The Graduation Match, Part 1

Late one night...

Zane was laying on his bed, thinking about something that transpired after Chumley left the Academy.

*Flashback*

The other third year students from Slifer Red, Ra Yellow and Obelisk Blue gathered inside Crowler's classroom and watched the exam scores of the top 10 students. Arisa was with them as she was going to graduate this year. She made the most of her time on the island seeing Davis and Kaoru arrive, but she was going to miss Tyson enroll in the Academy.

At the very top, the student with the perfect score was Zane Truesdale.

"You've managed to pull it off again." Crowler congratulated him. "With the highest scores, you'll be able to headline this year's grad match! All that's left is to choose your opponent! So, who will it be?"

*'Whoever it is had best be worthy of the best duelist of the year.'* Arisa thought.

*'Who will I duel?'* Zane asked himself. *'The only one worthy. I owe Jaden a rematch.'*

Arisa had a feeling it would be Jaden which meant that she would be paying the Slifer Red Dorm a visit for the first time.

Her arrival surprised Syrus and Jaden.

"I've never visited this dorm before today." Arisa commented. "It's actually pretty nice."

"Thank you." Syrus said surprised. "Usually the other Obelisks call it a dump."

"I kinda see why and it's roomy considering Chumley graduated." Arisa said. "I'm not the only one visiting today."

Zane then entered the room.

"AH!" Syrus started freaking out.

"I wasn't expecting you, big brother." He told Zane.

"Zane always freaks you out." Jaden stated as Zane looked around the room. "What brings you here?"

"For the last three years, I've never set foot in this dorm." Zane said. "I'm glad to finally have a reason to do so."

"A reason?" Jaden asked. "To invite us to lunch or your sweet Obelisk functions."

"No." Arisa corrected him. "Zane's actually here to challenge you to a duel."

Syrus and Jaden were shocked to hear that.

"Oh and by the way." Arisa said. "I may as well treat you both to lunch when the time comes."

"Awesome." Syrus beamed.

"And it's gonna be in the Obelisk Blue Dorm." Arisa said. "Hopefully this will send a message to who the best duelist around here will be soon enough."

Jaden and Syrus started getting ready to head over to the Blue Dorm.

They come to the Blue Dorm a few minutes later. A majority of the Blues aside from Kaoru and Davis were surprised that two reds were there.

"What are these rejects doing here?"

"I invited them." Arisa snapped. "Got a problem with that?"

"N-no." They nervously responded.

"I didn't think so." Arisa said.

The three then walked inside the dorm.

"What do you think so far?" Arisa turned around and asked.

"This is high class, but I have to ask." Syrus said. "Why did that other Obelisk sound nervous when you asked if they have a problem with you inviting us here for lunch."

"I just wanted to make sure they didn't try to do anything to you guys." Arisa responded.

"Is it because you're a strong duelist?" Jaden asked.

"Yep, the second strongest after Zane in our year." Arisa said.

The trio made their way to the cafeteria and Arisa opened the doors.

"What food would you like?" She asked.

"Knowing Jaden he'll just eat till he's full." Syrus sweat dropped.

"You're probably right." Jaden rubbed the back of his neck.

Moments later Jaden and Syrus were digging into the food.

"This stuff is better than most of the food from the Red Dorm." Jaden said.

"Yeah it is." Syrus added.

"I'm glad you like it." Arisa smiled.

She was going to miss this.

Elsewhere in the Blue Dorm...

Davis and Kaoru had met up in his room.

"Arisa's going to be graduating soon." Davis told his younger sister.

"Yep and we've made the most of this time." Kaoru said. "We'll still be at the Academy though."

"Tyson will be enrolling next year." Davis informed his sister.

"I know that, but hey at least the Shiba clan can keep an eye on things." Kaoru said.

"What Kaoru is trying to say is that once Tyson enrolls a member of the Shiba clan will always be here even after Jaden and the others graduate." Arisa explained further.

Jaden was behind the Slifer Red Dorm, thinking about his upcoming duel.

*'Talk about a epic way to end the year.'* He thought to himself. *'I'm going up against the best duelist at the Academy.'*

"I have to make sure I win."

Winged Kuriboh felt a new presence. Looking behind him, Jaden saw Zane.

"Hello Zane." He greeted him.

"I came here to let you know our duel is taking place today. Are you ready?"

"Yeah." Jaden nodded.

"See you at the duel arena."

The next day...

Everyone in the school went to the arena to watch the duel.

"The last official duel of the year." Kaoru said. "It's amazing."

"I agree." Davis added.

"Somehow this is history in the making." Arisa said. "This is the first time a Slifer was in the graduation match. Hopefully it'll change things around here."

"One can hope." Ryan remarked.

"Either way next year aunt Kathy is coming." Kaoru said.

"I'm looking forward to it." Davis smiled.

"The duel's about to start." Ryan told them.

"Jaden and Zane in the final throw down of the year! Who could ask for a better match?" Atticus breathed.

Bastion pulled out a notepad and pencil, writing down figures.

"It's a mismatch." He said firmly, "According to my figures, Zane's at a great advantage,"

Alexis looked at him. "Yet, there are some things no one can figure..."

"And need we remind you Bastion that not every outcome can be mathematically calculated." Arisa said.

Chazz growled and crossed his arms.

*'What I can't figure out is how The Chazz got left out of **this'*** **duel!** He thought as the crowd suddenly began to cheer. The group watched as both Zane and Jaden marched out into the arena together, then split away, walking to their ends of the room.

Syrus cleaned his glasses, "Man, Jaden looks serious!"

"I wonder if he's nervous?" Alexis thought aloud.

Bastion squirmed a bit in his seat, "He ought to be,"

"No kidding!" Atticus shook his head, "This is *Zane*, the Kaiser of Duel Academy we're talking about here,"

Down below, the two duelists stepped onto the platform and walked towards the middle of it, where the two of them stared each other down.

"Alright Zane, may the best duelist win." Jaden said quietly, holding out his hand.

Zane nodded and took his hand, shaking it.

After exchanging pleasant formalities, the two duelists walked back to their ends and faced each other once again, their duel disks now activating. Jaden took his five cards for his hand and looked up at Zane, who was doing the same thing. The air in the arena was thick with tension.

The two best duelists at the Academy.

The Grad Match, the *final* match was about to begin.

Chancellor Sheppard looked at Crowler, who held a microphone and nodded.

Crowler returned the nod and stood up, "Now, the Graduation Match between Zane Truesdale and Jaden...is it Yucky? No, wait Yoody? No, no, Yuki, *Yuki*!"

"Enough small talk!" Zane snapped.

"You got that right." Jaden shot back at him.

The two of them now had a look of fierce determination on their faces.

"LET'S DUEL!" The two of them shouted as their Life Point meters flared to life and the crowd cheered wildly.

Zane: 4000

Jaden: 4000

"Get your game on, Zane!" Jaden's hand hovered over his deck, "So, who goes first?"

"You choose."

"Well, in that case, I'll go second."

Zane blinked, surprised at the choice, "Really? Second?"

*'Interesting choice.'* he thought, staring at Jaden.

*'By going second, Zane won't be able to summon that powerful Cyber Dragon, because there won't be a monster out on the field to do it.'* Jaden thought, glancing at his hand.

Zane bit his tongue in thought. '*Someone's been reading up on me...'*

"Jaden's been studying up." Kaoru said.

"Alright, Zane, time to throw down!"

"Very well then, here goes!" Zane drew his sixth card, "I activate the Spell Card, Polymerization! Now, by sending some select monsters from my hand to the Graveyard, I can summon a Fusion Monster!"

"To..the grave?"

"That's right, Jaden! There's more than one way to skin a cat...or in this case, summon a dragon!" Zane held up three cards, "I'll send the three Cyber Dragons in my hand to the Graveyard in order to summon the Cyber End Dragon."

Cyber End Dragon: 4000/2800

"That was fast." Davis said. "If it were me I would have a card that negates spell cards like Spell Canceller to prevent Zane from using Polymerization or Power Bond."

Everyone in the arena watched as Zane's most powerful Dragon appeared on the field, it's three heads roaring fiercely.

"Dear me!" Bastion gasped.

"And me." Syrus moaned.

"He's good." Alexis murmured.

"He didn't get this far with just his looks." Arisa said.

Jaden was a bit shocked to see the Dragon. '*I was wondering why he didn't care who went first, but now I know. He's prepared for any situation...the question is, am I? Especially with that Cyber End Dragon out! When that thing destroys a monster in defense mode, the difference between it's attack points and the defending monsters defense points are dealt to me as direct damage to my Life Points! Man, how can I let this happen?!'*

Growling, Jaden shook his head, "Well, are you done, or is there anything else you wanna throw at me?"

"As a matter of fact, there is..." Zane placed a card into a slot, "Different Dimension Capsule! Now Jaden, I select one card in my deck and remove it from play," he took a card out of his deck, "But two turns from now, it comes to my hand!".

"Hey I remember this..." Jaden watched as the strange coffin sank beneath the floor.

'*In our first match, Zane used the Capsule to add Power Bond to his hand...wonder if he's doing the same thing now?'*

"Finally, I'll place one card face down, and end my turn." Zane finished as he slipped a card into his disk.

*'The plot thickens...a face down card too? I can't tell what those cards are, but I have a hunch. Yeah, that Capsule card **must'*** **be Power Bond, and the face down card must be De-Fusion! He must be planning to De-Fuse Cyber End Dragon, then use Power Bond to finish me off!**

"Jaden, go on, it's your turn now." Zane said loudly, staring coolly at him.

Off to the sides, his friends saw how Jaden was acting in this duel...and it kind of worried them.

"What's wrong with him?" Alexis asked, "It's like he's frozen up?"

"Aw man." Syrus whimpered.

"He's trying to duel using his brain." Kaoru said.

"Not his style." Ryan remarked. "He should leave that for someone else."

"Besides using brains is Bastion's department." Arisa added.

*'Heh, Zane thinks he's gonna outsmart me again, but this time...*' Jaden grinned a little. '*I'll outsmart him, and I'll do that right now!'*

"Here goes!" Jaden drew his card, "I summon Elemental Hero Wildheart in attack mode."

Elemental Hero Wildheart: 1500/1600

Jaden's shirtless wildman appeared on the field, growling fiercely at the multi-headed dragon.

"Now, I'm gonna activate the effect of Wild Half!" Jaden held up another card, "Because of it's effect, the attack of your monster is split in half!"

"Now, a Half Token with the same number of attack points of your weakened dragon is summoned!" Jaden explained as an identical Cyber End Dragon appeared on the field, "But I'm not done yet, 'cuz now I play the Equip Spell card Cyclone Boomerang to Wildheart! Now, his attack points increase by 500!"

"Now Wildheart, attack Cyber End Dragon with Wild Walloping Boomerang!" Jaden orderd, pointing to the Half Token of the three headed dragon.

Zane kept a calm face as the boomerang came at his monster, and pressed a button on his duel disk, "I don't think so! I play De-Fusion!"

Everyone watched as the Half Token monster split into three separate monsters, followed by Wildheart's attacking boomerang whizzing right between two of them, missing either of them completely.

Jaden growled. "Against any of those three Cyber Dragons, Wildheart can't win, but with that one Cyber End Dragon, Wildheart has a chance...yeah, a really small one, but I have no other choice but to go for it. I just have to hope for the very best, otherwise *I'll* be bested!"

Once again, the giant boomerang spun through the air and made contact with the Cyber End Dragon, blowing it up completely. The only price he had to pay was his Wildheart, which blew up seconds afterward.

"He did it..." Alexis murmured, "Jaden destroyed Zane's Cyber End Dragon!"

Bastion nodded, "Indeed he did, Jaden must've calculated that Zane's facedown was De-Fusion. Impressive,"

"Yeah, but that's not really Jaden's style." Syrus piped.

"Sure, Wildheart's gone too, but since he was equipped with Cyclone Boomerang, all Spell and Trap cards on the field are destroyed!" he paused as the Different Dimension Capsule appeared, only to be blown to bits, "And for every Spell or Trap card destroyed, you take 500 big points of damage, Zane!"

Zane: 3500

Jaden: 4000

Crowler gawked.

"So, he not only destroyed the Cyber End Dragon, but he took the lead in the duel?!" he shrieked in disbelief.

Sheppard nodded.

"Yes, it seems that way. Jaden has really done his homework here..." He mused.

"Done his homework?" Crowler repeated slowly, "Well, it certainly would be the *first* time!"

Jaden tapped his forehead, looking right at Zane, "No more! In this duel, I'm playing with my head and not my heart!" He inserted a card into his disk, "Next, I'll throw down a face down and end my turn!"

"Oh, is that it? Very well." Zane drew his next card, "First of all, the card removed from play using Capsule, returns to me."

"Hey!" Jaden interjected. "Wait a sec! So...the card that was in there...*wasn't* Power-Bond?"

"That explains why Zane only took 500 points of damage." Kaoru said.

"No, it wasn't. Seems like you've overthought this one, Jaden," Zane turned over the mentioned card, "It was Card From the Different Dimension!"

Jaden's eyes widened a bit, "Whoa, didn't see that comin'..."

"Due to this." Zane went on, "We both get to draw two cards from our decks and add them to our hands."

Chazz nodded. "I get it. To summon his Cyber End Dragon, Zane had to use four of his cards. If he had used De-Fusion, then Power-Bond right after, there wouldn't be any cards left in his hand to use!"

"And that would be Zane in a tough spot," Bastion agreed.

Alexis nodded a little, "Yeah..."

"He sure is a clever guy." Atticus leaned over and looked at his baby sister, "Maybe you should root for him instead of your boyfriend Jaden?"

On cue Davis slapped Atticus on the back of the head.

Chazz cleared his throat. "Awkward..."

"C'mon, Jay..." Syrus stared hard at the duel. "Hang in there."

"Jaden has to be himself." Arisa commented.

"Alright..." Zane looked up at Jaden.

"Cyber Dragon, wage a direct attack on Jaden! Strident Blast!" He ordered.

The first Cyber Dragon roared and fired off a powerful stream of white energy at Jaden's defenseless side.

"Don't think so! I play a Trap called Draining Shield!" Jaden cried out as his face down was revealed. Moments later, a yellow dome appeared around him and absorbed the oncoming blast of energy.

"Sorry Zane, but your Dragon's attack is canceled!" Jaden grunted as the dome disappeared, "And I gain Life Points equal to the attack points!"

Zane: 3500

Jaden: 6100

"You'll need them because my remaining two Cyber Dragons will attack you directly!" Zane pointed at Jaden as his monsters reared upward, "STRIDENT BLAST!"

Jaden could only watch this time as the combined power of both dragons soared towards him, then cried out in pain as they hit their mark, dealing a great deal of damage.

Zane: 3500

Jaden: 1900

"Brutal." Arisa said.

"Next, I'll place a card face down and end my turn." Zane finished, slipping a card into his disk.

"Wow, Jaden just barely survived that turn," Alexis breathed, "Too close."

"It'll be even closer next time." Bastion thought aloud, "Those Dragons are still out, meaning that Jaden's in a constant state of peril. He must neutralize them!"

"This is Jaden, he can figure it out." Arisa said.

"Yeah, no joke, Bastion, that's the question of the day...but." Atticus scratched his head, "How, or more importantly, *when*?"

"You know..." Syrus sat back, "Normally, I would say not to worry-"

"But with the way that Jay's overthinking things here, I'm really not so sure..."

Alexis frowned a little, knowing that he was right, "I know..."

Chazz glanced at them both for a few seconds before looking ahead.

'C'mon Jaden, use your head!' Jaden snapped mentally, glaring at the three beasts ahead of him, You gotta think of a way to get rid of those Cyber Dragons, and you gotta do it right now!

"Here I got!" Jaden drew his next card, "I play the Spell card, The Warrior Returning Alive! Now, I can select one Warrior-Type monster from my Graveyard and add it to my hand!" he paused as his Graveyard glowed and a card returned back to his hand, "Welcome back, Wildheart! Now...," he held up an all too familiar Spell card, "I activate Polymerization to fuse Wildheart with Elemental Hero Bladedge (2600/1800) to summon the Elemental Hero Wildedge!"

Elemental Hero Wildedge: 2600/2300

Jaden smiled as his golden and spiked armored swordsman appeared on the field.

"Now, he's gonna edge you out by attacking all the monsters you have on the field with one devastating attack! So go and do your thing, Wildedge!" Jaden pointed to the enemy.

"Go wild on those three Cyber Dragons!" He ordered.

Wildedge roared a battle-cry and flew at the Dragons, jagged sword held high. With three powerful strokes, he cut deep into the beasts and everyone watched as they were all destroyed at the same time. Zane kept a calm look about him as his Life Points went down.

Zane: 2000

Jaden: 1900

"The one time Jaden is using his brain and it doesn't seem to work for him." Kaoru said.

"My goodness!" Crowler shot up from his seat, horror-struck, "All *three* Cyber Dragons destroyed in *one* turn!?"

Sheppard stared in amazement, "Remarkable...this duel certainly is living up to it's hype!"

Jaden smiled proudly, "What a shot! That was the sweetest! There's really something to all this strategizing stuff!"

Zane scoffed and smiled a little at Jaden, "You're a fool..."

"What?"

"I'm activating the Trap called Return Soul." Zane said, pressing a button on his duel disk, "Now, all my monsters that were destroyed this turn come back and return to my deck!" he explained as his Cyber Dragons appeared and flew into his deck.

"What did you expect?" Arisa asked.

Jaden grit his teeth. 'Great! Just when I thought I was rid of them, they're back and rarin' to get rid of me!'

Zane slowly shuffled his deck, eyes closed. "What a shame...I picked Jaden Yuki to be my opponent at my last duel...wonder where he is?"

"Say what?" Jaden looked at him, confused.

"You're not being yourself, you're not playing with your heart!"

"That's right!" Jaden shot back, "Because to beat you, I gotta play with my head! Like I'm doing now!"

"What you're doing, Jaden, is wasting my time."

"Sure I am...you can quit the mind games, okay? They're not gonna work."

"Mind games?" Syrus looked at his best friend, "I don't think that's what Zane's doing, but he does have a point. Jaden's been dueling differently this whole game!"

Zane drew his card, "It's my turn now, and I play the Spell card, Future Fusion! But, this is no ordinary Fusion...you see, I can fuse cards not in my hand! Therefore, I send three Cyber Dragons from my deck to the Graveyard in order to summon the Cyber End Dragon!"

Jaden watched as Zane's trademark monster, and probably the most annoying monster he had been up against, returned to the field, roaring all three ends.

"Of course, monsters created by Future Fusion aren't allowed to attack on the turn they're summoned...but I can wait." Zane said quietly, folding his arms over his chest.

'Yeah, well I can't!' Jaden stared up at the monster. 'I gotta think of a way to get rid of that thing, fast! C'mon, Jaden, use your brain!'

"Okay then, my turn!" Jaden drew his card, only to insert it, and the final two cards in his hands into his disk, "I'm throwing down three face downs and that's it for me."

"Still with your head." Zane scowled. "You can't win this way, Jaden!"

"Don't think so?" Jaden taunted. "Well, we'll just have to wait and see about that. Go ahead then, Zane, make your move!"

Zane's frown deepened, "What a disappointment you've become..."

"Enough with that!"

The Kaiser closed his eyes. "Alright, Jaden, fine. If you won't listen to my words, perhaps..." He paused and drew his next card. "You'll listen to my cards! First, I'll play the Spell card, De-Fusion! Now, one Fusion monster on the field returns to my Fusion deck, and my three normal Cyber Dragons come back!" He explained as his three smaller beasts appeared on the field.

He held up the card he just drew, "Now, I'll activate..."

A blinding light ripped through the arena, causing Jaden to yelp and cover his eyes as the light became brighter and brighter.

"Recognize it, Jaden?" Zane asked as a thick cloud formation appeared overhead, "It's Power Bond, and I'm going to use it to bring back an old friend...the Cyber End Dragon!"

With an almighty roar and a flash of lightning, Zane's best monster appeared on the field once more, taking it's place behind it's master. Everyone in the arena gasped and looked hard at the duel while Jaden stared at his opponent, not looking very happy...

"If you're wondering, and I'm sure you are, why I brought it back like this." Zane said coolly. "If a monster is summoned by the effects of Power Bond, it's attack points are doubled!"

"And if played right Power Bond could end the duel." Kaoru noted.

*'Just great! Looks like playing with my head...'* Jaden looked up at the mechanical hydra. *'...has gotten me headed to a giant loss! One that I may never live down!'*

"And to think, I admired you Jaden..." Zane slowly shook his head, his eyes staring into Jaden's. "I won't make that mistake again...nor will anyone else!"

"Oh no!"

"You're through!"

Arisa, Davis and Kaoru were worried.