360Disclaimer: Still don't own Yugioh GX.
So, I decided to go with a short chapter before the graduation match. Jaden vs Zane I'll probably just do one chapter and be done with it.
Thanks to The Duelist of Dawn for helping me coming up with the title.
Enjoy!
Clash of the Slifers/Hero vs Samurai!
Late in the evening, Zane Truesdale was lying in bed staring up at the ceiling, thinking about recent events. With exams now over, and having (once again) gotten the highest score in the school, Zane was set to be the headliner in the upcoming graduation match. The only thing left was who he was going to choose as his opponent…
'Who will I duel?' Zane thought to himself. 'Who else could be worthy but those who defeated the Sacred Beasts?' He stood up from his bed and walked over to his balcony, staring out the window in the direction of the Slifer Red dorm. 'Question is… which one will I choose?'
Over at the Slifer Red dorm the next morning…
"WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
Syrus and Jaden were leaning back against the guard rail, watching Jeremy who was standing on the rooftop, arms in the air and cheering loudly. "Jeremy sure seems happy," Jaden remarked.
"How'd he get up there?" Syrus wondered.
Jaden shrugged his shoulders in response. "Hey Jeremy, what're you cheering about? Did you get a great score on the exams?"
"Pff, it wasn't that good," Jeremy said dismissively. "But… thanks to all that studying with Christine, I did good enough that I'm not gonna be grounded forever. YEAH BABY!"
"That's awesome!"
"Yeah…" Syrus said, looking less enthusiastic than the others. "Umm, maybe you wanna come down here before you fall and hurt yourself?"
"Hold your horses, I'm coming." Jeremy slowly made his way to the edge of the roof and jumped down onto the deck. "See? Not a scratch. So… wadda you guys wanna do? I feel like we should celebrate making it to the end of the year."
The three boys all leaned against the railing and looked out at the sea as they thought about it. "You know, I overheard a couple Ra students talking about you guys yesterday," Syrus piped up a moment later. Jaden and Jeremy looked down at their diminutive friend, interested. "They were debating which of you guys was the top Slifer in the school." Jaden and Jeremy suddenly went still and looked over Syrus' head straight at each other with such intensity that Syrus could've sworn he saw sparks fly.
A grin broke out on Jaden's face. "You know… I just had an idea…"
Jeremy looked back at him with a matching grin. "Is that so? Me too…"
"It'd be just the thing to celebrate making it through our freshman year…"
"Plus, since people are wondering, we really should figure out who's the top Slifer…"
Syrus looked back and forth from one to the other, before they both suddenly took off running towards their room, coming out a moment later with duel disks attached. The two of them went out in front of the dorm building, shuffled their cards, and after a coin flip it was decided that Jaden would go first. "You ready, Jeremy?" Jaden asked, inserting his deck and activating his duel disk.
Jeremy grinned and mirrored the gesture. "Game on, Jay!"
"Let's duel!" "Let's duel!"
Jaden: 4000
Jeremy: 4000
"Jaden and Jeremy facing off for the title of Duel Academy's Top Slifer…" Syrus muttered to himself as the duelists drew their cards, with Jaden drawing a sixth. "I don't know who to cheer for."
Jaden considered his options for a second before slapping a monster onto his disk. "I'll start things off with my old pal Bubbleman in attack mode." A stream of bubble coming up out of the ground announced the water hero's arrival. (8/800/1200) "And of course, since he's all alone, I get to draw two cards, like Polymerization, which I'll use to combine Bubbleman with Clayman to create Mudballman in defense mode." Jaden's heroes vanished into a fusion vortex, then a second later the earthen giant pulled himself out, crouching down on the field. (6/1900/3000) "That's it for now. Let's see you get through him."
"Actually, I think I'll just go over him instead. I summon The Six Samurai Yariza." Jeremy's samurai appeared, spear at the ready. (3/1000/500) "Then I'll equip him with The Samurai Standing Alone, so his effect can kick in even without another Samurai. Now attack Jaden directly!" Yariza jumped high into the air and hurled his spear at Jaden.
Jaden: 4000-3000
"Ha! First blood!" Jeremy declared.
"Not bad, Jeremy," Jaden admitted, grinning.
"Thanks, Jay. I'll just place two cards face-downs and turn things over to you."
"Alright then. First I'll switch Mudballman to attack mode." The giant hero stood up to full height. (6/1900/3000) "Then I'll summon Burstinatrix in attack as well." The fiery heroine appeared in a flash of fire. (3/1200/800) "Now, Mudballman attack Yariza!"
"Not so fast," Jeremy interrupted. "I play Spirit Barrier, so as long as I control one or more monsters, I take no damage from your attacks. Plus, by sending my equip spell to the graveyard, Yariza isn't destroyed." A light green shield appeared in front of Yariza just in time for Mudballman to slam into it, shattering it into pixels but leaving Yariza unharmed.
"Okay, I might not deal any damage, but Burstinatrix can still take out Yariza, so go get im!" Burstinatrix conjured a fireball in her hand and hurled it at Yariza. "Then I'll throw down a face-down and call it a turn."
"And I'll start by revealing my other face-down, Return of the Six Samurai, so come on back, Yariza." Jeremy's samurai rose up in front of him. (3/1000/500) "But he's not gonna be sticking around for long, because I'm sacrificing him to summon Shien's Pet." Yariza faded away and was replaced by the armoured canine. (6/2200/1800) "Btw, since I sacrificed a Six Samurai to summon him, Shien's Pet cuts your monsters attack points in half." The canine monster raised its head and howled, weakening Jaden's monsters. (6/1900-950/3000) EHM (3/1200-600/800) EHB "Sic em, boy! Attack Mudballman!" Jeremy's monster leapt across the field just as Jaden activated his trap.
"Go, Draining Shield!" A transparent green barrier surrounded Jaden's hero, causing Jeremy's monster to bounce off. "Thanks to this, your monster's attack is negated, and I gain life-points equal to his attack points."
Jaden: 3000-5200
"I'll get through eventually," Jeremy insisted. "Your move."
"Let's see… I guess I'll just throw down another face-down and switch Mudballman and Burstinatrix to defense mode." Jaden's monsters took defensive stances. (6/950/3000) EHM (3/600/800) EHB "That's it for now."
"My turn again… First I'll play Pot of Greed. I think you know what this does."
"Pretty sure everyone knows what it does," Syrus piped up.
Jeremy chuckled at this and continued. "Good point, Sy. Anyway, I'll follow up with Six Samurai United, which gets a Bushido counter whenever a Six Samurai monster is summoned. Like Six Samurai Summoner." The short, elderly spellcaster rose on Jeremy's field. (2/500/600). (SSU: 1 counter) "There's more. I play my own Polymerization, with Familiar Knight as a dark attribute monster, and Summoner as a Six Samurai, so I can bring out Bushido's Apprentice - Shadowblade." A portal appeared on the ground, sucking in Jeremy's monsters and spitting out the dual wielding shadow warrior. (5/2000/2000) (SSU: 2 counters) "Then I'll use her effect to force Mudballman to attack mode." Shadowblade raised one of her swords, creating a shadowy aura around Jaden's hero that forced him to stand up. (6/950/3000) "Now let's try this again. Shien's Pet, attack Mudballman." This time, the armoured canine pounced on Mudballman, slamming him to the ground.
Jaden: 5200-3950
"And thanks to her other effect, when she attacks, Shadowblade can force your monster to change battle mode." Shadowblade dashed across the field, prompting Burstinatrix to stand up... (3/600/800) just before she was struck down.
Jaden: 3950-2550
"Since you destroyed one of my monsters, I can use Hero Signal to summon Elemental Hero Stratos from my deck." The 'H' light emerged from Jaden's trap, calling forth the blue flying hero. (4/1800/300) "And thanks to his effect, I can add Wildheart to my hand."
"Well, I'm outta cards, so gimme your best shot," Jeremy said, smirking in anticipation.
"You got it," Jaden fired back, smiling as he drew his next card. "I play another Polymerization. And this time I'm fusing Wildheart with Bladedge to summon Elemental Hero Wildedge." The two heroes appeared on the field and began twirling around each other, spinning faster until they merged together. (8/2600/2300) "Now Wildedge, take out his monsters with Scimitar Slash." Wildedge raised his armoured arm and fired a flurry of crescent blades, cutting down Jeremy's monsters.
"I use Shadowblade's effect to bring back Summoner in defense mode." Jeremy's spellcaster returned to the field. (2/500/600) (SSU: 3 counters)
"What'd you do that for?" Syrus wondered. "Wildedge is just gonna destroy him too."
"Yeah, but I still get a Bushido Counter for summoning him," Jeremy explained.
"That's true, but he won't be around for long. Wildedge, attack again." Jaden's warrior drew his weapon and charged, swinging his sword in a wide arc, destroying Summoner. "Now that your field's empty, Stratos has a clear shot. So fire away!" Stratos activated the turbines in his wings, kicking up a wind that blew slammed into Jeremy, taking out a chunk of his life-points.
Jeremy: 4000-2200
"Nice one," Jeremy complimented his friend.
"Why thank you," Jaden replied. "I'll just set this face-down and back to you."
"I summon the Six Samurai Irou in attack mode." The dark samurai rose from the ground, hand on his sword. (4/1700/1200) (SSU: 4) "Then I'll send Six Samurai United to the graveyard and draw four cards. Sweet. I special summon Grandmaster of the Six Samurai." Irou was joined by the one eyed veteran. (5/2100/800) "Grandmaster, attack Stratos." The grey haired warrior charged at Stratos, jumped into the air and swung his sword. As he nimbly landed on the ground, Stratos exploded in a shower of pixels.
Jaden: 2550-2250
"Two more face-downs, and that's it for me."
Jaden drew his next card and took a moment to consider his options. 'One of those cards must be a trap,' he thought to himself. 'Lucky for me, I've got something that should help out.' "I summon Elemental Hero Avian." The green feathered hero appeared on the field in a burst of wind. (3/1000/1000) "Now, Wildedge attack!"
Jeremy smirked at the incoming attack. "Sorry Jay, but I've got a trap. Go Mirror Force."
"It's all good," Jaden replied with a smirk of his own. "I've got a trap of my own, Feather Wind. And as long as I've got Avian on the field, I can negate the effect of one spell or trap card and destroy it. So bye bye Mirror Force."
"Nope. I chain Musakani Magatama. Thanks to this, as long as I control a Six Samurai, I can negate one of your cards that destroys one or more cards and destroy it. And without Feather Wind, your monsters go boom." Wildedge slammed into a translucent barrier, which pulsated outwards, destroying him and Avian.
Despite this setback, Jaden simply laughed. "I thought I had you there. Oh well. I'll just throw this face-down."
"I summon the Six Samurai Nisashi." Jeremy's green samurai joined his allies on the field. (4/1400/700) "Now attack Jaden directly."
"Go, Negate Attack!" Sounds waves erupted from Jaden's card, stopping Nisashi in his tracks and forcing him back.
"Okay then, guess I'll just end my turn."
"They're really going at it," someone remarked next to Syrus.
"Yeah, neither one's giving a… wait a minute." The younger Truesdale turned his head and was greeted to the sight of his older brother. "AH!" Jaden and Jeremy looked away from their duel and saw that Syrus had fallen over in surprise, and Zane was standing next to him. For his part, the elder Truesdale seemed almost amused by his brother's reaction. "Sorry," Syrus said as he stood up. "You, uh, just kinda scared me there big bro."
"Zane always scares you, Sy," Jaden pointed out.
"Hey Zane," Jeremy greeted the Obelisk boy. "What's up?"
"It's funny… in my three years at the academy, I've never once set foot in this dorm. It's nice that I finally have a reason to come out here."
"A reason? Like to invite us out to lunch?" Jaden asked. "Or one of your hot shot Obelisk Blue functions? If that's the case, can it wait until we're finished our duel?"
"You know, I wasn't sure how I was going to decide at first, but your duel's given me an idea."
"Decide what?" Jeremy inquired. "What idea?"
"Whoever wins this duel… gets to join me in the grad match."
Jaden, Jeremy and Syrus stared with eyes wide open. "Huh!?"
"Whaaa!?"
"The grad match!?" Syrus exclaimed. "That's the biggest duel of the year."
"I know. So, Jaden, Jeremy… what do you say?"
Jaden and Jeremy slowly looked away from Zane and stared straight at each other for several seconds without blinking. "Nothing personal Jeremy, but I've been dying for a rematch with Zane."
"Nothing personal Jaden, but I'm not giving up without a fight."
"Then get your game on!" Jaden exclaimed. "Ha! Check this out! I set one card and activate Card of Sanctity, so we both get to draw."
"Oh, I'm gonna make you regret letting me draw cards like this," Jeremy said with a cocky smirk.
"Maybe, but it'll have to wait until my turn's over. Next I play Graceful Charity, so I can draw three and send two to the graveyard, followed by Fusion Recovery to grab Polymerization and Clayman, and then I'll summon him." The earthen hero rose out of the ground in front of Jaden. (4/800/2000) "Then I'll equip him with Clay Wrap." Jaden's face-down flipped up and Clayman was surrounded by a layer of transparent mud.
"I can guess what's coming next," Jeremy said.
"If you guessed Polymerization, then you're right, cause I'm fusing Clayman with Sparkman to create Elemental Hero Thunder Giant!" Sparkman and Clayman entered the portal, and out came the massive electric hero. (6/2400/1500) "Now I think it's time to get rid of that Spirit Barrier, and thanks to Clay Wrap, I'll do just that." Jeremy's trap card suddenly exploded. "And don't forget Thunder Giant, because I'm using his effect to destroy Nisashi." Thunder Giant put his hands together and called down a lightning bolt on the green warrior. "Now attack Irou. Voltic Thunder!" Jaden's monster fired a blast of electricity from his hands, destroying the dark warrior.
Jeremy: 2200-1500
"I'll just throw down a face-down and call it a turn."
"I'll start with Shien's Blessing, to summon two Six Samurai in defence mode, like Yariza and Summoner." The two monsters appeared next to Grandmaster, crouching down. (4/1000/500) SSY (2/500/600) SSS. "Then I'll give Summoner his gemini effect, and use it to special summon Kamon." There was a sudden explosion on Jeremy's field, and when the resulting cloud of dust subsided, Kamon was on the field. (3/1500/1000) "And for my next card, I activate Allied Forces, so with three warriors and one spellcaster on the field, my warriors all gain 800 attack points." (5/2100-2900/800) GSS (3/1500-2300/1000) SSK (4/1000-1800/500) SSY
"Okay, that's not bad," Jaden admitted.
"Just wait till you see em in action. Grandmaster, attack Thunder Giant!"
"Not bad… but not good enough," the brunette Slifer interrupted, activating his face-down. "I play Miracle Kids. And since I just discarded two Hero Kids, your Grandmaster loses 800 attack points." Two ghostly versions of Hero Kid latched onto Grandmaster, weakening him as he charged. (5/2900-2100/800) Thunder Giant then let loose a blast of electricity, blowing Grandmaster away.
Jeremy: 1500-1200
(3/2300-2100/1000) SSK (4/1800-1600/500) SSY "Alright, minor setback, but I'll turn things around soon enough."
"We'll just see about that, won't we?" Jaden shot back with a competitive grin as he drew his next card. "Thunder Giant, attack the Six Samurai Kamon." Jaden's hero raised his hands and fired another blast of electricity.
"I use Kamon's effect so Summoner gets destroyed instead of him," Jeremy interrupted. "And since Summoner can avoid being destroyed once per turn, all I lose is a few life-points." Summoner waved his hands in the air, surrounding Kamon with a blue aura that protected him from Thunder Giant's attack, though some of it went on to hit Jeremy.
Jeremy: 1200-900
"Way to play, Jaden!" Syrus exclaimed.
"Hey, what about me!?" Jeremy called out.
"Uh, I mean, I'm sure you'll turn things around, Jeremy."
The blond boy smiled and waved his hand at this. "I'm just pulling your leg, Sy."
"I'll place a monster in defense mode and throw down another face-down. Now come on, Jeremy, let's see what you've got."
"You got it. First off, I'll play my own Graceful Charity. Then I'll summon Zanji and use Summoner's effect to bring out Yaichi as well." Jeremy's warriors materialized amidst their allies, empowering each other with Allied Forces. (4/1800-2800/1300) SSZ (3/2100-2500/1000) SSK (3/1300-2300/800) SSYai (3/1600-2000/500) SSYar "Next, I'm gonna destroy your face-down with Yaichi's effect." The yellow samurai put an arrow to his bow and shot Jaden's face-down. "Now, Zanji, take out his Thunder Giant!" Zanji dashed forward and stabbed Thunder Giant in the chest, causing him to explode in a shower of pixels.
Jaden: 2250-1850
"Kamon, take out his other monster." Kamon lit a stick of dynamite and hurled it at Jaden's defending monster, which was revealed to be Wroughtweiler.
"Thanks," Jaden said. "Now I can use Wroughtweiler's effect to grab Polymerization and Sparkman from my graveyard."
'Jaden's at his most dangerous when he's got monsters and Polymerization in his hand,' Jeremy thought to himself as he stared at his friend across the field, then looked at the cards in his hand. "I place one card face-down and end my turn." 'With this, Jaden will need a really big gun to blast through my defences.'
"My turn," Jaden declared. "And I'll start with the spell Spy Hero, so I send two random cards from my deck to the graveyard and I can help myself to a spell card from yours, like Pot of Greed, which I'll play right now. Sweetness!"
"I don't like the sound of this," Jeremy said.
"Then you're sure not gonna like this, because one of those cards is King of the Swamp, and I can use him as a substitute for a fusion material monster, so long as the others are the right ones."
"With Sparkman in his hand, I think it's an easy guess what's coming next," Zane remarked.
"I play Polymerization one more time, fusing King of the Swamp and Sparkman to call out Elemental Hero Shining Flare Wingman!" Sparkman and a creature made of living swamp water appeared before Jaden, with the later changing into a copy of Flame Wingman before they both disappeared into the fusion vortex. A moment later, Flare Wingman stepped onto the field. (8/2500/2100) "And with ten heroes in the grave, plus Ocean because of Spy Hero, Flare Wingman gains 3300 attack points!" Jaden's hero began to shine brightly as he powered up. (8/2500-5800/2100)
"Now that's a big monster," Syrus remarked.
"Looks like I'm gonna get my rematch with Zane," Jaden declared excitedly. "Flare Wingman, attack Zanji and end this duel!"
"The duel's not over yet!" Jeremy butt in, activating his face-down. "I play Covering Fire, so Zanji gains as many attack points as Kamon." A fiery colored aura appeared around Kamon, which spread to Zanji. (4/2800-5300/1300) Flare Wingman then flew into the air and dive bombed Zanji. Summoner raised his hands, changing the aura around Zanji to a bright blue just before Flare Wingman slammed his fist into the Samurai. Even though Zanji stayed on the field, the impact kicked up enough wind that Jeremy had to brace himself.
Jeremy: 900-400
Despite the results, Jaden was laughing good heartedly. "Man, when you said you weren't giving up without a fight, you sure weren't kidding."
"Told ya," Jeremy shot back.
"I'll just summon Winged Kuriboh and end my turn." Jaden's spirit friend cooed as he appeared on the field. (3/300/200)
"Here goes…" Jeremy drew his next card, and then a wide grin spread across his face. "Oh yeah! I play Six Scrolls of the Samurai, sacrificing Yariza and Kamon to summon Great Shogun Shien." The two samurais vanished, turning into energy that pooled together to call forth Jeremy's ace. (7/2500/2400) "Then I'll also summon Chamberlain of the Six Samurai in defense mode." The metal limbed warrior appeared crouching down next to Shogun. (3/200/2000) "And don't forget Allied Forces is still in play." (7/2500-3500/2400) GSS (3/200-1200/2000) CSS "And here's the best part… I equip United we Stand to Shogun, giving him an extra 4000 attack points!" Shogun let out a loud war cry as an aura flew from each of his allies into him. (7/3500-7500/2400-6400)
Syrus blinked as he stared at the field. "And I thought Flare Wingman was big."
"Shogun, attack Shining Flare Wingman with Great Master's Blade!" Shien charged forward and swung his sword hard. Nothing happened for a second, then the top half of Jaden's monster slid away, followed by its body exploding in pixels.
Jaden: 1850-150
"With that done, Zanji, attack Winged Kuriboh." Zanji dashed across the field, taking out the brown fluff ball with a swing of his weapon. "Of course, since I can't do any more damage now, I end my turn. How's that for a comeback?"
"I'll admit, that was pretty good," Jaden said, drawing his next card. The brunette grimaced as he looked from Jeremy's field to the cards he had in his hand. "I play Monster Reborn to bring back Winged Kuriboh." Jaden's spirit friend re-appeared on the field. (1/300/200)
Winged Kuriboh's eyes bulged comically as it saw Jeremy's monsters and it turned around to stare at Jaden. "Coo?"
"Sorry pal, but I need you to hold him off for a bit."
"Coo."
"Your move, Jeremy."
"I like Winged Kuriboh a lot better when he's on my side," Jeremy said, drawing a card. "Sorry to do this to you again little guy. Shogun, attack." The red armoured warlord crossed the field in an instant and swung his sword, sending Winged Kuriboh back to the graveyard. "I place one card face-down, switch Zanji and Yaichi to defense mode and end my turn." The two warriors knelt down. (4/2800/1300) SSZ (3/2300/800) SSY
"You know… I have a feeling we've just about reached the end of our duel," Jaden proclaimed.
"Is that so? Well then, show me what you got, Jay."
"You got it! First I play my own Pot of Greed. Then I'll remove the Breakthrough Skill that Spy Hero sent to the graveyard to negate Shogun's effect. Now I can use a few more cards, like Miracle Fusion. So I'll banish Bubbleman, Clayman, Avian and Burstinatrix to create Elemental Hero Electrum!" Jaden's four heroes rose from the grave, turning into light which swirled together to form the hero that defeated Amnael and Kagemaru. (10/2900/2600) "Not only does Electrum gain 300 attack for each of your monsters that share an attribute with him, but since he's treated as every attribute except dark and you've got five monsters on the field, that means 1500 extra attack points!" (10/2900-4400/2600)
"That's cool and all, but I know you've got more than this," Jeremy said.
"Oh, I do. I play Elemental Recovery, banishing Polymerization to grab Miracle Fusion and play it again. This time I'll banish Ocean and King of the Swamp substituting for Woodsman to summon Elemental Hero Terra Firma!" Ocean and King of the Swamp appeared, with the later turning into a copy of Woodsman. The two then merged together to form the Legendary Planet monster. (8/2500/2000) "Then I'll use his effect and sacrifice Electrum so he gains all of his attack." Electrum turned into a bright light that flowed into Terra Firma. (8/2500-6900/2000) "And for my last card… Skyscraper." Several skyscrapers burst from the ground, including one that carried Terra Firma up into the air. "And since Terra Firma has less attack than your Shogun, he gains 1000 in battle. Now attack Great Shogun Shien with Earth Impact!" (8/6900-7900/2000)
As Terra Firma leapt off the skyscraper, Jeremy moved his free hand towards his duel disk, then paused as he noticed Jaden's excited expression. Instead, he let his hand fall to his side. Terra Firma's attack struck Great Shogun Shien, shaking the earth and kicking up a huge cloud of dust.
Jeremy: 400-0
When the dust cleared, the holograms were gone, and Jeremy was standing there with a smile.
The two duelists looked to the side where they saw Zane sporting a small smile and clapping his hands. "Well played, both of you. Jaden… I'll see you in the grad match." The elder Truesdale started to walk away, then paused for a moment and looked back at them. "I like your dorm, by the way. It's a good fit for you kids."
"Man, that was intense!" Jaden exclaimed, walking over to his friend and holding his hand up. "You really made me work for it."
"Thanks Jay," Jeremy replied as they high-fived each other. "Can't wait to see your re-match with Zane."
"Oh boy, this is gonna be so sweet! The last duel of the school year and I'm in it!"
"Yeah, the thick of it!" Syrus piped up as he joined them. "Come on Jaden, this is Zane we're talking about! The only student duelist you've ever lost to. And you're gonna be dueling him in front of the entire school!"
"Sheesh, chill out, Sy," Jeremy said.
"I'm serious!" Syrus exclaimed. "If Jaden doesn't win, he'll be stuck in Zane's shadow forever!"
Jeremy looked at Jaden and clapped him on the shoulder. "No pressure."
"Well then… guess I'll just have to win," Jaden declared confidently.
"But Jaden… that's easier said than done," Syrus insisted. "Don't get me wrong, you're good, but Zane is…"
"Zane is what, Syrus?" Jaden asked.
"He's just never lost. Sure, there was that duel with Camula, but he lost that on purpose for me. Other than that, he's undefeated. Unbeaten. Look… it's not that I don't believe in you, I… just don't wanna see you get hurt. Aww man, this is just coming out wrong. What can I say?"
Jaden looked at the younger Truesdale for a moment, then smiled and said: "How about… get your game on!"
"Alright. I guess it can't hurt to try."
"By the way, Jeremy…"
"Hmm?"
"I'm just curious, what was that last face-down you had?"
"Umm…" Jeremy was a bit put on the spot as his friends looked at him expectantly. He thought about it for a moment, then shrugged his shoulders and showed them the card.
"Spell Textbook? But why didn't you use it?" Jaden asked, confused.
"Well, I was going to… but you were so excited for a rematch with Zane… I figured I could let you have this one. Besides, with a card like this, who knows who would've really- oof!" Jeremy was caught off guard as he suddenly found himself trapped in a bear hug.
"Thanks Jeremy! You're the best!"
"Sure thing," Jeremy replied, feeling a little out of breath. "Just don't lose against Zane, okay?"
"You got it!"
"I love you guys!" Syrus exclaimed, crying as he joined them in a group hug.
As usual, hope you liked it, please review, etc, etc. :-)