Authors notes
A few months ago, I read the Call to the Dragons fanfic by Kaze-Kami-Ha, and was inspired by that to try my own Yugioh Fanfiction. As such the setting may seem a bit similar to fans of that fanfic.
My own story is set after the GX series with an OC cast, but it is before the 5ds series, the main cast of GX has long been gone from duel academy, but Sheppard and Crowler are still here. (I did grow up watching the dub, so I will be using the dub names for the characters.)
Finally, this is my first fanfiction, as well as my first time using so there may be lots of things I'm doing wrong. Feel free to tell me what they are so that I can improve.
Thanks in advance,
Nameless 45
"I will go and you can't stop me!" Alaindra Graves yelled at her father.
"Young lady you are staying here and that's final!" Laurence Graves yelled back, picking up her deck and pocketing her cards.
"These cards are staying with me until I can trust you not to run off with them." He stormed off before stopping at the door.
"Alaindra… this is for your own good, you don't know how dangerous the world of dueling is." Then, Alaindra heard the door close and his footsteps recede.
A few moments later Alaindra left as well.
. . .
That night, Alaindra was sitting on her bed when she heard a soft knocking at her door.
"Ali? Hon, can I come in?" A female voice asked.
"The doors unlocked mum." Alaindra said without turning around.
"Are you okay?" Diana Graves sat down next to her daughter.
"No."
"Your father loves you very much Ali. You know that right?" she tried again.
"No."
"Don't use that tone with me, young lady." Diana placed something in her daughter's lap.
"Mum? This is my deck!" Alaindra squeaked.
"Yup it sure I-ooof," Diana yelled as her daughter hugged her tightly.
"Does dad know?" Alaindra asked, still hanging on.
"Nope, he's fast asleep. I'll drive you to the Kaiba Dome first thing in the morning, before your father wakes up." Diana kissed the top of Alaindra's head.
"What if dad gets angry?"
"Your father doesn't get angry; he just pretends to be to scare bad little girls." Diana tickled her daughter to prove her point.
"Mummm! I'm sixteen." Alaindra complained, squirming away from her mother.
"Okay Ali," Diana laughed, "Now go to bed early."
"Mummmm!"
. . .
Alaindra sprinted across the busy streets ducking and dodging through the crowded square. She was running late for the duel academy exam. Brushing her black bangs out of her eyes Alaindra stopped. "How was I supposed to know that dad would wake up at 6am to watch reruns of his favorite television show?" she glared accusingly at the stray dog which had come to beg for food. Whining pitifully the dog looked off into the distance.
"What's that supposed to… oh." Right in front of her was a massive domed structure, dominating the horizon.
"The Kaiba corp duel dome," she breathed, "that's where the entrance exams are being held… shit!" Alaindra took off running again, spurred on by being so close to her destination.
Finally, after several minutes of dodging around startled people, Alaindra arrived at the front gates and entered.
Or she would have if the door wasn't being blocked by three boys in blue jackets cornering a blond girl.
Out of nowhere, a shove sent the girl stumbling onto the floor. Before she could say anything, the biggest of the boys kicked her in the stomach and his friend pulled her up by her hair.
Running up to them, Alaindra took out her duel disk and smashed the metal into the boy's face.
Clutching his bleeding nose, the boy cried, "What was that for?"
"Why don't you go pick on someone who can fight back?" Alaindra challenged him.
"Don't be fooled by how she looks, she's dangerous." The third boy stepped forward to say.
"The only person who in danger is you, unless you leave right now." Alaindra said.
The biggest of the three boys stepped forward and cracked his knuckles.
"I think we have a girl who wants a beating."
Alaindra raised her duel disk again. "You're a big guy, probably good at brawling. But can you duel?"
"I'm Damien Oscott, the son of the chief of police in Domino City, I don't think a street rat like you could beat me. I accept your challenge"
Suddenly, a voice called out from inside the Kaiba Dome.
"Damien? Your duel is in two minutes, you better get ready."
Damien sneered.
"You're lucky street rat. Don't think I will forget this, we will duel. Mark my words."
When the three boys had left, Alaindra helped the blond girl to her feet.
"You don't have to help me. If the others see you together with me they might not like you as well." The girl said.
"Don't worry about that I don't care what other people think of me. I'm Alaindra by the way."
"My names Layla." The blond girl introduced herself.
"Why were they attacking you?" Alaindra asked.
"It's because when I first got to duel academy… I did something very bad." Layla noticed Alaindra's sorrowful gaze.
"But don't worry, I'll convince them that I'm safe eventually." Layla looked back at the Kaiba dome. "By the way, why are you here Alaindra?"
"Oh shit! I'm meant to be taking my entrance exam, I'm going to be late." Alaindra cried.
"Don't worry, I know this dome like the back of my hand. I'll take you to where you need to go."
With that Layla dragged Alaindra into the Kaiba dome.
Instantly, a burst of colours and sounds assaulted Alaindra as her eyes took in the many duels that were taking place. However, Layla seemed to be unaffected by the wondrous sights as she dragged Alaindra to what looked like a receptionist's desk.
"Hi Miss Dane" Layla smiled.
The receptionist ignored her.
"Are you here for the entrance exams?" she asked Alaindra.
"Yes ma'am".
"Name?"
"Alaindra Graves."
The receptionist made a show of scanning her papers.
"Yes, your duel is in arena 3. Go quickly though, it starts in two minutes."
"Arena 3 is over this way." Layla seemed slightly deflated as she led Alaindra away.
"Bitch." Alaindra muttered under her breath.
"Please don't say that, it's my fault really. Like I said, when I got here I did some really bad things… they're just all scared really." Layla told her, perking up out of her previous state.
When the two girls finally made it to the arena, a duel was finishing.
Richard: 950
Damien: 3000
In front of them was a timid looking boy with black hair, who didn't have a single monster on his side of the field.
Opposing him was a large boy in a blue coat, who had a massive lion panther hybrid growling behind him. (Beast King Barbaros (8/3000/1200).
Suddenly, the large boy turned towards Alaindra, and she felt tendrils of anger snake into her chest.
"Street rat." Damien smirked. "Once I defeat little Richard I'm coming for you."
"We…we're still dueling!" the timid boy stuttered out, causing Damien to turn to him in amusement.
"Then make your final move."
"T...Then I'll play my spell card the Shallow Grave to allow both of us to special summon a monster in face down defense position from our graveyard."
The two boys stopped to choose their monsters.
"Next I shall play Shield Crush to destroy the monster you just brought back."
A beam of green light smashed into Damien's defense monster.
"Finally I'll activate Dark Piercing Light which flips my monster face up. Aussa the Earth Charmer!"
A brunette witch with an amethyst staff rose onto the field. (3/500/1500)
"And when Aussa is flipped face up her specially ability activates, allowing me to take control of an earth monster. Like your Beast King Barbaros!" The hybrid monster roared in anger before slowly walking towards Richard's side of the field.
"Now Beast King Barbaros, attack Damien directly and end this duel!"
Damien laughed.
"I counter with my trap card, Blast Held by a Tribute! This card activates when a card that was tribute summoned attacks. Then, it destroys every monster on your side of the field and deals you 1000 points of damage."
The monster clawed at its heart as it roared in pain. Slowly glowing white cracks appeared in its skin until finally, the monster exploded into light, blasting Richard into the wall.
Richard: 0
Damien: 3000
As the holograms faded, a slightly stunned Richard was led to a seat to catch his breath. While this was happening, a man with a dark blue trench coat stepped into the arena.
"That was the duel between Damien Oscott and Richard Anderson. Our next applicant is… Alaindra Graves."
Alaindra stepped forward into the arena.
"Are you Alaindra?" the man asked.
"Yes."
"Good, I am Professor Ernest Cameron. In the spirit of fairness, your duel proctor shall be randomly chosen from a list of duel proctors, do you understand?"
Alaindra nodded.
"Good," Professor Cameron said as a contraption that looked suspiciously like a lottery machine was rolled in. Somebody pressed a button and all the white balls inside of the machine began spinning, until one lone ball fell away from the group and landed into the exit tube. When the ball had come to a halt, a scanner scanned the ball and displayed its number onto a t.v screen, together with the name of her duel proctor.
"Layla?" Professor Cameron gasped. "Who put her into the system?"
Angry whispers floated from person to person as the entire room turned on the blond girl.
"Why are you here?" Professor Cameron barked.
"I… Vice Chancellor Crowler said that I could be a duel proctor today." Layla kept her head down.
"Damn that man. If he wasn't so important, we would have expelled you a long time ago Layla."
From the stands, Damien stood up.
"Clearly, we cannot have that witch be a duel proctor. We don't want her hurting anybody" he said.
"What do you suggest Damien?" Professor Cameron's face took on a look of pride as he saw the Obelisk boy stand up.
"I suggest that I take Layla's place and duel… Alaindra, is it?"
"Wonderful idea, my boy." The professor beckoned at his student. "Come, come."
Damien walked until he stood parallel to Alaindra.
"In your application duel, you aren't expected to win. After all, you are going up against the best students in the school. However, with the way I'm going to beat you, there's no way the academy will accept you." Damien laughed cruelly.
"And what happens if I beat you?" Alaindra fired back.
"Me? The top duelist in my class, losing to an untrained girl like you?" Damien looked as if Alaindra had suggested that the moon would start dancing. "If I lose, I'll eat my cards!" Damien erupted into laughter.
"That's fine by me. It'll serve a bully like you right." Alaindra's lips curved into a sneer.
"Alright, enough trash talk" Professor Cameron said in the distance. "Duel!"
With that word ringing in their ears, the two duelists activated their duel disk.
Alaindra: 4000
Damien: 4000
"As I'm the challenger, I'll go first." Alaindra said as she drew.
"Now I'll summon Blackland Fire Dragon." A green dragon flew onto the field. (4/1500/800).
"I'll set two cards facedown and end my turn."
"Now I'll begin mine." Damien drew.
"Got it in my first try. I summon my best monster, the Beast King Barbaros!" the same lion panther hybrid from Damien's last duel stomped onto the field. (8/3000/1200)
"How did you summon a level eight monster with no tributes?" Alaindra gasped.
"My Beast King is a super rare monster that comes with a plethora of abilities befitting its status. One of these abilities is that I can summon it without tributes, at the cost of my monster losing 1100 attack."
True to his word, the monster's attack dropped down to the required attack. (8/3000/1200) - (8/1900/1200).
"Now Beast King Barbaros, destroy her Blackland Fire Dragon!" The giant monster thrust its lance into the dragon's body, brutally skewering it.
Alaindra: 3600
Damien: 4000
"You see Alaindra, this is the difference between you and me. You only act like you're tough, I simply am tough." Damien thumped his chest. "I'll place a card facedown and see how you'll deal with my monster."
"My turn!" Alaindra smiled as she saw what she had drawn.
"If you're so tough, then it won't bother you when I do this! First I summon my Ancient Dragon."
The hoary old dragon descended from the sky to lie beside Alaindra. (4/1400/1300)
"Then, I shall activate my spell card Tribute Doll." A wooden puppet moved jerkily forward.
"This card lets me special summon a level seven monster as long as I tribute a monster already on my side of the field." Alaindra grinned. "So Damien, why don't I show you my best monster. The Red Eyes Black Dragon!" The doll and the dragon melted into a thick black oil which slowly condensed into a draconian shape with glowing red eyes. (7/2400/2000)
Damien stepped back a bit, and then chuckled nervously.
"You can't attack with your monster on the turn you used Tribute Doll."
"That may be true, but I can still use this! Inferno Fire Blast!" Alaindra showed Damien her spell card.
"As long as I have a Red Eyes Black Dragon on the field this card allows me to deal 2400 points of damage to you." Alaindra said as he dragon unleashed a red ball of flame towards her enemy.
Alaindra: 3600
Damien: 2800
"Huh?" Alaindra gasped. "You only took half the damage you were supposed to."
"That's because I activated this!" Damien gestured to a trap card on his field. "Damage Translation! This card halves all effect damage I take and allows me to summon one ghost token for every time I take effect damage." Damien laughed as a tiny ghost appeared on his side of the field in attack mode. (1/0/0)
"Now, as I assume your turn is over, I shall start mine with the equip spell Axe of Fools, giving my beast king one thousand extra attack points as well as negating its effect." Damien looked smug as his monster grew in attack points. (8/1900/1200) – (8/4000/1200) "And because it was my beast's effect that was lowering his attack to 1900, Beast King Barbaros gains 1100 attack, on top of the 1000 the axe gives him."
"Next I'll summon Panther Warrior in attack mode." (4/2000/1600) Damien laughed darkly. "This duel is over Alaindra. Go Beast King Barbaros, destroy her Red Eyes Black Dragon!"
"I activate my trap card Zero Gravity, forcing all our monsters to change battle position." Alaindra said as every monster on the field switched to defense mode.
Growling, Damien activated a card of his own.
"I activate my spell Stop Defense, forcing my Beast King back to attack mode so that you can't destroy him. Then I'll play one card face down and end my turn."
Frowning slightly, Alaindra drew her next card.
"I'll place one more card face down before switching Red Eyes back to attack mode, then I'll activate my trap card Meteor Rain! Allowing my monsters to deal damage through your defense position monsters, equal to the difference between their defense and my monster's attack."
"Red Eyes, destroy his ghost token!" With one breath of fire the dragon scattered the ghost into the four winds.
Alaindra: 3600
Damien: 400
"And don't think I don't know about the secondary effect of your Axe of Fools, during your standby phase you lose five hundred life points, so this duel is over."
The crowd of people. Which had previously only half watched the duel as the talked among themselves, began to actively watch Alaindra's match when it became clear that the newbie was not only holding her own, but matching their golden boy blow by blow.
"That would be true against any other opponent," Damien said, "but I am of the elite, the best of the best. I'm always prepared. I'll activate the continuous trap Solemn Wishes, giving me 500 points every time I draw a card."
Slightly flustered, Damien drew a card allowing his lifepoints to go up.
Alaindra: 3600
Damien: 900
Before they immediately went back down again.
Alaindra: 3600
Damien: 400
"Now that my turn has actually started I'll summon Lady Panther" A panther dressed in Egyptian garb joined Damien's ranks (4/1400/1300).
"Next I sha- "
Before Damien could finish his sentence, Alaindra interrupted him.
"Before you go to the trouble of ordering an attack, I'll activate Threatening Roar, preventing you from declaring an attack this turn." Alaindra's Red Eyes let out a roar which shook the entire arena, causing Damien's monsters to step back slightly.
"Fine. Your hand is empty and the only card on your field is your Red Eyes, I'll defeat you sooner or later."
Damien activated another spell card.
"I'll equip my Beast King with Rare Gold Armour, to prevent you from attacking any monster except him. Then I'll pass my turn to you."
Alaindra drew her card.
"I'll activate my Pot of Greed spell card, allowing me to draw 2 cards."
Looking at her two new cards, Alaindra breathed a sigh of relief.
"I'll play both my cards face down before switching my Red Eyes to defense mode. Then I'll end my turn."
Damien drew again and let Solemn Wishes give him his lifepoints.
Alaindra: 3600
Damien: 900
So that he would survive his axe.
Alaindra: 3600
Damien: 400
"Your delaying tactics are over, I activate the Field Spell Sogen!" An expanse of lush green grass spread across the duel arena. "This field spell gives my beast warriors 200 extra attack points."
Panther Lady (4/1600/1500)
Panther Warrior (4/2200/1800)
Beast King Barbaros (8/4200/1400)
"Before you can attack, I'll use my trap card Gift of the Mystical Elf" Alaindra said as the blue skinned elf pressed a ball of light into Alaindra.
"Now for every monster on the field I gain 300 life points."
Alaindra: 4800
Damien: 400
"Stop delaying the inevitable." Damien growled again, now truly losing his temper. "If you aren't a coward then just sit still and face your doom!"
"What does he want her to do? Simply stop fighting?" Layla wondered aloud. Surprisingly, quite a few people in the arena began echoing similar sentiments, either deciding to support the underdog or simply wanting to see Damien lose.
Hearing their voices turn against him, Damien grew madder.
"Go Panther Warrior, destroy her Red Eyes." The purple skinned panther slashed through the black dragon in defense position. As soon as that happened though, Panther Lady exploded into tiny pieces.
"Why did that happen?" Layla asked.
"Because Panther Warrior's high attack comes at a price. Every time he attacks, Damien needs to sacrifice a monster" Professor Cameron seemed to not notice who he was talking to, being so focused on the duel.
"Now Beast King Barbarous, unleash your power upon her!"
Alaindra watched the Lion Panther Hybrid bring its axe down onto her, and tried not to flinch.
Alaindra: 600
Damien: 400
"Next turn you rat. Next turn." Damien promised.
"There won't be a next turn. I activate my spell card Monster Reborn, allowing me to bring back one monster from the grave. A monster like my Red Eyes." Alaindra said as the black mist rising behind her coalesced into her signature card. (7/2400/2000)
"Did you forget about my Rare Gold Armour? Your 2400 attack monster won't scratch mine." Damien seemed relieved that that was all Alaindra could bring out.
"I didn't forget. In fact I'm going to equip my Red Eyes with an armour of sorts as well. I activate Metalmorph!" A liquid iron spilled from the trap card onto the dragon, turning it into some sort of draconic machine hybrid. (7/2700/2000)
"An extra 300 attack?" Damien looked like he didn't know whether he should be laughing or scared.
"Wrong again. When a monster equipped with Metalmorph attacks, it gains half the attack of its target. Red Eyes, attack!"
The metal dragon flew forward into the giant beast king, gaining attack on the way. (7/4800/2000).
The two monsters collided with a bang and struggled. Finally, with his wings wrapped around the beast king, Red Eyes Black Dragon managed to sink its teeth into the other monsters neck, crushing it into tiny pieces.
Alaindra: 600
Damien: 0
Damien fell to his knees, "how could I lose?"
Alaindra walked over to him. "What was it you said you would do if you lost to me? Something about eating your cards?"
Growling, Damien randomly selected a card from his deck and tore it into four parts before stuffing it into his mouth, "You have made a terrible enemy today, mark my words."
With that, he fled the arena.
Alaindra scoffed, "I'll mark your words when you finally make a deck strong enough to rival mine."
Turning to Layla, Alaindra gave her a victory pose, and the blond girl clapped happily.
"I can't believe it!" Layla said as she hugged Alaindra. "You made it in, and you defended me… No one has ever stood up for me."
Alaindra smiled slightly and allowed the blond to snuggle into her. "That's what friends are for Layla."
Looking up at her, the blonds eyes grew comically large. "huhhh" She breathed.
"That's right, we're friends." Layla seemed to perk up, "of course we're friends!"
Picking Alaindra up, Layla spun her around with unerring strength.
Laughing, Alaindra wriggled away from her friend to go watch the next duel.