As promised, here's a Chapter with a duel in it! Exactly what one would expect from a fanfiction taking place in the Yu-Gi-Oh! franchise. Who will be dueling first? If you read the chapter title before this, then you probably have a pretty good idea who, but then again, maybe you don't. Maybe it the title is to trick you into thinking we've played a Spell Card when in fact!... You know where that was going, haha. Anyways, thanks again to Eneko95 for her continued support in editing on our chapters.
Chapter 25
Academy Duel
Knight vs Dragon
Main Academy Building
Duel Arena
The Central and West students had each claimed one side of the arena. Each group periodically shot the other a judgmental look when they weren't talking among themselves.
The chatter quickly died down as Ward and Chen took the stage, each holding a wireless microphone.
"Welcome, everyone, to today's Academy Duel, and a special welcome to our West Academy visitors," Ward began, turning slightly to Chen. "We're honored to host such prestigious duelists."
"And we feel honored to be here," Chen replied with a nod. "I know our chosen representatives are eager to prove themselves against our hosts."
An enthusiastic roar rose from the West students, which was matched by discouraging "Boos" from the students of Central.
"So let's get right to it and present our chosen champions!" Ward called, looking mildly annoyed.
"Aw, did I mess up some little speech you had prepared?" Chen asked after placing his hand over his microphone.
Ward clicked her tongue in response before turning towards the western entrance. "Representing our guests from West Academy, the Lanying twins, Mei and Daiyu!"
Everyone started clapping, the West students especially, as the two sisters appeared from the left hallway with proud smiles on their faces.
Mei's and Daiyu's duel disks gave off a "matching puzzle pieces" vibe. The almond-shaped inner half of each was basic white, and the skinnier outer halves had rich colors; deep red for Mei and dark sapphire for Daiyu.
"And now, representing our own Academy, and the Slifer Red dorm in particular, Nick Brood and Barclay Fyfe!"
There was loud cheering from the Main Academy side, combined with a few looks of shock and awe mixed in the crowd. They saw both slifers walking as a few cheered for them, especially their small group of friends, who're cheering their hardest.
They walked up the steps to the middle of the Arena where they were now face-to-face with their opponents, each one looking at them with smugness.
In their mind, they felt like they already had this match won.
"Now that we know the champions, let's see who will participate in the first match," said Ward as the large screen behind her lit up and displayed an empty duel monitor.
The two slots glowed and rapidly cycled through pictures of all four students.
PING! Barclay's and Mei's pictures appeared.
"Well, looks like you'll be starting this party, Bar," Nick remarked, fist-bumping his roommate.
Bar nodded as his partner walked back down the steps to sit on a nearby bench.
"Show these Dī bāns what it means to be a champion, Mei," Daiyu said as she walked away.
"Alright, champions, give us a nice clean Duel and don't hold back," Ward remarked.
"Even if all you've got won't be enough to even put a scratch on your opponent," Chen said, staring pointedly at Barclay.
With that out of the way, both Headmasters walked off as well, going towards a special stage seating for both of them.
Parts of the stage descended with a mechanical hum, to be replaced by three Solid Vision projectors at strategic points around the arena.
When Mei activated her duel disk, the red half of the body deepened to solid black, and her construct appeared in the form of a black dragon's wing.
"Something tells me I'll be reliving day one," Barclay commented as he lifted and activated his own disk.
"Let's duel!"
Everyone roared out with cheer at their words.
Barclay - 8000
Mei - 8000
Both duelists drew their cards before looking at the screen, seeing Mei's picture highlighted green.
"Looks like I'll be going first, then," she remarked before looking at her hand. "I'll start by summoning to the field The Black Stone of Legend (1/0/0) in attack mode."
The ground shook in front of her as a black egg-shaped stone with small rivers of lava pouring down its side emerged.
"Damn," Barclay groaned. "Nothing good ever comes from a monster with stats like that…"
"Wait, why does that name sound familiar?" Laura remarked.
"It looks kinda cool with the lava coming off the sides. Is it part of your Volcanic deck, Takashi?" Atsuko wondered.
"No, it's not part of the archetype," said Takashi. "Maybe the clues in the color…?"
"Oh no…" Sera gasped as realization dawned on her.
"Next I activate its special ability and sacrifice it to Special Summon a level 7 or lower Normal Monster from my deck."
As she said this, the stone began glowing brightly and a single card popped out of Mei's deck, which she took and placed on the field.
"Say hello to Red-eyes Black Dragon (7/2400/2000)!"
The stone exploded and the dragon inside reached its full height in a matter of seconds, clearing the smoke around it with a single flap of its bat-like wings. Except for its claws and blood-red eyes, every part of the dragon's body seemed to absorb the light around it. It looked Barclay directly in the eyes and bared its fangs.
Everyone from Central Academy gasped at the sight of the legendary monster, and Red-eyes roared as if in answer.
"If you think that's incredible, wait till you see my sister's dragon," Mei announced.
Nick's eyes widened when he got what she meant.
"Well, that partly explains the color-coordinated disks," said Erhard.
"Do your students usually pull out the big guns right away, Chen?" Ward asked with a meaningful look at her counterpart.
Chen's deadpan stare told her everything she needed to know.
"Now that it's here, I play the spell card Inferno Fire Blast. This lets me deal direct damage equal to my dragon's base attack points. Get him, Red-Eyes!"
The black dragon roared again, charging a ball of dark energy in its mouth. After several increasingly tense moments, it released the attack to fly across the field and knock Barclay straight to the ground.
Barclay - (8000 - 5600)
Mei - 8000
"I'll end my turn with that. Let's see what you got."
Everyone looked at the brown-haired Slifer with worry; Sera in particular almost looked angry about Mei's opening move.
Barclay got up surprisingly easily and dusted himself off. Then he looked Mei directly in the eye and grinned as he drew.
"Hope ye've got more up yer sleeve than just that dragon."
"Did you get hit harder than I thought?" Mei asked. "What could you possibly have to help you right now, Dī Bān?"
"Noble Knight Drystan (4/1800/800), in attack mode."
A light shined onto the field, taking the shape of a young auburn-haired knight in silver armor, a dark blue tunic, and a flowing white cape.
He appeared calm and confident in the face of Red-Eyes, which was doubly impressive given that he appeared to have only a harp to fight with.
"Am I supposed to be impressed by pretty boy over there? He can't even make my dragon flinch with how weak it is," Mei said.
"Which is why I equip him with the spell Noble Arms - Excaliburn," Barclay continued.
Another burst of light, much brighter this time, enveloped the field. When it cleared, a two-handed sword decorated with clear gems rested in front of the knight. The blade itself wasn't the single straight piece its name implied, but rather two somewhat jagged blades fused together, one red and one blue. The edges shone faintly with golden energy.
Drystan picked up the sword and saluted the crowd with it, causing the red and blue energies to rush down the blade and into his body.
"Since he has been equipped with a Noble Arms card, Drystan can target one face up card on the field and destroy it. Red-Eyes is impressive, all right, but it's blocking a more braw view."
The knight pointed his new sword at the dragon and released a beam of light from the gap in the blades. It struck Red-Eyes directly in the heart, and the beast roared in pain before exploding into a cloud of dust.
"There's the view I'm looking for, some Life Points wide open for attack." Barclay chuckled. "Drystan, cut her down a peg, would ye?"
He looked a bit reluctant to do so, but rushed in and slashed Mei across her midsection anyway.
Barclay - 5600
Mei - (8000 - 6200)
"Don't think that's gonna stop me. We're just getting started, you Báichī, my draw," the short-haired girl remarked. "First off, I activate the spell card Red-Eyes Insight."
Both the card and a transparent manifestation of Red-Eyes appeared behind her.
"Thanks to this card, by sending any Red-Eyes monster from my hand or deck to the graveyard, I can add a 'Red-Eyes' spell to my hand."
The phantom dragon roared and went back into her duel disk, which ejected a single card with a beep.
"So I send my Gearfried The Red-Eyes Iron Knight (4/1800/1600) to the graveyard in order to add my Red-Eyes Fusion spell," she remarked while revealing the first card and grabbing the second one that was also ejected.
The deck soon shuffled itself as she continued.
"Now I activate the spell I just got, letting me send my second Gearfried and another Red-Eyes Black Dragon from my deck to my graveyard in order to Fusion Summon my Red-Eyes Slash Dragon (7/2800/2000)!"
A burst of dark energy emerged onto the field, solidifying and bringing forth a new monster.
Once again the black dragon roared to announce it's presence, but this time it was clad in black armor with silver designs. Red orbs appeared as the joints on its arms and legs and one formed on the monster's forehead like a third eye. The creature's overall appearance felt sharper and more metallic.
Its roar was much stronger, creating a shock wave that was felt by everyone, including the headmasters.
"Wow… I don't think I've ever seen a monster like that," Laura remarked with a bit of fear.
"Even my Volcanic Doomfire pales in comparison to it," Takashi muttered in awe.
"Still, I get the feeling Barclay has a chance, we just gotta have Glauben," Erhard added.
"Of course he still has a chance," Sera insisted. "Right, Atsuko? …Atsuko?"
Unfortunately for Sera's point, Atsuko was currently too nervous to say anything, and her eyes were glued to the main stage.
Nick tightened his fist, hoping that his friend could stay strong.
"This is gonna hurt…" Barclay grimaced, looking up at the gleaming blades on the dragon.
"More than you know. See, Slash has a very handy special ability; whenever it attacks an opponent, I can equip it with a Warrior monster from the Graveyard for an additional 200 attack points."
As she said this, her duel disk glowed and a phantom of Gearfried appeared on the field. He then vanished into one of the orbs on the dragon's armor.
Red-Eyes Slash Dragon (2800 - 3000)
"Now go show pretty boy what you're made of! Inferno Iron Slash!"
Slash Dragon roared loudly as its orbs started glowing brightly. It flew up, changing from silver to red as it did so, then dove directly towards Drystan. The mach cone that formed around the dragon's head and wings glowed just a little bit brighter, then somehow extended and physically cut the knight down.
Barclay - (5600 - 4400)
Mei - 6200
The monster returned to its spot, roaring at its master's enemy.
"Before I end my turn, I activate the second ability of my Black Stone of Legend; Whenever it's in the graveyard, I can put back one of my Level 7 or lower Red-Eyes monsters back into my deck so I can add it to my hand."
The duel disk glowed red as the two cards were ejected, allowing her to place the stone back into her hand and her other monster back into the deck to be shuffled.
"That's it for me, still think you got a shot at this?"
"He won't give up so easily," Sera muttered as she gripped the armrests of her seat. "He's not the type to get muddled."
He placed his arms down before drawing his next card with a confident smile.
"Until my Life Points hit 0, of course I've still got a shot at this," Barclay replied.
Looking at his hand and taking stock of what he held he came up with a quick countermeasure for the situation he currently found himself in.
"This turn'll be short," he said. "Two cards, one face down and one monster in face down defense mode."
The two cards materialized before Barclay on his side of the field followed by boos and jeers from the spectators.
"HA!" Mei laughed. "Reduced to trying to defend your Life Points with defensive tactics? You'll never win that way!"
She drew but didn't do anything else.
"Now Slash, let's take down that worthless defense of his, attack!"
The beast roared out as it did the same thing again, flying up and attempting to slash at the defense monster once again.
"Oh no ye don't! Go, Storming Mirror Force!" Barclay countered. "All attack position monsters return to your hand. In Slash's case, he goes back to your Extra Deck."
A vicious tornado swirled into existence directly underneath Slash Dragon. It had only a moment to comprehend its fate before being blown completely out of the arena and vanishing.
"Never mind, I end this turn," she grumbled.
Nick released a deep breath in relief, thanking the stars that his friend was still in this.
Barclay drew his next card to indicate his turn.
"I start by summoning Noble Knight Peredur (4/1900/300) in attack mode," Barclay said as he placed the card on his construct. "Next, I'll Flip Summon the facedown monster I had, Noble Knight Artorigus (4/1800/1800)."
First onto the field came a young man with shoulder-length blonde hair and piercing blue eyes. He was clad in silver armor with gold accents and held a long sword in one hand. He came to a stop next to the face-down card and offered his empty hand to the emerging monster. The offered hand was taken by another young man with red-brown hair clad in steel grey armor with less elaborate gold designs on it.
"With two level four monsters on my field, I can now build the Overlay Network to Xyz Summon one of my newest monsters, Starliege Paladynamo (R4/2000/1000)."
Both monsters turned into orbs of light and spun around before entering the dark galaxy that had just appeared on the field. There was a burst of light and a moderate explosion in the center, and a new humanoid monster in sleek white armor and a white and blue jumpsuit emerged. Its sword was thin and transparent like glass, at least until it began glowing like a lightsaber. Blade-like wings and what appeared to be two small cannons on its shoulders only added to its overall futuristic look.
"Now, let's give him Noble Arms of Destiny," Barclay continued.
A second, more "traditional" sword and a silver shield fell from the sky, the former of which Paladynamo easily caught in its free hand.
"Finally, since you have nothing to defend yourself with, Paladynamo will attack directly with Plasma Knight Slash!"
The warrior yelled out as it jumped up into the air with both blades in hand, bringing them together as they both combined into one weapon. He then rushed forward, slashing downward and hitting Mei, who yelled out from the pain.
Barclay - 4400
Mei - (6200 - 4200)
Most of those from Central Academy cheered loudly, a couple even saying how insane that the lazy slacker of Slifer Red was actually a pretty good duelist.
Nick chuckled at their remarks as he looked on to see his friend smiling.
"Way to go, Bar!" Laura cheered with joy.
"That was a great comeback," Erhard added. "He just needs another shot and he's got this."
"But like what Barclay was saying earlier," Atsuko murmured. "Until someone's Life Points become 0, there's always a chance…"
"No matter what she summons next, he doesn't have many monsters without some kind of trick to handle it," Sera assured her nervous friend.
Mei was breathing heavily; despite the holograms not dealing too much damage, the pain still built up after some time. She ignored it however, drawing her next card.
"Not bad…for a Dī Bān. I activate another Red-Eyes Insight."
Two cards ejected themselves from her deck-Red-Eyes Wyvern (4/1800/1600), which she grabbed and placed into her graveyard, and another Red-Eyes Fusion spell.
Everyone in the audience knew what was about to happen.
"Believe it or not, Red-Eyes has an even stronger fusion than Slash Dragon. I use the spell, my Summoned Skull (6/2500/1200), and Red-Eyes Black Dragon to bring that form to life!"
Both monsters appeared on the field and flew into the sky, colliding in a flash of light that was very quickly replaced by a shadow and ominous black clouds.
"Behold my Archfiend Black Skull Dragon (9/3200/2500) and despair!"
A huge demon covered in jagged black bone armor dramatically stepped out of the clouds, dispelling them with every flap of its metallic bat-like wings. Wickedly sharp claws and demon horns gleamed in the light. It snarled at the audience, exhaling a burst of deep red fire.
"Dear God… she's gone an' summoned Auld Clootie…" Barclay exclaimed.
"Now Archfiend, destroy that kělián monster for good with Hellfire Burst!"
The dragon exhaled a pitch-black flame that consumed not just Paladynamo, but the entire playing field in an unholy conflagration.
Barclay - (4400 - 3200)
Mei - 4200
Amazingly, when the smoke cleared, Starliege Paladynamo was still standing and undamaged. Even the silver shield it held in front of its body only looked mildly charred for the amount of fire it'd just taken.
"What the hell?! That knight should be a pile of ash!"
"Normally you'd be right. My Destiny Arms, however, protect my monster from being destroyed once per turn," Barclay replied, sweating a bit.
Mei smirked. "You're not the only one with an ace in the hole. After the battle phase, Archfiend's effect lets me pick a normal Red-Eyes monster in my graveyard and damage you based on that monster's original attack."
"Oh no…" Barclay groaned as he braced himself.
A dark aura surrounded Archfiend. As it roared, a spirit of Red-Eyes Black Dragon emerged from it and shot a fireball at Barclay.
Barclay - (3200 - 800)
Mei - 4200
"That was too close…" Sera gasped. "He needs to get rid of that monster, bsre."
The others could only nod, being on the edge of their seats.
"Get up man! You got this!" Nick yelled out.
"That was a big hit…" Barclay gasped as he got up again, breathing heavily from the impact.
"Still think you can make a comeback with this much of a difference between our skills?" Mei demanded.
Barclay calmed himself, looking at what he had and wondered how he was going to take down the dragon. He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked over to see Gwenhwyfar looking at him.
"You are not alone in this, master; you have more power than you realize," she remarked before disappearing.
The brown-haired teen calmed himself before moving his hand to his deck to draw. The moment he picked up the card, the mark on his hand glowed briefly.
When he looked at it, his eyes widened with surprise, before a smile crept on his face.
"Looks like I can, especially with this."
"What?" Mei remarked in confusion, wondering if he had taken more damage than expected.
"First, I activate my Paladynamo's special ability: By using both of his Overlay Units, I can change a monster's attack points on the field to 0 and negate their effect. And I'm choosing that bloody dragon of yours," Barclay answered.
Both orbs entered into the futuristic sword of the monster, causing it to glow brightly as he then flew straight towards the beast and stabbed it in the chest.
The beast roared in pain as its body started to wither and turn gray. Soon it looked more like a particularly large gargoyle than a fear-inspiring demon.
Archfiend Black Skull Dragon - (3200 - 0)
"Nice, now his monster has more than enough power to take down that dragon," Erhard commented.
"I don't think he's done yet," Laura remarked. "He's still got that 'I just won the lottery' look on his face."
"He must've drawn a great Equip," Atsuko said.
"Since that's where most of his deck's strength comes from, it must be." Sera agreed.
"Next, I summon Noble Knight Medraut (4/1700/1000) in attack mode," Barclay continued.
A young man with blonde hair stepped onto the field. He wore brown clothes under pieces of sun-themed armor and a tattered red cape. His sword also had a sun design as its cross guard. The expression this knight wore was serious and contemplative.
"I think it's only appropriate to use a dragon of my own for the finale. I activate The Claw of Hermos!"
The entire audience, including both Headmasters, gasped aloud. Hermos was one of the three Legendary Dragons, cards so hard to get that some people weren't sure they even existed.
The spell card manifested onto the field, allowing a red dragon with blue wings to appear on the field as it roared.
The dragon was covered in vicious spikes and spines all along its body, as well as a large horn on its nose and two massive teeth sticking out of its mouth. The most noticeable feature of this dragon was the cross scar on its left hand.
"How the hell did you get something like that?!" Mei asked with shock.
"My little secret, but that doesn't matter. Now I fuse Hermos with my Drystan in my hand to bring out a new weapon!"
Drystan nodded as he jumped upward and landed on Hermos, causing the dragon to roar as it flew upward with the knight and glowed brightly.
"Meet Rocket Hermos Cannon (4/1500/1300)!"
A rocket launcher fell downward, landing heavily on the field in front of his monster. It had a long, blue barrel, jutting out of a yellow and black checkered portion attached to the green main body of the weapon. Two different grips stuck out of it, a sight rested on the barrel.
"Now that my new weapon is on the field, I use its effect to equip to one monster on my side of the field, and I choose my Paladynamo."
The monster stabbed its other sword into the ground and grabbed the rocket launcher, holding it with both of his hands.
"Huh, looks like the Noble Knights have picked up some advanced military science," Nick remarked with a chuckle.
"Now it's time to show you what I can really do! Medraut, slay the dragon with Noble Slash!"
The knight drew his sword and rushed forward, jumping up high with a shout and sliced the monster in half, causing it to explode.
Barclay - 800
Mei - (4200 - 2500)
"Now it's time for my new weapon!" Barclay exclaimed. "Go paladynamo, attack her directly with Plasma Rocket!"
The armored monster took careful aim before pulling the trigger and firing a green missile with a yellow and black checkered pattern on it. It impacted the ground directly in front of Mei, exploding into a fiery and smoky cloud.
Barclay - 800
Mei - (2500 - 500)
"We're not done yet, thanks to my Cannon's special ability, I can attack not once, but twice this turn! So let it rip one more time!"
The monster nodded and took aim once more, pulling the trigger and shooting another green missile right at its target, hitting its mark and knocking down Mei for good.
Barclay - 800
Mei - (500 - 0)
The entire arena was silent for several moments, no one quite believing what had just happened. Soon Ward's heels clicked softly against the floor as she approached her victorious student.
"Round one to Central Academy and Barclay Fyfe!" She grabbed his hand and raised it like a prize-winning boxer's.
And so goes the first round of the academy duel, quite a show wouldn't you say? Will Nick be able to take down her sister or will he fall in this important duel? Stay tuned to find out, and happy new year to everyone. Also a quick apology for taking so long to post, things have been hectic and Lee is having some real life stuff that may cause us some set-backs, but we will do our best to keep posting.
Translations
Di Ban - Low Class
braw - good, brilliant
Báichī - idiot
Kělián - pathetic
Auld Clootie - the Devil
Glauben - Faith
bsre - Quickly