Hey, guys. So… yeah, I know it's been a while. I guess I mainly have to say is real life has kind of sucked on my end these last few months. I got attacked by trolls here on the site back in April (luckily this story was only grazed)… all the events that always bring me joy have been cancelled since February… and yeah, I won't go into the more personal details. Do know that I greatly appreciate you guys. You've been kind in your reviews (and I always welcome both praise and constructive criticism), and even just adding me to your follows/favorites list is encouraging as well.
This chapter was originally going to be two, but then it ended up being so long (about 40 pages) that I figured it'd be more digestible if I broke it into two chapters. So the other chapter will likely be posted sometime tomorrow. However, despite all of this, I have yet to acquire ownership of Yu-Gi-Oh! If I did, Hassleberry's intro would have been done differently.
Chapter Twenty-Two: Unexpected Bonds
"This is so unchill," Jaden groaned. "Sleep through one of Crowler's classes, and he makes us lug all these replacement duel disks across campus."
"I know," Max agreed. "I mean, I thrive on equip spells and that class was boring as heck."
"You guys think maybe the problem was you were sleeping in class?" Mana raised an eyebrow at Jaden, Syrus, and Max. "You wouldn't have been busted if you'd stayed awake."
"So why'd you come?" Max asked.
Mana shifted the duel disks on her back. "It was either come with you guys or listen to Joan and Sterling go on and on about their project for Professor Bauman's class. At least you guys aren't speaking in another language. Plus I kind of want to see who's causing the trouble."
"Trouble?" Jaden blinked.
"Dude, don't you wonder why we're lugging these things around?" Max asked. "There's a thief out stealing duel disks."
"Yeah, I heard the bully and his gang have been hanging out by the west river," Syrus added. "They force you to duel, and if you lose, they take your duel disk."
"That's why you haven't been wearing yours lately, isn't it?" Mana raised an eyebrow at her shorter friend.
"No!" Syrus protested and looked down at the bag he was carrying. "Okay, yes."
"Well, there's nothing to worry about with us around," Max pulled the older Slifer into a headlock and gave him a noogie. "We got your back, Sidecar."
"Sidecar?" the blue-haired duelist protested, trying to wiggle his way out of the blond's grasp.
"'Cause you duel with vehicles," Max shrugged and let Syrus go.
"How about we take the long way home?" Jaden turned westward. "I say we go win back some duel disks." He smirked and clenched his fist to accentuate his point.
"I'm in," Mana smirked. "You guys know how I feel about bullies."
"Race you there!" Max ran past Jaden. Laughing, Mana and the others hurried to catch up. Jaden just eked ahead as they arrived at the bridge.
"Halt right there, civilians!" someone yelled at them. He wore tan and dark brown pants tucked into heavy black boots and a green shirt with a Ra Yellow blazer with the sleeves ripped off, exposing his muscular arms. A yellow dinosaur bandanna with teeth covered his black dreadlocks, and he wore an animal skull pendant. Several duel disks were strapped to his back. "Draw your duel disks," he smirked.
"I don't think you really want to challenge us," Mana crossed her arms, mimicking how Atem stood when facing bigger challengers. "Our duel disks won't be so easy to take."
"What she said," Max grabbed hold of his duel disk.
"Sure, I'll duel you," Jaden pulled out his.
"Hold on, aren't you scared?" the Ra asked, stunned by their confidence.
"From a duel?" Jaden shrugged. "No way. Now let's throw down." He smirked.
"Take him down, Jaden," Mana encouraged him. "And if you lose your duel disk, I won't let you live it down."
"Hey, you can take a crack at them after I'm done," Jaden readied his duel disk.
"But I haven't given my speech yet!" the Ra protested.
"Speech?" The Slifers exchanged a look.
"My intro," the Ra stated, as if that answered their questions. "The name's Hassleberry. Tyranno Hassleberry." As he spoke, several Ras came to stand behind him, many wearing a yellow bandanna similar to Hassleberry's.
"What's with the goon squad?" Max narrowed his eyes at them. "Need help taking those duel disks from the other students?"
"Show some respect!" Hassleberry snapped.
"You tell him, Sarge," the biggest goon said.
"State your name!" another demanded.
"Mana…" she hesitated, debating which name she should use. "Gardner." It's too easy to use Dad's name to intimidate people.
"Max Wheeler," the freshman Slifer state without hesitation. He tapped his chin in thought. "Hold on… I know you from somewhere."
"Well, I'm Jaden Yuki," their fearless leader chimed in. "Now are we going to throw down?"
"Roll call, boys," the biggest goon commanded the gang.
"We're Team Tyranno!" they all yelled, leading to a smirk from Hassleberry. They continued with a military chant showing their support of their leader.
"I got it!" Max pointed at the Ra leader. "You're that Ra Airi beat when we were getting our blazers!"
Hassleberry flinched at the mention of the Obelisk. "You know Kaiba?"
"Yeah, since we were kids," Max shrugged. "She's kind of a pain."
"She'd say the same thing about you," Mana pointed out. The blond winced at that.
Hassleberry smirked. "This'll be perfect. My one hundredth win will be against Kaiba's friends. Then I'll finally beat her!"
"Rewind a minute," Mana cut in. "What does Airi have to do with you taking people's duel disks?"
"It's my proof," Hassleberry explained. "Once I beat a hundred duelists, she'll give me a rematch."
"Oh boy," Mana sighed. Something tells me Airi has no idea what this guy is doing. She took out her PDA and pulled up the video call function.
After a few rings, Airi's face appeared on the screen. "What do you want?" the white-haired girl asked.
"Are you proud of yourself?" the second-year glared at her.
"Generally yes," Airi answered. "Why?"
"Do you recognize him?" Mana held the screen so Airi could see the Ra and his gang.
"No, should I?"
"Ugggh," Mana groaned. "Okay, you've heard about the guy stealing people's duel disks, right?"
"Yeah, that guy better hope I don't find him," Airi scowled. "It costs us money to replace those things."
"That's the guy taking them!" Mana exclaimed. "Apparently you said something about beating a hundred duelists before he could challenge you again. He's collecting them as proof of his wins so you'll give him a rematch!"
"What… oh yeah, I guess I did say something like that," the Obelisk shrugged. "But I never told that moron to take duel disks. Where did he get that stupid idea?"
"Beats the heck out of me," Mana shrugged.
"He's an idiot," Airi stated. "Where are you?"
"The bridge on the West River."
"I'll be there soon." The screen went black.
Mana put her PDA away. I might need to keep her from killing him.
"Now let me lay down the rules of battle!" Hassleberry's commanding voice drew her attention back to the boys. "You see those duel disks there? You lose, and them things is mine."
"Okay," Jaden accepted and powered up his duel disk. "But if I win, you give back the ones you stole."
"Please, you're nothing but a wimp!" one of the other Ras yelled.
"Okay, that's it!" Syrus yelled, causing both Mana and Max to jump. "Nobody insults my best friend!"
"Alright," Hassleberry's expression grew even fiercer. "You got a deal! And a duel!"
"Are you always this dramatic, bro?" Jaden looked at the crew with a glance at his roommate.
"Attention!" Syrus stepped forward, clenching his fist. "Time for combat, Sarge!"
"Sidecar, chill," Max put a hand on the upperclassman's head.
The two duelists moved to either side of the river, and the spectators stood on the bridge to watch, one side dressed in yellow and the other dressed in red. "Ready for boot camp, son?" Hassleberry activated his duel disk.
"Hey, don't call him son!" Syrus snapped. "We're second-years!"
"Except for me," Max pointed out.
"Then he's number two," the biggest goon said. "And who's number one?"
"TEAM TYRANNO!" the Ras yelled.
"When did we become the normal ones?" Max asked.
"I have no idea," Mana rolled her eyes. "Sadly, this doesn't even crack the top ten weirdest things we did last year. After all, Atem defeated a real vampire, and I faced an Amazon. Plus Jaden dueled an actual pirate."
"Rally up!" Hassleberry inserted his deck into his duel disk. "All hands on deck!"
"Game on, General," Jaden smirked and inserted his own deck.
"Are you mocking me?" Hassleberry fumed. "I'm a sergeant, junior! And this ain't no game! This is combat!"
"Alright, then get your combat on," Jaden drew his cards. "Ready, Chief? I declare war by summoning Elemental Hero Wildheart (1500/1600) in defense mode!" The tribal hero knelt on his field. "And now I'll call it a turn."
Mana resisted the urge to slap her palm against her forehead as both Syrus and the Ra troop launched into military-themed cheers. Max rolled his eyes next to her. "Were all your escapades last year like this?" Max asked.
"More or less," Mana shrugged.
"Trench warfare time," Hassleberry drew his card. "Here we go! Gilasaurus (1400/400), front and center!" A brown dinosaur materialized and roared. "And now things are about to get a lot worse. You see, that there was a special summon, which, in layman's terms, means I can summon another monster. So, Gilasaurus, you are dismissed." The dinosaur disappeared. "Now, Dark Driceratops (2400/1500), report to the field in attack mode!" A dark green four-legged creature with dark brown wings and neck frill appeared.
"Not bad," Jaden smirked.
"And not good for Jaden," Mana commented.
"It's somewhat similar to what he tried on Airi," Max added. "He pulled out a big monster, which was probably overkill to deal with Peten."
"She used Crush Card, didn't she?" the brunette raised an eyebrow at him.
"Yep," the blond chuckled. "That was the beginning of the end for him."
"Really?" Syrus asked.
"Yep," Max answered. "Airi was able to finish him in one move. Having been there, I can see why this guy wants his rematch."
"It's time to go commando!" Hassleberry yelled.
"He does realize what that means, right?" Mana winced.
"Does it matter?" Max smirked. "I am."
"Ew, Max! TMI!" Mana smacked him. "TMI!"
"What?" the Slifer freshman cowered. "I didn't have time to do laundry."
"Dark Driceratops, attack!" Hassleberry continued. "Flying Phantom Nosedive!" The creature flew through Wildheart, shattering the warrior's hologram. It turned around and struck Jaden in the back, knocking him to his knees. His LifePoints fell to 3200. "At ease, Private."
"You okay, Jay?" Syrus asked.
"Looks like Dark Driceratops doesn't care if the monster's in defense mode," Max observed, crossing his arms.
"Come on, Jaden!" Mana yelled. "You've taken way worse hits than that!"
"Get up, son," Hassleberry's stance exuded confidence. "My prehistoric patrol's not done with you." He smirked. "But since I'm nice, I'll give you a chance to recuperate. But not for long. I'll be laying on the hurt soon enough. That's what happens when you mess with the best."
"But you're not the best," Max pointed out with a smirk. "Isn't that what Airi proved when she took you down?"
Hassleberry glared at him, along with his gang. "And I'll beat her too and prove myself," he stated. His troop followed with their cheers of support for him.
"Oh, beat the khaki pants off this guy so we can shut them up!" Syrus yelled.
"What do you think I'm trying to? Let him win?" Jaden asked. He turned his attention back to his opponent. "Hey, Lieutenant! My move!" he drew his card.
"For the last time, it's Sergeant!" Hassleberry snapped. "Now play a card!"
Mana giggled. "I'm enjoying Jaden pushing his buttons far more than I should," she admitted.
"I thought that was my job," Max laughed.
"Monster Reincarnation!" Jaden made his move. "So I'll send this to the graveyard," he discarded a card, "to bring back my Wildheart." The card returned to his hand. "How do you like that?"
Hassleberry laughed. "You want that wimp in your platoon?"
"Bet you five desserts what Jaden discarded is more to his strategy than getting Wildheart back," Mana smirked.
"No way!" Max shook his head. "I ain't betting on you guessing the strategies of a guy you've known a year longer than me. That's a sucker's bet."
"You really think he discarded something good?" Syrus asked.
"What I do want is this in my graveyard," Jaden confirmed the brunette's prediction. A transparent, dark-red, fiendish warrior appeared behind him.
"Sam Hill!" Hassleberry's eyes widened. "That's Necroshade!"
"Bingo," Jaden smirked. "And I'm guessing you know what that means."
"I knew I should have studied the Heroes more," Max eyed the hologram.
"With Necroshade in the graveyard, Jaden can summon any Elemental Hero without a tribute," Mana explained.
"You got it, Mana," Jaden grinned and continued his move. "I summon Elemental Hero Bladedge (2600/1800)!" The gold armored Hero struck a pose as he materialized on the field. "Go, Bladedge! Attack his Dark Driceratops! Slice and Dice Attack!" Bladedge flew forward and through the prehistoric creature, shattering the hologram. Hassleberry's LifePoints dropped to 3800. "And that should do for now."
"Awesome!" Syrus cheered. "Way to play, Jay!"
"There's those Hero tactics we know!" Mana added.
"Nice moves, dude," Max gave the second-year a thumbs-up.
"Oh, are you guys speechless?" Syrus taunted the Tyranno goons. They exchanged looks as they eyed the field and duelists. They cheered, but it wasn't even half the volume they previously yelled.
Something's weird. Mana watched the gang out of the corner of her eye. Have they not seen anyone get a leg up on this guy? They know he's not undefeated; his entire goal is to challenge Airi again. Or maybe he's just picking on the weakest duelists and not being seriously challenged at all. But still… ninety-nine duels can't have all been easy wins. "Hey, Hassleberry," she called to the Ra leader. "Why did you duel Airi in the first place?"
"Why do you want to know?" Hassleberry glared at her.
"I'm just trying to understand this chaos," Mana raised her hands as a sign of innocence. "So why duel the only Kaiba on campus?"
"Fine, I'll tell you," he frowned. "When I tried out for the Academy, I aced my exams, and I was shooting to be in the Obelisk Blue barracks. But when they stuck me in the yellow barracks, I thought they'd made a tactical error. I protested their decision, and then Kaiba interrupted us. We had some verbal combat; then she challenged me to a duel. Told the commanders I could be an Obelisk if I won. But she defeated me. I fought for a rematch, but she said only if I beat a hundred duelists.
"So I decided to make do," Hassleberry continued. "My daddy told me the uniform doesn't make the soldier, and I became a true commanding officer of my own squadron. We set out to prove that Sergeant Hassleberry is a giant among men, and that we're strong enough to take on whoever crosses our path. And we'll face Kaiba again and prove our strength once and for all."
Airi's going to kill him. Mana resisted the urge to roll her eyes at the commanding Ra. "Look, dude, I get Airi's a pain. And believe me when I say beating her doesn't make her less of one. If anything, if you were to beat her, she'd come back at you even harder. It's hard enough for me to beat her as it is."
"You've beaten her?" Hassleberry glared at the brunette. "How?"
"Not the point I was trying to make," Mana slapped her forehead. "Look, how about we finish this conversation after the duel?"
"Yeah, get on with it already," Max agreed.
"What do you say, Bumbleberry?" Jaden grinned. "You wanna take your turn?"
"It's Hassleberry!" the Ra yelled. "Sergeant Hassleberry!" He drew his card and smirked. "Excellent, terrain advantage. I play this: a field spell card known as Jurassic World!" The forest thickened around them, hiding the river, and three volcanoes rose behind Hassleberry.
"No way," Jaden breathed as he took in the prehistoric foliage surrounding him. "Pretty sweet move."
"That's definitely going to give Commander Crazy an edge," Max commented.
"No kidding," Mana agreed. "That'll give 300 points to all his monsters."
"But Jaden still has Bladedge," Syrus pointed out. "He'll be fine, right?"
"Yeah, but that Jurassic World will also protect Hassleberry's monsters from Jaden's traps as well," Max answered. "That's probably a bigger edge than the point boost."
"And it'll allow any of his monsters to switch into defense mode if attacked," Mana finished. "That's the biggest bonus. That means Hassleberry can attack with any monster and not worry about damage when Jaden counters. Depending on the monster, attacking could potentially damage Jaden instead."
"That is a major advantage," Syrus's eyes widened.
"Now it's battle time!" Hassleberry continued his move. "Archeonys (300/1300), report for duty in attack mode!" A prehistoric blue and gold bird flew onto the field. "And thanks to my Jurassic World, my Archeonys gains 300 more attack points!"
"It's only 600 points," Syrus grinned. "Bladedge can take that."
"That's not the target," the Ra duelist smirked, having heard the second-year Slifer. "Archeonys can attack directly." The bird took to the sky. "Now, debilitate the enemy with Screaming Eagle Attack!" Archeonys flew over Bladedge and screeched at Jaden. His LifePoints fell to 2600. "I'll place one card face down and defer to you." The card appeared behind the bird. "Face it, son; it's over. Before long, you'll be down for the count. Wouldn't you agree, Squadron?" He turned to his groupies.
The Ras sat on the ground looking bored. One of them yawned. Another gave a half-hearted cheer at their leader's look.
"Hey, Major," Jaden drew his opponent's attention as he pulled a card. "Keep those eyes on the prize.
What is with these guys? First they don't know how to respond to an upset, and now they're bored when their leader's ahead? Mana bit her lip as she looked to the bullies. "Hey, Max, did Hassleberry use the same moves against Airi?"
"No," Max shook his head. "But Airi didn't exactly waste any time. He only got the one turn. Why?"
"Just trying to figure something out," Mana turned her attention back to Jaden's duel.
"I play my Elemental Hero Wildheart in attack mode!" Jaden brought his opening monster back out.
"Why would he play that Wildheart again?" one of the followers asked.
"Look, Jaden's the best, so don't question his plays," Syrus glared at him.
"It'll give Jaden a chance to increase the amount of damage he can inflict on Hassleberry," Mana answered, turning her head so only Max could see her roll her eyes. "Bladedge has enough attack points to defeat that Archeonys no matter which mode it's in, plus he has the ability to deal damage even if the monster is in defense mode."
"So Bladedge takes out the bird, and Wildheart goes in for the direct attack," Max finished. "If that works, Jaden will deal 2500 points of damage."
"Exactly," Mana nodded.
"All right Bladedge, destroy his Archeonys with Slice and Dice Attack!" Jaden pointed at the target as he commanded his monster. The gold-armored warrior charged forward, the blades on his forearms ready to strike.
"I'm fortified with this: Amber Pitfall!" Hassleberry revealed his face-down. "It deflects an attacking monster and forces it into defense mode!" An orange cloud burst from the trap, forcing Bladedge to kneel on Jaden's field. "Now it's gotta stay like that. That means no more offensive maneuvers from now on."
"Well you're forgetting one thing," Jaden smirked. "I still have Wildheart!" The tribal warrior charged forward to attack the bird.
"Jaden, no!" Mana protested.
"Now who's forgetting something?" Hassleberry grinned. "My field spell card lets my feathered friend switch into defense mode." Archeonys raised its wings over its head.
"What's the point?" Jaden blinked.
"Dude, is he normally this thick?" Max asked. "I thought we already went over Jurassic World's power boost?"
"Jaden's actually really smart when he wants to be," Mana sighed, resisting the urge to smack her forehead. "The problem is he tends to retain information like Uncle Seto retains a smile."
Wildheart's blade bounced off the bird, knocking the Slifer down to 2500 LifePoints. "I'll throw down two face-downs and call it a turn," Jaden finished his move. "That'll teach me," he shrugged with a smile. "Oh well, live and learn."
"Why's he smiling?" one of the Ras asked.
"Jaden always has a good time," Syrus answered. "Unlike the Sarge."
The goons laughed, eliciting a look of flaming fury from their leader. "No more Mr. Nice Sarge!" he yelled as he drew his card. "I play my spell card Earthquake! Now every face-up monster on the field is forced into defense mode!" The ground cracked between the players, and Wildheart knelt to avoid the fissures.
"Where's he going with this?" Mana asked.
"Hard to say," Max answered.
"I'm far from done," Hassleberry played another spell. "Modified Ultra Evolution! This card lets me reverse the evolutionary process. So I'll just sacrifice one of my winged-beasts and summon a dino." Light swirled around Archeonys. "You see, they say some birds evolved from dinosaurs. So when Archeonys undergoes reverse evolution, it becomes a dinosaur." The bird's hologram dissolved, and a brown and tan striped dinosaur appeared in its place. "Black Tyranno (2600/2100) to be exact" The dinosaur roared as its strength increased with the power of Jurassic World. "And thanks to its special ability, since all your monsters are defending your base, it can attack you directly."
"That's not good," Max cringed.
"I'm sure Jay's got something up his sleeve," Syrus carefully watched the duel.
"Don't let him scare you, Jaden!" Mana yelled to her friend.
"All right, Black Tyranno, you're on!" Hassleberry commanded his monster. "Sic him!" The dinosaur charged forward and swiped Jaden with its tail. Dust covered the area.
"Is he okay?" Syrus asked.
"I can't tell from here," Max squinted against the dust.
"Wait, there he is!" Mana spotted her red-clad friend.
Jaden stood, unflinching, with 100 LifePoints. His monsters stood on either side of him. "How is it you still have LifePoints left, boy?" Hassleberry asked.
"I activated my face-down card: Insurance," Jaden gestured to his revealed trap card. "It returns one spell or trap card to my hand. And, oh yeah, when Insurance returns to my hand, my LifePoints increase by 500."
"But it's on the field, not in your hand!" the Ra protested.
"That's true," Jaden held up the card returned to his hand. "But I've got two Insurance cards!" He grinned.
"Nice one, Jay!" Syrus cheered.
"Way to go!" Mana added.
"Good play, man," Max gave the Slifer a thumbs-up.
"Sergeant Jaden is the best!" one of the Ras yelled, startling the Slifers.
"Deserted again," Hassleberry flinched at the turn and dropped to his knees. "Time and time again, I gather a platoon, and they leave me when I really need it." His shoulders slumped. "Why? I'm a great leader, and I always win. Who wouldn't want to root for me? I mean, I'm beating you the same way I beat my last twelve rivals. I've perfected my technique in order to beat Kaiba."
"That might be the problem," Mana muttered.
"I'd think so too," Max agreed.
"Colonel, maybe they're bored," Jaden suggested.
"With my dueling?" Hassleberry scoffed. "Now that's crazy talk."
"Think about it, Dingleberry," Jaden pressed. "You said yourself you've used the same moves for twelve duels in a row. Don't you think it's time you evolved?"
"Nice dinosaur reference, Jay," Syrus grinned.
The other Ras agreed. "I'm not bored anymore!" the one with a megaphone yelled.
"You were right," Hassleberry blinked, watching his troops come alive with excitement.
"I'm always right," Jaden smirked.
"Jaden, don't feed your ego," Mana rolled her eyes at him.
"Yeah, yeah," Jaden rolled his eyes back at her. "Ready, Private?" he drew his card. "I play Pot of Greed so I can draw to cards." He grinned at his hand additions. "So to continue with the whole evolution thing, I play this: my own field spell card!" The forest froze over, and then buildings rose from beneath the ice, turning the area into a busy city. "My spell card is called Skyscraper, and it changes everything."
"I hate change!" Hassleberry snapped. "You hear me?" Then his eyes lit up in realization.
"Think he finally got it?" Max asked his fellow Slifers.
"I think so," Mana grinned. "You and I both know we can't get Airi with the same trick twice."
"By the look on your face, it looks like you figured it out," Jaden smirked. "Now since your field card is gone, so are 300 of Black Tyranno's attack points. And if you like that, then you'll love this." He held up two cards. "'Cause it's time for some fusion action. I merge Elemental Hero Avian with Elemental Hero Wildheart in order to create my newest hero: Elemental Hero Wild Wingman (1900/2300)!" The fused monster was a tribal warrior with green feathered claws and large white-feathered wings with black tips.
"That's new," Mana commented.
"So you don't know his moves as well as you claim," Max grinned.
"Hey, I know what he's planning better than you do!" she glared at him.
"And he's got a pretty sweet side effect," Jaden drew their attention back to the duel. "If I toss a card, your trap is automatically destroyed." He discarded a card, and the Amber Pitfall trap shattered. "And now that your Amber Pitfall is gone, I can switch Bladedge into attack mode." The gold-armored hero stood up, ready to attack at his master's command.
"Ready, boys?" Syrus encouraged the Ra squad.
"Jaden! Jaden!" they cheered.
"When did they get to be buddies?" Mana raised an eyebrow at them.
"Probably while you and I were bantering," Max shrugged.
"Maybe I do need more female friends," the brunette sighed.
"Thanks to my Skyscraper card," Jaden continued, "Wild Wingman's attack points increase by 1000." The winged warrior took to the sky. "Okay, Wingman, get your attack on! Winged Impulse!" The Hero stretched his wings, sending a gust of wind at Black Tyranno. Hassleberry's LifePoints dropped to 3500.
"Keep it up, Jaden!" Mana cheered.
"That's not all," he smirked. "There's Bladedge, and he can attack you directly." The golden warrior leapt into the air and slammed his knee into the dinosaur duelist.
"I still have 900 LifePoints left," Hassleberry grunted. "Close, but no medal of honor for you."
"I'm not finished," Jaden held up another spell. "I still have this: De-Fusion! So Wildheart and Avian (1000/1000) can separate!" Wild Wingman split into the two Heroes who formed him. "Which means each of them can attack you, so there go your LifePoints! Go, Avian! Quill Cascade!" Avian took to the sky and fired white feathers at the Ra duelist. Hassleberry's LifePoints dropped to zero.
"I gotta hand it to you; that was some game," Hassleberry walked forward as the holograms faded. With the city gone, he missed the edge and fell into the river.
"Huckleberry!" Jaden yelled after the fallen Ra. "You okay?"
Hassleberry sighed from his seat in the river. "I owe you some duel disks."
"You bet you do!" a streak of white stormed through the water and grabbed the Ra by the collar.
"Airi!" Max recognized the girl.
"You pathetic moron," Airi snarled. "Do you have any idea how much money you cost the school with this little stunt? Where do you think that money comes from? Huh?"
"Airi, stop!" Mana forced the two apart, ignoring the water seeping into her shoes. "He gets it, okay? He knows he screwed up."
"I do, Kaiba," Hassleberry retreated to the stone wall along the river. "I just wanted my rematch with you."
"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't just report you for theft?" the Obelisk yelled. "Because that is the saddest excuse I've ever seen!"
"Because every duel disk is going to be returned," Mana kept herself between the peeved heiress and her prey. "And he's never going to do it again. Right, Hassleberry?"
"Yes, ma'am," Hassleberry gulped.
"Good," Mana relaxed a little bit. "Now—" Her PDA ringing interrupted any further conversation.
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"Okay, so in order to code a cape on a hologram, we have to do… this, right?" Sterling ran his finger over their class notes.
"Uh… yes," Joan skimmed over her own copy. "The cape needs to be able to billow behind the body and look imposing. Though adjustments are needed depending on which way the cape is going to blow. It might fall more into cloak versus cape, but sometimes it's also meant to cover or conceal the wearer as well."
"Got it," Sterling sketched a model of a warrior. "So how should our hologram character look?"
"Well, it would be easy to go overboard in making a really flashy one," Joan sketched capes, armor, tunics. "But Professor Bauman said accuracy in the movements and flow of the hologram is what he's looking for. There is a reason certain animations either give the characters short hair or have them wear their hair up—long hair is a challenge."
"So you're thinking short hair?" Sterling scribbled on his own notebook. "That could work. And honestly I'd prefer making a human character over something like a dragon or phoenix."
"Oh, a phoenix does sound cool," Joan doodled a bird with flames around it. "But I agree; I don't think I want to try animating flames just yet. Maybe a phoenix emblem to work in?"
"I like that," Sterling held up pencil as he said it. "Though if we go with a sword, we could make the hilt phoenix-shaped."
"No," Joan shot the idea down. "There's already a Duel Monsters card like that. We don't want Professor Bauman getting the wrong idea."
"Got it," Sterling crossed off the suggestion from his notes.
Joan smiled. "You know, in a way, this like building a Monster World character."
"Really?" Sterling looked up from his notes. "I've never played."
"It's Max's favorite," she shrugged. "He and our friend Amane play it whenever they can. Which usually involves us, if only because it works better when there are more players. I think he has some character sheets in his room."
"You think Chazz will let us in?" Sterling asked.
"Should we go look? I could use a break anyway."
The two head out of the room and down to the first floor where Max and Chazz roomed.
"Hey, Joan! Sterling!"
The two turned to see Alexis at the bottom of the stairs. "Hey," Sterling waved.
"Hi, Alexis," Joan smiled at the blonde. "What's up?"
"I was actually looking for you," Alexis answered. "I'm probably going to need your help."
"With what?" the Slifer asked.
"Atticus is planning some kind of prank on Chancellor Crowler," Alexis crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. "Apparently Crowler's been a favorite target of his since he was a freshman. And I suspect he might try to get Mana to help him."
"Got it," Joan sighed. "Mana has been trying not to pull pranks since Syrus overheard the chancellors talking about shutting down Slifer. But the minute someone else thinks it's a good idea, she's usually behind it."
"Sounds like what Atem told me," Alexis shook her head. "He also told me you were usually pretty good at keeping Mana in line."
"I wouldn't say that," Joan rubbed her temples. "Atem and I were usually the ones who tried to tell Mana and Max to slow down. Airi generally wouldn't care unless it directly involved her."
"Sounds fun," Sterling smirked.
"I see," Alexis sighed. "So will you have my back in keeping this prank under wraps?"
"Sure," the brunette smiled.
"Finally, I found you!" a guy yelled at them. He wore a Ra Yellow jacket with black pants, and he had short, dark red hair.
"Excuse me?" Joan ducked her head and took a step behind Sterling and Alexis.
"Mana Muto, I challenge you to a duel!" the Ra pointed right at her.
"Gunnar, you've got the wrong girl," Sterling stepped forward. "Mana's on the other side of campus delivering a bunch of replacement duel disks."
"Don't try to fool me, Fudo!" the Ra, Gunnar, snapped at him. "I know Mana Muto is the only girl in Slifer. And she can't hide behind some other name. I know Mana hides behind an alias. Plus she has brown hair, just like that girl!"
"My name is Joan Taylor," Joan spoke up, keeping her eyes on the ground. "Mana is my roommate."
"There are two girls in Slifer," Sterling added, holding up two fingers as emphasis. "As I said, you've got the wrong one."
"You must really think I'm an idiot," Gunnar glared at them.
"Well, if the shoe fits," Sterling shrugged.
"Back off," Alexis stepped between the Ras.
"Look, I can call Mana," Joan offered, hoping to alleviate the tension. "It might take a while for her to get back, but I'm sure she'd be willing to duel you."
"Quit the act, Mana," Gunnar snapped. "We're dueling. Or I could just tell everyone that the so-called best second-year is a coward."
Joan froze at the Ra's words. I don't know how to convince him. And it's Mana's reputation he's threatening.
"Come on, Gunnar," Sterling blocked the Ra's view of the Slifer girl. "Joan's in the same program as me. We're here to learn game design."
"For the last time, Fudo, stay out of this," Gunnar scowled at the other Ra.
"I'm not going to let you push her around," Sterling stepped closer to him.
"Look, if it's a duel you want, I'll take you on," Alexis offered. "I'll give you a run for your money."
"Please," the Ra scoffed. "You're not the one I want to face."
"Hey, I'm not the one looking to prove myself," the blonde huffed. "You can just wait out here for Mana, and we'll go elsewhere."
"Then I'll go tell everyone what a coward she is," he smirked.
"Fine, I'll duel you," Joan interrupted the others. She clenched her fists to keep her hands from shaking.
"Joan, you don't have anything to prove to him," Sterling protested. "He can wait until Mana gets back."
"Sterling's right," Alexis agreed. "You don't have to face him."
"That's the thing," Joan focused on her friends, fighting off her growing fear. "I always hide behind Mana or Max. Even now, I've been hiding behind you two, letting you do most of the talking."
"Hey, I don't mind," Sterling assured her. "And anyone can see you're terrified."
"I am," she admitted, planting herself to keep from trembling. "But I can't let him spread rumors about Mana."
"With all due respect to her, I doubt she'd care," Sterling pointed out. "She doesn't seem to give a flying flapdoodle what other people think."
"She cares more than you think," Joan sighed. "The Muto legacy has always been the center of Mana's worries. And this guy is going to trod all over that if I don't."
"Fine," Sterling relented. "But how do you plan to beat him?"
"I don't know," Joan bit her lip. "I usually only play against Max, Mana, or our other friends. And that's when they make me. But if you call Mana so she starts heading back, I might be able to at least hold him off until she gets here. Then she can finish him off."
"Sounds like a plan," Sterling agreed. "And who knows? Maybe you'll pull off a win."
"Maybe," Joan gave him a nervous smile. "Look, can you just call Mana and grab my duel disk from the room?"
"Sure," Sterling ran to do as she requested.
"Are you sure about this?" Alexis asked.
"No, but when am I sure about anything?" Joan winced.
"Well, hey, if you can hold your own against Mana, I'm sure you'll do fine," Alexis encouraged her. "I've watched her duel, and she's no pushover. Playing against her and the others might give you an edge.
"Sure," the brunette nodded.
Sterling returned and handed Joan her duel disk. "This is going to be awesome," Gunnar grinned as he took his place across from her.
The two players watched each other as they powered up their duel disks. "I'll start with the Shining Angel (1400/800) in defense mode," Joan summoned a male angel with short blond hair wearing loose-fitting white garments. His golden wings flared out to protect him. "Then I'll set one card face-down and end my turn."
"That's it?" Gunnar scoffed as he drew his card. "I expected more. I summon my Mechanicalchaser (1850/800) in attack mode!" A green metal sphere with wings and a spear materialized on the field. "Mechanicalchaser, annihilate that angel!" The machine charged forward and impaled the Shining Angel with its spear."
"When Shining Angel is destroyed, I can summon another light monster from my deck with 1500 or fewer attack points," Joan activated her fallen monster's effect. "I call on my Nova Summoner." An orange and blue ringed creature with angel wings appeared.
"Still a weak monster," Gunnar dismissed it. "I play a face-down and end my turn."
"At the end of your turn, I reveal my Solemn Wishes," Joan activated her face-down card. "Now every time I draw a card, I will gain 500 LifePoints."
"Big deal," Gunnar rolled his eyes.
"Well, I do gain those 500 points now," Joan pointed as she drew, and her LifePoints rose to 4500. All right, I got my field spell. With Nova Summoner, I think I can destroy Mechanicalchaser. That's assuming his face-down doesn't stop me. Should I…? Joan bit her lip and glanced at her opponent. He doesn't think much of my monsters, but he also thinks I'm Mana and is expecting a higher skill level. She took a deep breath. Let's do it. "I play the field spell The Sanctuary in the Sky!" Fluffy white clouds surrounded them as a pristine white temple rose behind her.
"Big deal," Gunnar scoffed.
"I'd say nice one, but I really don't know what that does," Sterling said from the sidelines.
"The Sanctuary in the Sky is a powerful spell," Alexis explained. "While it's on the field, if a fairy-type monster battles, the controller of that monster will take no battle damage."
"Oh, nice," Sterling grinned.
"Now," Joan eyed her opponent's monster. "Nova Summoner, attack Mechanicalchaser." Her winged creature charged forward and impaled itself on the machine's spear.
"Well, that was pointless, Mana," Gunnar laughed. "You just wasted your monster."
"No, I didn't," Joan watched the clouds swirling around her. "First, I don't take any damage thanks to my Sanctuary. Second, when my Nova Summoner is destroyed, I can summon a light-attribute fairy-type monster." A figure in blue light started to take form. "However, since The Sanctuary in the Sky is on the field, I can summon Airknight Parshath (1900/1400)!" A blue armored centaur with white wings across its middle, shoulders, and tail materialized on the field. Its human head had long blond hair and a blue hat with white wings, and it leveled its crystal blue sword and shield at his opponent. "Airknight Parshath, destroy Mechanicalchaser! Heavenly Swipe!" The celestial centaur charged forward and slashed the glowing red eye of the green machine.
"No way!" Gunnar recoiled as his LifePoints dropped to 3950.
"And since Airknight Parshath inflicted battle damage, he lets me draw a card," Joan glanced to her new card. "And Solemn Wishes gives me another 500 LifePoints for that draw." Her score rose to 5000. "I'll end my turn with two cards face-down."
"Then I'll play my Call of the Haunted to bring back Mechanicalchaser," Gunnar revealed his face-down. "And I'll play my Cost Down spell card. I toss a card, and then I lower the level all the monsters in my hand by two. And with that, I can summon my Machine King (2200/2000) without a sacrifice." A red, blue, and silver metallic robot appeared. The red light in the center of its chest and its red eyes lit up as it faced the Airknight Parshath. "And Machine King gains 100 attack points for every machine monster on the field. There are two, which will bring his strength to 2400. Now, Machine King, destroy Airknight Parshath with Jet Punch!" The fists of the robot detached and slammed into the centaur, shattering its hologram.
"Due to The Sanctuary in the Sky, I take no damage from the battle," Joan flinched at her monster's destruction.
"But you will take damage from this," Gunnar smirked. "Mechanicalchaser, attack her directly!" The sphere flew forward and struck Joan with its spear. Her LifePoints fell to 3150. "I think that's enough pain for now, so I'll just end my turn with this card face-down."
"You okay, Joan?" Alexis asked.
"I'm fine," she winced and drew her card. "First I gain 500 LifePoints from my Solemn Wishes trap." Her score rose to 3650. "Next I'll play a monster in face-down defense mode and end my turn."
"Lame," Gunnar scoffed. "I summon Robotic Knight (1600/1800) in attack mode." A black and red robot with gold accents marched onto the field. "And since there's another machine out, my Machine King gains another 100 points. Now, Robotic Knight, take out her monster!" The metal warrior drew a saber and sliced through the set monster.
A creamy white blog stretched apart and snapped back into place. "Marshmallon (300/500) can't be destroyed by battle," Joan countered. "And if he's attacked while face-down the player who attacked him takes 1000 points of damage." Gunnar's score fell to 2950.
"Then it's a good thing I have this: Raigeki Break!" the Ra revealed his trap card. "With this, I can discard a card and destroy one card on your field. So say good-bye to your cream puff!" Lightning shot from the trap and struck Marshmallon, shattering the hologram. "Now you're wide open. Mechanichalchaser, attack her directly!" The sphere flew forward and struck her again, knocking her down to 1800.
"Joan!" Sterling yelled to his friend.
"This is bad," Alexis winced. "One more hit, and she's out of LifePoints."
"Time to finish you!" Gunnar smirked. "Machine King, end this! Jet Punch!"
"I play my trap card!" Joan revealed one of her face-downs. "Light of Judgement! When The Sanctuary in the Sky is on the field, I can discard Radiant Jeral and send one card you control to the graveyard!" Machine King vanished in a flash of white light.
"Nice play, Joan!" Alexis cheered.
"And," Joan continued. "Since Radiant Jeral was sent to the graveyard while The Sanctuary in the Sky is on the field, I gain 1000 LifePoints." She was bathed in a soft pastel green light as her score rose to 2800.
"She almost evened the score," Sterling commented.
"Right," Alexis grinned. "You'll get the hang of this game yet."
"You'll pay for that!" Gunnar scowled. "I play one card face-down and end my turn."
"And I gain another 500 LifePoints thanks to Solemn Wishes," Joan drew her card. "I discard Hecatrice to add the spell card Vallhalla, Hall of the Fallen to my hand!" A transparent golden angel statue shined a light on her deck. "Now I'll play my Vahalla spell! Once per turn, if I control no monsters, I can special summon any fairy-type monster from my hand. So I'll use Valhalla's effect and summon Guardian Angel Joan (2800/2000)!" An angel in a long, white dress and large white wings flew onto the field. She had short, golden-auburn hair, and she wore a gold and silver ribbon that wound around her neck, upper arms, and wrists and then trailed to the ground.
"She's beautiful," Sterling breathed.
"That's one of the strongest fairy monsters in the game," Alexis added. "For someone who doesn't claim to be a duelist, Joan has some powerful cards."
So far, so good. I got my favorite card out, and I should be good to deal with his face-down. Joan looked to the angel standing in front of her. When she was younger, she enjoyed sharing a name with a Duel Monsters card. It made her feel special, even if she didn't resemble the card all that much. And after getting Guardian Angel Joan, she felt like the card was her own special guardian that would protect her when she didn't have Max or the others.
Drawing strength from the angel, Joan steeled herself for her next move. "Guardian Angel Joan, destroy Mechanicalchaser! Sacred Aura!" The angel held her hands in front of her, gathering a glowing white sphere of power.
"I play my trap! Go, Pulse Mines!" Gunnar activated his face-down. "This will switch all of your monsters into defense mode." Silver spheres appeared and pulsed with blue energy.
"I counter with Divine Punishment," Joan ducked her head and revealed her own set card. "When an effect is activated while The Sanctuary in the Sky is on the field, this card will negate it." Red-tinged lightning rained on the field and struck each mine, destroying them. "Now my Guardian Angel can continue her attack." The angel fired the blast at the green sphere, shattering the hologram and knocking Gunnar down to 2000 LifePoints. "And when Guardian Angel Joan destroys a monster, I gain LifePoints equal to that monster's original attack points." Her LifePoints rose to 5150. "I'll play one card face-down and end my turn."
"You're starting to annoy me, Mana," Gunnar grumbled as he drew his card. "I play Pot of Greed to draw two cards." He smirked at what he drew. "Now I'll summon Overdrive (1600/1500) in attack mode." A dark green tank drove onto the field. "And next I play Monster Reborn to bring back my Perfect Machine King (2700/1500)!" A massive red and white robot landed on the field.
"No way," Joan whispered.
"How can he play that?" Sterling asked. "I thought Monster Reborn only targeted monsters in the graveyard."
"He probably discarded it when he used his trap to destroy Marshmallon," Alexis commented. "By doing it that way, he also bypassed the need for tributes to summon it. And that metal monstrosity gains 500 attack points for every other machine monster on the field, and that Ra has two of them."
"That would make that monster's attack 3700," Sterling's eyes widened as he did the math.
"Correct, Fudo," Gunnar gave a smug grin. "And that's more than enough to get rid of Mana's little angel. Perfect Machine King, annihilate Joan with Ultimate Jet Punch!" The massive robot marched forward and launched its fist at the angel. It slammed into her, shattering her hologram.
"Ah!" Joan was blown back as her monster was destroyed. Luckily her field spell protected her LifePoints. She bit her lip at her favorite monster's destruction.
"Now you're defenseless," Gunnar laughed. "Your stupid sanctuary doesn't protect you from direct attacks! Go, Overdrive and Robotic Knight! Take her down!" Both monsters charged forward, knocking Joan to her knees and down to 1950 LifePoints. "And I finally take the lead."
"You okay, Joan?" Sterling called to her.
"You're not out yet!" Alexis encouraged her. "You can beat him!"
"Just admit defeat, Mana, and drop the act," Gunnar rolled his eyes. "You can't get past my Perfect Machine King. Are you really going to go down pretending to be someone else?"
Joan crumbled at his words. Maybe he's right. I don't know how to get past it. I'm not as good as Max, Mana, or Atem. Joan clenched her fist to keep it from shaking. I'm sorry, Mana. I let you down.
"Come on, Joan! Get up!" a new voice yelled.
"You're not going to let this jerk push you around, are you?" another voice added.
Joan looked up to see Mana, Max, and Jaden standing next to Sterling and Alexis with Syrus, Airi, and a Ra in a dinosaur bandana behind them. "Remember it's not over 'til the last card is played!" Jaden encouraged her.
"Who the heck are you?" Gunnar pointed an accusatory finger at Mana.
"I'm Mana Gardner," she answered, "also known as Mana Muto. I'm the Slifer you were looking for, not my roommate."
"I don't believe this," he snarled.
"Believe it!" Max yelled at him. "Just like you should believe my cousin is going to take you down!"
Thanks, guys. Joan got to her feet and drew her card. "First off, I gain 500 LifePoints thanks to my Solemn Wishes." Her LifePoints rose to 2450. "Then I'll play my Graceful Charity spell card. This will let me draw three cards as long as I discard two, which will give me another 500 LifePoints." Great! She grinned as her score rose to 2950. "I reveal my Call of the Haunted to bring back Guardian Angel Joan!" Her namesake angel returned to the field. "And I activate Monster Reborn to resurrect the monster I just discarded, Neo-Parshath, the Sky Paladin (2300/2000)!" A crystal-white seraph with blue and gold armor on its head, torso, and arms and wings extending from a blue and gold ring racing around its body radiated light, blinding everyone around him.
"Those angels are still no match for Perfect Machine King," Gunnar scoffed as the light faded. "You brought them back for nothing."
"How is Joan supposed to beat that thing?" Sterling asked. "He's right that neither of her monsters is strong enough to destroy it."
"Alone, that may be true," Alexis said.
"But not if she uses their special abilities together," Mana added.
"Guardian Angel Joan, destroy Robotic Knight!" Joan commanded her namesake monster. "Sacred Aura!" The angel fired a beam of light at the red and black robot, obliterating it. Gunnar's LifePoints fell to 800. "And thanks to my angel's effect, I gain Robotic Knight's attack points as LifePoints." Guardian Angel Joan shone with a faint white aura as Joan's score rose to 4550.
"Again with the LifePoint gain?" her opponent rolled his eyes. "Learn a new trick already!"
"She doesn't need to!" Mana yelled at him. "Check out Neo-Parshath's special ability!"
"What ability does it have?" Sterling looked to the rest of the group.
"While The Sanctuary in the Sky is on the field," Airi explained, "and Joan has more LifePoints than her opponent, Neo-Parshath gains the difference in score as attack points."
"And that's 3750 big ones," Jaden added. "So Neo-Parshath has 6050 points."
"No way!" Gunnar recoiled from the monster glowing with a brilliant golden aura.
"Neo-Parshath, destroy Perfect Machine King," Joan leveled her gaze at the mechanical menace. "Surge of Radiance!" Golden light radiated from the seraph as he held his blade forward. When the light became blinding, Neo-Parshath surged forward, passing through the center of the machine. Now behind the seraph, Perfect Machine King exploded, taking out the rest of Gunnar's LifePoints.
As the holograms faded, Joan let out a long breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. She actually did it. She actually managed to beat a Ra duelist.
"That was awesome, Joan!" Mana tackled her, squeezing as tight as she could.
"Mana… I can't… breathe," Joan eked out against her roommate's grip.
"Sorry," the second-year let her go.
"That was a good duel," a new voice said.
The two brunettes turned to see another Ra with spikey, dark auburn hair. He wore a gray shirt under his open yellow blazer and a dark green scarf around his neck. "Dimitri?" Mana raised an eyebrow at the newcomer.
"Sorry for the trouble," Dimitri rubbed the back of his head. "Gunnar's my roommate. I told him about our duel last year, including how I didn't have a clue you were a Muto at first. And honestly, I thought you were pulling my leg when you said you were."
"It was the opposite," Mana winced. "I didn't mean to reveal myself then; honestly I'm not even sure I would have told everyone at some point. I really only thought about sharing that with a few people."
"Yeah," the second-year Ra shrugged. "Anyway, I was hoping I could duel you again. With my own deck. I mentioned that to Gunnar, and I said it'd be easy for me to find you since you were the only girl in Slifer. I had no idea you'd gotten a roommate. So it's my incorrect information that played a role in this mess."
"It's not your fault," Joan looked at the ground, stepping behind Mana.
"Yeah, blame your idiot of a roommate," Airi chimed in with an eye roll.
"Shut up!" Gunnar glared at her.
"Come on, Robo King," Dimitri rolled his eyes and grabbed his roommate. "We've bugged them enough." With that, the pair of Ras took their leave.
"Glad that's settled," Alexis sighed as she watched the two leave. "Did you guys finish delivering those replacement duel disks for Crowler?"
"Not exactly," Syrus glanced to the Ra with the dinosaur bandanna.
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Joan placed the pan of oil on the stove and turned it on. Max had been taking the lead on food since classes started, and Joan was happy to give him the night off. It also gave her an excuse to escape Jaden, Max, and Hassleberry loudly bonding in the cafeteria. Sterling, Airi, and Alexis had returned to their dorm not long after Dimitri and Gunnar left.
"Ooh, fried shrimp?" Syrus commented on the seafood she was preparing.
"Yeah," she started breading the shrimp. "I hope that's okay. I don't have the same cooking skillset that Max does."
"I think you'll make most of the dorm happy with that," Syrus grinned. "Fried shrimp is pretty much everyone's favorite here."
"Good to know," Joan chuckled.
"Can I ask you something?" Syrus adjusted his glasses.
"The best way to stay awake in class is to not stay up all night," she answered.
"No, not that," he shook his head. "I could see you were scared during your duel. How did you push through it?"
"I don't really have an answer," Joan focused on carefully putting the shrimp in the oil. "I mean, you've probably noticed I don't like being the center of attention. And if you guys hadn't arrived when you did, I might have given up."
"I get that," Syrus answered. "But… I can't help but keep looking."
"Why?" she turned to face him again.
"Because despite my best efforts, I still haven't figured out how to stand on my own," he admitted. "I've been stuck in my brother's shadow all my life. Every time I duel, I have this sense of Zane looming over me, reminding me how much better he is. I have gotten better thanks to Jaden, but…"
"That fear is still there," Joan finished.
"Yeah."
"I don't know if it ever goes away," she sighed. "I'm no less afraid of the next time I'll have to duel than I was before facing Gunnar. That's probably why I only like dueling Max and the others. They focus more on the fun than the prestige."
"Jaden's the same," Syrus chuckled. "And when we run simulations on our PDAs, I actually tend to do better than him. Too bad that doesn't help with exam day."
"Maybe you just need to embrace your indomitable spirit," Joan said as she turned the shrimp, making sure they were cooking evenly.
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"It's something one of my favorite animators once wrote," she explained. "'I believe that the human spirit is indomitable. If you endeavor to achieve, it will happen if given enough resolve. It may not be immediate, and often your greater dreams is something you will not achieve in your own lifetime. The effort you put forth to anything transcends yourself, for there is no futility even in death.' (1) I take it to mean that no matter what, as long as we keep trying, something will come out of it, even if we don't see it right away."
"I never would have thought about it that way," Syrus rubbed the back of his head.
"Yep," Joan smiled and pulled the shrimp out of the oil, placing them on a plate with a paper towel to absorb the excess grease. "It kind of helps cheer me up when something doesn't work out. Like when Mana talks me into building something and it blows up in our face."
"I hope you mean figuratively," Syrus raised an eyebrow at her.
"I wish I did," she rolled her eyes. "But when people talk about having a favorite quote, that one is always mine. I respect that mindset so much, even if I haven't succeeded yet."
"To become a duelist?" he asked.
"No," Joan shook her head. "Maybe a little as needed, but really, I just want to be able to stand on my own and not hide behind the others. I want to be able to make small talk with strangers and not stare at the floor the entire time. Though I haven't figured out how other people do it."
"I'm probably not the guy to ask," Syrus shrugged. "After all, I'm the guy still figuring out how step out of his brother's shadow. I mean, the best spell in my deck is one of Zane's signature cards. If I'm always using his cards, how will people stop comparing us?"
"I kind of get that," Joan pulled out sauces for the others to dip their shrimp in. "Atem always said the reason he refused to put Dark Magician in his deck was because he wanted to stand apart from his dad. I remember times when we would come across people who asked him summon it, and he'd grumble about Dark Magician not being his card."
"That sounds like Atem," Syrus chuckled and snitched a shrimp. Joan glared at him. "Sorry, I'm hungry. Jaden always tries to steal some of everyone else's fried shrimp when we get it."
"So we should get this served so everyone can eat?" she raised an eyebrow at him.
"Probably," he grabbed dishes to help serve the food. "By the way, thanks for listening."
"Thank you too," she nodded. "Though what are friends for?"
1. This quote is from Monty Oum, the creator of the webseries RWBY. While unfortunately I never came across his work until after he passed, I greatly admire his message of "Keep moving forward" (and his other great sayings). I hadn't quite planned on Joan's interest in RWBY taking this turn, but I think we can all say we've been inspired by writers, actors, animators, etc. And so this is Joan's.
Thanks for reading, guys. Fun fact, Joan's duel was not in my original outline. You see, I build each OC's (and some characters') decks on duel simulators to play with. Doing so kind of gives me ideas on what combos I can do, and it's a little bit of fun that I do with a friend. Well with Joan's deck, it actually ends up being one of the better decks (my friend and I joke she could be one of the best duelists if she wanted to). And playing with it really made me want to write a Joan duel. However, as she herself stated, she kind of has to be bullied into doing it. Obviously this isn't going to be Joan's only duel (otherwise I wouldn't have even built her a deck), but I hope you guys like this glimpse into what she can do.
Also, I need give a shout out to my friend Akumu22 for building a draft of Gunnar's deck that helped me get started on the duel. This isn't the last we've seen of Dimitri and Gunnar, so stay tuned for that.
Like I mentioned above, this was originally going to be one chapter, but since it was so long, I broke it into two. So you can expect the next chapter to be posted probably sometime tomorrow. As usual, tell me what you think, and I'll see you soon.