(Glances at last update date, which was August 21st) Oh, uh, hee. Wow, it's been a long time, eh? Well, at least it wasn't two months so that's gotta count for something, right?
Wow, twenty people reviewed the last chapter. Well, seven reviews were from Guest so I dunno. I'm hoping that it wasn't the same person but it's really hard to tell when people keep reviewing as "Guest" and don't, somehow, use a different name. I'm pretty sure they can do that. Eh, oh well.
Thank you to Guest (all seven of you), OneWhoCharms, Numbuh24Insane, bobmanv2.0, decode9, crazywriter9, KiritoKirigaya-SAO, EndlessNight025, ShadowSpirt020, Kamen Rider Necrom, a1993, Team5dsforever, JD98, and NickSTriker for reviewing the last chapter. You guys are awesome.
Also, as usual, thank you to EndlessNight025 for being an awesome beta-reader. Seriously, I would not have gotten this far had it not been for her wonderful criticism and help.
Okay, I have a few questions from the Guest reviewers so I'll answer them all here. No, Joey will not be making appearance in this season. Rue won't be showing up in the rest of this season but she may make an appearance if, when, I do my version of Season 4. Yubel's other forms may, or may, not be used in Season 3 and I'm not sure yet about the Sacred Beasts.
Okay, I think that's all of 'em. One more thing, due to the fact that I am running out of prewritten chapters, and am still a bit stuck on how to get through the Field Trip arc, the next update may not be for a while. Anywhere from a few weeks (I want to get it up before November) to a few months (I might end up posting it after I graduate in the middle of December). So please be patient. I have not given up on this story. It's just slow-going at the moment due to reasons.
I hope that you enjoy this chapter and reviews, as always, are much appreciated.
21
Strength of the Dinosaurs
Sartorius was seated at his table in silence, studying the Wheel of Fate card that was resting face-up in front of him. "Within the Wheel of Fate exist both the Fool and the Hierophant," he murmured to himself as he flipped over two more cards, revealing the Fool and the Hierophant. "They represent both Jaden and Aster Phoenix. Either one of them will influence my destiny."
…and one of them is my greatest enemy…
Sartorius flipped over another card. "Justice…not as likely to influence my destiny as Jaden or Aster, but he is connected with my brother's destiny. That much I do see," he said.
…and he poses a danger as well and must be disposed of…
Then, Sartorius's eyes went to the card that was resting rather close to the Fool. "But what is this card lying close to the Fool?" he murmured, studying the facedown card. He picked it up and flipped it over. "The Strength? Power? A symbol of unyielding power…would this mean that this one may also have an effect on my destiny?"
…and possibly another thorn in my side…
Sartorius looked up and through the window as the plane he was on headed toward Academy Island. Duel Academy…it may just be a place of greater interest than I imagined, he thought.
. . .
Celina leaned against Kyle as the two of them walked toward the main building. It was around noon but they didn't have any classes that day and Celina was looking forward to spending the day with her boyfriend. She smiled to herself, a light blush on her cheeks as she referred to the timid but sweet young man as her boyfriend.
"So where are we going?" she asked.
"I thought we'd go get a sandwich to eat for lunch," Kyle suggested softly, glancing at the whitenette next to him.
"That sounds good, though I've never been able to get the golden eggwich," Celina mused.
"Me neither. I'm lucky that I didn't get something as gross as grilled tongue or something. Jaden got that one time," Kyle said.
Celina giggled. "I'm pretty lucky about that, though I have gotten tuna before," she said and grimaced.
"Don't like tuna?"
"Got tired of it. There were times, back at my foster home, that we would eat tuna for three days straight simply because we didn't have anything else. Miss Thomas tried to make it different each time, but I just got tired of it after a while," the Ally of Justice duelist said.
"I can understand why," Kyle said as the two of them walked into the main building.
"Hey, Celina, Kyle," Arina greeted them as they joined her, Bastion, Justin, Dante, and Hikari at the base of the main staircase.
"Hey, Arina," Celina said and greeted the others, though not before glaring at Dante, who whistled innocently and avoided her look. She had not yet forgiven Dante for that last prank he pulled on her.
"Where's Jaden, Syrus, and Hassleberry?" Kyle asked.
"Syrus went to go get Jaden. He and Hassleberry are probably still sleeping," Bastion said.
"Oh."
They were joined by Jaden and Syrus a moment later along with a tired and irritated Raiden trailing behind them, yawning.
"Why're you irritated?" Kyle asked curiously.
"Didn't get enough sleep last night," Raiden muttered but didn't explain why.
. . .
Back at the Slifer Red Dorm, Sartorius, having calmly slipped into the room, took a seat by the desk, one arm resting on the desk. He was sure it was the correct room simply because he could feel the residue of the Gentle Darkness within it. He did spot that there was someone else in the room, a Ra who was fast asleep and snoring loudly on the top bunk.
The Ra suddenly stirred and then proceeded to roll off his bed to land with a yelp unceremoniously on the ground, entangled with his blankets. Rubbing his head, he sat up and then blinked in surprise when he saw Sartorius.
"Who are you?" he asked.
"This would be Jaden Yuki's room, I assume?" Sartorius said.
"What do you want with the Sarge?" the Ra asked, narrowing his eyes.
Sartorius frowned to himself as he realized something, something that had come up in his prediction before he had arrived on Academy Island. "So, this is the Strength, is he? The card of power that opposes me?" he murmured to himself.
"What're you babbling about?" the Ra asked, confused, and stood up. "Besides, just who the hell are you?"
"My humble apologies," Sartorius said, closing his eyes and then opening them and standing up. "I am Sartorius, Aster Phoenix's manager." He pulled out one of his business cards and held it out to the Ra to prove his point.
"What?" The Ra looked startled and smiled. "So then, you're the Master Sartorius that Chazz and Kasumi have been yapping about."
"They've said that about me?" Sartorius said, feigning ignorance.
"It's cause of you that not just Chazz and Kasumi, but also Alexis have turned all weird," the Ra said, hand clenching into a fist.
"Assuming that everyone does worship me, it is but in their own freedom to do so," Sartorius replied calmly.
Growling, the Ra exclaimed, "You're gonna break up that 'Society of Light' group of yours now and get out of Duel Academy."
Sartorius observed him, sensing the strong power that surrounded him. What is this strong power that emanates from his body?he thought. Interesting. "I understand. I will try to speak with Mr. Princeton and Ms. Yuki. However, there is one condition: I would like you to duel me." He ignored the hiss that sounded in the rafters above.
The Ra straightened. "So, basically, if I beat you, then you'll break up that Society of Light, huh?"
"No, that will be of Mr. Princeton and Miss Yuki's own free will," Sartorius said with a smile. "All will be fine if you just duel me."
The Ra frowned but Sartorius was sure that he would still accept the challenge.
. . .
Jaden, Syrus, Raiden, Justin, and Dante were heading toward the Slifer Red Dorm, carrying a couple of bags of sandwiches that they had bought from the card shop. Arina, Hikari, Celina, and Kyle had only bought enough for their lunch and then wandered off to eat it.
"Dude, how can you afford to buy all of this?" Dante wondered, glancing at Jaden, who shrugged.
"Eh, I saved up quite a bit," Jaden said.
"And borrowed some of mine," Raiden huffed.
"Ya know I'll pay ya back, Rai," Jaden said brightly. "And, besides, it gives us something to eat. Conway's a good cook and all, but these sandwiches are good snacks."
"That, and you just want to find that golden eggwich, I bet," Justin said, shifting his grip on his own bag.
"Well, that too," Jaden laughed, when he suddenly sensed something coming from the direction of the Slifer Dorm, making him stop in his tracks as his eyes flashed gold.
'So, you sense it, too, I see...'Haou's voice rang from inside Jaden's mind.
Yeah... Is that... Is that what I think it is?
'Only one way to find out...'
Having noticed his brother's troubled expression, Raiden was just about to ask Jaden what was wrong, when the younger Yuki suddenly shoved the bag he was carrying into Raiden's arms and took off running towards the dorms.
"Hey! Wait up, Judai!" Raiden called, and followed suit, with Syrus, Justin, and Dante, the latter of who just looked confused, trailing close behind.
They followed Jaden until they reached the Slifer dorm, where they saw Hassleberry standing across from someone with a duel disk on his arm.
Jaden froze when he felt the powerful aura of pure Light that surrounded the tall man with the long dark-blue hair dressed in white, realizing this person was in an instant.
'Well, well, looks like the puppet of the Light has made another appearance,' Haou mused.
"Who's that?" Justin asked, raising an eyebrow at the newcomer Hassleberry was apparently about to duel.
"Sartorius," Jaden heard a familiar voice replied and glanced over to find Aster walking up to join the rest of them. "He's my manager, but, at the same time, he's the leader of the Society of Light."
"What?" Raiden said, surprised, studying Sartorius as if he'd seen him before.
"Chazz probably became strange from dueling Sartorius," the Pro surmised.
"So he's the one that brainwashed Chazz?" Syrus asked, eyes wide.
He nodded. "And if I had to guess, I would say he's about to brainwash another one of your friends."
Jaden and the others exchanged worried glances before once again rushing over towards the duel about to take place, with Jaden calling out, "Hassleberry, wait! Don't you realize that that's Sartorius?"
"Yeah, if you duel him, you might end up getting whitewashed like Princeton and the others," Dante added.
"Don't you mean 'brainwashed'?" Justin corrected.
"Same difference..."
Hassleberry glanced at his friends. "Don't worry. He won't brainwash me," he reassured with a confident smirk. "And when I win, we might get Kasumi and the others back on our side."
"Fine. But be careful," Jaden warned. "We don't know know what he'll do, so keep an eye out." I know I will, he added to himself as he shot Sarorius a golden-eye glare.
The cult leader simply gave him an enigmatic smile before averting his attention back to Hassleberry. "Are you ready, Mr. Hassleberry?"
"Yeah, let's go, duel!" Hassleberry said and activated his duel disk before sweatdropping when he noticed Sartorius was looking at the duel disk as if it was a piece of technology from outer space. "Um, what're you doing?"
"Oh, my apologies," Sartorius said. "I wonder, how do I use this?"
The sweatdrop grew. "You just gotta press that button there," Hassleberry said with a sigh, indicating the activation button and Sartorius pressed it.
"Oh, I see. You see, I am using this apparatus for the first time," Sartorius explained as his duel disk finally activated. "I'm looking forward to this in many ways. Many ways indeed."
What's up with this guy? He's gotta be kiddin', Hassleberry thought. "Let's try this again," he said out loud.
"Duel," they declared, drawing their opening hands.
Hassleberry: 8000
Sartorius: 8000
"I'll go first, I draw," Hassleberry said, drawing a card and glancing at it. "And, due to its own effect, I can Special Summon my Gilasaurus right to the frontlines!"
In a burst of light, a brown Velociraptor appeared on the field with a roar (A: 1400/D: 400).
"And let's make that two soldiers on the frontlines for now. I Special Summon my second Gilasaurus," Hassleberry added and a second brown dinosaur appeared on the field (A: 1400/D: 400).
"But I ain't done yet," Hassleberry said. "Now, I sacrifice my two Gilasauruses to bust out one of my big guns! I summon Dark Tyranno in Attack Mode."
Both Gilasaurus's were enveloped in a bright light and then a large black tyrannosaurus rex appeared on the field with a growl (A: 2600/D: 1800).
"And next, I activate Dino Blast," Hassleberry said, inserting the card into his duel disk. "This inflicts damage to you equal to Dark Tyranno's Level times 300, and he's a Level 7 monster."
Sartorius winced. Dark Tyranno roared and the shockwave slammed into him.
Hassleberry: 8000
Sartorius: 5900
"And with that, I end my turn," Hassleberry said.
"It's my turn. Draw," Sartorius said calmly and drew a card, looking at it, and adding it to his hand. "I summon Arcana Force IV – The Emperor in Attack Mode."
A black-and-silver machine-like fairy embedded with orange orbs and several clawed arms appeared on the field (A: 1400/D: 1400). Almost immediately, The Emperor's card appeared above the monster and began to rotate.
"What's that about?" Hassleberry asked, confused.
"Destiny is that which has been decided," Sartorius explained. "However, fortune and misfortune are both present in any one given event." Noticing that Hassleberry still looked confused, he added, "In other words, it is something that changes greatly in the mere speck of an instant. Please shout the word 'stop'. The orientation of the stopped card will amend its effect in accordance with whether it is upright or reversed. Incidentally, the Emperor's effect…"
"Even if I listen to all that, it's a sink-or-swim one-in-two shot for it anyhow," Hassleberry interrupted. He pointed and added, "Stop!"
"Oh?" Sartorius raised his eyebrows as The Emperor's card stopped rotating in an upright position. "When this card is placed upright, all 'Arcana Force' monsters I control gain 500 Attack as long as this card is face-up on the field."
The Emperor straightened as it grew stronger (A: 1400-1900).
"And next, I activate Quick Summon to Normal Summon Arcana Force I – The Magician in Attack Mode," Sartorius added and a jester-like gray fairy appeared on the field (A: 1100-1600/D: 1100). Once again, the Magician's card began rotating. "Once again, please shout out 'stop'."
Another one? "Stop," Hassleberry ordered and frowned when the Magician's card ended up upright.
"Since it's upright, The Magician's original Attack will be doubled until the end of the turn, whenever a Spell Card is played."
Hassleberry rubbed the back of his neck. "Aw, well, I was out of luck," he said.
Sartorius raised an eyebrow. "Out of luck? And just what do you think destiny is?" he asked.
"Destiny? That bull's just about whether or not you get good luck or bad luck," Hassleberry stated.
Sartorius closed his eyes. "It is no surprise at all that you seem to possess such a level of perception," he said. "However, the entire future is determined in accordance with the wheel of fate." He opened his eyes. "As is the fact that those beloved dinosaurs of yours went extinct, to give an example."
Hassleberry clenched his hand. "The dinosaurs didn't die away. They're living on inside me," he said firmly.
Sartorius laughed. "How romantic of you. Well, it matters not. Symbol of the Strength card, I shall have you bear witness to your fate with this card."
"What're you yapping about?"
"I activate the Spell Card Future Vision," Sartorius said, holding out one of the cards in his hand. "If there is a monster on my opponent's field, I will turn over cards from the top of his deck until a Monster card appears."
"What?"
Sartorius walked across the field as he added, "Is your fate in the future to be a Warrior or a Spellcaster? Or is it to be a mere little Insect?"
Hassleberry held out his deck. "That's already been settled," he said as Sartorius took his deck. "My future's to be a dinosaur."
"Then we shall see about that..."
Hassleberry growled as Sartorius turned over the first card, Pot of Greed, and then the second card, which was New Ultra Evolution. The third card flipped was finally a Monster Card at last: Ultimate Tyranno; a Dinosaur.
Sartorius lifted his head. "It would seem that it is, indeed, a Dinosaur. That's very good for you. Since it is the same Type as the monster that is on your field, you will regain 1000 Life Points, and the turned-over cards are returned to the deck in the same order they were in."
Hassleberry: 9000
Sartorius: 5900
"Heh, thanks for that," Hassleberry said with a smirk.
"There is no need to thank me," Sartorius said, turning around and walking back to his side of the field.
"What's with that guy?" Dante said, confused. "He just went and gave Hassleberry Life Points as a present."
"Yeah. I mean, it was pretty obvious he uses a Dinosaur deck," Justin agreed.
"I wonder what he's planning..." mused Syrus.
"That card's effect didn't just restore Hassleberry's Life Points," Aster explained. "He now knows the future of Hassleberry's deck."
"Plus, since he used a Spell, The Magician's upright effect now becomes active," Raiden threw in as everyone watched as The Magician's Attack jumped (ATK: 1600-2700).
"The Magician, attack Dark Tyranno," Satorius ordered, The Magician responding by conjuring up a blast of green energy in between its hands as shadowy green smoke traveled across the field and cycled around Dark Tyranno before destroying it.
Hassleberry: 8900
Sartorius: 5900
"And now, The Emperor will attack you directly," Sartorius said and The Emperor unleashed his own blast of black smoke that struck Hassleberry, causing him to stagger back a step.
Hassleberry: 7000
Sartorius: 5900
"And then I place these two cards facedown and end my turn," Sartorius added as two vertical facedown card appears at his feet and The Magician's effect wore off during the End Phase (A: 2700-1600).
"My turn. I draw," Hassleberry declared, drawing a card before subsequently activating it. "I activate Pot of Greed."
"Since a Spell was activated, The Magician's effect also activates," Sartorius added, The Magician's Attack jumped up again as Hassleberry drew his two cards (A: 1600-2700).
"That's a strong soldier, but it ain't unbeatable. Alright, now it's time for Archeonys to report to the field in Attack Mode."
A blue-and-yellow-feathered Archaeopteryx appeared on the field, spreading its wings with a screech (A: 300/D: 1300).
"Then, I activate New Ultra Evolution! I'll offer up one Winged Beast-Type monster on my field as a sacrifice to Special Summon one Dinosaur-Type monster from my hand! C'mon out, Ultimate Tyranno!"
Archeonys vanished as soon as Hassleberry's Spell Card was activated and then a large black dinosaur covered in spikes with golden claws appeared on the field with a growl (A: 3000/D: 2200).
"And Ultimate Tyranno gets to take on all of your soldiers. Go, Ultimate Tyranno, take out his monsters," Hassleberry ordered.
Ultimate Tyranno roared and charged forward, crashing first into The Emperor.
Hassleberry: 7000
Sartorius: 4800
And then it turned around and struck The Magician with its tail, who had been weakened by 500 points after The Emperor had been destroyed.
Hassleberry: 7000
Sartorius: 4000
"Just going on and yapping at me about whatever that destiny bull of yours is. My destiny changed from meeting Jaden. I've woken up to the strength of the dinosaurs, so any words that threaten me won't work."
"More like the brain of the dinosaur..." Hassleberry heard Syrus mutter.
"I heard that!" he called back, causing Syrus to face-fault and Jaden and Dante chuckle.
"And with that, I end my turn," Hassleberry finished.
"It is my turn. I draw!" Sartorius said, drawing a card. "And I activate Cup of Ace."
The Spell activated and then began rotating.
"Should I explain its upright and reversed effects?"
"Stop," Hassleberry said, not even bothering to take the Arcana Force duelist up on his offer. The card stopped rotating, in an upright position.
"Its upright effect activates, allowing me to draw two cards from my deck," Sartorius explained and did so before holding up another card. "I'll then activate yet another Cup of Ace."
Once again, the specific card began rotating.
"Stop," Hassleberry said and scowled when the card landed upright and Sartorius drew two more cards. "You were just lucky."
"Destiny guides every man equally," Sartorius countered. "As I will show you right now. I summon Arcana Force VII – The Chariot in Attack Mode."
A black-and-yellow Fairy with many arms and what looked like eyes encircling its broad waist appeared on the field (A: 1700/D: 1700). Immediately, the card began to rotate.
"Come, Mr. Hassleberry," Sartorius said as Hassleberry scowled.
"Stop," he said and the card stopped rotating in an upside down position.
"Its reversed effect: you gain control of this card."
The Chariot moved to Hassleberry's side of the field.
"Heh, looks like it helps meagain," Hassleberry said with a grin.
"We'll see about that." Sartorius smiled unnervingly as he held up another card. "I activate Suit of Sword X."
Like all the others, the card began rotating upon activation.
"Now please don't be hasty with this one. Let me explain its effects. If it lands upright, the monsters on your field will be destroyed, and those on my field, if it is reversed."
"Whoa. So it being upright'd be bad..." Hassleberry realized with a frown and called for the card to stop. It stopped rotating in an upright position, much to his chagrin. "Man... Just 'cause I was worrying about not thinkin' that through."
Ultimate Tyranno and The Chariot then shattered.
"And I also activate the Trap Ace of Wand," Sartorius added and the card flipped up before it began rotating. "If this card is upright, you will regain as many Life Points as the total Attack of the monsters destroyed by effects outside of battle this turn. If it is reversed, it will be inflicted as damage."
"How much is that again?" Dante wondered.
"The Chariot's Attack is 1700, and Ultimate Tyranno had 3000..." Syrus recalled as the other Ra attempted to count the total out on his fingers.
"He'll either gain or lose 4700," Raiden supplied.
"In theory, but because Sartorius tells them his cards' effects, his opponents just can't help but try to predict the future, completely throwing them off their game," Aster said, watching as Hassleberry continued to struggle against the Arcana Force duelist. "Hassleberry can no longer escape from the wheel of fate that Sartorius is turning."
"Come now, what is wrong?" Sartorius asked the clearly frustrated Dino duelist. "You yourself are the one who turns your wheel of fate."
"Stop," Hassleberry growled, and the card stopped in the reversed position.
"Now Ace of Wand's reverse effect activates, dealing you 4700 damage," Sartorius said and Hassleberry's eyes widened in surprise as a powerful blast of wind nearly knocked him off his feet.
Hassleberry: 2300
Sartorius: 4000
"And with that, I end my turn," Sartorius said.
It's no use, Hassleberry thought. He's too good. I don't believe in fate but…but I just…
"Get it together, Hassleberry!" Jaden shouted from the sidelines. "It's not Sartorius's wheel of fate you're falling for right now; it's all of his taunting!"
Raiden nodded in agreement and added, "Dueling's fun because you don't know what'll happen until the very end."
"Besides, weren't you going to evolve into a dinosaur?" Jaden reminded.
"No, I'm telling you, that's de-evolving," Syrus tried insisting.
"Whatever it is, be brave and take destiny on!"
He's right. I…Thank you, Jaden, Hassleberry thought before he turned towards Sartorius with determination burning in his eyes.
"My draw," he said, drawing a card and smirking, his pupils of his eyes become almost reptilian for a second. "The dinosaurs and the dinosaur DNA inside me… They haven't turned their back on me yet!"
Hassleberry grabbed a card in his hand and slapped it onto his duel disk. "I summon Dyna Base in Attack Mode!"
A red and black mechanical tank-like vehicle appeared on the field, behind Hassleberry (A: 0/D: 2100).
"Thanks to Dyna Base's effect, I offer up this card and the Super Conductor Tyranno in my hand as sacrifices to Special Summon Dyna Tank from my Extra Deck!"
Super Conductor Tyranno appeared next to Dyna Base before both of them vanished, soon replaced with a new version of the mecha tyrannosaurus now riding in a spike-decorated war tank (A: ?/D: 2100).
"The Attack of this card's the same as the Attack of the Dinosaur-Type monster used in its Fusion Summon," Hassleberry explained with a smirk. "So Super Conductor Tyranno's 3300 Attack'll turn into Dyna Tank's Attack!" (A: ?-3300)
He then pointed at Sartorius. "Alright, Dyna Tank, time for a direct assault. Hit him with everything you have!"
Dyna Tank roared as it fired a blast of fire towards Sartorius, who covered his face as it hit him.
Hassleberry: 2300
Sartorius: 700
"And I end my turn," Hassleberry said since he couldn't do much else with no cards in his hand. He gave a peace-sign to his friends as he added, "Things just got turned around."
Sartorius placed his fingers on his deck. "It's my turn. I draw." He drew his next card and looked at it. "I activate the Spell Card Necro Sacrifice. Due to its effect, I will choose one, or twomonsters in my Graveyard and Special Summon them to your field. You are able to decide their Battle Modes. From my Graveyard, I will now summon my Arcana Force VII – The Chariot to your field."
"Put it in Attack Mode," Hassleberry said as the Chariot returned to his field (A: 1700/D: 1700) and the card began rotating above it.
"Now, stop there," Sartorius said and the card stopped rotating in a reversed position. "Its reversed effect allows the opponent—me—to take control of it."
"I get it. You can stop telling me that," Hassleberry snarled as The Chariot moved to Sartorius's side of the field.
"Is that so?" Sartorius said. "Well then, I summon Arcana Force VIII – The Strength in Attack Mode without any Tributes, due to Necro Sacrifice's effect."
A blue-and-gray fairy with a round black-and-blue lower body appeared on the field (A: 1800/D: 1800) and the card began to rotate above it.
"If it is upright, it will grant me control of one monster on my opponent's field. If it is reversed, you can select and take control of one monster I control, except this card."
Hassleberry narrowed his eyes. "Stop, now!"
The card slowed down before it stopped upright.
"Its upright ability now activates, so I'll gain control over your Dyna Tank," Sartorius announced.
"And here's Dyna Tank's effect!" the Dino duelist countered. "It can change a card effect aimed at it into an effect aimed at my opponent's monster. Since the target's changing, I'll bring that Strength right over here!"
The Strength card then disappeared from Sartorius's side and then appeared on Hassleberry's side of the field.
"Thanks for that!"
"It may be slightly premature of you to say your thanks," Sartorius replied with a smug smirk. "Just as there are people who turn their lives into many shambles with just one mistake, so may a duel suddenly take a turn for the worse with just one card."
Hassleberry frowned, worry going through him as Sartorius revealed the lone facedown on his field. "Reveal facedown, Reversal of Fate! This allows me to switch the direction of one Arcana Force monster I control and I choose The Strength."
The Strength's card rotated until it was upside-down.
That ain't good, Hassleberry thought.
"With The Strength's reversed effect, control of one monster, with the exception of this card, shifts to the opposing player!"
Hassleberry watched in shock as his Dyna Tank disappeared from his field and went over to Sartorius's side of the field.
"Battle! Dyna Tank attacks The Strength," Sartorius declared as Dyna Tank then took aim and fired off a beam of energy from its jaws and towards The Strength, obliterating it.
Hassleberry: 800
Sartorius: 700
"The Chariot, attack him directly," Sartorius ordered and The Chariot then lifted its blasters and fired some kind of substance that soon slammed into Hassleberry, causing him to cry out and he collapsed onto the ground.
Hassleberry: 0
Sartorius: 700 WINNER
"Hassleberry!" Syrus gasped.
Jaden's golden eyes snapped toward Sartorius as the leader of the Society of Light strode towards Hassleberry.
"This is your destiny," Sartorius said. "You may think of it as a new destiny. The path of light will now open before your eyes. It is quite the straight, magnificent path of white."
"Hey!" Syrus shouted.
Jaden growled. "Leave him alone," he hissed.
Sartorius turned and locked eyes with Jaden. The Light flared brightly and powerfully around him but Jaden's golden eyes glowed in response and the Gentle Darkness flared out around him, crashing into the Light.
"I…I can't move," Syrus gasped while Jaden and Sartorius continued their silent struggle against each other.
"Sartorius, you're pretty good. You're incredible," Hassleberry's voice said, breaking into the silent moment, causing Sartorius to break eye contact with Jaden. The Light that flared around him died down a bit and Jaden withdrew his power as well.
"Is Hassleberry about to join the Society too, like Alexis and Kasumi?" Raiden asked with a frown.
"No way, you can't, Hassleberry. You can't," Syrus gasped.
"But still,"—Hassleberry got to his knees and lifted his head to look at Sartorius with a determined smirk on his face, but Jaden was relieved, and confused, when he felt no trace of the Light's taint on him—"Next time we go at it, I ain't losing."
'He wasn't affected by the Light?' Haou said, bewildered.
'There isn't even a slight taint on him,' Yubel said, also surprised.
"What? But you should have been bathed in the baptism of Light," Sartorius said, surprised. "What is this?"
"Don't peg me for some all-around weak human," Hassleberry said and lifted up the pant leg of his left leg. "Just look at this scar. You see, in my old days, when I was excavating dinosaur fossils, I broke my leg bone in a landslide accident. That's when they stuck in a dinosaur fossil to make up for my flawed bone. And, then, some dinosaur DNA got mixed into me and I turned into a pretty strong kid who won't lose that easily."
'So he's not completely human, basically, and that's why the Light had no effect on him,' Haou mused thoughtfully.
"Thanks to Jaden, this power's all woken up," Hassleberry added, his eyes transforming into dinosaur slits briefly.
Sartorius, a frown on his face, turned around and then smiled a little. He briefly glanced at Jaden as he, his brother, and his three friends moved over to join Hassleberry, and then walked away.
"Sorry I made you worry," Hassleberry was saying as Aster watched his manager walk away. "Did ya cry for me, Syrus?"
"No!" Syrus cried.
Jaden chuckled, eyes reverting back to brown now that Sartorius was away from them.
'He is much stronger than I had originally thought,' Haou said. 'I have greatly underestimated just how much strength he has managed to gather.' He sounded frustrated as he said that, but then, Jaden knew that Haou didn't like making mistakes.
'He is still not at his full strength, though,'Yubel said.
'We will need to train, even more now than ever,' Haou said.
As subtly as possible. I need to make it seem like I'm playing the Light's game, Haou, or else the students at this Academy will be in great danger, Jaden thought.
'Perhaps we should try to focus on dispelling the Light from within Kasumi,' Yubel suggested.
'At the moment, I believe that Kasumi is the Light's most important puppet, aside from Sartorius anyway. It will not let go of her that easily. We need time and we need a plan,' Haou said.
I agree. For now, we need to maintain a low profile and don't give the Light any reason to think we aren't playing by its rules. The students' lives are on the line, Jaden thought, turning to watch Sartorius as he disappeared into the distance.
. . .
Later that day, Jaden, Syrus, Hassleberry, Justin, Dante, Kyle, Celina, Raiden, and the rest of the students were all gathered in the auditorium. Crowler was standing at the head of the auditorium on the stage, microphone in his hand.
"Ladies and gentlemen of the academy," Crowler began. "You all now have a new companion, don't you?"
"Gees, he makes it sound like we're grade-school kids or something," Justin huffed.
"Well, one of us is," Hassleberry said with a sidelong glance at Syrus, who glared at him.
"And who's that supposed to be?" he demanded.
"You," Dante said brightly.
Syrus scowled at him.
"And with that, I shall now introduce you to our transfer student," Crowler said and gestured as a very familiar blue-haired young man stepped forward.
Jaden's eyes narrowed.
"This is Sartorius, who is being admitted here as a Third-Year student," Crowler announced.
What are you up to now, Sartorius? Jaden thought.
. . .
A/n what do you think?
Blaze: (listening to Open Your Eyes by Disturbed and singing along to it)
Bakura: gah, shut up!
Blaze: what? I love this song. I also don't own it. So is it time to end the chapter?
Lelouch: yes
Suzaku: (walks into the computer room) Blaze, Luciano won't leave me alone. Can I have something to stop him from bugging me?
Blaze: (thinks for a minute, reaches into city-closet for something, and hands Suzaku an acid-tipped chainsaw) will that work?
Suzaku: (studies the chainsaw and grins) this will do just fine (gabs acid-tipped chainsaw, powers it up, and chases after Luciano)
Luciano: damn you, Blaze! (Takes off running)
Lelouch: I don't know...was it my sadistic tendencies, Blaze's sadistic tendencies, or Bakura's sadistic tendencies that rubbed off on Suzaku?
Suzaku: get back here, you bastard! (Lets out an insane laugh as he continues to chase after Luciano)
Luciano: GET THIS PSYCHO AWAY FROM ME! (Continues to run from Suzaku)
Blaze: Bakura's
Lelouch: yes, I see that now (sighs, pulls out freezing chainsaw, and walks off to go cut Charles into bite-sized pieces)
Blaze: (Sweatdrops) okay, maybe Bakura's and Lelouch's sadistic tendencies rubbed off on Suzaku (Sigh) well, anyway, I hope that you enjoyed this chapter and reviews, as always, are much appreciated.