A Hero's Vision
It was late afternoon at Duel Academy, and it was rather peaceful everywhere. But, something exciting was taking place in the new common room of the Slifer dorm...
"Alright! It's about to start!" Jaden said loudly. And he wasn't the only one there. There was also Syrus, Hassleberry, Alexis, Jenny, Andrew, and Shiori. They were all sitting together, their eyes focused on the TV.
"So, who'll be dueling again?" Hassleberry asked.
"Well, one of them happens to be my big brother." Syrus replied proudly.
"And he'll be facing someone named Conrad Gibson." Shiori added. "And from what I've heard, he's one of the greatest pro duelists from Texas."
"Sounds like a tough opponent." Jenny commented.
"Yeah, but nothing Zane can't handle." Jaden said withe excitement.
The scene now changes to the Kaiba Dome where countless people were getting into their seats, waiting for the exciting duel to begin. Some of them were getting things for the concessions stand.
"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Kaiba Dome of the theme park, Kaiba Land!" One of the commentators said. A brown-haired man wearing squared glasses and a black suit. "I'm Sheen Armon. And this is my partner, Billy Baldwin!" He gestured to his partner, who is a man with black hair reaching his shoulders, wearing a brown suit.
"And we have a new face to introduce to the world of Pros." Billy replied. "Someone coming straight out of Duel Academy."
"That's right, folks! And he's coming right there! Ladies and gentlemen, it's Zane Truesdale!" Rising from a ground entrance, Zane arrived with his duel disk ready. Zane was a young man with dark-blue hair, eyes of a lighter shade and a stern expression. He was wearing an Obelisk Blue jacket. The kind that was white with blue outlines.
"And his opponent, the man big as a bull directly from Texas. Conrad Gibson!" Billy announced as Zane's opponent appeared from a ground entrance on the opposite side of the field. He was a tall and broad man wearing a brown cowboy hat, a matching vest over a white shirt, black gloves, black pants, brown cowboy boots and purple sun glasses.
"Now the question is, will the newcomer go out victoriously?" Billy said.
"Let's see how it'll play out, Billy." Sheen replied.
The two duelists got their duel disks ready. "Howdy! So you're the new kid, eh?" Conrad said with a southern accent. "You think you can give me a challenge, sonny boy? My last opponent couldn't even hold a candle to a rodeo horse, let alone my cards."
"You want a challenge?" Zane asked calmly. "Then I might just surprise you."
Conrad grinned. "Confident, aren't you. Alright then, kid... draw!" The two duelists activated their duel disks and drew their opening hands.
Zane: 4000
Conrad: 4000
"Tine to ride!" Conrad declared and drew his sixth card. "I reckon I summon a facedown monster in defense mode." A facedown card appeared. "And then, two facedown cards, and the spell card, Soul Absorption." Two more facedown cards appeared behind the first one, along with a spell card. "And that'll be all."
"That's all? Alright then." Zane drew. "Since you have a monster on the field, and I don't, I can summon Cyber Dragon in attack mode." From a flash of light, a serpentine-dragon with a metallic body rose up in front of him. (ATK: 2100 DEF: 1600 LV: 5)
"Now that's how you start a duel." Sheen commented.
"You got that right, Sheen. Looks like Zane's about to give Conrad a run for his money." Billy added.
"Cyber Dragon, attack! Strident Blast!" The dragon reared his head back before firing an energy beam from its maw.
"Not so fast, young lad!" Conrad interrupted. "You triggered the trap card, Dimensional Prison!" One of his facedown cards flipped up and created a dimensional portal that absorbed the attack. "This card here lets me stop your attacking monster by removing it from play." After its attack failed, Cyber Dragon simply vanished. "And then, with Soul Absorption on my field, each card that gets removed from play gives me 500 extra life points." The spell card glowed.
Conrad: 4000-4500
"Whoa! Looks like Zane walked right into that one." Shiori said, surprised.
"Yeah. But it doesn't seem to bother him though." Andrew replied, noting the stoic expression on Zane's face.
"I summon Cyber Dragon Core in defense mode." Zane continued as a new monster appeared on his field. It was a larva-like creature with darker grey spheres that made up its body. In the middle of its body was a red glowing core. (ATK: 400 DEF: 1500 LV: 2) "When this monster is normal summoned, I can add a 'Cyber' spell or trap card from my deck to my hand. And I choose Cyberload Fusion." He took the named card from his deck and added it to his hand. "I place two cards facedown and end my turn." He concluded as he inserted two cards into his duel disk.
"Then it's my move." Conrad drew his next card and looked at it. He grinned. "Now here comes the cavalry! I summon Grinder Tokens in order to summon Grinder Golem to the field!" At that, there was a flash of light. Two flashes of light, actually. Zane's attention was drawn to the flash behind him. He turned and saw a huge monster rise up. It was a humongous metallic behemoth with a buzz-saw blade for a head and spikes all over its body. (ATK: 3000 DEF: 300 LV: 8) He then turned back to Conrad, who now had two smaller versions of the giant monster on his field. (ATK: 0 DEF: 0 LV: 1) x2
"And next I reveal my facedown monster, Gren Maju Da Eiza!" Conrad's facedown monster card flipped up, revealing a big, red-scaled demon with a pair of wings on its back, and two pairs of horns on its head. (ATK: ? DEF: ? LV: 3) "This bad boy gains 400 attack and defense points for each of my cards that have been removed from the game. I know, I know. I haven't removed any of them yet. But you should focus on this! I attack Grinder Golem with a Grinder Token!" One of the smaller robots moved forward, heading towards the giant original.
"What? Why the Sam Hill would he do that?" Hassleberry wondered.
"Whatever reason he would do that, it must be something big." Jenny deduced.
"Yeah, otherwise, there would be no point attacking a monster that's obviously stronger than your own." Alexis added.
As the Grinder Token came closer to his field, Zane glanced at his facedown cards for a moment before he focused on the monster again, which was easily squashed by Grinder Golem's right foot.
Conrad: 4500-1500
"Now that I have taken 3000 points of damage, I can activate the spell card, Inferno Tempest!" Conrad's facedown card flipped up. "This card takes all monster cards from our decks and graveyards before removing them from play."
"No way!" Syrus exclaimed.
"Oh boy." Jaden muttered.
At that, both duelists gathered up all the monster cards they had in their decks. Of course, none of them had any monsters in the grave. "Alright, lad. I removed 19 of my monsters from play." Conrad declared. "How many did you get rid of?"
"20." Zane simply said.
"A total of 39 cards then. I reckon that'll give me a mountain of points from Soul Absorption!" The spell card glowed again.
Conrad: 1500-21000
"Unbelievable! Conrad's life points went up from measly 1500, all the way up to 21000!" Billy said.
"This will not be easy for Zane." Sheen added.
"And it gets worse," Conrad said with a smirk as a creature appeared on the field briefly. It was a horrible rotting babyface with a horrifying visage and pink tentacles. "This is the effect of Necroface. When it's removed from the game, the top 5 cards of each player's deck are removed as well." At that, both duelists removed 5 cards each. And then, Soul Absorption reacted.
Conrad: 21000-26000
"And now that a total of 24 of my cards are removed from play, my Gren Maju Da Eiza gets a crazy power boost! Yee-haw!" Conrad cheered as the red demon growled menacingly while growing stronger. ( ATK: ?-9600 DEF: ?-9600)
"9600 points?!" Shiori said in disbelief.
"So that's what Conrad was aiming for." Jaden realized. "He wanted to use Inferno Tempest to power up his monster."
"That combo didn't just power up his monster. It also gave him a ridiculous amount of extra life points. So even if Zane survives this attack, he'll have some work to do if he wants to get Conrad's life points down to 0." Andrew pointed out.
"And that's easier said than done." Jenny added. "His combo caused Zane to get rid of 25 cards from his deck. Meaning he's down to 8 cards."
"Aw man. Zane's in big trouble now." Syrus whimpered.
"Alright, Eiza! Go get that vermin!" The red demon charged forward, speeding toward Grinder Golem.
"Nice try, but I'm going to have to stop your attack, starting with this..." One of Zane's facedown cards flipped up. "Pot of Acquisitiveness. This lets me select three monster cards that are removed from the game. After that, I can return them to the Main deck and draw 1 card." Zane took three cards and shuffled them into his deck. Once he was done, he drew his extra card. "And with that done, I activate my trap." His other facedown card flipped up. "Attack Reflector Unit. In order to activate this card, I must sacrifice a Cyber Dragon. And thanks to its special ability, Cyber Dragon Core counts as an original Cyber Dragon." The named monster was enveloped in a bright light. "And now I summon Cyber Barrier Dragon!" The light died down and revealed a new mechanical dragon. It resembled Cyber Dragon, but around its neck, it had a bulky collar, outlined with small electrodes. (ATK: 800 DEF: 2800 LV: 6) "And as long as this dragon is in attack mode, it automatically negates your attack each turn." The dragon's collar stretched out and activated the electrodes. Together they created a plasma barrier that blocked a swiping strike from the red demon.
"Now that was unexpected." Conrad commented before looking over the cards in his hand. "But nothing I can't handle. I activate Token Sundae! This lets me destroy all Tokens I control and destroy one card on the field for each one. And I reckon I'll destroy my remaining Grinder Token in order to destroy your Barrier Dragon!" The two named monsters glowed with a red aura before they shattered into pixels. "Then i activate Owner's Seal. This card returns the control of all monsters on the field to their original owners. So, I'll be taking my Grinder Golem!" The mechanical giant vanished from Zane's field before reappearing on Conrad's field. "Now saddle up, boy! It's your move!"
"Very well." Zane said smoothly and drew. "I activate the spell card, Cyberload Fusion."
"That's what Zane added to his hand earlier." Alexis noted.
"Does that mean he's gonna fuse monsters?" Hassleberry asked.
"But how can he do that with almost all of them removed from play?" Shiori wondered.
"With this card, I can summon a fusion monster that lists Cyber Dragon as fusion material."
Conrad raised an eyebrow. "And how are you supposed to fuse monsters after I removed all of them from play?"
"It's because you removed them from play that I can play this spell. You see, it allows me to gather up fusion materials that are either on my field, or... removed from the game, and return them to my deck."
Conrad's eyes widened.
"Therefore, I can gather up my three Cyber Dragons..." The three metallic serpentine-dragons appeared before swirling together. "and combine them together to create Cyber End Dragon!" And then, from a flash of light, a different metallic dragon appeared. It had a body from which rose three different heads each attached to a long neck, a long tail that ran from behind and two widespread wings coming from its back. (ATK: 4000 DEF: 2800 LV: 10)
"Awesome! That's his best monster!" Syrus cheered.
"His new soldier sure packs some firepower." Hassleberry added. "But that's nothing compared to Gren Maju's strength."
"Nah, I'm sure he knows what he's doing." Jaden said confidently.
"Cyber End Dragon, attack Gren Maju Da Eiza!" The dragon reared it three heads back.
Conrad blinked twice before smirking. "Now son. You're obviously plum loco. Your little toy doesn't have enough horsepower to take down my Gren Maju."
Now it was Zane who smirked. "Maybe not yet, but it will, once I play this..." He held up one of his cards. "The spell card, Battle Fusion! This lets my fusion monster gain attack points equal to those of the monster it's battling. In this case, your Gren Maju Da Eiza." The dragon roared and glowed with a blue aura. (ATK: 4000-13600)
"What in tarnation?!" Conrad exclaimed.
"Cyber End Dragon, Super Strident Blaze!" The dragon shot a beam of energy from each of its three heads that combined into one and obliterated the red demon.
Conrad: 26000-22000
"Would you look at that! Looks like Zane took down Conrad's super-powered monster!" Sheen commented.
"And on top of that, he seems to have a cool head, despite of the disadvantage he's got." Billy added.
(ATK: 13600-4000) "I place one card facedown and end my turn." Zane concluded and inserted a card into his duel disk.
"Now let's see here." Conrad drew his next card and looked at it. "Looks like I got my own Pot of Acquisitiveness. So I'll take three of my monster cards back to my deck and reshuffle." He took three cards and shuffled them into his deck before drawing another card. "And looky here! The spell card, Pot of Greed! Meaning two more cards for me." He drew his extra cards and looked at them. He grinned. "And it looks like I drew one of the monsters I took back. My Necroface!" The horrifying giant head with tentacles appeared. (ATK: 1200 DEF: 1800 LV: 4) "When this monster is normal summoned, all cards that have been removed from play return to our decks. And for each card that returns to the Main deck, it gains 100 attack points." A dimensional portal opened up above the field. And then, a whole bunch of cards flew out of it and returned to both players' decks.
"Wait! So, how many cards are there?" Jaden asked.
"I remember Conrad mentioning 24 of his cards being removed from play." Andrew replied. "And then, he used Pot of Acquisitiveness, recovering three of them. So that's 21."
"And I think Zane had 26 cards that were removed." Jenny added with a thoughtful look. "That is, until he used his own Pot of Acquisitiveness and Cyberload Fusion, recovering 6 of them. So that leaves him with 20."
"21 20..." Shiori trailed off. "41."
Syrus paled. "Aw man. That means Zane's going to face another powerful monster."
The giant head glowed with a purple aura. (ATK: 1200-5300) "Alright Necroface! Take out his Cyber End Dragon!" The giant head lashed out its tentacles.
"I activate Pulse Mines!" Zane's facedown card flipped up and released an electromagnetic pulse that blocked the tentacles. After that, the giant head lowered itself while Grinder golem crossed its arms. "Since I have a machine monster, I can use this to switch your monsters from attack to defense mode."
Conrad narrowed his eyes before inserting a card into his duel disk. "Then I reckon I'll end my turn with a facedown."
"I draw." Zane began his turn. "Cyber End Dragon, attack!" The dragon reared its heads back.
"I don't think so! I activate Compulsory Evacuation Device!" Conrad's facedown card flipped up. "This lets me send a monster back to its owner's hand. Or, in this case, your fusion deck." At that, Cyber End Dragon vanished in a flash of light.
"In that case, I play Pot of Greed so I can draw two more cards." Zane drew his extra cards. "Then I activate the special ability of Cyber Dragon Core." The named monster appeared again. "If you're the only one controlling monsters, I can remove it from play and summon a Cyber Dragon monster from my deck. And I'll use it to summon another Cyber Dragon Core." The larva-like creature vanished before being replaced by another one. (ATK: 400 DEF: 1500 LV: 2)
"Since you removed a card from play just now, I gain 500 life points." Conrad pointed out.
Conrad: 22000-22500
"Then I'll summon Cyber Phoenix in defense mode." A machine monster looking like a bird appeared. It had four wings with the parts resembling feathers being orange. (ATK: 1200 DEF: 1600 LV: 4) "I end my turn."
"Now you're all mine!" Conrad drew his next card. "I switch my monsters to attack mode." His two monsters rose up. "Now Necroface, attack his Cyber Dragon Core!" The giant head crushed the larva-like monster with its tentacles. "Grinder Golem, your turn!" The mechanical giant simply stomped the phoenix with its right foot.
"When Cyber Phoenix is destroyed, I get to draw one card from my deck." Zane said as he drew his extra card.
"You're gonna need it, sonny boy! I'll end my turn with a facedown." Conrad grinned as he inserted a card into his duel disk. 'I reckon he's gonna try to summon something big and nasty. But with my Mirror Force in play, his monster's gonna break.'
"Looks like Zane's being pushed to a corner now." Sheen commented.
"You got that right, Sheen." Billy replied. "Only a miracle can save Zane now."
Zane was just as stoic as ever as he drew his next card. He then revealed it. "First I'll play Cyber Revsystem. This spell card lets me summon 1 Cyber Dragon from my hand or graveyard. And as you know, my Cyber Dragon Core counts as an original Cyber Dragon." The larva-like monster appeared again. (ATK: 400 DEF: 1500 LV: 2) "Then I activate the spell card, Machine Duplication. This lets me select a machine monster with up to 500 attack points and then summon up to two monsters with that monster's name from my deck. So thanks to Cyber Dragon Core's ability, my spell card lets me bring out two original Cyber Dragons!" Two of the original serpentine-dragons appeared. (ATK: 2100 DEF: 1600 LV: 5) x2 "And now I activate the spell card, Power Bond!"
"Wicked!" Jaden grinned.
"Awesome! That's one of his best cards." Syrus cheered.
"With this, I can summon a machine type fusion monster. And since Cyber Dragon Core counts as a Cyber Dragon, I can combine it with the two original ones and recreate the Cyber End Dragon!" His three dragons were enveloped in light. Moments later, it died down and revealed Zane's three-headed ace monster. (ATK: 4000 DEF: 2800 LV: 10) "And thanks to Power Bond's effect, my dragon's attack points are doubled." (ATK: 4000-8000) Zane held up another card. "And next I activate Limiter Removal. This card doubles the attack points of all machine monsters on my field." The dragon roared as a blue aura enveloped it. (ATK: 8000-16000)
Conrad whistled as he was impressed. "Now that's a whole lot of horsepower."
"And I've got one more spell card to play. It's an equip spell called Super Strident Blaze, which I can equip to a machine fusion monster." The named spell card appeared, releasing some green energy that entered the dragon's body. "Cyber End Dragon, attack Nercoface!" The dragon fired energy beams from its three maws.
"Hold it right there, lad! I activate a trap!" Conrad announced, pointing at his facedown card. But to his confusion, it didn't flip up. "What the...?" Was all he said before the giant head was blasted to pieces by the dragon.
Conrad: 22500-11800
"What in tarnation just happened?" Conrad asked in shock.
"That's one of the effects of Super Strident Blaze." Zane explained. "It prevents you from activating cards and effects during my battle phase."
"Well I'll be damned."
"And my spell card has another effect." Zane reached for his graveyard slot, from which a Cyber Dragon ejected before he grabbed it. "After the equipped monster attacks one of your monsters, I can take a Cyber Dragon from my graveyard and remove it from play in order to attack another monster.
Conrad dropped his jaw.
"Cyber End Dragon, attack Grinder Golem with Super Strident Blaze!" The dragon fired three more beams that combined into one and obliterated Grinder Golem.
Conrad: 11800-0000
The crowd and chanted 'Truesdale as the holograms vanished.
Conrad was down on one knee for a moment before getting up, taking off his hat and rubbing the back of his head. "Well I'll be..." He trailed off as Zane approached him.
"Good game." He said, offering a handshake.
Conrad smirked and accepted. "I gotta hand it to you, sonny boy. You sure took this competition on like a rodeo champ. Can't remember the last time anyone beat me after I used my combos. But you better saddle up, lad, cuz there'll be tougher challenges ahead."
"I'll be ready." The Academy graduate replied. "Thanks for a great match."
"Right back at ya!"
"A stunning victory by Zane Truesdale. A remarkable comeback." Sheen commented.
"You said it, Sheen. Looks like the newcomer's off for a good start of his pro career!" Billy added.
"Alright! He won!" Syrus cheered.
"Of course he did." Jaden grinned.
"Now those were amazing tactics." Hassleberry admitted.
"I'm surprised Zane even could summon a fusion monster with most of his deck removed from play." Shiori commented.
"Then again, we're talking about the same guy who summoned Cyber End Dragon over and over when he dueled Jaden." Jenny replied.
"Guess we should have known that he would have been prepared for that kind of situation." Alexis added.
"That's true." Andrew agreed.
Meanwhile, someone in an Obelisk Blue dorm room watched the match as well. Someone wearing an Obelisk Blue girl uniform.
"An impressive victory by Zane. Of course, what else would one expect from Duel Academy's former top student. But..." The girl walked over to a desk where a deck of cards was placed. "I have some skills myself." She then drew a card and looked at it. It was Elemental HERO Liquid Soldier. "And it's about time to show how superior my deck is."
A couple of days later
Jenny was in her dorm room, brushing her hair, which was not tied into a ponytail at the moment.
It was then she heard a knock. "Who is it?"
"Jenny, it's Alexis." The person knocking replied.
"The door is open." Jenny said, allowing Alexis to enter. "So what's up?"
"I was wondering if you wanted to hang out." The Cyber Angel duelist said.
"I can't. I'm going to meet up with Andrew later."
"Oh. Is it another date?"
"Pretty much. We're going to meet up at the beach."
Alexis smiled. "I see. The two of you are gonna go out for a swim?"
"More like having a picnic."
"Sounds good. Hope you'll have fun then."
Jenny smiled. "Thanks."
Meanwhile, someone just left the Obelisk Blue boys dorm. It was Andrew. And he was carrying a small box.
"So what do you got there?" Wynn asked, appearing next him.
"Just something to give to Jenny." He replied.
That made Wynn look at him in interest. "Oooh! Is it her birthday?"
Andrew laughed. "No, but it is a special day today."
Phantom Magician decided to appear. "It's been a year now, right?"
"Sure is."
"A year since what?" Wynn asked.
"Well..."
"Hey, you!"
He stopped when he heard someone call out to him. He turned and a saw an Obelisk Blue girl standing in front of him with her arms crossed. She had platinum blonde hair in mid-length waves and green eyes. She also had a duel disk strapped on her left arm.
"You're Andrew Wilson, right?" She asked.
Andrew raised an eyebrow. "Yeah. Who are you?"
"My name is Candace, first year student, and I'm here to challenge you!" She declared, pointing a finger at him.
Andrew blinked. "You mean you want to duel? Why?"
Candace smirked. "I want to show you... who the superior HERO duelist truly is?"
"HERO duelist?" Wynn repeated.
"Is she...?" Phantom Magician trailed off.
"Wait! You duel with a deck of heroes?" Andrew asked.
"As a matter of fact, I do." She replied smugly. "After I came to this school, I've heard rumors about you and the so called Masked HERO cards you use. That got my attention. And my deck is special. With the cards it contains, I can take on anyone, including you."
"Someone's cocky." Wynn commented as she, along with Andrew and Phantom Magician, sweat dropped and gave her a deadpan look.
"So bring out your cards and lets do this!" Candace challenged.
Andrew sighed. "I would like to, but I have some plans today, so I can't. If you want to duel someone so badly, how about challenging Jaden Yuki? I'm sure he'll be more than happy to take you on."
Candace shrugged. "I intended to do that at first, until I heard that he has detention."
Andrew sweat dropped again. 'Oh right. Jaden's got a week detention. From what the guys told me, he watched a duel on TV in Crowler's office. But then he fell asleep there, allowing Crowler to find him there.' He mused as a thought bubble appeared above him, with the image of a whimpering Jaden down on his knees inside the Chancellor's office, with Crowler yelling at him.
"So that leaves you!" Candace continued. "So bring it on!"
Andrew started to get annoyed. "I told you, I'm busy today. I can duel you tomorrow or something." He started to walk away, but Candace got in his way, with her arms spread out.
"Stop right there!"
"I said no!" He insisted as he managed to move her aside.
But she quickly got in front of him and blocked his way. "And I said, duel me now!"
"Quite persistent, isn't she?" Phantom Magician commented.
'But I don't have time for this. I'm meeting up with Jenny.' He mentally told him.
"Doesn't seem like anything matters to this girl, though." Wynn replied.
Andrew was silent for a moment before sighing. "Fine, if you insist."
Candace grinned. "Good!"
While this happened, Jenny was walking through the campus, humming happily while carrying a picnic basket. Eventually, she arrived near the beach. "This is it." She placed the basket on the ground and looked out to the ocean. "A perfect spot." She said as she looked around. "I wonder if Andrew is on the way.
Andrew just took his position and activated his duel disk before drawing his opening hand. And Candace did the same.
"Game on!"
Andrew: 4000
Candace: 4000
"I draw!" Candace drew. "And I summon Elemental HERO Lady Heat in defense mode!" A woman with fiery colored hair appeared and kneeled down. She was a red, white and yellow outfit. (ATK: 1300 DEF: 1000 LV: 4)
'One of my cards, eh.' Andrew thought.
"Then I'll place two cards facedown." Two cards appeared near Candace's feet. "And to end my turn, I activate Lady Heat's special ability. During my end phase, you take 200 points of damage for every Elemental HERO I control, including herself." The fire heroine conjured a fireball with one hand and threw it at Andrew.
Andrew: 4000-3800
"Alright then, my move." Andrew drew his sixth card and looked at it. 'Mask Change. I could use this. But first...' He looked over his hand for a moment before taking a card. "I summon Elemental Stratos in attack mode!" The turbine winged hero rose up in front of him. (ATK: 1800 DEF: 300 LV: 4) "And thanks to his special ability, I can add a HERO monster from my deck to my hand. Like Blazeman." He took a card form his deck and added it to his hand. "Now attack her Lady Heat!" The hero charged forward, getting ready to throw a punch.
"I activate Hero Barrier!" One of Candace's facedown cards flipped up and created a blue barrier that blocked Stratos' right hook. "With this trap, I can negate your attack if I have an Elemental HERO on the field."
Andrew smirked. "Not bad, but I'm not done just yet." He then held up a certain card from his hand. "I play Mask Change! This card lets me turn my HERO monster into a Masked HERO with the same attribute. So now I'll have Stratos transform into..." The wind hero was engulfed in light. "Masked HERO Divine Wind!" The light died down and revealed a warrior in emeraldö green armor with a white cape. (ATK: 2700 DEF: 1900 LV: 8) "Now attack her Lady Heat with Storming Justice!" The new hero thrusted his right palm, creating a powerful whirlwind that swallowed Lady Heat before she shattered into pixels. "And when Divine Wind destroys a monster in battle, I get to draw one card from my deck." Andrew drew his extra card and then looked up. "Huh?" He then noticed that Candace's remaining facedown card was now face-up.
"Impressive, but you just triggered my trap card, Apparition. When one of my monsters is destroyed in battle, I can summon one level 4 or lower Vision HERO from my deck."
Andrew's eyes widened. "Vision HERO?"
Candace smirked. "That's right. Told you my deck is special. Now say hello to Vision HERO Vyon!" From a flash of light, a new monster appeared and kneeled down. It was a with one glowing purple eye in deep purple armor. (ATK: 1000 DEF: 1200 LV: 4)
"Now this is new." Andrew muttered.
"Interesting monster, isn't it? I bet you wonder how I got a card like this. You see, the Vision HERO series was an exclusive collection of cards that were never released to the public. However, they became the prize of a small tournament." Candace smiled proudly. "And I was able to win that tournament."
Andrew blinked. "Really? That's funny, because I won my Masked HERO cards from a tournament myself."
"Yeah, I've heard of that tournament. But let's focus on the game, shall we?" Her trap card glowed brightly.
And then, Andrew noticed a purple aura enveloping Divine Wind, causing the Masked HERO to feel weaker and fall down to one knee. "What the...?"
"Oh right, I forgot to mention. After I summon my Vision HERO, I can halve your monster's original attack and defense points." (ATK: 2700-1350 DEF: 1900-950)
"Didn't expect that." Andrew muttered.
"And next I activate Vyon's special ability. After he's summoned, I can send a HERO monster from my deck to the graveyard." Candace fanned her deck out before sliding one of her cards into her graveyard slot.
Andrew narrowed his eyes before inserting a card into his duel disk. "I place one card facedown and end my turn."
"My turn." Candace drew. "And I activate Vyon's other special ability. Once per turn, I can take a HERO monster from my graveyard and remove it from play." She took Lady Heat from her graveyard slot. "After that, I can add a Polymerization from my deck to my hand." She fanned her deck out again and took the named card. "And I'll use it to combine Vyon with Elemental HERO Liquid Soldier from my hand!" The blue-armored hero with water-filled glass balls appeared before entering a fusion vortex along with Vyon. "Now come on out, Vision HERO Adoration!" After a brief moment, a new monster appeared. It was a tall, black-armored figure with trailing ribbons that flowed from the armor. (ATK: 2800 DEF: 2100 LV: 8)
"Incredible." Andrew muttered, staring at the new hero.
"And then I activate Liquid Soldier's ability." Candace continued. "Since he was used as fusion material for a HERO fusion monster, I can draw 2 cards and then discard 1." She drew her extra cards, looked at them briefly and then discarded one of them. "And now I summon Elemental HERO Stratos!" The familiar turbine winged hero appeared next to the Vision HERO. (ATK: 1800 DEF: 300 LV: 4) "And now for his special effect. As soon as he's summoned, I can destroy spell and trap cards up to the number of other HERO monsters I control!" The wind hero's wings unleashed a cyclone that blew Andrew's facedown card.
"That's not good."
"And then I activate Adoration's special ability. Once per turn, I can make one of your monsters lose attack and defense points equal to the attack points of 1 other HERO monster I control."
Andrew's eyes widened as one of Adoration's ribbons wrapped itself around Stratos. and when it did, some green energy seemed to flow from his body into the ribbon. And then, the ribbon let go of him before wrapping itself around Divine Wind, who struggled in its grip. (ATK: 1350-0 DEF: 950-0) "No way!"
"And now you're finished! Vision HERO Adoration, destroy his Divine Wind!" At Candace's command, Adoration let more of his ribbons wrap themselves around the Masked HERO before lifting him up high and then slamming him down hard on the ground.
Andrew: 3800-1000
But, to Candace's surprise, Divine Wind released green energy from his body, breaking himself free from Adoration's grip. "What? Why wasn't he destroyed."
"That's another one of his special abilities." Andrew explained. "He can't be destroyed in battle."
Candace scoffed. "In that case, I'll just attack with Stratos."
"You can't. Thanks to Divine Wind's third ability, you can only attack with one monster per turn."
"Seriously?" Candace gave him a look of disbelief before huffing. "Fine, I'll end my turn with a facedown." A card appeared near her feet. (ATK: 0-1350 DEF: 0-950)
Andrew sighed. 'She's tougher than I thought. Especially with those Vision Heroes. I wonder what else she's got.'
Meanwhile, Jenny was sitting near a tree, staring out at the blue ocean. She hummed in delight when a salty breeze reached her. "This is nice."
"A good place for relaxation." Tethys said, appearing behind her.
"Yeah." Jenny then almost frowned. "What's taking Andrew so long?"
"I'm sure he'll show up soon."
"You're right."
"My turn." Andrew drew. "And I summon Elemental HERO Solid Soldier in attack mode!" The purple clad warrior in silver armor appeared. (ATK: 1300 DEF: 1100 LV: 4) "With this monster summoned to the field, I can summon a level 4 or lower HERO monster from my hand. And I choose Elemental HERO Blazeman!" A red armored warrior with flames on his head appeared. (ATK: 1200 DEF: 1800 LV: 4) "And when this guy is summoned, I can take a Polymerization from my deck to my hand." He fanned his deck out and took the named card. "And now I'll use it to combine Solid Soldier with Divine Wind..." The two named heroes entered a fusion vortex. "Come on out, Elemental HERO Great Tornado!" At that, the green, black and yellow armored hero emerged. (ATK: 2800 DEF: 2200 LV: 8)
"And then I activate Solid Soldier's other ability. Since he was sent to the graveyard because of the effect of a spell, I can target any other HERO monster in my graveyard and summon it to the field in defense mode. And I choose Stratos." From a flash of light, Andrew's Stratos appeared and kneeled down. (ATK: 1800 DEF: 300 LV: 4) "And then, I activate Great Tornado's ability. The moment he's fusion summoned, all monsters on your field lose half of their strength. Go, Downburst!" The yellow parts of Great Tornado's armor glowed before a whirlwind enveloped Candace's heroes. Moments later, it dissipated and they were weakened. (ATK: 2800-1400 DEF: 2100-1050) (ATK: 1800-900 DEF: 300-150)
"No way!" Candace muttered in shock.
"Then I activate Stratos' effect. Just like you, I'll have him destroy your facedown card." Andrew's turbine winged hero created a cyclone and destroyed Candace's facedown card. "And now I attack! Great Tornado, destroy Adoration with Supercell!" The named fusion monster thrusted both of his palms and released a powerful whirlwind that hit Candace's fusion monster hard and shattered him into pixels.
Candace: 4000-2600
"And now I..." Andrew began before he paused when he noticed Candace's graveyard slot glowing.
"Before you continue, I should let you know that I have two other Vision Heroes in my graveyard. I sent them there using the effects of Vyon and Liquid Solider, The moment I take damage, I can place them in my spell and trap card zone as face-up continuous traps. So here come Vision HERO Minimum Ray and Vision HERO Poisoner!"
Andrew watched in awe as two figures rose up behind Candace's monsters, assuming transparent forms, like ghosts. The first one that appeared was a warrior in green armor with glowing yellow eye. The other one was a purple armored figure with one glowing blue and cannon-like arms. 'I don't know what good that would do, but I need to be careful.' He thought before moving on. "Now Blazeman, destroy her Stratos!" The flame-headed hero charged forward and landed a left hook on Candace's wind hero, shattering him into pixels.
Candace: 2600-2300
"Then I activate Pot of Greed, which lets me draw 2 cards." Andrew drew his extra cards, looked at them and then inserted both of them. "Then I'll place two cards facedown and activate the spell card, Reinforcement of the Army's Troops!" Two facedown cards appeared, along with a spell card. "And that ends my turn."
Candace narrowed her eyes. "Alright, if that's how you're gonna play, watch this!" She drew. "First I'll play my own Pot of Greed." She drew two extra cards. "Then I summon Elemental HERO Blazeman!" A duplicate of the flame-headed hero appeared on her field. (ATK: 1200 DEF: 1800 LV: 4) "And as you know, he lets me add a Polymerization to my hand." She searched through her deck until she found the card she wanted. "And next I activate Minimum Ray's effect. During the main phase, if he acts as a continuous trap, I can sacrifice a HERO monster and summon him from my spell and trap card zone. So now Blazeman, make some room for Minimum Ray!" Both heroes were engulfed in light. Moments later, it died down, and revealed the green armored hero standing in Blazeman's place, his form now solid. (ATK: 1200 DEF: 700 LV: 3)
"That's an unusual way to summon a monster." Andrew commented.
Candace smirked. "You haven't seen the best part yet. After he's summoned from the spell and trap card zone, he can destroy a level 4 or lower monster you control. And I choose Stratos!" The green armored hero's eye glowed brightly before firing a laser beam that blew Stratos up. "And guess what. I'm now sacrificing Minimum Ray to bring out Poisoner!"
Andrew got nervous. "I don't like this."
Candace's remaining heroes were engulfed in light for a moment before it died down, leaving the purple armored hero alone, his form now solid. (ATK: 900 DEF: 700 LV: 3) "And with him summoned this way, I can activate his ability, which lets me cut a monster's attack points in half. And my target is Great Tornado!" The hero aimed one of his cannon arms at the wind hero before firing a ball of purple energy. When it hit the wind hero, his body was engulfed in purple electricity, making him cry out and fall down to one knee. (ATK: 2800-1400) "Then I'll play The Warrior Returning Alive! This spell lets me take a warrior type monster from my graveyard to my hand, like Minimum Ray." She took the named card from the graveyard. "But he won't be there for long. Because now I play Polymerization, combining him with Elemental HERO Bubbleman from my hand, and Poisoner from the field..."
Andrew's eyes widened as the green armored hero appeared again, along with the blue armored hero with white cape, before all three of the heroes entered a fusion vortex.
"Now I summon Vision HERO Trinity!" And then, another hero with one glowing eye emerged. His eye was red. In fact, his armor was red with some silver parts and sharp blades on his forearms. (ATK: 2500 DEF: 2000 LV: 8)
"Now that's impressive." Andrew muttered to himself.
"Now for his special effect. During the turn he's fusion summoned, his attack points are doubled!" A blue aura enveloped the new hero. (ATK: 2500-5000)
Andrew gritted his teeth.
"Now Trinity, attack his Great Tornado with Triple Slicing!" The red armored hero dashed forward.
"By attacking my monster, you triggered the effect of Reinforcement of the Army's Troops. When an attack is declared, involving one of my warrior type monsters, I can summon a level 4 or lower warrior monster from my hand. And I choose Elemental HERO Woodsman!" The green skinned wooden hero appeared. (ATK: 1000 DEF: 2000 LV: 4) "And this gives me a good opportunity to play the trap card, Elemental Recharge!" One of Andrew's facedown cards flipped up. "This card gives me 1000 life points for every Elemental HERO I control."
Andrew: 1000-4000
Candace scoffed. "Not that'll stop me from attacking your monster."
"Maybe not, but this one might do!" Andrew's other facedown card flipped up. "Fusion Duplication! This trap card lets me take a Polymerization or fusion card from either player's graveyard and remove it from play. And then, I can use that card's effect. So I'll remove a Polymerization from your graveyard."
Candace gasped as the named card came out of her graveyard slot.
A fusion vortex appeared above Andrew's monsters. "So now I'll combine Great Tornado with Woodsman and Blazeman to form Elemental HERO Core!" The three heroes entered the vortex. And then, after a flash of light, a new hero emerged. It was a tall figure clad in white armor with red lines and gems. (ATK: 2700 DEF: 2200 LV: 9)
Candace scoffed at this. "All you did was giving me a new target." Trinity rushed towards the new hero.
"You just activated his special ability. Once per turn, when he's targeted for an attack, I can double his attack points. Check it out!" Andrew said, pointing at his monster. But then... "Huh?" His eyes widened when he noticed his monster's current strength. (ATK: 2700) "Nothing happened. What is this?" He turned to face Candace, and was surprised to see a face-up spell card on her field. "Shrink?"
"That's right. This lets me cut a monster's attack points in half. So much for Core's power boost." The red armored hero slashed his opponent three times with his blades, making him explode.
Andrew: 4000-1700
"I can't believe that failed." Andrew said.
"What did you expect?" Candace asked smugly. "I use HERO cards too, you know. So of course I knew about your Core's ability. I also know that his destruction lets you summon a level 8 or lower Elemental HERO fusion monster from your graveyard. So go ahead and bring Great Tornado back."
Andrew looked at her suspiciously, finding it weird she was urging him to bring his monster back. Eventually... "I summon back Great Tornado in defense mode!" The wind hero rose up and crossed his arms. (ATK: 2800 DEF: 2200 LV: 8)
Candace pouted. "And I was hoping you'd place him in attack mode."
"Why's that?"
"Because then you would have been finished... after this!" At that, Trinity suddenly slashed the wind hero with his blades, making him explode.
Andrew was shocked. "What the...?"
"Surprised? It's another one of Trinity's abilities. He can attack up to three times each turn. However, he can't attack you directly. Meaning you're safe for now. I'll end my turn." (ATK: 5000-2500)
"Geez, she's really a tough one." Wynn commented.
"Yeah. Those Vision Heroes are not something to laugh at." Phantom Magician added.
'Tell me about it.' Andrew replied mentally. 'Especially that Trinity of hers. A monster that can attack up to three times? That's incredible. Of course, he can't attack directly. But then again, that doesn't mean I'd be safe if I don't summon anything. This will be tricky.' He then began his turn. "I draw!" He drew his next card and looked at it briefly before revealing it. "I activate Legacy of a HERO! With at least two level 4 or higher Elemental Heroes in my graveyard, I can draw 3 cards." He drew his extra cards and looked at them. "Then I'll summon Elemental HERO Ice Edge in attack mode." A kid wearing spiky armor that resembled ice appeared. (ATK: 800 DEF: 900 LV: 3)
Candace scoffed again. "Oh please. What good would that do?"
"You don't know, even though you use HERO cards as well?" Andrew asked with a smirk as he slid a card into his graveyard slot. "If I discard one of my cards, I can allow Ice Edge to attack you directly. Go, Subzero Punch!" The little hero dashed forward and struck a startled Candace with a fist surrounded by ice-cold air.
Candace: 2300-1500
She recovered and glared. "You just gave me the opportunity to bring back Minimum Ray and Poisoner!" The spiritual forms of the named Vision Heroes appeared.
Andrew inserted a card into his duel disk. "I end my turn with one facedown."
"You asked for it!" Candace drew her next card. When she looked at it, she smirked. "Alright! I sacrifice Minimum Ray and Poisoner in order to summon Vision HERO Witch Raider!"
Andrew was surprised to see the HERO spirits vanish before a new figure rose up right next to Trinity. It was a woman with long blonde hair, wearing a pale white mask, a witch hat and a magician's cape. Silver coattails flashed as she brandished some kind of rifle. (ATK: 2700 DEF: 1900 LV: 8) "Wait a minute. How could you sacrifice those two heroes? They were in the spell and trap card zone, so they wouldn't count as monsters, would they?"
Candace smirked. "True, and that's where her special ability comes in. If I want to tribute summon her, then I'm allowed to use trap cards as sacrifices. And that's not all. When she's normal summoned, she can destroy all your spells and traps!" With rapid-fire shots from her rifle, Witch Raider destroyed Andrew's spell and facedown card.
"Not good."
"Now to wrap this up! Witch Raider, attack!" The woman aimed her rifle at Ice Edge. But right before she fired her shot, something appeared in front of the small hero. It was a mechanical turtle with a magnet at the tip of its tail. "Huh?" Candace widened her eyes just as her Vision HERO fired away. But then, the shot bounced off against an invisible force, missing its target. "What just happened? And what is that thing?"
"This is my Electromagnetic Turtle. I discarded it when I used Ice Edge's effect. When it's in my graveyard, I can remove it from play and end your battle phase."
Candace started to look annoyed. "You gotta be kidding me."
"And now it's my turn!" Andrew drew. "And I activate Fusion Recovery! This lets take two cards back from my graveyard. A Polymerization, and a monster that was used as a fusion material. And I choose Woodsman." The two named cards came out of his graveyard slot. "And now I'll use Polymerization to fuse Ice Edge with Woodsman." The wooden man appeared before the two of them entered a fusion vortex. "I summon Elemental HERO Gaia!" Moments later, a giant figure emerged from the vortex, making the ground shake as he landed on the field. It was a warrior wearing black armor with red spheres all over it. (ATK: 2200 DEF: 2600 LV: 6)
Candace's eyes widened. "Oh no!"
"I take it you know about Gaia's special ability. As soon as he's fusion summoned, he absorbs half of the attack points of one your monsters. And I think I choose Trinity." The red armored hero groaned and fell down to one knee as blue energy left his body before being absorbed by Gaia. (ATK: 2500-1250) (ATK: 2200-3450) "Now Gaia, attack with Continent Smash!" The giant hero raised his right arm, and slammed the red armored so hard that ground shook. That caused Candace to lose balance and fall down on the ground.
Candace: 1500-0000
As the holograms vanished, Andrew sighed in relief. "Well, that's that." He then turned to Candace, who stared at the ground with a disappointed look on her face. He walked over to her. "Hey, you okay?"
Candace glanced at him for a moment before huffing turned away. "I don't need your pity."
Andrew blinked before smiling. "I'm not pitying you. I just want to say, good game. Those Vision HERO cards of yours are amazing."
Candace widened her eyes a bit before turning to him. "You mean it?"
"I do. I honestly thought you had me there for a moment. Especially those tricky moves you pulled off. You're really good."
Candace stared at him for a moment before looking away. "Thanks, I guess." She said, even though she smiled a bit.
Phantom Magician chose that moment to speak to his partner. "Sorry to interrupt, but don't you have somewhere to go?"
Andrea gasped. "I forgot! My date! Sorry, but I gotta go!" At that, he ran off, leaving Candace all by herself.
Jenny was still staring out at the ocean. But now with a concerned look on her face. "Where is he?"
"Maybe something came up." Tethys guessed.
"I just hope that..." Jenny began to say but then saw Andrew running to her. "Oh wait, there he comes!"
"Then I'll leave you two alone." Tethys replied before vanishing.
Andrew stopped in front of Jenny, catching his breath. "Hi, Jenny."
Jenny pouted. "Geez Andrew, what took you so long?"
"Sorry, I needed take care of something."
Jenny huffed and looked away. "And what could be so important that you made me wait so long?"
Andrew paused for a moment before he took out the small box. "This. I prepared it for you."
Jenny turned to the box and looked surprised. After a moment, she smiled to him. "Now that's sweet, but you know that my birthday comes about 1 month and a half after your birthday, right?"
"I know, but it's an anniversary." Andrew smiled back. "Do you know what day it is?"
Jenny tilted her head a bit.
"It's been one year since the day you and I first met. Do you remember?"
Jenny's eyes widened when a scene came to her mind. Her and Andrew talking to each other at the beach. She smiled again. "You're right! Time sure does fly, doesn't it?"
"It sure does. And whenever I think back to that day, I think myself, 'I'm so lucky to have met her'."
Jenny blushed a bit. "Funny, I'm the same way."
"Now go ahead. Open it."
Jenny took the box and opened it. Once she did, she gasped when saw a necklace inside. It was in the shape of a small blue heart. She couldn't help but feel touched. "Aw, Andrew." She then pulled him close to her and kissed him, which he gladly returned. After a moment, they pulled away from each other. She then put the necklace around her neck. "How do I look?"
"It's perfect."
Jenny giggled before gesturing the picnic basket. "So, shall we?"
Andrew smiled and nodded as they settled down. They were enjoying the food as they stared out to the ocean with sun slowly going down.
Okay, I really have been lazy there. Sorry for the delay. I hope this chapter was worth the wait.
By the way, I've recently learned that the Japanese voice actor of Chazz Princeton has passed away. And there's also the fact that it's been two years since Kazuki Takahashi passed away. May the Heart of the Cards guide us.
Until next time.