Author's Note: I wasn't expecting to get this chapter done so soon. But the duel we're about to see came together really quick. I hope everyone enjoys it.
Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX.
Chapter 3: Duel of Pride
Morning had come to the grounds of Duel Academy America. Jaden sat in his room at the guesthouse looking over his deck one last time. He glanced at the clock on the nightstand and saw that it was 8:20 AM. His duel with David was to begin in ten minutes time. Jaden got up from his desk and calmly walked out of the room. His mind was keenly focused on defeating David.
Upon exiting the door of the guesthouse, Jaden found a pair of female academy students waiting for him. Both of them looked to be about sixteen. One of them had very long straight dark-red hair that ended half way down her back and striking green eyes. The other girl had shoulder-length curly blonde hair and chocolate-brown eyes that were behind a pair of thick round glasses with black frames.
"Uh, can I help you two?" Jaden asked the two girls.
"Hi! You're Jaden Yuki, right?" the redhead responded. "I'm Sheila Tate, and the girl with me is my friend, Sophie Cross. Principle Mackenzie personally asked us to escort you to the stadium."
"Oh, well thanks." Jaden replied. With that, he began to follow Sheila and Sophie to the academy's main stadium.
"So Jaden, I hope you're ready to take on David Rabb." Sheila spoke as they walked. "He's one of our academy's top graduates. Both David and his foster sister Reggie were considered the Prince and Princess of this school."
"They're that strong, huh?" Jaden responded.
"So I've heard." Sheila replied. "I've actually only been at this academy for about two months, so I'm still learning all the local legends and whatnot. I transferred here from an academy up north."
"Are you a transfer student too Sophie?" Jaden asked.
"Oh, uh no. I've been a student here for almost three years now." Sophie shyly answered.
"Hey Sophie!" a male voice suddenly called from behind.
Jaden and the others stopped and turned around. Quickly walking towards them was a male academy student with dark-blue eyes and shaggy white hair. He was missing the hat that most of the other academy students normally wore and his coat was unbuttoned near the top.
Sophie's face turned bright red upon seeing the young man. "Uh, uh, Mick! What are you doing here?"
"I came looking for you, silly girl." Mick replied. "I ended up searching half the grounds for you."
"I'm sorry." Sophie told him with a look of shame.
"Principle Mackenzie asked me and Sophie to escort our visiting pro duelist to the stadium." Sheila explained to Mick.
"Oh, you're that Jaden Yuki I've heard about." Mick observed. "It's nice to meet you. I'm Mick Silver. I read about your victory in the Astraea Star Cup tournament a few months ago. You must be one hotshot duelist."
"Thanks." Jaden told him. "It's nice to know that I have a few fans out there."
"You think that you and I can have a duel sometime while you're here?" Mick requested. "I think taking on a pro duelist like you would be a good experience for me."
"I'd be happy to take you on." Jaden agreed.
"Hey Mick, we're kind of on the clock here." Sheila reminded. "So what is it that you wanted to talk to Sophie about?"
"Right. Sophie, you think you could meet up with me by the old supply shed after Jaden's duel?" Mick requested. "There's something important I'd like to discuss with you."
"Um, sure." Sophie agreed. "I'll be there as soon as I can."
"Thanks. Catch ya later then." Mick replied before heading off towards the stadium. Jaden and the two girls continued towards the stadium as well.
"He seemed like a pretty nice guy." Jaden observed as they continued walking.
"Mick is actually one of the top students currently enrolled at this school." Sheila revealed. "He's also got something of a reputation as a bad boy. A lot of the girls here are crazy about him. Including our dear Sophie here."
"I… I'm not…" Sophie attempted to deny, but her blush gave her away.
"Well, here we are." Sheila noticed as soon as they arrived at the stadium door. "Looks like bye for now, Jaden. Sophie and I will be watching you from the stands. Good luck in there."
"Thanks." Jaden replied. "It was nice meeting you both."
With that, Jaden and his two escorts parted ways as they went inside. Before long Jaden had made it to the stadium floor. The stands were already packed to the rafters with students. Jaden walked up on stage to find David waiting for him with his usual cocky smile. Electra was also waiting on stage to act as the referee for the duel.
Upon getting on stage, Jaden glanced down and noticed Atticus, Reggie, and Alexis all sitting in folded chairs on the stadium floor. Jaden suddenly felt himself becoming a bit nervous. There was something about knowing that Alexis was watching that seemed to unnerve him a bit.
"So you actually had the nerve to show up." David remarked to Jaden. "I was just thinking that you might chicken out."
"Trust me. I've gone up against way scarier opponents than you." Jaden told him.
"You're dreaming if you think you stand a chance against me." David told him. "But don't worry. I'll try not to humiliate you too badly."
"Funny. I was just about to say the same thing to you." Jaden responded.
"This will be an exhibition match between visiting pro duelists, Jaden Yuki and David Rabb!" Electra announced. "By the decision of the coin toss, David Rabb shall go first. Let the duel begin!"
With that, Jaden and David too their positions on the field and activated their duel disks. Jaden looked at his opening hand and saw that it had a lot of promise. But with David going first, there wasn't much he could do with it at the moment.
"Looks like the home team goes first!" David remarked as he drew his first card. "I activate a Spell card called Replacement Parts! By discarding one Machine-type monster to the Graveyard, I can add a level four machine to my hand. Next I summon Saturn Probe 7 in Defense Mode!"
Appearing on David's side of the battlefield with a spherical robot with a red electronic eye on the front. Its body was silver with a tick black band around its center. Projecting from the front of the device were two thin silver arms with pincer-like hands, and on the back of the machine was a single large rocket booster. Around the center of the robot's body was a large ring made of white energy.
"I'll set three cards on the field and end my turn." David announced.
Jaden drew his first card. "I activate the Spell card, Polymerization! I fuse Elemental Hero Avian with Elemental Hero Wildheart in my hand to summon Elemental Hero Wild Wingman!"
Wildheart appeared on the battlefield along with a warrior with white-feathered wings wearing a green furred costume with a red mask. The two heroes jumped into a small vortex that appeared in the air about the battlefield. Moments later, a warrior resembling Wildheart with Avian's wings and a set of tail feathers flew down out of the vortex. He had talons for hands and feet, and on his chest was a red tribal marking in the shape of a bird.
"I activate Wild Wingman's effect!" Jaden announced. "By discarding one card from my hand, Wild Wingman can destroy one Spell or Trap card on my opponent's side of the field! And I'm using that effect to take out the card on the far left!"
Wild Wingman flapped his wings and sent forth a gust of wind that hit one of the large representations of David's facedown cards. The large card shattered apart into bits of light.
"Wild Wingman! Take down Saturn Probe 7!" Jaden commanded. "Razor Whirlwind!"
The winged hero flapped his wings again and sent forth a twister of razor-sharp wind at the mechanical probe. Saturn Probe 7 exploded in a flash of fire and smoke.
Suddenly David began to chuckle. "Thanks. I was hoping you'd have the guts to attack me. Because Saturn Probe 7 was destroyed in battle, I can now summon my strongest monster from the Graveyard! Say hello to The Big Saturn!"
A massive pillar of white light shot up from the ground behind David. In moments the light faded, and hovering behind David was a massive silver and black robot with a spherical torso and a small black head with a silver mask-like face. In the center of the machine's torso was a red circular opening. Instead of legs, the robot had a pair of large rocket boosters that it used to hover in the air. It's arms were a pair of black and silver capsules that hovered at its sides, detached from the rest of its body. On the robot's back was a dual engine jet back, and around its torso was a large ring of white energy.
"You've heard of The Big Saturn, right?" David asked Jaden with a cocky grin. "It's part of a set of extremely rare cards based on the planets of our solar system. Come to think if it, one of those cards happens to be an Elemental Hero. But I doubt that someone like you would have a card like that."
"I lay down a pair of face-downs and end my turn." Jaden announced. "Your move."
"This is already turning into a pretty intense duel." Alexis observed from the sidelines. "It's been awhile since I've seen Jaden look this determined."
"Yeah, well I think that he's trying to prove something to a certain member of the audience." Atticus replied.
"Whatever's going on up there, I think your little friend Jaden's done for." Reggie remarked. "Both he and David have pretty much used up their entire hands, but David has Jaden right where he wants him now."
"You're thinking David's set up that combo he used to win the last tournament, aren't you?" Alexis asked.
"If one of his face-down cards is the card I'm thinking of, yes." Reggie confirmed.
"Well if you're right, Jaden may not be able to win this one." Alexis assumed.
"Jeez sis! Whose side are you on?" Atticus asked.
"Hey, I'm just being realistic." Alexis told him.
"This is Jaden we're talking about." Atticus reminded her. "If there's a way for him to win, he'll find it."
Back on the stage, David drew his next card. "I activate Big Saturn's effect! By discarding one card and paying 1000 life points, Saturn gains 1000 extra ATK until the end of the turn!"
David's life points dropped to 3000. At the same time, the energy ring around Saturn's body vanished and its torso widened, allowing the red opening in the center of its chest to become like a cannon. The machine's rocket booster legs rotated up to become an additional set of cannons, and the engines of its jetpack rotated up to become a pair of shoulder-mounted missile launchers. Saturn's ATK rose to 3800.
"Saturn, obliterate Wild Wingman!" David ordered. "End of Cosmos!"
Saturn fired all the missiles loaded into its body and its flying arms launched themselves at Jaden's winged hero. At the same time all three of the robots cannons blasted Wild Wingman with intense beams of energy. The attack created a massive explosion that washed out the entire battlefield. When the smoke cleared, Wild Wingman had vanished and Jaden's life points had fallen to 2100.
"I activate my Trap, Hero Signal! Because Wild Wingman was destroyed, I can summon Elemental Hero Stratos from my deck!" Jaden announced. In a flash his metal-winged hero appeared on the battlefield. "Now I activate one of Stratos' effects! Because I summoned him to the field, I can destroy one Spell or Trap card on my opponent's side of the field! And the card I choose is the one of the far right!"
The propellers in Stratos' wings began to spin and sent a pair of twisters at the second of David's set cards. The large card shattered into bits of light upon being hit.
"Not bad. But I'm afraid you chose the wrong card to destroy." David told him. "I activate my final face-down card, a Quick-Play Spell call Berserk A.I.! Since a Machine-type monster I control destroyed a monster in battle, it gets a second attack this turn!"
"Say what?" a shocked Jaden exclaimed.
"There it is." Reggie observed. "One of David's deadliest combos."
"Saturn, blow Stratos to smithereens!" David commanded. "End of Cosmos!"
Saturn fired every single one of its weapons at Stratos, washing out the battlefield in a massive explosion of fire and smoke. When the smoke cleared, Stratos was no more and Jaden's life points had fallen to 100.
"Well, I'll give you credit for just barely managing to survive one of my ultimate attacks." David remarked. "But you're going to need a miracle in order to beat me. I'll set one card on the field and end my turn."
With the end of David's turn, Saturn's body changed back to its original form. Its ATK had fallen back to 2800.
Jaden drew his next card and smiled. "You said I needed a miracle to beat you, and here it is! I activate the Spell, Miracle Fusion!"
"And I activate my face-down card, Backfire!" David announced. "This card changes the effect of your Spell into one that destroys a monster on my side of the field."
"But… the only monster you have is Big Saturn." A confused Jaden pointed out. "Why would you give one of my cards an effect that destroys your best monster?"
"Because when The Big Saturn is destroyed by an opponent's card effect, we both take damage equal to its ATK!" David revealed. "I have just enough life points to survive the blast, but you'll be wiped out in an instant!"
At that moment, Saturn exploded in a massive blast of white light and flames. The explosion knocked David's life points all the way down to 200. When the smoke cleared though, David and everyone watching the duel were shocked to find that Jaden's life points hadn't been touched at all. Hovering on his side of the battlefield was a small brown ball of fur with two large yellow and purple eyes and four green scaly legs. On the sides of the creature's body were two small white-feathered wings.
"What… what did you do?" a shocked David demanded to know.
"I activated my other face-down card, White Feather of Truth." Jaden explained. "This card let me negate the damage from Saturn's effect and summon Winged Kuriboh from my deck."
"That's… unbelievable." A stunned Reggie declared from the sidelines.
"That's Jaden." Atticus responded with a smirk.
"It's still my turn. And Winged Kuriboh's 300 ATK is more than enough to take you down!" Jaden continued. "Winged Kuriboh, attack David directly! Berserker Crush!"
Winged Kuriboh's eyes became aggressive as it took off towards David like a rocket. The force of the little fur ball's attack was strong enough to knock David onto his back. The few life points David had left fell to zero.
With a slight look of irritation, Electra performed her duty. "And the winner of this duel is… Jaden Yuki!"
After a moment, the audience cheered Jaden at the top of their lungs. David sat back up and hit the floor with his fist. Soon after, Alexis came up to the stage with Reggie and Atticus. Jaden expected Alexis to come over and congratulate him. But instead she went over to help David to his feet. Jaden suddenly felt like he had been punched in the chest. Silently he walked off the stage. Electra noticed this and chuckled before leaving the stage as well.
"You put up a pretty good fight." Alexis told David.
"Shut up!" David shot back. "I don't need you damn pity!"
"Hey! You better watch what you say, Rabb!" Atticus warned. "That's my sister you're talking to!"
David looked like he was about to punch Atticus but quickly backed down. Instead he straightened his hat and calmly walked off the stage. Reggie turned on her heel and silently left the stage as well, leaving Alexis and Atticus alone.
"Boy. David can be a real sore loser sometimes." Alexis observed.
"Forget about that jerk, David. What the heck is going on with you, Alexis?" Atticus asked. "What's with you giving Jaden the cold shoulder?"
"What're you talking about?" Alexis asked with a quirked brow.
"Don't play dumb with me." Atticus responded. "Yesterday you brushed Jaden off to have lunch with David, you completely ignored him at dinner last night, and just now instead of congratulating him for an epic win you rush over to comfort the guy he just beat. If I didn't know better, I'd say that you were mad at him for something he did or didn't do. Or just maybe you're trying to make him jealous. Am I wrong?"
Alexis coldly turned her back to her brother. "…Look, you have no clue what you're talking about. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to help out with a class."
With that, Alexis calmly walked off the stage. Atticus gave a heavy sigh before leaving the stage himself to go find Reggie.
Jaden stood out on the roof of the academy's main building looking out over the ground. His mind was lost in thought about what was going on with Alexis. The way things were turning out, it seemed like he had lost her to David. He had missed out, an all because he had realized his feelings too late.
Yubel appeared to stand next to Jaden. "Look at the bright side, you gave that jerk, Rabb his comeuppance. Someone with his ego probably can't stand the fact that he was beaten using a cute little monster like our little Winged Kuriboh."
"I think I screwed up, Yubel." Jaden told her. "When that duel was all over, it looked like Alexis had been rooting for David and not me."
Yubel gave a heavy sigh. "I'm probably going to hate myself later for saying this, but you don't know anything for sure. The only thing to do is have a talk with Alexis and find out where the two of you stand."
"You know something Yubel… I think you're right." Jaden agreed. "I need to go have a word with Alexis right now."
Author's Note: I ended up creating three of my own cards in order to make the duel between Jaden and David work. Two of the cards were ones used by David, Saturn Probe 7 and Berserk A.I. The other was the Trap that Jaden used to summoned Winged Kuriboh. The name of the card is a subtle nod to the role Winged Kuriboh played in the manga. I've gotten used to creating my own cards for Yu-Gi-Oh! fanfics, but I try not to go overboard with it.
Anyway, I know this chapter's duel was a slight departure from the Ritual Monster theme of this story, but there was no good way around it. The rest of the duels in this story will have at least one Ritual Monster in it. Also, the characters of Sheila and Sophie will play somewhat important roles later in this story. In fact, Sheila's appearance was inspired by the illustration of a certain Ritual Spell. All I'll say for now is that it's a card that came out in the Number Hunters booster set.
Please review and let me know what you think.