Warnings and Disclaimers: Only going to say this once, so listen carefully. First off, I own nothing but this particular story concept. "House of Cards" is AU, and takes place during Season Two which means many spoilers. Also, some mild slash just because I can't help myself. Now don't go saying you weren't warned.

House of Cards

Chapter 1: Hero Signal

The supply boat to Duel Academy Island, home of Seto Kaiba's prestigious Duel Academy, pulled up to the docks. Myriad students on duty stepped forward to help unload, eager to get their hands on the latest shipment of cards, see what sorts of meals they would be having over the course of the next weeks, and receive mail from home.

Normally, there would be students from every dorm eagerly awaiting tidings from the supply ship. On this day, however, the only representative in blue was the Obelisk dorm's headmaster and the Academy's acting Principal, Dr. Vellian Crowler. Crowler paced the length of the dock, hands smoothing out imaginary wrinkles in his jacket - a flutter of nervous movement that left the watching students bemused. Normally Crowler reeked of overzealous confidence.

"How could things have gotten this out of control?" Crowler muttered to himself. He understood now why Chancellor Shepherd had been so eager for a vacation. If mystical organizations continued to target the Duel Academy, Crowler would be filing for a leave of absence as well. It had all started simply enough with Napoleon and Edo wanting to demolish the Red dorm. However, Crowler now realized that had been merely a ploy to draw his attention from his precious Blues, and now they were beyond his control.

But hopefully things would soon be put to rights again. As the supply ship pulled in closer, Crowler could see the people who would help him regain control of Duel Academy. Once Crowler realized he was over his head, he'd swallowed his pride and placed a call to the Academy's illustrious founder, and these newcomers were the result.

As the newcomers disembarked, Crowler straightened, smoothing out his coat one last time. The group already wore uniforms signifying which dorms they would be working in. The two in blue were the first to reach Crowler. These were the ones that Crowler worried about most, for they would be working in enemy territory. Still, everyone in this group had been carefully chosen - each person was a great duelist who would not fall easily.

"Professor Wilson, Dr. Hawkins," Crowler said in simple greeting to the young man and woman.

"Call me Leon," the young man replied with an amused smile. He had an innocent, child-like face with his wide green eyes and smattering of freckles. But when he smiled, Crowler could see just a hint of Leon's more famous brother in his face.

Crowler nodded and carefully scanned the group. With two notable exceptions, all were famous duelists, though many had been out of the limelight for long enough that the Duel Academy students shouldn't recognize them right away. And each had a careful role to play. Going to redeem his Blues would be the young Leon von Schroeder, under the alias of Leon Wilson, and Rebecca Hawkins. Ra Yellow would be protected by Duke Devlin and Rex Raptor. Being known more for Dungeon Dice Monsters, Devlin shouldn't be recognized in a school that dealt with Duel Monsters. The task of keeping the lowly Reds out of the grubby hands of the Association of Light fell to Weevil Underwood and Joey Wheeler. That last worried at Crowler, but the young man in red looked vastly different from the pictures the students would know. His hair was carefully combed and slicked back, and a pair of glasses - fake, Crowler suspected - perched on the end of his nose. He looked nothing like the famous street punk, and for the first time that day Crowler began to think that maybe, just maybe, Duel Academy could be saved.

The last two in the group did not wear Academy uniforms. No, those two were dressed for the card shop. The young man and woman, according to the dossiers Crowler had been sent, weren't duelists, but they knew how to handle themselves in the face of highly unusual and potentially dangerous situations. Tristan Tayler and Tea Gardner - they rounded out this elite team.

"Finally! Some extra help!" A heavy-set woman with a naturally smiling face shoved past Crowler to reach Gardner and Tayler. An ill-flung arm sent the hapless professor over the edge of the docks. Crowler flailed his arms desperately to retain his balance, and even Leon and Rebecca made a grab for him. But it was all to no avail.

When Crowler surfaced to the amused chuckling of students and dueling legends, he found Dorothy uttering her most profuse apologies as she held out a hand to help him back onto the docks. Crowler managed a wan smile as he accepted the card shop owner's aid. "The sad thing is, I'm starting to get used to this sort of thing," he said with a self-depricating laugh. Once his feet were back on solid ground, he began wringing water out of his long hair.

While he got himself back in order, Crowler eyed the group carefully. Dorothy was already leading away her two charges. She knew enough of the latest happenings that she could fill them in. Later, Crowler would go to the card shop under the pretense of purchasing new cards for his deck to find out if there were any questions as to their role.

The other dorm heads were waiting to lead their new assistants away. As Crowler glanced at Professors Fontaine and Sarytr, it struck him that this was really all there was. Even before the Shadow Riders came, Duel Academy had been somewhat short-handed. With Banner dead and Shepherd on leave, calling the Academy short-handed was an understatement. Crowler, himself, wore the hats of principal, teacher, and dorm head. He was also spread so thin that he'd lost his dorm.

"Alright, people," Crowler announced. "We're going to be working closely with each other until this mess is resolved. I want no dueling with the students - particularly the ones in white. Now, Dr. Hawkins, if you'll follow Professor Fontaine, she'll take you to the Obelisk girls' dorm. Professor Devlin, Raptor, Professor Sartyr will show you around. Professors Wheeler and Underwood, I'm afraid that I'll have to escort you to the Slifer Red dorm. We've not found a replacement since..." Crowler paused to wrack his brain for the best way to speak of the incident with the Shadow Riders. Finally, he settled on, "Since Dr. Banner's rather unfortunate demise."

"About that," Wheeler interrupted. "You know they're going to want details."

Crowler nodded. He knew. Teachers didn't just crumble into dust without an explanation. However, his only response was, "The person you should discuss that with is in the Red dorm. I wasn't there for the 'incident,' so the only information you could get from me would be secondhand." A pause, and then, "When will the others be arriving?"

"Tonight," Leon answered. "Their quarters are ready, I hope."

Crowler nodded. "The safest place on the island." Rather than the isolated abandoned dormitory, the rest would be staying in an underground location known only to the Duel Academy professors and one student - the student who called that place home, Belowski.

Crowler had checked and double-checked the security on Belowski's mandatory containment center himself. Plus, he had Belowski's personal assurances that Mokey Mokey and Happy Lover would watch for unauthorized visitors. Had those assurances come from anyone but Belowski, Crowler would have worried about the sanity of the person. However, since Belowski was kept isolated from the other students due to his unique ability to bring his monsters to life in a duel, Crowler was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. However, if anyone got to the Academy's esteemed guests, it wouldn't be through any fault of Crowler's.

The Slifer Red dormitory stood off from the rest, as though the other two dorms were afraid of being infected by dorm's reputed inability to duel. Despite this isolation, however, a mix of students from Red and Yellow populated the courtyard - if the small area of scraggily grass fighting for life out front of the dorm could be called such. Before Saioh's influence on Duel Academy Island, a blue uniform or two might have been seen among the bunch, as well as one solitary black coat. Though Crowler would never admit it, seeing the class barriers that divided the dorms start to come down filled him with a sense of pride. Where once Duel Academy had felt like three schools, it had changed to become one. Saioh's actions had split the school back in two, however.

"So this is Slifer Red?" Weevil shouldered his bags as he eyed his new lodgings critically.

Weevil Underwood had grown since his tournament dueling days some six years back. Though still not all that tall at a mere five and a half feet by Crowler's best guess, Weevil's thin frame made him seem taller until one stood only a few feet away. His physique reminded Crowler of a preying mantis - slim and lanky, but possessing a wiry strength.

In one hand, Weevil carried a plastic cage of the sort designed for travelling with small beasts. Crowler supposed that it must be some sort of prerequisite for headmasters of Slifer Red to come with a pet. Banner had his blasted cat, and now Weevil had whatever it was he had. Knowing the man's penchant for creepy crawlies, Crowler was willing to bet that it was something with more than four legs.

A grin softened Weevil's features, as though the dorm met and even surpassed his requirements. "It'll beat sleeping in a carry-on bag." With that pronouncement, Weevil began to laugh at a joke that obviously only he understood.

"Jaden Yuki!" Crowler called out in a strident voice designed to be heard over a room of chattering students.

Instantly, all eyes turned to an auburn-haired student in a red jacket. The boy in question grinned as he pointed to himself. "Yes, you!" Crowler snapped. "Do you see any other Jaden Yukis here?"

Jaden bounded across the courtyard, his expression completely unabashed. If he thought he might be guilty of something that had put him in Crowler's bad graces, one couldn't tell it. The boy had the most bubbly, cheerful personality Crowler had ever seen - a personality as infectious as any viral disease. Anyone who spent any amount of time around Jaden couldn't help but smile eventually. Even Crowler was hard-pressed to maintain a scowl in Jaden's presence.

"These gentlemen," Crowler said, motioning to Wheeler and Underwood, "are the new temporary headmasters of Slifer Red. Since, unfortunately, you are the best student in Slifer, I am going to have to put you in charge of showing them around. Do try not to mess things up, you Slifer Slacker."

"No problem, Acting Principal Crowler!" Jaden said with a smart salute. Crowler ground his teeth at the title. While it was technically accurate, he wished Jaden would refer to him as "Principal Crowler."

While Crowler silently fumed, a rotund orange and brown tabby waddled out of the dorm, picking its way across the yard. "Pharaoh!" Jaden exclaimed, scooping up the beast. Crowler shied away from the feline menace. Jaden paid no attention and held the cat out to the new professors. "This is the most important person in our dorm," he told them. "Pharaoh used to belong to Professor Banner. But now that he's gone, everyone takes care of him."

At the mention of the deceased teacher, some of the spunk faded from Jaden's expression. Jaden had genuinely liked the teacher, though that wasn't an unusual occurrence as Jaden generally genuinely liked everyone. Everyone had liked Banner. He'd been so quiet and unassuming that no one had ever considered the possibility that he was a Shadow Rider until it was too late. Jaden never spoke of that last duel, and Crowler wasn't sure what hurt the boy most - the sting of betrayal or the loss of a trusted mentor.

In an effort to distract Jaden from his sadness, though Crowler tried to tell himself that the boy's feelings didn't really matter, Crowler turned to Wheeler and Underwood. "Gentlemen, perhaps you could give the boys an exhibition duel. That way they'll have some idea of what to expect should you decide to hire on as full-time teachers here next year."

To save time, Crowler's spies had been brought to Duel Academy under the guise of interim teachers. For the time being, this allowed them to get by the test where they would have to defeat fifty students.

While the young men set up to duel, Crowler motioned for Leon to follow. They had a long walk to reach the former Obelisk Blue dormitory. After a couple of steps, Crowler paused and motioned to Jaden again.

"Boy, when the wagering starts, put these down on Professor Wheeler to win. And when he does, distribute the winnings among all the Reds." Crowler reached into his pocket and handed Jaden a stack of meal certificates for the Ra Yellow dorm. "And keep it hush-hush. It wouldn't do to let everyone know that a teacher is placing bets, hm? And be ready to give me a play-by-play tomorrow." With a gallant wave, Crowler left the Red dorm feeling fairly pleased. The Reds would find a dinner at Yellow to be a feast in comparison with their usual meager fare.

"That was a nice gesture," Leon murmured as the two men strolled along the unpaved paths.

"Nice? Pshaw!" Crowler huffed, trying to conceal the not-quite-like he felt for the Reds. "I'm just giving them the chance to see what they're missing by being the lowest-ranked Duelists on the island."

In an effort to change the subject, Crowler asked, "So your brother is really coming tonight?"

"With Pegasus," Leon confirmed. "I was surprised to get the call to join this, but Kaiba said he needed a Duelist he felt was Obelisk-calibre who wouldn't be recognized. And since I haven't been able to enter a tournament since the Kaiba Corp Grand Prix all those years ago..."

Leon jammed his hands in his pockets and stared up at the sky sadly. Crowler remembered that tournament, mostly because he'd reviewed it before hiring Leon on. Neither Schroeder brother had been invited to compete in a tournament since; they'd been blacklisted for their cheating in the Grand Championship.

"Anyway," Leon continued, "when I got called for this, I told Siegfried, and he told Pegasus, and Pegasus did whatever it is he does to get his way with Kaiba. Pegasus and Banner were friends, you know. He wants to know what happened here."

Crowler nodded. He could understand those sentiments. Who wouldn't want an unexplained death explained? A soft meow caused Crowler to stop in his tracks. He whirled around and yelped as his gaze landed on Pharaoh.

"Go away! Shoo! Shoo!" Crowler yelped as he cowered behind Leon.

However, Pharaoh, like cats everywhere, had a mind of his own and a tendency to gravitate towards those who wanted nothing to do with him. Pharaoh marched straight to Crowler and began rubbing against the trembling man's leg.

"Consorting with beasts, Crowler?"

Crowler's lips curled in a disdainful sneer as a short, balding man strolled into view. Vice Principal Napoleon was an unpleasant creature by Crowler's standards. Crowler suspected the man's name was an alias. While he was certain that Napoleon originally took his name from the famous French general, Crowler couldn't help but be reminded of the literal Communist pig from the novel Animal Farm.

"Napoleon! So good to see you," Crowler lied as he turned on the charm.

Crowler found it easiest when dealing with Saioh or his representatives to play the fool. The role of nodding syncophant allowed Crowler to be privy to more of Saioh's plans than would have been the case otherwise. The only balking point the Association of Light had found with Crowler was the demolition of the Slifer Red dorms.

Choosing the path of most annoyance, Crowler bent over and began to talk down to Napoleon. "Napoleon, darling, I'd like to you meet Professor Wilson. He's the new interim teacher that will be working Professor Saioh. Leon, I'd like you meet Napoleon. Professor Saioh places a great deal of confidence in this gentleman right here."

While Napoleon's face burned through several shades of red at Crowler's treatment, Leon took the hint. Napoleon was part of the Association of Light, and was to be treated as though he were as dangerous as Saioh himself. Choosing to be more cordial than Crowler, Leon bowed respectfully to Napoleon. "It is an honor to meet someone so valuable to this school."

Crowler turned away to hide a grin. Leon had struck exactly the right chord with Napoleon. The angry red faded from Napoleon's face and his chins stopped wobbling dramatically as he received the "honored associate" approach from Leon.

"I will take this young man on to meet Master Saioh personally," Napoleon announced. "Go stand around someplace and look important, Crowler."

With that, Napoleon swept around dramatically and began walking away, expecting Leon to follow. Crowler lightly rested a hand on Leon's shoulder and mouthed the words 'good luck' before giving him a slight push to propel him after Napoleon. Now the game was well and truly under way.

Interlude – Page of Swords

Destiny, fate, wyrd – the predetermined events in a person's life. Far too many breezed through their lives, ignorant of the fact that the threads of fate were already spun for them. They could no more free themselves from it than a fly could from its web.

Saioh was not such a one. He'd learned long ago how to read the cards for his destiny, and each day he drew closer to achieving that same destiny. It was his destiny to be the salvation of the world. He would strip away the world's darkness and leave it awash in light, as he'd done with what once was the Obelisk Blue dorm. He would start with this tiny island, with these young duelists. They would become the army with which he would destroy the darkness of the world.

In the gleaming white, marble hallways of the Obelisk White dorm, Saioh's footsteps sounded thunderous, announcing his approach as a harbinger of destiny to all who heard. He was the master of this small place; the controller of destiny for students who'd joined his flock. As Saioh reached his private room, he smiled. The shadows here were minimal. All was beautiful and white – a product of the pure light which filled the room. Saioh settled at a table in the center of the room and began spreading out the cards. It was time to divine what the future held.

"Master Saioh! Master Saioh!" The aristocratic squeal of Napoleon pierced into Saioh's concentration. A single tarot card fell to the floor as Saioh tensed at the interruption. Saioh turned to glare at his diminutive subordinate. Napoleon should know better than to interrupt Saioh during his meditations.

Much to Saioh's surprise, Napoleon did not enter into Saioh's private domain alone. A slender young man in a blue coat followed Napoleon. Saioh watched the man's approach with a puzzled frown. He was not accustomed to strangers in his sanctuary. Napoleon quickened his pace to keep up with the longer strides of his companion, and when they reached Saioh, both men bowed respectfully.

"Master Saioh," Napoleon said again. "I would like to present to you Professor Leon Wilson – one of the new hires that fool Crowler insisted on. He is to be working with the Obelisks, sir."

Saioh's frown deepened at the name, for it struck a faint chord in the dim recesses of his memory. He doubted the young man would be a threat, however. Perhaps this Leon Wilson would prove to be an ally for fate.

Leon knelt and picked up the fallen tarot card, handing it back to Saioh. "Sir, I believe you dropped this."

Saioh accepted the card, holding it face down. Destiny was a private matter, and these two had no need to know what the future held. "Show him to a room, Napoleon," Saioh commanded, his tone indicating that this meeting was over.

Napoleon bowed and once again took the lead, his small legs pumping quickly to stay ahead of the young Leon. Once they were gone, Saioh flipped the card he held – the Page of Swords.

As with all tarot cards, this card held multiple meanings. Saioh would need to think carefully to determine the focus of this card. It could be an awakening of new abilities, a sign to balance diplomacy and honesty, the coming of an ambassador, or...

Or the coming of a spy.