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 wait, I've honesty just been lazy, so no excuse from me.
Patty 4577: I'm glad you're liking the story so far. Thanks for the positives and the negatives; I will definitely be working on the writing style and be more careful with it.
Anyways, enjoy the read and I'll see y'all at the bottom!
While the first round of the tournament was about to begin, Gerard sat at the desk, waiting for his software to finally crack the password to the Academy database.
"Come on…" He grumbled, getting impatient. Once the password was cracked he would gain unrestricted access to all of Duel Academy's files and all the secrets they were hiding. He watched as his breach device kept flashing red, trying to break the password. He was beginning to think that maybe the security system was too hard for his device to breach, until it finally flashed green.
He smiled as the three Egyptian Gods appeared on the computer screen.
"Yes!"
The screen changed once again, displaying images of the backs of Duel Monster cards and images of different students from the different dorms. Gerard leaned forward, clicking on one of the files. It belonged to a young man with brunette hair and brown eyes, wearing the white Obelisk uniform. "Atticus Rhodes… Studying abroad on a special sabbatical…" He frowned, checking other files and seeing that more kids shared the same status as him.
"These are all the same…" The reporter looked some more. "So are these kids as well…" He scratched his head. "This doesn't make any sense. All of them are studying abroad, but they have no forwarding addresses. I don't buy it at all. These have to be the missing students. Duel Academy must be trying to cover them up!"
He smiled and began to copy the files to his device. "I smell a front page scandal and a major payday for the reporter who makes this story. Thanks for the scoop, Duel Academy, and good luck surviving the bad publicity!"
But, his celebration was cut short by the glaring red light coming off of the device connected to the computer. "What the-?!" This isn't something that should be happening. He spent so much money on this thing! It should be impossible for anything to go wrong. He picked it up to see what was going on and was greeted by red text.
"Malicious code detected! File copy aborted for safety! Problem file highlighted!"
"What's this?" Gerard turned to the monitor to see which file was the problem. It was a blank file with only a picture and a name on it. His eyes widened as he recognized the boy in the picture. This file belonged to none other than Jaden Yuki.
Gerard was too stunned to react. The impression he got was that Jaden was just a normal teen from a normal middle class family. Nothing special… But, could he be wrong? Apparently so, given what he was currently looking at.
He looked over his shoulder for a moment, feeling uncomfortable for some reason. Like someone was watching him. Shrugging, he turned back to the screen, eyes focused on the name in front of him. 'Jaden… Yuki…' He mulled the name in his head. He's now certain he has heard it before, but can't exactly remember where.
Completely oblivious due to the fact he couldn't see her, Yubel was staring him down, her third eye glowing menacingly. She shook her head and retracted the shadow tendril that was inches away from Gerard's ear. She made a promise to Jaden and she should keep it. He's not a defenseless child anymore; there's no need to be this overprotective.
She remembered the last time she acted preemptively and how upset Jaden was because of it. She decided to just incapacitate him if needed and leave it to Jaden when he's done with the tournament.
She crossed her arms over her chest, resuming her watch over Gerard. She looked to the side, where a small monitor had caught her attention. She smiled when she saw what was streaming on it. It looked like the first match was about to begin. "Good luck…"
Back at the arena, Doctor Crowler stepped onto the podium, ready to announce the first match.
"Are you all ready for the main event?!" He shouted enthusiastically into the microphone as the crowd began to cheer. "For our first march, reintroducing from the Ra Yellow Dorm! Bastion Misawa!"
The young genius stepped on stage and his fellow Ras and friends cheered for him.
"And from this side…" Crowler mumbled and waved lazily. "The kid from Slifer…" Despite the poor introduction, Jaden stepped onto the platform sporting a large grin on his face.
The Doctor grimaced when the crowd exploded, cheering and clapping enthusiastically.
Erina whistled loudly from her spot up by the railing. "You better win, Jaden!" Her voice boomed over the entire arena, causing Jaden to turn with a grin on his face and give her a thumbs up.
"Duelists come to the middle and shuffle your opponent's deck!" Crowler gestured to the spot in front of him as both teens walked to the middle.
"Go Jaden!" Syrus and Chumley called from their seats in the stands.
"This will be an interesting match." Zane commented. "It will be intelligence versus pure instinct."
"Yeah, and since this counts as an official match, I'm sure Jaden will put up a good show." Alexis said, leaning forward against the railing. "Although, I'm worried about what Bastion has in store for him. He's definitely prepared counters to shut down Jaden's deck."
"Please…" Erina snorted. "This is Jaden we're talking about. No matter how much the odds are stacked against him, he always finds a way to win." She assured her with a smile. "Well… with a few exceptions of course."
"Now, without further ado!" Crowler raised his hands when both duelists took their spots in the ring.
Both teens' Disks sparked to life, each of them drawing their starting hands. "Let's duel!"
Jaden: 4000
Bastion: 4000
"Since you lost the free-for-all first, I'll let you start this off." Jaden grinned cheekily.
"How kind of you… Hope you don't regret it by the end. I draw!" Bastion replied drily as he drew his card and added it to his hand. "I will begin with this Spell Card!" He held up a card. "Painful Choice! You remember how this works, right? I show you five cards from my deck and you get to choose which one I add to my hand, while the rest go to the Graveyard."
Jaden watched as five holograms appeared above Bastion's head. The cards were: Alpha the Magnet Warrior, Beta the Magnet Warrior, Gamma the Magnet Warrior, Alpha the Electromagnet Warrior and Gamma the Electromagnet Warrior.
'Is he trying the same strategy?' Jaden asked himself as he thought about which card to give Bastion. "Add Alpha the Magnet Warrior to your hand." He said and the other holograms disappeared.
Bastion nodded and did just that before he sent the rest to the Graveyard. "I now summon Delta the Magnet Warrior in defense mode!" The small blue magnet man appeared on the field. (ATK: 1600/ DEF: 1400) "When he is summoned to the field, I can send one Level four or lower Magnet Warrior from my deck to the Graveyard!" Bastion explained before sending Beta the Electromagnet Warrior to his Graveyard.
"I set two cards…" Two cards appeared in front of Bastion's feet. "And that will do for now."
'That's it?' Jaden felt a bit disappointed. All that talk about building a deck to counter him and this is all he does? He didn't buy it; there had to be more to it.
"Alright, my turn!" Jaden drew his card and played it. "I summon Elemental HERO Stratos!" The metal-winged hero appeared on the field. (ATK: 1800/ DEF: 300) "And when he's summoned, I get to add a HERO from my deck to my hand!" He explained and added Burstinatrix to his hand.
'There it is, half of the equation that Jaden needs to unleash his icon monster.' Bastion thought.
'Better trigger this now…' Jaden threw his arm forward. "Stratos, attack Delta!" He ordered, and the hero flew forward, delivering a powerful punch that destroyed the magnet man.
"Delta's effect now activates!" Bastion revealed. "When he is sent to the Graveyard, I can banish three Level four or lower Magnet Warriors from my Graveyard to summon this from my deck!" Beta the Magnet Warrior, Gamma the Magnet Warrior and Alpha the Electromagnet Warrior came out of Bastion's Graveyard. He then slapped a card on his Disk. "Valkyrion the Magna Warrior!" A large gray magnet man with pink wings and a giant sword in hand took Delta's place. (ATK: 3500/ DEF: 3850)
"So that's what that card does!" Alexis exclaimed. "I found it weird that it only sends a card to the Graveyard when Bastion summoned it last duel."
"Mhm…" Erina nodded. "It was probably his back-up plan if we destroyed his Berserkion too early."
"I set two cards and call it a turn!" Jaden said as he inserted two cards into his Disk.
"I draw!" Bastion drew his card. "I summon Alpha the Magnet Warrior in attack mode!" The gray magnet knight appeared on the field. (ATK: 1400/ DEF: 1700)
"And now, Valkyrion, attack Stratos!" Bastion ordered.
"Aw man, if this attack goes through, Jaden's gonna lose a big chunk of life points!" Syrus moaned as he anxiously watched Bastion's monster charge at Stratos.
"Not so fast! I activate my Trap Card, Hero Barrier!" Jaden flipped over his facedown and a barrier appeared between Stratos and Valkyrion. "With this I negate your Valkyrion's attack since I control an Elemental HERO!" The magnet warrior's sword struck the barrier, getting blown back to Bastion's side of the field.
"I end my turn…" Bastion said reluctantly.
"I draw!" Jaden drew and smirked at the card he got. "Now this is a draw! I activate Polymerization! I'll be fusing Stratos with Burstinatrix-"
"Sorry to interrupt you, Jaden!" Bastion smirked as he pressed a button on his Disk. "But, you won't be fusing anything this turn, or at all even! I activate the Trap Card, Cursed Seal of the Forbidden Spell!" Jaden stared in shock as the card flipped over. "Now by simply discarding a Spell Card from my hand, I negate your Polymerization and you can't activate your other copies for the rest of this duel!"
"But that's Jaden's whole thing!" Syrus exclaimed in worry.
"Not liscious…" Chumley sighed.
"Ouch… that hurts…" Erina chuckled, she had a feeling that this was gonna happen.
"Wait, that locks Jaden out of his deck's whole strategy!" Alexis gasped. "What's he supposed to do now?"
"He still has his Masked HEROES to lean on, but I have a feeling Bastion is ready for those as well." Zane said as he was thinking of what else Bastion could have in store for Jaden.
The brunet stared at the field for a few moments, wondering if this was the right way to play this. "Screw it… I summon Elemental HERO Burstinatrix!" The flame heroine appeared on the field. (ATK: 1200/ DEF: 800)
"Before I continue I'll activate my facedown, Elemental Recharge!" Jaden's Trap Card flipped over, illustrating Burstinatrix in a high-tech healing tank. "This card gives me 1000 Life Points for each Elemental HERO I control!" He explained as a rainbow-colored ray of light flew out of the card and into Jaden.
Jaden: 6000
He then plucked a card from his hand and held it up. "And now I activate Burst Impact! I can activate this card only when I control Burstinatrix. Now all monsters on the field except her are destroyed and each player takes 300 points of damage for each of their destroyed monsters!"
A flaming aura surrounded Burstinatrix as she yelled at the top of her lungs, her aura expanding into a giant flame explosion that engulfed the field and caused everyone to cover their eyes.
The flames died down and the heroine was the only one left standing on the field.
Jaden: 5700
Bastion: 3400
"First blood!" Syrus and Chumley jumped from their seats.
"Impressive recovery…" Zane commented.
"Right?" Alexis smiled, impressed by her boyfriend's play. "I didn't expect him to recover instantly like that."
In the stands where the majority of the teachers were seated, Sheppard turned to Banner, who was sitting behind him. "This is getting exciting, isn't it, Banner? That boy is quite the duelist."
Banner nodded with a big smile on his face. "Yes, he is the role model for the Slifer dorm after all…" He chuckled. "Well, it would be even better if he paid more attention in class, though."
Unfortunately, Crowler was not enjoying the duel like his fellow colleagues were. He was panicking about how things were going so far.
'Why did I open my big fat mouth and nominate Bastion?!' Crowler bit down on his handkerchief. 'He's getting creamed, I'm getting humiliated and worst of all, Jaden is looking better than ever!'
"Let's get you warmed up, Bas. Burstinatrix, attack him directly! Flare Storm!" Burstinatrix launched a fireball, hitting the Ra square in the chest.
Bastion: 2200
Bastion smiled back at the grinning Jaden. "Don't think you've won just yet, Jaden. I've already beaten your deck; you just haven't realized it yet."
The brunet shrugged nonchalantly. "If you say so, but you did just lose one of your biggest monsters…"
"It seems actions would convince you better, so let's continue! My turn!" Bastion drew and smiled. "I summon Alpha the Electromagnet Warrior to the field!" The gray magnet knight appeared on the field. (ATK: 1700/ DEF: 1100) "And now, thanks to his effect, I add Berserkion the Electromagna Warrior from my deck to my hand!" The card popped out of Bastion's deck.
"Now, I banish the Alpha from my field along with Beta and Gamma from my Graveyard in order to summon Berserkion the Electromagna Warrior!" Bastion pocketed the cards as the giant magnet warrior appeared on the field, polearm in hand and ready for battle. (ATK: 3000/ DEF: 2800)
"Oh boy…" A bead of sweat rolled down Jaden's forehead, knowing exactly what was going to happen.
"I'll use Berserkion's effect!" Bastion called. "By banishing Alpha the Magnet Warrior, I destroy your Burstinatrix!" The card slid out of Bastion's Disk and the magnet warrior fired off a bolt of electricity that destroyed Jaden's monster.
"Jaden's completely defenseless now!" Chumley gasped.
"You're wide open, Jaden! Berserkion, attack him directly!" The magnet warrior unleashed a mechanical roar as it jumped forward, slicing at Jaden, who raised his arms protectively to block it.
Jaden: 2700
"Back to me! I draw!" Jaden drew his card and smiled. "I play Legacy of a HERO!" He held up the card, which was a Spell Card depicting Flame Wingman's wing and dragon arm lying on the ground. "This card is really sweet! Here's how it works: it allows me to draw three cards when I have at least two Level four or higher Elemental HEROES in my Graveyard!"
'That's quite the strong card…' Bastion frowned as he watched Jaden pick up his extra cards. 'I could've stopped it, but I can't risk it. I have to wait for his other key card…'
'Not bad…' Jaden saw what he drew. He plucked one of the cards and played it. "I summon Elemental HERO Bubbleman to the field, in defense mode!" The blue armored water HERO appeared on the field, kneeling. (ATK: 800/ DEF: 1200) "And as you know, when he's the only card on my field when summoned, I get to draw two cards!"
Jaden drew his two cards, ready to start his play. "I continue with the Spell Card, HERO's Bond!" He inserted the card and it appeared on the field. It depicted Avian, Burstinatrix, Clayman and Sparkman's hands stacked atop each other. "When I control a HERO on my field, this card allows me to Special Summon two Elemental HEROES from my hand!" He took two cards from his hand and placed them on his Disk. "And here they are! Elemental HERO Shadow Mist and Sparkman!"
The elegant heroine in black appeared on Bubbleman's left, while a bolt of lightning hit the ground and Sparkman appeared on his right, both kneeling. (ATK: 1000/ DEF: 1500) (ATK: 1600/ DEF: 1400)
"And thanks to Shadow Mist's effect when she is Special Summoned, I get to add Mask Change to my hand!" Jaden explained and added the card to his hand, missing the smirk that appeared on Bastion's face.
"I'll now activate Mask Change-!" Jaden was about to make his move, but Bastion interrupted him with his facedown.
"Sorry, Jaden, but you won't be using that card either!" The genius gestured to his facedown. It was another copy of Cursed Seal of the Forbidden Spell. Bastion discarded a Spell Card from his hand. "This is it, Jaden, compute it anyway you like, but the answer will stay the same… you can't win this!" He chuckled.
"I've seriously underestimated Bastion." Zane smiled. "He's been playing this like a pro the entire time and managed to shut down Jaden's entire deck with just two cards."
"Oh, come on, Jaden is still in this!" Alexis defended her boyfriend. "He can still win!"
"How?" Zane turned his head to her. "His deck's strategy is to summon powerful fusion monsters and Bastion locked him out of summoning them."
"He…" Alexis tried to come up with something, but drew a blank. "He still has a way to win this, right?" She turned to Erina.
She sighed and leaned against the railing. "He does, but it won't be easy for him to do it."
"See?" The blonde smirked at the elder Truesdale. "I don't know how, but I'm sure Jaden will win!"
Zane just shrugged, turning back towards the duel.
'Cute…' Erina was smiling the whole time as she watched Alexis defend her boyfriend.
Meanwhile, while the others were worried about Jaden, Crowler was having the time of his life. "That's it, Bastion! I knew you wouldn't let me down!" He was smiling from ear to ear. "Show that Slifer Slacker who's boss!" He laughed. "Jaden looks like an utter fool!"
"Oh my, Pharaoh…" Banner ran his hand through his cat's fur. "This doesn't look good."
"I set a card and end my turn!" Jaden said, a bit annoyed by Bastion's move. But, he was still confident that he would win this.
"My turn now!" Bastion drew his card. "I activate Pot of Greed and draw two cards!" He drew his extra cards. "Now, I activate Berserkion's effect and destroy that facedown of yours!" He declared as Delta popped out of his Graveyard. Berserkion shot a bolt of electricity towards Jaden's facedown.
The bolt hit the card. "Thanks!" Jaden said as he shielded his eyes from the smoke. "You destroyed my Hero Medal Trap Card. When this is destroyed by my opponent, I get to shuffle it back into my deck and draw one card!" The brunet did just that, a slight smile on his face upon seeing the card he drew.
Bastion inserted a card into his Disk. "I activate the Spell Card, Magnet Reverse! This card allows me to bring back Valkyrion the Magna Warrior from my Graveyard!" A pile of scrap metal and magnets appeared on the field that began to float and combine together into the winged magnet man. (ATK: 3500/ DEF: 3850)
"Now, Berserkion, destroy Sparkman!" Bastion ordered and his monster unleashed a torrent of electricity, destroying Jaden's hero.
"And Valkyrion will take out Shadow Mist!" The monster jumped forward, slicing her in two.
"Shadow Mist's effect activates!" Jaden declared as his Graveyard began to glow. "When she's sent to the Graveyard, I get to add one HERO from my deck to my hand!" He explained and added Bladedge to his hand.
"It's time I showed you my strongest monster, Jaden!" Bastion plucked a card from his hand and held it up. "You might not be able to use Polymerization, but I can! I fuse Berserkion and Valkyrion together to form the mighty Imperion Magnum the Superconductive Battlebot!"
"Who in the what now?" Syrus stared in confusion at what Bastion just said.
"That's a mouthful…" Chumley muttered.
The two magnet warriors broke into pieces as electricity crackled between them. They began to combine together, forming a colossal mechanical centaur with wings, a rail cannon on its shoulder and a greatsword in its hand. (ATK: 4000/ DEF: 4000)
"This is bad news for Jaden…" Erina frowned; her best friend's chances of winning lowered slightly.
"Why?" Alexis asked. "I've never seen that card before."
"It can negate a spell, trap or monster effect once each turn and then destroy the card." Zane chimed in. "So if Jaden isn't careful and gets his key cards negated, he's gonna lose this. And honestly? I don't see him winning this anymore."
Alexis turned back to the ring, a worried look on her face.
'Now that I have all the info on those missing students, I'll be able to sell this story for a fortune!' Gerard thought happily as he walked through the corridors of the school. 'Sure, the scandal this will create will probably ruin Duel Academy, but oh well!'
He started remembering the time spent with Jaden yesterday.
"Aren't you a bit old to be a student?"
Jaden threw his arm around his shoulders. "Eh, sorry about that. So it took a while for you to get accepted? Don't be ashamed, old timer! Come on, I'll show you around!"
"You okay, old timer?"
"Stop calling me that!"
"Hey, it's my Skyscraper. You like the card too?"
Gerard shook his head. 'Why can't I forget about you, kid?' He thought as he stopped at one of the arena entrances, hearing a lot of cheering and screaming coming from inside.
He subconsciously turned and walked through the entrance, seeing the giant centaur on the field opposite Jaden. 'God… you'd be the story of the decade, Jaden… and no one would believe me if I told them…' He thought as he looked at the teen.
It was him, he was certain of it. No one else in that entire database had an encrypted file, or any form of security in fact. He remembered reading about that incident. Some sort of bomb going off and the only survivor was a little boy, but there was next to no media coverage of it, or that the boy was adopted shortly after by one of Domino City's most famous couples.
"Well, my turn is done, Jaden." Bastion chuckled. "So, if you still think you can win, by all means, go ahead and do your worst!"
Jaden smirked in response. "Don't get too cocky, Bas, if you think you've won just because I can't fusion summon, you're wrong! This duel isn't over as long as I have life points and cards in my deck! I draw!" He drew and held up the card. "I'll be equipping Bubbleman with Bubble Blaster!" A big water cannon appeared above the water HERO.
"That card makes it so Bubbleman can't be destroyed by battle once…" Bastion accessed. "Sorry, but I'll be negating that!" He wasn't about to let Jaden build up a defense.
Imperion Magnum shot out three rings from the rail cannon on his shoulder that destroyed the bazooka before it landed on Bubbleman's shoulder.
"Thanks!" Jaden grinned. "Now, I can play this without worry!" He held up Graceful Charity.
"Not bad…" Gerard said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "He baited the negate so he can search his deck for an out to that monster…" His eyes widened, realizing what he just said. He shook his head. "Not that I care or anything. Anyway…" He turned to walk off, but stopped and turned around. His curiosity got the better of him. He wanted to see if Jaden could turn this around.
Jaden plucked a card from his hand. "I play E - Emergency Call! This allows me to add one Elemental HERO from my deck to my hand." He explained as a card popped out of his deck. "And I'll be adding Elemental HERO Captain Gold."
"I set one card and call it a turn." Jaden inserted the card into his Disk.
"My turn now!" Bastion drew and inserted the card into his Disk. "I first set one card facedown." He then pointed at Bubbleman. "Now, Imperion Magnum, attack Bubbleman with Photon Rail Cannon!" The cannon crackled with electricity and unleashed a powerful blue beam of energy, disintegrating Bubbleman.
"Time to take that thing down… My turn!" Jaden drew his card. "I activate my facedown, Necro Fusion! This card allows me to summon a Fusion Monster by banishing the materials from my Graveyard!"
"I'll be negating that as well!" Bastion said as his monster fired three energy rings, turning the trap card gray before destroying it.
"You fell for it again." Jaden smiled as the pixels blew past his face. "Bastion, I'm seeing the flaw with your dueling style."
"I beg your pardon?" Bastion looked offended. "Flaw?"
"There's a big difference in the way we duel. You make all your strategies and moves at home, while I do them right here on the field!" The brunet explained. "You've convinced yourself that I can't do anything without my fusions, so you've developed a strategy to stop me from doing it, but you have been completely oblivious to what I've been doing these past few turns."
Bastion's eyes narrowed skeptically. Flawed? His strategy? That was impossible, he had made all the necessary calculations for this match up.
"Jaden does have a point." Erina nodded after recalling what Bastion's plan against her was. "It's the same thing again… He tried to stop me from summoning my Chaos monsters only for me to completely ignore it and take another route to winning."
"You do need to think on your feet while dueling." Alexis agreed with her. "Strategy is important, but you also need to be able to adapt to your opponent's moves."
"If you don't believe me, I'll show you." Jaden took one card from his hand and held up the other three. "These three cards will take down your monster, but first…" He inserted the lone card in his other hand. "I'll draw an extra two cards with Pot of Greed!"
He drew his extra cards and added them to his hand. "And now, I summon Elemental HERO Bladedge to the field!" In a burst of light, the golden hero appeared on the field. (ATK: 2600/ DEF: 1800)
"Impossible, Bladedge needs two tributes to summon him!" Bastion argued, but gasped as the ghostly image of Necroshade appeared besides Jaden.
"Not with Necroshade's effect he doesn't! When he's in the Graveyard, I can summon Bladedge without tributes" The brunet grinned. "If you're wondering how he appeared in my Graveyard, I sent him with Graceful Charity last turn just for this!"
"And next up, I'll be giving him a boost with this!" He held up the card. "H - Heated Heart! This raises his attack by an extra 500!" A fiery aura surrounded the gold warrior as his power grew. (ATK: 2600-3100)
"You're a few points short." Bastion smirked.
"Don't worry as I'm about to fix that little issue. I activate Captain Gold's effect!" He held up the third and last card to his combo. It illustrated a slim figure clad in a golden spandex suit; a gold horned helmet with just a visor for his eyes and a bright red cape flowing freely behind him. "By discarding him, I get to add Skyscraper to my hand!"
Gerard tensed up at the mention of the card, bringing back some unpleasant memories.
"Jaden can now take down Bastion's monster!" Syrus gasped.
"Go, Jaden!" Chumley cheered as he raised his arms in the air.
"Time for a change of scenery!" The Field Spell slot on Jaden's Duel Disk opened and he placed the card in it. As soon as the slot closed, tall buildings began to quickly rise from the ground with a massive skyscraper rising directly behind the HERO duelist.
"Go, Bladedge, take that pile of magnets down! Power Edge Attack!" Jaden commanded and his HERO jumped high into the air before diving down like a missile towards Imperion Magnum. "Now thanks to Skyscraper's effect, Bladedge gains 1000 attack points since he's fighting a monster stronger than him!" The golden HERO began to glow as his power grew even higher. (ATK: 3100-4100)
The two monsters collided, causing a massive explosion that shook the arena and covered the ring in a dust cloud.
"Yes!" Both girls high fived each other before turning to cheer for Jaden. "Keep it up!"
Bastion: 2100
Bastion frowned as he tried to look through the dust cloud. "Imperion Magnum has another effect, Jaden!" He revealed. "When he's destroyed, I get to summon both Berserkion and Valkyrion from my deck!" The pile of magnets that were on the field began to rebuild each other, forming the two magnet warriors from before. (ATK: 3000/ DEF: 2800) (ATK: 3500/ DEF: 3850)
"And there's more! I activate my Trap Card, Last Magnet!" A huge round magnet dropped from the sky, landing hard on Bladedge's shoulders, causing the monster to drop to a knee from the weight. (ATK: 3100-2300)
"This trap activates when one of my monsters gets destroyed." The Ra explained. "It attaches itself to the monster that destroyed it and lowers its attack points by 800!"
Jaden inserted one of the two cards from his hand. "I throwdown this facedown and pass it to you."
"Yes, and now the effect of H - Heated Heart wears off, lowering your Bladedge's attack even more!" Bastion added. (ATK: 2300-1800)
"This is getting exciting!" Gerard smiled as he watched the duel closely, not waiting to miss a single move. "I forgot how much fun dueling can be!"
"Jaden might've taken Imperion Magnum down, but Bastion is still in the lead thanks to those monsters of his…" Syrus deflated.
"Come on, Sy, don't be like that!" Chumley tried to cheer him up. "You know Jaden, he'll figure something out!"
"As much as I'd like to give props to Jaden, his situation isn't much better than before." Zane said as he crossed his arms.
"Yeah, he traded one strong monster for two." Alexis said in a worried tone.
"Nah, judging by his expression, this is much better for him." Erina brought their attention to Jaden, who looked completely unbothered by his predicament.
"My turn!" Bastion drew his card and played it after seeing what it was. "I activate Card of Demise! This card allows me to draw until I hold five cards in my hand, but the downside is that I must discard my entire hand during my fifth Standby Phase!" Bastion drew his extra four cards and added them to his hand.
"Time to end this, Jaden! Valkyrion, destroy Bladedge!" Bastion ordered and the magnet warrior shrieked as it charged forward, stabbing and destroying Jaden's monster.
Jaden: 1000
"You activated my Trap Card, Hero Counterattack!" The facedown flipped over, and on it was Sparkman standing with his arms crossed in the middle of a car graveyard. "This trap activates when you destroy an Elemental HERO by battle. Here's how it works: You get to choose one card in my hand, and if it's an Elemental HERO, I get to destroy one of your monsters and Special Summon it!"
Jaden then playfully waved the only card in his hand. "But since I only got one there really isn't much for you to choose from…" He slapped the card onto his Disk. "I'd like to introduce to you all Sparkman's sidekick, Elemental HERO Flash!" On the field appeared a young boy in a blue spandex with a silver chestplate and gauntlets over it, a blue helmet with a lightning bolt drawn on top. His attire did closely resemble Sparkman. (ATK: 1100/ DEF: 1600)
The young HERO charged and fired a lightning bolt that destroyed Valkyrion in a shocking explosion before he knelt down and crossed his arms over his chest.
Bastion grit his teeth in irritation. He had to admit it. Jaden had tenacity like no other person he knew. "Looks like you managed to survive this turn… Berserkion, destroy Flash!" The green magnet monster fired a torrent of electricity, destroying Jaden's monster in an explosion.
"Elemental HERO Flash's effect activates when he's destroyed by battle and sent to the Graveyard!" Jaden said as the smoke subsided. "I banish him and three other Elemental HEROES from my Graveyard to add back a Normal Spell Card in my Graveyard to my hand!" He explained as Flash, Bladedge, Necroshade and Bubbleman came out of his Disk. "I'll be adding back Legacy of a HERO to my hand!"
Bastion grabbed and inserted a card into his Disk. "I activate the Ritual Spell, Litmus Doom Ritual!" A monument sparking with electricity rose from the ground. "Now, by offering my Level eight Berserkion as tribute, I can summon the Litmus Doom Swordsman!"
Berserkion was sucked into the monument, turning to energy as it began to shine brightly. In his place appeared an elegant warrior in a tunic, red cape and two sabers in hand. (ATK: 0/ DEF: 0)
"Litmus Doom Swordsman isn't affected by Trap Cards and he can't be destroyed by battle!" Bastion smirked confidently. "Essentially, he's invincible!" He inserted his last three cards into his Disk and ended his turn.
"My turn!" Jaden drew.
"And I activate my Trap Card, Spirit Barrier!" Bastion said as a protective bubble appeared around him. "Now as long as I have a monster on my field, I won't take damage, plus my Litmus Doom Swordsman gains 3000 attack and defense while there is a Trap on the field!" He explained as the swordsman held his blades up as they absorbed red energy from the card. (ATK: 0-3000/ DEF: 0-3000)
Jaden nodded and looked at the card he drew, his eyes widening. 'This will be good!' He thought with a big grin on his face.
He inserted the other card from his hand. "I activate Legacy of a HERO, allowing me to draw three extra cards!" He placed his fingers atop his deck, running his thumb until he had three cards between them. Suspense filled the air as everyone was anxiously awaiting Jaden's next move.
He drew the cards and fanned them out. The all too familiar smirk of his appeared on his face. "I had a really fun time dueling you, Bas." He said, taking the genius by surprise. "You made me think outside the box a bit with the way you dueled. If you ask me, you're more than worthy of going up to Obelisk. You don't need a win to prove that to yourself."
"Thank you, Jaden." Bastion smiled. "I've enjoyed myself too. This duel was quite something. You've been a remarkable opponent and it would feel that much better when I win next turn."
"You still think you're winning this, huh?" Jaden smirked. "Hate to break it to you, but this is the final turn!" He called, shocking the crowd and his opponent.
He plucked a card from his hand. "I play The Warrior Returning Alive! With this I add Sparkman back to my hand!" Sparkman popped out of his Graveyard and Jaden placed him on his Disk. "Come on out, Sparkman!" The lighting HERO appeared on the field. (ATK: 1600/ DEF: 1400)
"Next up, I play O - Oversoul!" He inserted the Spell Card, and a giant "O" with a ghostly flame around it flashed on the field. "This card allows me to Special Summon a Normal Elemental HERO from my Graveyard!" He explained. "I'm bringing you back, Burstinatrix!" The flame heroine appeared on Sparkman's left side. (ATK: 1200/ DEF: 800)
Jaden couldn't remove the grin from his face as he kept playing his cards. "Up next is a little card called R - Righteous Justice!" The Spell Card appeared on the field, illustrating a golden "R". "This card allows me to destroy Spells and Traps on the field equal to the number of Elemental HEROES I control!" He explained as one of Bastion's facedown and Spirit Barrier were shattered to pixels.
"And since there aren't any more face-up traps on the field, Litmus Doom Swordsman's stats go back to zero!" Jaden said as the swordsman power fell. (ATK: 3000-0/ DEF: 3000-0)
"H… E… R… O…" Erina mumbled slowly before she straightened up in surprise. "No way! He actually pulled it off?!" She exclaimed giddily, shocking Alexis and Zane.
"What? He pulled off what?" The blonde asked. She's never seen her friend this excited before.
"Just watch!" The bluenette said with a big smile on her face.
"I've actually never managed to pull this off before…" The grin on Jaden's face was even bigger as he inserted his last card. "I activate Hero Flash!!" The Spell Card appeared on the field. On it was the word HERO, with each letter being in a different color. "By banishing H - Heated Heart, E - Emergency Call, O - Oversoul and R - Righteous Justice, I get to Special Summon a Normal Elemental HERO from my deck!" The letters slowly appeared behind Jaden as he explained.
A card popped out of his deck and Jaden slammed it on his Disk. "It's time to join the fight, Elemental HERO Avian!" The feathered HERO appeared on Sparkman's right side. (ATK: 1000/ DEF: 1000)
Bastion sighed inwardly in relief, thinking something more would happen. It seemed he was worried for nothing.
"Alright, guys, attack for the win!" Jaden threw his arm forward as all three of them charged forward.
"I activate my facedown, Kunai with Chain!" A three-pronged blade attached to a chain appeared in Litmus Doom Swordsman's arms. "With this I change your Sparkman to defense position!" The swordsman spun around, launching the chained blade forward, wrapping it around Sparkman. "I then equip it to my Litmus Doom Swordsman, giving him an extra 500 attack points on top of the 3000 he gains from having a Trap Card on the field!" Red energy flew out of the chain, getting absorbed by the swordsman. (ATK: 0-3500/ DEF: 0-3000)
"So much for you ending it this turn." Bastion chuckled, but gasped when Avian and Burstinatrix flew past Litmus Doom Swordsman. "What's this?!" He took a step back.
"Oh, did I forget to mention that Hero Flash!! allows all of my Normal Elemental HEROES to attack you directly this turn? Oops…" Jaden shrugged playfully, a small smirk on his face.
Bastion covered his face as sharp feathers and fire rained down on him, lowering all of his Life Points.
Bastion: 0
Cheers erupted all around as their monsters disappeared and their Duel Disks deactivated.
Zane smiled. "I guess when it comes to Jaden Yuki, Bastion miscalculated…" He mused. He felt inspired by Jaden's strategy. He won without relying on his Extra Deck. Maybe it's time he searched for something similar for his own deck?
"Yeah, some strategies you just can't solve." Alexis smiled, a sense of pride swelling inside her due to Jaden's victory. "And that was quite the creative win as well!"
"That's Jaden for you…" Erina laughed. "No amount of prep can help you against him."
"Wow, he did it!"
Alexis turned in the direction of the voice she heard, seeing the man from the Abandoned Dorm last night, cheering excitedly for Jaden's victory.
Gerard was ecstatic, he hadn't seen such an exciting duel in years. "What a duel!" He pumped his arms in the air a few times before stopping. "Thanks, Jaden… you reminded me why I originally fell in love with this game." He turned and began to leave. He wished he could stay and watch the rest of it, but he had a boat to catch.
While the others were cheering, Crowler was wallowing in despair. "Will this slacker ever lose?!" He cried as he sank to the floor.
"Splendid duel, boys!" Chancellor Sheppard rose from his seat, clapping. "Jaden, you will be advancing to the final match!"
Jaden grinned as his friends jumped onto the platform, all of them cheering for him. "That was awesome, Jaden!" Chumley exclaimed as he gave the brunet a bone crushing hug.
"Thanks, Chum…" He wheezed out as the portly boy placed him back on the ground.
"Nice one!" Erina gave him a high five. "I never expected you'd finally pull that combo off!"
"Yeah, way to play, Jay!" Syrus praised.
"Indeed." Bastion walked up to them. "You beat me fair and square, Jaden, or rather, you beat this deck." He held up his Disk. "But, you can be sure there will be another, you've given me plenty to think about when it comes to deck building." He smiled and held out his hand.
"Can't wait!" Jaden grinned as he slapped it before shaking it.
Even though Jaden was loving the praise he was getting from his friends, he was missing someone's the most. He looked up to where she was up in the stands to see that only Zane was there.
"She went after Gerard." Yubel said mentally as she finally returned.
"Yubel? I thought you were watching over Gerard?" He asked her mentally, a bit worried.
"I was, he was right here watching your duel. And he was quite excited by it." She chuckled. "You should go if you want to catch up to them."
"Right!" He turned to his friends. "I'll… uhm… see you guys in a bit, okay?" He excused himself and rushed off, leaving them to stare at him in confusion.
A small smirk did appear on Erina's face once she noticed that Alexis was also missing.
Gerard was slowly walking through the empty corridors with a relaxed smile on his face.
"Hey, you! Stop right there!"
He stopped and turned at the voice, seeing that it was the girl he met last night.
"You're that creep who was asking me questions about the dorm." Alexis accused angrily. "What are you doing here?"
Gerard was still smiling as he stuffed his hands into his pockets. "Not what I thought, I can tell you that…" He admitted, causing the blonde to look at him in confusion.
Before she could continue to interrogate him, they heard someone running down the corridor towards them. They looked and saw Jaden running over, stopping next to Alexis.
"Okay, Gerard, talk." Jaden caught his breath before looking at him. "We know you're not a student, so tell us the truth or we'll have to turn you in."
"Gladly." He said, taking the two teens by surprise. "You see, I came here looking for a story, but I found something very different." The reporter smiled at Jaden. "I found the duelist inside me; the duelist I had thought was long gone. I'm a reporter, kids, but I'm assuming you already knew that?" They nodded. "I'll admit it, I'm one of the sleazy ones. I make a living digging up dirt no one wants unearthed. But, it wasn't always like that. I used to take on spells and monsters before I took on tabloid pictures."
"I used to be a duelist just like you, kids." He continued. "But, I wasn't any good at it and I kept on losing. The memories were awful and I gave it up, but after today? Well, I remembered what dueling was really about."
He took out a small device from his pocket. "I had a great lead that I was going to sell to the highest bidder… a lead that would most likely ruin Duel Academy." He put it back in his pocket. "But, I don't want to ruin this place… not anymore. I just want to help now, to find all those missing students. Including your brother, Alexis."
Both teens stared in shock from what they heard. Alexis more so than Jaden as he already knew what Gerard was after, but they were most surprised by the complete change of heart he had. All because of Jaden's match…
"Tell you what…"Jaden got both of their attention. "Call me crazy, but I believe you, so we won't say anything about you being here." Now Gerard was taken by surprise. "But, won't you come watch the rest of the tournament before you leave?" He pointed with his thumb behind him.
The reporter shook his head. "Sadly, no, responsibilities are calling and I have a boat to catch before it leaves." He turned halfway and stopped. "Although… Do you mind indulging my professional curiosity before I leave, Jaden?" He asked.
The brunet tilted his head, wondering what he was going to ask until he heard Yubel tell him that he knew. "Sure…" Jaden shrugged casually. "She knows as well, so go ahead."
'Is this kid a psychic?' Gerard asked himself, surprised that Jaden knew what he'd ask him. He shook his head and looked at the teen. "I've written countless articles about all kinds of topics and investigated a few people with fake identities who've done their damndest to stay hidden, but never have I encountered something quite like your situation." Gerard said, honestly baffled by this. "You don't hide in any way, no fake name, no altered appearance, yet... the world doesn't seem to recognize you. I mean, if I hadn't come across your file and put two and two together, which wasn't easy still, I wouldn't have ever suspected you were Yugi Muto's kid! How have you managed to hide all these years?"
Jaden smiled slightly, this guy knew his stuff. But, it did feel nice that even a reporter couldn't recognize him easily. "Well, it was all thanks to Seto Kaiba." He revealed. "He's the one who made sure the reporters stayed away from me and only let the ones he trusted interview my parents. After that, he made a VI program that solely scanned the internet for anything related to me that lacked permission from Kaiba Corp. It corrupts it, so it's unsalvageable, and deletes it. So whenever someone recognized me and secretly took a picture to post it on the internet, it would disappear completely in a matter of seconds." Jaden explained. "And after a while, it all died down, people stopped asking questions and pretty much forgot about me."
"Wow... that's..." Gerard was lost for words. These are quite the lengths to go to hide someone.
"Excessive?" Jaden chuckled. "Yeah, you can say that. But, I got a quiet and normal childhood to recover in and grow up like a normal kid."
"I see…" Gerard nodded in understanding. It made sense when he thought about it more. They took in a traumatized child and the last thing they'd want is the media constantly bugging them. "I certainly won't come across something like this again, that's for certain." He scratched his head. "But, don't you think it's time you show yourself to the world? Since you're here at Duel Academy, that means you plan on going pro in the future."
Jaden shrugged. "I will have to at some point, but not yet. I like how things are right now."
Gerard nodded as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a business card. "Well, it is your choice, but whenever you do decide to show yourself, mind giving me the first interview?"
Jaden laughed slightly and took it. "Sure, why not?"
"Well then, thank you, Jaden, for today." He gave them both a grateful smile before turning to leave. "I'll get in touch if I find anything."
"Are you sure that was a good idea?" Alexis asked when Gerard was finally out of earshot. "Telling him all that and letting him go?"
"Of course." Jaden said. "Gerard is a good guy deep down and will keep quiet about everything. I don't know why, but ever since I was little I could tell when someone genuinely means what they say." He smiled. "I guess you can say that's one of my superpowers." He joked, causing Alexis to roll her eyes.
"Sure it is." She turned, heading back towards the arena.
"What, you don't believe me?" Jaden followed after her.
"After all the crazy things that have happened in just half a year?" She shrugged. "I honestly wouldn't even question it if you suddenly did have superpowers."
Jaden paused for a moment, staring at her in surprise. "Now that's food for thought, isn't it?" He heard Yubel say as she appeared for a quick moment.
It sure was. It was something he'd have to address sooner or later, but that was for another time. Right now he had another thing on his mind as he glanced down at her hand, a mischievous smirk appearing on his face.
He grabbed her and spun her around, wrapping his arms around her and kissing her.
Her mind blanked out for a few moments from the sudden act. "W-What are you doing?!" She asked as they broke off the kiss, looking around in a panic, worried that someone might walk in on them.
"What?" Jaden smirked, admiring how cute she looked when her cheeks were red. "Just because you didn't give me a good luck kiss doesn't mean I won't give you one."
Alexis' blush intensified under his loving gaze. "W-What if someone sees us?" She voiced her concern, looking away bashfully. Jaden just shrugged, agitating her slightly as he didn't share her concern one bit. "Honestly, what am I gonna do with you?" She complained.
Jaden chuckled. "Hey, you say that, but judging by the way you're clinging to me, you're even less concerned than you say you are."
"Huh?" Alexis tilted her head in confusion until she realized what he was talking about. She was gripping the collar of his jacket with both hands and was firmly pressed against him.
"I-I… uhm…" She stammered, trying and failing to think of an excuse. She sighed in exasperation, admitting defeat this time. "Oh, shut up!" She hissed as she crashed her lips against his.
Their little make out session was sadly cut short by a booming voice speaking over the intercom. "Attention, students! The second match is about to begin!"
"Damn…" Jaden grumbled as they separated their kiss. "I was just getting into it as well."
"Stop saying stuff like that!" Alexis complained, blushing profusely. "Why do you have to say such embarrassing things?!"
"Because your reactions are fun, Lex!" He teased, laughing slightly.
Alexis however, didn't find it as amusing as Jaden did. She was glaring daggers at him as she reached out for his nose, doing the same thing as last night, but this time twisting it even harder.
"Ow!" Jaden screamed as he took a step back and clutched his nose, tears appearing in his eyes from the pain. "Why do you keep going for my nose?!"
She shrugged, an unapologetic smirk on her face. "Because your reactions are fun, Jay!" She quoted him as she turned around and began walking towards the arena.
"Feisty" Jaden mumbled under his breath as he rubbed his nose, smiling nonetheless. Call him crazy, but he liked this side of her a lot.
He caught up to her before she reached the arena entrance and gave her a peck on the cheek. "Good luck."
"Thanks." Alexis smiled.
And that's this chapter done. Hero Flash!! is probably one of my favorite ways to win a duel just because of how silly it is. I was originally gonna go with the surprise Mask Change II route, but I like this better, plus I'm saving that card for season 2.
And Jaden tells Alexis and Gerard how he's remained hidden all these years. Obviously, it was all gonna be Kaiba's doing. The man built a space station to the afterlife, keeping someone hidden in plain sight is child's play.
See you guys next time for the match between Alexis and Erina! Stay safe!