Disclaimer: I own nothing.


()()—()()WILLIAM()()—()()

He reclined lazily in the comfortable armchair, his head nodding slightly as his eyes drooped. It was nine in the morning, and Will hadn't slept. His mind was working—always working; solving duel problems, revising his strategies and ultimately testing new combos.

This was the mind of William Reyes, a duelist with great aspirations.

A mane of shaggy black hair fell around him, reaching down to his shoulder blades and shading his face. Below his lowering eyelids the rims of grey irises peeked out, just barely visible; his skin was tan and the curtain of his hair darkened his face. His arms were rather thin but were corded with muscles, proving that there was some strength to the teen; his legs were rather long and as he sat they stretched out, crossing at the feet. His outfit consisted of a short-sleeved red t-shirt with Smashing Pumpkins written across the front of the shirt, a pair of blue jeans and tricoloured Nike sneakers. A Duel Disk rested on his arm—it wasn't a fancy one, just one of the mass-produced ones created and sold by Kaibacorp; he'd had to pick one up during his stay, to prepare for his tests.

He sat in the lobby of the hotel as guests, bellhops, maids and others walked around, going about their business, watching them come and go listlessly as his eyes fluttered open now and again. Will noticed that there were a decent amount of people his age, too, many with Duel Disks on their arms as well. He surveyed many of them and allowed a calm smile to settle across his face; this year was going to be fun.


()()—()()ADAM()()—()()

At precisely ten minutes before ten in the morning, Adam Snow walked into the lobby of Kaibacorp's main building, where a line of duelists all with duel disks stood in front of a desk, stating out names to a bored-looking secretary. Taking his own place in the throng, behind a shaggy-haired boy in a Smashing Pumpkins t-shirt, he waited, and waited, and waited for what seemed like forever until he got to the front of the line… and it was then that he was able to see a clock, and realised it had only been a little less than six minutes.

Mentally, Adam sweatdropped and stated his name to the jaded secretary before him. She flipped open a binder and ran her eyes over a list, before telling him he could go on and giving him instructions on which room to go to.

"Down the hall, turn right, third door on the left," Adam repeated like a mantra. He followed the directions and turned where he should have, but when he opened the door, he found himself stepping into an… indoor garden?

"WELCOME TO THE RICE FIELDS, MOTHERFU—"

"Nope, definitely wrong door." Adam said, shutting the door quickly. He went to the next door… "Duh! That was the second door," he facepalmed.

As he entered the room he found himself in a lecture hall, possibly not what it was used for, but that is what it seemed to be. It was large with a high ceiling, and multiple tables were placed on raised platforms in a step formation. There were already many students who had taken their places.

He ran a tan hand through his short brown hair and moved quickly to a row of desks, third platform from the top and took a seat near the end; the row was mostly full, so there was really nowhere else he could go. He sat down—with permission, of course—next to the same boy with black hair and the Smashing Pumpkins t-shirt from the line. They had about fifteen minutes until the written exam started, so they made small talk for some time.

"My name's Adam," he introduced, holding his hand out to the boy.

The other boy examined the hand with pale grey eyes before shaking hands with a smile. "Will-I-am," he joked. "In other words, William. But call me Will," he said. Adam thought he detected a slight French accent.

Tilting his head slightly, Adam asked, "Where are you from? If you don't mind my asking."

"Quebec—that's in Canada," said Will. "How about you?"

"The great state of Vermont," Adam announced proudly, puffing his chest out. "Best maple syrup in the civilised world!"

"My ass," protested Will with a slight grin. "I do believe that honour belongs to Canada."

"Canada ain't got crap on Vermont's syrup,"

"Maybe not, but we do have Nickelback," replied Will.

"Like that means anything!" Adam said with a small chuckle.

"How about Sum 41?"

"I concede."

"Damn right you do," said Will.

It was then that the written exams began. Tests were passed out to each student and they were given an hour to take them. Will and Adam worked diligently on their tests, the pair taking as much time as they could. Adam found that he had little trouble with it, having reviewed for several hours before the test (at the cost of quite a bit of sleep) and was able to finish it within the allotted time. Will, however... when Adam looked over at his new friend, he found that he was barely halfway finished. Nonetheless, Will was able to get it together and finish the test before time was up.

As the instructor, a rather short man with greying hair and a monocle, called time and went over to a door opposite the one they entered through opened it and told them to go through, Will looked over to Adam with a slight hint of nervousness in his pale eyes. "How do you think you did, eh?"

Adam shrugged a little, giving Will a reassuring smile. "Don't worry about it. As long as we didn't totally fuck up, we're good."

Will mouthed the words for a moment, before nodding and returning the smile. "Yeah. You're right. Not sure why I had that drop in confidence right there, but..." he grinned broadly. "Time to kick some ass!"

And with that, the pair ran down the steps into the dueling arena.


()()—()()VICTORIA()()—()()

Victoria Bolton was bored. This was nothing particularly new, as nearly nothing could excite her.

Nothing except the utter thrill of Duel Monsters.

She cared not for the written exam, crushing it with a superior intellect as if the test were mere childsplay. She threw a long curtain of silvery blonde hair back over her shoulder and walked down the steps with an apathetic look carved into her fair face, noting a pair of boys who seemed to be giving each other a pep talk before practically tearing off toward the duel arena. She smoothed her light blue blouse and black skirt as she stepped into the arena.

There were several duels already taking place, including one of the pep-talking boys from earlier, one with shaggy black hair. He seemed to be more than capable of holding his own against his assigned proctor, countering with traps and using the tag-team style of his Gladiator Beasts to enable powerful effects. As she watched, she found that he seemed to truly enjoy his duel and seemed to be making a show of it. Just like a gladiator, Victoria mused mentally. However, the proctor was able to gain some ground with a well-timed 'Dimensional Prison' that caused the boy's 'Gladiator Beast Dimacari' to disappear into a rift in space.

"Here's some serious trouble for you!" said the shaggy-haired boy as Victoria took a seat in the stands. "I summon 'Rescue Rabbit' in Attack Mode!" he placed a card on his duel disk and his once-empty field was now home of a brown and white rabbit wearing goggles hopped into existence (Rescue Rabbit: EARTH, Level 4, Beast-type. 300 ATK/100 DEF).

"...Where's the trouble? Is it behind the rabbit?" the proctor snarked.

The sound of a grin crept into the boy's voice as he replied in a decent mimicry of a Scottish brogue, "No... it is the rabbit."

The proctor scoffed. "You silly sod! You got me worked up for nothing!"

"It's true!" insisted the boy, "It's the most foul, cruel-tempered rodent in the land!"

"You tit," mocked the proctor.

The boy sniffed. "Perhaps I'll just need to exhibit his effects, eh? Very well—I banish my 'Rescue Rabbit' to Special Summon two 'Gladiator Beast Andal' from my Deck, and I'll chain it with 'Return from the Different Dimension!' I pay half my Life Points, and I can Summon all my banished monsters!"

Two monstrous one-eyed bears clad in armour appeared next to a purple ox and the three roared loudly. (Gladiator Beast Andal: EARTH, Level 4, Beast-Warrior-type. 1900 ATK/1500 DEF. Gladiator Beast Dimacari: EARTH, Level 4, Beast-type. 1600 ATK/1200 DEF.)

Will: 750 LP / Proctor: 2000 LP

"However, these three won't be sticking around for long. I'll combine all three of them for a Tag Fusion! Gladiators, unite!" The beasts gathered in a circle and clasped each others' paws ('Andal') and hooves ('Dimacari') and condensed into a bright light, returning into the boy's deck slot. "Come forth, 'Gladiator Beast Nerokius!' Your emperor requires your assistance!"

An enormous purple bat with leathery grey wings covered in purple armour appeared where the three once stood and let out a screech that forced Victoria to cover her ears. She couldn't help but smirk—the boy had certainly won, no matter what the proctor's facedowns may be; at least, judging by the 'oh shit' look on the proctor's face.

"JESUS CHRIST!" cried the proctor as the bat struck. 'Nerokius' flew quickly at the proctor and held out a clawed hand, slashing through the man in sunglasses. He dropped to a knee as the holograms faded.

Victoria wanted to stay and watch what happened next, but soon she heard her name called, and she proceeded to a dueling field on the far right end of the room. She frowned a little when she saw the unassuming little old man waiting there for her, dressed in a suit and glasses with a balding head. He smiled when she stepped toward him, and she saw the twinkle of mischief in his eyes. "You must be Victoria Bolton," said the man, "my name is Shimada Toru, and I will be your proctor today."

She bowed respectfully, recognising the man's accent. "Hai, Toru-san. Let us make this a good duel," she said, her spirits soaring as she powered on her Duel Disk.

Toru grinned at her. "Agreed. This will be fun," he said, powering on his own; it looked strange. It seemed to be built into a briefcase, but it was lumpy and oddly coloured.

Victoria: 4000 LP / Toru: 4000 LP

"I shall start this out!" said Toru as they drew their hands. He drew a sixth card. "I will summon my 'Koa'ki Meiru Bergzak' in Attack Mode." A tall humanoid dressed in black and purple armour with a visored helmet wielding two swords appeared from a portal. (Koa'ki Meiru Bergzak: EARTH, Level 4, Warrior-type. 2000 ATK/200 DEF)

"Koa'ki Meiru? I've never heard of those," said Victoria softly, examining the creature. She then continued in her thoughts, 'However, a strong monster like that will surely have a weakness.'

"After that, I will end my turn," said Toru. 'Bergzak' began to glow, and a faint sound like the shattering of glass could be heard. "Now 'Bergzak's' effect activates; I must either send one 'Iron Core of the Koa'ki Meiru' from my hand to the Graveyard, or reveal one Warrior-type monster in my hand. I choose to reveal," said Toru, picking a card from his hand, "'Breaker the Magical Warrior!'"

"Hold up there, chief," said Victoria, "that's a Spellcaster." The British teen frowned. Surely this had to be some sort of test; there was no way an official proctor would make a mistake like that.

"Good, it seems you know basic typing," said Toru, "and thus I will actually reveal my 'Command Knight' in order to keep 'Bergzak' on the field." The creature stopped glowing.

"Draw," declared Victoria with a flourish. "I activate 'Valhalla, Hall of the Fallen' and 'Court of Justice!' I'll start out by activating the effect of 'Valhalla,' which allows me to Special Summon one Fairy-type monster from my Hand, and I choose 'Tethys, Goddess of Light,' which I will soon-after Normal Summon my 'Freya, Spirit of Victory!'"

Beside Victoria, two portals opened and from the first one, a regal-looking angel dressed in a long white gown and a golden breastplate appeared, whilst from the other a black and blue dress-wearing girl with pom poms appeared, jumping and cheering. (Tethys, Goddess of Light: LIGHT, Level 5, Fairy-type. 2400 ATK/1800 DEF. Freya: LIGHT, Level 1, Fairy-type. 100 ATK/100 DEF.) "Now, with 'Court of Justice,' if I have a Level 1 Fairy on my field, I can Special Summon another Fairy from my hand, and I just so happen to have one: I Special Summon 'The Splendid Venus!'"

Between the two monsters, another, larger portal opened up and a large fairy dressed in a golden gown carrying a large scepter arose, and a bright light pulsated from the scepter. (The Splendid Venus: LIGHT, Level 8, Fairy-type. 2800 ATK/2400 DEF)

"And now, because of the effect of 'Freya' and 'Venus' together, not only do all of my Fairies gain 400 ATK," said Victoria with triumph, "but all non-Fairies lose 500 ATK!"

(Tethys: 2400 ATK + 400 = 2800 ATK. Freya: 100 ATK + 400 = 500 ATK. Venus: 2800 ATK + 400 = 3200 ATK. Bergzak: 2000 ATK - 500 = 1500 ATK.)

"That means..." Toru said, eyes widening in realisation. He had to smile; the girl had outplayed him in but one turn.

"Yes. As soon as I defeat Bergzak, you have lost," said Victoria. "A pity. I was hoping you would do some damage to me. Fairies, attack!"

'Venus' twirled her scepter around and smashed it straight onto 'Bergzak' and caused it to dissipate into pixels, whilst 'Freya' threw her pom-poms and struck Toru with them; lastly, Tethys flew forward as fast as her wings could carry and drove a fist cloaked in light into Toru's stomach.

Victoria: 4000 LP / Toru: -1500 LP

The students in the stands were in awe. An applicant had defeated the proctor not only on her first turn, but also without taking a scratch of damage. This was a feat that few, if any people, teacher or applicant, had seen. Stunned silence prevailed over the majority of students, although a few admittedly cheered at such a swift and overwhelming victory.

Victoria sighed to herself. 'Disappointment. Certainly not the first, nor last time I've felt that,' she thought, 'though perhaps I'll be able to find someone to give me a run for my money at the school.'

After a moment of standing open-mouthed, Toru finally shook his head and returned to the world, then he beckoned her forward and presented her with an Obelisk Blue jacket, which she took apathetically and returned to her seat.


()()—()()HIDE()()—()()

Nakamura Hideyoshi was shaking when his name was called to duel. He'd never dueled anyone with any real skill before, admittedly he'd only dueled his little brother; he hadn't any plans to even apply for Duel Academy, at least not until his father had told him to do so.

Hide's father was Nakamura Kenji, a high-up in Industrial Illusions, the company which manufactured Duel Monsters, and thus Kenji took it upon himself to send in his own son to be an example of the company's immersion in the dueling community.

Of course, Kenji had spent so little time with Hide growing up that he failed to realise that his son was totally inept as a duelist, being able to pull off only basic combos and deal minimal damage. But Kenji had an ace in the hole; he commissioned the creation of a brand new type of monster: the Pendulum monsters. Kenji spent days drilling Hide on how to use them until he thought that his son was ready.

So here Hide was, nervous as all hell as he stepped up to meet his proctor. He'd done decent on the written exam, at least he thought so, but he lacked confidence in his dueling skills.

Hide was very tall for a fifteen-year-old, nearly 6' 3" and thin like a young tree. His hair was short and black, and his skin was like any other native of Japan's. In his green eyes one could plainly see fear. He stepped out to meet his proctor, a short man with a mean look in his eyes. "Nakamura Hideyoshi, my name is Fujimoto Takeo and I will be your proctor. I personally do not feel in the mood for small talk, so let's begin this right away," said Takeo curtly, powering up his Duel Disk. Hide fumbled around for a moment before powering his own up. "I'll start out by summoning my 'Dark Blade' in Attack Mode!"

A knight clad in pure black armour with a curved steel sword appeared, a pair of red eyes visible inside his shadowed dark helm. (Dark Blade: DARK, Level 4, Warrior-type. 1800 ATK/1500 DEF) "I'll place a card face-down and end it there. Your move, kid," said Takeo gruffly.

"D-draw," said Hide in a trembling voice.

"Get some confidence kid! You'll never beat me if you sound like a mouse," growled Takeo.

"I'll activate my 'Sorcerous Spell Wall,'" Hide said, placing the card in the Field Spell zone; their part of the arena was surrounded in a circle of golden light as runes appeared on the floor. "When 'Sorcerous Spell Wall' is in effect, during my turn all my monsters gain 300 ATK, and in your turn they gain 300 DEF," he explained; "next I will activate 'Supply Squad' which will allow me to draw a card whenever one of my monsters is destroyed in battle." Hide looked at his hand for a moment before finally deciding, "I-I will place a monster face-down and end my turn."

"Hmph," Takeo grunted as he drew a card. "I summon 'Superconductor Warrior' in Attack Mode," he said, placing the card on his Duel Disk.

A large warrior in shimmering armour holding a staff with a magnet on the end appeared from a portal. (Superconductor Warrior: EARTH, Level 5, Warrior-type. 2100 ATK/2000 DEF) "When I have a Warrior on my field, I can Special Summon 'Superconductor Warrior' from my hand. Thanks to his effect, once per turn I can use his magnetic staff to flip one monster on the field face-up, and I'll choose your face-down!"

A small smirk crept across Hide's face as his monster appeared. It was a short old man with a grey beard wearing dark green robes wearing a turtle shell for a helmet. (Green Turtle Summoner: WATER, Level 3, Spellcaster-type. 400 ATK/1500 DEF) "Bad luck for you," said Hide, "when 'Green Turtle Summoner' is flipped face-up, I can destroy one monster on your field, and I choose 'Superconductor.'" The old man took off his helmet and threw it like a frisbee at the large knight, cutting through it like butter. "And because of 'Sorcerous Spell Wall,' he gains 300 DEF." (GTS: 1500 DEF + 300 = 1800 DEF)

"Seems as if 'Dark Blade' can't destroy it," said Takeo stiffly, "so you're safe, for now. I'll summon 'Junk Blader' in Attack Mode and end it there." Beside 'Dark Blade,' a portal opened up and brought forth a purple-armoured knight with a patched cloak. (Junk Blader: EARTH, Level 4, Warrior-type. 1800 ATK/1000 DEF)

Hide drew from his deck and in his mind ran through his options. "Yeah, this is nice," he muttered to himself. "I think I'll tribute 'Turtle Summoner' to summon my 'Ventdra, the Empowered Warrior,'" he said, his voice level. 'Green Turtle Summoner' shattered into several pieces that reformed in the appearance of a blue-armoured knight with golden shoulderpads and wings, with a blue tail protruding from its head. (Ventdra, the Empowered Warrior: WIND, Level 5, Warrior-type. 2000 ATK/800 DEF) "Because of 'Spell Wall' he gains 300 ATK, and he can also attack directly!"

Takeo frowned a little and muttered to himself. 'Ventdra' flapped its golden wings and flew forward, swinging its tail which caused a large wind gust to cut through the air at the proctor.

Hide: 4000 LP / Takeo: 1700 LP

"Not bad, kid," said Takeo, "but I'll activate my trap card, 'Damage Equalizer!' Whenever I take damage, you take the same amount of damage!"

Hide: 1700 LP / Takeo : 1700 LP

Hide frowned. "That's all I have for now."

Takeo drew a card and chuckled darkly. "Alright kid, I've let this go on long enough. I hadn't expected you to be able to damage me, but no matter." He placed a card in the Spell and Trap zone. "I activate 'Polymerization,' and fuse 'Dark Blade' and 'Pitch-Dark Dragon.'" 'Dark Blade' was swept up into a swirling, multicoloured vortex along with a card from Takeo's hand, which was revealed to be a large black dragon as it flew into the abyss. A bright light flashed as the vortex disappeared, and down descended 'Dark Blade the Dragon Knight,' which was literally just 'Dark Blade' atop 'Pitch-Dark Dragon.' (Dark Blade the Dragon Knight: DARK, Level 6, Warrior-type. 2200 ATK/1500 DEF) "And along with it, I'm activating 'Axe of Despair!' I equip it to 'Dark Blade' and he gains 1000 ATK!" The knight's sword was replaced with a wicked-looking axe. (Dark Blade: 2200 ATK + 1000 = 3200 ATK)

The dragon flapped its wings and sat back on its haunches, waiting for its master's command. "'Dark Blade,' attack 'Ventdra!'" The dragon lurched forward at a high speed and the knight swung its axe swiftly, cutting through the 'Empowered Warrior.'

Hide frowned. "Damn... I don't even have any Normal Monsters to activate his effect..." he said softly. "But because of 'Supply Squad' I can draw a card."

"And let's not forget the Life Point damage," Takeo smirked. "After that, my turn's over."

Hide: 1500 LP / Takeo: 1700 LP

Hide drew a card and thought for a moment. 'Not now...' he decided. "I'll set a monster face-down and another card face-down and end my turn."

"Hmm, giving up already kid? Shame, all those fancy monsters in your deck, I was expecting great things," said Takeo, and noting the surprised look on Hide's face, he chuckled. "Yeah, I know about them. Mr. Kaiba himself asked for me to go up against them, see if they're really all that Pegasus has been hyping about." He drew a card. "I'll activate 'Fairy Meteor Crush' and add it onto 'Dark Blade.' Now he inflicts piercing damage, should your monster's DEF be lower than his ATK. And so, 'Dark Blade,' attack!"

The dragon went into motion once more, the knight holding his axe aloft. A split second later, Hide called out loudly, "Not quite! I activate 'Shadow Spell!' Now 'Dark Blade cannot attack or change position, and he loses 700 ATK!" Dark chains shot out and wrapped around both knight and mount, immobilising them where they were. Both struggled against the chains but could not break them.

Takeo grinned slightly. "Maybe you're not as bad as I thought, kid. I place one face-down and end my turn."

Hide frowned slightly. 'It's now or never. 'Shadow Spell' can only last for so long... he's bound to have something that can counter it, it's only a matter of time,' he thought, taking a deep breath and steeling himself. "I activate my Spell, 'Pot of Greed!' It allows me to draw two cards," he did so, "and next I activate my Pendulum Monsters: 'Timegazer Magician' and 'Stargazer Magician!'"

Takeo grinned wider. "I was hoping I'd get to see them," he said.

A black cloaked wizard with a black hood and a golden device almost like a Duel Disk appeared alongside a wizard cloaked in varying shades of blue holding a staff, and both took their places alongside Hide. (Timegazer Magician: DARK, Level 3, Spellcaster-type. 1200 ATK/600 DEF. Stargazer Magician: DARK, Level 5, Spellcaster-type. 1200 ATK/2400 DEF.) "Now I'll use this revolutionary new Pendulum Summon!" he yelled, his confidence rising. "I can Special Summon as many monsters as possible from my hand between Levels 1 and 8; and since I have no monsters, seeing as Pendulum Monsters have their own zone, I can summon up to five monsters!"

A large portal opened up before Hide. Four bright forms appeared out of it: one a light blue dragon with a golden underbelly and a sparking tail, another a large golden dragon, the next a dragon made of pure sapphire, and the last a muscular man in grey armour with a hulking sword near as large as himself.

(Wattail Dragon: LIGHT, Level 6, Dragon-type. 2500 ATK/1000 DEF. Aether, the Empowering Dragon: LIGHT, Level 6, Dragon-type. 2300 ATK/1600 DEF. Luster Dragon: WIND, Level 4, Dragon-type. 1900 ATK/1600 DEF. Warrior Dai Grepher: EARTH, Level 4, Warrior-type. 1700 ATK/1600 DEF.)

"And because of 'Sorcerous Spell Wall...'"

"I know, I know," said Takeo, "get on with it."

(Wattail: 2500 ATK + 300 = 2800 ATK. Aether: 2300 ATK + 300 = 2600 ATK. Luster: 1900 ATK + 300 = 2200 ATK. Grepher: 1700 ATK + 300 = 2000 ATK.)

"Now, all of them will attack you at once!" said Hide triumphantly, grinning. The monsters all prepared their own attacks, and a cloud of smoke was kicked up.

Hide: 0 LP / Takeo: 1700 LP

"What...?!" said Hide in shock. "How...?" When the smoke cleared, he saw a set of rune-engraved cylinders. "...That must have been the card you set."

"Yes, it was," said Takeo as the holograms faded. He strolled over to Hide and extended his hand. "That was a great duel, Hideyoshi. If I hadn't had 'Magic Cylinder' set, you would've overpowered me quite easily. It was merely chance that I drew it when I did. Do you realise just how much damage you would have done? 5400 Life Points, kid. If I hadn't had 'Dark Blade' it would have been nearly 8000." he smiled, and Hide returned it and shook his hand. "Now, technically, since you lost you shouldn't be admitted. But I think that Mr. Kaiba will forgive me this once; it's obvious that you are still learning the ropes of the deck and the summoning mechanic, but I can tell that once you master it you will be an incredible duelist. So as such, I shall admit you, but as a Slifer Red." He handed Hide a red jacket. "Congratulations."

"Thank you," said Hide, pride welling up in his chest as he slipped the blazer on. It fit perfectly, and Hide had a spring in his step the whole time as he walked back up to his seat.


()()—()()WILL()()—()()

Will sat back in the bleachers with Adam, the both of them grinning. He and his new friend had both won their duels, Adam taking out the proctor within the first few turns thanks to his 'Blaze Fenix' monster, which caused immense amounts of burn damage.

Adam had done well enough to earn his spot in Ra Yellow, having aced the written exam and then destroying his proctor quickly.

Will, however, was not quite as lucky. His dueling skills were first-rate, however he missed one too many answers on the written exam (literally only one too many, he was just under the line) for Ra Yellow, so he had to be placed in Slifer Red.

Despite this, the two weren't going to let their new friendship fall apart because they were in separate dorms; they were still first-years, and as such would have many of the same classes together. "How do you like those Pendulum monsters?" he asked Adam, admittedly surprised at the sheer power that could be put behind the new mechanic.

"Trouble," said Adam with a slight grin. "If you're up against them, unless you've got a lucky card like the proctor, you're basically fucked." He thought for a moment. "I do wonder though, would 'Bottomless Trap Hole' take them all out? Or would we need something like 'Mirror Force?'"

"That's a good question," said Will, his eyes wandering. Looking down the rows of bleachers he saw a girl with silvery blonde hair sitting alone. She had an Obelisk Blue jacket on. "Who's that...?" he believed that he said it mentally, but he realised upon Adam's response that he said it aloud.

"Some British girl, Victoria something," Adam said. "Her duel took place while you were in the bathroom. She owned the proctor in her first turn."

"Damn," Will replied.

The exams ended at precisely 3 in the afternoon on a high note when everyone watched a duelist who had arrived late to the exams and whipped the hell out of a teacher. Adam and Will parted but met up later and had ramen. Victoria returned to her hotel and ordered room service and watched "Gladiator."

And Hide, well... Hide slept.


The next day the applicants who had passed headed to the Kaibacorp building once more, and from there they boarded a plane and flew to the Academy. Adam and Will found each other quickly and sat beside each other on the plane ride, talking about home and passing jokes back and forth with a bag of Doritos. Victoria sat on a window seat near the back of the plane, listening to music on her iPhone. And Hide slept some more.

Then finally... finally they touched down. Adam saw it coming from the window seat, and knots of excitement were building in his stomach as he saw the pearly white dome of the main Academy building peaking out of the lush forest. On the coast of the island was a lighthouse and a small dorm that looked more like a cheap motel with a red roof, and on the southern coast he could see a nice-sized dorm that looked, to him at least, like a lodge, with yellow walls. Beside it was a large dorm that was like a palace, with spires and battlements and towers. On the northern edge of the island was a volcano.

"Holy shit," said Adam, "this place looks awesome."

Looking over the Vermont boy's shoulder, Will stared out breathlessly. "How right you are, my brother in maple syrupry," he said.

As the plane touched down on a landing strip by the coast, the students picked up their luggage and headed to the centre building. Adam and Will walked together, with Hide coming up behind them and joining in the conversation. Victoria still walked alone, and Will noticed that.

He tried to approach her, once, but he got real nervous as soon as her eyes turned toward him. Blue eyes met grey, and Will shrunk back, for all his love of Gladiators he simply could not muster any courage. He fell back to where Adam and Hide were, and was faced with teasing on the side of Adam; soon as they went into the building and into the grand auditorium, Will, Adam and Hide were joined by the boy who slammed the teacher in the exams, whose name they found out to be Jaden Yuki, and a short boy with light blue hair and glasses who had taken to following the teacher-schooler around, by the name of Syrus Truesdale.

In the auditorium, everyone was packed tightly; there seemed to have been a lot of students, not just new students but returning ones as well. The amount of people packed into the room made the temperature soar significantly, and many were pressed up against each other.

Including Will and Victoria. Located to the outside of his group, Will was in between Adam and Victoria, trying to push toward Adam but unable to budge him, and tried to give the Obelisk girl more room. His face was red as he tried to keep his eyes set on Chancellor Sheppard, a balding man with a kind face and warm smile.

The Chancellor told the students that due to an increased number of students accepted into the Academy this year, several students would have to take roommates. A few of the older students groaned but the younger ones seemed indifferent. "You will each be given a slip with the name of your roommate on them," explained Sheppard, "and... that's really it. Classes start tomorrow, get lots of sleep, and have fun!"

Several students face-faulted at the utter casualness that the Chancellor said that with. The students all departed and went to their respective dorms. Adam found it a lonely walk to the Ra Yellow dorm without Will, but found an enjoyable friend in the very smart Bastion Misawa. Victoria made brief conversation on the way to the Obelisk Blue Girls' Dorm with another Obelisk girl, Alexis Rhodes and her friends Jasmine and Mindy. It was better than nothing, she decided; she knew she would just have to duel Alexis later, if Jasmine and Mindy's praises were anything.

Will, Hide, Jaden and Syrus had an enjoyable trip to the Slifer Red dorm, where it turned out that Hide and Will were to room together; "I CALL TOP BUNK!" Will yelled immediately as he climbed like a monkey to the top.

At night a peace settled over the island as the students all got used to their new residence. Several of the students dueled that night, but one thing was for sure: never had the island seen an eating contest quite like the one that took place between Jaden and Will. When Professor Banner brought out the rice, the two dug in hungrily and ate, together, over 30 bowls. One thing is for sure:

Jaden and Will slept excellent that night.


And there you have it everyone, my new GX story with multiple character inserts. Hopefully this was entertaining for you all, and as an introductory character for several characters I hope you all got a good feel for who the characters are. Obviously there were some exaggerated parts (ahem, the 30 bowls of rice that Jaden and Will ate together) and some lame jokes (the Monty Python reference during Will's duel). Now we didn't really get to see too much dueling from Will or Adam, and as for Victoria it simply needed to be made clear that she's a very powerful duelist. Hide lacks confidence in himself, but once he started to gain some he overlooked risks and made an immense mistake that costed him the duel.

Now there are some parts I left out, like Jaden's duel against Crowler, for the obvious reason that we've seen it all before and there's really nothing that could be done new without adding in a completely new character. Anyways I don't really have too much energy to write much else so we'll call that the end. See you in the next update.

As always, take care, brush yo' hair, and I'll see ya when I see ya... ~PEACE~

~Chase