Just like to get the rules straight for my fic:
Life points start at 4000.
Ritual and Fusion monsters can attack on the turn they're summoned.
The rest of the normal rules apply. And to finish up the intro, I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! be it characters, story twists locations etc. but I do own new cards and characters etc.
It was a cold morning on the day of the Duel Academy entrance exams. On this once a year event many potential applicants walked down their streets, eagerly discussing strategies and hoping beyond hope that they would be accepted. This year however was different, as would be students groaned at the sight of heavy rain outside their doorsteps. Instead of talking about strategies kids now had to run with their hands over their heads, grumbling all the while. Arlene was one of the many who hoped to make it into Duel Academy, and she was one of the many who groaned at the sight of the heavy downpour. She had been woken up at 5 in the morning by the sound of rain lashing against her window, and had tried desperately since then - with no success - to go back to sleep. At 7 in the morning she was thwarted once again by the sound of her alarm clock steadily growing louder in an attempt to get her out of bed. She grumbled and groped around for the off switch on her alarm clock, eventually having to get up and crack open her turquoise eyes to see her alarm clock. Arlene made some grumbling noises as she slid her feet across her room, sometimes pushing away some clothes that were lying scattered on the floor until she reached the bathroom. She squinted at her reflection in the mirror to find her thick black hair flying all over the place. Resting her ghostly white skin against the window Arlene attempted to go back to sleep, but when she realised this was futile took off her pyjamas and stepped into the cold shower.
Arlene looked as though she would fall over and sleep for a few days as she made her way down the stairs. Her eyes seemed a little more focused when she entered the kitchen, as though she was aware of the prescence of food. Her eyes flicked around the kitchen and found her dad with his face pressed against the microwave, silently willing the food inside to heat up just that little bit faster. This was a daily ritual, so Arlene said nothing about it, simply walking to the cupboards to find some food. Her dad pulled himself away from the microwave to speak to Arlene.
"Good morning, Arlene!" She grunted in response and poured some cereal into a clean bowl. Her dad looked at her intently, thinking that Arlene would say something more than a grunt. When she didn't he gave a dramatic sigh and returned his attention to the microwave, wondering to himself how time could go so slowly. When Arlene had finished preparing her breakfast it was as though she had undergone a dramatic change. Her eyes now looked very alert, and she eyed the cereal she had prepared. Picking up her spoon, Arlene went on to devour her breakfast without spilling a drop. If there was one thing that could wake Arlene up, it was food. Her dad noticed Arlene's attentiveness and attempted to make conversation once again.
"It's a day today, eh?" Arlene gave another grunt, this time because she was thinking about something else rather than being tired. "Be ready in 10." Arlene finally seemed to recognise that her dad was speaking to her, and turned her head towards him.
"You're taking me? How come?" Her dad smiled and inclined his head to the window where there were loud thuds as the rain connected with the window. "Oh. Right." Arlene trudged up the stairs to get herself ready.
I can't believe I'm actually going through with this... Arlene gazed up at the ceiling.
"Hey! Keep moving!" Arlene scowled as someone behind her gave her an unfriendly shove. She turned and glared at the person, who glared back. Finally the boy who had shoved her mumbled an apology and Arlene focused on what was in front of her, rather than above. She had been queueing for a good hour and was growing tired of people yelling about how they were the greatest and how they would be the best by the time they graduated. I'll bet most of them lose because their heads are too swollen. Arlene shuffled forward and was surprised to find that she was at the front of the queue.
"Finally," she muttered under her breath. Ahead of her was a very official looking desk with the Duel Academy Logo imprinted on it with a computer on the left. Sitting behind the desk was an official looking woman, dressed in a smart suit and with her hair tied back in a bun.
"Name." The woman sounded as though she wasn't having much fun.
"Arlene Ramirez." The woman scribbled down the name and checked the computer.
"Okay, you're clear. Kenny!" A security guard approached and pointed Arlene in the direction of a Duel Arena. Once there Arlene found a woman dressed entirely in blue with an odd Duel Disk.
"Arlene Ramirez?" The examiner asked in a crisp voice. Arlene nodded. "This duel will determine whether or not you will enter our prestigious school!" She seemed to stand up taller as she said this. "May the best Duelist win!"
Damn dramatics... Arlene thought as she picked up her five cards.
Examiner: 4000
Arlene: 4000
My first proper duel, and what a setting. Are all duels at the Academy going to be blown out of proportion? Arlene sighed to herself. The examiner didn't notice this, instead beginning her turn.
"Alright then! I'll start by summoning Silent Magician Lv. 4 (1000/1000) in attack mode on the field!" The examiner slapped the card on her duel disk, creating a hologram of a small magician dressed mostly in white and blue, clutching a staff nervously. "I'll then set two cards face down and that will be all for my turn." Arlene drew a card, causing Silent Magician's attack to go up (1000/1000 - 1500/1000).
Great. Thrown right in at the deep end.
"I forgot to mention, my Silent Magician gets an extra 500 attack points every time you draw a card." Arlene said nothing and looked at her cards.
"Okay, I'll summon Balance Warrior Kirud (1500/1500) to the field in attack mode." A humble warrior dressed in ragged clothes appeared on the field.
Balance Warriors? The examiner thought to herself. That girl better know how to use them, otherwise this duel's done!
I don't have a clue how to use these cards, but they're better than that OTHER deck... Arlene shuddered at the memory and continued her turn.
"I'm equipping my monster with Shadow Cannon! This card can only be equipped to a monster with Balance in its name, and increases said monster's attack by 700 (1500/1500 - 2200/1500)!" Kirud now had a cannon in his hand, but once it was equipped, a shadowy aura started swirling slowly around it. "Huh. Wonder what that is." Arlene thought aloud, looking perplexed by the unexpected behaviour of her card. The examiner's eyes widened with surprise.
She doesn't know! This duel is going to be a wake up call...
"Oh well," Arlene shrugged off her confusion. "Attack Silent Magician!" Kirud shot a bolt of dark energy at the examiner's monster.
"And I activate my face down, right on time!" Suddenly Kirud was bound by a magic circle. "More specifically," the examiner continued, "my trap card Spellbinding Circle! Sorry, but your Balance Warrior can no longer attack or change its battle position." Arlene didn't seem too fazed. The examiner was started to get irritated by Arlene's lack of interest.
"Young lady, are you sure that you WANT to enter Duel Academy?"
"Sure. Why not." The examiner looked like she might explode. "My turn's done, you can explode now if you want." The examiner turned red as she drew.
"I'll set a monster in defence mode and place one more card face down before ending my turn! You had better pay more attention to your moves if you want any hope of entering this school!" Arlene gave a deep sigh.
Much as I hate to admit it, she's right. I do want to go to this school. Just not as much as everyone else. Arlene watched as Silent Magician became more powerful (1500/1000 - 2000/1000).
"I play the magic card Explosive Star, allowing me to destroy any one of your spell or trap cards, so I choose Spellbinding Circle!" A shooting star descended from the sky and smashed into the Trap card, promptly destroying it. As the magical field faded from Kirud, the black aura vanished. "Well that's weird," Arlene muttered. "But anyway! I now..."
"I hate to burst your bubble yet again," the examiner interrupted, "But I activate Waboku! This reduces any battle damage inflicted to me 0 and also prevents my monsters from being destroyed in battle, so I wouldn't try attacking." Arlene growled and set a card on the field before ending her turn.
"Well, now that you've finally decided to become serious, I shall do so as well!" The examiner announced. "I sacrifice My Silent Magician and my face down monster to summon the Abyss Magician (2500/0300)!" Arlene looked on as a bottomless hole appeared on the field, out of which emerged a magician unlike any the examiner had played so far. It had hollowed out eyes and no mouth. Its clothes were frayed in several places and its hands and feet were clawlike. "Attack and destroy that Balance Warrior!" The magician shot a bolt of energy straight at Arlene's monster. Arlene was blown back slightly by the force of the attack.
Examiner: 4000
Arlene: 3700
Arlene picked herself up and grinned.
Now YOU see how it feels! She thought to herself before speaking. "You just activated my trap!" She declared. "It's called Atomic Reaction, and I can only activate it when you destroy one or more of my cards. Until the end of this turn, you take 500 points of damage for each card you destroyed this turn, and you destroyed two!" There were two large explosions on the field as the examiner's life points went down.
Examiner: 3000
Arlene: 3700
"Not bad," the examiner noted. "However, I was not finished. I now reveal my face down card Call of the Haunted, allowing me to bring back Silent Magician for a direct attack!" Arlene braced herself as the new monster struck at her directly.
Examiner: 3000
Arlene: 2700
"I'll end my turn with a face down." Arlene picked up her card.
I think I'm starting to get the hang of this. I must admit, I'm starting to enjoy the over the top turns.
"I use the spell card Graveyard's Vitality Root, which increases my life points by 800 for every monster with "Balance" in its name in my graveyard!"
Examiner: 3000
Arlene: 3500
"Now I'll play Brain Control! At the cost of 800 life points, I get to take control of one of your face up monsters until the end of the turn, and I choose your Abyss Magician!"
Examiner: 3000
Arlene: 2700
"And then I'll summon my Balance Warrior Hyan (1800/1200) in attack mode!" As the Balance Warrior was summoned, a shadowy aura emerged from Abyss Magician and started floating around Hyan. "Okay, what's with the auras?" The examiner looked on in horror.
"Are you joking? You run a Balance Warrior deck and you don't even know about Dark Auras?" From the expression on Arlene's face, it was clear she hadn't. "You'll have to figure that one out on your own. But I will tell you if you were wondering, Hyan's effect means that when it's summoned, it gains a Dark Aura for every dark monster on your side of the field, and a Light Aura for every Light Monster. Now make your move!"
"Yeah, alright. Abyss Magician, attack Silent Magician!" Abyss Magician began charging up a shot.
Please don't activate a trap, ppllleeeaase don't activate a trap...
"I activate my trap!"
DAMMIT!
"It's called Magic Cylinder." The examiner explained. "In a nutshell, Abyss Magician's attack is negated, and you take damage equal to his attack."
"WHAT?" Abyss Magician's attack shot into a large purple cylinder, before being blasted out of the other one, scoring a direct hit on Arlene!
Examiner: 3000
Arlene: 0200
"Well I'll attack your Magician with Hyan then!" Hyan raced forward and sliced at the Magician, sending it to the graveyard.
Examiner: 2200
Arlene: 0200
"Well, you certainly are an unusual applicant. I don't think I've ever faced a potential student who didn't seem to want to enter the academy, and that showed in your dueling skills. Had you known what your monsters did, I do believe you could have won. However, thanks to your incompetence, I shall now win." The examiner picked up a card. "I..."
"I reveal my face down, Ring of Destruction! I can destroy one monster on the field, then we both take damage equal to that monster's attack, so I choose Abyss Magician!" A ring latched on to the Abyss Magician and then exploded, bringing the duel to a close.
Examiner: 0000
Arlene: 0000
"Hmm, a draw," The examiner noted with disdain. "In this case, your entry is now determined by what rank you got in the theory exam. If it's high enough, you'll be accepted into Duel Academy. Though if you are, you really need to study up on your Balance Warriors." Arlene said nothing as she thought about what had transpired. She looked round to see how everyone else was doing, but to her annoyance, they were all staring at her, jeering and looking superior.
Think they know so much! I think that was pretty good for my first real duel! The examiner walked up to Arlene, clearly not happy with the news she was about to tell Arlene.
"Congratulations. Welcome to Duel Academy."
At the bottom of each chapter I'll put up more details about original cards for this fic. However, the following cards will NOT be explained in this chapter: Balance Warrior Kirud, Shadow Cannon, Abyss Magician and Balance Warrior Hyan. The reasons being explaining the Balance Warriors at this point as well as their support cards would confuse too much and Abyss Magician will crop up in a later chapter where his effect will be revealed. The other original cards are fine, so...
Explosive Star
Normal Magic
Image: A close up of a shooting star with several TNT boxes strapped onto it.
Effect: Destroy one magic or trap card on the field.
Atomic Reaction
Normal Trap
Image: A man holding a cylinder with a hazard sign on it as he is engulfed by a green light.
Effect: You may activate this card when a card on your side of the field is sent to the graveyard. Until the end phase of this turn, inflict 500 points of damage to your opponent whenever a card is sent from your field to the graveyard. (The cards that activated this card also receive this effect).
Graveyard's Vitality Root
Normal Magic
Image: A grave with a small sapling growing near the tombstone.
Effect: Increase your life points by 800 for each monster with "Balance Warrior" in its name in your graveyard.