I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX or anything created by Kazuki Takahashi. This work of fiction is just for fun.
"Speech"
'Thoughts'
"Mental talk with Duel Spirits"
"Announcements/ messages"
. . . - flashbacks/ what if's?
Author's Note: I'm back! Sorry for the long wait, it turns out it's hard to get back in routine after a two week vacation, but I'm back now!
I have to say, I'm so happy you guys liked the last chapter, but the thing that surprised me the most was that you liked the duel which I personally thought was lacking a bit.
To answer ToMyMaster and anyone else who had the same question in mind. Goka has that added effect because I decided to fix some of the HERO fusions that were useless or should have had a better effect for the resources they require. There are currently 3 more fusions that I have planned to change.
And while we're on the topic of cards. How would you guys feel if I added synchro monsters? If I do, it will be during season 2 and it would be kinda rare as it would be a new mechanic. The main reason I would add them is because of Erina's deck. Chaos Dragons' boss monsters are mainly synchro monsters plus it opens some fun archetypes I could use in the story. Let me know because I've seen on different stories that people don't really like it when the author adds the synchro mechanic during GX.
Now enough talking and on to the story. Enjoy!
It was the day of the expulsion duel and Crowler was sitting in his office, laughing like a maniac while finishing up some paperwork. "This is it! I will finally get rid of that Slifer Slacker! He has done nothing but make mockery of me and the Obelisk Dorm since he got here!" He slammed his hands on the desk because of the bitter thought. "Though it's a shame he'll drag Miss Kaiba down with him… Oh well!" He shrugged, now back to his happy mood.
He didn't care who got caught in the crossfire as long as Jaden left the Academy once and for all.
He then heard a knock on the door. It opened and Chazz came in. "Chazz, what can I do for you?" The Doctor asked, not looking up from his paperwork.
Chazz placed his hands on the desk. "I want to participate in the tag duel!" He demanded. "I have a score to settle with that Slifer Slime!"
But to Chazz's shock, Crowler looked up and shook his head. "This is the greatest opportunity to get Jaden thrown out of Duel Academy! And since he beat you before, I can't trust you to carry out this task anymore." The good doctor then smirked. "In fact... you should be worried about keeping your Obelisk status."
Chazz was in pure shock when he heard that. He was going to get demoted? Because he lost to a Slifer?! He turned around in rage and slammed the door as he exited.
He walked through the corridors, growling and pushing both Ras and Slifers out of his way. "I can't believe this! I might get demoted?! This is entirely the slacker's fault!" He ranted to himself. "I'm going to take Zane Truesdale's place as the best duelist here and I won't allow anyone to demote me!" He yelled at the top of his lungs, gaining confused looks from the other students around him.
Jaden and Erina were walking towards the main Academy building for their duel, and while their friends were worried about them, the two teens were as calm and confident as they could be. Their decks were ready and tuned to work with each other a bit better, so no matter who their opponents were, they were sure to come out on top.
As they approached the entrance, they saw that Alexis was waiting for them with a depressed look on her face. Erina glanced at Jaden before a wide grin spread across her lips. The bluenette broke into a run, going straight at the blond. Jaden watched in confusion as Erina jumped and enveloped Alexis in a hug. His confusion grew even more when he saw Alexis blush a crimson red. Erina was probably whispering something to her.
The Chaos duelist turned around to face him. "I'll wait for you by the arena gates!" She said with an innocent smile and ran inside.
"Hey, Lex!" Jaden greeted her cheerily, but got confused as he saw her become even more depressed. "What's wrong?"
"What do you mean 'what's wrong'?" Alexis asked in disbelief. "It's because of me that you guys are-"
She got interrupted by Jaden flicking her on the forehead and shaking his head. "Don't go there. It's not your fault Titan captured you, was it?" He asked with a smile.
Alexis looked away. "Well...no."
"And I couldn't have just left you there, could I?" He asked, keeping his warm smile up.
The blond huffed slightly but gave him a smile. "No, I guess you couldn't have…"
"That's it!" Jaden exclaimed with a grin. "A smile suits you so much better."
Alexis couldn't stop the blush that spread across her cheeks from the compliment. But even if it did make her feel warm inside, she was kind of aggravated by the fact that Jaden could so easily get under her skin. She went from feeling guilty to happy and then to embarrassed, and that was all in the span of a minute! She also blamed Erina for filling her head with all these weird ideas involving Jaden.
"Uhm… shouldn't you be getting to the arena?" Alexis asked after a few moments of them just staring at each other.
"Oh, right!" Jaden's eyes widened as he checked the time, remembering he had a duel to win. "You'll be rooting for me, right?" He asked in a joking manner while rubbing the back of his head.
"Of course I will be!" Alexis answered with a smirk. "Also…" She was extremely nervous about what she was about to do. Alexis walked up to Jaden and planted a kiss on his cheek. "Thanks for saving me." She said, her face burning from embarrassment. She quickly moved away and began to run inside, but not before turning around and saying. "And good luck!"
Jaden just stared at her retreating form, too stunned to do anything due to the sudden kiss. He reached up to touch the cheek she had kissed, feeling that it was burning, his entire face was probably as well if he had to guess.
"Don't you just look adorable?" Yubel teased as she and Winged Kuriboh appeared next to him. "I wish I had a camera or something to save this moment."
Jaden just chuckled sheepishly, while Winged Kuriboh cooed in agreement with her as he landed on Jaden's head.
"Soo… does this change your plan?" She asked.
"I-I don't know…" He said, avoiding eye contact with his Guardian. "She just did it to thank me... nothing else."
Yubel sighed. "Jaden, a life without risks is a boring one…" She smiled slightly and crossed her arms. "And I know that's not what you want… So, I'm giving you an ultimatum, either you think about this very carefully, because I know what you've decided isn't what you truly want, you're just scared, or I'm involving Erina. I'm sure the little she-devil would be more than happy to side with me on this one and set you straight."
She laughed when she saw Jaden's pale and horrified face. The last thing he wanted was for Erina to get involved with this, especially after the relentless teasing from the other day.
"That doesn't really sound fair…" It really wasn't, either he reconsidered by himself or he'd get forced to? Jaden sighed in defeat. "Fine, I give up… I'll think about it, just please don't tell her." He said as he entered the main building. Yubel smirked in victory. She knew Jaden still had a slight problem with opening up to new people… plus having feelings for a girl is completely new territory to him.
"It's only natural that he's a bit afraid of all this, right?" She asked the little fuzzball which landed on her shoulder and cooed in agreement. "Yeah… but it'll work out in the end. After everything that's happened and that will come in the future, he deserves happiness." Kuriboh cooed once again making Yubel laugh slightly. "I agree, he is a bit dense, but we can't tell him that. He has to figure it out himself."
All the students and teachers were gathering inside the Duel Stadium, anxious to see how this duel goes.
"Attention! The Expulsion Duel is about to begin!"
Bastion sat down in one of the seats, he looked around and noticed how quickly it was filling up. He folded his arms after hearing the announcement. "Quite harsh I'd say…"
"You got that right…"
He turned to see Alexis sit next to him, also with her were Jasmine and Mindy. She sighed. "It's my fault they are in this mess…" She said.
"It's not your fault, Lex." Mindy said. "You couldn't have known what would happen and besides, none of them even blame you for this." She said in an attempt to comfort her, but it did very little.
Bastion was looking at them, confusion clearly visible on him. Alexis looked at him. "They went to the Abandoned Dorm to try and help me find my brother. I got caught by a crazy duel mercenary and Jaden had to save me." She explained.
"Ah, I see." Bastion nodded. "Well, this is quite unfair then."
"I wonder who they'll be facing?" Jasmine said. "Word around is that Crowler got two professional duelists that used to work for the creator of Duel Monsters himself."
The others gasped at the revelation.
"Send in the accused; Jaden Yuki and Erina Kaiba!"
Chazz, who was sitting in an empty section on the other side of the arena, looking down at Jaden as they entered. He gritted his teeth and rammed his foot into the seat in front of him, making his two goons look at him in worry. He gave Jaden a hateful glare. 'You damn slacker! It's all your fault that I'm in danger of being demoted. I should've been the one to beat you and kick you out. That way I would have regained my lost pride!'
Jaden turned his head at the sound of the echo the kick made and saw that it was Chazz, so he ignored him and continued to look around. He spotted Alexis and both smiled at each other with small blushes appearing on their faces.
"What's got you blushing?" He heard Erina next to him ask. He turned to look at her and saw that she had a very mischievous smile.
"Nothing." He answered simply.
"Oh, I wouldn't say it was nothing." Yubel said as she appeared between them. "Judging from your reaction back there, I'd say it was quite something." She teased.
"Wait... she kissed you, didn't she?" Erina asked incredulously.
"W-What…?" Jaden stammered out. "Wait, how did you know?"
"I didn't, you just told me." The bluenette said while grinning.
Jaden wanted to smack himself over the head, he fell right into it. 'Of course that was her doing.' He ignored her grinning at him and looked around for Chumley and Syrus in the stands. He saw them as they just entered, both of them seemed to be out of breath.
"I can't believe… people… do this to stay healthy." Chumley said as he tried to catch his breath. "This is like a death sentence."
Syrus just smiled at his friend and rubbed his back. He felt that someone was watching him, so he looked around only to spot his brother staring at him from the other side of the arena. Zane quickly looked away as soon as his little brother's eyes met his.
The older Truesdale stared at the arena, refusing to look at his little brother. "I'm sorry, Syrus… I don't have the courage to look you in the eyes after everything I've done."
The duo walked up and stood on the platform. Jaden looked around, a bit confused over the fact that no one was there except for Crowler. "Where are our opponents, Crowler?" He asked and grinned. "Or is it just you? Because if it is... I can call down Syrus and he can duel in our stead." His grin widened as Crowler's face got red as a tomato.
"They'll be arriving shortly." He fumed. "And it's Doctor Crowler to you, slacker!"
"Yeah, yeah…" Erina waved him off. "Let's get this over with."
Crowler grit his teeth in annoyance over how disrespectful they were towards him, but he cleared his throat and calmed down. "Without further ado." He began to speak into a microphone. "Allow me to introduce our very special guests!" At that moment, two men flipped onto stage. Both of them were bald, wore traditional Chinese robes, one wearing orange and the other green. They also had strange markings on their foreheads. Everyone watched in astonishment as the two men performed a series of flips, jumping over Jaden and Erina then landing on the other side of the arena.
Both Erina and Jaden got looks of horror as they realized who these guys were.
"The Paradox Brothers!" Crowler cheerily revealed.
"Salutations, you fools!" The one in orange said.
"Hope you're ready to duel!" The one in orange said.
"For those who are wondering who these gentlemen are…" Crowler began to say. "Even though they haven't dueled in ages… The only duel they lost in their lives was against Joey Wheeler and the King of Games himself!"
"No way!" Syrus gasped. "They fought Yugi Muto and Joey Wheeler?!"
"That's not licious…" Chumley shook his head.
"This is totally not fair!" Mindy exclaimed.
"No kidding… Crowler's grudge against Jaden is getting out of hand." Jasmine added.
"I believe that was the point, this not being fair." Bastion said. "Statistically speaking, I put Jaden and Erina's odds at winning roughly one in fifty."
Bastion backed away slightly as the three Obelisk girls shot him a glare. "Way to show your support, Bastion." Alexis said. "But, both of them did say they've dueled Pros before, so maybe this will be evenly matched?" She hopefully said.
Crowler was grinning like an idiot when he saw Jaden's horror struck face… but then something completely unexpected happened.
"Oh god!" Jaden crouched down and clutched his stomach. "They look even dumber than how they described them!" He said whilst trying not to laugh too hard at how ridiculous their opponents looked.
"And they really do rhyme." Erina put her hands over her ears. "I swear that if they keep rhyming throughout the whole duel, I'm leaving!"
This was definitely not the reaction anyone was expecting, least of all the Paradox Brothers themselves.
"Really, Crowler?" Sheppard called out as he approached the arena. "One of the top Tag Team Duelists in the world? Aren't you going a little overboard?"
Crowler walked up to him. "Oh no no, Chancellor. They broke a serious rule and should get a punishment appropriate to it. And besides, they have already arrived here, so we can't just send them back now."
Sheppard smiled slightly. "Oh, that doesn't really matter, does it? After all, you're the one who's paying for their travel costs." Crowler's eyes bugged out of his head and fell to the ground. Sheppard chuckled slightly and turned to his two students. "I'll leave it to you, kids."
Jaden and Erina gave him a confident smirk and a thumbs up. "Don't worry, Chancellor." Erina said. "If these two need to tattoo their own names on their foreheads to remember them, this will be a piece of cake." Jaden let out a snort followed by laughter from her bad joke.
"Enough!" Para yelled, getting tired of the two teens. "We didn't come here to talk, but to duel! Are we going to fight?"
Dox continued. "Or shall you take flight?"
"Keep dreaming, pal." Jaden grinned over the fact they struck a nerve.
After recovering from his shock, Crowler went and stood in the middle of the arena. "Duelists, prepare for battle!" The four of them activated their Duel Disks. "The rules are quite simple. Both teams start with 8000 Life Points, there will be no sharing of strategy, advice or cards that aren't already in play and no one is allowed to attack on their first turn. You can, however, use your partner's cards that are on their field. Understood?"
All of them nodded. "Alright, let the duel… begin!" Crowler said and leapt off the field.
Jaden & Erina: 8000
Paradox Brothers: 8000
Erina and Jaden smirked at each other, they had this in the bag. "I'm starting this off!" The bluenette drew her card. "Just what I needed." She slapped the card she drew on her Duel Disk. "I summon Keeper of Dragon Magic!"
On the field appeared a very human-looking dragon clad in teal armor. The dragon spun his spear a few times before slamming it on the ground. (ATK:1800/ DEF: 1300)
"I activate Keeper of Dragon Magic's effect!" Erina said as the dragon lifted his spear and it began to glow. "I discard one card to the graveyard to add a Polymerization to my hand." The bluenette discarded her card and the Polymerization popped out of her deck.
"I set one card facedown and end my turn!" A reversed card appeared in front of her feet.
"That was your move? Ha, what a joke!" Para said as he drew his card. "I summon Jirai Gumo!" A giant brown spider appeared. (ATK: 2200/ DEF: 100)
"Then, I set two cards and pass it over to you." He said as he slipped the cards in his Disk.
"An overgrown bug?" Jaden smirked as he drew his card. "No problem, we'll squash it! I summon Elemental HERO Bubbleman in defense mode!" In a flash of light Jaden's bubble hero appears on the field, kneeling. (ATK: 800/ DEF: 1200)
"And since he's the only monster on my field, I get to draw two!" Jaden drew his extra cards. "Then, I'll activate a little spell called HERO's Bond! Since I have a HERO on my field, this card allows me to summon two more from my hand!" He placed the two cards on his Disk. "I choose Sparkman and Burstinatrix!"
On each of Bubbleman's sides appeared the two heroes. Sparkman stood up in attack position, while Burstinatrix was kneeling in defense. (ATK: 1600/ DEF: 1400) (ATK: 1200/ DEF: 800)
"I throw down a facedown!" A reversed card appeared in front of Jaden's feet. "Over to you, baldy!"
"That's a big start from Jaden." Alexis said with a smile. "He's built a pretty solid defense."
"Yes, but if he gets careless, he could lose all of it and that could drag them down." Bastion said and immediately flinched when he felt Alexis' glare on him.
"Geez, Bastion…" Syrus spoke as he and Chumley sat behind them. "Have a bit more faith in him."
"You can build all the defense you want!" Dox shouted as he drew his card. "But the best defense is still a good offense! I summon Kaiser Seahorse in attack mode!" A tall merman covered in blue and purple shell armor appeared on the field. (ATK: 1700/ DEF: 1650)
"I activate the spell card, Tribute Doll!" Dox declared as he held up the card. "With this card I can summon a level 7 monster, but I must sacrifice a monster from our field. Good thing my brother is so generous with his." The brothers shared a look and nodded. "Farewell, Girai Gumo!" Puppet strings wrapped around the spider and destroyed it. "And welcome, Kazejin!"
In a gust of wind appeared a strange green orb-like creature with arms. It had a small face and a kanji on it. (ATK: 2400/ DEF: 2200)
Bastion looked impressed. "He sacrificed his brother's monster to summon a better one. Now that is great teamwork!"
"Could you not sound so impressed?" Alexis asked in annoyance.
"Yeah, Bastion." Syrus nodded. "We're all worried about them and you're not really helping."
"Well, you should be." Bastion responded. "If I remember correctly, Kazejin is one of three monsters which when combined together create an even mightier one."
"D-do you think Jaden and Erina could beat it or win before it comes out?" Chumley asked nervously.
"Of course they'll win!" Alexis quickly answered, showing her support. "They're both strong on their own, so together they should be even better!"
"Not necessarily." Bastion recounted. "Two strong duelists don't always make a strong tag team, usually they butt heads with each other and it… makes…" Bastion trailed off, feeling all of them give him a stare that pretty much told him to shut the hell up.
Back on the field, the two brothers started with their rhymes…
"Do you actually think you know anything of this game?" Para began.
"You're losers, you're jokes, in other words, you're lame!" Dox finished. Both teens groaned in annoyance from their bad attempts at taunting. They knew how annoying these guys were from Yugi and the others, but they never imagined it was this bad.
"And if they think this is starting to get grueling." Para continued with the rhyming.
"Wait until I give them a true schooling!" Dox finished as he plucked a card from his hand. "I play Dark Designator! This allows me to call out any monster I think of and if my brother has it in his deck, it's added immediately to his hand." He then tapped his chin, pretending to think. "I choose… Sanga of the Thunder!"
Para laughed as he drew the card. "Well would you look at that? It is right here, ready to tear them asunder!"
Erina's eye twitched in irritation from their idiotic rhymes. It was so bad that she realized she preferred her uncle's lame jokes and insults when he dueled in comparison to this.
"This duel is just starting…" Para began.
"Yet it is almost done…" Dox finished.
The two brothers pointed at the teens. "For your demise has already begun!"
"You guys are insufferable…" Erina deadpanned.
"Yeah…" Jaden nodded as he scratched the back of his head. "Can you stop with the rhyming? It definitely doesn't have the effect you guys are hoping for."
"Is it just me or are those two more worried about the Paradox Brothers rhyming than their dueling?" Syrus sweatdropped.
"It does seem to be the case." Alexis chuckled awkwardly.
"Well they are annoying…" Mindy agreed.
"Well, there's one way to shut you guys up." Erina said as she drew her card. She then turned to Jaden. "Do you mind?"
Jaden grinned slightly. "Please, that's why I summoned them."
The bluenette nodded and held up a card. "I activate Polymerization! And I'll be fusing Jaden's Sparkman and Burstinatrix together to bring out a dragon as old as the Earth itself! Rise, First of the Dragons!"
Jaden's monsters disappeared into the vortex, then a thundering roar was heard as a massive ancient blue dragon emerged from it and landed behind Erina, wrapping its tail around her protectively. (ATK: 2700/ DEF: 2000)
"That's a big dragon…" Syrus mused.
"They predicted their own moves nicely." Alexis said with a smile. She turned to Bastion. "Nothing to say?" She asked him in a slightly angry tone.
"Ah, well…" He gave her a sheepish look. "I figured I should keep quiet because of my comments… But they do work well together."
"Now…" Erina pointed at Para. "Since your brother left you wide open, you'll be the first one to taste my dragon's wrath!" The giant dragon unwrapped its tail from around Erina and swung it at Para.
But the orange clad brother chuckled. "What an amateur mistake! I activate my facedown! Attack Guidance Armor! With this, your dragon's attack is redirected to Kazejin!"
Now Dox chuckled. "Now Kazejin's effect activates! Once per turn, he can reduce the attack points of the monster that battles with him to zero, which means that your dragon is destroyed!"
Erina looked unimpressed as her dragon's tail changed direction and went to Dox's monster. Kazejin unleashed a stream of wind that enveloped the dragon… but, much to everyone else's shock, it wasn't destroyed, in fact, the dragon still continued with its attack, smashing its tail right on top of the green monster and causing smoke to envelop the field.
Paradox Brothers: 7700
"They got first blood!" Alexis and Syrus cheered.
"What?!" Dox shouted as the smoke cleared. "What just happened?! How did your dragon destroy my Kazejin? Why wasn't it weakened by him?!"
Erina smirked. "Simple… First of the Dragons is unaffected by other monsters' effects and on top of that, the only way to destroy him by battle is with a Normal Monster." She calmly explained and the two brothers grit their teeth in frustration.
"So Erina created a mostly impenetrable wall for herself… impressive." Bastion said.
"Now, Keeper of Dragon Magic, show that overgrown fish how to properly wield a spear!" Erina ordered and the armored dragon charged forward, spinning his spear. Kaiser Seahorse raised his spear to defend, but the dragon spun around him and sliced him in two.
Paradox Brothers: 7600
"And the cherry on top of all this?" Erina plucked a card from her hand. "Say goodbye to that Sanga in your hand! Card Destruction!" The Paradox Brothers gasped as they saw the card. And while Erina gladly discarded her hand, Para did so very reluctantly.
The bluenette chuckled slightly. "I set a card and that's my turn."
Up in the stands the group were staring in awe. "Did… Did she just turn the duel in their favor and stop their plan in one turn?" Syrus asked, not believing his eyes.
"Yeah she did!" Alexis exclaimed giddily, Jasmine and Mindy joining in as well.
Para drew his card, a bead of sweat rolling down his face over the fact that their plan was ruined, but that won't discourage them from winning.
"You will not foil our plan that easily!" Para angrily declared as he took a card from his hand. "No matter how many times you strike our monsters down, they'll come back again and again! I bring back Kazejin with Monster Reborn!"
The green wind spirit reappeared on the field. (ATK: 2400/ DEF: 2200)
"And with this card, all your work will be meaningless!" He pressed a button on his Disk. "With Call of the Haunted I bring out Sanga of the Thunder!" Lightning struck the field as a new monster appeared. This one was a metallic brown color and it looked like the top half of a body with arms. (ATK: 2600/ DEF: 2200)
"Now to launch the offensive." Para chuckled. "Say goodbye to Bubbleman! Kazejin, attack!" He ordered and the wind monster launched a spiralling tornado towards Jaden's monster.
The gust of wind knocked Bubbleman up in the air before he blew up in pixels. "I activate my trap card, Hero Signal!" Jaden said as a light came out of the card and displayed the letter 'H' on the ceiling. "When one of my monsters is destroyed by battle and sent to the graveyard, I get to summon a level 4 HERO to the field!" Jaden explained as a card popped out of his deck. "I'd like to introduce to everyone Elemental HERO Shadow Mist!"
On the field appeared a slender female clad in black. She had a white mask with only a pair of red eyes on it. She flicked her midnight blue hair before she knelt down on one knee and crossed her arms. (ATK: 1000/ DEF: 1500)
Jaden smirked. "And thanks to her effect when she's Special Summoned, I get to add Mask Change to my hand." He explained as he added the card to his hand.
"Sanga, tear that monster asunder!" Para barked and the thunder monster brought down a lightning bolt on Shadow Mist, destroying her.
"I finish by equipping Sanga with Ribbon of Rebirth and Kazejin with Mist Body." Para said as he slipped the two cards in his Disk.
"My turn!" Jaden drew his card and a small smirk appeared on his face as he saw what he drew. "I activate Graceful Charity! With this I draw three cards, but have to discard two." Jaden explained and did just that.
He looked at the Paradox Brothers' field. They had a pretty solid defense built, two monsters that can make the attacking monsters' attack zero and are equipped with battle protection to a degree. He grinned, those are just the types of fields he liked to break.
"I summon Elemental HERO Voltic!" Jaden said as he slapped the card on his Disk. A bolt of electricity surged through the field and landed in front of Jaden, revealing a male in a dark purple suit of armor with yellow accents that kind of resembled electricity. (ATK: 1000/ DEF: 1500)
"And with Mask Change, I'll be able to summon a Fusion Monster with the same attribute as him!" Jaden explained. "Transform away, Voltic!" A gold helmet appeared in Voltic's hands and he placed it over his head, enveloping him in a white light. "Come on out, Masked HERO Koga!" The light died down, revealing the Light-Attribute HERO. (ATK: 2500/ DEF: 1800)
"And he has some pretty sweet effects!" Jaden excitedly said. "The first of which is that he gains 500 attack points for each of your monsters!" He revealed, making the two brothers gasp in shock. (ATK: 2500-3500)
"Alright, Koga, show them your stuff!" Jaden said while pointing at Sanga. The Masked HERO brandished his blades and charged forward.
Dox laughed. "You fool! Did you forget Sanga of the Thunger's effect? The monster that attacks him loses all of its attack points!" He explained, but was shocked when he saw Jaden grin.
"Of course I didn't and I usually wouldn't attack, but…" He trailed off and glanced at Erina.
The bluenette nodded with a grin of her own. "That's right, he's safe, with this." her facedown flipped over. "Breakthrough Skill negates Sanga's effect!" The brothers gasped as the lighting bolt Sanga was charging disappeared. She glanced back at Jaden, who nodded.
"But why stop there?" He asked with a grin. "I activate Koga's second effect! I can banish a HERO from my Graveyard and a monster I choose on the field loses attack points equal to that HERO." Bladedge came out of the Graveyard and Jaden held it up. "And thanks to Graceful Charity I put Bladedge there, which means Sanga loses 2600 attack points!"
"Our Life Points!" The Paradox Brothers looked on in horror as Sanga's attack points fell to zero. (ATK: 2600-0) Koga approached him quickly, driving both his blades in the thunder monster's head which caused a massive explosion.
Paradox Brothers: 4100
"Go Jaden!" Alexis cheered.
Jaden smirked as he ended his turn. They were throwing the Paradox Brothers for a loop if the mix of shock and anger on their faces was an indication. In their eyes they were losing against two normal kids. 'Wonder what their reaction would be if we told them who's kids we are?' He mused.
But the one who was the most shocked and the one who had a look of absolute horror on his face… was Crowler. "How could this be?!" He shrieked. "This isn't what was supposed to happen! They should be losing without issue, not the opposite! Let's hope that monster they're trying to summon finally ends that Slacker."
"Thanks to Ribbon of Rebirth Sanga returns to the field!" Dox said, snapping out of his angry daze. The thunder spirit appeared once again. (ATK: 2600/ DEF: 2200)
He drew his card. "I begin with Pot of Greed and draw two cards." Dox drew his extra cards. "I play Monster Reborn and bring back the frightful Jirai Gumo!" The giant spider returned to the field. (ATK: 2100/ DEF: 100)
"Then I use Tribute Doll! Sacrificing Jirai Gumo to summon Suijin!" The spider disappeared and it's place took a blue monster that resembled a pair of legs with a mouth on the midsection. (ATK: 2500/ DEF: 2400)
"But before we continue…" Dox held up a card. "Say goodbye to all your monsters! With Raigeki I destroy them all!" Jaden and Erina gasped as three lightning bolts came down and destroyed their monsters.
"Now I place their odds at 500 to 1." Bastion said.
"And what are the odds of you shutting up?" Alexis angrily asked.
"Guys, calm down." Syrus tried to keep things peaceful. "They'll pull through, so don't worry."
"I hope so, because the Paradox Brothers now have all three monsters needed." Chumley voiced his worry.
"Three monsters on our side, what could be better?" Para asked.
"I know, brother, when they come together." Dox replied.
"Suijin, Kazejin and Sanga of the Thunder, combine and create the ultimate monster! Gate Guardian!" Both brothers chanted. In a flash of light, a combination of the three monsters appeared. Sanga was the head and arms, Kazejin was the torso and Suijin was the legs. (ATK: 3750/ DEF: 3400)
Alexis gave Bastion a glare, waiting for him to say something, but it seemed like he learned his lesson and was keeping quiet, probably afraid for his well being if he spoke up.
"Lame…" Erina muttered to herself. So much work for such a weak monster.
"And with both of you wide open, you'll face his full might!" Dox laughed. "Gate Guardian, attack with Tidal Surge Attack!" The giant monster attacked, hitting Jaden with a high pressure stream of water.
Jaden & Erina: 4250
"Not licious…" Chumley muttered.
Erina confidently drew her card. "My turn!" She sighed mentaly. She had hoped that with Card Destruction she'd get a better hand to work with, but she didn't get lucky. 'I guess I still gotta play safe…'
She plucked a card from her hand. "I banish Dwarf Star Dragon Planeter in order to summon Black Dragon Collapserpent!" She took another card. "And I also banish Darkflare Dragon to summon White Dragon Wyverburster!" Collapserpent and another dragon appeared on the field, both curled up in defense. Wyverburster was a white and blue wyvern with a glowing blue chest. (ATK: 1800/ DEF: 1700) (ATK: 1700/ DEF: 1800)
"And with that, I end my turn." She turned to Jaden. "I leave it to you, Jaden!" He nodded in response.
"My turn!" Para drew. "I activate Card of Sanctity! Now we all draw until we hold six cards!" All four of them drew their extra cards, now holding full hands.
"Hahaha! You might think that your backs are against the wall, but in fact, the wall is right in front of you! I play Defense Wall!" Para summoned a strange brick wall with metal arms. (ATK: 0/ DEF: 2100) "It has a pretty nice special feature! As long as it is on the field in defense position, you cannot attack another monster than it!" He then slid two cards in his Disk. "I finish with this and pass it to you."
"The Gate Guardian on offense and that Defense Wall on defense." Bastion commented. He couldn't help himself from voicing his thoughts. "Almost flawless."
"Bastion…" Syrus mumbled in fear as he saw that Alexis and the other girls were at their breaking point and were probably going to hit him if he didn't stop.
"My turn! I draw!" Jaden drew his card, he held it up and another one from his hand. "I activate two copies of Miracle Fusion! I fuse Burstinatrix and Bubbleman to summon Elemental HERO Nova Master!" The two mentioned heroes appeared on the field and jumped into the vortex. "Then Voltic with Shadow Mist to summon Elemental HERO The Shining!" The other two heroes joined inside the vortex.
The first hero emerged out of the vortex. Nova Master was a tall male who wore a bright red and orange suit of armor, a red cape flowed freely behind him. As he landed on the ground, his feet scorched the field beneath him. (ATK: 2600/ DEF: 2100)
Right behind him was the other one. The Shining wore a white bodysuit with gold accents on it and red gems on select areas as well as one right in the middle of his face. Also, levitating on his back was a golden disk-like arch with eight points sticking out, resembling the sun. (ATK: 2600/ DEF: 2100)
"Oh wow, new heroes!" Syrus excitedly remarked.
"Yeah!" Chumley nodded, just as excited. "I wonder what licious effects they have?"
"The Shining has a very sweet effect." Jaden began to explain with a grin. "He gains 300 attack points for every banished Elemental HERO I have… and I count four!" Four of the eight points began to glow, powering the hero up. (ATK: 2600-3800)
"I activate Twin Twister!" Jaden held up a card. "By discarding a card in my hand, both of Para's facedowns are destroyed!" He explained as he discarded a card and two tornadoes blew up the facedowns.
"And now…" Jaden pointed at the stone wall. "Nova Master! Break through that wall! Scorching Napalm!" Jaden ordered and his hero was more than happy to oblige. He began to gather fire between his hands. The ball of fire grew and grew until it became larger than Nova Master himself. The fire hero threw it towards Defense Wall, breaking it like it was nothing.
Jaden drew a card. "Thanks to Nova Master's effect, every time he destroys a monster in battle, I get to draw a card! The Shining! Destroy Gate Guardian, Optical Storm!"
"Gate Guardian's cooked!" Para cried.
"I can hardly look!" Dox said.
The light hero flew high up in the air. He threw his arms to the side as the disk on his back began to glow. He then threw his hands forward as rays of light began to rain down on Gate Guardian, hitting him head on and causing a massive explosion.
Paradox Brothers: 4050
As the dust cleared, the crowd began to cheer.
"All right!" The gang cheered together.
"No no no! This can't be happening!" Crowler cried. "This was supposed to be punishment and the crowd's treating them like heroes! How could this be?!"
"Simple." Sheppard said, startling Crowler. "They're students of Duel Academy and we accept nothing but their best."
"Damn you, slacker…" Chazz grit his teeth in anger to the point where they creaked under the pressure. "You were supposed to lose!"
"Did you see that? Did you? Tell me you saw that?" Bastion asked, shocked that Jaden and Erina seem to not lose ground at all.
"Bastion, we're right next to you…" Syrus deadpanned. "Of course we did…"
Jaden slid three cards in his Disk and ended his turn. "Nice work." He heard Erina praise from her stop next to him.
"It's like you didn't believe I'd do it." Jaden joked with a grin.
"Mind if we join in on the praise, you two?" Para suddenly asked.
"Because for destroying Gate Guardian we should really… thank you." Dox said, confusing the pair.
"They say what doesn't kill you only makes you stronger." Dox said, drawing his card. "And it's true, after all, we're not beaten yet, in fact we're about to become more powerful than ever! I play Dark Element! This spell can only be played when Gate Guardian is in the graveyard. And by paying half our life points…"
Paradox Brothers: 2025
"Now we summon a monster that can't be destroyed in battle!" Para said.
"Dark Guardian!" Both brothers called out. Black smoke rose on the field, taking shape. It formed into an armored, burly man wielding an axe and instead of feet he had a giant spider. (ATK: 3800/ DEF: 3450)
"Invincible in battle and nearly 4000 attack points?" Bastion asked in shock.
"This is bad." Syrus shook his head.
"Jaden… Erina..." Alexis whispered.
"And with Axe of Despair, Dark Guardian gains 1000 extra attack points!" Dox said, making the duo's friends even more worried as Dark Guardian's axe was replaced with a wicked looking wooden axe. (ATK: 3800-4800) "And with Shrink, it looks even worse for you!" Nova Master's attack was halved. (ATK: 2600-1300)
"Dark Guardian! Attack Nova Master!" The giant swung his axe, splitting the fire hero clean in two.
Jaden & Erina: 750
The only ones who laughed in the whole arena were Crowler and Chazz.
"I place three cards facedown and call it a turn-" Dox said as he inserted his cards, but was interrupted by Jaden.
"Not so fast! I chain Form Change!" The reverse card flipped over. "With this, I can swap my The Shining with a Masked HERO from my Extra Deck, but it has to be the same level and a different attribute than him." Jaden explained and smirked. "Switch out and roll out, Level 8, Masked HERO Acid!"
The Shining got covered in a bright light before he disappeared. And his place took a male in dark blue armor. Plastered on his chest was a golden star with a red background behind it. The hero twirled a pistol in his hand before holstering it. (ATK: 2600/ DEF: 2100)
"And here's the real kicker." Jaden grinned. "When he's summoned, he destroys all spells and traps on your field!" He revealed, making Dox gasp in horror. "Oh, plus he takes away 300 attack points from your Dark Guardian." he added slyly.
"Go, Acid Rain!" The Masked HERO unholstered his pistol and began unleashing a barrage of purple acid, raining down on the Paradox Brothers' field, destroying all of their backrow and weakening Dark Guardian. (ATK: 4800-3500)
"An impressive monster." Para commended.
"I'd never thought they would be so hard. Never once did they falter." Dox praised.
"I know, we bombard and bombard. Oh well, at least our precious Dark Guardian…"
"... Has kept up his guard."
"Quite right, brother, he will not be blasted to shreds."
"He'll finish them off next turn…"
"And this duel will be ours!"
Erina's eyebrow twitched as she clenched her fists. All these stupid rhymes, the overconfidence, the absolutly abysmal strategy? It all made her reach her boiling point. "Shut up, shut up, shut up!" Her outburst shocked everyone including Jaden. "The stupid rhyming and that pathetic strategy… you went through all that trouble to summon not one, but two bad monsters who only have high attack and nothing else! Yeah, you lost one duel, but one of the people you lost to was an amateur at the time, so whoever said you guys were the top tag team was an even bigger moron than you two clowns!"
"How dare you!" Dox shouted.
"Who do you think you are, little girl?!" Para glared.
"Little girl?" Erina repeated. "I'm Erina freaking Kaiba and I've just about lost my patience!" She drew her card and took another one from her hand. "This duel is over! I activate the Ritual Spell, Chaos Form!" She shouted and as if reality itself began to crack like glass above her. "I offer Level 4 Black Dragon Collapserpent and Level 4 White Dragon Wyverburster!" The two dragons turned into black and white flames respectively before they shot up and hit the crack above the arena.
"Dragon with eyes of deepest blue… Break through the barrier between dimensions and rain destruction on those who stand in my way! Come forth, harbinger of the end, Level 8, Blue-Eyes Chaos MAX Dragon!"
Like glass, the sky broke open to a world of void as a massive creature flew out of it. Landing behind Erina and unleashing a deafening roar was a gigantic Blue-Eyes White Dragon, but it looked like it was made out of metal as it reflected light off its body and it had blue lights all over it. (ATK: 4000/ DEF: 0)
"My god, it's massive!" Bastion gasped.
"And it has 4000 attack points!" Syrus gasped as well.
"It only has 500 more attack points than Dark Guardian." Para mocked.
"And Dark Guardian is indestructible in battle, you can't win." Dox added.
"Reverse card open! Enemy Controller!" Jaden shouted. He was fired up by Erina's theatrics. "With this I force Dark Guardian to defense mode!" He declared and the giant monster crossed his arms.
"It's time to end this." Erina pressed a button on her Disk, flipping over her trap card. "Tyrant Wing!" Blue-Eyes' wings began to shine brightly. "This gives Blue-Eyes an extra attack on top of 400 attack points!" (ATK: 4000-4400) She then grinned evilly. "And here's the thing… Chaos MAX deals piercing damage… double in fact!"
"W-wait, that means…" Dox took a step back.
"That this is over! Chaos MAX Dragon! End this with Chaos Burst Rain!" Erina ordered. The giant dragon roared, charging a blast in it's mouth. It fired a dark blue flame out of its mouth, as well as blue rays of energy shot out of every light on its body, raining down on the Paradox Brothers' field and engulfing Dark Guardian in fire. The dust settled, revealing the twin brothers on the ground as their life points dwindled away.
Paradox Brothers: 0
It was silent for a few moments before the crowd went crazy and erupted in deafening cheers.
"They won!" Syrus and Chumley cheered and hugged each other.
"Yeah they did!" Jasmine and Mindy did the same.
"They won." Bastion said with a smile. "Well, well, they just keep on impressing me day after day."
"I'm just glad Jaden gets to stay at the Academy." Alexis said cheerfully.
"Don't you mean Jaden and Erina?" Bastion asked after hearing her say only his name. Jasmine and Mindy caught this as well and shared a smirk with each other. It seemed like the ice queen does have a heart.
"Of course! I'm glad that they both are staying." Alexis stammered. "I only said Jaden's name because… well… er… his name came up first!" She made an excuse. "A-anyway, let's go congratulate them!" She said and hurried off.
Chazz kicked the back of the seat in front of him so hard it bent. He got up and stormed off, his goons following suit. 'I'll get you myself, Slacker!'
"It can't be!" Crowler fell to the ground. "They won, they beat the legendary tag duelists. How could they?!"
"Obviously because of your splendid teachings." Banner said as he and Miss Fontaine came up to him. "Oh, but wait… they're our students!"
Miss Fontaine laughed slightly. "That's right! You can't get rid of them, Crowler, so stop trying." At that moment Pharaoh came up and licked the doctor's face.
"That furball just licked me!" Crowler freaked out. "Does it have rabies?! Let me see his papers! Call the pound!"
"We did it! Looks like another win under our belts, huh?" Jaden asked as he and Erina high fived and hugged each other. "Although, you were a bit much at the end there." He teased with a grin.
Erina turned to the side. "They were annoying and you know it, so shut it." She blushed a bit, embarrassed over the fact her temper got the better of her. Jaden just chuckled and let her off the hook this time.
"As decided…" Sheppard caught their attention. "Since you won, you won't be leaving Duel Academy, and the trespassing shall be forgotten. Just don't go there again, alright kids?" He asked lightheartedly. The two teens nodded.
They saw their friends come over to them. "Congratulations, you guys!" Chumley said as he enveloped both of them in a massive bear hug.
"Chum… need… air…" Erina struggled out.
Chumley quickly let them down and rubbed his head sheepishly. "Sorry guys, got a little excited."
"Glad you guys get to stay." Alexis said with a big smile on her face, while Jasmine and Mindy jumped Erina, excitedly telling her how cool she was at the end there.
As they were happily talking amongst each other, a surge of pain went through Jaden's head. He clutched it as his mind was filled with images of three giant beasts. One was a red serpent with massive wings, the other a yellow fiendish skeletal bird and the last a giant blue demon. The pain left just as quickly as it came, leaving Jaden to wonder what just happened. 'What the hell was that? What did I just see?' He wondered in confusion.
"Jaden, are you alright?" Alexis asked in concern after she saw him in pain.
"Yeah, don't worry." He reassured her with a smile. "Alright, let's go celebrate. I don't know about you guys, but I'm starving!" He said cheerily, trying to get attention away from what just happened. There's no way he could explain to them what it was, especially since he himself had no idea.
"Me too!" Erina added in, helping him out. She had no idea what happened either, but she would figure it out later. "I could go for something sweet."
The others dropped it after seeing that Jaden was as cheery as he usually was and headed to the cafeteria for a celebratory lunch.
Hmm, what could those three monsters be? *shrugs* No idea...
Honestly, I had a hard time with motivation for this one because well... I never liked this part in the show and the Paradox Brothers are really bad, as well as Gate Guardian. The only reason as to why Jaden and Syrus were losing in the show was because Syrus was an absolutely terrible duelist who can't stop himself and think for 5 seconds on what to do. So I think my version of this duel is what it would be when both players are competent and know what they're doing, plus al other decks are better than Gate Guardian.
But anyway, Alexis gave Jaden a kiss, yay! Though Jaden sees it as just a thank you. I do have a set chapter I'd like for them to get together (no, it's not that one!), so expect more fluff between the two.
Also, I'm not ashamed to admit that the chant for Chaos MAX was inspired by Yuya's for Odd-Eyes Raging Dragon. I'm currently watching arc-v for the first time and decided why not? Chaos MAX is honestly my favorite looking Blue-Eyes monster and a chant seems appropriate for a Ritual Monster.
Hope you guys enjoyed this one, please review and all that jazz. Till next time! Stay safe!