Era of Spirits and Shadows Chapter 8 (Patreon)

Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of Era of Spirits and Shadows! Well…punishment time. Campus Security is on the trio of Alexis, Jaden, and Drake’s case for trespassing in the abandoned dorm. But, as this is Duel Academy, things like expulsion can be fought against via Dueling. Unfortunately, however, Crowler can’t control this situation with Security involved. So, two people will have to Duel for the fate of all three students.

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So, without further delay, please enjoy.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

In memory of Kazuki Takahashi, the creator of Yu-Gi-Oh, who passed away on July 4th, 2022. You made an amazing Series and brightened so many lives with your work. The game that your World created has brought joy to millions and made childhood even more fun for so many that grew up with your work. Rest in peace.

Chapter 8 – Tag Duel

‘Well, this isn’t meant to be intimidating or anything.’ Drake sarcastically thought as he, Jaden, and Alexis stood before Headmaster Sheppard, Crowler, Banner, and the Head of Campus Security.

“We caught all three of them coming out of the Abandoned Dorm, Headmaster.” The Head of Security restated why the three students were here. She was a relatively tall woman, her eyes a dark brown and looking at the three students sharply. Her black hair was cut short, barely reaching her shoulders, she wore the standard green uniform of Campus Security and was wearing a matching beret on her head. “Crowler was also there and has photographic evidence as well.”

“I had merely heard that someone might be snooping around and went to investigate.” Crowler spoke plainly while on the inside he was panicking slightly. ‘This wasn’t how it was supposed to go! I just wanted the Slifer slackers out of here! Why was Miss Rhodes with them?!’

“You three are aware that going to the Abandoned Dorm is against the Academy’s rules, yes?” Banner looked between his two Slifers and the lone Obelisk student.

“Yes, sir.” All three students nodded to the Head of the Slifer Dorm.

“As their infraction is an expellable offense, we should make an example of all three of them.” The Head of Security stated firmly. She was clearly a stickler for the rules. But the Campus Security were all hired by Seto Kaiba himself to keep order at his Academy, so they had the owner’s backing in doling out punishment.

“I hardly think that’s necessary for all three of them.” Crowler spoke up and getting everyone’s attention. “We are all aware of Miss Rhode’s situation with the Abandoned Dorm.” He said nothing more, but Sheppard looked saddened for a moment as his eyes dropped to his desk.

“A student’s history does not excuse them from the rules, Crowler.” The Head of Security denied. “How would it look if we expelled two Slifer students, but the sole Obelisk student walked away without punishment?”

“I’d rather not harm the futures of promising students, if possible.” Sheppard hummed for a moment, thoughtfully stroking his trimmed beard. “Perhaps there’s an acceptable way to handle this and still give them a chance?”

“What are you suggesting, Headmaster?” The Head of Security raised an eyebrow at the man.

“Well, this is Duel Academy, why not let them Duel for their right to stay here?” Sheppard suggested with a grin. “An expulsion match, as it were.”

“I see,” The woman looked between the three. “Three separate Duels then? Who would be the opponents?”

“We could have Obelisk students do it, second or third years would make them earn their place.” Crowler offered a suggestion, he was certain that Alexis would be able to win and stay that way. The Slifers would probably lose and be expelled as well, so it was a win-win in his eyes.

“That would be acceptable, I believe.” Banner smiled and nodded to Crowler’s suggestion.

“I think that’s a bit too lenient.” The Head of Security shook her head. “For an expellable infraction like this, student opponents wouldn’t be enough.” She took out her PDA and tapped on the screen a few times. “Oh? Crowler, you have those two scheduled to come here?”

“I…well…I was hoping to demonstrate Tag Dueling, you see.” Crowler rubbed the back of his head, trying to hide the sweat that had just broken out on his face. He’d planned to have the two crush the Slifers, knowing that Sheppard would most likely not want to expel them directly. It was a brilliant contingency plan in his mind, but then Miss Rhodes had gotten caught up in this mess.

“They’ll do then.” The Head of Security nodded in acceptance. “Since they specialize in Tag Dueling, we’ll have two of the three offenders duel against them. Should they lose, all three students will be expelled.”

“I see, yes, but which two of the three?” Sheppard looked at his three staff members.

“Miss Rhodes should be mandatory, as we don’t want to be accused of playing favorites between the Dorms.” She replied sharply.

“Very well, that does make sense.” Sheppard nodded his agreement. “Banner, which of your two students would you recommend take part?”

“Hmm, they’re my top two so far this year.” Banner gave a small smile to Jaden and Drake. “Perhaps they can decide between themselves?” He offered to the two teens.

“It doesn’t matter which one duels, only that Miss Rhodes has a partner.” The Head of Security was firm in her stance that Alexis would duel for her place at the Academy.

“There you have it, boys, please decide quickly between yourselves.” Sheppard nodded to Jaden and Drake.

“Huddle up.” Drake slung his arm over Jaden’s shoulders and the two turned their back on the Faculty to have a hushed conversation. “You should team up with Alexis.”

“Hmm? I thought for sure you’d want to duel.” Jaden blinked at his best friend with a bit of shock.

“Believe me, a chance to go up against Pro Duelists would be awesome, but this is about staying here at Duel Academy. We have to go into this with our best possible option for victory.” Drake stated his thoughts plainly. “What do we know about Alexis’s Deck?”

“Uh, she uses Cyber Girls…and she’s making a new Deck with Cyber Angels?” Jaden answered what little they did know of Alexis’s cards.

“And what Type of Monsters are the Cyber Girls?” Drake asked the leading question.

“Warrior Type, I think.” Jaden answered but didn’t quite make the connection.

“And what Type are your Elemental Heroes?” Drake grinned as he instantly saw the realization in his friend’s eyes.

“Warriors!” Jaden had a bright grin on his face now. “So, our Decks will have more synergy together because they’re both Warrior-based Decks.”

“Exactly.” Drake grinned back. “Combining two Warrior Decks is a lot more synergistic than trying to meld my Red-Eyes Deck with her Cyber Girl Deck.”

“Yeah, I totally get it.” Jaden nodded in understanding. The two left their little huddle and turned to face the Faculty. “I’ll be Alexis’s partner for the Tag Duel!” Jaden declared with a confident smile.

“Very well, the Duel will be held three days from now on Saturday to not interfere with classes.” Sheppard nodded to Alexis and Jaden. “Do your best if you wish to remain as students here.”

“Let’s win this, Alexis!” Jaden shot a bright smile at his partner for the upcoming Duel.

“Of course.” Alexis smiled back as the two clasped hands for a moment.

“Come on, you two, you both need to know as much about each other’s Decks as possible in three days.” Drake headed for the door after getting a nod from Sheppard that they were dismissed.

-Outside of the Main Building-

“Alexis!” Mindy nearly tackled her friend in worry.

“Mindy!” Alexis staggered before adjusting her footing. “It’s fine, we’re not being expelled.”

“You’re not?” Jasmine looked confused. “But going to the Abandoned Dorm is expellable, isn’t it?”

“We’re being given a chance to duel for our continued enrollment.” Drake informed the two girls. “These two are paired up for a Tag Duel against some Pros that Crowler had called in or something.”

“You have to duel against Pros?!” Mindy exclaimed and small tears could be seen in the corners of her eyes. She increased the strength of her hug and Alexis patted her back soothingly.

“We’ll win!” Jaden had unshakeable confidence. “Our Decks should have good synergy since we both focus on Warrior Monsters.”

“That’s not a bad point.” Jasmine agreed, but her grey eyes still showed her worry.

“We’ve got three days, so let’s get you two as familiar with each other’s Decks as possible.” Drake looked between Jaden and Alexis. “We’ll all help you out.”

“Yeah!” Mindy wasn’t about to let one of her best friends be expelled if she could do anything to help!

“Let’s practice so much that you can even beat Pros!” Jasmine had her fist raised in front of her with a determined look on her face.

“Thank you, Jasmine, Mindy.” Alexis smiled at her friends warmly. She was then engulfed in a hug from both of them a second later.

“So…our place or yours?” Drake questioned the three girls about where they should meet up to start discussing strategy and tactics for the Tag Duel.

“Normally I’d be making a joke about that.” Mindy nearly pouted, which was rather cute. “But this is a serious situation.”

“Let’s meet up at the Girl’s Dorm meeting building like we did when we traded.” Jasmine suggested after a second of thought. “We’ll have plenty of space there and no one will bother us.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Jaden agreed easily. “I’ll go grab my binder so that I have all my options with me.” He ran off before anyone could say anything else.

“I’ll do the same,” Alexis knew they’d need the absolute best that they could bring to the table to win a duel against Professional Duelists.

“Let’s go then!” Mindy nearly rushed off towards the Girl’s Dorm.

“Mindy, slow down!” Jasmine called after her friend and jogged after her.

“Drake…” Alexis spoke up and the Red-Eyes Duelist turned to look at her curiously.

“What’s up?” Drake was pretty sure he already knew, but things had been hectic since last night.

“The Shadow Game…I…you said you’d explain.” Alexis had almost said that she wanted to know, but thought that might come off badly given what they’d experienced.

“I will, but after you two win and we’re not at risk of being expelled.” Drake assured the blonde girl. “Focus on that for now and put the Shadow Game from your mind if possible.”

“That’ll be hard.” Alexis gave him a lopsided smile.

“I know…” Drake exhaled while briefly running his hand through his dark hair. “But I will explain everything after you two win the duel, I promise.” His gray eyes were serious as he made the promise.

“Alright, I’ll hold you to that.” Alexis nodded to him with a small smile as they headed towards the Girl’s Dorm to catch up with Mindy and Jasmine.

-Girl’s Dorm Meeting Building-

“Okay, Jaden, this is my current Deck.” Alexis began to lay out the cards from her Deck one by one, separating each card into a distinct area of the table depending on if it was a Monster, Spell, or Trap to make it easier for him to get accustomed to the various cards.

“Here’s my Deck, right now.” Jaden copied Alexis, laying out his cards and separating the Monsters/Spells/Traps to mirror hers.

“Once you get a feel for each other’s Decks, you’ll also need to consider your other options to make some synergy as well.” Jasmine pointed out as the five of them looked over the eighty cards on the table.

“Yeah, deciding who is going to be on the support and defense role and who will be the main offensive threat is a big part of making a working Tag Duel team.” Mindy agreed as she tried to match up cards with similar effects between Alexis and Jaden’s Decks.

“But in the same vein, you don’t want to remove either players ability to attack and defend.” Drake shook his head. “If one partner can’t attack, then that could easily give the other pair another turn to counter. So, a balance definitely needs to be maintained between partners.”

“It comes down to what each of our Decks does best and playing to their strengths.” Alexis looked at her Monsters and then Jaden’s Monsters. She had more Effect Monsters than Jaden, so perhaps clearing their opponents’ board for one of Jaden’s powerful Fusion Monsters to attack would be a good role for her to take.

“We both have different effects to work with, but coming up with a strategy depends on how we want to play this duel.” Jaden noted as he compared the combos he used with the cards in Alexis’s Deck. “I don’t think we should go a defensive route on this one. Aggro Beatdown might not work though, depending on who these Pros are.”

“It’s not like we’re heavy on Burn or Control either, but my Deck can do some control work.” Alexis pointed to a couple of her cards.

“Too bad you can’t use a Swarm strategy to just run them over quickly.” Mindy was a fan of that strategy herself with her Beast Deck. She had plenty of options with her cards and changing up her Deck to completely change strategy was one of her strong points.

“Honestly, not knowing who these Pros are is going to make coming up with any strategy much harder.” Drake exhaled slowly. “I guess we shouldn’t have expected to be told who the opponents were though.”

The group of five would spend everyday until the Tag Duel like this, constantly refining the synergy between Alexis and Jaden to give them the absolute best shot at winning. They could only hope that it would be enough.

-Duel Academy ~ Main Dueling Field-

“Well, it’s time.” Jaden looked at Alexis with a smile. “Let’s win this one together.”

“We’ll win,” Alexis smiled back at him confidently. “I feel like I know your current Deck inside and out.”

“Same here.” Jaden chuckled and the two slapped their hands together in a sideways high-five.

Now they just had to wait until they were called out to the field.

-Main Dueling Field Stands-

“The Tag Duel will begin in just a few moments!” The announcer’s voice blared over the speakers. “Remember, these are test conditions! This is a Sudden Expulsion Match!”

The crowd of students got a bit louder at that announcement. Practically every seat was filled as the roughly four-hundred students of Duel Academy from all three years were seated to watch. Even the Faculty was watching from various seats among the stands. Only the fact that this was the Main Dueling Field prevented it from being completely packed. This was the same field that hosted the Inter-School Dueling Festival held every year and was made to be able to seat the entirety of Duel Academy as well as their visiting school.

“A tad harsh, I’d say.” Bastion muttered as he sat near the front of the stands to watch the upcoming duel.

“No kidding.” Mindy agreed as she and Jasmine took the empty seats next to the Ra Yellow.

“You’re Bastion Misawa, a friend of Jaden and Drake, right?” Jasmine looked over at the other teen.

“I suppose we are acquaintances at least.” Bastion nodded to the girl. “Being in different Dorms doesn’t give us much time to hang out, I’m afraid.”

“You’ve heard that they’re dueling against Pros, yeah?” Mindy spoke with some worry still in her voice.

“Yes, but no one seems to know who exactly.” Bastion narrowed his eyes at the field. “It all seems too harsh for simply trespassing to me.”

“Agreed.” Jasmine crossed her arms with a frown. “They should’ve been let off with a duel against some third years or something.”

“Send in the accused!” The announcer spoke and all eyes turned to the tunnel leading to the field. “Alexis Rhodes and Jaden Yuki!” The two walked towards the field with confidence, their eyes burning with determination to win.

“Nnnrgh!” Chazz slammed his foot into the back of the empty seat in front of him. “That damn Slifer…I just know he dragged Alexis into this mess somehow.” He was nearly grinding his teeth at seeing the Queen of Obelisk Blue forced to partner up with Jaden.

“You came to watch, Chumley?” Drake looked over to the boy that had just arrived. He was sitting in the same row as Sheppard, right up front, but had an empty seat next to him. “Sit, sit.” He offered the empty seat to his other dorm mate.

“Thanks,” Chumley sat down with a heavy exhale. “I can’t believe this is happening. Dueling against pros to not be expelled…crazy.”

“They take trespassing really seriously here, apparently.” Drake shrugged before crossing his arms. “Now, let’s see who they’ll be facing.”

“Without further ado, let me introduce our guest Tag Team duo!” Crowler spoke into a microphone.

Two men literally leapt out of the second tunnel on the opposite side of the field from the one that Alexis and Jaden had entered from. Both of the men then started back-flipping towards the field, one dressed in orange while the other wore green. They finished their entrance with a large flip onto the field, landing easily before standing up side-by-side.

“It’s like a Kung Fu movie.” Jaden grinned at the entrance.

“The Paradox Brothers!” Crowler finished the introduction with a wave.

‘Tag Duel Champions for five years straight. Some of the first Professional Duelists to play the format and helped it rise to popularity.’ Zane thought as he saw the two men. ‘They’re not going easy on them, but neither Alexis nor Jaden look concerned.’ He stood at the top of the stands rather than sit. He would watch and see just how far Alexis had come, and just how good Jaden was despite being a Slifer.

“Salutations, young fool.” The brother in orange greeted them.

“Hope you’re ready to duel.” The brother wearing green spoke, rhyming with his twin.

‘Oh…they rhyme…I’m sure that won’t get annoying.’ Alexis thought to herself but managed to keep her face blank.

“I’ve heard of these two.” Bastion grimaced at the opponents that had been arranged to face two first year students. “They once dueled against the King of Games himself. They worked with Pegasus, the creator of the game, during the Duelist Kingdom Tournament. I’m not sure how well Jaden and Alexis will fair against them.”

“That’s not even close to fair.” Mindy nearly blanched at who the Paradox Brothers were.

“They’ve got this.” Jasmine spoke, but her hands gripped her crossed arms tightly from nerves.

“That damn slacker better not drag Alexis down with him.” Chazz nearly growled while glaring down at the field.

“Enough with the pleasantries…” Para, the orange-wearing brother, raised his right hand in front of his chest.

“And on with the duel…” Dox, the brother in green, mirrored Para’s movement.

“We didn’t come here to talk…” Para moved his hand to his side.

“We came to destroy you!” Dox moved his hand to cross over Para’s and both brothers smirked at their opponents.

‘They didn’t really rhyme at all that time.’ Alexis was hopeful they’d only have to listen to the twins finish each other’s sentences instead of constant rhyming.

“Duelists to your positions.” Crowler spoke, his voice coming from the speakers. The Paradox Brothers moved to their side of the field while Alexis and Jaden stepped back a few paces into their side. “The rules for this Tag Duel are really quite simple. There is no sharing of strategy, no advice, and no sharing of any cards not yet in play. Your partner’s field is considered part of your own. Also, each team has a communal pool of Life Points. As the Paradox Brothers are professionals, you’ll be playing with 8,000 Life Points, that gives you a communal pool of 16,000 Life Points total.” Crowler looked between the two pairs to make sure they understood. He hated to see Miss Rhodes tied up in this, but things had spiraled completely out of his control at this point. “Begin the Duel!”

Jaden and Alexis – 16,000

Paradox Brothers – 16,000

“As we are the guests, I will make the first move!” Para drew for turn and looked at his hand. “I think I’ll start off with the Spell card known as Painful Choice!” He put the card on the field and the hologram appeared. It depicted a knight reading off a scroll to a crowd of peasants. All of the peasants were wailing and holding their heads in despair from what they were hearing. “With this card, I choose five cards from my Deck and show them to you, you then choose one of them which will be added to my hand while the rest are sent to the graveyard.” Para informed Jaden and Alexis as he searched his Deck. Once he had five cards chosen a hologram of the chosen cards appeared before both of them.

‘Gate Guardian, Suijin, Kazejin, and two copies of Sanga of the Thunder.’ Alexis grimaced at the choices. It seemed obvious that Para wanted these specific cards in the graveyard for a reason. She shared a quick look with Jaden, both of them agreeing without words to dump the Gate Guardian into the graveyard since it couldn’t be revived easily. Alexis and Jaden both tapped on the same card hologram at the same time. It was the Monster with the lowest ATK among the ones offered.

“I see, you have chosen to add Kazejin to my hand.” Para grinned as he placed the Monster into his hand and then put the remaining cards into his graveyard along with the Painful Choice card. “I continue my turn by playing Monster Reborn!” He slapped the card down, making its hologram appear on the field. “I choose to revive Sanga of the Thunder!” In a flash of lightning the large Monster appeared on the field. It was a floating Monster that seemingly had no head or legs, more like a floating torso and arms. It was a brown color with what appeared to be burnished red armor over it. Right in the center of the ‘chest’ area was the kanji for ‘Thunder’ in bright gold.

Sanga of the Thunder – LIGHT – Level 7 – Thunder/Effect – 2600 ATK/2200 DEF

“With that, I shall end my turn!” Para grinned as he passed the turn over.

“I draw,” Alexis went next and drew her first card. After a moment to look over her hand she made her move. “I’ll just Set a Monster this turn.” There was no need to rush, they needed to play smart against these Pros. Her Set Monster’s effect would assure their field wasn’t empty even if it was destroyed.

“I draw then!” Dox drew his first card of the duel. “I’ll play the Spell card called Terraforming!” He placed the card into his Duel Disk. The hologram that appeared showed a barren planet in space being turned into world of water and greenery by a massive wave of energy. “I can now add one Field Spell from my Deck to my hand!” He was quick to search his Deck and find the card he wanted. “I choose Mausoleum of the Emperor!” He showed the card to Alexis and Jaden as was required by the rules. “Now, I activate my own copy of Monster Reborn!” Dox had a wide smirk on his face as the hologram appeared on the field. “Return, Suijin!”

In a burst of water, a large blue Monster appeared. This one was nearly the opposite of Sanga of the Thunder, looking like a pair of legs with large, clawed feet, but it clearly had a face with a large gaping maw. Just above its face was a circular spot bearing the kanji for ‘Water’ on it.

Suijin – WATER – Level 7 – Aqua/Effect – 2500 ATK/2400 DEF

“Now I activate my Mausoleum of the Emperor Field Spell!” Dox slid the card into the Field Spell slot that opened up on his Duel Disk. The field quickly changed as the holograms went to work. A massive stone platform appeared with a giant stone urn bearing a raging fire within that had stone steps leading up to it. On either side of the urn was a large spire of carved stone, while standing on either side of the stairs were two terracotta soldiers. “But there’s more! I have yet to Normal Summon this turn! So, I’ll do so now by summoning Defense Wall!” He placed the card on the field and the Monster appear in a flash of light. It was a tall gray wall with a small face near the top and two arms that looked to be made of rebar and more bricks.

Defense Wall – EARTH – Level 4 – Rock/Effect – 0 ATK/2100 DEF

‘Why would he summon a Monster with 0 ATK in Attack Position?’ Jaden wondered what the Monster’s effect was. He didn’t have to wait long to find out.

“As long as Defense Wall is face up on the field, none of our other Monsters can be attacked! Next, I set a facedown card,” Dox slipped the card into his Spell/Trap Zone and the facedown hologram appeared on the field. “Now, it is time! Suijin attacks your Set Monster!” He pointed at Alexis’s facedown card.

A torrent of spiraling water was launched from Suijin’s mouth at the unknown Monster. The hologram flipped face up to reveal the Monster. It was a female in a green midriff-bearing shirt, a matching green mini-skirt, and green knee-high boots. On her hip was a holstered pistol, and she had a brown cloak over her shoulders, along with a matching brown hat with a wide brim.

Warrior Lady of the Wasteland – EARTH – Level 4 – Warrior/Effect – 1100 ATK/1200 DEF

The torrent of water slammed into the woman and blasted her into fragments a second later. Alexis moved the card into her graveyard before speaking.

“When my Warrior lady of the Wasteland is destroyed by battle, her effect allows me to Special Summon another Earth Attribute Warrior from my Deck with 1500 ATK or less in Attack Position.” She quickly searched her Deck and pulled out the Monster she wanted. “I special summon another Warrior Lady of the Wasteland!” The woman in the green outfit reappeared on the field to face the Paradox Brothers.

Warrior Lady of the Wasteland – EARTH – Level 4 – Warrior/Effect – 1100 ATK/1200 DEF

“Ha! You only prolong the inevitable!” Dox laughed as he pointed at the new Monster. “Sanga of the Thunder, attack the Warrior Lady of the Wasteland!” Sanga sparked with lightning before a powerful bolt was launched and struck the female Monster. With a cry of defeat, the Warrior Woman shattered and disappeared.

Jaden and Alexis – 14,500

Paradox Brothers – 16,000

“Since you destroyed my Warrior Lady of the Wasteland by battle, I can activate her effect to search out another Earth Attribute Warrior and special summon it to the field in Attack Position!” Alexis was calm, knowing that the loss of 1500 Life Points was minor in this situation. She didn’t have to search long before finding the Monster she wanted. “I special summon Cyber Gymnast in Attack Position!”

In a swirl of light, a new Monster appeared. It was a muscular woman with dark skin and long blonde hair. Her face was covered by a white mask and her dark purple outfit was skintight and covered everything from her breasts down to her feet.

Cyber Gymnast – EARTH – Level 4 – Warrior/Effect – 800 ATK/1800 DEF

“Do you actually think you know anything of this game? Para questioned the two teens, clearly comparing their difference in experience.

“You’re losers, you’re jokes, in other words, you’re lame!” Dox rhymed and Alexis felt her eye twitch slightly.

“And if they think this is starting to get grueling…” Para looked at Dox with a smirk.

“Wait until our next turn, when we’ll give them a real schooling!” Dox grinned as he ended his turn.

“You haven’t seen anything yet!” Jaden drew for his turn and looked at his hand. “I’ll start off by playing my E – Emergency Call Spell card!” He placed the card on the field. “In case you don’t know, this card lets me add one ‘Elemental Hero’ Monster from my Deck to my hand!” He searched through his Deck for only a moment before pulling out his chosen card. “I choose Elemental Hero Stratos!” He showed the brothers the card before putting it into his hand. “Now, I’ll activate Cyber Gymnast’s effect!” He knew the effects of Alexis’s cards well after three days. “By discarding one card, I can destroy one of your Attack Position Monsters!” He placed one card from his hand into the graveyard and then picked his target. “Say bye-bye to Sanga!”

“Mmmrrrnnn!” Sanga made an odd noise as Cyber Gymnast flipped towards it and then landed on top of the stronger Monster with both feet. Sanga shattered into fragments as Cyber Gymnast did a back flip dismount and returned to her previous position.

“Next, I’ll summon Elemental Hero Stratos!” Jaden placed the Monster onto his Duel Disk with a smile. In a gale of wind, the blue and white clad Hero Monster appeared with his wings wide.

Elemental Hero Stratos – WIND – Level 4 – Warrior/Effect – 1800 ATK/300 DEF

“Stratos’s effect activates! I get to add one ‘Hero’ Monster from my Deck to my hand!” Jaden pulled his Deck from his Duel Disk and fanned it out to find the next Monster he wanted. “I choose Elemental Hero Liquidman!” He showed the card to the Paradox Brothers and added it to his hand. “I’ll switch Cyber Gymnast to Defense Position.” The female Monster knelt down and crossed her arms to guard. “Now, Stratos attacks your Defense Wall!”

Stratos’s wings whirred to life as the rotors in them kicked up a powerful gale. The flying Hero rocketed towards the Defense Wall Monster and shattered it with a high-speed punch. As the enemy Monster shattered into fractals, Jaden knew that he didn’t have any choice but to attack it due to Defense Wall’s effect, and he was more than willing to get the advantage in Life Points. But with both sides having 16,000, this was only the beginning.

Jaden and Alexis – 14,500

Paradox Brothers – 14,200

“I end my turn.” Jaden finished since the Paradox Brothers weren’t making any move to retaliate with their facedown card.

“Then it is my move once more!” Para drew for his turn. “I play the Spell card Slash Draw!” He activated the spell and the green card appeared as a hologram on the field. It showed a daisho on a swordsman’s hip with the katana about to be drawn via Iaido. “I discard one card,” Para placed a card into the graveyard. “Then I mill cards from the top of my Deck into the graveyard, equal to the number of cards you control.” He moved the first card, hiding the grimace at what it was, then discarded the second. “Now I draw one card and if it’s another Slash Draw then I can destroy as many cards on the field as possible and you’ll take 2,000 Life Points of damage for each one!” Para drew the card and let out a sigh. “It would seem that you’re lucky. The card that I drew was Foolish Burial.” He showed them the Spell card before adding it to his hand. “I do however get to shuffle cards from my graveyard into my Deck equal to the number of cards sent to the graveyard by Slash Draw’s effect.” He picked two cards from the graveyard and then added them to his Deck which was then auto-shuffled by the Duel Disk.

“Dodged a bullet there.” Jaden joked to lighten the air a bit. He knew that card could’ve done a lot of damage if it had drawn a copy of itself. But it was better not to let tension build up in a Duel this serious.

“I activate Foolish Burial!” Para continued his turn. The Spell card appeared showing a grave with a hand and forearm sticking out of the dirt with a shovel clutched in the hand. “This card allows me to send one Monster from my Deck to the graveyard!” He picked his Monster easily and added it to the graveyard. “Kazejin goes to the graveyard and then I enter the Battle Phase.” He pointed at Cyber Gymnast. “Suijin! Destroy Cyber Gymnast!”

“Mmmnnnrrrrhhh!” What sounded like a valve turning was heard from Suijin before another torrential blast of water was launched from its gaping mouth. Cyber Gymnast was shattered instantly as the holographic water splashed over the field.

“Excellent!” Para then tapped his foot on the ground to get Jaden and Alexis to look at the holographic stone. “I now activate the effect of Mausoleum of the Emperor! I pay 2,000 Life Points to Set a Monster that normally would require two tributes!” He placed the monster facedown on the field, making a matching facedown hologram appear, before Life Points were deducted for cost.

Jaden and Alexis – 14,500

Paradox Brothers – 12,200

“I end my turn.” Para passed the turn over with a smirk.

“It’s pretty obvious what you summoned.” Alexis drew for her turn. “I summon Command Knight!” A glow of light was seen before a regal-looking woman appeared wearing red and white armor. Her red helmet had four golden wing motifs, there was a black cape over her shoulders, and she had her hands on the sheathed sword at her waist.

Command Knight – FIRE – Level 4 – Warrior/Effect – 1200 ATK/1900 DEF

“While Command Knight is face up on the field, all Warriors on our side gain 400 ATK. Also, Command Knight can’t be targeted for attacks so long as there’s another Monster on our side of the field.” Alexis informed everyone of her Monster’s effect.

Elemental Hero Stratos – WIND – Level 4 – Warrior/Effect – 2200 ATK/300 DEF

Command Knight – FIRE – Level 4 – Warrior/Effect – 1600 ATK/1900 DEF

“Now, Stratos, attack their Set Monster!” Alexis made her move to unveil what she was certain of. Stratos flew forward and blasted the facedown card with twin tornadoes from his wings. The hologram flipped over to reveal Kazejin with its arms crossed before it.

Kazejin was a spherical Monster that was mostly green with some golden accents. It had two large arms on either side of its ball-like body, each ending in sharp claws. Its small face looked like it had puffed-out cheeks and directly above that was a circle that held the golden kanji for ‘Wind’ which took up almost half of the Monster’s body.

Kazejin – WIND – Level 7 – Spellcaster/Effect – 2400 ATK/2200 DEF

“I knew it.” Alexis grimaced at revealing another piece of the Gate Guardian.

“They’re trying to do what I think they are, right?” Jasmine narrowed her eyes at seeing Kazejin right next to Suijin.

“Indeed, they’re trying to summon the Gate Guardian, one of the legendary Monsters from the time of Duelist Kingdom.” Bastion nodded with a calculating look in his eyes.

“That just means they have to destroy the pieces before all three are on the field at the same time.” Mindy saw the obvious weakness to the summoning requirement for the Boss Monster.

“It won’t be that easy, I’m afraid.” Bastion shook his head slightly. “Each of the pieces has an effect that lets them reduce an attacking Monster’s ATK to zero during the Damage Step. They’ll survive a single battle, even against stronger Monsters, at least once. With Mausoleum of the Emperor on the field, that may be more than enough time for them to summon whatever piece of the Gate Guardian that they’re missing.”

“Life Points are more resource than anything.” Drake spoke up, making Chumley look at him from where they were sitting. “As long as your opponent’s Life Points hit zero first, that’s all that matters. That Field Spell plays well with their two tribute Monsters.”

“Can they do anything about it?” Chumley looked between Drake and the field.

“They can, the pieces of the Gate Guardian aren’t immune to destruction effects as we saw earlier.” Drake reminded the larger teen. “If they can destroy all three copies of even one of the three, then Gate Guardian is out of luck.”

“I activate Kazejin’s effect!” Dox laughed as Stratos was about to collide with their Monster. Kazejin blasted a huge swirling gust at Stratos and sent the Hero flying back to the other side of the field. “Your Monster’s ATK is reduced to zero during the Damage Step, so you take damage for your attack!”

Jaden and Alexis – 12,300

Paradox Brothers – 12,200

“Yeah, I figured you’d do that too.” Alexis wasn’t amused, but she wouldn’t let it show on her face. “I’ll set a card facedown and then end my turn.” She slid a card into her Spell/Trap Zone after sharing a look with Jaden. The facedown hologram appeared and the turn switched over.

“I draw for turn!” Dox drew his card. “I summon Jirai Gumo, in Attack Position!” He set the Monster card on the field and what appeared was a hideous spider Monster. It had a bulbous abdomen, eight legs that ended in wickedly sharp points, and its small head was dotted with eyes while its mouth was filled with fangs.

Jirai Gumo – EARTH – Level 4 – Insect/Effect – 2200 ATK/100 DEF

“I’ll switch Kazejin to Attack Position as well.” Dox switched the Monster’s stance and it spread its arms while floating into the air. “Suijin attacks Stratos!” Suijin flooded the field again as the rushing water swept the Hero Monster away. Stratos shattered after a second of the rapid deluge consuming him.

Jaden and Alexis – 12,000

Paradox Brothers – 12,200

“Now Kazejin destroys your Command Knight!” Dox declared with a laugh. Kazejin’s blast of wind filled the field with simulated wind and Command Knight was blown to pieces after being lifted off the ground.

Jaden and Alexis – 11,200

Paradox Brothers – 12,200

“Finally, Jirai Gumo attacks your Life Points directly!” Dox stated before a holographic coin appeared in the middle of the field. “Due to Jirai Gumo’s effect, a coin is flipped before it attacks. If it lands on the side that I call, then the attack goes through normally, if it should land on the opposite side, then we lose half of our Life Points before the attack commences.”

“You’re pretty confident, huh?” Jaden had a wide grin on his face. “But I’m feeling pretty lucky!”

“I declare heads!” Dox called and the hologram coin was launched spinning into the air. Every eye in the arena followed the coin’s progress as it rose, slowed, and then fell back to the ground. It landed flat, unlike a real coin that could occasionally bounce, and revealed tails. “Damn!” Dox cursed under his breath, but a nod from Para calmed him down even as their Life Points were halved.

Jaden and Alexis – 11,200

Paradox Brothers – 6,100

Jirai Gumo screeched and rushed towards Alexis and Jaden swiping its sharp legs through them before returning to the other side of the field. Bot Jaden and Alexis had barely flinched at the attack, too focused on taking advantage of the massive loss of Life Points the Paradox Brothers had just taken.

Jaden and Alexis – 9,000

Paradox Brothers – 6,100

“My turn!” Jaden drew his card and looked at what he had in his hand. “I summon Elemental Hero Liquidman in Attack Position!” He placed the card onto his Duel Disk with a smile.

A flash of light appeared on the field before water burst forth. The Monster that emerged was clearly based on Sentai. A navy-blue spandex suit with silver accents covered him and he had lighter blue armor over his chest that had fin-like protrusions on the back. His armored boots and gloves were a matching blue, and his wrists were surrounded by orbs of water. The look was finished off by the helmet on the Hero Monster’s head, light-blue with silver accents and a yellow spot on either side to look like an eye. The helmet evoked a fish look as the new Monster landed on the field and got into a combat stance.

Elemental Hero Liquidman – WATER – Level 4 – Warrior/Effect – 1400 ATK/1300 DEF

“Liquidman’s effect activates!” Jaden declared as he reached for his graveyard. “When he’s normal summoned, I can target a ‘Hero’ Monster in my graveyard and Special Summon it to the field!” He pulled his chosen card and placed it on the field. “I choose Elemental Hero Stratos!” A blast of wind passed over the field as Stratos returned and landed beside Liquidman.

Elemental Hero Stratos – WIND – Level 4 – Warrior/Effect – 1800 ATK/300 DEF

“When Stratos is normal or special summoned, I can add one ‘Hero’ Monster from my Deck to my hand!” Jaden pulled his Deck and searched through it quickly before pulling out his choice. “I pick Elemental Hero Solidman!” He showed the card to the brothers before adding it to his hand. “Now I’ll activate the facedown card that Alexis left for me!” Jaden smiled brightly at his partner, getting a smile in return. “Polymerization!” The facedown flipped up to reveal the Spell card with the two Monsters swirling together in a vortex. “I’ll use the Elemental Hero Bubbleman in my hand and the Stratos on the field to Fusion Summon, Elemental Hero Sunriser!” He passed Bubbleman over his Duel Disk to let the device register the play. Bubbleman appeared briefly on the field before both he and Stratos swirled into the Polymerization card. A flash of red light and the Hero appeared in his red armor with blue and gold accents, the full helmet with horns on either side and glowing green eyes within said helmet, along with his blue cape flowing behind the Hero as he landed on the field.

Elemental Hero Sunriser – LIGHT – Level 7 – Warrior/Fusion/Effect – 2500 ATK/1200 DEF

“Sunriser’s effect activates!” Jaden pointed at his Hero Monster. “When he’s on the field, all of my Monsters gain an extra 200 ATK for each different Attribute on our side of the field and I count two!”

Elemental Hero Sunriser – LIGHT – Level 7 – Warrior/Fusion/Effect – 2900 ATK/1200 DEF

Elemental Hero Liquidman – WATER – Level 4 – Warrior/Effect – 1800 ATK/1300 DEF

“Sunriser’s second effect activates, allowing me to search out a Miracle Fusion form my Deck and add it to my hand!” Jaden took his Deck and fanned it out to find the Spell card. Once he found it, he added it to his hand and set his Deck back into his Duel Disk to be auto-shuffled. “Now I play the Equip Spell card Favorite Hero and equip it to Sunriser!” He placed the card on the field, the hologram appeared behind Sunriser and both the card and Sunriser were surrounded by a red aura. “Favorite Hero can only be equipped to a Level 5 or higher ‘Hero’ Monster, but its real strength is shown when I enter the Battle Phase! At the start of the Battle Phase I can activate one Field Spell from my hand or Deck! I choose Skyscraper!” He searched his Deck and found the card quickly before placing it into the Field Spell slot on his Duel Disk.

“What is this supposed to do?” Para questioned as Jaden and Alexis’s side of the became a city in contrast to their stone mausoleum field.

“Whatever it is, it won’t save you!” Dox rhymed with his twin as Skyscraper resolved.

“What is does is let Favorite Hero activate its next effect!” Jaden smirked at the confused brothers. “You see, while we control a Field Spell, Favorite Hero adds Sunriser’s original DEF to its ATK and prevents you from targeting him with card effects!”

“What?!” Both Para and Dox realized what that meant.

Elemental Hero Sunriser – LIGHT – Level 7 – Warrior/Fusion/Effect – 4100 ATK/1200 DEF

“Now, I’ll attack your Jirai Gumo with Liquidman!” Jaden pointed at the spider Monster. Liquidman charged towards the stronger Monster with water gathering around him.

“Have you lost it? Our Monster is stronger than yours!” Dox pointed out the 400 ATK difference.

“Nope, because I can activate Sunriser’s other effect now that an attack has been declared involving another ‘Hero’ Monster on my side of the field!” Jaden pointed at Suijin. “This effect allows me to target any other card on the field and destroy it!”

“No, our Suijin!” Para grit his teeth as Sunriser blasted their Monster apart with its effect. Suijin’s effect only worked on attacks from Monsters, not their effects.

“Oh yeah, I forgot to mention,” Jaden’s smile couldn’t get any brighter, he was having a blast! “When a ‘Hero’ Monster battles a Monster with higher ATK than their own while Skyscraper is in effect, they gain 1,000 ATK during the Damage Step!”

“No! Jirai Gumo is destroyed too!” Dox exclaimed as Liquidman’s ATK rose to 2,800 just as it blasted Jirai Gumo with a pressurized stream of water, slicing the spider in two before it shattered and disappeared.

Jaden and Alexis – 9,000

Paradox Brothers – 5,500

“Now, Sunriser attacks your Kazejin!” Jaden declared as he pointed at the brother’s final Monster. Sunriser leapt into the air and came down like a bolt of red that blasted Kazejin to pieces in a large explosion.

Jaden and Alexis – 9,000

Paradox Brothers – 3,800

“Finally, by Favorite Hero’s last effect, since I destroyed a Monster by battle with the Monster it was equipped to, I can send it to the graveyard to let my Sunriser make a second attack this turn!” Jaden removed the card from the field and placed it in his graveyard. The hologram on the field faded away and the red aura around Sunriser disappeared as his ATK lowered.

Elemental Hero Sunriser – LIGHT – Level 7 – Warrior/Fusion/Effect – 2900 ATK/1200 DEF

“We can still endure this attack!” Para projected confidence even as Sunriser rushed towards them.

“You can be sure that we’ll pay you back!” Dox promised, once more rhyming with his brother. Alexis swore her eye was going to develop a permanent tic if this kept up.

“Regardless, Sunriser attacks you directly!” Jaden stated as his Monster struck both of the brothers in a streak of red light.

Jaden and Alexis – 9,000

Paradox Brothers – 900

“There’re going to win!” Chumley pumped his fists excitedly at seeing how close the Paradox Brothers were to zero Life Points.

“Something tells me those two still have something up their sleeves.” Drake narrowed his eyes at how calm the Professional Duelists were.

Mindy, Jasmine, and Bastion were all following the exchange from their seats as well with their own thoughts.

“They’re so close now.” Mindy was leaning forward in her seat, hoping that the Paradox Brothers didn’t have some way to turn this around.

“It would take some kind of really special combo to turn this around.” Jasmine placed as reassuring hand on Mindy’s shoulder and smiled at the ravenette. Mindy returned the smile and placed her hand over Jasmine’s.

“They seem rather calm for being so close to defeat.” Bastion realized that the twins didn’t look defeated yet. “They must have something that can turn this situation around. I couldn’t begin to guess as to what it could be though.”

“I draw!” Para pulled his card and added it to his hand. “I activate the Spell card Heavy Storm!” He placed the card down and the hologram appeared on the field. The green card showed a huge tornado sending two men, a cow, a wagon, a tree, and various debris flying around. “This destroys every Spell and Trap card on the field!” The hologram emitted howling winds that shattered both the Mausoleum of the Emperor and Skyscraper. “I Set a Monster and set one facedown.” The facedown holograms appeared as Para paced the cards into his Duel Disk. “I end my turn.”

“My draw,” Alexis drew for her turn. So far her and Jaden’s rhythm as partners had gone off without a hitch. Getting him that Polymerization had shifted the battle into their favor, and now they were close to winning outright. “I summon Command Knight in Attack Position!” She played a second copy of her previous Monster. The red and white armored woman appeared on the field again. “Sunriser’s effect activates! Since there are now three different Attributes on our side of the field all of our Monsters gain 600 ATK! Command Knight’s effect also activates and increases the ATK of all Warrior Monsters on our field by another 400!”

Elemental Hero Sunriser – LIGHT – Level 7 – Warrior/Fusion/Effect – 3500 ATK/1200 DEF

Elemental Hero Liquidman – WATER – Level 4 – Warrior/Effect – 2400 ATK/1300 DEF

Command Knight – FIRE – Level 4 – Warrior/Effect – 2200 ATK/1900 DEF

“Liquidman attacks your Set Monster!” Alexis pointed at the facedown hologram. “I activate Sunriser’s effect! Now that an attack has been declared involving another ‘Hero’ Monster on our field, I can target one card on the field and destroy it! I choose your Set Monster!”

“I chain my Trap Card, Back to the Front!” Para hit the button on his Duel Disk and the hologram card flipped face up. The Trap card depicted an extremely muscular male nurse tossing Marauding Captain over his shoulder and into an ongoing battle. “This card allows me to target one Monster in my graveyard and Special Summon it to the field in Defense Position! I choose Suijin!” In a fountain of water Suijin reappeared on the field.

“Sunriser’s effect resolves!” Alexis grimaced at the returned Suijin, but with two Monsters left on their field, they should easily be able to get rid of it again. The Set Monster was destroyed and sent to the graveyard without being flipped over.

“Liquidman’s attack shifts targets to Suijin as his original target has been removed by Sunriser.” Para shrugged since the ATK of Liquidman and the DEF of Suijin were equal and nothing would happen.

“I end my turn.” Alexis knew that if she attacked with Sunriser it would just result in them losing Life Points without advancing the Duel in their favor. Suijin’s effect was still live since it had been brought back to the field.

“My draw!” Dox drew for his turn and looked at his hand. He grinned when he saw what he’d drawn. The brothers shared a look and Para’s expression quickly matched his brothers. “I switch Suijin to Attack Position!” The blue Monster rose up with a hissing sound. This switch made both Alexis and Jaden look at the brothers in confusion.

“It seems we must thank you for gifting us your demise!” Para chuckled at the suddenly confused teens.

“For this card can only be played after Gate Guardian dies!” Dox placed a card into his Duel Disk. “I activate the Spell card Dark Element!” The hologram appeared on the field, the art of the card showing a bellowing man surrounded by a dark aura with a red background and some kind of skull hovering above the man. “When Gate Guardian is in the graveyard, this card allows us to pay half our Life Points to Special Summon Dark Guardian from either of our Decks!” He pulled his Deck out of his Duel Disk and in seconds pulled the card from the rest. He nearly slapped the card onto the field with a grin.

A swirling vortex of black smoke appeared on the Paradox Brother’s side of the field. With a bellow of rage, a titanic Monster rose from the blackness. It was truly odd, given that it had the upper body of a muscular man wearing black armor over his chest shoulders and back, along with a matching black helmet, and wielding a massive battle axe. But the bizarre part was that the torso was connected to what looked like a spider, if spiders were bigger than cars and had legs made out of steel blades!

Dark Guardian – DARK – Level 12 – Warrior/Effect – 3800 ATK/3800 DEF

Jaden and Alexis – 9,000

Paradox Brothers – 450

“Oh man, that things huge!” Chumley exclaimed in terror at seeing the true Boss of the Paradox Brother’s Deck.

“I don’t think I’ve even heard of this card before.” Drake stared up at the behemoth of a Monster.

“What the hell is that thing?” Jasmine gaped at the Dark Guardian.

“I’ve never seen a Monster like that one.” Mindy shook her head, her eyes wide as she looked between her friends and the Monster.

“Is…is this an exclusive card?” Bastion could only imagine that’s how such an unknown card could exist. “Perhaps Pegasus himself made the two cards for them when they worked together?” If they were one-of-a-kind cards made by Pegasus and gifted to the Paradox Brothers, that would explain why no one had heard of them before.

‘Interesting.’ Zane hummed to himself at seeing the Dark Guardian. ‘I guess working for Pegasus back in the day really paid off for them.’ He was slightly impressed that he’d never heard of the Professional Duelists using this card before, but they’d been out of the circuit for the last few years. When they were still dominating the Tag Duel Circuit, most couldn’t defeat them by the time they summoned the Gate Guardian. But now, with the team of Alexis and Jaden, they’d been pushed to bring it out in this Duel.

“Dark Guardian is an unstoppable force of destruction that cannot be destroyed by battle!” Dox laughed before pointing at Sunriser. “Hack that Hero to pieces with Dark Axe Slash!”

“Grrrooooaaahhhh!!!” Dark Guardian bellowed and its battle axe blurred forward to bisect Sunriser. The Hero was in two pieces for a second or so before shattering and disappearing from the field.

Jaden and Alexis – 8,700

Paradox Brothers – 450

“Without you Sunriser on the field, all of your Monster lose the extra ATK they gained by his effect!” Dox chuckled as he watched Liquidman and Command Knight’s ATK fall.

Elemental Hero Liquidman – WATER – Level 4 – Warrior/Effect – 1800 ATK/1300 DEF

Command Knight – FIRE – Level 4 – Warrior/Effect – 1600 ATK/1900 DEF

“Now my Suijin strikes down your Liquidman!” Dox pointed at the last ‘Hero’ Monster on the field. Suijin blasted the Hero to nothing with a pressurized stream of water.

Jaden and Alexis – 8,000

Paradox Brothers – 450

“I end my turn.” Dox let the turn switch over. With both Dark Guardian and Suijin on the field, the Paradox Brothers would soon have this Duel wrapped up.

“My turn!” Jaden drew his card and looked at what he had. “Hmm, indestructible by battle…Suijin’s effect makes attacking it suicide unless my Monster is also indestructible by battle. “Well, it’s a good thing I picked this up with Sunriser’s effect!” He grinned and slotted a card into his Spell/Trap Zone. “I play Miracle Fusion!” The hologram of the card appeared, showing a red Monster and a blue Monster swirling around the large ‘H’ that was the ‘Hero’ Archetype’s Symbol. “With Miracle Fusion, I can use Monsters in my graveyard as Fusion Materials by banishing them! I banish Elemental Hero Stratos, Elemental Hero Liquidman, and Elemental Hero Bubbleman to Fusion Summon my Elemental Hero Core!”

The Monster that appeared form the swirling light of the Miracle Fusion card was almost entirely white, aside from a red orb on each shoulder, on each knee, and on the back of each hand, with a matching orb on top of its head, and the equally red but much larger orb on its chest, Core had a very robotic face and had thick red lines on his white suit that all lead towards the large red orb on his chest.

Elemental Hero Core – EARTH – Level 9 – Warrior/Fusion/Effect – 2700 ATK/2200 DEF

“Since your Suijin’s effect would reduce Core’s ATK to zero if I attacked it, I won’t do that.” Jaden looked at the blue Monster. “Likewise, Core isn’t strong enough to take down your Dark Guardian. But I know Alexis will finish this Duel up on her turn, so that’s fine.”

“Jaden…” Alexis felt a smile form on her lips. The belief he had in her skills as a Duelist was very appreciated. She tried to ignore the fact that her heart thumped a big stronger in her chest as he looked over at her and gave her a smile.

“I’ll end my turn.” Jaden passed the turn to Para.

“You are not fooling anyone boy...” Para drew a card for his turn.

“You’re trying to bait us into attacking your Monster, it’s such an obvious ploy.” Dox shook his head at the teen.

“It’s obvious to Professionals such as ourselves that your Monster has an effect that would allow it to wipe out our remaining Life Points if we attack. But we needn’t do anything in a battle of attrition.” Para looked over his hand and then at his brother.

“So, we’ll hold the line until we draw a card that puts us in the best position.” Dox rhymed with his twin once more.

‘I’m going to enjoy this more than I thought.’ Alexis felt her eye twitch at the dumb rhyming again.

“I’ll end my turn.” Para passed it the turn over to Alexis without a care.

“I draw for turn.” Alexis drew her card and shot Jaden a smile.

“You got me?” Jaden chuckled.

“I’ve got you.” Alexis’s golden hazel eyes were alight with challenge and perhaps just a tiny bit of sadistic glee. “I play Polymerization!” She slid the card into her Duel Disk. The hologram appeared on the field again as Alexis swiped two of the cards in her hand over the device before putting them in the graveyard. “I fuse the Blade Skater and the Etoile Cyber in my hand to Fusion Summon my Cyber Blader!”

The two Monsters appeared briefly on the field before swirling into the Spell card, and from the Polymerization card leapt the graceful Fusion Monster. The long blue hair, the red and white skintight suit, the ice skates on her feet and the visor over her eyes were all familiar to Jaden since he’d dueled against this Monster himself. The Cyber Blader pirouetted as it landed on the field before stopping to face the Dark Guardian and Suijin.

Cyber Blader – EARTH – Level 6 – Warrior/Fusion/Effect – 2100 ATK/800 DEF

“Cyber Blader’s effect activates!” Alexis declared with a grin. “Since you have two Monsters on your field, Cyber Blader’s ATK is doubled!”

Cyber Blader – EARTH – Level 6 – Warrior/Fusion/Effect – 4200 ATK/800 DEF

“Try as you might, you’ve come up short by fifty points.” Para chuckled to try and hide how nervous he was. This was made even more obvious when Dox didn’t attempt to rhyme with him.

“Oh, I wouldn’t be so sure.” Alexis was definitely enjoying this more than she should be. “I activate the Equip Spell card Fusion Weapon!” She placed the card into her Duel Disk. The right arm of Cyber Blader morphed into a vaguely trident-shaped weapon that crackled with energy. “This card increases my Cyber Blader’s ATK and DEF by 1500 points each!”

Cyber Blader – EARTH – Level 6 – Warrior/Fusion/Effect – 5700 ATK/2300 DEF

“I attack your Dark Guardian for game!” Alexis pointed at the behemoth of a Monster.

Cyber Blader skated towards Dark Guardian at speed before leaping into the air. The Fusion Weapons was leveled at the Monster’s face and blasted a massive energy beam straight into it. An explosion shook the field and sent a simulated breeze through the audience. When the holographic smoke cleared it revealed Dark Guardian still standing, but that wasn’t an issue as the last of the Paradox Brother’s Life Points vanished.

Jaden and Alexis – 8,000

Paradox Brothers – 0

The roar of the students of Duel Academy nearly shook the campus. No one had ever expected two First Year students to win against Professional Duelists! For what was supposed to be a punishment, Alexis and Jaden had turned it into a triumph!

The holograms faded away and several people finally breathed again. Among them Mindy and Jasmine, but also Crowler for not having to expel Alexis, and Banner for not seeing one of the most promising Slifer students in years being expelled.

“Marvelous!” Sheppard clapped vigorously for his students, a huge smile on his face.

“I knew we’d win!” Jaden laughed as he threw his arm around Alexis’s shoulders. “You’re an amazing Duelist, Alexis!”

“Jaden!” Alexis couldn’t help but laugh along with him. The excitement of victory over such opponents was putting her on a high like no other. Her Duelist Spirit was alight and roaring like an inferno!

“Alexis Rhodes! Jaden Yuki!” Sheppard called out to the pair. Both turned to look at the Headmaster, both still sharing the equivalent of a one-armed hug. “You dueled most impressively and have most certainly earned your right to stay here at Duel Academy! Consider your pending expulsions to be revoked!”

The entire arena cheered again, almost all of it for Alexis, of course, but both teens smiled happily.

“That also removes your own pending expulsion, Mr. Roth.” Sheppard turned to smile at Drake.

“Thank you, sir.” Drake had a wide smile on his face. “I never doubted them for a second.”

“Alexis!” Mindy and Jasmine had literally hopped the wall that separated the stands from the field and rushed to their friend.

“They really did it.” Bastion had a smile as he clapped for Jaden and Alexis’s victory. “Now…how to counter the Decks that I’ve seen today.” His eyes were bright and those nearby could swear they heard the numbers crunching in the genius’s head.

“You did well, Alexis.” Zane was applauding politely with a small grin on his face. ‘Jaden Yuki did much better than anyone would’ve expected of a Slifer too. My last year here might be more interesting than I thought.’

No one would expect what would happen at Duel Academy this year, but for now, there was celebrating to be done! Drake casually hopped the wall separating the field and stands. He walked up to Jaden and high-fived his best friend with a smirk. Alexis currently had her hands full with Mindy and Jasmine as the two girls practically hugged the life out of her.

-End Chapter-

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Take THAT Paradox Brothers!

You don’t keep Jaden and Alexis down! They’re a powerful combo!

Let this be a lesson to all! Cards that were GREAT a decade or so ago, might not be worth jack in the modern era of the game! Duel Monsters is always changing over time!

This Tag Duel has certainly brought Jaden and Alexis a bit closer as friends…and maybe a little more? You know, if Alexis would ever admit to such a thing at the moment.

The Promotional Exams are approaching too! Will rake and Jaden earn their promotion to Ra Yellow?

Keep reading to find out!

Until I get your reviews, later!