Supernatural reference, however obvious it is, heehee. I love Supernatural (and I don't own it, by the way).
Anyway…well, I actually updated in a little over a week (eight days) so that's cool. I doubt the next update is going to be this quick. I want to start getting into the Field Trip arc but I'm still not completely certain of just how it will go.
Bakura: get on with it!
Shut up, Bakura, and go steal something. Anyway, thank you to ilovevocaloid93, Kamen Rider Necrom, NickStriker, EndlessNight025, Team5dsforever, JD98, a1993, decode9, Nightshade929, and bobmanv2.0 for reviewing the last chapter. You guys are awesome.
And, as usual, a huge thank you to EndlessNight025 for being an awesome beta-reader.
I hope that you enjoy this chapter and reviews, as always, are much appreciated.
17
The Last Stand
Alexis rested her head on Jaden's shoulder as her boyfriend's hand carded through her hair. She listened as Jaden explained what happened to him while he was in Neo Space, as well as how he had gained the cards and his ability to see his duel spirits again. A day had gone by since Jaden's duel against Aster, and Alexis could tell that Jaden was happy to be back. She was happy that he was back; she had gotten over her anger and worry over him leaving without telling anyone, especially now that she understood, somewhat, why he had done it.
But why didn't he ask us for help? she thought.
"So you left to get answers," Syrus said.
Jaden nodded.
"How did you get to this Neo Space?" Arina asked curiously.
"Got hit by a shooting star," Jaden said with a shrug and, when he saw the disbelievingly looks being thrown his way, he added, "I'm serious."
"Well, never mind that, so those Neo-Spacians were the cards that you created for that contest?" Kasumi asked.
"Yup. Never thought I'd get to see them again after they were launched into space but, eh, I've gotten used to all the weird things that happen around me," Jaden said.
"Why did you leave without telling anyone?" Alexis asked.
"It was kinda a last minute decision and I knew you would try to stop me, or Raiden would, anyway."
"Of course I would, especially since you had no idea where you were going and have a very bad sense of direction. You probably got lost trying to find your way back to the academy," Raiden huffed.
Jaden's cheeks reddened and he looked away.
Kasumi chuckled. "You did, didn't you?"
Jaden didn't answer, which just caused Kasumi to laugh again.
Alexis smiled to herself, a light chuckle escaping her lips, though she covered her mouth to hide it when Jaden pouted at her. She gave him a smile and rested her head on his chest, closing her eyes as she listened to her boyfriend's heartbeat. It was relaxing.
She found that, while she had been worried, she was happy that her boyfriend was back.
"Well, on a lighter note, at least Crowler and Bonaparte might stop with their attempts to take down this dorm," Bastion said.
"I hope so," Alexis said. Though Bonaparte seems incredibly stubborn. I wouldn't be surprised if he tried something else, she thought.
"Well, it's a nice day outside, so why don't we get some fresh air?" Celina suggested, standing up and grabbing Kyle's hand, pulling him up with her, but not releasing the hand.
"Sounds good to me," Syrus said, getting to his feet.
The gang all agreed and walked out of the Slifer Red Dorm where they were joined by Hikari. "Hey, guys," she greeted them, casting a glance at Kasumi, who avoided her look, that feeling of resentment welling up inside.
"Hey, Hikari," Celina greeted her while Jaden cast a sidelong look at Kasumi. Alexis also glanced at Kasumi, wondering just what had happened between her and Hikari that would result in her giving her twin the cold shoulder. Sure, they weren't as close as expected but there never was this kind of tension between them before.
"I just realized we're missing some people," Jaden noted. "Where's Chazz?"
The gang was silent for a long moment before Arina sighed. "We don't know what happened to Chazz," she admitted, sounding sad. "But he's been acting…uh…"
"Like a jerk," Kasumi put in.
"Well, he's always been like that. He's just…well…crazy now and none of us know why," the Fairy duelist finished.
"That explains why he was rather cold towards me earlier today," Jaden said, frowning and wondering just what was going on with his foster brother.
"It's been going on since the day I dueled Sachio," Raiden said, thoughtfully.
"Sachio?"
"Yeah. He's a manager and a pretty good duelist. I added some new cards to my deck some time before I dueled him so it was nice getting to test them out," Raiden added.
"Oh. But Chazz has been acting like that since then?"
"Yeah."
"When was this?" Alexis asked, glancing at the brothers curiously. She hadn't heard anything about this duel earlier.
"While we were looking for Jaden in the forest," Raiden said softly.
"Oh."
While they spoke, Jaden was deep in thought. Have you sensed anything, Haou? Yubel?
'There are some traces of the Light on the island, but it seems muted, hidden, and I don't know if that was the Champion's fault or not,' Yubel admitted.
'I've only sensed traces as if someone possessed by the Light, or the Champion himself, was on the island for a brief time, but nothing concrete,' Haou said. Jaden frowned; he had this odd feeling that Haou wasn't telling him everything.
Do you think that the Light is what has caused Chazz's change? Jaden asked silently.
'It's possible,' Yubel said.
Haou gave the equivalent of a mental shrug.
"Hey, why don't we go to the beach?" Celina suggested when the silence stretched onward for several minutes. "I think that's where Atticus went. Now that he's out of that splint, he's surfing again."
The gang agreed and headed toward the beach, though Raiden paused and then glanced at Jaden. "Hey, Judai, Dr. Nakamura…do you think she'll take a walk-in appointment today?" he asked.
"I'm sure she will. Why?" Has he finally decided to see a psychologist?
"I suppose…I guess…it can't hurt, right?" Raiden said.
That was what Jaden and Kasumi had been telling Raiden since the beginning but he kept those words to himself, just grateful that Raiden seemed to have finally realized that he needed someone to talk to, someone who could help. Just talking with family and friends wasn't really enough to really come to terms with what happened over the summer.
"I'll let the others know where you're going," Jaden said.
Raiden nodded and gave him a smile before making his way toward the main building while Jaden caught up with his friends.
"Where'd Raiden go?" Syrus asked.
"He's going to talk to Dr. Nakamura," Jaden said.
"Finally. I was giving him his space and all that but I was getting this lose to calling Mom and having her talk to him," Kasumi said.
Just as Celina had said, Atticus was happily surfing and waving to Jasmine and Mindy who were also there. He then spotted the gang and, before long, he was back on the beach, walking over to join the gang.
"Hiya, Jaden, welcome back," he greeted the younger brunet.
"Hey, Atticus," Jaden replied.
"I heard ya beat Aster Phoenix in a duel, congrats!"
"Thanks."
. . .
A few hours later, within the conference room in the main building, Crowler and Bonaparte were discussing the Slifer Red Dorm situation with the rest of the staff listening in but not saying anything at the moment. But then that could be because the tension between Crowler and Bonaparte was almost tangible.
"You said Slifer Red was to be abolished? What's going on?" Crowler asked.
"The existence of Slifer Red is of no value to this academy," Bonaparte replied.
"How can you say that?"
"Our school will follow the direction of elite cultivation. So we don't allow the students to be rotted third-rates," Bonaparte said.
"It' not like that. They're not rotted third-rates," Crowler said. "I absolutely disagree with the abolishment."
The tension grew stronger, though Satyr, Stein, Fontaine, and the other staff members just sweatdropped at the argument while Conway attempted to interrupt the conversation but kept getting out-shouted.
"First of all," Crowler went on, "the vice chancellor's tone is always as if it's absolute. As if he's great or something. It's quite irritating."
"Talk about yourself, Temporary Chancellor. That's just strange," Bonaparte retorted. He sat back in his seat and added, "But now you're going to break your promise. What's wrong? If you've got any reason to object to the abolishment, say it, within four-hundred words."
"Within four hundred words?" Crowler repeated. He sat down. "All in all, I won't let you, Vice Chancellor, win."
"Since you have no proper reason, Slifer Red will be abolished," Bonaparte said.
"Grr."
"Would you two be quiet?" Conway finally snapped, causing both of them to glare at him but he met their glares and added, "As Slifer Headmaster, I can't allow you to just take it down, Bonaparte. According to the school charter, so long as a dorm has a headmaster, you can't take it down."
"Ha, I have someone else on my side," Crowler stated.
"Spare me the legal talk, Conway," Bonaparte snapped back. "You weren't even there to support your dorm yesterday."
"I would have gone had I not had a family matter to handle, but don't think I don't care about those students. They have every right to be here, contrary to what you believe," Conway snapped.
"They're blights that need to be removed."
"They're children who just want to learn how to be better duelists and learn how to enter the Pro Leagues."
"They'll never amount to anything."
"How do you know that? What about Jaden Yuki? He's a Slifer and, according to many reports, he's still the best duelist at this school!"
"So what? Just because one student is good doesn't mean the others are good. In fact, none of the other students are good duelists."
"I beg to differ. I happen to know one of those duelists is a good duelist, because he actually won a tournament. The only reason he's in Slifer is because he didn't do that well on the written exam."
"Then he's just as bad as the other Slackers in that dorm."
"Not everyone can do well on written tests but he still knows his stuff."
"You're talking about Justin Ray, aren't you?" Crowler said. "He's actually pretty smart, but he doesn't do well on tests, which is actually pretty common."
"So what?" Bonaparte sneered.
"You are incredibly stubborn, you know that?" Conway said coolly. "You know, it's people like you that I can't stand the most." He felt worried about what would happen to Slifer Red when he had to leave; the family emergency that had come up, and was the reason why he had been unable to attend the duel the day before, was getting more serious, and Conway knew that he might have to end up leaving before the school year ended.
Perhaps I can call in a favor to get another headmaster to come in and help me out and then take over when I have to leave, he thought. It was an idea, and there was someone that might be willing to take the job. That was supposing he was willing to take a break from the Pro Leagues but, at the very least, Conway could ask.
"Why don't we settle this the simple way?" Crowler stated, folding his arms across the chest. "The way all things are solved here."
Bonaparte grinned. "Fine by me. Who's my opponent?" he asked.
Crowler turned to Conway. "I want to shut him up, so I'm taking him on," he said firmly.
"Fine," Conway said, though he wasn't stupid. He knew that Crowler wasn't doing this for Slifer, at least not entirely, but he would let him have his shot at Bonaparte. If he lost then Conway would step in.
. . .
"You're never going to learn, are you?" Justin asked, glancing at Dante, who was limping after a run in with Jasmine and Mindy.
"Probably not," Dante said as the two of them made their way toward the lounge area of the Slifer Red Dorm after a day of classes. As they walked, they ran into Kira and Hikari, the only two girls in Slifer Red. Justin had to wonder why they had decided to start out at Slifer Red when they could have easily gone to Obelisk Blue. If he had the choice, he would go to Obelisk in an instant, as long as he earned his way into the dorm.
Maybe that's why, he thought.
"Hey, Hikari, Kira," he greeted them.
"Oh, hey, Justin," Kira said. "How was your day?"
"Good."
"That's good." Kira glanced to her side and said, "This is payback, isn't it?"
Justin blinked, wondering just who the black-haired duelist was talking to.
"Who're you even talking to, pretty lady?" Dante asked.
"Oh, my duel spirit," Kira said with a shrug.
"Duel spirit?" Dante stared at her like she had grown a second head, clearly as confused as Justin was by the mention of something that seemed oddly supernatural and not at all real.
"Yup. So you heading to the Slifer Red Dorm?"
"Yeah," Justin said, puzzling over the mention of the duel spirits. "Um, what exactly are duel spirits?"
"They're spirits associated with duel monster cards," Kira said as if that explained everything, which it didn't.
"Um, that doesn't really explain what they are," Justin said.
"I can't explain it that well," Kira said. "They're just…spirits, like ghosts I guess you can say. I dunno. I never knew they existed myself until they showed up. Some people can just see them, Raiden, Jaden, and Kasumi can."
Sounds like she's being haunted when she explains it like that, Justin thought, casting a sidelong glance at Dante who was still puzzled.
"There's no way ghosts exist, right? It's just supernatural stuff that appears on, well, Supernatural. Do we need to get the Winchesters down here?" Dante said.
Kira chuckled. "Don't be silly. It's nothing like that. They're my friends, nothing like those malevolent spirits found on Supernatural," she said.
"Um, okay?" Dante shrugged and, apparently, decided not to question it any further. Justin did the same and the four of them walked toward the Slifer Red Dorm.
"Wait, what? Slifer Red is going to be abolished?" Jaden was exclaiming as soon as Justin, Dante, Kira, and Hikari entered the lounge. Justin studied the situation, noting that Syrus was out of breath, and everyone else was staring wide-eyed.
"That's impossible," Bastion said.
"But I thought Jaden defeating Aster stopped that from happening," Arina said, confused.
"That's what I thought, too," Celina admitted.
"That's a shock," Hassleberry said.
"Is what you said true?" Alexis asked.
"It's true," Syrus said. "Both Crowler and Conway tried to challenge it, but Bonaparte got the upper hand."
"Man, what an unreliable guy at such a time," Bastion said.
"For real," Hassleberry agreed.
"Okay, what just happened?" Justin asked.
The others turned to him and Syrus said, "I overheard Crowler and Bonaparte arguing about the destruction of the Slifer Red Dorm," and explained what happened.
"What are we gonna do?" Justin asked with a frown. "We can't just let them do this, can we?"
"Is there anything we can do?" Kira asked. "Especially if Jaden beating Aster didn't stop Bonaparte's plan."
No one had an answer to that. Justin was just as at a loss as the rest of the Slifers gathered around.
Noise came to them from outside and the gang hurried out to find Crowler, Bonaparte, and Conway, the former two of who were arguing, heading toward them.
"Anyway, I won't let you abolish Slifer Red," Crowler declared.
"No. I said we would abolish it, and we will," Bonaparte retorted.
"Then just get it over with in a duel," Conway said dully, sounding utterly bored.
A while later, Bonaparte and Crowler were standing across from each other, about to begin, while Conway was standing nearby with the rest of the group, looking irritated.
"You okay, Professor?" Justin asked.
"Fine. Crowler and Bonaparte were arguing the entire way from the main building and I'm getting a headache," Conway said.
Raiden joined them at that moment and Justin noticed that he seemed incredibly relaxed.
"Hey, Rai," Jaden said with a smile.
"Judai," Raiden said.
"You look so much more relaxed," Kasumi noted.
"Talking with Dr. Nakamura…it actually did help a bit," Raiden admitted. "Not a lot, but she told me that it's gonna take time and more than one session. So what's going on?"
"Crowler and Bonaparte are dueling with the Slifer Red Dorm on the line," Jaden explained.
"Why? I thought that was solved with your duel against Aster."
"That's what we thought, too," Syrus admitted.
"This time, Crowler's on our side, right?" Syrus asked.
"Will we be okay?" Hassleberry wondered.
"Crowler's a pretty strong duelist," Jaden said. "It's bound to be a good duel."
"Hey, what's that?" Kasumi said suddenly and the gang turned to find that on one side of the Slifer Red Dorm were some construction workers who were stretching while, on the order, was a power shovel.
"What's that doing here?" Syrus asked.
"Who knows?" Arina said with a shrug.
"You, Crowler, are a peeper. I didn't expect you would undertake the humiliation of failure for those slackers," Bonaparte declared.
"Tch. What are you saying? It's you who should be humiliated," Crowler snapped.
"If you're going to quit, it's not too late. Those guys are of no use."
Jaden glanced at his friends and siblings. "Does he mean us?" he wondered.
"Apparently," Syrus said.
"Shut up!" Crowler growled, startling the spectators. "I don't care about them. I just can't endure the way you're talking." Jaden and the gang face-faulted at Crowler's words while Justin heard Conway sigh.
"Those are some words. Then we've got to settle this," Bonaparte said, activating his duel disk.
"Everything will be up to this," Crowler agreed, also activating his duel disk.
"Duel!" They shouted as they drew their opening hands.
Crowler: 8000
Bonaparte: 8000
"My turn! I draw," Bonaparte said and a card popped out of his deck holder. He then picked another card in his hand. "I activate Pot of Greed."
He drew two cards and added, "Next, I activate Restructer Revolution, inflicting 200 damage to you for each card in your hand."
A series of fire bolts shot toward Crowler.
Crowler: 7000
Bonaparte: 8000
"Also, since you lost Life Points, I'm going to dismantle a corresponding proportion of the Red dorm," Bonaparte said. Immediately, the power shovel moved forward and took out a portion of the Red dorm.
Justin watched, wide-eyed, at the debris that fell to the ground. I can't believe he would go this far just to get rid of the dorm, he thought with a shake of his head.
"So that's what that power shovel's for," Syrus exclaimed.
"Wonderful! Every time you lose points, the red dorm will be destroyed a bit," Bonaparte said with a satisfied grin.
"I will never allow you to dismantle the Red dorm," Crowler growled.
"But that is exactly what's happening. Next, I summon Toy Soldier in Attack Mode, set three cards facedown and end my turn," Bonaparte said and a small toy soldier with a toy gun appeared on the field (A: 800/D: 300).
He must have something planned with that card. Why else would he summon it in Attack Mode? Justin thought, studying the card.
"My turn, I draw," Crowler said, a bit irritated, as a card popped out of his deck holder as well. "I activate Graceful Charity." He drew three cards and then discarded two. "Next, I activate Premature Burial and pay 800 Life Points to Special Summon The Trojan Horse in Attack Mode."
Crowler: 6200
Bonaparte: 8000
A moment later, a large wooden horse galloped onto the field from a burst of light, letting out a neigh as it came to a stop (A: 1600/D: 1200).
"Well, you just lost more Life Points, thus another portion of the dorm will be taken out," Bonaparte and, once again, the power shovel crashed into the red dorm.
"The duel will still go on," Crowler said. "The Trojan Horse can be used as two sacrifices when it acts as a sacrifice to summon Earth-attribute monster. So I sacrifice it in order to summon Ancient Gear Golem!"
The Trojan Horse was enveloped in a burst of light and, in its place, a large golem made entirely out of gears rose out of the ground, its limbs straightening and its head lifting. Its single crimson eye gleamed as it rose to its full height, towering over the duelists (A: 3000/D: 3000).
"Cool!" Hassleberry exclaimed.
"Hmm, is Ancient Gear Golem disdaining my army?" Bonaparte asked. "Then I'll make it the target of the cannon and enhance the morale."
"What do you mean?" Crowler asked.
"I activate my trap: Toy Cannon," Bonaparte said, revealing his face-down and a cannon appeared on the field. "This card switches your monster's position to Defense Mode."
A cannonball was fired at Ancient Gear Golem, crashing into him. A surge of electricity erupted around it, forcing it into a kneeling position with its arms crossed in front of him. Crowler was knocked to the ground as a result.
"And this card takes away 400 Life Points from the opponent," Bonaparte added.
Crowler: 5800
Bonaparte: 8000
"Now, power shovel, destroy the dorm," Bonaparte ordered and the power shovel took out yet another portion of the dorm, causing debris to fall to the ground.
"What a beautiful scene," Bonaparte said as Crowler got to his feet.
"Slifer Red. You're like rotten oranges before the perfect elites," he said. "Too fragile to bear a punch."
"We're not fragile," Justin muttered. The only reason he was a Slifer was because he hadn't done that well on the written exam and that wasn't entirely his fault. He always has had a problem taking tests; he was a good student and always got good grades on homework assignments and even studied for tests. But, once it was placed in front of him, most of the time, he would completely forget everything he had studied. He had more than made up for it when he won the practical portion of the test though, yet that was mostly sheer determination.
He wanted to prove that Pegasus hadn't made a mistake when he chose to pay for him to attend Duel Academy.
"But why me?" Justin asked with a frown as he looked up at the tall, silver-haired form of Maximillian Pegasus. "I get that I have potential, but I'm sure there are plenty of others who show the same sort of potential. Why are you giving me this offer?"
Pegasus smiled. "Perhaps it's simply because I've actually seen your desire to win and to become great in action, Justin-boy. Your win here proves that," he said. "It's more of a scholarship, anyway. It's not uncommon for minor league tournament winners to get scholarships to attend dueling schools that will help them when they enter the pro leagues. This one is simply one that I so happen to fund and get the honor of choosing the recipient of."
"It's such a wonderful opportunity, Justin. You should accept it," Justin's mother, Susan Ray, said with a smile and placing a hand on Justin's shoulder, causing him to glance at her. "I know you've been wanting to go to Duel Academy anyway."
"You'll still have to take the entrance exams, however, Justin-boy," Pegasus said. "And if you don't pass those then you'll lose the scholarship but I have faith that you will pass it with flying colors. Good luck, Justin-boy."
Justin hadn't passed the test with flying colors but, at least, he had gotten into the academy. Now he just had to work through the ranks, but he knew that his life at Duel Academy was riding on the duel he was currently watching.
"I activate my Trap Gulliver Chain and target Ancient Gear Golem. Now, if you switch your Ancient Gear Golem to Attack Mode, it and Gulliver Chain will be destroyed," Bonaparte said and a series of silver chains wrapped themselves around Ancient Gear Golem, pinning him in his place. "That monster is like a puppet now."
Crowler grounded his teeth together. "I end my turn," he said.
"Crowler summoning Ancient Gear Golem at the price of his Life Points was incredible, but…" Bastion trailed off.
"Yes, but Bonaparte sealed him at once, as expected," Alexis said.
"Good luck, Temporary Chancellor Crowler," the gang shouted at Crowler.
"'Temporary' is not necessary," Crowler muttered.
"My turn, draw," Bonaparte said, drawing a card. "I activate Toy Soldier's effect to Special Summon two more Toy Soldiers in Attack Mode."
Two more toy soldiers appeared on the field (A: 800/D: 300) x2.
"But Temporary Chancellor Crowler, do you know the necessary abilities in battle?" Bonaparte asked.
"What?"
"If you don't know, let me teach you. One, battle effectiveness; two, mobility, and the most important thing, determination," Bonaparte said. "But it's unfortunate, Temporary Chancellor Crowler, who is possessed by keeping Slifer Red, doesn't have the three abilities."
Gritting his teeth, Crowler said, "You're not going to shut up unless I stop you, right? Save it until you win."
"I activate the Spell Forced March," Bonaparte said. "By cutting their attack in half for this turn, I can attack you directly. Guards, ready?" The toy soldiers got ready to march. "Everybody, advance! The target, Temporary Chancellor Crowler. Begin march." The toy soldiers began to march across the field toward Crowler. However, they only got part of the way to Crowler before they got tired and began to lean on each other, panting heavily (A: 800-400) x3.
"Looks like that forced march only hurt you," Crowler said mockingly.
"I both understand and know this," Bonaparte said.
"Both…" Hassleberry began.
"…understand…" Syrus went on.
"…and know?" Bastion echoed.
Kasumi and Justin facepalmed.
"Don't those mean the same thing?" Kira asked bluntly.
"No, they're antonyms of each other," Justin said dryly.
"Well, no need to be sarcastic."
"Sorry. That happens a lot," Justin said sheepishly.
"I activate the Spell Fife and Drum Corps! This doubles the Attack of all of my Toy Soldiers until the End Phase," Bonaparte said and a group of toy soldiers playing drums marched toward the tired triplets (A: 400-800) x3.
"Double?!" Crowler exclaimed.
"All! Ready to shoot at the target! Target! Fire!" Bonaparte ordered. The first cork hit Crowler in the shoulder, the second one in the face, and the third between the legs.
"Ouch!" Crowler groaned.
Crowler: 3400
Bonaparte: 8000
"That looks painful," Hassleberry said as every guy in the group cringed in sympathy.
"Your Life Points are like a candle in the wind," Bonaparte said.
"I can't lose. I believe that education should allow the students to develop their strong suits," Crowler said, though he was still crouched on the ground in pain.
"Is this supposed to be touching?" Bastion asked as everyone sweatdropped.
The power shovel then took out another chunk of the building.
Crowler glanced at the Red dorm as Bonaparte revealed his face-down.
"I also activate my Trap, Unequal Treaty," Bonaparte said. "Now every time you draw, you take 100 points of damage and I recover 100 Life Points. A beautiful unequal treaty. I set this card facedown and end my turn."
He laughed and added, "I've carefully analyzed your tactics, Temporary Chancellor Crowler."
Crowler gritted his teeth, looking like he was about ready to give up.
"Do your best, Chancellor Crowler," Jaden suddenly called out.
Crowler glanced toward the gang.
"You taught us that, remember?" Jaden said. "That we should never give up no matter the duelist we encounter, and that's what makes a real duelist."
Crowler frowned a little.
"Yeah, you told us whatever the crisis you're confronting, just believe in your deck and you'll see the light for sure," Hikari said. "So listen to your own advice, Chancellor Crowler."
"Yeah, you can do this. Just don't give up. What's left of the Slifer Dorm will be in pieces if you lose, after all," Kira said.
"Little blunt there at the end," Justin noted.
Kira shrugged.
Crowler smiled a little and then closed his eyes for a moment before turning his attention back to Bonaparte, opening his eyes as he said, "I learned something important from my students again."
"What are you going on about?" Bonaparte asked. "It's the teacher's duty to guide the students."
"Perhaps, to a certain degree. Until now, I've educated many students and I've learned a lot from them. Yes. Every day, I grow with my students."
"So what?"
"Next, I'll show you the answer," Crowler said. "My turn, I draw."
"Unequal Treaty is activated," Bonaparte said.
Crowler: 3300
Bonaparte: 8100
"Your victory is already an impossibility," Bonaparte added.
"He sure is confident," Justin said. "Though Crowler's still good on Life Points."
"Arrogance is more like it," Conway said, breaking his silence.
"Yeah. Though the gap's still pretty large," Dante mused.
And I get this feeling Bonaparte has something else up his sleeve. Why else would he believe that he had this duel won? Justin thought and studied the field, taking note of the face-down on Bonaparte's field. He had a feeling that card was why he felt so confident.
"A true duelist won't give up until the very end," Crowler declared and held out the card he drew. "I activate Geartown!"
A moment later, the field changed so that they were in the middle of what looked like a factory. Gears turned around them, grinding against each other and smoke jutted out of the factory. There were buildings in which were turning gears lining the area and gear-shaped spotlights dotted the cloudy sky that covered the two duelists.
"With this in play, I can summon Ancient Gear monsters with one less tribute and, because of that, I can bring out my Ancient Gear Beast without tribute!"
The gears began working and, a moment later, a mechanical beast with sabertooth-like fangs appeared on the field. It growled as it crouched down, baring its fangs as if it was preparing to attack (A: 2000/D: 2000).
"I activate my face-down, Ceasefire. This inflicts 500 damage to you for each Effect Monster on the field, and there are currently five!" Bonaparte declared, revealing his face-down. Crowler's eyes widened as five shots were fired toward him. He was struck in both shoulders, his chest, and his upper arms, and was sent skidding backwards.
Crowler: 800
Bonaparte: 8100
"Well, I'm not done yet," Crowler said, straightening and dusting himself off as if unfazed by the damage he had just taken that had put him even further behind in terms of winning. The gap was huge and Justin was starting to wonder if Crowler would be able to come back from this. "I activate Ancient Gear Tank and equip it onto Ancient Gear Beast, increasing its Attack by 600."
A tank rolled out onto the field from a burst of light. The beast jumped onto it, crouched on top of it, though it didn't look all that comfortable. (A: 2000-2600).
"Battle! Get rid of that toy," Crowler ordered and the tank charged forward, gliding past the Toy Soldier and the Ancient Gear Beast lashed out with a claw, snagging the Toy Soldier and throwing it off the field where it shattered into a thousand pixels.
Crowler: 800
Bonaparte: 6300
"If the Vice Chancellor is going to destroy it, I'll rebuild it," Crowler said and then turned to the construction workers. "Come on, you guys."
"Go! It's our show time," the construction workers stated and immediately began working on repairing the damage. Justin blinked, wondering just how this was possible. They must have had a lot of caffeine, or something, to be able to work that fast.
"Those guys work fast," Kasumi mused, watching the repairs get done.
"Uh huh," Dante said with a nod. "Just what the hell are they on to be able to work that fast?"
"Caffeine," Kira said bluntly.
"My money's on drugs," Justin said and everyone looked at him. "What?"
"I end my turn," Crowler said.
"Useless struggles. My draw," Bonaparte said and glanced at the card he retrieved. "I activate Spellbook Inside the Pot," he added and they each drew three cards; Unequal Treaty's effect then activated.
Crowler: 700
Bonaparte: 6400
"Next, I activate Crowning of the Emperor and tribute a Toy Soldier to Special Summon Toy Emperor in Attack Mode."
The Toy Soldier was enveloped in light and replaced by a regal-looking toy sitting on top of a horse. He held his sword high and his lips were pulled into a stern frown as he gazed across the field at his opponent (A: 2300/D: 800).
"I also activate Gift of the Martyr and send my other Toy Soldier to the Graveyard to increase Toy Emperor's Attack by the Attack of Toy Soldier."
Toy Soldier dissolved into particles that washed over the Toy Emperor (A: 2300-3100).
"Toy Emperor, attack Ancient Gear Beast," Bonaparte ordered and Toy Emperor immediately charged forward. He jumped into the air and, as he glided down toward Ancient Gear Beast, he, with a battle cry, swung his blade and sliced through the beast as he shot past it. The beast growled in pain and then shattered, showering Toy Emperor in golden pixels.
Crowler: 200
Bonaparte: 6400
The power shovel again took out another portion of the dorm.
"When Ancient Gear Tank is sent to the Graveyard, you take 600 points of damage," Crowler said.
Crowler: 200
Bonaparte: 5800
The builders immediately began repairing the damage.
"I will activate a monster effect as well," Bonaparte said. "When Toy Emperor destroys an opposing monster, I may add a Trap Card to my hand."
He grinned when he saw the card and then inserted it, as well as another, into his duel disk.
"I set two cards and end my turn."
"Wait, he's smiling," Hassleberry said.
"Those are definitely Trap Cards," Syrus said.
"Something like Trap Hole, I'd expect. It's the last punch," Bastion said.
"Not yet," Jaden said. "We still don't know."
"My turn, I draw," Crowler said.
"And Unequal Treaty takes away another 100 of your Life Points," Bonaparte said.
Crowler: 100
Bonaparte: 5900
"Ha, you only have 100 points left, meaning you will have nothing next turn," Bonaparte said.
Crowler glanced at the card he had drawn before picking another card. "I activate Heavy Storm!"
Bonaparte's eyes widened as strong gusts of wind surged across the field, destroying all Spells and Traps on the field. Geartown shattered, sending pieces of metal and gears flying in all directions.
"And since Geartown was destroyed, I can Special Summon an Ancient Gear from my hand, Deck or Graveyard, and I'll go with Ancient Gear Gadjiltron Dragon!"
Weaving its way onto the field was a large machine dragon made out of gears. It was gray and its eyes were yellow. As it rose into the air, it spread its wings and let out a mighty roar (A: 3000/D: 2000).
"Whoa, sweet monster," Jaden said.
"Uh huh," Kira said with a nod.
"Next, I summon Ancient Gear Soldier," Crowler said and a smaller version of Ancient Gear Golem appeared on the field (A: 1300/D: 1300). "And, now that I don't have to worry about Gulliver Chain, I switch Ancient Gear Golem to Attack Mode."
Ancient Gear Golem stood up.
"Now, Ancient Gear Golem, attack Toy Emperor!"
The large golem punched the Toy Emperor, sending it flying off the field, where it shattered.
Crowler: 100
Bonaparte: 5200
"Gadjiltron Dragon, attack Bonaparte directly."
The machine dragon unleashed a powerful blast of rusted red energy that struck Bonaparte hard and sent him flying off his feet.
Crowler: 100
Bonaparte: 2200
"Ancient Gear Soldier, attack!"
The soldier charged forward and struck Bonaparte as well when he got to his feet and knocked him back off them.
Crowler: 100
Bonaparte: 900
"Close, but no cigar. I still have Life Points left," Bonaparte said.
"No, this is it," Crowler said with a grin as he held up a card in his hand. "I activate the Quick-Play Spell Flash Fusion! I use it to fuse Ancient Gear Golem, Ancient Gear Gadjiltron Dragon and Ancient Gear Soldier."
The three aforementioned Ancient Gear Monsters jumped into the swirling vortex that appeared in the air above Crowler.
"I Fusion Summon Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem!" Crowler declared.
An explosion of light nearly blinded everyone as a large golem appeared on the field behind Crowler; it was made up of parts of all of its Fusion Materials and rose up higher than the original Ancient Gear Golem, its red eyes fixed on a shocked Bonaparte (A: 4400/D: 3400).
"Whoa! Look at that! It's huge," Syrus exclaimed.
"Man, this must be Crowler's new ace," Jaden said.
"Nice! Crowler's got this duel won!" Kira cheered.
"Guess I won't get the chance to duel Bonaparte myself. Oh well. At least the Slifer Red Dorm is safe," Conway said.
"Now, this is the last battle! Now, you'll regret calling my important students rotten oranges! Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem, attack Bonaparte directly," Crowler ordered and Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem struck, landing a punch against Bonaparte that threw him off his feet and knocked out the last of his Life Points.
Crowler: 100 WINNER
Bonaparte: 0
"That's it!" Crowler said.
"He did it!" Kasumi said.
"He won!" Alexis said.
"Congrats, Chancellor," Justin called.
"Wonderful job, Temporary Chancellor," Jaden said, giving Crowler a two-fingered salute.
Crowler was about to do the same but stopped himself in time. "'Temporary' is not necessary," he said.
"I gotta look at ya with new eyes now," Hassleberry said.
"Guess I underestimated ya," Kasumi said.
"Congrats on winning, Chancellor," Kyle said.
Later, the construction workers had finished with the repairs and were enjoying some tea and onigiri provided by Dorothy and her employee.
Justin chewed thoughtfully on his onigiri as he wandered away from the other students. He sat down on the cliff overlooking the ocean and gazed up at the sky above his head.
"You okay, Justin?" Dante asked, taking a seat beside Justin.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just glad I'm not gonna get kicked off this island," Justin said, finishing the onigiri and leaning back on his elbows.
"I think all the Slifers are grateful for that," Dante mused. He stood up and stretched, casting a sidelong glance at Crowler who was still talking with Jaden and the others and then starting to walk off.
"Where're you going?" Justin asked.
Dante grinned.
"On second thought, I don't wanna know," Justin said and Dante laughed as he jogged away.
. . .
A/n what do you think?
Blaze. I hope that you enjoyed this chapter
Bakura: (firing arrows off a tall building) eh, it was okay
Blaze: I'm scared to ask but…just who are you firing at?
V.V.: STOP FIRING ARROWS AT ME!
Blaze: hey, Bakura, use these arrows (hands Bakura flaming arrows)
Bakura: (grins, takes flaming arrows, and starts firing them at V.V.)
V.V.: STOP IT!
Lelouch: (pushes Charles into flight path of arrows and watches while eating popcorn, a sadistic smirk on his face)
Suzaku: sadist
Lelouch: when it comes to the bastard Emperor and the bastard V.V., I don't deny it
Suzaku: (sighs)
Marik: so is a certain favorite original Yu-Gi-Oh character getting a more active role?
Blaze: (grins mysteriously but says nothing) finish the chapter, Marik
Marik: (sighs) Blaze hopes that you enjoyed this chapter. As usual, reviews are much appreciated.