense mode! And I resurrect Lady Heat!" The white and orange clad heroine appeared again. (ATK: 1300 DEF: 1000 LV: 4) "Now to take down your so called Sacred Beast! Gaia, attack! Continent Smash!" The giant hero raised his right arm and slammed the serpent-like beast on the head. It roared in pain before it exploded.
Kagemaru: 8700-6500
"That's a hit!" Jaden pumped his fist.
"He did it!" Jenny cheered.
"Way to go, Andrew!" Clover called out.
"And now, Ocean, direct attack!" The aquatic hero charged forward and stabbed Kagemaru's machine with his trident, making him stumble back a bit.
Kagemaru: 6500-5000
"That's it for me this turn, so Gaia's attack points return to normal." (ATK: 3700-2200) "And of course, with lady Heat still here, you take even more damage, thanks to her special ability!" The fire heroine conjured another fireball and threw it at Kagemaru.
Kagemaru: 5000-4200
Andrew turned to Jaden. "Alright, Jaden, you're up!"
"Fine by me. Let's do this!" Jaden drew his next card. "I summon Elemental HERO Bubbleman!" The white caped hero in blue armor appeared. (ATK: 800 DEF: 1200 LV: 4) "And when I call him out all alone, I get to draw two more cards! Now let's see what kind of cards we've got." He drew his extra cards and looked at them before looking over his hand. "Alright, next I'll play Polymerization!" Another fusion vortex appeared. "And I'll fuse my Bubbleman with Elemental Heroes Avian and Sparkman..." The white feathered hero in green and the blue, gold armored hero joined the water hero before they merged together. "...to form... Elemental HERO Tempest!" From a flash of light, the cannon armed, powerful winged hero appeared. (ATK: 2800 DEF: 2800 LV: 8)
"Nice!" Andrew smiled.
"Tempest, show him who is boss!" At Jaden's command, the hero fired a blast of blue energy from his cannon. Kagemaru grunted as the energy blast briefly engulfed him.
Kagemaru: 4200-1400
Kagemaru recovered before speaking up. "Impressive. I see I made the correct choice in selecting the two of you as my opponents. Your dueling spirits will serve me well as I rip them from your bodies and use them to acquire the power of the Sacred Beast cards."
"I kind of like my dueling spirt right where it is, so let's see how you handle a facedown." Jaden inserted a card into his duel disk.
"And let's see how you handle this..." Kagemaru drew. "Once again, my Cauldron of the Old Man gets another counter." The glowing 2 changed into a 3. "So now I'll use my Cauldron's effect again, regaining even more points!"
Kagemaru: 1400-2900
"Now I activate Uria's special ability! I merely send this trap card to the graveyard and then..." He trailed off as he slid one of his cards into his graveyard slot. And then, a pillar of flames erupted behind him.
"Oh no." Zane said.
"Don't tell me..." Mahiru trailed off.
"It can't be." Bastion added.
But just as everyone feared, Uria let out a roar as he emerged from the flames. "As Lord of Searing Flames, one of Uria's special abilities is to be resurrected when I discard a trap card."
Andrew and Jaden gritted their teeth.
"What's worse..." Zane said grimly. "...with another trap card in his graveyard, it gets a thousand more points."
"And if Jaden and Andrew don't do something to get rid of it, they'll be in the graveyard next!" Alexis added. (ATK: 3000-4000 DEF: 3000-4000 LV: 10)
"Now say goodbye to your feather friend, Jaden!" Uria spat out another powerful stream of flames that engulfed Jaden's hero and destroyed him. And this time, Jaden could really feel the pain the heat caused.
Jaden: 4000-2800
"Jaden!" Andrew cried out.
"Chill out, bro! Watch!" Jaden's facedown card, Transcendent Wings flipped up before vanishing. And then, Tempest was restored. "I got tricks too. By sending a card to the graveyard, Tempest can't be destroyed in battle."
Xander sighed in relief. "That's a relief."
"A minor setback." Kagemaru said and inserted the two cards from his hand into his duel disk, making a spell card, appear. "I place one card facedown and equip Uria with the spell card, Eternal Reverse ." A facedown card appeared while a green aura surrounded Uria. "I end my turn."
'I don't know what that spell card might do, but I'm not gonna wait to find out!' Andrew thought and drew his next card. "Now, once again, I'll use Woodsman's effect to take a Polymerization from my deck and add it to my hand!" He fanned his deck out and took a card. "Then I activate Ocean's ability!" The aquatic hero was surrounded with a blue aura. "During my standby phase, I can take a HERO monster from my field or graveyard and add it to my hand. So I'll take back my Solid Soldier." The named card came out of his graveyard slot, letting him add it to his hand. "And I think I'll summon him again." The silver armored hero appeared again. (ATK: 1300 DEF: 1100 LV: 4) "And now for my next move! I activate the spell card, Polymerization!"
"Another fusion?" Crowler questioned.
"I hope Andrew knows what he's doing." Jenny muttered.
"I fuse Ocean and Woodsman together in order to summon Elemental HERO Terra Firma!" Ocean and Woodsman entered a fusion vortex. And then from it, the muscular hero in white armor with jewels emerged. (ATK: 2500 DEF: 2000 LV: 8) "And next I activate his special ability. By sacrificing my other Elemental Heroes, I can transfer their attack points to him. Just watch!" Lady Heat, Solid Soldier and Gaia turned into orbs of light, which were absorbed into the red jewel on Terra Firma's chest. He then roared as his power increased. (ATK: 2500-7300)
"Whoa! 7300 attack points!" Chumley exclaimed.
"That's enough to destroy Uria and wipe out Kagemaru's remaining life points!" Kaito pointed out.
"Awesome!" Syrus cheered.
"Now, Terra Firma, destroy Uria!" The white hero leapt up in the air and then landed a kick on the beast's head, causing a massive explosion.
"Sweet!" Jaden said with a grin.
"He did it! He took down Kagemaru!" Shiori cheered.
"Then it's all..." Whatever Sheppard was about to say, he couldn't finish because of the sudden laughter.
"You fools! This duel is far from over." The smoke cleared revealing Kagemaru. But what was also revealed... was Uria.
"What!?" Andrew exclaimed. "It's still there?"
"Indeed it is. And it's all thanks to Eternal Reverse." Kagemaru held up the named card briefly before he slid it into his graveyard slot. "By simply sending it to the graveyard, I can prevent Uria from being destroyed."
"But that doesn't mean your life points would be safe, right?" Jaden pointed out.
"All true. Which is why I have this..." Using his free robot arm, Kagemaru pointed to a trap card that was on the field. "Spirit Barrier. As long as I have a monster on my field, I take no battle damage."
Andrew frowned. "I should have known this wouldn't be so easy. I end my turn with a facedown." A card appeared near his feet. (ATK: 7300-2500)
"Don't worry, I'll take it from here." Jaden drew. "In fact, I got this to help even the playing field... You know, maybe even isn't exactly right. Check out... Skyscraper!" The duelists were now surrounded by tall city buildings. "Thanks to this, my hero gets a wing-up on you. If he has less attack points than your Uria, Lord of Searing Flames-whatever, he gets an extra thousand points!" (ATK: 2800-3800)
"That's not enough to destroy Uria." Kagemaru stated.
"I'm just getting started! Here's one of my favorites! Pot of Greed!" Jaden drew two extra cards. "That's two cards and a whole lot of pain for you, cuz I'm playing this! Heated Heart!" The spell card he played released a glowing 'H'. "It gives Tempest 500 extra attack points, which is just enough power to take out Uria one more time!" (ATK: 3800-4300) The winged hero took flight and fired another energy blast, destroying the Sacred Beast. (ATK: 4300-2800)
"Waste your turn, Jaden. As long as I have traps to discard, my Lord of Searing Flames will never be destroyed. But first..." Kagemaru drew, beginning his turn. "My Cauldron of the Old Man gets another counter." The glowing 3 turned into a 4. "So now I'll use its effect to regain more points."
Kagemaru: 2900-4900
"And now, I'll use my Pot of Greed." He drew two extra cards. "And one of them happens to be a trap card, which I now discard to resurrect Uria!" From a burst of flames, the serpent-like creature appeared again. (ATK: 4000-5000 DEF: 4000-5000 LV: 10) "Then I activate the spell card, Magic Planter. In exchange for a continuous trap card, I get to draw two more cards." Spirit Barrier vanished and Kagemaru drew his extra cards.
"And with another trap card in the graveyard, Uria grows stronger!" Andrew said grimly. (ATK: 5000-6000 DEF: 5000-6000)
"Indeed he does. But that doesn't stop there, because now I activate the field spell, Fallen Paradise!" The city buildings vanished and the whole area changed. Everyone found themselves in a barren, rocky wasteland, the sky very dark and cloudy as mist crept along the ground.
"Not good." Jaden said as his Tempest lost power. (ATK: 3800-2800)
"Not only is your Skyscraper obliterated, but this new field spell enables me to draw two additional cards every round." Kagemaru drew. "And of course, with 6000 attack points, Uria can wipe out Tempest and Jaden with one blow!"
"He's right!" Bastion said. "Jaden's got 2800 life points. And if Uria attacks Tempest, he'll take 3200 points of damage!"
"Then he'll lose!" Mahiru added.
"Not if I can help it!" Andrew said, getting everyone's attention. "I activate the trap card, Taunt!" His facedown card flipped up and released a white aura that surrounded Terra Firma. "This trap card lets me select a monster on my side of the field. And... as long as that monster remains on the field, you can't attack any other monster this turn."
"What!?" Matt exclaimed. "He's seriously gonna take a hit from that... thing?"
"He's lost it." Chazz scoffed.
"Andrew..." Jenny muttered worriedly.
Jaden was also a little worried. "Andrew..."
The Ra smiled to him. "It's okay. I can handle this. Since I haven't lost any life points yet, I'll survive. Besides, we're a team, so we're in this together."
Jaden smiled back. "Right."
Andrew turned to the old man. "You hear that, Kagemaru? If you want Jaden, you have to get through me first!"
The old man chuckled. "A noble act, I must say. Attacking you now would cause a lot of damage. But dragging this duel out as long as possible, letting you two use every last of your energy would be more worth it when I defeat you. So instead, I lay down two spell cards." Two cards appeared right next to Cauldron of the Old Man.
"Spell cards?" Jaden repeated before gritting his teeth. "Great."
"Heh! I see. Despite your grades, you are a quick learner, Jaden." Right after Kagemaru's two facedown cards flipped up, they, along with Cauldron of the Old Man, turned into ice shards. "Now I sacrifice these three spell cards to summon the second Sacred Beast! Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder!" The ice shards flew backward creating three separate ice trails before coming together and creating large ice pillars behind Kagemaru. With a devastating roar, a new horrible beast emerged from the ice, lightning cracking around its body. Like Uria, it had a great pair of wings. This new beast had a golden body, lenghty limbs that ended up in slightly curved feet and hands, its huge claws glinting in the light as its bony tail swayed from side to side. (ATK: 4000 DEF: 4000 LV: 10)
"Look." Zane said as he and the others were astounded by the new monster's appearance.
"We see it." Chazz replied.
"Another monster with a ridiculously high attack strength? That's nuts!" Michael added.
"Now, about that boat." Bastion said.
Andrew braced himself.
"Hamon, attack!" Hamon lifted its mighty head to the sky, and spat out a bolt of blue lightning from its mouth into the clouds above. "Let's show his Terra Firma some real power!" Soon, the whole sky was coursing with Hamon's power before lightning bolts rained down onto Andrew' field and destroyed Terra Firma. The lightning bolts nearly hit Andrew.
Andrew: 4000-2500
"Are you okay?" Jaden asked.
"Yeah." Andrew nodded. "I'll be fine, especially since Supply Squad's effect activates, letting me draw a card after my monster is destroyed." He drew.
"You're going to need it." Kagemaru spoke. "Because with Hamon's special ability, should he destroy a monster, you suffer an additional thousand points of damage." He took pleasure upon seeing the grimace on Andrew's face. "Oh, don't worry. It won't hurt... me!"
Another huge lightning bolt came down from the sky and struck Andrew directly.
"AAAAAAHHH!" He fell down to his knees after suffering that painful attack.
Andrew: 2500-1500
"Andrew!" Jenny and Clover screamed.
"Is he okay?" Chumley asked.
"He won't be, since Uria's still in play!" Matt pointed out.
Kagemaru chuckled again. "Don't worry. Even the Sacred Beasts can show some mercy. If I have another monster on my field, Uria can't attack on the same turn he was summoned by his own effect. Not that it matters, all of you will fall eventually."
Jaden glared while Andrew struggled to get up.
"Boss..." Chazz looked at his deck, and was shocked to see Ojama Yellow much skinnier, like he was sick. "Help us, Boss... all of us..."
"What's going on!" Chazz questioned.
All the others looked at their own decks and were horrified to see that their cards didn't look so good either. "All my cards are fading." Alexis said.
"Mine too." Chumley added.
"It can't be?" Jenny said in horror.
"Our monsters..." Bastion trailed off.
"They're all disappearing!" Syrus said.
"Of course." Kagemaru said. And when everyone turned to him, they saw a golden aura surrounding Uria and Hamon. "The Sacred Beasts draw their strength from dueling spirits. But not merely from the players. They absorb energy from the cards themselves."
"That's why they were locked away!" Zane realized. "These Beasts have the power to destroy every card on the planet!"
"Impossible." Crowler said in disbelief.
"Bummer..." Chumley muttered.
"No, this can't be happening." Syrus whimpered.
"This is insane." Cynthia added.
"But hold on!" Bastion turned to the duel. "Jaden and Andrew's cards aren't affected!"
"Jaden and Andrew's dueling spirits are beyond all of yours. Time and time again, they have proven the courage and heart to win, no matter what the odds. It is this force alone that can tame the Sacred Beasts and harness their awesome power!"
"So that's why you want us!" Andrew said, glaring daggers at him.
"Yes. Once this Shadow Game ends and you lay defeated, I shall take your spirits!" As Kagemaru spoke, red and golden auras surrounded Uria and Hamon before moving to him. "Finally, I will have the power to become the new master of the Sacred Beasts! Then, they will absorb the energy of every duelist and deck across the planet, giving me enough strength to rule the world! Allow me to show you a mere fraction of their power..."
The tube that held Kagemaru was soon completely filled with many bubbles and Kagemaru himself started to... de-age. "Yes... yes... rejuvenate me!" He let out a mighty roar before the glass broke in many pieces and all the water gushed out through the big hole that was formed. Everyone watched as a strong, healthy-looking arm reached out to the duel disk and pulled it off the mechanical arm.
"What... the... hell..." Clover muttered slowly as she and everyone else saw Kagemaru leaping out of the tube, with the duel disk on his left arm. The most shocking of this was that he no longer looked like an old man. He looked more like a young, healthy bodybuilder with a mane of unruly black hair flowing behind him, and some kind of bandage-like clothing covering the neither part of his body.
"He's been reborn!" Sheppard gaped at the superintendent's new body.
"I doubt it." Jaden said, his eyes never leaving their enemy. "It's all for show!"
Kagemaru smirked as he turned to the machine he used moments ago, reaching down and grabbing the bottom. "Is this for show?" And then, to everyone's disbelief, he lifted up the machine and threw it high into the air and far away. The new man looked at his work and grinned. "I like this new body... but something's still missing. Oh, I know!" He turned and looked wickedly at his two opponents. "It's your souls, Jaden and Andrew! Now, let's finish this duel!"
Andrew stared at the two mighty beasts. 'This is bad. Facing one Sacred Beast was bad enough. But two? That's devastating. Not to mention the damage they cause. It's worse than I ever felt in a Shadow Game.'
'Staring down two Sacred Beasts with only one monster on my field? Not good.' Jaden thought, taking in the situation of the duel.
"Daunting, isn't it, gentlemen?" Kagemaru asked, noticing their stares. "Fear not. My Sacred Beasts will end this for you soon.
"We'll just see. My turn!" Andrew drew. He looked at his card before placing it on his duel disk. "I summon Elemental HERO Shadow Mist in defense mode!" The black armored heroine appeared and crouched down. (ATK: 1000 DEF: 1500 LV: 4) "I'll play a facedown and end my turn." A card appeared near Andrew's feet.
"Has Hamon's fury messed up with your skills?" Kagemaru taunted the Ra. "Because that's one of the most pathetic moves I've ever seen."
Andrew glared hatefully at the man.
"My turn!" Jaden drew. "First I'll switch Tempest to defense mode." His winged kneeled down and crossed his arms. "And now I summon... a duelist's best friend! Wroughtweiler!" The metal dog appeared next to Tempest. (ATK: 800 DEF: 1200 LV: 3) "Next I'll throw down a facedown." A card appeared near Jaden's feet.
Kagemaru chuckled. "A facedown and a duel doggy? That's your big move? That's how you plan to stop my two Sacred Beasts? Please, don't insult them! After all, it's these monsters that will empower me to rule the world!"
Now it was Jaden's turn to give him a glare.
"Now then, where were we?" Kagemaru asked while drawing his next card. "Ah, yes. Due to the effect of my field spell, Fallen Paradise, once per turn, I am allowed to add two cards from my deck to my hand." He drew his extra cards. "And I haven't forgotten about your Tempest's ability, Jaden."
"Uh oh!"
"So now I activate the spell card, Forbidden Chalice!" The spell card he held up released some red energy that entered Tempest's body. "While this spell card gives a monster 400 extra attack points, that monster's special abilities are negated." (ATK: 2800-3200)
"Then that means Tempest can't survive the next attack." Kaito said.
"Aw man." Syrus muttered.
"And next..." Kagemaru turned to Andrew. "I'll use Uria's special ability to destroy your facedown card, Andrew. Go, Trap Destruction!" The red Sacred Beast spat out more of its devastating flames and destroyed Andrew's facedown card, which was Mirror Force. "With that done, I'm going to wage an attack with Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder!" The golden Sacred Beast fired more lightning bolts into the clouds above. "Go, Cerulean Sky Fire!" Jaden watched as the lightning bolts came down from the sky and destroyed his Tempest. "And now I'll activate Hamon's effect! You see, when he destroys your monster, he also deals 1000 damage points... straight to you, Jaden!"
"Hang on, Jay!" Syrus cried out.
A huge bolt of lightning shot down from the sky and hit Jaden dead on. He screamed as an explosion sent him flying backward.
Jaden: 2800-1800
"Are you okay?" Andrew asked worriedly.
"Yeah... peachy." Jaden muttered as he slowly stood up.
"You should be more concerned about your own wellbeing, Andrew." Kagemaru said. "After all, Uria is up next! Go, Hyper Blaze!" Uria unleashed his flames and burned Shadow Mist to ashes.
"That attack triggers the effect of Supply Squad. But first I activate Shadow Mist's effect. After she's sent to the graveyard, I get to add a HERO monster from my deck to my hand." He fanned his cards out, added one to his hand, and then shuffled his deck before inserting it into his duel disk. "Now then, thanks to Supply Squad, I draw a card." When he drew his extra card and looked at it, his eyes widened. 'This trap card... It's one of the cards that were in Banner's book.'
"You can draw as many cards you want, it won't help. Not against the power of my Sacred Beasts. I end my turn."
"I draw!" Andrew drew. "First I summon Elemental HERO Stratos in defense mode!" The turbine winged hero appeared. (ATK 1800 DEF: 300 LV: 4) "And with him summoned, I can take another HERO monster from my deck and add it to my hand." Andrew took Voltic from his deck. "Then I activate Pot of Greed. Two more cards for me." He drew his extra cards. "Then I'll end my turn with two facedowns." Two cards appeared near his feet.
"My turn!" Jaden drew his next card, and looked at it for a moment. "Hmm. I think I'll pass."
"Pathetic." Kagemaru sneered and drew. "First, I'll use the effect of Fallen Paradise and draw two more cards." He drew his extra cards. "And next, I'll use Uria's effect and destroy another one of your facedown cards, Andrew!" Uria spat out another torrent of flames and destroyed the card that was on Andrew's left.
"There goes my Enemy Controller."
"So you thought you could stop my Beasts by simply controlling them? If so, then you may not be as good as I thought you were."
"Watch it, pal!" Jaden snapped. "Andrew's one heck of a duelist. He's more a duelist than you'll ever be!"
Kagemaru gave him a glare. "You insolent brat. You're going to learn how to speak to your superiors! Hamon, attack!" Hamon let loose more lightning bolts and destroyed Wroughtweiler. "And of course, with another monster destroyed, Hamon deals another thousand points of damage!"
Jaden cried out as he struck by another lightning bolt.
Jaden: 1800-0800
Jaden managed to shake it off before he spoke up. "Nice special effect, but I've got one too. My Wroughtweiler! It activates when he's sent to the graveyard. Now I can add one Elemental HERO and one Polymerization from my grave to my hand." He took two cards from his graveyard slot and held them up. "And the hero I'm picking is Bubbleman!"
"Ha! Too bad you won't ever get the chance to summon him."
"We'll see about that, Kagemaru! Now, finish your turn!"
"Fine, but it's not just my turn that's about to be finished. It's you as well, Jaden! Attack, Uria!" Uria spat out another torrent of flames that was going for Jaden.
"Jaden, no!" Syrus cried out.
"I have to stop him!" Andrew said and reached for his facedown card...
"Not so fast, Kagemaru!" Jaden interrupted and revealed his own facedown card. "I play a spell card! The Flute of Summoning Kuriboh! It lets me summon Winged Kuriboh from my deck!" His winged duel spirit appeared in front of him. (ATK: 300 DEF: 200 LV: 1) Seconds later, it was engulfed by the fiery blaze.
Kagemaru frowned. "Pure luck."
"Nah, that's pure Kuriboh." Jaden countered.
A soft hooting made him look to the right to see Winged Kuriboh pointing at something. Folowing his claw, Jaden looked down and the saw the top card of his deck popping out, glowing briefly. "What's this?" He drew the card and looked at it. "It's one of Banner's cards! One of those that were in that book of his!"
Andrew glanced at his hand, where he kept the card he got. "And I have a feeling that Banner wanted us to have them... so we could beat Kagemaru."
The man scoffed. "You give him too much credit. He was a dullard. A simple pawn I used... Like the two of you are!"
"You wish!" Jaden snapped.
"Oh, but it's so true, Jaden. Your souls... Once I win them, my reign's assured."
"Yeah, that's why you won't win them!" Andrew drew. "First I activate the spell card, Legacy of a Hero! With at least two level 4 or higher Elemental Heroes in my graveyard, I can draw three new cards." He drew again. He then looked at the trap card he got. 'It's too risky to put this card on the field now. If Banner wanted me and Jaden to use it, then I have to wait for the right moment, so we can be properly prepared to take Kagemaru down.' He then grabbed three other cards. "I place three cards facedown and summon Elemental HERO Voltic in defense mode!" The purple and golden armored hero appeared next to Stratos. (ATK: 1000 DEF: 1500 LV: 4) "And that ends my turn."
"My move!" Jaden drew. "I summon Elemental HERO Bubbleman!" The blue armored water hero appeared again. (ATK: 800 DEF: 1200 LV: 4) "And if Bubbleman is all alone when I summon him out on my field, I'm allowed to draw two more cards!" He drew again. "And now I'll play one of them! The spell card, Metamorphosis! Now I can sacrifice my Bubbleman to summon out a fusion monster that's the same level as he is! Such as... Elemental HERO Neo Bubbleman!" The caped hero was transformed into the modified version of himself, his new fins jutting out of his back and limbs. (ATK: 800 DEF: 1200 LV: 4)
Kagemaru scoffed. "You just sacrificed one weakling for another."
"Oh yeah? Guess it's a good thing I have this then!" Jaden held up one of his cards, making a familiar water cannon appear and land on Neo Bubbleman's right shoulder. "Bubble Blaster!" (ATK: 800-1600) "Now go, Neo Bubbleman! Attack! Bubble Slamming Stream!" The hero fired a huge blast of high-pressured water straight at Kagemaru's monsters.
"You think that little water gun makes a difference? Hamon, strike back!" The golden Sacred Beast roared before firing a yellow energy blast from its mouth. The two attacks met head on, but strangely enough, Hamon's energy blast was pushed back by the stream, and seconds later, Hamon blew up in such a huge explosion, a strong shockwave ripped through the area.
"Hamon!" Kagemaru stared in shock. "He's been destroyed!"
"Got that right! It's Neo Bubbleman's special ability." Jaden explained, getting the superintendent's attention. "When he battles with a monster, that monster's destroyed."
"But he was stronger, so you should still take damage!"
"Shoulda, woulda, coulda." Jaden shook his head. "Sorry, but by destroying Bubble Blaster, all damage you would have done becomes zero." Bubble Blaster vanished. (ATK: 1600-800)
"Nice move." Sheppard said with a nod.
"That's what I would have done." Chumley said.
"Yeah, way to play, Jay!" Syrus cheered.
"Awesome!" Matt added.
"Next I'll throw down a facedown and call it a turn." Jaden finished, inserting a card into his duel disk.
"Your last turn." Kagemaru growled and drew. "First, due to Fallen Paradise, I get to add two more cards from my deck to my hand." He drew again. "And next, I activate Uria's special ability and destroy another one of Andrew's facedown cards!"
"Do you really hate my facedowns that much?" Andrew asked.
"It's called strategy, you insolent child. Now, go!" Uria's unleashed his flames and destroyed one of Andrews cards.
'So much for my Shift. If it wasn't for Jaden's Kuriboh card, I could have used it to take Kagemaru's attack. Oh well...' Andrew thought and shrugged. "I activate the spell card, Mask Change!" One of his other facedown cards flipped up. "Thanks to this, I can trade one of my heroes for a Masked HERO. So now I'll transform Voltic into Masked HERO Koga!" A bright light engulfed the electric hero. And when it died down, he was replaced by the golden armored hero with blades attached to his arms. (ATK: 2500 DEF: 1800 LV: 8) "This guy gains 500 attack points for every monster on my opponent's field." (ATK: 2500-3000)
"If you think you can protect your friend with that kind of move, then you're a fool!" Kagemaru insulted.
"Well if you're so sure, then just get it over with, old man!" Jaden challenged.
The superintendent gave the Slifer a glare. "You asked for it! Uria, finish him!" Uria fired another blast of fire, heading straight for Jaden's monster.
"Do your stuff! Bubble Illusion!" His facedown card flipped up. "See, when Bubbleman's on the field, and I use this, I can play a trap. And it comes straight from my hand!" He took a card from his hand. "And I'll choose this one! Hero's Rule 1: Five Freedoms! Five traps now leave the graveyard!"
"They what?!" Kagemaru asked in shock.
"That's right! Removed from the game! So go ahead and say all your goodbyes!"
"Well done." Bastion said. "With those traps now gone, Uria's attack points will go down dramatically.
"Yeah, thousand per trap card." Chazz added. "Which means Uria's new attack points will be..."
"1000!" Crowler filled in. "Nothing more, nothing less!"
Uria's fire attack started to weaken. (ATK: 6000-1000 DEF: 6000-1000)
"Nice one, Jaden!" Andrew complimented. "Mind if I join the fun?"
Jaden smiled. "Hey, by all means!"
"Then I activate Koga's ability!" The golden hero rushed over to Jaden's field. "Once per turn, by taking a HERO monster in my graveyard from play, I can drain a monster's attack points with the same amount as that hero's attack points!"
"What!?" Kagemaru exclaimed.
"Yes!" Shiori cheered.
"Nice one, dude!" Michael added.
"So I'll remove Voltic from play..." Andrew took the named card from the graveyard. "...and drain Uria's remaining attack points!" Koga got right in front of Neo Bubbleman and crossed his blades to block the fire attack. This went on for a moment until Uria couldn't attack anymore. (ATK: 1000-0000)
"Alright! Now, Neo Bubbleman's got the edge of this fight, so go! Let him have it!"
Kagemaru watched in horror as Uria was too weak to survive a water stream from Neo Bubbleman's water gun. The exploding Sacred Beast sent another shockwave through the area, and the superintendent growled as he covered himself.
Kagemaru: 4900-4100
"You're only postponing the inevitable!" He roared in anger. "You can't stop the Beasts! Especially with this!" He held up a card. "I play Resurrection Tribute! Now, since my monster was destroyed, I can destroy one of yours! Meaning your Koga is no more!"
"Ah!" Andrew gasped as his Masked HERO shattered into pixels.
"But there's more, boys! I also get to summon back a monster from my grave to the field in defense mode! So rise again, Hamon!" Lightning bolts crashed behind Kagemaru, where his second Sacred Beast appeared again. (ATK: 4000 DEF: 4000 LV: 10) "And next I'll activate Uria's special effect!" The man discarded one of his cards. "By discarding a trap from my hand, well then, Uria resurrects!" From a massive fire pillar, Uria appeared once again. (ATK: 1000-2000 DEF: 1000-2000 LV: 10)
"Aw, great." Jaden muttered, looking at the new resurrected monsters.
"Not again." Alexis said.
"There's no stopping them." Jenny said worriedly.
"With my monster destroyed, Supply Squad lets me draw again." Andrew drew.
"It won't make a difference, because now I activate the spell, Phantasmal Martyrs! When Uria and Hamon are both out, I can send two cards in my hand to the graveyard, and then I can summon three of these: Phantasmal Martyr Tokens!" As soon as Kagemaru discarded two of his cards, which Mahiru noticed that were trap cards, three fiendish creatures appeared. They had black, skeletal bodies and purple wings. (ATK: 0 DEF: 0 LV: 1)x3
"And the two cards he discarded were both traps!" Mahiru pointed out. "And that gives Uria 2000 extra points!" (ATK: 4000 DEF: 2000-4000 LV: 10)
Kagemaru grinned wickedly. "Just like that, my two Beasts are out again. It's like you're back where you started. But you're not, because now I'm sacrificing the three Phantasmal Martyr Tokens and summoning my last Sacred Beast! So you see, things are not the same, they're much, much worse!" The three fiends vanished as bolts of lightning boomed above everyone. And then, the whole field was engulfed in a bright blue light. Everyone covered their eyes from the glaring light as a strong wind picked up around them.
"BEHOLD! Raviel, Lord of Phantasms!" The ground behind Kagemaru exploded, sending huge chunks into the air. Everyone looked up when something rose up in that spot, letting out a mighty roar. It was the final Sacred Beast, which looked like a dark and twisted version of Obelisk the Tormentor. (ATK: 4000 DEF: 4000 LV: 10)
"Okay... definitely not friendly." Jaden murmured.
"The third Sacred Beast..." Andrew muttered. "Unbelievable."
"Not good." Zane scowled. "He's gathered all three of them out at once!"
Once again, the Sacred Beasts began top glow a bright, golden aura as hundreds of small, glowing orbs flew through the sky towards them. Jaden and Andrew looked around, staring at the orbs.
"What the...!?"
"The cards!"
Inside a small shop, two small boys stared through a display case and watched as all the Duel Monsters cards slowly lost their images. The boys started to cry as an elderly, short man in overalls walked up behind them, gazing at the cards as well.
Somewhere else, Slade and Jagger watched inside their briefcase, and were stunned to see their prized, rare cards suffer the same thing.
"All our cards!"
"They're vanishing!"
"Ah! My cards!" Andrew's cousin, Peter Mihaylov, exclaimed as he looked at his deck, seeing them fading.
Chazz brought up his deck and looked down in horror. "Ojama Yellow!" The small, annoying spirit's image on its card slowly decayed away, leaving a bony skeleton on the card.
Kaito looked at his own deck. "No!" He watched as his Dark Magician Girl slowly decayed as well to the dust.
"Tethys, no!" Jenny screamed in horror as the Goddess' feathers fell off before she disintegrated.
Kagemaru laughed triumphantly. "Yes! Come to me.. come to me... COME TO ME!"
Jaden stared at his opponent's glowing body. "That's freaky."
"That's putting it mildly." Andrew added.
"Oh my." Sheppard realized what was going on. "Why, it's as though Kagemaru is somehow absorbing Duel Monsters and using their energies!"
"That's not in the rules..." Crowler stated.
"The spirits sense you're close to defeat." Kagemaru spoke, staring straight at his two opponents. "Already they're surrendering themselves to me, yielding to me their might, so that I can free the three Sacred Beasts and rule the world with a new life will be eternal!"
"So then, if Jaden and Andrew lose this duel..." Chazz trailed off.
"Every duel spirit out there will be sucked up!" Zane filled in.
"Sorry, Kagemaru, but there's no way that I'm letting you do that to my friends!" Jaden said.
"Spirits aren't for being friends with, they're for using to get what you want." Kagemaru replied. "And right now, I'm going to use them, Jaden, to destroy you!"
"But you have to take care of me first!" Andrew drew. "First I activate the spell card, Mask Charge! This lets me take two cards back from my graveyard. A Change card, and a HERO monster. So along with Mask Change, I'll take back Shadow Mist." He took the named cards from his graveyard slot. "And next, I activate Mask Change once again! And this time, I'll transform my Stratos into Masked HERO Divine Wind!" Stratos was engulfed in a bright light, which died down and revealed the white caped hero in emerald green armor. (ATK: 2700 DEF: 1900 LV: 8)
Kagemaru grinned. "Very well, but now, Raviel's special ability activates! You see, when you summon a monster, I get to summon a Phantasm Token!" A smaller version of Raviel appeared and crossed its arms. (ATK: 1000 DEF: 1000 LV: 1)
"But I'm not done, because now I equip Divine Wind with the spell card Fusion Sword Murasame Blade!" The dark katana with chaotic aura appeared in the hero's right hand. "This card gives my monster 800 extra attack points!" (ATK: 2700-3500) "Then I'll reveal one of my facedown cards!" A trap card flipped up. "Blast with Chain!" The trap card released some blue energy that entered the hero's body. "Thanks to this card, my monster gains 500 more attack points!" (ATK: 3500-4000)
"Whoa! 4000 attack points!" Shiori said.
"That's the same as the Beasts' strength." Cynthia added.
"But Divine Wind has an advantage." Clover said, smiling. "He can't be destroyed in battle."
"Which means he has no problem to take down any of the Sacred Beasts!" Andrew added as Kagemaru gritted his teeth. "Let's start with Raviel!" The green hero charged forward, raising his katana.
But... when he was about to strike, Hamon unleashed some electricity from its body, and zapped Divine Wind, sending him back to Andrew's field. "What the...?" He muttered in shock.
Kagemaru chuckled. "A nice attempt, Andrew. But as long as Hamon is on the field in defense mode, your attacks won't reach my other monsters."
"That's just great." Andrew inserted a card into his duel disk. "I'll play a facedown and end my turn."
"Time to step up! My draw!" Jaden drew. "I play the spell card, Dark Factory of Mass Production! So now, I can take two monsters from my graveyard and add them straight to my hand. And the ones I'm picking are Burstinatrix and Avian!" The two named cards slid out of the graveyard slot. "And next I'm gonna play this: Polymerization..." A fusion vortex appeared, absorbing Avian and Burstinatrix. "...to create the Elemental HERO Flame Wingman!" Jaden's front liner monster appeared and kneeled down. (ATK: 2100 DEF: 1200 LV: 6)
"And I get another token." Kagemaru said as a second Phantasm Token appeared. (ATK: 1000 DEF: 1000 LV: 1)
Jaden frowned. 'Hmm, with Flame Wingman and Neo Bubbleman out on the field, I can survive two attacks. But he can switch Hamon to attack mode during his next turn, and take me out for sure.'
"Jaden... Jaden..." A mysterious voice called out.
"Who's there?" Jaden asked as he and Andrew turned around and saw an orb hovering towards the former.
"Professor Banner?" Andrew asked, recognizing the voice.
Pharaoh was there as well, leaping and mewing at it, trying to hit it with his paws. "Not now, Pharaoh!" The orb scolded before approaching Jaden. "Jaden, you must use the card, now!"
"But use it how?" Jaden asked, looking at the card he got from Banner.
"And what about the card I got?" Andrew asked.
"Don't worry about that, Andrew." The orb floated up to him. "You'll know when the time is right for you to use it. It is only as good as its owner." Banner then floated up to Jaden. "And the same thing applies to your card, Jaden. It will grant you three card covets. That is, it will transform into whatever card you wish three times. Then, after the third covet, its true power will be revealed. And if you've played your card right, it will..."
Before Banner could finish, Pharaoh leapt up and swallowed the orb, and then dashed away, leaving the boys behind.
"Weird..." Andrew muttered.
Jaden glanced at the card in question. 'So I just think of a card I need? Well, guess it couldn't hurt to try.' Jaden closed his eyes and concentrated. And then, the card glowed as its image changed to a completely different image. And it seemed like this had an effect on his life points.
Jaden: 0800-0400
Jaden opened his eyes and saw what the spell card became. 'It's the exact card I wanted!' He grinned. 'Thanks, Banner...'
Andrew noticed his expression. 'Looks like the card gave Jaden what he wanted.'
"Alright, I'm activating the spell card, Fusion Recovery!"
Chazz raised an eyebrow. "So what? That won't change a thing."
"It could!" Alexis replied. "It all just depends on how he plays it."
"Now Polymerization and Sparkman return to my hand from the graveyard!" Jaden reached down and picked up the two cards. "Next I'll activate Polymerization!" A fusion vortex appeared and absorbed Sparkman and Flame Wingman. "And that means the Elemental HERO Shining Flare Wingman is created!" From the vortex, the hero in shining, winged armor emerged. (ATK: 2500 DEF: 2100 LV: 8)
"I may not be able to get more tokens, but it doesn't matter." Kagemaru scoffed. "That monster can't help you."
"Actually, he can. Because he gets 300 attack points for each hero that I have in my graveyard." Jaden looked down at his duel disk. "And right now, there's a total of 6!" Flare Wingman powered up. (ATK: 2500-4300)
"That can't be!" Kagemaru stared at the power boost. "4300 points!?"
"That's right! And he's got a special ability to boot. See, when Flare Wingman destroys a monster in battle, he deals damage to you equal to that destroyed monster's attack points!"
"Wait, so..."
"So... go and get him, Shining Flare Wingman!" Jaden ordered. "Shining Emerald Orb!" The hero leapt high into the air and flew in front of Hamon. He brought his hands together and conjured a giant ball of green energy before firing it away. Everyone watched as Hamon was struck by the orb, exploded and fell to the ground in the form of many pieces. "And now, Wingman, light up Kagemaru with your special ability!"
Kagemaru looked away from the destroyed monster just in time to see Wingman land right in front of him. The hero glowed with such intensity, the other half of the field was obscured by the bright light. However, because of the bright light, no one noticed the remaining pieces of Hamon moving on their own.
So when the light died down, everyone was shocked to see Kagemaru completely unharmed, with pieces of Hamon surrounding him. "A good try, but if Hamon is destroyed while in defense mode, all damage to me becomes zero."
Jaden grit tedhis teeth before looking at his strange card. 'Alright, here's my second card covet...' The card glowed briefly.
Jaden: 0400-0200
"Okay, now I'll switch Neo Bubbleman to defense mode and end my turn with two facedowns." The water kneeled down as two cards appeared behind him.
"And I'll begin mine!" Kagemaru drew. "First, due to the effect of Fallen Paradise, I add two extra cards from my deck to my hand." He drew again. "Second, I'll use Uria's ability and destroy one of Andrew's facedown cards."
Andrew watched as Uria spat out some flames and destroyed the middle card.
"And next, I activate a trap card from my graveyard!" Kagemaru announced, surprising everyone.
"A trap card from the graveyard?" Xander repeated.
"No way." Cynthia muttered.
"It's true." Kagemaru confirmed them as he took the card in question from his graveyard. "I discarded this one when I played Phantasmal Martyrs. It's called Breakthrough Skill. And by removing this card from play, I can negate the special abilities of one of your monsters. And I choose... Divine Wind!" A dark aura surrounded the wind hero, who became weaker and fell down to one knee.
Andrew frowned at this before glaring at the superintendent. "Hope it was worth it, because you just made Uria weaker with that move." (ATK: 4000-3000 DEF: 4000-3000)
Kagemaru smirked. "True, but I can make up for it! I activate the spell card, Magical Stone Excavation! By discarding two cards from my hand, I can add a spell card from my grave to my hand." He discarded two cards, and then let a certain spell card come out of the graveyard slot. "And the card I'm taking back is Eternal Reverse."
Andrew gritted his teeth.
"Now then, both of the cards I just discarded were trap cards, which means Uria regains 2000 points!" (ATK: 3000-5000 DEF: 3000-5000)
"You gotta be kidding me." Clover said in disbelief.
"Oh dear..." Crowler whimpered.
"Now I activate Eternal Reverse once again!" Uria was surrounded with a green aura again. "You have witnessed one of this card's effects, so I'll make it fair and let you know about its second effect. Once per turn, I can select a face-up spell or trap card on your field and make it flip down. And I choose your Fusion Sword!"
Andrew gasped as his spell card flipped down. And when it did, Divine Wind's katana vanished. (ATK: 4000-3200)
"And then, I'll play Raviel's effect! By sacrificing two monsters on my field, for this turn only, I can add those monsters' attack points to Raviel!" The two Phantasm Tokens vanished before Raviel glowed with a blue light. (ATK: 4000-6000)
"So that's why he summoned those tokens!" Bastion realized. "To power up Raviel and power down Jaden and Andrew!"
"Go, Raviel!" Kagemaru ordered. "Clean your claws on that Shining Flare Wingman!" Raviel roared and pulled back his right arm, the claws on his hand glowing brightly.
"I play a facedown!" Jaden announced. "A facedown that happens to be... the second card I wished for! De-Fusion!" One of his facedown cards flipped up. And then, Flare Wingman split into Flame Wingman and Sparkman, who jumped out of the way before Raviel could hit them. (ATK: 1600 DEF: 1400 LV: 4) (ATK: 2100 DEF: 1200 LV: 6)
"Very well, but De-Fusion counts as two summonings, which means two tokens." Two new mini Raviels appeared and crossed their arms. (ATK: 1000 DEF: 1000 LV: 1)x2 "And since you're not gonna accept your defeat, Jaden..." Kagemaru trailed off and turned to Andrew. "Then I'll destroy your partner instead!"
The spectators gasped.
"No, he can't!" Jenny panicked and tried to rush over, but was held back by Alexis and Michael.
"Don't you dare!" Clover said threateningly.
Kagemaru grinned. "And who's going to stop me? Now Raviel, go on! Destroy that Masked HERO Divine Wind with Shimmering Scraper!" Raviel pulled back his arm again and swung his clawed hand at the wind hero, destroying him with a big explosion.
"NOOOO!" Jenny cried out.
"Andrew!" Clover called out, worried about what she might see when the smoke cleared.
"Oh no..." Jaden muttered.
"And that's one down." Kagemaru said smugly.
However, the smoke cleared, and showed everyone that Andrew was still standing.
Andrew: 1700
"He's okay!" Shiori said.
"Dude, I got scared for a second there." Michael added.
Kagemaru was shocked. "What!? How could you survive that attack!"
Andrew smirked and held up a trap card. "Simple, it was all thanks to Elemental Recharge. This was my other facedown card. The one you didn't destroy..."
Flashback
Raviel pulled his arm back again and swung his clawed hand at the wind hero.
"Right before you destroyed Divine Wind, I used my trap card to regain 1000 life points for every Elemental HERO on my side of the field. And of course, since Jaden and I are on the same side, that includes the three heroes he has.'
A blue aura enveloped Andrew...
Andrew: 1500-4500
...right before he was caught by the explosion from Divine Wind's destruction.
Andrew: 4500-1700
Flashback end
"So your attack was wasted." Andrew said. "Oh, and Supply Squad lets me draw another card." He drew.
Kagemaru growled.
"Good job." Sheppard nodded.
"Nice move!" Shiori said.
Jenny sighed in relief. "My goodness, Andrew. Don't scare me like that."
Kagemaru was now suddenly laughing. "You think my attack was wasted? Well, it was not! After all, I still have Uria on the field.
The spectators gasped again. Andrew gritted his teeth.
"Now, Uria, finish him off! Hyper Blaze!" Uria unleashed its devastating flames.
"Enough! Stop it!" Now it was Clover's turn to panic as Xander and Kaito stopped her from rushing over to Andrew.
"Now it's really over for you!" Kagemaru screamed.
"Guess again!" Jaden retorted. "I just remembered that I have a second facedown card! Hero Barrier!" His facedown card flipped up.
And right before the attack could hit Andrew, an invisible barrier formed around him, blocking the flames.
"What!?"
"Sorry, Kagemaru, but since I have an Elemental HERO out on my field, I can negate your attack!"
Everyone else sighed in relief.
"Damn it, don't scare me like that." Clover muttered.
"Thanks for the save." Andrew said to his partner.
"Don't mention it."
"Try all you want, I will take your souls and then take over the world!" Kagemaru swore and inserted two cards into his duel disk. "I end my turn with two facedowns."
"Then it's my turn!" Andrew drew his next card and looked at it. 'Phantom Magician.'
The skeletal spellcaster appeared in front of him. "Andrew, be prepared."
He raised an eyebrow. 'Prepared for what?'
"To use the card Banner gave you, of course. It's almost time to use it."
'How can you tell?'
"Just call it a hunch."
Andrew nodded. 'Alright then. But just in case...' He placed the card on his duel disk. "I summon Phantom Magician in defense mode!" The skeletal spellcaster kneeled down in front of him. (ATK: 600 DEF: 700 LV: 3)
"Another Phantasm Token for me." A third mini Raviel appeared on Kagemaru's field. (ATK: 1000 DEF: 1000 LV: 1)
"Then I'll end my turn with a facedown." Andrew concluded, inserting Banner's trap card into his duel disk. "Your turn, Jaden."
"Got it!" Jaden drew. "I summon Elemental HERO Clayman!" The stone warrior appeared. (ATK: 800 DEF: 2000 LV: 4) 'Alright, this is it! My last card covet.' Jaden thought as his unusual spell card glowed briefly.
Jaden: 0200-0100
"I play Miracle Fusion!" He held up the newly morphed spell card. "With this, I can take monsters from my field and grave and combine them to create a fusion monster! So I remove the Bubbleman, Avian and Burstinatrix that are in my graveyard..." The three named monsters appeared. "...and the Clayman that's on my field..." the four heroes swirled together. "...to summon Elemental HERO Electrum!" The golden-skinned hero with the 'E' on his chest appeared, rays of multi-colored light shining off his body. (ATK: 2900 DEF: 2600 LV: 10)
Kagemaru scoffed. "I don't know what you hope to accomplish with that, but just in case, I play this card!" His facedown card flipped up. "Anti-Fusion Device!"
The boys gasped.
"With this trap, I can simply destroy a fusion monster on the field. But first, I activate Emergency Provisions!" His other facedown card flipped up. And then, both the trap card and Eternal Reverse card vanished, making the green aura leave Uria. "For every spell and trap card I send to the graveyard, I gain 1000 life points."
Kagemaru: 4100-6100
"Merely sending my trap to the graveyard won't stop its effect, so your Electrum is no more!" The hero exploded
"Oh no!" Jaden cried out.
Kagemaru grinned. "And with another trap card in my graveyard, Uria grows stronger." (ATK: 5000-6000 DEF: 5000-6000)
"It can't be." Syrus said in disbelief.
"Not lishus." Chumley muttered.
"Then it's over?" Shiori asked.
"No..." Jenny whispered.
"It's all over! You're done for! Once my Sacred Beasts attack you, your souls will be mine, and I can finally rule the world!" Kagemaru ranted before laughing triumphantly.
"I wouldn't be laughing if I were you."
"Huh?" Kagemaru stopped laughing and turned to Andrew who gave him a serious look. And to his confusion, Andrew's facedown card emitted a multi-colored light.
"You think you have won. But you're wrong. You're underestimating me and Jaden... just as much as you underestimate Banner!"
Kagemaru gave him a hateful glare. "Watch your tongue! I don't underestimate anyone! And I know I never underestimated that fool, Banner!"
"... If you're so sure about that, then allow me to show you what one of his cards can do! I activate Magistery Alchemist!" Andrew's facedown card flipped up. "First I must remove 4 monsters from play!" His graveyard slot glowed brightly. And then, Woodsman, Ocean, Lady Heat and Stratos appeared briefly before turning into beams of light and swirled together above Jaden and became some kind of portal.
"Whoa! What's going on?" The Slifer wondered.
"Thanks to my trap card, I can summon a monster back from the graveyard without question." Andrew explained. "So you're going to be happy to know, Jaden, that I'm bringing your Electrum back!" At that, Electrum emerged from the portal. (ATK: 2900 DEF: 2600 LV: 10)
"It can't be!" Kagemaru stared at the resurrected hero.
Andrew smirked. "I'm afraid so. And my trap has another surprise. If the attributes of the monsters I removed were earth, water, fire and wind, then the resurrected monster's attack points are doubled, and the effects of all face-up cards you currently control are negated!" Electrum emitted a multi-colored light. (ATK: 2900-5800)
"What!?" Kagemaru exclaimed as all of his monsters groaned and became weaker by the light. Especially Uria. (ATK: 6000-0 DEF: 6000-0)
"Sweet." Jaden muttered.
"Okay, Jaden. I used my card." Andrew said. "Now it's your turn."
"Got it!" The Slifer nodded and glanced at his spell card. 'The third card covet's been used. Time to see what this thing's true power is, and to see if I played my cards right.' The card glowed before Jaden held it up. "Alright, next I play, Sabatiel the Philosopher's Stone!" A gigantic, two-bladed sword appeared in Electrum's hands. "And it says here when it's equipped onto Electrum, his attack points are multiplied by the number of monsters you have on your field... and that would be five! So Electrum's attack points are now..." (ATK: 5800-29 000)
Kagemaru's eyes widened at the power boost. "29 000!"
"It's over, Kagemaru! Now, go, Electrum! Seal his fate!" Electrum leapt into the air, his new weapon ready. As soon as he reached Raviel, he held up his sword and brought it down hard, slicing through Raviel's body like a hot knife through butter, creating a thick, glowing line in Raviel's body as he did so.
Kagemaru watched in stunned horror as Raviel was obliterated from the field, creating a massive explosion that rocked the island, sending a gigantic plume of smoke into the air.
Kagemaru: 6100-0000
"Impossible!" Hollered Kagemaru, falling to his knees. "The Sacred Beasts can't be defeated! NOOOO!" All holograms vanished, including Uria, who roared weakly as small light orbs left its body before it was gone.
The sky returned to normal as the spectators cheered at Jaden and Andrew's victory. However, Jaden and Andrew were the only ones who weren't fully celebrating yet as they stared at Kagemaru. The man's body glowed as the remaining light orbs he took flew out of his body and back into the air.
Back in a certain card shop, the two small boys who were devastated at the cards' disappearing, were now watching them return to normal.
"Whoa!"
"They're back to normal!"
"Hey, look! They've come back!" Jagger said as the cards he and his brother kept in the briefcase returned to normal.
"Too bad we can't dock the pay for time missed." Slade commented.
And Peter was relieved when his cards came back.
"Oh, they're back to normal. Thank goodness." He said in relief.
Chazz watched as the skeleton of his annoying spirit regained its flesh. The yellow spirit woke up and laughed. "You're back!"
Ojama Yellow popped out of the card and landed on Chazz's shoulder. "Aw, you're ain't ever gonna get rid of me, Boss!"
Jenny watched as Tethys' body was restored. "Tethys!"
The goddess came out of her card and hugged her relived master. "Glad to see you again, Jenny."
Kaito watched as the dust reformed the Dark Magician Girl. "Yes!"
DMG popped out of her card and floated next to her partner. "I'm back, partner!" She said joyfully.
Since Jaden and Andrew were far away from the group, Chazz and Jenny were the ones who noticed her and were shocked. "What the...?" Chazz muttered.
"Dark Magician Girl?" Jenny asked.
Kaito and his duel spirit widened their eyes before rubbing their heads in embarrassment. "Whoops! Guess we spoiled the surprise." The latter said.
Jaden and Andrew looked at Banner's cards, which were still glowing. "What a card." Jaden muttered. And as their cards disappeared into a group of tiny lights, Banner's soft laughter filled their ears. "I won't forget you, Professor Banner."
"I'll see you on the other side." Andrew added, looking up to the sky. "Hm?" He then noticed something strange happening to Kagemaru and rushed over to him, with Jaden right behind him.
"Are you..." Jaden tried to ask, but the superintendent of Duel Academy suddenly screamed at the top of his lungs as a bright blue light shot out from his body into the air, and his hair became more and more gray, and his body more and more shriveled.
"Dear me..." Sheppard muttered.
"Whoa, look at him!" Bastion, Syrus and Chumley said at the same time.
"Dude, that's messed up." Michael added.
Kagemaru slowly turned his old, shriveled head to Jaden and Andrew. "It's true. I'm an old man, wanting simply what every old man wants: to be young again. And harnessing the power of those Sacred Beasts... that was the only way I found to do it."
"Yeah and to take over the world." Jaden pointed.
"Not to mention stealing all duel spirits in existence." Andrew added.
"Can't you forgive a decrepit old soul?" Kagemaru reached up and grabbed Jaden's arm and pleaded. "His delusions of grandeur?"
Andrew was a little hesitant to forgive this old man and everything he did. The Shadow Riders, the spirit keys, Banner...
But despite all of that, Jaden didn't seem to have any problem to forgive someone who just wanted to relive his youth. "Yeah, I guess. But don't you see, old-timer? Stealing power from something or someone isn't any way to feel alive again. You got to find the strength in yourself."
"I can't." Kagemaru wheezed. "It's too late for that."
"It's never too late." Jaden insisted. "Come on, try and get up. Right now! Just go for it! Give it your all!"
Kagemaru slowly began to rise, staggering here and there. Once he did, he was seen wobbling because his physical body was old and not used to a lot of physical activity. When he let go of Jaden, he stumbled around but managed to stand on his own feet. He looked down at himself. "Hey look... I'm standing!" He smiled.
And so did Jaden and Andrew.
"It must have been our duel!" He approached the boys. "Yes, that's it! All the excitment put the spring back in my step, thank you!"
"Sure!" Jaden replied and gave the old man a tight hug. Unfortunately, that hug was too tight for the poor old man, who yelped in pain as the sound of some broken bones was heard.
"Ah! Jaden, you're hugging him too hard!" Andrew exclaimed.
A short while later, everyone watched as Kagemaru was now lying in a bed, carried away by a helicopter.
"I guess bear hugs and old people don't go so well together." Jaden commented.
"Hey, you may have bruised a few of his ribs, but I bet his heart is all healed up!" Atticus replied.
"Metaphorically speaking." Cynthia added.
"Hmph!" Chazz scoffed. "Some bruised ribs. He's lucky that's all he's got! After all that he's put us through!"
"Later, Kagemaru!" Jaden called out as and Syrus waved to him.
"Get well soon... I guess..." The latter added, a little unsure.
Sheppard watched the helicopter leave and then looked at the Sacred Beast cards he gathered. "It's over..." He then walked over to the strange device the cards came out of earlier. "And it's gong to stay over! From now on, the Sacred Beasts will be under my guard and mine alone!" As soon as he placed the cards back in their place, the box closed up and disappeared under the earth. The giant stone pillars around them slid back into the earth as well, the island now back to normal.
"Sure is gonna be quiet around here." Syrus said.
"Oh, I wouldn't be so sure." Crowler said, suspiciously happy for some reason. "You see... next week are the Duel Academy Promotion Exams."
"Promotion exams!?" Jaden gasped with a look of sheer terror on his face.
"Yes." The Obelisk headmaster confirmed, enjoying the poor Slifer's reaction.
"I totally forgot!" Jaden got down on the ground in despair.
Chazz shook his head. "Pathetic..."
Atticus smiled in amusement while strumming his ukulele. "Saving the world's one thing, but making the grade..."
"Not really Jaden's cup of tea." Bastion added as Mahiru giggled.
"That's true." Alexis nodded.
"Is he really that bad?" Cynthia asked Shiori, who also smiled in amusement.
"Afraid so." He replied.
"Better get studying.~" Jenny said teasingly.
"Oh yeah, almost forgot..." Clover trailed before placing one hand on Atticus and Chazz's shoulder.
"What's up?" The older Rhodes asked.
"Yeah, what gives?" Chazz gave her an annoyed look.
The boys then got nervous as they sensed a threatening aura coming from the redhead, who gave them a scowl. "You two... I would like to discuss your... 'love life' plans from earlier."
"Are you still mad at us for trying to help Alexis?" Atticus asked nervously.
"C-come on, can't you forgive and forget?" Chazz added.
But the threatening aura around Clover got a little bigger. "...Not this time."
Everyone, except for Jaden who still panicked about the upcoming exams, watched as Clover dragged a horrified Atticus and Chazz away.
"Shouldn't we stop her?" Xander asked Andrew.
"Don't worry, they'll live..." The Masked HERO user rubbed the back of his head, unsure. "...probably."
Third GX chapter in a row, so it's back to 5D's for me. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, and had a Happy Easter for that matter. Until next time.
