Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX or anyof the characters portrayed within the televised serial. The events and OC's in the story are entirely fictional, any resemblance to any real person is entirely coincidential and no offence is meant.


Chris used the shop phone to call for help immediately. Within minutes paramedics showed up in their ambulance to cart him to hospital. Chris came along with him, to make sure he was okay.


DOMINO CITY HOSPITAL: A&E dept


Three hours had gone by before Kingston came through. He was too weak to speak, however he sent Chris a message on the PDA, it consisted of two words 'Shadow Duellists'. Chris saved it and closed it before the doctor came back. Chris sat with him until visiting hours were over, then he got the number 6 bus home again.

CHRIS' HOUSE


Chris unlocked his front door and walked in, there was a note attacked to the inner door

Chris,

Gone to Aunt Judy's for the weekend, look at prospectus for prep school while I'm away and get clothing ready for interview. Will be back Sunday night. Dad will be around to collect you at noon tomorrow, be ready.

See you in August, love

Mum.

Chris took the note off of the door and screw it up, before fetching his duel disk and his bag from inside the wheelie bin, his hiding place for when he bought things home that he mum wouldn't approve of, which in short was anything to do with Duel Monsters.

Chris' parents were divorced and he went to live with his mum by court ruling at the age of 7. He wanted to live with his dad in Astamore city 20 miles away, but because he was a minor 'he didn't know what he wanted'.

Chris' mum thought that anything to do with a card game was infantile as well as being a waste of time, money and intelligence, not to mention it wasn't proper for young boys from the high end of society to be playing with the more common sort.

However his dad was much cooler, Chris' dad worked as a card designer for I2, he was paid well for it, and said he was old enough to make his own decisions. He says the reason they split up, was because his mum wasn't willing to accept that there was nothing wrong with being like everyone else. Just because people earn less money doesn't make them bad people. It was Chris' dad who got him his deck after a chance meeting with Jaden Yuki at his final career duel 10 years ago. Chris' dad had told Jaden how Chris hero worshiped him, and Jaden gave Chris his deck, after removing his Winged Kuriboh card.

He hadn't made many changes to the deck, but enough to make it his while still honouring Jaden. Chris' mum didn't know about any of the cards he had stashed away in his room. She thought he wanted to go along with her 'life plan' and follow the example of family friends Jagger and Slade Princeton, who were big wigs in the financial and political world, however she made3 it quite clear that she though Chazz their younger brother was wasting his time taking part in silly card games, and would do well to follow in the footsteps of his upstanding brothers, and Jagger and Slade agreed with her whole heartedly.

He went upstairs to his room, put his things back into hiding, then marked off the 30th August, the day he'd set off to Duel Academy in Ra Yellow. He took $20 out of his piggy bank and ordered in a pizza with some Coca Cola and garlic bread, and watched the Pro League semi-finals on PPV, Chazz 'Chazz it up' Princeton against Judd Everwhit.

After the match had finished Chris went off to bed, thinking about the day's events, meeting Kingston, the exams, his new cards, duel spirits, being at the hospital. He occupied himself with these thoughts until he drifted off to sleep.


THE NEXT MORNING


Chris got up packed his things and bought them downstairs to take to his dad's house. His dad didn't know about his plan to go to DA, and he wanted to keep it that way, it's just he didn't want to get his dad in trouble if it seemed like he allowed him to go, so he's sneak out and get a taxi to the docks a week before he was supposed to go back to his mum's house while leaving a note for his dad.

The hours dripped by slowly for Chris as he waited noon so he could see his dad. However his waiting finally paid off as he heard the horn of his dad's car toot outside. He grabbed his bags, shot out of the door and locked up. Then got in the car with his dad and left.


CHRIS' DAD'S HOUSE


Chris and his dad pulled up to his dad's house. They disembarked from the car and went inside. Once inside Chris dumped his things into the hall and followed his dad through to the kitchen.

"So Chris anything has interesting happened with you lately?" His dad enquired

"Yeah, while I was in town yesterday, I found this card shop owned by this guy call Kingston Falmer, and he had the final cards I needed for my deck. The Neo Spacian Light Hare, card set. Anyway I went back to see him later and his shop had been totalled and he was out cold. He's in the hospital recovering, when I asked who did it, he wrote two words down, he wrote Shadow Duellists. What's even weirder, he had the Wdjat burned to the side of his face." Chris explained

"Wait, Kingston Falmer. Big guy, dark skinned, kicked out of Duel Academy by Crowler?" Chris' dad asked

"Yeah, how do you know him?" Chris replied

"He was in my dorm back in the day with me and your mum. Then three of us were notorious for our exploits. I remember he used to duel with a cyber beast deck, and boy did he know how to handle it. He could have gone pro, but Crowler put a stop to that because he refused to step down when he threw insults and Kingston,"

"No way, mum duelled? I thought she hated it, I didn't even think she knew how to play, let alone the thought she actually went to the academy. I'd give my left arm to get a place there." Chris said convincingly, not letting on to his plan.

"Oh yeah, that's how your mum and I met, she was really big into it. Then that whole thing with the shadow games came about and she turned her back on it. She put too much value on her soul. She promised if we ever had a child she didn't want you to be a part of it, and that's why we split, because I wanted you to make up your own mind." Chris' dad explained.

"Whoa! That's a shock to the system, one minute mums like 2-D lady, then I find out this." Chris said in awe.

"Oh by the way, I was in a meeting with Pegasus the other week and as a reward for doing such good work for the company for such a long time, he gave me tickets to see the Pro League final next week. Wanna go?" Chris dad asked casually

""Does Seto Kaiba have three Blue Eyes White Dragons? Did you even have to ask? Did I ever tell you you're the coolest dad ever?" Chris said in a flurry of excitement

"So that's a yes then I take it?" Chris dad replied with a smile.