Chapter 7: Red Dorm Showdown! (Part 2)
"Go, Rampart Blaster!" A boy shouted at his monster. "Rampart Barrage!"
A monster extended her right arm, several missiles launching from it and impacting against the knight in front of her, exploding in hundreds of pieces. "Hngh!" Another student complained.
The Slifer student crossed his arms while his monster jumped back to his side. "C'mon, Galen! I know you can still do something!"
"I still have some tricks up my sleeve, Jaden!" Galen chuckled. "This duel isn't over yet!"
Galen Kujo was now having one of the hardest duels in his life. In front of him was none other than Jaden Yuki, another Slifer student just like him that was known for his skills in dueling.
Cursing under his breath, the boy turned to his duel disk display, showing the life points they both had. 'Crud, not the best place to be right now.'
GALEN - 1400 LP
JADEN - 3400 LP
"Galen's in trouble now." André crossed his arms while looking at the duel in front of him. "Jaden's not leaving him space to recover."
"And he has a stronger monster too." Blair pointed out. "This is gonna get even tougher for him."
Looking at both students' fields, the small group of André, Blair, Syrus and Chumley was accompanied by other Slifer students at the sidelines of the duel arena the Red Dorm has. Each of them had mixed emotions as they couldn't pick between which of the boys to cheer on.
'Man, I wasn't expecting to be like this so soon.' Galen sighed as he turned to look around. 'Right now Jaden has his field spell boosting his heroes and one of them protecting him.'
Skyscraper, Jaden's field spell, was currently active and ready to boost his Elemental Heroes attack points whenever they fought against a stronger monster. The hyperactive Slifer also had a powerful hero at his side.
Elemental Hero Rampart Blaster - (2000 ATK)
Turning to his side of the field, Galen could see his only monster, Garnet, at his side waiting to be used.
Gem-Knight Garnet - (1900 ATK)
'What a way to end my week…' Galen sighed as he recomposed himself.
"C'mon, buddy!" His opponent broke his thoughts. "Giving up already?"
"Heh." Galen chuckled. "You wish." Putting a hand atop his deck, the boy prayed for a card to turn this around. "Get ready, draw!"
Galen didn't instantly look at the card he got, the boy waited a few seconds before turning a little to see what he drew. Realizing his prayers were answered, he smiled. "Alright, time for the comeback!"
"I activate my Gem-Knight Fusion's effect!" Galen declared as his graveyard started to glow. "By removing from play one of my Gem-Knight monsters I can add it back to my hand."
As two cards popped out of the boy's graveyard slot, Galen grabbed his Gem-Knight Fusion spell. He then grabbed the second card, Gem-Knight Alexandrite, and put it in his deck box, removing it from play.
"Time for some action!" Galen declared as he put a card on his spell/trap slot. "I activate my Gem-Knight Fusion!"
At the boy's command, a portal with several precious stones appeared behind him. "I fuse both the Gem-Knight Crystal in my hand and the Garnet in my field to summon a new monster!"
As both monsters jumped to the portal, a new figure started to form. "Stone warrior with orange light, powerful swordmaster of heated passion! Come forth and scorch down my enemies!" Unbeknownst to Galen, his left iris changed to an orange color. "Fusion summon! Appear! Gem-Knight Citrine!"
At the boy's command, a new monster jumped from the portal. The familiar knight clad in wooden armor cleaved his sword to the ground; as he slowly raised himself, he pointed his weapon covered in magma to Jaden's hero.
Gem-Knight Citrine - (2200 ATK)
"Oh wow!" Jaden stared in awe at Galen's knight. "I didn't see that one before! This is so sweet!"
"You don't fangirl over someone else's monster, Jay…." Syrus sighed at his friend's antics.
"Especially one that can destroy the one in your field…." Chumley sweat dropped as well.
"Hope you like him, Jaden." Galen chuckled. "Cause your hero's about to meet him upfront!"
"Go, Citrine!" The boy commanded his knight. "Attack Rampart Blaster with Molten Slash!"
At Galen's command, Citrine jumped to meet Rampart head on; Jaden's hero responded by launching several missiles from her arm. A big explosion covered the middle of the duel field as the knight couldn't repel all of the projectiles. "He lost that!?" Blair shouted as she covered her eyes.
Before anyone could react, Citrine jumped out of the smoke. Dashing forward, he swung his sword against Rampart. The hero raised the shield on her left hand, blocking the knights' attack.
Before Rampart could try and push Citrine back, the knight grabbed his sword with both hands. Using all his strength, he pushed forward and cut the hero's shield, slashing Jaden's monster in half in the process. "Hngh!" The hyperactive Slifer complained.
GALEN - 1400 LP
JADEN - 3200 LP
"He took down Rampart!" André shouted as Jaden's monster exploded.
"Jay's wide open again." Syrus, shocked that his friend once again lost a monster, covered his mouth.
"Things are starting to look better for me." Galen put a hand on his waist. "I set one card and end my turn." The boy put a card on his spell/trap slot, the hologram appearing next to him.
"Ah well, you know what they say." Jaden chuckled as he put a hand atop his deck. "When the dueling gets tough, the tough get dueling. Draw!"
Looking at his card, Jaden laughed. "And what a better way to turn things around than with him!"
"I summon my Elemental Hero Bubbleman!" Jaden slammed his card on his duel disk. Suddenly, the hologram of a man covered in a light blue suit with a white cape appeared on the field. He then pointed the water cannon on his waist at Citrine.
Elemental Hero Bubbleman - (800 ATK)
"Uhh, Jaden." Galen chuckled a bit. "Sorry to break your 'bubble'...but he's weaker than Citrine."
"...What an awful attempt at a joke." Blair sighed.
"Agreed." André sweat dropped. "But he's right though, even with Skyscraper's attack bonus his monster can't destroy Citrine."
"He may not be that strong, but he packs a sweet effect to make up for it!" Jaden cheerfully rebutted. "You see, when he's the only monster on my field, I get to draw two new cards."
"Alright, Galen-" Jaden once again put a hand atop his deck. "-Time to turn this around!"
"Here we go, draw!" Jaden took a few seconds to look at the cards he drew. As his eyes recognized them, the boy smiled. "Sweet! Time to bring my A game for this!"
"I activate the spell card Bubble Blaster!" As Jaden put the card on his spell/trap slot, a big bazooka appeared next to Bubbleman. Grabbing it, the hero crouched and took aim at Citrine. "You see Galen, when Bubbleman is equipped with this, he gets a whooping eight hundred attack points!"
Elemental Hero Bubbleman - (1600 ATK)
"That's good and all, Jaden." Galen scratched his cheek. "But he's still weaker than Citrine."
"Jay's not thinking this through…" Syrus sighed.
"You think so?" Contrary to everyone else, Jaden's confidence was as strong as ever. "Let's put that to the test! Go, Bubbleman! Bombarding Bubble Barrage!"
As Bubbleman took aim, Citrine was preparing to take on the attack. "Uh, Jaden?" Galen just sweat dropped as he sighed. "You do realize he's weaker than my monster, right?"
"You forgot one thing, Galen." Jaden chuckled as he pointed to the building behind him. "Skyscraper is still active!"
"That's right!" André figured out the boy's plan. "He needed Bubbleman to be just a bit stronger and then use his field spell to overcome Citrine!"
"So that was Jay's plan all along!" Syrus started in awe at his friend's idea.
An aura Started to surround Bubbleman, making him more stronger.
Elemental Hero Bubbleman - (2600 ATK)
"Not good." Galen cursed as Jaden's monster was now more stronger than his'.
"You bet it isn't." Jaden chuckled while pointing at Citrine. "And it's only gonna get worse! Go, Bubbleman!"
Bubbleman's weapon launched a torpedo against Citrine, the knight stood on his ground, covering himself with his sword.
As the torpedo impacted against Citrine's sword, it exploded, making everyone covered their eyes. "Hngh!" Galen cursed under his breath.
GALEN - 1000 LP
JADEN - 3200 LP
"And once again Jaden got the lead of the duel." Blair sighed as his roommate was cornered for a second time.
"But to get the cards he needs to turn around the board…" André rubbed his chin while looking at Jaden. "He really is a lucky guy."
"That's Jaden for you." Syrus chuckled. "He always finds a way to draw what he needs."
"Talk about having me on the edge here, Jaden." Galen chuckled as he looked at his once again empty field. "My monsters are gone before they can even do something."
"Haha! Right back at ya, buddy!" Jaden laughed while pointing at Galen with his signature pose. "You ain't giving me a breather, either!"
"I set a card and end my turn." Jaden put a card on his spell/trap slot, making the hologram appear next to him. "Welp, show me what you've got!"
"You want it? You'll get it!" Galen drew a card from his deck. "Alright, let's do this! I activate Pot of Greed!"
Galen drew two more cards from his deck. Taking a quick look at them, he started to laugh. "Fun duel, Jaden, but it's over!"
"What did he draw?" Blair narrowed his eyes while looking at his roommate's happy expression.
"Time for the comeback, I activate my Call of the Haunted!" Galen touched a button on his duel disk, making the set card next to him flip face up. "With this I can special summon a monster from my graveyard. And I pick my Crystal!"
A grave appeared on Galen's side of the field, it soon started to crack. As it shattered, the familiar image of a knight jumped to the field, the boy's monster looking straight at Bubbleman.
Gem-Knight Crystal - (2450 ATK)
"He can take Bubbleman out now!" Chumley exclaimed. "But he said something about ending the duel here." André pointed out. "What did he mean by that?"
"And I can still normal summon a monster!" Galen shouted as he grabbed a card from his hand. "Go get 'em, Tourmaline!"
As the boy slammed a card on his duel disk, a new hologram appeared on his side of the field. Jumping to Crystal's side, Galen's new knight joined his front line.
Gem-Knight Tourmaline - (1600 ATK)
"Two monsters out, he can turn this duel around!" Chumley exclaimed.
"Yeah, but remember Bubble Blaster's effect, Chum." Syrus rubbed his chin. "If Bubbleman would be destroyed by battle, you can trash the equip spell instead."
"And to make things even harder, Jaden wouldn't receive any battle damage from the attack." Syrus finished explaining the card before someone interrupted him.
"Bubbleman now has the same attack points as Tourmaline." Blair thought out loud. "So that leaves his only choice to be attacking with Crystal."
"And even if he destroys the equip spell, Jaden comes unscathed." André sighed. "Pity, was a good way to turn things around."
"Sweet, you got two knights on the field!" Jaden excitedly pumped his fist in the air, interrupting the group watching the duel.
"That's not all, Jaden." Galen shook his head. "But might as well call it the end with this!"
"Let's kick it up a notch! I activate my Particle Fusion!" Galen put his card on the spell/trap slot on his duel disk. Suddenly, a portal appeared below his monsters. "With this I can fusion summon a monster with the ones in my field!"
As both of Galen's monsters jumped to the portal, a bright light covered his side of the field. "I fusion summon both my Tourmaline and Crystal!" The boy exclaimed.
"Stone warrior with yellow light, unmatched power of ferocious thunder! Come forth and descend upon my enemies!" Unbeknownst to Galen, his left iris turned to a yellowish color. "Fusion summon! Appear! Gem-Knight Topaz!"
As the portal closed, a familiar knight jumped from it. Descending onto the field, lightning was flickering around his weapons as his armor was shining with the Sun.
Gem-Knight Topaz - (1800 ATK)
"Sweet!" Jaden excitedly ogled at Galen's monster. "I've been waiting to face him!"
"Oh, you'll be doing more than just face him, Jaden!" Galen chuckled. "Remember my Particle Fusion's effect!"
"By banishing this card from my graveyard, I can make my Topaz gain the attack of one of the monsters used to summon it!" As the spell card came out of his graveyard slot, Galen grabbed it and put it back on his deck box, removing it from play.
"I'll use my Tourmaline's attack!" Galen declared. Soon after, a bright glow started to cover Topaz' armor.
Gem-Knight Topaz - (3400 ATK)
"Thirty-four hundred!" André gasped.
"Not 'lishus…!" Chumley commented.
"Now he can take out Bubbleman without a problem!" Syrus gulped.
"Time to eat the dust, Jaden!" Galen pointed at his opponent's monster. "Go, Topaz! Destroy Bubbleman with Lightning Strike!"
Topaz jumped to the air, suddenly vanishing from sight. "W-Where did he go!?" Blair stepped back in disbelief.
Suddenly, Topaz appeared in front of Bubbleman. Raising his weapon, the knight intended to slash the hero in one swift motion and destroy him completely; Jaden's monster covered behind his torpedo launcher in an attempt to deflect the attack.
Both weapons collided in a grandiose light show. Topaz, using his tonfas, pushed even harder than Bubbleman, making the hero start to step back.
Then slowly several cracks started to appear on Bubbleman's weapon, making it explode in front of Jaden. "Hngh!" The boy covered his eyes.
As Topaz jumped back to Galen's side, the boy narrowed his eyes at the sight in front of him. "Uhh…" He was lost for words.
Contrary to what he expected, Bubbleman was still standing next to Jaden, the boy just scratched the bridge of his nose. "Shouldn't your monster be destroyed by now?" Galen pointed out.
"Haha, not with my Bubble Blaster's effect." Jaden chuckled while pointing to his monster. "You see, if he were to be destroyed by battle I can send that card to the graveyard instead and I don't get any battle damage either!" The boy scratched the back of his head. "Pretty sweet huh?"
"Saved by the bell, I guess." Blair sighed.
"Bubbleman's attack drops without his equip spell, though." André pointed out while looking at Jaden's monster.
Elemental Hero Bubbleman - (800 ATK)
"Don't think you're off the hook yet, Jaden." The group turned to Galen. "Remember my Topaz can attack a second time!"
Jaden stepped back a bit as he forgot about Galen's monster effect. "Then that means-"
"That your monster is history!" As Galen pointed at Bubbleman, Topaz once again suddenly disappeared. "Take him out! Lightning Strike!"
Topaz reappeared behind Bubbleman. With a swift motion, the knight slashed the hero's back, making him explode in pieces. "Guh!" Jaden covered his eyes because of the light show.
GALEN - 1000 LP
JADEN - 600 LP
"What a comeback!" André was left speechless as he saw Jaden's monster being destroyed. "He completely turned the tide of the duel!"
"And don't forget my Topaz effect!" Galen pointed at his opponent. "You'll take damage equal to your monster's attack!"
"Wait." Chumley looked at his friend. "Bubbleman had eight hundred attack points."
"And Jaden only has six hundred…!" Syrus' eyes got wide. "Oh no! Jay!"
As lightning started to fickle below Jaden, he stepped back. 'Oh man, this is bad!' The boy cursed.
"Good game, Jaden." Galen nodded as he smiled. "Sadly, it's over!"
"Not yet!" Jaden declared, surprising everyone watching the duel. "I still have one more trick up my sleeve!"
Touching a button on his duel disk, Jaden's set card flipped face up. "I activate my Emergency Provisions!"
"Emergency Provisions?" Galen repeated as he never heard of that card. "Yep! With this I can send spell or trap cards from my field to the graveyard and I'll get an additional one thousand life points for each!" Jaden explained his card.
"I'm using my Skyscraper!" Touching another button, a new slot opened up on Jaden's duel disk, revealing his field spell. Grabbing it, the boy send it to his graveyard, making the several buildings surrounding the duel start to disappear.
GALEN - 1000 LP
JADEN - 1600 LP
"You still take my Topaz' effect damage, though!" Galen declared as he pointed at his opponent. Several bolts of lightning strike Jaden, making him step back a bit. "Augh!" He complained.
GALEN - 1000 LP
JADEN - 800 LP
""Jaden!"" Both Chumley and Syrus worriedly shouted their friends' names.
"Looks like Jaden somehow survived that." Blair sighed. "Even if barely."
"Yeah." André nodded as he turned to look at Topaz monster. "Now Galen has the upper hand."
"I end my turn." Galen decided as he put a hand on his waist. "Because of Particle Fusion's effect, my Topaz attack returns to normal."
Gem-Knight Topaz - (1800 ATK)
"Looks like I got you good, Jaden." Galen chuckled while looking at his opponent.
"He's right." André's comment made the group turn to him. "Jaden only has one card in hand left and Galen has a strong monster on his side of the field."
"Everything depends on what Jaden draws now." Blair figured out what André was trying to say.
"Jay…." Syrus worriedly prayed for his friend's luck to turn around.
"Ha….haha…"
As the group turned to the duel, they could hear someone laughing. Narrowing their eyes, everyone saw how Jaden was standing still, a big smile adorning his face.
"Oh man!" Jaden laughed even harder. "Now this is what I call a duel!" He cheerfully said.
As the boy excitedly pumped his fist in the air, Chumley sighed. "How on Earth is he so calm…"
"Don't tell me you don't feel the same, Galen!" Jaden pointed at his opponent. The latter just chuckled. "Can't say I'm not having fun."
"Then get ready 'cause this is just getting started!" Jaden put a hand atop his deck.
"This is it." André thought out loud. "Jaden needs to draw something to get him out of this pinch if he wants to win."
"Here goes something!" Jaden drew and waited a few seconds before looking what he got. As his eyes checked the card, his smile grew wider. "Sweet!"
"I activate Pot of Greed!" Jaden declared as he put the card in his spell/trap slot. "With this I can draw two more cards from my deck!"
Drawing two new cards, Jaden took a look at his hand. "Alright, I can work with this." The boy nodded.
"I summon my Elemental Hero Wildheart!" Jaden slammed a card on his duel disk. The hologram of a new hero appeared next to the Slifer student.
Jaden's new monster was a tall man with big muscles, his black hair was tied on a ponytail and several tattoos covered his shoulders. A massive sword was resting on his back and his eyes were fixated on Topaz.
Elemental Hero Wildheart - (1500 ATK)
"Cool monster, Jaden." Galen chuckled. "But he's still weaker than my Topaz!"
"He's weak, yeah." Jaden admitted. "But not for long!"
"I activate my spell card, H - Heated Heart!" Jaden put his card on his spell/trap slot. "With this I can make one of my monsters get a whopping five hundred attack points bonus!"
"Five hundred!?" Galen repeated as his eyes got wide.
Wildheart screamed as a powerful aura started to cover his body, making him grow stronger.
Elemental Hero Wildheart - (2000 ATK)
"Now he's stronger than Topaz!" Syrus shouted.
"Get ready, buddy!" Jaden pointed at Galen. "This one's gonna hurt!"
"Go, Wildheart! Wild Slash!" Jaden's monster grabbed his sword and jumped to meet Topaz head on. Galen's knight responded by disappearing in a flash of light, only to reappear in front of the hero.
Once again, a knight clashes against a hero. A new light show covered the duel field as Topaz' tonfas met Wildheart's sword.
With a swift motion, Wildheart pushed Topaz back; making the knight lose his momentum and slashing him in half, causing Galen's monster to explode in the air. "Hngh!" The boy cursed.
GALEN - 800 LP
JADEN - 800 LP
"They're both tied in life points now!" Chumley gasped.
"Neither of them is giving in!" Syrus couldn't believe the intensity of the duel.
"That's how you do it, Jaden!" One of the Slifer students watching the duel cheered from the sidelines.
"Pick up the pace, Galen!" Another Slifer student cheered from the other side.
As both duelists turned around them, they could see their small duel gathered a big crowd with almost everyone from the Slifer dorm watching it. "Looks like we're popular." Galen joked.
"Hahaha! And who would miss a sweet duel like this!" Jaden pointed at the boy with his signature gesture. "You got game, Galen!"
"Can say the same thing to you." Galen chuckled. 'Now I see why Bastion and the rest hold him in high regard.' He thought while looking at his opponent.
"I set one card face down and end my turn." Jaden put the last card on his hand on his spell/trap slot, the hologram appearing next to him. "Because of Heated Heart's effect, my Wildheart's attack returns to normal."
As the aura surrounding Wildheart started to fade, his attack points lowered.
Elemental Hero Wildheart - (1500 ATK)
"Show me what you got, buddy!" Jaden put both hands on his waist.
'This guy is full of surprises.' Galen narrowed his eyes at the face down card on Jaden's side of the field. 'I can't go easy against him.'
"C'mon Galen!" Someone shouting caught the boy's thought.
"You can do it!" Another Slifer shouted from the sidelines.
"This duel sure got the attention of a lot of people." Blair sweat dropped as he could see even more Slifers joining in watching the duel, some of them even picking their favorite to win.
"Well, it's not every day you see these types of duels in the Red Dorm." André chuckled. "Then again, this might be the most heated one I've seen in Duel Academy."
"Jay has Galen cornered again." Syrus thought out loud. "And that Wildheart is not looking 'lishus for him." Chumley added.
'Pushed to a corner again.' André thought as he put a hand on his chin. 'I've seen you have this problem before, Galen. But it looks like you found someone that can match your luck in getting out of these situations.'
'What will you do?' André narrowed his eyes as he could see Galen put a hand atop his deck.
'Aw man.' Galen cursed as he could see his field empty again. 'This guy is not giving me a break at all.'
Looking at the only card in his hand, the boy sighed. "This doesn't help me much here."
'Everything depends on this draw.' Galen closed his eyes as he put a hand atop his deck. Soon after, he felt a hand atop his'. "Let's turn this around! Draw!"
Waiting a few seconds to look at the card he got, the boy's gaze turned to his right hand. His smile grew wider as he recognized what he drew. "Alright!"
"Looks like he got what he needed." Syrus gulped.
"Let's do this!" Grabbing the other card in his hand, Galen put it in his spell/trap slot. "I activate the spell card Monster Reincarnation!"
As the hologram of the spell appeared on the field, Galen grabbed the last card on his hand. "With this I can discard one card to add a monster from the graveyard to my hand!"
Galen discarded the card he drew, another one popped from his graveyard slot. Grabbing it, he showed it to Jaden. "I pick my Tourmaline!"
Before anyone could think what the boy was planning, his graveyard started to glow. "Uh, what is that?" Chumley asked.
"That is the effect of the card I discarded!" Galen chuckled. "One I'm about to use now!"
"I activate my Gem-Knight Obsidian's effect!" Galen shouted. "When he is discarded from my hand to the graveyard, I can special summon a normal level four or lower Gem-Knight monster."
"What!?" Jaden could see a portal opening on Galen's side of the field, a familiar figure appearing next to the boy.
"Come back, Gem-Knight Garnet!" Galen raised his right hand to the sky as the familiar monster jumped back to the field.
Gem-Knight Garnet - (1900 ATK)
"He's stronger than Wildheart!" André pointed out.
"And don't forget I can still summon a monster." Galen raised the last card in his hand. "Come out, Gem-Knight Tourmaline!"
As the boy slammed the card on his duel disk, another knight jumped to the field. Lightning tickling from his hands as he turned to Jaden's monster.
Gem-Knight Tourmaline - (1600 ATK)
"Oh no…" Syrus covered his mouth with both his hands while looking at the duel. "Now Galen has two monsters!"
"And they're stronger than Wildheart too!" Chumley's eyes got wide. "This is super anti 'lishus!"
"Oh man." Jaden cursed. "This is gonna hurt."
"You bet it will!" Galen pointed at his opponent. "Get ready, Jaden! 'Cause I'm going all in!"
"Go, Tourmaline!" Galen pointed at Jaden's monster. "Destroy Wildheart with Electric Discharge!"
Nodding, the knight jumped to meet the hero head on. As Wildheart drew his sword to attack Tourmaline, Galen's monster clasped his hands together.
Soon after, lightning started to come out of Tourmaline's hands. As he separated them, a bright orb appeared just in the middle, sending sparks flying everywhere.
As Wildheart came closer to the knight, Tourmaline extended his hands, sending the orb straight into the hero's chest. A massive explosion resulted from the attack. "Hngh!" Jaden covered his eyes from the light show.
GALEN - 800 LP
JADEN - 700 LP
"Oh no!" Syrus' eyes got wide. "Jay's wide open again!"
"This is it!" Galen raised his right hand. "Time to end this!"
"Go, Garnet!" Galen pointed directly at Jaden. "End this duel! Scorching Fist!"
Garnet nodded, he then jumped straight to Jaden. The Slifer student stepped back a bit as the knight came closer.
""Jaden!"" Once again both Syrus and Chumley shouted in unison.
"I'm not dropping the towel yet!" Jaden quickly touched a button on his duel disk, the card next to him flipped face up. "I activate my spell card, Flute of Summoning Kuriboh!"
As the card started to glow, Jaden picked his deck. "With this I grab one Kuriboh from my deck and either add it to my hand or special summon it!"
Picking the card he wanted, the boy shuffled his deck and put it back on his duel disk. "Time for you to join the show, buddy!" Jaden exclaimed as an hologram appeared next to him. "Go, Winged Kuriboh!"
In the nick of time, a small creature covered in brown fur and with two small white wings appeared in front of jaden. The monster produced a sound while winking his eye.
Winged Kuriboh - (300 ATK)
Garnet retracted his fist, he then sent a massive fireball at the petite creature, making it explode. "Hngh!" Jaden complained. "Sorry, Kuriboh."
As the dust settled, Galen raised an eyebrow. "Shouldn't your life points drop by now?"
Jaden laughed a bit. "Not with my Winged Kuriboh's effect! Any battle damage I get after he's destroyed turns to zero!"
"This guy just won't go down!" Blair thought out loud after Jaden once again found a way to stay in the duel.
"He's still in this duel!" Syrus thanked the heavens as Jaden survived another turn.
"You sure got a lot of tricks up your sleeve." Galen joked as he shook his head. "And here I thought I got you."
"Haha! But that's what makes dueling fun!" Jaden laughed while scratching the back of his head. "You know what I say, it's not over until the last card is drawn!"
"You said that back on my first day when I dueled Izzy." Galen nodded as he remembered Jaden rooting for him in his duel against the Obelisk student.
"And that's the motto I live by." Jaden puffed his chest as he pointed at himself.
"He can say that all he wants, but right now he's completely out of options." The group turned to André. "No hand, an empty field and no life points to spare."
And everyone had to agree with the boy. Jaden was right now in the worst possible place he could be.
"Jay…." Syrus could only wish his friend would find a way out of the situation he was in.
"This is not lishus' at all." Chumley shook his head.
"Two monsters out with big attack points." Blair thought out loud. "Galen might win this."
'And that should be the case.' André thought. As he turned to face the other duelist, he narrowed his eyes. 'But why is he smiling?'
And, clear for all to see, Jaden Yuki was smiling even if had two monsters looking down on depleting the rest of his life points.
But it wasn't a smile as if he was happy, no.
It was a smile of challenge.
That's right. This duel was more than just a pass time for Jaden now, it was a challenge.
A challenge to see how he can beat the odds and do the impossible. A challenge to see if he truly got what it takes to grab the title of King of Games he dreams of.
In front of the hyperactive Slifer was not just someone from his dorm that knew how to duel. No, it's someone that, just like him, bested one of the top students Duel Academy has. It's someone that, just like him, could turn the tide of a duel to his favor.
It's someone that actually dueled next to the King of Games himself.
The last time Jaden had this feeling was when he dueled against Zane Truesdale, Syrus' brother. And, even if he lost, he won't deny that his mind was set on the same objective Galen has: to beat the best duelist Duel Academy has seen.
But to reach that far Jaden must try his luck against the best. Only then he would feel like he deserves a rematch against Zane.
'This is it!' Jaden thought. 'I came to this island for this reason! To face the best!'
"Looks like I finally got you on a corner, Jaden." Galen chuckled as he crossed his arms. "You can surrender if you want." The boy joked.
"Surrender?" Jaden repeated as he chuckled. "You kidding? This is one of the best duels I had!"
"That's good and all-" André sighed, "-But you're not in a good place to be now."
"Alright." Jaden put a hand atop his deck, his eyes never leaving Galen. "This is it, the moment of truth."
"He either gets something or loses the duel…!" Chumley's heart was pounding as fast as it could.
'Oh man, I'm not even dueling and the pressure is killing me!' Syrus couldn't even look as Jaden was preparing himself to draw his card.
"You ready, Galen?" The boy nodded. "Alright, here we go!"
Everyone stopped talking the moment Jaden drew his card, the entire duel field suddenly got quiet. The only sound that could be heard were the waves crashing against the cliffs.
Both Syrus and Chumley were at the verge of passing out from the nervousness of the situation.
Waiting a few seconds, Jaden decided to get the card closer to his face. Slowly opening his right eye, he looked at what he drew.
A second passed.
Then another.
'Did…..did he draw something good….?' Syrus slowly opened his eyes and turned to his friend.
"Sweet!" Suddenly, Jaden's voice broke the silence. "I'm still in this game!"
"Time to get my comeback on!" As Jaden put a card on his spell/trap slot, a hologram appeared next to him. "I activate my Fifth Hope!"
"What does that do?" Galen scratched his cheek in confusion.
"You see, this card lets me shuffle five Elemental Hero monsters in my graveyard back to my deck." Jaden started to explain his spell. "Then I can draw two new cards!"
"Two new cards!?" Blair thought out loud. "He still can turn this around!"
"They need to be extremely good, though." André narrowed his eyes. "It's an extremely risky bet."
As five different Elemental Hero monsters popped out of Jaden's graveyard slot, the boy grabbed them and put them back in his deck. "You see, there's an additional part to my card, though."
"What is it?" Galen narrowed his eyes. "When I don't have any other cards in both my field and my hand when I activated Fifth Hope, I can draw three cards instead!"
Shuffling a bit, Jaden put his deck back on his duel disk. "Okay. Here goes something!"
As Jaden drew three new cards from his deck, he turned to see them. "Haha! And what a 'something' this is!" He laughed.
"I activate my Fusion Sage!" Jaden put his card on the spell/trap slot. "With this I can add a 'Polymerization' from my deck to my hand!"
Taking out his deck once more, the hyperactive Slifer grabbed the spell he needed. "Alright then! Time for some fusion action!"
"I activate Polymerization!" As Jaden put his spell card on his duel disk, a portal appeared behind him. "With this I'll fuse both the Elemental Hero Sparkman and Clayman in my hand to summon a new monster!"
As both heroes jumped to the portal, several lightning came out of it to Galen's direction. "Get ready to meet one of the coolest heroes, Galen!"
"Come on out, Elemental Hero Thunder Giant!" At Jaden's call, a massive creature jumped to the duel field. Slamming his right fist into the floor, several lightning came from his body.
Galen could see how Jaden's new monster was a tall figure covered in yellow armor with white details. His eyes were covered by a blue visor and a massive blue orb covered his chest.
Elemental Hero Thunder Giant - (2400 ATK)
"That's one big monster…!" Blair stepped back a bit.
"And he has attack points to spare!" André added his thoughts.
"He's stronger than both Garnet and Tourmaline too!" Chumley pointed out.
"You mean Jay's gonna-"
"This is bad…." Before Syrus could finish his sentence, Galen cursed because of his predicament.
"This was a sweet duel, Galen!" Jaden pointed at his opponent. "But the hero always wins in the end!"
"Go, Thunder Giant!" Jaden pointed at one of Galen's knights. "Attack Tourmaline! Voltic Thunder!"
As Thunder Giant raised his hands, a massive storm of lightning was sent directly to Tourmaline. The knight responded in kind by sending a lightning attack of his own.
Both attacks collided mid air, causing a massive light show and sparks flying everywhere. "Augh! My eyes!" Syrus cried out as he was blinded by it.
In the end, Jaden's monster came out stronger; his ferocious attack completely overtook Tourmaline, destroying him in the process. "Hngh!" Galen covered his eyes.
GALEN - 0 LP
JADEN - 700 LP
Silence.
The entire duel field got silent as all the holograms disappeared, signaling the end of the duel.
"Aw man, that was such a sweet duel!" Well, everyone except for a particular Slifer.
As Galen took out his deck from his duel disk, he turned the gadget off. "Ah, well." The boy sighed. "Can't win them all, I guess."
"Let's go, Jay!" Syrus ran to congratulate his friend, Chumley followed him to do the same. "That duel was really lishus'!"
"Unbelievable…." Blair was left speechless as he witnessed the end of the duel. "Jaden actually pulled it off."
"There's a reason why they say he's the best Slifer." André chuckled. "Bad luck on Galen's part I guess."
"Looks like the deck still needs some work." André turned to see Galen walking up to him. "No way I'm beating Zane with this one."
"Y-You still want to duel Zane!?" Blair almost face planted as the boy in front of him was still thinking the same thing.
"Well, yeah." Galen shrugged. "That was the point of this whole duel to begin with. To see if I got a shot with the deck we came up with."
"You centered your deck on the idea of a fast beat down, right?" André's question made Galen turn to face him. "Well, Uhtred did say Zane tries to take you out fast. So I thought about beating him faster!"
The boy's honesty made Blair facepalm. "What kind of crazy idea is that….."
"What about trying a control one?" André rubbed his cheek. "You know, if beating him fast enough doesn't work. Why don't you try slowing the duel down all you can and then beat him?"
Galen put a hand on his chin, pondering about what André said. "If he can't beat me that fast, then I might have a chance!"
"What a way to duel, Galen!" As the trio turned around, they could see a group coming his way. "That was such a sweet game!"
"Was a tough duel, Jaden." Galen chuckled as he greeted his opponent. "My knights couldn't last a turn against your monsters."
Jaden snorted at the boy's comment. "You kidding? You had me on the ropes more than once!" The hyperactive Slifer pointed at the duel field. "It's a miracle I won that!"
"You got game, man!" Jaden pointed at Galen with his signature pose. "And I mean it!"
As Galen nodded in appreciation, Blair shrugged. "I guess this means Jaden is the best Slifer Red in Duel Academy."
"Nah." Contrary to everyone else, Jaden disagreed with the idea. "This duel was just to test Galen's deck, it doesn't count."
"Besides, it was anyone's game at that point!" Jaden scratched the back of his head while laughing. "I was just lucky enough to get the cards I needed."
"Oh yeah! I can already feel it!" Jaden put his fist on his chest. "You and me dueling with all we got! And this time in the school's duel arena!"
"You better get ready for that, Galen!" Jaden pointed at the boy.
Galen chuckled as he extended his hand at the boy. "It's on, then."
As both boys shook their hands, the students around them started to clap.
"That's how you do it, Jaden!" One Slifer student shouted.
"Next time you'll beat him, Galen!" Another one responded.
"Looks like the entire dorm was watching this." Jaden laughed while looking at their spectators.
"Well, you did put on a great show." André admitted. "Was a fun duel to watch."
"So now what's the plan?" Jaden turned to Galen, the latter scratched his head. "Well, now we're back to the drawing board."
"Please don't tell me you're gonna have another attempt at a sleepover for that deck of yours…." Blair sighed.
"We're having a sleepover?" Jaden's head popped from behind Blair, the latter almost falling to the floor because of getting scared. "Hey, count me in!"
"What do you mean 'count me in'!?" Blair glared angrily at Jaden. "And it's still morning!"
Jaden laughed while scratching his head. "Well that means we got even more time before night!"
"And besides-" Jaden turned to Galen, "-That means I can duel you again!"
"Well, I can use the practice." Galen chuckled as the hyperactive Slifer pumped his fist. "The more people helping, the merrier I guess."
As both Slifer students started to debate on new ideas, Blair was having a mental breakdown.
First it was suffering Galen's incessant questions and laid-back attitude, then it was suffering the agony of having a group of students stay until curfew for his crazy idea of dueling Zane.
And now, to top it all off, the most hyperactive student known in the entire island wants to join in as well!?
'I'll file a complaint with the chancellor and demand a new roommate!' Blair cursed his bad luck.
So, as the group started to walk back to the dining hall to see if Banner cooked something; a certain pair of Slifers were still debating deck building ideas and the option to stay up the entire night coming up with different ways to beat Zane.
(Author's Note)
To be completely honest, I finished this chapter like two weeks ago but one thing led to another and I couldn't find the time to polish it a bit and upload it.
I guess you figured it out by now but I'll use Bubbleman's anime effect instead of the one the actual card has just for the sake of having more options for writing duels.
I already started writing the next chapter and somewhat have an idea of where to go from there so I don't think it'll take that long to post it too.
So as always, please read and review to your heart's content.
See you soon!