Chapter 10: First stop, Italy.
As the four duelists activated their duel discs and shuffled their decks Alexis asked just to cover the basics.
" are there any special rules we should know about before we start the duel?"
The mysterious figure simply answered.
"two, first this is a shadow duel and second, you three are allowed to use any of your set cards in play, not that it will help you."
Jazz responded as follows.
" are we gonna drag this any longer or are we fighting?"
At this moment all participants declared in unison.
" duel!".
Alexis: 4000 – Jazz: 4000 – Mindy: 4000 – Mystery girl: 4000
Alexis drew her five cards as she declared as follows.
" we're going in alphabetical order, so I'll start us off, first I'm summoning Cyber tutu to the field, place three face downs and end my turn."
As said the cards were placed into position.
Cyber Tutu ( 1000/800 ) .
With that the turn reverted to Jazz as she drew a new card before playing the following.
" first I'm going to play a little face down called Umi and next I play Mermaid Knight in attack mode."
As Mermaid Knight materialized she suddenly got a power boost.
Mermaid Knight ( 1500 → 1700/ 700 → 900)
As Jazz closed out her move she gave the opportunity for Mindy to shine.
" I play three face downs and place another two cards in defense mode and end my turn."
As the cards materialized on the field with the mysterious girl said without a hint of emotion.
" I play one card in defense mode and end my turn."
A little weirded out Alexis continued her play as follows.
" I Attack your face down with Cyber Tutu."
With that the monster Cyber Tutu attacked revealed itself as a demonic horse called Mezuki with 800 defense points as Jazz pointed out.
" well at least we now know with what cards we're up against."
Alexis's only reply was,
" still keep your guard up."
Jazz nodded saying.
" with what I had in mind I'll end this duel quickly."
As Jazz's turn came up she wasted no time by stating.
" I'm using Umi's second ability, allowing my monster to attack you twice this turn."
Mermaid knight began her attack as the mysterious girl began losing life points.
Mystery girl: 4000 → 2300.
Feeling proud of herself Jazz couldn't help but ask.
" where's your big talk now?"
At that said Mystery girl kept deathly silent before playing one of her facedown cards.
" I play Magic Cylinder "
With that the second attack was negated and redirected towards Jazz who was pissed at herself for letting herself make such an amateurish mistake to begin with.
Jazz: 4000 → 2300.
As jazz's lifepoints began dropping the girl began to experience a pain that can only be described as a simultaneous heart attack and a migraine as said duelist struggled with remaining upright after the hit she endured.
' so this is what Alexis went through last year….. no wonder she kept quiet about it for so long…..'
With that said and done Mindy made her next move as the duel continued for a few more rounds with no one actually taking the lead as eventually it came back to Alexis's turn yet again.
" you disappoint me…"
Alexis at that comment simply asked while mulling over her options while Ettoile Cyber and Cyber Tutu were standing by in attack mode with a couple of face downs waiting to be sprung.
" oh really… how so?!"
The mystery girl replied with no emotion in her voice.
" you inspired me once, yet here you are associating yourself with substandard duelists."
At that Jazz and Mindy took offense as they shouted in unison.
" hey!… who are you to call us substandard?!…"
After hearing that Alexis's gears began to turn as she asked the following question.
" are you by any chance third year Obelisk Summer Godlight?"
As to confirm it the mystery girl replied with.
" took you long enough, now continue with your turn."
Alexis obliged while giving the following warning.
" be careful what you wish for….."
Alexis continued the duel as follows.
" from my hand I activate Pot of Greed."
As Alexis drew a couple of extra cards she continued as she summoned Blade Skater to the field for a short while.
" now I use polymerization to fuse Etoile Cyber and Blade Skater tu summon Cyber Blader in attack mode."
Cyber Blader ( 2100/800)
" I'll continue by equipping fusion weapon and setting two more cards face down and end my turn."
Cyber Blader ( 2100→3600 /800).
As Jazz turn came up, a smirk couldn't help but etch on her face.
" you know what's the biggest drawback to using zombie archetypes?"
The mysterious girl, now confirmed as Summer kept quiet as Jazz drew only for her smirk to grow wider as Alexis interrupted.
" I'm sure she already knows, don't lose focus Jazz….."
Jazz never lost her confidence saying.
" thsnks lex…"
At that Summer interrupted her.
" you should take your friend's advice to heart."
Jazz a bit miffed at being interrupted replied with.
" as I was about to say I'm not too big on making the same mistake twice, so I'm playing this, Sword and Shield, next I play Ring of Destruction and finally I spring Swords of revealing lights."
With the combo now in effect the Sword and Shield card affected Summer's Pyramid Turtle swapping his attack and defense points.
Pyramid Turtle (1400/1200)
next Ring of destruction attached to Pyramid turtle and finally Swords of revealing light activated.
Summer Godlight: 2300 →900.
As Summer has shown no reaction to the drastic drop of life points Mindy couldn't help but blurt out the following.
" are you kidding me!?….. not even a tiny ouch?, you'd think she's just as dead as those stupid zombies she's playing…"
At that Jazz was the one to reply.
" I think that's the whole point about zombies."
Not sure if she was being either smart or clueless Mindy couldn't help but state the following.
" well she doesn't have to be literal about it."
With that being said and done Jazz took her turn as she drew her next card, minding that her Umi card has been destroyed by her opponent and she didn't hold any cards that would ensure her victory this round she was thankful for drawing Pot of Greed as she used it to full effect, speaking of effects back at the Rhode's household Jaden, Chazz and Syrus were enjoying anearly supper as said hero duelist took notice that Alexis, Jazz and Mindy were taking their time with the search for Atticus without calling to report on what they found.
" say am I being weird here that Lex hasn't called yet or even returned?"
Chazz simply replied.
" one, you're weird either way, two, it's her brother so she doesn't have to tell you anything if she doesn't feel like it and three….."
Noticing that Chazz didn't complete his sentence Jaden asked.
" you've got a bad feeling too right?"
without saying another word the duo of Jaden and Chazz sprinted out the door as Syrus gave a delayed response as he started running after them.
" hey guys….. wait for me!"
As Jaden and Chazz ran past the neighborhood's exit the latter asked the former.
" stupid question over here but do you even know where we're going?"
Jaden simply replied with.
" nope."
At that Chazz got really livid as he practically shouted.
" nope?!….. what do you mean nope!… why in the hell did I follow you anyway!"
Jaden's reply was as follows.
" calm down will you?, I know someone who might have an idea…"
Contacting Elemental Hero Avion Jaden explained the situation as fast as he could never once slowing down as he ordered.
" Avion….. help me find Alexis and her friends…"
Avion at that point didn't waste time on talking as he flew ahead as Chazz simply asked in a deadpan manner.
" you're sending a single monster to help us, is that right?"
Jaden at that shrugged as he asked or more like mentioned the following.
" how come you haven't sent Light and Darkness Dragon to do some searching of his own?"
being caught by surprise Chazz couldn't admit that Jaden caught him with his pants down yet again so instead he opted to respond with a statement layered with sarcasm.
" great idea….. why didn't I think of that?…"
Jaden was about to shoot a smart ass comment which Chazz shot down almost immediately as Syrus yelled in the back.
" guys….. why are we running?…. can't we get a cab or something?!….."
In a rare moment both Jaden and Chazz thought of the exact same thing.
' did I remember to bring my wallet?….'
back to the duel between Alexis, Jazz , Mindy and Summer.
Having still blocked by the Swords of Revealing light Summer could only summon the monsters in her deck as she tried to build her defenses. As the effects of Swords of Revealing light began to wain as the girls managed to bring Summer's defenses down one by one eventually it came Mindy's turn to take the lead and taking it she did as she managed to summon one of the best her deck had to offer, Berserk Gorilla, which faced one of the opposing player Goblin Zombie.
Berserk Gorilla ( 2000/1000 )
Goblin Zombie ( 1100/1050 )
Mindy's first instinct was to declare an attack, however she noticed that Summer had a facedown waiting to be played as she asked.
" you're not going to be a sport and give me a hint towards what's under there….. right?"
Getting no response from Summer mindy just moved on with her plan
" Berserk attack that zombie of hers and end this duel."
At that Summer revealed the following card.
" Creature Swap activate."
As the card's name suggested the opposing monsters changed their sides as Berserk Gorilla at this point was about to hit Mindy while the zombie type monster was about to hit Summer. At this point Mindy could have activated Doble Passe which Alexis set down but chose against since no matter what the challenger would lose what remained of her life points until.
" I use emergency provisions, getting rid of two cards to get a boost of 1000 points for each.
Summer Godlight: 900 →2900.
Summer Godlight: 2900 →1800.
Mindy: 3300 →1300.
" sorry guys I goofed…"
Before anything could be said Mindy's life energy began to drain along with her life points as she struggled to stand up as Alexis and Jazz comforted her.
" actually you did us a favor."
Mindy at that tried to figure out what Alexis meant when it hit her. There in plain view Summer Godlight used the remaining of her facedown cards to boost her own life points which left her backrow completely empty with Berserk Gorilla returning to Mindy's side as the turn came to an end leaving the zombie duelist with no monsters at all, though Alexis didn't completely trust it she went on the offensive.
" my turn, I normal summon Il Blud, and with his effect I summon back Pyramid Turtle as well."
Il Blud ( 2100/900)
Pyramid Turtle ( 1200/1400)
All Alexis did as mutter the following while Summer finished her move.
" great…"
getting her turn back Alexis didn't waste any second as she declared.
"Cyber Blader, go for it, attack her directly."
At that point Summer interrupted her.
" I play my own Sword and Shield card from my hand."
With that said and done Cyber Blader's stats changed so Summer received the minimum amount of damage in this scenario.
Summer Godlight: 1800 →1000.
Cursing herself for being impatient at this duel of all things she did the one thing that would distract her from the amateurish mistake.
" did Nightshroud prepare you for this duel?"
Summer nodded.
" he did."
Finding no comfort at this situation Alexis could only think to herself the following while she mulled over the cards in her hands.
' you really need to step up your game or else your usual tactics won't be enough to save you…..'
While the duel with the girls continued on Jaden and the rest of the boys were getting closer and closer to finding them in their current situation as Chazz suddenly stopped.
" hey Chazz… you're okay there buddy?"
Chazz deadpanned after hearing that question.
" we've got three of the top duelists in our school, so what are we worrying about here exactly?"
Jaden at that began running again which forced Chazz to keep up as he stated.
" oh you know, the fact that we don't really know who they're going up against and all that…."
Chazz was stumped, lost for word and all that Jazz as eventually all he could say was.
" right…"
With that said and done Jaden turned around as he practically shouted.
" hey Sy…. You keeping up?!"
Syrus replied as follows.
" in between wheezing for the 100th time by now…"
As the boys continued their run through Domino Chazz at one point caught a glimpse of Jaden's face, only he was frowning instead of having his usual carefree smile.
" don't tell me…. bad news?"
Jaden responded with.
" boy I'll say…. we're missing a duel for the ages."
At that Chazz almost face faulted as he exclaimed.
" are you actually serious right now?"
Speaking of serious, back to the duel with Summer and the trio, Jazz took her tur as she drew by her own recollection her last copy of her Umi cards as she mulled over her hand spotting a Pot of Greed card.
" okay…. It's now or never….."
" I play the following Umi card, then I sacrafice two low level monster to summon Levia- Dragon Dedalus in attack mode."
Levia- Dragon Dedalus ( 2600→2800 /1600 ).
Summer could only reply as follows.
" an unimpressive move by a mediocre duelist."
Jazz smirked as she replied.
" well let's see if my dragon's special ability changes that, by destroying an Umi card, he in turn can destroy every monster on your field."
As her monsters got destroyed Summer didn't so much as flinch while Jazz gave the order that finished the duel.
" Dedalus dragon….. attack the enemy directly."
As the monster launched its attack on Summer Lightgod said strike wiped the rest of the opponent's life points as said girl got blown away, losing consciousness in the process.
Summer Godlight: 1000 →0.
As the duel came to an end both Alexis, Jazz and Mindy could breathe in relief as at that very moment Jaden, Chazz and Syrus finally managed to catch up.
" man….. I can't believe we missed it…."
Sharing a good natured laugh Alexis pointed out.
" actually your timing couldn't be more perfect…"
Jaden at that looked puzzled as Alexis gestured to her downed opponent while said hero duelist followed her gesture as he saw the face of Summer Godlight.
" wait a minute… she looks familiar…. Isn't that?…"
Alexis nodded as she replied.
" yep… and Nightshroud sent her after all of us…"
Jaden having caught on asked while smirking.
" say!?, she looks familiar doesn't she?"
Before anyone could do anything else Chazz, who was the second to catch up, rushed to her side as he began searching for a pulse stating.
" you should be asking if she's alright given the kinds of games Nightshroud likes to play."
Still trying to regain her composure Jazz asked angrily for some reason.
" oh yeah?!, and why aren't you worried about us?…."
Chazz replied bluntly.
" well you survived didn't you?."
Jazz silently indicated that both her, Mindy and Alexis did as Chazz ended the conversation with the most blunt comment thus far.
" then what are you complaining about?"
Having managed to establish that Summer did survive the ordeal, Syrus, having finally caught up to the rest of the gang asked the obvious.
" guys, why is there a girl laying down in the middle of the street?"
With that Jaden summarized everything that happened to Syrus as said pint sized teen asked.
" shouldn't we have called 911 by now?"
With that said and done Summer stirred before gently sitting back up as she tried to regain her bearings.
" hey take it easy, you've been through a lot."
Summer responded to Chazz's statement as follows.
" did I…..!?…"
Chazz followed up with.
" what's the last thing you remember?"
Summer replied.
" hanging with a few friends at the mall after a boring day…."
Mindy asked Alexis quietly.
" if I remember right, wasn't Atticus out of it for a long while?….."
Catching on to what Mindy implied Alexis could only respond with.
" I have no idea as to why she woke up so quickly."
Syrus pitched into the conversation.
" maybe whatever possessed her didn't do so for that long….?"
An awkward silence fell between the group as Syrus couldn't tell if he hit the nail on the head or if he was off by a mile as Alexis regained everyone's attention.
" summer, should we call anyone to pick you up?"
having gained enough strength to pick and dust herself off Summer gave a pleasant smile as she checked if she had a wallet.
" thanks but there's no need, I'm taking a cab home…. Thanks for everything you've done."
As Summer left Jaden noticed a stray dueling card laying a few feet from where Summer had fallen as he picked it up only to notice that there was no text on said card just a picture of a weird demonic mask as he muttered to himself.
" just like Atticus before….."
Chazz at that cut to the chase again.
" so what now?"
Jaden at that replied.
" you mean how will we find Atticus now right?"
Chazz gave him his trademark sarcasm.
" oh how sharp of you…"
Jaden ignored that comment saying.
" well I don't know about you guys but I think it's best to ask from the source."
As he said that he held the card depicting the mask for everyone to see as Chazz said nonchalantly.
" so who's the unlucky one to use this card?"
Alexis was the first to reply.
" well we know that Summer was its host, so I volunteer…"
Chazz at that began cutting off Alexis as he took the card from Jaden's hand before tossing it towards Syrus.
"no way, you're too valuable to risk yourself like that, Syrus, you do it."
Syrus at that protested.
" you do realize that the card wouldn't mistake me for a girl right?….."
Chazz began to shoot the comment right back at Syrus.
" well you do realize that absolutely no one will mistake you for a b…"
Before he could finish his sentence though both Alexis and Jaden apparently thinking on the very same thing. "accidently" stomped on Chazz's right foot as said teen replied harshly through greeted teeth as he massage his aching foot.
" you know a poke to the chops would've been enough….."
Jazz silently talked to herself.
" somehow I doubt it."
Mindy at hearing that stifled a giggle before asking.
" any chance we could find out more info and not put our lives in danger?, once was enough for today."
With everyone agreeing the group settled on splitting up for the day and regrouping tomorrow with Jaden citing that he had one last thing to do before going home. On the way back Jaden followed Alexis to the Rhodes's house as he asked.
" so what's this thing that you need doing?"
Jaden answered nonchalantly.
" just making sure you're home safe."
Smirking, or at least trying to smirk while hiding a small blush that came across her face Alexis pointed out.
" you do remember that I can hold myself with the best of the best right?"
Jaden smirking back decided to tease a little.
" why thank you, I didn't realize that you think so highly of me….."
Before he was going to get punched in his arm Jaden decided to reply Alexis's question with as much sincerity as he could.
" knowing you can was never a problem…. It's more like I'm taking an example from the heroes I throw down with on how to be better…. Do I make any sense or should I shut up?"
Alexis couldn't help but laugh a little saying.
" you're doing just fine"
With that the two continued walking in comfortable silence until they reached Alexis's neighborhood with Jaden noticing a saddened expression forming on Alexis's face.
" you're missing his teasing a bit too aren't you?"
Sighing Alexis admitted.
" a bit…"
Jaden replied in solidarity.
" me too… me too."
As Alexis and Jaden reached the front door she admitted that she felt indebted to the hero duelist as he in turn surprised both her and himself by planting a lingering kiss on the girl's cheek as he said the following.
" consider us even and squared."
With that said and done he felt it right to return back home, somehow knowing that if he stayed too long it would cause some trouble for the both of them. As the next day rolled along Alexis didn't rest on her laurels as she managed to have a quiet sit down in the morning with Summer after managing to find the girl's address through the Academy's PDA. As the gang arrived around late noon they didn't mince words as they got straight to the point.
" any luck finding Atticus yet?"
Jaden replied with.
" without any solid new leads mom's case will hit a dead end."
Jazz at that spoke up.
" and what about Summer?, what was that about exactly?"
Alexis replied to her friend by saying.
" from what I can tell she was just there to distract us, and no, Nightshroud hasn't tried so far to return her back to his ranks."
Jaden sighed in relief saying.
" well that's a relief to say the least."
At that Chazz caught everyone's attention as he asked.
" any of you know where Nightshroud is going or doing next?, I doubt he took over Atticus just for kicks."
At that Henry Rhodes senior coughed as he stated.
" I believe I can be of assistance with that."
Chazz and the others at that waited and gestured the old man to continue while the former even said.
" oh please….. don't keep us in suspense….."
The old man coughed again as he said.
" the next stop at the quest for the helmet awaits in Italy."
With that everyone got visibly excited as Chazz asked bluntly.
" anywhere specific in Italy or are we talking about the entire country over here?"
With that said and done before Chazz could receive an answer Jaden bumped into him as he gave him one hell of a poke to the chops as the former began muttering to himself while henry Rhodes senior gestured everyone to follow him. As Jaden lead the group Henry Rhodes senior asked him quietly.
" this Chazz fellow, is he always like this?"
Jaden replied as follows.
" would you believe me if I told you that these are ones of his better days?"
At that Chazz stated loudly.
" I can hear you two!"
At that Henry Rhodes senior nodded quietly saying that he believed Jaden as the old man approached a fancy sedan waiting for him.
" I have a few errands to run so I expect you to pack for departure by tomorrow."
Without saying another word the old man left as Syrus asked no one in particular.
" who did he mean by saying packed by tomorrow?"
A long discussion formed around the subject which by the end of it it was decided that Syrus, Mindy and Jazz would be left behind as backup while Jaden, Alexis and Chazz agreed that they should head to Italy.
" do you think your parents would let you travel abroad Chazz?"
Chazz ignored the question at first before replying.
" my folks are quite big on the self reliance method of parenting, how about you?"
Jaden replied with.
" they already approve."
Chazz was about to say something snarky before reflexively guarding his ribs from getting poked as Alexis stated.
" seriously?!"
Jaden gave a small smirk as he shrugged innocently enough.
" hey, at least it's not a slap on the back of your head."
Confused for a moment Chazz replied as Jaden already made his way towards home.
" hey!… that's not comforting I'll have you know!"
Speaking of comfort, Jaden made his way home in record time as he got to his room as he started to pack for tomorrow's trip as lauren entered the room.
" eloping with Alexis already?"
Knowing his mother's teasing tone Jaden decided to tease back.
" absolutely but don't you worry I'll send you a post card."
Giving him a look that sent a fair warning Jaden decided to be as honest as he could without dragging his parents further into his troubles.
" Atticus's parents got a lead, their son is acting weird heading towards Italy I'm tagging along to help them get him back mom."
Resting her hand on his shoulder Lauren asked.
" I have a few friends abroad, I'll contact them to help you narrow the search."
Jaden hugged his mom surprising her a bit saying.
" you're the best mom!"
Smirking Lauren replied.
" don't worry I'll remind you to say that often"
With that both Jaden and Lauren shared a smirk as she offered to help him back for the trip, speaking of tripping. The very next day Jaden almost tripped on his own luggage after his mom drove him to the airport as he made it to the Rhodes's jet as he asked.
" please don't tell me I'm late."
While Jaden began panting Alexis couldn't help but give a sympathetic smile saying.
"just edging it, now take a deep breath."
Jaden smiled weakly.
" already on it….."
Chazz at this point asked bluntly.
" alarm went off too late or something?"
Jaden laughed as he replied.
" no, actually worst case of traffic on the way over here."
Accepting that answer the subject was quickly dropped as the gang boarded the plane towards Italy as Chazz wasted no time in finding his seat as he reclined it, wore an eye mask and plugged his ears as he went straight to sleep.
" wow that was fast."
Alexis agreed as she asked.
" should we wake him up and remind him it's not an all paid vacation?"
Jaden took a pause for a moment before he replied.
" bad idea, he's already crabby while he's calm, know what I mean?"
Alexis sighed saying.
" trust me I can guess."
With that Jaden gestured for him and Alexis to find a seat as he stated.
" I'll need your help going over my homework."
Alexis smirked saying.
" homework…. Right….."
A bit lost and confused Jaden asked.
" am I missing something over here?"
Alexis at that chose to tease Jaden a bit.
" if I didn't know any better I'd say that you're looking for an excuse to flirt with me…."
Blushing a bit Jaden scratched his head as he kept quiet gesturing for the both of them to take a seat as they went over his homework. Observing that he improved significantly Alexis decided to let him off early as she pulled out her deck, inviting Jaden to a friendly duel which he took said invitation without a second thought, halfway through the duel the girl in question asked.
" you never answered my previous question, so what do you have to say for yourself?"
Jaden replied honestly.
" if I admit that you'd probably never let me flirt with you again."
Alexis at that smirked saying.
" depends on how you flirt."
Jaden was taken a back a bit but not enough to be thrown off his game as the two dueled for most of the flight to Italy with an even number of wins, loses and draws for each. Henry Rhodes senior at one point in time came out periodically from the pilot's cabin to check on the passengers well being as his son asked.
" so how's everyone's doing so far dad?"
Henry Rhodes senior simply stated.
" they seem in good health, why you ask?"
Henry Rhodes the second simply joked.
" just making sure if they're healthy enough to survive my landings."
Sharing his good humor with his son the old man retorted.
" well you've considerably improved since last time."
With that the two continued flying in comfortable silence as Henry Rhodes the second asked.
" how are you holding up with Atticus missing?"
Henry Rhodes senior answered honestly.
" I'm not pleased by any means but I have faith that we'll be able to find him just like last time."
Henry Rhodes the second concurred.
" I can accept that."
As the plane was literally minutes away from landing in Italy Henry Rhodes the second addressed everyone on the intercom stating.
' we're about to land in Rome in just a few minutes, ao for your safety you should fasten you seatbelts extra tight.'
A bit weirded out Jaden did what was suggested as he asked Alexis while she was doing the same.
" say? isn't your dad a world class pilot or something?"
Alexis replied as follows.
" his landings sometimes need a bit of work."
Jaden asked jokingly.
" so kind of like me and homework right?"
Alexis couldn't help but stifle a giggle as he took it as a definite yes as he addressed Chazz who was wide awake for the last hour or so, clenching his hands into the seat as his knuckles turned white.
" hey buddy, how you holding up?"
Chazz half panickily answered.
" I'll tell you once we're on solid ground…."
Having landed at the airport safely Chazz was the first to get out, evidently wanting to feel the ground beneath his feet once again as he almost started kissing the asphalt with Jaden thinking to himself.
' he's definitely not a fan of flying….'
With that said and done Jaden took in the air as he enthusiastically expected for his new adventure to continue in Italy.
Next time: The object of everyone's desires.
Author's note: Summer Godlight for anyone who cares is essentially the English counterpart for Seika from the GX manga, I based the name on the English translations of the Kanji.
