Author's Note: Remember a few chapters ago when I ran Jaden and Alexis' duels with David and Principle Mackenzie at the same time? The same kind of thing is going to happen again in this chapter. Let's just say the title delivers what it promises.
Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX.
Chapter 17: Duel Within a Duel
Alexis awoke and found that she was in a vast red and black expanse that looked like outer space. There was no ground beneath her, yet it felt like she was lying on something solid. As she got up, Alexis found that she was wearing her old Obelisk Blue uniform from her academy days. Alexis tried to recall how she had ended up in that space. The last thing she remembered was losing a duel with Principle Mackenzie, but everything was a blank after that.
"About time you woke up." A voice spoke from behind in an impatient tone. Alexis turned to see Yubel standing a few feet away.
"What the… Yubel?" A surprised Alexis responded. "What's going on here? Is this some kind of weird dream?"
"I wish." Yubel replied. "Here's the short version of what's going on. After you lost your duel to that psycho principle you were turned into a Duel Monsters card. That slut of an assistant principle ended up with your card and used you in a duel against Jaden to revive an incarnation of the Light of Destruction. Then you were summoned back to the field so you could be used as a shield. The only way to save you was for Jaden to use Super Polymerization to fuse the two of us together."
"So… what does that make this place then?" Alexis asked.
"I guess in a way you could call this a dream." Yubel admitted. "This is a space where our minds can meet and speak with one another. And now that we have this time together to talk, you and I need to come to an understanding."
"An understanding about what?" Alexis asked.
"About Jaden." Yubel answered. "You still have feelings for him, right?"
"I don't really see how that's any of your business." Alexis told her.
"Jaden and I are two halves of the same being, so it is kind of my business." Yubel retorted. "Plus you and I are now a whole lot closer now. So you might as well come clean with me."
"And what if I do have feelings for him?" Alexis asked. "It doesn't really matter now. Things have just gotten too different between us."
"What the hell does that even mean?" Yubel responded.
"I think you can figure it out." Alexis told her.
Yubel gave a heavy sigh and ran her hand over her face. "This is getting us nowhere. The way I see it, there's only one way for us to settle this."
With that, Yubel raised her left arm in front of her chest. A brown organic duel disk suddenly grew from her forearm.
"You're challenging me to a duel?" Alexis realized.
"If you can beat me, I'll find you worthy of Jaden's heart." Yubel told her. "The way I see it, this is the only way for the two of us to come to an understanding. So do you accept, or are you too afraid?"
"I never back down from a challenge!" Alexis responded as she raised her own left arm. Her regular duel disk appeared on her arm. "I'll take you on!"
With that, the two of them activated their duel disks and prepared to face off. Both of them quickly drew their opening hands.
"Since I'm the one who's dominant in our fusion, I'll go first." Yubel announced as she drew her first card. "First I play a Continuous Spell known as Test of Devoted Love."
Appearing on Yubel's side of the battlefield was the large representation of a Spell card. Depicted on the card's illustration was a young man pushing a young woman out of the way as a bolt of blue lightning came down towards them from the sky.
"Test of Devoted Love?" Alexis repeated with a raised eyebrow.
"While this card is on the field, neither of us can control more than one monster at a time." Yubel explained. "At the start of each of our turns, we either have to pay 800 life points or the monster we control is destroyed. But I'm not done yet. I also play a Continuous Spell called Curse of Loneliness."
Another large Spell card appeared on Yubel's side of the field. This one depicted a young man standing over a grave as snow came down around him.
"While this card is on the field, we each take 800 points of damage at the start of our turns if we don't have a monster out." Yubel explained.
"So either way, we both lose 800 life points at the start of each of our turns." Alexis realized.
"Not necessarily." Yubel replied with a smirk. "I summon Mystic Tomato in Defense Mode and end my turn!" A large red tomato with a face like a jack-o-lantern appeared on the battlefield.
"Then it's my move!" Alexis declared as she drew her first card.
"Which means the effect of Curse of Loneliness kicks in and takes you down 800 life points!" Yubel announced.
Suddenly a purple shadowy mass appeared at Alexis' feet and wrapped itself around her. Alexis felt a freezing cold throughout her entire body that was so intense that it made her fall to her knees. Her life points dropped to 3200.
"Loneliness hurts, doesn't it?" Yubel asked. "I should know, since I felt it for years before Jaden and I were reunited."
Alexis got back to her feet. "I activate the Spell card, Ritual Sanctuary! By discarding one Spell card, I can add a Ritual Spell to my hand! Now I activate Machine Angel Ritual and sacrifice Cyber Prima from my hand to summon Cyber Angel-Benten!"
A massive caldron of flames appeared behind Alexis. Alexis' red masked ballet dancer appeared above the caldron and was consumed by the flames. A fireball shot out of the caldron and struck the battlefield before transforming into Benten.
"Benten, attack Mystic Tomato!" Alexis commanded. "Angelic Turn!"
The masked woman leapt into the air and threw her fan down at Yubel's monster. The wicked vegetable was sliced in half down the middle. Both halves quickly shattered into bits of light and faded away.
"And now Benten's effect activates!" Alexis announced. "When she destroys a monster in battle, my opponent takes damage equal to that monster's DEF!"
Benten pulled back her chained fan and threw it again at Yubel. The demon was struck in the chest and her life points dropped to 2900.
"Not bad." Yubel praised. "But since Mystic Tomato was destroyed in battle, I can summon a Dark monster with 1500 ATK or less from my deck. And the monster I choose to summon… is me."
A long shadow stretched out from Yubel's feet onto the battlefield. Rising out of the end of the shadow was an exact duplicate of Yubel.
"I guess I'll end my turn." Alexis decided.
Yubel drew her next card. "At this point, the effect of Test of Devoted Love kicks in. Now I either have to pay 800 life points or my doppelganger gets destroyed. But I'm not in love with myself that much."
A bolt of blue lightning came down from above and struck Yubel's clone. All but the eye on the forehead of the second Yubel was vaporized. Suddenly the eye grew in size and shot out black tendrils that quickly formed into a large mass. The mass quickly took a solid shape, becoming a muscular demon with a black body and purple chest. Yubel's original eye acted as the demon's face, and its legs had two sets of joints. Growing from the demon's shoulders were two dragon-like heads with long necks.
"When my first form is destroyed by a card effect, I'm able to summon my second." Yubel explained. "Meet Yubel-Terror Incarnate."
"I get it. This way you can get around the cost of Test of Devoted Love and put me at a big disadvantage." Alexis observed.
"More importantly, I'm able to bring out my evolved forms much faster." Yubel corrected. "I can't really attack in my second form, so I'll just set one card on the field and end my turn. And at the end of my turn, the effect of my second form kicks in and destroys all other monsters on the field."
Suddenly a black whirlwind appeared around Terror Incarnate and quickly expanded outward. The expanding twister struck Benten and shattered her into bits of light. The twister continued to expand before hitting Alexis and knocking her to her back.
"Winning this duel's going to be a piece of cake." Yubel confidently declared.
"I end my turn!" Jaden announced in his duel with Electra.
"Then it's time for you to meet your doom." Electra declared as she drew her next card.
"We don't need to bother with Reshef's effect." Zott told her. "Let's just put the Supreme King out of his misery."
"As you command, my lord." Electra replied.
"Say goodbye to your barbarian hero!" Zott told Jaden as he reared back his head for another attack. "Light of Divine Darkness!"
Just as the demon god breathed out another massive beam of light, the eyes of Fallen Angel Yubel began to glow. Suddenly the light curved and struck Yubel. The fallen angel was unharmed and Jaden began to glow with a white aura as his life points rose to 3100. Soon after, Zott's body suddenly began to turn grey.
"What's… what's going on?" a startled Zott asked. "What's happening to me?"
"My lord?" a concerned Electra responded.
"As long as Fallen Angel Yubel is on the field, my opponent can't attack any other monsters." Jaden explained. "I gain life points equal to half the ATK of any monster that attacks Yubel, and any monster that attacks her loses its effects. That includes the effects Zott gained from those Sacrifice Maidens!"
"Damn you!" Zott cursed.
"That's not the only thing that happens though." Jaden continued.
Suddenly Shinato pointed his finger and fired a bolt of gold lightning at Fallen Angel Yubel. At the same time, Reshef fired blasts of light from the balls of light binding his body together. Fallen Angel Yubel was struck by both attacks but was unharmed. Jaden's life points climbed to 6000. At the same time, Reshef turned grey and the balls of light that were part of his body vanished. Shinato turned grey as well and seemed to become lifeless.
"What sort of trick is this?" Electra demanded to know.
"As long as Fallen Angel Yubel is on the field, all my opponent's Ritual Monsters have to attack her if they can." Jaden revealed.
"In other words, Fallen Angel Yubel is an anti-Ritual Monster card." Tabitha realized from the sidelines. "That makes her the perfect card to defeat Electra and Zott!"
"Maybe, but did Jaden have to use Alexis to make that card?" Atticus asked.
"C'mon Rhodie, it's not like Jaden had much of a choice." Reggie pointed out. "Besides, I'm sure when this is all over Alexis will be back to her old self."
"You will pay for this a million times over, Supreme King!" Zott declared.
"We'll see about that!" Jaden told him.
Alexis got back to her feet and drew her next card. As soon as she did, the shadowy mass created by Curse of Loneliness appeared around her feet an enveloped her. Alexis fell back to her knees as a freezing cold filled her body. Her life points fell to 2400.
"Don't tell me you've reached your limit." Yubel told her.
"I'm not giving up yet!" Alexis declared as she got back to her feet. "I activate Card of Sanctity! This let's us draw until we both have six cards in our hand!"
"How thoughtful of you." Yubel remarked.
"I activate the Spell, Fulfillment of the Contract!" Alexis announced. "By paying 800 life points, I summon Cyber Angel-Benten back to the field!"
Alexis' life points dropped further to 1600. Soon after, Benten reappeared with a flash of golden light.
"You must really like that monster to give up so many life points to bring her back." Yubel remarked. "Not that she can be of much help to you, though."
"We'll see about that!" Alexis told her. "I equip Benten with the Spell, Ritual Weapon! This card raises Benten's ATK by 1500!"
Benten's normal fan weapon vanished from her hands. Appearing on the masked warrior's left arm to replace it was an ornate golden gauntlet with a crossbow-like weapon attached.
"I also equip Benten with the Spell, Rainbow Veil!" Alexis announced. "Now when Benten attacks a monster, she negates that monster's effects during the battle! Which means Terror Incarnate can't protect you!"
"It does look that way." Yubel confidently admitted.
"I'm ending this duel now!" Alexis declared. "Benten, attack Terror Incarnate! Angelic Arrow!"
"I activate a Trap, Negate Attack!" Yubel announced. "So much for you ending the duel."
Benten took aim and fired a blue arrow from the crossbow attached to her gauntlet. The arrow glowed with a rainbow-colored aura as it headed for Terror Incarnate. But before it could strike, the arrow was sucked into a vortex that appeared in front of the demon.
"That was the best you could do?" Yubel asked. "That was pathetic. Jaden can do a whole lot better than you."
"What the hell do you know, anyway?" Alexis responded.
"Why don't we just stop playing around already?" Yubel suggested. "Just tell me what you mean when you say that you and Jaden have become too different?"
"I'm talking about all this!" Alexis revealed. "About you, and what happened with Principle Mackenzie, and every other weird thing that happened after Jaden came back from dueling you back then! The fact is… Jaden's just too different now. He's part of a different world."
"Wait a minute. You're saying that all this is because Jaden's not a normal human?" Yubel realized.
"During our final year at the academy… I thought that maybe it could still work out." Alexis admitted. "Especially during the school tag tournament. But as time passed, somewhere down the road I realized that Jaden had changed. He became something else during that third year when we had to deal with you. He's part of another world that… that scares me a little. A world that I could probably never fit into even if I tried. So even though I still have feelings for Jaden, I don't think a relationship could work out."
"…And just when I thought you couldn't be any more pathetic." Yubel spoke after a moment.
"Huh?" a surprised Alexis responded.
"So what if Jaden isn't a normal human? That shouldn't matter if you truly love him." Yubel told her. "Even if a relationship between the two of you might be difficult, it can still work if you both tried. I know for a fact that Jaden wants to give it his all with you. But if you don't, then I was right about you all along."
"Do… do you really think it could work between us?" Alexis asked.
"How should I know?" Yubel answered. "Frankly, I'd rather have you out of the picture altogether. But the fact is Jaden is head over heels for you. So if you're truly worthy of him, if you really want to be with Jaden, then prove it to me right now."
After a moment, Alexis regained her determination. "I set one card on the field and end my turn!"
Yubel drew her next card. "At this point, the effect of Test of Devoted Love kicks in. But rather than pay 800 life points, I choose to let Terror Incarnate be destroyed."
A bolt of lightning came down and struck the demon, burning its body to a crisp. But rather than crumbling to ash, the demon suddenly grew in side and began to change. Its chest developed a large face that looked like a distorted version of Yubel's. From the top of its body grew an actual face with a masculine purple face and six yellow horns. The demon grew a second pair of wings on its back and two pairs of yellow spikes grew from its upper legs. It grew a long tail and both of its knees developed a large demonic eye, and growing from its hind end was a long dragon-like tail.
"Say hello to my final form." Yubel introduced. "Yubel-The Ultimate Nightmare!"
"It doesn't look so tough." Alexis responded.
"I activate the Spell, Mystical Space Typhoon and destroy Rainbow Veil!" Yubel announced. A twister briefly appeared around Benten before vanishing.
"Why didn't you use that card to destroy Fulfillment of the Contract?" Alexis asked. "Doing that would've sent Benten back to the Graveyard."
"Because to win this duel, I need to attack Benten with my final form." Yubel explained. "When The Ultimate Nightmare battles a monster, it destroys it and deals damage equal to that monster's ATK. So I attack Benten with The Ultimate Nightmare!"
"And I activate my Trap, Doble Passe!" Alexis announced. "This card turns The Ultimate Nightmare's attack into a direct attack on me! But since your final form has zero ATK, I don't take any damage!"
"What?" a surprised Yubel exclaimed.
The Ultimate Nightmare shined yellow lights from all its eyes. The lights passed through Benten and shined on Alexis, doing no damage at all.
"In exchange, Doble Passe let's Bente do a direct attack on my opponent!" Alexis continued. "Which means this duel's over!"
Benten leapt over The Ultimate Nightmare and fired an arrow down at Yubel. Yubel was struck in the chest and knocked into her back. Her life points dropped straight to zero. With the duel over, Benten and The Ultimate Nightmare vanished.
"You okay?" Alexis asked as she walked over to Yubel.
"Yeah. That was nothing." Yubel assured her as she sat up. "I'm starting to see why Jaden likes you. You're a pretty good duelist."
"You're not so bad yourself." Alexis admitted as she kneeled down next to the demon.
"Anyway, I guess I can learn to get along with you." Yubel told her.
"And I can learn to accept you too." Alexis replied. "One thing I'm sure of is that I'm still in love with Jaden. And I want more than anything to make our relationship work."
"I don't think you'll have any real problems with that." Yubel assured her. "You're already a part of Jaden's world." With that, the two of them took each other's hand.
"I end my turn." Electra announced in her duel with Jaden. "But mark my words, Supreme King! Lord Zott and I will still prevail!"
Jaden prepared to draw his next card. But just as he did, an image of Alexis helping Yubel to her feet flashed through his mind.
A smile came to Jaden's face. "Sorry Electra, but you and Zott have already lost!"
Author's Note: During my early days on this site, I once browsed through the GX fanfics that had Jaden and Yubel as the main characters. A lot of those stories depicted Jaden and Yubel as having a romantic relationship. While I can kind of see that, I've always thought that Jaden and Yubel's relationship was a little more complex than that. A few times while working on this story, I saw their relationship as being more sibling-like than anything else. At the same time when I checked out some of the Jaden and Alexis fanfics, I noticed that Yubel was largely absent.
Then one day I read a 5D's story that was kind of a crossover with GX. That story depicted Yubel as being pretty jealous of Jaden's relationship with Alexis. It was at that point when I realized that Yubel might add a little complexity to Jaden and Alexis' relationship. So this chapter was largely an attempt to try and resolve that little issue. Or at least begin to resolve it.
Please review and let me know what you think.