A helicopter with the Duel Academy logo on the side flew across the ocean and was approaching a island in the distance. This helicopter had the newest students of Duel Academy who had passed their entrance exams and were now on their way to their new home. The passengers on board include Tyson, Jaden, Syrus and Bastion.
The island the academy was built on is owned by Kaiba Corp, it's primary goal is to educate and improve the skills of young duelists who all dream of becoming pro duelists, or at least find a occupation involving Duel Monsters after graduation.
Syrus and Bastion were staring out the window as the copter flew closer to the island, where they got a full view of the island. Bastion had a impressed smile on his face while Syrus looked at the island in awe. Meanwhile, Jaden was sleeping. Tyson, on the other hand was looking over his deck, and adding a few new cards to it. He was aware that strong duelists were at the Academy and he needed to be ready for them.
"Preparing to duel already?" A voice asked him. He turned to the direction of the voice and standing there was Akiza.
"Do I know you? Anyway, just doing a look over of my deck before our arrival." He answered as Akiza sat down beside him. "You're a new student too, huh?"
"Yeah, I just transferred. My name is Akiza."
"Nice to meet you. I'm Tyson."
"I already know who you are. I was watching your duel with Crowler and you handled it like a expert."
"Wasn't really that difficult." Tyson said. "After seeing Ancient Gear Golem summoned during his duel against Jaden, I knew he would summon it against me."
"Well, don't let beating Crowler and his Ancient Gear Golem get to your head." Akiza said. "A lot of strong and talented duelists are at the academy."
"You don't need to worry about me." He replied. "I know the duelists will be tough, but I can handle anything that's thrown my way."
"Well, I hope you can follow through with your statement, because we're arriving right now." Akiza said as the helicopter was about to reach the island and the pilot spoke on the intercom.
"Attention, new Duel Academy students, if you look outside your window; you'll see your new home away from home." The pilot said as the students mutter in excitement at seeing the school for the first time.
"Now, now, I know you're all excited, but don't shove. Quite a sight, eh? Now fasten your seat belts and return your seats to an upright position. We're going in to land. Next stop, Academy Island." The pilot continued as the helicopter landed. He, Akiza and the other students disembarked from the helicopter.
"Well, we finally arrived." Tyson said.
"I'll see you later." Akiza said before making her way to her dorm while Tyson walked with the new students to the main hall of the Academy building.
Once there, they got their dorm placements and academy uniforms. Bastion wore a Ra Yellow uniform. Jaden, Syrus and Tyson got a Slifer Red uniform. Unlike the other students, Jaden's blazer was unbuttoned. Tyson's blazer was also unbuttoned. He stood next to Jaden, as they, Syrus, Bastion and the other new students all gathered in a classroom and lined up. Appearing on the big screen was a bald man with a beard, red jacket and welcoming smile on his face.
"Good morning and welcome my students. I am Chancellor Sheppard, the headmaster of Duel Academy, and you are the best and brightest young duelists in the world." Sheppard said on the video screen. The new students were all paying attention to what he says, except Jaden, who had been napping through the introductions. "Now please, get yourselves settled in at your assigned dorms. I think you will find them quite comfortable, depending on your rank, of course." He finished with a chuckle.
"I don't know about you Sy, but it looks like I'm in the Slifer Red dorm." Jaden said as he and Syrus were leaning against a pillar near the school's main entrance looking at his PDA.
"That's cool, me too." Syrus said while looking at his PDA.
Jaden looked up and saw Bastion walk by.
"Hey, you in red too?" He asked.
"Let's see, yellow sleeves, yellow buttons. I don't think so." Bastion said, pretending not to know the obvious.
"Oh, so that's why me and Sy are the only ones wearing Red." Jaden said.
"Please tell me you didn't just figure that out." Bastion said.
"So what? Ever think I'm color blind?" Jaden asked, feeling offended.
"No, I didn't. Would you be color blind?" Bastion asked, making Jaden chuckle.
"No, but I could have been." Jaden joked.
"Anyway, do you know where Tyson is? I figured he would be in Ra Yellow, but I couldn't find him." Bastion said.
"No, haven't seen him since Chancellor Sheppard's speech." Jaden replied.
"Same here, but I saw him wearing a Slifer Red uniform." Syrus said.
"Him in Slifer Red?" Bastion said, confused. "Weird. I figured a duelist as skilled as him would be in Ra Yellow."
"Doesn't matter what color he's wearing. He's still a great duelist, we saw it ourselves at the entrance exam." Jaden said.
"Jaden's right, Tyson must have his own reasons for being in the Red dorm." Syrus said.
Bastion nodded. "I suppose you're right." He said as he walked off.
"See you around the dorms." Jaden said as he waved.
"I doubt that, your dorm is over there." Bastion said, while pointing to where it is. Jaden and Syrus then walked over to where Bastion pointed to find the place they'll be living in during their stay at Duel Academy.
Meanwhile...
Tyson headed down to the docks and was with a few Academy faculty members as they dropped off something he requested after passing the entrance exams. There, one of the Academy helicopters lowered a large crate. Once the crate was opened, inside was his blue Duel Runner.
Ever since Duel Runners were manufactured by Kaiba Corp, Turbo Duels are increasingly popular and have their own Turbo Duel tournaments for duelists to participate. There are two varieties of Turbo Duel tournaments, the Turbo Duel Circuit for solo Turbo Duelists and the Turbo Duel Grand Prix for teams.
The Academy has their own Duel Runner track and Turbo Duel class for those who wish to become Turbo Duelists after graduation. After finding out about this class, Tyson had his runner brought to the island.
"Is this your Runner, Mr. Fudo?" A staff member asked.
"Yes." He said. He then walked towards it and slowly wheeled it out. "Thanks for bringing this."
"No problem. The garage is that way along the track." The worker said, while pointing in it's direction. "This school would have plenty of Duel Runners for you to use. There was no point in bringing one all the way here."
"I made this myself. I have no intention of using anything else." Tyson explained as he mounted the runner, started it and drove off towards the Academy's track and garage.
Meanwhile walking down the pathway from the school was Chazz and his two underlings, Taiyou and Raizou. Taiyou is the one with blue hair and glasses while Raizou is the one with brown hair. Chazz had a unhappy look on his face, unable to get over how Jaden and Tyson defeated the headmaster of their dorm in their entrance duel.
"What's the matter, Chazz?" Taiyou asked.
"Nothing." Chazz grumbled.
"Is it the two applicants that beat Crowler?" Raizou asked. Chazz angrily turned to them with a glare.
"So what if it is?!" Chazz angrily asked, scaring the two. "That slacker Jaden, there was no way he had the skills to beat Crowler. Then there's that other one, Tyson, how was he able to get his hands on a Synchro monster?"
"I think you need to calm down, Chazz. Just because that guy has Synchro monsters doesn't mean he's a better duelist than you." Taiyou assured him.
"Yeah, there's no way he or that Jaden kid would be able to beat you." Raizou added. Then out of nowhere, a blue blur zipped past them at high speed, startling the three. "Whoa! What was that?"
"I don't know, but I'm gonna find out." Chazz said as he ran off to where the blur was heading.
"Chazz, wait up." Taiyou said as he and Raizou followed him.
They followed the direction where the blur went to and it arrived at the Academy's Duel Track garage to see what they saw. To their surprise, the blur they saw was a blue Duel Runner and it's rider.
"No way, is that-" Taiyou began.
"A Duel Runner." Chazz finished.
"And not one of the practice ones the Academy uses." Raizou said. "A custom one like the ones used by Pro Turbo Duelists. I wonder who owns it?"
They see the rider dismounting and removing his helmet. Their eyes widen in shock and surprise when they saw the rider's face, it was Tyson.
"I don't believe it." Taiyou said in shock.
"It's Tyson Fudo." Raizou said in equal surprise.
"You gotta be kidding me. He has his own Duel Runner." Chazz said in both shock and jealously. First one of the new applicant uses Synchro Monsters and now this.
They saw him wheeling the runner into the garage and locking it before leaving. Chazz in the meantime glared at Tyson and gritted his teeth. 'This guy thinks he's so cool. If he thinks he'll be the next big shot here at the Academy, he's sadly mistaken. I'll show everyone here that Chazz Princeton is the number one duelist.'
...
Jaden and Syrus then walked over to where their dorm was and it was different than the other dorms at the Academy. The Obelisk Blue dorm for both boys and girls is a giant mansion. The Ra Yellow dorm is a slightly smaller mansion. As for Slifer Red, it's a two story apartment building.
"This isn't a dorm, it's like a outhouse with a deck." Syrus said in disappointment. This was not how he was expecting his stay at the Academy.
"You kidding? Check out the view. This place is great." Jaden said while looking at the ocean view behind the building, trying to see the bright side of things.
Jaden and Syrus then found their room. The room wasn't that big, the inside was standard for a dorm room. It had a three-stacked bunk bed, a small kitchen, small couch and desk.
"Okay Sy, this is our room." Jaden said.
"Kinda small, don't you think." Syrus replied.
"I like it. It'll be a great place for our first year." Jaden said.
"Yeah, kinda weird meeting at the entrance exams and now roommates." Syrus said. "Think we were somehow connected to each other in some ancient life, Jaden? You know, like you were a Egyptian pharaoh and I was your guardian, Seto."
"No offense, but that's just lame." Jaden said, not believing Syrus's theory and thinking he was overthinking the fact they're roommates after they just met.
"Well it could be true." Syrus defended.
"Forget it, they broke the mold when they made the two of us." Jaden said.
"Yeah, for different reasons." Syrus said nervously.
"Sy, we're gonna have to work on that confidence." Jaden said, while scratching his cheek. "But first, let's work on this pad." He said, while opening the curtains.
"Hey, those were closed for a reason!" A grumpy voice said, coming from the top bunk.
"Oh, sorry." Syrus apologized.
"Yeah, we didn't see you up there." Jaden said.
"Well can you see me now?" The voice said which revealed a student with an angry expression on his face. He had a large build, black hair and a big nose that made his face look like that of a koala. He wore a Slifer Red uniform like Jaden and Syrus, only his jacket is white with red rims. His appearance caused Jaden and Syrus to hold on to each other and scream in fear.
"Will you quit screaming! Who are you and why are you in my room?" He asked.
"Oh, sorry. My name is Jaden Yuki." Jaden introduced himself.
"I'm Syrus." Syrus greeted.
"We're your new roommates." Jaden said, but the guy just huffed, went back into his sheets and turned away.
"You're new alright, so let me tell you how things work here." He said.
"What things?" Jaden asked, confused.
"Like when parents weekend is going to be?" Syrus asked.
"Duh, like how the whole color thing works. That's more important than anything." He replied. "You got three kinds of students here. Obelisk Blue students, Ra Yellow students and Slifer Red students. Now the Blues are the highest ranked students, some kids are Blue because of grades, others through connections. The Yellows are second highest, mostly younger students with lots of potential. Then there's us, the Red Wonders."
"The Wonders. That's a cool name." Syrus said.
"As in, I wonder how flunkies like us got this far." He said, causing Syrus to sweat drop. "Sorry, but we're bottom of the barrel here. Dueling duds. I'm Chumley, by the way."
After meeting Chumley, Jaden and Syrus went out for a walk. Syrus sighed, still feeling depressed about their ranking at the Academy.
"Don't tell me you're still depressed?" Jaden asked.
"But Chumley said we Reds are the worst." Syrus said in a disappointed tone.
"Forget that, I mean red is a sweet color." Jaden said smiling. "Think about it. Where do you think the term 'red hot' comes from? From red baby. Besides the year hasn't even started yet, so how can we be the worst?"
"Yeah, you're right Jaden. Red is for red hot, scorching, dangerous, hot." Syrus said as he was literally burning with determination.
"I'm like a furnace or a really big bottle of spicy hot salsa dip, right?" He said before he saw Jaden run off towards the school before running after him. "Wait, I'm not a dip, wait up."
"There's some kind of duel action going on in there." Jaden said.
"How do you know?" Syrus asked.
"I just know it." Jaden said as they went inside the school and walked through the hallway. "It's this way, I'm sure of it."
"How can you be so sure? Do you have some kind of sixth sense for dueling or something?" Syrus asked. Instead of answering, Jaden led him to a big Duel Arena and they were in awe by the set up and the size of it.
"Wow, this is the sweetest Duel Arena I've ever seen." Jaden said, amazed by the sight of it.
"Yeah, no kidding. It looks completely state of the art." Syrus said, just as amazed as Jaden. "I bet it would be amazing to duel here."
"Well, let's find out." Jaden said, wanting to duel in the arena right now.
"Do you think we're allowed?" Syrus asked hesitantly.
"Sure we are, we're students here and this is our campus too, right?" Jaden said.
"Wrong, this is the Obelisk Blue campus." Taiyou said with Raizou next to him as they walked up to the two Slifers.
"And you Slifer Red rejects aren't welcome here. You got that? Check out the crest." Raizou said while pointing at a crest that had Obelisk the Tormentor above the entrance.
"This arena is our turf." Taiyou said.
"Sorry, we were just looking around." Syrus said before turning to his friend. "But we'll leave now, right Jaden?"
"Nah, we don't have to leave not so long as one of you guys agree to duel me. I'll be a guest Duelist." Jaden said while smiling. Jaden wants to try out the arena and can't keep his love for dueling contained.
"Hey, you're that kid." Taiyou said, recognizing Jaden.
"Hey, Chazz, that applicant that beat Dr. Crowler is here. Check it out." Raizou called out. Chazz then showed himself from the stands near them. Chazz looked at the two Slifers with narrowed eyes.
"Oh, hey, what's up? My name's Jaden." Jaden greeted before turning to the two Obelisks. "His name is Chuzz?" Jaden asked, annoying Chazz for getting his name wrong.
"His name is Chazz Princeton, and he was the number one Duelist back in Duel Prep School. So you better make sure to pay the proper respect. Got it?!" Taiyou explained.
"Yeah, he's gonna be the future King of Games. The best Duelist in the world." Raizou added.
"Impossible." Jaden said which confused the two Obelisks. "You see, it's impossible to be the future King of Games because that's exactly what I'm gonna be."
This confused the two Obelisk students at first before they laughed. "A Slifer Slacker is King of Games? That'll be the day." Taiyou said sarcastically as he and Raizou glared at Jaden.
"Can it you two!" Chazz said. "Maybe the new kid is right."
"Whaddya mean there, Chazz?" Taiyou asked.
"He is one of the two applicants that beat Crowler, after all." Chazz said. "And that legendary rare monster of his. I suppose it takes some skill to pull that off."
"Got that right." Jaden said.
"Or was it luck?" Chazz asked with a cocky smirk on his face "I say that we find out right now."
"Bring it." Jaden said confidently.
"That will be something I'd like to see." a voice said belong to someone standing behind Jaden and Syrus.
Behind them was a student leaning against the wall who had his eyes closed and a smirk on his face. This student was the same age as Jaden, has large, spikey orange hair and blue headband around his head that had two silver rings embroidered on it's right side. This guy had multiple marks on his face that were like Yusei's; one on his forehead that was shaped like the letter 'M', one next to it that looked like a dot, and two identical jagged marks under his eyes. The guy also wore a Slifer Red uniform, but the sleeves to blazer were torn off and unbuttoned with a black shirt underneath.
"But it wasn't luck that helped him win that duel with Crowler, it was skill." he said with confident smile. "He played his cards right in that duel and that is what helped him win."
"Would you look at this, boys. Another Slifer Slime who doesn't know where he isn't supposed to be." Chazz said as stepped down from the seats to walk up to this new Slifer with a smirk. "So, who are you supposed to be?"
"People call me Crow, and let's just say that I have zero tolerance to bullies." Crow said.
"Well, you mind your own business, punk." Chazz said with his smirk still present. "Since you're new here, Slifer Scum, you don't know how things work here yet. At Duel Academy, you need to give the proper respect to better Duelists."
"Better Duelists, you say?" Crow asked with a smirk of his own. "So tell me, where can I find these better Duelists?" That comment got Jaden to chuckle a bit, while Chazz growled.
"Why you! You got a big mouth for a Slifer." Chazz said as he glared at Crow. "You know what I think? I think you're asking me to crush you in a Duel first."
"Then I say bring it on." Crow replied still having his confident smile. "I don't care what color you're wearing, I'll beat you anyway."
"What's going on here?" A deep male voice asked. Approaching them was a spiky blonde haired male in a Obelisk Blue blazer. Covering his ears was a pair of headphones. Sparks of electricity surged off his body.
"Well, isn't this an motley crew." they turned behind them and the voice belonged to a beautiful girl with long blonde hair and wearing a Obelisk Blue girls uniform. It was Alexis Rhodes.
"Whoa, who is that?" Syrus asked.
"I don't know, but I wouldn't mind having the same class as her." Crow said with a flirty smile.
"Hey, Alexis." Chazz said, trying to make himself look and sound cool in front of her. "Have you come to watch me mop the floor with my two new friends here. Both duels will be short, but entertaining ones for sure."
"I'm here to remind you about the Obelisk welcome dinner. You're late." Alexis said.
"Oh yeah, come on, guys." Chazz said as he and his friends leave the arena.
"Sorry if Chazz rubbed you the wrong way." Alexis apologized to the three Slifers. "All of us Obelisks are like that. He's just a jerk, especially with Slifers."
"It's no big deal." Jaden said, confusing Alexis. "Those types don't bother me at all. Besides, I can beat him one turn."
"We have to work on that overconfidence." Syrus said.
"Okay, so maybe two turns and a half." Jaden said as Syrus chuckled nervously. Alexis just giggled and Crow to chuckle.
"I like that attitude of yours, but better not let that confidence go to your head." Crow said as Jaden chuckled a bit. Jaden reminds Crow of himself a bit. "Anyways, we better get going too. Our welcoming dinner is going to start soon."
"Right, we better go, Sy." Jaden said as he and Crow ran for the door.
"Hey, wait up." Syrus said as he followed them.
Before he head to the door, Jaden turned around and face Alexis while jogging in place. "Oh, yeah, what is your name again?" he asked. Alexis smiled.
"Alexis Rhodes. This is Laxus Dreyar. And yours?" she asked.
"The name's Jaden." he replied.
"Hey, Jaden! If you're done flirting, let's go so we can get something to eat already." Crow said while he and Syrus were waiting by the door.
"Alright, I'm coming." Jaden said before turning to Alexis. "See you around."
"Jaden." Alexis said to herself as she watched him, Crow and Syrus leave.
…
After leaving the school building, Jaden, Syrus and Crow were walking the rest of the way to their dorm.
"Thanks standing up for us back there." Syrus said to Crow. "But still, why did you do that?" Crow turned to them smiling.
"Hey, we Slifers need to stick together." Crow said. "Those jerks looked like they were causing you guys some trouble. I wasn't just going to stand around and do nothing."
"Still, thanks again, man. By the way, my name's Jaden Yuki." Jaden said as he introduced himself.
"I'm Syrus Truesdale." Syrus said nervously.
"Nice to meet ya. The name is Crow Hogan." Crow said as he pointed at himself. "By the way, why were you guys at the arena?"
"Well, I kinda thought there might be a duel going on in there and wanted to check it out." Jaden said while rubbing the back of his head.
"What about you, Crow? What were you doing back there?" Syrus asked.
"I wanted to get a look around the school before classes start tomorrow." Crow said. him."
"Totally, right now, let's go." Jaden said. "I don't to be late for our welcome dinner and I'm starving."
They all made it back to Slifer Red and saw Tyson, who was returning from the Duel Academy Track garage and was about to enter his room.
"Hey, Tyson. Where have you been?" Jaden asked.
"Had some business to resolve elsewhere on the island. More importantly, who's the orange-haired teen?"
"Crow Hogan, I'm also a Red." Crow answered. "What room are you in?"
"204." He informed the orange-haired teen.
"That's my room. Looks like we're roommates." Crow said.
"By the way." Syrus said. "You know this dorm is the lowest ranked one on the island. How come you're in Slifer Red?"
"Asked to be." Tyson answered, shocking Syrus.
"Why?" Syrus asked.
"I want to earn the right to transfer to Yellow or Blue, not have it handed out to me for free." He explained.
"Same thing with me. I also want to work my way up in the Academy to prove I am a great Duelist with my own skill." Crow said.
Jaden smiled while Syrus looked at the two in awe. They have to be the coolest guys they ever met.
"By the way, what did you have to go pick up from the docks?" Syrus asked.
"Ever heard of a Duel Runner. Left it behind in the city and asked for it to be airlifted here after passing my entrance exam."
"No way! A Duel Runner!" Jaden said in excitement. "Like the ones Turbo Duelists use? You actually have one?"
"Stored it in the garage."
"Do you think we can see it sometime?" Jaden asked, smiling.
"I don't see the harm in that."
"While we're at it, I'll let you guys see mine." Crow said, shocking the two.
"You're kidding! You have a Duel Runner too, Crow?!" Syrus asked, surprised.
"Yep, made it myself and it's ready for Turbo Dueling." Crow said.
"Another time perhaps." Tyson said. "Let's join the other reds for the welcome dinner, before there isn't any food left."
"Good point, I'm starving." Jaden agreed as he and his friends went inside.
After the four Slifers went inside, the welcome dinner for all the Academy dorms began. The Obelisk Blue dorms, both boys and girls, have a very fancy welcome dinner for all the new students and the previous students. The Ra Yellow dorm also had a extravagant feast for their welcome dinner as well for the new and veteran students.
The Slifer Red dorm however wasn't as fortunate, the food they had was rice bowls with dried fish and miso soup, much to their dissatisfaction. The headmaster of the Slifer Red dorm wasn't present right now, the one who is present with the students is his cat Pharaoh. That is until a tall man with long black hair, squinted eyes and glasses entered the room.
"Hello, children. My name is Professor Banner." he greeted with a kind smile. "Now, before we eat, I like you each to tell us something about yourselves."
"Hey, this stuff's good." Jaden said as he was already eating his food.
"Jaden, we're supposed to say something about ourselves." Syrus said, slightly embarrassed at his friend's behavior.
"Okay, how about this, I'm starving." Jaden said.
"You might close your big mouth and open up your eyes, Jaden. He's right in front of you." Crow said with a amused smile. Jaden opened his eyes and sweat dropped as he sees Professor Banner was at his table and looking right at him.
"Since some of us don't feel like waiting, let's just eat." Professor Banner said as the other students smiled and started eating their food. They admit that while their dinner isn't as fancy like the ones from the other dorms, it is still good.
…
After they all ate, everyone went back to their rooms for some rest. Their going to need it since classes start tomorrow. Tyson and Crow were in their room. Crow was relaxing on his bed, picking his teeth with a toothpick, while he was sitting at his desk.
"Man that hit the spot. I got to give props to Professor Banner. I haven't had a home cooked meal that good in ages."
"It certainly was." Tyson said in agreement.
Not long after, his PDA started getting a call.
"Who could that be?" Crow asked.
"No idea." He said as he answered. The screen shows it was Chazz.
"Hey there, Tyson Fudo." Chazz said with a smirk. "What do you know, they put you in the Slifer dorm with all the other rejects. Guess you're not as tough as you thought."
"And you are?" He asked. Crow walked over to him and saw Chazz on the screen.
"Hey, I know this guy." Crow said before looking at Chazz on the screen. "You're that jerk back at the arena. What do you want, Chazz?"
"I'm calling to challenge Tyson to a duel." Chazz said with a smirk. "The winner gets to keep one of the losers cards. Come meet me in the arena unless you're scared to face me."
"Not interested." He said flatly, surprising both Crow and Chazz, however the latter got back to his arrogant smirk.
"What's the matter? Afraid to get crushed?" Chazz said mockingly.
"I really don't have time to deal with you." He said, before signing off. "Go bother someone else Chazz." He ended the call.
…
Back at the Obelisk Blue dorm was Chazz, who was seething his teeth in anger for him rejecting his challenge and hanging up on him.
'The nerve of that guy, acting like he's better than me. Fine, if this Slifer Scum doesn't want to duel me then I will just get someone who will.' Chazz though with a smirk as he dialed Jaden.
…
Meanwhile back at the Slifer Red Dorm, Jaden was relaxing by the floor while Syrus was pouring tea. Chumley in the meantime was still in his bed.
"Oh, I'm stuffed." Jaden said as he rubbed his stomach. "I'll tell ya, Professor sure can cook. Wow."
"Yeah, and he seems to be a pretty nice guy as well." Syrus said as he brought the tea over.
"With you there, he's good people." Jaden said as Syrus handed him cup of tea. "Thanks."
"Hey, Chumley, want some tea?" Syrus asked as he looked up at Chumley's bed.
"Did I say I was thirsty?" Chumley replied rudely.
"Hey, he just asked if you wanted some tea. You don't have to snap at him." Jaden scolded.
"That's okay, Jaden. I'm use to it." Syrus sighed.
"Tea makes you wet the bed. Not that I ever do-whatever! I'm trying to sleep!" Chumley said. Suddenly Jaden got a call from his Academy PDA. When he answered, it was Chazz.
"Hey, Slifer Slacker, don't think you're off the hook. Tonight at midnight, it's on. Oh, why don't we make it more interesting. Whoever wins, gets the other guy's best card." Chazz said, giving Jaden the exact same challenge he tried with Tyson. He decided to call Jaden next because he knew the Slifer would accept the challenge no matter what the stakes are.
"Cool, guess I'll get to duel at that arena after all." Jaden said. Chumley turned over to them, hearing their conversation.
"If that's Chazz you're dueling, then all you're getting is trouble." Chumley warned them.
Jaden and Syrus left their dorm room and ran for the school so Jaden can duel Chazz. Unknown to them however, Crow saw then through the door window.
"Hey Tyson, I see Jaden and Syrus outside and they're heading for the school." Crow said.
"Really." He said calmly. "Did Jaden have his duel disk."
"Yeah, someone challenged him to a duel." Crow said.
"I'm not so sure this is such a good idea, Jaden." Syrus said as they walked through the hallway.
"Good or bad, when someone challenges you to a duel you got to step up. There's no choice." Jaden said as they made their way to the arena where Chazz was there along with his two friends.
"Well, well, well, he shows." Chazz said as he and his friends smirked.
"You better believe it, there is no way I was going to miss this." Jaden said. He and Chazz then took their spots on the Duel Arena and had their Duel Disks ready as everyone else stood back outside of the platform.
"Time to find out you beating Crowler was either a fluke or fact." Chazz said.
"Yeah, well we're gonna find out something else too." Jaden said. "Like which one of us is really going to be the next King of Games."
"Yeah, yeah, just make sure you have your best card ready to hand over once you lose." Chazz said, confident that he can win no problem.
"You too. Now game on!" Jaden said as he and Chazz activated their Duel Disks, drew five cards and started their duel.
"Duel!" They both said.
Jaden: 4000 LP.
Chazz: 4000 LP.
"All right, Slacker," Chazz started as he drew his first card and looked at his hand cards. "For my first move, I'll summon Reborn Zombie in Defense Mode." he said as he placed his card on his Duel Disk and a decaying zombie with ragged clothing appeared on his field.
Reborn Zombie: 1600 DEF. Level 4.
"And I'll also place one card face down and end my turn." Chazz said as he set a card face down.
"I guess that's one way to start a duel, but I'm going to go a little bigger. Here goes." Jaden said as he drew his next card and started his turn. He looked at his cards and sees Winged Kuriboh in his hand.
"Hey, good to see ya, Winged Kuriboh. Maybe I'll use you later, but now-" Jaden said before continuing his move.
"I'll play Polymerization, fusing Elemental Hero Avian and Burstinatrix and bringing out Elemental Flame Wingman in Attack Mode!" Jaden shouted as he summoned Flame Wingman to his field.
Elemental Hero Flame Wingman: 2100 ATK. Level 6.
"I told you I start big, didn't I." Jaden said confidently.
"I was hoping you would." Chazz said with a smirk.
"Why's that?" Jaden asked confused.
"Because that card I placed face down was a trap, Slacker. That you set off." Chazz said as he activated his face down card. "Chthonian Polymer, do your stuff!"
"Chthonian Polymer's stuff?" Syrus asked.
"I had a feeling I might find you guys here." A voice said. Syrus turned and the voice was from Alexis as she entered the room.
"Alexis?" Syrus asked.
Then Laxus landed next to her, after converting himself into lightning and then turning back to normal.
"I'm not surprised you two are here." Another voice said. They both turned and the voice came from Tyson as he and Crow entered the arena.
"What are you guys doing here?" Syrus asked.
"I saw you guys leaving the dorm and figured Jaden was challenged to a duel. Looks like I was right." Crow said.
"This isn't a good start to it, though."
"What do you mean?" Syrus asked.
"Chthonian Polymer's a nasty Trap Card. It allows you to take control an opponent's Fusion Monsters by sacrificing one of your own creatures." Alexis explained.
"Oh no, Jaden just summoned a Fusion Monster." Syrus said worried.
"I sacrifice Reborn Zombie to gain control of your Wingman." Chazz said as his trap card sent his zombie to the graveyard as a Flame Wingman was then teleported over to Chazz's field while surrounded by a dark aura.
"How did Chazz know how to play that?" Syrus asked.
"You're so predictable, Jaden. You wouldn't stop talking about that Wingman at the exam, so I knew you use him soon." Chazz bragged.
"Still, since that Wingman was a special summon, that means I'm allowed to summon another monster during my turn." Jaden said as he looked at his remaining cards.
'Not that anything in my hand is any match for the Wingman.' Jaden thought.
'Go on, you Slifer Slacker, play another monster. After all, I haven't forgotten the Wingman's super power.' Chazz thought with a arrogant grin.
"All right, I summon Elemental Hero Clayman in Defense Mode." Jaden said as he summoned a large hulking hero made of clay and stone appears on his field.
Elemental Hero Clayman: 2000 DEF.
"There, all set." Jaden said as he ended his turn.
"Yeah, set up to get knocked down." Chazz said he drew and begin his turn summoning another monster to the field. "Rise, Chthonian Soldier!" he said as a demonic warrior in silver armor with a sword and shield appeared.
Chthonian Soldier: 1200 ATK.
"This doesn't look good for Jaden." Crow said. "He may have been the one to summon a powerful monster first but Chazz turned things around with one card."
"And now, Flame Wingman attack with Skydive Scorcher!" Chazz said as he ordered his attack. Flame Wingman flew up and dive down at Clayman while covered in flames, destroying him. "And now thanks to Flame Wingman's super power, your life points take damage equal to your destroyed monster's attack points."
Flame Wingman appeared in front of Jaden and then blasted him with a stream of fire from his dragon head arm.
Jaden: 3200 LP.
"But don't think for a second that I'm done yet, Slacker. Chthonian Soldier attack with Windstorm Slash!" Chazz said he commanded his soldier's attack as it slashes Jaden and decreased his Life Points even more.
Jaden: 2000 LP.
"Are you starting to know your place here at the Academy yet?" Chazz asked. "Maybe you were somebody back home, but here in the big leagues, you're nothing but a pathetic little amateur, Slifer Slime."
I'll end my turn with two face down cards. Go ahead, Slacker." Chazz said as he set two cards on his field before ending his turn, he then heard Jaden starting to chuckle, but he thought he was sobbing. "What's wrong? Baby starting to cry?" Chazz said mockingly, to his surprise Jaden was then laughing for some reason.
"This is too fun." Jaden said with a smile.
"What?" Chazz said confused.
"Just what I came for. Man, the trash talking, the action, it's all so great." Jaden said.
"What the?" Chazz said confused.
Here he is, currently winning the duel, having twice as many life points now and yet Jaden was having fun. Chazz doesn't get it and he is really starting to get on his nerves now. He put these thoughts aside as Jaden starts his turn and summons his next monster.
"I summon Elemental Hero Sparkman!" Jaden said as a new hero with gold armor and blue helmet that conceals his entire face appears.
Elemental Hero Sparkman: 1600 ATK.
"All right, Sparkman, attack with Static Shock wave!" Jaden said as Sparkman attacked and fired a blast of electricity that destroyed Chthonian Soldier.
Chazz: 3600 LP.
After Chthonian Soldier was destroyed, it's sword flew up in the air, before it dived down right at Jaden and slashed him, causing him to lose life points as well.
Jaden: 1600 LP.
"Wait, what just happened? How come Jaden lost life points too?" Syrus asked.
"When that Soldier is attacked, the opponent takes the same amount of damage as the destroyed monster's owner." Tyson explained.
"If this keeps up, Jaden will be the one to run out of life points first." Crow said.
"It's just a matter of time, Slacker, your best card are about to be all mine." Chazz said, feeling his victory is all but ensured.
"This isn't over yet. I throw down a face down." Jaden said as he set a card face down before ending his turn.
"Play what you like, my next attack will finish off your life points." Chazz said as he drew his next card and begins his turn. "And that attack is coming right now. Go, Flame Wingman!" Chazz ordered as Flame Wingman surrounds itself with flames and ready to attack.
"Not so fast! That was a Trap Card I just threw." Jaden said as he activated his Mirror Gate Trap Card.
"A trap?!" Chazz said in shock.
"It's Mirror Gate." Syrus said.
"Then Jaden is still in this duel after all." Alexis said.
"It gets a lot better. Mirror Gate switches the control of monsters when the opponent declares a attack."
"That means Flame Wingman is back on Jaden's side and now Chazz has the weaker monster." Crow said.
Both Flame Wingman and Sparkman switch sides as they jumped in their and grappled each other in the air. "Oh yeah! Go Wingman!" Jaden shouted as the two monsters clashed. Sparkman tried unleash it's electricity, but it backfired and destroyed itself since Wingman had higher attack points.
"Nooo!" Chazz shouted.
Chazz: 3100 LP.
"And just like you told me awhile ago, don't forget my Wingman's special power. You take damage equal to the attack points of your destroyed monster." Jaden said as Flame Wingman fires a blast of electricity at Chazz, damaging his life points even more.
Chazz: 1500 LP.
"All right!" Syrus cheered as Jaden gave them a peace sign.
"Nice moves, Jaden." Alexis said with a smile, impressed with his move.
"You're finally starting to turn this duel around." Crow said with a grin.
"This duel hasn't ended though, so don't get complacent." Tyson advised.
"I'd listen to your friend there if I were you. Those were just some lucky moves, you Slifer School Slime, but my move still isn't over. I activate a Trap of my own, Chthonian Blast!" Chazz said as he activated one of his face down Trap Cards. "Now, since you destroyed one of my monsters, I can destroy one of yours and you take damage equal to half of his attack points."
Flame Wingman was then swallowed and destroyed in a vortex, taking some of Jaden's life points with it.
Jaden: 550 LP.
"Now I activate the Trap Card, Call of the Haunted." Chazz said as he activated the other Trap Card he set last turn. "It lets me select one monster in my graveyard and summon it back to the field in Attack Mode."
"Rise, Chthonian Soldier!" Chazz said as his warrior is revived.
Chthonian Soldier: 1200 ATK. Level 4.
"But he won't be staying on the field for long because I'm going to sacrifice him to summon Mefist the Infernal General." he said as knight with black armor wielding an ax and riding on a ram with black armor appears on the field.
Mefist the Infernal General: 1800 ATK. Level 5.
"Not bad." Jaden complimented.
"Not bad?" Chazz questioned before he smirked. "You're something else, Slacker, you know that? Acting all confident, but your lousy monsters won't get you out of this jam."
Jaden then heard Winged Kuriboh's voice, telling him shouldn't listen to what Chazz says. "I know he's wrong, Kuriboh." Jaden said as Winged Kuriboh winked at him.
"Because Chazz doesn't know that my monsters and I we have a bond." He said as he began his turn and then smiled after seeing the card he drew.
Laxus narrowed his eyes as he heard footsteps approaching the arena. "We're gonna have a few words later, Princeton." He told the black-haired Obelisk, glaring at him.
"Guys, we got company." Alexis said, getting everyone's attention. "If they find us all in here, we'll get seriously busted."
"What?" Syrus asked panicked.
"Why?" Jaden asked "I mean we're all students here."
Alexis shook her head and showed them her Academy PDA. "The rules say no off hour arena duels. Chazz knew that, but let me guess, he didn't tell you." Alexis said which got Chazz to blush in embarrassment.
"Come on, let's go!" Taiyou said to Chazz.
"Well, well, Slacker. Looks like you lucked out this time." Chazz said, deciding to end the duel here.
"What are you talking about? The match isn't over." Jaden said, wanting to finish the duel.
"Yeah, it is. I've seen what I came here to see. You're a sorry Duelist, you beating Dr. Crowler was a total fluke." Chazz said as he and his friends left the arena. Jaden was about to say something back until Syrus spoke.
"Jaden, we gotta get out of here." Syrus said.
"He's right." Alexis agreed.
"Let's go." Syrus said.
"This stinks, I had this guy on the ropes." Jaden pouted.
"We're leaving."
"You heard the man, let's go." Crow said as they left the arena. Laxus wasn't far behind in his lightning form.
They left just in time too. As soon as they left, security came in and found no one in the arena with the lights turned off. Jaden, Tyson, Syrus, Crow and Alexis were all able to make it outside without any of security seeing them. Though Jaden was still upset that he didn't get to finish his duel, so upset Crow had to push him on the way out.
"You certainly are stubborn, Jaden." Alexis said amusingly.
"Only about my dueling." Jaden said, still dissatisfied.
"Quit being a baby, it's only the first day. There will other chances for you to duel." Crow said.
"Thanks for showing us the way out, Alexis." Syrus said.
"Sure." Alexis said before turning to Jaden. "I'm sorry you didn't get the chance to finish your duel with Chazz."
"It's okay, I just know how it would have ended anyway." Jaden said.
"You sure, from what we saw, it looked like that duel could have gone either way." Crow said.
"No way, not after I drew this." Jaden said while revealing the card he drew before the duel was interrupted; Monster Reborn.
"Monster Reborn?" Alexis asked both shocked and confused.
"On his next turn, Jaden would have revived Flame Wingman and destroyed Mefist the Inferal General." Tyson explained. Crow's eyes widened when he realized where he was going with this.
"Yeah, and then after that, the Flame Wingman's ability would have taken out the rest of Chazz's life points." Crow finished as he grinned and placed his arm around Jaden's shoulder. "You would have won if the duel continued."
"Yeah, too bad I didn't get the chance though." Jaden said.
"You'll get another opportunity." Tyson told him.
"Yeah, you're right." Jaden replied before turning to Alexis. "See ya, Alexis."
Alexis just watched as Jaden and his friends left back to their dorm. She couldn't help but smile at Jaden. 'This is going to be one interesting year.' She thought as she watches the four Slifers returning to their dorm.