The Gathering of Heroes

Game on! they both screamed as they each drew five cards from their decks and began the duel. Jake: Ill go first! he said as he drew his sixth card. He looked at his hand and thought of a good way to test Ryus tactics. Jake: Ill place one monster face down on the field. He said as he placed a monster face down on the field Ryu: Oh is that all Ryu said as he drew his next card. Ok, so he wants to play defensive eh, Ill bite he thought and picked up a card. Ryu: Check this out, Im summoning Blackwing Bora the Spear in attack mode black feathers began falling from the sky and merged together to form a giant big black bird holding an enormous spear. (1700 ATK) Ryu: Now attack his facedown monster with Diving Spear Strike! he screamed and on command Bora lunged towards the card and penetrated it. The card flipped over and revealed a human diver (1100 DEF). Bora lunged his spear at the diver and sent it to the graveyard. Jake: (4000 LP 3400 LP) Jake winced at the pain and saw that his life points had decreased. Jake: Huh, why have my life points decreased? he asked wanting to know how he lost those life points. Ryu: Simple, my Bora has a piercing effect, and the difference between his ATK points and youre defending monsters DEF points are dealt to you as damage he explained.

Jake snickered, thinking that he got a lucky move in. Well thanks to my Deep Diver, when hes destroyed in battle Im allowed to add any monster card I want to the top of my deck. He said and looked through his deck and placed White Night Dragon on the top. Ryu: Any card? That sure is one broken effect. he said as he couldnt believe there existed a card that allowed him to have any card he desired on his next turn. Jake: Thats right, and Ill use it to crush any thought you had of winning this match Jake announced. Ryu: Ill end my turn by placing this face down Ryu said and set a card. Jake: My Turn! he screamed as he drew his card. He smiled knowing exactly what card it was and continued his turn. Jake: Get ready, because Im summoning Big Jaws in attack mode! he said as he placed down the card. A giant shark appeared from a whirlpool from the ground and roared so loud that it could probably be heard all around the island. Ikki: Whoa, that things huge! he admired as he watched from the side of the match. Jake: Now Big Jaws rip that chicken strip apart with Velocity Jaw Attack! he commanded and the shark now sprang towards Bora. Ryu: Not so fast I activate my facedown Swallows Nest! he revealed and his facedown card flipped up. Now I can tribute my monster before you destroy it and replace it with another winged-beast monster that has the same stars as the one I sacrificed, so come on out Blackwing Shura the Blue Flame! he screamed as he tributed Bora who disappeared into a glowing light and from it a human winged beast hybrid creature appeared. (1800 ATK) Jake: That doesnt matter, theyll both be destroyed he said as he watched his Shark devour the bird but not before it stroke him with its feathers and exploded, sending them both to the graveyard.

Jake: Hmph, Ill end my turn with a facedown card... he said as he placed a face down card on his duel disk. Ryu: Lets keep the flow going! he said as he drew his card. Ryu: Now, I activate my Against the Wind spell card! he said as he placed the card down Ryu: Heres how it works I pick 1 Blackwing monster in my graveyard, and take damage equal to its ATK points, but then I get to add it back to my hand. He explained and winced at the pain the card had on his life points. Ryu: (4000 LP 2200 LP) Ryu: Now return to my hand, Shura! he exclaimed and selected Shura which popped out of his graveyard and into his hand. Jake: Why bring that failure back? he asked Ryu: Because if you hadnt noticed, you have no monsters protecting you, so now I summon back my Shura! he screamed as he placed the card back on the field. Black feathers gathered behind Ryu and from them the human hybrid emerged once again (1800 ATK) Ryu: Now Shura, attack him directly! he said and pointed towards Jake who took a step back. Shura leaped into the air and flapped his wings towards Jake who had a suspicious smile on his face. Jake: What an amateur he thought Jake: I activate my face down, Draining Shield! he exclaimed and revealed his trap. Ryu: Whats that? he asked The feathers that were fired at Jake suddenly were blocked by a white shield and were repelled back. I

Ryu: My attack didnt work! he said surprised. Jake Unfortunately for you, my trap card drains the attack of your monster and negates it, an also thats not it as it also lets me regain life points equal to the ATK of the monster who launched an attack Jake explained and regained his life points. Jake: (3600 LP 5400 LP) Hae Saeng: That was a beginners mistake.how could he have not expected that to be a trap card... he said disappointed with Ryus performance. Damian: Im not surprised, that kid doesnt really think about strategies much... he pronounced. Arthur: You two sure are hard to pleasealthough I wish Ryu-san would pay more attention towards his opponents cards Dexter: Shhhhh, you guys Im trying to watch this awesome duel... Everyone sweat drop at their leaders childish attitude. Ryu: Hehe, my bad guess I didnt think too much about your cards he said as he scratched the back of his head. Guess Ill end my turn with a facedown while placing a card face down. Jake: Well then, I think its time I got a bit serious he said as he drew his card. Jake smiled devilishly and looked towards Ryu giving him a glare that meant that he was about to do something. Jake: First, Im activating the spell Water Hazard, and it allows me up to once per turn special summon a level 4 or lower WATER monster from my hand if I control no monsters on the field. he explained and selected a card from his hand.

Jake: Now I special summon, Blizzard Dragon! he screamed and placed his card down. A medium sized blue dragon appeared from the card and spread its long wings. (1800 ATK). Jake: Next I activate Monster Reborn, which lets me bring back an old blast from the past. You remember Big Jaws dont you? he exclaimed as he placed the spell card down and brought back his old Shark monster (1800 ATK). Ryu gulped at this. He had already summoned two monsters with the same ATK points as his Shura.

Jake: This is only the start of your misery because now I activate the field spell, Mausoleum of the Emperor! he said as he loaded his field spell loader with a spell card. Suddenly the ground began shaking and temples began to form around the two. Ryu looked around and noticed the sky change green and below them stood thousands of statues. Ryu: W-Whats going on here? Why are all of these statues beneath us? Ryu asked and looked at Jake who was smiling. Jake: Simple, we both now can use these statues as tributes instead of sacrificing monsters, and all we have to do is give up 1000 life points per sacrifice. Ryu: So I can do it as well? Why would you let your opponent use your own card? Ryu asked Jake: Because this duel is about to end, so you wont need it. Now since I havent normal summoned yet, I sacrifice two statues and give up 2000 Life points in order to summon my powerful beast, White Night Dragon! he screamed as the statues offered themselves up and combined in order to create a huge white icicle dragon that practically froze the room.

Jake: (5200 LP 3200 LP) Ryu took a few steps back and gazed into the eyes of a dragon that was three times the size of himself. Ikki: Hang in there aniki! Ikki screamed at Ryu who was trying to support his friend against the odds. Takeshi: So thats the legendary White Night Dragonhow will you get yourself out of this oneRyu? Takeshi said quietly but then realized what he had just said and put a hand on his mouth. Takeshi: Why do I even care about that guy? Takeshi thought to himself. Jake: Now, to wrap this up I activate my equip spell card Hydro Pressure Cannon! And Ill equip it onto my Big Jaws he said as he played the card and a tsunami began gathering up around the shark. Ryu: Hydrowhat? Ryu asked confused as to the card he just played. Jake: Oh youll soon find out, but for now Ill activate my Blizzard Dragons special ability, which allows me to switch the mode of any monster on your side of the field and I choose your Shura! he exclaimed as Shura crotched down and crossed his arms together (1200 DEF) Ryu: Oh no, now my Shura is now weaker than all of Jakes monsters he thought as his monster now only had 1200 DEF points. Jake: I think its time for our monsters to have a rematch, go Big Jaws and destroy that bird! he commanded and had his Shark crunch Shura into feathers. Ryu: Shura! Ryu screamed as he saw his last line of defense destroyed. Then suddenly, the smashing ground spell card in Ryus hand had a target on it, and Big Jaws shot a water cannon at it, which destroyed it.

Ryu: My card! What did your shark do! he asked angrily as he glared at him. Jake: Thats the effect of the equip spell card, whenever the monster equipped with it destroys a monster in battle, a card is randomly discarded from your hand he explained and laughed a bit. Ryu: This isnt goodwith my monster gone I have no more monsters protecting me, if both his monsters connect with his next attacks, Ill lose and me and Ikki can kiss Toon World Academy goodbye Ryu thought and looked Ikki who had a worried expression on his face. Jake: You held on for a little while, but its time I put an end to this trivial duel, now Blizzard Dragon and White Night dragon, wipe out the rest of his life points! he screamed and on queue both his dragons launched powerful attacks with their mouths which headed straight for Ryu. Professor Loke: Yes! Yes! Finally at last Ryu will lose and hell no longer cause me headaches, now finish him off Jake! Loke screamed as the attack went through. The blasts hit Ryu head on and there was a large explosion that covered the arena in smoke. Ikki: Aniki! he screamed in terror as he watched his best friend get blown up. Hae Saeng: Looks like this is it.I knew he wasnt anything special. he concluded and got up from his seat. As he was leaving he noticed the rest of the staff watching the match. Dexter: I wouldnt count him out, just yet Hae he said smirking Hae turned his gaze towards the arena and looked carefully at the blurry image of Ryu who was still standing. Hae Saeng: I-I-Impossible! How can he still have Life Points left? Hae asked but then noticed a monster on Ryus side of the field. Ikki: Nice one, Aniki! Ikki joyfully said

Jake: You should have lost the duel! How did you survive? he screamed at Ryu who still had 2200 Life Points remaining. Ryu smirked but then blew out a sigh of relief. I played this little guy just in time he said as he revealed his monster to be Battle Fader. Ryu: Battle Fader allows me to special summon him when you declare a direct attack on my life points, and stops all of your attacks this turn. Professor Loke: Battle Fader? Where did that kid get a card like that from? Ryu: For your information teach, this was gift from my mother. She told me anytime that Im in a pinch, this little guy will get me out of it Ryu said looking at the card and remembering his mother who gave it to him as a birthday gift. Ryu: Thanks mom he thought and smiled Jake: So you saved yourself one more turn, I doubt anything you do will save you now. He exclaimed but Ryu wasnt paying any attention towards him. Just then, Big Jaws suddenly left the field and was banished from the game. Jake: Lucky for you that after my Big Jaws attacks, its banished at the end of the battle phase. Ryu: This is it, I need to draw a card that can stand up to his White Night Dragon, but I dont think I have a card in my deck that can.wait! Ryu suddenly remembered something. Flash Back
Why, are you giving this to me? Ryu asked. Consider it a gift for helping an old man the old man said as he smiled. End Flash Back

Ryu: Thats right! The card the old man gave me. But the question is, can I draw it now? Ryu thought and placed his index finger over his deck.

Ikki: You can do it aniki, just believe and youll get the card that you need to turn this duel around. I believe in you! Ikki screamed which caused Takeshi to stare at him intently. Takeshi: He.believes in him? Hes just like.I was wrong about these two...they truly are friends and I was a fool to think that they were just pretending to be my friends he thought finally admitting that he was wrong. Takeshi: You can do it Ryu, I believe in you as well! he screamed from the top of the stands, to the alert of the staff, Jake, and even Ryu. Ryu looked at both Ikki and Takeshi and gave them a whole heartedly smile. He then took one last look at Jake and glared at him noting the fear Jake had, afraid of what he might draw. Ryu: Lets do this! he screamed and drew his card. He quickly looked at it and gave himself a blank stare. A small smile crept on his face and he raised the card over his head. Hae Saeng: What exactly did he draw? Damian: Something tells me, that were about to find out! he exclaimed Ryu: First Ill be sacrificing my Battle Fader, in order to summon Sirocoo The Dawn! he played the card down and from it a radiant light appeared and broke in half and a bird with two large feathers and a yellow beak came forth. (2000 ATK) Ryu: And now because I have exactly three DARK monsters in my graveyard, I now special summon Dark Armed Dragon! Ryu screamed and placed the card down on the field. A black hole began to gather at the top of the arena, and black lightning started to circulate everywhere in the building. Suddenly, a humongous black dragon covered in mechanical armor appeared from the black hole and let out a roar that shook the academy to its core. (2800 ATK)

Every single being in the room was speechless, with even Hae the usually calm and collected member of the staff having his jaw drop from the presence of this beast. Jake: W-W-W-What the hell is that! he screamed backing up as he saw this tremendous dragon glare at him. Ryu: Whoawhat a terrifying monster you are.just what kind of card did that old man give me? he asked feeling a little nervous. Ikki: Its Huge!!!! Ikki screamed as his eye balls popped out of his eyes. Takeshi, who usually never showed emotion, even began to sweat as he looked at the back of the beast. Jake noticed that the monster only had 2800 ATK points, and smiled awkwardly. Jake: Ha, your monster may be frightening but he only has 2800 ATK points so he cant beat my White Night Dragon he said knowing that he was safe. Ryu: Well Jakeyou are right that head to head my dragon cant beat your dragon, but thats what special abilities are for! Ryu exclaimed and brought out two of his Blackwing monsters that were in the grave. Jake: What are they doing here? Ryu: Dark Armed Dragon has a very unique special ability, which allows him to remove from play as many DARK monsters as there are in my graveyard, and for each one removed he can destroy a card on the field! Ryu explained. Jake: And with three cards.he can take out all of the cards on my field! he said finally realizing what was about to happen. Ryu: Bingo, now Dark Armed Dragon I remove Bora the Spear and Shura the Blue Flame, to destroy every single card on Jakes field!

The huge dragons red eyes light up and he bent his neck backward and released a pool of dark energy from his mouth which annihilated White Night Dragon and Blizzard Dragon. Jake: Oh no, now Im wide open he exclaimed backing up slowly Ryu: This was funbut its time to end this! Sirocoo attack him directly with Feathered Slash! Ryu commanded and his bird dove into Jake and sliced him. Jake winced at the pain that Sirocoo had caused. (Jake 3200 LP 1200 LP) Ryu: And now, Dark Armed Dragon wipe out the rest of his Life Points with Dark Obliteration! Ryu screamed as Dark Armed Dragon loaded a gigantic energy ball filled with dark matter and fired it towards Jake. Jake: This cant be!! he screamed as he was shot by the attack and the stadium exploded. He was sent flying backwards and rolled all the way back until he crashed into a wall. Jake: (1200 LP 0 LP) Winner: Ryu Mikigami The duel monsters holograms disappeared and the duel duel arena returned to normal. Ikki: Way to go aniki! Ikki exclaimed and ran towards Ryu and tackled him to the floor. Ryu got up with Ikki and propped him and they both smiled. Ryu then quickly noticed Jake on the other side. Ryu: Jake! Ryu panicked and ran towards the man who was just now defeated. He helped him up and put his arm on his shoulder. Slowly, he began to regain consciousness and noticed Ryu giving him a hand. Jake: H..uh? DidI lose? he barely asked as he began to wake up.

Ryu: Yea..but It was one of the best duels Ive ever played. Thanks for the awesome match man. Ryu said smiling while holding the man. Jake just stayed quite but smiled to himself, knowing that he finally had found a worthy opponent. Dexter: Hold on just a moment there, Ryu... Ryu turned around and noticed that the staff room was right behind him. Ryu: Oh oh, we arent in trouble are we? he asked as he was worried that they had broken one of the school rules. Arthur: On the contrary, we are actually here to congratulate on your victory, Ryu-san. he said while smiling at him. Hae Saeng: Ill admit, you do have a degree of skill in dueling and that rare card that you have was quite the sight to behold Ryu: Rare card? Ryu asked wanting to know more Dexter: Yes..that card is one of a kind, and so the fact that you have it means that you arent just a normal kid . Dexter: Well be keeping an eye on you from now on; something tells me that you have the great makings of a very talented duelist. He said as he walked away with the rest of the staff. Professor Loke: Grrr, that RyuIll get him next time but for now I might as well he said as he was about to leave but Hae Saeng: Loke! he screamed which startled the professor. Professor Loke: Y-Yes! he replied back Hae Saeng: We have much to discuss about your little plan to get rid of Ryu. He said and walked away but turned slightly to give him a You know your screwed smile.

Professor Loke: Yes..sir he slouched and made his way towards the exit along with the others. Ryu and Ikki just looked at the scene and wondered what that was all about. Then, Jake got up on his own and asked to be let go of. Ryu: Are you sure youre alright? he asked worried Jake: Tsh, dont be worrying about me kid, you just worry about the next time we duel. Jake said and left the arena. Meanwhile in the stands, Jason and Tsubaki were watching and smiled after Ryu had won. Jason: Well what do ya know, the kid came through he said and looked at his sister and opened his eyes wide when he saw that his sister was smiling as well. Tsubaki: RyuMikigami was all she said. Jason knew his sister was a person of small words and didnt like to talk much, so this was quite a surprise for him. Jason: Whats wrong, Tsubaki? Is it about Ryu? he asked wanting to know his little sisters reasons for staring at him. She quickly gave him a quick glare and walked away. Jason: WellWelllooks like Im not the only one intrigued by this new kid he said to himself and left the arena as well. Ryu watched as Jake left the arena and he and Ikki were the only ones left. Ryu: Guess hes alright, if he can still be issuing out threats... Ryu jokingly said. Takeshi: Uhm. The boy said shyly as he approached the two. Ryu and Ikki turned around and noticed Takeshi behind them looking at the floor. Ryu: Oh hey Takeshi, thanks for the support earlier it really helped me out he said as he smiled.

Takeshi: Im sorry! he suddenly said and bowed his head. Ryu and Ikki looked at him confused, then at each other, and then back at him. Ikki: Why are you apologizing, Takeshi? Ikki asked with his hands behind his head. Takeshi brought his head up and looked into Ryus eyes. Takeshi: Im sorry for misjudging you two, I just thought that you guys were only pretending to act nice and be friends with me so that you would stab me in the back later he admitted Ryu stood silent for a minute, but then looked at Takeshi and gave him a sympathetic smile. Ryu: Hey, whats in the past stays in the past. Im just glad that youre talking to us. Takeshi: So does that mean that youll forgive me and be my friend? he asked hoping that it would be a yes. Ryu and Ikki: Of course not! they screamed Takeshi: Wa he silently said confused and disappointed but he knew that it would be impossible for them to forgive him. As he was about to turn around and leave Ryu and Ikki: Were best buddies from now on! they screamed and ran over and head locked the guy. As they continued play fighting, a tear came out of Takeshis eye. He had finally found a good pair of friends that he could trust, and with that the three laughed all night and went home knowing that today was just one of the many fun days that they would have at this academy.