Predictions and Observations:
Triple Play II

Okay… so, the duels continue and take turns for the worse as Jesse’s opponent starts talking and he and Jim get most of their lifepoints blasted away in a turn or two. Meanwhile, Bonaparte runs into the main building, determined to find Marcel; Pharaoh joins him, Blair follows them, and Jaden follows Blair. Axel, the first to realize that “Marcel” set them up and it’s a diversion, finishes the laughing guy in a hot second. He rounds up the blue berets and heads for the power station, which “Marcel” had mentioned an interest in. Jim and Jesse finish their duels as Bonaparte, Pharaoh, Blair, and Jaden find “Marcel”, and he’s not at the power station. Axel and the blue berets, meanwhile, aren’t finding anything. Adrian, who’s been trailing “Marcel” this whole time, suspicious and nosy guy that he is, is hiding behind a nearby sand dune. Bonaparte is distraught at “Marcel’s” sudden change in behavior, and it soon comes out that Marcel is his son, and he had kept it a secret and alienated Marcel so as not to show favoritism. The Eyeball comments that this is where Marcel’s loneliness comes from. Jaden is somewhat ticked off at “Marcel” for all this, and starts demanding answers. “Marcel” responds by making the big scary claw glow again (Bonaparte happens to be close when he does this, and we’re not sure whether Bonaparte is hurt or just scared) and plunging it into a crack in the ground. Big scary light show, and a familiar set of pillars emerges from the ground. Pharaoh yawns widely, and Banner’s spirit appears to Jaden, reminding him that this is where he fought the Sacred Beasts. And it looks like he’s about to tangle with them again.

I just happened to be watching The Hands of Justice II the other day, and I noticed that Sartorius showed Jaden a vision of the dusty dimension, too.

So apparently it was three separate duels, but they were tied together, as in if one lost they all did.

So… if “Silent” isn’t quite silent, what were the three emotions expressed here? Oddly enough, I tend toward “Silent” changing to “Passive-Aggressive.” That fits with Jim’s opponent, but not Axel’s, because then to be a trio they would all be ways of feeling or communicating anger. I could kinda maybe possibly in the stretchiest sense see Axel’s guy as “Sarcastic” or decidedly oblivious. I wonder if he would have behaved differently if he had dueled someone less serious or quiet.

What was the deal with *semi*-Silent’s “disk blaster”?

Cenozoic to Mesozoic. Alright, duel archaeology fans, the Mesozoic era was when the dinosaurs were around. It included the Triassic period, the Cretaceous period, and the Jurassic period. The Cenozoic era is the one after that when mammals and other animals smaller than dinosaurs came out and filled up the space, and by the way, we’re still in it right now. It includes the Tertiary period, with the Paleocene (right after the dinosaurs were gone), the Eocene (age of horses), the Oligocene (age of horns, known for rhinos and so forth), the Miocene (this is when ocean mammals like whales appeared), and the Pliocene (the golden age of lots and lots of mammals) epochs and the Quaternary period, which includes the Pleistocene (weird mammals, I think) and the Recent (that’s us) epochs.

Leave it to Adrian to be nosy enough to follow everyone around, turncoat like no tomorrow, just to make sure he knows exactly what’s going on. I’m so curious as to what he thinks his motives are.

What else got brought from the island to here? Is the whole island of Duel Academy under the sand? And in that case, what are Sheppard, Echo, and Pegasus walking around on? Is there another, parallel, Duel Academy under the sand in this dimension, equal in every way?

“Interesting! So *this* is where your loneliness comes from!”
“Alienating him was the hardest thing I ever had to do!”
Those are the two quotes regarding this that stuck out at me. Why, pray, did Bonaparte not just explain this to Marcel rather than just suddenly turn cold? Why not send Marcel to one of Duel Academy’s worldwide branches? Marcel doesn’t seem the type to take advantage of having a parent among the school faculty, and it’s not like that’s never happened before. I know a bunch of students at my school whose parents are teachers, and they get along just fine. I suppose we’ll just have to deal with the ‘why’ and move on to the, “Bonaparte, you idiot, make up to Marcel *now* before he lets the Eyeball destroy the world!”

“How rude of you! You see, we prefer ‘spirit’.” We’ll keep it in mind.

Is *this* what Banner was preparing Jaden for? Certainly a better villain than the superintendent.

So…wait. I’m kinda starting to get confused. *What’s* going on? Where is everyone right now? What’s going on with them? I’m gonna go character-by-character:
Jaden: At the Sacred Beasts’ burial site. Watched the first few rounds, followed Blair who followed Bonaparte.
Jesse: In front of Duel Academy Main Building. Just won his duel.
Jim: In front of Duel Academy Main Building. Just won his duel.
Axel: At the power station with the Blue Berets, looking for Marcel.
Adrian: At the Sacred Beasts’ burial site, hiding and eavesdropping.
Alexis: In front of main building.
Hassleberry: In front of main building.
Chazz: Duel ghoul. Coming toward Sacred Beasts’ burial site.
Syrus: Duel ghoul. Coming toward Sacred Beasts’ burial site.
Fontaine: Duel ghoul. Coming toward Sacred Beasts’ burial site.
Bonaparte: At Sacred Beasts’ burial site. Possibly injured by Marcel’s claw.
Crowler: In front of main building.
Bastion: Front of Main Building.
Dorothy: Unknown.
Pharaoh: At Sacred Beasts’ burial site.

So, now that we know a bit more, hindsight’s 20-20. If they had given “Marcel” the power station, I’m betting, he would have relied on their preoccupation with the food storage and the fact that they wouldn’t see his heading out into the desert as anything suspicious. Maybe they were blocking the back door that let him, Bonaparte, Blair, Jaden, and Pharaoh leave without going through the front doors and disrupting the duel, and with the power station granted, he could go through the front doors without arousing suspicion. Either way, it would have worked.

I wonder if, had Jaden not been there to awaken the Eyeball’s enmity, Blair and Bonaparte would have somehow gotten through to the real Marcel? They would be the two likeliest candidates; they’re closest to Marcel.

They have to be kidding me. This would just be too silly. Apparently next week they have an episode called “Rise of the Sacred Beasts.” Well, for the good of my sanity, I will call this “Rise of the Sacred Beasts III” and rely on my numbering system to keep them properly organized. And you know what makes it really funny? The Cartoon Network site is still hyping the *first* Rise of the Sacred Beasts, and now it’s come full-circle and they have a prayer of passing for up-to-date!

Okay, I’ve left it a couple days hoping I’d remember what I know I forgot to say; I didn’t, but I really oughta send this out. ‘Til Saturday! -Clio