Rawr! A quick update! These bus rides have their uses, I must say. Today we witness the duel between Syrus and Jesse, and Para and Dox. Have you any idea how much trawling I did to find a replacement for uforoid fighter? A lot! But anyway. Syrus, disclaim.
Syrus:Caleb doesn't own yugioh, or us. If he did, Mindy and Jasmine would actually duel now and again. And the Paradox brothers wouldn't rhyme.
"And now, ladies and gentlemen, may I present our main feature for this evening – a duel for survival between Jesse Anderson and Syrus Truesdale, and the one and only Paradox brothers!" Crowler announced from his perch, nearly bouncing up and down with glee. "And if two Obelisk's couldn't beat them, then what chance do two Slifer slackers have?" Over in the stands, Caleb and Alexis joined the others.
"That was a good show out there! Considering their decks are perfectly formed to complement each other, I'd say you did astonishingly well!" Beamed Bastion. Caleb sighed.
"Even so, I'd hoped to win, if only to give poor Syrus a bit more confidence... Still, they're the important ones here, not us. And I'd say we've made things a lot more exciting in here." He smiled, but it didn't quite reach his eyes.
"Caleb, there's no need to be so hard on yourself. It was you who convinced Crowler to even have that match, and without it those two'd be going in blind." Jasmine said reasurringly. "You've already done more than pretty much everyone else put together."
"Oh, now you're exagerating. After all, all of you helped them train." Caleb pointed out, blushing just a little.
"I'm just worried about Syrus now. If he was that nervous anyway, what'll he be like with Zane watching...?" mused Alexis, glancing over to where Zane stood at his usual perch. Caleb followed her gaze.
"Doesn't he get lonely up there?" He paused. "Oh, there's a thought, where's Jaden?" He scanned the crowd. "Hmm, I'm not seeing any large deposits of surly... Oh, there he is! With... Chazz?" The others looked at him.
"What? Really? I thought those two hated each other." Asked Mindy.
"Hmm, Chazz's face seems to suggest that's the case. I think Jaden might just be there to annoy him." He sighed. "And he got my hopes up and everything..."
"So, Chazz, do you really think you could do better? I mean, really, two people far better than you just got completely annihalated. In fact, you should try it. I'm sure it'd be quite entertaining." Chazz just growled under his breath. "Not that you ever would get a chance. Let's face it, everyone knows that you're all talk, and only made it into the academy because of your family's money. Yes Chazz, I did some digging. And really, I wasn't impressed." Chazz finally snapped.
"Oh, so what makes you so good then? Everyone knows connections are the only way to get into Obelisk in your first year anyway!" Jaden actually laughed at this.
"You'd be surprised. Caleb's only middle class at best, and I'm hardly rich. All money does is make up for poor marks." Chazz flailed for a response.
"In that case why is Misawa only in Ra? Surely he scored top marks!"
"Hmm, in the theory. But his practical duelling was above average at best. Why Chazz, you look positively red!" Jaden declared theatrically, "You might want to have someone look at that. If they can bear the sight." And with that he left Chazz with his flunkies, rather pleased with his work.
"So, you are our next victims. Prepare to meet the same fate as those before you!" Declared Para, as Jesse and Syrus stepped onto the arena.
"Hey there! I'm expecting a great game from y'all, so y'all better not let me down, y'all hear me!" Shouted Jesse, completely ignoring Para and descending into his own excited tirade.
"Let the elimination match begin!" Shouted Crowler from above, before the conversation could continue. Syrus shuffled nervously.
Jesse&Syrus: 8000 / Para&Dox: 8000
"I g-guess I'll go first... I'll draw, and I'll summon Gyroid in attack mode. I t-think I'll leave it at that..."
"Very well. I draw!" Para smiled. "And I shall begin with Jirai Gumo, in attack mode! For now, that is all."
In the stands, Caleb and Alexis looked at each other.
"This looks worryingly familiar." Alexis nodded.
"I just hope they can do something to change what happens next..."
"Right then y'all, I'll start with Crystal Beast Topaz Tiger, in attack mode! And I'll play M force, to give him an extra 500 attack!" Dox laughed.
"Perhaps you need to retake your maths classes. Even with that boost, our Jirai Gumo is still the stronger monster." Jesse smiled.
"Normally, y'all'd be right, but when Topaz attacks, he gets an extra 400 attack, and it's coming right at you!"
Jesse&Syrus: 8000 / Para&Dox: 7800
"And I'll finish with this here spell, Crystal Tree. Over to y'all."
"It looks like the Slifer might have been paying attention after all. If he can keep that up maybe they aren't as doomed as I thought." Zane looked up at Jaden's intrusion. "Oh, wait, that's your brother down there, isn't it? So I'm guessing you think they'll win."
"...We'll see." Jaden raised an eyebrow.
"Then they really are screwed if even his brother thinks he won't win."
"...I didn't say that."
"You didn't need to. Still, maybe Anderson can pull them through this."
"I shall summon Kaiser Sea horse, in attack mode, and with it I attack your Topaz Tiger!"
Jesse&Syrus: 7900 / Para&Dox: 7800
Topaz Tiger exploded, only to retreat into gem form. Dox glared at it. "What is this? Another creature that does not know when it is beaten?"
"Y'all should know my beasts are never really beaten. They just need to fall back and rest now and again. And guess what? 'Cause y'all did that, my crystal tree gets a counter on it." Para sighed.
"Yet more counters? Brother, this is an epidemic we must deal with."
"Agreed my brother. We shall nip his tree in the bud. Make your move."
"A-alright. I'll draw... and I guess I'll summon Cycroid in defence mode. Oh, and I'd best swap gyroid to defence mode as well... And I suppose I'll set this face down and end my turn." Para snorted with laughter, then looked to his brother.
"If this is the most they can muster, this shall be over soon enough. I shall draw!" He looked at the card. "And I shall begin by sacrificing Kaiser Sea horse to summon Sanga of the thunder! And more, I play monster reborn, to bring back Jirai Gumo, allowing me to activate tribute doll. As such, I special summon Suijin to the battlefield! And with them, I shall attack both of your monsters!" The blasts both hit, but Gyroid remained, quivering in the clearing smoke. "How can this be? There is now way your creature can withstand such a blow!"
"Gyroid can't be destroyed in battle... At least, not the first time each turn."
"So be it. I end.
"Alright then, my go! And I'll draw! I'll start with golden rule, lettin' me put two more beasts out as crystals, and I'll choose Amber Mammoth and Sapphire. Which also gives me two more counters on my tree, so y'all know. Next up I'll play crystal beacon, which lets me special summon a beast from my deck, and I choose Ruby Carbuncle. And I'm not done yet! When Ruby's special summoned, I can special summon the rest of my crystal beasts that are gems, so Amber Mammoth, Sapphire Pegasus and Topaz Tiger'll take the field too! I'll just throw down a facedown, and call it a turn y'all."
"Not bad, but it takes more than just a lot of monsters to win. That facedown better be something special."
"...It is." Jaden looked at Zane quizzically.
"Care to elaborate?" He was met with silence. "Apparently not." He looked back at the duel, and smirked. "Either way, the Slifer's got a bit too much dead weight to pull through this I think." Zane continued to say nothing, merely closing his eyes and choosing to ignore Jaden's comment entirely. "It's a shame it's not Caleb they're getting rid of, but I suppose you can't have everything."
On the other side of the stadium, Mindy and Jasmine looked at each other. "Do you think...?"
"It might be. If it is, they might stand a chance." Bastion looked at them in confusion.
"Whatever are the two of you talking about?"
"That facedown. I think it might be one they used against us, and if it is they might be in with a fighting chance."
"You mean amber crystal circle, don't you?" Asked Caleb, a small smile on his face. Jasmine nodded.
"Yeah. And with those monsters out, he could even take down the Gate Guardian!"
"And the best part is, because it doesn't directly destroy anything, they can't counter it with Judgement of Anubis. I just hope that we're all right about the card..." Alexis nodded.
"It seems likely. He's used that combo against most of us, and he did specifically choose Amber mammoth to summon. And Jesse doesn't do sacrificing. ...Usually."
"Then my turn I shall take! I shall begin with the field spell, Mausoleum of the Emperor. With this, we may all pay lifepoints as tribute, instead of monsters. And I shall pay 2000, to summon Kaizejin, whom I shall sacrifice along with Sanga and Suijin to bring forth the Gate Guardian! Now go, attack his Ruby Carbuncle!"
Jesse&Syrus: 7900 / Para&Dox: 5800
"Not so fast y'all! I'll use Amber Mammoth's effect, letting me change the target to Amber Mammoth, and I'll activate Amber Crystal Circle! This let's Amber Mammoth add the attack of all my other crystal beasts to his own, and y'all know what that makes? Five thousand four hundred!" As Gate Guardian attacked, Amber Mammoth jumped in the way and reared up, buoyed by the power of crystal circle, and crushed gate guardian where it stood.
Jesse&Syrus: 7900 / Para&Dox: 4150
"Ngh... I shall set a facedown, and I shall end." Jesse looked to Syrus.
"C'mon, y'all can finish this! Just give them all we've got!" Syrus nodded.
"A-alright! I'll draw, and then attack you with all our monsters!"
"Not so fast! I activate negate attack!"
"Darn it... Sorry Jesse, I messed up..."
"Don't y'all worry, it's just a little setback. They can't stall us forever Sy."
"We do not need to!" Laughed Para. "I activate Dark Element! At the cost of half of our life points, we may special summon the might Dark Guardian!"
Jesse&Syrus: 7900 / Para&Dox: 2075
Darkness poured forth from Para's graveyard, forming a roughly humanoid shape. It swirled menacingly for a moment, before exploding outwards, revealing the Dark Guardian. "And with him, I shall attack your Ruby Carbuncle, and this time there is nothing you can do to stop us!"
"Mammoth, take the hit!" Amber Mammoth jumped in the way once, again, but this time buckled under the blow, and retreated to crystal form.
Jesse&Syrus: 5800 / Para&Dox: 2075
"A small reduction. It shall not save you. Take your turn." Jesse drew, and looked at his hand.
"Damn, there ain't much there I can use... And I can't even use gem fortress, 'cause I can't get enough gems out with Syrus' facedown there." He sighed. "I'll swap everything to defence mode and end the turn." Now Dox laughed.
"That shall not save you! I equip Dark Guardian with Fairy Meteor Crush! And I shall attack, once more, Ruby Carbuncle!" Ruby Braced herself for impact for a third and final time, but this time there was no rescue, and she crumpled under the blow, returning to crystal.
Jesse&Syrus: 2300 / Para&Dox: 2075
"C'mon Sy, y'all can still do this. I know y'all can get the right card, and play it right!"
"Jesse... A-alright, I draw!" He looked down. "Powerbond! But can I really use it right? If I mess up, it'll take us out as surely as that Dark Guardian will... And do I even have anything powerful enough to use it with...?" He looked at his hand again. "Wait! Maybe..." Syrus straightened himself up. "I'll play monster reborn, to bring back my Cycroid! And I'll fuse it with another Cycroid from my hand with powerbond, to form Pair Cycroid!" The two cycroids fused to form an even more comical looking bike, with electricity running along it's length. "And thanks to powerbond, his attack doubles to 3200!" Para laughed again.
"A valiant effort, but our Dark Guardian is still the stronger creature, and cannot be destroyed in battle regardless."
"Oh, I wasn't going to attack your monster. If I drop Pair Cycroid's attack by 500, he can attack directly!"
"But that would mean...!"
"That's right! You lose 2700 life points, putting you on 0!" There was a moment of confusion, before a resounding cheer tore through the arena.
"Alexis, they won!" Caleb was jumping for joy, and the others were looking pretty excited as well.
"I must say, that was an astounding play by Syrus at the end there." Commented Bastion. "And at such a timely moment! They clearly wouldn't have survived the turn otherwise." Alexis looked across the arena.
"I hope Zane saw that... He could do with seeing just how much Syrus has grown."
"And Jaden could do with the lesson in the power of friendship." Caleb added, very definitely. "I could do with finding him. But first, I propose a celebration!" The others nodded.
"That'd be 'liscous! But where'd you think we should have it? And when?"
"I guess we could have it at the Slifer dorm tomorrow? I'm sure Professor Banner wouldn't mind, and I could make cookies." Mindy perked up at this.
"Then I have to come! Caleb's cookies are amazing!" Even Jasmine seemed to agree, although she kept any cookie related outbursts to herself.
"You can help me make them if you want. The extra hands always help, and there's plenty of bowl to lick. Oh, I think Jesse and Syrus are coming back. We should be down there!" Caleb took off, a slightly startled and confused Chumley, Bastion, Alexis, Mindy and Jasmine following behind.
"So, they won after all/" Zane nodded, but otherwise didn't respond. Jaden hovered, waiting to see if a reply was forthcoming, before he shrugged and turned to leave. As he started, Zane finally spoke.
"...I guess now I can stop worrying about him so much." Jaden turned around.
"You? Worry? That, I can't see."
"...He is my brother." Jaden frowned/
"Then aren't you going to go congratulate him?" Zane shook his head.
"No. He needs to be with his friends right now, not me." Zane said no more, so Jaden merely shrugged and left, leaving Zane to his thoughts.
"Aww, that was totally 'liscous guys!" Shouted Chumley, scooping Jesse and Syrus into a bear hug.
"Chumley...!" gasped Jesse, "Y'all gonna crush us at this rate...!" Chumley dropped them and apologised, leaving them both panting for air. Then Caleb jumped on them.
"You did it! ...Which is kind of embarrassing for me, but even so! You can stay! We need to celebrate! Soon! Tomorrow! At Slifer!"
"Caleb, breathe!" Shouted Bastion. Caleb blushed a little.
"Sorry about that..." Then he looked down. "Oh gods, sorry, sorry, I'll get off!" He clambered off of Jesse and Syrus, the two of them still a bit dazed from Chumley crushing them and then Caleb landing on them. Jesse got up first.
"Well, I'm glad y'all're glad to see we're stayin'. Makes y'all feel loved. And I'm happy to celebrate, 'cept... I still have to do an essay as punishment for goin' in the dorm..." Caleb and Alexis sighed and looked at each other.
"Crowler." They said in unison. "Has to be." Added Caleb. "Otherwise we'd all be doing it." Pointed out Alexis.
"I'm sure it doesn't have to be done for tomorrow anyway. A few hours off wouldn't hurt." Jasmine slid in.
"Yeah, and me and Caleb are making cookies!" Jasmine sighed at Mindy.
"Is that really the most important point here?"
"Cookies? Y'all got me sold!" Jasmine sighed again.
"...Maybe it is."
"Oh, let them have their fun." Then a thought flashed across Alexis' mind. "Unless..."
"Sugar free, apparently." Alexis breathed a sigh of relief.
"Thank goodness. Those two are hyper enough as it is." Bastion checked his watch.
"My word, is it so late already? I should really be heading off. But I'll stop by tomorrow, I'm sure." Bastion gave them all a wave, then hurried away, causing Caleb to check his own watch.
"Oh, he's right! I should be getting back too, well, we all should really. So I'll say goodbye now until tomorrow, and Jesse, Syrus? Try to get some sleep tonight. Can't have you tired out tomorrow. Girls, are you coming? We're heading the same way after all."
"We may as well. See you tomorrow you three." said Alexis, and Mindy and Jasmine gave brief farewells of their own.
"I'd reckon they've got the right idea. Y'all up for crashin'?"
"'Liscous. Just... Don't get me up too early. I don't think I can take any more excitement."
Night had not yet truly fallen over the island, but the light was definitely waning, casting the island with a honeyed glow. A chill wind blew, but it was gentle, and barely disturbed the leaves of the trees. Even the lake was still, as though the whole world held its breath.
"I'll see the three of you tomorrow then," said Caleb cheerfully, as they reached the boy's dorms. "What time do you want to head over Mindy?"
"I'll probably come over about ten if that's okay with you."
"That's fine! It's just so I know when I need to be ready for. I'll get all the stuff in advance." Jasmine paused.
"Where do you get your ingredients, anyway?"
"Oh, I just ask Professor Sartyr. He's really nice, and he loves to cook." He got a trio of blank looks. "You know, he's head of the Ra dorm. We see him all the time. Anyway, night guys." And with that he was gone, vanishing inside the dorm. The girls waited a moment.
"...I'm still not sure who he's talking about."
"No, me neither."
"Oh, Jaden!" Caleb spied his as he reached his room, Jaden just pulling up to his own room next door. Jaden groaned.
"And it was all going so well. And he got crushed! Why is he so cheerful?" This last fact infuriated Jaden the most, and he resolved to simply ignore Caleb in the hopes he'd go away. He had the door half open when his hopes shattered.
"So, did you see my duel? I didn't see you in the stand, but I guess you probably wouldn't want to stand out, so I wasn't worried. What did you think/ Did you like my cards? Did-" He was cut off as the door slammed in his face. "Now that was just rude." Inside the door Jaden sighed with relief.
"Yubel, is there no way to escape him? Or burn him, whichever's easier." He sighed and collapsed into a chair. Then he remembered that he was against the wall next to Caleb's room, and considered moving, before he caught Caleb's voice through the wall.
"...Are you sure you're alright? I'm really sorry about today, I should have seen something like that coming." Jaden thought he caught another voice, but he couldn't make out the words, or even what it sounded like. "Well, if you're sure. But I still feel bad about it. Do you want me to play for a while? Ooh, that's not a bad idea!" Jaden leaned back from the wall.
"Who is he talking to in there? He has that room to himself."
"So do you," pointed out Yubel, in an infuriatingly reasonable voice.
"Do you think...?" Yubel shrugged.
"It's possible. We think he heard me the other day after all."
"Then we need to be extra vigilant. I can't have people finding out about you. Especially him." The two of them agreed, and Jaden retired to bed, catching the first notes of a song before drifting off to sleep.
"We walked along, uncertain roads, only hoping..."
Yay, double digit chapters! We'll be on the interesting plot lines before you know it. Probably. And yes. Pair Cycroid. No other fusion roid would have won them the game. Go figure.