Chapter 1: The True Test
There was nothing but blackness. A strange feeling crept through Yusu's body. Suddenly, a blinding white twinkle appeared in the distance. "Yusu…" a voice called out, "It's time to get ready, Yusu… Wake up…" Everything began to fade to white. "Wake up… wake up… wake up!"
Yusu jerked up from his bed. "Yusu! You're going to be late for your entrance exam," Yusu's dad said, standing at the door, "You need to get ready!"
Yusu sprang out of bed. "Shit! I can't believe I overslept! I've practiced so much for this entrance duel! I can't afford to miss it!" Yusu quickly got dressed and ran out the door, completely ignoring the breakfast his dad had prepared for him.
He dashed down the street, paying little attention to his surroundings. All he cared about was getting to his duel. Then suddenly, out of nowhere, he crashed into someone. An old man with red spikes in his hair quickly sprang to his feet. "Whaaaaa! Why don't you watch where you're goiiing!" He hastily ran off as if he had somewhere important to be.
Yusu noticed a pendant on the ground. It had a strange design that he had never seen before. "Wait! Sir! You dropped this!" But the man was gone. He had no time to chase after him, so he put the pendant in his pocket and continued to the academy.
Yusu finally arrived at the academy, just as his friend Nakamura was leaving. "Yusu!" he called out, "You're a little late, aren't you?"
"I overslept…" Yusu looked down, "But I'm here now, and my monsters are ready to rattle and roll!" Yusu clutched the deck box on his belt with confidence.
Yusu and Naka approached the academy gate. "Hold it, you two!" The guard stopped them, "The duels are over now! This area is off limits!" The guard crossed this arms and huffed.
"B-but, sir!" Yusu bellowed, "I've been practicing day and night for the past few weeks for this duel! It means so much to me! There has to be something you can do." He was down on his knees tugging at the guards' coat.
"Well kid, you make a good case. Maybe I'll consider helping you out. But only if you do something for me." The guard winked at Yusu.
"Uh…" Yusu and Naka were both lost for words.
"Uh…" the guard paused, "How about you just forget that that happened and I'll call Mr. Atlas for you. Eh?" Yusu nodded. The guard turned on the video phone. "Sir, I have a kid here who says he wants to duel."
"Well…" Jack paused, "Testing has finished, and you know that! So why are you wasting my time?" The guard had no response.
"But, Mr. Atlas!" Yusu interjected, trying not to upset the headmaster, "I've been practicing nonstop in preparation for this duel! Please just let me duel!" Yusu was once again on his knees begging. Unfortunately, he couldn't grab Jack's coat through the screen.
"Hmmm…" Jack paused, holding back his anger, "What's your name, kid?"
"I-I'm Yusu Hokuma."
"Ah… Yasuda's son…" Jack paused again, "Well I don't give a damn if you're my head technician's son. If you're late, you're late. There's no special treatment, regardless of who your family is." Jack crossed his arms angrily.
"Now listen here!" Naka butted in. "If you don't give Yusu a chance to enter the academy, you'd really regret it." Naka looked over to Yusu and smiled. "You might not realize it, but it would be the biggest mistake you'll ever make if you don't give him this opportunity. Yusu is the strongest duelist I know! And he would be an excellent addition to this school!" Naka so badly wanted to curse at Jack, but did not want to get kicked out of the academy.
"Well Yusu, I see that you're friend really cares about you," Jack said, seeming a lot less angry, "In fact, he reminds me a bit of an old friend of mine. You know what, kid?"
"Yeah?" Yusu said, starting to crack a smile.
"I've decided to give you a chance to enter my school." Yusu and Naka cheered. "However!" Jack interrupted their celebration, "Because you were late, you will not be dueling the normal opponent for the entrance exam. Instead, you will be dueling one of my best students. He's a very experienced duelist. Nick Grath!"
Yusu's eye widened. "Nick Grath? But he's one of the highest ranking duelists in the country!" Yusu almost began to panic, but Naka held him back.
"I don't give a damn if he's the strongest duelist in the world!" Naka asserted, "I've seen what you can do when you! And just because he's high ranking, doesn't mean you can't beat him!" Naka nodded at Yusu, and Yusu nodded back and smiled.
"You're right, Naka!" Yusu clenched his fist confidently, "Mr. Atlas, I accept your terms!"
"Excellent. I'll call Nick now. You're duel will begin immediately!"
Yusu and Naka made their way to the testing arena. Nick was there waiting for them. "So you're Yusu, eh?" Nick asked, "Well I have to tell you, I'm not guaranteeing that I will win, but I do not plan on losing." Nick began shuffling his deck in a cocky manner. "Let's duel!"
"It's time to set the stage!" Jack announced, "I activate the action field spell, Turbo Gear Factory! Now begin the duel!"
"Alright, I'll go first!" Nick said, "I draw!" Nick looked at the card he drew and smirked. "I'd hate to say it, Yusu, but I think you've already lost!" Yusu's eyes widened, he seemed to have lost all of the confidence he had. "First I summon Geargiano MK-II! This allows me to summon a geargiano MK-III from my hand! And when Geargiano MK-III is summoned, I can summon a third geargiano from my hand!"
"Oh no. Three level three monsters!"
"That's right! So now with my three level three Geargianos, I build the overlay network, and xyz summon… GEAR GANT G!"
Gear Gant G
Rank 3
EARTH/Machine/XYZ
2100 ATK / 2500 DEF
"Wow. An xyz summon on his first turn," Naka said to himself, "No wonder he's so highly ranked"
"And now, I think I'll end my turn with a face down!"
"Alright! My monsters are ready to rattle and roll! I draw!" Yusu was still slightly shocked by Nicks first turn xyz summon. "I summon Mechanimal Overtoad in defense position! When this card is normal summoned, I can add one Mechanimal card from my deck to my—"
"I activate Gear Gant's effect!" Nick interrupted, "During either players turn, I can use one of his overlay units to target one monster on the field. Due to Gear Gant's effect, your Overtoad is forced into attack mode and its effect is negated!"
"Oh man! This has to be a joke. I don't think I'm prepared for a situation like this!" Yusu looked over at Naka, and felt a sudden burst in confidence. "Well, all I can do is place two cards face down and end my turn. Your move!"
"Alright! Draw!" Nick had a smug grin on his face, "I think I'll attack your Overtoad with my Gear Gant! GO! Gear Grinder Attack!"
"I activate my trap, Mecha Reflect Blocker!" Nick gasped. "I can activate this trap when an attack position monster I control with 0 attack is targeted for an attack! This trap stops my monster from being destroyed! Plus, you take the same amount of damage I take as well!"
"WHAT! WHAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
Yusu: 1900 LP, 3 cards in hand
Nick: 1900 LP, 4 cards in hand
"And now, I activate my other trap, Mechanical Reverse!" Yusu continued, filled with energy, "When one of my Mechanimal monsters is attacked, this trap destroy the attacking monster after the battle!"
"Gear Gant!" Nick clenched his fist, "But it's alright. I activate Gear Gant G's effect from the graveyard! When it leaves the field, I can add a Geargia monster from my deck to my hand! So I will add Geargiaugment to my hand!" Nick paused. His eyes turned to a flashing shadowy purple. "GAAAAHHHH!" He hunched over in pain.
"Nick!" Yusu yelled, "Are you okay?" Yusu was about to drop his duel disk and run over to him.
"Forget about me!" Nick hissed as he straightened up, his eyes still glowing, "On with my turn! I activate the trap Geargia Repair! If an xyz monster was destroyed this turn, I can summon 2 Geargia monsters from my graveyard! Welcome back, Geargiano MK-II and MK-III!"
Yusu gasped, "You've brought back your monsters! You're going to xyz summon again!"
"That is true, Yusu. But first, I activate the spell, Polymerization! I use my 2 Geargiano to fusion summon Geargiadd-on!
"A Fusion Summon?!" Yusu was shocked that Nick could Fusion and Xyz summon with the same deck.
"That's right!" Nick scoffed, "I hope you're keeping up, because I'm not done yet! When Geargiadd-On is summoned I can special summon 1 EARTH Machine-Type monster from my graveyard! Come on back, Geargiano MK-III! And now, because MK-III was summoned, I can summon Geargiaugment from my hand. And when Geargiaugment is summoned, I can add a Geargia monster from my deck to my hand. So I add Geargiaccelerator! And I will immediately summon him from my hand due to his effect!"
"What are you even going to do with all of these monsters?" Yusu asked, "They're all different levels!"
"You'll see soon enough," Nick paused, "Now I use the effect of the field spell, Turbo Gear Factory! I can target one Machine-type monster I control, and all of my other monsters become the same level as the monster I chose! So I target my level 4 Geargiadd-On to make all of my Geargias become level 4!"
"What? Four level 4 monsters!"
"That's right, Yusu!" Nick laughed, "But before I xyz summon, I activate the spell, NEGATIVE GEAR SHIFT! This makes all my monsters levels negative! So they are all negative level four!" Nick continued to laugh uncontrollably.
"Negative levels?!" Jack yelled, "Monsters can't have negative levels!"
"How…" Yusu said in awe, "What is a negative level…?"
"When a monster is consumed by rage and darkness, their levels fall beneath the limits of nothingness and their levels becomes negative!" Nick barely sounded human anymore, "I use all four of my negative level 4 Geargia Monsters to build the overlay network." Nick's eyes began to glow darker. "I inverse xyz summon Negative Number 11: Geargiassault Lord GX!"
"A-a negative number?!" Yusu fell to the ground in terror. "What's a negative Number?! I don't stand a chance against a monster like that…" His pocket began to glow. He pulled the pendant out of his pocket. It was glowing uncontrollably. Out of nowhere, a floating blue figure appeared out of the pendant. It turned to Yusu and began to speak.
"Rise up!"