BEFORE WE BEGIN THIS CHAPTER, I WANT TO STATE SOME THINGS I FORGOT TO IN THE FIRST ONE. I DO NOT OWN YUGIOH IN ANY WAY, SHAPE, OR FORM. ALSO ANY REVIEWS, ADVICE, AND CRITICISM ARE BOTH WELCOME AND APPRECIATED. OK THAT'S ALL, LET'S GET THIS GOING.
Chapter 2: A Rival Appears
Soren hummed a tune as he continued down the hall that lead back to the bleachers that overlooked the arenas. With his exams completed and his entrance to DA all but assured, Soren had only to wait for the moment when he would be told his results and dorm placement. He was already aware of the ranked system that seemed to favor the rich and powerful at DA. That didn't mean he would to take anything lying down if he was placed at the bottom. Still he supposed if he had to choose he would pick Slifer Red for the sole purpose of the color red being his favorite.
Rounding the same corner he had bumped into Jasmine before, Soren returned to his seat in time to see a few more matches. It was the perfect time to size up the abilities of his future peers, his future opponents. Taking advantage of the opportunity Soren eagerly awaited the next match.
As match after match concluded Soren could see that his time at DA would certainly shape up to be an interesting experience. As the last of the matches concluded Soren made to rise from his seat when an unexpected announcement made him think twice about doing so.
"Examinee Number 110, Jaden Yuki..." Announced the same female voice from before.
Number 110, but I thought that all the matches were over already. Unless someone arrived last minute. As he pondered what was going on he noticed a duelist with vaguely Kuriboh-like hair appear on the duel field below. Another thing he noticed was the fact that the person who stood on the other side of the arena was not like the other administrators. He had blond hair in a ponytail, and a strange variation of the Duel Disk called a Duel Vest. And was he wearing lipstick? He also wore a long, Obelisk Blue styled coat. Soren couldn't tell what was with the man's appearance but nonetheless, this seemed far more interesting to Soren than any of the previous matches.
"Alright, test time!" Announced the strange looking administrator to the applicant. "So son, what's your name?"
"Uh, Jaden. Jaden Yuki." Said the boy as he adjusted his stance.
"Well, "Uh Jaden Yuki", I'm Doctor Vellian Crowler. Department Chair of Techniques at Duel Academy."
"Wow, and here I thought you were some kind of weird mascot." Jaden stated, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly and laughing lightly.
Crowler scowled at the comment, glaring at the carefree duelist before regaining his composure. "Yes well, let's not beat around the bush. I am a very busy man after all." He stated, activating his duel gear.
"You got it teach, let's get our game on!" Jaden exclaimed raising his duel disk and drawing his starting hand.
"DUEL!"
JADEN-4000
VS
CROWLER-4000
"The first move's mine, I draw!" Jaden declared as he slid the drawn card to his hand.
TURN ONE-JADEN-SIX CARDS
"And I'll start things off with the Elemental HERO Avian in defense mode."
In a torrent of feathers the winged hero appeared on the field with his arms crossed, ready to protect Jaden and his life points.
Elemental HERO Avian- WIND - LVL 3 - ATK 1000/DEF 1000
So he uses HERO cards as well. This just gets more and more interesting. Thought Soren as he watched the opening move closely.
JADEN-FIVE CARDS
"And next I'll throw down a face down. Your move teach." Said the enthusiastic HERO user as the hologram of another card manifested itself behind the lone monster.
JADEN-FOUR CARDS
"Yes, yes a very nice play for an amateur. But I hope you don't think that monster will be able to save you. It's my turn!" Crowler declared as he placed his hand in front of his deck slot. The automated draw system activated and the card slid elegantly into his hand. Glancing at the card he drew, Crowler could already see a surefire way of showing this slacker his place.
TURN TWO-CROWLER-SIX CARDS
"For my first move I'll play the spell card, Confiscation." He said as the card appeared on the field.
"Okay, so what's it do?"
"What it does is allow me to pay 1000 life points to look at your hand and send one card from there to the graveyard." As he announced this, holograms of the cards in Jaden's hand appeared in front of Crowler, allowing him a clear view of any and all strategies available to him.
CROWLER-FIVE CARDS
CROWLER-3000
"Ah, yes I remember some of these from when I was a naive duelist like yourself. I think I'll choose to send that pesky Monster Reborn of yours to the graveyard." As he made his selection the card in Jaden's hand shimmered and was immediately placed in the graveyard.
JADEN-THREE CARDS
"Next I'll set two cards face-down and activate the spell card Heavy Storm!" A violent whirlwind began whipping around the arena. Jaden stepped back as he watched his Draining Shield burst into shards of light. Crowler on the other hand merely watched as his two Statues of the Wicked met the same fate.
CROWLER-TWO CARDS
"Whoops, did you forget that you had some traps on the field too teach." Jaden stated, however Crowler simply smirked at the comment. As Jaden noticed this a dark fog began surrounding the field."What's happening?"
"Oh nothing's happening..." Suddenly two golden creatures emerged from the fog on Crowler's side of the field.
Wicked Token(x2)- DARK - LVL 4 - ATK 1000/DEF 1000
"...not yet anyway! The two monsters burst into flames at Crowler's comment. "Now I'll release my two Wicked Tokens and summon Ancient Gear Golem!" From the flames that had previously engulfed the two Tokens a giant robot rose up and towered over the rest of the field, its single red eye glaring at the lone monster on Jaden's field.
Ancient Gear Golem- EARTH - LVL 8 - ATK 3000/DEF 3000
CROWLER-ONE CARD
"Now my Golem destroy that birdbrain with Ultimate Pound!" At Crowler's command the titan reeled its fist toward Avian and the monster braced itself for the worst. As the monster burst into shards of light Jaden raised an arm to defend himself. "And with my Golem's effect you'll take damage equal to the difference of your monster's defense points and my monster's attack points." Once more the Golem reeled its fist, this time at Jaden. He grunted slightly as he watched his life points drain.
JADEN-2000
VS
CROWLER-3000
So the good Doctor has a legendary card like that. That must mean he is using his own personal deck instead of an exam one. Well, even if that card is powerful that doesn't mean it can't be beaten. The only question is how is this hot-shot hero going to handle it? Soren wondered as he watched the duel pensively. This was certainly something to be expected of the teachers at Duel Academy. As Soren stared down at the field another administrator approached him, a woman with short brown hair.
"Excuse me, Mr. Lysander, I need you to come with me to receive your designated DA supplies." She stated as Soren turned to face her.
"Oh right." Soren rose from his seat reluctantly, as he wanted to see this duel through to the end. "Lead the way then." He said taking a lasting glance at the field before they left the bleachers.
The two walked through the halls in silence, exchanging a glance every now and then until they arrived at a set of three tables set up side by side. Each of the tables carried a few stacks of boxes bearing the DA logo on the front, as well as stacks of neatly folded Jackets in varying sizes and colors. The administrator guided Soren to the first table and handed him one of the boxes and a blue jacket.
"Congratulations Mr. Lysander, you have been placed in the Obelisk Blue Dorm. That means your one of DA's top students." The woman told Soren. As Soren stared at the dark blue coat he wondered how this was possible. He hadn't fulfilled any of the necessary prerequisites for placement into Obelisk Blue nor was he rich or powerful, so how?
"In case you're wondering, you were placed in the Blue Dorm for a few reasons. One of them being there was no more space in Ra Yellow. Another reason is because Dr. Crowler thought it would be a waste of your talent to put you in Slifer Red. So I guess you lucked out."
"So you're telling me that I was put in there on a whim? Fair enough I suppose, though I do have one request." The woman raised an eyebrow curiously at the statement. "Could I have a red jacket instead?"
The admin's jaw dropped at the question. After all, why would anyone want to wear the jacket of the failures of DA. "Well... I don't see why not, but... any particular reason?"
"Red's just my favorite color, that's all." Soren stated plainly.
"Well if that's all then I'm sure we can spare one Slifer Jacket for you. But do keep in mind however that you will have to wear your Obelisk Blue coat for the Entrance Ceremony. After that you'll be free to wear the other one when you want." The woman explained as she walked over to the table that carried the crimson coats. She handed one of them to Soren and he placed it in his box with the rest of his standard issue DA gear.
Soren slipped on his slick, blue coat and bid farewell to the administrator. As he walked back through the halls he could make out another person heading to the bleacher section. It was Jaden Yuki, the duelist who moments ago had been backed into a corner by that Ancient Gear Golem for his entrance exam. So what exactly happened with all of that? Soren grew curious at the result of the duel and decided to find out for himself.
"Hey, you there!" He called out to the enthusiastic duelist.
Jaden turned and pointed a finger at himself. "Who, me?"
"Yes, you. You're Jaden Yuki, the one who was going against that strange man with the Golem card, correct?"
"Yeah, that was me." He said as a he grinned at the
"So I was right. Jaden, I want to see just how strong you are, so duel me."
"Heh alright, I'm always ready to throw down. Besides, you seem pretty strong yourself and I love a challenge." Jaden stated as both he and Soren began shuffling their decks.
"Oh by the way, what's your name?" Jaden asked curiously.
"I'm Soren, nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you too Soren. I hope you're ready, because it's time to get our game on!"
"You seem pretty confident in yourself. Just know that I'm no slouch when it comes to dueling either." Soren told the upstart hero as they both placed their decks in their duel disks.
The two drew their starting hands, their gazes steeled for the coming challenges.
"DUEL"
SOREN-4000
VS
JADEN-4000
"I'll take the first move. I draw!" Shouted Soren as he ripped the card from the top of his deck.
TURN ONE-SOREN-SIX CARDS
"And I'll start things off with this, the Elemental HERO Ocean in attack mode!" As Soren placed the card on his middle monster zone, water appeared on the field and began pulsing as something seemed to be rising to the surface. The monster suddenly leapt out of the water, twirling a trident around its aqua colored body before settling onto the field.
Elemental HERO Ocean- WATER - LVL 4 - ATK 1500/DEF 1200
SOREN-FIVE CARDS
"Oh man, I haven't seen that HERO before." Jaden said, his eyes gleaming at the site.
"Well you're about to see something better, because now I activate the Quick-Play Spell Mask Change!" The card appeared on the field and Ocean was enveloped in a mixture of light and water.
SOREN-FOUR CARDS
"Mask Change, what does that do?"
"It lets me tribute one HERO monster on my side of the field to special summon a Masked HERO from my Extra Deck that has the same attribute of the monster I released." He explained as he pulled the desired card from his holster where he kept his Extra Deck. "Come forth, Masked HERO Vapor in attack mode!" At Soren's command the mix of water and light burst apart revealing the new monster that had taken Oceans place.
Masked HERO Vapor- WATER - LVL 6 - ATK 2400/DEF 2000
"Next, I'll play one card face down and end my turn." The card appeared behind Sorens monster.
SOREN-THREE CARDS
"Now, come at me Jaden!"
"You got it pal, it's my move." Jaden said as he grabbed the top card of his deck. "I draw!"
TURN TWO-JADEN-SIX CARDS
Jaden looked at his hand running over the possibilities for his first move.
"Okay first I'll play the spell, Pot of Greed."
JADEN-FIVE CARDS
"This card lets me draw two more." He said as he added two more cards to his hand
JADEN-SEVEN CARDS
"And next up, I'll play Polymerization and use it to fuse the Clayman and Sparkman in my hand to fusion summon Elemental HERO Thunder Giant in attack mode!" Jaden shouted as raised the three cards into the air. Both duelists watched as the two monsters were sucked into a blue and orange portal, merging together to form a new, more powerful monster.
JADEN-FOUR CARDS
Out of the portal a golden warrior sprang forth and sent jolts of electricity all around the field.
Elemental HERO Thunder Giant- LIGHT - LVL 6 - ATK 2400/DEF 1500
The two monsters glared at each other fiercely, waiting for the attack order that would not come.
"And since I haven't normal summoned this turn I can call out another monster, so here comes Elemental HERO Wildheart in attack mode!" A muscular, tattooed monster wielding a giant sword leapt onto the field, his long, black ponytail swaying in the air as he landed.
Elemental HERO Wildheart- EARTH - LVL 4 - ATK 1500/DEF 1600
JADEN-THREE CARDS
"And next up, I'll play the field spell Skyscraper!" Jaden exclaimed as he placed the card into the field slot in his duel disk. Buildings of all shapes and sizes began to rise out of the ground around the duelists.
JADEN-TWO CARDS
This isn't good, but with my face-down I can at least ensure a comeback next turn. Thought Soren as he carefully glanced at his set card.
"Now go Wildheart, attack Soren's Masked HERO with Wild Skydive Slash!" The tattooed hero leapt from the building he was perched on and unsheathed his massive blade bringing it down upon Masked HERO Vapor. "And with my Skyscraper's effect, when an Elemental HERO monster battles with a monster that has a higher attack it gains 1000 attack points."
Elemental HERO Wildheart- EARTH - LVL 4 - ATK 2500/DEF 1600
As Wildheart's blade pierced Vapor the monster was sent flying backward into a building. Vapor burst into shards of light on impact as it let out a pained grunt.
SOREN-3900
VS
JADEN-4000
"And now my Thunder Giant is free to attack you directly with Spark Shot!" Thunder Giant extended his metallic claws toward Soren and sent out an electric discharge that shook his entire body. Soren dropped to one knee as his life points fell, clutching his chest as if the damage inflicted had actually hurt him. But it didn't.
SOREN-1500
VS
JADEN-4000
"And I'll throw down a face-down and call it a turn." The card manifested itself behind Jaden's electric warrior.
JADEN-ONE CARD
"It's my turn, I draw!" As Soren drew the card a golden trail of light followed in it's wake. It's here! He thought as he looked at the card before adding it to his hand.
TURN THREE-SOREN-FOUR CARDS
"First, I summon Elemental HERO Stratos in attack mode!" Once more the blue and silver warrior took to the field in a gust of wind, ready to assist in the battle.
Elemental HERO Stratos- WIND - LVL 4 - ATK 1800/DEF 300
SOREN-THREE CARDS
"And now I can activate his monster effect! When he is summoned I can add one HERO card from my deck to my hand." He explained as he looked through his deck, carefully weighing his options. "The one I choose to add Elemental HERO Prisma."
SOREN-FOUR CARDS
"Now go Stratos, attack Wildheart with Stratosphere Strike!" At Soren's command the wind rider soared into the sky and disappeared. For a moment all was still, when suddenly Stratos came rushing back down and smashed into Wildheart, shattering him to pieces. Jaden reeled back as one of the shards grazed his cheek and his life points dropped slightly.
SOREN-1500
VS
JADEN-3700
"And next I activate the quick-play spell Mask Change II! Now by discarding one card in my hand, I can release the Stratos on my field to special summon a Masked HERO from my Extra Deck with a higher level." Soren explained as he slid the Prisma card into the graveyard. Stratos was engulfed by a tempest that began stirring around the field.
SOREN-TWO CARDS
"I call you here now, Masked HERO Divine Wind!" From the center of the tempest that had surrounded Stratos, a hand shot out and the wind itself was absorbed into it, revealing a new, green armored warrior.
Masked HERO Divine Wind- WIND - LVL 8 - ATK 2700/DEF 1900
"And since he was summoned during the battle phase, that means I have one more attack. Go, Divine Wind, attack Thunder Giant with Wind Lance!" The wind that had been previously taken into the warriors hand suddenly shot out once more, this time forming itself into a literal wind lance. The monster quickly launched the lance at the golden titan and it pierced his blue core. Electricity shot out of the center of the core as Thunder Giant collapsed and exploded.
SOREN-1500
VS
JADEN-3400
"Next, Divine Wind's monster effect. When he destroys a monster by battle and sends it to the graveyard, I can draw one card."
SOREN-THREE CARDS
"Next I activate my face-down card, another quick-play known as Form Change! With this card I can send one HERO fusion monster I control back to the extra deck and special summon a Masked HERO with the same level but a different attribute." As Soren finished his explanation a pillar of light surrounded Divine Wind. "The one I'm summoning is Masked HERO Dian!" The light faded and from it another warrior took to the stage, one clad in shining silver armor and a blue cape.
Masked HERO Dian- EARTH - LVL 8 - ATK 2800/DEF 3000
"Dian, attack Jaden directly with Terra Slash!" The caped hero lunged forward, his sword poised to strike. Jaden braced himself for the oncoming attack.
SOREN-1500
VS
JADEN-600
"There's nothing else I can do for this turn, so I end." Soren said lowering his disk.
Jaden readjusted his stance as he stared at his mostly empty field. With one card in his hand and two cards on the field, Jaden new that his next draw would be his last.
"Then that makes it my move, I draw!"
TURN FOUR-JADEN-TWO CARDS
And it's just what I needed, Jaden thought as he slid the drawn card to his hand. "Okay Soren, you wanted to see just how good I am, well here it is!" He shouted as he thrust his hand, forward revealing his lone face down. "I play my second Polymerization! And I'll be using it to unite the Elemental HEROES Avian and Burstinatrix in my hand to fusion summon the Elemental HERO Flame Wingman!" He shouted as once more the orange and blue portal appeared on the field. The holograms of the monsters in Jaden's hand appeared on the field and jumped into the portal, there forms breaking down and merging together to form Jaden's favorite card. The monster emerged from the portal, floating down to the field slowly as it's gaze locked with that of Dian. It's tail began whipping around slowly and it's single wing curled around the monster's masculine form.
JADEN-ZERO CARDS
Elemental HERO Flame Wingman- WIND - LVL 6 - ATK 2100/DEF 1200
"Now go Flame Wingman, attack Soren's Dian with Skydive Scorcher!" Flame Wingman leapt atop one of the many buildings that surrounded the field. Dian mimicked this action finding a building that stood directly across from Flame Wingman. The two glared at each other for a moment, the wind blowing slightly as they readied themselves for the final bout. In unison they leapt from their buildings and flew towards each other. Dian once more poised his sword to strike as he flew toward his opponent. Flame Wingman extended his dragon-like arm and it released a stream of fire. The flames cloaked themselves around Flame Wingman's body.
"And don't forget that with my Skyscraper's effect, my Wingman gets an attack boost of 1000 points." As Jaden reminded Soren of this fact the flames that encompassed Flame Wingman grew larger and more fierce.
Elemental HERO Flame Wingman- WIND - LVL 6 - ATK 3100/DEF 1200
"That's fine by me! Go Dian, give it your all!" Soren shouted, encouraging his monster to continue his attack. Dian nodded in approval at the words and charged faster toward Flame Wingman. The two monsters clashed in the sky, the fires of Flame Wingman eventually enveloping Dian, and he let out a grunt of pain as his body burned to ash and burst into shards, leaving only his sword to fall to the ground. Soren watched as Flame Wingman returned to Jaden victorious.
SOREN-1200
VS
JADEN-600
"And now my monster's effect activates, when Flame Wingman destroys a monster by battle, you take damage equal to that monsters attack points." Dian's sword, which had previously been falling from the sky, suddenly launched toward Soren's body. Soren let out a pained groan as the sword flew through his torso, and he fell to one knee.
SOREN-0
VS
JADEN-600
One by one, the holograms disappeared leaving only the two duelists. Jaden extended his arm forward and pointed two fingers at Soren.
"And that's game." He said as he approached Soren, who had risen back to his feet.
"I must admit, I wasn't expecting you to turn that around so easily Jaden. From a play like that I can only assume you also beat that Golem card, am I right?" Soren asked curiously as he placed his deck back into it's holster.
"Yeah that's right, and that means I made it into Duel Academy. But still, you had some pretty sweet moves Soren. Those Masked HEROES of yours are something else." Jaden stated as he extended his hand. Soren took the offer and both duelists shook hands.
"Thanks for a great duel Jaden. But next time will be different." Soren said, releasing his grip on Jaden's hand.
"I look forward to it Soren. Until next time." And so the two parted ways.
END OF CHAPTER 2
NEXT TIME ON YU-GI-OH GX TAG FORCE: WITH SOREN'S ARRIVAL AT DUEL ACADEMY, THINGS ARE SURE TO GET MORE EXCITING. WHAT SORT OF ADVENTURES AWAIT OUR HERO IN THIS SEEMINGLY NORMAL DUEL SCHOOL? WILL HE RISE TO THE CHALLENGES AHEAD OR PLUMMET TO ROCK BOTTOM?