Well, I got this chapter up two days shy of the one year anniversary of this story. Guess that's something. Anyway, in this chapter Justrayawsome's OC gets a duel and we get Jaden's duel against Lorenzo.
Thank you to decode9, Justrayawsome, NickStriker, Team5dsforever, Kamen Rider Necrom, ilovevocaloid93, bobmanv2.0, ShadowSpirt020, a1993, and JD98 for reviewing the last chapter. You guys are awesome
I hope that you enjoy this chapter and reviews, as always, are much appreciated.
19
The Video Game Duelist
Justin and Dante were wandering around campus. It was the day after the Obelisk Blue Dorm had turned white and neither of them knew exactly what was going on. Even the girls were starting to wear white and were aloof most of the time, not even responding to Dante's perverted remarks. While Dante was relieved that he wasn't getting beaten by the girls due to his unfiltered mouth and tendency to speak without thinking, he was also curious about the sudden change.
"What the heck is going on?" he said, glancing at Justin. He had become fast friends with the shorter Filipino boy ever since they started hanging out after Dante's unfortunate run in with Celina, Kyle, and the girls who wanted his blood for sneaking into the girls' locker room.
"I don't know," Justin said with a shrug. "No one in Slifer is affected, though I've noticed that Jaden's pissed."
Dante hadn't met Jaden yet. The Slifer, who was also the top duelist of the Academy, had been missing for a few weeks and then had come back in time to defeat Aster Phoenix in a duel. After that, Dante just never had the chance to meet him, though he wanted to. He wanted to see if the rumors of Jaden being the top duelist of the Academy were true.
"Why's that?" he wondered aloud.
"Well, I think he got into a fight with his girlfriend, or something, but I don't really know," Justin admitted.
"Oh. His girlfriend is smoking, I'll give him that," Dante mused. "Wonder what he did to piss her off?" He shrugged and decided that it didn't matter.
The two kept on walking in silence before Dante broke it. "So what made you decide to come to Duel Academy?" he asked, glancing at Justin.
Justin shrugged. "I've always wanted to attend Duel Academy," he admitted. "Honestly, the only reason I got in was because Pegasus chose me to receive a scholarship to attend after he saw me win a tournament he hosted."
"I've never seen ya duel before, but if ya won an actual tournament, then you gotta be good," Dante said brightly.
"Yeah, I guess," Justin murmured. He sounded like he didn't believe that himself.
"So what kind of deck do ya have anyway?" Dante asked.
Justin was about to respond when a shout of, "Hey, you!" sounded and both of them stopped and turned to find the Ra Yellow idiot, in Dante's opinion, Reese walking toward them, his gazes fixed on Justin.
"Um, can I help you?" Justin asked, confused.
"You don't remember me, do ya?" Reese said, narrowing his eyes. "I'm Reese Sanders. You got lucky and beat me in last year's tournament and that's the only reason you're even here at this school. No surprise you got into Slifer, but I'm gonna beat ya here and now and prove that your win last year was a fluke." He activated his duel disk and stared Justin down.
"Well, you were wanting to see my deck, Dante. Guess you'll get your chance," Justin said with a shrug as he activated his own duel disk, shuffling his deck and inserting it into his deck.
"So you ain't running?" Reese demanded.
"Of course not. I've beaten you before," Justin said. He didn't sound arrogant; he sounded like he was just stating a fact. But then Dante had learned in the days since he had started hanging out with Justin that Justin wasn't arrogant. He was really kind and easygoing. In fact, the Gladiator Beast duelist had never seen Justin get angry.
"So, ready to lose, Slifer Slacker?" Reese sneered.
"Real original, Ra Moron," Justin said sarcastically.
Dante snickered and Reese glared at him. "Think that's funny, do ya? When I'm done beating this kid to a pulp, you're next, pervert," he sneered.
Dante just shrugged, not at all fazed by the insult. "Sure thing," he said brightly.
"But first you have to win this duel," Justin said.
"Yeah, that won't be hard, you pathetic loser. Let's go," Reese said firmly.
"Duel," they declared, drawing their opening hands.
Reese: 8000
Justin: 8000
"Winners first," Reese said, drawing his sixth card.
"Shouldn't that mean that Justin goes first?" Dante wondered aloud and completely ignored the glower Reese tossed at him.
"I set one monster and then place two cards facedown and that's it," Reese said and a horizontal facedown as well as two vertical face-downs appeared on the field.
"My turn," Justin said, drawing a card and glancing at it before adding it to his hand. "I'll start off by activating Gem-Knight Fusion."
"Gem-Knight Fusion?"
"Oh, you use a Gem-Knight deck? That is so totally awesome! I've seen those cards in action during that tournament during the summer and it was great, though the guy who used them was a real asshole. I mean, seriously? He complained that he would've won if he had Amethyst, and it was just plain annoying, like Jar Jar, and boy was Jar Jar annoying," Dante rambled.
Justin ignored the reference and instead focused on his turn while Reese was just blinking at Dante, clearly trying to make sense of what he was saying, since the other Ra was talking rather fast.
"Anyway, I use my Gem-Knight Fusion to fuse Gem-Knight Tourmaline and Gem-Knight Obsidian in my hand in order to Fusion Summon Gem-Knight Topaz in Attack Mode," Justin said.
A golden warrior embedded with tourmalines and a black-armored warrior with a string of obsidian orbs encircling him appeared and swirled together in a vortex of a myriad of different colored gems. In their place was a dark-orange armored warrior with a black cape around his shoulders and topaz-colored shoulder plates. He wielded a sword in one hand as he stood ready to attack (A: 1800/D: 1800).
"You summoned that weakling?" Reese repeated.
"Don't underestimate it. Now, since Obsidian was sent from my hand to the Graveyard, it's effect activates, allowing me to Special Summon one Level 4 or lower Normal Monster from my Graveyard and I'll go with Gem-Knight Tourmaline," Justin added and the golden-armored warrior returned to the field (A: 1600/D: 1800).
"Now, Topaz, take out his set card," Justin ordered. Topaz shot forward and sank its sword into the facedown, causing it to flip up and reveal a fiendish tomato (A: 1400/D: 1100) before it shattered.
"And, now, Topaz's effect activates, dealing you damage equal to the Attack of the destroyed monster," Justin added.
"And Mystic Tomato's effect activates, allowing me to Special Summon another Mystic Tomato in its place," Reese said and another fiendish tomato appeared on the field (A: 1400/D: 1100) before Topaz's blade struck his duel disk.
Reese: 6600
Justin: 8000
"Tch, you got lucky," the Ra added.
"Topaz's other effect allows it to attack again," Justin said.
Reese swore as Topaz took out his second Mystic Tomato.
Reese: 6200
Justin: 8000
He summoned a third one in its place and then winced as Topaz's blade struck his duel disk again.
Reese: 4800
Justin: 8000
"Now, Tourmaline, attack his third Mystic Tomato," Justin said and Tourmaline shot forward before slamming a fist into the third tomato, flattening it and turning it into tomato paste.
Reese: 4600
Justin: 8000
"That was just luck. Its effect now allows me to summon Steelswarm Gatekeeper in Attack Mode," Reese said through gritted teeth as he searched out the card from his Deck and then slapped it onto his duel disk.
A black pupa appeared on the field (A: 1500/D: 1900).
"Luck? He took out almost half of your Life Points in one turn. That ain't luck, buddy," Dante shouted from the sidelines.
"No surprise you're taking the side of your boyfriend, pervert," Reese sneered.
"You're an idiot," Dante said, rolling his eyes. "I obviously do not swing that way."
Boy is that true, Justin thought, thinking to just how many girls at the Academy that Dante was on the wrong side of.
Reese huffed but said nothing to that. "If your turn's over, I'm activating my face-down, Mystical Space Typhoon, to destroy one of the face-downs you just set," he said and a mini-cyclone spun across the field, destroying Justin's facedown Pyroxene Fusion. "And since your turn's over, I'll be going. I draw."
He drew a card and then inserted it into his duel disk. "I activate Pot of Greed." He drew two cards and added, "And next, due to my Steelswarm Girastag's effect, I can summon it by tributing only one Steelswarm monster, so I'll tribute Gatekeeper to summon it to the field in Attack Mode."
Gatekeeper was enveloped in a bright light and, in its place, was a giant fiend that was obviously based on a Giraffe Stag-Beetle (A: 2600/D: 0). Justin only knew this because he had seen one of these before online and was not too keen on seeing one again. He had nothing against bugs, but that didn't mean he liked them.
"And now I activate Girastag's effect, since it was Tribute Summoned by tributing a Steelswarm monster, I can target one card you control, destroy it, and regain 1000 Life Points, so I choose your other facedown," Reese added and Justin's second facedown shattered.
Reese: 5600
Justin: 8000
"And I also activate Infestation Ripples, paying 500 Life Points to target and Special Summon a Level 4 or lower Steelswarm monster from my Graveyard. I'll bring back Gatekeeper in Defense Mode."
Gatekeeper returned to the field (A: 1500/D: 1900).
Reese: 5100
Justin: 8000
"But I ain't done yet," Reese added. "Now, I activate Double Summon, which means…"
"You can do an additional Normal Summon or Set this turn. I know," Justin said with a sigh. Seriously? Just 'cause I'm a Slifer doesn't mean I don't know something as basic as that, he thought.
"Well, yeah, anyway, I tribute Gatekeeper to Tribute Summon Steelswarm Moth in Attack Mode," Reese said and Gatekeeper, once again, vanished to be replaced by a green-skinned humanoid fiendish moth (A: 2400/D: 0).
"Now time to take the lead from you, Slifer Slacker. Since Moth was Tribute Summoned using a Steelswarm monster, I can pay 1000 Life Points and return two cards you control to your hand and, naturally, I'm choosing Topaz and Tourmaline," Reese said.
Reese: 4100
Justin: 8000
Tourmaline was returned to Justin's hand while Topaz went back to his Extra Deck.
"Now, Moth, Girastag, attack that Slifer directly," Reese ordered. Moth and Girastag charged forward; Moth reached and attacked him first.
Reese: 4100
Justin: 5600
And then Girastag crashed its pincers into him.
Reese: 4100
Justin: 3000
"And I set this card facedown and turn things over to you, slacker," Reese said, inserting a card into his duel disk.
"Just because I'm a Slifer doesn't mean I'm a slacker, Reese," Justin pointed out as he drew a card. "I mean, Jaden Yuki's a Slifer and he's the best duelist at the school right now."
Reese snorted. "I could duel circles around him," he boasted.
"Yeah, right," Dante said from the sidelines.
"He's a Slifer! Of course I can because…because he's a Slifer."
"What a wonderful reason," Justin said, rolling his eyes. "You do know that Jaden actually defeated Aster Phoenix himself, right?"
Reese blinked, surprised. Clearly he hadn't known about that. "You're lying," he said. "There's no way that Slifer could defeat Aster Phoenix."
"Believe what you want," Justin said with a shrug, placing the card he had just drawn onto his duel disk. "I summon Gem-Armadillo in Attack Mode."
An orangish-beige armadillo with orange eyes appeared on the field (A: 1700/D: 500).
"What's that wimp gonna do, Slifer Slacker?" Reese sneered.
"Would you stop calling me that? It's annoying," Justin said, getting a bit irritated with that. Generally, he was a nice person and he usually just ignored any insults directed his way, but this guy was starting to get annoying, constantly repeating the same insult and bringing attention to his rank and it was starting to get on his nerves. Normally, he only got upset when someone insulted his friends; other times, he was able to keep control of his anger.
Well, most of the time anyway.
"But that's what you are, Slifer S…" Reese began.
"I activate Gem-Armadillo's effect to add one Gem-Knight monster from my deck to my hand and I choose Gem-Knight Garnet," Justin interrupted and searched for the mentioned card while Reese scowled at being cut off. "Next, I activate the effect of Gem-Knight Fusion, banishing Gem-Knight Obsidian to add it to my hand."
He retrieved the card and added, "Next, I activate it to fuse Gem-Knight Garnet and Gem-Knight Tourmaline in my hand in order to Fusion Summon Gem-Knight Prismaura in Attack Mode."
Tourmaline and a red warrior appeared and fused together to create a warrior in prism-like armor (A: 2450/D: 1400).
"I activate Infestation Wave and return a Tribute Summoned monster, like Moth, to my hand to target and destroy your Prismaura," Reese said, revealing his facedown and Justin gritted his teeth as his newest Fusion monster shattered.
I forgot to take into account his face-down, he thought and scanned his hand before another idea that just might work came to mind.
"All right. I activate Dark Factory of Mass Production to return two Normal Monsters, like Garnet and Tourmaline, to my hand," he said and retrieved those two cards. "Next, I activate Gem-Knight Fusion's effect again, banishing Gem-Knight Prismaura."
Pocketing the mentioned card, he retrieved the Gem-Knight Fusion from his Graveyard.
"And I activate it again, fusing Garnet and Tourmaline to Fusion Summon Gem-Knight Ruby in Attack Mode," Justin added and the two aforementioned monsters appeared and swirled together. They created a red-armored warrior with rubies on its shoulder plates, wielding a scythe with a dark-blue cloak around its shoulders (A: 2500/D: 1300).
"Ha, you summoned a monster that's only 50 points stronger than your last one? It still ain't strong enough to beat my Girastag, slacker," Reese boasted.
Justin's eye twitched. "You really need to stop underestimating us Slifers," he said through gritted teeth. "I activate Ruby's effect, tributing Gem-Armadillo to add Gem-Armadillo's attack to Ruby until the end of my turn."
Reese's eyes widened as Armadillo turned into orange light and cascaded over Ruby, causing his strength to jump up (A: 2500-4200).
"Now, Ruby, take out Girastag," Justin ordered.
Ruby darted forward and sank its scythe into Girastag, slicing it in half.
Reese: 2500
Justin: 3000
"And, with that, I end my turn," Justin said as Ruby returned to his side of the field (A: 4200-2500).
"Grr!" Reese drew a card. "I won't lose to you again. I Special Summon Steelswarm Cell since I control no monsters."
A black larva appeared on the field (A: 0/D: 0).
"And then I tribute it to bring Moth back to my field."
The cell was enveloped in a light and replaced by the Moth (A: 2400/D: 0).
"And next I activate Moth's effect to return Ruby to your Extra Deck," Reese said.
Reese: 1500
Justin: 3000
Justin returned Ruby to his Extra Deck and braced himself as Reese ordered Moth to attack and he was sent skidding back a foot by the humanoid moth's attack.
Reese: 1500
Justin: 600
"Ahahahaha. See? You are just a weakling and your win was a fluke," Reese said gleefully as he signaled the end of his turn.
"The duel's not over yet," Justin said firmly, drawing a card. "I activate Pot of Greed." He drew two cards. "Next, I summon Gem-Knight Alexandrite in Attack Mode."
A warrior covered in alexandrite crystals appeared on the field (A: 1800/D: 1200).
"And next I activate its effect and tribute it to Special Summon a Gem-Knight Normal monster from my Deck, and I choose Gem-Knight Crystal."
Alexandrite vanished to be replaced by the tall warrior whose armor was embedded with ice-blue crystals (A: 2450/D: 1950).
"Now, Crystal, take out Moth," Justin ordered and Crystal shot forward, slamming a fist into the Moth and destroying it.
Reese: 1450
Justin: 600
"And then I set this card and end my turn," Justin added.
"Hmph, it's only 50 points. It didn't even scratch me," Reese boasted as he drew a card.
His attitude is really getting on my nerves, Justin thought.
"I activate Dark Hole!" Reese said and a dark black hole appeared in the middle of the field, dragging in all the monsters on the field into its depths.
"Next, I activate Recurring Nightmare to add two monsters with 0 Defense from my Graveyard to my hand and I'll go with Steelswarms Cell and Girastag," Reese added and retrieved those cards. "Next, I Special Summon Cell and then tribute it to Tribute Summon Steelswarm Girastag back to my field in Attack Mode."
Cell reappeared momentarily before being replaced by the large fiend that looked like a humanoid Giraffe Stag Beetle (A: 2600/D: 0).
"And I activate its effect to target and destroy one card you control and regain 1000 Life Points," Reese added.
"Then I'll activate it first: Fragment Fusion," Justin said, revealing his face-down. "With this, I can banish Gem-Knight Tourmaline and Gem-Armadillo from my Graveyard in order to Fusion Summon Gem-Knight Zirconia in Attack Mode. Granted, it'll be destroyed during the End Phase, but that's fine."
Tourmaline and Gem-Armadillo appeared as ghosts of their former selves and fused together as Justin pocketed their cards and was replaced by a large gray warrior with zirconia gems on its gest and on the ends of its gauntlets (A: 2900/D: 2500).
Girastag's effect resolved, however, increasing Reese's Life Points.
Reese: 2450
Justin: 600
"I end my turn," Reese said and Zirconia shattered. He grinned and added, "Now you're defenseless. Next turn, I'm gonna beat ya to a pulp."
Justin drew a card and smirked. "You keep thinking that. I activate the Continuous Spell Brilliant Fusion. This allows me to Fusion Summon a Gem-Knight Fusion Monster using monsters in my Deck as the Fusion Materials. I fuse Gem-Knight Lazuli, Gem-Knight Emerald, and Gem-Knight Sardonyx from my Deck in order to Fusion Summon this monster," Justin declared as a small gray warrior, a warrior clad in emeralds and another warrior wielding a spiked orange mace fused together. In a burst of brilliant light, a female warrior in tan armor with two sets of spikes on her shoulders and a red cape around her shoulders appeared on the field. She had diamonds on her hips, across her chest and topping her head like a crown and wielded a sword in her hand, though the diamonds glow diminished a bit (A: 3400-0/D: 2000-0).
"Meet Gem-Knight Lady Brilliant Diamond."
"But what happened to her Attack and Defense?" Dante wondered.
"They both become zero since I summoned her through Brilliant Fusion's effect," the Gem-Knight duelist explained.
"Why even bother summoning it then, and in Attack Mode no less?" sneered Reese.
"You're seriously still underestimating me?" Justin shook his head and had to fight the urge to slap Reese upside the head with his duel disk. That guy was more annoying than Dante, and that was saying something. "I ain't done yet. I activate Lazuli's effect; since it was sent to the Graveyard because of a card effect, I can add Gem-Knight Garnet from my Graveyard to my hand."
He retrieved the card and added, "Next, I activate Gem-Knight Fusion's effect and banish Gem-Knight Alexandrite in my Graveyard to add Gem-Knight Fusion back to my hand. Now that I have that, I activate the second effect of Brilliant Fusion: by discarding a Spell Card from my hand, I can revert Lady Brilliant Diamond's stats back to normal."
As he sent Gem-Knight Fusion back to the Graveyard, Lady Brilliant Diamond's diamonds began shining once again (A: 0-3400/D: 0-2000).
"Woo! Now that's more like it!" Dante whooped.
"And then I Normal Summon Gem-Knight Garnet in Attack Mode," Justin added and the red fiery warrior appeared on the field with one of its fists on fire (A: 1900/D: 0).
Reese's eyes widened and he took a step back.
"Lady Brilliant Diamond, attack Girastag," Justin ordered and Brilliant Diamond shot forward with a battle cry, slashing Girastag to pieces.
Reese: 1650
Justin: 600
"Garnet, attack Reese directly," Justin ordered and Garnet shot forward, slamming a flaming fist into Reese and knocking him off his feet.
Reese: 0
Justin: 600 WINNER
Reese, glaring at them, pushed himself to his feet. "Tch, you got lucky," he spat and strode off.
Justin blinked at that since Reese had reacted the same way when he lost to Justin during that tournament over the summer.
"Awesome duel, Justin," Dante said brightly as he came to Justin's side as the Gem-Knight duelist deactivated his duel disk.
"Thanks," Justin said with a small smile as he gazed at his deck, the deck his parents gave him. It was the only thing that they could give him when they found out about his love of Duel Monsters. He slipped the deck into its holder and turned to Dante. "Well, I'm gonna head to the Slifer Dorm. Want to come with?"
"Sure! I've been wanting to meet the Avatar of Duel Academy," Dante said, grinning.
Avatar…of…Duel…Academy? Justin shook his head and decided he just did not understand why Dante constantly referenced several television shows or movies. Sure, he got most of the references, but that didn't mean he understood why he did that. He decided that it wasn't important and just started heading towards the Slifer Red Dorm.
. . .
Jaden was not in a good mood.
The Light of Destruction had made its most recent move and had succeeded in taking his foster brother, his sister, and his girlfriend away from him. Kasumi seemed to be the one most deeply affected by the Light of Destruction's power; she had turned into a completely different person when the Light possessed her, becoming cold, cruel, and indifferent towards the feelings of others. Her threat about unleashing her powers if Jaden tried to use his powers over the Gentle Darkness to dispel the Light within those who were possessed still hung over his head.
He knew that he would have to play by the Light's rules for the time being, until he could find a way to release his sister from the Light's power. But he also knew that as he was forced to play the Light's 'game', it would just keep getting stronger and stronger.
And Jaden would have to try to get stronger himself without drawing the Light's attention. He was sure that the Light would not hesitate to use Kasumi to attack the students the instant it saw that Jaden was getting more powerful, because the more powerful he got, the more dangerous he would become to the Light.
He was the wielder of the Light's greatest enemy, after all.
Still, it hurt to watch Alexis give him the cold shoulder and basically ignore him whenever he tried to talk to her.
"You okay, Judai?" Raiden asked, sitting down next to Jaden in the lounge of the Slifer Red Dorm. Atticus, Jasmine, Mindy, Syrus, Hassleberry, Hikari, Kira, Bastion, Arina, Kyle, Celina, and Nathan, who had decided to stay with them in the Slifer Red Dorm due to his own dorm turning white, were seated all around the lounge.
He was also pretty upset by what happened to his sister, not that Jaden could blame him.
"I'm fine, Rai," he answered his brother.
"So can someone explain what the heck happened yesterday?" Nathan asked, narrowing his eyes as he turned over the watch on his wrist. "What the hell happened to my sister?"
"Wish we knew," Arina said with a sigh. "A similar thing happened to Chazz, then to Kasumi and Alexis. None of us know what's going on."
Except me, Jaden thought with a frown. He hadn't wanted to involve any of his friends, since the fight between him and the Light of Destruction's Champion was supposed to just be between them. He still didn't want to involve them, but he supposed he could tell them a little.
"I don't know the entire story," he said, "but Kasumi, Zoey, and Alexis were talking about the Light, and I remember hearing about the Light when I was in Neo-Space. It basically wants to destroy the world and uses others to help it accomplish that goal."
"And that's what happened to Zoey, Kasumi, and Alexis?" Nathan asked with a disbelievingly frown. "So what? They were brainwashed or something?"
"Pretty much."
"Then what can we do?"
"I don't know." And, since he couldn't use his powers to dispel the Light within those that had been brainwashed, Jaden really didn't know just what he could do.
The door to the lounge opened and Justin walked in with Dante just behind him. Jasmine huffed and looked away from Dante, her arms folded across her chest while Mindy just glared at him. Dante smiled sheepishly but said nothing.
"Hey, Jaden," Justin greeted him.
"Justin," Jaden replied.
"This is Dante Broaden. He's been wanting to meet you, but I keep forgetting to introduce you," Justin said.
"Nice to meet ya, Jaden," Dante said brightly, holding out a hand. "I've heard a lot about ya, being the school's top duelist and all that."
"Nice to meet you, too," Jaden said.
"So what's everyone doing?" Justin asked curiously, flopping down into an armchair. Dante decided to take a seat by Celina and Kyle, only for Celina to shove him off the couch.
Jaden raised an eyebrow at Celina, who huffed and muttered, "Perverted idiot," under her breath while Kyle smiled sheepishly.
"He pranked her again yesterday morning before the whole white dorm incident and then started on with his...um…inappropriate comments," Kyle said.
"I said I was sorry," Dante protested.
Celina smacked Dante upside the head with a couch cushion. "No, you didn't," she said.
Jaden blinked but said nothing and just turned to Justin. "We were just talking about what happened yesterday," he said.
"Ah, about everyone suddenly dressing in white?" Justin asked. "What's up with that anyway? There were some Obelisk girls who didn't even respond with anger to Dante like they usually do."
"They were all brainwashed," Nathan said with a frown.
"Really? Like mind control? Damn! I didn't even know that kind of thing existed, except on TV," Dante mused.
"I wonder why they haven't tried going after us," Kira said.
"We're Slifers. They probably think we aren't worth their time," Justin said.
Kira huffed. "That's pretty stupid of them," she said.
Hikari nodded in agreement.
'Not really,' Haou said in the back of Jaden's mind. 'The Light prefers to use those who are strong as its puppets and, frankly, you're the only strong Slifer left.'
That's not very nice to say. We haven't seen Justin duel yet. He could be a strong duelist, Jaden thought.
'Hn, I suppose that's true, but the same can't be said for the rest,' Haou said with a mental shrug.
Jaden decided against responding to that.
. . .
"So why won't you approve this dorm?" Chazz asked, speaking on the phone with Vice Principal Bonaparte who had just told him that Chancellor Crowler wouldn't approve the White Dorm, stating that it would remain the Obelisk Blue Dorm.
"Oh, I never said I wouldn't approve it. Crowler is the one that won't approve it. Tell you what, how about I propose a deal? If you can have someone from your new White Dorm defeat the Red Dorm, in particular, Jaden Yuki, then I will approve it," Bonaparte said.
Still trying to get the Slifer Dorm torn down, Chazz thought, resisting the urge to shake his head. "Yeah, fine, I'll get on the matter," he said.
"Good," Bonaparte said and hung up.
Now, who to send after Jaden? Chazz thought as he wandered out of his room and went to find Kasumi and Alexis.
"So where've you been?" Kasumi said, lounging in an arm chair in the common room of the newly created White Dorm.
"What are you doing here?" Chazz said.
"Master Sartorius told me to track you down," Kasumi said idly, her cold green eyes fixed on him. "He told me that you would be seeking a possible opponent for Jaden, so I'm having Alexis look through possible candidates. She'll be joining us here soon enough."
"So long as he's strong enough to actually win against Jaden, I don't care who it is," Chazz said.
Kasumi let out a harsh laugh. "That pretty much cuts out three-fourths of the Society's members," she said scornfully.
The Light really has changed her personality, Chazz thought with an inward frown. I didn't want that to happen.
Alexis walked into the common room at that moment, holding a paper in her hand. "I found a good candidate," she said, holding out the paper to Kasumi, who took it and studied it.
"Lorenzo?" she said.
"He's the former champion of a scrolling shooter game series, and I believe he can be the one to defeat Jaden," Alexis explained.
"Hmm, good enough. Jaden has played these kinds of games before, but Raiden usually trounces him on them, so this might be our best bet," Kasumi said, standing up. "Let's go speak with him."
. . .
Later, Jaden and the rest of the gang were hanging out in front of the Slifer Red Dorm when Alexis walked over to join them, clad in the white version of the Obelisk Blue uniform she usually wore. Jaden glanced toward her sadly, one hand clutching the heart-shaped pendant he had gotten her for her late birthday while they were in Hawaii; she had literally thrown it at him after her duel against Kasumi before she left. That one action had torn at Jaden's heart, and made him all the more determined to defeat the damn Light and get his girlfriend back.
"Jaden," Alexis greeted him coolly.
"Alexis," Jaden replied, keeping his voice level to hide the hurt.
"We need to talk. Come with me. Your friends can come with, if they want," Alexis said, turning around and walking away.
Jaden immediately walked after her.
'You do realize she's luring you into a trap, right?' Haou said dryly.
Yes, but, maybe, I can talk some sense into her, Jaden thought.
'Not likely,' Haou said.
Jaden didn't want to admit it, but he was pretty sure Haou was right but that didn't mean he wasn't going to try.
"I see the Light really has made you one of them," he said, falling into step beside Alexis, noting that Raiden, Syrus, Hassleberry, Arina, Kyle, and Celina were walking after him. The rest had decided to stay behind, Dante even suggested that the others should stay behind and give "those two lovebirds some alone time", with emphasize on the last two words. He was rewarded with a smack from Hikari, Kira, Jasmine, and Mindy for that.
"It's opened up my eyes to the truth," Alexis said simply, not even looking at him as they walked through the forest.
No, it's just manipulating you, Jaden thought with a sad frown. He could feel the Light pulsing around Alexis and wanted nothing more than to get rid of it, but not when he was sure the Light was having Kasumi keep an eye on him. He grounded his teeth together, cursing the Light for tying his hands for the moment.
I have to play your game, he thought as they walked. But I will win it.
They entered a part of the main building that Jaden had never been to before. Alexis barely noticed the looks of surprise on the faces of everyone that had come with Jaden. "Being Slifers, you've probably never seen this place before," she said, leading them onto a catwalk that cut across where various machines and items were placed and then into another room.
"This is the planetarium," Raiden said, looking around. "I've been here once or twice."
"No surprise you've been here before, Raiden," Kasumi's familiar voice sounded and Jaden turned to find his sister standing nearby with Chazz and several other members of the Society of Light around them.
He narrowed his eyes, but Kasumi just gave him a smug smirk and turned her attention to across the field.
"So why did you bring me here, Alexis?" he asked, turning his gazes back to his girlfriend.
"For a duel," Alexis said simply, gesturing to the other end of the planetarium just as the lights went out and stars lit up the surface, making it look as though they were in the middle of space. Had this been any other time, Jaden might have thought it was an amazing sight.
"Yeah, Jaden Yuki, your opponent is me," a new voice said and Jaden turned to find a black-haired kid dressed in the white uniform of the Society of Light. His duel disk was already activated.
"So you want a duel? What's the catch?" Jaden asked, raising an eyebrow.
"The Slifer Red Dorm will be put on the line," Kasumi said. "If you lose then the Slifer Red Dorm will be taken down."
"This again? Man, you guys just don't know when to retreat," Hassleberry exclaimed.
"Agreed. You're beginning to sound like a broken record, or Bonaparte is since I'm sure he was behind this," Raiden huffed.
"Agreed," Arina said and Kyle, Celina, and Syrus nodded in agreement.
"Fine then," Jaden said.
"I should warn you that Lorenzo is the former world champion of the scrolling shooter games that you suck at, so he's not going to be an easy opponent," Kasumi said.
"Beaten only a few times by Raiden and suddenly I suck at that game," Jaden muttered.
Raiden leaned towards Syrus. "When he says 'a few', he means I got a higher score than him on like twenty different levels," he murmured.
"It was not twenty, Rai," Jaden huffed, overhearing his big brother. "But, either way, you should know by now that I never back down from a challenge. You want a duel, Lorenzo, you've got one."
"Good luck, Jay," Syrus called.
Jaden gave him a thumbs-up and walked over to stand across from Lorenzo.
'Mix our decks for this duel. I want to check something,' Haou said.
Jaden thought about that and shrugged, pulling out both his and Haou's decks and shuffling them together and then cutting it in half so that he had the appropriate number of cards. He had no idea what experiment Haou was performing and he knew it would be a challenge, since his deck—with the Neo-Spacians—did not meld well with Haou's deck of Evil Heroes, but decided to just go with it.
"When did you get two decks?" Syrus asked, noticing what Jaden had done.
"When I got back from Neo-Space," Jaden said with a shrug. "It just made sense to create two decks, all things considered." He didn't explain what he meant as he and Lorenzo drew their opening hands.
"Game on," they declared.
Lorenzo: 8000
Jaden: 8000
"I'll start things off," Lorenzo said, drawing a card. "And I summon Jade Knight in Defense Mode and then place this facedown and end my turn."
A green-and-gold accented silver jet appeared on the field above Lorenzo's head (A: 1000/D: 1800).
"All right then, my turn. I draw," Jaden said, drawing a card and glancing at it before placing it on his duel disk. "I summon Elemental Hero Stratos in Attack Mode."
The blue-and-gray armored warrior with the fans in its wings appeared on the field (A: 1800/D: 300).
"And since it was summoned, I can add a Hero monster from my Deck to my hand and I choose Avian."
He retrieved the card from his Deck and shuffled it before inserting another card in his hand into his duel disk.
"And I also activate Dark Fusion, fusing Avian and Burstinatrix in order to Fusion Summon Evil Hero Inferno Wing in Attack Mode," Jaden said. Avian and Burstinatrix fused together to create the female green-skinned, dark-blue winged fiend with the V-shaped blue visor over her eyes and the cruel smirk on her lips (A: 2100/D: 1200).
"Inferno Wing, you know what to do," Haou said quietly through Jaden's lips, too quietly for anyone but Inferno Wing and Jaden to hear, startling him since Haou had never taken control like that before.
'As you command, My King,' Inferno Wing said and Haou retreated.
Jaden blinked, wondering what that was about, but decided he would worry about it later. "Next, I equip Inferno Wing with Element Sword. Now, when she battles a monster with a different attribute, her attack jumps up by 800 during the Damage Step."
Inferno Wing was suddenly wielding a long blue blade.
"Now, Inferno Wing, attack Jade Knight with Inferno Element Slash," Jaden ordered. Inferno Wing flew forward and immediately slashed through Jade Knight. Jaden was surprised by just how powerful the resulting explosion was, almost as if it was…real?
Lorenzo: 6900
Jaden: 8000
Haou! Jaden thought irritably as Lorenzo, with a cry of shock, was thrown off his feet.
'What?' Haou said, sounding far too innocent for Jaden's liking.
'You are not turning this into a full-fledged Shadow Game,' Yubel growled, materializing in spirit form next to Jaden.
'Relax, that's not what I did. I simply gave some power to Inferno Wing so that her attacks are a bit more real,' Haou said.
Why? Jaden thought.
'I'm simply checking something. It'll only happen when my cards are being used,' Haou added.
. . .
Back by the railing, Raiden cringed when he saw Lorenzo get sent flying backward from the almost real-like explosion. "Ouch," he murmured.
"That almost looked real," Syrus said surprised.
"A Shadow Duel?"Arina asked in concern.
"I don't think so. Judai wouldn't do that. Haou might but I don't think Judai and Yubel would let him," Raiden said.
"Haou?" Hassleberry echoed.
"Erm, ask Judai," Raiden said with a faint sheepish smile. He had forgotten that Hassleberry was the only one who didn't know about Haou.
. . .
Back on the platform with the two duelists, Jaden had decided that he really coudn't stop Haou from doing something with his own cards and allies. "Now, since Inferno Wing destroyed your monster, you get dealt damage equal to its Defense since it's higher," he said.
"Jade Knight's effect also activates," Lorenzo said, wincing as he pushed himself to his feet from where he had been thrown to the ground as a result of that explosion. "I can add a Level 4 Light Machine-type monster from my Deck to my hand, and I'll go with B.E.S. Assault Core." He retrieved the card and then cried out in pain when Inferno Wing happily bathed him in blue flames.
Lorenzo: 5100
Jaden: 8000
'Haou!'
Haou!
Yubel and Jaden exclaimed at the same time silently.
'Now that was all on Inferno Wing. Something about Lorenzo must have irritated her,' Haou said nonchalantly. 'She does get irritated by the slightest of things, and I honestly have no clue what set her off this time.'
Yubel face-palmed.
Jaden sighed. "Stratos, attack Lorenzo directly," he said. "And don't pull an Inferno Wing, will you?"
'Of course not. I'm not crazy like she is,' Stratos said and flew across the field, unleashing a gust of wind that slammed into Lorenzo.
Lorenzo: 3300
Jaden: 8000
'I am not crazy!' Inferno Wing snarled, glaring at Stratos as he returned to Jaden's side of the field.
'Yes, you are,' Stratos deadpanned.
'I am not!'
'Yes, you are!'
'Children! Stop arguing and focus back on the duel,' Yubel ordered firmly.
Both Stratos and Inferno Wing fell silent, but Inferno Wing did glare at Yubel, who simply glared back at her.
. . .
Raiden sighed at the arguing duel spirits.
"The Sarge is doing really good," Hassleberry noted. "Knocking out more than half of Lorenzo's life points in one turn."
"He had a pretty good starting hand too," Celina noted. "But we still don't know just what Lorenzo's deck has in store for him."
"Yeah, he's gotta be pretty strong if the Society's confident that he'll beat Jaden," Syrus said.
"Well, we won't know 'till the duel's over," Raiden said with a shrug.
. . .
Jaden, scanning his hand, inserted another card into his duel disk. He realized that this why he tried not to have both Evil Heroes and Elemental Heroes on the field at the same time. While they would work together to help win the duel, they did have the tendency to forget they were in a duel and start bickering. Thankfully, not all of them, but definitely Inferno Wing and…well…pretty much any Elemental Hero who shares the field with her.
"Next, I activate Climax Hour. Now, if I draw a monster during my third Draw Phase after this card's activation, I can Special Summon it, ignoring the summoning conditions," Jaden said. "And I also place this facedown and turn things over to you."
"My turn. I draw," Lorenzo said, drawing a card and glancing at it. "I activate Pot of Greed." He drew two cards. "Next, I activate my facedown Cyber Summon Blaster. Now, every time I Special Summon a Machine-type monster, you take damage."
Lorenzo smirked as he placed another card on his duel disk. "And since you control monsters while I don't, I can Special Summon B.E.S. Assault Core in Attack Mode," he said. In a burst of light, a large dark-green space station with an orb of blue energy at its center appeared in the air above Lorenzo (A: 1300/D: 2000).
"And since I Special Summoned a monster, you get dealt 300 points of damage," Lorenzo added and Cyber Summon Blaster powered up before shooting a blast of energy at Jaden, shocking him. He cried out when he realized he had felt the shock.
Lorenzo: 3300
Jaden: 7700
'Just as I suspected,' Haou said as Jaden, wincing, straightened.
'What do you mean?' Yubel asked.
'The Light is helping Lorenzo along, but he isn't under its complete control. It's just supplying him with the power to make effects, and most likely attacks, real. Just as I just did with Inferno Wing. I was testing whether the Light had grown strong enough to be able to do that yet, and it looks like it has,' Haou said.
Does this mean this is going to turn into a Shadow Game? Jaden thought.
'Most likely not. The Light was probably just retaliating from my attack earlier,' Haou said. 'Even if it wanted to, it wouldn't simply because it would mean supplying a lot of power to Lorenzo, and I doubt the Light wants someone who isn't under its complete control to have that kind of power.'
"Next, I activate Inferno Reckless Summon to Special Summon out two more B.E.S. Assault Cores," Lorenzo added and two more Assault Cores appeared on the field on either side of the first one (A: 1300/D: 2000) x2.
Two more blasts from Cyber Summon Blaster slammed into Jaden, causing him to wince.
Lorenzo: 3300
Jaden: 7100
'Yeah, it's not happy with that cheap shot I took at one of its puppets,' Haou mused.
You think? Jaden thought irritably.
"Now, I Tribute one of my B.E.S. Assault Cores to Tribute Summon one of the bosses of this match: B.E.S. Tetran!" Lorenzo declared and one of his Assault Cores vanished to be replaced by a large beige spaceship with a glowing orb of blue at its center and four long arms jutting out of it (A: 1800/D: 2300).
"And since it was Normal Summoned, it gains three counters," Lorenzo added and three gray shields appeared in front of the blue core (Tetran Counters: 3).
"And I also activate Solidarity. Since I only have Machine-type monsters in my Graveyard, all of my Machine monsters on the field gain 800 Attack," Lorenzo said as his three machine monsters powered up (Tetran A: 1800-2600) (Core A: 1300-2100 x2).
"I also activate the effect of Tetran, removing a counter to destroy one Spell or Trap card on the field, and I'll go with your Element Sword," Lorenzo added and one of the gray shields shattered before the Element Sword followed suit (TC: 2).
"Now, Tetran, attack Inferno Wing," Lorenzo ordered and Tetran unleashed a powerful blast of blue energy that slammed into Inferno Wing and she, with a cry of pain, shattered. Jaden winced at the aftershock.
Lorenzo: 3300
Jaden: 6600
"Now, it loses a counter at the end of the Damage Step," Lorenzo added and the second shield shattered (TC: 1). "And I'll have my first Assault Core take out your Stratos."
A blast of blue energy from the first Assault Core slammed into Stratos and destroyed him.
Lorenzo: 3300
Jaden: 6300
"I activate my face-down, Hero Signal, to summon Elemental Hero Bubbleman in Defense Mode," Jaden said and his blue-armored water warrior appeared on the field and knelt down (A: 800/D: 1200). "And since he was summoned when I have no cards on my side if the field, I can draw two cards." He did so.
"But he ain't gonna stay for long. I'm having my second Assault Core take him out," Lorenzo said and a blast from the second Assault Core destroyed Bubbleman. "I place these two cards facedown and that's it."
"My turn, I draw," Jaden said, drawing a card. "I activate Miracle Fusion and fuse Burstinatrix and Avian in my Graveyard in order to Fusion Summon Elemental Hero Great Tornado."
Burstinatrix and Avian fused to create the green-yellow-and black armored wind warrior with the torn black cape around its shoulders (A: 2800/D: 2200).
"And when Great Tornado's summoned, all of your monsters' Attack and Defense are halved."
A great gust of wind surged across the field and weakened Lorenzo's monsters (Tetran A: 2600-1300/D: 2300-1150) (Core A: 2100-1050/D: 2000-1000 x2).
"And next I summon Elemental Hero Heat in Attack Mode," Jaden added and his fiery red and silver armored warrior appeared on the field (A: 1600-2000/D: 1200). "And he gains 200 Attack for each Elemental Hero on my field, including himself. Now, Great Tornado, attack one of those Assault Cores."
Great Tornado conjured up a great cyclone of wind.
"I activate Alert. This allows me to activate my other facedown, Boss Rush," Lorenzo said, revealing his first facedown and then his second one. "Now, when a B.E.S. monster or Big Core is destroyed and sent to the Graveyard, I can Special Summon another one from my Deck during the End Phase."
But he won't be able to Normal Summon or Set any monsters, Jaden thought as the Cyclone crashed into the Assault Core and destroyed it.
Lorenzo: 1550
Jaden: 6300
"Heat, take out that second Assault Core," Jaden said and Heat conjured up a blast of fire that enveloped the second Assault Core and destroyed it.
Lorenzo: 600
Jaden: 6300
"And I end my turn with that," Jaden said.
"And Boss Rush's effect activates, allowing me to Special Summon B.E.S. Big Core MK-2 in Attack Mode," Lorenzo said. Another bright burst of light filled the arena and, next to Tetran, a large silver-and-orange M-shaped space ship with four glowing blue cores in front of it appeared on the field (A: 2400-3200/D: 1100). "And it also gains three counters."
Three shields appeared on the spaceship (BCMK2 Counters: 3)
Jaden whistled. "Now that's a powerful Boss monster," he said.
"It is, isn't it?" Lorenzo said with a smirk. "Cyber Summon Blaster activates." Another blast of blue energy slammed into Jaden.
Lorenzo: 600
Jaden: 6000
"It's my turn now," Lorenzo said, drawing a card. "And I activate Iron Call. Now, since I control a Machine-type monster, I can Special Summon 1 Level 4 or Lower Machine-type monster from my Graveyard, but it will be destroyed during the End Phase. I choose B.E.S. Assault Core."
The Assault Core returned to the field (A: 1300-2100/D: 2000). A blast of blue energy from Cyber Summon Blaster crashed into Jaden.
Lorenzo: 600
Jaden: 5700
"Now, Big Core MK-2, attack Great Tornado," Lorenzo ordered and the M-shaped spaceship unleashed a powerful blast of energy that surged across the field and crashed into Great Tornado, destroying it (Heat A: 2000-1800).
Lorenzo: 600
Jaden: 5300
"And MK-2 loses a counter," Lorenzo added and one of the shields on the Big Core MK-2 shattered (BCMK2 C: 2). "Assault Core, attack Heat!"
Assault Core released a blast of blue energy that struck and destroyed Heat.
Lorenzo: 600
Jaden: 5000
"Tetran, attack Jaden directly," Lorenzo ordered and another blast of energy struck Jaden.
Lorenzo: 600
Jaden: 3700
"And Tetran loses its last counter," Lorenzo added and the last shield on Tetran shattered. "I end my turn, which means Assault Core is destroyed and Boss Rush's effect activates, allowing me to Special Summon another B.E.S. Big Core MK-2 in Attack Mode and it gains three counters as well."
Another Big Core MK-2 appeared on the field (A: 2400-3200/D: 1100) (Second BCMK2 Counters: 3). Cyber Summon Blaster activated again.
Lorenzo: 600
Jaden: 3400
It no longer hurts, Jaden mused silently as he drew a card.
'No doubt it's as I said. The Light doesn't want to give Lorenzo too much power,' Haou said.
I guess so. "I activate Legacy of a HERO to draw three cards as I have at least two Level 4 or lower Elemental Heroes in my Graveyard." He drew three cards. "Next, I summon Elemental Hero Woodsman in Defense Mode, place two cards facedown and end my turn."
The warrior with the tree-branch for an arm appeared on the field (A: 1000/D: 2000) along with two horizontal face-downs.
"My turn," Lorenzo said, drawing a card.
"You haven't been having much fun throughout this duel," Jaden noted casually.
"I'm simply playing to win and serve the Society and Master Sartorius," Lorenzo said.
"Why did you join the Society anyway? And why did you want to duel me?" Jaden asked curiously, since Lorenzo didn't seem to be brainwashed like Alexis, Chazz, and Kasumi.
"I was given an offer," Lorenzo said with a shrug. "Master Sartorius said that he would make me a Pro League Duelist if I could beat you and if I joined the Society."
. . .
"So he's only part of the Society to get something out of Master Sartorius?" Kasumi said and huffed in disgust. "Pathetic. And here I thought he would actually be of help to us."
Alexis nodded in agreement while Chazz simply watched the duel.
It seems Lorenzo was able to resist the brainwashing power of the Light, he mused silently. I doubt Master Sartorius is going to be happy about that when he finds out, and I have no doubt he will find out.
. . .
"So you want to enter the Pro Leagues?" Jaden said.
Lorenzo nodded. "Yeah and I gotta prove I'm capable by beating ya," he said.
"Well, that's all well and good, but that shouldn't stop you from having fun while you're dueling," Jaden pointed out. "Like when you're playing the scrolling shooter games and you became a world champion doing that. You had fun doing that, right?"
"Well, yeah," Lorenzo admitted. "I guess you're right. I really haven't been enjoying this duel but, you know what, I'm gonna start having fun now. I'll start my turn by having my first Big Core MK-2 destroy Woodsman."
A blast of energy slammed into Woodsman, destroying him.
"And it loses a counter due to its third effect." (BCMK2 C: 1).
"I activate my face-down, Neo Signal and use it to Special Summon Neo-Spacian Grand Mole in Defense Mode," Jaden said and the brown mole with the drills on either side of its head appeared on the field, letting out little noises (A: 900/D: 300).
"That mole won't be around for long. Tetran, attack it," Lorenzo ordered and a blast of blue energy shot toward Grand Mole; the drills on either side of Grand Mole's head closed up over its face to create a single drill and it met Tetran's attack head-on. It drilled through the beam of light, causing it to split off and then struck Tetran; immediately, a portal of sorts appeared and sucked in both cards, causing both cards to be placed back into Jaden's and Lorenzo's hand.
"What? Why's Tetran back in my hand?" Lorenzo said, confused.
"Grand Mole's effect," Jaden explained. "Whenever it battles a monster, it returns that monster and itself to their owners' hands without applying damage calculation."
"Not a bad move," Lorenzo said. "But I still have one monster left; my second Big Core MK-2 attacks you directly."
A powerful blast of blue energy slammed into Jaden, sending him skidding backwards.
Lorenzo: 600
Jaden: 200
"And it loses a counter due to its third effect," Lorenzo said as a shield around the second Big Core MK-2 shattered (Second BCMK2 C: 2).
"I activate my face-down, Hero Call," Jaden said, revealing his set card. "This allows me to place Elemental Hero Neos on the top of my Deck."
"Why would you do that? You won't be able to summon it come next turn," Lorenzo said with a frown.
"Did ya forget something?" Jaden asked with small smile as he retrieved Climax Hour's card from his Graveyard.
Lorenzo's eyes widened and he quickly picked up a card. "I activate Stage Select. This causes your deck to be shuffled and allows me to place a card of my choosing on top of my deck," he said and darted across the field, took Jaden's deck and immediately began shuffling it rapidly before handing the deck back. He darted back to his side of the field and retrieved the desired card that he wanted and placing it on top of his deck.
"You know, it doesn't matter if you shuffled my deck, Lorenzo," Jaden said with a smile as Lorenzo signaled the end of his turn. "Because if you believe in your deck, you will get the card that you need at a critical moment." Jaden drew a card and grinned, turning it over to reveal to a shocked Lorenzo that it was Elemental Hero Neos.
"It's Neos. And due to Climax Hour's effect, I can Special Summon it, ignoring the summoning conditions," he said and, in a burst of light, the pale alien with the blue and red stripes appeared on the field (A: 2500/D: 2000).
"Next, I Normal Summon Neo-Spacian Grand Mole back to my field," Jaden added and the brown alien mole returned to the field (A: 900/D: 300). "Now, Grand Mole, Neos, Contact Fusion!"
Grand Mole and Neos leapt into the swirling nebula and fused together.
"C'mon out, Elemental Hero Grand Neos!"
Out of the swirling nebula came a tall warrior in orange and dark-brown armor with an orb of blue at the center of its chest and a drill occupying its right forearm and hand (A: 2500/D: 2000).
"It's not strong enough to take out my monsters," Lorenzo said with a frown.
"I activate Grand Neos's effect," Jaden said. "Once per turn, I can return one monster on your field to your hand, and I'm going with your Big Core MK-2." Grand Neos drove his spinning drill into the ground, creating a portal that dragged Big Core MK-2 into it and returning it to Lorenzo's hand.
"Next, I activate Contact Out," Jaden added, holding up the lone card in his hand. "This allows me to return Grand Neos to my Extra Deck and Special Summon Neos and Grand Mole to my field in Attack Mode." Grand Neos vanished and was replaced by Neos (A: 2400/D: 2000) and Grand Mole (A: 900/D: 300),
"Now, Grand Mole, attack that second Big Core monster and I activate his effect as well," Jaden said as Grand Mole, the drill forming around its head, drilled into the air and shot towards the second Big Core MK-2 and both of them were sucked into the portal that Grand Mole had come out of, both of their cards returning to their owners' hands.
"Neos, time to end this. Attack Lorenzo directly," Jaden ordered.
Neos nodded and jumped into the air before flying rapidly toward Lorenzo, slamming a fist into Lorenzo and causing him to stumble and fall to the ground.
Lorenzo: 0
Jaden: 200 WINNER
"Damn it, I lost," Lorenzo muttered.
"Hey, that was a good duel, though," Jaden said, walking over to join Lorenzo and crouching down beside him. "Your monsters are pretty sweet."
Lorenzo smiled a little. "Yeah but I gotta admit, I have more fun playing scrolling shooter games," he said.
"Eh, to each their own," Jaden said and held out a hand. "I do look forward to a rematch someday."
"Sure," Lorenzo said, stretching out a hand to take Jaden's, only to suddenly freeze.
'Get back!' both Yubel and Haou hissed.
Jaden knew it was serious when Yubel and Haou were actually agreeing on something and quickly backed up a few steps as Lorenzo clutched at his head, crying out before falling silent just as his hair went entirely white and, when he lifted his head, his eyes were blank and lifeless.
"Lorenzo?" Jaden asked worriedly.
"I've seen the Light," Lorenzo said monotonously, no trace of personality or emotion anywhere in his voice.
'It's like he's an animated corpse,' Haou murmured.
'Morbid description, but does describe this rather well,' Yubel said.
'Damnit,' Haou growled.
What is it? Jaden thought.
'The Light is a lot stronger than I had originally thought,' Haou said grimly.
Kasumi's laugh sounded and Jaden glanced toward where she, Chazz, Alexis, and the other Society members were standing. She was leaning with her arms folded on the railing, peering down at him, her black hair falling like a curtain over the side of her face and her lips pulled back in a cruel grin.
"The Light is growing stronger, dear brother," she said with a smug smirk. "It won't be long before this world is bathed in light."
"Not if I have anything to say about it," Jaden retorted.
Kasumi laughed. "Try it," she invited and strode off, flanked by Chazz and Alexis with the rest of the Society members trailing behind her.
I will find a way to save you, Kasumi. You, Chazz, and Alexis as well as everyone else brainwashed by the Light's power, Jaden thought. His hand went to the heart-shaped pendant he had in the pocket of his jacket and he tightened his grip on it.
. . .
A/n what do you think?
Blaze: well, that was chapter 19
Bakura: so how many months until the next chapter?
Blaze: (smacks Bakura upside the head with skillet) don't jinx it, dumbass
Lelouch: why did you hit him with a skillet? I thought he was one of your favorite characters
Blaze: just 'cause I don't torture my favorite characters as much as I do the characters I hate doesn't mean I don't torture them every now and then
Suzaku: should I be scared?
Ryou: yes, yes you should
Blaze: (pulling out a freezing chainsaw) I'm not that bad
Lelouch: (eyes freezing chainsaw) can I have one?
Blaze: on one condition
Lelouch: what?
Blaze: go get me...anything with chocolate in it
Lelouch: (walks out of the room)
Jaden: Blaze is getting chocolate? (darts into city-closet to hide)
Jesse: (quickly joins Jaden)
Suzaku: … I should follow their example, shouldn't I?
Ryou: I am (follows Jaden and Jesse into city-closet)
Suzaku: (quickly follows suit)
Blaze: once again, I don't own Code Geass by the way
Lelouch: (walks back into computer room with a chocolate cake in his hands)
Blaze: CHOCOLATE! (Happily takes chocolate cake from Lelouch, hands Lelouch a freezing chainsaw, and runs off)
Lelouch: Ohhh Emperor! (grins demonically and lifts up freezing chainsaw)
Charles: (screams and takes off running)
Lelouch: (chases after Charles)
Bakura: Am I the only one who's not terrified of Blaze when she's on a sugar high? Tch, whatever. Blaze hopes you enjoyed this chapter, I certainly didn't, and reviews, as always, are appreciated, though I don't see why she has to say this to you foolish mortal reviewers. So yeah…(Walks off to go steal something)