The Graduation Match

One day on the Academy Island, it was a very calm and uneventful evening. And, at the Obelisk Boys Blue Dorm, Zane was lying down on his bed, going over the previous events, after Chumley's leave...


Flashback

All third year students from every dorm were gathered together at Crowler's classroom and watched the top 10 students' overall year scores. And... at the very top of the list, with a perfect score, was Zane Truesdale.

"Congrats, Zane! You've done it again!" Crowler congratulated. "You got the highest scores in the school! And you know what that means. You win the honor of being the headliner in Duel Academy's prestigious Graduation Match!"

"Why thanks." Zane simply said.

"And the tradition dictates that you get to pick whoever you want as your opponent! So who will it be, Zane?"

All the students muttered to themselves, wondering who Zane was going to pick. The number 1 duelist had one person in mind.

Flashback end


'Who will I duel? The only one worthy.' He got off his bed and opened a window. 'It's time to give Jaden his rematch.'


"AAAAAAAAHHHH!"

At the Slifer dorm, Syrus freaked out as he and Jaden got a visitor... Who was none other than Zane Truesdale.

"Sorry. You, uh... just kind of scared me there, big bro." He apologized.

"Zane always scares you, Sy." Jaden stated as Zane walked into the room, looking around. "So, what's up?"

"You know, in my three years of the Academy, I have not once set foot in this here dorm." Zane said amusedly. "It's nice that I finally found a reason to come out here."

"Reason?" Jaden repeated. "Like to invite us to lunch or to take us to one of your hot shot Obelisk Blue functions?"

Zane merely crossed his arms and said three words... "To duel you." The two Slifers face faulted.

"Sorry, but I... thought you said duel." Syrus said, not sure he heard his brother correctly.

"Yes, I did."

"Huh?" Jaden stood up and gave the Obelisk Blue boy a confused look.

"To duel you, Jaden. I've decided. I want you to join me in the grad match."

"Huh?" Jaden looked really dumbfounded at what he just heard.

"The grad match?!" Syrus repeated. "That's the biggest duel of the year!"

"Right. Till then..." Zane said and walked away.

"Uh, Jay?" Syrus said worriedly.

Just as Zane was about to step outside, he said one last thing. "Oh, and I like your dorm, by the way... it's a good fit for you kids."

And then, just after a silent moment... "Wow, the grad match!" Jaden exclaimed. "Oh boy, this is so sweet! The last duel of the school year and I'm in it!"

"Yeah, but think of it!" Syrus stated. "Come on, Jaden, this is Zane we're talking about here! The only student duelist you've ever lost to and you're gonna be dueling him in front of the entire school!"

"Uuh..." Jaden wasn't sure how to respond.

"Jaden! If you don't win this, you'll be stuck in his shadow forever! You'll never be the next King of Games!"

"Well, guess I'll have to win then." Jaden said confidently.

"Jay, that's easier said than done." Syrus persisted. "I mean, don't get me wrong, you're good, but Zane is..."

"Zane is what, Syrus?"

"He's just never lost! Sure, there was Camula, but he lost that on purpose for me! Other than that, he's undefeated. Unbeaten!" He then turned to his friend. "Look, Jaden. It's not that I don't believe you. I... just don't want to see my best friend get hurt. Oh man, this is all just coming out wrong. What can I say?!" He lowered his head.

After staring at his best friend for a moment, Jaden smiled. "How about... Get your game on!"

Syrus looked up, smiling. "Alright!"


Meanwhile, near the docks, Andrew, Jenny, Clover, Shiori, Xander and Matt (Who was now wearing a Ra Yellow uniform) were talking amongst each other.

"Whoa! Zane versus Jaden?" Andrew asked.

"In the Graduation Match?" Shiori added.

"It's true." Jenny confirmed.

"Damn." Clover muttered. "Jaden gets to face the school's number 1 duelist." She turned to Andrew. "From what you guys told us, Zane is the only one here who actually defeated Jaden."

"Yeah." Andrew nodded.

"Now this is huge." Xander commented.

"Tell me about it." Matt replied. "A third year Obelisk Blue versus a first year Slifer Red? This should be good."

"Do you think Jaden's gonna win?" Shiori wondered.

"Who knows?" Andrew replied. "Like I said, Zane defeated him once. But he has improved ever since."

"That's true." Jenny agreed, but looked thoughtful. "But still, Zane might be prepared for whatever he'll throw at him.


At the same time, another group of students were gathered in the forest and talked to each other: Alexis, Bastion, Chazz, Michael, Kaito and Cynthia.

"It's true." Alexis said. "It's gonna be Zane and Jaden in the Graduation Match."

"My, that has the makings of a fantastic duel." Bastion stated.

"You've got that right." Michael agreed. "This duel's gonna be cool!"

"It should be The Chazz dueling! Now that's a match!" Chazz snapped.

Suddenly, Atticus popped out of the trees, spooking the gang. "Not so sure about that, Chazzy. See, with Zane and Jaden, it'll be... cool, calm and collected versus fast and furious."

"Well, I'm not so sure about the furious part." Cynthia said. "But after that duel against Kagemaru, I guess you should add that."

"Even though I haven't seen Jaden duel as many times as you guys, I can tell that he duels with more passion than Zane." Kaito added.

"True, but sometimes, that can hurt your game." Bastion replied.

"It should be my game!" Chazz shouted, earning strange looks from the others.

"Dude, you've got lots of issues." Michael commented.


Later that night, Jaden was sitting near a cliff, all alone. He was in deep thought. 'What a year it's been here in Duel Academy and what a way to end it. One final match with the big man on campus. The top duelist in the school. The one student who beat me' His mind went back to his duel with Zane. At the part when Zane gave him his finishing blow. Jaden clenched his right hand. 'The one student who stands between me and being the best!'

"No two ways about it, I gotta win!" He declared.

"Coo." Jaden turned to his right and saw Winged Kuriboh. It turned around, urging Jaden to look behind.

He stood up and followed its gaze. He found Zane standing in front of him. "...What's up, Zane?"

"What's up is it's time." He evenly said. "It's time for our rematch. I'll see you at the duel arena."


The next day, all students from all the dorms, as well as the faculty members, sat at the main dueling arena to see the Graduation Match. And all of Jaden's friends were sitting together.

"It's about to start." Syrus said intensely.

"Yeah." Alexis nodded.

"Zane and Jaden dueling it out in the last throw-down of the year. Man, who could have asked for a better match?" Atticus said.

"A mismatch." Bastion replied, taking out his duel pilot and typing on it. "According to my figures, Zane's quite the favorite."

"Some things you can't figure." Jenny said.

'Yeah, like I can't figure out why The Chazz is left out of this duel.' Chazz thought bitterly.

At that moment, the crowd began to cheer. The group then saw Zane and Jaden enter the arena together and then split away, walking to each end of the arena. And for some reason, Jaden didn't seem to be as cheerful as the gang expected him to be.

"Jaden looks serious." Syrus noted. "That's got to be a first."

"I wonder if he's nervous." Clover said.

"Well, he ought to be." Bastion replied.

"No kidding." Kaito added. "It's Zane's big day and he's gonna duel big."

Andrew stared at Jaden with a slight concern. 'I wonder if he's okay.'

The two duelists walked up to each other until they were standing right in the middle of the platform.

"Alright, Zane. I guess may the best duelist win." Jaden said, holding out his hand.

Zane nodded and took his hand, shaking it. Right after both took their positions and activated their duel disks. Jaden drew his opening hand and looked up at Zane, who was doing the same. The air in the arena was thick with tension.

Chancellor Sheppard looked at Crowler, who held a microphone, and nodded.

The blue headmaster stood up and spoke up. "And now, ladies and gentlemen! We commence with the grad match between Zane Truesdale and Jaden... is it Yucky? No, uh... Dooby! No wait! Yuki! Yuki!"

"Enough small talk." Zane said.

"Yeah, no joke!" Jaden agreed.

"Let's do this!"

Jaden: 4000

Zane: 4000

"Get your game on, Zane!" Jaden called out. "So who makes the first move?"

"You can choose." Zane offered.

"In that case... go right ahead! I'll go second!"

"Really? Second?" Zane asked curiously. 'Interesting choice.'

'By going second, Zane won't be able to summon that powerful Cyber Dragon of his during the first round because there won't be a monster out on the field to let him do it.'

'Looks like someone has studied up on me.'

"Looks like Jaden chose to play it safe this time." Michael commented.

"Well, we've always seen him go second in his matches instead of first." Matt added. "Of course, there's a first time for everything."

"Alright, Zane, time to throw down!" Jaden announced.

"Very well then. Here goes." Zane drew his sixth card and looked at it briefly before revealing it. "I activate the spell card, Polymerization. Now by sending some select monsters from my hand to the grave, I can summon a fusion monster."

"To the grave?"

"That's right, Jaden. There's more than one way to skin a cat. Or in this case... summon a dragon!" Zane held up three cards. "I send the three Cyber Dragons in my hand to the graveyard so I can summon the Cyber End Dragon!" The three cards swirled around each other. And then, from a flash of light, Zane's three-headed ace monster appeared with a mighty roar. (ATK: 4000 DEF: 2800 LV: 10)

"Dear me." Bastion muttered.

"And me." Syrus added.

"He's good." Alexis murmured.

"He was actually prepared to summon Cyber End Dragon at the beginning?" Cynthia asked.

"I knew that Zane was good, but I didn't expect this." Kaito admitted.

Jaden was a bit shocked to see the dragon. 'I was wondering why he didn't care who went first, but now I know. He was prepared for any situation. The question is... am I? Especially now that that Cyber End Dragon is out. After all, when it attacks a monster in defense mode, the difference between its attack points and the defending monster's defense points are dealt to me as damage! Man, how could I let this happen?'

Growling, Jaden shook his head. "Well, anything else you want to throw at me?"

"As a matter of fact, yes there is." Zane inserted a card into his duel disk. "Different Dimension Capsule!" A familiar coffin appeared. "Now Jaden, I select one card in my deck and remove it from play." He took a card out of his deck. "But then, in two turns, it returns to my hand." The card was placed inside the coffin.

Hey, I remember this..." Jaden muttered. 'In our first duel, Zane used that Different Dimension Capsule to add Power Bond to his hand. Wonder of he's doing the same thing here.'

"Finally, I'll place one card facedown and end my turn." Zane concluded as a card appeared near his feet.

'The plot thickens. A facedown too? I can't know for sure what those cards are, but I sure have a hunch. Yeah, that capsule card must be Power Bond, and the facedown he just threw must be De-Fusion. He must be planning to de-fuse Cyber End Dragon and then finish me off.'

"Jaden, go on. It's your move now." Zane said, staring cooly at him.

Off to the sides, his friends saw how Jaden was acting... and it kind of worried them.

"What's wrong?" Alexis asked. "It's like he's frozen up."

"I've never seen him like this before." Syrus said.

"Me neither." Andrew added.

'Heh, Zane thinks he's gonna outsmart me again, but not this time. This time, I'm gonna outsmart him and I'm gonna start right now!'
Alright, here goes!" Jaden drew his sixth card. "I play Elemental HERO Wildheart in attack mode!" The tribal hero appeared. (ATK: 1500 DEF: 1600 LV: 4) "Then I'm gonna activate the spell card, Wild Half! And because of its effect, the points of your dragon are now split in half!"

The three-headed machine monster groaned as it lost power. (ATK: 4000-2000 DEF: 2800-1400)

"Now, a Half Token with the same points of your weakened End Dragon is summoned!"

The dragon was enveloped in light before it split into two identical monsters. (ATK: 2000 DEF: 1400 LV: 10)

"But I'm not done yet!" Jaden continued and held up a card. "I equip the spell card Cyclone Boomerang onto Wildheart!" A familiar, wooden boomerang appeared and spun before Wildheart grabbed it. "Now Wildheart's attack points increase by 500!" (ATK: 1500-2000) "Now go, Wildheart! Attack that Cyber End Dragon! Wild Walloping Boomerang!" The tribal hero tossed the boomerang, letting it fly towards the machine monster.

"I don't think so. I play De-Fusion!" Zane's facedown card flipped up. And in a flash of light, Cyber End Dragon was replaced by the three Cyber Dragons. (ATK: 2100 DEF: 1600 LV. 5)x3 And as a result, the boomerang flew past them.

"Against those three Cyber Dragons, Wildheart can't win. But against that one Cyber End Dragon, Wildheart still has a chance! Yeah, maybe a really small one, but I have no other choice than to go for it and just hope for the very best! Otherwise, I'll be bested." The boomerang flew air and made contact with the Cyber End Dragon token, blowing it up completely. But because its attack points were same as Wildheart's the tribal hero exploded as well.

"He did it..." Alexis murmured. "Jaden destroyed Zane's Cyber End Dragon."

"Indeed he did." Bastion replied. "Jaden must have calculated that Zane's facedown was De-Fusion. Most impressive."

Syrus frowned. "I guess, but that's not really Jaden's style."

"Yeah, Jaden isn't exactly the calculating type of guy." Shiori agreed. "He usually goes with his instincts."

Andrew frowned.

"Sure, Wildheart's gone too, but since he was equipped with Cyclone Boomerang, all spell and trap cards that are out on the field are now destroyed!" The Different Dimension Capsule appeared again before shattering into pixels. "And plus, for every spell and trap that was destroyed, you take a big, fat 500 smackaroos to your life points!"

Zane: 4000-3500

"So not only did he destroy Cyber End Dragon, but he took the lead in the duel too?" Crowler asked in disbelief, gawking at this turn of events.

"Yes, it sure looks that way." Sheppard replied. "Jaden has really done his homework here."

"Done his homework?" Crowler repeated. "Well then, this would certainly be the first time. That Slifer Slacker..."

"Yeah, not anymore!" Jaden said. "In this duel here, I'm playing with my head, not my heart! Next, I'll throw down a facedown and end my turn!" He concluded as he inserted a card into his duel disk.

"Oh, is that it? Very well." Zane drew his next card. "First of all, the card removed from play using Capsule returns to me."

"Hey, wait a sec!" Jaden interjected. "So then the card you had in there wasn't Power Bond?"

"No, it wasn't. Seems as though you overthought this one, Jaden. It was... Card from a Different Dimension!" Zane held up the named card.

"Whoa, I didn't see that coming."

"Due to this, now we both get to draw two cards from our decks to our hands."

"Oh, I see." Chazz realized. "To summon his Cyber End Dragon, Zane needed to use at least four of his cards. So therefore, if he had used De-Fusion and then played Power Bond right afterwards, there wouldn't have been any cards left in his hand to use."

"And that would have put Zane in a tough spot." Bastion agreed.

"Yeah, you're right." Alexis added.

"That Zane. Boy, he sure is a clever guy." Atticus commented. "Maybe you should root for him instead of your boyfriend, Jaden!"

"Shut up!" Alexis turned from her brother as a tick mark appeared on her head.

"Awkward..." Chazz muttered.

"Really?" Clover sighed.

"Come on, Jay. Hang in there!" Syrus stared hard at the duel.

Back on the field, both duelists drew their extra cards.

"All right, Cyber Dragon, wage a direct attack with Strident Blast!" The first Cyber Dragon fired off a powerful stream of white energy at Jaden's field.

"Don't think so! I play the trap, Draining Shield!" Jaden facedown card flipped up and created a yellow dome that blocked the incoming attack. "Sorry Zane, but now your Cyber Dragon's attack is cancelled and I get to regain life points equal to its attack points!"

Jaden: 4000-6100

"That's fine, you'll need them, because now my remaining two Cyber Dragons are going to attack you, Jaden! Strident Blast!" The two dragons fired off at the same time, blasting with a combined stream of energy.

Jaden: 6100-1900

"Next, I'll place one card facedown and end my turn." Zane concluded, inserting a card into his duel disk.

"Wow, Jaden just barely got out of that round." Jenny breathed. "Too close."

"It'll be even closer next turn." Bastion thought aloud. "Those Cyber Dragons are still out, meaning Jaden is in a state of constant peril. He must neutralize them."

"Yeah, no joke, Bastion." Atticus replied. "But the question of the day is... how? And more importantly, when?"

"Ya know, normally I'd say not to worry, but..." Syrus trailed off.

"But what?" Matt asked.

"But with the way Jay's overthinking things here, I'm really not so sure."

"I know." Alexis frowned a little.

Chazz glanced at them both for a few seconds before looking ahead.

'Come on, Jaden, use your head!' Jaden snapped mentally, staring at the Cyber Dragons. 'You gotta figure out a way to get rid of those Cyber Dragons! And you gotta do it right now!'

"Here I go! My draw!" He drew his next card. "I play the spell, The Warrior Returning Alive! Now I can select one warrior type monster in my graveyard and add it to my hand. So, come on back, Wildheart!" The tribal hero appeared again. "And next, I'll activate Polymerization and fuse Wildheart with Elemental HERO Bladedge to create Elemental HERO Wildedge!" The two heroes entered the fusion vortex and emerged as the brown-skinned hero in the Bladedge-like outfit. (ATK: 2600 DEF: 2300 LV: 8)

"And he's gonna edge you out... by attacking all the monsters you have on your field in one devastating attack! So do your thing, Wildedge, and go wild on those three Cyber Dragons!" The hero dashed forward, grabbing his sword, and slashed on the dragons' necks, causing all three of them to explode. Zane remained calm as his life points went down.

Zane: 3500-2000

"My goodness!" Crowler shrieked. "All three Cyber Dragons destroyed in just one turn?!"

"How remarkable!" Sheppard said, amazed. "This duel is truly living up to its hype!"

Jaden smirked. "What a shot! That was the sweetest! There's really something to all this strategizing stuff!"

Zane scoffed and smiled a little. "You're a fool."

"What?!"

"I'm activating the trap card, Return Soul!" Zane's facedown card flipped up. "Now all monsters that were destroyed this turn come back and return to my deck." The three Cyber Dragons reappeared before going into his deck.

Jaden lost his smirk. 'Great, just when I thought I was rid of them, they're back and raring to get rid of me!'

Zane slowly shuffled his deck, eyes closed. "What a shame. I picked Jaden Yuki to be in my last duel. Wonder where he is?"

"Say what?" Jaden gave him a confused look.

"You're not being yourself. You're not playing with your heart!"

"That's right!" Jaden shot back. "Cuz to beat you, I gotta play with my head! Like I'm doing now!"

"What you're doing now, Jaden, is wasting my time."

"Sure I am. You can quit with all the mind games, okay? They're not gonna work!"

"Mind games?" Syrus repeated. "I don't think that's he's doing. I mean, Zane has a point. Jaden is dueling differently."

"Yeah, playing with his heart is what let him be his best." Clover stated.

"I don't see why Jaden would change his playing style." Xander added.

Zane drew his next card. "It's my turn now, and I play the spell, Future Fusion!" Suddenly, the duelists found themselves what seemed to be a tunnel of multicolored space. "But this no ordinary fusion. You see, I'm allowed to fuse cards... not in my hand! Therefore, I send three dragons in my deck to the graveyard and summon the Cyber End Dragon!" The three mechanical serpentine dragons appeared again but vanished instantly. And then... Zane's signature monster was now floating in their place. (ATK: 4000 DEF: 2800 LV: 10)

Jaden gasped as he stared at the dragon.

"Of course, monsters that are created by Future Fusion aren't allowed to attack on the turn they're summoned. But I can wait."

'Yeah, but I can't' Jaden thought. 'I gotta think of a way to get rid of that thing, fast! Come on, Jaden, use your brain!'

"Alright then!" Jaden drew his next card and looked at it, before looking at the two other cards in his hand. "I'm throwing down three facedowns and that's it!" Three cards appeared.

"Still with your head?" Zane scowled. "You can't win this way!"

"Don't think so?" Jaden taunted. "Well, we'll just have to see about that. Go ahead then, Zane, make your move!"

"What a disappointment you've become."

"Enough with that!" Jaden snapped.

"Okay, fine then, Jaden. If you won't listen to my words, perhaps you'll listen to my cards!" Zane drew his next card. "First I'm going to play the spell card, De-Fusion! Activate! Now, on fusion monster on the field returns to my fusion deck..." Cyber End Dragon vanished. "Next, my three normal Cyber Dragons come back!" The three original dragons appeared again. (ATK: 2100 DEF: 1600 LV: 5)x3 "Now I'll activate my spell card!" Zane held up a spell card that released a brilliant light, blinding Jaden. "Recognize it, Jaden? It's Power Bond! And with it, I can summon back an old friend..." Dark clouds materialized above the field before lightning struck down on the Cyber Dragons. "The Cyber End Dragon!" With a roar, the three-headed machine monster appeared once more behind Zane. (ATK: 4000 DEF: 2800 LV: 10)

Everyone gasped and looked hard at the duel.

"What, again? But why?" Atticus questioned.

"Why again you may be asking?" Zane asked Jaden. "Quite simple, really. If a monster is summoned by the Power Bond, it's attack points... are automatically doubled!"

Jaden could only watch nervously as the dragon powered up. (ATK: 4000-8000)

'Just great! Looks like using my head... has got me headed towards a giant loss. One I may never be able to live down!'

"And to think I admired you, Jaden." Zane said. "I won't make that mistake again nor will anyone else!"

"Oh no!"

"So what now, Jaden?" Zane asked cooly. "You think you can beat my dragon? You've got one monster and he... is about to be blasted into oblivion. It's over for you."

'No, it can't be over!' Jaden thought, gritting his teeth. 'I know I can think my way out of this, and I'd better start or else!'

"Come on, what's wrong?" Zane asked. "Unless... you're afraid. Is that you're problem?"

Jaden could only stare back in silence.

"Well fine, I'll put you out of your misery! Cyber End Dragon, attack!" At his command, the dragon was preparing for its attack.

"Not so fast!" Jaden interrupted and revealed one of his facedown cards. "I'm playing a trap! Soul Union takes Bladedge's attack points and adds all of the to Wildedge!" A yellow aura with a slight hint of green surrounded Wildedge. (ATK: 2600-5200)

"That's pointless. You see, Jaden, with my Power Bond, I still have enough points to take out your Wildedge."

Jaden looked up at the monster coming to claim Zane's victory. 'Oh man, he's right! Guess I better put my thinking cap back on. No wait, it was on.' He then smacked his forehead with his fist. "Come on! Think, brain! You have got to figure this out!"

His friends looked worriedly at this.

"Farewell...Jaden. Cyber End Dragon... attack and End this duel!" At that, the three dragon heads fired off separate bursts of energy that converged into one powerful stream that destroyed Wildedge.

While this happened, Jaden gritted his teeth. 'Man up, Jaden! Your whole comes down to right now!' He then shouted and toughened it up. And then...

Jaden: 1900-0100

"Sorry, Zane, but we're not done..." Jaden grinned slyly, holding a thumbs up. "Yet!"

Zane's eyes widened in shock. "I don't understand. That hit you square on! This match should be done!"

Murmurs of was heard from the audience.

Jaden stood there, breathing heavily after the devastating attack. "Oh man, talk about activating a spell just a nick of time... Thanks, Emergency Provisions."


Flashback

Right before Wildedge was hit by Cyber End Dragon's attack, one of the other facedown cards flipped up, revealing the spell card in question. And then, Soul Union vanished.

Flashback end


Sheppard smiled and nodded in approval from his place in the stands.

"Now, I'll play... Hero Signal!" Jaden's final facedown card flipped up, shooting a beam of light, shining an 'H' on the ceiling. "With this, I can summon any card with Elemental HERO in its name, and who better than... Bubbleman!" The blue armored, white caped water hero appeared and kneeled down. (ATK: 800 DEF: 1200 LV: 4) "And since he's alone, I get two more cards!" Jaden drew. 'I may have survived this round, but just barely. So much for using my head over my heart.'

"Now, it's my turn..." Zane held up a card from his hand. "And I summon Cyber Kirin!" The machine that appeared was like a small dog. (ATK: 300 DEF: 800 LV: 3) "And if I should happen to sacrifice him, all card effect damage goes down to 0 for this one turn. And of course, that means my Power Bond damage is negated." Cyber Kirin vanished.

"A flawless play." Bastion simply said.

"Yeah, totally." Atticus added.

"I don't know how much stress I can take from this." Kaito muttered.

"So he summoned a powerful machine monster using Power Bond AND used an effect to protect himself from its side effects." Xander noted. "Now that's impressive."

"Come on!" Zane demanded. "Where's the Jaden that almost beat me before?"

"He's right here... I think..." Jaden replied hesitantly. "I dunno."

"Of course you don't. Because your heart... is not in this..."

"Oh!" Jaden's eyes widened as his stomach suddenly growled. "And neither's my stomach. Kind of skipped lunch." He commented, sitting on the floor.

"Huh?" Zane stared at him, startled at what he just seen and heard while the audience murmured all around them.

"Uh, come again?" Clover asked dumbly.

"What the hell?" Michael muttered slowly.

"Dorothy! You around?" Jaden called out. He looked around until he saw Dorothy her assistant sitting to the right. "Hey there! How about some grub?"

Dorthy and her assistant smiled and turned to each other briefly. "Okay! You got it!" They took off out of their seats.

"What's he doing? Having a snack?" Alexis asked incredulously.

"They say the quickest way to a man's heart is through his stomach. Jealous?" Atticus asked teasingly.

"Oh please!" Alexis glared at him.

"Very odd, don't you think, Chazz?" Bastion asked.

"Hello, it's Jaden. Everything he does is odd." Chazz replied.

Syrus smiled. "Maybe, but at least he's being himself."

"Sy's right." Jaden said. "I wasn't being me, and what better way to be Jaden, and have a big meal?" His grin grew wider. "So, how about it, Zane? Do you mind if I scarf?"

Zane closed his eyes and smiled a bit. "Why not?"

"Great answer!"

In the stands, Crowler gawked at this. "Jaden can't do that! There's no eating here! What's he think this is? Some sort of... smorgasbord?"

"Can't you cut him a break for saving the world, remember?" Sheppard asked, amused.

"I'm trying not to." Crowler slumped in his seat.

Jaden sat there on the platform as Dorothy and her assistant arrived with a portable cooking appliance, as well as a large supply of food, with bowls and plates. He smelled the aroma as they prepared some lunch. "Mmm, smells great. I can't believe I went this whole time without eating!" He said as Dorothy handed him a plate with food. Immediately, he stuffed his face with the freshly made meal.

"How's your heart now?" Dorothy asked while Jaden was eating. Everyone watched as he kept munching, stopping here and there to wash it down with a bottled drink.

"Revolting, don't you think, Chancellor?" Crowler asked.

"I think that we're in for a match now." Sheppard said with a warm smile.

"Just what do you mean?"

"I mean that Jaden learned a valuable lesson. He tried to be someone that he just isn't and almost lost. You see, Jaden's a great duelist, not because of his booksmarts, but because he plays with his heart, his soul, and even his stomach. Zane helped him find the duelist that he left behind."

"Left behind?" Crowler looked down and watched as Jaden adjusted his belt and stood up as a pile of plates were at his feet. "Oh please, he left nothing behind!"

Jaden sighed in relief and wiped his mouth with his hand. "Okay, let's duel!"

"Good luck, Jaden! Glad I could help!" Dorothy said as she and her assistant picked up the dishes.

"Hey, thanks for the grub! You rule!" Jaden gave her a thumbs up before turning to Zane. "Now then..."

Zane smiled. "Bring it."

Andrew smiled as well. 'Glad you're being yourself again, Jaden.'

"Here goes!" Jaden drew his next card. "I play Pot of Greed! Which means I get to draw two more cards!" He drew his extra cards. "And now I'll play one! Elemental HERO Avian in defense mode!" The green hero with feather wings appeared next right next to Bubbleman. (ATK: 1000 DEF: 1000 LV: 3) "And here's the other!" Jaden continued, holding up the card in question. "The spell card, Spy Hero! It's activated when I discard two random cards from my deck." The familiar man in purple and black suit appeared briefly before turning invisible. "Now my Spy Hero cuts in and uses all his super stealth to take one of your spell cards."

"Seems the old Jaden's back." Zane said with a smile, but then sensed some blurry movement near him. And then, a card was seemingly launched from his graveyard slot, and Jaden caught it with ease.

"Why thanks, Zane! Future Fusion! Now all I got to do is sacrifice a couple of monsters that could be combined to form a fusion monster and BAM! I get what they would have made! So say goodbye to Burstinatrix and Clayman and hello to Rampart Blaster in defense mode!" From a swirling vortex, the armored female hero with shield missile launcher emerged. (ATK: 2000 DEF: 2500 LV: 6) "Next I'll throw down a couple of facedowns!" Two cards appeared near Jaden's feet.

"Impressive, but too little too late." Zane drew. "I summon forth Cyber Phoenix in attack mode!" A machine monster looking like a bird appeared. It had four wings with the parts resembling feathers being orange. (ATK: 1200 DEF: 1600 LV: 4) "With Phoenix on the field, any spells or traps targeting a certain monster are destroyed. Which means their effects get cancelled out. See where I'm going with this, Jaden?"

"Yeah yeah, I get it, Zane. The Cyber End Dragon. I can't mess with it with trap or spell cards anymore." Jaden said slightly bitterly. 'Which means it's practically invincible.'

"Will Jaden hurry up and lose already?" Chazz asked, bored.

"This is a tough spot." Bastion reminded him. "What to do?"

"Good question." Cynthia replied. "I've seen Zane duel before, but... I don't what to think of this situation."

"Your boyfriend's not doing so well."

Alexis glared at him again. "Jaden's a friend who happens to be a boy! And that doesn't make him a boyfriend!"

"Oh sure." Atticus continued his teasing, but then felt a chill as he turned left...

And saw Clover giving him a threatening look. "Enough with your nonsense." She said with a low voice.

The older Rhodes paled and moved away a bit.

"Look!" Syrus said, getting everyone's attention.

"I'm glad that you got to enjoy your lunch, but now..." Zane trailed off briefly. "Just try not to lose it! Cyber End Dragon, attack Rampart Blaster!" The three-headed machine fired off its energy beams.

"I activate my spell! De-Fusion!" One of Jaden's facedown cards flipped up. "It lets me take one of the fusion monsters on the field and splits them back apart!"

"Sorry, Jaden, Cyber End Dragon be split. Cyber Phoenix is protecting him, remember?"

"I'm not going after him."Jaden replied. "I'm de-fusing one of mine! By splitting Rampart Blaster, I get two monsters and you get no target!" Rampart Blaster spilt into Burstinatrix and Clayman, who barely avoided the blast from Cyber End Dragon's attack. (ATK: 1200 DEF: 800 LV: 3) (ATK: 800 DEF: 2000 LV: 4)

"Wow! What a lineup." Jenny commented.

"Yeah. Jaden's got four Elemental Heroes on the field." Andrew added.

"How often do we get to see that?" Matt asked.

Zane stared at the HERO monsters. 'Hmm, even if you add up all these heroes attack points, they don't come close to my dragon's 8000. He's making a great error.' His eyes then widened in realization. "Unless...!"

"Unless, I'm not attacking... I'm sacrificing!" Jaden filled in. "And you'll see why when I play this! One doozy of a trap card! Here comes Elemental Burst!" His facedown card flipped up.

"Oh no!"

"Oh yeah! Now by sacrificing and earth, water, fire and wind attribute monster, each and every card on your field gets totally destroyed!" The four heroes turned from humanoid into large pillars of earth, water, fire and wind. The four streams of elemental power soured through the air and wrapped themselves around Zane's machine monsters, obliterating them with ease. This was certainly shocking for Zane and everyone else. Jaden snickered a bit. "So long, Cyber End Dragon! I can't really say that I'm gonna miss him."

"You won't have to miss him." Zane said as he turned to him. "Because by destroying Cyber Phoenix, I get to move one card from my deck to my hand." He drew. "Don't you see? The way that I've calibrated my deck, Cyber End Dragon's never gone long. I'll always find a way to bring him back."

"You're bluffing."

"But I'm not Jaden, because the card I picked... was this one!" He held up a card. "A spell called Time Fusion! And with it, time is most certainly on my side."

"And how is that exactly?" Jaden asked curiously.

"Because now by removing card in my hand from the game, it activates. Meaning I can automatically call up a fusion monster to my field next turn without having to wait for a single summoning requirement!"

Jaden gritted his teeth. 'So he's right! The Cyber End Dragon will return! And soon too!'

"You can't win! And in just one turn, you'll see why, and the Academy will you're a fraud!"

"This is bad." Xander muttered.

"Tell me about it." Shiori replied.

"Don't feel bad, Jaden." Zane spoke up. "You lost to the best."

"Already writing your graduation speech, Zane? No so fast, I'm still here!" Jaden said confidently.

"Oh please, not for very much longer." Chazz said, unconvinced.

"Perhaps..." Bastion agreed somewhat.

"He needs one good draw." Syrus said optimistically.

"That's all it takes to turn this duel around." Andrew added.

"Come on, Jaden. try and hang in there." Alexis muttered.

"Alright, my turn!" Jaden drew his next card, looked at it and inserted it into his duel disk. "And I'll throw down a facedown."

'You'll have to do better than that, Jaden. Especially when you see what I have for you.' Zane thought. "Brace yourself! My turn!" He drew. "First off, this returns to me..." He pulled out a card from his pocket. "Card from a Different Dimension! I removed it from play to activate Time Fusion. But now it's back and it doesn't stop there. Next its special effect activates and you know what that means. We both get to draw two more cards." Both duelists drew their extra cards. 'Too bad nothing can help you now, Jaden.'

'Zane must be pretty confident to let me draw cards.'

"And now, I call forth Cyber End Dragon!" From a flash of light, Zane's signature monster appeared once again. (ATK: 4000 DEF: 2800 LV: 10)

"Not again." Syrus moaned.

"You think, for once, Zane would try a combo without that dragon." Jenny commented.

"Hey, if it ain't broke." Atticus said with a grin.

"Of course, because a monster was summoned with Time Fusion, it can't attack until next turn." Bastion explained.

"Next turn?" Chazz repeated. "Man, how long do I have to wait to see Jaden lose?"

"Dude, you're gonna have to wait really long." Michael said with a smirk.

"How come?" Chazz turned to him.

"Because Jaden's not going down." Andrew replied.

"And I'll finish my turn by laying one facedown." Zane concluded while inserting a card into his duel disk.

"Dear me, I'm sweating bullets over here!" Crowler said, tugging his collar. "Can't we just declare Zane the winner yet?"

"Not yet, Crowler. After all, if there's one thing I've learned, it's never to count Jaden out until. his life points are out." Sheppard said, his eyes full of excitement.

"My draw!" Jaden drew. "I activate Fusion Recovery! This brings back Polymerization and Burstinatrix from the graveyard." The two named cards returned to his hand. "Sorry, Zane, but you're not the only one who can re-summon a monster!" Burstinatrix appeared. (ATK: 1200 DEF: 800 LV: 3) "Next I'll activate Miracle Fusion! Now I just remove Avian and Burstinatrix from play and I can summon the Elemental HERO Flame Wingman!" Avian appeared right next to Burstinatrix briefly before both them vanished and were replaced by the green and red hero with the dragon head on his right arm. (ATK: 2100 DEF: 1200 LV: 6) "But wait! Im not done yet!" Jaden continued. "Go, Polymerization! Merge the Sparkman with Flame Wingman...!" The blue and golden electric hero entered the fusion vortex, along with Jaden's headliner. "To create the Elemental HERO Shining Flare Wingman!" The hero in shining, winged armor emerged from the vortex and landed on Jaden's field. (ATK: 2500 DEF: 2100 LV: 8)

"And here's the cherry on top! For each Elemental HERO that I got chillin in the graveyard, Wingman gets 300 attack points! Now let's count off! Hero roll call!" Quickly, an image of every HERO monster card that was currently in the graveyard appeared in front of him before disappearing into thin air, while his fusion monster grew stronger. (ATK: 2500-4900) "Alright! Now attack Cyber End Dragon, Flare Wingman!" The glowing hero soared through the air and collided with the dragon ,making it explode with a strong blast, that caused Zane to cover his head with his right arm.

Zane: 2000-1100

"Oh yeah! But Flare Wingman's not done yet! Cuz when he destroys a monster, then you take damage equal to that monster's attack points, and that's 4000!"

Zane gasped as Flare Wingman landed right in front of him and began to emit a strong glow.

Jaden smirked. "School's out, Zane!"

"Not yet it's not!" Zane retorted and revealed his facedown card. "I activate a trap card! Damage Polarizer!" And invisible wall appeared between him and Flare Wingman, causing an electric current go around the hero monster for a moment before it returned to Jaden's field.

"Damage Polarizer?"

"Now all damage from a special effect gets reduced to 0."

Everyone watched hard as this duel went on.

Jaden rubbed his chin. "Well, I gotta hand it to you Zane. That's a sweet card."

"And as the cherry on top, we now draw one card each. And for your sake, Jaden, I hope its a good one." Zane said as he and Jaden drew.

Both looked at them and were unaware that they drew the exact same card.

'I can't believe...' Jaden thought.

'I drew...' Zane thought.

'Battle Fusion!'

Jaden inserted his card into his duel disk. "I'll just throw down a facedown and call it a turn. I guess you're up. So, what will it be this time?"

"You'll see."

"Well, whatever it is, good luck. Cus something tells me... this is the last round!"

"I agree." Zane replied. 'The last round for you, Jaden. My victory is assured. Prepare for the bitter taste of defeat, Jaden!'
"Alright! Now... my turn!" Zane drew his next card, looked at it, and smiled.

"I don't like that smile." Syrus said worriedly.

"Especially since Zane never smiles." Alexis replied. "Something's up here."

"Yeah, that's for sure." Atticus added. "And I think we're gonna see just exactly what it is really soon. get set for the final round between this school's two best duelists!"

"Dude, that's crazy." Michael replied with a grin.

"Come on, Jaden..." Matt muttered.

"This is it." Xander leaned forward.

"The final round is coming." Clover said, getting excited.

"You feel that too?" Kaito asked.

"This is so exciting I can't stand it!" Shiori said.

"Me neither." Cynthia agreed.

"It's so nerve racking!" Jenny said.

"Now let this end." Andrew said with a smile.

Back on the field, Zane looked up from his card, still smiling. "Jaden, it's been fun, but now..." He revealed the card. "I'm afraid that it's over. I activate Power Bond! So now, by sacrificing the right monsters, I can once again summon the Cyber End Dragon!"

"But how?" Chazz asked incredulously. "You gotta have monsters to sacrifice them!"

"Chazz is right for once!" Bastion said. "His field is bad!"

"I'm sorry, I forgot. I don't need monsters!" Zane continued and held up another spell card. "I activate Cybernetic Fusion Support! By trading half my life points, I don't need to make any sacrifices to summon my fusion monster."

Zane: 1100-0550

"So without further ado..." The three Cyber Dragon cards came out of his graveyard slot. "...let's welcome back Cyber End Dragon!" And with that, the three-headed machine monster appeared again with a mighty roar. (ATK: 4000 DEF: 2800 LV: 10)

Jaden stared at it. 'Ya know, I'm starting to really get sick of this thing.'

"And thanks to Power Bond, its attack points double." (ATK: 4000-8000) "And next I'll activate this!" Zane held up another card. "Limiter Removal!"

"Trouble!" Chazz simply said.

"Very severe trouble." Bastion added.

"All coming to Jaden." Alexis said.

"Thanks to this, all machine type monsters out get their attack points doubled, and guess what type my dragon is!" The dragon glowed as it grew even stronger. (ATK: 8000-16000) "You're through!"

"Don't think so! Go, Battle Fusion!" Jaden's facedown card flipped up.

"Yes!" Andrew exclaimed. "Nice one, Jaden!"

"If used during a battle, my monster gains as many attack points as Triple Chrome Dome over there!" (ATK: 20900)

"He can't do that!" Crowler protested. "It simply must be against the rules!"

"Oh please!" Sheppard shot up from his seat, startling him. "This is everything dueling is about!"

But despite this situation, Zane's smile remained. "Nice move, but it's all for naught. I use... the spell card, Battle Fusion! That's right, Jaden! I have one too!" He held up the named card.

"Say what?!" Andrew said in disbelief.

"Uh oh." Jaden looked up at the dragon as it got even more points. (ATK: 16000-36900) He then gave Zane a smile. "Wow, Zane, you really are great. I'm gonna miss ya."

"And I you, Jaden." Zane said evenly. "And that's why I'm passing you the torch."

"Huh?"

"Once I leave here, you'll be the top student at this school. Despite your grades or your rank, you'll be the best, so make me proud."

Jaden smiled again. "I'll give it my all Zane. And I'll start right here. Cuz this duel's not done!"

"Huh?" Zane blinked, confused by those words.

"I still have one trick up my sleeve. Oh yeah, and here it comes! I'm activating the trap known as... Final Fusion!" Jaden's facedown card flipped up.

Zane's confusion vanished as he smiled. "How clever..."

"Wait!" Andrew's eyes widened. "I didn't know Jaden had that card as well."

"If this card's played, the both of us take damage to our life points equal to our monsters' combined attack points! You know what that means..." Jaden said with a smile.

Which Zane returned. "Sure do."

Everyone watched as the two monsters collided with each other, filling the arena with a bright glow. The crowd watched in awe for a moment, before a tremendous explosion rocked the place, a huge cloud of smoke covering the dueling platform.

"Hey, what happened?" Chazz demanded.

"Who won?" Bastion asked.

"Aw man." Syrus moaned as he was knocked over.

Everyone watch with lots of anticipation as the smoke slowly cleared away. Eventually, they could all see the state of the two duelists. Zane was down on one knee while Jaden was lying on his back. And then, they saw the change of their life points.

Zane: 0500-0000

Jaden: 0100-0000

One by one, a student or faculty member stood up in the stands and started to applaud for the duel and for the duelists who gave them an incredible performance.

"You okay?"

Jaden looked up and saw Zane sitting right next to him. "I think. How's my hair? It still there?" He then sat up.

Zane smiled and looked around at the crowd. "Looks like a draw."

"Yeah." Jaden nodded. "Does that mean we gotta duel again?"

"Absolutely. And some day, we will."

"Sweet! I guess until then."

"Till then." Zane held up his hand, letting Jaden give him a high five.

"Good, I could use a break."

"Me too."

With that, both of them laid back and started to laugh while the crowd kept clapping for them and their awesome duel. Jaden's friends stood there among the clapping, proud of their friend and what he had done against the top duelist. This was a duel that no one would be forgetting anytime soon.


If you guys think I'm gonna end the first season right here... THINK AGAIN!

I'm planning to make a few oc chapters from here. Then I'll end this first season. Until next time.