Domino City. Home to some of the world's most famous duelists of Duel Monsters. It housed Seto Kaiba, CEO of the Kaiba Corporation, Joey Wheeler, the self–proclaimed 'Godfather of Games'. And most of all, it housed the King of Games: Yugi Moto. It's also home to the Kaiba Dome where students from all over were applying to go to the prestigious: Duel Academy. And our story begins here.

We see a motorcycle coming up on to the parking lot of the Kaiba Dome and the driver parked his motorcycle and stopped the engine. The driver removed his helmet revealing to be a teenager who is about 17 years old, has jet black hair, slicked back and has icy blue eyes. He was wearing a red & black biker's leather jacket and under it was a black t-shirt with a crimson S on it. To finish off his look, he wore Red denim jeans, with a belt that held his deck of cards, black socks, red tennis shoes, and black fingerless gloves and with him was a robotic dinosaur which the I.D number 11002(Shade) imprinted on its shoulder, like the boy it was Jet black with translucent red Veins running through the body work.

"Alright boys, time to show these people at Duel Academy what we're made of." The boy smirked evilly as he looked at his deck box.

"Heh heh hell yeah Shadow." A couple of phantom voices chuckled. Yes, Shadow is also gifted with the power to see Duel Monster spirits. He proceeded to the Kaiba Dome arriving at the desk, where people are signing up to be tested to see if they had what it takes to be at Duel Academy. Shadow came up to the desk with a man sitting behind it.

"Greetings young man. How may I help you?" He asked.

"I'm here to apply for Duel Academy." Shadow answered.

"Name?"

"Shadow Nova."

The man took a clipboard from his desk and looked at the list carefully. A few seconds later… "Ah, here you are. Shadow Nova." the man nodded. "Just head inside and when they call you, head to the arena."

"Thanks Mate" Shadow saluted and walked in.

Once inside, he saw a lot of students and examinees around. Some who already finished their exams were already wearing red, yellow, and blue blazer jackets, the blue blazers jackets having coat tails on the bottom. "Wow, there's a lot of people in here." Shadow mused to himself. He also noticed other people wearing clothes other than the red, yellow, and blue jackets. "Must be the ones that applied and finished too."

Down below, Shadow noticed a duel going on between a boy about a year younger than him wearing a grayish–white school uniform and a dueling proctor. On the field in front of the proctor were two monsters in defense mode. Gear Golem the Moving Fortress and Big Shield Gardna. The monster opposite of them was a Vorse Raider and there was also a face down card in the Spell/Trap Card Zone.

"Alright new guy. Multiple choice; you have two monsters staring ya down, do you A: throw in the towel, B: beg for mercy, or C: run home to mamma?" The proctor asked.

"I'll go with D: none of the above!" The boy with dark hair announced before pressing a button on his duel disk. "I choose to activate my trap card. You see, with Ring of Destruction I can destroy any monster in attack position and we both take damage equal to its attack points."

A ring of red bombs appeared around the Vorse Raider's neck and exploded on impact.

Proctor: 0

Boy: 1300

"Clever move." He said. "Welcome to the Academy."

"Thank you oh wise Proctor." The boy bowed.

'Huh… not bad.' Shadow thought.

Up in the stands, he saw three boys wearing Obelisk Blue Academy blazers who also watched the duel as well. "Wow, that guy's pretty good huh, Chazz?" The boy with blue hair and glasses said.

"Guess the rumors about him being some whiz kid were true, huh Chazz?" The boy on the other side said.

"He's a punk." The person in the middle called Chazz scoffed. "We went to Duel prep school for the past three years. We're ready for the Academy. These kids don't know what they're getting into. But they'll learn… the hard way, the Chazz Princeton way."

'Chazz Princeton, huh? With an attitude like that, I might have to change your tune when we duel.' Shadow thought.

"Shadow Nova, please report to Dueling Field #1. I repeat, Shadow Nova. Dueling Field # 1." A voice over the PA announced.

"And that's my cue." Shadow said to himself as he headed over to his assigned field.

Meanwhile, in another part of the dome a short, a light blue–haired boy also got finished watching the last duel as another teenager with brown hair commented on it. "Wow, that guy really tore it up." He said.

"Yeah, Bastion Misawa; they said he got a perfect score on his written exams out of all of us new applicants." The light–blue haired boy said.

"Wow really? I barely made it through mine. Oh yeah, name's Jaden!"

"My name's Syrus, nice to meet ya." Syrus then looked somewhat depressed. "I kinda have a thing where I get test anxiety. I don't know how I won my duel."

"So you're in! Congratulations!" Jaden praised patting Syrus on the back. "I will be too as soon as I have my duel."

"Wait, you mean you haven't dueled yet?" Syrus asked shocked.

"Nope." Jaden replied.

"That might be a problem. There's one more duel after Bastion's and it's the last one." Syrus explained.

"HUH?!" Jaden exclaimed.

Shadow rose up from an elevated platform with the robot dinosaur by his side. Shade growled when it saw the opponent "Easy Shade" Shadow calmed. In front of him was a man wearing the purple blazer with a coat tail. It was one of the proctors.

"Alright, applicant. Name?" The proctor asked.

"Shadow Nova." He replied back respectfully.

"Alright then Shadow, you know the rules: you win, you're in. If not, better luck next year." The proctor said strapping up his duel disk.

"Oh, I'll be in this year. I guarantee it." Shadow smirked as he took out his deck out of his deck box. "Shade!" Shadow called putting his fist up in the air. The robots tail flew off and transformed into Shadow's Duel disk. It was still jet black but when he put his cards in red veins lit up. Then the rest of the robot attached itself to Shadows back as a counter weight.

The whole arena gasped when they saw this transformation take place.

"Well that was an interesting display" The proctor exclaimed

"Thanks, Shade is my partner, she is also my guardian and my closest friend" Shadow explained

"Well lets see how you and your partner duel shall we?" The proctor asked

"Bring it!" Shadow said

"DUEL!"

Shadow: 4000

Proctor: 4000

"Since you're the one applying, you have the first move." The Proctor offered.

"Thanks. Don't mind if I do. Draw!" Shadow declared drawing his sixth card. He looked at his hand and smiled at what he got. "Nice… Alright, for my first move, I'll summon Shadow Hero:Dark Horse in ATK mode!" Shadow declared placing his card on the tray. At that point a man in a Jet black cape appeared with a stallion that had gleaming red eyes at his side (4/ATK: 1800/DEF: 1600).

"Huh?" The Proctor blinked. "I've never seen that card before."

"No one has. These Shadow Hero's cards just recently came out." Shadow explained.

Zane Truesdale and Alexis Rhodes looked down at the beginning duel between a proctor and an applicant. Both were idly casting glances, but when the applicant had summoned his first monster, both were trained on the new monster and the one controlling it.

"Shadow Hero?" asked Alexis. "Never heard of them before."

"If what he says is true, then probably, like he said, no one has." Zane reasoned. "Looks strong enough, but there is probably more to them than meets the eye."

"Hey Chazz," one of the boys in blue asked one Chazz Princeton as they watched the duel. "Ever heard of a Shadow Hero's before?"

"Must be a new Archetype or something," Chazz shrugged. "Who cares? Let the rejects duel with what they want."

"Still, maybe there's something about them we don't know?" Another one of Chazz's friend's stated.

'A new deck of never before seen monsters, hmm?' Bastion thought, showing a thoughtful emotion. 'That would certainly give him the edge…' he added as he sat down in a seat to where Jaden and Syrus were.

"Wonder where he got them." Syrus wondered.

"They kinda sound like monsters I got in my deck." Jaden added, and got a big grin on his face. "Wouldn't mind battling that guy and his cards!". He then noticed Bastion sitting next to them. "Hey there Bastion. Tight duel out there!" Jaden exclaimed.

"Thank you." Bastion said politely.

"From the looks of things, you could be the second best duelist here!" Jaden said, confusing Bastion. "And that guy's probably gonna be the third best since you already got the second best position. Who is he anyway?"

"Shadow Nova." Bastion answered. "I've heard he has the second highest score in the written exam."

"Guys, talk later!" Syrus jumped in, turning their attention back to the duel.

"Well i take it this is our opponent my friend?" Dark Horse said.

"Yep but i've got some bad news for you guys"Shadow said

"And what might that be?" Dark Horse asked

"Well because I went first I can't attack but since your the only one out." Shadow said.

"It's is lucky that i am not her" Dark horse Chuckled.

'That guy can talk to his Monsters too?' Jaden thought.

"I'll end my turn." Shadow said.

"Hmm… interesting. New cards or not, let's just see if you can beat me," the Proctor stated. "My turn! Draw!" The Proctor drew a card and added it to his hand. Then he took a card from the other side he continued. "I summon Red Gadget in ATK mode!" On the field, a red and silver machine appeared. Its body consisted of gears (4/ATK: 1300/DEF: 1500). "Now, Red Gadget's effect activates. When it is Normal Summoned, I can add a Yellow Gadget from my Deck to my Hand." The proctor took out his deck from his duel disk and searched through it. He then showed Shadow the card to prove it and then shuffled the deck. "Lastly, I put two cards face down and end my turn. You're up kid."

"My turn! Draw!" Shadow declared and drew his next card. "Alright, let's have another one come out. I summon Shadow Hero:Dark Beserker in ATK mode!" A man with a Crimson Red cape took the field he wore no shirt and long black jeans (4/ATK: 2000/DEF: 1000).

"Welcome my brother you took your time." Dark Horse said.

"Better late than never ." The second Shadow Hero said said.

"Alright Dark Horse, attack! Take out Red Gadget!" Shadow said.

"I activate my face down, Waboku!" The face down card on the left flipped up and showed a magenta card with a picture of three women in holy robes on it. "Until the end of this turn, I receive no damage and none of my monsters are destroyed. That was good try though kid." The three robed women appeared and Dark Horse stopped in his tracks.

"Classic move." Dark Horse Smiled

"I'll end my turn there."

"My turn." The Proctor drew a card and stared at it. "First off I activate the Spell Card, Double Summon. For this turn, I can normal summon up to two monster. So first off I summon Yellow Gadget!" Next to Red Gadget, a similar looking monster appeared, except the color scheme was yellow (4/ATK: 1200/DEF: 1200). "Now his effect activates. When Yellow Gadget is summoned, I can add one Green Gadget from my Deck to my Hand."

Once again the Proctor looked through his deck and got his card. He then shuffled it and returned it to his duel disk. After that the Proctor grabbed another card in his hand. "Now I summon Machina Gearframe in ATK mode!" Next to the other two machines was a skinny orange and silver robot with an overly large orange helmet (4/ATK: 1800/DEF: 0). "Now I'll use his effect to add one Machina monster to my Hand from my Deck, and I choose Machina Fortress."

After adding the card to his hand, the Proctor said, "Next I equip Gearframe to my Red Gadget." The orange machine attached itself to Red Gadget, similar to that of a screw into a bolt. "Lastly I put one card face down and end my turn."

'He's got something planned. I know it. And that facedown would probably help him too.' Shadow thought. "It's my turn!" Shadow declared and drew his next card. "I play Pot of Greed to draw two cards from my deck." Shadow drew his two cards. 'This works.' "I summon Shadow Hero: City Slicker!"

A man with smart black pants and a black shirt Appeared as the name was said (4/ATK: 1800/DEF: 1500). Once he did appear almost every girl fainted at the sight of him.

"Ah more adoring fans huh? Well they won't be screaming with pleasure once I attack." The new monster smiled

"Ahh you just can't resist can you brother." Dark horse chuckled

"Yeah yeah yeah let us get on with the show with the spell card Double Summon now I can summon Shadow Hero: Princess of Darkness in ATK mode!"

A young lady appeared wearing a Jet black One-Piece with a large skirt covering her legs (4/ATK: 1900/DEF: 1800)

"Oh you just had to summon me in front of a bunch of guys didn't you oh well least I get to attack"

"Now, Princess, attack Red Gadget with Darkness Kiss!" Shadow sighed with exasperation

"OK if I must" the Shadow Hero pouted.

"Not so fast kiddo! I activate my Trap Card, Dimensional Prison! This banishes your attacking monster!" the Proctor shouted as he revealed one of his face downs.

"That won't work. I activate my Princess's ability! Once per turn, I can negate the effects of a trap card that target this monster during the battle phase and destroy it!" Shadow countered.

"What!?"

The Princess warrior, ducked under the Yellow Gadget first and kissed the trap card destroying it. She then turned around and Kissed Yellow Gadget which melted into a puddle. "Guh!" The Proctor exalamed.

Shadow: 4000

Proctor: 2200

"I'm not done yet! Dark Horse do your thing!" Shadow told the now spear wielding warrior. The warrior nodded his head, and attached something to his spear then threw it at the proctors monster.

Shadow: 4000

Proctor: 1300

When the smoke cleared it showed that Red Gadget was still standing, but lying next to it was a broken Machina Gearframe.

"What happened?" City Slicker asked, scratching his head in the process. "I thought the attack hit!"

"When a Union monster is equipped to a monster on the field, it is destroyed instead of the monster it is equipped to," the proctor informed the Hero. Even though he said that, the proctor felt odd talking to a hologram. He just chalked it up to the boy knowing ventriloquism.

"It doesn't matter CS," Shadow interrupted. "Just destroy that thing! Destroy that pile of junk!"

City slicker took a cane out of nowhere he then transformed into a demon and slashed the monster. When the smoke cleared, Red Gadget was still on the field. Red energy was dancing around it.

"What?!" City Slicker and Beserker shouted. "Hey that's cheating! Why is that thing still on the field!?" City Slicker asked.

"My other trap card," the Proctor smirked. He nodded over towards the second face down card. It was none other than Magic Cylinder. "You should know what this does right? If you don't I'll just tell you. When this card is activated, I can negate one of your attacks this turn. Not only that, I can redirect the damage back towards you." Two cylinders came out from the card. One started absorbing the energy that was surrounding his monster. When it disappeared into the cylinder, it shot out the attack toward Shadow. The force of the attack shot the boy back about a foot.

Shadow: 1800

Proctor: 1300

"Shadow!" all four Heros shouted. The boy stood up straight and shook off the attack.

"I'm okay, I'm okay," he informed them. "I end my turn."

"Oh man, that attack backfired at him." Syrus said with worry.

"Good, now I draw!" the Proctor announced. After drawing his card he showed it to the boy. "I activate Pot of Greed, which like you know lets me draw two more cards." Drawing again, the Proctor smiled slowly. "First I use the effect of my Machina Fortress! By sending monsters whose levels add up to 8 from my Hand I can Special Summon it onto the field." The man discarded a card and special summoned yet another machine. This time it was a three wheeled tank machine. It was blue in color and had two mechanical hands on the each side with a large cannon on the left side. (7/ATK: 2500/DEF: 1600)

"Next I use Monster Reborn! This lets me summon a monster from either graveyard, and I choose the monster that I just sent there! Come forth, Ancient Gear Gadjiltron Dragon!" The stone floor broke open and out flew an old looking machine. It was made up of several gears that seemed rusted and it was in the shape of a dragon. (8/ATK: 3000/DEF: 2000)

Several of the students watching gasped. "Hey, did you know that they had that card in one of the proctor's test decks?" Alexis asked Zane. The older boy stared at the battlefield without saying a word, intent on finding out the potential of the boy on the battlefield.

"My word!" Bastion gasped.

"You're telling me!" Syrus added. "That's one big dragon!"

"Dragon, destroy his City Slicker while Fortress attack's Princess!"

The large dragon flew up into the sky and fired down a beam of grey energy. The attack hit its mark, and City slicker just shrugged.

Shadow: 600

Proctor: 1300

The machine next to it gathered energy into its cannon and fired it. And Princess did the same thing. Shadow was once again shot backwards and fell onto a knee from the force of both attacks.

Shadow: 100

Proctor: 1300

"Looks like this duel is just about wrapped up." Chazz said smugly. "That kid ain't nothing special."

"And since we're at Main Phase 2, I'll activate the Spell, Lightning Vortex! By discarding one from my hand, I can destroy all Monsters on your side of the field!" A vortex of lightning appeared and tried to swallow up his monsters.

"Why are your monsters still on the field? I thought I destroyed them?" the Procter asked confused.

"You did but they remain as spirits and return in two turns with 100 more points"

"Aw man, he's down to his last 100 points." Syrus said with worry.

"Relax Sy, I'm sure he's got this." Jaden assured him. "He just has to draw the right card."

"And the probability of that is slim to none." Bastion added.

"I end my turn." The proctor noticed that Shadow had his head down and his shoulders were shaking. "Hey you can give up you know. You can always try next year." But then the proctor started to hear laughter and Shadow brought his head up.

"Sorry, but I don't intend to lose. I'm gonna attend this Academy and that's what I'll do!" Shadow said drawing his next card. He looked at it, his hand, and his facedown card. He then Gained an evil look in his eye.

"I wonder what you would do if i told you that my Heros had another ability?"

"And what is that?" the Procter asked not liking were this was going

"While they are in spirt form they can still be used as tributes" Shadow explains "and that is what is going to end this duel, I Sacrifice Princess of Darkness and City Slicker to summon Shadow Hero: Dark Kratos!"

A godly like figure appeared from the shadows he dragged a huge sword across the stage (7/ATK: 2600/DEF: 1500)

"And when Kratos is summoned You take 1000 Damage"

"Oh My" the Proctor gasped as his life points went down

Shadow: 100

Proctor: 300

"Then I'll activate Beserker's Ability That removes him from the game as well as every monster my opponent has out and deals 200 points of damage to you for every monster you remove"

Shadow: 100

Proctor: 0

The holograms disappeared and the Proctor recovered from the last ability and said, "Congratulations applicant. Welcome to Duel Academy."

"Thank you." Shadow bowed As shade transformed back into A dinosaur.

"No way…" Chazz growled. "A guy with made–up cards won?"

"Alright, he won!" Syrus cheered.

"Sure did, that proctor got nailed!" Jaden grinned.

"At least there's proper competition coming along." Bastion smiled, impressed with the duelist's victory.

"This guy is interesting," Alexis smiled, "He should be a good opponent…"

"Only time will tell." Zane said.

"Right below them, in the VIP seats for Academy faculty members, the teachers watched as Shadow left the dueling arena. "Looks like we've got a pretty good crop this year." One of them said.

"Yes, indeed." Another teacher agreed.

Also right next to them, another teacher sat there silent not paying attention to the other teachers' talk. He's male, but could easily be mistaken as a woman if you didn't know who he was. He wore a blue blazer similar to Chazz but had some gold shoulder plates and trimmings along with a ruffled pink collar. He also had his blonde hair in a ponytail and wore makeup. This was Dr. Vellian Crowler, headmaster of the Obelisk Blue Boys Dorm.

'Another rookie for the Academy.' He thought dismissively. 'I'm just glad that this was the last duel, otherwise there could be more slackers coming in, too.'

He was about to get up and leave when…

"I'm sorry to interrupt." A man in a black, business suit appeared stopping Crowler from leaving. "But one last applicant has arrived to take his exam, Mr. Crowler."

"Excuse me? Did you just call me, 'mister'?" Crowler scowled.

"I'm sorry. I'm new here Miss…"

"I have a Ph.D. in dueling to earn the title 'Doctor' thank you!" Crowler snapped a bit. He then looked away. "Now tell the truant that he'll have to come back next year." The other teachers looked at him like he lost his mind.

"Come on, Dr. Crowler, we have time for one more."

"Yes, let's give this duelist his shot."

"He was just a bit late, that's all."

"LATE IS RUDE!" Crowler finally snapped. He slammed his hands down, freaking out the other people around him. "I HAVE NO TIME FOR SLACKERS!" Just then his cell phone rang. He pulled it out of his pocket and answered it "WHAT!?"

"It's Sheppard."

"Oh, Chancellor Sheppard, how nice of you to call." Crowler said, suddenly changing his angry tone to a pleasant one.

"Just calling to make sure everything is running smoothly." Chancellor Sheppard said. "We wouldn't want a repeat of what happened last year." That made Crowler bug out a bit. "When you cut a third of our student applicants because someone called you 'Mr.' or 'Mrs.'? Never mind, just make sure everyone gets a fair shot!"

"Yes, o–of course, sir." Crowler said as he hung up scowling. 'Furry–chinned windbag; doesn't he realize that there are enough talentless flunkies at this Academy? But he's the boss, and if he wants to give this scrim shaker a duel…fine.' He then got up from his seat. "Pardon me, gentlemen, I'll be right back." He said then starting walking away.

"But sir, who will be the boy's dueling proctor? And which exam deck should we use?"

Crowler just huffed and walked away. "Leave that to me." He pulled out a deck from inside his blazer, grinning evilly.

Back with Jaden, Syrus, and Bastion, they were waiting around until Shadow showed up.

"Hey man, that was one sweet duel!" Jaden said excited running up to Shadow.

"Thanks." Shadow said. "Name's Shadow Nova and this is Shade" he said indicating the dinosaur who nuzzled up to him purring

"Jaden Yuki!" He said and the boys shook hands.

"I'm Syrus Truesdale." The light–blue haired introduced.

"And I'm Bastion Misawa, the duelist that went before you went to duel."

"Nice to meet you guys." Shadow said back.

"Jaden Yuki, please report to Dueling Field # 4." The PA announced again. "Jaden Yuki, to Dueling Field # 4."

"Go time!" Jaden said as he got ready to go. "Wish me luck, guys."

"Wait! Before you go, what did you mean by me being the second best duelist and Shadow being the third best? Who's the first?" Bastion asked.

Jaden pointed his thumb to himself. "Why yours truly!" He grinned. "It's what I'm best at." He then continued his stride down to the exam floor.

"Third–best?" Shadow asked confused looking at Bastion.

"Long story." Bastion answered.

"Jaden sure is confident though." Syrus noticed.

"He's going to need to be." Bastion said, pointing to the exam field in question. "Look who's he up against…" Bastion, Syrus, and Shadow looked to see the ponytailed Headmaster.

"Who's she?" Shadow questioned.

"He is Dr. Crowler; he's in charge of these exams and also the head of the top dorm in the Academy." Bastion replied.

"That's a guy?!" Shadow gaped.

"Yes. And I've heard that last year, he cut a third of the applicants they called him either 'Mr.' or 'Mrs.'."

"Wow…"

"It's about to start." Syrus said gaining their attention.

On the field, Dr. Crowler was being prepped and ready to duel. The duel disk he was equipped with looked as though it was crafted into his blazer. The part that held his graveyard and deck slots was strapped to his chest, while the duel tray looked as though it was being held up like a guitar. In fact, the duel tray itself looked almost like a rock guitar itself. Jaden rose up from a platform and was on the duel field

"Alright, test time!" Crowler said looking at Jaden. "So, son, your name?"

Jaden stood at attention like a soldier and replied, "Uh… Jaden, Jaden Yuki."

"Well 'Uh, Jaden Yuki', I'm Doctor Vellian Crowler, Department Chair and Techniques Professor here at Duel Academy."

"Wow." Jaden said, rubbing the back of his neck with a hearty laugh. "A Department chair, I had no idea. From the way you were dressed I thought you were some kind of Academy mascot." Crowler sweat dropped at that comment.

"Now that he mentions it," The boy wearing glasses next to Chazz said.

"This guy's got some lip, huh Chazz?" The other said.

Chazz just looked on as he didn't like what Jaden was saying to Dr. Crowler.

"Duel Vest On!" Crowler said activating it and drew his five cards. Jaden was just amazed by the machinery.

"Hey, that's some sweet gear, teach. How do I get one of those?" Jaden asked.

"Oh, a lot of hard work, high marks and dedication." Crowler answered. 'Of course, you have to be accepted first. Which I will make sure you don't.'

"Well, I'm ready!" Jaden said activating his duel disk.

"So let's duel!" Both players shouted as both players drew their starting hands.

Crowler: 4000

Jaden: 4000

"Here goes!" Jaden said as he drew his first card and looked at his hand. "Sweet, I'm going to summon Elemental Hero Avian in DEF mode!" As he placed the card horizontally on the field, a green feathered man with a pair of wings appeared and knelt down (3/ATK: 1000/DEF: 1000). "I'll also throw down a facedown." A reverse card appeared on the field.

"Huh… so he runs Elemental Heroes." Shadow stated. "Those cards are hard to use properly."

"Yeah you had trouble with them yourself" Shade's robotic voice rang out.

"Oh will you ever let that go Shade" Shadow Groaned

"Woah the robot talks" Syrus gasped.

"Well yeah she is my partner' Shadow grinned.

"Alright, get your game on!" Jaden said excitedly.

"Yes, of course." Dr. Crowler said dismissively as he drew his sixth card. 'Don't tell me what to do.' He then took a look at his hand. 'After all, since I'm using my own personal deck rather than those puny test ones, I'll be calling all the shots. I'll fail that miserable little brat and send him home in no time flat.' "I think I'll start out nice and easy, by playing the Spell Card, Confiscation!"

"Okay, so what's it do?" Jaden asked.

"What it does is allow me to pay 1000 life points to take a look at your hand and toss one of your cards to the graveyard." As his explanation finished, holographic images of Jaden's cards appeared. They were Monster Reborn, The Warrior Returning Alive, Hero Signal, and Polymerization.

Crowler: 3000

Jaden: 4000

"Ah yes, I remember some of these when I was a naïve rookie. Now which one shall I banish?" He asked looking at each card. "I know, Monster Reborn to the graveyard!" Jaden's Monster Reborn card was sent there. "Next I'll set two cards face down." Two reverse cards appeared on the field. "And last, but not least, I play Heavy Storm! This spell card destroys every other spell and trap card that's out on the field." A heavy wind picked up and Jaden's facedown was destroyed along with Crowler's two facedown cards.

"Whoopsie, did you forget that you had two cards on the field as well?" Jaden said teasingly.

"Now, now, young scholar, you mustn't speak out–of–turn." Crowler waggled his finger. After that dark clouds began to form around his side of the field.

"Hey, what's happening?"

"Nothing's happening. Not yet anyway!" Crowler grinned. Two yellow worm–like creatures appeared on his side of the field. "But that's about to change."

The audience was awestruck by these two monsters but Syrus was confused, again. "Could someone tell me what's happening?"

"Those two trap cards that Dr. Crowler had out on the field were called Statue of the Wicked." Bastion explained as he observed the duel with Syrus. "It's a special trap card that creates a vicious monster token when it's destroyed by a card effect. That's why he played Heavy Storm."

"And I'm already seeing a few red lights on this too." Shadow grimaced. "That ain't no test deck Crowler's using. Test decks don't have cards like Heavy Storm and Confiscation. Those are rare cards."

"Of course! And they can change the tide of battle without any serious costs!" Bastion realised.

"Meaning?" Syrus asked.

"Crowler's probably using his personal deck." Shadow answered. "This guy doesn't want Jaden to enter the Academy."

And he wasn't the only one who came to the same conclusion.

"Crowler must be using his own deck in this duel." The boy with glasses said.

"Then this duel is over. No one can beat the deck of an expert like Dr. Crowler." The other boy said.

"I think I'm going to enjoy Crowler wiping the floor with that kid. I just wish they treated all the other second–rate duelists that apply at this academy the same way."

"What an elitist snob." Alexis said, "Bullying some kid with his very best cards."

"You're too soft, Alexis." Zane spoke up. "I just hope we get to see that legendary rare card Crowler had stashed in that deck of his."

"Ready for your next lesson?" Crowler asked Jaden.

"You bet! I can't remember the last time learning was this much fun!" Jaden laughed excitedly.

Crowler simply regarded it negatively. "Yes, well I am quite the teacher, thank you." His monsters then started to glow and started writhing in flames. "And now I sacrifice my two Wicked Tokens to summon Ancient Gear Golem!" The worm-like creatures disappeared and a giant robotic monster with exposed working gears appeared. The audience members were in awe of the sight of the monster. (8/ATK: 3000/DEF: 3000)

"That's it, that's his legendary card!" Alexis gasped.

"Now it looks like we're about to find out what makes it so legendary." Zane added.

"Now, now, I hope you're not too scared of my legendary Ancient Gear Golem." Crowler said sarcastically towards Jaden.

"No way, I've always wanted to take one on!" Jaden said excited. He looked like he had Christmas and his birthday in one day.

This shocked many people in the arena, including Syrus. "Either Jaden's really brave or he's nuts!"

"He could be both." Shadow added.

"He's staring down that legendary rare monster like he doesn't have a care in the world." Zane said incredulously. "I guess youth and inexperience does have its benefits after all."

"Give it a rest, Zane." Alexis said. "At least the kid's showing some backbone."

"There won't be much to show after this."

Dr. Crowler cackled as he ordered, "Golem attack, Mechanized Melee!" His Ancient Gear Golem's red eye glowed slightly before pulling back its fist and punched Jaden's Avian to pieces.

"Oh man, Jaden's defense monster didn't stand a chance!" Syrus complained. "It's ATK points were way too low. This doesn't look good."

"And it's about to look a whole lot worse." Bastion added. "When Ancient Gear Golem attacks a Monster in DEF mode, the difference between its ATK points and the defending monster's DEF points are dealt to the opponent as Damage."

"But that would mean that Jaden's Life Points are gonna take a hit!" Syrus realised.

"Yeah, and Piercing Damage is a pain in the ass when it's used against ya." Shadow muttered. A transparent version of Ancient Gear Golem's fist then slammed through Jaden's body.

Crowler: 3000

Jaden: 2000

Crowler noticed that Jaden's body was shaking. "Now don't feel bad." He taunted, "This is the top dueling school in the country, some people simply aren't…" Crowler's voice trailed off as he then started hearing Jaden laughing."

"Now I really wanna come to this school now! You really know your stuff teach!" Jaden said excitedly.

This took Crower by surprise before scowling angrily. 'Doesn't he take a hint? He will not be permitted to pass this exam! And he will certainly not make a mockery of my deck!'

'Just look at him tremble.' Jaden thought as he reached to draw a card from his Deck. 'He must really be impressed by me!' But just as he was about to draw his card, he heard a faint cooing sound. He paused for a second before drawing the card and taking a look at it. 'Winged Kuriboh?' He then remembered that it was the card a guy he bumped into gave to him.

Flashback

"Something tells me that it belongs with you."

End Flashback

'You know, something tells me I'm starting to believe that too.' Then, whether if it was his imagination or not, he noticed that the card actually winked at him! He blinked at first making sure he wasn't seeing things, but got over his shock as it wore off and then made his decision. 'I guess that's a sign that I should play ya.' "Okay, I summon Winged Kuriboh in DEF mode!" When he declared that, a small furry creature with for green paws and a pair of angelic wings appeared above its card image (1/ATK: 300/DEF: 200). "Next, I play a facedown. Not bad, huh, teach?"

Crowler simply laughed at this. "No, not bad, but you must understand that I'm a master technician." He teased Jaden. "A Kuriboh to me is rather pedestrian; even one with wings its DEF points are no match for my Ancient Gear Golem! It's a textbook mistake, so let's proceed." He then drew his next card. "Okay Ancient Gear Golem, attack that Kuriboh with Mechanized Melee!"

The giant Ancient Gear monster reared back a fist and threw a punch at the tiny creature and shattered the hologram to pieces.

'Sorry Winged Kuriboh.' Jaden muttered in his thoughts.

But Dr. Crowler noticed that Jaden's life points hadn't dropped. "Check your gear, your Life Points haven't changed."

"My gear's fine." Jaden shrugged. "On the turn that Winged Kuriboh is destroyed, I take zero Damage!" That actually took Crowler by surprise. Even some of the audience members were stunned that Crowler didn't know that.

"HAHAHAHAHAHA! Man, when will people like him ever stop underestimating the Kuriboh's?" Shadow cracked up with his face up and covering his eyes.

"Yes sir the Kuriboh line is possibly the most picked on due to all the weak monsters in Kuriboh decks" Shade Monologged.

"Well how about that. A technique the good doctor didn't know." Alexis said.

"No one can expect to know every technique, Alexis. Especially one as obscure as that." Zane argued.

"Yeah, well that kid sure knew it." Alexis countered with a slight laugh.

"Fine, fine, I guess your little lame monster saved you there." Crowler taunted.

"Whoa, slow down there, teach! Just because you beat him doesn't give you the right to call him lame!" Jaden snapped.

"Oh yeah, I forgot how you new duelists get attached to your monsters." Crowler taunted again. "I'm sorry."

"You should be sorry." Jaden said as he pressed a button on his duel disk. "Because by attacking my Winged Kuriboh you set off my trap card, one of my favourites too, Hero Signal!" As his trap card activated, a spotlight with a unique 'H' symbol appeared on the ceiling. "And that lets me bring out my second Elemental Hero. Elemental Hero Burstinatrix!" He said taking the card from his deck and placing it on the tray. From a column of red flames a gray–skinned woman in a red body–suit appeared (3/ATK: 1200/ATK: 800). "Now it's my move!" He said drawing his next card he then looked at his hand. "Okay, Winged Kuriboh, this one's for you! First I'll bring Avian back to my hand with the Spell Card, The Warrior Returning Alive." The card came out of the graveyard slot of his duel disk. "And now, I'll summon him to the field!" Avian reappeared on the field.

"Oh, okay, another amateurish mistake, but this is good, this is good, now would anyone like to tell me what our little friend here…" Crowler began to taunt.

"I didn't say I was done yet." He said. "See, I know that my two monsters aren't very powerful by themselves, but if I can form them together it's another story! And I have just the card to unite them! Go Polymerization!" Jaden said showing the card to Crowler and then playing it. The two Elemental Heroes leapt up into the air and started to swirl together as the effects of Polymerization activated. "Fusion Summon!" After they fused, a new monster appeared that had some features Avian and Burstinatrix. It had one of Avian's wings along with a few of Burstinatrix's colours. The only thing new was a dragon–like hand on its left arm (6/ATK: 2100/DEF: 1200). "And there he is, Elemental Hero Flame–Wingman! Hope your Golem's ready for a Clash of the Titans!"

"I must say, you're dueling quite well for an amateur but next time try summoning a monster with more ATK points than the one that's already out." Crowler said.

"What does he mean by that?" Syrus asked.

"He means that the Wingman's ATK points are lower than the Golem's 3000 ATK points." Bastion answered. "A shame too, because that Elemental Hero of Jaden's has a very powerful ability."

"Well, let's hope that lone card in his hand can help him." Shadow added.

"Alright, young scholar. I don't mean to rush you but I am a very busy man… Are you done yet?" Crowler sighed.

"Of course I'm not done yet!" Jaden replied as he took the card he drew and opened up the Field Spell Zone. "And, of course, I knew my Wingman had less ATK points than your golem. That's why I'm activating the Field Spell, Skyscraper!" After he played the card, buildings and skyscrapers literally, sprouted up from the field. In the middle of the cityscape, Crowler's Golem looked like a giant monster attacking the city itself while Jaden's Wingman was perched on top of the highest building's steeple roof's lightning rod with its arms crossed.

"Whew…" Shadow whistled. "Hello New York City."

"Alright, Flame Wingman!" Jaden called out. "Time to show those heroics! Attack that Ancient Gear Golem with Skydive Scorcher!" After he announced that, Flame Wingman jumped from the building it stood on and dove towards it.

"Fine, bring him on." Crowler said not worried. "This field spell of yours hasn't lowered a single ATK point of my Golem!" Flame Wingman then landed on the pavement in front of the Ancient Gear Golem before leaping up into the air again.

"You're right, teach. What it's done is raise my Flame Wingman's ATK by a grand total of 1000 ATK points!"

Elemental Hero Flame Wingman – (6/ATK: 2100–3100/DEF: 1200)

"Wait Time Out!" Crowler shrieked, but it didn't stop Flame Wingman from attacking as it launched itself at the Ancient Gear Golem as flames covered its body. Crowler looked like he was having a heart attack as Flame Wingman slammed into Ancient Gear Golem, breaking into pieces.

Jaden: 2000

Crowler: 2900

"No, he was my best card!" Crowler complained before a piece of debris fell on his head.

"And I don't want to forget my Wingman's super power. You see, when Wingman destroys a Monster in battle, the ATK points of that Monster are dealt as Damage to your Life Points. Sweet huh." The crumbled pieces of Ancient Gear Golem fell on top of Crowler, who tried to get away but failed, burying him and depleting his Life Points.

Jaden: 2000

Crowler: 0

"And that's game!" Jaden announced doing a two finger salute with his index and middle finger. "So, I guess I passed the test, huh teach?" The holograms faded, a lot of people were actually stunned. First Shadow with strange Abilities strategy and now a rookie beating an expert teacher, who used his own personal deck!

"Impossible… There's no way this delinquent could've beat me!" Crowler growled.

"It must be dumb luck!" Chazz said with the same expression when he watched Shadow's duel. "No way Crowler would lose to some flunky!"

Alexis smiled at Jaden's victory. "This kid's definitely got a future here, wow." She then saw Zane walking away.

"Yay! Jaden won!" Syrus cheered.

"Nice! He took down that Golem with a bang!" Shadow smirked with his teeth showing.

'Nice. I could use some competition.' Bastion thought smiling at Jaden's victory while the latter did a victory dance. After that, Jaden took out and looked at the Winged Kuriboh card. "We made it!" He said. "And from here on in, we're gonna be partners." Again, Jaden could've sworn he heard Winged Kuriboh coo and wink at him