Chapter 29: The School Duel
"What's going on?" Chazz asked. He was in the locker room with his older brothers. "The broadcast, Seto Kaiba, you buying the school of the loser? What's this all about?"
"Isn't it obvious? We're helping you take the first big steps for your part of our project." Slade replied. "Don't you remember it?"
The transparent image of Ojama Yellow appeared next to Chazz. "Project? What's he talking about boss?"
"World Domination..." Chazz answered.
"That's right." Jagger stated. "Slade's the speaker for the house of representatives, and I've been running several of the most succesful businesses in Japan. We've been pulling our weight. But the same can't be said about you."
"I'm the top duelist of North Academy-" Chazz began to protest.
"You think ANYBODY cares about North Academy?" Jagger interrupted. "That administratorless death trap hardly even qualifies as a school. Kaiba's considered shutting it down more often than I've ran competitors out of business."
"True. It's unfortunate that you're top student of the weakest branch of Duel Academy." Slade said. "But we found a way to make it work in our favor. And winning this broadcasted duel will be your first step to become the star of the dueling world."
"Ok, but what does that have to do with buying the losing school from Kaiba?" Chazz asked.
"Think about it. A Princeton is the top duelist of North Academy, while the Princeton Corporation owns Central Academy. The more influence over the Duel Academies we have, the more control over the dueling world we get." Slade answered. "In addition, owning either academy gets us partnership with Seto Kaiba, who we can absolutely use to our advantage."
"That said, owning North Academy's biggest use would be as a publicity stunt to get more attention." Jagger said. "West, East, and South Academy are more useful, but they don't have the annual duel with Central Academy like North Academy does." Jagger said. "We tried to simply buy Central Academy from Kaiba, but he said he wanted to see which school breeds the most talent. So we need you to win the School Duel so that we can own Central Academy."
"And then, our influence in the dueling world will skyrocket." Slade finished.
"They certainly have big plans." Ojama Yellow said.
"Chazz." Jagger said. His tone sent shivers down Chazz's spine. "We heard from Professor Crowler that you dropped out of Duel Academy three months ago. Apparently you were at risk of being demoted to Ra Yellow."
"Well I-" Chazz began to say.
Jagger stood up angrily. "Don't deny it! You have ALWAYS been the slacker of our family!" Chazz winced as if he was slapped in the face.
"It doesn't matter." Slade said. "You can turn this around and win respect for the Princeton Corporation. Don't let the family name down Chazz."
Jagger got out a suitcase. "You'll make a deck out of the cards in this briefcase. It's filled with some of the rarest cards that me and Slade could get our hands on, so you have no excuse to lose this duel Chazz." Jagger placed the suitcase near Chazz. "Don't disgrace us Chazz. It's time to prove your worth."
"Do you understand Chazz?" Slade asked.
Chazz said nothing.
"DO YOU UNDERSTAND?!" Jagger yelled.
Chazz nodded. "Right...I won't lose..."
The two older brothers smiled. "That's what we like to hear." Slade said. "We'll leave you to construct your deck." The two walked out of the locker room.
"Damnit..." Chazz fell of the bench he was sitting on and punched the floor. "I can win on my own...I CAN WIN ON MY OWN!"
Chazz repeatedly punched the floor while screaming. From behind one of the lockers, Damian was hiding. He was well aware of this scene. He saw it plenty of times back when he watched GX. But knowing that in this timeline, he was the cause of it just made him feel awful. 'What should I do...should I comfort him? Or would that just piss him off more?' Damian clenched his fist. 'God...I'm such a coward.'
"So...something tells me that Kaiba didn't pull this in the show." Scott whispered to Ghassan. They were walking towards the Duel Arena.
Ghassan nodded. "I'm not obsessed about GX like Damian, but I know that this is new."
"Figured. So, why is Kaiba doing this? Is it because of my Blue-Eyes cards, and he's taking it out on the Academy?"
"If that's the case, why wouldn't he simply sell the brothers Central Academy?" Ghassan wondered. "Or flat out force the school to expel you?"
"Because Seto knows that would make him look bad." A voice said. Scott and Ghassan turned their heads and saw Mokuba Kaiba walk up to them. "Sorry for eavesdropping, but I want to talk to you two."
"About your brother?" Scott guessed.
Mokuba nodded. "Ever since Seto's met you guys, he's been acting differently. He was always cold and dismissive, but I haven't seen him look so broken since he lost to Yugi for the first time."
"Broken? He looks fine to me." Ghassan said.
"That's because he's hiding it. Until this deal with the Princeton brothers, Seto either coops himself up in his room or his office, and doesn't talk to anybody other than me or Roland. I've pretty much been running KaibaCorp for the past month and a half."
"All this because other people use Blue-Eyes in the future?" Scott asked. "Talk about petty."
Mokuba sighed. "Listen, Blue-Eyes White Dragon means a lot to Seto. Before he even got the card, it was a symbol for him to be strong and to keep rising up. Obtaining them was some of the biggest achievements in his life. So finding out that it no longer means anything really crushed him."
"Kaiba's a skilled duelist and a powerful businessman, Blue-Eyes being exclusive to him or not. It's not like he loses the cards or anything." Ghassan said.
"I tried telling him that, but that didn't help much. Blue-Eyes means a lot to him." He turned to Scott. "And that's why he agreed to the Princeton's suggestion of turning the School Duel into a business proposition. If Jaden wins, or the duel ends in a draw, the Princetons buy North Academy. If Chazz wins, they buy Central Academy."
"So Kaiba's doing this all out of petty spite?" Scott asked.
"Sounds like him." Ghassan said.
Mokuba nodded. "Seto doesn't care whether or not the Princetons get North or Central Academy. He just wants to demonstrate to you that he's the one with the power. He heard that you planned on negotiating with him and Pegasus about you keeping your Blue Eyes cards, and took that as a personal offense against him."
Scott shrugged. "Well, it's not like the Princeton's owning either Academy will mean anything major. They'll just have new management."
Mokuba shook his head. "That's where you're wrong. And why you students should be worried. The Princeton Brothers want complete domination of the Dueling world. So they'll want as much control over whichever academy they'll own as possible. What the students do in their free time, their career paths, everything. Whichever school the Princeton Brothers get, the students won't be students anymore. They'll be glorified slaves raised for the sole purpose of making the Princetons look good. And any student they believe doesn't breed enough talent will be instantly kicked from the Academy. Seto will just act as if he wasn't aware about what the Princetons would do and pretend to try and get the academy back to avoid looking too bad."
Ghassan raised an eyebrow. "Wait a second, I thought they were planning on making Chazz their show horse?"
"From what I heard, their younger brother is just one of many they intend to make duel stars. They plan on making Chazz the biggest one, but they intend for every future major pro duelist to be under their control."
Scott scoffed. "Like that's gonna work. There are tons of skilled duelists in the world, many of them who never even went to Duel Academy. Even if they somehow take control of all of the branches of Duel Academy, it'll take years to get this empire to pick up any steam, and completely revolves around the idea that two novices in dueling can somehow breed students into becoming nigh-unstoppable professionals."
"That's part of the reason why Seto agreed. He didn't view the Princeton brothers as any real threat. Still, even if their plan's doomed to fail, countless students will have their lives manipulated against their will. Their lives will basically be taken away by the Princetons." Mokuba clenched his fist. "It's not right to have your youth stolen from you by people who only see you as a way to make profit. Seto should know that better than anybody."
Ghassan's eyes widened. He realized that if Chazz won, and the Princeton's took over Central Academy, that would mean it'd be harder for Damian and Scott to become Shadow Rider's if their freetime was completely controlled by the Princetons. Hell, Ghassan might outright get the boot, which would stop him from contributing to any future plans. "Couldn't the students just quit the Academy that the Princetons own and transfer to a new one? Same for the ones who were expelled?"
"I've seen enough sleazy businessmen to know how Slade and Jagger would prepare for that possibility. They'd act as if they'll make the students into skilled professionals, draw them into signing some kind of new contract, and use that to sue them if they leave. And for the ones who get the boot, they'll do everything in there power to ensure no other Academy accepts them."
"Geez...this is pretty major stuff." Scott said. "No matter what happens, one school is getting screwed over big time."
"Yeah." Mokuba replied. "The rest of the students probably think not much will change, but me and Seto are well aware what the Princetons will do with whatever school they own. But Seto went through with the deal anyway. This isn't like him."
The more that Ghassan thought about it, Mokuba had a point. While Kaiba was always an asshole, he wasn't heartless. His reason for changing KaibaCorp from a weapons development company to an entertainment and gaming industry was to bring happiness to children. Maybe if this was the manga universe and before Yugi used the mind crush on him this wouldn't be too out of place. But as of now, Kaiba willingly allowing countless children to have their lives controled and possibly ruined by the Princetons out of spite towards Scott seems extreme even for Kaiba. 'I take it this is the corruption taking effect?' Ghassan asked The Light of Destruction.
"Correct. Kaiba isn't subservient to me yet, but he's shedding off more and more of his morality." The Light responded.
Ghassan nodded. "Well, I guess all we can do now is hope Jaden beats Chazz. Though Mokuba, maybe you should try convincing your brother that this isn't a good idea."
"What do you think I've been doing the past several days?" Mokuba sighed. "I can try again though. In the meanwhile, you guys should probably warn your friends about the Princetons." Mokuba walked off towards the main building.
"So, are we just gonna watch and hope things go the same wasy as in canon?" Scott asked. "Like, it'll suck either way, but better North Academy being affected than Central Academy."
"I agree on that. But still, we need to have a back-up in case Jaden loses. We CAN'T afford having our schedules messed up with by the Princetons." Ghassan replied.
"Alright. So, what do we do?"
Ghassan thought for a bit. "We have some of The Light's power now. AND you have a disguise."
"You mean Titan's mask and clothes?" Scott asked.
"Yeah. So long as you make a get away, you should be able to take care of Slade and Jagger without anybody knowing it's you. You can challenge them to a duel where if they win, they get some never before seen cards. The Pendulum monsters that Pegasus didn't get to see."
Scott nodded. "I get it. Bribe them into dueling me if Jaden loses, and use The Light's power to brainwash them."
"You're half right. You'll be using The Light's power on them, but not to brainwash. We have to get them to want to join The Light for brainwashing to work, and that failed with Bastion."
Scott's eyes widened before he reluctantly nodded. "...I know where you're going with this."
Ghassan sighed. "Look, I hate it too. But if we-"
"I know, I know. If we want to get back home, we need to cross some lines." Scott turned around and started to head towards the Ra Yellow Dorm to pick up Titan's clothes. "I just hope Jaden wins. I'd rather delay having to murder people as much as I can."
"I'll wait for you inside the arena." Ghassan called out.
Scott gave a thumbs up as he continued walking. Ghassan was about to head towards the main building, before he noticed a rustling in a nearby bush. "Huh?"
"Looks like we're finally alone." A familiar voice said. From the bushes popped up Professor Banner. "Hello Ghassan."
"Banner? What's this about?"
"I trust that you received my message about your initiation to join the Shadow Riders?" Banner asked.
"Yeah. We decided that it would be Scott and Damian who would be joining your group."
"Good. No offense to you, but I believed their superior dueling skills would make them more suitable candidates."
Ghassan shrugged. He gave up on the game a while ago, and only got back to playing it when he, Scott, and Damian were dragged into this dimension. Makes sense. "So, why would you want to talk to me alone."
"It's quite simple really." Banner held up an ancient looking book with a millennium eye look-a-like embedded in the center. "So I can have insurance that your friends will eliminate Zane Truesdale."
Ghassan's eyes widened as the object in the middle of the book started to shine. Right as Ghassan was about to run away, a flash of light occured. When the light cleared up, both Ghassan and Banner disappeared.
Damian bumped into a figure as he turned to leave the locker room, falling to the ground. "Ugh...sorry about that." Damian rubbed his head in pain.
"No, it's my bad man."
Damian opened his eyes and saw that Jaden was the one he bumped into. "Oh, hey Jaden." Both of the two stood up. "What brings you here?"
"Well, after finding out that I was gonna be on TV, I was gonna do my hair and wash my face. But then..." Jaden pointed to the doorway into the locker room. "...I heard Chazz."
The two said nothing. The silence allowed them to hear Chazz punch the floor. "I've got to show them...show them that I'm no slacker. That I'm worthy of the Princeton name!"
Damian sighed. "Yeah...there's a ton of pressure on Chazz for the duel. I wanted to try and comfort him, but I was too scared."
Jaden tilted his head down the hallway as a signal for them to walk. Jaden walked away from the locker room, Damian following. "If you're scared, just give him some time. I'm sure he'll appreciate you trying to help him out once he calms down."
"I don't know...I'm kind of the reason why he left Duel Academy."
"Huh?"
"When Crowler announced that Chazz would be at risk of demotion, a bunch of the students in the class started to mock him for it. I stood up for Chazz but...Chazz thought I made him look weak. He left the school because of that."
"Damian..."
"Adrian was right. I'm no better than most of the Obelisks at this school. I thought about looking cool by rushing to Chazz's rescue before bothering to think how he'd feel about it." Damian clenched his right fist and started punching himself in the stomach.
"WHOA!" Jaden grabbed Damian's arm before he could hurt himself anymore. "Dude, you shouldn't beat yourself up so much over this. And I mean both figuratively AND literally."
"God...I'm a terrible friend..."
"No, you're not. So you made a mistake. But I guarantee that you wouldn't be the only one who'd have done that."
Damian looked at Jaden in confusion. "Seriously?"
"You think that me or Alexis would've stood by and let Chazz get harassed in class like that? If we were there when that happened, I'm sure that we'd have stood up for him too, and we're not even friends with Chazz." Jaden let go of Damian's arm. "The fact that you were looking out for Chazz, and feel guilty about how it made him so angry shows that you actually care about his feelings. How could somebody say that make someone a terrible friend?"
Damian said nothing before eventually nodding. "You're right. Thanks Jaden."
Jaden smiled. "No problem." He offered a high-five to Damian, who accepted. "Hope you're looking forward to the duel."
Damian chuckled. "You kidding? Of course I am." Damian started running down the hallway to head towards the Duel Arena. "Race you there!"
"Oh come on, you took a head start!" Jaden ran after Damian.
"As if you never took any before!"
Today was the most packed that Scott has ever seen the Duel Arena. He saw plenty of students in the Duel Arena before, like with Jaden and Syrus' tag duel against him and Damian, or the Triangle Duel to decide Duel Academy's rep, but this? Finding an available seat was about as likely as finding a needle in an ocean of hay. There were a fair amount of empty seats on the other side of the Duel Arena, but it seemed that portion was reserved for the North Academy students. He noticed that Damian was sitting with Jaden's friends, while Adrian was sitting in a bleacher filled with background characters. Kaiba, Mokuba, and the Princeton Brothers were sitting in a reserved area near the top of one of the bleachers. Meanwhile, Scott couldn't find a single empty seat that wasn't by the North Academy students.
"Ugh...penalties for arriving late I guess." Scott said. He headed towards the upper rails, deciding to watch from there. Scott put the bag containing his Titan disguise on the ground before he took a look at the Duel Field. Jaden and Chazz were standing on the Duel Field while Crowler was lying on the ground, his legs wrapped by the cord of a microphone. "Looks like I missed the starting announcement, but the duel hasn't started, so nothing important." Scott noted. He then scanned the room. Despite seeing Damian, he couldn't find Ghassan. 'Where is he? Didn't he say he'd meet me here?'
Scott also took a look at the other students. They didn't look anymore worried about the duel than any school would worry about a sports match. Wanting their representive to win, yes. But it didn't look like they were worried about the outcome of their future. 'Weird...you'd think they'd worry about their school being bought.'
"Kaiba announced that school activities would remain mostly the same no matter which Academy is bought by the Princetons. I saw the opening announcements through Damian" The Light of Destruction answered in Scott's mind. "Though based off what that Mokuba boy told you, it's a lie."
Scott nodded. Even if The Light couldn't freely communicate with Damian, it was pretty useful that he could see what Damian sees. That way if Damian decides to betray the group, The Light could inform Scott and Ghassan. 'I guess that explains why they look more excited than worried. By the way, where's Ghassan?'
"Banner took him to a cave to discuss matters about you and Damian becoming Shadow Riders."
Now that Scott thought about it, Banner wasn't in the arena either. Guess that was why.
Chazz faced the Central Academy students. "Remember me Duel Academy!? I used to be a student at this dump until November. When I stopped getting the respect that I deserved."
Adrian rolled his eyes. 'He's even more of an egotistical brat now than from when I dueled him.' From what Adrian gathered, Chazz left the school after he was at risk of being demoted. The mockery he was facing from other studnets, coupled with Damian apparently pitying him caused him to forfeit the duel and flee Central Academy.
"Almost all of you hated me from the get go, but were too cowardly to actually do anything about it...until Jaden came along that is. After he beat me, you all thought that opened the doorway for you to mock me. Hiding behind the Slifer Slacker who got lucky. I know that some of you celebrated when I left Central Academy. But now, it's payback time!" Chazz turned to where the North Academy students were sitting. "I found a new Academy and started from scratch. I lost my whole deck before forging the arctic to make a new one."
"He's kidding right?" Syrus asked.
"He isn't. North Academy has a rather unorthodox method of application." Bastion replied.
"I duel my way up to the top with a deck cobbled together. And I was finally treated with the respect that I deserve." Chazz continued. A cheer came from the North Academy students before Chazz lifted his finger in the air. "Carve this into your ears Duel Academy! I've crawled my way out of hell and earned my position as the King of the North! All hail The Chazz!"
"All hail The Chazz! All hail The Chazz! All hail The Chazz!" The North Academy students chanted.
'It's no "Manjoume Thunder" but it's better than "Chazz it Up" I guess.' Damian thought.
"Get ready Jaden. Because it's time to Chazz it up!" Chazz yelled.
"Chazz it up! Chazz it up! Chazz it up!"
Damian groaned.
"Whoa...Chazz got really popular in North Academy." Syrys said.
Chazz turned to Jaden. "You ready?"
"I was born ready Chazz." Jade answered.
"Let's see what kind of talent is bred by the Princeton Corporation." Kaiba said to Slade and Jagger.
"Trust me. You won't be disappointed." Slade replied.
Jaden and Chazz both activated their duel disks. "DUEL!" (Jaden 4000/Chazz 4000)
"I'll go first." Jaden drew a card from his deck, put it in his hand, and got out another one. "I summon Elemental Hero Sparkman (1600/1400) in attack mode!" The golden clad hero emerged on Jaden's side of the field. "Now I'll throw down two face downs and call it a turn."
Chazz drew. "Heh heh. Hope you weren't expecting to start off strong, because I activate Cold Wave!"
Jaden noticed that frost began to grow on his two facedown cards. "Wh-what's going on?"
"The North is striking, that's what! With Cold Wave, until the start of my next turn, neither of us can play or set any spells or traps!"
"That means Jaden can't activate his face downs." Alexis realized.
"Not only that, but he won't be able to fuse next turn either." Bastion added.
"Next I summon my Unmasked Dragon (1400/1100) in attack mode!" A dragon with a blood red front and wings with boney white limbs and back appeared on Chazz's side of the field. "Now Unmasked Dragon, attack Sparkman!"
"Huh?" Jaden reacted. The monster jumped into the air, ready to bite down on Sparkman. Sparkman countered by shooting a blast of electricity at the monster, destroying it. (Chazz 4000-3800)
"What was that about?" Chumley wondered. "Chazz just sent his monster to get trashed."
"Because of Unmasked Dragon's ability." Damian responded.
"When Unmasked Dragon is destroyed by battle and sent to the grave, I can summon a Wyrm monster with 1500 or less defense points!" Chazz declared.
"Worm? A Dragon monster that summons Insect monsters?" Syrus asked.
"Not with an 'o.' With a 'y'. It's a recent type of monster." Bastion said. "Think of it as more mythical looking Dragons."
"I'd say Dragons are pretty mythical enough already." Chumley replied.
"Get ready Jaden! I summon my Metaphys Armed Dragon (2800/1000) in attack mode!" A gigantic blue, transparent dragon with blades on it's shoulders and miniature drill on it's knees appeared.
Jaden widened his eyes. "A monster with 2800 attack points right out of the gate?!"
Chazz chuckled. "Worried? Go Metaphys Armed Dragon! Destroy Sparkman with Armed Crusher!" The dragon raised it's arm and brought it down, smashing Sparkman into dust. (Jaden 4000-2800) "I end my turn with that."
Damian was deep in thought. He knew for a fact that Chazz didn't use either Metaphys Armed Dragon OR Unmasked Dragon in his duel against Jaden. 'Did Foster add some new cards in the North Academy deck? Or did Chazz decide to take cards from his brother's suitcase in this timeline?' Damian took a look at Slade and Jagger. They didn't seem surprised or angry at the monster. Then again, in canon they seemed to only realize Chazz wasn't using their cards when he got out Armed Dragon LV 7, so maybe that was the case here too.
"Alright then. My move." Jaden drew from his deck. 'I can't use spells or traps until Chazz's next turn, so I can't go on the offensive yet.' "I summon Hero Kid (300/600) in defense mode!" A young boy wearing a red mask and a red and white astronaut suit on Jaden's side of the field. "I end my turn."
"That all? Pathetic." Chazz drew a card from his deck. "Now that I can activate spells and traps again, I activate Graceful Charity. I draw three cards and then discard two." Chazz did exactly that. "Next I activate Monster Reborn to special summon one of the monsters I discarded." A shining light glowed on the ground as another dragon appeared on the field. It was smaller than Metaphys Armed Dragon, but still large it's it's own right. It was red and black with spikes over it's body. "Armed Dragon LV 5 (2400/1700), rise!"
Sheppard gasped before turning to Foster. "Isn't that one of your academy's top cards?! Foster...you didn't!"
Foster chuckled. "I did what I had to do. I WANT that prize Sheppard. And I'm going to get it."
"This is bad. If both of those monsters attack, Jaden will lose!" Syrus yelled.
"Armed Dragon LV 5, destroy that half-pint! Armed Buster!" Chazz yelled. The monster prepared to slash through Hero Kid.
"Sorry Chazz, I activate my trap card, Negate Attack!" A barrier of energy repelled Armed Dragon back. "This negates your attack and ends the battle phase!"
"Tch. Fine then. I activate the effect of my Armed Dragon Level 5." Chazz got out a card and showed it to Jaden. It was a monster called Armed Dragon LV 3, that had 1200 attack points. "By sending a monster from my hand to the grave, I get to destroy a monster you control that has less than or equal attack points than it. So say bye bye to Hero Kid! Go Armed Dragon! Shrapnel Blast!" The dragon shot out multiple spikes from it's body destroying Hero Kid. "Now you have no defenses. I set a card facedown and end my turn."
"Chazz is constantly putting the pressure on. He's finally acting like a Princeton." Slade noted.
"True, but let's hope this Jaden kid can last a little bit longer." Jagger responded.
Slade turned to his brother in confusion. "Huh?"
"If Chazz wins too quickly, we'll have dead air to fill."
Both Slade and Jagger started laughing. Kaiba continued to watch the duel field. 'These amateurs really think the outcome's decided already?'
"My move then." Jaden drew from his deck. "I activate my own Graceful Charity to draw three cards then discard two." Jaden drew two more cards from his deck, smiling as he looked at them. "Sweetness!" He discarded one of the cards he drew, and one he already had in his hand. "Now I activate Miracle Fusion to fuse my Elemental Hero Bladedge and my Elemental Hero Sparkman by removing them from play in the graveyard!" The transparent images of Sparkman and Bladedge appeared before they swirled together in the orange and blue vortex. "Time to introduce a new hero. I summon Elemental Hero Plasma Vice!" (2800/2300) A warrior that looked like a more muscular version of Sparkman with golden clad armor on it's torso and limbs appeared.
"Alright! Now it's time for Jaden to turn things around!" Syrus cheered.
Damian raised an eyebrow. 'I thought Plasma Vice only had 2600 attack points. Did it have more in the anime?'
"I activate my Plasma Vice's effect! By discarding a card, I can destroy any monster you control that's in attack position!" Jaden stated. Chazz clenched his fist as Jaden tossed a card from his hand to the graveyard. "Plasma Vice will destroy your Metaphys Armed Dragon!" A large orb of electricity was built between Plama Vice's hands before it tossed it at the transparent dragon, destroying the monster. "Now Plasma Vice, destroy Armed Dragon Level 5!" Plasma Vice shot a wave of electricity at the remaining dragon, causing it to be destroyed as well. (Chazz 3800-3400)
Slade, Jagger, and several North Academy students gasped.
"That's right Jaden! Jaden it up! Jaden it up!" Sheppard yelled.
"I end my turn. Your move Chazz."
"Good, because I activate my trap card, Level Modulation!" Chazz declared.
'Nani the fuck?!' Scott thought. 'I KNOW that card is a Spell Card!'
"In your world, yes. And it eventually became a Spell Card in this dimension too. But it was initially a Trap Card." The Light replied in Scott's head.
"Here's how it works. First, you get to draw two cards." Chazz told Jaden.
Jaden smilled as he drew two more cards from his deck. "Now that's my kind of card!"
"Glad that you like it. Because now, I get to special summon on 'LV' monster from my graveyard regardless of any summoning conditions. Normally it wouldn't be able to attack or use it's effect the turn it's summoned, but since I'm using it on your End Phase, that's a non-issue." From behind Chazz, rose yet another giant dragon. It was red with silver armor covering almost all of it's body. On said armor were several spikes and two huge blades on it's back. "Behold, Armed Dragon Lv 10! (3000/1000)"
Damian gasped. "He skipped LV 7 and went straight to 10?!"
Jagger widened his eyes. "That wasn't any of the monsters I had in the briefcase!"
"What?!" Slade reacted.
"Wait, so you gave him Armed Dragon LV 3 and 5, but not LV 10?" Kaiba asked.
"I though Armed Dragon LV 7 and 10 would be too impractical to get any use out of. Their descriptions say that they can only be summoned with the previous form's effect." Jagger replied.
"Well it's clear to me that your younger brother is the actual duelist of the family."
Chancellor Foster chuckled at Sheppard's frustrated look. "Looks like Chazz has the upper hand again."
Sheppard stood up. "Don't give up Jaden! Jaden it up! Jaden it up!"
"Let's show this oldbag a REAL cheer!" A North Academy student yelled.
"CHAZZ IT UP! CHAZZ IT UP!"
"WHOA! That monster looks sweet!" Jaden exclaimed.
"Don't you realize the situation you're in?" Chazz asked.
"I can't help it! I love it when the pressure's on!"
Chazz gritted his teeth. "This. This is exactly why I can't stand you Jaden." Jaden seemed confused. "Unlike you, I don't spend my days lazing around. You don't think of anything other than having fun. You don't know what it's like to have some responsibility on your shoulders. Wanna know why I duel Jaden? Because I know that it's up to me to get the Princeton Corporation to succeed in their plans! To prove that the family name means something, and that I'm worthy of carrying the name! That's why I'm going to beat you Jaden. And show not just this rotten Academy, but all of Japan, no, the whole world that I'm not to be messed with!"
Adrian raised an eyebrow as he was watching. 'He seriously had this much pressure on him?'
Chazz pointed a finger in the air. "WHO AM I?!"
"THE CHAZZ!" The North Academy students roared.
"That's right! It's my move!" Chazz drew from his deck, put the card in his hand, and got out another one. "With my Armed Dragon LV 10's effect, I can discard a card to send all faceup monsters you control to the grave!" Chazz discarded a copy of Flying Kamakiri #1. "Go LV 10!" The Dragon opened it's mouth and let out a sonic roar. Plasma Vice covered it's ears in pain before exploding.
"Now Jaden's completely defenseless!" Bastion yelled in worry.
Scott clenched his fists. 'Come on Jaden...pull through.'
The Princetons looked at the field, smiling at their brother. "We'll have to teach him to be more obedient, but it looks like Chazz didn't let us down." Slade said.
"About time he made us proud." Jagger stated.
Mokuba briely turned to the brothers in disgust. 'These guys are Gozaburo's in the making.'
"Go LV 10! Finish Jaden off! Static Orb Thrust!" The Armed Dragon generated an orb of electricity before hurling it at Jaden.
Ghassan was on the ground of some cave, panting and bleeding. On Banner's side of the field was Golden Homunculus (?-3600/?-3600), an activated Chaos Distill and a set card. Ghassan had a set card and an activated Backfire. Ghassan's Jurrac Titano was recently destroyed by Banner's Golden Homunculus. (Ghassan 1200-600/Banner 3000-2500) Ghassan had 1 card in his hand while Banner had 4.
"You were too hasty to destroy Elemental Absorber. If you used that Mystical Space Typhoon on Chaos Distill, the game would be going much differently." Banner stated.
Ghassan stood up, growling. "Why are you doing this? I thought we agreed to help each other out for now."
"And I do intend to honor that." Banner stated. "But I have no guarantee that you three will actually honor your end of the bargain. Especially after you told Zane Truesdale about my involvement with the missing students."
"What are you talking about?!" Ghassan reacted. 'Remember. Don't show shock. That's how Pegasus found out about you.'
"I wasn't born yesterday. A few weeks after you reveal my involvement with the missing students, Zane comes and asks me questions? But it doesn't matter. Even if you didn't tell him, I need your friend and your brother to eliminate Zane Truesdale. And that's precisely why I'll need to use you as leverage. I set two cards facedown and end my turn."
Ghassan drew a card. "I activate Monster Reborn to bring back Jurrac Velo (1700/1000) from the graveyard!" The flaming raptor appeared in flames on Ghassan's side of the field. "Now, I summon another Jurrac Guaiba (1700/400) to the field!"
"Two level four monsters. An Xyz summon I take it?"
"Damn right. I overlay my Jurrac Guaiba with my Jurrac Velo to establish the overlay network!" A swirling black vortex appeared on the ground, the two Jurrac transforming into trails of light and entering it. A white aura began to grow around Ghassan. "I special summon the Rank 4 Number 101: Silent Honor ARK!" (2100/2000) From the votrex emerged a blue and silver ship-like machine with two orbs trailing around it.
"What's it's effect?" Banner asked. He knew better than to write off a summoned monster jus because it's attack points were lower than his Homunculus.
"By detaching two XYZ materials, I can take one special summoned monster you control that's in attack position, and attach it to ARK!" The two orbs on ARK disappeared, as the machine shine a ray of light onto Banner's monster. 'Golden Homunculus seems to work differently in the anime than in our world. And one of those ways is that it apparently HAS to be special summoned.'
"I activate my quickplay spell, Grand Convergence. If I have Macro Cosmos, I destroy all monsters you control, and you take 300 points of damage!"
Ghassan smiled. "I activate, Dark Bribe! This negates and destroys your spell, but you get to draw a trap."
Banner frowned as he drew a card. The ray shining on Golden Homunculus caused him to shrink down to an orb of light that was promptly brought to Silent Honor ARK. The orb trailed around the monster just like the previous two materials did.
"Now Silent Honor Ark! Attack Banner directly!" The monster charged a ray of energy before firing it at Banner.
"I activate my other trap card, Mirror Force! This card-"
"Not gonna happen!" Ghassan interrupted. The orb circling around Silent Honor ARK disappeared.
"What just-?"
"If Silent Honor ARK would be destroyed, I can detach and XYZ material instead." The attack followed through. Banner placed his arms in front of him to brace himself, but was still blasted backwards. (Banner 2500-400)
"Gya..." Banner noticed that part of his sleeves were burnt off. "I wonder...how do you make your attacks real when you don't have a Shadow Charm?"
"None of your business. I end my turn."
Banner drew from his deck. "I activate my facedown Macro Cosmos!" The area began to morph.
Instead of being in a cave, Ghassan suddenly found himself in a projection of space. "Nice effects."
"Much like Chaos Distill, all cards sent to my graveyard are instead remove from play. In addition, by removing Chaos Distill from play, I can special summon Helios-The Primordial Sun! from my deck!" (?/?)A bandaged figure with a sun for a head appeared on Banner's side of the field. Helios gains 100 attack points equal to my removed from play monsters. With Areteos, Ekenas, Leon, Salamandra, and Golden Homunculus all removed from play, that gives it 500 attack and defense points." (Helios-The Primordial Sun ?-500/?-500)
"What are you up to? It's way weaker than Silent Honor."
"I activate Yellow Process-Kitolenics! By sacrificing Primordial Sun, I can special summon from my deck Helios Duo-Megistus!" (?/?) A plumped bandaged figure with a sun for a head replaced Banner's monster, a second minuature sun hovered by it's side. "Duo Megistus gains 200 attack and defense points for each removed from play monster." (Helios-Duo Megistus ?-1200/?-1200) "This one won't be lasting for long either. I activate Red Process-Rubedo! By sacrificing Duo Megistus, I summon my ace monster!" A shining light shined on Duo Megistus as it vanished. Taking it's place was three, child-like bandaged figures, each with a miniature sun. "Behold, Helios Trice-Megistus!" (?/?)
"Let me guess. 300 attack and defense points for each monster removed from play?" Ghassan asked.
Banner nodded. (Helios-Trice Megistus ?-2100/?-2100) "Go Helios! Destroy Silent Honor ARK!"
"A double takedown eh? Fine by me!" Silent Honor fired a blast of energy at Helios, as Helios fired a wave of fire. An explosion occured, engulfing both monsters. Ghassan and Banner held their arms infront of them as a result of the shockwaves. 'All I have to do is draw a monster with enough attack points to take out the rest of Banner's life points, and I win next turn. I just have to hope anime luck words in my favor.'
As the explosion cleared up, Helios-Trice Megistus remained on Banner's side of the field. "WHAT THE?!" Ghassan yelled.
"When destroyed, Trice Megistus can be special summoned. And then, it gains 500 attack and defense points." (Helios-Trice Megistus 2100-2600/2100-2600)
"No...this can't be happening..."
"Trice Megistus, finish him off! Phoenix Prominence!" Each of the figures burned as they sent flames into the air. The flames together formed a phoenix. "Damian and Scott will have 24 hours to eliminate Zane Truesdale. Otherwise..."
Ghassan felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned around and saw a transparent monster behind him. Jinzo. "I'll absorb your soul."
Ghassan gritted his teeth. "Damnit...DAMNITTTTTT!" The make-shift phoenix came down on Ghassan, causing him to scream. It's as if he was being burned. Not just his body. As if something set literal fire inside his soul. "GYAAAAAAHHHHHHH!" (Ghassan 600-0) Ghassan fell on his knees. The area morphed back to the cave they were in.
"For your sake, I hope your friend and brother do what I wish of them." Banner stated.
"Though I'd prefer if they failed." Jinzo started to laugh.
Ghassan's vision started to fade away as Jinzo laughed. 'Shit...I might die here...hey Light...did you tell Scott about my whereabouts?'
"I simply told him you were in a cave talking with Banner. I didn't want to distract him from killing the elder Princeton brothers if he had to." The Light of Destruction replied.
'Then let them know when you can.' Ghassan collapsed on the cave floor. 'Damian...Scott...save me.'
I spent a lot of time going back and forth on whether or not I'd focus on Jaden's duel with Chazz, or Ghassan's duel with Banner. Decided to go with the former since not only has it been over 20 chapters since Chazz dueled in this story, but also because I simply found it more fun to plan out. Though I hope Ghassan losing his soul to Banner and Jinzo helps make up for that.
Looks like Banner's finally made his first move. Using Ghassan's soul as a hostage, Banner's turned Ghassan's plan to have Zane take care of Banner against them. How will Damian and Scott react when they find out? And will Scott have to kill Slade and Jagger? Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter and have a great day!
