A New Tag Team Game
It was a bright morning on Academy island, things looked lively around here. There were many students walking through the hallway. and among those students were Jaden, Syrus, Andrew and Shiori.
"So, what do you guys think Professor Miller will teach us today?" Andrew wondered.
"Beats me." Jaden shrugged. "But I bet it's something sweet!"
"Did I hear it right?" Shiori asked, amused. "You're actually looking forward to start the class? That's new."
"Yeah, usually, he would sleep through class." Syrus added.
"Well, the guy teaching us is gonna be Professor Miller. Now this is gonna be awesome!" Jaden said with excitement.
"Paul Miller, right?" Andrew said, having a thoughtful look on his face. "I've heard that he's a former pro duelist."
"He sure is." Syrus replied. "Jaden's been like this since that guy showed up at the red dorm.
"Guess that would be expected if a guy like him becomes a new headmaster of the dorm." Shiori commented.
Syrus sweat dropped. "Well, actually..."
Flashback
The Slifer students were gathered together in the cafeteria of the Slifer Red dorm. They were sitting patiently until Miller showed up in front of them.
"Hello, everyone." He greeted with a smile. "My name is Professor Paul Miller. As some of you probably know, I used to be a duelist competing in the Pro League." That earned some 'oooh' from some of the students while others started to mutter.
"A former Pro league duelist?" Syrus muttered in awe. "Aw man."
"Cool!" Jaden grinned. "You think he'd agree to duel me?"
Syrus sweat dropped. "Really?"
"Anyway, the reason why I've come here..." Miller smiled fondly. "Well, Duel Academy has a special place in my heart. Like all of you, I started my first year as a Slifer Red student. But, as my time here passed, I honed my dueling skills and rose up in ranks until I became an Obelisk Blue student. It was thanks to this school that I became the duelist I am today. For that reason, I want to help the future generations to reach their full potential. So therefore, starting today, I'll be the new headmaster of the Slifer Red."
That earned some more muttering from the students.
"And I believe that all of you are capable of taking your dueling abilities to new heights. Some of you may think that you might not have what it takes because you live in the lowest ranked dorm. But..." He held up his right index finger. "Look at it this way: Slifer the Sky Dragon. One of the three Egyptian God cards. A monster whose strength increases as time passes. Why is that?"
Many of the students looked thoughtful, wondering how to answer that question.
"Because that monster gains 1000 points for every card in its controller's hand." Someone spoke up.
Everyone turned to the source of the voice. It belonged a boy with messy light-brown hair and dark-brown eyes. He was wearing Slifer Red jacket over a grey sweater and a pair of overalls. He also had a pair of mechanic goggles strapped around his forehead. This was the machine duelist and mechanic, Xander Murphy.
Miller smiled. "Exactly. Slifer is known for getting strength from its controller's hand. Imagine that you have no cards at all in hand. That'd leave the mighty god card with absolutely nothing. But, if you hang out and wait patiently, your hand gets filled with a bunch of cards, making Slifer a monster with huge strength. The same thing goes for you, students. You may start at a low rank. But you've got potential to take it higher. All of you have what it takes to improve yourselves in order to become great duelists. It takes patience, hard work, determination, and confidence. Never doubt yourself because of your status."
The students stared at him in awe.
"Well, with all that said and done..." Miller turned around and brought up a pretty big pot filled with something that looked like stew. "Let's have some dinner! We're having beef stew tonight!"
"Beef stew! I love beef stew!" Jaden exclaimed as he almost knocked Syrus off his seat.
Flashback end
"And boy was that good stuff. He's a Pro AND a good chef. I just love that guy!" Jaden grinned.
Syrus, Andrew and Shiori sweat dropped.
"Well, it's good that you guys have a new headmaster." Andrew commented.
"For sure. Things might get more exciting from now on."
"What about you guys?" Syrus asked. "Did something happen at your end?"
Andrew shrugged. "Well, other than dueling Clover and welcoming my cousin Angie to Duel Academy, nothing really."
"Wait! Cousin Angie?" Jaden interrupted. "Didn't you have a cousin named Peter?"
"I do. Though I never said I only had one cousin."
"So you have two cousins then?" Syrus asked.
"Uh huh."
"We even watched her duel in the entrance exam." Shiori added. "In fact, her dueling proctor was Professor Miller himself."
"Really?" Jaden looked at them with interest. "Man, if I haven't overslept and had to rush to the ride that took us to Academy island, I would have watched it. Must have been nice to meet up with her, huh?"
Andrew smiled. "Yeah."
Flashback
Andrew, Jenny, Shiori and Clover were walking together around the campus, until they ran into two people on the way. It was Angie and Pele.
The former grinned as she waved to them. Andrew in particular. "Yo! What's up, cuz?"
"Angie!" Andrew smiled as they approached each other and did a high five. "Glad you could make it."
"You bet I did! You saw my duel, right? I sure rocked that exam, didn't I?"
"Definitely." Andrew nodded. Though he mentally frowned. 'Though I'm still curious about her Gem-Knights.'
Angie turned to Clover. "Yo, Clover!"
"It's been a while, Angie." Clover greeted with a smile while holding up her right fist.
Angie smirked and gave her a fist bump. "Sure is." She then turned Shiori and Jenny. "And you guys are...?"
"My name is Shiori. Nice to meet you." The ritual duelist greeted.
"And you can call me Jenny." The fairy duelist added.
"Cool!" Angie waved to them.
Jenny giggled before turning to Pele. "And we saw your duel as well. Pele Ricci, was it?"
The fire duelist smiled kindly. "Yeah, that's right. Nice to meet you."
"So what are you guys up to?" Angie asked curiously.
"Oh, we're just hanging out a bit." Clover shrugged.
"Ah!" Jenny's eyes widened. "Andrew, we gotta hurry before the beach hut closes!" She then grabbed his hand.
"Whoa!" Andrew was then dragged by her away from the others.
"Hmmm?" Angie stared at their retreating forms.
Flashback end
"It sure was nice to see her again." Andrew said.
"By the way, what about her dueling skills?" Jaden asked.
"Well, she's pretty good, that's for sure." Andrew then frowned. "But, when it comes to her deck..."
"Ah! Class is about to start! Come on!" Syrus exclaimed before he started to run.
"Hey, Syrus! Wait up!" Shiori called out as he and the others followed him.
Later on, the four of them, as well as many students, were gathered together in the big classroom. They were all waiting patiently for the teacher to show up. Eventually, the classroom doors opened, revealing Professor Miller himself. He walked inside and headed over to the front before greeting them.
"Good morning, everyone. As some of you already know, I'm Paul Miller. New headmaster of Slifer Red. And I'll be teaching tactics and strategies in the World of Duel Monsters. And that includes things about what we're about to talk about today: Tag Team duels."
"Tag Team duels?" Jaden repeated.
"This should be interesting." Andrew muttered.
At that, everyone listened to Miller's lecture. And it's been going on for a while.
"And as you know, when in a Tag Team duel, it's important to adapt well to your partner. After all, in a Tag Team, you need to know your partner's deck and strategies, how to support each other and also how to adapt to your opponents and not let your partner deal with them alone. And to put all that to a test, I'm going to introduce you a new form of Tag Team dueling."
"New Tag Team dueling?" Shiori blinked.
"Now then, allow me to explain the rules." Miller continued as the big screen behind him turned on and showed the image of two matching devices. They looked like electronic desks of sorts. They appeared to have what looked like card zones, similar to those on a dueling mat. "First of all, you and your partner won't have separate fields. Instead, both of you will share one together."
"Oh, so it's back to five monsters and five spell/traps." Shiori noted.
"Not only that." The person sitting right next to him spoke up. It was a Ra Yellow student with dark gray hair taht was neatly arranged, with large portion flushed back and slightly to his left, featuring different layers where the sloping changed direction. This was the intelligent duelist known as Bastion Misawa. "Since both teammates will share one field, that means they will share the cards they have in play as well."
"That's right." Professor Miller nodded. "And of course, you and your partner share one graveyard as well. You get to use the cards your partner has placed on the field. Like attacking with his/her monster, for example. And next: Instead of the rule that forces all four players to wait for one turn before attacking, it will proceed as a normal duel. Meaning the second turn in, the attacking starts."
"Wow! That's a real change." Another Ra Yellow student commented. He was rather short, with short hair in a purple color that was lighter than Michael's hair and brown eyes, and wore a black headband. This was the Flip duelist, Matt Collins.
"And finally, the duelists will use their duel disks to keep their hands and deck separate. However, you have to play your cards on these duel terminals you see on screen."
Many students started to muttered to each other.
"And now that you know the rules, it's time to pair up the two teams." Miller announced, holding up a list. "After coming to this school, I learned as much about you students as I could. And after learning about your decks and dueling styles, I made up teams of duelists that would potentially work well together, and likely recognize each other. And the first team is..." He stared at the list for a moment before looking up. "Alexis Rhodes and Jenny Seigrain."
The two named girls, who sat next to each other, stood up.
"And the opposing team will be..." Miller looked at the list again and then made his pick. "Jaden Yuki and Andrew Wilson."
"Sweetness!" Jaden grinned as he stood up.
"Go get them, Andrew." Clover said, sitting right behind her childhood friend, who simply smiled and stood up.
The four duelists went down to the front. And moments later, each team was standing behind a portable duel terminal that has been brought in.
"Now this is gonna be interesting." Andrew said.
"No kidding." Jaden replied. "And it's been a while since you and I teamed up."
"That's true." Syrus said from his seat. "They're a great team."
"Naturally." Bastion nodded. "Since the two of them use similar decks, they should have no problem with cooperating with each other."
"But I wouldn't count Alexis and Jenny out." Shiori replied. "Both of them make a pretty good team themselves."
"Especially after they defeated Cynthia's alter ego, Black Thorn, last year." Matt added.
The four duelists were getting ready.
"I hope you're ready." Alexis told her partner.
"Whenever you are." Jenny replied. "Let's show them what we're made of!"
"Okay, are the four of you ready?" Miller asked, earning nods from both teams. "Then, begin!"
All duelists drew their opening hands.
"GAME ON!"
Jaden & Andrew: 4000
Alexis & Jenny: 4000
"I'm up first!" Alexis announced and drew her sixth card. "I summon Blade Skater in attack mode!" From a flash of light, a bald woman with gray and purple skin appeared. She had skate blades on her arms and feet. (ATK: 1400 DEF: 1500 LV: 4) "Then I'll end my turn with two facedowns." Alexis concluded as she placed two cards on her team's desk.
"Alright, I'm up then!" Jaden said and began his turn. He looked over his hand for a moment. "Sweet! I summon Elemental HERO Wildheart!" The tribal hero rose up in front of the HERO team. (ATK: 1500 DEF: 1600 LV: 4)
Alexis' eyes widened. 'Great. That monster is immune to traps. Which means I can't use my combo against him.'
"Now go, Wildheart! Attack her Blade Skater with Wild Slash!" The tribal hero dashed forward and swung his big sword vertically, destroying the bald woman.
Alexis & Jenny: 4000-3900
"And then I'll throw down a facedown." Jaden placed a card on the desk. "That's all."
"Nice one, Jaden." Andrew complimented.
"Why thank you!" The Slifer gave him a thumbs up.
"Don't get ahead of yourselves, boys!" Jenny called out. "We're just getting started." She then drew a card before glancing at Alexis' two facedown cards. 'Let's see.' She checked one of them. 'Doble Passe, huh? So Alexis was hoping to use it to cause damage to Jaden and Andrew. Too bad that plan failed. Now, what about the other card?' When she had look at the other card, smiled slightly. 'This might do.' She then looked up and grabbed a card from her. "First I activate the special ability of Zeradias, Herald of Heaven." A figure appeared in front of her. A man with blue pants, brown boots, a red face, yellow eyes, a green helmet with two red horns, a red silk belt with a yellow gem, green forearm armor pieces, and two green feathery wings. He was wielding a double-bladed javelin.
"Uh oh." Matt said from his seat.
"They're in trouble now." Shiori added.
"By discarding this monster from my hand, I get to add a certain field spell from my deck to my hand." As the winged figure vanished, Jenny searched through her deck until she found the card she wanted. "And that card is The Sanctuary in the Sky!" The scenery changed into the familiar stone palace in the clouds. "Next I summon Minerva, Scholar of the Sky!" The monster appearing in front of her was a sorceress wearing a feathery dress, with a spell book with a green crystal her left hand, and a magical staff with a green crystal in her right hand. She also had a halo floating around her waist. (ATK: 1700 DEF: 400 LV: 4) "Now attack his Wildheart!" The sorceress pointed her staff towards the tribal hero.
"Not so fast! I activate the trap card, Hero Barrier!" Jaden's facedown card flipped up, creating a blue, swirling barrier in front of the HERO monster. "Thanks to this, I can negate your attack since I have an Elemental HERO on the field."
Jenny smirked. "Guess again. I activate Trap Jammer!" One of the facedown cards on the girls' side flipped up. "Like the name suggests, this counter trap lets me negate a trap card."
"That's not good." Jaden muttered as his trap card shattered into pixels while the barrier vanished.
"It's about to get worse." Andrew said.
"How come?" The Slifer turned to him.
"Because Minerva's special ability activates." Jenny replied. "Every time a counter trap is activated, she gains 500 extra attack points." The sorceress glowed with a green aura. (ATK: 1700-2200) She then fired a beam of green energy that blasted Wildheart.
Jaden & Andrew: 4000-3300
"I place two cards facedown and end my turn." Jenny concluded as he placed two cards on the desk.
"Guess I messed up, huh." Jaden rubbed the back of his head.
"Don't worry about it." Andrew replied as he stepped forward. "The duel had just begun."
"Good point."
"And now it's my turn!" Andrew drew his sixth card. "I summon Elemental HERO Liquid Soldier in attack mode!" From a pillar of water, the blue-armored hero with glass balls on his wrists appeared. (ATK: 1400 DEF: 1300 LV: 4) "And thanks to his special ability, I can resurrect a level 4 or lower Elemental HERO from the grave. And I choose Wildheart!"
"Sorry, but I've got a counter trap!" Jenny said as she revealed one of her facedown cards. "Divine Punishment! This lets me negate your monster's effect, if The Sanctuary in the Sky is in play." The water hero glowed with a red aura before he exploded. "And as you know, my Minerva grows stronger, thanks to my counter trap." (ATK: 2200-2700) "And if The Sanctuary in the Sky is on the field, I get to add a different counter trap from the graveyard to my hand. Like my partner's Trap Jammer, for example." She held up the named card while Alexis smiled.
Andrew smirked. "Then I'll go with plan B. I play the spell card, Monster Reborn! So now I'll bring back Elemental HERO Wildheart!" The tribal hero returned to the field. (ATK: 1500 DEF: 1600 LV: 4) Andrew continued his turn by placing a spell card on the desk. "Then I activate Enemy Controller! It has two effects, but I'm only allowed to activate one of them. And I'll go with option number 1: I get to switch your monster's battle mode. So I'll switch Minerva to defense mode!" A giant video game controller appeared. Its cable attached itself to the sorceress. And then, some of its buttons were automatically pressed in following order: A, down, left, B, left, up. After that, the sorceress kneeled down. "Now Wildheart, attack her Minerva!" The tribal hero roared as he charged forward and slashed her with his sword.
"Nice one, Andrew!" Jaden grinned.
"Thanks. I'll end my turn by placing one card facedown and activating the spell card, Supply Squad." A facedown card appeared, along with the named spell card.
"Before I let your turn end, I activate another trap." One of the two remaining facedown cards on the girls' side flipped up. "Solemn Wishes. This gives me 500 extra life points whenever I draw cards from my deck." Jenny gave Alexis a glance. "Of course, given the rules of this Tag Team duel, my trap card will be triggered by my partner as well."
"Fine by me." She stepped forward and drew.
Alexis & Jenny: 3900-4400
"First I summon Cyber Egg Angel!" The monster that appeared was an egg with a pair of emerald green, metallic wings. The shell looked rather cybernetic with a crack that revealed a glowing core. (ATK: 200 DEF: 300 LV: 2) "And thanks to its special ability, I can take Machine Angel spell card from my deck and add it to my hand." Alexis went through her deck and found the card she wanted. "And I'm gonna play it right now! Machine Angel Ritual!"
"Here comes one of her ritual monsters." Shiori muttered.
"A pretty strong one, I bet." Matt replied.
"So I'll sacrifice Cyber Egg Angel and Etoile Cyber..." A red-haired woman dressed in a red and bluish leotard appeared right next to the winged egg before both of them vanished. "...and summon Cyber Angel Benten!" And then, from a flash red of light, another woman appeared. A beautiful woman with long black hair wearing a tight suit that was black and red and a golden tiara. She had glowing green eyes and wielded two fans that were linked to each other by a chain. (ATK: 1800 DEF: 1600 LV: 6)
"She looks tough." Jaden commented.
"And I sure remember how tough she is." Andrew muttered.
"Cyber Angel Benten, attack his Wildheart with Angel Flight!" The woman spun one end of her weapon like a nunchaku and threw it at the tribal hero, piercing through his stomach and made him explode.
Jaden & Andrew: 3300-3000
"You triggered my trap! Hero Signal!" Andrew's facedown card flipped up, and beam of light appeared from it, shining an 'H' above the field. "Since my monster was destroyed in battle, I can summon an Elemental HERO that's level 4 or below. And I choose Elemental HERO Woodsman!" The green-skinned wooden man appeared and kneeled down. (ATK: 1000 DEF: 2000 LV: 4) "And with Supply Squad in play, I get to draw an extra card since my monster was destroyed." Andrew drew.
Alexis smirked. "You'll need it, because when Benten destroys a monster in battle, you take damage equal to that monster's original defense points."
Andrew winced as a red aura surrounded him.
Jaden & Andrew: 3000-1400
"And with that, I'm done."
"Man, you really took a hit there." Jaden said.
"Tell me about it." Andrew replied.
"Don't worry. I'll take it from here!" Jaden drew. "And I think I remember Woodsman's special ability. During the standby phase, I can take a Polymerization from my deck and add it to my hand." He went through his deck and grabbed the card in question."
"Nice." Clover said from her seat. "That should kick things up."
"And I think I'll use it to combine Elemental HERO Sparkman and Clayman!" The blue and golden electric hero and the stone hero appeared before getting sucked into a fusion vortex. "Say hello to Elemental HERO Thunder Giant!" The monster that emerged from the vortex was a huge man in purple and yellow armor, releasing some electricity. (ATK: 2400 DEF: 1500 LV: 6) "And thanks to his special power, Thunder Giant can destroy a monster whose original attack points are less than his own."
"And Alexis' Cyber Angel only has 1800 points." Syrus pointed out.
"That'll leave the girls wide open." Matt added.
"Now, Thunder Giant! Zap her Benten with Static Blast!" The giant hero pointed held up his right palm and fired a bolt of lightning that hit the woman dead on, causing an explosion. "Oh yeah! Shocking, isn't it?"
"You don't say." Alexis' voice was heard from within the smoke. Everyone waited for a moment before it dissipated. And, to everyone's surprise, Benten was completely unharmed.
"No way!" Jaden muttered.
"She survived! But how?" Andrew questioned.
"This..." Alexis held up a certain spell card. "Machine Angel Ritual. It happens to have another effect. If my light attribute monster would be destroyed while this card is in the graveyard, I can remove it from play. After that, my monster is safe."
"Man, that was even more shocking." Jaden commented. "Oh well, since Thunder Giant's special ability was a dud, I'll just have to go with his attack! Go, Voltic Thunder!" The giant hero began to charge up another electric blast.
Andrew, however, noticed the remaining facedown card on the girls' side and panicked. "Jaden, don't...!"
But it was too late. Thunder Giant fired another bolt of lightning.
"Not so fast!" Alexis interrupted. "I activate Doble Passe!" Her facedown card flipped up.
"I knew it!" Andrew facepalmed.
"Um, what's that do again?" Jaden asked dumbly.
"It changes your monster's attack to a direct attack. After that, we're gonna take a direct hit from their monster!"
Jaden paled.
"And that's bad news for you, boys. Especially since you don't have enough points to survive a direct hit." Jenny pointed out.
Now it was Jaden's turn to panic. "What was I thinking?!"
"Obviously, he didn't think at all." Clover muttered with a deadpanned look on her face.
Jaden glanced at his hand and instantly noticed a certain card. "Wait a sec! That's it!" He held it up. "I play De-Fusion! Thanks to this, my Thunder Giant's gonna split!" The giant hero glowed brightly before splitting into the two heroes that formed him. (ATK: 1600 DEF: 1400 LV: 4) (ATK: 800 DEF: 2000 LV: 4) And at that moment, the lightning bolt dissipated when it was a few centimeters away from Alexis.
"Phew! That was close." Shiori sighed.
"Indeed." Bastion nodded. "One millisecond later, and they would have been done for."
Jaden laughed a bit. "I almost thought you girls got us there."
Andrew sweat dropped. "That makes two of us."
"I think I'll throw down a facedown and leave it at that." Jaden concluded as a facedown card appeared.
"Then it's my turn!" Jenny drew.
Alexis & Jenny: 4400-4900
"And I summon Meltiel, Sage of the Sky!" A woman whose body was covered in white feathers and wearing a thin orange armor appeared. She also had a pair of white feathered wings on her back and a golden ring of light floating around her waist. (ATK: 1600 DEF. 1200 LV: 4) "Now, Benten! Attack his Sparkman!" The long-haired woman charged forward.
"Sorry, but I've got a trap! Negate Attack!" Jaden's facedown card flipped up, creating a barrier that got in the woman's way. "This trap card negates your attack. Oh! And it also ends your battle phase."
"I knew it wouldn't be that easy to win." Jenny said before smirking. "However, you just triggered Meltiel's special ability. Every time a counter trap is activated, she gives me 1000 life points..." She glowed with a golden aura.
Alexis & Jenny: 4900-5900
"And if The Sanctuary in the Sky is in play, she also destroys one of your cards. And I think I choose Woodsman!" Meltiel's ring released a pulse of energy that destroyed the wooden man.
"That's not good." Andrew muttered.
"No worries. We're just getting warmed up. Especially since Supply Squad lets me draw." Jaden drew an extra card.
"I place two cards facedown and end my turn." Jenny concluded and placed two cards on the desk.
"My move!" Andrew drew and glanced at the opposing field. 'Okay, Jenny placed two facedown cards on the field. And I bet one of them is the Trap Jammer card she brought back. And knowing her, the other card is most likely another counter trap. But I wonder what it might be.' He then glanced at his hand. 'Maybe...' He played one of his cards. "I summon Elemental HERO Stratos!" The turbine winged hero appeared. (ATK: 1800 DEF: 300 LV: 4) "And thanks to his special ability, I can destroy spell or trap cards up to the number of other HERO monsters I control. So thanks to Sparkman and Clayman, that'll be two cards."
"Nice try, Andrew. But you triggered my counter trap, Solemn Strike!" One of Jenny's facedown cards flipped up. "This lets me negate a special summon, or the activation of a monster effect. All I have to do is pay 1500 life points."
Alexis & Jenny: 5900-4400
The hero glowed with a red aura before he exploded. "Figures." Andrew muttered. "At least Supply Squad lets me..."
"Uh uh uh! You forgot about Meltiel's special ability!" Jenny interrupted as a golden aura surrounded her again.
Alexis & Jenny: 4400-5400
And then, Meltiel released another energy pulse and destroyed Supply Squad.
"Normally, merely destroying a spell card can't negate the activation of its effect. But that rule doesn't apply to continuous spell cards." Bastion stated.
"That's not good." Matt replied.
"You boys aren't doing so well, are you?" Alexis noted with a smirk.
"Don't count us out just yet." Jaden replied.
"Right." Andrew nodded. "As Jaden just mentioned, we're just getting warmed up." He then revealed the remaining card in his hand. "I activate Legacy of a Hero. With at least two level 4 or higher Elemental Heroes in the graveyard, I can draw three more cards." He drew his extra cards and looked at them. "Next I'll switch Sparkman to attack mode." The blue and golden hero stood up. "Then I activate the spell card, Fusion Sword Murasame Blade!" A dark katana with a chaotic aura appeared before Sparkman grabbed it. "By equipping this card to a warrior type monster, I can increase its attack points by 800." (ATK: 1600-2400)
"Wicked!" Jaden grinned.
"Awesome!" Syrus cheered from his seat.
"Now, Sparkman, attack Cyber Angel Benten!" The electric hero charged forward and swung his sword horizontally and destroyed Benten with one slash.
"Thanks to The Sanctuary in the Sky, I don't take damage from that battle since Benten is a fairy type." Jenny explained.
"Which makes it harder for Andrew and Jaden to damage their life points." Clover muttered.
"I place two cards and end my turn." Andrew concluded as two facedown cards appeared.
"Here goes..." Alexis drew.
Alexis & Jenny: 5400-5900
"I activate Pot of Greed. Now I can draw two more cards." She drew her extra cards and looked at them.
Alexis & Jenny: 5900-6400
"And one of them is Fulfillment of the Contract! By paying 800 life points, I can summon back a ritual monster from the graveyard."
Alexis & Jenny: 6400-5600
"So welcome back, Cyber Angel Benten!" The fan wielding woman appeared again. (ATK: 1800 DEF: 1500 LV: 6) "Next I'll equip her with the spell card, Ritual Weapon!" A spell card appeared behind the Cyber Angel and released some energy that entered her body. "Since she's a level 6 ritual monster, Benten gains 1500 points." (ATK: 1800-3300 DEF: 1500-3000) "Now go, Benten! Attack his Sparkman!" The Cyber Angel charged forward.
"I activate my trap!" Andrew revealed one of his facedown cards. "Waboku! This trap card keeps my monsters from being destroyed in battle during this turn. And my battle damage is reduced to 0."
Alexis smirked. "Nice try, but I've got a trap card. One you might recognize." The card in question flipped up. "Trap Jammer. So once again, I'll cancel out your trap card."
"Not if I use my own counter trap!" Andrew countered.
"Counter trap?" The girls repeated as his remaining facedown card flipped up.
"Protection of the Elements! With this, I can negate the activation of a spell or trap card by removing an Elemental HERO from play for one turn. And I think Clayman will do." The stone hero vanished as Trap Jammer shattered into pixels.
"Not bad." Alexis smiled. "But thanks to your counter trap, Meltiel's ability kicks in." A golden aura surrounded her.
Alexis & Jenny: 5600-6600
And then, Meltiel released another energy pulse and destroyed Sparkman. "And to end my turn, I activate the spell card, Incarnated Machine Angel!" A spell card appeared on the field.
"What does that do?" Jaden wondered.
"No clue. But now it's your turn, Jaden." Andrew stepped back as Clayman appeared again. (ATK: 800 DEF: 2000 LV: 4)
"Alright then. I draw!" Jaden drew. "I play Pot of Greed! Which means I draw two more cards." He drew his extra cards and looked at them. "And I think I'll play one of them. R - Righteous Justice! For every Elemental HERO on the field, I can destroy 1 spell or trap card on the field. And I think I choose your Ritual Weapon!" The named card shattered into pixels. (ATK: 3300-1800 DEF: 3000-1500) "And then I'll throw down a couple of facedowns and play Mirage of Nightmare." Two facedown cards appeared, along with the named spell card.
"My turn!" Jenny drew.
Alexis & Jenny: 6600-7100
"And since it is, Mirage of Nightmare's effect activates." Jaden interrupted. "Now I can draw until I have 4 cards in my hand." He drew his extra cards. "Then I activate Emergency Provisions!" One of his facedown cards flipped up. "By sending one spell or trap to the grave, I gain 1000 life points." With that, Mirage of Nightmare vanished.
Jaden & Andrew: 1400-2400
"As for me, I activate the spell card, The Sanctum of Parshath!" A spell card appeared. "This card gives all fairy type monsters on the field 300 attack and defense points." (ATK: 1600-1900 DEF: 1200-1500) (ATK: 1800-2100 DEF: 1500-1800) "And that's enough for Benten to take out your Clayman! Now go!" The named monster charged forward.
"Sorry, but you triggered my trap! Mirror Gate!" Jaden's facedown card flipped up. "This card makes both of our monsters switch places."
"No way!" Jenny widened her eyes as Clayman and Benten were enveloped in light. And after a moment, both of them were on opposite sides of the field. Finally, Benten tossed one of her fans, which pierced through Clayman and destroyed him.
"And I think you mentioned something about Benten's special ability earlier, right? That you take damage equal to the destroyed monster's original defense points?"
Jenny winced as a red aura surrounded her.
Alexis & Jenny: 7100-5100
"Nice." Clover smiled.
"Way to play, Jay!" Syrus cheered.
"I place one card facedown and end my turn." Jenny concluded while placing a card on the desk as Benten returned to her team's side.
"Due to the effect of Mirror Gate, any monster that switched side returns to its original place during the end phase." Bastion explained.
"Which means Jaden and Andrew are facing two monsters again." Shiori replied.
"And what makes it worse, it's Andrew's turn and he doesn't have a single card on the field or in his hand." Matt added. "This will be tough."
Andrew took a deep breath before beginning his turn. "I draw!" He looked at his new card and smiled. "This will do! I summon Elemental HERO Bubbleman!" The blue-armored, white-caped water hero appeared and crossed his arms. (ATK: 800 DEF: 1200 LV: 4) "If he's the only card in my hand, I can special summon him. And what's more, I get to draw 2 cards if I have no other cards on the field when he's summoned." Andrew his extra cards and looked at them. "And it looks like I drew Pot of Greed. So, two more cards for me." he drew again. "Then I activate Polymerization!" Another fusion vortex appeared. "And with it, I'll fuse Bubbleman with Shadow Mist in my hand." The black armored woman appeared before entering the vortex with Bubbleman. "Say hello to Elemental HERO Escuridao!" Emerging from the vortex was a black armored warrior with claw-like fingers and two pairs of wings that appeared to be made of the very shadows. (ATK: 2500 DEF: 2000 LV: 8) "And since Shadow Mist was sent to the graveyard, her special ability activates, letting select one HERO monster from my deck and add it to my hand. And I think Heat will do." He showed the named card. "And then, there's Escuridao's ability. She gains 100 attack points for every Elemental HERO in the graveyard."
"Each of them?" Matt repeated.
"Yes, and given the rules of this Tag Team duel, that includes Jaden's heroes." Bastion replied.
"Nice." Shiori smiled.
"Now let's see how many we've got." Andrew declared as the spirits of the fallen heroes appeared. There was Wildheart, Liquid Soldier, Sparkman, Clayman, Woodsman, Stratos, Bubbleman and Shadow Mist. (ATK: 2500-3300)
"3300 attack points!" Jenny gasped.
"Incredible." Alexis muttered as she was as stunned as her partner.
"And next I summon Elemental Heat in attack mode!" The red and white armored fire hero appeared. (ATK: 1600 DEF: 1200 LV: 4) "This guy gains 200 attack points for every Elemental HERO I control." (ATK: 1600-2000) "Now attack her Meltiel with Burning Fist!" The hero ignited his right and charged forward, giving the feathery fairy a fiery right hook that shattered her into pixels. "Now go, Escuridao! Attack Cyber Angel Benten with Night Claw Slash!" The black hero flew forward and struck the Cyber Angel, who held up her fans defensively before taking the hit from her claws. The impact caused a shockwave.
But for some reason, Benten survived the attack. "What? Why wasn't she destroyed?" Andrew wondered.
Jenny smirked. "The answer to that is the card Alexis played earlier." She pointed to a certain spell card. "Incarnated Machine Angel. As long as it remains on the field, it keeps her Cyber Angel ritual monsters from being destroyed in battle."
"For real?" Jaden's eyes widened.
"Didn't expect that." Andrew muttered before placing a card on the desk.. "I end my turn with a facedown."
"Now let's see..." Alexis drew.
Alexis & Jenny: 5100-5600
Alexis frowned at the card she drew. 'This one won't help. I wonder what I can do.' She then glanced at the facedown card Jenny placed earlier. She checked on it. When she saw what it was, she turned to Jenny, who smiled and nodded to her. Alexis smiled before focusing on the duel again. "I activate the trap card, Jar of Avarice!" The named card was now revealed. "This lets me take 5 cards from the graveyard, shuffle them into my deck and then draw 1 extra card." She took 5 cards from the graveyard, shuffled them into her deck and then drew her extra card.
Alexis & Jenny: 5600-6100
When she looked at it, she nodded. "And now I summon Cyber Gymnast in defense mode!" A woman with long, bolnde hair, tied into a ponytail appeared. She was wearing a white mask and a dark gymnast's suit. (ATK: 800 DEF: 1800 LV: 4)
"Not much to do, considering they're facing a monster like Escuridao." Matt commented.
"Actually, that's exactly what Alexis needed." Bastion replied.
"Now I activate Cyber Gymnast's ability!" Alexis continued. "By discarding one card from my hand, I can have her destroy a monster that you have in attack mode."
"Uh oh!" Andrew said.
Alexis discarded the remaining card in her hand. "Alright, Gymnast, destroy his Escuridao!" The masked woman leapt up in the air flipping forward before landing an axe kick on the dark hero, making her explode.
"And with her gone, Heat gets weaker." Andrew muttered. (ATK: 2000-1800)
"Nice one, Alexis!" Jenny praised.
"Thanks. Now to take out Heat! Benten, attack!" The long-haired woman charged forward.
"You triggered my trap card! Mirror Force!" Andrew's facedown card flipped up. "This card destroys all monsters that are on your field in attack mode."
"Oh no!" Alexis cried out as a transparent wall materialized in front of the fire hero. And when Benten struck the wall with one of her fans... an explosion occurred, destroying her completely.
"Nice one, bro!" Jaden grinned.
"Thanks." Andrew replied.
"Those two sure won't quit." Jenny remarked.
"No joke." Alexis agreed. "I end my turn."
"Alright! I'm up then!" Jaden drew and looked over his hand. "Now, what to do... oh!" He noticed a card on the far left. "I know! I play Winged Kuriboh in attack mode!" His little furry duel spirit with wings appeared. "And since he happens to be a fairy type, your Sanctum card gives him a little boost." (ATK: 300-600 DEF: 200-500 LV: 1)
"Not that he can get through Cyber Gymnast." Alexis pointed out.
"Maybe not." Jaden shrugged before holding up a card. "But I've got this! H - Heated Heart! This card gives a monster 500 extra points. And I think I'll give those points to Andrew's hero." A blue, glowing 'H' appeared and entered Heat's body. (ATK: 1800-2300) "But why stop there, when I can play something that'll give Winged Kuriboh a boost?" Jaden held up another card. "Something like Berserker Crush!"
"Berserker Crush?" Syrus blinked.
"That's a new one." Shiori tilted his head.
"I've never heard of it." Matt replied.
"So what does it do?" Andrew asked Jaden.
"I'm glad you ask. What it does is letting me take one monster from the graveyard. And then, I can make Winged Kuriboh's attack and defense points match that monster's strength."
"You're joking..." Alexis muttered in disbelief.
Clover whistled. "Damn. Looks like that puny thing's gonna pack a punch."
Jaden turned to his partner and held up a certain fusion monster card. "So, do you mind?"
Andrew smiled. "Hey, by all means."
"In that case, I'll remove Andrew's Escuridao to give Kuriboh a real boost!" The black-armored appeared behind the duel spirit before turning into purple energy. As it entered his body, Winged Kuriboh hooted with a confident look in his eyes as he felt the power. (ATK: 600-2500 DEF: 500-2000) "And now, battle time! Elemental HERO Heat, attack Cyber Gymnast!" The fire hero ignited his right fist and charged forward. "Oh! By the way, since he got a boost from Heated Heart, you'll take damage equal to the difference between his attack points and your monster's defense points."
"A perfect move." Bastion nodded. "Since Cyber Gymnast is a warrior, the protective effect ofThe Sanctuary in the Sky won't work."
"Nice!" Matt smirked.
The fire hero delivered a fiery right hook that blew the masked woman up.
Alexis & Jenny: 6100-5600
"Alright, Kuriboh! Time for you to shine! Attack her directly!" The winged duel spirit hooted and charged forward, tackling Alexis pretty hard.
Alexis & Jenny: 5600-3100
Winged Kuriboh eyed to Jaden like he was smiling as he returned to his field. "Nice job, buddy." He praised before looking up. "And that's all she wrote." (ATK: 2500-600 DEF: 2000-500) (ATK: 2300-1800)
"My turn!" Jenny drew.
Alexis & Jenny: 3100-3600
"I play Graceful Charity! This spell lets me draw 3 card and then discard 2." She drew three cards. And after looking over them for a moment, she nodded before discarding two of them.
Alexis & Jenny: 3600-4100
"And now, the card I'm about to play is something that can be summoned by removing a monster from play, as long as that monster has the words 'The Agent' in its name."
"That doesn't sound good." Jaden muttered.
"So from my graveyard, I remove The Agent of Force - Mars..." A red skinned angel appeared on the field. He was wearing red clothing and wielded a double sided hammer. And then suddenly, he was enveloped in flames. "And now I summon Master Hyperion!" Moments later, something else emerged from the flames. It was a heavy armored fairy with a stern look on his face. (ATK: 2700-3000 DEF: 2100-2400 LV: 8) "Now attack his Heat!" The armored fairy conjured an orb of light between his palms before hurling it at the fire hero.
Jaden & Andrew: 2400-1200
"Next I activate Master Hyperion's special ability! By removing a light fairy type monster in my graveyard from play, I can destroy 1 card on the field." Jenny removed 1 card from the graveyard. "There goes Winged Kuriboh!" The armored fairy threw another orb of light that obliterated the winged duel spirit.
"Sorry, Winged Kuriboh." Jaden apologized.
"That ends my turn." Jenny concluded.
"You go, girl!" Alexis said as she gave her a high five.
Matt looked thoughtful. "If I remember correctly, Master Hyperion's ability can be used twice per turn if The Sanctuary in the Sky is in play. So why didn't Jenny use it to destroy both monsters and attack directly?"
"Because she was aware of Winged Kuriboh's special ability." Bastion explained. "After that monster is destroyed, any more battle damage that could have been inflicted to Jaden and Andrew would have been reduced to 0 for the rest of this turn."
"That makes sense." Shiori replied.
"It seems we can't take a break here." Andrew commented.
"Yeah, but you've gotta admit, this duel is super sweet!" Jaden grinned.
"Of course you this would excite you." Andre shook his head before shrugging. "But I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy this duel either."
"Speaking of which, it's your turn now. Now go ahead and her down!"
"I'll try." He stepped forward. 'Of course, with no cards on the field or in my hand, I'd be lucky if I get something that'll keep me in the game for a little longer.' He took a deep breath. 'Well, here goes.' He drew his next card and looked at it. He smiled. "I activate the spell card, The Warrior Returning Alive! This lets me take one warrior type monster from the graveyard. And I choose Bubbleman." He held up the named card. "And now I special summon him!" The blue-armored water hero appeared again. (ATK: 800 DEF: 1200 LV: 4) "And once again, since there are no other cards on our side of the field, I can draw two more cards." He drew his extra cards and looked at them, Both of them were spell cards. "Nice! I play Mask Change!"
Jenny and Alexis gasped at this.
"Thanks to this, I can trade a HERO monster in for a Masked HERO with the same attribute. Now watch as Bubbleman transforms into..." The water hero glowed brightly. "Masked HERO Acid!" The light died down and revealed dark blue armored hero with his gun in hand. (ATK: 2600 DEF: 2100 LV: 8) "When this guy is summoned, all your spells and traps are destroyed." The hero fired a stream of acid that melted Incarnated Machine Angel, Solemn Wishes and The Sanctum of Parshath. And at the same time, the stone palace and clouds vanished, making the scenery change back into the classroom. "And not only does your monster lose its extra points from your continuous spell, but it also loses 300 more attack points, thanks to Acid's effect."
Jenny watched in horror as Master Hyperion felt weaker and fell down to his knees. (ATK: 3000-2700-2400 DEF: 2400-2100)
"Next I play Mask Charge! This lets me take 1 HERO monster and 1 Change card from my graveyard and add them to my hand. So I'll take Wildheart and Mask Change." He held up the named card. "Then I'll summon Wildheart to the field!" The tribal hero appeared again. (ATK: 1500 DEF: 1600 LV: 4) "Now, Acid! Attack Master Hyperion with Acid Blast!" The Masked HERO fired a stream of acid that made a direct hit on the armored fairy, causing him to explode.
Alexis & Jenny: 4100-3900
"Wildheart, your turn!" The tribal hero dashed forward and gave Jenny a right hook.
Alexis & Jenny: 3900-2400
"And I'm not done just yet. I still have Mask Change! So I can summon another Masked HERO. Acid, time to transform!" The named monster glowed brightly. "Meet my Masked HERO Vapor!" The light died down and revealed a warrior clad in armor with a lighter shade of blue and silver. He wielded a long, white, double-pointed spear. (ATK: 2400 DEF: 2000 LV: 6) "Now Vapor, end this!" The warrior charged forward and struck Jenny with his spear, making her cry out and fall backwards.
Alexis & Jenny: 2400-0000
As the holograms disappeared, Professor Miller stepped forward. "And the winners are Jaden and Andrew!"
The students cheered.
"Alright! Way to play, guys!" Syrus called out.
"Good show." Bastion said.
"That duel was awesome." Matt commented.
"Tell me about it." Shiori replied. "It just went back and forth."
"Nice one." Clover smiled.
Andrew sighed in relief as Jaden placed a hand on his shoulder. "Nice moves, Andrew."
"Thanks. You did pretty good yourself."
"You know it!" He grinned before turning to Alexis and Jenny. "And you two? You fought well. You girls haven't lost your touch." He then gave them a two-fingered salute. "Nice game!"
"Well, you two haven't lost your touch either." Alexis smiled.
"I can't say that I'm entirely surprised by the outcome of this duel." Jenny added.
"But it was a close one." Andrew said. "I didn't expect anything less from you."
Jenny blushed a bit. "Thanks."
"Fine sportsmanship, you four." Professor Miller said, getting everyone's attention. "You showed a fine example of dueling skills, and most importantly, teamwork. And I'm sure that all you put everything you witnessed in mind in case it comes to one day that you would team up with someone. I hope you remember that. That's all for now. Class dismissed."
And that's that. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. And I certainly hope there aren't any error I happened to leave in this duel. Because while writing the dueling part, I looked over it over and over and I sure noticed plenty of mistakes I had to fix. Boy that was annoying. Anyway, this was the third GX chapter in row, so you know the drill. See you next time.