Kaiba Corp. Personal Helicarrier, Early Morning…
Mokuba Kaiba sat back in his seat and sipped from the soda he'd received upon being in the air. Over the last ten years, he naturally grew taller, and while he still had his long, wild hair, he tended to keep in a pony tail. It was easier to manage this way.
He wore blue dress pants, and a white dress shirt underneath a grayish blue sweater vest with a blue necktie. Despite how he looked, the material of this outfit was the same as what Seto wore. Given the things Seto put that attire through, Mokuba reasoned this should be fine for the island.
Speaking of said island, Mokuba's eyes turned back to the laptop. On it, he was just coming to the end of a rather comprehensive report sent to Seto by one of those three new students he'd decided to trust. It seemed the trust his brother put in them was starting to pay off.
"Though, I didn't doubt as much after Seto openly declared he was putting his trust in them." The computer rang as Mokuba finished the report, and he saw it was Seto, leading to an immediate answer. "Hey Seto." He smiled at his brother. "I'd been expecting your call."
Given Mokuba was relocating to the island, Seto had naturally shifted to taking the later hours at Kaiba Corp. in preparation for the forcible future. After all, Mokuba would do work from the island, but is simply wouldn't be the same.
In accordance, Mokuba knew his brother would have seen this report last night. Before leaving to see Kisara and Shizume, he'd have gotten everything running. Informing the people he trusted to investigate it and having programs designed to flush out other things to investigate.
"What have you found out in relation to Kai Delmar's report?" Mokuba asked.
"For starters, I want you to take a look at these two pictures." Seto voiced. "Study them closely."
He input commands on his end to display two pictures. The first was the picture Kai had provided, the one of younger version of himself and his brother standing with the two individuals who appeared to be the same age as Varris Delmar was in the picture.
The photo to the right was of two children, who were about one year younger than the current freshman of Duel Academy, standing in what looked like an orphanage. They were younger than the two unknown people in the picture provided by Kai.
Despite the age difference and appearance, Mokuba initially saw two of the exact same people in each photo. Per Seto's requests, he studied the photos closer and began to see the differences between these children and the unknown, older ones in the first photo.
The girl in the second photo had a rather large grin on her face, one that reminded Mokuba of the ones Yugi and his friends often had. Her indigo hair was tied into a ponytail with a large yellow ribbon, and she had green eyes. She wore a magenta short-sleeved shirt, white shorts, and boots.
Her arm was thrown around the shoulder of the boy in the second picture who reminded him of Seto, to an extent. This boy portrayed it as though he didn't like the physical contact, though his body language told an opposite story, leading Mokuba to conclude he was close to this girl.
This boy had pink eyebrows, purple eyes, and hair which was uniformly violet with pink underneath. He wore a purple long-sleeved shirt with a pocket on the left side of the chest, white pants, and brown shoes.
"This is strange." Mokuba finally noted. "I've heard of family resemblance, but it's never to the extent I'd see people as those other people." Seto reappeared on screen. "In fact, if you hadn't told me to look closely, I'd have said they were the same people."
"Exactly the same trap I fell into." Seto voiced. "Those two, the children, are Yuri and Celina." He vanished from the screen as their profiles were brought up, though his voice persisted. "Roughly 12 years ago, they were found seemingly abandoned over in American.
After a few orphanages, they ended up in the same one, within Florida, around six years old. Since then they've refused adoption on the grounds they won't stand total separation nor the same housing. From how this orphanage is set up, boys and girls are kept separate enough.
Celina is rather adamant and outspoken about this; however, Yuri is typically the one engaging people in duels to ensure their wants are met. Due to circumstance, the two have impressive dueling records with how young they started."
"Celina sounds a lot like she's the spitting image of Yugi and Tea." Mokuba noted. "Yuri sounds a lot like how you were at our orphanage while showcasing a demeanor more befitting who you are now."
Seto decided not to comment on such a statement and pressed on as he reappeared. "I currently have my systems looking through every hospital in the world. There's no earlier data on these two than when they were found, and their blood comes back negative for a match anywhere."
"That's strange." Mokuba frowned. "What do you think any of this means?"
"Varris Delmar might have been the only one who knew as I'm inclined to believe Kai is genuinely confused by this turn of events." Seto informed. "Given the brief message on the back of the picture, it's starting to seem like Varris was involved in something.
Something in line with events that happened over ten years ago or just a year ago. Regardless, there may be answers at the return address. It comes back to an old estate also in America. I'll make all the preparation and have the necessary talks before departing."
Mokuba could only come to one conclusion why Seto would involve Yugi at this stage. If all went well, he was inclined to believe he'd soon have a nephew. Though, he supposed it could end up being another niece if things went strangely.
"Alright, you'll have to keep me posted on how things go on your end." Mokuba voiced, feeling as though this was the end of what Seto had to share.
"You do the same from your end." Seto returned before his face softened. "Mokuba, stay safe while you're on the island."
Mokuba smiled at his older brother. "Right, Seto." Seto ended the call, and he was returned to his initial screen. "A mere two days in, and a report from one of them resulted in this. I wonder just what else will come from those three Seto trusted?"
Duel Academy Island, Later…
The helicarrier's propellers slowly began to cease their whirring as Mokuba stepped out onto the harbor's landing pad. Across the landing pad from him was a woman clad in a long-sleeved black uniform with a matching beret upon her head and a short cape flowing from her shoulders.
As Chairwoman of the School Security and Disciplinary Squads it was her duty to ensure the safe arrival of Mokuba Kaiba to Chancellor Shepard's office. She saluted the younger Kaiba as he approached.
"Welcome to Duel Academy, sir." The Chairwoman greeted. "I trust your journey was a safe one."
"Safe and enjoyable, Chairwoman." Mokuba responded with a smile.
"Good to hear." The Chairwoman nodded. "Now, if you follow me, I shall escort you personally to Chancellor Sheppard's office."
"Lead the way." Mokuba responded.
Chancellor Sheppard's Office
The Chairwoman had taken her leave after ensuring Mokuba had entered the room. His arrival had Sheppard look up from his beginning of the year paperwork.
"Chancellor Sheppard." Mokuba greeted.
"Vice Chancellor Kaiba." Sheppard returned, using the title which had been bestowed on the younger Kaiba.
"I'll cut to the chase as I'd like to utilize today to settle in before starting my job tomorrow." Mokuba had approached the desk. "Have you spoken with the three boys about their present circumstances?"
"I was planning on calling them in after class today." Sheppard informed. "There are perceptive students in each of the years to the point it'll seem less conspicuous. Additionally, I thought the last two days would be good to let them experience the academy."
"Good to see you're thinking now; however, where was that when it came to Ryuga?" Mokuba got close to the desk. "Rumors of him stealing cards, understandable. He was smart about that and only grew cocky close to his goal. When it comes to his dueling record…"
"The legitimate ones are those we ran specifically to ascertain what might be happening." Sheppard retorted. "Every time…"
"Every time, Ryuga would systematically single out the students with the worst records for those observed duels." Mokuba interrupted firmly. "It was a pattern, one you and your people overlooked which almost saw my brother's first academy sullied by his presence as a teacher."
He walked around the desk and up to the window which looked out over the courtyard. "Look Sheppard, you can hardly be blamed for certain things out of your control. The fact is the rules aren't all rigged as that'd simply produce manufactured duelists.
There's room for innovation; however, you can't be completely lax. That's how we get events like what happened last year, someone like Ryuga going uncontested, and what Crowler pulled last year. It's what made my brother decide on the course he has with those three boys."
"Yes, I understand." Sheppard stood as he sighed. "I've made mistakes to the point your presence and their roles were needed. I've seen my folly in things."
"Words can be spewed forth, but they are meaningless without action." Mokuba had glanced Shappard's way before turning and proceeding to walk towards the door. "You are still the Chancellor and technically above me; however, I'll be here, watching."
Just as Mokuba moved to leave, the door opened as Crowler entered. "What are you doing here!?"
It was evident the head of Obelisk Blue was rather stunned to see the younger Kaiba.
"Effective tomorrow, I am the new Vice-Chancellor of Central Academy." Mokuba informed. "By the way, I've heard what you did last year." Crowler paled at that as he remembered the call from Seto. "That made a mockery of Duel Academy.
"Perhaps it bears mentioning, Seto was at this year's practical exam as well." Crowler paled more and started to sweat. "If not for your PhD, I can guarantee you wouldn't have been given another opportunity. As things stand, know you are on shaky ground doctor…"
With his piece said, Mokuba departed.
Once he was gone, Crowler gulped. "If I want to deal with that slacker who beat me, I'll need to be careful." He glanced back at the door. "Very careful."
Duel Academy Island
Despite sleep escaping him for a time last night, Kai eventually managed to get a decent amount of rest. After skipping out on his usual morning routine for more, he felt ready to tackle his first day at the academy. Missing a day of his exercise was better than a poor first impression.
Kai was presently walking to the academy with Dimitri and noticed his friend's excitement. "Well, someone sure seems excited for today."
"Who wouldn't be?" Dimitri grinned. "We're finally going to learn how to become professional duelists. That's what I've wanted since I was a kid. Don't you feel the same?"
If there's one thing Kai enjoyed about his first friend at the academy, it was his enthusiasm. "Of course, I feel the same. Today should be the start of three spectacular years."
Duel Academy
Each year was divided between three separate classes, in theory that meant nine classes. Of course, that number lessened if enough people were removed from the academy by the time they returned for another year. This way of doing things saw Kai and Dimitri breaking off.
They had each been assigned a different class. Unlike middle school days or how he heard typical high schools did it, teachers would come to them. Kai's lecture hall was located rather close to the entrance. There were rows and rows of seats, all sloping down to a single desk.
Additionally, each desk placement had some sort of computer embedded in the table. Seto Kaiba clearly rewarded you well for getting into his academy. There were a few students already in the room, cliques of students sticking to their dorm colors.
Red students at the bottom of the steps, where the lecturer could see them, Ra students in the middle, and at the top were the Obelisk Blues. Whether these were official placements or just social hierarchy, Kai didn't care. He ended up spotting Bastion sitting squarely in the middle row.
"Smart." Kai made his way over. "From there, you can have the best view of the lecture podium."
Kai wasn't the worst or even average at schoolwork; however, his grades could still use whatever help he could give them, without anything underhanded of course. Not to mention, there were bound to be more difficult classes anyways.
Upon getting close enough to him, Bastion snapped his head towards him before smiling and nodding. "Ah, there you are Kai." The heroic user took a seat next to him. "I saved you and Dimitri a seat just in case we were in the same class."
"I appreciate it, but Dimitri was unfortunately sorted into a different class." Kai stated.
"Ah, that is a darn shame." Bastion stated genuinely. "Still, we won't be in classes all day. Given the three of us are in the same dorm, we could certainly study together."
"Yeah, as well as continue to hang out with one another." Kai added. "Anyways, did you do anything interesting last night?"
"I went over the particulars of our duel." Bastion replied.
"Hm, notice anything I can work on, Future Duel Instructor?" Kai asked interested.
"You seemed to play as optimally as possible." Bastion voiced. "It might be that your deck isn't optimally built. Given what you told me, it seems you've been tinkering with yours. The same can be said for me; however, I won't use the one I received until I have truly balanced it."
"Eh, I like to take my decks on test runs." Kai shrugged. "That said our duel did help me in narrowing down a lot with the deck as it is. While I haven't had time to reassess what I want to add, I think yesterday's duel will help me conclude what I need."
"Well then, once your deck is changed completely, come find me for a rematch." Bastion smirked. "I'll be interested to see the difference."
"I'll be sure to do that." Kai voiced.
He then looked around the room as more people were beginning to stroll in. Kai spotted Chazz enter with Topher and Conklin flanking him. The heroic user genuinely thought Topher could be much better if he weren't holding himself back under Princeton.
Regardless of such thoughts, the three of them took the seats near the back row. Closer inspection showed Chazz had a rather smug look of satisfaction on his face, probably content with the assessment he made of Jaden from their duel.
By contrast, Topher looked rather disgruntled by his loss to Kai. Alexis, Jasmine, and Mindy entered the room next. Many people turned their heads to watch as she moved to her seat while Kai merely noticed the sheer number of people that had stopped to stare at her.
Lastly, Jaden, Syrus, and Greg raced in to arrive just before the bell rang. If Kai were to wager, he'd say it was likely Greg had checked if the other two were awake, they weren't, and he ended up ensuring they got here on time. Those three took their seats.
At that moment, Dr Crowler walked into the lecture theatre. "Alright students, quiet down!" the noise of conversation died down. "I am Dr. Vellian Crowler, and this is Dueling 101…"
Like how any other class would be this first day, Crowler outlined the course, what would be studied, and an idea of what future assignments would look like.
Later…
After Crowler was done with the usual stuff, he decided to dedicate the last bit of this first class to quizzing the students. He started off by asking Alexis to list the various cards.
"Duel monster cards can be grouped into three broad categories, with monster cards generally having multiple classifications they can fall under." Alexis stated. "The main deck can consist of normal, effect, toon, flip, gemini, tuner, and/or Ritual monsters.
Next are spells which fall under normal, continuous, equip, quick-play, ritual, or field. Then, there are the traps which fall under normal, continuous, or counter. Finally, your extra deck can have Fusion, Synchro, and/or Xyz monsters."
"Well done, Alexis." Crowler praised. "Of course, I wouldn't expect anything less from one of my Blue Obelisks." He then searched the room for the next person. "Syrus Truesdale, explain to the class what a field spell is, please."
Syrus began muttering out of nervousness.
"Even newborns know the answer to this, Slifer Slacker." A random Obelisk joked, getting those around him to laugh.
Jaden, Kai, Greg, and Bastion looked to the smaller student in silent support.
"Could someone else actually give me an answer?" Crowler shook his head. "Preferably someone not wearing red, thank you."
Syrus groaned as many other students laughed.
"You know something, teach?" Jaden questioned. "You really shouldn't make fun of us Slifers like that. I mean, I'm a Slifer who beat you, so if you're making fun of us, you're really making fun of yourself."
Crowler grit his teeth and growled in anger. "This Slifer Slacker must be taken down."
As nice as it was to see Jaden taking their teacher down a peg, he did certainly find it amusing, Kai would prefer Crowler didn't become a raging inferno at one of his friend's in Slifer. As such, he raised his hand.
"What is it, Kai?" Crowler asked, holding his anger.
"The answer to the field spell question." Kai answered.
"Oh, go ahead." Crowler stated.
"A field spell is a card that can affect the whole field, or an individuals' fields based on its effects." Kai had stood. "In accordance with the rules, each duelist can only use one field spell, unless a special card is in effect."
Crowler nodded, his anger subsided. "A well thought out answer."
Banner's Class
"Alright, students." Banner entered the classroom. "You might know me as Professor Lyman Banner. I specialize in lesser-known strategies of Duel Monsters. A few might even consider them to be unnatural."
As he continued, Bastion leaned over to Kai. "That was a smart move, preventing Crowler from becoming an inferno by changing the subject."
Kai shrugged. "Eh, just looking out for a pal."
Down with the three Slifers, Jaden yawned.
Syrus leaned over to the hero user. "By the way, thanks Jaden."
"Sure, no prob." Jaden waved it off. "Though, for what?"
"I believe he's talking about how you stood up for him." Greg interjected.
Jaden noticed Banner seemed to be looking their way. "Uh oh, looks like I might just have to do it for you next."
"Greg." Banner called out.
Greg went wide eyed as he immediately stood at attention. "Yes sir!"
"Do me a favor." Banner smiled. "Kindly grab Pharoh, would you?"
"Pharoh?" Greg blinked as he realized something was brushing against his legs and looked down. "Right, I'll get the little guy right now."
Chazz once more turned his gaze Greg's way. "Something about that Slacker is familiar…"
He had that same feeling back when he showed up at the Obelisk arena with all those other Slackers and Rejects. Even now, he just couldn't remember where he may have run into this Slacker before. It was rather frustrating since it seemed to be just out of reach.
Crowler's Office: Later…
As the students went to gym, after various classes and lunch, Crowler was at his desk writing a letter. "How dare that Slifer Slacker make a mockery of me." Despite appeasing his anger in the moment, Kai couldn't truly dissipate it. "It'll be the last mistake he makes at this academy."
The ancient gear user sealed the envelop before closing it with a kiss.
Locker Rooms
Crowler snuck into the room and began opening lockers. "Now to plant the bait where Jaden will find it." One of the lockers he opened had Jaden's shoes inside. "Here we go."
Academy Halls
Kai rubbed the back of his neck as he walked to the locker rooms. Gym was different here to as they were informed the three dorms, as well as the girls of Obelisk, would sometimes have class at different points throughout this period.
Though strange, it had been nice since it meant he got to have at least one class with Dimitri. Bastion seemed to enjoy it just as well. As his mind was on this, he didn't notice Alexis and her friends walking in the opposite direction, Ultimately, he ended up bumping into Jasmine.
"OW!" Jasmine cried as she fell to her butt.
"Huh?" Kai looked down before going wide eyed. "Oh, I'm sorry!"
"Hey, what's your deal?" Mindy snapped.
"Mindy, it was an accident." Alexis assured, genuinely believing Kai didn't mean to do it. "Don't make him feel worse."
"Are you okay?" Kai asked, offering his hand.
When Jasmine lifted her head to speak, her words caught in her throat upon seeing his light blue eyes. "The remind me of the sky…"
Kai froze as well upon seeing her silver eyes. "Can't say I've seen that eye color before…"
"Jasmine?/Kai?" Mindy/Alexis asked.
Both were snapped out of it with Jasmine taking the offered hand."Yeah, I'm fine. I didn't see you either, so you don't need to apologize."
"Well, glad you're okay." Kai nodded. "I'm Kai Delmar, by the way."
"Jasmine Makurada." Jasmine introduced, shaking the hand that helped her up.
"Well, that's a lovely name." Kai removed his hand before walking by them. "Anyways, I'm heading to the locker room. See you around."
"Hopefully it'll be soon." Jasmine thought.
Locker Room
Kai finished getting his normal clothes on when Syrus rushed into the locker room. "Oh man, they should make the girl's gym sign bigger." He removed his shoes and opened his locker where he noticed the letter. "Wow, a love letter!"
"Really?" Kai asked, coming from around a corner.
Syrus screaming before sighing in relief as he realized it was just Kai. "You scared me." He suddenly grew nervous. "How long have you been here?"
"Since Ra's gym class ended, so long enough to hear you've been to the girl's gym." Kai answered, making Syrus sweat drop. "Anyways, who's the love letter from?"
Syrus opened the envelope to read the letter. "Since the moment I saw you, I've been in love with you. Meet me behind the girl's dorm. Endearingly, ALEXIS RHODES!" He turned to Kai with the biggest grin. "I can't believe it!"
"Let me see that." Kai stated, snatching the letter to read it himself. "Syrus, I hate to burst your bubble, but there are several things wrong here. Firstly, Alexis doesn't strike me as the type to use cologne."
"What?" Syrus took the letter back and sniffed it before covering his nose. "There's a fair bit on here!"
"Additionally, this is addressed to Jaden and her name is spelled wrong." Kai informed. "Not to mention, you guys were told of the rule about dueling here after hours from her. As such, it's unlikely she'd risk breaking a rule like this by sneaking in here. This is obviously a set-up."
"Aw, I can't even get a fake love letter." Syrus sighed before shaking his head. "That aside, who do you think would try to set up Jaden?"
"Could be one of the male Obelisks." Kai reasoned. "They seem especially keen on targeting Slifers."
Oddly enough, given how assured of himself Chazz seemed, the heroic user ruled him out. If Topher were going to do this to anyone, it'd likely be him. Conklin seemed even more of a follower type than Topher, so he was likely out to. Still, that left plenty of Obelisks.
"How would we know which one?" Syrus asked.
"Through taking the bait." Kai answered.
Chancellor Sheppard's Office: After School…
After classes were done, Sheppard ended up calling Kai, Bastion, and Jaden to his office. While they could wager what this was about, none of their friends had any idea. If it were just Jaden, they'd think it was over what he did during that first class.
Regardless, the three of them were quick to reassure the others it was likely nothing before making their way to the man's office. They entered, the door closing behind them, before coming to stand before his desk.
"You three must be Jaden Yuki, Kai Delmar, and Bastion Misawa." Sheppard nodded. "I'm Chancellor Sheppard, the person who runs Duel Academy."
"That means you're the one Mr. Kaiba mentioned." Bastion reasoned.
"Yes, I've been informed of your special roles." Sheppard nodded. "I've simply called you three here to touch base on this fact as well as to remind you that no special treatment can be given. You will be treated as any other student should you get into trouble."
"If that's the case, how are we expected to fulfill out roles?" Kai asked.
"As I said, you will be treated as any other student would be." Sheppard smiled. "Despite what you might be thinking, we're not unjust enough to resort to immediate expulsion. All I'm saying is you three merely need to be careful in how you conduct yourselves."
"Eh, that should be no bigger then." Jaden declared with a grin.
Obelisk Girl's Dorm: Night…
Crowler, dressed in a black full body suit, cut the lock off the gate at the dock before proceeding to move through the bushes.
"This will be perfect." He grinned mischievously as he stopped within one bush. "Due to that letter, Jaden will show up looking for Alexis. All he'll find is trouble as I'll be waiting to snap a picture. With it, he will be expelled for sure."
Kai and Syrus docked their boat before moving towards the dorm. As they reached the open gate, the former crouched down to pick up the lock and chain.
"Looks like whoever's behind this is here." He stood. "Let's proceed cautiously since we don't know what they plan for Jaden beyond this point."
Syrus nodded. "Right."
It wasn't long before the pair heard a voice. "THAT'S NOT JADEN! IT'S THAT STAMMERING FIELD SPELL NITWIT AND THAT DELMAR BOY!"
"Hello, anyone there?" An Obelisk girl asked as she came out and looked around.
Crowler immediately ran to the water and dove in. This left to girl to see Kai and Syrus, resulting in her screaming.
"Oh no, we've been spotted." Syrus stated worriedly. "What do we do now Kai?"
The other girls came out and rushed the pair.
"Nothing to do but explain ourselves best we can." Kai surrendered himself, knowing running would only make them guilty of something they hadn't intended.
Syrus went along with it, not knowing what else to do himself. This resulted in the pair's arms being pinned as they were forced to the ground and surrounded by Obelisk girls in their pajama's. Alexis, Mindy, and Jasmine then approached the pair.
"Syrus, Kai, is that you?" Alexis asked.
"Look, w-we didn't mean any trouble." Syrus stated nervously.
"We're here because it seems someone is trying to frame Jaden." Kai dropped the chain and lock. "Upon arrival, we found the lock to your gate cut. What brought us out here was what someone left atop Jaden's shoes. Syrus has it."
Alexis motioned for the girls holding the pair to let them up. Not wasting a moment, Syrus took out the faux love letter and handed it over.
"Jaden's shoes were in Syrus' locker, so he received this faux love letter." Kai informed firmly.
"I noticed it was meant for Jaden, Alexis' name was spelt wrong, and it smells of cologne."
"Not to mention this isn't my hand writing." Alexis added.
"I thought one of the Obelisks made the note to bully Syrus." Kai voiced. "We came here to confront them, but it appears whoever was behind this took the opportunity to turn things on us. After all, I'm sure multiple people here heard that voice."
"Y-yeah, it doesn't sound like either of us." Syrus added helpfully.
"I appreciate your honesty, Kai." Jamine stated sincerely.
"You're just going to let them go?" Mindy asked in disbelief.
"I don't think that's it, Mindy." Alexis smiled knowingly.
"How about a duel Kai?" Jasmine asked. "If you win, no one here rats you out. If you lose, you got to own up to this."
"Well, we did still step foot here." Kai realized now that had been a rather poor decision on his part. "Sure, we'll wager this on a duel."
Lake
Kai and Syrus ended up in one boat while Jasmine, Alexis, and Mindy were in another.
"Let's duel!"
(Kai 4000/Jasmine 4000)
"Ladies first." Kai declared.
"My, what a gentleman." Jasmine drew. "I'll summon Harpie Perfumer(LV 4/1400/1300)." A lavender haired woman, wearing lavender and with green wings, appeared.
"She's running a deck like Mai Valentine's, but unlike how Dimitri may run it, hers seems to be modern." Kai noted.
"Firstly, her name becomes Harpie Lady while on the field or in the grave." Jasmine continued. "Secondly, I can add any spell/trap that mentions Harpie Lady Sisters from my deck to my hand. Now, I'll activate the card I added, Elegant Egotist.
Since Harpie Lady is on the field, I can special summon any Harpie Lady or Harpie Sisters from my hand or deck. I'll special summon Harpie Lady Sisters(LV 6/1950/2100)." Three Harpie Ladies with different hair colors and golden armor appeared. "I'll then finish with one set card."
"Okay, Jasmine's got some skill." Kai drew. "I'll start by activating Heroic Envoy allowing me to add any heroic monster from my deck to the hand. The monster I chose was Heroic Challenger – Assault Halberd(LV 4/1800/300).
Since you control a monster, and I control none, I can special summon him." A purple armored warrior, wielding a halberd, appeared. "Then, I normal summon Heroic Challenger – Double Lance(LV 4/1700/900)."
A white, purple, and blue armored warrior wielding two lances appeared. "For the purposes of Xyz summoning a monster, this Challenger can act as two monsters. I overlay Double Lance and Assault Halberd to build the overlay network.
I call upon the legendary sword of Japan. Xyz summon Heroic Champion – Kusanagi(R 4/O 2/2500/2400)." A red and orange warrior with a glowing orange blade appeared. "Now, I'll have Kusanagi attack your Harpie Sisters."
"Hold it!" Jasmine declared. "I reveal my face down, Mirror Wall. This little number will permanently half the attack of any monster you attack with, and it can keep utilizing that effect as long as it remains on the field."
"I'll counter with Kusanagi's effect." Kai declared. "By detaching one of his overlay units, I can destroy any one trap you activate and bestow my monster 500 extra ATK."
"I'll chain a trap from my hand, Harpie's Feather Storm." Jasmine countered. "Since I control a Harpie monster, I'm allowed to do this. By controlling a Wind Winged Beast monster, this card negates any activated effects until the end of the turn."
Kai sweated as Heroic Champion – Kusanagi(R 4/O 2/1250/2400 effect) was grayed out before then passing through mirror wall, which reduced him to half size. This enabled the Harpie Lady Sisters to destroy him effortlessly (Kai 3300/Jasmine 4000)."
"Kai!" Syrus called out worriedly.
"Don't worry Syrus, I'm still in this." Kai looked at his hand. "Still, Jasmine's good. She unleashed a potent combo that countered Kusanagi completely."
"You seem surprised, Kai." Jasmine commented confidently.
"I just never saw such a combo coming." Kai nodded. "You really know how to duel." Jasmine blushed lightly at the compliment. "All I can do now is set three cards before ending my turn."
"My turn." Jasmine drew. "I'll start by normal summoning Harpie's Brother(LV 4/1800/600)." A black haired, red winged man appeared. "Now, I utilize one of the effects of a monster within my extra deck. For this card's Synchro summon, I can treat any Harpie as a Tuner."
"First Bastion pulls off a five-material fusion." Kai thought. "Now, Jasmine is performing a Synchro without any real tuners. Duel Academy really is something else."
"I'll designate Brother as a Tuner and utilize him to tune my Perfumer treated as Harpie Lady to Synchro for 8. I call upon the winged beast whose wind practically no monster can withstand. Synchro summon Cyber Slash Harpie Lady(LV 8/2600/2400)."
A Harpie Lady with long pink hair and golden armor appeared. "Like Perfumer, she becomes Harpie Lady(LV 8/2600/2400) while on the field. Now, my Harpie Lady Sisters will attack you directly, go Triangle Ecstasy Spark!"
The sisters flew up into a triangle formation and generated a beam that blasted down at the heroic user (Kai 1350/Jasmine 4000). "Now, my remaining Harpie Lady will attack you directly and attempt to end this with her Cyber Barrage."
"Oh no, Kai!" Syrus exclaimed worriedly.
"It's not over yet." Kai declared. "I activate my first face down, Nutrient Z. When I'm about to take over 2000 life points worth of damage, this card first bestows me with 4000 life points before damage calculations."
Kai was sprinkled with green energy as Harpie Lady ascended (Kai 5350/Jasmine 4000). Harpie Lady then came down and rapidly struck at him (Kai 2750/Jasmine 4000).
"As things stand, I'll end my turn there." Jasmine stated.
"Even with that saving grace, you still got good advantage!" Mindy cheered.
"Yeah, just keep dueling as you have been, and you'll have this!" Alexis added.
"Alright, my turn." Kai drew. "I'll start by activating my second face down, Xyz Reborn. Now, I can target and revive any Xyz monster within my grave while bestowing this trap as an overlay unit. I'll revive Heroic Champion – Kusanagi(R 4/O 1/2500/2400). He'll destroy your Sisters."
"Since you're attacking, I can once again utilize Mirror Wall to cut your monster's attack in half." Jasmine declared.
"I'll once again try to utilize Kusanagi's effect." Kai declared. "By detaching his overlay unit, I can destroy that trap you activated and bestow my monster 500 extra ATK."
"While I didn't know you'd bring Kusanagi back, I had a hunch you might have something." Jasmine grinned. "Now, the effect of my Synchro activates. Whenever you utilize an effect, I can target a Harpie I control or 1 monster you control to return it to the hand. I target Kusanagi!"
"I got one last card to this chain." Kai grinned right back. "My last set card, Xyz Reflect. Whenever any spell, trap, or monster effect would target an Xyz I control, this negates the activation and destroys it. Then, you take eight hundred life points of damage."
The Synchro was afflicted by red sparks as she was shattered (Kai 2750/Jasmine 3200). Heroic Champion – Kusanagi(R 4/O 0/3000/2400 effect), as he ran at Sisters, slashed out his orange sword and sent a crescent of orange energy that destroyed Mirror Wall. Finally, he slashed his blade into Sisters, destroying them (Kai 2750/Jasmine 2150).
"Whoa, Kai was up against the wall, yet he managed to turn everything around!" Syrus thought impressed.
"Now, I happen to like my hand as it is, so I'll end my turn there." Kai stated.
"That means it's the lady's turn now." Jasmine drew. "I'll start by activating Monster Reborn to revive Harpie Perfumer(LV 4/1400/1300) from the grave. Then, I'll normal summon Harpie Harpist(LV 4/1700/600)." A long red headed woman with a harp and green wings appeared.
"Like almost every other monster I've summoned, she counts are Harpie Lady. Onto her unique effects. One of them is that I can return any other winged Beast I control and one monster you control back to our hands. In your case, your Xyz returns to the extra deck."
"Well, might want to brace yourself for this one Syrus." Kai stated.
"Harpist, attack Kai directly!" Jasmine declared, causing Harpist to strum her harp and send out sound waves which damaged the heroic user (Kai 1050/Jasmine 2150). "I end my turn there." She smirked. "Your life points are getting kind of low."
"Hope you two haven't unpacked your bags." Alexis called out.
"It'd be handy since losing here means you're expelled." Mindy added.
"We are?" Syrus asked concerned.
"It won't happen." Kai assured firmly. "I won't let the mistake I made drag you down." He drew. "Alright, I'll normal summon Heroic Challenger – Thousand Blades(LV 4/1300/1100)." A silver armored warrior, with blades on his back, appeared.
"Once per turn that this monster is in attack position, I can discard a Heroic card from my hand to special summon any Heroic monster from my deck, and Thousand Blades then goes to defense position." He sent Heroic Call to the grave and switched Thousand Blades' position.
"I'll special summon Heroic Challenger – Spartan(LV 4/1600/1000)." A beige and gold spartan appeared. "Lastly, due to this effect, I'm only permitted to special summon Heroic monsters. That's no problem as I now construct the overlay network with my two level 4 monsters.
The most noble of lights is clad in lights! Xyz summon Heroic Champion – Excalibur(R 4/O 2/2000/2000)." A red and silver armored warrior, wielding the blade, appeared. "With this monster, I shall end this duel!"
"That monster is impressive; however, he's only three ATK stronger than Harpist." Jasmine declared. "That's hardly enough to finish this."
"That's because I haven't used his effect." Kai declared. "By detaching 2 overlay units, Excalibur can double his attack until the end of your next turn." Heroic Champion – Excalibur(R 4/O 0/4000/2000 effect). Finish this, Shock Sword Slash!"
Excalibur held his sword aloft and collected electricity before surging forth and slicing clean through Harpist, destroying her (Kai 1050/Jasmine 0).
Mindy was stunned. "What just happened."
Alexis smiled. "Kai just won."
Syrus lept to his feet and hugged Kai gratefully. "Alright Kai!"
After celebrations, the two boats were brought up next to each other.
"So, are we free to go?" Kai asked.
"That was the deal." Jasmine nodded. "Rest assured; I'll make certain tonight is swept under the rug."
"Thank you, Jasmine." Kai nodded with a smile. "With that out of the way, it was a great duel."
"Yeah, hope we can duel again sometime." Jasmine voiced.
"Same here, just without anything at stake." Kai returned before sitting down. "Alright, let's get rowing Syrus."
Syrus nodded. "Right."
As they rowed away, Jasmine turned to her friends. "Let's head back before we end up worrying Miss Fontain."
Seto is looking into the first report and happened to stumble upon two individuals from Arc-V. As I've basically said before, Leo Akaba isn't here as he theoretically should be. Something happened which led to a change in his plans. Depending on what medium you subscribe to, Dub of Sub, it changes the reason behind Yuri being the way he was. Additionally, this Fusion Dimension seems awfully closer to GX story than the Fusion Dimension we knew.
People who were absent in that dimension are present here, which only changes things ever more. Now, moving on from that, the students start their first day on the island. The reason I had Kai take the lake duel is because nothing ever really came of this interaction. I can just give Jaden and Alexis a duel another time. On that note, I'm seeing about forming something with Kai and Jasmine as it's all too common that OCs get to be with Alexis.
I get it, she's an attractive lady. I'm certain many of us have had a crush on her when we were younger. In essence, I just decided to pivot to another person. As for Jasmine's deck, she's utilizing the Harpies like she does in Tag Force. I don't know if I'll keep her with that deck all the way through, but it's something she can use n the mean time. As for next chapter, I got some stuff planned before getting into the events of Raring to Go.
Vital Info: Man, try telling that to some of the people I face in Dueling Nexus. I mean, at some point you just got to say that you got enough negates on board. As for Greg, I'm thinking he gets a moment next chapter or not long after that. In a way, he could theoretically be seen as a stand in for Red Hat from Tag Force or the Spirit Caller OC. As for who the people in the first photo were, I think this chapter should make it apparent who they really are.