Once again I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! or any of its spin-offs. If I did I would have Dan Green record a bunch of ringtones for me as both Yugi and Atem. And the rest of the cast record ringtones as their characters.
Chapter Eight: School Rivalries
Atem stood next to Zane as they stood by long table of professors. They had been called in to discuss who would be the representative for the School Duel with North Academy. Dr. Crowler was pushing for one of the two Obelisk students to be the representative, but Chancellor Sheppard had gotten word that North Academy was using a first-year student, and Sheppard wanted to be a good sport and use a first-year as well. "I don't see why you think it's such a bad idea, Dr. Crowler," Atem spoke up. "I mean, I was a first-year when I was the rep."
"I'm fine with whatever is decided," Zane said.
"Well then, the only question is who this first-year will be," Sheppard opened the floor for nominations."
"Jaden Yuki," Zane immediately nominated the Slifer student.
"It might sound biased on my part," Atem said, "but I nominate my sister, Mana Gardner. I know she's flown under the radar for most of the year, but she can do it."
"Both are excellent students," Professor Banner chimed in. "Mana outdueled and recovered Yugi Muto's deck, and Jaden has proven himself on multiple occasions. I think he is our best first-year."
Atem noticed Dr. Crowler seemed unhappy about the idea of either student. "I know they're both Slifer Reds, but they have proven themselves more than capable of handling whatever's thrown at them," Atem tried to reason with his dorm master. "Either one of them will succeed."
"What about Bastion Misawa?" Crowler nominated.
"From Ra Yellow?" the chancellor asked.
"Yes, he's far more qualified," the Obelisk professor insisted. Atem thought he just really didn't want a Slifer being the representative. "He's tested higher than any other first-year. It's only fair, Chancellor." He crawled across the table as he made his point to Sheppard. Atem struggled not to laugh at the sight. He glanced to the side to see Zane's reaction. He had to applaud Zane's stoic expression; he didn't even react to their dorm head on his knees on top of table begging for Bastion to be the rep.
Sheppard looked to the two Obelisks as he thought about it. "How about a duel-off then?" he suggested. "The nominees will prove themselves to see who the representative will be."
ΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩ
Mana was stunned as Professor Banner announced in class that she, Jaden, and Bastion had been selected as candidates to be the school representative. "That's right," Banner explained when Jaden had asked if he was serious. "You three will each duel the others, and the person who defeats the other two will be the representative in the School Duel against North Academy."
Mana looked to her two friends. How did I get nominated? Unless this is because everyone now knows I'm a Muto. "Let's do our best guys," she said to her friends and rivals.
When class was over, Syrus and Chumley wasted no time in congratulating them. They were excited at the possibility of a Slifer being in the School Duel. "I wonder how we were even nominated," Mana said. "I was sure they would pick Atem or Zane."
"Well Chancellor Sheppard heard North Academy was using a first-year and wanted to do the same," Mana jumped at the sound of her brother's voice.
"Prince, would you stop doing that?" she smacked his arm.
"I'll stop when you stop with the flying-tackle hugs," Atem grinned.
"Prince?"
"Flying-tackle hugs?" the others looked at each other in confusion.
"Hey, I've only done that once since I got here," Mana waved a finger in front of him as she pouted.
"Yes, but I'm also counting all the times you've done it at home, at the park, at the mall. Do I really need to count them off?"
"You know, since we found out you guys are siblings, things make a lot more sense between you two," Jaden said as he tried not to laugh.
"Yes, it certainly does," Bastion said as he walked up to them.
"Aw, I thought we did a pretty good job of acting like we weren't related," Mana crossed her arms in a playful pout.
"Blair thought you were a couple," Syrus pointed out.
"Blair is a fifth-grader who snuck into the school and saw any girl close to Atem as competition," Mana countered. "Anyway, good luck guys. Let's give it our all and may the best duelist win."
"You mean best deck," Bastion said, "and I assure you that deck will be mine. You see, Jaden, I've been formulating a new set of cards to defeat you and your monsters ever since my duel with Chazz. And I've been working on a formula to counter your Magicians ever since you defeated Dimitri, Mana."
"You said you would," Jaden answered him. "So it's finished?"
"You had to build a whole new deck just to duel me?" Mana asked. "I just beat Dimitri a couple weeks ago."
"True, you had avoided catching attention. But now that I know you're a Muto, I won't underestimate you. You're style with the Magicians is very similar to your father's. My new decks will be ready soon," Bastion said.
"Well 'til then," Jaden held out his fist. Mana and Bastion bumped their fists against his.
"Atem, want to help me prepare for tomorrow?" Mana asked her brother as Bastion left.
"What, you don't want to hang out with us tonight?" Syrus asked.
Mana shook her head. "I want it to be a fair fight tomorrow," she explained. "It'll be better if Jaden and I don't know what adjustments we make to our decks."
"Okay, we'll see you at dinner then," Jaden smiled as he left with the other guys, leaving the Mutos alone.
"Why don't we go to my room?" Atem suggested. "Only you actually use the door this time."
"Hey, that wasn't my fault," Mana pursued her lips. Atem laughed at her expression.
Surprisingly, no Obelisks protested Mana walking into the lobby with Atem. "Gee, I thought there'd be more of a ruckus about a Slifer being here," she commented.
"Yeah, except that it's me," Atem grinned. "Usually during the day we can bring whatever guests we want, but some dislike Slifers and Ras coming in. Unless the host is me or Zane—perks of being one of the top seniors."
"You almost sound like Uncle Seto," Mana teased him.
"Hey, that's excessive." Atem frowned.
They laughed as they entered his room. Mana launched herself into a belly-flop onto his bed. "This is so much softer than the Slifer beds!"
"I told you that Obelisk gets the good stuff," Atem chuckled. "Anyway, we're supposed to work on your deck."
"Oh, right," Mana sat up, pulled out her deck and spread the cards on the bed. Atem had a feeling she wasn't going to move from the bed until she had to go. "Why do you think I got nominated for the School Duel?" she asked.
"I nominated you," Atem backed away from his sister as he answered. This could go one of two ways.
"WHAT?" Mana shrieked at him.
"Zane and I were part of the meeting to decide since we were the top two candidates," Atem raised his hands in defense and innocence. "Since the chancellor wanted to use a first-year, he asked our opinions." He cautiously moved closer to his sister as he spoke, ready to back away if she decided to turn on him. "Mana, you can do this. Just trust in yourself. I wouldn't have nominated you if I didn't think you could do it."
"This is what I was trying to avoid," Mana said.
"Look, win or lose, you'll have done your best," Atem encouraged her. "Now let's start with how you'd handle your opponent's decks. How would you get past the Elemental Heroes?"
"I'd start by negating Polymerization," Mana said. "Most of Jaden's aces are fusions, but there are other ways to fuse monsters too. Fusion Gate for example. Though, I'm probably better off just reacting to what he does. Jaden thrives on the unexpected."
"Okay, and what about Bastion?" Atem turned her attention to her other opponent.
"Bastion uses so many decks; I can't tell if he's truly bonded with any of his cards," she answered. "He's not like us where we have our go-to. He builds his decks and strategies for each opponent he faces. He calculates what he thinks we'll do, and builds a counter-measure to every move."
"Yes, I think he's what Dad would call and anti-duelist," Atem chimed in. "He builds an exact strategy to exploit the weaknesses of his opponent. So like you said with Jaden, he'll probably do something to stop the fusions. What do you think he'll do to counter your deck?"
"Well my go-to is Dark Magician Girl, followed by Mahad," Mana answered. "I've never really thought about what direct weakness there is to my deck."
"And figuring that out will be key to beating Bastion," her brother reasoned. "To counter the counter."
Mana stomach suddenly rumbled. "Uuggghh," she moaned. "I'm so hungry. It's been hours since lunch."
Atem laughed. "Here, I'll go grab us some food from the dining hall. You see what you can come up with to prepare for tomorrow."
"Great, thanks, Atem!" Mana grinned at the prospect of dinner. And if the Obelisk beds were so much nicer than Slifer's, then the food had to be good too. "You know what to get me!"
When her brother left, Mana turned her attention to the cards. I honestly don't think my deck is what needs work. I think it's me. Everyone's going to watch me now because they know I'm a Muto. Can I really live up to that? Jaden's a natural duelist, and Bastion's a walking calculator. She slapped herself on the cheeks to shake away her negativity. Stop thinking like that, Mana! I don't have to be perfect! I just have to go out and give it everything I've got!
Atem returned with the food. "I hope this is to your liking, Princess," he teased her.
"Really, Prince?" his sister raised an eyebrow at him. Her eyes widened in astonishment. "Wow! This is even better than the time we ate in the Ra dorm!"
"You ate at Ra?" Atem asked.
Between mouthfuls of roasted chicken, potatoes, bread, vegetables, and cake, Mana told her brother of the time she, Jaden, and Syrus had helped Bastion paint over all the formulas written on his wall, including the paint fight and dinner afterward. "Bastion wouldn't believe us when we said the Slifer food was nowhere near as good as his, and this is even better!" Mana finished.
"You and your food," Atem rolled his eyes. "I swear you could beat Uncle Joey in an eating contest."
"Hey, I like my food," Mana sighed and flopped onto her back. "And that food was good."
"Anyway, what are you going to do tomorrow?" Atem asked. Her deck was
"Listen to my deck and duel with everything I've got," she answered. "I don't know how much more I can do." She closed her eyes and sighed. "I'm going to be dueling two people who are complete opposites of each other. I feel like I'm the middle ground."
"No, you're more leaning to Jaden's side," Atem commented. "You just go with whatever's thrown at you. Planning ahead was never your style."
Atem waited for his sister's smart-aleck response. When she didn't answer, he turned to see she had fallen asleep on his bed. "Oh, great," he sighed. Mana slept like the dead, and waking her up was always a challenge. "Mana, wake up," he shook her. She murmured but didn't wake up. "Mana you're in my bed. If you're going to sleep, go back to your own room." Mana just rolled onto her side and curled up more with no sign of waking.
Now Atem was stuck. His go-to method of waking his sister up was to rip the covers off of her, but she had crashed on top of them. His other sure-fire way of waking her up was to dump a bucket of cold water on her. That would work, but then his bed would be all wet and he still needed to sleep there.
An idea struck him, and he left the room and went down to the kitchen. He went straight for the freezer and grabbed a handful of ice cubes. Hurrying so they wouldn't melt, Atem scurried back to his room. He held the ice above his sister's head for a few seconds before letting them rain down on her.
"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
Mana shrieked as she sat up. Atem burst out laughing. "That's what you get for sleeping in my bed," he said.
"You could have just shaken me!"
"I did; you didn't respond. So I went with Plan B."
Atem cleaned up the ice cubes as he spoke before they melted—the whole point of using them was to keep his bed relatively dry. Mana gathered up her cards and said goodnight to her brother before heading back to the Slifer dorm. She may not have done much, but she felt she might just be ready to duel in front of the school.
ΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩΩ
Mana stood nervously in the doorway as she watched Jaden and Bastion duel. They started off pretty evenly, but Bastion pulled ahead with his Water Dragon. When Jaden tried to fusion summon his Tempest, Bastion activated the trap Cursed Seal of the Forbidden Spell, which locked out Jaden's use of Polymerization. Atem and I called it. He did go for Polymerization. Now what's Jaden going to do? I don't know if I've ever seen him not use a fusion in a duel.
Jaden went on the defensive against the torrential power of Bastion's Water Dragon. Bastion kept him down, but the Slifer fought back with Bubbleman and his Bubble Blaster, destroying Bastion's Mathematician. Jaden's Mirage of Nightmare and Emergency Provisions combo refreshed his hand and boosted his LifePoints.
Bastion brought out his Hyozanryu to accompany his Water Dragon, and the two dragons took out Bubbleman and a large chunk of Jaden's LifePoints, though Bubble Blaster kept him from losing more. Jaden managed to hold his own with Hero Signal bringing out Clayman.
Jaden played his Warrior Returning Alive to bring back Bubbleman, summoned the blue warrior, and then activated Bubble Shuffle to switch Bubbleman and Water Dragon into defense mode. Then because of Bubble Shuffle, Jaden was able to sacrifice Bubbleman to summon his Bladedge. To finish his combo off, Jaden activated Skyscraper to boost Bladedge's attack points and destroy Water Dragon. The best part was Bladedge's piercing ability damaged Bastion. Jaden definitely knows how to handle whatever's thrown at him. Mana grinned as Jaden wriggled his way through Bastion's formulas.
Bastion wasn't finished. He weakened Bladedge with Last Magnet, and the Water Dragon's effect let him revive his Hydrogeddons and Oxygeddon. Clayman destroyed the Oxygeddon, but Bastion sacrificed the Hydrogeddons to ritual summon Litus Doom Swordsman. The Swordsman couldn't be destroyed by battle, was unaffected by traps, and if there was a face-up trap on the field, his attack points became 3000. And Bastion had Last Magnet out to weaken Bladedge. The Swordsman destroyed Bladedge, and Hyozanryu took out Clayman, leaving Jaden with only 1300 LifePoints. Bastion finished his combo by activating the spell A Wingbeat of Giant Dragon, returning Hyozanryu to his hand and destroying all spells and traps on the field—namely Skyscraper. Bastion finished with one face-down card. I wonder what else he has up his sleeve. Mana braced herself for what was next.
Jaden brought out his latest Elemental Hero to lead him to victory—Wildheart. Bastion reacted with his face-down Spirit Barrier, which would eliminate any battle damage he received as long as he had a monster. And since a trap was now face-up, the Litus Doom Swordsman's attack points shot up to 3000. Jaden continued his move with Cyclone Boomerang, raising Wildheart's attack points by 500. Though still 1000 points short, Jaden sent Wildheart in for the attack. The Hero was destroyed, but the Boomerang destroyed all the spells and traps on the field and inflicted 500 points of damage for each one. "And that's game!" Jaden grinned.
"Way to go, Jaden!" Mana called to her friend as she ran out to congratulate him.
"Indeed, you beat me fair and square," Bastion conceded. "Or rather, you beat this deck, but you can be sure there will be another. And I'm still confident in my calculations against your deck, Mana," he turned his attention to his other opponent. "Don't think I'll give up to easily."
Dr. Crowler took the stage to begin the next duel. "Well the kid from Slifer won the first round of these matches. Now we'll see Bastion bounce back from his defeat and duel the girl from Slifer—Mana Gardner!"
Jaden left the arena while Bastion and Mana took their places. "It's time to duel!" Mana yelled as she activated her duel disk. Just stay calm and focus on the duel. Ignore everyone else in the crowd. Ignore the fact I'm dueling as a Muto for the first time since coming here.
"I'll start," Bastion took the first draw. "I've studied your moves, and I'll say you're definitely a Muto. Pinning down the weakness and formula of your deck was difficult, but I cracked it. I'll start with a monster in defense mode and two cards face-down."
"Doesn't look like much yet," Mana challenged as she drew. "I summon Skilled Dark Magician (1900/1700) in attack mode. Go! Attack his monster!"
"I thought you would have seen this coming," Bastion smirked. The hologram of Marshmallon (300/500) appeared and the white creature reformed itself. Then the thing struck Mana with its effect and dealt her 1000 points of damage.
"I wouldn't have guessed you had Marshmallon," Mana grimaced. "I guess you took a page out of my dad's book. I'll end my turn with two face-downs."
"Then it's my draw," Bastion started his turn. "I activate the spell card Marshmallon Glasses. Now your monsters can only target Marshmallon for an attack. Next I summon Jowgen the Spiritualist (200/1300) in defense mode. With Jowgen out, neither of us can special summon monsters. Finally I'll reveal my face-down card: Mask of Restrict. Now neither of us can tribute a monster."
"You're trying to keep me from bringing out the Dark Magicians," Mana reasoned.
"Exactly. No matter what, you always use those Magicians. Now I've made it next to impossible to summon them. Behold the power of my light deck. (1) Now I'll set a card and end my turn."
So it's a lockdown. I have to find some way to wiggle out of this. "I summon White Magician Pikeru (1200/0) in defense mode, and I switch my Skilled Dark Magician into defense mode." Mana bit her lip as she weighed her options. "I'll end my turn here."
"Not much you can do, is there?" Bastion asked as he drew. "I've made it so you can't use your favorite monsters." He avoided looking at Mana's Pikeru. Don't tell me he has a card crush on Pikeru. Bastion, you're supposed to be the reasonable one! Bastion activated Pot of Greed and drew two more cards. "Next I'll activate Cost Down. Now I don't have to sacrifice a monster to summon Airknight Parshath (1900/1400). Now my Parshath will attack your Skilled Dark Magician."
"I activate Magic Cylinder!" Mana revealed her face-down card.
"I chain Trap Jammer to negate your Cylinder," Bastion calmly chained his card. "Now Airknight Parshath can continue his attack on your Magician. And even though he's in defense mode, you'll still take damage because of his effect."
Mana braced herself for the attack. Pull yourself together, Mana. You can beat him. You just have to break through his lockdown. She drew. "First I gain 400 LifePoints due to Pikeru's effect. Next I activate Mystical Space Typhoon! Say good-bye to your Mask of Restrict!" The hologram storm wind blew toward the mask.
"Not so fast," Bastion chained Judgement of Anubis. Not only was the Mystical Space Typhoon negated, but Pikeru was destroyed as well and Mana took Pikeru's attack points as damage. She only had 2000 LifePoints left, and she had yet to damage Bastion.
"I'm not out yet, Bastion," Mana continued her move. "You can't calculate everything. I summon Skilled White Magician (1700/1900) in defense mode. And next I activate the spell Fissure! It destroys the monster on your field with the lowest attack points. So Jowgen's going to sleep for a while." A crater opened up under the Spiritualist and swallowed it. "And since I activated a spell, my Skilled White Magician gains a Spell Counter. I'll end my turn with that."
"Since my Mask of Restrict is still out, even if Jowgen is gone you can't use your Magician's effect," Bastion said as he drew. "And you can't get past my Marshmallon either. I've calculated everything perfectly. And I'll let my cards stand as they are."
"You sure you've calculate everything perfectly?" Mana asked as she drew. "Because I can promise you that magic isn't something you can calculate with formulas. It's impossible to plan for every possible move a duelist can make. And my Magicians will prove that as I rip apart your lockdown. First I draw two cards with Pot of Greed. Then I activate the spell card Ancient Rules to summon Dark Magician (2500/2100) from my deck." The purple-robed spellcaster appeared on her field. "You spent so much time trying to prevent me from summoning him, now you have to face him. Next time focus on how to defeat him head-on. But he won't be alone for long. I play Dark Magic Attack! Now Mahad can destroy all of your spells and traps, including your Mask of Restrict!"
"Not today!" Bastion revealed his last face-down. "I activate Magic Jammer! This will negate your magic!"
"I don't think so! I chain Seven Tools of the Bandit! By paying 1000 LifePoints, I can negate your trap!" Mana looked Bastion in the eye as Dark Magician destroyed the spells and traps on his field. "You never expected me to have some counter cards in my deck. I'll admit I don't use them much. But I had a feeling going in you were prepared for all my usual tricks. So I prepared a few curveballs of my own. I just had to wait for the right opportunity to use it."
"You expected me to lock out your Magicians?" Bastion asked.
"Not exactly," Mana grinned at him. "I knew you'd be building your strategies to beat mine, so I just thought about what weaknesses my deck had and figured that's where you would target. I guessed I would probably have to counter your counter. And I'll keep it up with Skilled White Magician's effect. Now that he has three Spell Counters and your Mask of Restrict is gone, I can sacrifice him to summon Buster Blader (2600/2300)." The purple warrior stood next to the Dark Magician. "Now, Buster Blader, attack his Airknight Parshath!" Bastion's LifePoints dropped to 3300.
"I still have Marshmallon," Bastion declared as he drew his card. "I activate Card of Sanctity, so we each draw until we have six cards in our hand." The two duelists refreshed their hands. "Next I activate the ritual spell Shinato's Ark. By sacrificing the monsters I drew, I'm allowed to summon Shinato, King of a Higher Plane (3300/3000)."
No way! That's the monster Uncle Mokie (2) told us about! Mana remembered the stories Mokuba had told her and Atem about his step-brother Noah. Mokuba had spent the most time with the virtual boy, and he still held onto the hope that Noah had somehow backed up himself somewhere after everyone else escaped his virtual world. Even after everything Noah had done, Mokuba forgave his step-brother and refused to give up on him. Bastion's pushing more of my buttons than he realizes. I can't let Shinato shake me. Dad defeated it when he dueled Noah; I can defeat it now!
"Now I'll have Shinato destroy your Buster Blader. Go, Divine Ring!" Bastion smirked as he order his monster to attack. "You only have 300 LifePoints left, Mana. What will you do now?" Bastion ended his turn with a face-down card.
"Prove you can't calculate everything," Mana answered as she drew. "I activate the spell Heavy Storm to destroy your face-down card!" Bastion grimaced as his face-down was destroyed. "Next I activate Bond Between Teacher and Student! This lets me summon Dark Magician Girl from my deck since Dark Magician is on my field!" The blue-and-pink clad spellcaster appeared in next to her master. "Now I activate Monster Reborn to revive my Buster Blader! But he won't be around for long because I activate Polymerization to fuse him with my Dark Magician to form Dark Paladin (2900/2400)!" The green-robed spellcaster brandished his sword at Shinato.
"Your Dark Paladin still isn't strong enough to defeat Shinato," Bastion didn't even flinch at the spellcasters facing him. "And you wouldn't dare go on the defensive with Shinato's ability."
"You're right; I wouldn't use defense mode because Shinato would inflict his victim's attack points as damage to me," Mana rose to the challenge Bastion gave her. "But did you count on me playing Lightning Vortex?" Lightning rained down on Bastion's field, obliterating Shinato and Marshmallon. "I've cleared your field, and together my Magicians' attack points total 5200. Go, my Magicians! Eliminate the rest of Bastion's LifePoints!"
Bastion's LifePoints dropped to zero as the magic struck. Mana struck her victory pose and said, "And that's why you don't underestimate the power of magic." She grinned.
"It seems my calculations were imperfect," Bastion conceded the match to Mana. "But I'll keep working on it and crack the formula to your deck."
"Bastion, you can't calculate everything," Mana shook her head at him. "Some things just can't be solved with a formula. If I said I had magical abilities and could make a rock float across the room, and I demonstrated said ability to you, what would you say about it?"
"I'd examine the rock and look for how it moved," the Ra duelist answered.
"No wires; it just magically floated."
"Impossible," Bastion scoffed. "Everything has a scientific answer and a formula to solve it."
"Not everything," Mana insisted. "Look at what happened in your duels with me and Jaden. Jaden doesn't follow any set formula; I'm with him all the time and I could never predict every single thing he's going to do. No one can. There's always going to be some unexpected maneuver. Some impossibility. The thing to do is face it head-on. The duelist whose strategies you know nothing about. You tried to keep me from bringing my Dark Magicians to the field. I did anyway. If you had faced them head-on instead of keeping them away, you might have taken me out."
"Perhaps your right, but until I know for sure, I'll still find a way to beat your deck," Bastion looked her in the eye as he vowed to defeat her.
"And I'll look forward to dueling you again," Mana grinned at her friend.
Dr. Crowler took the stage again. "And Miss Gardner claims her first victory. Now for our final duel: Mana Gardner versus some kid from Slifer!"
Jaden entered the arena from wherever he'd been watching. "Nice duel, Mana, and good luck to you."
"You too, Jaden," Mana smiled at her best friend. "Don't expect me to take it easy on you. We Mutos duel with everything we've got. It's time do duel!"
"Get your game on!" Jaden yelled as he activated his duel disk.
"I'll start things off," Mana took the first draw. "I summon Breaker the Magical Warrior in attack mode (1600/1000). Then I'll set two cards face-down and end my turn.
"Then it's my move," Jaden said. "I activate Polymerization to fuse Avian and Burstinatrix into the Elemental Hero Flame Wingman (2100/1200)!" The red and green Hero materialized on Jaden's field. "Go, Flame Wingman! Attack Breaker with your Infernal Rage!"
"I reveal my face-down card!" Mana countered. "Waboku! It prevents Breaker's destruction and reduces all battle damage this turn to zero!"
"Then I'll throw down two face-downs and end my turn," Jaden finished.
"My draw," Mana flipped over Maha Vailo. Mom used him when she dueled that creepy penguin guy in the virtual world. She smiled at the memory. Maha Vailo didn't let Mom down, and he won't let me down now. "I summon Maha Vailo in attack mode. Then I equip him with Black Pendant. The Pendant will increase Maha Vailo's attack points by 500, and his special ability will give him another 500. Then I'll use Breaker's special ability to destroy one of your face-downs. Now Maha Vailo will attack your Flame Wingman, which activates my trap Magicians' Circle. When a spellcaster declares an attack, this lets us each summon a spellcaster with 2000 or less attack points from our deck in attack position.
"I'm gonna use Mirror Force to stop that attack!" Jaden chained his remaining face-down card. "Now say good-bye to Maha Vailo and Breaker!"
The holograms of Mana's monsters shattered. "Black Pendant's second effect deals you 500 points of damage, and I still get to summon a monster with Magician's Circle. I choose my Magical Marionette (2000/1200)." Mana's new monster appeared on her field. "Next I'll activate the spell Magical Blast. It deals you 200 points of damage for every spellcaster on my field. Then I'm going to activate the field spell Yami. It increases the attack and defense of every spellcaster and fiend on the field by 200 points, and it weakens fairies by the same amount." Two orbs of light hovered around the Marionette. "And now since two spells have been activated, my Magical Marionette has two Spell Counters. And her special ability grants her 200 attack points for each Spell Counter she has, and I can remove two Spell Counters to destroy a monster on the field. I choose your Flame Wingman!" The Magical Marionette fired the two orbs of light at the Elemental Hero, and the hologram shattered. "I end my turn."
"Then it's my turn," Jaden drew. "I activate Pot of Greed, which lets me draw two cards. Then I'm gonna summon Clayman (800/2000) in defense mode and activate Mirage of Nightmare. Then I'll throw down a face-down and end my turn."
"Since you activated your Mirage and Pot of Greed, my Marionette gains two more Spell Counters," Mana said as more orbs of light floated around her monster. She drew her card.
"Well now that it's your standby phase, Mirage of Nightmare activates, letting me draw four cards," Jaden drew. "Then I'll activate Emergency Provisions to destroy Mirage and gain 1000 LifePoints."
"You do like that combo," Mana smirked. "Just like I like this one. Since another spell was activated, Marionette gets another Spell Counter. And now that she has three, I can use her effect to destroy your Clayman." The Marionette fired the two Spell Counters at Clayman. "And now I can attack you directly!" Jaden's LifePoints dropped to 1900. "Your move."
Jaden drew. "I summon Wroughtweiler (800/1200) in defense mode. Then I'll throw down two cards and end my turn."
"My turn!" Mana drew. "I summon Gemini Elf (1900/900) in attack mode." The twin elves stood next to the Marionette. "Gemini Elf, destroy Wroughtweiler!"
"You activated Wroughtweiler's effect," Jaden grinned. "Now I get Polymerization and Clayman back from my graveyard. And I get to activate my trap card: Hero Signal. I know just the hero to answer the call: Sparkman (1600/1400)!" The blue and gold Hero stood on Jaden's field.
"Sparkman's not strong enough to stop Marionette!" Mana sent her other monster in for the kill.
"Not alone, but he'll be just fine because of Hero Barrier," Jaden countered. The vortex deflected the Marionette's attack.
Mana ended her turn, and Jaden drew. "I fuse Sparkman and Clayman to create Thunder Giant (2400/1500)!" Mana grimaced as the large yellow-and-purple Hero took the stage. "And you know what that means! He can destroy your Marionette with Static Blast!" Thunder Giant fired sparks and the Marionette and destroyed her. "And he can still attack! Thunder Giant, destroy Gemini Elf with your Voltic Thunder!" The elves hugged each other as Thunder Giant destroyed them. "And I'll end my turn with a face-down."
"I never did like thunderstorms," Mana muttered as she drew. "I summon Apprentice Magician (400/800) in defense mode and end my turn."
"Then I'm going to keep it up with Monster Reborn!" Jaden activated the card he drew. "Let's give a warm welcome to the Elemental Hero Flame Wingman!" Mana tensed as the Hero rose to stand next to the Thunder Giant. Mana stared down two of Jaden's best monsters. "Flame Wingman, attack Apprentice Magician with Infernal Rage!" The spellcaster vanished amidst the flames. "And don't forget his super power—you take damage equal to your Magician's attack points." Flame Wingman swooped in to attack Mana.
"You activated Apprentice Magician's effect! When she's destroyed, I can summon another level-two or lower spellcaster from my deck in face-down defense mode. I'll choose a second Apprentice Magician!"
"Then I'll just attack it too with Thunder Giant. Go, Voltic Thunder!"
"The same thing happens. This time I'll use it to play Old Vindictive Magician (450/600)." Mana set the hag spellcaster on her field.
"Then I'll end my turn there."
Mana breathed a sigh of relief when she drew her Dark Red Enchanter. "I flip summon my Old Vindictive Magician. When she's flipped up, she destroys a monster on your field. Say good-bye to Flame Wingman again!" The hag fired her dark magic and the Hero and obliterated it. "Next I sacrifice Old Vindictive to summon my Dark Red Enchanter (2300/2200)." The blond spellcaster took the field with two orbs of light circling his crimson robes. "Thanks to Yami, he's stronger than your Thunder Giant. Now attack!" The Enchanter fired his magic at the Thunder Giant.
"Not so fast! I play Draining Shield!" Jaden negated her attack and replenished his LifePoints. Great, now he's above me in LifePoints again.
"My turn," Jaden said as he drew. He grinned. Mana had a bad feeling about what that grin meant. "Get out your hard hats, 'cause this is a construction zone. I play Skyscraper. Not only will this boost my Elemental Heroes, but it destroys your Yami card as well." The shadowy area was quickly replaced with towering buildings.
"You also just strengthened Dark Red Enchanter," Mana pointed out. "He gets a Spell Counter every time a spell is activated, and he gains 300 attack points for each one. Now he's at 2600."
"Good thing Skyscraper boosts Thunder Giant by 1000 when he's the underdog," Jaden smirked. "Attack Dark Red Enchanter with Voltic Thunder!"
"Not today!" Mana revealed her face-down Negate Attack. "Better luck next time, Jaden."
"Man, this is fun," Jaden was brimming with energy. "Mana, your Magicians are something else."
"I'm glad you're enjoying yourself," Mana rolled her eyes at her friend as she drew her card, though she couldn't help but smile. It's the card I used to beat Dimitri! Mana grinned at her friend. "You should recognize this move, Jaden. I remove Maha Vailo and Apprentice Magician, one light and one dark monster from my graveyard to summon Chaos Sorcerer in defense mode. Then I'll activate Chaos Sorcerer's effect to remove Thunder Giant from the game." A dimensional warp opened behind Thunder Giant and swallowed him. "Dark Red Enchanter, attack Jaden directly!" Jaden's LifePoints dropped to 1600.
"Here goes something," Jaden drew. "I activate Fusion Recovery to bring back Polymerization and Burstinatrix. Then I'll combine Burstinatrix and Bubbleman to create Elemental Hero Steam Healer."
"Don't forget my Enchanter gains a Spell Counter every time you play a spell," Mana warned. "You just gave him 600 extra attack points."
"I'll get to him," Jaden grinned. "First though, Steam Healer's gonna attack your Chaos Sorcerer. Steam Blast!" Chaos Sorcerer was immersed in the Hero's steam, and the hologram shattered. "Steam Healer also increases my LifePoints by the attack points of any monster he destroys." Jaden was back at 3900 LifePoints.
Mana drew. "I activate Call of the Haunted to resurrect Chaos Sorcerer." The sorcerer reappeared on her field. "And I'll use his effect to remove your Steam Healer from play." The dimensional vortex swallowed the Hero. "Now Dark Red Enchanter, attack Jaden directly!"
"I activate the Flute of Summoning Kuriboh," Jaden revealed one of his face-down cards. "This lets me summon Winged Kuriboh to my field." Jaden's spirit partner materialized to protect his LifePoints. "And now that he's here, I'll activate Transcendent Wings! You know what that means. Winged Kuriboh LV10 can come on out, and his effect will destroy all your monsters in attack mode!"
"I play Book of Moon to flip Dark Red Enchanter into face-down defense mode!" Mana chained her spell to Kuriboh's effect. Chaos Sorcerer was still destroyed, and Mana's LifePoints dropped to 800.
"Aw, man, I almost had you," Jaden grinned.
"The key word is 'almost,'" Mana grinned back at her friend. "I'll admit it; the only reason I survived that was because I had Book of Moon. None of my other cards would have saved me."
"Lucky you," Jaden grinned. "It's my turn now!" He drew. "I'll play the Warrior Returning Alive to bring back Elemental Hero Clayman, and I'll summon him in defense mode."
"My draw!" Heart of the Cards, guide me! "First I'll flip my Dark Red Enchanter back up! Now he can benefit from me activating Pot of Greed." Mana grinned at the two cards she drew. An orb of light floated around the Enchanter. "Next I'll play Ancient Rules to summon my favorite purple-robed spellcaster: Dark Magician (2500/2100)!" The spellcaster appeared as another orb of light floated around the red-robed enchanter. "Now, Mahad, attack Clayman! Dark Magic Attack!" The dark magic vaporized the earthen Hero. "Now Dark Red Enchanter, attack Jaden directly!" Jaden's LifePoints dropped to 1600.
"I'm not done yet," Jaden challenged her.
"Good thing neither am I," Mana smirked at her friend and opponent. "I activate the quick-play spell Dedication Through Light and Darkness. This lets me sacrifice Mahad so I can summon Dark Magician of Chaos (2800/2600)!" The hologram of Dark Magician shifted to his more powerful chaos form. "My Chaos Mage also gives me a spell from my graveyard—in this case Book of Moon. And he still gets to attack. Dark Magician of Chaos, finish Jaden off with your Scepter Strike!"
The holograms of the spellcasters faded and Jaden's LifePoints hit zero. Mana struck her victory pose. "As you would say, Jaden, that's game."
"Yeah, that was a great duel, Mana," Jaden grinned at her. "Let's duel again!"
"Anytime, Jaden," Mana offered a hand to her friend.
They shook as Chancellor Sheppard announced Mana would be the representative for Duel Academy in the School Duel. The students all cheered for her, and Mana searched the crowd for one face in particular. She spotted her brother's spikey, tri-colored hair at the top of the seating area. He met her gaze, and gave her a thumbs-up.
1. In the anime, Bastions says he has six decks, one for each attribute, but we only ever see the water and earth decks. Since neither seemed like a good antithesis for Mana's spellcasters, I figured a lockdown strategy based on light attributes would be a good challenge.
2. Yes, Mana and Atem are allowed to call Mokuba by his nickname, just like they can get away with calling Kaiba 'Uncle Seto.' Part of me imagines Mokuba doing a lot of babysitting since he's one of the youngest characters in the original series and it would give him something to do while Kaiba's working.
I'm sorry this took so long to write. I spent a lot of time debating between having Jaden or Mana be the representative, and I had to plan out how the duels would actually play out. Skyrim has also been a bad distraction. I'm sorry if you were rooting for Jaden or you think Mana's starting to overshadow everyone else. I promise this will not be the only time Jaden and Mana duel each other. I am trying to be as true to the anime as possible, but Jaden saves the day in 21 out of the first 26 episodes, so I want to mix it up, and I think Mana dueling Chazz will help both of their characters. Anyway, thanks for reading, and let me know what you think! I'm happy to hear any thoughts and comments! I'm going to try to have a better schedule for posting this, and I'm planning on having the next chapter up by next Friday.