Just a reminder for you all reading: This is an alternate universe. 'The Joy In Losing' introduced Universe Beta: The 'role-swap' universe, and Universe Gamma: the 'gender-swap' universe. In the next chapter, I'll be focusing on Gamma. This chapter is about Beta.
Everybody and their mother in the GX community is doing the same thing in retelling the original story using original characters. So I might as well throw in my metaphorical hat in this.
One year before the multiverse showed itself to Zane Truesdale, he was just a scrawny Slifer Red student at Duel Academy.
Having just barely passed the entrance exam, he was still in the process of settling in on this island. He may have an above-average height, but everything else just seems so big. His older brother, Syrus, made it all look so easy.
When it comes to the game of Duel Monsters, he would consider himself a pretty good player, but 'pretty good' is still not considered 'great' in the academy. Students who are placed in Ra Yellow are given the label of 'great.' While those in Obelisk Blue are considered to be the 'greatest.'
Right now, he's sitting in class. Dueling 101. A perfect class for first years like him. Things, however, were quickly showing themselves more complicated than he once previously thought.
He had been playing Duel Monsters since he was just five years old. Whenever he wasn't playing with his brother, he was playing with other kids on the basketball court.
Back then, he thought that cards were pretty much indestructible. This was proven to be false after seeing all the damage he caused by sliding them unprotected on the asphalt.
A valuable lesson was learned by the time he turned seven: Treat the cards with care.
Even after learning that lesson, he still had a long way ahead of him. Despite the fact that his first deck consisted of sixty-seven cards all made of a mishmash of the most random stuff he could find, he is still considered to be one of the best at the playground.
Every waking moment is a reminder to him that the title meant nothing. He's now learning from the big leagues now. Duelists who play the game for a living.
And like all the pro duelists out there, his deck now consists of forty cards and is centered around an archetype. It isn't the same archetype he's seen a professional play, but it certainly is one that he can call his own.
A certain voice snaps him out of his thoughts. It's a voice sweeter than any he's heard before.
A girl who is also a first-year just like he is, stood up to answer a question asked by the professor.
"A deck of any professional duelist consists of two parts: Its engine and its non-engine. The engine is what is considered to be the main part of the duelist's deck. In other words: Their preferred archetype along with cards that extend the combos they're known for.
The non-engine are basically cards that assist with plays. They're often made of cards on the limited list. Which consists of hand traps and spell cards."
"Perfect." Said the professor, Dr. Yamada as the student sat back down. "Well done, Missy Murphy. A deck is nothing without its engine."
"Yes! Dr. Yamada!" Missy nods as she continues paying attention.
Zane couldn't help but keep looking at her from the other side of the room. There's something about her that's just so beautiful to him. Plus, she loves dueling just like he does. If he's lucky, maybe the two of them will get paired off one day. It's unlikely, but if there's a will, there's a way.
"ZANE TRUESDALE!" "EEP!" Zane quickly stood up. Taking his eyes off Missy.
Dr. Yamada shook his head. "Since you're more interested in looking at the other students instead of at your book, you can answer this next question: The term 'handtrap' is thrown around by duelists of all different backgrounds. Despite it not being an official term used by Industial Illusions. Can you please explain to the class what type of card they're referring to?"
"Oh yeah… Uh…" Zane wishes he could just disappear right now. Scratching his neck, he tries to form a sentence but the words simply won't come out of his mouth. He's seen his brother use hand traps before, but he never really asked himself the question on how they even work. "Eh… A hand trap is… Well… It's a card… A card that… people use and…"
It was then that a voice shouted down at him. "A hand trap refers to a card effect that activates in the player's hand usually to disrupt an opponent's play!"
Everybody looks at the Obelisk Blue student, who is looking directly at Zane. "Even pre-schoolers know the answer to this, you Slifer Slacker!"
"While that answer is correct, it is spoken out of turn!" Dr. Yamada points at the student. "If you shout like that one more time, you're going straight to detention! Do I make myself clear, Jaden Yuki!?"
Jaden crosses his arms before sitting back down. "Yes, Doctor! I will not shout again!" He then lets out a sigh. He already knows all of this stuff. When is this class ever going to get interesting?
It was then that he thought of something disturbing: He has nothing to look forward to. If he wants to have fun, he needs to reach out and make it himself. Only losers sit around and wait for it to happen.
"I see the way you look at Missy, Zane!" Thought Jaden as a wicked smile crept onto his face. "Maybe if you spent more time looking over your cards, and less time distracting yourself with girls, perhaps you'd be as good as my friends!"
A plan then forms itself together in his mind. He felt the need to pat himself on the back but resisted. "It's time that somebody put you in your place! Nobody else is better at doing that than Jaden Yuki! The next King of Games!"
"Lousy girls! Gym! They should make the signs bigger!" Zane felt like he was about to pass out from exhaustion. He had forgotten the most important rule when it comes to running: Breathe.
He's already late for Gym, so he made the decision that he's going to take his sweet time getting ready. He cares about his health, whether mental, physical, or spiritual. It isn't worth getting hurt because he rushed into something.
He looks into his locker and lets out a sigh. "Chazz really needs to remember his damn combination! This is the last time I'm letting him use… huh?"
He notices an envelope with a crudely drawn heart scribbled with a red ink pen. That can only mean one thing. Somebody had given him a love letter.
"Oh my god." Zane scratches his head before adjusting his glasses. "A girl must have felt bad for me… Let this here."
He grabs the envelope and takes his time opening it. "Since the moment I saw you, I've been in love with you. Meet me behind the girl's dorm. Endearingly, MISSY MURPHY!?"
He nearly lost his balance the moment he read the name. "She DID notice me! I can't ignore this! I know where I'm going tonight! Haha! Finally, things are starting to go my way!"
Little did he know, things weren't going his way at all.
"Hey Zane! The onsen is all yours if you want it!" Chazz Princeton enters the room he shares with Zane. He didn't mind sharing one bit. He's a Slifer Red and Slifer Reds stick together through the toughest of times.
He then sees Bastion, his other roommate, looking over his fire deck for the third time today. "He just left… Said something about meeting a girl."
Chazz crosses his arms. "That lucky bastard. I'm gonna have him tell us everything the second he gets back here… That is if he gets back here at all…"
Bastion lets out a gasp. "You're not implying that…"
"Heh heh." Chazz chuckles to himself. "There's nothing I'd like more than to play Duel Monsters all night long with a girl!" "That's why he brought his duel disk!"
To make a long story short, Zane ended up captured and tied up with Missy and her best friend, Seika Kohinata looking down at him. They're both looking over the note that Zane brought with him.
Seika then broke the silence. "You know… he could have just written the note himself… as an excuse for coming here."
"I swear on a stack of Bibles I had no intention of coming here if I wasn't invited!" Zane looks down on the ground. The less he sees of the interior of the girls dorm, the better.
"Hey, keep your voice down." Missy nudges him a little. "You don't want to attract unwanted attention."
At this moment, Zane felt like he was about to cry. "All I wanted… was to play Duel Monsters with you, Missy… I wanted us to know each other a little better through the game we love…"
"Aw…" Missy tilts her head, which didn't go unnoticed by Seika.
"You're out of your league, boy." She insults him. "Missy already has a crush… your brother."
Zane lets out a sigh. He couldn't blame her. Syrus Truesdale is pretty much a god. Time and time again, he hears stories from him that girls tend to get closer to him every chance they get. Constantly giving out 'short king' vibes.
"I'll tell you what, Zane." Missy spoke to him again. "You said you wish to duel me, right? Well, you're going to be getting that wish! We'll play one game. If you win, we'll forget this happened and you can walk away. But if you lose… I'll be reporting you to the academy. Sound good?"
Zane chuckles to himself. In order for him to win, he's going to have to play his best game ever. "Sounds great… Now if you'll just untie me…"
Before long they met out at the lake outside the dorm. Both duelists stare into each other's eyes while Seika watches them. "This is gonna be interesting."
DUEL
Missy Murphy - 8000 LP
VS
Zane Truedale - 8000 LP
"I'll be starting things off!" Missy starts her turn. "I'll begin my turn by acivating the field spell, Giant Ballpark! This will come in handy if I take any battle damage in the future. Next, I'll normal summon Battlewasp - Sting the Poison. Its effect allows me to add Twinbow the Attacker to my hand. Twinbow's effect lets me special summon it as long as I only summon insect type monsters from my extra deck! Next I'll perform a link summon! Linking off Sting and Twinbow to summon Beetrooper Armor Horn! (ATK: 1000)
When Armor Horn's summoned, I can special summon Beetrooper Sting Lancer from my deck! (ATK: 2400) When it's summoned, I can add my Beetrooper Squad trap card from my deck! I'll then set one card face down and pass it to you!"
"Wow. Wow. And wow." Zane nods his head. "That's an impressive move! I hope to be just as good! I draw!" he looks over the cards in his hand.
"I… summon… Machina Gearframe! With its effect, I can fetch Machina Unclaspare! Unclaspare's effect allows me to special summon it after it's searched!"
Missy smirks. "I should have known you'd be playing with a machine deck of your own. But you're not playing Infinitracks like your brother, so I think I'm fine."
"I don't plan on making this easy for you." Zane looks at his field. "Unclaspare's other effect activates! I can send one Machina Fortress to my graveyard! Then I'll build the overlay network! Using Unclaspare and Gearframe to xyz summon Tornado Dragon! (ATK: 2100)"
Missy raises an eyebrow. "Tornado Dragon? What are you scared of playing more powerful machines?"
"Tornado Dragon's effect activates!" Yelled Zane. "By detaching one material, I can destroy your field spell!
Next, Machina Fortress activates from the graveyard! By discarding my Machina Citadel, I can special summon it! But it won't stay on the field for long! As I activate Citadel's other effect! I can destroy Fortress along with all your monsters since they have lower attack points!"
"What!?" As much as Missy would hate to admit it, Zane has surpassed her expectations. He probably would have been in a different dorm if everybody else was just better than him.
"Now that Fortress has been destroyed by a card effect, I can special summon Machina Citadel! (ATK: 3000) Now it's time for my battle phase! I'll attack with Citadel and Tornado Dragon!"
Missy Murphy - 2900 LP
"Finally… I'm going to place one card face down and end my turn. Go ahead." Zane nods at her.
Missy nods back. "I'm not out yet… I draw." She looks over the cards in her hand.
"I think it's time for me to show you who you're messing with. By removing three insect type monsters from my graveyard, I can special summon this beauty: Beargram, Shelled Emperor of the Forest Crown! (ATK: 3400)"
"WHOA!" Zane looks up at the massive monster. "I didn't know a monster like that even existed!?"
Missy continues. "I'll have Beargram attack your Tornado Dragon!"
Despite the fact that Zane's monster is entirely made out of wind, the flapping Beargram's wings was more than enough to fade it away. Leaving him with one less monster.
Zane Truesdale - 6700 LP
"Now for my main phase 2." Missy points at Zane's remaining monster. "I'll have Beargram's effect destroy your monster!"
"Uh… I'll… Activate Infinite Impermanence!" Shouted Zane as he activates his trap card.
"I'm done for now, Zane… Go ahead."
Zane draws a card. "Come on… yes! From my hand, I normal summon Green Gadget! (ATK: 1400) After using its effect to add Red Gadget to my hand, I'll now activate this card: My Limiter Removal!" (6000) (2800)
"Oh you just got lucky!" Missy shouts at him.
Seika scratches her head. "What did I expect from a Slifer Red machine player? Vanilla monsters?"
Missy Murphy - 0 LP
With the duel now over, Zane clapped his hands together. "WELL, that was a fun duel! Certainly the highlight of my night. Now that everything's all said and done, I think I'm just gonna leave here… and never come back again! Bye bye!"
He then takes off running, not wanting to stay for any more time than he has to.
Seeing the guy run off, Seika lets out a sigh. "The only reason why he was even here to begin with is because of a fake love note somebody allegedly pranked him with." She then looks up at the night sky. "Now that I think about it, there is… one guy who could possibly do this to him."
Missy looks at her. "Who?" "Ah, it's nobody." She waves her off before going her separate way.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the island, Jaden sneezes loudly as he is watching a new episode of his favorite anime. "AH-CHOO!"
So what do you think, guys? Is the story entertaining enough so far? Are you looking forward to another chapter?
If the answer to the last question is yes, then you have something to look forward to. The next chapter will revolve around Alexander Rhodes in Universe Gamma.