Yo. Merry Christmas and Happy New Years everyone. This Chapter is short, I will confess that right now. I couldn't find a whole lot of time to work on chapters due to work and the Hols, but I will make the next chapter longer.
The halls of CDA were a welcome sight to Sheppard. But as he walked, he saw several students wearing white blazers, praising something about the light. He frowned; he shouldn't have ignored Midori's concerns. This was extremely serious indeed! He arrived at his old office, entering in. Inside was Pegasus and Kaiba. Both were talking with Midori who seemed shocked at what they were telling her. The maker of Duel monsters turned and smiled.
"John, good to see you."
"Good to see you and Mister Kaiba as well, Mister Pegasus. I take it you informed Midori of why I was gone for the entire year?"
The men nodded. Midori sighed. A tournament between pros and students. Normally, she'd be worried, but considering that Jaden and Jason trained most of the students, it was a shoe-in.
"I do have some concerns, John. The prize for one. You do recall who is currently at our school. Jaden and Aster, both Pro duelists. The pro contract won't help them at all."
Sheppard nodded, understanding what Midori was saying. If either of those two won the whole she-bang, they'd simply have a new card series made. The contract could go to the runner ups. Kaiba agreed with that, as did Pegasus. He was actually excited.
"Jaden boy always comes up with great ideas for cards." Pegasus said, smiling widely.
"Still, there is the matter of this...Society." Kaiba grumbled.
Here, Pegasus pulled out several files. The screen nearby came on showing several moments in history. The leaders of that time had been influenced by some 'Light'. However, the leaders were always bested before it got too out of hand. Clearly though, this 'Light' had learned its past mistakes and gone for a more subtle approach. By subjecting one, it now had control over the younger generation. Sheppard nodded.
"Do we know where this energy came from?" Sheppard asked, Pegasus nodding.
The screen changed to show a white hole. Kaiba blinked. He never heard of those before. Pegasus nodded. White holes were extremely rare, so rare that they were considered the Unicorn of Astronomy. In theory, White Holes were bridges in time. But this one was no such thing. In fact, a strange radiation seem to come out of it.
"I believe that this White Hole is the source of this 'Light'. But besting it won't be easy...it has had literal centuries and millennium to learn from its mistakes."
"True, but we have something that it fears. The Supreme King of Gentle Darkness. Jaden." Kaiba pointed out.
"Quite. However, I think even Jaden knows he can't win this on his own. Hence his little resistance."
"Just like last year...but I say we include our teachers in this too. The kids should be just that. Kids and not worry about saving the world from our mistakes." Sheppard said.
All three nodded. One by one, the rest of the teachers were brought in and informed of what was going on. All of them joined up and were ready.
EODGX
Word quickly spread about Sheppard's return. Many were wondering what he had been up to. New teachers? New students? Some of the Light believed he was finally going to kick out the Reds and Empire of Darkness. All were gathered in the main arena. When the teachers and Sheppard stepped out, they saw a VERY stark contrast.
On the right side was the entire Society of Light. Sheppard frowned, seeing several familiar faces. His heart actually ached when he saw Alexis staring with a cold glare. All of them were wearing white blazers. Sighing, he looked at the left side.
The left side was full of reds, yellows, and blues. They were the Empire of Darkness. A resistance against the SoL. From what Sheppard heard, they had quite a few victories, but they were not attacking outright. Sheppard got it; a cornered animal was dangerous, a wounded one, more so.
The SoL was both wounded and backed into a corner. That was a bad combo in and of itself. Sighing, Sheppard put on a massive smile.
"Hello everyone! It is so nice to see everyone after so long. I see we have a new White dorm too."
Everyone in the white dorm preened, but Sheppard pressed on. He explained why he was gone for so long. He was setting up a tournament. Not just any old tournament though. This one pitted the other four schools against Central AND the old guard against the new guard. Pros from the circuit coming to challenge the students from the five academies.
"Given how many of you have gotten training from the King of the Ring himself, I say you can handle what's coming." Sheppard joked, making the members of the Empire of Darkness smile.
Sheppard fished out a medal, showing it off. This was how they would keep track of the participants. Each and everyone would be given a medal. The medal would help determine their placement. Only someone who won all the medals would be declared the winner of the GenX tournament.
"The prize is a big one. A pro contract. HOWEVER!" Sheppard shouted over the excited chatter. "Since we have two pros in our tournament, should either of them win, the contracts will be given to the runner up. Pegasus will gladly create a new card series for the winners. If they are not one of the two pros, they will get the contract and the chance for the card series."
Everyone was really excited now. Jaden smirked. This was what they needed. The SoL was refusing to duel them, fearful of losing their members. But thanks to this...the SoL had no choice but to duel. The rest of the Empire got the same idea, all grinning.
Sartorius and Serena scowled. The rules stated that they couldn't refuse the challenge first time around. That was big trouble for the SoL. The Empire was going to challenge them to get back their friends and loved ones. The entire school was dismissed at that.
EODGX
In the white dorm, Sartorius was playing on the grand piano, lost in thought. Ian, Jerome, and Amelia were telling their master it was a grand chance for the SoL. They'd make the Empire of Darkness see the light along with several pros. Sartorius simply nodded, ending the piece he was on. He got up and left the dorm, heading for the school.
"That was...odd. Master would be chomping at the bit to get more to see the light." Jerome stated.
"Perhaps he is just tired?" Ian pointed out.
Sartorius was not tired. Yes, he was excited at the thought of making Pros see the light. But Jaden having the four Vile HEROes put a damper on those feelings. Regardless, the leader of the SoL needed to know if a certain pro was going to be at this tournament. Hence his journey to Sheppard's office. Walking in, Sartorius saw the man hard at work, dealing with paperwork. Sheppard looked up, suddenly on guard.
"Ah...Sartorius...or is it Master?" Sheppard said, a bit of venom in his voice.
"Ah, Chancellor. Glad to see you have gotten back into the swing of things." Sartorius said, making small talk.
"Cut the small talk, Sartorius. If you're wondering about Ojin's inclusion, he'll be here. BUT not for another two days. He is staying in his country to witness the launching of his country's satellite. In fact, the tournament itself won't be held until then."
Sartorius frowned, but nodded. That put a damper on his plans, but not fully derail them. He needed time to help his Society remake their decks anyways.
EODGX
Jaden was currently looking at the hunched over forms of the Empire of Darkness. Like the SoL, they were remaking their decks to handle not just the SoL, but the pros too. This was it. The final stages of the End Game.
"Alright everyone...we got two days before the tournament begins. I want everyone testing their decks every hour on the hour until the tournament's start." Jaden said. "We have our one and only chance here to save those who are dear to us. Let's not mess it up."
Everyone cheered, readying for the upcoming two days.
The cold war between the EoD and the SoL was at an end. It was time to duel!
Like I said, short chapter...but as you can see, unlike canon, Kaiba and Pegasus are involved more in the GenX tournament. The next chapter will have the crew divine the Light's plan. Once again, have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!