Author's Note: I own nothing in relation to Yu-Gi-Oh GX.

Author's Note 2: For the purposes of this story, Jaden will have access to his Elemental Hero Neos and Neo-Spacian fusion monsters.

CHAPTER 8 – HEROES AND SORCERERS

Alexis never said another word for the remainder of the tournament. Of course if she had said something, I wouldn't have noticed, because my notepad and pen were out again, making notes regarding Jaden's Elemental Heroes and Chazz's Ojamas and machines. I noticed both loved to use Fusion Monsters, a very important note I made that I planned to use against them in the Final. Jaden ultimately emerged as the victor (for about the hundredth time according to Chazz's reaction) thanks to his Elemental Hero Shining Flare Wingman wrecking Chazz's XYZ-Dragon Cannon. As in all other duels, we applauded politely along with the crowd as Chazz sulked off somewhere, probably so he could listen to punk music to vent. Jaden waved to his fans but never left the dueling ring. Instead, he pointed straight at me, ready to look for success where so many others had failed.

"Get your game on, Alistair!" he shouted. "It's just you and me now!"

I laughed softly and turned to Alexis. "I still find it hard to believe this kid is the best duelist in the academy," I teased. Alexis smiled and shook her head.

"Don't underestimate Jaden," was her warning. "That's been everyone's biggest mistake when dueling him." I took her advice to heart and nodded, rising from my chair and proceeding back to the dueling ring. The tension filling the arena built steadily as Jaden and I shook hands, exchanged and shuffled decks, and switched our dueling devices into battle position. I overheard Crowler's voice in the crowd saying something along the lines of, "Well this will certainly be interesting."

The crowd was as noisy as ever as Jaden and I stared each other down.

"Still think you're the best duelist in this academy, do you?" I inquired with a grin. Jaden smirked back and answered, "Of course."

"Let's test that theory, then."

"Fine with me, Alistair!"

We each drew five cards, and our Life Points were reset to 4000.

"DUEL!"

Jaden 4000 – Alistair 4000

Jaden asked if he could have the first turn, to which I agreed. Drawing his sixth card, he wasted no time in making his initial move.

"Alright, I start by summoning Elemental Hero Bubbleman (800 / 1200) in attack mode!" he began, as a sort of blue, stocky version of Batman appeared, a sort of water gun attached to his right arm. "And, since Bubbleman is the only monster on my field, I can draw two cards!"

After drawing, Jaden was just as quick in deciding what to do from there.

"I'll throw down a pair of face-downs for later, and call it a turn," he then said, finishing his turn. "Let's see what you got this time!"

I smirked at Jaden's comment and drew a card, looking over my hand. I nodded to myself, admiring another good draw. A rather clever idea entered my mind as I selected a magic card from my hand.

"I'll use this magic card, Painful Choice!" I stated, revealing it to Jaden.

"Sweet! What's that do?" he asked with an oblivious smile. I sighed. No wonder this kid was still a Slifer.

"Painful Choice allows me to show you any five cards from my deck," I explained, fanning out my cards and selecting the ones I felt would put my plan into motion. After choosing five, they disappeared from my deck and reappeared in front of me as holograms, all facing Jaden. The cards I had shown him were one Dark Magician, three Magicians of Black Chaos, and one trap card, A Rival Appears.

"So you're showing me five cards?" he queried, obviously not having a clue about Painful Choice's effect. "You just feeling like a nice guy today, Alistair?"

Ignorance at this level can't possibly exist.

"Of course not," I corrected him. "It's called Painful Choice because now you have to choose which one of these five cards gets added to my hand. Then the four you don't select are immediately destroyed." I hoped Jaden was dim enough to pick the one card I wanted.

"…A Rival Appears?" I heard him ask himself. Great, another card I would have to explain to him. "Well I really don't want to see any of those monsters on the field, so I'll let you have A Rival Appears and destroy the other four!"

I smiled deviously as A Rival Appears materialized into my hand, while the other four disappeared and were sent straight to my graveyard. So far, everything was going well.

"I'll just lay two cards face down and end my turn," I announced calmly, throwing the crowd and staff into utter confusion. The fact that I hadn't summoned a single monster to defend myself was almost suicide in their eyes. But if I had studied Jaden well enough in this tournament, I knew what his next move was going to be.

"No monsters?" Jaden murmured quizzically. "Well, it's your deck!" He drew his card and followed my prediction perfectly.

"Now I play Polymerization, and fuse Elemental Hero Clayman and Elemental Hero Sparkman from my hand to summon…"

My gaze shifted to the face-down card on my left, which I knew would be able to stop him in his tracks. But I allowed him to continue, having a better idea occur to me.

"…Elemental Hero Thunder Giant (2400 / 1500)!" Joining Bubbleman was a massive juggernaut of a monster, seemingly made of stone and bearing some sort of blue core in its torso. It slammed down onto the field with a thunderous quake, and Jaden smiled broadly.

"Alright, Thunder Giant! Attack Alistair directly!" he commanded, as the Thunder Giant prepared to blast me with a surge of lightning. But not before I reacted first.

"I activate the trap card you just added to my hand: A Rival Appears!" I countered, the card on my right side revealing itself. "And since you seem to have no clue what it does, here's your lesson for today. By activating A Rival Appears, I can automatically summon a monster from my hand with the same level as that Thunder Giant!"

I looked down at my hand, already knowing the card I had planned to summon with this method, and placed it onto the dueling device.

"Jaden, meet the Dark Magician Girl (2000 / 1700)!" I proclaimed, as the object of affection of just about every male in Duel Academy materialized onto my side of the field. I was met with an explosion of cheers and whistles, most of which came from Syrus who was jumping excitedly on the sidelines. Jaden, however, was still baffled.

"But she's only got 2000 attack points," he said. "My Thunder Giant's got 2400!"

"True," I answered him, "but what you overlook is her special ability, one that increases her attack power by 300 for every Dark Magician and Magician of Black Chaos in my graveyard! And as I recall, Jaden, you just forced me to destroy FOUR of them, giving her a bonus of 1200 points!"

The Dark Magician Girl's attack power rose to 3200, more than enough to blast the Thunder Giant into rubble and debris and reduce Jaden's Life Points to 3200. Clearly unhappy, Jaden glared across the field at me and my Dark Magician Girl.

Jaden 3200 – Alistair 4000

"Now do you want to attack with that Bubbleman or should I assume you're done?" I taunted. Even Jaden wasn't THAT foolish.

"Not yet!" he insisted, as one of his two trap cards was revealed. "I play a trap! Hero Signal!"

I watched as Jaden fished through his deck, explaining how by destroying Thunder Giant, Hero Signal allows him to automatically summon another Elemental Hero to replace it. He then summoned Elemental Hero Avian (1000 / 1000), a green superhero-esque creature with large feathery wings. Ending his turn, I proceeded to draw, getting a very useful card.

"I play the magic card, Sage's Stone!" I announced to Jaden, as the Dark Magician Girl looked back at me with an ecstatic smile. I fanned out my deck and selected one card, placing it onto the dueling device. "With my Dark Magician Girl on my side of the field, I can use this spell to instantly summon a Dark Magician (2500 / 2100) to join her!"

As explained, my Dark Magician materialized to the left of my Dark Magician Girl, providing me with a formidable attack force.

"Now, Dark Magician, attack Elemental Hero Bubbleman!" I ordered, but just before the surge of dark energy was about to connect, Jaden's other face-down card activated.

"Not so fast! I play Negate Attack!" Jaden countered, as a blue and red vortex erupted in front of Bubbleman, swallowing up my Dark Magician's attack. "Not only does this block your Dark Magician's attack, but it ends your Battle Phase entirely!"

"Just delaying the inevitable," I laughed, declaring my turn over. Jaden drew his next card and smiled at me confidently.

"I play a Field Spell!" he proclaimed. "Fusion Gate!"

The ceiling of the duel arena faded out of view as a murky black fog swirled in spirals above us. I gazed up at the darkness as Jaden unnecessarily explained its effect.

"You see, Fusion Gate lets me combine my Elemental Heroes, without using Polymerization!" he pointed out. "And now I'll give you a demonstration by fusing Elemental Hero Avian and Elemental Hero Burstinatrix to create…"

"Absolutely NOTHING!" I shouted at Jaden, extending my arm and flipping up my other face-down card. "I activate Non-Fusion Area!"

Instantly, a powerful force field sealed up the Fusion Gate, preventing Jaden from making any fusions at all. Jaden stared up at it momentarily, and then back at me.

"Non-Fusion Area is a permanent trap, preventing either of us from making ANY Fusion Summons," I told him sharply. "That means no Polymerization, no Miracle Fusion, and no Fusion Gate."

"Well I gotta hand it to ya, Alistair, that's a pretty nice card," Jaden complimented. "Although I've got plenty more tricks up my sleeve in store for you! But first I'll just switch Bubbleman and Avian to defense mode, and then play this face-down card. You're up!"

I drew my next card, and wished it was a better one. I, too, had other tricks up my sleeve as well, however. I looked at his face-down card, my mind quickly calculating my risk of attacking.

"I'll play one face-down card as well," I decided, a new card hologram coming into view next to my Non-Fusion Area trap. "With that settled, Dark Magician, attack his Avian!" With the crackling of electricity, my Dark Magician launched its attack, demolishing Avian in a pillar of dark energy.

"Now your Bubbleman is next!" I persisted. "Dark Magician Girl, attack!"

"I activate A Hero Emerges!" Jaden finally countered, his face-down card flipping up. "Now you get to pick one card from my hand, and if it's a monster card, I get to summon it!"

I looked across the field at the two cards Jaden held in his hand, and quickly made a decision.

"The card on the left," I declared, eventually learning that I had selected Jaden's key card.

"Gee, thanks Alistair!" he said with a grateful smile. "Now I summon Elemental Hero Neos (2500 / 2000)!" The superhero that many of Jaden's friends were familiar with soared onto the field, staring down my magicians with a piercing gaze of valor. I narrowed my eyes and continued my attack.

"Unfortunately, that won't save your Bubbleman!" I shouted, as Dark Magician Girl blew away his other Elemental Hero with an explosive pink ball of energy. "I believe that'll end my turn."

Jaden drew his next card, and once again had that token smirk on his face that made me realize he was plotting something.

"I play this! Pot of Greed!" he stated confidently. "Now I can add two cards to my hand, so let's see what I got this time!" Jaden took a look at his two new cards, and wasted no time in playing one of them.

"Next I activate Kishido Spirit!" he continued with determination. "Now if my Elemental Hero Neos attacks a monster that has the same amount of attack points as him, like your Dark Magician, Neos won't be destroyed! But I can't say the same for YOUR monster! Neos, attack!"

"Bad idea," I interrupted, revealing my face-down card. Jaden stared at it as oblivious as ever. I rolled my eyes, realizing that expecting him to know what all these Spellcaster support cards meant was asking a bit much from someone of his academic stature.

"This spell card is called Dedication Through Light and Darkness," I told the perplexed kid. "When activated, I am able to sacrifice my Dark Magician in order to summon the Dark Magician of Chaos (2800 / 2600)!"

Jaden and I observed as my Dark Magician underwent a transformation, its purple armor becoming a mixture of luminous blue, vibrant red, and midnight black. Its helmet morphed into something that looked more like horns, allowing its hair to flow freely.

"Don't forget, since I sacrificed my Dark Magician, my Dark Magician Girl's attack power increases by ANOTHER 300 points, giving her a total of 3500. Now I'll assume you'll be calling off your attack," I added with a chuckle. Jaden gave me a defiant look, but it was obvious he didn't have much of a choice.

I drew my next card, and as if on cue, my Sage's Stone magic card also appeared in my hand.

"Didn't you just play that card?" Jaden asked me skeptically. I laughed and nodded.

"I did, but thanks to the special ability of my Dark Magician of Chaos, I can return one spell card from my graveyard to my hand," I explained to him. "And since you mentioned it, I think I'll replay it as well! Come out, Dark Magician!"

My final Dark Magician emerged onto the field, giving me a set of three monsters with 2500 attack points or more. But I wasn't nearly finished.

"Not done yet, Jaden," I assured him, taking another card from my hand. "I now play my Graceful Charity spell card! Even you know how this works. I draw three cards, so long as I discard two to the graveyard."

After doing just that, it was time to bring out a new monster.

"Next I'll sacrifice my Dark Magician AND my Dark Magician Girl!" I proclaimed, once again sending the crowd into a confused stupor. "Since they were both Level 6 Spellcasters, their sacrifices allow me to summon the Sorcerer of Dark Magic (3200 / 2800)!"

My newest Spellcaster monster rose from a swirling portal in the floor, its armor as dark as the night sky and its golden three-pronged staff held tightly in its right hand.

"Now for the final step," I added, feeling my inevitable victory approach. "After playing Graceful Charity, I intentionally discarded my Skilled White Magician to the graveyard! Because now I can remove it and my Dark Magician Girl from the game to summon the pride of my deck, the Chaos Sorcerer (2300 / 2000)!!"

The crowd rose in noise just as my Chaos Sorcerer descended to the dueling field. Standing on my side of the field now were the three most powerful Magicians in my deck, all at the same time.

"And so our duel concludes, Jaden," I stated with finality. "First I activate my Chaos Sorcerer's special ability, allowing me to remove one monster from the game. So farewell, Elemental Hero Neos!"

Neos was blasted by a helix-shaped torrent of light and dark energy from my Chaos Sorcerer, obliterating him from the battlefield and leaving only Bubbleman as Jaden's defense.

"Dark Magician of Chaos, attack Elemental Hero Bubbleman and wipe out his final line of defense!" I shouted as my second order. The Dark Magician of Chaos twirled its staff twice and directed it at Bubbleman, instantly vaporizing it with a vortex of dark energy. My gaze shifted to Jaden for one final time.

"And now, Jaden, my Sorcerer of Dark Magic attacks you directly!!" I finally bellowed, commanding my final magician to blast Jaden with a colossal torrent of electrical energy, bringing the infamous Slifer to his knees and reducing his Life Points to 0.

Jaden 0000 – Alistair 4000

The holograms disappeared from sight and the expectant roar of applause erupted from the students and staff. I did what I always did – crossed the dueling ring and gave Jaden a hand up, congratulating him on a hard-fought duel.

"Not bad for a bunch of Elemental Heroes," I told him with a chuckle. "Maybe I'll leave my Non-Fusion Area trap out of our next duel, just to see what you can do then."

"Oh yeah, of course!" Jaden answered. "Just holler if you want a rematch, cause I'm always game!"

We shook hands and stepped off the dueling platform as Chancellor Sheppard spoke one final time to the audience, reminding everyone that further tournaments were being held all week. I made a point to check out some of them if I had some free time after class later on. In the meantime, the eight of us that participated in Monday's tournament left the arena tunnel, eventually meeting up with our dorm heads. Apparently not only were the staff watching our tournament for entertainment, but we were also being graded. Banner presented me with a progress report and five booster packs, the prize for winning a tournament, apparently. I thanked him, tucked the boosters into my pocket, and took a look at my progress report.

Having gone 3-0 in duels today, I wasn't surprised at the high marks. I was analyzed in a number of aspects, including effective management of Life Points, tactical use of monster effects, support spells and traps, and card control. All in all, the report itself looked pretty complicated, but the "97 / 100" in the bottom-right-hand corner was all I needed to see to be satisfied. My eyes scanned the area, seeing a few different reactions from everyone who had gotten their reports. I folded up my own into a little square and tucked it away, suddenly feeling rather drowsy. I rubbed at my aching eyes with my left hand and yawned noisily before making for the exit. I was stopped by a few whispers that I picked up on from behind me. Turning around, I saw Jaden whispering something into Alexis's ear, after which they both straightened up and walked over to me.

"You know, Alistair, there's one other prize for the winner," Alexis told me while Jaden stared at the wall, looking like he found something very amusing about it. The fact that he was avoiding eye contact bothered me.

"Another prize?" I asked, too tired to be thinking straight, let alone performing proper risk analysis in my mind. "What else is there?"

"You get a kiss from Miss Duel Academy!" she chimed. "Jaden and I will take you down to meet her." I blinked a couple of times and rubbed my forehead.

"Miss… Duel Academy?" I inquired curiously. "You mean like… Miss America or something?"

"Something like that," she told me, now tugging on my arm. "Come on, you don't want to keep her waiting!"

So Jaden and Alexis carted me off to god-knows-where. In my current mental state, all I thought was 'This can't possibly be bad.'

I would very soon realize just how off I was, and from that day forward vowed revenge on the ones who wronged me – the two evil, evil, evil minds that made me kiss Ms. Dorothy in front of a student crowd of eight thousand strong.