Slifer Red Bronze Dorms - Argos Swamps
Creepy atmosphere, groaning walls, mosquitos, and spiders. And a smelly bog in the backyard, where the outhouse and showers were located.
These are my accommodations, Evan thought.
He shivered underneath his blanket and put his pillow over his head to block the sounds outside his window. There was a tree right beside it that tapped against the glass. In the dark, the branch looked like the bony hand of a ghoul coming to take his soul.
It didn't help that at dinner, the boys gathered around the hearth at the center of the floor and told ghost stories about the island.
He heard tales about a giant that was hunting Obelisks and stealing their jackets, a hairy wildman that stalked the swamps outside, and an abandoned dorm located at the foot of the mountains that housed elite students.
"They say those guys were secretly meddling with the occult. The Shadow Realm and all that stuff," a student said during dinner, wriggling his fingers to look spooky. "One night, it was reported that there were strange lights coming from the dorm. When campus security went in to investigate the next morning, the dorm looked like it was attacked by a mob. The place was covered in blood. Upstairs, they found a door that was barricaded by furniture and other stuff. The students were trying to keep something out but to no avail. Whatever 'it' was, it got them! On quiet nights, you can hear the souls of those students wander around the swamps, howling in agony, wondering why they could be so stupid to mess with Shadow Magic."
That tale haunted Evan all through the night. He heard all sorts of strange things coming from the swamp. Yes. A swamp! The Slifer Red dorm for bronze-level students was built right in the middle of a swamp, no doubt as an insult to those who did poorly in both their exams. Slifer Red was already mocked as being a dorm housing the worst of the worst. But to be ranked Bronze — the worst rank of the worst dorm on the island. Yeah, no wonder the students horrible enough to be stuck here were forced to live on the ass-end of the island.
Barks, chirps, honking, and shrieks rang out there across the murky dark green water behind the dorm. Deep down in his fragile little mind, he pictured those sounds to be the ghosts of the students killed in the abandoned dorm. Every howl he heard, he imagined was the Rougarou of Academy Island, a half-wolf half-man creature that was said to be a Slifer Red student cursed for entering the abandoned dorm. Now he stalks the swamps, looking for someone to eat.
"Why me?" Evan said with a shiver.
He thought he could hang with the boy, Jaden Yuki, but he was put in the Slifer Red facilities located at the coasts, which had much better accommodations. Probably had to do with him beating Crowler at the entrance exams. The dorms up there on the coastal villages were still tacky, but it beat the rundown motel here in the swamps. This is what he deserved for not studying for the written exam combined with his poor dueling skills. Even though he was terrible at the game, if he had scored high enough on the written exams, he would have been able to get accommodations in the villages by the coast.
He kept hearing reassurances about how the dorm wasn't a place for him to be stuck in forever. If he dueled his best and studied hard, he could find himself out of Slifer Red and into Ra Yellow. If he impressed people there, he could probably get promoted to Obelisk Blue; it wasn't an impossibility. Still, getting promoted to Obelisk Blue was easier said than done. Especially from all the way down here at the bottom of the barrel.
Studying for duels was going to be the easy part. It was mastering the rules of the game that was going to be tough. You see, Evan didn't even get acquainted with the current Master Rules just yet. While everyone around him swarmed the field with powerful Link Summons and Xyz Summons and used Pendulums with ease, Ethan could barely play his old school monsters right. That defeat he suffered earlier really took a jab at the tiny bit of ego he had in him. He might not have been the best duelist back home in his grandfather's card shop, but he had many victories under his belt. Well...if you count kindergarten students still new to the game opponents. When he dueled them he easily beat them one, two, three. Here, he didn't have a chance to play his best cards because of flood gates, Solemn cards, hand traps, and all the other goodies abused in the meta.
"Aarrrggh!" he tossed and turned in his bed. "Why does this have to be so hard?"
His arm reached out from underneath the blanket and fumbled around the side table for his phone. He accidentally knocked his lamp over. He didn't care. He had no fear of waking anyone up; nobody wanted to be roommates with him. So he had his cold and creaky room all to himself.
The tree branch tapped against the glass and something howled in the darkness. Evan grabbed his phone and yanked his arm back under the blanket, thinking there was something in his room that would grab it and eat it.
He turned on his phone. The bright light was on at full blast, causing him to squint. He tapped the settings icon and adjusted the brightness. He went to his gallery and ogled at the pictures he took today. A photo with his grandmother and grandfather before he left. The cabin of the Osprey that took him from Domino City to Academy Island. The main campus, the fountains, the flowers, the ocean, and...the girls. He blushed red at the sneaky pics he took of a few he thought were very cute. As he flipped around his gallery, he spotted a young lady with very long, very messy, auburn hair with a silk periwinkle bow on the back of her head.
It was the girl who looked at him on the Osprey. Alice was her name. Alice Fenix, the younger sister of the great pro duelist Sara Fenix. He went red in the face just looking at her picture. That heart-shaped face, her glossy pink lips, and those gorgeous green eyes. Her bust wasn't bad either, so he thought. He went to the next picture. The girl in this photo made his heart skip a beat. The Queen of Obelisk Blue everyone called her since she scored perfect on her scores and defeated four opponents in one go without losing a single Life Point. Alexis Rhodes. She was having an ice cream by a fountain on the main campus with two of her friends, who were also very cute in his eyes.
He sighed dreamily, finally finding the courage to peek his head out of the blanket for some fresh air. God, they were so beautiful. Maybe, he thought, just maybe, one of these lovely ladies would want to be his girlfriend. If he could just manage to make a name for himself. But how? He realized he didn't have to look very far to do that.
Jaden Yuki was the talk of the school right now. He was the one everyone needed to beat.
"All right, Jaden Yuki. Tomorrow morning, you're going down! And I'll be out of this dump."
Beach outside the Obelisk Blue Village
The sky was glowing with an icy blue metallic glow as the stars faded and the sun was peeking over the horizon. Alexis Rhodes sat on the white sands of the beach alone. Her arms were wrapped around her legs and her chin rested on her knees. She listened to the waves smacking against the shore and closed her eyes to feel the wind caressing her face. Some hair started to tickle her eyes, nose, and cheeks, so she brushed them over her ear with her fingertips. The sun rose a little more over the horizon, burning the sky with pastels of orange and pink, battling for dominance against the bluish-black colors of the waning night. She looked around to make sure no one was watching and removed her boots and long blue socks so she could soak her feet in the surf.
She was hesitant at first, not anticipating that the water would be this could, but she grew used to it. The chill became refreshing. She let out a deep breath from her lips and closed her eyes once more as her anxiety, sorrow, and depression seemed to melt away, filling her with a feeling of serenity, something she hadn't felt since her whole world crumbled not too long ago.
"Good morning," greeted Zane.
Alexis gasped and opened her eyes. She looked over her shoulder and saw Zane standing in the grass behind the sand.
"Didn't mean to startle you," he said.
"No, you're fine." Alexis walked out of the water to join him. "What are you doing here so early?"
"I was about to ask you the same thing. I was on my way back from a talk with Chancellor Sheppard when I saw Chazz and his gang head for the academy. Sure enough, I saw you following? What happened? Late-night dueling action, I suppose?"
"Yeah. Chazz challenged that kid who beat Crowler at the entrance exams."
"Jaden Yuki?" Zane looked down and sniggered softly. "Yeah, I figured Chazz would be hounding him for a match. How did it go?"
"It was going well. Jaden was on the ropes against Chazz and his dragons. But before Jaden could begin his turn and possibly turn things around, Campus Security came and interrupted the game."
"It's not like you to be breaking the rules, Alexis. I figured you were going to be the voice of reason."
"I know but I really wanted to see Jaden duel again."
"You like this kid huh?"
"His dueling is fun, so yeah."
"Well, if you admire his dueling that much, you should have ended that scuffle when you had the chance so you can see them duel properly next time. You were lucky to have spotted security when you did. If you hadn't, the three of you would have been sent on the first ship out of here. Well, Jaden would be anyway. I imagine your family and Chazz's would have paid the school to look the other way."
"I guess you're right. Sorry, Zane."
"No need to be. I think that Jaden kid shows some promise, too. I also heard you made friends with Sara Fenix's little sister."
"Alice? Yeah, she's a real sweetie. But something tells me she doesn't want to be here. She seems unsure about herself. She even questioned why she even came to Duel Academy in the first place."
"Has she dueled yet?"
"No, so I can't judge if she has promise or not. A gang of Slifer Reds gave her a hard time on her way to the dorm. They scared her half to death with a rogue hologram and she wet herself."
"That's embarrassing."
"Tell me about it. I'm going to keep an eye on her. I really like that girl, too. Some of the girls in the dorm say she's got the same touch as her sister does, but I want to see that for myself. A name doesn't mean much if you can't live up to it."
"That's right. It's unwise to assume Alice is good just because her sister was a champion in the pro leagues. If she does wind up in a duel, you be sure to let me know. I'd like to see her skills for myself if I'm nearby."
"Of course, Zane. No problem."
"Hmph," Zane said with a nod. "All right, you better get back to your dorm and get your things. Class begins in two hours."
Alexis yawned then suddenly gasped as a wave of icey cold dread filled her frame. Truly? Was he right? Goodness, where did the time go. "What? Really? Oh no. Uh, see you later!" she hugged Zane and dashed back to her dorm.
Alice's Dorm Room - Underwater Suites
Her phone started blasting a cheerful ringing melody to wake her up. Alice yawned and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. She fumbled around in the dark, looking for the switch to turn on her lamp.
Finally, she found it and pressed it. The lamp turned on, its pink shade flooded the room in a warm glow. She looked out the round window beside her bed. It was dark out there. The light of her lamp barely illuminated the grass waving eerily in the gloom of the bottom of the lake.
Alice got out of bed and did a few stretches before dressing into her academy uniform, which was quite regal and formal in design. It consisted of a blue jacket trimmed with white, and the coat-of-arms of the Obelisk Blue dorm emblazoned over the breast, a white blouse, a red tie, a black tartan skirt, and leg-length boots. Her academy Duel Disk was in the dresser along with her uniform, colored blue with white floral designs on the surface.
"Let's get this show on the road," she said, adjusting her tie in the mirror. It was a long journey to the campus. She would have taken the monorail, but the lines were long and she preferred to hoof it all the way there. She stepped in front of the door to her suite and the metal door slid open. She found herself in the hallway, packed with girls running about trying to look perfect for the first day of school. She noticed two girls standing in front of the door to the room opposite of Alice's. She recognized them both at once, for she had seen them on Alexis's Piktagram account.
Jasmine and Mindy were their names. Mindy was already dressed up in her uniform but Jasmine was still clad in her bra and pink pajama pants with a towel hanging over her neck.
"What's going to be done about those jerks?" Jasmine asked as she brushed her teeth.
"I don't know," said Mindy. She had a piece of toast with jelly in her hand. She bit into it with a loud crunch. "Alexis said two guys from Obelisk Blue were ambushed by those Red Crusader jerks last night before lights out. They were just going for a jog is all. And they jumped them for no reason."
"I get it," Jasmine said with an eye roll. "But what's going to be done about it?"
Mindy ate the last of her toast and two girls passed by gossiping loudly, leaving a trail of sweet perfume behind. "Not much, I'm afraid. You know how things are around here. I was hoping things would have changed before our time but it looks like we're going to have to tussle in the wild west."
"I was afraid you'd say that." Jasmine looked over Mindy's shoulder and waved at Alice. "Hey, look who's up."
Mindy turned around and greeted Alice. "Oh, hey, Alice."
Alice pointed at herself. "How do you two know my name?"
"Alexis told us all about you, silly," Jasmine assured her. "I'm Jasmine. This is Mindy. Sorry about what happened between you and Boris the other day. That's not exactly what I call the Duel Academy welcome wagon."
Alice's face began to flush bright pink and she sunk her head between her shoulders like a turtle hiding its head in its shell. "So...uh...I suppose you guys heard about my...my uh..."
"Don't sweat it," said Jasmine. "I do hope you'll be going after Boris and getting your revenge. The last thing you're going to want is him having that embarrassing moment to use against you."
"Why is he even doing this?" Alice wondered. "I couldn't help but overhear you two talking. Some guys from our dorm got robbed last night?"
Jasmine replied with a heavy sigh and a roll of her eyes. She cocked her hip to the side and placed her hand on it. "Yeah, by the same guy who made you piss yourself the other day."
"Is there any way we can report him?"
Jasmine and Mindy looked at each other with grim expressions. "She doesn't know," said Jasmine.
"Know what?"
"Well..." Jasmine rubbed the back of her neck as she wondered what to tell Alice. There was an awful truth to this school but Alice looked so happy to be here. She didn't want to spoil the experience. Still, she was going to have to learn sooner or later about how things were run here.
Jasmine took so long to say something that Mindy eventually spoke for her. "Duel Academy has been in rough waters lately."
"Why do you say?"
"There's a lot of money flowing around this place. And take a look around. We got the sons and daughters of some very powerful people attending this school. Well, in regards to our dorm anyway. Maybe Ra Yellow. Anyway, with lots of money comes lots of corruption."
"Corruption?"
"It won't affect you so long as you don't go sticking your nose where it doesn't belong," Mindy replied. "But yeah, people can be bribed to look the other way. Teachers, too. Even Campus Security with them being mercenaries and all. Also, Boris may be in Slifer Red but his grandparents are the owners of an up-and-coming car manufacturing company. If gets into any trouble, all he has to do is whine to his pappy and — poof!" She held up both her hands. "It's like he never did anything wrong. He's got it good against us Blues because he feels he should be in our ranks. That's not to say our dorm is any better."
"Yeah," said Jasmine. "Some of the students in our dorm can be equally as obnoxious and twisted. The big players in our dorm hate Slifers and Boris uses that to his advantage, rounding up anyone who wants to help him beat down Obelisk Blue. He started the gang wars that are taking place right now. He started a gang. Some Blues started a gang. Then more reds formed their own gangs. Hell, some of the Ra Yellows were feeling left out and formed their own groups so they can quarrel in this neverending war for respect. And I don't see it ending any time soon. It may be Boris's last year in Duel Academy but his Red Crusaders are practically going to martyr him. All his nasty disciples are most likely going to continue squaring off against the duel gangs for years to come."
"Well that's stupefyingly ridiculous," Alice said. "I'll be sure to keep out of it."
"Many of us do," said Jasmine. "So far only Boris's gang and a small group of Obelisk Blues are playing in this stupid gang war. Keep to your studies and your dueling, and you'll be spared from the idiocracy taking place by a scant few."
"For real," Mindy agreed. She turned her hip just slightly and Alice could make out her deck protected by a clear case hanging from her skirt. A Starlight rare dragon card was on the front protected by a regal-looking border sleeve. Alice recognized it at once as Lubellion the Searing Dragon.
"Hey, you run an Albaz deck, Mindy?" Alice asked. "That's really cool."
"Oh, that?" Mindy unclipped the deck from her skirt. "No, that's Jasmine's deck, actually. I'm just holding it while her gear is in the laundry. I run a Felgrand Dragon deck. Wanna see?"
"Sure."
Mindy took off her backpack and knelt down to search for her deck. She pulled out a luxury black and gold deck case from her pack and handed it to Alice. "Be amazed!" she said.
"Please," Jasmine boasted with a wave of her hand. "Albaz is the way to go if you want to run a cool dragon deck."
Alice pressed the gemstone on the front of the box and the top opened. Amazingly, there were blue LED lights inside to give the deck a more 'mystic' look, like it was a rare treasure uncovered in a lost dungeon. "Wow!" Alice said. She flipped through the cards. Every single one was a high-tier rarity. A copy of her best card, Divine Dragon Lord Felgrand, was printed in Ghost Rare. As Alice moved the card around, the dragon's image seemed to rise and move around as though it were alive. She supposed she must have been carrying at least $1200 in her hands right now.
She handed the deck back to Jasmine. "Amazing! I wish my deck was that sparkly. Well, it was lovely meeting you two, but I think I better head out."
"Sure thing," said Jasmine. "It was a pleasure meeting you, too. I never would have thought I'd be going to school with Sara Fenix's little sister. This is way cool."
"Can we take a picture with you?" Mindy asked. "A keepsake for the first day of school. When we graduate, I'm so going to make us all look back at this photo."
Mindy, Jasmine, and Alice huddled together for the picture. Mindy held up her camera and made a V with two of her fingers before taking the picture. "Thanks, Alice! See you."
Alice went out of the dorm smiling the whole way. Already, she made four new friends. Alexis, Enora, and now Jasmine and Mindy. At least now her classes were going to be somewhat bearable. Speaking of which, she wondered how long she had before the bell rang. She held up her wrist, pulled back the sleeve of her blazer, and checked her watch. "Hmm, I've got time."
She saw a vendor selling meals by the path leading towards the school.
"Hello there," he said. "What can I help you with this morning?"
"I'll have some milk and a sweet bun, please."
"Of course," the vendor said. He bent down to find what she wanted and set them on the counter. "That'll be five, seventy-seven. Will you be paying in Duel Points or cash?"
Alice didn't know what Duel Points were so obviously she was going to pay with cash. She reached into the side pocket of her backpack to find her small coin purse. She bit her lip nervously and shook her head in disdain when she realized she didn't have enough money.
"Uh, could you hold back on the milk, sir?"
The vendor smiled and rubbed his belly with his spatula. "Forget it. The only reason I'm still in business on this island is because of hungry kids like you. It's okay, sweetie, it's on the house."
"Oh no, I couldn't."
"No, no, I insist. Please. You need your strength for the day ahead. And you can't duel on an empty stomach. Right?"
Alice bowed. "Thank you, sir. I owe you a big tip."
"Nonsense. Go on, skedaddle."
She took the food from the counter and waved the man goodbye. As she approached the fountain in front of the school courtyard, she saw Enora standing in front of it with Alexis, who looked like she didn't get any sleep last night. She let out a horrible yawn and quickly covered her mouth and apologized.
"Good morning," Alice said catching up to them. "Enora, I'm so glad I found you. I had your jacket cleaned up. Why don't you come by my room later and pick it up?"
Enora smiled. "Naw, you keep it."
"But it's yours."
"No, it's just a loaner I borrowed until my real one gets delivered. I'm embarrassed to admit this, but I forgot my real jacket at home. Besides, I think you look nice in the one I gave you."
Alexis sighed. "Already looking for new recruits for the team, Enora?" She laughed but broke into a yawn.
Alice leaned forward to examine her. She saw bags under Alexis's eyes, which were red with weariness. "Ooo, Alexis, you don't look so good. What happened?"
"Good morning, Alice I…" She yawned again. "Ugh, sorry."
"Didn't you get any sleep last night, Alexis?"
"No, I was up late last night witnessing a really good duel."
Alice gasped. "Alexis! Isn't it against the rules to be playing that late at night?"
Alexis pressed her finger against her lips. "Shhhhhh! Not so loud! Do you want me to get busted?"
"Sorry, but it comes as quite a shock to me that someone of your reputation would be breaking rules."
"Believe me, if you were there, you would have stuck around to see it through as well. I was about to tell them off and leave, but it was such a great match."
"Who was dueling?"
"Jaden Yuki and Chazz Princeton," Enora answered.
"Really?" asked Alice. "Those two were at it again? Well, I can't blame them. Campus Security shut down their match before it could even finish. Sounds like Chazz was eager for that rematch."
Alexis rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I figured Chazz would be up to something. I saw him and his buddies sneaking around the quad of their dorm after I had my walk with Zane. One of them mentioned Jaden's name and I had to see what they were up to. Sure enough, they were luring him to the main arena."
"Who won?"
Alexis let out a sad sigh. "Nobody did, that's the bitch of it. Campus Security came around. Thankfully, we made it out before we got seriously busted. For a moment I thought it would go either way against Jaden and Chazz, but then Jaden showed me the cards he drew with his Pot of Greed. If he had played those cards, he would have beaten Chazz."
"Really?" said Alice. "Wow, he was about to beat Chazz Princeton?"
"He's full of surprises, that boy," said Enora. "And he's also very hard to reach. I wanted to speak with him earlier, but he was out of the dorm as soon as the rooster crowed. He sure wants to get to class."
Alexis giggled. "Class? Him? I don't think so. I'm sure Jaden's just more than eager to get himself into a duel. Knowing him, it wouldn't surprise me if he was in one."
Suddenly students began to gather around a second fountain in the courtyard, one with the statue of Slifer in the center of it. Alice and her friends rushed to see what was taking place over there. A duel!
"It's him!" she whispered.
Yes, it was. Jaden Yuki. And he was up against Evan.
Syrus was trying his absolute best to get Jaden to cease going through with the match. Naturally, Jaden wasn't listening. "But Jaden, we've got class in a few minutes! Come on, we don't wanna be late."
"Chill out, Syrus, I've got this. Besides, nothing beats a good duel in the morning!"
"But why him? He's like the worst player in the Slifer Dorm!"
"Hey!" Evan shouted, pointing at Syrus furiously. But he paused.
He saw Alice standing right behind him with a surprised look on her face. Oh goodness! And she had Alexis Rhodes and the captain of the Red Arrows standing on either side of her. This was it! Now was his chance to look good for her. And possibly even make a good impression on Alexis.
"Uh...yeah, don't insult me, pipsqueak! Just because I'm in Slifer Red doesn't mean I don't have the moves to make you groove!"
Crickets...
"Uh, never mind. You go first."
"You are something else, huh?" Jaden said. He drew.
Jaden 4000 LP
Evan 4000 LP
Turn 1
"Aw, sweet! I couldn't ask for a better hand. All right, Evan, it's time to get your game on! I'm throwing down two face-downs and summoning Elemental HERO Sparkman!"
Electricity snapped in front of Jaden, it then formed a warrior in blue and gold armor. He flew around in circles and then stood beside Jaden.
Elemental HERO Sparkman
ATK/1600 DEF/1400
"My turn's done!"
Turn 2
"My turn! I draw! HA!"
He tried to draw his card dramatically but wound up spilling a bunch of his cards from the top of his deck all over the place. The other students laughed at him as he went down on the ground and scooped up his cards. He shuffled them and put them at the bottom of his deck.
"Uh, pretend that didn't happen. I use Unexpected Dai. This card allows me to summon a level four or lower Normal monster from my deck. Bow down to the beauty of my lady, Kanan the Swordmistress!"
He summoned a tall, slender female warrior in skimpy green armor which caused many of the boys in the crowd to whistle. Her skin was milky white. Her hair was chocolate brown and went down to her back. She carried a long, shiny sword in one hand and a study shield on the other.
Kanan the Swordmistress
ATK/1400 DEF/1400
"Yes. My beautiful lady will lead me to victory. Now, I will summon Ax Raider, with a devastating attack force of 1700! And I equip Kanan with this card. Black Pendant. Ha, now she's stronger than your Sparkman!"
Kanan looked down at her chest, noticing a purple glow that soon formed into a black diamond necklace. She cooed as she examined the beautiful piece of jewelry with her fingers.
(ATK 1400 → 1900)
"Wooo! This is easy! I attack your puny HERO with Ax Raider!"
Ax Raider held out his ax and let out a loud battle cry before he sprinted toward Sparkman.
Jaden smirked. "Easy, huh? Sorry to disappoint you, Evan, but I'm activating my trap! Check out my face-down card. Dimensional Prison!"
"That's not good for Evan," said Alexis. "Not only can Jaden stop his monster's attack, but he'll remove him from play as well."
"NO! My-my monster!" Evan cried out as a purple portal opened up in front of his Ax Raider and sent him plunging into another dimension. "You may have stopped my Ax Raider, but Lady Kanan will finish the job and take down your Sparkman!"
"YA!" Kanan shouted, lunging forward and raising her sword to attack the HERO.
"I think not!"
"You laid a trap for my lady!"
"That's right. Draining Shield! Now, Sparkman is saved from Kana's attack and I gain Life Points equal to her attack points. Thanks for the lead, bro."
"My Lady Kanan is still the strongest monster on the field! She's ready for anything you throw at her! Bring it! Your stupid heroes mean nothing!"
Jaden laughed. "I wouldn't start celebrating just yet, Evan."
Turn 3
"I draw! Perfect. I summon Keeper of Dragon Magic!"
A magic circle colored metallic blue formed over Jaden and from it emerged a warrior in brilliant armor colored sky blue. He had a blue surcoat and held a jagged spear in his hands. His armor appeared dull in the early morning light, but Jaden found it oddly beautiful, bringing a confident smile to his face.
"All right, Evan, this is the end. When Keeper of Dragon Magic is summoned to the field, I can discard a card and add Polymerization to my hand. Now, I'll reveal to you my buddy, Flame Wingman in my extra deck."
"Why would you do that?"
"Because when I do, I can summon one of his fusion materials from the grave to the field face-down. And he so happens to be Elemental HERO Avian! Now, I use Polymerization, fusing together Sparkman and Avian to create, Elemental HERO Grandmerge!"
Sparkman and Avian took to the air and jumped into a spiral that fused their souls together. The new monster looked like Sparkman but his visor and many parts of his suit were colored red. His golden armor grew bulkier and he had Avian's feathered cuffs over his wrists as well as angelic wings. He traded the electric weapons in his palms for two energy cannons that came out of his gauntlets.
Elemental HERO Grandmerge
ATK/0 DEF/0
Evan started to chuckle, then he burst out laughing. "So much for your HERO, Jaden! He's got no attack or defense points. He'll make good fodder for my Lady Kanan!"
"Hold on now, Evan. Now, I know he doesn't have any points at the moment, but that's where his special ability kicks in."
Evan smacked his cheek. "Special ability? Oh man, I'm starting to hate those."
"That's right. He gains attack and defense points equal to the combined original levels of the monsters I used to fusion summon him times three hundred!"
(ATK → 2100)
"But...but that's not fair!" Evan cried. He looked at his cards. "Come on! Come on! There must be something I can do!"
Syrus jumped up with joy. "Sorry, doesn't look like there's anything you can do! Way to play, Jay!"
Jaden laughed. "Yup, and I'm going to bring back a friend who just hates saying goodbye. I activate O - Oversoul and summon back Elemental Hero Sparkman from the graveyard!"
"Not him again!" Evan cried out in disbelief.
Jaden held out his hand and commanded his monster to attack. "Grandmerge...attack!"
Elemental HERO Grandmerge aimed his fist at Kanan the Swordmistress. The ion cannon came out from his gauntlet, charged, and fired a ball of energy, striking her in the chest."
Evan was now wide open. "Oh no! Oh nooooo!"
"And that's not all, Evan. When Elemental HERO Grandmerge destroys a monster in battle, he can tag in a new HERO from my extra deck!"
Grandmerge vanished into a ball of light that turned into a bigger HERO. The other students held their breath and watched in anticipation, wondering what it could be.
"Appear! Elemental HERO Terra Firma!"
Something fell from the sky like a comet and smashed the ground in front of Jaden. Alice and the other students yelled, blocking the dirt and debris with their forearms or their hands.
"Another HERO?" she whispered. "Wow!"
When the dirt cleared away, there stood a very tall warrior from another world. His body was colored marble white and he had glass domes on his shoulders and head colored dark blue. He had two spikes coming out from his back.
Elemental HERO Terra Firma
ATK/2800 DEF/2000
"I'm going to use Terra Firma's effect. I tribute Sparkman and his attack points then transfer to Terra Firma. Now that's what I call teamwork."
Sparkman turned into a bright blue aura that was absorbed into Terra Firma's body. He flexed his muscles and growled, feeling his teammate's power surge through him.
(ATK 2800 → 4400)
"Forty-four hundred!" Alice couldn't believe it. His attack points reached the top of the charts. "Jaden's so good!"
Terra Firma pulled the spikes out of his back. It turns out, they were the handles to two energy swords that burst as soon as he held them up for combat. Evan was the target. He dove towards him and stopped to stare him down. Then he held up his weapons.
Hmmmmmm-RAAAAARRRGGG! Terra Firma performed a cross-slash attack that created a massive explosion. The trees shook violently, their leaves sprinkled the air with green. Birds cried out in fear as they flew away from the violence taking place. Evan was on the ground laying on his back, moaning and groaning as his Life Points fell to 0.
"And that's game!" Jaden said. "Keep practicing there, Evan. Hey, I'd be more than happy to teach you..." Suddenly the students crowded around Jaden, asking him questions and demanding trades. "Hey! Ouch, that's my foot! Hey, watch it!"
"No!" Alice cried. She lost her chance to speak to him again. She found herself getting pushed farther and farther to the back of the crowd. She tried to fight back, but it was like being driven against a powerful current. Soon, Jaden was out of sight. Through a few bodies, she saw Syrus pulling him away to safety. They were gone.
"Come on, Alice," Alexis called. "Let's head to class. We don't want to be late."
Alice noticed Evan was on the ground, not even bothering to pick himself up.
"Uh, you two go ahead. I'll catch up with you later."
Alexis gave a shrug. "Suit yourself. Oh, hold on." She told Alice to turn around and then fixed her bow, which was tilting. "There. It must have gotten messed up during the duel. Sorry about that. It's a pet peeve of mine to see things crooked."
"Alexis can be a neat freak," Enora chuckled, patting Alexis on the back.
"Ow," Alexis said rubbing the spot. "How many times do I have to tell you to stop doing that? You got a strong hand, Enora."
She and Enora walked to school while Alice thought it best to tend to Evan.
"Are you all right?" Alice said sprinting towards him. She crouched down and started picking up his cards, which were scattered all over the ground.
Evan gawked at her for a moment. He shook his head to get it out of the gutter and answered. "Yeah, thanks. I'm fine. Really."
"Looks like you bit off more than you can chew there, kid. Jaden Yuki may be a freshman like we are, but he's far from a novice. I think you would have figured that out when he beat Crowler."
Evan rubbed the back of his head. "Well, I kind of figured it was dumb luck. I thought some of that could rub off on me today."
Alice handed him back his cards. "No offense, but it's pretty stupid thinking that was dumb luck. Jaden's got skill. Just what were you trying to prove?" She stood up and held out her hand.
Evan took it and let her help him up. "I don't like where I'm staying. Those accommodations by the swamps are really spooky and it smells…funny out there. Not to mention it's so degrading. You don't know what it's like getting laughed at all the time. Trying your hardest to climb out of the bottom only to fall back down all the time. I thought if I beat the kid who defeated Crowler, I'd probably get the chance to move to another dorm like Ra Yellow or, I don't know, maybe even Obelisk Blue."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Slow down there, hotshot. You're in Slifer Red because you got bad grades and your dueling is subpar. Chancellor Sheppard isn't going to boost you up to Obelisk Blue just because you got lucky against the school's rising star. Jaden may have beaten Crowler, but his reward for that victory was less smelly living quarters. If you want to move up the ranks, you've got to make the grade and get better."
"That's easier said than done."
Alice rolled her eyes at his incessant whining. "Most things usually are. Look, why don't you meet me during lunch and I can take a look at that deck of yours."
"Uh, sure. I'd like that very much. Alice, right? Hey, your sister is…"
She silenced him by holding out her palm. "Okay, first thing's first. If you wanna hang around me, don't you ever mention my sister. Is that understood?"
"Yes, ma'am. I understand completely. So, what classes do you have? If we have the same one, I'd be more than happy to walk with you there."
"Uh, let's see now," Alice said, digging into the pocket of her jacket. She took out a crumpled piece of paper, which was the list of her classes. "I've got The History and Appreciation of Duel Monsters, Trigonometry, Holographic Programming, P.E, tech ed, and…"
"Whoa, I thought this was a school for dueling." He fumbled around his pockets until he found his own list. "Aww, man, I have math class too!" He looked at her list. Unfortunately, they shared only one class together, and that was with Dr. Crowler. Evan was upset that he couldn't walk with Alice to class, but he was even more perturbed by the fact he had to take classes like mathematics.
"Aww, I suck at math. Why do we have to learn all this?"
"We can't grow to be dueling dum-dums like Rex and Weevil or that bum Bandit Keith. We need to have other skills to prepare for our futures. This place may groom the next generation of duelists, but sometimes, we grow to change our minds. Especially when we get older. I mean, have you ever had a dream besides being good at Duel Monsters?"
"Actually, no. This is all I ever really wanted to do."
"Then you better start cooking up some kind of Plan B. So far, dueling is not looking too good for you. But, hey, you've got three years to get better at the game or make up your mind and find something else to do with your life."
Ethan chuckled to hide his embarrassment. "Well, I guess I've always wanted to start a business making custom Duel Disks."
"Hey, there you go. Build up that dream as well. It's always good to keep a backup plan in case something doesn't work out."
The bell tower started to toll loudly. Other students on the school grounds began to run to class.
"Uh oh, that's the final bell. See you at lunch, Ethan. It was nice meeting you." She took off at once.
"Nice meeting you, too, Alice!" Ethan called back, feeling like he was the luckiest guy in the world.
He entered his first class of the day and within ten minutes of listening to the teacher's lecture, Evan found himself dozing off numerous times. He was so tired because he barely got any sleep last night. Add the fact that the professor, a blue-haired man named Professor Stein, was such a boring speaker, his sleep overtook him. When he woke, the class was over. He heard students laughing at him as they gathered their belonging and headed out the door. It was a miracle the teacher didn't spot him. But then again, he seemed like a very laid-back and unexciting person. Even as the last of the students were walking out the door, he was still saying his goodbyes and announcing the class's homework.
As Evan walked down the hall, a blond-haired Ra Yellow student bumped him from behind, almost knocking him forward. "Snooze ya lose, moron!" he laughed.
"Man, beating these Slifer Red rejects is going to be such an easy grade!" sneered the other.
Evan waited for them to leave before he straightened his backpack and headed to a glass hall with a view of the island on one side and the ocean on the other. Evan zig-zagged through the throng of students so he could get a good view of the ocean, too. There were a lot of students taking pictures in front of the scenery. A group of Obelisk Blue girls posed in front of the window as their buff classmate stepped back and took their picture. His Obelisk Blue uniform was decorated with fancy gold shields, banners, badges, and ribbons for being an honors student in the prep school he attended.
"Say cheese!" he said to the girls. They started holding up two fingers to celebrate their first day of school. He snapped their picture twice. "All right, ladies, looks good."
"One more!" begged a girl with pigtails.
The decorated student laughed. "All right. One more. But we better get moving. Our next class starts pretty soon." He took the last photo and his female friends cheered. They crowded around him and followed him down the hall.
A girl with sparkly pink hair giggled as she rested her cheek on his arm. "The beach looks so nice! Can we head down there after class?" she asked.
"Great idea!" said another girl. "And can you duel so we can see your Crystal Clear Wing Synchro Dragon in action again?!"
"Yeah!"
"Pleeeease!"
"Pleeeeasse!"
"Are you kidding?" said the boy. "Of course, we can. Anything for you, girls. Hey, order up all the drinks you want. They're on me."
The girls cheered, their laughter getting fainter and fainter as they went down the hall.
Evan sighed sadly, jealousy festering in his chest. "Man, what a lucky guy."
He walked to the window and stared out into the ocean. The sunlight warmed his cheeks, ice-cold from being stuck in Professor Stein's class. He wished he was born with smarts, good looks, and a family with lots of money. If he had, those girls would be clinging to his arms, too. He chuckled, thinking that somewhere in an alternate universe another version of him was probably living the life he so desperately desired. Obelisk Blue, decorated for his excellence, girls in every arm, a rare dragon to show off for them.
He sighed again, gazing at the sight below. He saw the ocean, azure blue, going on for miles and miles, marred only by the white contours of the waves heading for the white sand beaches. He could make out a plot of land called Ra's Wing, an artificial island shaped like the one of the Winged Dragon of Ra's wings. It was where the students of Ra Yellow lived and it was known for its glitzy apartments, state-of-the-art dueling arenas, and restaurants. The boy's dormitory looked like the palace resort known as Atlantis. The girls lived in a tower of glass and steel on an island out the sea that even had dorms underwater.
"And here I am sleeping in the swamps," Evan grumbled. He sighed a third time and checked his watch. There was still some time left to get to class but he knew he had to get moving. This school was ridiculously huge. So much so that some students had to take an electric train to get to certain classes in certain sectors. Evan heard there was an underwater classroom and arena too. Thankfully, his next class didn't require him to take the train. He had to take an elevator and go down a long flight of glass stairs to get there, but he made it with time to spare. It was located behind a red door in a hallway with long pools and water fountains and fancy kinetic structures serving as chandeliers.
Wow, Evan thought. He read in the Academy Guidebook that the school, along with the resort town on the other side of the island, cost 76 billion to construct. For a man like Seto Kaiba, that was probably nothing. He made like 2.6 billion every day so his mother said. Evan thought it nothing short of amazing that he could even be here. He knew if he failed he wouldn't have a chance like this again so he puffed out his chest and readied himself for his next class. He tried to get inside, but the door wouldn't budge.
He turned around to look at some other students sitting behind him. "Uh...the door won't open."
"Wow, great observation there, sport," said a Ra Yellow student named Logan (Duel Links). "The teacher's not here yet. We've got to wait out here until she arrives."
"Okay, thanks." Evan walked to the wall beside the left side of the door and leaned on it as he waited.
The Ra Yellow boy suddenly stood up and pointed down the hall. There was a young man walking toward the entrance of the classroom. He was tall and had neat black hair flushed toward the back. He wore a black Ra Yellow coat outlined with gold and had a black scarf fading to red at the ends, which were embellished with gold embroidery and tassels. The scarf was pinned with gold shields and ribbons commemorating excellence and high grades. A black messenger bag was slung over his shoulder and he carried an ornate black duel disk, resembling the decorative pickets of a wrought iron fence with a yellow orb on the center as decor. He was reading an old black book with 24k gold pages. Gold, gold, gold. He seemed to reek of it.
"Bastion!" Logan said. "Bastion Misawa!"
"Who's he?" Evan asked.
"He's the top student in the Ra Yellow dorm!" Logan replied. He opened his backpack and strapped on his duel disk, running towards Bastion. "Bastion! Bastion! Bastion Misawa."
Bastion lowered his book and stopped. "Yes, that's my name. I don't think everyone else needs to know it."
"Sorry, sorry, it's just that I've been a follower of yours since your prodigious performance at the entrance exam. "I...I was wondering if you could have one quick duel with me. Please. For my blog."
"A duel? But class is about to start." All of a sudden the other students crowded around them and cheered, urging Bastion to accept the match. Bastion looked at his watch. He smiled, then shrugged and tucked his book into the messenger bag. "Very well. We do have ten minutes left and it doesn't look like the teacher's here yet. All right. I'll let you go first."
"It's an honor!" Logan said. He powered on his duel disk and Bastion did the same. 4000 LP projected beside them.
"DUEL!"
Turn 1
Logan eagerly drew. "This is so great! I can't believe I'm dueling against you, Bastion. I summon a monster in defense mode and that ends my turn."
Turn 2
"Is that all? That's never a good start, you know?"
"Trust me! I know what I'm doing."
"You better pray that you are! Draw!" Bastion looked at his cards. "Dear, oh, dear. Not exactly a good starting hand. But a good duelist always comes prepared. I activate Hand Destruction! Now, we send our hands to the graveyard and draw the same number of cards we had before."
Bastion placed the discarded cards in the GY slot of his duel disk and drew. Evan saw the fancy border sleeves of his cards catching the light of the chandeliers. They made his cards look like fancy poker cards almost. "Wow," he said. "I've got to get some of those."
Bastion took a look at the options in his new hand and smiled. "Ah, that's more like it. Much better. I activate the field spell, Catalyst Field!"
A light flashed beneath Bastion's feet. A circle with hexagon-shaped tiles marked with acronyms from the periodic table then formed and spun slowly underneath him.
"Each turn, I'm allowed to summon an extra Gemini Monster in addition to my normal summon or set. And I call upon Chemicritter Hyrdon Hawk!"
A blue crystal with a glassy blue H for Hydrogen appeared in front of Bastion. The gem then transformed into a crystalized blue hawk with red and blue orbs floating inside its glass body.
ATK/1400
"Normally a Gemini Monster needs to be normal summoned to use its effects, but thanks to Catalyst Field, my Hydron Hawk already has its abilities. And I shall make use of them now. By discarding a card, I'm allowed to special summon one Gemini Monster from my graveyard. I summon Chemicritter Carbo Crab in defense mode!"
A yellow crystal with a gold C then appeared next to Hydro Hawk and it morphed into a crab with steel and gold pincers.
"My Hydro Hawk also allows me to add a Chemicritter monster to my hand from my deck. Then, I shall place two cards face-down and attack your face-down monster with Hydro Hawk!"
Hydro Hawk opened its mouth and let out a scream, which sent out bright blue shockwaves. The attack revealed a girl in a black and gold outfit with reddish-purple hair. She screamed before she shattered into pieces.
"You've attacked Red Sparrow Summoner, Bastion!" Logan bragged. "When she goes to the graveyard, I can summon one warrior monster with 1500 or less ATK from my deck. And I choose the mighty Karate Man!"
He summoned a dark-skinned man with a tall afro, a red bandanna, and a yellow and black martial arts outfit. "YA!" Karate Man shouted.
ATK/1000
"Hmph. It's going to take more than that," Bastion said confidently. "I end my turn."
Turn 3
"I'm sure it will," said Logan. "But you see, Karate Man's ATK increases by 1000. Now he's at 2000 ATK points, making him stronger than your Hydro Hawk."
"I know. I can add."
"Well, I hope you can subtract too, Bastion! My monster's going to wallop both your bird and your life points!"
Bastion held up his arm and shouted: "I think not! Reveal face-down card, Break Away! By discarding one spell card from my hand, I can negate the effects of all our monsters for the duration of the turn. Your Karate Man loses his ATK point bonus! And that's not all! I also activate my trap card, Burnout! I tribute Chemicritter Carbo Crab, which allows me to special summon two Chemicritters from my deck. Behold Poly-Chemicritter Hyrdragon in defense mode (DEF 2800) and Poly-Chemicritter Dioxorgre in attack mode (ATK/2800)! There! Now, I have two monsters with defensive and offensive power far superior to yours. Are you sure you wish to continue your attack, Logan?"
"No, no, you're right. You got the best of me that time but next time, you're all mine. I set two cards face-down and end my turn."
Turn 4
"I told you this was going to be a short duel. First, I summon Chemicritter Oxy Ox. But he won't stay for long, for I Overlay him and Hyrdo Hawk. Xyz Summon! Rank 2! Number 45: Crumble Logos the Prophet of Demolition!"
Lightning flashed in the sky and storm clouds lowered themselves to the ground next to Farrah and formed a mechanical Centurian creature with floating platforms for wings. He had the head of a wise bearded man wearing a black tricorn hat and he carried a book with magical knowledge in one hand.
ATK/2200 DEF/0
"And don't think I'm through, yet, Logan! I now Overlay my two Poly-Chemicritters for another powerful monster."
Evan's eyes widened and he gasped so dramatically he almost choked himself. "Wow! Two Xyz Summons in one turn!?"
"Xyz Summon!" Bastion shouted. "Rank 8! Vola-Chemicritter Methdraco!"
All the Chemicritters that Bastion had seemed to meld into one ultimate beast. It had the wings of Hyrdo Hawk, the horns of Oxy Ox, the body of Dioxogre, the claws and pincers of Carbo Crab, and the feet of and claws of Hydragon.
ATK/3000 DEF/3000
"I hope you weren't planning to use those face-down cards to stop me, Logan. They will be of no use to you. I activate Anti-Magic Arrows."
A volley of arrows shot down from the ceiling and pinned Logan's traps to the floor. "No! Now I'm defenseless!"
"Indeed you are. Now, I shall remove one Xyz Material from Methydraco and you must send a card from your hand or field to the graveyard. Now choose."
Logan closed his eyes and laughed out his nose "All right. All right. I'm going to remove Karate Man. You can attack me directly, Bastion. It's all right. Man, you are good. I didn't even get a chance to play anything."
Bastion let out a hearty laugh. "I wish I could say the same for you. But that's what this institution is for. Maybe one day you and I can have a proper duel. But today is not that day. I attack you directly with both my monsters!"
Logan took the attack. The crowd behind him split and yelped as he flew in their direction. His back slammed on the ground and he slid to a stop as his LP went to 0.
As soon as the holograms disappeared, the teacher arrived. She apologized for being so tardy and unlocked the door with her keycard. As the students poured into the room, Evan stood motionless in front of the fountains outside the class. Bastion and Logan walked into the class together, laughing and patting each other on the shoulder. Only a few minutes ago they were opponents. Now they seemed like they were friends.
"Wow," said Evan. "The competition is fierce here. If I hope to stand against these guys, I better up my game." He slapped his cheeks repeatedly so he could wake up. "All right, Evan. Let's learn and soak up every bit of information we have. If we're going to excel as duelists, then we gotta study."
He straightened his backpack and ran to class, eager to absorb every piece of info he could. But that was hard to do, for thoughts of one day becoming a dueling titan like Bastion fogged his mind all through the day.