Hi guys, we're back! This is an idea that got into my head a few years ago. I thought I'd give three minor characters a more significant role in the story.
Which ones? Briar, Dimitri, and Torrey.
They're also going to be Jaden's childhood best friends. Briar's going to have another stem for his lack of confidence besides his height, Dimitri's going to have an all original deck because his friends got tired of him copying other duelists, and Torrey's going to have a rich kid's life that he tries not to associate with. Also, Jaden's going to be a little smarter in this one, and there are also going to be a couple of minor OC characters to help move the plot along. So basically, it's the main plot with these three having a more significant impact.
Disclaimer: Wolf doesn't own Yu-Gi-Oh GX or any of the characters. She just owns her OC's and the idea. Also, cards by Princessanime08 and Lightclaw's Shadow will be used so creative rights got to them.
(bowing) I worship the ground they walk on!
Anyway, here's chapter one. Enjoy! Also, there will be yaoi in future chapters, so you've been warned.
Chapter 1: A New Chapter Begins
Domino City. Home to some of the best duelists in the world, like Yugi Muto, Seto Kaiba, and Joey Wheeler.
It's also home to the Kaiba Dome, where entrance exams for the prestigious Duel Academy are held. All young duelists go to see if they have what it takes to get in, let alone to be the best.
Speaking of which, one young duelist was on his way there now. He was about fifteen with short, almost puffy brown hair with a lighter brown patch on the top and brown eyes. He was wearing a black jacket left open over a red t-shirt, black pants, and red and white running shoes.
His name was Jaden Yuki, and he was running a bit late while cursing the best friends who forgot to come and get him.
"Alright, I've got my deck, I've got my gear, and I've got about two minutes to get to the Duel Academy entry exams before they start!" Jaden panted as he ran. "Oh well, at least since I'm not a student yet, they can't throw me in detention hall for being late."
He kept running, weaving between pedestrians as he ran, trying to avoid hitting anyone. What he didn't see was a familiar looking man with spiky, tri-colored hair and an old Domino High uniform walking in front of him until it was too late to stop properly.
"Heads up!" Jaden called, trying to stop anyway.
Unfortunately, he ended up colliding with the man, falling backward and having his cards scatter all over the ground.
"Sorry!" He said quickly, turning to pick up his cards.
The man looked at him a moment before speaking. "You're a duelist, aren't you?"
Jaden turned to answer as he got all his cards picked up. "Yup, I'm just going to try out for the academy. I'm running a bit late because my friends forgot to come get me."
The man smiled, reaching into his deck case. "You don't say."
"Yeah." Jaden laughed lightly, getting up, feeling slightly sheepish.
Then he finally took a good look at the man. "Hey, you're-"
Before he could finish, he was interrupted. "Why don't you take this? Something just tells me that it belongs with you."
"For real?" He asked, almost not believing it. Here was Yugi Muto, giving him a card from his own deck.
As he stared at the card, Yugi started walking away. "Good luck."
"Oh, hey, wait!" Jaden called out.
"Thank you! I'll make you proud!" He promised, bowing in respect.
Yugi stopped for a moment. Then, he turned to Jaden and smiled, giving his signature thumbs up before starting on his way again.
Jaden stared after him, feeling like a total fanboy. Then, he finally took a look at the card he was given.
It looked like Yugi's Kuriboh, only it also had little white wings. The monster was called Winged Kuriboh, and it had a pretty handy effect.
Suddenly, he heard a soft 'coo' sound, startling him.
'What was that?' He wondered, looking around for the source of the noise.
As he did, he caught sight of a clock and noticed the time. "Uh oh! The exams!"
Jaden took off again, sliding the Winged Kuriboh card into his deck case. "I can't be the next King of Games if I'm late to the games!"
Kaiba Dome
The dome was vast and full of duelists. Some were already students, checking out the incoming competition. Others were hopeful applicants ready to try out for Duel Academy.
"Once again, all Duel Academy applicants who passed their entrance exams, please report to registration. For those who haven't, better luck next year." Came a monotone voice over the PA system.
'Yes, and have fun at Duel Monster Community College.' Thought a very a snide individual sitting with the teachers.
The person in question had long blond hair in a ponytail, beady little eyes, and pale skin. Even sitting down, he was a tall and skinny man. While the text says male, that was questionable because he was wearing purple lipstick and his teacher's uniform was a long blue coat with pink ruffles on the edges.
His name was Dr. Crowler, head of the Obelisk Blue dorm and Vice Chancellor of Duel Academy. He was not a nice person.
On one of the duel fields, a proctor was able to summon a purple, caterpillar-like creature that was able to attack his opponent directly. Said opponent was a kid on the short side with light blue hair, silver eyes and glasses, and wearing a blue school uniform.
'Oh man, 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 they are.'
Sitting up in the stands on the left side of the arena was a trio of boys who had finished their tests and decided to stay and watch the rest.
The first boy was Briar Grace. He was the shortest of the group with green hair and brown eyes. He was wearing a blue hooded shirt with sleeves that only reached his elbows, blue jeans, and brown shoes. At the moment, he was more interested in his book than any of the other duels.
The second boy, sitting next to Briar, was Dimitri Valdez. He had spiked brown hair with light brown edges and three bangs framing his brown eyes. His outfit consisted of a black, v-neck t-shirt, gray cargo shorts, and gray sneakers with crimson accents. He was watching the duels with a smirk like he was hoping to duel them all later.
The last boy, who was standing at the rail behind them, was Torrey McLean. He was the tallest of the group with shoulder-length brown hair and brown eyes with glasses. He was the best dressed of the group, wearing a blue button up shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows under a black vest, black pants, black shoes, silver wristbands, and a silver ring on his right middle finger. He was watching the duels with a neutral expression.
"So, what do you guys think of the competition?" Torrey asked, tired of the silence.
Briar looked up from his book. "They're all pretty good."
"Yeah," Dimitri added, still smirking. "We actually may have some decent opponents for once."
"You mean besides each other?" Torrey joked, getting a laugh from the others.
They went back to watching the duels for a moment when a thought came over Briar. "Hey, does it feel like we forget something?"
"Now that you mention it…" Dimitri trailed off, going into thought.
Torrey was thinking the same thing with a 'hmm.'
Suddenly, it came to them all at the same time. "Where's Jaden?"
Meanwhile, outside at the front desk, there were two women in Ra Yellow girls' uniforms and a man in a dark suit and glasses sitting at a table waiting for any late arrivals. The man looked at his watch before coming to a decision.
"Okay, ladies, that's it. Mark all the no shows, no shows." They started to pack up but stopped when they heard a voice call out from a nearby railing.
"Wait! I'm no no-show!" They turned just in time to see a certain brunette pull himself up into view.
"You can count Jaden Yuki as present, thank you!" He greeted with a smile, flashing a peace sign. "Well, so long as I don't lose my grip!"
Back inside, the boy with blue hair was done with his match and watching the other duels, when Jaden appeared beside him, almost knocking him over. "Alright, look at them go!"
A duel that stuck out was one with a boy about his age with black hair and a white school uniform.
On the proctor's side of the field was a Gear Golem the Moving Fortress (800/2200) and a Big Shield Guardna (100/2600), both in defense mode. On the teen's side of the field was a Vorse Raider (1900/1200) in attack mode and a face down.
"Alright, new guy," the proctor said. "Multiple choice; you have two monsters staring you down, do you A: throw in the towel, B: beg for mercy, or C: run home to mama?"
"I'll go with D: none of the above!" The boy declared as his facedown activated.
"A trap?!" The proctor exclaimed.
"Exactly," The boy said smiling. "You see, with Ring of Destruction I can destroy any monster that's in attack mode, and then we both take damage equal to that monster's attack points."
A ring of red bombs appeared around Vorse Raider's neck and exploded, dropping the boy's life points to 1300 and the proctor's life points to zero.
"Clever move, applicant," The proctor praised. "Welcome to the academy."
"Thank you, oh wise proctor." He bowed, speaking dryly.
Up in the stands, three boys in Obelisk uniforms watched the boy's duel intently.
"Wow, that guy's pretty good, don't ya think, Chazz?" The boy with blue hair and glasses, Taiyou Maki, said with a Southern accent.
"Guess the rumors about him being some kind of whiz kid are true, huh Chazz, huh?" The other boy with spiky brown hair, Raizou Goki, added in a thick voice.
"He's a punk," The person they were talking to, a spiky black haired boy named Chazz, responded. "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."
"Wow, that last guy really tore it up," Jaden commented.
The blue haired boy turned to him. "Yeah, Bastion Misawa; they say he got one of the highest scores out of all us applicants. The other being Briar Grace."
"Wow, I was told I got a passing grade." Jaden mused.
"I just barely passed. I'm Syrus by the way, nice to meet ya," Syrus looked somewhat depressed. "I kinda have this thing where I get test anxiety, I don't know how I won my match."
"So, you're in!" Jaden exclaimed, slapping Syrus on the back, startling the boy. "Congratulations, I'll be in, too, just as soon as I win my duel."
"Wait, you haven't duel yet?" Syrus asked, confused at how Jaden was so happy in the current situation.
"Nope," Jaden replied, still psyched but suspicion was starting to gnaw at him.
"Then you might have a problem, I think this was supposed to be the last duel," Syrus explained.
Jaden face planted on the rail, then looked up with a dark look on his face.
"I'm going to kill those three." He said with a deadly calm, scaring Syrus slightly.
"We tried to wake you, fifteen times each. Didn't you check your phone?" Came a voice beside them.
Both boys turned to see Torrey standing there, having come over when he saw Jaden come in.
Jaden gave him a look. "Do I ever leave my phone on or take it everywhere with me?"
"Touche," Torrey answered.
He then noticed Syrus standing there, looking a bit uncomfortable. "Hi, I'm Torrey McLean."
"I'm Syrus."
Torrey smiled, then turned back to Jaden. "Don't worry, Bro, I'm sure you'll get a shot."
Jaden smiled. Torrey always knew the right words to say.
The faculty was sitting in another part of the arena. The teachers were talking about the new duelists as Bastion left the field.
"Looks like we've got a pretty good crop this year."
"Yes, indeed."
Dr. Crowler was about to get up and leave when…
"I'm sorry to interrupt," The man from out front came up to them. "But one last applicant has arrived to take his exam, Mr. Crowler."
"Did you just call me, 'mister'?" Crowler asked with a slight scowl.
"I'm sorry, I'm new here, Miss…"
"I have a Ph.D. in dueling to earn the title 'doctor,' thank you," Crowler interrupted him and then looked away. "Now, tell the truant that he'll have to come back next year."
The other teachers looked at him like he was a tyrant.
"Come on, Dr. Crowler, we have time for one more."
"Yes, let's give this duelist his shot."
"He was just a bit late, what's the harm."
Crowler was annoyed when they started pleading, but that last comment sent him over the edge.
"LATE IS RUDE!" He snapped, startling everyone in the booth. "I have no time for slackers!"
Before he could rant further, his cellphone went off. "Yes, and who may I ask is calling…?"
"It's Sheppard." Answered the voice on the other end.
"Ah, Chancellor Sheppard, how nice of you to call." Crowler greeted in a pleasant tone.
"Just calling to make sure everything's running smoothly, Crowler," The chancellor said. "We wouldn't want a repeat of what happened last year."
That caused Crowler to look uneasy as he remembered.
"When you cut a third of our applicants for some ridiculous reason. What was it, calling you mister or missus? Never mind, just make sure that everyone gets a fair shot."
"Yes, of course," Crowler said before hanging up the phone with a scowl. "Furry-chinned windbag!"
'Doesn't he realize 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 got up from his seat. "Pardon me, gentlemen, I'll be right back."
"Wait," One of the teachers spoke up, picking up a box of different decks. "Who will be the boy's dueling proctor and which exam deck shall we use?"
Crowler just huffed and walked away. "Leave that to me."
Back with the boys, Bastion had made his way up to the stands and sat down in the row in front of them.
"Tight duel, Bastion." Jaden praised him, catching the boy's attention.
"Thanks." He said, modestly.
"From where I stand, you might just be the second best duelist here," Jaden stated, catching Bastion by surprise.
Before he could ask anything, the PA system came on. "Jaden Yuki, please report to exam field four."
"Go time!" Jaden exclaimed, getting up to leave. "Wish me luck, guys!"
Torrey gave him a thumbs up as he left, Jaden acknowledging it with a nod. He didn't get very far before Bastion stopped him.
"Wait," Jaden turned to him. "If I'm second best, who's first?"
Jaden smirked. "Yours truly. It's what I'm best at."
Torrey just smiled and shook his head at his friend's less than a modest answer.
"Wow, he's so sure of himself," Syrus murmured, amazed. "I wonder if he's really that good?"
"He is, trust me on that," Torrey answered.
He had first-hand knowledge on how good Jaden really was since he was one of only a small number of people who could beat him.
"He's going to need to be," Bastion inputted, looking at the field. "Look who he's dueling."
Torrey looked at the opponent. "Who's she?"
Bastion grew a bit uncomfortable. "He is Dr. Crowler. He's in charge of the exams and the head of Duel Academy's top dorm."
"That's a guy?" Torrey deadpanned, looking a little creeped out.
This got a chuckle out of Bastion. "Very. Also, congratulations on winning your match."
"Thanks!" Torrey replied. "I'm going to go sit over with my friends. You guys wanna come?"
The boys nodded, and they headed over to where Dimitri and Briar were waiting. "Hey, guys, I'm back, and we've got company!"
After introductions were done, everyone settled down and waited for the duel to start. Bastion sat next to Dimitri while Syrus circled around and sat next to Briar.
Briar looked at Syrus over the top of his book, not realizing he was staring. When Syrus looked over at him, he turned back to his book, blushing a little as he did.
Dimitri looked over at Bastion, and they both shared a small smile.
None of this went unnoticed by Torrey, who smirked. 'Well, well, well, what do we have here? It's about time those two found someone, but this is something for another day.'
Down on the duel field, Crowler was prepping his duel vest as Jaden came up on a platform opposite of him, looking around like a kitten in a new place.
"All right, test time!" Crowler said, looking at Jaden with confidence. "So, son, your name?"
Jaden turned and stood at attention like a soldier. "Jaden, Jaden Yuki."
"Well, Jaden Yuki, I'm Doctor Vellian Crowler, Department Chair and Techniques Professor here at Duel Academy." Crowler introduced himself with pride dripping from his voice.
"Oh, you're a teacher," Jaden said, rubbing the back of his head, embarrassed. "From how you were dressed, I thought you were the school mascot."
He laughed slightly at that. Crowler just sweatdropped at that. Dimitri, Torrey, and Briar laughed, knowing Jaden would be the only one to say that out loud. Syrus and Bastion just looked at them weirdly.
"Now that he mentions it…" Taiyou said.
"That guy's got some lip, huh Chazz?" asked Raizou.
Chazz was not so pleased with what Jaden was saying down there.
Crowler activated what he called his duel vest and drew his opening hand. Jaden was amazed by the machinery, thinking it looked cool.
"That's some impressive gear you have there." He commented.
"Well, thank you," Crowler said though he didn't really mean it.
"Well, I'm ready! Time to throw down!" Jaden said excitedly, activating his duel disk and drawing his opening hand.
"Duel!"
Crowler: 4000
Jaden: 4000
"Here goes," Jaden said as he drew his first card. He looked over his hand and smiled.
"Sweet, I'm gonna summon Elemental Hero Avian in defense mode!" A green bird man appeared and knelt down in a defensive position (1000/1000).
"Then, I'll throw down a facedown." A facedown card appeared behind the monster.
"Looks like Jaden's going for the old scout and report tactic," Dimitri observed.
"Huh?" Syrus asked.
"He means Jaden's going to play a defensive strategy his first turn to see how his opponent plays," Briar explained, blushing slightly when he saw Syrus staring at him.
"And it's hard to use that deck properly," Torrey added. "It relies heavily on fusion monsters and takes more strategy than most people think. Jaden's been perfecting that deck for years now."
"Alright, teach, get your game on!" Jaden said excitedly.
"Yes, of course. Don't tell me what to do!" Dr. Crowler muttered as he drew his card. 'After all, since I'm using my own personal deck rather than one of those puny test decks, I'll be calling all the shots. I'll fail this miserable little brat and send him home in no time.'
He grinned when 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's it do?" Jaden asked, starting to get nervous.
"What it does is allow me to pay 1000 life points to take a look at your hand and then send one of your cards to the graveyard."
As he was explaining, Jaden's hand started glowing, startling him. Then, holographic images of those cards appeared in front of Crowler. They were Monster Reborn, Polymerization, The Warrior Returning Alive, and Hero Signal.
"Ah yes, I remember some of these back from when I was a naive rookie." This comment caused Jaden to growl, but Crowler didn't notice.
"Now which one of these shall I banish?" He looked at each card carefully before making a decision. "Monster Reborn to the graveyard!"
"Next, I'll set two cards face down," Two facedowns appeared in front of Crowler, and then he held up one more care. "And last, but not least, I'll play Heavy Storm! This spell destroys every other spell and trap card that's out on the field."
A mighty wind picked up and Jaden's facedown, Draining Shield, was destroyed along with Crowler's two facedowns.
"Whoopsie, did you forget that you had two cards out on the field as well?" Jaden asked, teasingly.
"Now, now, you mustn't speak out-of-turn, young scholar." Crowler countered as dark clouds started to form on his side of the field.
"Hey, what's happening?" The brunette asked nervously.
"Nothing's happening," Crowler said dismissively. "Not yet!"
Just as he said that last part, two gold, dragon-worm-like creatures appeared on his side of the field. "But that's about to change."
The audience was amazed by the two creatures, but Syrus was confused. "Could someone tell me what's going on?"
"Those two facedowns that Dr. Crowler had out were called Statue of the Wicked," Bastion explained as he observed the duel. "It's a special trap that creates a vicious monster token when it's destroyed by a card effect. That's why he played Heavy Storm."
"Speaking of Heavy Storm, I don't think that's a test deck." Torrey deduced, suspiciously.
"Why's that?" Syrus asked.
"Of course! And that goes the same for a card like Confiscation; they're both rare cards that can change the tide of the battle without any serious costs!" Bastion realized.
"Meaning?" Dimitri asked, not liking where this was going.
"That's probably his real deck!" Briar answered, worried for his friend.
They weren't the only ones who came to that conclusion.
"A card that strong couldn't be in one of the test decks, Crowler must be using his own." Taiyou realized.
"Then this duel's over," Raizou said. "No one can beat the deck of an expert like Dr. Crowler."
"Yeah, it's impossible, don't ya think, Chazz?"
"Yeah, what do you think, Chazz?"
Chazz smirked. "I think I'm going to enjoy watching Crowler wipe the floor with our mouthy little friend down there. I just wish he had treated all the other second-rate duelists that applied to the academy the same way."
Two other duelists were watching the duel, a boy and a girl.
The girl had long sandy blond hair and wore the female Obelisk uniform. Her name was Alexis Rhodes.
The boy was a little taller than her, had dark blue hair, and wore the third year Obelisk uniform. His name was Zane Truesdale, Duel Academy's top student.
"What an elitist snob," Alexis said. "Bullying some amateur with his very best cards."
"You're too soft, Alexis," Zane spoke, making the said person look at him. "I just hope we get to see that legendary rare card Crowler has stashed away in that deck of his."
"Ready for your next lesson?" Crowler called to Jaden.
"You bet!" Jaden answered, excitement in his voice. "Bring it on!"
Crowler regarded this negatively. "Very well."
His tokens started to glow and writhe in flames. "Now, I sacrifice my two Wicked Tokens to summon the Ancient Gear Golem!"
In place of Crowler's tokens stood a gigantic robotic creature with the working gears clearly seen. Once again the audience was amazed at the sight of the monster, even more so at its stats (3000/3000).
"There it is! That's his legendary rare card!" Alexis gasped.
Even Zane was impressed. "Now it looks like we're about to find out just what makes it so legendary."
"Whoa! That monster that could stand toe to toe with Blue-Eyes White Dragon!" Dimitri shouted.
The other boys were just as astounded as he was.
"Now, now, I hope you're not too scared of my legendary Ancient Gear Golem," Crowler said sarcastically.
Jaden, however, wasn't scared at all. In fact, he was having a blast! "No way! I've always wanted to take on a monster this strong!"
This shocked everyone, including Syrus. "Either Jaden's brave or he's nuts!"
"Sometimes, we think he's both." Briar quipped, his book long forgotten.
"He's staring down that legendary rare monster like he doesn't have a care in the world," Zane said, incredulously. "I guess the youth and inexperience have their benefits."
"Give it a rest, Zane," Alexis said, getting tired of his attitude. "At least the kid's showing some backbone."
"There won't be much left to show after this." Zane retorted.
Dr. Crowler cackled as he gave his monster an order. "Golem attack! Mechanized Melee!"
His Ancient Gear Golem's single red eye glowed before pulling back its fist and pounded Avian into pixels.
"Oh man, Jaden's monster didn't stand a chance! Its defense points were way too low!" Syrus fretted as he watched the duel. "This doesn't look good."
"And it's about to get worse," Bastion said, remembering what he knew about the monster. "When Ancient Gear Golem attacks a monster in defense mode, the difference between its attack points and the opposing monster's defense points are dealt to the opponent as damage."
"But that would mean Jaden's life points are gonna take a hit!" Syrus cried when he realized what was about to happen.
Sure enough, a transparent version of Ancient Gear Golem's fist slammed into Jaden body, causing him to fall to his knees.
Jaden: 2000
Crowler: 3000
Jaden's friends cringed at the blow.
"That had to hurt." Briar winced.
Syrus nodded in agreement.
"Jay's going to need to take off the kid gloves and step up his game if he wants to win," Dimitri said.
Crowler noticed Jaden was shaking as he got up.
"Now, now, don't feel bad," He taunted. "Not everyone has what it takes to get into the top dueling school in the country…"
Crowler trailed off when he realized that Jaden was laughing not crying.
"Nice shot, teach, it's been a while since someone got a solid hit on me! But I don't go down easily!" He exclaimed, fire burning in his eyes.
This took Crowler by surprise before scowling angrily. 'Doesn't he get it? He will not be admitted to this school! And he will certainly not make a mockery of my deck!'
'Look at him tremble,' Jaden thought with a grin. 'He's going to be shaking even more once I get serious!'
As he went to draw his next card, he heard a faint 'coo' sound. He paused for a second before taking a look at what he got. He was surprised when he saw what it was.
It was the card he got this morning on the way there. He remembered what he was told, about this card belonging to him. 'You know, I'm starting to think the same thing.'
For a moment, he thought the card winked at him! He was shocked at first, but then made a decision. 'I'm gonna take that as a sign to play ya.'
"Okay, I summon Winged Kuriboh in defense mode!" He declared.
With that, a small, brown, furry creature with green paws and white wings appeared in front of the brunette (300/200).
"Next, I play a card face down. You ready for what's coming, teach?" He finished as a card appeared behind the little furball.
"That's new," Torrey said, surprised by the appearance of the little creature.
"Where'd that little guy come from?" Dimitri wondered.
"He didn't have that card before?" Bastion asked.
They both shook their heads.
"Either way, Jaden's bought some time." Briar analyzed.
"What do you mean?" Syrus asked him.
Briar smiled slightly. "You'll see."
Crowler laughed at the play.
"Not bad, but I'm a master technician, you see," He taunted Jaden. "A Kuriboh is rather pedestrian to me, even one with wings you see. It's a textbook mistake, don't feel bad. Now let's proceed."
He drew his next card. "Now Ancient Gear Golem, attack that Kuriboh with Mechanized Melee!"
Again, the giant robot pulled back its fist and punched the tiny creature to pieces.
Jaden winced. 'Sorry, Winged Kuriboh.'
Dr. Crowler noticed Jaden's life point meter hadn't gone down. "Check your gear, your life points haven't changed."
Jaden smirked. "My gear's fine. On the turn Winged Kuriboh's destroyed, I take zero damage."
That got a surprise out of Crowler. Even some of the audience was surprised by the turn of events.
"How 'bout that, a technique the good doctor didn't know," Alexis stated, almost sarcastically.
"No one can be expected to know every technique, Alexis," Zane argued in a scolding tone. "Especially one as obscure as that."
"Yeah, well that kid sure knew it." Alexis countered.
Dimitri, Torrey, and Briar laughed at Crowler's reaction.
"People really need to stop underestimating Kuribohs!" Briar said.
"Amen there, brother!" Dimitri agreed, grinning like the Cheshire Cat.
"Fine, fine, so I guess your lame little monster saved you there." Crowler taunted.
"Hey!" Jaden snapped. "Just because you beat him doesn't give you the right to call him lame, teach!"
"Oh yes, I forgot how attached you new duelists get to your monsters," Crowler taunted again. "I'm sorry."
"Shouldn't have said that," Torrey muttered.
Syrus looked at him, wondering what he meant.
"One thing you never do is insult Jaden's cards. He will lash out at you in a big way." Briar explained, seeing Syrus' look.
"You should be," Jaden said. "Because by attacking Winged Kuriboh you set off my trap, one of my favorites too. Hero Signal!"
His trap activated, causing a spotlight with a unique H to appear on the ceiling.
"Which lets me bring out my second Elemental Hero," He grabbed a card from his deck and slapped on the duel tray. "Let's go, Burstinatrix!"
Out of a column of flames, a gray-skinned woman in a red bodysuit appeared on the field with a twirl (1200/800).
As she landed, Jaden drew his card, starting his turn.
"My move!" He looked at the cards in his hand and made a plan. 'Alright, Winged Kuriboh, this one's for you!'
He put the card he drew in his hand and selected another card to play. "Time to get dangerous. First, I'll play the spell card The Warrior Returning Alive. This allows me to bring back a warrior monster from my graveyard to my hand and I choose Avian. And then I'll bring him back to the field."
The card came out of the graveyard slot, and Jaden then brought the winged hero back to the field to stand next to Burstinatrix.
"Oh, I see, another amateurish mistake, but this is good, this is good, now would anyone like to tell me what our little friend did wrong here…" Crowler taunted but was cut off by Jaden again.
"Hey, I wasn't finished," He said, now thoroughly annoyed with this guy. "Yes, I know my two monsters by themselves aren't enough to take down your behemoth, but the true power of the Heroes comes from when they unite together!"
He then showed one of the last two cards in his hand to Crowler. "And I have just the card to do that! Go Polymerization! Heroes unite!"
The two heroes jumped up into the air and swirled together due to the effects of the card. After the two monsters were done, a new monster appeared that had the same color schemes as Avian and Burstinatrix. It also had one of Avian's wings. The only thing that either monster didn't have was the dragon-like hand on the monster's right arm and a dragon-like tail (2100/1200).
"Say 'hello' to Elemental Hero Flame Wingman! Hope your Golem's ready for a clash of the titans!"
"Looks like the duel's almost over," Briar said.
"How can you tell?" Syrus asked.
"This is one of Jaden's favorite finishers. If I'm right about what that last card is in his hand, Jaden will end the duel right now!" Torrey answered.
"So, teach, what do think?" Jaden asked, with a smirk.
"I think you're dueling quite well for an amateur but next time try summoning a monster that has more attack points than what's already out," Crowler said like he was disappointed, but he really didn't see the monster as a threat.
"What's he mean?" Syrus asked, looking at Jaden's monster.
"He means that the Flame Wingman's atk points are too low to defeat the Ancient Gear Golem," Bastion answered. "A shame too, because that Elemental Hero has a powerful ability. Whenever it destroys a monster in battle, the controller of that monster receives the original attack points of that monster as damage."
"Oh man, that would have been the perfect way for Jaden to turn this duel around." Syrus moaned.
"Chill, guys," Dimitri said, completely calm. "Jaden's fine."
"Alright, young scholar," Crowler said, almost exasperated. "I don't mean to rush you, but I am a busy man… are you done yet?"
"Not even close!" Jaden replied. "And, yeah, I knew my Wingman had fewer attack points than your Golem."
He then placed the last card in his hand into the slot for field spells on his disk. "That's why I'm activating this. A field spell called Skyscraper!"
After he played that card, buildings you would see in big cities like New York, literally started sprouting up on the field. In the middle of it, Crowler's Golem looked like a giant monster attacking the city. Jaden's Wingman was perched on the highest building's lightning rod with its arms crossed.
The boys were anticipating his next move.
"Alright, Flame Wingman," Jaden called out. "Time to save the city!"
He pointed at the old robot. "Attack that Ancient Gear Golem with Skydive Scorcher!"
Flame Wingman jumped from the building it was standing on and dove towards Crowler's monster, weaving in and out between buildings.
"Fine by me, bring him on," Crowler said like he wasn't worried. "This silly little Skyscraper field spell hasn't lowered my Golem's attack by one point!"
Flame Wingman then landed on the ground in front of the Ancient Gear Golem before leaping up into the air again.
"That wasn't the plan. This is the Heroes' home turf," Jaden revealed, slyly. "What it's done is raise my Hero's attack by a grand total of 1000 points!"
"Wait! Timeout!" Crowler cried, but it didn't stop Flame Wingman's attack as it launched itself at the Ancient Gear Golem, its body covered in flames (2100-3100/1200).
Crowler was freaking out as Jaden's monster slammed into his, making it burst to pieces.
"No, it can't be! He was my very best card!" He cried before being hit in the head by a piece of debris.
"Oh, by the way, you should probably know about my Wingman's special ability," Jaden said, his monster landing back in front of him. "When he destroys a monster in battle, the attack points of that monster gets dealt straight to your life points. Looks like I win, huh?"
"No way…" Crowler muttered.
Just as he said that the remaining shell of Ancient Gear Golem fell on top of Crowler, despite trying to get out of the way.
Jaden: 2000
Crowler: 0
Jaden pointed his index and middle fingers at Crowler in a kind of salute.
"That's game!" He exclaimed. "So, I guess I pass the test, huh teach?"
As the holograms faded, a lot of people were stunned to see that Jaden had beat a teacher, who was using his real deck, in a duel.
Crowler was dumbfounded by the whole thing. He was beaten by an amateur who was also late.
"Impossible," He seethed. "There's no way that this delinquent could beat me!"
Up in the stands, Chazz and his flunkies were just as shocked.
"It must be dumb luck," Chazz muttered through clenched teeth. "No way Crowler would lose to some flunky!"
Alexis, on the other hand, was smiling at Jaden's win. "This kid's got a future here."
Zane just huffed and walked away.
Syrus was cheering for Jaden. "Yay! Way to play, Jay!"
"Now that was a true Jaden turnaround!" Torrey noted, smirking at Jaden's win like it was his own.
"Heck yeah! Wish I had that kind of action during my duel!" Dimitri added.
Briar just laughed at his friend's antics.
'Nice,' Bastion thought as he watched Jaden wave to the crowd. 'I could use the competition.'
Jaden waved to the crowd some more, then took out his new Winged Kuriboh card.
"We made it together," He said, smiling. "And from here on out, you and I will be partners."
Again, Jaden could have sworn the card winked at him, and he was starting to believe this card may be more special than he had initially thought.
Later that night
After the exams, Jaden, Torrey, Dimitri, and Briar said goodbye to Syrus and Bastion and headed to their homes. Later, after gathering up some things, Jaden, Dimitri, and Briar went to sleep over at Torrey's house, which was actually more of a mansion since his family was wealthy.
The boys were all hanging out in Torrey's room in their PJ's, snacking and talking about going to Duel Academy.
"This is so exciting! We're going to be living on an island for school!" Jaden said, totally hyped, even though he hated school.
"It would be really cool if our dorms were right next to the beach," Briar added.
Dimitri laughed. "All you'd do is read!"
The other two laughed while Briar blushed, all-knowing he read just as much as he dueled.
Torrey then got a sly smile on his face. "Maybe we'll have roommates, and Dimitri will be in the same room with Bastion."
Dimitri choked on his soda and blushed bright red, getting a laugh from the others.
These antics continued on for another hour before it was time for them to head to bed. The friends all went to sleep, excited for what Duel Academy would bring.
And that is that! Read and review!
Oh, and could some of you send up a prayer for a family from my church. A friend of mine had a seizure while she and a group were in Haiti and they were too far away from medical help to save her. Just pray for the family, that's all I ask.