Prince vs Knight

The boat had arrived at academy island and Michael ensured that Johnny and his cronies were reported to Chancellor Sheppard. When Sheppard asked for evidence, Michael pressed a button on the side of his duel disk, engaging the replay function, and showed the Chancellor the footage. Having gone over the evidence, Sheppard warned the three that such behavior would not be tolerated further, and if another incident occurred, they would be expelled. Having sorted out their punishment, Sheppard thanked Michael for bringing this to his attention and praised him for defending a fellow student. Michael simply responded. 
"No need to praise me. Unlike some." Michael said before glancing at the guilty party. 
"I was raised to show proper respect to others, now if you'll excuse me, I must take my leave." He finished before walking out of the room.
Michael walked off and got his uniform, having taken the three troublemakers directly to Chancellor Sheppard alongside the Disciplinary Action Squad. As he expected, his skills and grades had earned him a spot in the Obelisk Blue dorm. He walked outside and saw Jaden, Syrus, and Bastion. 
"Hey Michael, so you reported Johnny and the others to Sheppard?" Syrus asked, him and Jaden having been filled in on what happened by Bastion. 
"Indeed. And I get the feeling that they're not too happy about their punishment." Michael said. 
"So, what did the Chancellor decide to do?" Jaden asked. 
"Originally, they were supposed to be in Obelisk Blue, but after the incident, they were demoted to Ra Yellow. They were warned that if they ever did something like that again, they'd be expelled." Michael explained. 
"So which dorm are you in Michael?" Jaden asked.
"Isn't it obvious?" Michael asked as he motioned to his uniform. 
"Not really," Jaden responded. 
"Jaden, I'm in Obelisk Blue. And judging by your uniform, you're in Slifer Red." Michael replied. 
"Oh, so that's why Sy and I are in red," Jaden said. 
"Please don't tell me that you've just figured that out now." Bastion said. 
"Okay, then I won't. Guess we'll see you guys around the dorms." Jaden said. 
"I doubt it, your dorm is over there." Bastion said as he pointed them in the right direction. Jaden and Syrus walked in the direction Bastion pointed, with Michael accompanying them.
"So why are you following us Michael? Shouldn't you be heading to your dorm?" Syrus asked. 
"I just thought I'd see how the dorms compare to each other. That and I thought I'd get an idea of where everything is on the island," Michael responded. Jaden's skills should've put him in at least Ra Yellow, but his grades must be what landed him in Slifer, he thought to himself. "I guess that makes sense. Hey, have you guys ever thought about the structuring of the dorms?" Syrus asked.
"What do you mean Sy?" Jaden asked. 
"Well, the Egyptian Gods, Slifer, Obelisk, and Ra that the dorms were named after, wasn't Ra the strongest and Obelisk the weakest of them?" Syrus brought up. 
"It depends on how you look at it." Michael responded. 
"What do you mean?" Jaden asked. 
"Well, look at it this way. Each of them have their own strengths and weaknesses. Looking at them against regular monsters instead of comparing them to each other, it's easy to see why the dorms are structured the way they are. I'll start with Slifer and why at least I think it makes sense for him to represent the lowest ranked dorm. Slifer's attack and defense points are tied to how many cards his controller has in their hand, so it's hard to make other moves and keep Slifer strong at the same time. And Slifer's other ability lowers the strength of your opponent's monsters, which makes Slifer more defensive than the other Egyptian Gods." Michael explained.
"Huh, that does make a bit of sense." Syrus agreed. 
"Next is Ra, who technically is the strongest Egyptian God when you compare them to each other. Ra's attack and defense points are determined by the monsters sacrificed to summon him. Let's say you sacrificed Dunames Dark Witch, Vorse Raider, and Luster Dragon. Ra would have 5600 attack points and 3850 defense points. Additionally, his controller can give up all but one of their life points in order to add them to Ra's attack and defense points, and also sacrifice their other monsters to power him up." Michael explained.
"But then shouldn't that make Ra the top dorm?" Syrus asked. 
"While it's true that Ra can climb to great heights, if you use point transfer, you're wide open because the smallest amount of damage would be enough to finish you off, making him more oriented for one turn kills." Michael replied. 
"Huh, I never thought about that before." Jaden said. 
"And now we come to Obelisk. Obelisk's attack and defense are set at 4000 each, only beaten out by three monsters: Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, Dragon Master Knight, and Five-Headed Dragon. Obelisk has two special abilities, Fist of Fate and Soul Energy Max." Michael continued.
"What do those do again?" Jaden asked. 
"With Fist of Fate, you can sacrifice two of your monsters in order for Obelisk to destroy all your opponent's monsters and inflict 4000 damage to your opponent, which can instantly win you the duel, and with Soul Energy Max, you can sacrifice two of your monsters in order for Obelisk to attack your opponent, while also giving him infinite attack points for the battle, something neither of the other Egyptian Gods can do." Michael explained. 
"When you put it that way, I guess you have a point." Syrus said.
"Hey look, there it is." Jaden said. Michael and Syrus looked in front of them and couldn't believe what they were looking at. 
"That's the Slifer Red dorm?" Michael asked. It sat right up against the cliff side, was filled with cracks, and looked like it had been there for 50 years. Its one redeeming quality was the wraparound deck with a great view. 
"This isn't a dorm, it's an outhouse with a deck," Syrus said. 
"You kidding me, check out the view, this place is great!" Jaden exclaimed.
"This place is a disaster. It looks like it would fall down in the next big storm. Where the architects out of their minds, lazy, or both?" Michael asked. 
"Well, here's our room Sy." Jaden said. 
"It's kind of small," the blue haired boy said as he looked inside.
"Hey, you're a small guy," Jaden said. 
'This dorm is an absolute disaster. And the Chancellor lets the Slifers live like this? It's not right.' Michael thought to himself. 
"I'll see you guys later." He said as he began to leave. 
"We'll see you around I guess." Jaden said as Michael began to walk away. I guess my parents were right to be worried about this place, Michael thought to himself as he was walking to the main campus.
Flashback
"Michael, I want you to see how Duel Academy is running while you're there. As you know, our family is one of Duel Academy's biggest financial supporters, and I want to make sure our investment is being spent wisely." His father told him. 
"Yes father." Michael answered.
"There's one more thing. A few years ago, numerous students disappeared from the campus, including the son of a long-time friend of our family. I want you to see what you can find." his father informed. 
"Yes father." Michael said.
End Flashback
Michael was heading to the school to have a word with Chancellor Sheppard. He arrived at the man's office and knocked. 
"Come in." Sheppard said. Michael entered and walked to the man's desk. 
"Michael? Is there something you needed?" the Chancellor asked. 
"Why is the Slifer Red dorm in such terrible condition?" Michael asked. 
"Why do you care? You scored into the Obelisk Blue dorm," the man asked. 
"I care because my family invested a lot of money into Duel Academy, and from what I can tell, the Slifers have been left to fend for themselves." Michael said.
"Well, I'm sorry, but there's nothing I can do. By the time we reach the Slifer dorm, we're almost out of funds." Sheppard answered. 
"I see. I'm sorry to bother you." Michael responded. 
"It's fine. You're just looking out for your fellow students. That's very admirable of you, but I'm afraid there's nothing I can do," Sheppard said. 
"I'll leave you now." Michael said as he turned to leave. 
'Something's not right here. My parents provide more than enough money for all the dorms to be taken care of. Someone must be stealing the funds and keeping it for themselves, but who?' Michael thought to himself.
He began to think things over as he headed to his dorm. He arrived and unpacked his things, including his laptop. It was created by his family's private tech company and could hack into almost any computer system while remaining undetected. He realized it was almost time for the Obelisk welcome dinner and set his laptop to download the data he needed from the school's central computer. Once he accomplished that, he headed to the main hall for the welcome dinner.
"Are you sure about this Chazz?" A voice asked. 
"Yeah, what if you get busted along with them and get expelled?" Another voice asked. Michael pulled out a small audio recorder he kept on him and turned it on. 
"I'm sure. Jaden and Michael are threats to me, and I'm gonna make sure they get booted from the academy. And I'll make sure I get Michael's Dark World deck for myself in the process. With it, no one will be able to beat me." Chazz said. 
"So how are you gonna do it?" One of the other boys asked. 
"I'll get rid of Jaden first, tonight. I'm gonna challenge him to a duel at the arena after hours and get him busted so he gets kicked out of Duel Academy." Chazz said.
"We'll see about that Chazz." Michael said as he stopped recording and stepped out from behind the corner. 
"He heard us!" One of the boys exclaimed. 
"Chill out. It's our word against his." Chazz said. 
"Actually, Chazz." Michael said as he hit play on his recorder, showing he recorded the conversation. 
"It's your word against yours. And if you don't want me to report you to Sheppard, you'll duel me tonight in front of everyone at the welcome dinner." Michael threatened. 
"Grr, fine." Chazz responded.
Michael walked off to find Crowler and asked him if he could duel Chazz at the welcome dinner. A duel to start the year. Crowler agreed and made arrangements for them to duel. The dinner went smoothly, and it was time for the duel. 
"May I have everyone's attention please? We have a special treat for all of you tonight, a duel between two of the highest-ranking students in Duel Academy, Michael Shadows and Chazz Princeton." Crowler said into a microphone as the tables were moved out of the way.
"I hope you're ready for this Chazz." Michael said as he shuffled his deck. 
"Yeah, I'm ready. Ready to beat you and make you look like the second-rate duelist you really are." Chazz responded. 
"Big words little prince, let's see you back them up." Michael responded. 
"Why you." Chazz said angrily. 
"Enough talk, I say we let our cards do the talking for us." Michael said as he put his deck in his duel disk. 
"You read my mind." Chazz responded as he did the same.
Both: "Let's duel!"
Chazz: 4000 LP
Michael: 4000 LP
"I'll go first, and I summon Reborn Zombie in defense mode." Chazz said.
Level 4/DARK/Zombie
ATK 1000/DEF 1600
"I end my turn there." Chazz said. 
"My move. I summon Zure, Knight of Dark World in attack mode." He said.
Level 4/DARK/Fiend
ATK 1800/DEF 1500
"And now Zure, attack his Reborn Zombie." Michael ordered. Zure ran up to Reborn Zombie and slashed at it with his sword, destroying it. 
"I place one card face-down and end my turn." Michael said. 
"My move. And I activate the spell card Graceful Charity, so I can draw 3 cards as long as I discard two from my hand." Chazz explained. 
"And now I play the spell Monster Reborn to summon my Chthonian Soldier in attack mode." He said.
Level 4/DARK/Warrior
ATK 1200/DEF 1400
"And next I play the Inferno Reckless Summon spell card. So I summon my other soldiers and you get to summon your other knights." Chazz explained. They both summoned two more copies of the monster they had out. 
"Why would Chazz let Michael summon two more of his monster when they're stronger than his?" Lily asked in the crowd. 
"I guess we'll see." A blonde-haired girl next to her said. 
"Oh, hey Alexis, long time no see." Lily said. 
"It's nice to see you too Lily. So that's the guy who saved you from Johnny?" Alexis asked.
"Yep. He's a really nice guy," Lily said with a slight blush. 
"Oh, does someone have a crush on Mr. Knight in Shining Armor?" Alexis asked teasingly. 
"W-well." Lily said sheepishly. 
"Wait. I was just teasing, but do you actually have feelings for him?" Alexis asked. 
"We talked some after the incident, and well, I kinda fell in love with him." Lily said. 
"So does he feel the same way?" Alexis asked. 
"Well, I'm not sure. He's never really had much social interaction, and he turned bright red when I asked him, so we decided to just be friends for now." Lily said. 
"I see. Well, if you like him, than I support you." Alexis said as they turned their attention back to the duel.
"I play the spell card Raigeki to destroy all your monsters." Chazz said as a massive lightning bolt destroyed Michael's monsters. 
"Sorry guys." Michael said. 
"And now Chthonian Soldiers, attack him directly!" Chazz shouted. 
"Go Negate Attack! Your attack is negated and your battle phase is over." Michael said. 
"Grr, I end my turn." Chazz said angrily. 
"My move. I play the spell card Dark World Dealings, so now we must both draw 1 card from our decks before discarding a card from our hands." Michael explained.
"And now the effect of Ceruli, Guru of Dark World activates, summoning him to your side of the field." Michael explained. 
"Oh great, this little freak." Chazz said as he remembered Michael's entrance exam. 
"Now his special ability activates, forcing me to discard one card, and the card I choose is Reign-Beaux, Overlord of Dark World." Michael explained. 
"I've got a bad feeling about this." Chazz said. 
"And so you should. When my Overlord is discarded by my opponent's card effect, he instantly revives to my field." Michael explained. 
"Say what?!" Chazz exclaimed.
Level 7/DARK/Fiend
ATK 2500/DEF 1800
"And now that he's on the field, his other special ability activates. You see Chazz, when Reign-Beaux is summoned by his own effect, he destroys all your monsters or all your spells and traps, whichever I want." Michael explained. 
"No way!" Chazz exclaimed. 
"And seeing as you're low on spells and traps, I'll be destroying all your monsters. Go Reign-Beaux, Spectrum Blast!" Michael shouted. His monster fired a rainbow-colored beam from his chest at Chazz's monsters destroying all of them. 
"My soldiers!" Chazz shouted. 
"Next I play the spell card Pump Up. This card doubles the attack points of one monster for a single turn, and I choose my Overlord." Michael declared.
Reign-Beaux: 2500-5000 ATK
"5000 attack points!" Chazz exclaimed. 
"Indeed. And seeing as you have no monsters on the field, I'll have him use those points for a direct attack!" Michael shouted. His monster fired a beam of black energy from his staff, knocking Chazz onto his back.
Chazz: 0 LP
"And the winner is Michael Shadows!" Crowler announced. Michael removed his deck from his duel disk and put it away without a word. 
"Well I'll say this, he's a great duelist." Alexis commented. Michael looked in their direction and saw Lily. 
"He's looking at us." Lily said nervously. 
"Well don't look now, but here he comes." Alexis said. Michael walked up to them. 
"Enjoy the duel?" He asked. 
"Yeah, way to go. But why were you dueling Chazz anyway?" Alexis asked.
"Because of this," Michael said as he pulled out his recorder and replayed Chazz's conversation from earlier. 
"Chazz, that jerk. Guys like him give us Obelisk Blues a bad reputation." Alexis said. 
"I told him that I'd be showing this to Shepperd unless he dueled me in front of everyone tonight." Michael told them. 
"I'm still not sure why you chose to duel him instead of reporting him." Alexis said. 
"Simple, to prove to him that he's not as good as he thinks and show it to everyone." Michael said. 
"Oh, but how rude of me, I seem to have forgotten my manners. My name is Michael Shadows." He said as he extended his hand. 
"We've met before." Alexis said as she shook his hand. Michael looked her over and realized she was right. 
"Well, it's been a long time, hasn't it Ms. Rhodes?" Michael asked.
"Indeed it has." Alexis said. 
"Wait, you both know each other?" Lily asked. 
"Our parents are old friends, and they would sometimes bring Alexis and her brother with them to discuss matters with my parents." Michael explained. 
"My brother and I never could beat you in a duel." Alexis said. 
"You did get close a few times though." Michael responded. 
"Well, I'd love to take a stroll down memory lane, but I think Lily wants some one-on-one time with you." Alexis said. 
"Oh, um, sure." Michael said sheepishly. Lily and Michael walked off and began talking to each other. 
'Between Michael and Jaden, this is sure to be an interesting year. But then, why is Michael at Duel Academy? He's good enough to teach here, so why is he enrolled as a student?' Alexis thought to herself before she shrugged it off and walked away.