It was late in the morning, and the Kaiba Dome was abuzz with activity as the newest batch of hopeful applicants to the prestigious Duel Academy milled about. Some of them were eagerly awaiting their turn on the Dueling Fields, desperately wanting to prove themselves as capable and ready to enter the school. More than a few were having small practice Duels to pass the time, while others were making last minute trades in hopes of bolstering their chances. Scattered about were those who had already gone through the exam, the majority of them having passed – those who failed quickly headed home, already planning on how to win next year.

And then there were those students already engaged in their test Duels, struggling against the sole roadblock between them and possible fame: the proctors. At least, most students were struggling.

Standing tall with a confident, graceful air about her, a young woman quietly weighed her options as she stared down her opponent with cool blue eyes. Her platinum blonde hair hung down her back, without a single strand appearing to be out of place. Her attire was composed of a simple white blouse and a modest black skirt, and on her arm was mounted a standard issue Duel Disk. Currently, she held a pressing advantage: she had yet to take a single point of damage, and the only two face-up monsters on the field were hers.

The monsters appeared to be young children, barely out of their preteens. One was a girl with vibrant blue hair, held in place by a fire-like headband. She wore a red cloak and shirt, with a black skirt and stockings, and carried a small wand topped by a red crystal in her hand. She wore a devilish smirk on her face and her emerald eyes gleamed with anticipation.

In comparison, the young boy next to her was calm and stone-faced, his coal black eyes partially hidden behind a pair of round spectacles. His brown hair was cleanly cut and smoothed back. His cloak was dark brown, and he wore a yellow tunic with white pants. His wand had a yellow crystal set in it, and was currently hanging by his side, ready for use.

They were not alone, however. Standing next to the girl was a red-furred lynx, its body covered by black armor that was decorated with small red gems. Its tail flicked idly as it stared the proctor down with blue eyes. Next to the boy was a small brown horse with a yellow mane, covered by steel gray armor with yellow gems set into it.

A small smile crossed the young woman's face as she finally came up with a plan of attack. "Equuleus, attack his face-down monster!" she commanded. Immediately the boy raised his wand into the air, the crystal tip glowing bright yellow. "And because he has Kitalpha equipped to him, all of Equuleus's attacks will inflict Piercing Damage!" Swinging his wand downwards, the young boy conjured a flurry of sharp stones that rained down on the hidden monster.

"Such a shame, then, that my face-down was a Man-Eater Bug, which destroys one monster on the Field when flipped up!" her opponent declared. Springing up from beneath the card was a monstrous bipedal insect covered by a green exoskeleton. It roared and lunged towards the boy with its claws outstretched. "So though I may lose the monster, you shall not win this turn!"

"I beg to differ," the girl countered as she pressed a button on her Duel Disk. "I activate Favor of the Cosmos! This negates the effect of any card which targets a Summon Magi monster that I control." A beam of energy shot down and pierced through the Man-Eater Bug, pinning it in place as the stones rained down upon it. With a screech it shattered, the pixels flying back and slamming into the proctor, while he simply scoffed in annoyance.

(Proctor: 1200 - 300)

"Now Lynx, finish this Duel!"

With a giggle, the blue-haired girl raised her wand and summoned a fireball that she threw at the proctor.

"Hold it! This Duel ain't over yet!"

A card rose up in front of the young man, a cocksure smile on his face. His attire looked as though it had come straight out of a Western: a cream colored shirt with long sleeves and brown embroidery on the shoulders, blue jeans, and a pair of brown cowboy boots. He gave the brown cowboy hat on his head a small tug downwards, one of his green eyes peering through a hole on the brim. "You done forgot about my face-down, compadre," he said, his Southern drawl evident in his voice. "Here it is: Roll Call!"

The proctor, whose Axe Raider had paused mid-attack, tilted his head to the side. "The heck does that card do, other than waste our time? Come on, kid, you've only got 500 Life Points, and I wasted your monsters with Dark Hole. There's no way that card can help you."

"What makes you so sure about that?" the young man shot back. "You don't even know what it does. Didn't nobody ever tell you not to count your chickens before they hatch?" As he spoke, a golden die flew from the card and into the air. "Anyhow, let's get onto what Roll Call does. I roll a dice, then whatever number it lands on, if I got a monster in my hand who's got a level equal, I get to Special Summon it!"

"Hah! Putting your chances of getting into Duel Academy all on one dice roll? That's insane!"

"Nah, it's just how I do things. Now let's go: Lady Luck, what've you got for me?" the young man asked, looking up towards the die that was quickly spinning towards the ground. Neither player looked nervous, until finally it landed and revealed the number on the top: a four. "Thank you, Lady Luck! Just what I needed, 'cause now I can Special Summon my Gamblaster Knucklebones to the Field in Attack Mode!"

The card hit the Field, and in a burst of pixelated light a man appeared. He was also dressed in attire with a Western feel to it. An open leather vest was all that he wore on his muscular torso, revealing generous amounts of sun-tanned skin. He wore black cloth pants with no shoes, though both of his feet were taped up. Around his right bicep was a small band of alternating red, black, and green stripes. His hair was covered by a red bandanna, while his steely grey eyes stared calmly forward.

(Gamblaster Knucklebones – LV: 4 ATK: 1400 DEF: 1200 EARTH Warrior/Effect)

"Wouldn't it have been smarter to put him in Defense Position?" the proctor wondered aloud. "I mean, sure he'd still get axed, but at least you wouldn't have lost Life Points this turn. Oh well, guess you'll just have to learn the hard way."

"Maybe you ought to learn some manners, cause I wasn't done speaking." The young man's smile had fallen slightly and his eyes narrowed in annoyance. "If you're done, maybe I can explain why I have Knucklebones in Attack Mode." As the monster's name was mentioned, he suddenly dashed towards the proctor's Axe Raider. "Whenever he battles another monster, I have to flip a coin. If I call the result wrong, he loses 400 of his ATK."

The proctor suddenly felt very worried about what was going to happen next. "And what if you call it right?" he asked quickly, watching as the two Warriors were about to clash.

The young man said nothing, and instead threw his hand up. A coin materialized, one side depicting a crossed pair of revolvers and a cowboy hat, the other a skull and crossbones. It flew up and hung in the air. "Calling it now – Heads!" he declared, and the coin immediately began falling. With a heavy thud, it landed on the revolvers and hat. "And hey now, Lady Luck still smiles upon me!"

Knucklebones let out a sudden fierce yell as a green aura surrounded his body. Avoiding a swing from Axe Raider, he leapt up and delivered a bone-shattering uppercut to the monster's chin. The taller Warrior screamed before exploding into a cloud of pixels, while Knucklebones merely leapt back over to his side of the Field. The proctor stood there, stunned.

"In case you haven't gathered, if I call it right, Knucklebones outright destroys the opponent's monster. Can't inflict damage though, but everything's got a downside. So, that your turn?"

The proctor checked his hand carefully before slowly nodding.

The boy's smile grew. "Well alright then."

"My turn!"

On yet another Dueling Field, another young woman was drawing her next card. She was rather tall with light brown skin and black hair that had been pulled back into a loose ponytail, with an electric blue streak died in along the left side of her head. Her torn jeans and the tube top she wore gave her a slightly punkish look, but the smile on her face and the energy in her brown eyes made her appear far friendlier.

Besides her height and appearance, the most striking part of her appearance was her right arm. Below the elbow, it was entirely prosthetic, with a Duel Disk built into it. A small tray extending from the rear of the Duel Disk held her cards for her, and after looking it over a moment, she added the card she had just drawn to that tray.

"Okay," she said after a few moments of planning, "here's what my plan is. First, I'll activate my Continuous Trap Card, Cybeast Reconstruction Unit!" A large machine, in some ways resembling a large cage for holding animals, rose from the ground. "The way my Reconstruction Unit works is like this: once per turn, I can pay Life Points in multiples of 400 to Special Summon a Cybeast from my Graveyard whose Level is equal to the multiple. So for 1600 Life Points-"

(SG: 3100 - 1500)

"-I can bring back the monster you took out last turn! Return to me, Cybeast Signal Wolf!"

A matrix of glowing orange lines suddenly appeared on the field, rapidly reconfiguring in shape until they formed a canine body. Smooth, dark gray metal suddenly filled the gaps, and soon a distinctly wolf-shaped robot was standing in front of the girl, its eyes a burning orange. Upon opening its mouth and letting out a synthesized howl, the light that made up the tips of its tail rapidly flashed colors.

(Cybeast Signal Wolf – LV: 4 ATK: 1200 DEF: 1000 LIGHT Machine/Effect)

Her opponent nodded in approval. "A rather bold move; the Duel has just begun, yet between my attacks and your own cards, you have already cut your Life Points in half. I wonder if you can still manage to win," the older woman wondered aloud.

Rapping a knuckle against her prosthetic limb, the girl cocked her head to the side and replied, "Trust me. I've been in worse situations than this one. Besides, like you said-" She quickly slapped another Monster Card onto the Field "-this Duel's just begun! So let's get things started with my Cybeast Alarm Fox."

Another line matrix appeared, this one forest green, and burnt orange metal quickly appeared to fill in the gaps. The foxlike machine that was left behind tilted its head quizzically as it looked at the opponent with green eyes.

(Cybeast Alarm Fox – LV: 3 ATK: 900 DEF: 1200 LIGHT Machine/Effect)

"And here's what my fox says! By paying another 400 Life Points, I can Special Summon a Cybeast with a Level equal to another Cybeast on the Field. So I choose my Signal Wolf-"

(SG: 1500 - 1100)

"-and Special Summon my Cybeast Search Coyote!"

Alarm Fox's mouth opened wide, revealing a speaker that suddenly began to blare an alarm. The proctor covered her ears, as did those watching, but the girl just kept smiling as she played her next monster. It appeared in a flurry of ash gray lines and was made of dark brown metal, and certainly resembled a coyote aside from the searchlight embedded in its chest.

(Cybeast Search Coyote – LV: 4 ATK: 1400 DEF: 1400 LIGHT Machine/Effect)

"An impressive display of your Deck's swarming capabilities," the proctor said after her ears stopped ringing. "However, none of these monsters alone are capable of taking down my Vorse Raider, so I certainly hope you have a backup plan."

"Why would I need a backup when my Plan A's still going strong? Besides, you forgot one very important thing: my monsters aren't alone, and together they can take out your Raider and anything else in that Deck!" Raising her flesh-and-blood arm into the air, she made a fist and declared, "Let me show you how! I merge my Cybeasts Signal Wolf, Alarm Fox, and Search Coyote together in order to Fusion Summon a beast of superior strength!"

All three canines howled as one before disassembling back into their line matrix states. They began to interweave with one another, growing longer and larger, before taking shape. Lines of orange, green, and grey pulsed with light as the vector shape began to fill itself with black metal. Three large heads rose up and bellowed before turning their gaze to the proctor's monster, each head featuring differently colored eyes.

"Behold, Advanced Cybeast Security Cerberus!"

(Advanced Cybeast Security Cerberus – LV: 7 ATK: 2700 DEF: 2500 LIGHT Machine/Fusion/Effect)

"Now let's see if we can't turn this Duel around!"

"Deep breaths. Calm thoughts. Don't worry," a young man muttered as he made his way towards his own Entrance Duel. His face was turned downward, letting his long black bangs cover his face. The rest of his head was covered by the gray hood of his sweatshirt, with a single wire feeding from its front pocket into the hood. He had forced his hands deep into the pockets of his baggy black pants, and his black and white sneakers squeaked with every step he took. "Deep breaths. Calm thoughts. Don't worry."

I have my cards with me.

I've Dueled plenty of times back home.

I know what I'm doing.

Everyone in my family is rooting for me today.

I can win this.

…Can't I?

His legs suddenly tensed up as he realized he was right near the entrance to the Duel Field. His pale-skinned hand reached for his chest and he grit his teeth, trying to force away the panicked thoughts that were welling up in his head.

Can I really win this Duel?

Am I actually good enough to go to Duel Academy?

What happens if I lose?

What will Mom and Dad think?

What will Angela and Dennis think?

For a moment, he thought about turning around and walking straight out of the Kaiba Dome. Maybe he could catch a flight home if he hurried. He might wander around Domino City for a while and see the sights – it was the world-famous home of the King of Games himself.

Yet as quickly as that thought entered his mind, it was banished as one of his hands brushed against the cards in his pocket and felt the warmth they were giving off. He took them out and fanned them out, a smile crossing his face as he saw the familiar faces of his monsters.

"No." He slowly shook his head and shuffled his cards back together before putting them into the Duel Disk on his arm. "No running. Not as long as I have my Deck backing me up." He lifted his head, his bangs falling just above his light green eyes. Flipping his hood back, he pulled the headphones from his ears and put them with his music player in his pocket. He stepped forward onto the Duel Field, a neutral look on his face as he saw his proctor waiting for him.

"Ah, so you're Nathan Brooks. Looking to be like your sister, huh?" the woman asked as she activated her own Duel Disk. "Well, I hope you realize it won't be that easy – get ready for the toughest Duel you've ever had." She paused, seeing him with his head tilted downwards, his face again obscured by his bangs. "Hey, you alright? Not planning on chickening out, are you?"

For a while, Nathan was entirely still and quiet. "Not in the slightest," he said finally, his tone firm and serious. His head flicked upwards, throwing his bangs up and out of the way of his eyes, which held an intense focus. He activated his Duel Disk and held it in front of him, a thin smile working its way onto his face. "In fact, I'm planning on walking out of here as a student. So get ready!

"Because it's time to Duel!"

I know that I probably lose points by making FOUR sets of original cards, but please bear with me: I did my research and tried to make all four archetypes the main characters in this story will be using as balance as possible. They all have their strengths and weaknesses.

If anyone would like to point out any glaringly big issues with the cards I have created, I ask that you PM me instead of clogging up the review area. It's easier to discuss such things that way.

So, this is a story that I've had running around in my head for some time now, and I wanted to give it a shot. I've been a fan of the Yu-Gi-Oh! anime and TCG for most of my life - even if I was never good at the game itself - and GX is easily my favorite show in the franchise. That being said, I want to make one thing clear: the main cast of Yu-Gi-Oh! GX will be making very sparse appearances in this story. At most, a cameo or a small mention.

I'm trying to avoid the usual pitfall of "follow the story but with my character thrown-in and have nothing change". This is the story of the four characters the prologue just introduced you too, so hopefully you'll find it enjoyable.