Hello, everyone. This is my first story about Yu-Gi-Oh!, and I am not stealing anything from authors who are doing their own Yu-Gi-Oh GX stories. Trust me. I don't do that. I do things in my own way, and I wouldn't write this story without the authors that are helping me.
Credits: Sanokai, Spirit Reader, Liquid Phanzon
Chapter 1: The Next King of Games
It had been ten years, since Atem moved on to the afterlife, and Yugi Muto was now not only the King of Games, but had also married his childhood friend, Téa Gardner. With their love, it wasn't long before Joey and Mai revealed their feelings to each other, falling in love and getting married, as well. With Duel Monsters having grown in popularity, Seto Kaiba had started Duel Academy, a school where students learned and hoped to become the next King of Games.
A boy was standing in front of the Kaiba Dome. His name was Sly Hedo. He was 5'7" with silver hair that fell over his eyes. He was wearing a black beanie, a blue denim jacket, a white shirt, blue denim jeans, and black sneakers. He walked up to the desk in front of the Kaiba Dome where people signed up to have their strength tested, and to see if they had what it takes to stay in the Academy.
"Name, please?" the man at the desk asked.
"Sly Hedo," Sly replied.
The man took the clipboard off the desk and looked at the list.
"Go on in," he said.
"Thanks," the silver-haired boy said as he entered the dome.
"Once again, all Academy applicants who have already passed their Duel entrance exams, please proceed to registration. For those who have failed, better luck next year," the speakers announced as Sly walked inside the stadium.
"… And have fun at Duel Monsters Community College," said a makeup-wearing person who chuckled. They were wearing the standard Obelisk Blue uniform, complete with gold trimmings and a ruffled pink collar, shoulders, upper chest, and sleeves.
In one of the Duel areas, one of the proctors had Summoned a Legul. (1/300/350) A snake-like monster appeared and directly attacked a blue-haired boy with glasses.
Aw man… the blue-haired boy thought as he took the hit. I can barely concentrate with all these academy kids staring at me… Judging me… What I wouldn't give to already be enrolled in the school like them… he thought as he stared at all of the Academy students. They merely stared back at blue haired boy and at the other applicants.
"Last call for academy applicants. If you have not taken your exam, do so now."
Sly rose up from an elevated platform, wearing his Duel Disk. In front of him, another platform rose, a man wearing the purple outfit of the Dueling proctors standing on it. The man looked at Sly with a steady glance.
All right… Here we go… Sly thought as he stared at the proctor.
"All right, applicant. What is your name?" he asked with an overbearing tone.
"Sly Hedo, sir," Sly replied respectfully.
"Well then, Mr. Hedo, you know the rules; you win, you're in," the proctor said, starting his Duel Disk. "If you lose, then better luck next year."
"Oh, we'll see about that," Sly said, starting his Duel Disk.
"Duel!"
Proctor: 4000
Sly: 4000
"Draw!" Sly declared, drawing his sixth card. Looking at his hand, he pulled out a card and put into the Monster Card Zone.
"I'm gonna summon my personal favorite: Elemental Hero Stratos!" (4/1800/300) A turquoise-skinned hero wearing blue and silver armour appeared on the field, bearing triangular wings that used fans to keep him aloft.
"Now, since Stratos was Summoned out, it allows me to search my Deck and look for an Elemental Hero monster, and I choose Elemental Hero Woodsman!" Sly searched for the card, found it, and shuffled his Deck. "I place one card face-down and end my turn." A hologram of a face-down card appeared behind Stratos.
"All right. It's my turn. Draw!" The proctor drew his card. "I activate Terraforming. This allows me add a Field Spell Card from my Deck to my hand, and I choose A Legendary Ocean. Then, I'll activate it." Water flooded the arena, surrounding them completely and rising above their heads. An ancient city materialized behind the Proctor with buildings composed of brick and mortar that had faded to green and orange from the water.
"Its ability increases the ATK and DEF of WATER monsters by 200, and lowers their Levels in the hand and on the field. Next, I play Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy your left face-down card!" A cyclone ripped through Sly's face-down card.
"Finally, I Summon Terrorking Salmon in Attack Mode." A large silver-scaled fish with pink fins and hooked jaws appeared in the water and screeched. (5→4/2400→2600/1000→1200)
"Destroy his Stratos with Water Blast Wave!" The silver-scaled fish shot a huge blast of water towards the greenish-blue Hero, causing it explode.
(Sly: 3200)
"I set one card face-down and end my turn." The face-down card materialized behind Terrorking Salmon.
"All right. My move." Sly drew his card. "I Summon Elemental Hero Woodsman in Defense Mode!" A green-skinned warrior whose left side was covered in smooth bark appeared on the field, kneeling and crossing his arms. (4/1000/2000). "Then, I set two face-downs. Your move."
"My turn." The proctor drew his next card. "I'll Summon my Deepsea Warrior in Attack Mode." A warrior armored in green scales and bearing silver fins appeared on the field, the monster masked by a black helmet and bearing a trident with a blade at the base. (5→4 /1600→1800/1800→2000) "Now then, Terrorking Salmon, attack Elemental Hero Woodsman, and Deepsea Warrior, attack him directly!" The two WATER Attribute monsters obeyed and charged at the silver-haired boy and his monster.
"Not so fast!" Sly's face-down revealed Mirror Force. "This stops your attacks, but that's not the best part. The best part is that it can destroy all your monsters, as well!"
"Very good, but not good enough. I play my own Trap Card." The proctor activated his face-down Trap. "Seven Tools of the Bandit. I pay 1000 Life Points and it allows me to negate the activation of your Trap Card. Now, Terrorking Salmon, attack his Woodsman with Water Burst Wave." He smiled as, once again, Terrorking Salmon fired a huge blast of water towards Sly's last monster. "Deepsea Warrior, attack him directly!"
Deepsea Warrior charged and swung its lance past the silver-haired boy.
Sly: 1400
Proctor: 3000
"I end my turn," the proctor said as he saw Sly press a button on his Duel Disk, activating his other face-down card.
"Before you end your turn, I activate Call of the Haunted! With this Trap Card, I can bring back one of my monsters, and I choose Elemental Hero Woodsman!"
As the Trap Card was flipped up, the proctor saw Woodsman pop out of it and stand next to the silver-haired boy.
"OK. My draw." Sly drew his card, getting the only one that could help. After adding the drawn card to his hand, the greenish-skinned Hero began to shine.
"What's going on?" the proctor questioned.
"During my Standby Phase, Woodsman's ability kicks in. It allows me to look in my Deck and add Polymerization to my hand." Sly took his Deck out of his Duel Disk and began to search for the fusion card. After a few seconds, Sly found the card he needed. He took it out, shuffled his Deck and put it back into his Duel Disk.
"Now, I play Polymerization! I fuse my Elemental Hero Woodsman on the field and my Elemental Hero Ocean from my hand in order to Summon Elemental Hero Absolute Zero!" The two heroes jumped into the sky and merged together in a vortex. A new hero, wearing armor that was covered in ice over a midnight blue bodysuit, appeared from the vortex. (8/2500/2000)
"Thanks to A Legendary Ocean, it will increase my monster's Attack and Defense Points, but that's not all. My Absolute Zero's ability allows it to gain 500 Attack Points for each WATER Attribute monster on the field, and there are two of those, so that gives it 3700 Attack Points!" (8→7/2500→2700→3700/2000→2200) The white-armored Hero's blades of ice extended all over his body.
Everyone in the dome was awe as they saw an incredible monster being played.
"All right then, Absolute Zero! Attack Terrorking Salmon with your Ice Slash attack!" He declared an attack. Absolute Zero rushed forwards, slicing the silver-scaled fish into glowing fragments. The proctor covered his face with his Duel Disk, shielding himself from the minute shards of holographic ice that were blown into his face.
Sly: 1400
Proctor: 1900
"Next, I play De-Fusion, which makes my Fusion go back into my Extra Deck, bringing back my two Heroes." Absolute Zero entered a reverse spiral, but as it did so, shards of ice blasted from the spiral as it split back into Woodsman, (4/1000/2000) the green-skinned warrior with half of its body made out of wood, and Ocean, (4→3/1500→1700/1200→1400) a blue-skinned warrior that resembled a dolphin, both of whom appeared above him, Ocean carrying a spear tipped by a crescent-shaped blade. The shards slammed into the Deepsea Warrior and shattered him.
"Wait, what happened to my monster?!" Proctor asked
"Well, since you asked, when Absolute Zero is removed from the field, its ability allows me to destroy all the monsters on your side of the field," he answered, the proctor adopting a shocked expression.
"Now, since that's out of the way, Ocean, attack," he declared.
Ocean charged and struck the proctor with its stave, reducing him to 400 Life Points.
Sly: 1400
Proctor: 400
"Now, Woodsman, finish him off!" Woodsman lowered his root-covered shoulders and slammed into the proctor, reducing his Life Points to 0.
Sly: Winner
Proctor: 0
The proctor stood up and gave the winning applicant a smile. "Well done, applicant. You've passed your test. Welcome to Duel Academy."
"Thanks." Sly bowed and he was then lowered down by the elevator below his feet.
Next to him was a Duel between a boy about who was the same age as Sly wearing a grayish-white school uniform and a Dueling proctor. On the field in front were two Defense-position monsters known as Gear Golem the Moving Fortress (800/2200) and Big Shield Gardna (4/100/2600). The monsters opposing the Dueling proctor were a Vorse Raider (4/1900/1200), and there was a face down Spell or Trap Card on the boy's side.
"Alright, new guy," the proctor called to the boy. "Multipie choice: you have two monsters staring ya down. Do you, A: throw in the towel, B: beg for mercy, or C: run home to momma?" the proctor taunted him, but the boy didn't lose focus.
"I'll go with D, none of the above!" he replied as the card flipped face-up showing a metal ring with some flames surrounding it.
"A trap?" the proctor questioned.
"Exactly. You see, with ring of destruction, I can destroy any monster on the field that's in Attack Mode, and we both take damage equal to its Attack Points," he explained as the Ring appeared around the neck of Vorse Raider, causing it to explode, which took his Life Points down a bit, and the proctor's Life Points down to 0.
Grayish-uniformed boy: 1300
Proctor: 0
As the holograms disappeared, the proctor spoke. "Clever move, applicant. Welcome to the Academy," the proctor praised, sounding professional.
The boy in gray bowed to him and dryly said, "Thank you, oh wise proctor."
Up in the stands, there were three boys wearing Obelisk Blue blazers who also watched the boy's Duel intently.
"Wow, that guy's pretty good, don't cha think, Chazz?" a boy with a blue hair and glasses said.
"Guess the rumors about him being some whizz kid were true, huh, Chazz?" another boy on the other side said.
"He's a punk," said the person they were referring to—a boy with black spiky hair named Chazz. "We went to Duel Prep School for the past three years. We're ready for the Academy. These kids don't know what they're getting into, but they'll learn… the hard way. The Chazz Princeton way."
Meanwhile, in another part of the Dome, a short, blue-haired boy also finished watching the boy in the gray uniform as another teenager with a reddish-brown hair commented on it. "Wow, that guy really tore it up," he said while crossing his arms.
Syrus looked at the teen. "Yeah. Bastion Misawa; they said he got a perfect score on the written exams out of all us new applicants."
"Wow, I just barely passed."
"Yeah, me too. My name's Syrus, by the way. Nice to meet ya." Syrus then looked somewhat depressed. "I kinda have a thing where I get test anxiety. I don't know how I won my Duel."
"Then, you're in!" Jaden exclaimed, slapping Syrus on the back. "Congratulations. I will be in, too, as soon I have my Duel."
"Wait. You mean you haven't Dueled yet?" Syrus asked, shocked at the boy's ignorance regarding the current situation.
"Nope," Jaden replied, still psyched from watching the last Duel.
"Then, you may have a problem." Both boys turned to see Sly taking a seat in the row in front. He had overheard their conversation about Jaden's exam Duel. "You see, they said that this was the last Duel," the silver-haired boy explained while the brunette's eyes bugged out.
Below them to the right were VIP Academy faculty members—teachers who had watched Sly's Duel.
"Look like we've got a pretty good crop this year," one of them said
"Yes, indeed," another teacher agreed. Next to them was the teacher from before who made a comment about going to community college. His name was Dr. Vellian Crowler, the professor of the Obelisk Blue Dorm. He sat there, not paying attention of the teachers' conversation. He was a person who could easily be confused for a woman, but he was a man. He was gathering up the papers regarding the Duel exams, and was about to get up and leave, but all of a sudden…
"I'm sorry to interrupt… but there's another applicant who arrived late and is ready to take his exam, Mr. Crowler." A man in a black business suit stopped the professor from leaving.
"Excuse me, but did you just call me, 'Mister'?"
"Oh, sorry," he apologized. "I'm new here, Miss."
"I have a PHD in Dueling. I earned the title 'Doctor', thank you," he explained, then looked away. "Now, tell the truant that he'll just have to come back next year."
The other teachers stared at him. Then, one of them said, "Oh, come on, Dr. Crowler. We've still got time for one more."
"Yes, let's give this student his shot."
"He's just a bit late, that's all."
"LATE IS RUDE!" Dr. Crowler slammed his hands down. "I HAVE NO TIME FOR SLACKERS!" he snapped at the teachers. Again, he was interrupted by a cell phone ringing. He pulled it out and answered it. "Hello, and who is this that I'm speaking to…?" he said in his calm, impatient tone.
Before he could go on, another voice on the line interrupted him and answered his question. "It's Sheppard."
"Oh, Chancellor Sheppard. How nice of you to call," Crowler said.
"Just calling to make sure that everything's running smoothly," Chancellor Sheppard said. "We wouldn't want repeat of what happened last year." That made Crowler a bit uneasy as he remembered what happened last year. "When you cut a third of our student applicants because of some ridiculous reason. What was it? Calling you Mister or Missus? Whatever. Just make sure everyone gets a fair shot."
"Absolutely," Crowler said as he hung up his phone, then scowled. "Furry-chinned windbag…" Doesn't he realize that there are enough talentless flunkies at this Academy? But, he's the boss, and if he wants to give this scrim shaker a Duel… Fine, he thought. Then, he got up from his seat. "Pardon me, gentlemen. I'll be right back." Before he could go further, he was stopped by one of the teachers who was holding a box filled with Duel Monsters exam Decks.
"But, sir, who will be the boy's Dueling proctor, and which exam Deck should we use?"
Crowler just huffed and walked away. "Oh, leave that to me," he said as he was walking away from the teachers.
Meanwhile, Jaden, Syrus and Sly saw Bastion walking up to the stands and sitting next to a white-haired boy, setting his Duel Disk on his lap.
"That was a tight duel, Bastion!" Jaden exclaimed.
"Huh? Thank you," Bastion responded politely.
"From the looks of it, you might be the second best Duelist here," Jaden said. Bastion looked confused.
"Jaden Yuki, please report to Dueling Field #4," the PA announced.
"Go time!" Jaden said, ready to go. "Wish me luck, guys."
"Hey, wait," Bastion interrupted.
"Huh?" The brunette stopped and looked back at the boy in the gray uniform.
"If I'm the second best, then who's first?"
"Yours truly. It's what I'm best at." Jaden pointed his thumb towards himself, then continued his stride down to the exam floor.
"Wow, he's so sure of himself. I wonder if he's really that good," Syrus wondered.
"He's going to need to be. Look who he's Dueling," Bastion said.
On the Dueling field, Jaden rose up and saw his proctor and two ladies. The proctor was equipped with a Duel Disk, which was attached to his blazer. The part that held his Graveyard and his Deck slot were on his chest, and the Duel tray appeared to be in the shape of a guitar.
"All right! Test time!" Crowler said, looking at the brunette teen very confidently. "So, son, your name?"
"Huh? Uh, Jaden. Jaden Yuki," Jaden replied and stood to attention like a soldier would do.
"Well, 'Uh-Jaden Yuki', I'm Doctor Vellian Crowler, Department Chair of Techniques here at the Duel Academy."
"Wow, a department chair. I had no idea. From how you were dressed, I was thinking that you're some weird academy mascot, or a cheerleader," Jaden said, rubbing the back of his neck with a healthy laugh while Crowler sweatdropped at the boy's comment.
"Hey, now that he mentions it…" the boy with glasses who sat next to Chazz mused.
"This kid has some lips, huh, Chazz?" the other one said.
Chazz glared at brunette, disliking Jaden's comments towards their professor.
"Duel Vest, on!" Crowler said as he activated his Duel Disk and drew his five cards. Jaden was amazed by the Duel Disk that Crowler wore. Crowler simply acted as though the Duel was going to be over very quickly.
"Wow, that's sweet, teach. How do I get one of those cool blue Duel Blazers?" Jaden asked.
"Oh, a lot of hard work, and extremely high marks," Crowler answered, he then mentally added, Of course, you first have to get into the Academy, and I intend to make sure that certainly that won't be happening.
"Well, I'm ready!" Jaden said.
"So, let's Duel!"
"Here goes," Jaden said as he drew his first card and looked at his hand. "Sweet! I'm going to summon Elemental Hero Avian in Defense Mode!" He placed the card horizontally on his Duel Disk which appeared on the field in the same position, a green bird-like man appearing and knelt on the card's image (1000/1000). "I'll also throw down a face-down." The image of a face-down card appeared on Jaden's field.
"All right! Get your game on!" Jaden said excitedly.
"Yes, very good," Dr. Crowler said dismissively as he drew his card. Don't tell me what to do. He then chuckled, looking at his hand. After all, since I'm using my own personal Deck rather than those puny test ones, I'll be calling all the shots. I'll fail that miserable little brat and send him home in no time. He grinned as he saw the cards in his hand. "I think I'll start out nice and easy by playing the spell card Confiscation!"
"Okay, so what does it do?" Jaden asked.
"What it does is allow me to pay 1000 Life Points to take a look at your hand and toss one of your cards to the graveyard." As his explanation finished, holographic images of Jaden's cards appeared. They were Monster Reborn, The Warrior Returning Alive, Hero Signal, and Polymerization.
Crowler: 3000
Jaden: 4000
"Ah, yes. I remember some of these from when I was a naïve rookie. Now, which one shall I banish?" He looked at each card carefully and made his decision. "I know! Monster Reborn, to the graveyard!" Jaden's Monster Reborn card was sent there. "Next, I'll set two cards face-down." Two face-down cards appeared in front of Crowler, and he then took one more card and showed it to Jaden. "Last, but not least, I play Heavy Storm! This Spell Card destroys every other Spell and Trap Card that's out on the field."
A heavy wind picked up and Jaden's face-down Draining Shield was destroyed along with Crowler's two face-down cards. Jaden even noticed this. "Whoopsie! Did you forget that you had two cards on the field, as well?" Jaden said teasingly.
"Now, now, young scholar. You mustn't speak out of turn," Crowler countered as he waggled his finger. After that, dark clouds began to form around his side of the field.
"Hey, what's happening?"
"Nothing's happening," Crowler said dismissively before adding, "Not yet, anyway!" Just as he did, two yellow worm-like creatures appeared on his side of the field. "But, that's about to change."
The audience was awestruck by these two monsters, but Syrus was confused again. "Uh… Can someone tell me what's happening?"
"Those two Trap Cards that Dr. Crowler had out on the field were called Statue of the Wicked," Bastion explained as he observed the Duel with Syrus. "It's a special Trap Card that creates a vicious monster Token when it's destroyed by a card effect. That's why he played Heavy Storm."
Syrus was in awe.
"A card that powerful shouldn't be in one of the test Decks. Crowler must be using his own Deck in this Duel," Torimaki—the boy with glasses and one of the boys with Chazz—said.
"Then this Duel is over," Raizou—the other boy—said. "No one can beat the Deck of an expert like Dr. Crowler."
"Don't ya think Chazz?"
"Yea, what do you think, Chazz?"
Chazz grinned at this. "I think I'm going to enjoy watching Crowler wipe the floor with that kid. I just wish they treated all the other second-rate Duelists that apply at this academy the same way."
Up in the stands, there were few couple of individuals standing at the very top of the Dome—a girl with sandy blonde hair that reached the middle of her back with grayish-brown eyes and outfitted in the standard Obelisk Blue girls uniform named Alexis Rhodes, and a taller boy with dark blue hair, that reached the bottom neck, but he had some bangs near his blue eyes. He also wore the Obelisk Blue uniform like Alexis and Chazz, but his outfit was more white than blue, like Alexis's. It was a long white coat with blue outlines, and the same pattern was on his shirt. His name was Zane Truesdale, a senior who was a top student of the Academy and the older brother of Syrus Truesdale. The third one was a sixteen-year old Obelisk student who wore a long version of his dorm's coat, had brown hair that fell into his blue eyes, and was over six feet tall, but lanky in frame. His name was Samuel Sanokal who was also watching the Duel between Dr. Crowler and Jaden Yuki along with Zane and Alexis.
"What an elitist snob," Alexis said, "bullying some amateur with his very best cards."
"You're too soft, Alexis," Zane spoke up. "I just hope we get to see that legendary rare card Crowler has stashed in that Deck of his."
"Ready for your next lesson?" Crowler called to Jaden from his side of the field.
"You bet!" Jaden replied with an excited laugh. "I can't remember the last time learning was this much fun!"
Crowler simply regarded it negatively. "Yes, well, I am quite the teacher, thank you." His monsters then started to glow and started to writhe, covered in flames. "Now, I sacrifice my two Wicked Tokens to Summon Ancient Gear Golem!" In the place of Crowler's worm-like creatures stood a giant robotic monster. One could clearly see the working gears working inside of it. Once again, audience members were in awe at the sight of a monster, but this time, they were more in awe of the monster than the stats. (3000/3000)
"There it is! The legendary rare card!" Alexis gasped.
"I'll say that we're about to find out what makes it so legendary," Zane said as he observed the Duel.
"Ancient Gear Golem!?" Sly thought.
"Now, now. I hope you're not too scared of my legendary Ancient Gear Golem," Crowler said sarcastically.
Jaden, however, looked as though he was having the time of his life! "No way. I've always wanted to take one on."
This shocked many people again, including Syrus. "Either Jaden's really brave, or he's nuts!"
From up in the stands, Zane spoke. "He's staring down that legendary rare monster like he doesn't have a care in the world," Zane said incredulously. "I guess youth and inexperience have its benefits, after all."
"Come on. Give it a rest, Zane," Alexis said. "At least the kid's showing some backbone."
"There won't be much to show after this."
"I agree."
Dr. Crowler cackled as he gave out an order. "Golem, attack! Mechanized Melee!" His Ancient Gear Golem's single red eye glowed slightly before it pulled its fist back and punched Jaden's Avian to pieces.
"Oh man! Jaden's Defense Position monster didn't stand a chance!" Syrus complained as he watched the Duel. "Its Attack Points were way to low." His shoulders then slumped. "This doesn't look good."
"It's about to look a whole lot worse," Bastion said as he remembered information about Ancient Gear Golem. "When Ancient Gear Golem attacks a monster in Defense Mode, the difference between its Attack Points and the defending monster's Defense Points are dealt to the opponent as damage."
"But, that would mean that Jaden's Life Points are gonna take a hit!" Syrus cried as he realized what was going to happen. Just as Syrus mentioned that, a transparent version of Ancient Gear Golem's fist slammed through Jaden's body.
Jaden: 2000
Crowler: 3000
Crowler noticed that Jaden's body was shaking. "Now, don't feel bad," he taunted. "This is the top Dueling school in the country. Some people simply aren't…" Crowler's voice trailed off as he then started to hear the familiar sound of Jaden's laughter.
"Now I really wanna come to this school, now!" he exclaimed excitedly. "You really know your stuff, teach!"
This actually took Crower by surprise before he began to scowl angrily at Jaden. Doesn't he take a hint? He will not be permitted to pass this exam! he cursed mentally. He will certainly not make a mockery of my Deck!
Just look at him tremble, Jaden mused as he reached to draw a card from his Deck. He must really be impressed by me! However, just as he was about to draw his card, he heard a faint cooing sound. He paused for a second before drawing the card and taking a look at it. He then remembered that it was the card that a guy he bumped into gave to him. He also recalled that he said that it belonged to him. You know, something tells me I'm starting to believe that, too. Then, although he didn't know if it was his imagination or not, he noticed that the card actually winked at him! His initial shock wore off and he then made his decision. I guess that's a sign that I should play ya.
"Okay! I Summon Winged Kuriboh in Defense Mode!" When he declared that, a small furry creature with for green paws and a pair of angelic wings appeared above its card image (300/200). Some of the girls in the audience noted how cute the creature looked. "Next, I play one card face-down. Not bad, huh, teach?" he finished as a face-down card appeared behind the furball.
Crowler simply laughed at this. "No, not bad, but you must understand that I'm a master technician," he teased Jaden. "A Kuriboh, to me, is rather pedestrian—even one with wings. Its Defense Points are no match for my Ancient Gear Golem! It's a textbook mistake, so let's proceed." He then drew his next card. "Okay, Ancient Gear Golem. Attack that Kuriboh with Mechanized Melee!"
Once again, the giant gear monster reared back a fist and threw a punch at the tiny creature, shattered the hologram to pieces. Jaden mentally said, Sorry, Winged Kuriboh.
However, Dr. Crowler noticed that Jaden's Life Points hadn't dropped. "Check your gear. Your Life Points haven't changed."
Jaden simply shrugged. "My gear's fine," he replied. "On the turn that Winged Kuriboh is destroyed, I take zero damage!"
The info actually took Crowler by surprise. He knew what the original Kuriboh could do, but he never expected that his attack would be thwarted by a Kuriboh with wings. Some of the audience members were stunned that Crowler didn't know that.
"Well, how about that," Alexis said as she watched. "A technique the good doctor didn't know."
"No one can be expected to know every technique, Alexis," Zane scolded, "especially one as obscure as that."
"Yeah, well, that kid sure knew it," Alexis countered with a slight laugh.
"HAHAHAHAHAHA!" Sanokal laughed at Crowler's reaction, while Alexis and Zane rolled their eyes.
"Fine, fine. I guess your little lame monster saved you, there," Crowler taunted as Jaden placed Winged Kuriboh into his Graveyard.
"Whoa, slow down there, teach!" Jaden shot back. "Just because you beat him doesn't give you the excuse to call him lame!"
"Oh, yeah. I forgot how you new Duelists get attached to your monsters," Crowler taunted again. "I'm sorry."
"You should be sorry," Jaden said as he pressed a button on his Duel Disk, "because by attacking my Winged Kuriboh, you set off my Trap Card—one of my favorites, too! Hero Signal!" As his Trap Card activated, a spotlight with a unique 'H' symbol appeared on the ceiling. "That lets me bring out my second Elemental Hero." A card shot out from his Deck into his hand, and he placed the card on the Duel tray. "Burstinatrix!" From a column of red flames, a gray-skinned woman in a red bodysuit appeared and landed on the field (1200/800). Just as she appeared, Jaden drew another card. "Now, it's my move!" He then looked over his cards again. "Okay, Winged Kuriboh. This one's for you!"
He placed one of the cards in his hand into the Spell and Trap Card zone. "First, I'll bring Avian back to my hand with the spell card The Warrior Returning Alive." The card came out of the Graveyard slot of his Duel Disk. "Now, I'll Summon him to the field!" After Jaden played Avian again, it reappeared next to Elemental Hero Burstinatrix.
"Oh, okay. Another amateurish mistake, but this is good. This is good. Now, would anyone like to tell me what our little friend here…?" Crowler began to taunt, but before he could go any further, Jaden interrupted him yet again.
"I didn't say I was done, yet," he said. "You see, I know that my two monsters aren't very powerful by themselves, but if I can fuse them together, it's another story!" He then took the last card in his hand and showed it to Crowler. "I have just the card to unite them! Go, Polymerization!" The two Elemental Heroes leapt up into the air and started to swirl together as the effects of Polymerization activated. "Fusion Summon!"
After the two monsters were done, a new monster appeared that had some of the same looks as Avian and Burstinatrix. It had one of Avian's wings, along with a few of Burstinatrix's colors. The only thing that neither monster had was the dragon-like hand on the monster's left arm (2100/1200). "There he is! Elemental Hero Flame Wingman! Hope your Golem's ready for a clash of the titans!"
"I must say, you're Dueling quite well for an amateur, but next time, try Summoning a monster with more Attack Points than the one that's already out," Crowler said with a little disappointment in his voice, not considering the Fusion Monster to be a threat.
"What does he mean by that?" Syrus asked as he looked at Jaden's monster.
"He means that Wingman's Attack Points are lower than the Golem's 3000 Attack Points," Bastion answered. "A shame, too, because that Elemental Hero of Jaden's has a very powerful ability."
"All right, young scholar," Crowler said in an almost exasperated tone. "I don't mean to rush you, but I am a busy man… Are you done yet?"
"Of course I'm not done yet!" Jaden replied as he took the card he drew and opened the Field Spell slot of his Duel Disk. "Of course I knew my Wingman had less Attack Points than your Golem." He then placed the card in the Field Spell slot. "That's why I'm activating the Field Spell, Skyscraper!" After he played the card, buildings that one would normally see in a big city like New York literally sprouted up from the field.
In the middle of the cityscape, Crowler's Golem looked like a giant monster attacking the city, itself. Meanwhile, Jaden's Wingman was perched on top of the highest building's steeple roof upon the lightning rod with its arms crossed. The crowd was anticipating Jaden's next move.
"Alright, Flame Wingman," Jaden called out. "Time to show those heroics!" He then pointed at the cog-powered machine. "Attack that Ancient Gear Golem with Skydive Scorcher!" After he announced that, Flame Wingman jumped from the building it stood on and dove towards Crowler's monster.
"Fine, bring him on," Crowler said as though he wasn't worried. "This Field Spell of yours hasn't lowered a single Attack Point of my Golem!" Flame Wingman then landed on the pavement in front of the Ancient Gear Golem before leaping up into the air again.
"You're right, teach," Jaden revealed, confusing Crowler. "What it's done is raise my Flame Wingman's attack by a total of 1000 Points!"
"Wait! Time out!" Crowler cried, but it didn't stop Flame Wingman's attack as it launched itself at the Ancient Gear Golem, flames covering its body (3100/2100). Crowler looked as though he was going to have a panic attack as Jaden's monster slammed into his, breaking pieces of it off.
"No! He was my best card!" Crowler complained before a piece of debris fell on his head, giving the good doctor a good headache.
"I don't want to forget my Wingman's special power," Jaden said, catching Crowler's attention. "You see, when Wingman destroys a monster in battle, the Attack Points of that monster are dealt as damage to your Life Points."
Just as Jaden said that, the crumbled pieces of Ancient Gear Golem fell on top of Crowler, burying him in its pieces, despite his attempts to get away.
Jaden: 2000
Crowler: 0
"That's game!" Jaden announced as he pointed his index and middle fingers at Crowler in a sort of salute. "So, I guess I passed the test, huh, teach?"
As the holograms faded, a lot of people were actually stunned to see that Jaden actually beat the teacher in a Duel while said teacher used his own Deck. Crowler was aghast at the whole thing. He had been beaten by a kid who was late and who was a mere amateur!
"Impossible!" he seethed. "There's no way this delinquent could've beaten me!"
Up in the stands, Chazz was having the same thought. "It must be dumb luck," he said through his clenched teeth. "No way Crowler would lose to some flunky!"
Alexis was also smiling at Jaden's victory. "This kid's definitely got a future here. Wow." She then noticed Zane huff and walked away, leaving Samuel and Alexis behind.
Interesting. Mmmm. This year won't be bad, after all, Samuel thought.
Syrus was cheering for Jaden. "Yay! Jaden won!"
Nice, Bastion mused as he watched Jaden do a victory dance. I could use some competition.
After his victory dance, Jaden took out the Winged Kuriboh card he got earlier. "We made it," he said, "and from here on in, we're gonna be partners."
Again, Jaden could've sworn he heard Winged Kuriboh coo and saw him wink at him.
That's it. That's the beginning of my story. Now, I'm still new at writing stories, so please don't be rude, and give some good reviews or whatever they called after an author finishes the first chapter of their story. Also, I may needed some help, so if you're willing to help me, PM me or tell me in the reviews. Thanks!