Hey, guys! Wow, last time I checked the reviews, it was around 900, but now, it's OVER 1,000! Instead of an episode chapter, and I'm not even gonna do the whole Alice doll episode because that's just a filler chapter, I'm gonna do a super special awesome adventure chapter! You'll see what it is! Plus, it'll have a lot of familiar references!
Disclaimer: Mage of Hope doesn't own Yu-Gi-Oh series or any of the references shown in the chapter, only owns the OCs!
"Ugh..." groaned Jaden, waking up to find her first sights being the clear blue sky...along with the familiar faces of some Duel Monster Spirits. "Huh? Am I in the Spirit World...?"
"Oh, good! She's awake!" One of the Duel Spirits, Petit Angel, cried out happily as the Duel Spirits dispersed to give her space as she sat up.
"Welcome, fellow human!" cheered Key Mace. "You are in the home of...the forest of...Um..."
Marshmallon turned around and hissed, "Psst! What was the name of the forest village again?"
Flame Wingman, who was hiding behind one of the forest hut homes, whispered back, "How could you forget?! We've been rehearsing this since last year!"
"Well, when you only have a minor role and nothing else to worry about, it kinda gets difficult when you have to actually do the part for real!"
"Fine! It's Evergreen Forest! Pass it on!"
Quickly, Marshmallon bounced towards Key Mace and whispered the village's name to the fairy, who nodded. "Sorry! Was lost in a trance! Anyways, welcome to Evergreen Forest! We were awaiting for your arrival, hero! Um...Hero? Why are you looking at us like-"
"OH MY GOSH! YOU'RE ALL SO CUTE!~" squealed Jaden, embracing as many Duel Monsters as she could gather in her arms and practically squeezing them with all her might while twirling around. "You're all so cute and squishy and so...so adorable!"
'Too strong! Too strong! Too strong!' thought the unfortunate Duel Monsters while getting dizzy as Jaden continued twirling around.
"H-Hero! We are in desperate need of your help!" shouted Petit Angel, trying to get Jaden's attention and stop her from further hugging the other Duel Monsters.
"Hmm?" Jaden gently lowered the Duel Monsters back onto the ground and paid attention to her, much to the other Duel Monsters' reliefs. "Oh? What's up?"
"Our great leader of the Evergreen Forest, also the guardian of the forest, is in need of help! He's dying, but he requests your presence in his time of need!"
"Oh, no! Lead the way!"
While the "residents" of Evergreen Forest were satisfied that Jaden understand the dire situation, they resisted the urge to facepalm when she grabbed one of the Duel Monsters and cuddled close to her as they made their way towards a different area where their leader resided.
The new area everyone arrived at was quite spacious with a large, elderly tree in the middle of it all. Near the elder tree laid...Elemental Hero Woodsman?
"Oh no! Woodsman!" Dropping the Duel Monster that was cradled in her arms, Jaden rushed towards Woodsman and fell to her knees, placing her head against his chest to see whether or not he was breathing. "Is he okay?! I dunno CPR! I just watched other people do it on TV!"
Woodsman was actually pretending to be near-death and was trying to be as motionless as possible, but Jaden's actions and panicking were becoming ridiculous to him. 'I am suddenly so glad she doesn't actually know how to perform CPR,' he thought.
Jaden attempted drastic measures as her panicking increasing by pounding her fists against his wooden chest. "LIVE, I TELL YOU! LIVE! LIVE! LIVE!"
"Um...Hero?" spoke up Petit Dragon. "I don't think you should-"
"Oh! I know!" said Jaden raising her fist. "Maybe punching him will work! Yaaaaahh!"
"No, no, no, no, no!" Several Duel Monsters grabbed ahold of Jaden's arm in time and had her relax and calm down. "Hero, the reason our leader, Woodsman, is like this is because he has been poisoned by the Spider Queen residing within the great Elder Tree! To get rid of the poison, you must defeat the Spider Queen, for when she is defeated, the poison will be lifted, and our leader will be well again!"
"Wait, that doesn't make any sense," said Jaden, confused. "I mean, it's poison. Shouldn't the poison be lifted if we give him an antidote? And why would the Spider Queen be inside of the Elder Tree?"
"Er...The poison is like a curse!" spoke up one of the Duel Monsters. "The poison curse shall be lifted once you defeat the Spider Queen! As for her being inside...well...she needs to find a place to lay her eggs, and what better than inside of the Elder Tree? She is also terrifying strong, so we can't stand a chance against her!"
"If you guys can't stand a chance against her, what makes you think I do?" wondered Jaden.
"...Look, do you want to save our leader or not?"
"Of course I do!"
"Then, you must venture forward and display your courage and determination to save our leader! But first, you must need supplies! We will provide you with a shield and our most sacred treasure...The Duel Disk Sword!"
"Awesome!" cheered Jaden. "Oohhh! The Duel Disk Sword! Is it like a duel disk, only it's shaped like a sword?! What powers does it have?! Can I slice and dice enemies? Can I use it against-"
"Let's hurry before our leader dies of spider poisoning!"
"Oh, right! Sorry!"
As the cute, small Duel Monsters led Jaden away to prepare her, some of Jaden's own Duel Monsters emerged from their hiding spots and stood near Woodsman, who was sitting up and groaning.
"I can't believe she was ready to punch me," groaned Woodsman, shaking his head. "Well, I'm just glad she actually didn't attempt CPR."
"So...explain it to me again?" wondered Neos, turning to a rather confident-looking Flame Wingman.
"It's quite simple. Every year, me and the others arrange a sort of adventure for Jaden to embark into," Flame Wingman began to explain. "We make sure that the adventures have obstacles and trials for her to complete. We try and make sure not to make them too life-threatening, but at the same time, teach her some lessons as well."
"I've always been confused on what the whole purpose behind these adventures are," admitted one of the Hero Kids, raising his hand.
"It's not just us that drags our own owners into these dream-like adventures," explained Burstinatrix. "Others who have the ability to communicate with Duel Spirits sometimes place their owners in these adventure scenarios in their dreams. As for the purpose, well, let's say that for example, if you quit something like sewing for a year, then you'll forget how to sew when you want to."
"But...what does that example have to do with anything?"
"You see, these scenarios are to remind Jaden about her ability to communicate with Duel Spirits as well as keep up her rare ability to communicate with us. In a way, this is...spiritual training. If she doesn't keep up with her 'training,' she will forget her ability and thus, lose the ability to talk to us."
"T-That's horrible!" cried out Hero Kid.
Avian nodded. "It's...even worse that there are some Duel Spirits who refused to do this sort of adventure scenario with their own owners, thus making them lose their Duel Spirit communication ability. Sometimes, without the guidance of some Duel Spirits, some of them have turned to evil ways. Those with guidance merely have to talk to their Duel Spirits daily to keep their ability. The only exception to this rule and can still keep their ability until death are those born with the ability to talk to Duel Spirits."
Such vital information was stunning to those who didn't know, yet at the same time, they did feel bad for the unfortunate humans who lost their ability merely because their Duel Spirits did not care for them. As such, some of them had resorted to being evil. Come to think of it, they did hear such tales about such people who claim to have previously obtain the ability turning to evil ways, so in a way, not all Duel Spirits were pure-hearted as they thought.
"...Hey, what was Jaden's adventure for last year?" wondered Hero Kid. "Did we even arrange one for her?"
"Who do you think convinced Kaibaman that duel in the hot springs?" informed Bubbleman. "Granted, it wasn't exactly the most ideal spot, but some areas, such as the hot springs or the inside of a church, tend to be the most purest places on Earth."
"Although, we did not expect any...unwelcomed guests," spat Flame Wingman.
"Are you still on that?" sighed Burstinatrix. "Look, part of it was Jaden's own fault as well. She shouldn't have entered the hot springs area even though it was the girls' turn to use the hot springs. She should have waited for the boys to come out."
"I don't believe that! Even if they left, I bet those little perverts would have stayed behind to take a good look at Jaden's own body!"
"We don't really have to worry about Chumley since he already graduated and is off in Pegasus' own card company," reminded Avian. "As for Chazz and Syrus...Well, Chazz is too occupied with 'seeing the light,' which is pretty much the only good thing that came out of him joining the Society of Light."
"But accompanying with Syrus comes more trouble!" pointed out Flame Wingman angrily. "Now Jaden has more competition, and their names are Aster Phoenix, Hassleberry, and Atticus! But more importantly, Aster Phoenix! He's the biggest threat of all!"
"You mean the boy with the Destiny Heroes?" wondered Woodsman. "Didn't we form an alliance with the Destiny Heroes stating we would protect one another as well as our own owners until the Society of Light crisis has passed? Even if you dislike Aster Phoenix, you must remember that as long as the Destiny Heroes are our allies, you must also protect Aster Phoenix. Protect. PROTECT."
"Yeah, yeah! I got it!" Flame Wingman wasn't the only one who disliked the whole idea of an alliance, as there were some of the other Elemental Heroes who agreed with his disliking. There were good reasons not to like them, but overall, they knew they had no choice as the only benefits to the successful alliance would be that both their own masters would live and that the Society of Light would be finished, not just disbanded, but over and done with once and for all.
Long ago, there were disagreements amongst the Elemental Heroes on how to deal with the villains they defeated. For others like Flame Wingman, Bubbleman, Avian, and such, they chose to show mercy and instead place the villains to jail, while others such as Flame Wingman's brother, Phoenix Enforcer, killed their villains instead of showing mercy, causing a large conflict until the 'anti-heroes' left the Elemental Heroes and seemingly teamed up with the Destiny Heroes, fitting their violent methods.
But, it wasn't just the former Elemental Heroes' alignment with the Destiny Heroes that made them hate the alliance. No, it was the fact that the Destiny Heroes' master, Aster Phoenix, practically stolen Jaden's ability to communicate with Duel Spirits. Yes, even if Aster didn't know about the major effect that was forced upon Jaden when she lost to him, it still was torturous when Jaden couldn't speak to them for who knows how long. They would forever be grateful to the Neo-Spacians for reviving Jaden's ability, but if such a thing were to happen again...they shutter at the mere thought of such, their mutual hatred for Aster was understandable, as they consider Jaden to be family.
"I think we should hurry up and cue the Block Spiders inside the Tree Dungeon to get ready. Remind them not to hurt Jaden too much."
"Right, I'll open the entrance," offered Woodsman, placing his palm against the ground. With his nature bending powers, the ground began rumbling, and the large elder tree's trunk made way for a large entrance towards the Tree Dungeon once again set up by Jaden's Duel Spirits for her adventure.
"You know, I kinda feel for bad for the small little critters accompanying Jaden during her shopping spree," admitted Bubbleman.
"Why's that?" asked Hero Kid.
"We all know how she's like around cute Duel Monsters. Hell, she even has a mountain load of stuffed animals that she considers cute. I mean, we did pay the Duel Monsters to act as citizens in Evergreen Forest, but still..."
Like what Bubbleman mentioned, the Duel Monsters acting as citizens were starting to be quite fearful of Jaden...in a somewhat gentle way. This was due to two reasons; she kept hugging them close to death, and the rumors of the mysterious evil deity who claims to "hug" people only to stab them repeatedly to death. Since then, they have developed a sort of fear of hugs from humans, even if said evil deity was gone forever in the Shadow Realm.
When Jaden returned, the Duel Monsters were close to exhaustion while Jaden was brimming with excitement and joy. Dealing with Jsden was like dealing with an energetic kid who went hyper by eating too many sweets. They may have minor roles, and while they understood a lot of female humans love cute-looking Duel Spirits such as themselves, this was still ridiculous!
Jaden was having a grand adventure thus far, and she hasn't even begun the quest to save Woodsman yet! While shopping for armor, shield, and a sword, which surprisingly resembled Dark Magician Girl the Dragon Knight's own set, she often stopped to hug each and every single of her Duel Monster companions, unable to resist cuddling close to their soft bodies and being oblivious to their struggling, squealing forms.
By the time she returned to the elder tree area, Flame Wingman and the others already left for hiding and were now watching over Jaden to assist her secretly. Some of the (overprotective) Duel Monsters' jaws slacked down when they saw the type of...armor Jaden was wearing as she headed her way inside the Tree Dungeon.
They quickly came to a mutual agreement to temporarily split up; one would follow Jaden, and the other would head over to the armor shop to demand the store owner what was up. As much as the armor demanding team wished to check up on Jaden, they had to trust on the other team and do their duty of questioning why in the Duel Spirit World was Jaden wearing such an inappropriate armor set?!
"HEY!" yelled Flame Wingman, slamming his fist against the counter and startling the owner of the armor shop, Catnipped Kitty. "What's the deal with Jaden's armor?!"
"N-Nyah! Sorry, sir! That was the only one we had in storage that would fit her!" cried out Catnipped Kitty.
"What about the other sets of armor? This is called an armor shop for a reason!" demanded Blazeman.
"Well, the other armor we had are this size," said Catnipped Kitty, picking up a suit of armor that would be appropriate for Winged Kuriboh's size.
"How can you not have armor for humans?!"
"Well, excusseeee me for humans being rare in the Spirit World! Jeez, you'd think that that human would wear the Dark Magician Girl's actual cos-Hehehe, that actually doesn't sound like a bad ide-NYAAAAAHHHHH!"
Meanwhile, Jaden was having WAY too much fun being an adventurer hero, swinging her sword around to slash at the spider enemies and block whenever an enemy attempted to attack her. It was like one of those hack-and-slash RPGs she used to play as a kid! The enemies around weren't so tough!
The Block Spiders acting as the enemies for Jaden sweatdropped as they watched her proceed to massacre the rest of them as she continued her way through the Tree Dungeon. Unknown to Jaden, the sword she wielded was special and specifically meant for her, as it was designed not to harm. Simply put, if one were to be slashed or stabbed with the sword a few times, they would simply disappear and be teleported to a safe location, and in this case, the Block Spiders would simply be teleported outside of the Tree Dungeon. This way, nobody would get hurt and hold up the illusion that Jaden did defeat each Duel Monster she had "slain."
Finally, she arrived at the boss room of the Tree Dungeon, discovering giant cobwebs in the large room, and crawling right in the middle of it all...were Elemental Heroes Clayman and Gaia stuck together in a large giant costume, posing as the Spider Queen.
"This is stupid! She's not gonna fall for this!" hissed Clayman.
"Quiet, Clayman! As your superior, I demand that you follow through with this plan! For Jaden's sake!" hissed back Gaia. "Besides, Insect Queen couldn't make it!"
"Look, there's no way she's going to-"
"Aha! Spider Queen! I've come to kill you so that Elemental Hero Woodsman could feel all better! DIE!" Jaden charged forward, raising her sword and ready to strike so that her friend could be cured.
"...Screw it! I don't care anymore!" shouted Clayman, pressing his palm-er, fake spider leg against the ground to activate his earth elemental powers. Clayman would handle the offensive assault towards Jaden since his earth powers are weaker than Gaia's and would less likely harm Jaden, while Gaia would try and sneak some assistance towards Jaden as well as make some defensive earth walls sometimes.
Surprisingly, Jaden was incredibly athletic and agile, which must have come from dueling a lot as well as those gym classes she attended. She dodged and dashed around the room to avoid the earth attacks and managed to land a few strikes of her own, in which the sword's ability activated, eventually defeating the "Spider Queen."
Just as Clayman and Gaia were about to disappear, Clayman accidentally released a boulder that he had been storing up power to use on Jaden, thus the boulder was beginning to roll towards Jaden, much to everyone's shock.
"OH NO!" cried out both Earth Elemental Heroes as they both rushed to use their powers to destroy the boulder right before they could teleport.
Jaden, confident in her own strength, recklessly headed towards the boulder, stopping just seconds as the boulder was close by. "I've got this! My sword gives me super strength!"
At the same time Jaden swung her sword like a baseball bat, both Clayman and Gaia successfully destroyed the boulder; their last act of assistance before vanishing. Jaden, meanwhile, was stunned that she actually destroyed a boulder, but that was probably thanks to the power of her sword, right?
"Holy %&&**! It really does!"
By the time Jaden escaped the Tree Dungeon, which was a lot easier when there were no enemies constantly blocking your path, it was near sundown and all of the Evergreen Forest citizens, including a cured Elemental Hero Woodsman, were awaiting her right outside of the entrance, although it was to be noted that all of the small citizens were hiding behind Woodsman in fear of being hugged again.
'Time for my dramatic entrance!' thought Neos as Jaden was excitedly welcoming back Woodsman.
Light shined down from out of nowhere and onto the middle of the entire area as a loud chorus could be heard from the background. Neos, disguised in a large white cloak, slowly began to descend downwards, almost like an angel, as he spoke in a deep tone. "Fear not, dear hu-"
"AAAAH! SOCIETY OF LIGHT FIEND!" cried out Jaden panicking before grabbing and hugging a Poki Draco close to her. "Quick! Use Flamethrower!"
"W-What?!"
"Don't worry! Trust me! I'm the hero! Everyone, attack that intruder!"
The small Duel Monsters glanced at one other in confusion...before grinning, deciding to go along with Jaden's plan. After all, this whole dream adventure plan began thanks to Neos' suggestion, and as a result, despite the minor roles they played, they were forced to endure all those painful hugs. In a way, this should be considered retribution for all the troubles they suffered.
And the best part? They couldn't even get in trouble because they were simply "following the hero's orders." That, and their adorable appearances would make it pretty difficult to suggest they would do anything "evil."
About several minutes later, Woodsman finally managed to convince the others to stop firing on Neos after so many elemental attacks used on him that nearly destroyed his disguise. If Jaden realized it was Neos behind his near-torn cloak, it could be disastrous!
"G-Greetings, human!" announced Neos, trying to keep it together. Oh, he was so asking Elemental Hero Steam Healer to heal his wounds once he got his break! "I am...Lux! The Light Guardian of the Elemental Sages! And I have come to request a very important task for you!"
"Ooh! A hero quest! Finally! I've been waiting for one!" cheered Jaden excitedly. "What do I have to do? Slay a dragon and rescue the princess? Stop the demon lord and his army of demons?! Gather all 7 important elemental items while learning new songs that'll help my question and then stop an evil pig monster while holding onto one of three powers? Oh! Or do I have to constantly travel back three days to stop a moon from destroying the world?"
"...Those...are very specific, but just let me explain the quest," said Neos, slightly stunned. "Anyways, you may have defeated the Spider Queen, but there was a reason why she poisoned our dear friend, Woodsman, right here!"
"Yeah, weird thing is, it didn't feel like a Spider Queen I was facing," said Jaden, crossing her arms and frowning. "I mean, it kinda sounded like Clayman and Gaia, two friends of mine! I didn't even know spiders could control earth! I'm glad I killed her!"
"...What."
"Oh, but don't mind me! Continue, please!"
"...Yes." Neos would make sure that during his break, he would be having a quick word to Clayman and Gaia, as he specifically informed them he wanted Insect Queen to take the role, not for them to substitute for her! "Anyways, the Spider Queen was possessed by the grand evil...Flame Enforcer who wishes to rule the world! But in order to do so, he needs all 7 Elemental Gemstones to accomplish such a feat! We need a hero to help us, and you're that hero!"
"Cool!" exclaimed Jaden. "But...wait. I'm confused! Why did the Flame Enforcer order the Spider Queen to attack Woodsman?"
"Because Woodsman happens to be the Earth Guardian, and he holds the Earth Gemstone, whereas I hold the Light Gemstone! We will hand you our Gemstones, because not only does possessing all seven Gemstones give you the power to rule the world, but they also hold elemental properties!"
"Ooh! I see! So, if I have both your gemstones, I get to control both earth and light elements?"
While video games aren't normally good for one if they invest too much into them, they did, however, grant knowledge of basic elemental properties, something the Elemental Heroes were relieved not to explain any further. "Yes. Now, take them! We will add them to your sword to use the gemstones' abilities!"
As Neos said this, two gemstones, one white-colored, and the other brown-colored, floated towards Jaden's sword and merged their powers into the sharp weapon, making it glow. "Awesome!"
"Now, whenever you want to activate them, simply call out, 'Light!' Or, 'Earth-'"
"Light Laser Attack!" shouted Jaden, pointing the tip of her sword in front of her. Unfortunately, the person who happen to be in her path was Neos, who wasn't penetrated, but through back from the light-elemental blast, luckily thanks to his own Attribute being LIGHT, itself.
"Gah!" Neos fell against the grassy floor; his breath taken away but not injured.
Silence filled the area, and Jaden tossed her sword at Woodsman's feet before accusingly pointing to him. "He did it!"
Woodsman pinched his nose and squeezed his eyes shut, groaning as he shook his head. This was going to be a looooong adventure.
Several minutes of recovery later, Neos explained, "Now, you must gather all of the Elemental Gemstones and protect them so that Flame Enforcer doesn't get any of them! Now, you must travel across the lands! However, you cannot accomplish this task alone, so...you will have a partner with you. Come!"
An indigo-colored cat-like Duel Monster with red eyes and a red gem at the end of her tail pounced out from the top branches of the elder trees and swooped down elegantly, landing near Jaden.
It didn't even take 5 seconds before Jaden scooped up the cute Duel Monster in her arms.
"EEEEK! YOU'RE SOO SOOO CUTE! JUST LIKE WINGED KURIBOH AND ALL THESE OTHER CUTE DUEL MONSTERS!" A few minutes after Jaden finished squealing and cuddling the dizzy Duel Monster, Jaden raised her high in the air and declared, "I shall name you...Strawberry! Because your eyes are red like strawberries!"
"Um...Jaden? She actually has a name," pointed out Neos. "Her name is Ruby Carbuncle, and she shall be your partner for this journey."
"Ruby? Yay! I shall name you Ruby, then! You're such a cutie! Now, let us venture off in this journey! Defeating enemies, collecting the other Elemental Gemstones, stopping Flame Enforcer, and then rule the world and fill it with cuteness and sweets! Let's go, go, GO!"
"Yes, go forth and-Wait, what? What was that last part?!"
"Bye-bye, Lux! By-bye, Woodsman! Bye, cute critters! I'll come and visit your village again!"
'Hopefully not!' thought the small Duel Monsters, not wanting to subject themselves into another one of Jaden's hug sessions.
Much, much later...
Things...didn't go all exactly according to the script everyone worked so hard on. This was mostly due to Jaden's unpredictability, some major setbacks just like Insect Queen's absence, and several other minor things.
For starters, because of some Duel Monsters' not arriving in time for their role, they had to be quickly substituted, and if they were to major in actual plays, they would have gotten a 3 out of 10, and that was being generous. Luckily, Jaden, who was too focused on the adventure, paid no heed to such bad acting. Besides, there were several RPGs in the human world where there were tons of bad acting anyways.
As for Jaden, well, the Duel Spirits in roles, especially had a huge field day with the human hero. She was no doubt, abusing the powers she obtained after going through each trial meant to aid the Elemental Guardians. Yes, Jaden was only temporarily controlling the elements until the whole adventure was over, but even so, she dealt more than enough damage and possibly mental trauma to all the Duel Monsters she faced.
Examples? If it weren't for the fact that her sword had the ability to teleport anyone upon receiving a few harmless attacks as well as the temporary elemental powers it held, Jaden might as well have accidentally caused the extinction of a few Duel Monsters' races! The instant she received the wind powers from Air Hummingbird, who acted as the Wind Guardian after completing his trial, she simply traveled around by flying. Any disgusting, non-cute enemies? Burn them all with the power of fire she got from Flare Scarab, the Fire Guardian. Can't reach high cliffs or go across a far away land? Activate earth elemental powers. Want to swim around and breath underwater? Accomplish so with water powers obtained from Aquos, AKA Aqua Dolphin, the Water Guardian. Suck the darkness out of your enemies to replenish energy from said darkness? Welcome to the good dark side; the powers coming from Dark Panther. Three guesses as to which Guardian he is.
The innocent Duel Monsters acting as enemy Monsters actually grew fearful and a slight trauma towards Jaden, especially in the few situations where they have seen her laugh maniacally while fighting, or rather, annihilating them. In truth, she was just testing out her newfound powers, which would grow worse as she learned how to control the elements, especially since some witnessed her doing a combination of two elements at once, such as a flare tornado.
On the other hand, keeping Ruby around as her partner was a great idea, as it kept Jaden's "bloodlust" down to a decent level. Despite the..."horrific massacres" she witnessed Jaden commit, which in reality, the Duel Monsters would be alright in the end, she did enjoy Jaden's company, and the belly rubs and ruffling were enough to muster purrs from the cute ruby-like creature. The only other person who could accomplish making her purr would be her master, Jesse, who was still asleep in dreamland.
Unknown to any of the Duel Monsters, or at the very least, the Elemental Heroes and Neo-Spacians, another group was overseeing the adventure dream Jaden was going through, and that group happened to be the Destiny Heroes. Not just that, but Aster was accompanying them as well.
Ever since closing ties with Sartorius and the Society of Light, as well as learning that Duel Spirits exist, Aster had been slowly increasing his powers to see Duel Spirits, although his powers are still recently discovered and he hasn't developed them to be as strong as Chazz or Jaden's. Still, he was a fast hardworker, and this time, his Destiny Heroes were allowing him to witness Jaden's dream adventure so that he could get a good idea what to experience when it was his time to be in his own dream adventure to further keep his powers of communicating with his Duel Spirits.
"Master Aster!" spoke up Double Dude, holding a script, which is presumably the script for Jaden's journey adventure. "I managed to grab ahold of the script and made a mark of Jaden's currently progress!"
Aster nodded, taking the script from him. "Thank you, Double Dude. Now, let's see...She's just finished gathering the Gemstones and heading towards the Element Kingdom to meet the Prince, who's being played as...Winged Kuriboh. And it says that Winged Kuriboh is kidnapped and used as hostage by Flame Enforcer."
"A combination of both my brother's name and mine. They couldn't have made this more obvious?" scoffed Phoenix Enforcer.
A smirk played on Aster's face. "I have a question, If Jaden participates in this dream scenario, she'll still keep with her spiritual training to keep her powers, right? Well, would the same apply to me if I were to be...involved in her journey?"
"...Master Aster, what are you planning?"
"Sabotage, my friend. Sweet, sweet, sabotage. But we'll have to act fast. Phoenix Enforcer, you have to knock out your brother to take his role. Dogma, go with him just in case. Captain Tenacious and Malicious, you're with me. Double Dude, try and find some prince-themed outfit for me. Everyone else, spread out and try to prevent Jaden's Duel Spirits from interfering, but don't harm them too much."
Soon, Jaden arrived in the castle garden of Castle Element in the Element Kingdom, trying to find the Prince to give him the Elemental Gemstones and help find a way to end the Flame Enforcer. Amongst the field of flowers, she spotted a lone, human-like figure kneeling near the flowers, and he looked awfully familiar.
"Aster?" wondered Jaden, surprised.
Hearing Jaden's voice, Aster stood up, holding a handful of differently colored flowers in his hands like a bouquet. Instead of his usual, silver-like business suit, he wore a prince-like outfit underneath a collared blue-green regal cloak with yellow shoulder pads.
"No, I'm not this Aster you speak of," denied Aster. "I am the Prince of the Element Kingdom."
"...Prince what?" asked Jaden.
"What?"
"I mean, if you're a prince, you gotta have a name, right? Your name can't be simply be 'Prince.' Otherwise, it'll remind me of my friend, Chazz."
"Alright...My name is...Prince Edo. And you, my lovely lady, deserve this bouquet of flowers for all the hard work you deserve."
"Yay!" cheered Jaden, taking in the bouquet and sniffling the flowers within. "Thanks! But, I'm here to help you, prince!"
"I know everything," replied Aster, offering his hand. "Here, take my hand, and close your eyes. I'm...Going to grant you a new power."
"Ooh! Sweet!" Immediately trusting him, Jaden placed her soft palm onto Aster's and closed her eyes, slightly surprised to feel herself being pulled over and dipped as Aster bent down for a kiss.
Suddenly, everything went white and the dream adventure ended.
Waking up facing the ceiling, Jaden yawned as she glanced over and turned off her alarm. "Man! That was a pretty awesome dream!" yawned Jaden, stretching her arms and getting out of bed.
"Morning, Jaden..." groaned Syrus, still a little sleepy as Hassleberry fell out of bed, still snoring with a bit of drool down his chin.
"I had the most awesome dream, guys!" cried out Jaden excitedly. "I was a hero, and I had to stop this evil, bad guy from taking the world, but I had to gather all seven of these-"
"Yeah, can we discuss this at breakfast?" asked Syrus as Hassleberry acted as a convincing zombie trying to reach for the bathroom first. "So...tired..."
Not minding the slight delay, Jaden happily nodded. "Okay!" It was surely an adventure she wouldn't forget, especially in her dreams, which did happen in her dreams.
Skit: Puzzle Solved!
"AHAHAHAH!" laughed Grand Mole, who acted as the mini-boss in Jaden's travels. Using his earth powers, he set up a complex maze for Jaden to roam through, completed with various traps, specifically hole-related traps, for her. "Let's see if you can try and get through my maze!"
"Curses!" shouted Jaden, shaking her fist at him. Then, she looked at her elemental sword and had a great idea.
"Try as you like, but nobody's been able to solve my puzzle maze for centuries! I've filled it to the brim with dangerous enemies and traps everywhere along with annoying dead ends! Believe me when I say you don't stand a ghost of a chance!"
Elsewhere, within the maze, the Duel Spirits groaned with the slight ghost/spirit pun, considering they are similar to ghosts.
"Toil, you worm!" Grand Mole continued boasting, still doing a terrible impression of a villain. "There's absolutely no way you can get past my defe-"
At that moment, Jaden activated her elemental sword, using the earth element to breath down all of the walls of the maze to clear a path forward, thus leading to a very easy exit.
"...GOD. DAMNIT!"
Skit: Pyromaniac Immunity
"Hehehehehe...fufufufufu...AHAHAHAHA!"
Jaden couldn't stop giggling after finally obtaining the power of fire stored within her elemental sword. At long last, she obtained the most destructive element out of all of the six Attributes, and now she was gonna abuse the hell out of it, starting with the group of FIRE Attribute Monsters cowering in fear at the corner of the lava dungeon.
Word had quickly spread of how maliciously Jaden dealt with her enemies, and not in a good way. Nobody wanted to be on the receiving end of her temporary powers, that's for sure.
"FIRE!" yelled Jaden, shooting out a large burst of fire from her sword, engulfing the FIRE Attribute Monsters in the blast.
The FIRE Attribute Monsters all screamed, expecting pain only to feel...nothing but the hot winds of the fire attack. They were still engulfed in the ferocious flames, but...no harm came to them whatsoever.
After ending the fire attack, Jaden was shocked to see her enemies unscathed. "H-How?!"
One of them, a lava lizard, spoke up. "D-Did you just try to use a fire attack? On us FIRE Attribute Monsters? Inside of a fire-related dungeon?"
It took a moment for the elemental formula to course within Jaden's mind. "...Shoot. Fire Resistance."
"GET HER!"
"AAAAAHHHH!"
Skit: Overrided Defenses
"Isn't it considered cheating if she just uses wind to fly around instead of walking on land?" wondered Bubbleman, watching Jaden fly around happily. "I mean, she did earn the right to obtain the wind element, but still..."
"Maybe she needs a lesson. I'm on it," said Avian, flapping his wings to take flight. He arrived in Jaden's path and held his hand up. "Halt! The skies are my territory, and none shall proceed unless through land! So cease flying and continue traveling by walking!"
"But, it's boring! It's much more fun flying!" complained Jaden.
"NO BUTS! I have put up an elaborate defense system that blocks intruders from proceeding further! ...And yes, it is immune to any elements!"
Grumbling to herself, Jaden flew down, receiving a nod of approval from Avian...Until the WIND Attribute Elemental Hero's eyes widen when Jaden concentrated on SENDING A TORNADO AT HIS PATH!
"Hehehe! Sucker!~" giggled Jaden, continuing her flying as Avian's screams died out in the wind while trying to run away from the tornado.
Skit: Horror Movie Solution
"Anyone feel sorry for the DARK Attribute Monsters assigned here?" wondered Sparkman as he and the others were wearing sunglasses to shield their eyes from the large amount of light Jaden was emitting from her sword to guide her way through the darkness dungeon, which was basically a horror movie RPG dungeon.
"Jaden's never been a huge fan of horror movies," reminded Burstinatrix. "I saw her reading 'Ways to Survive a Horror Movie,' so many times, she practically memorized the entire contents off that book. I only wish she put their much effort into her studies."
"Still, does she have to carry so many lanterns?"
"Safety measures, I suppose."
"Oh, God! It burns! The light! AAAAHHH!" screamed several DARK Attribute Monsters as they ran away from Jaden who tried finding her way through the entire dungeon. The ones screaming in pain were vampire-like Monsters such as Vampire Lord.
'Ha! Eat that, vampires! You're not getting my blood today!' thought Jaden confidently.
Skit: Dolphin Flying Part 2
'I know I promised her that I would take her dolphin swimming right after she saved the universe from the Society of Light, and that I'm kinda upholding my promise right now, but this is ridiculous!' thought Aquos, sweatdropping as Jaden was swimming and trying to catch and cuddle with some of the cute WATER Attribute Monsters in a safe zone.
"Come back! I wanna hug and cuddle and play with you!" pleaded Jaden, using the water element to boost her speed and breath underwater as she was already submerged inside the depths of the ocean.
After several cuddling sessions with Jaden, which nearly resulted in them being squeezed to death, the other cute WATER Attribute Monsters, such as Chrysalis Dolphin, tried to run away from the human. Finally, Jaden grabbed ahold of a half-grown Chrysalis Dolphin and held onto her fin as she pointed up at the surface. Seeing as she only wanted a simple ride, the Chrysalis Dolphin could at least agree to that.
At least she was having fun.
Skit: Warfare
"What happened?!" demanded Aster, having woken up about half an hour ago and demanding to know what went wrong.
"It appears that the time limit for the dream adventure had run out, and as such, we were forced out," answered Doom Lord. "Those sort of powers don't last long, only until the sun rises."
"Damnit, in about another hour, the sun should have rose," stated Captain Tenacious.
"And, I was so close, too!" growled Aster. "Damnit, I need some time to myself. You can all go and do whatever it is you want!"
After leaving towards their home within the deck, Diamond Dude wondered, "Since we practically invaded Jaden's dream scenario, I wonder just how badly her Duel Spiri-"
"Oh, they're pissed, alright. Man, this will be a pain in the ass to deal with in our next meeting. But, hey, I did get to dress Winged Kuriboh up as a living piñata, so it wasn't all that bad."
"You also knocked out and curbstomped your younger brother."
"Oh...Yeah, he's not gonna live that down anytime, soon."
DONE! But the worst part is that I've got some end of the year tests to study up! Damnit! But on the other hand, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! It's to try and make up for my absence for so long, so I'm sorry! That said, read and review, and next chapter will be right back on track with the anime storyline!