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: Hey guys! Sorry for the delay, I haven't had much free time or energy to write this past month. Had a lot on my plate recently so yeah... But, here I am with the mandatory tournament arc every season of Yu-Gi-Oh! has!
I've also just noticed that this story has surpassed the 100 favorites and follows mark which is quite surprising. Thank you for entertaining me by following along and I will make sure to entertain you with what I write. We are very close to the Shadow Riders and I can't wait! If all goes well and I manage to articulate my thoughts into the English language, it will be good.
Lord Destroyer: Well, you gotta suspend your disbelief a bit. This is a fictional world after all where people could easily be oblivious to something like this. Now, this isn't like how no one recognizes Superman just because he wears a pair of glasses. There are a few key elements that have helped Jaden stay hidden throughout the years. I've mentioned some of them, but the biggest one is revealed in the next chapter.
Is my logic here stupid? Probably, but it's what I'm going with, sorry.
E.T. 2000: Yes, I will be introducing the Synchro mechanic in my story, but it will be when I get to season 2. I actually kinda regret not having it from the beginning. The reason I didn't is because I've noticed that people don't like Synchros in GX, but I've since decided "screw it, I'm adding them". It expands the card pool I could work with by a lot and my OC's original deck was going to be a Synchro deck, a really fun one at that. So, yeah, I'll be adding them and those two dragons.
Anyways, enjoy the read and see ya at the bottom!
It was an early and busy morning for the staff of Duel Academy. And a certain shop owner was down at the loading docks, directing the workmen as a shipment of supplies and cards had arrived.
"Keep it moving, fellas! Keep it moving!" Dorothy said as she clapped her hands to about a dozen workers running around, unloading boxes and crates from the boat's cargo area to the loading dock. She began to point at different areas. "Cards go there, food there and everything else goes there!"
She was about to yell something out again, but stopped when she heard some noise behind her. She turned and looked down at the water that crashed along the dock. She could've sworn she heard something, but it must've been her imagination.
Shrugging, she turned back to see that the workers had stopped moving the cargo and were looking at her.
"C'mon, I didn't say it was break time!" She clapped again, urging them to get back to work. "Move it, move it, move it!"
If Dorothy had kept her eyes down at the water for a few more moments, she would've seen a dark form moving beneath the waves. The figure made its way past the docks and towards a rocky outcropping. The figure reached the surface and pulled itself onto the rocks.
The figure was a tall man with long hair tied in a ponytail, wearing a wetsuit and scuba equipment. He threw a waterproof duffle bag onto the rocks as he pulled off his snorkel and looked up, smiling, at the building at the center of the island.
"There it is, the scoop of a lifetime: Duel Academy!" He began taking off the gear and wetsuit, eyes never leaving the building. "Now let's go see what kind of dirt I can dig up on the story that will make me my fortune!" He laughed.
"ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?!"
Crowler screeched like a crow as he slammed his fists on the oval table in the teachers' meeting room. Where he, Professor Banner, Miss Fontaine, Sartyr and Chancellor Sheppard were having a meeting. Along with them was Zane, who stood next to the Chancellor with his arms crossed.
"The School Duel between Duel Academy and North Academy is the biggest match of the year!" Crowler shrieked. "We can't take any chances! So it's clear that Zane should be our rep!" He pointed at the boy in question.
Sheppard nodded, ignoring the buzzing noise in his ears from Crowler's high pitched screaming. "Yes, Zane is our best student, but he's a third year and I've received word that North Academy will be using a first year this time around."
"Why would they do that?" He asked in surprise.
"Who knows…" Sheppard shrugged. "But, in the spirit of competition I think we should have a first year represent us as well." He turned to the elder Truesdale. "You understand, don't you, Zane?"
"Of course, Chancellor. "Zane nodded.
"Good." Sheppard smiled and turned to his fellow faculty members. "Now then, the only question left is who this first year should be?"
Before anyone could say anything, Zane closed his eyes and replied. "Jaden Yuki."
Sheppard smiled at that, Jaden was an excellent student to represent them. If not for his studies, it's for his dueling. Who knows, he might even inspire his fellow classmates to do better. And while the idea intrigued the Chancellor, it made Crowler cringe.
Banner nodded as he gently ran his fingers through Pharaoh's fur. "I agree, Jaden is the best of our new students." He looked down at his cat. "Don't you agree, Pharaoh?"
Pharaoh mewled in response.
Crowler threw his arms up in exasperation. "Oh, well if the cat says so…"
"Chancellor…" Zane turned to address the Headmaster. "Jaden will make Duel Academy proud, trust me."
Sheppard nodded, a big smile plastered on his face. "Alright then, it's decided…" He put his arms on the table lazily. "Unless of course, someone else has other suggestions?" He looked at his colleagues.
Crowler grit his teeth in anger, the thought of Jaden representing the school utterly disgusted him. 'Jaden Yuki… That Slifer Slacker! Every time he does something good, it makes me look bad… like with the Paradox Brothers! He can't represent us! It should be someone else! Think! There has to be someone else…'
"That's it!" He suddenly shouted, startling the others. "Bastion Misawa! He should represent us!" He cried.
"Bastion?" The Chancellor asked, intrigued by the suggestion.
"Oh yes!" Crowler climbed onto the table and crawled his way towards his superior. "He's far more qualified. He scored second best on the written exam of all new students, only being slightly behind Erina Kaiba, and managed to beat Chazz in a duel. His dueling skills and grades are remarkable!" He reached Sheppard and leaned closer. "It should be him!"
Sheppard instantly backed off, uncomfortable with how close Crowler was.
"Well, if we're making suggestions, I have some of my own." Miss Fontaine said, gathering their attention. "My two best girls, Erina Kaiba and Alexis Rhodes!" She smiled. "Both are top of their class and their dueling skills are up there with Jaden's. I say they're an even better pick than Bastion."
Zane almost laughed out loud. If things were going in the direction he thought they were, then Jaden would be up against the three other people on this island that would give him a challenge. There was something bothering him ever since he watched Jaden duel Dimitri. He needed answers and this is how he'd get one of them.
"My, this is turning out to be quite interesting." Banner chuckled. "All four of them are excellent candidates. But, how will we choose which one of them will be our representative?"
Sheppard smiled at the idea that came to mind. "We can have a Duel Off tournament and the winner will be the one representing us. What do you think?" Everyone nodded in agreement. "Then it's settled!"
"All that is left is to decide who duels who." Miss Fontaine pointed out. "But how are we going to go about it so that it's fair for everyone?"
"I have a suggestion." Zane chimed in. "How about the way they did it at the Battle City finals?" He offered. "It starts off with a free for all duel where the first two to lose will face each other in the first match and the two left standing will be the second one. Then the winners of those matches will face each other."
"That's an excellent idea!" Sheppard leaned back into his seat, glad that they settled this quickly. "That's how we'll do it then! Banner, you have class with them first, don't you? I'm leaving it to you to inform the kids about this."
"Of course, sir." Banner nodded, quite excited himself to see his students duel. " I'll make sure they're well informed."
"This one will be for the history books, Chancellor." Zane smiled at the Headmaster.
After entering the building undetected and dodging groups of students and staff, the mysterious man snuck into a nearby locker room and began digging through them. He smiled when he found a Slifer blazer in one of the unlocked lockers.
"Gotta blend in somehow…" He snickered, taking off his own jacket and putting the blazer over his blue shirt.
"For real, Professor?!"
Banner smiled as he heard Jaden's excitement at the news he just told the class. "Yes, Jaden, you, Erina, Alexis and Bastion will be dueling in a small tournament tomorrow to see who will represent us in the School Duel against North Academy."
Jaden and Erina instantly turned to each other, giving one another a challenging look. This was an official match with official rules, meaning it will go on the scoreboard. Erina needed to win no matter what. Jaden was in the lead by three wins and she needed to catch up.
They both nodded at each other and looked up towards the upper rows, spotting Bastion smiling down at them and Alexis a few rows above him doing the same.
The rest of the class began murmuring amongst each other, getting excited about watching the matches between these four.
"Aw man, this will be legendary!" A chubby Ra exclaimed.
"I know, right? The top duelists of our class will be duking it out!" His friend said.
"I get to watch Erina Kaiba duel? I'm so excited!" An Obelisk girl squealed.
"I bet you that cutie, Jaden, is going to win this…" Another girl said to her friend.
"Who's dueling who?" Erina turned to ask the Professor.
Banner chuckled at their excitement as he leaned forward and propped his head on his arms. "Tomorrow after class, you four will duel in a free for all match to determine who faces who."
"No way!" Erina gasped and turned to Jaden, who looked just as surprised as she was. "We're really gonna do it!"
"I know, right?!" Jaden grinned, practically bouncing on his feet. "We've been waiting for a match like this since forever!" This is the type of duel they've always wanted to try out ever since their parents told them about Battle City.
Banner couldn't help himself and laughed. This is the type of enthusiasm he loved out of his students. "No matter the outcome of the matches, I wish you all the best of luck." He said and dismissed the class.
"Way to go, guys!" Syrus walked up to his friends. "You might be in the School Duel!" He said to Jaden, looking just as excited as he was.
"No Slifer's ever done that before!" Chumley added. "You'd make Duel Academy history!"
"Aw shucks…" Jaden rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "You think so?" Hearing footsteps, they turned to see Alexis and Bastion come over. "Well, I hope you guys are ready, because I'm gonna be playing to win."
"Same here." Erina smirked and crossed her arms. "Just a fair bit of warning for you two, since this is a tournament, I won't be pulling any punches. So if you want to have a chance of winning this, you gotta duel me with everything you've got. I won't accept anything less than your best!" She leaned closer to Alexis. "That goes doubly so for you, girlie." She warned with a smirk.
Alexis was taken aback by the threat. She hasn't really heard Erina talk like this before, she guessed this might be the Kaiba blood in her talking. "Oh, don't worry." She smirked, determination clearly visible in her eyes. "I'm not planning on losing, especially against you, Jaden." She looked at her boyfriend. They might be together now, but that doesn't mean she will go easy on him. Plus she has to even the score between them.
"No matter how I look at it, I won't get to duel all three of you tomorrow." Bastion shook his head. "But just so you know, I've been brewing strategies against you three since my duel with Chazz. And I might've seen you two duel only once during the Entrance Exams…" He looked at the girls. "But that was more than enough to develop a sound strategy against you."
"Oh, yeah…" Erina remembered his promise after his duel against Chazz. "You said a while back that you'll develop counters against us. So, you're finally done?"
"Not yet." Bastion shook his head. "But I'll be done before tomorrow for sure." He said confidently and smiled at all three of them. "I hope to have a great duel against you all. See you tomorrow." He turned and walked away.
"Wow… Bastion is gonna make a whole deck just to face you guys…" Syrus mumbled.
"I dunno if you should be honored or scared." Chumley added.
"Man, this is getting me pumped!" Jaden said, bubbling with excitement. "I'm really curious to see what Bastion has prepared."
"Well, the exciting thing for me is seeing you two duel seriously for once." Syrus said, confusing Jaden. "You and Erina always fool around when I watch you duel, so it'll be interesting to see you two go at it seriously for once."
"That could happen if we match up against each other." Jaden agreed and turned to the bluenette, giving her a smug smirk. "You're ready to lose again, right?"
"Me?" She scoffed. "Not this time. I've been playing around with a couple of new cards, so you'll be in unknown waters, Jaden." She turned and left to go prepare for tomorrow. It was meant as a threat, but she knew it would only excite him more.
"I'll get going too. I need to prepare as well." Alexis smiled and stepped a bit closer to him. "I'll still see you later, right?" She whispered so that the others wouldn't hear her.
"Yeah…" Jaden nodded as she took off. He couldn't get the grin off his face. This was going to be so much fun!
Later in the day, the mysterious man was walking around the academy's halls. Now after dawning the perfect disguise, a Slifer blazer, he's free to scope the place out without arousing suspicion.
As he walked around, he spotted a couple of people in blue blazers coming his way and smiled. "Hey, fellow duelists." He greeted and walked up to them. "What's shakin' around here?"
The leader of the Obelisk group rudely pushed him aside. "Out of the way, Slifer Slime!"
"Hey…" He called back to the Obelisk boys, but they ignored him. He turned to see a kid in yellow come by. "Hey, how's it going?"
"Beat it, Slifer Sludge!" The Ra hissed, pushing him away too.
The man shook his head in defeat. "Man, what's going on here? Why won't anyone talk to me?"
"Yo!"
The man jumped slightly and turned around. He saw a kid wearing the same color blazer as him. The boy had a unique dual colored hairstyle and a questioning look on his face, he saw that he was accompanied by two more boys with the same blazer.
"Oh… uh, hey…" He greeted nervously.
Jaden looked him over. "Aren't you a bit old to be a student?" He asked after a few seconds of silence.
The man was taken aback by the question and began to panic, thinking his cover was about to get blown. He relaxed slightly when the blue haired boy intervened.
"Come on, Jaden…" Syrus scolded slightly. "He could've just been held back a few years? No reason to shame him for it."
'Jaden?' The man got curious about the name. It sounded familiar for some reason, like he'd heard it somewhere before.
Jaden eyed him for a few more seconds before he smiled and threw an arm around the man's shoulders. "Eh, sorry about that. So it took a while for you to get accepted? Don't be ashamed, old timer! Come one, I'll show you around!" He dragged the man towards the arena. His mind was filled with doubt and suspicion though. This man was too old to be a student here, nor is he a teacher either given he was wearing a student's uniform. Something wasn't right and he was going to figure out what exactly this guy was here for.
It was the evening of the same day and after spending a good chunk of it showing this old guy around campus, Jaden and the others were back at the Slifer Dorm, having dinner in the mess hall.
The man looked down at his food, questioning if it was even edible.
He looked up across the table and saw Jaden practically inhaling the food into his mouth.
"You might wanna hurry up…" Jaden said in between mouthfuls. "Or you won't get seconds."
"Seconds?" The guy asked.
"Or thirds…" Jaden added, continuing to shovel food into his mouth.
"And sometimes fourths." Chumley shook his head. "I still don't get how you eat so much and still stay in shape."
Syrus smiled at the odd look the old guy had. "They were gonna add a garbage disposal, but Jaden and Chumley got it covered."
"I-I see… well then…" The old guy decided to dig in as well, surprised that it actually tastes good despite its appearance.
After dinner and after the sun had set, Jaden, Chumley, Syrus and the new guy were in the two Slifers room, watching Jaden as he was going through his deck, which was currently spread out on the floor.
"Jaden, are you not at least a bit nervous about tomorrow?" Syrus asked his friend, who looked completely relaxed and unbothered. It made no sense to him… How could Jaden be so calm with something as big as this?
"Nah…" Jaden shook his head. "Why would I? If anything I'm that more excited about it. Everyone will be giving it their all, so it will be that much more fun and enjoyable." He explained.
"I wonder what deck Bastion has worked up for tomorrow?" Chumley asked. "He's been hyping it up, so it's gotta be good."
"Dunno, Chum, but he's put some serious time and effort into it, so it's gonna be quite something at least." Jaden said as he began collecting his cards.
'I'll never get my story if I keep hanging around these twerps…' The old timer thought, frustrated before he noticed something on the floor. It was a card, he bent down and picked it up, scowling when he saw what it was. 'Skyscraper… the card that ruined me…' His thoughts brought him to the last time he dueled. It was against Seto Kaiba, he tried to make a comeback with Skyscraper, but he only ended up getting humiliatingly defeated.
"You okay, old timer?"
"Stop calling me that!" The man snapped, turning to Jaden. "My name is Gerard!" He said, instantly regretting it. 'Shit, I used my real name!' He groaned inwardly, trying to keep a straight face.
"Cool, Gerard it is then." Jaden smiled, and noticed the card he was holding. "Hey, it's my Skyscraper." He looked up at him as he took his card back. "You like the card too?"
"Please…" He scoffed and looked away. "To like this card, you'd have to like dueling too…" He muttered.
Syrus tilted his head. "If you don't like dueling, why are you here?"
"Oh! Uh…" Gerard began to panic. "You see…I, uh… I-I don't like it because I'm not very good at it!" He lied.
Jaden eyed him suspiciously, while Chumley nodded with a smile. "I get how you feel, I'm not very good at it either. But, that's changing and it's all thanks to Jaden. Watching him duel changed the way I look at dueling."
Syrus turned to Gerard, an idea coming to mind. "That's it! Gerard, if you watch Jaden duel, you might get into dueling more and the perfect chance is coming up! There's gonna be a tournament tomorrow, you should drop by and watch!"
"Yeah, sure…" Gerard nodded, a fake smile on his face. 'Please, I'm done with dueling. These kids should mind their own business.' But then he thought of something. 'Wait… seeing that these kids like to pry, maybe I can use them to get the scoop I need!' He put on a pleasant and friendly smile as he turned to the boys. "So, you guys, I was wondering if you knew about a rumor going around about kids disappearing?"
Jaden's suspicion skyrocketed. "You mean like the whole Abandoned Dorm rumor?" He asked and could see Gerard's eyes light up more.
"Abandoned Dorm rumor?" Gerard asked back.
Jaden nodded. "Yeah, we got curious about all the ghost stories the upperclassmen were telling and checked it out some time ago and well…" He smiled nervously. "It's run down beyond repair, so they forbid anyone from entering due to it being a safety hazard. They even have guards patrolling now because they caught us there." He shrugged, hoping the lie would convince this guy. "It's nothing more than just an old rundown building and a ghost story people made up to entertain themselves." This guy shows up out of nowhere and wants to know about the missing students? Yeah, he definitely had malicious intent.
Syrus and Chumley were confused over what Jaden said, but one look from him told them they should go with it and keep quiet about this.
Gerard studied Jaden's face the whole time and he had to admit, this kid was pretty good at lying. If he was anyone else, he would have convinced them, but he knew there was something up with that Dorm and he was going to find out no matter what.
"Well, I'm off!" Jaden said as he pocketed his deck.
"Already?" Syrus sounded a bit disappointed. "You've been calling it early every day for the past week, Jay... That's not like you at all. What's up?"
Jaden scratched his cheek awkwardly. "I'm just… catching up on my studies, yeah!" It was the best thing he came up with. "Okay, see y'all tomorrow!" He waved and quickly left the room before they could ask further questions.
"That was a terrible excuse." Yubel said with an amused tone in her voice as she appeared next to him. "You can't hide it forever, you know that, right?"
"I know, I know, it's the first thing that came to mind... And we aren't planning on hiding it forever. We just want to enjoy this privately for a few weeks before we tell everyone." Jaden said mentally as he entered his room. "But onto more pressing matters… You should keep an eye on this guy just in case, Yubel. He's after something and it's not good."
"Got it, I'll keep an eye on him. You just enjoy your date." She winked as she phased through the wall. Leaving Jaden alone to get ready.
A bit later into the night, Alexis placed a rose by the old rusty gates of the rundown dorm.
"Be at peace, brother, wherever you are…" She whispered a small prayer. "I promise we'll find you soon."
A rustling sound from behind caused the Obelisk Queen to whip around. "Who's there?!" She demanded.
From the tree line, Gerard stepped out into view. After Jaden had left, he ditched the other two Slifers after hearing about this place and here he was, checking it out.
"Why hello there." He waved with a smile.
"Do I know you?" Alexis asked coldly.
"Uh yeah… I've seen you around." Gerard said. "Listen, I heard some students had gone missing here." He glanced at the old dorm behind her. "Would you happen to know anything about this?"
Alexis squeezed her fists and scowled. "What's it to you, ponytail?"
He just smiled. "Just curious is all…"
"Well you can stay curious for all I care!" She snapped, glaring at him. "Those students are not for your amusement! You should mind your own business and leave! …Now!" She yelled when he didn't move.
"Okay, okay… I'm leaving." Gerard backed away, deciding it was better to come back later when she's gone. 'What's her problem?' He asked himself as he entered the forest again.
Unknown to him, Yubel was hovering above , watching his every move with a displeased look on her face. She's getting a better idea as to what Gerard was after and she didn't like it one bit.
A few minutes later, Alexis once again heard noise from behind her. Thinking it was that guy again, she was visibly ticked off, so she turned around, ready to yell at him to get lost, but stopped herself as she saw that it was Jaden, who was staring at her in surprise with a rose in his hand.
"Lex?" He went and hugged her, concerned as to why she was upset. "Everything alright?" He asked gently as he kissed her cheek.
"Yeah…" She sighed and hugged him back, smiling as a warm and fuzzy feeling began to replace her anger. "There was just this guy who came here earlier asking about the missing students…"
She was startled when Jaden suddenly pulled away and placed his hands on her shoulders. "A tall old dude with a ponytail, right?"
"Yeah, that's him. How did you know?" She asked, equally surprised and confused.
Jaden looked concerned as he crossed his arms over his chest. "We met that guy today and it seemed weird to me that an old dude like him would be a student here. So we spent the day showing him around and to keep an eye on him. I got really suspicious when he asked about the missing students, so I told him this was nothing else but a rundown building." He sighed. "But, it seems I wasn't convincing enough…"
"Do you think he's connected to Atticus' disappearance?" The blonde asked instantly.
"No, I don't think so…" Jaden shook his head. "He wouldn't be going around asking random students about it if he was." He felt a pang in his chest when he saw the depressed look on her face. He really wished he could summon Atticus right here, but he can't… Jaden had spent days looking through the Realms of Darkness for him, but he wasn't there which in of itself was worrying.
"Then why does he want to know about the missing students?" Alexis asked, trying to think of a reason as to why this guy was snooping around. She couldn't think of anything solid, in her eyes there was nothing to gain with this information, but it was obvious this man was going to do something bad with it.
She was brought out of her pondering by a sudden kiss on the cheek. "Don't worry your pretty little head with this, okay?" He gave her a quick head pat. "I'll look into it tomorrow." Jaden smiled and went over to place his rose, while Alexis stood there, blushing profusely from what he did.
'Why did he do that?!' Alexis complained in her mind, feeling how hot her cheeks had gotten. While she loves the affection Jaden gives her, what he just did was really embarrassing. 'I'm not a kid for him to pat my head- He did it to get a reaction out of me!' The blonde pouted slightly when she realized it. That damn smile he had was all too telling.
Jaden knelt down in front of the gate and placed his rose next to Alexis'. "I promise I'll find you, bro… For both of your sakes." He whispered and smiled slightly. "And I promise to take extra good care of her until you're back…"
He rose to his feet and went back over to Alexis. He tilted his head slightly as he saw the slightly irked expression she had. "What's wrong?" He asked and as a response, she reached out, squeezed and twisted his nose. "Ow!" Jaden yelped and pulled back, clutching his nose in pain. "What was that for?!"
"Just because…" Alexis shrugged. "Now come on!" She reached out and grabbed one of his hands, slipping her fingers in between his. "This morning you promised me a stroll on the beach." She smiled as she pulled him along.
Jaden just looked dumbfounded at her as he rubbed his nose, wondering why did she do that? 'Guess she figured it out... At least she's in a better mood now.' He shook his head as he fell into step with her. "So, are you ready for tomorrow?"
"Mhm…" She nodded. "I worked in the cards you gave me perfectly. Are you finally going to tell me how you knew what's in my deck?"
"It's a secret~" Jaden wagged his finger playfully. "Mind giving me a sneak peak?" He tried.
"Nope!" And failed. "You'll have to wait till tomorrow to see it."
"It was worth a shot…" His shoulders slumped, and hearing Alexis giggle at his disappointment made him slump even more.
While Jaden and Alexis were enjoying their date, Bastion was in his dorm room, doing research on his computer. He was studying the decks of his three opponents, still trying to figure out the best strategies to beat them.
He typed away on his keyboard. "Countless equations, a myriad of theorems, yet still…" He rubbed his chin, eyes never leaving the screen. "Erina's deck…" He clicked his mouse a few times until a set of powerful monsters appeared on his screen. "High level monsters that are easy to summon and have powerful effects to boot… Even the slightest mistake against her could cost me the duel."
He clicked a few times again, displaying Jaden's trusted HEROES on the screen. "Jaden's HEROES… strong and versatile Fusion archetype with countless Spell and Trap cards to aid them. Their effects vary, meaning they could deal with different situations. No easy way to shut them down either…"
He clicked his mouse again, displaying the very limited range of cards he knew Alexis used. "Alexis' deck… I know very little about it, so I can't create a reliable strategy against it, but there's a chance she uses Fusion Monsters like Jaden does... If not, I need to have a powerful monster she can't take down easily."
Bastion sighed as he leaned back into his chair, putting his hands behind his head. 'Think, Bastion, think!' He racked his brain. "I could assemble multi-card strategies to counter those decks, but that leaves way too much to chance. There must be a simple way to neutralize them…"
And that's when it hit him…
"Of course, that's it!" Bastion sat up, reaching out and his fingers flew across the keyboard. "It was so obvious! Jaden Yuki, Erina Kaiba, Alexis Rhodes… consider the codes to your decks cracked!" He hit the Enter key and smirked at the cards displayed in his screen.
"So that's what he's after?"
Jaden paused for a moment, his shirt halfway down his chest. It was the next morning and Yubel told him what Gerard was after as he was getting ready to head out.
"Yes…He's going to ruin the school and the lives of hundreds just for a paycheck." Yubel said, disgust clearly visible on her face. "I've dealt with greed before, but this? This is just vile…"
"Good thing we're not going to let him get away with it." Jaden assured as he gave his deck a quick shuffle and put it into the deck box on his belt. "He is probably counting on everyone being in the arena today. That way he can freely dig for whatever information he's looking for."
"Smart plan, but it will be fruitless in the end…" Yubel smirked, looking over her hand as shadows swirled around her fingers and formed a small ball. "I'll be keeping an eye on him while you're dueling today."
Jaden nodded, putting his jacket on. "Alright, if he tries to leave the island before I can confront him, stop him however you see fit…" He paused as he was putting his Duel Disk on. "Just don't fry his brain, please?" He half joked after seeing her play with the shadow ball in her hand.
His Guardian rolled her eyes. "You know I don't do that anymore…" She crushed the shadow ball in her hand. "Anyway, make sure to eat breakfast, you'll need the energy for today." She said in a motherly tone before disappearing from the room.
"You're such a mom sometimes..." Jaden muttered in amusement as he left for the mess hall. He hoped they had stocked up on food, because he was definitely planning on cleaning them out today.
The arena was jam packed with people, all of them eager to watch the Duel Off Tournament. Syrus and Chumley were glad to have found seats closer to the ring, waiting to see the battle between their friends.
Zane was also there, at his usual spot up by the railing. His curiosity was breaking through his usually emotionless exterior. These four were amongst the best duelists in the entire school, so it's only natural that he'd be interested to see who was the best among them. There was also the fact that he'd finally get the answer to the question that was plaguing him.
But, there was one person who was more eager to watch the duels than anyone else, not because of the tournament itself, but because he was confident that Jaden would lose today. The Head of Obelisk Blue stepped onto the arena as all four of the duelists were waiting to be called on stage.
"It's time, duelists!" Crowler raised his hands dramatically. "To find out who will be representing our most illustrious academy in the annual School Duel!" Cheers erupted all around as the doctor nodded, taking in the applause before he gestured to the left. "For our first match, all four nominees will duke it out in a free for all match to determine who faces whom!"
The crowd cheered as Crowler caught his breath. "First, introducing from the Obelisk Blue Dorm, Alexis Rhodes!" The cheers were booming as the beautiful Queen of Obelisk stepped onto the platform, waving politely and taking her spot in the ring.
"Ha! You owe me a grilled cheese!" Chumley grinned at his friend.
"Damn it…" Syrus sighed, depressed that he'd be giving up his food tomorrow. They made a bet as to who's going to be announced first; Alexis or Erina. "I really thought it would be Erina."
"Well, Erina has insulted Crowler multiple times before, so this was a no brainer if you ask me." The portly boy responded cheekily.
"Next up, also from Obelisk Blue, Erina Kaiba!"
The cheering intensified even more as the stunning bluenette stepped onto the ring, a serious look on her face as she took her stop, arms crossed under her chest.
"We believe in you, girls!" Jasmine and Mindy cheered from their spot among the crowd.
"Next, introducing from the Ra Yellow Dorm, Bastion Misawa!"
The cheers from his fellow Ras intensified as Bastion took his spot. He looked calm and ready.
"And next…" Crowler waved lazily. "From Slifer… some kid." He said, devoid of any enthusiasm, but to his displeasure the cheering was just as loud as they were before.
"Dick…" Erina said loud enough for the doctor to hear, who got red in the face for a moment.
Jaden ran up to the ring, full of energy and excitement as he grinned and waved at the crowd.
"Go Jaden!" Both Slifers cheered as loud as they could.
"Hope you're ready." Bastion said to his opponents, a confident smile on his face.
"We'll see if you can keep up." Erina said with a challenging smirk.
"Remember." Crowler began. "This is only to determine who faces who. The first two to lose will duel first and the two left standing will be second, then the winners of the two matches will face off in the final to see who will be our representative."
The four nodded.
'So… who do I wanna face?' Jaden thought with his foot as he looked around. 'I already dueled Alexis, but it would be fun to see how she incorporated the cards I gave her into her deck.' His eyes moved to Erina. 'We duel almost daily, so it won't be Erina, although it would be funny to make her angry by adding another win to the scoreboard.' His eyes then fell on Bastion. 'Bastion's gotten me curious with that deck of his though...'
'I need to win this, then only one of them would remain for me to beat in order to become the best freshman.' Bastion thought.
'Looks like Jaden found his target.' Erina noticed him looking in Bastion's direction. 'Good, because I know who I want to duel first.' She looked to the side. 'And that's you, Lexi!'
'This won't be easy.' Alexis thought to herself. 'Even now the pressure coming out of both Erina and Jaden is crushing, but I won't lose my cool!' She told herself.
"Now, in order to decide the order you'll be taking your turns, each of you will choose a monster from your decks and you will go in order of the attack points of your monster, highest first, second highest goes second, you get the gist of it." Crowler said. "But, the downside is that you are not allowed to use the card during this duel!"
Erina and Jaden already knew this, but Alexis and Bastion were a little shocked by this rule.
"Aw man, now they have to decide which card they are willing to give up for this duel." Chumley muttered.
"Yeah." Syrus nodded. "Which is kinda bad if you want to go first, but still want to use your strong monster."
'Definitely won't be going first.' Jaden thought. With a deck like his it's better to react to whatever the others bring out.
'It's a good thing that this is just a draft duel.' Alexis thought. 'My deck is built in a way that I need all of my monsters…'
'This is difficult…' Bastion frowned slightly as he looked at his cards.
Erina fanned her deck, picking a card out without hesitation.
"Present your cards!" Crowler said.
Bastion revealed Vorse Raider. (ATK: 1900)
Jaden revealed Clayman. (ATK: 800)
Alexis revealed Cyber Tutu. (ATK: 1000)
Everyone looked in shock at what Erina was holding... Blue-Eyes Chaos MAX Dragon. (ATK: 4000)
"O-Okay…" Crowler nodded. "The order is this; Erina is first, Bastion second, then Alexis, and then the Slifer… Also, neither of you can attack on your first turn!"
'Let the fun begin…' Jaden smirked.
While everyone was busy with the tournament, Gerard had snuck into the library and was now sitting at an empty desk, a small PDA linked with the computer on it. Gerard smiled as he waited for the password to the database to be cracked. "Let's see what I can dig up on these kids." He then grimaced as he remembered his conversation with those kids. "And get that Jaden kid out of your head. You have a fortune to make." Although, as much as he tried, he couldn't stop thinking about Jaden's name and where he had heard it before.
Unknown to him, Yubel was hovering behind him, watching his every action. She realized something when she saw the database. She might have to break her promise in the end if this guy manages to access Jaden's file.
His safety is her top concern after all.
"Now!" Crowler raised his hands. "Without further ado-"
"It's time to duel!" Jaden smirked.
"Get ready to lose!" Bastion smiled.
"Yeah, because I'm going to beat all of you!" Alexis smirked as well.
Erina scoffed. "I promise you, I'll be the only one standing in the end!"
"Let's duel!" All of them drew their starting hands.
Erina: 4000
Bastion: 4000
Alexis: 4000
Jaden: 4000
"I hope you're ready! My draw!" Erina drew her card and seeing what it was, she played it. "I summon Paladin of Felgrand in attack mode!" A male knight with short blond hair, clad in shining armor with gold trim appeared on the field. Brandishing his saber as his white cloak fluttered behind him. (ATK: 1700/ DEF: 300)
A card popped out of her deck and she took it in her hand. "When Paladin of Felgrand is summoned to the field, I can equip a Level 7 or 8 Dragon from my deck or hand to him." She slipped the card under her monster and a ghostly image of Divine Dragon Lord Felgrand appeared behind the knight before it vanished into him. "Paladin of Felgrand is unaffected by other monster effects as long as he has an Equip Card equipped to him." She slid another card into her Disk. "I end my turn with three facedowns."
"My turn now!" Bastion drew. "I'll summon Beta The Electromagnet Warrior!" A light pink humanoid made of magnets appeared on the field. (ATK: 1500/ DEF: 1500) "When Beta is summoned, I am allowed to add one level 4 or lower Magnet Warrior from my deck to my hand!" A card popped out of Bastion's deck. "So I'll be adding Alpha the Electromagnet Warrior! Then, I'll finish off with two facedowns!" Two reversed cards appeared in front of him.
"I'm up!" Alexis drew. "I summon Blade Skater in defense mode!" The elegant ice skater appeared on the field, kneeling with her arms crossed. (ATK: 1400/ DEF: 1500) She then took two cards from her hand. "I'll end with two facedowns."
"Alright, my turn!" Jaden drew his card. "Here's something new, Elemental HERO Blazeman!" He slapped the card on the Disk and the new HERO appeared on the field. He wore a black and silver spandex suit, a thick red metal chest plate that extended into an upturned collar to protect his neck and an expressionless orange mask with flames coming off of it that spilled backwards like hair, and to finish off his look he had six flaming beads dangling from his back on chains. (ATK: 1200/ DEF: 1800)
"When this guy is summoned to the field, he allows me to add a Polymerization to my hand." Jaden explained as he pulled the card from his deck.
"Licious, now Jaden can follow up with a fusion monster if he wants to!" Chumley said.
"I'll throwdown a couple of facedowns and call it a turn." Jaden said as he inserted two cards in his Disk.
'Now the interesting part begins…' Zane thought as he observed the duel from his spot.
"And now, let the fight…" Erina drew. "Begin!"
"I activate my Continuous Trap Card!" Bastion suddenly said, his card flipping over. "Imperial Iron Wall! Now neither of us can banish cards while this is on the field, but more importantly, you can't make your plays!"
"Oh? You're trying to stop me from summoning my Chaos monsters?" Erina smirked. "Cute." She slapped a card on her Disk. "I summon Dragon Knight of Creation!" In a flash of light, a humanoid dragon knight appeared on the field, clad in shiny gold armor that covered everything but his abdomen and upper arms. A golden helmet with two horns protruding from the top and long dark red hair flowed out of it. The knight brandished his giant claymore in one hand, ready for battle. (ATK: 1800/ DEF: 600)
"Dragon Knight of Creation, attack Beta the Electromagnet Warrior! Divine Judgment!" The dragon knight roared as it charged forward, lifting his claymore above his head.
"I activate Beta the Electromagnet Warrior's effect!" Bastion declared. "I can tribute him and Special Summon a level 4 Magnet Warrior from my deck! I summon Gamma the Magnet Warrior in defense mode!" The magnet warrior disappeared, replaced by another one. This one was pink as well, but had metal wings with the north and south symbols on it's joints, a giant 'S' on its body and a cartoonish magnet around its neck. (ATK: 1500/ DEF: 1800)
"Nice try… but not good enough!" Erina inserted a card. "I use Enemy Controller and switch your Gamma to attack mode!" The little magnet warrior rose to his feet right before the Dragon Knight brought down his sword, slicing him in half and causing an explosion.
Bastion: 3700
"Dragon Knight of Creation's effect activates when he destroys a monster and sends it to the Graveyard!" The knight held his sword high and it began to shine like a beacon. "I can send one Level 7 or 8 dragon from my deck to the Graveyard, so I'll be sending Darkblaze Dragon with it."
Erina placed her dragon into the Graveyard slot and then smirked. "And now that you're wide open, Paladin of Felgrand will take a swing at you!" The blond knight charged forward towards Bastion, who raised his arms to protect himself from the swing that followed.
Bastion: 2000
"Man, she ain't holding back…" Jaden muttered to himself.
"Wow, Bastion already lost half his points!" Syrus gasped.
"And before I end my turn, I'll use Paladin of Felgrand's second effect." Erina said. "I tribute him and Divine Knight of Creation…" The two monsters disappeared and a light began to shine from the ground behind her. "And Special Summon, my loyal servant! Divine Dragon Lord Felgrand!" The holographic ground split open and the golden dragon flew out of it, landing behind Erina and unleashing a deafening roar. (ATK: 2800/ DEF: 2800)
"Her ace monster on turn two?!" Syrus and Chumley gasped.
"It's my turn now!" Bastion drew his card and added it to his hand. "I will start off my turn with the spell card known as Painful Choice! Here's how it works… I select five cards from my deck and show them to my opponent, then they choose one of them and I add it to my hand while discarding the rest to my Graveyard." Bastion explained and took his deck out of the Disk, looking for his five cards.
"Jaden, you will be choosing which card to keep." Bastion said as the cards he picked showed up above him in a circle.
The cards were: Alpha the Magnet Warrior, Beta the Magnet Warrior, Gamma the Electromagnet Warrior, Magnet Conversion and Delta the Magnet Warrior.
"Aw man…" Jaden smirked as he scanned over the cards, getting an idea of what Bastion was planning. "You chose me on purpose, right? You know I'm gonna choose the card you need…"
"Perhaps I did." The Ra smiled.
"Alright, Delta it is." Jaden pointed at the monster and the holograms disappeared. "But you kinda shot yourself in the foot with Imperial Iron Wall, Bastion." He pointed out. Jaden was right, Bastion needs to banish the cards to continue his combo, but can't thanks to his own trap card.
"Have I?" Bastion asked, unbothered as he added the card in his hand and pressed a button on his Disk. "I activate my second facedown, the Continuous Trap, Royal Decree!" The card flipped over. "This card negates all other trap effects on the field!"
Then Bastion's Graveyard began to glow as two cards popped out of it. "I banish Alpha the Electromagnet Warrior from my hand along with Beta the Electromagnet Warrior and Gamma the Electromagnet Warrior from my Graveyard to summon this!" He slapped the card on his Disk. "Berserkion the Electromagna Warrior!"
The three magnet warriors appeared on the field. Gamma was the shortest of the three, he was green and tubby, while Alpha was the tallest and the most human-like. He held a shield in one hand and a speak-type weapon in the other. Suddenly all three of them broke into pieces, electricity sparking between them. They then began to combine together, Gamma making the head and torso, Alpha the arms and thighs and Beta the rest of the legs. The warrior stepped onto the field and brandished a double-bladed polearm in his hand. (ATK: 3000/ DEF: 2800)
"He looks tough." Jaden mused.
"It's not just his looks that are formidable, but so is his effect!" Bastion said as he placed another card on his Disk. "But first, I'll summon Delta the Magnet Warrior!" A cyan and very rough looking magnet person appeared on the field. (ATK: 1600/ DEF: 1400)
"Thanks to his effect, I send another Alpha the Electromagnet Warrior to my Graveyard…" Bastion put the card in his Disk. "And now for Berserkion's effect! I can banish one Magnet Warrior from my Graveyard and then destroy one card my opponent controls!" Gamma popped out of his Disk. "My first target is Erina's Divine Dragon Lord Felgrand!" Berserkion's polearm crackled with electricity as he pointed it at Erina's monster.
The bluenette covered her face as a bolt of electricity struck her dragon and caused an explosion. "Wait…" She lowered her arms. "Bastion, you said first target, right?"
"Yes, because I can do this as many times as I have Magnet Warriors in my grave!" Bastion said as Alpha the Magnet Warrior came out of his Graveyard. "Second target is Alexis' Blade Skater!" Once again, the magnet warrior fired a bolt of electricity, destroying the blonde's monster. "And one last time, targeting Jaden's Blazeman!" Bastion took Beta out of his Graveyard and his monster destroyed the HERO.
"Don't you all forget I still have my Battle Phase!" Bastion said and pointed at Alexis. "Berserkion, attack Alexis directly!" The monster let out a mechanical roar as it charged forward, his polearm sparkling with electricity.
"I activate my facedown!" Alexis quickly pressed a button on her Disk. "Shrink! Now, your Berserkion's attack gets cut in half!" The magnet warrior slowed down slightly. (ATK: 3000-1500) But still hit Alexis, who cringed as the electricity hit her.
Alexis: 2500
"And Delta will attack you, Erina!" Bastion commanded and the Magnet Warrior charged at her, punching her in the gut.
Erina: 2400
Bastion then inserted a card into his Duel Disk. "I set one card and end my turn." Berserkion's attack reverted back. (ATK: 1500-3000)
"My turn now! I draw!" Alexis drew her card and looked at it. "I play Pot of Greed! Drawing two more cards!" She drew her cards and smiled. This is a hand she can work with. "I summon Cyber Petit Angel in defense mode!" A small pink spherical fairy with small light blue wings appeared on the field. (ATK: 300/ DEF: 200)
Jaden turned slightly to the side when he heard an excited squeal. "What's up, pal?" He smiled at Winged Kuriboh who was bouncing in the air. "You found yourself a new friend?"
"When Cyber Petit Angel is summoned I can add Machine Angel Ritual to my hand!" The blond said as the card popped out of her deck and she added it to her hand. "And now… I activate the Ritual Spell, Machine Angel Ritual!" A large stone fire pit appeared behind Alexis.
"Ritual Spell?" Bastion gasped. This was the one thing he wasn't prepared to counter.
"Yes, with this I can Ritual Summon any Cyber Angel monster…" Alexis explained. "And the monster I offer as Tribute is the Level six, Cyber Angel Benten!" A woman in an asian-styled white and grey sleeveless bodysuit appeared on the field. She had long jet-black hair that was tied at the bottom, a golden headdress with four horns on it and in each hand she held war fans that were connected together by a chain. She flew up in the air turning into a cyan flame before it dove down, lighting the fire pit. "Ritual Summon! Level six, Cyber Angel Idaten!"
The flame died out and from it emerged Alexis' Cyber Angel. She was a beautiful woman with pink skin and yellow eyes. She wore a black bodysuit and a light purple metal headdress that extended down her back like hair. (ATK: 1600/ DEF: 2000)
"Now my Cyber Angels' effects activate!" Alexis said. "When Benten is Tributed, I get to add one Light Fairy monster from my deck to my hand and when Idaten is Ritual Summoned, I get to add one Ritual Spell from deck or Graveyard to my hand!" She explained. "So I'll be adding another Machine Angel Ritual and Cyber Angel Benten from my deck to my hand!"
"Sorry to interrupt you, Lex, but that card has been bugging me." Erina said as a tornado flew over Bastion's field. "Sorry, Bastion, but we're playing fair here." She said as Mystical Space Typhoon blew away his Royal Decree.
"Okay..? Now I'll do it again!" She declared as the fire pit appeared again. "I offer the Level two Cyber Petit Angel I control and the Level four Etoile Cyber from my hand as Tribute!" The ribbon dancer appeared next to the small fairy before they turned to flames and ignited the fire. "Ritual Summon! Level six, Cyber Angel Benten!" The warfan wielding angel appeared on the field. (ATK: 1800/ DEF: 1500)
"Finally!" Jaden exclaimed excitedly. "I've been wanting to see those Cyber Angels in action for a long time!"
"Well, now is the perfect opportunity to see them up close in action, Jaden." Alexis smirked evilly. "Benten, attack Jaden directly!" She ordered and the Cyber Angel charged towards him.
"W-Wait! Wait! Wait!" Jaden freaked out. "That's not what I meant by-!" He wheezed when Benten hit him in the gut with her fan. "She's got an attitude…" He coughed, clutching his stomach.
Jaden: 2200
"And Idaten, attack Erina directly!" Alexis pointed at the bluenette, who quickly responded with a facedown.
"Sorry, Lex, but I'm stopping you with Negate Attack!" Erina said as Idaten's dive kick was stopped by a barrier.
"It would've been cool if you used that a bit earlier!" Jaden complained from across the field. "Just sayin'!"
"That's not how this duel works, Jaden!"
Alexis shook her head in amusement. "I pass it over to you, Jay."
"Alright, time to shine!" Jaden said as he drew. "I begin with this! Monster Reborn!" The card was one of his facedowns on the field. "And with it I bring back my Blazeman!" The card began to shine and the flame hero reappeared on the field. (ATK: 1200/ DEF: 1800)
"You set Monster Reborn?" Bastion questioned.
"Yeah…" Jaden shrugged. "Gotta keep you thinking… Next up, I'll use his effect! By sending one Elemental HERO from my deck to the Graveyard, Blazeman copies its Attribute and stats!" A card popped out of Jaden's Disk and he held it up. "I'll be sending Bladedge to the Graveyard…" He discarded the card and the beads on Blazeman's back along with his hair took on a yellowish color. (ATK: 1200-2600/ DEF: 1800)
"And along with him…" Jaden slapped a card on his Disk. "I'll summon Elemental HERO Stratos!" The metal-winged HERO appeared next to Blazeman. (ATK: 1800/ DEF: 300) "You know what he does, Bastion! Say bye-bye to your Imperial Iron Wall!" The propellers on Stratos' wings began to spin, shooting a mini cyclone that destroyed Bastion's trap card.
"And to top Blazeman off…" Jaden inserted a card in his Disk. "I activate H - Heated Heart, giving Blazeman an extra 500 attack points!" He explained as a fiery aura surrounded his monster. (ATK: 2600-3100)
"Now, Blazeman, show Berserkion what you can do!" He ordered and the HERO brought his hands together forming a ball of orange flames and then throwing it at the giant magnet warrior.
Everyone else covered their eyes as the fireball connected with Berserkion, causing a massive explosion.
Bastion: 1900
"Berserkion's effect activates!" Bastion said as the dust dissipated. "When he is destroyed and sent to the Graveyard, I am allowed to summon each of the three materials used to make them!" He explained as brought out the three cards from his pocket and placed them on his Disk. "I bring them all back, in defense mode!" Bastion's field was suddenly filled with all three magnet warriors, Alpha, Beta and Gamma. (ATK: 1700/ DEF: 1100) (ATK: 1500/ DEF: 1500) (ATK: 800/ DEF: 2000)
"And I get more out of this than you think!" Bastion began. "Each does something when summoned, let me show you what; Alpha adds another Berserkion to my hand, Beta adds another Alpha the Electromagnet Warrior to my hand and Gamma let's me Special Summon a level 4 or lower Magnet Warrior from my hand!" Bastion explained as he did everything, summoning the Alpha he drew to the field in defense mode. (ATK: 1700/ DEF: 1100)
"That's amazing!" Syrus gasped.
"Yeah, and now Bastion can summon another one of those big magnet warriors on his next turn!" Chumley realized.
"Wow…" Jaden whistled, impressed by Bastion's play. "I still have more for you, Bas! Stratos, attack Delta!" The HERO flew up in the air before diving forward, pulling back his arm and then bringing it forward, destroying the small magnet man.
Bastion: 1700
'Good, my defense is holding up.' Bastion mused over his strategy, but covered his eyes when a bright green light shined.
"Did you think I was done?" Jaden smirked when he saw Bastion's shocked face. "Mask Change is a Quick-Play Spell, so I still have another attack for you!" He reminded as the silhouette of Stratos began to change. "Let me introduce someone new to everyone! Masked HERO Divine Wind!"
The light that covered the HERO shattered like glass and a gust of wind followed it, revealing a proud warrior clad in green armor, two red illuminated eyes glaring at his opponents and a white cape flowing freely behind him. (ATK: 2700/ DEF: 1900)
"And to quote you, Bastion, it's not just his looks that are formidable, but so are his effects!" Jaden said. "Let me give you the rundown; He can't be destroyed by battle, you guys can attack with only one monster per turn and when he sends a monster to the Graveyard by battle, I get to draw a card!"
"That's a lot of effects…" Alexis muttered.
"Now, Divine Wind, attack Gamma with Slicing Gale!" The HERO swung twice with his hands from his spot on Jaden's field, sending two blades of concentrated wind that sliced the magnet warrior in four, destroying it.
"And with that, I end my turn." Jaden said as he drew his extra card. He thought about attacking the others, but from his memory, Alexis' traps were strong and as for Erina, he couldn't risk it with the cards he had. All she had was a facedown, but knowing her, it is all she needs.
The flames on Blazeman reverted to their normal color, powering down. (ATK: 3100-1200)
"Interesting…" Erina hummed, surprised that Jaden decided to slow down the duel. 'Damn, I really want to take someone out this turn… Bastion has a wall of defense set up which I can't get over with what I have in my hand… Jaden's out of the question, with one attack I won't be doing anything…' She thought to herself, Jaden hasn't used his facedown all game. It didn't trigger when Bastion destroyed his monster and it didn't trigger when Alexis attacked him directly. 'Meaning it has to be Hero Barrier.'
'And I can't take out Alexis, because I'd have to throw the duel after that.' She shook her head, no way that's happening. She sighed, everything was up to her next draw. "My turn!" Erina drew and smiled. "I begin with Pot of Greed!" She drew her two cards. "Now that's something… I play Return of the Dragon Lords! Rise again my loyal servant, Divine Dragon Lord Felgrand!" The earth split open and the majestic golden dragon flew out of it, landing behind Erina. (ATK: 2800/ DEF: 2800)
"When Felgrand is Special Summoned from the Graveyard, he banishes one of my opponents monsters from their field or Graveyard!" Erina explained and looked at Jaden. "I can't let you hold me back, Jaden, so say goodbye to Divine Wind. Take him out, Felgrand!" The golden dragon unleashed an earthshaking roar, blowing away and banishing Jaden's HERO. "Since Divine Wind's Level is eight, Felgrand gains 800 attack and defense." (ATK: 2800-3600/ DEF: 2800-3600)
"And now…" She turned to Bastion. "Felgrand, attack the Alpha the Electromagnet Warrior on the right! Divine God Burst!" The dragon took a deep breath, readying his attack.
"I'll be activating Alpha the Electromagnet Warrior's effect!" Bastion said. "I Tribute him to summon Gamma the Magnet Warrior from my deck!" Alpha disappeared, being replaced by Gamma right before the golden flames engulfed him.
"Gotcha!" Erina grinned as Felgrand spread his wings and little light particles began to fall from them. "When Felgrand destroys a monster by battle, I can Special Summon one Level seven or eight Dragon from my Graveyard." She explained. "Now rise, Darkblaze Dragon!" A pillar of flame shot out of the ground and out of it appeared the much smaller, four-winged wyvern. (ATK: 1200/ DEF: 1000) "When Darkblaze Dragon is summoned from the Graveyard, his original stats double!" The dragon screeched as it grew slightly. (ATK: 1200-2400/ DEF: 1000-2000)
"And with this you're toast, Bastion! Darkblaze, attack Alpha!" The wyvern shot out a ball of fire which collided with the magnet warrior and caused it to combust.
"What are you talking about?" Bastion asked as he covered his face from the flames.
"When Darkblaze destroys a monster and sends it to the Graveyard, he deals damage to you equal to your monster's attack points!"
Bastion gasped as the flames suddenly expanded, engulfing him and bringing his life points to zero.
Bastion: 0
"Looks like Bastion was the first to go." Syrus said.
"Well played." Bastion smiled at the bluenette and stepped back from the ring so the duel could continue.
"Thanks." Erina smiled back before turning to the others. "Now then, I'll end with a facedown." She sent Jaden a smug smirk as she inserted her card.
'Crap!' Jaden cursed, knowing exactly what Erina set.
"You're up, Lex."
"Alright, my turn!" Alexis drew her card and looked between her two opponents. "Sorry, Jaden." She looked at her boyfriend. "I'm choosing you. Benten, attack Blazeman!" The cyber girl charged forward.
"I activate my trap card, Hero Barrier!" Jaden pressed a button on his Disk and revealed his trap.
"You know what I've set, right, Jay? I reveal my facedown, Solemn Judgment!" Erina said, flipping over her facedown, revealing a Trap Card with an old bearded man, wearing gray robes illustration on it. "For the cost of half my life points, this negates your trap card and destroys it!"
Erina: 1200
A lighting strike shot out of the trap card, flying forward and hitting Jaden's trap, turning it to pixels.
Benten's attack continued, delivering a downwards strike with her fan that destroyed Blazeman.
Jaden: 1600
"Now Benten's effect activates!" The blonde said, gaining Jaden's attention. "When she destroys and sends a monster to the Graveyard, you take damage equal to that monster's defense!"
Jaden's eyes widened when Benten landed in front of him before she smacked him across the face with her fan and knocked him to the ground. "Yup… she doesn't like me." He groaned.
Jaden: 0
"The duel is over!" Crowler called it as the crowd cheered. "Since Bastion and the Slifer lost, they'll be dueling first!"
Jaden rose to his feet and went to the middle of the ring, where the others were waiting for him. "You know, despite losing, I'm pretty happy with the outcome."
"Of course you are." Erina said as she removed her Disk. "You couldn't have made it more obvious that you wanted to duel Bastion."
"How could you tell that?" Alexis asked.
"I know Jaden like my own hand." She raised her hand to emphasize. "Plus, Bastion is the only one who he hasn't dueled yet, so it was a no brainer to me. Anyways, good luck, guys!"
"Yeah, good luck to both of you!" Alexis wished as she and Erina walked off to the top where Zane was.
"Bet you wanted to give him a good luck kiss, right?" The bluenette whispered teasingly to the blonde.
"Shut up!" Alexis smacked her across the arm.
"Ready to lose, Bas?" Jaden grinned cheekily at the genius.
Bastion crossed his arms and chuckled. "Please, I should be the one asking that question. I've developed the perfect countermeasures against you. There is no possible way you can defeat me, Jaden." He said confidently, causing a smirk to appear on Jaden's face.
"Oh, we'll see about that."
The matches are decided and we'll be starting off with Bastion vs Jaden! The idea will be pretty much the same as the anime, but the duel will be different.
Honestly, I had to remake this duel 3 times because I kept screwing up by forgetting effects that were in play or using cards that are a tad bit too strong and would remove the need to play anything but those cards in the future. A basic duel to decide the draft seemed like the correct thing in the end. (Apologies if there's still mistakes in it)
Anyways, each of the next three duels will be it's own chapter to make it easier to follow. It will still take me time to write them because I want to make these three duels as amazing as possible.
See you next time! Stay safe!