Yu-Gi-Oh Academy
Chapter 11
The Synchro Assassin Strikes!
"Tch, what in the world did you get yourself into?" Tigara asked as she was outside the Ra Yellow dorm with a roll of bandages as she was bandaging Mikee's arms. He was flinching a bit as he looked to the other Dorm doors. mainly towards Rika's Dorm. He sighed and looked back to Tig. "Last night, when I was with Rika on the way to the Dorm, Derrick challenged us to a Surreal Duel." Mikee told her.
"Derrick? Qliphorts guy?" She asked as her work was done, Mikee's arms being bandaged up along with his legs.
"Yeah, he ambushed the both of us and challenged us to a Surreal Duel."
"And I'm guessing from how you ended up, you lost."
"No, won actually. Shooting Star Dragon combined with Armory Arm. It won me the Duel." He told her as she looked surprised.
"Wait, you managed to beat Qliphorts? They're a top-tier Deck." She mentioned.
"Well, I couldn't have done it without Rika's monster. And the crazy luck with my top five cards." He told her. Tig couldn't believe the story she just heard from her friend. She was especially surprised at the fact that Danielle threw out one of her stronger Duelists. Granted, the Obelisk Blue didn't know what the others ran, except for Rika, but why would she just dump out one of her stronger Duelists? It didn't make any logical sense. Danielle, just what the heck are you doing? She thought.
"Hey, Tig, I need to ask you a favor." He asked as she finished the bandages.
Meanwhile, at the Abandoned Dorm, in a dining room of sorts, the morning sun started to seep through the closed windows as Danielle was enjoying a breakfast that was brought to her by her three Obelisk Blue friends as all three of them were eating. All except for the only Ra Yellow in the group, Rika. She wasn't eating the plate offered in front of her. She looked the most nervous out of the group as she still looked roughed up. "So..." Danielle started speaking, which got Rika's attention immediately as she looked to the leader of the group, "What happened last night, Rika?" She asked, casually finishing her meal. She carefully explained the details of her Duel against Derrick, but as she was doing this, Nick was waving his hands around as the visor he wore glowed with his movements. "She's not lying either. According to the Duel Record, he pretty much one-shot her, but that Synchron kid got him back for it. Tch, talk about luck." He mentioned.
"You still lost, however." Danielle brought up, making the Ra Yellow flinch a bit, but Danielle didn't seem too happy about the news. The green-haired Obelisk Blue spoke up this time after standing up. "Technically, Rika didn't lose. A Tag Duel only registers a loss when both players are knocked out. Since Rika was paired with Mikee-" She was explaining until the student was interrupted with a throat clear by Danielle.
"I have a lesson to teach with this club, my friends. If you don't win, it gives the impression to others that the force you create can be beaten. For you, Rika, I'll only allow this once, but if you lose again, I will be forced to dispose of you just like I have with Derrick. However, the Synchron boy...he's starting to become quite the bother." Danielle told the Ra Yellow as she rested her chin on her hand, looking at the ceiling.
"He's interesting, I can say that much. Is that why you're always hanging out with him, Rika?" The green-haired girl asked. Before Rika could even retort, Nick added in, "Well, I could see it. They're both Ra Yellows, they're both into Synchro Summoning, I can see the two bonding."
"Nick, Heather, silence." Danielle added which got the both of them to shut up as the head Obelisk Blue noticed the pink around Rika's face as she was looking away, trying to hide it. "Regardless of emotional ties, I don't allow people like him, but his strength has received my attention." Danielle finished as she clasped her hands together, staring directly to the sky-blue haired female. "He could become
"If I may." The black-haired Obelisk Blue asked, finally speaking through the conversation as all eyes focused on her, "Danielle, I wish to test his skills for you. Allow me to Duel Mikee." She offered.
This got Rika to stand up almost hastily and knocking over the chair she was sitting on, resounding in a loud THUD. This spooked Heather as she jumped a bit, "W-Wait, I can Duel Mikee! I know him at this point, I'm pretty sure-"
"No." Danielle flat-out told her as her expression looked as if she was scorned and yet a bit worried, "You've already lost to Derrick. Let's not push your luck with someone who beat him. Lily, or as the lower classmen like to call you, the 'Synchro Assassin', I allow you to Duel this Ra Yellow." Lily took a bow as Nick chuckled a bit to himself before noticing how Rika looked a bit worried. "But, Lily, you know the consequences if you lose to him." Danielle mentioned.
"I won't lose, Danielle." Lily said and started walking out. The Ra Yellow followed her out as Heather went with them, thanking Danielle for the food before parting. It was only Nick and Danielle in the room now as the male took off his visor and closed his red eyes. "Well, things are getting interesting at least. What are we going to do about the missing spot in our team?" Nick asked Danielle.
"We'll find someone eventually. At the moment, I'm trying to deal with the weakness in my team, especially concerning Rika." She answered the male, getting up from her chair. Nick sighed as he followed the head Obelisk Blue out of the Abandoned Dorm as school was getting started for all the students. Bells were starting to ring, but they saw no students along the path they were going. "At least now Derrick won't pose a threat anymore. I made sure his boss monsters were removed from the Deck." Nick mentioned, handing Danielle the cards he took from Derrick the other day.
"Make sure you take them all next time. I don't want to give any more chances." She sharply told the male, putting the cards in a pocket on her coat. Nick nodded as he put his visor back on, activating it with a swipe of his hands. "If you ask me, I should have tested the Synchron kid's Deck. Lily's creatures are going to wreck with her kind of speed." He asked.
"Lily is a master of using her Synchro monsters. They're parallel only to the famous X-Sabers and the Synchrons, and I wish to see what kind of abilities the boy has for our Lily." Danielle said, smiling at the end.
The day continued as normal, the teacher of the day was Summer as she was simply explaining more about basic stragedies with maintaining a field and keeping a threat active. The ones taking careful attention to this were the Slifer Reds and some of the Ra Yellows, but one Slifer Red today wasn't looking as interested in the lesson. Marth looked rather uninterested as he watched the teacher point at floating holograms at a simulated duel in the air behind her. On the screen was two Level 3 monsters on one side and a Blue-Eyes White Dragon on the other. "As you can see, you have Blue-Eyes White Dragon on the opposing side of the field. What's an ideal monster to XYZ Summon into if you were to survive an attack from Blue-Eyes White Dragon?" She asked her class.
"Oh! Ooh! Wind-Up Zenmaines!" A Slifer Red called out. The teacher gave a smile as she pointed up at the screen as the monsters transformed into Zenmaines. "Correct! There are other options to use, depending on your Deck or playstyle, but Zenmaines is one of the more defensive choices. It adds pressure to your opponent and try playing something to get rid of it. Now, for extra credit, what other monsters could you XYZ Summon into?" She asked as the other students named off a couple of other monsters. Marth however, sighed as he sunk lower into his chair. Jesus, this is boring...the other Academy wasn't like this. Marth thought as the bells started ringing for the lunch hour. Others were relieved that the refresher lesson was over as Summer took off the holograms and started to pack up her things. Marth stretched his arms out and left with his fellow students, taking a notice towards Danielle's group in the corner of the room. The leader herself seemed to talk to the girl in black hair for a second before leaving with her other two friends. Part of him wanted to follow them, see what they were up to, but something about her gave him a bad feeling.
It wasn't long as he was in the school's cafeteria, watching as some of the students were going there for food, some were just messing around, and he saw some people he knew at one of the tables. "I summon Evocator Chevalier in Attack Mode! And he's going to attack your Aria!" Marth heard Roy tell Sadet as they were playing on the table.
"Nuh-uh! I activate Honest! With this, I...think I win!" Sadet told her opponent, taking the calculator near her. Roy looked at his as his face looked grim. "Darn, I lost. Your Melodious cards are just all kinds of unfair." He complained a bit.
"It's not unfair, you just need to know how to play against them. Like, even Neo beats me when I use them." She commented.
"She's not wrong, you know." Marth added in as he walked up to them.
"Oh, hey Marth!" Sadet waved as the pair became a trio, both of them welcoming him as he sat with them on the table. Sadet just started to explain about the Duel as Roy still seemed to be a bit sour about the loss. "It just takes a bit of working around Aria's effect. Sure, you can't target her or destroy by battle, but if you used something like Dark Hole, you'd be able to get over that. Every Deck has their weaknesses, and their boss monsters can get around it." Marth told the Gemini Warrior Duelist.
"Still, it's difficult to get around. Maybe I should switch out Decks, my monsters aren't doing so well." Roy considered.
"Take it from me, just look for other cards that could support your playstyle." Marth advised him. Sadet seemed to be impressed with the words of wisdom coming from their fellow Slifer Red. "You know a lot about the game, huh?" Sadet asked. Marth slightly leaned back a bit as he looked up at the ceiling.
"Well, I used to be an Obelisk Blue." He mentioned, which got them both surprised.
"Wait, really?" Roy asked.
"Yeah. I'm a transfer student for Central Academy. I used to be Obelisk Blue, but transfer rules place me at the Slifer Red class unless I prove myself, I guess." He told them.
"Interesting, where were you before?" Sadet asked.
"North Academy." He mentioned as Marth started to recount the details of his old school. "It was far different from this Academy. Unlike the one Dueling Test you went through, our test was a bit more...savage. We had to duel a hundred Duelists in a row in order to be placed in the three classes."
"And...I'm guessing you beat a lot?" Sadet asked quizzically.
"More like, well, I'll tell you another day." Marth finished as the two Reds looked to him with curiousity.
"What was it like being an Obelisk Blue?" Roy asked. As soon as he was about to explain, someone came over to their table, clearing her throat. "It's completely different from being a Red. There's all the perks, the extra money you get for the cards, exclusive sneak peeks, and everything else." Kat said with a sarcastic tone, sitting with the rest of them, but at a considerable distance.
"Are you serious?" Roy asked.
"No, she isn't." Marth corrected the Ra Yellow. Kat scoffed a bit as she looked over to Marth. "This Academy doesn't, but where you come from did. I wonder how it feels being from the top of the world to being ignored or not recognized." She asked, taking a bite from her sandwich.
"Just wait until the exams come around, then we can see who advances to the next rank. I'll be back in Obelisk Blue before you know it." Marth retorted towards the Ra Yellow. Sadet and Roy were watching the two bicker against each other until the doors to the cafeteria almost flew open. Almost all eyes looked to see Lily almost march into the cafeteria. Following her was Rika as she seemed to be somewhat nervous about something. The black-haired female was looking around, catching the attention of almost everyone as her attention went to the Slifer Reds. Roy seemed to back up from his seat a bit. "H-Hey guys." Rika greeted to the Reds and Kat. Before any of them could answer back, Lily came to the table and looked at them. "Mikee, he hangs around here. Have you seen him?" She asked in a serious tone.
"He's off somewhere with Tigara on their little date. They're usually eating together or dueling their brains out around this time." Kat mentioned, which got a reaction out of Rika as she seemed surprised. "What? Really?" Rika asked.
"Where is he exactly?" Lily asked again, the four of them looking to the intimidating Obelisk Blue.
"Why do you want to know so badly? Did he do something wrong?" Marth asked, getting defensive as he stood up. Lily was silent on this question as she turned around. She started to leave them as Marth activated his Duel Disk. "Hey, I'm asking you a question. I take it your group only answers to Duels, am I right?" He asked sternly. Lily took a moment to look at Marth's challenge as both of them stared each other down. "...Interesting. I'll duel you then." She accepted the challenge as she activated her Duel Disk. It wasn't like the normal Duel Disks everyone else had as hers had a steel grey trim around the extending blade as the rest of it was pure white. It seemed to be a custom made Duel Disk as Marth noticed. "So, you accept my challenge, and you'll tell me what you want to do with the Ra Yellow?" Marth asked. Again, the Obelisk Blue was silent as the Duel was set up, the crowd of students building up.
Surreal Duel Activated. Damage Cap: Medium. Duel between Marth and Lily will now begin.
Marth: 8000 LP
Lily: 8000 LP
"DUEL!" Both of them declared. Lily drew first as she took the first draw. Marth was ready for anything she could throw out, but there were some whispers among the other students. "Hey, isn't that Red dueling the Synchro Assassin?" "Oh shit, you're right! That's her!" The whispers became louder as more attention was onto the Duel. "Tch, seems like you made a name for yourself." Marth asked, trying to stir up a conversation as she set a monster and a card. "I end. It's your move." She answered, sounding completely obvious to the comments.
"Not much of a talker. I draw!" Marth declared and drew his card, his eyes lighting up a bit as he also set a monster and a face-down. Despite wanting to go on the offensive, he had no idea what her Deck was going to be like. "I end my turn." Marth told her. Rika watched as Lily drew her card. "I activate Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy your face-down Trap." She told Marth as her Spell eliminated his Wiretap as Marth grunted a bit. The black-haired female took a card from her hand and summoned a monster as what came forth was a mechanical dog-like creature with two turrets strapped to its back. "I summon Karakuri Watchdog Mdl 313, Saizan in Attack Mode." She announced as it growled towards Metal. Karakuri Watchdog Mdl 313 Saizan is a Level 4 EARTH Machine Tuner monster with 600 ATK and 1800 DEF. She flipped up her face-down monster as it turned out to be a similar wooden monster, but this one had a lean spear and a single red eye. "I Flip Summon Karakuri Soldier Mdl 236, Nisamu." She declared as Marth looked ready at this point, his D-Gazer giving him the information on the monster. Karakuri Solder Nisamu is a Level 4 EARTH Machine monster with 1400 ATK and 200 DEF. The Obelisk Blue raised her hand into the air as Saizan and Nisamu rose into the air. "I tune Level 4 Nisamu with my Level 4 Saizan. With your heavy body and unbreaking spirit, shatter those beneth you! Synchro Summon! Karakuri Steel Shogun Mdl 00X, Bureido!" Lily commanded as a brilliant light shone forth, crashing onto the field as a huge machine-like monster appeared. It drew two massive swords from its back as it was covered in a metal red robe. Karakuri Steel Shogun is a Level 8 EARTH Synchro Monster with 2800 ATK and 1700 DEF. Marth took a step back as the monster started to shake as something was being created inside of its thick armor. "When Buriedo is Synchro Summoned, I can Special Summon a Karakuri monster from my Deck. I Special Summon Karakuri Komachi Mdl 224, Ninishi!" Lily declared as her Synchro monster released another robot, but this one was disguised in a green Japanese komono. It landed on the field in Defense Mode. Karakuri Komachi 'Ninishi' is a Level 3 EARTH Machine Tuner monster with 0 ATK and 1900 DEF.
"My turn is not over. I activate Ninishi's effect! While this card is face-up on my field, I'm able to Normal Summon an additional Karakuri monster from my hand. I Normal Summon Karakuri Ninja Mdl 919, Kuick!" Lily brought forth a lean machine monster again as this one held two weapons in its hands. Karakuri Ninja 'Kuick' is a Level 4 EARTH Machine monster with 1700 ATK and 1500 DEF. Marth braced himself as Lily raised her hand once more. "I tune Level 4 Kuick with my Level 3 Ninishi! Your almighty willpower rocks the battlefield, lead comrades into victory! Synchro Summon! Karakuri Shogun mdl 00, Burei!" Lily declared as a new Synchro monster appeared on the field, this one wielding a huge sword and red cape as well. Karakuri Shogun Burei is a Level 7 EARTH Synchro Machine with 2600 ATK and 1900 DEF. "Similar to Bureido, Burei can also Special Summon a Karakuri monster from my Deck! I Special Summon Karakuri Ninja Mdl 7749, Nanashick!" Lily brought forth a new Karakuri from her Deck as this one had blades for hands and a tattered red coat. Karakuri Ninja Nanashick is a Level 5 EARTH Machine monster with 2200 ATK and 1800 DEF.
There she goes. This is the strength of Lily's Deck. She's all swarm, and if that Red doesn't have anything to stop this, it's all over. Rika thought as she was watching the Duel nervously, pushing her hair back as Lily flipped up her face-down Spell. "I activate Emergency Teleport. With this, I can Special Summon a Level 3 or lower Psychic monster from my Deck or hand to the field. With this, I Summon Psychic Commander!" Lily called forth a completely different monster as a spacepod flew down from the sky and a green alien rose from it, aiming a turret straight at Marth. Psychic Commander is a Level 3 EARTH Psychic Tuner with 1400 ATK and 800 DEF. She raised her hand once more as Psychic Commander and Nanashick jumped into the air. "I tune my Level 5 Nanashick with my Level 3 Psychic Commander! Synchro Summon! Karakuri Steel Shogun Mdl 00X, Buriedo!" The Obelisk Blue successfully Synchro Summoned a second copy of the stronger Karakuris as it brought out a second Kuick. Marth was staring down four monsters facing him as he looked nervous.
"You're finished. Kuick, attack his face-down monster." Lily declared as her machine rushed forward and slashed Marth's face-down, which turned out to be Elemental Hero Shadow Mist. "When Shadow Mist is destroyed-"
"You're through. Burei and both my Shoguns, attack." Lily commanded as all three of her Synchro monsters rushed in and attacked Marth directly, ending the Duel. Marth: 8000 -2800 - 2800 -2600 = 0 LP.
Lily: 8000 LP
Marth: 0 LP
Lily wins the Duel.
The Duel ended as it started as Marth was on the ground, his cap blown off as his coat seemed a bit slashed. Lily's Duel Disk retracted as she turned around again. "If you're ever up for a rematch, just find me. You have that look in your eyes. The business with Mikee is that I simply want to test his skills in a Duel." She told Marth as he looked right at her.
"W-What do you want to Duel him for? Your Deck's fast." Marth said, picking up his hat as he seemed a bit sour.
"W-Well, last night," Rika filled in, "He beat Derrick in a Tag Duel...and Lily wanted to see his Deck first hand."
"Oh yeah, Qliphorts guy. Didn't the teachers find him against a tree, unconscious this morning? That's what you get when you play Surreal Duels." Kat said as she finished her lunch and got up. Just as she did, the doors opened again as Tigara came through, seeming a bit ruffled up. Her hair was a mess and her clothes were slightly damaged as she saw the commotion. "W-what's going on?" She asked.
"Mikee." Lily asked as she walked up to the Obelisk Blue. "We're looking for him." Tigara sighed as she looked to the group and the beaten Marth. "Well, good luck Dueling him, he's hurt from last night. I tried Dueling him just now, and he can't even Synchro Summon properly." She explained.
Lily was silent on it, but then nodded as she looked to Rika. "Come on Rika, we'll be on our way." The Obelisk Blue told her as Rika nodded.
"W-Wait, aren't you going to duel Mikee? What happened to that?" Sadet asked her. Lily stopped and looked back to the Red with a stare. "Mikee needs to be at full strength to show me his potential, his limits. I don't ever fight Duelists who can't even stand against me. If you don't mind, I'll be going." Lily told them as she passed by Tigara and left the cafeteria. The commotion finally quieted down as Marth stared at the doors where his opponent left. So, that's the power of the Synchro Assassin. Tch, next time I'll get her back, now that I know what her Deck can do. Marth thought as the school bells rang, ending their lunch period.