Author's Notes: Not a lot that I wanna say just yet, but only that this chapter is centered on Jake's perspective which was a lot of write on. Anyway, enjoy the read.
Chapter 4:
Armed 'n Faires
In the few days since we all arrived on Duel Island made one thing clear to me from the perception of most of the students from the other dorms. No faith was present amongst any of the students that resided in the Kuriboh Dorm because they'd be regarded as the bottom of the barrel. It may have been the dorm with the most capacity of students,but one that wasn't the fanciest by design. A series of log cabins that circled around each other like a mini village near the edge of the cliffside, but also because a lot of the people here just barely squeezed into Duel Island. I couldn't really care less what anyone else said because just being in this place felt like a dream, and it's one I've currently lived in so proudly. It was also because Shaggy and Rory always made an effort to have breakfast with both Lucian and I each morning because we all felt that immediate closeness and connection from the 3 days we spent on the ship that brought us over to our new home. Whenever breakfast was done we all went to our daily sessions with one of the professors.
A majority of the new students and upperclassmen students were called forth to the Duel Arena for today's session by Dr. Nora - the chaperone of The Emperor Dorm. Shaggy, Rory, Lucian, and I took the middle seats in the bleacher section of the arena while The good professor took the center stage for what was about to take place with our respective duel disks on.
"In today's session we will be conducting an analysis test for each and every one of the new students that are present here in the duel arena." Dr. Nora extended his hand to a few of the upperclassmen off to the side, "These students have already experienced this previously and one of them will be evaluating your duel today."
A hand shot up in the air from one of the classmates with maroon hair and yellow eyes, "Question, Professor Nora, doesn't this kind of defeat the purpose of the entrance exam we took?"
He nodded towards the classmate, "A good question there, Emilio."then towards the rest of us in the stands, "Who would like to address this concern?" as another hand quickly shot up in the air, "Yes, my dear?"
"The entrance exam was meant to see how quickly we could adapt a deck we were unfamiliar with." Rory answered proudly next to my best friend, "This analysis will be based on how our skills apply with the deck we've personally built."
Dr. Nora clapped his hands, "That is exactly why this test is taking place." then drew out a mini device from the pocket of his jeans, "It's also why every new student here was restricted from showcasing or dueling with their own deck to others until today." and pressed a button that caused a tiny beep to go off for a second.
"Where is that coming from?" Lucian asked.
Shaggy looked over, "If I had to guess..." under the seats, "It's coming from there." and lifted a metallic transmitter.
"Now that you mention it..." I nodded from the direction he pointed toward, "What's this doing under our seats?" where I also lifted the same device under my own seat along with the others.
Lucian asked, "Ours aren't exactly on so what's the deal?"
"Whichever transmitter goes off means that student has been chosen for the test." Dr. Nora extended his hand in my direction, "So if you would Jake, come on down to the stage."
"Y-Yes sir!" I quickly got up from my seat in the stands all the way to the arena center stage where Professor Nora stood, "Which place would I be?"
Dr. Nora pointed over to the right, "Over there, my boy!' then tapped the mini device in his hands causing the device to go off after he took the transmitter from me, "As for who your opponent will be?"
"Oh my gosh!" a soft timid voice yelled as a transmitter fell from the hand of a girl, with frizzy pink hair and green eyes, in a light red tank top over a maroon t -shirt and blue denim skirt quickly rushed to where I stood by the Professor, "I'm sorry for accidentally dropping this Doctor Nora."
He shaked his head politely, "Don't be alarmed my dear..." and took the device from the student as well, "You are free to take your spot on the field."
She quickly bowed, "Y-Yes sir!' and then made her way onto the other side of the field when her eyes met with mine, "It's a pleasure to have this duel with you umm..."
"My name is Jake Sunday, and it's gonna be great to have this duel with you too umm.." I pointed over to myself very happily, "I'm sorry what's your name?"
The pink haired girl with freckles blinked curiously, "Oh umm.. My name is Cherry Valkyrie,sorry I should've introduced myself first."
I waved my hands around, "No no, it's okay really we've never really met before."
"As for the student who will be evaluating your duel- that will be this fine young man over here." Dr. Nora pointed over to the turquoise haired guy who wore a gray buttoned down shirt who stood momentarily.
"It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, My name is Chad, and I will be your duel evaluator!"
Cherry and both said, "Nice to meet you too!"
Dr. Nora gave him a simple nod as a sign he took to sit back, and began to walk off from the field, "It's time, you both took the center stage for your test!"
She nodded politely, "Y-You're right Professor Nora..." then gazed in my direction, "Hmm shall we finally get this duel started?"
My eyes shot up in excitement, "Absolutely!"
"In that case..." She echoed the same remark just as each of our respective duel disks activated simultaneously with the holographic projectors underneath the field being lit up.
JAKE SUNDAY: 4000 LP
CHERRY VALKYRIE: 4000 LP
"LET THE DUEL BEGIN!" We both yelled after the both of us drew five cards..
"If I were you, I'd let the lady go first..." The spirit of Armed Dragon Lv appeared next to me.
A vein popped from the side of my forehead, "What do you think I was going to do?"
Cherry blinked, "Umm.. I have no idea what you were gonna do!"
"Oh don't mind me..." I answered awkwardly with my hands waved around, "Nothing to see here." my eyes dimmed towards the duel spirit, "See what you just did."
"Just listen to advice... Loser!" Armed Dragon Lv3 cackled ecstatically then quickly disappeared.
"Umm ... okay then..." Cherry raised her eyebrow in confusion.
I couldn't help but sigh, "It's fine... I was just gonna let you make the first move."
TURN 1: CHERRY VALKYRIE
"Oh... Well thank you for the offer." Cherry drew the top card from her deck and added it to her hand then observed them quickly with a nod, "Okay I will place a monster face down on the field in defense mode and then end my turn." A holographic image of a face down card materialized on her side of the field.
Cards left in Cherry's hand: 5
Cards left in my hand: 5
TURN 2: JAKE SUNDAY
"Alright, it's my move." I drew the top card from my deck and added it to my hand. Only to give each card a quick glance before a decision was made.
Time Seal, Level Down, Sangan, Rebound, Miracle's Wake, Last Trick
Armed Dragon lv3 whispered, "if you ask me, this one is really simple."
"I was just about to get there." I picked out one single card from my hand, "I'm gonna my good buddy Sangan onto the field in attack mode." Sangan materialized on my side of the field...
Sangan: LV:3 ATK:1000 DEF: 600
"This little guy!" Cherry answered curiously.
I nodded, "Yup, and he's gonna go straight for your facedown monster." I reached my hand out as Sangan attacked her facedown card that unveiled a fluffy pink marshmallow with a smile on it's face, "Oh no!"
"Oops, I would've been careful with that attack if I were you!" Cherry giggled happily and extended her hand out, "Because since you attacked Marshmellon face down, you lose a thousand life points and my monster can't be destroyed in battle."
"Oh man, this early on..." I sighed with my head down in disbelief.
LP: 4000 decreases to 3000
"Got anything else in mind?" Cherry asked.
"... I'll lay one card facedown, and end my turn." I continued.
Cards left in my hand: 4
Cards left in Cherry's hand: 5
In the crowd...
"I would've been more careful with that last move." Lucian said.
Rory nodded, "You've said it, I get that Jake was excited about showcasing his actual deck to us,but that... I don't know.."
Shaggy remained calm in observance without saying a word.
Back to the fields...
Currently:
JAKE SUNDAY: 3000 LP
CHERRY VALKYRIE: 4000 LP
TURN 3: CHERRY VALKYRIE
"Since it's my turn again, I'll draw!" Cherry drew the top card from the deck to her hand rather quickly, "Now I will summon Dancing Fairy to the field." A holographic image of a small brunette angel with wings appeared on her side.
Dancing Fairy LV:4 ATK:1700 DEF: 1000
"I don't like where this is going..." I said quietly as a drop of sweat fell from my face.
Cherry pointed her hand forward with a wink, "Apologies in advance, but Dancing Fairy attack his Sangan" as her little fairy attacked my monster before it disintegrated from the field.
LP: 3000 decreases to 2300
That left me to catch my breath, "Dang..."
"I'll end my turn with a face down... It's your turn now..." Cherry answered softly.
In the crowd...
"What is he doing?" Lucian asked.
Rory bit off the edge of her nails, "I know, the duel just started and Jake is almost down to nearly half his life points."
Shaggy continued to remain calm, "You've got this!"
Rory looked at him curiously, "I hope you're right."
Back to the fields...
Currently:
JAKE SUNDAY: 2300 LP
CHERRY VALKYRIE: 4000 LP
"First off, Thank you for destroying Sangan because now I can use it's special effect..." I looked through my deck, "I can search for any monster in my deck that has fifteen hundred or less attack points, and add it to my hand." then add said card to my deck before placing it back in the duel disk for it to auto reshuffle.
"Any level 1500 or lower monster?" She asked.
I nodded, "Yup!"
"What could it be..." Cherry wondered.
Cards left in Cherry's hand: 4
Cards left in my hand: 5
TURN 4: JAKE SUNDAY
"You're about to find out..." I drew the top card from my deck and added it to the other cards in my hand, "Perfect just what I needed to turn this duel around."
Sweat fell from the side of her face, "That... doesn't sound good at all..."
"It sure doesn't because right now I summon Armed Dragon Level 3 to the field in attack mode." Armed Dragon Lv 3 materialized onto my side of the field.
Armed Dragon LV3 LV: 3 ATK: 1200 DEF: 900
Cherry caught her breath, "Only twelve hundred attack points... You almost scared me cause I was honestly expecting something worse."
"Never said that my turn was finished yet.." I said confidently.
"Huh?"
I lifted a card in the air that began to glow and gently inserted it into the duel disk, "I now activate the spell card Swords of Revealing Light!"
"Oh no!" Cherry's eyes widened as three giant glowing swords surrounded her side of the field, "Not that..."
A grin smiled on my face after I wiped the sweat off my forehead, "I think that about does it for now!"
Cards left in my hand: 4
Cards left in Cherry's hand: 4
In the crowd...
"He bought himself some time!" Lucian exhaled air from his mouth, "Way to make us worried like that!"
Rory giggled while noticing a grin on Shaggy's face, "You had a feeling this whole time, didn't ya?"
Shaggy glanced over to the teal green haired girl next to him, "In a sense, but even so... he's only just getting things warmed up."
Rory nodded, "Especially with that Armed Dragon Level 3 on his side!"
Lucian said, "Then again, there's still Cherry's end of things to consider too."
"Yeah." Shaggy crossed his hands with a keen eye towards the pink haired girl, "There's something else to her..."
Back to the fields...
Currently:
JAKE SUNDAY: 2300 LP
CHERRY VALKYRIE: 4000 LP
"You've certainly made this duel interesting now, Jake!" Cherry's eyes glowed at the sight that stood before her side of the field.
That left me with a tiny smile, "I'm glad I can make it worthwhile!"
"But as they say, the duel isn't finished yet." Cherry continued with her finger on her dueling deck.
"You're right on that!" I continued.
TURN 5: CHERRY VALKYRIE
"Let's kick off the festivities shall we?" Cherry drew the top card from her deck and added it to her hand with a quick observation, "First, Summon Dunames Dark Witch to the field!" a red haired angel with white wings in a maroon armored dress materialized on her side of the field.
Dunames Dark Witch LV: 4 ATK: 1800 DEF: 1050
Armed Dragon Lv3 quickly turned his head back, "Good thing that spell card came in handy!"
I nodded, "Thankfully, my life points are safe from harm."
"For now..." Cherry observed her hand once more to the left, "I'll end my turn with one card face down, and switch Dancing Fairy into defense mode." a face down card materialized behind Dunames Dark Witch and the tiny fairy kneels her knees.
Cards left in Cherry's hand: 3
Cards left in my hand: 4
TURN 6: JAKE SUNDAY
"Since it's my turn now, I draw!" I drew the top card from my deck as a mystical glow surrounded Armed Dragon Level 3, "You know what time it is, buddy?"
Armed Dragon Lv 3 nodded, "oh yeah, I was born for this!" as his entire body glowed brightly like the sun.
"Now that my standby phase is currently in place, that gives me the opportunity to send Armed Dragon Level 3 to the graveyard, to summon..." I sent the card to the graveyard with another onto the field just as my monster grew twice his size as the tone of its skin went from a bright orange to dark red, "Armed Dragon Level 5!"
Armed Dragon Lv5 crunched its fist with a loud roar, "YEAH!"
Armed Dragon Lv 5 LV: 5 ATK: 2400 DEF: 1700
"Twenty four hundred attack points!" Cherry's eyes widened and looked towards her monsters, "That's strong enough to destroy my monster..."
I smirked with a slight chuckle, "You better that's what is about to happen!" and extended my hand towards her monster, "Go Armed Dragon Lv5, attack her Dunames Dark Witch!"
Armed Dragon Level 5 sends out a barrage of blades towards Dunames Dark Witch that led to mist illuminated throughout the field momentarily, "With that I think we... huh?"
I raised an eyebrow, "That's impossible..." as the mist cleared up as her monster still stood on the field, "Dark Witch should've been destroyed."
"You're right... She would've been..." Cherry moved her hand to the side as a face down card revealed itself, "Had it not been for my trap card; Dimension Guardian!"
I was dumbstruck at the sight, "Dimension Guardian?"
"It's a powerful trap card that protects any monster on my side of the field from being destroyed by card effects, or by battle." Cherry explained with her hand close to the chest, "Lucky for you is that I still take the battle damage."
CHERRY VALKYRIE LP: 4000 decreased to 3400
Armed Dragon Lv5 roared in anger, "So freaking close..."
All I could do was shake my head, "Don't worry, we're still in this..." and then to the cards in my hand, "I guess that's all we can do for now."
Cards left in my hand: 4
Cards left in Cherry's hand: 3
In the crowd...
"Yes, he was able to pull off a good move there!" Lucian said.
Rory pointed out, "Yeah, but what I don't understand is why Jake didn't use Armed Dragon Level 5's effect. Doesn't that just seem kind of strange to ignore a useful effect like that?"
Shaggy nodded, "On the surface it may look that way, but I've got a good idea as to why he opted to not rely on Level 5's special effect."
Lucian continued to observe the field, "That's true plus there's the other effect with Armed Dragon Level 5, but the only way to approach that is-"
"In that case yeah, I see the approach, but so far..." Rory's eye went towards the pink haired girl who stood opposite to me, "Cherry's shown that she can hold her own, and it's like you said Shaggy, there's more to her deck than what we've seen so far."
Shaggy looked towards Rory, "You're absolutely right about that, Rory. but we have to remember that no deck is perfect, there are many ways to counteract against a duelist and their deck..." then towards the anxious look I had on the field, "Which... I've got a hunch that Jake is trying to uncover that for himself."
Back to the fields...
Currently:
JAKE SUNDAY: 2300 LP
CHERRY VALKYRIE: 3400 LP
TURN 7: CHERRY VALKYRIE
Cherry drew the top card from her deck, "It's my move!" then observed the other cards in her hand as a mystical aura surrounded her.
CHERRY'S LP: increased from 3400 to 4400
"Hold up, how did your life points suddenly go up?" I asked in confusion.
The pink haired girl giggled with her hand extended towards the tiny fairy, "It's thanks to Dancing Fairy's special effect... You see, as long as it remains face on my field in defense mode then my life increases by one thousand points during each of my standby phases."
"No wonder why you switched it into defense mode during your last turn." I answered in total shock.
Cherry removed two monsters from her duel disk into her card graveyard, "Yup, but now it's time I kick it up a notch by sacrificing Marshmellon and Dunames Dark Witch to summon... Splendid Venus!" Marshmellon and Dunames Dark Witch disappeared from the field as a shining bright light appeared of a four-winged angel in a golden armor with a staff in her hand.
Splendid Venus LV: 8 ATK: 2800 DEF: 2400
Armed Dragon Lv5's ATK simultaneously decreased from 2400 to 1900, & Defense decreased from 1700 to 1200.
"What's going on?" Armed Dragon Lv5 asked in confusion.
I quickly nodded, "How come my monster's attack and defense suddenly dropped?"
Cherry passed her hand over to the armored fairy, "It's Venus's special ability, for every non-fairy monster on the field loses 500 attack and defense points."
"Good thing you still can't attack me!" I said confidently thanks to swords of revealing light surrounding her field.
She tapped her finger against her cheek, "Don't be so sure about that because now I activate Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy swords of Revealing Light!" as the three bright swords disappeared from her field..
"Without swords on the field..." I realized what was ahead on her side of the field, "Oh my god..."
Armed Dragon Lv5 growled, "Ya better got something..."
All I could do was step back, "Wait..."
"Sorry, I am not backing down from this..." Cherry pointed in the direction towards my monster, "Venus, destroy his Armed Dragon Lv5!"
Venus directed a blast towards my Armed Dragon as he roared, "Shoot..." before being digitized into pieces off the field.
I grunted, "Ahh!"
LP: 2300 decreased to 1400 life points.
Cherry took a deep breath, "And with that I end my turn by playing Pot of Greed to draw two cards from my deck" She immediately drew the top two cards from your deck, "Now... it's your go!" while I stood on the field completely frozen with my head down.
Cards left in Cherry's hand: 3
Cards left in my hand: 4
In the crowd...
"Just when things were starting to look good!" Lucian smacked his hand against his forehead.
Rory nodded in shock, "That girl sure has one tricky deck!"
Shaggy's eyes pierced as his eyes widened, "I'm certain... there's a way... there just has to..."
Rory's eyes drifted to Shaggy as sweat fell from the side of his face, "Hey, it's gonna be alright..." with her hand on top of his left hand gripped onto his pant side.
"Let's hope..." Shaggy answered quietly with his full attention towards the field, "Come on bro, pull yourself together!"
Back to the field...
Currently:
JAKE SUNDAY: 1400 LP
CHERRY VALKYRIE: 4400 LP
"Umm it's your turn..." Cherry answered softly towards the stunned stance I had left myself when that happened, "J..Jake?"
"Sorry, but..." I reached my hand out towards the field quickly, "I activate my face down card..." The face down card on my side of the field raised up, "Miracle's Wake!"
It glowed brightly that left Cherry to conceal her eyes, "What is that?"
I exhaled oxygen from my mouth briefly, "It's a trap card that allows me to bring back a monster that was destroyed in battle..." as Armed Dragon Lv5 returned onto the field.
"But why? He's still going to be affected by Venus's special effect!" Cherry pointed out.
Armed Dragon Lv5's ATK decreased from 2400 to 1900,and DEF decreased from 1700 to 1200.
TURN 8: JAKE SUNDAY
"I'm well aware of that, but it's a bet I'm willing to make!" I confidently drew the top card from my deck and just smiled, "Just the card that I needed..."
Armed Dragon Lv5 glanced back,"Make it count... fool!"
"Count on it, buddy!" I raised the card high in the air, "I activated the spell card, Reload!" and quickly sent it to the card graveyard, "Thanks to this, I can send all the cards in my hand back into the deck, reshuffle it and draw the same number of cards I have now!" The cards I held went back in my hand as the duel disk auto reshuffled before I redrew the same amount again.
"Let's hope this works!" Armed Dragon continued.
I glanced at the four cards that were drawn from my deck, "Now that's what I call a hand..."
"Umm.. I hope you're bluffing there?" Cherry gulped quietly.
"Not the case because I activate the spell card Level Up!" I showcased the card momentarily as the mystical glow shone around Armed Dragon Lv5's body, "Which allows my monster to grow once more!" I sent the card from the duel disk into the graveyard, and stacked the card from my hand onto the duel disk monster zone.
Armed Dragon Lv5 chuckled with a backflip, "LET'S DO THIS!" as it grew in size once more and moved behind me.
"That's... Not good!" Cherry answered in shock at the monster that stood before her.
I smiled with excitement, "Say hello to Armed Dragon Level 7." as my monster roared.
Armed Dragon Lv7 LV: 7 ATK: 2800 DEF: 1000
Cherry quickly pointed her finger over to my field, "But don't forget about Venus's special effect."
Armed Dragon Level 7's ATK decreased from 2800 to 2300, and DEF decreased from 1000 to 500.
"I'm well aware of that, but it's not gonna stop him from destroying your Dancing Fairy!" I directed my monster to where a scared Dancing Fairy stood in defense mode.
"SAY YOUR PRAYERS, LITTLE FAIRY!" Armed Dragon Level 5 swiped its fist against her monster as it shattered away off the field as she screamed innocently!
"Good move there... At least that's what I'd like to say..." Cherry giggled to herself quietly.
CHERRY'S LP: increased from 4400 to 4900.
"How is that girl gaining more life points?" Armed Dragon Level 7 roared in confusion.
I raised an eyebrow, "It has to be an effect from Dancy Fairy... right?"
Cherry quickly shook her head, "Not exactly because it was all thanks to my other facedown card.." as the remaining facedown card on her field lifted up, "Fairy Virtue, it allows me to destroy up to three fairy monsters on the field, and I gain 500 life points for each one sent to the graveyard." and quickly disappeared from the field, "D-Do you have anything else?"
"I'll just lay one card face down..." A face down appeared on my side of the field, "and end my turn."
Cards left in my hand: 2
Cards left in Cherry's hand: 3
In the crowd...
Lucian slapped his fist against the palm of his left hand, "There's like no end to this.."
"It's like any time Jake gets the opportunity to do something then somehow... Cherry is able to find a way to use it to her advantage, but I still don't understand one thing..." Rory kept her gaze towards Shaggy's sigh of relief, "Why isn't he utilizing Level 7's special effect, Shaggy? You probably know something..."
Shaggy gripped onto the side of his sleeve, "I know why he's not using it, but that particular method has always had a drawback, and it's only done more harm to him so far... "
Back to the field...
Currently:
JAKE SUNDAY: 1400 LP
CHERRY VALKYRIE: 4900 LP
Armed Dragon Level 7 growled, "What a bust..." as he looked towards my direction, "
"It's the only thing we can do." I faced the monster that stood on her field, "Besides, she's the one problem that still remains..."
TURN 9: CHERRY VALKYRIE
"It's my turn..." Cherry's eyes glowed as soon as she saw the card drawn from her deck, "I summon Injection Fairy Lily!" and place it onto her duel disk as a pink haired angel, in a nurse's outfit with a heart symbolized top cap, materialized onto the field as she held a giant injection needle in her arms.
Injection Fairy Lily LV: 3 ATK: 400 DEF: 1500
"Who's ready for a check up?" Injection Fairy Lily winked which left my monster in laughter.
Armed Dragon Lv7 pointed over, "That little pipsqueak... She's a... total cutie!" as hearts surrounded his iris.
"Oh boy... pull control yourself!" a vein popped off the side of my head toward once I pointed over to the monster on her field, "I have a feeling those looks aren't for show."
Armed Dragon Lv7 froze and squinted his eyes, "For once.. You've got a point!"
"Now I activate Lily's special effect!" Cherry dashed her hand off to the side, "By sacrificing two thousand of my life points, Injection Fairy Lily gains an additional three thousand points."
"THREE THOUSAND!" My jaw immediately dropped in shock.
Armed Lv7 growled, "Definitely not good..."
CHERRY LP: decreased from 4900 to 2900
Injection Fairy Lily's ATK increased 400 to 3400.
"OH YEAH, BABY!" Lily shouted very cheerfully with her injection centered towards my monster sadistically, "I'd watch out if I were you now!"
Armed Dragon Lv7 peered his head towards me, "Tell me, you got a plan!"
"Yeah... About that..." I came to a halt with my attention on the new monster on Cherry's side of the field, "Oh boy..."
Cherry snapped her fingers quickly, "Lily let's give that oversized Dragon a check up!"
"You've got it, my princess!" Injection Fairy charged directly upwards near my monster's lower neck area, "This is gonna sting a little."
I instantly shouted with my hands towards the field, "We weren't quite ready for an injection there but now... I activate my facedown card!" as the card lifted upwards, "Armed Dragon Thunderbolt!"
In an instance thunder sparked instantly within the palm of Armed Dragon Lv7's claws, "Sorry doll face, but this dragon ain't going down!"
"Huh?" the pink haired angel curiously answered just as the thunder from his hands struck her instantaneously, "AHHHH!" and faded away off the field.
Cherry's eyes fell in shock at the sight, "LILY!" then to the monster behind me, "What did that trap card do?"
I took a deep breath and smiled, "See, I get to pick an Armed Dragon on my field, and it gains one thousand attack points for every other Armed Dragon in my graveyard..."
"Y...You've got only one on the field, and..." She quickly glanced towards the graveyard, "There's only two other Armed Dragons in your graveyard... Oh my god..."
Armed Dragon Lv7's ATK increased from 2300 to 4300.
CHERRY'S LP: decreased from 2900 to 2000
Armed Dragon Lv7 growled silently, "Nice work!"
I nodded towards the giant dragon with a smile then redirected my attention at the pinked haired girl, "Got anything else?"
"Hmm..." Cherry observed the cards in her hand, and placed a card in the duel disk slot momentarily as it materialized onto the field, "I activate the spell card Dian Keto The Cure Master which increases my life points by one thousand."
"Oh come on..." a vein popped off the side of my forehead, "Ughhh... This is so uncool!"
CHERRY'S LP: Increased from 2000 to 3000.
The spell card disappeared from Cherry's side of the field, "I'm done... Now it's back to you..."
Cards left in Cherry's hand: 2
Cards left in my hand: 2
In the crowd...
"He nearly gave us a heart attack just now.." Lucian swallowed his gulp after what happened on the field, "I mean considering what was about to happen..."
Rory sighed in relief, "I'm just glad that Jake found a way to sustain himself a little longer because that girl is just... something else."
Shaggy remained calmly, "Let's see what you're gonna do next, bro!"
Back to the field...
Currently:
JAKE SUNDAY: 1400 LP
CHERRY VALKYRIE: 3000 LP
The thunder energy around my monster disappeared instantly as he pierced directly at my gaze, "We got lucky that last turn, but now... we something else, Jake!"
Armed Dragon Lv7's ATK decreased from 4300 to 2300.
"I know... I know.." I said in annoyance towards Venus on the field and how she held onto the grip of her shirt.
"Sorry but... ummm I believe it's your turn.." Cherry waved over politely.
TURN 10: JAKE SUNDAY
I set my two fingers at the top of the deck, "Come on deck!" then quickly drew the card with my eyes shut and swinged it across with only a single glance... "Alright then..." as I looked up towards my monster, "You ready for this, pal?"
Armed Dragon Level 7 roared in excitement, "Do you even have to ask?" as it's body glowed brightly just as he had done before, "LET'S DO THIS!"
Two drops of sweat fell off Cherry' face instantly, "You gotta be kidding me, he's still growing!"
The glow around Armed Dragon disappeared once his wing sprouted, and his arms extended out even further as his jawline grew out slightly while large drills emerged from his knees!
"Say hello to ARMED DRAGON LEVEL 10!" I yelled with absolute excitement.
Armed Dragon Lv10 Lv: 10 ATK: 3000 DEF: 2000
Cherry clenched her fist, "Hey, don't forget about Venus's special effect..."
"I don't even have to worry about your monster anymore!" I answered confidently.
Her jaw hung briefly, "Y-You what?"
I sent one card from my card to the card graveyard, "I use Level 10's special ability, by discarding one card from my hand, He can automatically destroy every face up monster on your field!"
"Oh no!" Cherry answered with concern as Venus shattered into pieces before it disappeared from her field, "W-with my monster off the field that means..."
My finger pointed over to Armed Dragon Lv 10, "My monster is perfectly safe, but also..." then towards her side of the field, "There's nothing left to defend you and your life points anymore!"
"Uh..." Cherry took a single back in fear at the growled sound from the only monster left on the field.
At that moment, I smirked with pure confidence, "Army, it's time we wrapped this up!"
Armed Dragon Level 10 chuckled away, "It's about... TIME!" and let out a mighty roar that generated a mighty blow across the arena towards my opponent.
"AHH!" Cherry grunted just as she quickly fell on her bottom.
CHERRY'S LP: decreased from 3000 all the way to 0.
I quickly took a deep breath as Armed Dragon Lv10 began to slowly fade away from his legs to his face, "Couldn't have done it with you, thanks Army!"
Armed Dragon LV10 grinned momentarily, "We did this-Together!" and disappeared completely.
I nodded, "We sure did!"
"Ow!" The frizzy pink haired girl cried softly from a far that lent me to rush over towards her side without a thought, "That kinda hurt!"
I reached out to her, "Hey there, you need a hand?"
'Umm.. Yes..." Cherry blinked once her hand met mine just as she slowly got back up on her feet, "T-Thank you for that Jake, and... S-Sorry for earlier!"
That was when I shook my head calmly, "It's all good everyone gets caught up in the heat of the moment during an intense duel!"
"Y-yes of course you're right about that, except..." Cherry's eyes drifted away from me, "I wanted to um..." and clapped her hands together, "I wanted to apologize for the other day.."
My eyebrows raised, "I'm lost now... this is the first time we've ever met!"
She shook her head swiftly, "No no no... We've just properly met today, but the truth is you and I met before this."
"We did?" I continued.
Cherry nodded nervously,"It was the first day we made it to the Island just shortly after the ship docked, and..." as her eyes slowly tilted up towards me, "When everyone was making their way off... I-I accidentally bumped into you from behind!"
"OH MY GOD! That was you..." My eyes widened in shock as I quickly faced my faced my head down embarrassingly, "I should be the one to say sorry..."
"But why, you didn't do anything wrong?" She blinked.
I took a deep breath, "No no... it's just I might've sounded mean to a..." then caught a glimpse of her grassy green eyes and her tiny freckles underneath that left my cheeks flushed, "Umm.. a sweet girl like you!"
"Aww..." Cherry clapped her hands together happily, "Thank you, Jake!"
My heart skipped a single beat, "D... Don't mention it." as I scratched the back of my head nervously.
"Good work,you two performed well in kick starting this first Analysis Test!" Doctor Nora walked over to us with a smile, "Cherry my dear, I was particularly amazed by how kept us all on edge with that deck."
Cherry bowed her head humbly, "Um... Thank you Doctor!"
Doctor Nora noticed how I bit the side of lip, "At ease Jake Sunday, there's nothing to fear.. You also did well in this test. There were some areas you could improve on, but stood out the most to me was your drive to keep going until the end."
I echoed the same remark as Cherry did towards our instructor, "I'll try my best to improve on that, sir!"
"Chad my boy, would you have anything to add for their performance?" Doctor Nora asked.
"Not at all Doctor N." Chad shook his head calmly with a grin, "For a couple furballs. they're just fine!"
Doctor Nora nodded, "Appreciate the feedback!" and tapped both of our shoulder sides, "You are both free to return to your seats."
"Thank you, Professor!" The two of us looked up and smiled briefly.
Back at the stands...
Shortly after, Cherry and I walked back up to the stands to our respective spots before the analysis test between us had started. She sat up above the row where I had been where Lucian, Rory, and Shaggy had been.
"That was one heck of a comeback Jake!" Lucian clenched his fists together, "We almost thought you were gonna lose- ow!" He cried as Rory nudged his side.
Rory pierced her eyes at her old friend, 'Hey I was concerned, but never did I think Jake was gonna lose. That was all you, Lucian!" then pointed her finger towards me, "Also pal, why didn't you utilize any of Armed Dragon Level 5 or Level 7's special abilities?"
"You couldn't really do anything with the cards in your hand, I take it." Shaggy answered calmly, "That's essentially what had happened, right?"
I just chuckled very awkwardly, "You got me there... I couldn't really do much to utilize their other effects!"
Lucian and Rory both said, "That explains so much!"
A distortion sound went off momentarily from the remote Doctor Nora held that caused everyone to cover their ears before it was adjusted. "Apologies for that my students, I didn't mean to hurt your ears, but it's time we continued on with the analysis tests!" and pressed the center button, "Which of you will be next?"
the same beep from one of the transmitters went off, and this one was extremely close to the student to the left of me who sat very calmly.
"I'm next!" Shaggy quickly turned to all of us , "Just after your test, what are the odds of that?"
Lucian laughed, "if you ask me it's like a reversal from the entrance exams."
"Hey, you're gonna rock out there." Rory shot out her fist towards him.
Shaggy bumped his fist against hers, "Thanks Rory!"
"Best of luck Bro!" I raised my hand out.
He tapped his hand against mine, "It's time I finally showed off my deck!" and slowly made his way to the field where Doctor Nora was in the center, "I believe this goes back to you Doctor Nora!"
Dr. Nora took the transmitter from Shaggy, "Thank you Shaggy, and now you'll be over on that end!" and pointed him towards the left of the duel field.
"You've got it!" Shaggy walked over and readied himself on the field.
"Now as for your opponent that will be partaking in this test with you..." Dr. Nora waved the remote in his hand to the side as the sound of a single beep went off from one of the transmitters in the stands.
Lucian looked around, "I wonder where it's..." until he looked over... "Coming from..."
My jaw fell instantly upon realization, "Woah..."
"I..It's me!" Rory's voice broke as she covered her mouth, "I'm Shaggy's opponent!"
Time that I've addressed one proper thing when it came to the content of what was covered in this chapter, and that was simply nothing was cut from all the notes I had written. The previous two chapters I had written had a couple things that were removed from the chapter, but this one had everything I wanted to tackle from start to finish. Now admittedly, I did aim to finish writing this chapter by last Monday at least it was until I was halfway through the duel between Jake and Cherry during their duel analysis test, and that is simply because I wanted take my time writing out this duel and really showcase the strength of Cherry's deck against Jake.
Speaking of Jake, this is was obviously the debut of Jake's true deck which was something I had lightly teased back in Chapter 2 with the duel spirit of Armed Dragon Lv3 hanging around him. All of that had been building to this very moment, and boy was it a lot of fun to just also write their dynamic while the duel had been underway. That being said, the finale of this duel was always intended with Armed Dragon Lv10 ending the duel and it was totally unintentional that the duel ends with turn 10 when Jake summoned him. At the same time, I do wanna say that what was showcased from Jake's deck was only 14% of the cards he holds. There is still a lot more to his deck that I plan to showcase at another time in the story. Also, that brings be over to Cherry Valkyrie's character who I conceptualized as a shy, clutsy character on the surface, but she showcases bits of her persona through the duel. I found that part of Cherry to be one that compliments with Jake, and what I can say is there's a lot of moments in mind between them.
The ending of this chapter was something I was really looking forward to write because with Jake, as I stated before, there were a few hints I threw in the second chapter as to what his true deck was. However, Shaggy was the one character I purposefully left vague to add that sense of intrigue for what it could be, and that is going to be unveiled at last with the next upcoming chapter. Now as to why Rory will be the one to duel Shaggy for the next analysis test... You'll just have to wait and see, but I will say that Chapter 5 will focus back on Shaggy's perspective again which is gonna be exciting to write out, and I can't wait for you guys to read it. For the time being, that is all I gotta about for now when it pertains to the characters and this story, please feel free to share your thoughts and as always thanks for reading!