Chapter 11: Ape Escape, and The Duel of the Dead

When most people think of Duel Academy Island, they might think of the Academy itself, the three dorms, to a select few the abandoned dorm, and the many students and faculty that call the island home. But what most people don't realize that there is a lesser known building hidden off from the civilians on the island. A hidden facility tucked into the trees on the far side of the island, to anyone who may have come across it beforehand they may have mistaken it for another abandoned dorm.

*CRASH!* there was a sound of glass breaking.

*WARNING!* *WARNING!*

"Code Red! I repeat this is a Code Red!"

Inside the facility a flurry of movement could be seen. The occupants, some dressed in black suits and sunglasses, while the others wore white lab coats, began to run towards a small alcove down the hall from their current position. One of the men in suits opened a secret compartment revealing tranquilizer guns that he furiously began handing to each person in range.

"We must hurry" One of the suits declared as he finished loading his gun, "We can't let the specimen escape!"

Elsewhere in the facility a monkey broke out of one of the rooms. The simian was equipped with some kind of high tech helmet, along with a duel disk strapped to its arm. It bolted towards the elevator only to find a guard waiting within with his gun pointed at the creature. The guard fired but missed his mark by a few inches, giving the monkey just enough time to jump onto his head and into the elevator as the door closed. The monkey took a few deep breathes as the elevator moved upward until it stopped with an audible ding. The door opened and the monkey scampered out the door and through a glass window, before disappearing into the night.


The next morning Chazz exited the main building with a bag over his shoulder. He turned back to take a look at the building one last time. He shook his head as he remembered how he had been denied his right. He sneered. "Stinking duel academy, you mock me, you strip me of my rank, well i've had it!" He made his way to the docks before making his final farewell "Farewell you lousy school, you won't have Chazz Princeton to kick around anymore!"


The next morning everyone awaited the start of Professor Banners class. The door flew open as Syrus ran through the door out of breath. He took a moment to survey the crowd before running directly to Haru. "Haru, Haru, it's awful! He's gone!"

"Hold up there Syrus, take a breath. Who's gone?" Haru asked.

"Its Chazz! He's gone!" Syrus replied.

"That doesn't seem to bad to me" Haru shrugged. He seemed to be the only one unconcerned though as the crowd began to gossip all around them.

"I'm not surprised either" Bastion said stopping beside the roid duelist to listen in. "He lost in one turn to Sarah and lost to me as well the next day. Add that to the fact that you made a fool of him during the promotion Duel, his track record against each of the dorms is shaping up to be less than stellar."

"Poor guy's ego probably couldn't take the strain of losing three times" Haru smirked

"Come on Haru" Syrus said to his roommate. "I know that Chazz has been a total pain in the ass to us since we got here, But what if he's in some kind of danger? What if he needs our help"

Haru sighed and pushed himself out of his chair "Fine, but if that spiky haired ego balloon is in some sort of trouble and I save him, I'm holding it over his head till the day he's six feet under".

"I wouldn't expect anything else" Syrus nodded as the two headed out the classroom doors. Alexis and her two companions Mindy and Jasmine watched as they left, each with a puzzled look on their face.

" I wonder what those two are up to" Sarah nudged Eiji as they watched them leave.

Eiji placed a bookmark in the book he was reading before turning to watch them leave. "Knowing what Haru usually gets up to it could lead to one of two things. 1. Shenannigans or 2. An unexpected adventure" He shrugged "Best to let them be for the time being, if anything gets out of hand we can step in later".

Attention! Will Eiji Hayata and Sarah Oeuvre please report to the chancellor's office immediately! I repeat Eiji Hayata and Sarah Oeuvre please report to the chancellor's office!

"Looks like someone's in trouble!" one of their fellow Obelisks yelled warranting another round of gossiping from the crowded classroom. The two looked at each other with confusion.

"Did we do something wrong?" Eiji asked looking around.

"Not that I can think of" Sarah shook her head.

'Well…" they were interrupted by Professor Banner who had just entered the classroom, "Perhaps you should hear him out before jumping to any conclusions". The teacher chuckled a bit before continuing down the stairs down towards the podium.

"Right!" the two jumped out of their seats and headed towards the door, "Thank you sir". With that the duo headed off towards the chancellor's room.

"With all that out of the way, Let's get started hmmm?" Banner looked around and was greeted by the sight of a few empty seats. "Oh dear we seem to be missing a few people, Were are Haru and Syrus? Not to mention Alexis, Jasmine and Mindy?".

Bastion turned to look back at the Obelisk seating and found three seats in a row vacant, "How peculiar."


Haru and Syrus managed to escape the main campus building through a hole in the wall they had discovered a few weeks before. As they finished the long crawl they got up and began to dust themselves off.

"You know that normal people use the doors right?" Syrus let out a short scream, while Haru jumped a few inches into the air in surprise. The boys looked to see Alexis,Jasmine and Mindy watching them in amusement.

"Oh hey Alexis" Haru said regaining his composure. "We were just sneaking out to get an early start on some homework."

"I figured you would be a better liar than that" Alexis shook her head. "We know you're going to look for Chazz, we heard you talking about it earlier"

"Yeah….. We were" Syrus said rubbing the back of his head. "Are you going to try to stop us?"

'Oh we have no intent on stopping you boys" Alexis shook her head. "In fact we plan on offering our assistance."

"Why?" Haru frowned. "I figured you and I were on the same level in terms of not liking the guy."

"You may be right on that account" Alexis told him. "But Chazz is an Obelisk and we have to look after our own."

"I suppose that's fair" Haru shrugged "Let's get going shall we?" The two slifer boys and the Obelisk girls ran off towards the woods to look for Chazz.


Meanwhile on the upper floors of the Main campus building Eiji and Sarah had just arrived in the chancellor's office. As the doors slid open they were met by the sight of Zane, Crowler and Chancellor sheppard standing around the laters desk.

"Morning Zane." The elder obelisk boy fixed him with his gaze, but the stoic look on his face did not waver. "Good to see you're as cheerful as always".

"Good morning Doctor Crowler" Sarah addressed the Obelisk head, "And to you Chancellor Sheppard"

Crowler seemed to be oddly happy for this time of morning, his gaze made Eiji's stomach turn as the two sat down in the chairs on the other side of the desk. The chancellor seemed rather happy as well as he turned to address the new occupants of the room, "Hello Mr. Hayata, Ms. Oeuvre, I'm glad that the two of you could join us on such short notice"

"I hope I didn't do anything to bad" Eiji asked.

"Please, your two of my best students I doubt you would ever do anything that would get you in enough trouble to see the chancellor" Crowler assured him.

"Dr. Crowler is right you two aren't in any sort of trouble, in fact it's quite the opposite" Sheppard smiled "We would like to offer you a chance to represent the school in one of our most prestigious yearly events."

"Yearly events?" Sarah frowned running off the events she had heard of beforehand "Are you referring to the school duel perhaps?"

"As expected of one of my students" Crowler said patting her on the back. "Well informed as always"

"I hate to say it but i'm not exactly well versed in the Academy events from previous years" Eiji raised his hand. "What is the School Duel?"

"Well it's a competition we have every year between our academy and north academy" Sheppard explained. "Usually we just pick the best student from each school and have them compete, but this year we decided to take it up a notch"

"And I assume that's why we're here" Eiji asked.

"Precisely" Crowler answered "We have reviewed your test scores, and decided that you two should be considered for the Tag duel portion of it."

"Considered?" Sarah asked "so you have other candidates?"

"There is another duo we have been looking at for the the role, yes" Sheppard nodded, "so to make sure we pick the best candidates we arranged a duel-off for later today to see who should represent us"

"We would love to" Sarah said speaking for the two of them, "Who are our opponents?"

"They're twins from the Obelisk dorm" Zane broke his silence "They go by their last name more often than not, Romero."

"Sounds interesting" Eiji said "If I may ask, what is the prize of winning this School Duel?"

"Eiji" Sarah kicked him.

"What? It's a reasonable question" Eiji said looking at her.

"He's right, I should have told you what you are possibly dueling for" Sheppard said bending down below the desk and lifting something upward. "We fight for the right to keep this in the great halls of this academy, as well as the prize contained within" He rattled it back and forth and the two heard the sound of clanking within.

"What's inside?" Sarah asked curious now.

Sheppard held his finger in front of his lips "That's a trade secret".

"With that I don't think we have to iron anything else out" Crowler said clapping his hands together. "I'll be taking my leave to inform the Romero twins of their upcoming duel" He turned towards the two obelisk students "Be sure to give it your all, you're my students after all, I expect no less."


Back in the woods, the slifer boys and obelisk girls were calling out for Chazz as they passed through the brush. What seemed like half an hour had passed and they still had no luck, but still they persisted on.

"That's it" Alexis said getting frustrated. "CHAZZ YOU LITTLE TOAD YOU BETTER SHOW YOURSELF RIGHT NOW BECAUSE IF THIS IS A TRICK, YOU BETTER HOPE I DON'T FIND YOU!" Her sudden outburst scared the birds that at one time lined the trees, causing them to scatter.

"Jesus, you're pretty scary when you get frustrated." Haru flinched

"I'm sure there's a perfectly natural explanation for Chazz disappearing." Jasmine said calmly.

"Yeah maybe he snuck out to get me some flowers" Mindy said, gushing. "My Chazzy is so romantic"

Haru stopped and fixed her with a disturbed glance "Hold on, Did you just call him Chazzy?"

"Yeah, so?"

"She goes through crushes like a mill deck goes through cards" Jasmine told him. "Last week it was Bastion, the week before Zane, and the week before Eiji."

"You have terrible taste in men" Haru said "You had a crush on Eiji?"

"I mean he was really cool during the promotion duels" MIndy shrugged.

"And besides, the fact that you called Chazz romantic makes me think you never met the guy" Syrus pointed out.

Suddenly they heard something move just out of their field of vision. Alexis stopped and held up a hand motioning for them to be silent. "What is it?" Haru asked following her gaze. As he looked he realized her glance was firmly planted on a nearby bush.

"Something's moving" She said as she motioned to the rest of the group.

"Chazzy?"

"Alright this has gone on long enough, time for you to get your ass back to school" Haru said making his way towards the bushes. Something lept from the bush, scaring the group and plowing right into them, there was a 20 second scuffle before it retreated back into the woods. The group got up after the scuffle and dusted themselves off.

"Not Chazz" Syrus said.

"Not human either" Alexis added.

"What was that thing?" Mindy asked

"I heard it"

"Where'd it go?"

"There it is"

"Move!"

Three men in black suits ran through the clearing, one of them a man with sunglasses was currently in the process of reloading his gun.

They heard a scream, and the four remaining kids realized what or rather whom was missing from their party.

"Jasmine!"

The creature, now recognized as a monkey, continued to leap through the trees with Jasmine in its grasp.

"It's what she always wanted" Mindy said. "Some guy to sweep her off her feet."

"Yeah but if you haven't noticed Mindy, that's a monkey not a guy" Alexis pointed out.

"Whats going on?" Syrus asked.

"Who cares, It's got Jasmine, we have to save her" haru said. The four remaining students began to follow the path of the rampaging monkey.


Jasmine frantically wiggled in the monkeys grasp to no avail, as the primate made its way to a cliff at the edge of the island with a single tree hanging over the edge. After climbing the tree Jasmine decided to do the opposite and beg the ape not to let her go.

The men in the black suits caught up to the pair first, and the man with the rifle bent down on one knee to aim up a shot. "When you have the shot take it" the short one commanded.

"Sir" the one with the gun said "I can't take the shot without harming the girl, as much as we need the monkey I dont think its worth the trouble we would be in if we hurt her."

It was at that moment Haru and co broke through the trees and into the clearing. The first thing Haru noticed besides the obvious Helmet and odd harness was that the simian had a duel disk strapped to its arm. "Am I hallucinating or is that monkey wearing a duel disk?" He asked Syrus.

"It's either that or a really oddly shaped sanana" Syrus commented, warranting a slap on the head from Haru "Ow."

"Thats no banana, or an ordinary monkey" one of the suits said "His name is Wheeler, and he's a trained duelist"

"Hold on Wheeler?" Haru frowned "Why does that name sound familiar?"

(Flashback)

Haru sat across from pegasus in his study, they had retired to a spot in front of the fire after a long day of training with his new deck. Haru who was a few years younger at the time sipped a cup of hot cider and stared into the flickering flames.

"Mr. Pegasus?" He asked.

"Please my boy refer to me as Dad I'm your legal guardian after all." The silver haired man replied swishing a cup of wine in his right hand.

"Um ok Dad?" Haru tried again feeling a bit awkward as he called him this. "You were familiar with the top three duelists in the world right?"

"Yes my boy I was indeed, in fact the three of them were all contestants in my finest work the Duelist Kingdom Tournament." Pegasus explained. "Why do you ask?"

"Well I was wondering about how they interacted" Haru said curiously. "Kaiba always seems to have a stick up his ass when we meet with him on those rare occasions, but I never met Yugi or Joey"

"Language my boy, cursing is unbefitting of you" Pegasus laughed. "But you're not wrong, Kaiba has always been at odds with the other two, I guess you could say it was the money weighing down on his ability to function in modern society. Yugi and Joey were best friends, almost inseparable during the trials they faced during their school tenure. Kaiba would show up to help more often than not, only because he saw Yugi as his eternal rival"

"What about Joey?"

"Well he often referred to him as a dueling monkey" Pegasus laughed

(End flashback)

"Hold on, Wheeler? Joey Wheeler? You stooges work for Kaiba don't you?" Haru yelled.

"Um guys I hate to interrupt, but I'm still facing down my imminent demise" Jasmine said tightening her grip on the monkey as she looked down in fear.

"Alright, alright" Haru said cracking his shoulder "I guess if you say he's a trained duelist, then there's only one way I can settle this then, with a duel! You hear that monkey boy let's throw down."

Wheeler stared at the slifer cautiously as he gripped the obelisk girl in his arms.

"I think you got his attention Haru" Syrus pointed out.

"Ok if I win you let your captive go" Haru said laying out terms.

"If you win, we, including the stooges with the guns back there will let you go free" The three men behind him began to grumble under their breath, knowing that losing such a specimen was a bad idea.

"Um, so where does that leave me? " Jasmine cried

"Don't worry Jasmine, I have no intention of losing" Haru gave her a reassuring smile, "So what do you say Wheeler?"

Wheeler let out a series of screeches. "I'll take that as a 'yes'"

"How is it they understand each other?" Mindy wondered.

"I guess the training that Wheeler has been partaking in has given him the ability to understand human language" Alexis shrugged "that or Haru is part monkey."

"Hey!" Haru yelled. "I heard that!"

Wheeler placed Jasmine at the top of the tree before leaping to a rock near the base of the trunk. It let out another shriek as its duel disk sprang to life.

"Looks like you're as ready to go as I am" Haru smiled as he activated his as well.

"I have a clear shot" the man with the gun reported as he took up aim.

"Hold your fire. This may be the field test we have been waiting for" His superior told him.

"Alright let's duel" Haru said

"Duel!" A robotic voice from Wheelers helmet declared.

"It can talk?" Syrus asked surprised.

"Don't be ridiculous" the scientist said "the helmet reads his thoughts and speaks for him."

Wheeler laughed through the helmet, as the two drew their opening hands.

W:4000

H:4000

"I'll take the first turn" Haru said as he drew his card. "I'll start off by summoning my Markalite Cannon in attack position" the satellite themed weapon emerged from a flash of light as its top began to rotate back and forth.

Anti Kaiju Weapon Markalite Cannon level 2 (1300/1300)

"My turn, My turn" Wheeler said. "Draw!" Through his helmet he scanned the cards in front of him: [ Berserk Gorilla, Atk:2000, level 4, Recommended attack with this monster] "Berserk Gorilla! Attack mode! Attack Mode!" Wheeler placed his card on the field, making a large gorilla with glowing red eyes appear before him.

Berserk Gorilla level 4 (2000/1000)

"Oh Come on you gave him an ape deck? Really? Couldn't you have been more creative" Haru said giving a disappointed glance at the suited men.

"There's a simple explanation for that" the leader said.

"Save it" Haru waved him off "I'm not interested."

"Berserk Gorilla attacks Markalite Cannon!" Wheeler let out a series of screeches as the gorilla sent a mighty punch that shattered Haru's cannon.

H:4000-3300

"Now one card face down," Wheeler said."End turn. End turn. Monkey see Monkey Duel, Better!"

"Oh joy and the monkey puns are a thing to now" Haru groaned.

"I make a monkey out of you, you! You!" Wheeler taunted as Haru rubbed his eyes in annoyance.

"Don't lose your focus Haru" Syrus coached

"Little bit difficult syrus" Alexis added. "He's losing to a monkey after all".

"Oh you're a real help" Haru grumbled as he drew his next card. "First I activate the spell Offering of Soma!" the spell card's image revealed two shadows approaching a village with giant pots of red liquid inside. "Now I can look at the top two cards of my deck and if there's a monster card with Kaiju in its name I get to add it to my hand, as long as I discard a card beforehand". He placed a card in the graveyard slot before drawing two cards. "Looks like it's my lucky day I drew two monsters." He revealed the two before adding them to his hand. "Now I play Double summon to call forth Kaiju legend Giant Octopus and Hyper Laser Cannon to my field." The giant octopus appeared in a flash of light next to the shiny new laser cannon.

Kaiju Legend Giant Octopus level 2 (1000/1000)

Anti Kaiju Weapon Hyper-Laser Cannon level 3 (1600/1600)

"Monster's not strong enough" Wheeler pointed out "Not destroy Berserk Gorilla"

"You would think" Haru smiled "But i happen to know your monsters downside, I tribute my Octopus to switch your monster to defense mode" The octopus jumped across the field and attached itself to the gorilla switching it to defense position. "When Berserk Gorilla is switched to defense position its destroyed" Haru explained. "And now my Laser cannon can attack you directly" The metallic cannon charged up a beam before sending it straight towards Wheeler.

W:4000-2400

"Looks like i'm not losing anymore" Haru cheered as he watched the monkey assume a sitting position "Are you quitting now?"

"Alright Haru, pulled off a 1600 direct attack," Syrus said. "Good for us"

"Yeah, but not so much for our furry friend" Alexis commented.

"Does that mean he's giving up?" Mindy asked.

"Please it was only one mistake" the old man said. "If he made one mistake back in his training he would be punished for it" The kids gasped. "No if anything he will get three times better after learning from that mistake."

"Thats sort of top secret sir" One of his companions whispered into his ear.

"Oh right, just forget I said anything."

"Hey Wheeler, don't tell me you're giving up" Haru challenged.

"Never surrender, never surrender" Wheeler declared as he drew for turn. [Acrobat monkey ,level 4 atk:1000 Recommended: Will combo with cards in hand to win battle].

"Then let's get back to it shall we?"

"I summon Acrobat Monkey in attack mode" Wheeler summoned a small metallic monkey that began to flip back and forth in its card zone.

Acrobat monkey level 4 (1000/1800)

"Now I activate facedown DNA surgery!" Wheeler declared.

"Not that card again" Haru sighed having flashbacks to his duel with Zane.

"I choose Beast Type! Beast Type!" Acrobat began to grow until it looked more like a monkey wearing a suit of armor than a robot. "Now I play Wild Nature's Release!"

"Wild Nature's Release?" Alexis said realizing the monkeys angle. "When it's played beast type monsters gain attack equal to their defense until the end phase. This monkey knows what it's doing."

Acrobat Monkey level 4 (1000-2800)

"Go Acrobat Monkey attack Super Laser Cannon with somersault smash!" The monkey did a somersault in the air before whacking the cannon with its tail destroying it.

H:3300-2100

After the attack Acrobat Monkey held its head in pain before shattering into pieces.

"What just happened?" Syrus asked

"When Wild Nature's Release is used on a monster, that monster is destroyed during the end phase" Alexis explained.

" Your turn! Your turn" Wheeler declared.

"Alright, my draw then " Haru said as he drew his card. Before he could look at it he was interrupted by the sound of additional screeching. Looking off to the side he observed near a few rocks a group of new monkeys observing their duel. "Hey look guys over there."

"Uh-oh more monkeys" Syrus gasped.

"There must be a whole tribe of them" Mindy added.

Haru heard a grunting noise as a new spirit appeared beside him, this one a rather large gorilla. The gorilla nodded towards him before raising a finger towards Wheeler. "So you miss your family? Is that why you escaped Wheeler?"

Wheeler nodded "Must win, miss friends, miss family" He said.

"Wheeler I know you want to be free, but I made a promise" Haru shook his head. "I have to save Jasmine so I have to win this duel. I play Tribute Burial, by sacrificing my ability to special summon this turn I can banish a monster from both of our graveyards to tribute summon a monster. I target your Berserk Gorilla and my Markalite Cannon. To the sound of drumbeats and the sound of a screaming offering, the King of the Jungle approaches to make his presence known. Grace us with your presence Kaiju Legend King Kong!" A pair of gates appeared on the field as the sound of giant footsteps could be heard behind them. As the doors began to open they revealed a colossal brown haired gorilla with abnormally large arms. It stormed forth onto the field before throwing out its chest and letting out a grunt.

Kaiju Legend King Kong Level 9 (2600/2300)

"Kong is already a beast type so it's unaffected by the effect of DNA Surgery" Haru explained "and with just enough attack he can rid you of the rest of your life points"

"Oh no, Oh no" Wheeler cried as he realized the outcome of the duel was all but decided.

"Go Kong attack him Directly with Electric Fist Discharge!" Kong took two long steps before dealing a large punch directly to wheeler discharging a mass of electricity.

W: 2400-0

Wheeler's helmet showed an eyecon of a sad monkey on its screen as the words "You Lose" flashed across it.

"And that concludes my rampage" Haru said. "Now please let Jasmine go"

Wheeler picked Jasmine out of the tree and placed her on the ground. The obelisk girl ran into Alexis and Mindys arms. She then turned to Haru "Thanks for saving me."

"Don't mention it" Haru gave her a salute.

"What about Wheeler?" Mindy asked, as the group turned to look at the monkey. He was currently looking as if he had lost something incredibly important to him.

"I know he kidnapped me and all, but I think he deserves better than to be someone's test subject" Jasmine added.

"Alright you flea ridden failure" the man with the gun said walking forward "lets go"

"I'll stop you right there" Haru said getting between them. "You taught him crappy monkey puns, you gave him a monkey themed deck, haven't you tortured him enough? Let him go back with his family"

"You know what? The boys right." the older man said "Wheeler should be with his family, so let's take them all back with us." He and his other companion withdrew guns from their jackets and began pointing them at the other monkeys.

The pitter patter of tiny feet could be heard as a pudgy cat leapt onto the men knocking them into each other.

"Pharaoh?" Syrus and the girls cried.

"Oh yay it's you" Haru deadpanned.

"Tsk Tsk Pharoah, naughty kitty!" everyone turned to see a familiar teacher with long hair and bifocals emerge from the trees."you'll have to forgive Pharaoh he gets rather testy when other animals….. and humans are threatened"

"Professor Banner?"

As if not hearing the children the old man turned over to look at Banner. "Who are you?"

"Oh just your average duelist, teacher, animal lover" Banner said as he kicked one of the guns over the cliff. "Now I don't think your boss would be very pleased if he found out you were threatening children, much less the authorities."

The old man growled in frustration knowing his chances of winning were slim.

As the men left, the kids got to work removing wheelers equipment until only the duel disk was left. They watched as Wheeler joined the tribe of monkeys without hesitation. "It's like a family reunion" Syrus commented

"Hey wheeler if Im ever in the area, you want to duel again sometime?" Haru called. Wheeler let out some grunts before waving goodbye. Haru nodded and crossed his arms "Sounds like a plan"

"Uh Haru. The talking helmet is gone now; Syrus informed him.

"That was a close one" Jasmine said. "If Professor Banner hadn't shown up, Wheeler and the rest of his family would have been goners."

"How did you find us professor?" Alexis asked

"Like I said I love animals" Banner said. "Plus it did help that Pharaoh can track just about anything"

"But why exactly were you looking for us?" Haru asked

"Well children, I wanted to tell you that Chazz is fine."

Haru shrugged "I guess that's good news"

"Yes but there is bad news as well, follow me please" he led the group down to the docks."you see early this morning, Chazz was spotted on a boat heading back to the mainland"

"Well isn't that a shame" Haru said smirking.

"He did make life here interesting" Syrus rolled his eyes.

"My Chazzy" Mindy sighed. The rest of the group sighed with her but not for the same reason.

'Hey cheer up everyone" Haru smiled He will probably come back her someday, and if he doesn't bring his colossal ego with him, perhaps I could call him a rival. Good rivals are hard to find after all"

"Class isn't hard to find however" Banner interrupted them. "And you five have some making up to do."

The kids all groaned as Banner led them back to school.


As the group entered the building they noticed flocks of students heading towards the arena.

"The duels getting ready to start!"

"Alright save me a seat!"

"Whats going on?" Alexis asked "whose dueling?

"Why don't we find out?" Banner said.

"It'll be nice to not be the one dueling for once" Haru yawned as he headed towards the arena to. Entering the doors to the arena they were met by a full house of students. Down below four Obelisks stood across from each other each shuffling the opposites deck.

"Looks like we get another tag duel" Haru pointed out as he stopped by the door.

" Between?" Syrus asked

"Looks like the Romero twins" Alexis said squinting downwards as the two sides moved back towards their respective corners. "I believe the other two are Eiji and Sarah."

"Huh?" Haru said running down to the bottom row and leaning over the railing "Why didn't that silver haired bastard tell me he was dueling?"

"Probably because you two left class before they could tell you" Bastion said from a nearby seat, he motioned to two currently unoccupied seats for them to sit in.

"Oh hey Bastion, Thanks for saving us some seats" Syrus said as he and Haru sat down beside the Ra.

"Not a problem my small friend" Bastion waved it off. "Apparently our Obelisk friends are competing to duel in the School duel"

"School duel?" Haru asked

"Long story short, it's apparently a yearly competition between Duel Academy and North Academy for some kind of prize. Usually it's just the school's best student vs theirs, but for some reason they decided to do a tag duel this year as well."

Haru nodded "Interesting."

Down below Eiji placed his deck into his blue, red, and silver duel disk, as sarah followed suit.

"So you're the hot stuff on the blue campus now?" The girl Obelisk they were facing said. She had shoulder length brown hair, with a strand of hair covering her right eye. "Can't say that I'm impressed, all you have under your belt is a one turn kill against Chazz, he was rather overhyped to begin with anyway."

"Now now Elliot" Her partner a brunette boy with short hair save for a strand covering his left eye said as he also inserted his deck. "These are our fellow obelisks after all they deserve some credit." He bowed. "My name is Andrew, excuse my sister she can be rather confrontational".

"We've gotten used to it" Sarah shrugged "There are a decent amount of unpleasant individuals in our dorm after all"

"I think that could be said about any of the dorms" Andrew replied. "Though i suppose our elitism does add to the air of superiority"

"You can say that again" Eiji said "Chazz called himself the best of what our dorm has to offer, but when the cards fell he was no more than a rich boy with a big ego."

Professor Crowler entered the arena with a microphone in hand, earning a round of applause from the blue dorm students. He took a bow and blew a few kisses before electing to get down to business. "Alright everyone, this duel is to determine our tag team representatives for the upcoming school duel. On my left are the masters of the undead, and undefeated tag team The Romero twins." Elliot and Andrew raised their hands up high earning a round of applause from the crowd. "And in the other corner, we have the Palate Warrior duelist and her companion the Ultra Hero duelist, Sarah Oeuvre and Eiji Hayata." The crowd let out a cheer as they raised their hands as well. "Elliot Romero will take the first turn as agreed on by both sides. Each side will share a field and graveyard, strategies can be shared anytime. So without further ado let the duel begin!" Crowler walked out of the arena.

E&A:8000

S&E:8000

"You heard the doctor it's my move" Elliot said as she drew for turn. " I activate Foolish Burial from my hand!" She pulled out her deck and fanned it out before retrieving a monster from it. "I choose Mezuki." She placed her deck back in her duel disk before sending the card to the graveyard. "Now I summon Gozuki to the field in attack mode." she declared as she placed the card on her field. A muscular black Humanoid bull appeared brandishing a cartoonishly oversized hammer.

Gozuki level 4 (1700/800)

"Gozuki's effect activates! During my main phase I can send a zombie monster from my deck to my graveyard, I choose Skull Flame." A card pushed itself out of her deck and she placed it in the discard slot. "Next comes Mizuki's effect in the graveyard, I can banish it and then special summon another zombie monster from my Graveyard, Arise Skull Flame!" A cloaked fiend wearing a skeletal headdress with an aura of flame appeared next to gozuki, letting out an unsettling shriek.

Skull Flame level 8 (2600/2000)

"Damn, right off the bat they have a level eight monster ready to do battle" Haru whistled, clearly impressed "I guess their reputation isn't a fluke afterall."

"Well there are a decent amount of tag teams around the island that are pretty good" Bastion reasoned. "So it was probably a feat to keep their undefeated streak alive."

"And with that my turn is over" Elliot said "Make sure you don't disappoint me"

"Alright then my turn" Sarah said. "I normal summon Palette Warrior Blue Guardian in defense mode"

Palette Warrior Blue Guardian level 4 (900/2000)

"Then I activate the spell Palette Magic:Reproduction" The spell card depicted two identical paintings sitting side by side. "As long as I control only one copy of a Palette Warrior monster I can special summon another copy of that monster from my deck, To my aid Blue Guardian number two!"

Palette Warrior Blue Guardian level 4 (900/2000) x2

'She's building up our defenses, that's good' Eiji thought as he looked at his hand. 'Hopefully I can play off of it when my turn comes.'

"I'll set a card and that's it for me" She declared as the facedown hologram appeared in front of her.

"Well then it seems it's my turn already" Andrew said. "I activate Skull Flame's ability. Once per turn i can special summon a Burning Skull Head from my hand!" He placed a card on the field as a flaming skull appeared in front of him. "When Burning Skull Head is special summoned from my hand you take 1000 points of direct damage" he explained as his skull let out a cackle before throwing itself at Sarah.

Burning Skull Head level 3 (1000/800)

S&E:8000-7000

"And for my normal summon say hello to Samurai Skull" He said placing another card. In a flash of light a disembodied samurai head with long jagged teeth and a long tongue appeared.

Samurai Skull level 4 (1700/0)

"When samurai skull is normal summoned I can send a zombie type monster from my deck to the graveyard, and I send Mezuki as well" revealing the card his sister also had, Andrew placed the card in the graveyard.

"Alright my draw" Eiji declared. "Here's my first move, the spell card Ultra Garrison's Call! When activated I can reveal the top two cards of my deck, if any of them are Ultra vessel monsters I can special summon them, as long as they're destroyed during the end phase". Drawing his first card he smiled. "Here comes Ultra Vessel Yuko Minami." In a flash a woman wearing a grey and orange jumpsuit and a yellow scarf appeared. She took out a pair of headphones and placed them on her head. He drew his second card and shook his head "looks like that's all I get."

Ultra Vessel Yuko Minami level 4 (1500/1500)

"But I'm not worried because Yuko had a neat special ability. When she's summoned I can add another Ultra Vessel monster from my deck to my hand." He revealed a monster card from his deck. "I add Ultra vessel Seiji Hokuto to my hand, and since I haven't used my normal summon he's joining the party as well." Appearing beside Yuko was a man in similar garb except he wore a helmet and a white scarf.

Ultra Vessel Seiji Hokuto level 4 (1600/1300)

"So you use your monster to bring out another weak monster?" Elliot shook her head "I expected more"

"Who said I was done?" Eiji asked.

"He does have a point Elliot" Andrew said. "Try to keep the judgements to a minimum while it's still the first turn"

"Shut up Andrew I'll do what I damn well please" Elliot stuck out her tongue.

"She's feisty" Haru grinned "She reminds me a bit of myself"

"Oh just what we need another one of you" Syrus sighed.

"Anyway, Seiji's ability activates! As long as I control another Ultra Vessel I can special summon an Ultra hero monster from my hand, and equip both Vessels to it. Seiji and Yuko exchanged a look before nodding as they jumped upwards, doing a front flip before bringing their ultra rings together. There was a flash of light as a silver being with red coloring appeared. This Ultra had a blue crystal on its' chest like the original Ultraman, and a mohawk like appendage sort of like Ultraseven, except not detachable. "Say hello to Ultraman Ace!" (4)

Ultra Hero Ace level 6 (2500/2500)

The crowd cheered as a new Ultra made its debut at the academy. Eiji smiled at the reaction but continued with his turn. "Ace's effect activates, as long as I detach an Ultra Vessel card from him at the end of the turn, I can target a monster on the field and deal damage to you equal to half that monster's attack! I choose your Skull flame, Go Ace! Timer Shot!. The ultra opened its arms as a rainbow beam was emitted from the jewel on its chest.

E&A:8000-6700

"And since I'm last to take my turn, I believe I can now attack. But first since Yuko is equipped to Ace he can now halve one of your monsters attack points. I'm choosing your Skull Flame yet again."

Skull Flame level 8 (2600-1300)

"Battle! Ace attacks Skull flame with Metallium Ray!" Ace moved his arms into an L shape as he released a rainbow stream at the monster, destroying it.

E&A:6700-5500

"Now that my end phase is here i have to discard one of Ace's Ultra vessels to the graveyard, so Seiji is hitting the road" He took the Ultra Vessel and placed it into the graveyard. "And that's my turn.

"Everyone's only had their first turn and we're already seeing a really interesting battle" Bastion said clearly pleased with how this was going. "Whoever wins will clearly be force to be reckoned with when the school duel comes long."

"But you're rooting for Eiji right?" Haru glared at him.

Haru's gaze made the Ra boy sweat "Of course I am."

"Then it's my turn" Elliot said. "I activate the spell Book of life! By banishing one monster in your graveyard and targeting one Zombie in mine I can special summon it to the field. Your Ultra Vessel is hitting the road, and our Skull Flame is making its triumphant return." The fiend with the bone headdress appeared on their field.

Skull Flame level 8 (2600/2000)

"I discard Skull Conductor from my hand, to special summon two zombie monsters equal to its attack! I special summon two Burning Skull Heads from my hand!"

Burning Skull Head level 3 (1000/800)x2

"And you know what that means" Elliot declared "another 2000 damage directed at your life points"

S&E:7000-5000

"I tribute both of my Burning Skull Heads to tribute summon Despair from the Dark!" The two flaming skulls were engulfed in darkness as a crimson shadow appeared only its long purple claws visible.

Despair from the Dark level 8 (2800/3000)

"Finally I equip my Skull flame with Big Bang Shot! Now without further ado let's battle. Skull Flame attacks one of your Blue Guardian!" The fiend held up a hand and a fireball sprung to life before it hurled it at the the blue warrior.

Skull flame level 8 (2600-3000)

S&E:5000-4000

"When Guardian is destroyed your monster is inflicted with two color counters" there was a loud splat as Skull Flame was inflicted with the counters.

Skull flame: 2x color counters

"Like that matters" Elliot smirked "Despair from the Dark Attack's Ultraman Ace!"

"I activate My facedown Palette Swap! When you declare an attack, I can copy the name of the monster your attacking into one of my other monsters and change the attack to it. My Blue Guardian now takes the attack!" Blue Guardian jumped in the way of the attacking monster before being shattered into pixels. "And now your Despair from the Dark gets two color counters as well" two splatters of paint covered the shadow.

Despair from the Dark: 2x color counters

"Ugh I wasn't able to get rid of your Ultra Hero" Elliot growled "Fine my turn is over."

"And so it starts mine" Sarah said. "I summon Palate Warrior White Mage in defense mode. With a loud splat the small magician appeared brandishing her oversized paintbrush staff.

Palette Warrior White Mage level 4 (1000/1800)

"Next comes the spell card, Palette Magic: Replenishment!" The card depicted a man with a beret pouring paint into an old bucket. "When this card is activated I can target my lowest attack monster on the field and gain life points equal to half its attack times the amount of color counters on the field. I count exactly four counters so I gain 2000 life points!"

S&E:4000-6000

"Very nice" Andrew clapped. "I wouldn't expect this duel to be over so soon, i'm starting to enjoy it, and while she probably won't admit it, Elliot is enjoying it to"

"White Mage's effect resurrects Blue Guardian by detaching one of your color counters" she pointed towards skull flame and a paint splatter disappeared. "And now Blue Defender arises from her slumber!" appearing beside the mage was the familiar knight.

Palette Warrior Blue Guardian level 4 (900/2000)

"Now I activate Palette Magic: Color Mixing! I offer up White Mage and Blue Guardian to create a new monster! Scourge of the seven seas be born from this fusion, Arise Palette Warrior Aqua Privateer!" as the two monsters vanished into the vortex the sound of a bell could be heard as a small boat emerged from the vortex. A young woman appeared wearing a light blue jacket along with a tricorne hat atop her head. A pistol and cutlass were strapped to her belt. She placed her boot on the front of the boat and leaned over giving her opponents a sleek smile.

Palette Warrior Aqua Privateer level 6 (1900/1800)

"What's the point of fusion summoning such a weak monster?" Syrus asked confused.

"Syrus have you not learned anything?" Haru asked.

"Clearly this new monster has an effect to make up for its attack deficit" Bastion nodded.

"Privateer's effect activates, all monsters on the field with color counters loose 200 attack for each counter"

Despair from the Dark level 8 (2800-2400)

Skull Flame level 8 (2600-2400)

"And then she gains the attack that they lost " privateers grin grew wider as she jumped across the field and delivered a slash to both skull flame and Despair from the dark. Wounds on their chests opened and gold began to spill out into her hands as she retreated.

Palette warrior Aqua Privateer level 6 (1900-2500)

"Battle! Privateer attacks Despair from the Dark!" Privateer snickered as she withdrew her pistol and let loose a round of fire on the shadow, destroying it.

E&A:5500-5400

"And now Ace attacks your Skull Flame! Metallium Ray!" Ace crossed its arms again and let loose another beam from its arms.

E&A:5400-5300

"Allright set them up and knock them down" Eiji cheered.

"That's it for me" Sarah concluded.

"Well then it looks like it's up to me then" Andrew said. "While I have a Skull Flame in my graveyard, I can banish it to special summon another monster from my hand, namely the Supersonic Skull flame" He placed the card on the tray as a new monster similar in appearance to Skull Flame appeared but this one had its' lower body replaced by that of a horse's.

Supersonic Skull Flame level 10 (2600/2000)

"I banish my Mezuki from graveyard to special summon Despair from the Dark" He placed the card in his deck box as the demented shadow resurrected from the graveyard.

Despair from the Dark level 8 (2800/3000)

"Supersonic Skull Flame's effect activates, you now take damage equal to the amount of burning skull heads in my graveyard times 400."

S&E:6000-5200

"And now we Battle! Supersonic Skull Flame attacks your Privateer!" Supersonic Skull Flame galloped across the field, trampling over the fusion monster.

S&E:5200-5100

"Now despair from the Dark attacks Ace!" Despair moved into the shadows before appearing behind the Ultra and slashing it across the back.

S&E:5100-4800

"I detach Yuko from Ace to keep him from being destroyed this battle" Eiji said as he placed the Ultra Vessel in the graveyard.

"Before i'm done I'm going to banish one of my Burning Skull Heads to return Skull Flame to the graveyard, and that looks like that's the end for me" Andrew shrugged. "I set a card and pass"

"During the end phase Ace returns to my deck, because he's not equipped with an Ultra Vessel." Eiji placed the Ultra on the top of his deck and watched as it was shuffled before drawing for turn. "I normal summon Ultra Vessel Dan Moroboshi" The familiar human form of Ultraseven appeared. "Now I activate his effect, I can activate a trap card with Ultra in its name from my hand." He held up a trap card "This one will suffice, it's called Call of the Ultra Capsule Monsters." The card depicted Dan looking into a bag filled with three capsules. "Now I can search for three Ultra Kaiju monsters in my deck and you pick one at random for me to special summon." Three holograms of backwards facing cards appeared before Elliot.

"Hmmm, I chose the middle" She mused as she pressed the middle one.

"Nice choice, you chose Ultra Kaiju Windom, so now I can special summon it." A large silver robot with a beak and a silver mohawk appeared.

Ultra Kaiju Windom Level 6 (2600/2300)

"You didn't tell me Eiji had Kaiju as well" Syrus said looking at Haru.

"Yeah because I told him that was my schtick" Haru grumbled.

"I activate Windom's effect! By banishing an Ultra Vessel monster in my graveyard it can destroy one monster on the field. As you know Yuko is still in the graveyard so I'm using her as cost. Go Windom use Laser Shot and destroy Despair from the Dark!" The giant robot fired a beam of energy that evaporated the shadow monster. "Now Windom attack his Supersonic Skull Flame" Eiji commanded as the giant robot raced across the field.

"But they have the same attack points" Elliot pointed out. "They'll both be destroyed"

"You're right, but my monster gets an effect when he's sent to the graveyard" Eiji smiled as the two monsters destroyed each other 'Thanks for your sacrifice'. "When Windom is destroyed I can special summon an Ultra Hero monster from my deck and equip him with a banished Ultra Vessel." A new card pushed itself out of the deck "Say hello to Ultra Hero Jack!" A small figure held its hand aloft as a new Ultra very similar in appearance to the original appeared in a flash. Eiji placed Yuko in the spell/trap zone behind it.

Ultra Hero Jack level 7 (2400/2500)

"When my Supersonic Skull Flame is sent to the graveyard I can special summon the Skull Flame my brother returned during his turn." Elliot said as the monster returned to the field"

Skull Flame level 8 (2600/2000)

"Every time they try to stage a comeback, the Romero twins found a way to get back in the game and prevent them from capitalizing on it." Bastion said "This has been an interesting duel."

"You probably think that will keep you safe for the time being huh?" Eiji smiled. "When equipped with Yuko as an Ultra Vessel I can have Jack gain 500 attack." Ultraman Jack flexed as he was bathed in a yellow light.

Ultra Hero Jack level 7 (2400-2900)

"Why didn't he activate that when he had Ace on the field?" Syrus asked "It would have given him a major advantage"

"It's because Ultra Heros can only use the effect of one ultra vessel they were equipped to once per turn, it's sort of a power balancer" Haru explained.

"Jack's effect activates, by discarding one card from my hand I can add an Ultra Armament spell card to my hand. Now I activate it! Go Ultra Armament Mace!" there was a shimmer as a red and silver mace appeared in Jack's right hand.

Ultra Hero Jack level 7 (2900-3100)

"When an Ultra Hero is equipped with this card it gains 200 attack and a special ability! Jack now does piercing damage."

"But none of my monsters are in defense position, that effect won't do a thing" Elliot pointed out.

"You would think that wouldn't you, so I activate block attack to switch your skull flame to defense". Skull flame took a knee and crossed its hands in a defensive stance. "Jack! Destroy that monster". Jack jumped into the air and did a flip before bringing the mace crashing down on skull flame.

E&A:5300-4200

"And I set a card for my last move, your go" Eiji said.

Elliot drew for turn and smiled " I summon Goblin Zombie in attack position" a skeletal goblin wielding a curved sword appeared on her side of the field.

Goblin Zombie level 4 (1100/1050)

"Why summon another weaker monster?" Sarah asked Eiji. "She's planning something."

"I can tell you're confused as to why I would summon such a low attack monster" Elliot addressed their concerns. "well I assure you there's a simple explanation that I will reveal shortly". She revealed a card in her hand "While I control two or more zombie monsters i can special summon this card from my hand by shuffling all monsters on the field back into the deck"

"But that means…." Sarah started to say.

"Ultraman Jack is going bye bye, and leaving your field empty, yes I know" Elliot said as the three zombie monsters on their field vanished along with Jack." Arise Kasha!"

Kasha level 8 (?/1000)

"that's not good" Sarah said

"Why? It doesn't have any attack." Eiji asked.

"I'd think you would have learned by now that 0 attack usually means the effect compensates." Elliot laughed "Kasha gains 1000 attack for each zombie monster I shuffled into the deck." A cone of flame flared upwards as a flaming carriage with a green head and arms appeared.

Kasha level 8 (?-3000)

"And now that there aren't any monsters on your field to defend you i can wage a direct attack at your lifepoints" The flaming carriage spun its wheels before driving across the field and rammin Eiji.

S&E:4800-1800

"And that's it for me" Elliot said drawing attention to her lack of cards in hand.

"Well we're in quite the spot now" Sarah said looking at Eiji.

"Don't worry about it I believe in you, just remember I set a card for you to use" Eiji gave her a thumbs up and a bright smile.

Sarah's face flushed for a minute and she turned away to conceal it. "I guess that's enough for me to believe too." She took a deep breath. "I activate the spell Secret Paint Turret! For every Palette warrior in my graveyard your monster gets inflicted with a color counter. There are currently four Palette Warrior monsters in my graveyard so your monster gets 4 counters."

Kasha: color counters x4

"I activate my partner's trap card Call of the Haunted, to resurrect my Aqua Privateer!" The cocky young pirate appeared again in front of her.

Palette Warrior Aqua Privateer level 6 (1900/1800)

"Aqua Privateer's effect activates allowing me to halve the attack of a monster inflicted with color counters and gain it as her own.

Kasha level 8 (3000-1500)

Palette Warrior Aqua Privateer level 6 (1900-3400)

"Next comes my normal summon, arise Red Brawler!" In a flash of light the man in the red jumpsuit sprung into action.

Palette Warrior Red Brawler level 4 (1800/1500)

"Battle! Red Brawler attacks Kasha, and do to its effect it gains 200 attack for each color counter on the monster it attacks."

Palette Warrior Red Brawler level 4 (1800-2600)

The red warrior dealt a triumphant kick to the carriage shattering it into pieces.

E&A:4200-3100

"But that means?" Elliot gasped.

"Thats right the tables have turned and now you're open for a direct attack" Sarah smiled "Privateer attacks you directly!" The young woman smiled as she withdrew her pistol and sent three bullets directly at Elliot.

E&A:3100-0

The crowd cheered as the holograms disappeared. Chancellor Sheppard entered the arena and stood in the center. "Looks like we have our student representatives for the tag team portion of the school Duel!" He announced "let's have a round of applause for our two competitors".

"We did it Sarah, were going to represent the school" Eiji cheered as he walked over to his partner.

"I couldn't have done it without you" Sarah smiled "thanks for having my back"

"It's the least i could do for all the help you've given me since I got here" Eiji smiled.

"That was really fun" Andrew said walking towards them. He looked at his sister who had a frown plastered across her face "She may not say it but she enjoyed it too."

"You had us on the ropes for a while there, It was certainly a challenging match" Eiji admitted shaking hands with the other boy.

"Mmmmmm I want a rematch damn it" Elliot said stubbornly.

"Find me next time and we can have a one on one" Sarah said with a smirk.

"I may take you up on that offer" She said with a surprising smile.

And with that another chapter is in the record books. I'm looking forward to next chapter when I take a step away from the canon episodes and do a little creative writing for the halloween episode. Happy belated Birthday to Austin, I'm glad that I could give you an unintentional birthday present, I hope your Birthday was all you hoped for. In other news I just got back from a local convention where I got to meet the suit actors for the Millennium Godzilla and GMK Godzilla it was pretty amazing. For a final thought I know that Kong didn't get to use his effect during this chapter, but I assure you he will be returning within the coming chapters so I can rectify that. As always thank you for your support and keep those comments, questions and ideas coming. I'll see you next time.

-Red