JC: The internet likes torturing me. Well, all I can say is that my internet connection kinda sucked for the past few days. I had serious issues with this chapter too. Sort of a little writer's block here and there, but everything worked out in the end. I've managed to come up with a good duel in my head and put it into writing. I hope it's good enough for you guys. Just so you know, cards that Jaden and Alexis used from the GX Manga and games would pop up here. I didn't restrict them to Anime-only, okay? Hmmm…I am planning another fanart soon, probably for Valentines Day. I'm still thinking about the concept. Oh, well, let's just get on with this chapter.
Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX, people, or its characters, but the plot of this story is mine. All rights belong to Kazuki Takahashi.
White Vow
Turn 22: A Cold Nostalgia
The man was waiting outside her bedroom door. His arms were crossed, his chiseled features calm and indifferent, as he shifted his pristine blue eyes toward her. He was tall and mighty. The aura he possessed was intimidating. He was always like that, Alexis thought with a shrug. Seto Kaiba was a man of absolute authority. It was almost hard to imagine that such a man had saved her once from death and had paid close attention to her during recuperation. Indeed she was quite grateful for his care. The man was her savior, that much was undeniable, but he had hurt her recently. Matters concerning the heart were rather a difficult problem to solve, especially since her love was treated as nothing more than a hollow object.
He gave her his arrogant smirk, always a warning sign that he has something devious in his mind.
She stilled herself, not giving into his pressure, challenging him with serious eyes. "I'm sure you didn't come all this way just to wish me good luck," she said, tone heavy and cold.
"Are you absolutely certain that you'll win?" he questioned.
"What? You talk as if you don't know me. I'm confident in my abilities as a Duelist."
"Of course…You wouldn't have graduated as one of the top elites if you were some second-rate Duelist."
"Enough of this…Are you trying to avoid the matter at hand?" Alexis crossed her arms. "What's your real reason for seeing me?"
"Sharp as always…"
Alexis was sure he had something up his sleeve again. "I thought you made it loud and clear already. We're gonna decide everything with a duel."
"Hmph…I came here for a very important thing," Seto scoffed, reaching into one of the pockets of his suit. "And I trust that you'll put them to good use."
Her eyes grew wide at the object he showed to her. "This is…"
"I've been holding onto this for quite a while now, waiting for the right time to give it to you," Seto said.
"But…Wait a minute! Why should I take it? I mean…I don't even need—"
"Don't need them?" Seto shrugged. "Have you forgotten about our—"
"Don't bring that up now!" Alexis exclaimed, quickly willing herself to a calm.
Seto took her hand and pressed the object into her palm. "I'm not giving you much of a choice here, Alexis," he said. "You will accept it and you will use it."
Alexis turned her gaze away, biting her lower lip in anger. "It's not fair. This isn't the right time."
"No, it is the right time."
Alexis had given Jaden a scorn look the moment he stepped into the arena. He was wearing the outfit he wore during her mother's birthday duel. It was kind of ironic for them to be opponents since they wore matching outfits. Inserting her deck into her Duel Disk, she activated it immediately. "You ready, Jaden?" she asked, keeping her voice in monotone.
Jaden looked at her cheerfully. "You know I'm always ready for a Duel, Lex," he replied.
Oh, as usual, it was as plain as day. Jaden was the forever Dueling fool. He would get all pumped up. He loved challenges, no matter how hard they were, and he would always do his best. Defeating him would be no easy task, she knew that too well, but she was no easy picking either. "No holding back."
He activated his Duel Disk and took his stance. "We go all out!"
She tried her best not to roll her eyes. "Then let's do this."
"Get your game on, Alexis!" Jaden said.
DUEL: JADEN YUKI VS. ALEXIS RHODES
FORMAT: STANDARD, SINGLE DUEL
Duel Mode had been engaged. The wide big screen turned on. Both of them showed up on screen with 4000 LP each. 5 cards were drawn from their decks.
"It's finally starting," Atticus muttered under his breath, giving the man beside him a brief glance. Full of pride, oozing with a charismatic air, Seto Kaiba focused his eyes on the two Duelists below. Atticus almost hesitated to speak with him. "Dude, I don't really get you. Why make them do this? I mean, you could have just—"
"Everything is done for a reason," Seto replied curtly. "I have my own way of doing things."
He tried not to stare. It didn't matter that Seto Kaiba was one of the most powerful men in the world, or that he was relentlessly ruthless either. The fact of the matter was that he was involving Jaden and Alexis in his twisted little schemes. "I know you're not crazy enough to hurt her…Right?"
"Feel free to think otherwise."
Atticus felt his eyebrow twitched.
"The first move's mine, so here goes!" Alexis announced, drawing a card from her deck. She took one quick look at it and slapped it on the Monster Card Zone. "I'm gonna set this one face down!"
A familiar smile appeared on Jaden's face. "Ooohhh, a face down monster. I wonder what it is."
"Try attacking it if you want," Alexis said, picking a card from her hand. "Now here's two more facedowns." She inserted two cards into the Spell/Trap Card zones, narrowing her eyes at Jaden. "That marks the end of my turn."
He nodded and lifted a hand to his deck. "My draw!" He drew a card and his eyes gleamed. "And I'm starting off with my specialty!"
Alexis crossed her arms over her chest, currently looking unimpressed. "Fusion right off the bat…"
"Time to do the Math! Elemental Hero Avian plus Elemental Hero Burstinatrix equals…" Both heroes appeared as their names were called out, then they flew up to combine in the air. "The one and only Elemental Hero Flame Wingman (ATK: 2100)!"
"His favorite hero," Alexis muttered, glaring at the green-colored, perfectly buffed, hero.
Typical…Alexis isn't worried at all. Her facedown must be a Trap Card, but I don't think she's expecting me to take the bait. More like she's expecting me to just end my turn. Jaden slightly raised his fist in excitement. "Alright!" he announced, and Alexis merely raised a brow. "Let's turn up the heat!"
As the Hero prepared to enter Battle Phase, Alexis activated her reverse card on the field. "Sorry to burst your bubble, but your Wingman is gonna leave the field early. Here's a Spell Card for you and I'm sure you're familiar with it."
The revealed card happened to be De-Fusion, a Quick-Spell to undo Fusion, which caused Flame Wingman to return to the Extra Deck. To take his place on the field, Jaden had no choice but to Special Summon back the Fusion Materials he used for Flame Wingman. Now Jaden has Elemental Hero Avian (DEF: 1000) and Elemental Hero Burstinatrix (DEF: 800) in Defense Mode. "And here I thought it was a Trap…" Jaden let out a big sigh. "Well, you were always unpredictable. I'll throw a facedown and end my turn now."
"I thought you were going to be serious," Alexis said, drawing a card from her deck. "You could have put one of them in Attack Mode and have them attack my set monster."
"Just you wait," Jaden replied with a wink. "The duel has just begun." And I need to be a little cautious around you, Lex. You still have that other facedown.
Atticus cupped his chin with one hand. "Hmm… Checking each other out… And J's being careful around her facedown. Not bad for a start. But…Is she using a new kind of monster?" He glanced at the man beside him, who was keenly observing Alexis. He let out a shrug and returned his focus on the duel.
"Hope you're ready for this, Jaden," Alexis said, flipping her facedown monster up. "I Flip Summon Crystal Seer." A Spellcaster-type of the Water Attribute, Crystal Seer (ATK: 100/DEF: 100)was a woman garbed in red and dark blue-robes. Glowing blue orbs floated around her, giving her this mystifying essence.
"Cool!" Jaden beamed. "A New Card!"
"Save it!" Alexis said curtly "And get serious!"
"Now, now…Just relax, Lex," Jaden said, smiling warmly.
Alexis shrugged, feeling her annoyance grow. "Anyway…I activate Crystal Seer's special effect. You see, when she's flipped up, I'm allowed to pick up two cards from the top of my deck," she explained as she drew two cards, "then I can select one card and add it to my hand. The other one gets sent to the bottom of my deck though." She selected a Spell Card and placed the other card on the bottom of her deck.
"Hmm…Pretty neat effect," Jaden remarked.
Ignoring his comment, Alexis summoned her next monster. "Cold Enchanter (ATK: 1600), take the stage!" The Monster Card that appeared on the field was a cool beauty garbed in whitish-blue clothes. She had silver hair and a pair of cold blue eyes. The weapon in her hand was a staff shaped like a snowflake.
At that point, Jaden was hit by a blizzard of harsh recollections. "Crystal Seer and now Cold Enchanter... Ice…An Ice-themed Deck just like that time…" he muttered to himself. "Alexis, what are you…"
"Next, I'm playing this," Alexis said, gracefully presenting a Spell Card for Jaden to see. "Magical Dimension!"
"Huh?"
"Since I control a Spellcaster-Type, I can tribute one monster I control to special summon another Spellcaster from my hand," she explained, pulling out her chosen monster from her hand cards. "I'm sacrificing Crystal Seer…"
An iron cabinet with a hinged front, resembling an Iron Maiden torture device, enclosed Crystal Seer inside.
"In order to special summon Ice Master!" Alexis declared.
Ice Master (ATK: 2500)was a Spellcaster-type of the Water Attribute with long blonde hair and sharp blue eyes. Her bottom part of her face was covered. She wore a floor-length white and blue gown with a white belt around her waist embedded with an ice blue crystal. She also sported a white-blue chest armor with two blue orbs situated in the front. The weapon she wielded was a staff shaped like a snowflake, similar to Cold Enchanter's weapon, only much bigger and more elaborate.
Jaden was awed. He was a 110 percent sure that this Spellcaster was badass, considering the fact that she had 2500 attack points, and he was dead curious about its special effect and a bit afraid of it actually.
"Don't be impressed just yet," Alexis told him. "Due to Magical Dimension'seffect, I can now destroy one monster on the field and I choose your Avian there." She pointed at the said monster. Then Elemental Hero Avian instantly got encased in the iron cabinet before it crumbled and disappeared.
"Oh, man, this isn't good," Jaden said, taking a step back. "Mind if I grab a coat?"
"Ahh…No!" Alexis retorted. "Cold Enchanter, attack Burstinatrix with Ice Crystal Daggers!"
Cold Enchanter raised her wand as it began to glow in a cool blue aura. Then dagger-like ice crystals began to appear one by one before her. With one swing of her staff, the daggers were sent flying toward the Elemental Hero, piercing every inch of her body and ultimately destroying her.
Jaden lightly chuckled. "Uh-oh…I seriously don't wanna get frostbite."
Ice Master's wand had began glowing as well, preparing to launch an attack on Jaden. "Too bad for you, huh?" Alexis said.
"Nah….Not really," Jaden said, flipping his set card, "cuz I'm calling for backup. Here's Hero Signal!"
The Trap Card glowed and flashed the Hero's insignia in the sky. It was a signal for Heroes when they are needed to save the day. Since a monster was destroyed by battle on Jaden's side of the field and got sent to the Graveyard, he can Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower Elemental Hero monster from his hand or Deck.
"Alright, Bubbleman, you're up!" Jaden announced, then Elemental Hero Bubbleman (DEF: 1200) emerged on the field from the deck, swinging its blue cape with flair. "Now I'm allowed to draw two cards from my deck."
"It doesn't bother me one bit. Ice Master, blow him away with Eternal Blizzard!" The Spellcaster twirled her staff above her head with both hands, then swinging it gracefully in front of her before hitting the bottom end of the staff on the floor. In that instant, a ferocious blizzard was created around the arena. The piercing winds brought Jaden down on one knee. "Cold enough for you?"
Jaden's hero got frozen in ice before he shattered into tiny pieces. Things weren't looking good for him, but it wasn't enough to dampen his mood. As soon as the arena cleared, Jaden got back up and smiled at her. "Boy, you really sure know how to make things more interesting, Alexis," he said.
"Glad to see you're interested," Alexis said, slightly smirking. "Knowing you, I'm sure you're not the least bit worried about losing. But I dare you to destroy my Ice Master if you can." She set another card on the field and ended her turn.
Jaden drew a card from his deck. "Hmm…A dare, you say? I'll take you up on that." He was planning on another Fusion Summon.
"Whatever it is you're planning, I'm not letting you do it," said Alexis, revealing her Continuous Trap Card . "I activate Anti-Spell Fragrance."
"Huh? What?"
"Sorry, but you can't activate any Spell Cards unless you set them first," Alexis explained, "and you can't activate them until the next turn."
Jaden grimaced. "Doesn't this affect you too?"
"Of course, but I have a way around it," Alexis said confidently.
Jaden lapsed into silence. In truth, he had been denying this in his head from the moment she played Cold Enchanter. Clearly she was playing an Ice-themed deck, though a tad diverse than the one from before. However, the method was dreadfully similar, and it wasn't giving him any good vibes at all. "Alexis, are you…um…"
"It's still your turn, Jaden," Alexis said. "Make it count."
Polymerization was useless for this turn. He needed to set it first before using it. If I lay down any spells or traps, I'm sure as hell she'll destroy them or seal them somehow. It'll be déjà vu all over again.
"Kuri! Kuri-kuri!" Winged Kuriboh cooed as it popped up, telling Jaden to play him.
"I was saving you till later, but since this is an emergency," Jaden said, smiling at his little friend. "Alright, I'm counting on you, pal." He picked out Winged Kuriboh from his hand cards and slapped it onto the Monster Card Zone. Winged Kuriboh (DEF: 200)materialized on the field in defense mode.
"Winged Kuriboh…Prolonging your life, Jaden?"
"Hey, I'm not about to lose to you easily, you know."
Alexis rolled her eyes. "Obviously…"
Mr. and Mrs. Rhodes had been watching the duel since the beginning. While Mr. Rhodes was rather upset seeing Jaden duel instead of Seto Kaiba, Mrs. Rhodes was enjoying it. She had heard about Jaden's Dueling skills from her children way before she met him personally and she had seen his prowess during her birthday. It was no wonder Alexis got interested in him ever since Jaden's first duel with Dr. Crowler. His methods were random and unorthodox, but very intriguing. But there was something strange going on, especially with Jaden. He seemed bothered, distracted.
Mrs. Rhodes opened her trusty laptop and entered Duel Academy's Duel Records. "Now let's see here…" She accessed her daughter's records. "A's in all subjects…Impressive as usual, Alexis," she muttered under her breath. When she gained access to Alexis' Duel Records in her sophomore year, she spotted very interesting information.
"What in blazes are you doing, dear?" Mr. Rhodes questioned.
The woman simply graced him with a smile. "Oh, just a little research," she said. "By the way, Alexis is using new cards today."
"Yes, I can see that," Mr. Rhodes replied.
"But they're awfully familiar, aren't they?" She accessed another database, blazing her fingers across the keyboard. "Oh, my! No wonder…"
Summoning Winged Kuriboh in defense mode was the last thing Jaden did before he ended his turn. The instant Alexis drew her card she entered Battle Phase. "Cold Enchanter, Ice Crystal Daggers!" she commanded, and the Aqua-type monster destroyed Winged Kuriboh easily.
"Sorry about that, pal," Jaden said, "but thanks. You're always a lifesaver."
"I can't do additional damage because of Winged Kuriboh's effect, so I'll call it a turn," Alexis told him.
"This is giving me a bad taste in my mouth," Jaden mumbled, drawing his card. "I didn't think we'd do this again, Alexis."
"What are you talking about?" she calmly asked.
Jaden shrugged. "Think you got me cornered?"
"No, I don't think so," Alexis replied. "I'm sure you have a way out of this. Besides, our life points are still intact."
He stared at his cards, then lowered his eyes further down. "Well, now…I guess you know me too well, Lex." He looked up at her and noted that her eyes seemed to be in doubt. "Alexis…" He sighed to himself. "I'm sending out Clayman to the field." A hero with a clay body appeared on the field in defense mode (DEF: 2000). After that, Jaden inserted 3 cards into the Spell/Trap Card Zones and ended his turn.
"Why so passive?" Alexis questioned, raising a brow. "It's not like you…unless you're risking it all with those facedown cards of yours."
"I can't exactly use any spells right away cuz of your trap there," he replied. "And I don't have any cards at the moment to destroy that either."
"I appreciate the honesty, but it's not going to help you," Alexis stated, activating one of her set cards. "Here's a Spell Card! Cold Wave!"
The card glowed and blew a piercing cold blizzard toward Jaden. "It's freakin' cold," he muttered under a shaky breath, wrapping his arms around himself.
"This card can only be activated at the start of my Main Phase 1," Alexis explained, crossing her arms over her chest, as hers and Jaden's set cards got frozen. "Whatever traps you set, it won't work now, because you and I can't play or set any Spells or Traps until my next turn."
Jaden's eyes narrowed. "I kinda knew this would happen..."
Atticus whistled in awe at his sister's stratagem. "Alexis is taking control of the field," he said. "This is gonna be tough. But I never thought she'd use an Ice-themed deck again."
Seto smirked. "She's certainly putting the cards to good use."
"Why'd you make her use it?" Atticus asked the man.
"I'm not obligated to answer any of your questions, Atticus," Seto replied briskly.
Atticus shrugged. "You're so stingy."
"Now I activate Ice Master's special effect. Once per turn, I can target 1 face-up monster on the field and place an Ice Counter on it. I'm placing an Ice Counter on Ice Master herself," Alexis said, and then a mark of a snowflake appeared on the back of the Ice Master's hand, which indicated a Counter. "Thanks to this effect, Cold Enchanter's attack points go up by 300."
Jaden braced himself for the impending attack.
"Ice Master, attack Clayman with Eternal Blizzard!" Alexis commanded. The raging blizzard turned the clay hero into ice and destroyed it. Next up was Cold Enchanter (ATK: 16001900). "Okay, Cold Enchanter, let him have it!" The Aqua-type monster jumped into the air and hauled two crystal daggers at Jaden, reducing his life points.
"Oh, man…" Jaden (LP: 2100) felt an awful chill running down his spine.
"That's it for my turn."
Jaden worked his mind off. Can't use my facedowns cuz of Cold Wave…What to do? What to do? He ran a hand through his hair, heaving a deep sigh. He then drew a card and looked at it. "This is…Hmm…I'm gonna summon this guy, Elemental Hero Woodsman, in defense mode."
A hero imbued with the power of nature, Elemental Hero Woodsman (DEF: 2000) had green skin and a muscular body. His right part of his body was akin to a tree itself.
"So, I'm not the only one who brought new cards today," Alexis said, looking indifferent. "Well, he's not going to make any difference. He'll be destroyed just like Clayman."
"Go ahead and do it," Jaden declared, smiling his trademark smile. Alexis shot back a glare. "Hey, no need to give me that look. Besides, it's your turn now." Alexis stared at him and his hero on the field. Her eyes were calculating. His mind was telling him that Alexis could see right through him, but he wasn't worried. Even if the duel was a repeated memory, it wasn't enough to stop him from enjoying the duel. And he was going to show Alexis how serious he was about her.
"Three facedowns…" she muttered to herself, drawing a card from her deck. "Hmph…No problem. I activate my second Cold Wave." She flipped her other face down up.
Jaden's grin became wider. "And that's what I've been waiting for!" he said excitedly. "I activate my trap and it's called Element Intervention!"
"Huh? Element Intervention?"
"Yep! You see, by removing one E-Hero from play, I can negate your Spell Card and destroy it," he said. As Elemental Hero Woodsman was removed from play, Alexis' Cold Wave got destroyed.
Alexis remained calm. "So what? You're wide open now."
"But I've got my facedowns here," Jaden replied.
"You don't scare me," Alexis said, ordering both of her monsters to attack him directly.
"Wooahhh there! Time out!" Jaden opened one of this reversed cards. "Here's Negate Attack!" A barrier appeared around Jaden and shielded him from the ice cold attacks.
"Just wait till next turn."
"Gladly! Oh, by the way, Woodsman is gonna make his grand return now," Jaden said, and the said hero once again appeared on the field in defense mode.
Alexis suppressed a shudder as she looked at Seto Kaiba in the bleachers. Any normal person would cower underneath his gaze, but she stood firm.
Jaden took notice of this and purposely let out a loud sigh for her to hear. "Ignore him and enjoy the duel, Lex," he told her.
Her heart leaped at what he said. She shot a glare at him and started to reminiscence the White Night Duel. It was the time when she was brainwashed by the Society of Light. She became a cold, heartless person. She was cruel to all her friends, cruel to her brother and to Jaden. At first, she couldn't remember that particular battle after the duel ended. She just knew that Jaden was the one who saved her from the Society of Light. Her memories all seemed blurry when she snapped out of the trance. However, she eventually regained them as time passed.
She had her doubts in using an Ice-themed Deck again. Nevertheless, the deck she was currently using was different from the White Night Deck. Everything she believed in, everything she dreamed of was instilled in this deck.
Never…
Never in his whole life did he ever expect something as crazy, as illogical, and as perplexed as this. This situation was uncalled for, but it somehow happened. Partially he was blaming himself for letting his guard down. Nevertheless, the entire escapade took him completely by surprise and rather painfully too. The day David had come to Duel Academy to meet him, the moment he had stepped into the arena with him, he had seen treachery behind blue eyes, and Zane Truesdale had already anticipated his dirty tricks. However, he was wrong to think David would actually resort to petty tricks like hiding strong cards under his sleeve or spying on his hand cards. David did much greater damage by hitting him where it hurts the most.
David had rigged his Duel Disk. He had installed an Electrode, a shock-amplifying device, which electrocuted Zane every time he lost life points. In addition to that, David also used a Duel Anchor, which connected Zane's Duel Disk to his, preventing Zane from escaping the arena.
Zane's heart condition wasn't the best to begin with. The electric shocks he received from his match against David had severely weakened him. Sad to say, Zane couldn't do anything to stop David from abducting him or to stop him from hurting the innocent Blair Flannigan, a young girl who used to have a crush on him.
The maiden in love, Blair's past love for him was so intense that she snuck into Duel Academy disguised as a boy. But a young girl's heart can somewhat be indecisive. She developed feelings for Jaden soon after he defeated her in a duel. Though Blair was an underage student, the dark blue-haired girl was smart and a talented Duelist.
Poor girl hadn't even had the opportunity to shout for help. She'd walked into the arena, curious to see what was going on, and blinked in surprise at the sight of David dragging Zane, then found herself getting knocked out.
At least, Zane had the strength to look calm on the outside after he had awoken from his unconscious state. Though he certainly hadn't been feeling calm on the inside, considering his heart condition, and the fact he was drugged only worsen everything. Unable to do anything else, Zane stared straight ahead, and silently hoped that Blair had reported the incident to the teachers or the authorities, or had called Atticus and Alexis about it.
Zane took note of the spacious room he was in. It was a cozy bedroom with a king-sized bed, a flat-screen TV, a lavish bookshelf full of graphic novels, and a mini-fridge. At any rate, he was a little grateful that David decided to lock him up in that room instead of a throwing him in the basement. David even had the decency of putting him on a couch near the glass terrace doors.
"I know you've been awake for a while now."
Zane turned his head at David's voice, then narrowed his eyes. He tried moving other parts of his body, but it seemed like only his head and mouth were functional. The drug's effect was worse than he thought.
"You can talk, can't you?"
"This is a new low for you, David," Zane said abruptly.
"I'll take that as a compliment," David said dryly.
Zane ignored the sarcasm and said, "Don't you dare hurt Alexis."
"You're quick to assume."
"Should I assume that you're actually obsessed with me and decided to kidnap me for your desires?" Zane breathed out, keeping his tone calm.
David grimaced. "Don't make me hit you, Truesdale," he threatened with scorned look on his face.
"You just don't know when to quit. What good will come out of this? This isn't going to make her like you."
"I'm doing this for my own personal pleasure," David said, grinning maliciously. "By the way, do you have any idea where you are right now?"
Zane caught a glimpse of the ocean through the curtains. "Your beach house…I believe…"
"Quite a memorable place for Alexis," David said.
Zane's chest tightened. "You're luring her here?"
"Where else?"
"Bastard…" Zane grumbled.
David glanced at Zane with amusement. "This is gonna be so much fun."
Beaten into submission, kidnapped to be a hostage, Zane thought grimly as he closed his eyes in pain. With his body drugged and weakened he could do nothing against David. He would never forgive himself if anything bad would ever happen to Alexis because of his uselessness. He hoped Jaden and Atticus would be there to protect her. David was spiteful and dangerous to begin with, and Zane could still remember the horrible things he did to Alexis in the past.
To be continued…
JC: Yeah, David's still around to cause trouble for everyone. I've managed to include Blair this time, but through Zane's point of view only. Don't worry. She'll be reappearing much later. I do have plans involving around Duel Academy, probably nearing the ending or so. Aside from David's schemes, Seto Kaiba isn't being clear either. He gave Alexis a new deck to fight against Jaden. I hope I got your curiosity running. That's it for this chapter. Chapter 23 is coming up. Please review, review! No FLAMING!