Sora Fernandez

"Thank you for sailing with us today." The announcer's voice coming from the speakers of the ship said. "The boat will reach Duel Academy in approximately one hour."
I stand on the deck of the boat as I look at the clear ocean view. I find it very peaceful to view the ocean as clear as this one. This peaceful watching of the ocean was interrupted with a small boy with light blue hair and wears a pair of glasses and a red blazer.
"Ah, it's you!" he exclaims. "Long time no see! You also made the Academy! To tell you the truth, I was a little worried."
Worried…? I thought with an eyebrow raised.
"The entrance exams were pretty tough."
When he says that, it made me remember what happened back at the entrance exams halls.
----I was running pretty late to get to the entrance exams for Duel Academy. What keeps me busy was trying to fix my short black hair into perfection and trying to pick the right outfit that makes me look serious.
As I was running, I met a tall, brown hair guy wearing a red blazer. He screams "Hey, heeey!" I stop in front of him as he talks normally. "Yeah, you. Quick question." I listen to what he has to say. "You're trying out for Duel Academy, right?"
My eyes widen in shock as I nod my head. "Yes, but how do you know?"
"Huh? How do I know? Well, you've got the face of a duelist." I blush when he talks about my face like that; it was actually a first time someone compliments my face like that. "Anyway, do you know where the exam hall is? I got kind of lost. Do you know?"
I told him that we're taking the exams at Kaiba Corp.
"Where's that?" he asks and I just put my palm against my face for his stupidity. I pointed at the tall building behind him. "Huh? Behind me?" He turns around and gasps in shock. "Oh, over there. Right. That sure does look like Kaiba Corp. Probably because it is."
I have this sudden urge to strangle him, but I restrain myself for doing it.
He turns to me as he smiles brightly. "I forgot to introduce myself. My name's Jaden Yuki. Nice to meet you! What's your name?"
I answer his question by saying, "My name's Sora Fernandez. It's a pleasure to meet you as well."
"That's a sweet name! Perfect for a duelist!" I blush again when he compliments me that way. Then he notices something from the clock next to us. "Uh oh! The entrance exams are about to start! Let's go, Sora Fernandez!" He grabs my arm and drags me into the building.
----We have made it in time to hear that a duel was quickly over by a guy named Bastion Misawa. Both Jaden and I were gasping for air because of our running. As we finally catch our breath, I look around and saw a large crowd and we've met with the short boy with light blue hair.
"Excuse me," I spoke kindly, "are we late? You see we're also taking the entrance exams."
"Aww, you guys might have a problem," he said and I don't like it. "I think all the duels have finished." Jaden and I gasp in shock. "I overheard the professor in charge talking to the exam officials. They might not let anyone else take the exam!"
I feel like my world's ending right in front of me. However, Jaden said, "Eh, it'll be fine. You worry too much. We weren't late or anything, so it's not like they won't let us take the test."
How is this guy so confident? I pray that he's right.
Moments later, we were visited by a tall man with blonde hair and it seems like he's wearing makeup or something because his lips were purple. He asks, "Which of you slackers is first!"
Did he just call us "slackers?" I decided to let that slide because we're finally taking the exams.
I turn to Jaden, who is waving his hands like a little child. The professor accepts taking him on first as the professor introduces himself as Dr. Crowler. He took Jaden to the dueling field as I sit next to the light blue hair boy.
----Some time has pass and Jaden defeats Crowler with his Elemental Hero Flame Wingman and Skyscraper combo. Everyone is shocked to see Crowler defeated, including Crowler and myself. Jaden runs up to the stairs and tells us he did it as the announcer announces that Jaden has been accepted.
Crowler, who is still steamed from his defeat, calls out my name and I ran down the stairs. I put on my duel disk and insert my deck as I stand in front of Crowler with a huge grin on my face. I activated my duel disk and said, "Hope you're ready! I'm itching for a challenge!"
"Don't get too ahead of yourself there, boy!" he shouted angrily. "Just cause that slacker beats me, doesn't mean that you are!" He activated his duel disk on his chest.
"Duel!" we both shouted in unison.
Sora's Life Points: 4000
Crowler's Life Points: 4000
I start off the duel as I draw a card from my deck. "I summon a monster in face down defense position and I end my turn with one card face down as well." Two cards appear in front of me.
"My turn! Draw!" Crowler draws a card from his deck. "I summon Ancient Gear Soldier in attack mode!" A robotic soldier with exposed gears and has a gun for a hand appear in front of him.
Ancient Gear Soldier: Level 4, Earth
ATK: 1300 DEF: 1300
"Ancient Gear Soldier attacks your facedown monster!" he shouted. "During this attack, my monster's ability activates! When Ancient Gear Soldier attacks, your facedown spells/trap cards stay face down."
In other words, they won't activate, I thought to myself as I watch the robotic soldier shooting down my face down monster.
The face down monster reveals to be a pink marshmallow-like monster.
Marshmallon: Level 3, Light
ATK: 300 DEF: 500
"I activate Marshmallon's ability!" I exclaimed. "Marshmallon cannot be destroyed during battle and if it was flip face-up from it's face down position during battle, my opponent loses 1000 of their life points!"
Crowler gasps as rays of light hurts him.
Crowler's Life Points: 4000 – 1000 = 3000
"I end my turn with one facedown card," he grunts, "Turn ended." A card appears in front of him.
"My turn! Draw!" I draw a card from my deck. "I summon Obnoxious Celtic Guardian in attack mode!" A male elf knight in green armor and wields a sword appears in front of me.
Obnoxious Celtic Guardian: Level 4, Earth
ATK: 1400 DEF: 1200
"My Celtic Guardian attacks your soldier!" I pointed as my monster attacks Crowler's Ancient Gear Soldier.
Crowler smirks and said, "Amateur… Have you forgotten about my face down card? I activate my face down card! Mirror Force! This card not just negates your attack, but it also destroys all of your monsters that are in attack position!"
"I knew you were going to play that." I said with a smirk. Crowler raises an eyebrow as I activate my face down card. "I activate my trap card, Starlight Road! This card negates the card's effect that destroys more than 2 cards on the field and destroys that card. After that, I can special summon a special monster from my extra deck zone."
Crowler gasps as he watches his Mirror Force card crush. Next a pillar of light appears behind me, I can feel everyone's eyes staring at the pillar of light.
"I special summon my ace monster, Stardust Dragon!" A white dragon appears out of the pillar of light as the light dies down. The white dragon glitters stardust as it flaps its wings.
Stardust Dragon: Level 8, Wind
ATK: 2500 DEF: 2000
"Stardust Dragon?" He questions. "I'v never heard of that card!"
"Too bad, Crowler. It's because I have won this card, along with many others, from a tournament not too long ago. Now, where was I again? Oh yeah! My Celtic Guardian attacks your Ancient Gear Soldier!" Celtic Guardian slashes the robotic soldier into pieces as it disappears.
Crowler's Life Points: 3000 – 100 = 2900
"Stardust Dragon! Attack Crowler's life points directly! Cosmic Flare!" Stardust Dragon fires a white beam from its mouth and hits Crowler at his chest.
Crowler's Life Points: 2900 – 2500 = 400
"I end my turn for now."
Crowler growls, "My turn! Draw!" He draws a card from his deck and smiles as if he had won the lottery. "I activate the spell card, Lightning Vortex! By discarding one card from my hand, I can destroy all of your face-up monsters on the field! Say good-bye to all of your monsters!" A big lightning bolt comes at my monsters.
I gritted my teeth and exclaim, "Not so fast! I activate Stardust Dragon's special ability! By sacrificing itself, Stardust Dragon can negate the card's effect that destroys more than one card and destroys it. If that wasn't bad enough for you, Stardust Dragon returns from the dead at the end of the turn that it activates its special ability."
Everyone gasps in shock, including Crowler, as Stardust Dragon glows and stops the lightning bolt. Stardust Dragon disappears with the lightning bolt as I sigh in relief.
"That doesn't matter!" Crowler angrily shouts. "I activate the spell card, Monster Reborn! With this, I can revive any monster from any of one of our graveyards. And the monster that I'm going to revive is Ancient Gear Golem!" A giant robotic golem with a huge arm and exposed gears at somewhere on its body appears in front of him.
Ancient Gear Golem: Level 8, Earth
ATK: 3000 DEF: 3000
"Ancient Gear Golem! Attack Marshmallon!" He points at the pink marshmallow monster.
"But Marshmallon can't be destroy in battle," I said.
He laughs like a mad man at me. "Have you forgotten my last duel with the slacker? Ancient Gear Golem has a piercing ability; if my monster attacks a monster with defense points lesser than my monster's attacks points, you take damage equal to the difference between their attack and defense points."
I forgot about that! I gasp as I saw the big robotic golem punches my pink monster. That punch passes through my monster as I got hit at my gut.
Sora's Life Points: 4000 – 2500 = 1500
He laughs as he ends his turn and Stardust Dragon comes back from the graveyard. "Even with your dragon, you still cannot beat me!" he said in a gloating manner. "Your dragon's attack points are significantly lower than my golem's 3000 attack points. It would take a miracle for you. A miracle that you won't have!" He laughs thinking that he won this duel already, which pisses me off.
I clench my hand into a fist and shouted, "DON'T UNDERESTIMATE ME!" My shout roars for everyone to hear, including Crowler, as they felt something dark is going to happen. "It's my turn! Draw! I activate the spell card called Polymerization! With this card, I can fuse together my Stardust Dragon with my Obnoxious Celtic Guardian to become Dragon Knight Draco-Equiste!"
Both Stardust Dragon and Celtic Guardian flies up into the air as they glow into two bright lights and collided. The collision reveals a dragon in blue armor carrying a huge spear as it slowly descends in front of me.
Dragon Knight Draco-Equiste: Level 10, Wind
ATK: 3200 DEF: 2000
Crowler gasps at this surprising event as I switch Marshmallon into attack position. "Crowler, you will pay for underestimating my skills! Go my Dragon Knight! Attack Crowler's Ancient Gear Golem!"
Dragon Knight Draco-Equiste uses it spear to pierce the golem at its chest. The power of that pierce was strong enough to kill the golem.
Crowler's Life Points: 400 – 200 = 200
"Wait! Can't we talk about this?" Crowler panics like a little girl, but I wasn't listening as I let Marshmallon to deliver the final blow by biting onto Crowler's arm.
Crowler's Life Points: 200 – 300 = 0
"The duel is over!" one of the exam proctors shouted. "The winner is Sora Fernandez and he's been accepted into the academy along with Jaden Yuki!"
----"Not only were you late to the exam." The blue haired boy said, "But you had to face off against a faculty teacher! What was his name again?"
His name's Crowler, idiot! I never forget a person's name, especially if it's someone who pisses me off.
"Well, whatever." He shrugs and I couldn't blame him. "But you beat him! Wow… I wish I was that good."
Then the announcer from the boat's speakers said, "We will soon arrive at Duel Academy. Please take all personal items with you."
The boy and I gasp as we saw Duel Academy island. The island is lush with green as we saw the lighthouse and the roof of the academy.
"I see the island!" The small boy exclaims. "I wonder what life is like at Duel Academy."
I hope nothing bad is going to happen, I pray that thought to come true.
----The boat stops the harbor as all of the students who took the exams got off with their belongings. "Phew!" said the small boy. "We're finally here." The boy stares at me for a moment. "By the way… There's something I wanted to ask you… Do you remember who I am?"
Now that I think about it, no I don't. I only just met him at the exams and not once he ever mention his name. I tilted my head and it seems like he gets the picture.
He sighs. "I knew it. I was at the entrance exams. I'm Syrus, Syrus Truesdale."
You just now tell me your name! I thought with anger.
"I heard that the chancellor will be giving a speech on campus." He said.
Great… I hate speeches.
"Let's go together." He suggested as I nod my head and follow him to the huge building known as the school of Duel Academy.
----As soon as we arrive inside the school field, Syrus and I saw Jaden waving at us inside a huge crowd of students. "Hey! Sora Fernandez!" he said with a cheerful expression on his face. "I knew you'd make it! It's going to be great living at the Academy."
"I knew you'd make it, Jaden!" Syrus said and he too sounded happy as Jaden.
"Of course! I'm going to be the next King of Games!"
Syrus chuckles. "You're pretty confident… I wish I was too." Jaden made a slight chuckle as well. "Hey, guys. It looks like the chancellor is about to start his speech."
A bald, brown bearded man wearing a dark red blazer stands in front of us and said, "Welcome to Duel Academy. I'm Chancellor Sheppard, the headmaster of this school. And you're the best and brightest young duelists in the world."
How long is his speech going to last? I could feel myself falling asleep at any moment now.
"You overcame many obstacles to make it this far, so you can consider yourselves the dueling elite. I want you to have fun dueling and studying. I think I've bored you enough, so I'll let the headmasters in each dorm fill in the rest of the details. I expect great things from you, and I know you'll fulfill them. Until then!"
The speech was over and everyone quickly left the building. Jaden, Syrus, and I walk outside as Jaden yawns. "Speeches make me sleepy," he said and I agreed with him. "So where's this dorm we're going to? Do you know, Sora?"
I look at my uniform along with Jaden's and Syrus's and the three of us are wearing red blazers. "I believe we are supposed to go to the red dormitory," I answer and Syrus congratulates me for getting the answer right. Syrus explains that our uniforms signify which dorm we're living.
"Really?" Jaden tilted his head. "I didn't know that." I sometimes wish that I could strangle him without getting arrested. "So… that means we're all in Red Dorm." We quickly walk to our dorm as we started to chat a bit more.
----We arrive at the red dorm; it's a two-story building and it looks one of those old apartment complexes, but with a red roof. "So this is the Red Dorm?" Syrus asks in concern. "I don't think even roaches want to live here."
That's a little harsh, Syrus.
I turn to Jaden and it seems like he has a different perspective than from Syrus's. "It's not so bad," he said, "It's… what's the word? Quaint. The building's kind of old, but guys check out this sweet view! It's perfect!"
I look at the view that Jaden was looking at and it really is a sweet view! I can see the ocean from where I'm standing.
Syrus sighs. "I guess I'll get used to it… maybe." Syrus looks at his PDA and said, "It looks like me and Jaden are in the same room. You're in the room next to us, Sora."
I made a small chuckle and said, "Guess we're neighbors, huh."
"Right." Jaden smiles as he nods his head. "Let's dumb our bags and go explore the island! We'll meet up in our room."
"Okay!" Syrus smiles. "Sora, after you settle in, meet us in our room."
You don't have to be redundant, I thought to myself without actually saying it. I wave both Jaden and Syrus a good-bye as I enter my room.
My room has a closet, a sink, and a desk with a computer on it, a bookshelf, and triple-bunk beds. According to my PDA, it seems like I don't have any roommates living with me. It's a bit strange since I have triple-bunk beds. I shrug it off as I unpack my things.
----After I finally finish unpacking my things, I decided to go to Jaden and Syrus's room as we promise. I knock on the door and no one answer. I notice that the door is unlocked as I slowly open to see that both Jaden and Syrus are both having a duel without using their own duel disks.
"Aww, man. I lost again!" said Syrus, though his tone doesn't sound like he's sad. "You're a really great duelist, Jaden. Teach me your ways!"
"Stop acting so weird, Sy." I made a small chuckle without them knowing, it's kind of funny to see Jaden being embarrass from that. "It's not about winning or losing, it's all about having fun!"
It's true, I cheerfully thought. After hearing what Jaden had said, it kind of makes me see a different light about him… If only he wasn't so stupid.
Syrus looks sad and mumbles, "I guess so… I wish I felt the same…"
Then Jaden notices me standing in his doorway and greeted me. "Sora! You're here! I was just dueling Syrus."
"I can see that!" I chuckle.
"What's with the racket?" ask a male's voice and it kind of scares me to point of being jumpy. "Can't a guy catch a few z's?" All of us turned to the big guy who is sleeping on the top bed of the triple-bunk bed. "Freshmen always have huge dreams."
"AHH! IT'S A KOALA!" Both Jaden and I scream simultaneously.
The big guy shouted, "I'm not a koala!" He calms down and said, "I'm Chumley, Chumley Huffington. I'm your roommate." All of us introduce ourselves as Chumley continues, "Like I care. You might've made the Academy, but it's time to give up your dreams." All of us stare at him and wonder what he means by that. "We're Slifer Reds. Do you now what that means? Depending on your score, the school is divided up into 3 colors. Obelisk Blue is at the top. Second is Ra Yellow, but they have students that did really well in the entrance exam. And at the bottom, it's Slifer Red. All of us barely made it in. It's the dorm for us dueling duds."
Syrus is shock to hear that. However, Jaden brighten the mood by saying, "Red's a sweet color! Sora, Syrus, the year hasn't even started yet. How can we be the worst?"
I hope Murphy's Law doesn't come to play when you say that!
"Let's go check out the island!" he excitedly exclaims as he walks out of the door. I turn to Syrus and he looks sad as he follows Jaden.
Then I turn to Chumley as he said, "They'll find out soon enough." I wonder what happens to Chumley in the past, what makes him who he is today? I decided to shrug it off as I ran to Jaden and Syrus since I'm falling behind to keep up.
----I follow Jaden and Syrus to a yellow building with a green rooftop and green windows; it looks so much better than our Red Dorm. "Cheer up, Syrus!" said Jaden as he's trying to cheer Syrus up. "We're going to have a great time! Don't worry about it!"
Syrus nodded as his spirits are up. "Yeah, I guess we'll have fun. Why get depressed now when I have plenty of time later to get even more depressed!"
I slump a little from what Syrus had just said. "Uh, Syrus. That's not a good mindset to say when someone says the word 'fun'."
Jaden notices the building. "Hey, I wonder what that building is."
"That's the Ra Yellow dormitory." A male voice says as we turn to a young man wearing a yellow blazer and brown long pants. "I'm surprised that the two of you are in Slifer Red, especially since you both defeated Dr. Crowler during the entrance exam."
"It can't be help though," I mumbled, "we were both late."
Jaden smiles. "No biggie. Anyway, who are you?"
The young man notices that he hasn't told us his name. "My name is Bastion Misawa. I'm a freshman in Ra Yellow."
Syrus gasps. "I remember you! You had the highest score in the entrance exam!" Jaden, being the clueless guy that he is, tilts his head. "That means he's the best duelist in our entire class!"
"But… I'm number one…" Jaden's tone sounds like his pride has been crush. "You must be a pretty strong duelist. Why don't we get our game on?"
"Sure…!" Bastion looks like he's hesitating. "… Is what I want to say, but I have something I must attend to." Jaden looks disappointed as Syrus decided that we should keep exploring. Before we leave, Bastion exclaims, "Wait! I just notice something!" He stares at my face and commented, "You have a girly face for a guy."
I silently gasp as Syrus and Jaden both look at me. "Hey! He's right!" Syrus exclaims. "I just noticed it now! Wow… You could totally pass off as a girl despite the outfit that you're wearing."
"Can't we stop talking about my face and continue exploring this place?" I ask as I quickly speed walk ahead of the two.
"Come on!" Jaden said. "There's nothing to be embarrass about your face!" I could feel my face burning as I sped up my pace a bit more.
----We walk to a white castle with blue rooftops that was in front of the school. Jaden looks at it and asks, "What's that building?"
"It looks like a palace!" Syrus commented.
Then a male student wearing a dark blue blazer yelled us at. He yells, "Hey! This place isn't for Slifers!"
"I have a bad feeling about this…" Syrus looks sad and I agree with him.
"This is Obelisk Blue's dorm," said the male student. "This is no place for you rejects! Go back to where you belong!"
What a jerk! I angrily thought as I clench my hand into a fist.
"Sheesh, whatever happened to hospitality?" Jaden asks like a total airhead. "Syrus, Sora, let's go. Where do we go next? How about this way!" He drags us to where he's pointing.
----"Where are we now?" Jaden asks as we stand in front of another palace just like before. We have no clue where we are until a long, brown hair female student notices us.
I notice that girl wears a sleeveless blazer that is white and blue and a dark blue mini skirt. "What are you guys doing here?" she asks and it sounded like she's mad.
"Nothing special…" Jaden answers, even though he could just tell her that we're just exploring.
"How suspicious. I should call the headmaster."
Jaden tilts his head. "Suspicious? Who's suspicious?"
I shook my head. "Jaden… I think she means us. We're the ones who are suspicious."
"He's right!" She agrees what I had just said. "Hello! This is the Obelisk Blue's girl dorm! GIRL dorm!"
"S-sorry." Syrus stutters in a panic. "We didn't know."
"Oh, I see. Freshmen." She calms down and smiles at us. "I guess I can forgive you."
"I'm Jaden Yuki," said Jaden, "the next King of Games. This is Syrus and Sora. And you are?"
"I'm Alexis Rhodes," she answers, "I'm also a freshmen here in Obelisk Blue." Then she turns to me and said, "You got a pretty face for a boy. I have to admit, I'm kind of jealous." I blush as I look at the other way. "Oh my. Look at the time!"
"What's wrong?" Jaden asks.
"There's a welcome dinner for the new freshmen," she answers, "I have to leave now or I'll be late." Both Syrus and I gasp because we totally forgot about the welcome dinner. We quickly left and headed back to our dorm before we said our good-byes to Alexis.
----We're able to make it in time as the sunsets before nightfall. We walk inside the Red Dorm Cafeteria and sat next to each other. Syrus sighs in relief and said, "Looks like we got here just in time. But where's the feast?"
I look at our plates and notice that it's just one dried sardine with rice and soup. "I think this is our feast." I answer, "I wonder where's our headmaster. He or she is supposed to be here for the welcome dinner."
Then I heard a man coughing from behind us. We turn around and gasp in shock to see a glasses-wearing man with long, black hair and wear a business-looking kind of clothes. He said, "My name is Professor Lyman Banner, the headmaster of Slifer Red. I have prepared a beautiful feast for your welcome party today. Please enjoy yourselves."
Talk about a cheap preparation, I thought to myself.
"Oh, so there's going to be a welcome party." Syrus said as he sighs in relief. "We were a little worried there for a second, weren't we Jaden?" We notice that Jaden is stuffing his face with the food and calls it delicious.
I chuckle and said, "Simplicity is always the best." We ate our meals as well and I have to admit that the food here does taste so good.