The Main 6, Spike, Jaden, and the others were being flown in a helicopter to Duel Academy, with almost everyone inside being in awe of the academy.

A few minutes after arriving, everyone changed into their dorm colored outfits, waiting for the Chancellor to introduce all the new students. Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Spike were in red, Pinkie Pie and Twilight were in yellow, and Rarity and Fluttershy were in blue. Eventually, the Chancellor appeared on a large monitor in the room that everyone gathered in. “Welcome, my duelist elite. You all made it here by opening our narrow gate with your skill. Please enjoy your studies, and dream of becoming the future King of Games,” Chancellor Shephard greeted the new students, with Rainbow and Jaden having fallen asleep standing up and not having heard the greeting.

“So the dorms we’ll be staying in are divided into three buildings. My dorm is Slifer Red!” Jaden said as he looked at his PDA.

“I’m in red, too!” The blue haired kid said.

“Me three! Man, we must be the best of the best here already!” Rainbow Dash cheered.

“Actually, you are in the lowest dorm, you three. You can, depending on your performance, get into the better dorms. However, you need to do a lot of work and do well in order to do so,” Twilight Sparkle said as she approached the trio in a yellow outfit.

“Aw man! I helped defeat Dr. Crowler! How can I be so low?!” Rainbow Dash complained.

“Well, your dorm is decided on both the practical and written exams, and you unfortunately didn’t do that well on the written exam, Rainbow. It’s a shame too. If it weren’t for you we’d both be in Obelisk Blue, the highest ranking dorm. Sorry,” Twilight explained sadly. “Well, I have to go check on the Ra Yellow dorm. See you around.”

At this, Twilight left. “How did we get into such a low ranking dorm?! I’m not going to stand a chance here at all!” The blue haired boy said miserably.

“Hey, you heard the girl. We can always get into a better dorm,” Jaden said comfortingly. At this, Bastion walked by. “Hey, #3. Are you Red, as well?”

“No. Can’t you tell from my uniform? I’m Ra Yellow,” Bastion explained.

“That’s what the uniform colors mean?” Jaden asked as he looked at his uniform.

“To be fair, it is kinda obvious,” Rainbow Dash interjected.

“It’s a mystery to me why you’re Red,” Bastion commented.

“I don’t think I like the way you said that!” Jaden bitterly commented back.

“Well, don’t worry about it too much. Goodbye, #1 and #2,” Bastion said before he walked away.

As Bastion left, Jaden laughed before saying, “Well, same to you. Work hard and don’t get too down.”

“That’s right… Your dorm is over there,” Bastion said as he pointed to the right with his thumb, much to the trio’s confusion.

“What’s up with this? Does the Slifer Red dorm seem kind of run-down to you?” The blue haired boy asked as he inspected a pipe on the second floor of the shack.

“You think so? It has a great view, and lots of character, too!” Jaden yelled excitedly.

“Yeah, I think we can find a way to make this work,” Rainbow Dash agreed.

“Here it is! Here it is! This is our room, you two!” Jaden said as he opened the door to their small dorm room.

“We’re together, huh?” the blue haired boy said.

“Well, it’s smaller than I expected… But it has all the necessities, so I still kinda like it,” Jaden was content.

“Yeah! It has beds for us to sleep in and some space to hang out and duel, so I guess it’s okay. I still wish we had larger rooms,” Rainbow Dash responded.

“Seeing as we’re roommates, we must have some kind of mutual destiny, huh? We could be reincarnations of an ancient Egyptain pharaoh, his wife, and Priest Seto!” The blue haired boy was excited at his fantasy. “Your guys’ entrance exam duel was so cool, too. Jaden, Rainbow, may I call you “Pharaoh”?”

“Pharaoh” sounds kinda weird,” Jaden commented.

“Yeah. I love the enthusiasm and compliment, but I don’t know if I’d like to be called that either,” Rainbow Dash declined.

“Then, “big bro” and “big sis” because you’re so much better?” the blue haired boy asked.

“There’s no hierarchy among duelists. We’re rivals, that’s all,” Jaden said.

“But I’m not even close to your guy’s level…” the blue haired boy muttered sadly.

“Let’s all work as hard as we can to become King of Games,” Jaden said.

“Yeah! We’ll be there in no time!” Rainbow Dash yelled.

Suddenly, the trio heard a voice. “Hey! Can the three of you be quiet?! I’m trying to study!” The trio soon saw that the source of the voice was a small boy. “Why are you three being so loud?!”

“Um, sorry,” The blue haired boy apologized.

“Yeah. I guess we were being louder than we thought,” Rainbow apologized.

“Still, school just started and we haven’t even been to class yet. Why are you already studying?” Jaden asked.

“Because I want to get into Obelisk Blue as soon as I can,” The small boy answered. “Only the best of the best can get there! Anyway, my name is Blair. What are your names?”

“My name is Jaden Yuki,” Jaden introduced himself.

“I’m Syrus Truesdale,” The blue haired boy introduced himself.

“As for me, I’m Rainbow Dash!” Rainbow greeted.

Suddenly, Blair looked at Rainbow Dash with suspicion. “Hold on. You’re a girl. What are you doing in Slifer Red?”

“Oh, that. I got on the bad side of Seto Kaiba and he punished me and my friends by putting us in different dorms than normal,” Rainbow stated what she said as if it were no big deal.

“Wait. You met Kaiba?!” Blair was still shocked. “And you are somehow in Slifer Red?!”

“I’ve meant to ask, but what is the big deal with these dorms, anyway?” Rainbow Dash asked Blair.

“It’s simple. You get into one of the three dorms depending on your grades. Those that have connections in high places or high grades since forever get into Obelisk Blue. Those with high grades on the entrance exam get into Ra Yellow. As for Slifer Red, it’s for those that are expected to drop out, the lowest of the low. So, you see, that’s why I want out of this dorm. Good luck to you guys. Maybe you can get out too,” Blair said as he left back for his dorm.

“You’re still depressed?” Jaden asked Syrus.

“But you heard what he said…” Syrus commented miserably.

“I love red, though! Burning flame, hot blood… For a passionate guy like me, it’s perfect! Besides, we haven’t even gotten started yet. It all starts from here on out!” Jaden said.

“Th-That’s true…” Syrus responded, feeling a bit better.

“Yeah! For all you know, you may be good enough to defeat one of us someday!” Rainbow Dash said to help comfort the kid.

“That’s right. Getting depressed now is pointless! Work hard, Syrus! Fight on! Give it all you’ve got!” Syrus said to himself as Jaden ran off. “I shouldn’t have gotten depressed before things had even started.” Syrus then turned to see Rainbow Dash standing there and Jaden running towards the main building. “Wait for me!”

As Syrus started running, Rainbow Dash yelled, “Yeah! How about we race to catch up with him?”

“Why are you running, anyway?” Syrus called out to Jaden as both him and Rainbow ran to catch up.

“People are having a duel somewhere!” Jaden explained.

“I didn’t hear anything!” Syrus called out.

Once all three were inside and had caught up, they walked down the hall to look for the duel. “Um, I think it was this way…” Jaden said.

“How do you know they’re dueling, Bro?” Syrus asked.

“Yeah! I hate to break it to ya, but I don’t see any duels here,” Rainbow agreed with Syrus.

As the trio made it to a nearby duel arena, Jaden explained, “The smell. I smell it… It’s the smell of a duel!”

“Huh? What does a duel smell like?” Syrus asked, confused. He was quick to run up to Jaden, with Rainbow following after. “Are you sure you should be going in there?”

“Cool!” Jaden said in awe as he looked around the duel field.

“I don’t quite get it, but I assume it’s awesome!” Rainbow Dash said.

“Of course! It’s a duel field with all the latest equipment! Their sound equipment and immersion systems are all cutting-edge, too! This is nice. I sure would like to have a duel in a place like this!” Syrus said excitedly.

“Okay, then let’s do it,” Jaden decided.

“Yeah! It would be nice to know where we currently stand with each other!” Rainbow Dash agreed.

“Are you guys sure we can?” Syrus asked.

“What are you talking about? We’re students here, remember?” Jaden reminded Syrus.

“We can’t let you do that,” The blue haired friend of Chazz said, getting the trio’s attention.

“This is no place for drop-out boys from Slifer Red or a drop-out girl either,” The brown haired friend of Chazz commented. “Look up there.” The boy pointed behind the trio to a crest of Obelisk the Tormentor.

“Didn’t you see the Obelisk crest?” The blue haired boy commented.

“S-Sorry. We didn’t know,” Syrus apologized, trying to avoid a fight. “Let’s go back to the dorm, Bro and Sis.”

“I can’t agree with this… Okay why don’t you duel me? Then it would be okay, right?” Jaden asked.

“Yeah! Why don’t we make it a tag duel, like the exam? We’ll show those bullies!” Rainbow agreed.

“I thought it might be them!” The blue haired boy realized.

“Manjome! It’s #110 and #108, the ones who beat Dr. Crowler!” The brown haired friend called out.

“I keep telling you, it’s Chazz!” A voice yelled as the boy got up to look at the trio.

“Ah, I’m Jaden Yuki… It’s a pleasure. Who’s he?” Jaden asked, much to Chazz’s frustration.

“You don’t know Chazz? He’s also a first-year, but he’s the #1 of the super elite, a dedicated player who’s been in the program since middle school!” The blue haired boy explained.

“The great Chazz Princeton is widely considered to be the future King of Games!” The brown haired boy said smugly.

“That’s weird,” Jaden said.

“Why’s that?”

“Because the King of Games has to be #1, right? And the #1 in this school is me!” Jaden explained.

“Or me!” Rainbow butted in. “It could be either one of us!”

Both of Chazz’s friends looked confused for a second before laughing. “A drop-out Slifer Red like you two ought to learn your place---,” The blue haired boy began.

“Be quiet!” Chazz interrupted. “Calm down, all of you. They’re both better than you two. Their entrance exam victory may have been due to carelessness, but they’re still the ones who beat Dr. Crowler.”

“That was all skill,” Jaden and Rainbow countered.

“I'd like to have a look at that skill,” Chazz commented.

“Sounds good,” Jaden agreed.

“What are you guys doing?” A female voice interrupted. It was the blonde girl from back at the entrance exam, Standing with her was Rarity. “Yeah! What is going on here?” Rarity asked.

“Wow, they’re both beautiful!” Syrus said.

“Alexis… Well, this newbie seems rather naive about how the world works… I was thinking I’d teach him some of this school’s harsh realities,” Chazz said smugly.

“It’s time for the dorm welcoming parties to begin,” Alexis pointed out.

“Let’s go,” Chazz said as he and his two friends left the duel arena.

“You three, try not to get riled up by Chazz’s provocations. They’re all a bunch of good-for-nothings,” Alexis said bitterly.

“Yeah, I agree. Rainbow Dash, please tell me that you didn't engage with those ruffians,” Rarity pleaded.

“Don’t worry. All we did was almost challenge him to a duel,” Rainbow Dash commented.

“So, going out of your way to tell me about that… Did you fall for me at first sight---,” Jaden joked.

“Bro, that’s very unlikely!” Syrus reminded realistically.

Fortunately, Alexis found this funny rather than insulting and gave a chuckle while Syrus also awkwardly laughed. “Slifer Red will be holding a welcoming party, as well,” Alexis said.

“That’s right! Let’s go back to the dorm!” Jaden yelled before he ran.

“W-Wait, Bro!” Syrus yelled before he ran as well.

“I’ll race you guys!” Rainbow yelled as she sprinted for the Slifer Red dorm.

“Oh, yeah! What’s your name, and your friend’s name?” Jaden asked as he ran in place.

“My name is Alexis Rhodes and this is Rarity,” Alexis greeted.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you both. I hope we can meet again under better circumstances,” Rarity said.

“Same here. I’m Jaden Yuki, by the way!” Jaden said before he ran after Rainbow.

“You think you’re so smooth…” Syrus commented as he ran after Jaden.

All of the students went over to the welcome parties, with the Obelisk Blue and Ra Yellow students enjoying their meals. As for the Slifer Red students, they only got rice, curry, and fish. Most of the students were disappointed in their small meal, with the only ones eating being Jaden, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack, who had vegetarian curry to eat with their rice. It was here that they met Professor Banner, the head of the Slifer Red Dorm, who seemed like a nice enough guy.

After dinner, Rainbow and Jaden went back to their room with Syrus and sat on the floor thinking about the meal they just ate while Syrus made them all tea.

“Man, I am stuffed! I can’t believe we and your other friend were the only ones to eat,” Jaden said.

“I guess they still need to adjust to being in Slifer Red,” Rainbow decided.

“You three were the only ones who had seconds, right?” Syrus asked.

“Well, the food was really good,” Jaden answered. He then thanked Syrus for the tea.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Upon answering, they saw Twilight, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Spike on the other side.

“Hello there Syrus, Jaden, Rainbow Dash. We just wanted to see how you were doing,” Twilight said.

“Yeah. We heard from Applejack that there wasn’t all that much variety in the welcome dinner so we brought you guys some dessert from the other dinners! We have cinnamon rolls, fruits, cupcakes, and cookies! Dig in!” Pinkie Pie offered.

“Really? Thanks Pinkie Pie!” Rainbow said as she scarfed down a cupcake. “So, you guys want some or what?”

“Well, I guess it would go good with my tea,” Syrus decided to try some of the dessert.

“I’m good for now, maybe later. Hey, why do you guys think no one wanted anything to do with the dinner anyway?” Jaden asked the others.

“If I had to guess it was because they were disappointed,” Applejack said.

“Yeah. They wanted to be a part of one of the better dorms, and are sad to not be there, even if the food was good,” Spike sadly answered.

Before the others could say anything else, Jaden’s PDA suddenly beeped. Upon answering it, everyone saw Chazz on the other end. “Hey, drop-out boy. At midnight, I’ll be waiting on the duel field. It will be an ante rules duel, with both our best cards on the line. Come, if you have the courage.”

“Things are finally getting interesting!” Jaden yelled.

“Yeah! We’ll show him that he isn’t the best duelist on campus!” Rainbow yelled.

“Hold on!” Twilight interrupted. “You two will not be going to that duel! It isn’t allowed to duel with an ante! You guys will end up in trouble if you go! So, please, don’t go!”

“I agree with Twilight. The last thing we need is for you two to go off and get into trouble. See you guys later,” Applejack said before Twilight, Spike, Pinkie Pie, and Applejack left.

“So, what do you think we should do, Jaden?” Rainbow asked.

“I want to duel. We can just deny his card when I win,” Jaden decided.

“Bro! Alexis said not to let him provoke you! And Twilight said you can get into trouble!” Syrus pleaded.

What are you talking about? When a man receives a challenge, he has to accept it,” Jaden countered.

“B-But…” Syrus stuttered.

The trio entered the arena, seeing that Chazz and his friends were there.

“I’m impressed that you’d come, #110,” Chazz commented.

“When I heard there’d be a duel, I had to come,” Jaden boasted.

“B-Bro!” Syrus tried to stop Jaden.

“Show me if your victory over Dr. Crowler was luck or skill,” Chazz said.

“Trust me, our victory was because of skill!” Rainbow said.

“Yeah… There’s something I want to learn, too. I want to know how skilled the Duel Academy elite are,” Jaden said.

“Don’t forget, we’re playing ante rules, with our best cards on the line,” Chaz reminded.

“Sure, bring it on!” Jaden boasted.

“Duel!” Both duelists called out.

“First, it’s my turn! I summon Reborn Zombie in defense position (1600 Defense)!” Chazz played. “I set one more card and end my turn.” “In duels, luck is a factor because you’re reliant on draws. However, victory is determined by strategy based on precise calculation.” “Obelisk Blue and Slifer Red… The difference in intelligence between them has already determined the match’s result.”

“Duels aren’t fought inside the head. They’re fought by passionate hearts slamming into one another. It’s my turn! Draw!” Jaden looked at his hand, noticing Winged Kuriboh in his hand. “Hey, pal… With your luck on my side, I’ve got nothing to fear. I activate my spell card Polymerization! I fuse Elemental HERO Avian and Burstinatrix. And I summon Elemental HERO Flame Wingman in attack position (2100 Attack)! Okay… It's my favorite card.”

“You’ve already fallen for it,” Chazz smugly said.

“What?” Jaden was confused.

“Yeah! What did Jaden do?” Rainbow demanded.

“I thoroughly analyzed your entrance exam duel with your friend. Duels are about intelligence! I activate my trap card, Chthonian Polymer!” Chazz played his trap.

“What’s Chthonian Polymer?” Syrus asked.

“For a duelist, this is basic knowledge,” Alexis said, which surprised Syrus. Alexis and Rarity had arrived to see the duel.

“Alexis…” Syrus was surprised.

“When your opponent summons a Fusion Monster, you can tribute one monster on your side of the field to take control of that monster,” Alexis explained.

“What does that mean?” Syrus was confused.

“It means Jaden is in trouble,” Rarity said.

“I tribute Reborn Zombie and take control of Flame Wingman!” Chazz played as the monster switched sides.

“Flame Wingman!” Jaden called out.

“He stole his monster!” Syrus and Rainbow were shocked.

“I knew that a Fusion Monster dealt the finishing blow in your battle with Dr. Crowler, so I set a trap for it. I can’t believe that, in your ignorance, you walked right into my trap. But that’s a Slifer Red for you, I guess,” Chazz said as he snickered.

“Hey! You may have the advantage now, but you’ll lose it before long!” Rainbow cried out.

“A Fusion Summon is a Special Summon, so I can still Normal Summon this turn,” Jaden said. “But I don’t have a monster with better attack and defense points than Flame Wingman in my hand. Should I ride it out with a monster on defense?” Jaden thought.

“Flame Wingman deals damage equivalent to the attack points of the monster it destroys. No matter what you do, you won’t get through the next turn unscathed,” Chazz thought.

“I summon Elemental HERO Clayman in defense position (2000 Defense)! I end my turn,” Jaden played.

“Card draw! I summon Chthonian Soldier (1200 Attack)! Go, Flame Wingman! Flame Shoot! Flame Wingman’s monster effect deals damage to the opponent player equal to the attack points of the monster it destroys,” Chazz said right before Jaden was burnt by the Flame Wingman, losing 800 life points. “There’s no monster on your side of the field that can protect you! Chthonian Soldier! Hell Attack!”

Chazz Princeton

4000

Jaden Yuki

2000

“With your Fusion Monster sealed, you have no more possible actions, right? I don’t know how things were in your small town, but you aren’t on Duel Academy's level! Have you learned that yet?” Chazz asked. “I set a card on the field and end my turn! Now it’s your turn.” Suddenly, it appeared as if Jaden was crying. “Crying from frustration, #110?” Chazz asked Jaden.

For a moment, Rainbow was about to run into the arena to punch Chazz. However, she stopped when she realized that Jaden wasn’t crying. He was laughing. He got back up and said, “I’m touched…”

“What?” Chazz was angry.

“Duel Academy sure is fun. Is this place full of guys like you? I can’t wait,” Jaden said.

“What?” Chazz once again asked.

“Yeah! You show him, Jaden!” Both Rarity and Rainbow yelled out.

“My turn. Draw. I summon Elemental HERO Sparkman (1600 Attack)! Go, Sparkman. Spark Flash!” Sparkman attacked and destroyed Chthonian Soldier. However, the monster’s blade rose into the air and sliced Jaden’s life points down by 400.

Chazz Princeton

3600

Jaden Yuki

1600

“The monster effect activated. When Chthonian Soldier is destroyed, it reflects any damage dealt to its player back on the opposing player, as well,” Chazz explained.

“Bro!” Syrus cried out.

“That brother of yours is bold, but he’s also careless. How could he have disregarded the monster effect?” Alexis wondered.

“Jaden isn’t my real brother,” Syrus commented. “It’s more like… He’s my big brother in spirit.”

“I set one card and end my turn,” Jaden ended his turn.

“My victory will be decided with this next attack. Card draw! Go, Flame Wingman! Use your Flame Shoot to attack Sparkman!” Chazz called out.

“I activate my trap card Mirror Gate!” Jaden played.

“What?” Chazz was in shock.

“Mirror Gate?!” Syrus was shocked as well.

“What’s that card do?” Rarity asked.

“You can activate it during a battle between monsters. In battle, it causes the attacking monster to switch sides with the targeted monster,” Alexis explained as both monsters clashed.

“Sparkling Breaker!” Jaden called out as Sparkman was destroyed. “And now, Flame Wingman’s monster effect does damage to the opponent equivalent to the attack points of the monster it destroyed.” Flame Wingman dealt 1600 points of damage to Chazz.

“That’s my big bro!” Syrus called out happily.

“He’s not bad,” Alexis admitted.

“Not bad? He’s amazing!” Rainbow called out.

“That was cool, bro!” Syrus called to Jaden.

“You silly…” Alexis said.

“Don’t get cocky, you Slifer Red drop-out! I activate the spell card Chthonian Blast from my hand. On the same turn a monster under your control was destroyed, you can destroy one monster on the field and deal damage equal to half its attack points to your opponent!” Chazz retorted.

“Flame Wingman…” Jaden sadly muttered.]

Chazz Princeton

1500

Jaden Yuki

550

“Then I activate another trap card Call of the Haunted! This lets me choose one monster card from my graveyard and Special Summon it into attack position. I Special Summon Chthonian Soldier! Then I tribute Chthonian Soldier and summon Mefist the Infernal General (1800 Attack)! No matter what happens next, my victory appears decided. In accordance with ante rules, I’ll be taking your best card,” Chazz demanded.

“Are you sure about that?” Jaden asked.

“What?” Chazz was confused, before smiling. “Ninety-nine percent of duels are decided by intellect. Luck constitutes a mere one percent.”

Meanwhile, Winged Kuriboh was cooing. “Yeah… I hear you, pal. I’ll risk it all on that one percent. My draw will create a miracle! It’s my turn! Draw!” Jaden drew his card and looked happy at what he drew.

Suddenly, Alexis yelled out, “The guards are coming! The school prohibits ante rule matches, and you’re using the facilities outside of school hours. You could be expelled for breaking the rules!”

“Wait, Twilight was right? The school has rules like that?” Jaden was shocked.

“Didn’t you read the student handbook?” Alexis asked as she showed Jaden a copy.

“Well, looks like we’ll have to finish this later, Princeton,” Rainbow said.

Chazz suddenly blushed as he thought, “Alexis was watching my duel?”

“Manjome, this isn’t good!” the blue haired kid called out.

“We’ll stop here for the night. Next time, I’ll finalize my victory,” Chazz said.

“Our match isn’t over yet!” Jaden countered.

“It went long enough. I’ve seen what skill you have. It appears your entrance exam, along with your friend’s, was a fluke,” Chazz decided as he and his friends walked away.

“You’ve gotta be kidding!” Jaden yelled out.

“Bro, they’ll see us!” Syrus called out.

“Come on, this way…” Alexis pleaded.

“We need to leave now!” Rarity said.

“Hurry, hurry,” Syrus pleaded.

Jaden bitterly decided, “I don’t wanna! I’m staying right here!”

“Bro!” Syrus yelled.

“I’m with them! You can always duel him again later!” Rainbow Dash yelled.

“Really, you’re so high maintenance,” Alexis said to Jaden.

“Tsk… I didn’’t ask for your help,” Jaden said.

“Thank you Alexis, Rarity,” Syrus thanked the two.

“Well? How did you like your little hazing by Obelisk Blue?” Alexis asked.

“Not bad. I wish it had lasted a bit longer, though,” Jaden said.

“Really? Weren’t you on the verge of losing a valuable card to ante rules?” Alexis asked.

“No, I won that duel,” Jaden said as he showed the card he drew before the duel ended; Monster Reborn.

Alexis was shocked as Rainbow yelled out, “Alright! So you woulda beat down that spoiled rich kid!”

Rarity said, “Shh, be quiet darling. We don’t wanna be caught, do you?”

At this, the Slifer Red trio left to return for their dorm.

“That kid… He’s kind of interesting,” Alexis thought to herself.

Author's Note

For those that are wondering, Blair is still a girl, though she is a few years older. She is just trying to ear her way to Obelisk Blue and Zane. Hope you enjoy this chapter.