Chapter 30: Goodbye Lazy Days
(Jaden 2800/Chazz 3400) The orb of electricity collided with Jaden, causing a massive explosion. "You go bye-bye!" Chazz declared. He was standing proud by his Armed Dragon LV 10 (3000/1000) and had two cards in his hand.
"No way..." Syrus said in disbelief.
Scott gritted his teeth. 'Damnit. Now I have to deal with Chazz's brothers.'
The dust cleared up, Jaden still standing with an activated facedown card. (Jaden 2800-1300) "What the-how are you still standing?" Chazz demanded.
"I activated Damage Diet. This card halves all damage I take the turn it's activated." Jaden replied. He currently had 5 cards in his hand
"Feh. Well it would be boring if you got crushed too quickly. I set a card facedown and end my turn."
Jaden drew from his deck. "I summon my Elemental Hero Burstinatrix (1200/800) in attack mode!" The long haired heroine appeared on Jaden's side of the field. "Next I activate the spell card Burst Impact! If I control Burstinatrix, I destroy all monsters you control, and you take 300 point of damage for each one!"
Chazz gritted his teeth as a flaming aura began to glow around Burstinatrix. She then released it as a wave of fire, consuming Chazz's monster. (Chazz 3400-3100) "Seriously? One of my deck's strongest monsters taken out by that weakling?"
Damian raised an eyebrow. 'One of?'
"It's not how strong the monster is that matters Chazz. It's how you use it! I activate Polymerization to fuse the Burstinatrix on my field with the Avian in my hand!" The two monsters swirled together in the blue and orange vortex. "Come on out Elemental Hero Flame Wingman!" (2100/1200) The iconic Elemental Hero descended onto Jaden's side of the field. "Go Flame Wingman! Attack Chazz dir-"
"I activate my trap card Call of the Haunted! This lets me special summon a monster from my graveyard! Revive Armed Dragon LV 5!" (2400/1000) The large red and black dragon returned to Chazz's side of the field. "Sure you wanna continue that attack Jaden?"
"Nice play Chazz. I'll throw down a facedown and call it a turn."
Chazz drew from his deck. "I activate Pot of Greed to draw two cards." Chazz drew two more cards from his deck. "Now, I activate Armed Dragon LV 5's effect! By discarding a monster, like my Serpent Night Dragon, I can destroy a monster you control that has less attack points than the monster I discarded. So since Serpent Night Dragon had 2350 attack points..."
"Flame Wingman will get destroyed." Damian finished.
"And with a direct attack, Chazz will win!" Alexis gasped.
"Go Armed Dragon. Shrapnel Blast!" Multiple spikes shot out of the Dragon's body.
"I activate my quickplay spell, De-Fusion!" Jaden yelled. Flame Wingman dissolved into light before the spikes hit him, Avian and Burstinatrix taking it's place in defensive stances. "Flame Wingman goes back to my Extra Deck while the monsters I fused come to the field!"
"Shouldn't have expected anything different. Armed Dragon LV 5, destroy Burstinatrix!" The monster raised it's claw, and slashed through Burstinatrix, destroying her. "I set two cards and end my turn. Now that it's my End Phase, since LV 5 destroyed a monster by battle, you get to witness it evolve!" The dragon glowed in red light before it began to morph. It was larger, though not as large as LV 10 was, and it's neck, shoulders, and part of it's front was covered in silver, bladed armor. "Rise, Armed Dragon LV 7!" (2800/1000)
"Heh heh. You sure know how to keep the pressure on Chazz! It's my draw!" Jaden drew from his deck. 'Card of Sanctity. It's a risk to get Chazz to replenish his hand completely, but the only other card I have in my hand right now is Insurance. Guess I have no choice.' "I activate Card of Sanctity! Both of us draw cards until we have six cards in our hand!"
"Works for me." Chazz went from an empty hand, to six cards, while Jaden drew 5 more from his deck.
"Now, I activate my own Pot of Greed to draw two cards." Jaden drew two cards from his deck. "Alright! I activate Fusion Recovery letting me add Polymerization and a monster I used as fusion material from my grave to my hand!" Jaden ejected Polymerization and Burstinatrix from his graveyard slot. "Second verse, same as the first! I activate Polymerization to fuse my Avian and my Burstinatrix to summon Flame Wingman again!" Once again, the monsters combined to form Flame Wingman. "Now I-"
"Let me guess. Since my monster's stronger than yours, you're gonna use Skyscraper to boost Flame Wingman's attack points?" Chazz asked.
"Um...well...maybe?" Jaden chuckled nervously.
"You're getting pretty predictable Jaden." Chazz smirked.
Jaden smirked back. "Doesn't matter if you can't do anything about it though. I activate Skyscraper!" Several buildings rose from the ground, Flame Wingman standing atop the tallest one. "You know how this spell works, right Chazz? If an Elemental Hero battles a monster that's stronger than it, the Elemental Hero gains 1000 attack points!"
"This is bad." Zane said.
Syrus and Chumley looked at Zane in confusion. "Umm...you mean the slang where 'bad' means 'good', right?" Chumley asked.
"Jaden's turned things around again! And with the damage Chazz will be taking from both the battle and Flame Wingman's effect, Jaden will win the duel! This is great!" Syrus said.
"Maybe normally. But look at Chazz's face." Zane replied. Syrus and Chumley saw Chazz grinning cockily.
"You gotta admit, that doesn't look like a guy whose worried. "Alexis stated.
"You mean...Chazz was ready for this?!" Syrus asked.
"He has two face downs." Bastion pointed out. "Unless Chazz is bluffing, then it's safe to assume that either the attack will fail, or he has a backup plan."
"I set a card facedown. Now, go Flame Wingman! Skydive Scorcher!" Flame Wingman leaped off the building and headed down towards Chazz's monsted, surrounding itself in flames. (Elemental Hero Flame Wingman 2100-3100/1200)
"I activate my quickplay spell, Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy any spell or trap on the field. I take it even someone like you could guess what I'm targeting, right?" Chazz asked.
Syrus gasped. "THAT'S why Chazz wasn't worried!"
Jaden widened his eyes as a blue cyclone destroyed his field spell. (Elemental Hero Flame Wingman 3100-2100/1200) "Nice move Chazz. But how's THIS for predictable? From my hand, I activate a quickplay spell of my own, Book of Moon! This card lets me target one card you control and switch it to face down defense position!"
Now it was Chazz's turn to be shocked. A shining blue ligh occured before the hologram of Armed Dragon LV 7 switched to a set card on it's side. Flame Wingman charged through the card, causing it to explode. "Damnit..."
"And don't forget my Flame Wingman's special ability Chazz. Since it destroyed a monster of yours by battle, you take damage equal to it's attack points!" Flame Wingman held out it's dragon arm towards Chazz before firing a torrent of flames at him. (Chazz 3100-300)
"Alright!" Chumley cheered.
Foster started to look worried while Sheppard smiled. "Looks like the shoe's on the other foot now, isn't it?"
"No way!" Slade yelled in shock.
"How could Chazz fall behind so suddenly?!" Jagger asked. "Damnit...this is all because he didn't take our cards!"
Kaiba chuckled before turning to the brothers. "You two really don't know a thing about dueling, do you?"
Mokuba smirked at Slade and Jagger. "It was probably for the best that Chazz didn't take your cards. He'd proably do a lot worse with cards bought by two people who don't know how to duel."
Jagger clenched his fist in anger. Slade put a hand on his shoulder. "Relax bro. If that Jaden kid can make a comeback, then so can Chazz."
"Nice move Jaden, but now it's over! I activate my continuous trap, Doppelganger!" Chazz yelled.
Bastion and Zane both widened their eyes. "Oh no!" Bastion yelled.
"When I take damage from the card effect of a monster my opponent controls, then you take damage equal to the amount I took!"
Sheppard gasped. Foster stood up. "Whoo-hoo! THAT'S how it's done! Chazz it up, Chazz!"
"CHAZZ IT UP! CHAZZ IT UP!"
'Sheesh, the audience is more obnoxious than high school students watching their team play.' Damian thought.
Flames started building around Chazz's activated trap card. "See, with cards like Flame Wingman, and Winged Kuriboh LV 10, I expected you to be relying on their effects to beat me. But I came prepared. Now, it's time to end this!"
"I can't watch!" Crowler yelled. As much as he hated Jaden, he'd much prefer Central Academy to win, even if it was Jaden who carried the victory.
"I activate the other quickplay from my hand, Emergency Provisions! By sending a spell or trap I control to the grave, I gain 1000 life points!" Jaden's set Insurance dissolved, as a shimmering aura shined around him. (Jaden 1300-2300)
"That's not enough to save you! Get ready, 'cause I'll make you pay for all the humiliation you caused me!" Chazz yelled. "Take this! My hate, my anger, and all of my sorrow!" A torrent of flames headed towards Jaden, Jaden screaming as the flames enveloped him. When the flames ceased, Jaden fell to his knees.
"JADEN!" Alexis, Syrus, Chumley, and Sheppard all yelled.
Chazz smirked. "Guess that's that." Chazz began to turn away.
"It's not over yet Chazz." Jaden said. Chazz turned around, and saw Jaden standing back up. (Jaden 2300-900)
"What the-you were supposed to take 2800 damage!"
Jaden smiled. "Normally yeah." In his hand, he shown a trap card. "Thankfully, I had this card in my grave."
"Damage Diet again?" Chazz gritted his teeth.
Jaden nodded. "By banishing it while it's in my graveyard, I can halve all effect damage dealt to me for the turn. I'll throw down a facedown and end my turn."
Slade and Jagger were gritting their teeth angrily. "Right when it looks like Chazz is about to win, he messed up." Slade said.
"Why isn't Chazz more of the cards we provided for him?" Jagger asked in frustration. "There was a pair of Synchro Monsters who couldn't be destroyed by either battle OR card effects in there for God's sake."
Chazz said nothing for a while as he looked at the general direction of his brothers. 'Damnit...am I really gonna lose in front of my brothers? In front of the whole world?'
"Uh...Chazz? I said I end my turn." Jaden said. He took a look at Chazz, and then glanced at where Chazz was looking at. "His brothers..."
The spirit of Ojama Yellow appeared next to Chazz. 'Wow boss. This guy's got you on the ropes now.'
"Beat it already." Chazz muttered.
The spirit of Winged Kuriboh appeared next to Jaden. 'Kuri.'
"Huh?" Jaden noticed the strange looking monster next to Chazz. "Whoa! Chazz, you never told me you had a spirit partner!"
"Umm...what did Jaden just say?" Bastion asked.
Syrus laughed sheepishly. "From time to time, bro acts as if his Winged Kuriboh is an actual spirit. He really values it, so I guess he wishes it was real."
"But...why act as if Chazz has one to?" Damian asked. Of course, he knew that Jaden wasn't just acting. He wasn't able to see Duel Spirits, but he was well aware about their existance.
Chumley said nothing, just staring at the spirits. 'So it's not just me. Jaden can see them too.'
Chazz quickly clapped Ojama yellow in his hands, causing it to disappear. "It's nothing! Just a figment of your imagination! Anyway, my move!" Chazz drew a card. "I activate Pot of Greed." Chazz drew two cards from his deck, smiling at one of them. "I activate Double Summon allowing me to Normal Summon twice this turn! I summon two copies of Alexandrite Dragon (2000/100) in attack mode!" Two identical dragons with jewels for scales appeared in front of Chazz. "This goes without saying, but both of these monsters are the same level."
"An Xyz summon eh?" Jaden asked.
Chazz smirked. "I overlay my two Level 4 Alexandrite Dragons!" A swirling dark vortex appeared on the ground in front of the dragons as they disolved into light and went inside it. "Feast your eyes on my deck's strongest monster!" A dark purple dragon with futuristic armor and four glowing pink orbs on it's wings slowly crawled out from the vortex. Two purple orbs trailed around it's body. "Formed from pitch-black darkness, rise and crush all those who stand in my way! I Xyz summon the Rank 4 Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon (2500/2000)!"
"That's weird. Chazz said it's his strongest monster, but it's weaker than Armed Dragon LV 7, AND LV 10." Syrus said.
"It's stronger than Flame Wingman, but Jaden will have enough life points to hold on." Chumley stated.
"Sadly, that'll change very quickly." Bastion replied.
"I activate the effect of my Dragon. By detatching two Xyz materials, a monster you control get's it's attack points cut in half! Then, those halved attack points go to my Dark Rebellion!" Chazz declared. "Treason Discharge!"
Jaden gasped as electricity surrounded Flame Wingman and began to bind him. (Elemental Hero Flame Wingman 2100-1050/1200) (Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon 2500-3550)
Damian raised an eyebrow. 'That's weird. In the Arc-V anime, Dark Rebellion only detaches one Xyz material for that, and the attack gain is temporary. This world has been following the anime card effects when anime characters use them, why the sudden change? Did North Academy happen to get their hand on the one copy of Dark Rebellion I sold?' Damian then remembered something. 'I get it. When I sold a copy of Dark Rebellion, it must have been before Pegasus created them. Since that's how this world got introduced to that card, that explains why those Xyz monsters are following the rules of our world.'
"Now Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon! Destroy Flame Wingman! Lightning Strike of Rebellion!" Lightning began to build up in the Dragon's mouth as it charged at Jaden's monster.
"I activate my trap card, Half or Nothing!" Jaden yelled. "During the Battle Phase, you decide between one of two option. You either halve the attack of all monsters you control 'till the end of your turn, or end the Battle Phase. What's it gonna be?"
"What do you think? The first option obviously." Chazz replied. (Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon 3550-1775/2000) Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon bit into Flame Wingman, causing the latter to explode, blasting Jaden to the ground. (Jaden 900-175)
Sheppard paled. "Come on Jaden..."
"I set a card face down. Now, Dark Rebellion's attack goes back to 3550." (Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon 1775-3550/2000) "I end my turn. Your move, slacker. Or maybe you want to give up right now?"
Jaden stood up. "Like I would ever do that! This duel is way too fun for me not to see it through!"
"Ugh...once again, you try to spoil my good mood with your insufferably upbeat attitude. Can't you tell you're about to lose?"
"You don't know for sure. But besides, even if I lose this duel, that doesn't matter. Dueling's all about having fun. So long as I enjoyed the duel, I'll still walk off happy. Still, I just wish you were more focused on the duel. Then it would be even more fun."
"Focused on the-you think I'm not taking this seriously?!"
Jaden nodded. "Yeah. Because you weren't really focusing on me during the duel. You were busy with another conflict of yours. You wanted to prove you were worthy to hold your family name so much, you forgot that enjoying the game is what's most important."
Adrian raised and eyebrow at this. 'Having fun is what's most important? Spoken like a guy who doesn't know anything about responsibility.'
Chazz seemed taken aback. "Having fun is what's most important...?
"Next time, let's have a duel where we're BOTH having fun. It's my move!" Jaden drew from his deck. "I summon my Elemental Hero Bubbleman (800/1200) in attack mode!" The blue armored hero appeared in front of Jaden. "Since Bubbleman's the only card on my field, I get to draw two cards." Jaden drew from his deck.
"In attack mode? You must be going crazy." Chazz replied.
"Nope. Because I drew the two cards I needed. First, I activate Burial from a Different Dimension, letting me move up to three of my removed from play cards to the graveyard. I choose my Sparkman and my Bladedge." Jaden put the two monsters back intro his graveyard slot. "Now, I activate The Warrior Returning Alive to add my Bladedge back to my hand." Jaden ejected the monster from his graveyard and added it to his hand.
Zane smiled. "Unless Chazz's facedown can save him, Jaden's won this duel."
"What do you mean?" Chumley asked.
"I have a feeling about what card Jaden will play next."
"I activate Bubble Shuffle!" Jaden yelled. "If I control Elemental Hero Bubbleman in attack position, I can switch both it, and a monster you control into defense position. Then, I can tribute Bubbleman to special summon an Elemental Hero in my hand!"
Chazz gasped as his Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon switched to a defensive stance. Bubbleman did the same before dissolving into light. In it's place stood Elemental Hero Bladedge (2600/1800) "Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon only has 2000 defense points..." Chazz said.
Jaden nodded. "And Bladedge does piercing damage when attack a defense position monster! Go Bladedge!" Bladedge leaped into the air, ready to slash the dragon in two.
'Piercing damage is considered battle damage, so Chazz's Doppelganger wouldn't be able to make Jaden take the damage as well. It's all on Chazz's last face down.' Foster thought.
Chazz gritted his teeth as he looked at his facedown. The other card he drew from Pot of Greed. 'I didn't want it to end like this...but I'll take it over losing.' "I activate Ring of Destruction! I target one monster on the field, and destroy it. Then, BOTH of us take damage equal to it's attack points! I choose Bladedge!"
Jaden gasped as a collar with several grenades attached to it materalized on Bladedge's neck. "That means..."
Chazz nodded glumly. "Yeah. A tie."
The collar set off, as the explosion destroyed Bladedge. Both Chazz and Jaden barely managed to avoid being blasted away by the shockwaves. (Chazz 300-0) (Jaden 175-0)
Kaiba turned to the elder Princeton brothers. "A draw. That means you get North Academy as agreed on."
Jagger gritted his teeth in anger. Slade was also looking pretty frustrated. "Excuse us for a moment.." Slade said. The two stood up and walked down towards the Duel Field.
Sheppard and Foster turned to each other. "So does this mean both of us gets the prize, or neither of us do?" Foster asked.
"I think we'd both be happier with the former." Sheppard replied.
"Whoa..." Jaden deactivated his duel disk. "Sweet move Chazz!"
Chazz ignored Jaden, and fell to his knees. With the way he looked, one would think he lost the duel. "Damnit...I came here to win..."
Slade and Jagger walked up towards Chazz. "I'm disappointed in you Chazz." Slade calmly said. He was holding back the urge to vehemently scream at his younger brother.
"I'm sorry..." Chazz weakly replied.
"Yeah, well 'sorry' doesn't cut it!" Jagger yelled, not even bothering to hold in his anger. "Do you know how much money we spent on this duel?! Having it broadcasted? The rare cards that you refused to use? Buying an Academy from Seto Kaiba?!"
Jaden frowned. Chazz didn't even lose, and these guys were still acting as if he failed?
"We spent all of this for you to win Chazz. Being forced to end the duel in a draw is the same as admitting you were overpowered." Slade stated. "If you used the rare cards that we bought you, you would have won."
"I just...wanted to win with my own power. Without having to rely on my status."
Jagger grew even angrier. "You idiot! You put our plans in jeopardy for some sentimental bullshit like that?!"
He was about to grab Chazz by the shirt and pull him up before Slade put a hand on Jagger's shoulder. "Calm down there Jagger. It sucks that all we could get is North Academy, but if we put up a scene, it'll be harder to control them. We have to make as much use out of it as we can."
"Hey, leave him alone!" Slade and Jagger turned around and saw Jaden confronting the brothers. Behind him were Syrus, Chumley, Bastion, Alexis, Zane, and Damian. "What kind of brothers are you guys? You're supposed to support your family, not kick them while they're down!"
"Zane." Damian quickly muttered. Zane grunted, but said nothing.
"Chazz was giving it his all during the duel against me, and he did a great job! DESPITE all the pressure you've been putting on him!"
"What happened in the interim isn't what's important kid. All we care about are results." Jagger replied.
"Geez...I pity North Academy for having you guys as it's new owners." Alexis stated.
Crowler was watching from the stairs leading to the duel field. 'It's true. Results are what's most important of all. But berating their sibling like that in front of hundreds? I hate to side with Jaden, but that's tad harsh.' Crowler thought back to Damian calling him out back in November for harassing Chazz in front of the whole class. 'Blast it...not only am I seeing eye to eye with the Slifer slacker, but I'm sympathizing with Damian too.'
"It doesn't matter. What's done is done." Slade turned to Chazz. "We're just gonna need to work on improving your abilities first. And getting you to listen to us more."
"Seriously!?" Jaden yelled. "You think after what you JUST did, Chazz is gonna-"
Damian put a hand on Jaden's shoulder. "Chazz can speak for himself Jaden."
"He's right. Don't make me look anymore pathetic than I already do."
"Chazz..." Jaden said.
Chazz slowly stood up. "Slade, Jagger...get out of here. I'm going back to Central Academy."
"WHAAAAA?!" The North Academy students reacted.
"I have things to settle here. Besides..." Chazz turned to Slade and Jagger. "I'm not gonna let you two control me any longer. I'll still aim to be at the top of the dueling world. But consider me out of this little project of yours!"
There was a bit of silence. Then the muscular man with the russian accent stood up. "All hail The Chazz!"
"ALL HAIL THE CHAZZ! ALL HAIL THE CHAZZ!" Several North Academy students and even a few Central Academy students joined in.
"ALL HAIL THE CHAZZ! ALL HAIL THE CHAZZ! ALL HAIL THE CHAZZ!"
'Heh. Looks like Chazz is Mr Popular now.' Scott thought.
Jagger started to grow angry, but Slade just sighed. "Alright then. I respect your decision Chazz."
Slade's reaction seemed to take both Chazz and Jagger by surprise. "Wh-what are you talking about Slade?" Jagger asked.
"It's Chazz's life. It's disappointing that he made this decision, but it's his to make. We don't have the right to control him." Slade turned to Jagger. His face said it all. 'We'll get our payback in time.'
"Is he really that fine with it?" Mokuba asked.
"Of course not." Kaiba replied. "But he realizes that, as the new owner of North Academy, he has to put up a good image. Looking good for the people you want to manipulate is the name of the game in politics after all."
"You're STILL gonna do business with them Seto?"
"Why not? I have no use for North Academy, and could use the money. How Slade and Jagger run it isn't any of my concern."
Slade turned back to Chazz. "It was wrong of us to snap at you like that. We just push you so hard so that we can make you the best that you can be. You don't have to accept our apology, but know that we're sorry for how we treated you. Hopefully, we can make the North Academy students as skilled as you are"
'What the hell?! This is way different from how Slade acted in canon! Why's he suddenly acting so...civil...' Damian took a look at the North Academy students. While a few of them looked angry at the Princeton Brothers, a good amount of them actually looked at them hopefully. 'I get it. If Chazz is no longer useful to them, they'll replace him with somebody else now that they own North Academy.'
"See you around little brother." Slade walked out of the Dueling Arena, Jagger following.
"Heh. Even though Jagger's the one who manages the Princeton Corporation's businesses, it looks like Slade is the actual businessman of them." Kaiba stood up. "Come on Mokuba. We need to sign the contract to give them North Academy." Kaiba walked down the stairs.
"Seto..." Mokuba hesitantly followed his older brother.
Chazz stared in silence as he watched his brothers leave the Duel Arena.
"Hey man." Chazz turned around and saw Damian standing by him. "It's...been a while huh."
"Yeah...it has."
There was an awkward silence for a while before Damian spoke up. "So, when'll you try to get your revenge on me?"
"Huh?"
"Well, Jaden isn't the only lower ranked student to beat you publicly. Figured you'd try to gun for me afterwards."
Chazz smiled. "You sure you're not gonna cry when I crush you?"
"I'm not gonna leave Duel Academy if I lose, I can tell you that much." Damian shot back.
"Heh. You're still as arrogant as ever. Looks like it's up to The Chazz to humble you." He and Damian high fived each other.
Scott sighed in relief. 'Well, looks like I won't have to worry about killing for now.'
"You sure about that? Banner does want you to deal with Zane Truesdale to deal with after all." The Light said in Scott's head.
'Yeah, but if we play our cards right, we can get Banner to make us Shadow Riders first, then get Zane to take out Banner. That way, I won't have to kill anybody other than Jaden.'
"I suppose that could work. Though that'll mean your friend Ghassan will die tomorrow."
Scott widened his eyes, before growling in frustration. 'What did you hide to me about Ghassan and Banner?'
"You're kidding!" Damian yelled. He, Adrian, and Scott were in Scott's room in the Ra Yellow dorm. Damian's reunion with Chazz was cut short due to Scott suddenly insisting he come with him to discuss private matters, later telling this to Adrian as well. The three were missing out on the award ceremony for the School Duel.
"No. I'm not. Banner beat Ghassan and is holding his soul hostage. If we don't kill Zane in 23 or so hours, he'll have Jinzo consume Ghassan's soul."
Damian clenched his fists. "Damnit...but the plan was to kill Zane anyway right? I don't want to do it but..."
"You'll have to if you want Ghassan to survive." Adrian stated.
Scott and Damian both nodded. "Zane'll be a tough opponent, but our decks are more advanced than his. And if we gang up on him, we can take him down." Scott told Damian.
"I don't have a disguise like you do though. It'll be too risky. Not to mention that I don't have The Light's power like you and Ghassan." Damian pointed out.
"He has a point. But remember, Banner's doing this as an initiation for you two to get into the Shadow Riders." Adrian said. "Even if Scott can defeat Zane on his own, that'll mean only Scott gets into the group."
Scott said nothing. He didn't want to say it in front of Damian, but it might be for the best that Damian doesn't become a Shadow Rider.
"But even if Scott kills Zane, we still have a problem. Namely, how will we know that Banner will keep up his end of the bargain?" Adrian asked.
"I mean, he wants us to be Shadow Riders right? If he doesn't hold his end of the deal, he'll miss out on two powerful candidates." Scott replied.
"Maybe...but that doesn't mean he'll find it worth the risk of having no more leverage over you. Think about it. Why do you think Banner would try to kill you three?"
"Huh? Well, probably because he views us as threats." Damian answered.
"Exactly. And the fact that he finds out Zane is suspicious of him mere days after we sent Zane screenshots of Banner's email with Kagemaru means he probably surmised that you guys told Zane about him."
"So if he gets rid of all of us, he won't need to worry about us exposing his involvment with the missing students or the Shadow Riders." Scott realized.
"Exactly. This is either a ploy to kill you two alongside Zane, or he's just gonna hold Ghassan's soul as a hostage indefinitely to make sure you don't step out of line."
"Shit! We should have just sent the info to Sheppard and got Banner fired when we could! Now what can we do?!" Damian asked.
"Well obviously I have to kill Zane. That's the only way I can get into the Shadow Riders right now." Scott said. "But how will we ensure Ghaasan's safety?"
"Well, it's a Duel Spirit whose threatening to consume your brother's soul, right?" Adrian asked Damian. "Well, while Scott's dealing with Zane, why don't we use a Duel Spirit of our own to take care of Jinzo?"
The three felt a shimmering around them, before a familiar, cybernetic, lizard-like creature materalized. "Gecko, I told you next time I come to this island it would be to kill Damian. Not save his brother."
Damian and Scott both jumped back a bit at the sudden appearance of the Duel Spirit. Adrian just smiled. "Hey, when you work for the same boss, sometimes you have to help each other out."
Giga Gagagigo scoffed. "Whatever. He's just lucky that I can benefit from Jinzo's death."
"Wait, how?" Damian asked.
The Duel Spirit glared at Damian. "Need to know basis."
"As for you Damian, you'll be confronting Banner directly." Adrian said.
"Wait, why?" Damian asked.
"Because if Banner tries to interupt the duel to kill both Scott and Zane, we'll need somebody to hold him off. Even if you don't have The Light's power to absorb Banner's soul, you can still duel him. Our world is a tv show in your dimension, so you know Banner's deck, right?"
"Well...for the most part, yeah."
"Then you're most suited to counter it. It could also double as your initation into the Shadow Riders."
"Honestly, I'm not sure if becoming a Shadow Rider is still an option at this point."
"Of course it is. What better way to show Kagemaru that you're worthy of becoming one than by putting up a fight against his right hand man?"
"Well...alright. I guess we have a plan then." Scott stated.
Adrian nodded. "We can't wait until tomorrow to pull this off. We need to do it tonight so that we don't attract too much attention. Do you three understand?"
Giga Gagagigo nodded. Scott and Damian sighed, but nodded as well. "Tonight marks the end of our care free lives at Duel Academy." Damian said.
As I hinted on last chapter, I was kinda conflicted on whether or not I'd show the whole duel between Jaden and Chazz on account on the events surrounding the duel being mostly the same as canon, and I didn't want the chapter to feel like padding. But I also felt like glossing over it would be a huge diservice to Chazz's return and I didn't want to make his return feel like a complete sidenote.
You also probably noticed how Slade dealt with Chazz's disobedience alot differently than in canon. Considering how Slade and Jagger are still getting some gain, I decided to show him to be a bit more of a manipulator than Jagger (which I felt was fitting on acount of Slade being a politician, lol). And with Slade and Jagger looking to find a new showhorse for their corporation, it's safe to say that their roles in the story are far from over.
Also, first duel in the series where it ends in a draw. I stated before that I'm a bit hesistant on having duels end with draws mainly because I'm afraid it'll lead me into a trap where I keep using it to avoid consequences. Though in this case, where Chazz losing, or he and Jaden drawing would result in the Princeton Brothers getting North Academy, I was more comfortable with it.
Well, hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. Next chapter marks the execution of the group's most important plan yet. Have a great day everyone!
