Author's Note: I own nothing in relation to Yu-Gi-Oh GX.
Author's Note 2: I haven't seen EVERY episode of the show, so my understanding of the timeline is limited. So to resolve any misunderstanding, the following altercations have been made: 1) Syrus is still in Slifer Red, 2) Prof. Banner is not a pile of dust, 3) Zane has graduated and went pro, but has not gone into "DEATH METAL" mode. More altercations may be made in later chapters, but you'll hear about them in advance.
CHAPTER 2 – THE SILVER SLIFER ARRIVES
It was the start of my first term, and I could hardly wait to experience the classes that awaited me within the walls of Duel Academy. I stepped off the loading ramp of the ferry and onto the pier, breathing in the refreshing air that awoke my senses. Many students already socializing with their friends gave me perplexed glances, likely due to the slight modifications I had made to my Slifer uniform.
Okay, so it was more like a complete overhaul. I had extended the blazer, giving it the appearance of an overcoat. The exterior was covered in a sleek silver material that gleamed in the morning sunlight, accented with scarlet décor. I added an army insignia on each sleeve – six stripes with a diamond between the third and fourth, representing the rank of First Sergeant my late grandfather attained while serving the U.S. Army. There were some scattered whispers and murmurs that I overheard while approaching the academy, my eyes scanning the surroundings before spotting the Slifer Red dorm. I had planned to go and store my belongings in my room when a brown-haired kid called me out. Turning toward him, I figured he was about two years younger than me, which wasn't surprising since my parents had sent me to take the Academy exam at a rather late age. The boy approached, which was when I saw a short kid with sky-blue hair follow in his tracks. And I thought my white hair was uncommon…
"Hey," he greeted. "Haven't seen you here before! This your first term?"
I nodded in response and held out my hand. "Alistair Rhein, Slifer Red."
"Jaden Yuki!" he introduced himself with a peculiar enthusiasm, accepting my handshake offer. "My pal here is Syrus Truesdale!" I shook hands with Syrus, noting his last name.
"Truesdale, huh?" I commented. "Zane's brother, right?"
"Yeah," Syrus answered, giving me a look of surprise. "You know my big bro?"
I shook my head. "Just heard stories," I said. "He's certainly turned some heads in the Pro League, that's for sure."
"So where ya headed?" Jaden asked me, before I felt something connect forcefully against the side of my head.
"How ya doin' Silver Slifer?" a voice taunted from behind me. Soon I would really grow to dislike Chazz Princeton. I rubbed the back of my now aching head and directed my attention to him, who was now sneering at me.
"Nice to meet you too," I grumbled sarcastically. "…Silver Slifer?"
"Half the academy knows you by it now," he explained with a cocky smirk on his face, the kind that just made me want to give him a good ol' vanilla kick in the teeth. Great, classes haven't even started, and I already have a ridiculous-sounding nickname. I shrugged it off with a "Whatever," and carted my luggage off to the Slifer Red dorm.
"Hey, Alistair, where ya going?" Jaden asked me, deciding to follow. I sighed, wondering if by joining Duel Academy I had thrown away all hope for some peace and quiet.
"I was going to check out my dorm and drop off my things," I told him. "Perhaps work on my deck while I'm at it."
"Listen, don't let Chazz get to you," he assured. "He does this every year, it's just the way he is. Besides, that new uniform looks awesome!"
I laughed, at least somewhat pleased to get the first compliment of the day. On the way to the dorm, I expectedly became the target of some typical name-calling from the Obelisk Blues. What is a Silver Slifer anyway? Is that supposed to be an insult? Whoever came up with it wasn't very creative… Anyway, I'm getting off track.
"Gotta love the Obelisks," I chimed with dripping sarcasm as I reached the dorm entrance. Jaden just laughed and scratched the back of his head.
"Don't worry, not all of the Obelisks are that annoying," he defended. I rolled my eyes and opened the door.
"That remains to be seen," I said. "I'll see you later, Jaden. Perhaps we'll have the pleasure of dueling each other sometime soon."
Jaden nodded confidently. "You bet!" he agreed. "But you better bring your game, cause I'm the best duelist here!"
He grinned at his boast, which got a laugh out of me. "That also remains to be seen," I countered as I stepped into the dorm. I heard footsteps on grass behind me, so I figured Jaden had run off to his group of friends. He certainly seemed like an off-the-walls type. I spotted a dark-haired man, the only one in the dorm at the time. He noticed me and gave me a warm smile.
"Ah, you must be a new student!" he exclaimed jovially. "I'm Professor Lyman Banner, head of Slifer Red dorm! Welcome!"
Banner had said a mere seventeen words and I had already concluded that he was just about the happiest person alive. Except for Jaden, perhaps. He went over the dorm policies with me, school rules, yadda, yadda, yadda, before giving my dorm key and room number. I thanked him and set off down the hallway, counting off the room numbers before arriving at mine, Room 164. I unlocked the door and stepped inside, prepared to see just how true the horror stories of Slifer Red were. I looked around and was pleasantly surprised. There was a large bed in the corner of the room, which signified that I wouldn't be bunking with anyone (insert victorious fist pump here), a television, and a connected bathroom. Nothing too fancy, but it fit my needs just right. I dropped off my luggage by the bed and looked out the door, a stack of newspapers catching my attention. I walked over and grabbed one, since they appeared to be free for students. Heading back into my room, I shut the door and laid back on my bed, flipping the paper open to see what the rest of the world was doing while I was secluded on this tiny island.
The blissful peace and quiet I was enjoying was shattered quickly by the sound of footsteps, accompanied by Jaden's overenthusiastic voice. He was chattering excitedly about how many duels he had won today, when another voice cut in.
"Slifers! Gather round!" came Banner's order. I sighed, folded up the newspaper, and headed out of my room and into the lobby (if you could call it that – it looked more like a tiny cafeteria). I took a seat near Jaden, who waved to me before Banner continued his speech.
"As you all know, we have some new students this term," he said, constantly petting the fat cat in his arms. "Come on, first year Slifers! Stand up!"
Banner smiled as I rose from my seat along with about fifteen other students, the remaining Slifers greeting us with friendly applause. Banner then took the time to go over all the school rules (again) and hand out class schedules. Receiving mine, I examined it closely. The scope of classes taught at this academy got a grin out of me, as I realized I had I rather diverse set of courses for the term. From broad areas of study such as "History of Duel Monsters" to more specific, duel-oriented lessons like "Optimizing Fusions". I was about to pocket my schedule and go prepare my deck when it was suddenly snatched out of my hands by, who else, Jaden Yuki.
"Hey, we've got 'Magic and Trap Chains' with Crowler together tomorrow!" he exclaimed. I covered my eyes in annoyance, certainly not looking forward to spending class time with a cross dresser with an annoying voice. Jaden seemed to feel my pain, saying, "Yeah, I know what you mean. I can hardly stay awake in his classes."
I rolled my eyes. No wonder this kid was still a Slifer.
"I'll just have to take the good with the bad, I guess," I said, resigning myself. "Hopefully I won't have to deal with many more Obelisks in that class."
"Crowler's class?" interjected Syrus, who had seemingly appeared from out of nowhere. "There's plenty of Obelisks there… Crowler's the head of their dorm."
It was at that point the thoughts in my mind of enjoying the first term were immediately replaced with hypotheses regarding whether the Slifer dorm walls could withstand a fierce beating from my forehead.
"Oh, but Alexis will be there," the blue-haired kid added quickly before I found a window to jump out of. "She's our friend. She'll keep the Obelisks in line!" I sighed, figuring I should probably wait a week or so and reevaluate before doing anything drastic.
"I hope you're right," I said, getting up from my seat as the Slifers were dismissed from Banner's group meeting. Jaden and Syrus said they would talk to me later and left the dorm, probably to find more dueling opponents. As for myself, I went straight to my dorm room and hopped back onto my bed, drifting back into the sweet embrace of silence once again.