Practice Duel

At the card shop Jaden was writing something on a piece of paper. "It's because of him Sy's got no confidence at all. If my big bro told me I wasn't good enough to use a card I'd be insecure too. But that's all gonna change." Jaden said as he tapped his cheek with his pencil. "I wonder do you spell Zane with two N's, these duel request forms are a drag."
As Jaden filled out the form he didn't notice Dr. Crowler right behind him.
"Duel Request form?" Crowler reached over Jaden's shoulder and grabbed the form. "Planning a duel eh? Against who?" Crowler looks at the form with wide eyes. "You must be joking."
"No I'm not. I'm taking Zane on to help Syrus with his confidence problem, so he'll be ready for our duel." Jaden said.
"Ah yes the big tag match where if you lose you'll both be expelled, well that's a shame because there will be no duel." Crowler said ripping Jaden's request form into pieces right in front of him.
----In the forest near the academy center Chumley was sitting on a tree branch going through his cards.
"Look it's not you it's me. I just can't use you, I gotta make room for another Koala, 15 outta do." Chumley said
"15? Chumley rules state you can't have more than 3 copies of a card." Chumley looked down to see Takeru was standing at the base of the tree.
"Hey Takeru, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be getting your deck ready for your duel?" Chumley asks.
"I am, Alexis said she had an opponent for me to duel today." Takeru said.
'If you say so." Chumley began scooping up his cards when most of them slid off and fell to the ground. Chumley tried to get them all but ended up slipping resulting in him clinging to the branch for dear life upside down like one of his koalas.
"Hey guys!"
Both Takeru and Chumley look over to see Jaden standing nearby.
"Hey Jaden, waddup?" Chumley asks.
Jaden bent down to pick up his friend's cards and couldn't help but laugh. "Chumley, there's like a zillion koala cards here."
"Yeah Koala's are cool, want to have a pick-up duel against them?" Chumley asks.
"A pick-up duel? Why didn't I think of that? Thanks guys!" Jaden said running off.
"Where are you going?" Takeru asks.
"The Obelisk Blue Dorm!"
"Why are you going there?!" Chumley asks nearly letting go of the branch.
"To duel Zane!"
"The Zane?!" Chumley lets go of the branch and ends up crashing on top of Takeru.
"Chumley…please get off me." Takeru groans in pain.
"What are you boys doing?" Chumley gets off Takeru to see Seika walking up with her duel disk.
"Seika, what are you doing here?" Takeru asks standing up.
"Alexis told you that she found an opponent for you to duel, well you're looking at her." Seika said activating her duel disk surprising him.
"Wait now?" Takeru said.
"Yep, now get ready Takeru." Seika smiles.
"Whoa this will be an interesting duel." Chumley said as the two of them stood apart.
"Let's duel!" They both said drawing their cards.
Takeru: 4000
Seika: 4000
"I'll go first. I summon my Magician's Rod in attack mode!" Takeru said as a magician's scepter appeared on his field.
Magician's Rod: 1600/0000
"And thanks to it's effect I can add one spell or trap to my hand and I'll choose my Dark Magical Circle, next I'll activate it allowing me to look at the top 3 cards for a Dark Magician Monster." Takeru looks at the top 3 cards and smiles. "I pulled Dark Magician Girl. Which means I get to add her to my hand. Finally, I'll end my turn with a face down." Takeru said.
"My turn. I summon Black Mamba in attack mode!" Seika said summoning a large black snake.
Black Mamba: 1300/ 1000
"And when Black Mamba is summoned it changes the battle position of any monster on your side of the field. Now attack his Magician's Rod!"
Black Mamba chomps Magician's Rod in half with one bite.
"That is one strong jaw." Chumley gulps.
"I place one card facedown and end my turn." Seika said as Takeru drew a card.
"I summon Skilled Dark Magician in attack mode!" Takeru said as summoning his magician.
Skilled Dark Magician: 1900/ 1700
"Attack her Black Mamba!" Takeru yells as his magician fires a blast from his staff.
"I activate my face down card!" Seika said as the magical blast destroys Black Mamba.
Takeru: 4000
Seika: 3400
As Skilled Dark Magician comes back to his field Takeru's eyes widen to see another Black Mamba was on the field.
"What the?" Takeru said confused.
"I activated my trap, Grudge of the Venomous Snake when a reptile monster is sent to the graveyard I can summon another one from my deck and I chose to summon another Black Mamba. Now I'll use its ability to switch your Magician to defense mode." Seika said as Skilled Dark Magician took a knee.
"Not good." Takeru said.
"My turn. I sacrifice Black Mamba to summon The Avatar of Resent Ourubonus!" Seika said as a large serpent appeared on the field.
Avatar of Resent Ourubonus: 2000/ 800
"And using the effect of my trap I'll summon another Black Mamba and I'll use its effect to switch your magician back to attack mode." Seika said.
"Oh no." Takeru realized.
"Oh so you're familiar with my Ourubonus's effect. When it battles a monster its attack and defense points drop by 300. Attack!" Seika's giant snake opened its mouth and swallowed Takeru's magician whole.
Takeru: 3600
Seika: 3400
Both Takeru and Chumley cringed at the sight.
"That was not lishius." Chumley said.
"Agreed." Takeru said.
"Now I'll attack you directly with Black Mamba!" Seika said her other snake attacked Takeru.
Takeru: 2300
Seika: 3400
"Wow Seika you're really good." Takeru said impressed.
"They don't give the rank of Obelisk away to just anyone, I activate my spell Swamp of the Serpent!" Seika said as dark swamp water appeared around Takeru. "It allows me to summon a snake monster from my deck onto your side of the field! Consider it a gift" Seika said throwing him a card.
"Is there any chance I can return it?" Takeru asks as he plays the card and a small serpent appears.
"I summon Virulent Serpent on your side of the field!" Seika said.
Virulent Serpent: 100/ 200
"My turn!" Takeru said drawing a card and Virulent serpent lunges and bites Takeru's arms.
"My serpent's effect activates and every time you start your standby phase you lose 500 points." Seika said.
Takeru: 1800
Seika: 3400
'That's it time to crush these snakes.' Takeru thought. "I summon Breaker the Magical Warrior!" Takeru said summoning his warrior.
Breaker: 1900/ 1000
"Now I'll use it's ability to destroy your Grudge of Venomous Snakes!" Takeru said as Breaker destroyed the trap. "Next I play Double Summon and sacrifice Breaker to summon my Dark Magician Girl!" A bright light engulfs Breaker and the female Dark Magician appeared.
Dark Magician Girl: 2000/ 1700
"Now attack her Black Mamba with Dark Burning attack!" Dark Magician Girl blasts Black Mamba destroying it.
Takeru: 1800
Seika: 2700
"And since you can't summon another snake I'll end my turn with a facedown." Takeru smiles.
"Impressive magic trick Takeru, but I'm nowhere near done." Seika draws and grins. "I summon Lamia in attack mode!" A female with a snake's body appeared.
Lamia: 1300/ 1500
"Now Ourubonus attack his Dark Magician Girl! And don't forget when it attacks your monster's points are lowered by 300!"
"I activate my face down card Negate Attack!" A barrier appears blocking Seika's serpent. "Nice try Seika, but your move failed." Takeru said.
"That's what you think. My turn is far from over, by removing all the serpents on my field and graveyard I can special summon my strongest monster! Rise, Ananta The Wicked Seprent!" On Seika's side of the field a large 5-headed snake appeared making Takeru and Chumley look up in shock.
Anata the Wicked Serpent: ?/ ?
"That is one big snake." Takeru gulps.
"And Anata's attack and defense is equal to the number of removed serpents multiplied by 600. Since I removed 5 of them the attack and defense points equal 3000." Seika said making Takeru's eyes widen.
"Don't worry Takeru, she can't attack you with that this turn." Chumley said.
"That's where you're wrong Chumley I activate my spell Surprise Attack! This allows me to attack one more time this turn! Ananta destroy Dark Magician Girl!" Ananta attacks Dark Magician Girl with 3 of it's heads destroying her.
Takeru: 800
Seika: 2700
"And to end my turn I'll play Mystical Space Typhoon destroying your Dark Magic Circle." Seika said as Takeru's circle was destroyed.
"Takeru!" Chumley panics.
"If I don't draw the right card now it's over. My turn." Takeru drew a card and Virulent Sperpent bites him again.
Takeru: 300
Seika: 2700
Takeru looks at it and grins. "I play Card of Sanctity! Now we get to draw until we're holding 6 cards!" Takeru said as both of them drew. "I activate my facedown card to summon Dark Magician Girl back to the field." Takeru said as his female magician appeared.
"Hate to break this to you, but your magician doesn't stand a chance." Seika said.
"You're right, she can't but this one can. I sacrifice Dark Magician Girl and your serpent to summon Dark Magician!" Takeru said as he summoned his ace monster surprising both Seika and Chumley.
Dark Magician: 2500/ 2100
"Whoa there he is." Chumley said in awe.
"Get ready Seika, because this is magic act is about to win me the duel." Takeru grins. "I play Thousand Knives, and with this handy card your Serpent is done for!" Many knives appear in front of Dark Magician as he threw them stabbing the large snake multiple times destroying it.
"My monster!" Seika gasps.
"And to wrap this duel up I equip my Magician with Magic Formula!" Takeru said as his Dark Magician grabbed the spell book increasing his attack.
Dark Magicain: 3200/ 2100
Seika looks at Takeru with wide eyes. 'Incredible he was nearly done for, but with a few cards he turned the entire duel in his favor…he's amazing.' Seika thought as her face turned to a smile.
"Dark Magician, Dark Magic Attack!" Takeru yells as his magician blasts Seika.
Takeru: 300
Seika: 0000
Takeru walks over to Seika. "That was quite a duel Seika, you're pretty amazing." Takeru smiles.
"Well don't get so emotional I just did it because Alexis asked me too, besides I like having you at this school." Seika smiles.
----Back with Jaden, he went to the Obelisk Dorm planning to duel Zane, but instead two Obelisk boys pushed him to the ground.
"What's your problem?" Jaden glares.
The first Obelisk was a boy with spiky brown hair shook his head. "I don't have a problem, but you're gonna have one soon if you don't beat it Slider Slacker!"
His friend was a boy with short black hair. "Yeah, Zane wouldn't even waste his time with you. You're probably still wet behind the ears from Pre-Duel School."
"Am not!" Jaden growls when one of the Obelisks dumps a bucket of water on him soaking him.
"Now you are." They said walking away laughing.
Jaden grits his teeth in anger. "We will duel Zane…we will duel."
----Later Takeru, Jaden and Chumley made their way to the Slifer dorm, Jaden was drying himself off with a towel and was still mad about what happened at the Obelisk dorm.
"So what are you gonna do now?" Chumley asks.
"I'm not gonna give up, one way or another I am gonna duel Zane." Jaden vows.
"Jaden I know you're good at dueling, but this guy is the best in the school." Takeru said as Jaden opened the door to his room.
Looking inside the three of them saw Syrus was still in bed wrapped in his blanket.
"Why is he sleeping the middle of the day?" Takeru asks.
"Come on Syrus get up! This is ridiculous, even Chumley got up today." Jaden said nudging the bundle.
"Yeah, lousy bladder." Chumley muttered.
Jaden pulls back the blanket to reveal it was just his pillow. "Hey where'd he go?" Jaden asks.
Takeru looks around and notices a note on the desk. "Hey guys over here." Takeru said picking it up.
"What's it say?" Chumley asks.
"Dear Jaden, I'm leaving Duel Academy, don't try and stop me. It's for the best, I'd only be holding you back." Takeru read aloud.
"Sy's not going anywhere." Jaden said determined.
"Agreed, he couldn't have gone far." Takeru said.
"Right, but after dinner, right?" Chumley asks.
"No, right now." Jaden said.
"But it's grilled cheese night." Chumley said.
"Chumley!" Takeru snaps.
"Alright let's go." Chumley said as the three of them ran out.
"If we don't hurry it will be Syrus' last day!" Jaden said.
As the sun was setting the three of them were running around calling out Syrus's name. Hidden in a small bay near the lighthouse, Syrus had made a raft of logs and was ready to leave.
"So long Duel Academy." Syrus said wiping a tear.
"Syrus! Syrus where are you?!" Jaden yells when both he saw a glowing coming from his and Takeru's deck box.
"What the?" Takeru and Jaden look to see Dark Magician and Winged Kuriboh appear in front of them.
Both Jaden and Takeru's eyes widen as they hear Winged Kuriboh coo.
"You too?" They both said at the same time.
"Jaden this is a question for another time. Can you two find Syrus?" Takeru asks as they both flew off indicating for them to follow.
"So hungry…hearing voices." Chumley groaned tired.
"Come on!" Jaden yelled as he and Takeru followed their duel spirits.
"Aw first no grilled cheese and now I gotta run!" Chumley groans following them.
----As the sun was setting Zane was at his spot near the lighthouse when Alexis walked up to him.
"So, any new leads?" Zane asks.
"I can't believe he's still gone. I keep looking for some sign, but it's like my brother vanished into thin air." Alexis said.
"You'll find him, don't you have that guy Takeru helping you now?" Zane asks.
"He's trying. Speaking of brothers Zane, I saw yours yesterday." Alexis said.
"Oh did you?" Zane asks.
"Yeah he lost in a practice duel against Jaden Yuki and your name came up, but not in a good way." Alexis said.
"The big bad brother. What does Jaden want to scold me?" Zane asks.
"Actually, I think he wants to duel you." Alexis said.
"Stay back Jaden!" Syrus's voice said in the distance.
Looking over they saw Syrus near his raft. "It's Syrus." Alexis said.
Syrus looked to see Jaden running after him. Thinking quickly Syrus jumps on his raft, but Jaden did too making them too heavy causing the raft to break and the two of them to fall into the water.
"Help me! I can't swim!" Syrus yells as Jaden grabs him.
"And you were gonna sail away into the ocean? That makes sense." Jaden said sarcastically.
"Hang on guys!" Takeru jumps into the water, but realizes the water only went up to his knees. "Wait a minute it's shallow."
The second he said that both Jaden and Syrus rise out of the water.
"Why did you come after me Jaden? I stink. They'll assign you a new partner. Just let me go and you'll have a much better shot of winning the duel without me." Syrus said.
"Sy, that's your brother talking! You gotta believe in yourself." Jaden said.
"You gotta believe me. I'm a lost cause." Syrus said.
"He's right you know." A cold voice said.
All the Slifers and the Obelisk looked up to see Zane and Alexis looking down at them.
"That's Zane." Takeru said looking at the Kaiser of Duel Academy.
"You dropping out little brother?" Zane asks.
"Uh yeah kinda." Syrus said.
"It's about time." Zane said making Syrus hang his head in shame. Moving towards his raft they hear Syrus start to sob.
Jaden growled as he glared at Zane. "You're his big brother, how can you say that?!"
"Because I know him." Zane said.
"Yeah I bet you know it all, but guess what you don't! I'm gonna prove it right now. Let's duel!" Jaden said.
"Normally I would be against this, but after seeing how he treats his own brother I say go for it Jaden." Takeru said.
"Duel a Slifer? Sure why not? Been awhile since I went slumming." Zane smiles.
"Don't do it Jaden! He's good." Syrus warns.
"I'm sure he is Syrus." Jaden said. 'I'm also sure this will help Sy's confidence problem…without hurting mine.'
----That night Jaden and Zane were facing off with duel disks at the ready.
"Duel!" They both shouted.
Zane: 4000
Jaden: 4000
"Alright, now let's see what's going on between Syrus and his bro and also how I rank against the best." Jaden smiles as he drew a card. "Here I come Zane! I summon Elemental Hero Avian in attack mode!" The winged hero appeared on Jaden's field.
Elemental Hero Avian: 1000/ 1000
"Now I'll finish with a facedown." Jaden said ending his turn.
"That's all huh? I summon Cyber Dragon in attack mode!" Zane said as a metallic dragon appeared.
Cyber Dragon: 2100/ 1600
"What?! How can you summon a Level 5 monster on your first turn?" Jaden asks surprised.
"It's because it's my first turn. If I have no monsters on my field I can summon Cyber Dragon without sacrificing a monster. Now I play Mystical Space Typhoon!" Zane said as he destroys Jaden's facedown.
"Wow that was fast." Jaden said impressed.
"Not as fast as your life point meter is about go down. Cyber Dragon Strident Blast!" Cyber Dragon breathes fires as it blasts Avian destroying him.
Zane: 4000
Jaden: 2900
'I tried to warn him that Zane was good.' Syrus thought.
"Next I play the spell Different Dimension Capsule. It allows me to pick any card from my deck and put it in the capsule. Then in two turns I put right into my hand." Zane said as a card went into a blue sarcophagus shaped capsule and disappears.
"He must've picked a really good card to put in there." Takeru said.
"It's your move Jaden." Zane said ending his turn.
'Yeah and I better make it count. I'm starting to think this guy is not only as good as everyone thinks he is, he's better, but that doesn't mean he's better than me.' Jaden smiles. "Round 2, and first I'll rock Polymerization to fuse Sparkman and Clayman to create Elemental Hero Thunder Giant!" Both heroes fused to create the powerful electrical hero.
Elemental Hero Thunder Giant: 2400/ 1500
"And with his special ability, he can destroy any monster with attack points less than his, your Cyber Dragon is vaporized!" Jaden said as a large bolt of lightning destroys Zane's dragon. "Yes! Looks like Thunder Giant just made the big man of campus even smaller."
"Yeah I would say it." Chumley smiles.
"Here comes the pain." Takeru grins.
"And since that blast was just his special ability, I still get to use his attack!" Jaden said as Thunder Giant releases a powerful blast, but Zane doesn't even flinch.
Zane: 1600
Jaden: 2900
"You could at least kinda flinch, oh well maybe this facedown will make you flinch." Jaden said.
'Yeah if Jaden lasts long enough to use it.' Syrus thought.
"Nice moves kid. Now that my field is empty I can summon another Cyber Dragon." Zane said as he summoned another. "Or better yet how about two? I play Monster Reborn! Since there's only one monster in my graveyard you can guess what's coming next." His first Cyber Dragon appears next to his other. "But neither will be here for long…in present form." Zane reveals his own Polymerization. "Dragons unite! Now Cyber Twin Dragon emerge!" Zane said as a two headed version of his Cyber Dragon appeared.
Cyber Twin Dragon: 2800/2100
"Twin dragons? One was tough enough." Chumley gasps.
"Now my dragon can attack twice in one turn which means double the trouble for your monster and your lifepoints! Attack!"
"Not so fast! I activate my trap, A Hero Emerges! Normally you would pick a card from my hand, but since I only have one card, let's skip that. Wroughtweiler, defense mode!" Jaden sad as a black metallic dog appeared.
Wroughtweiler: 800/ 1200
"You'll need him! Cyber Twin Dragon, double strident blast!" Zane said as both heads blasted Jaden's monsters destroying them.
Zane: 1600
Jaden: 2500
"Glad you did that! Cause when Wroughtweiler is destroyed his special ability activates! I take one Polymerization and one Elemental Hero from my graveyard and add them to my hand. Just when you probably thought you can stop worrying about them, huh Zane?" Jaden smiles grabbing Polymerization and Clayman.
"I don't worry." Zane said.
"Aw man! You're so chill you are good." Jaden smiles.
"Thanks. You too Jaden." Zane smiles slightly.
"Well at least he's being nice." Takeru smiles as Alexis nods.
'Since when did Zane give props?' Syrus thought.
"Now where was I? Oh yeah!" Jaden drew a card. "I summon Elemental Hero Bubbleman in attack mode!" On Jaden's filed a cape wearing blue hero appeared. "And since he's on the field alone I can use his ability to draw two cards.
Elemental Hero Bubbleman: 800/ 1200
Jaden looks at his hand and smiles. 'Transcendent Wings and Winged Kuriboh. The same cards I used to trash that Dragon Catapult Cannon. An evolved Winged Kuriboh would turn Zane's Cyber Twin Dragon into a pile of junk and its attack points would be dealt as damage. That would be enough to win the duel, but I can't summon anymore monsters this turn, so I'm just gonna have to wait til next turn.' Jaden thought.
"Alright Zane. I play Polymerization and fuse Bubbleman with Clayman to create the Elemental Hero Mudballman in defense mode!"
A new monster appeared with a perfectly round body, round arms and a blue head.
Elemental Hero Mudballman: 1900/ 3000
"Lishius! Mudballman has 3000 DEF points! That Twin Dragon won't even touch Jaden!" Chumley smiles.
"Come on Jaden you got this!" Takeru smiles.
'I don't believe this, Jaden might actually win.' Syrus thought with a stunned look on his face.
"Gimmer your best shot Zane!" Jaden challenged.
"My best? Alright, you got it." Zane drew his card and his capsule rose out of the ground.
"The Capsule." Takeru remembers.
"It's been 2 turns since I first activated Different Dimension Capsule and now I get to take the card I put in and add it to my hand. You played well, but not well enough." Zane said adding the card from capsule.
"Gimme your best shot, I'm ready." Jaden said.
"I'm sure you are. A good duelist is ready for anything. And knows the difference between using a card and playing a card. Jaden you play your cards very well." Zane said briefly glancing at Syrus.
'That's a good compliment, but even greater advice. Hope you were listening Syrus.' Jaden thought.
'Of course! That's what he meant all those years ago. Using a card and playing it are two different things.' Syrus realized.
"First I play De-Fusion to split my Twin Dragon into two separate Cyber Dragons. Next, I activate the spell Power Bond! This allows me to summon a machine type fusion monster and with my final Cyber Dragon in my hand I can fuse them to create…the Cyber End Dragon!"
Everyone watched in amazement as a three headed machine dragon appeared.
Cyber End Dragon: 4000/2800
"Whoa! That's a really powerful card. Jaden's Mudballman doesn't stand a chance." Takeru said.
"Thanks to Power Bond's ability when I fusion summon a monster its attack points are doubled!"
Cyber End Dragon: 8000/ 2800
"8000?! No way!" Chumley gasps.
"And when Cyber End Dragon attacks the difference between his attack and your monster's defense come out of your lifepoints." Zane said.
"Just hang in there! If you can survive this turn you can win thanks to Power Bond's effect." Chumley said.
"Chumley's right, at the end of the turn the one who used it is dealt damage equal to his monster's original attack points." Alexis said.
'Yeah but it won't matter if you play it right. And Zane has, I just wish it wasn't at Jaden's expense.' Syrus thought.
Takeru cringed knowing how this was going to end. 'Sorry Jaden.'
"Cyber End attack Mudball Man with Super Strident Blaze!" All three heads blast Jaden's monster obliterating it and the rest of his lifepoints.
Zane: 1600
Jaden: 0000
"Jaden!" Chumley yelled.
"Sorry Jaden." Takeru sighed.
"I can't believe he lost." Alexis said.
"No Jaden!" Syrus said running to his friend.
Jaden lifted his head up and smiles. Great duel Zane."
Zane smiled and turned away, looking back he met Syrus' eyes as the two brothers had a mental understanding. Turning away Zane walked off.
"Well I'll see you later Takeru." Alexis said about to follow him.
"Yeah…hey Alexis. Thanks for setting up that duel I'm glad I have someone like you helping me out." Takeru smiles.
Alexis smiles back before following Zane.
"So…what do you think?" She asks.
"I think Syrus chose some good friends." Zane smiles.
"You're brother has some mad skills." Jaden said.
"Maybe, but I got the looks." Syrus smiles.
Takeru, Jaden and Chumley look at him before they all burst into laughter.
"Wait what's funny?" Syrus asks.
"Well guys I'm heading back to Obelisk. I got to make some upgrades." Takeru said walking away.
"Come on let's go home and work on ours too. While we're at it lets rearrange so you can use Power Bond." Jaden said.
"Yeah, now I know how to play it, not just use it." Syrus said.
Suddenly they heard a loud rumbling noise. Looking over they saw Chumley holding his stomach.
"You know what I could use? Some grilled cheese sandwiches." Chumley groans.
"I could eat." Syrus smiles.
"Not if I eat them all first!" Jaden said running off with Syrus and Chumley right behind him.