Time for a couple of breather/filler chapters before we get back into the canon storyline. I have quite a few of these planned, especially for during the time that Jaden's in Neo-Space.
Thank you to DisneyOUATgirl1437, Sorcerer of the Stories, KiritoKirigaya-SAO, DarkZorua100, weather741, Team5dsforever, a1993, EndlessNight025, Lightclaw's Shadow, decode9, Kamen Rider Dragon Knight and iloveyugiohGX93 for reviewing the last chapter. You guys are the greatest.
Well, here is the chapter in which there is a therapy session, a prank, a tag duel and another prank to close things off. I hope that you enjoy it and reviews, as always, are much appreciated.
5
A Tag Duel
"So how do you feel today, Jaden?"
Jaden relaxed slightly in his chair. It was late afternoon; classes were done for the day and Jaden was at his weekly therapy sessions with Dr. Nakamura. A little less than a week had gone by since Syrus got into Ra Yellow, and opted for staying in the Red Dorm, and there wasn't much to talk about with his therapist since their last meeting.
"I feel fine," he said softly.
Nakamura nodded, brushing a few strands of pale-blue hair out of her face. "Up for talking about what happened a bit more?" she asked.
Jaden sighed. "We've talked about what happened before," he said quietly. Granted, he knew that they didn't really delve into anything that happened.
"Yes, I know but perhaps we should try talking more about it. Let's talk about Alexis," Nakamura suggested.
Jaden flinched and closed his eyes, not wanting to think about what happened to his girlfriend, let alone talk about it.
"I understand that it hurts, Jaden, if you don't want to talk, we won't have to, but it may help," Nakamura said gently.
"It's hard," Jaden said softly. "Watching what happened to her, I can't…I can't get it outta my head!" Tears appeared in his eyes and he hastily wiped them away as he whispered, "I nearly lost her and what happened to her is my fault."
"Why do you believe that?"
Jaden said nothing, opening his eyes to gaze up at the ceiling, that familiar self-loathing and guilt eating away at him. It never really went away. Despite Jaden assuring his friends and family that he no longer blamed himself, a part of him still did.
Nakamura rephrase the question. "How is it your fault?" she asked.
Jaden was silent for a long moment, knowing that he couldn't tell her the whole story. He couldn't exactly tell the therapist he was a murderer and that was why everything happened.
'Judai, Haou is the murderer, not you,' Yubel said firmly in Jaden's mind.
Yeah, but how am I supposed to tell that to Dr. Nakamura? Oh, by the way, I'm the reincarnation of a psychotic king of an alternate dimension and it was his fault that all this happened. She'd probably admit me to a psych ward! Jaden thought irritably. He paused and then added silently, especially if she found out I'm also arguing with people in my head, now that I think about it.
'Psychotic? I am not psychotic!' Haou exclaimed. He fell silent and then added, '…anymore.'
'She could come to the same conclusion that Celina came to,' Yubel said, ignoring Haou, who scowled. 'That you have DID.'
"Jaden?"
"What?!" Jaden snapped irritably, not responding to Yubel's words.
"You were spacing out," Nakamura said, not at all phased by Jaden's irritation; it was common for Jaden to become irritable and snappy and that was natural for someone with his condition, or so Dr. Nakamura said.
"Are you all right?" Nakamura asked.
"I'm fine," Jaden muttered.
"Then will you answer the question? If not, I understand."
Jaden fell silent again. "He was after me," he said finally, deciding he may as well. "He did all of this to get back at me for something that happened nine years ago."
"He blamed you for what happened to him nine years earlier?" Nakamura asked.
"I just said that, didn't I?" Jaden snapped.
"Yes, you did. What happened for him to blame you?"
Jaden went quiet. "The death of his brother and his friends," he murmured.
The therapist frowned but said nothing, simply waited for Jaden to continue.
"It wasn't my fault, at least that's what everyone I've told says, but he blamed me for it," Jaden murmured. "And I can't help but blame myself as well."
"Did you have something to do with the death of his brother and friends?" Nakamura asked gently.
Jaden closed his eyes. "I…I wanna say that I didn't, but…I can't since I believe I was partially responsible," he said softly. "It was like I was watching but was unable to stop what happened."
The therapist studied him for a moment and nodded. "And you feel yourself responsible because of this," she said.
"Yeah," Jaden said with a nod. "I mean, it all happened so fast and I…felt like I didn't have any control over what I was doing. I killed them and Kaage hated me because of it."
Nakamura nodded. "Have you ever heard of a disorder known as Dissociative Identity Disorder?" she asked.
Jaden, wondering at the change of subject, nodded. "Yeah, it's like you have two different personalities in one body, right?"
"Essentially speaking, yes, but it is much more complicated than that," the therapist said. "And it's pretty rare that someone with DID only has one other identity, but I'm sure it has happened before."
"What's your point?"
"My point is that I believe that you have this disorder and that it was your other identity that was responsible for the death of Kaage's brother and his friends but, because you were aware of what was happening, you blame yourself," Nakamura said. She paused and, when Jaden said nothing, she asked, "Can you tell me what happened nine years ago?"
Jaden hesitated. "You won't tell anyone?" he asked.
"I am sworn to maintain patient confidentiality. Unless whatever you say will lead to you harming yourself or others, nothing said here will ever leave this room."
Jaden studied the therapist for a moment and then slowly told her about what happened nine years ago; all throughout their many sessions since, Jaden hadn't once talked about what happened nine years ago. For the first few weeks, he had been reluctant to talk about anything at all and, after that, he had just talked about what happened over the summer. But today was the first time that Jaden had ever talked about why he blamed himself.
Nine years ago, he hadn't thought he needed help. His parents had suggested that he and Raiden see a therapist but neither of them wanted to. Jaden had been a child and he just wanted to forget about everything and he definitely didn't want to talk about itl. His parents stopped trying to get him to see a therapist after a while and Jaden learned, later, it was because they knew therapy wouldn't work if the person wouldn't let it work for them, or had convinced themselves they didn't need it, like Jaden had.
Pulling himself from those thoughts, he explained about the deaths of Kaage's brother and friends haltingly, pausing every now and then but, eventually, he got the entire story out, though he left out the part about what Yubel did. He didn't want to try to explain that, especially since it was doubtful that his therapist would believe him.
Nakamura nodded. "I can see why you would blame yourself," she said. "But it wasn't your fault."
"That's what everyone keeps telling me," Jaden said.
"But you refuse to believe it yourself." It wasn't a question.
Jaden answered anyway. "Yeah, it's hard. I know, but I still feel guilty."
"That's natural."
"Is there a point to this?" To Jaden, they didn't seem to be getting anywhere with this conversation.
Nakamura smiled gently at this. "I'm just trying to get to the heart of the matter," she said. "I know it seems like we aren't going anywhere, but you're talking about it and that is helping you. Do you wish to try talking about what happened to Alexis now?"
Jaden bit his lip. "I can…I can try," he said quietly.
"All right. Now what happened?"
Jaden closed his eyes and slowly recounted what happened to Alexis, about how Kaage had kidnapped her brother to force her to duel him, how she had lost and he 'did something' to her that put her into a coma; he couldn't exactly tell Nakamura about what really happened to Alexis.
"It hurt so much to see that happen to her," Jaden whispered. "I thought…I thought I had lost her, that I would never get to hold her and tell her how much I love her again, that I would…would never get to see her beautiful eyes or see her smile again…" He trailed off, tears falling from his eyes. It just felt different seeing it happen to Alexis than just hearing about it, as he had when Amnael had defeated her. The same could be said for Kyle. It was even worse for his siblings since they had both been injured so badly that their chances of survival were slim.
Watching his girlfriend and friend get their souls taken and then learning that his brother was in critical condition and, on top of that, watching his sister get stabbed and nearly bleed out and then, to top even that, nearly drowning himself...
And, of course, what happened nine years ago...
From what Jaden knew about PTSD, one was more likely to get it after experiencing a traumatic event, or events, if they experienced a trauma when they were younger. That was why when Dr. Nakamura told him that he likely had it, he wasn't all that surprised.
"She's safe now, Jaden," Nakamura assured him. "She's all right."
"I know she is," Jaden said. "But I still have nightmares over what happened to her, as well as what happened to Kyle, Kasumi and Raiden, even what happened to me when I dueled Kaage."
Nakamura nodded and then glanced at her watch. "It seems we're running out of time," she said. "Do you feel better at all?"
"A little," Jaden admitted softly.
"All right. Now, I have a few more questions for you before I let you go," Nakamura said.
"All right."
"My first one is did your parents try to help you with what happened nine years ago?" Nakamura asked gently.
Jaden was silent for a moment. "They tried," he said finally. "For both me and my brother, they tried but I didn't want to talk about it and I didn't want to think about it at all so I guess I convinced myself I didn't need help. I mean, therapy wouldn't have worked if I didn't think I needed it, right?"
"Yes. You built a wall up when you were a child and, unless you brought that wall down on your own, seeing a therapist wouldn't have helped. That is why it's helping you now because you have come to realize you do need it and have brought that wall down, yes?"
"Yeah. I just realized I'm worse off now than I was back then." Jaden sighed and leaned back in his chair. "You know, in hindsight, maybe I should've listened to my parents back then. Hindsight is 20/20 I guess."
"You wouldn't be the first child to try to simply forget, on your own, a traumatic event," said Nakamura, writing something else on her notebook and then looking back at Jaden.
"Next question, have you been spending time with your friends?"
"Other than in class, sometimes," Jaden said. "I'm not…avoiding them, if that's what you're asking, not much, anyway." As he had said at their last session, Jaden wasn't talking to Alexis, Kyle, or his siblings as much as he used to.
"And your siblings?"
"The same."
"Have you tried talking with them about what happened?"
Jaden's silence answered that question.
Nakamura nodded. "I know I already suggested this, but try talking to them," she suggested. "You don't have to talk about everything that happened. Start small and go from there. They're your family and friends, I'm sure they want to help you get through this, but you have to take the first step yourself."
"I know," Jaden said softly. "It's hard, but…I'll try."
"That's all you can do. Now, I will see you again next week."
"All right."
. . .
Alexis made her way into the lounge area of Chazz's addition to the Slifer Red Dorm. It was a little after four and she knew that Jaden's session with Dr. Nakamura was about to end. She was hoping that she and Jaden could spend the rest of the day together, even if it was just taking a walk around campus.
She noticed that Chazz was there, relaxing on the couch with Arina curled up next to him, while Kasumi was hanging upside down on an armchair, Raiden was lying on his stomach on the ground with a book open in front of him. Hikari was seated at the other end of the couch, relaxing while talking with her roommate Kira. Syrus and Hassleberry were also there, seated on the ground and working on their homework.
"Hey, Alexis," Kasumi greeted her as she sat up and then clutched her head. "Ow!"
"Well, don't do that," Hikari scolded.
Kasumi stuck out her tongue at Hikari, who responded in kind.
Raiden chuckled, closing his book and sitting up. "I'm bored," he said. "I think I'm going to head over to the library."
"You're bored and you're heading toward the most boring place on the island?" Kasumi repeated.
"The library isn't boring," Raiden said.
"Yes, it is," Kasumi said.
'But he's boring himself so it's not that big of a surprise,' Shire said, appearing on Kasumi's shoulder, though no one else but Chazz and Raiden knew it.
Raiden chugged a couch cushion at Kasumi that smacked her in the face.
"Hey! What was that for?! Shire said it, not me!" Kasumi protested.
Raiden smirked and dodged the cushion that Kasumi tossed back at him. "Missed!" The next one nailed him in the face.
"Ha!" Kasumi shouted gleefully and was promptly hit in the face with the same couch cushion.
"Yeah, I can definitely see how they're Jaden's siblings," Chazz said with a shake of his head and was hit with a cushion. "All right! Who threw that?"
"He did!"
"She did!"
Kasumi and Raiden said at once, pointing at each other.
Alexis, Syrus and Hassleberry snickered.
"What did I miss?" Jaden asked as he walked into the lounge.
"Shire called Raiden boring and Raiden tossed a pillow at me because of it," Kasumi said. "I didn't even say anything."
"He was probably getting you back for the pillow fight back home that got us into trouble with Mom."
"That was your fault!" Kasumi, Raiden, and Chazz all said at once.
Jaden smiled sheepishly. "Oh, yeah."
Alexis chuckled and walked over to join Jaden, curling an arm around him and kissing his cheek. "How was your therapy session?" she asked.
Jaden shrugged, his arm snaking around her waist. "Fine," he said in a tone that Alexis recognized as his 'I don't want to talk about it' tone so she said nothing more about the matter. She wasn't going to push him to talk; she would be there when he was ready to talk about it, though.
. . .
Raven skateboarded down the hall. Classes were over but she had spent the last few hours in the gym playing basketball and was now heading back to her dorm. She skidded around the corner and crashed into someone, sending the two of them to the ground. "Oh, sorry," she said, looking up to find herself lying on Steven, the newest member of the Obelisk Blue Dorm.
"It's okay, but could you get off me? Your elbow's in my stomach," Steven said with a grimace of pain.
"Sorry." Raven quickly climbed off the new Obelisk and stood up, holding out a hand to help the other Obelisk to his feet.
"Ms. Johnson!" a voice snapped out and Raven turned as Chancellor Crowler walked over to join them with Vice Chancellor Bonaparte right behind him.
"Yeah, Crowler?" Raven said.
"That's Dr. Crowler to you," Crowler said firmly. "And how many times have we told you? No skateboarding in the halls."
The Winged Beast/Dragon duelist seemed to think about it for a minute. "Another five times might do it…maybe," she said with a shrug.
Crowler folded his arms across his chest. "Well, I actually came to speak to you for another reason," he said. "As you well know, Seto Kaiba has altered the policy, making it so that girls can stay in any of the three dorms. That being said, I have looked at your grades and I've decided that unless you can bring your grades up, you will be demoted to Slifer Red."
"Whatever," Raven said dismissively. Truth was, she was an intelligent girl but she just liked pretending to not be that intelligent because it threw everyone off; she would act stupid and get bad grades but, where it counted, like in tests or duels, she would score high enough to prove that she really did know the material.
"Can I go now?" she asked.
"Fine," said Crowler.
Raven dropped the skateboard back onto the ground and climbed onto it. "See ya later, Steven," she called and skateboarded away, ignoring the fact that Crowler was shouting at her to stop skateboarding in the hall.
Bonaparte shook his head. "And she's in Obelisk? With her grades and how she acts, she may as well be a Slifer," he muttered.
Crowler nodded in agreement.
Steven wandered away, thinking back to his duel against Raven a few days earlier. He didn't agree with Bonaparte; he believed that Raven deserved to be in Obelisk even if she didn't have great grades.
. . .
Zoey and Nathan were heading back to the Obelisk Blue Dorm, talking with each other as they walked.
"I'm liking it here so far," Zoey said cheerfully. "I'm so glad we were able to come."
Nathan nodded in agreement. "I wonder how Tricia and Sis are doing?" he wondered.
"I'm sure they're fine. We could call 'em later to check up on them, if ya want," Zoey said with a shrug. "Hey, why don't we go find someone to duel? We haven't had a tag-duel in a while."
Nathan shrugged. "All right," he said with a small smile as he followed his sister, who jogged away. "But who do you want to duel?"
Zoey looked thoughtful. "Well, that Raven girl that dueled a few days ago seems like a strong opponent. I think I'm gonna track her down and see if she'll duel us," she said.
"If we're going along that line then I'll ask Steven if he'll be willing to team up with Raven and have a tag-duel with us," Nathan said. "He seems like a strong duelist, too."
"Cool. Let's go ask them!" Zoey said cheerfully and jogged off ahead.
Nathan shook his head and laughed quietly at his sister's enthusiasm and followed her.
. . .
Jaden and Alexis were walking, hand in hand, on the beach. They had decided to go for a walk earlier and had found themselves at the beach; thankfully, Jaden no longer stayed away from water, though he still jumped when he heard a splash. Alexis smiled as the warm air brushed against her cheek and pushed a few strands of blonde hair into her face. She brushed them aside and glanced at her boyfriend.
"This is nice," she said softly, leaning against him.
Jaden curled his arm around Alexis's shoulders. "Yeah, it is," he said quietly, turning and kissing Alexis's cheek. He went silent for a long moment and then sighed.
"What's the matter?" Alexis asked.
"Just thinking," Jaden murmured. He bit his lip and then turned to his girlfriend, studying her features and trying hard to not think about what happened to her in Honolulu. It was difficult; he could still see her falling and her getting hit from those attacks from Kaage. He shivered at the memory and drew Alexis closer to him.
Alexis rested her head on his chest. "I love you, Jaden," she said quietly.
"I love you, too," Jaden replied, kissing the top of her head and then smiled down at her, though his eyes still held remembered pain in them.
She placed a hand on his cheek. "You know you can talk to me about anything, right?"
"Yeah, I know. Dr. Nakamura even said that it would be a good idea to talk about what happened with you, Kyle, Raiden and Kasumi but…I guess I just don't know if I can." He shook his head and then turned his gaze to the ocean, shivering at the memory of nearly drowning in the ocean after his duel against Kaage.
Alexis gazed at him and then guided him away from the lapping waters of the ocean and toward the forest.
"We should head back to the Slifer Dorm soon," Jaden said. "Raiden said something about pranking Chazz and I wanna see how that turns out."
Alexis raised an eyebrow. "Do I wanna know what he's planning on doing?"
"I don't even know what he's planning on doing."
Alexis laughed and the two of them headed back the way they had come.
. . .
"Hey, Raven!"
Raven skidded to a halt on her skateboard, having been skateboarding through the first floor of the Obelisk Blue Girls' dorm, and turned to find Zoey, the red-haired first year student whom Raven had met briefly when she first arrived, jogging over to join her with a look of excitement in her eyes.
"Yeah, Zoey?" she said.
"I was wondering if you would like to duel," Zoey said eagerly.
"Sure thing."
"But my brother and I wanna do a tag duel, so do you mind teaming up with Steven? Nathan wants to duel him after seeing how well he did in his duel against you," Zoey said.
Raven shrugged. "I don't mind." She didn't mind partnering up with anyone as she was generally a nice person to everyone, unless they got her mad, which was rather hard to do.
"Cool!" Zoey said cheerfully.
. . .
The news that there was going to be a tag-duel between Zoey and Nathan Bradford and Raven Johnson and Steven Ravenholm had spread throughout the school soon enough, mostly because Crowler had caught wind of it and decided to showcase it to the entire school to show just how good they were, and also assess whether they would be of use to his plans to gain fame for the school.
Back at the Slifer Dorm, the gang had learned about the upcoming duel and everyone was excited about it. Jaden was excited and it made the others relieved that Jaden was acting like his old self. Jaden was also very amused, and that was because Raiden had drawn, in marker, a mustache and cat whiskers on Chazz while the other had been taking a nap and then wrote 'Ojamas Rock' on his forehead.
Needless to say, Chazz was not happy
"Get back here!" Chazz shouted as he chased Raiden around the lounge while the older Yuki laughed and ran away from him.
"What? It's a good look on ya!" Raiden called back.
Syrus chuckled and shook his head while Jaden smirked and then stretched out a leg when Raiden ran past, tripping his older brother and sending him sprawling to the ground.
"Ow! Judai!" Raiden whined, getting up. Chazz caught up with him and immediately grabbed him in a headlock.
"Payback," Jaden said with a shrug. "I still remember when you did something like that to me when we were eleven."
Kasumi burst out laughing. "I remember that. I still have the picture," she gasped and then grinned at her sister, Arina, Alexis, and Kira. "Remind me to show ya later."
"Kas! I thought you destroyed that," Jaden protested.
"It's perfect blackmail material," Raiden said with a grin, still fighting to break free from the headlock Chazz had him in. "Let me go!"
"Well, we should probably be heading out if we wanna get to the duel in time, Sarge," Hassleberry said.
"I'm not leaving with this"—Chazz released Raiden and pointed at his face—"on my face!"
"Just wash it off, then," Syrus said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"I would, but someone"—Chazz glared at Raiden—"used permanent marker."
"It was the only marker I could find," Raiden said with a shrug and, with a little eep, hid behind Jaden when Chazz looked about ready to leap at and strangle him.
"Yeah, you used that excuse when you did that to me," Jaden said. "Don't worry, Chazz, I'll help ya get him back for this."
Kasumi chuckled. "Oh, you're screwed, Rai," she said. Though he wasn't as mischievous as Raiden, Jaden has done his share of pranks and had gotten Raiden back for his pranks before and usually pulled a prank that was far more embarrassing. He just didn't do it often.
Raiden gulped. "Uhhh, is it too late to apologize?" he asked hopefully.
The glare Chazz gave him answered that.
"We'll go over possible ideas after the duel, Chazz," Jaden said with a smile.
"Fine. I'll be spending the next half hour trying to get this off me," Chazz grumbled and stalked off toward the nearest bathroom.
"I'll record the duel for you," Arina called.
Chazz nodded once and disappeared into the bathroom on the first floor.
Jaden smirked at Raiden, who looked terrified. "Payback's gonna be fun, Rai," he said cheerfully and then, taking Alexis's hand, he left the dorm.
. . .
The duel arena filled up with students sitting with their friends or their dorm mates. The gang found seats near the bottom of the tiered seats and they were joined by Kyle and Celina. "Hey, guys," Celina greeted them.
"Where's Chazz?" Kyle asked.
Arina pointed to Raiden. "Raiden drew on his face in permanent marker while he was taking a nap, and so he's busy trying to wash the marker off," she explained.
"It was just a prank," Raiden muttered.
"We know, but that's not gonna stop us from getting you back," Jaden said.
"I didn't even do anything to you."
"I know, but I never got a chance to get you back for what happened when we were eleven."
"That was five years ago!"
"And your point is…?"
"Grr!"
Jaden laughed while Raiden pouted.
Kasumi shook her head. "You know, it's days like these that I wonder if Raiden really is the older brother," she said.
"Yeah, he does act like he's eight at times," Jaden said.
"So do you," Raiden retorted.
"Ain't that the truth," Kasumi said with a snicker.
Jaden scowled at her.
Down in the arena, Raven and Steven were talking quietly to each other. "So you really don't mind dueling with me?" Raven asked.
Steven shook his head. "No," he said. "Though I don't know how compatible our decks will be."
"We'll figure things out," Raven said with a shrug and then walked over to her spot on the duel arena across from Nathan.
Crowler hopped onto the duel arena. "This duel will be a tag-duel with each team sharing 8000 Life Points," Crowler began. "And it will be between Zoey and Nathan Bradford and Steven Ravenholm and Raven Johnson."
"Ready, sis?" Nathan asked, shuffling his deck and inserting it into his duel disk.
"Ready!" Zoey said cheerfully as her duel disk whirred to life. "Good luck, you two!" she added to Raven and Steven.
"Thanks, you, too," Raven said and Steven echoed her quietly.
"Game on!" they declared as they drew their opening hands.
Steven/Raven: 8000
Zoey/Nathan: 8000
"Who goes first?" Steven asked.
"I'll let you go first, then me, then Raven, then Nathan," Zoey suggested.
"Good enough for me," Raven said with a shrug.
"All right, I draw," Steven said, drawing his sixth card. "And I start by summoning Knight Day Grepher in Attack Mode."
In a burst of light, a muscular warrior wielding a broadsword in dark-purple armor with a dark-purple cloak billowing around appeared on the field (A: 1700/D: 1600).
"And I will end with that," Steven said.
"My turn, then," Zoey said, drawing a card and then glancing at her hand. She picked a card and placed it on her duel disk, saying, "And I summon Fire Princess in Attack Mode."
A gray-haired woman in a dark-red dress wielding a staff in one hand appeared (A: 1300/D: 1500).
"And then I activate the Spell, Spell Absorption," the red-haired Obelisk added, inserting the card into her duel disk. "Now, every time a Spell is activated and resolves, we regain 500 Life Points. And I end with that."
"Okay, my turn," Raven said, drawing a card. "And I set this card in facedown Defense Mode and set another card and end my turn." Two facedown cards, one that was vertical and the other that was horizontal, appeared at her feet.
"My move," Nathan said quietly, drawing a card. "And I summon Blade Knight in Attack Mode."
A warrior in blue armor with a sword and a diamond-shaped shield appeared (A: 1600/D: 1000).
"And next I equip him with Lightning Blade, increasing his Attack by 800."
The sword was suddenly surrounded by crackling energy (A: 1600-2400).
"And Spell Absorption activates, granting us 500 Life Points," Nathan added as they were surrounded by a white light.
Steven/Raven: 8000
Zoey/Nathan: 8500
"And Fire Princess's effect also activates, dealing you 500 points of damage," Zoey said. Fire Princess held up her staff as it glowed and a blast of fire shot toward Steven and Nathan.
Steven/Raven: 7500
Zoey/Nathan: 8500
"And I end my turn," Nathan said.
"Looks like Zoey and Nathan got first blood, though they couldn't attack," Alexis commented. "Plus they got extra Life Points."
"Not bad," Raiden complimented.
Steven drew a card and glanced at it. "I place these two cards facedown and then summon Gemini Soldier in Attack Mode," he said.
A small warrior in dark-green and gold armor with a pale-green headdress appeared (A: 500/D: 300).
"Knight Day Grepher, attack Fire Princess," Steven ordered and his knight shot forward and cleaved through Fire Princess.
Steven/Raven: 7500
Zoey/Nathan: 8100
"Gemini Soldier, attack Zoey directly," the Gemini duelist ordered and his small warrior also jumped forward and stabbed at Zoey.
Steven/Raven: 7500
Zoey/Nathan: 7600
"And I end with that," Steven said.
"Well, at least they won't be dealt damage every time a Spell is activated anymore," Celina said.
"Yes, though Zoey and Nathan can still regain Life Points every time they use a Spell, which may put Steven and Raven at a disadvantage," Bastion said.
"When did you get here?" Kasumi asked, glancing at the Ra, who had taken a seat behind Jaden.
"Just now. I was running a bit late," Bastion said.
"My draw," Zoey said, drawing a card. "And I summon Magician's Valkyria in Attack Mode."
A magician in dark aqua top and pointed hat with a purple skirt and long brown hair appeared (A: 1600/D: 1800).
"Magicain's Valkyria attack Gemini Soldier, Scepter Blast," Zoey ordered and her magician unleashed a blast of magic that slammed into Gemini Soldier, destroying it.
Steven/Raven: 6400
Zoey/Nathan: 7600
"That's it for me."
"My turn," Raven said, drawing a card. Hmm, don't have any monsters that are strong enough to take on her Magician's Valkyria, she thought. "And I summon Mist Condor in Defense Mode."
A large condor with dark blue plumage appeared (A: 1400/D: 400).
"Now, I'll also Flip Summon Stealth Bird." Her horizontal card flipped, revealing a large Stymphalian bird that seemed to blend into the surroundings (A: 700/D: 1700).
"Nice, when Stealth Bird is Flip Summoned, it inflicts a 1000 points of damage to the opponent," Kyle said, watching as a blast of energy struck Zoey and Nathan's duel disks.
Steven/Raven: 6400
Zoey/Nathan: 6600
"And then I activate Stealth Bird's effect and return it to facedown Defense Position and end my turn with that," Raven added and her Stealth Bird returned to its previous facedown position.
Steven watched her for a moment. I don't want her to do all the work, he thought, returning his attention to his opponents.
"My turn," Nathan said, drawing a card, "and I summon Command Knight in Attack Mode."
A blonde warrior woman with a purple cape around her shoulders appeared (A: 1200-1600/D: 1900).
"Now, all Warriors that I control gain 400 Attack."
His Blade Knight's Attack also increased (A: 2400-2800).
"I activate my Shadow Spell Trap," Raven called, revealing her Trap. "Now your Blade Knight loses 700 Attack and can't attack or change his Battle Position."
Blade Knight was suddenly held down by a series of dark chains (A: 2800-2100).
"All right, Command Knight, attack Mist Condor," Nathan ordered.
"I activate my Trap, Kunai with Chain," Steven shouted, revealing his facedown. "And I'll use both of its effects: First, your attacking monster is changed to Defense Mode." A chain shot out and wrapped around Command Knight, forcing her to kneel down. "Next, I can equip this card to one of my monsters and increase its Attack by 500. I'll go with Knight Day Grepher."
Grepher grabbed the chain knife as his power increased (A: 1700-2200).
"Nice move, Steven," Raven said with a grin.
Steven smiled shyly back. "Thanks," he said.
"Good job. They just prevented Nathan from attacking," Atticus said.
"Gees! What is with you people and popping up outta nowhere?" Kasumi grumbled.
Atticus, dropping into a seat next to where Kira was sitting, chuckled. "I'm a ninja," he said.
Alexis sweatdropped. "No, no you aren't," she said.
Atticus pouted, folding his arms across his chest, the splinted hand resting on his arm. "Well, I could be if I wanted to," he said.
Alexis shook her head.
"I end my turn," Nathan said.
"My move, I draw," Steven said, drawing a card and then holding it out. "And I activate Magical Mallet and shuffle the three cards in my hand back into my deck and drawing three more cards."
"Yeah, but Spell Absorption also activates, giving us 500 more Life Points," Zoey reminded them as they were surrounded by a white light.
Steven/Raven: 6400
Zoey/Nathan: 7100
"And now I activate Burden of the Mighty, which decreases the Attack of all of your monsters by 100 times their Level."
The card rose from the ground and all of Nathan and Zoey's monsters got weaker (Blade Knight A: 2100-1700) (Command Knight A: 1600-1200) (Magician's Valkyria A: 1600-1200).
Spell Absorption activated once more.
Steven/Raven: 6400
Zoey/Nathan: 7600
"I know. Now I summon Infinity Dark in Attack Mode," Steven added, placing the card on his duel disk.
A black-clad fiend with a tattered black cloak appeared (A: 1500/D: 1200).
"Now, Knight Day Grepher, attack Blade Knight," Steven ordered and the two knights clashed before Grepher slashed right through Blade Knight.
Steven/Raven: 6400
Zoey/Nathan: 7100
"Now, Infinity Dark, attack Magician's Valkyria," the Gemini duelist added and the dark fiend jumped forward and slammed a fist into Magician's Valkyria, destroying her.
Steven/Raven: 6400
Zoey/Nathan:6800
"And then I place this facedown and end my turn," Steven added, inserting a card into his duel disk.
Zoey drew a card. "I summon Gemini Elf in Attack Mode," she said as a pair of female elfin twins appeared on the field (A: 1900-1500/D: 900).
"And next I activate Mage Power and equip it to Gemini Elf, which increases their Attack by 500 times the number of Spell and Traps I control," Zoey said.
"And I activate my facedown, Gemini Counter," Steven said, revealing his first facedown. "By switching Infinity Dark to facedown Defense Mode, I can negate the activation of your Spell and destroy it."
"Drat," Zoey pouted. "All right then I'll just have Gemini Elf attack your facedown Infinity Dark."
"And I also activate Waboku; now my monster isn't destroyed and we take no damage for the rest of the turn," Steven said, revealing his second facedown.
Zoey pouted again. "Fine, I place this facedown and end my turn," she said, inserting a card into her duel disk.
"My turn then," Raven said, drawing a card. "And I'll start by activating Divine Wind of Mist Valley." Instantly, the arena changed and they were suddenly in a crystal canyon with strong wind surging around them.
After that, Spell Absorption activated yet again, increasing Zoey and Nathan's Life Points.
Steven/Raven: 6400
Zoey/Nathan: 7300
"Next, I summon Mist Valley Falcon in Attack Mode."
In a burst of wind, a white-haired dark-skinned person with dark-brown wings wielding a glowing sword appeared on the field (A: 2000/D: 1200).
"Then I Flip Summon Stealth Bird, which activates its effect," Raven added.
"I activate Divine Wrath," Zoey said, revealing her facedown. "This negates the activation of your monster's effect and destroys it so long as I discard a card."
She did so and Stealth Bird shattered as a blast of light shot downward and crashed into it.
Raven pressed her lips together. "All right then I'll just have Mist Valley Falcon attack Gemini Elf, though I have to return one card I control to my hand." She retrieved Mist Condor and Mist Valley Falcon jumped forward and slammed her glowing blade into the elf twins, destroying them.
Steven/Raven: 6400
Zoey/Nathan:6800
"And the effect of Divine Wind of Mist Valley activates, allowing me to Special Summon a Level 4 or lower Wind monster from deck since I returned a face-up Wind monster from my field to my hand. I choose Hunter Owl, and thanks to his effect, he gains 500 Attack for every Wind monster I control," Raven added.
An owl wielding a scythe with large orange eyes appeared on the field (A: 1000-2000/D: 900).
"Next, I'll have him attack you directly, Zoey!"
The anthropomorphic owl flew forward before striking the red-haired girl with his scythe.
Steven/Raven: 6400
Zoey/Nathan: 4800
"And I end with that," Raven finished.
"My draw then," Nathan said, drawing a card and glancing at it. He then looked at his sister. "Sis, do you mind if I destroy Spell Absorption?"
"Do what you gotta do, bro," Zoey said.
"All right, I play Heavy Storm to destroy all Spell and Trap cards on the field," Nathan said, inserting the card and harsh winds surged around the arena, destroying Raven's Field Spell, Steven's Kuni with Chain and Burden of the Mighty, and Spell Absorption (Command Knight A: 1200-1600) (Knight Day Grepher A: 2200-1700).
"And next I switch Command Knight to Attack Mode and summon Gearfried the Iron Knight, also in Attack Mode," Nathan added and his dark-blue and iron-gray knight appeared on the field (A: 1800-2200/D: 1600).
"Gearfried, attack Mist Valley Falcon," Nathan ordered and his knight moved forward before cleaving Mist Valley Falcon in two.
Steven/Raven: 6200
Zoey/Nathan: 4800
Since there was now only one Wind monster on Raven's field, Hunter Owl's power weakened some (A: 2000-1500).
"Now, Command Knight, destroy Hunter Owl," the younger Obelisk ordered and his knight strode forward and her blade sank into the owl, causing him to screech out and shatter.
Steven/Raven: 6100
Zoey/Nathan: 4800
"And I will end with that," Nathan said.
Steven wordlessly drew a card and glanced at it. "I'll switch Infinity Dark into Attack Mode and then have him and Knight Day Grepher attack Zoey directly."
The two Gemini monsters sprang forward and each unleashed their attacks upon the red-haired girl.
Steven/Raven: 6100
Zoey/Nathan: 1600
"Zoey!" Nathan called.
"I'm okay," Zoey said, giving everyone a thumbs-up as she got to her feet.
"Sorry," Steven said quietly. After ending his Battle Phase, he help up a card and added, "Next, I play Polymerization."
"Polymerization? What's he fusing?" Jaden wondered.
"There are a few Fusion monsters out there that can be fused using Gemini monsters," Raiden said.
"I fuse Knight Day Grepher and Infinity Dark in order to Fusion Summon First of the Dragons in Attack Mode," Steven said.
His knight and his fiend vanished into a vortex. They were replaced by a giant vicious looking purple serpentine dragon with large bat-like wings (A: 2700/D: 2000).
"I end my turn."
"All right, my turn," Zoey said as she drew a card. "I play Spellbook Inside the Pot to have us each draw three cards."
At that, all four duelists drew three new cards from their decks.
Zoey glanced at her new hand and then looked at her brother. "Hey, bro, mind if I borrow a monster?"
"Go ahead, sis," Nathan said.
"All right, I tribute Nathan's Command Knight in order to summon Chaos Command Magician in Attack Mode," she said.
Command Knight vanished and, in its place, was a tall magician in dark-green and gold robes with a dark-green and gold scepter in his hand topped with a red gem (A: 2400/D: 1900) (Gearfried A: 2200-1800).
"Next, I'll equip Chaos Command Magician with Bound Wand, which increases his Attack by 100 points times his Level. Since his Level is six, that's 600 points."
The Spellcaster's scepter was replaced with an ornate want with a large glowing red crystal on top, increasing his power (A: 2400-3000).
"Not bad," Raven said.
"Yup and it's gonna get better. For us, anyway. Time for some payback," Zoey said with a grin. "Chaos Command Magician, attack Raven directly, magical blast!" Her magician conjured up an orb of dark-red and dark-green magic and tossed the orb at Raven. It crashed into her duel disk with enough force to knock Raven off her feet and taking out a chunk of their Life Points.
Steven/Raven: 3100
Zoey/Nathan: 1600
"Ouch," Raven murmured.
"You okay?" Steven asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Raven assured him as she got up.
"I place these two cards facedown and end my turn, you're up," Zoey said as two vertical facedowns appeared at her feet.
Raven drew a card and then grinned. "I remove Stealth Bird and Hunter Owl in my Graveyard from play to Special Summon Dark Simorgh!"
"Aw, nice! That's one of Raven's best cards!" Jaden cheered.
Alexis chuckled fondly, thankful that today was turning into a good day for Jaden.
In a gust of dark wind, a large black bird decorated with silver jewelry on its head, wings, and talons appeared on the field with a loud screech (A: 2700/D: 1000).
"While Dark Simorgh is on the field, you two won't be able to Set any cards," Raven informed the twin duelists before adding, "Next, I'll summon out my second Stealth Bird in Attack Mode."
Another sky blue Stymphalian bird took to the field (A: 700/D: 1700).
"Now, Dark Simorgh, attack Gearfried."
Dark Simorgh let out a sharp cry before flapping its wings, creating a black gale that shot forward and enveloped Gearfried, destroying him.
Steven/Raven: 3100
Zoey/Nathan: 700
"You're up, Stealth Bird. Attack Nathan directly and end this duel," Raven ordered.
"Not gonna happen. Go, Dimension Wall," Zoey said, revealing one of her face-downs.
"Damn!" Raven swore as her monster's wind hit a wall and was redirected back at her.
Steven/Raven: 2400
Zoey/Nathan: 700
"I activate Stealth Bird's effect to switch it into facedown Defense Mode and end my turn," Raven said as Stealth Bird vanished underneath a horizontal facedown card.
"My move," Nathan said, drawing a card. "And I summon Marauding Captain in Defense Mode."
A blonde warrior appeared on the field and knelt down (A: 1200/D: 400).
"Then I use his effect to Special Summon Obnoxious Celtic Guard, also in Defense Mode."
An elfin warrior with a sweeping purple cape and long sword appeared and knelt down as well (A: 1400/D: 1200).
"And Obnoxious Celtic Guard can't be destroyed by a monster with 1900 or more Attack. I end my turn."
"My move, then," Steven said, drawing a card. "And I summon Blazewing Butterfly in Attack Mode."
In a wave of heat came a butterfly with wings made entirely of fire (A: 1500/D: 1500).
"But it won't be here long. I activate Gemini Spark!"
"Not bad," Raven said.
Steven smiled. "With this, I can tribute a Level 4 Gemini monster and target one card on the field and destroy it."
Zoey swore as Blazewing Butterfly was surrounded by a blue light and then shattered and a glowing Chaos Command Magician soon followed suit, Bound Wand getting destroyed along with him.
"And I also get to draw a card," Steven added and drew a card.
"Yeah, well, I activate Bound Wand's effect. Since it was sent to the Graveyard when Chaos Command Magician was destroyed, I can now Special Summon him back to the field."
The green-and-gold-clad Speallcaster reemerged on the field, kneeling down in Defense Mode this time (A: 2400/D: 1900).
"In that case, I guess my dragon will just have to take it out the old fashioned way. Go!" Steven ordered and First of the Dragons unleashed a blast of blue energy that took out Zoey's defending monster.
"I place two cards facedown and end my turn," Steven said as he inserted two cards into his duel disk.
"This is getting to be a good duel," Raiden commented.
"Yes. All of them are doing rather well," Bastion agreed.
"My turn," Zoey said, drawing a card. "And I play Pot of Greed to draw two cards." She did so before adding, "Now I'll summon Rapid-Fire Magician in Defense Mode."
A magician in a purple robe wielding two scepters, each topped with an orange and green orb respectively, appeared on the field (A: 1600/D: 1200).
"And next, I activate Dian Keto the Cure Master to increase Nathan's and my Life Points by 1000."
Steven/Raven: 2400
Zoey/Nathan: 1700
"And, because I used a Normal Spell, Rapid-Fire Magician's effect deals you 400 points of damage."
The magician used his two scepters to toss a green-and-orange orb of energy at Steven and Raven.
Steven/Raven: 2000
Zoey/Nathan: 1700
"Next, I activate my face-down, Call of the Haunted to bring back Chaos Command Magician," the red-head added and her magician returned to the field once again (A: 2400/D: 1900).
"Chaos Command Magician, attack Raven's facedown Stealth Bird, magical blast!"
A sphere of magical energy slammed into the facedown monster, flipping Stealth Bird face-up before it shattered into pixels.
"With that, I end my turn," Zoey ended.
Raven drew a card before adding it to her hand. "I'll start by bringing out Mist Condor in Attack Mode."
The blue condor form Mist Valley returned to the field (A: 1400/D: 400).
"Then I'll have Dark Simorgh attack Chaos Command Magician," Raven declared and her Winged Beast unleashed another powerful wind that enveloped Chaos Command Magician, turning him into golden pixels.
Steven/Raven: 2000
Zoey/Nathan: 1400
"Now I'll have Mist Condor destroy your Rapid-Fire Magician!"
The azure condor flew forward before tearing its talons into Zoey's last monster, destroying it.
"Zoey and Nathan are in a tight spot right now," Celina commented.
"Yeah but they're still in it," Jaden said, leaning forward to watch the duel eagerly.
"I end my turn," Raven said.
Nathan drew a card and then picked out another one from his hand. "I Tribute Obnoxious Celtic Guard and Marauding in order to Tribute Summon Gilford the Legend in Attack Mode." Both monsters vanished. They were replaced by a muscular warrior with auburn hair in armor with a large broadsword in his hand (A: 2600/D: 2000).
"And when this card is Normal Summoned, I can equip as many Equip Spell cards from my Graveyard as possible unto a Warrior-Type monster I control, like Gilford himself. And since I only have Lightning Blade, I'll just equip that onto Gilford."
Nathan retrieved the card and inserted it beneath Gilford on his duel disk. The broadsword Gilford was wielding was suddenly surrounded by crackling electricity (A: 2600-3400).
Steven pressed a button on his duel disk. "I play Emergency Provision and get rid of my other facedown so that we regain 1000 Life Points," he said, his other facedown vanished and he and Raven were surrounded by a white light.
Steven/Raven: 3000
Zoey/Nathan: 1400
"Well, I guess we won't win this turn," Nathan said. "Gilford, attack Mist Condor!" Gilford dashed forward and Raven braced herself as Gilford's blade cut through the Winged Beast monster, destroying it.
Steven/Raven: 1000
Zoey/Nathan: 1400
"Next, I'll equip Gilford with the Spell, Ring of Magnetism," Nathen said, playing another card from his hand. "Although this card decreases Gilford's Attack and Defense by 500 points, as long as he's equipped with it, he's the only thing your monsters can attack, which means that my sis is off limits."
A glowing yellow ring appeared around one of Gilford's fingers as his power decreased a bit (A: 3400-2900/D: 2000-1500).
"I end my turn with that," Nathan said.
Steven drew a card and then smiled.
"You look like you've got a trick up your sleeve," Raven commented.
"I do," Steven said. "I've got this duel won. I summon Dark Valkyria in Attack Mode."
His dark black-and-orange winged fairy appeared on the field (A: 1800/D: 1050).
"It's still too weak to take on Gilford," Nathan said with a frown.
"And, remember, Ring of Magnetism won't let you attack me," Zoey reminded.
"I know," Steven said. "What I'm doing is equipping Valkyria with Amulet of Ambition." His fairy suddenly sported a golden amulet around her neck. "This card can only be equipped to a Normal Monster, and Dark Valkyria is still considered a Normal Monster. Now, Dark Valkyria, attack Gilford."
Nathan blinked. "What are you doing?"
"Amulet of Ambition's effect," Steven explained. "It increases Dark Valkyria's Attack by 500 times the difference between her Level and the Level of the monster she's attacking. Since the difference in their levels is four, her attack goes up by 2000 for this battle only."
Nathan's eyes widened as Dark Valkyria's attack skyrocketed (A: 1800-3800) and she launched a powerful blast of magic that slammed into Gilford, causing him to shout and then shatter into a million golden pixels.
Steven/Raven: 1000
Zoey/Nathan: 500
"And now that you're both wide open, I'll have First of the Dragons attack you directly!"
With a reverberating roar, the fierce dragon unlashed a blast of energy from its mouth that hit the Bradford twins with such force, they were knocked off their feet.
Steven/Raven: 1000 WINNER
Zoey/Nathan: 0
"The winner is Steven Ravenholm and Raven Johnson," Crowler called.
"Nice duel," Nathan said as he and Zoey walked over to join them. "You two are strong duelists. I wanna rematch someday."
"So do I," Zoey said with a grin.
"Though you could've been gentler with your attacks," Nathan complained.
Steven chuckled with a small smile. "Sorry," he said and then turned to Raven, who grinned at him.
"We make pretty good partners, eh?" she said.
"Yeah, I guess," Steven said quietly.
"We should team up again someday," Raven said.
"Yeah, someday."
. . .
"Judai!"
Jaden looked up from the couch where he was relaxing with his sister the following day and smirked as a furious Raiden stormed into the lounge area.
"What's up, Rai?" Jaden asked curiously.
"You know very well what's up, Judai," Raiden growled.
"Oh, didn't like the little present left on your mouth and your toothbrush this morning?"
"What did you do?" Justin asked.
"Why don't you smile and show everyone, Rai?" Jaden asked brightly and Chazz started snickering, a satisfied smirk on his face.
"He put food coloring on Raiden's toothbrush and then added salt on it so that the color will last longer. And this morning he put a glob of wasabi on his mouth," Chazz explained to the others.
Kasumi and Hikari burst out laughing.
Kira snickered quietly to herself as did Alexis, Hassleberry and Arina.
Jaden grinned at a smirking Chazz. "Aww, revenge is so sweet, eh, Chazz?" he said.
His foster brother's smirk widened. "Oh, yes, yes it is," he said.
. . .
A/n what do you think?
Blaze: one chapter in which there was only one duel but ah well, I thought that tag duel was good
Bakura: (aiming bazooka at Yami Marik) eh, it was okay
Yami Marik: (gulps and takes off running)
Bakura: yeah, you better run, you bastard! (Takes off after Yami Marik)
Jesse: well, okay then. So what is going to happen in the next chapter?
Jaden: (peers at Blaze's notes over her shoulder) looks like a duel between Celina and Kira
Blaze: yup
Jesse: so how many of these chapters do you have prewritten?
Blaze: I'm halfway through chapter 10. I have the duel outlines for up to chapter 15 done. I've decided that once I get to chapter 15 in written chapters, I'm gonna start working in ten chapter increments. What this means is that I will write ten duel outlines and then I will finish ten chapters before I go to write the next ten duel outlines.
Marik: sounds complicated
Blaze: yup. I'm also working on a rewrite of my Yu-Gi-Oh/Harry Potter crossover story. It was called Tomorrow's Kings; the rewritten version is tentatively called Rising Shadows, Hidden Light.I'm having fun including the Light of Ruin in that story. But that has nothing to do with this story so I shall shut up about that now
Jaden: so time to end the chapter?
Blaze: yup. I gotta go stop Bakura from accidentally blowing up the Golden Gate Bridge so please end the chapter (walks off)
Jaden: all right, Blaze hopes that you enjoyed this chapter and reviews, as always, are much appreciated.