Episode(s): 56
"Am I interrupting something?" asked Rose as she walked into Jaden and Syrus' room in the Slifer Dorms. She had her eyes closed and was holding a suitcase
"I think we found out plot twist, guys," said Syrus as the four boys in the room looked at Rose.
"Jaden was right, your show just got a whole lot better," said the Ra Yellow student that Rose had yet to meet.
"What's up?' asked a concerned Jaden. Rose opened her eyes and was glaring.
"I left my dorm for good. So, do you guys have room for one more?" asked Rose.
"Yes!" said Jaden with a smile. 'Sweet. I get to live with Rose!'
"Plenty," said the Ra Yellow student with a grin. He had the normal yellow jacket but had ribbed off the sleeves. He also had on cargo pants, boots, and a dinosaur bandana on his head. 'Who wouldn't want a cute girl in their room.'
"Hallelujah!" yelled Chazz in happiness. 'My sweet Rose!'
"One more what?" asked Syrus in confusion.
~A Few Minutes Later~
"I give you Chez Chazz, the ultimate in dorming elegance," said Chazz as he showed everyone his dorm that he had built.
"A spa with a waterfall? Doncha think that's overkill?" asked Jaden in confusion.
"Oh, we passed 'overkill' somewhere between the bowling alley in the basement and the three-ring circus in the living room," said Syrus in exasperation.
"High ceilings? Marble floors? I never thought I'd say this, but I'm impressed, Chazz," said Rose with a smile, making said boy blush. "It's awesome and there's tons of space. So, do you think I can crash here?"
"But you were gonna crash in our room," said a sad Jaden.
"Zip it!" said Chazz with a grin. "You can't blame her for wanting the best."
"I guess," said an annoyed Jaden. "I mean, if you like high ceilings and hot tubs."
"Let's see. Live in luxury or share a lumpy pillow with a family of roaches?" said Chazz with a smirk.
"So, why'd you leave your dorm, anyway?" asked Syrus.
"Well, you won't believe it," said Rose as she started to dig through her bag. She pulled out a frilly dark pink dress.
"Nice, uh, uniform, ma'am," said the Ra Yellow, now introduced as Hassleberry.
"Oh, please," said a pissed off Rose. "This thing was al Crowler's idea."
"Huh?" questioned the four boys.
"He actually wanted me to wear this thing and sing while I duel. No joke. Some crazy idea about turning me into a dueling pop star. Can you picture me wearing this?"
Chazz, Jaden, and Syrus all looked at her with huge blushes on her face. Hassleberry at least looked somewhat embarrassed as he also blushed.
"Guys?" asked Rose with a sweat drop.
"You're right," said Jaden as he tried to control his blush. He smiled at Rose. "I think you'd look better without it."
"Uh, thank you?" said Rose, confused with a blush.
"Real smooth," said Chazz in annoyance.
"What I say?" said Jaden in confusions as everyone looked at him.
"Don't you get it? It's about Chancellor Crowler."
"He's gonna wear the dress?" asked Jaden with a snicker, causing Chazz to freak out because of the mental image.
"Now that Crowler's in charge, he's even more dangerous. All he wants to do is further his career, and he's using us, so we hafta stop him," said an annoyed Rose,
"You're right," said Jaden, determined. "We can't let Crowler manipulate us just so he can look good. Who's in?"
"Syrus?" called Bastion as he walked into the room. He was out of breath. "There you are!"
"Huh? Hey. Everything all right?" asked Jaden as he turned to look at his friend.
"Who's he?" asked Hassleberry.
"You were looking for me? What's up?" said Syrus as he looked at Bastion.
"A duel," said Bastion.
~A Few Minutes Later~
The group had gone and sat on the coaches in Chazz's large living room. Bastion and Hassleberry sat on one couch while the other four sat on the one across from it. It went Bastion at one end, the Hassleberry at the other, a space between the coaches and the Chazz, Rose, Jaden, and finally Syrus.
"A duel? For me?" asked Syrus in shock from where he sat on the couch. "Who am I dueling?
"A girl in Obelisk Blue. Her name is Missy, and I hear she duels with a deck full of insect monsters," said Bastion.
"Missy? Okay. I really don't like her, like at all, but she is a good duelist," said Rose as she looked at Syrus.
"Well, congrats," said Chazz sarcastically. "You're Crowler's next victim."
"Wait, Sy," said Jaden as he looked at his friend, "this duel could be your big break. Yeah. You're gonna win and prove everyone wrong. They're gonna see the brave Sy."
"Jaden, one question," said Syrus as he shook in place, "when you find the brave Syrus, can you do me a favor and let him know the wimpy one is looking for him?"
"Hey, Truesdale," called Hassleberry as Syrus ran out of the room screaming.
"Syrus!" called out Bastion.
"Where do you think you're going, son?" yelled Hassleberry as he chased after Syrus.
"Sy?" asked Jaden in concern.
~The Next Day~
It was time for Syrus' duel against Missy. Jaden, Rose, and Hassleberry were sitting near the top of the stands. Jaden made sure that there was one seat open for Chazz to sit next to him on his right, because Rose was on his left. Hassleberry was one seat in front of them.
"Where were you?" asked Jaden as Chazz took his seat.
"Nowhere," replied Chaz with a glare. He had a white envelope in his hand.
'I wonder what he has there,' thought Rose as she looked at him. Her focus was quickly turned to the stage.
"So, you're Zane's brother?" asked Missy. She had on red heels, black leggings that stopped mid-caf under her Obelisk Blue skirt, her shirt stopped a few inches before her belly button and was open to show her cleavage and her black tub top underneath. She had reddish brown hair and light brown eyes. "Don't take this too personally, hun, but you're not exactly what I was expecting. I mean, just look at him. I guess the hottie gene skipped you."
"That's not cool," said Jaden in annoyance.
"No fear, son," said Hassleberry.
"I'm sorry but is no one going to question the fact that she has Zane's picture in her necklace. Wait, do you guys think she was one of his stalkers?" asked Rose, annoyed.
"Who cares," said Jaden with anger. 'Why does it matter that she has a picture of Zane?'
"Look, kid. I'm a girl who gets what she wants, and once I win, Zane is gonna be mine 'cause this duel happens to be my ticket to the pro league," said Missy with a smirk.
"Huh? Who told you that?" asked Syrus in confusion.
'I highly doubt Zane would give her the time of day,' thought Rose with a sweat drop.
"Crowler. You win, you advance to Ra. I win, and I get to go pro," said Missy, still smirking.
"Alright. Fine," said an angered Syrus. He then threw a punch. "Then what are we waiting for."
"Game on!" said the two as the got ready.
"Ladies first!" said Missy as she drew a card. "Look out. I summon Prickle Fairy in defense mode."
"What a start. This puts Truesdale in a tight spot."
"Now, all my insect monsters are safe. So basically, there's not a card in my deck you can touch."
"Why is she wearing heels to school? Doesn't that get annoying?" asked Rose.
"Rose, focus," said Jaden as he placed his left hand on her right hand.
"Alright! Watch this!" said Syrus as he drew a card. "I'll start with Shield Crush. So much for your big plan 'cause now I get to choose one monster that's in defense mode and destroy it and guess who I pick. That's right.
"Now for the fun part. Check this out. I summon Steamroid in attack mode. All right, pal. Full steam ahead," said Syrus as his monster attacked, bringing down Missy's life points to 2,200.
"Awesome! She just learned her lesson," said a happy Jaden.
"Don't duel in heels," snickered Rose.
"Truesdale, Truesdale, Truesdale," cheered the crowd, making Syrus smile.
"You hear that! The crowd loves me!" said Syrus with a laugh.
"And we've lost Syrus," said Rose with a sigh. 'Syrus, don't let a little cheering get to your head. Stay focused.'
"No kidding," said Chazz and Jaden together.
"It ain't that bad," said Hassleberry.
"Big deal! That'll change one I go," said Missy in anger as she drew a card. "I play Pinch Hopper in attack mode."
"To bad I'm not afraid of bugs," said Syrus with a smile. "Living in a roach-infested dorm room will do that."
"Really? Then I guess you won't mind this next move because it' been known to bug people out," said Missy with a smirk. "I activate this spell card – Multiplication of Ants. It replaces my Pinch Hopper with two Army Ant Tokens."
"Those ants are worth just 500 points each," said Syrus with a smirk. "What were you thinking?"
"Obviously, I was thinking of using Pinch Hopper's special effect," said Missy in annoyance.
"Uh-oh," said Syrus.
"When Hopped goes to the graveyard, I can automatically summon an insect monster from my hand."
"Pesky bugs," said Hassleberry as he leaned forward in his seat.
"Meet the diva of my deck. She's sweet. She's strong. She's Insect Princess!"
"You can do this, Sy. Just stay calm," said Syrus to himself.
"Here's the deal. My Princess gets 500 points for every insect she destroys. So, if you think she's strong now, just wait."
"Uh, hello? One problem. My deck doesn't have any insects."
"That's all about to change. 'Cause I play my Insect Garden spell card," said Missy as a garden showed up around the two. "Welcome to the jungle, dweeb."
"Wait a sec. I see. Syrus didn't have any insect monsters, so Missy's gonna lend him some of hers," said Rose in surprise.
"It's time for my weaker insects to see how the other half lives. They're all yours, hun," said Missy as her two token monster went to Syrus' side.
"You're right! Missy totally set him up!" said Jaden in shock.
"Nice giant ant. Heel, boy," said Syrus as they made it to his side.
"Still not scared of bugs, kid? Just wait till I play this. I equip my Princess with Insect Pheromone. Now attack his ant!" said Missy as Syrus life points went down to 2,600. She started to laugh. "And don't forget her majesty's special effect. She gets stronger with every bug she stomps but wait! You're not in the clear just yet, dork. Now Insect Pheromone forces your second Ant to throw down with her royal highness."
"Not again," said Syrus in despair as the two monsters fought.
"I'm afraid so," said Missy as Syrus' life points went down to 700.
"Please tell me you're done, pretty please," said Syrus in fear.
"Truesdale, you'll never defeat your enemy unless you defeat your own fear," said Hassleberry as he stood up.
"You're not good enough, dork, so just give up," said Missy.
"Sorry, Missy, no dice," said Syrus as he drew a card. So, first, I'll switch my Steamroid to defense mode. Then I'll summon Submarineroid in attack mode."
"Big deal. What's that gonna do? With just 800 points, it can't touch my Princess."
"I'm not aiming for your Princess 'cause my submarine's special ability lets it attack you directly. Subterranean Sneak Attack. Who's scared now. Well, why don't I give you a little hint? She's the one with the submarine speeding towards her!" said Syrus as Missy's life points went down to 1,400. "And now, thanks to my Submarineroid's special ability, it shifts to defense mode, so my life points are safe."
"Not bad, but what he really needs to play is his Power Bond card," said Jaden as they watched the duel.
"Too bad he can't. it's not in his deck," said Chazz as he gave Jaden the white envelope.
"What? Huh?" said Jaden as he took it and opened it to see the Power Bond card. "Oh. Power Bond? How could you?"
"You better have an explanation," said Hassleberry as he jumped up to glare at Chazz.
"Yeah. He's an ass," said Rose as she glared at Chazz.
"I didn't take it!" yelled Chazz. "Syrus gave it to me to give to Jaden."
"Hmm? He did? But why?" asked Jaden in confusion.
"I'll put this facedown and end my turn," said Syrus, bring everyone attention back to him.
"I hafta win. Hear me? It's the only way to meet Zane, and we are so meant for each other," said Missy in a dreamy state.
"She does realize that picking on his younger brother isn't going to help, right?" asked Rose with a sweat drop.
"I don't think she's that smart," said Chazz with a snicker.
"Now time for another insect – my Magical Longicorn," said Missy as she summoned her monster. "You like him? Well, guess what, hun? You can have 'im thanks to my Insect Garden. Once that beetle bites the dust, it's 'Goodbye, deweeb,' and 'Hello, hottie.'"
"Oh, no you don't. Watch this," said Syrus as he revealed his facedown card. "I play No Entry! Now your monsters in attack mode are switched to defense mode. No Entry has another effect, too. You hafta get rid of one card from your hand."
"Whatev's Like I care," said Missy in annoyance.
"Good hustle, soldier," said Hassleberry with a sigh of relief.
"Check it out. It's a whole new Sy. Way to go, bro!" yelled out Jaden.
"Lucky break, but, hun, you don't win duels with luck, but on the other hand, I guess luck is all you've got," said Missy with a smirk.
"Oh, yeah? And what's that mean?" asked Syrus with a glare.
"Face it, geek. You can practice all you want. You'll never be as good as Zane."
"Take that back!" yelled Syrus in anger, shocking everyone. "Ya know, I've lived in the shadow of my big brother for my entire life. He's confident. He was always a star athlete, got good grades, and then there was me – Zane's little brother, scared I'd never be that good. Well, you know what? I'm sick of always being scared."
"Whoa," said Jaden in shock.
'Oh, Syrus,' thought Rose as she looked out at her friend.
"It's time I faced my fear. Here goes somethin'. To start, I activate Vehicroid Connection Zone," said Syrus in determination.
"Nice try, but you seem to have forgotten all about my Magical Longicorn. It automatically devours your spell cards. Bon apetit," said Missy as the monster went to destroy the card, only for it not to work.
"Sorry but feeding time will hafta wait because my Vehicroid is immune to monster effects. So now I can sacrifice Drilloid, Submarineroid, and Steamroid so I can play Super Vehicroid Jumbo Drill."
"3,000 attack points?" asked Missy in shock.
"Jumbo Drill, attack Insect Princess," said Syrus as everyone watched as the monster attacked. "There's another little twist you should know. Even though Insect Princess was in defense mode, the difference between our two monsters' strength comes out of your life points."
"Wait, but if I lose, I'll never meet my sweet Zane. It's not fair," said Missy as her life points went down to zero.
Everyone cheered as the monsters disappeared from the field.
"The winner – Zane's little brother," said Crowler as Syrus pouted.
"Aw, come one. Didn't he hear my speech?" said Syrus in sadness.
"Nice job, Syrus!" yelled Jaden, Hassleberry, and Bastion together.
'I wonder how long Bastion was standing over there. Why didn't he come and sit with us?' wondered Rose as she looked at her friend.
"Soldier, I know you had it in ya," said Hassleberry with a smile.
"Zane-y, I'll never quit you, baby," yelled Missy with tears coming down her face.
~An Hour Later~
"Wait a sec. so you're a Ra Yellow now?" asked Rose as the group of friends stood in Chazz's dorm. They had walked over there directly after the duel.
"Yup," said Syrus, still wearing his Slifer Red Jacket.
"I can't believe you get to move out," complained Chazz. "I'm still stuck in this dump."
"It looks like you're moving up in rank, Private," said Hassleberry to the smaller boy.
"Come on. Chin up, Sy," said Jaden with a smile.
"It's just that, well," started Syrus, but Jaden cut him off.
"I know how ya feel, but this is what you've always wanted. You're movin' up in the world. Oh, yeah," said Jaden as he pulled out Power Bond from his jacket and threw it at Syrus. "Don't forget that."
"Ya know, when my brother gave me this card, I thought I needed it to be as good as he is, but I realize now I was wrong. Know why? 'Cause everything I need to be a winner; I already have inside me."
"Well put."
"Thanks, Jay. That's why I don't need to carry 'round this card anymore. You take it," said Syrus as he gave the card to Jaden.
"That card belongs with you, bro. Keep it as a souvenir, a reminder of how brave you are. That cool?"
"Time to get you yellow on. Ready?" asked Bastion as he stepped forward with a smile. Everyone turned to look at him confused.
"That only works when Jaden says it," said Syrus.
"Alright, fine," said an annoyed Bastion causing the others to laugh.
~A Few Minutes Later~
The group stood outside the Slifer Red dorms as Syrus walked to the Ra Yellow dorms to get settled.
"They grow up so fast, don't they?" said Hassleberry as he tried not to cry. "Don't forget to write, soldier!"
"You do realize that he isn't leaving the island, right?" asked Rose as she patted Hassleberry on the back. 'This boy.'