A Nudge Towards Greatness (Rewrite)

by wolfboy0618

Growing up in the shadow of his incredibly talented older brother, has given Syrus Truesdale more than a few confidence issues. But after a chance encounter with Yugi Muto - who gives him some much needed words of wisdom and encouragement - Syrus might be able find the strength within himself to fulfill his dream of becoming a great Duelist like his brother. Or maybe..even better?

2. Episode 1

Disclaimer: The following is a fan-made fiction. Yu-Gi-Oh! the anime, manga and trading card game are all owned by Konami and the late Kazuki Takahashi. Please support the official release.

Episode 1: Entrance Exam Of Hard Knocks.

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In a large domed building on top of a hill near the outskirts of Domino City, the final part of The Duel Academy Entrance Exams were well underway. Which had members of the schools faculty personally face off against their future students in a duel.

One of these future students was a young man named Jaden Yuki. He was 5'5ft tall with reddish brown hair and brown eyes. He wore a dark grey school uniform with his outer shirt open to reveal the red t-shirt underneath and red/white sneakers.

Jaden and his test opponent were currently locked in a stalemate, with Jaden having his Elemental HERO Clayman face-up on the field in Defense Mode and 1 card face-down. While his opponent had Giant Soldier Of Stone face-up on the field in Defense Mode. But it was the instructor's turn and he was ready to end the stalemate.

"I sacrifice Giant Soldier Of Stone in order to bring out Summon Skull in Attack Mode!" he shouted, his rock warrior vanishing in a flash of yellow light and in it's place stood the white/purple Fiend monster made famous by Yugi Muto.

Summon Skull ATK: 2500

"Woah, a Summon Skull!" Jaden exclaimed, his eyes shimmering with excitement. "This is the sweetest! I've always wanted to take one on!"

While the instructor was a bit taken aback by the young man's eagerness to face such a powerful monster, he did find his enthusiasm to be contagious. "You've got a lot of guts kid." he complimented "But it's gonna take more than guts to make it into Duel Academy. Summon Skull, attack Clayman with Lightning Strike!"

The famous fiend monster let out a haunting shriek as it channeled a fearsome surge of electricity that threatened to turn the earth golem hero into rubble. But that was exactly what Jaden was hopping for.

"Oh I've definitely got more than guts teach." Jaden stated with pure confidence. "I've also got this awesome Trap Card! Go: Mirror Gate!"

"Mirror Gate?!" the instructor cried out in shock as Clayman and Summon Skull switched places with one another in the blink of an eye.

"That's right! Mirror Gate causes 2 monsters that are engaged in battle to switch which sides they're on! So now tall, dark and sparky is fighting on my team!" Jaden explained with a widening grin. Although he did feel bad for having to destroy one of his own monsters. 'Sorry to do this to ya Clayman.' he apologized telapathically to the noble earth guardian.

'No apologies needed Jaden.' Clayman responded, accepting his demise with the courage of a true hero.

The instructor was very impressed with how his younger opponent was able to turn the tables on him so easily. 'This kid's got some real skill.' he thought with a smile, while out loud he said "Not bad. Not bad at all. But this duel is far from over."

"I hope so. Because I'm just getting warmed-up."

Something told the test proctor that Jaden wasn't kidding, which only seemed to excite him more. "So am I. I place 2 cards face-down and end my turn."

'Alright, time to get my game on!' Jaden shouted internally, then enthusiastically made his draw. "My turn!"

(Meanwhile, Outside The Exam Hall)

Just outside the Exam Hall entrance was a booth for being manned by a man in a tuxedo and a pair of lovely ladies dressed in orange colored versions of Duel Academy's school uniforms.

The man in the tuxedo checked his watch and the time read 1:30, which was the deadline for any new applicants to sign-in for the exams taking place inside. "Well ladies, that's it. Mark all of the no shows, No shows". he stated to his co-workers, who nodded and started to close-up shop.

"WAIT!"

The 3 adults turned to the direction of the sudden shout and saw a short young man with aquamarine hair running up to them. He was sweating like a pig and panting like a dog, a clear sign that he had been running for several minutes straight with no rest. He came to a stop in front of the booth, leaning forward with his hands on his knees as he finally allowed himself to catch his breath.

"You okay there kid?" the suited man asked with concern.

"*Pant*...Yeah..*Pant*..Just..*Pant*..Give me a sec..*Pant*" Syrus said with heavily labored breath. After taking in several deep gasps of precious oxygen he raised his head a little and asked "Can I get some water?"

One of the ladies at the booth opened a cooler sitting below the desk and pulled out a cold bottle of water. "Here you go sweetie." she said with a smile.

"Thank you so much." the boy said, taking the offered bottle drank it all at once. Once he was done he nervously asked "Am I too late?"

The ladies of the booth looked to the man in the tuxedo, who checked his watch again. After thinking about for a second the man smiled at the boy and said "No. You just made it."

"Oh thank god." Syrus sighed in deep relief.

(A Few Minutes Later)

After getting signed in, Syrus walked into the stadium where the exams were taking place to find a seat and wait for his turn. He found one in the back rows and got comfortable.

'Okay. I may have only just managed to make it on time at the very last second, but I still made it.' Syrus said to himself, trying to calm his still pounding heart. 'I still have a shot a getting in. I just gotta keep it cool and duel with everything I've got once it's my-'

"Wow! Look at that guy go!" an enthusiastic voice said right next to Syrus, snapping him out of his musing.

Syrus quickly found out what the kid next to him was so excited about. In the middle of his own duel against an instructor was a young genius named Bastion Misawa. He stood at 5'6ft tall with short black hair slicked back neatly. His dark grey eyes held a calm, calculating gaze and he wore a white school uniform with black trimmings.

Bastion had Vorse Raider face-up in Attack Mode, 1 card face-down and 3200 Life Points. Meanwhile the instructor had Golem the Moving Fortress and Big Shield Gardna both in face-up Defense Mode and 1900 Life Points.

"Alright Misawa, multiple choices!" the instructor called out. "You have 2 formidable monsters staring you down! Do you A: Throw in the towel? B: Beg for mercy? Or C: Run home to mama?"

"I'll go with D: None of the above!" Bastion responded with a posh British accent. "I play the Trap Card: Ring Of Destruction!"

"What?!" the instructor shouted, caught completely off guard by the boy's counter to his defense strategy.

Bastion had a cool smile on his face as he said "With Ring Of Destruction, I can target any 1 monster on the field that's in Attack Mode and destroy it. Then we both take damage equal to that destroyed monster's ATK." A ring of grenades equipped itself to Vorse Raider's neck, which the detonated not a second later and dealt major damage to both Duelists.

Bastion LP: 3200-1300

Instructor Shades LP: 1900-0

The instructor gave his victorious opponent a respectful nod. "Very clever Misawa. With skills like yours, I have a feeling you'll do very well at Duel Academy."

Bastion responded with a polite bow. "Thank you. I intend to do just that."

(Meanwhile In The Students Stands)

Many young Duelists who were already students of Duel Academy were talking amongst each other as they observed the tests taking place in front of them. Either reminiscing on when they took the test themselves, or doing commentary on the skills of the applicants compared to their own.

One of these students was a dueling prodigy named Chazz Princeton, a young man at around 5'4ft tall with a full mess of black hair that was spiky along his bangs and spiked upward along the back of his head. He had dark grey eyes, that looked down on all the applicants with indifference, and pale white skin. He was casually leaning back in his seat, with a pair of his fellow Obelisk's, named Tyler and Ryan respectively, sitting on either sides of him.

"Wow, that Bastion guy is pretty good. Don't ya think Chazz?" said Tyler, a boy with a Texan twang in his voice, short blue hair with most it styled in a curly bang on the right side of his head, grey eyes and rectangle glasses.

"Guess all those rumors about him being some kind of wiz-kid were true after all." said Ryan, a boy with tanned skin, square jawline, short spiky brown hair and black eyes. "What do you think Chazz."

"He's a punk." Chazz answered his cronies haughtily. "Sure he's got some skill, but it's nothing special. As for the rest of these losers who think that just cause they passed these test makes them real Duelist's, they don't know what they're getting into. But they'll learn." Chazz smirked with sinister intent. "The hard way. The Chazz Princton way."

Tyler and Ryan sweatdropped nervously at Chazz's monologue. "..Right. Whatever you say Chazz." said Tyler.

There was another group of Obelisk Blues watching all the duels from the high railings of the stadium. A group made up of 3 females and 1 male. The 3 females were all 15 years of age and around 5'5ft tall, and each had a figure that most supermodels would kill for.

The first of these young beauties was named Alexis Rhodes, who had long blonde hair that reached the small of her back, hazel eyes and perfectly balanced figure with an E-Cup bust and sizable butt to match.

The second was named Jasmine "Jazz" Makurada. She had shoulder-length auburn hair, grey eyes and her figure was a bit more bottom heavy on the bottom heavy side compared to her friends, but she still had a sizable D-Cup bust.

And the third was known as Mindy Hamaguchi. She had raven black hair that reached past her shoulders in a ponytail held together in a red scrunchy, brown eyes and she possessed the most ample bust among her friends at a solid F-Cup.

Then there was the male of the group, the top student of Duel Academy himself, Zane Truesdale. He was a young man reaching his prime at 17 years old, standing at 6ft tall with a lean/athletic build, shoulder-length teal and teal eyes, and his handsome face was locked in a near permanent stoic expression. Everything about him seemed to exude confidence, strength and authority, making him the polar opposite of his younger brother in nearly every way.

"That Jaden kid with the Elemental HERO Deck had some pretty good moves." Alexis stated, leaning over the railing to get the best view.

"I'd say that Bastion was better." Jazz responded with a on her wide hips. "You can tell that he had that entire match planned out from the start. And he executed his strategy flawlessly."

"And they're both total cutie-pies!" Mindy gushed with a lovesick smile, pressing both of her hands against her blushing cheeks. "Although if I had to pick which one I liked more, it would be Bastion. I just love his accent! It's so posh and manly!"

Alexis and Jazz rolled their eyes at their friend's boy crazy antics. 'It figures she's more focused on their looks rather than their skills in dueling.' Alexis thought with slight exasperation.

"What do you think Zane?" Jazz asked her upperclassman. "Any of those kids down there someone you gotta watch out for?"

Zane was silent for a minute as his prodigious mind quickly replayed all the duels he witnessed today in vivid detail. "Both Bastion and Jaden definitely have potential." he said with a calm and masculine voice. "But it's difficult to say which one has more."

"You think either of them might be the rival you've been looking for?" Alexis asked.

"Possibly."

"Aw come on guys, lets be real here." Mindy spoke up with a knowing grin. "We all know that Zane could take down anyone of these newbies with his eyes closed. There's not a single applicant here who anywhere near his league. Much less could be his rival."

"That's true/Yeah you got a point." Alexis and Jazz nodded in agreement.

And while Zane's stoic expression didn't show it, inwardly he was hoping that Mindy was wrong. It had been a long time since he had met a Duelist who could give him a proper challenge. And if he were to be completely honest, he was getting really tired of utterly dominating every opponent he faces. He wanted to duel someone who push him to his limits, someone who had a very real chance of finally beating him. But what he had seen today from all the new applicants was anything to go by, he might have to wait even longer before he met the Duelist he could call his rival.

(Back With Syrus)

"Wow. That guy's got some moves." Jaden said to his shorter neighbor.

"No joke." Syrus nodded. "That's Bastion Misawa. I heard that he got the highest score on the written test out of all us applicants."

"Really? I just barely passed that test."

"Me too. My name is Syrus by the way. Nice to meet you."

"Jaden, and right back at ya." the HERO Duelist said with a friendly smile. "So, you have your match yet?"

Syrus shook his head. "No. I just got here. And honestly.." He paused, his anxiety rearing it's ugly head. "I'm not sure if I'll even be allowed to take my test."

Jaden tilted his head in confusion. "How come?"

"Well, from what I've heard the head instructor of these exams is super strict. He apparently cut a whole third of last year's applicants from the tests entirely just for not addressing him as doctor."

Jaden's eyes widened in shock. "You're kidding me!"

"I kid you not. So I'm sure you can understand why I'm more than a worried of he might do once he finds out I arrived a bit late. And..to be honest.." Syrus curled into himself, his anxiety building up inside. "I doubt I'd really pass my test anyway. I'm not that good of a Duelist."

"Hey, don't be like that." Jaden said with an encouraging slap to Syrus's back, which knocked the short boy out of his funk. "I'm sure you'll not only get to duel, but that you'll do great. Who knows? You might even blow everyone here away with some sweet moves you didn't even know you had!"

Syrus just stared at the taller Duelist, very taken aback from all the positive reinforcement he was giving him. "You..You really believe that?"

"You bet I do!" Jaden said sincerely with a thumbs-up.

"But..why? You don't even know me."

"So? Just because I don't know you doesn't mean I'm wrong. I've always had a good sense about people when it comes to dueling. And something tells me that you got game. All you gotta do is have faith in yourself."

Syrus didn't know what it was about this Jaden kid, but he had this natural and genuine charisma that not only eased his anxiety, but added fuel to the tiny flame that burned in his heart. "..Yeah. Maybe you're right." he said with a small smile.

Jaden beamed at his new friend. "That's the spirit!"

(Meanwhile In The Teacher's Stands)

"Looks like we've got a pretty good crop this year." one instructor said to another, impressed with the skill he had seen from the applicants.

His colleague agreed with him. "Yes indeedy."

Fonda Fontaine, the headmistress of the Obelisk Blue Dorm at Duel Academy wholeheartedly agreed with her peers

She was a gorgeous woman in her prime at 23 years old, standing at 5'7ft tall with short red hair, some of it styled into a prominent bang shaped like a jagged edge, warm grey eyes and light red lipstick on her full lips. She had a stunning hourglass figure, a full G-Cup buxom bust and toned mile long legs. She wore round amethyst earrings, an Obelisk blazer over a short pink dress with a belt around her slim waist and blue heeled boots.

'There's so much untapped potential in these kids.' she thought with a warm smile. 'But if I had to pick my favorite among them, it would be Jaden Yuki. Something tells me that he going to grow into something truly remarkable one day.'

However, the tall, lanky and effeminate man sitting right next to her and her follow headmaster of Obelisk Blue was not anywhere near as impressed as she was.

Doctor Vellian Crowler. He stood at a towering 6'5ft tall with long blonde hair style in a mixture between a bowl-cut and a ponytail, blue eyes and purple lipstick on his lips. He wore crescent moon earrings, a custom Obelisk Blue coat with pink frills along his collar, shoulders and wrists, dark purple pants and silver boots.

'Please. The only one who has any worth out of the rest of these slackers is Bastion Misawa.' he thought with a cold sneer. 'Not only are his written test scores exemplary, he won his duel exam in record time as well. He'll be worth keeping a close eye on. Whereas more than half of the rest of this riffraff with dropout in a week.'

The tuxedo man from the Entrance Booth approached the effeminate dueling expert and said "Excuse me, Dr. Crowler? One last applicant has arrived to take his exam."

"Tell the turant he'll have to come back next year." Crowler said with a bored tone. "The last exam is already over. We're done here."

"Aw come on Dr. Crowler! We have time for one more!" one of his colleagues begged, much to Crowler's annoyance.

"Yeah. Let's give this Duelist his shot." another instructor requested, adding to the doctor's frustration.

"He was just a bit late, that's all." That last comment was the last straw for Crowler.

"LATE IS RUDE!" he screeched, standing from his seat and slamming his hands against the desk in front of him. "I HAVE NO TIME FOR SLACKERS!"

"I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss this applicant if I were you doctor." Fonda warned with a sly grin.

Crowler looked to his fellow elite instructor with an annoyed glare. "And why is that, dare I ask?"

"Because Chancellor Shepard is still pretty mad at you for that stunt you pulled last year. You know, where you cut more than a third of the applicants for, and I quote from the chancellor himself, a completely ridiculous reason? What was it again? The students calling mister or misses?"

Crowler sweated nervously. He remembered quite clearly how Shepard reacted when he learned of the good doctor's very petty actions that day. Shepard was so mad he not only cut several months of Crowler's pay and erased all of his saved up vacation time, he threatened to fire him if he ever tried to do something like that again.

"In fact, that's the reason he sent me with you to grade the exams this year. To insure that you didn't pull another stunt like that again. So," she paused to pull out her flip phone, opened it up and placed her thump over the call button. "do I need to call the chancellor to inform him that you're once again denying a young Duelist a fair shot for petty reasons?"

"O-On second thought! I suppose a little tardiness can be forgiven!" Crowler backtracked with a shaky smile.

Fonda's sly smile widened ever so slight as she closed her phone. "Wise choice. Now then, who's gonna be the applicant's opponent? And which test Deck should we use? Oh, I forgot to ask what's the applicants name?"

The tuxedo man looked at the application form in his hands, adjusting his sunglasses as he read it. "Says here his name is Syrus Truesdale ma'am."

The boy's surname immediately caught everyone's attention. "Truesdale?" a random instructor asked "As in he's related to Zane Truesdale, Duel Academy's top student?"

"Well he did fill out Zane as his older brother in his next of kin, so yes?"

"Is that so? How interesting." Crowler said, now very intrigued. 'Perhaps I was too quick to dismiss this boy after all.' he mused. 'If he's anything like Zane, then this boy could be grand addition to academy. Unlike the rest of the talentless flunkies that infest the place as it is. But I have to know for certain if he's really Duel Academy material. And there's only one way to do that.' He stood up from his and straightened up his frilly collar. "Pardon me gentlemen, Ms. Fontaine, I'll be right back."

"Wait, where are you going?" Fonda asked. "We still haven't decided who's gonna be the boy's, I mean, Syrus's test opponent."

Crowler turned to his female colleague with a sly grin of his own. "Oh don't worry, I've got it all figured out. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a test to grade."

Fonda narrowed her eyes in suspicion at the dueling doctor. 'What are you playing at Crowler?' she pondered.

(Back With Syrus)

Bastion took off his Duel Disk and sat it on the seat next to him as he sat down in the row right in front Syrus and Jaden.

"Tight duel Bastion." Jaden complimented.

While a bit surprised by the sudden praise, Bastion accepted it with poise. "Thank you."

"From the looks of things, I think you might be the third best Duelist here." Jaden added casually, which knocked both Syrus and Bastion for a loop.

"Will Syrus Truesdale please report to Exam Field 4." a male monotone voice announced over the intercom.

"Alright Sy, you're up!" Jaden said to his new friend with an encouraging smile. "Now get out there and get your game on!"

Syrus took in a deep breath to help calm his nerves and nodded. "Alright. Here I go." he said softly to himself before beginning his trek down the stairs leading to the field.

"Hold on a moment." Bastion spoke up, which made Syrus and Jaden look at him curiously. "If I'm third best, then who's second and first?"

"Well normally I'd say I'm number one." Jaden answered confidently, yet with no hint of arrogance. "But that's kinda up in the air at the moment since we haven't yet seen my buddy Syrus in action."

Syrus blushed at how Jaden not only implied that he might be the best Duelist here, but by how he so easily called him his buddy. It felt good. Really good. "I-I'm really your buddy Jaden?" he asked bashfully.

"You bet!" Jaden confirmed with a thumbs-up. "Now get going! You've got a test to ace!"

Emboldened by Jaden's encouragement, Syrus continued his way down the stairs with a bit more pep in his step.

Bastion observed the short Duelist curiously for a moment before turning his attention to the one behind him. "Tell me, Jaden was it?"

"That's my name."

"How long have you known Syrus for?"

"About...10 or so minutes. Why?"

"If that's the case, how can you be so certain of Syrus's skills if you've never actually seen him duel?"

"Well...it's kinda hard to explain." Jaden admitted with a thoughtful smile. "I just have this feeling in my gut that tells me that he's a lot stronger than he thinks he is. And if someone were to just give him a little push in the right direction, he'd find that out for himself that he's got game."

"You really have that much faith in him? Even if you've only just met?"

"Sure. I always follow my gut, and it hasn't let me down yet."

Bastion examined the odd young man behind for long moment before he turned his attention to the dueling field. "I suppose we'll find out if you're gut is right soon enough."

Meanwhile all the Duel Academy students in the stands took a special interest in the upcoming test upon hearing that the applicant taking it shared the same surname as the school's undefeated top Duelist.

"Did you hear that Chazz?" Tyler asked his "friend" almost like an excited puppy. "Zane's got a brother and he's about to duel!"

"You think he's gonna be anywhere near as good as Zane?" Ryan asked.

Chazz was actually curious of this little brother Zane apparently had himself, so he leaned forward to get a better view. But once he got a good look at the short Duelist stepping into the testing field, as well as who he was going to be dueling, he immediately wrote him off.

"What? That runt? Please." Chazz scoffed, leaning back into his seat with a smirk. "Crowler's gonna make mince meat out of him. I wish that I had some popcorn right now, because watching that kid get slaughtered is gonna be the best kind of free entertainment."

"Is that really your little brother down there Zane?" Mindy asked eagerly. "Wow, you must be so proud to see him apply for the academy right?"

"You been teaching your little bro any of your secrets on how to duel like a boss, big guy?" Jazz asked, giving the stoic young man a playful nudge with her elbow.

"He's going to fail." Zane stated like it was a fact. "Syrus doesn't have what it takes to be a Duelist."

The trio of young beauties were taken aback by Zane's cold dismissal of his own brother's skills.

"Don't you think that you're being a bit too harsh on him Zane?" Alexis asked.

"No, I'm not. Trust me, I know my little brother. I have tried to teach him how to duel when we we're kids, but he always struggled to mastered even the basics. What's more is that he's naturally timid, even cowardly. He always second guesses himself and whenever he does make a play, he hardly ever thinks things through. Plus, his Deck itself is weak. He plays using the 'Roid' archetype."

"Seriously?" Jazz asked incredulously. "That's one of the weakest set of cards ever made!"

"Exactly. And to top it all off, look at who's his opponent is."

Alexis, Jazz and Mindy all turned their attention back to the field. Their eyes widened in shock at who was waiting for the short Duelist in the ring.

"Isn't that.. ?!" Alexis gasped.

Jazz shook her head with pity. "Man, you weren't kidding Zane. That shortie doesn't have a snowball's chance in hell."

"Such a shame." Mindy pouted a little. "He's kinda cute."

(Meanwhile On Exam Field 4)

With his Duel Disk armed with his Deck and equipped to his arm, Syrus tentatively stepped through the sliding glass doors of the barrier surrounding the testing field.

And waiting for him on the other side of the field was a towering effeminate man in a blue/pink frilly coat with a custom made Duel Disk. It was more like a vest, with the hologram projector and Deck holster in the center of his torso. The blade of the disk was attached to a flexible metal limb and held in his right hand like a guitar, with his free placed at his waist to strike a regal pose.

"Alright, test time!" the dueling doctor declared with a haughty smile. "So, you are Syrus Truesdale, correct?"

Syrus awkwardly stood at attention and stuttered "Y-Yes s-sir!"

Crowler raised a skeptical eyebrow at the nervous young man in front of him. 'This, is Zane's little brother? I hardly see any family resemblance.' he said internally, while outwardly said "Well Syrus, I am Dr. Vellian Crowler. Department Chair of Techniques at Duel Academy. And I will be your opponent for this test."

Syrus bowed respectfully to the effeminate man. "T-Thank you for allowing me this opportunity doctor, despite my tardiness."

Crowler allow a small smile on his face at the boy's awkward, but sincere gesture. 'Well, he's polite if nothing else. Now then, let's see if he inherited any of Zane's talent.' he thought as he activated his Duel Vest. He then rather elegantly drew his Opening Hand and said "Alright young scholar, are you ready to begin?"

"Ready as I'll ever be sir." Syrus replied softly as he activated his own Duel Disk and drew his own Opening Hand.

"Good." Crowler said with an eager grin.

Both Duelist shouted "Duel!" in unison, and the match officially began.

Syrus LP: 4000

Dr. Crowler LP: 4000

"Here goes!" Syrus called out, making the first draw of the duel.

Syrus's Hand: Gyroid, Magic Cylinder, Mirror Force, Supercharge, Cycroid, Ring Of Life.

'Okay, I got a decent Hand here. But I should probably play it safe for this round. Don't wanna use all of my best cards at once.' he strategized. "I'll start by summoning Gyroid in Defense Mode!"

In a flash of light a blue cartoonish gyrocopter appeared on the field in a defensive position, ready to defend it's Duelist as best as it could.

Gyroid DEF: 1000

"I'll also place 1 card face-down and end my turn."

Crowler had a disappointed frown on his face as he saw that his young opponent played using 'Roid' cards. "Yes, very good." he complimented insincerely as he made his own first draw. The motion sensor on his Duel Vest allowed him to draw his cards without him needing to touch his Deck.

Dr. Crowler's Hand: Ancient Gear, Ancient Gear, Ancient Gear Golem, Magnet Circle Level 2, Confiscation, Ancient Gear Explosive.

'And here I was expecting so much more from Zane's little brother.' he thought as he examined his Hand, a brilliant strategy already coming to mind. 'I mean honestly, what Duelist in their right mind would play with a 'Roid' Deck?! It's clear to me now that Zane is the golden goose of his family. Whereas this little brat is the runt of the litter. And now it falls to me to teach this whelp what a real Deck can do.' With a cunning smirk he said "Alright, for this first move I think I'll start nice and easy. I play the Spell Card: Confiscation."

Syrus felt a chill crawl up his spine. He did not like the sound of that card's name one bit. "W-What does it do?" he dared to ask.

"What it does is allow to pay 1000 Life Points so that I can not only take peek at your Hand, but also discard any 1 card in your Hand into the Graveyard." Crowler explained, gladly paying the cost of his powerful Spell Card so that all of Syrus's cards could be revealed to him, much to Syrus's dismay.

Dr. Crowler LP: 4000-3000

"Ah yes. I remember using some of these cards back when I was a naive rookie. Now which one shall I toss away I wonder...Ah-ha! Ring Of Life, to the Graveyard with you!"

'Ah man! This is really bad!' Syrus thought with increasing anxiety as he was forced to discard the card his opponent selected.

"Next I play Magnet Circle Level 2! This Spell Card allows me to special summon any Lv 2 or lower Machine-Type monster from my Hand! So that way I can bring out, Ancient Gear in Attack Mode!"

In a flash of light, a 3ft tall machine frame made of gears and rusted metal with a unicycle-like wheel and rather stubby arms was summoned to the field. It's gears and limbs creaking loudly as it forced itself to stay up right.

Ancient Gear ATK: 100

"And thanks to Ancient Gear's effect, I can special summon another Ancient Gear from my Hand!"

An exact replica of the rustic gear machine was conjured in quick order.

"But neither of them will be here for long, because now I sacrifice both my Ancient Gears in order bring forth, the Ancient Gear Golem in Attack Mode!" Crowler called out with glee, both of his tribute's vanishing in twin bursts of light in order to make way for the best monster in his Deck.

It was a towering 30ft tall humanoid machine resembling a soldier from ancient Greece made of gears and rusted metal, a single glowing red eye peered through it's helmet right into Syrus's own frightened grey eyes.

Ancient Gear Golem ATK: 3000

"Now dear boy, I hope you're not too scared at the sight of my legendary Ancient Gear Golem." Crowler boasted.

Syrus was almost to scared to speak for a moment, until he remembered that he still had a Trap Card face-down on the field that could win him the duel. He put on a brave, if a bit shaky smile and said "It's very impressive to be sure. But it's nothing I can't handle."

Crowler smirked at the boy's misplaced confidence. "Is that so? Well I suppose we'll see about that soon enough. Especially since my Golem's effect makes it so that when it attacks a monster that's in Defense Mode, it deals piercing damage. So your little Gyroid's effect where it can't be destroyed in battle once per turn is useless. Now then, let's proceed with the duel shall we? Ancient Gear Golem, attack Gyroid with Mechanized Melee!"

The gears of the towering machine rotated to life as it threw a massive fist at cartoonish copter with greater speed than anyone would expect from such a large and old machine.

"Not so fast!" Syrus called out "I activate the Trap Card: Magic Cylinder! This turns your Golem's attack my Gyroid into a direct attack..on you're.." The short Duelist just realized that his Trap hadn't activated at all. "..Life points?"

Not a second later, Ancient Gear Golem's fist connected with Gyroid's cartoonish face with a mighty smack. And while Gyroid remained standing thanks to it's effect, a ghostly fist phased through it's body and nailed Syrus with enough force to push him back a few inches, nearly knocking the stunned young man off his feet.

Syrus LP: 4000-2000

"But but..I don't understand! Why didn't my Trap Card work?!" Syrus exclaimed. "Is my Duel Disk malfunctioning?!"

Crowler chuckled cruelly at his young opponent's confusion. "Oh not to worry young scholar. You're Duel Disk is working just fine. I just forgot to mention that Ancient Gear Golem has another effect where all Spell and Traps can't be activated when it makes an attack until after the Damage Step."

Syrus's eyes widened in horror at this revelation. It was at this moment that he understood just how much his more experienced opponent outclassed him.

"Silly me. Though I suppose even the best of us make mistakes from time to time." Crowler said with faux humility. "Oh, and there's one last thing before I end my turn. I play the Spell Card: Ancient Gear Explosive! With this, I can target 1 'Ancient Gear' monster I control and inflect damage to my opponent equal to half of my targeted monster's ATK! And with only 1 Ancient Gear monster on my field, I'm sure you can guess which one I'm going to pick."

An icy chill crawled up Syrus's spine when he saw an enormous grenade with large gears acting as it's triggers and safety pins appeared in Ancient Gear Golem's right hand. And without hesitation, it pulled the safety gears and tossed it at the helpless Duelist.

"OH CRAPBASKETS-!"

*BOOM*

A large cloud of smoke and debris covered Syrus's side of the field for a few seconds. And when the dust cleared, it revealed Syrus on his knees and on the verge of having a panic attack as his Life Points now only held on by a thread.

Syrus LP: 2000-500

Crowler let out another chuckle at the miserable state his younger opponent was in. "Don't feel too bad dear boy." he said with faux sympathy. "Duel Academy is the top ranking dueling school in the country. We only accept the best of the best into our ranks. Some people just aren't cut out for it. But fear not, you can always surrender now, learn from your defeat today and try again next year. There's no shame in accepting defeat when it's obvious that there's no way you can win."

With what little self-esteem Syrus had all but obliterated by Crowler's brutal first play, he found himself very much agreeing with him on his chances for passing this test. 'Yeah. He's right.' he thought dejectedly as he free hand moved to fully place itself on top of his Deck in the sign of surrender. 'There's always next-'

"DON'T LISTEN TO HIM SYRUS!"

"Huh?"

He stopped his hand at the last second when he heard Jaden cheering him on from the stands at the top of his lungs.

"Come on man, the duel's only just started! And a duel is not over until the last card is played! You've still got plenty of cards in your Hand and your Deck! Meanwhile Dr. Chowder-

"IT'S CROWLER YOU INSOLENT SLACKER!" Crowler shrieked in rage.

"Yeah whatever! Anyways, doc's used up all the cards that he had in his Hand! So I'd say you've still got a shot to turn things around! So come on, get up and get your game on!"

"Jaden.." Syrus whispered, now nearly moved to tears from his new friend's genuine and inspiring speech.

*Chime Chime**Chime Chime*

Then he heard that strange bike bell from earlier. And what's more is that this time it was telling him, in that weird bell speak that he somehow could understand perfectly, that Jaden was right. That he can still win as long as he just believed in himself and his Deck.

'Where's that coming from?' he wondered, looking left and right for the source of the strange noise.

*Chime Chime*

He heard it again, and it seemed to be now telling him to look at the cards in his Hand? He did so, and much to his shock he saw the illustration of his Cycroid card was moving like it was alive. It was looking up at him with an encouraging gleam in it's single eye and gave him a friendly wave hello.

"That noise..!" he said softly, yet in complete disbelief. "Is it..you..!"

The bike monster nodded happily. And was in that moment that Syrus remembered Yugi's own words of encouragement and wisdom.

"Always remember this. True strength comes from never giving up. Trust in yourself. Trust in your cards. But most importantly, trust in those who believe in you. Do that, and nothing can defeat you."

'Is this what Yugi meant?' he pondered, looking back and forth between the now sentient card in his Hand and his new friend in the stands.

"Well?! Are you going to surrender or not?!" Crowler shouted impatiently.

Snapped out of his musing, Syrus looked at his free hand still hovering over his Deck, just an inch away from either signalling his surrender or drawing a card to continue the duel. 'Only one way to find out.' he thought, deciding to take a chance and draw a card.

Syrus's Hand: Cycroid, Supercharge, Mirror Force, Emergency Provisions.

The short Duelist's eyes lit up with hope and fuel was poured onto the growing fire in his heart, the card he now had in his Hand a clear sign that he still had a shot at achieving victory. He got back on his feet and stared his opponent down with eyes full of resolve. "No. I'm not giving up. I made a promise to myself that I wouldn't be weak anymore, that I will get into Duel Academy no matter what. So you can throw whatever you want at me, I can take it."

"Really?" Crowler asked, his voice dripping with skepticism and boredom. "I highly doubt that young scholar. After all, you can barely stand after that last round. Do you really think you'll survive another hit from my Ancient Gear Golem? At this point even a glancing blow will be enough to finish you off."

"Yeah, I suppose you have a point there." Syrus admitted with a small smirk. "Looks like I need to patch myself up real quick. I place 2 cards face-down! Then I activate the Quick-Play Spell: Emergency Provisions! Now for every Spell and Trap Card I decide to discard from my field, I gain 1000 Life Points! So I'll discard my Magic Cylinder still on the field and Mirror Force, and end my turn!"

Syrus LP: 500-2500

(Meanwhile In The Stands)

Everyone in the stadium was surprised that Syrus managed to find the resolve to keep dueling in spite of all the odds stacked against him. All except Jaden, who was still cheering his new friend on.

"That's the way Sy!" the HERO Duelist shouted with glee. "Show that frilly doctor who's boss!"

"I have to admit, I'm a little impressed." said Bastion. "Not only by Syrus's will to keep going, but by how you seemed to be able to inspire him."

"I just do what I can." Jaden said humbly "And I can't wait to see what kind of move Syrus will make to take down that Ancient Gear Golem."

"It will be a monumental task to be sure. But if you're friend is truly as strong as you believe he is, he might just find a way."

"Oh he'll find a way. Trust me on that."

In the Obelisk section of the stadium, Chazz had an annoyed scowl on his face. He had expected Crowler to send that pipsqueak running home crying to his mommy by now.

"That kid must be either really brave or really stupid if he actually thinks he can beat an expert like Dr. Crowler." Tyler stated.

"No joke." Ryan agreed. "Little runt is gonna be sent home in a body bag when Crowler's through with him, huh Chazz?"

Chazz didn't say anything, he was too focused on the younger Truesdale sibling. He didn't know why, but there was something about that runt that made his blood boil the more he looked at him.

Up in the high railing, Alexis, Jazz and Mindy were all a bit impressed that Syrus decided to stand his ground against the Obelisk headmaster. Meanwhile Zane remained indifferent, having no faith in his little brother's abilities whatsoever.

"Well what do you know. The kid's got some guts after all." Jazz said with a hint of respect.

"Although having that cutie Jaden cheering him on definitely helped." Mindy added. "Heck, he got me all pumped up!"

"It's not going to do him any good." Zane stated. "At this point there's only one card in Syrus's Deck that can help him now. But he doesn't have anywhere near enough skill to play it right."

"Hey, anything can happen in a duel Zane." Alexis pointed out. "You of all people should know that. So maybe you should keep an open mind, Syrus might end up surprising you."

"I highly doubt that Alexis."

Meanwhile in the teacher section, Fonda found herself a bit torn at the moment. On the one hand she was furious to see that Crowler had taken this opportunity to bully a hopeful applicant with his own Deck, full of powerful cards that even most professionals would struggle against. She was very tempted to report this unacceptable behavior to Chancellor Shepard.

On the other hand, she had a always had a soft spot for underdogs stories. And a young, short, timid, yet determined Duelist with a rather weak Deck facing off against an older, towering, experienced, yet arrogant blowhard of a teacher with a strong Deck sounded like a true David vs Goliath story if she ever heard one. So she kept her phone in her pocket and continued to watch the duel unfold, silently supporting the Vehicroid Duelist all the while.

'Come on Syrus.' she encouraged internally with a nervous finger to her lips.

(Back At The Duel)

No one was more surprised by Syrus's choice to keep dueling than Crowler himself. And he was not to pleased with the fact that he now forced to waste his valuable time teaching this little brat just how big the gap in skill and card potential between them really was. However, there was a very small part of him that actually respected the boy's resolve.

"Very impressive young scholar." he complimented only half sincerely as he made his draw.

Dr. Crowler's Hand: Pot Of Greed.

"But lest we forget, I already know the cards you had in your Hand thanks to Confiscation. So I'm well aware that your face-down card is Supercharge, which you hope to use after I attack you to draw 2 cards from your Deck in the hopes that you'll gain the means to defeat my Ancient Gear Golem. But I'm going to tell you right here and now that it's all for not."

"Oh yeah? And what makes you say that?" Syrus asked, anxious yet steadfast.

"Because I know that there isn't a single monster in your pathetic Deck that can hold a candle to my legendary monster."

"Take that back!" Syrus shouted, his anxiety now completely replaced with righteous anger. "My Deck is not pathetic!"

"Oh yes I forget how you young Duelists get attached to your cards, I'm sorry. But it's the truth, allow me to demonstrate. Ancient Gear Golem attack!"

Once again the rusted Goliath of a monster struck the helpless gyrocopter with a mighty fist, and a phantom of Ancient Gear Golem's fist phased through it to deal a hefty blow to Syrus's Life Points.

Syrus LP: 2500-500

Thanks to his now fully ignited fighting spirit, Syrus barely moved an inch from the force of that last attack and stared down the smug doctor with firm resolve. "Well you were right about one thing! My last face-down was the Trap Card: Supercharge! And now that the Damage Step is over I can use it's effect to draw 2 cards from my Deck!"

Syrus's Hand: Cycroid, Steamroid, Expressroid.

"Go ahead, draw all the cards you want. It will make no difference." Crowler stated with supreme confidence. "Especially since I'll be add 2 cards to my own Hand thanks to the ever useful Pot Of Greed."

Dr. Crowler's Hand: Ancient Gear Beast, Ancient Gear Drill.

"Next I play Ancient Gear Drill! I can only activate this Spell Card if I control a monster with 'Ancient Gear' in it's name. And since I do, I can now discard 1 card in order to take any 1 Spell Card in my Deck and set it face-down. Of course, I can't activate that Spell Card this turn but that's neither here or there. Now then dear boy, are you certain you want to continue this pointless endeavor in trying to defeat me with your weak 'Roid' monsters?"

Syrus clenched his free hand into a tight fist. He absolutely hated it when people insulted his cards, calling them things like weak, worthless, trash. To him, it wasn't all that different from when people would insult or make fun of him. And right now, this fruitcake of a Duelist was no better than all the other bullies he had to deal with throughout most of his life.

And he wasn't going to just stand there a take it, never again.

"Oh I'm not just going to keep going doctor." he growled as he made his draw.

Syrus's Hand: Cycroid, Steamroid, Expressroid, Graceful Charity.

"I'm going to prove to you, and everyone here that my Deck and I are far stronger than you would ever think was possible! I play Graceful Charity! Now I can draw 3 cards from my Deck as long as also discard 2 to my Graveyard!"

Syrus's Hand: Cycroid, Steamroid, Expressroid, Limiter Removal, Rush Recklessly, Power Bond.

A familiar fear gripped Syrus's heart at the sight of his most powerful card, a fear that was ingrained into his very soul from Zane's brutal lesson all those years ago on the risks of using it. A fear so powerful that it nearly paralyzed him-

*Chime Chime*

But Cycroid's encouraging bell speak helped him power through that fear and see what needed to be done if he wanted to not only win, but conquer that fear as well.

"Thanks Cycroid." he whispered to the bike monster as he sent both it and Steamroid to the Graveyard to full resolve Graceful Charity's effect. "Next, I summon Expressroid in Defense Mode!"

In a flash of light, a white/purple cartoonish express lane train with green eyes appeared next to the battered and bruised Gyroid.

Expressriod DEF: 1600

"And since I summoned Expressroid, it's special ability activates! Which allows me to take 2 'Roid' monster in my Graveyard, the ones I discarded with Graceful Charity by the way, and add them to my Hand!" he explained while adding to his Hand all the pieces he needed to make the play that will define the rest of his life. "And now I play the Spell Card: Power Bond!"

Many students and teachers in the stands all let out a collective gasp in shock, and with good reason. After all, thanks to Zane the card Power Bond had become very infamous within Duel Academy.

"POWER BOND?!" Crowler shrieked in terror. "WHEN AND HOW DID A RUNT LIKE YOU GET A CARD LIKE THAT?!"

Syrus smirked, now feeling truly confident for the first time in his life. "My big brother gave me this card when we were kids!" he answered. "And with it, I can Fusion Summon a Machine-Type monster! And best of all, the monster that I summon with Power Bond will have it's original ATK double! So I fuse Gyroid on my field with Steamroid in my Hand, so that I can summon the ultimate engine that could, Steam Gyroid!"

Thanks to Power Bond's magic, Gyroid merged together with a red/black locomotive to form a copter/train hybrid machine. It had a smile full of fighting spirit and two of it's rotor blades were held up close to it's face in a boxer-like stance. Sparks of electricity danced around it's frame, a sign of Power Bond's effect increasing it's strength two-fold.

Steam Gyroid ATK: 2200-4400

Once the Fusion Summon was complete, Crowler quickly regained his composure once he saw that Syrus's monster was not really that big of a threat.

"Well young scholar, I admit that you had me worried there for a moment." he said with his usual bluster. "But while your Steam Gyroid may be strong enough to defeat my Ancient Gear Golem, in the end you'll only defeat yourself. After all, Power Bond is just as risky to play as it is powerful, since you'll suffer damage equal to the original ATK of the monster you summoned with it. And if my math is correct, your Steam Gyroid's original ATK is 2200. More than enough to burn you out as it were."

Syrus's smirk only widened. "Oh I'm well aware of Power Bond's drawback doctor. Just like I'm also aware of the fact that I can avoid this if I manage to wipe out all of my opponent's Life Points before the end of my turn."

"True. But I'm sure you'll find that quite difficult to do, especially thanks to the Spell Card I set with Ancient Gear Drill last turn." Crowler reminded with a wide smirk of his own. "Behold: Limiter Removal! With this, all of my Machine-Type monsters on the field will have their ATK doubled!"

The gears and circuitry went into overdrive thanks to Crowler's Quick-Play Spell.

Ancient Gear Golem ATK: 3000-6000

"So dear boy, if you still think you can take on my golem then by all means, try your best." Crowler taunted.

Syrus was more than happy to respond to Crowler's taunt with "Okay, you asked for it! Now I play Rush Recklessly! This let's me target a face-up monster I control and increase it's ATK by 700 for 1 turn!"

The hybrid machine sounded off it's train whistle as it's already considerable strength increased further.

Steam Gyroid ATK: 4400-5100

Crowler let out an unimpressed scoff. "Please, that's the best you've-"

"And finally, I play my own Limiter Removal!"

The sparks of electricity dancing around Steam Gyroid's frame intensified as it's might skyrocketed to heights few monsters ever reach.

Steam Gyroid ATK: 5100-10200

Crowler's earlier terror returned, now even greater than before. "W-WAIT! TIME OUT!"

But Syrus didn't listen, he was ready to finish it. "Now Steam Gyroid, attack Ancient Gear Golem with Train Twister!" he bellowed.

The hybrid machine gladly obeyed, spinning it's rotor blades with so much speed it created a tornado made of smoke, soot and lightning. The tornado became so big it touched the stadium ceiling and blew gale force winds into the stands.

Both Ancient Gear Golem and Crowler himself were sucked into the mighty twister like dirt into a vacuum cleaner. Crowler screamed like a little girl as he both electrocuted by the lightning generated from Power Bond's effect, and being spun around like he was on the worlds biggest Merry-Go-Round from the violent winds. And his best monster was tore apart like a plastic toy, one of the pieces comically smacking him in the face.

The miniature storm lasted for about 10 seconds before it finally died down. And there Crowler laid in the middle of the dueling field. Dizzy, covered head to toe in soot, buried under the scrapped remains of his best and utterly defeated.

Dr. Crowler LP: 3000-0

For a long moment the whole stadium was so silent you could hear a pin drop. Nobody could believe the upset victory they had just witnessed. Syrus least of all, and he was the one who pulled it off!

"I..I did it..?!" he wondered out loud, almost believing he was dream for a second. But after having another minute to process that what happened was in fact real, he beamed with the widest, brightest smile of his whole life. "I DID IT!"

(Thunderous Applause)

Nearly the entire stadium joined Syrus in celebrating his stellar victory. Though none of them cheered louder than Jaden Yuki. "ALRIGHT! NOW THAT'S GAME!" he shouted with glee while striking his signature victory pose. "I KNEW SYRUS HAD IT IN HIM!"

Bastion's own stunned expression turned into an impressed grin as he joined in with the rest of the audiance in applauding the short underdog. 'Most impressive.' he said internally. 'It looks like I have some serious competition on my hands, good.'

"WOOO!" Fonda cheered, enthusiastically clapping her hands for Syrus's triumph. 'I have a feeling that this is going to be an amazing year with him around!' she thought eagerly. 'And I can't wait to start teaching him!'

Chazz and his cronies were among the few people in the audience that were still reeling in shock from Syrus's miraculous comeback. Chazz especially, his eyes were about to pop out of his skull with how wide they were.

"It must be dumb luck..!" he said, deep in denial. "No way Crowler could seriously lose to some runt..!"

Up in the high railings Alexis, Jazz and Mindy were also in a state of shock and awe over Syrus's triumph over seemingly impossible odds.

"I can't believe it..!" Jazz whispered.

"That was..incredible..!" Mindy added.

Alexis had a radiant smile on her face as she watched Syrus laugh and holler as ran around the test field with absolute glee. "This kid's got a future here. Amazing."

As for Zane, he was stunned speechless for the first time in years. He never would've imagined that his little brother was capable of such skill and will. And it made him think..that maybe..he had been wrong all these years about Syrus's potential as a Duelist.

"How about that.." he said softly, yet with a hint of pride for his little brother.

(Back On The Field)

Syrus jumped and ran around like a kid on a sugar-rush in a candy store while shouting "I DID IT! I DID IT! YEAH! I REALLY DID IT!"

*Chime Chime*

He heard Cycroid cheer for him in his head, which turned his attention to little Monster Card still in his Hand and he smiled at it warmly. "We did it." he said softly. "I don't know how you're talking to me or why I can understand you, but what I do know is that it was thanks to you, and Jaden, giving the push I needed that I was able to win. So from the bottom of my heart, thank you, partner."

*Chime Chime*

The bike monster let out a cheerful bell chime and gave it's Duelist a thumbs-up, signalling to him that it was no problem. And that it would be there for him whenever he needed it.