Trouble on Academy Island, Episode 1: Opportunity for a Challenge

Jaden did not wake up no matter how many times Syrus and Hassleberry shook him. Jaden had been called to Sheppard's office for something very important, and usually when this happened something was going wrong. In his first year, Jaden had been called to receive one of the seven keys to the vault that held the Sacred Beasts. Last year, Jaden was called in at various times to talk about Sartorious. Now, who knew what it was, but it wasn't anything good.

"JADEN!!! Wake up! Sheppard wants to see you!"

"Stand up this instant, Serge!"

Just then, a knock was heard. Syrus opened the door to see Chazz, who had also been called down.

"Where's that slacker? Sheppard's pretty pissed that he hasn't showed yet."

"We're trying to wake him up now, Chazz."

"Lemme give it a try." Chazz grabbed Jaden's sheets and flipped him off of the bed; this woke Jaden.

"What's up guys?" Jaden asked while rubbing his head.

"What's up is that Sheppard wanted you at the office ASAP about a half hour ago. By now, the announcement would go something like 'Jaden Yuki, get the hell up and go to the Chancellor's Office!'"

"Alright, alright, let's go Chazz."

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Once in the office, Jaden saw that Alexis, Aster, and Bastion were sitting there too.

Sheppard spoke. "Now that you're all here," he glared at Jaden, "I can divulge this important news. Every three years, the head of Duel Academy meets with the heads of European Academy (better known as North Academy), Academy of the Americas, and Duel Academy Australia to nominate five students from each school (twenty total) to participate in the Ultimate Student Duelist League, a tournament of sorts. I'll tell you a bit about it, but I think it'd be smarter to ask Atticus Rhodes or Zane Truesdale about it because they participated in the previous one. Anyway, it's basically a tournament that decides which school is the best of the four, so our school is relying on you. There are a lot of good duelists out there, so you can lose twice before you're out. If you do get out, you are not allowed to leave until the tournament ends. This must be kept secret among those currently in this room as mandated by Kaiba Corp. Also, you can choose two people to come along with you, but I think that the smart choice would be Zane and Atticus, seeing as they've been through it. The dueling is held in Africa, mutual territory, and the referee of the duels is none other than Mr. Seto Kaiba, since he owns all four academies and is therefore impartial."

"Won't everyone be wondering where we went?" asked Jaden.

"No, I have instructed Crowler and Napoleon to make up an excuse. Oh, look at the time! Your chopper awaits! I'll escort the five of you to the chopper, but that's as far as I can go. Good luck to all of you!"

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Once in the chopper, Alexis told the pilot where to find Atticus, assuming he would know how to find Zane once they picked him up. While Jaden went to the back to reconstruct his deck, the others wondered what was in store for them.

"This seems like a pretty serious thing," wondered Alexis, "I hope there isn't anything bad behind it."

"Oh please Alexis," Chazz said mockingly, "of course something bad is behind it. There's always something bad behind our adventures."

"How reassuring," Bastion quipped.

Chazz and Bastion got into an argument, but Aster stopped them by putting his hands over their mouths.

"Everything'll be fine, Alexis," Aster said, "what's the worst that could happen?"

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What is the worst that could happen? Find out next chapter, when Atticus and Zane go into detail about a certain duelist they're sure will be there.

Next Chapter: The Previous Winner

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