Lux-Nero: After a year of working and soul searching, I have returned, and I have returned to my older roots: Back to when I was Roleplaying on an old site where I met a lot of people I'm still friends with today.

Unfortunately, there's barely even a record of these good times I used to have save for a wiki that hasn't been touched in years.

So, I thought to myself, 'You know what? There was an awesome story here!', and now I wanna share that story with you – Admittedly, I wasn't the one who was coming up with events and such, but I've got a decent track record with stories, so let's see how this works!

But before we begin, I have to things to note:

In early 2010, I lost a real good friend who I met in those RPGs on those forums. He was a good person with a real talent in creativity. In memory of him, I will use his character to the best of my ability – Danny Lilithborne/JuJube, this is for you man! I hope you're in a better place

Another character who will be a prominent figure in this is actually a creation of another author, and a guy who has act as a Beta for some of my other stories. Scarlet Weather, if you're reading this, and I know you are, thanks for letting me use this hot blooded duelist, and I hope I write him with justice.

Naturally, when one makes progressive steps, there may be some who see it as a betrayal of their goals and interests.

-) Louis Farrakhan

Duel Monsters – A game that has evolved over the many years it was created. From the days of simple summoning to the days of Synchro Summoning and then Xyz Summoning: The game has turned from a simple past time, to a way of life, to a way to provide a new form of energy to the world, or as many have tried to do so in the past – Use the game to, you guessed it, take over the world.

Of course.

As the game evolved, so did the world.

Duel Academia was once considered a joke, nothing more than a ploy by the Kaiba Corporation to generate more money for them. However, as proven by the case of one Yuki Juudai – The world needs strong duelists. Not just for entertainment value, but also to face off against beings such as Darkness, the Earthbound Immortals and even more maniacs who found a way to take over the world.

Yuki Juudai… A young man who many decades ago brought honor and respect to the once disregarded Osiris Red dormitory. Those who wore red back then were considered nothing more than trash, but are now a symbol of determination to rise above and beyond those in the other dorms. Osiris Red is the burning blood of the academy, the home of those who have untapped talent.

Ra Yellow – The middle ground. Those who are recognized for a wealth of knowledge of Duel Monsters, both on and off the field. Thought Osiris Red isn't the bottom of the barrel by the vast majority, there still is animosity towards those in red. Only now it is the Ra Yellow, rather than the Obelisk elitists. Some of the Ra Yellow believe that they're rank as second best dorm is on the verge of being passed over to the Osiris. Because of this animosity, there is a constant bickering between the two dorms.

Obelisk Blue – The kings of the Academy, held in the highest honor. Since previous Chancellor Samejima stepped down from his position, his replacement made sure that parents with deep pockets could no longer pay their children's way into the prestigious dorm. A spot in the Obelisk Blue dorm means that you're the cream of the crop – One ready for the pro league. However, those in blue now have become twice as arrogant, now that everyone in the elite group can actually back themselves up.

There were other changes made to Duel Academia Island, other than the caste system. The female Obelisk Blue dorm was remodeled, breaking down the all-girl roster and dividing them into each of the three existing dorms according to the level of skill and knowledge. More student services and businesses were set up on the island, so that students could enjoy more social activities or even acquire a job to work at. The old forbidden dorm was taken down and destroyed, the new Osiris Red Dorm erected in its place.

Although time changes people, locations and game mechanics, some things never change – The difficulties that many students face remain: Rumors, rivalries, exams and even the occasional evil organization that has world domination in mind.

This is the story of three students who face those challenges – Will they survive? Or will they kill each other before the first bell even rings?

TTT – TTT

Burning Blood Academy Days

A Fanfiction by

Lux-Nero

TTT – TTT

Draw 1

Battle x 2

TTT – TTT

In a rather large, and admittedly empty office, two people stood in front of the large window: One was a rather stoic and thin man dressed in a blue overcoat, his arms crossed behind his back as his sharp eyes looked out the window. "… So, the newest crop is on the way, right?"

The other was a finely dressed younger woman dressed in a red version of the man's uniform, who bowed slightly to allow her long black hair to spill over her shoulders. "Yes Chancellor, they're on the ship as we speak."

The chancellor didn't say a word as he turned his head around slightly and smirked slightly, "Well then, any potential in the group this year?"

"We won't know until they arrive, sir," The attendant replied as she looked at the clipboard. "Although, if you want the perspectives on the dorms, eight percent of the applied applicants managed to get into Obelisk blue, nineteen percent in Ra Yellow, and twenty-four percent of the applicants are in Osiris Red – Unfortunately, forty-nine percent of the applicants weren't accepted this year."

The chancellor narrowed his eyes, "… More applicants who couldn't pass – This is getting worse every year. How many applicants applied this year?"

"Less than last year," the attendant answered harshly.

A sigh escaped from the chancellor's mouth as he turned towards the desk of the room and lifted up a newspaper that was dated a year ago. 'That's no surprise – With Riding Dueling and VR dueling becoming more popular by the day, Duel Academia is starting to fade into the past…

'I guess I'll have to do something about this, perhaps it's time that I take a page out of my predecessor's book.'

"Sir," The attendant called out to the chancellor. "We may need to request some aid from Kaiba Corp, if this continues then we'll…"

The chancellor lifted his hand up slightly to silence the attendant, "Perhaps that's the best, after the first day is over with, I'll make a call to Kaiba Corp with some ideas for approval. For now, you can take the rest of the day off."

The attendant bowed slightly before she walked off.

The moment that the doors to his office closed, the Chancellor sat down in his office chair and looked at the title of the newspaper: "Scandal at Duel Academia…"

He couldn't even stand the sight of the paper, so the chancellor crumpled up the paper and tossed it across the room. 'If it wasn't for my heart, I'd handle this problem myself – If it comes to this, then I'll have no choice but to take matters into my own hands.'

The chancellor reached into the top drawer of his desk and pulled out a deck of cards, 'I took this job so I could be close to the thing I poured so many years into, a game that I loved, a game that I can't play without repercussions – So, at least I can train the next generation.

'And who knows what this year will bring… And maybe these new students will be the shining stars that'll light the way for the future…'

TTT – TTT

There were only two ways to get to Duel Academia Island – By flight or by sea. In order for a number of students to get to the island, a large luxury liner was often used to have the students brought to the island. It wasn't as fast as flying, for sure, but it only took a day for the ship to arrive at the docks of DA.

During the time that the students were on the boat, it would allow the students to converse with each other and socialize. As a rule of thumb, the students were not given their dorm assignments until they reached the island, which allowed friendships to be made between the dorms.

And most locations on the ship were available to the passengers – The café, the dueling arena below deck, the pool, the various rooms on the ship that the students were assigned to…

"I'M GONNA BE KING!"

However, the top of the ship was another matter.

"GET THAT IDIOT DOWN FROM THERE!"

Atop of the cruise ship's control room stood a certain young man, a very short young man with wild red hair that billowed in the salty air, with his tanned skin blended nicely with the crimson/orange sky behind him. His blue school uniform billowed about as he continued to yell, at his wrists were a pair of bands that each had a dice imprint on them, "LOOK OUT DUEL ACADMIA! YOUR KING WILL BE LANDING SOON!"

The fiery youth didn't seem to notice that there was a large amount of the crew that were yelling at him to get down from the top – But he seemed to ignore them as he watched the water in the distance, hoping to see the island in the distance. A large toothy grin (with a slight fang-like shape to one of them) was on his face as he adjusted the sunglasses he had, "I can already tell, this is gonna be worth it!"

While the wild red head was being pulled against his will from the top of the control room, at the same time something different was going on in the entertainment center of the ship – a number of students were in the midst of watching a black and white movie: a certain Romero film that had a number of the viewers shiver in their seats as the undead army on the screen broke into the house in the silver screen…

"Heh! Yeah! Rip his guts out!"

But the white haired youth who sat in the front row couldn't help but grin brightly before he stuffed some popcorn into his mouth. The image on the silver screen reflected off against his large coke-bottle glasses that covered his eyes completely (how he was able to see through them was a mystery). His long, black uniform was extremely baggy on his thin frame and had a few cuts on it.

While most of the other patrons who were watching the movie were either disgusted with the gore or had turned their eyes away from the screen, this young man just seemed to laugh loudly each time a new victim was added onto the list that appeared in the movie.

Odd thing was, this movie wasn't scheduled to play on this trip.

'Nothing like a little breaking and entering to watch a classic,' The teen thought to himself as he reached into the popcorn bucket that he had pilfered from one of the patrons who had turned away from the gore.

… Is there one character on this boat who isn't insane or acts like a criminal?

"Madam, here's your meal."

"Thank you, garcon."

Inside the café portion of the ship, a waiter placed a rather light salad on the table where a young lass was seated at. While the waiter walked away, the young lass lowered the book she was reading to the long blue dress-skirt she wore. As she looked at the salad, she pulled pushed the long, honey blonde hair from the front of her small-rimmed glasses.

The young lass lifted her hands and clasped them together with her eyes closed. After a few moments she unfolded her hands and looked at the small meal before her, "Thank you for this meal…"

As she reached for her utensils…

"DUEL!"

The young lass turned her head to the side and saw that a few tables over, a pair of young men were playing a tabletop duel. The lass sighed under her breath as she pushed up her glasses, "Ad maiorem Dei gloriam…"

She then turned her eyes to gold deck case that she had strapped around her waist. "Sed et si ambulavero in valle mortis, non timebo malum quoniam…"

TTT – TTT

While the students and passengers were enjoying meals, pilfering popcorn or being restrained by the crew, a dark coated figure walked amongst the crates in the cargo hold – a handheld computer in his gloved hands. The man sighed, his voice slightly muffled, as he pressed a few buttons on the device. "Not too many good prospects here… This was almost a waste of time."

The figure fitted the handheld computer into his pocket and pulled out a cell phone. After putting in a few numbers, the figure lifted it up to his ears. "… Yeah, it's me. I got good news and bad news, what do you want first?"

"…"

"Not my fault there's bad news! You knew that after last year, this year's crop wouldn't be like last year's – If you weren't so showy, then we wouldn't be having this issue!"

The figure rolled his eyes behind the yellow lenses of his mask, "You know that things like this take time: Not everyone is gonna be ripe for the picking at this time, we got lucky last year…

"What? Oh, I got about two or three big targets among a bunch of potential – These ones that I'm getting a signal on might be worth our time…

"Wait, don't target one? What do you mean?"

The masked man sighed as he listened in on the phone. "Alright, alright, I got it. So, should I do the usual?"

When he got the answer, the man chuckled to himself. "Good…"

TTT – TTT

"Meh, popcorn isn't filling at all…"

After the movie had ended, the white haired freak of a young man had left the small theater and was making his way to the café on the ship. 'Hope they got something that's half-way decent: Has to better than the food of the last place I was at…'

"And for the last time, you can't do that!"

The white haired youth turned his head to see that the red haired young man being dragged off by a number of the crew. The tanned skinned youth thrashed about, "You can't stifle my spirit! I'll roar to the heavens themselves that I'll be the best around! Soon Duel Academia will know the name Shishio Kaito!"

The white haired youth adjusted his glasses as he watched the group of sailors drag the rambunctious Kaito through the halls past him. 'I knew saner guys back at the last place…'

"SIR! I'M LOSING MY GRIP!"

"HE'S ESCAPING!"

The white haired youth turned around just in time to see Kaito run right into him, the force was enough to make them both fall to the floor in a crumpled mess. "GAGH!"

"Whoops! Sorry man!"

"GET OFF OF ME, YA FREAK!"

"Excuse me, but I'm not the one with white hair."

"No, you're just the idiot who was being restrained by SAILORS!"

The crew watched as all of a sudden the two young passengers got to their feet and began arguing amongst each other. The crew shrugged at the sight and walked off to get back to their work.

Kaito threw his arms behind his head and smirked wildly, "Heh! How interesting!"

The white haired youth tilted his head slightly, "Huh? What the hell are you going on about?"

"Can't you tell?" Kaito questioned as he leaned slightly towards the white haired youth. "You got that fiery spirit – That passion necessary to be a great duelist! I can hear it in your voice!"

"… You're an idiot," the white haired teen scoffed as he shook his head. Not wanting to deal with this red haired idiot, the young man slowly walked past Kaito…

"Now hold on a sec!" Kaito latched onto the white haired teen's shoulder and forced him to face him. "How about a duel?"

"… Excuse me?"

"Yeah! You versus me! The roaring lion of the islands!" Kaito laughed loudly as he pumped his fist towards the white haired delinquent. "Kaito versus… Versus… Uh, who are you again?"

"I never gave my name, you moron," the white haired delinquent growled as he pushed up his glasses. "And frankly, I get the feeling that I'd get nothing but a headache from you if I gave you my name."

"Well, I suppose I could call you punk," Kaito began to list off names with his hands held up in front of him. "Emo, dark, Snowy, Specs…"

"Fine! FINE!" the white haired delinquent snarled back. "Faust, that's what most people call me."

Kaito tilted his head slightly and smiled, "Hmm… Are you sure it isn't emo?"

Faust gritted his teeth, "You're the one who asked for my name! And I gave it to ya! So don't get on my case!"

"Alright, alright," Kaito chuckled as he waved his hands in front of his face defensively. "There's no need to be like that – Save that hot blood ya got for the dueling field! So grab your disk and your cards: Let's have a fight for the ages!"

"Not interested," Faust replied with a cocky grin. "I doubt you'd be worth the trouble for a single draw."

"Well, there's only one way to find out for sure!" Kaito stated as he pointed a finger at Faust's face. "I challenge you to a duel!"

"Do I really need to repeat myself?" Faust sighed, his fingers pushed up his glasses. "Dueling you is a waste of time, and speaking of waists, mine is in need of something halfway decent to eat."

And like that, Faust casually walked away from a rather dumbfounded Kaito, but that dumbfounded feeling melted away at Kaito's wild grin, "Alright! You get something to eat – And then we'll duel!"

If his eyes were visible behind his large glasses, Faust would've rolled them.

As the two young duelists trekked through the halls of the ship, neither of them noticed that from the shadows behind them that a tall, masked figure stepped into the halls and watched them from a distance.

The masked figure lifted his right hand up and snapped his fingers, "Time for some fun…"

From where he stood, the color of the ship began to drain away, leaving everything in a monotone coloring.

TTT – TTT

Faust was annoyed.

Not just because he was hungry, but for the fact that he had a shadow that kept bugging him to get his duel disk out and face him in a match. Even when he reached the café…

"So, after you get something to eat, we'll throw down!"

It was enough to make Faust twitch his brow uncontrollably. And as he placed a hand on the doors to the café, Faust turned back to the red haired teen behind him, "FINE! After I eat, I'll trounce you on the dueling field, happy?!"

Kaito smiled brightly as Faust opened the door to the café. "Excellent!"

Faust sighed loudly before he walked into the café, his gaze slightly lowered. 'Maybe I can ditch this loser after I get something to eat and…'

"Oi, Faust," Kaito stated as he stepped into the café ahead of Faust. "Is this supposed to be this gray and dreary?"

Faust was tempted to speak up or run away from this crazy guy, but then his eyes fell upon the café itself – Everything from the tables, to the rug, to the walls was completely devoid of color, nothing more than black and white. This in and of itself was a little odd and unnerving, but what was worse was that the grayscale seemed to even affect everyone in the room as well: They were practical statues, froze in various poses.

"The hell?" Faust questioned as he stepped further into the café. "Is this some sort of sick joke or something? How is this even possible?"

"Kinda freaky, wouldn't ya say?" Kaito muttered as he tapped his hand against one of the frozen person's shoulders. "Hey, you okay?"

Faust rubbed the back of his head, his white hair slipped through his fingers, 'This reminds me of a B-list horror movie I once saw – And if I recall, those who weren't trapped in this time freeze had to deal with something nasty and…'

The white haired delinquent pushed up his glasses and looked around the café before he barred his teeth, "… Crap…"

"Huh? You say something, emo?" Kaito questioned, having swiped a sandwich from a nearby table.

"Look idiot, I'm getting out of here," Faust replied with a wave of his hand. "And I suggest that you do the same…"

"And where would the two of you go?"

Both Kaito and Faust stopped in their tracks as that voice sounded out through the café.

"If it is like this here, then what about the rest of the ship? What about the world? You can't escape from this ship, it's in the middle of the ocean…"

It was then that a faded form slipped from the floor, and was lifted up into the air with its arms held out. The figure looked to be a very tall man dressed in a large, black trench coat that covered his entire form save for his head, which had spiked, sandy blonde hair with his face hidden behind a large gas mask that had two yellow lenses at his eyes.

And strapped to his left arm was a black duel disk.

The man landed atop of a large table and crossed his arms. "I hope you two have enjoyed your trip on the Pacific, because now, it' about time for you to enjoy a trip on the River Styx."

Faust and Kaito looked at each other, and then at the masked. Kaito shrugged and rolled his eyes, "Man, I can't stand that romanticized stuff… Nice entrance though."

"Yeah, yeah, nice smoke and mirrors trick," Faust growled as his gaze turned towards the gas masked individual. "But frankly, I'm not in the mood for a song and dance today, so how about you get on with your shtick and we can get on with this so I can have a freakin' decent meal?!"

The masked man sighed as he shook his head, "While I am on a time table myself and can appreciate your situation, I myself have a job. For now, you can call me Styx, and I'm going to give you two a simple choice."

Styx lifted up his hand and extended one finger, "Option one, you two can come quietly with me without any fuss."

The second finger lifted up, "Option dos, I knock you both over the head with my duel disk and drag your unconscious forms to where I need to go…"

Styx lowered his hand and lifted his duel disk up, "Or, option san, you can duel me…"

Faust lifted his arms up and then dropped them with a loud, exasperated sigh. "For the love of… A duel!? You can bend space and time to your will, and you use it to challenge us to a duel!?"

"Exactly," Styx answered as he tilted his head and reached into his overcoat. When he pulled his hand out, Styx held up two duel disks that he tossed to the ground at the two duelists' feet. "You may think this as simplistic, but a duel is what I need to do in order to gauge you two, and attached to this duel is a simple wager: You win, congrats, and you get to get off scot free…

"Lose, and you two come with me with no hassle."

Faust looked at the duel disk on his feet and began to reel his foot back when…

"YOU'RE ON!"

Faust's glasses nearly slipped from his face. The white haired duelist looked to see that Kaito already had donned the duel disk and was fitting his deck into the slot. All the while, Kaito had a large smirk on his face, "I've been itching for a duel all day! So, you wanna duel the two of us? How do you wanna do this? Two on one? Or do you want to duel us one after another?"

"Negative, this will be a free for all duel," Styx stated as his duel disk hummed to life. "That means all three of us duel against each other – But if I'm defeated, then that'll be when the duel ends."

"And I'm guessing saying 'no' is a no go," Faust stated as he crouched down and picked up the duel disk. 'It's obvious what his plan is – He's probably running a deck that specializes in fighting against multiple opponents…And we're walking right into it…'

"Indeed," Styx replied as he pumped an arm up into the air. "If you don't wanna duel, then you can leave your fate in the hands of the wild boy here, Mr. Emo."

Behind his glasses, Faust narrowed his eyes. "Like hell I'll leave my fate in this idiot's hands."

"Heh, prepare yourself!" Kaito roared as he activated his duel disk. "I'm gonna blow ya both away!" (KLP: 8000)

'… He's way too excited for this,' Faust thought as he slipped his deck into the duel disk. (FLP: 8000)

"Excellent, now, let the trial begin!" Styx roared as he plucked five cards from the top of his deck. (SLP: 8000)

"DUEL!"

With the duelists all spread out from each other, Styx pulled a sixth card from his deck and held it up, "Allow me the first turn…"

"Not like we got a choice here," Faust stated as he looked at his hand of cards. 'Sides, with what I've got in stored, I can burn him pretty good…'

"I shall start with this!" Styx announced as he slapped a card onto his duel disk. The floor before the gas masked duelist shattered opened to allow a large robotic creature to fly up through the air. The machine itself was a robotic monstrosity that was covered with various drills (1600/1100).

"Drillago?" Faust muttered under his breath. "Is this supposed to be a joke?"

Styx didn't reply to that, and rather slipped a pair of cards into his duel disk. "To continue my turn, I'll set one card face down, and then I'll activate the continuous Spell – Psychosis Blueprint!"

The green bordered card materialized in front of Styx, revealing the blueprints of a very infamous android-like monster in the game of Duel Monsters. Styx crossed his arms, "That's my turn, show me what ya got."

Kaito smirked as he reached for his deck…

"MY DRAW!"

… But then Kaito stopped when he realized that Faust had made that announcement and had already drawn his sixth card. "OI! I wanted to go next!"

"Too bad," Faust stated as he slipped a card into his duel disk. "I'll play Call of the Mummy!"

The spell materialized in front of Faust, depicting two mummies emerging from some cards. "Since I possess no monsters on the field, I can now special summon any Zombie from my hand – And I choose this one!"

Faust slapped the card upon his duel disk and a powerful flame erupted next to the white haired duelist, and from the flames a large skull flew through the air, the flames following it as it flew about (1000/800). "Burning Skull Head! And when special summoned from my hand, it blasts one of you with a thousand points of damage!

"And guess what Mr. Mask, you're feeling the burn!"

The fiery skull laughed loudly before it flew around Styx's body, however the masked man didn't even flinch as the flames flew about his body. (SLP: 7000)

As the Burning Skull Head flew back to Faust's field, the white haired duelist slapped a card upon his duel disk. "I'll then set a monster and one set card! Turn end!"

"Alright! Watch out! I'm about to go on a rampage!" Kaito roared loudly as he pulled off the top card from his deck. Looking at the card, Kaito grinned a fanged smile and slapped it onto his duel disk. "Unleash yourself – Gene-Warped Warwolf!"

A loud howl bellowed through the air as a large, four-armed, white furred wolf-man leapt onto the scene, its four claws dug into the carpeting as it narrowed its red eyes at Styx (2000/100).

With the wild look in his eyes, Kaito threw his hand forward, "Now then, here's how a real man duels! Gene-Warped Warwolf! Smash that drill to pieces!"

However, the Warwolf craned its head back towards it owner and shook its head disapprovingly. Kaito reeled back slightly in confusion, "W-What the hell?! Why isn't he attacking?!"

"Don't you know?" Styx sighed with a shake of his head. "In a free for all duel, no duelist can attack on the first turn."

"W… WHAT?!" Kaito yelled out. "T-That's not fair!"

"It's the rules," Faust sighed with a shake of his head. 'Are ya kidding me?'

"F… FINE!" Kaito roared as he took two cards from his hand and slipped them into his duel disk, having the two cards appear behind his monster. "Two cards in the back, so I guess I'm done…"

Styx reached for his deck but then pulled his hand away, "It's at this time that my Psychosis Blueprint now activates – During my draw phase, by skipping my regular draw, I can take one level four or lower dark machine from my deck to my hand."

A single card popped out from Styx's deck and into his hand, allowing the masked duelist to lift it up the card from the other three. "And you know what? I think I'll play it right now – Arise: Jinzo – Returner!"

A spark of electricity surged in front of Styx and formed into a small, mutated creature with a large, veiny head, three eyes, a green jumpsuit with belts over it, and two extremely large, spiked shoulder pads (600/1400). The mutant's body sparked with electricity.

Faust gritted his teeth, "Damn it… A Jinzo deck?"

Kaito just smirked, "Awesome… A Jinzo deck!"

Styx snickered, "Glad to see you both know what you're up against. But don't think that just because you know, that you can do anything to stop the rampage! I activate a spell – Iron Draw!"

Styx lifted his right hand up into the air, allowing a metallic gauntlet appear over his fist, "If I only control two machine-type monsters, I can draw two more cards!"

And that's what the masked duelist did, and he looked at the four cards now in his hand. "Now for my counter move against you two… I'll start with the spell card – Psychic Wave!"

As the spell materialized before the duelists, another card popped out from Styx's deck, "Now, by sending a specific card from my deck to the graveyard, I can inflict damage to my opponent's life point by the same attack strength as one Jinzo – Returner… Now, who should be the one to take the damage? Beastie Boy? Or Bone Head?"

Styx lifted his hand up into the air and immediately pointed his finger up. And then, he immediately lowered it, "I choose you!"

Kaito's eyes widened as the mutated android lifted its arms up and fired a blast of purple energy through the air that crashed into the red haired duelist. "GAH!" (KLP: 7400)

"But don't think for a second that I'm done," Styx announced as he turned his attention towards Faust and pumped his fist up. "That was just my spell, I still have my battle phase! Jinzo – Returner! Attack the Emo!

"And thanks to its ability, it can attack you directly!"

Faust quickly lifted up his arms to block the dark energy attack that was flung at him. "Urk!" (FLP: 7400)

"And now, Drillago!" Styx announced as he snapped a finger at the large machine. "Your target is…"

"I activate my trap card!" Faust announced as his face down card lifted up. "Generation Shift!"

The Burning Skull Head laughed loudly before it exploded into flames, "Thanks to this trap – Not only does my Skull bite the dust, but I can add another from my deck to my hand!"

As Faust plucked the card from his deck, Styx chuckled, "Smart move, if I got rid of your set monster, then I'd open myself for another thousand points of damage… Then again, that's not gonna stop me! I continue the assault!

"Target is the face down monster!"

The drill covered monster flew across the field and stabbed all of its drills into the set monster, revealing a ghoulish goblin with a sword tightly grasped in it boney hands (1100/1050). The drills pierced the goblin's skin and it shattered, much to Faust's joy. "You just did it again! That was my Goblin Zombie! Now I can add another Zombie from my deck to my hand!"

A single card popped out of Faust's deck as he held them up to his eyes, "This time, I'm taking Mezuki."

"Add all the cards you'd like," Styx announced as he pushed a button on his duel disk. "Cause now I'll activate my own trap card – And I'm sure you'll know what this card does!"

Faust's glasses shook when he realized what the face down on Styx's field was, "Generation Shift!?"

Jinzo – Returner groaned loudly before it shattered into millions of pixels, and just like Faust, Styx added a card from his deck to his hand. But then, that's when the sparks all around the duel field surged about.

"What the hell?" Kaito questioned as he stepped to the side to dodge the sparks. "What's going on now…"

"Jinzo – Returner's effect," Faust growled as a shadowed figure slowly rose up from the floor. "When destroyed…"

"Jinzo takes the field from the grave!" Styx roared.

The shadows on the new figure scattered about, revealing the bald, mechanical monstrosity that was the bane of all traps. Its bright green armor glistened in the light as it lifted its arms up into the air (2400/1500) with electrical energy all around its body.

"And with Jinzo out on the field, all traps are rendered useless!"

Styx's gaze turned towards Faust, which made the white haired duelist bare his teeth again, "Now, I could attack you again, White Head, but I need clear the field of everything – Jinzo! Destroy Wild Boy's Warwolf!"

Jinzo lifted its hands before its chest, with an orb of energy within its hands that it immediately threw it towards the beast-warrior…

All the while, Kaito had a large smirk on his face as he pushed a button on his duel disk, "Ya think ya got me? Not happening! I activate my face down…"

The card lifted up and a powerful green aura swept over the Warwolf's body, allowing it to knock the orb of energy to the side. The Warwolf then charged over the field (2000/100 + 700/0) and slammed its fists right into the android's chest, and shattered the machine! (SLP: 6700)

"Spell card – Rush Recklessly!" Kaito laughed as his Warwolf leapt back to his field. "HA! Ya think I just had traps down? Guess again and…"

"I'll set one card face down," Styx interrupted as the card appeared before him. "And end my turn."

"HEY! Don't just ignore me!" Kaito snarled as he stamped his foot into the ground a few times.

"Then it's my move!" Faust announced as he plucked a card from his deck.

"WHAT DID I JUST SAY!?" Kaito barked loudly.

"For the love of, you sound like a whining pup," Faust growled under his breath as he looked at his hand of five cards – Burning Skull Head, Mezuki, Bonfire, Call of the Haunted, and the card he just drew. 'I bet this guy's got more ways to get Jinzo back onto the field – He's got another Returner in his hand, and I'm willing to bet that he's got his own copy of Call of the Haunted face down on the field.'

Faust's gaze landed on the card he just drew, 'And wouldn't ya know it, I drew this card – But, I can't be sure about that face down card: Better to go with my initial play…'

"I use Call of the Mummy's effect once more!"

Faust slapped the card onto his duel disk, and the fiery Skull appeared on the field (1000/800). Faust smirked as he pointed his hand towards Styx like a gun, "And once more, you get blasted!"

The Burning Skull Head cackled loudly before it flew towards Styx, the flames from the skull crashed into the masked man's body… But, he didn't even flinch. (SLP: 5700)

"Next up, I'll play Mezuki!" Faust announced as he slapped the card upon his duel disk.

A loud neigh echoed through the air as a large, muscular horse-headed demon landed before Faust with an axe in its hands (1700/800). "And now – Mezuki! Attack Drillago!"

The horse-headed demon snarled before it charged across the field and slammed its axe into the drill covered machine. The powerful force was enough to cause the machine to shatter into a million pieces. (SLP: 5600)

"And that's my turn," Faust admitted with a smirk as he fitted a card into his duel disk, making the card appear in front of him. 'Heh, now the barking idiot just has to watch out for this masked freak's trap and…'

"… Pathetic," Styx growled. "Is that really all that you can do?"

"What?!" Faust growled. "What was that?!"

"No need to worry your head on it!" Kaito announced as he drew. "It's my turn!"

'Damn… I don't have any monsters I can summon…' Kaito thought to himself as he looked at the cards in his hand. 'Then again, I can change that quickly!'

"I play the spell card – Roar of the Beast King!"

Kaito's spell emerged on the field, revealing a large shadowed beast roaring loudly at a Goblin of Greed, knocking the overweight goblin over. "Now, by sending one Normal Beast or Beast-Warrior from my deck to the graveyard…"

Kaito pulled the deck from the duel disk and fanned the cards for a few moments before he turned one of them around, "And my Assault Lion is just the perfect beast for the job!"

With his deck back in the duel disk, Kaito slipped the card into the graveyard slot. "Now that we've got that done, the second effect of my spell activates – Destroying one set card on the field! And I choose yours, Styx!

"And by the by, thanks to my spell, you can't chain the card to mine!"

A loud roar blasted through the air and shattered the masked man's set card. Once again, Styx made no reaction.

"Next, I'll play Swing of Memories!" Kaito announced as his spell card materialized in front of him. "Now I can call forth Assault Lion!"

The floor in front of Kaito erupted open, and allowed an extremely large black mane lion-man to leap into the air, its armored body clanked about as it threw a punch or two (2600/2500).

A large smirk appeared on Kaito's face as he pumped his fist up, "And look! You don't have anything out on your field other than your spell card – You're prime for direct attacks! Warwolf! Lion!

"SMASH HIM TO PIECES!"

Both of the beastly warriors leapt towards Styx and punched the masked duelist right in the chest, which actually propelled him off of the table he was on and onto the floor behind him. (SLP: 1000)

"YEAH! How do ya like me now?!" Kaito laughed as he crossed his arms. "Bet ya wish you didn't ignore me now – Didn't ya?"

"Frankly, I'm still disappointed," Styx answered back as he leapt back to the top of the table.

"Huh?" Kaito questioned. "The hell you mean?"

"That move right there…" Styx stated with a shake of his head. "It could've ended this duel right here and there, if it wasn't for the cowardice of the emo over there?"

Faust hissed as he reeled back.

"It's a simple thing to notice," Styx stated as he pointed towards the Burning Skull Head on Faust's field. "If this Emo Idiot had attacked me with his Skull, you would've won right now – But let me guess…

"What if his face down card is a trap? What if it's something that can cripple me throughout the game?"

Faust staggered back – For when Styx spoke those words, it was in his voice. "H-How the h-hell…"

"Its basic human fear," Styx answered with a wag of his finger. "The unknown is what instills in everyone – From the fact of what I look like to what I have face down on the field, and to what can happen to you when this duel ends: You may be able to put on a brave face, but your actions speak louder than any words!"

Faust bit his lower lip and looked to his right hand, taking note that he was actually shaking. 'Damn it…'

"Anyone would be shaking with excitement!"

Both Faust and Styx turned to see Kaito with his hand up into the air, his fingers in a peace sign. "This duel is an awesome opener for the new year! If you're a professor, I can't wait to see some of your classes!"

There was a moment of silence.

"I have to deal with this?" Styx moaned as he slapped the forehead of his mask.

"Moron…" Faust muttered under his breath.

Kaito just laughed loudly as he lifted a card up, "So what if Faust here made a mistake – It just adds more to the duel! Now, I'll activate White Elephant's Gift! Since my Assault Lion's going to the grave at the end of the turn, this spell allows me to send my Lion to the grave to draw two more cards!"

The Assault Lion gave off one more roar before it faded away and allowed Kaito to pull off two more cards from his deck. 'Heh, now I draw ya! Well, I guess it can't hurt to summon him!'

"I summon – Master of the Underdog!"

What happened next was odd to say the least. The melodic sounds of a harmonica echoed through the air as a rugged figure simply walked onto the field – with wild down hair, dressed in a school uniform that had the sleeves ripped off (1400/1000) and he was the one who played the harmonica.

"That's… The person on Heart of the Underdog?" Faust questioned.

"You bet it is!" Kaito laughed as he fitted a card into his duel disk. "I'll end my turn for this face down card – And my turn's done!"

Styx snorted as he reached for his deck, "I could use my Psychosis Blueprint this turn, but I shall forgo that to draw!"

Styx drew from the top of his deck and looked at the card he drew, now granting him four cards to work with. "And first I shall summon a familiar face – Jinzo – Returner!"

With several electrical sparks, the small android appeared before the masked man (600/1400). "Next, I shall play the card I drew this turn – Iron Call!"

A magnetic surge poured from Styx's hand as a single card shot out from his graveyard, "Now, since I control a Machine, I can summon another from my graveyard – Return once more: Jinzo – Returner!"

In a powerful spark, a second mutated android appeared on the field (600/1400).

"Now, its time I show you the trap that I had on the field," Styx announced as he reached into his graveyard slot and pulled out two cards. "Dark Mechanic!"

The trap appeared on the field, revealing Kozaky dressed in mechanic overalls looking over a Jinzo. "Since I have two Dark Machines on the field, by removing my trap and my Drillago, I can draw two more cards."

"I… You bastard!" Faust growled as he threw his arm to the side. "That was a bluff?!"

"Not my fault you felt the fear," Styx stated as he drew two cards from the top of his deck adding them to the other two in his hand. "Now, I'll activate the spell card – Cybernetic Fusion Support!"

A surge of electricity erupted over Styx's body as he growled loudly. "Now, for a mere cost of half my life points, once this turn, if I fusion summon a Machine, I can use the materials on the field, my hand or my graveyard!" (SLP: 500)

That electricity around Styx's body flew into his hand and he turned the card around, "And now – Go! POWER BOND!"

Both of the Jinzo – Returners groaned as the electricity erupted around the two of them, and then Jinzo himself appeared behind them. The three androids screeched loudly before their shattered like glass. "Now… ARISE my ultimate creature!"

From the remains of the three monsters, a new android arose from the field – It resembled Jinzo in shape, but its armor had spikes on it with a more metallic shine and atop its head was a helmet that had exposed wires and its clothes were more ornate (3000/1800). "Ultimate Jinzo!"

"Grr…" Faust growled.

Kaito clenched his fist tightly, and shook.

"And thanks for my Power Bond, it doubles my monster's attack!" Styx announced as electricity surged about the android's body (3000/1800 + 3000/0). "But it's not enough! Not enough! Go! Limiter Removal!"

Once more, the sparks flew about Jinzo's body (6000/1800 + 6000/0).

"T-That… That is…" Faust growled.

"AWESOME!" Kaito yelled out as he pumped his fist up into the air. "BRING IT ON!"

Styx chuckled as he lifted his arms to the side, "I'm impressed that you have so much courage, however it's useless in the face of Ultimate Jinzo – Since he's on the field, he gains the same effect as the original Jinzo, so no trap cards allowed for you two. The only problem I have to deal with now…

"Is choose who goes down."

Styx turned his gaze towards Faust, "Should it be the cowardly emo?"

Then his gaze shifted at Kaito, "Or the yapping mutt?"

"You think you got this in the bag?" Kaito chuckled as he pumped a fist towards Styx. "Then bring it on!"

"Hehehehe… Very well, if you wish," Styx stated, his left arm lifted up into the air. "Then I've made my choice! Ultimate Jinzo! Attack…"

Dakara Hi Hi Hi! Shiawase ga

Kitto Hi HI Hi! Utai dasu!

Kagayaiteru kono kisetsu ni mune ga

Mune ga odoru no!

Styx stopped and reached into his pocket, pulling out a cell phone that he flicked open next to his masked mouth, "Yeah what do you want? I'm kinda busy here!"

Faust slumped his shoulders slapped his forehead, "Are you freakin' serious!?"

"What's wrong?" Kaito asked with a question mark appearing over his head. "He's just answering a call, not like that's a big deal…"

"It's not the action, it's the ringtone," Faust grumbled before he stood up straight. "This guy's been trying to be all mysterious and dark, and he has that as his ringtone?! He just broke his credibility!"

"What's wrong with the ringtone?" Kaito questioned as he threw his arms behind his head.

"It totally clashes with what he looks like!" Faust barked back as he pointed a finger at Styx who was still talking on his phone. "If anything, with the cards he's using and the gas mask, I was expecting something like the theme of Metal Gear Solid, or something like that – Not something like from…"

"Okay!" Styx announced before he snapped the phone shut and pocketed it. "Change of plans – I surrender!"

"Wait, what?!" Faust and Kaito questioned at the same time, both for different reasons though.

The monsters and cards on the field faded away, and Styx deactivated his duel disk. "Feel free to keep the disks if you like – I'll be…"

"NOW HOLD ON A MINUTE!"

Styx stopped and turned towards Kaito who had fire in his eyes and barred his teeth at the masked man, "You started this duel, and you're not even going to finish it?! You call yourself a duelist?!"

"I don't," Styx replied as he turned his back to the two duelists. "I'm just a man on a job – And I'm just following orders, and right now, my orders are to take care of something more important than dealing with a coward and a barking puppy…"

Faust shook his fist, "You lousy… If you're gonna insult me then just try to defeat me!"

Styx's body began to fade away. "Perhaps another time, coward… Perhaps…"

"You call him a coward?" Kaito stated, not caring that Styx faded away. "You're nothing more than a hypocrite! You're the one running from this duel!"

But Kaito's words never reached Styx, he faded away, the color of the room slowly returned…

Kaito sighed as he rubbed the back of his head. Then he pulled a card from his duel disk, the card he set was a quick-play spell called Command Silencer – It would've negated an attack and allowed Kaito to draw a card. 'Styx… Next time I see ya, we'll finish that duel…'

Faust on the other hand pushed up his glasses, 'A… A coward? Styx… You'll regret that…'

Unknown to the two duelists, there was a third person who was unaffected by Styx's odd time freeze – and watched the duel between the three. As she gently placed her silverware on the napkin on the table before her, she watched as Faust walked out of the café and Kaito pump his fists tightly.

'I see… So, those two are the ones – Once we reach the island, I'll have to begin my mission…

'Ad maiorem Dei gloriam…'

TTT – TTT

Card Stats

Psychic Wave / Quick-Play Spell / Effect: Activate only by sending 1 'Jinzo' from your hand or deck to the Graveyard while a face-up Attack Position "Jinzo – Returner" is on the field. Inflict damage to your opponent equal to the ATK of a face-up "Jinzo – Returner" you control.
Image: The Jinzo – Returner sending a force of energy at a duelist while the original Jinzo is behind it.

This card was used by Makoto in Yu-Gi-Oh GX anime.

Assault Lion / Earth / LV. 7 / ATK: 2600 / DEF: 2500 / Beast-Warrior

Description:

This card was used in the Yu-Gi-Oh! R manga.

Iron Draw / Normal Spell / Effect: If you control exactly 2 Machine-Type monsters: Draw 2 cards.
Image: A metallic had being blasted apart.

This card was used by Tetsuo in the Zexal Anime.

Master of the Underdog / Fire/ LV. 4 / ATK: 1400 / DEF: 1000 / Warrior/Tuner: This monster is treated as a Normal Monster for the purpose of determining card effects. If this card is used in a synchro summon, the other monster(s) must be normal monster(s). When this card is destroyed as a result of battle, Special Summon one Level 4 or lower normal monster from your deck (except "Master of the Underdog").
Description: The youth from Heart of the Underdog.

This card was used by Kaito in Scarlet Weather's fiction – Burning Red. Thanks for this dood! Appreciate it!

Psychosis Blueprint / Continuous Spell / Effect: During your Draw Phase, by skipping your draw, you may add 1 Level 4 or lower DARK Machine-Type monster from your deck to your hand. During your third End Phase after this card was activated, destroy this card.

Image: The blueprints of Jinzo.

Dark Mechanic / Normal Trap / Effect: By removing this card from your graveyard and 1 DARK Machine-Type monster while you have at least 2 DARK Machine-Type monsters on your side of the field, draw 2 cards

Image: Kozaky dressed as a mechanic looking over a Jinzo

Ultimate Jinzo / Dark / LV. 10 / ATK: 3000 / DEF: 1800 / Machine/Fusion/Effect: [Jinzo + 1 DARK Machine-Type monster + 1 DARK Machine-Type monster] Your opponent's Trap Cards, and their effects on the field, cannot be activated. When this card would be destroyed by your opponent's card (either through battle or by card effect), by destroying two Spell or Trap cards on the field, you may negate this card's destruction. When this card is sent to the graveyard, special summon 1 'Jinzo' from your graveyard or removed from play pile
Description: A more supped up Jinzo with the Amplifier on its head and more armor on it.

Roar of the Beast King / Quick-Play Spell / Effect: Send one normal Beast or Beast-Warrior monster from your deck to the graveyard. Destroy one spell or trap card on the field (The selected card cannot be activated in response to this card).
Image: A goblin of Greed being bowled over by a shadowed beast's roar.

TTT – TTT

Kaito: Damn it! What kind of start was that?! The Styx guy was about to pull off an awesome move and he just ups and leave?! What a rip!

Faust: Well, what do you expect? If the heroes lose their first duel in the story, we'd look pretty pathetic…

Kaito: We could've taken that masked freak down!

Faust: It's called a plot device, something that the author wants us to deal with.

Kaito: Gah, what the hell! That's so annoying!

Faust: Imagine what the readers' are feeling right now… We'll need to give them something that they can latch onto the story with or else we're gonna lose them all!

?: Then please, allow me to take the stage and grace everyone here – For the name of the lord, I shall do what I can…

Kaito: Huh? Who are you supposed to be?

Next chapter

Draw 1

Soul of Purity and Light