King of the Copycats Part 2

Dimitri: 4000 LP
Jaden: 1300 LP
"Jaden is in deep trouble." Syrus said. 
"Unfortunately Syrus, that's the understatement of the year. Look what he has to contend with: the Dark Magician of Chaos, full life points, the King of Games' deck. I'm afraid the trouble isn't deep, it's subterranean," Bastion responded.
'I've gotta get my game on big time. After all, Dimitri not only has Yugi's deck, but he thinks he's Yugi, and the only way I can set him straight is by beating him. Well, I always wanted to see how I stacked up against my idol. Guess this could be as close as I could get.' Jaden thought to himself. 
"Alright, it's my turn!" He shouted as he drew his card, seeing he drew his Winged Kuriboh.
The spirit let out a noise, talking to Jaden. "Are you sure? This could get rough, and we are going up against your former master's monsters." Jaden asked, to which the spirit readily agreed. "Okay then. I play my pal Winged Kuriboh in defense mode. Next, I'll throw a card face-down and call it a turn." He said. 
"Winged Kuriboh? Good to see you, of course there's nothing quite like the original. I summon Kuriboh in attack mode." Dimitri declared.
Level 1/Dark/Fiend
ATK 300/DEF 200
"Now Dark Magician of Chaos, attack Burstinatrix!" He ordered. 
"Not so fast, I play the trap card Super Junior Confrontation! This card calls off your magician's attack and forces your Kuriboh to attack mine. After that, the battle phase ends." Jaden explained as his Winged Kuriboh got tackled by Dimitri's.
"Not a bad counter. I place one card face-down and end my turn." Dimitri said. 
'Winged Kuriboh took one for the team there. Losing Burstinatrix would've been disastrous for Jaden.' Bastion thought to himself. 
"It's my turn. I play the spell Pot of Greed, which means I can draw 2 more cards. Sweet, I hope you like playing with bubbles, because here comes Elemental Hero Bubbleman." Jaden declared.
Level 4/Water/Warrior
ATK 800/DEF 1200
"Next I'm playing a field spell, and it's one you might need a hard hat for. I activate Skyscraper!" he shouted as they surrounded by a cityscape. "What's with these buildings?" Dimitri asked. "They're for kicking your butt Dimitri!" Syrus shouted.
"That's right, because on this field, Elemental Heroes gain 1000 attack points when they battle monsters stronger than they are. And to add to your troubles, I'm gonna equip Bubbleman with the spell card Bubble Blaster. This card gives Bubbleman 800 more attack points," Jaden explained.
Bubbleman: 800-1600 ATK
"Now put those points to use and attack Kuriboh!" He shouted. 
"I activate the magic card Multiply, so by sacrificing Kuriboh, all my unused monster card zones are filled with Kuriboh tokens, all of which I summon into defense mode." Dimitri explained as Kuriboh split into four before one of them was destroyed by Bubbleman's attack.
"I'll throw down a face-down and call it a turn." Jaden said. 
"Very well then, it's my turn. And I activate Card of Sanctity. This allows us both to draw until we have six cards in our hands," Dimitri explained before they both did just that. "And now I activate the special ability of Watapon. When this card is added to my hand by a card effect, I can special summon it to the field." He explained.
Level 1/Light/Fairy
ATK 200/DEF 300
"And now I sacrifice Watapon in order to summon Dark Magician Girl in attack mode!" Dimitri shouted.
Level 6/Dark/Spellcaster
ATK 2000/DEF 1700
"Wow, she's even cuter in person." Jaden marveled. 
"She has beauty and strength. For you see, for each Dark Magician or Magician of Black Chaos in either of our graveyards, she gains 300 attack points," Dimitri explained.
DMG: 2000-2300 ATK
"Now Dark Magician of Chaos, attack Bubbleman!" He shouted. 
"Due to Bubble Blaster's effect, if Bubbleman would be destroyed by battle, this card is destroyed instead and I take no damage." Jaden explained as Bubbleman's weapon was destroyed.
"But without that blaster, he won't survive this. Go Dark Magician Girl, attack Bubbleman with Dark Burning Attack!" Dimitri shouted before his monster fired a blast of purple energy at Bubbleman.
Jaden: 800 LP
"I'll end my turn there." He said. 
"Alright, you got me with a couple of good shots, but now I plan to return the favor and then some. And this card will let me do just that. I activate my face-down Polymerization in order to fuse Avian and Burstinatrix in order to summon Elemental Hero Flame Wingman!" Jaden shouted.
Level 6/Wind/Warrior
ATK 2100/DEF 1200
"But I'm not stopping there. Next I play the spell card The Warrior Returning Alive. This card lets me pick a warrior type monster in my graveyard and put in my hand, so I'll add Sparkman to my hand and then summon him to the field." He declared.
Level 4/Light/Warrior
ATK 1600/DEF 1400
"Now Flame Wingman, attack Dark Magician of Chaos with Skydive Scorcher! And in case you forgot, since your monster has more points, Skyscraper boosts Wingman's by 1000." Jaden reminded.
Dimitri: 3700 LP
"And don't forget about the Wingman's superpower. When he destroys your monster in battle, you take damage equal to your destroyed monster's attack points," he explained as Dimitri's life points went down.
Dimitri: 900 LP
"Take that, Yugi – Dimitri, whatever you call yourself." Chumley said. 
"Way to play Jay! Nice work!" Syrus praised. 
"Keep up the pressure and you can beat him!" Michael shouted. 
'He's really doing it. Dimitri is playing the deck exactly like Yugi would, and Jaden is winning. It took him a few turns to find his footing, but he's really turned this duel around.' he thought to himself.
"Next I'll place two cards face-down and activate the spell Emergency Provisions, so by sending one of 'em to the graveyard, I gain 1000 life points." Jaden explained.
Jaden: 1800 LP
"It's your move." He said. 
'All I have to do is attack Dark Magician Girl with Flame Wingman on my next turn and I'll have beaten the King of Games' deck.' He thought to himself. 
"It's my turn! First, I switch Dark Magician Girl to defense mode. Next, I play the spell Spider Web, which will allow to choose any card that was sent to your graveyard last turn and add it to my hand," Dimitri explained as a thread of energy shot from his spell and into Jaden's graveyard before pulling a card out of it and placing it into his hand.
"And the card I've chosen is Emergency Provisions. Next, I'll place two cards face-down and activate Monster Reincarnation, but before I continue, I shall send it and my two face-downs to the graveyard, allowing me to regain 3000 life points. Then, using Monster Reincarnation's effect, I shall add Kuriboh to my hand. It's your move." He said.
Dimitri: 3900 LP
"No way, he gained back almost all his life points in a single turn!" Syrus exclaimed. 
"Well, I guess I'll just have to take 'em away again. Go Flame Wingman, attack Dark Magician Girl with Skydive Scorcher!" Jaden shouted before Flame Wingman cloaked himself in flames and dive bombed Dark Magician Girl, destroying her.
"Next due to Flame Wingman's special ability, you take damage equal to Dark Magician Girl's attack points." He reminded. Flame Wingman landed in front of Dimitri and shot a jet of flames from his arm.
Dimitri: 1600 LP
"Good thing I gained back some life points last turn." Dimitri said to himself. 
"Yeah, well it's a good thing for me I have a few attacks left. I play De-Fusion to split Flame Wingman back into Burstinatrix and Avian." Jaden said as his monsters reappeared. 
"If all of Jaden's attacks go through, he'll have won the duel!" Bastion exclaimed.
"Now Avian and Burstinatrix, attack his remaining Kuriboh tokens!" Jaden shouted. Avian launched a volley of feathers while Burstinatrix shot a fireball at the two remaining Kuriboh tokens, leaving Dimitri wide open. "Now Sparkman, attack directly with Static Shockwave!" Jaden shouted.
"He's gonna win!" Syrus shouted. 
"I'm afraid not." Michael said. 
"I activate the special ability of Kuriboh. By discarding him, I take no damage from your attack." Dimitri explained as Kuriboh appeared in front of him and blocked Sparkman's attack. 
"Rats, I almost had him." Jaden said.
"He may not have finished the duel, but he's certainly put Dimitri in a tough spot. With no cards in his hand or on his field, if he can't turn the duel around on his next turn, Dimitri will lose for sure." Michael said. 
"You hear that Jaden? You're in the home stretch!" Syrus shouted.
"We'll see about that. I draw. Just the card I needed. I banish the dark attribute Kuriboh and the light attribute Watapon from my graveyard," Dimitri declared. 
"There's no way!" Bastion exclaimed. 
"What's wrong Bastion?" Syrus asked.
"Dimitri is about to summon a powerful monster." Michael explained. 
"What? How do you know?" Chumley asked. 
"There are two monsters that can be summoned by banishing both a light and dark attribute monster from your graveyard. You may know one of them: Chaos Emperor Dragon – Envoy of the End." Michael said.
"Oh yeah. Didn't Kaiba use that monster in his duel against Zigfried in the Grand Championship?" Syrus asked. 
"That's right, but since then it's been banned from use in tournaments because of how powerful it is." Michael explained.
"Okay, so what about the other one?" Chumley asked. 
"The other monster is Black Luster Soldier – Envoy of the Beginning. It's never been banned, simply because of how rare the card is. In fact I've never even seen the card or met anyone who has, but I have heard a rumor that a copy of it lies in Yugi's deck." Michael said. 
"And the rumors are true. Meet Black Luster Soldier – Envoy of the Beginning!" Dimitri shouted.
Level 8/Light/Warrior
ATK 3000/DEF 2500
"Now, attack Avian with Luster Blade Attack!" He ordered. His monster slashed his sword towards Avian, sending a blast of energy that ripped right through him.
Jaden: 800 LP
"Oh man, Avian didn't stand a chance against that monster." Syrus said. 
"And I'm afraid it's not done with Jaden yet." Michael said. 
"Your friend is right. You see, when my Envoy destroys your monster in battle, he's allowed to attack again," Dimitri explained.
"No way!" Jaden exclaimed. 
"Oh man. Now I'm starting to see why monsters like this are banned." Syrus said. 
"Now Black Luster Soldier, attack Burstinatrix and end this duel!" Dimitri shouted. 
"This is bad. Jaden's life points can't withstand a hit like that." Bastion said.
"It's over!" Dimitri shouted.
"Not yet! I play the trap Hero Spirit!" Jaden shouted as a ghostly image of Avian appeared and protected Burstinatrix. 
"What just happened?" Dimitri asked. 
"Due to the effect of Hero Spirit, during the turn an Elemental Hero is destroyed, I can make the damage from one of your attacks 0 while also keeping my monster from being destroyed." Jaden explained.
"Fine, I'll just finish you off next turn. The Heart of the Cards will see to that." Dimitri said. 
'He may be right. Yugi's deck is just so powerful. I thought I could win but now I don't know.' Jaden thought to himself before he was interrupted by a familiar spirit.
"Sorry Kuriboh, but what can I do? He's got the Heart of the Cards on his side." 
He said before being berated by the spirit. "What do you mean he doesn't? After all that's Yugi's deck," Jaden said before the realization hit him like a ton of bricks.
'That's it! That's Yugi's deck. There's no way the Heart of the Cards could be on Dimitri's side, because that comes from believing in your own cards, not the ones you stole, and I believe in my deck, so if the Heart of the Cards is on anyone's side, it's on mine.' he thought to himself before he began his turn.
"Sorry Dimitri, but this duel is mine. I play the spell Silent Doom! This card will let me summon a monster from my graveyard in defense mode, so I'll bring back my fine feathered friend Avian." Jaden said as his monster reappeared. 
"Looks like Jaden has something planned." Bastion said.
"You better believe it. I play the magic card Double Spell. With it, if I send a spell card from my hand to the graveyard, I can use any spell card that's in my opponent's graveyard, like the Polymerization you used at the start of the duel, and with it, I'll fuse Avian and Burstinatrix to once again summon my deck's headliner: The Elemental Hero Flame Wingman!" Jaden shouted. 
"And since Skyscraper is still active, it gains 1000 attack points, giving him just enough fire power to eliminate Black Luster Soldier." Bastion pointed out.
Wingman: 2100-3100 ATK
"Now Flame Wingman, attack Black Luster Soldier with Skydive Scorcher!" Jaden shouted. Flame Wingman cloaked himself in flames and dove straight into Dimitri's monster, destroying him in an instant.
Dimitri: 1500 LP
"He's gone! My Black Luster Soldier is gone!" Dimitri exclaimed. 
"Don't sweat it, because he was never yours to begin with. Besides, if you want to worry about something, I'd worry about the Wingman's superpower, because now your monster's attack points are coming right out of your life points." Jaden reminded.
Dimitri: 0 LP
Winner: Jaden
"That's game. And the end of you using that deck," he said. 
'Simply incredible. Even though it wasn't Yugi using the deck, Jaden still beat one of the strongest decks in history. He's destined for greatness.' Michael thought to himself. 
"I've been beaten. Even with my...with Yugi's legendary cards. What's wrong with me? Why can't I ever win?" Dimitri asked himself.
"The answer to that is obvious." Zane said as he, Alexis, and Lily walked up to the group. 
"Why are you all here?" Jaden asked. 
"Why else? To see the deck, except it was gone." Zane responded. 
"We sneaked into the event hall and saw how the case had been broken in to. We figured the thief couldn't have gotten far, so we decided to look around." Alexis informed.
"Which led us here." Zane said. 
"We found you a while ago, but we didn't want to interrupt your duel." Lily added. 
"Wait, you saw it all? Me and Dimitri? The whole thing?" Jaden asked ecstatically. 
"Not just us. Your match attracted quite a bit of attention." Zane said as he gestured behind them, pointing out most, if not all, of the student body.
"Uh, hi. Glad you all could make it." Jaden said. 
"So what happens now?" Dimitri asked. 
"Well kid, the punishment for theft has always been crystal clear: straight-up expulsion. But, since I believe everyone here enjoyed seeing Yugi's deck in a duel rather than a display case, I don't think anyone is going to turn you in." Zane responded.
"Yeah, don't sweat it Dimitri. But you gotta tell us, how did you get so good with those spellcasters?" A Ra Yellow student asked. 
"What difference does it make? I still lost," Dimitri responded. 
"Except you didn't. The person you were pretending to be was the one who lost." Jaden responded. 
"You mean Yugi?" Dimitri asked.
"Nope. You could never be Yugi." Jaden responded. 
"Then who was I?" Dimitri asked. 
"You were you, but you also weren't. You see, when you copy someone, it's not like you're that person, you're you copying that person." Jaden responded. 
"You lost me." Dimitri said.
"Let me attempt to interpret for him Dimitri. You'll never win or lose until you put yourself out there, and that means creating your own deck and your own strategies, not piggybacking off someone else's. After all, there is no amount of studying you can do to able to use someone else's deck as well as they can." Zane explained.
"Yep. And no offense, but just because I beat you, that doesn't mean I could've beat Yugi. Now how about we put that deck back where it belongs?" Jaden asked. 
"Yeah, okay." Dimitri responded.
Timeskip
The next day, the exhibit hall was open, and everyone was gathered around the display case trying to get a look. 
"Looks like everything is back to normal." Jaden said. 
"Well, as normal as things get around this crazy place. By the way, what have you got there Jaden?" Chumley asked as he pointed to the rolled-up poster in his friend's hand.
"I got it at the merch shop. Isn't it great?" Jaden asked as he unrolled the poster, revealing it to be the same as the numerous ones posted around the exhibit hall. Before Chumley could answer, they both heard Syrus calling out to them as he ran up to them. 
"What's wrong Syrus?" Jaden asked as Syrus stopped to catch his breath.
"Dimitri is at it again." He said once he steadied his breathing. They followed Syrus to Dimitri, only to find him standing with his back to them dressed like Jaden. 
"Dimitri, what are you doing?" Jaden asked, creeped out by what he was seeing. 
"Who's this Dimitri? My name is Jaden, and I'm a Slifer Red. Now listen, we're dueling, so turn your game on." Dimitri responded.
"It's 'get your game on'. If you're gonna copy me, you can at least do it right." Jaden responded. 
"Whatever, we're gonna settle this in a duel, so get ready to throw up. I mean, let's throw down. Look let's just duel. Come on, get your deck out. This is gonna be swell!" Dimitri said before striking a terrible imitation of Jaden's signature pose.
"It's sweet! And you're not even close to doing my pose right!" Jaden shouted. 
"What am I doing wrong?" Dimitri asked. 
"Relax your wrist, straighten up your left leg, and shout from your diaphragm. That's sweet!" Jaden said as he showed him the right way to do it. 
"This is ridiculous." Chumley said. 
"Just another day at Duel Academy." Syrus added as Jaden and Dimitri kept arguing.