Chapter 27: Skyscraper
(Scott 2600/Jaden 2300/Bastion 2950)
Bastion's and Jaden's fields were completely empty, while Scott controlled Tyrant Red Dragon Archfiend (3500-1750/3000) that was weakened from Jaden's Shrink. Scott was surrounded by a white aura that only Jaden and Chumley seemed to be able to see. Bastion and Jaden both had 6 cards in their hands, while Scott had 4.
"Jaden's memories as the Supreme King are returning?" Scott asked. "But why?"
"Perhaps you using my power served as a catalyst. Either way, it doesn't seem he's regained his memories. He just has a bad feeling about the aura he's seeing."
Jaden and Chumley noticed that the white aura surrounding Scott seemed to shrink. 'Seriously...what was with that aura?' Jaden wondered.
The transparent image of Winged Kuriboh appeared next to Jaden. 'Kuri kuri kuri!'
'I hear ya pal. Something tells me there's more to Scott than meets the eye.'
Chumley's eyes widened as he saw Winged Kuriboh's spirit. 'There it is again. I swear I can't just be seeing things.'
"Huh...wasn't expecting Jaden to save Bastion." Damian stated.
"Though it might have been for the worst. If Bastion survives Scott's attack, then on Bastion's turn, Jaden will be wide open for an attack. Even if Bastion can't get past Scott's monster, he can still eliminate Jaden." Zane replied.
Alexis said nothing, looking at Jaden in worry. 'Why did you do that Jaden?' Alexis turned to Damian. "So, about this double tuning? Did you have that back in America too?"
Damian nodded. "They're rare but yeah. There are multiple Synchro Monsters that use two tuners."
Scott turned back to Bastion. "Well, looks like I won't be able to eliminate you, but you're still wide open for a direct attack. Molten Crimson Tide!" Tyrant Red Dragon Archfiend unleashed a torrent of flames onto Bastion. (Bastion 2950-1200) "Now, I equip Dragon Shield to my monster. This prevents the equipped Dragon Monster from being destroyed by battle or card effects, but no player takes battle damage from battles involving it. I set a card and end my turn."
"Clever move." Zane said. "With Dragon Shield, he'll protect his monster from destruction for the rest of the turn, and with his monster's effect, Scott can destroy it on his next turn to do battle damage again."
Bastion looked at Jaden. 'I should be grateful to Jaden. He kept me in the duel. But I feel...insulted. Saved from a quick elimination by my rival...damnit. It feels as if I'm being looked down on.'
Bastion drew from his deck, smiling at the card he drew. "I activate Tenacity of the Monarchs. By revealing a monster with 2400 ATK and 1000 DEF or a monster with 2800 ATK and 1000 DEF, I can add one 'Monarch' spell or trap card to my hand." Bastion revealed his Zaborg the Mega Monarch to Jaden and Scott. "I add the quickplay spell The Monarchs Stormforth to my hand."
Scott widened his eyes. He knew what was coming.
"I activate The Monarchs Stormforth. With this spell, I can use a monster my opponent controls for a Tribute Summon. And since you're the only one who controls a monster Scott, you can guess which one I select."
"And since tributing isn't the same as destroying, Dragon Shield won't protect my monster." Scott noted.
"Indeed. I sacrifice your Tyrant Red Dragon Archfiend to summon Angmarl the Fiendish Monarch. (2400/1000)" Scott's Tyrant Red Dragon Archfiend dissolved in light before a figure with dark armor and a tattered red cape emerged on Bastion's side of the field.
Damian raised an eyebrow. 'Huh. Usually in the anime, for a boss monster like Scott's Synchro Monster, it would take the opponent the entire duel dealing with it.'
"With Angmarl's effect, I can remove from play one spell card from my graveyard and add a second copy of it from my deck to my hand. I remove from play Tenacity of the Monarchs to add a second copy to my hand. However, I can only activate one copy of the spell card per turn." Bastion added the card to his hand. "Now, Battle Phase!"
Crowler smiled. 'Perfect. Now that Jaden's field is wide open, and that Winged Kuriboh's effect is no longer able to protect him, Bastion can wipe out his life points! Thank goodness that foolish slacker decided to save Bastion.'
Bastion turned to Jaden. 'I have the perfect opportunity to defeat Jaden now. But would that truly feel like a victory?' "Angmarl...attack Scott directly!"
"WHAAAAAT?!" Crowler shouted.
The Monarch generated a dark orb of energy in it's right hand and hurled it at Scott. "I activate my trap card, Pinpoint Guard. This lets me special summon a level 4 or lower monster from my grave, and it can't be destroyed by battle or card effects this turn. I choose Keeper of the Shrine (0/2100) in defense mode." The monk-like dragon appeared on Scott's side of the field, a barrier protecting it from the blast.
Bastion turned to Jaden. "Looks like I should have attacked you after all. Still, now we're even."
Jaden chuckled. "Didn't wanna feel like you owed a debt eh?"
Bastion smiled. "Don't think you're completely safe though Jaden. Thanks to Scott's Card of Sanctity, I drew my trump card." Bastion placed a card in the field spell slot. "I activate Domain of the True Monarchs!" A dark mist surrounded the field before a giant throne rised behind Bastion. "With this field spell, as long as I'm the only one who controls a Tribute Summoned monster, my opponent can't summon from the Extra Deck!"
Jaden gasped. Scott raised an eyebrow. "Another way to counter us both at the same time, eh Bastion?"
"Indeed. It was difficult to predict which deck you would use specifically Scott, but I noticed many of your decks had a heavy focus on the Extra Deck, some heavier than others." And your Elemental Heroes Jaden are at their best when fused together. Shutting out your Fusion Monsters puts you at a massive handicap."
"And with the Tenacity of the Monarchs that he added to his hand, even if they get rid of that card next turn, he can get another copy." Damian realized.
"Assuming he has multiple copies. Not many duelists run multiple of the same Field Spell." Alexis replied.
"True, but I wouldn't be surprised if Bastion found a strategy to work with that." Zane said.
"...Yeah." 'Geez. Pegasus might be speeding up card production, but these guys are still cavemen by the standards in our world.' Damian thought.
"I end my turn with a facedown." Bastion stated.
"My move then." Jaden drew a card. "I summon a card in defense mode and I set two cards facedown."
Scott drew a card. "I activate my second copy of Pot of Greed to draw two cards." Scot drew two cards from his deck, put them in his hand, and got out another one. "With Keeper of the Shrine being able to act as two tributes, I sacrifice it to summon a second copy of Rabidragon (2950/2900) in attack mode!" The rabbit-like dragon emerged on Scott's side of the field. "And now that you're no longer the only one who controls a tribute summoned monster, I can special summon from the Extra Deck again, right Bastion?"
"Correct." Bastion said.
Scott got out one of the cards he drew. "I activate Dragon's Mirror. This lets me Fusion Summon a Dragon monster from my Extra Deck by banishing monsters from my graveyard. I remove from play Alexandrite Dragon and Wattaildragon." Transparent images of the Dragons appeared behind Scott before they swirled together in an orange and blue vortex. "Behold, the ancestor of these majestic beasts. I summon First of the Dragons." (2700/2000) A flash of light occured before a titanic serpentine purple dragon appeared on Scott's side of the field.
"It's huge!" Syrus yelled.
"And with two powerful dragons, Scott can eliminate either Bastion or Jaden this turn." Chumley said.
"I activate my trap card, Waboku. This protects my monsters from being destroyed by battle along with preventing me from taking any battle damage." Bastion stated.
"Heh. Looks like your safe." Scott turned to Jaden. "First of the Dragons, destroy Jaden's facedown!" The dragon unleashed a blast of purple energy from it's mouth. The set card revealed itself to be Elemental Hero Sparkman (1600/1400) before being destroyed.
"Perfect! Now when Rabidragon attacks Jaden, his life points are history." Crowler smiled.
"Rabidragon, attack Jaden directly!" Rabidragon flew up to Jaden, ready to slash through him.
"I activate my trap card, Necro Fusion!" Jaden declared.
Damian widened his eyes. 'Since when did Jaden have THAT card?'
"It's the same card you used against Jaden and Syrus." Zane pointed out to Damian.
"Yeah. Didn't expect Jaden to put it in his deck." Damian replied.
"He must have thought it would be a good fit for his deck after he found out about it." Alexis guessed.
"By removing from play Fusion Materials in my grave, I can special summon a monster from my Extra Deck! It can't attack this turn, but since I used it on an opponents turn, that's not gonna matter. I remove from play my Elemental Hero Flame Wingman and my Elemental Hero Sparkman!" The transparent images of the heroes appeared before they swirled together in the colored vortex as well. "I summon the Elemental Hero Shining Flare Wingman! (2500/2100)" A green skinned hero covered in shining white armor appeared.
"Whoa..I never saw bro use that card before." Syrus said.
'Huh...he's not supposed to have that card until his duel with Camula. Maybe he got it over suspension or something.' Damian wondered. 'Geez, even Jaden's deck is getting a bit better because of our actions.'
"Shining Flare Wingman has a special ability! For each Elemental Hero I have in my graveyard, it gains 300 attack points!" Jaden stated.
Bastion gasped. "Clayman, Avian, Burstinatrix, Bladedge, and Necroshade are all in your graveyard. That means it gains 1500 attack points!"
Flames began to form around Jaden's Elemental Hero. (Elemental Hero Shining Flare Wingman 2500-4000/2100)
"4000 attack points?!" Crowler yelled in shock.
"I take it you wanna call off that attack, right?"
Scott nodded. "Geez, you two are pretty tenacious huh? I end my turn."
"Then it's my move." Bastion drew a card. "I activate Pot of Greed to draw two cards!" Bastion drew two cards, put them in his hand, and got out another one. "I activate my second Tenacity of the Monarchs. I'm sure you remember what it does." Bastion revealed Zaborg the Mega Monarch again. "I choose to add a second copy of The Monarchs Stormforth."
"Uh-oh." Damian said.
Bastion added the card to his hand. "Now, I activate it to use your Rabidragon as a Tribute." Scott's Rabidragon behan to dissolve in light. "Come forth, Zaborg the Mega Monarch! (2800/1000)" A titanic figure with silver armor and red horns on the side appeared on Bastion's side of the field. "Zaborg's a level 8, but it can be tribute summoned with only one monster so long as said monster was also tribute summoned."
Scott sighed. "And now that Rabidragon's gone, you're the only one controlling Tribute Summoned monsters again."
"Which means that you and Jaden can't summon from the Extra Deck yet again." Bastion turned to Jaden. "I was saving this monster for in case Jaden played Thunder Giant, but since Jaden got out another LIGHT monster, this'll do fine. When Zaborg is Tribute Summoned, I can target one monster an opponent controls and destroys it. In addition, if it's a LIGHT monster, you have to send monsters from your Extra Deck to your graveyard equal to the level of the destroyed monster!"
Jaden, Syrus, Chumley, and Alexis gasped at this.
"Shining Flare Wingman's a level 8. That's probably more than half of Jaden's Extra deck." Damian stated.
"That's not all. Since Zaborg the Mega Monarch was tribute summoned using a LIGHT monster, that means Bastion can choose which cards in Jaden's Extra Deck goes to the graveyard." Zane replied. "Even if Jaden or Scott finds a way to special summon from the Extra Deck again, Jaden will be at a heavy disadvantage."
"Go Zaborg! Storming Thunder!" Zaborg generated a large ball of electricity before hurling it at Shining Flare Wingman, destroying it.
"Oof. Getting your ace wiped off the field before it does anything. Gotta suck." Scott said.
'Man. Scott and Jaden both got out a powerful Extra Deck Monster that they never shown Duel Academy before this duel, and Bastion wiped them out like it was nothing. That hardly ever happens in the anime.' Damian thought. 'His shutdowns, his combos...Bastion's reminding me of duelists back in our world. He's adapting to the more advanced cards Industrial Illusions are producing faster than anybody I know at the Academy.'
"And now, since your Shining Flare Wingman's a level 8 and a LIGHT monster, I can send 8 monsters from your Extra Deck to your graveyard." Bastion walked up to Jaden. "Your Extra Deck if you don't mind."
Jaden sighed and got out his Extra Deck, giving it to Bastion. Syrus and Chumley watched in horror as Bastion searched through it. "Bastion really made sure he could counter Jaden's deck." Chumley noted.
"Bro...bro can win this duel, right?" Syrus asked.
"Thunder Giant, Rampart Blaster, Tempest, Wildedge, Darkbright, Necroid Shaman, Neo Bubbleman, and Mariner." Bastion stated. He took out the 8 cards, and gave them to Jaden, who sent them to his graveyard. Bastion then gave the remaining 5 cards in Jaden's Extra Deck back to him.
"Heh heh. You've really got my number Bastion." Jaden stated.
Bastion chuckled before walking back to the edge of the tarp he was standing at. "Now, Battle Phase! I won't risk your monster destroying one of mine next turn Scott. Zaborg, destroy First of the Dragons!" Once again, the Mega Monarch generated a ball of electricity in it's hands. "In addition, due to another effect of Domain of the True Monarchs, when a Tribute Summoned monster I control attacks an opponents monster, it gains 800 attack points until the end of the damage step!" A dark aura glowed around Zaborg (Zaborg the Mega Monarch 2800-3600/1000) before it hurled the ball of electricity at Scott's Dragon, causing an explosion. (Scott 2600-1700) (Zaborg the Mega Monarch 3600-2800/1000)
"Nice move, but I think you were being hasty when you told it to DESTROY my monster." Scott said. The bulldust cleared up, before it was revealed that Scott's fusion monster was still standing.
"What the-?!"
"First of the Dragon's effect. Unless it's against a Normal Monster, it can't be destroyed by battle."
Bastion clenched his fist. 'Blast it...at least I did damage.' "Angmarl, now it's your turn! Attack Jaden directly!" Angmarl generated a dark orb of energy.
"I activate my trap card, Half or Nothing!" Jaden declared.
'The card I used against him in our first duel!' Scott remembered.
"With this card, you get to choose between two effects. Either halve the attack of all monsters you control for the rest of the battle phase or end the Battle Phase."
Bastion smiled. "Obviously I'll choose the former." (Angmarl the Fiendish Monarch 2400-1200/1000) (Zaborg the Mega Monarch 2800-1400/1000) Angmarl hurled the orb at Jaden, causing him to nearly fall to the ground. (Jaden 2300-1100)
"OH COME ON! HOW HARD CAN IT BE TO WIPE OUT HIS LIFE POINTS?!" Crowler screamed. Nearly everybody in the stadium turned to look at him, causing Crowler to cough awkwardly. "Erm...proceed."
"I set two cards facedown and end my turn. And naturally, my Monarchs return to their original attack points." (Zaborg the Mega Monarch 1400-2800/1000) (Angmarl the Fiendish Monarch 1200-2400/1000)
"Gotta say, you've been in bad positions a shit ton of the time this duel Jaden." Scott said.
Jaden gave a wary look at Scott for a little while, but then smiled. "Well fighting your way out of bad situations is a major reason why dueling is so fun!" 'Though in this case, something tells me that I especially can't let Scott win.'
(Ghassan 3400/ Gerard 500) Gerald was on his knees, looking at Ghassan. He had no cards on the field and two in his hand. Ghassan had Jurrac Hera (2300/1500) Evolzar Dolkka (2300/1700) and a facedown card on his side of the field, along with one card in his hand.
"So what do you say?" Ghassan asked. He was extending a hand despite being too far away for Gerald to grab it. "If you listen to what we tell you, you can become stronger."
"H-how so...?" Gerald asked.
Ghassan smiled. "You'll be allied with powerful duelists. Get your hands on more powerful cards. And that'll lead you to the fame and fortune you've been craving for years."
"But...you're just two kids at a Dueling Academy. How would that-"
"We're not just two students." Ghassan interupted. "We're two of the best duelists at this school."
'Giving yourself a little too much credit there I'd argue.' Adrian thought to himself.
"In this world, to be a skilled duelist is the same as being a figure in power. From pharaohs of Ancient Egypt, to CEOs of the most succesful companies, Duel Monsters is the reason they got to their position. And their skill in dueling was crucial to maintain their power." Ghassan wasn't even lying. He remembered enough about the show to know that this stupid card game pretty much ran how the world functioned.
"I could finally be a success..." Gerard stated. "Things can finally go my way." Gerard lifted up his hand, and had it hover over his deck.
'Heh. Looks like he's as good as ours.' Ghassan thought.
"Well fighting your way out of bad situations is a major reason why dueling is so fun!" A voice said. Gerard turned to the monitor displaying the triangle duel. He took glances at it here and there, but due to the situation, didn't know the whole thing. From what he could tell though, Jaden was in the worst position of the trio, having no cards defending him, and the least amount of life points.
'That kid...he's still giving it his all.'
"It's my move!" Jaden drew a card from his deck, put it in his hand, and got out another one. "First I activate Burial from a Different Dimension. This lets me send monsters that were removed from play to my graveyard. I send my Sparkman and Flame Wingman to the grave. Next, I activate Legacy of a Hero. By returning two Fusion Monsters from my grave to my Extra Deck, I can draw three cards! I return my Wildedge and my Flame Wingman to the Extra Deck!" Jaden returned the two fusion monsters to his deck before drawing three new cards. "Sweetness! I activate the field spell Skyscraper!" The dark fog that surrounded the trio began to dissolve. Several buildings rose out of the ground, the tallest one rising directly underneath the giant throne on the field, destroying it.
"Alright! Jaden got rid of Bastion's field spell!" Chumley exclaimed.
'Looks like Pegasus decided not to implement two field spells being on the field at the same time yet.' Scott thought.
"Good move Jaden, but even with Skyscraper, Bubbleman won't be strong enough to take out either of my Monarchs." Bastion pointed out.
"True, but with your field spell gone, I can fusion summon again! First, I summon my Elemental Hero Wildheart! (1500/1700)" The tribal Elemental Hero appeared on Jaden's side of the field before Jaden got out a card he previously had in his hand. "Now, I activate Miracle Fusion! With this card, by removing from play fusion materials from my field or graveyard, I can fusion summon! I fuse the Wildheart on my field with the Bladedge in my graveyard!"
Transparent images of the heroes formed before they swirled together in a blue and orange vortex, forming a muscular dark-skinned man with pieces of Bladedge's armor on his head, left arm, and right leg along with a large sword on his back. "Meet Elemenetal Hero Wildedge! (2600/2300) And he has a special ability! He can attack all of my opponents monsters once each! And since this is a triangle duel..."
"That means he can attack both Scott's AND Bastion's monsters." Alexis stated.
"Sorry Jaden, but I won't let that happen. I activate my continuous trap card, The Monarchs Erupt." Bastion stated. "As long as I have no cards in my Extra Deck and at least one tribute summoned monster on the field, all face up monsters on the field, barring tribute summoned ones, have their effects negated!"
Jaden widened his eyes, then smiled and turned towards Scott. "Then that means your First of the Dragons monster can be destroyed by battle!" Scott gritted his teeth. "Go Wildedge, destroy Scott's dragon!" The Elemental Hero got out it's sword and leaped into the air. "And don't forget! Thanks to Skyscraper, my Elemental Heroes gain 1000 attack points when attacking a stronger monster!"
"I'm aware." Scott replied. (Elemental Hero Wildedge 2600-3600/2300) Wildedge slashed through First of the Dragons as it came down, destroying it. (Scott 1700-800) "Since a Dragon monster was destroyed by battle, both of my Keeper of the Shrines in my graveyard are able to be special summoned now!" The two dragonic monks appeared in front of Scott.
"Wait, I thought all effects of monsters were negated unless they were tribute summoned?" Jaden asked.
"That's only for faceup monsters on the field. The effect of Keeper of the Shrine to bring them back from the grave activates from the graveyard. So unfortunately, it's fair game." Bastion explained.
"Huh. Makes sense. I end my turn." Jaden said. "And Wildedge's attack goes back to normal." (Elemental Hero Wildedge 3600-2600/2300)
Gerard stared at the monitor in surprise. "He...he turned things around." He took a look at his deck. "...It's my move!"
Ghassan gritted his teeth. 'God damnit.'
Gerard stood up, and drew a card. "I activate Pot of Greed to draw two cards from my deck!" Gerard drew two more cards. Upon looking at one of the cards he drew, he gasped in shock. 'It's...it's Skyscraper.'
Gerard was facing off against Seto Kaiba. Kaiba had two cards facedown, and an iconic dragon on his side of the field. Gerard had a monster in flame-like armor on his side of the field and the field spell, Skyscraper. "Elemenetal Hero Nova Master (2600/2100) destroy Kaiba's Blue-Eyes White Dragon! (3000/2500)" Gerard commanded. Nova Master leaped into the air, and generated a fireball in it's hands. "And thanks to Skyscraper, my Nova Master gains 1000 attack points when it battles a monster with more attack points!" (Elemental Hero Nova Master 2600-3600/2100)
The Elemental Hero threw the fireball at Kaiba's monster, destroying it. (Kaiba 2400-1800) "Since Nova Master destroyed a monster, I can draw a card." Gerard drew a card from his deck. "I'll set it facedown. So, what're you gonna do Kaiba? You'd need to get out your Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon to get past my Nova Master." 'And even if he does summon it, the Battle Fusion I drew from Nova Master's effect will take care of that.'
Kaiba smiled. "You think I'll need my strongest monster to get past your sad excuse for a strategy? You should be grateful that I even allowed that attack to pass."
"Keep bluffing Kaiba. I end my turn." (Elemental Hero Nova Master 3600-2600/2300)
"I'm not bluffing. Before I take my turn, I activate Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy your facedown!" From one of his facedowns, a blue cyclone sucked up and destroyed Gerard's facedown card.
"What the?!"
"You might be wondering why I didn't activate it to destroy Skyscraper back when you attacked. Simple. To show you that I don't need to duel seriously to deal with the likes of you."
Gerard gritted his teeth. 'He's mocking me..."
Kaiba drew from his deck, put it away, and got out another one. "I activate Monster Reborn to revive my Blue-Eyes White Dragon!" A flash of light occured before the fierece blue dragon returned to Kaiba's side of the field. "Now, Blue-Eyes White Dragon, destroy his pitiful monster!" Blue-Eyes White Dragon fired a beam of energy from it's mouth at Nova Master.
"Umm...forgetting Skyscraper? It applies WHENEVER a Hero battles, not just when it's the attacker." (Elemental Hero Nova Master 2600-3600/2300)
"Trust me, I haven't. I activate my quickplay spell Absorb Spell." The remaining facedown of Kaiba's rose up. "When a monster of yours would gain attack points from a spell, my monster gains the attack points instead, regardless of the spell's conditions."
"WHAT?!" (Elemental Hero Nova Master 3600-2600/2300) (Blue-Eyes White Dragon 3000-4000/2500) The beam of energy struck Nova Master, before an explosion occured, destroying the monster. (Gerard 1200-0)
"Don't forget your place. I'm the champion of Duel Monsters. And you're a third rate duelist with a fourth rate deck."
Kaiba deactivated his duel disk, and walked away. Gerard fell to his knees, before taking a look at the card in his field spell slot. "Skyscraper...you betrayed me."
'Ever since that day, I blamed Skyscraper for my loss against Kaiba...for how he humiliated me at the Pro Leagues. I quit dueling because of that. But it wasn't the card's fault.' "I activate the field spell Skyscraper!" All around Ghassan and Gerard, buildings rose up from the groun. "Considering how we all saw Jaden use this on the monitor, I don't think we need an explanation for what it does, do we?"
"So you're still gonna try and duel?" Ghassan asked.
Gerard nodded. "Watching those three kids, especially Jaden, give it their all despite how badly things were going, it made me think...maybe I can turn things around too." Gerard got out a card from his hand. "I activate Miracle Fusion to fuse my Elemental Hero Ocean and Voltic from my graveyard. Let's welcome back Elemental Hero Absolute Zero!" (2500/2000) Absolute Zero returned to Gerard's side of the field, standing on top of the tallest building.
"Absolute Zero has more attack points than both of Ghassan's monsters. Was playing Skyscraper just for if he gets a stronger one?" Adrian wondered.
"Nice guess kid, but no dice." Gerard got out a card he previously had in his hand. "I activate the spell card Skydive Scorcher. If I have an Elemental Hero Fusion Monster AND Skyscraper on the field, I get to destroy all cards my opponent controls. And then, my opponent takes damage equal to their combined original attack points!"
Adrian and Ghassan both widened their eyes at the explanation. 'That'll do a total of 4600 damage. More than enough to wipe out Ghassan's life points.' Adrian thought. 'Guess this plan of his was a bust.'
A cold wind blew from Absolute Zero. Jurrac Hera and Evolzar Dolkka were both frozen solid. "It's over." Gerard stated.
Ghassan smiled. "For you. I activate my quickplay spell, Spell of Pain!" Ghassan was really happy that Scott and Damian bought several copies of this card over Winter Break. Especially since it's apparently way more useful in the anime world. "When I would take damage from battle or a card effect, that damage gets redirected at you instead!"
Gerard widened his eyes. "No way!" As Jurrac Hera and Evolzar Dolkka shattered, two orbs of energy were left in their place.
"Like I said. The way you are, you'll never get stronger. For all that talk about giving it your all and turning things around, it amounted to nothing. Our side is the one with power. And only THAT will lead you to success." Ghassan stated.
"I...I thought I could turn things around..."
The two orbs headed their way toward Gerard, exploding in his face and knocking him to the ground. (Gerard 500-0) 'For a former pro duelist, he went out pretty easily. Guess not dueling for years made him rusty.' Adrian thought.
Ghassan deactivated his duel disk. "You were doomed from the start. You know that right?"
"Yes...I do." Gerard raised his head. "It was dumb of me to think I stood a chance against either of you. If I want to get stronger, I need to listen to you."
Ghassan walked up to him. "You remember our deal, right? Hack into the email about a certain professor, Professor Banner, and only give us the information."
"Of course." Gerard stood up, and walked towards the computer desk. He sat down and continued to hack.
'It looks like the brainwashing worked, but I need to be sure. All I did was think about how much I wanted him to work under us.' "So Gerard. There'll be times where we might need your help for other tasks. Can we count on you for that?"
Gerard nodded. "Absolutely. Thanks to you, my eyes have finally awakened. It's a truly wonderful experience. I'm eternally grateful to you for what you did."
Adrian walked up to Ghassan. "It's safe to say that it works."
Ghassan nodded. "Now, we can finally have things go our way."
"Heh heh. Looks like Jaden's still in this." Damian said.
Zane nodded. "This could be anybody's game. From Bastion limiting their decks and effects, to Scott's arsenal of powerhouses, to Jaden's flexibility. All of them are worthy of representing Duel Academy."
'This could be bad. My backup plan was to get a powerful XYZ monster with my Keeper of the Shrines in case First of the Dragons was destroyed. But thanks to Bastion's trap card, all monsters have their effects negated if it's not tribute summoned. Gonna have to tribute summon a powerful dragon then. Maybe I can draw Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon? It's at least stronger than Bastion's Monarchs. But that won't stop Jaden's Wildedge when it's boosted by Skyscraper.' "It's my move." Scott drew from his deck. "I activate my third and final Pot of Greed." A free two cards? No duh Scott would be running three of that card in his deck. Soctt drew two cards, smiling at one of them 'Looks like anime luck is contagious.'
"I activate my face down, Dragoncarnation. With it, I can add a banished Dragon monster to my hand. I choose Rabidragon." Scott added the monster to his deck.
"Gonna tribute summon it with your two Keeper of the Shrines?" Bastion guessed. "Remember, thanks to Eruption of the Monarchs, their effect for them to count as two tributes for a Dragon monster is negated, so you can't only tribute one."
"I'm aware Bastion, thank you." Scott answered. "I activate Draconnection. I reveal one Dragon Type monster in my hand, and then I can add one of the same level." Scott revealed the Rabidragon he added to his hand. "Rabidragon's a level 8, so I can add another level 8 Dragon monster to my hand. Then Rabidragon gets shuffled into my deck." Scott searched through his deck, got out a card, and then put Rabidragon back in it before shuffling it.
"What do you think Scott's planning?" Alexis asked Damian.
"Gonna be honest. Not sure. Scott has Dragon decks relying on the graveyard, that focus on Extra Deck summoning, that focus on burn damage, those of certain archetypes...I don't keep track of all his cards."
'Now, I can eliminate both Bastion and Jaden this turn.' "Get ready you two! I sacrifice both of my Keeper of the Shrines!" The dragonic monks both dissolved into dark energy before the energy blended together in the sky. A makeshift prison was formed from the energy. "Roaring dragon of black-steel! Shatter the lock that encloses the boundaries of the mortal plane and bring forth destruction to all my enemies! Come forth, Gandora-X the Dragon of Demolition! (0/0)"
The prison exploded from the inside before a dark purple metallic dragon with several glowing red circles over it's body descended down onto Scott's side of the field. "It looks scary, but it has zero attack points. It shouldn't be too much of a problem." Syrus said.
"Never saw Scott use that monster before." Damian said. "Still, it must have a good effect if he chose to add it."
"I activate Gandora-X's effect! When it's Normal or Special Summoned, I can destroy as many other monsters on the field as possible! Then, my opponent takes damage equal to the strongest destroyed monster's attack points! Finally, Gandora will gain attack points equal to the damage dealt!"
Jaden, Bastion, Alexis, Syrus, and Chumley all gasped. "That means he can take out one of them with the effect damage, and the other one by attacking him directly." Alexis realized.
"I destroy both of Bastion's Monarchs, and Jaden's Wildedge!" The three monsters began to dissolve into energy before all flowing into the red circle on Gandora-X's chest.
Bastion clenched his fist. "Since I no longer control any tribute summoned monsters, my Monarch's Erupt card is destroyed." Bastion continuous trap shattered into pieces.
"And since Zaborg the Mega Monarch had 2800 attack points, Gandora-X deals that much damage to one of you two!"
'So here and now, either me or Jaden will be eliminated this turn. Blast it all...for my opportunity to prove myself to come down to a choice by my opponent' Bastion thought. Bastion turned to Jaden. On his face was an expression of fear and worry. 'That's strange...Jaden would normally be excited to see such a strong monster.'
Scott turned to Bastion. "Looks like you're gonna be eliminated first Bastion. Finish him off Gandora-X!" From the glowing red spot on it's chest, the dragon launched a beam of energy at Bastion.
"...Damnit." Bastion pressed a button on his duel disk to reveal his facedown card. The beam of energy reached Bastion, causing him to fall to the ground. (Bastion 1200-0)
"BASTION!" Jaden yelled.
Bastion rose up slightly. "No need to be so dramatic Jaden."
Scott raised an eyebrow. 'Shouldn't he be mind controlled by us now?'
"Evidently, you didn't do enough to make him have the desire to join us. This was told to you before. You have to more than just beat him." The Light of Destruction answered.
'So what, I would talk like an obviously evil guy in front of the whole school?'
Crowler got out a microphone. "And Bastion Misawa has been eliminated!" 'I'd have preferred it if Bastion won, but since Scott will eliminate Jaden this turn as well, I'm fine with these results.'
"Looks like whatever that facedown is, it wasn't enough to save you. And now, Gandora gains attack points equal to the damage dealt to you." (Gandora-X the Dragon of Demolition 0-1400/0) "Huh?!"
"Shouldn't it be 2800?" Alexis asked.
Bastion stood up. "The trap card I activated before you eliminated me. Half Shield. With it, I target one monster on the field, and all battle and effect damage the monster does is halved."
"And with only half the damage inflicted, Gandora only gains half the attack points." Damian realized.
Crowler's eyes twitched. "He...he saved Jaden..." Crowler began to realize that Bastion probably wasn't the right tool to use to get revenge on the Slifer.
Bastion turned to Jaden. "Now it looks like the score's 2 to 1 in regards to saving each other."
"Does it really count if that first time you 'saved' me was just deciding not to eliminate me?" Jaden asked with a smile. 'I'm so glad he's ok. Maybe I was getting worked up over nothing?'
Scott sighed. "If the battle damage is halved, then Gandora will only be doing 700 damage to Jaden. Gandora, attack Jaden directly!" The dragon flew up towards Jaden, and slashed him. (Jaden 1100-400) "I set a card and end my turn."
Jaden drew a card, put it in his hand, and got out another one. "I summon my Elemental Hero Bubbleman (800/1200) in attack mode!"
"Alright! Combine it with Skyscraper, and bro will do enough damage to tak out Scott!" Syrus exclaimed.
"Go Bubbleman! Attack Gandora with Bubble Blast!" Bubbleman shot out a torrent of bubbles at Gandora. (Elemental Hero Bubbleman 800-1800/1200)
"Sorry. I activate my continuous trap Castle of Dragon Souls. By removing from play a Dragon Type monster in my graveyard, like my Tyrant Red Dragon Archfiend, I can target a monster I control and have it gain 700 attack points!" (Gandora-X the Dragon of Demolition 1400-2100/0) Gandora fired a beam of energy through the torrent, destroying Bubbleman. (Jaden 400-100)
"Oh come on!" Syrus complained.
Jaden paused. Then he started laughing. "Man Scott. And called ME tenacious?"
Scott smiled. "What can I say? I got some lucky draws."
"I throw down a facedown and end my turn."
Bastion walked off the Duel Field and decided to sit next to Syrus and Chumley. "Both of them keep hanging on by threads. Scott has the upper hand, but I can't tell who'll win."
"Say Bastion, why DID you decide to save Jaden?" Chumley asked. "Wanted to one up him in saving each other or something?"
"Something like that." Bastion said. 'Jaden seemed genuinely concerned whenever Scott was about to eliminate one of us...but why?'
Scott drew a card. "This'll work. I summon my Flamvell Guard (100/2000) in defense mode." A small dragon whose scales seemed to be on fire appeared on the field. "I won't risk that facedown being a Mirror Force or a Magic Cylinder. I tune my level 1 Flamvell Guard to my Level 8 Gandora-X!" Flamvell Guard transformed into a single green circle, which Gandora X flew through, dissolving into light and changing into 8 shining points as it did. "I synchro summon the level 9 Azure-Eyes Silver Dragon! (2500/3000)" A green flash occured before a fierece silver dragon appeared on Scott's side of the field.
"Another synchro eh?" Jaden asked.
"That's right. And when it's summoned, until the end of the next turn, Dragon monsters I control can't be destroyed or targeted by card effects. Now, Azure-Eyes Silver Dragon, attack Jaden directly!" Azure Eyes built up energy in it's mouth.
"I activate my trap card, A Hero Emerges! You know what this card does, right Scott? You pick a card in my hand at random, and if it's a monster, I get to special summon it." Jaden held up the three cards in his hand.
"Ugh...I'll pick the card on my left."
Jaden smiled. "You picked my Wroughtweiller! (800/1200)" A black dog-like robot with a blue visor appeared in front of Jaden.
'Of COURSE he's lucky enough for me to pick it.' "I know what Wroughtweiler does. I'm not gonna attack it and let you add a Polyermization AND an Elemental Hero back to your hand. I end my turn." 'With Azure-Eyes effect, I can special summon another Dragon on my standby phase. And in case he summons another monster in defense mode, I'll normal summon the Alexandrite Dragon in my hand. That way, when I destroy Wroughtweiler, his turn won't come around to use whatever he added.'
"It's my move!" Jaden drew a card. "Heh heh. Looks like you spared Wroughtweiller for nothing Scott. I activate Fusion Recovery. This lets me add a Polymerization from my grave, and a monster used for fusion summon previously. I add my Elemental Hero Burstinatrix and the Polymerization I used a while ago." Jaden ejected the cards from his graveyard and added them to his hand. "Next..." Jaden got out a card he previously had in his hand. "I activate O-Oversoul to special summon a Normal Elemental Hero from my graveyard. I choose Elemental Hero Avian (1000/1000)." The feathered hero appeared on Jaden's side of the field.
Damian smiled. "Doesn't take a genius to know what's coming."
"I activate Polymerization to fuse my Elemental Hero Avian with my Elemental Hero Burstinatrix! Come back to the field, Elemental Hero Flame Wingman! (2100/1000)" On the tallest tower stood Jaden's signature monster. "And since your Azure Eyes has more attack points than Flame Wingman, my monster gains 1000 attack points when it does battle."
"Forgetting my continuous trap Jaden? I can banish a Dragon and have Azure-Eyes gain 700 attack points."
"He's right. Even with Skyscraper, Scott can still raise his monster to 3200 attack points." Chumley said.
"Can he?" Bastion asked. Syrus and Chumley were confused by this.
"I haven't. But here's another thing I remember. The effect of your Azure-Eyes. I noticed that you didn't say that only the opponent can't target it with card effects. Just that it can't be targeted with or destroyed by card effects until the end of my turn."
Scott smiled. "Wanna find out?"
"If Jaden's wrong about this, and Azure-Eyes destroys Flame Wingman, Jaden will run out of life points." Damian said.
"But if he chickens out, the turn would end, and Azure-Eyes would be able to be targeted with card effects again. Meaning that on Scott's turn, he can use Castle of Dragon Souls and finish off Jaden anyway." Zane replied. "It all depends on whether or not Scott's bluffing."
"Go Flame Wingman! Skydive Scorcher!" Flame Wingman leaped off the building, surrounded by flames. (Elemental Hero Flame Wingman 2100-3100/1000)
"Go Azure-Eyes! Shining Stream of Destruction!" Azure-Eyes Silver Dragon fired a bright stream of energy at Flame Wingman. The two collided, both monsters trying to overpower the other. "It's over Jaden! I activate the effect of my Castle of Dragon Souls! I remove Gandora-X from play to increase Azure-Eyes' attack by 700!"
Jaden, Syrus, Chumley, and Alexis gasped. "Jaden was wrong? That means Azure-Eyes will wipe out Jaden's life points!" Chumley yelled.
Azure-Eyes fired even more energy, beginning to overpower Flame Wingman. "You did a good job Jaden. But once again, I win. Score's 3-0."
Jaden clenched his fist. Partially out of excitement for the fun duel. And partially out of worry about what Scott's hiding.
"Just kidding." Scott said.
"Huh?"
Flame Wingman overpowered the burst of energy, and dived through Azure-Eyes, causing it to explode in flames. (Scott 400-0) "Your guess was right. It was risky to get out Azure Eyes since it would make Castle of Dragon souls useless, but I was really paranoid if you had a trap that would destroy my monsters."
Crowler gritted his teeth in frustration while he got out the mic. "The winner...Jaden Yuki."
A huge applause occured. "Hot damn. There were a ton of close calls in that duel." Damian said.
"Indeed." Zane gave a look at Damian and mouthed the word 'Saturday.' Damian figured it had to do with what Ghassan said about finding proof that Banner's responsible for Atticus' disappearance. Zane walked off, leaving only Alexis and Damian.
"Looks like a Slifer's gonna be representing Duel Academy. I doubt that's happened before."
Alexis nodded. "It'll certainly be interesting."
Sheppard stood up from his seat. "Congratulations you three. You all performed well. But Jaden Yuki, you'll be Duel Academy's rep in the School Duel against North Academy."
Syrus, Chumley, and Bastion walked onto the field. "Way to play J!" Syrus cheered.
"Heh heh, thanks." Jaden turned to Bastion. "But if it weren't for you, I wouldn't have survived to beat Scott."
"Well if it weren't for you, I would have been eliminated far earlier." Bastion sighed. "It's rather frustrating I must admit. Still, congratulaions Jaden. You earned it. But you can be assured that I'll try and even the score sometime down the line."
Jaden smiled. "Looking forward to it Bastion." The two high-fived each other.
Scott walked up to Jaden and Bastion. "We all put up a hell of a fight, huh? Still, I can take a small victory knowing you guys had to save each other out for Jaden to beat me."
"Then I'll just have to take my second victory against you without Bastion's help." Jaden replied. He was hiding it, but he was a little bit uncomfortable around Scott now.
"And naturally, I'll have my sights on you for a rematch as well." Bastion said to Scott.
Scott chuckled. "Nice duel guys." Scott high-fived Jaden, and then Bastion.
"Yes. Nice job on failing your task." The Light said in Scott's head.
'Can you shut up already? By the way, how'd Ghassan do?'
"Thankfully, he made progress. He brainwashed that man, Gerard, and had him hack for information about Banner."
'That's good. Any results?'
Ghassan, Adrian, and the brainwashed Gerard looked through several emails of Banner. "This is getting us nowhere. We've been looking at emails for 30 minutes and almost only got boring school stuff." Ghassan said. "The only thing incriminating was that Banner knows that the students are reported as studying overseas. And that doesn't mean he's responsible for Atticus' disappearance.
"Well he is a teacher. He'll have a ton of stuff like that." Adrian responded. "Didn't Damian say that he was working for Kagemaru?"
Ghassan turned to Gerard. "Filter it exclusively for emails sent to and from Kagemaru."
"Of course Lord Abunura." Gerard said.
"Ok, when you're in public, act like a normal person. We don't need people seeing you sing our praises." It creeped Ghassan out a little how different Gerard's demeanor was because of the brainwashing.
"As you wish." Gerard typed on the computer a bit so that only emails exchanged with Kagemaru would be displayed. "I got nothing, but they might have been deleted. Give me a bit." A few minutes passed before several emails to and from Kagemaru popped up. "Bingo! Restored all of them."
"He must have deleted all these emails to be safe. Too bad it didn't work for him." Adrian said.
"Click on the most recent one Banner sent to Kagemaru, and the most recent one Kagemaru sent to him." Ghassan told Gerard.
Gerard did so. "The latest email from Banner was from early January. It says 'We have something urgent to discuss. The three boys I told you about know of the Shadow Riders and the truth behind the missing students. They want to join' Kagemaru replied with 'Meet me tonight. We'll discuss the matter.' They must have had a talk about how they'd handle the situation."
Ghassan smiled. "Look through more of the deleted email." Gerard did as told. Several emails detailing things such as Shadow Rider recruits, cover ups about the missing students, and Jaden being a great source of Duel Energy.
"There's tons or stuff here that would get Sheppard to fire him." Adrian said.
Ghassan smiled. "Looks like we have our proof."
Hoooooooooo boy, this chapter took a lot out of me. Slightly more words than the previous chapter, along with having alot more action. It was fun to write, but man it was exhausting. Hope you guys found it worth the wait.
I juggled through a LOT of possibilities for how it would go. From Damian being in the triangle duel instead of Jaden, to Bastion being the winner of the triangle duel. I even considered having Adrian be in the Duel Off. In the end though, I went with this, both to give Jaden a victory in a full length duel, and so that I could set up pieces for future chapters.
Jaden's growing suspicous of Scott, and Ghassan found the proof Zane wanted about Banner being involved. How will things go from here? Hope you enjoyed the chapter, and have a great day everybody!
