Chapter 16: Impending storm
Thursday
Time 23:00
It was late in the night at Duel Academy, and everyone was sleeping peacefully... Or not everyone at least. At the Slifer Red dorm, while Jaden and Chumley were snoring away, Syrus crept down from his bed bunk, his eye weary from fatigue. "That's the last time I mix chili sauce with icecream." He muttered to himself. He walked out the dorm quietly and went down the stairs and around the building and to a random door thinking it was the bathroom. When he opened the door, he saw a blue glow from a computer. "Oh, whoops. This isn't the bathroom." He was about to close the door, but he then noticed Professor Banner sitting at a computer, his back to the open door.
"You are not here to ask why, you are here to obey." An unknown voice said from the other end of the communication.
"But Jaden is one of our best students, he could be buried alive!" Banner protested.
"Buried?" Syrus repeated.
"If the tomb shall be the end of Jaden Yuki then so be it. But his true potential must be tested."
Syrus closed the door quietly and backed away, scared of what he just heard. "Tested? In a Tomb? Where he could be buried alive? Something tell me this test isn't mid-terms." He then quietly ran back to his room. Although inside the room of Banner the discussion was not over.
"Another thing to keep in mind. I want that boy in the red hat to get involved with the test too."
"What? But why?" Banner asked. "I understand we need to test Jaden, but why do we need to get Red Hat involved too?"
"You haven't understood, that boy with the red hat has enormous power, if we manage to use it we could use it for our plan. So it is necessary that in addition to Jaden Yuki, that boy also undergoes the test." The unknown voice explained.
"Understood." With that Banner shut down his computer preparing his plan for Jaden and Red Hat.
Friday
Time 15:00
The next day, was a normal typical day, and right now, Banner was giving his students another lecture about alchemy. There weren't many students in his class. The reason is that many found it boring in addition to the fact that it had nothing to do with dueling. Many of those who were present were bored. Jaden and his friends were among the bored students. Jaden had painted black dots over his eyelids so that he appeared awake when in reality he was sleeping. In the case of Red Hat and Blair, they were sitting at a distance from their friend, Blair paid attention to the lesson, while Red Hat was bored he was only present because he wanted to return the favor to Professor Banner, for the times he had helped him.
"So, as you can see, we can learn a great deal about dueling from alchemy." Banner spoke to his class, standing by his desk with different vials with multi-colored liquid in his hands. "For just as you might combine two monsters to create another, you can combine two compounds to create something equally impressive." He poured the liquid from a test tube into the vial he held, then stirred it by shaking it. And then…
BOOM!
It exploded, creating a cloud of smoke in the process. Many of the students jumped at that, but that didn't wake up Jaden. Red Hat had to keep from bursting out laughing.
"…and equally devastating." Banner added before his body, being smudged by the smoke, collapsed.
"The best part about this class is that it ends with a bang." Red Hat said amusedly.
"Hey, don't be mean. Professor Banner might have gotten hurt." Blair said frowning at Red Hat.
"Don't worry, he'll be fine. Look." Red Hat said pointing where Banner was. He was doing okay.
The bell then rung, at which Jaden woke up from his nap, stretching his arms while yawning. "Morning guys. Learn anything good today?"
"Not really, but I was enjoying the show." Red Hat replied.
Still startled by the explosion, Syrus said, "Sure did. To duck."
Banner recovered from the little incident and got up on his feet. "Oh, I almost forgot." He announced as he held up a pile of papers. "I'm, uhh... planning, uhh… a little field trip."
"Great! To were? Circus? Carnival?" Jaden asked, getting excited.
"Even better! We're taking a ten mile hike, all the way to excavated ruins, where we'll be taking geologic core samples!" Banner revealed.
"I'm not at all interested in going on this field trip." Red Hat said bored just thinking about it.
"You should participate instead, this might be an interesting field trip, besides you shouldn't stay in the dorm room all day." Blair said.
"Why would I do that?" Red Hat asked.
"Oh come on. I want to participate in this field trip. Come on, you too." Blair said, seeing that Red Hat wasn't interested at all. "I won't stop until you say yes." She insisted.
Red Hat knew that when Blair said that, she meant it, and she meant it. At that point he sighed before answering her. "Okay, fine, I'm coming too." Red Hat said. "On the other hand, if she said she was going, I would still have to go too, since I have to protect her true identity. So I would have had to go anyway." Red hat thought, bored by this.
"So you'll come too, Red Hat. This should make things easier for me." Banner thought as he noticed this. "Saturday at 7:00 AM! Don't be late!"
Saturday
Time 7:00
Banner and his students found themselves outside the main building of Duel Academy, ready for the field trip. However, the number of the students, were not what Banner expected. "Only six? Where is everyone else?" Banner wondered. The only students attending were, Jaden, Syrus, Chumley, Alexis, Red Hat and Blair.
"They're probably sleeping, Professor." Syrus suggested. "You know, in their nice, warm beds. With their nice comfty pillows."
"Just like I would be doing if Banner didn't threaten us with detention if we didn't show." Chumley muttered. "It's seven am in the morning! I need my beauty sleep!"
"For once I agree with Chumley. I would have preferred to sleep more too." Red Hat said, also sleepily.
"I'll tell you what the secret to get up early is! Staying up all night long!" Jaden said, encouraged them.
"To tell you the truth, I could hardly sleep either." Alexis said. "These ruins we're going to used to host the shadow games."
"That's sweet! Maybe you'll find some clues then. You know, about your brother." Jaden commented.
"Yeah, that's kind of what I'm hoping for." Alexis said before noticing Red Hat and Blair were with them. "I didn't expect you to come too, Red Hat."
"Well, let's say I didn't want to come at first, but then I found myself here thanks to someone." Red Hat replied pointing to Blair.
"Oh, come on. Come to a field trip instead of sleep the dorm won't hurt." Blair said. "And then, as I told you, it could be an interesting field trip." She added.
Banner spoke up as everyone's PDAs showed them the picture of the ruins. "Now we must be careful as we approach the ruins. Inside, is an ancient tomb." Banner warned them.
"A tomb?!" Syrus widened his eyes, remember the last night, he turned to Jaden. "Jaden, I need to talk to you."
"But I…" Jaden couldn't even finish his sentence as Syrus dragged him away from the group, something Red Hat had noticed.
"I think Banner wants to bury you." Syrus whispered. "He was talking about that tomb, and you in it."
"Just kuz I fell asleep in class?" Jaden asked. "Does the school board know about this?" He teased his friend.
"Jaden, I heard him say it last night!" Syrus replied.
"Sy, this is starting sound like another chilli sauce nightmare." Jaden said.
"Okay everyone, let's go!" Banner said and everyone in the group followed him.
Syrus was the last to follow them, as he stood still before saying some words that no one had heard. "Don't say I didn't warn you."
Red Hat had meanwhile noticed Syrus' strange behavior. "But what's wrong with Syrus today? This is strange, then for a field trip." He was wondering in his mind.
Time 9:00
The six students and Banner walked for a couple of hours. They've been walking, climbing and crawling. Everything was going well, well almost everything was going well apart from the complaints of one student in the group.
"Are we almost there?"
"My feet really hurt."
"Can we take a bathroom break or something?"
"I hate climbing!"
"I hate crawling!"
"I hate hiking! Are we there yet! I'm hungry!"
Those were all Chumley's complaints, which he continued to say the entire trip.
"How long can he keep complaining?" Red Hat thought, starting to get tired hearing the constant complaints.
"Oh look! We're finally here! Isn't it just amazing?" Banner said excitedly as the students looked in front of them. The group had a large stone arch in front of it, part of which was missing and covered in green moss.
"They look all ruined." Jaden commented.
Alexis smiled for his words. "That's because they're ruins."
"However, I must say that the place is fascinating in itself." Blair said.
"If you believe so." Red Hat replied.
"It's beautiful!" Banner said excited. "You can still see the fated remains of the oculus! Oh! And the fastigium! No doubt inspired by a muniment of Saka'Ra!" He said while he was looking arond the rest of the ruins.
"He sure seems excited to see some rocks." Syrus commented.
"Yeah, well I'm excited to sit down." Chumley said.
"Yeah and while we're at it, how about we chow down?" Jaden proposed.
"I don't see why not." Banner replied. "And then we'll hit a few cenotaphs, some cariotids,a couple sarcophaguses or is it sarcophagi? Hmm, no matter, time to eat." Banner placed his backpack on the ground as he searched for something inside it. "I just love pizza."
"Huh?" Jaden and the others turned to stare at him. "You get pizza while we're stuck with... whatever it is I'm holding?!" Jaden said as he held some rice balls in his hand.
"I'm your teacher. I need a big meal to... teach you all!" Banner said holding onto his backpack.
Jaden pouted in disappointment as he sat down with the others.
At that moment Red Hat started rummaging through his backpack. "If you want, I bought some sandwiches earlier at the card shop just in case, if you want one you can take it." Red Hat offered.
"You're great, Red Hat." Jaden said, gladly accepting his friend's offer by taking a sandwich, like the others taking one each.
While the group was preparing for lunch, Banner was still looking for the pizza inside his backpack, but as he was looking for it he felt something strange. "That's funny, I don't remember a fur topping on my pizza." What Banner had pulled out of his backpack was his cat Pharaoh, with crumbs on his face. "You were supposed to stay at home! Not hitch a ride and eat my lunch!" Banner fell to the ground on his knees and hung his head in disappointment. Seeing that Pharaoh had eaten his food, Banner turned to the group of students, hands clasped and tears streaming down his face. "Maybe... you could share your lunch with me?" He began to beg his students.
"Sorry. We're your students. We need these to learn." Jaden teased.
"Yeah, like learn you weren't gonna share." Chumley added.
"But of course I was going to share!" Banner said quickly.
"Share what? Pepperoni breath all day?" Alexis questioned.
"Look, I have mints! Would anyone like a mint? See, I'm sharing!" Banner tried again to convince them to give him food.
While Banner continued to try to convince his students to give him food, no one noticed, Pharaoh began digging in the ground and found an ancient artifact. It was large, circular in shape, with some kind of jewel in the center. As the cat dug further, the jewel in the center glowed with a green light. Columns of light began to appear around the group, surrounding them. Pharaoh immediately returned to Banner's arms.
"What's going on?" Jaden wondered.
"Even I don't know what's happening." Red Hat replied.
After a few seconds, they were all blinded by the green light.
"That's one powerful mint." Chumley commented.
When they all looked up at the sky they saw that the sun had split into three.
"Is anyone else... seeing in triplicate?" Banner asked nervously.
After the sun split into three, a rainbow veil appeared in the sky and it was moving.
"This is the most lishus field trip ever." Chumley commented.
"It's so beatiful to see this." Blair added.
"Oh wow! That's neato!" Syrus said.
Winged Kuriboh had appeared next to Jaden, as he too watched in awe like the others at this phenomenon. "What was that? We should run?" Jaden asked his Duel Spirit. "But it looks so cool."
At that same moment, Aussa and Hiita were also worried about what was happening.
"Red Hat, you need to get away quickly!" Aussa said worriedly.
"She's right, we sense something dangerous from this light." Hiita agreed with her.
"Are you sure of what you are saying?" Red Hat asked them, although he himself was a little concerned by what he was seeing.
They heard the rumble of thunder and even lightning began to appear.
"Quick, children, head for cover!" Banner shouted worriedly. They all started running for shelter as the storm seemed to be closing in on them. "We'll find safety over in that simple sepelcur!"
"The what?"
"The thing with hole in it!" Banner pointed, and they took refuge in it.
Jaden hadn't taken cover with his friends yet.
"Come on!" Syrus called his friend.
"You must hurry!" Banner added.
"Jaden hurry up! Get here!" Red Hat also called his friend.
Jaden look the others. "You guys stay in there! I'll lead this storm away!" Then Jaden started to run in direction of the storm.
"Jaden!" Alexis shouted.
"Where's it going?" Chumley asked.
"He's going nuts!" Syrus said.
"Jaden wait!" Red Hat shouted before running towards Jaden.
"Red Hat, what are you doing? Come back, quickly!" Blair said.
"I won't leave Jaden alone! You stay there with everyone!" Red Hat replied.
Red Hat approached Jaden, but before they could both do anything, the light got brighter, and then everything went dark.
Eventually, Red at began to come to his senses. When he opened his eyes, he noticed that he was lying on the ground with his head appearing to be in pain. "What just happened?" Was the first question he asked himself. When he looked around he noticed that he appeared to be at the entrance to the ruins they had visited today, but they appeared intact compared to how he had seen them before, as did a large pyramid in front of him. "But where did I end up? And where are Blair and everyone else?" He asked himself, starting to worry, before a voice interrupted his thoughts.
"It's about time you woke up."
"Who is there?" Red Hat asked as he turned towards the source of the voice, before looking amazed at who was in front of him. "But you are..."
"I could never have imagined that such an event could happen." Another voice said.
"Aussa, Hiita." Red Hat said amazed at the people in front of him. In front of him were the earth charmer and the fire charmer.
"The one and only." Hiita said in an amused tone.
"Can you tell me where we are?" Red Hat asked.
"Apparently that strange light transported you and your friends to another dimension. This place is similar to the Spirit realm which is why duel spirits like us can manifest with a physical form, unlike the human world.But I can't tell you exactly where you are." Aussa explained.
"This explains why I can see you two like the first time I met you." Red Hat said before another question came to mind. "Look, Jaden, Blair and other people were with me, but I woke up here alone. Do you know where they are?" He asked worried.
"Hey, Hey! Calm down first." Hiita said. "And as for what you asked now, before we found you we found one of your friends." She added.
"Really? Who?" Red Hat asked.
"We don't know. We only felt the presence of one person, but we wanted to find you first." Aussa replied.
"Take me there. It could be Jaden or Blair, or someone else who knows where I can find them." Red Hat said.
Some time passed, Aussa and Hiita had taken Red Hat to an area where there were some stone buildings with empty rooms. "Here we perceived the human presence from before." Aussa said.
"But we're not sure if it's any of your friends." Hiita added.
"It's better than nothing, I guess." Red Hat said.
"This way." Hiita pointed to one of the stone structures.
"We need to try to understand what is happening and find a way to send you and your friends back." Aussa said.
"OK, thanks a lot." He thanked Red Hat before the two charmers disappeared.
After a few seconds Red Hat decided to enter the room that Aussa and Hiita had indicated to him. When he entered there was already someone he knew there. "Jaden? Is that you?"
"Red Hat, is that really you?" Jaden asked surprised to see his friend again before approaching him. "Oh man, it's good to see you're okay." Jaden said happy to see him.
"Me too, Jaden." Red Hat replied, later noticing next to Jaden the figure of a small creature with brown fur and small white wings. Red Hat recognized it as one of the monsters Jaden used the most. "Winged Kuriboh?"
"And yes, it's him. I don't know why but here I can touch Winged Kuriboh." Jaden replied happily as the little monster fluttered and seemed to coo happily at this.
"So Jaden can see and communicate with duel spirits?" That was Red Hat's thought. But he decided to put this curiosity aside before turning to his friend. "Jaden, you know where are the others?"
"No, unfortunately I don't know. When I woke up I was alone. Then I meet this girl who hid me here saying that our friends had been taken by the chief of this place. She told me to wait for her here, telling me that she would have find them." Jaden explained.
"Simply put, we're stuck here with nothing to do and we don't know where anyone else is." Red Hat summed.
"Someone help us!"
The boys' thoughts were interrupted by hearing the female scream.
"I recognize that voice." Red Hat said.
"That was Alexis!" Jaden said recognizing her too.
"Please, let us go!" Another voice shouts.
"That was Blair!" Red Hat said recognizing the voice.
Jaden and Red Hat immediately turned towards the window. They saw that there were five coffins under them. And to their horror inside those coffins were Alexis, Blair, Syrus, Chumley and Professor Banner along with his cat Pharaoh, and they were all wrapped in bandages.
"We have to get them out of there immediately!" Red Hat shouted.
"You're right. We have to… ow!" Jaden said feeling something sharp prodding him on his rears.
"Get down! Now!" A deep voice commanded the two of them. Jaden and Red Hat climbed down from where they were standing, soon Jaden and Red Hat found themselves surrounded by a group of men with dark skin, and black robes pointing the lances at the duo of Slifers.
Behind this group of men there was another man. He was dark skinned like everyone else, but had a dark beard. His clothes were different from those of the rest of the group. He wore a light purple shirt under a white robe with green pants with a black cowl covering his head.
"Aw, where's my manners?" Jaden said shaking with spears pointed at him. "Introduction first. I'm Jaden Yuki and this is my friend Red Hat. And your name would be?"
"I am the Gravekeeper's Chief." The man who seemed to be the leader of this group introduced himself. "And you have crossed upon the sacred tomb that I protect."
"Hey, sounds good to me, pal!" Jaden said nervously. "How about we just go and grab our friends downstairs? We'll say our goodbyes to you, then zip back to the dimension we came from."
"This is not possible." The Gravekeeper Chief said.
"Why not?" Red Hat asked.
"Because, fools, you have tread about my domain. And you will be punished, along with your friends." The Gravekeeper's Chief explained.
"Hey! It's not like we came here on purpose! We were at some ruins and a light transported us here! We didn't do it on purpose, so let us and our friends go!" Red Hat said.
"Why and how you came is of no concern to me. What matters to me now is punishing you for entering our sacred place."
"Well I really don't care about this place, so let us go!" Red Hat shouted angrily.
"Yes, he's right." Jaden agreed with his friend.
The Gravekeeper's Chief chuckled at their words. "You show some spirit, strangers. I shall pardon your trespasses, giving you can survive my challenge?" He offered. "What is your answer?"
"Well, what's the challenge?" Jaden asked. The Gravekeeper's Chief pulled out a deck of Duel Monsters to answer his question. "A duel? Now you're speaking my language! You're on! Bu only if you pardon all of our friends along with us."
"That's assuming if you win."
"For our friends, there's no if about it, pal." Jaden said as he and Red Hat grabbed some duel disks from their backpacks. "We'll win."
"But if you don't, you will be punished. You will be buried alive." The Gravekeeper's Chief said smiling sinisterly.
"Buried alive?!" Jaden shouted in fear. "But then who will save our friends?"
"Fear not. They will be buried along with you."
"Then we have nothing to worry about. Because we will win." Red Hat said.
"Yeah, you're right." Jaden said.
The place where Jaden and Red Hat would confront the Gravekeeper's Chief was the top of the facility where they saw the coffins with their friends inside. The duelists stood on stone platforms on either side of the walls.
"Hey! Wait a minute!" Jaden shouted before they began the duel. "There are two of us, so shouldn't you have a partner for the duel too?" He asked to the Gravekkeper's Chief.
"Ah yes, for that I will be assisted by her." The Chief declared, pointing to a second figure next to him, who was female. She was wearing a short blue dress with a black robe on top that reached down to his ankles, his face was completely covered by a black hood. "Meet Gravekepper's Assailant."
"Even with her you can be sure that we will not lose this duel." Red Hat stated.
"Yeah. I'm with you, Red Hat." Jaden added.
At that moment Jaden, Red Hat and Assailant activated their duel disks. While for the Chief, a strange duel disk that looked like a shell had appeared on his arm.
"Jaden, Red Hat you two can do it!" Blair said.
"Good luck, Jaden and Red Hat!" Banner said. "We're rooting for you! Very, very much so!"
"Jaden!" Syrus shouted.
"Jaden, Red Hat, save us!" Chumley pleaded.
"Don't worry, You'll all be fine. As long we beat these guys." Jaden said focusing on their opponents.
"We'll get you out of there." Red Hat added.
DUEL
Jaden & Red Hat: 8000 LP
Chief & Assailant: 8000 LP
"The first move is mine. I draw!" The Chief draws.
Hand 6
"I set a monster facedown and end my turn." The Chief ends his turn.
Hand 5
"Well then, it's my turn. I draw!" Jaden draws.
Hand 6
"I set a monster facedown. I set a card facedown and end my turn." Jaden ends his turn.
Hand 4
"It's my turn. I draw!" Assailant draws.
Hand 6
"I activate the spell card Pot of Greed to draw two cards. Next, I activate Tribute to the Doomed! I discard one card from my hand and destroy your monster." From the spell card cames out bandages, wrapping themselves around Jaden's face-down monster, which was Elemental HERO Clayman, destroying him. "Now I activate the quick-play spell card Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy your facedown card!" Strong gusts of wind blew against the covered paper that was Bottomless Trap Hole destroying it. "I summon Gravekeeper's Spear Soldier in attack mode! (Atk: 1500 – Def: 1000) Now I attack you directly! Lunging Spear Assault!" The Spear Soldier rushed towards Jaden hitting him with his spear in the stomach. Jaden felt some pain from that attack.
Jaden & Red Hat: 8000 – 6500 LP
Jaden held the spot where he had been hit trying to hold back the pain. "I... I actually felt his attack."
"What?" Red Hat said confused by this.
"It's right." The Gravekeeper's Chief said. "When you are attacked you will feel the pain of each attack." He explained to the two Slifers who were a little worried hearing this. "And there's more." I point below where the coffins were with their friends inside, slowly starting to close. "Every time you lose life points, their coffins will close more and more. And if you lose this duel, their fate will be sealed."
"I'm claustrophobic, For real!" Syrus shouted.
"Yeah so am I, if it'll get me out of here!" Chumley added.
"Guys, please get us out of here!" Blair shouted.
"Oh no!" Jaden said worried for their friends.
"Hey! the duel isn't over yet, leave them alone!" Red Hat said angrily.
"If you want to save your friends, then you must pass this challenge." Assailant said.
"Fine, we'll win this duel." Jaden said.
"Then I end my turn." Assailant ends her turn.
Hand 3
"It's my turn. I draw!" Red Hat draws.
Hand 6
Red Hat looked at the cards in his hand as he thought about what move to make. "If Jaden felt the pain caused by the monster's attack then it is likely that this duel will be like the one with Jinzo, so this duel is a Shadow Game. I have to be careful, when we lose life points not only are we in danger, but so are the others. We must win this duel at all costs." Red Hat thought. "I activate Graceful Charity. I draw three cards and then discard two. (discards Magician of Faith and Kycoo the Ghost destroyer.) I banish Magician of Faith and Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer from my graveyard to special summon Chaos Sorcerer! (Atk: 2300 – Def: 2000)" Purple flames appeared on the field, when they disappeared there was the chaos sorcerer.
"This is impossible!" Assailant murmured.
"There's no way a boy like him can control such a strong monster." The Chief said shocked at the sight of his opponent's monster.
"Yes! Red Hat managed to summon one of his chaos monsters!" Blair said.
"Yes, when he summons them, the duel is in his favor." Chumley added.
"Then I summon Breaker the Magical Warrior in attack mode! (Atk: 1600 – Def: 1000) When this monster is normal summoned, he gets 1 spell counter and gain 300 attack points. (Atk: 1600 – 1900 – Def: 1000) Now Chaos Sorcerer attack Gravekepper's Spear Soldier!" The chaos sorcerer created a sphere of purple flame, which he launched against the Spear Soldier, causing him to explode.
Chief & Assailant: 8000 – 7200 LP
"Now Breaker, attack your monster face down!" As the spellcaster warrior rushed towards the opposing monster to strike him with his sword, his attack was blocked by the opposing monster who had the appearance of a dark-skinned, bald man in a black robe who was holding a spear in his hand. It was the monster, Gravekeeper's Guard. (Atk: 1000 – Def: 1900)
"You triggered Gravekeeper's Guard's flip effect. Chaos Sorcerer returns to your hand." Assailant explained, as the chaos sorcerer returned to Red Hat's hand.
"In this case, I set a card facedown and end my turn." Red Hat ends his turn.
Hand 3
"It's my turn. I draw!" The Chief draws.
Hand 6
"I play Pot of Greed to draw two cards. Then I play Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy your facedown card." A strong tornado had collided with Red Hat's facedown card, which turned out to be Widespread Ruin. "I activate the field spell Necrovalley!" The area around the duelists suddenly changed, becoming a valley with tall walls of stones. Both Jaden and Red Hat and their opponents found themselves on top of stone pillars while their monsters floated into thin air.
"This could cause some problems." Red Hat muttered.
"What do you mean?" Jaden asked confused.
"As long as Necrovalley is on the field, all Gravekeeper's monsters gain 500 attack and defense points. Cards in the graveyard cannot be banished, and it can also negate effects that move a card from the graveyard to a different place. In addition, negate any card effect that changes types or attributes in the graveyard." The Chief explained.
"As long as that card is on the field, I won't be able to summon my chaos monsters." Red Hat said frowning.
"And the situation is about to get worse for you two. I sacrifice Gravekeeper's Guard, to summon myself. Gravekeeper's Chief! (Atk: 1900 – 2400 – Def: 1200 – 1700)" A vortex of light was created on the opponent's side of the field, which when it disappeared showed that the Gravekeeper's Chief was on the field like a monster. "As long as I'm on the field, cards in my graveyard are unaffected by the effect of Necrovalley."
Meanwhile the two Slifers were surprised that their opponent summoned himself onto the field like a monster.
"No way! He summoned he's self?!" Jaden said shocked.
"That means he's a duel spirit." Red Hat realized.
"My effect allows me to special summon a Gravekeeper monster from my graveyard. Rise, Gravekeeper's Spear Soldier. (Atk: 1500 – 2000 – Def – 1000 – 1500) Now I attack Breaker!" The Chief unleashed a stream of red energy that hit Breaker.
Jaden & Red Hat: 6500 – 6000 LP
"Now Gravekeeper's Spear Soldier, attack that kid directly! Lunging Spear Assault!" The warrior with the spear rushed towards Red Hat, hitting him in the stomach with his spear. Red Hat winced as he felt the pain of the attack.
Jaden & Red Hat: 6000 – 4000 LP
"I knew it." Red Hat said staggering a little from the pain he received from the last attack. "This is a Shadow Game, isn't it?!" He shouted at his opponent.
"Yes, and this Shadow Game is almost over, for you two and your friends." The Chief stated. While the coffins containing the friends of Jaden and Red Hat's closed even more that they almost seemed about to close.
"You're wrong, the duel isn't over yet." Jaden said in response to his opponent.
"We'll see how long you keep up this bravado. I end my turn." The Chief ends his turn.
Hand 4
"It's my turn. I draw!" Jaden draws.
Hand 5
As soon as Jaden drew his card he felt something like a presence, seeing that it was Winged Kuriboh. "I'm glad to see you. You always help me to get out from situation like this." Jaden think of his duel spirit that had appeared before him in spiritual form.
Without Jaden realizing it, Red Hat had also seen his friend's duel spirit. "So Jaden can see duel spirits?" Red Hat thought.
At that moment he heard Aussa and Hiita's voice in his head.
"Your friend must have a strong bond with his cards, which is why he can interact with his duel spirit." Hiita said.
"You can only see it because of this place." Aussa explained.
He decided not to give this too much thought and focus on the duel instead. He and Jaden still had to save their friends.
"Alright. I set a monster facedown. I end my turn." Jaden ends his turn.
Hand 4
"It's my turn now. I draw!" Assailant draws.
Hand 4
"I activate this spell card. Dark-Piercing Light! Your face-down monster changes its position to face-up." Agressor explained. As a dazzling light shot out from his card, revealing Jaden's facedown monster which was his Winged Kuriboh. (Atk: 300 – Def: 200)
"What do you think you're doing with that little creature." The Chief said amusedly. "But ultimately what you did was appropriate, after all the weak protects weak."
"Hey! Watch what you say! Kuriboh is not weak and one of my best friends!" Jaden said angry at his opponent's insult.
"With friends like you he really doesn't need enemies, because now your furball is a goner." The Chief replied. "But enough talking now. Assailant, continues the duel." He said turning to his partner.
"I summon Gravekeeper's Assailant in attack mode! (Atk: 1500 – 2000 – Def: 1500 – 1500)" Just like before, Assailant was covered in a vortex of light and also reappeared on the field as a monster like the Gravekeeper's Chief, holding a serpentine dagger.
"She's a duel spirit too!" Jaden said in shock.
"Now, Assailant attack him!" The Chief ordered. "With Necrovalley on the field, Assailant changes the position of your monster in attack mode." Winged Kuriboh had gone into attack mode. When the woman seemed to get closer and closer to the monster before striking him she seemed to hesitate.
Jaden & Red Hat: 4000 – 2300 LP
"You should have attacked faster!" The Chief angrily told his servant who only lowered her head and back away.
"Hey, don't blame her for the mistakes you made." Jaden said angrily not liking how his opponent treated his partner.
"Shut your mouth! Better yet, why don't I just shut it for you?" The Chief said preparing to attack himself the opponents. "After all, all I have to do is attack, and you two lose the duel."
"If I were you I wouldn't be so sure." Jaden said leaving their opponent confused. "Winged Kuriboh may not be very strong, but its effect makes up for everything. Because having destroyed it now we don't take battle damage for the rest of the turn." He explained.
The Gravekeeper's Chief frowned upon hearing this. "Well, never mind, your furball has given you some time. As soon as your friend has finished his turn, you will lose the duel." He said. "Speaking of time, I don't think your friends have that much left." He pointed to the coffins closing even more.
"Guys, help us!" Blair screamed as the coffins closed tighter and tighter, and she looked like she was about to cry.
"Blair!" Red Hat shouted worried about her.
"I wouldn't worry so much about them, because you two joining them soon too." The Chief said.
Hearing his words, Red Hat couldn't help but feel angry at their opponent. He clenched his fist as hard as he could. "I will make you pay." He muttered under his breath.
"What did you say?" The Chief asked without hearing him.
"I said... I'll make you pay!" He shouted angrily at his opponent. For a few seconds everyone seemed to see a sort of black and white aura around the boy before it disappeared.
"What was that?" The Gravekeeper's Chief wondered as Assailant watched the boy.
They weren't the only ones confused, Jaden was also confused by his friend's reaction and that sort of aura that had appeared around him. "But what happened to Red Hat?"
"I set two cards facedown and end my turn." Assailant ends her turn.
Hand 0
"It's my turn. I draw!" Red Hat draws.
Hand 4
"I play Pot of Greed and draw two cards." Red Hat draws two other cards.
"Everything you do is useless. You forgot that Necrovalley is still on the field. As long as this field spell is active, you couldn't even summon one of your chaos monsters." The Chief pointed out.
"Then I'll get rid of all your cards first." Red Hat said leaving The Chief confused by his words. "I activate the spell card, Harpie's Feather Duster! All of your spells and traps card on your side of the field are destroyed!" A strong gust of wind began to blow, sweeping away the two facedown cards that Assailant left set in the last turn, and Necrovalley, the place was back to how it was before and no longer in a canyon of stones.
"No! This is not possible!" The Chief said in shock.
"Oh yes instead. And since Necrovalley has been destroyed, your monsters lose the attack points they had gained, as well as the fact that we can use the cemeteries as we want again. (Atk: 2400 – 1900 – Def: 1700 – 1200) (Atk: 2000 – 1500 – Def: 1500 – 1000) (Atk: 2000 – 1500 – Def: 2000 – 1500)" Jaden said happy with his partner's move.
"Now I play this spell card, Magical Stone Excavation! I discard two cards from my hand and the spell card, Pot of Greed in my graveyard return in my hand. But this card won't be around for long. Because I immediately play Pot of Greed again, to draw two more cards. I banish Magical Merchant and Breaker the Magical Warrior from my graveyard to special summon Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning! (Atk: 3000 – Def: 2500)" The chaos warrior took to the field in front of Red Hat.
"This can't be true! How can a human hold the power of one of the two strongest chaos monsters?!" The Chief wondered in shock.
"Black Luster Soldier, attack Gravekepper's Spear Soldier! Chaos Sword Slash!" The chaos warrior rushed towards the opposing monster, hitting it with his sword causing it to explode.
Chief & Assailant: 7200 – 5700 LP
"Black Luster Soldier effect activates. When he destroys a monster in battle, he can attack a second time. Attack Gravekeeper's Assailant! Chaos Sword Slash!" The chaos warrior hits Assailant causing her to explode, after a few seconds she reappears on the stone platform where she was before.
Chief & Assailant: 5700 – 4200 LP
At that moment Aussa and Hiita appeared in the distance, observing the duel. "But what's happening to him?" Hiita asked.
"Remember what Mana said? Red Hat has a special power, but right now he's in a rage and isn't thinking clearly." Aussa explained.
"So what should we do?" Hiita asked.
"I do not know."
"Red Hat, What's happening to you?" Jaden asked his friend, worried about him.
Hearing Jaden's voice, interrupted Red Hat's thoughts and he turned towards his friend. Looking at him he saw his worried expression for him. Little by little he calmed down. "What was I doing?" He wondered in his mind. He remembered getting angry and losing control, but that was all. "I'll think about that later. Now it's best to concentrate on the duel." Red Hat decided. "I set one card facedown. I end my turn." He ends his turn.
Hand 1
Meanwhile Aussa and Hiita had observed everything.
"Did you see that?" Aussa asked.
"Yes. I definitely saw it." Hiita replied. "But how is it possible that he suddenly changed his behavior from before with the duel? I can't explain this."
Aussa seemed to think carefully about this before speaking. "First he got angry when he saw that scared girl. Then he calmed down when his friend talked to him and seemed worried about him. I don't know why but it's those two who almost seem to keep him to himself." Aussa said.
"I really don't understand any of this." Hiita said annoyed.
"I don't understand what's happening to him either. But I think we should talk to Mana about this." Aussa said before she and Hiita disappeared, but not before Aussa cast a worried look at Red Hat.
"I admit, you caught me off guard, but I assure you it won't happen again. It's my turn. I draw!" The Chief draws.
Hand 5
"I activate Smashing Ground! With this I destroy your chaos monster!" A giant fist fell from the sky hitting Black Luster Soldier causing him to explode. "I activate the equip-spell, Premature Burial. I pay 800 life points and special summon Gravekeeper's Spear Soldier from my graveyard. (Atk: 1500 – Def: 1000) It's time to end this duel. Spear Soldier prepare to attack!"
"I activate a trap card!" Red Hat interrupted him. "Threatening Roar! You can't declare an attack this turn."
"You two are proving to be more of a challenge than I originally thought." The Chief commented before looking towards his opponents. "But now boy, hurry up and finish with your next shift, this whole thing isn't funny anymore."
"Really? I'm instead having a lot of fun though!" Jaden said laughing.
Hearing what Jaden said, Red Hat let out a laugh. "You really never change, huh Jaden. But deep down, that's the funny side of you." Red Hat admitted amused himself.
"What? Your friends life are in danger... and you say you have a lot of fun." The Chief said confused by Jaden's behavior.
"Yeah. Also because we are about to win this duel." Jaden state confidently.
"You are wrong!" The Chief supported. "But if you think you can win, go ahead. I end my turn." The Chief ends his turn.
Hand 3
Jaden began to worry. "He's right. If I don't do something this turn to turn the tide, Red Hat and I will lose the duel, and our friends will be locked in those coffins." He thought worriedly.
"Jaden!" Red Hat called his friend, turning towards him. "I have faith in you. I know you can do something to win the duel." Red Hat said smiling to his friend.
Jaden thought about Red Hat's words. "Red Hat is right. He and our friends are counting on me and I won't let them down." Jaden thought as he regained his confidence. "Thanks Red Hat, I really needed it." Jaden said smiling at his friend.
"You're welcome Jaden." Red Hat replied.
"Okay, I'm ready now. It's my turn. I draw!" Jaden draws.
Hand 5
"I play Graceful Charity! I draw three cards then discard two." Jaden draws his three cards then discards two. "Sweet! Just what I needed. I activate the effect of King of the Swamp! I discard this card and add Polymerization from my deck to my hand." Jaden said as he discarded the card in the graveyard slot and took the card in question from the deck. "I now activate Necroshade's effect from my graveyard." Jaden stated.
"What? That card wasn't in your graveyard!" The Chief said.
"Yes instead, it's one of the cards I discarded now." Jaden replied. "He allow me to summon one Elemental HERO without tributing. So, I summon Elemental HERO Bladedge in attack mode! (Atk: 2600 – Def: 1800)"
"Even if the monster you summoned is strong enough to defeat one of mine, you won't be able to take away all my life points." The Gravekeeper's Chief stated confidently.
"Hey, I didn't say I'm done. But first I summon Elemental HERO Sparkman in attack mode! (Atk: 1600 – Def: 1400) Now I activate the spell card, Miracle Fusion! I banish Sparkman from my field and King of the Swamp from my graveyard to fusion summon Elemental HERO Shining Flare Wingman! (Atk: 2500 – Def: 2100)" The shining armored Elemental HERO had appeared on the field on Jaden's side. "Shining Flare Wingman effect, he gains 300 attack points for every Elemental HERO in my graveyard Right now there are 3 Elemental HERO monsters, so that's 900 extra attack points! (Atk: 2500 – 3400 – Def: 2100) Bladeedge attack Gravekeeper's Spear Soldier with Slice and Dice attack!" The golden Elemental HERO lunged at the Gravekeeper monster, slashing at it with the blades on its arms.
Chief & Assailant: 4200 – 3100 LP
"Shining Flare Wingman attack Gravekeeper's Chief! Shining Emerald Orb!" He created a sphere of green light which he launched at Gravekeeper's Chief causing an explosion, the Chief had also reappeared above the stone platform as an Assailant.
Chief & Assailant: 3100 – 1600 LP
"When Shining Flare Wingman destroys a monster by battle, you take damage equal to the attack points of the destroyed monster." The hero stood in front of the Chief and shone with a bright light.
Chief & Assailant: 1600 – 0 LP
"That's game!" Jaden said making his usual waving gesture as the holograms of the monsters disappeared.
"Chief!" The Assailant called out to him as she ran towards her groaning master.
"Hey, is he okay?!" Jaden shouted as he and Red Hat ran to see for themselves. But before they could reach it they were blocked by the Gravekeepers.
"No!" They turned to their master, who was trying to get up with the help of The Assailant. "They lives! They were impressive opponents."
Jaden smiled. "Hey thanks. It was a sweet match. Let's duel again sometimes."
"What?" The Chief asked in surprise. "You mean to say you enjoyed the Shadow Game?"
"Knowing you Jaden, I'm not surprised you had fun during a Shadow Game." Red Hat said amused by his friend. "Frankly, I don't think I would want to repeat an experience like that."
"Come on pal, aside from our friends in danger inside the coffins, you have to admit it was fun." Jaden said.
"Only one other person has ever passed this challenge. That is until now. For having overcome this trials you two, I bequeath to you this mystic medallion." The Chief said taking half of a medallion from around his neck giving it to Jaden. "It's yours."
"Really? For me?" Jaden took the locket noticing that it wasn't whole. "Some gift. There's only half."
"But of course. You see, the only other to have passed this challenge holds the other half. Hopefully when the time comes for you two to battle in another Shadow Game, this medallion will serve you well." The Chief explained.
"Sweetness! I'll be sure to remember that." Jaden said putting the medallion around his neck.
"As for you, boy." The Chief said turning to Red Hat. "During this challenge I could feel a great power within you. But I could feel that you let your anger guide you as you used it. You must use it wisely, keep that in mind."
"Actually, he's right. Before, it was like I've lost control of my body, when I saw Blair who was scared." Red Hat thought.
The Gravekkeper's Chief turned, raising his hand towards the coffins as they began to open.
"We're free!" Syrus cheered.
"Whoa! Turn down the lights." Chumley said.
"I love light. Light is my friend." Banner said.
"Jaden! Red Hat! I knew we could count on you two!" Blair cheered.
"Wow Jaden, Red Hat. You two saved us." Alexis said. All the bandages around them dissolved, freeing them.
"I knew you boys would pass this test. I just knew it." Banner said proudly.
Jaden laughed before noticing what Banner had just said. "Wait, what do you mean test? Don't you mean challenge?"
"Yes, of course! I mean, test, challenge... it is all the same, am I right?" He tried to explain. "All that matters is you won. Isn't that right guys?" At that point Banner began to laugh nervously.
"I don't know why, but I'm not convinced by his words. It's as if he knows a lot more about what happened to us." Red Hat thought, not at all convinced by his explanation.
The Gravekeeper's Chief turned to Jaden and Red Hat. "Well then. It's time for you and your friends to return to your own world."
"Sounds good to me." Jaden said. "So, how do we get back?" He asked.
"Go to the gate of the tomb. When the three lights combine into one, so that the veil of radiance appears before you." The Chief explained.
"Oookay..." Jaden replied, not understanding what he meant.
"So basically, you're saying that the light that brought us here, will bring us back to our world?" Red Hat asked The Chief who nodded in response.
At that moment the entire group heard the sound of footsteps marching towards them. They turned from the direction they heard the sound and saw a group of Gravekeeper's Spear Soldiers and Gravekeeper' Guards surrounding them, pointing their weapons at them.
"Fools! What are you doing?!" The Chief said looking at them angrily.
"They must be punished. Either by you or by us." One of the Spear Soldiers replied.
"Punished! Punished!" The Gravekepper's said as they approached them.
The Chief stepped in front of them. "Stop! They have paid for their misdeeds! They have passed the challenge! Their freedom has been earned!" He tried to reason with them.
But it didn't seem to work, and they continued to advance towards the group "Punished! Punished!"
Everyone was starting to get scared and panic as the Spear Soldiers and Guards got closer and closer to them.
"Jaden!" Alexis called him worriedly.
"Red Hat!" Blair did the same.
Before the Spear Soldiers and Guards got any closer to Jaden and Red Hat, someone with a pair of serpentine daggers stood in front of the two of them to protect them. It was Gravekeeper's Assailant, in protecting them the black hood she had on her face fell revealing her face.
"It's you!" Jaden said.
"Wait? You know her, Jaden?" Red Hat asked confused.
"Yeah! This is the woman who found me when I woke up in this place. I told you about it earlier." Jaden explained.
"Yes, I'm Gravekeeper's Assailant. I'm sorry I fought you two, but I had to obey my Chief." She said.
"Hey, it's cool."
"Uh, Jaden." Syrus called out to him. "Don't you think it's rude to not introduce me... I mean us to your friend?"
The group sighed at his words.
"Go find your own friends." Jaden said.
The Assailant spoke again. "When you finally return to your world, please give a message to the owner of the other half of the medallion. Tell him Yasmin's still in the other world, but I haven't forgotten him. And that I believe one day we will meet again."
"Oh, boyfriend." Jaden guessed awkwardly.
"I knew it!" Syrus said despondently.
"It seems to him the right time for him to be jealous?" Red Hat thought.
"Ah, how romantic. A love story like this." Blair said in a low voice so as not to be heard.
The Spear Soldiers and Guards tried to advance towards them, but Yasmin stepped forward to protect them. "Stand back! They have won the challenge and we must honor our world! We are the keeper's of the graves, not the makers! If you want to harm any of them, you'll have to get through me!" She said, holding up her daggers to show that she was ready to fight to defend them.
Hearing how serious she was, the Spear Soldiers and Guards stepped aside, enough to make an opening for the group.
"I would hurry." Yasmin said.
"For sure." Jaden replied. "But... how do we leave again?" He asked.
Yasmin smiled at the group. "Oh, I think a friend will help show you the way."
Jaden's deck glowed, soon after his duel spirit appeared. "Winged Kuriboh?"
"He wants us to follow." Jaden said as he started to run.
Syrus rubbed his eyes to see if he was dreaming, but he started running like the others.
"Thanks, Yasmin!" Jaden thanked her as he ran.
"Hurry!" Yasmin urged them on. "Until we next meet." She thought.
The group ran as fast as they could towards the stone arch, when they noticed that the three suns had begun to combine.
"The lights, They're combining! We've gotta to hurry!" Jaden said.
"Come on, you're almost there!" Hiita said in Red Hat's mind.
"You must get to the stone arch before the three suns have fully combined if you want to return to your world." Aussa reminded him.
But as they approached the gate, Chumley stumbled and fell forward to the ground, the others noticed and stopped. "Chumley, are you okay?!" Jaden asked worriedly.
"Old tricycle injury." Chumley replied holding his right leg. "Just go on without me! You don't have time to wait! Seriously! Go! You can still make it!"
"No way, Chumley! We won't leave you behind!" Jaden said.
"Jaden's right! We won't leave you behind! We'll keep you ourselves to take you with us!" Red Hat added.
"You must!" Chumley insisted. Before he noticed his backpack lit up, and then Des Koala appeared. Some of the group were surprised by the appearance of another duel spirit, and Syrus rubbed his eyes once more.
They all found themselves with Des Koala running in front of them showing them the way. "I love running!" Chumley cheered.
"It's now or never guys!" Jaden pointed out. "Let's make tracks!"
When the group reached the stone arch, green lights came out of the ground, like it's happened before. Light enveloped the six students and Banner while the duel spirits disappeared. before everything went dark.
Jaden began to slowly open his eyes. When he woke up he realized he was lying against a stone pillar with Alexis leaning against him. "Hey guys!" Jaden called.
At that moment Red Hat also began to wake up, and noticed that he too was leaning against a stone pillar, with Blair leaning against him. The way she was leaning against him, Red Hat blushed in embarrassment. Before he leaned Blair against the pillar freeing himself gently to not wake her up, while Jaden did the same thing to Alexis. The two boys found the cards with their duel spirits on the ground. As soon as they picked them up they noticed that the Des Koala card was also on the floor, in addition to the fact that everyone was sleeping except the two of them.
"It was an incredible thing." Red Hat said.
"Yeah. Do you think that everything that happened to us was just a hallucination from those moldly sandwiches?" Jaden said before noticing the half of the medallion around his neck. "Or not."
"No, I'm sure what happened to all of us today was real. But the important thing is that we got back safely." Red Hat said as he and Jaden looked up at the sky.
"But still..." Jaden looked at his Winged Kuriboh card. "Something just tells me the shadows will be back."
"I agree. We'll have to be ready for when it happens." Red Hat agreed, as he looked at Aussa and Hiita's cards as he realized something. "After the duel, the Gravekeeper's Chief said that I possessed great power but that I should use it wisely. Is the same thing that Mana, Aussa and Hiita told me the first time I met them. What that means I don't know, but I feel something terrible is coming." He thought with a serious expression.
Here is the new chapter. At first I wasn't sure I wanted to do the chapter about the scenario with the Gravekeeper's, but I thought better of it for various reasons to do so. The first is that I wanted to participate in the challenge of the Gravekeeper's Chief together with Jaden and make it a tag duel to adapt it to the theme of Tag Force, also because I wanted to insert a part in which Red Hat realized that he actually possessed some sort of special power as Mana, Aussa and Hiita had mentioned as the first time they met him and The Chief was also aware of it, but we'll get to the power he possesses later. The second reason and that I wanted to show that Red Hat even if he was worried about Blair during the duel was also worried about the other friends in the group, was to show that he had a kind side that cared about others. Well from the next chapter the shadow riders arc will begin. They will be done Tag Force 1 style, in which the Shadow Riders will have the same partners they have in Tag Force 1. That's all I have to say about this chapter. If you have any suggestions or want to let me know what you think let me know in the comments below.