Chapter 40:
Earlier
"I activate the spell card Miracle Fusion! This allows me to fuse my Elemental HERO Wildheart and Bladedge from my graveyard into the one and only Elemental HERO Wildedge!" Jaden announced before the tall tribal and golden-armored hero fused together into an even taller, musclebound hero wielding a large serrated sword with parts of golden armor spread over his body. "And here comes the kicker: my new hero can attack all my opponents' monsters. Go, Wildedge!" He exclaimed happily and his hero tore through the remaining monsters of their opponents. "Hey Chazz, mind giving the final order?"
Chazz smirked at that. "Gladly; Light and Darkness Dragon, finish this game!"
The large monochrome dragon roared and unleashed a breath of white and black flames, reducing their opponents lifepoints to zero.
Gorg the Strong and Chip the Yellow fell on their butts, defeated. "Hmph. Guess I wasn't strong enough."
"Aww, don't be so hard on yourself. You dueled great!" Jaden said with a smile.
"T-the boss won't be happy about this." Chip added nervously.
Suddenly, the two of them started to glow and returned to their spirit forms. "Let's hope the others got it better than us." Then, they vanished.
"Man, that sure was something, right Chazz?" Jaden laughed once more. "I wonder where they went."
Chazz, on the other hand, huffed. "Something stupid, alright. They were barely a challenge. I don't see how they could take any of us down."
"They weren't that bad … but I guess we're just better, right Sy?" Jaden nodded. When there was no response, he turned around. "Sy? Hey, where are you?"
"What are you saying, you arrived here on your own?" Chazz asked annoyed.
"Oh crap, right! We were supposed to find Zane and take over the cliffside." Jaden suddenly realized.
A pillar of golden light erupted in the far distance, causing them to whirr around towards it in shock.
Chazz only clicked his tongue and pulled out his PDA, but Jaden was shocked. "What? Another one?!"
"They must've attacked us simultaneously." Chazz concluded. "No signal. With us spread out like this we're easy pickings. We played right into their hands."
"No way, we're better than that!" Jaden exclaimed.
"Apparently not. If I didn't know any better, I'd say this whole wargame-nonsense was their plan to have us separated and the other students busy."
Jaden tilted his head. "But wasn't it Blake and Kami that called for this to happen?"
That gave both some pause.
"They did, but can we really be sure they're on our side?" Chazz challenged; his voice laced with mixed emotions.
"What are you saying?! They're our friends! They protect the keys just like we do! Why would either of them be onto this?!" Jaden replied, taken aback by the accusation.
Chazz crossed his arms. "While I doubt Umino would get anything out of this, her pet is something different. Or do you want to tell me you haven't felt anything off about him?"
Both Light and Darkness Dragon and Winged Kuriboh appeared beside their respective partners, grumbling and cooing in agreement. The latter hopped up and down in front of Jaden animatedly.
"Even you buddy?" Jaden felt a bit betrayed. "I mean, I guess he's always felt rough, but-"
"Rough?" Chazz repeated with a scoff. "While I didn't notice at first, my partner – and yours too it seems – is certain there's something tremendously wrong with him. He was already bad before, but something must've changed him to feel like the Shadow Duel we just went through. I wouldn't put it past him to be the one responsible for the cries of a dozen spirits not too long ago…"
Jaden paled at that. He'd slept horribly during that night, plagued by nightmares of pained duel monsters. He could still remember them vividly, along with a winged demonic figure trying to comfort him. Fighting down a shudder, he still wouldn't accept Chazz's reasoning. "My buddy told me the same, but still; why would he aid them? The Sacred Beasts can destroy the world or something!"
"What if that's not true? I mean, what would anyone get from destroying the world?" Chazz reasoned. It was a question they all shared at some point after the revelation, but none of them had managed to come up with an answer. It was just … nonsensical for that to be the goal.
"And what if it's not his choice?" Chazz continued pointing out. He rolled his wrist towards a confused Jaden as he explained himself. "Remember all the rumors? As far as I'm concerned, they're true, but I don't believe that a child would willingly put itself into that situation. And whoever got him to do it would probably be a bad enough person to seek the Sacred Beasts as well, whatever the end goal might be."
Jaden swallowed loudly. "That's … that's horrible."
"No idea if its true or not, but I can't imagine Umino keeping him around if he were a danger to her." Chazz concluded. "And if anyone has the intel, it's her. Or Kaiba, and he's not kicked him out yet, whether that's an oversight or on purpose."
"I guess so. By the way; how comes you call all of us by our first name but not Kami?" Jaden questioned.
"Shouldn't you be looking for Syrus?" Chazz pointed out, his left eye twitching.
"Oh crap, you're right!" Jaden remembered and hurriedly oriented himself. "I hope I didn't leave him waiting for too long. Gotta go!" He ran off into the thicket with Winged Kuriboh floating after him.
Chazz could only shake his head as he watched Jaden disappear into the woods. "What an idiot."
He looked up, wondering who got taken down and what to do now as he walked towards the bridge separating the Ra and Obelisk dorms. He could've joined Jaden, but he didn't feel the need to worry about him. It still irked him how he hadn't managed to beat him until now, but he was certain he would soon enough. Another Shadow Rider to test his meddle with his improved old deck and he'd be right back where he left off when he put it aside at the start of the year.
It didn't take long for him to find something, after he heard a couple students talk about a weird sight towards the north once he reached the bridge separating the Ra and Obelisk dorms.
"A castle, huh?"
After a long run, Bastion broke through the thicket and arrived at what once had been a clearing. Instead of that, a massive colosseum towered over him, shielding him from the slowly setting sun. He took a moment to catch his breath and listened to his surroundings. It was times like these he regretted not being more physically active. He really should join Blake on his morning jogs.
A loud explosion followed by shouts of pain echoed through the area, reminding him on why he's here. It hadn't been Yuma's voice, that he knew, but that only made things worse as it implied others being pulled into this. With one deep breath he went in, going over his strategy for the umpteenth time as he arrived in the arena. There, about a dozen Slifer and Ra students were scattered across the ground, dusted and bruised, but no Yuma in sight. A single Obelisk student became visible through a settling dust cloud, coughing and grunting before he fell over and seemingly lost consciousness like the rest.
Eyes wide, Bastion strode forward, slotting his newest deck into his duel disk as he did. It had been too rough around the edges to net him a win against Chazz back at his promotional duel, but then again, he was used to losing against him. But with the changes he'd made, and additions provided by Blake, he felt his strategy flowed a lot nicer now and even had some additional power. He'd have to get that rematch once this madness was dealt with.
When the dust settled, two figures remained standing side by side, with what appeared to be a big white tiger laying leisurely behind them. One was a tall, tanned woman with approximately more muscle than the whole student body combined. She was dressed sparingly, with the most eye-catching items about her being a spiked golden collar around her neck, a black gauntlet with the same golden eye present on Blake's Shadow Charm, and a blade-shaped duel disk. Given her appearance, Bastion was certain this had to be the amazon.
The woman huffed in annoyance, swishing her auburn ponytail behind her shoulders as she turned to the way smaller figure next to her, which turned out to be-
"See? I told you! There aren't that many great duelists around, Tania. If you want to duel someone good, you gotta-"
"Yuma?!" Bastion exclaimed when he recognized his fellow Ra just as she deactivated her duel disk with a shrug.
The two of them turned towards him. The amazon, or Tania, openly checked him out while Yuma waved at him. "Heya, Bastion! Fancy meeting you here."
He couldn't help but blink at the casualness. "W-what exactly is going on here?"
"Well, I thought this would be a kind of special event. For the game, you know." Yuma explained as she walked over to him. "Technically we got some points, but I guess there's more to this. Tania over here asked me about the strongest duelists around but we're interrupted by these guys. So, we mopped them up, easy peasy."
"We decided to teach those rude weaklings some manners." Tania continued in a rough voice. "I guess Amnael was right about these people's skills. While I can feel we've lost one of our own, I doubt it'll make a difference."
Bastion narrowed his eyes. "I assume you mean the Dark Scorpions? Is every team member one of you or ..."
"No, just Zaloog. They're counted as one, which is generous given their lack of skill in anything that isn't stealing." Tania answered with a hint of distaste.
"Good to know they're all gone then. But that means whoever of us lost-"
"Was defeated by our strongest." Tania finished. "And it'll only get rougher from here." She offhandedly jabbed her thumb over towards the setting sun. "But your friends will find out soon enough."
Yuma looked between the two of them, her voice laced with confusion. "I feel like I'm missing something here. Is it related to those goth accessories both you and Blake wear, Tania?" When Bastion's eyebrows rose at that, she added. "What? As if nobody noticed something weird about his clothes. Heck, he showed it when he's wiping away his sweat with his regular armband!"
Bastion flinched a bit at that. He'd felt his best friend's energy feel off, but hadn't noticed that seemingly obvious change. Either that or Yuma was more perceptive than anyone knew.
"It does, young Yuma." Tania crossed her arms and nodded. "I, along with some others, have been send to acquire keys like his. I care little for this, however."
The two students looked at her.
"Then why are you here?" Bastion asked.
"To find a suitable mate, of course!" Tania barked as if it was the most normal thing in the world.
"A … mate." Bastion echoed with furrowed brows.
"One powerful enough to be worthy, which appears to be as hard as I expected." Tania continued with a frown.
"I mean, your best bet would be either Blake or Zane, but …" Yuma drawled on.
"I fear neither found their way here." Tania grunted. "Which is a shame. Young Blake would've made an excellent candidate, though he seemed like someone else had caught his interest even back then."
"Wait, wait, wait. Timeout." Bastion said, making a clear T-pose with his hands. "You don't care about the keys and all that?" Tania shook her head. "Then why don't you help us instead? That way you'll see if any of us is 'worthy' enough without having to worry about missing out?"
"Your reasons are sound, young one. But I cannot. None of us can go against our leader, unless we want to suffer the consequences." Tania denied, frowning. "It is cowardly conduct, but we knew what we got into when we accepted the deal."
That got Bastion's head spinning. Then what would happen if Blake did? Had he already? What were these consequences? Wait! The pained expressions his friend had every once in a while, … the bursts of anger and negativity … perhaps …
"I see you worry about your friend." Tania broke him from his thoughts. "He sure is a dubious case in our ranks, even more so than the boisterous pharaoh. I still wonder why Amnael had him join us instead of the alternatives. But if you want to know more, then fight me! Prove yourself and I tell you all that I can! And who knows, maybe I'll show you some more."
Bastion narrowed his eyes at her. She's obviously toying with him. At this point he didn't know if he even had the time to duel her rather than go and look for Blake. But if she knew anything Blake didn't, then this was his best chance.
"Alright, I accept and will hold you to your words when I win." Bastion replied as he activated his duel disk.
"Finally, some good action!" Yuma shouted in excitement and went off to the side to give them some room.
"That remains to be seen, no?" Tania teased with a suggestive wiggle of her eyebrows, reading herself as well.
"As that may be, I'm quite certain how this will end." Bastion countered, idly wondering if his friend had rubbed off on him.
"Confident, I see. Let's hope yours isn't as misplaced as the others were." Tania laughed.
They stared at each other for a few moments, their eyes full of determination.
"DUEL!" (Bastion 4000 / Tania 4000)
"Let's see if you can get more done than your predecessors, shall we?" Tania said and beckoned him to begin.
"Don't mind if I do!" Bastion drew and went over his cards. A strategy quickly formed in his head, as the resources he's given enabled a play that would get him a strong board presence early on. He had a way to deal with backrow on his next turn, a defensive option to protect his stronger monsters from direct removal, and no matter if his opponent attacked or not; he could play through that with the monster he was setting this turn. And the last thing he expected from what seemed to be a straight-forward person like Tania was a card that would destroy set monsters.
Barely missing a beat between the draw and his plan, Bastion began his setup. "I set a monster and a card face-down."
Tania, who'd been looking at him expectingly raised an eyebrow and huffed. "Now that wasn't what I had in mind. Where's your big play? The strong monster? Some flair? Anything with a bit personality?"
"I usually leave those up to my friends." Bastion quipped with a smirk. "And I believe this shows quite enough personality."
His opponent rubbed her chin. "A defensive duelist or strategist then? Amnael gave us insight to all of you but struggled the most pinning you down, other than having loads of decks to potentially use. I must admit, not knowing what I'm up against makes it more fun."
'And if it wasn't him then Blake would've filled any holes.' Bastion thought idly. Blake had said he tried to make the match-ups favorable towards their side and considering where Tania showed up it could've hit no one else than him or his friend himself. Although that could be a trap in and off itself if they saw through Blake's plan. Regardless, his strategy was solid and he would pull his weight. He'd no longer limp behind Blake, Chazz, and Jaden.
"Well, let's see what the little thinker got prepared for me then." Tania bellowed. "Come out; Amazoness Paladin!" In front of her, a tall and tanned woman wearing cream-colored cloth appeared, brandishing her sword towards her master with a nod. Her long blonde hair was reminiscent of Mai Valentine, as did her overall look, minus the tan.
"My paladin gains 100 attack points for every Amazoness monster I control, including herself!" Tania explained, and her monster was surrounded by a soft red sheen (1800/300). "Paladin, attack his monster!" The Amazoness dashed forward and cleaved through Bastion's set monster with an overhead swing, only to reveal a reaper-like monster wearing a purple cloak who blocked the attack with its scythe.
"I'm afraid that won't work. Spirit Reaper cannot be destroyed by battle." Bastion lectured as his monster pushed back the attack and got into a comfortable stance, letting out an amused cackle as it did (300/200).
"Cheeky one, aren't you?" Tania poked good-naturedly. "Let's see how long that will help you. I set two cards and end my turn."
Bastion nodded and was surprised by his next draw. If things went according to plan, the card he drew could end this duel sooner than he anticipated. "It already helped me for long enough. First, I activate Nobleman of Extermination, targeting your left-most card! This not only destroys your card, but it forces both of us to banish all our copies of that card out of our decks if it was a trap card!"
A bulky knight appeared in the middle of the field and jabbed his broadsword right through its target. It was indeed a trap.
Tania clicked her tongue. "There go my Amazoness Archers." She removed two additional copies from her deck as well. From what Bastion remembered, this card would've forced him into an entirely unfavorable battle phase, so it was good he'd gotten rid of it.
"Next, I tribute my Spirit Reaper to summon the famously feared kitsune! Come out; Nine-Tailed Fox!" His previous monster vanished in a ball of fire, out of which nine fluffy white-and-red tails came, one after the other. The majestic presence of the fox yokai was only surpassed by the wicked aura that surrounded it (2200/2000).
Tania nodded absentmindedly. "A fine monster, but I expected more after your earlier talk."
"Then my next move will surely change your mind." Bastion said with a grin. "Since I control a Fire monster, I can special summon Goka, The Pyre of Malice from my hand!" Next to the fox, a metal urn formed out of flames, before its lid opened and revealed a flame spirit with a fittingly malicious face (2200/1900).
"The price of summoning Goka that way is that I must target and destroy one of my fire monsters."
His opponent had a look of bewilderment on her face when his new monster ate his previous one, leaving only two orbs of fire with distinct fox-faces behind (500/500). But before she could question his decision, he revealed the last part of his play. "When my Nine-Tailed Fox is destroyed by battle or card effect, it summons two Fox Tokens. And while it's in my hand or graveyard I can tribute two monsters to special summon it!"
With that, the two fox tokens formed into a bigger ball of fire, summoning back the kitsune and thus leaving Bastion with two strong monsters.
Tania blinked once, then twice, then shook her head with a hearty laughter. "I see, a fine strategy indeed. If I were to destroy your fox once more, it'd leave you with a formidable defense and the chance to bring it back again. And with my Amazoness Archers gone I couldn't even use these tokens to my advantage. Your other monster surely has another effect as well. But in exchange for that they lack some firepower."
Bastion nodded, but didn't reveal his cards. "They make up in strategic value, but I believe their power is more than enough for what's in front of them. Nine-Tailed, attack her paladin!"
The fox's tail-tips lit up, a ball of fire forming around every one of them before they simultaneously shot forward and incinerated the amazon. (Bastion 4000 / Tania 3600)
With no reaction from his opponent, Bastion ordered his second monster to attack directly. The resulting damage scorched Tania's clothes just enough to remind Bastion that this was indeed a Shadow Duel. (Bastion 4000 / Tania 1400)
"Woo-hoo, nice hit, Bastion!" Yuma called from the side.
"I might have to rethink my earlier conception of you, boy." Tania said with a growl that sounded less intimidating and more … turned on? "You sure surprised me, but don't think that'll be enough to beat the leader of the Amazoness tribe!"
"First, I activate Pot of Greed! I follow this up with Cost Down, discarding my Amazoness Trainee!" She began, shuffling through her cards. "Cost Down reduces the level of all monsters on my hand by two, which means I can summon my normally level 6 Amazoness Queen without a tribute!"
Bastion winced, remembering that card from one of the more recent tournaments. Not only did the queen protect all Amazoness monsters from battle destruction, but it was also strong enough to beat both his monsters. That would be a problem, if he didn't already have the answer to that in his hand.
The queen herself appeared on a wooden throne, sitting on her own red cloak with a bored look. She was even more sparsely dressed than Tania herself, with her right eye hidden behind an eye-patch and her long blue hair brushed backwards. The curved blade she idly played with could give even Jaden's Wildheart a run for his money (2400/1800).
Apparently, Tania wasn't done with just that, however. Her remaining set card, Amazoness Willpower, brought back her paladin, and she used Monster Reborn to bring back her Amazoness Trainee as well, filling her field up nicely with monsters that would get progressively stronger if given the chance. The later was a young, equally tanned girl, wearing blue and black clothes and wielding a chained knife (1500/1300).
He narrowed his eyes as she held up the last card in her hand, barely picking up on Yuma's attention causing her to wander off to the side. Whether it was her or whatever grabbed her attention, he didn't know, but it caused the tiger behind Tania to look into the same direction with a low growl.
"Do you know what the most important part of an amazon?" Tania asked as she played with the card. "It's not their strength, smarts, or looks. No, it's their fighting spirit!" With that, she activated her last card; Amazoness Fighting Spirit. "This card gives each of my Amazoness monsters a boost of 1000 attack points if they attack a monster stronger than them!" Sadly, that meant all Tania's cards were played and Bastion's own trap wouldn't be of any help like this.
Bastion clicked his tongue and braced himself for the inevitable attacks. It reminded him of how Jaden managed to beat Crowler with his Skyscraper and Flame Wingman combo. First, her paladin split his Goka in half. Then, the trainee pierced his Nine-Tailed Fox in order to use her effect and send it back to his deck to prevent him from summoning its tokens and giving him a way to bring it back while strengthening herself. Lastly, her Amazoness Queen swung her blade across his chest, throwing him onto his backside with a sliver of lifepoints remaining and a ruined uniform jacket that fell apart. The pain was surprisingly tame, he noted. (Bastion 500 / Tania 1400)
With a huff, he got back on his feet and dusted himself off, his composure not broken in the slightest, even if the cuts hurt and irritated him, and the stains would take forever to get out. Afterall, she gave him the means to end this duel right here since she had no card left in her hand and no traps to protect her.
"Straight back to your feet, hm? I like you more and more, boy." Tania said in a husky voice, a faint blush on her cheeks. "Now, I wonder if you can overcome the queen and her people or if you will fall like everyone before you."
"The outcome of this duel was a foregone conclusion before we even started." Bastion announced confidently. "While I applaud you for your comeback, this duel ends here."
"Mhm? Show me." Tania purred.
"Gladly." Bastion said with a smile. "I summon Gozuki, who allows me to send one Zombie monster from my deck to my graveyard; I choose Mezuki!" A tall, black minotaur with an even larger wooden hammer appeared (1700/800), the blue monk-beads around its neck chiming as its effect activated. The monster took off the band of beads, causing them to expand and open a portal, through which a horse-faced, equally large brown yokai appeared, only to sink through the ground.
"I banish Mezuki from my graveyard to activate its effect, which allows me to summon a zombie monster from my graveyard; rise once more, Goka!" Tania looked at him with interest, so he wasted no time in playing his final card. If she had just one monster remaining in her graveyard, he could've made this even bigger. But alas, this was enough.
"Since I control two or more Zombie monsters, I can special summon this from my hand! Behold; the fire wagon of Enma himself, ready to drag your Amazoness to hell: Kasha!" A ghostly pathway opened between Bastion's monsters, and, accompanied by horrible sounds of pained souls, Kasha arrived. While there was a simple wagon cabin in its middle, its massive wheels were burning brightly with red-hot fire. On its front, the face of a horrible green-skinned yokai appeared with deranged laughter, its arms coming out of the cabins roof to hold up a pair of lanterns (?/1000)
"Now to the effect that will seal your defeat: If Kasha is summoned, it shuffles back all other monsters on the field, and for every original Zombie that was shuffled back it gains 1000 attack points!" Bastion's monster spurned its wheels into overdrive, driving past every monster on the field and sucking it into its cabin, shooting them out the back, straight into their owner's decks. When it was the zombies turn, its flames burned even hotter as it grew in size (2000/1000).
Tania stared at the sight with wide eyes, then opened her arms with a fierce smile. "Marvelous, truly! Such a burning passion! Such drive! You are indeed worthy!"
"I'm glad you approve, but I fear my heart is someone else's. Kasha, end this duel!" Bastion replied. The burning yokai accelerated once more, crashing straight into its target with a bone-chilling laughter that ended in a fiery explosion. (Bastion 500 / Tania 0)
Jaden and Chazz are fine, hurray! Guess we know who got hit, but how could that've happened? Guess we'll find out next time. I was worried the duel was too short with just five turns, until I looked up and saw the original duel was just one turn longer. So, yeah, I'm fine with that. Thought Bastion would fit best for the "sneakier" moves and strategies, leaning on his manga yokai for this duel more so than the zombie half. I feel his POV is the best to go over inner thoughts as well, given his brainy personality. Tania and Yuma hitting it of just sounded too good in my brain not to do. The stage for next chapter is set as well, with two little surprises waiting for you all.
Reviews:
Glad you liked the fluff, even if it came out of nowhere!
Mac: Well, about that :D
Zeromk7: Happy to see you enjoy it! I like putting characters in a bad place to fight themselves out of, though I might've overdone it a little here. His earlier deck sure showed off his wits, unlike his current one. Definitely room for improvement. It's a real shame Gem-Knights weren't around during GX, they would've served as a perfect mirror to HEROs. We'll get some manga action soon too!
Guest: Priorities, am I right?
Reader2: Well, Tanja's out for the count and we know Camula has only just arrived, which leaves only the alchemist himself. And since neither Jaden or Chazz lost, yet, perhaps they'll get some more wins too? I didn't get to the lost duel immediately in hopes of more tension and to have more time building up that whole scene a bit more, which we'll get to soon.
Peter Kim: But is he? He's last seen picking up Syrus, who knows where they went! They could've … gone to the café!
D2268: Correct! He already had years of intensive duels before skipping worlds, which made it to potent right off the bat. The Jester arcana was borrowed from the Persona series, where it serves as a corrupted/evil Fool counterpart. While not part of the real major arcana, and perhaps playing a bit too much Persona, I felt it hit the mark perfectly for Blake and serves as presenting him as an outlier to Sartorius.
That's it from me! Thank you everyone for your continued support through this mess 3 See you next time!