AI: Hiya guys, this is well, a biggish chapter I guess you could say.
COLD: I'll say! Also, we're kinda sorry about the delay between chapters, we're both extremely busy with our real lives and as much as I'm sure we'd both love to sit and write this all day we sort of can't.
AI: I blame you.
COLD: What?
AI: Nothing. (Runs)
Chapter 5: Change
It had been two weeks since Viper's Bio Bands had been brought into the rulebook, and nothing had changed, students were still collapsing regularly in duels, and despite Taniya's and Ryan's protests, the system remained in effect.
"Sheppard, can't you see students are just being hurt by this device over and over again?" questioned Taniya at a staff meeting.
"Yes, Taniya, I am aware, however Viper re-assures me duel data has been collected and a resolution to this matter is being solved," replied Sheppard.
"It's true," began Viper, "Data shows the students are just extremely weak after the holidays, and cannot handle the physical pressure placed on them, and with the Chancellor's permission, we have granted double gym periods for the students until we see an improvement in the results,"
"And that's all that's said on the matter. Since there are no other topics to discuss, I declare this meeting closed," finished Sheppard.
At this, Taniya immediately got up and exited the room, obviously frustrated with the refusal of Sheppard to take action. Ryan also got up, but as he left the room, he turned around quickly to speak.
"In a few months time, when you've finally realized these machines aren't fit for purpose, then tell us we were right. It's obvious, but only to those who have the intention of doing right," said Ryan.
"Was this the same righteousness that led you to knock the souls out of the Chancellor and Vice-Chancellor last year?" questioned Etain.
"Funny. If I hadn't done it, it would've been you doing it," said Ryan, walking out and catching up to Taniya.
Xxxxx
Since Viper's Bio Bands had been brought in there was an evident change in how students went about their day. The change was most significant at Slifer dormitory however, as Craig woke up again as the last person up in the dormitory. He got changed, and walked downstairs, into the cafeteria. Pretty much everyone from the dormitory was outside dueling, getting their Survival Duel done early in the morning. There were rumors that if a duelist's Survival Duel was not completed by 6 o'clock, they were tracked by unknown duelists on Duel Runners to be forced into a duel. Craig was the main reason for this rumor, fuelling it a lot with stories of how he took pleasure in defeating these duelists night after night, which were obviously untrue.
Craig sat down in the cafeteria, pretty much alone due to how everyone was outside. He was yet to complain about this fact, as it meant he got his choice of where to sit, and got first picks at the food. Slowly whilst he ate, people came rushing in to eat as well. Taniya walked past Craig, looking worried as she had done a lot since Viper's Bio Bands had been brought in.
"What're the casualties this morning?" asked Craig.
"Just the two today, one's off the hospital ward and the other's just resting up a bit, he ended the duel the moment he began feeling it. Unfortunately, that's the only safety precaution we've got nowadays,"
Xxxxx
On his way to class for the morning, Craig, as per usual, met Hayley and Bastion outside the Ra dorm. Bastion looked focused, more so than usual, and at the same time slightly frustrated.
"Why the long face?" asked Craig.
"These Bio Bands. I've been trying to crack them for two weeks and nothing's happened. Doesn't help that we can't get the damned things off," replied Bastion.
"We can't get them off?" questioned Craig.
"We can," answered Hayley, "We're just not allowed… Someone in the Ra dorm tried last night, Viper was at the dormitory in ten minutes and the poor kid now spends his evenings as practice for some Duel Robot."
"Sorry to state the obvious, but there's no way these bands are used for collecting data…" said Craig.
"And unfortunately there's really only one way we can find out what they're really for," said Bastion in return, "By using them."
Xxxxx
"So, just to ask," said Craig in a short-sleeved football shirt and a pair of shorts, "What is having double gym going to do for us?"
"Professor Viper says it'll stop the collapsing in the duels," replied the gym teacher, Fonda Fontaine, "Today, we've got a fitness session!" she squealed at the rest of the class groaned, "Around the island, I've laid out a course for you to run around, boys will go one way, girls will go the other, just follow the course that's nice and simple!"
Whilst Craig wasn't perhaps as intelligent as Hayley and Bastion, he was definitely just as athletic, and the two boys and Hayley both shot off ahead of everyone else and were finished ten minutes before everyone else, both getting almost the same time. Upon their return, Viper stood waiting for them and the rest of the class.
"You see girls? That's exactly why Hayley didn't collapse in her duel with Jacob. She's physically strong! This is exactly why we need these double gym sessions… Ms Fontaine had to head off, she left me to dismiss you, you're dismissed!" yelled Viper.
"Dammit," said Craig.
"That totally wasn't set-up, he knew Bastion, you and I would come first, just lucky you haven't dueled in front of Viper yet, he might see the cards and such played, but I'm not sure how much of the physical reaction he sees in the duels," replied Hayley.
"Whatever it is, we need to find out what's behind these Bio Bands, and fast," said Bastion and Craig nodded.
Xxxxx
One week later, with the gym periods supposedly having an effect on the number of students failing to complete the duel, every student in the school was called into the classroom for another Viper announcement.
"This should be interesting…" muttered Ryan, leading the Slifer students into the hall.
"You're telling me," replied Vincent, "Last time we came here, we got given these things."
"A new challenge is a new challenge…" replied Matt, trying to lighten up the situation.
"Whatever it is, it should be a complete and utter laugh! I can't wait!" said Jaden, bouncing in, Hope in tow, looking reasonably cheerful to be with Jaden. Craig watched her, wondering what had led her to Jaden, and wondering how important she'll be in the near future.
Nonetheless, the remainder of the students piled in, a very small amount of the students were actually seated, many standing due to the limited space in the classroom. Viper stepped up onto the stage, tapped the microphone to check it worked, and then began his announcement.
"It's clear to me these Survival Duels are very… boring in a way. There's no motivation to do them, we've made them mandatory which I'm sure can be no fun at all. It's about time we gave you the motivation to continue. These Bio Bands have been intact for almost a month now, and they seem to have begun to work. So it's time we made an announcement. Duel Academy will be having, amongst every single student and every single staff member, a Duel Tournament!"
Upon the mention of Duel Tournament, everyone in the hall began talking, some with excitement and some with caution.
"If you'd let me finish!" Viper yelled, silencing everyone, "This tournament, will begin as a knockout tournament. Everyone will be given one red card, and one white card. This red card will be placed inside your Duel Disk upon registration, and locked up. The white card is your wager. To duel, you must wager your white card against somebody else's. It is entirely your choice how many cards you place up and you cannot wager your red card, as it is locked away. If you win the duel, you win all the white cards placed up for taking and the loser loses. If you have no white cards, you are out of the tournament. Once you get a white card, there are six stations around the island. Place your white card in and answer a question, if it's correct, you'll receive a digit for a code which will unlock your red card. Once you have answered all six questions, and have gotten six digits, enter the code and retrieve your red card. Here's the thing however, if you get the question wrong, you lose that card and must go get another one."
Once again, talking broke out about the introduction of knowledge into the tournament, some obviously pleased with the advantage they'd gained here, some… not so pleased.
"Well, there's me out," said Craig.
"I'm not finished!" ordered Viper, "Once you have retrieved your red card by answering six questions, head to the top of the Duel Tower and enter your red card into one of the slots indicated, and your entry into the finals will be entered. The Survival Duels, as of today, are no longer mandatory, however, the first eight to place their cards into a slot will be into the finals, which will take place in our own Duel Field, so you might want to hurry up either way," Viper continued, "And one last thing, there are two tournaments. There is a Singles tournament, where you participate by yourself, and a Doubles tournament, where you participate with a partner in a tag team. Eight singles and eight partners will enter the finals. The Singles cannot duel the Doubles, and the Double tag teams collect cards as a pair, not individually. Registration for the tournament will take place in the Duel Store today, and ends at seven o'clock pm, today. There will be… a very special prize for the victors of each tournament…" Viper said, and left the stage.
Xxxxx
Most duelists rushed down to the Duel Store quickly to register, whilst some stayed behind, including the worried group of students who were still cautious…
"There's a purpose behind this," said Bastion.
"Let's leave the purpose, and focus on what we're doing for now, we haven't got much time. We need to split up," replied Hayley.
"She's right, we've got to quickly decide what we're doing and register, then let's go for the purpose. I say I go into the Singles tournament, and you two, go into the Doubles tournament, you two are the best combination that can be made here," replied Craig. The three of them stood together, waiting for the crowd at the Duel Store to die down before registering.
Ryan and James approached the three, "Right, us two are partnering together, you three decided what you're doing?" said Ryan.
"Staff can partner students?" asked Craig.
"I see no reason why not," replied Ryan.
"Good luck boys. You'll have a tough time taking on Hayley and Bastion, and… even more worryingly, Viper and Etain…" muttered Taniya, "I just saw the two registering, and Craig, I presume you're in for the Singles?"
Craig nodded, "Best of luck kiddo, I hope we meet sometime in the tournament, but don't think I'll be going easy on you," said Taniya.
"Wouldn't have it any other way," replied Craig cheerily, "Who's the big competitors in the Singles?"
"Well, I'd say me and you have got to be up there, and uh… Jacob's going in," said Taniya, "They're doing exactly what you, Hayley and Bastion have done, they're trying to win both tournaments, it's obvious. This prize has to be something, it'll have to have been chosen by Sheppard and I'm betting it's something big."
Craig suddenly felt a tap on his back, and turned around to see Flo.
"Hi," said Craig happily.
"Hiya!" responded Flo, with enthusiasm, "So, me and you, Doubles victors, right?" she said.
Realizing what the reaction would be when Craig told Flo he was going into the Singles, Ryan indicated to Hayley, Bastion, James and Taniya that it'd be best if they left, and the five went to sign up.
"Ah…" said Craig, "About that. I'm going into the Singles tournament,"
"What?!" exclaimed Flo.
"Sorry," he replied.
"No, you're not. We haven't actually seen each other properly in a month, you spend all your time with Bastion and Hayley no, and I thought now, perhaps, for once, we could actually do something, y'know, like bleeding couples are supposed to!" raged Flo.
"We don't really have a choice. Hayley and Bastion are going into the Doubles so I said I'd go into the Singles so we cover all routes," explained Craig.
"That's possibly the most pathetic excuse I've ever heard. Not every change at this school is a suspicious plot for world domination, you know. Since you obviously have no intention of spending any time with me, perhaps it's best if we just left this whole 'us' thing, or what's left of it," responded Flo, immediately turning away and walking off before Craig could respond, leaving the room pretty much immediately.
"What the fuck just happened," said Craig under his breath, trying to figure stuff out as he had no other option but to head to the Duel Store to sign up.
Xxxxx
"Hey, what happened?!" said Hayley as Craig walked straight up to the counter to be signed up.
"I don't want to talk about it," replied Craig angrily, having his red card inserted into his Duel Disk, "And how'd you know already? It's been what… fifteen minutes?"
"You're at a school, of course everyone knows already," said Hayley, "You alright with it all?"
"Maybe," said Craig, "I'll see. It's been a long time so it'll take a long time to adjust to it not being there, if it's really not there. Came out of the blue was all."
Craig walked off quickly once his registration had been completed, not acknowledging many other people, and headed back to Slifer.
Xxxxx
The Slifer dormitory lacked something in the cafeteria at dinner that night. The topics of conversation were different, the Singles planning strategies amongst themselves, the Doubles talking as a newly formed partnership of sorts.
"Where's Craig and what's up with him?" asked Taniya to his brother Ryan.
"Him and Flo. They're, err… through," replied Ryan, "Leave him to himself, give him some space."
"If you say so," responded Taniya, worried for one of her more favourite students, despite the trouble he caused.
Xxxxx
Upstairs, in dorm room 201 for Slifer, Craig was sitting on his bed, holding a picture he had once had on the window sill of him and Flo together in the summer. She was right, he thought, he had been ignoring her recently and he regretted that now. Half of Craig wanted to smash the picture to pieces, the other half wanted to run to the Obelisk dormitories and apologize for everything he'd done to her. Whilst he had been ignoring her, he, now, only just realized how much he had pushed her away recently and that was entirely his fault. Suddenly, his thoughts were disrupted by James, Drake and Matt entering the room. Drake and Matt were yet another Doubles partnership for the tournament, and instead of acknowledging any of the three, Craig fell asleep quickly, ignoring the talk of tomorrow.
Craig took the first day of the tournament out, spending the day walking around the island watching duelists duel, and fight on despite the Bio Bands still causing physical pressure. He stopped in his tracks when just ten meters away from him, was Flo herself. He stopped dead in his tracks. She was duelling, and had just finished off her opponent with Dark Magician, and he remembered the times she'd used that card before, when he'd watched and cheered her on. She looked happy and Craig left her to it.
"Craig!" yelled Bastion, catching up to Craig, "How're you doing? Hayley's just gone to get food quickly; we're just looking for opposition."
Craig didn't respond, staring at a figure in the distance. Bastion noticed this, and looked where Craig was, "Ah," he said, understanding, "Give it some time, things will work out, trust me."
"Thanks," replied Craig, turning around and walking off.
Xxxxx
However, as the evening came, Craig was heading back to his dormitory before he was called down by someone from the staircase.
"Hey Craig! I saw Flo today," said Jaden.
Craig had pretty much had enough. Jaden was the last person he wanted to talk to at this time and he'd been hiding a lot of anger, preventing himself from hurting others but Jaden, wasn't anyone to Craig.
"What? Are you trying to rub it in or something? Yes, you saw her, she god damn exists, that's probably why you saw her, you moron," replied Craig sharply.
"Hey, all I'm saying is she was at the classroom today and I spoke to her was all," replied Jaden.
"OK, you can't be serious. This is just some attempt to rub it in," said Craig in response, "You haven't changed," Craig said, turning away from Jaden and the cafeteria and heading towards the stairs.
"You're pretty damn worked up, man. Not my problem if I've spoken to your ex more in one day than you did in a month," muttered Jaden, standing where he was.
"Alright, that's it!" replied Craig, turning around facing Jaden square on, activating his Duel Disk and placing his Deck inside, "I know this is just some wild plan to knock me out of the tournament early, and I know you're in the Singles tournament. But, it won't be me that gets taken out at this stage, Jaden, I hope you're ready to 'get your game on' as you put it," said Craig, controlling his anger, knowing he would only lose control in a duel if he lost it now.
Jaden chuckled to himself, "Wow, I touched a nerve. Alright Craig, get your game on, because this time, I'm gonna win!"
Xxxxx
Craig: 4000
Jaden: 4000
Jaden drew his five cards, and his extra card for his Draw Phase, "I'll make the first move, just to take the pressure off."
"Wow, no guessing who wins Slifer's Number One Douchebag," replied Craig.
"I don't need insults to hurt you, that's what my cards are for! I play Elemental Hero Woodsman in Defense Mode and I'll throw down a face-down," said Jaden, "You're up." (EHW 1000/2000)
Craig remained focused, not letting Jaden rile him, "For my turn," said Craig, "I'll Summon Green Gadget in Attack Mode, and when he's Summoned, I get to bring a Red Gadget to my hand. I'll also play a face-down to end my turn." (GG 1400/600)
Xxxxx
Hayley and Bastion however, unaware of the duel that was taking place were sitting in Bastion's room cuddling until they heard a rumble from the doorway and outside their window. Looking out of his window, Bastion saw Ra students heading in the direction of the Slifer dormitory. Hayley opened the door and saw Syrus running down the corridors.
"Where you going Sy?" asked Hayley.
"Can't wait, gotta run. Big duel on the first day at the Slifer dorm already!" replied Syrus, turning around, jogging on the spot and running off again.
"Well, he was helpful…" muttered Hayley.
"Hey!" yelled Bastion out of his window and one of the Ra students looked up, "Who is in this big duel?"
"Oh it is massive," said the student, "They were expecting these two to be semi-finalists at the least in the Singles tournament, and now they're fighting in the preliminaries."
"Yes, I heard that, but who?" asked Bastion.
"Jaden Yuki and Craig Thresher, I gotta run!" he responded, as he ran off quickly.
"What's the big deal over this match?" questioned Hayley, "I mean, it's only an ordinary duel, despite how well known the people are in it."
"I've looked around, the Singles semi-finalists are predicted by many to be Jaden, Taniya, Jacob and Craig by most students, one of Jaden or Craig won't even make it into the finals it seems now…" said Bastion worriedly, gearing up to go to the Slifer dormitory.
"But, he'll be fine, Jaden's not exactly a threat to Craig,"
"Yes, but it'll be interesting to see whether or not Craig's had an experience like we've had with the powers. Plus, Craig's chances of victory are slimmer than ever, if he challenged Jaden, he's made a mistake, he's in no position in terms of what's happened recently to be dueling someone as unpredictable as Jaden," explained Bastion, exiting the room and running off, "Come on!"
"Boys…" joked Hayley, running after Bastion.
Xxxxx
Jaden: 4000
Craig: 4000
"It's my turn!" said Jaden, "I Summon Elemental Hero Heat in Attack Mode, and due to his effect, he gains two hundred Attack Points for every Hero I have on the field!" (EHH 1600/1200) (EHH 1600/1200 – 2000/1200)
Craig looked on showing no emotion, as students from different dorms where gathering around, watching students, both, who had saved the world on previous occasions, battle it out already.
"What's all the commotion…" muttered Ryan, heading out of the cafeteria, before becoming frozen at the sight he was seeing.
"And it involves Craig, what a surprise," joked Taniya, walking out to seeing the duel by sunset between the two.
"This could just be a lot bigger than it seems…" muttered Ryan.
"I know what you mean, if Craig loses, it gives Jacob even more of a shot at the Singles prize, but there's nothing we can do now…" replied Taniya.
"Excellent!" said Jaden, "The crowd's arrived to watch me take the prize, I switch Woodsman into Attack Mode, and Heat's gonna attack your Green Gadget, and Woodsman's going after your Life Points!"
Just as Jaden exclaimed, Green Gadget was set alight by the force of Heat which knocked Craig down, before Elemental Hero Woodsman knocked Craig down a lot more by attacking him head on.
Jaden: 4000
Craig: 2400
Craig groaned on the floor at the damage he'd taken, he'd experienced Survival Duels a lot by now, but it seems as if there was a lot more physical pressure placed on this match now suddenly, as the pain of the attacks seemed to hurt, a lot more.
Hayley and Bastion arrived just in time to see Craig sprawled on the floor and slowly rising himself to the field of play and drawing his card, wasting no time in resuming with the duel.
"Time to hit back, I activate my face-down, Enemy Controller! This lets me, with the press of a few buttons, take control of your Elemental Hero Heat! Left, Right, Up, Start, Down!" Craig ordered, the buttons on the giant controller being pushed as he ordered, and Heat was slowly placed into a hypnotized stance and moved over to Craig's side of the field.
"You've got him for one turn and then he comes back to my side of the field, so I hope you can make it last," replied Jaden.
"That's assuming he's on the field, which he won't be, for I sacrifice Elemental Hero Heat to bring out… Jinzo!" Craig said, as the smaller hero was sacrificed for the human-sized android. (J 2400/1500), "Then, I equip Jinzo with 7 Completed, raising his Attack Power by seven hundred points!" (J 2400/1500 – 3100/1500)
"But that's…" began Bastion.
"Enough to take out over half of Jaden's Life Points…" finished Hayley.
"Brilliant…" said Taniya.
"Now that's my brother!" said Ryan happily.
"Jinzo! Take out his Elemental Hero Woodsman with a full-on assault!" ordered Craig. Jinzo opened his hands and began charging up a ball of dark energy before releasing it full on towards Woodsman.
"Activate face-down!" yelled Jaden, "Hero Barrier!"
Contrary to Jaden's instructions, his card was placed face-up but was destroyed the moment Jinzo's attack touched it, then moving straight on through his Woodsman and directly into Jaden, sending him flying.
Both Bastion and Hayley fell down at Jaden's move, "Is he totally retarded?" gasped Hayley.
"I think so, after all, even a basic beginner knows that Jinzo negates traps, what was he thinking?" asked Bastion, sweat dropping.
"It's Jaden Yuki, he can't think," said Hayley with a smirk and Bastion smirked as well.
Jaden: 1900
Craig: 2400
As Jaden moaned in pain, Craig smiled for what seemed to be the first time in this match, "Jinzo's effect means Trap Cards are pretty much irrelevant in this duel whilst he's on the fields, Traps can't be used at all whilst Jinzo is in play."
Jaden rose himself, drew his card and looks disheartened at his draw, "I'll play one monster in Defense Mode to end my turn," said Jaden.
Craig laughed and drew his card, "I'm enjoying this…" he muttered, "I'll play one card face-down and Jinzo'll attack your face-down card!"
Upon command, Jinzo fired his lasers from his eyes again down towards Jaden's face-down card, which was Elemental Hero Lady Heat, which was subsequently destroyed.
"One down, not much more to go," said Craig, ending his turn with a smile.
Jaden rose up yet again from the ground, looking tired from the bombardment Jinzo was giving off, and drew his card. However, this time, a happy smile grew on his face.
Xxxxx
"I haven't seen Jaden's face look like that since… since we defeated the Shadow Riders…" said Alexis, "It looks like he's good again, in a way."
"I know what you mean…" said Syrus.
Yeah," said Chazz.
"S'almost as if the Sarge is the good guy and the Major's the evil one… This battle is out of control!" added Hassleberry.
Xxxxx
"The tables have turned…" said Taniya, "Craig had been ahead, but there's no way his head's straight right now, and Jaden looks like he's drawn a game-changer…"
"What's going on her, Ryan?" asked James, looking up, scared.
James was right, something was different about Craig. He didn't look like the happy, always ready Craig he looked in duels. He looked a lot more intimidating, focusing on Jaden and Jaden alone, letting no distractions stop him.
"I don't know James… But I think we're going to find out," replied Ryan cautiously.
Xxxxx
"Now you're in trouble, for my turn, I first activate Skyscraper!" said Jaden, placing a card in his Field Spell slot and the grassy area around them was transformed into an industrial landscape, buildings replacing the barren area that once was there.
"Impressive," said Craig, complimenting his opponent despite his more serious attitude, "Now let's see what you really have in that Deck."
"As you wish!" replied Jaden, "I Summon Elemental Hero Captain Gold in Attack Mode!" Jaden continued as his field looked a bit more level in comparison to Craig's, despite the power difference, "And when a Hero attacks a monster with more Attack Points, he gains 1000 Attack Points for the Damage Step, drawing him level with your Jinzo! Captain Gold, attack with Golden Skydive!" (EHCG 2100/600-3100/600)
Jaden's warrior jumped up into the air, onto one of the skyscrapers, before jumping down towards Jinzo, gaining an extreme amount of momentum, tearing right through Jinzo although destroying himself in the process due to the equality in Attack Points.
"Looks like the field returns to where we started, if we don't count the buildings," said Craig.
"I guess so, I play a face-down to end my turn," replied Jaden.
Craig drew his card, not changing his facial expression much from the blank look he was showing, "I Summon out Beta the Magnet Warrior in Attack Mode! Beta, attack his Life Points directly!" (BMW 1700/1600)
Beta the Magnet Warrior was immediately Summoned to the field and connected straight away into Jaden with his hands, knocking him to the floor from the electrical jolt Beta had stored in his hands.
Jaden: 200
Craig: 2400
"And that leaves you, on the losing side," said Craig.
Jaden rose up again from the ground, "This duel… isn't over," he said, drawing his card.
"Actually, I'd disagree, you're two hundred Life Points away from being knocked out of the tournament, and all you have is a face-down and a couple of buildings…" insulted Craig.
"Craig, if there's one thing I've learnt from duelling evil, it's that one turn, can change everything!" replied Jaden.
"Duelling evil? How ironic, this past year you've been on the side of evil…" said Craig.
Xxxxx
"Fairly ironic itself…" said Ryan.
"How so?" asked James.
"If I'd just started watching this match and you told me to root for the side of good, I'd be rooting for Jaden right now," replied Ryan.
"This duel is going to go way deeper than any normal duel, I can feel it…" said Taniya.
Xxxxx
"Bastion, are you…" began Hayley.
"Getting that feeling that everything is about to change?" completed Bastion, as Hayley nodded, "Yes. As for what though, that's what I fear…"
Xxxxx
"Take a look around Craig, the terrain is of my advantage and the entire swing of this duel is about to turn, for I activate, Miracle Fusion! This lets me fuse Heroes that are in my Graveyard, and I fuse Elemental Hero HEAT, and Elemental Hero Lady Heat together to create your destruction… I Summon Elemental Hero Nova Master!" said Jaden, as his new warrior appeared on the field, wearing his red solid armor and holding his battle weapons, just gearing up to attack, "Now it's time to get your game on Craig because I'm coming directly for your Life Points, Nova Master, attack his Beta the Magnet Warrior with Nova Blast!" ordered Jaden. (ENM 2600/2100)
"Before your attack succeeds, I'll prevent it, with Magical Hats! This places four hats on my field, concealing my Beta the Magnet Warrior underneath one of them, giving you a 25% chance of success here," responded Craig.
Despite Craig's Trap card, Nova Master continued his onslaught, and destroyed a hat, taking Beta with it, and hitting Craig.
Jaden: 200
Craig: 1500
"That normally works…" muttered Craig.
"Looks like your luck's ran out. To end my turn I'll throw down a face-down," ended Jaden.
Xxxxx
"Jaden's got him right where he wants him," said Taniya.
"No monsters, no face-downs, only three cards in his hand, most of Craig's stronger monsters are Fusions, so it's unlikely he'll be able to bring anything strong enough out to defeat Jaden's Nova Master, and Jaden's one direct attack away from knocking Craig straight out of the tournament," replied Ryan.
Xxxxx
Craig was about to draw his card when suddenly, for him, the scenery changed. No longer was he facing off against Jaden in front of the Slifer dormitory, but instead was watching over what looked like a war room, where two people stood, a soldier in armor, and another, seemingly royal character. It didn't take Craig long to figure that the soldier in armor was his past self, Tai, and the royal character was Bastion from the past, Prince Daichi.
"You summoned me?" asked Tai.
"Ah yes, Sergeant Tai… You see, we have a major issue," replied Daichi, looking around at his best friend.
"What is it?" asked Tai.
"Your father has been killed by Haou's secret General," muttered Daichi.
Tai sank to the floor. Being second-in-command of the army besides the main general, Tai was devastated, "But… my father was the one who got me here in the first place; my father recruited me for this cause... My father is the reason we were still fighting!" Tai yelled, hitting the table in front of him in anger.
"And to make it… worse…" began Daichi.
"How could it get any worse?!" responded Tai, "We've just lost the only major commanding officer we had!"
"With you father killed, a part of Haou's Army took out an entire battalion and well… kidnapped Major Takato and Major Takuya…" Daichi told him, not daring to look Tai in the eyes.
Tai sank to the floor on his eyes, "No…"
"I'm sorry," Daichi replied. Takuya and Takato were Tai's brothers, and Craig knew in the present day, they were actually Ryan and James.
Tai lost it, he slammed his fist into the side of the wall, too angry to show the pain it caused him, "What do we do now?!"
"Well, since you're the next highest commanding army leader, I'm promoting you to General, good luck," informed Daichi.
"I'm going to win, if it's the last thing I do, I will destroy Haou just like he has attempted to destroy me, and I, will, succeed!" yelled Tai, kicking his way through the door in anger and walking out.
Xxxxx
Once more for Craig, the scenery completely changed, and he found himself standing in a hallway of sorts, with statues lining the hallway. Craig saw there was no way backwards, so walked forwards across the carpet that was there into a giant room where he saw a gigantic ice statue in front of him, which looked to be holding a dragon inside it. He walked up to the plaque that was in front of the statue and read 'Tail of Griaule, only to be broken by a general of a victorious army'. Craig knew his past self had been a general of such an army and as it seemed illogical that the statue would be for anyone else so he knew he was supposed to break it.
"Great, now how do I break a gigantic ice sculpture?" asked Craig.
Craig looked around and behind him, by his feet, was a sword, a sword he recognized well, for it was the same sword he helped defeat Karādorein with last year.
"Brilliant, that's how," he said.
He picked up the sword and swung it at the ice sculpture, making a strong indent immediately and light shone out from the indent he had left. Immediately, the ice sculpture started falling apart, eventually revealing a gigantic red dragon that had been frozen, it let out a powerful roar which Craig was slightly taken aback by.
However Craig didn't respond, for he immediately had all thoughts removed from his head, being in the presence of the dragon began to cause change and suddenly his mind was occupied with thoughts about the past, about Haou, or as he knew him Jaden, had damaged him severely in the past, and in the present, thoughts of how upset he was over the situation surrounding Flo, and his upset soon turned to anger, for he would not let the past be repeated, Haou, or Jaden, would never be allowed to return to such strength, he was going to make sure of it… He touched the dragon and immediately found himself back facing Jaden in the duel. It was as if no-one had noticed he had gone somewhere, maybe they hadn't, he was unsure, not that he cared. However, he looked down at the floor, recognizing the glow that was now coming off the top of his Duel Disk and remaining to look down, he drew his card.
Xxxxx
"Craig?" asked Ryan, edging closer to see if his brother was still functioning.
"Step back…" replied Taniya, "I've seen similar things before," she said, staring on the opposite side of the Duel Field towards Hayley and Bastion, Taniya and Bastion exchanging nods, they both knew that Craig had more than likely had a vision similar to Bastion and Hayley and something massive was about to happen.
Xxxxx
The mood about the place had changed from a competitive duel into fear amongst most of the spectators as to what was happening, Craig stood still with his hand still raised in the air from his draw, he began laughing maniacally and slowly raised his head, and there was a significant level of change about his facial structure, at the back of his hair, he had three red stripes streaking down, identical to Bastion's yellow ones, his hair, normally scruffy, now stood on edge around his head and in his right eye, there was a thick, red mark to the right of his pupil. He stood, laughing, staring at the card he had drawn, his laugh alone striking fear into most of the younger students.
Xxxxx
"OK, what the hell?" asked Ryan, trying to get the younger, less responsible students away from Craig.
"I'll get the kids into the dormitory, you go around and get everyone on the other side away, last time two students saw a vision they left a giant crater in the ground," ordered Taniya to Ryan.
"What's happening, Taniya?" asked Drake.
"Something new…" she replied.
Xxxxx
"Alright, everyone back up," said Ryan.
"Why?" asked Larke, on the scene.
"Actually, if anything, you can go closer," he responded to Larke, making her growl at him.
"Spike said that we'd all have one major emotional outburst, looks like this is Craig's, was it like this with Bastion and I?" asked Hayley, fearful for her friend.
"Yes. We're not taking any risks, if there's a giant crater in the ground like the one you and Bastion made we'd rather not be spending the remainder of the night fishing kids out of a crater just so they can go to bed," said Ryan, backing people up.
Xxxxx
By the time Craig had finished laughing, everyone had backed further away from the duel through the assistance of Taniya and Ryan, and he levelled his changed face to face Jaden directly, who looked confused.
"This duel is complete," said Craig. His voice was deeper, not massively, but enough to become noticeable.
"What've you drawn?" asked Jaden.
"A card that would cause your destruction! I Summon the Tail of Griaule!" said Craig, as he placed a blue card on his Duel Disk, and on the field came, from the ground a colossal red dragon with a long spiked tail, staring down at Jaden, letting out a ferocious roar upon the duelists around the field.
Xxxxx
"What is that?!" asked Ryan.
"I've never seen such a card…" said Bastion.
"This is weird, we went through each other's Decks yesterday and he didn't have that card in his Deck and he didn't have time to get it today I don't think, he's somehow got that card mid-duel I reckon…" replied Hayley, "But how and what is it…"
Xxxxx
"And my almighty dragon unfortunately can't attack, however it can fuse with any Trap card to create a monster that can, so I play Scrap-Iron Scarecrow, and my two cards will fuse!" Craig explained further, and the small metallic structure, in comparison to the beast before it, and began to connect into the heart of the dragon, changing its structure entirely, as the dragon began to look more snake-like in its body line, whilst maintaining it's clear view as a dragon, and it's once scaly body slowly become more metallic, the metal being mixed between colours, and various pieces rusting and out of shape with each other, "I bring forth… Scrap-Iron Dragon!" (S-ID 2600/2300)
The newer dragon that took place on Craig's field, making even the Slifer dormitory took small in comparison, let out a high pitch screech which shook the field.
"Even so, he's only got the same amount of Attack Points as my Nova Master!" reminded Jaden, which was true.
"You haven't heard his special ability yet, Scrap-Iron Dragon, on the turn it's brought out, can take the extra scrap metal off a Machine monster in my Graveyard, absorbing half its Attack Points for a turn, so he's going to take twelve hundred extra Attack Points from Jinzo!" explained Craig, as Scrap-Iron Dragon grew even stronger. (S-ID 2600/2300 – 3800/2300)
"But…" began Jaden.
"This duel… is over!" replied Craig vigorously, "Scrap-Iron Dragon, destroy his Nova Master and the remainder of his Life Points!"
As ordered, Scrap-Iron Dragon powered up a blast in its mouth, ready to onslaught Jaden and his monster, before firing the powerful blast directly at Jaden and his Nova Master, destroying them both and the ground around them.
Jaden: 0
Craig: 1500
Everyone was shocked, not at the outcome, not at Craig's card, but the impact the card had left behind. A crater had been left in the ground from the attack, Jaden in the middle, looking seriously hurt, Taniya, despite her mistrust of Jaden, still had a duty to do and she ran down into the crater to check on his condition. Craig however, showed little concern over Jaden's condition, only walking over to retrieve the white card that had fallen out of Jaden's pocket from the onslaught just outside the hole left behind. Ryan looked at his brother in shock of the sudden change in him and his lack of care for the hurt he had caused. He walked behind him as Craig began to walk off and grabbed him back his collar and lifted him off the ground.
"Look at you! You're pathetic, you just did that and you couldn't care any less!" Ryan yelled into his face.
Craig pushed him away and lowered himself back down, "You can talk," he responded, "At least who I've damaged is still in this realm at least."
Ryan didn't look too pleased at Craig's reference to what he had done under possession by Karādorein, normally he kept his cool when it was brought up but the situation and by the state of the person who had brought it up made him angered. Craig saw this in his brother and knew he stood little chance if his brother attempted to come after him to stop him physically, so he slowly turned away and began walking away, even in his changed state of mind he knew he would not be the victor in a physical confrontation. When Ryan slowly began walking after him, Craig turned his walk into a run, running away from the Slifer dormitory into the distance, followed by Ryan running after him, attempting to revert his younger brother back to his original ways.
Craig continued running until he reached the storage area for the Duel Runners, to which Craig quickly opened the door and entered and closed again. Ryan reached the door soon afterwards, and just as he opened the door, out came a white Duel Runner, speeding away from Ryan into the distance, wearing a blue helmet and was already too far away. Ryan could easily unlock one of the basic Runners owned by the school, but by the time he got on it and moving, Craig would be invisible and Craig's Runner was faster than the unupgraded Duel Academy Runners anyway, so there was little hope of capture, so Ryan allowed him to speed off into the distance, as he slammed the door in anger and walked off.
Xxxxx
Back at the Slifer dormitory, Taniya had picked up Jaden on her back, and began walking to the Duel Tower for the hospital wing.
"This duel, is not spoken of any more, do I make myself clear?" Taniya ordered, "What happened tonight never happened, and will never happen again, OK?"
As Taniya passed Hayley, Hayley was about to open her mouth before Taniya stopped her.
"We'll discuss this tomorrow, here. For now though, I need to get Jaden to the hospital wing and we all need some rest after what we've seen tonight, we have a big day ahead of us tomorrow," she said, to which Hayley nodded. Bastion was about to say something, but he thought it'd be best to leave it for now, as he and Hayley began their return to the Ra dormitory, with everyone around them discussing the duel, despite Taniya's orders.
"What were you going to say?" asked Hayley.
"I think, what happened with Craig's card, was due to the Bio Bands, or at least partially due to the Bio Bands anyway," replied Bastion.
"It's gotta be…" muttered Hayley, "But Taniya's right, we need to leave it for tonight and come back to it tomorrow. If Craig could get in that position, then there'll be a way to get him back."
"True. The only issue is; who's willing to face a card like Craig just played?" Bastion replied, "I guess we'll find out."
Xxxxx
James entered his dormitory room again, and neither him, Drake or Matt said anything to each other, no-one truly having anything to say on the duel that had happened before them. James was worried, understandably, but his room-mates were more scared if anything, what if Craig were to return to their dormitory for some reason? They couldn't beat him when he was good, and now, he had a card which left a crater outside their dormitory.
Ryan entered the dormitory, "You boys alright in here?" he asked. The three nodded, although James' nod looked a lot less sincere than the others, "Alright, well, get some rest now, if you need anything, just shout."
Ryan shut the door and paused for a moment on the landing himself. What were they to do now? Anything who would come up against Craig now faced the risk of severe hurt due to that dragon he had just played. He was worried, with Taniya gone to the hospital wing for the night, Ryan remained the line of defence for the Slifer dormitory if Craig returned, and even though he wasn't supposed to show it, which he wasn't, Ryan feared an attack from that dragon card, duels were hard enough nowadays with the Bio Bands and now, they just got worse.
Xxxxx
Jaden lay in the hospital wing, making little recovery from the onslaught of Craig's dragon. Taniya sat down next to his bed, despite what Jaden had done and how little she liked him in comparison to other students, she had a duty to help him if he needed it and now, he needed it. She put her head in her hands and thought to herself. Was Craig's change her fault? Had she perhaps been too harsh on him sometimes? Whilst they may not know the reason for the problem, she knew that she needed to help with finding the solution, for she was also Craig's head of dormitory and although Jaden needed help now, she believed Craig needed it a lot more.
Xxxxx
Flo was next to return to her dormitory, she shut her door and sunk down next to it. She knew she had caused this problem with Craig, it was her fault he was angry because she refused to believe and listen to his reasoning for not spending time with her. She was angry at herself for allowing this to happen and sat down in her room alone, dwelling on what had happened and letting her anger build up inside. Tomorrow, she insisted to herself she would begin resolving this problem, whilst she may have ended her relationship with Craig, she still cared about him and wanted to see him back to how he was. Even if it meant risking herself by challenging him…
Xxxxx
The next morning had occurred, and Taniya had given the students who were to discuss the situation with her permission to skip their classes for the day until they were finished, and whilst Bastion and Hayley may have been reluctant to do so, they decided it was for the best. Around the Slifer cafeteria stood Taniya, Ryan, Hayley, Bastion and Flo.
"Is this everyone?" asked Ryan to Taniya, who had summoned those who were there.
"I believe so," she replied.
"No James?" asked Hayley.
"He wanted to help, and Taniya was more than happy to let him, but I'd rather James not get involved, for his own safety," replied Ryan.
"This is my fault…" muttered Flo.
"How so?" questioned Taniya, not believing so.
"It's my fault he got so angry and lost control…" she said, getting upset again. Taniya walked over to her and embraced her, Flo was a fighter and was willing to help and Taniya believed she would be significant in getting Craig back.
"Maybe that's not true…" said Hayley, "Bastion and I thought of something…"
"Go on…" said Ryan.
"You all know about our flashback, heck, Bastion used his psychic powers to show you what we saw the day afterwards. Spike also said that the rest of you would be having one major emotional flashback," she began.
"I think Craig might've seen something of the same thing as us and his loss of control was probably due to that, but he couldn't output any energy due to not having any powers. At first, I was angry at Jaden and ready to destroy him, but in the end those effects passed. Maybe Craig saw something to do with Jaden's past self as well, and as Jaden was right in front of him, he was able to cause damage to Jaden immediately before those effects passed. The damage was perhaps caused by Craig's anger causing him to output more anger, which perhaps stopped his resistance to the Bio Bands, allowing them to magnify the effects of his anger into that dragon, which leaded to the damage that happened," explained Bastion.
"See? Not your fault," said Taniya to Flo cheerily.
"And the dragon card?" asked Ryan.
"I think he got that part way through the duel," said Taniya, "If he had a vision like Hayley and Bastion think; I reckon he got it in that vision, because his Duel Disk his glowing when he changed… I reckon that was the card."
"It's not just the card; it's also his past powers coming through. Granted, mine came through little by little starting after my Colour Duel and I only gained all of them once the final battle was over. Hayley's powers never came with an emotional outburst; they were just fully unlocked after the final battle like mine. Craig received all his powers in one shot instead of having them grow within him slowly. Our powers are tied to our strength of will, strength of mind and our emotions, Craig's emotions were all over the place last night, he was not balanced liked Hayley and I were," explained Bastion, who had done a lot of research with Spike on their powers, wanting to be prepared.
Flo still didn't look too pleased about the occurrence of last night, "Hey," said Hayley, "Remember just before we got on the boat, and seven of us made that pact?" she asked.
Xxxxx
There was a slight moment of silence, before Bastion interrupted, "Tell you what everyone, let's make a pact. All seven of us, myself, Hayley, Taniya, James, Craig, Flo and Ryan, we promise to each other that no matter what happens, whatever evil and darkness we have to fight, we fight it together," he proposed, placing his hand in the middle.
"Sure," added Hayley confidently, placing her hand on top of Bastion's.
"Fine. Together, nothing can stop us," said Taniya, adding her hand.
"Sign me up," said Ryan, placing his own hand in.
"I'm game," replied James, reaching up and placing his hand on top of Ryan's.
"Couldn't see it happening any other way," added Flo, placing her hand in and staring at Craig, waiting for his indication.
"You can count me in," added Craig, "We wouldn't have done it last year after all."
Xxxxx
"He promised to us that he'd fight whatever evil we come across together," Hayley reminded.
"And we will. Even if he's not himself on the outside, he's still the same old Craig on the inside," added Bastion, making Flo, as well as Taniya smile, however Ryan remained still.
"That's all well and good, our little pact, but to get Craig back we'll need to get him to change back, and if he changed to become that in a duel, I reckon the way to get him back is to duel him as well, and defeat him this time," Ryan explained, "Which means…"
"Facing that dragon…" finished Flo.
No-one replied, although it hurt, Ryan was right, the most likely way they would get Craig back is defeating him, and with a card like the Tail of Griaule, that seemed even harder.
"Well, maybe getting his dragon was down to the battle with Karādorein, after all, Griaule is a red dragon and red is the colour of Craig's Colour Key, just like my colour is pink and Bastion's is yellow. Bastion and I also did that, so maybe we're getting a dragon as well?" Hayley wondered.
"So, this isn't a leftover power thing from the final battle is it?" asked Ryan.
"Absolutely not, Spike told us later on that using our Battle Forms unlocked Hayley's and mine remaining power and did nothing for Craig, simply handing him the power he needed to help us. If Craig had obtained his power before then, then his remaining locked power would have also been unlocked. We can only access our Battle Forms in a situation like the Final Battle, it's not anything to casually use," said Bastion.
"Duelling seems to be the only way to trigger the emotional flashbacks, whether we're duelling or watching a duel and I bet it's the only way, if my hunch is right, to get a dragon card as well," said Hayley.
"You two aren't allowed to duel Craig anyway, your Duel Disks would stop, you two are in the Doubles and he's in the Singles," Taniya said.
"Um, I have one more question, why didn't Craig get a mark on his cheek?" asked Flo.
"Craig was our General, he was not royalty like Hayley and I," said Bastion.
"That means that Taniya will get a cheek mark but Ryan and James won't and will most likely get something similar to Craig," said Hayley. The five paused and stopped for a moment, before Hayley intervened, "Well, I think we've done a pretty good job here, we'll see what occurs I guess before coming up with a final idea?"
"Sounds good to me," replied Taniya, and Flo and Bastion nodded in agreement.
"We'll be heading to class then I suppose," said Bastion, as him, Flo and Hayley turned away and walked towards the Duel Tower.
Once they were out of sight, Taniya looked at the disbelieving Ryan questioningly, "You didn't seem too… believing," she questioned.
"I don't think there's much point hiding it to those three, this is going to be a lot harder than it might first seem, sure, we're all similar levels with each other in terms of our duelling skills with Craig, but Craig has that dragon card, which none of us do but Bastion and Hayley, if Hayley is right, just might get," he explained.
"You're right I guess, but we have to be optimistic," Taniya stated.
"Yes, but at the same time we sort of have to be realistic as well, can we actually stop that Tail of Griaule card?" he asked.
There was another moment of pause before Taniya replied, "I don't know."
"So, can we actually defeat Craig, bearing in mind one attack from that card will wipe you out?" Ryan asked.
"I don't know," Taniya responded.
"So, can we actually get Craig back?" asked Ryan.
"I don't know," Taniya replied.
Xxxxx
COLD: Not bad, 5/10.
AI: That hurt…
COLD: Haha, sorry.
AI: No wor-
COLD: Not really.
AI: Huh?
COLD: Nothing! Thanks for reading and make sure to Review!
AI: OC applications are now CLOSED.
COLD: Doy, too many OC's is not a good thing.
AI: Bye!
COLD: (whacks AI with frying pan)