A/N: I decided to rewrite my Yu-Gi-Oh! GX rewrite and redo the whole series. First off, I removed a couple characters and will be taking a few pages off of Duelist of Dawn and see if I can get as far as he has. Also, I will be posting a layout for OC submissions from my readers so stay tuned for that.

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX, or any of the original characters/cards/places that are included. I do own my OC Matt Drayson.

Chapter One

Welcome to Domino City, home of some world famous duelists of the Duel Monsters circuit; including Seto Kaiba, CEO of the Kaiba Corporation, Joey Wheeler, a duelist with an extremely amount of good luck and the King of Games: Yugi Moto. It's also home to the Kaiba Dome where some young, upcoming duelists plan to apply for the most famous and prestigious dueling school: Duel Academy. In fact, one duelist is heading his way to the Kaiba Dome now. His name: Matt Drayson.

"Well, this is it. Time to show these people how I can duel." Matt said as he looked over his deck and walked up the hill to the Kaiba Dome. He wore the 2nd editon of the Kaiba Corp. Duel Disk that he got around his 12th birthday. He stood at 5'7" and wore his previous school's uniform, which consisted of a gray coat and white undershirt and a pair of matching pants. As soon as he got there, he registered for the tests and had his deck checked for illegal cards. After a while, he was showed to the duel field where all new, old and applicant students where hanging around. Most of the kids he noticed wore red, yellow or blue jackets. 'Must be the Academy students.'

Down below, Matt noticed a duel going on duel between a boy about his age wearing a grayish-white school uniform and a dueling proctor. On the field in front of the proctor were two defense monsters known as Gear Golem the Moving Fortress (800/2200) and Big Shield Guardna (100/2600). The monster opposing the dueling proctor was a Vorse Raider (1900/1200) and there was also a face down spell/trap card.

"Alright new guy," The proctor called to the boy. "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?"

"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, dropping the boy's life points to 1300, while the proctor's dropped to zero ending the duel. As the holograms disappeared the Proctor smiled.

"Clever move," He said. "Welcome to the academy."

The boy bowed to him and said dryly, "Thank you oh wise proctor."

'Sweet combo.' Matt thought, nodding with an impressed smile. 'Not many duelists would sacrifice their monsters like that, but this guy was able to put himself in the position for the win.'

Up in the stands, he saw three boys wearing Obelisk Blue Academy blazers who also watched the boy's duel intently.

"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 they were referring to, a spiky dark-haired boy named Chazz. "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?' Matt thought. 'No amount of prep school's gonna help if don't work hard on the arena.'

"Attention. Will Matt Drayson please report to Dueling Field #2," An voice over the PA announced. "I repeat, Matt Drayson to Dueling Field 2."

'Showtime...' He thought as he reported to the designated field.

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

Syrus looked at the teen. "Yeah, Bastion Misawa; they said he got a perfect score on his written exams out of all of us new applicants.

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

"Same here, my name's Syrus by the way, 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!" Jaden exclaimed slapping Syrus on the back. "Congratulations, I will be too as soon as I have my duel."

"Wait, you mean you haven't dueled yet?" Syrus asked shocked at the boy's ignorance of the current situation.

"Nope." Jaden replied, still psyched from the last duel.

"Then you might have a problem, you see there's one more duel after Bastion's and it's getting ready to start." Syrus explained before turning his attention to the duel arena where Matt's duel was supposed to take place.

"Say what!?"

Matt rose up from an elevated platform wearing his duel disk. In front of him rose another platform where a man wearing the purple outfits of one of the dueling proctors stood. The man looked at Matt with a steady glance.

"Alright, applicant," he said with an overbearing tone. "What is your name?"

"Matt Drayson, sir." Matt replied, respectfully as he stood at attention.

"Well you know the rules: you win, you're in." The proctor said, starting up his duel disc. "If not, better luck next year."

"Oh, I'll be in this year," Matt said, starting up his own duel disk. "Count on it!"

"Duel!"

Procter: 4000

Matt: 4000

"I'll start things off, if you don't mind." Claudio said, drawing his five cards and then the starting draw phase.

"By all means." The Procter offered.

"Cool!" Without a beat, he placed a card horizontally onto the duel disk. "I'll set a monster in face-down defense mode and let you have a shot." A hologram of a face down monster card appeared in front of him.

The proctor drew his card. "Not bad, my turn." He looked as his card and then his opponent's field. 'He probably has 2000 DEF point monster waiting in the wings. But I'll have something better for it.' The proctor slipped in a green card. "I play the spell Polymerization; fusing Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts (1500/1200) and Befomet (1400/1800) to form..." Images of two beast-type monsters, one was brown standing on all fours and a sharp on its head, the other was a four-armed, red beast with yellow horns on the head. They swirled together in a vortex for a few seconds and then reappeared as a single monster. A two-headed monster with faces of the monster that formed it standing on all fours, with two white wings and a tail that was a snake. "... Chimera the Flying Mythical Beast (2100/1800)!"

"Whoa, one of Yugi's monsters!?" Matt asked, reeling back in shock before grinning. "This is going to be fun!"

"Well let's see how fun you think this is; Chimera, attack his face down monster!" The proctor commanded. Chimera roared as it flew over to the face down card. As it bit into the card image, the monster was revealed. A clay pot containing a one-eyed dark creature that had a wicked grin on it's face appeared before exploding into several pieces of pixels. The proctor stared in shock as he knew what it was; a Morphing Jar (700/600).

"Thanks for that," Matt said with a grin. "That was my Morphing Jar. Since you attacked it, it's effect is automatically activated and now both of us have to discard our entire hands and draw five new cards." He explained as he and the proctor discarded their cards into their graveyard slots of their duel disks.

"Clever, applicant." The proctor congratulated before looking over his new hand before placing a single card in the spell/trap card slot behind his monster. "I'll set one card face down and end my turn.

"Here we go again." Matt said as he drew his card. "Now, you're probably gonna hate or like me for this."

"How's that?" The proctor asked.

"I play the spell card Premature Burial!" Matt announced, as the card appeared in front of him depicting a zombie trying to break out of the ground with a magical circle around it. "By paying 800 of my life points, I can bring back a monster from my graveyard!" From the card, a large four-winged dragon with black and red scales emerged letting out a loud roar. "And the monster I pick, is my Darkblaze Dragon! (1200/1000)"

Matt: 3400

"Woah, what monster is that?" Syrus asked, a little intimidated by Matt's new monster.

"Dunno," Jaden shrugged, not intimidated at all. "But it sure is cool lookin'."

Back at the duel, the proctor was not worried about it. "An interesting move, young man; but your monster is not strong enough to take on my Chimera."

"Not yet, anyway," Matt threw back. "You see, because I summoned my Darkblaze Dragon from the graveyard it's attack and defense points are doubled!" Matt's monster let out a growl as it's states increased. (2400/2000)

"Huh," Chazz snorted, unimpressed by Matt's monster. "Any third-grader could tell what Darkblaze Dragon could do."

"Plus he forgets the proctor has a card facedown," One of his chronies, Torimaki, said. "It's obviously a trap."

"But I'm not done yet," Matt said, placing another card next to his Darkblaze Dragon. "Next, I summon my Element Dragon (1500/1200) in attack mode!" From the card's hologram, a pinkish-red dragon emerged and roared. "My Element Dragon has a cool ability that gives it 500 attack points whenever a FIRE monster is on the field. And since my Darkblaze Dragon is a FIRE monster, it's even stronger now!" A crimson aura surrounds his Element Dragon as it's attack points are raised. (1500-2000/1200)

"Now comes my attack," Matt announced before taking another card and placed it next to Premature Burial. "But before that, I play Mystical Space Typhoon to take out your facedown card!" Matt's spell card blew a huge gust of wind that tore through the proctor's facedown card and shattered it. "Now that your card is dealt with, my Darkblaze Dragon can take out your Chimera! Dark Flame attack!"

Matt's first dragon reeled back and let out a stream of black flames towards the proctor's Chimera and engulfed it as it exploded.

Proctor: 3700

"Since you destroyed my Chimera, I can now summon my Gazelle back from the graveyard and I'll summon it in defense mode!" The Proctor's lion-like monster reappeared on the proctor's field and roared as it crouched down on it's card hologram.

"True, but my Darkblaze Dragon has another cool ability." Matt said as the dragon flew over the Proctor's beast. "It can deal damage to your life points equal to your monster's attack points!"

As if on cue, Matt's dragon fired another stream of flames at the proctor, making him raise his arms to brace himself as his life points were dropped again.

Proctor: 1600

"But my attack isn't over yet," Matt said pointing at the proctor's Beast. "Because now, my Element Dragon can take out your Gazelle!"

Matt's other dragon flew towards the proctor's monster and fired a stream of energy from it's mouth that caused the monster to explode. Matt then took one more card from his hand and placed it into a slot next to his Premature Burial.

"Now I'll end my turn with a facedown." Matt said as his card appeared.

"Wow, in just two turns he's already in the lead." Syrus said in awe.

"No kidding," Jaden said, very impressed with Matt. "That Darkblaze Dragon of his has the same ability as one of my monsters. I wonder who this guy is."

"That is Matt Drayson." Both boys turned to see Bastion taking a seat in a row in front of Syrus. "A smart individual; he was able to score the second-best after me in the written exam."

"Wow, that is smart if he was able to nearly match your score." Syrus stated.

"By the way, tight duel Bastion!" Jaden exclaimed.

"Thank you." Bastion said politely.

"From the looks of things, you could be the second best duelist here!" Jaden said, confusing Bastion.

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

"Very impressive, young man." The proctor said, nodding in approval as he drew his next card. "You cleared my field and gained the lead in just one turn." He then took a card from his hand and placed it on the field. "But now I'll end your lead. First, I summon Axe Raider (1700/1150) in attack mode!" A muscular man wielding a two-bladed axe appeared swinging it around. The proctor then took another card and placed it into his spell/trap card slot. "Next, I activate the spell card Lightning Vortex!"

"Wuh oh!" Matt said, his eyes widening.

"I'm guessing you know what this means," The proctor said, grinning. "By discarding one of my own cards I can destroy all face-up attack position monsters on your side of the field." As he did so, bolts of electricity shot out from the spell card's hologram and struck both of Matt's dragons and blew them both along with his Premature Burial up into several bits of pixels. The proctor then placed another card into his duel disk. "Now I'll activate Axe of Despair and equip it to my Axe Raider to increase it's attack points by 1000." (1700-2700/1150)

Axe Raider's normal axe disappeared and another axe with a long wooden handle and a huge metal blade appeared in it's hands.

"And now, I'll have my Axe Raider attack you directly!" He called out as Axe Raider charged at Matt.

Matt then grinned and said, "Hold on there, proctor," he then pressed a button on his duel disk. "I activate my face-down card, Malevolent Catastrophe!" After he announced his card, a magenta colored trap card flipped up. On it was a group of monsters in a large vortex. "Thanks to this trap card, whenever my opponent declares an attack, I can destroy all spell and trap cards on the field," He said. "Like your Axe of Despair for example." As he said this, another gust of wind appeared from Matt's card and blew the wooden axe out of Axe Raider's hand lowering it's ATK back to normal it also destroyed Matt's other card. (2700-1700/1150)

"Too bad it won't stop my attack!" The proctor retorted as Axe Raider continued undaunted and sliced at Matt's body, who braced himself from the attack.

Matt: 1700

"Wow, that was a close one." Jaden said, a little more impressed with Matt.

"I'll say," Bastion said in agreement. "He barely held onto his lead thanks to that trap card."

Up in the bleachers, Chazz sneered again and snorted. "The kid just got lucky, he won't survive the next turn."

"Very impressive," The proctor said with a nod. "You managed to weaken the damage that would've been done had that attack been succesful. Since I can't play the last card in my hand, I'll end my turn here."

"Then that begins mine." Matt said, drawing another card and looking at it. He then took another card in his hand and played it. "I play the spell card, Pot of Greed, which allows me to draw two more cards from my deck." Matt said, as he played his card and drew two more from his deck and looked them over. He then grinned as he saw what was on them. He then took one of the cards and played it. "Now I play Poison of the Old Man! With this spell card, I can either increase my life points by 1200 or decrease yours by 800. But right now, I need more life points so I'll increase my life points with my spell card."

Matt: 2900

Matt then took another card from his hand and opened the slot for his field spell cards and inserted his card into it. "Now I activate the field spell card, Mausoleum of the Emperor!"

As Matt's card was activated, an altar with a torch in between a pair of tall spires rose up from behind Matt.

"Mausoleum of the Emperor?" Syrus repeated the name of Matt's card. "What does that do?"

"It allows Matt to ignore any monster tributes and pay life points instead in order to summon stronger monsters." Bastion explained. "He must be planning on summoning a powerful monster.

"Sounds cool." Jaden said.

Chazz narrowed his eyes at Matt's card. "I wonder what this kid is up to."

Matt then took a monster from his hand and got ready to play it. "Thanks to this field spell, I'll be able to summon a monster by sacrificing my life points instead of monsters and I'll pay 2000 of my life points," Matt said as his life points decreased and he played his monster. "And summon my Felgrand Dragon!" As he announced this the flame from the torch from Matt's field spell grew even higher before dying down revealing his new monster. The monster was a golden-scaled, spiked-skinned dragon with a long neck; it roared as it appeared on the field. (2800/2800)

Matt: 900

"Whoa! That's one wicked Dragon!" Jaden exclaimed as he observed Matt's monster.

"It sure is!" Syrus agreed.

"A very impressive monster, applicant," The Proctor said, nodding at Matt's Dragon. "But even if you destroy my monster, I'll still have 500 life points left to spare."

"Not after I play the last card in my hand," Matt said as he showed it. "Megamorph!" The Proctor reeled back in shock as Matt played the card, who grinned at the proctor's reaction. "You obviously know what it does. Now that my life points are lower than yours, Megamorph doubles my monster's attack points!" (2800-5600/2800) "Which is now more than enough to end this duel!" As he said this, Felgrand Dragon roared as it's attack strength doubled and it flew towards Axe Raider and launched a stream of fire from it's mouth and destroyed it.

Proctor: 0
Matt: 900, Winner.

The proctor dusted off his blazer as the holograms disappeared and then smiled. "A well played duel; the Academy welcomes you!"

"Thank you very much!" Matt replied and bowed in respect. He was then led down by the elevator again.

Up in the stands, another couple of individuals from the very top of the dome were watching Matt's duel as well. A girl with sandy blonde hair that ended at the bottom of her neck with grayish-brown eyes and outfitted in the standard Obelisk Blue girls uniform: white top with blue trimming, a blue miniskirt, and royal blue boots. Her name is Alexis Rhodes. And a taller boy with blue hair, also down to the neck but had some bangs near his blue eyes. He was also in Obelisk Blue like Alexis and Chazz, but his outfit was more white than blue. It was a long white coat with blue outlines, and the same pattern was on his shirt. His name was Zane Truesdale, the senior and top student at Duel Academy.

"He's sure to be an interesting one, with that batch of monsters he's got." Alexis replied, as she saw the duel ending. Zane just stayed silent not really giving his two cents into the conversation.

Right below them, in the VIP seats for Academy faculty members, the teachers watched as Matt 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 was person who could easily be mistaken as 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 styled his blonde hair in a ponytail and wore makeup. This was Dr. Vellian Crowler, headmaster of the Obelisk Blue Boys Dorm.

'Hmm, another student signed at the Academy,' He thought as he gather up the papers from the exams. 'If only he'd gone to prep school he'd be in my dorm.'

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," Crowler said with almost a scowl. "Did you just call me, 'mister'?"

"I'm sorry," The man apologized. "I'm new here Miss…"

Before he could continue, Crowler interrupted him. "I have a PhD in dueling to earn the title 'doctor' thank you." If there's one thing about Crowler, he takes his title serious with what he has accomplished. 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."

As they pleaded him, Dr. Crowler looked as though he was about to reach breaking point.

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

That comment finally made Crowler snap, "LATE IS RUDE!" 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 a bored tone. "Hello, who may I ask is…?"

Before Crowler could continue, another voice on the other hand interrupted him. "It's Sheppard."

"Oh, Chancellor Sheppard, how nice of you to call." Crowler said, changing his 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 a bit uneasy as he remembered what happened. "When you cut a third of our student applicants because someone called you 'mister' or 'missus'? Never mind, just make sure everyone gets a fair shot!"

"Yes, of course, sir." Crowler said as he hung up before 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." But before he could go any further, one of the teachers picked up a box full of Duel Monster decks.

"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 mysteriously pulled out a deck from inside his blazer, grinning evilly.

Back with Jaden, Syrus, and Bastion, Jaden was just excited after seeing Matt's duel. "Man that was one sweet duel!"

"Indeed," Bastion said as he looked at Jaden. "Matt performed very well, and I must say those cards of his were quite impressive themselves."

"I guess that guy's going to be the third best duelist in the freshman class." Jaden said with a nod.

"Jaden Yuki, please report to exam field four," The PA announced again. "Jaden Yuki, to exam field four."

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

"Wait," Bastion interrupted him, "Before you go, what did you mean by me being the second best duelist and Matt being the third best? Who's the first?"

Jaden pointed his thumb to himself. "Why yours truly," He said with a confident grin. "It's what I'm best at." He then continued his stride down to the exam floor.

"He sure is confident." Syrus noticed.

"He's going to need, too." Bastion said, pointing to the exam field in question. "Look who's he up against..."

"Yeah..." Bastion and Syrus turned around to see Matt looking down at field, also. "Who is she?"

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

"Whoa! That's a man?!" Matt shouted in shock.

"Very, also congratulations on winning your match." Bastion said.

"Thanks!" Matt replied before looking back at the field. "Oh, duel's on! And what's up with that gear? Looks like he's ready to play at a rock concert."

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, on the other hand was risen on the same type of elevator that Matt was on at the other side of the field.

"Alright, test time!" Crowler said looking at Jaden very confidently. "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." Dr. Crowler said, introduced himself.

"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 sweatdropped at that comment.

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

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

Chazz, on the other hand, didn't look too pleased at what Jaden was saying down there. 'Who does this kid think he is?'

Crowler then activated his, what he calls, duel vest and drew his five cards. Jaden was just amazed by the machinery as well as the blazer that Crowler wore. Crowler just simply acted as though this was going to be a quick one.

"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." He then mentally added, 'Which I will make sure you don't.'

"Well, I'm ready!" Jaden said.

"So let's duel!" Both players shouted as Jaden cut on his duel disk.

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 defense mode!" As he placed the card horizontally on the field, a green bird man appeared and knelt on its card image (1000/1000). "I'll also throw down a face-down." The image of a face-down card appeared on Jaden's field.

"Cool, a hero boy!" Matt said with an impressed grin.

"Huh?" Syrus asked.

"He's using the Elemental Hero archetype that basically relies on fusion tactics to win." Bastion explained.

"And it's hard to play that deck properly." Matt added with a nod.

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

"Yes, of course." Dr. Crowler said dismissively as he drew his 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.' He grinned as he saw the cards in his hand. "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 looked at each card carefully and made his decision. "I know, Monster Reborn to the graveyard!" Jaden's Monster Reborn card was sent there. "Next I'll set two cards face down," Two face-down cards appeared in front of Crowler and he then took one more card and showed it to Jaden. "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 face-down Draining Shield was destroyed along with Crowler's two face-down cards. Jaden even noticed this. "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 countered as he waggled his finger. After that dark clouds began to form around his side of the field.

"Hey, what's happening?" Jaden asked, looking around.

"Nothing's happening," Crowler said dismissively before adding, "Not yet anyway!" Just as he did, 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 speaking of Heavy Storm, I don't think that's a test deck." Matt deduced, narrowing his eyes.

"Why's that?" Syrus asked.

"Of course! And that goes the same for a card like Confiscation; they're both rare cards that can change the tide of the battle without any serious costs!" Bastion realized, understanding what Matt was talking about.

"Meaning?" Syrus asked again, still not getting it.

"It's probably his main deck!" Matt answered with a frown.

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

"Crowler must be using his own deck in this duel." Torimaki said.

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

Chazz grinned at this. "I think I'm going to enjoy Crowler wipe 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 called to Jaden from his side of the field.

"You bet!" Jaden replied with an excited laugh. "I can't remember the last time learning was this much fun!"

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!" In the place of Crowler's worm-like creatures stood a giant robotic monster that one could clearly see the working gears of it. Once again audience members were in awe of the sight of the monster, more so than its stats. (3000/3000)

"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 said as he observed the duel.

"Whoa, a monster that can stand toe to toe with the Blue-Eyes White Dragon!?" Matt shouted in surprise.

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

Jaden, however, looked as though he was having the time of his life! "No way, I've always wanted to take one on."

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

"Maybe he's a little bit of both." Matt cracked.

"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 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." Zane said in reply.

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

"Oh man, Jaden's defense monster didn't stand a chance!" Syrus complained as he watched the duel. "Its defense points were way too low." His shoulders then slumped. "This doesn't look good."

"And it's about to look a whole lot worse," Bastion said as he remembered what he knows about Ancient Gear Golem. "When Ancient Gear Golem attacks a monster in defense mode, the difference between its attack points and the defending monster's defense points are dealt to the opponent as damage."

"But that would mean that Jaden's life points are gonna take a hit!" Syrus cried as he realized what was going to happen. Just as Syrus mentioned that, a transparent version of Ancient Gear Golem's fist slammed through Jaden's body.

Jaden: 2000
Crowler: 3000

"Yeesh, already at half his score." Matt said, wincing. "He's gotta step up."

Crowler noticed that Jaden's body was shaking and laughed. "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 the familiar sound of Jaden's laughter.

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

This actually took Crower by surprise before he began to scowl angrily at Jaden. 'Doesn't he take a hint? He will not be permitted to pass this exam!' He cursed mentally, 'And he will certainly not make a mockery of my deck!'

'Just look at him tremble,' Jaden mused 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. He then remembered that it was the card a guy he bumped into gave to him. He also recalled that he said that it belonged to him. '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! His initial shock wore off and he then made his decision. I guess that's a sign that I should play ya.'

"Okay, I summon Winged Kuriboh in defense mode!" When he declared that, a small furry creature with for green paws and a pair of angelic wings appeared above its card image (300/200). Some of the girls in the audience noted how cute the creature looked. "Next, I play one card face-down. Not bad, huh, teach?" He finished as a face-down card appeared behind the fur ball.

"Looks like hero boy's safe for know." Matt commented with a grin.

"What do you mean?" Syrus asked, confused as ever.

"Wait and see." Matt answered, gesturing towards the duel.

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 defense 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!"

Once again, the giant walking gear monster reared back a fist and threw a punch at the tiny creature and shattered the hologram to pieces. Jaden mentally said, 'Sorry Winged Kuriboh.'

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

Jaden simply shrugged. "My gear's fine," He replied. "On the turn that Winged Kuriboh is destroyed, I take zero damage!"

The info actually took Crowler by surprise. He knew what the original Kuriboh could do, but he never expected that his attack would be thwarted by a Kuriboh with wings. Some of the audience members were stunned that Crowler didn't know that.

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

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

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

Matt laughed at Crowler's reaction. "Man, people like him really need to learn to stop underestimating the Kuribohs!"

"Fine, fine, I guess your little lame monster saved you there." Crowler taunted as Jaden placed Winged Kuriboh into his graveyard.

"Whoa, slow down there, teach!" Jaden shot back, "Just because you beat him doesn't give you the excuse to call him lame!"

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

"Show a little respect, why don't ya?" Matt muttered with a scowl.

"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 favorites 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," As a card shot out from his deck into his hand, he placed the card on the duel tray. "Burstinatrix!" From a column of red flames a gray-skinned woman in a red body-suit appeared and landed on the field (1200/800). Just as she appeared, Jaden drew another card. "Now it's my move!" He then looked over his cards again. "Okay, Winged Kuriboh, this one's for you!"

He placed one of the cards in his hand into the spell/trap card zone. "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!" After Jaden played Avian again, it reappeared next to Elemental Hero Burstinatrix.

"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, but before he could go any further Jaden interrupted him yet again.

"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!" He then took the last card in his hand and showed it to Crowler. "And I have just the card to unite them! Go Polymerization!" The two Elemental Heroes leapt up into the air and started to swirl together as the effects of Polymerization activated. "Fusion Summon!" After the two monsters were done, a new monster appeared that had some of the same looks as Avian and Burstinatrix. It had one of Avian's wings along with a few of Burstinatrix's colors. The only thing that neither monster had was the dragon-like hand on the monster's left arm (2100/1200). "And there he is, Elemental Hero Flame-Wingman! Hope your Golem's ready for a Clash of the Titans!"

'Show's about to be over soon, if Jaden has the right card in his hand!' Matt thought as he grinned.

"I must say, you're dueling quite well for an amateur but next time try summoning a monster with more attack points than the one that's already out." Crowler said with a little disappointment in his voice as he didn't consider the fusion monster to be a threat.

"What does he mean by that?" Syrus asked as he looked at Jaden's monster.

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

"Relax, boys." Matt said to them. "Hero boy's fine."

"Alright, young scholar," Crowler said in an almost exasperated tone, "I don't mean to rush you but I am a busy man...are you done yet?"

"Of course I'm not done yet!" Jaden replied as he took the card he drew and opened the field spell slot of his duel disk. "And, of course, I knew my Wingman had less attack points than your golem," He then placed the card in the field spell slot. "That's why I'm activating the field spell, Skyscraper!" After he played the card, buildings that you would normally see in a big city like New York, literally, sprouted up from the field.

In the middle of the cityscape, Crowler's Golem looked like a giant monster attacking the city itself. Meanwhile, Jaden's Wingman was perched on top of the highest building's steeple roof's lightning rod with its arms crossed. Matt was anticipating Jaden's next move.

"Alright, Flame Wingman," Jaden called out. "Time to show those heroics!" He then pointed at the cog-powered machine. "Attack that Ancient Gear Golem with Skydive Scorcher!" After he announced that, Flame Wingman jumped from the building it stood on and dove towards Crowler's monster.

"Fine, bring him on," Crowler said as though he wasn't worried. "This field spell of yours hasn't lowered a single attack 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 know something, you're right, teach," Jaden revealed, confusing Crowler. "What it's done is raise my Flame Wingman's attack by a total of 1000 points!"

"Wait Time Out!" Crowler cried, but it didn't stop Flame Wingman's attack as it launched itself at the Ancient Gear Golem as flames covered its body (3100/2100). Crowler looked as though he was going to have a panic attack as Jaden's monster slammed into his, breaking pieces of it off.

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

"And I don't want to forget my Wingman's special power." Jaden said, catching Crowler's attention. "You see, like Matt's Darkblaze Dragon, when Wingman destroys a monster in battle, the attack points of that monster are dealt as damage to your life points." He explained with a two-fingered salute. "Pretty sweet huh?"

Just as Jaden said that, the crumbled pieces of Ancient Gear Golem fell on top of Crowler burying him in its pieces, despite his attempts to get away.

Jaden: 2000
Crowler: 0

"And that's game!" Jaden announced as he pointed his index and middle fingers at Crowler in a sort of salute. "So, I guess I passed the test, huh teach?"

As the holograms faded, a lot of people were actually stunned to see that Jaden actually beat the teacher in a duel, while the said teacher used his own deck. Crowler was aghast at this whole thing. He had been beaten by a kid who was late and who was a mere amateur!

"Impossible," He seethed, "There's no way this delinquent could've beat me!"

Up in the stands, Chazz was having the same thought. "It must be dumb luck," He said through his clenched teeth. "No way Crowler would lose to some flunky!"

Alexis was also smiling at Jaden's victory. "This kid's definitely got a future here, wow." She then noticed that Zane huffed and walked away.

Syrus was cheering for Jaden himself, "Yay! Jaden won!"

"All right! Wish I had that kind of action in my test duel; makes me feel jealous of the kid!" Matt added, pumping his fist in the air.

'Nice,' Bastion mused as he watched Jaden do a victory dance. 'I could use some competition.'

After his victory dance, Jaden took out the Winged Kuriboh card he got earlier. "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.

A/N: And that does it for chapter 1. Now as I said earlier, I'll post a template for OC submissions after the next chapter.