Yay! I'm back into business, guys!
Disclaimer: Mage of Hope doesn't own Yu-Gi-Oh series or the abridged series, only the OCs!
"Hmmhmmhmmm!~" Amusely humming to herself, Jaden entered the crowded card store, hoping to get some grub and new pack of cards. To her surprise, the area seemed more crowded than even, given that many students were all gathered up instead of spread out to interact in their own activities.
Spotting Bastion amongst the crowd, she pushed past a few students lightly and approached him, tapping him on the shoulder to get his attention. "Hey, Bastion! What's going on? A fight? No wait, is it Eggwich Day?"
Bastion smiled, knowing that the response he was about to give would no doubt excite Jaden. "No, Jaden. Just a little lunchtime dueling."
"Whoa! Dueling? Sweet! So, who's dueling?"
"Well, on your left is Dimitri."
"Ohhhh!"
"No, no, Jaden. Your other left."
"Ahhh!"
"And he's dueling against Syrus."
"I see!"
"..."
"..."
"...He's on the right."
"Ohhhh! Gotcha."
Anyone could clearly see the duel from the front as it continued to progress. Syrus only had Jetroid on his side of the field in Attack Mode while Dimitri only had two facedowns but no Monsters.
Jetroid - (WIND/Machine) - LV4 - (1200/1800)
Syrus - 400 LP
Dimitri - 1000 LP
"Hey, Syrus! Keep it up, buddy!" cheered Jaden, calling out for her best friend at the top of her lungs. "SYRUS! SYRUS? SY? SY! BRO! DUDE! AMIGO? COMPADRE? SYRU-I don't think he can hear me."
"Are you kidding? Everyone in the whole school can hear you!" complained Syrus, who was covering his ears.
"What? I wasn't being that loud," Jaden defended herself as she made her way towards the front of the crowd.
One Ra Yellow student tried speaking to Jaden hesitantly. "U-Um...Actually, Jaden, you kinda hurt my ea-"
"HEY! That's great!" interrupted Jaden, not wanting to hear what he wanted to say, for she was fixated on the duel right in front of her. "So, Sy! What's going on?"
"A high staked duel! Check it out!" Pointing towards his right, Syrus was addressing to a couple of posters posted on the wall; all which pointed towards Yugi Moto, the current King of Games. "Yugi's deck is going on tour! And the first stop of Duel Academy!"
"Yeah, it is! The original King of Games deck? To see it with my very own eyes?! Awesome!" Jaden's eyes sparkled with joy as she continued staring at the Yugi posters. Anyone could clearly see that she was overwhelmed to see the infamous deck of the King of Games.
"Yeah, and if I win, I get-uh Jay? Are you even listening?" Puasing the duel, Syrus rushed over to his friend and started waving his hands over Jaden's face, trying to get her attention.
"Yugi's deck...Here! I can't believe it!"
Syrus couldn't agree more. "That deck was used against Pegasus in Duelist Kingdom! And the way he used it against Seto Kaiba and Marik in the Battle City Tournament! Also, he obtained the three legendary God Cards and is known as a legendary duelist! So amazing!"
Jaden gazed with amazement over Yugi's accomplishments. Defeating such powerful foes, obtaining three of the most strongest cards in Duel Monsters, having respect for his opponents, owning a kind heart to all fellow duelists...truly, he is the King of Games!
"Of course, the deck going on tour doesn't have the three Egyptian God cards," added Syrus. "But it does have stuff like the Dark Magician...Dark Magician Girl..." Syrus practically drooled when he mentioned the famous female Duel Monster before realizing that a crowd was watching him. "Celtic Guardian, Dark Magician Girl, Watapon, Dark Magician Girl, Chimera, Dark Magician Girl, Queen, King, and Jack's Knight, and oh! Dark Magician Girl!"
"You...you said Dark Magician Girl too many times," pointed out Jaden.
"ANYWAYS! There are lots of treasured and rare cards within that deck! We have to go see it!"
Jaden understood that Syrus was just as eagered as everyone else to see Yugi's deck, yet she still had one more question. "I get it, Sy! But what does dueling that Dimitri guy have anything to do with it? Let's go get tickets!"
"Jaden, that's why Syrus is dueling! Because there's one ticket left!" Dorothy called out from the cash register with her assistant near her side. "We're responsible for distributing tickets in the first place. Since we're down to the last one, they're settling who gets it with a duel! Can you imagine a better result coming from this duel other than one ticket?"
"Yeah, two actually," said Jaden, pouting before turning to Syrus. "No fair, Sy! If you texted me about this earlier this morning, I would have gotten it early! Big jerk..."
"What are you talking about, Jay?" wondered Syrus. "That ticket over there is yours. I already have my own ticket. See?" To prove he wasn't lying, Syrus fished into his pockets for the certified ticket and showed it to his best friend.
Jaden gasped before grabbing both his shoulders. "You're dueling for me?"
"O-of course, Jaden!" The moment Jaden touched his shoulders, Syrus blushed since he wasn't really used to girls touching him.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" she squealed, embracing him tightly before lifting him off the ground and spinning him around.
Syrus grew more dizzy and flustered, yet overjoyed at the same time. His crush was hugging him! HIM! Syrus Truesdale, younger brother to the famous Zane Truesdale! Although he's not really a womanizer, this is the closest he'll ever be to a girl, so he might as well enjoy the feeling while he still can!
Some female students in the crowd along with Dorothy and her assistant quickly took out their cameras and took pictures of the scene. They needed more pictures of the romance between cute little Syrus and Jaden for the Yaoi Fanclub! Bastion was feeling quite sorry for the two, knowing that Jaden was unknowingly leading the fanclub on while Syrus struggled with them every time he spent time with Jaden.
After Jaden put Syrus down, Syrus approached back to the dueling stage. "I'm gonna win, Jay! For you!" he promised, earning squeals from the fanclub about his somewhat declaration and devotion towards Jaden.
"Good luck, Sy!"
Syrus's opponent, Dimitri, resembled Yugi so much; not counting the non-existent tri-colored hair. Once the duel resumed, Dimitri drew his card. "I'll draw my next card! And it's Heavy Storm! This powerful Spell destroys all Spells and Traps on both sides of the field!"
"That sounds...familiar," muttered Jaden. Now where could she have seen that move somewhere before? Not a lot of people had the expensive card, Heavy Storm, so how...?
"It should," Bastion said, suddenly appearing next to Jaden and startling her. Considering that he was found at the back of the crowd instead of the front, nobody could blame her for being surprised, since anyone in her position would do the same. "Dr. Crowler played the same move on you. Anyways, Dimitri's a copycat duelist. He'll mimic anything that takes to his fancy. Yesterday, he pretended to be a Hoover. He walked around the Academy for five hours, going, 'Hoooooo...' It was hilarious. Sad, but hilarious."
"...Where did you appear from?"
"I've been here the whole time, Jaden."
"Ah...Weird."
A gust of wind flew across the room and destroyed Dimitri's two facedowns before smoke flooded the floor; whereas two yellow Monsters sprang from the floor. Apparently they were Tokens that appeared only after his facedown cards were destroyed.
"I sacrifice my two Wicked Tokens to summon forth the legendary Ancient Gear Golem!" shouted Dimitri, posing in a way that reminded Jaden of Dr. Crowler's pose when he summoned his own Ancient Gear Golem.
Ancient Gear Golem was the same was the one Jaden faced before; a mechanical giant that seemed broken down, yet at the same time, fully armored. This beast was difficult for even Jaden to defeat but she triumphed in the end.
Ancient Gear Golem - (EARTH/Machine) - LV8 - (3000/3000)
"Go, Ancient Gear Golem! Mechanized Melee!"
Rising up, Ancient Gear Golem pulled his arm back before thrusting his punch forward towards Syrus's little Jetroid, intent on crushing the little thing with everything he had.
"Not so fast! When Jetroid is attacked, his special ability activates!" said Syrus. "Because he's being attacked, I can activate a Trap from my hand! And I play Magic Cylinder from my hand!"
Hoverng above Jetroid were two opened cylinders which absorbed the attack Ancient Gear Golem pulled just now.
"Magic Cylinder takes Ancient Gear Golem's attack and sends it straight towards you, Dimitri!"
"What?! Time out!" cried out Dimitri. Unfortunately, it was too late for him as the attacked reflected towards him and practically punched him in the gut before he collapsed to his knees in defeat; the 3000 point loss proving too much for him.
Syrus - 400 LP
Dimitri - 0 LP
Winner: Syrus
Pumping his fist in the air while the remaining cards on the field disppeared, Syrus cheered, "I just won the duel! YEAAAAAAAHHHH!"
"Congratulations, Syrus! You did it!" Jaden ran up to her best friend to cheer on his victory as well. "You took down that combo much faster and easier than I did with Crowler!"
"It was easy!" Syrus couldn't help but brag. "After watching your duel with Dr. Crowler, it didn't take me long to piece together a strategy that would no doubt grant me victory! Oh! And now to collect my prize!"
"Here you go, Syrus!" said Dorothy, handing Syrus his prize ticket once the blue-haired boy arrived at the counter.
Raising his ticket in the air, Syrus once again announced, "I just got my ticket! YEAAAAAAAAHHHHHH! Oh wait, I mean Jaden's ticket!"
"Yaaayyy!" Lifting the boy up by the waist, Jaden rubbed her cheek against his out of pure affection, not noticing Syrus's huge, goofy grin on his face. "You did it! You did it!"
After being put down, much to Syrus's disappointment, he handed the ticket over to Jaden. "Here you go!"
"Yay! Thank you, Syrus!"
"Alright, everyone! The show's over! Now get back to class!" called Dorothy, smiling happily and applauding for the performance.
As the crowd dispersed and went their own way, several students didn't bother hiding their opinions nor bothered considering Dimitri's feelings as they started insulting him.
"Man, what a weakling!"
"A Ra Yellow who can't even beat a Slifer Red? Pathetic!"
"I'm not surprised if he gets demoted soon!"
"He's such a loser!"
"Ha! He should be ashamed that he's even a duelist in the first place!"
The more insults thrown at him, the more hurt Dimitri felt, causing him to grit his teeth and clench his fists. Noticing Dimitri's shaking, Jaden squinted her eyes only for them to widen a second later when she realized Dimitri was using every ounce of his willpower not to cry here and now.
"A weak duelist with a weak deck!"
The person who said that was suddenly thrown to the ground in a flash. Looking up, he saw Jaden angrily glaring at him and ready to throw some punches. Like any rational person would do, he tried defending himself with his arms as Jaden started punching and thrashing at his face.
"You apologize! You apologize here and now! Dimitri lost and all of a sudden, you all think he's weak! Shame on you!" she yelled, continuing to beat up the poor male student.
Several others started to run towards Jaden, intent on pulling her off him when she glared at each one of them; her normally chocolate-brown eyes flashing golden with strong anger hidden within. Her expression was so frightening, many sensed her menacing aura and hurried out of the card store.
Syrus was among the many scared ones, but he didn't run. Instead, he shivered and hid behind Bastion the whole time. "B-B-Bastion! What should we do?! I don't think I've ever seen Jaden this angry before!"
Bastion experienced what it was meant to face a woman's wrath and shivered mentally himself. He gulped and managed to speak, "Well, we have no choice but to pry her off that poor boy. You distract her, and I'll try pulling her away."
"We'll help too," offered Dorothy as she came by with her assistant. Although she couldn't tolerate bullying as much as Jaden did, beating them up wasn't the answer. She'll have to complain this to Chancellor Sheppard.
"With that said...You go first, Syrus!" Without warning, Bastion pushed the boy towards Jaden, causing Syrus to crash into Jaden with enough impact to force the two to tumble around the ground.
"Owww!" both Slifer Reds cried out right before the student Jaden was assaulting ran off with a bloody nose.
Reacting quickly, Syrus wrapped his arms around Jaden's waist and used every ounce of his strength to hold her down to the ground. Considering that this was a bold move played by Syrus, everyone was surprised.
Just then, Crowler showed up on the grounds of the card store; having been informed of Jaden 'bullying' one of his Obelisk Blue students. "JADEN YUKI! I DEMAND TO KNOW-"
He stopped the second he saw the awkward position Syrus and Jaden were in. Syrus was behind Jaden, wrapping his arms around her waist. Anyone could easily mistaken this as a romantic moment between two guys.
"I...Am I...interrupting something?"
"NO!" Realizing the position he was in, Syrus released Jaden abd scooched away with a red face. "It isn't what it looks like!"
"I...I..." Shaking his head to rid of the...thoughts in his mind, Crowler glanced at Jaden. "Jaden Yuki! Come with me right this second! There's a matter we must discuss!"
"...Goddamnit."
After watching Crowler dragging Jaden away by the ear, which turned out sad, but hilarious, Bastion looked around for Dimitri in hopes of encouraging him not to give up and that everyone loses every now and then. But the Copy Duelist was nowhere to be found.
That night in the Ra Yellow dorms...
"Damnit, damnit, damnit!"
Repeatedly cursing to himself, Dimitri was wallowing in agony and angst as he furiously pushed all books and papers off his desk. The papers were full of A's; a result from all his studying. But his dueling skills? Not so much.
Losing once wasn't really a big deal to the Copy Duelist at first, but the more he used his copy deck strategy, his movements became too predictable to the other students and they began to beat him at his own game. This resulted in him being taunted and bullied for losing all the time and possibly his own demotion if this kept up.
"Everything I tried to do...even copying and memorizing famous duelists like Yugi Motou or Seto Kaiba's strategies...yet, it's still the same!" Banging his fists against his desk once more, Dimitri barely noticed his Yugi Moto flier falling from the wall because of all the mess he was making. "I've got to find another way to win! I have to-"
Just then, the Yugo Moto flier landed right in front of him. He recalled that the event for Yugi Motou's deck was beginning tommorow, so that means that it had to be delivered tonight for the exhibit to open! And just like that, he had an idea...
In the Slifer Red dorms...
'Stupid Crowler, stupid detention, stupid Obelisk Blue guy!' thought Jaden as she continued staring at her precious Winged Kuriboh card. Just the sight of her cute Monster card along with all her plushies in her bed made her feel a tad bit better.
After being forcibly dragged by Crowler, she was forced to sit in the Chancellor's Office, where she had to explain her situation to Chancellor Sheppard and the events that occured. Knowing that Jaden wouldn't lie about students bullying others since most Ra Yellows and Obelisk Blues seem to pick on Slifer Reds a lot, he immediantly believed her story better than the beat-up Obelisk Blue student's.
The Chancellor decided to punish both Jaden and her victim for the incident. Both received a week's worth of detention, but the Obelisk Blue student also had to write a letter of apology to Dimitri, much to his distaste. At least this punishment wasn't anything worst than the last one Jaden received.
'Well, at least I still have you, Winged Kuriboh,' Jaden thought, smiling down at his card. Hopefully someday, she might find a Winged Kuriboh stuffed animal and keep it for herself.
"...And then I used Magic Cylinder to finish him off!" boasted Syrus, proudly explaining to Chumley all about his duel with Dimitri. "It feels so good to finally win a duel against someone with a rank higher than mine! Right, Jaden?"
"H-huh? Yeah..."
Noting Jaden's slight hesitant answer, Syrus was a little worried. "Hey, you alright, Jay?"
"...Hmm...how would you guys like to see the exhibition hall for a bit?" Jaden questioned out of curiosity.
"Whoa, what? Why bring this up?" Chumley asked, surprised just like Syrus.
Turning her chair around to face her friends, Jaden said, "Well, the exhibition starts tommorow morning, and I just can't stop thinking about Yugi's deck and his legendary cards! And if the event starts tommorow, then that means that they'll still be setting up tonight, right? If we wait and lie low, we might get a sneak peek at it!"
"Yeah! Yeah!" Chumley nodded, excited as he sat up from the top of the bunk beds. "Since Yugi's deck is so famous, loads of people are going to hog all the good spots to see it!"
"Whaaaat? I dueled to get that ticket for you and you aren't even going to use it?" whimpered Syrus, feeling a bit hurt. Yes, it would be great to see the deck and all, but the main reason for entering the exhibition was just for Yugi's deck! Why see it tommorow if they were just going to look at it tonight and that would be it?
"No way! I'm still gonna use the ticket! It'll be more fun if we look at Yugi's deck again tommorow!" replied Jaden, standing up and trying to force a smile on Syrus's face with her two fingers. "Come on! Turn that frown upside down!"
Unknown to anyone until now, Syrus's face was sensitive, so he broke into a fit of giggles when Jaden attempted to force him to grin. Jaden backed away from him and grinned after seeing him all happy.
Catching his breath after his little laughter session, Syrus glanced at Jaden and pondered, "But...even if we go, I doubt the guards will let us inside."
"We have to try, though!" said Jaden, pumping her fists out of determination.
"I dunno..."
Attempting to cheer up the doubtful boy once more, Jaden smiled and poked one finger onto his cheek lightly, twisting it over and over to get his attention. "You wanna try, Syrus? You wanna get past security? Huh? Huh?"
"..."
"..."
"...Fine."
Later, in the hallways near the exhibition...
"We finished setting up the display case, so we'll give back the exhibition hall key and display case key to you," replied one of the two guards who happened to be talking to Crowler in the dark hallways. On their left happened to lead to the exhibition hall where posters of Yugi were seen on the wall, leading to the exhibition room.
"Thanks for covering our guard duty for tonight," thanked the other guard, handing over the keys to Crowler. "I hope you have a good night, Mrs. Crowler."
"EXCUSE ME?!"
"W-what?"
"PROFESSOR Crowler, to you!"
"Oh. Well, sorry. Goodnight, Professor Crowler."
"Yes, goodnight boys! Goodnight!" As soon as he was certain that the guards were gone, Crowler grew a sinister look on his face as he headed towards the exhibition room/ "A very goodnight, indeed! For it's not every day that you're put in charge of watching over the greatest deck that was ever created in the entire wor-"
As he mumbled to himself, he unlocked the exhibition hall's door and push opened the doors, only to find that the display case containing Yugi's deck was shattered, and the deck was gone.
"Ohhhhhh...shit."
"It's around this corner, Syrus!"
"Right behind you, Jaden!"
"..."
"..."
"Not too far now!"
"Lead the way, buddy!"
"..."
"..."
"Almost there, dude!"
"With you all the way, pal!"
"..."
"..."
"...Syrus? I think I just realized something. This room we're looking for...?"
"Yeah?"
"...It's around this corner! Is Chumley still behind us?"
"I'll check! Chumley, are you al-" THUD! "Man down!"
Trying to be as stealthy as possible, Jaden, Syrus, and Chumley rushed through the dark hallways and used the moonlight emitting from the moon through the windows as their only source of light. They couldn't possibly risk being caught using flashlights or they'd be in big trouble. It took some careful planning and quiet, hushed tones to make it thus, but they were sure they were close to the exhibition hall.
What none of them expected was to bump into Bastion.
"Bastion? What are you doing here?" Jaden asked, surprised.
"Oh? I was planning on sneaking a peek at Yugi's deck," replied Bastion. "I assume you three are doing the same thing, correct?"
Jaden grinned, knowing that if Bastion came with the same intentions as them, there was no way he was going to tell on them! "Yup! Let's go! I bet it'll be more fun seeing the deck toge-"
"SHIIIIITTTTTTTTTTTTTTT!"
Everyone paused, having been startled by the feminine scream coming from the exhibition hall. They glanced at each other, then at the door, then back to each other before realizing something was wrong.
"What was that?"
"A girl's in trouble!"
"We have to help her!"
Together with Jaden, Bastion push opened the doors and rushed into the room. Much to their shock, Crowler was standing right next to a broken display case that was supposed to contain Yugi's deck. Unfortunately, the deck was missing, and the only other suspect was Crowler.
Who would have thought that such a discriminating, flamboyant Obelisk Blue teacher such as Crowler would go so far?
"It's Crowler!" gasped Bastion. "And Yugi's deck is gone!"
"Crowler's the only other person in the room!" pointed out Chumley.
Fiercely turning to her friends, Jaden proposed, "Let's go find a big person and tell them!" And by big person, she meant Chancellor Sheppard.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Attempting to stop the four students, Crowler, with all his might, leaped off the ground and tackled them, causing all five to collapse to the ground.
That didn't mean the students didn't show any resistance. No matter how hard they tried, they couldn't pry Crowler off them and resorted to sitting up and glaring angrily at the teacher.
"Alright, Rapunzel, confess! Why'd you do it?" demanded Jaden.
"I didn't steal the deck! Honest! I promise! Someone broke in and took it!" pleaded Crowler. "You have to get it back!"
Jaden raised an eyebrow. "'You?'"
"WE have to get it back!"
"But, Dr. Crowler, you were the only person in here," reminded Chumley. "And you were standing right next to the display case."
Crowler was growing more and more desperate by the minute. "Then, search me! Please! Go ahead, go ahead!"
"...You know, it could be 'cause I don't wanna search you," admitted Jaden. "But, I think I actually believe what Dr. Crowler's saying."
Crowler frantically nodded his head, releasing his grip onto the four and sitting up. "Yes, yes! In fact, there was no need for me to break the glass case if I had this!" To prove his innocence, he took out the display case keys from his pocket.
Convinced, Jaden and her friends stood up. "Which would mean that the culprit is still out there!" she said. "Maybe we should split up! Do we have any clues?"
"They broke the glass!" declared Crowler.
Jaden gasped. "They broke the glass? Alright, everyone! We need an armadillo, a chess piece, and a car! Don't worry, Dr. Crowler! We won't mess this up!"
Later...
Dimitri, who was standing on top of some high rocks above the ocean, shuffled through his new 'deck' and was amazed to see so many rare and powerful cards. Truly, this was the King of Games special deck, no doubt!
"With these cards, I'll become the greatest duelist ever!" he said, grinning as he lowered his scarf a little to breath easily.
Syrus, who was running around the island, spotted Dimitri by the rocks and rushed over before coming to a stop. "Hey! Who are you? Is that deck...really...?"
"Hmm?" Noticing Syrus, Dimitri couldn't have asked for a better perfect timing than now as he held up an additional duel disk in his hands. "Oh, you're Syrus Truesdale, aren't you? Little brother to Zane Truesdale? Nice, I was about to go looking for an opponent I could face. Here, catch!"
Scrambling to catch the duel disk, Syrus nearly tripped and was close to falling towards the waters below, but held on strong. He feebly caught the duel disk before inserting it into his arm, knowing that Dimitri wouldn't stand down without a fight.
"Hey! Did you really steal Yugi's deck?" Syrus sputtered, getting a little nervous. If he truly had the deck, then he has a very low chance of winning!
"And what if I do? It's mine, after all!"
Shaking his head, Syrus grew determined. If he did manage to defeat Dimitri, then that must mean he's stronger than the King of Games himself! "No way! If I win, you have to return the deck!"
"Fine, whatever! Let's just duel already!"
Meanwhile, Jaden panted over and over while on top of a bridge connecting from one part of the island to the next. She had just gotten away from a recent...incident involving her accidentally letting loose an armadillo on the Obelisk Blue dorms.
"Jaden!" Hearing her name being announced, she saw Chumley and Bastion rushing towards her.
"Any luck?" she asked.
Both male students shook their heads. "We couldn't find anything! Nothing in the dorms or anyone suspicious along the way!" reported Bastion.
"Uh...Guys? Where's Syrus?" Chumley asked.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"
"Oh no! That sounds like Syrus!" cried out Jaden, instantly worried for her blue-haired friend. The three of them ran across the bridge and hoped to find the source of Syrus's cry so that they could locate him and see what was going on.
Shortly afterwards, they discovered Syrus laying on the rocky grounds as another duelist, which happened to be Dimitri, was standing high and tall on top of the high rocks, gazing triumphantly with confidence down at Syrus's defeated form.
"Ha ha! Now what's what happens when you mess with the King of Games!" Dimitri called in a deep voice.
"Syrus, what happened? Did you find the thief?" Chumley asked, shaking Syrus's frail form.
Syrus, who was already stressed out from the dueling and mess they were in, wanted to facepalm at him for not thinking about the other duelist. It was obvious, right? The one who made him like this was obviously the one who stoled Yugi's deck!
"Oh, you know, Chumley! I thought it was such a lovely night, I'd come and lie down on the rocks and look up at the stars and think about life!" spatted Syrus sarcastically.
"Really?"
"NO! The thief is over there! He has Yugi's deck!" the glasses-wearing student snapped, addressing towards Dimitri with a wave of his arm.
"That's right! I beat your friend, Syrus! Me, Yugi! The King of Games!" boasted Dimitri. With the strange hairstyle, the deep voice, and Yugi's deck, he made a flawless good impersonation of Yugi himself.
Leaping onto the same grounds as Dimitri, Jaden demanded, "Alright, that's enough! Hand over the deck right now, Dimitri!"
"Ha, Dimitri? I believe that you're mistaken!" said Dimitri. "I'm Yugi! Dimitri's some child who would study other people's decks and copy them! You see, with these cards, I'm not copying the King of Games...I truly am the King of Games! And if you want this deck back, you'll have to prove I'm not!"
"Fine by me! I never back down from a challenge!" Jaden agreed, growing excited. A chance to fight against the King of Games' deck? This was too good to be true!
"Good! But it won't matter because you won't beat me, Yugi! The King of Gam-"
"Alright, cut the voice!" spoke Jaden, already annoyed.
"E-excuse me?" Surprised by her sudden change of tone, Dimitri couldn't help but flinch, yet keep his cool and calm composure.
"The voice! The voice thing! Yugi! You don't sound anything like him!"
Clearing his voice and trying to sound perfectly like the King of Games, Dimitri decided to try his deep, dark voice once more. "I don't sound anything like who?"
"You're doing it wrong! All your inflictions are off! Do it more like this!" This time, Jaden tried mimicking Yugi's voice as much as she could, despite the fact that she was a girl.
"Like this?" Dimitri tried making his voice even lower and deeper.
"No! More like this!"
"More like this!"
"Ha!"
"Ha!"
"Ha!
"Ha!"
"You are just...terrible!" scoffed Jaden, shaking her head back and forth in disbelief. "If you're going to impersonate someone, at leas try to sound like the-"
"I'm Jaden Yuki, and I wet the bed until I was 15!" whined Dimitri, giving off a PERFECT impersonation of Jaden's voice.
"..."
"..."
"...Okay, that was pretty good. Sy! Duel Disk!"
Nodding, Syrus removed the one on his arm and tossed it over towards Jaden. "Jaden, catch!"
Feeling something lightly hit her leg, she saw the duel disk had been thrown near her feet. Plucking it off the ground, she attached the duel disk to her left arm and inserted her own deck inside; all ready and prepared to duel.
"Thanks, Sy!" Reverting to Dimitri, Jaden stood back a little and readied for one of the most interesting duels in her life. "Get your game on!"
"It's time to duel!" said Dimitri, activating his duel disk so that the duel could commence.
- DUEL -
Jaden - 4000 LP
VS
Dimitri - 4000 LP
"Alright, my go!" shouted Jaden, making the first move. Not that Dimitri cared who went first, since he was more than confident enough about his skills already. "First off, I summon Elemental Hero Flash in Defense Mode!"
A brand new Elemental Hero, one very similar to Sparkman, shot down onto the field like a bolt of thunder, thus proving his speed through a flashy entrance. He wore a blue jumpsuit with lightning-like symbols throughout his suit along with a light helmet with a visor attached as he crotched down in Defense Mode.
Elemental Hero Flash - (LIGHT/Warrior) - LV4 - (1100/1600)
"And I'm calling it a turn!"
"Then, it's my turn!" announced Dimitri before quickly coming up with a counter move. "I fuse Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts and Berfomet using Polymerization to Fusion Summon Chimera the Flying Mythical Beast in Attack Mode!"
The two well-known beasts roared in unison before merging their bodies together to create as one being; one with two heads and wings, yet with more superior skill and strength combined.
Chimera the Flying Mythical Beast - (WIND/Beast/Fusion) - LV6 - (2100/1800)
"Not good! 2100 Attack Points right now?!" muttered Jaden, now recalling the Attack Points the famous Chimera possessed. Even Bastion, Syrus, and Chumley were astonished on how strong the Fusion Monster was.
"Attack now, Chimera! Pulverizing Pounce!"
Not wasting any time, Chimera sprang from his spot and pounced on top of Flash before swiftly biting down on his shoulder hard enough for the Elemental Hero to cry out in pain before being fractured by the beast.
Winching as Elemental Hero Flash turned into fragments, Jaden could only watch as her only defense vanished and Dimitri was standing tall with his mighty beast Monster.
Turning to Syrus, Chumley said, "Syrus, you already dueled this guy! Got any advice on how to beat him?"
"None. I tried everything and nothing worked!" said Syrus. "Heck, I even got defeated by Chimera in one blow!"
"Ehhh?! That bad, huh? Then, are you saying that Jaden doesn't have a chance here?"
"I'm saying that against Yugi's deck, it's a possibility."
"It's more than that," spoke up Bastion calmly. "Dimitri has something like a photographic memory, so if he reads or looks at something, he doesn't forget about it quite easily. Plus, he's a copycat duelist, so in order to defeat him, you must exploit the failings of whoever he's copying. As you did when you dueled Dimitri the first time, Syrus. You knew that he was copying Crowler's deck, and you knew what his weaknesses were. That's how you won. The problem is now, he's copying Yugi, a duelist whose weaknesses are not so well-known. That is, if he has any at all."
"B-but everyone has a weakness, right? Even the strongest Monster!" said Syrus.
Bastion couldn't agree more with that statement. "Yes, just as everything has its own strengths, they have their own weaknesses. Yet, there's no set formula on how to beat the King of Games. So therefore, there's no set formula on how to beat Dimitri now."
"My turn!" Jaden said. "I fuse together Elemental Heroes Sparkman and Clayman from my hand using my own Polymerization! Come on down, Elemental Hero Thunder Giant!"
Just like Elemental Hero Flash, the lightning Fusion Monster crashed down to the field in the appearance of a thunderbolt.
Elemental Hero Thunder Giant - (LIGHT/Warrior/Fusion) - LV6 - (2400/1500)
"And now, I'm gonna use his special ability! When he's Fusion Summoned, he can destroy one Monster whose original Attack Points are less than his own!"
Thrusting his large palm forward, Thunder Giant shot out an electrical attack that electrified Chimera before utterly destroying him in an explosion.
"Nice ability, but let me show you mine!" shouted Dimitri. "When Chimera's destroyed, I'm allowed to Special Summon Berfomet from the Graveyard in Defense Mode!"
The four-armed winged beast flew up in the sky before kneeling down and placing his arms over his chest to defend.
Berfomet - (DARK/Fiend) - LV5 - (1400/1800)
"Yeah, well he won't be here for long! I can still attack!" said Jaden. "Thunder Giant, attack! Voltic Thunder!"
Following his master's command, Thunder Giant raised his electrically charged palm before unleashing thunder upon Berfomet, defeating the Fiend-type with ease.
'Good! That's one Monster down!' thought Jaden. 'His Monster protected his Life Points as well! That deck's really heightening to its full potential!'
After his Monster was destroyed, Dimitri drew his card, seeing how it was now his turn. "My turn! I set one card facedown and play this! Monster Reincarnation! Now, by discarding one card, I get back one Monster from my Graveyard! Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts! Return!"
Taking over his beast partner's place, the King of Mythical Beasts reappeared on the field to aid in his user's fight.
Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts - (EARTH/Beast) - LV4 - (1500/1200)
"And now, I activate Swords of Revealing Light!"
A green light revealed its shining source of light up on the night skies, raining swords of green, illuminating light that stabbed the area around Jaden and Thunder Giant, harmlessly passing through them, yet preventing them from any escape routes or ways of attacking.
"For three turns, none of your Monsters can attack!" said Dimitri. "I end my turn!"
"Three turns?! I gotta find a way to break that Spell!" muttered Jaden before drawing her card. "I summon Dark Catapulter in Defense Mode!"
The Machine-Type let loose a low tune as he kneeled in Defense Mode.
Dark Catapulter - (EARTH/Machine) - LV4 - (1000/1500)
"What an awesome move! Dark Catapulter has a special ability that will let Jaden destroy Dimitri's Swords of Revealing Light Spell card next turn!" praised Chumley.
"Oh? Will he? I doubt Dark Catapulter will even stay for that long," spoke Dimitri, smirking. "Now, I activate the Trap card, Dark Renewal! It activates when you make a summoning. Now, by sacrificing one of your Monsters and one of my own, I can bring back a Spellcaster-type Monster from my Graveyard."
"Oh, goddamnit, Chumley!" snapped Jaden, turning around to face him with an annoyed look on her face. "Now he knows all about Dark Catapulter's ability! Aaaaaahhh! Now I have no way of removing his Spell!"
"Oops...sorry!" called out Chumley apologetically.
"Wait, Jaden! Dimitri only has Chimera and Berfomet in his Graveyard, so you're still safe!" reminded Syrus.
"You all may want to double check your work!" said Dimitri. "Remember when I played Monster Reincarnation?"
"Huh? Oh...Oh! Oh yeah..." Come to think of it, the conditions for bringing back Gazelle to Dimitri's hand was only to discard one card. So, whatever card that was must have been the Spellcaster-type Dimitri was talking about!
Black smoke arose from the ground as a coffin appeared from the shadows of the mist and smoke. Whoever was inside of the coffin just so happens to be a Spellcaster-type; a powerful one at that.
"Alright, Gazelle and Dark Catapulter!" commanded Dimitri as the two Monsters glowed, ready to sacrifice themselves. "Make some room for the one, the only..."
Once the two Monsters transformed into two sources of light, they flew right into the crystal center of the coffin, which glowed slightly. Once the light faded down, the coffin sprang open, and a dark figure appeared from the dark and into the light for all to see.
"My friend, the Dark Magician!"
Dark Magician - (DARK/Spellcaster) - LV7 - (2500/2100)
"The Dark Magician?! Awesome! He's practically the symbolic Monster of Yugi's deck!" squealed Jaden, getting overexcited. She was practically jumping up and down and squealing loudly.
"The Dark Magician?! That's pretty cool!" gasped Syrus.
"Man, I wished I bought a camera! I could have filmed the entire duel!" complained Chumley.
'Impressive,' thought Bastion, sending his regards to Dimitri. 'I doubt Yugi could have done it better himself. Dimitri's copying him perfectly after just one glimpse of the deck, and that's not good for Jaden.'
"Even though the Dark Magician is awesome and strong, even I know that my Thunder Giant won't stand a chance against him!" said Jaden. "So, for now, I'll just switch Thunder Giant in Defense Mode and end my turn!"
"My move! And I activate Thousand Knives!" Dimitri said. "And when I activate it, with Dark Magician on the field, this Spell can destroy just one of your Monsters, and I have the perfect target for such use!"
Raising his staff, Dark Magician motioned all knives to ready themselves to be thrown. Once he lowered his staff, that was the signal for all one thousand knives to strike at once, piercing through Thunder Giant's armor and destroying him.
"Wow! In just one blow, one of Jaden's strongest Monsters was just destroyed!" gasped Syrus.
"Not only that, but that was Jaden's last line of defense!" said Chumley. "And Dimitri still hasn't officially attacked yet!"
"Dark Magician! Dark Magic Attack!" yelled Dimitri. Swinging his staff once, Dark Magician released an green orb surging with magic power that was enough to knock Jaden off her feet.
Jaden - 1500 LP
Dimitri - 4000 LP
"Gh...That hurt!" grunted Jaden, jumping back to her feet and brushing the dirt off her clothes.
"Give up?" Dimitri lightly taunted.
"Never!"
Judging from Jaden's indignant, yet determined look, Dimitri nodded. "That's the spirit! Never give up! Always believe in the heart of the cards! That's what I say!"
"Yeah, yeah...whatever!" 'Dimitri's really good with Yugi's deck! It practically has no blind spots!' thought Jaden. 'If I don't come up with something soon, I'm done for! Here goes!'
"I end my turn! Your turn, Jaden!"
"Finally! I draw! And now, I summon Wroughtweiler in Defense Mode! And that's it!"
The dog belonging to the beloved Elemental Heroes growled slightly at Dimitri as he kneeled in Defense Mode.
Wroughtweiler - (EARTH/Machine) - LV3 - (800/1200)
'Well, it seems Jaden's not giving up this fight,' thought Bastion. 'Jaden's main forces usually come from her Fusion Monsters. If she can manage to Fusion Summon a Monster strong enough to take down the Dark Magician, she might still have a chance.'
"Don't forget! With Swords of Revealing Light out, you still can't attack! But I can!" notified Dimitri. "I draw! Go, Dark Magician! Dark Magic Attack!"
Dark Magician's staff kindled with magic power before the magician himself fired another round of his powerful magic towards Wroughtweiler, who was obliterated a second after tasting the wrath of his magic.
"Now, I activate Wroughtweiler's special ability!" told Jaden. "When he's sent to the Graveyard, I can add an Elemental Hero and a Polymerization card from my Graveyard to my hand! I return Elemental Hero Clayman and Polymerization to my hand!"
"That doesn't concern me one bit. I end my turn!" said Dimitri.
"Good! My turn, then! I summon Clayman in Defense Mode and throw down a facedown before calling it a turn!"
Right as Jaden set her card, the defensive Elemental Hero appeared as well to protect Jaden when she's most vulnerable.
Elemental Hero Clayman - (EARTH/Warrior) - LV4 - (800/2000)
'Clayman is awesome when it comes to defense, but even he can't stand against Dark Magician's power,' thought Jaden. 'The only Monster I've got that can beat Dark Magician is Bladedge! Hopefully, when the time comes, Dimitri picks right!'
"Well, it's been three turns already," said Dimitri.
"That means that the effect of Swords of Revealing Light are now over!" Chumley realized.
"Jaden, did you hear that? The Spell's over! You can attack next turn!" called Syrus.
Dimitri smirked. "Hmph. That's assuming if Jaden even has a next turn. I draw! Dark Magician! Attack Hero Burstinatrix!"
"Not so fast! I play my facedown Trap, A Hero Emerges! And it activates as soon as you declare an attack!" explained Jaden, holding up the remainder of her cards. "Now, you have to pick a card from my hand, and if it's a Monster, I get to summon it to the field! Now, choose!"
"Hmph! So be it! I choose..." After thinking for a moment, Dimitri made his choice. "The far left!"
"Sweet! You chose a Monster, and he's one of my favorites, too!" shouted Jaden. "Come on out, Elemental Hero Bladedge!"
A golden claded hero that was fully armored shot out from the card and landed besides Burstinatrix, as if standing to protect his comrade if any should wish to harm them.
Elemental Hero Bladedge - (EARTH/Warrior) - LV7 - (2600/1800)
"Yeah! Now Jaden has a better chance of winning with Bladedge on the field!" cheered Syrus.
"And every other Monster in Yugi's deck," pointed out Bastion. "After all, with no Egyptian God cards, the Dark Magician is the strongest Monster Dimitri has."
Dimitri chuckled to himself, which didn't escape Jaden's ears as she perked up out of interest. "Oh, pardon me. I didn't mean to laugh at you. It's just that I overheard your friends' ridiculous prattle."
"Huh?"
"It's true that the Dark Magician is one of my most strongest Monsters in my deck. One of my most strongest. But as a duelist, you must know that it's rarely about the cards. It's how you use it that counts!" replied Dimitri. "And now, I activate the Quick-Play Spell card, Dedication through Light and Darkness! It sacrifices Dark Magician and turns him into something more powerful!"
A ghastly mist surrounded Dark Magician and forcibly dragged him away as a brand new being took his place.
"And now, say hello to the legendary Dark Magician of Chaos!"
"THAT legendary Dark Magician of Chaos?!" exclaimed Syrus.
"It can't be!" gasped Chumley.
"Oh, but it is! Dark Magician of Chaos is one of the most powerful creatures in the game!" said Bastion as the violet light emitting from the Spell card glowed brighter.
"Now witness the rebirth of Dark Magician of Chaos!" announced Dimitri loudly and full of pride. A darker form of the Dark Magician appeared, but his presence spelled out trouble for Jaden as well as his immense magic power pulsing inside the famous magician.
Dark Magician of Chaos - (DARK/Spellcaster) - LV8 (2800/2600)
"And now by successfully summoning him, I'm allowed to bring one Spell Card from my Graveyard back to my hand! And I choose Monster Reincarnation!" said Dimitri. "Oh, and in case you haven't already figured it out, my Dark Magician of Chaos is much stronger than Bladedge now!"
"Crap!" cursed Jaden, knowing this was going to end badly for her Bladedge. "Sorry, Bladedge! I'm out of tricks! I can't save you now!"
Bladedge merely turned his head and nodded, acknowledging his defeat to Jaden. The moment Dark Magician of Chaos appeared, he knew that he would be the target. At the very least, Clayman, his comrade and friend, wasn't being targeted.
"Attack, Dark Magician of Chaos! Scepter Slash!" commanded Dimitri.
Dark Magician of Chaos focused on a large amount of magic power onto his staff before slashing downwards, sending the spell he concentrated upon down on Bladedge, destroying the golden hero.
"Bladedge! No!"
Jaden - 1300 LP
Dimitri - 4000 LP
"I told you, didn't I?" said Dimitri. "The heart of the cards will guide me so long as I believe!"
Recovering from the previous attack, Jaden thought, 'He's too powerful! But even so, I will find a way to beat him, even if he does have the King of Games' deck!'
"This is looking bad for Jaden," Bastion mumbled. "So far, Dimitri has the strongest Monster on the field, and worse, he's taken no damage. It'll take a miracle for Jaden to make her comeback."
Staring deep at Dimitri, Jaden shook her head to focus on the task before her. Destroying Dark Magician of Chaos. As long as he was still on the field, it's obvious enough about the amount of damage he could do to her if she wasn't careful. That, and Dimitri was a threat himself. As long as he possessed the King of Games' deck, he had full control and could come up with unthinkable strategies.
'Not only does this guy have Yugi's deck, but he thinks he's Yugi! And the only way I'm gonna set him straight is by beating him!' she thought. 'Even so, I'm all fired up! Glad it's my turn now!'
"My turn!" After drawing her card, Jaden was surprised to see her cute, cuddly Monster card, Winged Kuriboh. She couldn't help but squeal when she had drawn Winged Kuriboh, even in a terrible situation at the moment.
"Kuri! Kuribon kuri!" ("Jaden! Let me fight, too!")
Understanding Winged Kuriboh's message, Jaden frowned. It wasn't because he was too weak in terms of strength that she didn't want him out, but more because Winged Kuriboh used to belong to Yugi's deck. Fighting against one's former deck might end up bringing up nostalgic memories for Winged Kuriboh and hurt him, and she didn't want that.
"Are you sure? This could get rough! After all, we are going up against your old master's deck!"
"Kuri kuri! Kuri kuri kuri, kuri kuri kuri kuribon!" ("I'm sure! If you summon me now, I'll give you all the hugs and kisses you want tonight!")
Just that statement was more than enough to bring happiness and joy into the tomboy's heart.
"YAY! Alright then, I summon my cute Winged Kuriboh in Defense Mode!"
A cute squeak came out from Winged Kuriboh as he appeared right next to Clayman
Winged Kuriboh - (LIGHT/Fairy) - LV1 - (300/200)
"Then, I'll throw down a facedown and call it a turn!"
"Winged Kuriboh, huh?" wondered Dimitri as he drew his card before smiling softly. "Of course, there's nothing like the original. I summon my own Kuriboh in Attack Mode!"
Normally, when one summons a weak-leveled Monster such as Kuriboh, they place that Monster in Defense Mode, so Kuriboh was especially eagered to finally be in the front lines of offense. Especially against his cousin, Winged Kuriboh.
Kuriboh - (DARK/Fiend) - LV1 - (300/200)
"Uh oh...Guys, better cover your ears!" warned Syrus, who already done so himself when he noticed the expression on Jaden's face.
"Wait, why-?"
Chumley never got a chance to finish his sentence before his, Bastion, Dimitri, and possibly the poor Monsters on the field ears nearly shattered from Jaden's high-pitched fangirl-like squeals.
"OHMYGOD! OHMYGOD! OHMYGODDDDDDDDDDDD!"
Jaden was just enjoying herself at the moment right now, taking in the cute appearances of Kuriboh and Winged Kuriboh; two of her most favorite cutest Duel Monsters. It was like a fangirl's dream come true!
Burstinatrix could only sigh at her female master's obsession with cuteness. Well, it was at least one good trait that separated her from her tomboy-like attitude and her girly side. She wondered how Kuriboh and Winged Kuriboh were holding up.
Surprisingly, the two fur-like Duel Monsters didn't seem to mind or notice Jaden's constant fangirl moment as they chatted to themselved from afar. It seemed that they were pretty much to girls falling for their cute looks since they weren't bothered by Jaden's squeals. A sort of side effect for their small appearances.
"Kuri, kuri! Kuri kuri?" ("Hello, cousin! How are you?")
"Kuri! Kuribon kuri kuri, kuri kuri kuri!" ("I'm fine! Dimitri isn't like our old master, Yugi, but he's skilled with the deck!")
"Kuri! Kuri, kuri kuri kuri! Kuri kuri!" ("I know! But, I know Jaden won't give up! I know she'll win!")
"Kuri, kuri kuri!" ("Okay, good luck then!")
"Kuri kuri!" (" You too!")
"Are you good now?" Dimitri called out to Jaden.
Taking a deep breath, Jaden sighed with a wide grin on her face. "Yup! Good to go!"
"Good! Now, back where we left off! Dark Magician of Chaos, attack Clayman!"
"Not so fast! I've got a Trap! Super Junior Confrontation!" shouted Jaden. "This card activates when my opponent attacks! This calls off your Magician's attack and forces both our weakest Monsters to do battle! Your Monster with the weakest Attack Points against one of my own Monsters with the weakest Defense Points! So it's your Kuriboh against my Winged one!"
"A Kuriboh vs Kuriboh showdown?" said Chumley, never having seen such an event occur before.
"More specifically, a Kuriboh vs Winged Kuriboh showdown," corrected Bastion.
"KURI KURRRRRRRIIIIII!" ("FOR VICTORRRRRRYYYYY!") Kuriboh screeched before smashing right into the Defense Mode Winged Kuriboh and destroying his cousin with no regrets.
Jaden was cooing over the mini battle, not bothered by the fact that Winged Kuriboh was destroyed. "Awwwww! The cute little Kuriboh fought with my cute Winged Kuriboh!"
"You do realize that it was your own Kuriboh that was destroyed?" called out Chumley, but Jaden paid no attention to him.
"You got off easy, but next turn, you won't!" promised Dimitri. "I end with a facedown!"
'Winged Kuriboh took one for the team there,' Bastion thought, sweating as the tension in the air increased little by little. 'Losing Clayman would have put Jaden in a tough spot. At this rate, if Jaden doesn't make a comeback, he's finished.'
"My turn! And, I play Pot of Greed, letting me draw two more cards!" said Jaden. "Next, I summon Elemental Hero Bubbleman in Attack Mode!"
The WATER-elemental Monster appeared just in time to aid Jaden in her quest to stop Dimitri and his King of Games deck.
Elemental Hero Bubbleman - (WATER/Warrior) - LV4 - (800/1200)
"Next, I activate the Field Spell, Skyscraper!"
At that moment, light burst from the cracks on the ground beneath them before an earthquake occured right at that very moment. Tall buildings that could reach the heavens above emerged from the large cracks and sprang upwards, nearly covering the night skies with their appearances.
"What happened to the field?! And what's with these buildings?" wondered Dimitri, glancing at his surroundings.
"Take that, Dimitri! This is Jaden's main home field advantage!" cheered Syrus.
"That's right! With Skyscraper out, any Elemental Hero gains 1000 Attack Points if they're weaker than the Monster they're attacking!" Jaden explained. "And now, I play the Equip Spell card, Bubble Blaster!"
Soon, a harmless-looking cannon with a water container attached appeared right in Bubbleman's hands before he attached it carefully on top of his shoulder.
"Bubble Blaster increases Bubbleman's Attack Points by 800! Plus, if Bubbleman ever gets attacked, Bubble Blaster takes the hit for him, and I take 0 damage!"
Elemental Hero Bubbleman - (WATER/Warrior) - LV4 - (1600/1200)
"Bubbleman, fire away! Aim for Kuriboh!" Jaden ordered, pointing towards the weaker Attack Mode Kuriboh.
Bubbleman adjusted the weight of his weapon before pressing the trigger and unleashing a speedy ball of water towards Kuriboh.
"Alright! If this works, Dimitri will take some major damage!" said Syrus, awaiting for the moment for Kuriboh to be destroyed.
"If you think I didn't think ahead, then you're wrong!" shouted Dimitri. "I activate my Quick-Play facedown Spell card, Multiply!"
The cute Kuriboh Jaden admired suddenly burst into pieces, shocking the tomboy to no end. In Kuriboh's place, however, four more Kuribohs appeared and filled the rest of the Monster Zones in Defense Mode.
"By sacrificing Kuriboh, I'm allowed to Special Summon as many Kuriboh Tokens as possible, each sharing the same strengths as the previous Kuriboh. And all four have completely filled out the rest of my Monster Zones!" Dimitri explained. "Of course, your attack will still commence, but I'll still have three more Tokens plus the Dark Magician of Chaos."
Just like Dimitri said, Bubbleman's attack only destroyed just one of the Kuriboh Tokens. The other three Kuriboh Tokens panicked at the sight of their friend being destroyed and bounced around, attempting to escape a futile fate.
"Even though I love Kuribohs, this is starting to get annoying!" complained Jaden. "I set one card facedown and end my turn!"
'Not only did Dimitri summon the powerful Dark Magician of Chaos, but he also fortified his defense as well!' thought Bastion, amazed and not noticing how white his knuckles were from clenching them too tightly. 'Truly, I underestimated Dimitri's copycat ability! He also seem to have high enough skill to wield Yugi's deck!'
"Very well!" After drawing his card, Dimitri presented it to Jaden. "I activate the Spell card, Card of Sanctity! This forces both of us to draw until we have six cards each in our hands."
Once both their hands were refreshed with new cards, Dimitri took this chance to glance at his hand. "Excellent! I drew the Monster, Watapon! And when this Monster is added to my hand thanks to a Spell, Trap, or Monster effect, I can Special Summon Watapon to the field."
Once the small white cotton-like puffball appeared, Jaden instantly fell for its appearance and started cooing, wanting to run over there and tickle the cute thing.
Watapon - (LIGHT/Fairy) - LV1 - (200/300)
"And now, I sacrifice Watapon!" said Dimitri. "Now, come forth, Dark Magician Girl!"
Now arriving in all of the spotlight was the famous, female Duel Monster that gained more than a thousand fans all across the world. She waved her small wander around as she tipped her blue and pink hat over to Jaden and stuck her tongue out childishly with one eye closed.
Dark Magician Girl - (DARK/Spellcaster) - LV6 - (2000/1700)
"The Dark Magician Girl?! Awesome! She's even cuter in person!" said Jaden, growing excited once more.
"She has both beauty and brawn," pointed out Dimitri. "You see, for every Dark Magician in the Graveyard, she gains 300 extra Attack Points!"
Dark Magician Girl - (DARK/Spellcaster) - LV6 - (2300/1700)
"C-CUTEEE!" squealed Jaden and Syrus, with the latter blushing at the sight of the beautiful female Monster.
Noticing the blue-haired boy from afar complimenting her, Dark Magician Girl smiled and winked at him, sending a small, lovely heart towards him.
Completely infatuated with the Duel Monster, Syrus wiggled his body around in a lovey-dovey motion. "I want Jaden to win, but...but Dark Magician Girl is just...TOO...CUTE! Ahhhhh...If only there was a way to win without having to destroy her..."
"Sy, she's just a Duel Monster! Get over it!" spoke Chumley rather harshly.
Syrus let out a dramatic gasp before glancing angrily at the older boy. "How dare you?! Dark Magician Girl isn't some mere Duel Monster! She's THE famous, cute Duel Monster!"
Dark Magician Girl, having heard Syrus stand up for her, smiled before pecking the back of her palm before gently blowing an invisible air kiss towards Syrus, who was close to fainting afterwards.
"Go, Dark Magician of Chaos! Attack Bubbleman!" ordered Dimitri.
Dark Magician of Chaos fired a dark energy orb from his staff and aimed directly towards the WATER Monster. Luckily, the Monster survived the blast at the expense of his weapon being destroyed and Jaden receiving no damage due to the Equip Spell's effect.
"One more attack to go! Dark Magician Girl! Dark Burning Attack!"
Twirling around, Dark Magician Girl gathered enough magic in her wand before shooting a beam of pink energy towards Bubbleman, which then destroyed him.
Jaden - 800 LP
Dimitri - 4000 LP
"Yay! Go, Dark Magician Girl!" cheered Syrus. Chumley sighed, shaking his head. Why does he even bother?
"This is bad...Jaden's being cornered and she only has a few Life Points left," murmured Bastion. If he were in such a predicament, he'd start panicking, but not Jaden. In fact, it seems that she's getting more excited!
"Alright, so you got me with a couple of sweet moves!" admitted Jaden before drawing her card. "My turn! I activate my facedown card, which happens to be Polymerization! I fuse together Burstinatrix and the Avian in my hand to create Elemental Hero Flame Wingman!"
With both Elemental Heroes being pulled into the swirling portal, it then burst into light. Once the light died down, Elemental Hero Flame Wingman arrived to take the stage.
Elemental Hero Flame Wingman - (WIND/Warrior/Fusion) - LV6 - (2100/1200)
"And I'm not done! Next, I play The Warrior Returning Alive card and bring Sparkman back from the Graveyard and into my hand! Next, I Normal Summon him in Attack Mode!"
Sparkman - (LIGHT/Warrior) - LV4 - (1600/1400)
"And don't forget about Skyscraper's effect! With it, Flame Wingman's Attack Points go up by 1000 Points when he battles!"
Elemental Hero Flame Wingman - (WIND/Warrior/Fusion) - LV6 - (3100/1200)
"3100 Attack Points?!" gaped Dimitri, taken aback by such raw power.
"Yup! Enough to take down your Magician!" said Jaden. "Go, Flame Wingman! Attack Dark Magician of Chaos!"
Enveloped in a firey aura, Flame Wingman flew towards Dark Magician of Chaos and thrusted his inflamed demonic fist onto his guts, utterly destroying him.
Jaden - 800 LP
Dimitri - 3700 LP
"Oh, yeah! But I'm not finished! Next, Flame Wingman's ability activates! Now, you take damage equal to your destroyed Monster's original Attack Points!"
Jaden - 800 LP
Dimitri - 900 LP
"Yeah! Jaden's winning!" cried out Chumley and Syrus joyfully. It was almost as if they had forgotten their bickering just a moment ago and were best friends again all of a sudden.
"Yay! One Magician down, one more to go!" said Jaden, more confident than ever. How could she not? She just defeated one of the most toughest Duel Monsters in history!
'Simply remarkable!' thought Bastion, looking stern, yet impressed. 'Dimitri's playing just as the King of Games would! Yet, Jaden is staying competitive, but having fun at the same time! Sure, she was a bit overwhelmed by Yugi's deck, but thanks to the power of her Fusion deck, she's really turned the tides around!'
"Sparkman, attack Dark Magician Girl! Spark Storm!" ordered Jaden. "Now thanks to Skyscraper's effect, Sparkman's Attack Points go up by 1000!"
Sparkman - (LIGHT/Warrior) - LV4 - (2600/1400)
Focusing on his electrical attack on one opponent, Sparkman unleashed a volley of spark-like arrows onto Dark Magician Girl, which proved effective immediantly.
Jaden - 800 LP
Dimitri - 600 LP
"Noooo! Dark Magician Girl!" wailed Syrus, dropping to his knees and lamenting over the female Monster's demise. Everyone, including the Duel Monsters, sweatdropped, and instead decided to focus on the duel instead of sympathizing with the poor boy.
"Now, I set two cards facedown and activate the Quick-Play Spell card, Emergency Provisions!" said Jaden, ending her Battle Phase. "By sacrificing one of my facedowns, I get back 1000 Life Points!"
Jaden - 1800 LP
Dimitri - 600 LP
'Just a little bit more...a little bit more until I finally beat the King of Games' deck!' thought Jaden, somewhat imagining Yugi standing besides Dimitri, dueling her instead of the copycat duelist.
"It'll take more than that to defeat me! Get ready!" shouted Dimitri, growing more frantic as he drew his card. "I activate the Spell card, Spider Web!"
A sharp, glowing thread attached from Dimitri's duel disk to Jaden's, surprising her. To show some resistance, Jaden tried to hand slice the thread, but to no avail due to it being a hologram.
"Spider Web allows me to take one of the cards sent to your Graveyard last turn and place it directly into my hands," explained Dimitri. "I choose Emergency Provisions! Next, I place two cards facedown and activate Monster Reincarnation to discard one card to return another to my hand. Next, I chain the Spell card with my Quick-Play Spell card, Emergency Provisions, and sacrifice all three cards to restore 3000 Life Points!"
Jaden - 1800 LP
Dimitri - 3600 LP
"With Monster Reincarnation, I took back the Kuriboh I lost before! I end my turn!"
"Jaden, just hang on for a little bit longer! Remember, you've got stronger Monsters than him!" reminded Syrus.
"Stronger Monsters don't always make the user the victor, Syrus," said Bastion. "Dimitri was right about one thing. It's how you use the cards that make it count."
"My turn!" said Jaden before nodding at the card she drew. "I switch Clayman to Attack Mode! Flame Wingman! Attack one of the Kuriboh Tokens now!"
It seriously didn't take Flame Wingman much effort to destroy the weak Token with ease.
"Now, it's time for his special ability! You get hit with damage equal to your Monster's original Attack Points!"
Swooping down in front of Dimitri, Flame Wingman didn't give the Yugi-lookalike the time to react properly before scrotching a faceful of flames at Dimitri, who staggered back in response, but managed to hold it together.
Jaden - 1800 LP
Dimitri - 3300 LP
"It's not over! I still have more Life Points!" said Dimitri. "Even if you attack with Sparkman, I'll still have at least one defense left!"
"Not so fast! Who said I was done attacking?" questioned Jaden. "I activate the Quick-Play card, De-Fusion! Defuse, Flame Wingman and come on back, Burstinatrix and Avian!"
Burstinatrix - (FIRE/Warrior) - LV3 - (1200/800)
Avian - (WIND/Warrior) - LV3 - (1000/1000)
"Impressive!" gasped Bastion. "Jaden's improving more of her skill with each passing turn! What skillful play! Now she'll be able to attack each Monster separately!"
"Avian! Clayman! Attack the last two Tokens!" commanded Jaden.
Both Elemental Heroes nodded to each other before charging forward and landing their fists against the weak Tokens.
"Nice, Jaden! You got rid of all of Dimitri's Monsters!" said Syrus happily.
"Not only that, but Jaden still has 2 more attacks left!" reminded Bastion. "1200 + 1600 equals 2800. Not enough to beat him, but enough to deal such damage!"
"First, you go, Burstinatrix! Flare Storm!" yelled Jaden.
Burstinatrix collected enough fire power on top of her palms that combined to form a single fireball before hitting Dimitri with it.
Jaden - 1800 LP
Dimitri - 2100 LP
"Sparkman, you're up next! Spark Flash!"
Sparkman unleashed a large blast of lightning towards Dimitri, who anticipated such a move approaching.
"From my hand, I activate Kuriboh's effect!" he shouted before placing Kuriboh's card into his Graveyard slot. The lightning blast split in two and bypassed Dimitri, leaving him unharmed.
"What the?! How?!"
"By discarding Kuriboh from my hand, I take 0 Battle Damage from Sparkman, but only once," explained Dimitri. "Good thing Monster Reincarnation allowed me to bring him back last turn."
"Oh yeah...Damn it..." cursed Jaden.
Glancing down at his Duel Disk, Dimitri's expression reverted from a serious look to one full of nostalgia and kindness. "Thank you, Kuriboh. You're definitely one of my chosen partners, alright. It's because of you that I've been able to survive for this long."
"Kuri..." Kuriboh sweatdropped from Dimitri's words but simply nodded to himself. He decided not to question his temporary master and just to go along with it.
"What...what's he talking about? Didn't he steal that deck?" wondered Syrus, feeling a little bit awkward.
"Just smile and wave, Syrus. Smile and wave," advised Chumley, doing so himself.
"Being around that deck for so long and mimicking the King of Games must have had Dimitri think he's really Yugi Moto," theorized Bastion, sweatdropping.
"I'll continue to duel for you, Kuriboh. Your sacrifice won't be in vain!" promised Dimitri before drawing a card. "I draw! Perfect! The heart of the cards have served me again!"
Not even lowering her guard, Jaden wondered, 'What sort of card did he draw? Either way, I have to be careful!'
"I remove one LIGHT Attribute Monster and one DARK Attribute Monster from play!" started Dimitri as Watapon and Kuriboh showed up on the field.
"Wait, why are you removing them?" asked Jaden, surprised to hear such a condition.
"I've never seen this! Is this some sort of Special Summoning condition?" wondered Syrus.
"The Monster Dimitri must be planning to Special Summon must be pretty powerful," commented Chumley.
Gasping, Bastion suddenly recalled such summoning conditions and realized that one of the two Monsters with such conditions is about to appear. "Of course! There are two Monsters that can be summoned like this! Two rare cards of such power...Duelists have scoured the entire world just to add them to their collection!"
"What are the two cards?" asked Syrus.
"The first is Chaos Emperor Dragon - Envoy of the End, who was then made into a forbidden card in official Duel Monsters tournaments because of its strength and effects! And the other isn't a forbidden card, but its strength to equal to that of Chaos Emperor Dragon! Nobody's ever seen it, and assume that it's just a myth!"
Dimitri chuckled, having overheard Bastion's conversation with the other two Slifer Reds. "Well, they're wrong because I have it right here! Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning, arise!"
A small light vortx appeared right behind the two cute Monsters before they entered. A second later, a brand new warrior claded in ancient armor and wielding a sharp blade that could pierce through even souls appeared right in front of his master's field.
Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning - (LIGHT/Warrior) - LV8 - (3000/2500)
"So Yugi really did have that card!" gasped Jaden, realizing that the rumors were true. "I always thought it was just a rumor!"
"I'm afraid not," replied Dimitri, smirking and assuring that this Monster was his sword to victory. "This card has been a part of my deck for a very long time. But I only take him out for special occasions. Like now! Black Luster Soldier, Luster Blade Attack!"
Thrusting multiple times, Black Luster Soldier's attacks were an illusion of countless blades attacking all at time; each piercing through Sparkman's defenses and easily disposing of him.
Jaden - 400 LP
Dimitri - 2100 LP
"Sparkman, no!" cried out Jaden.
"And I'm not done! Behold Black Luster Soldier's true power!" shouted Dimitri. "When he destroys a Monster in battle, he's allowed to attack twice!"
"You're kidding!"
"Jaden's done for! She can't handle another attack!" yelped Syrus, trembling like crazy.
"Black Luster Soldier! End this!" ordered Dimitri.
"She's through! If this attack succeeds, Jaden's Life Points won't stand a chance!" said Dimitri.
"It's over!" Dimitri's expression revealed a side of him; one lusting for satisfaction for the glory of victory.
Just as Black Luster Soldier was about to stab Burstinatrix, Jaden wasn't going to give up on her. "Not so fast! I activate the Trap card, Hero Spirits!"
At that moment, Sparkman's spiritual form appeared and took the hit for Burstinatrix before shattering into pieces.
"What's this?!" exclaimed Dimitri, not expecting his close victory to close down like that.
"During the Battle Phase, if one of my Elemental Heroes is destroyed in battle this turn, I can make the Battle Damage to 0 just one time!" elucidated Jaden before sighing in relief. That was a close call! One more second and she might have not made it!"
"Grrr...! Fine, then! I'll just finish you off next turn! The heart of the cards will see to that!"
Wiping the sweat off her face, Jaden thought, 'If it weren't for Hero Spirrits, I would have been finished! But...Dimitri might be right about one thing. Yugi's deck is just...too powerful! I...I thought I could win, but now, I don't know!'
Staring at Dimitri reminded her of Yugi along with his most powerful card in play; Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning. She doesn't have any Monsters that could take him out now, and if she kept defending, she'll eventually lose thanks to his effect! She grimaced, looking away in agony and out of stress.
Suddenly, she felt something light plopping her heard and looked up to see an angry-looking Winged Kuriboh bouncing up and down on her head, berating her for giving up too soon. If it weren't for the current situation, Jaden would have thought that Winged Kuriboh looked cute being angry.
"Winged Kuriboh...I get why you're mad, and I'm sorry," apologized Jaden. "But what can I do? He's got the heart of the cards on his side!"
Growing more frustrated, Winged Kuriboh pounced and pulled on her cheeks several times to get her attention before pointing to Dimitri.
"Huh? No? But, Winged Kuriboh, he's got Yugi's deck-"
Jaden gasped, realizing what Winged Kuriboh was trying to point out all this time. 'Wait, that's Yugi's deck! There's no way the heart of the cards could be on Dimitri's side! The heart of the cards comes from believing in your own cards, not ones that originally belonged to their true owner!' Jaden grinned, feeling full confidence on her next turn. 'And I believe in my own deck till the end! And if the heart of the cards is on anyone's side, it's on mine!'
"I...DRAW!" Feeling power in the next card she drew, Jaden turned it over so she could see what sort of card was chosen for her before smirking. "With this, I'm read to take you out, Dimitri!"
"What?!"
"I activate the Spell, Double Spell! With it, I discard one Spell card from my hand, and select 1 Spell card from your Graveyard and activate it! I choose to discard Silent Doom and help myself to your Polymerization! With it, I'll fuse together Avian and Burstinatrix! Come forth, Elemental Hero Flame Wingman!"
Elemental Hero Flame Wingman - (WIND/Warrior/Fusion) - LV6 - (2100/1200)
"And due to Skyscraper's effect, he gains 1000 Attack Points when he battles a Monster whose stronger than him!"
Elemental Hero Flame Wingman - (WIND/Warrior/Fusion) - LV6 - (3100/1200)
"Now, Flame Wingman! Attack Black Luster Soldier with Skydive Scrotcher!"
Swooping down from the high building he was on, Flame Wingman's body was engulfed with stronger flames than before as he clashed against Black Luster Soldier. He evaded the swift assaults coming from his blade and shot fire from his demonic arm, enveloping the soldier with flames as he was being destroyed.
Jaden - 400 LP
Dimitri - 2000 LP
"Oh, no! He's gone! My Black Luster Soldier's gone!" gaped Dimitri. That was his last and most strongest Monster in Yugi's deck! If he's gone, then...then...!
"Don't sweat it! He was never yours to begin with!" reminded Jaden. "Speaking of, time to activate Flame Wingman's special ability! Now you take damage equal to Black Luster Soldier's original Attack Points!"
Appearing right in front of Dimitri once more, Flame Wingman left loose a huge wave of flames onto the imposter, listening to him scream not out of pain, but out of agony and loss of his defeat.
Jaden - 400 LP
Dimitri - 0 LP
Winner: Jaden
As soon as the duel was over, the Monsters and the entire Skyscraper field vanished, leaving them in the same, bare cliffs before the duel started.
Winking at Dimitri, Jaden giggled and addressed him with her signature hand motion. "That's game! And the end of you using that deck!"
"I..I can't believe I lost...!" said Dimitri, staggering before collapsing to his knees and shaking like a leaf. "Even with my...no, Yugi's deck, I still couldn't win! What's wrong with me?! Why can't I ever win?!"
"The answer to that, is obvious."
Approaching from their hiding spot within the cliffs, Zane and Alexis appeared, surprising everyone. The Obelisk Queen and the most powerful duelist in Duel Academy had been here the entire time?
"Why are you guys here?" asked Jaden.
"I have a better question," spoke up Zane. "Why the hell is there an armadillo running loose in the Blue Dorms, and why do I feel you guys might have something to do with it?"
"Ummm...Bastion?"
"It's migrating season."
"Yeah, it's migrating season."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"...Right. Well, me and Alexis wanted to see the deck. But it was gone."
"We snuck into the Event Hall and saw that the display case was broken," explained Alexis. "We figured the thief couldn't have gone far, so we decided to take a look around."
"Which led us here. But, seeing how the duel was getting more exciting, we didn't want to intrude and we decided to see it all the way to the end," finished Zane, smiling with satisfaction.
"Wait, so...You saw it all?! Me and Dimitri?! The whole thing?!" squealed Jaden excitedly.
"Not just us," said Zane. "Your match attracted quite a bit of attention. Look behind you."
"Huh?" Turning around, Jaden and the others saw a lot of spectators hiding within the cliffs or trees. Those that were stepped out from their hiding spots and began applauding, cheering on for both Jaden and Dimitri.
"That was such an amazing duel!"
"You showed us some awesome stuff!"
"Wow, so you can also use Quick-Play Spells on that!"
"Amazing! Now I've got an awesome combo for next time I play!"
Still depressed, Dimitri looked up at Zane. "Well? What now? Aren't you going to turn me in?"
"Well, the punishment for stealing is especially bad," said Zane. "But, seeing how everyone loved seeing Yugi's deck in action rather than on a display case, I doubt anyone's going to turn you in."
Everyone who heard Zane voiced their opinions and immediantly agreed to keep Dimitri a secret.
"Don't sweat it, Dimitri! But I gotta ask, how are you so good with those Spellcasters?"
"I can't believe he was able to master that much of Yugi's deck!"
"Amazing! Sweet duel, Dimitri!"
"What difference does it make? I lost..." said Dimitri. "But why?"
"It's easy! The person you pretended to be lost!" Jaden said. "Let me put it in this way. See, when you copy someone, it's not like you're that person! You're you coping that person! Sure that deck you stole was really strong, but the idea to make that deck wasn't yours to begin with. And...well...how can I put this...?"
"Here, let me interpret what Jaden's trying to say, Dimitri," said Zane, stepping in. "It's all about believing in your own deck, not someone else's. And that means creating your own deck. Your own strategies. Not someone else's. After all, this is no amount of studying that you can do in order to properly wield someone else's deck."
"Yeah! What Zane said!" agreed Jaden. "Besides, no offense, but if the real Yugi Moto was here, then I would have lost in a split second!" Leaping off a rock and standing up straight, Jaden said, "As promised, you'll return the deck, right?"
"...Yeah, okay. You're right. A deal's a deal, after all."
The next morning...
A horde of students gathered inside the exhibition room and examined all of the dueling artifacts and merchandise around the room. But the most important and main event laid in the middle of the room; Yugi's deck. Since many students witnessed Jaden and Dimitri's duel last night, not a lot of them were crowding around the new display case.
"Wow, that's Yugi's deck!"
"Awesome! Ooh!"
"Oh! He does have Black Luster Soldier!"
"Awesome! Wonder if he's got Chaos Emperor Dragon!"
"That's the Dark Magician!"
"Sweet! Dark Magician Girl, too!"
"Well, looks like things are finally back to normal," said Jaden, standing next to Chumley in the entrance of the exhibition hall.
"By the way, Jaden? What are you holding?" Chumley asked, pointing to the rolled up piece of paper Jaden was carrying in her hands.
"Oh, this?" Unrolling the piece of paper, it was revealed to be a poster of Yugi posing as he was dueling. "It's a poster that has Yugi's autograph!"
"Whoa!"
"Yeah, I know! Pretty sweet, huh? I got it from Miss Dorothy!"
"Ehhh?! Why didn't she give me one?"
"Well, maybe because you keep hogging all of the grilled cheese sandwiches every time she makes them. Plus, this is one of the limited edition posters, so they're hard to come by!"
"JAAAAAAAAAADDDDDDDDEEEEEEENNNNNN!"
"Huh?" Hearing Syrus's shrill voice, Chumley and Jaden turned to see Syrus running towards them. "Syrus, what's wrong?"
"It's Dimitri! He's posing as you!"
"WHAT?!"
Leading both Jaden and Chumley, Syrus led them towards the spot where he found Dimitri, exactly right in front of the Slifer Red Dorms.
"I've been waiting for you, Jaden Yuki!" said Dimitri before turning to face them. He...was an exact replica of Jaden, except his hair tone was more darker than Jaden, and he was taller than she was, and his hair was sticking out a little.
"D-Dimitri?! What are you doing?!" asked Jaden, taken aback by his whacky appearance.
"Isn't it obvious? It's time to throw up and get your gay on!"
Astonished by Dimitri's stupidity, the trio fell down anime-style before getting back up. Jaden groaned and facepalmed herself. "I don't even sound anything like that! And it's 'It's time to throw down and get your game on!'"
"What? Then, what am I doing wrong?"
Jaden adjusted Dimitri's body parts and told him, "Keep your right hand right around here! Put your left leg out a little! And, as playfully as you can, say, 'That's game!' And do that finger pose like I do! Like this! That's game!"
"I would die for Alexis!"
"That's not what I say when I win!"
"Oh...Then, for Alexis!"
"Why do you keep saying things relating to Alexis? I said, 'That's game!'"
"But, aren't you and Alexis...more than friends? I've seen you hang out with each other a lot, Jaden!"
"Well, yeah! Obviously! Because we're fiancèes!"
"Oh, I see-WHAT?!"
"Can't they just duel already?" groaned Syrus.
"That's it! I'm leaving," said Chumley, already ahead of Syrus by walking away.
Once again, it was another typical day at Duel Academy...along with two Jadens.
Finished! Might take a while before I update due to other things, but it's May! Oh, and have a good Mother's Day everyone!