I AM SO SORRY, GUYS! I really, really didn't know I'd be gone for this long! So, the last time I updated was October, so I've been gone for a total of about...6 months. Jeez, I'm sorry, guys! I mean, I appreciated you all reviewing and waiting but I honestly didn't expect to be gone for this long! No worries, though, guys! From here on, I will be updating both this story and my Cherished Evolution story up until the end of the second season arc! Don't worry, this story and my other GX story will be my main focus until further notice!
Disclaimer: Mage of Hope doesn't own any Yu-Gi-Oh series, only the OCs!
A loud explosion signaled the end of yet another duel in the Genex Tournament as the last of an Obelisk Blue's Life Points depleted right before his very eyes. Upon falling unconscious, the Genex Medallions flew from his hands and landed into his winning opponent's hand; a Pro Duelist named Mathmatica, who caught it with ease and a confident smirk.
"Now, who's next? Who wishes to challenge and hear a lecture given by the 10th ranked duelist, Mathmatica?" called out Mathmatica, averting his gaze towards a group of students who were hiding and watching the previous duel from behind the bushes. Knowing full well they could never defeat a Pro Duelist, especially one that's amongst one of the top 10 ranks, they panicked and turned away, running away.
"Run away!"
"He's a Pro! We can't go up against the likes of him!"
"If we do, we'll fail to go up a grade!"
"My, my!" sighed Mathmatica, stroking his thin moustache, having expected this sort of reaction from weaker foes than him.
Meanwhile, Sheppard, alongside Crowler and Bonaparte, was going through the records of wins and losses in his computer system, as well as surveilling the numerous amounts of duels going on throughout campus. So far, the current standings that were the highest amongst the students were Jaden Yuki, Syrus Truesdale, Tyranno Hassleberry, Alexis Rhodes, Chazz Princeton, and Bastion Misawa. However, that just meant most of the students were failing and unable to defeat many of the other Pro Duelists within the island.
"There are only a small fraction of students who can win all the time," announced Sheppard, voicing his concerns to Crowler and Bonaparte. "Most students laze away by having a duel everyday with regular partners. But, they're managed to survive, somehow."
"Actually, how could the students in this school defeat a professional duelist?" questioned Crowler.
"It will harm the reputation of this school if this goes on!" said Bonaparte.
"Winning or losing isn't the point," addressed Sheppard. "What I want is to enhance the students' abilities through tall obstacles."
After much discussion, both Bonaparte and Crowler left, talking amongst themselves while wandering down the empty hallways. "Chancellor Crowler is so idealistic!" complained Bonaparte.
"If we don't do anything, they'll think the school isn't good enough!" said Crowler, worried. "All we need are students that can be professionals!"
Bonaparte stopped and thought carefully, trying to find of a solution to fix their problems. "And how, pray tell, do we do that? Unless some miracle happens, you'll be fired!"
Crowler paused and turned to him, shrieking, "Fired?! I won't be fired! Hmm...I may have an idea, but it'll take some time, and I believe calling a few 'old friends' wouldn't be too much trouble!~"
While Bonaparte and Crowler were discussing their new plans and ideas together, Sheppard was still going through the records of students still participating in the Genex Tournament when his computer screen eventually led him to one of the participants and perhaps the secret, current threat to Duel Academy: Sartorius.
"Sartorius..." mumbled Sheppard. "To make him attend, we invited Prince Ojin to participate in the tournament...But even so, so far, he's never accepted a duel except the one with Prince Ojin. Just...why?"
Hearing a knock on his front doors, Sheppard allowed the person in, revealing to be Prince Ojin's secretary, Linda. "Excuse me, Chancellor Sheppard? I apologize for taking so long, but I managed to find some time out of my busy schedule to tell you all that I know."
Sheppard shook his head. "No, not at all. Thank you for coming in and offering any and all information regarding Sartorius and your prince...Miss Linda, was it?"
"Yes. And the Sartorius fellow has gotten what he wanted from the prince. You see, the two of them made a bet before their duel. The prince wagered our country's satellite and lost, so now, Sartorius currently has keys to the satellite in his possession, which can only spell out doom."
"W-What?!"
Meanwhile...
Deep within the White Dorm, Sartorius was seated in front of a white table with the briefcase containing the two satellite keys right in front of him. "The world's future is now in my hands..." mumbled Sartorius. "If we wish to forever end the world of war and loss, we must return it to the light. Therefore, I must help open everyone's minds in order to help see the light!"
Right as he reached out to even lightly touch the briefcase, his arms started shaking uncontrollably, and he found himself unable to go through with it. No, more specifically, the real Sartorius hidden within his possessed body was doing everything in his power to prevent the Light of Destruction from commencing with the plan. As such, the Light of Destruction found his plans being delayed once again by the true owner of the body he was possessing.
It was quite a day to view so many duels happening all over campus for Jaden. She witnessed two Pro Duelists being taken down by her two other friends, Damon and Belowski. What's more exciting is that not only did Alexis duel and win her duel against another Pro Duelist, but she did it under a handicap, which was her taking over Mindy and Jasmine's place using their low Life Points, gaining her a huge disadvantage from the start.
But, what really did it for Jaden was when Alexis refused to play White Veil, a card given to her by Sartorius, acting as a symbol for the Society of Light. By that logic, it should mean that despite Alexis being brainwashed and joining the Society of Light, it doesn't necessarily mean her whole heart is committed to the organization. Therefore, there is still a chance that she can be returned back to normal.
"Hey, Jay!"
Jaden turned around and saw Hassleberry running up to her, waving his hand. "Oh, hey, Hassleberry! Where's Sy and Chazzy?"
"Eh, I dunno. Probably went somewhere else. Anyways, how are you been? Me? I've gotten a lot stronger, especially after the tournament started!" bragged Hassleberry proudly, flexing his muscles as though to show his own strength.
"That's so great! Man, watching a lot of duels today has got me so pumped! I wonder what my duel is gonna be like today?"
Hassleberry blinked in surprise. "Wait...Jaden, you haven't dueled today at all? But you love dueling!"
Jaden nodded. "Yeah, I know! But people have been avoiding me lately because they know I'm plenty strong!" She pouted and twiddled her fingers about. "It's so frustrating! I mean, I love that my rep is pretty good and all, but now, nobody wants to duel me!"
"Hmm...Oh! I know! I'll duel ya!" declared Hassleberry.
"Huh? Oh, yeah! You have been getting a lot stronger, haven't you?" exclaimed Jaden excitedly. "Yeah, yeah! This could work! But, Hassleberry...didn't you already duel today?"
"So, what? Others are dueling more than once today, too! I'm not breaking any rules!" Hassleberry said. 'Though, I really, really, REALLY don't wanna lose my medals so easily...'
"A-Ah! Rebecca! I don't think that's the right way!"
"Of course it is! I'm pretty confident! Look, we even have the map guiding us!"
"Honestly, I don't think that map is up to date. You'd think a prestigious school like Duel Academy would have updated its maps already..."
"Hmm?" Hearing voices coming closer, Hassleberry and Jaden whirled around in time to see bushes and branches being pushed aside as two older duelists looking awfully familiar stepped into the fray. In fact-
"OH MY GOD!" squealed Jaden excitedly. "It's Rebecca Hawkins and Leon von Schroeder! They're world-famous champions!"
"Wait, seriously?! Champions?!" exclaimed Hassleberry. "Oh, yeah...you're right! They're not just Pro Duelists! They're champions, too! They're incredibly strong duelists!"
Upon seeing two fans recognizing and fangirling all over them, the two duelists known as Rebecca Hawkins and Leon von Schroeder paused and shared awkward expressions at being caught. Well, it was still a tournament, and they were still lost around campus, and since the two people before them were students, it wouldn't hurt to get directions from them.
"Hey, you two, do you mind if we ask for directions?" asked Leon. "You see, we just arrived today, and we received invitations to be included in the Genex Tournament."
As proof of their participation, Rebecca held up her Genex Medallion. "Yeah! We tried to ask others for directions, but so far, you two are the only ones who haven't run away from us so far!"
"Yeah, same here!" agreed Jaden. "I know exactly how you feel! That sort of thing happened to me, too! And I haven't gotten to duel anyone today because of that!"
"Is that so?" Jaden's complaint caught Rebecca's interest as a new idea formulated in the dueling prodigy's mind. "Then, how about this? A Tag Duel! Just you and him vs me and Leon here!"
"Huh?!" Everyone was surprised by Rebecca's proposal, even Leon.
"Rebecca, what are you talking about? Isn't our first priority to get out of this forest and onto the main campus site?" wondered Leon.
"Yeah, but we haven't dueled anyone thus far, and I've been itching for a duel all day! Plus, I really need to step up my game if I wanna take back my champion title!" exclaimed Rebecca.
"Huh? What do you mean?" wondered Jaden.
"Well, let's just say that during the past few years, I've been busy with my grandfather and so, I haven't really been able to go back to tournaments as much, but now that that business is over, I'm back in the game!"
Leon nodded. "Same here. I haven't participated in tournaments for a couple of years due to some personal family issues, so I lost my champion title, but now, my issues are on hold for now, so I can duel to my heart's content."
Rebecca Hawkins was known as the youngest Intercontinental Champion, but she spent lots of time homeschooled and during the past several years, she helped her grandfather with his archaeology studies, traveling around the world doing so. As such, she couldn't participate in many tournaments and had given up dueling for a while, forcing her to give up her Championship title. But this year, she was back in her game and determined to take back her title.
Leon von Schroeder, formerly known from his former alias Leon Wilson, is also known to be a famous duelist known for winning tournaments as well as being the young brother of Ziegfried von Schroeder, president of Schroeder Corp, one of the biggest gaming corporations in the world, amongst the Top Three, with the other two being Industrial Illusions and Kaiba Corp. After the events of the KC Grand Championship, Leon's name was widely known, and due to their rekindled brotherly love, Ziegfried defended his younger brother from his parents who may have had protests against his secret participations in tournaments. From then on, the two brothers worked together to make Schroeder Corp a famous corporation, but in recent years, there were a series of problems that even Ziegfried required his little brother's help on. This caused Leon to sacrifice a lot of his time away from tournaments, but now that the problems were dealt with, he could continue back to what he loved best, but because he hasn't dueled in a long while, his skills were a bit rusty.
"Awesome! That means we have a chance!" cheered Hassleberry.
"Don't get so cocky!" spoke Rebecca confidently. "Just because the two of us haven't dueled in a long while doesn't mean we've forgotten how dueling works! Our skills may be a bit rusty, but dueling you two will be a piece of cake!"
"Alright, then get your game on!" said Jaden. "Hassleberry, let's do this!"
"Yeah!"
Leon sighed. "Well, alright. We were bound to duel someone eventually at this point, but a Tag Duel is even better than just a one-on-one battle. Let's go!"
"Wait!" said Rebecca. "How about we make this a bit interesting? I mean, it's clear that we're gonna win, but we should make the Tag Duel interesting! How about, instead of sharing 8000 Life Points, we only do 4000!"
"Huh? Why?"
"A little risk would make this duel a lot more exciting!"
"Ooh! That's interesting! I've never done a Tag Duel like that!" commented Jaden excitedly. "I mean, usually that's done if we each have separate parts, like a Battle Royale, but a Tag Team Duel where we not only share Life Points but make them by the usual 4000 gauge! I'm in!"
"Yeah, alright!" agreed Hassleberry.
Leon sighed. "Well, it's a 3-on-1 vote, but why not? You're right, it would make this interesting. Let's go!"
"DUEL!"
- DUEL -
Jaden and Hassleberry - 4000 LP
VS
Rebecca and Leon - 4000 LP
"I'll go first!" said Jaden, drawing her card first. "I summon Elemental Hero Clayman in Defense Mode!"
Elemental Hero Clayman - (EARTH/Warrior) - LV4 - (800/2000)
"Next, I'm throwing down a facedown and calling it a turn!"
"Oh, Elemental Heroes? They sure seem like a lot of fun!" complimented Leon, drawing his card. "My turn! I summon Tom Thumb in Defense Mode!"
Tom Thumb - (EARTH/Spellcaster) - LV1 - (100/100)
"I end my turn after I set one card facedown!"
"My move!" Hassleberry said, drawing his card. "Yeah, alright! I summon Dyna Base in Defense Mode!"
Dyna Base - (EARTH/Machine) - LV4 - (0/2100)
"Now, I set a card and end my turn!"
"It's my move, now!" Rebecca claimed. "First off, I activate the Spell, Graceful Charity, to draw three new cards, but discard 2! Next, I summon my Fire Princess in Defense Mode!"
Fire Princess - (FIRE/Pyro) - LV4 - (1300/1500)
"I set two cards facedown and end my turn!"
"Alright, my turn!" Jaden said, having drawn her card. "Sweetness! I activate Polymerization! I fuse Clayman on the field with Avian in my hand to Fusion Summon Elemental Hero Gaia in Attack Mode!"
Elemental Hero Gaia - (EARTH/Warrior/Fusion) - LV6 - (2200/2600)
"Now I activate his effect! When he's Fusion Summoned, I can target 1 face-up Monster that one of my opponents control, and until the End Phase, the Attack Points of that Monster are halved, and Gaia gains that same amount of Attack Points! I'm targeting Fire Princess! Since he has 1300, by halving that, she loses 650 Attack Points, and my Gaia gains that exact amount!"
Fire Princess - (FIRE/Pyro) - LV4 - (650/1500)
Elemental Hero Gaia - (EARTH/Warrior/Fusion) - LV6 - (2850/2600)
"But I'm not done yet! Next, I equip Gaia with Fairy Meteor Crush, letting him deliver piercing damage to a Monster who's in Defense Mode! Gaia! Attack Fire Princess!"
"Not so fast!" declared Rebecca. "I activate my facedown card, Draining Shield! This negates your Monster's attack and increases our Life Points by that Monster's Attack Points! You know, I should be thankful that you increased your Monster's Attack Points for this round, because now, we're getting a huge boost to our Life Points because of it!"
A green, transparent barrier completely covered Fire Princess, protecting her from Gaia's punch and absorbing the power of the blow through the barrier as sparkles sprinkled around Rebecca and Leon, increasing their Life Points.
Jaden and Hassleberry - 4000 LP
Rebecca and Leon - 6850 LP
"Wow, thanks for the save, Rebecca!" thanked Leon.
Rebecca nodded. "No probs! But, we're not done yet, because now, Fire Princess's ability activates! Every time I gain Life Points, she decreases the opponent's by 500!"
Jaden and Hassleberry - 3500 LP
Rebecca and Leon - 6850 LP
"Oh, no!" cried out Hassleberry.
"Man, that sucks, but I guess it can't be helped!" said Jaden. "I end my turn with a facedown! And now, Gaia's Attack Points returns to normal, and so does Fire Princess!"
Elemental Hero Gaia - (EARTH/Warrior/Fusion) - LV6 - (2200/2600)
Fire Princess - (FIRE/Pyro) - LV4 - (1300/1500)
"My move, then!" said Leon. "Rebecca, is it alright if I change the Monster Type from now on?"
"Huh?" Realizing Leon's intent, Rebecca nodded. "Yeah, sure! Of course!"
"What are they planning?" wondered Hassleberry.
"Oh, you'll see!" Leon promised. "I activate my Continuous Trap, DNA Surgery! After activating this card, I can declare 1 Type of Monster, and as long as this card is in play, all-face up Monsters become the same Type I declare! So, from now on, all Monsters are classified as Beast-Types!"
DNA Surgery instantly activated as soon as Leon made his proclamation, causing every single Monster on the field to transform into a beastly version of themselves.
Elemental Hero Gaia - (EARTH/Beast/Fusion) - LV6 - (2200/2600)
Dyna Base - (EARTH/Beast) - LV4 - (0/2100)
Fire Princess - (FIRE/Beast) - LV4 - (1300/1500)
Tom Thumb - (EARTH/Beast) - LV1 - (100/100)
"Ewwww! They look pretty nasty!" complained Rebecca, disgusted at the sight of her lovely Fire Princess being reverted into a hideous beastly version of herself. "Leon, I hope this card is worth it!"
"Trust me, it will!" assured Leon.
"Gah! A mechanized Monster covered in fur is so not my ideal Monster!" Hassleberry complained loudly.
"And Gaia's heroic image is ruined! Noooo!" whined Jaden.
Leon sweatdropped at everyone's loud complaints. "Right...Well, now I activate the Spell, Giant's Training! Because Tom Thumb has already been out on the field for at least 1 turn, I can sacrifice him to Special Summon 1 Globerman from my deck!"
Globerman - (EARTH/Warrior) - LV8 - (2600/2000)
"Of course, thanks to DNA Surgery, he's now a Beast - Type!"
Globerman - (EARTH/Beast) - LV8 - (2600/2000)
"And now, I Normal Summon Forest Hunter from my hand!"
Forest Hunter - (EARTH/Warrior) - LV3 - (1200/800)
Forest Hunter - (EARTH/Beast) - LV3 - (1200/800)
"Now I activate his special ability! When he's Normal or Special Summoned, I can select 1 face-up Beast or Beast-Warrior Monster out on the field and remove it from play!"
Jaden gasped. "So that's why you caused all of our Monsters to turn into Beast-Types!"
Leon nodded. "That's right! All for this moment! Now, since your Gaia is a Beast-Type, I declare he be removed from play!"
Forest Hunter swung his axe rotationally over and over until he threw his hatchet like a boomerang at Gaia, causing the Elemental Hero to be wiped clean from the field before the hatchet returned to Forest Hunter.
"Nice work, Leon! That's one less troublesome Monster to deal with!" complimented Rebecca.
"Yeah!" said Leon. "And now, I'm setting my sights on Dyna Base! Go, Globerman! Destroy that dino-beast!"
"Yeah, right! Like I'm gonna let you do that!" shouted Hassleberry. "I'm activating my Continuous Trap, Amber Pitfall! This activates when you declare an attack! I negate your attack and change your Monster to Defense Mode, which, by the way, can't ever change his battle position! See how you like them apples?!"
"Now's my turn to help out! Go! Reveal facedown card!" announced Rebecca. "The Quick-Play Spell, Mystical Space Typhoon! Now your Amber Pitfall card is destroyed! Go for it, Leon!"
"Nooooo!" cried out Hassleberry as he watched Globerman destroy his Monster, and the last of his and Jaden's defense. "We're both wide open! Jay, please tell me that facedown card of yours will do us some good!"
Jaden shook her head and give him an awkward smile. "Sorry, dude! Not this time!"
"Alright! That just makes my job easier! Forest Hunter! Attack them directly!"
Forest Hunter threw his axe once again at the two like a boomerang, hitting them directly as they had no other defenses left.
Jaden and Hassleberry - 2800 LP
Rebecca and Leon - 6850 LP
"I end my turn!"
"We'll need a big comeback for this-! I draw!" Hassleberry grunted. "Not bad! I activate Card of Variation! I draw 2 more cards, and the catch is, I have to discard 1 card from my hand to the Graveyard at the end of my turn, or risk taking 3000 Life Points!"
"That's a risky play," commented Leon before noticing the amount of cards Hassleberry had in his hand. "But, as long as you don't play all of your cards, I guess you'll be alright!"
"Okay! Got some good cards! Yeah, now I activate the Equip Spell card, Premature Burial! By sacrificing 800 of my Life Points, I get to bring back one Monster from my Graveyard! Hope you don't mind, Jay!"
Jaden shook her head. "Nah, it's all good! Go for it, Hassleberry!"
"Right! I'm bringing back Dyna Base!"
"Wait, what?"
Jaden and Hassleberry - 2000 LP
Rebecca and Leon - 6850 LP
Dyna Base - (EARTH/Machine) - LV4 - (0/2100)
Dyna Base - (EARTH/Beast) - LV4 - (0/2100)
"Hassleberry, I thought you were bringing back Gaia!"
"Trust me, I've got a good plan!" assured Hassleberry. "Now, I activate Dyna Base's effect! By Tributing him and another Dinosaur-Type Monster from my hand, I get to Special Summon Dyna Tank from my Extra Deck! And this technically counts as a Fusion Summon!"
Dyna Tank - (EARTH/Machine/Fusion) - LV7 - (?/2100)
"Don't forget! Because of DNA Surgery, your new Monster is now a Beast-Type!" reminded Leon.
"Oh, I didn't forget," said Hassleberry. "But you should worry less about that and more on how my new Monster's grown stronger! You see, his original Attack Points becomes equal to the original Attack Points of the other Dinosaur-Type Monster used to Fusion Summon him! And the Monster I chose was Dark Tyranno!"
"Oh yeah! He's one of your strongest Monsters, right?" asked Jaden.
"Yup! And now, Dyna Tank gets a whoopin' 2600 Attack Points!"
Dyna Tank - (EARTH/Beast/Fusion) - LV7 - (2600/2100)
"So now, both our strongest Monsters are tied," commented Leon. "What are you going to do? Go for a tie, or go for one of my Monsters?"
'I'd love for my Dyna Tank to chomp off that Forest Hunter of his, especially since he's weaker,' thought Hassleberry. 'But while that'll only reduce a bit of their Life Points, it won't be enough! Plus, there's a risk that Fairy Tale boy will increase his Monster's might! There's gotta be a card around here that can-Oh! There is! I can use this!'
"Hehehehe...Looks like my luck's comin' around!" Hassleberry said. "I activate the Quick-Play Spell, Rush Recklessly! Until the end of this turn, my Monster gains 700 extra Attack Points!"
Dyna Tank - (EARTH/Beast/Fusion) - LV7 - (3300/2100)
"No way!" exclaimed Leon.
"Now, Dyna Tank! Take care of that Glober-what's his face!"
Jaden and Hassleberry - 2000 LP
Rebecca and Leon - 6150 LP
"Whoa! Not bad! Not bad at all!" complimented Leon.
"Yeah! That was awesome!" exclaimed Jaden excitedly.
Hassleberry nodded, crossing his arms and happily accepting the compliments. "Uh-huh! Uh-huh! Keep them comin'!"
Only Rebecca grew annoyed and a little impatient. "Uh...Hello? Did you forget that we're in the middle of a duel? Remember, it's my turn next! I'm waiting!"
"Oh, right! Sorry about that!" called out Hassleberry. "Now, where was I...? Oh, yeah! I was just about to end my turn!"
"Oh, don't forget, Hassleberry!" reminded Jaden. "That card you used earlier? What was it? It let you draw 2 cards!"
"Right, the Card of Variation! Right, now I'm discarding Element Saurus from my hand! Now I set two cards facedown and end my turn!"
"Finally, my turn!" said Rebecca happily, drawing her card. "I activate Marie the Fallen One's effect from my Graveyard!"
"Wait, when did you put her in your Graveyard?" asked Jaden.
"I'm glad you asked! Earlier, I played Graceful Charity, allowing me the opportunity to place Marie into my Graveyard! So now, her ability activates! Each time I arrive at my Standby Phase, my Life Points increase by 200!"
Jaden and Hassleberry - 2000 LP
Rebecca and Leon - 6350 LP
"And thanks to that, Fire Princess's effect forces the both of you to lose 500 Life Points!"
Jaden and Hassleberry - 1500 LP
Rebecca and Leon - 6350 LP
"Damn, that's a pretty neat combo!" commented Hassleberry.
Jaden nodded. "Yeah, healing while delivering offense!"
"Hmph! You guys should feel proud! It's one of my best combos yet!" said Rebecca proudly. "Now, I switch Fire Princess into Attack Mode and then summon to the field Injection Fairy Lily!"
Injection Fairy Lily - (EARTH/Spellcaster) - LV3 - (400/1500)
Injection Fairy Lily - (EARTH/Beast) - LV3 - (400/1500)
"Ugh, I'm never gonna get used to that sight..."
Leon chuckled awkwardly. "S-Sorry about that..."
Rebecca shook her head. "Nah, no worries! By the way, I'm gonna use a huge chunk of our Life Points, alright?"
"Huh? Oh, okay! Go for it!"
"Thanks! Now I activate Injection Fairy Lily's effect! Go, attack Dyna Tank!"
"Huh?! But why? She's so much weaker than my dino! She'll be devoured!" said Hassleberry, confused.
"Simple!" said Rebecca. "I activate Fairy Lily's effect! When she's attacked or attacks during either of our turns, I pay 2000 Life Points to increase her Attack Points by 3000 during battle calculations only!"
Jaden and Hassleberry - 1500 LP
Rebecca and Leon - 4350 LP
Injection Fairy Lily - (EARTH/Beast) - LV3 - (3400/1500)
With her large injection weapon, Injection Fairy Lily plunged it deep within Dyna Tank, destroying him instantly.
Jaden and Hassleberry - 1400 LP
Rebecca and Leon - 4350 LP
Injection Fairy Lily - (EARTH/Spellcaster) - LV3 - (400/1500)
"It won't be long before our wins now! You're wide open!" said Rebecca. "Fire Princess, attack them directly!"
"Not so fast! I activate the Trap, A Hero Emerges!" stated Jaden. "Here's how it goes! When you declare an attack, you have to choose a random card from my hand, and if it's a Monster, I get to Special Summon it! So since I only have 1 card, I'm gonna summon him!"
"Wait," said Rebecca, realizing something. "You don't mean that the last card you have is a Mo-"
"Yup! That's right! Say hello to Elemental Hero Neos!"
Elemental Hero Neos - (LIGHT/Warrior) - LV7 - (2500/2000)
Elemental Hero Neos - (LIGHT/Beast) - LV7 - (2500/2000)
"Tch! My Fire Princess isn't strong enough to take him on!" murmured Rebecca. "Fine, you win this round, but before I end my turn, I'm activating the Quick-Play Spell, Emergency Provisions! I gain 1000 extra Life Points for any and all Spells and/or Trap cards on our side of the field! And I'm getting rid of that stupid DNA Surgery card!"
"Wha-?! Oh...Well, I guess it's fine. It's not like I need it anymore anyways," said Leon nonchalantly, watching DNA Surgery get destroyed, thus cancelling the effect that all Monsters on the field had to be Beast - Types.
Elemental Hero Neos - (LIGHT/Warrior) - LV7 - (2500/2000)
Injection Fairy Lily - (EARTH/Spellcaster) - LV3 - (400/1500)
Forest Hunter - (EARTH/Warrior) - LV3 - (1200/800)
Fire Princess - (FIRE/Pyro) - LV4 - (1300/1500)
Jaden and Hassleberry - 1400 LP
Rebecca and Leon - 5350 LP
"And I hope you didn't forget about Fire Princess's special ability!" said Rebecca. "You lose 500 more Life Points because we just gained more!"
Jaden and Hassleberry - 900 LP
Rebecca and Leon - 5350 LP
"We're almost out of Life Points! This is seriously bad!" cried out Hassleberry.
"I think that'll do for now! Hmph! It shouldn't take much more effort to finish this duel with our win!~" spoke Rebecca confidently.
"Yeah? We'll see! The duel's not over until the last card's drawn!" said Jaden, drawing her card. "Alright! I summon Neo-Spacian Air Hummingbird to the field!"
Neo-Spacian Air Hummingbird - (WIND/Winged Beast) - LV3 - (800/600)
"And now, his special ability activates! So now, once per turn, I gain 500 Life Points for each card in my opponent's hand! I'll choose yours, Leon, and since you have 4 cards, that makes a total of 2000 Life Points!"
Jaden and Hassleberry - 2900 LP
Rebecca and Leon - 5350 LP
"Now, time for Contact Fusion!" declared Jaden. "I fuse Air Hummingbird with Neos to create a brand new hero! Meet Elemental Hero Air Neos!"
Elemental Hero Air Neos - (WIND/Warrior/Fusion) - LV7 - (2500/2000)
"Whoa! A Contact Fusion?" gasped Leon.
"Impossible! A Fusion Summon without a Polymerization card?" wondered Rebecca.
"There's more where that came from!" said Jaden. "I now activate Air Neos' effect! If our Life Points are lower than yours, the difference is added to Air Neos' Attack Points!"
Elemental Hero Air Neos - (WIND/Warrior/Fusion) - LV7 - (4950/2000)
"That's seriously bad!" cried out Rebecca, astonished.
"Go, Air Neos! Strike down Injection Fairy Lily!" ordered Jaden.
"Gh-! I have no choice! Okay, I'm activating Injection Fairy Lily's effect by giving up 2000 of my Life Points!" cried out Rebecca.
Jaden and Hassleberry - 2900 LP
Rebecca and Leon - 3350 LP
Injection Fairy Lily - (EARTH/Spellcaster) - LV3 - (3400/1500)
Despite the huge Attack Point boost she received, Injection Fairy Lily still tasted defeat from being lashed from heavy winds coming from the stronger Elemental Hero, causing her to be flown away from the winds.
Jaden and Hassleberry - 2900 LP
Rebecca and Leon - 1800 LP
"And I'll end my turn with that!" said Jaden before Air Neos dispersed and flew back towards her Extra Deck. "Air Neos' effect at the End Phase forces him to return to my Extra Deck."
"Good job, Rebecca!" praised Leon. "I know you had to sacrifice a lot of our Life Points, but it was worth it to last this long!"
"Yahoo! We have a chance, Jay! We could actually win this!" Hassleberry cheered.
"Don't celebrate just yet! It's my turn now, remember? So you'll still have to deal with me!" Leon reminded, having drawn his card. "Great! I discard Glife the Phantom Bird from my hand to activate his effect! Now, I add Golden Castle of Stromberg from my deck to my hand!"
"What?! Leon, wasn't that card infected with some sort of computer virus?!" shouted Rebecca, surprised he had such a card. "And wasn't it banned and illegal?"
"Oh, yeah! I remember that!" said Jaden. "Your older brother tricked you into playing that card, but Yugi managed to find its weakness and defeated it!"
Leon nodded. "Oh yeah, it was definitely bad last time. But this time, it's different. Both Pegasus and Kaiba modified it so it's a bit less powerful than it originally was. And now, here's the perfect chance to test it out! I activate the Field Spell, Golden Castle of Stromberg!"
Everyone watched in amazement as a gigantic, golden castle emerged from the background, setting up to be a grand fairy tale area with its golden radiance shimmering throughout the playing field.
"You sure it won't cause any unnecessary glitches or anything?" wondered Rebecca.
"Yeah! Positive! Pegasus even tested it several times before giving it to me, saying it was alright! Though, it's most likely going to be a rare card at this point."
"Uh...I kinda forgot what sort of effects that powerful card had," admitted Hassleberry. "All I know is that it was really powerful and not even Spells or Traps could stop it at the time."
"Well, Leon did say that this card is now more weaker than the original, and that means it's less OP!" said Jaden. "Alright, I can get behind this!"
Leon nodded. "Yeah! That's the spirit! Now, I activate the effect of this Monster! If Golden Castle of Stromberg is on the field, I can Normal Summon this Monster without Tributing! So, I Normal Summon Hexe Trude!"
Hexe Trude - (DARK/Spellcaster) - LV8 - (2600/2100)
"I activate her special ability! Because Golden Castle of Stromberg is on the field, once per turn, I can target a card on the field and then destroy it! And if that happens, Hexe Trude can make up to 2 attacks on Monsters during each Battle Phase this turn!" Pointing to one of Hassleberry's facedowns, Leon declared, "Now, I destroy that card!"
"Shit! Have no choice but to activate it now!" said Hassleberry. "I-I activate Survival Instinct! I remove from play any Dinosaur-Type Monsters from my hand or Graveyard and gain 500 extra Life Points for every Monster removed! I have 4 Dinosaurs-Types in my Graveyard, so I remove them to gain 2000 Life Points!"
Jaden and Hassleberry - 4900 LP
Rebecca and Leon - 1800 LP
"Alright then, but that doesn't change the fact that none of you have any Monsters left!" said Leon. "Hexe Trude, attack them directly!"
"I activate my other Trap!" said Hassleberry. "Defense Draw! Now, your attack is 0, and I get to draw a card!"
"Alright then, but my Forest Hunter hasn't attack at all, yet!" reminded Leon. "Forest Hunter, attack them directly!"
Jaden and Hassleberry - 3700 LP
Rebecca and Leon - 1800 LP
"I end my turn!"
"Alright, my move!" Hassleberry said. 'I better end this quick! We both don't have any Monsters, so if I don't summon something soon, that Rebecca will finish us off in her next turn!' "Alright! I activate the Spell, Dimension Fusion! By paying 2000 Life Points, we all try to Special Summon as many Monsters that were removed from play!"
"But none of us have any Monsters that were removed from play!" pointed out Rebecca.
"Well, Gaia was removed from play, but he can't be Special Summoned normally unless through Fusion Summon," said Jaden.
Hassleberry nodded. "Right, YOU all can't, but I can! Come on back, my dino army!"
Jaden and Hassleberry - 1700 LP
Rebecca and Leon - 1800 LP
Dyna Base - (EARTH/Machine) - LV4 - (0/2100) (Defense Mode)
Dark Tyranno - (EARTH/Dinosaur) - LV7 - (2600/1800)
Element Saurus - (DARK/Dinosaur) - LV4 - (1500/1200)
"Yeah! Now I activate Element Saurus' effect!" said Hassleberry. "Because there's a FIRE-Attribute Monster on the field, he gains an additional 500 Attack Point boost!"
Element Saurus - (DARK/Dinosaur) - LV4 - (2000/1200)
"Time to charge through! Dark Tyranno, exterminate Hexe Trude with your jaws!"
"You're going for a tie?!" cried out Rebecca.
"Not so fast!" called out Leon. "I activate Golden Castle of Stromberg's effect! When your Monster declares an attack, once per turn, I can destroy that Monster, and then you take damage equal to half of your Monster's Attack Points!"
"Not if I play this!" countered Hassleberry. "The Quick-Play Spell, Dino Stomp! When my Dinosaur declares an attack, I can select 1 Spell/Trap you control and destroy it! Goodbye, Golden Castle!"
"What?! But I just got it!"
The Golden Castle of Stromberg started rumbling uncontrollably before collapsing into a large pile of debris, disappearing afterwards that spelled its demise. Meanwhile, both Dark Tyranno and Hexe Trude were duking it out, both obliterating each other in a final clash that destroyed each other.
"Now, where were we?" said Hassleberry. "Oh, yeah! Now, I activate Fire Princess with my Element Saurus!"
Element Saurus swiped his tail at Fire Princess, destroying her with ease.
Jaden and Hassleberry - 1700 LP
Rebecca and Leon - 1100 LP
"Since there's no more FIRE-Attribute Monsters, that means that Element Saurus' Attack Points return to normal!"
Element Saurus - (DARK/Dinosaur) - LV4 - (1500/1200)
"I end my turn!"
"Awesome, Hassleberry! You turned the tables with your turn! You're amazing!" exclaimed Jaden, causing Hassleberry to grin widely.
"Grrr! My turn!" said Rebecca. "Marie the Fallen One's special ability lets us gain 200 extra Life Points!"
Jaden and Hassleberry - 1700 LP
Rebecca and Leon - 1300 LP
'It would have been easier if Fire Princess was still around to use her effect, but she was destroyed last round! I have to do something, like stall for time! Luckily, the strong dinosaur was wiped out with Leon's strongest Monster last round, so we have some time to prepare ourselves!' Rebecca thought. "I play Luster Dragon in Attack Mode!"
Luster Dragon - (WIND/Dragon) - LV4 - (1900/1600)
"Now, I attack your Element Saurus!"
Releasing a heavy storm from a single breath, Luster Dragon unleashed his wrath upon Element Saurus, defeating the Dinosaur-Type.
Jaden and Hassleberry - 1300 LP
Rebecca and Leon - 1300 LP
"Looks like our Life Points are tied! I end my turn!"
"My move!" said Jaden. "I play Pot of Greed, letting me draw two more cards! Now I play Elemental Hero Heat in Attack Mode!"
Elemental Hero Heat - (FIRE/Pyro) - LV4 - (1600/1200)
"Heat's ability makes it so he gains 200 extra Attack Points for each Elemental Hero on my field, including himself!"
Elemental Hero Heat - (FIRE/Pyro) - LV4 - (1800/1200)
"I equip him with the Equip Spell card, United We Stand, giving him 800 more Attack Points!"
Elemental Hero Heat - (FIRE/Pyro) - LV4 - (2600/1200)
"Now, finish off Forest Hunter!"
With a fire blast, the Elemental Hero of fire burned away Forest Hunter, as well as the remainder of Rebecca and Leon's Life Points.
Jaden and Hassleberry - 1300 LP
Rebecca and Leon - 0 LP
Winners: Jaden and Hassleberry
"Yeah! We did it!"
"Yay! Whooo! That's game!"
"That was a bit of a tight duel," admitted Leon, exhausted.
"Awww! So, this is how rusty my skills have been, huh? Guess that means I've got a lot of upgrading and training to do if I wanna reclaim my Championship title," sighed Rebecca before she and Leon tossed their Genex Medallions at Jaden and Hassleberry. "Nice job, you two. Though, if our skills weren't so rusty, you'd probably have a tougher time against us."
"We already did have a tough time this duel!" admitted Jaden, grinning. "I mean, you guys almost did beat us!"
"Yeah, it was bad enough, but I guess we were pretty lucky!~" chirped Hassleberry.
"Don't worry! Next time we duel, we'll be stronger than before!" assured Leon confidently. "This duel has taught us that we have a lot of catching up to do, alright! But, I guess since we lost in the first day, we have to go back home."
"It's a bummer, but there's no helping it!" sighed Rebecca. "Good luck with the rest of the tournament!"
"Yeah! I'm looking forward to next time!" said Jaden as she and Hassleberry waved both Leon and Rebecca goodbye. "...Say, Hassleberry? How about we go watch reruns about the KC World Championship? I've got clips of it somewhere back at the dorm!"
"Ooh! Yeah!" Hassleberry was more than excited to spend time with the girl he's been crushing on.
"Great! Let's go find Chazzy and Sy-"
"A-Actually, you know they told me earlier that they were busy and wouldn't come back until later sometime tonight! So, how about it's just you and me?" lied Hassleberry.
"Oh, okay!"
'Yes! Score 1: Tyranno Hassleberry! You are a genius!' thought Hassleberry happily as he and Jaden traveled back to their dorms together.
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