Captain Gold stood imposingly in the center of the city, arms crossed, looking absolutely majestic.
He cast a cold glance at Avian and snorted, "Avian."
"Y-Yes!"
Avian jumped in fright.
"I remember, the day we parted, we made a pact, whoever found Jaden first would find a way to contact the others, right?" He slowly unfolded his arms, staring at Avian. "So why, even after I returned to the human world, did you never contact me?"
"Uh...." Avian turned his head away, whistling. "You know how it is, the connection between the human world and the other dimension is really random. The portal at Duel Academy was closed down, and I didn't get a chance!"
Not convincing at all.
Captain Gold continued to stare coldly at him.
Hikaru raised an eyebrow.
No wonder this guy, usually cocky and looking down on everyone, got so nervous when facing Captain Gold. Turns out he had messed up?
'Trying to 'hog' Jaden for himself, huh?'
"Ah, you're the Captain...Captain Gold, right?" Jaden suddenly recognized him, getting excited. "I remember! You're Captain Gold, an Elemental HERO! Wow, you look even cooler in person than on the cards!"
Captain Gold's grand pose almost fell apart.
"Ahem." At that moment, the many-eyed entity beside him, Golden Eyes Idol, coughed. "Captain Gold, don't forget the mission bestowed upon us by His Majesty Eldlich."
'Mission?'
'Oh, right.'
Captain Gold looked at Jaden and Hikaru.
Hikaru, still recalling Eldlich's name, noticed the look and grew suspicious.
Because they were "Elemental HEROes," Hikaru hadn't initially suspected anything sinister. But now, hearing "Eldlich" and "mission," he began to rethink stuff.
'Could it be that Egghead was pulling strings again?'
'No, the Egghead couldn't possibly command Elemental HEROes. Then…'
"Let's do a proper introduction," Captain Gold snorted again. "We are Captain Gold and Golden Eyes Idol, the sixth of the Shadow Riders, here under orders, to take your keys!"
"What? You're Shadow Riders!?"
Jaden instantly stopped being sentimental, glancing at Hikaru, and shouted, "Careful, Hikaru!"
Captain Gold clenched his fist before slowly relaxing it.
"The duel format is 2v2. You know the rules." Beside him, Golden eyes Idol carefully observed Hikaru, all its countless eyes scanning up and down as if analyzing him.
"Losers will suffer the curse of Goldenization." Captain Gold lifted a card held between two fingers, depicting piles of gold coins.
"Ehhh, are you crazy!?" Avian shouted, claws out in a battle stance. "You wanna fight!?"
He might've made mistakes, but threatening Jaden was crossing a line!
"Goldenization sounds amazing!" Besides Hikaru, Alchemist's eyes lit up. "Can I goldenize a part of him instead!?"
Avian looked at him, exasperated. "Hey, Hikaru, is your spirit friend crazy?"
"Haha..." Hikaru chuckled, then looked at Captain Gold. "Despite that, you two... aren't you already goldenized? Isn't this unfair?"
"Heh, simple." Golden Eyes Idol lifted a finger. "If you win, the two of us will become your cards. We've already confirmed, our abilities perfectly match your decks."
'Just a little, but not perfectly.' Hikaru thought.
Still, Golden Eyes Idol could become a legal Fusion Material for Thousand-Eyes Restrict. Plus, it was a Level 1 monster, easy for Metamorphosis plays.
Pretty useful, actually.
"Not only that, but His Majesty Eldlich has prepared grand prizes for you." Golden Eyes Idol stepped aside, revealing a pile of what initially looked like trash.
Gems!
Red, blue, yellow, all kinds, sparkling in heaps enough to dazzle anyone!
"Whoa..." Jaden gasped.
"Wow..." Hikaru's eyes gleamed too.
With these, he could attempt low-tier Gem-Knight alchemy! Or simply sell some and buy rare cards. After all, cards in this world were ridiculously expensive.
"Looks pretty fair." Avian scratched his head with a claw. "Even so, if you really turn Jaden into gold, our boss will make you pay."
"Enough talking." The Captain extended his left arm, a brilliant Duel Disk unfolded from his golden bracer. Simultaneously, a golden Duel Disk flew onto Golden Eyes Idol's right arm.
"Jaden, you go first!" Captain Gold snorted.
"Then it's my turn."
"Just like back then." Jaden glanced at Hikaru. They exchanged looks and nodded.
Back in "Warriors' Realm," Jaden had also gone first, with Avian following.
Meaning, no matter what decks or personalities these spirits had, their "approach" was similar!
They could even guess some aspects of their decks.
"Alright, then it's my turn! Draw! I Normal Summon Elemental HERO Clayman!" Jaden drew and revealed a monster.
[Elemental HERO Clayman] Level 4│EARTH│Warrior│800 ATK
"Clayman in Attack Position?" Captain Gold's movement stiffened, glaring at Avian, as if blaming him for how Jaden had "degenerated."
"What are you glaring at? Just watch, Jaden's way stronger than you think."
"Ahaha..." Jaden scratched his face, then grew serious. "I activate the Spell Card, Metamorphosis!"
'Metamorphosis?' Captain Gold was surprised.
"Its effect lets me Tribute one monster to Special Summon a Fusion Monster from the Extra Deck with the same Level!"
"Clayman, transform into your new form!"
"Special Summon, Elemental HERO Clay Guardian in Defense Position!"
[Elemental HERO Clay Guardian] Level 4│EARTH│Warrior│2800 DEF
"Eh." Even Captain Gold looked a little impressed seeing a familiar comrade evolve.
"Set one card. End turn."
Captain Gold shook his head.
"Barely passable."
"My turn! Draw! I activate my effect: I discard myself—[Evil HERO Adusted Gold]—to add Dark Fusion or a card mentioning it from the Deck to my hand."
'Just as expected!' Hikaru and Jaden exchanged glances and nodded.
Everything was as calculated!