Chapter 1: On the Way

Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh GX. This is purely fictional and fan-based.

Way to go Drake. Only you could be late on the day of an exam. Drake thought this angrily to himself as he rushed along on his skateboard with the wind rushing through his dark brown hair that looked like freshly turned earth. He only had twenty minutes to get there and he was going as fast as he could. Suddenly out of nowhere he saw a person in front of him. He swerved just in time to avoid the guy, but the guy suddenly pulled Drake to a stop. Drake looked up as he began to spout out a few choice things, but he swallowed them as he saw who he was facing.

"Geez kid! That's some mouth you got on you" said the guy.

"You! You're Bakura!" Drake whispered in amazement.

"Indeed I am, but thankfully my troublemaking days are over. However, you seem to be a real troublemaker if you're heading to that branch of Duel Academy. You sure will need some powerhouses. Here! Take this map. It will lead you to some special cards that I'm sure will go perfectly with your deck." Bakura said as he handed three cards to him.

"Isn't this cheating?" Drake demanded as he stared in shock at the map.

"Yugi himself let me get it to give to you. He figured that eventually he would have to pass these special cards on so he wanted to give them to duelists that were sure to be able to affect the future and keep the world safe so he hid them on the island where you are heading. You have a lot to live up to." Bakura said and then began walking off.

Drake stood there looking at the retreating Bakura and then the map until he remember that he was supposed to get to the academy boat. He cursed and then, after placing the map in the deck case at his side that currently held only one card, immediately set off at high speed on the skateboard again. He reached the docks and saw that the boat was just beginning to shove off. He looked around as he continued and saw a makeshift ramp at the end of the pier. If he could time this right, then he would make it.

He sped up and in ten seconds he had reached the ramp. It was a daredevil thing to do, but that was what he did best. Whenever he did something like this, his mind was able to judge things perfectly. His mind entered the zone and he went flying through the air. He knew without looking that he would come down on the railing and adjusted himself accordingly. He came down and bounced off of the railing and landed with a screech of the skateboard's wheels that brought it to a stop.

He released a breath that he had taken before the jump and was startled by somebody clapping. Drake glanced around him and was startled by the fact that it seemed like almost everyone on board was applauding his stunt. He wasn't sure if he like this.

"That was sure something man." Said one guy stepping out of the crowd.

He actually dwarfed Drake with his six feet six inches and Drake himself was at six feet two inches. The guy's hair was blond with red highlights and was light brown in skin color to Drake's golden bronze skin due to his Native American heritage. The guy came up and held out his hand.

"My name is Ryder. What's yours?" The guy asked.

"Its' Drake. Nice to meet you." Drake said calmly and politely as he shook the guy's hand warily.

"Ha ha ha! You don't have to worry about us here. I know they say that there is no honor amongst thieves, but that ain't true, at least not here. We all know why we're here and we know that we won't survive unless we can trust each other." Ryder said with a sad smile.

"I understand. Just know that being suspicious is just a part of my nature. So don't get upset about it." Drake replied pulling his hand back.

"All right then Daredevil Drake! It's time to get to the party!" Ryder said and, putting an arm around Drake's shoulder in a friendly way, dragged him to where the others were all starting to party.

Later that night, Drake was sitting at a table in a back corner, watching everyone dancing. He took a sip of his soda and didn't move as a girl dropped into the chair next to him with a sigh. She was about five feet eight inches with red hair that had strips of green going through it, making her look like a Christmas tree. She sighed in frustration and then reached out and took hold of the cup that Drake had set down when she had appeared.

She took a sip and then set it down before her eyes widened and she looked down at the cup. She began looking around the room, trying to pinpoint the location of whoever had 'brought' her the drink. Drake smiled as he sat there in silence a moment longer, but he finally couldn't hold himself back anymore.

"May I have my drink back?" he asked and nearly doubled over in laughter as she jumped like a startled cat.

Her head whipped around to face him and her eyes widened even further, "When did you get here?" She demanded.

"I've been here this whole time." He said with a wicked grin.

"Hmph. Here!" she said with an angry jab as she handed him the drink.

He took a sip and then passed it back with a laugh. After a moment more of scowling, she finally relented and smiled as well. This was how he met Paige. The girl of complaints who could duel with the best of them.

After three days on the ship, the ship captain called them all to order in the mess hall. This meeting had been made mandatory because it was about getting into the academy. Everyone who had applied that had a record were accepted immediately and sent here. The only catch was that they could not bring any of their own cards except one to start the kind of deck they wanted to have. The babble in the room suddenly stopped as the captain stepped up onto the stage.

"Everyone. I would like to congratulate you on coming this far." The captain waited for the cheering to die down, "However, you must now understand the depth of the final stage. You all know about the one card stipulation. The reason behind it is that once you reach the island, you cannot enter the academy until you have a full forty cards. Therefore, as soon as you reach the island, you must look for forty cards, at the least, to make a deck. Only then may you enter this academy. This ship makes a trip once every year to bring food and deliver new students. Anyone who has yet to enter the academy by that time must return with us to the mainland. We arrive tomorrow at ten o'clock."

With those words he stepped down and left the room. After a moment of shocked silence, a girl jumped up shouting about how unfair that was. Drake smiled as he heard Paige's exasperated voice and stood up. He left the room and Ryder and Paige followed him soon after. He motioned for them to follow and led the way to his room on the lower deck. He closed the door after them and, after making sure that no one was eavesdropping on them, he took out the map.

"What is this?" Ryder asked as he and Paige looked it over.

"It's a map that shows the location of three very special cards." Drake said motioning for Ryder to turn it over.

He did so and their faces paled and their mouths dropped as they looked back at me.

"Is this for real?" Ryder demanded.

"So it seems." Drake said with a firm nod.

"And just how did you get this?" Paige nearly shrieked.

"I met Bakura on my way to the ship. That was why I was late." Drake said, "He told me that Yugi Moto was planning on passing on these cards and I felt that it would be wrong to hog them, so I decided to share this with you guys."

"Well, I think I can speak for all of us when I say that I'm not sure which one I want." Paige said with a shaky laugh.

Both Drake and Ryder agreed, "Why don't we do this by luck? Whoever gets to each card first gets it, but if one of us already has a card, then we let one of the others get the next." Said Ryder.

"That sounds good to me." Drake said with a shrug and Paige agreed and they separated and went to their own rooms.