Author Notes: I opened up a AO3 version of this story under the name PhantomGalaxy13! I thought I'd mention that. It comes with some AI Art I made for the story in some scenes. It's still the same story, but I hope anyone here can check it out when they have the time.
{Extra 1: What happens in the Spirit World stays in the Spirit World.}
We rewind time to summer vacation: when Jaden Yuki met and found a displaced Jesse Anderson.
Jaden Yuki looks like the type of person who would always answer the call for adventure. But not that day. He wanted to spend "today" with his family.
Sadly for the future King of Games, the consequences of his actions said otherwise.
Jaden had no idea how to get Jesse—who currently wore thick-furred coats on a summer afternoon—to a phone without his family asking too many questions. Luckily, Jesse may not have been a good liar, but he was great at not telling the whole truth.
"Howdy, folks! Pleasure to meet ya! I'm a friend of J!"
"... Son, where and how did you befriend an Eskimo with a southern accent?" Jaden's father asked.
"Hahahaha! Good one, sir! I like your shirt!"
"Why, thank you! Finally, someone else who appreciates Hawaiin Shirts!" Jaden's father pointed that last sentence toward his spouse.
Said wife looked like she was about to find a way to make her husband sleep on a couch for the summer.
Jaden did notice the You're-going-to-explain-what's-really-going-on-later look his older cousin gave him. But luckily, Jesse was going to leave soon after lunch with his family. It was going to be quick.
The same could not be said when Jaden started describing his other friends. Many in his family, especially his father and cousin, asked why he talked a lot about a green-haired girl.
But that's a story for another day.
As much fun as he had with the Hero duelist, Jesse did have a mission he needed to complete. After calling North Academy, he left the house after saying goodbye.
So, of course, Jaden went after his best friend while his beagle followed him.
"Jesse, what did you mean that my Duel with Wilona did something to the Spirit World?" As he asked this, Winged Kuriboh appeared beside Jaden. Similarly, all the Crystal Beasts appeared around Jesse.
The blue-haired duelist looked over to Silver Wolf, who only nodded once. Jesse sighed before turning back to Jaden but kept his pace. "Remember when you wished for those cards? In our world, everything looked alright. But in the Spirit World? I think it's best if I show ya."
Jesse led the two back to where he appeared: near one of the boardwalks. Jaden was surprised to see a whirlpool, not unlike the one back in the spas of Duel Academy during the fight for the Spirit Keys.
Without another word, Jesse jumped into the whirlpool before vanishing.
Jaden looked to Winged Kuriboh, who wanted to know more about the mention of another one of his species. They jumped after Jesse, with Jaden's dog jumping in after them.
[Tag Force: Heroes and Villains]
One of the downsides of traveling through the Spirit World was that Jaden never knew where he was going to end up. This time, he found himself on top of a cliff.
"Bark!"
Jaden looked back and saw Doug moving his low legs to go after him. "Doug? You followed me!?" Although he cried this out, he did carry the mix of beagle and corgi in his arms.
When Jaden turned around, he spotted Jesse looking out in the distance...
... He started to see why the Crystal Beast Duelist was troubled.
Even for the Spirit World, Jaden doubted those different colored tears in the skies with things being either sucked in or spat out were normal. Sounds of distant fighting reached where they were. And when the Hero Duelist looked down, he saw a battle between what looked like machines and bizarre dinosaurs.
"Jesse? What's going on?!" Jaden asked.
"The only thing I know is that these portals are popping up all over the place, bringing in creatures n' spirits ain't never seen before." Jesse started. "Chancellor Foster thinks it might have something to do with your wish for new monsters. When ya made the wish, the spirits of those new monsters just up an' appeared all over the Spirit World!"
Jaden liked Duel Monsters as much as the next person, but he didn't like the idea that he and Wilona caused so much destruction and strife. "But why are there so many of them?"
Pearl Reindeer walked up to Jaden. "The energy surrounding the portals feels similar to the one in your duel with Wilona. Your duel must have torn holes in the fabric of time and..." When she saw Jaden's empty look, she figured she needed to simplify her words. "You broke things you shouldn't have. This is the result."
"I didn't know my duel with Wilona did all this!" Jaden felt horrible everyone here suffered because of him.
"That ain't the half of it." Instead of saying more words, Jesse pointed in the distance. Jaden and Winged Kuriboh followed the direction until they saw a lance.
No, no. It couldn't be a lance. Lances do not dwarf mountains and get their upper half obscured by the clouds.
"Did the Spirit World do some decorating last time I was here?" Jaden asked with his usual grace and tact. "Cause the Godzilla-sized lance is cool but not doing it for me."
"It's definitely not from the Spirit World," Jesse put his hands on his hips. "Me and my posse went up to investigate soon as I got here. And that's when we saw him: the one making all those portals you see and causing all these fights to break out."
Before Jaden could ask, Doug started to snarl and bark in a direction behind the two duelists.
The respective duel spirits moved to protect their partners. At that moment, a portal tore itself open before something small, round, but uncanny floated out of the tear.
"Iurk.."
The appearance elicited reactions from the group: Jaden gasped as he saw the creature. Jesse and the Crystal Beasts tensed at its appearance. Winged Kuriboh was motionless in the air.
Jaden thought back to earlier that day when he heard Jesse talking about chasing a Kuriboh. He knew about Yugi's normal one; he fought against it when Dimitri stole the deck. He met and befriended Winged Kuriboh before meeting the mischievous Kuribohrn, who sided with the Grave Keepers.
All three of these Kuribohs were playful and innocent but always seemed to know more than they let on.
The one in front of them was absolutely nothing like them.
This Kuriboh looked more like it was born to be a weapon. It had no fur but a round body with bizarre symbols on it. A major one looks like the symbol of Monster Reborn. But its eyes would stare unblinkingly... towards Winged Kuriboh.
"That's the one!" Topaz Tiger snarled as he leaned into his crouch. "That's the Kuriboh that started this madness!"
"Ank..." The bizarre Kuriboh gasped while staring at Winged Kuriboh.
"Kuri!" Jaden couldn't believe his eyes. Winged Kuriboh looked almost disturbed at the presence of this new Kuriboh.
However, the two duelists realized that the portal that this new Kuriboh came out of didn't close; it looked like it was growing bigger.
It grew so big that a red light shined in the darkness behind it.
And another.
And five more.
Then twelve more.
The Crystal Beasts barely had enough time to take Jaden and Jesse out of there before a swarm of strange insect-like robots swarmed out of the portal.
"Was that the Kuriboh you mentioned!?" Jaden yelled as he rode on top of Topaz Tiger.
"Yea! That little fella's been causing quite the ruckus! He tried stopping us from getting to that spear over there in the first place! He's also been opening portals and having the spirits fight other spirits!"
"Wait, but why are we running away? Shouldn't we capture him or something?"
"You don't think we tried that?" Cobalt Eagle shouted from the side. "It keeps disappearing when we're about to pin it down!"
"Ooh! It's so scary for something so small!" Emerald Tortoise, currently being carried by Pearl Reindeer's mystical powers, shivered inside his shell.
"That also led to us getting sent to ya," Jesse looked forward while Ruby was on his shoulder. The duelist rode on top of Sapphire Pegasus. "So this time, we're just going to head straight to that there giant lance."
Jaden glanced back to see the bizarre Kuriboh staring back at them. No. Specifically, Winged Kuriboh. When the Hero Duelist looked at his friend, he could tell the usually calm spirit seemed disturbed by this new Kuriboh's existence.
"Do you know him, buddy?" The brunette asked the flying creature.
Winged Kuriboh only stayed silent, which was unusual for the spirit. But the way the little creature looked disturbed signaled troubling times ahead.
However, Winged Kuriboh turned and pointed downward. Everyone looked below the cliff, where three people and a small creature were being chased by more of the robotic creatures the strange Kuriboh summoned.
"We gotta help them!"
Jaden's cry made Jesse hesitate. But luckily, he was also a great friend. "Yeah, it ain't like us to ignore those in need! Come on, fellas! Let's go lend them a hand!"
From above, Jesse ordered his Crystal Beasts to come in and flank the robotic monsters from the side. Jaden drew a card from his deck and played Alchemical Experiment to make Winged Kuriboh reach Level 9. The little creature, empowered, crushed through waves faster than most of the Crystal Beasts.
Jaden scanned the people he and Jesse saved; they looked like something straight out of an anime adventure series. One was a young blonde who looked to be wearing scraps of the enemies they defeated. Another was a girl with long purple hair wearing clothes reminiscent of a post-apocalyptic look combined with a shrine maiden. The tallest of the three was a rugged, warrior-like man who still glared at him and Jesse even as they cleared the rest of the bots.
"Thanks for the help, strangers!" The blonde one began before the older one between the three stopped him from stepping forward with his lance. "Ningirsu?"
"Stand back, Auram. We don't know who these people are." Jaden continued to stare at how pointy the guy's lance looked.
"Brother, they helped us!" The girl among them turned to the older man. Jaden spotted the odd staff the girl held. For some reason, its light irked him.
"Yeah, Ib's right! We would have been toast without these guys!" The blonde one said.
At that moment, Doug jumped out of Jaden's hands. The brunette cried out for his pet while something green ran past the blonde named Auram. "Imduk!"
Doug and Imduk—which Jaden and Jesse recognized as a baby dragon— ran up to each other before starting to sniff each other. It didn't take long before the dragon smiled before Doug licked the dragon.
"Well, there's something ya don't see every day!" Jesse smiled as he walked up to the three. "Anyway, the name's Jesse Anderson! That there is Jaden Yuki! Pleasure to meet y'all!"
Jesse was able to make even the rugged guy lower his lance. It probably helped that even the other Crystal Beasts outnumbered them if they chose to attack.
After a while, Jaden had to admit that it was weird to see something straight out of a fantasy story come to life. (Granted, his life in Duel Academy counted as one, but that wasn't the point right now.) Ib explained how they came from a world where there were even more of those strange mech-like creatures and how they were on their way towards a "World Legacy" before a creature that looked like Winged Kuriboh sucked them into these new lands with a legion of Krawlers.
"So you recognize that there lance?"
Ib nodded. "All we know is that they've existed for as long as anyone could recall. I believe we were on our way to one until that odd spherical creature ambushed us."
"Tell me about it. I was doing the same thing. Luckily, it sent me to my pal over here." Jesse motioned over to Jaden.
"What about this strange land? What can you two tell us about it?" Ib's older brother, Ningirsu, asked with as much edge as his lance.
"Your question is as good as ours. All we know about the Spirit World is that there's an awful lot of critters down here!" Jesse laughed before scratching his nose. "But a problem happened, and now everyone from everywhere seems to be gathering faster than a family gathering at an all-you-can-eat hot dog contest!"
All three strangers, and Jaden, tilted their heads in confusion.
"I reckon there ain't much of any of that from where y'all from?"
"No, but it kinda sounds fun. Way more than back home." Auram and the other two thought it sounded like paradise: a world free from the Krawler monstrosities. "Can we see it?"
Jaden blinked. "Yeah, can they enter the Human World?"
"That's a good question. Unfortunately, we're pretty far from one of the gates. Tell ya what? I heard you guys were also going to one of these fangled Legacy stuff. Mind if I tag along? It might gimme a clue as to what's going on here."
Ib held a hand to her chin. "The one we were heading towards is not here. But if it can lead us home, maybe heading towards the lance may help..."
"Then it looks like we've got an adventure! The more, the merrier!"
Unfortunately for Jesse, he wouldn't have enough time to reach said giant lance.
But that's a story for another day.
{Extra 2: Love Pentagons suck.}
"So," Wilona paused to see the look on everyone's faces. "I'd like to welcome everyone back to the music club! We also have some newcomers."
Jaden was the loudest to cheer, but it didn't mean everyone else was as excited.
"Before we begin, I'd like to cover some announcements. I've received a project from Chancellor Crowler. This year's school dance: we are to have a school ball held in Obelisk Blue."
"What does our club have to do with sports?"
Everyone turned to Jaden as soon as he blurted those words.
"You slacker," Chazz scoffed. "A ball is another word for an outdated and formal dance."
"Wait, we're doing a ball!?" Syrus yelled out.
"Yes, so it might be in our best interest to find out who here can learn classical music."
"E-Erm." Wilona looked over to the Ra Yellow that Bastion and Dimitri brought in. He introduced himself as...
"Marcel, correct?" Wilona answered. When she saw the young man turn away, she gave a soft smile. "It's alright. Did you have something to say?"
"I-I learned how to play the violin from my... father." Marcel broke eye contact again.
"Do you want to play background music in the school dance?" Wilona's voice became gentle. "It's alright; we have a school year to help prepare for."
"I... I would like to."
"Then you will," Wilona explained before coughing into her hand. "Now, for a topic I dread."
Everyone felt trepidation after hearing the usually calm and dauntless founder sound defeated. "Because of the ball, we must participate in it. In other words, we will need to formally dance."
Wilona closed her eyes as the clamor of cries came in her direction. "Look, I know how you all feel. But Crowler was adamant about everyone dancing."
"Does anyone here even know how to do a ballroom dance?" Jasmine asked.
"How about the rich kid in the room?" Sora's question made everyone turn to Chazz.
"Hey, don't look at me. The parties I went to were just gaudy social meets. We don't do something as ancient as that." The heir leaned away when everyone turned to him.
"I know some ballroom dancing." Everyone turned to Wilona. "Though, I would need some volunteers to teach."
"How about Jaden and I?!" Everyone turned to see Gloria Tyler quickly leaning in and hugging Jaden's arm.
Everyone else became silent at the exclamation. However, Jaden thought that dancing sounded fun and responded. "Sure, why not?"
Blair, on the other hand, reacted faster than her brain processed. "WHAT!?"
The blonde Tyler sister looked surprised over at Blair before a smug smile spread across her lips. "You snooze, you lose, kid."
Wilona knew that was the exact opposite thing to say. But she was too slow to stop Blair from standing up and slamming on the table.
"Why you fake-blonde, skan—"
Luckily, Jaden's obliviousness happened to save everyone from an impending fight. "So," The brunette asked. "How are we gonna do this? I've always wanted to do some sick backflips!"
Wilona took the opening the Slifer Red gave them. "Yuki, there are no backflips in ballroom dancing. Both of you come to the center of the stage."
Gloria was all too eager to drag a smiling Jaden down to the stage, making both Blair pout while Alexis seethed. Some of the boys ended up glaring at Jaden. They wondered how someone who spilled milk on his uniform every week get the attention of the hottest girls in the area?
Wilona spoke up. "We need two more pairs. Anyone else like to volunteer?"
Grace Tyler raised her hand. "Can I go with Bastion?" When she had asked that, Bastion decided to drink some water the second before. For all his studious research, the genius did not expect a beautiful girl to ask him to dance with her. That is why when the Ra Yellow heard this, he did a spit-take right into Chazz's face.
"I don't see why not?" Wilona glanced around and ignored Chazz grabbing Bastion's collar. "Abraxas? Perse? Would you two like to help out?"
"Sure thing, Prez!" Sora jumped off and Sera politely nodded; in the meantime, Dimitri and Damon tried to pull Chazz off Bastion.
When the pairs gathered around, Wilona clapped her hands together. "We will begin with the waltz."
It took a while before everyone learned how to dance. Everyone exceepppt Jaden Yuki. Despite his skill in card games, The Slifer Red had two left feet. More often than not, he was stepping on Gloria's foot or accidentally hitting Chazz or Syrus with an arm swing. It came to the point where everyone else learned how to dance except him. That left Wilona to teach Jaden personally. With only the two of them dancing, it would prevent others from being hurt. Not only that, Jaden saw the hardened glare on the girl's face. He did not want to risk the girl's ire, especially since he's been on the receiving end of it more than once.
"Eyes straight! Hands below my shoulder. If you drop it below my waist again, I will make you regret it, Yuki." The edge in her voice showed not a single sign of a joke.
Jaden knew Wilona was serious. It didn't help that if Wilona was angry, she could have destroyed the world if she wanted to. "I-I said I was sorry about that!"
Wilona kept her glare but relented and sighed. "You are the leader. Move your foot forward, and we'll retrace the steps." Luckily, Jaden followed her instructions better. What was unlucky was the fact that Wilona glanced at many of the other females who fell for Jaden's charms. A small but loud part of Wilona's subconscious frowned at the thought of Jaden getting together with anyone. She was starting to get angry. Of all the people she had to fall for, it was the most problematic yet sweetest teen in the entire school. Wilona was angry at him for being so oblivious yet genuine. She was ticked off that others also fell for unbelievably boring and predictable charms, and she abominated herself for recognizing all these cliches'... and still falling for him. Her anger and jealousy spurred on with the increasing tempo of the music.
Wilona surprised Jaden as she pulled him closer, their bodies almost touching. The poor brunette did his absolute best not to think about... stuff... especially to avoid another moment of his hand falling where it shouldn't have earlier.
"Move faster." She demanded of the still-stunned brunette. Jaden gulped, recognizing Wilona was angrier but failing to realize the reason why. The waltz started to resemble a bolero as the two moved and spun faster. As the music ended abruptly, Jaden and Wilona were both gasping for air, both looking right into each other's eyes longer than expected.
One second was too long for Wilona as her mind shifted to fix-it mode. "Alright," She let go. "You finally got it. Well done, Yuki."
"I feel like collapsing." The brunette heaved as he supported his hands on his knees.
"I suppose that will be all for today." Wilona exhaled, choosing not to look into anyone else's eye. However, she could feel more than half of the club staring at the back of her head. Feeling uncomfortable, Wilona spoke again, "The club is dismissed."
Taking her stuff, she did her best to leave without looking like she was rushing. Yet, the Club President quickly felt shame at what she had just done: dancing passionately with so many's crush? If Alexis was skeptical before, that would have clued the blonde as to why Wilona was acting so weird. Gloria was far more open and upfront with her thoughts. Wilona imagined the blonde twin calling her a rival—which she utterly refused to be called one. And lastly was Blair. Poor girl, she even half-agreed to help her with her crush on Jaden, then the green-haired girl goes and dances with the idiot like that?
When she was alone, Wilona punched the closest wall. "Love pentagons are bloody stupid!"
It was only later that she realized she had the keys to the clubroom and had to close it after everyone left. Wilona felt annoyed and waited thirty minutes in the hallway before coming back to lock the classroom doors.
"Yo, Wilona!"
Wilona turned to see Jaden walking up to her. "Oh, Yuki? What are you doing here?"
"Didn't find you at the dorms. Thought you went ahead."
"I forgot to lock the room." The green-haired girl answered before doing so. Yet, as she walked back, she found herself walking alone... with Jaden.
It was quiet, but Wilona didn't notice as she tried to force her heart to calm down.
"You okay?" Jaden asked before he saw his best friend look away.
Wilona disliked the fact that Jaden could be both so observant yet oblivious. Yet, she stopped brooding as an honest thought occurred to her. Maybe she could nip this annoying feeling in the bud if...
"Yuki?" Seeing him turn to her only meant she had to go through with this. "What kind of girl do you like?" The words tumbled out of her faster than she was ready, but it was the only way for them to get out.
"I like all girls," Jaden answered in a way that he didn't understand the context. "Hard not to like people unless they're jerks, but they're not too bad if they are."
"No, I mean," Wilona sighed. A part of her wanted to drop it, but another part of her burned to know. "You know how your parents are married, right?"
"Yeah?"
"Well... I'm just curious... what kind of person would you choose, and this is purely theoret... for just the heck of it. It's not a real answer," Wilona gulped before her cheeks flushed. She tried to tell herself that she was only learning Jaden's type so that she could drop whatever silly little crush she had on him. Heck, with how close he was with Anderson, maybe there would be an easier way to solve that annoying event this afternoon. Wilona closed her eyes, ignored how her heart was beating faster, and finished, "If you would live as your parents do, who would you choose as a partner?"
Wilona didn't know what she was expecting when she asked that. Of all things, she didn't expect Jaden Yuki to suddenly stop in his tracks and stare at her. Somehow, it was infinitely worse than him laughing it off and giving her a direct answer. Why was he choosing now to shut up after all the times he never stopped talking or snoring!?
"Y-Yuki?" Wilona stammered, wondering if she did something wrong.
"I... never thought of that," Jaden said. "Huh."
Wilona figured that was the moment to drop the topic. "Then forget it. I'm tired after today's club; pay no mind to whatever craziness my mind babbles, and let's go back to the dorms."
"No, wait. I really didn't think of that before." Jaden did not see Wilona freeze up when he said that. "Someone I could be with like my parents."
"I-It. Y-You don't need to answer that."
"Then why'd you ask? Man, that's a pretty deep question now that I think about it. Will someone have to drag me to fishing contests all the time? Or do I have to drag them to concerts?" For Jaden, his mother loved to fish. When outside her job, she would usually drag him and her husband on fishing trips. His father worked in radio stations and usually brought his family to awesome band events when he could.
Wilona paused as she stared at Jaden. Of course, even when she tried to make the comparison, the oblivious fool saw marriage as dragging people around for their passions.
Yet, as relief washed over the green-haired girl, Jaden found an answer the girl was absolutely not ready for. "Huh, I guess you and I do that already?"
Wilona froze where she stood. She slowly turned her head towards Jaden, hoping that she heard wrong. "What?"
"Well, even though you aren't as into Duel Monsters as everyone else, you still let me drag ya into it. And I wasn't into dancing and music till you made me do it!" He rubbed his head with a nervous laugh before looking at Wilona, saying words she would never expect to hear.
"So, I guess I'd choose you."
To say Wilona stopped functioning after hearing that would be an understatement equal to saying that the Buddha is a cool dude. She wondered if she was hit by some card-related magic again. The girl felt her heart pounding so hard she almost passed out from lack of oxygen. Her mind was trying to process the fact that Jaden Yuki was admitting he'd pick her out of literally everyone else.
Wilona could only fail to make coherent thoughts and would continue to fail for the rest of the night. "J-Y-You would...?"
"What? Are you cold?" Leave it to Jaden to miss the point again as he took out his jacket and hung it over Wilona's head. The green-haired girl was too stunned to stop him from helping her move forward. "Let's get back to the dorms before you get sick."
There was no way she would get a cold from how hot she felt at that moment, combined with how warm it was inside Jaden's jacket. Wilona remained silent as she called Jaden an idiot a million times in her mind while secretly noticing how nice it felt to be warm with someone else.
This only proved it.
Wilona abominated Love Pentagons.
{Visionary}
Zane saw the caller ID: Seika. A small piece of him did not want to answer the call. He never listened to it, no matter how much he tended to agree with the feeling after he ignored it.
"Break a leg, Zane!" A peppy voice shouted from the small object.
"Are you already that bored, Seika?"
"Yeah, I bet ten bucks on this duel. Lose so I can get a free sandwich. Or maybe I'll order Chinese. I swear: Aster Phoenix sounds like a good Kung Pao Chicken name."
"Shouldn't you be betting for me?" Zane was not the type to ever get nervous or, at the very least, show it. Though, talking with a familiar voice did help ease the stoic duelist as he made his way toward the Dueling Arena.
"Don't you know I always root for the underdogs?" Zane did not sigh; he would never give his friend that satisfaction. And he would never hear the end of her if Zane showed weakness in her teasing. She would lord it till he died or maybe even over the country if she could.
Well, at least she wasn't Atticus. He'd be overwhelmed with tears and saying things like, "You're not a robot after all, Zane! I always knew you had the potential to be a real boy!"
... Zane briefly wondered why none of his friends were normal.
It didn't take long before Zane took his stance on the Dueling Field. Time passed as the hypeman and host introduced him and his opponent: the famous Aster Phoenix.
Maybe famous was putting it lightly. The noise volume spiked as screams, mostly from girls, peaked when a sharply dressed man in a gray suit swaggered his way to the opposite end of the dueling field. Though, the stoic Cyber Duelist chose to ignore how many fans screamed for him as he entered.
Still, The Duel Academy Kaiser heard a lot from his opponent. His pride as a duelist looked forward to a grand duel.
Zane started off. "I've heard a lot about you. Not too shabby for a kid."
"You're too kind, gramps." Aster returned with a polite smile that barely held that line of a sarcastic smirk.
Okay, maybe Zane would play harder than usual.
Aster: 4000 LP
Zane: 4000 LP
Turn 1.
Aster took the turn as he drew his first card. Many watching, especially in Duel Academy, wondered what kind of deck Aster played considering he never used his real deck against Jaden. The grey-haired teen smiled. "I start off by activating my Vision Hero Faris' effect! By discarding another Vision Hero like my Minimum Ray, I can special summon this guy on the field in defense mode!"
A strange, almost robotic pink figure appeared on the field. Its lone eye gazed forward before crossing its arms.
Vision Hero Faris [Type: Effect Monster/Sub-type: Warrior/Attribute: DARK/Level: 5/ATK: 1600/DEF:1800]
Back in Duel Academy, nearly everyone watching gasped at the monster that appeared before them.
"So that's Aster's Deck? Some kind of Hero Archetype?" Alexis asked aloud.
"Man, those are some awesome-looking heroes! Wonder why I haven't seen them before?" Jaden pumped himself up at the thought of more Hero Cards out there.
"I heard they were a unique archetype only he had," Sora spoke up. "Aster's dueled for a while, but it's weird to think people talk most about him than how he has a unique deck."
Zane quickly noted how they differed from the Elemental Heroes. "Vision... Heroes?" However, what could these things do?
Aster knew Zane referenced Jaden, so he spoke up. "Oh, they're nothing like the Elemental Heroes. Vison Heroes are stronger!" Aster pointed to his monster. "Faris can send one Vision Hero from my deck and summon it as a continuous trap card!"
"Is there something wrong with the audio?" Chazz raised his brow. "Cause it sounds like he summoning a monster as a trap card?"
However, everyone watched as one of Aster's trap and spell card zones filled up with a bizarre flying core.
"Not just my gimmick, but Jesse's too?" Jaden asked aloud.
Back in the duel, Aster picked up another card. "I now summon Vision Hero Multiply Guy in attack mode!"
Vision Hero Multiply Guy [Type: Effect Monster/Sub-type: Warrior/Attribute: DARK/Level: 3/ATK: 800/DEF: 700]
"But he won't be staying long! See, I activate Vision Hero Increase from my trap and spell zone! I can tribute Multiply Guy to bring Increase to the field, and when he does, his ability activates!"
The core in Aster's zone flew up and coiled around Multiply Guy's head, and as it did, the entire body of the armored hero started to shift.
Vision Hero Increase [Type: Effect Monster/Sub-type: Warrior/Attribute: DARK/Level: 3/ATK: 900/DEF: 1100]
"Increase has an effect that allows him to special summon a level 4 or lower Vision Hero monster from my deck if he's summoned from the spell and trap zone! I think the hero that I choose is Vision Hero Spectre!"
Another robotic warrior appeared. However, this one was colored red and had a torn and tattered blue cloak surrounding it. There was an arm fashioned to look more like the arm of a beast and was twice the size of a regular limb.
Vision Hero Spectre [Type: Effect Monster/Sub-type: Warrior/Attribute: DARK/Level: 3/ATK: 1100/DEF: 900]
"I'll go and activate Spectre's effect! I can change the level of all other Vision Heroes to a level I choose! Let's go with 5!" As soon as Aster said this, Spectre raised its smaller hand, and a pulse emanated and affected Increase.
[Level: 3→ 5] [Level: 3→ 5]
"That's three level fives..." Zane narrowed his eyes.
Aster pointed his hand down. "I now set the Overlay network!" As he exclaimed this, a galaxy opened below, where all three monsters turned to energy and flew in.
"I don't think this guy needs a chant. After all, just seeing him will steal all words away! Come on out, Vision Hero Reaper!"
The galaxy exploded before a towering ten-foot-tall figure stepped into the battlefield. Most of its body was covered in a large black cloak with glowing blue lines, yet under the cloak, fog spilled out of the strange hero. It then summoned an equally massive scythe spinning it around before slamming its pole on the ground. A single, glowing eye shined from under the hood.
Vision Hero Reaper [Type: XYZ/Effect Monster/Sub-type: Warrior/Attribute: DARK/Rank: 5/ATK: 2500/DEF: 3000]
Aster picked up one card from his hand. "I'll put one card facedown, and hand it over to you, old timer."
Turn 2: Zane. Cards: 5
The crowd roared as the pro finished his turn. To outsiders, they would wonder why a crowd would cheer for such a scary-looking monster. But Zane had to admit there was an aura of respect that oozed from the hooded figure.
But Jaden's wish gave Zane new tools as well.
Zane drew his card. "I begin with the continuous spell card, Clockwork Night!"
As he placed the card in his slot, the arena started to change to that of a factory.
"Here's how it works: all face-up monsters become Machines. Then, my machine monsters gain 500 attack and defense points while yours loses 500!"
Vision Hero Reaper (ATK: 2500→2000/DEF: 3000→2500)
Zane continued his turn. "Now, because you have a monster on your side of the field, I can special summon Cyber Dragon to the field in attack mode!"
Cyber Dragon [Type: Effect Monster/Sub-Type: Machine/Attribute: LIGHT/Level: 5/ATK: 2100/DEF: 1600]
The familiar dragon roared as it entered the stage, and Zane's new spell card increased its power. (ATK: 2100→2600/DEF: 1600→2100)
"I'm not done! I now normal summon Cyber Dragon Drei!" As soon as he placed the card down, the alternate Cyber Dragon appeared on the field. "He has a trigger effect, but it'll have to wait as I chain it with Cyber Dragon Vier! When a Cyber Dragon is normal summoned, I can special summon this card to the field!"
Cyber Dragon Drei [Type: Effect Monster/Sub-Type: Machine/Attribute: LIGHT/Level: 4/ATK: 1800/DEF: 800]
Cyber Dragon Vier [Type: Effect Monster/Sub-Type: Machine/Attribute: LIGHT/Level: 4/ATK: 1100/DEF: 1600]
"Drei turns all Cyber Dragon cards into level 5 while Vier boosts my dragons by another 500 points!" Along with Zane's spell card, the cyber duelist's field grew in power.
(ATK: 2600→3100/DEF: 2100→2600)
(ATK: 1800→2800/DEF: 800→1800) [LV: 4→ 5]
(ATK: 1100→2100/DEF: 1600→2600) [LV: 4→ 5]
"Oh?" Aster's voice held a haughty tune. "Those are a lot of points you got there. Are you compensating for something?"
Zane remained stoic at the taunt. But he would silently admit that he was looking forward to this next part. "I now set the Overlay Network! Rise, Cyber Dragon and Drei!" At his command, the two dragons dove into the galaxy in front of the best of Duel Academy. The explosion of stars showed a figure that showed Cyber Dragon's silhouette... but unfurled a glowing pair of wings.
"Behold, Cyber Dragon Nova!" As it came to be, the monster roared at the moment of its birth.
Cyber Dragon Nova [Type: Xyz/ Effect Monster/Sub-Type: Machine/Attribute: LIGHT/Rank: 5/ATK: 2100/DEF: 1600] (ATK: 2100→2600/DEF: 1600→2100)
Zane, with momentum, shifted his fingers towards Aster's monster. "Nova, attack his monster!"
The pseudo dragon unleashed a metallic screech before unleashing a laser beam for the hooded figure.
"Is that all you got? I play my trap card, Illusion! With the power of a Vision Hero, I can half the attack points of your winged tin can!"
(ATK: 2600→1300/DEF: 2100)
The reaper monster put up his scythe as a domed barrier appeared to brace the move.
Zane remained unphased. "I activate Nova's effect! By banishing a Cyber Dragon such as Vier, he gains 2100 extra attack points! But with how your trap card works, it's only going to be a 1050 point boost."
(ATK: 1300→2350/DEF: 2100)
"Yet it's still enough to defeat your weakened monster! Push forward, Nova!"
At Zane's command, the XYZ dragon released more of its power, showing cracks on Reaper's dome before it shattered completely, causing an explosion. Dust scattered around the arena before Zane narrowed his eyes.
When the dust cleared up, many could see that Reaper stood its ground.
"So," Zane narrowed his eyes. "It can't be destroyed by battle?"
Aster kept his smug smile before answering, "Reaper here doesn't do destruction. But I still lose life points from the okay play you did earlier."
Aster: 4000→3650 LP
Zane: 4000 LP
A monster immune to battle destruction? That would be a problem even with his points lowered. Zane lowered his stance. "In that case, I'll end my turn."
Turn 3: Aster. Cards: 2
"Oh? Come on, I thought you'd be better than that." Aster drew his next card. "Now, I activate Reaper's effect! I remove a material and attack your Dragon!"
Zane spotted how the points of neither monster changed. But if Reaper's effect didn't manipulate attack points...
The warrior monster slashed Nova right down the middle, splitting it in half before jumping away. However, instead of an explosion, the monster turned into light that was quickly absorbed into Vision Hero Reaper's scythe.
"What!?" Zane cried out.
"Reaper has the ability to give up his attack and material. In exchange, I get to steal a monster and add it as material. If that Monster was also an XYZ one? Well... I get its materials too! You gotta love those "buy one get multiple free!" deals!" Five orbiting lights circled Reaper as Aster claimed this.
The crowd started to cheer at Aster's move. After all, all that build-up Zane performed with his new cards were undone so easily by Aster.
"Unbelievable!" Syrus shouted from his spot. "A monster that can't be destroyed by battle but can turn monsters into its own materials!? That's unfair!"
"Don't count Zane out yet, Syrus," Bastion responded. "He has been through much worse than that."
Turn 4: Zane. Cards: 2
Zane drew his next card. "I set two cards down and set one monster in defense mode before ending my turn!"
"I thought you said not to count him out!" Syrus cried out again as he looked at the Ra Yellow Ace.
Turn 5: Aster. Cards: 3.
"Zane, buddy. Come on, don't make things too easy!" Aster drew his next card before looking up at the field. I set two cards before sacrificing them for Vision Hero Witch Raider!"
As Aster did this, a strange but stylish warrior appeared.
Vision Hero Witch Raider [Type: Effect Monster/Sub-type: Warrior/Attribute: DARK/Level: 8/ATK: 2700/DEF: 1900] (ATK: 2700→2200/DEF: 1900→1400)
"What!? How did he summon that monster!?" Alexis asked in shock.
"For those who don't know," Aster began, unknowingly answering Alexis' question. "I can tribute summon Witch Raider by using set trap cards instead of monsters."
"Tribute summon through set cards..." Wilona mused aloud.
Back in the duel, Aster pointed forward, "I think it's time that I end this! Reaper, strike down his set card!"
The XYZ monster did so, cleaving the card in two. As it did, a brief robotic and jar-like creature appeared before vanishing.
Aster balked as he saw the monster disappear. "You had that monster?!"
Zane tried not to show a smile when he saw Aster break his arrogant facade. "I activate Cyber Jar's flip ability! He destroys all monsters on the field and forces us to draw 5 cards! Then, we summon a monster that can be normal summoned from the draws!"
In place of where Cyber Jar was, a black hole appeared and swallowed Aster's two monsters. Reaper's indestructibility only worked in battle, but it wasn't immune to effect destruction. As such, it fell into the cosmic void.
Zane then drew his next cards. "I drew and summon Cyber Phoenix, Cyber Valley, and Cyber Dragon Nachster!"
Cyber Phoenix [Type: Effect Monster/Sub-Type: Machine/Attribute: FIRE/Level: 4/ATK: 1200/DEF: 1600] (ATK: 1200→1700/DEF: 1600→2100)
Cyber Dragon Nachster [Type: Effect Monster/Sub-Type: Machine/Attribute: LIGHT/Level: 1/ATK: 200/DEF: 200] (ATK: 200→700/DEF: 200→200)
Cyber Valley [Type: Effect Monster/Sub-Type: Machine/Attribute: LIGHT/Level: 1/ATK: 0/DEF: 0] (ATK: 0→500/DEF: 0→500)
"And I'm not done! Nachster has an effect when he's summoned! I can target a monster with 2100 attack or defense points in my graveyard and special summon it! I choose to bring back Cyber Nova in attack mode!" Zane raised his hand as the smaller dragon's eyes started to glow. It whipped its head upward, shining a light before turning back and narrowing the beam towards Zane's graveyard. A familiar black card flew out and Zane did not hesitate to slam it back into his duel disk.
Cyber Dragon Nova [Type: Xyz/ Effect Monster/Sub-Type: Machine/Attribute: LIGHT/Rank: 5/ATK: 2100/DEF: 1600] (ATK: 2100→2600/DEF: 1600→2100)
The crowd roared to life. The MC shouted along with them before saying, "Unbelievable! The challenger completely turned it around! Will this be the dawn of a new dueling star!?"
"Huh." Everyone turned to Jaden. One would think that the usually excitable duelist would be bouncing off his chair but instead looked confused. "I've never seen Zane play defensively before."
"Now that you mention it." Alexis narrowed her eyes. "That defensive play with Cyber Jar was the same one he used on..."
Seika, who was inside a lavish mansion, smirked as she continued to watch the duel. "Taking my moves now, huh? It took me months to perfect those defensive strategies, and you go and replicate them in a few duels."
Back in the dueling arena, the MC turned to Aster's side. "But perhaps it's not over yet! Aster still hasn't drawn his five cards!"
The silver-haired young man held a poker face as he drew his next cards. "I'll summon Vision Heroes Minimum Ray and Gravito in defense mode!"
Vision Hero Minimum Ray [Type: Effect Monster/Sub-type: Warrior/Attribute: DARK/Level: 3/ATK: 1200/DEF: 700] (ATK: 1200→700/DEF: 700→200)
Vision Hero Gravito [Type: Effect Monster/Sub-type: Warrior/Attribute: DARK/Level: 4/ATK: 500/DEF: 2000] (ATK: 500→0/DEF: 2000→1500)
"And I'll end my turn with a facedown." With that, Aster ended his turn with one card left in his hand.
Turn 6: Zane. Cards: 2
"It's not just the end of your turn, but the end of this duel!" Zane moved fast after drawing his card. "I reveal one of my facedowns! Cybernetic Revolution! I can send a Cyber Dragon to the grave, which Nachster's passive effect allows him to pose as, and then special summon 1 fusion monster that can't attack life points directly! I send Nachster to the grave to summon Cyber End Dragon!"
Cyber End Dragon [Type: Fusion/ Effect Monster/Sub-Type: Machine/Attribute: LIGHT/Level: 10/ATK: 4000/DEF: 2800] (ATK: 4000→4500/DEF: 2800→3300)
The familiar dragon encompassed Zane's side of the field. Many of the crowd stared in awe at the appearance of the creature.
"Fancy dragon, mind if I cut it down a peg?" Aster pointed to his side. "Illusion is a continuous trap, so I activate its effect again on your new fusion!"
"You'll try. Cyber Phoenix can negate targeted abilities against a single machine monster!" The lone creature extended its wingspan which started to glow with orange light. Aster's trap card shined before it got shocked with orange electricity, making its power inert.
"Between you and this "old man", and since my monster's name made me think," Zane cracked a small smile as he turned to Aster. "Why does your name sound like it belongs under a Chinese chicken menu?"
"What? It does not!" For the first time in the entire duel, Aster broke his poker face. In his defense, he's been called many insults under the sun, so someone calling his name related to food threw him off.
Zane felt glad to get under his opponent's skin, even if it was from a kindergarten-level insult. Also not his fault the orange light of his own Phoenix monster was not stopping the image of the orange chicken. His smile fell as he pointed forward. "Cyber End Dragon, attack his Ray!"
The three-headed machine gathered energy. "And don't think being in defense mode will save you! Cyber End Dragon has a piercing effect! And now, I activate my last facedown, Cyber Presence! This Trap Card prevents any set cards from activating during the battle phase of a Cyber Fusion Monster! This card can't be responded to as well!" At Zane's signal, the beams fired before swirling together to create a laser that enveloped Aster's entire field.
Aster: 3650→0 LP
Zane: 4000 LP
"Whoooooaaaaa!?" The MC's wails echoed throughout the arena. "Has it happened?! Has the invincible Aster Phoenix finally lost!?"
The dust settled... and Zane's eyes widened.
Aster was laid sprawled on the ground. However, a silhouette of Vision Hero Reaper stood over him. Not only that, even though Aster was down, his smile never left his face, even as he sat back up. "I've gotta admit you're not half-bad, old man."
Aster continued to stand back up. "But the thing about playing in the pro leagues: you gotta entertain the audience along with dueling!" Aster made a showy motion as he stood back up, causing the crowd to cheer at what looked to be his triumphant return.
The Cyber Duelist grunted. "How are you still standing!? My trap card should have prevented you from activating set cards!" Zane looked at his card.
"That was actually your fault," Aster picked up Reaper's card from his graveyard. "As soon as Vision Hero Reaper goes to the graveyard, he activates another effect! If I receive fatal damage, I can banish him from the duel, and he can prevent the game from ending. Not only that, I regain 1 life point."
Aster: 0→1 LP
Zane: 4000 LP
Zane narrowed his eyes. "I still have Cyber Phoenix and Nova! I can use Cyber Phoenix to destroy Gravito and have Nova finish you off!"
Aster kept his smile. "That's a good idea. Too bad that trap card of yours is only active when your fusion attacks! Go, Vision From Beyond! If I have Vision Heroes in my graveyard when my opponent attacks, I can negate the attacks by placing Vision Heroes in my spell and trap card zone! I'm choosing Multiply Guy and Minimum Ray!"
As the two orbs appeared on the field, a shield blocked both attacks from Zane's monsters.
"Whooooaaaa!" The Mc cried out again. "This is one of the best duels I've ever seen, folks! Aster Phoenix, surviving an onslaught that would down many other great duelists! As he truly the star of the Pro-Leagues!?"
Turn 7: Aster. Cards: 1
When the Vision Hero duelist grabbed his deck, he felt a shift in the air. He drew his card and stared at it for a second.
"Alright then." He put it away before picking up his other remaining card. "I play Mystical Space Typhon! Let's get rid of that annoying Clockwork Night!" As soon as he played the card, the area started to change back into the arena. All of Zane's machines lost their power boost while Aster's monsters regained theirs.
(ATK: 4500→4000/DEF: 3300→2800) (ATK: 0→500/DEF: 1500→2000) (ATK: 1700→1200/DEF: 2100→1600) (ATK: 500→0/DEF: 500→0) (ATK: 2600→2100/DEF: 2100→1600)
"Now, I activate Vision Fusion! I can fuse using materials even in my spell and trap card zone! I fuse Ray, Guy, and Gravito to bring out the champion of the Vision Heroes!" At his call, the three beings transformed into light before combining them all together.
"So he can fusion summon as well?" Wilona narrowed her eyes. She was starting to see many strong duelists keeping two special summoning conditions.
"No matter where evil lurks, the unflinching gaze of justice will always hunt them down! Come forth, he with unwavering sight: Vision Hero Trinity!"
Vision Hero Trinity [Type: Fusion/ Effect Monster/Sub-Type: Warrior/Attribute: DARK/Level: 8/ATK: 2500/DEF: 2000]
Zane gritted his teeth. Trinity had fewer attack points than Cyber End Dragon, but Aster didn't seem like the person who would make such a mistake unless it had a devastating ability.
"Let's finish this! Vision Hero Trinity can attack three times at the price of never attacking directly! I see 3 attack position monsters since you put Valley in defense mode! End this duel, Trinity!"
The red hero powered up before launching itself at the three monsters. Cyber End Dragon gathered energy before firing a beam right at the charging hero.
"I should mention Trinity's best effect! It only lasts the turn he's summoned, but one turn is all he needs! His attack points double!"
(ATK: 2500→5000)
"5000 attack points!?" Zane cried out as Vision destroying all three of his attack position monsters would end the game right then and there!
"Justice will not give up! It will hunt evil at all costs! Trinity, end this!" The red fusion empowered itself as it flew through the beam of Cyber End Dragon. The attack caused a massive explosion that enveloped Zane's other monsters and his life points.
Aster: 1 LP
Zane: 4000 →0 LP
Everyone in duel Academy stared in shock. Zane, one of the best duelists in the entire school... lost against someone who took the duel more as a job than a serious clash.
"So," Aster walked up to a downed Zane with a smug smile. "How's your taste in entering the pro-leagues?"
Zane felt bitterness looking up at Aster. However, his mouth moved faster than his mind could realize. "I'll never look at Chinese chicken the same way again."
Alright, Zane felt a little better seeing Aster scowl for a second time before the crowd erupted in applause for the Vision Hero duelist. Aster turned around and left, wondering why he hadn't just left the guy alone in the first place.
...
Later on, Aster stood in front of a mob of reporters, asking him what his next big event would be.
"Actually, now that you mention it," Aster turned to the reporter. "There's someone in Duel Academy that has a card that I want. One that's more important to me than a hack like him will ever know. I won't say who it is or what card, or why. I will say his name rhymes with Schmaden Buki!"
Many in Duel Academy recognized that name.
"You hear that, Schmaden?!" The way the screen was set up with where Jaden was sitting, it looked like Aster was looking directly at Jaden. "I'm getting that card back to its rightful owner!"
Jaden looked to be at a loss for words... before he finally asked, "There's a guy here in Duel Academy that Aster's after? Who could it be!?" Jaden Yuki gasped in a dramatic fashion while everyone else slowly turned their heads towards the brunette for sounding genuinely confused.
Wilona pinched the bridge of her nose. "Yuki. I swear."
[Tag Force: Heroes and Villains]
Although things looked bleak in the future for a certain brunette, Aster wasn't quite out of the woods yet. Something even Sartorius didn't foresee took him by surprise.
Another reporter quickly asked, "Aster Phoenix, is it true that you loved Chinese Chicken so much that you based your stage name on it?"
"Wait what!?" Aster looked at the idiot reporter who asked that. "Aster Phoenix is my name, not my stage name! Why are you asking about Chinese Chicken!?"
"Your name does sound like a good orange chicken! Is that your favorite food?!" "Is it true you frequent the Pecking Phoenix!?" "When did you realize you had an addiction to MSG?!"
Aster knew enough of the limelight to know when he was being strong-armed. He quickly left, but that didn't stop the reporters from running their mouths.
It probably didn't help that Aster did like orange chicken.
{Author Notes}
Happy 40th Chapter! And we start off with three separate stories! (Thanks to witchymagnolia for letting me borrow her OC again, even though it was breif. Please give her stuff a read!)
Sorry this took a while. My life has been a whirlwind this past year(s).
So, I thought I'd start off with Aster Phoenix, season 2 poster boy!
What can I say about this guy?
No really, I don't know what to say about the guy. He was important in season 2, and then he was a re-occurring character. GX had the flaw of pushing everyone to the side if your name didn't rhyme with Shmaden Shmuky. But that being said, I'm not really mad with Aster's case.
Funny enough, he feels blander than Syrus to me cause I've seen many angsty stories of revenge and obsession, and Aster's story is honestly pretty mid. But I'm weird in the first place, so who cares what I think? Seriously, it's just my opinion. No one take it seriously.
Because I dragged out writing Zane and Aster's duel, and seeing their names for a long time along with Zane's Cyber Phoenix, I came to the weird conclusion that Aster's name feels like a name for orange chicken.
(I do not recommend writing when extremely hungry. Food will "leak" into your writing. And now I'm in the mood for vegetables.)
Am I crazy? Like, I am currently hungry as I write this, and looking at Cyber Phoenix's orange light in its monster art, which shares a name with Aster/Edo, makes me think his name does sound like a good orange chicken.
Also, I finally found a way to incorporate Jaden and Jesse's adventure in the Spirit World. And I thought it would be fun to have the World Legacy Characters in there! Let's just say that the idea of everyone heading into the Spirit World in Season 3 has... potential. (Man, what the heck am I doing?)
And because Aster and Zane's duel was so hard to write, I ended up making an in-between with everyone chilling at season 2.
Like wow. It was hard to write that duel for some reason until I got something I liked.
Anyway, hope you guys have a great new year.
And again, cause I'm trying something new:
I opened up a AO3 version of this story under the name PhantomGalaxy13! I thought I'd mention that. It comes with some AI Art I made for the story in some scenes. It's still the same story, but I hope anyone here can check it out when they have the time.
Made-up cards: So, the Vision Hero Deck is pretty lacking for a real deck. I choose it because how could anyone not know about Aster's real deck if he's such a famous duelist? They would have to look at old videos of what Aster dueled in to know he used Elemental Heroes. Plus, I kinda liked them.
As such, and thanks to the wish I made in my story, I think I can change them up to be an XYZ/fusion deck. It is interesting how many double-style summoning styles I have in this story.
Vision Hero Spectre: this card I made up to help branch out the Vision Heroes into XYZ.
Vision Hero Reaper: I made up this card for the Vision Heroes. Just thought that Aster could use more solid monsters since I didn't give him the Elemental Heroes and the Vision Heroes are a bit lacking for the landscape I made in this story.
Different Dimension Cybernetic Fusion Support: Heeeyyyy, a repeat of a custom card I made back in chapter 24. Never thought I'd use this again.
Cyber Presence: Just to prevent field shenanigans from Aster, making people think he can't escape from this attack.
Vision From Beyond: To help Aster set up his next turn.