(Author's Note: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!, Duel Monsters, Duel Academy, or other affiliated trademarks. I don't even own Lita or Kamille. Other original characters are mine though.)
Things weren't looking too good, Kalas noted as he sized up the situation. His opponent controlled an Emes the Infinity that had already destroyed three of Kalas' monsters as well as a face-down card, and seemed rather confident in his position. And why shouldn't he be? He lead in every conceivable way; 3200 Life Points to Kalas' 1400, four remaining cards in hand compared to Kalas' two, and, of course, Kalas had no cards currently in play. A bead of sweat broke out over the duelist's sapphire-blue eyes, and suddenly the significance of this duel hit him. Everything rode on him winning this duel. It acted as part of the Duel Academy entrance exam, and to lose the duel was to fail that exam. The last ten years of his life had been spent in preparation for this moment. Failing now not only would make that decade a complete waste, but would prove his fears true; he didn't deserve his family's – his father's – name. He looked down at his Duel Disk and reached for his next card, but hesitated, the pressure simply too much to bear.
High above the fields for the entry exam, students already attending the Academy watched the new applicants' duels, proudly displaying their dorm colors. A boy with jet black hair and clad in the uniform of a Ra Yellow student sighed as he looked over the duel he had been watching. The duelist's white, stiff-collared suit belied his status and gave him an air of confidence – a confidence that now appeared to be artificial as the duelist hovered in indecision. "He's frozen," the student noted aloud, to no one in particular.
"A pity," another boy, this one wearing a distinctive black duster coat, replied. "He might have made a decent rival."
"Hey, I thought that was my job," yet another boy said, walking over. This one wore the uniform of a Slifer Red student, and bore an infectiously cheerful smile beneath brown hair somewhat lighter than that of the duelist below and matching eyes. He looked down to the Academy hopeful dueling below, and his grin grew wider. "I have a hunch, Chazz, that this one's not going to go down just yet."
The boy in the duster coat turned away haughtily, as the yellow-clad student shook his head sadly. "At this point, Jaden," he said, "the probability of the applicant winning is too low to mention."
Jaden's grin grew wider still. "And you would have said the same about me defeating Dr. Crowler two years ago, Bastion."
"True as that may be...oh very well. We'll just wait and see if your intuition proves true."
"Hmph!" Chazz added, turning his attention back to the duel as well.
"Applicant, you must begin your turn, or this duel is forfeit," the proctor acting as Kalas' opponent warned, startling the duelist from his thoughts.
"I didn't come this far to give up," Kalas said quietly, his fingers coming to rest on his top card. "My turn, draw!" he announced, pulling it from his deck, and raising it to his eyes. The corner of his mouth turned upward in a small victorious smile as he reversed the card, revealing it to his opponent. "From my hand, I activate the Spell Card Dragon's Mirror," he said before playing it to his Duel Disk. "This card allows me to fuse monsters under my control or in my Graveyard by removing them from play, as long as the resulting monster is a Dragon-Type monster. I choose to fuse the Chthonian Emperor Dragon, Luster Dragon, Masked Dragon, Twin-Headed Behemoth, and Spear Dragon in my Graveyard."
"What kind of monster uses Fusion Material like that?" Jaden wondered aloud, watching the duelist's play eagerly.
"None," Bastion replied, perplexed. "No Fusion Monster has a creation formula that complex, it would be impossible to summon except in the most precipitous of situations."
"If you are Fusion Summoning a monster," the proctor noted, "the Fusion Material must be valid."
"It's a valid fusion," Kalas assured him as the Graveyard of his Duel Disk ejected the monsters he had named. "You see, the monster I'm summoning can use any five Dragon-Type monsters as its Fusion Material. Now, appear! Five-Headed Dragon!"
A large mirror appeared on the field, and through it emerged a pointed head set ablaze, followed by a long firey neck. Four more dragon heads passed through the glass like air, followed by a tremendous body. Freed at last, the dragon let out a mighty roar that echoed through the gymnasium-turned-arena. "Now that I control a Dragon-Type monster," Kalas continued, "I can activate from my hand another Spell Card, Stamping Destruction. This card destroys any one Spell or Trap Card on the field, then inflicts 500 points of damage to the controller of that card." He pointed at the holographic image of the proctor's hidden card. "I choose your face-down card. Be gone!" At his command, Kalas' dragon walked over to the hidden card, and crushed it underfoot, revealing it to be a Sakuretsu Armor just before it shattered.
Inwardly, Kalas let out a sigh of relief. The card he had just destroyed had the ability to destroy one attacking monster. If he hadn't used Stamping Destruction, his own Five-Headed Dragon would have been lost. The proctor let out a grunt of annoyance as the total on his Life Point meter decreased.
"A good move," Chazz admitted grudgingly. "Now the proctor's left with only his monster for defense."
"But it still does not change the applicant's situation significantly," Bastion refuted. "While Emes the Infinity's current ATK of 4600 will not stand against Five-Headed Dragon's 5000, the proctor may very well have another card that can destroy Five-Headed Dragon in his hand."
"Just wait and see," Jaden said, still grinning.
"Finally, I summon the Monster Card, Dragon Rider – Roland," Kalas declared, and a lance-bearing knight in plate armor appeared. "And by removing Roland from play, alongside a Level 7 or higher Dragon-Type monster, I can merge the two together. Thus, I fuse Dragon Rider – Roland with Five-Headed Dragon to create Roland the Dragon Knight of Valor!" The knight leapt into the air to land on the back of Kalas' dragon, taking hold of reins that appeared around all five of the dragon's necks. "Roland the Dragon Knight of Valor has attack and defense power equal to the combined scores of it's Fusion Material," Kalas explained. "Five-Headed Dragon had 5000 points in each stat, so Roland's initial 1200 attack points and 800 defense points puts my Dragon Knight at 6200 attack points and 5800 defense points."
"It still makes no sense," Bastion mused from the balcony. "All he's done is consolidate his monsters into a single monster with the same total attack power. The result remains unchanged."
"No..." Chazz replied softly. "He's going to win this turn."
Jaden turned to Chazz. "Not that I mind your sudden change of heart, but why do you say that?"
"Because everything Misawa has said about that kid has been wrong." Bastion glared at Chazz's statement, but couldn't come up with a suitable retort. After all, he had been so far.
"More importantly," Kalas continued, "Roland has the ability to attack my opponent's Life Points by cutting its attack power in half, as long as my opponent doesn't control a monster of the WIND Attribute. Go! Lethal Dragon Dive!"
The knight hefted his lance into the air with a cry, and the dragon spread its wings wide. With a few powerful wingbeats, it took to the air, rising directly above the proctor. The knight leapt off, a glint of steel in the air, hands tightly gripped around his downward-pointing lance. He landed directly before the proctor, the lance in a position that, had it been solid, would have neatly split the opposing duelist in two. The proctor smiled as his Life Point meter registered the blow, and emptied. "Congratulations, and welcome to Duel Academy."
A black-haired girl clad in a simple forest green t-shirt over denim shorts walked exuberantly into her hotel room, a little skip in her step as she entered. The opened envelope in her hand contained the acceptance into Duel Academy she had earned today at the exam site, along with a notice of a scholarship awarded to Lita Hail that would allow her to attend, and finally a single airplane ticket that would take her there a week from today. She set the envelope on the bedside table next to the alarm clock so she wouldn't forget it, and picked up the room's telephone to call home. She hesitated however, to check the clock and figure the time zone difference, and realized that no one would be there. No matter, her parents would be ecstatic to hear the news when they got home.
At the exam site, a boy gave a small predatory smile as he studied the exam results board. Kamille Raven already openly wore the long coat of an Obelisk Blue uniform, one that three years of high marks at the Duel Academy preparatory junior high school in Tokyo had earned him. Technically he didn't need to be here at all, he'd already been accepted. But he insisted on taking it anyway to prove that his coat was well-deserved, that he was indeed the best of the best. And he had done so, his name second on the ordered list of accepted applicants. It rankled a bit that someone taking the exam "cold" had outscored him, but it was only one person. His point had been made.
Kalas half-lounged in the back of his father's limousine, his collar unzipped, as well as about the first quarter of the suits overcoat, revealing the damp undershirt beneath. A little of the rush from having won his exam duel remained, but the more dominant feeling was exhaustion from having all the tension he had felt released. He felt a slight pang of regret as he noticed the building his father worked within in the distance, and it must have shown since the chauffeur immediately asked, "Are you all right, master Kalas?"
"Fine," Kalas lied. "Just a bit tired is all." He allowed himself a sigh as the building passed, and he closed his eyes as he leaned back again.
The limousine pulled up to the gate of his family's estate, and Kalas sighed again before fixing his suit. Appearances had to be kept up, after all, and he couldn't very well walk in looking so disheveled. His expression brightened as he saw the auburn-haired girl standing outside the gate waiting, and while he finished straightening his suit out of habit, thoughts of decorum were pushed completely out of his mind as the chauffeur opened his door. "Thank you," he said softly to the chauffeur before walking briskly over to the waiting girl. "Aryll!"
The girl smiled, "Hello, Kalas." Looking at Kalas' suit, she self-consciously adjusted her own outfit, a plain blouse over jeans. "How'd it go?" she asked, looking back up.
"I passed," Kalas replied. "Should have done better, but I passed."
"Never really had any doubt," Aryll replied, chuckling a little. Her smile seemed to slip for a moment, however.
"Did they deny your request to take the written test late?" he asked.
"No, no, nothing like that," Aryll answered, shaking her head vigorously. "It's just that I haven't heard anything, and no news definitely isn't good news. And...it really didn't hit me until just now that you're really going."
"I can keep in touch with e-mail, you know I'll do that at least," Kalas said. "And I'm sure you'll get your opportunity, death in the family definitely counts as extenuating circumstances."
"Thanks...really," Aryll responded. "Let's go in, shall we?" she asked, gesturing to the estate before them, and Kalas nodded agreement.
New Card Index:
Dragon Rider - Roland
Effect (Union) Monster Card
WIND-Attribute
Dragon-Type
Level 3
ATK 1200/DEF 800
Once per turn, you can equip this card to a Dragon-Type monster you control, OR unequip it to Special Summon this monster in face-up Attack Position. The equipped monster gains 600 ATK and DEF. When the equipped monster destroys a monster by battle, you may draw 1 card from your deck.(A monster can only be equipped with 1 Union Monster at a time. If the equipped monster would be destroyed, destroy this card instead.)
Roland, the Dragon Knight of Valor
Fusion (Effect) Monster Card
WIND-Attribute
Dragon-Type
Level 10
ATK ?/DEF ?
"Dragon Rider - Roland" + 1 Level 7 or higher Dragon-Type monster
This card can only be Special Summoned by removing from play the above Fusion Material Monsters (you do not use "Polymerization"). This card's ATK and DEF are equal to the combined ATK and DEF of the monsters removed from play to summon this card. If your opponent controls no WIND monsters, this card can attack directly. If it does, this card's ATK is halved during damage calculation.
(A/N: Since this story does use cards that were created by yours truly, I'll be posting them at the end of the first chapter in which they are used, or at the end of every chapter they're used, if that would be preferred. Of course, I can't tell what you want if you don't review, so please do!)