Disclaimer: No ownership of Pokémon or Yu-Gi-Oh! GX.

The New Heart of Slifer

Chapter 1: Stormy Starts

Overcast skies hung above an island. Crackling lightning, booming thunder and pounding rain poured the island and on the four different complexes with different roofs. In the middle of the island erected a gray school structure. The front had a red "D" over a blue "A" signs connected. One complex had a red roof. Inside were two teens. A brunette teen young man in red and a teal-haired teen male sat in the same room, anxious for the storm to pass. "Man, this bites!" the brunette complained. Just appearing, a transparent brown ball of fur with green claws and feet and angel wings emerged, Its yellow eyes also sought for the storm to stop. "I could be dueling Chazz right now!" The teal-haired also had a transparent animal, a lavender cat with red eyes and a ruby on its forehead.

"Relax, Jaden," he attempted to ease the brunette. "This storm isn't suppose to last long. Before you know it, the skies will be clear for some more dueling today." The storm had dampen the spirits of those in other complexes like a castle-like structures with blue roofs or a neater complex with a yellow roof. The storm raged the island for another hour before it broke. The rainclouds swept over the island but with the sun peaking back out, the teens filed out to enjoy the rest of the day.

"That's more like it!" Jaden took a whiff of the post-storm air, the scent reinvigorating his spirit. The teal-haired brought out two silver wrist gauntlets with what seemed to be blades with five blue depressed slots. The middle had an LED counter screen with "LP" at one end and a chamber underneath.

"Jaden, here!" The teal-haired tossed one which Jaden caught effortlessly and applied to his arm.

"Right, can't battle Chazz without the Duel Disk. Thanks, Jesse." Jaden led the way toward the large structure in the middle of the island. That's when Jesse had an idea.

"How about a warmup before Chazz? You look like you may need some practice after that rain delay." The idea seemed to want Jaden out of the weathering slump. Jaden smiled, encouraged to try it.

"Sure. You don't want to be rusty after a storm like that. Get your game on!" A thrust from his arm brought the blades of each side of the gauntlet to meet and lock before it adjusted to the outside of the arm. He brought out a deck of cards, the back being red with a brown oval in the center. Before inserting the cards to a holder of the Duel Disk, a wail. Both boys turned to the voice, being the winged fuzzball that continued to howl.

"What's up with Winged Kuriboh?"

"I'm not quite sure…" Suddenly, mewing … The two now turned their attention to the cat. "Now Ruby's acting up."

"Ruby, what's wrong?" Ruby sprinted back to the complex and just as they circled around, two more young men stepped out. One was a sky blue-haired in tiny glasses and a blue uniform. The other was a moderately tanned muscled man with dreds wearing a yellow/brown bandanna with red eyes and a yellow vest.

"Jaden, what's going on?" the new blue-haired asked. Neither Jaden or Jesse answered as they ran passed the complex. It worried the tanned young man.

"They wouldn't be hustling like that without a cause, Sy!" he believed before starting his chase. "Let's move, soldier!"

"Hassleberry, wait!" Hassleberry scurried to catch up with Jaden and Jesse out to a beach. Stopped on the sand, Jaden and Jesse peered out to the ocean. Winged Kuriboh looked from its spot just above Jaden while Hassleberry and the blue-haired arrived.

"I don't see it, bro!" struggled Jaden. Winged Kuriboh wailed and Ruby mewed to say something was out there. Suddenly, a jet-ski popped from the water. This bode a bad omen. The blue jet-ski looked intact but held no rider.

"That can't be good," Jesse gulped. When Hassleberry found the jet-ski wading, he sprinted to the jetty where a kayak under a gray tarp stood near the rocks. Oars were inside the kayak.

"Here, soldier!" he yelled to Jaden. He threw the kayak across the water which Jaden boarded.

"Got it! Hop in!"

"On my way!" Hassleberry also boarded before grabbing an oar and both began to row out to the jet-ski. Within reach, Jaden examined the jet-ski after hopping on the seat. He saw the key in the ignition and turned it. No sound, no vibration.

"Jet-ski's out of commission." Suddenly, another splash. Jaden and Hassleberry spun to see a yellow mouse. The mouse had red circles for cheeks and a tail shaped like a lightning bolt. It laid on top of someone in a black vest over a white t-shirt and blue jeans.

"Soldier, emergency!" Hassleberry reached the oar and pulled the mouse on board before Jaden stepped back on board the kayak. With Jaden's help, Hassleberry hoisted the person from the water. What emerged was a raven-haired boy and his red baseball cap flipped off.

"Is he okay?" Winged Kuriboh watched, hoping what they pulled wasn't just a body.

"Let's get to shore and go to work!" Jaden and Hassleberry rowed back to the beach. As the boy and mouse neared the shore, memories began to echo from somewhere.

"Ash, come on!" a young woman's voice shouted. There was a pause.

"I can't!" a young man's voice replied. "My jet-ski! I can't get it to work!" Another pause…

"Ash, Dawn, hurry!" one more young man yelled. "A Water Spout! Ash, get out of there!"

"I can't! Whoa!" The voices went silent as Jaden and Hassleberry worked the boy and mouse from the kayak and onto the beach. They laid both gently to the beach before trying to wonder if they're even alive.

"Syrus, take care of the mouse," Jesse ordered. Syrus, the sky blue-haired, nodded before he turned the mouse to the side as Jesse began pumping the boy's chest. Syrus massaged the mouse's back. Suddenly, the mouse coughed water.

"There you go," Syrus cheered. Just then, the boy spitted water from his mouth. Both began to breathe, though the boy's breath remained shallow.

"Okay, he's getting some air," Hassleberry noted. "Jaden, let's bring them to the infirmary."

"Good idea," Jaden agreed. "Miss Fontaine can take care of him. I got his legs." As Hassleberry hoisted the boy's upper body, the mouse came to. Jaden picked the boy's legs and both carried him inland. The mouse sat up while Jesse monitored the carry.

"Take it easy!" warned Syrus about the mouse. "We just pulled you from the ocean." The mouse looked up to Syrus. It looked out to the ocean and the jet-ski. It became alert.

("Where did Ash go?") it squeaked. Syrus gulped, unsure what it squeaked. All he heard was "Pika Pi, Pikachu" from the mouse.

"We saw you with that boy and that jet-ski." The mouse jumped up and looked around for this Ash. "Listen, my friends took the boy up to the Duel Academy's Infirmary. If we hurry, the nurse can check you out." The mouse nodded before Syrus picked it up and followed the rest. As the makeshift gurney reached the front doors, a raven-haired young man in all black opened the door and found Jaden.

"It's about time you showed up," he snapped. "Are you ready-"

"Not now, Chazz!" yelled Jaden as they passed him with the victim. Syrus finally came by with the mouse.

"Excuse me, Chazz!" he shouted. Chazz looked on, pretty puzzled with the turnout.

"What's going on?" he questioned. "First, it's Banner's cat and now this." Out of the blue, three tiny human-like creatures emerged, though transparent like Winged Kuriboh and Ruby. Each of three had a different skin colors of yellow, green and black with different faces, they shared one thing in common: red speedos with white polka dots.

"We're not too sure but it may not be in our best interest," the yellow one studied. Its eyes protruded out of its head.

"Let's just wait until Jaden is ready to duel us," the black one urged. He had the largest nose to have for a face. They vanished just as sudden, including a green cyclops. Chazz still felt their presence.

"Probably a good idea, Ojamas," he muttered as an auburn-haired teen girl emerged. She wore a white uniform with a blue shoulder scarf and blue skirt.

"What's a good idea?" she asked. Chazz spun to see the auburn-haired girl.

"Jasmine!" He took a breath before refacing her. "For a second, I thought it was Alexis."

"Yeah, well fat chance on getting her, Spazz! Anyway, what's with all the excitement?"

"That Slifer slacker, Jaden Yuki, and his gang brought some body in from the ocean." Jasmine grew interested with Jaden's finding. "It's none of my business. I'm outta here!" Chazz walked away while another girl in the same outfit as Jasmine's arrived. She had round black hair but stood the same height.

"Jasmine, what's going on?" she asked.

"Jaden and Syrus brought someone new in the infirmary," Jasmine reported. "Wanna go check it out, Mindy?" The black-haired girl, Mindy, nodded and both dashed to this infirmary. Inside a room with a sign that read "INFIRMARY," a brunette young adult woman in a white vest and blue linens over a pink blouse used a stethoscope to monitor the boy sans vest and hat as Jaden, Jesse, Syrus and the mouse watch on in concern.

"Miss Fontaine, will he be okay?" wondered Jesse. The mouse felt helpless to the boy's situation.

("Come on, Ash!") it squeaked. ("Get up, already!") Fontaine removed the plugs from her ears.

"Well, he'll be fine," she surveyed. "He's still in some pain. There's a bruise on his back, whether from the jet-ski you found or some other act of violence." Fontaine reached to Ash's hair, petting the boy. "If you don't mind, I'd like to keep him in the Infirmary overnight. I may want to play a mother to him." The boys nervously giggled to Fontaine's presumed joke. Winged Kuriboh appeared again which the mouse caught a glimpse of. It and Winged Kuriboh saw eye-to-eye and Jaden also noticed.

"You can see my bro, little guy?" he questioned. The mouse bobbed a nod to the wonder. This interested Jesse, sighting a possible connection.

"You don't suppose that if this mouse can see your deck spirit, that boy can as well?" he guessed.

"It's possible." As Jaden and Jesse converse, Jasmine and Mindy looked through the window of the Infirmary Room and the mouse. The girls cooed at the sight of the mouse.

"What a cutie!" squealed Jasmine, alerting the mouse and Winged Kuriboh to turn to the window which the girls waive to it.

"Hi there!" cheered Mindy. The mouse blinked at who these girls were. Hassleberry realized the attention and exited the door to confront the two.

"Can I help you, Obelisk girls?" he urged.

"Oh, uh, Hassleberry!" stuttered Mindy.

"We, uh, heard that you and Jaden brought someone new here," Jasmine explained. "We're wondering if we can see him?" Hassleberry stood by Fontaine's word about the need.

"I'm afraid I must deny access to see him," he refused. "Fontaine's orders." The girls mulled at the denial. Then the mouse came to mind.

"What about the mouse?" asked Mindy. "Can't we-"

"Nope! Fontaine needs to monitor that mouse as well." Neither girl wanted to accept defeat so quickly. Hassleberry felt guilty for turning the girls down so fast. "Hey, when he wakes up, you can ask about it." Hope. The girls smiled on what sounded like a promise from the big man in yellow.

"Okay," Mindy accepted.

"Just one question," Jasmine quipped. "That mouse… Is it a promotion for a new line of Duel Monster cards?" Hassleberry blinked at the thought Ash's mouse may be a sponsor for a toy.

"It's a little early for speculation," he murmured. "Now, run along and maybe you'll meet him soon." Going on that promise, the girls nodded before leaving. Even Hassleberry looked exhausted. "Girls… they can wear on a man's mind quickly." Hassleberry returned to the room as mystery about the boy grew.

TO BE CONTINUED...