I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX. Only the trickster fox and the card, Fox Spirit- Malicious are mine. This is an AU of season two.

Chapter One- Birthday Surprise

"But, why?" asked the brunette woman as she cradled a baby in her arms as she knelt before a large red fox. His brown eyes stared into her green ones.

"I told you," he said through sharp teeth. "I am a trickster and can only stay in human form briefly. Take care of our son. Tell him his heritage when he turns sixteen for it will start to surface then." He gently ran a dark red paw over a tuft of brown hair on the baby's head before licking the woman's cheek. "Goodbye. I love you," he said softly and then turned and leaped out a window to a clear night with a full moon. As the light fell on the fox, its eyes turned red and glowing and it growled angrily. His evil and trickster side had re-awakened after being a human for several years; a side that had been buried while in human form.

Jaden's eyes snapped open and he laid there, his mind's eye flashing through the images of his dream. Was that a dream of my past? I never knew my father and mom said he died. But, what if he's alive and an evil trickster fox? And, if that's so, what does that make me?

His PDA chimed and he slid out of bed to check it. He had a message…and it was from Mom! He opened it and read it:

Hi, sweetie. Happy birthday! By now, you've probably have had at least one strange dream involving us and a fox. I don't know any specifics, but the dream is true. Your father was a trickster fox who fell in love with me and took human form for several years. He had to resume his true form for good and told me to tell you the truth on your sixteenth birthday as your fox heritage will surface, though I don't know what that means. I suppose you'll find out soon. Again, happy birthday Jaden.

Jaden sat down hard in the chair, staring at the message. So, his dream was true! His father was a fox and some part of it would surface in him soon as he was now sixteen! He looked at a hand and saw it was normal. He rubbed his face: Normal and fur-free. Maybe the part I'll get is the urge to play tricks. That wouldn't be so bad. I won't be an evil one like my dad as I'm only half-fox.

A pillow came sailing down and nailed him in the face. "Happy birthday, Sarge!" called Hassleberry.

"Uh, thanks," Jaden sputtered.

"Happy birthday, Ja," Syrus said.

"Thanks, pal." He put his hands up as a small package came at him. He knew iti was some Duel Monsters booster packs. He couldn't help grinning as another package came down. His friends knew what to get him, even though Hassleberry just became a friend this year and not that long ago, either. He ripped off the wrappings before opening the packs to see what he got as his friends got up to get dressed for the day.

"Sweet! This card will work great in my deck!" Jaden moved onto the next card and saw this one had potential too. The last card, however, gave him pause and made his heart pound. The picture of the monster was that of a fox with solid red eyes!

Hassleberry looked over his shoulder and whistled. "Sam Hill, that's one scary, creepy monster. Fox Spirit-Malicious."

"Yeah," Jaden agreed. "Says it can only be summoned when my life points are 1,000 or less. Then I must banish all the monsters in my graveyard and this cards gets an extra 500 attack points for each one." There was more to the card, but he felt he had said enough.

"Five hundred for each one and it already has 3,000 attack points?" Hassleberry gasped. "Man, play it right and it'll annihilate your opponent's monster and his life points."

"But I'm not going to use it," Jaden protested. "I feel like this card is dangerous. I'll keep it but not play it." He put it in his deck box as he got dressed.

It was a beautiful Saturday and the sight of it drove his dream and the scary card out of his mind. He looked forward to hanging out with all of his friends and, of course, duel. The year had just started but already he had made a new friend and Syrus had been promoted to Ra. Jaden hadn't been promoted but he didn't care. He was already recognized as the school's top duelist, so what dorm he lived in didn't matter.

"Go, Shining Flare Wingman!" Jaden called. His monster flew forward and attacked, bringing the duel to an end and Jaden grinned. He was having a lot of fun and by the small smile on his opponent's face, he had enjoyed it too. He stood, dusted off his red jacket, and went up to Jaden.

"Good duel," he said holding out a hand. "I learned a lot."

"Sweet. I hope it helps." Jaden took the hand and released as the Slifer red left.

"Way to play, Ja," Syrus praised.

"Thanks, Sy." Jaden brushed some hair to one side and his fingers brushed against his ear that felt longer. He trailed behind his friends, his finger feeling the shape of his ear. It felt as if it was gaining a point. His heart pounded again. It was starting: His heritage was surfacing. Are my ears really going to be pointed? What about my hands? He looked at them, but they were still normal. He sighed as he ran his finger along his ear again.

"Jaden? You okay?" Alexis said as she and the others came over as Jaden had stopped when he realized he had a pointed ear.

"I don't know. Maybe," he said. "I had a strange dream last night and it turns out to be from my past. I found out the truth about my dad."

"Your dad?" Syrus repeated.

"I thought he had died shortly after I was born, at least that's what Mom said. But he didn't die. He's actually a trickster fox; an evil one."

"What? That's crazy," Hassleberry said.

Jaden took out his PDA and brought up his mom's message. "Read this," he said, holding it out.

His friends read the message and Atticus whistled. "Wow. So, has anything of your heritage come up yet?" he asked as Jaden put his pad away.

"I think so." He pushed his hair back to show his ear.

"Whoa," Alexis breathed. She went up and pushed back the hair on the other side. "They're both pointed."

"Are you gonna turn into a fox?" Syrus asked.

"I hope not. Maybe just pointed ears and the occasional desire to play a trick or two."

"Knowing you, they'll be harmless," Hassleberry said.

Jaden grinned. "Yeah, they would be. I'm only half-fox and not evil."

"How about we get dinner and head up to school?" Syrus asked. "I mean, Zane's dueling tonight. The whole school's gonna watch it."

"Of course," Jaden said. "I'd never miss a chance to see your brother duel." The gang broke for their respective dorms to enjoy a decent meal before cheering on their former school mate.

Jaden smiled as he left the room while Syrus beamed. Zane had pulled off another successful almost flawless win. He had to go on the defensive for a time before he turned the tables. Jaden admired the fact that Zane never lost his cool during that time. He wasn't so sure he could be that calm under the pressure of needing to win. That was the only negative thing about being a pro: You're expected to win; if you start losing and keep losing, you would lose your sponsor and the fans. But, Zane's good. I don't see him losing. I want to be able to duel like him and still have fun while doing so.

Jaden, Syrus, and Hassleberry sat in their dorm, re-living Zane's duel and going through their decks as they talked. Jaden shuffled his cards before lifting the top one and staring at it: It was Fox Spirit.

Man, I forgot I put it in my deck box. Well, maybe I'll keep it in my deck. I am half-fox and it's only natural to have a remainder of it with me. He put it back on top and returned it to his box before discussing some of Zane's tactics with his friends. Jaden, therefore, didn't see a faint black glow outline the Fox Spirit card and trickle down to the rest of his deck.