Disclaimer: I own nothing involved in this story unless I invented it myself. This is written for fun, not for profit. All forms of feedback eagerly accepted. Concrit is loved the most, but everything is welcome.
Fandom: Yu-Gi-Oh GX
Title: Red To Black: Chapter 11: Benefits of Home
Characters: Juudai
Word Count: chapter: 1,071||story: 11,871
Genre: Drama, Angst||Rated: PG-13
Challenge: Yu-Gi-Oh GX Non-Flash Bingo; Diversity Challenge, section I, #19, chapters between 1000-2000 words
Notes: This begins in episode 136, just after Jim and O'Brien leave to follow Shou. Juudai's mind did not fracture into Juudai & Haou and this will be a retelling of how he came to power.
Summary: Juudai's always won before and it always fixed everything. But now that he's won and it's fixed nothing, what can he do?


Juudai stared at the village spread out in front of them. Their warriors stood in a defensive line before the closed and locked doors, every one of them determined to sell their lives dearly to protect those hiding within.

He knew how that felt. If he thought they were good people he would never do this in the first place. But regardless of what they thought of themselves, he knew better. He wished sometimes they would just admit it to themselves. They could join his army then, and it would make everything that much better.

Until then, he had but one word to say to deal with this.

"Attack."

He didn't surge forward with the rest. He let his warriors handle it. If they had someone who could give him a challenge he would, but now he stood and watched as his army picked out their targets and battle began.

His army. He had an army. One that grew hour by hour as new warriors heard of what he was doing and came to offer their services. He'd already begun to choose people to work underneath him to manage what he couldn't. He needed to focus on finding the strongest souls that would go into Super Fusion. That didn't leave much time for planning other matters.

Hidden behind his helmet, one corner of his mouth quirked upward at the thought of what his teachers would've said in response to this. Chronos-sensei would likely have never believed he could do it. Daitoukuji-sensei...well, it was hard to say. He might've believed Juudai could. He'd always thought the best of him.

Though was this the best?

Yes. What else could it be? Juudai didn't let that thought stay around for another moment.

Two of his subordinates, Skull Bishop and Chaos Sorcerer, dragged a bulky warrior toward him. He didn't know who it was offhand; there were so many warriors and not all of them in this world were cards in his. But what mattered was what they said.

"Haou-sama, this is the one we told you of, the one who spread lies and rumors concerning you."

Juudai did not lift his helmet's visor but bent his gaze instead on the prisoner. He said nothing at all, but let the aura of his displeasure flame high.

"It's true! You're not a leader! You're not a king! You're only a child found his way here from another world!"

Still Juudai said nothing at all. He would not deny it; it was at least half-true. He was from another world, and he wasn't a legal adult as of yet, not by the standards of Earth. But he didn't think those standards applied anymore.

He tilted his head to catch another's eyes, and Guardian Baou stepped forward.

"Your will, Haou-sama?" The demon asked, testing the edge of his blade and eyeing the prisoner greedily.

"Duel him." This one wasn't good enough for him. Juudai could tell that already. His spirit might make a decent enough addition to Super Fusion, but the skill he required wasn't there.

Besides, his warriors needed to be tested frequently as well, and Guardian Baou hadn't fought nearly as often as the others had. Granted, there hadn't been that much time since he'd appointed the demon to his position. Time to watch and see what happened.

Chaos Sorcerer and Skull Bishop pulled the prisoner to one side, returning his deck and duel disk to him. Guardian Baou stepped up to his place, a savage grin twisting his features.

"I dedicate your death to Haou-sama's glory," he said, staring at his opponent.

The warrior tossed the restraining arms of his captors to the side and raised his head in defiance.

"And I dedicate yours to the freedom of our village!"

All of the Death Duelists – Juudai thought that was a good name for them, they brought death at his command – laughed almost in unison.

"What village?" Skull Bishop gestured with one broad hand. Juudai hadn't taken much notice himself, but now he took in the burning of the palisade and huts, the slowly dying shrieks and cries of the defeated and captive, the stench that hung over every battlefield…

I should find a place for us to live, he thought, ignoring the sounds and smells in favor of more immediate thoughts. Somewhere where we can all rest after a day's work.

He would send out people later to look for somewhere. A castle, perhaps.

The warrior's face, drawn and pale, hardened into diamond determination. "You'll pay for this," he murmured, drawing his first set of cards. Again the Death Duelists snickered, but no one said anything else. The duel commanded everyone's eyes.

At least it did for the short time it lasted. Duels always seemed to take less time when one watched than when one participated, Juudai had noticed frequently. So while to Guardian Baou and the warrior, it had probably seemed like hours, to him and to everyone else, it took only a few minutes. That was really just as well; he didn't have time to waste on people who hardly knew what they were doing.

Baou won, of course. His fierce determination to bring honor to his master easily overpowered the warrior's struggles for revenge.

Revenge is only for people who deserve it, Juudai thought, watching as the other's dust drifted away. He didn't know if he did or not, but he must've had something. All of this wouldn't have happened otherwise.

He gathered up his people and chose two of them who could fly. "We need a secure base. Find a castle or fortress that cannot be easily invaded." He didn't specify one that couldn't be invaded at all. That was likely not even possible. If someone did try to invade, then he and his warriors would turn them back.

Until such a place could be found, he led his army away from the wreckage of the village and closer to the mountains where it was much more likely that anyone would try to attack them.

While his plans were moving ahead quite splendidly, he wanted a base for another reason. He needed a place where he could have a long talk with all of the members of his deck. While the Evil Heroes did quite well, and he didn't regret them joining at all, he wanted them to work with the Neo-Spacians as well. And that wouldn't happen without some negotiations.

To Be Continued