Thursday, April 13, 2006

   Act One: A New Deck
Ziek stepped into the shop. All the kids were sitting at tables or at the counter. Rei, Cloud, and Sakura were at a table. "Four packs of cards," Ziek said. The man slid four boxes to him. He picked some packs, then sat with his two friends and brother. "Pick a pack, we're leaving tommorow," Ziek said. They looked at him. "You mean it?" Rei asked. "Yep, Duel Academy," Ziek said.

The next morning, Cloud woke Ziek up. "Bro, sort out your deck," he said. Half awake, Ziek looked at his deck. "Elemental Heroes Sparkman, Burstinatrix, Clayman. Cyber Laser Dragons, Photon Generator Unit, so on. Masked Dragon, levels 1-9," he rattled off. "Weak deck," Cloud mentioned. "C'mon, they're waiting at Domino's Card Shop," Ziek muttered.

Rei and Sakura waved as the brothers approached. "Hey!" Rei shouted. "The ship's almost left!" Sakura called. The four of them ran to Leanoke Port. "Out of my way noobies," sneered a boy. "Who are you to say that?" Rei asked. The boy laughed. "Chazz Princeton, Dueling Expert," Chazz replied. "If you're an expert, why are you coming to school?" Ziek snapped. Chazz clenched his fists. "Why I.." "Stop it Chazz," a girl cautioned. "Ya, fine Alexa," Chazz said, jamming his hands into his pockets. They boarded the boat together. Later three new boys came. "Hey Zayne. You think I'll fit in here?" asked the smaller boy. "Well, you have some skills. I have to admit, you can duel.." Zayne started, "to a certain point. But don't worry Sirius." Sirius beamed at Zayne. "Gee thanks!" he said. "Yeah, Yeah. C'mon Sirius, let's talk to these guys," said the other boy. "Hey who're you?" Sirius asked. "I'm Sakura and these are Rei, Cloud, and Ziek," Sakura said. "I'm Jaden," Jaden said. "C'mon little bro. The boat's leaving," Zayne said, and they all ran up.

The boat was nice. Luxury rooms and more common rooms lined the corridors. Duelists sat in a room, trading and battling other people. Everyone, except Cloud, raced to the common room.
"...Don't see where you're coming from. I'll be there Alexa," came Chazz's voice. "Well, I just won't," Alexa said in a defiant tone. "Leave her alone Chazz. With that attitude, how are ya gonna make it into Obelisk Blue?" Zayne replied. Cloud entered the hall. "Hey look. It's one of those noobies from outside," Chazz jeered. "Shut your mouth Princeton," Cloud snapped, "Anyway. I want to know, how does this Academy work? I want to be up high, you know? Somewhere I can put my cards to use." The boat stopped and all people came off. "Just wait," Zayne said, "Opening duels are right now. Show them what you got."

Inside, after all greetings, was some large arenas. "First three duels, Kyo Ozaki and Chazz Princeton. Jaden Yuki and Tomaya Nitoki. Cloud Raenburg and Tim Sowler," announced the loudspeaker. Zayne followed Cloud, then sat up in the middle bleachers. "Okay, I play Cyber Dragon and Elemental Hero Sparkman. Then the Magic Card, Heroes First. When a Hero is on the field. It attacks, no matter what!" Cloud shouted. 2400 LP for Tim. "Zombie Werewolf, defence mode," Tim said. "I play, Heroes Trump Card. That means bye bye werewolf! and hello end of duel," Cloud said. Tim dropped, sputtering.