It was a beautiful weekend at Central Academy, and a certain purple-haired Ra Yellow decided it was the perfect day for him and his dueling monster friends to go and spend some quality time in the lake. He picked up his old Slifer Red jacket and put it on. While he was provided with a new Ra Yellow jacket, he opted to keep his old one because of its sentimental value alone. He looked at the purple sleeve that was patched by Sadie and smiled.
He walked over to his bed stand and picked up his deck and duel disk; however, when he lifted the stack of cards, he could feel that it was slightly bigger and a bit heavier than before. Curiosity got the better of him, and he started to go over the cards. The Main Deck seemed normal, save for a few Xyz support cards here and there, including a card called The Phantom Knights' Rank-Up-Magic Launch. He wasn't too surprised upon seeing some Xyz support cards here and there, given what he saw during his duel against Chazz.
The Extra Deck, however, was a whole other can of worms, whereas before it consisted of only Fusion Monsters, and Dark Rebellion and Dark Requiem now had eight more Xyz Monsters.
And the new monsters were:
Number 70: Malevolent Sin - Rank ✪✪✪✪ (4)
Number 66: Master Key Beetle - Rank ✪✪✪✪ (4)
Number 14: Greedy Sarameya - Rank ✪✪✪✪✪ (5)
Number 53: Heart-Earth - Rank ✪✪✪✪✪ (5)
Number 21: Frozen Lady Justice - Rank ✪✪✪✪✪✪ (6)
Number 92: Heart-eartH Dragon - Rank ✪✪✪✪✪✪✪✪✪ (9)
Number 35: Ravenous Tarantula - Rank ✪✪✪✪✪✪✪✪✪✪ (10)
Number 84: Pain Gainer - Rank ✪✪✪✪✪✪✪✪✪✪✪ (11)
Oleander was staring at his new cards with his jaw hanging wide open. He had Number Monsters, Upon reading their effect, he noticed that they lacked "Numbers Protection" meaning any monster could destroy them. Wait, if he has Number Monsters, shouldn't they try to take over his mind or whatever? But nope, he waited for a few seconds and didn't feel the need to cause destruction and havoc.
As much as the purple-haired Ra Yellow tended to ignore the bizarre occurrences that happened around him, this was just too much. Strapping his trusty duel disk to his forearm, he picked Dark Rebellion's card and promptly slapped it in the machine, and from a flash of purple light, the Heavenly Dragon of Xyz Summons was now before him in all of its glory.
"Hey buddy, good morning." Oleander greeted his friend with one of his signature two-finger salutes, to which the dragons responded by emitting a metallic noise from the back of his throat. "Quick question: do you know why all of a sudden I have a bunch of Xyz monsters? Including Number Monsters?" Oleander asked his friend while showing the cards to the mighty beast.
The dragon lowered his head to meet the cards being presented, where he then proceeded to stare at them for a few minutes, occasionally shifting his gaze to Oleander before swiftly returning to the cards. After what felt like an eternity for the heterochromatic Ra Yellow, the dragon pulled his head back while shaking it, causing Oleander to visibly deflate with disappointment.
"Are you sure buddy?" He asked while placing the cards in his Extra Deck before crossing his arms he had a bit of a forlorn look on his face which caused Dark Rebellion to shamefully lower his head.
"Hey calm down, I'm not upset" The purple-haired duelist reassured his friend while taking a step forward and wrapping his arms around Dark Rebellion's chest, or as much as he could anyway "You don't know anything about it? That's okay" He reassured his friend with a gentle squeeze.
The dragon reciprocates the gesture by wrapping his arms around Oleander's back, taking a great deal of care for the sharp talons not to hurt the purple-haired Ra Yellow. After a few seconds, the heterochromatic duelist pulled away from the Heavenly Dragon.
"Feeling better?" He asks his friend with a reassuring smile, to which the dragon responds with a short metallic-sounding grunt, and Oleander takes that as a yes. "By the way, we will be going to the lake today, so maybe we can get to know our new friends!" He clasped his hands together visibly and audibly, excited at the prospect of meeting more monsters.
"I will organize a few more things, I will summon you and the others at the lake, okay?" He said while tiling his head to the side a pleasant smile plastered across his face, to which Dark Rebellion responded with a nod as Oleander removed the card from his duel disk.
The purple-haired Ra Yellow waved his friend goodbye as the dragon's body started to disappear amidst a golden smoke and wisps of purple energy, and once Oleander was truly alone, he cupped his chin thoughtfully, knowing that with new monsters in his possession, he'd need to make slight adjustments to his plans.
While he was sure that the new monsters wouldn't disobey him mid-duel, he still felt the need to make them feel welcome to his deck, and what better way than a day by the lake where they can get to know the other monsters in his deck? And besides, he could summon the bigger monsters like Guardian Chimera and Triphyoverutum, because while the rooms provided by Ra Yellow were a significant step up from the ones in Slifer Red, they could still barely fit his Heavenly Dragons.
While he was sure that not even the rooms up in Obelisk Blue wouldn't be able to fit every single monster in his deck, they would surely be able to accommodate all of the Predaplants and the Four Heavenly Dragons, meaning he'd need to give his all on the next promotional exam in order to give his duel monster buddies a place they deserve.
But that is something for future Oleander to worry about. Right now, he was about to head to the lake for a meet-and-greet with the new monsters and to spend some quality time with his friends. However, there was another question: should he call Sadie?
He hasn't seen her ever since he was promoted, and besides, he wanted to take that opportunity to give her a proper explanation about the Heavenly Dragons and how there's one more that just so happens to have yet another summoning method never seen before.
While part of him argued against that saying, It is too reckless to tell her about Clear Wing, another part of him argued that she's Oleander's only human friend, therefore she deserved to know the truth, but she didn't need to know the part where he came from another world where all of this was designed to sell a children's card game; he didn't need her having a possible existential crisis.
He pondered that question for a few minutes and ultimately decided that he was going to be honest with her. All he needed to do was explain that the Heavenly Dragons were his friends; he was sure that she'd understand, and who knows? Maybe she will even befriend them too!
Picking his PDA he opened Sadie's contact.
{Sadie Agawa - Online}
{Today}
-Oleander Hemlock: Hey Sadie! Good morning. 7:33 AM
-Sadie Agawa: Morning Ollie, how's it going? 7:33 AM
-Oleander Hemlock: I was thinking of going to the lake near your dorm. I want to spend some time with you and give you a proper explanation about the Heavenly Dragons. 7:34 AM
-Sadie Agawa: Okay, now you have piqued my interest, I will meet you there. 7:34 AM
Okay, sure, he didn't explain to her the whole reason for why he was going to the lake; however, at this point, she should expect something like that from him, but he'd be lying if he said he wasn't nervous for how she might react to the dragons, but again, she deserved to know the truth.
It's like his mother once told him when she caught him lying, "I'd rather you tell me the ugliest truth than the prettiest of lies" and that's something that stuck with him ever since, and besides, it's too late to back down, so after smacking his cheeks, he put on a brave face before leaving the room.
[At the lake near the Obelisk Blue girls dorm]
Upon arriving at the lake, Sadie was quick to spot Oleander, who was still wearing his old Slifer Red jacket. However, her coworker wasn't alone; he was accompanied by his three dragons. She was particularly alarmed upon seeing that red dragon, Odd-Eyes Dragon. However, she was quick to notice that the dragon was laying its head on top of Oleander's lap, its dual-colored eyes closed.
Truth be told it was a very strange yet interesting sight to behold, the dragons seemed to be genuinely at peace near Oleander, however she wasn't there for sightseeing, he promised her answers regarding his dragons.
"Hey Ollie." She greeted him once she closed enough distance to make her voice heard, and as if in perfect synch, Oleander and his three dragons turned their heads to face Sadie at the same time.
"Hey there, boss lady." Oleander greeted her while flashing a smile and launching a two-finger salute in her direction. He gave Odd-Eyes a gentle pet on the head, making the dragon lift its head from his lap and allowing the purple-haired Ra Yellow to get up.
"So, you're gonna explain to me about the new dragon and summoning method?" She crossed her arms under her bosom and looked straight into Oleander's dual-colored eyes, her expression was a serious one.
"I will do a bit more than that," He stated while extending a hand. "Let's sit by the lake, then we can talk." He smiled at her, however there was something different to his smile. It didn't carry the usual air of mockery, it was a genuine one.
And that caused Sadie's serious expression to soften as she took the hand that was being extended to her, and so both of them, accompanied by the ´Heavenly Dragons´, a name that Oleander absolutely insisted on using when addressing them, walked to the lakeshore.
Once they arrived at the lakeshore, Oleander finally explained the deal with his dragons, and he indeed didn't hold anything back; he went into details about how he came across Dark Rebellion, which creeped Sadie quite a bit, especially the part about being impaled.
He then proceeded to explain that there is a fourth dragon that has yet to appear and just like Dark Rebellion it also brought with it a summoning method never seen before, though he didn't go into details about that supposed new summoning method.
"How do you know all of this?" She finally asked after an extended period of awkward silence between them.
"Honestly? I don't know," Oleander stated while placing a hand on Starving Venom's head and stroking it, which caused the dragon's mandibles to flap a bit. "But strange as it sounds, I feel a kinship to the dragons." Starving Venom leaned more on Oleander's touch while closing his eyes.
Sadie's gaze then shifted from Oleander to Odd-Eyes. The red dragon was lying beside the purple-haired duelist, since his lap was being occupied by Starving Venom, hesitantly, she extended her hand forward and placed it on the dragon's head.
Odd-Eyes jolted his head a bit but once he realized what Sadie was doing settled down once more and actively leaned on her touch, the red plates on the dragon's neck were pleasantly warm to the touch and Sadie would be lying if she said it wasn't adorable seeing Odd-Eyes' tail wag in a fashion similar to a dog.
"You treat them like they are your family." She joked while getting an amused look on her face once she started to scratch a particular spot on Odd-Eyes' chin, causing the powerful back legs of the dragon to twitch a bit.
Suddenly, Oleander felt sad after hearing that. He did, in fact, miss his family a lot—the gentle words of his mother, the bickering he used to have with his younger brother, and most importantly, his father's guidance.
His sudden change in mood did not go unnoticed. Sadie removed her hand from Odd-Eyes and placed it on her friend's shoulder, snapping him out of his little reminiscing moment.
"Are you okay?" She tilted her head to the side while moving her hand from his shoulder to his hand, giving it a gentle squeeze.
"Don't worry, it's nothing." He declared while giving her a reassuring smile
"Are you sure?" She shifted her position so she could face him. "If you want to talk with me about anything, I will always be willing to listen." She cupped his chin while smiling warmly.
"Anything huh?" He said with a mischievous demeanor while reaching for his deck box and pulling the "Tenderness" monster card, "Let's talk about the day you pinned this to my door." A glint of amusement flashed across his eyes.
"So you figured it out." She spoke, her voice suddenly a lot quieter than it used to be, but somehow she expected that to happen; after all, she didn't exactly keep a low profile regarding how she felt about Ollie.
"Ever since I found it, actually." He chuckled lowly to himself as he placed the card back in his deck. "And like I said before, I really appreciate the gesture." The purple-haired duelist placed a hand on top of hers, which was still on his cheek.
At this point, the Heavenly Dragons figured that it was time to give the two lovebirds some time, lifting themselves from their master's lap. Starving Venom and Dark Rebellion dragged Odd-Eyes to a nearby tree; it wasn't too far where Oleander and Sadie would be out of their sight, but far enough to give them privacy.
"Why didn't you speak sooner?" At this point, her face was read as a tomato, yet she couldn't look away from his dual-colored eyes—those beautiful eyes of his.
"I just thought it would be funny to tease you for a bit." He admitted, with the smile carved in his face growing a bit more, "But I already had the idea of revealing it to you." He tenderly stroked her hand.
They just stood there silently looking into each other's eyes; time itself seemed to slow down, and far in the distance, the three Heavenly Dragons were watching intently what would happen next. Odd-Eyes was practically vibrating with anticipation.
Finally, after what seemed to be an eternity, Sadie leaned in and locked lips with Oleander, with the latter wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her deeper into the kiss as they fell backwards.
Their makeout session got interrupted when they heard a roar, breaking the kiss and spotting Odd-Eyes jumping up and down, only for Starving Venom to deliver a powerful smack to the back of the dragon's head, causing him to fall face first into the ground.
They stared flabbergasted at the violet dragon, who gave them a short nod. Dark Rebellion, in the meantime, took upon himself to pull his fellow Heavenly Dragon from the dirt. He did so by grabbing him by the tail and effortlessly lifting the dizzy dragon before wiping away some dirt that stained the dragon's otherwise spotless red plates.
"Now I get why you like them so much" She giggled before rolling to the side and allowing the purple-haired duelist to sit once more "So, what did you think?" She asked while fixing her hair.
"My first kiss" He brushed his index finger across his lips looking thoughtfully for a second before allowing himself to smile "It was every bit as good as people make it out to be" He extended his hand forward and cupped her cheek
"So what do you wanna do now?" She asked while nuzzling on his touch.
"This morning, more Xyz monsters appeared on my deck." He explained while removing his hand from her cheek, reaching for his deck holster, and pulling the new Xyz monsters. "And I wanted to meet them; wanna do that with me?" He tilted his head to the side.
"Do you really need to ask?" She beamed at him, now that she confirmed that he in fact reciprocated the feelings she felt, as if a weight were lifted from her shoulders.
The heterochromatic duelist got up and offered her his hand, which she took, and with that, the newly formed couple made their way towards the Heavenly Dragons. Once everyone was together, Oleander picked one of the monster cards, that being Number 70: Malevolent Sin, and slapped it into his duel disk.
After a bright flash of light that temporarily blinded everyone, a new creature was standing in front of them. It was a giant blue spider with the number "70" engraved on the arachnid's abdomen. The creature's eight eyes curiously analyzed the young couple and the dragons behind them.
"Hello there" Oleander spoke in a soft voice as he approached the overgrown arachnid "My name is Oleander Hemlock, nice to meet you" He got on his knees and extended his hand forward as if he wanted to shake one of the spider's legs.
Number 70's eyes were now focused on the purple-haired duelist's extended hand, her head twisting left and right, carefully analyzing it. After a few more seconds, the monster extended one of her front legs into Oleander's hand.
Normally Sadie would've freaked out by the sight of a giant spider in front of her, who wouldn't, but something told her that there was nothing to fear because she knew Oleander wouldn't allow it. She felt something to her side, and upon looking down, she saw Odd-Eyes nuzzling on her hand, smiling. She started to pet the dragon.
The rest of the day went by in a blur, with Oleander summoning more and more of those new monsters, each more bizarre than the last. There were two more spiders considerably bigger than Number 70; a tri-headed dog with the number 14 stamped on its backside, which Sadie immediately fell in love with; a giant golden beetle; and a tall structure with the number 53 stamped on its right arm. Its glowing yellow orb was housing some kind of serpentine creature.
"Okay, last one" Oleander said, sleepiness being audible in his voice as he held the card known as Number 21: Frozen Lady Justice in his fingers which was promptly placed in his duel disk.
A flash of light and a tall woman with white hair appeared. Her outfit consisted of a dark blue chest plate and a mini-skirt. On her legs were two pristine white thigh highs, with the right one having the number 21 boarded; hanging from her waist was a sword, and her white and blue cape was gently swaying in the breeze.
"Hello" Oleander greeted the Paladin with a friendly nod and a disarming smile. "My name is Oleander Hemlock." He extended his hand.
"Oh, so you're my new master, huh?" She spoke in an unimpressed tone as she crossed her arms. Oleander and Sadie were looking at the monster with a shocked expression.
"D-did you just talk?" The purple-haired Ra Yellow questioned the monster, getting a deadpan look in return.
"What do you think?" She crossed her arms and rolled her eyes, clearly taking offense to what she just heard.
"Sorry, it's just that I wasn't expecting you to talk." He scratched the back of his neck in an awkward manner. "Most of my monsters can't talk at all." He jerked a thumb at the other Xyz monsters that were still hanging around.
"So you found out that when you talk to a person, said person talks back to you." She gave him a chilly look. "Did you find out by yourself, or did someone tell you the answer?" Sarcasm was overflowing with each word that came out of her mouth.
"Okay, that's enough." Sadie spoke as she strode to where the icy monster was and pointed a finger dangerously close to her face. "He already apologized; no need to tear into my boyfriend." She was surprised not only by her own words but also by how she spoke them.
"Oooh, this kitten has fangs." An amused smile appeared on her face as she tapped her chin. "I like you. Wanna partner up?" She proposed while extending a hand.
"W-what?" All of Sadie's anger was replaced with sheer confusion.
"I asked: Do you want to partner up?" She motioned to her extended hand; her smile now completely faded, instead being replaced with a slightly annoyed expression.
"Aren't you, you know, one of Oleander's cards?" She inquired while crossing her arms and looking at the extended hand with clear suspicion.
"So what? You seem more fun to hang out with." Came the response, accompanied by a smug expression.
"But I don't know how to do this Xyz summon." She countered but stopped once she felt Oleander's hand on her own; he gave it a gentle squeeze.
"I can teach you." He spoke with a disarming smile plastered on his face. "And trust me, it's not that hard." He leaned in and kissed her forehead.
"How will that work?" Sadie asked while crossing her arms.
"Since the Overlay Network doesn't exist in this world, you wouldn't be able to summon me." She smacked her lips. "However, there's a workaround that would allow us to bypass that restriction." The icy Paladin explained while wagging her finger.
"And that is?" Sadie motioned for her to continue.
"You would need to allow me to perform something called spiritual integration." Number 21 stated while poking Sadie in the forehead, munching to Sadie's shagrin. "In other words, my spiritual form will fuse with your soul, allowing you to perform Xyz summons." She finished the explanation with an exasperated sigh.
"However, I will warn you, kitten, once we go through this process, there's no going back; I will be a part of you for all eternity and vice versa." She warned; her voice and face are now a lot more serious.
"Has anyone ever undergone this spiritual integration?" Sadie asked with hesitation in her voice.
"I heard some rumors about a guy in Ancient Egypt doing that a long time ago." The Paladin stated this while poking her chin. "What was his name? Mahoud? Mavaliu?" Eventually, she simply shrugged and gave up trying to remember.
Oleander knew who she was talking about; in the last arc of Duel Monsters, Mahad, Atem's closest friend and right-hand man, fought against Bakura and Diabound. During the fight, he fused his Ba and Ka to create Dark Magician.
"Why would you want this?" Sadie questioned, "Wouldn't that mean you would be stuck with me for all eternity?" She pursed her lips, and Oleander couldn't help but agree that what was being offered was extreme.
"Trust me, kitten, being stuck with a human for all eternity is a lot better than returning to the Spirit Realm." Number 21 admitted while hugging her sides and shuddering a bit.
"I need time to think about this," Sadie said while letting a huge sigh escape her lips.
"Fine" The icy Paladin said with a huff "But the offer still stands if you ever change your mind." She then turned to Oleander and removed her own card from his duel disk, with her disappearing shortly after.
Deciding that it was time to close shop, Ollie removed all the cards in his duel disk before deactivating the machine, but not before waving goodbye to all of his monsters as they started to fade, and after a few seconds, the only people there were Oleander and Sadie.
"I'm going back to my dorm room; do you want to come?" Oleander asked his now girlfriend, with a playful smile on his face, "Heard they were going to premiere a new episode of "C" Squad today." He spoke the last part with audible excitement.
He liked the "C" Squad because of his undying love for super sentais. Back in his old life, he and his father would spend hours watching stuff like Power Rangers, Kamen Rider, and, of course, Jaspion.
"You don't need to ask." She answered while taking his hand on her own.
And without any more words, the newly formed couple trekked their way back towards the Ra Yellow Dorm, where they would spend a good chunk of the evening watching the Super Sentai.
[Author's Notes]
Hey there, folks! It's ya boy! Mac!
And holy sh*t, what a huge chapter, eh? Oleander getting a bunch of Number Monsters, he and Sadie finally tying the knot and oficializing their relationship alongside some bits and pieces about Oleander's past.
Regarding Oleander's past, I don't intend to write one huge chapter revealing how his life was before arriving in the YGO-GX world; instead, I think that revealing it in bits and pieces scattered through the chapters is way better because it gives me room to flesh him out and hopefully keeps you guys engaged.
I am also planning on making Sadie a more prominent character in the story, now that the possibility of her acquiring her very own Xyz monster is at hand. If she will accept or decline the offer, only time will tell.
Another thing is regarding the Number Monsters; they will not use their anime effects but rather their TCG/OCG effects, because in my mind that would be way too overkill even for the standards of someone like Oleander.
Anyhow! That's it, folks! Mac Sign' out!
Don't forget to leave a review containing criticism and/or suggestions! I read all of them!