Era of Spirits and Shadows Chapter 18 (Patreon)

Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter for Era of Spirits and Shadows! More time passes as the first year for our favorite Duelists continues. More classes, more Duels, and more training in Shadow Magic for a very, very, small group of students. But as with anything in life, things can happen, mistakes can be made, and plans may have to be pushed back for a time. Hopefully, the said mistake doesn’t cause any damage.

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So, without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 18 – Shadow Magic Mistake, Angels vs Heroes

Another day at Duel Academy had just ended as the final bell rang. Most of the students happily left their final classes for the day, heading to the canteen to hang out or to the Card Shop to see what had come in recently. Some simply headed back to their dorms to work on assignments or to build new Decks, Side Decks, or to simply experiment with a new archetype with the cards they had available. It was very rare that the Duelists of the Academy weren’t trying to improve whatever they could about their Dueling skills.

But for a small group of students, they had headed for a small clearing in the forest, off the beaten path, and near a cliff overlooking the ocean.

“Reeahh!” Harpie Girl called out happily at being partially manifested by Jasmine’s Ba. The little Harpie happily flapped her wings in the ocean breeze as she flew into the air and above the treetops to enjoy the sunshine and the wind on the lovely day.

“So cute~” Mindy cooed at Harpie Girl’s adorable flight above them.

Melffy Rabby snuggled into Mindy’s arms while Jasmie pet the pink rabbit. “Pyik!”

Jasmine smiled at how adorable Rabby was. “So soft and cute~” The rabbit Monster Spirit clearly like the attention as it made cute noises while Jasmine continued to pet it.

“Kuri!” Winged Kuriboh flew about the air happily.

“Nnnn!” Cyber Petit Angel flew with Winged Kuriboh, the two small Spirits seemed to be playing an aerial version of tag together.

Cyber Tutu giggled when Cyber Petit Angel hid behind her whenever Winged Kuriboh got close to tagging the small machine fairy.

“Are you not bringing out Red-Eyes, Drake?” Jaden asked his best friend curiously.

Drake sighed and gave a shrug. “He’s not a very sociable dragon sometimes.” The ‘teacher’ of Shadow Magic winced slightly. “You’re the one that doesn’t want to come out with the others.” Drake said to the empty air, though the others new the words were directed at his Ka.

“Must be tough having a powerful Ka.” Alexis said as she saw Drake’s expression change to ‘deadpan’ as the unheard conversation between him and his Ka continued.

Jaden nodded with a grin. “Yeah, but they can do some amazing things when they work together.” He still remembered the flight that Drake had taken him on when he’d introduced him to the concept of Shadow Magic. The memory of Drake and Red-Eyes dealing with the remnant Spirits in the ritual room hidden in the Abandoned Dorm also rushed to the forefront of Jaden’s mind as well. “I’m sure we’ll get there someday too.”

Alexis gave Jaden a small smile. “Yeah… I think so too.” In her mind, the memory of the last time she’d spoke with her brother crossed her mind…before he went missing. ‘I’ll find you one day, Atticus, I promise.’

“Well, since someone just wants to prove me wrong…” Drake shook his head once and behind him the towering form of Red-Eyes Black Dragon partially manifested.

“Sssssrrraahhh…” The hissing growl of the dragon was heard as it flexed its wings, spreading them wide while its tail swayed behind it.

Harpie Girl swooped down from the air and landed atop Red-Eyes Black Dragon’s head with a bright smile. “Reeeaaah!” She spread her wings wide too, mimicking the older and more powerful Ka.

“So cute!” Jasmine and Mindy gushed at the adorable sight of the small Harpie Girl atop the much larger Red-Eyes Black Dragon’s head.

“Rabby!” Melffy Rabby cheered and hopped out of Jasmine’s arms to run around the taloned feet of Red-Eyes.

Soon enough, Winged Kuriboh, Cyber Petit Angel, and Cyber Tutu were all gathered around Red-Eyes, looking up at the large black dragon or flying around him. Their human partners could only smile or laugh at the way that Red-Eyes was being surrounded and how the large dragon was clearly holding still so as not to harm the weaker Spirits by accident. Being born of Drake’s Ba, what was important to Drake was also important to Red-Eyes, so the dragon took care to not harm the other Ka.

Partial manifestation of their Ka was another form of training that Drake had his ‘students’ do to get a feel for working with their Ka in the material world. Full materialization, where even those without training in Shadow Magic would be able to see the Spirits, was more of a burden on the ‘magician’. Put with a partial manifestation, the Spirit could interact with the physical world to a degree without being seen.

‘It’ll also help build up their Ba and make them stronger too.’ Drake smiled at his friends, and his two girlfriends, as they interacted with their Ka and each other’s Ka too. ‘Maybe I’m just being a little paranoid…but I can’t help but feel like something could go wrong on this island that’s such a hot spot for Monster Spirits.’

-Obelisk Blue Female Dorm ~ Evening-

Alexis was getting ready for bed in her dorm room while Cyber Petit Angel and Cyber Tutu were looking at the dozens of cards that she had laid out on the table in the corner of the spacious room. The ‘Queen’ of Obelisk Blue had been working diligently on creating her Cyber Angel Deck, spending almost all of her earned DP on it from the many Duels she’d had with other Obelisks (most of them boys that wanted to try and date her) to order the various cards through the Card Shop when they were available.

“Still not complete, but it’ll be useable soon.” Alexis promised Cyber Petit Angel as she placed her hand gently atop the spherical Spirit to give it a ‘head pat’.

“Mmnnn!” Cyber Petit Angel seemed happy about that if it’s machine-like hum was anything to go by.

Cyber Tutu smiled brightly and hugged Cyber Petit Angel with a happy giggle. “Soon!” Single word statements had been mastered by the young Ka already, and she was working on expanding her speech through Alexis’s memories. For now though, Alexis could only watch with a smile as one of her Ka spun the smaller of her two partners around happily.

‘I wonder…’ Alexis looked at Cyber Petit Angel for a moment and then compared it to Cyber Tutu. The Ka based on her Cyber Lady Deck was definitely stronger than the one based on her in-progress Cyber Angel Deck. ‘Is it because my Cyber Angel Deck isn’t finished, or because I only started playing the Archetype recently?’ Alexis sat on her bed and beckoned Cyber Petit Angel over to her with a smile. “Do you think we could balance out your power with Cyber Tutu’s?” She asked the smaller Spirit with a smile.

“Mmnn?” Cyber Petit Angel sounded confused.

“Stronger?” Cyber Tutu asked with a cute tilt of her head. “More…like me?” She asked after a second to put the words together.

Alexis nodded to Cyber Tutu. “Yes, something like that. You’re a bit stronger than Cyber Petit Angel, but I don’t know why since you were both formed from my Ba at the same time.” She could ask Drake about it, but seeing as she was the only one with dual Ka, even Drake may not know the answer. “What if I gave you some extra energy? Do you think that would help?” She asked Cyber Petit Angel as she held the Spirit in front of her with a soft smile.

Cyber Petit Angel flapped its mechanical wings once and its red eyes dimmed for a second, as if it had closed its eyes to think. “Mmnnn…” The response was practically filled with ‘I don’t know’ vibes that Alexis could feel through her connection to her Ka.

“Well, how about we try with a little bit of extra energy?” Alexis grinned at Cyber Petit Angel.

“Nnnmm!” Cyber Petit Angel agreed, its eyes flashing once and its tiny limbs moving about.

Cyber Tutu watched as Alexis held Cyber Petit Angel in front of her and began to pour some of the extra energy from her Ba into the smaller Spirit.

Alexis felt the warmth of her Ba moving up from her center and then through her arms. The warm energy flowed into Cyber Petit Angel and seemed to disappear into her Ka. Not feeling any change, Alexis continued to let her Ba flow towards her Spirit partner for a bit longer. It was a few moments later that she felt a shift in Cyber Petit Angel.

“MmmnnNNNNN!!!” Cyber Petit Angel made a machine-like hum that quickly grew louder.

“Ah!” Cyber Tutu let out a cry of surprise and moved towards Alexis to try and help her partner.

Alexis suddenly felt like she’d tipped over a railing and started to fall. The spiritual ‘weight’ of Cyber Petit Angel had instantly ballooned, and with the balance tipped, Alexis’s Ba energy was practically dumped into her Ka all at once. She fell into darkness as her consciousness faded.

-Obelisk Blue Female Dorm ~ Jasmine’s Room ~ Morning-

“Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!”

A female voice repeated in Jasmine’s ears over and over again.

“Wha…?” Jasmine blearily opened her eyes.

“Reeeaaahhh!” Harpie Girl cried out loudly, as if the small Spirit was trying to mimic a rooster’s crowing.

Jasmine rolled over and covered her head with her pillow. “Too loud… Too early…” Feeling her Ka practically pulling on her through their bond, Jasmine groaned as she tossed the pillow aside and sat up, her auburn hair a mess as she shook her head and wiped the sleep from her eyes. “What is it?”

“Reeaahh!” Harpie Girl pointed to the door of Jasmine’s dorm room insistently.

“There’s nothing there.” Jasmine deadpanned even as she pushed back the covers and swung her legs out of bed. It was then that the words from earlier sank in and Jasmine went stock still. “You can’t talk…” She looked at her Ka with wide eyes. “Where?!” Jasmine looked around warily for who could’ve spoken, but she didn’t see anything.

Harpie Girl pulled on her arm, as much as she could while not manifested at any rate, leading her towards the door.

Jasmine decided to follow her Ka, something was clearly going on and now she was worried. She left her dorm room in just her pajamas, following Harpie Girl down the hall.

“Jazz?” Mindy called out from behind as she came down the hallway as well, Melffy Rabby clearly leading the way as the pink rabbit hopped down the hallway at speed.

“You too?” Jasmine asked her girlfriend as they both continued to follow their Ka.

Mindy nodded once. “Something’s wrong. I heard a voice telling me to wake up, and then Rabby was practically dragging me out of my room.”

It was only a moment later that both Rabby and Harpie Girl stopped in front of a familiar door.

“Lexi’s room?” Jasmine blinked, before her eyes widened.

“Alexis!” Mindy knocked on the door without hesitation.

There wasn’t a sound to be heard from beyond the door.

Now both Jasmine and Mindy were knocking insistently on the door.

“Lexi! Lexi, let us in!” Jasmien called through the door.

“Is something wrong?!” Mindy was about to start pounding on the door at this rate.

Jasmine stopped Mindy before her girlfriend could start trying to beat the door down. “Harpie Girl, on the other side of the door, there’s a lock, I need you to open it!” She requested of her Ka, trying her best to send a mental image of what she wanted to do to the young Harpie.

“Reah!” Harpie Girl perked up and passed through the door.

Jasmine focused on her connection to her Ka and performed the steps of partial manifestation. It was the first time that she was doing it without being able to se her Ka directly, but she didn’t care.

Click

The sound of the lock being turned seemed loud in the silent hallway.

Mindy nearly slammed the door open the second the knob could turn. “Lexi?!” She was inside her friend’s dorm room quickly and found Alexis lying atop her blankets in her pajamas.  “Alexis!”

“What happened?” Jasmine was at Alexis’s side and checking her as best as she knew how. “She’s breathing!” She felt the soft exhales coming from Alexis and saw the slight rise and fall of her chest.

“She’s not waking up though!” Mindy was nearly in tears that they couldn’t get Alexis to respond. “Where are her Ka?” She quickly looked around, hoping that Cyber Tutu or Cyber Petit Angel could tell them something about this situation.

But neither Spirit was around.

Jasmine was about to run out of Alexis’s room and go to Miss Fontaine’s room as the Head of their dorm. The only thing that stopped her was the soft sound that Alexis suddenly made.

“Ugh…” Alexis’s golden eyes opened halfway as she groaned.

“Alexis!” Mindy hugged her friend close, trying to stifle the tears that wanted to fall.

Jasmine wasn’t far behind, nearly crashing into the large bed to hug Alexis. “Lexi! What’s wrong?!”

Alexis seemed barely cognizant as she blinked slowly. “Tired…” She managed to get out as she barely held onto consciousness.

Mindy gently helped Alexis sit up while Jasmine pulled the blankets back. With the help of her friends, Alexis was properly put to bed, and fell asleep in seconds. This still made her friends worried about her, of course.

“I’ll go get Miss Fontaine.” Jasmine said as she took off out of the room and down the hall.

Mindy gently moved the bangs from Alexis’s face as she sat on the bed next to her friend and waited for Jasmine to get back with Miss Fontaine. “What happened to you, Lexi?” She asked quietly as she looked at Alexis’s sleeping form.

-Academy ~ First Class ~ Morning-

“Alexis is sick?” Jaden repeated what Jasmine and Mindy had just said.

Drake looked just as concerned as Jaden. “Is it a fever, flu, cold?”

Mindy shook her head. “She’s just exhausted, but way more than what could be considered normal.”

“Miss Fontaine said that she probably just caught a bug and would just need to rest for a couple of days.” Jasmine went into more detail. “But our Ka alerted us to it, so we’re really worried.”

Jaden blinked once. “Your Ka told you?” He’d never experienced that before. Winged Kuriboh was always looking out for him, that much he knew, but nothing had ever sent his Ka into urgency while he’d been asleep.

“We both heard a voice telling us to wake up over and over again, but we never saw who it was.” Mindy explained, getting a nod from Jasmine in agreement.

“Cyber Tutu, probably.” Drake knew that only one of Alexis’s Ka had the ability of speech. “Alexis wasn’t in good shape, probably couldn’t maintain her Ka, but Cyber Tutu could act on her own to a limited degree to try and protect Alexis.” He said as he tried to piece together what had happened.

Jasmine’s eyes widened a little as she understood who had woken her up this morning. “So that’s the voice I heard?”

“I’m glad that she came to get us.” Mindy smiled at how Cyber Tutu had reacted when Alexis was sick.

“I hope Alexis gets better soon.” Jaden looked concerned, a very different look to his normally energetic and friendly attitude.

Drake patted his best friend on the back once. “She’ll be fine, Jaden. Sickness becomes less of an issue with a strong Ba bolstering the body.” He reassured his buddy with a confident grin.

-Next Day ~ Morning-

Mindy and Jasmine visited Alexis in her dorm room, bringing her breakfast on a tray table.

“How’re you feeling today, Lexi?” Mindy asked as she set the tray over Alexis’s lap.

“Better…” Alexis covered her mouth as she yawned. “…but still exhausted.”

Jasmine smiled happily at Alexis’s recovery. “We’re just glad that it wasn’t something serious.”

Alexis took her first bite of food. “That’s good. I didn’t realize that I was so hungry.” She took another bite quickly.

“You didn’t eat for a whole day, of course you’re going to be hungry, Lexi.” Mindy giggled at how fast Alexis was eating.

“Careful, Lexi, don’t choke and cause a real emergency.” Jasmine smiled at her friend.

Alexis slowed down a little and took a drink to clear her throat. “Thanks for bringing me breakfast you two. I really appreciate it.” After sleeping all day yesterday, Alexis wasn’t surprised that she finished off her breakfast in such a short time.

Jasmine waved off Alexis’s thanks. “Don’t worry about it, Lexi. We’re best friends.”

Mindy agreed with a bright smile. “Exactly! We help each other when we need it.”

With breakfast finished, Alexis settled back into bed and was quickly asleep again.

Mindy and Jasmine left her room, making sure to close the door quietly behind them as they took the empty tray table back towards the dorm dining area.

“She looked a lot better.” Mindy was happy that Alexis seemed fine after the near panic they’d been in yesterday morning.

“Yeah, she did. I hope whatever she caught doesn’t make its way around the school.” Jasmine hated being sick, and being bedridden for two days or more wasn’t her idea of a good time. “Good thing tomorrow is Saturday. If Alexis is up and about, we’ll be able to take her out of the dorm so that Jaden and Drake can see her.”

Mindy grinned at her girlfriend. “I’m sure that would make Jaden happy.” She giggled brightly at how much Alexis and Jaden were getting closer without even realizing it.

Jasmine kissed Mindy’s cheek with a smile. “Don’t play matchmaker too hard now, or Lexi will be all stubborn about it.”

The two giggled together as they headed down the stairs and towards the dining area of the girls’ dorm.

-Alexis’s Dorm Room ~ Saturday Morning-

The ‘Queen’ of Obelisk Blue let out a soft sigh as she woke up. The sunlight was streaming in through the French doors that led to her balcony and her body didn’t feel heavy anymore. That was already an improvement from yesterday, and especially the day before. “Let’s get a shower.” Alexis sat up and pushed her blankets back. She moved her legs to the side of the bed and then stood up. Not feeling dizzy or lightheaded, Alexis smiled as she stretched her arms above her head until there was a little pop from her shoulders and back.

In her ensuite bathroom, Alexis hung up her pajamas and turned the shower on. She enjoyed the hot water against her skin as she washed her hair and her body, getting clean after being in bed for two days, only having gotten up a few times yesterday to shuffle to the bathroom before going right back to bed. Once she was clean, Alexis turned off the shower and started drying off, making sure her hair was presentable with a brush and comb to get rid of two-day bedhead.

“Much better.” Alexis smiled at her reflection before stepping out into her room again wrapped only in a large fluffy towel. She easily got her uniform together and dressed easily enough. Checking her appearance over to make sure nothing was amiss, Alexis moved over to the table in her room to collect her two Decks and her Duel Disk. The weekend was prime Dueling time for the Academy as most students challenged each other to earn DP and try to move up the rankings.

Seeing three cards that hadn’t been on the table the night that she’d fallen unconscious, Alexis picked one of them up. Her golden eyes widened at the card in her hand, the blue coloration marking it as a Ritual Monster, but one that Alexis hadn’t been able to order yet due to the other cards that she’d been gathering. Feeling back to normal, Alexis slowly calmed her beating heart and silently called forth both of her Ka.

“Better?” Cyber Tutu asked as soon as she appeared. The Cyber Girl smiled happily that her partner was seemingly back to normal.

“Yes, I’m alright. Thank you for getting the others for me.” Alexis thanked her Ka, making Cyber Tutu smile at her warmly. Then she turned to her second Ka, and had to tilt her head upward slightly to look them in the eye. “I didn’t expect this…”

What had once been Cyber Petit Angel had transformed…or evolved might be a better word…given the drastic change. Gone was the spherical, pink, mechanical Spirit, and in its place stood a larger and more powerful Spirit. The body of a horse, though made of a mix of black and dark green metal and clearly robotic. A humanoid torso where the neck of a horse would’ve been, making the new Spirit a centaur, the front of the horse body decorated with bows and lengths of blue silk, held together with large purple gems that matched two even larger purple gems on the back legs of the horse body. The human half had four arms and wore green armor, the armor having two gauntlets on the right arms while being significantly less on the left arms, only amounting to a few green bands on the metallic blue skin. In the lower right hand of the Spirit was a red whip with many lashing tassels. Given the curves of the humanoid body and the breasts, Alexis felt safe in calling this Spirit a ‘her’ and noticed the green metal helmet that covered everything but the lower face of the Spirit, including the four eye holes in the helmet from which slightly glowing eyes could be seen looking at Alexis in return. The Spirit’s hair was cut short and was a silvery white color, matching the long, flowing hair of the tail of the horse half. On the Spirit’s back was a long cape, black on the outside and red on the inside to finish off her look.

“Cyber Angel Natasha…” Alexis spoke the Spirit’s new name as she held up one of the three copies of her Ka’s new card.

Cyber Angel Natasha nodded and then bowed slightly to Alexis. “I…am sorry…” The Spirit spoke after taking time to figure out the necessary words. Alexis could feel the sincerity from her Ka for what had happened, along with the sense that the Spirit had no idea that it would happen at all.

Alexis smiled at the new form of her Ka. “It’s alright. I made the decision, so it’s my fault.”

Natasha smiled back before vanishing back into the card that Alexis was holding.

“Be…safe.” Cyber Tutu smiled at Alexis before returning to her card as well.

Alexis blinked once, feeling like a bit of weight had been removed from her shoulders. “I didn’t even manifest them partially, but I still felt some strain?” That hadn’t happened since the day she’d first brought her two Ka forth from her Ba. “I need to ask Drake about this.” She added the three Cyber Angel Natasha cards to her Cyber Angel Deck and then attached her two deck boxes to her belt before heading out to meet Mindy and Jasmine.

-Forest Clearing-

“Hey, Alexis!” Jaden greeted Alexis with a bright smile the moment he saw her. “Feeling better?”

“Much better, Jaden.” Alexis returned his smile with one of her own.

Mindy hid her giggles behind her hand at how Alexis and Jaden were looking at each other.

Jasmine just had an amused grin on her lips as she watched Jaden and Alexis talk. The way that Alexis’s eyes lit up whenever she was around Jaden was too cute. ‘The fact that neither of them seems to notice how much they both brighten up when they’re around each other is kind of adorable.’

Drake was the only one to have a less than warm welcome back for Alexis. “What did you do?” His eyes were faintly glowing as he looked at Alexis and his voice was noticeably stern, in a way that none of his friends were used to hearing. “No…I see already.” He held up a hand to stop anyone from speaking.

Alexis looked remorseful, a far cry from her normally confident expression. “I’m sorry, Drake…”

“Hah…” Drake let out a long, slow exhale to even himself out before he spoke again. “Do you remember how you promised not to do anything with Shadow Magic unless I was there to instruct?” He questioned Alexis, his tone clearly annoyed, though it was out of concern for his friend.

“I didn’t think I was doing Shadow Magic like you described.” Alexis explained to Drake, her head bowed a little as she leaned forward a bit. “I’m sorry.” The genuine remorse in her tone was heavy as she apologized.

Drake approached Alexis and gently took hold of her shoulders, looking into her eyes for a long moment as if he was examining something within. “I’m not mad, Alexis, just concerned.” He let out a sigh before pulling Alexis into a soft hug, much to her surprise.

“Drake?” Alexis blinked before she looked at Mindy and Jasmine out of the corner of her eye to see their reactions.

“Now that I have an idea of what happened, I need you to tell me everything you know.” Drake said as he released the hug and took a step back from Alexis.

Alexis nodded after a second, seeing both Jasmine and Mindy not reacting badly to the fact that she’d just been hugged by their boyfriend. “Well, I was in my room just before bed and I noticed that Cyber Tutu was a bit stronger than Cyber Petit Angel.” Alexis began to tell Drake and her friends about what she had done.

“You fell?” Mindy asked curiously at the description that Alexis had given of her experience before blacking out.

“It felt like I did.” Alexis nodded as she recalled the sensation. “It was like I was leaning over a railing while holding Cyber Petit Angel, but then the weight increased suddenly and the balance tipped, then I went over the rail.”

Jaden looked concerned for Alexis. “You’re okay though, right?”

Alexis gave him a smile. “I don’t feel any different, maybe a little tired still.” She assured him that she was fine.

“Alexis, tell me where the energy you gave to Cyber Petit Angel comes from.” Drake requested, having an idea of how to drive home the lesson for all of his ‘students’.

“From my Ba.” Alexis said, wondering why Drake would ask such a simple question.

Drake nodded at her answer. “Good, that’s correct. And what is your Ba, exactly?”

Alexis wasn’t following the line of questions, but answered anyway. “My soul.”

“Correct.” Drake nodded once. “So, you understand that using so much energy from your Ba that your very soul starts flowing away from you is bad, yes?”

Alexis’s eyes widened, along with Jaden’s, Mindy’s, and Jasmine’s, as she realized what she’d nearly ended up doing on accident.

Drake saw the stunned looks on the faces of his friends and spoke firmly. “Your Ka will never intentionally harm you, but they’re all young…aside from Jaden’s…so they won’t understand that some things can harm you. They grow stronger the more your Ba grows, they feed on the greater and greater amounts of excess energy produced by the strengthened Ba. You never need to ‘feed’ them directly like Alexis did.” He locked his eyes on Alexis specifically. “If you give everything from your Ba to your Ka, then you will disappear.”

Mindy and Jasmine were hugging Alexis between them now, as if trying to keep her from going anywhere. All three girls were lightly trembling at what could’ve befallen Alexis from just a misunderstanding. Jaden had even moved in front of Alexis without thinking, as if to protect her.

“I trust you three now understand not to do what Alexis did?” Drake looked at Jaden, Mindy, and Jasmine in turn. He got three rapid nods in response. “Good…” Drake let out a long breath, seeming to sag in on himself a bit. “Nothing bad happened this time, at least.” He lifted his head and then gave a short bow to his ‘students’. “I apologize for my lack of clarity regarding the aspects of Ba and Ka. I should’ve been much more thorough, but I don’t have any real experience with trying to ‘feed’ more energy to my Ka. I didn’t know it was possible until he was already in the Red-Eyes Black Dragon form that he is currently. But that’s no excuse for not being as thorough as possible in my instruction. For the safety of all of you, I promise to be even clearer and more focused going forward.”

“It’s okay, Drake…” Alexis spoke up first. “This was my mistake because I broke my promise. I don’t blame you.”

Jaden nodded in agreement with Alexis. “Yeah, dude, you didn’t know this would happen. You shouldn’t blame yourself.”

Mindy and Jasmine both hugged him.

“It was just an accident from curiosity, Alexis is safe and unharmed, so everything’s fine.” Jasmine said to Drake softly, seeing that her boyfriend was shaken up by what could’ve happened to Alexis.

Mindy squeezed him a little tighter. “No one blames you, Drake. Not Alexis, not Jasmine, not Jaden, not me; so don’t blame yourself.” She kissed his cheek gently and gave him a warm smile.

“You two are wasted on me.” Drake pulled Jasmine and Mindy into a hug. “Thank you.” He whispered softly into their ears.

“Any time.” Jasmine kissed his cheek with a smile.

With the tension quickly leaving the group of friends, Drake looked at Alexis again. “So, would you like to introduce your Ka’s new form to the rest of us?”

Alexis nodded and focused for just a moment. Cyber Angel Natasha faded into view next to Alexis, everyone having to look up just a little to look into the Spirit’s four eyes behind her helmet.

“She’s not as cuddly anymore.” Mindy said as she looked at Natasha.

“Pfft!” Jasmine couldn’t contain her laughter at Mindy’s words.

Jaden cracked up next and even Alexis smiled at Mindy’s observation.

Natasha tilted her head slightly, clearly confused about the laughter.

“Less cuddly, but more badass.” Drake shrugged after looking the Spirit’s new form over.

“True.” Jaden agreed with his best friend. “Does this mean your Cyber Angel Deck is ready now?” He grinned at Alexis, the challenge clear in his eyes.

Alexis grinned right back. “It’s useable now with all the other cards I have.” The fire of challenge shining brightly in her eyes too.

“Nope.” Drake poured water on their ‘fire’ before they could go any further. “Alexis, I can tell that you’re still not back to full strength. No dueling for you today.”

“What…why?” Alexis looked stunned at Drake’s words.

Jasmine took hold of Alexis’s shoulders. “He just told you, Lexi, you’re still not back to full strength.”

Mindy placed her hand on Jaden’s shoulders from behind. “Yep, so that means you’ll have to sit this one out and watch us Duel.”

“Why me too?” Jaden asked as Mindy’s deceptively cute frame managed to push him down into a sitting position.

Jasmine guided Alexis down right beside Jaden. “Keep Alexis company and watch our Duels, of course.”

Alexis and Jaden were now sitting side-by-side, so close that their shoulders were touching. Both of them glanced at each other, but looked away whenever they caught each other’s eyes.

Noticeably, neither moved from where they were in the slightest.

“Now, let’s Duel, Jazz!” Mindy challenged with a bright grin. “Winner gets first foot rub from Drake today!”

Drake chuckled at the wager. “I’ll give you both a foot rub if you want.”

“But whoever wins gets to go first!” Jasmine already had her Duel Disk on her arm.

“Exactly!” Mindy activated her Duel Disk with a smile.

Alexis could only sigh at her best friends as they began their Duel with such a silly wager. “What am I going to do with them?”

Jaden shrugged, his arm rubbing against Alexis’s a little from the motion. “It’ll be a fun Duel either way, right?” He smiled at Alexis.

“True.” Alexis agreed, smiling back at Jaden.

It was shortly after lunch (made by Drake) that saw Alexis and Jaden napping in the shade of the trees on the large blanket that the group of friends used when they gathered in their ‘secret spot’. Jaden was leaned up against a nearby tree with Alexis leaned into him, resting her head on his shoulder as they both slept.

“That’s adorable.” Jasmine smiled at the two of them as Drake rubbed her feet and she rested her head on Mindy’s thighs.

“Mhmm~” Mindy agreed with a soft hum, gently playing with Jasmine’s auburn hair as she gave her girlfriend a lap pillow.

Drake ran his finger up Jasmine’s foot, making her giggle and squirm a little. “They’ll figure it out soon, I’m sure.” He smiled warmly at both of his girlfriends.

The throuple enjoyed the quiet time to themselves while letting their friends continue with their nap. Alexis definitely needed it, even if she was feeling better, and Jaden wasn’t one to pass up a chance to nap if he couldn’t Duel.

-Next Day ~ Secret Spot-

“No holding back today, Alexis!” Jaden had a bright grin on his face as he readied his Duel Disk.

“I’m not going easy on you, Jaden!” Alexis shot back with a challenging smile.

The two were practically emitting an aura from just their Duelist Spirit alone.

“I swear, Dueling is gonna end up as foreplay for those two.” Jasmine giggled behind her hand.

“You mean it isn’t already?” Mindy teased her two friends, even if both Jaden and Alexis had already zoned out to the rest of the world.

Drake shook his head once before raising his arm into the air. “Begin!” He brought his arm down in a chopping motion.

“DUEL!!!” Alexis and Jaden called out.

Jaden – 4,000

Alexis – 4,000

“Ladies first.” Jaden offered Alexis the first turn.

“Such a gentleman.” Alexis said with a playful grin. “I draw!” She pulled a card from her Deck and added it to her hand. “I’ll play Pot of Greed!” She placed the Spell card into her Duel Disk.

The green and blue jar with the wicked face on it appeared briefly on Alexis’s field, glowing with a green light before it faded away.

“I draw two.” Alexis pulled the cards from her Deck and looked over her hand again. “Just a bit more, I think.” She placed another Spell card on her Duel Disk. “I activate, Graceful Charity!” The hologram of the Spell card appeared, showing an angel holding a glowing white card.

Jaden saw the card advantage that Alexis was building up and only got more excited. “Oh sure, go ahead and draw your entire Deck, Alexis!”

Alexis shot Jaden a quick grin. “I draw three and discard two.” She looked over the three cards she’d drawn and added them to her hand before choosing the two she would discard. “I’ll send these two to the graveyard.” Two cards disappeared into the grave, making Jaden wonder which two Alexis had chosen. “Now, I’ll summon Cyber Egg Angel!”

The small Monster that appeared in a glow of light was a metal egg made up of silvery-white elongated hexagons, with two green transparent wings and a shining golden ball of light at its center.

Cyber Egg Angel – Level 2 – LIGHT – Fairy/Effect – 200 ATK/300 DEF

“When my Cyber Egg Angel is summoned, I can add one ‘Machine Angel’ Spell or one ‘Ritual Sanctuary’ Spell from my Deck to my hand!” Alexis said as she searched through her Deck and quickly found the card that she wanted. “I’ll take my Ritual Sanctuary card.” She showed her choice to Jaden and added it to her hand while her Deck was auto-shuffled by her Duel Disk. “Now I’ll activate my Ritual Sanctuary Field Spell!” She placed the card into the Field Spell slot that opened up on the end of her Duel Disk.

The entire area between Jaden and Alexis glowed for a moment before a rain of holographic confetti fell over the area and a large, if rather simple, statue of a groom and bride appeared behind Alexis, two smaller statues of a little boy as ringbearer and a little girl as flower girl stood behind the adults, holding up the bride’s long white veil so that it didn’t touch the ground.

“Proposing in the middle of a Duel, that’s so ‘you’, Lexi!” Mindy called out with laugh.

“Didn’t even tell us in advance!” Jasmine cheered, her own laughter bright and bubbly.

Alexis sighed and shook her head once at her best friends. “Anyway…” She saw Jaden grinning and could only smile at him. “I play the Spell card, Preparation of Rites!” She activated another Spell, the hologram showing a stone ritual platform with a stone altar and three black robed people placing thing on the stones. “This card lets me take one Level 7 or lower Ritual Monster from my Deck and add it to my hand.” Alexis searched her Deck again and pulled the Monster she wanted. “I choose Cyber Angel Benten!” She showed the Monster to Jaden with a challenging grin, knowing he’d recognize the card that he’d traded to her.

“Finally going to summon a Monster?” Jaden asked with a smile. Alexis had done nothing but setup so far and Jaden was already fired up for his turn.

“Not just yet, Jaden!” Alexis denied as she placed her hand over the graveyard on her Duel Disk. “You see, the Preparation of Rites isn’t complete yet. If I add a Ritual Monster to my hand by its effect, then I can also add a Ritual Spell from my graveyard to my hand!” A single card was ejected from the graveyard and Alexis showed it to Jaden. “I choose my Machine Angel Ritual!” She added the Spell card to her hand. “Now I activate my Ritual Sanctuary Field Spell!” Alexis declared and the statue behind her glowed as more confetti fell from the sky and bells were heard. “Now I can discard one Spell card,” She put her Machine Angel Ritual back into the graveyard. “And then I can add one LIGHT Ritual Monster from my Deck to my hand!” She searched her Deck quickly and then showed Jaden her choice. “I pick my Cyber Angel Izana!”

Drake was now invested in the Duel as he examined the state of the field. “She’s building up to something, but I’m not familiar enough with the Cyber Angel Deck to know what.”

Jasmine also looked confused. “Surely she has enough ritual fodder to summon that new Monster she just searched, right? That’s gotta be the play.”

Mindy didn’t look certain about Jasmine’s idea. “I think Lexi is still preparing a few more things. Something tells me a single Monster isn’t her end goal.”

“Oh, you have a Boss Monster now!” Jaden fully expected Alexis to summon Izana next. “I’m ready for it!”

Alexis only pointed behind her at the statue of the bride and groom. “Actually, I’m activating the second effect of my Ritual Sanctuary!” The confetti fell again and bells were heard ringing as the statue glowed. “I can shuffle any number of spells in my graveyard back into my Deck, and then I can special summon a LIGHT Fairy Monster with a Level matching the number of Spell cards returned to my Deck!” She picked out two Spell cards from her graveyard and showed them to Jaden, before adding them to her Deck and letting it auto-shuffle. “I special summon Cyber Petit Angel!” She placed the Monster horizontally on her Duel Disk.

In another glow of light, the familiar pink, spherical, mechanical Monster appeared on the field next to the Cyber Egg Angel. It quickly drew in its arms and legs and assumed a defensive mode.

Cyber Petit Angel – Level 2 – LIGHT – Fairy/Effect – 300 ATK/200 DEF

“Now that my Cyber Petit Angel has been summoned, I can add a ‘Machine Angel Ritual’ from my Deck to my hand!” Alexis easily found the card that she wanted and showed it to Jaden before placing it into her hand. “From my hand, I’ll activate the effect of my Cyber Tutubon!”

“What’s that?” Jaden had no idea what the card was.

Alexis had a smile on her face as she pointed at her Cyber Egg Angel. “Cyber Tutubon’s effect is that I can special summon it from my hand by tributing a Warrior or Fairy type Monster on my side of the field. I tribute my Cyber Egg Angel!”

The small Monster glowed before becoming a pillar of light for a second. When the light died down a new Monster stood on the field. It was clearly female, with a light green and pink skintight body suit, a ruffled ballet skirt around her hips that resembled a flower, a green visor went over her eyes keeping her blue-green hair out of her face. Behind her head were two large red spheres and on each ankle were bells with trailing soft purple ribbons flowing in a non-existent wind.

The new Monster smiled and waved before taking up a defensive stance.

Cyber Tutubon – Level 5 – EARTH – Warrior/Effect – 1800 ATK/1600 DEF

“Wait, why in Defense?” Jaden saw that Cyber Tutubon’s ATK was higher.

“Don’t worry Jaden, it’ll all make sense in just a second!” Alexis promised as she placed a card on the field. “I play Machine Angel Ritual!” The hologram of the card appeared behind Cyber Tutubon, showing a women in robes and with wild blonde hair fanned out behind her, standing before a massive industrial smelter with flames burning from the top. “I sacrifice Cyber Tutubon to ritual summon Cyber Angel Natasha!” Alexis called upon her Ka for the first time in a Duel.

Cyber Tutubon vanished into the hologram of the Machine Angel Ritual card only for the card to burst into flames and Cyber Angel Natasha to land on the field right before the burning hologram exploded into pixels.

Cyber Angel Natasha – Level 5 – LIGHT – Fairy/Ritual/Effect – 1000 ATK/1000 DEF

Cyber Angel Natasha took up a defensive stance in front of Alexis, having been summoned in defense mode.

“Because my Cyber Tutubon was used for a Ritual Summon, I can add one Ritual Spell card from my graveyard to my hand.” Alexis grinned as she showed Jaden the Machine Angel Ritual that she’d just used before placing it into her hand.

“Are you going to Ritual Summon again?!” Jaden asked, feeling his Duelist Spriit flare up at the thought of starting his first turn against a heavily established board.

Alexis smiled at Jaden. “Not quite, I’m just going to set two cards face down and end my turn.” She slid tow cards into her Duel Disk and the holograms appeared behind her Monsters.

“What?!” Mindy and Jasmine both nearly face faulted at the sudden end of Alexis’s turn.

“All that build up…but nothing spectacular to show for it?” Drake was clearly confused as well. More than enough cards and been used by Alexis to bring out something powerful, so why didn’t she?

Jaden only grinned as he drew for his turn. “Alright! I draw!” He looked over his hand and then glanced at Alexis’s field again. “I’ll start off with the Spell card, Unexpected Dai!” He placed the card down and the hologram appeared on the field, showing the Warrior Dai Grepher appearing in a sphered of lighting and crackling electricity. “This let’s me special summon any Level 4 or lower Normal Monster from my Deck!” He searched his Deck and found the Monster he wanted after a few seconds. “I special summon, Elemental Hero Clayman, in attack mode!”

In a crackling sphere of electricity the large, blocky Elemental Hero appeared, landing heavily on the field before getting into a fighting stance.

Elemental Hero Clayman – Level 4 – EARTH – Warrior – 800 ATK/2000 DEF

“Now let’s kick this Duel into high gear! I play Mask Change!” Jaden activated the card and the hologram of the Spell card appeared behind Clayman, showing a hero putting on a mask that was glowing brightly. Clayman rushed towards the card and disappeared into it making he Spell card glow until it was nearly blinding. “I special summon Masked Hero Dian!”

From the glowing card leapt a Monster that looked almost like a knight, silvery armor with a blue cape fluttering in the non-existent wind and a lance-like sword in his hand. The Monster held its weapon at the ready as it faced down both of Alexis’s defense position Monsters.

Masked Hero Dian – Level 8 – EARTH – Warrior/Fusion/Effect – 2800 ATK/3000 DEF

“Now, let’s see what you’re hiding back there, Alexis!” Jaden pointed at Cyber Angel Natasha. “Masked Hero Dian attack Cyber Angel Natasha!”

Dian was a blur as it rushed forward, piercing straight through Natasha with its weapon. The Cyber Angel exploded into pixels a second later as Dian returned to Jaden’s field and glowed.

Jaden grinned at successfully destroying Alexis’s Monster. “Masked Hero Dian has an effect! Whenever it destroys one of my opponent’s Monsters by battle, I can special summon a Level 4 or lower Hero Monster from my Deck!” He easily found the Monster he wanted and showed it to Alexis. “I choose Elemental Hero Stratos!”

Alexis smiled back at Jaden for using the card she’d traded to him.

“Seriously, those two are just flirting now!” Jasmine smirked at Jaden and Alexis.

Mindy agreed with a laugh. “It’s adorable!”

Drake eyed the two face down cards that Alexis had. ‘Are they really just bluffs? Or was it more beneficial to let Natasha be destroyed?’ Bluffing didn’t seem like something that Alexis would do if she other options, but losing a Monster… “A graveyard effect.” Drake realized why Alexis had let her Monster be destroyed now.

“I special summon Elemental Hero Stratos!” Jaden placed the card onto the field with a grin. A brief tornado of wind covered part of the field before Stratos flew out of it, his blue and silver suit sleek and aerodynamic as his wings with the two powerful propellers roared to life and dispersed the wind letting the Hero hover in the air.

Elemental Hero Stratos – Level 4 – WIND – Warrior /Effect – 1800 ATK/300 DEF

“Stratos effect activates! I add one ‘Hero’ Monster from my Deck to my hand!” Jaden pulled the card he wanted from his Deck and showed it to Alexis. “I choose Elemental Hero Liquidman!” With a big grin on his face, Jaden pointed at Cyber Petit Angel. “Since it’s still my Battle Phase, Stratos, attack Cyber Petit Angel!”

Stratos flew high into the air before swooping down and smashing his fist into the small Monster. Cyber Petit Angel exploded into pixels and Stratos flew back to Jaden’s side of the field.

“I haven’t normal summoned this turn, so I’ll go ahead and summon Elemental Hero Liquidman!” Jaden placed the card onto the field.

In a burst of water, the hero appeared, his skintight navy blue bodysuit was covered by light blue armor, including a matching helmet. Water swirled around the hero’s fists as he took up a ready stance.

Elemental Hero Liquidman – Level 4 – WATER – Warrior/Effect – 1400 ATK/1300 DEF

“Now that Liquidman has been normal summoned, his effect activates!” Jaden pointed at his Monster as it glowed with a blue light. “I can target one Level 4 or lower ‘Hero’ Monster in my graveyard and special summon it!” He pulled the only Monster currently in his graveyard and placed it on the field. “Welcome back, Elemental Hero Clayman!”

The blocky Hero reappeared with a heavy thump as he landed on the field right beside Liquidman.

Elemental Hero Clayman – Level 4 – EARTH – Warrior – 800 ATK/2000 DEF

“But I’m not done just yet!” Jaden was having a ball as he played another card. “I activate Polymerization! Using Liquidman and Clayman, I’ll fusion summon Elemental Hero Absolute Zero!”

Liquidman turned into a streak of blue light and spiraled into the hologram of the Polymerization card. Clayman turned into a streak of yellow light, mixing with the spiraling blue light before both vanished into the glowing Polymerization card. The card stopped glowing and instantly froze over before shattering into snow to reveal Elemental Hero Absolute Zero. His white armor covered him from head to toe and his white cape flew behind him in an icy wind. Two light blue eyes glowed from within his helmet and stared Alexis down.

Elemental Hero Absolute Zero – Level 8 – WATER – Warrior/Fusion/Effect – 2500 ATK/2000 DEF

“That’s quite the line up you’ve got, Jaden.” Alexis finally commented on Jaden’s plays so far. “It be a shame if something happened to one of them.” She hit a button on her Duel Disk as her golden eyes shone with challenge. “I activate my face down card! De-Fusion!” The card flipped face up and showed the Monsters from the Polymerization card being split apart. “I’ll target your Elemental Hero Absolute Zero!”

A beam shot from the De-Fusion card and hit Absolute Zero head-on. In a flash of light, the Hero vanished, returned to Jaden’s Fusion Deck.

Alexis’s field froze over as Absolute Zero’s effect activated by being removed from the field, but with no Monsters on her side, nothing happened.

“A little chilly, huh?” Alexis grinned as the thick ice shattered and disappeared.

“Sweet move, Alexis!” Jaden praised her for working around Absolute Zero’s effect. “I’ll set two face downs and end my turn. A pair of face down holograms appeared behind Masked Hero Dian and Elemental Hero Stratos as Jaden passed the turn over.

Alexis drew for her turn. “I draw!” Seeing the card in her hand, Alexis smirked. “Lucky me.” She played the card immediately. “Or should I say, greedy me?” The wickedly smiling Pot of Greed appeared on the field again.

“She already managed to draw it again?” Mindy nearly gaped at Alexis’s luck.

Jasmine laughed at the draw. “She sent it back earlier, and how many times did her Deck get shuffled during her turn?”

Drake grinned at the Alexis knowing that something was definitely going to happen this turn with all the setup that had been done on her first turn. “Let’s see what you’re planning, Alexis.”

“I draw two more cards.” Alexis drew twice more and could only smile at the new additions. “I play Preparation of Rites!” She activated another familiar card. “I’ll add Cyber Angel Benten from my Deck to my hand!” She quickly found the Monster she was looking for and placed it into her hand.

“She has two?” Jaden hadn’t known that and blinked when Alexis showed him the second copy. “Seriously, do you have ANY of your DP left after making this Deck?!”

Alexis laughed at Jaden’s question. “I’ll earn 500 DP once I win!” That was the standard prize for defeating a first year Ra Yellow student. “The second effect of Preparation of Rites activates! I return my Machine Angel Ritual card to my hand!” She pulled the Spell card from her graveyard and showed it to Jaden before putting it into her hand. “Now I’ll activate my Machine Angel Ritual!” She placed the card onto the field and the hologram appeared again. “I’ll sacrifice my second Cyber Angel Benten to ritual summon my first Cyber Angel Benten!”

“Okay, that was totally on purpose.” Mindy said with bubbly laughter that Alexis had specified that she wanted to play with the Benten that Jaden had traded her.

“It’s how they’re gonna flirt from now on, I can tell.” Jasmine was laughing along with Mindy, both girls holding onto Drake to remain upright.

Drake only had a grin on his face as he looked between Jaden and Alexis. “I still ship it.”

Alexis passed her Benten card over the Duel Disk to register her play before sending it to the graveyard. The first copy of Benten was placed on the field. The Cyber Angel leapt out of the glowing Ritual Spell card and landed on the field.

Benten wore a sleek red and white body suit and on her head she wore a golden face guard with four horns that bent at ninety degree angles to the sides and over her head. Her long, dark hair was held together near the end with a blue orb, and in her hands she had two war fans that were connected together by a length of chain.

Cyber Angel Benten – Level 6 – LIGHT – Fairy/Ritual/Effect – 1800 ATK/1500 DEF

“And because my second Benten was tributed, her graveyard effect activates!” Alexis said as her graveyard glowed for a second. “I can add one LIGHT Fairy Monster from my Deck to my hand!” She searched her Deck and chose the one that she knew would help her strategy. “I choose Diviner of the Herald!” She showed the Monster to Jaden and then added it to her hand.

Jaden readied himself for whatever Alexis might do next. “Are you gonna crash your Benten into my Stratos?” It would take him down a Monster, and Jaden was fairly certain Benten still did damage with her effect. ‘I should’ve memorized that effect before I traded it to Alexis.’ But there was no use worrying about it now.

Alexis shook her head once. “Just wait and see, Jaden!” She tapped a button on her Duel Disk. “Since my Cyber Angel Natasha is in the graveyard with another Cyber Angel, I can activate her graveyard effect. By banishing my Cyber Angel Benten from the graveyard, I can target one Monster that you control and take control of it, and at the same time, I can special summon Natasha back to my field!”

“Oh crud…” Jaden was pretty sure he knew which of his two Monsters that Alexis was going to target as he looked at the back of his Masked Hero Dian.

“I special summon Cyber Angel Natasha!” Alexis moved the Ritual Monster back onto her field.

In a flash of light and sparks the centaur Ka reappeared on the field.

Cyber Angel Natasha – Level 5 – LIGHT – Fairy/Ritual/Effect – 1000 ATK/1000 DEF

“Now, Masked Hero Dian, why don’t you come over to my side?” Alexis smirked at the Hero Monster while Natasha glowed with a golden light that quickly enveloped Dian switching the Monster from Jaden’s control to hers. Dian leapt from Jaden’s side of the field and landed on Alexis’s right next to Benten, before turning and leveling his weapon at Stratos.

“Well that’s not good.” Jaden said, though the fire in his eyes only burned hotter at the challenge.

Alexis placed her next card onto the field. “I summon Diviner of the Herald!”

In sparkling, prismatic light a small woman appeared with wings made from the same rainbow-like light. She wore a purple dress-like tunic and a hooded cloak with wing motifs on it gleaming with prismatic light.

Diviner of the Herald – Level 2 – LIGHT – Fairy/Effect – 500 ATK/300 DEF

“When Diviner of the Herald is summoned, I can send one Fairy Monster from my Deck to the graveyard and then increase her Level by the level of the Monster sent!” Alexis as she pointed at her new Monster.

Diviner of the Herald glowed with rainbow light for a moment as her effect activated.

Alexis searched her Deck and showed Jaden the card that she’d chosen. “I send Eva to the graveyard!” The Monster on the card was a tiny alien in a spacesuit with a transparent dome over its head and holding a tiny ray gun, it was honestly rather cute. Alexis put the card into the graveyard and Diviner of the Herald’s Level went up from two to three.

“Now that Eva was sent to the graveyard, I can activate its effect!” Alexis rolled right along combo-ing one effect off of another. “I banish two LIGHT Fairy Monsters from my graveyard. She showed Jaden Cyber Petit Angel and Cyber Egg Angel as she put them into the banished zone of the Duel Disk. “And then I can add two Level Two or lower LIGHT Fairy Monsters to my hand.” Alexis got to search her Deck once more and showed Jaden her choices: another Cyber Egg Angel and another Diviner of the Herald.

“Not looking too good for me already, huh, Alexis?” Jaden knew that if he didn’t have his face downs, then he’d be wiped out this turn.

Alexis looked at Jaden with a grin. “You make it sound like I’m done.”

“You’re not?!” Jaden blinked that Alexis still had more to do.

“She’s not?!” Mindy and Jasmine couldn’t believe that Alexis still wanted to do more when she practically had the game already won.

“Not yet!” Alexis was feeling her Duelist Spirit practically singing in joy as she continued with her turn. “I play Machine Angel Absolute Ritual!” She put the card onto the field and the hologram appeared. This card depicted the same woman from Machine Angel Ritual, only from behind, showing off the flowing black robe and the wild blonde hair, but also changing the perspective to reveal that she was walking towards a quintet of industrial smelters that were burning brightly and arranged as an altar, over which a Cyber Petit Angel hovered.

Jaden blinked at the card that looked and was named so similarly to Alexis’s other Ritual Spell. “Care to tell me how this one is different from the other?”

Alexis agreed with a nod. “Sure, the difference is, that with Machine Angel Absolute Ritual, I can tribute from my hand or the field, or send Monsters from my graveyard back to my Deck, whose total Levels equal the exact Level of the Monster I’m going to Ritual Summon.”

“Well, that gives you a more options, huh?” Jaden looked at all the Monsters on Alexis’s field, including his own Masked Hero Dian, and then at her hand. ‘She could summon just about any Level of Monster now.’

“You’re right, it does.” Alexis grinned at Jaden. “I’ll tribute my Diviner of the Herald on the field and return my Cyber Tutubon from the graveyard to my Deck!”

The (currently Level 3) Diviner of the Herlad turned into prismatic light and was absorbed by the Rital Spell card. Cyber Tutubon appeared briefly as Alexis scanned the card over her Dule Disk to make the play legitimate, before returning the card to her Deck. The Level 5 Monster turned into green light before being absorbed as well.

“The Level is exactly eight!” Alexis pulled a card from her hand. “I ritual summon Cyber Angel Izana!” She placed the Monster onto the field and the hologram of Machine Angel Absolute Ritual exploded into flames, sparks of electricity and a blinding golden light.

The Monster that appeared was a tall and feminine in appearance. She had metallic silver skin with blue metal covering all four of her hands, her chest, her waist, and her feet. Her four arms were each holding something, the lower two wielded a large trident-like spear, her upper left arm wielded an axe, and in her upper right hand a powerful golden light burned. Her long silvery hair cascaded down her back and atop her head was an ornate golden headpiece with a ruby resting at the front just over her forehead. Behind the Cyber Angel was a black metal ring, resting within a golden half-ring, which held up two silver metal ‘petals’ to give the Monster a more divine appearance.

Cyber Angel Izana – Level 8 – LIGHT – Fairy/Ritual/Effect – 2500 ATK/2600 DEF

“Whew~” Drake whistled at the Boss Monster that Alexis had summoned.

“Since my Diviner of the Herald was tributed, her graveyard effect activates, and since Izana has been Ritual Summoned, her effect activates as well, Jaden.” Alexis told him with a grin. A small glow came from Alexis’s graveyard and Izana glowed with golden light as a Chain was started.

“What does Izana do?” Jaden asked first, since the Chain would resolve backwards.

Alexis’s grin turned into a challenging smile. “Izana allows me to make you send one of the Spell/Trap cards that you control to the graveyard.” I think I want you to get rid of the one behind Stratos.”

Jaden wasn’t about to let that happen though. “Then I chain my face down! The Flute of Summoning Kuriboh!” The facedown card flipped upwards and showed a wooden pan flute with the original Kuriboh and Winged Kuriboh looking at it. “Just as its name says, when this card is activated, I can special summon my Winged Kuriboh to the field!” Jaden searched his Deck and quickly placed his Ka in defense position on his field.

“Kuri kuri!” Winged Kuriboh sounded thrilled to be helping Jaden in a Duel. He floated int the air, readying to defend his partner.

“A Quick Play Spell…” Alexis hadn’t expected that, having been prepared for a Trap card instead. “Well Izana’s effect makes you send it to the graveyard, even if it doesn’t really matter now.”

Jaden chuckled as he moved the Spell card into his graveyard. “Can’t make it easy for you, Alexis!”

Alexis grinned at Jaden. “But my Diviner of the Herald’s effect still let’s me special summon a Level 2 or lower Fairy Monster from my hand or Deck!” She searched her Deck and, with how thinned out it had become, easily found the Monster she was looking for. “I special summon Cyber Petit Angel!” She placed the card in defense, filling up her last Monster Zone.

“Now the effect activates again.” Jaden had a smile on his face at just how synergistic Alexis’s Deck already was even though it wasn’t complete yet.

“Right. I add Cyber Angel Natasha to my hand from my Deck.” Alexis found the second copy of her Ka’s current card and placed it into her hand. “Now, I think it’s about time we really start this Duel, Jaden!” She put another card onto the field. “I play the Equip Spell: Ritual Weapon!” The hologram appeared on the field and showed a warrior in white and gold armor with a blue cape wielding a strange magic weapon over his left gauntlet. “I equip it to Cyber Angel Benten!”

The card turned into light and surrounded Benten, the strange weapon from the card appearing on the Ritual Monster’s arm.

Cyber Angel Benten – Level 6 – LIGHT – Fairy/Ritual/Effect – 3300 ATK/3000 DEF

“That’s gonna hurt.” Jasmine had a smirk on her lips as she saw the increase in ATK and DEF of Alexis’s Monster.

Mindy, however, giggled a little. “Did she really need to equip it to the card that Jaden traded her?”

Drake chuckled at the playful teasing. “It works best with Benten’s effect, I think.” Unlike Jaden, he remembered Benten’s damage-dealing effect.

“Now I activate Cyber Angel Natasha’s effect!” Alexis pointed at her Ka. “Once per turn, I can target a face-up Monster that I control and add half of its ATK to my Life Points. I choose Cyber Angel Benten!”

Natasha glowed with light as her effect activated. Benten was surrounded in the same glow a second later. Then Alexis smiled as she was bathed in the same light.

Jaden – 4,000

Alexis – 5,650

“Well now you’re just showing off.” Jaden joked with Alexis as she made a gap in their Life Points without even touching his.

“Cyber Angel Benten, attack Stratos!” Alexis started her Battle Phase with what would be a heavy blow to Jaden’s Life Points.

Benten was nearly a blur as she crossed the field and brought the magical gauntlet weapon down upon Stratos. The Elemental Hero was shattered into pixels instantly from the force and Benten was back on Alexis’s side of the field before the pieces had even faded away.

Jaden – 2,500

Alexis – 5,650

“Then Benten’s effect kicks in, Jaden.” Alexis said as a glow appeared around her Monster.

“I chain my Trap Card! Hero Signal!” Jaden activated his last face down and the Trap card flipped face up. It showed a searchlight projecting an ‘H’ onto the sky in a call back to older heroes in comics. The very same searchlight shown from the trap card, leaving the ‘H’ hanging above the field. “Since one of my Monsters was destroyed by Battle, I can special summon a Level 4 or lower ‘Elemental Hero’ Monster from my hand or Deck!” He searched his Deck and found a card that would also get him another card. “Come on out, Elemental Hero Blazeman!” He set the card horizontally on his Duel Disk.

In a blast of fire a Hero appeared. He wore a black and white bodysuit and was covered in red armor. Behind his red helmet flames blazed and both of his hands were covered in fire. The new hero quickly guarded himself, ready to take any attack.

Elemental Hero Blazeman – Level 4 – FIRE – Warrior/Effect – 1200 ATK/1800 DEF

Benten’s effect continued and Jaden lost more Life Points. The amount equal to Stratos’s DEF points.

Jaden – 2,200

Alexis – 5,650

“Blazeman’s effect activates! When he’s summoned I can add a Polymerization from my Deck to my hand!” Jaden quickly got searched for the useful card, knowing that it might be the only thing that let him turn this Duel around. He showed it to Alexis before adding it to his hand.

Alexis continued on with her Battle Phase. “Izana attacks Blazeman!” The Cyber Angel was in Blazeman’s face before the other Monster could react. Her spear stabbed straight through the hero, her axe removed his head, and the powerful light in her remaining hand vaporized everything. “Izana’s effect activates! When she destroys an opponent’s Monster by Battle, she can make a second attack on another of my opponent’s Monsters this Battle Phase.” Izana’s eyes shifted to look at Winged Kuriboh.

“Hang tough, buddy!” Jaden called out to his Ka.

“Kuri!” Winged Kuriboh cried out as it was vaporized by the light burning in Izana’s palm.

Jaden silently apologized to his Ka for not being able to do much about the current state of the Duel. ‘This is the first real Duel I’ve ever used you in partner. We should fix that.’ He thought to his Ka and would think about how after this Duel was finished.

“It’s been fun, Jaden, but this Duel is over! Dian, attack Jaden directly!” Alexis declared her next attack.

Dian rushed towards Jaden and stabbed through him with his land-like sword, only for Jaden to not even flinch.

Alexis blinked at not seeing Jaden’s Life Points change. “What’s going on?”

Jaden grinned at Alexis. “Winged Kuriboh’s effect; I take no Battle Damage for the rest of the turn after he’s destroyed.”

“Oh…” Alexis hadn’t actually known the effect of Winged Kuriboh, given this was the first time she’d ever seen Jaden play it. “Well, I guess it wouldn’t make any sense to try and attack you with Natasha then. I’ll end my turn.” She passed the turn back to Jaden with a smile.

“Alright, I draw!” Jaden’s enjoyment hadn’t dimmed even a little despite his current position in the Duel. If anything, he seemed even more fired up at the thought of turning the tables. “I play the Spell card: A Hero Lives!” The hologram that appeared showed the Elemental Hero Woodsman standing between an unidentified warrior and a large Dinosaur Monster. “When I don’t have any Monsters on the field, then I can pay half my Life Points to special summon a Level 4 or lower Elemental Hero from my Deck!” Jaden looked through his Deck even as his Life Points were cut in half.

Jaden – 1,100

Alexis – 5,650

“I special summon Elemental Hero Shadow Mist!” Jaden placed the card onto the field.

A thick black mist filled part of Jaden’s field before drifting away, the female Hero in black armor standing in the center of Jaden’s field, staring down the five Monsters on Alexis’s field.

“Now that Shadow Mist was special summoned, I can use her effect to add a ‘Change’ Quick Play Spell to my hand!” Jaden searched for the Spell card and quickly showed it to Alexis before placing it into his hand. He was starting to see a way to turn this Duel around. “I play the Spell card: Generation Next!” Jaden put the card onto the field and the hologram showed Avian, Burstinatrix, and Clayman looking at the viewer of the card.

“What’s that?” Alexis had never even heard of this card before. ‘Is it new?’

Jaden grinned at Alexis. “This card lets me special summon an Elemental Hero Monster with ATK equal to or less than the difference in our Life Points!”

Alexis’s eyes widened as she saw how vast the disparity was.

“That’s basically any Elemental Hero in the game, isn’t it?” Drake couldn’t think of a single Elemental Hero with more than 4,500 ATK.

“I special summon Elemental Hero Bladedge!” Jaden had found his chosen Monster and quickly placed it onto the field.

The Hero that appeared was wearing full-body golden armor with large gleaming blades attached to the gauntlets on his arms. Two green gems, one near the stomach and one on the chest, gleamed brilliantly in the light. The Hero was huge, easily standing even with Izana, his horned helmet giving him an almost stag beetle look common amongst some Sentai-style heroes.

Elemental Hero Bladedge – Level 7 – EARTH – Warrior/Effect – 2600 ATK/1800 DEF

“Jaden could do some real damage with that Monster, since it does piercing damage, but not enough to defeat Alexis in one turn.” Jasmine commented on the current game state with sharp eyes.

“He still has two cards left in his hand. One of them is the Mask Change he got from Shadow Mist.” Mindy reminded Jasmine that a much more powerful Masked Hero could still be special summoned.

“The other is the Polymerization that he got from Blazeman.” Drake said as he looked between Shadow Mist and Bladedge, and then to Alexis’s full board of Monsters. “But what would Jaden go for to be able to deal with the Cyber Angels?”

Jaden didn’t wait for his friends to speculate as he played his next card. “I activate Polymerization!” The hologram appeared behind Bladedge and Shadow Mist and began to swirl into a vortex. “I fuse Shadow Mist and Bladedge to fusion summon, Elemental Hero Sunriser!”

Bladedge and Shadow Mist were drawn into the swirling vortex before it exploded outwards and the red armored Sunriser appeared, his blue cape billowing behind him in an unfelt breeze.

Elemental Hero Sunriser – Level 7 – LIGHT – Warrior/Fusion/Effect – 2500 ATK/1200 DEF

“Sunriser’s first effect is that he gains 200 ATK for every different Attribute I control, including his own!” Jaden knew he could turn things around now.

Elemental Hero Sunriser – Level 7 – LIGHT – Warrior/Fusion/Effect – 2700 ATK/1200 DEF

Jaden continued building up his momentum. “Sunriser’s next effect is that I can add a Miracle Fusion from my Deck to my hand!”

“I chain my Trap card!” Alexis hit a button on her Duel Disk. “Invincibility Barrier!” Her face down car flipped face up, showing an image of three of the ‘Herald’ Archetype’s Boss Monsters radiating light from their forms into a barrier.

“Does that stop me from using Sunriser’s search?” Jaden asked Alexis, his hand hovering close to his Deck.

Alexis shook her head once. “No, you still get your search.”

Jaden grinned as he pulled out his Deck and quickly searched for his only copy of Miracle Fusion. “There you are.” He showed the card to Alexis before adding it to his hand. “I play Miracle Fusion!”

“I chain Invincibility Barrier by sacrificing Masked Hero Dian.” Alexis made a Chain to prevent Jaden from being able to flipped the game on her. Masked Hero Dian glowed before bursting into pixels. The light from the Continuous Trap Card shone bright enough that Jaden winced.

“What does that do?” Jaden asked now that Alexis had actually activated the Trap card by paying its cost.

Alexis was glad that she was behind her own card at the moment. “Once per turn I can banish a Ritual or Fusion Monster, and this turn Monsters with the same type that was sacrificed can’t activate their effects.”

“She’s got him…” Drake said with a little sigh for his buddy’s incoming defeat. “She doesn’t have any Fusion Monsters in play, Jaden can only rely on Fusion Monster to try and turn the tables, but without their effects, they can’t defeat the Cyber Angels.”

“Oh damn.” Mindy let the curse slip out cutely.

Jasmine nodded in agreement with her boyfriend and girlfriend. “Yeah…that sounds like something Lexi would do.”

“Still have to try!” Jaden was all smiles as he continued his play. “I banish Elemental Hero Stratos and Elemental Hero Liquidman to fusion summon Elemental Hero Great Tornado!”

A towering twister of dark wind blew everyone’s hair and clothes around from the gale, even simulated, though partially realized due to the players both being Shadow Magic users. Alexis, Mindy, and Jasmine all quickly held their tiny uniform skirts down with one hand.

The Hero that appeared from the tornado wore teal and yellow full-body armor, including a full helmet that covered even his face. Powerful gauntlets and greaves expelled the tumultuous winds and the tattered black cloak over the Hero’s body fluttered wildly in the gale.

Elemental Hero Great Tornado – Level 8 – WIND – Warrior/Fusion/Effect – 2800 ATK/2200 DEF

“Normally, this would be where Great Tornado’s effect would halve all of your Monster’s ATK and DEF points…but your Trap card puts a damper on those plans.

The shining Trap card was covering both Great Tornado and Sunriser in an aura of prismatic light.

“Even Sunriser’s boost went away.” Jaden lamented as his Monster’s ATK dropped.

Elemental Hero Sunriser – Level 7 – LIGHT – Warrior/Fusion/Effect – 2500 ATK/1200 DEF

“But it doesn’t stop the effects of my other Heroes!” Jaden smirked as he patted his Duel Disk’s banished zone. “Since Liquidman was used as material for a fusion summon, I get to draw two cards.” He drew two and looked between them. “But I have to discard one.” He put one of the cards into the graveyard. “Now I’ll have Great Tornado attack your Izana!”

Great Tornado launched himself straight at the Cyber Angel, a massive swirling gale surrounded his fists as he dove towards Alexis’s Monster.

“I activate Cyber Angel Natacha’s effect!” Alexis pointed at her Ka. “When a Ritual Monster that I control is targeted for an attack, I can negate the attack!”

Natasha glowed and Great Tornado was forced backwards as his winds dispersed.

“Alright, then how about this: Sunriser attack Cyber Petit Angel!” Jaden pointed at the small Monster in defense. It was the only non-Ritual Monster that Alexis had on the field.

Sunriser blasted Cyber Petit Angel into pixels in only a second.

Alexis moved her Monster to the graveyard without issue. Jaden was still trying, even when it seemed hopeless, and to be honest, that thrilled Alexis more than even she thought it would. Jaden’s Duelist Spirit was amazing and Alexis felt her own burn ever brighter to match it.

“I activate Mask Change!” Jaden put his second to last card on the field. “I tribute Great Tornado for Masked Hero Divine Wind!”

Another gale force blast of wind shook the trees in the area and forced the girls to hold their tiny skirts down.

Drake felt his dark hair get ruffled and blown back and his golden blazer that was only held secure by the large button at the neck was billowing behind him like a cape. “It’s windy here…” He deadpanned at the second blast of wind being unleashed.

“Can we stop summoning tornados for a little bit?!” Mindy requested as she kept her skirt from being blow upwards.

“Seriously! I get that you guys want a peek, but this isn’t the way to do it!” Jasmine sounded serious at first but her smile grew the longer she spoke and by the end of her sentence she was laughing.

Masked Hero Divine Wind landed on Jaden’s side of the field, his green and yellow suit with the large red eyes on the helmet and the white cape blowing in the wind was striking, but as the wind died down, he was also covered in the prismatic aura from Alexis’s Invincibility Barrier Trap, negating his effects.

Masked Hero Divine Wind – Level 8 – WIND – Warrior/Fusion/Effect – 2700 ATK/1900 DEF

“I attack your Cyber Angel Natasha with Divine Wind!” Jaden needed to get Natasha’s negate off the board to be able to deal with Alexis’s stronger Ritual Monsters.

“I activate Natasha’s effect.” Alexis shutdown Jaden’s plan with those words.

Jaden blinked as Natasha glowed. “Huh? I thought it was only for your other Ritual Monsters?”

Alexis smiled at Jaden. “Natasha’s effect says: When a Ritual Monster that I control is targeted for an attack: I can negate that attack.” Seeing Jaden’s eyes widen, Alexis grinned. “Natasha is also a Ritual Monster that I control and there’s no once per turn clause on her effect.”

“Well, only one last play I can make.” Jaden said with a huge grin on his face. “I set one card face down and end my turn.” The hologram appeared behind Sunriser as the turned switched over.

“I draw.” Alexis drew for her turn and quickly examined the field. The prismatic aura around both Sunriser and Divine Wind had faded away as she had no Fusion Monster to sacrifice to her Invincibility Barrier to pay for its cost.

Elemental Hero Sunriser – Level 7 – LIGHT – Warrior/Fusion/Effect – 2900 ATK/1200 DEF

Masked Hero Divine Wind – Level 8 – WIND – Warrior/Fusion/Effect – 3100 ATK/1900 DEF

Due to Sunriser’s effect, both Heroes ATK had grown by 400 points.

“I’ll enter Battle Phase and have Benten attack Sunriser!” Alexis knew of Sunriser’s ability to protect other Hero’s from attack and destroy the attacking card, so she HAD to target him over Divine Wind.

Benten leapt at Sunriser and the red armored Hero blurred forward to match her. Sunriser fired beams at Benten, but the Cyber Angel nimbly maneuvered and twisted her body through the air to dodge them all before splitting Sunriser in two, vertically, with her Ritual Weapon. A second later and Sunriser exploded into pixels as Benten leapt back onto Alexis’s side of the field.

Jaden – 700

Alexis – 5,650

Benten glowed with a red aura and the same aura surrounded Jaden as he was dealt burn damage equal to Sunriser’s DEF points.

Jaden – 0

Alexis – 5,650

“Great Duel, Alexis!” Jaden laughed as his Life Points hit Zero and the holograms faded away.

“You did amazing too, Jaden.” Alexis gave him a warm smile, her Duelist Soul burning like a star within her right now.

Jaden chuckled and grinned at Alexis. “What’re you talking about, I didn’t do a single point of damage.”

Alexis waved that off. “But you never gave up, even when most others would’ve scooped when they saw the Duel was lost.”

“Scooping is no fun though. You never know what card you’ll draw next, and it could turn the entire Duel around!” Jaden never gave up like that, it just wasn’t in him to quit until the Duel was over.

“That was amazing, Lexi!” Mindy nearly glomped Alexis as she hugged her close.

Jasmine joined in, making it a group hug. “You had the Duel locked down near the end there! That was awesome!”

Drake fist bumped Jaden while Alexis was busy trying to remain standing as Mindy and Jasmine hugged her. “Great Duel, dude. Never gave up and kept almost turning it around.”

“Thanks, man.” Jaden still had a huge smile on his face. “Alexis totally cut me off near the end. But man, it was an awesome Duel!” He looked over at Alexis with a smile. “She’s an awesome Duelist.”

Alexis felt her heart thump in her chest at Jaden’s words. Ever since she’d been young, she’d heard people call her cute, and then beautiful as she grew up. She’d been praised for her academics in school, and even for her Dueling by her peers. But so many still only saw her as a girl…and their compliments reflected that.

“She’s a not bad for a girl.”

“Among the girls, she’s definitely the best.”

“Dueling is wasted on such a beautiful girl.”

Jaden wasn’t like that though. He’d always seen her as a Duelist first and wanted to challenge her. Not for the ‘reasons’ a lot of the other guys in Duel Academy did either. But for the genuine love of Dueling that they both shared.

“Alright, I’m ready to go; let’s Duel!” Drake looked at Mindy and Jasmine. “Which one of you wants to Duel first?” He was clearly fired up after seeing Jaden and Alexis’s Duel.

Mindy and Jasmine were quickly playing rock-paper-scissors to determine who got to Duel their boyfriend first.

While that was going on, Alexis and Jaden has sat down on the large blanket and gotten a drink of water from the bottles that they brought with them. Once their thirst had been quenched the two sat beside each other, just as close as yesterday, without even thinking about it. Alexis moved her hand and found Jaden’s on the blanket. Jaden’s hand didn’t’ move for a moment, but when it did their fingers were gently interlaced.

Alexis felt her cheeks heat up a little, but the smile on her face was absolutely beautiful.

Jaden’s smile was no less bright and only grew brighter and warmer when Alexis gently laid her head on his shoulder.

The two didn’t say a word as they watched the Duel about to start between Drake and Jasmine.

There was no need for words right now. The two were simply happy and in perfect contentment with each other.

-End Chapter-

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Well, Alexis had an almost dangerous accident with her Ka. That’s not good!

Thankfully, this time, nothing bad happened. Drake makes everyone absolutely aware of the dangers of using too much Ba on their Ka. Then he apologizes for not explaining better as their teacher.

A man has to know when to own up to his mistakes.

But after some time to recover, Alexis is fine and she and Jaden get to have the first Duel with her new Cyber Angel Deck! Woohoo! Go you Duel Lovebirds! Kek!

What’s this though? After their Duel, Jaden and Alexis seem to have finally figured out their feelings a bit! So cute!

Yes, my OTP, happen…be cute together! Cuddle adorably! Heh!

For a Deck that’s not quite complete, it certainly has a damn good synergy already, doesn’t it?! Just imagine what Alexis’s Cyber Angel Deck will be like once it IS complete! Bad guys are going to run screaming from her instead of the Protagonist! Hah!

As the school year continues to progress, what else will happen at Duel Academy?

Keep reading to find out!

Until I get your reviews, later!