Sad But Truesdale
"Get out of here, Hassleberry! You're a Ra Yellow, so why don't you head back to your dorm?"
"Because I'm here to learn from Jaden. And no pipsqueak like has any authority to give me orders!"
Since early in the morning, this arguing has been going on for a while. Most people may have been able to ignore it. But, there was one person who was rather bothered by this bickering. And that someone, was Xander, who came out of his dorm room, rubbing his tired eyes. "Geez, they're at it again? Why can't Syrus and that Hassleberry guy just get along for once?"
"This is the true story of three losers, picked to live in a dump and have their dorky lives taped."
"Huh?" Xander turned and saw Chazz walking around the Slifer Red dorm, seemingly using a video camera.
And he was walking up the stair leading to the second floor of the building.. "The Chazz presents... The Lame Life." He opened one particular door, revealing a door room being occupied by four certain people.
It was Syrus and Hassleberry, still arguing with each other, with Jaden watching while sitting at the desk.
"I've got one word for you, Sarge." The little Slifer told the dinosaur duelist. "Shower! Try using one! It actually gets you clean!"
"Oh yeah?" Hassleberry glared at him. "Well, you talk in your sleep! And what's with the nightlight? Oh, and for your information, I showered last week."
"Well next time, stand UNDER the water!"
"Come on, you gotta chill out." Jaden interjected. "If we're all gonna be roommates, you guys are gonna have to make some compromises. Now, I think we can settle this with a group hug!"
"I don't do hugs." Hassleberry stated.
"Cause your stench scares everyone away!" Syrus insulted. At that moment, all three of them noticed Chazz standing in the doorway, recording their conversation.
"There you have it, folks. The dweeb in its natural habitat." He said, finishing his recording.
"Forget how to knock?" Jaden asked. "And what's with the camera, Fellini?"
"I was about to ask the same question." Xander added as he entered the room.
"I'm pitching my life as a reality show." Chazz declared. "It's got a great premise. One talented young duelist... forced to live in a dorm full of slackers! Talk about a ratings grabber!" While he sounded proud by his work, Syrus was rather unimpressed.
"You don't say." Xander said with a deadpan look on his face.
"It's gonna make me a big star."
"With a big head!" Syrus commented as he and Hassleberry snicked a bit.
"You may be on to something here, Chazz." Jaden said, seemingly interested. "But I think your show needs a plot twist."
"What could be more interesting than watching me?" Chazz asked arrogantly.
"Trust me, there are plenty of things more interesting than your ego." Xander said, earning a glare from the black clad Slifer.
"Are we interrupting something?"
The boys turned to see Andrew inside the door. He then stepped aside to allow Alexis and Jenny in. And they appeared to be carrying bags for some reason.
"I think we found our plot twist, guys." Syrus pointed out.
"Jaden was right. Your show just got a whole lot better." Hassleberry added.
"What's up?" Jaden wondered.
"Yeah, what brings the three of you here?" Xander added.
"Well, I was taking a walk around campus, when I ran into these two who gave me some surprising news." Andrew replied, gesturing to the Obelisk girls.
"We left our dorm for good." Jenny replied with a scowl on her face.
"So, do you guys have room for two more?" Alexis asked.
"Yes." Jaden simply said.
"HALLELUJAH!" Chazz cheered.
"One more what?" Syrus asked in confusion.
Meanwhile, inside a dark room with candles lit, Crowler and Bonaparte were having a secret conversation.
"So tell men, Monsieur, who's gonna be our next big star?" Bonaparte asked. "I'm just dying to find out."
"I'm sensing sarcasm." Crowler replied. "Trust me, this time my plan's absolutely foolproof." He pulled out a picture of a certain Slifer student. "This is our ticket to fame. Mr. Syrus Truesdale. Younger brother of Zane Truesdale. Duelist professional. The press will eat this up! You know why? Because if he wins, we're promoting him to Ra Yellow." The chancellor then smirked evilly. 'And thanks to his big brother, all eyes will be on our school.'
Bonaparte had a smirk of his own. 'If he gets promoted to Yellow, there'll be one less slacker to contend with, bringing moi one step closer to bidding the red dorm adieu! Hehehe!'
At that moment, the lights clicked on, revealing the room to be Crowler's office. The two men jumped in shock as they turned to see who turned the switch on. When they did, they found Paul Miller in the doorway with his finger on the light switch.
"Why did you have the lights off?" The Slifer headmaster asked while stepping in.
"We were doing some serious planning, thank you!" Crowler shouted angrily.
"Well, luckily for you, this won't take long." Professor Miller approached them and laid down a file of another Slifer student. "Xander Murphy. He's been recommended for Ra Yellow since the end of his first year. And given his stats and dueling skills, I think it's about time to give him the chance of a promotion."
"Oh yeah?" Bonaparte replied with a glare. "And why should we approve to..." He was then interrupted by Crowler, who covered his mouth with one hand.
"I don't see why not." The chancellor said with a grin. "I mean, we had two promotion duels for one day. so there wouldn't be any harm for another event like that."
Bonaparte got the taller man's hand off his mouth and gave him a flat look. "You're just saying that because that Murphy uses cards similar to yours."
"Oh hush, will you?" Crowler brought closer so he could whisper. "Besides, the more Slifer slackers we turn into big stars, the better."
Bonaparte smirked. "Hm, good point." The two men turned to Miller. "Very well then, Monsieur. We'll make sure that the young man gets a duel!"
The red headmaster raised an eyebrow. "You sure seem happy to agree to this."
"Why of course! It's for the best for the students."
"And I've got the perfect opponents for those two." Crowler added, smiling deviously.
Meanwhile, back at the red dorm
"I give you, 'Shade Chazz'. The ultimate dorm in elegance." Chazz said, showing everyone the new addition to the Slifer dorm. "First up, the bedroom." The bedroom was very spacious having four queen-sized beds as bunks, but they weren't cramped together as they were separated by ceiling with ladders. There was also a space to sit down and read with a small shelf of books with two lounge chairs.
"Wow! This room is about as luxurious as those in the blue dorm." Andrew said, admiring the room.
"Swanky." Xander added.
Another room they visited was what they assumed to be the bathroom. And like the previous room, this one was very spacious, with the 'bathtub' having the appearance of a hot spring being constantly filled with water.
"A spa with a waterfall? Don't you think that's overkill?" Jaden asked.
"Oh we passed overkill somewhere between the bowling alley in the basement and the three-ring circus in the living room." Syrus cracked.
Later on, they all arrived in the common room. Another spacious room that had couches lined up in the middle of the room, small tables to sit around in, and a large television.
"High ceilings. Marble floors." Alexis noted. "I never thought I'd say this, but I'm impressed, Chazz."
"Yeah, it's awesome!" Jenny agreed. "And there's tons of space, so do you think we can crash here?"
"But, you were gonna crash in our room." Jaden stated in confusion.
"Zip it." Chazz interjected with a grin. "You can't blame them for wanting the best."
"I guess. I mean, if you like high ceilings and hot tubs."
"Let's see. Live in a luxury, or share a lumpy pillow with a family of roaches?"
"So, why'd the two of you leave your dorm anyway?" Syrus wondered.
Turning their attention to the boys, the girls reached into their bags. "Well, get this..." Alexis trailed off as the both pulled something out.
The boys were surprised to see them hold matching dresses with puffy shoulder sleeves and frilly bottoms that went down mid-thigh. The dress Alexis was holding was red, while Jenny's dress was blue.
"Nice... uh... uniforms..." Hassleberry said slowly.
Jenny scoffed. "Oh please! This was all Crowler's idea."
"He actually wanted us to wear these things and sing while dueling." Alexis added.
"Seriously?" Andrew gave them a look of disbelief.
"No joke." Jenny replied. "Some crazy idea about turning us into dueling pop stars."
"Can you picture me wearing this?" Alexis asked, pointing at her dress.
Well, Chazz was imagining Alexis in her dress, with her hair tied into a ponytail by an orange ribbon while wielding a microphone and a duel disk. And Andrew? He couldn't help but blush as the image of Jenny wearing her dress appeared in his mind. The other guys were debatable.
"Guys?!" Alexis said, getting annoyed by their reaction.
"You're right." Jaden replied. "I mean... who'd want to see you wear those things?"
Alexis gave him a flat look. "Uh, thank you?"
"Real smooth." Chazz said, giving a confused Jaden a glare. "Don't you get it? This isn't just about the dresses? It's about Chancellor Crowler?"
"He's gonna wear a dress?" Jaden asked with a grin.
"No Jaden!" Andrew snapped. "This pop star thing Crowler's trying to force the girls into? It's just another one of his crazy schemes."
"He's right." Jenny nodded. "Now that Crowler's in charge, he's even more dangerous. All he wants to do is further his career and he's using us! So we have to stop him!"
"You're right." Jaden agreed. "We can't let Crowler manipulate us just so he can look good. Who's in?"
"I'm in!" Andrew replied.
"Me too." Syrus added.
Chazz smirked. "You can count me in."
At that moment, the door to the new space opened, allowing Bastion, Michael and Clover in.
"Syrus, there you are!" Bastion said.
"Hey, Xander!" Clover called out.
"Hey, everything alright?" Jaden asked.
"Who are they?" Hassleberry wondered.
"You were looking for me?" Syrus asked.
"What's up?" Xander added.
"I'll tell you guys what's up." Michael replied. "You and Syrus... have been chosen for a couple of duels."
"Duels?" Syrus repeated in shock. "For me and Xander?"
"Seriously?" Xander widened his eyes. "Who are we dueling?"
"Well, for you, a first year Obelisk girl named Allie Greengrass." Clover explained.
"Oh, I know her!" Andrew pointed out. "We met her and her sister, Alyssa, when Jaden dueled Hassleberry."
"Yeah, both of them are pretty cool to me." Jaden added.
"You got that right." Michael nodded with a smile. "Allie in particular can be tomboyish and serious. But she's also disciplined and caring, similar to Alyssa."
"Sounds good and all, but do you know of her dueling style." Chazz asked, making it clear he was not interested in Allie's personality.
"Well, she uses a deck full of Amazoness cards, along with other warrior monsters of the earth element."
"Amazoness, huh?" Xander mused. "Well, we got to witness those cards when Bastion faced off against that amazon, Tania. So at least I know what I'm up against."
"Tania who?" Hassleberry asked.
"Long story. In fact, you're better off not knowing." Bastion replied, with a small blush on his face.
"Okay, so who am I dueling?" Syrus wondered.
"That would be Alyssa and Allie's older brother, Andreas Greengrass." Michael replied.
"Oh right, you did once mention that they have an older brother." Alexis remembered.
"Yeah, he's a third year Obelisk Blue. The dude's an insect duelist. He's cunning, sneaky, resourceful and intelligent."
Clover scoffed. "Sounds kind of like that creepy no-good Weevil Underwood."
"True, but unlike that guy, Andreas is fair, honorable, and polite to his opponent and to those who earn his respect. Not to mention he dislikes bullies. I heard that he once stopped two bullies from stealing a poor guy's cards. He's a pretty chill dude."
"That's good to hear." Andrew replied, earning nods from Jenny and Clover.
"And, is he really good?" Syrus asked nervously.
Michael narrowed his eyes. "Oh, he's good alright. In fact..." He paused for a moment. "He's the type of guy who comes prepared with more than one deck."
"For real?" Alexis asked, surprised.
"Yup. He's actually got three insect decks. One each built with a specific style. That way, he can adjust for his opponents. He studies up and knows how to play his cards much like he learned, making sure every move he makes counts. In short, the dude's unpredictable."
"Well, congrats." Chazz said, turning to Syrus and Xander. "You two are Crowler's next victims."
"But this might not be so bad." Clover said. "I mean, we've all seen how good Xander is, especially in the School Duel. Plus, he used to be a top duelist of North Academy, just like me, so he definitely deserves to be promoted."
"Thanks, Clover." Xander smiled.
"And you, Sy." Jaden pitched in. "Your duel could be a big break. Yeah! You're gonna win, and prove everyone wrong! They're gonna see the 'brave Sy'!"
"Jaden, one question." Syrus replied, seemingly trembling a bit. "When you find the 'brave Syrus'... can you do me a favor and let him know the wimpy one is looking for him?" He then cried out while running out of the room.
"Wait, Syrus!" Andrew called out.
"Syrus!" Bastion called out to him as well, but the smaller Slifer just ignored them and left the room.
"Where do you think you're going, soldier?" Hassleberry chased after him.
"Sy..." Jaden muttered, having a concerned look on his face.
Inside their dorm room, Hassleberry stared at the frightened Syrus, who was hiding in his bed. "Come on, soldier. Up and at 'em. You can't hide in there forever."
"Of course not." Syrus replied, his voice slightly muffled due to him being under the blanket. "Just for a few days. A week tops. But don't worry, I've got everything I need here. Bottled water, a canned ham, Mr. Fuzzy Bear..."
"I am not even gonna ask." Hassleberry muttered, almost weirded out by the last thing Syrus mentioned. "Come on!" He then pulled the blanket, making the small Slifer spin before falling down on the floor. "Listen up! Fear is your mortal enemy, and fear needs to be destroyed! Now get up, and fight that fear! Fight that fear!"
Syrus got up slowly and turned to the dinosaur duelist. "But... I'm afraid to."
"Then you've already lost the war. Is that what you want? No, you want to win. Not just against this Andreas guy, but against your own fear. Now what scares you the most, Truesdale?"
Syrus merely lowered his head.
Later that night, Syrus was wandering around outside the forest near the Slifer dorm, thinking about his talk with Hassleberry.
"We gotta locate the source of this fear so we can launch a sneak attack."
Syrus sighed. "My fear, huh. Well, what I'm afraid of might be..."
Rustle, rustle!
"Gah!" He jumped as he heard some rustling from nearby bushes. "Who... who's there?"
The response he got was the form of a tall figure rising up from behind those bushes.
"AAAAAHHH!" Syrus screamed and fell backwards, landing on his butt.
"Whoa, whoa! Chill out, little guy. I didn't mean to scare ya."
Syrus managed to calm down and get a good look on the new person. It appeared to be a tall boy with blue eyes, and blonde hair that was unkept. He was wearing a white muscle shirt and black pants. He was physically fit, yet slim and lean. "Oh. Sorry for freaking out. I thought you were a bear or something. I-I mean...!"
The blonde guy blinked before laughing. "Well, there are few animals on this island, but a bear? No way you can find those here."
Syrus blushed in embarrassment. "I guess you're right." He was about get up, when he put a hand on the ground and felt something. "Huh?" He looked down and saw a few cards lying around. "Oh! My cards." He then began picking them up.
"Here, let me help." The blondie kneeled down and picked up one card. He was surprised to see what this one was. "You've got Power Bond? That is one really wicked card."
Syrus smiled as he took. "Yeah. My big brother gave it to me when we were kids. It's thanks to that card that I'm standing here today." He then had a concerned look on his face.
Which the blondie noticed. "What's the matter?"
Syrus shook his head. "Nothing, it's just... well, I have some stuff going around."
"Would you mind talking about it?"
Syrus turned his head a bit away. "I don't know..."
The blondie placed a hand on his shoulder. "I think you'll feel better if you talk about it." He then smiled. "I'll treat ya some soda."
Syrus turned to him.
Moments later, the two of them were sitting together on the cliff near the Slifer dorm, overlooking the ocean with one can of soda each. While there, Syrus told the blonde guy about his upcoming duel. "So you've been given the chance to promote to Ra Yellow, huh."
"That's right." Syrus nodded before taking a sip of his soda. "If I can beat this Andreas guy, then I get to move to the yellow dorm. But..." He lowered his head.
"But what?"
"I don't think I can win. I'll just lose and look pathetic in front of the whole school."
"Whoa there! That's way too negative, little guy." The blondie waved his hand. "You should be more confident. I understand that you might be facing a tough opponent, but you can't just let your fear get in your way."
Syrus looked up a bit. "Funny you should say that. Hassleberry told me earlier that I should find the source of my fear and fight it."
"So, may I ask what your fear is?"
At that, Syrus pulled out a familiar card. "It's Power Bond. The card my brother gave me. If I didn't have it in my deck, I'd be nothing. In fact, Power Bond is the ticket to the Pro League, so I can be just like Zane someday..." He then lowered his head again. "But what if I realize that I'm not good enough?" It was then he realized something and gasped. "Wait! That's my biggest fear. That everyone else will move on and leave me behind!"
The blonde guy smiled. "Then you know what you need to do."
Syrus blinked. "I do?"
"Just like you said, you're afraid that you might not be good enough to move on along with your friends. Which means..." The blondie stood up. "You need to step up in your game. Do you know why your brother was able to graduate and move on to the Pro League?"
"Well..." Syrus hesitated for a moment. "Because of his skills and confidence, and uh..."
"Exactly. As a duelist, you need to have confidence in yourself and believe in your skills. The only thing that limits your skills... is yourself. Which means if you don't want to be left behind, you have to go beyond your limits in order to reach higher level of duel expertise."
Syrus let his words sink for a moment. "You know what? You're right." With a newfound confidence, he stood up. "I can do this! I'm not gonna be left behind. I'm gonna fight my fear!"
The blondie smiled. "That's the spirit." He then began to walk away before stopping for a moment. "Oh, let me give you one more advice. It's clear that you admire your big brother. But, that doesn't necessarily mean you need to be exactly like him."
"Huh?"
"Zane became the duelist he is today because of his own skills, cards and strategies. In fact, all great duelists are who they are today because of their own skills and strategies. You can be as a great duelist you can be with the skills and strategies that you have... and develop." At that, he blondie walked away, leaving a thoughtful Syrus behind.
"My own skills and strategies..." He then glanced down at his Power Bond card. "Then there's something I need to do before my duel..."
"Hurry, the duel's about to start, guys!"
The next day, many students were running through the hallways, eager to see the promotion duels. They were passing by Chazz, who was simply walking to the main arena.
"Hey, Chazz!" He then turned to see Syrus run up to him, extending him an envelope. "Could you give this to Jaden?"
"What's that? Did you decide to write your will or something?"
"Just give it to him." Syrus insisted, making the reluctant black clad Slifer take the envelope. "But no peeking." He added before walking away.
But despite what the smaller Slifer told him, Chazz opened it and saw the card inside. "It's Power Bond!"
"What did I just say?!"
Now in the main arena, all the students and faculty members were gathered together to watch the duels.
"So that Xander kid is up first, right?" Bonaparte said.
"Yes, and after that, there'll be the main event." Crowler replied with a smirk.
Eventually, Chazz sat down next to the gang.
"Where were you?" Jaden asked.
"Nowhere." Chazz replied, deciding to keep the envelope for now.
"So first round is between Xander and Allie." Clover mused. "I'm sure Xander will do fine."
"Maybe, but I think Allie's gonna give him a run for his money." Michael replied.
"I agree." A new voice added. The gang turned and saw Alyssa walking over to them.
"Oh, hi Alyssa." Jenny greeted.
"Hello there." She greeted back. "Mind if I join you?"
"Not at all." Michael replied with a smile as Alyssa sat down right next him.
Down at the arena, Xander was up against Alyssa's younger twin sister, Allie. Syrus was standing near the wall near Xander's end of the field. He glanced around and became concerned. "I wonder if that Andreas guy is gonna show up."
"Xander Murphy, right?" Allie said with a smile. "Nice to meet you."
"Likewise." Xander replied, returning the smile. "I've heard a little bit about you from Michael."
"And I've heard some things about you as well. Like, for example, you used to be a North Academy student, right? What made you transfer to Duel Academy?"
"Well, mostly because the other North Academy students showed me no respect, with exception of Clover Penn who, like me, transferred to this school. They simply mocked me for being a mechanic."
Allie scoffed. "Sounds like those people are jerks. No better than most of the Obelisk students I've met here."
"Tell me about it. But, including Michael, I made some cool friends here, so I'm glad to be here."
"Sounds great. But how about we get this duel going?" Allie raised her duel disk.
"Sure thing!" Xander did the same.
"Alright, are the two you ready?" Professor Miller, who's been standing near the platform, asked. The two students nodded. "Then let the first match begin!" They then drew their opening hands.
"GAME ON!"
Xander: 4000
Allie: 4000
"I'm up first!" Allie drew. "And I summon Warrior Lady of the Wasteland in defense mode." A familiar blonde woman wearing a brown hat and tattered cape appeared and kneeled down. (ATK: 1100 DEF: 1200 LV: 4) "Then I'll place one card facedown and end my turn." Allie concluded and inserted a card into her duel disk.
"My turn!" Xander drew. "And I activate the spell card, Machine Assembly Line!" A spell card appeared. "With this in play, all of my machine monsters gain 200 attack points. And next I summon Gold Gadget in attack mode!" A golden gadget-like robot appeared. (ATK: 1700-1900 DEF: 800 LV: 4) "And with this monster successfully summoned, I can summon a level 4 machine monster from my hand. And I choose my Green Gadget!" Another robot appeared. A green one with its center part being a single gear. It also had gears on its shoulders. (ATK: 1400-1600 DEF: 800 LV: 4)
"He sure quickly built up a frontline." Hassleberry commented.
"And that's not all." Clover replied with a smile.
"When Green Gadget is summoned, I can add 1 Red Gadget from my deck to my hand." Xander searched through his took the named card, and revealed it before adding it to his hand. "Now Green Gadget, attack that Warrior Lady!" The green robot charged forward and landed a punch of the female warrior, shattering her into pixels.
"Don't get ahead of yourself!" Allie shouted. "When my Warrior Lady is destroyed in battle, I can summon 1 earth warrior type monster with up to 1500 attack points from my deck. So say hello to Amazoness Fighter!" A tan-skinned, muscular tall woman rose up on the field. He blue clothing only covered the essentials as he long, tied up black spiked wildly upwards. (ATK: 1500 DEF: 1300 LV: 4)
"She won't be here for long. Not after I attacked with Gold Gadget!" The golden robot charged forward.
"I activate my trap! Metaverse!" Allie's facedown card flipped up. "With this trap, I can take a field spell from my deck, and either add it to my hand, or activate it instantly. And I think I'll play it right away! Activate Amazoness Village!" At that, the arena changed as it was surrounded by walls made of spiked wood. Huts of differing materials popped up all around the two duelists as the ground under their feet was now made of grass and dirt. "Thanks to my field spell, all Amazoness monsters gain 200 attack points." (ATK: 1500-1700)
"That's still not enough!" Xander pointed out as Gold Gadget punched the amazon and destroyed her.
"That may be, but thanks to Fighter's special ability, I take no battle damage from her battle."
"Wow! That wasn't half-bad." Jaden said.
Michael smirked. "Trust me, you ain't seen nothing yet."
"My field spell has another effect." Allie continued. "Once per turn, when an Amazoness monster is destroyed and sent to the graveyard, I'm allowed to summon another one from my deck, as long as it's up to the same level as the one that was destroyed. And I choose Amazoness Paladin!" A woman wearing a light-brown, sleeveless battle dress with a longsword appeared. (ATK: 1700-1900 DEF: 300 LV: 4)
"A monster that's as strong as Gold Gadget." Xander noted.
Allie smirked. "Actually, my Paladin has an advantage. Thanks to her special ability, she gains another 100 attack points for every Amazoness monster on my field, including herself." The amazon glowed with a blue aura. (ATK: 1900-2000)
Xander inserted a card into his duel disk. "I place one card facedown and end my turn."
"Then I'll make my next move with this!" Allie drew. "By revealing 1 other Amazoness monster in my hand..." An amazon in a reddish and purple outfit wielding a spear appeared briefly. This one looked like a preteen girl with white hair held up by a golden hair cuff. She had bandages covering her forearms and legs accentuated by golden bangle frames covering the same areas. She had war paint covering her face and body, and horns protruding from a headband she wore. "I can summon Amazoness Spy from my hand!" Another amazon appeared next to the paladin. This one had black hair, wearing a blue cloak while wielding a dagger. (ATK: 800-1000 DEF: 1200 LV: 3) (ATK: 2000-2100) "Then I'll summon Amazoness Princess!" The white-haired amazon appeared again. (ATK: 1200-1400 DEF: 900 LV: 3) (ATK: 2100-2200)
"Look at that. Her Amazoness monsters are practically swarming the field." Andrew commented.
"That Allie is really good." Jenny added.
"And now for Amazoness Princess' special ability. When she's summoned, I can add 1 Amazoness spell or trap card from my deck to my hand." Allie searched through her deck for a moment and then took a card. "And I think I'll go with this one! Amazoness Fighting Spirit!" The named spell card appeared. "Now, if one of my Amazoness monsters attacks a monster with a higher attack strength, it gains 1000 attack points."
Xander widened his eyes. "Oh boy."
"Now, Amazoness Princess! Attack his Gold Gadget!" The young amazon charged forward. "And this is when her second ability activates. When she attacks, I can send 1 other card from my hand or field to the graveyard and then summon another Amazoness monster from my deck in defense mode." Allie discarded one of her cards. "And I choose Amazoness Queen!" From a flash of light, a taller and more imposing amazon appeared. She had long blue hair, wearing sturdy garb similar to the other amazons, had a crown on her head with a skull on the front, and was holding a wicked looking sword. (ATK: 2400-2600 DEF: 1800 LV: 6) "And of course, this makes my Paladin even stronger." (ATK: 2200-2300)
Xander clicked his tongue as Amazoness Princess got right in front of Gold Gadget. (ATK: 1400-2400) She then pierced it with her spear, making it explode.
Xander: 4000-3500
"You just triggered my Gold Gadget's special ability! When it's destroyed, I can summon a level 4 Gadget monster from my deck. So here comes my Silver Gadget!" Another robot appeared and crouched down. It looked similar to its golden counterpart, only it was silver. (ATK: 1500-1700 DEF: 1000 LV: 4) "And my Machine Assembly Line has an effect of its own. Every time a machine type monster is destroyed, it gets two Junk Counters." The named spell card glowed briefly. "And since my Silver Gadget was successfully summoned, I can summon another level 4 machine monster from my hand. And I'm bringing out Red Gadget!" The new robot that appeared looked similar to Green Gadget, except for its red color and the gadget attached to its back. (ATK: 1300-1500 DEF: 1500 LV: 4) "And with Red Gadget successfully summoned to the field, I can add Yellow Gadget to my hand." Xander searched through his deck and then took the card he wanted.
(ATK: 2400-1400) "I still have the upper hand, thanks to my Amazoness army! Amazoness Spy, attack his Silver Gadget!" (ATK: 1000-2000) The cloaked amazon charged forward and slashed the silver robot with her dagger, making it explode. (ATK: 2000-1000) At that, Machine Assembly Line glowed briefly. "And now Amazoness Paladin, destroy his Green Gadget!" The Paladin charged forward and struck the green robot with her robot, making it explode. And that made Xander's spell card glow again.
Xander: 3500-2800
"Sam Hill! Her army is overwhelming." Hassleberry commented.
"Tell me about it." Clover replied. "Xander better step up his game."
"I place one card facedown and end my turn." Allie concluded while inserting a card into her duel disk.
"Alright, my move!" Xander drew. When he looked at his new card, he grinned. "Now this is gonna be good. First I activate the second effect of Machine Assembly Line! By sending it to my graveyard, I can resurrect a machine monster whose level is less than or equal to the number of the Junk Counters my spell has. And it has more than enough for me to bring back any of my previous monsters, including Gold Gadget!" The spell card vanished before the golden robot reappeared. (ATK: 1700 DEF: 800 LV: 4) (ATK: 1500-1300) "And with its revival, I'll use its ability to summon another machine monster, like Yellow Gadget!" From a flash of light, another robot appeared. This one was yellow, with a big gear on its back and a smaller on the front of its body. (ATK: 1200 DEF: 1200 LV: 4)
"How many of those Gadget monsters do you have?" Allie asked.
"Enough to strike you real hard. But first I activate Yellow Gadget's ability, which allows me to add a new Green Gadget from my deck to my hand." Xander searched through his deck and took the card he wanted. "And now I summon it to the field." The green robot appeared again. (ATK: 1400 DEF: 800 LV: 4) "And of course, this gives me another Red Gadget." Xander fanned his deck out and took the named card.
"Gotta hand it to him, he's quite resourceful." Alyssa admitted.
"Indeed." Bastion agreed. "Xander's not wasting time with his machine monsters.
"I activate my trap! Metalhold the Moving Blockade!" Xander's facedown card flipped up. And then, from a flash of light, the card was replaced by another robot. It was large and purplish pink and had shoulder-like cannons. "I can activate this card by selecting a number of level 4 machine type monsters I can control and summon it to the field as a monster. And then, the selected monsters are equipped to it, allowing it to absorb their attack points." At that, Green Gadget, Red Gadget and Yellow Gadget flew up and attached themselves into the machine's gear-shaped holes.
"Wait, so how many points will that thing have?" Jaden asked.
"Green Gadget has 1400 attack points. Red Gadget, 1300. And Yellow Gadget, 1200." Jenny pointed out. "Put them all together, and you'll get..."
The Gadget monsters started to spin, causing the large robot to start moving. (ATK: 0-3900 DEF: 0 LV: 4)
"3900 attack points!" Allie gasped.
"And to spice things up a bit, I activate the spell card, Clockwork Night!" The named spell card appeared. "First of all, all monsters on the field are turned into machine types." At that, the Amazoness monsters changed in appearance and had now metallic skin, making them look like robots. "And now for the best part! With Clockwork Night in play, all my machine monsters gain 500 attack and defense points." A blue aura enveloped Metalhold and Gold Gadget. (ATK: 3900-4400 DEF: 0-500) (ATK: 1700-2200 DEF: 800-1300) "Your machine monsters, on the other hand, become 500 points weaker."
Allie gasped again as a red aura enveloped her Amazoness monsters. ((2600-2100 DEF: 1800-1300) (ATK: 1000-500 DEF: 1200-700) (ATK: 1400-900 DEF: 900-400) (ATK: 2300-1800 DEF: 300-0)
"Way to play, Xander!" Syrus cheered.
"Whoa! Look at him go." Jaden said in awe.
"Talk about machinery." Andrew commented.
"Tell me about it." Michael replied. "If the dude's two next attacks hit, then it's over."
"I must say, that kid is pretty good." Bonaparte admitted.
"Why of course. Was there any doubt?" Crowler asked smugly.
"Now Metalhold, attack her Amazoness Princess with Photon Twin Blast!" The giant robot charged up its cannons and fired a pair of energy blasts. When they hit the white-haired amazon, Allie's field was swallowed by a huge explosion.
Everyone waited for the smoke to clear. After a little while, it did. And then, a shocking sight was revealed. Amazoness Princess was unharmed. And as for Allie...
Allie: 4000
"What? No damage?" Jenny asked, as she was as shocked as the rest of the gang, except for Alyssa and Michael, who were smiling a bit.
"No way." Syrus muttered in disbelief.
"Okay, what just happened?" Xander questioned.
Allie smirked. "When you attacked me, I activated this trap card." She pointed to a card that was behind Amazoness Spy, now revealed. "Spirit Barrier. As long as I have a monster on the field, I don't take any battle damage. And in case you're wondering why Amazoness Princess survived, my Queen protected her." The named monster was glowing with a white aura. "With her in play, my Amazoness monsters can't be destroyed in battle."
"Well, that sucks." Xander said, rubbing the back of his head before taking a card from his hand. "Oh well, since I have exactly two effect machine monsters, I can activate the spell card, Iron Draw, which lets me draw two more cards." He drew his extra cards, looked at them and inserted one of them into his duel disk. "I end my turn with one facedown."
"Then it's my turn!" Allie drew. "First I'll switch Amazoness Queen to attack mode." The queen stood up. "Then I activate Pot of Greed, which lets me draw two more cards." Allie drew her extra cards. "Then I summon Amazoness Sage!" From a flash of light, a much of more average looking caped amazon appeared. She was taller than most human women, but was still one one of the shortest and least muscular amazons. She carried a staff made of bone and her long blue hair was done up. (ATK: 1400-1600 DEF: 700 LV: 4) "And her presence makes my Paladin a little bit stronger." (ATK: 1800-1900)
"But I still have Clockwork Night in play, which makes your new monster weaker." Xander pointed out as the sage developed metallic skin. (ATK: 1600-1100 DEF: 700-200)
"Not that it matters. Attack his Metalhold!" Allie commanded, shocking both Xander and Syrus.
"But why?" Jaden asked. "Even with Amazoness Fighting Spirit on the field, none of her monsters can even scratch Xander's giant robot."
"Unless that Sage has a little trick of her own." Alexis deduced.
"Michael?" Andrew turned to the dark duelist.
Michael simply smirked. "You guys just have to wait and see."
(ATK: 1100-2100) The sage rushed forward and struck Metalhold with her staff, seemingly doing no damage at all. (ATK: 2100-1100)
Xander raised an eyebrow. "Not to be rude, but why did you even bother?"
"Simple." Allie smirked. "If Amazoness Sage attacked and is still on the field, then one of your spell or trap cards are destroyed. And that includes your Metalhold, if I'm not mistaken."
Xander gasped as some cracks were formed on the giant robot's body. And then, it released some steam as it shook before it finally exploded.
"Damn. She destroyed Metalhold with such ease." Clover said.
Alyssa smiled. "I expect no less from my dear sister."
"Dear me." Crowler muttered worriedly. "Xander's about to lose."
Bonaparte scoffed. "So much for making him a star."
"Now my Paladin, attack his Gold Gadget." (ATK: 1900-2900) The paladin charged forward and struck the golden robot with her sword, making it explode. (ATK: 2900-1900)
Xander: 2800-2100
"As you know, destroying Gold Gadget allows me to summon another Gadget monster. And I think I'll bring out one more Green Gadget." The green robot appeared once again. (ATK: 1400-1900 DEF: 800-1300 LV: 4) "And that gives me one more Red Gadget." Xander fanned his deck out and took the named card.
"In that case, I'll attack with my Amazoness Princess, who'll break it with ease, thanks to Amazoness Fighting Spirit and Amazoness Queen!" (ATK: 900-1900) The white-haired amazon let out a battle cry before crushing the green robot with her spear. (ATK: 1900-900) "And speaking of my Queen, I'll have her finish you off!" The Queen raised her sword and charged forward.
"Not if I play the trap, Back to the Front!" Xander's facedown card flipped up. "This lets me summon a monster back from my graveyard in defense mode. And I think I choose Silver Gadget!" The silver robot appeared again. (ATK: 1500-2000 DEF: 1000-1500 LV: 4) "And that lets me summon another monster from my hand, like Red Gadget." The red robot appeared again. (ATK: 1300-1800 DEF: 1500-2000) "And so, I'll get another Yellow Gadget." Xander searched through his deck again.
"In that case, I'll attack your Silver Gadget." The queen slashed the silver robot with her sword. "And since my Spy can't destroy Red Gadget, I'll switch her to defense mode." The cloaked amazon kneeled down. "I end my turn with one facedown." A card appeared near Allie's feet.
"Now here goes." Xander drew. "I activate Pot of Greed, so now I draw two more cards." He drew his extra cards and looked at them. he then grinned. "Nice! I drew the field spell, Gear Town!" The entire environment changed into a town filled with old run gears and run down machinery.
"No way." Allie muttered. (ATK: 2100-1900) (ATK: 500-300) (ATK: 900-700) (1100-900) (ATK: 1900-1700)
"Thanks to this field spell, I can summon an Ancient Gear monster with one less sacrifice. Which means I can sacrifice Red Gadget in order to summon Ancient Gear Hydra!" The red robot vanished and was replaced by a a bipedal creature whose body was made of gears and machinery similar to Geartown. It had a pair of wings. But what really made it stand out was the number of different heads it had. It had a reddish one that resembled a dragon head. One head was yellowish with gear parts that looked like horns. The third head was blue and resembled a triceratops head. The monster even had a purple dragon-like head on the tip of its tail. (ATK: 2700-3200 DEF: 1700-2200 LV: 7)
"I've never seen a monster like that before." Allie said in awe.
"This is just the beginning." Xander held up a copy of Red Gadget and Yellow Gadget. "By sending two Gadget monsters from my hand to the graveyard, I can summon Boot-Up Admiral - Destroyer Dynamo!" The two Gadget monsters appeared briefly before something else rose up on the field. It was a gigantic robot that was purple and had some golden parts on its body. It also had three gear-shaped holes on its chest. (ATK: 2500-3000 DEF: 2500-3000 LV: 8)
"Now that's a high-ranking monster." Hassleberry commented.
"Go, Xander!" Clover cheered.
"And next I activate its special ability! Once per turn, it can destroy one other card on the field. And I think I choose your Spirit Barrier!" The giant robot's one eye glowed brightly before firing an energy beam that destroyed Allie's trap card. "So now I can cause some damage..."
"Don't be so sure!" Allie interrupted. "I know all about Ancient Gear monsters, including their abilities to keep their opponents from activating spells or traps when they attack. So I'll play this card before letting you attack." Her facedown card flipped up. "Amazoness Shamanism! This lets me destroy all Amazoness monsters on the field..." All her monsters shattered into pixels. "After that, I can summon level 4 or lower Amazoness monsters from my graveyard in defense mode, up to the number of monsters destroyed by this effect."
"Smart. At least she'll have monsters to protect her life points." Andrew said.
"Too bad she had to give up her Queen for this." Michael replied.
From a flash of light, Allie was joined by Amazoness Princess, Spy, Sage, Fighter and Paladin, whose skins became metallic. (ATK: 1200-700 DEF: 900-400 LV: 3) (ATK: 800-300 DEF: 1200-700 LV:3) (ATK: 1400-900 DEF: 700-200 LV: 4) (ATK: 1500-1000 DEF: 1300-800 LV: 4) (ATK: 1700-1200-1700 DEF: 300-0 LV: 4) "And with my Princess summoned again, I can add another Amazoness spell or trap card from my deck to my hand." Allie searched through her deck and then took a card. "And with that, my life points are safe."
Xander smirked. "For now at least. It's true that my Hydra keeps you from activating spells, traps and monster effects when I attack with an Ancient Gear monster. But did you know that since I sacrificed a Gadget monster to summon it, my Hydra can attack all your monsters?"
Allie gasped in shock.
"Yeah, you heard me. Now go on, Hydra!" The mechanical Hydra opened the maws of its four heads, from which it fired energy beams that joined together into a big one and destroyed all the amazons after a mere moment. "And with that, I attack you directly with my Boot-up Admiral!" The purple and golden robot raised its right arm and slammed on the ground, creating a shockwave that knocked Allie down.
Allie: 4000-1000
"Incredible!" Alyssa said in shock.
"Yeah, give it to Xander to charge up his machines and strike hard." Clover replied with a smile.
"No kidding." Jenny added.
"I place one card facedown and end my turn." Xander concluded.
"I'm not done just yet. Just watch!" Allie drew. "I activate the spell card, Pot of Avarice. This lets me take 5 monster cards from my grave, shuffle them into my deck, and then draw two new cards." She took five cards from her graveyard and shuffled them into her deck before drawing her extra cards. "Then I activate the spell card, Amazoness Call. This lets me take an Amzoness card and either add it to my hand or send it to the graveyard. And I choose the first option." She took a card from her deck. "And now I summon it. Amazoness Sage!" The blue-haired staff wielding amazon appeared again. And her skin became metallic again. (ATK: 1400-900 DEF: 700-200 LV: 4)
"Her again? What are you planning to do with her?" Xander questioned.
"Oh, just to cast a spell on one of your monsters, using this!" Allie held up one of her cards. "Amazoness Spellcaster! This lets me swap the original attack points between my Amazoness and one of your monsters, like Ancient Gear Hydra."
"Uh oh!" Xander said.
"Since the Sage's original attack points are 1400, and Hydra's original points are 2700, that spell will transfer 1300 of the latter's points." Bastion pointed out.
"Not good." Jaden replied.
The Sage stood a little higher while the Hydra dropped down. (ATK: 900-2200) (ATK: 3200-1900) "And that makes her stronger than your Hydra. But I still have Amazoness Fighting Spirit, so I'll have her attack your Destroyer Dynamo!" (ATK: 2200-3200) The Sage pointed her staff at the giant robot and fired a green energy beam and blasted it to pieces.
Xander: 2100-1900
"And with my Sage still on the field after attacking, I can destroy one spell or trap card, like Clockwork Night!" The named spell card shattered into pixels and the Sage's skin turned back to normal. (ATK: 2200-2700 DEF: 200-700) (ATK: 1900-1400 DEF: 2200-1700) "And I'll continue my battle phase with this quick-play spell!" Allie held up one of her cards. "Amazoness Secret Arts! This lets me combine monsters from my hand and field and summon an Amazoness fusion monster!"
"Fusion?" Xander repeated.
"So I'll combine my Sage with Amazoness Tiger from my hand..." A big, one-eyed and fierce-looking tiger appeared before before being swallowed by fusion vortex, along with the sage. "...and summon Amazoness Pet Liger!" And then, an even larger tiger jumped out of the vortex. It had armor pieces around its tan fur with black stripes and a mane of yellow fur. It leered with its left, red eyes as the right one was closed with a scar. (ATK: 2500 DEF: 2400 LV: 7)
"Wow! I didn't know there were any Amazoness fusions." Jaden commented.
"That makes two of us." Andrew replied.
"Now attack his Hydra!" Pet Liger roared and dashed towards the hydra. "And when Pet Liger attacks , it gains 500 extra attack points." (ATK: 2500-3000) The liger pounced on the hydra and slashed it with its claws, making it explode.
Xander: 1900-0300
"And that ends my turn." Allie concluded as the liger returned to her field. (ATK: 3000-2500) "You fought well, but I'm afraid it's over."
"You got that right." Xander replied confidently and drew. "First I activate the trap card, Call of the Haunted!" His facedown card flipped up. "Now I can summon a monster from my graveyard, like Yellow Gadget!" The yellow robot appeared again. (ATK: 1200 DEF: 1200 LV: 4) "And then I activate the effect of Clockwork Night!" The named spell card came out of his graveyard slot.
"What?" Allie widened her eyes.
"By removing it from play, and then discard 1 card from my hand..." Xander discarded the only card in his hand. "I can add 1 earth machine monster from my deck to my hand." He fanned his deck out and took a card. "And thanks to Gearttown, my Yellow Gadget is the only sacrifice I need to summon this monster." The robot vanished. "Now rise up, Ancient Gear Gadjiltron Dragon!" The new monster rose up with a shriek. It was a big, mechanical dragon with wings and a long tail. (ATK: 3000 DEF: 2000 LV: 8)
"3000 points." Allie noted.
"And it also gains certain effects depending on the Gadget monsters I sacrificed. Or in this case, monster. I sacrificed Yellow Gadget, which means if my dragon destroys a monster in battle, you take 600 points of damage." That earned him a gasp from his opponent. "Now my dragon, attack with Mechanized Dragon breath!" The dragon opened its maw and fired a beam of green energy that blew the liger up. The explosion knocked Allie down to the floor.
Allie: 1000-0000
As the holograms vanished, the audience cheered loudly.
"The winner, Xander Murphy!" Professor Miller announced.
"Yeah! Way to go, Xander!" Clover cheered.
"Amazing tactics, soldier!" Hasleberry added.
Alyssa smiled a bit. "I admit that I feel bad for Allie, but it was a good match."
"That's true." Michael replied.
Xander approached Allie who was down to her knees. "Are you okay?"
Allie smiled before getting up. "Don't worry about me. That was a great duel." She offered him a handshake. "Congratulations."
Xander smiled back and shook hands with her. "Thanks." After a moment, the two them got off the platform. And Xander was approached by Syrus.
"That was awesome, Xander. Way to play!"
"Thanks. And now it's your turn. So do your best!"
"Right." The small Slifer nodded and reached the platform.
"And now it's time for the second match." Professor Miller announced. "And the one who gets the chance for promotion in this one is Syrus Truesdale!" The crowd cheered again.
"Face it. All the odds are against that little runt." Bonaparte said.
"Size isn't everything. You of all people should know." Crowler said with a smirk. "Looked in the mirror lately?"
"And his opponent, from Obelisk Blue..." Miller continued. "Andreas Greengrass!" At that, Syrus' opponent arrived and stepped up on the platform. The Obelisk Blue student was a tall boy with blue eyes and blonde hair that was nicely combed.
When Syrus got a good look on his face, his eyes widened. "Hey, I know you! You're that guy who gave me some advice last night!"
Obelisk boy chuckled almost in embarrassment. "Yeah, I never introduced myself, did I? As you just heard, my name is Andreas."
"So that's your older brother, huh." Jenny said.
"That's right." Alyssa replied.
"No fear, son!" Hassleberry called out.
"Well, this is kinda awkward." Syrus admitted.
"Remember what I told you last night?" Andreas asked. "You need to have more confidence in yourself and faith in your skills. It's the only way for you have a chance of winning. Especially since I'm not planning to go easy on you." Andreas unbuttoned his jacket and revealed three deck cases held inside. He opened one of them, and inserted its deck into his duel disk. "So, you think you can do this or what?"
After a moment, Syrus regained his confidence. "Alright, fine. Then what are we waiting for?!" He then activated his duel disk. And Andreas followed suit.
"GAME ON!"
Syrus: 4000
Andreas: 4000
"I'll start with this." Andreas drew. "The spell card, Gravekeeper's Servant!" The named spell card appeared. "With this in play, you must send the top card of your deck to the graveyard in order to attack with a monster. Then I'll play a facedown monster in defense mode and end my turn with another card facedown." Two cards appeared, making a 'T' formation.
"He's starting off rather easy." Jenny noted.
"Like I said, Andreas is unpredictable. So he's planning something big." Michael replied.
Andreas glanced at his facedown monster. 'Since the little guy's using machine monsters, if his Power Bond card was a clue enough, then my Magnetic Mosquito will bite real hard. As soon as he triggers its flip effect, all face-up machine monsters on the field will be destroyed.'
"Alright, watch this!" Syrus drew his sixth card, looked at it, and then revealed. "I'll start with Shield Crush! So much for your little defense. Cuz now I get to choose one monster that's in defense mode, and destroy it. And guess who I pick!"
"Oops!" Andreas said with wide eyes as his facedown monster shattered into pixels.
"Now for the fun part! Check this out! I summon Steamroid in attack mode!" A black and red steam locomotive, that appeared to be cartoonish with equally cartoonish eyes, appeared. (ATK: 1800 DEF: 1800 LV: 4) Syrus then sent the top card of his deck to the graveyard. "Alright pal, Full Steam Ahead!" The locomotive blew its whistle and moved forward. It stopped right in front of Andreas and blew steam at him, making him cover his face with his duel disk.
Andreas: 4000-2200
"Awesome!" Jaden cheered. "He almost took half of that guy's life points!"
"Nice one." Alexis said with a smile.
Soon after, the crowd started to cheer for Syrus. "Truesdale! Truesdale! Truesdale...!"
The little Slifer looked around and couldn't help but laugh. "People are actually cheering. And it's for me. I finally have fans!" He then laughed out loud. "You hear that? The crowd loves me!"
"Oh great!" Clover facepalmed. "The fame's gotten to him."
"And only after one turn. A personal record." Bastion added.
"But can you blame him? Especially since this is his chance to move up. Let him have his moment." Andrew said with a smile.
"This is the beginning of the duel though." Alyssa replied. "So I wouldn't let my guard down if I were Syrus."
"A minor setback." Andreas muttered and drew his next card. "First I'll use my Pot of Greed in order to draw two more cards." He drew his extra cards, looked at them and revealed one of them. "Then I activate the spell card, Insect Neglect. This card lets me negate one of your attacks by taking one insect monster from my graveyard and remove it from play."
"Oh boy." Syrus muttered nervously as the spell card appeared.
"I play another monster in defense mode." A facedown monster card appeared. "And end my turn with two more cards facedown." Two cards appeared.
"Then it's my turn!" Syrus drew. "I summon Patroid in attack mode." Another cartoonish vehicle appeared. This one was a police car wearing a police hat on its roof and using its wheels as limbs. (ATK: 1200 DEF: 1200 LV: 4) "And it's got a special ability. I can take a look at one of your facedown cards. And I think I'll take a look at the one on the left!" The police car's red light blared as one of Andreas' facedown cards flipped up for a moment. "Robbin' Zombie?"
"If I remember correctly, that trap lets you send the top card of the opponent's deck to the graveyard when your monster deals battle damage." Jenny mused.
"Another card that sends cards to the graveyard." Bastion said, rubbing his chin in thought. "I'm starting to have a suspicion of the style of that insect deck."
Syrus sent another card to the graveyard. "Now Patroid, attack! Siren Smasher!" The police card got down on its wheels and charged forward.
"I'll use the effect of my Insect Neglect to negate your attack." While Andreas took his monster card from the graveyard, a cage made of twigs appeared and surrounded his facedown monster. When Patroid touched, it got zapped before being forced back to Syrus' field.
"But now your graveyard is empty, so my Steamroid can attack." Syrus sent another card to the graveyard. "And when it attacks another monster, it gains 500 attack points, letting it handle whatever it is you're hiding!" (ATK: 1800-2300) The locomotive charged forward as the monster card flipped up, revealing a purple worm with large spikes protruding from its head and sides. (ATK: 750 DEF: 600 LV: 2) It then ran over the little bug. (ATK: 2300-1800)
"Sorry, but that was Needle Bug." Andreas said with a smirk. "And due to its flip effect, you must send the top 5 cards of your deck to the graveyard."
"Come again?" Syrus asked a look of disbelief.
Bastion nodded. "I thought as much."
"So the theme of that insect deck is deck destruction." Andrew noted.
"Meaning Truesdale's on the risk of running out of his supply." Hassleberry added.
Syrus reluctantly drew 5 cards and discarded them. "I guess I end my turn."
"Alright then." Andreas drew. "I summon Warm Worm in defense mode." Another worm appeared. This one was dark mauve colored and had a fiery crest upon its forehead. (ATK: 600 DEF: 1400 LV: 3) "That ends my turn."
Syrus took a deep breath and drew his next card. "First I play Pot of Greed. Now I can draw two more cards." He drew his extra cards and looked at them. He smiled a bit. "Alright! I play Mystical Space Typhoon! This lets me destroy one spell or trap card on the field. So there goes your Insect Neglect!" The spell card created a whirlwind that blew the named spell card away.
"Not bad." Andreas commented. "But wouldn't you rather destroy Gravekeeper's Servant?"
"I'll worry about that card later. Now I summon Submarineroid!" From a flash of light, a blue and yellow submarine with a cartoonish face appeared. It was holding a torpedo underneath it with its hands. ATK: 800 DEF: 1800 LV: 4) "And now I'll use Patroid's ability to have another look at one of your facedown cards. And now I choose the one on the far right." The police car's red light blared again. And one of Andreas' other facedown cards flipped up. "Setuppercut." Syrus noted.
"That's right." Andreas replied. "When my monster is destroyed in battle, I can use this trap card to summon another one in facedown position, as long as that monster has attack points that are equal or fewer than those of the destroyed monster."
'Then he'll probably summon another Warm Worm from his deck, or at least something that could fend off my Patroid and Submarineroid. But even so...' Syrus sent another card to the graveyard. "Now Steamroid, attack!" (ATK: 1800-2300) The locomotive charged forward and ran over the bug.
"So you decided to attack my monster anyway. Suit yourself." The Setuppercut card was revealed again. "I'll use my trap card to replace my Warm Worm with a new one." A facedown card appeared on the field, with the spirit of Warm Worm emerging for a brief moment. "And speaking of Warm Worm, you triggered its effect. After it's destroyed, you lose the top three cards of your deck."
"Oh come on! Will you stop that?" Syrus whined as he drew three cards and discarded them.
"Geez, he might run out of cards at this rate." Andrew said with concern.
"No offense to your brother, but for a guy who hates bullying, he's really ruthless." Clover told Alyssa.
Michael's childhood friend gave her an almost embarrassed smile. "Yeah, but only when he duels."
"Truesdale! You'll never defeat your enemy, unless you defeat your own fear!" Hassleberry called out.
'Hassleberry's right. Whenever things get tough, I start to doubt myself. I hear this voice in my head telling me to give up because I'm not good enough. But I learned to never give up in a duel, so...' Syrus sent another card to the graveyard. "Submarineroid, attack!"
Andreas looked surprised. "But why? That monster can't touch my Warm Worm."
"I'm not aiming for your Warm Worm. Because my Submarineroid's special ability lets it attack you directly!" The sub dove under the ground.
"No way." Andreas muttered as he suddenly noticed something hidden speeding towards him. And when the object got close enough, it suddenly exploded, almost knocking him over.
Andreas: 2200-1400
The sub then returned to the surface. "And now, thanks to Submarineroid's special ability, it shifts to defense mode." It then crossed its arms. "Then I'll switch Patroid to defense mode and end my turn." The police car crossed its arms as well.
"Not bad, but what he really needs to play is his Power Bond card." Jaden said.
"Too bad he can't. It's not in his deck." Chazz replied, holding up the envelope he received.
"What?" Jaden took it and opened it, finding the card inside. "Power Bond?! How could you?" He snapped at him.
"You better have an explanation!" Hassleberry turned to the black clad Slifer.
"Yeah, he's a jerk!" Alexis glared.
"What's the meaning of this, Chazz?!" Jenny demanded.
"I didn't take it!" Chazz shouted. "Syrus gave it to me, to give to you!"
Jaden calmed down and stared at the card. "He did? But why?"
Back at the arena, Andreas began his turn. "Guess it's time for me to get serious. And I'll start by playing Card of Demise. Now I can draw until I have 5 cards in my hand." He drew a new hand. "Then I'll play Monster Reborn to bring back my first Warm Worm!" The reddish worm appeared again. (ATK: 600 DEF: 1400 LV: 3) "This triggers my spell card..." One of his facedown cards flipped up. "Inferno Reckless Summon. If I special summon a monster with up to 1500 attack points, I can summon all the other copies of that monster. So this brings out my third Warm Worm." Another Warm Worm appeared. (ATK: 600 DEF: 1400 LV: 3)
"Just bring them on!" Syrus challenged. "I'm not scared of some bugs. Living in a roach infested dorm taught me how to handle them."
"I wouldn't get cocky if I were you..." Andreas took Needle Worm from his graveyard. "By removing an insect monster from play, I can summon Aztekipede, the Worm Warrior!" A large green centipede with four red eyes rose up on the field. (ATK: 1900 DEF: 400 LV: 4) "And next I summon Cross-Sword Beetle!" A giant brown beetle with four yellow, long and sharp pincers appeared. (ATK: 1800 DEF: 1200 LV: 4) "As long as I have another insect monster in play, this one makes it so all of them can cause piercing damage."
"Uh oh!" Syrus said nervously.
"Then I activate the trap card, Robbin' Zombie!" Andreas' remaining facedown card flipped up. "With this, the top card of your deck is sent to the graveyard each time one of my monsters deals battle damage to you. And since I know your Steamroid loses 500 points when it's attacked, I'll let Cross-Sword Beetle destroy it!" (ATK: 1800-1300) The beetle approached the locomotive, and crushed it with its pincers.
Syrus: 4000-3500
"And don't forget, you lose one of your cards." Syrus sent another card to the graveyard. "Then I'll attack your Submarineroid with Aztekipede!" The centipede charged forward and grabbed the submarine with its mandibles before crushing it.
Syrus: 3500-3400
"And here's another surprise. When Aztekipede deals battle damage to you, its special ability makes you send another top card to the grave, meaning this attack costs you two cards instead of one."
"Aw man." Syrus moaned as he drew two cards and discarded them.
"I place one card facedown and end my turn." A card appeared near Andreas' feet.
"Then here goes." Syrus drew his next card and looked at it. "Alright! First I'll use my own Monster Reborn to bring back Submarineroid!" The submarine appeared again. (ATK: 800 DEF: 1800 LV: 4)
"Are you planning for another direct attack?" Andreas asked.
Syrsu smirked. "Nope. I'm going for something bigger. But first, I'll use Patroid to take a look at your facedown card." Andreas' facedown card glowed and flipped up. "Aassault on GHQ?"
"Yup. And if I choose to activate this card, I can destroy one of my monsters and send the top two cards of your deck to the graveyard."
Syrus looked nervous for a moment before regaining his confidence. "Well I'm gonna take my chances! I sacrifice Patroid and Submarineroid in order to summon Armoroid!" His two monsters vanished as a big white shuttle took their place. And then, it began to transform. It folded itself out too look like a large fighter robot with arms and legs and head. (ATK: 2700 DEF: 2000 LV: 8)
"Now that's a fighting machine." Andrew said with a smile.
"Go get him, soldier!" Hassleberry called out.
"Since I sacrificed another 'roid' monster to tribute summon this guy, all spells and traps on the field are removed from play."
Andreas gritted his teeth. "In that case, I'll use my Assault on GHQ to destroy my facedown monster!" His facedown trap flipped up before his facedown monster shattered into pixels. "And you lose 2 of your cards."
Syrus drew two cards and discarded them as Andreas' spells and traps vanished.
"And since my facedown monster was a Warm Worm, you lose 3 more cards." Syrus sent three cards to the graveyard.
"According to my calculations, there are only 8 cards left in Syrus' deck." Bastion pointed out.
"But at least he can attack without giving up more cards." Jenny replied.
"Now Armoroid, attack his Aztekipede!" The robot lit up and fired lasers form its arms that destroyed the centipede.
Andreas: 1400-0600
"Oh my, that Syrus isn't giving up." Alyssa said, sounding impressed.
"Well, the little dude's got guts, that's for sure." Michael added.
"I end my turn." Syrus concluded.
"My move!" Andreas drew. "And I play Graceful Charity. This lets me draw 3 cards and discard 2." He drew his extra cards and discarded two cards. His graveyard slot glowed afterwards "And since one of the cards I discarded was Card of Compensation, I can draw two more cards." He drew again. "And next..." The first Warm Worm and Aztekipede appeared briefly. "By removing two insects from play, I can summon Doom Dozer!" At that, another centipede rose up from the ground. It was even larger with black exoskeleton armor over its pinkish body. (ATK: 2800 DEF: 2600 LV: 8) "Now attack his Armoroid!" The centipede grabbed the robot with its mandibles and crushed it.
Syrus: 3400-3300
"And when Doom Dozer causes battle damage to you, the top card of your deck goes to the graveyard.
Syrus sent another card to the graveyard.
"And now Cross-Sword Beetle attacks!" The beetle charged forward.
"Go, Kiteroid!" Syrus cried out as his graveyard slot glowed. And then, a blue glider with cartoonish eyes holding a pole with its hands appeared and took teh hit from the beetle before vanishing. "Since your bugs sent so many cards to my grave, including Kiteroid, I could remove it from play and reduce the damage to 0."
"Impressive." Andreas complimented.
"Look at him go." Andrew said.
"Yeah, it's a whole new Sy, way to go, bro!" Jaden cheered.
"I gotta say, you play better than I expected." Andreas said.
"Thanks." Syrus replied with a bashful smile.
"But that doesn't mean you can relax. I still got a couple of cards left to play. Like another insect! My Shield Worm!" A black and orange worm wearing a blocky armor appeared. (ATK: 800 DEF: 2000 LV: 4) "With this monster successfully summoned, it switches to defense mode..." It slid back and held its arms defensively. "After that, you lose 1 card from your deck for every insect monster I control. And that's 5."
Syrus gulped as he drew a total of 5 cards and discarded them before he paled. "Aw man! Now I'm down to 2 cards."
"Only 2?" Bonaparte repeated.
"Bonaparte, if this continues, my entire plan's a flop!" Crowler said worriedly.
"Then I activate the spell, Dian Keto the Cure Master. Thanks to this, I gain 1000 life points."
Andreas: 0600-1600
"And with that, I'm done." Andreas concluded. "Now then, what will you do now? With only 2 cards left in your deck, your options are very limited. Do you still have what it takes to win and move up?"
Syrus lowered his head. 'That's a good question. I've lived in the shadow of my big brother for my entire life. He's confident, he was always a star athlete, got good grades... and then there was me. Zane's little brother. Scared I'd never be as good as him.' He then looked up with a confident look. 'But... I'm sick of being scared. It's time I faced my fear!' He then drew his next card. "To start, I summon Expressroid!" A white express train with a purple line and cartoonish eyes appeared. (ATK: 400 DEF: 1600 LV: 4) "When this monster is summoned, I can add 2 'roid' monsters from my graveyard to my hand, like Steamroid and Submarineroid." He took the named cards from his graveyard. "Then I activate Vehicroid Connection Zone!"
Andreas blinked. "What's that do?"
"This lets me fusion summon a Vehicroid monster. So now I'll fuse Drillroid, Submarineroid and Steamroid..." The sub and locomotive appeared, along with another cartoonish machine that was beige and purple. It had tracks and and had a drill on its front, as well on its arms. And then, a bright light enveloped the three of them. "...so I can play Super Vehicroid Jumbo Drill!" The light died down and revealed another big drill. It was rather big and purple with some dark pink and a light-pink flame pattern. It also had cartoonish eyes and a pair of arms. (ATK: 3000 DEF: 2000 LV: 8)
"3000 attack points!" The insect duelist exclaimed.
"Jumbo Drill! Attack one of the Warm Worms!" The giant machine began drilling and went underground.
"You're going after one my weaker monsters? Why?"
"Because my Jumbo Drill has a special ability." Syrus explained with a smirk. "When it attacks a monster in defense mode, the difference between our two monsters' strength's comes out of your life points!"
Andreas gasped as cracks were formed on the ground before Jumbo Drill emerged and obliterated one of his Warm Worms.
Andreas: 1600-0000
As the holograms vanished, the crowd cheered loudly. Professor Miller smiled proudly before announcing. "The winner, Syrus Truesdale!"
Syrus sighed in relief. "I thought I was screwed there." He then noticed Andreas approach him.
The third year Obelisk smiled before offering a handshake. "Looks like you were able to go beyond your limits. Congratulations."
Syrus smiled and shook his hand. "Thanks, Andreas."
"Nice job, Syrus!" Most of the gang cheered.
"Soldier, I knew you had it in ya." Hassleberry said with a proud smile.
Alyssa looked surprised. "I can't believe Andreas actually lost. What a turn of events."
Michael smiled. "What can I say? Syrus sure has some great skills for a little dude."
Later that day, everyone met up in Chazz's new room and congratulated Xander and Syrus for their promotion duels.
"The two of you were great today." Miller said proudly. "That just shows everyone that Slifers have more worth than what other students think."
"Now the two of you are Ra Yellows. I bet the two you are feeling proud" Clover added.
"Yup." Syrus replied.
"Definitely." Xander nodded.
"I can't believe the two of you get to move out. I'm still stuck in this dump!" Chazz grumbled.
"Just be glad that you got to build the new room. So stop complaining." Jenny told him.
"It looks like you guys are moving up in rank." Hassleberry said.
"And it feels good. Right, Syrus?" Xander asked. But the smaller former Slifer lowered his head.
"Come on, chin up, Sy." Jaden said, getting his attention.
"It's just that... well..." Syrus stammered.
"I know how you feel, but this is what you've always wanted. You're moving up in the world." That earned him a smile from his friend, who nodded. "Oh yeah..." He then pulled out Power Bond from his jacket and tossed it over to him. "Don't forget that."
Syrus stared at it. "You know, when my brother gave me this card, I thought I needed it to be as good as he is. But I realize now I was wrong. Know why? Cuz everything I need to be a winner, I already have inside me."
"Couldn't have said it better myself." Andrew replied.
"Yeah, well put." Jaden added.
"Thanks, guys." Syrus approached Jaden and held up his card. "That's why I don't need to carry around this card anymore. You take it, Jaden."
"That card belongs to you, bro." Jaden replied. "Keep it as a souvenir. A reminder of how brave you are. That cool?"
Syrus nodded.
"Time to get your yellow on. Ready?" Bastion said, earning puzzled looks from everyone.
"Dude, that only works when Jaden says it." Michael said.
"Alright, fine." Bastion pouted as all the others laughed.
Later on, they wished Xander and Syrus good luck as they saw them off to the Ra Yellow dorm.
"They grow up so fast, don't they?" Hassleberry said while sniffling. "Don't forget to write, soldiers!"
Later that night, the Slifers were having dinner in their cafeteria. However...
"Hey, what's the deal?! You're in my seat!" Syrus, now dressed in a Ra Yellow jacket, shouted.
"But you moved to the yellow barracks." Hassleberry proclaimed with a mouth full of shrimp.
"You can't get rid of me that easily." Syrus grinned while taking his plate of food. "I'll always be a Slifer at heart. And I expect my seat to be empty next time!"
The dino duelist gritted his teeth. "Since when are you so tough?"
"Since I took your advice, Sarge." Syrus replied smugly before blowing a raspberry at him.
"Let's take it outside!"
"Zip it! I'm losing my appetite over here!" Chaz shouted.
"Really? Thanks Chazz!" Jaden said and snatched one of his shrimps.
"Drop that shrimp!" Chazz yelled.
"Who are you calling a shrimp?!" Syrus sent back.
"Hey, one battle at a time soldier!" Hassleberry shouted.
"I want out of here!" Chazz whined loudly.
Professor Miller was sitting at a nearby table and shook his head. "These students sure are full of energy."
Well, this chapter ended being longer than planned. I hope you guys liked it.
I bet many of you are surprised to see Syrus facing an OC instead of Missy. Well, that part was an idea I received from D.J. Scales, who by the way, is the creator of Andreas Greengrass. So the credit of that goes to him.
Until next time.