It's been a while, hasn't it? (Looks at date of last update) 22 Days? Wow. It really has been a while. Eh, I did say that updates would be slow…right? Can't seem to remember if I did or not.
Anyway, thank you to Guest, Sorcerer of the Stories, midnightscar17, Anons tho, Numbuh24InsaneBrain, Team5dsforever, a1993, EndlessNight025, decode9, Lilyqz, GuardianOfTheUniverse, KiritoKirigaya-SAO, Kamen Rider Dragon Knight, iloveyugiohGX93 and ShadowSpirit020 for reviewing the last chapter. You guys are the greatest.
And, as usual, a huge thank you to EndlessNight025 for being an awesome beta-reader.
Well, you're in for a treat. Two duels in one chapter so I hope that you enjoy them.
Hmm, what else do I gotta say?
Well, for Allegiance, if anyone wants to check it out, I'm currently in the process of finishing the second chapter and will be sending it to my beta-reader as soon as I finish it so, hopefully, that will be updated by this weekend. And, yeah, that had nothing whatsoever to do with this story so yeah…
I hope you enjoy this chapter. Reviews, as always, are much appreciated.
10
Rhodes to Success
The day after Kasumi's duel against Hikari, the gang was gathered in the redone Slifer Red Dorm, trying to come up with plans to keep the dorm from being taken down. So far, neither Crowler nor Bonaparte had made any moves toward taking down the Slifer Red Dorm but that didn't stop them from planning just in case.
"Well, we could just stay in the Slifer Red Dorm and not move. They can't tear it down if we're inside, right?" Kira said.
"We'd have to leave the dorm eventually for classes, though," Hikari reminded them.
"True."
"Go on strike from classes?" Justin suggested.
"They'd probably just kick us out of the school if we did that," Bastion said.
"Bastion's right." Raiden sighed and leaned back. "It doesn't look like we're getting anywhere with this."
"We can't give up, though," Kasumi said firmly.
"I wasn't saying to give up," Raiden snapped back irritably. "I'm just saying we don't have much to go on to actually be of any help."
"There's gotta be some way to stop them from tearing down the dorm," Arina said softly.
"Well, they haven't made a move toward that yet," Alexis pointed out. "Not since they tried to put the dorm on the line during Aster's duel against Jaden. Maybe they gave up?"
"Unlikely, though I guess it's possible," Chazz said, pressing his lips together in thought. "Speaking of Jaden, has anyone seen him recently?"
"He was already gone when I woke up this morning," Syrus reported.
"I haven't even seen him in classes at all," Kasumi admitted. "This isn't the first time since Honolulu that he's avoided us, but...I'm a bit worried. I mean he can't speak to or even see Yubel and she's the one who's always been there for him."
"He'll be fine, Little Mist," Raiden assured his sister, hoping that he was right.
Silence fell on the group, until faint singing could suddenly be heard coming from outside. Chazz looked up with a frown and then glanced at the rest of the group. "Do you guys hear singing?"
Exchanging glances, the group got up and walked out of the Slifer Red Dorm and saw Atticus standing on a boat in the ocean wearing a Hawaiian shirt and khaki shorts and playing the ukulele he bought from Honolulu during the summer. Alexis frowned. I thought he lost that, she thought.
Atticus broke off his singing and grinned up at Alexis and the rest of the group. "Hey, sissy," he greeted Alexis with a wave.
Within minutes, he met the group on a hill near the Slifer Dorm, still strumming the ukulele.
"So what brings you to this side of the campus?" Alexis asked.
"C'mon, you know, Crowler's plan," Atticus said brightly.
Alexis frowned. "You must be joking," she said.
"Lex, this is Atticus we're talking about," Raiden said dryly.
"He sounds pretty serious to me," a voice called out at the same time from the cliff. Everyone saw a familiar person in a black wetsuit with a snorkeling mask on his forehead climbing on top of the cliff with the boat strapped to his back.
"Chancellor Crowler?" The group said in confusion.
"Nice day for snorkeling, isn't it?" he greeted them, attempting to keep his balance with the boat on his back. "By the way, Alexis, Raiden, Kasumi, Arina, have you four come to your senses yet?"
Raiden scoffed. "The answers still no," he said.
"Besides, Raiden couldn't sing to save his life," Kasumi added.
"Hey!" Raiden whined, glaring at his sister.
"What? I speak only the truth," the Lightsworn duelist said with a grin. "And besides, I thought Hikari was going to do that."
Raiden pouted while Crowler shrugged. "She did, but didn't do that great," he said.
Why do I get the feeling she didn't even try? Kasumi wondered silently.
Kira giggled, finding the Shadow Reckoner duelist incredibly cute when he pouted like that. Of course, she was keeping that thought to herself.
"By the way, what are you talking about 'our senses'?" Alexis said, folding her arms. "I'm not the one in a wetsuit with a boat strapped to my back."
"C'mon, sis," Atticus protested while Crowler fought with the boat, and lost. "Give this idea a chance, please?"
"What idea?" Syrus asked.
"The reason why we're in the Slifer Red Dorm to begin with," Kasumi reminded him.
"Right, the pop idol duos," Hassleberry remembered.
"Pop idol duos?" Justin repeated.
"Basically, Crowler want Alexis and Atticus, and Kasumi and I, to be tag team duelists who sing while they duel," Raiden explained.
"Really?" Justin said dryly. "Sounds like a wonderful idea. What's next? People who dance while they duel?"
"Well, he...kinda wants me to do that," Arina put in.
"You're kidding?"
"Nope."
Justin shook his head at that.
"What's so bad about it, though?" Crowler asked. "I get free publicity and Alexis, Kasumi and Arina get free clothes. A win-win situation."
Kasumi scoffed. "The answers still no," she said flatly. "Besides, I thought I settled this matter with my duel against Hikari yesterday."
"Yeah, I'm not doing it," Alexis said firmly.
"Neither am I," Arina agreed.
"You three are stubborn," Atticus said. "Hey, Chazz, Rai, try to knock some sense into them."
"Oh no, I'm not getting in the middle of this," Chazz said quickly, eyeing Kasumi and Alexis who were both glaring at him.
"And I don't wanna do this, either," Raiden said with a shrug.
"Besides, he can't sing," Kasumi put in helpfully.
Raiden glared at her.
"What?"
"Looks like we'll settle this the old-fashioned way," Atticus said with a sigh.
Alexis nodded. "A duel, right? You win, I'll sing. I win, you drop this whole thing. And that goes for Arina and Raiden too, since Kasumi's duel against Hikari should have caused the whole thing to be dropped for her, too," she said.
"You're on," Atticus said with a grin.
. . .
Haou smirked in triumph as he finally located and broke the portion of the block that was placed on his powers, as well as kept the portion of the block that prevented him and Jaden from seeing Yubel and the Elemental Heroes. He knew that since a portion of the block was broken, it wouldn't be long before the rest of it broke, but he had some time.
Opening his eyes, Haou pulled out his deck and flipped through it, pulling out a few of the cards he could now see as clear as day; his Evil Hero cards. He picked up one of them and flipped it around in his fingers, focusing his power since he had learned long ago that it was possible for him to summon monsters without using a duel disk. The card glowed and, a moment later, the vicious dark-blue fiend that was Evil Hero Malicious Edge materialized in spirit form in front of Haou.
One look into Haou's eyes and Malicious Edge bowed his head in greeting. 'My King, it has been a while,' he said respectively.
"Yes, it has," Haou said, lowering the card. "But I don't have time for pleasantries. The Light of Destruction is back."
'Yes. I have sensed it from the moment it entered your body and made all of us unable to reach you or your other half,' Malicious Edge said. 'What are your orders, my King?'
"For now, I need you keep an eye out," Haou said. "The Champion may have influenced others to do his or her bidding just as they did Aster Phoenix. But keep a low profile. I cannot have the Light knowing that I have full access to my powers, which was what caused my downfall last time."
Because I was too arrogant, and weakened from what that traitor did to me, though I refused to admit it back then, he thought.
'I understand, my King. What of your Guardian?'
"The rest of the block is actually working in my favor at the moment," Haou said. "Since I cannot see or hear Yubel, she cannot see or hear anything that I see or hear. Therefore, she doesn't know that I've managed to break a portion of the block."
'Sounds complicated,' Malicious Edge mused.
"It is more complicated than I made it out to be. Now go. I do not have much time," Haou said firmly.
'As you command, my King,' Malicious Edge said and floated off.
Haou leaned back against the tree, watching the duel spirit hurry off and glancing down at the still glowing card. He was giving the spirit the power to stay a good distance away from his card but he knew that it wouldn't last forever.
Plus, he also had to keep the knowledge of what he did away from Jaden or else he might question why Haou didn't reverse what the Light did fully so that he could see and hear Yubel again.
Haou closed his eyes, resting the card on his leg as he went over what he planned on doing next. He had no doubt that the Champion would strike again, especially now that he likely thought Jaden was out of the picture for the moment. And if things went as they did the last time the Light made an appearance then the Champion would go after anyone that was close to him. And he had a plan for when that happened.
Haou pressed his lips together. If I were the Champion, who would I go after first? he thought. Four people came to mind in an instant; three of whom Jaden saw as his family while the fourth was the girl that he loved. Of those four, Haou could only think of one that would likely be the Champion's first target.
Perhaps he might be giving that one person not enough credit but his instincts were telling him that he was right.
And Haou had learned a long time ago that it was always best to listen to one's instincts.
. . .
Later that day, in the duel arena, Crowler stood up as everyone filed into the arena and took their seats. "Attention, duelists," he began once everyone had taken a seat. "This duel will not only show that this Academy is home to the future dueling stars, it's also the place where pop music stars are made."
Syrus and Raiden were among the last to arrive in the duel arena.
Bastion glanced at them. "No Jaden?" he asked.
"He usually never misses a duel," Syrus said softly.
"He must still be out of it," Raiden said.
The lights suddenly cut out, bringing everyone's attention to the arena.
Bonaparte grumbled, "Out of all your plans, this one takes the cake. What's next? Duel Academy on Broadway?"
For once, I actually do agree with Bonaparte, Conway thought with a grimace.
Crowler ignored them as he said, "Well, as you kids always say, time to raise the roof off this place. So give it up for our first star: Atticus Rhodes!"
Hanging from bungee cords was Atticus, dressed in a suit as he flew around the arena, blowing kisses to the girls in his fan club, which Jasmine and Mindy were part of it.
"Guy knows how to make an entrance," Hassleberry said.
Raiden gazed at Atticus with a frown. "Why am I friends with him again?" he wondered aloud.
Atticus landed on the arena and then took off the cords. "I dedicate this duel to the ladies!" he declared, winking at the girls in the audience and most of the girls started cheering.
Celina blinked. "Wow, he has a fan club probably as large as Bakura's," she mused.
"Bakura has a fan club?" Kyle repeated.
"I think he's had one since Battle City," the white-haired Ally of Justice duelist said.
"Oh."
"Now, for his opponent and sister, Alexis Rhodes!" Crowler announced.
Fog came out of the other side of the arena as Alexis headed toward the field. Except that she wasn't walking; she was in a swan-shaped wagon. Judging by the look on her face, she was probably both embarrassed and annoyed.
Kasumi sweatdropped. "I feel for you, Alexis, I really do," she said.
Once they were on the dueling platform, they faced each other.
"Before you know it, we'll have a platinum album, be on every teen magazine, and have our own reality show," Atticus said.
"Slow down, hot shot, you have to win first," Alexis said.
"I even named our band," Atticus said with a grin. "We're called Bro-Bro and Sissy!"
"Which one's he?" Celina wondered.
Raiden snickered.
Atticus and Alexis drew their opening hands, looks of determination on their faces.
"Game on!" they declared.
Atticus: 8000
Alexis: 8000
"All right, sissy, bro-bro first," Atticus said, drawing his sixth card. "And I summon Panther Warrior in Attack Mode."
A black panther in armor appeared on the field with a growl (A: 2000/D: 1600).
"And next, I activate Spotlight to increase Panther Warrior's Attack by 300," Atticus added and a spotlight shone on Panther Warrior (A: 2000-2300).
"Good for a star, don't you think? I then place one card facedown and give the mic to you."
A vertical facedown card appeared at Atticus's feet.
"I'm sensing a theme here and, to be honest, it's bugging me," Alexis said as she drew a card. "And I activate the Field Spell Ritual Sanctuary."
The arena changed until they were in a chapel-like building.
"With this in play, so long as I discard a Spell Card in my hand, I can add a Ritual Spell from my Deck to my hand, like my Machine Angel Ritual."
She discarded a card and then retrieved said card from her deck.
"Next, I activate Machine Angel Ritual and tribute Cyber Prima in my hand in order to Ritual Summon Cyber Angel Idaten in Attack Mode," Alexis added.
The chapel took on a silvery sheen and her blonde Cyber Prima appeared momentarily before she was engulfed in a column of light. Out of the column of light appeared a pale-purple skinned woman with a dark magenta headdress and a sheer tutu around her waist (A: 1600/D: 2000).
"And since Idaten was successfully summoned, her effect allows me to add one Spell Card in my Graveyard to my hand and I'll go with Ritual Weapon," Alexis added, retrieving the card and then inserting it into her duel disk. "And I equip it onto Idaten, increasing her Attack and Defense by 1500."
Idaten was suddenly sporting a golden bow-like weapon on her arm with a glowing saber jutting out of it (A: 1600-3100/D: 2000-3500).
"Now, Idaten, attack Panther Warrior," Alexis commanded.
"I activate my face-down, Cursed Ring, and equip it onto Cyber Angel Idaten," Atticus said, revealing his face-down and Idaten was suddenly sporting a golden ring. "Now Idaten can't destroy a monster in battle. Sorry, sis."
"One problem with your plan. You'll still take damage, though," Alexis said as Idaten struck Panther Warrior with the Ritual Weapon, but the panther wasn't destroyed.
Atticus: 7200
Alexis: 8000
"I end my turn," Alexis said.
"I draw," Atticus said, drawing a card and glancing at it before holding it out. "I activate Stray Lambs to Special Summon two Lamb Tokens in Defense Mode."
Two fluffy lamb tokens, one blue and the other pink, appeared on the field.
"Aww," a few girls in the audience went.
"Next,"—Atticus held up another card—"I activate Path to Destiny and equip it onto Panther Warrior. This allows my Panther Warrior to attack you directly. So I tribute one Lamb Token so that Panther Warrior can attack."
"Oh no," Alexis murmured.
One of the lambs vanished into tiny pixels and, as a blue aura surrounded him, Panther Warrior, with a growl, charged forward and landed a blow against Alexis.
Atticus: 7200
Alexis: 5700
"And I place this facedown and that's it. So whatcha gonna do now, sissy?" Atticus asked.
"I'm gonna win," Alexis said firmly.
"You know, Atticus may be strange, but he's got some great tactics," Hassleberry said.
"Not only that," Bastion said, "but, with Zane's graduation, Atticus is our top duelist at this point. Well, him and Raiden are, I believe."
"My brother was replaced by some two-bit lounge singer," Syrus groaned. "At least Raiden's somewhat normal."
"Somewhat?" Raiden exclaimed.
"Well, you are related to Jaden," Syrus pointed out.
Raiden thought about that for a minute. "Huh, you're right. Judai really isn't normal," he mused.
"That's an understatement," Chazz said, folding his arms across his chest.
"My turn. I draw," Alexis said, drawing a card and immediately inserting it into her duel disk when she saw what it was. "I play Pot of Greed to draw two more cards." She did so and then added, "And next, I summon Cyber Petit Angel in Defense Mode."
A little round pink angel with a glowing halo above it and blue wings appeared (A: 300/D: 200).
"And when this little monster is summoned, I can add Machine Angel Ritual from my deck to my hand."
She retrieved said card and then added, "And, next, I activate Machine Angel Ritual and tribute Cyber Petit Angel and Cyber Angel Idaten in order to Ritual Summon Cyber Angel Dakini in Attack Mode."
Both Cyber Petit Angel and Cyber Angel Idaten vanished and were replaced by a blue-skinned monster with four arms; two of which held swords while the other two was carrying a staff. She also had an orange upper body armor and a golden headdress that fanned out behind her like hair (A: 2700/D: 2400).
"And when Dakini is Special Summoned, you have to select and destroy one of your monsters," Alexis added.
"I'll go with my other Stray Lamb Token, then," Atticus said and the second lamb shattered.
"Now, Dakini, attack Panther Warrior," Alexis commanded.
Dakini shot forward and slammed both of her swords into Panther Warrior, destroying him and Atticus shielded himself from the pixels with his duel disk.
Atticus: 6800
Alexis: 5700
"I activate Miracle Moment. Since you destroy Panther Warrior while he was equipped with Path to Destiny, I can Special Summon Bronze Warrior from my hand or my Deck to the field."
Out of the smoke, a bronze-skinned man with a blue cape around his shoulders wielding two double-bladed weapons in his hands appeared (A: 500/D: 1800).
"And, due to Spotlight's effect, I now target Bronze Warrior," Atticus added and the spotlight moved until it was on Bronze Warrior (A: 500-800).
"I end my turn," Alexis said.
Atticus drew a card. "I activate the effect of Bronze Warrior and use it to add Indomitable Fighter Lei Lei from my deck to my hand," he said and retrieved said card before shuffling his deck. "And, next, I summon him to my field."
A scarred beast-warrior appeared on the field with a growl (A: 2300/D: 0).
"And, due to Bronze Warrior's effect, all Beast-Warrior type monsters gain 400 Attack while Bronze Warrior is in face-up Attack Mode," Atticus added as Indomitable Fighter Lei Lei's attack increased (A: 2300-2700).
"Now it's equal to Cyber Angel Dakini," Syrus said.
"Is he looking for a Double KO?" Celina wondered.
"Well, if he did take out Dakini, then he could deal damage with Bronze Warrior," Raiden said thoughtfully.
"Next, is everyone ready for a Field Spell?" Atticus asked the audience who cheered loudly while Raiden just sweatdropped and lowered his head.
"Seriously, why am I friends with him again?" he muttered to himself.
"I activate Ultimate Stage Costume," Atticus added, placing the card in his Field Spell slot and Ritual Sanctuary shattered before it was replaced by a stage. "And I use it to target Bronze Warrior; now he gains 3000 Attack and Defense!"
"What?" Kira said with a frown. "That sounds like a pretty broken effect."
"Agreed," Hikari said with a nod as Bronze Warrior was suddenly wearing a very large and very flamboyant costume (A: 800-3800/D: 1800-4800).
"Now, Indomitable Fighter Lei Lei, attack Dakini," Atticus ordered and the fighter shot forward before he and Dakini clashed into each other and were destroyed, conjuring up a great cloud of smoke.
"Now Alexis is wide-open," Kira noted worriedly.
"Bronze Warrior, attack sissy directly," Atticus ordered with a grin. Bronze Warrior roared and tried to move forward, only to find that it couldn't seem to move its upper body.
"That outfit's preventing him from moving at all," Kasumi realized.
The warrior then slipped out of his outfit, his attack dropping back to the value it had before the Field Spell was activated.
"I forgot, his attack is what it was before the Field Spell was activated. My bad, folks," Atticus said.
A few people fell out of their chairs as Bronze Warrior strode up to Alexis and slapped her upside the head.
"Ow!" Alexis glowered at the warrior.
Atticus: 6800
Alexis: 4900
"And I end my turn with that," Atticus said as Bronze Warrior donned on the costume once again and his power returned to 3800.
"My move, I draw," Alexis said, drawing a card and then glancing at it before holding it out. "I activate Fulfillment of the Contract. By paying 800 Life Points, I can Special Summon a Ritual monster from my Graveyard to my field and equip her with this card and I choose Cyber Angel Idaten." Her pale-purple skinned Cyber Angel returned to the field (A: 1600/D: 2000).
Atticus: 6800
Alexis: 4100
"And, with her effect since she was Special Summoned, I can add one Spell card from my Graveyard to my hand and I choose my Ritual Sanctuary card," Alexis said, retrieving said card from her Graveyard. "Next, I activate it." Ultimate Stage Costume was destroyed, weakening Bronze Warrior (A: 3800-800/D: 4800-1800). "Now, I activate Ritual Sanctuary's effect and discard one Spell card"—she discarded Magical Stone Excavation—"to add Machine Angel Ritual to my hand. And I activate it, tributing Idaten in order to Ritual Summon Cyber Angel Benten in Attack Mode!"
Idaten vanished and was replaced by a black-haired woman with a golden headdress wielding a chain with a fan attached to one end (A: 1800/D: 1500).
"Now, Benten, take out that Bronze Warrior," Alexis commanded. Her Cyber Angel shot forward and let loose her fan, striking Bronze Warrior and destroying him and destroying Spotlight as well since there were no other monsters on Atticus's field.
Atticus: 5800
Alexis: 4100
"And now Benten's effect activates, dealing you damage equal to your monster's Defense," Alexis added as Benten whirled around and struck Atticus with her fan.
Atticus: 4000
Alexis: 4100
"Ouch, sissy," Atticus complained, though that grin never left his face as he rubbed his head where the fan had struck him.
"And I end my turn with that," Alexis said.
Atticus drew a card and glanced at it. "I activate Spellbook Inide the Pot," he said and they each drew three cards. "Okay, next up I summon Gene-Warped Warwolf in Attack Mode and, since Spotlight is still on the field, Gene-Warped Warwolf is now the new star of our show." A beast-warrior with red eyes, red claws and four arms appeared on the field (A: 2000-2300/D: 100).
"Now, Gene-Warped Warwolf, attack Cyber Angel Benten," Atticus ordered.
With a growl, the warped warwolf charged forward and crashed its red claws into Benten, destroying her.
Atticus: 4000
Alexis: 3600
"And I end with that," Atticus said. "So let's see what else ya got, sissy?"
"Stop calling me that," Alexis growled as she drew a card and then picked another card in her hand. "I summon Cyber Tutu in Attack Mode." Her red-haired ballerina spun onto the field.
"Oh boy," Atticus muttered.
Alexis smirked. "You know what comes next, bro. Cyber Tutu, attack Atticus directly," she ordered and Cyber Tutu spun across the field before lashing out with a foot, kicking Atticus in the face and knocking him down. Quite a few members of his fanclub whined in protest at that but Atticus gave them a thumbs-up.
Atticus: 3000
Alexis: 3600
"I'm good," he said happily as he got to his feet.
"I place this facedown and end my turn," Alexis said, inserting another card into her duel disk.
"My move then," Atticus said, drawing a card and glancing at it. "I summon Vorse Raider in Attack Mode." A dark-skinned armored beast-warrior appeared on the field wielding an axe in one hand (A: 1900/D: 1200).
"Now, Gene-Warped Warwolf, attack Cyber Tutu," Atticus ordered.
"Ain't ya forgetting something, bro?" Alexis asked with a smirk as she revealed her facedown.
"Doble Passe? That's like your oldest trick and I still fell for it," Atticus whined as Gene-Warped Warwolf's claws struck Alexis's duel disk.
Atticus: 3000
Alexis: 1300
And then Cyber Tutu spun across the field and kicked Atticus in the face again.
Atticus: 2000
Alexis: 1300
"Well, at least I still have one more monster. Vorse Raider, attack Cyber Tutu," Atticus ordered and Vorse Raider shot forward before cleaving Cyber Tutu in half with his axe.
Atticus: 2000
Alexis: 400
"And, with that, I end my turn. Now what are ya gonna do, sissy?" Atticus asked.
"I can still win and stop calling me that already," Alexis growled irritated as she drew a card.
"Man, Alexis looks about ready to hit Atticus," Raiden commented.
Kasumi nodded in agreement. "Glad you and Jay don't call me that anymore," she said.
"Anymore?" Syrus echoed.
"I called her that once when we were thirteen and she smacked me with a hardcover book," Raiden muttered, rubbing the back of his head self-consciously.
"Time for the finale," Alexis said once she saw the card she had drawn. "I activate Reinforcement of the Army to add Etoile Cyber from my Deck to my hand." She retrieved said card before adding, "Next, I activate Polymerization and fuse Etoile Cyber and Blade Skater together. I Fusion Summon Cyber Blader." The two aforementioned monsters fused to create Alexis's dark-blue haired dancer Fusion monster (A: 2100-4200/D: 800).
"And Cyber Blader's Attack doubles 'cause I got two monsters on the field, damn," Atticus frowned.
"You got that right. Cyber Blade, attack Vorse Raider," Alexis ordered. Cyber Blader immediately spun across the field, creating a whirlwind before lashing out with a foot that connected with Vorse Raider, knocking it clear off the field and destroying him.
Atticus: 0
Alexis: 400 WINNER
"We could've been a hit," Atticus whined as he dropped to his knees.
"We still love you!" his fan club shouted from the audience as the rest of the audience cheered and the holograms vanished.
"Nice job, Alexis," Kasumi said.
"Good job," Arina said.
"But my record deal," Crowler whined.
Conway just sweatdropped and shook his head.
A little while later, the rest of the audience had vacated the duel arena, leaving only the Rhodes siblings and the majority of the gang, with the exception of Jaden.
"That was a great duel, sissy," Atticus said with a grin.
"Thanks, but stop calling me 'sissy'," Alexis said.
"Fair enough. Anyway, I did all of this because I thought it was best for you. After all, you're my little sis and I want people to love you," Atticus said with a small smile.
"She already has someone who loves her, y'know," Kasumi pointed out.
"Speaking of someone who loves her, where's Jaden?" Atticus asked, confused, when he noticed his sister's boyfriend was nowhere to be seen.
Everyone fell silent, then Raiden said, "Well, that's kind of a long story."
. . .
'My King?'
Haou's eyes fluttered open as he pulled himself from his meditative trance. He always did like meditating, which, he knew, still surprised Yubel to that day, but Haou found it relaxing. It helped him to think and that, in turn, helped him with his battle strategies or any of his plans, especially the ones he was coming up with to deal with the Light of Destruction.
"Yes?" he said as Malicious Edge landed in front of him. "What do you have to report?"
'There seems to be no one on this island that bears any of the Light's taint. I couldn't sense anything in the arena where the majority of the student body was gathered. I don't think the Light's Champion is using someone else on this island as it did with Aster Phoenix,' Malicious Edge said.
"Hmm. Perhaps Aster Phoenix was only supposed to focus on forcing my other half to serve the Light and, perhaps, the Champion did not think it would fail," Haou said thoughtfully, mind turning cogs in his head as he thought about how to take advantage of the lack of Light-influenced people on the island. He knew it wouldn't remain that way for long, especially if things went similar to how they did in his past life and, judging by how things were feeling so far, it just might.
"You may go," Haou added to Malicious Edge who inclined his head respectfully and then vanished back into his card. Haou tucked the card back into his deck and relaxed against the tree again, closing his eyes. His energy had been drained a bit while he kept Malicious Edge materialized, but it wasn't quite that bad since he was only focusing on one monster.
The Champion hasn't made his next move yet but I have no doubt it won't be long before he does, Haou thought.
Opening his eyes, Haou pushed himself to his feet and calmly made his way back to the Slifer Red Dorm to get some rest.
. . .
The following day, Kyle got a surprise from Chancellor Crowler.
"You want to what?" he repeated, stunned.
"Promote you to Obelisk Blue," Crowler said. "You're a great duelist, Mr. Rhodes, and I think you'd be a fine addition to the Obelisk Blue dorm, just like your cousins. I've already scheduled the promotion duel and your opponent. It's going to be this afternoon after classes."
Kyle blinked. "Who's my opponent?" he asked.
"Arina Zharkov."
That's going to be a challenge. She's a tough duelist but looks like I get my rematch, Kyle thought. But am I ready for this? Insecure though he was about his skills, after having lived in the shadow of his brother, Kyle realized that he was ready for it. He was ready to take the next step into becoming as great a duelist as his brother and, perhaps, going into Obelisk Blue would help with that.
His brother believed in him. Kyle remembered what his brother had told him while they were in Honolulu when Kyle had asked Keith why they were visiting Joey when he wasn't a pro or anything like that.
"You're good, Kyle, and you always have been."
Kyle had responded that he wasn't as good as Keith but, now, maybe he should take his brother's words more to heart. His brother believed in him and Kyle realized that, maybe, it was time he started believing in himself.
"All right. I'll go get ready," Kyle said.
Crowler nodded with a grin and Kyle left the office, ready to return to his room and start going through his deck to get it ready for his upcoming duel.
. . .
"So you and Arina are going to duel and if you win, you get promoted to Obelisk Blue," Celina summarized what Kyle just told her as the two of them headed down the hall toward the duel arena.
"Yeah," Kyle said with a nod.
"I think you'll do fine," Celina said with a soft smile. "I've never seen you duel before, but I'm looking forward to it."
Kyle's cheeks reddened at the sight of the white-haired girl's smile. "Um, thanks," he said as they neared the duel arena.
"Good luck," Celina said and made her way toward the stands. Kyle watched the beautiful whitenette walk off and then shook his head, a faint blush returning to his cheeks. Well, I can't actually deny that she is, he thought and pushed the matter out of his head. He had to focus on the duel.
Back in the stands, Celina took a seat next to Syrus. "Hey," she greeted them.
"Hey, Celina," Kasumi said. "Hey, did you see Jaden at all when you were coming here?"
"No," Celina said with a shake of her head. "I haven't seen him in a while, actually, not since his duel against Aster."
"We don't know exactly what happened," Alexis admitted. "He just...kinda...stopped showing up to duels and classes. We're all starting to get worried."
"Especially Raiden," Kasumi said.
"Speaking of Raiden, where's he? And where's Chazz, too?" Syrus asked.
"Chazz had to contact the construction workers to see about finishing the remodeling of the entire Slifer Red Dorm, but I have no idea where Raiden is," Hikari said.
"He said something about trying to find Jaden," Kira said.
"I hope he does 'cause even I'm starting to get worried. I mean, I know Jay has avoided us before, but it's been a couple of days and he's never avoided us for more than a day. I thought he was getting better, not worse," Kasumi said with a worried frown.
"Why would he be avoiding you?" Hikari asked, confused.
Kasumi sighed as she looked at her sister. "It's not my story to tell, at least, not entirely," she said finally, thinking about her own part in everything that happened in Honolulu. Learning to use her power or not, Kasumi still wasn't comfortable with it and she was a bit worried about telling Hikari that she was the one that caused the fire that killed their parents. She had already told her sister that it had been a fire but her sister didn't know she was the one who caused it.
And Kasumi was, once again, afraid of revealing that secret to someone she cared about.
Both Jaden and Raiden, whom she had told after the Honolulu trip, accepted what happened and didn't blame her but they were the only ones that knew. She knew that Hikari was her sister and deserved to know but she was still hesitating.
However, that part of the story was hers to tell. Everything else that happened with Kaage Naka was Jaden's story to tell and everyone who already knew about what happened knew it.
Hikari nodded. "I understand," she said.
"Wait, isn't the Sarge seeing a therapist? Could that be why he ain't here?" Hassleberry asked.
"His therapy sessions aren't today," Syrus said. "And that was the first place Raiden said he was going to look."
"I don't even know if he went to his last therapy session," Kasumi admitted.
"I hope he's all right," Alexis murmured quietly.
The others nodded in agreement before returning their attention to the duel that was about to take place.
Kyle and Arina met each other at the center of the dueling platform and handed each other their decks.
"Good luck, Kyle, looks like we finally get that rematch we've been meaning to have," Arina said brightly as she shuffled her opponent's deck.
"Yeah, looks like it, good luck to you too," Kyle said with a smile before they exchanged decks and walked back to opposite sides of the platform.
"Now, let's get this duel underway. It will be Arina Zharkov of the Obelisk Blue Dorm versus Kyle Rhodes of the Ra Yellow Dorm. If Mr. Rhodes wins then he will be promoted to Obelisk Blue," Crowler announced.
"Ready?" Arina asked, her duel disk whirring to life.
"Ready," Kyle said as his own duel disk activated.
"Game on!" they shouted as they drew their opening hands.
Arina: 8000
Kyle: 8000
"I'll let you go first, Kyle," Arina said.
"All right," Kyle said, drawing his sixth card. "I summon Solar Flare Dragon in Attack Mode and then place this facedown."
A serpentine dragon of flames appeared coiled on the field (A: 1500/D: 1000).
"And I end my turn, which means Solar Flare Dragon's effect activates, dealing you 500 points of damage."
Solar Flare Dragon spat out a fireball at Arina, knocking out a small chunk of her Life Points.
Arina: 7500
Kyle: 8000
"My turn, I draw," Arina said cheerfully as she drew a card. "All right, I'll start with this. I summon Victoria in Attack Mode and while she's on the field, you can't select another Fairy monster as an attack target." In a burst of light, a golden fairy wielding a staff with a four-headed dragon on which she was standing appeared (A: 1800/D: 1500).
"And I activate my Backfire Trap," Kyle said, revealing his facedown.
Arina nodded. "Okay, Victoria, attack Solar Flare Dragon," she ordered and Victoria unleashed a blast of golden energy that enveloped the flame dragon, destroying it.
Arina: 7500
Kyle: 7700
"Backfire activates, dealing you 500 points of damage," Kyle said as Backfire shot a blast of fire at Arina that she blocked with her duel disk.
Arina: 7000
Kyle: 7700
Arina nodded. "Okay, I end my turn with that," she said.
"I draw," Kyle said, drawing a card and glancing at it. "Well, let's change the scenery. I activate the Field Spell Molten Destruction." The ground trembled and a volcano with trails of lava caressing its sides rose up behind Kyle as ash and smoke filled the sky. "While this card is on the field, all Fire monsters gain 500 Attack but lose 300 Defense. And next I summon Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV4 in Attack Mode." With a roar, the small bipedal silvery dragon with the falcon's head appeared on the field (A: 1600-2100/D: 1000-600).
"And I also banish Solar Flare Dragon in my Graveyard to Special Summon Inferno in Attack Mode," Kyle added, pocketing the card as a clump of flames with a face appeared on the field next to the silvery dragon (A: 1100-1600/D: 1900-1500).
"Horus, attack Victoria," Kyle ordered and Horus roared before unleashing a blast of black fire that surged across the field and slammed into the golden fairy, turning her into cinders.
Arina: 6700
Kyle: 7700
"Inferno, attack Arina directly," Kyle ordered and Inferno flew across the field and over Arina, knocking out some more of her Life Points.
Arina: 5100
Kyle: 7700
"And I end my turn, which means I get to evolve my Horus since he destroyed a monster this turn. C'mon out, Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV6!" The small dragon vanished in a burst of flame to be replaced by a much larger one with long silvery metallic wings and gleaming red eyes (A: 2300/D: 1600).
. . .
Haou was relaxing in his dorm room when the door opened suddenly.
"There you are," Chazz's familiar voice sounded. "You know everyone's been searching for you for the past couple of days."
Haou didn't respond for a moment. "I've been busy," he said finally, not bothering on sitting up.
"Your voice sounds off," his other half's foster brother said, puzzled, but also wary.
"Hn, not surprising. That is probably the biggest distinction between us," Haou murmured, opening his eyes and sitting up, gazing at the shocked Chazz Princeton standing in front of him.
"No way...Haou?" Chazz said stunned. "Where's Jaden?"
"Sleeping," Haou said. "Depressed even, I suppose. Has been ever since he was made unable to see his duel spirits or his cards—actually, ever since what happened with that bastard Kaage."
I still wish I had been able to get my hands on that bastard, Haou thought viciously. He may not be insane or psychotic anymore and had mellowed out in the years since he woke up, but that didn't mean he was suddenly a nice person. Plus, there were two things he hated in the world the most: traitors and people who messed with people he, and by extension Jaden, cared about.
"I thought the therapy was helping," Chazz said, eyeing Haou warily.
"Oh it is," Haou said dismissively.
"Then why...?"
"I don't have time for this, Princeton," Haou said coolly, golden eyes fixed on his other half's foster brother. "I was about to go search for you anyway and I do not have much time."
"Why?" Chazz frowned. He was confused. He had only seen Haou take control briefly during the duel against Kagemaru and knew about Haou because of what Jaden told him in both the infirmary after the duel and in Honolulu, but he wasn't expecting Haou to actually be sitting there talking to him.
Haou was silent for a long moment, his eyes fixed on a spot on the wall before he asked, "Have you ever heard of the Light of Destruction?"
Chazz frowned. "No," he said.
"Hn, not surprised about that. Not many people know about the Light of Destruction's existence. I don't have time to actually give you the entire story behind the fight between the Light and the Darkness, so I'll just say this. My powers come from the Darkness that directly opposes the Light of Destruction. I defeated it once before"—at a great cost—"but it's back."
"And what exactly does that mean?" Chazz asked.
"It means that this world is in danger," Haou said simply. "It's called the Light of Destruction for a reason, Princeton. It's not that hard to put two and two together. The Light's also responsible for my and Jaden's inability to see our duel spirits or our cards. I think the Light was just trying to turn us into its servants, but it backfired. Nonetheless, I believe that the Light will strike while it thinks Jaden and I are at our weakest."
Chazz frowned at him. "So this Light thingy wants to destroy the world," he said. As Haou said, that wasn't that hard to figure out. "And your powers are what defeated it before."
"Exactly. But I had more control then. Now, I don't since the Light struck a lot sooner than either I or Yubel thought it would"—and Yubel put off the bulk of Jaden's training because she was not expecting it to strike so soon—"and I need time to get everything ready to launch a counterattack, so to speak."
"So why were you searching for me?" Chazz asked, head spinning as he attempted to take in all of this. It wasn't that it wasn't that hard to understand. He always knew that Jaden wasn't normal and that he had strange powers but he never expected anything like this.
"I have no doubt that the Light will start targeting students on this island in an effort to get what it wants and, when it finds out about Jaden and me, if it doesn't already know, it will target those close to Jaden," Haou said.
"Okay? So why are you telling me this?"
"Several reasons."
"That's not really an answer."
Haou shrugged.
Another question came to Chazz's mind. "Does anyone else know this?"
"Yubel."
"So not even Raiden or Kasumi?"
"No. You, Jaden and Yubel are the only ones that know."
"But why me?"
Haou smirked.
. . .
Back at the arena, Arina was starting her turn, glancing at the card she had drawn and then holding it out. "I activate Pot of Greed to draw two cards," she said and drew two cards. "And then I activate Hecatrice's effct, discarding it to add Valhalla, Hall of the Fallen from my Deck to my hand." She retrieved said card before inserting it into her duel disk. "And next I activate it." Vine covered columns surrounding a throne rose up from the ground behind Arina.
"And, using Valhalla's effect, I can Special Summon one Fairy monster from my hand to the field so long as I control no monsters so I'll summon Athena to the field in Attack Mode." The silver-haired Greek goddess of war and battle strategy appeared on the field, scepter in one hand and silver shield in the other (A: 2600/D: 800).
"And I also summon Fairy Archer in Attack Mode," Arina added and the auburn haired red-and-orange winged fairy appeared on the field with her bow and arrow held at the ready (A: 1400/D: 600). "And Athena's effect deals you 600 points of damage since a Fairy monster was summoned." Athena tossed a blast of light at Kyle that struck his duel disk.
Arina: 5100
Kyle: 7100
"And then I activate Fairy Archer's effect, dealing you 400 points of damage for every Light monster on my field," Arina added and Fairy Archer fired two arrows at Kyle, each striking his duel disk.
Arina: 5100
Kyle: 6300
"And next I activate the second effect of Athena and send Fairy Archer to the Graveyard to Special Summon a Fairy from my Graveyard, like Victoria," Arina said and her golden fairy returned to the field (A: 1800/D: 1500). Athena sent another blast of energy at Kyle.
Arina: 5100
Kyle: 5700
"And next I activate Victoria's effect. Once per turn, I can select and Special Summon one Dragon-type monster from your Graveyard to my field and I choose your Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV4," Arina said with a grin as a burst of light erupted next to Victoria and Kyle's small Horus dragon appeared on her side of the field (A: 1600-2100/D: 1000-600).
"Next, I activate Solidarity, giving all my Fairy monsters 800 Attack since I only have Fairies in my Graveyard," Arina added, inserting that card into her duel disk and Athena's and Victoria's power jumped up (Athena A: 2600-3400) (Victoria A: 1800-2600).
"Now, Athena, attack Horus," Arina ordered. Athena unleashed a blast of energy that shot across the field and struck Horus, destroying him.
Arina: 5100
Kyle: 4600
Backfire activated, sending a blast of fire at Arina.
Arina: 4600
Kyle: 4600
"I'm not done yet. Victoria, attack Inferno," Arina ordered and Victoria unleashed a golden blast that obliterated the flame.
Arina: 4600
Kyle: 3600
Backfire activated again.
Arina: 4100
Kyle: 3600
"Now, Horus attack Kyle directly," Arina said. Horus unleashed another blast of dark flame that flew at Kyle, striking his duel disk.
Arina: 4100
Kyle: 1500
"And I set this and end my turn. You're looking a little low on Life Points," Arina said, inserting a card into his duel disk.
Kyle placed his hand on his deck. "Yeah but I've got faith in myself and in my deck," he said, smiling a little.
Arina smiled as well. "Well, let's see what you got," she said.
"All right, I activate Pot of Greed." Kyle drew two cards. "And next, I activate Lightning Vortex." He discarded one card and bursts of lightning shot down from the ceiling, crashing into all of Arina's monsters and destroying them, leaving Arina's field bare.
"Now, they're practically back to square one," Kasumi said.
"Next, I'm gonna bring out a monster you've seen before, Arina," Kyle said with a smile. "I banish the Volcanic Shell and Inferno in my Graveyard in order to Special Summon this card: Blaster, Dragon Ruler of Infernos."
Arina's eyes went wide as the large dragon with the molten lava dripping out of cracks in its skin appeared on the field with a roar (A: 2800-3300/D: 1800-1400).
"Now, Blaster, attack Arina directly," Kyle ordered.
Blaster roared and unleashed a powerful blast of lava that shot across the field and slammed into Arina, sending her backwards. She backflipped to avoid getting knocked to the ground and landed lightly on her feet.
Arina: 800
Kyle: 1500
"Nice move, Kyle," Arina said as Kyle placed a card facedown and signaled the end of his turn. She drew a card and then smiled at her hand. "Guess I should bring out the big guys too. I use Valhalla's effect to Special Summon this monster to the field: Splendid Venus!"
"Another Legendary Planet monster," one student said surprised as a burst of light enveloped the field and a beautiful fairy with two sets of long white angel wings dressed in glistening bronze armor and wielding a glowing bronze staff. She had a headdress over her head with two small wings on her forehead and an ethereal glow surrounded her (A: 2800-3600/D: 2400).
"And thanks to Venus's effect, all non-Fairy type monsters lose 500 Attack and Defense," Arina added. A white light surged across the field, enveloping Blaster and weakening him (A: 3300-2800/D: 1400-900).
"Now, Venus, attack Blaster with Splendid Light," Arina ordered and Venus held out her staff, unleashing a powerful blast of light that rippled across the field toward the dragon.
"Not gonna happen. I activate Sakuretsu Armor," Kyle shouted, revealing his facedown.
"Go Royal Decree," Arina shouted back, also revealing her facedown.
"Damn it!" The Trap was negated, as was Backfire, and the ripple of light struck Blaster, obliterating him.
Arina: 800
Kyle: 700
"And I end my turn," Arina said.
Kyle studied the field. He only had his Backfire Trap, which was useless while Royal Decree was on the field, and his Field Spell and no cards in his hand. Even if he summoned Blaster back to the field, due to its effect, it would still be weaker than Splendid Venus.
I just gotta put my faith into my next draw, he thought, placing a hand on his deck. "My turn, I draw," he said and drew a card. He grinned when he saw what it was. "Yes!"
"Got a good card?" Arina asked.
Kyle nodded. "I'll start off my turn by banishing Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV4 and LV6 from my Graveyard in order to Special Summon Blaster, Dragon Ruler of Infernos back to my field in Attack Mode." The large dragon with the cracks filled with lava scattered on its body returned to the field with a roar (A: 2800-3300-2800/D: 1800-1400-900).
"And next"—Kyle held up the card that he had just drawn—"I activate Megamorph. Since my Life Points are lower than yours, Blaster's original Attack is doubled!" Blaster roared as its power increased (A: 2800-5600). "Now, Blaster, attack Splendid Venus and end this duel." Blaster roared and unleashed a powerful blast of lava that crashed into the Legendary Planet monster and completely destroyed it.
Arina: 0
Kyle: 700 WINNER
"So be it," Crowler announced as the holograms faded and Kyle and Arina turned off their duel disks. "Kyle Rhodes will now be promoted to Obelisk Blue."
"Good job, Kyle," Arina said, walking over to join Kyle and holding out a hand. "And welcome to Obelisk Blue."
Kyle smiled and took her hand, shaking it. "Thanks," he said quietly.
"Congratulations, Kyle," Alexis said as she and the rest of the group, with the exception of Chazz, Raiden and Jaden, joined them on the duel platform.
"Thanks, big sis," Kyle said with a smile.
. . .
Chazz left the dorm room, his thoughts on what he had just discussed with Haou.
"Hey, Chazz!"
Chazz pulled himself from his thoughts and turned to find Raiden jogging toward him. "Raiden," he replied. "I thought you were gonna go watch Kyle and Arina's duel."
"I was, but I wanted to find Jaden first 'cause I'm getting really worried about him," Raiden said.
"I don't know if he's still there, but he was back at the Slifer Dorm when I last saw him," Chazz said.
"Did he look all right?" Raiden asked, concern in his light-brown eyes.
"Tired and not very talkative, but he seemed all right," Chazz said with a shrug. It wasn't, technically speaking, a lie. Haou had looked tired and Jaden hadn't been very talkative.
"Mm, I'm going to go check up on him," Raiden said and, with a wave, he jogged off toward the Slifer Red Dorm.
Chazz watched him go and then turned his attention to the main building.
. . .
A/n what do you think?
Blaze: and that was chapter 10! Only about 59 more chapters left
Bakura: aren't you adding a bunch of chapters for the Domino City Field Trip?
Blaze: probably
Bakura: so you probably won't have 69 chapters in this story, right?
Blaze: probably
Bakura: so why'd you say that?
Blaze: 'cause I could
Bakura: (shakes head, pulls out bazooka and strides off)
Ryou: where are you going now?
Bakura: to blow up something
Jesse: hopefully he won't blow up the Eiffel Tower again
Jaden: he's heading for San Francisco
Chazz: well, there goes the Golden Gate Bridge
Blaze: (chuckles) well, I hope that you enjoyed this chapter and reviews, as always, are much appreciated.