Just a heads-up, guys, but this chapter will mainly be a Jaden x Hassleberry chapter, because I felt that there weren't enough interactions between the two of them in my story, so I thought why not skip the whole Duel Reaper thing and just replace that with a bit of a filler chapter like Jaden x Hassleberry while also somewhat processing the story? You'll get what I mean in this chapter.
Disclaimer: Mage of Hope doesn't own Yu-Gi-Oh series, only the OCs!
'Today's the day! Today's the day! TODAY'S THE DAY THAT I FINALLY CONFESS TO JAY!' thought Hassleberry, bearing a wide and bright smile as he rushed back to the Slifer Red Dorms, carrying a picnic basket with him that early afternoon. Having prepared for a perfect day, Hassleberry made some arrangements so that he and Jaden could spend some alone time together.
He knew that Jaden was inside the room they were bunked with, and that right now, she was either playing video games on her PDA, or assembling her deck. He also learned from talking to her that Aster mercilessly trained her bright and early in the morning before leaving her be to her own devices, so now, she might be exhausted enough to spend some free time to herself!
Hassleberry had a major crush on Jaden ever since she defeated him in their first duel together, that much was obvious to everyone except for the cute and oblivious Jaden herself. Therefore, he was going to spend today with her, and at the end of the day, he'll confess his feelings to her, and if he's successful, that'll be the first step to their romantic relationship! Now, he may be a bit of a military and dino freak, but even he knew the basics of winning over a romantic relationship!
As for any romantic competition that might interfere with today's events? Well, luckily for him, military strategies helped him forge some ideas on how to keep them distracted and busy the rest of today...
Meanwhile...
"There he is! Get him!"
"I'll FINALLY get an easy win today!"
"Over there! I see him!"
"Gaaah! How do they keep finding me?!" screamed Syrus, running around while still harboring the garbage bin costume as he was being chased by multiple students in different colored dorms besides the White Dorm. "Hassleberry, what did you do?!"
Unknown to the blue-haired Ra Yellow, there was a sticky note attached to the back of the garbage bin costume, stating, "AHAHA! I AM SYRUS AND I AM STUPID!" That also included a messy doodle of Syrus and, in very small words on the corner of the sticky note, written in proud initials, "T.H."
"That's one box down, and many more to go! And there's more trucks on their way!" called out Dorothy, watching Chazz carrying a box full of supplies towards the cafeteria.
"This...is...bull...! Why do I...have to carry these...?!" wheezed Chazz, putting down the box and wiping the sweat off his forehead.
"Simple! Because you made a mess in my cafeteria! How could you, causing a food fight while I was gone? I would have never figured out it was you if you didn't leave such obvious evidence behind claiming it was you!"
"That wasn't my fault! It was Hassleberry!" complained Chazz angrily. "He was the one who started the food fight to begin with! My coat's gonna smell like mayonnaise and ketchup all week now thanks to that prick!"
"Language!" scolded Dorothy. "And last time I checked, you were standing around, covered in food droppings when I came back to the cafeteria! There was no evidence of dear, sweet Hassleberry, the boy who's been helping me carry boxes for the past few days, taking part in all of this!"
"That dino freak obviously tried to pin the crime on me! I didn't do anything!"
"I have all the evidence I have, and you already proved that you're willing to be a troublemaker at times," scolded Dorothy. "Now, come help me put more boxes in here. It's punishment, after all. Oh, and there are more trucks ahead, so you won't be done anytime soon."
'Damnit, you dino freak! I'm gonna get you back for this, I swear!' thought Chazz, growling under his breath.
"Oh my God!~ Atticus is so cute!"
"Is that baby him in a bunny onesie? Awww, that is so cute!"
"Quick, take a picture!"
"Nooooo!" cried out Atticus, trapped in a net trap high above a tree as he's forced to watch several of his fangirls picking up and squealing over embarrassing baby photos of him.
Somehow, Hassleberry managed to sneak into his room and steal his secret baby photos before flanking the photos before Atticus, causing him to give chase to the dinosaur duelist. Atticus should have known that it was a trap, because Hassleberry lured him along using the photos as bait while Atticus ended up getting caught in the net trap. When Atticus tried to call for help, he didn't notice until it was too late that Hassleberry had scattered the photos underneath the net trap, where everyone, especially his fangirls, could see them.
"When I find you, Hassleberry, you're gonna pay for what you did! Gaaaaaah! This is so embarrassing! Whhhhyyyy?!"
"Jaden!" Hassleberry burst into the room, where he spotted Jaden currently gathering her cards into one single deck. "I have something to ask you!"
"Hmm? What is it, Hassleberry?" Jaden looked up from her cards, now paying attention to her friend.
Hassleberry opened his mouth to speak what was on his agenda, but found that he couldn't. Now was the moment of truth, where he was FINALLY going to ask Jaden out on a date, just the two of them, when...he suddenly chickened out.
No, he didn't turn around and run away, babbling an excuse like the typical, cliché anime boys from the romance comedy shows he watched with Jaden and Syrus. He stood his ground, gaping as he opened and closed his mouth like a fish. He felt his cheeks redden both out of his crush for Jaden and out of embarrassment that he was acting this way. He was a soldier, damnit! Well, not technically a military soldier, but he was trained like one by his Dad, damnit! He should have guts of a dinosaur, hell, he even literally has the bone of a dinosaur embedded in his leg for crying out loud!
"I...You...I...have...something important to say!" shouted Hassleberry. "I-It's really important, and I'd like just the two of us to do it! Yeah! The two of us! Alone!" 'Damnit, that sounded way worst coming from my mouth! It's like I'm leading her on or something! Well, I mean, I am, but not in that way! I mean, I'd like to-GAH! NO MORE THOUGHTS, SOLDIERS! NO MORE THOUGHTS!'
Jaden tilted her head. "Hmm? What is it, Hassleberry? Ooh! I know! You want to have a duel with me!"
Hassleberry shook his head frantically. "No! Of course not! I mean, I do like dueling you of course, Jay, but now's not the time! A-Actually, I...I wanna do something with you! For the rest of today!"
"Awww!" Jaden pouted, and Hassleberry resisted the urge to squeal and coo over how cute her pout was, only stopping himself because it wouldn't seem manly and would be out of character for him. "I was hoping for at least a good duel! All the other duelists I've tried to duel are no fun or they just run away from me!"
Hassleberry felt a little bad because she was disappointed and honestly hoped for a good duel. In fact, he tried to find some good duelists to duel today to meet the requirements for the Genex Tournament, but to no avail. "How about this? At the end of our date today, why don't we have ourselves a duel?"
"Really?!" exclaimed Jaden excitedly before curiosity replaced her excitement. "Wait, date?"
"CRAAAAAAAPPPP!' Hassleberry mentally shrieked within his mind, looking away and berating himself for having a slip of the tongue. 'It totally slipped out! I didn't mean to! This wasn't how I planned it to be!'
"Hassleberry?" asked Jaden, tugging on his arm. "Is there something wrong? You're freaking out and making all these weird expressions."
'Oh, great! Now she's gonna think of how weird I am!' Hassleberry thought, panicking even more. "U-Uh, n-no I'm not! I'm perfectly fine! Yup! Sharp as a nail! No, sire-e! Not strange and weird here at all!"
"Hmm...Well, what did you want to talk about anyways?" asked Jaden suspiciously.
"I...well...Um..." 'Jaden, will you go on a date with me? Jaden, will you go on a date with me? JADEN, WILL YOU GO ON A DATE WITH ME?!' thought Hassleberry, sweating more visibly as his already flustered face dramatically converted into a deep cherry red color. 'DAMNIT! WHY IS THIS SO HARD TO CONVEY THIS IN WORDS?! WORK MOUTH WORK!'
"J-JAY! WILLYOUGOONADATEWITHME?!"
Jaden blinked. Then twice. Then she twisted her finger into her ear to see if she was hearing correctly. "Uh...what? Did I eat you? 'Cause that's what I'm hearing from you."
Hassleberry's shoulders slumped as he held a downcast expression down along with his depressed demeanor. No matter how motivated he was earlier, he couldn't quite express his feelings through to Jaden. It was fortunate for him that she didn't leave and was quite patient with him, but he supposed there would eventually be a limit before she gets fed up and sees him as weird, thus crushing his heart and hopes and dreams of being his girlfriend.
"Hmm?" Noticing the picnic basket he had, Jaden peered closer. Actually, a bit closer to Hassleberry, flustering him further as he stepped back. "Hey, what's in the basket? Is that a surprise? For me?! Is that what you've been trying to tell me this whole time?!"
Glancing from the picnic basket to Jaden, Hassleberry decided to make up his earlier blunders by handing the rest of his lunch to her, deciding that her happiness was much better compared to having an empty stomach. "Yeah! Here ya go! My Dad taught me to cook in cases of emergencies, like if I ever got lost in the wild, so I'm a pretty good cook!"
"Really? Sweet! I can't wait to try out your cooking!" Jaden was given the picnic basket and right before she could peek inside, she paused and looked up at Hassleberry. "Oh, but I can't eat this all by myself!"
Hassleberry blinked in surprise. "Huh? Why not?"
"Well, I can tell that this is a really heavy picnic basket, so there's tons of food in here! Why should I eat all of this when I can just eat this with everyone else? In fact, let's invite everyone and have them eat with us!"
"No! No, no, no, no, no! That won't be necessary!" assured Hassleberry. "Er...Sy and Chazz are pretty busy with Atticus to do something, so I guess it's just you and me!"
"Hmm...Not necessarily," pointed out Jaden. "I mean, there's Crowler and Aster."
'DAMNIT! I knew I was forgetting someone to take care of for the day!' Hassleberry cursed himself for yet another blunder he made before realizing something else Jaden said. "Wait, why Crowler? I thought you hated his guts?"
"I mean, yeah, I'd like to shove my fist up his face at times, but I still like him!" said Jaden. "He's a bit mean, strict, gives off too many homework, calls us Slifer Slackers, shrieks too much, wears too much makeup that sometimes I think of him as a girl-"
'Wow,' thought Hassleberry as Jaden continued her dislike list of Crowler. 'There's a bunch of things I didn't know nor like of that lipstick wearing weirdo, and most are weird enough to be TMI, but I almost feel bad for the guy. ...Keyword: ALMOST. I haven't forgotten the time you gave me a mountain of homework, you bastard.'
"...But through it all, he's still a caring teacher in his own way!"
"...Kinda seems like he deserves to be more disliked than likeable."
"Yeah...Anyways, I think I'm gonna call him and get Aster to join-"
"A-Actually, Jay, I was wondering if we could just spend time together? Just the two of us, alone, for the rest of today," offered Hassleberry, timidly twiddling his fingers while showing a sudden interest in his boots.
"Hmm? You mean, don't invite Aster and Crowler? But that'd be a bit mean!" pouted Jaden.
'Damnit, Jaden! You can be so cute at times, but why can't you take the hint?!' Hassleberry mentally whined. "Well, I kinda wanna to spend time with just the two of us! I mean, yeah we hang out a lot, but there hasn't been a day where it's just the two of us! Come on, please?"
"Hmm...I mean, I guess so, but it wouldn't be fair to the o-"
"There's fried shrimp in the picnic basket."
"REALLY?!"
"Yeah! And you can even have my share of it if we go right now! Together! Alone! All by ourselves for the rest of today!"
"Yay! Okay!"
'Maybe I should have gone with that first,' thought Hassleberry, sweatdropping. 'Oh, well. Now, no one can get in my way today! ...Except for maybe Aster, but what are the chances of him and Crowler being in the middle of a forest? Plus, it's not like there's anymore hot rivals standing in the way for now! Yes-siree! This soldier's got all of the bases covered!'
Later...
'...HOW DID I FAIL TO ANTICIPATE THIS?!' thought Hassleberry, watching in seething jealously as Jaden was being entertained with dice tricks from a rather famous Pro Duelist named...Duke Devlin.
Duke Devlin wasn't just a Pro Duelist known for his charming good looks, but also for his incredible dueling skills, especially since he's the inventor of Dungeon Dice Monsters, a famous spin-off game based off Duel Monsters. Because he fancies dice magic tricks, it's known that he has a dice deck and that he has incredible high luck, being second only to another famous Pro Duelist, Joey Wheeler, in terms of luck.
And right now, he was casually flirting and impressing his Jaden! Besides that, Hassleberry had to wonder why Duke always carries a miniature boom box that always replays the song, "Sexyback."
"Wow! That's so incredible, Duke! I can't believe that I get to be a participant of one of your famous dice games! It's feels like such an honor!" squealed Jaden.
"Well, it's an honor having a cute girl like you as my customer. I find myself extremely lucky to have met you," flirted Duke, causing more tick marks to appear onto Hassleberry.
'Oh, come on! She's like, 10 years younger than you! I think!' thought Hassleberry before snapping. "Hey! You! Dice boy! We were in the middle of our d-er...we were hanging out! Yeah! You can't just barge in!"
Duke smirked, having trusted his instincts in assuming that the young man really was jealous of him. He had no romantic interest in Jaden, as he only wanted to rile up and tease Hassleberry a bit to push his own romantic feelings onto the girl he had a crush on. "Oh? And what are you going to do about it?"
"I say, we duel! You're a Pro, so that means you've got medals on ya! I do too, so let's go right here and now! And if I win, you have to leave us alone!"
Jaden pouted. "Aww, Hassleberry! It's really no trouble! Besides, this is Duke Devlin! It's like a lifetime opportunity just to meet him! Besides, I really love the game he invented, Dungeon Dice Monsters!"
Duke couldn't help but revel in the compliments. "There's no need to be so harsh...Hassleberry, was it? Wow, you've got such a weird name."
"It's Tyranno Hassleberry! Folks just prefer to call me by my last name!"
"Ah, gotcha. Well, that's an odd request you're offering, but if I win you have to give me your medals."
"Deal!"
"I gotta say," spoke Duke. "You're pretty quick to get all fired up. It's not so bad every once in a while, but if you're going to act like this to every guy your little girlfriend-"
"Ooh! You guys are gonna duel? Awesome!" cheered Jaden. "Watching you guys duel is just like watching a round of Dungeon Dice Monsters! That game's basically the same as Duel Monsters!"
"..." Duke inhaled in and out, not wanting to give into his own anger lest he be a hypocrite of his own words. Seriously though, how many people is he going to have to correct to make them realize that the two games are completely different?
"Duel?" asked Hassleberry, waiting for confirmation.
"...Please."
"DUEL!"
- DUEL -
Hassleberry - 4000 LP
VS
Duke - 4000 LP
"I'll start!" declared Hassleberry, drawing his first card. "Yeah! We're off to a nice start! I summon Archeonys in Attack Mode!"
Archeonys - (WIND/Winged Beast) - LV3 - (300/1300)
"Next, I activate the Spell, New Ultra Evolution! This lets me sacrifice one Winged Beast-Type Monster on my field in order to Special Summon an incredibly powerful Dinosaur-Type Monster from my hand! Here's one of my most powerful troopers, Dark Tyranno!"
Dark Tyranno - (EARTH/Dinosaur) - LV7 - (2600/1800)
"Whoa! Sending out his ace Monster so early? It almost feels like he wants to end this duel early," muttered Jaden, surprised.
"Heh! I reckon I'll end my turn right now, so go on! Make your move!"
"Hmph! That's all?" questioned Duke, unimpressed.
"What? What's wrong? I summon a pretty powerful Monster, you know!' scowled Hassleberry.
Duke said, "Oh, I'm fully aware of that, but you should know that Attack Points aren't everything. Sure, they're pretty handy in battle, but the way you summoned your ace Monster like that makes me think that you're rushing. And rushing things isn't always a good thing."
"I have no idea what you're trying to imply, but make your move!"
Duke held up his hands. "Fine, fine. Maybe you'll understand after my turn is over! I draw! Oh, sweet! First, I play the Spell, Card of Sanctity, letting me draw three cards before I have to discard two. Now, I play the Spell, Summon Dice! Now, in order to activate this Spell, I have to sacrifice 1000 of my Life Points!"
Hassleberry - 4000 LP
Duke - 3000 LP
"Now, I get to roll a die, and depending on the number it lands on, it could make or break my day! Go, Dice Roll!"
Out of nowhere, a six-sided dice the size of a chair popped out and started rolling around the ground until it landed on a six.
"Yeah! A six! My lucky number! Now, if this die landed on a 5 or 6, that means I can Special Summon a high-leveled Monster on my field from my hand! I Special Summon Orgoth the Relentless!"
Orgoth the Relentless - (EARTH/Warrior) - LV7 - (2500/2450)
"Hey, that's a pretty strong Monster!" complimented Hassleberry. "Too bad he's still not tough enough to go up against my Dark Tyranno!"
"Ah, ah, ah! Don't assume things until the very end!" said Duke, wagging his finger. "Hmm...You know the Spell Card, Graceful Dice?"
"Huh? Yeah, everyone knows that card! In fact, you just played it!"
"...What?"
"Yeah! You draw three cards and then discard two!"
"That's Graceful Charity, you idiot!"
"Oh...Hmm..." Hassleberry snapped his fingers, having figured it out. "Ah! That card increases your Monster's Attack and Defense Points, right?"
"Well, at least you have some brains in there."
"Hey!"
"Well, anyways, I was planning on using this on you," admitted Duke. "...But, nah. Instead, I'll just set two cards facedown and end my turn."
"...That's it?! If you had Graceful Char-"
"Dice. How do you get those two names mixed up? Then again, they are kinda similar..."
"Right. If you had Graceful Dice in your hand, why didn't you just activate it?" questioned Hassleberry.
"Simple," said Duke. "To teach you a lesson."
"What lesson?"
"That strength isn't everything. Did you really think that you could win this duel by bashing your most powerful Monsters against mine? Sure, that's one way to win, but there's more to it than that. If you simply rush forward with no plan other than just attacking over and over with your powerful Monsters, that's not getting you anywhere. You gotta strategize and take your time!"
"Okay, where is this coming from?" asked Hassleberry.
"What do you mean?"
"Don't plan dumb with me! Even I know that strategies are necessary to win, but what's with all this harassing? What's your gimmick with me?"
"Let's just say that I, a fellow but handsome guy, is trying to help another fellow guy out when it comes to the ladies.~"
"...What?"
Duke groaned, placing a palm over his face. "I'm trying to help you romance the girl you like!"
"EH?!"
"Ooh! Hassleberry, you have a girl you like romantically? Who is it? I wanna help!" squealed Jaden, cheering from the background.
Hassleberry quickly glanced at Duke, silently pleading for him not to state the obvious. Duke sighed and shook his head before proceeding to explain instead. "Look, I know you're trying to duel me just to impress the girl you like. That's all romantic and manly and all, but you're letting your jealously get the best of you, hence why you're suddenly rushing. You hope to end this duel early, don't you? But rushing too fast may led you into a lot of trouble. And it's not like this duel is on a time limit, so you don't need to worry."
"Okay, do you're...basically telling me not to be so reckless?"
Duke nodded. "Obviously! If you're reckless, you make mistakes, and those mistakes could cost you dearly...including your chance of romance. But it's your choice whether or not you take my advice, of course. Now, I believe it's your turn?"
"R-Right! My move!" said Hassleberry, drawing his card. 'Grrrr! That dice guy is really annoying! But... I'm practically acting like I was back before I met Jaden! She snapped me out of it, and now I'm back to old habits! Damnit, I hate to admit it, but he may be right! Man, what does he have that I don't have? Aside from the fangirls, and pretty hair, and those gorgeous green eyes? Oh, and a sweet ass! ...Why did I think of that?'
"Uh, hello?" spoke up Duke. "I can't help but notice you glaring at me like I'm some kind of sex object."
"Wha-?! Get that thought outta your head! I ain't into boys!"
"Sorry if I can't help it," said Duke haughtily, throwing his locks back. "Not to brag or anything, but I've had my fair share of fangirls...and surprisingly, fanboys."
"Gah! I-I'm just gonna continue my move!" said Hassleberry. "And just to make sure you don't ambush me, I'm activating the Field Spell, Jurassic World!"
The activation of the Field Spell caused the entire playing field to revert into a tropical rainforest with a volcano seen in the background as the two opponents were now located in the middle of a grassy area.
"Thanks to Jurassic World, all Dinosaur and Winged-Beast Monsters gain 300 extra Attack and Defense Points!"
Dark Tyranno - (EARTH/Dinosaur) - LV7 - (2900/2100)
"Now, charge forth, Dark Tyranno! Chomp down his Orgoth!"
The ground rumbling with each heavy footstep Dark Tyranno took, the dinosaur charged ahead just as his owner commanded, but not before Duke did something else.
"Like I said, you're rushing things!" shouted Duke. "I activate my Trap, Skull Dice! By rolling a six-sided die, all Monsters you currently control loses Attack and Defense Points equal to the resulted amount times 100!"
"Ha! Shows what you know!" taunted Hassleberry. "I activate Jurassic World's secondary effect! Dinosaur and Winged Beast-Type Monsters can't be affected nor targeted by my opponent's Trap cards, so your Trap is pointless against my dino!"
"Clearly, you underestimate me. Did you really think that was all I had?" asked Duke. "If you thought I relied only on luck, then you've sorely underestimated me! I activate my other facedown card, the Counter Trap card, Ultimate Providence! When a Spell/Trap or Monster effect is activated, all I have to do is discard the same type of card from my hand and then negate and destroy that activation card! Jurassic World is a Spell card, so I discard this little Spell from my hand to take down Jurassic World!"
Once he did so, the imagery of Jurassic World shattered into pieces, returning the playing field back to normal.
"Ah, damnit!"
"Oh, but there's more, remember?" Duke reminded. "Now, because your little Field Spell is gone, your Dark Tyranno grows weaker!"
Dark Tyranno - (EARTH/Dinosaur) - LV7 - (2600/1800)
"And the best part? Now, your little Field Spell can't stop me from continuing to play Skull Dice, so let's go! Dice Roll!"
A die emerged from the Trap card and rolled around before landing on the ground, eventually landing on the number 3.
"Hmm...A 3, huh? Not bad! Now your Monster loses 300 Attack and Defense Points!"
Dark Tyranno - (EARTH/Dinosaur) - LV7 - (2300/1500)
"Oh no!" cried out Hassleberry, knowing it was too late to recall his attack.
Dark Tyranno attempted to chop down onto Orgoth's head, but instead, it was the large dinosaur himself who was beheaded by a single, powerful swing of Orgoth's heavy blade.
Hassleberry - 3800 LP
Duke - 3000 LP
"Damnit!" said Hassleberry. "I set one card facedown and summon Black Stego in Attack Mode!"
Black Stego - (EARTH/Dinosaur) - LV4 - (1200/2000)
"I end my turn! How's that?"
"Please, it's way too obvious what your latest move was! Do you take me as an idiot or something?" insulted Duke, drawing his card. "A facedown card with a weaker Monster in Attack Mode? It's obvious that it's a trap and even more obvious that you've once again underestimated me if this is all you've got! I play the Spell card, Galaxy Cyclone! Now, I get to target 1 set Spell/Trap card on the field, and destroy it!"
"Gh-!" Hassleberry grunted in annoyance as his trap was disabled so easily by Duke.
"Now, from my hand, I summon Strike Ninja in Attack Mode!"
Strike Ninja - (DARK/Warrior) - LV4 - (1700/1200)
"Strike Ninja, strike down his Black Stego right now!"
Grinning, Hassleberry shouted, "Now you've done it! You activated Black Stego's special ability! When he's selected as an attack target, he can switch into Defense Mode!"
Strike Ninja leapt high and swiftly threw a few kunais at Black Stego, who had crotched down and deflected the kunais with his tough hide.
Hassleberry - 3800 LP
Duke - 2700 LP
"Tch-! Landed right into that one, huh?" tsked Duke, impressed. "Still, there's not a lot of people who can catch me off guard, so good job! Still, that doesn't mean you're out of the run yet! I attack with my Orgoth next!"
One powerful slash from Orgoth was enough to bisect Black Stego, exterminating the dinosaur and having him join the rest of his kin in Hassleberry's Graveyard.
"Hmm...I guess I'll set a card and end my turn from there."
"My move!" said Hassleberry. "I play Pot of Greed, so I draw two more cards! I activate the Equip Spell, Living Fossil, and Special Summon back Black Stego, equipping him with this!"
Black Stego - (EARTH/Dinosaur) - LV4 - (1200/2000)
Duke smirked, figuring out his plan. "Ah, I can tell what's going on. You're going to add more defenses to your playing field until you get a stronger Monster. And if I attack, you're just going to have your Black Stego use his effect to change into Defense Mode no matter which Monster I attack with, right? A very clever defensive plan, but all plans has a flaw, no matter how small it is."
"Ha! You'd think that, but you're wrong! Besides, I can't use Black Stego's effect anyways," explained Hassleberry. "Here's how Living Fossil works! Sure, I just resurrected my Monster, but there comes a price. He loses 1000 Attack Points, plus his effects are negated!"
Black Stego - (EARTH/Dinosaur) - LV4 - (200/2000)
"Now, I activate the Spell, Card Rotator and switch your Monsters' battle positions, right after I send 1 card from my hand to the Graveyard!"
Duke glanced around as his strong Monsters were forced to kneel before Hassleberry, now switched to Defense Mode thanks to Hassleberry. Oh well, as long as they were in Defense Mode, his Life Points would be safe, even if one of his Monsters were to be destroyed this turn.
Hassleberry glanced at the last card he had. It was a do or die situation now. He'd be risking a lot after playing this card, but then again, Duke was practically risking his dueling style by constantly playing dice cards, so why not take a risk?
"I activate the Spell, Card of Variation! I get to draw two more cards!" After Hassleberry drew his two cards, he knew that the risk he played would be worth it, even if the backlash was...rather harsh.
"And how is this different from Pot of Greed?" called out Duke.
"Oh, you'll see!" assured Hassleberry. "I sacrifice Black Stego to Tribute Summon Dark Driceratops!"
Dark Driceratops - (EARTH/Dinosaur) - LV6 - (2400/1500)
"I attack your Strike Ninja with Dark Driceratops!"
"Yeah, right! I anticipated that!" said Duke. "I activate Strike Ninja's special ability! By banishing two DARK Attribute Monsters from my Graveyard, I banish Strike Ninja from the field until the end of this turn! That means you'll have to attack my Orgoth!"
Dark Driceratops lunged at Strike Ninja, only for the ninja-like Monster to throw down a smoke bomb and then vanish into the darkness of his shadows. The dinosaur turned his sights onto Orgoth and tried to take him out, but Orgoth's defensive structure only knocked back the horned dinosaur.
Hassleberry - 3750 LP
Duke - 2700 LP
'Luckily, Orgoth has a pretty high Defense Point mechanism! That's one of the reasons why he's one of my best Monsters!' thought Duke.
'Tch! I wasn't able to destroy at least one of his Monsters!' thought Hassleberry before glancing at his last card in his hand. 'It's risky, but I may have no choice but to do this!' "I set a card facedown and end my turn! At this time, Card of Variation's effect activates!"
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"Card of Variation may have let me draw two cards, but not without a price. If I don't discard a card at the end of my turn, then I have to take 3000 Points of Damage as payment. Oh God, this is gonna hu-AAAAAAAAH!"
Hassleberry - 750 LP
Duke - 2700 LP
"Hassleberry! Your Life Points!" Jaden cried out, surprised.
"Idiot! Why would you risk so much of your Life Points like that?!" questioned Duke. "I mean, I risk things during dueling too, but you don't-!" Duke then realized something, turning his attention on Hassleberry's recently Set card. 'Wait, he had one more card in his hand earlier and he used it to set on the field! Could that card really be that important? If so, then I have to be extra careful! If he was willing to risk 3000 of his Life Points just for that card, that card must be dangerous!'
Duke then proceeded to continue. "A-Anyways, forget what I sad earlier! Strike Ninja now returns to the field thanks to his special ability!"
Hassleberry refused to give up any signs of hope now that he's come so far in the duel. 'Alright...I can do this...I CAN DO THIS!'
"I draw!" said Duke. "I switch all of my Monsters back into Attack Mode and then attack with Orgoth!"
Just as Orgoth was fast approaching, Hassleberry knew this was his chance. "You fell for it! I activate the Continuous Trap, Amber Pitfall! This Trap-!"
"I knew it! And I've been waiting for a chance like this!" said Duke. "I activate the effect of Galaxy Cyclone from my Graveyard! By banishing it, I get to target 1 face-up Spell/Trap card on the field and then destroy it!"
"No!" cried out Hassleberry as his Amber Pitfall card was dismantled and then destroyed before he fell to his knees. He was forced to watch as Orgoth cut down hisonly remaining Monster, and knew that he was next in line.
Hassleberry - 650 LP
Duke - 2700 LP
"...I have to admit, you were a bit annoying, but you weren't half-bad," admitted Duke. "Strike Ninja! Finish him off!"
Obeying his master's commands, Strike Ninja lunged forth in the blink of an eye and slashed at Hassleberry, bringing down the last of his Life Points.
Hassleberry - 0 LP
Duke - 2700 LP
Winner: Duke
Duke deactivated his duel disk and sighed, shaking his head. "I knew it. I warned you that you were rushing too much, and look what it cost you. That, and you even willingly risk your Life Points for a move that I easily dismantled."
"Hassleberry! Are you alright?" asked Jaden, kneeling by Hassleberry's side.
"Jay...Sorry..." mumbled Hassleberry, glancing down at the ground and unable to look at her. How could he when he was trying to impress her during this duel, only to lose and fail so miserably? Not only did he take a lesson the hard way, but he failed as both a duelist and a soldier!
Duke sighed and rubbed the back of his head. "Hey, you, girl with the red jacket. Mind if I ask something?"
"Huh?" Jaden looked up, confused. "What is it?"
"How do you feel towards your friend right there? Just now, he was defeated by yours truly, but...despite his reckless nature, he still strove to beat me. How do you feel about that?"
"Well...he was reckless, but I still feel like he gave it his all during this duel, and I think that's pretty awesome!" said Jaden with a bright smile on her face.
Duke peered closer, examining her features and then determining that she wasn't lying in any manner whatsoever. "Now, do you think he's weak? Do you dislike him now that he's lost?"
"What? No way! Hassleberry isn't weak at all!" protested Jaden, thinking he was insulting him. "If anything, Hassleberry's one of the most strongest duelists I know! There's nothing about him that I dislike! Well, except for that one time when he snatched that fried shrimp from my plate! And that one time he left his cards all over my bed! And that one time when he accidentally dropped-"
"Okay, okay, I get it, I get it! You've gotten some...tough times with him, but overall, you're okay and admire him, right?"
Jaden nodded, wrapping her arms around Hassleberry and forcibly pulling him towards her with a wide grin on her face. "Of course! I wouldn't have it any other way!~"
"Jay...Is everything you said true?" asked Hassleberry, having listened to their conversation and glancing at her with a slight bit of hope in his eyes.
"Yeah! Yeah! Of course it is!" assured Jaden, clasping her hands onto his cheeks and giving him her bright grin. "Don't be so bum if you lose! After all, it's all about having fun in a duel!"
"Jay..."
"Ahem!" Duke cleared his throat, prompting the two to look at him as he gestured with his hand forward. "As touching as this is starting to be, I hope you didn't forget that I still want my prized medals."
Hassleberry scowled in a pouty manner. "Hey! We were enjoying a moment together!"
"Yeah, thanks to me," muttered Duke, looking away for a moment. "Look, I like young romance and all, but you two acting lovey-dovey together isn't going to stop me from demanding my rights, which are the medals I won. So, if you please."
Hassleberry sighed and sat up straighter, tossing quite an amount of Genex Medallions at him. "There, there! Now leave us alone!"
"Whoa, these are quite a lot, but it's just one step closer to winning the tournament!" said Duke, scooping up the medals into his arms. "Thanks, though! Hope you and your girlfriend make it through alright!"
Hassleberry's jaw dropped and he found himself gawking as Duke ran off, with the music of his "theme song" fading off into the distance. "H-Hey! We're not-! I mean, we-! I-! IT'S NOT LIKE THAT!"
"Hmm? Not like what?" asked Jaden, both confused and concerned for Hassleberry.
"N-Nothing!" assured Hassleberry. "But...I really wanted to win against that guy! I wanted to win so badly because I wanted to impress you, Jay!"
"Why?" Jaden asked. "You've already impressed me with all your other duels that I watched, so why specifically this one? Oh, wait, we're still in a tournament! Yeah! That must be why you worked extremely hard this time!"
"Er….I mean, you're not wrong, but...that's not all there is..." admitted Hassleberry weakly. 'Gah! Why am I acting like some shy schoolboy! Get it together, Hassleberry! You are a soldier! A fearless soldier who can take on any challenge! You just went through a rough time and learned something the hard way! And you lost! Yeah, that's why I'm acting like this! But, in order to get my feelings through to Jaden, I have to try something...Hmmm...'
"Hassleberry?" questioned Jaden, surprised as he had remained silent but was now standing up on his own feet. "Is something wrong?"
"No...But Jaden, do you want to duel me?" asked Hassleberry, trying to act tough but somewhat failing. "I mean, I'm pretty much out of the tournament now, and I don't have any medals left, so-"
"YEAH!" Jaden immediately sprung to her feet with a newfound enthusiasm coursing within her. "I'm always up for a duel, especially if it's from one of my friends!"
"Y-Yeah...but see, here's the thing, how about this?" Hassleberry said. "Let's make a bet! If I win, then, you have to do one thing for me! And if you win, I'll do anything you want in return!"
"Huh? Dunno why you'd pick a bet like that, but I'm game!" agreed Jaden. "Now, let's throw down!"
Hassleberry nodded, activating his duel disk. This duel could be his chance to finally ask Jaden to be his girlfriend! Sure, his last duel was a total flunk, but thanks to Duke, his mind is more focused more than ever, especially with the agreements of the bet being formalized between the two. He had to win, for both his and Jaden's sake!
"DUEL!"
- DUEL -
Jaden - 4000 LP
VS
Hassleberry - 4000 LP
"Let's go! My move!" said Jaden. "Sweet! I summon Elemental Hero Captain Gold to the field!"
Elemental Hero Captain Gold - (LIGHT/Warrior) - LV4 - (2100/800)
"Then, I end my turn!"
'That's a pretty strong Monster she summoned! Still, I'm sure I can overcome that! I've overcome many challenges before!' thought Hassleberry confidently. "My move! Alright, time to play strategy! I activate Destroyersaurus' effect from my hand! I discard him to the Graveyard in order to add Jurassic World to my hand from my deck! Next, I activate the Spell, Earthquake, so now, your Monster's changed into Defense Mode!"
'Hassleberry usually plays that card in combo with his Dark Tyranno! I guess he must be trying out a new strategy this time!' thought Jaden, impressed as her Captain Gold converted into Defense Mode.
"Next, I summon Hyper Hammerhead to the field!"
Hyper Hammerhead - (EARTH/Dinosaur) - LV4 - (1500/1200)
"Now, it's time to activate the Field Spell, Jurassic World!"
Just like with the earlier duel, the entire dueling field had completely changed its appearance from a normal forest-like setting to that of the prehistoric era, with a rainforest replacing the normal forest as their new battle grounds.
"I'm sure you remember all about Jurassic World's effects, right, Jay?"
Jaden nodded. "Yeah! How can I forget? Every time we dueled, you always pulled off Jurassic World as your main Field Spell! Okay, for starters...Ooh! All Dinosaur and Winged-Beast Types get some sort of bonus boost, right? Er...300 extra Attack and Defense Points, right?"
"Yup! Nice job, Jay!"
Hyper Hammerhead - (EARTH/Dinosaur) - LV4 - (1800/1500)
"Now the preparations are set!" said Hassleberry. "Go, Hyper Hammerhead! Destroy her Elemental Hero!"
Hyper Hammerhead roared before leaping high into the air and then utterly crushing Captain Gold with the full weight of his heavy body, squashing the Elemental Hero and his golden armor in the process.
"Hmm...Guess I'll end my turn with a facedown and that's that!"
"Nice moves, Hassleberry!" praised Jaden, drawing her card. "Don't think I'll hold back, either! I summon Elemental Hero Blazeman to the field in Attack Mode!"
Elemental Hero Blazeman - (FIRE/Warrior) - LV4 - (1200/1800)
"His special ability activates! When he's Normal or Special Summoned, I get to add 1 Polymerization from my deck to my hand! Yeah! I activate Polymerization! I fuse Blazeman with Necroshade in my hand in order to Fusion Summon Elemental Hero Nova Master!"
Elemental Hero Nova Master - (FIRE/Warrior/Fusion) - LV8 - (2600/2100)
"Gotcha! I activate my facedown card, Hunting Instinct!" called out Hassleberry. "Since you just Special Summoned a Monster, I get to Special Summon a Dinosaur-Type from my hand, and I choose Dark Tyranno!"
Dark Tyranno - (EARTH/Dinosaur) - LV7 - (2600/1800)
"And because of Jurassic World, he gains a 300 Attack and Defense Point boost!"
Dark Tyranno - (EARTH/Dinosaur) - LV7 - (2900/2100)
"Ugh...that's gonna be a problem," said Jaden. "Oh, well! I'll deal with that later! Now, attack, Nova Master!"
"I activate one of the effects of Jurassic World!" stated Hassleberry. "If a face-up Dinosaur or Winged Beast-Type Monster I control is selected as an attack target, I get to switch that Monster into Defense Mode! So Hyper Hammerhead, you're on the defensive, soldier!"
Filled with a burning vigor within himself, Nova Master unleashed a devastating fire blast at Hyper Hammerhead, turning the dinosaur into nothing more than roast beef.
"Nova Master's special ability makes it so that whenever he destroys a Monster in battle, I get to draw 1 card!" explained Jaden, drawing her card.
Hassleberry grinned triumphantly, despite losing his Monster. "My Monster may have been defeated in battle, but his special ability will avenge him! Whenever he battles an opponent's Monster, that Monster's returned to its owner's hand at the end of the Damage Step, even if that means that my own Monster gets destroyed in the process!"
"What?!"
Nova Master struggled and fought back against Hyper Hammerhead's effect until he vanished into wisps of fire and flew back to Jaden's Extra Deck since he was a Fusion Monster, thus leaving Jaden with a completely empty field.
"Gotta say, Hassleberry, didn't expect that!" admitted Jaden. "Okay, I set one card and then end my turn!"
"My turn!" said Hassleberry, having drawn his card. "I do kinda feel bad for this, but fair's fair in love and war! Dark Tyranno, attack Jaden directly!"
Dark Tyranno didn't even need to flash his sharp fangs onto the female duelist, as instead, he used his tail to sweep and deal massive damage to Jaden's Life Points, even knocking down Jaden to the ground.
Jaden - 1100 LP
Hassleberry - 3200 LP
"I end my turn with a facedown!"
"Oh man, that attack nearly wiped away the rest of my Life Points...I gotta do something!" Jaden said to herself. "I draw! Alright, I summon Sparkman in Attack Mode!"
Elemental Hero Sparkman - (LIGHT/Warrior) - LV4 - (1600/1400)
"Then, I play R-Righteous Justice from my hand! This Spell destroys Spells and Traps on the field equal to the number of Elemental Heroes I control! I only have Sparkman out, but that's enough for me! I destroy Jurassic World!"
"No!" gasped Hassleberry.
Jaden nodded. "That's right! That means that any of your Monsters no longer gain that huge boost to their power!"
Dark Tyranno - (EARTH/Dinosaur) - LV7 - (2600/1800)
"And now, I activate Fusion Sage, letting me search for a Polymerization card from my deck to my hand! I then activate it from my hand, fusing Sparkman with the Elemental Hero Neos from my hand! I Fusion Summon Elemental Hero Neos Knight!"
Elemental Hero Neos Knight - (LIGHT/Warrior/Fusion) - LV7 - (2500/1000)
"Whoa! Neos Knight?! I've never seen that card before!" exclaimed Hassleberry, grinning. "Damn, he really looks cool!"
"I know, right? He's not only my new ace Monster, but Neos has a ton of awesome powers that I'm still exploring! He's like a knight in shining armor, quite literally, too!" said Jaden.
"Too bad he's still weaker than my Dark Tyranno!"
"Are you sure about that? Then, let me demonstrate my new Fusion Monster's strength! Now, Neos Knight's effect activates! He gains Attack Points equal to half of Sparkman's Attack Points! Sparkman had 1600, so Neos Knight gains 800 extra Attack Points!"
Elemental Hero Neos Knight - (LIGHT/Warrior/Fusion) - LV7 - (3300/1000)
"3300 Attack Points?!" exclaimed Hassleberry, taken aback.
"Let's do this, Neos Knight!" called out Jaden. "Slay the dragon!"
"Hey! Dark Tyranno isn't a dragon, he's a goddamn-!"
Neos Knight interrupted what was beginning to look like bickering between the two with a single slash horizontally, slicing Dark Tyranno with a single blow.
Jaden - 1100 LP
Hassleberry - 2500 LP
"Neos Knight has a second ability!" announced Jaden. "He can attack twice during each Battle Phase!"
"What?!" cried out Hassleberry.
"Go, Neos Knight! It's checkmate!"
"Grrr! I have no choice!' Hassleberry said. "I activate my facedown card, Survival Instinct! By removing from play any number of Dinosaur-Type Monsters on my field, I gain 400 Life Points for each one! I remove Hyper Hammerhead, Dark Tyranno, and Destroyersaurus from my Graveyard to gain 1200 Life Points!"
Jaden - 1100 LP
Hassleberry - 3700 LP
Neos Knight aimed for Hassleberry and slashed at him, depleting his Life Points quickly and effectively, though not enough to deplete them completely.
Jaden - 1100 LP
Hassleberry - 400 LP
"Whew! That was a close one!" sighed Hassleberry.
"I'll say!" agreed Jaden. "I end my turn! Let's see what you've got, Hassleberry!"
Hassleberry nodded, drawing his card. "I draw! I gotta turn this around somehow! Hmm...I summon Gagagigo in Attack Mode!"
Gagagigo - (WATER/Reptile) - LV4 - (1850/1000)
"Next, I activate the Spell, Ultra Evolution Pill, and sacrifice my Reptile-Type in order to Special Summon 1 Dinosaur-Type from my hand! This is it! Super Conductor Tyranno, come to the field!"
Super Conductor Tyranno - (LIGHT/Dinosaur) - LV8 - (3300/1400)
'If I attack now, both of our Monsters will be destroyed since they both share the same amount of Attack Points!' thought Hassleberry. 'And if that's the case, next turn, if Jaden summons a Monster while I'm defenseless, she'll win! So, it's best not to attack right now! Next turn, if I'm lucky, I might be able to summon a Monster, and I'll use Super Conductor Tyranno's effect to inflict 1000 Life Points to Jaden! It may not be enough to defeat her completely, but it'll be a huge drain to her Life Points for sure!'
"I'll end my turn!"
"My turn, draw!" said Jaden. "Aw, sweet! I'll activate a very interesting Spell, De-Fusion! So now, I defuse Neos Knight and return both Neos and Sparkman to the field!"
Elemental Hero Sparkman - (LIGHT/Warrior) - LV4 - (1600/1400)
Elemental Hero Neos - (LIGHT/Warrior) - LV7 - (2500/2000)
"Wha-?! Why would you suddenly separate your strongest Monster? You do realize that you're giving me a good chance of winning, right?" exclaimed Hassleberry, dumbfounded.
"Oh, you'll find out soon enough!" said Jaden. "Now, I activate my facedown card, Hero's Backup! I select 1 Monster I control whose Attack Points are lower than 1 of my opponent's Monsters by 1000 or more! I remove from play 1 Elemental Hero Monster from my Graveyard, and the selected Monster gains Attack Points equal to the removed Monster's Attack Points until the end of this turn! I'm selecting Neos, and I remove from play Blazeman to give Neos a boost to his Attack Points this turn! Blazeman had 1200 Attack Points, so it stands to reason that Neos gains those exact same Attack Points!"
Elemental Hero Neos - (LIGHT/Warrior) - LV7 - (3700/2000)
"That's strong enough to take out my Tyranno! And my Life Points!" shouted Hassleberry.
"Neos, attack Super Conductor Tyranno, now!"
Raising both his fists, Neos clasped them together and smashed them down onto Super Conductor Tyranno's hardened head, defeating him and Hassleberry in the process.
Jaden - 1100 LP
Hassleberry - 0 LP
Winner: Jaden
"Alright! That's game!" cheered Jaden, giving Hassleberry her signature victory hand pose. "But man, that was a really close game! You've definitely improved, Hassleberry!"
"Awww man! I was so close, too! Actually, ever since our first duel together, I think this is the closest I've been to beating you!" Hassleberry complained. "Dice boy was right, I really was rushing things!"
"Hmm...I don't know, I never felt you really 'rushing' things in our duel. If anything, I think it's a vast improvement compared to your duel with Duke!" admitted Jaden.
"Jay, I appreciate you trying to cheer me up, but-"
"No, no! I'm not kidding! I really did think you took Duke's words to heart and improved yourself in this duel! And that's what truly matters! If you improve yourself and have fun doing it, that's twice as good!" assured Jaden. "But yeah, I had a lot of fun today! There was so much we did together!"
"Really?" wondered Hassleberry, flustered. "I dunno...all we did together was take a walk, eat a picnic together, and even dueled each other. I wish we did more, though!"
"Oh! You forgot one thing!" chirped Jaden. "We met Duke Devlin! Man, I wished I could have dueled him!"
Hassleberry internally growled, looking away with a pouty face. "I don't."
"Hmm? Did you say something?"
"Nothing! Nothing at all!"
"Oh! Come to think of it, I won, didn't I? That means I won our bet!" said Jaden. "That means you have to do one thing for me, right?"
"Yeah, that was part of the bet," agreed Hassleberry, nodding. "What is it? More fried shrimp? A new card? Dessert for three weeks?"
"Hmm...Tempting, but nope! I want to do the one thing you wanted me to do!"
"Ha?"
"Yup! It'll be like you won, instead, so now, I'm yours to command! What was it you wanted me to do?"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Wait a minute!" protested Hassleberry. "What's this about? I thought we kinda agreed that if you won, I'd do what you say!"
"And I'm telling you that I'll do what you wanted me to do!" replied Jaden. "Hassleberry, I could tell that you're not really have a good day, especially after you were beat by Duke, so I wanted to cheer you up! And if giving up my part of the bet will make you happy, then I'm happy, too!"
"Jay..." Hassleberry sniffled anime-like tears, touched by her offer. "Alright! I'll accept your offer!"
"Great! So, what was it you wanted me to do?"
"I-! ….I..."
Hassleberry was so eager to tell Jaden to become his one and only girlfriend. This was his grand opportunity! If Jaden was his girlfriend, then that means no more love rivals, and that would be a great accomplishment to him!
But...would it truly have been the right thing to do? To simply claim her like that just because he loved her? Just the thought of commanding her to be his girlfriend through the bet felt...wrong. It would completely disregard her feelings and opinion this way, and that didn't suit right for him. He still has a major crush on Jaden, but asking her to be his girlfriend in this way? It might do more harm than good, his instincts were telling him that.
If he was going to ask Jaden to be his girlfriend, it had to be on equal terms, and, of course, she had to love him back. He couldn't ask her like this.
"I want you to be...yourself," said Hassleberry. "Yeah! I don't want you to ever change, Jay! I want you to keep on loving duels, fried shrimps, and be that sweet, friendly cutie we all love!"
"Awww! Of course! I don't ever want to change me!~" squealed Jaden. "And yay! You called me such sweet things, like cutie!~ That' s so sweet of you!"
"Wha-?! I...I guess I did? Hahaha..." Hassleberry's face turned from pink to red, and then to a very deep red out of full-on embarrassment before looking away. "Please kill me."
"Come on, Hassle! It wasn't that bad!" Jaden assured, slapping him on the back. "You can't be afraid of saying cute things like that!"
"Ha! Me, afraid? No way! Tyranno Hassleberry is NEVER afraid of anything!" declared Hassleberry proudly, boasting with his chest upwards and his hands on his hips. "Throw anything at me, and I'll never be afraid! NEVER!"
Just then, three significant and familiar voices ran close somewhere within the forest.
"HEY! Hassleberry! Where are you?! How could you make easy prey to those duelists?! They nearly ate me alive!"
"YOU DAMN DINO FREAK! I KNOW YOU'RE HERE SOMEWHERE, AND WHEN I FIND YOU, I'M GONNA CASTRATE YOU!"
"Waaaaah! Hassleberry! Because of you, all of my fangirls know about my embarrassing baby photos! Maybe I should find YOU and get all your baby photos! That'll show you!"
"Aah! Except them! I am SO afraid of them!" cried out Hassleberry, recalling what he had previously done to his love rivals and knowing they were searching for him for vengeance. Without warning, he turned around and fled, leaving behind a very confused Jaden.
Skit: Jurassic City
Dinosaur-Type Monsters were mainly known for their terrorizing behaviors and huge strengths, rivaling Dragon-Types and other heavy hitter races. But, at the same time, they had a pretty bad reputation for lacking intelligence and relying only on strengths. Hassleberry's dinosaur deck was no exception to this reputation, either.
Despite that, Hassleberry's Monsters did care for their reckless and military soldier-like owner, silently encouraging him to go for the girl he loved, but they also knew just how overprotective Jaden's Monsters could be. As such, they wrecked their heads, and quite literally headbutted themselves, to think of a good plan before eventually coming up with a grand plan to distract Jaden's overprotective Monsters with their strengths. They were quite proud of what might be the only smart thing they could think of.
That line of thinking was what led to a widespread invasion of Hero City and Skyscraper City from Hassleberry's Monsters, reenacting a scene from Jurassic Park.
Innocent Monster civilians were screaming and running for their lives as the Dinosaurs were running rampage, crashing into buildings, destroying things in their path, and constantly stomping around so hard, their very large footprints were causing miniature earthquakes. Meanwhile, it was taking all of the available Elemental Heroes and Neo-Spacians to try and stop Hassleberry's Monsters.
In actuality, none of Hassleberry's Monsters even bothered to try and assault the civilians. They only wanted to try and destroy building properties to cause a ruckus and create a diversion so that their master could spend time with Jaden, and despite the large amount of destruction shown around, their plan was actually working, and now they were only defending themselves against the Elemental Heroes and Neo-Spacians up until their master was finished with his "date."
"What the hell is going on?! Why are Hassleberry's Monsters suddenly attacking this city?!" yelled Burstinatrix, unleashing fire balls from her palms.
"It's not just this city, either! Hero City is also being attacked!" informed Ocean, shooting off beams of water from his weapon.
"The Dinosaurs have always been aggressive but never this aggressive!" said Avian, soaring away to dodge a tail sweep from one of the Dinosaur Monsters.
Before, once again, Jaden's Monsters were in their meeting, discussing about Jaden and the possibility of her being on a date. Before further discussion could be evaluated, that's when Hassleberry's Monsters invaded so suddenly, though one thing they noticed was that they never tried to harm any of the civilians, only causing havoc.
"Why are you guys doing this?! We didn't do anything to you!" Grand Mole cried out, attempting to talk to one of them.
"MASTER MUST CONTINUE HIS DATE WITH FUTURE FEMALE MATE! HE MUST NOT BE DISTURBED!" Element Saurus roared, firing out an earth-related ray from his jaws and taking down several cars in the distance.
"YES! MASTER MUST EXPERIENCE LOVE!" declared Giant Rex, attempting to stomp on Bubbleman, Glow Moss, and Lady Heat as the three scrambled around to dodge.
"What?! That's the reason why?!" shouted Lady Heat, hovering in the air and shooting Giant Rex in the eye.
"That is SO ridiculous!" protested Clayman, acting as a shield to protect some of his fellow Elemental Hero allies.
Burstinatrix sighed. "And yet, it kinda does make sense. We are known as Jaden's most overprotective deck."
"Oh come on," said Escuridao, summoning tendrils of darkness to hold down some of the Dinosaurs. "We can't possibly be that bad."
Unfortunately, some of Jaden's most overprotective Monsters tend to disagree, using everything they had to take down the continuous wave of Dinosaurs.
"NONE WILL GET IN OUR WAY!"
"FOR THE SAKE OF JADEN, MOVE! WE MUST PUNISH THOSE THAT DARE BATHE IN HER LIGHT!"
"..."
"..."
"..."
"...GODDAMNIT NEOS."
"Yeah, you're not making our rep any better either, Flame Wingman."
"It's not just those two, guys. It's not just those two."
"Great! Now, we've got two factions to deal with! The Overprotective Jaden Fan Club, and the Dinosaurs!"
"...You know, we can just sit back and let those two factions duke it out."
"And leave the civilians to their fate? I think not!"
"Fine! Let's go save and take those civilians elsewhere, and THEN we can sit back and watch the show!"
"...I'm game."
In the end, the Dinosaurs' plan successfully worked, as they managed to delay Jaden's Monsters for as long as possible, though it did take a long while for their Masters to finish hanging out with each other. To make up for "invading" their cities, the Dinosaurs were forced to help with manual labor, such as lifting up heavy equipment and rebuilding the cities, which didn't take too long.
Everyone could at least agree that they cared deeply for their masters, though this time was a bit overkill.
Whew! Two duels in one chapter? No wonder I took quite a while to reply! That, and I was working on something for Mother's Day before, so it did take me a while to write this chapter in addition to creating the duels.
So yeah! Duke Devlin makes an appearance, along with several Abridged references. And before you ask, yes, he now officially carries a boom box that constantly plays his theme music. Man, ever time I hear Duke talk, I just cannot imagine him without his theme music. Curse you, Abridged series! Nah, just kidding, I LOVE that series!
Anyways, read and review!~