The Infinity Chronicles

by Wolf General

AU A story of heroes, life at Duel Academy, threats from beyond the stars, comedy...and a whole bunch of other strange things that happen to a group of students.

3. The Challenge Made Part 1

Disclaimer: If I owned GX, you think I'd still be here posting this stuff? Psh, you're off your rocker.

The Infinity Chronicles-Second Semester Arc

Chapter 3: The Challenge Made (Part 1)

DATA PROMPT ONLINE, CONNECTING TO HOME SERVER…

WAITING…

…

…

…

CONNECTION ESTABLISHED…

The computer beeped loudly and the speakers crackled. Blue light from the featureless screen was the only thing in the room, but it was too dark to make out who was sitting at the computer.

Once more the speakers crackled, and a garbled voice came out of them. "This message meant for all field agents. Your reports on the defense capabilities of this planet are expected within the next few weeks, this world's time of course."

The hands of whoever was sitting in front of the computer started to type rapidly, the clicking of the keys the only noise in the apparently cramped little room.

This is Agent Four of group Sixty-three reporting…

YOU FAILED IN YOUR MISSION, AGENT FOUR. THIS IS NOT AN ACCEPTABLE LOSS ON OUR PART, SINCE THIS MEANS THAT NOW THE GUARDIAN KNOWS ABOUT US.

I deeply apologize for my failure, but do not worry. This time I intend to deal with the problem myself.

VERY WELL, WE WILL EXCUSE YOUR FAILURE. HOWEVER, WHAT DO YOU INTEND TO DO?

It's simply really. Starlight Savior appeared on the boat and defeated the Vengeance, so that means that he must be one of the passengers on board.

ACCORDING TO YOUR REPORT, THERE WERE OVER FIFTY HUMANS ABOARD THAT SHIP HOWEVER. THE PERCENTAGES FOR SUCCESSFULLY FINDING HIM IS NOT IN OUR FAVOR.

It matters not. I'm sure of it now…he's a duelist of strong caliber. My best bet is to simply find a way to get the occupants of the boat to duel against each other and scan their energy patterns when they are stressed. That should give me the data I need to tell me just who is our enemy.

DO NOT FAIL THIS TIME, IS THAT UNDERSTOOD?

Yes.

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The captain of the cargo ship that had been transporting the students to Duelist Academy, a rough giant of a man, looked sourly out the window of his quarters. "Do you understand what you have done?"

Ichigo and Erian, the former sporting a bandage over the right side of his face, both had their heads down. Ichigo's wolf ears were lilted, and overall he looked absolutely depressed.

Without waiting for their reply, the captain continued. "We established when you all boarded that students weren't allowed to certain areas for a reason…" Turning, he fixed them both with a steely glare. "And yet because both of you ignored those limits, we are now currently stranded at sea for the next few days without supplies because you went and broke the engine."

Erian blushed and started to stammer. "I'm terribly sorry sir, I didn't mean it. Ichigo and I were just having fun playing with that Frisbee. We didn't mean for it to get stuck in the engine line and cause the whole thing to blow up…sorta."

"It didn't blow up, but you broke some very hard to repair equipment." The captain looked over at Ichigo. "And you, what do you have to say for yourself?"

Ichigo sniffled and lifted up something he had holding behind his back. It was a twisted lump of red plastic. "Your engine ruined my favorite Frisbee…"

Eri sat kneeling at the bow of the ship and took a sip of her tea. ("5…4…3…2…1…") She heard a loud grunt, followed by a scream. Seconds later Ichigo, anime tears streaming down his face, came into her field of vision as the captain hurled him out the window of his quarters and into the ocean. "I knew it."

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A few hours later the sun had set completely, and the students were rationing what little food they had on them. All of them were gathered on the deck while the crew of the ship was inspecting the engine room to see if there was something they could do to jury-rig it and get to Duelist Academy.

Eri glared at Ichigo angrily before taking a bite out of the piece of beef jerky she had taken from her emergency rations. "At first

I just chocked it up to your stupidity, but now that I think about it more what were doing in the engine room anyway?"

Ichigo shrugged and kicked up his feet, back resting against the metal railing of the deck. "I don't know, I was just enjoying myself is all."

Erian still looked overly depressed. "I'm really sorry…"

Eri, surprisingly, reached over and patted the multi-colored boy on the shoulder gently, a sweet smile on her face. "Don't feel sorry for Ichigo's sake. He rarely has guilt about anything he does wrong."

"That's not true!" Ichigo leapt to his feet and pointed right at her face. "There was that one time I sat on my boxed lunch and I felt really guilty then!"

Eri leapt to her feet and glared right back at him. "You did that to yourself, so how does it count?" Their argument was interrupted by a loud explosion that came from the front of the ship. "Damn it, now what did you do Ichigo?"

"How did I cause something that happened over there?" The half-demon turned and stomped off in the direction of the explosion. "Let's go see though!" Growling, Eri grabbed Erian by the collar and dragged him along as she stomped off after Ichigo.

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All of the students had gathered at the front of the ship, where there was currently a large cloud of pink colored smoke that covered the very front of the deck. "Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to introduce myself!" The voice that seemed to come from everywhere at once was definitely female.

A sudden wind blew in and the pink smoke dispersed to reveal a single slim feminine figure standing on the metal railing. The speaker had been a short young woman, with a single long braid of bright pink hair wrapped around her neck, and a pair of eyes of the same color. Her outfit was a pink leotard that left very little to the imagination and in her hand rested a pink plastic microphone. "I'm Meredith! And from the looks of it you folks are in need of assistance!"

From near the back of the crowd of students, the captain could be seen pushing his way towards the front with some of the members of his crew. "Yes actually. Our engine is currently in need of repairs."

"Well then worry not, because I have a deal for you!" Snapping her fingers, Meredith smiled charmingly as a pair of red-cloaked appeared on both sides of her. "Our boat was just passing by and these two gentlemen happen to be excellent mechanics!" Snapping up a finger, she waggled it in the air in front of them. "But there's a price you have to pay for such a favor! I want the best two duelists on this boat to battle!"

The word duel resounded in Ichigo's head for about two instances…

Meredith looked out at the now chattering crowd. "Come now, don't be shy…"

"I volunteer!" Ichigo nearly shouted this right in her ear, since he was standing right next to her and he wanted to make sure his voice carried like hers did.

Meredith's heart skipped a beat and she spun around to stare at him. "How did you get up here so quickly?"

"I was already running up when you said duel." Grinning, Ichigo held up his middle and index fingers at the crowd to form the victory sign. "Now then, which of you wants to duel me?"

Every student on board knew about the reputation of Ichigo Pilkington, and knew that despite him being part of Osiris Red last year he beat more members of Obelisk Blue then could be counted. Therefore, no one really stepped forward.

Erian looked at Eri quizzically. "Why don't you duel him?"

The demoness scoffed. "Unlike him, I'm not a circus clown who performs for the benefit of others."

Meredith looked at all the members of the crowd sadly. "Awww, nobody wants to duel him?"

"That's a lie!" A single voice shouted down the murmuring voices amongst the students. "I will accept his challenge!"

Narrowing her eyes and peering into the crowd, Meredith tried to find the owner of the voice. "Who's there?"

"Who's there', you say?" The voice started to laugh dramatically. "I am the…"

"Get out here already Adriel!" Ichigo tapped his foot against the deck impatiently. "I wanna duel you already!"

The voice had gone silent…and Adriel suddenly was flying down from the upper levels of the ship, dropping an elbow on the back of Ichigo's head and instantly knocking him unconscious. Everyone stared at him wide-eyed, until he took the microphone from Meredith's hand and brought it up to his mouth dramatically. "As I was saying, I am the burning spirit of draconic power!" His right hand, balled into a fist, was ready for what was coming next. "I am the duelist who stands above all others in battle, for my skill is that of a god!"

Sure enough, Ichigo was already getting up. The black-haired boy quickly changed that plan with a well-aimed punch in the back of the skull. "I am Adriel Zaytel, wielder of the blowing winds of passion and the mighty legacy of the dragons!" His last statement was announced with such power behind it that the entire crowd was awed.

Handing the microphone back to Meredith, Adriel started to walk away. "The duel will be in ten minutes in the cargo hold. Don't be late, Pilkington."

Meredith blinked at the boy's back. ("Who…")

Ichigo suddenly leapt to his feet, apparently unharmed. "Me? Late for a duel? Hah, you're out of your mind if you think I'll miss this! Nobody outdoes me when it comes to being cool when dueling!" He then ran right past the crowd, headed straight for the cargo hold. "I won't lose either!"

Meredith stared at Ichigo now. "What…wait…I…" Her flow broken, she just put the microphone away and glanced at the two cloaked figures. "Go to work, but remember the plan."

Both of them nodded slightly and disappeared.

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Adriel was headed straight for his destiny now. As his boots clicked on the metal floor of the hallway, he couldn't help but smile confidently. ("I will finally get the chance to destroy that fool, and this is sufficient coverage of it. I want the world to see his defeat, but since that isn't possible…") Spinning around, he pointed at a metal hatch-door that was open a crack. "Come out now, whoever you are! You've been following me since I left the deck, and I'm growing weary of it!"

The hatch creaked open and a girl wearing a Ra Yellow uniform poked her head out of it. She had deep amber-colored eyes and long silver hair. "Ummm…ummm…" Her cheeks suddenly flushed bright red.

Adriel narrowed his eyes angrily. "Spit it out already."

"Good luck!" Whispering that quietly, the girl and ran the other way as fast as her legs would carry her.

"What the hell was that all about?" Scratching the top of his head, Adriel turned and returned to the march to his duel of destiny. ("Ichigo Pilkington. I will crush you finally!")

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A few minutes later all of the students and most of the crew had relocated to the cargo hold, all of them using crates and other items lying around as seats. They all surrounded one of the two rings located in the cargo hold. Ichigo stood at one end, smiling widely at Adriel. "You finally got what you wanted. I hope you don't regret it later, Adriel!"

Brushing his shoulders off and adjusting his duel disk, Adriel was all the more confident that he wasn't going to lose now. "You know nothing of my new strategy, so there's no chance that you'll be able to counter it beforehand."

"Let's…" Ichigo was about to draw his opening hand, but a loud screeching noise echoed across the hold and dropped him to his knees, clutching at his wolf ears in pain.

Meredith, who stood right behind him, giggled. "That's what you get for yelling in my ear before." Lifting up her arm, she revealed a pink-colored duel disk with peach-colored monster zones. "Alright boys, let's begin."

"Begin?" Adriel blinked a few times and it suddenly sank in. "There's no damn way I'm dueling you! Get out of the way and let me duel Pilkington!"

The woman waved a finger in the air. "That's not an option. I guess I should have elaborated when I made my challenge, but I wanted to duel the two best duelists on this boat, not watch them duel."

"I absolutely do not accept those conditions!" Adriel screamed at her. Then he realized that Ichigo was standing about five feet off to his side. "What are you doing over here?"

Ichigo blinked and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Well, we're going to duel her two on one, right?"

"I said no! You're my opponent, not her!" Adriel turned to walk away…

Meredith shrugged helplessly. "That's too bad. Then it looks like you all will be stranded out here for awhile." Turning, she prepared to walk away as well.

"Huh?" Ichigo's eyes bugged out of his head and he looked at Adriel's back, and then at Meredith's. "Wait! I want to duel somebody! Come on!" He ran over and latched onto Adriel's waist. "Come on Adriel, just one duel against her! Then I'll duel you all you want!"

"Let me go!" The spiky-haired boy struggled and tried to get away. He was already in a foul mood now, and didn't even feel like dueling. "I said let me go!"

Meredith stopped and turned to look at them both. ("Blast it, for my research to work I need to study their abilities when they're focused on dueling me.") "I'll make you a deal, boy." She looked straight at Adriel. "If you duel two on one against me with the other boy, then if I am defeated the duel immediately becomes a one on one between you and him."

Adriel stopped in his tracks and calmly smiled. "That's fine."

"Really?" Standing up straight and removing himself from Adriel's waist, Ichigo jumped up and down in happiness. "Alright, I do get to duel!" Running back to his position on the field, he activated his duel disk.

Adriel quietly followed, taking his place and activating his duel disk again. ("If that's the case, then this is perfect. I'll simply let Pilkington do most of the work for me, and then when I see the opportunity I'll wipe out the woman and finish him off right after.")

All three of them faced off, and then all at once they drew their opening hands. "Duel!"

Merideth- 4000

Adriel- 4000

Ichigo- 4000

To be continued…

Author's Notes: These are about the normal length of my chapters, just so you know.