DARK DRAGON FURY
Chapter 1: The Flute of Summoning Dragon
It was going to be a hot day, that was for sure. The sun shone brightly, a light breeze forming small waves on the ocean's surface. The serene calm was broken only by the double line of white foam trailing behind the ship, knifing its way toward the island in the distance. Separated from the figures clustered on the bow, he leaned back against the rail, arms crossed, lost in thought…
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The auditorium of the school was noisy as usual. Lunch was concluding and the kids were making small talk as they finished their sandwiches. The daily competition was over, and the Queen of Obelisk Blue was seated on her laurels, enjoying the spoils of war. Alexis Rhodes had been the one to find the Golden Eggwich, making her even more popular today. Each winner was mobbed by eager, hungry fans, begging for a taste, and she was no exception. Today, Jaden was being real pain, begging for "just a little piece, pretty please?" Alexis chuckled as she politely declined, "Better luck next time Jaden." Jaden slumped back in his chair with a pout, and turned his attention toward his fried shrimp, which suddenly didn't seem so tasty.
Elsewhere, the room was a jumbled sea of red, yellow and blue. Aside from the aforementioned, the casual observer could make out some of the more familiar faces clustered in close proximity. Syrus Truesdale, sporting the yellow jersey of Ra, looked a little glum. That may have been caused by his proximity to his neighbor, the black-coated Chazz Princeton, who looked (as always) like someone stole his last can of hair spray. Alexis was flanked by her two friends/fangirls: Mindy and Jasmine, who continued to shoot dirty looks at the Yuki boy for getting too close to the Queen. And lastly, poring over an overdue assignment, were Tyranno Hasselberry and Bastion Misawa.
Suddenly, the chatter ceased as the doors swung open. In stepped Chancellor Sheppard, the headmaster of the Academy. He was flanked by Professors Satyr and Fontaine. Also in tow was the effeminate Dr. Crowler, looking quite flustered. It was unusual for the Chancellor to show himself outside of his office except on very important occasions, so the students stared as he made his way to the podium at the far end of the room.
Sheppard stepped up to the microphone and took a moment to survey the students with pride. He had seen many pupils pass through this Academy, many of whom had shown exceptional dueling skill. This school was the "launching pad" for many famous duelists "like Zane Truesdale" he thought to himself with a pang of regret. Zane had gone on to become quite infamous in the duelng world, often crushing and humiliating his opponents in defeat, even hospitalizing some, and was known in some circles as Hell Kaiser. Still, Seto Kaiba, the school's owner, had standards for all entering students, and these were followed.
Putting these thoughts aside, Sheppard smiled and addressed the student body:
"Kids! I have an important announcement to make. When you are finished, please make your way to the pier. We have the honor of receiving a new transfer student, this time from abroad. After lunch, please proceed to the wharf for the welcoming ceremony."
The silence that followed the Chancellor's words was complete. Then, without warning, an explosion of voices filled the room. Everyone turned to his/her neighbor and stared to hypothesize about the new duelist. The kids loved new students. It gave the veterans a chance to help the up-and-coming new talent; but for the younger duelists, they wanted an excuse to try out their decks on the newbie.
Jaden was suddenly a ball of energy again: "AWESOME! I can't wait to duel this guy. If he's been traveling, he's probably a great duelist! This'll be sweet."
Syrus, a little more subdued, mumbled: "I guess. But if he's been traveling, maybe he has news about Zane. I'm worried, we haven't heard from him since the Duel tournament several months ago..."
Chazz, sarcastic as always, leaned back in his chair, sneering: "Who cares? I know these transfer types. They're all nothing but a bunch of weaklings. I'll crush him the first chance I get. The Chazz always comes out on top!"
Alexis rolled her eyes, "You know Chazz, the last time you bragged like that, you were soundly thrashed by Jaden, so be careful you don't put your foot in that big mouth of yours" She glanced back to see him gaping at her, "And shut your mouth before something flies in it."
At the reminder of his latest defeat, his friends all started laughing. Chazz pursed his lips, white with humiliation. He swallowed the retort that he wanted to snap out, knowing that she was right. But he would never let himself be caught admitting it. Also, he still had a crush on Alexis, so he was in no good position to piss her off. Besides, ever since the whole Society of Light incident, their relationship had been strained. He opted to salvage the remains of his dignity and leave the room, pausing only to glare daggers at the "Slifer Slacker".
Mindy was beside herself. A new boy! She was hopelessly romantic, flirting shamelessly with the young men of Obelisk Blue. But due to her fickle personality, she could never find anyone to suit her needs. Maybe her luck was about to change. And he was from abroad! So what kind of exotic places had he been to? Jasmine, too, was secretly hoping that this mystery person would prove a formidable duelist, but also have the sense to leave Alexis alone. If he tried anything funny with Alexis..Not on my watch! She muttered
Bastion had already tuned out everything else, and was busy formulating different scenarios which might force him to make some slight changes to his numerous decks. Each was carefully designed, each as strong as the next, masterpieces generated from studying the various duelists who composed the student body. This newcomer might prove to be an unexpected variable in the equation, forcing some slight alteration in the calculations. What inopportune timing, he thought, thinking back to his workstation, the walls of his bedroom, covered in scribbles and indecipherable calculations and my wall has no more space.
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(Within the Hour)
The students strained to see the approaching ship, as it slowly ploughed through the waves on its approach to the harbor. The ship was no unfamiliar sight to them, but seeing it was always a cause for excitement. As the boat drew closer, they eagerly scanned the decks for a sign of the transfer, but the distance was still too great. But finally, at long last, someone did spot him. A very excited someone…
"LOOK! OVER THERE!", squealed Mindy, jumping up and down. The student body followed her finger as she danced around. There was a crowd of people on board; he could be any one of them. Unless…
Their attention was caught by the young man who stood apart from the tourists and friends fighting to get near the railing. His mannerisms gave off an air of disinterest, or boredom to the explosion of activity around him. Also his mode of dress, a very dark tone, made a somber contrast to the bright colors of the other passengers and crew. He made no indication of moving as the ship docked and the gangway was run out. The passengers had almost all disembarked before he seemed to rouse himself, as if from a reverie, and approach the shore, carrying only a black, metal-bound briefcase.
He moved down the ramp at his leisure, giving the students time to take in his appearance: a very light-colored complexion, firm jaw, high cheekbones. His dark brown hair was parted on the side, his fringe hanging low on his brow, shadowing the upper portion of his face. He wore a pair of black slacks, black shirt and dark shoes. The entire outfit was covered by a black, flared overcoat, buttoned from the neck to the waist, trimmed in silver. His hands were covered by black gloves or gauntlets, extending to mid-forearm. Overall, a little unusual, a little..intimidating, especially the eyes: steel-blue, piercing, some strong emotion flickering just beneath the surface, held in check through long practice.
He made his way to the headmaster, whom he seemed to recognize, and shook his hand. He presented some documents to the older man. Chancellor Sheppard accepted them and glanced over their contents, a slightly puzzled crease on his brow. Meanwhile, the whispering from the student body was growing louder. Who is he? Why doesn't he say anything? What's going on? The young man, oblivious, stood like a statue, moodily contemplating a pebble nearby. Finally, the Chancellor straightened up.
"Ah, where are my manners? Kids, please allow me to formally introduce our newest transfer student, Alastair Cunningham. As I said before, he has been abroad for some time, so he should have much to share with up in the near future. He is officially a student here as of today, as a member of the Slifer Red dormitory." (NO! thought Mindy, clearly disappointed.) "Please join in giving him a warm welcome!"
A round of applause and some cheering erupted from the assembled students. Alastair, looked up, his stoic expression never faltering, and acknowledged them with a slight bow and an almost imperceptible wave of his hand. Seeing as he wasn't apparently about to get an acceptance speech any time soon, Sheppard smoothed things over quickly, asking Dr. Crowler to show him the way to the dormitory. The doctor went rigid, his face clearly showing what he thought of this rude youngster, but he didn't really have a choice. He grabbed him by the arm and started to pull him in the right direction.
"Let's go, you young upstart! I swear, you Slifers are all the same, rude, obnoxious, nothing more than.." He stopped as Alastiar wrenched his arm free, eyes flashing with a dangerous look. His right hand curled slowly into a fist, then relaxed, his expression returning to neutral.
The students saw the scene, and pressed forward, sensing trouble. They were disappointed as Alastair gestured for the teacher to lead the way. Some murmuring arose, something about not making a good first impression, and adhering to uniform standards in the future.
Jaden and the others watched these events with mixed expressions. A new dorm mate was always fun, but not if was going to be nothing but trouble. Their reflections were cut short by Syrus, as he elbowed his way to the site of the small scuffle. He had seen something fall as Alastair yanked away from the professor. His small hands closed on three duel monster cards lying there. He gasped as he beheld:
Cyber End Dragon
Cyberdark Dragon
Chimeratech Overdragon
He blinked in disbelief. This had to be a coincidence. There was no way that this..he turned the card over. There, inked into the back of the card were the letters
Z. Truesdale
Syrus fell to his knees, tears in his eyes. His friends gathered around to see what the matter was. They too were shocked. These were, indisputably, the strongest monsters of Zane Truesdale, formerly the property of Hell Kaiser himself. But how did Alastair have them?
Alexis glared in the direction of the Slifer dorm, where the distant figure could be seen entering a spare room. "Just who is he?" she muttered to herself.
I am well aware that Yu Gi Oh! GX is an older anime. I am also aware of the 5D series. I do not follow the rules and monsters of this new series, and all my dueling experience/knowledge comes from the older series. So, please, bear with me in this endeavor.
Please review. I enjoy reading your commentary. They help me to better my writing.