Duel Giant

Jaden and I were able to make it to our first class, which, unlucky for us, turns out to be Crowler's. "Sorry we're late!" Jaden shouted and everyone in the room hears.

Crowler looks at us with anger in his eyes.

"No one comes late to my class!" He said. "You lazy, good-for-nothing, pathetic slackers! This school trains the next generation of dueling elites. Dropouts like you two don't belong here! Slifer slackers have such bad attitudes. Every good duelist knows TO SHOW UP TO CLASS ON TIME! Go stand in the hall!" He points at the door that we just came in as we walk away.

*'How is that guy a teacher?*' I thought to myself as I grumbled about how stupid that he was. I remember hearing that Joey Wheeler sometimes didn't show up to his classes and he's a great, underdog duelist that I know.

Classes are over as soon as the after school bell rings. As I was about to leave with Jaden, we were stop by Syrus and he looks like he's in a panic. "Jaden! Sora!" he calls out. "Dr. Crowler was pretty angry with you two."

Jaden laughs. "My bad!" He said with a playful smile.

I glare at him, knowing that it was his fault to begin with. *The next time we duel, it'll be before night!*

Syrus sighs. "You need to be more careful, Jaden!"

Then Dr. Crowler comes in the classroom and he's still looks piss. "Jaden Yuki and Sora Fernandez of Slifer Red!" He calls. "Come to my office!" And he just walks away.

Jaden looks like a deer in the headlights as he asks, "What's going on?"

"Aww, man!" Syrus spoke. "Jaden, Sora, what did you do this time?"

"How should I know?" I angrily answer. "I bet Crowler is pulling some lame excuse so he can talk bad about us!"

Jaden pats me on the back and smiles brightly at me. "Let's go see what he wants." We walk out of the classroom as we headed to Crowler's office.

We enter Crowler's office and it looks like someone made it into a doll's room because the fancy furniture kind of makes me think that I am in one. Crowler looks straightly at our eyes and said, "I called you both here today to talk about some mysteries incidents at the Academy during the night." Jaden and I gasp when hear about that. "Students from Obelisk Blue are being attacked at night. So I was looking for such wonderful slack…" Crowler coughs before he finishes that sentence. "I mean, such wonderful duelists such as yourselves to investigate these incidents for me."

*Thanks, you good-for-nothing, make-up wearing, prick of a teacher.* I put on a straight face as I was insulting him in my head. *I hope you rot in hell!*

Jaden looks excited as he accepts Crowler's request along with me without my saying. We left Crowler's office as my mind starts thinking ways of killing Crowler, but only for my relaxation.

Jaden and I split up to do our own thing to put a stop to these mysterious incidents. Jaden decides to wait until night to find the perpetrator. But for me, I decided to investigate more about this incident.

I walk down the hall as I saw some students running to the dueling field. Curiosity got me as I follow them. I saw a small number of students sitting as audience as they watch the duel between one of an Obelisk Blue male student against a Ra Yellow student, who is actually Brier.

Obelisk Blue male student's Life Points: 1000

Brier's Life Points: 300

On the Obelisk Blue's side, he has a facedown card and a blonde hair knight in green armor and wields two swords; it's a monster that I know as Marauding Captain.

Marauding Captain: Level 3, Earth

ATK: 1200 DEF: 400

And on Brier's side, he only has a rhino-like dinosaur with a sword as a horn and sword-like spikes on its back. I know that dinosaur as Mad Sword Beast.

Mad Sword Beast: Level 4, Earth

ATK: 1400 DEF: 1200

I decided to take a seat behind Brier, which allows me to look at his card from a small distance. I look at his hand and it looks like he's holding the spell card, Earthquake. That spell forces all face-up monsters on the field in defense mode. If he plays it, he wins the duel. However…

"Hey!" yell at one of the Obelisk Blue students in the audience seat. "What's the hold up?"

The other Obelisk Blue next to the yelling one also yells, "Hurry up! We want to be home any time soon!"

Their yelling causes Brier to be nervous. I can see the way he's panicking over the cards. If what Bastion says about Brier is right, then he's going to screw himself.

"M-my Mad Sword Beast attacks your Marauding Captain!" Brier yells in a stuttering tone as Mad Sword Beast charges at the green knight.

The Obelisk Blue smiles and said, "I activate my trap card, Reinforcements! This trap increases my Captain's attack points by 500!" Brier gasps as the Marauding Captain glows red.

Marauding Captain: ATK: 1200 + 500 = 1700

The Marauding Captain wields his two swords and slashes the Mad Sword Beast into pieces. The dinosaur explodes which causes Brier to lose the duel.

Brier's Life Points: 300 – 300 = 0

Brier was on his knees as the Obelisk Blue students laugh at him and insults him about his height and his dueling skill. I clench my hand into a fist and glare at those Obelisk Blues with anger. Then I notice Brier got up and walks away with an angry face.

As I look at Brier, I heard Bastion's voice saying, "I knew you were going to show up." I turn around to see Bastion walking towards me with a serious look on his face. "I told you about Brier; he's a great duelist, but he won't do any good if he has stage fright."

I remember about Crowler's request and since Bastion looks like he's good at socializing with people, I think he must have heard rumors about what happened with the Obelisk Blues. "Hey, Bastion. I was wondering if you heard any rumors about Obelisk Blues being attacked during night."

"Actually, I think have." He said as he sits next to me. "I heard this from some male students talking to each other: they say that there's a dueling giant who only appears at night to duel Obelisk Blues. This giant covers his entire body and face with the blazers of the Obelisk Blues, so no one knows his face. Before the giant duels his victim, he plays this sort of ante rule that the loser must give up a card."

When I heard the word "ante rule," I gasp in shock. "Isn't that illegal?" I angrily ask. "Giving up your own card is like giving up something that is a part of you."

Bastion got up from his seat and said, "I understand how you feel. But if you look at the giant's perspective, the ante rule may be the answer to show the Obelisk Blues' true skills. You and Jaden both prove that a duelist's strength doesn't come from ranks, but how you play the cards."

After hearing his words, I have this warm feeling inside. *Am I admiring him?* Then I notice Brier is walking with Beauregard, and judging from Beauregard's size, he could be the culprit. "Bastion… doesn't that big guy with Brier fit the giant's description?"

He turns to see them and laughs. "I'm sorry, but Beauregard's no duelist. Trust me, I see him duel. He often duels, but compare to Brier; he's not even good enough. The Academy not only raises elite duelists, but also game designers. And Beauregard has a dream to become one." Then Bastion looks at his watch. "Oh, dear… Look at the time! I must be going. Later, Sora." Bastion leaves the field.

I too leave the field, but to only catch up to Beauregard and Brier. But as soon as I got out of the Academy, I lost them. I look around but they're nowhere to be seen. I clench my teeth as I decided to walk back to my dorm to fix my deck in preparations for the upcoming duel tonight.

It's nighttime already as I waited in front of the Obelisk Blues' dorm. I figure since this rumored giant attacks Obelisk Blues, the dorm is perfect place because a dense forest surrounds it. As I waited, I heard a loud scream coming from behind. I hurry to where the sound was coming from. By the time I got there, I saw a familiar Obelisk Blue student on his knees. I was able to look at his face and I remember him as Brier's opponent earlier.

I help him up and ask, "Are you okay?"

He shook his head. "Some weird-looking guy dueled me for my rare cards! And he took them and left!"

"Don't worry." I reassure him, "I will find him and get your cards back!" He thanks me as I run to find the culprit.

After running for a short while, I was able to find him near a huge rock. I shouted, "Stop!"

The big guy turns around and I was able to see what he looks like. He's a giant that is within a range of 6 feet tall, which is a feet higher than my height and his entire upper body and face was covered with blazers from Obelisk Blue. He wears a pair of shades that covers his eyes.

My anger rose as I pointed at him and said, "I challenge you to a duel! If I win, you'll return the cards that you've stolen! And if you win, then I'll give you my Stardust Dragon and I won't tell a soul of what I just saw! Do you accept the terms?"

"Yes." He nodded as he activates his duel disk. "Let's duel!" I nodded as well as I activated my duel disk.

Sora's Life Points: 4000

Mystery Giant's Life Points: 4000

I start the duel by drawing one card from my deck. "I summon the Silent Magician Level 4 in attack mode!" A small, white, female mage appears in front of me.

Silent Magician Level 4: Level 4, Light

ATK: 1000 DEF: 1000

"I end my turn by placing a face down. Your move!" A card appears behind Silent Magician. The big guy nodded as he draws a card. I smile and said, "I activate my Silent Magician's special ability! Every time that you draw a card, my magician gains a counter and for every counter that my magician receives, she gains 500 attack points per counter!" Silent Magician glows blue as she puts on a serious face.

Silent Magician's Counter: 1

ATK: 1000 + 500 = 1500

The big guy looks at his cards and said, "I summon Giant Orc in attack mode!" A big orc wearing pants and wields a bone as a club appears in front of the Mysterious Giant.

Giant Orc: Level 4, Dark

ATK: 2200 DEF: 0

He orders his Giant Orc to attack Silent Magician, but I shouted, "You activated my trap! Scrap-Iron Scarecrow! This card negates your monster's attack, and as another bonus… instead of being sent to the graveyard after being used, my scarecrow stays on the field face down." The big guy gasps as he saw a metal scarecrow appears in front of my magician and take the hit. After the hit, it goes back to its face down position.

"I end my turn with one face down card." A card appears behind the orc.

"My turn! Draw!" I draw a card as I look at my current 5 cards in my hand. "I use the spell card, Card Destruction! This card makes both players to discard their entire hand and draw the same number of cards that they discarded." We both did what the card told us to do. "Now I activate Silent Magician's ability! Since you draw a card, she gains another counter!"

Silent Magician's Counter: 2

ATK: 1500 + 500 = 2000

"Next, I summon Synchron Explorer!" A small reddish-brown robot with a round hole on its chest appears next to Silent Magician.

Synchron Explorer: Level 2, Earth

ATK: 0 DEF: 700

"Synchron Explorer's special ability activates! You see… when he's summoned onto the field; I can bring back a tuner monster with 'Synchron' in its name. The only downside is that the monster that I'm reviving loses its special ability. So come out, Quickdraw Synchron!" A small cowboy with a red scarf that covers its face and holds two guns appears next to Synchron Explorer.

Quickdraw Synchron: Level 5, Wind

ATK: 700 DEF: 1400

I smile and shout, "I tuned Synchron Explorer with Quickdraw Synchron in order to synchro summon a monster of fiery beauty!" Quickdraw Synchron transforms into 5 rings, as Synchron Explorer becomes two stars inside those rings. "Let's rev it up! Rise, Black Rose Dragon!" A light shoots out from the rings and into the sky as red petals flies around the field by the wind. Behind me, a red-violet dragon that has red rose petals on its body and wings and thorns all over its tail, which makes it look like a rose plant appears.

Black Rose Dragon: Level 7, Fire

ATK: 2400 DEF: 1800

The big guy gasps and asks, "You have another powerful dragon besides Stardust?"

"You should be more worry about my dragon's ability instead," I said with a playful smile on my face. "I activate my dragon's special ability! Once per turn, I can remove from play one plant monster in my graveyard so I can drain all of your monster's attack points to zero!"

He gasps again as I show him the removed plant monster, which is Mushroom Man. My dragon roars as it summons plant vines under its wings that flies towards the Giant Orc and binds the orc.

Giant Orc: ATK: 2200 – 2200 = 0

I order my dragon to attack the orc; however, the Mysterious Giant uses the trap card called Negate Attack. That trap prevents my monster and quickly ended my battle phase. I clench my teeth as I place one face down card, which appears behind my dragon, and end my turn. Once I have ended my turn, Giant Orc's attack point returns to normal.

Giant Orc: ATK: 0 + 2200 = 2200

The Mysterious Giant draws a card and my Silent Magician gains another counter.

Silent Magician's Counter: 3

ATK: 2000 + 500 = 2500

"I discard a card from my hand, so I can activate Lightning Vortex!" he said as a huge bolt of lightning comes at my monsters.

However, I'm not going to let that lightning destroy my monsters. "I activate Starlight Road! This card negates my monsters' destruction from your Lightning Vortex. Not only that, I can summon Stardust Dragon from my extra deck zone." A pillar of light pushes away the lightning away as Stardust Dragon comes out of that light.

Stardust Dragon: Level 8, Wind

ATK: 2500 DEF: 2000

The big guy gasps as he switches Giant Orc in defense mode and summons a brown, horn imp wearing a Roman skirt next to the orc. The monster is the Horn Imp. He ends his turn without placing a facedown card.

Horn Imp: Level 4, Dark

ATK: 1300 DEF: 1000

I smile, knowing that I won this duel. I draw a card from my deck and said, "I use the spell card, Synchro Change! Let me explain… I can remove from play one synchro monster on my side of the field and I switch it with another synchro monster just as long as it is the same level as the removed synchro monster. So I remove from play my Stardust Dragon in order to summon Red Dragon Archfiend!" Stardust flies up in the air as it consumes into fire. Once the fire dies down, a red, demonic-looking dragon appears next to Black Rose Dragon.

Red Dragon Archfiend: Level 8, Dark

ATK: 3000 DEF: 2000

The big guy gasps as I smile in a sinister way. "Are you afraid?" I ask and my tone sounds like I'm a psychopath. "You should be because once Red Dragon Archfiend attacks a monster in defense position, all other monsters on the field in the same position are also destroy! Go Red Dragon! Attack his Horn Imp!"

Red Dragon Archfiend uses his fist of fire and punchs Horn Imp as fire spreads and destroys not only the imp but also the orc. The big guy gasps because he lost his two defenses. I order my Silent Magician and Black Rose Dragon to finish this duel as my two monsters combine their attacks to the Mysterious Giant. The Silent Magician fires a white beam from her staff and Black Rose Dragon uses its thorn, vine whips. The duel is over and with a big boom.

Mysterious Giant's Life Points: 4000 – 4900 = 0

That explosion was able to blow away the giant's disguise and the giant turns out to be Beauregard from Ra Yellow. I wasn't surprise as I run up to him and asks if he needs any help getting up. Then Jaden shows up just in time.

"I was watching!" he said with a smile on his face. "You two had a pretty sweet duel! But… What's with the disguise?"

"Angry…" Beauregard answers, "I was so angry!"

"It's not Beauregard's fault!" said a voice coming behind the rock. Brier comes out of the rock and it looks like he has a headset microphone on his right ear.

Beauregard looks shock. "Brier! You have to stay hidden!"

Brier shook his head. "It's okay, Beauregard." He looks like the weight that he was holding had finally lifted for some reason. "I have the skill to beat Obelisk Blues, but when it's duel time in front of people, I get all nervous and mess up."

"So the Blue students always make fun of us!" Beauregard added and it kind of shocks me. I ask him what the Blue students made fun of him and it turns out that they insult him because he's not good at dueling and that he's bigger than anyone. "That's why we decided to team up and teach those Obelisk bullies a lesson."

"Even if it means to use an ante rule," I spoke in serious tone. "Don't you know that you're stealing something that is a part of them?"

Beauregard looks sad as he nods his head because he acknowledges his action.

"Jaden, what do you think of our dueling style?" He asks.

"You guys were great!" he happily said. "I mean… I'd love to duel you myself next time!"

Beauregard looks happy because he's smiling. "Thanks, Sora! Jaden!" He turns to Brier and said, "We don't need disguises. You really do have talent."

"Yeah, you're right." Brier nodded. Jaden and I are happy to hear their resolution.

Beauregard makes a serious face and said, "We'll beat those bullies fair and square!"

Brier jumps in excitement. "Totally! I won't be nervous anymore!"

"Awesome!" Jaden smiles. "I can't wait! See you!" He left the scene.

However, before I leave… "You two better remember our deal! I won that duel, so you better return those cards to their rightful owner." The two nodded for what I had said as we head back to our dorms.

The next day, Jaden and I went to Crowler's office to tell him about last night. Crowler asks, "Did you find the criminal?"

I think about the two Ra Yellow students and we know that we can't turn them in, so we decided to lie.

"Sorry." Jaden said, "it was all quiet and peaceful." Crowler gasps as Jaden grabs my hand and drags me out of the office, leaving the Obelisk Blue teacher baffled.

Jaden and I ran down the halls as we stop next to the library. He and I laugh at how we lie to Crowler as I notice something from my hand. "Hey, Jaden." I said, "You can let go of my hand now."

"Oops! Sorry about that!" He lets go of my hand and leaves the halls.

I too leave in a different direction, but then stop to a window to see Brier beating an Obelisk Blue student in a duel. I smile and walk away as I hope that both Brier and Beauregard become great duelists someday.