Chapter 3: Pushed to the End
The Slifers weren't treated the best on the opening day. From the docking point, everyone had to find their own way to the dormitories. The difference was, the Obelisks and the Ras got given a map; the Slifers weren't so lucky. Despite it being his second year, Craig had found himself lost again, and with him was a person who just last year was trying to destroy him, Jaden Yuki.
"Did we go this way?" asked Jaden.
"Yes Jaden, remember? That's the same way we went when you suggested it before, and the time before that as well," replied Craig, "And we ended up at the base of the volcano. I know Slifer dormitory isn't fantastic; but it's better than a volcano."
"So which way should we go?" asked Jaden, worried and wondering if he would ever make it to the dorms in time to eat.
"Well Jaden, you're supposed to be more reliable here since this is your third year here, whereas it's only my second but since everywhere we've gone from your directions has led us to nowhere, we'll go this way," said Craig, annoyed, walking off with Jaden tagging along.
Xxxxx
"Right, Freshmen and Lower Freshmen. Welcome to Slifer dormitory. I'm your Headmistress, Taniya and this is Ryan, my new assistant. This is Bass, he's the dorm's protector and one of our mascots, the cat is Pharaoh, he's the other mascot and both of them are to be respected. Whilst I understand these dormitories aren't the best standard, and I'm sure you can't wait for the exam so you take a shot at being promoted, but we make the best of what we have here and normally, the looks of this place aren't actually what it shows," introduced Taniya, "Now, your first classes aren't until tomorrow, and on the wall over there you should find your names and your dormitory rooms, make yourself comfortable, get to know each other and we'll see you downstairs later for the welcome dinner."
James, and his two friends that he'd met on the boat, Matt and Drake, picked up their luggage and moved it towards the wall with the sheet on.
"Right… Matt…" said Matt, rolling his finger down the sheet looking for his name, "Ah, 201, along with you two. Result!"
James was happy, he had a good dorm room set for him and a good set of friends, to be honest with himself, he was fearful he would be following his older brothers around the whole time like a pet, so he was exceptionally pleased.
Xxxxx
"So, tell me Craig, how're you and Flo going along?" questioned Jaden.
"Rather awkward question, but fine, why'd you ask?"
"Well, y'know, gotta be rather difficult, with her in Obelisk and you down in Slifer. People are going to, I don't know, talk about her badly I guess," replied Jaden.
"Jaden, one day, you'll find yourself in a relationship, and you'll realize, ah, rank isn't everything. I can only feel for your opposite half when you do," joked Craig, although he was distracted by an oncoming sight, "You see? The Slifer dormitory!"
After a lot of hard work, he and Jaden had finally made it to the Slifer dormitory and Taniya was standing waiting for them.
She glared at Jaden before speaking to them, although it seemed like she was speaking to Craig only, "You took your time, you didn't miss much though. Right, Jaden you're in 207, Craig, same as last year, see you down at dinner," said Taniya quickly, before walking off to check how everyone was.
The two walked out the stairs on the Slifer dorm, to the second floor, where Jaden slowly went into his room cautiously, checking if anyone was inside, "I'm in here, see you around."
"Will do," replied Craig. He had to admit, despite Hayley and Bastion's hatred for him, which he understood; Jaden had kept him company enough to keep him entertained. 'Who knows,' he thought, maybe he was changing from his ways last year. Then again, his past self and his past actions weren't excusable. Craig would keep an eye on Jaden for a long time.
Craig got to his room last year, and he looked up at the room number sign on the door before he entered, 201, his great room last year, and he presumed by how he was in the same room meant he would be alone again, like last year as well. He entered his room and placed his luggage in the corner of the room, before turning around to see three, silent, younger teenagers staring at him.
Xxxxx
Hayley and Bastion however, were having a bit more of a difficult time than others that's to a certain Amazon. Not many others knew about Etain, and her nice treatment of the younger students set her up for a good look amongst them, despite Hayley and Bastion's knowledge of her and they seemed to be the only ones in the dormitory who did know of her true nature.
The Ra's also had a lot more privileges than the Slifers, they always got a room alone unless they requested to move in with someone else, something Bastion and Hayley had tried to do but weren't allowed as they were opposite genders. Personally, neither of them saw any harm in moving in together, after the summer, Bastion and Hayley were officially affianced by Amazon law and they'd roomed together in the village once Bastion had passed the tests set out for him by Taniya and Hayley's mother. Despite that, they still spent most of their day with each other anyway, and had rooms opposite each other. Hayley had missed seeing Bastion's room, which was covered in different formulas and algorithms, something most people would find awkward but Hayley appreciated.
"Haven't seen half of these in a while, bet even you can't remember them," joked Hayley.
"Don't count on it," responded Bastion, "So, what do you want to do?"
"Well, I got a message from Taniya about 5 minutes ago. Apparently, that new teacher Professor Viper has an important announcement to make tomorrow in class. Should be… intriguing," said Hayley
"Anything with these new teachers should be intriguing, it's just a shame some of us don't take matters so seriously," responded Bastion. At Bastion's pessimistic response, Hayley walked over to him and put her arms around his neck in an embrace.
"Yeah, I know what you mean, but we all make a great team," replied Hayley.
"I know, but I mean, Taniya's got a lot more duties than fighting evil, Flo, without sounding harsh, is hardly the greatest of fighters, the only time I've seen James duel as himself was at his examination, and he didn't look so confident then, Ryan last year was trying to eliminate us all, and Craig, well, he's a bit carefree, despite how good he is. Plus, we don't even know what we're fighting this year," said Bastion in concern.
"You're over-reacting," comforted Hayley, "Yes, everyone has weaknesses, but think, we've both got our weaknesses as well, you still tend to think with logic when you should go with you gut and I'm afraid of my true power because someone could get hurt because of it but we cover up for them by making a great team. Taniya's a fantastic fighter and she'll put this fighting evil thing first always, Craig never gives in if he starts something, Ryan and James together will work out well and Flo's a better fighter than people take her for and with her brother gone there's some motivation for her. There's no need to worry, we've got this sorted," she soothed.
"If you say so," responded Bastion, smiling at the confidence his beautiful fiancé had given him. He still needed to get her a ring and make their status known in Duel Academy. They decided to go for a walk and passed Etain on the way out of the dorm. She smirked at them and growled out,
"Watch your step this year, Little Princess, Lover Boy," and then walked away.
Bastion started after her but Hayley held him back, "Don't, you'll get into trouble and we don't want or need that," she hissed, ever since Taniya's Duel with Etain, Bastion had been a bit more, well, hot-headed especially if he felt if she was in danger or being threatened.
"Fine then but we're keeping an eye on her and I won't hesitate to use my powers on her should she hurt you in any way," said Bastion, clasping her delicate hand in his slightly calloused one.
"Agreed, now, let's go and find my sister, I want to tell her about that vision we had," said Hayley and Bastion nodded.
"We should tell her and all the other Colour Key Keepers as well, they too, may be experiencing the same thing," said Bastion as they walked to the Slifer dorm and Hayley nodded.
Xxxxx
Craig ran down the stairs swiftly, running past Taniya, who was checking dormitories, before coming to a halt and slowly coming back towards her.
"Ah, Craig, yes, enjoying everything?" asked Taniya, spotting her favourite, rule-breaking student but also completely reliable protector of her sister.
"Well, I was just asking about a change, you see, there's been a mix-up, I have three of the really new kids in my room," replied Craig, "My brother, Matt and Drake?"
"Yes well, I thought this year I'd give you a bit of a project. A bit more responsibility, I can't be looking after all the kids extremely closely, so I thought I'd ask you to look after those kids closely, it's helped by how your brother's one of them I thought," grinned Taniya.
"Responsibility?!" questioned Craig, "What do I need responsibility for?!"
"Craig, last year you bent every single one of my rules to a level where you pretty much made them redundant. That's not happening this year, so get used to it," she said sternly and Bass the tiger, who was with her, growled in agreement.
Disappointed, Craig stumbled back up to his dormitory, slightly agitated. Opening his door again, Craig saw his brother, Matt and Drake talking normally again, without the look of fear in their eyes that Craig got when he first entered.
"You staying with us then?" asked James.
"Yep," replied Craig, clambering his way up the stairs of the Slifer bunk beds to get to the top bed. The room was adjusted to fit four people, as not many rooms had four and wasn't made to hold four, the room they were in had the original three-layer bed and a mattress on the floor added.
"What're you doing?" asked James.
"Taking a bed, no issue, is it?" replied Craig.
"Well, all three of us also want the top bed, everyone always does, sort of natural response, so we were just thinking of the best way to decide it," explained Drake.
"Rock, paper, scissors is the only fair way to be honest," commented James, causing Craig to laugh hysterically.
"James, you're at a dueling school, there's only one way we decide this," responded Craig.
Xxxxx
"How're we all doing in here?" asked Ryan, entering 201. There was no-one to be seen. He knew his two brothers were in here, but where were they and Matt and Drake? Suddenly, Ryan heard a familiar voice, and he turned around, facing the make-shift Duel Field that the Slifers had, "Of course."
"Simple rules, we each have four thousand Life Points, no alliances or teaming or anything. Once you're on zero, you're out, fourth place gets the mattress, third place gets the lower layer, second gets the middle and first gets the top, no first turn attacks. Seems fair?" asked Craig.
"Sounds good," replied James.
"Awesome," added Matt.
"Alright, let's duel!" said Drake.
James: 4000
Matt: 4000
Craig: 4000
Drake: 4000
"I'll go first!" said James, "And I'll Summon out Genex Ally Duradark in Attack Mode, and that's all." (GAD 1800/200)
"We'll go clockwise," added Craig, taking slight command over the match.
"I guess that's me!" said Matt, drawing his card, "For my turn, I'll play a monster face-down as well as a card."
Craig looked on with eagerness; he had only seen James' Deck, he was yet to see anything of Matt and Drake, and Matt's first turn had given him very little indication of what he was up against. However, he was happy that he had kept his hidden surprise secret until now…
"My turn then," Craig said, "And for my first turn, I'll bring out the first monster in my new Deck, X-Head Cannon, and I'll add a card face-down." (X-HC 1800/1500)
Ryan had made his way down the stairs to watch the match, smiling slightly over the fact his brother had only been in a dormitory ten minutes and was already dueling.
"Good to see the year's starting quickly," said Taniya, walking and standing next to Ryan, "But what's with that new monster of Craig's?"
"Not sure. It's nothing to do with his Magnets like last year, I can only presume he's re-invigorated his whole Deck," said Ryan, "Even I don't know about this, and I've lived with him six weeks."
"Looks like it's over to me," said Drake, "I'll play a monster in Defense Mode as well and play a face-down card."
Just as James drew his card, Craig, who was facing the dormitory, saw Jaden walk out of his dormitory and down towards the field to watch himself.
"That's a sweet room there, and by the looks of things, I've got it to myself! If only you guys asked if I wanted to throw down, this would've been a great start!" said Jaden cheerily. Craig immediately turned his gaze over to Taniya, giving her a questioning look, clearly wondering as to why he got stuck with kids whilst Jaden was allowed living space, and the only response he got was a laugh from Taniya.
Taniya laughed, if only not to alert Jaden to her hatred of him. She didn't want that boy to corrupt anyone this year, his aura was reeking of evil, even though he seemed like he was back to normal. A leopard doesn't change its spots. That was the real reason why she put Craig in charge of the new kids, he could protect them.
"Bye guys, I'm going to find Larke," and Jaden scampered off. Taniya, Craig, Ryan and James glared at his retreating back.
"Anyway, moving along. It's my turn, and I'll sacrifice my Genex Ally Duradark to bring out… Genex Army, and when he's Summoned with the Tribute of a Genex monster, I can destroy one card on the field, and I choose Matt's face-down monster!" James said. (GA 2300/1300)
"Well, I'll activate my Trap Card then, Compulsory Evacuation Device, which allows me to return your monster back to your hand despite its effect," responded Matt, as both monsters left the field for different reasons.
"I guess I can only end my turn," James commented.
"And it starts mine!" said Matt, evidently enjoying the thrill of dueling, "I Summon out Elemental Hero Sparkman in Attack Mode, and immediately he'll attack James' Life Points directly!" (EHS 1600/1400)
Just as ordered, the human-sized electrical creature jumped into the air and launched a blast of electricity towards James, hitting him directly as he was knocked to the ground from the impact.
James: 2400
Matt: 4000
Craig: 4000
Drake: 4000
Matt looked pleased at how he had taken the first Life Points off and left one of the competitors, despite them being his friends, at the mercy of two other competitors.
"I end my turn," finished Matt.
Craig stared down at his hand, considering the best move possible to him, before drawing his card, "I add Y-Dragon Head to my field, and immediately, he'll fuse together with X-Head Cannon to form… XY-Dragon Cannon to the field!" he began, taking control of the field again, easily having the strongest monster, "And he'll attack… Drake's face-down monster," (Y-DH 1500/1600) (XY-DC 2200/1900)
To the surprise of the other three competitors, feeling sure he'd continue the onslaught on James, and Craig's newly formed creature destroyed Drake's Celtic Guardian. (CG 1400/1200)
Xxxxx
"Craig's protecting James…" muttered Ryan.
"Even when the duel's worth literally nothing, he's still protecting," replied Taniya.
"Issue is, it'll have to stop, otherwise James'll only become accustomed to it and when Craig's not there he'll get destroyed," said Ryan and Taniya nodded.
Xxxxx
"You could've almost finished him off," Matt said.
"So much for no alliances," added Drake.
"You two focus on your strategy, and I'll focus on mine," said Craig, "I play a face-down and end my turn."
Drake, not looking too impressed with Craig's actions, drew his card, "Well, I'll summon out Rocket Warrior in Attack Mode, and he'll attack James directly!" (RW 1500/1300)
The small warrior transformed into its rocket-like shape, before firing itself towards James, who prepared himself for the attack. However, the rocket hit something solid just before human contact and returned to its original position on Drake's field.
"Wha-?" questioned Drake, staring at the small, scarecrow-like figure that stood in his monster's path, "You had a face-down?"
"Ummm… no…" replied James, unsure of what was happening himself.
Looking around, Drake saw a card face up on Craig's field and groaned at the older brother protection occurring again.
"Scrap-Iron Scarecrow, allows me to prevent one attack, and then it returns to its Set position, so I can use it again," explained Craig.
Drake looked agitated that the duel was literally being fixed so that certain players were at a higher risk, despite Craig's earlier rule of 'no teaming'.
"I'll end my turn there…" finished Drake.
"My turn then," said James, still making no comment on the protection he was receiving, "And now, I Summon out Genex Neutron in Attack Mode, and immediately, he'll avenge my previous loss by attacking Elemental Hero Sparkman," (GN 1800/1200)
James' new monster appeared, and immediately leapt towards Sparkman, the monster who previously attacked James, and took it down in one hit with no sign of strain.
James: 2400
Matt: 3800
Craig: 4000
Drake: 4000
"I'll end my turn there," said James.
Matt drew his card, staring at it and trying to draw up a strategy, "This is great," he thought, "It won't be as good as Craig's monster, but it's not that much weaker to cause a significant impact if he attacks, and even if I attacked James or Craig, Craig'll just activate his Scrap-Iron Scarecrow, and currently I have no way of getting rid of that, so I guess there's only one target for me…"
"I activate Polymerization, fusing the Burstinatrix in my hand with the Avian, also in my hand together, to bring forth… Elemental Hero Flame Wingman!" said Matt, pleased at the emergence of his human-sized heroic creature, looking armed for battle, "Flame Wingman, attack Rocket Warrior!" (EHFW 2100/1300)
Flame Wingman, much like people had seen before with Jaden, jumped high into the air, before turning around and spiraling down towards Rocket Warrior, flying straight through it and obliterating it.
"Also, when Flame Wingman destroys a monster, you take damage equal to its Attack Points," said Matt, pleased with another successful attack.
James: 2400
Matt: 3800
Craig: 4000
Drake: 1900
Drake slowly recovered from his position on the ground that the onslaught placed him in, knowing that he was only in that position because Matt couldn't attack either of the Thresher brothers.
"I end my turn there," said Matt, pleased with his turn's impact.
Craig drew his card, and was about to begin before James interrupted, "Craig?" he asked.
"Yes?" Craig responded.
"I don't know what you're doing, whether you're just protecting me or just genuinely using this as part of your strategy, but if you are just protecting me, it's about time you stopped it. Honestly, I'll be fine by my own, duel me with everything you've got," replied James.
Xxxxx
"Brave move," said Taniya.
"Something tells me he maybe should have waited until the end of Craig's turn to say that…" replied Ryan, "He doesn't exactly know what Craig has left in his Deck …"
Xxxxx
"If you say so," said Craig, "I activate Pot of Greed, letting me draw two cards. Then, I Summon out Z-Metal Tank in Attack Mode, and he'll complete my trio of monsters, combining him together with XY-Dragon Cannon to create… XYZ Dragon Cannon!" (Z-MT 1500/1300) (XYZ DC 2800/2600)
Z-Metal Tank was drawn together the larger, already-fused creature and was attached to the bottom of it, making it bigger and more powerful than it already was.
"In addition, his effect lets me discard one card to destroy one monster my opponent controls, so I'll discard V-Tiger Jet, and I'll destroy James' Genex Neutron!" Craig added as James' defense was destroyed, "I'm sorry, but you asked for me to duel you with everything. Dragon Cannon, let's roll!"
On Craig's orders, the cannons of his creature lifted up and turned towards James, firing two shots that knocked James to the ground.
James: 0
Matt: 3800
Craig: 4000
Drake: 1900
"Well, at least we're definitely on the bunk bed now," commented Matt, as James slowly raised himself up, looking slightly annoyed but soon turned his face into a smile.
"Thanks. I don't think I could've come anywhere else without feeling this match was unfair," replied James, walking off as his brother smiled after him, as James went off to the room to unpack.
"Three to go then," said Drake.
"I'll end my turn," replied Craig.
Drake drew his card hopefully, and smiled when he saw what he got, "About time I added to the field of Fusions, I activate my own Polymerization, also fusing two cards in my hand, namely Gaia the Dragon Knight, and Curse of Dragon, to bring out my flying beast, Gaia the Dragon Champion!" (GDC 2600/2100)
The field from anyone that saw could easily see the differences in the three's Decks. Matt had his Flame Wingman, a powerful creature yet the weakest, Craig, however, was easily in the strongest position, having his face-down Scrap-Iron Scarecrow as well as XYZ-Dragon Cannon, in addition to full Life Points, and Drake had just brought out his Dragon Champion, the second strongest monster for now, but he also had half of the other two's Life Points.
"And to add to that, I equip him with Axe of Despair, raising his Attack by 1000(2600/2100 – 3600/2100), and fly Dragon Champion, attack his XYZ-Dragon Cannon!" attacked Drake.
Again, just as Drake thought his attack had hit, Gaia the Dragon Champion hit something solid and returned, leaving Scrap-Iron Scarecrow in his path.
"Scrap-Iron Scarecrow, it returns to its Set position when used, so I can use it over and over," said Craig, smiling at his card's success again.
Gaia the Dragon Champion turned and faced Drake's opposition again, just as Drake said, whilst smiling, "You can't hide behind that forever."
Craig grinned in return, "Is that a challenge?" he replied jokingly.
"No, it'll be broken down sooner or later. I end my turn," finished Drake.
"And it's back to me," Matt said, drawing his card, "Like Drake said, Scrap-Iron Scarecrow will be broken down sooner or later, and I'll break it down with Heavy Storm!"
Matt's Spell Card covered the field in a whirlwind that removed both Craig's face-down, and perhaps just as importantly, Drake's Axe of Despair, "Next, I activate the Field Spell Skyscraper!" (GTDC 3600/2100 – 2600/2100)
Matt's second Spell Card changed the scenery a lot more than his Heavy Storm did; what once was the calm make-shift Slifer Duel Field turned into a revolutionized city with skyscrapers all around, "This card comes into effect when I attack with an Elemental Hero that has less Attack Points than the card its attacking, and it gains an extra 1000 Attack Points, so go Flame Wingman, take out his XYZ-Dragon Cannon!" attacked Matt, as Flame Wingman flew down towards Craig's large machine, and ripping a hole directly in the middle of it as Craig took damage. (EHF 2100/1300 – 3100/1300) (EHFW 3100/1300 – 2100/1300)
James: 0
Matt: 3800
Craig: 3700
Drake: 1900
"Also, to finish off, you get dealt damage equal to your monster's Attack Points," finished Matt, as Flame Wingman landed in front of Craig, and firing another blast directly into him which knocked him down further.
James: 0
Matt: 3800
Craig: 900
Drake: 1900
Xxxxx
"I'm proud with my intake this year," said Taniya.
"So would I be. They just took Craig from first to last by a long shot in one turn," replied Ryan.
"Hey sis, hey Ryan," said a voice and they turned to see Hayley and Bastion walking towards them, looking serious.
'What's happened now?' thought Taniya but returned her sister's greeting, "Hey you two.
"Hey there," said Ryan.
"A duel already?" asked Bastion looking at the field.
"Yup," said Taniya.
"What's up?" asked Ryan.
"We'll tell you after this duel," said Hayley.
Xxxxx
Craig slowly stood back up again from the blast, and drew his card, "Gamma the Magnet Warrior…" he thought; "Now I only need Beta, and I could probably win this…,"
Suddenly, for Craig, everything went blurry, and he saw, from above, a scene down below with two warriors, or he believed them to be warriors, battling with swords together with many people watching. Although Craig couldn't see much, the two looked extremely alike, and before he could see any more, the vision cleared, and he was back facing Matt and Drake.
"You alright?" Matt asked.
"Never better," said Craig, "Now, for my turn, I place one monster in face-down Defense Mode, and one card face-down."
Drake drew his card, looking to try and finish Craig off in this turn, "Gaia the Dragon Champion, attack his face-down monster!"
"Activate, face-down," said Craig, "Magical Hats! This brings four hats onto my side of the field, concealing my monster underneath one of them."
Just as Craig said, the four hats appeared on the field, as Drake's attack went directly through the middle of one of them, hitting nothing.
"Hiding again?" joked Drake.
"Just biding my time…" replied Craig.
"If you say so, I end my turn," he said.
"And mine begins," said Matt, drawing his card, "I activate firstly, Monster Reborn, returning Elemental Hero Sparkman, and then, yet another Polymerization, fusing my Elemental Hero Flame Wingman, with Sparkman, to create… Elemental Hero Shining Flare Wingman!" (EHS 1600/1400) (EHSFW 2500/2100)
Matt's two monsters combined into one, and the stronger warrior emerged, looking prepared for battle, "Also, for every Elemental Hero in my Graveyard, he gets three hundred extra Attack Points, and there's Clayman, Burstinatrix, Avian, Flare Wingman and Sparkman, so that's five! Shining Flare Wingman, attack Craig's middle hat!" said Matt, as Shining Flare Wingman flew down on the middle hat, ripping a hole in the middle of it and again, finding nothing, "You're quite a lucky person, I see. I end my turn."
"Tell me about it," said Craig, drawing his card, "I discard two cards in my hand, and sacrifice the monster under my hat, to Summon one monster, in Defense Mode, underneath a hat, and I'll add one card face-down."
Drake drew his card, looking extremely confident at his position, "Even if he did get rid of a few monsters to bring out whatever's under that hat, surely it can't be as strong as what I have planned…" he thought to himself, before speaking aloud, "First of all, I activate De-Fusion, returning my Gaia the Dragon Champion back into Gaia the Fierce Knight and Curse of Dragon, but they're not going to be on the field for long, as I sacrifice them both to Summon out… Gilford the Legend (GFK 2300/2100) (CD 2000/1500) (GL 2600/2000)
Xxxxx
There's a lot of old monsters being summoned in this duel," commented Bastion.
"Yeah, Yugi and Joey summoned those monsters back in the day," said Hayley.
"Old doesn't mean useless though," said Taniya, watching the duel.
Xxxxx
Out of Drake's side of the field disappeared the dragon-riding knight, and out came the human-sized warrior, armed with a powerful weapon and wielding it in a fearsome manner, "Plus, his effect allows him to be equipped with any Equip Spell from my Graveyard, so he'll get the boost of Axe of Despair," Drake added, as Gilford the Legend held what was once held by Gaia the Dragon Champion in his other hand, gaining its boost, "Now, Gilford the Legend, take out the left hat!" Drake added, as Gilford attacked whilst Craig smiled, "I can't have missed again?!" said Drake, seeing Craig's expression. (GL 2600/2000 – 3600/2000)
"No, you hit alright, it's what you hit that makes me happy. You see, you have half destroyed one of my strongest monsters in XYZ-Dragon Cannon, but the cards I sacrificed to play the monster under my hat were Alpha, Beta and Gamma the Magnet Warriors," explained Craig.
"Meaning…" began Drake, realizing what he'd hit.
"Meaning you've hit my Valkyrion the Magna Warrior, and his Defense is strong enough to reflect your attack directly back at you," said Craig, as Gilford's sword hit something sold and was re-directed straight back. (VMW 3500/3850)
James: 0
Matt: 3800
Craig: 900
Drake: 1650
"It doesn't matter; myself and Matt have been attacking you for ages, and Matt's up next and his monster's more than powerful enough to take you out," said Drake.
"Yeah, that was my bigger worry…" muttered Craig.
"My turn then," said Matt, "Shining Flare Wingman, attack… Gilford the Legend!"
Craig looked on with a shock of surprise as for the first time in a while; he wasn't involved in a battle, as Shining Flare Wingman fired up a blast powerful enough to take out Gilford the Legend.
"Also, don't forget Shining Flare Wingman's special ability, you take damage equal to the Attack Points of your destroyed monster," said Matt, as Shining Flare Wingman landed down next to the floored Drake, and fired a blast directly at him, taking him down.
James: 0
Matt: 3800
Craig: 900
Drake: 0
Drake slowly rose from the ground, "Good one," he complimented, "Took me by surprise; sort of my own problem to presume we were focusing on Craig, good luck."
Drake walked away from the Duel Field and stood next to James, who had left his dormitory earlier and was now stood next to Ryan and Taniya.
"And then there were two," said Matt.
"I'm sure one of us will fall soon," responded Craig, confident despite having a large disadvantage.
"You're right, one will, I end my turn," said Matt.
Craig drew his card, "Excellent…" he thought, before speaking aloud, "For my first move, I'm splitting my Valkyrion back into Alpha, Beta and Gamma, and then, I'm activating Brave Attack, which allows me to sacrifice my other monsters, to give all of their power to one. So, Gamma and Alpha are leaving, and Beta's growing! And to finish this, I'm activating my face-down, Riryoku! This takes away half your monster's Attack Points, and gives them to mine," he explained, as his monster which once looked puny became a lot stronger. (AMW 1400/1700) (BMW 1700/1600) (GMW 1500/1800) (SFW 4000/2100 – 2000/2100) (BMW 1700/1600 – 4600/5100 – 6600/5100)
"6600?!" exclaimed Matt.
"More than enough to finish this," said Craig, "You dueled well Matt, but luck again rides on my side, Beta, finish this!"
"You got it," replied Craig's Duel Spirit, charging over to Shining Flare Wingman and taking it, and Matt down with it.
James: 0
Matt: 0
Craig: 900
Drake: 0
"And that's that," said Craig happily, as all the monsters and cards on the field vanished. He walked over to Matt and helped him up, as James and Drake also approached, "Great duel, you almost had me there."
"I was so close…" replied Matt, slightly happy that he had come so close yet slightly upset as well.
"Yeah, and next time, I have no doubt it'll be even closer. Remember, I've been here a year, you three have only been here a day, come next time, you'll stand a much bigger chance," said Craig in return.
Something they only just realized now the duel was over was that most of the Slifer dormitory, whether they be old students or brand new ones, had come out to watch the duel at some point, as Taniya walked over to all four of them.
"Good match boys. Great way to start the year, really showed just the standard of students we have this year," congratulated Taniya, "Now I think it's time we all got some rest, before the Slifer dinner tonight."
Um, Taniya, can Bastion and I, well, can you gather all those involved in what happened last year as soon as possible. We need to talk to you," said Hayley. Taniya looked at her for a few seconds and then nodded her head.
"Sure thing sis. Tomorrow after classes ok, my office," she said.
"Thanks sis," and Hayley hugged her sister.
"Thanks Taniya. Oh, Ryan, you and James come as well," said Bastion.
"Gotcha Hero Boy," said Ryan with a grin and Bastion groaned and smiled; a new nickname. They then turned to go back to the Ra dorm when they both stopped in their tracks.
They were looking down on their past selves, Daichi and Wisteria; with someone they didn't recognize but he looked like a doctor.
"Well, what is it? What's wrong with my wife?" asked Daichi and the future couple leaned in, anxious to hear what was said.
"She's pregnant, about…three months," said the doctor. "Using my magic I can already tell you that it'll be a girl," he said.
"…Pregnant?" asked Daichi weakly. Wisteria couldn't be pregnant, not now, not when they were in so much danger. If this were another time, he'd be overjoyed but Daichi had the sinking feeling of dread that his child wouldn't live to take her first breath.
"Pregnant?" asked Wisteria, with tears in her eyes, how she'd longed for a child, but not now, not in this terrible time, what were they going to do?
"Pregnant!" yelled Bastion and Hayley, their faces quiet red, they had slept in the same bed in the Amazon village but they hadn't done anything of that nature at all. This was a shock. Why hadn't Spike told them?
"Yes, your majesties. I wish I was giving you the news in more joyful times but…" and then the doctor stopped speaking, the reason… the windows had just exploded and there was a stake of wood through his heart. Daichi raised himself from his wife, he'd thrown himself in front of her to protect her and was cut from the glass shards and he looked up to see Haou, Kestrel and Karādorein looking down on them with sadistic grins on their faces.
"Aww, how sweet," said Kestrel.
"Time to die Daichi, I will take the lovely queen for myself," said Karādorein.
"Your sister has fallen and so have your Generals, face it, it's over," said Haou.
"Sunny!" gasped Wisteria, a deep hole now inside her as she was finally able to feel the loss of her beloved sister. Tears ran down her cheeks and her hands went over her stomach protectively. Something the three evil Monarchs noticed right away.
"She's pregnant!" exclaimed Karādorein, anger and fury flashing across his face, having used his powers to read their minds and then he aimed a blast at Daichi, "I'll kill you for taking what I should have!" he shouted.
"DAICHI NO!" screamed Wisteria but Daichi blocked the attack, there was no time to mourn their fallen family and friends, he had to save his wife, child, kingdom, the powers or die trying.
Haou then sent a blast to Wisteria's stomach with Kestrels' help making her scream in pain. 'Little one,' she thought and she knew that when the pain stopped, he baby was dead.
"NNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOO!" screamed Daichi, knowing what had just transpired and let loose a blast of psychic energy, knocking all of evil rulers off their feet.
Bastion and Hayley didn't see what happened next as they were back in their own time. What they didn't realize was that they both had tears streaming down their faces and Bastion's hair now had three yellow streaks in it. He'd let loose a tremendous amount of psychic energy without even knowing it and Hayley was glowing with pink energy that was going wild, colours and flowers flashing around her, she was on the ground sobbing her heart out.
"WHAT IS GOING ON!" yelled Taniya for the third time. Her voice finally snapped them out of it and their energies died down but Bastion's new yellow streaks stayed and mark appeared on his left cheek, a blue-white eight sided star made of crystal.
"I'll kill them, Jaden, Larke and Karādorein, I'll kill them," said Bastion in a quiet, deadly tone and Hayley, still sobbing, got up and ran back to the Ra Dorm, Bastion went after her.
I think we'll put this in the, scary weird category of things we need to talk about tomorrow," said Craig, he was staring at the damage the reincarnated prince and princess had created. Trees were uprooted and the earth was cracked and raised in places, there was also a huge crater where they'd stood.
"Well shit," said Taniya with wide eyes.
Xxxxx
"Good evening, students. Welcome to Slifer dormitory, whether you be returning or just joining. As you've probably realized, this dormitory hardly has the living standards in comparison to the other dormitories, but I ask you to do your best to make it your home nonetheless. If you look around, you'll see people who are in the same position as yourself, again, whether you be returning or joining. Rules are the same as they were last year, no students from other dormitories living in your room, they may visit, but no living, also there is a 10 o'clock curfew, by which time you should also be in your dormitory. For those returning, these rules will be enforced more than they were last year, so hopefully this year we don't get any late night Turbo Duels that head towards the city," said Taniya, taking a slight look towards Craig upon the last sentence. Craig, in response, looked around jokingly, as if looking for a suspect, "And one last thing, for the new students, myself and Ryan are here to assist you in any way that we can, and if we're not around, students in the years above should be more than happy to help you out. Now, let's eat," she said. Despite her calm outwards appearance inside she was in turmoil, she hoped for tomorrow to come soon, she need to find out what had caused her sister and future brother-in-law to act like that.
Upon the order, the Slifer students immediately began eating the food they had gotten. Considering there were only two people cooking it, Taniya and Ryan, although they were both good cooks there wasn't enough. Taniya would be having words with Crowler about this; she knew he was behind the food shortage in Slifer. Craig looked around the cafeteria, trying to spot the new faces. His eyes saw Jaden, with a new friend, he presumed, the two talking quickly to each other, clearly enjoying each other's presence. Craig had finished his food by this time, he was curious and so went and placed his plate by the wash-up area, and sat down on the table opposite Jaden and his new friend. Bastion wanted to kill Jaden for some reason, he was really going to keep an eye on him.
"What's the deal Jaden, are you with Larke or not?" Craig said, before turning to Jaden's new friend.
"What, of course I am, who else would I be with? I love her, but I gotta new Slifer pal, she's pretty swell! Her name's Hope, Hope Suzuki," said Jaden cheerfully in response, as Hope picked up her plate to put it to the same place Craig just had, "She's a bit shy at first, but she's awesome!" he said quietly to Craig when Hope was out of hearing.
"She?" Craig thought, embarrassed he had mistaken someone's gender, staring towards brown-haired, short person who he had previously mistaken.
Hope returned and sat down, "Hey, I'm Hope."
"I've heard, nice to meet you Hope, I'm sure we'll talk more at another time. Jaden, if you do anything to hurt Hayley and Bastion… you'll regret it," Craig said, before getting up and walking back to his own table. As he sat down, he saw the familiar face of Larke in the Slifer cafeteria doorway, looking drenched with water due to the heavy rain outside. Craig saw the extremely wet Larke and laughed quietly to himself, Ryan slightly chuckling as well; even Taniya had a slight grin on her face.
"Ryan told me why you're here. Dishes are there, get scrubbing," said Taniya, as Larke obeyed, looking agitated over her punishment. Taniya didn't care, Bastion had mentioned killing Larke. Whatever Larke had done to have him say that, well, she'd do whatever she could to make Larke's life as unpleasant as possible.
Larke turned to Ryan and said to him, "You'll pay for this… I saw how much of a coward you were last year. You won't get away with this,"
"Firstly, that's an extra two days detention for threatening me. Secondly, I'm really not scared of a student who quite simply, if we're going by ranking, should probably be here in this dorm. You don't win often," Ryan replied, before walking on, as Larke scowled at him.
"She doesn't win at all," muttered Taniya and Larke glared at her in fury before storming off to do the dishes.
When everyone else had finished eating, Taniya stood back up again to talk once more, "Now that we're all done, tomorrow a new teacher, Professor Viper, wishes for you all to be present in the Tower at 10 o'clock to make an announcement to you all, so don't stay up late tonight, and I'll see you all tomorrow," she said, before walking out of the cafeteria and returning to her own dormitory.
"She looked worried," said James.
"Can't imagine why," responded a sarcastic voice from the table behind, with two people on it.
Craig turned his head to face them, "What do you mean?"
"Zack here overheard Viper talking to Crowler on the boat, Viper was saying this announcement is supposed to be something that pushes the students to their absolute limits," replied the student, "It'll make her job a lot harder if we're pushed, and there's a possibility of us getting hurt technically if we're pushed."
"Interesting. Craig Thresher, by the way," Craig responded, "And this is my younger brother James, Matt Roberts and Drake Stewart."
"Nice, I'm Vance Kiyaru and as I said, this is Zack, Zack Ryder," Vance responded.
"Hey," said Zack shyly, not adding much.
"Good to meet you both, we'll see what turns out tomorrow," said Craig, before standing up and returning to his dormitory.
Xxxxx
Craig clambered up into his bed, on the top layer of the 3-layer bed. Before he went to sleep, he remembered his first day and what he'd seen so far, he was impressed, he'd already been pushed to his limits and he knew, whatever Viper's announcement was, everyone would be more than ready for it, especially him, and he knew he would be supported by others, and from what he'd seen today, that support would be strong…
Xxxxx
AI: Hey, that's all done at last! Again, I apologize for the delay; hopefully I won't take that long in the future, but saying that I probably will. That chapter also saw the introduction of the remaining three OC's, I know it was a minor introduction, but chances are your character will get to duel sometime in the next few chapters, it's undecided yet.
COLD: No worries, it's done and it's my chapter next. Hope you enjoy! Hope you took my advice and got those tissues while you were reading.
AI: I did. I can't believe you put that in there.
COLD: I had to; more will be explained in my chapter. We're not pulling any punches with this fic and our characters and storylines development.
AI: Fine. See you next time!
Both: Don't forget, Review!
We need 2 more OCs!
Name:
Different dimension name: Must begin with the same letter as your earth name or have similar sounding name or have the same meaning as your modern day name. Example Elanor means light, so that's your modern name, Hikari means light, so that's your Different Dimension/past name, or your name is Toby but your past name is Koby or Jackie is your name and Jason is your past name.
Surname:
Age(14-17):
Looks: (Hair, eyes, skin and height only)
Dorm(No first years, unless they are girls will be allowed in Obelisk.)
Deck: No OC decks or cards. Just give us an Archetype and we'll work with it.
Role:
Lady in waiting for Alexis
Lady in waiting for Flo
All OCs will have doubles in the modern earth with the same looks and personality but different names
Short personality, 3 short sentences please, these are minor characters and we will not need too much, focus more on making their personalities very similar to their past personalities: