Author's Note: The chapter returns focus of perspective of Jake, and I am sorry for the long delay between the last one and now. I've had a lot of things to juggle on my plate since the end of last summer, but now it's time to kick off the 2nd half of the first story arc: Genesis. Enjoy the read!
Chapter 6:
Uncertain Road
Class had just finished wrapped up a little over an hour ago, and the sheer excitement I felt was through the roof because some fresh cards had arrived at the shop today. It was located just before the double doors to the main entrance of the Academy. Thankfully, that didn't last long for me to have gotten there except for one simple thing that caused a vein on my forehead to have cracked through in annoyance.
"What in the world!" My jaw was open at the big massive sign on the door, "We've closed the card shop early due to all the new cards being gone, and won't be in stock again for another two weeks!" as I quickly fell on my knees with my head down on the crowd, "NOO!"
"I tried to tell you that the morning would've been more feasible." The Spirit of Armed Dragon answered in disbelief.
I mimicked his tone, "That's totally on me for staying up late and examining all the cards in our deck late at night."
"And who warned you about this coming back to bite us today?" Armed Dragon continued.
My hand pointed over, "You of course!'
A curious sweet voice quickly said, "Jake, what's got you so worked up?" That drew my attention towards the frizzy cherry blossom haired girl with grassy green eyes.
"Oh Cherry..." My cheeks flushed instantaneously, "Hey, don't mind me... I was just admiring the smell of the tiles.."
Cherry tapped the side of her cheek curiously, "Hmm I don't smell anything fancy." after she sniffed the tiles quickly.
She took that literally! I thought to myself with a quick blink. Nobody ever falls for a lame excuse like that. Even the sweet ones like her.
"Umm... hello Jake..." She waved her hand in my face slowly with the same remark on her face, "Jake, why are you frozen like that?"
I shook my head quickly, "Sorry... I shouldn't have said that to you Cherry." with my hand pointed towards the sign on the door, "The truth is that I'm down in the dumps because of that right there."
"Hmmm..." She blinked towards the sign with a quick realization, "Ohh... wait... it's only this?"
I nodded, "Yeah I was in such a rush this morning for almost being late to class."
"I... wait..." She latched onto my arm forcing me on my feet that began to move in sync with her own closer to the double doors, "Just come with me, okay..."
"Umm.. Okay!" I answered in confusion as she pushed one of the doors open where we found ourselves outside the entrance to The Academy with many other students passing through, "I still don't quite understand."
A voice called out, "There he is!" from the teal haired girl.
"Someone took his sweet time." Another voice from the wavy gray haired guy with hazel eyes.
Usually i'd be super hyped to see them every time, but instead all I could say was, "Rory, and Lucian, how was class?"
"You must really be down in the dumps to talk about class first." Lucain pointed out.
Rory wacked upside the head, "Come on Lucian, Jake was already stressing out about the exam we had today. Last thing he needs is us saying something negative."
"Hey, It was just a point of observation." Lucian explained when he looked towards me after he scratched the back of his head, "Didn't mean to jump at you like that, bud."
I sighed with little enthusiasm, "It's alright, I tried to focus on the basics from our study sessions last night, but that only last for like 3 quarters of the exam."
"When is that the first thing you say when we meet up at the front?" Rory's mouth dropped in disbelief, "You're usually like ooh yeah it's finally over!"
"Well it's just..." My eyes drifted towards the cards on the duel disk, "I wasn't able to get to the shop in time."
Lucian's eyes widened, "No way, but you said that you got the pack, but weren't gonna open them until we met up here after it was done."
"I take it that you didn't cause a panic because of the exam." Rory answered calmly with a look of sadness, "Still though, don't feel too worked up about it."
Cherry nodded with her hands on top of mine, "They do have a point Jake, and besides we can all draw straws or something to test out our decks."
"Yeah, but..." I clenched my fist in disappointment, "That just leaves me being the odd one out as If I'm..."
A tap on came across my shoulder, "A test dummy... Come on bro, like that would ever happen." That drew the focus of my attention to the dark haired guy with cerulean eyes, "There's no reason to feel down."
It was my best friend Shaggy Eclipse, "I know Shaggy, but without a duel pack... huh?" that's when I noticed a small foil wrapped in his hand, "Hold on, but this is yours."
Shaggy quickly smirked confidently, "Technically speaking it is, but..." then showcased another pack in his hand ripped open, "I already had myself covered on that front."
"You managed to snag one for me!" my eyes glowed at the sight of the card pack as tears of joy streamed off my eyes, "You really are the best."
"Well what are friends for?" Shaggy casually answered happily with his hand away from the unopened card pack within the palm of my hand.
Cherry raised her fist in the air, "I'm happy that you're not feeling so bummed out anymore."
Lucian nodded, "Tell us about it, the last thing we need is Mopey Jake." till Rory whacked him on the side of his head, "Hey what was that for?"
"That side remark about our friend." Rory pointed out.
"Just saying his energetic side is the best thing about the guy!" Lucian answered calmly.
Shaggy smiled with a quick nod, "He's got a point there." with a glance towards the unsealed pack, "So how about it bro, you ready to see what cards are there?"
A cheeky grin appeared on my face, "Oh you better believe it." as I opened the pack quickly, and glanced at 13 cards that were there, "These will do just fine!' and slid six of them into my deck and left the others on the ground.
"What about the rest?" Cherry asked curiously who grabbed the open pack with the remaining seven cards.
I shaked my head quickly, "I don't really find much benefit in those, but you could have them if you want Cherry?"
She blinked, 'Oh uh... Okay" with a look at the cards and placed them somewhere within her own deck, "They'll definitely come in handy."
Lucian placed his hand over his forehead, "So how are we gonna determine which of us gets to duel each other?"
"How about we each draw the top card from our deck, and whichever two have the highest go first, and the two with the lowest letters can go next?" Cherry suggests kindly by twiddling her fingers, "That is... If you guys are okay with that?"
"Except the problem is there are only 5 of us, so that wouldn't really work." Shaggy pointed out.
Rory giggled silently, "Oh you guys don't make it that complicated, I'll just take a backseat on this one."
The rest of us raised our eyebrows, "What, you'd miss out on this?"
She waved her hands around, "I just think it would be fun observing the duel, and taking some notes on certain strategies."
Shaggy snickered calmly, "Well I guess I could see your point there."
"I guess that settles it then." I answered ecstatically with drawing the top card from my deck without looking, "let's see who gets to have the first match."
Lucian nodded, "In that case..."
"I'll just have to see..." Cherry nervously answered.
Shaggy took a deep breath, "How this whole thing goes..." as he and the others mimicked my stance on drawing the top card from the deck, "Alright, and now..."
We all chimed in, "REVEAL!"and flipped the card in our hands for everyone to witness.
Card in my hand: Armed Dragon Lv10
Card in Shaggy's hand: White Night Dragon
Card in Lucian's hand: De-Spell
Card in Cherry's hand: Monster Reborn
Rory's eyes lid up, "Woah now that's quite something."
"This is so awesome!" I was just too excited towards the gray haired guy, "Just knowing that Lucian will be my opponent."
Cherry cautiously looked towards Shaggy, "This will be an interesting one for you."
"It's too bad that we won't be facing each other right away." Shaggy sighed with a sense of disappointment, "Especially after seeing your duel with Jake during the Analysis Test."
"Ah don't feel that bummed, it's just a matter of patience." Cherry clapped her hands together cheerfully then looked to us, "But maybe we oughta give them some room."
Rory quickly pulled Shaggy to the side, "She's got a point there."
"I could've moved myself, ya know.." Shaggy pointed out.
"I know but, you were taking your sweet time." Rory shrugged shoulders jokingly.
Shaggy was confused, "My what now?"
"Umm... maybe we shoud get ready to see how Jake and Lucian's duel will go."
"Took the words right out of my mouth.." Lucian activated his duel disk without hesitation, "So how's about we get this party started?"
In a matter of seconds my duel disk activated as well, "Well in that case.."
"LET THE DUEL BEGIN!" We both yelled and simultaneously drew the first 5 cards from our decks.
JAKE SUNDAY: 4000 LP
LUCIAN HAYES: 4000 LP
"Lucian, why don't you kick off this duel?" I said excitedly.
"Ooh, you got a scheme coming for me.." Lucian grinned with a single point, "I'm not gonna fall for one of those."
I moved my hand around, "No No... I'm just being generous is all."
TURN 1: LUCIAN HAYES
"Generosity huh..." Lucian drew the top card from his deck then observed the other cards in his hand, "Then I'll start things off by summoning a monster in defense mode." a holographic image of a facedown monster appeared on his side of the field, "That ends my turn."
Cards left in Lucian's hand: 5
Cards left in my hand: 5
TURN 2: JAKE SUNDAY
"Which means it's now my turn!" I confidently drew the top card from my deck, and added to the five cards I held for a quick glance.
White Veil, A-Assault Core, Mystical Space Typhoon, Trap Stun, Dark Hole, Shrink
Armed Dragon whispered, "There's an easy path you can choose, Jake."
"Yeah, I'd rather not miss this chance right now..." I placed a card into my duel disk for a small moment as a holographic image of a spell card appeared, "I play the spell card Dark Hole which means your face down monster is destroyed."
A dark vortex appeared above us that revealed a skeleton woman in a victorian style dress before it disappeared into the void.
"My monster!" Lucian answered in shock at the sight of the scene.
"Next, I summon A - Assault Core to the field attack mode!" I placed the card onto my duel disk as a tiny gold scorpion droid appeared on my side of the field.
A - Assault Core LV: 4 ATK: 1900 DEF: 0
"1900 Attack Points!" Lucian was in total shock with a realization, "Wait a second..."
I pointed straight towards him, "You've got nothing on the field to save you my friend... Assault Core attack Lucian's life points directly!" as my monster released a tiny beam from it's tail that hit Lucians' side of the field.
"Oh man..." Lucian grunted in disbelief.
LUCIAN HAYES LP: 4000 decreased to 2100
"Then I'll end my turn with a facedown card." I said as a holographic image of a facedown card appeared behind my monster, "It's back to you, Lucian."
Cards left in my hand: 4
Cards left in Lucian's hand: 5
Off to the side...
Cherry's eyes lid up, "I know the duel just started, but that play... woah!"
"I was honestly expecting an Armed Dragon, but that little guy surprised me." Rory's jaw was open when she glanced over towards my best friend being observant, "You weren't too surprised though huh, Shaggy?"
Shaggy calmly said, "In some sense you could say that about Jake, but then again..." He looked towards Lucian, "I get the feeling that Lucian has something up his sleeve."
"If only you knew.." Rory answered with some concern, "Isn't that right, Lucian?"
Cherry held up a bright smile, "Jake, you're doing so well!" as I looked back at her with thumbs up which left her cheeks flushed.
Shaggy caught a glimpse with a soft chuckle.
Back to the field...
Currently:
JAKE SUNDAY: 4000 LP
LUCIAN HAYES: 2100 LP
He took a deep breath with a grin, "Gotta hand it to you Jake, I wasn't expecting that on the opening play."
"Glad I was able to make something of it." I nodded cheeky-like.
TURN 3: LUCIAN HAYES
Lucian drew the top card from his deck, "But that's the only stride I'm giving you because now..." then looked at the other cards in his hand, "I summon Zombie Master to the field." as a white haired pasty looking guy with ragged clothes and black cloak its shoulders materialized onto his side of the field.
Zombie Master LV: 4 ATK: 1800 DEF: 0
"He should probably get out in the sun." I twitched my eye at the sight of the zombie, "Cause his attack is still a bit short of Core's."
Lucian's remark didn't change, "At the way things look sure, but that's about to change all together because now..." as he temporarily slid a card into his duel disk slot, "I activate the spell card Undead Slaughter." when a holographic of a spell card that depicts Vampire Genesis in rage glows immediately, "Thanks to this I can destroy a face down card on your field, and as a result you lose five hundred life points."
"Oh no!" I yelled as the facedown card Shrink raised up momentarily before it shattered into pieces.
LP: 4000 decreased to 3500
"There's more where that came from." Lucian extends his hand out to his monster, "Now to use Zombie Master's special effect which allows me to discard one monster from my hand in order to special summon a level four or below Zombie monster from the graveyard." and followed suite that triggered a glow within his card graveyard, "So come to the field Unluster Dragon!" when a zombified version of Luster Dragon materialized on his field.
Unluster Dragon LV 4 ATK: 1900 DEF: 0
"I see what he's planning." Armed Dragon stated curiously.
I sighed, "You don't gotta tell me twice..."
"Unluster Dragon attack his Assault Core!" Lucian commanded as both of our monsters were eliminated off the playing field, "Now that's settled, Zombie Master go forth and attack Jake's life points!"
"Huh?" I blinked within seconds when Zombie Master disappeared from the field and gutted me in the stomach, "AHH!" with my knee on the ground.
LP 3500 decreased to 1700
"Then I'll end my turn with a card face down." Lucian answered with confidence after a face down materialized behind his Zombie Master, "Let's see what you got."
Cards left in Lucian's hand: 2
Cards left in my hand: 4
Off to the side...
"I knew Lucian had something up his sleeve." Rory smiled at the play then quickly to Shaggy's face, "Wouldn't you say?"
Shaggy crossed his arms, "Honestly it's not that surprising on the surface, but, also.." his curiosity towards The Zombie Master, "Lucian certainly has Jake in a bit of bind.."
"Jake, you've got this!" Cherry pressed the palm of her hands together.
Rory nudged her shoulders, "Hold up, didn't you say the other day that we shouldn't be rooting one friend against the other..?"
Very quickly Cherry gasped, "I.. I'm sorry... He's so happy, and just ya know..."
Shaggy nodded, "I get it though, but don't be too concerned about Jake there." with a look of confidence towards me, "After all you're the second person here whose experienced that."
A smile came upon Cherry's face, "You're right."
Back to the field...
Currently:
JAKE SUNDAY: 1700 LP
LUCIAN HAYES: 1900 LP
Armed Dragon's spirit answered, "Get back on your feet, the duel's not done, fool!"
I took a deep breath, "I know that..." and raised back up on my feet with a gaze towards my opponent across from me, "Quite the combo move there, Lucian."
"That's only just the start of what I have in store for you." He vowed with pride towards Zombie Master on his field, "After all with Zombie Master's effect you are caught in a bind my friend!"
Armed Dragon continued, "He's right ya know, as long as Rags is on the field, he can bring back Unluster Dragon next turn and put an end to the duel."
"Only if I give him that opportunity..." I caught my breath with a grin, "You know, right."
Armed Dragon mimicked my look, "Make it count.."
TURN 4: JAKE SUNDAY
"Of course..." I drew the top card from my deck with a quick glance in total realization, "I'd hate to set this on a gamble, but it's the only thing I got with..." as a spell card materialized on my field temporarily, "the spell card, Reload!"
Lucian blinked, "Are you really willing to take that risk?"
I nodded, "Absolutely!" and slid the four cards back into my deck that triggered my duel disk to automatically shuffle all the cards, "And now to draw the same number of cards again.." with a single glance at each one.
Armed Dragon noticed my glance with an "Oh!"
"First, I activate Monster Reborn to bring back Assault Core from the graveyard." In a matter of seconds the mechanical scorpion reappeared on my field, "Next, I summon B - Buster Drake to the field." as a green mechanical raptor with cannons appeared alongside Core.
A - Assault Core LV: 4 ATK: 1900 DEF: 0
B - Buster Drake LV 4 ATK: 1500 DEF: 1800
"What exactly are you planning, Jake?" Lucian asked curiously.
I directed towards the monster on his field, "Core will attack Zombie Master, and followed by Drake dealing more damage to your life points!" as my monsters were prepared to charge forward.
Lucian confidently snickered, "I was honestly hoping you would do that!"
"You what?" I raised an eyebrow.
He pressed a button on the side of his duel disk, "Now I activate my facedown card, Negate Attack!" as the trap card on his field faced upwards that created a swirling vortex in front of Zombie Master from the ascending attacks.
"Doing that will also put an end to the battle phase." I answered in disappointed.
"Not only that, but with my next turn, things won't look great for you." Lucian pointed out with confidence towards his monster, "Since I've got Zombie Master on the field."
That just left me cackling in pure joy at his statement, "Only if you get the opportunity to attack which I won't allow."
"And how do you intend to stop that, my friend?" Lucian asked.
It was then I slid a card into the duel disk that materialized a spell card onto the field, "I activate Swords of Revealing Light!" as three giant shimmering lights reigned down from the sky onto his side of the field.
"Son of a..." Lucian stated in disbelief.
I continued to smile proudly, "As they say, it's your move!"
Cards in my hand: 2
Cards in Lucian's hand: 2
TURN 5: LUCIAN HAYES
Lucian set his finger at the top of his deck, "You bought yourself for now, but now I draw!" and drew the top card with a single gaze, "Unfortunately I can't do much with swords on the field, except for sending one card from my hand to the graveyard to bring Unluster Dagon back to my field." as the zombified version of Luster Dragon rematerialized on his side of the field.
Unluster Dragon LV 4 ATK: 1900 DEF: 0
"Him again, huh." I answered calmly with relief, "It's a good things swords is play to keep me safe."
Only until the next couple turns." Lucian pointed out me, "It's not gonna last forever."
"I'm well aware of that." I nodded.
"Then I'll just play one card face down ending my turn." A facedown card materialized behind his face up monsters.
"Seems now I have you in a bind, oh how the tables have turned." I said with high enthusiasm.
"Just go ahead, and make your move!' Lucian pointed out.
Cards left in Lucian's hand: 1
Cards left in my hand: 2
Off to the side...
Cherry was in awe, "Woah..."
"They are both really giving it their all!" Rory echoed her remark at the sight of the duel, "Just when you think it's going to go one way... Like you're watching a duel in the Arena!"
Shaggy his hand over his chin, "That just makes me wonder about one thing..."
"What's that?" Cherry asked.
"It depends on Jake's next play!" Shaggy witnessed the two monsters on my field and the cards in my hand, "What do you intend to do, bro?"
Back to the field...
Currently:
JAKE SUNDAY: 1700 LP
LUCIAN HAYES: 1900 LP
Armed Dragon whispered, "You know what to do with only two turns of grace on our side!"
"Only two..." I continued with my finger at the top of the deck on the duel disk, "I think that's plenty to handle."
Armed Dragon laughed, "Of course it is."
TURN 6: JAKE SUNDAY
I drew the card from my deck, "My turn!" with absolute shock as it left a bright smile on my face, "Perfect, now I can do exactly what I set out to do."
"Which is what exactly?" Lucian asked curiously.
A purple mechanical dragon with rocket blasters at the edge of its wings materialized onto my side of the field. "I summon C - Crush Wyvern!" that left me so giddy.
C - Crush Wyvern LV: 4 ATK: 1200 DEF: 2000
"Crush Wyvern!" Lucian's jaw dropped at the sound of its roar.
Off the side...
Shaggy's eyes glowed, "Well I'll be..."
"You sound so surprised, Shaggy." Rory raised an eyebrow towards him.
Cherry nodded curiously, "I... I would've guessed this wouldn't surprise you so why now?"
"Not get me wrong I've known about Jake's deck for a long time, and both Assault Core & Buster Drake were always cards I was familiar with..." He continued to focus on my Wyvern, "Except, Crush Wyvern was always a card he was always seeking out.."
Rory and Cherry were confused, "For what exactly?"
"You'll see." Shaggy continued.
Back to the field...
Armed Dragon grinned, "No holding back now!"
"I've waited a long time for this..." I chuckled hysterically at the sight before me.
Lucian questioned, "This can't be good."
My hand raised in the air, "Now I combine Assault Core, Buster Drake, and Crush Wyvern together into one!" as the mechanical gears of my three monsters rotated simultaneously and merged to form a new creature, "Feast your eyes on ABC - Dragon Buster!"
The fused monster on my side of the field.
ABC - Dragon Buster LV: 8 ATK: 3000 DEF: 2800
"So what exactly do you intend to do with that?" Lucian asked with a view of his field, "After all I'll still have one monster on my field."
I continued with the same remark, "You would be right about that... except for one thing which is Dragon Buster's special ability." after a card was sent to the graveyard, "By discarding one card I can destroy one card on the field and banish it."
"Wait, hold on any card on the field?" he asked.
Without hesitation I directed my focus, "That's right and the card I choose is Zombie Master!" towards White haired pale guy in ragged clothes.
"Not him!" sweat dropped from the side of Lucian's face onto the ground as his monster screamed as it disintegrated completely from the field.
"And don't forget Dragon Buster hasn't attacked yet, but first..." I quickly slid a card into the duel disk as a spell card with picture of a curricular stone, filled with hieroglyphs embedded, appeared on my side of the side the fuel, "I activate the spell card megamorph which allows me to double my monster's attack points as long as my life points are lower than yours!"
Lucian couldn't catch his breath, "Hold on a second..."
JAKE SUNDAY LP: 1700
LUCIAN HAYES LP: 1900
"Only a two hundred point difference, but that's all I need to ensure Dragon Buster's attack boost!' I continued as my monster felt sparks of lightning exuding around itself.
ABC - Dragon Buster ATK: 3000 increases to 6000
"I'm done..." Lucian slowly dangled his hand to the side at Dragon Buster's ATK.
I enthusiastically raised my fist towards Lucian's final monster, "Dragon Buster attack his Unluster Dragon once and for all to wrap up this duel!"
ABC Dragon Buster charged up its canon to the max then fired directly towards Unluster Dragon which created a stream of mist between both sides of the field.
Off the side...
"That should wrap up the duel, right?" Cherry asked.
Rory felt unease, "I... I'm not sure!"
"Once this clears, we'll get a better idea.." Shaggy shielded his eyes from the power gust until it withered away quickly in seconds that left him speechless, "No way!"
Cherry covered her mouth, "How did that..."
"I... I can't believe it..." Rory echoed our remarks.
Back to the field...
JAKE SUNDAY LP: 0
LUCIAN HAYES LP: 0
"IT'S A DRAW" The three of them yelled.
I breathed slowly, "How in the world... I should've won..." in confusion towards my opponent.
"You honestly would have... had it not been for my face down card!" Lucian chuckled as his finger pointed to the only card left on his field of a trap that showed an image of an infernal explosion, "Chthonian Blast which allowed me to target one monster on your field, and we both took damage equal to half its attack points."
That left me chuckled as well, "I didn't expect that at all." as whatever remained on the field faded away, "You did good!"
Lucian moved his shoulders back and forth, "Thanks especially since I had just pulled the card from the packs that came in earlier."
"Of course you did." I continued.
"I take it Dragon Buster was the card you pulled from yours." Lucian asked.
I shaked my head, "Not exactly, I've had that one for a while, but the one I needed was Crush Wyvern."
"So fate blessed you in that sense." Lucian continued.
I couldn't stop chuckling, "I'd say it was more so for you."
"They could compliment each other all day!' Rory placed her hand above their forehead.
Cherry clapped her hands together, "I find it very sweet."
"Honestly fate did wonders for both of them here." Shaggy answered positively, "Know what I mean?"
Rory and Cherry softly laughed, "You've said it."
"That's my bro for ya, always knows to capitulate it well." I answered with such enthusiasm.
Lucian gave a thumbs up, "Can't argue with that one with ya there Shaggy!"
The bushes rustled across from us as a voice said, "I don't know how much I'd leave it all up to fate's hand for the outcome of the duel." when a dark gray haired guy with a black buttoned shirt with a pair of jeans stepped forward. "Especially one as impressive as to what I just witnessed."
I raised an eyebrow, "Who the heck is this guy?"
Rory quickly wacked me upside the head, "You idiot, that's Lucius, one of the Big Three at Emperor Dorm known to be in the same tier as The Top Student!"
I pampered the back of my head, "Ooh I wasn't exactly aware of that."
"He's also my older brother." Lucian answered cautiously just by the sight of him.
"Oh older brother... Wait what!" I kept turning my head to him and the guy in front of us simultaneously..
Shaggy patted me on the back, "Come on bro, it's not a hard concept to grasp that siblings would be on the island too."
"Yeah, but we're talking about the elitist of the elite!" I continued.
Rory wacked me on the head once more, "One of them ya dumb dumb!"
Cherry moved her hands up and down to Rory, "Umm... Please be gentle with him."
Lucius smiled with a low laugh, "Oh please, I'm no different than each of you." as he rested his hand close to the chest, "Sure, I may reside within the most prestigious dorm on the duel island, but at the end of it all, putting our ranks aside for even a second, we are still people."
"That's such an interesting way to look at it." Cherry answered politely.
Rory nodded, "Yeah most students wanna rely on being the best of the best, or for the sake of recognition." that quickly brought a frown upon her face.
"So what exactly brought you out all the way out here big brother?" Lucian asked with an innocent curious tone, "I thought you'd be busy taking on a few challenges with the packs."
"Lucian..." He patted him on the head that messed up his hair, "I admire your spirit truly, but sometimes it's okay to take things easy and just live in the moment."
Lucian smiled by scratching the back of his head, "Old habits die hard."
His brother rested his hand on his shoulder, "Even so, what you displayed in that duel against your friend was truly spectacular, and especially the passion and energy you had to never give up. It makes me so happy as your older brother to see what you did."
"That really means a lot to me Lucius, thank you!" Lucian embraced his older brother till he quickly moved him away, "Wait... you're still not much of a hugger."
Lucius shaked his head, "No no not that, just something I'd mention as a reminder as the Proud Monitor of the Island to each of you to be back for the assembly at your respective dorms."
We all blinked in unison in realization, "Oh my god we completely forgot about that."
Lucius said, 'Relax you still got like forty-five minutes to make it back..." till Rory breezed past him latching onto the shoulder of my best friend, "Or that could work too..."
"They took off very quickly." Cherry said with a tap to her cheek then looked to Jake & I, "Umm you guys, Shaggy and I were supposed to duel next!"
I shouted without a thought, "Bro, wanna meet back up here for your duel against Cherry?"
Shaggy looked back which halted the speed of the walk, "I'd be totally down with that... wouldn't you say, Rory?"
"Well..." Rory tightened the grip of her hand around his shoulder, "Would it be okay to raincheck it for a different day cause he promised to help me out with an assignment from Professor Monet... it's a thing that needs to be done for the dorm." as her cheeks flushed without fail.
"Oh uh..." Cherry stuttered with her hands tapped repeatedly, "Th..That should be fine."
Rory winked to the cherry blossom haired girl, "You're the best, Cherry." then held onto my best friend's hand and ran down the road back to their dorm, "We don't wanna miss this Shaggy!'
Shaggy kindly said, "Rory you're practically dragging me along, take it easy." till both they couldn't be seen at all.
I shook my head with a laugh, "That girl is something else whenever it comes to Shaggy huh.." with a nudge to Lucian's shoulder till I saw his eyes drifted away, "Bud, you okay?"
Lucian sighed, "I've known her for a long time and seen how she is when it comes to admiration, but this..." with a look of sadness in his eyes, "The way she looks at Shaggy..."
"I mean... what Shaggy did during the exams was truly incredible. Nobody can deny that." Cherry answered politely, "It's all people still talk whenever we make it through the day."
That was when I looked on ahead, "When you say it like that... People do talk about him a lot, and it's honestly kind of a miracle the assembly is happening today because otherwise..."
"We would've been a complete afterthought..." Lucian crunched his hand into a fist, "You know this isn't how I am, but with Rory... it just feels like she's slowly forgetting me the more they are around each other."
Cherry continued, "You're thinking too hard about it Lucian obviously you are still important to her. Shaggy is just a source of admiration is all it is."
Lucius chimed in, "Your friends have the right mindset little brother, don't dwell too much on it. After all, I still remember how excited you both were about the entrance exam before it began."
"I know, Lucius.. I know.." Lucian's gaze towards the pathway ahead, "I just hope she's able to keep that in mind too."
I continued to keep a straight face, "On the bright side, At least Shaggy hasn't let this attention go over his head."
Cherry nodded, "After all, he may be a prodigy in the making, but he still loves spending time with us."
"Stole the words right out of my mouth, there Cherry." I said till Lucias let out a fake cough behind us, "Got something to add there, Lucias?"
He pointed to the time on his watch, "You guys should get a move on it."
I raced on ahead, "You're right, now we're dealing with less time than before."
"Wait...Man hold up will ya?" Lucian followed suit alongside Cherry who trudged along.
"Less time on our hands, remember?" I restated what his older brother mentioned.
Lucian groaned, "You don't gotta remind me again."
"Umm.. You guys when this assembly is done.. How's about.. " Cherry panted as we all raced on ahead, "We all watch a movie and relax."
Those sweet words brought an instant smile, "I love the sound of that." while my legs kept on going back to our dorm.
There is one thing I will admit when it came to the start of the chapter, I did consider having a very detailed start of Jake waking up and leading up to him getting to the shop being closed, but then I was like... That's not really who Jake is as a character because it's always about what's happening now, and it only made since from his perspective to open up the chapter with that scene. Now had this been written from Shaggy's perspective then it would be a different case all together.
As for the duel between Jake and Lucian, this was always the plan to have these two have a face in front of the Academy doors after they had gotten their packs. I also knew that from the beginning that the duel would have also ended in a draw based on the last card Lucian played. The only thing that was different from my initial notes were the cards Jake would use against him which... hold up... It's Armed Dagon-Machine Union Deck? I think there's more surprises in store when it comes to the rest of the cards in Jake's deck, and also... we have a duelist using a Zombie deck that isn't being used by an antagonist in the world of Yu-Gi-Oh! That's just madness? No I wouldn't call it that, except for just admitting Lucian's deck was a lot of fun to play around with when writing the duel. Not to mention, Lucian has a big brother who is apart of the Emperor Dorm, that was totally unexpected!
Finally, I know where the other side of this is leaning too for everyone reading the last third of the chapter. "OMG romance, shipping, a love triangle? More hints to Shaggy x Rory? Lucian harboring feelings for Rory? and wait... Jake x Cherry? am I reading that correctly?" You all will just have to wait and see what I've got cooking for the future chapter. For the time being, that is about all I gotta say when it comes to the characters and this story, please feel free to share your thoughts and as always thanks for reading!