Chapter 13: Farewells
Scott walked up to the fallen Jaden, and offered him a hand. "Need some help?"
Jaden took Scott's hand and got up. "Looks like the score is 2 to nothing. Here's hoping we can duel sometime during summer break or something. I'm gonna even the score Scott."
Scott smiled. "Here's to hoping."
Syrus teared up a bit, but walked up to Scott offering a handshake. "Thanks for the duel. I'm sad that we lost, but it was really fun."
Scott shook Syrus's hand. Damian walked up to Syrus and gave a half-hearted handshake.
Alexis clenched her fist and glared at Damian and Scott. "Alexis, they didn't have a choice on the matter." Bstion said. "They were randomly assigned, and if they let Jaden and Syrus win, all four of them would have been expelled."
"They could have simply refused to duel. Besides, I don't think I buy the idea that they were picked at random."
Bastion raised an eyebrow. "Why's that?"
"A few months ago, Scott and his friend, Ghassan, came by when I dueled Jaden. He and Syrus...did something that would have gotten in trouble just like when they trespassed on the Abdandoned Dorm, so Ghassan challenged me to a duel where if he won, Scott and Ghassan would make me report Jaden and Syrus."
"And this was in front of Jaden and Syrus? I'm surprised those two are on good terms with Scott then."
"Well, they said that it was a bluff so that they could duel me and Jaden at our all, so that's why Jaden and Syrus don't hold it agaisnt them. Still, what happened that night along with Damian and Scott being assigned to be the opponents makes me feel like there's a pattern."
Bastion said nothing. Alexis made a valid point, but he wanted to give Scott and Damian the benefit of the doubt. The fact that Damian lacked his usual enthusiasm on the final turn told Bastion that he wasn't any happier to have Jaden and Syrus expelled then they were.
Crowler got on the field, microphone in hand. "Attention students! The tag duel is over! Jaden Yuki and Syrus Truesdale have lost, which means-"
"Wait a second!" Jaden walked up to Crowler, and took the mic.
"What the-you think that just because you're getting expelled, there won't be any consequences for stealing from a teacher?! I'll...write a note to your parents about an additional transgression of yours!"
Jaden ignored Crowler. "Hey, it cool if I'm the only one who gets the boot and Syrus still gets to be enrolled?" Jaden asked.
"Huh!?" Syrus reacted.
"Going to the Abandoned Dorm was my idea. Syrus only came along because I made him. Syrus shouldn't get punished for what I did."
"Jaden..." Chumley said.
Chazz shrugged. "I doesn't matter if that pipsqueak gets kicked out of the school or not to me. So long as Jaden gets expelled, that's all the matters."
Syrus ran towards Jaden and took the microphone. "That's not true!"
"Sy?!" Jaden asked in shock.
"Nobody made me go there! It was my choice to accompany bro to the Abandoned Dorm! In fact, if it weren't for me, Jaden wouldn't have even be tempted to go there in the first place! So if anything, I should be the only one getting the boot!"
"That last part makes no sense Syrus!" Jaden protested.
Zane looked at the field and smiled. His little brother really has grown up.
Ghassan gulped. 'Shit shit shit. If Sheppard is moved by what they're doing, then he might decide that neither of them are gonna get expelled after all.'
"That's enough now you two." Jaden, Syrus, Damian, Scott, and Crowler turned to the edge of the Duel Field and saw Chancellor Sheppard walk towards it. "Regardless whether or not one of you only went because of the other, both of you chose to go to the Abandoned Dorm, so both of you are accountable. And while it was moving to see you two stand up for each other, that doesn't change the fact that you broke a major school rule."
Ghassan and Crowler let out breaths of relief. Sheppard got up on the duel field and walked towards Jaden and Syrus. "You two intentionally violated school rules all for the sake of your own curiosity. You boys need to learn that your actions have consequences."
Jaden and Syrus lowered their heads. "Understood Chancellor Sheppard." Syrus said.
Sheppard smiled. "So I hope you two keep that in mind when you come back next semester."
Jaden and Syrus raised their heads up. "Huh?"
"WHAT!?" Chazz and Crowler angrily yelled. Ghassan held back the urge to angrily yell as well.
"Chancellor Sheppard, with all due respect, this is a very terrible idea!"
"How so? They're still being punished after all."
Professor Banner walked up towards the Duel Field. "After discussion between me and Chancellor Sheppard, we felt that, while trespassing onto the Abandoned Dorm shouldn't be allowed, it's a tad harsh for a crime that harmed nobody at the end of the day to result in expulsion."
'Well...not exactly NOBODY.' Scott thought to himself, recalling Titan attacking Alexis, and Titan's own fate when he lost against Scott.
"We felt that telling you this could result in you two not giving it your all during the duel, which would hardly get you two to learn your lesson." Sheppard stated. "In addition, if we were given reason that Damian and Scott rigged the duel to make sure you two win, all four of you would be expelled like Crowler said."
Ghassan's gritted his teeth. 'Damnit. Of all the times for Damian to not let his personal feelings get in the way.'
"So that means that-" Syrus began to say.
"Yes. Jaden Yuki, Syrus Truesdale. You two are suspended for the rest of the semester. You will be allowed to come back after Winter Break." Banner summed up.
Jaden and Syrus were speechless for a little while. "AL-RIGHT!" Jaden yelled in joy. "We might be suspended, but we're at least coming back in two months!"
Syrus teared up. "We're...we're not expelled." Syrus rubbed his tears with his arm.
"However, as an additional penalty for trespassing to begin with, I expect you two to turn in a ten page report about what you two learned in the duel, and the errors of your ways." Sheppard stated. "This would be the case even if you did win the duel."
"WHAT?!" Jaden and Syrus both asked in shock.
"And single-spaced. Don't worry though, you'll have plenty of time to complete it over your suspension." Sheppard walked away.
Crowler gritted his teeth. 'I won't have to deal with that slacker for a little while, but if he's coming back after winter break, then I have a lot more planning to do.' Crowler walked off.
"Ten pages?! I never even READ that many!" Jaden yelled.
Syrus looked at Zane in the upper entrance. 'I lost Zane. I'm sorry.'
'You have a lot to learn little brother. But as the same time, you still learned a lot.' Zane smiled slightly before walking out of the room.
"Ten whole pages...that's practically a book!" Jaden complained.
"This is great!" Damian ran up to Jaden and Syrus and put an arm around both of their necks. "You guys get to come back! That means we can have rematches."
Chazz scoffed. If there was one thing he didn't like about Damian, it was how chummy he was with Jaden. Chazz stood up and began to walk ouf ot the arena. Topher and Conklin noticed this and followed.
"Jaden! Syrus!" Chumley ran down the stairs and onto the duel field. Damian wisely decided to step away from Jaden and Syrus so that he wouldn't get crushed by Chumley'e bear hug like those two were. "I'm...I'm gonna miss you guys." He said through his tears.
"Gah...we'll miss you too Chumley..." Jaden weakly said.
Chumley let go of Jaden and Syrus before several of the students in the bleachers stood up and began to applaud. Damian and Scott noticed that the applause wasn't just for Jaden and Syrus. It was applauding all four of them for the duel. "Heh. It feels kinda nice to duel in front of a crowd. Never did that before back home." Damian said.
Ghassan walked towards the duel field. "Come on guys. We need to talk."
"Talk about what?" Jaden asked.
"Private matters." Ghassan replied.
"We'll meet up with you guys later to see you off." Damian told Jaden and Syrus. Damian and Scott got off the duel field and the three began to walk out. As they did, Professor Banner got in the way.
"You two did very well in the duel." He said to Damian and Scott.
"Thanks." Scott replied.
"I'm sure that the three of you are glad that Jaden and Syrus are simply suspended temporarily rather than permanently expelled from Duel Academy. You're friends with them after all." He spoke softly so that nobody else could hear him.
Ghassan got a bad feeling about this. "Yeah. Naturally." He whispered.
Banner then turned to Damian. "Though I must say, it's odd that you told Jaden and Syrus that you two were randomly selected rather than Crowler being convinced to choose you two."
Damian and Scott's eyes widened. Ghassan clenched his fist. 'Did Crowler tell him?'
"I thought we were randomly selected." Damian lied. "I didn't know Ghassan set up the duel."
"Where did I ever say that Ghassan was the one who convinced Crowler?" Banner asked.
Ghassan facepalmed. Scott held back the urge to laugh. "Is this blackmail Professor Banner?" Ghassan asked.
Banner shook his head. "I don't have any definitive proof, so who knows if the other students or Sheppard would believe me? In addition, unlike Crowler, I like to give students another chance before immediately making enemies out of them. However, I'll do everything in my power to prevent you from getting my students expelled. I look after my Slifers." He then looked at Ghassan. "Though, I suppose you can consider yourself an exception. Consider this a warning. Do anything underhanded like this again, and it won't end well for you." Banner walked off.
"Banner was...uncharacteristically intimidating." Scott said. The three exited the main building and were heading towards the Slifer dorm.
"He was dropping his facade. He must view us a threats." Damian replied.
"I'm just confused. Why does Banner want Jaden to stay at Duel Academy? Banner's a Shadow Rider right? Wouldn't it be better for him if Jaden got the boot, and a powerful potential enemy wouldn't get in their way?" Ghassan wondered.
"You don't remember much about the Shadow Riders arcs do you? Banner and the leader of the Shadow Riders relied on Jaden for their plans. He emits more duel energy than anybody else on the island."
"Duel energy?" Scott asked.
"It's exactly what it sounds like. Energy that's emitted from dueling. And that's the true way to release the Sacred Beasts."
"Wait, so you're saying it's not because of those keys Jaden and his friends were given during the Shadow Riders arc?" Ghassan inquired.
Damian shrugged. "They might be a way to awaken the Sacred Beasts, but I know that awakening them through Duel Energy was their main goal. The keys were just something to duel over, as a result, emitting even more duel energy."
"Huh. Gonna keep that in mind."
"For what?"
"We need to restore the Light of Destruction to it's original power, right?" Damian and Scott still didn't understand what Ghassan was getting at. They eventually reached the Slifer Red dorm. "Either way guys, it's clear we have to do something about Banner. As long as he's here, we won't be able to get rid of Jaden"
"Ok, but how?" Damian asked.
"We'll need to find proof of him being a Shadow Rider and present it to Sheppard. Then Banner might get fired."
"Good idea on paper, but how will we find proof? It's not like we can show Sheppard episodes of Yu-Gi-Oh GX." Scott replied.
"Our best shot would be to follow Banner around in secret, and take pictures of any proof we can find."
"Hold on, I see some people heading our way." Damian said. From a distance, the trio saw Jaden, Syrus, Chumley, Bastion, and Alexis all heading towards the Slifer Red dorm.
"I guess they're gonna help Jaden and Syrus pack." Scott stated.
"How about we help them out?" Damian proposed.
"And get all kinds of glares from Alexis and Chumley for getting Jaden and Syrus suspended? No way." Ghassan answered. "Besides, Alexis is already suspicious of us. Best to avoid them."
"Fair enough. But I'm still gonna see Jaden and Syrus off."
Ghassan shrugged. "Whatever. Anyway, let's talk in my dorm. We have a lot of discussion to do for our future plans" Ghassan opened the door to his dorm room and went inside, Damian and Scott following. "By the way Damian, I have a question."
"What is it?"
"You're friends with Chazz, so do you think you can convince him to come with you to see Jaden and Syrus off?"
The sun was setting, and the sky was a beautiful orange. Jaden, Syrus, Bastion, Alexis, and Chumley were at the dock, the former two carrying their luggage. Jaden and Syrus weren't in Slfer Red uniforms but rather a black jacket and a blue sweater respectively. "Well guys, I guess this is goodbye for now." Jaden said.
Chumley wiped tears from his eyes. "I'll eat an extra grilled cheese sandwich every day in memory of you guys."
"I'm honored."
"You'll really miss us huh Chumley?" Syrus asked.
"Of course I will! You guys rekindled my love for dueling and helped me regain confidence in myself. You two are the best friends I ever had!"
Jaden and Syrus smiled. "Come here big guy." Syrus said. Jaden and Syrus hugged Chumley. The pain from Chumley's bear hug was more bearable this time.
After they broke the hug, Jaden turned to Bastion. "Well, I guess now that I'm gone, this makes you the #1 first year at this school, huh Bastion?"
Bastion smiled. "Can it really be said that you were #1? You lost to Scott twice after all."
"Hey, I was holding back when I lost to him the first time, and he had Damian's help that second time."
Bastion chuckled. "If you say so #1." Bastion offered a hand. "However, I'm looking forward to when you come back. Both to duel you, and to get to know you more Jaden."
"Likewise." Jaden shaked Bastion's hand and then turned to Alexis. "I guess we should have listened to you and not have gone to the Abandoned Dorm, huh?"
Alexis smiled. "Yeah, you really should have listened to me. Still, I never got to thank you guys."
"Huh? For what?"
"After you guys went to the Abandoned Dorm, somebody attacked me and knocked me unconscious. Then you guys took me to Nurse Fontaine."
"Oh, that." Jaden remembered. "Don't worry about it. Anybody would have done that."
"Wait a minute, I remember that Scott was there dueling somebody when we found you. You don't think that-" Chumley began to say.
"It wasn't Scott. I was attacked while I was talking to him." Alexis answered.
"Then it must have been the person he was dueling against." Syrus stated.
"Hold on, this is the first I've heard of any attack." Bastion said.
"Oh yeah, you weren't there." Jaden replied. "Basically, after we explored the abandoned dorm, we saw Scott dueling against some weird guy in a mask near an unconscious Alexis. Something made us black out for a little bit, but when we came to, both of them were gone."
"Do you think Scott was dueling to protect Alexis?" Chumley asked.
"I doubt it. Why would he leave me unconscious on the ground if that were the case?" Alexis replied. "Still, I'm pretty sure Scott had nothing to do with the person who attacked me."
'That's one thing she can give Scott the benefit of the doubt on.' Bastion thought.
"Syrus! Jaden!" A familiar voice cried out. The five turned around and saw three people heading their way. Damian was in the front, running ahead, with Scott following. More shocking than that however was Chazz walking far behind. Damian started panting when he reached them "Phew...I made it..."
Chazz and Scott caught up several moments later. "I can't believe I let you talk me into coming." Chazz grumbled.
"CHAZZ?!" Jaden, Syrus, Alexis, and Chumley all asked in shock.
Damian caught his breath. "We came to see you off."
Alexis glared at Damian and Scott. As predicted by Ghassan, she wasn't exactly happy to see the two. "Why would Chazz be here to see Jaden and Syrus off?"
"I guess you're warming up to me, huh Chazz?" Jaden smiled.
"In your dreams. I came here to gloat." Chazz replied.
"Figures..." Syrus said.
"Shame that you're coming back next semester. I even went through the trouble of convincing Crowler to recommend these two as your tag partners."
"Wait, YOU'RE the reason Crowler picked those two?!" Chumley asked.
Chazz nodded. "He wouldn't accept me being an opponent, but when I told him about how Scott beat Jaden along with how Damian's been tearing through Obelisk Blues, he at least listened to my recommendations."
Scott and Damian looked at the faces of Jaden and his friends. It was safe to say that they believed Chazz. Alexis and Chumley looked like they were holding back the urge to attack him, and Syrus and Bastion didn't exactly look happy either. Jaden just smiled. "So I guess we have you to thank for providing a fun duel."
"For the love of-why do you always have to ruin the moment when I'm taunting you?!" Chazz took a breath. "Though thinking about it, I guess part of me is glad thatyou're coming back.
"Why's that?" Jaden asked.
"Simple. Because then it'll give me the opportunity to crush you myself."
Jaden smirked. "We'll see about that Chazz."
All of the students heard the sound of a boat's horn. They saw that the ship coming to pick Jaden and Syrus up was on it's way. "I guess it's time to go." Syrus said.
Scott walked up to Jaden. "The score's two to nothing. Ready for it to be three next semester?"
"You really think I'll win three duels in a row against you Scott? Thanks man!"
Scott chuckled before the two high-fived each other. "Be sure to get your report done by the time you come back."
Jaden's eyes widened. "Ugh...you had to remind me."
The ship reached the dock. Syrus looked around. 'I guess Zane isn't coming. Bummer.'
"Well, it's time." Jaden grabbed his luggage and walked onto the ship, Syrus following. As the ship started to leave, everybody except for Chazz waved at them.
"So long!" Bastion told them.
"I'll be counting the days 'till I see you two again!" Chumley yelled.
"We'll miss you guys!" Alexis called out.
Chazz silently flipped Jaden off.
Jaden and Syrus waved back, smiling. Jaden then turned to Syrus. "It hasn't even been a day, and I already miss Duel Academy Sy."
"Yeah. Me too bro." Syrus replied. As the ship gained more and more distance, Syrus saw a familiar figure watching them by the light house. "Wait a minute...is that-?"
"SYRUS!" Zane called out. The six students at the harbor turned to where they heard the voice from. "Never forget what happened today. You were outmatched, and lost because of it. But you can't let defeat discourage you. You have to learn from your mistakes, and from your opponents success!"
"Zane..."
"But above all that...NEVER FORGET TO HAVE RESPECT FOR YOUR OPPONENT!"
Syrus teared up again. "I WILL ZANE! NEVER FORGET I MEAN!"
Zane smiled. "You made me proud today Syrus. Keep improving as a duelist!"
Jaden and Syrus waved at Zane as well. Eventually, the ship disappeared from sight.
"Huh. Zane's not as shitty a big brother as I thought he was." Damian whispered to Scott.
"Can you put away your Zane hate-boner for two seconds?" Scott replied.
"Duel Academy isn't gonna feel the same without those two." Alexis stated.
"Yeah. It'll be a lot more peaceful." Chazz said. Chazz walked off.
"How are you friends with that guy?" Chumley asked Damian.
"Once you learn to tolerate his personality, he's actually pretty cool to hang around." Damian answered.
"Speaking of which, me and Damian actually have to talk with him right now. Later guys." Scott walked off, Damian following. Not long after, the two caught up with Chazz. "Hey man, thanks for lying that you set us up against Jaden and Syrus."
"Whatever. As long as Damian remembers the deal."
"Yup. Fried shrimp on me or Scott for the rest of the semester." Damian replied.
"Heh heh. Now we're talking. But I'm curious. Why did you want me to tell a lie like that in the first place?"
"If you want to know, that'll cancel out the fried shrimp arrangement we've got."
"...Not worth it." Chazz decided.
Jaden and Syrus have been suspended from Dueling Academy, and won't come back until the end of Winter Break. And Professor Banner has let our protagonists know that he'll be an obstacle in their attempts to get Jaden permanently out of the picture. Also, while Jaden and Syrus are comeing back, the fact that they'll be gone for the rest of the semester will lead to a certain problem that our protagonists inadvertently caused. Some of you might know what I'm referring to.
I got this chapter out quicker than I thought. Understandable since there wasn't any dueling though. Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter and are looking forward to the next one!
