Raring To Go

It was early morning, and seagulls were sitting in the water peacefully. That is until they noticed a fleet of ships and air planes cruising through the ocean and flew away. It was like they were heading off to war or something.

"Attention all crew members." The captain spoke to his crew. "I know it's been a long journey, with everything we've been through so far. It seems the whole world is trying to infiltrate our defenses, but it's about to all pay off. We're about to reach our final objective and with the pay load safe." The captain was holding a metal briefcase in his hand with Duel Academy's logo on the side. "So full steam ahead men. This is the moment we've been waiting for. The moment Duel Academy gets their new rare cards."


Meanwhile on Academy Island itself, everything was peaceful. And Jaden and his friends were still sleeping. With the exception of Syrus and Andrew. While Jaden and Chumley slept peacefully, Andrew went out for his usual morning training. As for Syrus, he was sitting at the desk with lit candles and wearing a white headband with three Monster Reborn cards on it. He was praying to a poster of Slifer the Sky Dragon.

"Please, please, please. Please help me ace my exams today. Or I'll be stuck wearing this red blazer forever. Not that there's anything wrong with red of course. It's great on you Slifer. But I want to be in Ra yellow. Please give me a sign that you'll help."

At the moment he finished that sentence, Andrew came in, while drying his hair with a towel. Which means he just got out of the shower.

"Good morning Syrus."

"SLIFER!" The latter jumped out of his seat in fright as he heard Andrew's voice.

"Calm down Syrus. It's just me." Andrew said, trying to calm him down. Although he was also trying to keep himself from laughing at the reaction.

The little blue head turned towards him. "Oh, hey Andrew. How was your training?"

"The same as usual. What were you doing by the way?"

Syrus almost panicked and tried to make a good excuse. "Oh um, I-I was just doing some last minute studying. Yeah that's it. I was just preparing for the exams."

Andrew on the other hand noticed the headband Syrus was wearing and candles standing on the desk. Before he could question him further, the alarm clock suddenly rang. And even if it was in the same bed as Jaden, he was still sleeping.

"And once again, Jaden sleeps through the alarm." Andrew commented.

"No surprise there. I don't know why he's so relaxed when there's so much at stake." Syrus approached the sleeping Slifer and tried to wake him up. "Jaden wake up. If you miss these tests, you'll never advance to the next dorm."

"Wrong!" Jaden smacked Syrus in the face, knocking him to the floor. "Cuz I played a trap!" And yet, he didn't wake up.

"Why can't he ever be dreaming in defense mode when I wake him up?"

'Talk about Déjà vu.' Andrew thought as he remembered the one time this happened to him.

"Duh, Syrus..." The two boys looked to see Chumley looking down at them, head propped up on his arms. "You shouldn't wake him up at all. Just think about it, after today's written test, we have our field test. And it would be totally lishus for us if Jaden slept right through it. You get what I'm saying?"

"Chumley I never get anything you say."

"Hello? The field test is where they pit class members against each other in a duel. And I don't wanna duel the guy who beat Dr. Crowler. So if we let the competition sleep in, then we have a better chance at passing the exams. You get it?"

"Oh I get it. And I'm starting to get why you were held back two years. Jaden, get out of bed, we're already late. I'll save you a seat. Hurry!" At that Syrus got up and ran out the door.

Andrew shrugged. "I guess it's up to me to wake him up."


Even as he was running towards the academy's main building, Syrus was still studying. 'Okay, cram time. Let's see. A normal trap can counter a normal spell. A quick play spell can beat a ritual spell and-' His thought were interrupted when he tripped on his shoelaces. "A double knot beats a single knot."


After Andrew managed to get Jaden out of bed, they were running to get to the classroom and take the test.

"Boy, Chumley sure can cook." Jaden said. "A five course breakfast. Wow."

"Yeah, it was really delicious." Andrew agreed. "Anyway, if we hurry, we should make it in time."

As they ran, they saw a heavy set woman wearing a pink blouse, blue overalls and glasses. And from the looks of it, she was trying to push a van that was probably out of gas. The two boys stopped in their tracks after going by her.

"Wait a minute. Should we be gentlemen or be on time?" Jaden asked.

"Well, you know what I would do if I saw someone who needs help."

"Then let's go." They both ran back to the woman and got behind the van to push. "Never fear, Jaden and Andrew are here."

"Oh thank you. You boys must be from the auto club." The woman said, thankful for the help.

"Don't let the red jackets fool ya. We're just your average good deed guys."

"Yeah, it's our pleasure to help."

"Thank you so much. I'll remember this."

"How about next time you just remember that extended warrant?" Jaden suggested in jest.


"You have 45 minutes left to finish the test." Professor Banner said to the students, taking the test.

Except for Syrus who were mumbling in sleep. "Which counters a field spell. Which counters…"

"I didn't know this was an oral exam Syrus." The latter woke up by Jaden's voice and saw him and Andrew standing right next to him. "Or maybe next time sleeping would be better than a Slifer seance."

"You guys are here."

"You three want to keep it down?" An annoyed voice asked. They looked in the direction the voice came from, seeing an Obelisk blue boy with spiky black hair glaring at them. That's right, it was Chazz Princeton. "Some of us plan to pass this test."

"Hey, I always plan on passing. It just doesn't always work out that way."

Andrew placed a hand on Jaden's shoulder. "Don't let him bother you. Come on, we need to get our exams."

"Oh yeah. Good idea."

' No joke.' Alexis thought. 'We're 15 minutes into this thing. They'll be lucky if they manage to finish.'

'Look at him.' Bastion thought. Tardy, puerile, if only he applied himself he could be a great duelist. But I wonder why Andrew is late as well.'

Jenny looked at them as they made their way to their seats. 'I guess he had some trouble to get Jaden out of bed.' She thought, knowing about the latter's sleeping habit.

And so the test continued. But it didn't take long for Jaden and Syrus to fall asleep, again. Andrew shook his head at this.

'Well, I understand why Syrus is sleeping. But Jaden. Didn't he get enough sleep already?'

Unbeknownst to everyone, Dr. Crowler was outside the classroom, peeking through the door.

"You may be able to dream your way through the written exam Jaden. But when your field test starts, believe me, it will be a nightmare."


When the time limit expired, Banner decided to make his announcement. "All right class. The written exam is over. So please walk, do not run, to get in line for today's new rare cards."

"They're here!?" one of the students asked.

"Oh dear."

As soon as those words left the professor's mouth, a mass mob of students ran out from the classroom. Andrew noticed that the students were in such a hurry, some of them accidentally pushed Jenny, which caused her to fall down. Andrew was about to catch her, but someone else was ahead of him. The person who caught her was an Obelisk blue boy who had short dark green hair and was quite well built.

"I got you my pretty fairy." He said with a flashy grin.

Jenny, who wasn't really fond of him and his behavior, freed herself from his grip. "Um, thanks. I guess. And you are?"

"Oh right. Where are my manners. My name is Norman Johnson. And I've already heard about you. Jenny Siegrain, right? Such a name is fitting for a lovely girl like you. How about you and I hang around for a bit before the field test?"

Andrew seemed to be the only one who noticed how bothered Jenny was. 'That guy is way too straightforward.'

"Thanks, but no thanks." Jenny replied and went off, making the obelisk boy stare at her dumbfounded. And when she walked towards Andrew, he face faulted. He quickly got up and was unpleased to see Jenny talking to him.

'Him again? Why is Jenny more interested in him than me? Just you wait, you slifer scum.' He thought as he left the classroom.

"...And that's why me and Jaden were late." Andrew said as he explained to Jenny why he was late.

"Oh. Then you were actually serious about how you like to help other people." Jenny said amused.

Andrew scratched the back of his head smiling. "Like i said, when someone needs help, then I just have to do something about it." He then turned towards the sleeping Slifer duo. "Okay, how about we wake them up?"

"Agreed." Bastion said as he approached them and shook Syrus a bit. "Say, you two may want to give some serious thought to waking up."

Syrus jolted awake and cried with anime tears. "Ahh! I flunked didn't I? I'm a complete failure."

"Sy, if we were graded for melodrama you'd get an A." Jaden said jokingly.

Syrus suddenly realized that he and Jaden along with Bastion, Andrew and Jenny were the only people left. "Hey, where did everyone go?"

"That's what I was trying to tell you." Bastion replied. "The new rare cards arrived and everyone's at the shop."

"What!? New cards!? Hey, how come no-one told us?"

"Because everyone want's the best cards for themselves. To use in the upcoming field test."

"So why aren't you getting some?"

"Please, one errand card and my deck's delicate balance would be completely thrown off."

"I don't think my deck need some improvements either." Jenny added.

"Well my deck would need some improvements."

"Then let's go. There's nothing like the smell of new cards in the morning. Thanks for the tip Bastion." With that said, Jaden and Syrus took off running towards the card shop.

"And what about you Andrew?" Jenny asked the latter, who was thinking for a sec before giving her an answer.

"I think I could use some new cards as well." Andrew said and ran after his roommates. "See ya later. And good luck."

"Yeah, you too."


Meanwhile, the other students were outside the card shop. They were banging down on the steel door, hoping to get the cards before anybody else.

There were also some guards forming a fence between them for some reason. That reason being the captain approaching them. "Oh children. Looking for these?" He said, referring to the metal suitcase he held up. The crowd burst into cheers. The metal door slid opened a crack. The captain bent down to enter. "Come and get it."

The metal doors opened and the card shop was revealed. The brief case was on the table. There were also two people standing by the brief case. One of them was a counter girl. The other person was a 'mysterious' man wearing a black coat and hat.

The students looked inside the briefcase…

And face faulted when they saw that the brief case was empty.

"Hey, where'd they all go?" One student asked.

"You know the rules, first come first serve." The counter girl.

"And I was first, so I took every one." The man replied.

The students groaned in disappointment and they all left. Unbeknownst to the man, one of those students recognized his voice. Someone who bothered Jenny earlier.

'Is that Dr. Crowler? Why would he take all the rare cards for himself? I better check it out.'


"Come on guys, let's make tracks." Jaden said as he, Syrus and Andrew arrived at the card shop. But only to find out that there were no-one here.

"Where is everyone?" Andrew asked.

"They couldn't have…" Syrus said

"Run out of cards already!" Both Jaden and Syrus shouted.

"Darn it." Andrew shouted. But then they saw the counter girl.

"Excuse me counter girl. You still have some cards left right?" Jaden asked.

"Of course we have some left. Just regular packs though." She slid one to them "Here you go."

"WE SAID SOME, NOT ONE!"

"I'm done for. I slept through the written test. Now I'm gonna flunk my duel test because I can't upgrade my deck."

"So take the pack Syrus." Jaden offered.

"Really? You'd give me the last pack that they have?"

"It's cool."

"What about you Andrew?"

The latter gave him a reassuring smile. "It's okay. I think I'll be fine without it."

"Are you sure guys? I mean what if you fail?"

"No way Sy. I may flunk now and then, but I never fail." Jaden said.

"That's true." Andrew agreed.

"Yoo hoo. Auto club." Someone called out. Then the slifers saw another person behind the desk. It was the woman Jaden and Andrew helped earlier.

"Oh hey. You work here too?"

"Oh no, I don't work here, I own here. Cool huh?"

"No. That's not cool, that's totally sweet."

"You guys know her?"

"Yeah. She had some problem with her van earlier, so Jaden and I helped her out on our way here."

"Here, I have something for you." The woman spoke up as she reached into the pocket of her apron and pulled out two card packs. She handed one to Andrew and Jaden. "Now I know we're officially out of cards, but I did hide away a few, for young polite students like yourselves. Just call it a thank you for helping me."

"Thanks a lot." Andrew said and was about to leave, but then realized something. "Oh that's right. We didn't catch your name."

"It's Dorothy."

"Well nice to meet you Dorothy. Come on Andrew, Sy. Let's head to the gym."


Elsewhere in Duel Academy, Chazz was walking through the halls with his Obelisk lackeys. They explained to him about the new rare cards. "And then this guy shows up and takes all the new cards. I mean every one."

"So we couldn't get you any Chazz. Sorry."

"You know what's sorry? You guys, that's what. But it doesn't matter, because not a single duelist here can defeat me no matter what card they carry."

"Unless that duelist happens to be Jaden Yuki." They turned to see a person standing at the top of the stairs.

"Whose there?" Chazz asked.

"Someone who suspects you despise Jaden as much as I do."

"That's the sticky fingers who took the rare cards."

"Cards? What cards? Oh, do you mean these cards?" The person opened up their coat, revealing rows of cards held inside.

"Whoa. Now that's style."

"Talk about having a card up your sleeve."

The man cackled, amused by their responses. "What's the matter Chazz? Don't recognize me? Well, how about now?" He took off his hat to reveal his face.

"Crowler!?"

"You know, you looked better all covered up." Chazz commented, causing the Obelisk headmaster to face fault.

"Yes, well I have a plan that will make us all look better. And make Jaden Yuki look like the cut rate duelist he truly is. I want you to be his opponent for his field test. And to use these rare cards to beat him."

"But we're not in the same dorm. They won't let me be his test opponent."

"They? I am they. I'l make it happen. And you just make sure to use these rare cards to put Jaden in his place in front of the entire academy."

"I hope you don't mind if I intrude your little scheme." A certain green haired Obelisk boy stepped from behind the corner.

"Norman? What are you doing here?" Chazz asked.

"I happened to overhear your conversation. I wish to be a part of your plan."

"How's that going to work? We can't exactly both duel Jaden."

"You can do whatever you want with that punk. I want to take down someone else. Someone who I despises as much you despises Jaden."

"And why should I let you be a part of this?" Crowler asked.

Norman gave him a sly look as he pulled out his cell phone from his pocket and showed everyone a video of their conversation. "Because if you won't, then I'm going to report this to Chancellor Sheppard."

This made Crowler cringe. If Sheppard found out about this, then he would be in serious trouble. There's no way he could let that happen. "Alright. I'll make sure that you get the duel you want. So tell me, who is this student you want to take down so badly?"

Norman grinned evilly, knowing that he can set his own plan in motion.


The field tests were starting in the gym. Some of the students were waiting for their turn, while other students were dueling on the six dueling fields. And Jaden's duel was about to start. However…

"(gasp) I'm dueling an Obelisk and it's Chazz?"

"That's right Jaden." Crowler confirmed. "Since you talk such a big game, I pulled some strings for you so you got the challenge you deserve. So congratulations, you'll be dueling one of the top ranked students in this school, what an honor! I certainly hope you were able to snag a lot of today's rare cards so that your deck is up to snuff. What's wrong? Aren't you going to thank me?"

'I've got a bad feeling about this.' Syrus thought.

'This is clearly a trap. Only a cavalier fool would agree to it.' Bastion thought.

'There's no way Jaden would agree to this.' Andrew thought.

"I'll do it."

He face palmed at Jaden's answer.

"Alright Chazz, get your game on. Let's finish what we started at Obelisk Arena.

"Indeed." Crowler said indifferently. "And in front of the whole school too, where everyone can watch."

"Yeah, watch you get slammed by me." Chazz added

The duelists inserted their decks into their duel disks.

"Duel!"

Jaden: 4000

Chazz: 4000

"No excuses this time Chazz!"

"Bring it, Slifer Slacker!"

"Oh it is brought." Jaden drew his sixth card.

"Coooo."

"Well, it's my favorite furry friend." Jaden said looking at the Winged Kuriboh card he just drew. 'Kuriboh, you're in for a treat. We're about to rain down some serious skills on Chazz.'
"You remember this guy, don't you Chazz? From our first match? Elemental HERO Clayman!" Jaden summoned a big human like stone figure with a red head that kneeled down in front of him with its arms crossed. (ATK: 800 DEF: 2000 LV: 4) "And he'd like to get reacquainted."

Chazz smirked and chuckled for himself. 'Not after he sees what I got for him.'
"Don't think for a second that oversized pile of pebbles has a chance against me, or against this!" He drew a card. 'Appreciate the rare card, Crowler.'
"Fresh off the presses, meet Magical Mallet!"

"What's that?" Jaden asked.

"A redo. All the cards in my hand that I don't want, I put back in my deck. Then I shuffle and redraw. Pretty cool, don't you think?"

"How? A rare card on the first draw?" Syrus gasped.

"And a very dangerous one at that." Bastion explained. "Now Chazz will essentially be able to pick which cards he wants and which cards he doesn't."

"I guess Chazz was lucky enough to get some rare cards from the shop." Andrew added.

"I haven't gotten the best part." Chazz said, redrawing from his deck and showing Magical Mallet again. "You see Jaden, I got to reshuffle Magical Mallet too! So if I draw it again, which I just did, I can play it again and again. And that comes in handy when I'm looking for this! V-Tiger Jet, sharpen your claws for attack mode." A yellow mechanical tiger with green jet wings appeared. (ATK: 1600 DEF: 1800 LV: 4)

"And there's a lot more where that came from. Check out the magic of Frontline Base. It lets me summon another level 4 or below monster this turn. And I have just the one, I play W-Wing Catapult in attack mode." The machine that appeared beside the first was a blue jet platform. It had slots to shoot rockets from. (ATK: 1300 DEF: 1500 LV: 4) "Gentlemen, start your engines." The two machines flew up. "Now merge!" While the catapult revealed two missile launchers, the tiger landed on top of it. "All right, the VW-Tiger Catapult." (ATK: 2000 DEF: 2100 LV: 6) "But wait, I'm not done yet, cuz he still has his special ability."

"That's not good." Jaden commented.

"Give me a break. Is this guy's turn going to end sometime this century?" Syrus asked.

"By sending one card to the graveyard, I can force one of your monsters into attack mode." The card Clayman was kneeling on disappeared as he stood up. "So now after this Heat-Seeker Blitz from my Tiger Catapult, your life points are toast." The Tiger Catapult fired its missiles. Jaden groaned from the smoke produced by Clayman's destruction.

Jaden: 4000-2800

"Ouch, that wasn't fun." Andrew commented.

Crowler saw all this from the special viewing box where he was watching with Chancellor Sheppard. "My goodness. Perhaps Jaden can't play with the big boys after all. I guess he's not as good as everyone thinks."

Sheppard just stared out the window.

"I'll finish up with one card face down." Chazz said as a face down card appeared at his feet.

"Yeah, good ahead and finish up, cuz I'm just getting warmed up. Speaking of, here's a guy who can really turn up the heat, Elemental HERO Sparkman in defense mode!" The electric warrior crossed his arms to protect himself. (ATK: 1600 DEF: 1400 LV: 4) "And I'll throw down a facedown."

"Not much else he can do with all the rares Chazz seems to have."

"It's just not fair."

"Don't worry Syrus. I'm sure Jaden can pull it off somehow."

Alexis was also watching the duel, along with Jenny. 'This is a complete mismatch. How can Jaden fight back if he doesn't know what he's fighting?'

'There's no doubt that Crowler is hoping to crush Jaden by having him duel a powerful opponent with nothing stacked to his favor.' Jenny thought.

"Ready for round two you Slifer Slime? Well X-Head Cannon is." A blue and yellow humanoid machine with a spike ball lower region and two shoulder cannons appeared. (ATK: 1800 DEF: 1500 LV: 4) "And thanks to Frontline's magic, so is Z-Metal Tank." A yellow machine shaped like the bottom of a tank also appeared. (ATK: 1500 DEF: 1300 LV: 4)

"No way!" Jaden said.

"X and Z? Aw man, that can only mean one thing."

"Now I play my facedown card, Call of the Haunted. And in case you slept through that class as well, it allows me to bring back a monster from my graveyard. And I choose…" A red dragon like machine appeared. (ATK: 1500 DEF: 1600 LV: 4)

"No way!"

"It's him."

"He has it."

"That's right, Y-Dragon Head! It's what I discarded with my Catapult's special ability. And now I combine them all to create XYZ-Dragon Cannon." The metal dragon attached itself to the top of the yellow tank. Its wings came off as X-Head cannon landed on top of it. (ATK: 2800 DEF: 2600 LV: 8)

"Now Chazz has two monsters with over 2000 attack points each." Bastion said.

"Which means he could end this duel right now." Andrew said.

"But wait Jaden, there's more" Jaden gasped by hearing what Chazz just said. "Actually less. Sure, they say two is better than one, but I have to disagree. Especially since the one in question is the ultimate V to Z Dragon Catapult Cannon!" Both machines broke apart and merged together to form a giant humanoid machine. It had the tiger's feet and its legs were made of the Winged Catapult. At its waist level stuck out the dragon's head and its body consisted of X-Head Cannon with the two guns sticking from its chest. The arms were from the yellow tank and its head was covered with the tiger's face. Red wings came out of its back and a tail of the same color underneath. (ATK: 3000 DEF: 2800 LV: 8) "Makes your Sparkman look like a heap of spark plugs, or at least it did."

Sparkman disappeared, making the crowd gasp.

"My Sparkman!"

"Oh I'm sorry. Didn't I mention V to Z's special ability? He allows me to remove one card on your field once per turn." He chuckled. "And if you think that's impressive, just wait until you see its attack, an attack that will strike your life points directly."

"Don't think so Chazz, I have a trap. A Hero Emerges."

"Blast!" Crowler cried.

"A Hero what?"

"Emerges, as in to emerges on the field. Cuz now you have to randomly choose a card in my hand and if its a monster, I get to play it. So take your pick, Chazz."

"Yeah yeah, whatever. The far right."

"Sweet! Elemental HERO Burstinatrix. I'll play her in defense mode." The red clad heroine kneeled down with her arms in front of her. (ATK: 1200 DEF: 800 LV. 3)

"That's what you think, you Slifer Slacker, when Dragon Catapult Cannon attacks, I get to choose your monster's mode. And you know what? I choose attack mode. Which means not only will she be zapped," The machine fired a lightning blast. Busrtinatrix stood up before getting hit by the blast. She cried in pain as she was destroyed. "But your life points will too."

Jaden: 2800-1000

The crowd gasped.

"Aw, what's the matter Jaden? Having some test anxiety?" Chazz taunted. Don't worry, it'll be over soon."

"No way Chazz. I got a whole army of vicious monsters in my deck just waiting to get at you. This isn't over, it's just barely started. My draw!" Jaden drew his card and looked at it. It was one he'd gotten from the pack Dorothy gave him. "What do you think Winged Kuriboh?"

"Coo!"

"Well all right. If you say so. Let's do it. I summon Winged Kuriboh in defense mode." Just like the name suggests, the monster looked like the original Kuriboh, but with white wings. (ATK: 300 DEF: 200 LV: 1) Most of the girls in the audience squealed at how cute it was.

And that includes Jenny. "Aww, it looks so cute~."

"And I'll throw down a facedown too." Jaden concluded. "That's it."

"That's it?" Syrus asked. "That's all? But all he's been playing is defense."

'I sure hope Jaden knows what he's doing.' Alexis thought staring at the slifer wide-eyed.

"All done huh? Good, cuz now I can cook that Kuriboh and I like mine well done. There's about to be a fried fur ball on the field ya loser!"

"You don't scare me Chazz."

"No big deal, that's his job." Chazz said, referring to his mechanical monster. "Dragon Catapult Cannon attack!" As the blast flew towards Jaden, he readied himself for it.

"Once that Kuriboh is gone, Jaden will be completely defenseless." Syrus said.

'Alright, secret weapon time.'
"I sacrifice two cards and activate Transcendent Wings."

"Where did he get that!?" Crowler cried.

The Kuriboh creature expanded in a flash of light. It was now larger, had golden headpiece shaped like a dragon and wide white wings coming from its side. It used those wings to block the attack.

"Ahh! It can't be!"

"Oh it be. Transcendent Wings has evolved Winged Kuriboh into a level 10 monster. And it gets better too, by sacrificing himself, Kuriboh destroys all monsters in attack mode and deflects their attack points back as damage to you. Kuriboh, why don't you go ahead and show him how it works?" The blast Kurboh blocked was deflected back at the giant machine and it was destroyed, taking a huge amount of Chazz's life points.

Chazz: 4000-1000

"Lucky punk." Chazz said glaring daggers at Jaden.

"Lucky? Nah, I just happen to have a soft spot for old ladies. But not for you Chazz and that's too bad, cuz with a thousand life points apiece and my turn coming up, all I need is the right monster and you'll be finished. Here goes something." He looked at the card he drew and smirked. "Yeah, Elemental HERO Avian." The green hero with feather wings appeared. (ATK: 1000 DEF: 1000 LV: 3) "Attack!" He flew towards Chazz and slashed him with his claws, knocking him down to his knees.

Chazz: 1000-0000

"Jaden did it!" Syrus cheered.

"Well played Jaden." Andrew shouted as the crowd cheered as well.

"Impossible!" Crowler cried leaning against the glass. "Not with all the rare cards I gave Chazz, this simply can't be!"

"Rare cards? What exactly are you talking about Crowler?"

Crowler jumped. He had completely forgotten that Sheppard was with him. "Uh… nothing… I… have to go and grade some tests." He quickly walked off.

Sheppard laughed at his back.

Jaden waved at crowd who was cheering for him, and pointed at Chazz. "That's game, unless you want to duel again."

"Oh we will." Chazz hissed.

"Andrew Wilson, please come down for your field test."

"Oh, it's my turn now."

"Good luck."

"Thanks Bastion."


Andrew went down to the gym floor where Jaden had previously dueled. When he reached the duel field, he was surprised to see an Obelisk blue boy standing on the opposite side. It was none other than Norman.

"Huh? I'm dueling an Obelisk just like Jaden?" Andrew asked, clearly confused by this. "Did I do something to anger Crowler."

The Obelisk boy sneered. "Hmph, This isn't about Crowler punk, it's about me."

Andrew blinked. "Really? What did I ever do to you?"

"I'll tell you what you did. I'm trying to win Jenny's heart. And you are getting in my way." He hissed.

"Huh?" Andrew was even more confused right now.

Jenny wasn't pleased by this. "Not that guy again."

"Someone you know?" Alexis asked.

"Just some guy who asked me out earlier. But he's just weird. Not to mention he invaded my personal space."

Andrew stared at the Obelisk boy for a moment before he snapped his fingers. "Oh, I recognize you. You're that guy who bothered Jenny earlier."

He glared at Andrew. "Hey, my name is Norman Johnson. And you should know that I would never bother my dear Jenny at all. Wherever she goes, I always look after her from a distance to make sure that she won't be taken by scums like you. After all, a man like me knows how to keep a lady safe." He finished with a charming smile and a dramatic pose.

"So basically, you're a stalker." Andrew said with a deadpan.

Norman face faulted but instantly stood up and got into Andrew's face. "Listen here you bastard. Stay away from Jenny. She's too good for a Slifer scum like you."

Andrew was starting to get annoyed by his behavior. "Jenny is my friend, and nobody tells me to stay away from my friends. Especially guys who can't handle the fact that she doesn't like them."

"Then let's settle this issue in our duel."

"Fine, but if I win, you'll leave her alone."

"And when I win, Jenny's mine."

"What!?" Jenny blinked. "Is he serious?"

"Looks like that guy is not going to leave you alone that easily." Alexis said as she shook her head.

Andrew and Norman positioned themselves and activated their duel disks.

"Let's duel!"

Andrew: 4000

Norman: 4000

"Since I'm feeling generous today, I'll let you start." Norman said.

"Fine by me. I summon Elemental HERO Shadow Mist in defense mode." The dark armored woman kneeled down in front of Andrew. (ATK: 1000 DEF: 1500 LV: 4) "Then I'll play this face down and end my turn." A facedown card appeared.

"What a joke. I'll show you a real move. I summon Goblin Elite Attack Force in attack mode." A group of 4 goblin creatures wearing knight armors appeared on the field. (ATK: 2200 DEF: 1500) "Then I play the spell card Double Attack. By discarding a monster card from my hand, I can choose a monster on my field with a lower level than the monster I discarded. Then during this turn, that monster can attack twice this turn. So I discard my level 6 monster Summoned Skull so my goblins can attack twice. Which means my little troop will be able to damage your life points, once they're done with your hero. Now attack." The goblins ran towards Shadow Mist and each one of them slashed her with its sword. "And now you're next."

"I don't think so. I activate the trap card Hero Signal. Since my monster was destroyed in battle, I can summon a level 4 or lower Elemental HERO from my hand or deck. And I summon Elemental HERO Avian in defense mode." The green clad warrior appeared on the field. (ATK: 1000 DEF: 1000 LV: 3) "And there's more, since Shadow Mist was sent to the graveyard, I can activate her special ability. I can take a HERO monster from my deck and add it to my hand. I choose Burstinatrix."

"That's just pathetic. The same thing goes for your chicken man since it won't be able to handle my second attack." The goblins slashed Avian with their swords and shattered him into pixels. "And since my goblins attacked, they are forced to defense mode." The goblin knights kneeled down. "I place one card facedown and end my turn."

"Okay, here goes. I summon Elemental HERO Blazeman." The flame headed hero stood tall before Andrew. (ATK: 1200 DEF: 1800 LV: 4) "And since he was summoned to the field, I can take Polymerization from my deck and add it to my hand. And now I'll use it fuse my Blazeman with Burstinatrix to form Elemental HERO Nova Master." The two fiery monsters merged to form the red and orange armored hero. (ATK: 2600 DEF: 2100 LV: 8) "Now attack his Goblin Elite Attack Force with Burning Sphere Bomb." The warrior created a sphere of fire and threw it at the goblin troop.

"Not so fast! I activate the trap card Bark of Dark Ruler." Once the trap card was revealed, the goblins unleashed a roar that stopped the fire sphere. "When my fiend type monster battles, I can weaken your monster. First I pay some of my life points and then your monster loses that much attack and defense points until the end of this turn. So I give up 1100 points to stop your attack." The fire sphere was eventually extinguished. (ATK: 2600-1500 DEF: 2100-1000)

Norman: 4000-2900

"Fine, I end my turn." Andrew said with disappointment in his voice. (ATK: 1500-2600 DEF: 1000-2100)

"Good, cuz now I can begin my turn by activating the spell card Allure of Darkness. First I draw 2 cards, then I must take a dark monster from my hand and remove it from play. Next I play the spell Card of Safe Return. Every time a monster is summoned from my graveyard, I get to draw 3 cards. So for my next move I activate the spell card Premature Burial. By paying 800 life points, I can summon a monster from my graveyard."

Norman: 2900-2100

"Now I'll bring back my Summoned Skull." The monster that appeared was a skeleton with dark wings and its organs and flesh inside the bones, rather than outside them. (ATK: 2500 DEF: 1200 LV: 6) "And with him summoned from my graveyard, I can now draw 3 cards thanks to my spell." Norman glanced at the cards he drew and smirked evilly. "And now I play the field spell Yami."

The moment he placed the card in the field spell tray, the field was surrounded by a black mist. The entire field was surrounded by darkness. The only things that could be seen was the duelists themselves and the cards they have on the field. "This field spell increases the strength of all my fiend type monsters by 200 points." Black mist swirled around the two fiend monsters, filling them with dark power. (ATK: 2500-2700 DEF: 1200-1400) (ATK: 2200-2400 DEF: 1500-1700)

"And to make things more interesting I play the spell Forbidden Chalice. This lets me choose a monster on the field and give it 400 attack points for one turn. And the lucky winner is Goblin Elite Attack Force." A golden cup appeared in front of the goblins. Each one of them took a drink from it and was suddenly surrounded by a faint blue light. (ATK: 2400-2800)

"But since you attacked with them during your last turn, they can't switch battle mode until next turn. So why would you use your spell to increase 'their' strength?" Andrew asked.

Norman chuckled. "Well, this is why you're just a weak scum, and I am superior. Cuz you don't truly understand about strategies. You see, my spell card doesn't just give a monster extra points, it has another effect. Along with the extra attack points it comes with a prize. Or in this case a bonus. Until the end of the turn, my monster's special abilities are negated."

Andrew gasped. "But then…"

"That's right. By negating my goblins' ability, I'll be able to switch their mode right now." The goblins stood up. "And now it's time for some devastation. Summoned Skull, attack his Nova Master with Lightning Strike!" The skeleton monster fired electricity at the armored hero. He was zapped until he was destroyed.

Andrew: 4000-3900

"Now my goblins, attack him directly!" The goblins rushed up to Andrew and swung their swords at him.

Andrew: 3900-1100

"I end my turn with a facedown."

"Okay, here goes." Andrew looked at the card he drew. 'Mirror Force. I can use this to destroy Norman's monsters. But of course, I better play a monster as well, just in case.' Andrew took a look at his hand and noticed a certain monster card.

"Hn."

Andrew's eyes widened. 'That's the voice again. I don't know if I'm losing my mind, but something tells me that this card should be placed on the field. Yeah, definitely.' "
First I place one card facedown, then I summon Phantom Magician in defense mode." After the facedown card appeared, the skeleton-like spellcaster kneeled down on the field. (ATK: 600-800 DEF: 700-900 LV:3) "Now it's your turn."

"Hmph, that's just lame. Now my goblins, destroy his magician!" The goblins ran towards Andrew's monster.

"You triggered my trap card, Mirror Force. This lets me destroy all monsters you have on the field in attack mode." A glass like wall appeared in front of Phantom Magician.

"Not bad, but not good enough to stop me. From my hand I activate the spell card Forbidden Lance." The swords in the goblins' hands were replaced by lances. "Here's how it works, it let's me choose a monster on the field and decrease its attack strength by 800 points." (ATK: 2400-1600) "But in return, that monster becomes immune to all other spells and traps. Sure, it might take away the extra points from my field spell, but what matters is my goblins are safe from your trap." (ATK: 1600-1400 DEF: 1700-1500) The goblins stabbed the glass wall and shattered it to pieces.

"Well, your goblins might be safe, but not your Summoned Skull." The shards flew towards the skeleton monster and pierced through it.

"No biggie, I'll focus on my attack for now." The goblins slashed the magician with their lances.

"You triggered my Phantom Magician's ability. Since he was destroyed in battle, I can summon a HERO monster from my deck with up to 1000 attack points. I choose Elemental HERO Bubbleman." The blue armored water hero with white cape kneeled down on the field. (ATK: 800 DEF: 1200 LV: 4) "Now when he's summoned and I have no other cards on the field, I'm allowed to draw two cards from my deck." Andrew looked at the cards he drew and smiled.

Norman scoffed. "Drew good cards, eh? Well you won't be able keep them for long. But first things first. I activate the trap card Birthright." He announced as he revealed his facedown card.

"What does that do?"

"This trap card allows me to resurrect any normal monster I have in my graveyard. So welcome back my Summoned Skull." The monster came out of the trap card and landed on the ground. (ATK: 2500-2700 DEF: 1200-1400) "And since he was summoned from the grave again, I get to draw 3 more cards thanks to my Card of Safe Return. And now I have Summoned Skull eliminate your bubble boy." It shot another stream of electricity and zapped Bubbleman. "With my battle phase coming to the end, my goblins switches back to defense mode." The goblins kneeled down again.

"It doesn't look good for Andrew." Syrus commented worriedly.

"Indeed. With the combos Norman uses, Andrew is at a disadvantage." Bastion said.

"Nah it's cool. Andrew have been through worse situations than this." Jaden replied. "I'm sure he'll be fine."

"Allright, since I have a feeling you got some good cards because of your so called hero, I'll force you to get rid of them by activating my Card Destruction spell card. This makes each player to discard their entire hand and draw the same number of cards they got rid of." Norman and Andrew discarded their cards and drew a new hand. "And with that I end my turn."

"Okay, since I have no monsters on my side of the field, I can activate this spell card, A Hero Lives. First I must pay half of my life points…"

Andrew: 1100-0550

"And then I can summon a level 4 or below Elemental HERO from my deck. And I think I summon Elemental HERO Ocean." A blue skinned warrior with a fin on top of his head appeared, wearing bit of whitish armor and holding a two pronged trident in his hands. (ATK: 1500 DEF: 1200 LV: 4) "And next I summon Elemental HERO Woodsman in defense." The wooden hero appeared beside his aquatic ally. (ATK: 1000 DEF: 2000 LV: 4) "And now I end my turn."

Norman drew a card and smirked evilly when saw what that card was. "So you think your safe by summoning your monsters in defense mode. Well, I'm afraid you're mistaken. Cuz I'm about to bring out a monster that will be your demise. Observe as I sacrifice my Summoned Skull…" The said monster disappeared. "In order to summon Great Maju Garzett." The new monster was much bigger than Summoned Skull. It was a red skinned beast with thick hair protruding from each pour. (ATK: 0 DEF: 0 LV: 6)

"Zero attack points?" Andrew asked.

"It may start with zero points, but since it was tribute summoned, its original attack points becomes equal to twice that the original attack points of the monster I sacrificed. My Summoned Skull had 2500 attack points, so that means Garzett's attack strength becomes…" The fiend snarled fiercely and glowed with a red aura. (ATK: 0-5000)

"5000!?" Syrus exclaimed.

"Whoa, that's not good." Jaden said.

"And don't forget, my field spell is still in play, so my monster grows stronger." (ATK: 5000-5200) "And I'm about to make him even stronger with the equip spell Big Bang Shot." The monster's right hand was glowing with a blue aura. "Thanks to this card, my monster gets 400 more attack points." (ATK: 5200-5600) "And this card has another bonus. When Garzett attacks a monster in defense mode whose defense points are less than his attack points, the difference are dealt to you as damage."

"Great Scott. That means Norman can end this duel with one attack." Bastion said.

"And Andrew doesn't have any facedown cards on the field. It's over." Syrus said disbelieved.

Jenny was worried about this. "Andrew."

"Do you understand now? There is nothing that will keep my Jenny away from me. And now it's time to bring down the house. Great Maju Garzett, end this duel." The giant fiend snarled and prepared to swung its arm at Ocean.

"I don't think so!" Andrew exclaimed as a card came out of the graveyard slot and a robotic turtle appeared on the field.

"What's that?" Norman asked.

"It's my Electromagnetic Turtle. If I have this monster in my graveyard, I can remove it from play in order to end your battle phase." The turtle raised its magnet tail and created an electric barrier which stopped the attack.

Norman was growling at this. "Can't you just stand down already?"

"Not gonna happen. I won't stand down until the last life points expires." Andrew replied confidentially.

"Hmph, fine then. I'll just end my turn with a facedown."

"Then it's my turn." Andrew looked at the card he drew and widened his eyes. 'This is the card from the pack I got from Dorothy.'


Flashback

While walking through the halls, Jaden and Andrew looked over the cards they got from Dorothy. Andrew noticed one card in particular and looked at it.

"Oh, this one is good."

Jaden got curious and looked at the card Andrew was holding. "Wow. That card is sweet. With right combo, you could win a duel in one round."

"I know, right? I think I'll add this card in my deck. And what about you Jaden?"

The latter grinned and showed him a certain spell card. "Well, I'll stick with this one."

Andrew whistled after getting a good look at the card. "That's not a bad card either. There's no doubt you're going to pass the field test."

"Then let's head to the gym and throw down!"

Flashback end


Once his mind returned to the present, Andrew smiled confidentially. 'Alright, let's do this.'
"First I activate Woodsman's special ability. Now I can take a Polymerization from my deck or graveyard and add it to my hand." The spell card came out of the graveyard slot and Andrew placed it in his hand. "And now I'll use Ocean's ability. During my standby phase, I can choose a HERO monster I have on the field or in my graveyard and return it to my hand. The one I choose is Blazeman."

Norman just smirked. 'It doesn't matter which monster he summons. As long as he plans to use some card ability that would affect my Garzett, I'll be prepared.' He thought, referring to his facedown card.

"Next I play the spell card The Warrior Returning Alive. This let's me take back a warrior type monster from my grave and I choose Bubbleman. And now I summon my Blazeman in attack mode." The red armored warrior appeared on the field once again. (ATK: 1200 DEF: 1800 LV:4) "And since he was summoned, I can take another Polymerization card from my deck. And I'll use it right away to fuse Woodsman and Ocean."

The two named monsters disappeared into a fusion vortex. "I summon Elemental HERO Terra Firma!" The new monster that came out of the vortex was a tall and muscular man. He was covered in a tough white armor with blue gemstones on his shoulders and forehead, a ruby in the chest piece and spikes at his shoulders and waists. (ATK: 2500 DEF: 2000 LV: 8)

"Wow, that hero is so sweet!" Jaden exclaimed.

"But that monster is not nearly as strong as that giant fiend." Syrus replied

"Andrew must have a good reason to summon that monster." Bastion said.

"And now I'll use my second Polymerization to summon another monster." Andrew announced, causing the crowd to gasp. "I'll fuse my Blazeman and Bubbleman to form a hero of the coldest element." Blazeman and Bubbleman disappeared into another fusion vortex. Then suddenly the vortex unleashed a strong icy wind. "Come forth, Elemental HERO Absolute Zero!" The new monster that landed on the ground was an emerald eyed warrior, wearing a pure white armor and cape. (ATK: 2500 DEF: 2000 LV: 8)

Norman scoffed. "So you summoned two monsters with 2500 attack points. Big deal. My Garzett is still the strongest monster on the field."

"Then allow me to even the odds by using Terra Firma's ability. By sacrificing an Elemental HERO, I can transfer its attack points to him." The two heroes shook hands and nodded. Absolute Zero then changed into light particles which were absorbed by Terra Firma. (ATK: 2500-5000)

"Nice try, but your monster is still a few points short."

"Maybe, but increasing my monster's strength wasn't my only plan." As soon as those words left Andrew's mouth, the spirit of the icy hero appeared.

Norman widened his eyes. "What's going on?"

"This is Absolute Zero's special ability, as soon as he leaves the field, all monsters on the opponent's side of the field are destroyed."

The spirit's glowed with a blue aura and the field was surrounded by an icy wind. The Goblin Elite Attack Force froze solid and then shattered.

"Sweetness!" Jaden cheered. "When Norman's monsters are gone, Andrew can win this."

When icy wind was gone, Andrew thought he managed to destroy all monsters on Norman's field. But to his surprise, Garzett was still on the field. And to make him more confused, the monster was now wearing a white dress.

"What is this?"

Norman chuckled. "Sorry, but I'm afraid your plan failed. And it's all thanks to my spell card." He explained as he pointed the facedown card which was already revealed. "It's called Forbidden Dress. This lets me choose a monster on the field and take away 600 of its attack points and that's what I did to my Garzett. (ATK: 5600-5000) "And in return, that monster can't be targeted or destroyed by other card effects. So my monster is safe."

"Aw man. Andrew was so close to defeat that thing."

"Indeed." Bastion agreed. "But since both monsters have same attack points, He could have his Terra Firma attack it. Then again, that would leave Andrew wide open and there would be a risk that Norman summons a monster during his next turn.

"No worries guys." Jaden spoke up. "Something tells me that this is the last turn."

"Okay. Since Absolute Zero wasn't able to destroy your Garzett, I'll just attack with my Terra Firma." The named warrior dashed towards the giant fiend.

"What are you thinking?" Norman sled while raising one of his eyebrows. "Both of our monsters has same attack points. So they'll both be destroyed."

Andrew smirked. "That would be case if I didn't have this spell card." He held a card he took from his hand and revealed it. "I play Battle Fusion. Thanks to this my monster gains attack points equal to the attack points of monster he battles with." Terra Firma roared as a blue aura surrounded him. (ATK: 5000-10000)

The crowd gasped at this while Norman's eye bugged out. "WHAAAAAT!?"

The hero smashed the fiend monster and it shattered into pixels.

Norman: 2100-0000

The crowd were silent for a moment before cheering loudly.

"Alright, Andrew did it."

"That was wicked."

"No way… I lost?" Norman said as he fell to his knees.

"That's right. Which means you're not allowed to bother Jenny anymore."

The Obelisk boy suddenly burst into tears. "That's not faiiir!" He got up and left the dueling field.

"Hey, Andrew!" Jaden called out as he, Syrus and Bastion approached him. "That was a sweet duel."

"Thanks. Your duel wasn't so bad either." Andrew said giving Jaden a high five.

"Thats was well played Andrew." It was Chancellor Sheppard, speaking over a loudspeaker. "The same thing goes for you Jaden. Not in the history of our revered academy has a Slifer ever dueled an Obelisk during these exams. Not only did you hold of your own, but you won. Your courage against overwhelming odds is inspiring. It is with great pride that I grant you promotion to Ra yellow. Good job!"

The crowd cheered again.

"Ra yellow? You guys are the best." Syrus complimented.

"I do what I can." Jaden replied with a smile.

"Well, it wasn't easy, but worth it." Andrew agreed as he smiled and scratched the back of his head.

"Good show. Allow me to be the first to welcome you to the Ra dorm." Bastion said while offering a handshake.

"Thanks Bastion." They each said as they shook his hand.


Later in the Slifer dorm, Syrus, Chumley and Andrew were in their room. Andrew had just finished packing and got up.

"Well, this is it. Time for me to head to my new home." He said.

"Yeah, good luck." Syrus said depressed.

Andrew gave him a concerned look. "What's the matter Syrus?"

"Come on Syrus. If you're gonna mope around, you can at least make me a grilled cheese." Chumley said.

"I just thought Jaden would say goodbye to us. That's all I wanted."

Jaden entered at that moment. "Hey, what's up?"

Syrus was obviously very shocked to see him here. "Jaden?! Why are you here?!"

"I wanted to say congrats on passing your field test. Oh, and in case you've forgotten, I live here!"

"Huh?"

"Sure, Ra yellow is nice with their clean sheets, lack of cockroaches and those spiffy blazers. But without you Syrus, it's just not my home."

"Oh really?" Syrus hugged Jaden, crying on him.

"Come on, you're getting my jacket soaked!"

Syrus looked up, tears still going on. "I thought… I thought I lost you forever! And now I'm never letting go of you!"

"Chill out." Jaden said as he tried to free himself.

"Please Jay! Give me a couple more hugs!"

"It's not the hugs, it's the waterworks."

Andrew and Chumley laughed at the entire ordeal.


After saying goodbye to his friends, Andrew headed to the Ra yellow dorm. Just as he was about to reach the building, someone approached him. It was Jenny.

"Hey Andrew."

"Hey Jenny. What are you doing here?"

"I just wanted to congratulate you for being promoted to Ra yellow." She said with a smile.

"Aw, thank you." Andrew said while smiling back and having his eyes closed.

Jenny then flicked him on his forehead, making him rub it after he felt a slight pain from it. He then looked back at her to see she was now holding a pout.

"However, I've could've done without the stakes your duel had."

Andrew scratched at the back of his head while feeling ashamed.

"Sorry about that. But I noticed earlier how uncomfortable you were when that Obelisk boy talked to you. I couldn't just let him bother you, ignoring the fact that you had no interest in him. A girl like you deserve better than that."

What Andrew just said almost made Jenny blush. She then smiled again.

"Thanks Andrew."

"Don't mention it. Anyway, I should head to the dorm now. See ya tomorrow."

"Yeah, see ya."

With that said, Jenny watched as Andrew walked away.

'You're really a nice person Andrew. I'm glad that we became friends.'


Okay, I thought I could finish this chapter earlier. But I guess I've been lazy. Oh well, what's done is done. I hope you enjoyed it. I would also like to thank Pokemonking0924 for the suggestion to have Norman use a fiend deck. My original plan was to have him use a dragon deck. But after reading that review I thought 'Not a bad idea'. With that said, I think I'll start with the next chapter right away.