Pikatwig: Well… I found an interesting video about the lead of Vrains… Yusaku I think his name is…
KKD: Yea, that's him.
Pikatwig: Also, in spite of how the change to the rules of the game… Vrains, evidently, has the highest viewership of the series since either the original or GX.
KKD: That's saying something considering a certain guy is on the writing staff, and seeing his past works… seriously, Yonemura is terrible with his tokusatsu in recent years, but anime… ranges from decent to good.
Pikatwig: ...wait, HE'S working on this show?!
KKD: That's what I heard. Though strangely, he seems to do much better work in anime, particularly with Precure and Pokemon of all things.
Pikatwig: He wrote the episode of Pokemon that pretty much scarred me for life.
KKD: ...true that. But he also wrote the recent Pokemon I Choose You movie, as well as the Sun and Moon episode where Misty and Brock came back. ...At least he does nostalgia better than the guy who wrote the Tri movies.
Pikatwig: ...I know he's been a writer for the show as far back the original season… but the fact he's written good stuff just sounds weird.
KKD: It's easy to knock someone down when they do something bad. But here's how I like to put things. Instead of focusing on just their bad works and denounce the creators for EVERYTHING they do, we have to accept the works as they are, and allow ourselves to understand where the creators are coming from, as well as enjoy what good material they did write.
Pikatwig: You make a valid point. I don't hate the guy, but I will not forgive him for making the episode of Pokemon that scarred me for life. ...and we can agree the Taisen movies aren't that great, right?
KKD: Yea, though based on what TB and I are doing on the side, I'd actually suggest checking out the series Precure, he did write some amazing works over there, and some of them are reminiscent of Sailor Moon at times… granted, it comes with the Magical Girl genre, but still… and I'm finding myself in a bit of an interesting position I haven't felt since I started getting into MLP.
Pikatwig: Already have other things I need to get around to watching, but that's besides the point. Anyway, let's go ahead and get back on topic.
KKD: Right. Card games that are both on and not on motorcycles. ...why do people think that is so funny? I don't get the joke behind that.
Pikatwig: Abridged guy.
KKD: Oh yeah.
Pikatwig: I saw some of the Abridged version of Bonds Beyond Time and there were some parts that made me chuckle.
KKD: Oh. Right.
Pikatwig: Not like we'll be making major references to it unless accidental. ...or in reference to how Abridged Yusei constantly commented "What is wrong with that guy's hair?" in that special. I remember thinking as a kid that Ash had weird hair… boy is his hair normal by comparison to the leads of THIS series.
KKD: Seriously, this series apparently has TWO hair styles per character, and I'm surprised the hair gel industry isn't making trillions off this… unless their hair became inorganic by this point. Who knows.
Pikatwig: Says something that Jaden has the most normal looking hairstyle out of the six leads.
KKD: Yea, no joke about that one.
Pikatwig: But, regardless, today is chapter 2 and we've been delaying long enough.
KKD: Disclaimers.
Disclaimers: Neither author owns the rights to anything in this story apart from original content. Yu-Gi-Oh!, Yu-Gi-Oh! GX, Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's, Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal, Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V, and Yu-Gi-Oh! Vrains are owned by Konami and their respective owners.
Jaden sat in a sort of waiting area as he looked at his deck, shuffling through his cards with a look of hesitation and concern on his face.
"You scared?" Yubel questioned.
"Nervous, I guess. It's just… well… I may have seen Yusei's battle style when we worked with him and Yugi to fight Paradox, but I don't fully grasp how I would even come close to beating him."
"Relax. You've managed to win multiple bouts before with even less knowledge about how their decks worked. I'm positive you can win."
Jaden exhaled after a moment and just nodded a bit as he stood up.
"By the way… did you notice anything off about the pharaoh?"
"Off in what way?"
"I don't know. There was just something off about him…"
Meanwhile, over in Jaden's time period, Alexis was just looking at the darkened sky and seemed to be lost in thought.
"Hey, Alexis?" somebody called out, making her turn to see a familiar girl with blue hair.
"Oh. Hi Blair, it's been a long time," Alexis smiled.
"What's been going on with you since we graduated? I thought you said you were thinking about being a teacher," Blair commented.
"Tried it out, but didn't work out so well. It ended up just not being where I felt like I belonged…" Alexis responded.
"And how exactly did your Plan B end up becoming 'girl who loves to be barefoot and hypnotize people'?"
"I met a hypnotist after teaching didn't work out and she helped train me in not just hypnosis, but also being barefoot. I don't do the latter all the time, yet I did end up really liking it."
"Huh… I guess that explains the whole 'hypno duelist' thing… *giggles* But you not using actual hypnosis that much makes it a bit ironic," Blair responded, "So, you're more like a normal duelist who just happens to have an interest in hypnosis without showing off that trait, but constantly showing your dirty barefeet to people that think it's attractive for whatever silly reason."
Alexis gave her an annoyed glare before she ended up taking off her boots and getting out a card from her deck.
"Whatcha up to?" Blair questioned.
"I don't use these as often, but I do have my own personal hypnotic themed deck for outside of a duel. When I play the cards of this deck, this is when I get to show off my actual hypnosis training, and can make you do whatever I want you to do," Alexis boldly declared.
"Pfft! You're joking, right?"
"Wanna find out?" Alexis asked with a smug smile as she moved a card towards her duel disk.
"Why not? Show me your little parlor trick."
"Blair Saotome…" Alexis whispered as she put a Mass Hypnosis card into her disk, "You will soon know why messing with a Hypno Duelist is a bad idea."
Blair was about to say something, but then gained a white, black, and light blue colored spiral in her eyes and bowed before Alexis.
"There… now then, Blair, why don't you slip out of your footwear and relax?" Alexis commanded.
"Yes Mistress…" Blair nodded before slipping out of her shoes.
"Good," Alexis smiled as she looked at Blair, "We're still friends and all, don't get me wrong, but if you mock my profession… then I will make you think otherwise. From now on, I want you to respect Hypno Duelists. We are just people who help others relax, get past their issues, and encourage others to be happy. That having been said… I wasn't always into being barefoot, but my mentor told me that it is very relaxing and helps a Hypno Duelist out. And it often does. Heck, there's a reason the Foot Fetish Magician Girl exists. It's a form of relaxation for the Magician Girl who turns into it in a way. ...but, anyway, respect girls who do enjoy being barefoot. Understand?"
"I understand, Mistress…"
Alexis simply took the card out of her deck and Blair snapped out of her trance.
"...okay… didn't expect that…" Blair admitted.
"But it can be very enjoyable. Don't you think so?" Alexis asked.
Blair simply nodded before she eventually walked away from Alexis and the blonde soon noticed Serena was standing nearby.
"...remind me to not make you angry," Serena nervously commented.
"Relax. I don't plan on doing anything to hurt you," Alexis said with an assuring smile.
Serena simply nodded her head a bit, then she glanced around to see people being happy at the reunion, and gave off a sigh.
"Something the matter?"
"...the school I went to wasn't this happy. We just dueled so we could get ready to be on the front lines…"
"Wow… your home doesn't sound happy…" Alexis commented.
Serena just looked to her bracelet and then outside at the dark storm clouds.
Jaden and Yusei arrived at the center of the arena, each preparing their respective decks.
"Been hoping that we would get a chance to duel someday," Jaden admitted.
"I'll admit, I've been hoping for the chance as well," Yusei commented, "But don't think I'm going to go easy on you."
"Same here."
After the deck shuffling, both walked over to their respective ends of the field to get started.
"Go Judai-san! Kick the old guy's butt!" Yuma yelled from the stands.
"Seriously, I'm not that old, kid! Stop calling me that!" Yusei snapped.
"...it's Jaden…" Jaden corrected.
"I feel bad for that Yuya kid…" Yusei commented.
"I'm just confused by a lot of this, and that's a lot seeing I have alternate dimensions to worry about," Yuya admitted from the stands.
"Well, you ready, Yusei?"
"As ready as I'll ever be!"
"Get your game on!"
"Let's rev it up!"
(Jaden: 4000; Yusei: 4000)
"I'll go first. First, I'll summon Elemental Hero Shadow Mist!" Jaden declared, quickly summoning a female warrior monster with blue skin and wearing a black armor that covered her entire body.
(Elemental HERO Shadow Mist; Lvl 4; ATK: 1000; DEF: 1500)
"I set two cards face down. Your turn," Jaden stated.
"Alright," Yusei responded as he drew his card, "I summon Speed Warrior in Attack Mode!"
From a beam of light, a warrior with a suit designed for speed appeared, with a pilot's mask for breathing, one piece goggles, and many smooth parts.
(Speed Warrior; Lvl 2; ATK: 900; DEF: 400)
"Your Speed Warrior only has 900 attack points. You can't beat my Shadow Mist," Jaden commented.
"My Speed Warrior has a special ability. In the turn I summon it, its attack doubles until the end of the battle phase!" Yusei smirked in declaration.
(Speed Warrior; ATK: 900-1800)
"Now, Speed Warrior, attack!"
Speed Warrior then rushed over to Jaden's side of the field, and before he knew it, Shadow Mist was destroyed.
(Jaden: 4000-3200)
"Man, that monster's fast," Jaden muttered.
"You can't expect less from a guy who has to deal with dueling on motorcycles," Yusei smirked, "I'll set one card face down. Speed Warrior's attack points turn back to normal."
(Speed Warrior; ATK: 1800-900)
"I draw!" Jaden yelled as he took out a card, "Alright. First, I summon Elemental Hero Stratos in Attack Mode!"
The hero to emerge was one mostly in blue, having white legs and helmet with blue armor, and wings similar to a gyrocopter.
(Elemental HERO Stratos; Lvl 4; ATK: 1800; DEF: 300)
"Next, I activate Hero's Call. It lets me summon another Elemental Hero from my deck as long as it is Level 4 or lower. And I choose Elemental Hero Lady Heat!"
From a burst of flames, appeared a ginger haired woman with green eyes while wearing an outfit of red and white, almost resembling a magical girl in a sense.
(Elemental HERO Lady Heat; Lvl 4; ATK: 1300; DEF: 1000)
"I throw down a face down. Your move."
Yusei nodded, drawing his next card and smiling a bit.
"First, I play Reincarnation of Hope! With this, I discard two cards from my hand, after which I can add a monster card from my deck to my hand after my second standby phase," Yusei informed, discarding two cards, "Next, I summon Junk Synchron in Attack Mode!"
From the light appeared a small orange-clad bot with a white scarf, goggles, and an engine more visible.
(Junk Synchron; Lvl 3; ATK: 1300; DEF; 500)
"Since I Normal Summoned Junk Synchron, I can Special Summon a Level 2 or lower monster from my Graveyard. I Special Summon my discarded Sonic Chick from my Graveyard!"
In response, a small pink chick with green eyes, a green collar, yellow beak, and bright red boots landed on the field.
(Sonic Chick; Lvl 1; ATK: 300; DEF: 300)
"And now I activate the effect of my Quillbolt Hedgehog in my Graveyard which allows me to Special Summon it back from the Graveyard as long as I control a Tuner Monster!"
This time, a hedgehog with quills on its back popped out.
(Quillbolt Hedgehog; Lvl 2; ATK: 800; DEF: 800)
"And now, I'll tune Level 3 Junk Synchron with Level 2 Quillbolt Hedgehog and Level 1 Sonic Chick!" Yusei announced.
Junk synchron pulled the engine cord from its back before turning into three green rings with a star in each. Then, Sonic Chick and Quillbolt Hedgehog jumped into the rings, turning into stars themselves.
"From three will come one! And from that one will come great strength!"
(3 + 2 + 1 = 6)
"I Synchro Summon Junk Gardna in Defense Mode!"
From this light of the stars merging came a humanoid robot with green and yellow armor, massive arm guards that acted as shields and black pipes coming out its back.
(Junk Gardna; Lvl 6; ATK: 1400; DEF: 2600)
"I set one card face down and end my turn."
"Alright. I draw!" Jaden announced. He looked at the card and then gave a soft gasp as he saw it was a Spell Card that depicted a spiral in the center of the image, 'I must've accidentally picked up one of Alexis' cards after Yuya bumped into us. Wait…'
He glanced up towards Junk Gardna and then gained a small smile, "Perfect. First, I tribute Stratos and Lady Heat! And in return, you'll get to see a familiar face, my ace monster! Behold, I summon Elemental HERO Neos!"
Neos then took the field and stood ready.
(Elemental HERO Neos; Lvl 7; ATK: 2500; DEF: 2000)
"Next, I play the Spell Card Hypnotic Control! This lets me gain control over one of your monsters for the remainder of the duel unless it is destroyed in battle. I choose your Junk Gardna!" Jaden declared.
"What?!" Yusei gawked as Junk Gardna floated over to Jaden's side of the field and sat next to Neos, "Where'd you get that from?!"
"I won't tell," Jaden smugly commented.
'Hypnotic Control? ...that probably was given to him by his girlfriend. But when did she give it to him?' Yusei thought to himself.
"Next, I play Polymerization to fuse Junk Gardna and Elemental Hero Neos!" Jaden declared as the two monsters on Jaden's field leaped into the air, "You might recall this one from our duel with Paradox, Yusei. Now, you'll get to see what it's like to face it! I fusion summon Elemental Hero Neos Knight!"
The two monsters merged in a bright light within the sky. Neos quickly reappeared, this time resembling a medieval knight with armor, a massive double-bladed sword, and a huge shield.
(Elemental HERO Neos Knight; Lvl 7; ATK: 2500; DEF: 1000)
"Now then, Neos Knight, attack Speed Warrior!"
Neos Knight took his blade and rushed in, swinging the weapon at Speed Warrior and easily beat it.
(Yusei: 4000-2400)
"Neos Knight's effect activates and allows him to strike you directly! Go for it, Neos!" Jaden shouted as Neos leaped up, ready to swing on Yusei to end the battle.
"I activate my Trap Card, Defense Draw! This turn, I negate the damage I take from you and draw a card," Yusei informed, Neos Knight being blocked by a barrier as Yusei drew a card, "Next I activate another Trap Card, Miracle's Wake! Now I get to Special Summon a monster destroyed by battle back to my field, and I choose Speed Warrior! Welcome back, Speed Warrior. It's been too long…"
(Speed Warrior; Lvl 2; ATK: 900; DEF: 400)
"I set one card face down. Your move."
"Ok then. I draw!" Yusei announced, "First, I tribute Speed Warrior so that I can summon Salvage Warrior!"
Speed Warrior erupted in a bright light, replaced by a bulky blue-skinned man wearing green pants, black boots, an orange vest, a purple helmet, and wielding a massive double chain.
(Salvage Warrior; Lvl 5; ATK: 1900; DEF: 1600)
"Since I tribute summoned this monster, I can recall one Tuner Monster in my Graveyard and I choose Junk Synchron!"
The orange tuner then reappeared.
(Junk Synchron; Lvl 3; ATK: 1300; DEF; 500)
"Now, I tune Junk Synchron and Salvage Warrior!" Yusei announced as Junk Synchron pulled its cord, turning into rings as Salvage Warrior soon entered the rings and turned into stars, bringing a total of eight, "From two come one. And from one will come great strength. Clustering wishes will become a new shining star! Become the path its light shines upon. I Synchro Summon my ace monster!"
(5 + 3 = 8)
"Take flight, Stardust Dragon!"
From the stars appeared a white dragon with light blue scales in places as well as bright sapphire blue armor on its shoulders and chest.
(Stardust Dragon; Lvl 8; ATK: 2500; DEF: 2000)
"Now, I activate my One for One Spell Card! With this, I send one monster from my hand to Special Summon a level one monster from my hand or the Graveyard. I send Unknown Synchron to the Graveyard to Special Summon Tuningware!"
From the smoke appeared a small figure with green hands and feet, a yellow scarf, and a pan on its head
(Tuningware; Lvl 1; ATK: 100; DEF: 300)
"Now, I normal Summon Synchron Carrier."
Leaping onto the field was an orange and yellow robot with a crane on its back and hooks for hands.
(Synchron Carrier; Lvl 2; ATK: 0; DEF: 1000)
"And now I play the Spell Card Iron Recall. This lets me draw one monster card from my Graveyard, and I choose Quillbolt Hedgehog!"
(Quillbolt Hedgehog; Lvl 2; ATK: 800; DEF: 800)
"Now I'll Synchro Summon again!" Yusei announced, the Synchron Carrier jumping up and giving a thumbs up with its hook before turning into rings again as Tuningware and Quillbolt Hedgehog flew up into the rings, forming the stars, "Now the wishes of these monsters shall combine into a guardian of the stars! I Synchro Summon a new monster, T.G. Star Guardian!"
(2 + 2 + 1 = 5)
From the flash of light came a warrior that resembled a biker with blue spiky hair while also donned in blue, gold, and silver armor that resembled a motorcycle in a way with a red visor, and two blades.
(T.G. Star Guardian; Lvl 5; ATK: 100; DEF: 2200)
"Whoa! Didn't expect that," Jaden commented.
"Just because my town isn't facing any big dangers, doesn't mean that I can't prepare myself with new plans! I set one card facedown and end my turn," Yusei proclaimed.
"Alright. I draw!" Jaden announced, drawing his next card, "Ok, I play Neo-Spacian Air Hummingbird!"
From the light appeared a humanoid red hummingbird with white wings on the back, a yellow beak and gray talons.
(Neo-Spacian Air Hummingbird; Lvl 3; ATK: 800; DEF: 600)
"Now, I play the Spell Card Card of Sanctity! You know this one, but for those watching who don't know, this lets us draw until we each have six cards," Jaden declared, both players filling up their hands, "And now I activate Air Hummingbird's special ability! This allows me to gain 500 life points for each card in your hand!"
To Yusei's surprise, what appeared to be holographic flowers appeared on his cards, one per each card, as Air Hummingbird briefly shrunk and flew over, suckling nectar from the flowers.
(Jaden: 3200-6200)
"Next I play Neos Double! This card allows me to summon another Elemental Hero Neos!" Jaden announced.
Suddenly, a second version of Elemental HERO Neos appeared on the field.
(Elemental HERO Neos; Lvl 7; ATK: 2500; DEF: 2000)
"And now I play another Polymerization! I combine the Effect Monster Neo-Spacian Air Hummingbird with Elemental Hero Neos to Fusion Summon Elemental Hero Brave Neos!"
Air Hummingbird just turned into a light that went into Neos' chest, causing the Elemental Hero to bulk up, gain more blue accents, larger shoulderpads, larger blades from his elbows and on his head, giving him a much heroic and strong look.
(Elemental HERO Brave Neos; Lvl 7; ATK: 2500; DEF: 2000)
"Now, I attack your Stardust Dragon with Brave Neos!"
"Our Monsters have the same amount of Attack Points. They'll just destroy each other," Yusei pointed out as Jaden smirked.
"Not if I play this trap card. I play Heroic Charge! This card lets me boost the power of any Elemental Hero on the field by 1000 at the cost of 100 Life Points until the end of my turn."
(Jaden: 6200-6100)
(Elemental HERO Brave Neos; ATK: 2500-3500)
"Now, attack!" Jaden proclaimed.
"Not so fast. I play my Trap Card, Scrap Iron Scarecrow!" Yusei shouted, causing a scarecrow made of scrap metal to pop up, forming a barrier to block Brave Neos' attack, "This card let's me end the battle phase with no damage, and I can set it back down for future battles."
"Not bad… I'll end my turn."
"My turn. I draw!" Yusei announced, "Since it's my second turn since Reincarnation of Hope, I can add a Monster to my Hand. I'll draw one monster card and then I'll play this Spell Card, Cards of Consonance. I discard one Dragon type Tuner with 1000 or less Attack Points and then draw two cards. I discard Majestic Dragon!"
He put the card into the Graveyard and then got out two cards, "Perfect. First, I play my Spell Card Double Summon to let me Normal Summon two monsters this turn. Now, I'll first summon Sunlight Unicorn in Defense Mode!"
A unicorn with a blue mane and tail neighed as it appeared.
(Sunlight Unicorn; Lvl 4; ATK: 1800; DEF: 1000)
Jaden simply stared at the monster for a moment and didn't know how to react. In response, Yusei simply got ready for his next move.
"Now, I'll summon Steam Synchron!"
In a puff of steam, a little robot with a body resembling a steam engine with arms, legs, and eyes emerged.
(Steam Synchron; Lvl 3; ATK: 600; DEF: 800)
"And now, with these two monsters, I'll ready another Synchro Summon!" Yusei announced.
Steam Synchron tooted its horn, letting off steam before turning into rings, the Unicorn leaping in before they formed 7 stars total.
(3 + 4 = 7)
Luna sensed something and could almost feel a sudden shift of energy.
"From two come one…"
"And from that one will come great magic…" Luna whispered as she held her hands together.
"Let the magic that lives in each of these creatures cross and become eternal life! Synchro Summon! I call forth the mighty and majestic Ancient Fairy Dragon!"
From the light, a giant blue dragon with golden armor and a red headcrest with a blue gemstone appeared, its head having green hair that flowed through the wind a sit spread its fairy-like wings.
(Ancient Fairy Dragon; Lvl 7; ATK: 2100; DEF: 3000)
"Now, I activate Ancient Fairy Dragon's Effect. I can Special Summon a Level 4 or lower Monster from my hand. I choose White Rose Dragon!"
In a burst of petals appeared a small black scaled dragon with purple eyes, and white wings with a large white rose blossoming out its back.
(White Rose Dragon; Lvl 4; ATK: 1200; DEF: 1000)
"Because I activated the effect, I end my turn."
"I'll draw then," Jaden announced as he looked at his cards for a moment, "Alright. First, I'll summon Elemental Hero Sparkman."
The blue and golden armored electric warrior shot up and stood ready.
(Elemental HERO Sparkman; Lvl 4; ATK: 1600; DEF: 1400)
"Next, I'll play Polymerization!"
"How many copies of that card do you have, man?!" Yusei demanded to know.
"How much hair gel do you use in the morning to get your hair like that?" Jaden jokingly responded.
"...touche," Yusei shrugged.
"Now I'll fuse Sparkman with Elemental Hero Necroshade! With these two heroes combined, I Fusion Summon Elemental Hero Darkbright!"
With that, a ghostly version of a dark armored figure merged with Sparkman, sending his golden armor into different spots as well as giving him shoulderpads that resembled golden wings, while the blue was replaced with black and red with some purple.
(Elemental HERO Darkbright; Lvl 6; ATK: 2000; DEF: 1000)
"Now, I'll play a spell card. Monster Reborn! You know this, it lets me summon a monster from my Graveyard, and I choose Elemental Hero Lady Heat!"
(Elemental HERO Lady Heat; Lvl 4; ATK: 1300; DEF: 1000)
"Now, I'll have Lady Heat attack your White Rose Dragon. Get her!"
"I think you forgot my old friend, Scrap Iron Scarecrow!" Yusei pointed out as the scarecrow popped out and stopped the attack.
"Of course. Well, I'll have Darkbright attack your Star Guardian!" Jaden shouted as Darkbright leaped in and managed to hit T.G. Star Guardian.
"I play my Trap Card, Tuner Heal! Before my Tuner Monster can go to the Graveyard, the damage that would be dealt to my life points by the difference in Attack Points is instead converted into Life Points! While Star Guardian is still going to be sent to the Graveyard, his defeat will not have been in vain."
(Yusei: 2400-4300)
T.G. Star Guardian gave a thumbs up to Yusei before it went to the Graveyard.
"Not bad. But you're still in trouble. Remember how Brave Neos got an Attack boost? That boost won't be going away. Brave Neos, attack Stardust Dragon!"
"Not so fast! I discard Swift Scarecrow from my hand to stop your attack and end your battle phase!"
Jaden groaned as Yusei gained a confidant smile.
"Now, I draw!" he announced, "I now summon Witch of the Black Rose!"
A flurry of purple petals appeared as a young girl with purple hair in a black and white maid's outfit while holding a blue tipped wand stood with a smile.
(Witch of the Black Rose; Lvl 4; ATK: 1700; DEF: 1200)
"...not what I'd expect from you…" Jaden admitted.
"This isn't my card, per say. My lovely wife Akiza gave it to me after she retired from dueling. This is one of but many gifts she has given me. Now, I'll play Level Down, Attack Up. At the cost of lowing White Rose Dragon's Level by 1, she'll gain 200 extra Attack Points. And, by the way, that Attack Point boost will last even if I use it for a Synchro Summon!"
"Well… that oughta be a problem…" Jaden muttered.
"And now I'll tune Level 4 Witch of the Black Rose with Level 3 White Rose Dragon!"
With that, the Witch cast a flurry of petals that turned into four rings which the dragon flew through, turning into three stars, a total of seven stars flying through the air.
"Yusei, where are you?!" Akiza shouted as she roamed around. She eventually came across Yusei's Duel Runner in the middle of the street, "...Yusei? ...something must've happened to him… I need to hurry and find him.
She could then sense something as she almost froze and heard Yusei talking.
"From two come one! And this one is a special gift from my special someone."
Akiza gasped softly, smiled a little, and then held her hands together.
"A cold flame envelops the entire world…"
"Black flower, bloom!" Yusei continued.
An image of Akiza seemed to appear next to him in a more elaborate white and red dress as they stood together.
"Synchro Summon! Appear, Black Rose Dragon!" their voices said in unison.
From the flurry of petals that went from purple to red appeared a massive black dragon whose body apart from its neck and head appeared to be covered in large red rose petals, thorns coming off its tail and.
(Black Rose Dragon; Lvl 7; ATK: 2400; DEF: 1800)
"You saw that, right?" Yubel asked.
"Yeah. Wonder what that was…" Jaden muttered.
"And now I'm ready. Stardust Dragon, attack Elemental Hero Darkbright!"
The large white dragon roared before blasting a blue and white beam of energy at Darkbright. Darkbright then vanished and Jaden covered his eyes from the bright light of the attack.
(Jaden: 6100-5600)
"Dangit…"Jaden muttered.
"Now, Ancient Fairy Dragon, attack Lady Heat!"
"No you don't! I'll send Necro Gardna to my Graveyard and then Banish it from play to defend my Lady Heat from your attack!"
With the ghostly figure, Lady Heat managed to be defended from the attack.
"Not bad. I didn't anticipate that," Yusei commented with a smile, "You're not half bad. Now then, I set a card facedown and end my turn."
"My turn. I activate Pot of Greed to draw two cards!" Jaden declared, having done his normal draw before drawing twice more upon activating the spell, "Next, I'll use Premature Burial. I pay 800 life points to bring back Darkbright from the Graveyard!
(Jaden: 5600-4800)
(Elemental HERO Darkbright; Lvl 6; ATK: 2000; DEF: 1000)
"Now, I'll play another Polymerization! I combine Lady Heat and Brave Neos together! With this burning passion combining with a brave hero, you're going to go down! I Fusion Summon Elemental Hero Nova Master!" Jaden shouted as Lady Heat turned into a fire that surrounded Brave Neos until he was blocked from sight, and when it died he was replaced with a very knight-like figure with black skin and an armor that was very fire-themed with spiked edges, colored red, orange, and yellow, and even having a flowing cape.
(Elemental HERO Nova Master; Lvl 8; ATK: 2600; DEF: 2100)
"And now, to prevent you from using anymore of your future tricks for a little while, I play Dimensional Barrier! I'll declare a card type that you can't summon for the remainder of the turn and I choose your Synchros!" Jaden proclaimed.
"Tch! I wish I could've seen something like that coming…" Yusei growled.
Meanwhile, back at Yusei's time, Akiza continued her search for Yusei. It took her some time before she noticed the odd signs that lead to unfamiliar towns and then noticed a bluenette roaming around.
"Hey. Are you lost?" Akiza asked.
"Kind of. I was trying to find my way to my school, but I can't find it. It's like the area around mee keeps changing…" the girl pointed out, Akiza taking notice of her rather different Duel Disk, "Can you help me?"
"Yeah. What's your name?"
"I'm Rio. What's yours?"
"Akiza. Follow me and I'll help you out," Akiza smiled.
Rio smiled as she followed Akiza forward and down the path towards the city.
"Well, I'll play Card of Sanctity. Like you did earlier, this lets us draw until we have six cards," Yusei declared, both duelists filling their hands accordingly, "And now I normal summon another card that came from a retired dueling friend. I play Dunames Dark Witch!"
Then in a spark of lightning, a woman appeared looking somewhat angelic with white wings, purple hair, and wearing a red and white outfit.
(Dunames Dark Witch; Lvl 4; ATK: 1800; DEF: 1050)
"...that's kind of cute…" Jaden admitted.
"And now, I tribute this monster!" Yusei declared, causing it to vanish.
"Aw…"
"Focus, dummy!"
"And I now summon Fortune Lady Earth!"
The next monster to emerge was a brunette woman with glasses wearing a dark blue and black outfit under an orange dress
(Fortune Lady Earth; Lvl 6; ATK: ?; DEF: ?)
"This card gains Attack and Defense points by 400 for its level. So, for now, it gains 2400!"
(Fortune Lady Earth; ATK: ?-2400; DEF: ?-2400)
"Now then, Stardust Dragon, attack Neos Knight!"
"Not so fast! I play Double Spell to take a Spell card out of your Graveyard, at the cost of sending one Spell Card of my own to the Graveyard, and I choose your Defense Draw. I now activate Defense Draw!" Jaden proclaimed.
The dragon was stopped before Jaden drew another card.
"I end my turn then."
"First, I'll play Dust Tornado to destroy your Scrap Iron Scarecrow!" Jaden announced as the facedown card shattered in a tornado, "Next, I play Neo Space!"
A rainbow field took over the entire arena as Jaden gave a smile.
"A field spell?" Yusei checked.
"This Spell grants all monsters that require Elemental Hero Neos as fusion material, as well as Neos himself, 500 ATK points. And as the Pharaoh used to say 'but wait, there's more'! I now use the two Spell Cards I drew from Pot of Greed! I equip Nova Master with Fighting Spirit and I equip Neos Knight with United We Stand! For each face-up monster I control, the monster I equip this to gains 800 ATK and DEF points!"
(Elemental HERO Neos Knight; ATK: 2500-4900; DEF: 1000-3400)
"And Fighting Spirit gives Nova Master 300 ATK for each monster you control!" Jaden declared as Nova Master gained a gold aura.
(Elemental HERO Nova Master; ATK: 2600-3800)
"Now, Nova Master, attack Fortune Lady Earth!"
Nova Master leaped in and struck the Fortune Lady with a powerful punch.
(Yusei: 4200-2800)
"And now I equip Elemental Hero Darkbright with Element Sword!" Jaden shouted as Darkbright gained a sword with a blade engulfed in light, "As long as I attack a monster that is of a different attribute to the one I equip this card to, say my Darkbright, it gains 800 more attack points for its next attack. I choose your Ancient Fairy Dragon. Darkbright, strike her down with your boost in attack!"
(Elemental HERO Darkbright; ATK: 2000-2800)
Darkbright then roared as it rushed in, leaping into the air before slashing its blade down on Ancient Fairy Dragon.
(Yusei: 2800-2100)
"And, finally, Neos Knight! Attack Black Rose Dragon!"
"...I play my Trap Card. Shift! I change the positions of my two monsters and then play this Equip Spell of my own, Stardust Boost! It'll let my Stardust Dragon get enough Attack Points so that your attack will only do 100 points of damage to my life points!"
Suddenly, Black Rose Dragon was teleported, and Stardust Dragon took its place, roaring as it grew in power.
(Stardust Dragon; ATK: 2500-4800)
Neos Knight slashed at Stardust Dragon, causing the dragon to erupt into pixels.
(Yusei: 2100-2000)
"I'm still in this game!"
"No you're not. You forgot about Neos Knight's effect! It can attack twice in one turn! Neos Knight, attack again, this time on Black Rose Dragon!"
Neos Knight charged forward and slashed at Black Rose Dragon. The dragon erupted in petals and pixels, leaving Yusei to get knocked down onto his back from the force of the blast.
(Yusei: 2000-0)
"And that's game!" Jaden smirked, giving Yusei his signature salute.
"Good game, Jaden," Yusei said.
"Thanks, Yusei," Jaden smiled as he helped Yusei up, "Had it not been for that lucky draw that got me Neos Knight, I don't think I would've won."
"It was a smart move to use. Again, good game," Yusei smiled as he walked off.
'...I only really won that duel because of Alexis' card. Gotta remember to thank her later.'
"Honestly… had I not gone through the stuff I went through while I was at this school, I don't think I would've believed you're from another dimension…" Alexis admitted to Serena, "Heck, all that sounded a bit like something that could reasonably happened."
"Mind my asking what exactly happened to you to make you believe me?" Serena questioned.
"Let's see… I dealt with a sort of cult that tried to take over the school via hypnosis using some weird light power, as well as having to deal with my entire school being dropped into another world entirely. Plus I kind of died in a sense while in that other dimension, so… yeah…"
"How did you all deal with that?"
"I… can't exactly remember how I dealt with it. But… I know Jaden didn't take it all well. He went a bit crazy before trying to shut the rest of us out of his life. ...I think part of why I became a hypnotist in a way was to try and do something to help ease the burdens he has. It wasn't easy, but I hope I can help him."
"...you love him?"
"That was pretty transparent to everybody but him."
"Wow…" Serena gawked, "...my friend Yuya only even came on this war in other dimensions so he could find his not-girlfriend. It's… been slow in trying to find her."
"Huh…" Alexis commented.
Serena then glanced over to see some other students dueling and one of them was using a deck themed after parasites. She squinted her eyes for a moment to get a closer look at the deck before she gave a gasp.
"What?"
Serena was silent as she looked to her deck and then outside, "...I…"
Alexis was about to speak, but then she gasped as her eyes turned silver for a fraction of a second as she witnessed images flash through her head.
"...they did something to my head…" Serena muttered, "...oh my…"
"...we're still lost…" Rio sighed.
"Sorry kid. You're right… it does seem like everything around us keeps changing…" Akiza commented before there was a loud boom of thunder, "...weather's starting to get kind of bad. I suggest you stay with me until it clears up."
"Alright, Akiza-san."
"And then I snapped awake and smacked him upside the head!" Carly concluded.
"Wow…" Luna gawked.
"What in the world are you two talking about?" Akiza asked as she walked back in.
"Hey Akiza," Carly waved.
"Um… Akiza? Any reason you left without putting your shoes or anything on?"
Akiza's blinked and looked down at her feet to see they were bare, making her nervously scratch the back of her head, "...I just forgot to."
"Wow… I didn't even notice…" Rio commented.
"Yea… oh. Uh, this is Rio. She got kind of lost and with the weather looking bad, I said she could stay here."
"Hi…" she greeted.
"Hello," Luna said with a calm smile, "How are you?"
"...little nervous, but I'm doing alright."
"That's a cool looking Duel Disk you got there. I've never seen it before," Carly admitted.
"Really? These are everywhere where I'm from…"
Akiza gave a soft 'hmm' as she thought of why that would be.
"You've been looking pale for a while, Serena. Are you alright?" Alexis asked.
"...you know how people can have their life flash before their eyes? Well… I saw something that I didn't do… or… I guess haven't done yet? Maybe? ...I betrayed my friends because some villain stuck some kind of parasite into my head and made me sell out one of my friends to my dimension's Duel Academy. I couldn't control myself and it was just... like I got locked up somewhere in my head and… it was so unsettling. I couldn't fight it… and it nearly got Yuya too…" Serena stated fearfully, tears dripping from her eyes, "I'm… I'm… I…"
Alexis kneeled down to Serena's side and gave her a comforting hug to try to calm her down. Serena's tears fell down onto the ground as she calmed down a little, accepting Alexis' embrace.
"It's okay… I'll be happy to help you calm down…" Alexis said with an assuring and motherly tone.
"Thank you," Serena smiled softly.
"You said this Duel Disk was called a…?" Akiza began to ask.
"A D-Pad," Rio informed.
Akiza took out her phone, searched it, trying to locate any signs of one for sale.
"By the way… can one of you guys explain what that Synchro Monster thingie is? I never heard of them before today."
The three others all stared at her out of great confusion.
"...what?"
"You don't know what a Synchro Monster is? It's a type of monster that requires a Tuner Monster and monster cards that have levels total to the Synchro monster's level. You call them via a Synchro Summon," Carly stated.
"If I use monsters that aren't normal ones, they're usually called in via an Xyz Summon."
"...an Xyz what? How do you even spell that?" Luna asked.
"X-Y-Z."
"...what…?" Carly blinked.
"I have a thought. I kind of sensed an odd aura around you. Like… it's not native to our world and isn't natural. Almost… alien in nature."
Rio gave a worried glance down to her Duel Disk before she nervously brushed her hand against it...
Serena calmed down and managed to take a deep breath before she looked at Alexis, "Thanks Alexis…"
"No problem. I'm just glad I could help you calm down," Alexis smiled.
"Heh. ...I wish I got to know a version of you back home if one is there. She would be pretty cool if she was anything like you…"
"...I think there might be one. Cause… well… I'm recalling stuff about another Duel Academy that's kind of like what you told me… evil, trying to rule other dimensions, turning people into cards, and overall kinda crazy. And… I remember defending somebody who looks a lot like you. She had pink hair and was running from people trying to drag her to the Duel Academy of your world. ...you have a sister?"
Serena looked a bit confused before it clicked in her head who she was talking about, "Well… at least you didn't think she was me. I get a lot of that…"
"Probably why I thought I recognized you. It's so weird…" Alexis commented, "So… is she your sister?"
"It's VERY complicated… even I don't fully get it. Trust me, it's better if I don't tell you to much…" Serena responded.
"Alright, I gotcha," Alexis said.
"...Alexis?" a girl's voice, somewhat similar to Serena's, spoke.
"Huh?" Alexis blinked as she turned to her right, "...oh. Hey, Serena. Look."
Serena turned and looked to see a girl with pink hair, while wearing a pale blue vest, white shirt, magenta tie, burgundy pleated skirt, black stockings, and pink shoes.
"...hi Serena," she greeted.
"Yuzu…"
Pikatwig: The first duel of the tournament is over and now Yuzu has appeared before Serena and Alexis.
KKD: Well this won't get confusing at all.
Pikatwig: Alexis appeared in Arc-V late in the game… and was the only returning character from a past season that people were unanimously happy to see. Others all had issues with the other past characters that reappeared.
KKD: Of course people would be against that.
Pikatwig: Given the issues with Crow and Jack that people had, plus how the Zexal veteran was said to be to out of character to be the same guy… I can see why.
KKD: Yeesh! Talk about a controversy.
Pikatwig: Anyway, thoughts on the chapter?
KKD: Overall enjoyable, giving characters potential interactions we otherwise wouldn't have seen, and yet the duel was my favorite part of the whole thing.
Pikatwig: What do you think of Yusei using the cards of Akiza and Luna?
KKD: It's nice seeing how the girls appear to have stopped dueling after their series' run.
Pikatwig: And thoughts on how Jaden ended up winning?
KKD: I thought it was very cool how we kept to the show and game, and made sure he won. It's really fun.
Pikatwig: And he kind of got lucky that Yuya bumped into him and he happened to accidentally picked up one of Alexis' cards. Something that would fit the tone of this series all to well from my understanding.
KKD: No joke.
Pikatwig: Now for the whole "memories of things to come appearing" thing. I had that in mind for a while and partly for some comedic stuff/heartfelt stuff in the coming chapters. I don't know if how Serena reacted to what is in her future would be out of character, but it at least seems kind of realistic for somebody at least 13 or 14 years old to react.
KKD: For those who don't know, late in the season, one of the villains put these parasite things into the heads of Serena and two of Yuzu's other counterparts to make them work for the villainous group, and unlike most cases of hypnosis in the show, it's a rather disturbing thing where they lose control to the parasites.
Pikatwig: Especially how we the audience didn't know about that when Serena seemingly betrayed the heroes. It was just so creepy… and, plus, unlike other instances of mind control altering eyes, Serena's didn't alter beyond just slightly changing color. ...and it's inconsistent since the other two counterparts and Yuzu when they got to her all had altered eyes like Alexis did when she was hypnotized, but besides the point. It was seriously creepy and, heck, even the leader of the villains thought it was crossing a line!
KKD: Talk about nutso, even by Yu-Gi-Oh! standards.
Pikatwig: And the villain even tried to do it to Yuya and it almost worked. Had it not been for his inner darkness literally eradicating the thing into nothingness… that would've been game over for whatever heroes were left.
KKD: Ok, I think we're done talking about that.
Pikatwig: Yes please.
KKD: Well I made it clear my favorite part was the duel, but what was yours?
Pikatwig: ...I liked both the duel and the interactions between Alexis and Blair early on and then the groups of characters that are from different timelines/realities.
KKD: Ok, I'll give you that, that was good.
Pikatwig: And before we get asked about this, there's a reason that the main female character of Zexal isn't here.
KKD: Wait, she's not?
Pikatwig: Nope.
KKD: Why not?
Pikatwig: A very simple reason. ...not that interesting a character and, well, kind of a lowball for the standards of this series. People have had their complaints about Téa, Alexis, Akiza, Yuzu, Serena, and all of the other females out there to some extent… but oh boy does the main female of Zexal kind of show downgrade from 5D. Now, again, I haven't watched these seasons so I'm only going off of what others have said… and most people say that Zexal isn't that great and one of the more big problem characters is the female lead.
KKD: Is it because of her character design?
Pikatwig: Nope. Most people agree she is kind of cute.
KKD: Is it because she's a brat or something? That's a common complaint about a lot of female characters in shounen anime at times.
Pikatwig: Not sure. Here's a hint… it was a complaint that people had about Téa early on.
KKD: ...is it because she doesn't duel?
Pikatwig: Bingo.
KKD: Well, it can't be that bad, right? I mean I know Téa doesn't duel on the regular, but she did eventually duel, using a fairy-monster based deck in episodes 2 and 25 in the Duelist Kingdom arcs before eventually getting a more major dueling role in episodes 102 and 103, and she won all those times.
Pikatwig: It took Zexal's female lead until episode 60 to finally duel once!
KKD: ...seriously? Never dueled until that point? Well, as long as she was a genius at-
Pikatwig: And she never once won a duel she partook in.
KKD: YOU'RE KIDDING ME! *gets shown article on the Yu-Gi-Oh wiki and groans* No wonder she's not here.
Pikatwig: She's pretty much nothing but a cheerleader for Yuma. And, heck, she once literally dressed like a cheerleader. Granted it was a card effect that did that, somehow, but still.
KKD: You were being very progressive getting the females of the show into very awesome roles and amazing decks, and yet you made this girl the weakest link? That's just pathetic. *sighs*
Pikatwig: Yuzu and Aoi, the female lead of Vrains, have both amended this issue and are largely loved by the fanbase.
Off-Screen Guy: I would like to remind you that your first anime crush once wore a cheerleader outfit.
Pikatwig: Shut up you! Dawn actually did stuff and battled early on!
Off-Screen Guy: I'm just saying.
*Pikatwig grabbed a button and pressed it*
Off-Screen Guy: What does that thing doOOOOOO?! *gets flung out of the building and 'pinged' away like Team Rocket*
KKD: …Nice one.
Pikatwig: Thank you. *sets thing aside* And even more problematic thing about the female Zexal lead? In the manga? ...she never even dueled once. Ever. In the entire run of the manga.
KKD: Are you serious?
Pikatwig: Pretty much.
KKD: …*sighs* Well then, thank goodness for picking Rio, a girl who actually CAN duel, to represent Zexal.
Pikatwig: It did take her a while for her first duel, but that was because she ended up in the hospital for an extended period of time prior to the start of the season. Rio actually won several duels she was in.
KKD: Oh, ok.
Pikatwig: Still better.
KKD: Moving on before we get angry fans…
Pikatwig: Good point.
KKD: Uh… let's see… what's this about their future memories leaking in?
Pikatwig: Has to do with how time and space are falling apart. Will get elaborated more net time.
KKD: Which is Zexal lead vs. Arc-V lead?
Pikatwg: Yep.
KKD: And you said he's dumber than Digimon protagonists?
Pikatwig: Big time.
KKD: Yeesh.
Pikatwig: Who do you think is the dumbest out of Tai, Davis, Takato, Takuya, and Marcus? I won't ask about the Xros Wars leads because you haven't seen it.
KKD: Fair. Uh… hmm… I would have to say… Marcus. He's crazy enough to try and punch Digimon, who are clearly stronger. And just because it's the best way to help him get his partner to Digivolve doesn't mean he should do it every time! Plus, I wouldn't exactly call him leader material, either.
Pikatwig: I will say that is the only way he's capable of Digivolving Agumon, but besides the point. Yuma is basically dumbest lead of Digimon… times about 20 or 30 levels of dumb.
KKD: Oh boy.
Pikatwig: People say he's better in the manga than the anime from what I've read. And before anybody says anything, no, we don't hate Zexal. I haven't watched it and I don't know if KKD has either. I'm going off of second hand-info from what I have seen people say… and one of my friends told me don't watch it because of how dumb the lead is.
KKD: I've only seen maybe the first episode, and first impressions were not that great. Plus, based on clips I saw, he's about as dumb as Marcus like you said… still smarter than… uh… oh, Stretchy Pirate, though.
Pikatwig: Wow… you're right about One Piece being your version of my disinterest in Dragon Orb.
KKD: Yea. Still haven't thought of a good parody name for that like you have.
Pikatwig: Well, we've rambled enough. Next time is the duel of Yuma and Yuya. ...and maybe we might do a review of a Yu-Gi-Oh episode later this month or early next month. We'll see.
KKD: Yea… I guess that's it for now. Stay tuned for more.
Pikatwig: Wrap up time.
KKD: Jaa ne.
Pikatwig: Just Live More.