It was late at night, near the lighthouse. Zane was standing nearby, looking out at the sea. Suddenly, Alexis Rhodes was walking towards the lighthouse as well. "Zane? What are you doing here?"

"I just wanted to be alone," Zane responded to Alexis.

"You know, once your brother enrolled into the school I thought that you would like to be alone less often," Alexis reasoned.

"Maybe that is because my brother shouldn't be here," Zane bluntly stated.

"You know, earlier today, Twilight came up to me and asked me to help her find out who may be trying to expel Jaden and Rainbow Dash," Alexis said.

"Really? What makes her think that they are being expelled?" Zane asked.

"Well, she thinks that it is because of a few incidents involving them almost getting in trouble since they got here. I wanted to ask for you to talk to the Obelisk Blues and see if any of them wrote a letter. I asked all the female Obelisk Blues but none of them wrote it," Alexis explained.

"Fine. I'll ask them. Gives me something to do outside of class," Zane accepted the task.

The next day, an armored car was driving toward the Slifer Red dorm. In it, was a bunch of soldiers, Doug the dalmatian, and a woman, who was the leader of the group. This group was the Disciplinary Action Squad, who were only called into to deal with extreme cases of rule breaking.

Eventually, the car stopped in front of the Slifer Red dorm, with the group leaving to rush towards Jaden's room. When they got to Jaden's dorm, the leader banged on the door, demanding they open up. "Open this door right now, or we will blow it up!" She threatened.

"Yeah, you and what army?" The sleepy Jaden mumbled in response, the statement not fully registering yet.

"The Disciplinary Action Squad army, that's who!" the woman yelled.

At this, Jaden realized what was being said and was shocked. "Wait, blowing up the door?! Disciplinary Action Squad?!" Jaden opened the door up, with the woman and a few of the soldiers entering the room.

"You must be Jaden." She then referred to Syrus, "You must be Syrus. And the student on top must be Rainbow Dash."

Rainbow and Syrus woke up in response to the questioning. "Hey, Jaden. Who are these guys?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"We are the Disciplinary Action Squad, and you are under arrest!" the woman told the trio.

"What?! Suspended?!" Jaden, Syrus, and Rainbow Dash were shocked at the trouble they were in.

"That is what I suggest. An anonymous letter from one of our faculty members confirms that the three of you were at the abandoned dorm. You must be punished so that an example will be set for all the students," the woman explained.

"But what kind of example would we be setting? That we are a bunch of hard hearted tyrants? I suggest that we set up duels for the three of them. A tag duel for Jaden and Syrus and a one on one duel for Rainbow Dash. If they win, they go free. Lose, and they are expelled." Crowler suggested.

"A tag duel? Sounds sweet!" Jaden was happy to duel.

"Yeah! We'll be free to go in no time flat!" Rainbow Dash cried out in excitement.

"But guys, he said expelled," Syrus whispered to them both.

"I believe that they have accepted the conditions, Chancellor," Crowler convinced the man.

"Well, alright. The duels are set. I'll find some opponents to match them up with," Chancellor Sheppard said.

"Now, hold on, Chancellor. You won't have to worry about finding them opponents. I'll take care of all the particulars. Meeting adjourned," Crowler responded.

"You wanted to see me, Rainbow Dash?" Chancellor Sheppard asked the student.

"Yeah. You see, I believe that I should be Jaden's partner. I was wanting to go into the dorm along with Jaden so it's only fair that the two of us are the only ones that are punished," Rainbow Dash explained.

Suddenly, the door opened and Alexis and Twilight also entered the room. "Oh, and what might the two of you be doing here?" Sheppard asked.

"Well, sir, I was thinking that I may be Jaden's tag partner," Alexis said. "After all, the main reason they were there was to help me."

"That's wrong Alexis. Let me be Jaden's tag partner and let Syrus go," Rainbow Dash pleaded.

"Well, I appreciate what the two of you are trying to do, but the duels have been set. Now, just let Crowler do his job and set up the appointments. That is all." Sheppard concluded. At this, Alexis and Rainbow Dash left the office. Twilight, however, stayed in the room. "And, what might you want?"

"Well, sir. It has come to my attention that someone at this school might be aiming to have Jaden and Rainbow Dash leave the campus. When they went to the abandoned dorm, there were strange men looking to duel them and scare them off the island. Not only that, but a fake love letter was written to Jaden and put into Syrus's locker. I know you may not believe me, but there is likely something suspicious going on either way," Twilight gave her piece.

"I don't know what to think," the Chancellor said as he petted Snowball the dog. "Regardless, I can't just drop the punishments of the students because of this. I'll still try and look into this. You just go back to your studies," the Chancellor concluded.

"Yes, sir," Twilight bowed and then left.

As Rainbow Dash entered her dorm room, she was immediately met with an embrace by Syrus. "Oh, please tell me that he said yes to you dueling with Jaden! If I duel I'll get us both expelled!" Syrus pleaded.

"I'm sorry, but no. The duels were already set," Rainbow Dash apologized.

"Aw man, we're in so much trouble," Syrus moaned.

"Hey, it's not that bad, Syrus. I couldn't have asked for a better partner if you ask me," Jaden calmly stated.

This confused Syrus. "But Jaden, don't you remember that we'll get expelled if we lose?"

"That's why we're going to work out our kinks by dueling each other right here right now," Jaden said full of confidence.

"Yeah, that sounds like a great idea, Syrus. What better way to work on your dueling than to go up against other opponents?" Rainbow Dash agreed

"Well, I guess I can try," Syrus unenthusiastically mumbled, much to the concern of the two roomates.

"Alright, you two. Here is where you guys both duel in order to get ready for the tag duel! Let's start off by going easy and get more serious as the duel goes on. Then again, Jaden doesn't know how to go easy," Rainbow Dash tried to be encouraging as the two were about to begin their duel by the sea, with Rainbow Dash positioned on the cliff above them..

"I think that that's a good thing," Alexis suddenly butted in as she arrived where Rainbow was, with Fluttershy behind her. "I know Crowler and he won't be selecting any pushovers for your duels."

"You think so?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"I'm afraid that I agree with Alexis, Rainbow Dash. Poor Syrus. From what you've said he likely is scared out of his wits about dueling in front of others. If only there was something we could do to help," Fluttershy was worried.

"Alright, Syrus. It's time we have fun and get our game on. Let's duel!" Jaden cried out.

"Yeah. Let's duel. Might as well have some fun before we get kicked out of here," Syrus mumbled unenthusiastically.

"What was that, Syrus?" Jaden asked.

"N-nothing!" Syrus answered.

"Alright then, my draw! Sweet! I summon Elemental Hero Avian in attack mode!" A warrior wearing green and with talons was summoned to Jaden's field (1000/1000). "I'll also throw down a facedown! Your turn, Syrus!"

"Yeah. My turn.?" Syrus looked into his hand and noticed that one of his cards was Patroid (1200/1200). "Hey, my Patroid's attack can defeat Jaden's Avian."

"Hey, Syrus? What's that smile about? Do you have something sweet?" Jaden asked his friend.

"Yeah, I think so. Patroid, attack mode," Syrus answered as he summoned a cartoony cop car onto his field. "Now, attack with Siren Smasher!" Patroid started to rush towards Avian as his siren blared.

"Not so fast! I play my trap, Negate Attack!" Jaden called out.

"Aw man. I should have realized that your facedown was a trap," Syrus muttered in disappointment.

"Duh. Syrus walked right into that one," Rainbow Dash shook her head at the obvious blunder. Suddenly, she felt Pharaoh rubbing against her legs and picked him up.

"This isn't a good sign. The two of them won't stand a chance in their tag match if they keep playing like that," Alexis was concerned.

Meanwhile, Syrus was drawing a G symbol on the dirt. "Oh boy. Don't you think that dirt is just the coolest, Jaden?" Syrus nervously asked his friend.

"Relax, Sy. Don't crack up now. You just made one mistake is all," Jaden comforted his anxious friend.

"Yeah. Coming to this school," Syrus miserably muttered.

"No, you just forgot to use Patroid's special power is all. He lets you see one of your opponent's facedown cards each turn is all," Jaden explained.

"Yeah, I know I'm no good," Syrus called out, much to everyone's shock.

"Whoa, I didn't mean anything like that. Still, you're right. I shouldn't but in. We're opponents right now, and we should act like it! My turn!" Jaden looked at his hand and summoned Elemental Hero Sparkman in attack mode (1600/1400). "Now Elemental Hero Sparkman, attack Syrus's Patroid!" Sparkman created an electric trident and threw it at Patroid, destroying hima nd lowering his Life Points to 3600. "Now Avian, attack Syrus directly!" Avian sent a breeze towards Strus before rushing towards him and punching him, lowering his Life Points to 2600. "I'll also throw down a facedown."

Syurs Truesdale

2600

Jaden Yuki

4000

"Can I crack up now? I've messed up on both of our turns! I'm no good. I can't do it," Syrus brought himself down.

"Yes you can, Syrus. You just need to believe in yourself," Alexis and Fluttershy both encouraged their anxious friend.

"Yeah, you can beat Jaden, Syrus! And you can totally win your tag duel as well!

Don't give up!" Rainbow Dash called out in encouragement.

"They're right! I can't give up now. Not when I'm also dueling for Jaden and not just for myself. Right now, the best thing I can do for Jaden would be to take him down! It's my turn!" Syrus said filled with confidence as he stood back up. Syrus's hand had cards like Gyroid, Steamroid, and Limiter Removal. "I don't have a card that can take on Jaden right now. So I'll just have to try a different strategy. I play the spell card pot of Greed in order to draw two additional cards." Upon seeing his hand, he noticed that he had drawn Polymerization and Power Bond. "It's Power Bond!"

Jaden was confused at why Syrus reacted the way he did to his current hand. "Judging from the way Syrus reacted I'd say he just drew a sweet card."

"Power Bond is like Polymerization, only better. It allows me to fusion summon a machine type monster and the monster summoned by the effect has it's attack points doubled. But I'm not good enough to use a card like that, at least according to my brother."

"I'll never forget that day. I was dueling a very mean bully, and I wanted to show him that I wasn't going to be pushed around anymore."

Gorisuke

1900

Syrus Truesdale

1600

"It's my turn! I draw!" Syrus drew Power Bond, much to his delight. "Sorry Gorisuke, but you won't be picking on me anymore. If anything, you're the one who should be afraid of me!"

"What are you talking about? I'm just gonna beat you down and claim my victory," the mean bully said.

"That's what you think. Then again, you probably don't think at all. And the thoughts you will have will be about crying home to mommy, especially after I play…" Syrus was about to play Power Bond only to be interrupted by a voice.

"Enough!" the voice said. Upon looking up, he saw that the source of the voice was his older brother Zane. Zane walked up to the bully and gave him a rare card. "Take this card. This duel never happened, got it?"

"That's a cool card. You got yourself a deal." the bully responded, accepting the card and leaving.

"What did you do that for Zane? I was about to win that duel with the card you gave me," Syrus was confused.

"No you weren't. And I never would have given you that card if I knew you would act the way you did or misplay the card like you were about to," Zane argued back to his younger brother.

"What was wrong with my behavior? That guy was a bully and I wasn;'t willing to let him put me down anymore. Besides, I wasn't going to misplay that card anyway," Syrus tried to defend himself.

"Yes you were. The trap card he had on the field was Spellbinding Circle. With it, he could have immobilized your monster and then Power Bond's adverse effect would have reduced your Life Points to zero. You were reckless and needlessly mean Syrus. You don't deserve to play that card until you've become a true duelist," Zane explained, much to Syrus's misery.

"Just holding this card is giving me some negative memories. And what did he mean I couldn't use it until I became a proper duelist and knew when to play the card? Aw man, this has gotten me worried," Syus muttered to himself.

"Syrus is taking some time with his move," Jaden thought to himself, worried at how his friend was taking a while to make his move. "Hey, you alright there Sy?"

Syrus was quick to shake off his apprehension and made his move. "Now, I'll play the spell card Polymerization! This allows me to fuse the Gyroid and the Steamroid in my hand in order to summon Steam Gyroid!" A cartoon train and helicopter fused into a flying train monster (2200/1600). "Now, Steam Gyroid, attack with Train Twister!" Steam Gyroid created a tornado that proceeded to hit Avian. The monster then proceeded to hit the warrior by ramming into him, destroying him and dealing damage. "So, had enough practice yet?" Syrus asked overconfidently.

Syrus Truesdale

2600

Jaden Yuki

2800

Much to Syrus's surprise, Jaden was laughing and not at all undeterred. "What do you mean have I had enough? You know the old saying no pain no gain. Well, you are about to gain a lot may be one of my best friends, but now we're rivals! And I have just the cards to treat you like one! I play the spell card Polymerization. Fusing Sparkman on my field and Clayman in my hand together to form Elemental Hero Thunder Giant!" The two monsters merged together in the now stormy sky in order to form Thunder Giant (2400/1500).

"The sky is very scary right now, Rainbow Dash," Fluttershy muttered nervously.

"And to make things worse for Syrus, Thunder Giant can destroy a monster weaker than him the turn he is summoned. This duel is unfortunately over," Rainbow Dash looked away.

"Yeah. Sorry Syrus," Alexis apologized on Syrus's behalf.

"Now, Thunder Giant, destroy Steam Gyroid!" Jaden called out as Thunder Giant created a bunch of electric rain, destroying Steam Gyroid.

"Aw man, now I'm completely defenseless," Syrus was disappointed.

"That's true, Syrus. And I'm gonna add to it by summoning Elemental Hero Burstinatrix in attack mode!" The female monster was summoned onto Jaden's field (1200/800). "Now, Thunder Giant, attack with Voltic Thunder!" Thunder Giant launched a powerful electric volt out a Syrus, lowering his Life Points to 200.

Syrus Truesdale

200

Jaden Yuki

2800

"Now, Burstinatrix, use Flare Storm!" Burstinatrix formed a fireball that proceeded to hit Syrus head on, lowering his Life Points to 0. "That's game!"

"I know. I failed," Syrus miserably said.

"Hey, don't be too hard on yourself, Syrus. Even though I won in the end, that doesn't negate the fact that you made some good moves. By the way, what was that one card you drew but never played?" Jaden looked at Syrus's hand and saw that he had Power Bond and Limiter Removal. "You had Power Bond and Limiter Removal? Why didn't you play them? You would have had one tough monster and won for sure! Then again, for my sake, I'm glad you didn't use them."

"You don't get it. My brother says I'm not good enough to use Power Bond, and I likely never will!" Syrus yelled out as he ran away from the area.

"Wait, Syrus!" Rainbow Dash ran after Syrus in order to try and calm him down. Meanwhile, Alexis and Fluttershy were staring out at Jaden.

Alexis and Fluttershy walked down to where Jaden was at. "I guess practice doesn't always make for perfect, at least when it comes to Syrus," Alexis sadly muttered.

"I just wish I knew what happened. He has this primo setup to win the duel and he doesn;'t use it. Why? Because some brother told him not to. I just wish I knew what happened to make Syrus be this way, That the only one holding him back is himself." Jaden said in concern for his friend.

"I know what you mean, Jaden. I have a younger brother that can be great if he actually put in the effort to do something, but he doesn't. I just wish I knew why this is the case. Both for Syrus and for Zephyr," Fluttershy was curious.

Suddenly, Alexis gasped. Much to the confusion of both Fluttershy and Jaden. Eventually, she spoke her piece. "Actually, Syrus's brother goes to this school. In fact, you may have already heard of him."

"Really? I have no idea who you are talking about," Jaden bluntly said.

"Hello? Zane Truesdale? Third year Obelisk Blue? Best duelist at this school?" Alexis revealed who he was. "And yes, he is as good as his reputation says."

"Sounds scary. But, if we are going to help Syrus, we are going to have to confront him," Fluttershy decided.

"Yeah! I say it's about time we give Zane fellow a call," Jaden said. "Not only to help Syrus and find out what happened between them, but to also find out how I stack with the big leagues."
"But, you two aren't listening! No one messes with Zane!" Alexis warned the duo.

"I'm really sorry, Alexis. But we need to find out what is happening in order to help Syrus. He won't be able to duel better until we deal with Zane first," Fluttershy explained.

"Fine. Looks like I can't convince you two otherwise. Just be careful, okay?" Alexis carefully said.

"Yes! Hear that Zane? We're coming for you!" Jaden called out.