Disclaimer: All trademarked characters and properties in the following story are owned by Konami and Capcom

My other stories are currently on hiatus for a short time. This is a response to a story challenge from and is co-written byWolfpackersson09

A young boy was wandering around town, rushing to reach a stadium. His deck was ready, and his brown hair matched his eyes. His outfit was catching as it was a long duster coat with a black shirt and boots, but the one thing that would catch everyone's attention was the strange long sword on his back. He then overheard something that caught his attention, a news cast. "It has been almost a year since the end of the Cult War started by the terrorist group 'Dark Gene', but many are still struggling to cope with these 'Darkstalkers' that are now a part of our everyday life. It's been difficult on both sides to adjust to the different lifestyles between these species..."

'And making a big fuss about it'll just make things worse for a few people.' The youth thought before he checked his watch, and an odd call. "I gotcha buddy, got to get moving to make it." He said quietly before dashing off again, heading for the stadium that's accepting new duelists for Duel Academy.

The war, of which the news anchor spoke of, was the result of a growing congregation of fanatics seeking to achieve immortality through the transmission of human to demon-hood. The location of their stronghold headquarters was in fact this very city where they carried out grotesque experiments on the populous. In the first phase, many had been greatly disfigured and deformed; half of them died. The second phase had brought more promising results for the cultists. They had opened a doorway to realm of demons and, through an elaborate ritual, summoned and fused any demon that came through with their human victims; Vampires, Werewolves, Minotaurs, Succubi, and such were no longer facets of mythology.

But it didn't stop there. By using retro-viral science, they had found a way to turn their 'patients' into creatures without the need for a ritual. World governments tried to end Dark Gene's intentions with very little success for they had operatives positioned in key posts to ensure that they could not be stopped.

The war would not have begun until one fateful day. The cultists had planned to take their efforts to the next level; their retro-virus had been perfected and was processing to be made into a weapon. They wanted to test a combination of the two methods to see if they could achieve more favorable results. They chose a candidate out of their stock to be the guinea pig of this procedure. They had given him a codename as they had little concern or care for his real name:

They called him Sparda.

Project Sparda, as they called it, didn't care for their desires, but fortunately he and the others that had been experimented on, along with those that were yet to be experimented on, escaped when the governments stepped in with military to rescue them. This would sadly spark a war in which the civilians themselves would be forced to fight in to protect themselves from the cultic groups that would use them for sacrifice. The one that was considered the best fighter was one they called Sparda. The final battle came to its climax when Sparda cornered the leader of Dark Gene. The madman had ordered the virus to be released on the world population but Sparda had slain him and stopped the virus before it spread. Unfortunately, thirty percent of the population had been exposed and turned into Darkstalkers, the more politically correct term for their new species.

That was the past, and the present was all that Jaden Yuki cared for. He fought, bled, and killed just to help end the war, and now he was just trying to make sure he made it to his duel on time. He decided that the traditional way might take too long and decided to scale a wall. "All right, mark all the no shows absent." He overheard a man's voice as he got close to the top of a wall. "Hold on!" He jumped through the trees just before the man and women that were accepting the applicants left. "Where's the fire? I'm just fashionably late to the party. Jaden Yuki is present." He said with a kind smile towards the group, even if some of them were intimidated by the sword on his back.

Inside the Kaiba Dome, two entrance duels were taking place; one was a boy who would be mistaken for a child that had light blue hair, the other was a boy that had black hair with a grey streak in it. The smaller boy had taken damage from some sort of bug. While a few were concerned for the boy as he trembled before the proctor, many had their attention turned to the other boy who had 4000 life points and a Vorse Raider while his opponent had 1900 and three monsters each with variable attack and defense points.

"Okay, freshman, Pop-quiz time. You have three monsters staring you down and two facedowns. Which of the following do you do? Do you do A) Throw in the towel? B) Attack hoping that I don't activate my facedowns? Or C) Run home to momma?" the tester asked with in a snide tone.

"I chose D) none of the above!" The boy shouted. "Go facedown trap! Ring of Destruction!"

As the ring appeared it wrapped itself around the Vorse Raider and blew up. The tester brought his arm up to shield from the debris as his life points plummeted to zero. The black haired boy smiled as his disk deactivated.

"Congratulations, you have been accepted into Duel Academy." The tester said.

"Thank you." Black hair said.

"That guy is pretty good, huh Chazz?" a boy with wavy blue hair and glasses asked.

"Pfft, he's alright but don't forget we went to prep school for 3 years." A raven-haired boy said as he lay back in his seat.

"What do you think, Sam?" no response. "Sam?"

"Huh?" the other, a blond spiky haired boy said.

"What's with you?"

"I was enjoying the scenery."

He then pointed towards a lone female student at the top of the bleachers. She had dishwasher blonde hair that reached to the small of her back. She was dressed in the standard Duel Academy girls' uniform that hugged her figure, which would make a porn star jealous, very well. A pair of finger-less gloves on both hands and the standard blue girls' boots over a pair of black stockings connected to garter belt straps that disappear up into her skirt.

Her name was Alexis Rhodes.

"Yeah, Alexis Rhodes, the queen of Obelisk Blue and one of those so called 'Darkstalkers'. I'm going to make her mine one day." Chazz said as he eyed the girl, but he knew he wasn't the only man that found her desirable, but outside of the 'sexual feeding', as she called it, she seemed to show no real interest in her potential suitors. Even the Zane Truesdale didn't seem that interesting to her. Chazz had a blush and a smirk when she seemed to look his way for a moment before leaving their sights.

Alexis sighed as she noticed that Chazz was looking at her. 'I wonder where he is now?' She thought as she walked around the stadium. She then saw a long red duster and a sword that had no sheathe or anything that keep it on his back, unless the sword was adhered by mystical means, but that wasn't what caught her eye. "Sparda?" She asked somewhat, and the guy turned around, revealing a young man she hadn't seen in a while. "Alexis? Is that you?"

"Jaden Yuki! It is you!" She was happy to see him again as she rushed right to him, but it was suddenly turned a little sour when she slapped him across the face. "You went missing for over six months! Where the hell have you been!" Jaden just rubbed where the slap made contact for a bit. "Wow Lex, you sure can slap."

She silently glared at the boy, not amused.

"I was chasing down the backers of Dark Gene and any stragglers. I got most of them but there still are a few out there. When Interpol offered to take over the search, I agreed and came back home."

Her features softened at his explanation before she grasped him in a tight yet tender embrace.

"You could've told me," she said.

Dr. Vellian Crowler glared at the boy in the red duster hugging his one of his star students.

"Who does that slacker think he is? If I wasn't so pressed for time, I'd teach that upstart a lesson he won't soon forget."

"Excuse me, Mr. Crowler?" one aide walked up to him.

"Did you just call me 'mister?" Crowler nearly screeched.

"I'm sorry, is it Miss."

"First off, I am a man. Second, I have a PhD in Dueling and have earned the title Doctor. Now, what is it?"

"We have one more applicant who needs to take his entrance duel."

"Then he'll have to wait until next year."

"Um, Dr. Crowler?" another came up.

"What Now!?"

He then handed Crowler the phone in his hand. "It's for you."

Crowler then took the phone and answered; "Yes, who is this? I'm rather—Chancellor Shepherd!"

"Crowler, I called to see if everything is going smoothly. This is the first year we're having Darkstalker freshmen and wanted to make sure that everyone is given an equal chance; not like last when you failed half of the applicants after they called you something. Mister, I believe?"

When the line went quiet on the other end, Crowler growled at the device.

"Pompous windbag, doesn't he realize that this academy has enough slackers? Still, he's the boss. Who's the last applicant?"

The aide presented the file with a picture enclosed. When the doctor saw the photo of the same boy getting friendly with Alexis, a smirk grew on his lips.

"well, it seems that slacker will get that lesson after all."

'That and Chancellor Shepherd told me to give everyone an 'equal chance'. Too bad for him that Slacker will have to deal with me.' Crowler thought as he saw the two still together.

Once Jaden and Alexis broke their embrace, they parted ways for a bit after she reminded him not to grope her ass in public. "Yo, I saw your duel. You're not bad, and might be the second strongest duelist here. Name's Jaden. You're not bad either, need some work kid, but you'll make it." He said introducing himself to the student that had won his duel and the blue haired boy. "It's nice to meet you Jaden. I'm Bastion Misawa." The boy with the spot of grey hair said taking a hand. "I'm Syrus Truesdale, and I didn't do that great." Jaden noticed that Syrus had a pair of sharp fangs in place of normal canines and felt his dark aura. Jaden's thoughts were interrupted when Bastion asked a simple question. "If I'm the second strongest, then who you do think is the strongest freshman?"

"Jaden Yuki, report to duel field 4. Failure to comply will result in immediate dismissal; Jaden Yuki to field 4." The announcer on the PA said and Jaden turned to leave, but before he left he said simply. "I'm the strongest here, and let's see if this guy can throw a party."

Jaden then planted a foot on the railing and launched himself several dozen feet into the air and came crashing down onto the duel field.

"Whoa, who's the ugly chick?" Jaden asked as Crowler entered the field. He was quite upset and showed it. "I'M NOT A WOMAN!" he shouted with gale force might, "My name is Dr. Vellian Crowler, and I teach Duel Techniques in Duel Academy. However, today I will be your duel examiner."

"Looks like this slacker's getting what he deserves." Chazz said as the three Obelisk Blues were looking at the two that would be dueling. "I don't know, it seems a little much that Dr. Crowler would duel a freshman."

"I think it's perfect. Teach these nobodies who think getting into Duel Academy is easy. The other examiners pretty much let anyone in."

Alexis noticed that Dr. Crowler was on the field. 'He's not one of the usual examiners, so what's he up to?'

"Looks like Crowler's dueling him. It'll be over quickly." She looked to notice a young man that was older then her with long blue hair and a pair of sharp fangs in place of normal canines. "I don't think it'll be that easy, Zane. Jaden's stronger then he acts. In fact, I'd say that Jaden will win this duel." Zane held an eyebrow high up for a moment, wondering what made her so confident.

"Well, let's get this party started!" Jaden said as their life point counters started up.

Jaden: 4000

Crowler: 4000

"Since I'm the newcomer, I'll go first. Draw!" Jaden drew one card.

"I'll start off by summoning 1st Hell: Pride in defense mode."

A ghoulish-looking monster wearing a robe and holding a scythe appeared.

1st Hell: Pride/DEF: 1300

"I'll end my turn there."

Crowler eyed the ugly creature as he drew his card.

"It is my turn now, and I start by playing Confiscation. By offering 1000 life points I can see your hand and destroy one card." Crowler explained, but saw the hand anyway. There were cards that he never heard, but finally settled on one. "I'll send this, 'Blood Revival' card to the graveyard. Next I'll lay two trap cards, and then play Heavy Storm, which destroys all magic and trap cards on the field." A great storm came and destroyed everything but the monster on the field.

"Why would Crowler destroy his own trap?" Cyrus asked as he saw the two statue cards destroyed. Bastion could understand the question. "Because they were Statue of the Wicked, and by destroying them he gains Wicked Tokens."

"It seems Crowler is using his own deck." Zane said as Alexis simply watched, waiting for the next move. "Hmm, I have a feeling that his deck won't match Jaden's spirit."

"I'm more interested if we'll see his rare monster." Zane finished as they continued to watch.

"I haven't finished just yet, as I sacrifice my two Wicked Tokens to summon my Ancient Gear Golem!" Crowler said as the two strange snake like creatures that were summoned were destroyed and a great mechanized golem rose up. "Ancient Gear Golem, attack his puny little monster."

"That defense monster won't do him any good now. When Gear Golem attacks, It deals piercing damage to the opponent."

"Don't be too sure about that, Zane"

The robed ghoul exploded into shards when the golem's metal smashed into it. The Life point counter, however, did not go down.

"Check your gear, your life points haven't gone down."

"My gear is fine. It's Hell: Pride's effect that when it's destroyed in battle, I take no battle damage."

"WHAT!?" the Man-thing shouted.

"It doesn't stop there. When its destroyed, I can special summon three Pride Tokens in defense mode."

Crowler growled before he ended his turn.

Jaden: 4000

Crowler: 3000

"See? I told you Jaden wouldn't go down so easily." Alexis said as she watched the duel. Zane nodded a bit before commenting. "You're right, and Crowler didn't know about a technique or card like that."

Three ghoulish skulls with robes appeared on the field on Jaden's side. "Alright then, it's my turn again. I think I'll sacrifice a token to summon 3rd Hell: Wrath in attack mode!" Another ghoulish monster in a robe appeared, it was not only larger than the first one, but it was weaker too. Everyone in the audience was completely unnerved at the sight of the red sphere on the ghoul's back. Even Crowler, but the monster was still had zero attack points, far weaker than the Ancient Gear Golem. "I then place a face down and end my turn."

"That loser is making it too easy." Chazz sneered.

"Why would he summon that? It has no attack points," Zane asked.

Alexis raised her hands and plugged both her ears. "If I know Crowler, you're about to find out."

"Nice try, but I'm not falling for an obvious trap. I play Ancient Gear Finish. This card will protect my Golem from any spell or trap card you have hidden."

The mechanical giant then gained a silver sheen.

"Ancient Gear Golem will now attack Hell: Wrath with Mechanized Melee!"

"I activate my face down, Dreadnaught! This card will protect me from damage I receive from a card effect."

Jaden's body then became enveloped in an armor-like carapace.

"Nice card but it won't do a thing about that Golem," Bastion analyzed, "unless… "

"That'll do you no good, slacker!" Crowler taunted arrogantly.

The large ghoul took the fist, head on but, was not destroyed just yet.

"FIRE IN THE HOLE!" Jaden shouted.

Instead it raised its sphere over its head and slammed it on the ground, unleashing a devastating explosion, destroying all monsters on the field. Jaden walked forward as the smoke cleared. He looked at his proctor, whose face and entire front side had been blackened from the blast; his eyes swirling.

"Wrath's effect negates battle damage then destroys all monsters on the field. After that both players take damage equal to the total attack points of all monsters destroyed. To put it bluntly, I win."

Jaden: 4000

Crowler: 0

"See, I told you Jaden would win." Alexis said as Zane looked at the aftermath of the duel with interest. 'Jaden Yuki, perhaps this'll be an interesting year.'

"He won!" Syrus said as he and Bastion had watched the endgame. "Yes, it would appear that Jaden's claims of being the strongest is true."

'A worthy opponent for my intellect. Perhaps we'll duel one day.' Bastion was then starting to plan and formulate a plan with what he knew of Jaden's current cards.

Chazz, Sam, and the blue haired boy were stunned at the result of the duel. "Crowler lost?" Sam said as he and the blue haired boy were stunned at how could a professor lose using his own deck. Chazz was the most stunned, but he denied the possibility of any real skill. "That slacker just got lucky."

Jaden was definitely happy that he won, but he wasn't milking the attention. "Well teach, looks like I pass, and I'll be seeing you in class." Jaden then left the arena and thought about what would happen at Duel Academy, and a hopefully peaceful time.

OC CARDS:

1st Hell: Pride/ Level 3/ Fiend-type/ DARK Attribute/ ATK: 1400/ DEF: 1300/ When this card is destroyed by battle, negate any battle damage and special summon three "Pride Tokens" on the field: "Pride Token / Level 1/ Fiend-type/ DARK Attribute/ ATK: 500/ DEF: 500/ When this card is destroyed by battle, negate any battle damage."

3rd Hell: Wrath/ Level 5/ Fiend-type/ DARK Attribute/ ATK: 0/ DEF: 0/ This card cannot be set or switched to defense position. When this card is destroyed by battle, negate any battle damage and destroy all Monsters on the field. Deal effect damage to both players equal to the combined ATK of the destroyed monsters.

Dreadnaught/ Quick-Play Spell/ Negate any damage from card effects until the End phase of the turn.

Blood Revival – to be revealed.