AN: Felt the urge to write GX and I realized the big issue with the old version of this story. The original premise was built around changing decks which wouldn't work in the long haul, and just switching to one deck going forward wouldn't fit with how things were written before. So, I've decided to rewrite what was there, add in some concepts from other GX stories (you'll know it when you see it in the chapters posted today), and even some new ideas like how I'm handling Crowler.
The True Slifer Red
Chapter 1
-Yugi Motto-
Sighing, the King of Games continued walking around the park, doing his best to remain unnoticed. It had been a good decade since the Pharaoh had departed with the original god cards and the seven millennium items, but many things had stayed the same. Yugi's skill at dueling was still there, he could still see duel spirits, and was still attuned to the shadow magics, albeit to a lesser degree. The other once wielders of the seven all kept some lingering abilities and that was what had led him here today.
Ishizu's visions had dwindled in both frequency and clarity over the years, but they still occurred on occasion. And she had contacted him, saying she had a vision that there was someone he was meant to meet today at this park. He just didn't have any damn idea who it was or when they'd finally get here. Ishizu did at least say he'd know them when he saw them.
Just was he was wondering if there was anything in the park that he could find to eat without risking missing his 'target' a loud shout of "At your back!" caused him to turn lazily, just as a young man with two toned brown hair ran into him while rounding a corner, "Sorry." The brunette grunted apologetically, picking up a heavily worn secondhand duel disk and some dropped cards.
The boy was painfully thin and not the cleanest. But the shadow magic pouring off of the stranger was staggering. It took every ounce of self-control not to react to the person who felt as soaked in the Shadow Magics as the Pharoah had once been. Even if the shadows felt muted, not fully awakened.
Ishizu was right, he did indeed know who he was looking for.
"It's alright." Yugi shook his head, helping the stranger pick up their cards, something that seemed to surprise the brunette, "I see you're a duelist."
"Yeah…I'm heading to try out for the academy." Even through the clear struggles the boy must have been going through, Yugi could see the spark of hope in his eyes. An exuberance that reminded him of his own adventures all those years ago.
"You don't say." Yugi chuckled, rather amused that the strange young man hadn't recognized him yet.
"Yeah," the kid finally looked up to see his face, having collected all the cards and his eyes widened "wait…aren't you…?" As the kid trailed off in shock at seeing the elusive 'King of Games', Yugi gave a calm smile and reached into the deck box at his side, pulling out a card and handing it over face down.
"Why don't you take this." He slid the card into the boy's deck with a grin, "Something tells me it belongs with you."
"For real?!" the young brunette stared slack jawed at his own deck.
"For real." Yugi nodded with a grin, clapping the young man on the shoulder "Good luck at your exam. I look forward to seeing you duel with the pros in a few years."
With his piece said, and gift given, Yugi walked off, curious at what the boy would grow to be as he heard the young man shout after him, "My name's Jaden Yuki, and I'll make you proud sir!" looking over his shoulder, he gave Jaden a thumb's up as the young man ran off towards the stadium in the distance.
"I wonder how he'll use my gift." Yugi chuckled before hearing a trill and turned, seeing the floating duel spirit of Winged Kuriboh tilting its head at him.
"Winged Kuriboh?" Yugi blinked, his mind feeling sluggish as he tried to process why the spirit was still with him, "Didn't I just give you to…?" getting a feeling in his gut, Yugi quickly took out his deck and looked through it.
He hadn't given Jaden Yuki Winged Kuriboh like he had intended. He had handed over Slifer the Sky Dragon. A few years before, Pegasus had recreated the three Egyptian god Cards. He had said that the lingering feelings he got from the lost Millennium Eye had implied it was the correct call to make. Pegasus had kept Ra for himself to study, Obelisk had been given to Kaiba, and Slifer to Yugi himself.
Pulling out his phone, he rapidly called Kaiba. The man was still, as Joey would put it, 'as prickly an ass as he always was' but the man did believe in the shadow magics now and respected Yugi's word. He'd want to know about someone entering his entrance test with Slifer in their deck.
-Jaden Yuki-
He hadn't had the chance to see what card the King of Games had given him on his run here, but it felt heavy in his deck. He hoped that was a good thing. Standing at the top of the arena, and ignoring the sneers a lot of the other applicants were giving his appearance, Jaden gazed at the duel arena where a guy with a British accent was handily winning his entrance duel.
"Damn, he's got some skill." Jaden gave an impressed whistle as the duel monsters faded away.
"Yeah, Bastion Misawa." A little blue haired guy next to him nodded, not seeming phased by Jaden's ratty clothes or skinny appearance "They say he got the best written score of any applicant."
"Seriously?" Jaden blinked wide eyed, "I just barely passed."
"Same here." The bluenette groaned sullenly, "I'm Syrus. Honestly, I'm shocked I made it in. I kinda tend to freeze up whenever anybody watches me duel so it's a miracle that I won my match at all."
"Hey, you're still in." Jaden shrugged with an easy-going grin, glad that nobody here seemed to recognize him. He could take people sneering at his bad clothes and need of a bath over the usual reactions he got, "Once I win my match I will be too."
"Wait you haven't dueled yet?" Sirus blinked in surprise "I thought Bastian was supposed to be the last one.".
As if Sirus' comment had tempted fate a voice called out over the intercom "Will Jaden Yuki please report to exam field four."
"Or not." Sirus said with a sweat drop as he gave the bluenette a grin and walked down to the rooms below the fields. Taking a deep breath as he stood on the raising platform, Jaden rested a hand on the five headed dragon cared that had been a gift from one of the few adults in his life who'd had his back. The presence of the dragon card, even if he'd never been able to play it, was calming. Blinking as the light hit his eyes, the platform rising into the stadium proper, Jaden blinked at seeing an overly dressed effeminate man with an intricate duel disk standing across form him.
"That's one hell of a disk." Jaden narrowed his eyes, getting a feeling that this wasn't a normal entrance duel.
"Noticed that have you?" the man had a haughty and arrogant tone, but Jaden could hear distinct curiosity in his opponent's voice, "I am Doctor Vellian Crowler, Department Chair of Techniques at Duel Academy as well as Master of the Obelisk Blue Male Dorms."
"A Department Chair? This doesn't seem like a normal test." Jaden wondered if someone was trying to ruin his chance to enter Duel Academy.
"Indeed," Crowler nodded "this was ordered by Mr. Kaiba himself. It would seem that, for some reason, a Pro of some renown has taken a direct interest in you. I was selected to see if said attention is warranted. Along with me being the tester, I have been authorized to use my own personal deck." That one statement sent a flurry of whispers through the listening students. Both the first years and the returning students who'd shown up to scope out the new blood.
"Trust me, it's more than warranted." Jaden gave a wild grin, his blood pumping for a duel like hadn't happened for years. He felt eager for a duel in he hadn't since he'd lost Yubel. Glancing down at his opening hand, Jaden froze in shock at what he saw. There, right in the middle of his first draw, sat Slifer the Sky Dragon. An Egyptian god card, one of the most legendary monsters in all of the sport.
"I'll take the first move." Crowler's voice snapped Jaden from his shock as the man gave a mildly disturbing cackle "I'll start off by setting down face downs. Don't worry though, they won't be here for long. I follow up with Heavy Storm!" the two projected face downs were shattered by the force of the gale.
Several people in the crowd were snickering, wondering how Crowler was a teacher after 'doing a stupid move like that', when the field was filled with an ominous fog. Accompanying the unsettling miasma came the sound of feral snarling as two golden monsters rose up, thrashing and glaring "Statue of the Wicked." Crowler explained as if he was giving a lecture, "It creates a Trap Monster but only if destroyed while face down. The cards stats aren't anything special in and of themselves, but they make an excellent sacrifice!" Crowler slapped a new card onto his Duel Disk, "Behold, my prized possession, the ace of my deck!" the miasma was changing to a dull gray as the monstrous snarling became a mechanical groan, the fog rising, rising, and rising some more as a single red eye glared out from the mist "The Ancient Gear Golem!"
"T-t-that thing's huge!" a second year wearing Red panicked, "Look at those attack points!"
"Its ability is even worse!" the second year's friend who was in red as well sounded just as freaked out.
"Indeed, my Ancient Gear Golem is quite the monster. Do note how I got a card as powerful as this out in one turn mind you. That's the sort of skill I expect from my students, and it will be the topic of my class's first essay this year!" Crowler, flamboyant as he may be, at least seemed to be taking teaching seriously as he gave the watching students a serious look "That said, I believe I'll leave it there for now." Jaden could see the curiosity in the arrogant man's eyes. Kaiba had pushed for this, but Crowler wanted to see what Jaden could do.
Narrowing his eyes in determination, Jaden drew his card to begin the turn "I'll start out with Pot of Greed." Jaden grinned at his first pull, "To get two more cards to get things going. Next, I'll play Polymerization!" putting the card into his disk, which struggled to light up for a bit before projecting the multicolored vortex, "I fuse the Elemental Heroes Avian, Sparkman, and Bubbleman to form Elemental HERO Tempest!" Crowler was giving him and the monster an appraising eye before he continued, "Next, I'll use Defusion to separate him back into his original pieces." Many in the crowd, those mostly wearing blue, began to laugh and jeer.
"Hmm, I see." Crowler nodded, not laughing as he clearly had some idea as to why Jaden had done so "Care to share with the class why you would get rid of a powerful monster? One that admittedly came close to matching my Golem in raw force?"
"Same reason you destroyed Statue of the Wicked teach. I needed the sacrifices." Jaden's wild grin caused the laughter to die abruptly "So I sacrifice Avian, Sparkman, and Bubbleman to summon Slifer the Sky Dragon!" his disk began to spark and shake, struggling to bring out the divine beast as its massive red bulk filled the entire stadium.
Some of those watching were in awe.
Some called him a thief, saying he stole it from the King of Games.
Then there was one arrogant voice sneering out above the rest "What a fucking joke! It doesn't matter how he got it; he can't even play it right! You only have one damn card in your hand dumbass!"
Ignoring the sneering upperclassman in blue, Jaden played the last cared in his hand "Now I use Card of Sanctity so we each draw until we have six cards in our hands. Won't do much for you, but it'll bring Slifer up to Six Thousand Attack points! Slifer, Lightning Blast!" the mouth of the great Sky Dragon opened and fired a condensed beam of power at the Golem that failed to withstand the onslaught, collapsing into a pile of scrap around a stunned Crowler.
"I…I yield." Crowler bowed his head in both awe at the monster before him and shame at his loss, "Nothing in my deck has the kind of power I'd need to defeat a monster of that caliber."
Nodding elated, Jaden deactivated his struggling duel disk, giving Slifer's hologram a grin as the Dragon faded away. Before he could head back up to the stands though, a slow clapping filled the arena as one of the private booths tinted window faded to become clear, showing Seto Kaiba and Yugi Moto.
"Well done, Jaden." Yugi nodded with a grin while Kaiba had his trademark perfected 'Resting Bastard Face' on, "Come up here, would you? Seto and I need to have a word with you."
