Hey Guys, it's finally Christmas! I hope you all had a merry one, and those of you who don't celebrate Christmas, I hope you enjoyed your holidays. If you guys can't guess, or find it, your secret present is the redone version of Darkness Revealed Chapter 1. I hope you all enjoy it, and this; please remember to leave a review, it's what gets your second chapter quicker. Happy Holidays!
LDX/LDX\LDX
Chapter One: Entrance Exams!
LDX/LDX\LDX
A young man, seemingly at the age of fifteen or sixteen, sprinted down the sidewalks of Downtown Domino. "Oh man," He said, somehow not out of breath, "I can't believe I overslept!" He berated himself as he continued to run. He was wearing a regulation high school uniform, with a red polo shirt underneath his black uniform jacket, and on his arm rested a custom black and red version of the battle city duel disk.
As he sprinted at full speed, he failed to notice a man standing in his direct path. He ran into the back of the taller man at full speed, "Man, that hurt," He said rhetorically as he rubbed his sore end. "Sorry about that, I'm in a bit of a rush," He said, not looking to the man and beginning to pick up his cards.
"Jaden," A voice that sounded like a mix of femininity and masculinity said, gaining the boys attention. "Why don't you look at who you ran into," It said, appearing in spirit form next to the smirking, and somehow, still standing man.
"Is that any way to great your teacher?" The man teased with a impish smirk. Jaden's eyes shot wide open at who he saw, it'd been a while.
"Yugi, I thought you were still in Egypt?!" He yelled, in his shock forgetting he was in public.
"I was, but Marik and I agreed that I should come visit you before you go off to the Academy," He said with a warm smile. "And, I wouldn't mind seeing my wife... it has been several months after all," He added, slightly fearing the wrath of his hot headed brunette wife.
"I'd advise you to give Tea a heads up before you show up, she wasn't in the best mood when I left this morning," Jaden said with a nervous laugh, he knew how ill tempered his adoptive mother had gotten after her time in New York.
"I'm guessing that's because you're nearly late for your exams, but knowing Seto he's probably going to either delay it himself or have Austin delay it," He said knowing the CEO would step in if need be.
"THE EXAMS!" Jaden shouted before sprinting off and leaving Yugi standing there shaking his head.
"Nice chat, Jaden," He laughed, beginning to walk in the direction of his modest town house. "Now, to face the music," He said morbidly, he loved his wife, and she loved his punishment.
LDX/LDX\LDX
"Alright girly, this is your final turn I'd make it count," A man with black hair, wearing sunglasses said cockily. On his field were, Summoned Skull and Zoa.
Proctor: 3200
Melanie: 1000
"First off, my name is Melanie, not girly," The blonde across from him said, somewhat indignantly. "And second, you're right it is my final turn, because I'm ending this now," She vowed, drawing her next card. "To start me off, I'll activate Pot of Greed allowing me to draw two more cards," She said taking her cards. "Next, I activate Medallion of the Ice Barrier, allowing me to add one Ice Barrier monster to my hand from my deck," She said as she pulled her deck from the cartridge and chose her card. She looked at her proctor with a glint of confidence in her violet eyes, "Now, I activate the spell card Magic Triangle of the Ice Barrier, letting me reveal three monsters in my hand with "Ice barrier" in their names," She said revealing her General Gantala of the Ice Barrier, Prior of the Ice Barrier and Samurai of the Ice Barrier. "Now, I can destroy one card on your side of the field and special summon one Ice Barrier Monster from my hand. So, say bye, bye Zoa and Hello General Gantala of the Ice Barrier," She called happily as a pillar of ice rose from the ground and her general burst through it.
(General Gantala of the Ice Barrier- Water/Warrior/Atk:2700/Def:2000/Effect: Once per turn, during your End Phase, you can select and Special Summon 1 "Ice Barrier" monster from your Graveyard, except "General Gantala of the Ice Barrier".)
"Still not enough to make your claim stick, and you can't use his effect until the end of your turn anyway," The proctor said, shaking his head disapprovingly.
"Didn't your mommy ever teach you it's impolite to interrupt a lady," Melanie said in a sugary sweet tone. "Besides, who said I was done," She said with a big smirk. "Because now, I summon Prior of the Ice Barrier, and with his effect I can tribute him in order to summon my General Raiho of the Ice Barrier from the Graveyard," She said her newly arrived prior burst into shards of ice and her second general rose from the ground, in the same fashion as the previous. " And, as to your complaint about my Gantala's effect, that's what I have the spell card Mischief of the Time Goddess for," She said with a smile as her proctor's turn was skipped, and a third pillar of ice rose from the ground. Out of this pillar, burst a warrior in a bulky set of Ice armor. "Say hello to, General Grunard of the Ice Barrier," She said with a sweet smile.
(General Raiho of the Ice Barrier- Water/Warrior/Atk: 2100/Def:2300/Effect: When an effectresolves that was activated by an Effect Monster that was on your opponent's side of the field, they must discard 1 card or the effect is negated (their choice).)
(General Grunard of the Ice Barrier-Water/Warrior/Atk:2800/Def:1000/Effect: During your Main Phase, you can Normal Summon 1 "Ice Barrier" monster in addition to your Normal Summon or Set. This effect can only be used once per turn.)
"Very Impressive, three monsters in a single turn," The proctor said nodding his approval.
"What did I say about interrupting a lady?" Melanie teased, using her sarcastically sweet voice again. "Now my mighty Generals, clear his field and life point meter," She demanded, her monster's leaping into action with various attacks. Gantala destroyed the proctor's last monster and Grunard and Raiho decimated his last chunk of life points.
Proctor: 0000
Melanie: 1000 (Winner)
"Well done Miss Wheeler, you'll make an excellent addition to Duel Academy," The proctor said, giving the girl a small smile of pride.
"Thank you," Melanie said with a respectful bow.
LDX/LDX\LDX
"Whelp, Mel is in," A boy with sandy brown hair laughed slightly, he loved how sassy she could get when dueling. "Now, just waiting on the prodigy himself," He said with a sigh as the people he was standing with looked to him confused.
"And, who exactly would that be?" Zane Truesdale, third year Obelisk, asked with a raised brow.
"You'll see soon enough, now if you'll excuse me, I need to make sure someone's made it on time," He said, leaving the two he was with to wonder what he meant.
"So, who do you think he's talking about Zane?" A blonde with hazel eyes asked, leaning against the railing in a bored manner.
"Not sure, Alexis, but if it's who I think," He paused, allowing a small smirk to come to his face. "Then this year is going to be quite interesting," He said before turning his attention back to his little brother's duel. Alexis Rhodes, first year Obelisk, looked at him strangely for a moment; after all, Zane didn't smirk often.
LDX/LDX\LDX
"Damnit, Jaden what's taking you so long?" The boy from earlier groaned, he was now standing in front of the Kaiba Dome waiting for his friend to show up. He should have figured Jaden would be late, it was rare to see him early for anything; no matter how serious he could get.
"Mr. Kaiba, we can't hold the testing much longer; you know how Dr. Crowler can get," A man dressed in a black suit said, checking his watch to further confirm his statement.
"Roland, you've known me since I was in diapers, you can call me Austin," Austin said shaking his head with a small smile. "And, don't worry he'll be here soon," He reassured the man. As soon as the words left his mouth, a tuft of brown and sunburst hair could be seen over the railing. "By the skin of his teeth, as usual," He laughed to himself, walking over to the railing where his friend was climbing a straight face wall.
"Going for a climb, my fearless leader?" Austin said with a slightly formal tone, yet keeping that sense of teasing there.
"Very funny, Kaiba," Jaden groaned, hefting himself over the rail. "Thanks...for the help," He said sarcastically as he tried to catch his breath.
"Oh, no time for that, my lord, you were supposed to be here over forty minutes ago," He said, grabbing the resting boy's arm and beginning to pull him towards the exams.
"C'mon, just let me catch my breath," Jaden pleaded, trying to pull his hand free from his friend's iron-like grip.
"Will Jaden Yuki, please report to Duel Field four, your proctor is waiting," A perky feminine voice said over the loud speakers.
"Hey, look at that, right on time," Austin said with a smirk, that caused Jaden to groan, yet again. Austin seemed to love getting at the boy's nerves. "Go get 'em, Boss," He continued, slightly shoving Jaden towards the stairs leading down. As Austin waved smugly to his "Boss," he felt someone pop him on the back of the head.
"Do you have to be like that," A feminine voice chastised from behind the young Kaiba.
"Oh c'mon Mel, I'm just getting my kicks; I haven't seen my little buddy in nearly a year," He said trying his best to sound innocent, though it was true he hadn't seen Jaden since joining the Academy one year prior. "Nice duel by the way, glad to see you finally got all your Generals," Austin complemented, hoping it may get him out of a scolding.
"Nice try Mr. Kaiba, but complements will get you nowhere," Melanie replied with a small smirk, she knew him far too well for something so simple.
"Worth a shot," Austin shrugged, turning his attention to the legacy duelist on the field.
LDX/LDX\LDX
"Welcome, young scholar, my name is Doctor Vellian Crowler," A man that had resemblances of a woman said with a formal bow. "I am the department chair of Duel Academy, and by request of Mr. Kaiba, your exam proctor," The man said, his voice sounding slightly shrill.
"Huh, Department Chair?" Jaden questioned, a mischievous glint in his brown eyes. "The way you're dressed I almost thought you were some type of mascot or something," He laughed, beginning a mind game with the seasoned professor.
Crowler's condescending smile immediately disappeared, in favor of a look of pure rage. "I'll have you know, I earned my PhD in Dueling and deserve the proper respect you upstart!" He yelled, indignantly.
Jaden's eye slightly twitched, "Oh, you've got no idea who you're calling an upstart, teach," He thought, his mask of cluelessness never falling. "I don't know about being an upstart, but how about we cut the chatter and get to the reason we're here," He said, his voice holding a confident, yet cocky, edge to it.
"Fine, and because of that last remark, I'll go first," Crowler informed, not waiting for an argument. "Duel coat, on!" He commanded, the thing on his chest coming to life and shooting out five cards, then his first draw.
"Cool, duel disk, teach," Jaden said, activating his black and gold duel disk and drawing five cards.
"Thank you, now I'll start by playing Confiscation, it's a spell card that allows me to pay 1000 life points to see your hand and discard one card from it," He said, a visual of Jaden's hand coming to view in front of him.
Jaden: 4000
Crowler: 3000
"Ah, yes," Crowler said, sounding as if he was reminiscing on old memories. "I remember a few of these from when I first got my start in dueling," He said, causing Jaden to shake his head slightly. "I'll send Polymerization to the grave," He said, touching the card with his finger as if it was a touch screen. "Next, I'll set two cards face-down, and activate the spell card Heavy Storm!" He called, the two face-downs he set being destroyed in a powerful gale of wind.
"Doing so will allow you to get two wicked tokens, if my assumption is right, and then you plan on sacrificing both to summon a monster you believe can crush me with ease," Jaden assessed, sounding quite bored with the turn of events. "It won't work," He yawned, only reddening Crowler's face in anger.
"This...This ingrate, I will wipe that look of boredom clear from his juvenile face!" Crowler thought in a fit of rage. "Fine then, I'll tribute both and summon, the legendary, Ancient Gear Golem!" He roared, his anger with the young boy plain as day.
A gasp broke throughout the crowd, it was the monster all were on the edge of their seat to see, but still the young boy seemed completely uninterested. "Do you not understand what, "won't work," means?" Jaden asked, his voice sounding full of cockiness. "This guy's easier to provoke than Joey, and I don't even have to make a fool of myself barking at him," Jaden thought to himself, remembering his crash course in mind games. Yugi had put him up against Joey, thinking it would be easiest for Jaden to learn with someone who had a brash nature. Yugi, was right, and quite surprised at how quick Jaden took to the art.
"Keep talking, Mr. Yuki, your words won't get you out of the heap of trouble I just placed you in," Crowler growled, ending his turn.
"Time to show you what I got, Teach," Jaden roared, dropping his mind games and going into battle mode. "First thing first, I'll activate Fusion Sage, it's a spell card that lets me take one polymerization from my deck," He said, withdrawing his deck from its slot and fingering through it. After he found the spell, he shuffled and returned his deck, "Now, I'll discard my Elemental HERO Captain Gold, allowing me to add Skyscraper from my deck to my hand," He said, grabbing the last piece he needed for his plan. "Now, I activate Skyscraper," He roared, a city literally raising from the ground. "But, that's not all because now I activate my Polymerization to fuse Avian and Burstinatrix from my hand to form, Elemental HERO Flamewingman!" He again, roared, the two aforementioned cards appearing on the field and jumping into a vortex. What came back out, made a few look at Jaden as if he was crazy.
"My boy, it was a very beautiful display, but your monster is still far too weak to do anything to my Golem; it's basic math," Crowler chided, a mock shake of his head coming with it.
"Then maybe you should read up on the effect of Skyscraper, because when my E-HERO does battle with a monster with more attack than itself, it gains 1000 attack points," Jaden said, a smirk coming to his face as realization smacked Crowler in the face. "Flamewingman, Skydive Scorcher!" Jaden ordered, his monster flying high into the air as it's attack went from 2100 to 3100. When it reached the tip of the tallest building, it dived towards the Golem, it's green and red body engulfed in flames; and smashed right through its chest.
Jaden: 4000
Crowler: 2900
"You seem to have miscalculated again, boy, your monster didn't have enough to finish me off," Crowler said, a small, sick smile crossing his face.
"That's funny, I though a duelist with a PhD would know about an effect like Flamewingman's," Jaden mocked, his smirk turning from cockiness to confidence in seconds. "You see, when he destroys a monster, Flamewingman inflicts that monster's attack points to its owner's life points as damage," He continued, waiting for realization to once again hit Crowler.
"But...that would mean," Crowler, breathed shock evident on his aged face.
"That this duel is over," Jaden roared as his hero appeared in front of Crowler, the maw on its arm wide open. When Crowler begged for mercy, it released a blaze that destroyed the remaining chunk of Crowler's life points. Crowler fell to his knees in a heap as the holograms disappeared.
Jaden: 4000 (Winner)
Crowler: 0000
"And that's game, teach," Jaden said, striking a pose and winking at his fallen opponent.
"I may have to pass you...Yuki...but, I will have my revenge," Crowler vowed, looking at the brunette weakly as the crowd of students erupted into cheers for their new classmate, Austin and Melanie cheering the loudest.
"A beautiful victory, Jaden my boy," A male voice boomed, coming from the large screen above the fields. "Seto Kaiba said you'd make quite the impression, I'm proud to admit I'm far from disappointed; you'll make an excellent addition to the Obelisk Dorm."
"If you don't mind Chancellor Sheppard, I'd like to see about being placed in the Slifer Dormitory," Jaden requested, earning a gasp from everyone, including Crowler, and excluding Zane; of course.
"As much as I wouldn't mind, I've been given strict orders not to let you go anywhere below where you belong. And, with your two perfect scores, no place is better for you than Obelisk Blue," Sheppard replied, sounding apologetic towards the young boy.
"I understand," Jaden said with a bow of respect, knowing it was pointless to argue, and taking his leave from the field. As he left, he missed the plotting gleam in the downed doctor's eyes.
"Wants to be a Slifer, eh, I'll be glad to assist, Mr. Yuki," Crowler thought happily to himself, his plan laying itself out in his mind.
LDX/LDX\LDX
"Great duel, Jaden!" Melanie called to the boy walking up the crowded stairs.
The two-toned brunette looked to the blonde with a child-like smile, "Thanks Mel, sorry I missed yours," He replied back, as he finally reached the top of the stairs and his friends.
"Don't worry Jay, she gave 'em a thrashin' that would've made you proud," Austin said with pride as he smiled at the blonde.
"I don't doubt it, with those Ice Barrier combos she can be kind of scary out there," Jaden replied with a laugh. "Let's head to the registration desk so me and Mel can pick up our stuff. Then, we can make way for the choppers," Jaden said, beginning to lead the trio towards the desk. As they began to walk, Jaden's brown eyes caught the hazel eyes of a dishwater blonde. He hadn't realized he'd stopped to look back at the blonde, and neither did Austin, seeing as he bumped into the brunette.
Austin looked up from the ground, seeing Jaden's eyes still locked with Alexis Rhodes. "Hey, lover boy," He called from the ground.
"Huh?" Jaden asked, sounding as if he just woke from a trance.
"You mind staring at the pretty girl on your own time, we've got things to do," He said, pulling himself of the ground with Melanie's help; and, taking the lead from the confused brunette.
Jaden tried to look back at the girl who'd caught his eye, but she was gone. He couldn't figure out why, but he could've sworn he'd known the girl. Yet, he was also positive he'd never met the girl in his life. "Yet another mystery in my confusing life," He sighed dramatically, before following after the Kaiba and Wheeler.
LDX/LDX\LDX