Chapter 20: The Delinquent and the Genius: School Dueling Part 2

That night after the bonfire, the Slifer and Ra students retired to their rooms for the night in preparation for the day ahead. Everyone had fallen asleep rather quickly, especially Haru. However the Kaiju duelist seemed a bit restless, rolling back and forth in his sleep. Inside his dream Haru found himself sitting at a table with four chairs, a teacup facedown on a plate in front of him. To his right was an older man with black hair and yellow eyes, dressed in spiked biker leathers. His ears were pointed and the pupils of his eyes were slitted, like a lizard's.

Noticing the man's gaze directed at him, Haru turned to look at him. "Do you want something?" he said sarcastically.

"Don't worry about him," a familiar voice said as Mothra's human form appeared at his side carrying a kettle of tea in her right hand. "He's just mad that I revealed my presence to you before him." She turned over Haru's teacup and began pouring him some tea.

The man let out a snort and rolled his eyes. "Yeah, because we agreed that I would go first."

"Well if you didn't consistently sleep through everything, you may have been of some help against Blair's deck," Mothra sighed as she finished filling up Haru's cup and moved over to the man.

"I still can't believe that idiotic monkey and bird fell for something so stupid," he growled.

"Well to be fair you had your period of infatuation with the Female humans" Mothra pointed out.

"I thought we agreed never to speak of that."

"Hold on" Haru said raising an eyebrow. "If Mothra is here, you must be…."

"Godzilla? Yeah." The man grinned. "Took you long enough to put that together kid."

"I'm sorry, is it natural for me to be seeing the human forms of my monsters?" Haru said rubbing his head.

"Well first boy you're in a dream, so none of this is actually happening" Godzilla explained taking a sip of his tea as Mothra took a seat across from him.

"Additionally as I explained during your duel with Blair we took these forms to make you feel more comfortable communicating with us. After all wouldn't you feel rather odd talking to a giant moth and radioactive lizard?" Mothra said taking a sip of her drink as well.

"I guess that's fair" Haru said following their example. "So why are we communicating now of all times?"

"We figured we would tell you our intentions" Godzilla told him. "I can't stand to lose, and as it is you've lost to that edgelord Zane. I can get over that but you better not lose to anyone in these upcoming competitions."

"What he's trying to say is we're behind you 100 percent" Mothra sighed.

"Especially not those silver and red do-gooders" Godzilla grumbled.

"Do you really even have to tell me that?" Haru smirked, "I had no intention of losing anyway."

"That's the spirit boy" Godzilla said slapping him on the shoulder. "I knew I bonded to you for a reason."

"I think we should let you go, you do have a big day tomorrow" Mothra smiled.

"Before I do, may I inquire about something?" Haru asked.

"Allright shoot" Godzilla nodded.

"Why is there a fourth chair at the table?" He pointed towards the empty chair across from him.

The two spirits looked at each other for a moment before Mothra spoke up, "We're not exactly sure where he went to be honest" she shrugged.

"He's probably off being a snob to some unfortunate duel spirit" Godzilla sighed.

"Who?" Haru asked

"You'll meet him eventually I'm sure of it" Mothra smiled kindly.

"That doesn't answer my-" All of the sudden Haru snapped awake. He looked around but found nothing. "What the fuck?" He whispered.


Meanwhile, over at the abandoned dorm, Sarah and Alexis made their way to the chained off gate. The latter bent down and placed a rose against the perimeter wall as she had time and time again.

"Be at peace brother wherever you are," she whispered. Turning to look at Sarah she smiled. "Thanks for coming with me this time, ever since the incident with Titan I've been somewhat paranoid coming out here by myself."

"Don't worry about it," Sarah smiled leaning on the baseball bat she had brought along just in case. "I'm glad you didn't let those events deter you from honoring your brother." The bushes rustled nearby and the bespectacled girl squinted her eyes before taking up a fighting stance in front of Alexis. "Who's there?" she yelled.

The man dressed as a slifer emerged from the trees with a smile on his face. He had managed to creep past the rest of the Slifers as they were finishing up their bonfire. He gave them an awkward wave. "Why hello there."

"Do we know you?" Sarah asked narrowing her eyes.

He smiled, "Yeah I've seen the two of you around campus. Listen I've heard rumors about people disappearing around this building." He glanced at the dorm then back to them. "Do you know anything about that?"

Alexis stepped up to him and scowled. "What's it to you ponytail?"

He glanced at the rose behind her and smiled. "No reason, just curious is all."

"Yeah well, those students and how they disappeared is not for your amusement, Alexis snapped. "So just mind your own business!"

"Take a deep breath Alexis," Sarah said, placing a hand on the girls shoulder and leading her away. "I would follow her advice and walk away, you know. This isn't a joke"

The man blinked, confused as the two obelisk students walked away. "Okay then. I don't know what their problem is, but I'm not giving up with such a scoop right in front of me," he snickered as he pulled a small camera from his jacket and started snapping pictures. "This story is as good as mine."


The next morning Blair, Syrus, Chumley and Haru along with the "New Kid" all sat around their usual table. Everyone but Haru had finished eating a couple minutes ago, but the kaiju duelist was currently engrossed in going through a small pile of cards that he had brought down from his room.

"He's been rather quiet this morning" Blair said elbowing Syrus.

"Yeah he's been muttering ever since he got up this morning," Syrus agreed.

"What's he doing exactly?" The man asked, watching him curiously. "Is something happening today?"

The three slifers gave him an odd glance. "Did you not know old timer? The Duel Off is today to determine who represents us in the school duel." Syrus remarked.

"STOP CALLING ME THAT" the man yelled earning a glance from the rest of the students. Noticing this he lowered his voice. "My name is Gerard." 'Crap I used my real name!' He let out a small internal scream as he realized that he made a second mistake.

"Alright Gerard it is then," the roid duelist smiled.

'This little shit played me' Gerard thought gritting his teeth. 'I'll never get my story if I'm stuck making small talk with these twerps'. He looked around and came up with a sudden idea. "I almost forgot, Chancellor Sheppard wanted to see me about my paperwork," he said attempting to get up from his seat. As he did this a card fell out of his coat onto the table in front of Blair.

"Hey Gerard you dropped your Skyscraper field spell" Blair said poking him in the back.

The reporter turned and eyed the girl who was holding the card out to him.

"Hold on Skyscraper?" Haru asked breaking out of his trance, "Do you play E-Heros?".

"I did until that card ruined me" Gerard scoffed. "Besides that would imply that I even like the game."

"Then why the hell are you at a school dedicated to this card game if you don't like the game itself?" Haru narrowed his eyes.

'Damn it three errors in a row' Gerard began to panic again. "Well I don't mean that I don't like dueling, but rather that I'm no good at it," he said quickly hoping that the group would buy his excuse.

Chumley nodded. "I know how you feel, I was never very good at it either," he looked down at his cards. "But that's changing." He pointed to Haru and Syrus, "Ever since I met these two and started hanging out with them, my whole outlook on dueling changed."

"Right and since Haru is dueling Bastion later, perhaps seeing them would help you get out of your funk" Syrus grinned.

"Yeah, sure" Gerard nodded. 'Please I'm done with dueling. You kids should mind your own business anyway. All I need to do is get away from you and I can pursue my leads on the Abandoned dorm disappearances.' He got up and gave them a half hearted wave before exiting the mess hall.

"My suspicions of him grow every time I'm near him," Blair said watching him leave.

"Yeah, same." Haru said putting his hand on his finished deck. "Looks like my rearrangements are complete. I'm ready for what Bastion is going to throw at me."

"Are you sure?" Chumley and Syrus asked in unison.

"Yeah I'm sure" He grinned.


While Gerard got down to business, Bastion was hard at work at his desk. Will sat on the boy's bed watching him work. "Still looking for a way to defeat him huh?" The horror duelist asked watching Bastion type away at his keyboard.

"I've made countless equations for every sort of deck on this island, yet Haru's deck still eludes me" Bastion ran his hand through his hair as he leaned back in his chair.

"Perhaps you're overthinking this?" Will pointed out. "Think about it this way, what are Haru's ace monsters?"

Bastion clicked his mouse a couple times as three pictures appeared on the computer screen. "Well from what I've seen, Godzilla, Mothra and Kiryu are his best monsters." He clicked on the picture of godzilla and it expanded to fit the screen. "Godzilla has three effects, an attack boost, a backrow buster, and the third allows him to destroy all monsters with less attack than himself."

"Right," Will said making a circular motion with his hand.

"Mothra also has three effects, and Kiryu requires cost to keep itself on the field" Bastion continued.

"Right, you're almost there" Will nodded.

"OF COURSE!" Bastion slapped himself in the forehead, shocked that he hadn't thought of it sooner. "The deck relies on token monsters to activate their effects! Without them they're just normal monsters."

"There you go Bastion" Will laughed, "I told you you're over analyzing it"

Bastion grinned. "I guess that comes with having so many equations swirling around my head." He leaned over in his chair and pulled open a drawer filled with alphabetically organized folders. Sorting through them quickly, his hand stopped at the folder marked T and pulled out a deck of cards bound in velcro. "This duel will be quite the spectacle I think"


As the morning transitioned into the afternoon, the school arena continued to fill up with students from all three dorms, each chattering about the events that were about to unfold. Syrus, Blair and Chumley all sat together at the front of the Red section along with Will on the end awaiting the coming events.

"Syrus! Chumley! Blair!" They heard a familiar voice call from the end of the row as Eiji and Sarah started making their way towards them.

"Hey guys" Syrus greeted. "I'm surprised Crowler let you come over here, being the Obelisk representatives and all."

"Well that's the reason we had to miss out on preliminary duels yesterday," Sarah told him, "Crowler decided that it would be best if we tweaked our decks before the big competition."

"Yeah it was incredibly hard with him breathing down my neck the whole time" Eiji shuddered.

"He was making sure you didn't have time to intermingle with the lower dorms," Chumley rolled his eyes.

"They were really intense duels too, apparently Bastion has been tweaking his deck since he defeated Chazz during the promotion duels" Will nodded.

"I have a feeling this will be incredibly back and forth," Blair muse., "Haru was hard at work preparing his deck this morning, and from what I know of Bastion he was probably doing the same thing."

"Yeah he was overanalyzing the shit out of Haru's deck this morning. I had to help him slow down a bit" Will chuckled.

"Looks like Crowler is pretty happy" Syrus said pointing down towards the arena as the head of the blue dorm skipped into the arena. Crowler stepped onto the platform and took a minute to compose himself. Raising his free hand into the air dramatically he held the microphone to his mouth and began to speak. "Welcome Duelists! It is that time again were we decide who will represent us in the illustrious School Duel!"

Cheers erupted from around the arena as crowler nodded, he gestured to the left end of the platform, "In this corner! Hailing from the Ra yellow dorm Bastion Misawa!"

Cheers erupted again as both Ra and Obelisk sections clapped for their favorite to win.

"And on this end" he waved at the right side of the platform. "Some delinquent from the Slifer dorm", Crowler finished less enthusiastic compared to before. This announcement was met by a round of Boos from the slifer dorm at the treatment of their representative.

"Typical Crowler" Syrus groaned.

"Shouldn't he be a bit more subtle about his dislike of Haru? I mean this is a school teachers singling out students seems like a punishable offense." Blair asked.

"Oh please" Sarah sighed. "Crowler is anything but subtle, and since he's head of the Blue dorm i don't think he would listen to anyone other than Chancellor Sheppard, and even that's pushing it"

Haru stepped onto the platform next to Crowler and grabbed the mic before holding his hand up for silence. The red section began to calm down as the Blue headmaster seemed to take a step back from his mortal nemesis. Haru grinned and he pointed towards Crowler "I'm not just some delinquent teach, I'm THE Delinquent!" He tossed the teacher the mic before taking his position opposite Bastion.

Crowler fumbled with the mic for a minute before catching it in his right hand. Haru fixed Bastion with a savage grin. "Good luck Bastion I've been preparing for this day for some time".

"Funny I was just about to say the same thing." The Ra shot back.

"Both of them seem like they're incredibly pumped for this duel" Blair observed.

"Well yeah this duel has been in the making since the two of them first met during their first day on the island. I'm just surprised it took this long" Eiji told her. Above the Slifer seating Alexis and Zane both observed the goings on.

"It's rather hard to read who will win this one" Alexis said leaning over the railing.

"Well I know for a fact that Haru isn't as dumb as he lets on. I would have to figure that he spent his time before the duel thinking up a strategy against Bastion." The Kaiser nodded.

"And we know for a fact that Bastion has spent a decent amount of time looking into how to Beat Haru" Alexis added. "So we may have quite the duel in the works here".


While the preparations for the duel at hand were getting underway, Gerard had managed to sneak into the campus library. The reporter hooked up his PDA to one of the computers out of view of the door and currently sat waiting for results. He smiled as he waited for the little machine to crack the password and gain access to the academy database.

"C'mon little guy, you're my ticket to all the money I could ever need," he said rubbing his hands together.


"Now," Crowler raised his arms again, "Without further ado-"

"Alright Bastion here I come"

"You're on Haru!"

"Lets duel!" Both duelist cried as their duel disks sprang to life.

Bastion:4000

Haru:4000

"First move is mine then" Bastion drew. "I summon Nitrogeddon in defense position." he placed the card sideways on his disk as a purple triceratops emitting a gas from a series of small craters on its back appeared and took up a defensive stance. "Next I activate Foolish Burial to send oxygeddon to my graveyard, And with that i'll conclude my turn"

Nitrogeddon level 4 (500/1600)

"That's it? Ok Bastion I don't know what you're playing at but I'm coming at you full force!" Haru drew for turn. "I Summon Anti Kaiju Mech Dogfighter in attack position!" Placing the card on the field, a small fighter plane emerged in front of him.

Anti Kaiju Mech Dogfighter level 1 (500/500)

"Then I'll activate machine duplication allowing me to special summon two more DogFighters in attack position!" Two cards shot out of his deck and he placed them on the field.

Anti Kaiju Mech Dogfighter level 1 (500/500) x3

"Dogfighter's first effect activates! While I control two or more copies of itself I can tribute summon an Anti Kaiju Mech monster in addition to my normal summon this turn. Say goodbye to one of my Dogfighters and hello to the Gotengo!" The single fighter jet flew upward as a bigger aerial vehicle began to emerge from the sky. This machine was shaped more like a submarine and had a large drill on the front.

Anti Kaiju Mech Gotengo level 5 (2000/1500)

"Battle time! Gotengo take out his Nitrogeddon! Zero Cannon!" The tip of the drill on the war machine began to glow as it let loose a beam that engulfed the triceratops in ice. As the ship flew across the field the drill began to spin, destroying the monster.

"Very nice" Bastion clapped. "But my Nitrogeddon has a destruction effect! Now I'm allowed to special summon a Geddon or Terion monster from my deck to replace it. To my aid Duoterion!" He commanded as a T-rex covered in water appeared in front of him.

Duoterion level 5 (2000/1400)

"And when I special summon Duoterion I can also special summon that Oxygeddon I sent to the graveyard during my turn. Return to battle Oxygeddon!" A small tornado formed on his field before the wind themed flying dinosaur appeared on his field.

Oxygeddon level 4 (1800/800)

"As always bastion comes out swinging on his opponents turn," WIll chuckled. "It's starting out almost like my duel against him."

"Well Gotengo has an effect of its own! When it destroys a monster through battle I can add a Kaiju from my deck to my hand." A card pushed out of the middle of his deck and he revealed it to be a green humanoid monster. "I choose Kaiju Legend Gaira! Then I'll set a card for the time being."

"My turn again then! Draw!" Bastion nodded. "Come forth Hydrogeddon!" He commanded as the water themed four legged dinosaur crawled onto the field.

Hydrogeddon level 4 (1600/1000)

"Preparations are almost complete!" Bastion grinned, "And all I need to do is activate this!" He revealed a spell card from his hand. "I activate Living Fossil to revive my Nitrogeddon from the graveyard with 1000 less attack and its effect negated."

Nitrogeddon level 4 (500-0)

"I think we're about to see something new boys," Blair said.

"Bastion had this planned from the beginning," Will remarked. "I can tell by his expression".

"Water Dragon requires two Oxygeddon and a Hydrogeddon, while Fire Dragon requires Combustageddon and one each of Hydrogeddon and Oxygeddon," Chumley said counting on his fingers. "What can he do with the current field?"

"Well if I remember my science lessons, nitrogen, oxygen, and hydrogen are the three most prominent gases in the atmosphere," Sarah said.

"Now everything's set up Haru!" Bastion called. "I activate Bonding NHO from my hand, now I can tribute my Nitrogeddon, Oxygeddon, and Hydrogeddon to special summon Wind Dragon!" As the three dino monsters fused, a large tornado formed on the field before growing two pairs of wings and a dragons head much like Fire and Water Dragon. Its eyes were red and a small tornado-like horn formed in the middle of its head.

Wind Dragon level 8 (2600/2600)

"When Wind Dragon is special summoned all of your monsters are switched into defense position and they can't change while he's on the field!" Bastion declared as the wind themed dragon flapped its wings, sending a current of wind that forced Gotengo and the Dogfighter's into a low hover.

"Wind Dragon will attack Gotengo! Tempest Wings!" He commanded as his dragon flapped its wings, forming a Tornado that scooped up the war machine and slammed it into the ground.

Haru:4000-2900

"Hold up how the hell did I take damage?" Haru yelled as the wind subsided.

"Wind Dragon's second effect allows it to inflict piercing damage! I may have left that out in my explanation," Bastion shrugged.

"Is that sarcasm I sense?" Syrus cocked his head in confusion.

"Yeah I think Haru has managed to rub off on Bastion a little more than we expected," Eiji sighed.

"I'll get you for that Bastion," Haru grinned.

"I thought you would say that" Bastion nodded. "Before I conclude my turn I activate Card of Sanctity allowing us each to draw until we have six cards in our hand" Both sides replenished their hands, with Bastion drawing five and Haru drawing three. "I'll set two cards and that's it for me," the element duelist concluded.

'He managed to do some decent damage to me from his new monster,' Haru pondered. I don't think it's a coincidence that Bastion forgot to destroy one of my Dogfighters with Duoterion, so I think he may be waiting for me to make a move.'

"I tribute my two Dogfighters to bring out Kaiju Legend Gaira in attack position!" Haru said as the two jets disappeared and a humanoid green monster appeared on his side of the field. On closer inspection the monster seemed to be covered in seaweed-like hair, and it had long sharp fangs that were displayed prominently.

Kaiju legend Gaira level 7 (2600/1900)

"Next I'll activate the field spell Kaiju Sighting Kitamatsu Mine!" The field began to morph until the arena gave way to that of a dimly lit cave. Between them a set of tracks could be seen along with a minecart.

"Summoning tokens are we?" Bastion grinned.

"You know it! Now due to the effect of my mine I can mill two from the top of my deck then special summon a Meganulon token to my field." Drawing two and inserting them into the discard slot Haru then pointed towards a zone in front of him as the giant green insect appeared.

Meganulon token (500/500)

"But why stop with one token when I can have three? I activate token multiplication allowing me to special summon two more meganulon" The little green insect began to glow before splitting into two more copies.

Meganulon token (500/500) x3

"I think I'll stop you right there," Bastion interjected. "I'll activate my countermeasure! Token Feastevil! Now all three of your tokens are destroyed and you take 300 damage for each."

Haru covered his eyes as the three insects shattered and flew at him reducing his life points.

Haru:2900-2000

"I assume this is the results of your research into my deck," Haru grunted.

"You could say that," Bastion smiled

"Well then not much I can do after that. Gaira attack Duoterion!" Gaira let out a shriek before running across the field. The green kaiju scooped up the T-rex themed monster and plopped it into his mouth.

Bastion:4000-3400

"I'll follow your example and set two cards."

Crowler seemed to be enjoying watching his nemesis fail as he let out a short giggle. 'He may have gotten past the first round, but there's no way this slacker can defeat the best Ra freshmen.' He pumped his fist, "Go get him Bastion, show him he doesn't have what it takes to be in the school duel!"

"Well Pharaoh this isn't looking good for our representative is it?" Banner shook his head as he scratched the tabby behind the ear.

Pharaoh let out a small purr in agreement.


Meanwhile in the darkness of the library, Gerard had started whistling to himself as he waited for his PDA to crack the password to the schools database.

"If I can just get past this last password, I can gain access to the student files and find some info on the missing students" He murmured sitting back in his chair. He watched as the tiny computer failed yet again to get the code and let out a deep sigh. Almost on cue the PDA beeped signifying its success.

He smiled as the computer in front of him was lit up with images of Slifer the Sky Dragon,The Winged Dragon of Ra, and Obelisk the Tormentor.

"Got it."

The three images disappeared as images of duel monsters cards filled the screen. Some of them depicted the swirling vortex that took up the backs of all duel monsters cards, but some depicted the portraits of students on the island. One in particular caught his attention, a young brunette obelisk boy. He leaned forward in his chair, eyes scanning the text below it. "Atticus Rhodes, studying abroad on a special sabbatical." His eyes darted back and forth across the screen as he found more and more students with the same statuses .

"This one, and this one, and that one too." He kept looking. "Him, Her, Him all studying abroad, but thats all of the information provided." He shook his head. "There's no way this many people are studying abroad without forwarding addresses. These must be the students that disappeared from the abandoned dorm.

He grinned as he began typing away on his electronic notepad. "I smell a front page story and a major payday for the reporter who brings this forward. Thanks for the info Duel Academy, good luck surviving all the bad press you're going to get after this comes to light."

If he had kept searching he would have noticed a young woman who bore a striking resemblance to a certain Slifer student he had encountered earlier, dressed in a non Duel academy school uniform and grinning at the camera.


As Haru ended his turn Bastion seemed to be rather enthusiastic about his chances of winning the current match. As he drew, he surveyed the current field and began formulating a strategy. 'With his two set cards and a monster to rival my Wind Dragon, I'm having a hard time finding a way to end this duel in one turn,' he thought running through combos in his head.

"Arise Combustageddon!" He commanded as the fire themed raptor appeared. "Combustageddon's effect activates, transforming your green goliath into a fire monster!" He continued as the fire raptor let loose a fireball that set Gaira aflame. "Now I activate my field spell Periodic Laboratory, and I'll use its resurrection effect! I'll discard the Oxygeddon in my hand to resurrect my Duoterion!" The water themed T-Rex appeared once again on his side of the field.

Combustageddon level 4 (1700/1600)

Duoterion level 5 (2000/1400)

"Trap card open!" Bastion continued. "Molecular Separation! Now I can return my wind dragon to my deck and special summon its materials, then immediately afterwards add a spell with Bonding in its name to my hand."

"This doesn't look good," Syrus stated.

"Oxygeddon, Hydrogeddon and Nitrogeddon return!" He pulled a card from his deck and revealed it. "Additionally I'll add Ignition DHO to hand since its treated as a bonding spell card."

'Figures Bastion would have another Cluster monster" Haru shook his head.

"Now my materials are all ready! I Activate Ignition DHO and tribute Duoterion, Oxygeddon, Combustageddon, and Hydrogeddon to summon Fire Dragon Cluster from my deck!" Bastion raised his hand as the four monsters formed into a ball of fire that two fire themed dragon heads emerged from.

Fire Dragon Cluster level 9 (2600/2800)

"Fire Dragon Cluster?" Chumley asked surprised.

"Well it would stand to reason if he had Water Dragon Cluster there would be more powerful versions of his other two dragons," Blair commented.

"Just like Water Dragon Cluster, Fire Dragon Cluster has an effect that activates on summon. Due to its effect I can shuffle two Bonding spell or trap cards from my graveyard back into my deck and inflict 1000 damage to you directly." Pulling Ignition DHO and Bonding NHO from his graveyard slot he placed them on top of his deck and the Disk began to shuffle them. The twin fire dragons let out a loud roar before spitting two identical fireballs directly at the Kaiju duelist.

Haru:2000-1000

'Good, keep him on the ropes Bastion don't give him a chance to respond!' Crowler thought to himself as he let out a small giggle.

"Now I tribute my Cluster to special summon two Fire Dragons from my deck!" Bastion continued as the fireball connecting the two heads of the dragon split apart into two individual bodys.

Fire Dragon level 8 (2600/2800)x2

"And now each of of them gain 600 attack because there are three fire monsters on the field" Haru interrupted.

"Took the words right out of my mouth" Bastion grinned,

Fire Dragon level 8 (2600-3200)x2

"Now looks the the most opportune time to battle, wouldn't you say? Fire Dragon one attacks Gaira, Inferno Blast!" As usual the dragon let loose a fireball but something seemed off.

"I activate Kaiju Resurrection! Resurrecting Kaiju Legend Sanda from my graveyard along with a single Resurrection token," Haru declared as his card flipped face up. Another loud shriek could be heard as another giant, this time brown, arose from the ground and flexed its muscles. This one was covered in sandy colored hair but seemed to have a kinder expression than its brother.

Kaiju Legend Sanda level 7 (2600/1900)

Beside him a small lab coat wearing individual emerged, holding a beaker and test tube in his hands. "Sanda's effect activates! By tributing one token, once per turn I can negate the attack of one of your monsters and gain life points equal to half its attack!" Sanda stepped in front of Gaira and batted the fireball away.

Haru:1000-2300

"Well played Haru" Bastion complemented. "But I feel I should remind you my second Fire Dragon has yet to attack! Lets rectify that shall we?" He pointed at the new monster "Fire Dragon number two attack Sanda!" The second fire dragon just like the first let loose a fireball this time directly at the brown humanoid.

"I planned for that too! Go Kaiju Howling!" Haru said as his second trap flipped upwards, "Now Fire Dragon's effect is negated till the end phase of this turn, meaning his attack returns to 2600".

Sanda was ready to intercept the fireball but the projectile seemed to stop in mid air, "Very well then I'll call off the attack!" Bastion declared.

"That was a close one" Syrus grinned. "Haru would have been done for it it wasn't for those traps."

"Well in the long run I think Card of Sanctity may have worked out more in Haru's favor than Bastion's," Blair said crossing her arms.


'Now that I have the files of the missing students, I can sell this story for millions,' Gerard thought happily as he almost skipped down the corridors of the school. 'Sure the scandal may negatively affect this academy, but hey, that's not my problem'

(Flashback)

"You're way too old to be a student here. What gives?"

"Come on Haru, Chumley was held back a year is it so difficult to believe someone else was held back even more?"

"Did you not know old timer? The Duel Off is today to determine who represents us in the School Duel."

"STOP CALLING ME THAT!"

"Hold on, Skyscraper? Do you play E-Heros?"

(End Flashback)

"Those kids, why can't I get them out of my head?" Gerard shook his head as he rounded a corner. Nearby he heard the sound of screams and cheers from what he assumed was the arena.

"Hm?" He turned the corner and observed Bastions twin fire dragons, along with Haru's twin behemoths facing each other down.

"How about that? This must be the duel those twerps were so adamant on me attending." he looked back and forth between the duelists. "The one that was supposed to change my life or something like that." He looked up at a small scoreboard on the other side of the arena. "3400 to 2300 eh? Looks like that kid is losing"


"My turn then, draw!" Haru said beginning his turn. "Kitamatsu Mine's effect activates first!" He milled two as the green bug appeared once again on his side of the field.

Meganulon token (500/500)

"Now that you've seen Sanda's ability, let me show you Gaira's!" He held up his hand and the green Gargantua let out a shriek and flexed. "By tributing one token he gains that monsters attack until the endphase!". Gaira picked up the Meganulon and popped it into his mouth before swelling with a newfound energy.

Kaiju legend Gaira level 7 (2600-3100)

"It's still not enough attack to get over either of his Fire Dragons," Chumley shook his head.

"I doubt that he's done Chum, he hasn't even used his normal summon this turn" Eiji commented.

"Plus I think Gaira has a little more to its effect than Haru has told us," Blair said patting the older boy on the shoulder.

"Now I activate the equip spell Improvised Weapon!" Haru continued. The image of the spell appeared, depicting Gaira wielding an ocean liner like a club as Sanda stood in the foreground. "I can only equip this to Kaiju monster, and said monster gains 600 attack." Gaira scooped up the ocean liner and rested it against his shoulder in preparation.

Kaiju legend Gaira level 7 (3100-3700)

"Gaira do what you do best! Trash his Fire Dragon on the right!" Haru commanded. The green monster nodded and jumped into the air before delivering a downward sweeping smash to the fire dragon.

Bastion:3400- 2400

"And I forgot to mention when Gaira inflicts damage to you after tributing a token all battle damage is doubled," Haru grinned. "In addition when I destroy your monster while improvised weapon is equipped I get to special summon a damage token to my field in defense position."

Damage Token (500/500)

"Clever," Bastion smiled. "You destroyed my monster and set up your defense during my turn. Fire Dragon's destruction effect activates allowing me to special summon Oxygeddon, Hydrogeddon, and Cumbustageddon back to my field".

Hydrogeddon level 4 (1600/1000)

Oxygeddon level 4 (1800/800)

Combustgeddon level 4 (1700/1600)

"And now Sanda turns into a Pyro type monster," Bastion continued as the brown monster was lit ablaze.

Fire Dragon level 8 (3200-3400)

"Excellent I was hoping you would do that," Haru grinned. "Sanda attack his Combustageddon!" The brown Gargantua jumped upwards before slamming its fists into the fire monster, shattering it instantly.

Bastion: 2400-1400

"Back in the lead!" Syrus, Chumley, and Blair all cheered in unison.

Crowler almost screamed but managed to wedge his handkerchief into his mouth. 'Come on Bastion, I know you can beat this slacker!'

Banner seemed rather amused by his coworker's reaction as he let out a small chuckle. "Careful Velian you might end up ripping it that way,"

"Alright Bastion I've done my damage for the turn, one card face downs all I can do. Show me what you have in store," Haru called.

"It's time for me to finalize my equation," Bastion nodded as he drew. "Hydrogeddon to my aid!" He slapped the card down onto his disk as the four legged lizard appeared on his side of the field. 'This is it. I have to bring all I have in order to prove my equations are right,' the science duelist thought. "I activate Bonding H2O from my hand and tribute my three geddon monsters to summon Water Dragon!" The three individual monsters converged until a geyser of water shot out of the ground and formed into water dragon.

Water Dragon level 8 (2800/2600)

"Now I'll fuse my two dragons by activating Molecular Bonding from my hand! Do you know what happens when fire and water meet Haru?"

"The two make steam" Haru deadpanned. "This really isn't the time for a science lesson Bastion".

"Your wrong about that, there's always time for a science lesson! Fire Dragon combines with Water Dragon to create my newest monster Steam Dragon!" As the two dragons collided the air beacem a bit more heavy as steam engulfed the surrounding area. All of the sudden it converged over what seemed to be an invisible object with only its red eyes visible to the naked eye. As the droplets converged the invisible figure became visible, now resembling that of a traditional chinese dragon with four small legs; Two on each side of the body and a long mane below its head. Three long horns decorated its head in what seemed to be the shape of water droplets.

Steam Dragon level 9 (3000/2500)

"When Steam Dragon is summoned all effect monsters have their effects negated and their attack is reduced to zero permanently! Additionally all face up spell and trap cards are destroyed so your mine is retired for this duel!"

Gaira and Sanda gripped their throats as if choking on something as their power was sapped away.

Gaira level 7 (3700-0)

Sanda level 7 (2600-0)

"Time to end this! Steam Dragon attacks Sanda, Torrential Downpour!"

"Looks like Bastion has it in the bag now" Will smiled.

"I'm not sure even Haru can get out of this. Even if he survives he only has two cards in hand" Syrus whined.

Eiji seemed completely silent as he kept an eye on Haru's facial expressions.

"You won't be ending it so soon my friend" Haru shook his head, "Especially if my trap has anything to say about it! Trap open, Half or Nothing! Now you get to choose between ending the battle phase or reducing your monsters attack by half until the endphase"

"I'll half my monsters attack then!" Bastion said as the attacked continued on but with a little less power.

Haru:2300-800

'Damn it I missed my chance.' Bastion massaged his temples as his monster returned to his side. 'Now I have to rely on the chance that Haru can't do anything with his current field'. "Turn end"

"Draw!" As he said this a familiar voice popped into his head.

'Alright Boy I'm Here'

'Godzilla?' Haru asked.

'No its your imaginary friend dipshit! Yes it's me' The spirit clad in biker leathers appeared in front of him and surveyed the scene. 'You did a fine enough job holding out until now, time for me to finish off the job'

Haru looked at his hand and sure enough he had drawn the monster. 'Dont fuck this up boy.'

'Thanks for the vote of confidence Jackass' Haru rolled his eyes. "I activate the spell Advance Force! Now i can tribute a level 5 or higher monster to summon a level 7 or higher monster. Gaira time for a rest!" The green Gargantua disappeared as the sound of colossal footsteps could be heard behind Haru. "Oh King of Monsters grace me with your presence in this time of need and crush all that oppose you! Come forth Kaiju Legend Godzilla!" Stepping onto the field was Haru's Ace monster who let out a mighty roar.

Kaiju Legend Godzilla level 9 (3000/2500)

"Your monster is quite formidable" Haru admitted. "As it stands not even Godzilla can defeat him single handedly."

'Please, I could beat him easily,' the spirit said cockily.

"But that's why I have this! I activate the spell Kaiju Evolution: Imbuement of Souls from my hand! Now I tribute godzilla to summon his enhanced form Kaiju Legend Rage Godzilla!"

'Hell yeah' Godzilla grinned as a blue aura engulfed him and his eyes turned pure white.

Kaiju Legend Rage Godzilla level 10 (2800/2800)

"You weren't around when I first summoned him, so allow me to introduce you two. Bastion, Rage Godzilla. Rage Godzilla, Bastion." Haru grinned before turning to his monster. "Rage Godzilla here gains 200 attack for every monster with Kaiju in its name in my graveyard"

Bastion frowned. "With three copies of Dogfighter in the graveyard along with Gotengo and the two Gargantuas that's exactly six Kaiju monsters."

"That's right so the grand total added to his attack his 1200 exactly"

Kaiju Legend Rage Godzilla level 10 (2800-4000)

"Additionally I get to declare a card type; Should I choose monster all of the monsters you control with less attack than Godzilla are destroyed. If I call spell or trap they're also destroyed. You seem to only have one type of card on the field, so it looks like I know what to declare… Monster!" As he said this the dorsal spikes on his monsters back began to light up and Rage Godzilla let loose a beam of atomic breath, destroying Bastions monster.

Bastion sighed but opened his arms to what was coming, a grin forming on his face. "Show me his power Haru!"

"With Pleasure!" The Kaiju duelist yelled. "Rage Godzilla direct attack!" The beam changed course this time, directly at Bastion knocking him off his feet.

Bastion:1400-0


Gerard's eyes turned huge as he watched the blue beam of light engulf the boy.

"Well damn" he grinned as the light dispersed. "He did it." He pulled out Skyscraper and looked at it with a smile. "If he can stage that kind of comeback, maybe I should try my hand at dueling again"


Cheers erupted from around the stadium as the holograms on the field disappeared and the duel disks turned off.

Zane smiled, "I guess when it comes to Haru, Bastion miscalculated"

"Either that or there's just some decks that can be solved by equations," Alexis murmured.

"HE DID IT!"

Alexis turned to see the man who had questioned them about the abandoned dorm the night before cheering on Haru's victory.

"Oh yeah what a duel," the older man cheered. "I'm glad that I was here to see it".

Meanwhile up in the faculty seats Crowler had sunk to his knees wallowing in his a sea of despair. "Doesn't this slacker ever lose?" He pounded the ground in frustration.

Banner looked down at him and smiled, "Another plan ruined, eh Velian?"

Chancellor Sheppard rose from his seat ignoring the two teachers comments. "Looks like we have a winner! Haru Yoshida will represent us in the School Duel!"

Haru looked up at Professor Banner and gave him the thumbs up, and the teacher returned the gesture. He looked down as he was tackled to the floor by Syrus, Blair and Chumley. "Way to go Haru!" Syrus praised.

"I can't believe you have even more powerful monsters than the ones you used in our duel!" Blair said excitedly.

"I never doubted you for a minute!" Chumley told him.

"Guys I cant breath," Haru wheezed as the three Slifers noticed that Chumley was currently laying on Haru's stomach.

"Sorry!" Chumley apologized as the trio gave him some space.

"Indeed that was like no duel I've ever had" Bastion said walking up and helping the boy up. "You beat me Haru, and you beat this deck" he shook his head. "But that doesn't mean I'm done tweaking it. Next time we duel I'll come at you with twice the power."

"I'm always down for another duel," Haru nodded. "Count on it."

Bastion extended his hand and the Kaiju duelist took it with a smile. "I thought you would say that."


"Hey you! Stop right there!"

Gerard stopped as he recognized the voice from the night before.

"You're the guy who was asking questions about the abandoned dorm last night" Alexis accused. "What are you doing here?"

"Not what I expected..."

Alexis frowned "What?"

"You see originally I came here looking for a story, in the end I found something completely different" The reporter smiled leaning up against the nearby wall. "I found the duelist I used to be a long time ago. See I'm a reporter, a sleazy one I'll admit. But I didn't always see things like that. At one point I took on monsters and traps before I took tabloid pictures and such." He turned and looked at the female Obelisk. "Its true, at one point I was in Haru and Bastion's shoes. I was shit at it, and I would rarely ever win, but after today's match it reminded me of what dueling is really about." He took out an electronic duel disk and looked at it longingly.

"I found this story that I was going to sell to the highest bidder… a story that could probably ruin this academy" He raised the piece of tech and smiled. "But I don't want to ruin this place…. Not now, now I just want to help." He stood up straight and looked the girl in the eyes, "I want to help find these missing students,Including your brother Alexis." With that he turned away from her and headed towards the door giving her a wave as he went, "I can't do that here though, I have to get back to the mainland."


"So he was a reporter all along?" Chumley asked after Alexis had gotten done describing the exchange between Gerard and her after the school duel. Bastion and Will had invited the quartet of Slifers along with her, Eiji and Sarah over to the Yellow lounge to hang out.

Haru looked over at Syrus and smiled holding out his hand. "You know what that means Short Stack, time to cough up half your allowance!"

"I knew I shouldn't have accepted those terms," Syrus groaned pulling out a coin bag styled after a cartoon car. He pulled out several large coins from it before placing them in Haru's hand.

"Well honestly it doesn't surprise me, he was acting rather sketchy last night when he showed up at the abandoned dorm," Sarah pointed out. At this point Haru's eyes shifted to make contact with Alexis's. He gave her a small, supportive nod.

"While he was looking to bring down the Academy in the beginning, in the end it's probably going to be more beneficial to have someone on the outside looking into the disappearances."

'Damn, you kids really know how to depress me' Godzilla snorted as he appeared on Haru's shoulder.

'Quiet you' Haru growled.

As if sensing the downtrodden mood in the room as well Bastion clapped his hands together to get everyone's attention. "Perhaps we shouldn't dwell on that right now. After all Haru just became the first freshman in Duel Academy history to become the representative for the School Duel after all"

"Bastion's right" Will agreed. "We should be celebrating!" He pulled out a party popper and let it loose into the air. The streamers floated downward and settled onto Haru's head and shoulders, the slifers eyes darkening as it happened.

"Uh, sorry" Will grinned nervously while backing up.

"You will be," Haru grinned as he jumped up from his chair. "Oh you will be".

"Boys" Sarah groaned as she watched the Slifer chase the Ra around the lounge.

"Took the words right out of my mouth" Alexis giggled.

Chapter 20 KITAAAA! With this we're slated for the School Duel to be in the books in only a matter of weeks, then its full speed ahead into the shadow riders arc. I can Hardly wait! Thanks to Silver and Blue for having my back as this story progressed, along with all of you who made suggestions. Here's to a great 2018 and a great future ahead for this story. As always keep it showy!

-Red