Some time later, Jaden, Jesse, and their friends and fellow classmates were in a helicopter that was on the way to Academy Island, where they would spend the next few years learning about Duel Monsters. Jaden had slept for a lot of the ride, but Jesse eventually woke her up and suggested they try to find a way to pass the time.
"So, Syrus, what is your story? Like, what drives you to be a Duelist?" Jaden asked her new friend.
"Uh…uh…I just…want to be as good as my brother someday," Syrus awkwardly confessed.
"Really now? Is he a pro or somethin'?" Jesse asked.
"Not yet, but he is easily the strongest Duelist I know. He can even manage himself against pro level opponents," Syrus noted.
"Impressive. May be worth facing him in a Duel someday," Jaden said.
"He could be a worthy opponent. We just need ta find an' challenge him to a match," Jesse agreed.
"Do you know where we can find him?" Jaden was curious.
"He's…," Syrus said only to stop talking.
"Hey, are you okay?" Jaden asked.
"Yeah, ya look a bit sad. Do ya feel that way because of us or your brother or are we lookin' a bit too deeply inta this?" Jesse asked gently.
"It's not your fault, you guys. I just… don't know if I should let you guys face him yet. Also… he just makes me feel…," Syrus confessed.
"What? What does he make you feel?" Jaden gently pressed, wanting to get to the heart of the problem.
"I-It's nothing, you guys," Syrus said.
"Well, if ya ever change your mind and wanna talk to us about it just let us know," Jesse supportively said.
"Yeah, and I'm sorry if we made you uncomfortable," Jaden apologized.
"It's okay. I guess it isn't the worst idea to get to know each other better," Syrus admitted.
"Yeah! And it sure beats Jaden's idea of playing eye spy!" Jesse good-naturedly joked.
"Hey!" Jaden yelled as she pretended to be offended by Jesse.
"So, what about you two? What drives you two to Duel anyway?" Syrus questioned curiously.
"Well…," Jaden began only to be interrupted by the copter having just arrived at Duel Academy island at long last. "Attention, new Duel Academy students: if you look outside your windows, you'll see your new home away from home. Now, now, I know you're excited, but don't shove. Quite a sight, eh? Now then. Fasten your seatbelts and set your seats back to an upright position. We're going in to land. Next stop, Academy Island," The pilot said.
Later on, inside of the school, all of the students that got to the school on the helicopter were waiting for the introduction speech in one of the classrooms, now wearing their respective uniforms. Jaden had fallen asleep standing up, not noticing that Chancellor Shepherd had just appeared on the screen in front of them. Jesse decided to let Jaden sleep and tell her what she missed later.
"Good morning and welcome, my students. I'm Chancellor Sheppard, the headmaster here, and you are the best and brightest young Duelists in the world. Now please, get yourselves settled in at your assigned dorms. I think you'll find them quite comfortable depending upon how you ranked of course," The chancellor said.
"Well, I don't know about you Sy and Jesse, but it looks like I'm in the Slifer Red dorm.
"That's cool. Same with me," Syrus was happy.
"That makes three of us. Well, looks like we won't have far to go in order to see each other at least," Jesse said.
"Yeah! I wonder if we'll bunk together," Jaden agreed as she saw Bastion walk on by. "Hey, Bastion, you in red, too?"
"Well now, let's see here, yellow sleeves, yellow buttons. I don't think so," Bastion dryly jokes.
"Oh, I get it now. So that's why the three of us are in red," Jaden realized.
"Please don't tell me that you've just figured that out now," Bastion dryly commented again.
"So what? Ever think that I'm color blind," Jaden asked in faux annoyance, puffing up her cheeks.
"Well, no, actually, I didn't. Are you color blind?" Bastion questioned.
At this, Jaden laughed. "No, but I coulda been! See you round the dorms, Bastion!" Jaden wished farewell to the Ra Yellow.
"I doubt that. Your dorm's over there," Bastion said as he pointed in the opposite direction of where he was walking.
"Well, time to see where the three of us will be sleeping in," Jesse said, wanting to get the excitement out of the way as he jumped up and down and looked like he was full of energy about to burst.
"And you're excited about what?" A new figure, also in Slifer Red, said as they approached the trio.
"Seeing our dorms, of course! These dorms are goin' to be our home for the next couple of years, after all," Jesse answered.
"I know, right Jesse? I bet wherever we stay we'll have fun just living and playing together!" Jaden said, looking just as ready to burst as Jesse. "Oh, by the way, what's your name?"
"My name's Blair. I managed to score very low on the written test, I'm afraid, but I did very well on the Duel test, almost the best if it weren't for Bastion and you guys," Blair noted.
"You sound like an impressive Duelist. We'll be lookin' forward to seein' you around the dorms," Jesse wished a fond farewell.
"I'm afraid you're getting an undeserved crummy start being in Slifer Red," Blair shook their head.
"What do you mean?" Syrus asked Blair, confused.
After a bit of walking, Jaden, Jesse, and Syrus had arrived at the Slifer Red dorm, which was a smallish two-story building with a red roof that was near the ocean.
"Aw man! This looks as horrible as Blair implied it was! This isn't a dorm. It's like an outhouse with a deck," Syrus complained as he looked over the outside.
"You kiddin' me? Check out the view This place is great," Jaden said, looking on the bright side of things as she looked at the beautiful view of the ocean from the balcony.
"You have a point Jay. If nothin' else we have a nice view of the ocean," Jesse agreed.
"Maybe. I guess it could be worse. But still, our first day here and things are already looking down!" Syrus yelled, looking upset.
"Hey Sy, don't worry too much. I mean, this place does have a rustic appeal, right?" Jaden tried to comfort her friend.
"Maybe," Syrus said conflicted. "What do you think, Jesse?"
"I say we check out our room before we say this place sucks or doesn't," Jesse answered. "If I remember right, the three of us apparently are all sharing a room. That sounds fun, right?"
"Uh, I guess so?" Syrus agreed reluctantly as he looked over their dorm numbers until they found the dorm the three of them were sharing; Room 5A.
Jaden opened the dorm room. If there was any word to describe the dorm the three were sharing it was small. The room consisted of very little extra space as about half the room was taken up by triple bunk beds and a desk that one can sit at. While not bad, the room was incredibly simple. "Wow, this place looks like a cool spot to spend our time together, right Syrus? Right Jesse?"
"Well, the place certainly is a bit small for us, but I think we can manage," Jesse said.
"I… I don't know," Syrus nervously buffered, not sure if he should be happy about the room or sad that it was so small.
"Hey, don't worry, Sy. It's not the end of the world if we don't have the best room at the start," Jaden said comfortingly.
"Jaden's right. And besides, perhaps you could work your way up into living in a higher ranking dorm in time," Jesse agreed.
"Maybe you guys have a point. At least I'm with my friends. Hey, do you think that there is some kind of fate or destiny at play here, you know with us all meeting and becoming friends?" Syrus asked.
"Personally, I doubt there is any destiny at play here," Jaden said, not wanting to get further involved with the past any more than she already had.
"Oh, right. But, regardless, at least we managed to meet some fairly nice people to become friends with," Jesse said, understanding the trauma that Jaden must be feeling after all they went through as young kids.
"By the way, what is with the color system at this school anyway?" Jaden asked.
"Don't you remember our father tellin' us about it earlier in the week?" Jesse asked his sister, only for everyone else to be a bit awkward when she shook her head. "Well, okay, the system is like this-."
"Why don't I explain how this whole color thing ends up working?" Blair said as they stood right outside the dorm room door.
"Well, I don't see why not," Jesse decided. "Go ahead."
"Perfect! Well, you see, Seto Kaiba himself set up this school to have a special system based around his usage and experience with the God Cards. The higher you rank, the better your accommodations. The top ranking dorm is Obelisk Blue, which all the girls get into in order to avoid potential problems involving both genders. As for boys, they get in there through connections or grades. Ra Yellows are the middle tier, which you get into through being good and having lots of potential, but not as much as Obelisk Blue. Finally, there is Slifer Red, where… everyone else gets into. I've heard that Slifer Reds don't get the best treatment sadly, but maybe you can prove them wrong and get into a better dorm. I plan on eventually getting a better rank," Blair finished, panting a bit from how long their explanation was. "So, was my explanation helpful?"
"Helpful? Aw man! I didn't know that we'd be the lowest of the low by getting into Slifer Red!" Syrus was getting worried as he ran off.
"Hey, get back here, Sy!" Jaden called out as she followed her new friend and roommate.
With only Jesse and Blair left, Blair apologized, "I'm sorry for what I said. Perhaps I was a bit blunt.
"Hey, it's fine, Blair. I mean, you were just tryin' to help. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go catch up with Jaden and Syrus and try to help calm Sy down," Jesse said before running off.
It took some time, but Jaden and Jesse had finally caught up with Syrus, who was looking very downcast. "So, Sy, are ya' doin' okay? You ran off lookin' very upset back there," Jesse noted in concern.
Syrus only moaned in sadness. "Come on, Sy. Don't tell me you're still depressed. I'm sure that Blair didn't mean anything by what she said about the dorms," Jaden tried to comfort her friend.
"You heard what she said, though. We reds are the worst," Syrus sadly said.
"I wouldn't worry about things too much right now," Jesse said.
"Yeah! Forget about the system! I mean, red's a sweet color. Think about it. Where do ya think the term "red hot" comes from? From red, baby!" Jaden said happily and comfortingly.
Syrus looked a mixture between relieved and confused. "To be fair, the year hasn't even officially started yet," Jesse said. "So we can't be the worst yet. We can easily rise up in the ranks," Jesse agreed.
After hearing what the duo had said, Syrus's previous sadness had been washed away. "Yeah, you two are right. Red is for red hot! Scorching, dangerous, hot," Syrus said as Jaden noticed something and was starting to walk off, with Jesse following after just to be safe. "I'm like a furnace. Or a really big bottle of spicy salsa dip, right?" At this, Syrus looked over to where Jaden and Jesse were and saw that they were gone.
"Aw man! I'm not a dip! Wait up, you guys!" Syrus said as he ran after the duo. "So, can you guys tell me what caused you to run off so suddenly?" Syrus called out to the duo that was ahead of them.
"Oh, sorry! It's just that there's some kind of duel action goin' on in that building!" Jaden answered.
"And I wanted to make sure Jaden here didn't get lost," Jesse explained himself.
A few minutes later, inside of the main building…
"Not that I doubt you, Jaden, but how do you know that there is duel action going on in there?" Syrus asked.
"Oh, simple. Now then, I think that it we should go right down this hall…," Jaden said as she led the group down the halls.
"Uh, can you please answer? Do you have some kind of sixth sense for Dueling or something?" Syrus asked, confused.
"Well, you wouldn't be the first person to ask Jaden about that," Jesse joked. "Jay, ya may want to explain yourself to our friends here."
"Oh, sorry! To put it simply, I can tell because it is in the air, Sy! I can just smell or feel a good Duel goin' on. It's all because of my card spirits giving me a hand in sensing what is happening around me. Can you do so as well?" Jaden asked Syrus as she began to walk into the arena.
"Duel what now? Sorry, but I don't think I understand your reasoning at all," Syrus shook his head in confusion and disbelief. " Though I may be able to do a better job if I had helpful card spirits or if today's pollen count was lower," Syrus noted sadly.
"Hey, are you okay, Sy? Hey, just because Jesse and me can see and hear spirits doesn't mean anything bad that you can't," Jaden comforted.
"Yeah. I hope ya don't feel too bad. I mean, not many people can understand their card spirits, ya know," Jesse tried to comfort Syrus.
"It's just… you know what? Never mind," Syrus brushed off his sadness and followed Jaden into the arena. "Are you sure we should be in here?"
Once everyone finished walking into the room, they looked around the arena in awe, especially Jaden and Jesse.
"This is the sweetest Dueling arena I've ever seen, and I've seen some impressive arenas," Jaden said.
"It looks completely state of the art," Syrus agreed.
"I bet it would be great to duel in here!" Jesse agreed in wonder.
"Well, why don't we find out and duel each other?" Jaden suggested.
"Do you guys think we can?" Syrus asked.
"I bet we can. After all, this is all our campus, of course," Jaden said.
"I know, right? How much do ya think Kaiba and dad paid to construct the arena, though?" Jesse asked.
"By the way, does your dad have some special connection to Industrial Illusions, judging by what ya just said?" Syrus wondered.
"Oh yeah! Ya see, our dad is…," Jesse began to answer only for an Obelisk Blue with blue hair, one of Chazz's friends, to interrupt.
"We don't care who yer dad is, Slifer Slacker! Just know that this campus doesn't belong to all of us like ya claimed earlier! This is the Blue Obelisk's campus," The blue haired jerk answered.
"Look here, you Slifer Red rejects don't belong in this arena like us. See the crest over there," The brown haired boy pointed towards a Obelisk sigil carved onto the wall. "That sigil means that the arena is Obelisk Blue turf!"
"The three of us were just looking around, but we'll leave now, right, Jaden and Jesse?" Syrus asked, trying to avoid trouble for them.
However, as Jaden looked over the sigil and turned back to the two jerks, she said, "Nah, we don't have to leave. Not so long as one of you guys agrees to duel me. Or Jesse. Heck, even Syrus."
"Oh yeah! Ya see, you may think this arena is just for the Obelisks, but we can duel here as well, especially if it's against one of you guys. Just give us a chance and we'll show our stuff," Jesse agreed.
"Wait a minute. I thought I recognized you two. Chazz!" The blue haired kid cried out.
"Chazz, those applicants that beat Dr. Crowler are here. Check it out," The brown haired teen called for Chazz.
At this, Chazz got up and looked over the trio, looking unimpressed.
"Oh, hey. It's nice to meet you. My name is Jaden. And these are my friends Syrus, and Jesse. And your name was… Chuzz was it?" Jaden asked, confused, which annoyed Chazz.
"His name's Chazz Princeton, and he was the number one Duelist back at Duel prep school so make sure and pay the proper respects, got it?" The blue haired teen said.
"Yeah, he's gonna be the future King of Games–the best Duelist in the world," The brown haired teen gloated on Chazz's behalf.
"I think that's unlikely," Jaden shook her head.
"Say what?"
"You see, it's impossible for him to be the future King of Games, because that's exactly who I can end up being. Or Jesse. Though most likely me being the Qu-," Jaden explained only for the two friends of Chazz to laugh at Jaden before she could finish.
"Well, if this is the worst we have ta deal with, I'd say we'll do fine," Jesse pointed out.
"A Slifer Slacker as King of Games? Yeah, that'll be the day!" The blue hair teen grumbled mockingly.
"Can it, you two. Maybe the new kid's right to brag," Chazz pointed out.
"Whaddaya mean there, Chazz?" The blue haired teen asked.
"He did, along with his friend, beat Crowler after all. And that legendary rare monster of his, I suppose it takes some skill to pull that off," Chazz noted.
"Yeah! And a bunch of teamwork too!" Jesse cheered.
"I agree with you, brother! Together, us two great Duelists were able to defeat Crowler and get into this school! Oh, and by the way, I'm a-," Jaden tried to say only to be interrupted.
"Or was it luck? I say that we find out right now. And, seeing as how Jaden here did all the heavy lifting, I'll duel him first," Chazz challenged.
"Oh yeah! Bring it on, Chazzie!" Jaden agreed.
However, before the pair could Duel, a voice said, "This sure is a motley crew." Upon turning to see the source of the voice, they saw it came from Alexis Rhodes.
"Whoa! Who is she?" Syrus asked.
"Hey Alexis," Chazz said flirtingly. "Have ya come to watch me mop the floor with my new little friend Jaden here? It'll be a short Duel, but an entertaining one for sure."
Alexis responded, "I'm here to remind you about the Obelisk welcome dinner. You're late."
"Hmph. Fine! Let's get going guys," Chazz brushed off snobbishly as the trio left.
"Well, that's one way ta be welcomed," Jesse noted.
"I know. I kinda like it," Jaden said.
"Sorry if Chazz rubbed you the wrong way, you guys. Not all of us Obelisks are like that. He's just a jerk, especially with Slifers," Alexis apologized.
"Oh, it's no big deal. I've dealt with total jerks before. And, to be fair, those types don't really bother me at all anymore. Besides, I'd have beaten him in one turn," Jaden bragged.
"Maybe be a bit more realistic with your guess next time," Jesse joked.
"Yeah. We're gonna have to work on that overconfidence," Syrus noted nervously.
"Okay then. How's this for more realistic? Two turns. Maybe two and a half," Jaden half-joked, amusing Alexis.
"The Slifer welcome dinner's about to start, too," Alexis pointed out.
"Oh, right! We better go, Sy, Jess!" Jaden yelled as she began to run. "Race you guys!"
"Interesting. I'll bite. Let's go!" Jesse cried out as he rushed for the Slifer Red dorm, with Jaden and Syrus being right behind him.
"Hey, wait up! Why is everything a race with you guys?" Syrus complained as he was in the back.
Suddenly, Jaden stopped before running in place and turning around, asking, "So, hey, what was your name again?"
"Alexis Rhodes. And yours?" Alexis asked in turn.
"The name's Jaden," Jaden answered."See ya around!" Jaden said as she ran off.
"Aren't you going to introduce me?" Syrus asked as he ran behind Jaden.
"What? I need to catch up with Jesse." Jaden pointed out.
Meanwhile, in contrast to the luxurious looking welcome dinners of the other dorms, Slifer Red merely served white rice, curry, and fish. While it didn't look bad, it was a massive disappointment compared to what the students were expecting.
As the students complained over the disappointing dinner and whether or not the dorm headmaster was a cat, the real headmaster for Slifer Red, Professor Banner, walked into the room with a warm smile.
"Hello, children. I'm Professor Banner. Now, before we eat, I'd like you each to tell us something about your-," Banner began only to be interrupted by Jaden and Jesse.
"This stuff's good," Jaden said with her mouth full of food.
"I know, right? I wonder if we can have more than one serving," Jesse agreed.
"Um, guys? We're supposed to say something about ourselves," Syrus warned, not wanting his two friends to get into trouble.
"Ok, how bout this? We're starvin'. Sorry to eat so soon, but we couldn't help ourselves!" Jaden answered.
"Actually, do ya think we should wait a minute first?" Jesse asked his sister.
"He's walking over here, guys!" Syrus warned as Banner was doing just that. "I mean it, you two. Please st…," Syrus nervously continued until Banner was right where they were.
"We shoulda waited, shouldn't have we?" Jesse asked Jaden.
"Yep, we should have," Jaden whispered back.
"Well, since some of us don't feel like waiting, let's just eat," Banner suggested understandingly.
Back in the dorm room…
"I'll tell ya, Professor Banner sure can cook," Jaden said as she rubbed her belly.
"Yeah, and he seems like a pretty nice guy, as well," Syrus agreed as he poured three glasses of tea.
"I know, right? I thought for a moment we would have been in trouble," Jesse agreed.
"But he understood we were just hungry due to not getting lunch and let us eat without a hassle! He'll be a nice guy to be around while we're in Slifer Red," Jaden noted.
Suddenly, Jaden heard and felt a buzzing coming from her pocket. She got out the source of the buzzing, which was a PDA phone-like device.
"Cool! Looks like we get a fancy phone to go with our stay here!" Jaden said.
"Well… it looks better than the phone I have. But who could be calling at this hour?" Syrus was confused.
"Only one way to find out. Answer it, Jaden," Jesse suggested.
At this, Jaden pressed the answer button and an image of Chazz suddenly appeared on the screen. "Hey, Slifer Slacker! Don't think you're off the hook. Tonight at midnight, it's on. Oh, and why don't we make it interesting? Whoever wins gets the other guy's best card."
As the call ended at this point, Jaden started to look psyched. "All right! Guess I'll get to Duel at that arena after all."
"Are you sure we should agree to this Duel? I mean, it's against campus law to ante your cards," Jesse wanted, not wanting to see his sister get into trouble.
"Look, why don't we just not accept his card when I win? That way, I get to duel and no one gets into trouble," Jaden suggested.
"I'm not so sure this is a good idea, Jaden," Syrus warned as the trio walked towards the arena. "After all, what if we get into trouble like Jesse said?"
"We're not going to get in trouble, Sy. Besides, good or bad, when someone challenges you to a Duel, ya gotta step up. We've got no choice," Jaden said.
"I think we do," Syrus muttered nervously.
"Still, I understand how important this is for you. Who knows? Maybe Chazz will be less rude if we beat 'em. So, knock 'em dead, Jay," Jesse gave a thumbs up as the trio finally reached the arena, seeing that Chazz and his pals were there already.
"Well, well, well. He shows after all," Chazz says.
"Uh, actually, I'm a girl," Jaden corrected. "Also, you better believe I showed up. There was no way I was gonna miss this opportunity to Duel such a powerful opponent."
"Also, can we just have a Duel without antes? I'd rather not get my sister in trouble by agreeing to an illegal match," Jesse said as Jaden walked onto the platform.
Chazz and his pals stood there, looking surprised at the confession of Jaden before laughing it off. "Well, it looks like our pal is also a comedian! A Slifer Red girl? Ha! What a joke!"
"Wait. Are you a girl?" Syrus whispered.
"Um, yeah? Is it really that hard to notice?" Jaden confirmed as Syrus blushed for a second.
"Sorry for not noticing sooner Jay! I just thought that you were…," Syrus apologizes for the screw-up.
"Hey, it's fine, Sy. But we'll talk about this more later. Right now, it's Duel time!" Jaden said.
"Very well, funny boy, time to find out if you beating Dr. Crowler with your pals was a fluke or a fact," Chazz challenged.
"Yeah, well, we're gonna find out something else, too, like which one of the two of us is really gonna become the Next King, or rather Queen, of Games," Jaden said, returning the challenge.
"Yeah, yeah, "Miss" just make sure you have your best card ready to hand over when you lose," Chazz said.
"Can we please not?" Jesse asked.
"Whatever! All right, slacker. For my first move, I'll summon Reborn Zombie in Defense mode (1600 Defense). And I'll also place one card facedown," Chazz played his first turn.
"I guess that's one way to start a Duel. But I think I'll go a little bigger," Jaden said as she drew her first card and looked over her hand. She noticed that one of her cards was Winged Kuriboh, who responded with a coo. "Hey, good to see ya, Winged Kuriboh. Maybe I'll use ya later, but now I'll play Polymerization, fusing Elemental Heroes Avian and Burstinatrix and bringing out Elemental Hero Flame Wingman in Attack Mode (2100 Attack)!"
"Good move, sis! Now, teach him a lesson he'll never forget!" Jesse cheered.
"I told ya I'd start big, didn't I?" Jaden boasted.
"Yeah, and I was hoping you would," Chazz bit back.
"And why's that?" Jaden asked a bit warily.
"Because that card I just played facedown was a trap, slacker, that you've set off. Chthonian Polymer, do your stuff," Chazz played his set card.
"What's Chthonian Polymer's stuff?" Syrus nervously asked.
"Well, ya see…," Jesse began to explain.
"I had a feeling I'd find you guys here. Chthonian Polymer is a nasty trap. It allows you to take control of an opponent's Fusion Monster by sacrificing one of your own creatures," Alexis answered.
"Aw man! I wanted ta be the one to answer that. Aw well," Jesse brushed off his disappointment fast.
"Oh no! Jaden just summoned a Fusion monster," Syrus was worried.
"I sacrifice Reborn Zombie to gain control of your Wingman, Jaden," Chazz played as Wingman appeared on Chazz's field with a black wing instead of white.
"Aw, my monster!" Jaden yelled out.
"How did Chazz know to play that card at that time?" Syrus asked.
"Maybe he predicted Jaden would somehow. Maybe because… he was expecting it!" Jesse realized.
"Of course! You're so predictable Jaden! You wouldn't stop talking about that Wingman at the exam, so I'd knew you'd use him soon," Chazz revealed.
"Still, since that Wingman was a Special Summon, that means I'm allowed to summon another monster during my turn," Jaden reminded Chazz.
"Yes, you can! Now hurry up and make your next move! I can't wait to smash your next monster into dust!" Chazz mocked as Jesse looked a bit annoyed at Chazz.
"He's right. Nothing in my hand is a match for the Wingman," Jaden thought.
"Go on, you Slifer Slacker. Play another monster. After all, I haven't forgotten the Flame Wingman's super power," Chazz thought.
"All right, I summon Elemental Hero Clayman in Defense Mode (2000 Defense). There, all set," Jaden finished her turn.
"Yeah, set up to get knocked down. Rise, Chthonian Soldier (1200 Attack). And now, Flame Wingman, attack with Skydive Scorcher! And now thanks to Wingman's super power, your Life Points take damage equal to your destroyed monster's Attack Points!" Chazz said as Wingman proceeded to burn Jaden's face comedically (Jaden-3200 LP). "But don't think for one second that I'm done yet, Slacker. Chthonian Soldier, attack! Windstorm Slash (Jaden-2000 LP)! Are you starting to know your place here at the Academy yet? Maybe you wer somebody back at home, but here in the big leagues, you're nothing but a pathetic amateur, Slifer Slime." Jesse and Alexis both looked on in anger, not liking how Jaden was being bullied by Chazz like this. "I'll end my turn with a facedown card. Go ahead and make your move." Seconds later, it looked like Jaden was crying. "Aw, baby, what wrong?"
"Okay, that's taking things too far!" Alexis growled as she was ready to confront Chazz only for it to turn out, once again, that Jaden was laughing, not crying.
"This is too fun," Jaden said.
"What?" Chazz growled in anger.
"Just what I came for. Man, I mena, the trash talking, the action, it's all so great," Jaden said.
"Phew! Looks like Chazz is gettin' off easy for now," Jesse said as he sighed, not wanting to be overly serious.
"I summon Elemental Hero Sparkman (1600 Attack)! Now, Sparkman, attack with Static Shockwave," Jaden cried out as her monster proceeded to destroy Chthonian Soldier (Chazz-3600 LP). Suddenly, a sword materialized and sliced at Jaden, reducing her Life Points by 400 (Jaden-1600 LP).
"Still think it's great, slacker? Because when Chthonian Soldier is destroyed, you receive the same amount of damage to your Life Points as I do. Difference is, you hardly have any to spare!" Chazz gloated. "It's just a matter of time, slacker. Your best card is about to be all mine!"
"Wait. That is illegal! Don't tell me you two are risking expulsion for this duel!" Alexis cried out.
"Finally! Someone else is gettin' this!" Jesse was relieved.
"This isn't over yet, Chazz. I throw down a facedown and end my turn," Jaden defiantly said.
"Play what you like, slacker. My next attack will finish off your Life Points. And that attack's coming right now! Go, Flame Wingman!" Chazz ordered.
"Hold on! That was a trap card I just threw," Jaden called out as she played her card.
"A trap?!" Chazz cried out, starting to look pale.
"It's Mirror Gate," Syrus pointed out.
"See? Was there ever any doubt JAden would turn this around?" Jesse said.
"I guess not. Jaden is still in this Duel after all. Mirror Gate makes two monsters in a battle switch which side they're on. So now that Wingman is back with Jaden," Alexis was impressed.
Both monsters switched sides as they began to clash. Ultimately, Jaden's Flame Wingman won, bringing Chazz's Life Points down to 3100. "No!" Chazz cried out.
"And just like you told me a while ago, don't forget my Wingman's super power. You take damage equal to the attack points of your destroyed monster," Jaden reminded as Chazz was electrocuted and lost Life Points (Chazz-1500 LP).
"All right!" Syrus cheered.
"I know, right? Jaden may be the only Duelist to rival me as the best of this year!" Jesse praised.
"Well, with nice moves like those he at least proves to be a strong Slifer Red," Alexis agreed.
"Yeah right he's a good Duelist! That was just luck, not skill! Jaden is just a piece of Slifer school scum!" Chazz growled.
"Nope! That right there was pure skill!" Jesse argued.
"Grr! I activate the spell card Chthonian Blast. Now, since you destroyed one of my monsters, I can destroy one of yours, and you take damage equal to half of its attack points," Chazz played, destroying Flame Wingman.
"Oh, Flame Wingman," Jaden sadly said (Jaden-550 LP).
"Now I activate the trap card Call of the Haunted. It lets me select one monster card from my graveyard and summon it back to the field in Attack Mode. Rise, Chthonian Soldier (1200 Attack)! But he won't be staying on the field for long, because I'm going to sacrifice him to summon Mefist the Infernal General (1800 Attack)," Chazz played.
"Wow, Chazz. That move was pretty sweet! Not the best out there, but still relatively cool" Jaden complimented.
"You know, you're something else, slacker, you know that? Acting all confident and not being intimidated by my superior moves. Sadly, though, your lousy monsters won't get you out of this jam," Chazz gloated.
Before Jaden could draw her next card, she heard Winged Kuriboh make a coo sound and winked at her. "I know he's wrong Kuriboh. Because Chazz doesn't know that my monsters and I have a bond," Jaden said as she drew her card, looking happy over what she drew.
Before Jaden could make her move, Alexis called out, "Uh, guys! We need to stop this duel! We've got company–campus security. If they find us all in here we'll get seriously busted."
"What?!" Syrus was getting nervous.
"I guess having an ante duel will do that. I'm kinda disappointed we couldn't see this duel's conclusion though," Jesse said as he shook his head.
"Why should we leave? I mean, we're all students here and I wasn't going to accept Chazz's card when I won. So, what the harm?" Jaden asked.
"While Jesse is right that ante duels aren't allowed, even if they were we can't have off-hour arena duels. Chazz knows that but let me guess– he didn't tell you," Alexis explained.
At this point, Chazz blushed. "Alexis was here? And she was watching my duel?"
"Come on, Chazz! Let's go!" Chazz's blue haired friend called out.
"Well, well, slacker, looks like you lucked out this time," Chazz said.
"What are you talking about? The match isn't over yet! I still need to make my final move," Jaden said.
"Forget your final move! Chances are it wouldn't have saved you from losing anyway. I've seen what I came here to see. You're nothing more than a sorry Duelist. You beating Dr. Crowler with your pal was just a fluke," Chazz said snottily as he walked away.
"If only we could finish that Duel! Then you could prove him wrong!" Jesse said.
"Maybe, but right now we gotta get out of here," Syrus said warningly.
"Yeah! We gotta go or else we'll get in trouble!" Alexis agreed.
"Jaden?" Jesse asked, seeing that Jaden wasn't responding immediately.
Jaden trembled for a moment before saying, "This stinks! I had this guy on the ropes too! Aw well! I guess we'll have to settle things later," Jaden reluctantly agreed.
The group of four was able to avoid being caught, making it to the outside of the building unseen. However, Syrus and Jesse did have to push Jaden part of the way seeing as how she was reluctant to leave.
"I have to admit. You certainly are stubborn, Jaden," Alexis pointed out.
"Mostly when it comes to Dueling to be honest," Jaden admitted.
"Yeah! One time Jaden waited an entire night for our dad to wake up so that she could Duel him," Jesse half-joked.
"Well, he ended up calling off our original Duel due to being tired. What else could I have done?" Jaden asked.
"Not waste a night with no sleep beforehand?" Jesse joked.
"Wait. She?" Alexis asked.
"Yeah. You see, I'm a girl. I did hear that I should have gotten into Obelisk Blue, though," Jaden admitted.
"Well, I don't know what caused that mistake, but I'm pretty sure if you tell the staff they'll make sure you get your proper dorm room," Alexis pointed out.
"Thanks, but I'm good for now. I like the view in Slifer Red and I also get to spend time with my brother and best friend," Jaden said.
"Okay?" Alexis was confused on how to feel. "Well, just let the staff know if you change your mind. And be careful around some of the boys."
"By the way, thanks for showing us the back way out," Syrus thanked Alexis for the help.
"Sure. I'm sorry that you didn't get to finish your match with Chazz," Alexis apologized.
"That's fine. I know just how it would've ended anyway," Jaden said confidently.
"Really? No offense, but from my point of view, it looked like it could've gone either way between you and Chazz when you two stopped," Alexis pointed out.
"No way! Not after I drew this!" Jaden said as she showed the card she drew; Monster Reborn.
As Alexis looked on in surprise, Jaden and Jesse started walking back to their dorm room, with Syrus hurrying after. "This is going to be one interesting year."
Thanks for reading. I decided to not do a crossover right now, seeing as how I mainly want to focus on the GX story and characters and also because I want to do Amphibia justice.
By the way, if you guys have any suggestions on how I can improve the story while still following at least some of the original story beats please let me know.
P.S., while the story will be somewhat similar to the anime, my sister and I will make changes as well.