[3rd POV]
In the middle of a black empty void, a lone figure sprinted through the darkness as if his life depended on it. His Obelisk Blue uniform flapped behind him, and his black hair stuck to his sweat-drenched forehead.
Chazz Princeton ran like hell.
A sharp whistle cut through the air and then THUNK! A silver battleaxe buried itself in the ground just inches from where Chazz had narrowly sidestepped.
"Get away from me!" Chazz shouted, panting, panic thick in his voice.
"Ho ho ho~" A sadistic laugh echo behind Chazz. "You'll never get away from me... CHAZZ PRINCETON~!"
From the darkness emerged a terrifying version of Lovely Labrynth, her face twisted into a wicked grin. Her once elegant dress was now stained with splashes of blood, alongside her bloodied silver battleaxe she wields in her hand while she is also running toward Chazz.
Chazz kept running. There was no direction, no exit just an endless void. His breath hitched. His legs tired. And then...
Thud.
He tripped over a conveniently placed rock in the middle of a goddamn void and crashed face-first onto the ground. "Argh!" he groaned.
As Chazz slowly opened his eyes, he froze. His neck and entire body was now shackled and locked against the cold metal of a silver guillotine. Standing beside it, with one hand on the lever, was the same monstrous version of Lovely Labrynth smiling sinisterly like death herself.
"Wait! Wait, wait, wait!" Chazz pleaded frantically. "Please! I'm sorry for insulting your boyfriend!"
"Apology denied~" she purred with a twisted smile and pulled the lever. "Die-die now~"
The blade came down with a sharp whoosh.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA—!"
Chazz bolted upright in his bed, screaming at the top of his lungs. Cold sweat clung to his skin, and his heart pounded like a war drum. His eyes darted to the digital clock by his bedside.
6:00 AM.
He groaned, dragged himself out of bed, and stumbled into the small kitchenette of his private Obelisk Blue dorm room.
He grabbed a glass, filled it with water, and downed the whole thing in one go. Then he leaned over the counter, breathing heavily, and his hands gripping the marble.
"DAMN IT!"
CRACK!
The glass shattered in his right hand, shards digging into his palm. Blood dripped onto the floor but Chazz didn't even flinch.
"That's the fifth nightmare this week," he growled. "And it's always the same… Me, running from Mash's psycho girlfriend!"
Still fuming, Chazz stormed over to his first aid kit. One by one, he pulled the shards from his right hand, hissing under his breath, then wrapped it tightly in bandages.
He let out a long sigh as the silence of early morning returned. And then...
Grrrrrgle…
His stomach growled.
[I should head to the cafeteria. I'm starving.]
Chazz stepped out of his private dorm room, the morning air still cool against his skin. The hallway was quiet, save for the distant hum of the Obelisk Blue's early risers. He shoved both hands into his pockets and began walking toward the cafeteria.
"Chazz!"
A voice called out from behind him. He glanced back to see Raizou and Taiyou, his usual lackeys, jogging up the hallway.
"Whoa, Chazz!" Taiyou said with a grin. "You're up early! That's rare!"
"Yeah," Raizou chimed in. "You're usually still snoring at seven!"
Chazz gave them a side glance and muttered, "So what if I'm up earlier than usual? What about you two? Why are you up so early?"
Taiyou rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Ah, well... I lost a bet. So now I have to run laps around the Obelisk Blue dorm with Raizou early morning. Look at me, I'm wet from sweat!"
"Bet?" Chazz raised a brow.
Raizou chuckled. "Yeah. Taiyou lost a bet on how long an upper-class Obelisk Blue would last against Mash—"
"I DON'T WANT TO HEAR THAT NAME RIGHT NOW!"
Chazz's voice exploded through the corridor as he turned pointing a finger at Raizou with his right hand
Both lackeys flinched. Raizou's eyes dropped to Chazz's hand, wrapped tightly in fresh bandages. "Chazz... what happened to your—"
"SHUT UP!"
Chazz barked, then turned his back at them and walk away from them with angry and fast steps.
Raizou and Taiyou exchanged a worried glance. Then hurried after him.
---
Chazz sat at a corner table in the Obelisk Blue cafeteria, aggressively sawing through a thick steak and tearing into a lobster like it had personally offended him. Taiyou and Raizou sat on the other side of the table of him, poking at their food, though much more cautiously.
Raizou leaned slightly toward Taiyou and whispered, "Is he in a bad mood again?"
Taiyou replied just as quietly, "He's been in a bad mood this past couple weeks and I think the trigger is Mas—"
Chazz shot them both a glare sharp enough to cut through bone.
They flinched, instantly returning to their food in nervous silence.
The atmosphere at their table was tense. Taiyou and Raizou looked like soldiers stuck in a minefield, terrified to trigger anything that might blow. Then, from the next table over, two Obelisk Blue student's voice broke the quiet.
"Mash deck is way too powerful!"
Chazz froze mid-bite. Taiyou and Raizou instinctively gulped.
"Yeah!" the other Obelisk Blue continued, oblivious. "Being able to summon a 'Labrynth' monster with the same ATK as Blue-Eyes, off a trap card!? What the FU-"
CLINK. Chazz gritted his teeth. The metal of his fork scratching against the plate.
"And not only that, Mash Lovely Labrynth ace monster being able to destroy any cards on field or hand is so broken! And then her personality is... Terrifying."
Sweat trickled down like bullets on Taiyou and Raizou's faces.
"Then there's also Lady Labrynth which is not only undestructable and untargetable but she is also able to set another trap when another trap card is activated! And that's just his ace monster his small monster is just as insane, Arianna being able to search a Labrynth card ON SUMMON!? WHAT!?"
Chazz's metal spoon bent in his tightening grip.
"Pfft...! That's just the Mash's monster! The traps in his deck are the real monsters. Like no matter what anyone do, they wouldn't be able to get through his damn Traps! And even if they do get pass it, they need to deal with a 3000 attack monster that he summoned of a trap card! AND THIS ALL HAPPENS ON THE 2ND OR 3RD TURN!"
Taiyou and Raizou had stopped eating entirely. They were too busy silently praying. As Chazz seems to go nuclear.
"Yeah, at that point, we are still normal summoning our level 4 monsters to the field and he's already special summons his 2900 attack Lovely Labrynth, on OUR DRAW PHASE! And don't get me started when she does her wicked walk towards you when she uses her effect to destroy a card in our hand randomly which I doubt. As she will see through your soul to pick the most important card from your hand even if you don't reveal it! And then that 'Ho ho ho~' laugh... I could still hear it!"
Chazz gripped the edge of the table. His eye twitched. His whole body was trembling with rage.
"Mash is a—"
"ENOUGH WITH ALL THIS MASH!!"
Chazz flipped the entire table with a scream of rage. Plates, steak, lobster, and drinks went flying right onto Taiyou and Raizou's face.
The cafeteria went dead silent. Every eye in the room locked onto him. Even the two Obelisk students at the next table had gone pale, clearly realizing they were the ones who lit the fuse.
Chazz stood there, breathing heavily, fists clenched, shoulders shaking.
Then, without a word, he turned and bolted out of the cafeteria, nearly breaking into a sprint.
Taiyou and Raizou sat frozen in place covered in lobster juice and steak sauce processing what had just happened and considering why they are friends with him.
---
Chazz stormed down the hallway. His fists were clenched, his face twisted with rage, and one name burned itself into every thought:
[Mash...!]
He bumped straight into a fellow Obelisk student carrying a stack of papers. The papers flew into the air like confetti, but Chazz didn't stop.
[It's always Mash...!]
Reaching his private dorm room, he slammed the door open that it hits an unfortunate Obelisk student and marched inside. His eyes locked on a corner of the room specifically, a part of the wall hidden behind a sheet of cloth.
[I'm sick of Mash… which is why...!]
With a single yank, he pulled the cloth down, revealing a chaotic web of papers, sticky notes, red string, and photos of Mash and Lovely Labrynth. At the center of it all was a single card, every string and pin converging on it like it was the heart of the storm.
[I have created a plan to counter you Mash! And it all revolves around this card!]
[I've crafted a plan to counter you, Mash… and it all revolves around this card!]
Chazz threw his head back and cackled like a madman.
"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!"
But the manic grin quickly faded. He leaned against the wall of madness, his expression tightening, his breath heavy.
"But… it's not enough," he muttered bitterly.
[Even with this single trump card, I still can't beat him. I know his deck inside and out now after weeks of... Observation]
He clenched his fists.
[His combos, his setups, every card he's got... I've memorized it all.]
[And yet—]
His eyes flicked to the card at the center.
[It's still not enough. That bastard summons his massive Labrynth monsters faster than I can breathe. Their high attack, high defense… I can't break through it with the cards that I have. DANG IT!]
With a snarl, Chazz punched the wall hard enough it dented.
[If only… if only I had an archetype that allows me to summon my boss monster as fast as possible has the attack to rival his silver devil. Then...]
Chazz suddenly picked up a pin and flung it straight at a photo of Mash on the wall, stabbing it right between the eyes.
[I'll be able to defeat him and end this nightmare!]
---
[Slifer Red Dorm – 8:00 AM]
"I'M LATE!"
Jaden shot upright in bed, eyes wide as he stared at the blaring numbers on his alarm clock. He leapt out in a panic and immediately started throwing on his Slifer Red uniform.
"Man, why didn't Sy wake me up…?" he muttered, struggling to tie his shoelaces in front of his dorm door.
"Oh well. Guess I just gotta go fast today!" He gave up trying to understand and tightened the last knot.
As soon as his shoes were on, he yanked the door open, ready to dash toward the stairs beside his dorm room but stopped when something on the floor caught his eye.
"Huh? A face-down card?"
He tilted his head. "Did someone drop it? Maybe it flew outta their deck…" Jaden glanced around. "Eh, finders keepers."
He reached down to pick it up but the card slid away just before he touched it.
Jaden blinked. "Okay… weird."
He stepped forward to grab it again, but it moved to the left. He tried again it darted to the right.
"What is going on with this card!? It keeps moving around!"
He huffed. "Fine! Guess I won't take you then!" He turned his back dramatically and walked away… then suddenly leapt over his shoulder. "Just kidding! Come here, card!"
The card zipped forward, cleanly dodging under his leap. "Huh!?" meanwhile Jaden was leaping path was towards a metal railing
"WAAAAHHH!"
BANG!
Jaden's head slammed into the metal railing near the stairs. A visible bulge formed on his forehead as he groaned, sliding to the floor.
"Ugh… ow ow ow…"
From the corner of the stairs, laughter erupted. Jaden turns and see Mash and Lovely Labrynth.
"GYA HO HO HO HO! Lovely, did you get that on camera!?" Mash cackled.
Lovely Labrynth stood beside him, holding Mash's PDA with one hand and recording gleefully. "Of course I did~! Every second of it~! OHO HO HO HO~!"
The rogue card fluttered across the floor toward them—now clearly under their control.
Mash pointed dramatically. "GYA HO HO~! Shmaden, you leapt like a frog and faceplanted into a wall!"
Lovely twirled the PDA in her fingers. "LMAOOO! OHO HO HO HO HO~!"
"DELETE THAT VIDEO!!" Jaden yelled, scrambling to his feet and charging at them.
Lovely raised the PDA out of reach with an elegant smirk. Even when Jaden jumped, he barely reached her elbow.
"Feeling a little short, Jaden~?" she teased sweetly. "HO HO HO HO~" Standing at a towering 190 cm, she easily dwarfed Jaden's 165 cm frame.
"Woah, woah, Jay! Take a chill pill!" Mash said, raising his hands. "You're gonna give yourself another concussion."
"How can I take a chill pill when I'm done dirty like that, Man!" Jaden snapped.
"Okay, okay! How about... An emotional compensation?" Mash bent down, picked up the card off the floor, revealing a thin silver disc underneath that he quickly throw away. "Here."
Jaden paused. "Card...?"
He took it, flipping it over.
"{Elemental HERO Stratos}?" His voice cracked slightly as he began reading the effect. "When this card is Normal or Special Summoned, you can... destroy Spell/Trap cards based on how many HEROes I have... or add a HERO from my deck to my hand!?"
Jaden's eyes widened. "Mash... are you sure you want to give me this!?"
Mash shrugged with a smirk. "Keep the card… and we'll keep the video."
"Take the card and DELETE the vid—"
"Wait wait wait, Jay, no need to be so hasty!" Mash laughed nervously. "Y'know, I only give cards like this to you because of someone that you're gonna duel."
Jaden squinted. "Someone...?"
Mash winked. "Oh, you'll see…"
Jaden tilted his head. "...?"
Mash clapped him on the shoulder. "Anyway! We're late as fuck for the exam! Let's bounce!"
"Wait! Mash, what about the video—!?"
But Mash and Lovely had already vanished, zipping down the stairs like gremlins.
"Race ya, Jay! If you win, I'll give you another card!" Mash's voice echoed back up from the stairs.
Jaden's eyes lit up. "Really!? Let's do this then!"
And with that, he sprinted after them down the stairs.
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Hey everyone IG here!
Really wanted to make this chapter longer but I still have Exam tommorow so I need to study. Anyway I hope you enjoyed this short chapter, Chiao!
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