"Aww, man!" Jaden whined as he headed to the Music Club room with Syrus and Chumley. "Crowler was relentless! Maybe I should have turned in the Duel Giant so I wouldn't have to do all that homework!"
"Don't be like that, J!" Chumley patted his friend's back. "You helped those two have bright futures!"
"Yeah! I'm sure they're enjoying their life right now!" Syrus opened the door to the music room, and the three Slifer Reds walked in to see something they weren't expecting.
"Ahh! There you three are!" Wilona had a very joyous smile on her face. "I'd like to introduce our two new members from Ra Yellow: Brier Kohara and Beauregard Colin!"
She pointed to the two who had this dark and hopeless look on both their faces. With a sweet smile as real as a lure used to fool fish into biting a hook, Wilona turned to the two, "Say hello, you two."
The two stilled before giving a bad impression of a hello. When Wilona turned away from them, the two Ra Yellow mouthed words of help and desperation to the Slifer Reds.
Chumley and Syrus could only gulp as they read the words "blackmail" among their desperate pleas.
Jaden Yuki, bless his soul, was either(or both) brave or(and?) stupid. "Wilona, don't tell me you're going to blackmail every duelist that does something against the school rules?"
[Tag Force: Heroes and Villians]
Brier and Beauregard tried their best to soothe a depressed Damon Taizan, a former jungle boy and former thief of school property. (Now a current blackmail victim.)
Wilona looked over to Jaden. "I wouldn't have to blackmail people if they obeyed the rules like normal people."
[Tag Force: Heroes and Villians.]
The former Egg-wich Thief and the Duo of the Duel Giant soothed the Copy Cat Duelist, Dimitri, as he sat in the same hunched over position Damon did a week ago.
"But, you already have three Ra Yellow members," Jaden told Wilona. "Why did you have to do that to Dimitri?"
The green-haired girl held the audio recorder close to her head. "Having more members makes my parameters look more favorable to future employers."
"What?"
"Long story short: it'll help me make more money in the future."
[Tag Force: Heroes and Villians.]
Blair Flannigan squirmed in the seat and under the gaze of Wilona's unflinching smile.
The green-haired girl touched Blair's shoulder and gave the smaller child one nod. "Sweetie, there are better pursuits out there."
Jaden did not understand why Wilona was so nice to the new guy. He did understand when the new guy wasn't actually a guy.
Wait a second, "Why didn't you blackmail Blair?" Jaden asked the club president after the girl made quite the impression before she left. "She technically broke the rules too!"
"Why blackmail someone who I know isn't going to get away with it?"
Even Jaden could tell something was not right about her reasoning. "...Wilona, you have a problem."
"Yuki, the entire school has a problem. I'm simply working it to my advantage."
It was at that point Jaden wondered how Chazz was doing.
[Tag Force: Heroes and Villians.]
The duel arena was filled with students. Jaden and Bastion stood on opposing sides, with their duel disk ready.
The two were going to duel for the right to represent the school. However, there was a silent and more important reason for the two to duel at that moment. Both Jaden and Bastion defeated Chazz Princeton, who was originally believed to be the best freshmen in Duel Academy. With him dethroned twice, the question hung up in the air: who among the freshmen was the best duelist?
"Well, this was only a matter of time," Bastion pointed to Jaden across the field. "It's time I disproved your former claim of being the best duelist!"
"I don't know some of the words you said, but I can tell you want to take me down!" Jaden pointed back with a competitive smile of his own. "It ain't going to happen, Bastion! Get your game on!"
"LET'S DUEL!"
Bastion: 4000 LP
Jaden: 4000 LP
"I draw!" Bastion took the lead and the first turn as he drew his sixth card.
He looked at it and a smirk appeared on his lips. "I play the field spell: Palace of the Elemental Lords!" He quickly put it in the Field Spell Slot, and the area around the duelists started to change.
Behind Bastion, a sacred-looking building rose. What was most interesting were these six pillars that rose directly behind Bastion, each having the picture of some strange and different creature etched into the pillars.
"I've heard of this archetype," From the stands, Gloria Tyler spoke up in the range of the Music Club. "I heard it's a bit complex to understand and some of the cards needed are hard to find."
"Really?" Syrus looked towards the blonde twin. "What's so complex about it?"
Back in the duel, Bastion continued. "I'll continue my turn by summoning Elementsaber Malo in attack mode!"
A fire burned, and out came a muscular man wielding a large weapon.
Elementsaber Malo
[Type:Effect Monster/Sub-Type: Warrior/Attribute: FIRE/Level: 3/ATK: 1700/DEF: 200]
"I activate his effect! I can send one Elementsaber Monster from my hand to the graveyard, then I can send an Elementsaber monster from my deck to the graveyard!" Bastion Then pointed up. "Or at least that is what I would have done! Thanks to my field spell, instead of discarding from my hand, I can discard an Elementalsaber monster directly from my deck instead!" Bastion searched his deck and discarded two cards to his graveyard.
"I choose to send Elementsaber Aina and Makani to my graveyard!"
"Okay, he just sent two cards straight from his deck to his graveyard. What kind of deck is that?" Chumley asked as he scratched his head. "No wonder Bastion's playing it. You gotta be a genius to even understand how to use it!"
However, after The Ra Yellow Ace discarded the two cards, two pillars in Bastion's field spell started to glow.
One pillar had the eyes glow green while another pillar had glowing brown eyes.
"What's going on?!" Jaden cried out as he and the other students noticed the two glowing pillars.
"You see, Jaden, Palace of The Elemental Lords is a rare card. I would have never built this deck if I didn't find this field spell by pure luck." He pointed up. "This powerful field spell has more than one ability, as you're about to find out! As long as this field spell is in play, my monsters gain attack and defense points equal to the number of different attributes in my graveyard multiplied by 200!"
Bastion pointed to Malo. "With an Earth and Wind Monster in my graveyard, Malo and the rest of my monsters gain 400 attack and defense points!"
(1700→2100/ 200→600)
"With that, I end my turn with two facedowns!"
Turn 2: Jaden. Cards 5.
"Man, I get headaches when my cards are full of text," Syrus spoke up. "I guess a complex deck suits Bastion. But J will pull through!"
"No offense, Syrus, but it's Ra Yellow's time to shine!" Dimitri, the Copy Cat Duelist, had a poorly made bastion wig on his head. However, that didn't stop him, Brier, and Beauregard from standing from their seats and cheering out, "RA YELLOW REPRESENT! RA YELLOW REPRESENT!"
The cheers of the three started to infect all the other Ra Yellow students in the stadium. Even Professor Crowler joined in to prove his unbiased presence and love for all students.
Jaden drew his card. "Is it too much to ask for the crowd to cheer for me? Anyway, I activate Elemental Hero Captain Gold's ability from my hand! By discarding him, I can get Skyscraper into my hand!" Jaden did so. "Now, I activate Skyscraper!"
The half of the field where Jaden was standing suddenly had large metropolitan buildings shoot up like daisies.
Syrus blinked. "Hey, wait! Why are there two Field Spells? Shouldn't Bastion's Field Spell be gone because of Jaden's Skyscraper?"
Of all people, Wilona sighed. "Truesdale, you need to concentrate in class more. Even I know that there's been a small change in duels in the last two years. They've changed the rules around Field Spells where two field spells can be played at the same time. They basically act like normal continuous spell cards now. We learned this in class!"
Back in the duel, Jaden continued. "I now Summon Elemental Hero Liquid Soldier in attack mode!"
Everyone watched as a lone figure jumped off one of the buildings, seemingly skating downward until it landed in front of Jaden with a slide.
Elemental Hero Liquid Soldier
[Type:Effect Monster/Sub-Type: Warrior/Attribute: WATER/Level: 4/ATK: 1400/DEF: 1300]
"His special ability activates!" Jaden pointed as this new Hero started to move his hands in an almost mystical manner. "I can special summon a level 4 or lower Elemental Hero Monster! And I'm bringing back Elemental Hero Captain Gold who I discarded!"
Elemental Hero Captain Gold
[Type:Effect Monster/Sub-Type: Warrior/Attribute: LIGHT/Level: 4/ATK: 2100/DEF: 800]
"I envy how well Jaden turns his graveyard almost like a resource," Alexis stated. "I've never seen anything like it before."
The Slifer Ace took another card from his hand and played it. "I now play Polymerization!" Jaden's heroes jumped into the air as the brunette pointed up. "I fuse Liquid Soldier and Captain Gold to fusion summon Elemental Hero—"
A purple electrical shock attacked Jaden's two heroes before repelling them away from each other. Everyone else watched the two Elemental Heroes writhe in pain while Jaden looked confused.
"Hey!? What happened!?"
"I believe you should turn your eyes over here." Jaden looked back to Bastion as he pointed to a revealed Trap Card.
Everyone spotted the card Bastion just played and over a hundred eyes went wide.
"I played the Continous Trap Card: Non-Fusion Area! This Trap card prevents all players from Fusion Summoning!" Bastion pointed at Jaden with brimming confidence. "Fusion was one of your greatest strengths, Jaden. I knew keeping this card in my deck would negate some of your greatest monsters! I told you before: like all equations, you were one that I could eventually solve and defeat!"
The Ra Yellow cheers filled the stadium after they realized that Bastion took away Jaden's greatest strength.
At the top of the stadium, Zane and Seika watched the cheering crowd from down below.
"Ra Yellow is certainly in high spirits," The president began as she leaned her cheek on her hands. "Who can blame them though? This might be the first time our school is represented by a Ra Yellow."
"Actually, this is the very first time that an Obelisk Blue will not be representing the School Rivalry." Zane and Seika turned to see four Obelisk Blue Students heading towards them. The one who spoke up was an Obelisk Blue girl with dark green-gray-ish hair and green-blue eyes.
"Madison!" The only male with purple-blue hair and dark chocolate-colored eyes among the incoming four proclaimed in aghast. "How could you state such a shameful fact so easily!? The Obelisk Blue, the Pride of the School, is not going to prove our prestige over our inferior rival school!?"
He could have gone and complained longer, but luckily a girl with brown, spiky hair and gray-colored eyes pulled on his ear. "Zachary, I swear, we ain't comin' all dis way to hear ya yap like a pig! And quit it with the superior shtick!" The girl with a country accent pulled harder.
"Kylie thinks Alyssa should pull Zachary's ear harder! Kylie gets bored very easily when Zachary talks and only he listens. Kylie demands blood and vengeance!" A dark-blue-haired girl lifted her hand up in a clenched fist while speaking that sentence with the tone of an excited child.
"You know what? As President, I approve of my Treasurer's demands. Historian, you may continue pulling on Representative's ear for the rest of this duel." Seika nonchalantly stated.
"What!?" "Understood, mam!" "Yay for P and VP!" The three voices of Zachary, Alyssa, and Kylie spoke up at the same time.
Madison walked towards the rail. "Our classes were running late, so we couldn't come earlier. I don't know why they're working us second years so hard."
"You guys are the seniors next year. The school is just grooming you guys, Secretary." Seika turned to her Vice President. "So, VP, what do you think of the duel so far?"
Zane looked down on the duel. "Even though it's still early, Bastion has proven himself to be a force to be reckoned with. I only wonder how Jaden will deal with having his deck's strength cut in half."
Jaden, for the first time, actually looked taken back at the sudden development in a duel. However, his look hardened and he pointed to Elementsaber Malo.
"Fine! I attack with Liquid Soldier! With Skyscraper up, my heroes gain 1000 attack points if my monster's attack points are lower than their's!"
(1400→2400)
Liquid Soldier sped as if he was skating in the air. He spun before kicking Malo in the Jaw and causing the Elemental Saber monster to fall.
Bastion thought to himself, "As much as I would have loved to activate Malo's ability again to send two more Elementsabers to the graveyard and gain an extra 400 attack points, it wouldn't stop Captain Gold from destroying Malo. Also, it would lower my probability of drawing a stronger monster card to defend myself next turn. While I risk more life points, My chances of drawing a monster to help me out during my next turn will remain higher than if I had activated Malo's ability again."
Bastion: 4000 → 3700 LP
Jaden pointed to Captain Gold after his other hero's attack points returned to normal. "I'm not done! Captain Gold is gonna take a chunk out of your life points!" The golden Elemental Hero jumped into the air and dove with a flashy flying kick that sent Bastion sliding back from the impact.
Bastion: 3700 → 1600 LP
Although Jaden managed to get the lead in life points, it was obvious to many that Bastion was still in control of the duel.
Everyone watched as a new pillar started to light up behind Bastion. Malo was a Fire Attribute, so a new pillar lit up with red eyes.
Many of Jaden's closer friends spotted the nervous look in the usually calm and excitable duelist. "I'll end my turn with a face down!"
Turn 3: Bastion. Cards: 1.
"Come now, Jaden, I know you can do better than that!" Bastion drew his card before looking at it. A smile curled up his lips before he flipped his drawn card over. "I summon Element Saber Molehu!"
Silently, Bastion was glad he made the risk. If he didn't, he wouldn't have drawn the perfect monster for this scenario.
The area in front of Bastion started to go dark. Out of a dark portal, an imposing, tall man wielding a scythe appeared.
Elementsaber Molehu
[Type:Effect Monster/Sub-Type: Warrior/Attribute: DARK/Level: 4/ATK: 1900/DEF: 0]
"And with 3 different attributes in my graveyard, My monster gains 600 extra attack and defense points!"
(ATK: 1900→2500/ DEF: 200→600)
"Whoa! Look over there, Beauregard! Bastion brought out one monster level 4 monster, and it's already got 2500 attack points!" Brie pointed excitedly over.
"If it was him who found us..." The former Duel Giant shuddered. "I don't think we would be here at all."
"W-Well! Jaden's been in worse situations than this! He can pull through! Right, Chumley?!"
"Totally! I believe in Jaden!" Chumley added in despite him sweating.
Back down at the duel, the Ra Yellow Ace made his move. "I'll have Molehu attack Captain Gold!" Bastion aimed for the card that could potentially destroy Molehu with the Skyscraper combo on Jaden's next turn.
The man with dark attire vanished without a trace before appearing behind the golden hero with his giant scythe raised. Faster than a blink, Captain Gold was cut in half as if he was paper, not metal.
Bastion: 1600
Jaden: 4000→3600
As the Slifer Red braced the impact of the blow, he then pointed to his facedown. "I activate my trap card, Hero Signal! This lets me summon an Elemental hero that's level 4 or lower from my deck! I choose Elemental Hero Stratos!"
Soon, the familiar sight of Jaden's wind-type monster appeared with another heroic landing thanks to Skyscraper.
Elemental Hero Stratos
[Type:Effect Monster/Sub-Type: Warrior/Attribute: WIND/Level: 4/ATK: 1800/DEF: 300]
"I activate one of his effects when he's special summoned! I can destroy spell and trap cards on the field equal to the number of Hero monsters I have on the field! I have two, so I can destroy Non-Fusion Area and your field spell!"
Stratos had the blades of his wings start to spin. It spun with enough force to shoot two tornadoes right for Bastion's Field Spell and Continous Trap card.
"I knew you'd to aim for these cards with a monster effect! It's why I kept this face down, Ultimate Providence! This Counter Trap Card allows me to negate a card's effect so long as I discard the appropriate card that is the same as the target! Because Stratos is a monster, I discard another monster in my hand to negate and destroy him!"
The trap card blocked the effect of Stratos and sent the attacks right back at Jaden's backup.
"I believe the appropriate thing to say is, gone with the wind?"
Despite his attempt at witty banter, everyone except Chancellor Shepard stayed mostly silent. As for the cheery man, he was laughing as if something was attacking his lungs.
As Jaden and Bastion watched the Chancellor settle down, The Slifer Red Ace turned to The Ra Yellow Ace. "Yeah, Bastion, just stick to being smart and dueling."
"Well, I'm sure if I," Bastion coughed into the hand that held his last card. "Perhaps now is not the time. However, that monster I discarded was Elementsaber Nalu, a water attribute monster!"
"Aww, come on!?" Jaden cried out as a fourth light lit up on one of the statues.
"Now all my monsters gain a total of 800 extra attack and defense points!" Bastion spoke out as Molehu gained another point boost.
(ATK: 2500→2700/ DEF: 600→800)
"Amazing, Bastion countered Jaden's attempt to destroy his cards while strengthening his board in one move!" Alexis noted and put a hand on her chin. "He's really thought this all the way through."
"Whoa! Bastion really knows how to use a complex deck like that!" Grace shouted with an impressed look on her face.
"With that," Bastion relaxed his stance. "I'll end my turn."
Turn 4: Jaden. Cards: 2
After Jaden drew his card, he quickly played it on the board. "I Play Spell Books From The Pot! This spell card allows both players to draw three cards."
The two duelists did so. With more cards in his hand, Jaden picked up one of them.
"I summon Elemental Hero Sparkman in attack mode!" As he set the card, a familiar warrior appeared with electricity coming off of him.
Elemental Hero Sparkman
[Type:Normal Monster/Sub-Type: Warrior/Attribute: LIGHT/Level: 4/ATK: 1600/DEF: 1400]
"Next, I play the equip spell, Spark Blaster!" As he said this, the electrical hero grabbed on to a blaster and aimed it a Molehu. "When Sparkman has this card equipped, he can use this blaster three times! Each fire can change the battle position of a monster!"
Jaden pointed to Bastion's monster. "Sparkman, change that guy to defense position!"
The electrical hero did as he was told, firing a shot that seemed to shock the shadowy knight and forced him to bend his knee.
"Now, Elemental Hero Liquid, attack Molehu!" Jaden pointed up as his hero skated for his opponent. "Even in defense position, because your monster's attack points are higher than my hero's, Liquid gains an extra 1000 attack points!"
(1400→2400)
"Hey!" Syrus stood up. "If this attack connects, then Bastion will be without monster! That would leave Sparkman for the direct attack and win!"
"Come on, Jaden!" Chumley screamed.
However, Bastion pointed. "I activate Molehu's effect! By Sending an Elementsaber from my hand," The Ra Yellow Ace threw his hand. "I won't repeat my self too much. We know how my field spell interacts by now! However, I will say that Molehu's effect allows him to target one monster and flip them into a facedown position! I choose to return the favor to Sparkman!"
Molehu, even while bending a knee, fired a slash of darkness that Liquid Hero avoided. The blast hit Sparkman and forced his card to flip over. When it did, his equip card was destroyed and sent to the graveyard. Since it was Jaden's battle phase, he could no longer flip Sparkman back to attack mode.
"Way to go, Bastion!" The Ra Yellow Music Members cried out while the Slifer Red students slumped in defeat.
However, everyone noticed something with Bastion's field spell. All six pillars were lighting up. The Temple seemed to be gathering power, and a storm started to appear above the duel.
"That looks very interesting!" Seika commented as she, Zane, and the other council members watched the battle unfold.
"That Ra Yellow is no normal bookworm." Someone in a lonely corner of the Obelisk Blue area noted.
Jaden felt sweat pouring down from the side of his head. Bastion, on the other hand, had this smile on his face as if he had just won the duel. However, he was strangely quiet as to what was going on with his Field Spell.
"I play one card face down and end my turn!" Jaden exclaimed.
Turn 5: Bastion. Cards: 4.
With that same silence, Bastion drew his card. His eyes widened for a second as he saw what he drew.
"It's here." He smiled before throwing his hand up. "I activate the effect of my Element Sabers from my graveyard! Once per turn, I change the attribute of the monsters I choose. With that, I change four of my monsters into the Light Attribute!"
Everyone spotted five of the pillars turn the same color as the light attribute. The first statue that originally had the light attribute started to crackle with electricity.
"With the conditions set, I special summon Phosphorage, The Elemental Lord!" Thunder and lightning boomed with the name and a strike of both hit the middle of the field.
Everyone was blinded by a powerful light. As it died down, a new creature descended to the field.
Phosphorage The Elemental Lord
[Type:Effect Monster/Sub-Type: Thunder/Attribute: LIGHT/Level: 8/ATK: 2800/DEF: 2200]
Everyone stared at the mighty monster that oozed both majesty and destruction.
"This monster can only be special summoned by having exactly 5 light monsters in my graveyard. Thanks to the Element Sabers, I can pick and choose which among my graveyard will turn into each attribute." Bastion explained.
"You're kidding me, even after going through all those strong low-level monsters, I still gotta deal with the actual big guns!?" Jaden gasped under his breath. "You sure aren't going to make this easy!"
"I'm afraid it's about to get much worse! For you see, Jaden, when Phosphorage is Special Summoned, I can destroy all monsters on your side of the field!"
"What!?" Jaden, and understandably everyone, was shocked at the effect of the card. That shock was nothing compared to the blast of electricity that decimated Jaden's Elemental Heroes.
"Next, I activate the Continous Spell: Elemental Synchronicity! This Spell Card allows me to change the attributes of up to five monsters in my graveyard! I use it to turn my Element Sabers back to their original Attributes! This allows the temple to give my monster a boost of 1200 attack and defense points!"
(2800→4000/2200→3400)
"4000 attack points!?" Dimitri cried out as the electrical monster let loose a powerful scream that blended with the storm. "That's enough to wipe a full life point counter!"
Bastion smiled and pointed to Jaden. "What was it that you always said, Jaden? Ah, yes! That's game! Phosphorage use Titan Thunder!"
The monstrous being screamed and fired a blast right for Jaden.
"Jaden!" "Is that it!?" "I can't watch!" "Did Bastion win?!" "Go, Bastion! Beat that Slifer Slacker!"
Many people screamed as the attack went right for the Ace of Slifer Red. There was a powerful explosion that engulfed the brunette, and everyone waited and watched as the smoke cleared.
Jaden seemed to brace himself, but they all spotted something funny with Jaden's Life Points.
Jaden: 3600 LP.
"What!?" Everyone could only stare at the scene before them with disbelief.
"How!?" Bastion screamed and stepped forward. "I heared that attack connecting! Why hasn't a single point dropped!?"
Jaden lowered his hands and smiled. "Bastion, come on! You think I'd let you win that easily? And to be fair, my life points did drop."
"Impossible! It's still the same! If it did, I would have won!" Bastion exclaimed.
"Well, you would have," Jaden pointed to his right. "If I didn't activate this trap card."
Everyone looked over to the card as Jaden started explaining. "It was a really good try, Bastion. But I revealed my face down: Nutrient Z! If I take 2000 or more battle damage, I can gain 4000 extra life points before the damage is subtracted!"
Bastion's eyes widened. "T-That means!"
"Yep!" Jaden smiled. "It means that my life points originally skyrocketed to 7600 before returning back to my original base!"
"Jaden, don't scare me like that!" Syrus screamed while tears gathered on his eyes.
"I suppose that means this isn't over quite yet!" Bastion regained his composure. "I set two face downs and end my turn there!"
Turn 5: Jaden. Cards: 2.
Although Jaden kept his smile, even he could barely stare down the monster with 4000 attack points staring him down.
Jaden stared at his deck. "Come on, guys! The real duel starts now! Bastion is showing his best, so we gotta too!"
"I draw!" Jaden voiced out that line as he drew his next card.
He heard the sound of faint cooing and looked back at the card.
A huge smile appeared on Jaden's face before he played the card from his hand. "Sweet! I summon Winged Kuriboh in defense mode!"
The little creature appeared in the field. When he did, many of the girls could only squeal at the adorable creature.
"Winged Kuriboh?" Bastion repeated before his eyes widened. "Blast! I completely neglected him!"
"Oh, you're going to regret that, Bastion! My Fusions may be gone, but Winged Kuriboh has my back! I now play Alchemical Experiment! I banish three monsters from my graveyard, and I send Winged Kuriboh to the graveyard to special summon Winged Kuriboh Level 9!"
The magic card transformed the little creature, granting him impressive red armor.
Winged Kuriboh Level 9
[Type:Effect Monster/Sub-Type: Fairy/Attribute: LIGHT/Level: 9/ATK: ?/DEF: ?]
"Guess what? Thanks to Alchemical Experiment, Winged Kuriboh gains the combined attack and defense points of the monsters I banished! I banished Captain Gold, Stratos, and Sparkman!"
(1600 +1800 + 2100 =5500/ 1200+300+800=2300)
"5500 attack points!?" Bastion took a step back as the red monster surpassed his Elemental Lord even after all his set up.
"Go, Winged Kuriboh! Crimson Slash!" Winged Kuriboh practically teleported above Phosphorage and unleashed a powerful rend of red light that cut the Elemental Lord in half.
Bastion threw his hand out. "I play my face down, Miracle of The Elemental Lords! When an Elementsaber or Elemental Lord is destroyed, for this turn, I take no battle damage!"
Bastion didn't take any damage from the attack. Although he would have survived, he would rather not be down to 100 life points left.
"I may have neglected Winged Kuriboh, but I trust in my preparations!" bastion declared. "This won't stop me, Jaden!"
"I'm not expecting ya to stop now! This is getting too good!" Jaden took the last card in his hand. "I play the Equip Spell: Ruby Hope! I can only equip this card to Winged Kuriboh Level 9. With this Equip card, Winged Kuriboh Level 9 won't leave the field like he usually does! With that, I hand it over to you, Bastion."
Turn 7: Bastion. Cards: 1
Bastion drew his card before he smiled. "I activate my Element Sabers once more! This time, I change enough monsters until there are exactly 5 Fire Attribute Monsters in my graveyard!"
"I can see where this is going," Gloria commented to the side as the pillars started to change while the original fire pillar started to crack with steam.
"Arise, Pyrorex The Elemental Lord!"
A volcano rose in front of the temple and behind Bastion. However, everyone started to notice the Volcano moving. It wasn't long for everyone to realize that it wasn't a volcano, it was some kind of fusion of a dinosaur and a volcano.
Pyrorex The Elemental Lord
[Type:Effect Monster/Sub-Type: Dinosaur/Attribute: Fire/Level: 8/ATK: 2800/DEF: 2200]
"His ability activates when he's special summoned to the field! I can destroy one monster my opponent controls, and we both take damage equal to half of is attack points!" Bastion gripped his fist.
Jaden's eyes widened with alarm. "What!? But half of Winged Kuriboh's attack is more than your life points, Bastion!"
"I'm not finished! Miracle of The Elemental Lords can be removed from my graveyard, and for the rest of the turn, I take no battle or effect damage! This can be activated except when it's the turn it was sent to the graveyard."
Back above, Zane narrowed his eyes. "That means only Jaden will take damage from Pyrorex's effect."
"So much for your one hope, Jaden! Pyrorex, show them the red of your flames!"
The mighty dinosaur burned Winged Kuriboh, cleaning up Jaden's only defense.
Bastion: 1600
Jaden: 3600-2750=850 LP
"Bastion is finally in the lead. This isn't looking good for Jaden as he just lost one of his strongest non-fusion monsters." Alexis noted.
Jaden gritted his teeth but showed he still had defiance in his eyes. "Crimson Hope activates! When Winged Kuriboh Level 9 leaves the field, I'm allowed to special summoned Winged Kuriboh back into the field in defense mode!" Jaden searched his graveyard before the little creature floated back on to the field. "Now, by banishing Crimson Hope and Winged Kuriboh Level 9 from my graveyard, I can draw two cards!" Jaden claimed as he drew from his deck.
"I don't think so!" Bastion exclaimed. "I once more activate my Continuous Spell, Elemental Synchronicity! This time, I change the attributes into five water!"
Again, the temple started to change colors, this time with blue and a chill of ice surrounded one particular pillar.
"Come forth, Moulinglacia!" A chunk of ice the size of the titanic fell from the sky. It cracked and shattered into a million or more pieces, revealing a powerful creature of ice.
Moulinglacia The Elemental Lord
[Type:Effect Monster/Sub-Type: Serpent/Attribute: WATER/Level: 8/ATK: 2800/DEF: 2200]
"Two Elemental Lords in one turn!?" Brie gasped in shock.
"He's not holding back at all," Beauregard added along with nervousness. Even people who were cheering for Bastion felt intimidated by the Ra Yellow's skill. However, Syrus and Chumley had very different reactions. None of it was good. Everyone else watched with bated breath.
"Moulinglacia's ability forces my opponent to discard two cards at random from their hand! Since that is all you have, Jaden, that is what must go!"
Moulinglacia gave off a powerful roar that froze and shattered Jaden's drawn cards.
"Unfortunately, here comes a drawback to using the Elemental Lords. When one of them leaves the field, I must skip my battle phase. I cannot destroy Winged Kuriboh, so I'll end my turn there." Bastion relaxed. "Oh, and because it's the end of my turn, my attributes return to normal, which means both my new Elemental Lords regain 1200 points!"
(2800→4000/2200→3400)
(2800→4000/2200→3400)
"Aww, come on! Two 4000 Attack monsters!?" Chumley complained.
Turn 8: Jaden. Cards: 0
"Well, at least I ain't alone, right partner?" Jaden spotted Winged Kuriboh gave a small nod. "Come on, deck! We're going to need all the help we can get!"
As he drew his card, Jaden actually looked disappointed for once. Or at least, he was disappointed. Jaden eyed Bastion's Non-Fusion Area and looked back to his card.
"Bastion, your Non-Fusion Area, it prevents both players from Fusion Summoning, right?"
"Yes?" Bastion responded to Jaden's bizarre question. "It is one of the simpler cards in my deck currently."
"So," Jaden dragged out the word. "I can still special summon a monster, right? Even if that monster comes from the extra deck?"
Bastion responded. Okay, he didn't respond, he just gaped like a fish gasping for water.
That was the time that Jaden understood Bastion completely. "I play the Spell Card: Earth's Heroic Call! By Sending Elemental Hero Woodsman and Ocean to the Graveyard, I can special Summon Elemental Hero Terra Firma from my Extra Deck!"
One of Jaden's more recognizable monsters appeared onto the field in splendid light.
Elemental Hero Terra Firma
[Type: Fusion/Effect Monster/Sub-Type: Warrior/Attribute: EARTH/Level: 8/ATK: 2500/DEF: 2000]
"Was Jaden able to bring out a Fusion Monster despite Non-Fusion Area!?" Gloria and the others gawked at the new development of the duel.
"I'm not done! Earth's Heroic Call has another cool ability! By banishing it from my graveyard, Elemental Hero Terra Firma can gain 1000 attack and defense points!"
(2500→3500/2000→3000)
"Don't forget! Skyscraper's still on the field! That means he gets another 1000 attack point boost during the battle phase against monsters with higher attack than it!" Jaden cried out as he gripped his fist. "Now, Terra Firma, attack Pyrorex!"
The Elemental Hero jumped and punched the fire dinosaur with enough force to create a shockwave and caused the great creature to topple over.
Bastion: 1600-1100 LP
Jaden: 850 LP
"There we go!" Jaden exclaimed. "That's what you call a Fruit Loop!"
"Jaden, I believe you mean Loopholes."
"What did I say?"
Bastion silently realized he wasted an entire week of calculating card combos and strategies against a Duelist who assumed legal terms were breakfast cereals.
"It looks like Jaden's not out of the duel just yet." Zane mused out loud.
"Now, what will Bastion do now that one of Jaden's Fusions are back on the field?" Seika wondered.
Turn 9: Bastion. Cards: 0
Bastion drew his next card. "You may have your Fusion Monster again, Jaden. However, it will do you little good! I change My Elementsabers' attribute to Wind!"
"They just don't stop coming, do they?" Jaden braced himself.
This time, a tornado was summoned by the palace. "Come forth, Windrose!"
Out of the tornado, a hauntingly beautiful but equally destructive creature appeared onto the field.
Windrose The Elemental Lord
[Type:Effect Monster/Sub-Type: Winged Beast/Attribute: WIND/Level: 8/ATK: 2800/DEF: 2200]
"With Windrose brought onto the field, I'm allowed to destroy all your trap and spell cards in your side of the field, including Skyscraper!" With Bastion's command, the wind beast shattered the cities that guarded Jaden's heroes.
"Now you no longer have that attack boost. However, mine is still in play as Windrose gains points similar to the others!"
(2800→4000/2200→3400)
"That's getting annoying." Jaden muttered.
"However, since Pyrorex was defeated on the last turn, I must skip my battle phase once more." Bastion spoke up. "I'll end my turn there."
Turn 10: Jaden. Cards: 0
"Three monsters on Bastion's field with 4000 attack points each. Gotta say, even with Jaden's fusing again, this seems pretty unlikely for him to win." Alexis spoke up.
"Knowing Yuki," Wilona spoke up. "Those are the odds he likes the most."
Jaden drew his card. When he did, he looked over to his monsters. "I'll put Terra Firma in defense mode and end my turn there."
Turn 11: Bastion. Cards: 0
"I see even your amazing drawing ability has limits!" Bastion exclaimed as he drew his card.
"I change my Elementsabers to the Dark Attribute!" The moment he said such a thing, everyone understood what was coming. Although, no one but Bastion seemed to notice the area losing light and becoming darker. "Come forth, Elemental Lord Umbramirage!"
The entire field turned dark until everyone spotted a glow of something that oozed with power. The darkness faded, and a strange creature floated alongside Bastion's other Elemental Lords.
Umbramirage The Elemental Lord
[Type:Effect Monster/Sub-Type: Fiend/Attribute: DARK/Level: 8/ATK: 2800/DEF: 2200]
"With him on the field, I'm allowed to add a monster to my hand with 1500 or fewer attack points from my deck!" Bastion searched and picked a card to his hand. "Now I activate my Continous Spell, Elemental Synchronicity, to return my attributes in order! This means my monsters are back to 4000 attack points!"
Everyone watched as Bastion filled his side of the field with 3 monsters with 4000 attack points.
"Oh, come on! There's gotta be something against being able to have all those monsters on the field!" Syrus complained.
"Now, I'll have my monsters destroy Winged Kuriboh and Terra Firma!" Bastion exclaimed. All three of his monsters practically erased the top two most trusted monsters in Jaden's deck.
"With Winged Kuriboh sent to the graveyard, you can't take any more damage." Bastion noted. "I will end my turn there."
Turn 12: Jaden. Cards: 1
Jaden drew his card again. Yet even then, he still had a smile on his face that looked like he was having the time of his life. "Well, this is getting exciting! I play the Spell Card, Magic Reincarnation! By sacrificing half my life points, I can bring a spell card from my grave back to my hand!"
Jaden: 425 LP
Bastion: 1100 LP
"The card I choose is Spell Books From the Pot! Now we both draw 3 cards again!"
Both duelists did as the card told them. Jaden seemed to notice something among the cards he picked up.
"I play a card face down and end my turn."
"Wait, that's all he's doing!?" Syrus cried out in shock while everyone else seemed to be just as surprised.
Jaden, known for his amazing comebacks, could only end his turn after setting down a card?!
Turn 13: Bastion. Cards: 4
Bastion drew his next card. "It seems like this is it, Jaden! Even your amazing drawing power has failed you!" The Ace of Ra Yellow looked at his card. "Now, comes the last of the Elemental Lords! Come forth, Grandsoil!"
Again the temple turned to the element suited to the attribute. However, everyone noticed the ground split open and a massive, black creature rose above the ground. Its presence felt like it could dwarf mountains despite its actual size.
Grandsoil The Elemental Lord
[Type:Effect Monster/Sub-Type: Beast-Warrior/Attribute: EARTH/Level: 8/ATK: 2800/DEF: 2200]
"Next, I activate Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy your facedown!" Bastion played the spell card. It did its purpose and ended up disabling Negate Attack.
"Jaden's board is completely empty!" Grace shouted out as the rest of the stadium watched while they all were at the edge of their seats.
"Go, Bastion! Win!" Professor Crowler stood up from his seat and screamed.
"I now activate Monster Reincarnation! By discarding one card, I can pick up a monster from the graveyard back to my hand! Then I activate my continuous spell, Elemental Synchronicity! I switch my graveyard to have 5 Light monsters! Now then, return to the field, Phosphorage!"
Phosphorage The Elemental Lord
[Type:Effect Monster/Sub-Type: Thunder/Attribute: LIGHT/Level: 8/ATK: 2800/DEF: 2200]
The electrical creature returned to the field, filling up Bastion's board to near completion while Jaden's was bare and empty.
"You fought well, Jaden," Bastion began. "But it appears I win. Even though there are currently only three different attributes in my graveyard, 3400 attack points on five monsters is still overkill. Elemental Lords, finish Jaden off!"
The five monsters unleashed a torrent of energy towards Jaden.
However, the Slifer Ace stood his ground. "I activate Necroshield from my Graveyard!"
All five attacks were blocked by a barrier that erected out of Jaden's graveyard.
"By banishing this card and Elemental Hero Necroshade from my graveyard, I can turn all damage to my life points to 0!" Jaden exclaimed as he removed the card from his graveyard.
"What!? When did you have Necroshade in your graveyard!?"
"Actually, you helped me with that, Bastion," Jaden explained. "Remember when you had me discard two cards with Moulinglacia?"
Bastion thought back when he ordered his monster to discard Jaden's drawn card.
"The cards I discarded where those two! I owe you some credit for helping me out there."
Bastion only sighed and shook his head. "You're a slippery one, Jaden. But I refuse to give up! I end my turn and with that, all my monsters return to 4000 attack points each!"
"Whoa!" Dimitri, the Copy Cat duelist sat down in disbelief. "A full board of monsters with 4000 Attack Points each. Even the King of Game's deck couldn't pull something like that off."
"No way! I still believe in Jaden! He's gonna win this one!" Syrus spoke up with defiance in his eyes.
Turn 14: Jaden. Cards: 3.
It was at that point that Jaden started laughing. He laughed, and he laughed until even Bastion found himself laughing along with him.
Everyone watched the two until they settled down, gasping for a bit of air.
"Bastion, this has been an awesome duel. No really! One of the best I've had here so far!"
"I must admit, I too feel the same way about this." The Ace of Ra Yellow met Jaden's fierce gaze with his own. "Although logic and math say otherwise, my gut is telling me that your next draw will decide this duel."
Jaden smiled before looking at his deck. "It's not just us, though. Everyone here can tell: this is the last draw of the game," Jaden placed his fingers on the top card of his deck. "And I can tell that it's going to end amazingly!"
Jaden drew his card and the whole stadium, perhaps even the school stayed silent to the point they could hear a pin drop.
Jaden looked over to his card, and slowly his face turned to a smile.
"Yes! It's here!" Jaden exclaimed as he put the card into his hand and picked up another card. "I play Monster Reborn! I choose a monster from either player's graveyard and bring it to my side of the field!"
Everyone's mind started to wonder what monster was Jaden bringing back? Was it one of Bastion's? Perhaps he was going to bring back Terra Firma?
"I bring back Winged Kuriboh in attack mode!" Jaden exclaimed to the shock of everyone involved.
"Attack mode!?" Bastion and everyone else wondered why Jaden would summon Winged Kuriboh in attack mode!? If it was in defense mode, he could have survived for one turn!
However, Bastion's eyes widened with alarm as he counted the cards in Jaden's hand. "No! Don't tell me you drew Transcendent Wings!"
Jaden smiled before he gave a laugh. "Transcendent Wings?! Oh man, If I drew that, I'd totally win!"
Everyone gapped, Syrus and Chumley dropped their jaws.
"Jaden, you do realize that Winged Kuriboh Level 10 was your only shot at beating me at this situation!?" Bastion cried out.
"Well, it's not the only one," Jaden smirked. "In fact, it's about time I proved it!" He punched the air. "Go, Winged Kuriboh, attack Phosphorage!"
Everyone could only stare in horror and shock as the little creature flew towards the army of Elemental Lords like a paper ball to the incinerator.
"Jaden! Winged Kuriboh's effect only works when he's sent to the graveyard! You'll take battle damage before he is!" Alexis shrieked.
The Slifer Red grabbed a card from his hand. "Not with this card! I activate the quick-play spell card, Grit! If I'm about to take a fatal blow to my life points, I can negate the damage and set my life points to 1!"
Winged Kuriboh tackled Phosphorage, who zapped the little thing out of the air.
Jaden: 425→1 LP
Bastion: 1100 LP
"WHY WOULD HE DO THAT!?" Syrus grabbed on to his hair and pulled on it frantically.
"Doesn't Winged Kuriboh's effect only last one turn!?" Jasmine asked as she pointed to the field and looked at Alexis. "There's no way he's going to survive next turn!"
Jaden had a look of determination burning in his eyes. "You're gonna get it now, Bastion! You rubbed off me too! I can also play complex combos!"
"Jaden, I'm sure your strategy is considered ingenious anywhere else. However, this is reality! How could wasting your defense be a good option!?"
"Bastion, I'm hurt! I'm not finished yet! I play the Spell Card, Beyond The Afterlife! This card can only be activated by the following conditions: if I have five or more monsters banished from the field." Bastion had his eyes widen. There were three heroes Jaden banished to summon Winged Kuriboh Level 9, Elemental Hero Necroshade, and Winged Kuriboh Level 9 himself. Those were five monsters!
"The next condition is if I discard my whole hand!" Jaden did so. "With both conditions set, I can activate its effect! All monsters on the field are destroyed, and both players take damage equal to the destroyed monster's combined attack points!"
Bastion's eyes widened with alarm as a small sphere of light appeared between both duelists. "That means both of us will take 20,000 points of life point damage! You're making us both end in a draw!?"
Jaden still kept his smile. "Bastion! I'm shocked! I thought you were the smart one!"
"What?!" Bastion was starting to get the idea that Jaden might have outsmarted him. The Ra Yellow Ace did not like that feeling.
"Don't you remember?" Jaden pointed to his duel disk. "Who just battled and was sent to the graveyard?"
Bastion's face did something funny at that moment: it lost all color. "Winged Kuriboh protects your life points when he's sent to the graveyard."
"That's right," Soon the small light suddenly exploded to the size of a truck. It started drawing every Elemental Lord in with the force of a Black Hole. "You're the only here who'll take 20,000 points of damage."
As the magic card absorbed all of Bastion's monsters. A ghost of Winged Kuriboh appeared and created a shield around Jaden. Bastion was not as fortunate as the sphere exploded in a blinding light.
Bastion: 1100 LP - 0 LP
Jaden: 1 LP (Winner)
The duel faded, and Bastion was seen kneeling on the ground. He felt a shadow above him and spotted Jaden doing his signature salute.
"And that's game!" Jaden gave a goofy smile before offering his hand. "Seriously that was the best duel I've had so far, Bastion!"
Bastion sighed and took Jaden's hand. After being helped up, Bastion said, "That indeed was. Next time, I will cover every aspect of your deck, not just your fusions."
It was at that moment the two heard clapping. When they looked around, they saw the whole stadium giving a standing ovation to the two duelists.
"Wonderful! Kudos to both of you for a splendid and thrilling duel!" Chancellor Sheppard walked up to two with a bitter and sullen Dr. Crowler.
"If everyone may settle down, I have an announcement to make!" He waited for the crowd to settle a little before speaking again. "Bastion... you will be representing Duel Academy."
Silence returned across the stadium.
"S-Sir?" Dr. Crowler, dare he hoped, walked up to his superior. "D-Did you say the wrong name?"
"No, I did not."
Professor Crowler was about to break down in tears of joy until a certain Slifer raised his voice. "What!?" Jaden screamed before pointing to himself. "But I won the duel!"
Chancellor Sheppard smiled. "You did. That is why you are also going to represent our school."
Silence returned to the Stadium. Even Crowler stopped thinking for a moment.
Chancellor Sheppard started to give a hearty laugh. "I'm kidding with both of you! The truth is that this year, North Academy has challenged us to a Tag Duel between freshmen! They only told me about this change less than an hour before your duel. No matter who won or lost, I was going to recommend both of you as a Tag Team!"
"Tag...?"
"Team...?" Jaden and Bastion looked to each other.
"So how about it, everyone!?" Chancellor Shepard turned to the stadium. "Do these two deserve to represent us or what?!"
The entire stadium cheered.
"Bastion and Jaden as a Tag Team!? No way! They're like the best of the best!" Chumley shouted.
"I know! I actually pity whoever our opponents are!" Dimitri commented in excitement. "Ra Yellow Represent!"
Syrus and Chumley also threw their fists in the air, "Go, Slifer!"
The stadium filled with cheers for both Slifer and Ra Yellow.
"Huh, it looks like the first year Obelisk Blue doesn't represent is the first year the other two dorms do." Madison noted.
"Those two," Zachary began. "Although they are not of Obelisk Blue, it's hard to say that no other part deserves to present us at that this moment."
"Oooh! Kylie is witnessing the first time Zack-Zack likes someone outside of Obelisk Blue!"
"I know," Alyssa added along. "It's a bit weird."
"Hmmm," Seika hummed out loud.
"What are you thinking about?" Zane asked the President.
"Who is North Academy sending this year?"
Down below Jaden and Bastion gave each other a single nod.
"Whoever our opponents are," Bastion offered a hand to Jaden.
The Slifer Red Ace took the hand of the Ra Yellow Ace. "They won't know what hit them!"
[Tag Force: Heroes and Villians]
"Ow! Tell your spirits to stop hitting me!"
"Sorry, Chazzy!"
"It's not 'Chazzy', you Jaden-Clone!"
"How do ya keep missing my name, Chazzy? It's Jesse, Jesse Anderson!"
[A/N]
And there we go! I have completed a chapter in one day! This is the very first time in a long time I've done something even remotely like it.
As I mentioned before, my only inspiration for duels comes from Duel Links. As such, you notice that the characters who fill out the rest of the Student Council are the Duel Link NPCs for Obelisk Blue. I've re-written their characters a bit/a lot to fit my writing style. They'll appear more down the line when they become the seniors next year.
Because of Duel Links, I had... trauma actually writing this chapter because of Elementsabers. Let's just say, although I haven't been playing for long, I do not like Climbing Rank, even though I got King of Games a few times by sheer luck. (I'm not going to the nightmare of giving Bastion the Invoked cards. That way lays trauma. I can only imagine what the TCG guys go through.)
I thought it would be cool for Bastion to get an Elementsaber/Lord deck. I was inspired by that one story where the author made Bastion use a Six Samurai deck and it looked like giving Bastion Elemental Lords seemed like an idea similar but different enough.
I do like Bastion and I'm definitely going to give him more screen time. He was such an interesting character to me.
Anyway, I'll leave you guys with the list of the made-up cards I used for this duel. I will say that I changed Winged Kuriboh's ability slightly. I think there were times in the Anime where it worked differently than the Trading Card Game (TCG).
Elemental Synchronicity= I wanted a card that let me allow Bastion with 5 monsters on the field with 4000 Attack points.
Miracle of The Elemental Lords: This was more for protection.
Ruby Hope: This card was to allow Winged Kuriboh Level 9 (Manga Version) to stay on the field longer and draw potential.
Earth's Heroic Call: The Elemental Hero version of Neos Fusion.
Spell Books From the Pot: This is from the Manga I think. It's pretty cool to use this instead of spamming Pot of Greed every time.
Magic Reincarnation: This just let me use a spell card from the graveyard.
Necroshield: Again, made up to protect one battle phase.
Grit: Based on Duel Links ability.
Beyond the Afterlife: I really wanted a combo for the last duel. I hope this worked.
Thanks for reading guys. This small project of mine is a stupid amount of fun.
