King of the Copycats Part 1

Jaden was walking through the academy hallway when he saw a large group of students gathered at the card shack. He spotted Michael and Bastion and walked up to them. 
"What's going on? Is it eggwich day?" He asked. 
"No Jaden, just a little lunch time tussle," Bastion explained. 
"Really? Who's dueling?" Jaden asked.
"Look for yourself," Michael said as he gestured to the combatants. 
"Who's the Ra?" Jaden asked. 
"His name is Dimitri." Bastion informed. 
"So, who's he dueling?" Jaden asked before he turned his head to the side and saw a familiar face.
"Syrus? What're you doing?" He asked as he walked up to his roommate. 
"A high-stakes duel, and we're about to start." Syrus said. 
"Why are you dueling him?" Jaden asked. 
"Well, it happened like this." Syrus responded.
Flashback
"If we don't hurry, we won't be able to get tickets for the exhibition before they sell out," Syrus said as he and Michael ran through the hall. 
"Didn't you say you already got a ticket?" Michael asked. 
"Yeah, but Jaden hasn't gotten one yet," Syrus responded. 
"Why am I not surprised?" Michael asked.
They ran into the card shack and up to the counter. 
"One ticket please." Syrus asked. 
"You're in luck, this is the last ticket." Dorothy, the card shop's owner, informed. 
"Talk about close." Michael said. 
"Hey! I want that ticket too!" A voice shouted. Michael and Syrus turned around to see Dimitri standing at the entrance to the card shop.
"But we were here first." Syrus said. 
"Why don't we duel for it?" Dimitri asked. 
"Okay, I'll take you on." Michael said. 
"Wait Michael, let me duel." Syrus said. 
"You sure?" Michael asked. 
"Yeah. Jaden is my best friend, so I should be the one to duel for the ticket." Syrus responded. 
"Alright. By the way, there's something I should tell you." Michael said before he bent down and whispered something to Syrus. 
"You sure?" Syrus asked. 
"Positive." Michael answered.
End of Flashback
"Wait, what's the exhibition for?" Jaden asked. 
"Yugi's deck is going on tour, and its first stop is Duel Academy. I mean, that deck is a piece of history. Just think about all it's been through: Duelist Kingdom, Battle City, and every other awesome adventure Yugi went on." Syrus said.
"I know, we've gotta see it. So why are you dueling? Let's get tickets." Jaden responded. 
"Jaden, haven't you been listening? That's why Syrus is dueling. There's only one ticket left, and if he wins this duel, it'll be his." Michael said.
"Well, I hope you have a good time Sy." Jaden said. 
"Of course I will. After all, if I win, you'll get to come with me. I've already got my ticket," Syrus explained. 
"You mean you're dueling for me?" Jaden asked.
"Of course, and I'm gonna win, so let's get started Dimitri." Syrus said as he raised his duel disk. 
"Very well then, I accept your challenge." Dimitri said with a bad impression of Crowler's accent.
Both: "Let's duel!"
Syrus: 4000 LP
Dimitri: 4000 LP
"I'll go first, and I summon Jetroid in attack mode." Syrus said as a cartoonish jet with eyes appeared on his field.
Level 4/Wind/Machine
ATK 1200/DEF 1800
"Next, I'll place one card face-down and end my turn." Syrus said. 
"Then it's my turn. I'll place two cards face-down and activate the spell Heavy Storm, and that, young scholar, will destroy all the spell and trap cards on the field," Dimitri declared. 
"That sounds familiar." Jaden said. 
"It should. Dr. Crowler used the same move against you." Bastion pointed out.
"Oh yeah. What are the odds?" Jaden asked. 
"Pretty good, considering Dimitri's reputation." Michael said. 
"What do you mean?" Jaden asked. 
"Dimitri is what you might call a copycat duelist. He copies the decks of strong duelists, but he hasn't had much success," Bastion said. Meanwhile, all the spells and traps on the field were destroyed, and the same Wicked Tokens that appeared in Jaden's entrance exam appeared on Dimitri's field.
"It's just like back then." Jaden said. 
"Yeah, but if Syrus followed my advice, he's already won." Michael said. 
"What do you mean?" Jaden asked. He got his answer when a trap he remembered from Michael's duel with Titan appeared on Syrus' field.
"That's Kozaky's Self-Destruct Button." Jaden said. 
"That's right, and since Dimitri destroyed it, he takes 1000 points of damage." Syrus said as a blast shot from his trap at Dimitri.
Dimitri: 3000 LP
"It matters not, for I sacrifice my two wicked tokens to summon the legendary Ancient Gear Golem!" Dimitri shouted.
Level 8/Earth/Machine
ATK&DEF 3000
"Now attack with Mechanized Melee!" he ordered. His monster raised its fist and swung it towards Jetroid. 
"Not so fast! When Jetroid is attacked, its special ability activates, letting me activate a trap card from my hand, like Magic Cylinder! This card will negate your Golem's attack and deal you damage equal to its attack points," Syrus explained.
Dimitri: 0 LP
Winner: Syrus
"Alright!" Syrus shouted. 
"Sweet moves Sy! You sent that Golem to the scrap heap," Jaden complimented. 
"Thanks. It's a good thing Michael told me Dimitri copied Crowler's deck. Thanks to you and him, I knew just what to do to beat him. Oh, I almost forgot." Syrus said as he ran to the counter to claim his prize.
"Here's your ticket Jaden." he said as he handed it to him. 
"You're the best Sy." Jaden said. 
"Alright everyone, the show is over, so head back to class, okay?" Dorothy requested. Everyone began to leave, many of them making comments on how badly Dimitri lost and how they were surprised he hadn't been demoted or kicked out.
Later that night, Dimitri was in his room thinking about why he could never win a duel. 
"It doesn't make sense. I watch and I study, but I still lose!" He shouted as he threw his books and papers to the floor.
"Crowler's deck was just as useless as the rest! Zane or Kaiba, it doesn't matter who I copy, I always lose. What is there left to do? After all, if copying the greatest duelists in the world isn't enough to help me win, then what can?" He asked himself as a flyer from the exhibition landed in front of him.
"Of course. I have to become the greatest duelist in the world," he said. Across campus, Jaden was staring at the Winged Kuriboh card he got from Yugi at the start of the school year. 
"Jaden, you've been staring at your cards all night, what's up?" Syrus asked. 
"It's Yugi's deck. No matter how hard I try, I just can't get it out of my head," Jaden answered.
"How come?" Chumley asked. 
"How come? How come you like grilled cheese? Look, I just can't wait another second to check out those legendary cards, so who's up for going with me to the exhibit right now?" Jaden asked. 
"That's actually not a bad idea. That way we can avoid the rush tomorrow," Chumley responded.
"You mean I dueled to get that ticket for you, and you aren't even gonna use it?" Syrus asked. 
"I will, because we're gonna be the first in line tomorrow too." Jaden said before pulling out his PDA. 
"What are you doing now?" Syrus asked. 
"Calling Michael to see if he wants to get in on this." Jaden said.
Across campus, Michael was asleep in his room when his PDA went off on his nightstand, startling him awake. 
"What the-" he began to say before he realized what woke him up. 
"Jaden, you'd better have a good reason for calling me this late at night." Michael said in an annoyed tone.
"This is a good reason. We were gonna get a sneak peek at Yugi's deck and we wanted to invite you along." Jaden said. 
"Fine, but the main reason I'm going is to keep you out of trouble," Michael responded.
"Whatever floats your boat," Jaden said before hanging up. 
'He's lucky my job is to protect him, otherwise I'd throttle him.' Michael thought to himself as he slipped on his clothes. In the exhibit hall, Crowler was with the men who had been responsible for setting up the exhibit.
"We've finished setting up the display Dr. Crowler. Here's the keys for the exhibit hall and the display case." One of the said. 
"Thanks for letting us leave early. We'll see you bright and early for the exhibit tomorrow. Have a good night sir." the other said before they left.
"You're welcome, and have a good night yourselves." Crowler said as they left. He walked up to the exhibit hall door and was about to lock it when he began to contemplate getting an early look. 
"Oh, I don't see why not. After all, it'll only be a minute." He said before pushing open the doors. He looked in the room but was surprised at what he saw. Or rather, what he didn't see.
"The deck is gone!" He shouted. That's when Jaden, Syrus, and Chumley made it to the exhibit hall, where they met up with Michael and Bastion. 
"Hey guys. So you wanted to get a sneak peek at the deck too Bastion?" Jaden asked. 
"Yep. I met up with Michael on the way here and he told me you all planned to get an early look," Bastion responded.
They were interrupted by the sound of someone screaming inside the exhibit hall. 
"Wait, that sounded like Dr. Crowler," Michael said. 
"Come on, let's help him!" Jaden shouted before they ran into the exhibit hall. They opened the doors and found Crowler standing next to the broken display case.
"Dr. Crowler, you stole the deck?" Syrus asked. 
"How could you do that?" Chumley asked. 
"Let's get Chancellor Sheppard." Jaden said. 
"Wait! I know this looks bad, but I swear it wasn't me!" Crowler shouted. 
"I think he's telling the truth. After all, why would he cry out if he stole the deck?" Michael pointed out.
"And even if I did want to take the deck, I wouldn't need to smash the display case because I have the key." Crowler said as he unlocked what was left of the case. 
"If that's true, then that means the thief is out there somewhere." Jaden said before they all split up to look for the thief.
At the coast, Dimitri was looking over Yugi's deck. 
"It's done. Now that I have the greatest deck, I'll be the greatest duelist." He said to himself. Syrus ran to the coast and saw him. 
"Hey! Someone just stole Yugi's deck, do you know anything?" he asked.
"Stole? This is my deck, and if you don't believe me, why don't you let me show you, right here, right now." Dimitri said in a bad impression of Yugi's voice as he tossed Syrus a duel disk. 
"Okay, fine." Syrus said as he put on the duel disk before sliding his deck in.
Just then, Bastion, Chumley, and Michael met up with Jaden at the bridge to the Slifer Dorm. "Dorms are clear," Bastion informed. "So are the classrooms," Chumley added. They were interrupted by the sound of Syrus screaming. 
"Let's go!" Jaden shouted before they ran off.
When they arrived, they found Syrus lying flat on his back. "It's good to be the King of Games," Dimitri said to himself. 
"Syrus are you okay?" Jaden asked. 
"I'm alright, but Dimitri stole the deck." He informed. Jaden jumped to the top of a nearby rock and turned to Dimitri. 
"Okay, you've had your fun, but it's time to return what you've stolen Dimitri." he shouted.
"I'm afraid that you're mistaken. I'm Yugi. Dimitri was a child who would just study other people's decks and then copy them, but with these cards, I'm not copying the King of Games, I am the King of Games! And if you want this deck back, you'll have to prove I'm not!" Dimitri shouted.
"You've really gone off the deep end, but I never back down from a challenge." Jaden responded. 
"Good, so let's do this." Dimitri responded. 
"Jaden, catch!" Syrus shouted before throwing Jaden a duel disk. Jaden caught it before slipping it on and inserting his deck.
Jaden: "Get your game on!"
Dimitri: "It's time to duel!"
Both: 4000 LP
"Here I come. First off, I play Elemental Hero Burstinatrix in defense mode." Jaden said.
Level 3/Fire/Warrior
ATK 1200/DEF 800
"And that'll do," he continued. "Will it? I use Polymerization to fuse Gazelle, the King of Mythical Beasts with Berfomet in order to summon Chimera the Flying Mythical Beast!" Dimitri shouted.
Level 6/Wind/Beast
ATK 2100/DEF 1800
"Uh oh. This isn't gonna be pretty," Jaden said. "Now attack with Pulverizing Pounce!" Dimitri shouted. Chimera leapt at Burstinatrix and slashed her with its claws, destroying her. 
"With that, I end my turn." Dimitri said. 
"Syrus, you just dueled this guy, got any ideas?" Chumley asked. 
"None. I tried everything I could think of, but nothing worked." Syrus responded.
"So what are you saying Syrus? That Jaden doesn't have a chance?" Chumley asked. 
"Against Yugi's deck? That's a possibility," Syrus responded. 
"I'm afraid it's more than that. Dimitri is a copycat duelist, so in order to defeat him, you must exploit the failings of whoever he is copying." Bastion pointed out.
"So all he has to do is exploit Yugi's weaknesses." Syrus said. 
"That's the problem Syrus, Yugi's weaknesses aren't well known, if he even has any." Bastion responded. 
"So you like fusing monsters do you? Well then you'll like this. I fuse Elemental Heroes Sparkman and Clayman to summon Elemental Hero Thunder Giant!" Jaden shouted.
Level 6/Light/Warrior
ATK 2400/DEF 1500
"And due to his special ability, since Chimera has less attack points than Thunder Giant, he's automatically destroyed," he explained as Chimera was fried on the spot. "I activate Chimera's special ability. When it's destroyed, I can summon Gazelle or Berfomet back from the graveyard, so I summon Berfomet in defense mode," Dimitri explained.
Level 5/Dark/Fiend
ATK 1400/DEF 1800
"Yeah, well he won't be back for long. Thunder Giant, attack with Voltic Thunder!" Jaden shouted. Thunder Giant raised his hand and shot a blast of electricity at Berfomet, destroying it. 
'That ability saved his life points from taking a big hit. That deck's living up to the hype.' Jaden thought to himself.
"Alright then, it's my turn. I place one card face-down and activate the spell Monster Reincarnation, so by discarding one card, I get a monster back from my graveyard, and I choose Gazelle, which I'll summon in defense mode." Dimitri declared.
Level 4/Earth/Beast
ATK 1500/DEF 1200
"And now I play the spell Swords of Revealing Light. This card remains face-up on the field for three turns, and during that time, none of your monsters can attack. I end my turn there." He said as beams of green energy surrounded Jaden and his monster. 
"My turn, I draw. Sweet, I play Dark Catapulter in defense mode." Jaden declared.
Level 4/Earth/Machine
ATK 1000/DEF 1500
"Alright, if Dark Catapulter survives Dimtri's next turn, Jaden can use it to destroy Swords of Revealing Light." Michael said. 
"A shame he won't even survive this turn. I play the trap Dark Renewal! Since you summoned a monster, both it and a monster on my field are sacrificed so that I can summon a spellcaster type monster from my graveyard." Dimitri explained.
"But wait, how can you play that card when you don't have a spellcaster in your graveyard? The only monsters in your graveyard should be Berfomet and Chimera," Jaden said. 
"That's where you're wrong. Remember that I had to discard a card in order to activate Monster Reincarnation. And now, by sacrificing Gazelle and Catapulter, I can summon that monster, so take to the field, Dark Magician!" Dimitri shouted.
Level 7/Dark/Spellcaster
ATK 2500/DEF 2100
"I'm totally starstruck. The Dark Magician is like the headliner of Yugi's entire deck!" Jaden exclaimed. 
"I'm impressed. Dimitri is playing his cards as well as Yugi himself. I just wish it weren't at Jaden's expense." Michael commented. 
"I'll switch Thunder Giant into defense mode and end my turn. Your go Dimitri." Jaden said.
"I am not Dimitri. I play the spell Thousand Knives, which means your Thunder Giant is destroyed." Dimitri explained as glowing blades appeared before shredding Thunder Giant. "Thunder Giant just got cut down to size." Syrus said. 
"Which means Jaden is wide open." Chumley added.
"And I think I'll take advantage of that fact by having Dark Magician attack directly. Go Dark Magic Attack!" Dimitri shouted. Dark Magician charged a ball of green energy at the end of his staff before firing it at Jaden, taking away over half his life points.
Jaden: 1500 LP
"Okay, that hurt," Jaden winced. 
"Give up?" Dimitri asked. 
"Never!" Jaden responded. 
"Good. A true duelist never gives up. They will believe in their cards and fight until the end, no matter what the odds. That's what I always say." Dimitri said. 
"It's my move. I play Wroughtweiler in defense mode and end my turn." Jaden said.
Level 3/Earth/Machine
ATK 800/DEF 1200
"It's my turn. Dark Magician, attack Wroughtweiler!" Dimitri ordered. 
"Thanks for that. When Wroughtweiler goes to the graveyard, his special ability lets me add an Elemental Hero and a Polymerization from my graveyard to my hand." Jaden explained as he added Burstinatrix and Polymerization to his hand.
"Way to play, you really show promise as a duelist. I end my turn," Dimitri said. "My move. I summon Burstinatrix in defense mode. Next, I'll place a card face-down and end my turn." Jaden said. 
'Burstinatrix is no match for Dark Magician, but I have another monster that is: my Elemental Hero Bladedge. All I have to do is summon him and I'll have a chance.' he thought to himself.
"Since it's been three turns, Swords of Revealing Light is destroyed, which means Jaden can attack now." Michael said as the beams faded away. 
"It's my turn. Go Dark Magician, attack Burstinatrix!" Dimitri ordered.
"Not so fast Dimitri, I play the trap card A Hero Emerges! Since you attacked, you have to pick a random card from my hand, and if it's a monster card, I can summon it straight to the field." Jaden explained.
"Very well then, I choose the card on the far left." Dimitri responded. 
"Good choice. For me, at least. You chose my Elemental Hero Bladedge." Jaden said as he summoned his monster.
Level 7/Earth/Warrior
ATK 2600/DEF 1800
"Alright, with Bladedge on the field, Jaden can stand up to Dark Magician." Syrus said. 
"Not just him. With out the Egyptian God Cards, Dark Magician is the strongest monster in his deck." Bastion added.
"I'm afraid that's where you're wrong. Although I may not currently possess the Egyptian God Cards, Dark Magician is not the strongest monster in my deck. Allow me to show you one of them. I activate the spell card Dedication through Light and Darkness, so by sacrificing Dark Magician, I can summon the Dark Magician of Chaos directly from my deck," Dimitri explained.
Level 8/Dark/Spellcaster
ATK 2800/DEF 2600
"And due to his special ability, since I successfully summoned him, I can take any spell card I choose from my graveyard and add it to my hand, such as Monster Reincarnation. And since Dedication was a quick-play spell, it's still my battle phase, so go Chaos Magician, attack Bladedge!" He shouted.
Jaden: 1300 LP
Rather than exploding, Bladedge dissolved into particles of light before disappearing. 
"What just happened?" Syrus asked. 
"Dark Magician of Chaos' special ability causes monsters destroyed in battle with it to be banished instead of going to the graveyard." Michael explained.
"Face it, this deck and I go together perfectly, always have, always will." Dimitri said. 
"Not if I can help it Dimitri." Jaden responded. 
'Of course, to be honest, I don't know if I can. Against the King of Games' deck, getting your game on may not be enough.' he thought to himself.