I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX. The character, Franz, is mine, though. This is an AU of season three.
Chapter One- Reflection
Chazz closed his eyes as he sat on the floor of his room at the Princeton mansion. It was the summer after his second year at Duel Academy and he had been surprised when his brothers had invited him to spend the summer at home. Slade and Jagger made it clear that they wanted to reconnect with their little brother.
Heh, I don't buy it, he thought. They're up to something. I'm just not sure what it is. Well, I'll be prepared whenever they put their plan into action. I have my own reason for coming home.
Chazz's mind drifted back to the previous year. He had been, for lack of a better term, brainwashed into joining The Society of Light early on in the year and, as a result, had very little memory of the year. He had turned to Jaden and the others to learn of what had gone on before he came back to his senses.
Yes, despite being told of what happened, he had felt off-center about himself, unsure of himself. Yes, he had regained his old personality, but he still felt off.
What better place to center one's self than at home? Yes, I need to throw off the uncertainty I've felt since being freed from that society. I need to remember who I am. I am Chazz Princeton, soon-to-be third year student at Duel Academy. I am in Slifer Red, but I am a strong duelist nonetheless. Slade and Jagger wanted me to be the top duelist in the dueling world and they still do. I plan to be a professional duelist but to be the top duelist is not of interest to me anymore. I will graduate and I don't need to be the top duelist at school. Any manager would love to have a client who attended the best dueling school in the world.
"I am a strong duelist," he said aloud, eyes still closed. He knew that speaking his thoughts aloud was important in meditation and he felt good about himself by speaking his thoughts.
"Of course you are," came the familiar yet annoying voice of Ojama Yellow, the spirit monster he had met back when he was transferring to North Academy. His ability to see Duel Spirits had been unexpected development and he had found it annoying as the spirits tended to hang around all the time until he had gotten better control over his ability. Yet, when the life force in his cards were in jeopardy, like Jaden's duel against the Sacred Beasts cards, he found he really did care about their well-being.
The presence of the spirits had diminished a bit since the Sacred Beasts cards incident, but Ojama Yellow along with his brothers Green and Black would pop up outside of dueling and he disliked it to the point that he would yell at them which made him look as if he was crazy to the other students for they would seem him yelling at thin air. Only Jaden knew he was talking to the Ojamas. He hadn't heard from the brothers most of last year due to him tossing away his deck while under the society's influence. It was Jaden using them in his deck that helped break the society's control over him and he welcomed them back to his deck.
"You three drive me cray but I did miss you," he admitted before adding, "Don't think I'm going soft, though. You're still as annoying as ever."
"You do care about us," Yellow insisted in a singsong way. "You just don't show it."
"Of course I don't. It would ruin my image. I don't need people thinking I'm insane."
I know Jaden and his roommates wouldn't think I'm insane; after all that Slacker sees duel spirits and talks to them too. I haven't seen his new duel spirits but I will once school starts and Jaden gets dueling again.
The thought of dueling got him to dwell on last year again. When he first joined the society, he had felt at peace with the world and he had expressed this to his friends; needless to say, it had no impact on them except being annoyed with him.
He had possessed a strong deck under the society's influence and he had been told that he had defeated most of Obelisk with it. He felt stunned at this pronouncement and then horror when told he had defeated Alexis and converted her to the society. Aside from his first few days, he did not remember anything else about the society. He wondered if the society had a magic that drove the memories from a defeated member. I'm not going to dwell on that or any other part of it. It's over and I'm back to normal.
A knock sounded and one of the staff members called, "Mr. Princeton? Dinner is ready and your brothers are waiting."
"I'm coming." Yellow vanished as Chazz rose from the floor, went to the door, and opened it to see no one. He went down the hall, then the stairs, and entered the dining room to find three place settings with food and drink and his brothers already seated.
"You've been keeping to yourself, little bro," Slade said as Chazz sat.
"I had a rough year and needed to come to terms with it," Chazz snapped.
"Surely, it's nothing a Princeton couldn't handle," Jagger commented.
"You have no idea what happened to me. I have no idea of everything that went on and had to have my classmates tell me." He drank some of his juice.
"Fine," Slade said. "So, for your final year, it would be appreciated if you got yourself back into Obelisk Blue before you graduate."
Chazz inwardly sighed. It was another talk of The Plan. It was once something he had supported wholeheartedly but the pressure became too much and he ultimately gave up on it. He found he became a far better duelist without all that pressure. But his brothers refused to ease up on him.
"I don't need to be in Obelisk. I'm a strong duelist regardless of what dorm I'm in. Remember when I beat you with cards with 500 attack points or less? That should have proven my strength. I can take any challenge and win it."
"That's not The Plan, Chazz," Slade rebuked. "Politics, Finances, and Duel Monsters. We've done our parts and now it's your turn."
"I don't care anymore. Duel Monsters is a very competitive field. Let's say I succeeded on my part. I won't be on top forever. Sooner or later, I'll face a duelist who's stronger than everyone else and I'll lose."
"That's why it's important to make sure that doesn't happen," Jagger said.
"How about waiting for me to graduate before I try to do my part? Managers care about strong duelists from top-notch schools, not where they're placed while at school. Plus, our family name is famous. Managers will be lining up to have me as their client."
There was silence as the brothers ate and drank but Chazz could tell that Slade and Jagger were thinking about what he said and this gave him hope that he had convinced them. Slade spoke again as Chazz drained his glass.
"You raise a valid point, more than one actually. Managers do care more about where their clients were educated at and their relative strength. Whether you're an Obelisk or not, you have proven you're strong and our surname commands respect. Speaking of which, have you thought of continuing the Princeton line?"
"Of course," Chazz said, feeling at ease with the change in topic. "I've got my eye on one girl in particular but I do have others in mind as well."
"So, no girlfriend yet?" Jagger cut in.
"No, but it'll only be a matter of time. I'd like to think I've matured since my first year at the Academy. I've thought back on my approaches to my number one choice and believe a straight out approach will work better than a complicated scheme."
"Sometime a simple plan works best. It has been found that there are less thing that can go wrong with simple plans," Jagger said.
"Exactly," Chazz said before getting and leaving the room, feeling hopeful that his brothers would ease up on him doing his part for the family.