Yu-Gi-Oh! CD - Chapter 6: Self-Inflicted

[ExtremeG]

This series is based 15 years after the series finale of Yu-Gi-Oh! GX. I own NOTHING!!!
If you want to check out my fan art or original character designs [bad drawings], check out my deviantART page.

Comments and Critiques are both appreciated!!!!

CALL OF DESTINY!!!

[spoiler= Chapter 0: Prologue]
With the first card printed, the gears and cogs of industry began to spin towards a seemingly limitless future.
 
Artists and businessmen alike toiled away to create what they believed to be a simple children's card game. The game's creator, Maximilian Pegasus, understood a fragment of its history. Even he, however, could not possibly comprehend the true power and purpose of these Shadow Games. He saw a world where he and his wife would be reunited. A world where a child might escape from the pains of growing old.
 
"The greatest of history's men," he was quoted saying, "started as a child with a dream. Innovation spawns from inspiration. If my game but triggers the imagination of a single human, I can die a happy man."
 
Many are aware of the origins of the Duel Academy but few understand to what degree their invention changed the global perspective on Duel Monsters. Dueling was no longer a mere childish pastime. It had become a tool to gain vast amounts of wealth, primarily though the Pro-Dueling Circuit. Growing popularity inspired entrepreneurs, like Seto Kiaba, to create Duel Academies to encourage the growth Dueling-based professions. As time went on, the game became the universal source for entertainment for people of all ages. For those who were already Duelists, this change in attitude proved beneficial because it inspired people around the world to pick up a Duel Disk.
 
However, as Dueling became more prominent, corporations began to move in to capitalize on it. Professional Duelists started to get sponsored by multi-million dollar corporations, making it one of the highest paying occupations in the world. As a result, the demand on Duel Academies skyrocketed. Parents were sending their children off to become exemplary Duelist, and by extension, insuring their family's financial security.
Eventually the schools began to break down, ill-equipped to handle such a large influx of student. Where were these students to go with the only source of Duel Academia now in disrepair?
 
Enter the Duel Class.
 
Already powerful families began to open their own private Duel Academies to cater to Duelist from all over the world, not bound by the same regulations and limitations as the former Public Academies. The system worked so well that the families became richer and more influential than ever before. The same multi-million companies that sponsored duelist were giving grants to schools that promise to provide them with future clients. After years of manipulating public image and monopolizing such a lucrative industry, these Duel Families eventually became completely self sufficient. In time, they gained complete control over both the supply and demand for duelists, raising them to a level of power that allowed them to influence even international policy.
 
By the year 2022, there were 10 separate yet connected Private Duel Academies around the world with a powerful Duel Family at the head of each. The five main Public Duel Academies had to compete for funding as well as up and coming Duelists.
 
Out of the many Duel Families, many would say that the strongest was the Gailson family, headed by an American entrepreneur, Nathaniel Gailson, and his wife, a Japanese politician, named Takahashi Ooraka. Together they had five children, all of whom were trained to be the best Duelists in the world.

 

[spoiler=Chapter 0.5: Darker Times]
Rubble covered the scorched landscape and the choking smell of sulfur and dead flesh filled the air. A thick blanket of smoke concealed the moon and stars. For hours, the sounds of war being waged echoed through a once a silent temple. The blood-curdling roars of man and beast were accompanied by the sounds of metal hitting metal.
 
In the ruins of large basilica, two forces were enthralled in the midst of a battle. The remnants of two once expansive armies made their final stand against one another in a large, circular room with pillars running parallel to the walls all along its circumference. What remained of the ceiling was now debris on the floor, exposing the soldiers to the clouded night sky.
 
Blasts of energy shot across the room as soldiers of every shape and form clashed blades, the wounded hiding behind the pillars for safety. The battle ensued for hours until only one soldier on the opposing side remained.
 
The creature was a bulky dragon lying on its stomach, blood glinting off its golden scales by the light of burning bodies scattered around the room. The dragon tried to stand, using it’s sword like a crutch, but soon collapsed under its own weight. The dragon weakly looked up to see the silhouettes of a group of soldiers standing over it.
 
A weak smile cracked across its face, followed by a menacing laugh. The dragon opened its mouth and began to speak in Latin.
 
Righteous ones...I will allow your pride that the darkness of this night has faded, if only you allow me pride in the deaths of your hopes, and with it, your delusions of eternity. This day is done, but do not put up your blades. You are but tools for the one greater than myself. What is more, by your own hands-
 
One of the soldiers raised his sword.
 
The Dark One shall rise once more!
 
The soldier brought down his sword and decapitated the dragon.

[spoiler=Chapter 1: Across the Sea]

Skyler jolted from his sleep, his covers and mattress socked in sweat. He clutched his arms to his chest and his body began to convulse. After a few minutes of heavy breathing, he stood and stumbled over to the dresser where the night before he had laid out a black wife-beater, an orange and blue hoodie-vest, and a pair of blue jeans. His heart still beating a-mile-a-minute, he moved his hands from his face to his head, running his fingers through his blonde hair highlighted with blue. Another few seconds passed before the nightmare faded away into the recesses of his mind. He put on the clothes and walked up to the deck of the ship to catch some fresh air.
 
The sun started to rise over the horizon, casting an array of vibrant colors across the morning sky. Waves rocked off the bow of the ship when it sliced though the water and sprayed his tanned face.
 
Never minding an early morning, Skyler had always enjoyed the sweet smell of dawn and the sudden calm that it demanded. His pale green eyes narrowed to make out the blurry silhouette of an object just on the horizon. Out of the seemingly endless sea came an oasis. Skyler leaned forward on the railing of the S.S. Yuber Order and grimaced, the image of Central Duel Academy coming into view.
 
He reached into his pocket and took out his Duel Monsters deck. On top of the deck lay a monster card with the image of a baby bat that smiled happily.
 
"Let's hope this works..."
 
Without another word he put his deck back into his pocket. After a few seconds of staring out into the ocean, he turned and headed back below deck, but not before a faint 'twee' sound from behind him. He quickly turned only to see that he was still alone.
 
Ten minutes later, Skyler disembarked from the ship, waving goodbye to the crew. He quickly made his way through the courtyard of the school grounds, his eyes trained on students in red, yellow, and blue uniforms. Many of the students, mostly the ones in blue, looked at him through narrowed eyes and vacant expressions. He hoped silently that none of them would recognize him.
 
He hurried to where he would be taking the written portion of the entrance exam. Normally he would have had to wait to take the exams in Domino City at the start of the next term before being accepted. Through his connections, however, Skyler greased a few wheels, letting him transfer from his family's Duel Academy under the alias of Yuushi Gale. Since he carried some of the same facial structure of his mother, Takahashi Ooraka, he thought he could pass for Japanese.
 
Skyler walked into the school, down a long hallway, and made it to the examination room. Opening the door, he realized that he had interrupted a class already in session. Everyone in the room turned to see the blonde and blue haired teenager standing in the doorway. A tall teacher with long, spiky black hair wearing a blue suit at the front of the class looked up from his book.
 
"Can I help you?" The teacher asked.
 
The young duelist shuffled down the stairs of the lecture-style classroom and handed the teacher a pass that explained his situation. With a warm smile, the teacher took the note and scanned over it.
 
"You're a little late, don't you think Mr…" He looked back at the form. "Yuushi Gale? That's a Japanese name, correct? So I should refer to you as Gale.”
 
“Yes, that’s correct…” Skyler said.
 
“I hope you realize that you might have traveled all the way here only to be sent home. But it's fine. I can give you a copy of the test. Would you mind sitting out in the hallway?"
 
"Nope."
 
"Here you are…"
 
Skyler took the worksheet and turned to walk out of the room as fast as he could. While ascended the stairs, he could feel the collective eyes of the classroom glued to him. A brief side glance revealed the majority of girls in the class giggling to each other. He puffed out a cheek and raised an eyebrow before exiting.
 
After an hour and twenty minutes, the teacher peeked his head out of the door to check up on Skyler.
 
"Everything alright out here, Mr. Yuushi?"
 
Skyler jumped a little from his seat which he was leaning back in, balancing on the back legs of the chair. He corrected his posture to look studious and looked up at the teacher.
 
"Yeah, almost done." He said.
 
"Well, class is almost over, when you're done here, come on in.”
 
He retracted his head and closed the door behind him.
 
Skyler quickly finished the test just as class was getting out. As the students filed out of the classroom, the same group of giggling girls watched him enter the room, a few of them winking at him. Again he raised an eyebrow, unsure why the girls would be laughing at him. The teacher was grading papers at his desk when he motioned for Skyler to come closer. He walked down the stairs and placed the completed worksheet on the desk. The teacher took it and slipped the paper into a small grading machine under his desk.
 
“I’m going to guess 71 percent.” He said.
 
“That seems like a pretty conservative guess.” Skyler said, tilting his head to the side.
 
“Call it a hunch. After all, the passing grade for the exam is a 70. I’m just guessing but I bet you only did the minimum to avoid suspicion.”
A cold shiver shot down Skyler's spine and his eyes widened as far as they could stretch.
 
“I…what do you mean ‘suspicion’?” Skyler stammered. “Why would I-“
 
The teacher let out a light chuckle and waved his hand dismissively.
 
"Because the last thing someone from the Duel Class would want to do when going into hiding would be getting a perfect score on a test that they could aced by the age of seven.”
 
“No, it was hard!” Skyler said. “I didn’t understand most of it. Really!”
 
“Please, Mr. Gailson” the teacher said, crossing his arms and leaning into the desk. “I assure you that I have no intention of turning you in.”
 
“You…you don’t?” Skyler asked.
 
“Not at all. I understand your situation. Or at least I can imagine that being a member of a Duel Family doesn’t lead to a very enriching life. In my experience, rich people are pretty boring.”
 
“Yeah, they really are.” Skyler said lowering his shoulders.
 
“In any case, I’ll keep this between me and you, in the interest of your education.”
 
A smile crossed the boys face and his eyes widened.
 
"Thank you, Mr..."
 
"Nitephyre...but you can just call me Saber. Believe me when I say I understand where you’re coming from. My parents decided very early on how my life would turn out. Needless to say, they aren't thrilled about my teaching at Public. But make no mistake; you are still a minor here and I an adult. I won't hesitate to call your parents if anything should happen. You want to have a normal life here? Expect to be treated as such. Deal?"
 
"Um...y..yeah. Deal, I guess."
 
"Kick ass, now-“
 
A ding sounded from under Saber's desk, which prompted him reached under and grab the graded test. A smile crept across his face as he scanned the worksheet.
 
"81 percent…” He said and looked up at Skyler. “Show off."
 
Skyler puffed out his cheeks and crossed his arms.
 
"Congrats. You can go ahead and head down to the Practice Arena while I call for an Instructor for you placement Duel."
 
"Placement Duel? Don't I need to take another exam or something?"
 
"No, not anymore. With all the outside funding going to Private Academies, Central has imposed an open door policy for all applicants for the school. The more Duelists we have, the better the chance we send one off to the Pro-Circuit. That means more companies will be willing to sponsor our programs."
 
"Oh, I see. Well if that's all I got to do, I'll just head down now. Thank you for everything, Saber."
 
He turned to walk up the stairs and out the door, but not before briefly spying a photo on Saber's desk of him as a youth and a boy with shaggy brown hair and a red jacket. The red jacketed teen gave a peace sign with one hand while the other held a rather irritated, younger Saber in a headlock. Before Skyler left the room, he heard a chuckle from the teacher.
 
When he finally arrived to the arena, Skyler opened the double doors to see a mostly empty stadium arena with a few students dueling in the center. He made his way through a set of archways to the bleachers and sat down near a small group of students in yellow uniforms. Silently, he waited for his name to be called, leaning back in his seat with his eyes closed.
 
A few minute of silence passed before Skyler felt a change in the flow of air, prompting him to open his eyes. Standing in the aisle was a teen with long, jet black hair with bangs that swooped across one of his ice blue eyes, his face chiseled into an indifferent expression. The boy wore a long sleeved Ra Yellow jacket that was unzipped, revealing a black t-shirt underneath.
 
"Looks comfy. Mind if I join ya?" he said in an upbeat tone contrary to his calm face.
 
Skyler tilted his head to the side. "You want to sleep with me?"
 
"Huh? I mean, do ya mind if I sit next t’ya."
 
"Oh! That makes more sense. Sure, go for it."
 
The student sat next to Skyler and leaned his head back, taking in a deep breath before letting out a loud sigh.
 
"So I take it you're the new transfer." he said.
 
"News travels fast around here." Skyler said.
 
"Things get pretty borin' around here, gossip's all we got. You're already the talk of campus."
 
"Great," Skyler announced and crossed his arms over his chest. "I was hoping to get a little peace before I settled in. Can't imagine what would happen if I got ranked low in this Duel."
 
"Don't worry about it, you'll do fine. You gotta good look t’ya. Do me a favor, though, try t’get into Ra if ya can. I could use the company."
 
"I'll try to keep that in mind." Skyler said with a small smirk.
 
The student held out his hand, his face forming the faintest hint of a smile.
 
"Name's Taikereou Mana. Ya can just call me Tai. Everyone does."
 
"Hey, I'm-"
 
But before he could finish, a booming voice rang out from across the stadium.
 
"YUUSHI GALE. YUUSHI GALE. PLEASE REPORT TO ARENA NUMBER 5-A. YUUSHI GALE. PLEASE REPORT TO ARENA NUMBER 5-A."
 
"I guess that's my cue." said Skyler.
 
Tai smirked and patted Skyler on the back as he stood up.
 
"Good luck, Gale."
 
The name stuck in Skyler's head as he walked down to the arena. He liked the sound of his new name through the mouth of a fellow student. When he entered the arena, he looked to the other side of the field to see an Instructor. He set his backpack down, pulled out his Duel Disk, and inserted his Deck inside.
 
The Instructor across from Skyler was an extremely tall man with short white hair, wearing a black jacket and pants.
 
He called from across the room. "Yuushi Gale. Are you ready?"
 
Skyler stood, silently nodded, and raised his Duel Disk to eye level.

[spoiler=Chapter 2: Warm Welcome]
Sky took a deep breath a looked down at his Deck tucked snugly into his Duel Disk. His mind filled with the images of his cards, forming a wall of Monsters, Spells, and Trap, each bearing a large red letter and number on their front, an indication of the probability of being drawn.
 
"My name is Professor Heaves!” The professor from the other side of the arena said, snapping Skyler out of his pre-duel analyze. “I will be your instructor for this exam. I'm guessing you're pretty excited about an opportunity like this. Am I right?"
 
"Well," said Skyler. "Yeah, it was really great to be accepted int-"
 
Professor Heaves held out a hand.
 
"No, no, no. Not about get accepted silly. You poor boy, you must be totally unaware of who you get to Duel today. My, it truly is a relief to Duel someone who sees me only as another Duelist, as an equal." He bent backwards and draped his arm over his face. "Oh the burdens I must bear."
 
Skyler tilted his head to the side, mesmerized the overly dramatized arm movements that accompanied this man’s every word.
 
"Am I missing something here, or is this one of those lesbian people that I've heard about?"
 
From the stands, Skyler heard Taikerou yell in a bored voice.
 
"I think ya mean thespian. He wrote a book 8 years ago. Now the idiot thinks he's hot s***, even though the only place he could get work is at this s*** hole."
 
At Taikerou's comment the Professor straightened up and lifted his hand to point at the student in the stands.
 
"I'll have you know that my book sales are still in the top 100 best sellers for non-fictions involving the advance mathematics of card games."
 
Skyler’s eyes widened and again images began to stream into his mind, only this time the images were a vast, seemingly end collection of books. One-by-one the books flew to the front of Skyler’s mind, letting recall every page, until finally he came to rest on a pale yellowed, leather-bound tome with darker yellow letters.
 
"What I second," exclaimed Skyler. "Anthony D. Heaves? I have heard of you!"
 
"You have?" asked Taikerou.
 
"You have?" Heaves mirrored, “I mean...Of course you have!"
 
"Yeah, you wrote on differential probability vectors with Bastian-paradigms."
 
"Haha! I see that you did your research Mr...Gale, was it? I'm glad to know that today's youth sees the value in Duel mathematics!"
 
He quickly shot a glance over at Taikerou, who, at that point, had stopped paying attention and was laying on his back in the stands.
 
"Actually, Professor, my first name is Gale and Yuushi is my surname. And I have to say, I wasn't expecting someone like you to be working at a Public Academy like this."
 
"Oh, why thank you, my boy. You know I-"
 
"I would have thought you would have just dropped off the map completely. You know, after how your findings were torn apart in front of the entire scientific community by Dr. Misawa. After which you became somewhat of a laughing stock to the world of Duel Sciences."
 
"W...what?"
 
"But good for you! Get right back up that horse! Don't let anyone tell you that all of your evidence against Bastion's models was completely one-sided and the work of desperate man just trying to make a name for himself. Honestly, I wish I had your kind of courage."
 
Professor Heave stood motionless, his mouth agape and his jaw falling closer to the floor with every word from Skyler's mouth. When he had finished, Skyler merely smiled at his instructor, not a hint of malice in his eyes. Meanwhile in the stand, Taikerou rolled off the edge of the seat, clutched his sides, and began to laugh hysterically.
 
"You..." said Heaves, a large vain erupting from his cro-magnon forehead.”You little son-of-a...who do you...AH! Get out your damn Duel Disk, kid. You think you know about Duel Mathematics? Consider this your first real lesson!" He inserted his Deck into his Disk.
 
"Are....are you angry about something? I was trying to give you a compliment."
 
Heaves drew his first card. "I start with 'Call of the Mummy', letting me Special Summon the 'Boneyard Wyvern'."
 
As soon as he set the Monster Card on his Duel Disk, a large, skeletal dragon appeared with glowing red eyes.
 
[ATK: 2200 DEF: 2000]
 
"Then I Set a monster and end my turn."
 
"Okay, my draw." Skyler drew a card and scanned over his available opinions.
 
"I Summon my 'Marauding Captain' to the field."
 
He set the card on his Disk and Summoned a blonde, battle scared warrior wearing green armor.
 
[ATK: 1200 DEF: 400]
 
"With his effect, I Summon 'Crusader Knight Eden' from my hand."
 
A female knight with long blond hair, red armor, and a halberd clutched in her hand appeared on the field.
 
[ATK: 1800 DEF: 1000]
 
"Now I'll equip her with the Equip Spell Card “Crusader Armory - Ethereal Broadsword”. This card increases the ATK of my monster by 500. Plus, when the monster destroys a non-LIGHT monster, I gain 1000 Life Points. Now attack his Wyvern!"
 
The attack connected and destroyed the instructor's monster.
 
Professor Heaves LP - 3900
 
Skyler LP - 5000
 
"Next I'll attack your face-down card with my Captain."
 
The second monster on Skyler's field raised its sword and swung down on the face-down card, revealing it to be "The Lady in Wight".
 
[ATK: 0 DEF: 2200]
 
Skyler LP - 4000
 
"I play a card face-down and end my turn."
 
Heaves smiled and said, "I play the Spell Card 'Card Destruction'. Both of us send cards from hands to the Graveyard and then draw the same number."
 
The Instructor discarded three cards and Skyler discarded two.
 
"I then Tribute 'Lady in Wight' to Summon another 'Boneyard Wyvern'."
 
The skeletal woman monster erupted into purple flames and disappeared only to be replaced by yet another skeleton dragon.
 
"And when my Wyvern is Normal Summoned, I can banish 'Skull Servant' from my Deck. Now that I have a 'King of Skull Servants' and a 'Skull Servant' in my Graveyard, I'll play 'Book of Life', Special Summoning the 'King of Skull Servants' to the field as well as banished monster from your Graveyard"
 
A tall, skeletal monster wearing a flowing, purple cloak rose out of the ground followed by the astral images of a "Skull Servant" and "The Lady in Wight".
 
[ATK: ? DEF: 0]
 
"My 'King' gains 1000 ATK for each 'Skull Servants', 'King of Skull Servants', and 'Lady in Wight' in the Graveyard, bringing him up to 2000. But that's not all, because I activate 'Boneyard Wyverns' second effect. I can pay 1000 Life Points to return all removed from play Zombie monsters to the Graveyard."
 
His bone dragon started to glow bright red, allowing Heaves to add "Skull Servant" to his Graveyard.
 
Professor Heaves LP - 2900
 
[ATK: 3000 DEF: 0]
 
"Now I'll attack your Captain with my King. Go!"
 
Before the attack connected, Skyler pressed a button on the side of his Duel Disk, revealing his Set card.
 
"I active my Trap Card, 'Action Defense', negating your monsters attack and letting me place a monster with less ATK than yours on top of my Deck."
 
A barrier appeared around "Marauding Captain", protecting him against the oncoming attack.
 
"Nice save kid. But don't forget, I still have an attack left."
 
At that, "Boneyard Wyvern" swooped down from the sky, took hold of "Marauding Captain" in its jaws, and crushed it.
 
Skyler LP - 3000
 
"I'll end my turn."
 
Skyler started to feel a strong surge of energy moving from the core of his body to his fingertips as he drew his next card. The card had a picture of a cute, baby bat, smiling happily up at Skyler.
 
"First I'll play 'Future Fusion' and send 2 monsters from my Deck to the Graveyard. For right now, I'll attack your Wyvern."
 
"Crusader Knight Eden" lunged forward and swung her glowing sword down on the neck of Heaves’ dragon, slicing through it like a hot knife through butter.
 
Professor Heaves LP - 2800
 
Skyler LP - 4000.
 
"Then I'll play a card face-down and Set a monster. Turn end."
 
"Now this is interesting." said Heaves with narrowed eyes. "I've attacked you several times yet your Life Points of still at 4000. This is shaping up to be a fun Duel. With that in mind, I play 'Mystical Space Typhoon', destroying your face-down card."
 
A small vortex formed over Skyler's face-down "Mirror Force", sucking it up into the air and then disappearing.
 
"B****, don't bring that weak ass s*** to my kitchen!"
 
"What?"
 
"I mean...it was a descent strategy. Anyway, I Summon a second 'King of Skull Servants' to the field, also 3000 ATK. Say goodbye to your monsters."
 
Heave's monster rushed forward and stabbed its bony hand through the stomach of the female knight.
 
Skyler LP - 3300
 
The second "King of Skull Servants" rushed forward soon after and attacked Skyler's face-down monster, flipping it face-up. A tiny, baby bat appeared on the field with its wings folded inwards and blocked the brutal attack of the skeleton.
 
[ATK: 100 DEF: 100]
 
"What the hell is that?"
 
"It's called 'Bup'," Skyler said. "Once per turn, he can't be removed from the field by my opponent. When he's sent to the Graveyard, he's removed from play."
 
"Very well, then, it looks like you saved yourself for now. I end my turn."
 
Skyler drew a card and examined his hand carefully. His mind was processing every facet of his situation, every card that had been played stood in the front of his mind surrounded by numbers and equations.
 
Nothing to attack with yet, Skyler thought. I have to defend my Life Points until I can get something stronger out. He's gone through 12 cards out of 40, predictable monster composition, minimal defensive cards. Got it.
 
"I play 'Greed Exorcism' and banish 1 'Crusader Knight' monster to draw 2 cards." He looked over the cards drawn with a smirk. "I Summon 'Crusader Squire Pemnon'."
 
A small panel of light appeared on Skyler's side of the field, shining bright and coalescing into the image of a teenage-looking squire in leather armor and chocolate brown hair.
 
[ATK: 800 DEF: 1000]
 
"My 'Pemnon' has the ability to bypass all your monsters and attack your Life Points directly. Now attack!”
 
The young knight gave a sly smile before jumping towards Professor Heaves' monsters only to somersault over them and throw a barrage of throwing knives straight at the professor.
 
Professor Heaves LP - 2100
 
"Then I'll activate 'Book of Moon', switching 'Pemnon' into face-down Defense Position. That'll do it for now."
 
The instructor drew a card, perked up his lips, and furrowed his brow.
 
"Well, looks like I'm in a pickle. If I use both of my monsters to destroy 'Bup', your 'Pemnon' will be there next turn from another direct attack. And if I attack your Pemnon your 'Bup' will stay on the field. Decisions, decisions."
 
"W…What are you doing?" asked Skyler.
 
“What do you mean?”
 
“You’re talking about what what’s going on in the game out loud. Is that supposed to be for my benefit, because I know what most of these cards do.”
 
"My dear, simple minded boy,” Heaves said, waving his hand dismissively. “You truly are new to the world of dueling, aren’t you?"
 
Skyler tilted his head to the side. "Excuse me?”
 
“Honestly, I can see why you were desperate enough to get into Central. Everyone knows that the mark of a true Duelist is showmanship!” Heaves raised his arms into the air and gave a small flourish with hands. “To announce every move, to speak rather than letting the game proceed naturally, and monologuing! Of lord, the monologuing! You’ll learn all about that in your classes.”
 
"If that’s what I have to look forward going here, all I have to say is: You guys really need to reassess your priorities." Skyler said with a sigh. "If you didn't spend all your time with word play and hiring eye-candy for instructors you might get some more funding."
 
"Ha, well what can I say I- What was that?"
 
"Funding, now let's just get this Duel over with."
 
"Umm...O...okay, I equip my 'King of Skull Servants' with 'Opti-Camouflage Armor', giving it the ability to attack you directly."
 
"King of Skull Servants" bypassed all of Skyler's monsters and swiped its bony fingers down. His second bone specter then proceeded to destroy the face-down "Crusader Squire Pemnon".
 
Skyler LP - 300
 
"I'll then Set a card and end my turn.” The turn passes to Skyler when Heaves activates his face-down card. “During your Standby Phase, I activate ‘Gravity Bind’. Sorry, son, it's over. From this experience, I would say you'd rate 2 out of 5. Don't be too hard on yourself, I'll be more than happy to teach you some 'proper' duel mechanics from the Slyfer dorms."
 
"Um..." Skyler started then pointed down at the field. "Aren't you forgetting something?"
 
His line of sight moved from Skyler to the face-up "Future Fusion" from two turns ago.
 
"Two turns ago I sent my 'Crusader Squire Allie' and 'Youthful Crusader Squire' from the Deck to the Graveyard. That means that now I can Fusion Summon the monster that those 2 cards make. I Summon 'Crusader Knight Gallent'!"
 
He raised his arm up just as a blinding light engulfed the field. The light dimmed and a blonde knight wearing golden armor while carrying a large broadsword and shield appeared in battle position.
 
[ATK: 1800 DEF: 1800]
 
Heaves made an audible scoff and shrugged his shoulders.
 
"That was a little anti-climactic. Both of my monsters are stronger than that thing-"
 
"You haven't heard his effect yet. I can banish a Warrior monster from my Graveyard to have 'Gallent' gain that monster's effect and half it’s ATK. And since I just banished 'Pemnon', my knight gains 400 ATK and can attack you directly."
 
"Crusader Squire Pemnon's" brown armor appeared over the gold armor of "Crusader Knight Gallent" and its ATK increased to 2200. Heaves looked from his hand to the field, frantically searching for a way to evade the oncoming assault.
 
“In addition, when I banish a ‘Crusader’ monster from the Graveyard, I can banish ‘Ethereal Broadsword’ from my Grave to destroy 1 face-up Spell or Trap.”
 
A sword materialized above “Gravity Bind” and fell straight through the card, destroying it. Skyler lifted his arm to point at the Instructor.
 
"You want a monologue? Here's one for ya! Open wide and get ready for a taste of my monster’s long, hard sword."
 
A silence echoed across the arena followed by a few scattered giggles from the stands.
 
"What?" Heaves exclaimed.
 
"'Gallent' attacks directly!"
 
Mimicking the motions of "Crusader Squire Pemnon', the knight somersaulted over Heaves' monsters and throw its sword at him. Professor Heaves stood there in shock for a few seconds before he realized that his Life Points had reached zero.
 
He fell to his knees at his loss, letting his arms drop to the floor. After a few seconds, he regained his composure and stood.
 
"Sorry! Are you okay?" Skyler asked.
 
"Fine, perfectly. Congratulations, Yuushi Gale, you have won your placement exam. As such, I am proud to place you in Ra Yellow."
 
Feeling a sense of victory, Skyler clenched his fists and cocked them inwards.
 
"Yes!"

[spoiler=Chapter 3: The Third Degree]
It was early when Skyler woke, the morning sun casting a sliver of light through a crease in the yellow curtains of his new dorm room. It wasn't as large and extravagant as his room back home, but it was more than enough for the newly accepted Ra. For Skyler, everything that had happened in the past three days since enrollment had been a new experience. From meeting his fellow classmates to washing his own dishes, it was all a welcome change of pace for him.
 
He twisted around in thin, yellow sheets and stretched out his sore muscles, wearing only light blue boxers and a white t-shirt that clung to his muscular frame. After stretching, he stood, leaned forward, and fell face first only to catch himself a moment before hitting the ground. His muscles tensed as he began to do his morning push-up regiment.
 
A pillow flew across the room hit the back of Skyler's head. He looked up to see his roommate laying on his bed under a three thick, black comforters, an arm protruding from an opening in the cocoon of covers.
 
“Toooo early….silence…must…sleep.” said the man from under the blankets.
 
“Sun’s up, Calvin,” said Skyler. “Can’t sleep when I still got so much I need to do before class. You’re free to join me for my morning run.”
 
A shaved head popped out from beneath the covers. Calvin stared at his new roommate through brown glazed eyes. He wiped his right eye and let out a loud yawn before turning his back to Skyler to go back to sleep.
 
“I would, but this bed…this bed is my best friend.” He said in a dazed voice. “And I will never leave my friend to go work out…that would be selfish. I call him George.”
 
“Well,” Skyler said, his head tilted to the side. “I guess you and George can go on sleeping together then. I…um…wish you two all the best?”
 
Calvin muttered something incoherently while Skyler began to dress. He put on his Ra Yellow work out shirt and a pair a sweat pants and then laced up his running shoes. He stuffed his Duel Disk and deck into his pack before exiting the room into the cool morning air.
 
Skyler kept a slow, steady pace jogging around the perimeter of Central Island, weaving between the trees and branches that made up the majority of the landscape until finally arriving at an open stretch of beach. The fresh ocean breeze greeted him with a gentle waft against his face. Skyler stopped and turned to face the vast expanse before him. He opened his lungs and greedily drank in the open air until his lungs began to burn. He held his breath for a brief moment before letting out an audible exhalation, a smile growing from ear to ear.
 
Back at Gailson Manor, Skyler loved nothing more than to escape from the clutches of the private teachers his parents assigned to him to the calm of a redwood forest on his family's enormous estate. Early in autumn, the changing leaves radiated with brilliant shades of crimson and yellow. He would jog and jump and sprint through the forest until dawn before forcing himself to return to his family’s house.
 
The island’s beauty reminded him of those simple and complicated times. Just like in the forest, a part of him wished that he could just keep running. Keep running along that shore of an island all day and all night. A life on the shore was an idea that he could live with.
 
While drifting off into a better memory, a rock huddled towards Skyler's head out of nowhere. Snapping to attention, he twisted around and in a fluid motion caught the rock in midair. Skyler looked to the top of the cliff facing towards the ocean to see student in a blue jacket standing proudly with his arms crosses. The student had short, brown hair with four short points at the front and large, bushy eyebrows.
 
He met the gaze of the unknown teen who wore a sinister grin. After a brief moment of intense silence, Skyler broke the glare with a friendly smile.
 
"Hey there!” said Skyler, waving his hands. “I think you dropped your rock. You ought to be more careful when throwing stuff like this around, someone could get hurt."
 
The student's menacing smirk disappeared as he dismounted from the cliff and landed a few yards from Skyler on a hand and knee. Despite his best efforts to look dramatic, however, the teen landed on a tilted foot. The Obelisk Blue bit his lower lip to suppress a scream, his eyes glazing over.
 
"Ummm...that looked painful.” said Skyler “You know, if you wanted to talk, you could have just asked me to stay here while you climbed down."
 
The student took a deep breath and straightened his uniform.
 
"Scusa,” said the student in a thick Italian accent. “But I could not help myself. You looked like you were in deep thought. I wanted to see for myself if rumors were true about the new Ra everyone is talking about. My name is Matthew Bianchi."
 
Skyler tilted his head to the side and raised an eyebrow.
 
"I’m not,” said Skyler. “I’m sorry; I only really caught half of that. Talking? About me?"
 
"So it would seem." said Matthew. "You see, I am here as…what would you say? A talent scout. Here at Central, publicity and notoriety, these are things that get Duelist like you and me to the Duel Circuit. I am here because I want to help you capitalize on your resent fame. Capisce?”
 
“Ca-wha? I really can’t unde-“
 
“I am the head of the student organization that helps nobodies like yourself get a leg up on your fellow classmate. They say you have some skill, so decided to take you on as my pledge. Congratulations to you!"
Skyler's attention drifted in and out of the conversation, his eyes zeroing in on Matthews forehead. When he paused for a response, he snapped back to attention.
 
"Sorry, could you say that again? I kinda zoned out for a bit there. It's just...your eyebrows."
 
"M...my what?" Matthew asked.
 
"They're just so huge...and memorizing."
 
One of the Obelisk's eyes started to twitched and his fists clenched tight.
 
"You think you're funny, do you?” said Matthew. “Do you have any idea of whom you are insulting?”
 
"It's not an insult. I really like them!" Skyler said, emphasizing 'really'. "Can anyone grow theirs that big or just you? Or do you have a stylist? I bet they would keep my face warm. I hate a cold face."
 
"You...” Matthew fumed and un-shouldered his bag. “You think you are hot s*** or something, yes? Believe me that you do not want to make an enemy of the Kindachi."
 
"The Kin-wha?"
 
A large vain started to pulse on Matt's forehead before he reached into a bag and pulled out a Duel Disk.
 
"Idiota!” said Matthew. “Non fare il finto tonto! It's time that you learn some respect! Get your Deck out, we're going to Duel."
 
"I don't...wait...what? This is escalating quickly. I'm not entirely sure what's going on, but if it’ll stop you from yelling gibberish at me, I’ll do whatever you want."
 
Skyler pulled out his Duel Disk, slipped it to his arm, and placed his Deck into the holster.
 
"I hope you don’t mind me making this quick,” Skyler said and activated his Disk. “I need to get back to my workout.”
 
"Time to put you in your place, smart ass.” Matt said, mimicking Skyler’s actions. “Now, datti una mossa!”
 
“Something about pasta? I have no idea. I Summon “Crusader Knight Eden” and Set a card, and that will do it for now.”
 
A tall, golden-haired woman in white armor carrying a halberd materialized to the field along with a face-down card.
 
[ATK: 1800 DEF: 1000]
 
“Mio turno,” Matt announced, holding the card to the sky before slapping it on the Disk blade. “And now I’ll turn up the heat with my ‘Salamantra Siren’. Then I’ll end my turn for now!”
 
A large, black and orange salamander covered in flames rose from the ground and let out a loud bellow.
 
[ATK: 0 DEF: 0]
 
“Turn up the heat?” Skyler said quietly to himself and tilted his head to the side. “Dear god, Heaves was right; they really do teach monologue here. Well, whatever, ‘Eden’ attacks ‘Siren’.”
 
The blonde warrior lunged forward and brought her halberd down hard only for her target to burst into flames and disappear completely. With the force of the weapon still bearing down, it found a new target in Matt, hitting his Life Points directly.
 
Matt LP - 2200
 
“The effect of my ‘Salamantra’, monsters,” said Matt with a sly smirk. “Allows me to switch any attack you make to a direct one. Which comes in handy for these.”
 
Matt discarded two cards out of his hand, causing two chain circles to appear on the field labeled 1 and 2. “Salamantra Siren” returned to the field.
 
“Chain 2: ‘Salamantra Newton’. I must now sacrifice my monster and in exchange I regain half of the Life Points you just hit me for.”
 
Matt LP – 3100
 
“Chain 1: ‘Salamantra Amphima’. When I take 1000 or more points of direct damage, I get to Special Summon it and then inflict damage to you with half the points you just hit me with.”
 
The ground bulged and splitting, causing lava to burst from the center of the field, out of which crawled a long, eel-looking monster covered in magma. The monster roared and released a stream of flames from its massive jaws, hitting Skyler.
 
[ATK: 0 DEF: 0]
 
Skyler LP – 3100
 
“I think that’s enough punishment for one turn. Funny, considering it wasn’t even mine.” Matt closed his eyes and cocked his head up to laughed a dry, nasally laugh at the sky.
 
“Um…whatever you say. I Set a card and end my turn.” Skyler said.
 
“Buono. Now, I forgot to mention the effect of my Newton. During my next Standby Phase after he activates his effect, I Special Summon him to the field. And once I do, I am allowed to destroy any face-down card on the field.”
 
He moved the monster from the Graveyard to the field, causing a large red and yellow newt to appear. The newt shot across the field and attacked Skyler’s face-down card, but not before activating it.
 
[ATK: 0 DEF: 0]
 
“Chain: ‘Release from Purgatory’,” said Skyler. “I send a ‘Crusader’ monster from the Deck to the grave then banish one in the grave. On both accounts, I choose “Crusader Squire Ennis’. If she’s banished, I get to fetch 1 “Crusader Squire” from the Deck. I choose “Crusader Squire Pemnon.”
 
“Doesn’t make any difference to me.” said Matt. “Now, I banish my ‘Amphima’ to activate his effect and bring to my hand 1 “Fyre” Spell or Trap Card from my Deck. And then I think that I will go ahead and play it! I activate ‘Fyre Rain’!.”
 
A black cloud began to form over the playing field, shrouding the players and monsters in a dark shadow. Orange light erupted from the overcast followed by the booming sound of thunder. Fire began to rain down. The two salamander monsters let out a joint roar and their respective ATK increased.
 
[Newton – ATK: 1000 DEF: 1000]
 
[siren – ATK: 1500 DEF: 1500]
 
“With this Continuous Spell, my ‘Salamantra’ monsters gain 500 ATK for each of their own Levels. But that’s not all. During the Battle Phase, non-‘Salamntra’ monsters loss 100 ATK for each of their own Levels. So, I’ll attack your ‘Eden’ with ‘Siren’.
The large salamander opened its mouth and spit a ball of fire at the female knight just as her ATK was reduced to 1400.
 
Skyler LP – 3000
 
“And then I will attack directly with ‘Newton’.”
 
The smaller salamander mirrored the actions of its companion and shot a fire ball straight at Skyler. Before the attack could connect, however, Skyler pressed the button on the side of his Duel Disk.
 
“I activate ‘Reinforce Truth’,” said Skyler. “Letting me Summon 1 ‘Crusader Squire Tyia’ from my Deck. When she’s Special Summoned, I can Summon up to 2 other ‘Tyia’ from the Deck or hand.”
 
[ATK: 500 DEF: 200]
 
Three blond squire girls in over-size silver and blue armor landed in the center of the field in a crouching position. With a burst of flames, Matt’s monster destroyed the one in the middle, leaving nothing by smoke and ash.
 
Matt narrowed his eyes before signaling the passage of his turn to Skyler.  
 
“I Summon ‘Crusader Knight Guadric’ in Attack Mode,” said Skyler, “and equip him with ‘Crusader Armory – Ethereal Broadsword’, giving him an extra 500 ATK.”
 
A tall, brown-haired man in blue and white armor appeared on the field with a shimmering gold blade clutched tightly in his hands.
 
[ATK: 1700 + 500 DEF: 800]
 
“My monster attacks your ‘Siren’.”
 
Skyler’s monster held his shining blade over his head and brought it down towards the fire lizard only for the sword to pass straight through it.
 
“Effect of Newton,” said Matt. “I change your monsters attack to a direct one.”
 
Matt LP – 1300
 
Just like before, two circular chain wheels appear with the numbers 1 and 2 at their center. The chain with the “2” inside was on Skyler’s side of the field while “1” was with Matt.
 
“Chain 2.” Skyler said. “After battles monster, I can banish 1 ‘Crusader’ from the grave to let him attack again. I’ll banish ‘Eden’.
 
“Chain 1.” Matt said. “When I take direct battle damage from your monster, the effect of the monster in my hand activate. I discard ‘Salamantra Helbent’ to inflict half the damage that I just took to you. Plus, during my next Standby Phase, it rises from its own ashes.”
 
A blast of flames shot out from Matt’s Duel Disk and hit Skyler, reducing his Life Points.
 
Skyler LP – 2100
 
“’Gaudric’ attacks ‘Newton’.” Skyler said.
 
The armored warrior again charged in and cleaved the fire monster in twain. The monster’s sword shone a brilliant gold and raised Skyler’s Life Points by 1000, having just destroyed a Non-LIGHT monster. After that, he passed the turn onto Matt.
 
Matt LP – 500
 
Skyler LP - 3100
 
“I draw,” Matt said. “Time to meet my greatest monster. The instrument of you-“
 
“I know. It’s ‘Salamantra Helbent’. You already told me.”
 
“Do not interrupt!”
 
A tornado of flames and ashes erupted from the center of the field and from it raised an enormous, amphibious beast covered in lava.
 
[ATK: 0 DEF: 0]
 
“And when he is Summoned by his own effect, I get to destroy all Spell or Trap cards you control. Say ciao to your broadsword” The weapon shattered in “Gaudric’s” hands, returning his ATK to 1700. With “Fire Rain” still on the field the ATK of “Helbent” increased to 3000.
 
“Next I will banish ‘Salamantra Newton’ from my Graveyard to Special Summon ‘Fire Starter.’ When she destroys a monster by battle, you take damage equal to that monster’s ATK, after which she is switched into defense position. Unfortunately my ‘Fire Rain’ will also decrease his ATK.”
 
[ATK: 1800 – 400 DEF: 0]
 
“’Helbent’ attacks your ‘Crusader Knight Gaudric. And then ‘Salamantra Siren” and ‘Fire Starter’ attacks your squires!”
 
The monsters both released a spiraling inferno, burning Skyler’s warriors to ash.
 
Skyler LP – 900
 
“I’ll Set a card and then I end my turn.”
 
Skyler closed his eyes when he drew his next card, equations and numbers zooming in and out of his inner sight. With every card drawn and used, the probability of the perfect strategy came closer and closer into view.
 
“A 94.1723 percent chance…” Skyler said.
 
“What are you blabbering on about over there?” Matt said.
 
Without looking, Skyler slipped the card into the side slot in his Duel Disk and then discard a card from his hand. The card hologram of “Monster Reincarnation” appeared on the field.
 
“Discard to bring fetch Gaudric from the grave.” Skyler said. “Activate ‘Polymerization’. Send ‘Pemnon’ and ‘Gaudric’ to grave. Summon ‘Crusader Knight Baron’.”
 
His hands moved faster than the words from his lips while he moved his cards around the Duel Disk, taking no time to look down at what he was doing. He only stared straight ahead with a glazed look in his eye.
 
“What the?” Matt said. “How the hell did you kn- You f***ing stacker!”
 
“It’s not cheating.” Skyler said before placing the Fusion monster on the blade of his Disk. “I just know my Deck…”
 
With that, a blinding light appeared in front of Skyler. In the center of the light materialized a tall knight in silver and brown armor with a buster sword the length of his body.
 
[ATK: 1900 DEF: 1400]
 
“Effect, when Baron’s Summoned, I fetch a ‘Crusader Armory’ card from the Deck. I equip him with ‘Crusader Armory: Miracle Gladna’.” The card ejected itself from his Deck and Skyler activate it, causing ‘Baron’s’ sword to change into the same halberd used by “Crusader Knight Eden”. “’Gladna’ effect, my monster gains 300 ATK. I can banish 1 ‘Crusader’ monster from my grave to halve the attack of a monster it battles. Banish ‘Tyia”. Chain 1: The effect of my ‘Crusader Armory: Ethereal Broadsword’ lets me banish it to destroy 1 face-up Spell or Trap on the field. Chain 2: Banishing ‘Crusader Squire Tyia’ gains me 500 Life Points.”
 
Skyler LP - 1400
 
A sword materialized over the hologram of “Fyre Rain”, plummeted down, and destroyed it. The skies above cleared, the red and black clouds receding into virtual dust. The ATK of “Salamantra Newton” and “Salamantra Helbent” reduced to 0 while “Baron” rose to 2200.”
 
“I attack your ‘Helbent’.”
 
The knight rushed forward and brought the massive, long axe down on the head of the lava lizard. As soon as the attack connected, Matt activated his face-down card.
 
“I will activate “Fyre Avalanche”! With this card, not only does the ATK of my monster become 2000, but they become completely unaffected by all Spell Cards. Looks like I’ll be sticking around for another turn. And believe me, it will be your last.”
 
“Umm…” Skyler said. “Sorry, but I kind of already won.”
 
“What is this that you are talking about?”
 
“Just watch. ‘Crusader Knight Baron’ has a second effect.”
 
“What?!”
 
The crusader cleaved Monster in half, destroying it in an explosion of fire and soot.
 
Matt LP – 300
 
‘Baron’ landed in front of Matt’s monsters and again raised his weapon, brought it down, and released a slash of pure white energy headed straight towards Matt.
 
“When my monster destroys a monster by battle, he inflicts 800 points of damage if he’s equipped with an Equip Spell. Which means-“
 
The white slash hit Matt, reducing his Life Points to 0. The dust settled and the monsters disappeared, leaving the 2 duelist staring at each other through empty space.
 
"Hey! You okay?” Skyler asked. “That’s was actually pretty fun. Kind of a mental work out, so thanks!"
Matt stood and scowled over at Skyler, ripping his Duel Disk from his arm.
 
"Don't you patronize me, you yellow stronzo! This isn't over, this isn't the last you've heard of the Kindachi!"
 
He turned and ran back towards the school, grunting as he ran away with a limp.
 
"I haven’t the foggiest idea what that was about.” Skyler said.
 
Skyler merely shrugged and continued on his run as the sound of the Academy warning bell sounded in the distance.

[spoiler Chapter 4: Aftermath]
The second warning bell sounded when Skyler walked into his first period class, breathing heavily. He jogged across the room and down the stairs towards the second row where a familiar face sat. Taikerou waved half-heartedly seeing his new friend descend the stairs and take the seat next to him.
 
“So,” said Taikerou. “Word in the hallway says ya wiped the floor with the grease-monkey himself, then ya insulted his mom, stole his lunch money, and then kicked his dog for good measure.”
 
Skyler let out a groan and then let his forehead slam against the desk.
 
"How is that even possible? It was like 10 minutes ago!"
 
A crooked smile crossed Taikerou’s face before he reached down and pulled from his back pack a camera with a large lens. Skyler tilted his head to the side and stared at the large, professional-looking camera.
 
“What’s with the camera?”
 
“I take pictures for the school newspaper. Plus, I use it so I can keep tabs on every duelist in the school.”
 
He reached down again, this time pulling out a stack of photographs. He slid the photos across the top of the desk to reveal that on the back of each were facts about the people in the picture, from their hometown to their favorite food. Skyler looked over at Taikerou and tilted his head to the side.
 
“Um…Tai…you’re not one of those ‘creepers’ that I’ve heard about, are you? Cause this looks a little sketchy.”
 
Taikerou shrugged.
 
“Nothin’ ya can’t find on the web or by just askin’ around. But nevermind that. What ya gotta worry about is the Kendachi.”
 
“The ken-wha?” Skyler asked. “Oh, you mean that organization-thing that the bushy-browed kid runs?”
 
 “Bushy?” Taikeoru said. “Oh, you’re talkin’ bout Matt? The leader of Kindachi? He barely counts as a member. Yeah, no, he’s not in charge. He just likes scarin’ freshmen and ‘recruiting’ lackeys to do his homework for him. He’s a total tool.”
 
“So he was just messing with my head?”
 
“Pretty much, yeah. And speakin’ of Matt’s lackeys,” Taikerou said, turning to face the back of the classroom.
 
Skyler turned and followed Taikerou’s gaze to see a small group of students standing in the isle near the back of the class. They were talking and periodically turning to point in his direction. He made eye contact with a girl with brown hair in the group, who then proceeded to elbow the others. All at once they turned and glared at Skyler. The group split down the middle. In the center was a student wearing an Obelisk Blue Jacket 3 sizes too large with their arms crossed. Skyler could feel the anger in the student’s purple eye pierced the air like a bullet. The student was shorter than the rest of the group, their eyes framed by long, bottle green hair.
 
“I…is that guy angry at me?” Skyler said.
 
“They all are.” Taikerou said.
 
“Why? What did I do?”
 
“They’re butt-hurt cause Matt’s been sayin’ ya cheated.”
 
“Cheated? Why would he say that?”
 
“Somethin’ bout ya stackin’ and hidin’ cards up your sleeves.”
 
Skyler looked down at his short sleeves then back to Taikerou with a raised eyebrow.
 
“Never said they were a bright bunch.” Taikerou said. “Just cause I gotta ask, you didn’t do anythin’ to make Matt think you were cheatin’, did ya?”
 
“No, not unless Bastian theory suddenly became illegal.”
 
“That’s what I thou-” Taikerou stopped and turned to Skyler. “You…know Bastian theory?”
 
“Well…yeah. Doesn’t everyone around here?”
 
“No, not really. Countin’ the cards in a guy’s Deck ain’t really somethin’ a lot of public school kids around here can do on a test, let alone in the middle of a duel.”
 
Skyler tilted his head the side before turning to look back at the assemblage of students who were now taking their seats.
 
“So…” Skyler said. “What, most people around here just Duel without using any kind of formulas or equations? That’s…weird.”
 
“No,” Taikerou said. “Weird’s being a human calculator and comin’ to a school where most the kids can’t even spell ‘calculator’. Why’d’you say you transferred here again?”
 
Skyler sat up straight and turned back to Taikerou, lips perked and hands up.
 
“I, um, I…didn’t…well you see, my old school…what with credits… and scheduling… and the economy… hey look! Here comes Saber. Hey Saber!”
 
Mr. Nitephyre entered the lecture hall and walked down the step. As he approached, Skyler held up his hands and feverishly waved.
 
“Good morning, Saber!” he exclaimed. “Looking forward to the test on Friday! Should be fun!”
 
“’Should be fun’?” Taikerou said. “Dear god. Where were ya born? A frickin’ library?”
 
Skyler immediately dropped his hands, sunk low into his desk, puffed out his right cheek.
 
“I just like the class, okay?” Skyler said under his breath.
 
Saber chuckled and waved his hand at Skyler.
 
“You should not worry about him, Gale.” Saber said. “You will find that most students here excel at practical application but aren’t too crazy about the logistic of Dueling. Take Taikerou, here. Right now he has a D average in my class. However, he is one of the best Duelists in the school.”
 
“Seriously? He is?” Skyler asked.
 
“You’re faith in me is heart-warmin’, Gale.” Taikerou said.
 
“Sorry, I mean…it’s just that…remember last week? You got in trouble for cheating off of Juria’s test?”
 
“That was never proven.”
 
“You wrote his name on the test.”
 
“Whatever. Point is that there’s more to duelin’ than fancy equations.”
 
“There is?” Skyler said louder than anticipated, his eyes opening wide.
 
“Take it easy on this one, Taikerou.” Saber said. “He is still adjusting to the public sector. And to address what you said before, Gale: Thank you, I hope that you enjoy the test.”
 
 “Hold up a sec.” Taikerou said, stopping Saber before he turned to walk away. “So…there’s gonna be a test?”
 
“Yes, Mr. Mana, we have a test. On Friday. It’s in the syllabus.”
 
“We have a syllabus?”
 
“I gave it to you at the beginning of the year. If I remember correctly, you folded it into an origami tiger. Which, in all honesty, was quite impressive.”
 
 “…is it open note?”
 
Saber raised an eyebrow and crosses his arms.
 
“That depends…have you taken any notes since the day you enrolled in this class?”
 
“Umm…”
 
“How about this, Taikerou? If you can tell me right here and right now the different between priority format and chain format, I will consider letting you use your book on the test…”
 
Taikerou blinked a few times before cocking his head forward.
 
“Um…one has those…circle thingies with numbers in them?” He asked.
 
Skyler tilted his head to the side, his eyes narrow, peering into his friend’s face.
 
“You’re mind… it’s like a puzzle.” Skyler said. “I must solve it…”
 
“That’s…” Taikerou said, scooting his chair away from Skyler by a few inches. “…nice. Who’s the creeper now, math boy?”
 
“In any case,” Saber said. “The test will be on archetype models and common deck structuring. If you need any help, I would suggest that Mr. Yuushi here tutor you on the subject. He knows the subject quite well from what I’ve seen.”
 
“Yeah,” Taikerou said. “So I’ve heard. So how about it, Gale? Help me not flunk the class?”
 
Skyler snapped himself out of his daze and shock his head before giving a small smile and a thumbs up.
 
“No problem!” Skyler said. “Oh! I know! We can have an all-nighter! I have an extra book-light you can barrow! Plus all three editions of ‘Basics of Deck Construction’! We can take turns highlighting passages!”
 
“Oh…goody.” Taikerou said.
 
“Psychedelic.” Saber said as he turned. “Now if you would excuse me, I have class to teach.”
 
He walked down the stairs to his desk and began to speak. Skyler and Taikerou turned to each other, both with furrowed brows.
 
“Psychedelic? Really?”
 
“I like it! I' gonna start using it.” Skyler said.
 
Taikerou let out a grown and slammed his forehead on the deck.
 
When classes ended Taikerou and Skyler walked together to the yellow dorms, Taikerou with his hands on the back of his head, staring up at the clouds. They walked through the courtyard and into the large yellow building.
 
“So,” Skyler said. “Saber didn’t say anything about this test being cumulative, so I think we’re safe on that front. How did you do on the last test?”
 
“Well…that’s a tricky question.” Taikeoru said.
 
“How so?”
 
“Well, the score I got was a 32%. But when I got it back from Saber, all he wrote was a big, red ‘NO’ on the front with a little winkie-tongue-out smile emoji. He thinks he’s such a smartass.”
 
“Oh well,” Skyler said lifting his hand and clenching it into a fist with a smile, “That just means that we get to study all the harder tonight! I won’t rest until you can quote the textbook, verbatim!”
 
Taikerou dropped his arms to his sides, perked his lips, and drifted off to the side, away from Skyler.
 
“It’s just a test, Gale. Don’t go poppin’ a blood vessel.”
 
 “But… Taikerou!” Skyler exclaimed and took out his text book, pointing at his new friend like a weapon. “Math!”
 
Taikerou rolled his eyes and started to laugh, bringing his hand up and brushing his long bangs out of his face.
 
“Oh god, you’re just too much, ya know that, Gale? But I like you so I’ll trust your judgement. Do whatever you think with help me pass this test.”
 
Skyler let out a high pitched squee sound before taking Taikerou by the hand and dragging him up a flight of stairs towards his room.
 
“Awesome!” Skyler said. “Let’s head to my room do some probability vectors!”
 
“Woo, hang on, I need to get my books and stuff.”
 
“Not to worry! I have extra text books and supplies for just such an occasion!”
 
“Why do you-“ Taikerou tried to pull his arm free but soon realized that Skyler’s grip was ironclad, the weight of his body being effortlessly pulled like he was a rag doll. “How the hell are you so freakishly strong?” he exclaimed.
 
Eventually he let go and the two found their way to Skyler’s door, which was cracked open slightly. Skyler thought that Calvin must have forgotten to close the door when he left that morning. He had done so a few times in the past. Just as Skyler was about to push the door open, Taikerou’s arm grabbed one of his broad shoulders.
 
“What?” Skyler asked.
 
Without saying another word, Taikerou pushed against Skyler’s chest with his right hand and moved his other hand to the section of the door closest to the hinges. Skyler obeyed Taikerou’s hand as he took a step back. Taikerou lightly pushed on the door. With that, a bucket full of water dropped from above the door frame and tilted itself toward the outside, spilling all over the threshold of the doorway. Taikerou turned to face a wide-eyed Skyler.
 
“Well.” Taikerou said. “Aren’t you mister popular today?”

[spoiler Chapter 5: The Buzz]
Skyler briskly jogged into his morning class, his yellow shirt clinging to his muscular frame under his running jacket. In the few days since the duel with Matt, Skyler had begun to feel the eyes of everyone on campus burning holes into the back of his head, only to turn away when he looked. He walked over to his normal Desk, sat down, and took out a red, hard cover book with silver font spelling out “Applications in Stochasticity”. After a few minutes of silence, the doors of the classroom reopened and a student walked in, only to sit down next to Skyler.
 
Despite his entrance, Skyler did not notice Taikerou as he took the vacant seat, his nose almost pressed into the binding of the book. Taikerou proceeded to pick up his pack and let it fall to the table with a loud thunk, jarring his friend from his book.
 
“So,” Taikerou said. “From what I hear, the rumors are only gettin’ worse bout you and Matt.”
 
“Yeah, I noticed.” Skyler said, putting down the book before pressing his head against the table. With that, Taikerou reached into his sack, and pulled out a stack of photos. Skyler turned his head to the side and raised an inquisitive eyebrow at the stack. “What are those for?”
 
With a small smirk, Taikerou extended his fingers and plucked a photo from the middle of the stack, setting it in front of Skyler. The photo was of a girl with long, pink hair in a Slyfer Red jacket, a few shades darker than her cheeks while she scowled at the person taking the photo.
 
"Like it or not, Gale, that match with Matt made ya the hot topic around the school. Sure, he wasn’t actually a part of Kendachi-"
 
“Ken-wha?” Skyler asked.
 
“-but he was still pretty high up on the status pole. Not to mention all his little lackeys. So now, it looks like ya got a target painted on your back. And if that’s the case, ya need to know who you’ll be up against.”
 
“Why do I have to be ‘up against’ anyone?” Skyler exclaimed and shot his hands into the air. “Can’t we just all hug and kiss and be done with it? Why does it have to be like this?”
 
“Not sure how Matt would respond to a hug or kiss, but either way, this is the hand you’ve drawn.” Taikerou shrugged. “Now stop whinnin' and listen cause I'm tryin’ to give ya a heads up. All these photos are of the top students at Central, which means you're probably gonna ended up duelin' them."
 
He slid the photo closer to Skyler.
 
"This is Sage Thompson,” Taikerou said. “Born State-side, now top in Slyfer. She's on the fast track to a promotion to Obelisk. She’s even got a few potential sponsors."
 
He replaced the photo with another showing a pale, gangly looking boy with long red hair and thin-rimmed glasses lying on what looked like the roof of the school.
 
"Robby Burroke, born in Quebec, where his family owns a chain of hotels. He's a pretty good kid cept he don't really play with a full Deck, if you know what I mean."
 
"What, like a Side Deck?" said Skyler with an upwards inflection.
 
Taikerou stared blankly at Skyler for a few seconds before returning the pictures. Looking through a few more photos, Taikerou finally came to one of an all too familiar bushy-browed duelist in the middle of swim practice. He was shirtless with a towel draped over his shoulders, his toned chest still damp from the water. Skyler eyes grew wide as soon as the photo came into view.
 
"And you've already met the tool of the school known formally as Mathew Bianchi. I got this from one of his fan girls."
 
Before he had the chance to put the photo back into the pile, Skyler snatched it from his hand.
 
"Wait, this is Matt?” Skyler asked. “Wow, he looks a lot different without those huge eyebrows distracting me. Dang, look at those abs! You could grate cheese on those things!"
 
Taikerou leaned back in his chair a little and looked at his friend with a furrowed brow, his mouth slightly agape.
 
"Um…ya wanna rephrase that, bro?"
 
Looking up from the photo, Skyler turned and tilted his head slightly to the side, bewildered.
 
"Why? I'm just saying that he looks good without a shirt on. What’s weird about that?"
 
Taikerou scratched his head and bit down on his lower lip.
 
"Um...Gale…you aren't…I mean, I don't care either way, but…I mean are you…"
 
Skyler continued to stare at his friend, tilting his head to the side while Taikerou attempted to vomit out his question.
 
"Never mind… It…it isn’t important.” Taikerou said before turning back to his desk and placing his head on the table. 
 
For the second time, a set of books slammed against the table, the noise snapping Skyler and Taikerou to attention. They both looked up to see the same green-haired student in baggy Obelisk clothes that Skyler saw a few days earlier. Jaw clenched and eyes narrowed, Taikerou sat up as if to speak only to be cut off by Skyler.
 
"Hi there!” Skyler said cheerfully. “Sorry, did you want to sit here? We can scooch over if you like.”
 
Taikerou tapped on Skyler's shoulder
 
"Gale, no. Annoyed.” He whispered. “We’re supposed to be annoyed.”
 
"Annoyed by what?"
 
"Yuushi Gale," The student said with crossed arms, their oversized blue jacket poofing out like dough rising in an oven. "I have a bone to pick with you."
 
"Umm…okay. What's on your mind?"
 
"I want you to tell me what the hell you did to my buddy, Matt! Ever since you two dueled, he's been pushing everyone away and stopped talking to me completely!"
 
"Me? Nothing, I just beat him in a Duel. Not my fault if he over-reacted. Did you try giving him lots of hugs and kisses?”
 
Taikerou smirked a little before rolling his eyes and brushing the black bangs from his face.
 
"Want some advice, blue-boy? Stop b****in' about your boyfriend dumpin' ya and find someone who gives a s***. Plenty of other butt-buddies in the sea."
 
The student reached over and grabbed Taikerou by the collar, pulling him up so that they were eye to eye.
 
"You want to repeat that, little Miss Scene-Queen?"
 
Taikerou reached up and grabbed the student wrist, forcing it down to the desk with a loud bang.
 
"Don't test me, Yoshi."
 
“Oh, me next,” Skyler said with a smile. “I want a cool nickname too!”
 
The two students stared each other down for a few seconds until the doors at the front of the classroom opened and Saber Nitephyre entered the room, a cheerful smile on his face. Taikerou and the student separated as soon as he walked in, quickly returning to their seats. Saber set his folders down on his desk and turned to face the class.
 
"Alright students, for the past three days we have been reviewing Duel Theory based of difference in card archetypes. Today, we are going to get to experience the practice first hand. Would Yuushi Gale and Kira Argent please come down to the front of the class?"
 
Skyler stood from his chair and looked across the room to see the same green-haired Obelisk student as before. Skyler looked down at Taikerou.
 
"Wow, what a weird…what's the word?" said Skyler.
 
"Plot device?" said Taikerou.
 
"Come on, come on.” Saber snapped. “We don't have all day."
 
The two students walked down to the front of the room, each standing to the side of Saber.
 
"Now, I've seen both of you Duel before so I know that you each have distinct card archetypes. I want you to demonstrate for the class the proper techniques and strategies of your decks and how to properly use your cards to their maximum potential. Now, stand on opposite sides of the room. As for the rest of the class, you can gather around to get a better look."
 
Every student in the class, with the exception of Taikerou, hurried into all available seats in the front to get a better look. The two Duelists inserted their Decks into their Duel Disk and activated them.
 
"I'll go first." Skyler said as he drew his first card and examined his hand. "I Summon 'Crusader Knight Eden’, then I’ll Set a card before ending my turn."
 
He placed the card on his Duel Disk and a female knight in silver and gold armor appeared on the field.
 
[ATK: 1800 DEF: 1000]
 
"It’s payback time.” Kira said. “I Summon ‘Pinch Hopper' in attack mode. Then I activate 'Insect Imitation'. I Tribute ‘Pinch Hopper’ to Special Summon an Insect monster from my Deck with a higher level. So I choose my 'Ultimate Insect LV5'."
 
As soon as "Pinch Hopper" appeared to the field, it imploded in on itself, only to morph into a shining, green egg. The egg cracked open and released a large, blue and red insect.
 
[ATK: 2300 DEF: 900]
 
"And when my Hopper is removed from the field, I get to Summon an insect monster from my hand, so choose 'Howling Insect'. Now take out his 'Crusader'!"
 
[ATK: 1200 DEF: 1300]
 
Kira Summoned a large, blue cricket before "Ultimate Insect LV5" sprang into action by lifting its leg and slashing Eden in twain.
 
"Now I'll attack directly with my other monster. Sick 'em!"
 
The giant cricket jumped forward and attacked Skyler directly.
 
Skyler LP - 2300
 
Some of the bystanders gasped the exchange, while Taikerou, who was in the back row, looked on with an indifferent expression and brushed his sleek, black hair away from his face. Kira ended his turn.
 
"My move.” Skyler said “I activate 'Polymerization' and send to the Grave 'Crusader Knight Allie' and 'Youthful Crusader Squire' in my hand to Summon 'Crusader Knight Gallent'."
 
A blond knight in shining armor leapt to the center of the field, his large sword drawn and ready.
 
[ATK: 1800 DEF: 1800]
 
"Once per turn, I can banish a Warrior monster from the Graveyard to gain its effect and half its original ATK. I'll banish the Allie and increase my monster’s ATK 500. Also, when my ‘Allie’ is banished, I can target a ‘Crusader’ monster and increase its ATK by another 1000."
 
Gallent started to glow red before its ATK increased to 3300. The knight then rushed forward, slashed down at the massive insect, and destroyed it.
 
"I’ll Set monster and end my turn."
 
Kira LP – 3000
 
Students in the stands at this point where on the edges of their seats, each making over-dramatize gasps and cheers at the appropriate spots. Taikerou, however, merely let out a yawn before standing and walking towards the back of the classroom.
 
"Hey, Tai, where you going?” A Ra yellow girl asked, catching the attention of a few others in the room. “Class isn't over yet."
 
“Yeah,” A slyfer said. “Don’t you wanna see how this ends?”
 
"A) Not sure that Saber really cares at this point.” Taikerou said.
 
“It’s true,” Saber said over the crowd of students, marking down his assessment of the duel on a clip board. “At this point I’m just thrilled that he even shows up anymore. Seems like a certain someone might be having a positive influence on our resident slacker.”
 
“Can teachers call students slackers?” Taikerou said with a light smirk.
 
“They can if that student can’t even remember to write his own name on a test.”
 
“Fair enough.” Takaikerou said, turning back to the student. “And B) The duel is just getting boring and predictable. I'mma go find a quiet place to nap."
 
With that, Taikerou exited the room, heading to his favorite shade tree off campus. When he passed through the threshold into the open air, however, he caught sight woman standing just outside the classroom door. She has short blue hair with a purple streak and wore a black and white maid's uniform stand. Their eyes met for a brief moment, causing hot razors to rip through Taikerou’s stomach before he tore his icy blues away from the woman’s cold, deep grays.

[spoiler Chapter 6: Self-Inflicted]

The Duel continued as Kira drew his next card.

 

"My move, I Summon ‘Jumper Beetle’, which, after it’s Normal Summoned, lets me perform one more Normal Summon, so long as it’s for another insect.”

 

A golden beetle with cobalt markings and a pair of hydraulic springs on each of its legs appeared next to “Howling Insect”.

 

"I sacrifice my two monsters to Summon my 'Ultimate Insect LV7'. Then I equip it with ‘Lineage of Power’. You see, normally, my insects’ effects only activates when they're Summoned through the effect of another 'Ultimate Insect'. But with ‘Lineage of Power’, I can activate its effect now, decreasing your monsters ATK by 700."

 

Kira’s new monster shot up from the ground, it’s red and blue shimmering, a set of translucent wings flittering faster than the eye could catch.

 

[ATK: 2600 DEF: 1200]

 

Skyler quickly pressed the button on the side of his Duel Disk and activated his face-down card.

 

"I activate 'Divine Intercession'. When I control a 'Crusader' monster, I can negate the effect of any Spell or Trap card."

 

The hologram of Kira's "Lineage of Power" Spell Card shattered.

 

"Doesn't make a difference, my 'Ultimate Incest' is still at 2600, more than enough to beat down your knight. Sick 'em!"

 

The giant incest proceeded to lunch across the field, closing the distance between itself and Skyler’s monster with a second. It dive bombed "Crusader Knight Gallent” and destroying it.

 

Skyler’s LP - 1500.

 

"I play a card face-down and that'll do it for now."

 

Skyler drew, removed his face-down monster from the field, and then replaced it with a new one.

 

"I Tribute my face-down monster to Summon 'Crusader Knight Temara' in attack mode!"

 

A tall, female warrior with purple hair and golden armor appeared on the field, her hand clutched on the pummel of her sheathed blade. Boys throughout the classroom stared snickered at the attractive-looking monster, some even whistling, to the disgust of the girls around them

 

[ATK: 2300 DEF: 1400]

 

"Would you guys grow up? It's a freakin hologram!" said one of the girls.

 

The hologram of "Crusader Knight Temara" turned her head to side glance at the group of boys, a menacing twinkle in her eyes as she drew her sword. The boys in the room fell silent.

 

“I equip my monster with ‘Ethereal Broadsword’, increasing its ATK by 500. Now attack, Temara!"

 

The gold armored monster lunged and jabbed her blade forward just as the Kira activated his face-down card.

 

"I activate the Trap Card ‘Swarm of Scarabs’. With this card, not only is an attack on an insect monster negated, but I get to draw cards equal to the level different between our monsters. In this case, that’s 2 for me!"

 

A purple glow appeared around Kira’s monster before a whirlwind of beetles began to encircle it, blocking Temera’s attack. Two of the scarabs that intercepted her sword turned golden, flew away to land on Kira’s Duel Disk, and then into it, allowing him to draw two new cards. Skyler ended his turn, his monster returning to her place on his side of the field.

 

"I activate,” Kira said. “The effect of the monster in my hand, letting me tribute my level 7 insect to bring out 'Ultimate Insect LV10'!"

 

Kira's monster began to convolve and seize before bursting open, its internal makeup spewing across the field. Everyone in the classroom, including the card’s owner, flinched backwards as from the hollowed remains of the monster came an even larger, more demonic looking insect than the one before. It bore a similar blue and red exoskeleton as its predecessor but had an extended, stinger-like thorax and large pincers on all six arms.

 

[ATK: 3000 DEF: 1800]

 

"Don't blink,” Kira said. “Because that’s not all."

 

Astral tentacles shot from of the giant insect's body, latching onto and engrossing “Crusader Knight Temara", decreasing her ATK to 1700.

 

"What have you got to say now, Yuushi? Now your monster is totally defenseless!"

 

Skyler crossed his arms and looked up at his monster being engrossed by his opponent disgusting beast.

 

"Hmm, that's weird; that looks just like the screen saver on Tai's lap top.”

 

“T…Tai’s wha-“ Kira began.

 

“Yeah, only the girl there looked a lot happier than Temara."

 

Kira’s eyes bolted open and face grew scarlet along with most of the faces of student watching the duel. Scarred snickering echoed through the classroom.

 

Under the shade of a nearby tree, Taikerou opened his eyes and sat straight up.

 

“I have the sudden need to punch someone in the face…” said Taikerou.

 

Saber leaned back in his chair and continued to read an edition of Vogue magazine.

 

"Oh, you crazy kids on your internet…"

 

Kira began to flail his arms about and exclaimed profanities before pointing at his opponent.

 

"You sick pervert, get your mind out of the gutter. You're not a Duelist, you're a clown! How the hell am I’m supposed to believe that someone like Matt could even be defeated by someone like you! You're done for. Destroy his monster!"

 

The giant insect raised its enormous claw, brought it down on, destroyed Temera.

 

Skyler LP - 600

 

"Seriously," Skyler said as he drew a card. "Is that whole monologue thing something that everyone at Central does? Anyway, I activate the Spell 'Greed Exorcism', letting me banish my 'Crusader Knight Gallent' to draw two cards. Then I'll activate the effect of my "Crusader Knight Temara". By banishing her, I get to banish my Eden and draw one more card."

 

He proceeded to banish the appropriate monsters and drew 3 new cards.

 

"Plus I get to add a ‘Crusader’ monster form my Deck to my hand if ‘Crusader Squire Ennis’ is banished. Now I play 'Book of Moon', switching your monster into face-down Defense Position."

 

Kira's monster glowed blue before reverting into its card form and moving into the face-down position. The tentacles that once surrounded Temara disappeared.

 

"That's what I thought: Your monster's effect only extends to my monsters while it's face-up."

 

He placed a monster card on his Duel Disk and Summoned a young brown-haired squire in brown, leather armor.

 

[ATK: 800 DEF: 1000]

 

"I Summon 'Crusader Squire Pemnon'. Now that your monster is face-down, I can attack your Life Points directly."

 

The monster jumped into the air, throwing a barrage of knives directly at Kira.

 

Kira LP - 2200.

 

"I Set a card face-down and end my turn."

 

{His Deck} Skyler thought. {Should be based on a basic Ultimate Insect Deck Scheme. He's already played 6 monster, 1 Spells, and 1 Trap. Banish next turn, additional support; he’ll try to back me into a corner. Two-fold defense. 56 percent probably of success. Side notes: Request copy of photos from Taikerou and print out of desktop. Pick up eggs on the way back from class. Bake cookies with Taikerou. Strengthen relationship by 12%. Probability of success… 100%.}

 

"Now it's my turn. I activate ‘Lineage of Power’, banishing it from my Graveyard so that now all my LV monsters can’t be destroyed or targeted by any card effects until your next End Phase. And with that, my dear cretin, i bid thee adieu!”

 

"Ultimate Insect LV10" started to glow a pale blue before taking to the air and dive bombing "Crusader Squire Pemnon". The attack connected and created virtual explosion, causing dust to pick up and obscure the battlefield.

 

"Ha! I win! I knew him winning against Matt was just a fluke! Wait…what!"

 

The dust settled, revealing that "Crusader Knight Pemnon" had in fact survived the assault along with Skyler's Life Points.

 

"Your monsters attack connected alright, just not with the monster you wanted. Don't you remember a few turns ago, when I Summoned 'Temara'?"

 

Kira memory flashed back to the turn when Skyler used his face-down monster as a Tribute to Summon "Crusader Knight Temara". He looked up to see the astral form of a warrior in red armor sitting in a defensive position on Skyler's side of the field.

 

"The card that I sent to the Graveyard was 'Necro Gardna', and by removing him from my Graveyard, I negated your monsters attack."

 

Pursing his lip, Kira stared at his opponent as the astral warrior disappeared.

 

"Next turn around, you're done for. I activate ‘Burden of the Mighty’, which will reduce your monster’s ATK by another 100 for every level. Now hurry up and get on with your move."

 

"Fine with me, because I'm done trying to convince you,” Skyler said. “I don’t understand what you have against me for just winning a Duel against someone that you cared about. Matt is a good Duelist, but you and him and everyone else at this school… you’re all way to emotional about the whole thing. Playing cards right and left and never thinking about what’s coming next. Matt was a lot of things, but the dude could stand to spend a little less time talking and a little more time getting his head in the game.

 

Kira leered at Skyler, raising his hand to point in his direction.

 

"Don't you dare say anything bad about Matt! He's twice the Duelist and person you'll ever be! No one else around here gave a damn about me except him. I was a nobody and he helped me make something of myself! So shut you damn mouth cause you don’t know what you’re talking about!"

 

"If you really have that little confidence in yourself, then I'm not sorry about this. I activate the second effect of 'Pemnon', Tributing him during my Standby Phase to Special Summon a “Crusader Knight” from my Deck. I Summon "Crusader Knight Penneos."

 

Skyler replaced his monster with a new one and a hooded knight leaped into Attack Position with a large dagger and a wooden shield. The moment that it appeared, tentacles from Kira’s monster latched onto it. This along with Kira’s Spell card caused the ATK of Penneos to drop down to 200.

 

[ATK: 1600 DEF: 1000]

 

"Go ahead and believe what you want about me, Kira, but I'm ending this now. Go ‘Crusader Knight Penneos’ and attack his monster."

 

The monster sprinted swiftly across the field toward Kira's "Ultimate Insect LV10".

 

"That's your plan? Watching my monster flatten yours? Fine with me, go 'Ultimate Insect' and end this once and for all!"

 

The giant bug moved forward and attacked Skyler's monster, bringing its claw down on the knight. As the claw came down, the Crusader held out his shield, blocked the attack, and absorbed the energy from assault.

 

"What the hell?" shouted Kira.

 

"Once per turn,” replied Skyler as he removed “Crusader Squire Pemnon” from his Graveyard. “I can banish a ‘Crusader’ monster from my Grave to activate my monster’s effect. Because of it, Penneos can't be destroyed by battle and you take all the damage that I would take from its battles. I guess that it’s a good thing you reduced his ATK so much."

 

Penneos slid passed Kira’s monster, leaped up, and somersaulted over the giant insect to land in front of the duelist. He held out his shield and released the energy stored up from the attack, blasting Kira with the attack damage.

 

Kira LP - 0

 

"What? No!" Kira said in protest.

 

The holograms disappeared and Skyler put his deck back into its holster. Realizing the Duel had finally ended, Saber snapped to attention and lazily reaffirm the results of the demonstration.

 

"The winner: Yuushi Gale."

 

Everyone in the room stood in amazement and cheered. Despite the praise, Skyler’s mind was elsewhere and soon found himself pushing his way through a crowd of other student to where Kira was standing and looking down at the floor.

 

"I’m sorry Matt…" He said before looking up to see Skyler standing in front of him. "Go ahead, take your shots. I deserve it."

 

"No you don’t. You don't have anything to apologize for. I can tell that Matt really meant a lot to you, and I’m sorry if what I did messed up your relationship. But you can't let someone define you like that. Trust me on this, you have your own life and no one has the right to decide whether you have worth. But if you really need a friend," Skyler said and held out his hand. "I can help you out there…"

 

Kira looked down at Skyler's hand, completely lost for words. After a few seconds of silence, he finally managed to crack a smile and clap his hand against Skyler's into a tight grip.

 

The two boys exchanged a warm smile, allowing the moment to last for a few seconds longer before unclentching their hands. Caught up in the moment, Skyler neglected to notice Taikerou strolling up behind him with an irritated expression. The black-haired Ra stopped directly behind his friend only to deliver a firm back-hand to the back of Skyler's head.

 

"Ah.” He said with a sigh of relief. “That did the trick…"

 

 
 
 

***A few edits made: Few spelling and granmar mistakes corrected. Nixis name changed to Eden.

[Twig]

To be honest, it sounds like any other Duel Academy fic. You're writing is good and all, but so far, everything's boring. There's no surprises, and I expected everything that happened. Second, Skyler is a Mary Sue or a Gary Stu. Girls are attracted to him, he's apparently rich, he's modest, physically fit, and has won his first two duels in the academy.

[Erinyes]

I only read through chapter two, and even with a duel where the protagonist turns things around for a win, like Twig said, it's a little boring. I also agree with Twig where the main character is a little too perfect. He needs more faults, and the story needs more suspense. Your writing is pretty good, it's just the story is lacking.

[bury the year]

I'm not going to be as negative. For one, you're a very good writer, much better than much of YCM. (Including me at times. :I) Second, it's very difficult to show a ton of original direction in a GX fic within the first few chapters due to the nature of the medium. Establishing characters should be the priority now, which is why I'm going along with the others in suggesting that you give Skyler a more original and less idealized personality. That will make your work much better for sure. :3

[ExtremeG]

I completely understand all the critisism. But I promise that Skyler's character is going to develop and that there is a lot more drama and twists to come. XD

[Twig]

I completely understand all the critisism. But I promise that Skyler's character is going to develop and that there is a lot more drama and twists to come. XD

 

Yeah, I was expecting something interesting to happen in Chapter 3, but I was disappointed. Hopefully, Chapter 4 will be better. Right now, the only interesting thing to me is Skyler's duel spirit, Bup. =)

[ExtremeG]

Well...the plot doesn't really start until episode 5, right now it's just filler and things to introduce the characters ^_^'

[Twig]

Well I guess I'll have to wait for Chapter 5...

[ExtremeG]

Episode 4 Posted ^_^

[bury the year]

Out of minor confusion, I see a Skylar Gale and a Yuushi Gale. Are the two the same person? In that case, you should stick with one name. If not, then double-check your writing. :I

[ExtremeG]

Skyler Gailson is his real name, Yuushi Gale is his cover ^_^

[bury the year]

Skyler Gailson is his real name, Yuushi Gale is his cover ^_^

 

"Cover?" Is this gonna be some part of the plot, or is it just there for Rule of Cool?

[ExtremeG]

I explained it in the first episode. He's from a rich family but hatedd the life so he went to Central duel acadamy with a fake name so no one would recoginize him.

[LordoftehNubz]

I like the writing, keep up the good work. More fanfiction like this would certainly not go amiss on the forums :).

 

Though on a personal front, I'm not sure if I like breaking the fourth wall (when your main character starts calling "plot device" on himself) nor the distracting anime imagery (with x's appearing on characters' foreheads). They're both okay, but it stops me taking your characters seriously. That said, am I supposed to?

 

Regardless, those are individual concerns, I'm sure there are other people that like those elements. Good job.

[DARKPLANT RISING]

Upon seeing a name I never knew, I was ready to start an assault on people who write "I" as in "i", and "you" as in "u".

Seems like I was wrong.

 

Your writing skills themselves excel a large population of YCM, and only several go higher. The only thing is a lack of plot; there aren't many walls to overcome for the main character, eh?

That's the real problem here.

[ExtremeG]

THAT MOMENT YOU THOUGHT WOULD NEVER COME IS FINALLY HERE!!! *drum roll* THE PLOT!!! da da dummmmmmm

[The True Ace Attorney]

It seems alright but you need more cowbell... and unique plot. MOST of your spelling and grammar is perfect though there are some "S"'s missing in places. I'm saying you should not just use the spell-checker and here's some compelling reasoning...

 

'Howling Incest'

 

Also... SPOILERS IN THE A.I. ARCHETYPE WIKIA PAGE! SPOILERS IN THE A.I. ARCHETYPE WIKIA PAGE! Thought you ought to know. *faints*.

[ExtremeG]

Also... SPOILERS IN THE A.I. ARCHETYPE WIKIA PAGE! SPOILERS IN THE A.I. ARCHETYPE WIKIA PAGE! Thought you ought to know. *faints*.

 

it's not that important in the story, but I see your point. I'll put a warning on the page. o.O *fans face* Please don't be dead

[ExtremeG]

Episode Six is now available :D

[Rokandre]

Dude, I honestly think you're awsome!!!!! Your wtiting style is really good. The chapter six, I couldn't stop reading until I finished. Loved Skyler's, Kira's and specially Tai's styles. Plz don't let this fic die.

[Aviv: D's Knight]

Why did you make skyler gay?

[Aviv: D's Knight]

sorry.

[ExtremeG]

It's cool ^_^

 

Oh and....UPADATED FINALLY!!! >.<

[ExtremeG]

Starting completely over with a story that makes more sense and hopefully more fun to read. Hope you like the changes...

[ExtremeG]

Episode 4