Duel Academy Island, After School…
The helicarrier's propellers slowly began to cease their whirring as the Kaiba family stepped out onto the harbor's landing pad. Across the way, Mokuba smiled as he joined his family. He first hugged Seto with one arm, and the blue-eyes user returned the gesture.
"Welcome to Duel Academy, bro." Mokuba pulled back before looking to Kisara with a smile. "I trust you've been ensuring Seto hasn't been too hard on little Naomi and our newest member."
"You know Seto." Kisara smiled back at her brother-in-law. "He can be a bit much at times."
Seto just rolled his eyes as he's learned to deal with these two whenever they get together.
"Not that I particularly mind, as I constantly reiterate Uncle Mokuba." Naomi voiced.
"You really should be more of a kid while you can Naomi." Mokuba chuckled. "Trust me, you'll miss these days when they're gone." He then turned to their newest member. "You must be Yuri." He rested a hand on the teen's shoulder. "Hopefully you've been settling in alright."
"I have no complaints." Yuri voiced.
"That's good to hear." Mokuba nodded. "Anyways, we should get moving to the academy."
Obelisk Arena
Kai and Greg stood across from Jaden and Syrus, both pairs ready to give tag dueling each other a shot. Every day, their scheduled tag duels drew ever closer, they were roughly a week out at this point, to the point every duel they got now would be important.
"Alright, we're dueling how the pros do." Kai reminded. "No sharing strategies, no sharing advise, and no sharing cards not already in play. We may use what is on our partners field and in their grave though. Lastly, the duelist who goes forth in the rotation is the only one who can attack on the first turn. Is everyone still in agreement?"
"No complaints here." Jaden stated.
"The rules are fine by me." Greg added.
"If we're going to tag duel pros, we should duel under their restrictions." Syrus finished.
"Let's duel!/Get you games on!" Three of the boys/Jaden declared.
(Kai & Greg (K&G) 8000/Jaden & Syrus (J&S) 8000)
Turn 1: Kai
"If I beat Jaden here, technically I'd have met one of the stipulations Zane set for me; however, I don't think I'll personally see it that way." Kai thought as he drew his hand. "I want to beat Jaden one on one, thought that might not matter if we end up losing."
The heroic user nodded as he zeroed in on the duel rather than errant thoughts. "Alright, I'll lead us off." He drew. "I summon Heroic Challenger – Night Watchman(LV 4/1200/1000)." A leather armored, blue caped warrior appeared.
"Since I control a Heroic monster, whose not level 1, I can special summon Heroic Challenger – Knuckle Sword(LV 1/600/200)." A gold and silver armored warrior, wielding a knuckle sword, appeared. "No matter how he's summoned, he can target another Warrior monster I control.
Then it or that monster becomes the other's level. I'll target Night Watchman and grant Knuckle Sword his level." Heroic Challenger – Knuckle Sword(LV 4/600/200). "I now construct the overlay network with my two level 4 monsters.
Xyz summon Gagaga Cowboy(R 4/O 2/1500/2400) in defense mode." A cowboy with twin guns appeared kneeling before his duelist. "I'm about to disregard the rules on attacking thanks to this monster here."
"Even if that monster could disregard the rule against attacking, you summoned him in defense mode." Syrus stated.
"All part of his ability as depending on this monster's battle position, I can detach one overlay unit to use one of two effects." Kai continued. "When he's in defense position, I can detach that overlay unit to dole out eight hundred life points of damage."
One of Gagaga Cowboy(R 4/O 1/1500/2400)'s overlay units flew into his gun and he fired a spray of bullets at the opposing duelist (K&G 8000/J&S 7200).
Any time Kai brought that out in the tag duels they've had against other students, Greg smiled. "It's nice having that guy on my side rather than dueling against it."
"Nice opening move Kai." Jaden praised.
"Yeah, I wish there was some Vehicroid that could do that." Syrus added.
"I wish it were a Heroic or War Rock extra deck monster myself." Kai shrugged. "Earthen Warrior is good enough. Anyways, I'll call my turn good there."
Turn 2: Jaden
"My move!" Jaden drew. "I summon Elemental HERO Solid Soldier(LV 4/1300/1100)." A white armored warrior appeared. "When this guy's normal summoned, I'm allowed to special summon any other Level 4 or lower HERO from my hand.
Say hello to Elemental HERO Lady Heat(LV 4/1300/1100)." A female warrior in orange and white appeared. "I'll then throw down a face down before heading to my End Phase; however, I'm not quite done with my turn."
"What do you mean Jaden?" Greg asked.
"Lady Heat basically allows me to do what Kai did by circumnavigating the restrictions." Jaden informed. "For every Elemental HERO I control, she doles out 200 life points of damage during the End Phase."
(K&G 7600/J&S 7200)
"Looks like our advantage just lessened." Kai stated.
Turn 3: Greg
"While I do not believe I can inflict any damage, I can still generate a little field advantage." Greg drew. "I'll start with the continuous spell Gladiator Rejection and reveal what it does as its effects become pertinent.
I'll then summon Gladiator Beast Darius(LV 4/1700/300)." A bipedal horse in orange armor appeared. "To conclude my turn, I'll equip him with Gladiator Beast's Battle Manica which I'll also explain as it becomes relevant. Your move Sy."
Turn 4: Syrus
"Alright, here goes!" Syrus drew. "I'll summon Submarineroid(LV 4/800/1800)." A cartoonish submarine appeared. "I didn't have a thing that could get over your two monsters, but that doesn't matter when Submarineroid can launch a direct attack for his original ATK alone."
Submarineroid produced a torpedo and fired it past the opposing monsters to strike the duelists (K&G 6800/J&S 7200). "Whenever Submarineroid battles, he switches to defense mode immediately after."
"Oh, that's a good card." Kai noted.
"It's one of my favorites." Syrus returned. "Anyways, I'll now set two cards of my own and end my turn."
Turn 5: Kai
"With everyone having gone, it's time I step things up." Kai drew. "First, I'll use Gagaga Cowboy(R 4/O 0/1500/2400)'s remaining overlay unit." The last overlay unit flew into his gun before he fired once more on the opposing duelists (K&G 6800/J&S 6400).
"Now, I activate Heroic Call to special summon any warrior-type monster I wish from my hand or grave, though it does tend to prefer heroics. What I summon doesn't really matter in the long run, but I'll still pull Heroic Challenger – Knuckle Sword(LV 1/600/200) from the grave."
"Why doesn't it matter which monster you got?" Syrus asked.
"It doesn't matter because I now tribute my two monsters to summon War Rock Meteoragon(LV 7/2600/2600)." A white-haired warrior in red and gold armor and with two blades appeared.
"Whoa, that's one sweet monster." Jaden stated.
"Just wait until you see his effect." Kai declared. "Meteoragon will now attack your Lady Heat. When an Earth attributed warrior battles, Meteoragon grants all War Rock monster 200 extra ATK until the end of the next turn, and he make up to 2 attacks on monsters as well."
War Rock Meteoragon(LV 7/2800/2600effect) sliced through Lady Heat.
"In that case, I can at least half the damage we'll take this turn thanks to Hero Spirit." Jaden declared. "This trap of mine can make one instance of battle damage 0 if an Elemental HERO I control is destroyed by battle."
"Alright, Meteoragon will then take his second attack to your Solid Soldier." Kai declared, resulting in Meteoragon lunged at and slicing through Solid Soldier (K&G 6800/J&S 4900). "I shall then set this one card and call my turn there."
Turn 6: Jaden
"My move!" Jaden drew and smiled. "Alright, I activate Polymerization to combine the Water attribute Elemental HERO Liquid Soldier and Elemental HERO Sparkman, both in my hand. Fusion summon Elemental HERO Absolute Zero(LV 8/2500/2000)."
As the warrior wearing white armor appeared, all three boys remembered how it dealt with Chazz's field. Not to mention Kai recalled how it dealt with his field in their duel weeks prior to those exam duels.
"Before I go about using this guy, I got a little more to get through." Jaden continued. "When Liquid Soldier is used as fusion material, I can draw two cards before discarding one from my hand.
Now, Absolute Zero will attack Meteoragon." Absolute Zero lunged at Meteoragon, only to be cut down by the War Rock's swords (K&G 6800/J&S 4700). "Whenever Absolute Zero leaves the field, all monsters you two control are destroyed!"
"Dang, one of the few things my set up couldn't have contended with." The gladiator beast user thought.
Greg and Kai's fields were wiped of almost everything, save the former's continuous spell and the latter's face down.
"I'll now finish out my turn with one set card." Jaden declared. "Your move Greg."
Turn 7: Greg
"This hasn't gone exactly as I expected, but I can make do." Greg drew. "Especially with Gladiator Beast Comeback allowing me to special summon any Gladiator Beast I wish from my grave or hand provided they are a different type from the ones I control.
I'll grab Gladiator Beast Darius(LV 4/1700/300) from my grave, but he won't be sticking around as I'll tribute him to summon Gladiator Beast Alexander(LV 6/2400/600)." A bipedal lion with yellow and green armor appeared. "Now, I attack you directly Jaden."
Jaden was about to speak; however, Syrus saw this and beat him to the punch. "Save your face down for later Jay as I'm activating my face down Waboku. Now, we take no battle damage this turn."
As Alexander attempted to attack Jaden, three women in blue robes appeared and put up a barrier to halt the Gladiator Beast.
"Nice going Sy." Jaden stated.
"You did spare the damage; however, the fact remains Alexander was still able to get his attack off." Greg stated. "Now, I can tag it back into my deck." Alexander returned. "I'll tag out Gladiator Beast Agustus(LV 8/2600/1000).
A large, bipedal, and scaly bird in black and white armor appeared. "Due to being special summoned by a Gladiator Beast, I can special summon another Gladiator Beast from my hand to the field in defense mode, but it will be shuffled into the deck during the end phase.
I special summon Gladiator Beast Laquari(LV 4/1800/400)." A tiger in orange and white armor appeared. "Due to being special summoned by the effects of a Gladiator Beast, his original ATK becomes 2100."
Gladiator Beast Laquari(LV 4/2100/400 effect)
"What good does that do you?" Syrus asked. "Like you said, Laquari goes back to your deck at the End Phase."
"Laquari won't reach the End Phase." Greg retorted. "At this time, I'll activate the effects of Gladiator Rejection. As a Gladiator Beast was summoned from my main deck, I can once again special summon another from there, in defense mode, that's a different type from those I control.
I'll return Gladiator Beast Alexander(LV 6/2400/600) to the field." Greg held up his duel disk. "Now, I reshuffle Laquari, Augustus, and Alexander back into my deck to conduct fusion without the aid of a spell.
I call upon the beast of fiery devastation. Appear, Gladiator Beast Heraklinos(LV 8/3000/2800)." A bipedal, muscular tiger appeared wielding an axe and shield. "With only one card in my hand, I can only negate one spell/trap. Perhaps that'll be all we need.
"Whoa, that's something else." Jaden declared.
"That's one strong monster." Syrus noted.
"He is in more ways than you know." Greg smiled. "With this, I end my turn."
Turn 8: Syrus
"My turn!" Syrus drew. "I activate Monster Reborn and will use it to bring back Jaden's…"
"I activate the effect of Heraklinos." Greg interrupted. "By sending one card from my hand to the grave, this monster can negate and destroy any 1 spell/trap that's been activated."
"No, I needed that to tribute." Syrus stated.
"I activate my face down, Call of the Haunted." Jaden declared, which made Greg grunt as it seemed he wouldn't stop Syrus' next play. "Now, I can bring back any monster from my grave, and I choose Elemental HERO Solid Soldier(LV 4/1300/1100). Go for it Sy!"
"Jaden…" Syrus nodded. "I tribute my Submarineroid and Jaden's Solid Soldier to summon Armoroid(LV 8/2700/2000)." A large, white robot appeared. "If at least 1 roid is used to tribute summon him, all spells/traps on the field are banished."
Kai's set card was revealed to be Nutrient Z before shattering along with Rejection. "Now, I activate Limiter Removal which doubles the ATK of every machine-type monster I control, in return for any monster who receives this boost being destroyed this End Phase."
Armoroid(LV 8/5400/2000 effect)
"Well, that's one powerful monster." Kai noted.
"No kidding." Greg agreed.
"All that power will be used to attack Kai directly!" Syrus exclaimed which resulted in Armoroid blasting Kai (K&G 1400/J&S 4700) "I now activate Interdimensional Matter Transporter which will banish Armoroid until the End Phase and serve his connection to Limiter Removal."
"Alright, way to go Sy!" Jaden cheered.
"Thank Jay." Syrus smiled. "I now end my turn which returns my monster to my field."
Armoroid(LV 8/2700/2000)
Turn 9: Kai
"Back to me." Kai drew. "I'll start by summoning War Rock Fortia(LV 4/1700/1700)." A young man with white hair and leather armor appeared. "Whenever an Earth Warrior-type monster is normal summoned to my field, I can special summon War Rock Gactos(LV 4/1900/1900)."
A man with two stone clubs appeared. "I now construct the overlay network with my two level 4 monsters. The most noble of knights 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. "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). "Now, attack Jaden with Shock Sword Slash!"
Excalibur rushed forward and slashed through Jaden (K&G 1400/J&S 700). Suddenly, it set in for everyone that this duel was close. I came down to how well they used what was left, and what people got moving forward.
Kai took a deep breath. "I set this last card in my hand and end my turn."
Turn 10: Jaden
"My move!" Jaden drew. "Elemental HERO Clayman and Pot of Greed. Looks like I'm hedging everything on these next two cards." He played a spell card. "I activate Pot of Greed to draw two cards." He drew. "Sweet!
I activate Polymerization. I now fuse the earth attributed Elemental HERO Clayman with Elemental HERO Wildheart. Fusion summon Elemental HERO Gaia(LV 6/2200/2600)." A large warrior with weaponry appeared.
"When he's Fusion summoned, I can target any one monster my opponent controls and half their ATK until the end of the turn. Not to worry. That ATK doesn't simply vanish since Gaia will gain that lost ATK. I target Heroic Challenger – Excalibur."
Elemental HERO Gaia(LV 6/4200/2600 effect)
Heroic Champion – Excalibur(R 4/O 0/2000/2000 effect).
"I'll admit that is one sweet effect; however, I counter it." Kai declared. "I activate my face down Power Gravity and equip it to Greg's Heraklinos. For one instance of when a monster my opponent controls would gain/loss ATK, this card reduces that monster's ATK to 0. The equipped monster then gains ATK equal to whatever the opposing monster would have gained/lost."
Elemental HERO Gaia(LV 6/0/2600 effect)
Gladiator Beast Heraklinos(LV 8/5000/2800 effect)
"Oh no!" Syrus exclaimed.
"Relax Sy." Jaden chuckled good naturedly. "This is all preparation for the tag duels that matter. At the end of the day, this was an awesome duel where we all got to pull off some impressively sweet moves. Hey, haven't you learned a lot from this?"
"Yeah, I suppose you're right." Syrus admitted, a bit embarrassed.
Throughout this duel, he'd lost sight this was just the practice tag match.
"Alright, I got nothing left." Jaden declared. "Your move Greg."
Turn 11: Greg
"Alright." Greg drew. "Heraklinos, end this by attacking Gaia with Shield & Axe!"
Heraklinos roared as he rushed forward and shield bashed his shield into Gaia before slicing the hero right down the middle (K&G 1400/J&S 0).
"Even though it was a fun duel, we still lost." Syrus sighed.
"Like I said Sy, everyone got to pull off some sweet moves." Jaden walked up and patted his friend on the back. "That Armoroid play was sick!"
Syrus smiled at the compliment.
"I'll say." Kai voiced as he and Greg joined the pair. "I'm glad you didn't have a burn card like Cowboy since getting off two effects like that would have seen us then finished last turn."
"No kidding." Greg shook his head. "This was a close duel that could have gone either way."
Jaden chuckled good naturedly. "Yeah, I ended up selecting the worst hero for this job."
The four boys walked out of the Obelisk Arena as they continued to talk over the duel.
Duel Academy
Zane was just leaving the academy when he heard a voice. "Zane Truesdale." The Obelisk turned to see the entire Kaiba family had been coming towards the academy. "The top student at Duel Academy, I've heard quite a bit about you."
Zane wasn't one to be fazed easily, unlike the various other students chilling out in the schoolyard, as he merely stare at Seto. "So, you know what I am capable of?"
"I know what I've been told; however, I have time before meeting with Sheppard to find out if it's true." Seto stated. "I want to see just how close to a pro you really are. Let's have an unofficial match, here and now."
At this point, the four boys who'd just tag dueled came out of the academy. Even the two of them who reported to the man were surprised to see him.
"Seto Kaiba is here and going to duel my brother?" Syrus questioned in disbelief.
The entire Kaiba family and Zane looked to the group.
"Stay and watch if you want." Seto voiced before focusing on Zane. "What's your answer?"
"Why not?" Zane gave a small smile. "It'll be interesting to hear what you have to say about my dueling at the end."
With his agreement, everyone gave them space. Students gathered around and were getting the word out through their PDAs. Seeing Seto on the island was noteworthy itself, but the fact he was going to duel the best on the island only made this a larger event.
"Since I challenged you, you can decide who goes first." Kaiba replied calmly.
The pair moved the right distance to properly face off as everyone there watched on, eager for the duel that was about to commence.
"You will start the match." Zane stated.
"Let's Duel!"
(Zane 4000/Seto 4000)
"Alright." Seto drew. "I summon Vanguard of the Dragon(LV 4/1700/1300)." A bipedal blue dragon with a spear and shield appeared. "Through his effect, I can discard any 1 dragon-type monster from my hand to grant him 300 extra ATK."
Vanguard of the Dragon(LV 4/2000/1300 effect). "The monster I discarded was The White Stone of Legend which allows me to add a Blue-Eyes White Dragon from my deck to the hand. I'll then conclude my turn with one set card."
"Interesting." Zane drew. "Since you control a monster while I do not, I can special summon Cyber Dragon(LV 5/2100/1600)." The metallic serpentine dragon appeared.
"I was hoping the top student at the academy didn't use machines, like I've heard." Greg commented.
"You have a problem with machine users?" Syrus asked, worried.
"Nah, you're cool Syrus." Greg assured. "I just generally dislike machine decks themselves and prefer monsters with an older feel to them."
"That is a useful ability." Seto noted to the cyber dragon user. "What do you plan on doing with that dragon of yours?"
"First is summoning its core." Zane responded. "More specifically, I summon Cyber Dragon Core(LV 2/400/1500)." A small snake like monster with a large orange core on its chest appeared.
"He's treated as Cyber Dragon while on the field or in my grave. As he was normal summoned, I can now add any 1 Cyber spell/trap from my deck to the hand. Now Cyber Dragon will attack your Vanguard."
Cyber Dragon charged a blue plasma ray between its jaws as it aimed at Vanguard.
"I activate Attack Guidance Armor." Kaiba countered.
"With this, I can destroy your Cyber Dragon or redirect its attack." Seto crossed his arms. "I believe I'll redirect the attack to your core."
The blast did a u-turn around Vanguard of the Dragon and headed towards Core; however, Zane wasn't fazed. "It'll take more than that." He revealed a card in his hand. "I activate the quick-play spell, Photon Generator Unit!"
"This spell requires me to Tribute 2 Cyber Dragons." Both his monsters vanished as Cyber Dragon's blast missed its new target. "Now, the attack target is lost which means Attack Guidance Armor resolves without effect."
"I'd have been disappointed had you not been able to counter that." Seto commented.
"There's still a bit more to this counter as I can summon Cyber Laser Dragon(LV 7/2400/1800) from my deck." What emerged was a stronger Cyber Dragon with a laser built into its tail. Now, Laser Dragon, attack Vanguard of the Dragon with Blue Lightning Clash!"
Opening its jaw, Laser Dragon blasted Vanguard of the Dragon (Zane 4000/Seto 3600).
"He actually damaged Seto's life points." Yuri remarked, a bit surprised. "How much distance is there between me and the best on this island."
"When a dragon-type monster I control is destroyed and sent to the grave, I can special summon Keeper of the Shrine(LV 4/0/2100). I'll do so in defense mode." A monk wearing the armor of a dragon appeared.
"With nothing further to play, I'll end my turn." Zane stated.
Kaiba drew. "Keeper of the Shrine can be counted as two tributes for any dragon-type monster. I'll utilize that fact to tribute him for Blue-Eyes White Dragon(LV 8/3000/2500)." The white dragon with eyes of blue appeared. "Attack Cyber Laser Dragon, Burst Stream of Destruction."
Blue-Eyes White Dragon blasted Laser Dragon, obliterating it while Zane watched on calmly like Seto (Zane 3400/Seto 3600). "I end my turn there with the hope you can do more than you've shown."
"Believe me, there is more to my deck." Zane drew. "First, you control monsters while I do not which allows me to banish Cyber Dragon Core from my grave to special summon a Cyber Dragon(LV 5/2100/1600) form my deck. I'll then normal summon Cyber Valley(LV 1/0/0)."
An eyeless, machine serpent appeared. "By targeting a monster on my field, Valley's effect lets me banish them both to draw two cards." Valley, and Cyber Dragon vanished in light as Zane drew. "The conditions are now perfect for Cyberload Fusion.
This card allows me to Fusion Summon a monster which uses Cyber Dragon by shuffling the needed cards from either my field or face-up in banishment; however, only that monster can attack this turn."
"What exactly do you plan on summoning?" Kaiba inquired upon hearing that.
"I shuffle my banished Cyber Dragon, Valley, and Core to form a machine of eternity." Zane responded. "Fusion summon Cyber Eternity Dragon(LV 10/2800/4000) in defense mode." What emerged was a long, coiled dragon which was silver and light blue.
"Whoa, 4000 defense points!" Jaden exclaimed in amazement.
"It almost seems like Zane's well of cards is endless." Kai added.
"That's another first in such a short time period." Naomi noted. "I can't recall an opponent of father's getting out a monster with that high a defense. The fact he did it with banished monsters which now reside back in his deck to boot."
"Still, that's not enough if Seto brings out his Ultimate Dragons." Yuri noted, as his mind zeroed in on Alternative Ultimate Dragon.
"If Seto has the cards for it, there might just be an even better card for this situation." Mokuba voiced knowingly.
Zane looked at his opponent. "It's your move, Kaiba."
"Let's see how good a field you got." Seto drew. "I activate the ritual spell Chaos Form and sacrifice one Blue-Eyes White Dragon(LV 8) from my hand as requirement. Ritual Summon Blue-Eyes Chaos Dragon(LV 8/3000/0)." A white and blue dragon with blue eyes appeared.
That got the various other students talking upon seeing the ritual dragon next to the original.
"Now, Chaos Dragon will attack Cyber Eternity Dragon with Chaos Burst!" Seto voiced.
"You're attacking with a monster 1000ATK weaker than my Eternity Dragon." Zane declared.
"It's because if Chaos Dragon is Ritual summoned using the original Blue-Eyes, any time he attacks sees your monsters switch battle positions." Seto declared. "Then, their ATK/DEF are reduced to zero, and if I were to attack a defense position monster, Chaos would deal piercing."
Cyber Eternity Dragon(LV 10/0/0 effect) switched to attack mode and was reduced in size before being obliterated by the beam Chaos Dragon fired off (Zane 400/Seto 3600).
"Destroying Eternity Dragon helps me out in the long run." Zane quickly declared. "When it's destroyed, I can take one Cyber Dragon(LV 5/2100/1600) from my grave and special summon it. Throughout all my plays, I kept the first one I summoned in there. I'm doing so in defense."
"I'll have my Blue-Eyes on the field destroy your recently returned Cyber Dragon." Kaiba declared. "Now, I set one card to end my turn."
"My turn." Zane drew. "First, I'll activate the Cyber Revsystem Core got me on my first turn. Thanks to this, I can special summon a Cyber Dragon(LV 5/2100/1600) from my hand or grave, and I'll bring back the one from the latter.
I'll then normal summon Proto-Cyber Dragon(LV 3/1100/600)." An older, smaller machine serpent appeared. "This card's only effect is to act as Cyber Dragon while on the field. Now, you shall see why I have my reputation."
"Is that so?" Seto smirked. "Then, show me what the top student can achieve."
"Sy, think Zane's got Power Bond?" Jaden asked.
"It'd say it's almost a guarantee." Syrus voiced.
"I activate the Spell, Power Bond!" Zane declared. "This card allows me to Fusion Summon a Machine Fusion Monster using monsters from my hand or field. I'll combine the two Cyber Dragons on the field with the one in my hand.
"Fusion summon Cyber End Dragon(LV 12/4000/2800)!" The limbless, giant silver dragon appeared. "While 4000 ATK is his baseline, Power Bond doubles it." Cyber End Dragon(LV 12/8000/2800 effect)
"Hm, impressively done Truesdale; however, I'll have to cut your dragon back down to size with my face down quick-play Shrink." Seto declared. "For the rest of this turn, your dragon's ATK will be its original ATK."
Cyber End Dragon(LV 12/4000/2800 effect)
Despite knowing that set card was there, Zane was still a tad stunned it amounted to this.
Kisara smiled. "Seto always fights until the very end."
Mokuba nodded in agreement. "For as much as he's changed over the years, that's a constant."
"Due to that counter, Zane can't beat Kaiba this turn." Syrus voiced.
"That means come the end of the turn, Power Bond's backlash will hit." Jaden declared. "Zane will then lose life points equal to the attack points his monster gained."
"Even if Zane's life points were full, he couldn't survive this turn." Greg noted.
"Someone like Zane would have seen the potential for this." Kai stated assuredly. "He'll have a counter to prevent that."
"Kai is right in that I have a way to handle the consequence; however, I'll first enter the Battle Phase and destroy your Blue-Eyes Chaos Dragon with Super Strident Blaze!"
The heads all fired giant blue blasts at Chaos Dragon, obliterating him (Zane 400/Seto 2600).
"Just as it does when in my hand, Keeper of the Shrine(LV 4/0/2100) can special summon himself from the grave when a dragon-type monster I control is destroyed and sent to the grave. Once again, I'll do so in defense mode."
Upon that happening, Zane took the last card from his hand. "In Main Phase 2, I summon Cyber Kirin(LV 3/300/800)." A small mechanical hound rose up. "By tributing him, any effect damage I take this turn becomes 0."
Kirin vanished from the field which meant it eliminated Zane taking Power Bond's price.
"Had you gambled everything only to destroy yourself, it'd have been embarrassing." Seto voiced.
"Since I didn't do that, you now need to find a way to contend with my monster." Zane declared. "As it's the End Phase, the power of your Shrink fade." Cyber End Dragon(LV 12/8000/2800 effect)."Your move Kaiba."
Seto simply drew. "From my grave, I banish the dark attribute Blue-Eyes Chaos Dragon with the Light attribute Blue-Eyes White Dragon to summon this. Descend, Chaos Emperor Dragon – Envoy of the End(LV 8/8/3000/2500)." A mighty blue and beige dragon appeared. "I now pay one thousand life points which send every card from our respective field and hands to the grave."
Neither duelist had a card in their hand, so the only ones to hit the grave were Cyber End Dragon, Blue-Eyes White Dragon, Keeper of the Shrine, and Chaos Emperor Dragon – Envoy of the End (Zane 400/Seto 1600).
"Oh no, Zane just lost his monster!" Syrus cried in shock.
"It's worse than that, as I'm sure Kaiba will explain." Kai voiced.
"Now Truesdale, you take 300 life points of damage for every card sent to the grave by this effect." Seto declared. "Four cards were sent, so that's 1200 life points. In other words, three times the amount needed to finish this."
Light and dark energy washed over Zane as a wave (Zane 0/Seto 1600)
Despite the loss, Zane was content. "Satisfied?"
"You met expectations, which is a problem." Seto voiced.
"A problem?" Zane questioned.
He was genuinely interested in the advice someone like Kaiba could give. If the man saw issue with his dueling, well the blue-eyes user wasn't number 2 in the world for nothing. Not to mention he just beat Zane.
"You mastered the Cyber Style, and at such a young age." Seto voiced. "While that's no easy feat, it's still a style famous the world over. Once you leave this island, you'd bring nothing new to the table, and any pro worth their skills will eat you alive.
The reason Yugi, Wheeler, and I stay on top is innovation. When new support comes out for the decks we play, we're quick on the draw and integration. The simple fact is, Pegasus has been printing Cyber support; however, you haven't touched it."
"Mr. Kaiba is right." Sheppard stated as he stepped out of the academy. "The skills I taught you were those I cultivated as the master of the Cyber Style." He rested a hand on his student's shoulder. "As the current master, it's up to you to continue innovating.
Maxamillion Pegasus has and will print ever more Cyber support. Some will work for your deck while others are meant for other people. At the end of the day, it falls on you to investigate these cards and improve the deck which you will one day leave to a student of your own."
Zane hadn't considered this before; however, it made sense now that he was hearing it. It wasn't as though he hadn't paid attention to cards befitting his Cyber deck. He just hadn't paid them any mind as he was mired in the ways he'd learned.
"It appears I have an objective before I graduate." Zane voiced.
"Don't put a hard cap on innovation." Seto voiced. "Whether it's the rest of this year or however long you're a duelist, stay on top of your deck." He then looked to all the gathered students. "Hopefully, you're all paying attention as a lot of this advice can apply to you."
With his peace said, Seto motioned for his family to follow, and they entered the academy with Sheppard. With the context of what had been said, everyone was left with a great deal to contemplate as they moved forward in their time on the island.
Before anyone gets ideas, the Xyz Cyber Dragons will not make an appearance within the confines of Season 1. This is more or less to push Zane into adding the Chimeratech cards to his arsenal. No shame to people who don't have it in their fanfictions, but I think if you got Seto Kaiba more involved in your Gx story, you got to have him duel season 1 Zane at bear minimum.
Given that Zane lost to Aster, who Pegasus ranked as the fourth best duelist he's seen, I think it's safe to say canon season 1 Zane couldn't beat canon Seto Kaiba. Here, both of them have more modern support for their respective decks, so there's no advantage given to either side on that. Of course, maybe Pegasus isn't fully reliable as he does rank Jessie as the fifth. While Jessie is a great duelist, that flashback is from a time before Jessie even has Rainbow Dragon.
Anyways, here Zane takes a genuine loss as opposed to his only season 1 loss coming from Camula's underhanded trick. What does this mean for the future, his duel with Aster in season 2? It depends on what the Light of Destruction sees as in canon the future could be clearly seen, unless you are Jaden. Regardless, that event would still be chapters away. I merely thought it beared mentioning now given some of you might have been thinking about it.
Note: The scheduled tag duels, as well as Crowler's duel, are coming fast. The next chapter should be the last of things I want to Cover, Chumley vs his father as well as a few other things, before getting to the main event the chapter after.
(Real Life Stuff): It appears my family will be moving sometime around the ninth of this month, June/2024. Now, at the rate I've busted out these chapters, that should be plenty of time to at least get those three important duels squared away and perhaps moving onto the content after. Additionally, I'll only be moving three hours away. Theoretically, that's two days loading boxes, unloading, and starting to settle in.
Not to mention, the Wi-Fi we have now is set up as simply as telling them we've moved and is usually active the second I get into a new place. Of course, life can be messy and unpredictable. Despite having time, it's possible I may not get the tag duel done. Also, my mom has yet to secure a place to move into, which could be a problem.
What I'm saying is, hope it's a minor time loss and plan for the worse where I may not be able to upload for a slight minute. What I mean is, even at our lowest, we generally end up getting in somewhere. Essentially, absolute worst-case scenario, I'd say a month goes by before I can upload again. Even then, it shouldn't come to that.
Threebranch: Super-Nimble Mega Hamster does fit both the beast deck as well as the effect of Master of Ham. As for Zane, potentially.
Vital Info: I don't think I want to mess with anything that happened in the anime version of the og Duel Monsters. In that case, the Egyptian Gods would have still been sealed away after Atem left. As for the setup of last chapter, you pretty much hit the nail on the head. I kept Jaden's canon loss to Zane and had Syrus duel Chumley to ease any major expectations for this chapter's tag duel. Without those two things, a victory for Kai and Greg wouldn't see Jaden and Syrus lose anything.
The Duelist of Dawn: Maybe the Zane thing is part of it, but Duel Academy has been around for ten years. I personally put it on the fact getting into Obelisk is based on seemingly weather you graduated a duel prep or not. Arguably, Bastion would have had the highest total score in the entrance exam, yet even he was put in Ra. As for Master of OZ, I didn't want to take away from the sweet moment where Jaden and Syrus band around their buddy to give him some cards.
There are also hand traps, and even back in GX proper they were a thing. Yugi had arguably one of the earliest examples of a hand trap with Kuriboh. Still, it doesn't take away from the fact that when Power Bond works, it works awesomely. Now that Syrus is coming into his own as a duelist, he and Jaden have been getting planning just as Kai and Greg have.