Chapter 17: The End of the Semester

(Ghassan 3350/ Kaiba 3000)

"I end my turn." Ghassan stated. On his side of the field was Jurrac Titano (3000/2800) while Kaiba had a completely clear field. Both of them had two cards in their hands. While there were other duels going on during this rotation of the field exams, hardly anybody was paying attention to them. It was obvious that a duel involving Seto Kaiba would catch the students' attention the most.

'Great. Now me and Damian are gonna be questioned by Kaiba. At least they don't seem to suspect Scott.' Ghassan kept the Gladiator Beast deck in his dorm after getting it from Mokuba, so if it was bugged, it must not have picked up any conversations Ghassan had with Scott that were outside the dorm rooms. Thankfully, that made up the majority of their conversations.

"It's my move." Kaiba drew a card. "I activate Graceful Charity to draw three cards and discard two." Kaiba drew three cards, looked at one of the cards he drew, and smiled. He discarded one of the cards he drew, and one that he had in his hand prior. "One of the cards I discarded was The White Stone of Legend (0/0)"

"Uh-oh." Scott said.

"What do you mean uh-oh?" Chumley asked.

"When The Whtie Stone of Legend is sent to the graveyard, the owner can add a Blue Eyes White Dragon to their hand." Damian answered.

Chumley gasped.

"How do you two know that?" Bastion asked.

"I have an uncle who works at Industrial Illusions." Scott lied.

"When White Stone of Legend is sent to the graveyard, I get to add a certain monster from my deck to my hand. The almighty Blue-Eyes White Dragon." Kaiba said.

A huge amount of chattering occured in the audience. All of the students were wondering if they were gonna see Kaiba's ace monster in person.

Kaiba added a copy of Blue-Eyes White Dragon from his deck to hsi hand. "Since I control no monsters, I can once again special summon Kaiser Vorse Raider (1900/1200), this time in defense mode." A flash occured before the blue orc returned in a defensive stance."Then I'll place a monster in defense mode and end my turn."

Ghassan drew a card, put it in his hand, and got out another one. "I summon Jurrac Guaiba (1700/400) in attack mode." The serpentine-like dinosaur appeared on Ghassan's side of the field. "Jurrac Guaiba, destroy Kaiser Vorse Raider!" Jurrac Guaiba breathed fire on the orc, destroying it. "Now, since Jurrac Guaiba destroyed a monster by battle, I can special summon another Jurrac with 1700 or less attack points from my deck, but it can't attack this turn. I special summon Jurrac Velo (1700/1000) in defense mode!" A flame occured next to Jurrac Guaiba before the flaming raptor emerged from it.

"I activate the effect of Kaiser Vorse Raider. When it's destroyed by battle, the monster that destroyed it loses 500 attack points!"

Ghassan frowned as a dark purple aura covered Jurrac Guaiba. (Jurrac Guaiba 1700-1200/400) "Fine. Jurrac Titano, destroy Kaiba's facedown monster." Jurrac Titano walked towards Kaibas' set monster and stomped on it. A brief image a shining blue gemstone appeared before being destroyed. "I end my turn."

Kaiba chuckled. "Perfect." The ground started to glow.

"Wh-what's going on?!"

"The monster you destroyed was The White Stone of Ancients. (600/500) When it's sent to the graveyard, I can special summon one Blue-Eyes from my deck during the End Phase of that turn!"

Ghassan gasped. 'I...I never ran into that card.'

"Ghassan seems shocked." Damian whispered to Scott. "Don't you have that card in your deck?"

"Yeah, but I got my hands on it after Ghassan quit the game. He doesn't know as much about the Blue-Eyes support cards as we do." Scott whispered back.

A shining white light emerged before a fierce, light blue dragon with beautiful blue eyes appeared on Kaiba's side of the field. "Unsurpassed in power and beauty, I summon the majestic Blue-Eyes White Dragon!" (3000/2500) Kaiba's ace monster let out a loud roar.

The students were utterly stunned. The chattering from before grew louder and more frantic. "I...I can't believe I'm seeing it in person..." Bastion said.

"Oh man. Jaden and Syrus are gonna be so bummed that they missed this." Chumley stated.

Kaiba waited several minutes for the audience to calm down before making his next move. "It's my turn." Kaiba drew a card and put it in his hand. I activate the effect of The White Stone of Ancients in my graveyard. By removing it form play, I can add one 'Blue-Eyes' monster from my graveyard to my hand. I add the card Blue-Eyes Alternative White Dragon (3000/2500) to my hand."

"Alternative White Dragon?" Alexis wondered.

Kaiba added the monster to his hand. "I sent it to the grave back when I still had Dragon Cannon on the field. Now, time to put the Blue-Eyes I added to my hand to good use. To first summon Blue-Eyes Alternative White Dragon, I have to reveal a Blue-Eyes White Dragon from my hand."

Ghassan clenched his fist. "So it's not that you CHOSE not to special summon it when I used Gilasaurus' effect. It's that you couldn't. But with White Stone of Legend, you have that other Blue-Eyes in your hand now."

Kaiba smiled as he revealed the second Blue-Eyes White Dragon from his hand. "Indeed. Now, reveal yourself, Blue-Eyes Alternative White Dragon!" A dragon looking nearly identical to Blue-Eyes White Dragon appeared. The only notable difference was that it had multiple dark veins on it's wings, face, and body.

"An alternate version of Blue-Eyes White Dragon?" Bastion asked.

"Next, I summon a monster of my own creation, Kaibaman!" (200/700) A man looking similar to Kaiba appeared. However, he was wearing a helmet that looked like a dragon, and had long red hair.

"Uh-oh." Ghassan said.

"Uh-oh is right. I activate Kaibaman's ability! By sacrificing it, I can special summon another Blue-Eyes White Dragon from my hand!" Kaibaman disappeared and in it's place, another Blue Eyes White Dragon appeared.

"Kaiba just summoned three Blue-Eyes' in one turn." Chumley said in amazement.

"Technically two. The first Blue-Eyes was summoned on Ghassan's turn, albeit during the End Phase." Bastion pointed out.

"I activate the effect of my Alternative White Dragon! At the cost of not being able to attack this turn, it can target and destroy any monster on your field! Since Jurrac Titano can't be targeted by monster effects, I choose Jurrac Velo!" A stream of energy was released from it's mouth, destroying the Jurrac.

"You knew about that effect from Titano? Even if Mokuba told you about my duel with Wheeler, that effect never came up in the duel." Ghassan said.

Kaiba smiled and mouthed the words 'bugged deck.' Ghassan realized he must have overheard it whenever Ghassan was talking to himself in his dorm. "And since Jurrac Velo was destroyed by an effect, you don't get to special summon Jurrac Hera, even though it was in defense mode."

"Heh. Pretty clever." Ghassan widened his eyes. 'Damnit. Can't let myself get too invested. I don't even like this game anymore anyway.'

"The first of my Blue-Eyes, destroy Jurrac Guaiba! Burst Stream of Destruction!" The dragon fired a stream of energy from it's mouth, incinerating Jurrac Guaiba. (Ghassan 3350-1550) "And now, my second Blue-Eyes will destroy Jurrac Titano!" Another stream of energy was fired. Jurrac Titano countered by letting out a breath of fire. An explosion occured from the blasts colliding, destroying both monsters. "Before I end my turn, there's one thing I want to do.."

A monster appeared on Kaiba's side of the field in defense mode. It was an anthropomorphic dragon, looking similar to an old monk. "Keeper of the Shrine?" Ghassan asked. Scott used that monster against Ghassan and Damian in multiple decks of his.

Kaiba nodded. "Familiar with this monster I see. When a dragon monster I control is destroyed by battle or card effect, I can special summon Keeper of the Shrine (0/2100) from my hand or graveyard. It was the second monster I sent to the grave with Graceful Charity. In addition, since the dragon monster destroyed was a normal monster, I get to add a normal Dragon monster from my grave to my hand, and you can guess which one I choose." Kaiba added the destroyed Blue-Eyes back to his hand. "I end my turn."

Ghassan put his hand up. 'I only have two monsters in my hand, whcih thanks to Kaiba's Alternative Dragon, he can just pop before attacking me directly. I'm gonna lose, so I might as well get this done and over with. Besides, it's not as if winning or losing this duel will matter too much. Kaiba will question me either way, and I can live with being in the Slifer Red dorm for a little while more.'

"Giving up eh? Well, you're allowed to now, so go ahead."

"Come one! I wanted to see more of Kaiba!" A student complained.

"Well, it's understandable why he'd give up." An Obelisk girl replied.

Ghassan's hand hovered over his deck. 'Then again...I guess I don't have anything to lose by following through on the duel.'

"So, you gonna surrender?" Kaiba asked.

Ghassan sighed. 'Might as well prolong the questioning as much as I can.' Ghassan put two fingers on the top card of his deck. "Draw!"

"Looks like he's still intending to play." Scott stated.

Ghassan looked at the card he drew. "I activate Pot of Greed to draw two cards." Ghassan drew two cards from his deck. "Next I activate Double Summon! This lets me normal summon twice this turn. I normal summon Jurrac Dino (1700/800) and Jurrac Velo (1700/1000)" Two flames appeared in front of Ghassan before the Jurracs emerged from them.

"A level 3 tuner and a level 4 non-tuner...do you think Ghassan's gonna-?" Damian whispered to Scott.

"Yeah. Must be a last resort like when he dueled Alexis." Scott stated.

"I tune my level 3 Jurrac Dino to my level 4 Jurrac Velo!" Ghassan declared. Jurrac Dino and Jurrac Velo both went into the air. the former dissolving into light before transforming into three green circles, with Jurrac Velo went through. Jurrac Velo dissolved into light before a green flash occured. "I synchro summon the level 7 Jurrac Giganoto!" (2100/1800) A large, flaming blue and red dinosaur appeared on Ghassan's side of the field, letting out a roar.

"What kind of summon was that?!" A slifer asked in shock

"I think I saw Chazz and Damian do that a few months ago." An obelisk stated.

"Finally busting out your Extra Deck now eh?" Kaiba asked.

"Giganoto's effect activates! All Jurracs I control gain 200 attack points for every Jurrac monster in my graveyard!" Ghassan stated.

"So...how may Jurracs does Ghassan have in his grave?" Chumley asked.

"Guaiba, Ptera, Hera, Stauriko, Titano, Dino, and two copies of Velo." Bastion answered. "That's 8 Jurracs in his graveyard."

"So Giganoto's gaining 1600 attack points." Scott finished.

Flames built around Giganoto. (Jurrac Giganoto 2100-3700/1800) "Next, I activate the continuous spell card Solidarity! If all of the monsters in my graevyard are one type, all monsters of the same type that I control gain 800 attack points!" A blue aura surrounded the Jurrac. (Jurrac Giganoto 3700-4500/1800)

"It...it now has more than double it's original attack points!" Mokuba said in shock.

"Jurrac Giganoto, destroy Blue Eyes Alternative White Dragon!" Jurrac Giganoto charged at the dragon, before chomping on it's neck. Alternative White Dragon let out a scream and tried to bite back, but Giganoto shoved it back and incinerated it with a breath of fire before it could get the chance. (Kaiba 3000-1500) "I end my turn."

Kaiba drew. "I have to give you credit kid. It's not often that I run into a duelist who can get his monster to rival Blue Eyes Ultimate dragon Though I suppose it's natural that a student of my school would be better than the average duelist. Still, it's time to end this." Kaiba put the card he drew back in his hand, and got out another one. "Keeper of the Shrine can act as two sacrifices if being used to tribute summon a dragon monster. I sacrifice Keeper of the Shrine to summon Blue Eyes White Dragon!" (3000/2500)" Keeper of the shrine disappeared, Blue EYes White Dragon taking it's place.

"The one he added back in his hand. Kaiba's really good at replacing his Blue Eyes' when one goes down." Chumley stated. "But it's weaker than Giganoto. Why do you think he summoned it?"

Kaiba smiled. "Since you displayed Synchro summoning to the students, how about I show them an Xyz summon?" A swirling dark vortex appeared on the ground in front of Kaiba's dragons. "I overlay my two level 8 Blue-Eyes White Dragons!" The two dragons dissolved into light before going into the vortex. "Come forth, ruler of the skies! I Xyz summon the rank 8 Thunder End Dragon!" (3000/2000) A bolt of lightning shot out from the vortex before a white and blue dragon with three horns and several spikes coming out of yellow holes on it's back emerged from the vortex. Two glowing orbs trailed around the dragon.

"Ikssez summon?" A Obelisk girl asked.

"I've seen Synchro summons, but I never evem heard of this!" A Ra Yellow said.

"I've seen a few of those cards online as part of sales or contests. But I never saw it in person." An Obelisk male stated.

As the spectators were taken aback by yet another new form of summoning occuring before their eyes, Zane turned to Alexis. "Didn't you say that Ghassan used Xyz and Synchro monsters in his duel against you?"

Alexis nodded. "Yeah. Though I couldn't find any information about them when I looked them up after the duel."

"So somehow, he got his hands on them before they were even made available for the public."

"I activate Thunder End Dragon's effect! By detaching one Xyz Material from it, it can destroy all other monsters on the field!" Kaiba said. "Destroy Giganoto with Lightning Storm!"

Ghassan nodded. Scott ran Thunder End Dragon in his Blue Eyes deck, so he faced off against that card from time to time when he still played regularly. One of the orbs that trailed around Thunder End Dragon disappeared before storm clouds formed around the gymnasium. From the clouds, a bolt of lightning struck Jurrac Giganoto, destroying it. "Guess it's over."

"Don't be too down on yourself. A student at Duel Academy could never be comparable to me. Finish him off Thunder End Dragon! Lightning Roar!" The dragon flew into the air as it built up a large amount of electricity around itself. It then fired several lightning bolts at Ghassan from it's mouth, all striking him at once. (Ghassan 1550-0)

Kaiba deactivated his duel disk, causing the holograms to disappear. Kaiba took off his duel disk and gave it to Mokuba to put in the briefcase. He then walked towards Ghassan. "I've been meaning to try out one of my Xyz or Synchro monsters. Good thing you didn't forfeit."

Ghassan didn't pay attention. He was too busy thinking about the duel. He didn't give it too much thought at the beginning since he was worried about Kaiba's reasons for coming and what this meant for him, Damian, and Scott, but when he stopped worrying and just dueled, it was actually pretty exhilirating.

"Hey, you paying attention?"

Ghassan snapped back to reality. "So, I take it you're gonna talk with me and Damian then?" Ghassan asked.

Kaiba nodded. "Be at the harbor in half an hour. There'll be a helicopter picking us all up." Kaiba walked out of the gymnasium, Mokuba following.

"I still can't believe Seto Kaiba just came to Duel Academy in person." Chumley said.

"Indeed. I can hardly believe it myself." Bastion replied.

Ghassan walked up the steps and turned to Scott and Damian. "Damian, he wants to question the two of us thanks to your idea about selling Synchro and Xyz monsters." He whispered.

"So he doesn't suspect me eh?" Scott asked.

Sheppard's voice spoke on the intercoms. "Due to unforseen circumstances, the field exam for numbers 42 and 43 has been postponed. Their duel will occur during the beginning of next semester."

"Number 42? That's me." Damian said.

"Huh? Why do you think your duel is postponed Damian?" Chumley asked.

"Well, me and Damian gotta go. Our ride home is early." Ghassan said. "Chumley, Bastion, good luck on your field exams."

The two nodded. "Thanks. I hope you two have a good Winter Break," Bastion told them.

"Same here." Chumley said.

Damian smiled. "See ya next semester!" Damian and Ghassan walked through the several students in the bleachers, and exited the gymnasium through the upper exits.

"Well, I guess all that's left is to watch the other field exams." Scott stated. Hardly anybody paid attention to them as Kaiba's arrival stole virtually everybody's attention. There were only four duelists left. Two Slifers facing each other, and two Obelisks facing each other.

"Jerry Beans Man, (1750/0) destroy Battle Ox!" (1700/1000) A Slifer student commanded. A sentient bean with a sword, shield, and cape slashed through a anthropomorphic ox wearing armor and wielding a battle axe. "I end my turn."

"Gagagigo, (1850/1000) destroy his set monster!" An Obelisk Blue commanded.

"You attacked my Mystical Elf (800/2000)!" The other Obelisk stated. As the anthropomorphic lizard struck the set card, a woman with blue skin and long yellow hair appeared from it. It sung a song that formed a barrier and repelled Gagagigo.

"...Not quite as theatrical, but decent enough." Scott stated.

"Go with Kaiba." A voice said in Scott's head. He could tell it was The Light of Destruction.

"What? Why?"

"Kaiba is one of the most powerful men in the world. We could find a way to use him to our advantage."

"Ok, but...how?"

Telepathic laughter rung in Scott's head. "Just let him hold Blue Eyes Chaos Dragon. I'll handle the rest."

Scott sighed, and turned to Chumley and Bastion. "Hey guys, I'm gonna have to run too. Have a great break!" Before Bastion and Chumley could ask any questions, Scott ran off. 'I don't know what The Light's planning, but if it helps get us back home, I might as well listen.'


Ghassan and Damian walked towards the helicopter, carrying their backpacks and dragging their luggage. Mokuba and Kaiba were there waiting for them. "Taking us to KaibaCorp I take it?" Damian asked.

Mokuba nodded. "We'll take you the building that's stationed in California. We have a feeling you'll be more comfortable in America than Japan. This helicopter will take us to our private jet which will take us to America."

Ghassan and Damian were relieved by that. Central Duel Academy accustomed for students that weren't Japanese as, since it was the most prestigious dueling school, plenty of overseas students came there. The classes were taught in English, meaning the students needed to have proficiency in English to enroll, and the text books were either in English or in Japanese. But unfortunately, cities within Japan themselves were much more difficult to navigate around. Finding a temporary apartment for the days before they arrived at duel academy was a major hassle.

"So, where will be staying for the break?" Ghassan asked.

"Well if we come to the conclusion that you've been stealing data from KaibaCorp and Industrial Illusions, I'm sure prison will provide a bed for you." Kaiba replied. "Otherwise, KaibaCorp will be paying for a hotel, and for your plane tickets back to Duel Academy for when your break's over."

Damian shrugged. "Works for me. The being provided for thing, not the jail thing."

"Hey, wait up!" The four turned and saw Scott, with a backpack and luggage, run towards them.

Ghassan looked like he was about to pop a blood vessel. "Scott! You coming too man?" He was smiling, but it couldn't have been any more forced.

"Yeah! Something in my head told me that I might as well come along." Scott replied. Ghassan and Damian got the message. The Light of Destruction ordered him to come along.

"Sorry. I don't think so." Kaiba replied.

"Huh? Why not?" Scott asked.

"For starters, this isn't a vacation. The reason I'm bringing your two friends is because they're suspects of stealing data, and the illegal production of Duel Monsters cards."

"I know. But I have Synchro and Xyz monsters too. So I should be questioned as well, right?"

"That brings me to my second reason. Nobody in their right mind would willingly give somebody information that might incriminate them unless they had some ulterior motive. There's a reason you want to come along, and I'm not risking that."

Scott sighed. "Well, I wanted this to be a surprise for when we arrive at KaibaCorp, but I guess I have no choice." Scott opened up his back pack, and searched through it.

"What do you mean no choice?" Kaiba asked.

Ghassan and Damian widened their eyes. "Scott...are you seriously gonna...?" Ghassan asked.

Scott got out a deck from his bag. "Here it is." He walked up to Kaiba, and was about to give him the deck, but Damian held out a hand.

"Best not to let Kaiba actually touch it. He might rip up the cards, or throw them into the ocean out of spite."

An idea popped into Kaiba's head about what the deck was. 'No way...it can't be.' "What are you talking about?!" Kaiba demanded.

"Good point." Scott got out three cards, and held them in front of Kaiba. "You'll want to ask me some questions about how I have these cards, right?"

"There are countless cards we have questions about. That doesn't mean we're gonna risk you coming along when you clearly have a motive for-" Mokuba began to say.

"Scott right? Get in the chopper." Kaiba interrupted. He was gritting his teeth, and clenching his fist.

"Seto?!"

Scott smiled. "Thanks. Come one guys." Scott entered the helicopter, Ghassan and Damian slowly following.

"Seto, I thought you said we weren't gonna risk him coming! He wants to come along!"

"Mokuba, is there any slight possibility that you overlooked some cards that were sold online?" Kaiba asked.

"Huh? Well, any cards sold in the last two hours I wouldn't know about since that was the last time I checked."

"And there's only one Blue-Eyes that I don't have, and I ripped it up right?"

"Well, I heard that Yugi's grandpa taped it together, but yeah. Why?"

"Then I need to know...HOW DOES THAT BOY HAVE THREE COPIES OF BLUE-EYES WHITE DRAGON!?"

The three heard Kaiba's shouting from inside the helicopter. "You're in for it now Scott..." Ghassan said.


With the first semester done with, our protagonists are on their way to KaibaCorp for questioning. And out of desperation to be brought along, Scott revealed to Kaiba that he has copies of Blue-Eyes White Dragon as well. How will this turn out for them? And what does The Light of Destruction intend to do with Kaiba? ...Well, the last question isn't that hard to have an answer for when you think about it.

I've been waiting to get to this part of the story for a long time. Writing the duel and having Ghassan take his first steps to enjoying dueling again was fun too. Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter and are looking forward to the next one!