There was a small, timid knock on the edge of the door.

Professor Crowler looked up, the pen scratches halting with effortless professionalism. Dark azure eyes glazed over his face, his old, wrinkled expression boring its ugly face at his office. Orange, melancholic lights seeped through the blinds, the emerald plants seeping the fiery air from the dust-swept window panes. The velvet carpet captured whatever primitive shadow so happened to be flying outside, and though the man didn't mind the silhouettes necessarily, there were times when he envied them, both they and their freedoms. The uninteresting document lying underneath was slowly losing its prominence from within his mind when those fleeting shadows appeared again, their wings taunting him so easily. He winced.

And yet again, the knock sounded.

He looked down, his blond ponytail bouncing up as he did. His bangs swept through his eyes, as he examined the stack near him. The pink ruffles kept up with his stern, womanly appearance, his deep blue trench coat countering the soft, gentle exterior he'd been going for…eight years? Long nails scratched the edge of the wooden desk, the tiny flakes lodged underneath his fingers, a testament to the frustrations he's had to deal with. It only took him a split second to slam the pen on the table, and stare back up at the door, relief tugging from the edge of his purple lips. He rubbed his weary eyes, and groaned slightly.

Honestly, this was growing rather tiresome. While he was ecstatic that somehow, everyone managed to graduate, in the end he was the one who had to sign all the diplomas. Shepherd didn't have to do any of it, which, of course, didn't make sense, considering he was the Chancellor of this school. Not that Crowler would wish for their downfalls. In fact, he was happy to see all of the students graduate, what with the crazy shenanigans he had to put up with for the last four years. They were all growing up, going to college, becoming real adults, learning their places in the world-

That irritating knock…

He heaved a heavy sigh. "Come in," he commanded irritatingly.

He bit back his tongue when he saw a familiar, beloved student her head through the door. He froze then, his neck stiffening at the sudden awkward pressure relayed throughout his muscles. "A-Alexis!" he squeaked.

Carefully, she opened the door a bit wider. She still had on her Obelisk blue uniform, the blue, fingerless glove covering her frail hands. Long, blond hair swept to her back, neatly brushed aside as any leader should have. Though she was oddly shy today, nevertheless, when she wandered in, that respectful disposition automatically overtook the atmosphere. The girl gave her professor a small, tiny smile, and the teacher relaxed. "Professor Crowler? Are you-?"

She stopped when she saw the pile of diplomas on his desk. She bit her lip then, refusing to finish the sentence, much to his dismay. She took a deep breath, and gave a remorseful smile. "Never mind. Sorry to bother you sir."

"No! No no no no no no!" Crowler suddenly screamed, standing up at the thought of a relaxing, stressless break. His hand reached out desperately toward his savior, the tears peeking out from the corners of his eyes. "Wait!"

Alexis froze, before spinning around, her eyes wide with shock. "S-sir?"

"Come! Come sit down!" the teacher stated over excitedly, as he flourished his ancient hands toward a simple, black chair sitting in front of the ostentatious paperwork. He needed this, no matter what anyone else had to say. With the sun waning behind him, the nostalgic lights invading the lowly, musty room, it seemed almost hellish for Crowler to be locked up in here all day with absolutely no one to talk students were getting ready for their finals, the teachers were partying, and even campus police were patrolling the area, looking for any murders, limbs, suicides, and perhaps even a dimensional rift or two no one knew had existed.

The predicament was stressful indeed.

Warily, Alexis came over to the teacher's enthusiastic hand, while clutching her chest apprehensively. Still, she maintained her polite demeanor, and bowed. "Thank you sir."

"No dear," he said then, as he sat back in his seat. He coughed embarrassingly, the tension immediately relieved from the sudden reprieve, as he attempted to exploit the sudden time off. Frankly, Crowler couldn't concentrate on anything else besides the necessities, including food and water. A hot shower would be nice too, but unfortunately, the diplomas were already a day late. If he waited any further, Shepherd would have his head.

But Crowler deserved the break, and if he could get Alexis to testify how hard he'd been working, who knows? Perhaps he'd get that two month vacation he's always been asking for.

He threw his pen down, and crossed his legs, slouching in his chair in utter relief. Alexis meanwhile, crept closer and closer, before planting herself in that chair. She placed her hands neatly on her lap and stared up at the teacher with curious eyes. "Thank you sir."

"It's fine," he answered, waving his hand back and forth to dismiss the trifling concern altogether. "You're graduating in a few days now, correct? How do you feel? Excited on studying abroad?"

She nodded calmly, sharing neither his enthusiasm nor his jubilance for the prospect alone. "Yes sir. Thank you again for writing me the recommendation letters. I really appreciate it."

He smiled sadly. That's right; not only Alexis, but the entire student body will be gone as well. There'd be no more of those brats to deal with, and with everything that's happened, Crowler was more than willing to give them their farewells.

Yet all the same…

"You'll be going to North America, correct?" he asked, folding his arms over his chest, pleased with his pupil's progress. "Are you still going to teach? If you want, you could always come here, at Duel Academy. I'm sure the faculty would be more than happy to have you."

She fell silent. Her lips parted slightly, while her eyes darkened at the seams. She closed them, before looking up once more. "Professor, I want to talk with you about something."

The urgency in her voice alone was enough to snap Crowler awake. He narrowed his eyes. "What's this? Is everything alright?"

"Well…e-everything's fine, I guess." She smirked, her hands tightening around themselves in blanched, obvious fear. "I suppose…I guess you're the only one I can talk to about this."

His blood pressure shot up. He resumed the dreaded tension, the worry already adorning his archaic features, as he leaned over carelessly, demolishing the neat stack of paperwork in the process. As the documents spilled to the floor, Crowler gazed at Alexis with anxiety, thoughts of a ruined future instantly exploding in his brain. "What happened?" he barely demanded.

"Nothing… out of the ordinary, sir."

"Did you…are you pre-?"

"No sir," she answered in an emotionless, resolute tone.

He breathed a relieved sigh. He clutched his chest, the adrenaline slowly leveling down. Sweat already decorated his palms, the anxiety alone enough to drive him over the edge. "Don't…don't scare me like that!" he scolded breathlessly.

"Sorry sir."

"What about school then? Are your grades holding up?"

"Yes sir."

"Personal troubles?"

"No sir."

"Is Atticus pressuring you into stardom again?"

"I…I don't think so, sir…?"

"Then what is it?" he pressed. The event was a special one, since the girl never bothered to come to him with anything. Whether it be school work, or relationships, or even financial hardships, it seemed Alexis never had a problem with anything, something Crowler found incredibly relaxing. She was his star student, and had been for the past four years. Although the murders did affect her studies a bit, and catastrophes ranging from the Shadow Riders to that Darkness business interfered with her going to class, she still managed to keep her prize as valedictorian. She was a dedicated young lady, and he knew she would have no trouble finding her place in the world.

That aspect alone was perhaps the reason why Crowler was so nervous. For her to come to him so late in the game, and with such a serious expression as well… It was enough to tug at his melting heart strings bit by bit. The lost look on her face wasn't at all like the determined woman he taught for the last years, marred by reluctance and sorrow, all the while masking something even darker from beneath her elegant face.

So he cast away any thoughts of the unsigned diplomas, and turned his whole attention to her troubles. After some time, the silence dominating over what he perceived to be a heartfelt plea for help, Crowler blinked. "It's not like you to come to me for your troubles," he urged. "Are you sure everything's alright?"

"Professor Crowler, the reason why I came to you was because I wanted to tell you something very special," she stated then, a spark of perseverance setting in her eyes. And once again, he found his student there, eagerly waiting for the life lesson to begin. "It's so special I don't even think you'll believe me if I told you. No, maybe that's why I came to you. You wouldn't believe me even if I told you, would you?"

He smirked haughtily, empathy reaching his wrinkles with a tiny, faithful want to help the poor creature. "Dear, I've gone through the past four years with all of you. After everything your class put me through, I can handle anything." Yes, that's true; even if she was graduating, she was still a kid. He was an adult, so he should be able to handle her problems. That's what a good mentor would do, right?

"Really?" Alexis inquired, a delicate eyebrow raised curiously, the facade disappearing once again. Crowler felt like he was under scrutiny, her eyes unveiling the dark, scandalous secrets he's built form his past bit by bit, tearing them down with each second passed. Finally, she smiled. "I see. I'm grateful then."

"I…I'm glad you are."

She peered at him with large, innocent brown eyes. But as soon as she set them on his face, she tore them away, gazing off quizzically at the isolated corners in the room, her bangs falling over her eyes as she did so. "Did you know? Someone else was supposed to come with me, but I didn't tell him. I don't know why. Maybe because you'd probably storm off the first chance you see him. Maybe he didn't want anyone else to know the story. But I didn't tell him. It's just me, Professor."

"Who didn't you tell?" he asked softly with narrowed eyes.

"Jaden."

He blinked. Jaden? Crowler did admit that the boy had grown, but…why was Alexis hesitating? Was the problem really that serious? Weren't the two good friends? "I'm sorry Alexis, but you're going to have to clarify." he said at last, crossing his hands on the desk. "Just what exactly are you talking about?"

"Do you remember Alan Faustus?" she suddenly quipped. "And Stephen Jackson? And that Russian transfer student, Diana Aliyev? I think it was her boyfriend, maybe. It was so long ago…"

Slowly, Crowler told Alexis he did. Of course he would remember them. Though he'd only known them for a brief time, he knew they were good students. They were wonderful at anything they did, and though their lives were tragically cut short, in the end he could look back on them fondly, both as a teacher and a person. So it was natural that when he heard of what happened to them, he was enraged, saddened, terrified; millions of emotions raced through his mind with each passing day. Naturally, when the police announced they'd given up on the cases, his frustrations poured out from his lips. It was a rare time that he would actually show any feelings at all in the past, and it was something he regretted now. If only he could've shown them that he did care about them, if only they were alive today to see the whole school mourning for them… He blinked. "Why? What seems to be-"

"Jaden and I killed them."

Crowler froze.

Time seemed to pass them easily. Everything from within his thoughts immediately went quiet, the shock coming forth from his system slowly, painfully, mercilessly. All the warmth from the fading sun had drained from his back, and before long, he found himself laughing awkwardly at the false confession. His newly acquired protective nature had drowned out his screeching instincts, as he attempted to downplay the humorless prank. "Come now Alexis," he started. "It's not anyone's fault. You don't have to be so brave. We're all devastated-"

"Professor, you said you'd listen," Alexis stated silently, in that same, business tone of hers.

"Alexis, I've no time for-"

"You don't believe me?"

"Of course not!" he shouted then. "Alexis, they were your classmates! You shouldn't belittle them so easily-"

"You think I'm lying," she mused.

"I'm not amused young lady."

"I know." She shrugged, as she crossed her legs, her clouding gaze boring the professor once again. "If you think I'm lying, fine."

"Alexis-"

"Professor Crowler," she whispered quietly, causing him to fall silent. "It's fine if you think I'm lying. Our confessions won't hold anyways. We've already gotten rid of all the evidence, but at the very least, I feel like someone should know." She closed her eyes for a brief moment, the weariness overcoming her with all its might. "Someone should anchor us down, before we drift away, in that same darkness we keep getting ourselves into."

He almost threw her out.

He really did.

Yet Crowler couldn't help but notice the eerie calm beneath her expression, the genuine, candid face he easily saw when she revealed herself, her true intellect. He saw the dark shadows beneath her eyes, the cold interior he'd never heard of before from the young girl. A dark elegance radiated from the air, and in that moment, Alexis Rhodes had disappeared, replaced by yet another entity, a crying soul which only asked for a witness.

Crowler released his hold. He found himself sitting back, his own words pouring out from his throat. "Then tell me your lies."

She nodded.

Author's Note:

Hello, I'm the Seelie Court Jester. I do not own Yugioh Gx, Yugioh 5ds, or any of the Yugioh franchise.