Predictions and Observations:
Hanging With Axel II

The lighting and shadowing in the start, and actually throughout here and there, is interesting in this episode. I was sort of admiring it.

We’ve been seeing a lot of N-S Flare Scarab lately. Wonder if there’s any reason, or if it’s just the way it goes?

This duel was a lot of Flare Scarab, too; I kept waiting for Bubbleman or Aquos, but Jaden was fighting fire with fire.

I’m confused. So he was forcing *Jaden* to attack?

Axel makes a point of not being impressed by much. I think in the end, though, that he *was* impressed with Jaden.

Even after Axel decided to duel his own way rather than how Viper told him to, he was also still determined to keep his word to Viper by not winning the duel. I think Axel was somewhat confused, and kinda got the worst of both worlds; not only is Viper mad at him, but he also threw the duel.

Jaden was shuffling his hand around. I’ve never seen him do that before; then again, in such an exciting duel, most opponents don’t keep him waiting that long.

“…And I’ll finally have everything I need.” Keeping track of all the different ways Viper puts what he aims to achieve through all this, in hopes of eventually figuring out what, precisely, it is.

As the duel went on, we saw more and more of what was going through Axel’s head.

I feel much better now. By the end of this duel, I think that Jesse, Syrus, and Hassleberry were getting along a lot better, and so are Syrus and Jaden.

“Just one time, I’d like to be the hero!” I want to say something about this here, but I have no idea what. I *will* keep an eye on this, because even though this is the first time we’ve heard about it in a year or so (more like one and a half or two, Duel Academy time), I’m sure that one of these days Syrus *will* get to be the hero, and he’ll do an awesome job!

Why are Jesse and Hassleberry not pulling Syrus up? Maybe they don’t want to get too close to that whirling blade. Maybe, even though they don’t want to let Syrus fall (which is why they’re there rather than across the field where they can’t catch him), they also don’t want to make Axel mad by trying to pull Syrus up. Jesse already mentioned in Hanging With Axel I that Axel wasn’t someone to mess with, and Gecko also said it in Jewel of a Duel I: “He’s not exactly the nicest kid on the playground, and if you’re in a fight, you *definitely* want him on *your* side.”

Jesse said that Axel was in “la-la land”, and I’d say that’s fairly appropriate. One thing I admire about a lot of duelists is that they think well on their feet, unlike me. However, Axel seems a bit different; he considers his moves carefully and thinks pretty deeply about all this. There probably aren’t many duelists like that, but there are a few, and Axel’s one. He changed his mind about how he was going to duel on his own, for cryin’ out loud; he didn’t *need* any help from Jaden!

This is getting better and better… Axel duels with honor! I think I kinda like Axel; once he finds out that Viper’s out to pay him back for this, he won’t be on Viper’s side, necessarily, anymore, so he probably won’t be overly chummy with Jaden or any of his friends, but as they say, “the enemy of my enemy is my friend.”

“Why speak, when I can duel?” What a line!

“I have ways of making you pay.” This isn’t going to end well, unless someone notices that Axel is in danger. Right now, I’d say the most likely person to figure it out, of those who were present at the duel, would be Jesse; not only was he right next to Axel when Axel started to faint and said something about Viper, but he’s pretty perceptive. Earlier in the episode, he was starting to wonder if this was another evil weirdo trying to get at Jaden; how many characters who’ve been *around* for all these adventures have started to notice a pattern? Then again, Jaden has (“So if some maniacal villain shows up this year—which is bound to happen—we’ll be ready!”), and he’s known for being sorta clueless.

Actually, I think we *have* seen Elemental Mirage before. :-) My bad!

Is Syrus going back to Ra? Or back to Slifer? Or just not being really in any dorm (kinda like Chazz)? Why is it that this is coming up now, rather than when Syrus was in Ra, which was also a separate Dorm? Then again, Don Simon is a lot more tolerant of his students spending all their time at another Dorm (even though he doesn’t exactly love it) than Crowler would be, and Crowler’s the Obelisk boys’ headmaster.

So… is Axel okay? I’d be a bit more worried about *him* at this point, though how could any of Jaden’s friends know that Axel hasn’t only almost passed out from sudden energy loss, but that he’s also just made an enemy of Viper?

The fainting has begun already. Why did Jaden faint and Axel didn’t (that we saw)? I’d have to guess that either Axel’s trained a lot more to keep going when he’s exhausted, to withstand a lot of hardship, or the bio-band sucked out all or most of the duel energy in each of them, and Jaden’s almost all duel energy, and so having most of it sucked out was enough to make him faint on the spot, while Axel, like most other people, has more energy that *isn’t* duel energy.

I’m reminded of Field of Screams II (Zane vs. Camula) in a couple ways. Field of Screams was the only other time when Jaden was in the school infirmary after passing out while dueling, and FOS II was the only other time when Syrus expressed his deep wish to be the hero, like he did here: “This time, Zane, *I’ll* be the one who’s the hero; the one who saves the day!”

Duelists who *could* beat Jaden, but don’t—so far this year, they’re two for two. Jesse would have won if he had Rainbow Dragon, and Axel would have won if he hadn’t been holding back for Viper. When these guys duel again, I’m sure we’ll all be on the edge of our seats!

The bio-bands seem to glow and activate at the end of a duel, and that’s determined by the person himself. I think it’s sort of the state of mind—Jaden and Jesse glowed after their duel when they shook hands; Axel’s was after he said, “My mission is complete”; and Jaden (this time) was when something happened after the duel was over that wasn’t duel-related, namely Axel fainting.

It’s Fonda Fontaine again, for the first time in…uh… I don’t even *know* how long it’s been since we’ve seen her. A long, long time.

If Jaden ends up fainting again (highly likely this year), then Syrus may play the hero sooner than he thought, because there’s no way he’ll stand for it!!!

Dungeon Dice Monsters III

Okay, that's about all for now. This coming Saturday is Dungeon Dice Monsters IV, and there isn't a GX, apparently, this weekend or the weekend after. I'll keep everybody posted (no pun intended). I *am* sorry these have taken so long; I highly advise AGAINST getting a stomach virus at the beginning of the last week before your musical opens. It is no fun at all. -Clio