Yo! Hope you all are ready to see Sartorius shit himself in fear in this chapter! Like in Emperor, I do not want to rely solely on Jaden to save everyone and will have others step up to meet the challenges set before them. Enjoy!
Sartorius shuffled his tarot deck once more, scowling as he placed the cards on the table. The revelations that someone had manged to alter fate AGAIN had his ire at full. Flipping the first card, he once more saw it was the woman with the lion, right side up.
The Strength. A card depicting inner power, a will that would not bend to anyone. It gave humans untold power and mental prowess unmatched. Sartorius scowled. He had to find out who was the Strength! They had foiled his plans to lay Jaden down low. Before, he had seen the Reaper and Fool, the Reaper upside down. He had thought that meant Jaden had finally broke.
"But then this...Fate once again spirals out of control! I must find out who the Strength is...and the answer is at Duel Academy." Sartorius snarled, standing up.
One phone call later, he was booked on a flight to the island. He was going to get to the bottom of this! The Light would not be denied!
EODGX
Jaden sat down for his Duel 301 with Professor Sweet. Many of the SoL were there, the classroom split into two. On the left was the SoL and the right had everyone else. Jaden saw Alexis in that ugly white uniform, her face hard as stone. Aster was sitting next to her, a smug grin on his face. Seeing that Jaden was looking their way, he wrapped his arm around the former Blue Queen. Jaden tensed, clenching his fists.
He would not give in. That was what Aster wanted. The king looked away, the anger smoldering in his eyes. Once he had, Alexis grabbed Aster's wrist and twisted it, not enough to break it, but to make it painful. Said boy grimaced, gritting his teeth.
"I only agreed to this contact to get under his skin, even then it was for as long as he looked. He's not looking, so hands OFF." Alexis hissed.
Aster quickly did so, rubbing his wrist. It didn't go unnoticed as they had thought. Jasmine and Mindy saw, both nodding at one another.
EODGX
Jason Sweet had finished teaching his classes for the day. He and the rest of those unaffected by the Light continued their planned resistance, making the SoL think they were still reeling in shock. In actuality, they were reassembling their decks and readying for war. Walking down the road to the Slifer Dorm, he paused, seeing Jaden hurrying by.
"Jaden? Where are you-?" Jason began, Jaden cutting him off.
"I'm heading for the Ruins, Professor Sweet. There is something there that can aide us greatly." Jaden called back, not breaking his stride.
Jason watched the boy go, nodding. Out of all of them, Jaden had lost the most. Alexis, if the legends were to be believed, was the one that the Light had possessed the last time. History seemed to be repeating itself, but the professor knew that was not happening. Jaden was determined now.
Chuckling, the man walked to his office. As he got closer, he saw a man standing just outside. Confused, the professor walked up to the man.
"Excuse me? I do not recognize you." Jason asked.
"Ah, forgive me. My card." The man said, handing Jason a business card.
The young man took it and looked it over. The name 'Sartorius' jumped out at him and tensed. This man was the reason things were so crazy! Still...this was a good opportunity to get some much needed info or scare the fear of the beyond into him.
"Ah, pleasure to meet you, Mister Sartorius. Can I offer you some tea?"
"That would be quite lovely."
Showing the man to his office, Sartorius took a seat. Jason prepped the tea, finally bringing it to the waiting man. Two cups poured and the two were sipping. Jason eyed Sartorius critically. The man was pale skinned, the sclera a tad yellow with the irises being a deep purple. Already, Jason could tell something was off with the man.
"Tell me...why come to the island now, Master Sartorius?" Jason said, making the man quirk his eyebrow.
"I beg your pardon?"
"You can beg, but you will never have it. I detest cowards who rely on children to do their own dirty work. I don't know how you convinced the three to join you, but I know you had something to do with it." Jason stated coldly.
The coldness gave Sartorius pause. There it was, the gentle will of iron in the man's voice. He was certainly the Strength all right, but he needed a test. Seeing this, Jason narrowed his own eyes. What was that man up to?
Sartorius's eyes glowed brightly, staring into Jason's own.
"Perhaps you can tell me about...Jaden?" The man whispered, gleefully.
He entered the mind of the professor, looking around. When he turned, he saw a large maw full of razor sharp teeth. His astral self was ripped to shreds, making the man yelp and collapse back into his chair, staring in shock and a bit of fear. Seeing this, Jason smirked.
"Well, if only your little club can see you now, trembling and afraid. What, find something you didn't like in my head?"
Gritting his teeth, Sartorius stood. Clearly, the professor before him was far more powerful then he had anticipated. He needed to get the man on his side and fast! He got back up, smiling.
"Well, I will admit to have something to do with some incidents on the island. However, what those I have enlightened done with those gifts is all them. But...if you want, I will duel you. Should you win, I will do everything in my power to return them. Should you lose-"
"I become enlightened as well." Jason said, glaring at Sartorius. "Alright, you got your match."
All Sartorius did was smile.
EODGX
Word spread through the Red Dorm about the duel and all the students turned out for it. Sartorius looked at the duel disk, a look of confusion on his face. Jason though saw right through it. Realizing he had been found out, the man placed his deck on. Both players drew their opening hand.
"Duel!" Was the cry the students and two men gave out.
Sartorius: 8000/Jason: 8000
"I'll let you start, Sartorius." Jason announced, making many of the Red Dorm look at him in shock.
"That's the guy who started all this SoL hoo-ha?!" Bonnie demanded.
"He's responsible for Sal..." Maurice growled.
"Miles..." Fiona seethed
"Alexis..." Jasmine and Mindy snarled.
"Anthony..." Bonnie hissed.
Sartorius ignored it all, drawing his card. Looking at it, he saw it was Reversal of Fate. Adding it to his hand, he chose another monster.
"I play Arcana Force One – The Magician."
(Arcana Force I – The Magician – LV/****, Attribute/LIGHT, ATK/1100, DEF/1100, Type/Fairy/Effect.
When this card is Summoned, have your opponent call 'stop' while a hologram of this card spins above. If Right-side up, this card gains the Right Side Up effect, if Reverse, this card gains the Upside Down effect. ● Right Side Up: When a Spell Card is activated, this card's ATK becomes double its original ATK until the End Phase of that turn. ● Upside Down: When a Spell Card is activated, your opponent gains 500 Life Points.)
The Magician was a gray skinned monster with outlandish pants and vest. Once the monster appeared, the card of the monster appeared above it, spinning. Jason frowned, knowing what these cards were.
"I know their effects, no need to explain. Stop!"
The card slowed to a crawl. Everyone groaned as it landed right-side up.
"Great, now it'll have twice the attack power when a spell is played." James snarled.
"I will set three cards facedown and end my turn. Make it count, Mister Jason."
"Oh, I will." Jason said, drawing his card.
Seeing he had drawn his signature spell, he played it right away.
"Red-Eyes Fusion! I send from my deck to the grave, Red-Eyes Black Dragon and Meteor dragon! Descend from the stars and crush my foes...METEOR COMET BLACK DRAGON!"
(Meteor Comet Black Dragon "Red Eyes B. Dragon by effect of Red-Eyes Fusion" - LV/*******, Attribute/DARK, ATK/3500, DEF/2000, Type/Fusion/Dragon/Effect.
1 Level 7 "Red-Eyes" monster + 1 Level 6 Dragon monster
If this card is Fusion Summoned: You can send 1 "Red-Eyes" monster from your hand or Deck to the GY, and if you do, inflict damage to your opponent equal to half the original ATK of that monster. If this card is sent from the Monster Zone to the GY: You can target 1 Normal Monster in your GY; Special Summon it.)
Comet Black Dragon was a massive dragon coated in molten rock and fire. A long tail swished behind it, its maw breathing gouts of fire while red-eyes stared down Sartorius. The man was shocked to say the least. He was even more shocked when a meteor came out of nowhere and crashed into him, revealing it to be Red-Eyes Archfiend Skull.
Sartorius: 6750
"That's the effect of my Comet. I can send one Red-Eyes monster from my deck or hand to the grave and you take half that monster's ATK as damage. But I'm not finished yet!"
"Before you can attack, I use my facedown, Tied Fate."
(Tied Fate – Type/Trap/Normal.
Select 1 monster you control. If it is destroyed in battle, destroy the monster that destroyed it. This effect lasts until the End Phase.)
"Thanks to this trap, my Magician dies, your Dragon dies too." Sartorius said, a pair of purple rope appearing between the two.
"Shame I wasn't gonna attack! I play Inferno Fire Blast!" Jason roared, Sartorius' eyes widening.
"You don't have a Red-Eyes Black Dragon in play."
Here, Jason smirked. From Comet Dragon's mouth, a blast of fire surged out, slamming into the psychic. He roared in agony from the explosion, wondering what had happened.
Sartorius: 3250
"Surprised? Its a secondary effect of my Fusion. Any monster I use it on has its name treated as Red-Eyes Black Dragon."
"Awesome! Professor Sweet just knocked out a shit ton of Sartorius' life points!" Harry exclaimed in joy.
"That's the Hellfire Duelist for ya!"
Hellfire duelist? Where had Sartorius heard that name before? Jason placed a monster facedown followed by two facedown cards, ending his turn. Sartorius drew, seeing that he had drawn a card he really needed right now.
"I play Pentacle Ace!"
(Pentacle Ace – Type/Spell/Normal.
When played, have your opponent call 'stop' while a hologram spins. If Right-side up, apply the Right Side Up effect, and if Reverse, apply the Upside Down effect. ● Right Side Up: Draw 1 card. Gain 500 Life Points. ● Upside Down: Your opponent draws 1 card. Your opponent gains 500 Life Points.)
Once more, the card started to rotate. Jason called out Stop and it landed right-side up. Sartorius drew a card, looking at it. It was another Arcana Force monster.
Sartorius: 3750
"I play Arcana Force Seven – The Chariot in attack mode!"
(Arcana Force VII – The Chariot – LV/****, Attribute/LIGHT, ATK/1700, DEF/1700, Type/Fairy/Effect.
When this card is Summoned, have your opponent yell 'stop' while a hologram of this card spins. If Right-side up, this card gains the Right Side Up effect, if Reverse, this card gains the Upside Down effect. ● Right Side Up: When this card destroys an opponent's monster by battle, you can Special Summon that monster to your side of the field. ● Upside Down: When this card is destroyed by battle, Special Summon this card to your opponent's side of the field.)
The Chariot appeared, a multi-limbed monster with three blasters on its head. Jason watched the card, calling out stop. Landing upside down, Sartorius chuckled.
Magician – ATK/1100 → 2200
"Now, I play Fate's blessing."
(Fate's Blessing – Type/Spell/Normal.
Increase your Life Points by the sum total ATK of all monsters you control face-up.)
"That means he nearly gains back all the life points he lost!" Syrus shouted.
Sartorius: 7650
"Now...my Chariot attacks your Comet!"
The tri laser struck at the monster, but it was battered back by one of the claws of the larger beast. Sartorius grunted, his life points dipping.
Sartorius: 5850
The Chariot reappeared on Jason's side of the field, the man grunting. The card spun, Sartorius shouting stop. The card ended up upside down once more. Magician attacked the facedown, a tiny egg appearing. Before ending his turn, Sartorius played another spell.
"Suit of Sword X."
(Suit of Sword X – Type/Spell/Effect.
When played, have your opponent call 'stop' while this card spins. If it lands Right side-up, apply the Right Side Up effect, and if Reverse, apply the Upside Down effect. ● Right Side Up: Destroy all monsters your opponent controls. ● Upside Down: Destroy all monsters you control.)
The card artwork had several swords under a crescent moon. In keeping with the Arcana series, the card rotated. At the command of stop, it landed...right side up.
A rain of swords came down on Jason's side of the field, skewering Comet and Chariot. The pair of monsters blew up, Jason covering his face. There was a bright glow from Sartorius's side of the field, the dust clearing to reveal another card.
"My Ace of Wand trap." Sartorius said, a hungry look in his eyes.
(Ace of Wand – Type/Trap/Normal.
Activate only when a monster(s) is destroyed by a card effect. When played, have your opponent call 'stop' while this card spins. If it lands Right side-up, apply the Right Side Up effect, and if Reverse, apply the Upside Down effect. ● Right Side Up: The controller of the destroyed monster(s) gains Life Points equal to the total ATK of the destroyed monster(s). ● Upside Down: Inflict damage to the controller of the destroyed monster(s) equal to the total ATK of the destroyed monster(s).
The trap spun around. Jason just shook his head, declaring stop. Once more...the card was upside down. The wand blasted Jason, but the man merely stood his ground.
Jason: 2800
"Professor!" All of the red cried out.
"I'm fine." Jason said, the smoke clearing to reveal his Meteor Dragon.
"What?! But how-?"
"Comet Dragon's effect. I can revive a Normal monster in my grave when it gets sent to the grave."
Sartorius ended his turn, Jason drawing. Seeing it was one of his newest cards, he smirked. He first played Pot of Greed, gaining another two cards. Seeing that they were what he needed, he revealed the monster. Sartorius cocked his head.
Why did he hear the song 'Break the Chain' by Takayoshi Tanimoto in the air?
"Everyone...meet my Rokket Synchron!"
(Rokket Synchron – LV/*, Attribute/DARK, ATK/0, DEF/0, Type/Dragon/Tuner/Effect.
When this card is Normal Summoned: You can target 1 Level 5 or higher DARK Dragon monster in your GY; Special Summon it in Defense Position, negate its effects, destroy it during the End Phase, also you cannot Special Summon monsters from the Extra Deck for the rest of this turn, except DARK monsters.)
Rokket was a tiny dragon covered in cyber looking armor. Jason explained the tiny monster's power. When normal summoned, he could target one level five or higher DARK dragon monster in his grave to the field. Red-Eyes Dragon appeared, crouching around its master. Sartorius blinked; why bring that monster out? He got his answer when Jason tributed it.
"Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon! Rise!"
The jeweled monster appeared, roaring. But Jason wasn't done yet.
"I tune my level one Rokket to my level six Meteor Dragon!"
The tiny dragon glowed, becoming a ring. Meteor flew through it, six stars appearing in the ring.
"Sartorius!" Jason roared, the man looking at him. "The closer you get to the light, the deeper and blacker your shadow becomes! Now...meet the first of my shadows! Crimson Dragon with Black Eyes!"
(Crimson Dragon With Black Eyes – LV/*******, Attribute/DARK, ATK/2000, DEF/2400, Type/Synchro/Dragon/Effect.
1 DARK Tuner monster + 1 or more Non-Tuner monsters.
If this card is Special Summoned: Select 1 Dragon-Type monster in your deck, GY or Extra Deck. Summon it, ignoring whatever summoning conditions it has. A monster summoned by this effect cannot attack on the turn it was summoned. Once per turn, during your Standby Phase: You can target 1 Normal Monster in your GY; Special Summon it.)
A massive Red dragon descended, its black eyes glaring at Sartorius. It looked EXACTLY like Red-Eyes Black, only reversed in terms of color. Suddenly, a shine came next to Jason, making him smirk.
"My Crimson Dragon allows me to bypass any summon restrictions on any of my monsters. I chose from my Extra Deck...Shadow Dragon with Crimson Eyes!"
(Shadow Dragon with Crimson Eyes – LV/********, Attribute/DARK, ATK/2800, DEF/2400, Type/Synchro/Dragon/Effect.
1 Tuner + 1+ non-Tuner Normal Monsters
If this card is Special Summoned: Select 1 "Red-Eyes" monster in your hand or Deck. Summon it, ignoring all summoning requirements. As long as this monster remains face-up on the field, all DARK Dragon-Types are unaffected by your opponent's card effects. Once per turn, you can discard 1 DARK monster from your hand; destroy monsters whose DEF is equal to or less then this monster's ATK.)
Shadow Dragon with Crimson eyes matched Crimson Dragon with Black Eyes in terms of body build. But unlike Crimson, Shadow Dragon was literally a dragon made entirely of shadows, its crimson eyes glowing brightly. It let loose a screech, Jason smirking, a portal opening behind him. Sartorius looked on in shock at what he was seeing in the portal.
"What-?"
"My Ace. The reason I became the Hellfire Duelist. I summon...RED-EYES DARKNESS METAL DRAGON! HELLFIRE! ARISE AND BURN ALL TO CINDERS!"
Everyone watched as the legendary beast appeared, roaring. Everyone cheered at seeing it, thinking it was due to Shadow Dragon and they were right. Sartorius was beyond shocked; he had foretold that the duel would end in his favor. Yet he was staring down four powerful Dragons.
Darkness Dragon – ATK/2400 → 3900
Darkness Metal – ATK/2800 → 4800
"SARTORIUS!"
The psychic looked at Jason, the man holding a card aloft.
"I play...Dragon's Pride!"
(Dragon's Pride – Type/Spell/Quick-Play.
Select 1 Dragon-Type monster on the field. Increase its attack power by the sum total of all other Dragon-Types. Only the selected monster can attack this turn.)
Dragon's pride had an image of several dragons on it, only one was roaring though as energy flowed into it from the rest of the dragons.
"I choose my Hellfire! Now, it gains Darkness, Crimson and Shadow's power!"
Darkness Metal (Hellfire) – ATK/4800 + 3900 + 2000 + 2800 → 13,500
At seeing the amount of attack points, everyone cheered! Jason had won! Sartorius saw it then. The fiery will and unyielding might. Even if he had won...the man before him was too strong in willpower. He would not have succumbed to the Light at all. Looking down at his facedown, he frowned looking at his hand.
"The Strength indeed..." He muttered, struggling hard not to show the one thing that the king could use.
Fear.
"Hellfire! Nova Scorch Shot!"
Darkness Metal aka Hellfire roared, charging forward. In its maw was a bright orange light, fire in the center. Sartorius snarled, watching the attack sail at his monsters. The orb grew in size and intensity, both Magician and Chariot becoming consumed by it. Sartorius roared out in pain, his facedown flipping up. He discarded The Strength, the card glowing.
The explosion was heard all the way at the White Dorm, many gasping as the explosion consumed the entire right side of the island. Everyone at the Red dorm got out from behind the stands, staring.
Jason and Sartorius stood, Jason's face one of pure rage, Sartorius panting hard.
Jason: 0/Sartorius: 0
The duel was a DRAW.
"What the?!"
"How!?"
"No way..."
Syrus saw a lone card on Sartorius' field and pointed it out. Everyone looked at it. The card showed a mirror, one side intact, but the other side shattered.
"My trap card...Mirrored Fate."
(Mirrored Fate – Type/Trap/Normal.
Discard 1 card from your hand. Inflict damage equal to the amount you took to your opponent's Life Points.)
"I guess...this duel is no one's favor." Sartorius said, the dragons vanishing.
"Wrong. It's in my favor. Know why?" Jason said, glaring at the man.
At the shake of the psychic's head, Jason smirked.
"I made you afraid. I proved that your power holds no sway over me. I hope you're prepared, Sartorius."
Here, the man looked confused.
"Prepared for what?"
One word tumbled from Jason Sweet's lips, every single one of the Slifer Reds behind him.
"War."
That made Sartorius take a step back. Jason took several steps forward, the man backing up again.
"Because we're not going go quietly into that night. We are going to fuck. You. UP."
Sartorius fell on his butt, staring down the man's gaze. Sad to say...he blinked and scrambled away. Everyone watched the man leave in a rush, upset that Jason hadn't won, but proud of their professor for showing the crazed leader that they were not going to cower before him like some boogeyman.
"Let's get to work...we got a war to win." Jason said, turning to the Red Dorm.
EODGX
In the white dorm, everyone was celebrating. Their master had finally arrived. Ian, Jerome, Amelia, Aster, and Alexis greeted the man. He had transferred in as a third year, much to Edgar's delight, hoping to use both him and Aster's fame to promote the Academy. Said man was currently waving to the cheering SoL.
But all through it all, Sartorius couldn't help but feel a sliver of fear enter him. Despite him having Aster...Fate was spiraling into chaos. The duel with Jason had shown him that the man was not to be trifled with...and he was allied with Jaden.
It was going to be a hard fought war...but Sartorius was confident in the Light.
Whew~! Talk about intense! First blood has been drawn and Sartorius is running scared! Hope you all enjoyed this chapter! And...expect more of fake Aster and Alexis. Again, this is to get under Jaden's skin. After all, an angry enemy is a predictable one and that is what Sartorius hopes to make Jaden.
I know you all would have wanted Sartorius to lose, but I still have plans for him. Rest assured, the Light of Ruin will get what's coming to him.