Misha: Hey, everyone. Sorry if this counts as a late update, but some pretty heavy things have happened in my life recently that put me in no shape or mood to write for a long time. See, my poor dog recently passed away from cancer at only 8 ½ years old in the most tragic of ways, and I've been mourning her ever since. I don't know if any of you guys are dog lovers or not and I don't care if you think I'm being over-emotional or anything, but my little beagle was a very important part of my life, so her passing is probably going to affect me for a while...

Still, I know you didn't come here looking for my personal sob story, so now I'll just leave you to read Chapter 2 in peace now, even if it is kinda short. Please enjoy.

Chapter 2: Another Side

~Jaden's Point of View~

Like the rest of the audience, I too had a hard time believing the outcome of the duel at first. My sister had won; she had actually beaten Zane—the best duelist on campus! But, believe it or not, that wasn't the thing that surprised me the most. What really blew my mind was Crystal, or at least how she was acting anyway. She looked so… so happy. I mean, I don't think I've ever seen Crys smile that much during a duel before!

Don't get me wrong, I loved seeing my little sis in such high spirits; it just surprised me a little at first considering how she was only a few months ago…

*******Flashback*******

"C'mon, Crystal, please!?" I begged my sister for probably the umpteenth time in only the past five minutes.

"Big brother, do I have to?" Crystal asked reluctantly, walking into yet another room of the house as she continued to try and avoid me. For some reason, she seemed to be in a particularly bad mood today. "I don't even understand why you're so dead-set on dueling me today anyway, Jaden. I mean, you're leaving for that Duel Academy place in just a few days, aren't you? You'll probably get to duel anytime you want then..."

"Yeah, but I can't wait that long!" I replied as I chased her down into the living room for the third time that day. Breaking into a sprint, I managed to pass in front of her and blocked her path so she couldn't get away this time. "And besides, me leaving for Duel Academy is one of the reasons I wanna duel you, Crys. Since we won't be able to see each other for a while, this could be our last chance to get our game on together 'til then!"

I saw Crystal tense up a little as my words finally sunk in. "I know that, Jaden. But still, if we duel you know I'll probably just end up hurting you like always, big brother…" She looked away after that, her gaze falling to the floor.

I frowned a little then, knowing full well what Crystal was worried about. Like always, Crys didn't want to duel because she was still afraid her powers would end up getting out of hand again. See, I guess my sister is what you would call "different." Although neither of us knew how or why exactly, Crystal had these pretty unique abilities that let her do a lot of things other people couldn't, and one of them apparently involved being able to bring all her cards to life both inside and outside of duels which would actually be pretty darn cool if it wasn't for the fact that they usually ended up causing serious damage to everything nearby…

But still, that was no reason for her to be completely against dueling! To Crystal, dueling was nothing but a hassle and a burden, but just once I wish I could show her that she was wrong and make her see how much fun duels could really be.

"Oh, who cares about that?" I exclaimed, completely blowing off her concerns. "Sure, I know you still have a hard time controlling your powers, but that still doesn't change the fact that you're one of the best Duelists I know, Crys! And besides, it's not like you've ever hurt anyone on purpose, right?"

"R-right, but even so…" she trailed off again, still seeming a little unsure about what to do.

"Listen, Crystal," I told her, resting my hands on the rounds of her shoulders, "I know it's hard, but the truth is you're never gonna get any better or be able to move forward if you're too afraid to even try."

Crystal finally took her eyes off the hardwood floor, now staring up at me again with a surprised look on her face. "Wow, big brother… I sure didn't expect something that deep coming from you," she said, amazed.

"Hey! I have my moments every now and then," I exclaimed, pretending to sound offended, though really I was just glad that it seemed like Crys was finally starting to listen to me. "Anyway… So how 'bout it, sis? Just one duel? Please?"

Crystal rolled her eyes and groaned a little, at last coming to the conclusion that I wasn't going to let this dueling thing go anytime soon. Finally caving in, she sighed and said, "Oh, fine, Jaden—you win. I guess I'll duel you if it really means that much to you..."

"Yeah!" I cheered; stoked that I was finally going to get to duel today. "Then what are we waiting for? Let's get our game on, Crys!"

Once we had both gotten our Duel Disks from our rooms, Crystal and I met outside in the backyard to have our duel.

"So are you ready to throw down, Crys?" I asked, activating my Duel Disk with no hesitation.

"Isn't that why we're out here?" was her reply as she activated her Disk as well.

"Then let's get started!" I grinned. "Why don't you go ahead and make the first move, little sis?"

"Well, okay… If you insist, Jaden," she said meekly as she drew her first card and added it to her hand. After that, Crystal just stared at her cards for a while, biting her bottom lip and seeming really nervous about something.

"Uh, you okay over there, Crystal?" I asked a few minutes later after she still failed to make a move.

"Of…of course I am!" she yelled back, though still a little flustered. "I was just thinking; that's all! If you want my move, here it is: I summon Axe Dragonute in Attack Mode!"

Just like that, this bipedal black and purple dragon wielding a giant medieval axe appeared on Crystal's side of the field, roaring loudly as its body was suddenly surrounded in a deep black aura (ATK 2000/ DEF 1200).

"Oh, not again…!" Crystal cried out in aggravation at the sight of that light around her dragon—a clear indicator that her powers had once again materialized her monster for real.

"Hey, don't sweat it, Crys!" I tried encouraging her. "It's cool! Just keep going on with your turn."

"But I…" she hesitated, obviously still fretting over the whole thing. After a few seconds, she took a deep breath and sighed. "Whatever. I place two cards facedown and end my turn." The image of two Set cards appeared near Crystal's feet as her turn came to an end.

"Alight! That means it's my turn then!" I exclaimed as I drew from the top of my deck.

"Um, hold on, please! I…" Crystal suddenly interjected, but then quickly trailed off back into silence as if she changed her mind.

"Yeah, Crys?" I raised an eyebrow, curious to see what she wanted to say. Was she trying to activate one of those face-downs of hers?

She stared down at the cards at her feet for a while as if she was contemplating about whether to use them or not, but then she merely closed her eyes and shook her head from side to side rapidly. "You know what? Never mind! It was nothing! Just please go on with your turn, big brother..."

"If you say so, sis," I shrugged, still not sure what to make of her outburst. With that, I looked back down at the cards in my hand. A broad grin crossed my face when I saw that not only did I have Elemental Hero Avion, Bustinatrix, Clayman, and Sparkman, but also Fusion Gate as well. Wow! Crystal was sure in for something! "Okay, here it goes! I'll start with this: Fusion Gate!"

As soon as I set the card in my Field Card Zone, a giant circular thunder cloud appeared above the field.

"Fusion Gate allows both of us to fuse monsters without a Polymerization," I took the liberty to inform Crys even though I was sure she already knew what the card did by now. "So now, I can fuse my Avian and Bustinatrix to create Elemental Hero Flame Wingman! And to top that move, I'll also use Fusion Gate to combine Sparkman and Clayman to bring out Elemental Hero Thunder Giant!"

In two bursts of light, my two pairs of heroes combined. Two fierce Warrior-monsters appeared from the vortex, one a green and black winged warrior with a red dragon's head for one of his arms (ATK 2100/ DEF 1200); the other, a great, round armored giant with static emitting from his fists (ATK 2400/ DEF 1500).

At that moment, I saw Crystal's face get even paler than usual as she stared down my Heroes, her eyes going wide as she realized the situation she was now in.

"Judging from the shocked look on your face, I guess you must know what I'm about to do, huh?" I called over to her. "And speaking of shocks, now I'll activate Thunder Giant's Special Ability! When he's summoned, he can take out a monster whose original Attack Points are less than his which means your Axe Dragonute's history! Go! Vapor Sparks!"

I pointed to Crystal's dragon, which Thunder Giant wasted no time vaporizing with bolts of lightning. Crystal let out a small gasp as her only monster was destroyed.

"And now I can attack you directly! Go, Flame Wingman! Attack with Skydive Scorcher! And, Thunder Giant, you use Voltic Thunder!" I yelled, pumping a fist in the air.

As my Elemental Heroes sprang into action, I really thought Crystal would activate one of her face-downs for sure, but to my surprise, that didn't happen. Instead she just stood there in silence as my monsters simultaneously launched their attacks at her.

"Ahhhhh!" she shrieked as both blasts hit her dead-on, whipping out all of her 4000 Life Points in an instant and sending her flying back a good five feet in the process.

Slowly the thunder cloud from Fusion Gate and the images of all of our cards faded away, indicating that the duel was over. And although I had technically won, it sure didn't really feel like it for some reason...

Huh, I wonder… I thought as I began walking over to where Crystal had landed. She was lying down on her back over in the grass as she just blankly stared up at the autumn sky. Her gaze quickly shifted to me then as I leaned over her. "Well, I guess that's game, sis," I said, offering her a hand.

"Um, yeah…" she muttered as her hand grasped mine and I helped her up. "You were amazing like always, big brother. I mean, beating me in one turn? I guess you really got me there!" Although she laughed a little and even managed to crack a small smile, it all seemed pretty forced and halfhearted to me.

"Yeah, about that… Crystal, let me see those two cards you set earlier." I held out my hand again, this time waiting for her to give me the cards.

Crystal made a grimace and looked off to the side again. "What? Oh, that's not really necessary, is it, big brother? I mean, what does it matter? You won, after all... Isn't that enough?"

She was clearly trying to talk her way out of it, but I wasn't falling for it today. "C'mon." Still with my palm open, I twitched my fingers forward a little so Crys would get the hint to fork over those cards.

Realizing she had no chance of winning this little standoff, she sighed dejectedly as she finally relinquished the two cards that had still been in her Duel Disk.

My eyes went wide and my mouth hung open a little in astonishment as I stared down at Crystal's two Traps: Ring of Destruction and Barrel Behind the Door.

I knew it… I thought with a twinge of disappointment. Just like I figured, Crystal really had let me win the duel just now.

"Crystal…" I started, looking over at her again. "If you had played these cards any time during my turn, you could have won!"

It was true. If Crystal had activated Ring of Destruction during the duel, she could have used it to destroy one monster on the field, and due to its effect, both players would have taken damage equal to the destroyed monster's Attack Points. But since Crystal also had Barrel Behind the Door, she could have chained it to Ring of Destruction to negate the damage she would have taken and inflicted it to me instead. Since all of our monsters had an Attack greater than 1900, had she had done all that, I would have taken at least 4000 points of Effect Damage and lost.

Crystal's mauve eyes darkened as she suddenly took the cards back into her possession in a fury. "Yeah, and if I had done that, you would have gotten hurt for sure, big brother!" she snapped at me a little. "Is that what you want, Jaden? To be stuck in a stupid hospital instead of attending your precious Duel Academy?" There was some bitterness in her voice when she said that last part. "But then again, maybe I should have let all of that happen, because at least then… At least then you wouldn't be leaving me!"

With tears now streaming down her face, Crystal suddenly dropped down on her knees as she covered her face with her hands and continued to cry.

And there it finally was: the reason Crystal had seemed to be in such a bad mood all day… She was still upset about me leaving home in a few days.

I knelt down beside her then, placing my hands on her shoulders once again. "Hey, it'll be okay, Crys," I told her, trying my best to comfort her. "I mean, it's not like I'll be gone forever, you know..."

"Yeah, but I'm sure it'll still feel like forever…" I thought I heard Crystal mutter to no one in particular.

I let out a loud sigh and scratched the back of my head in exasperation. Man, sometimes it was really hard trying to get through to this girl! "Well, you know, Crystal, if you really didn't want us to get separated, you could have applied for Duel Academy with me when I asked you if you wanted to go. I'm sure you would have gotten in, no problem."

"What? And have another group of strangers rightfully come to fear and hate me after I inevitably hurt someone with my powers during a duel? No thanks…" Crystal looked up at me again as she whipped the tears from her eyes. "Listen, Jaden… I'm sorry for always being such a crybaby and making you worry about me all the time. It's pretty childish and selfish of me, really…"

She paused for a moment as she gently held one of my hands in both of hers. "But that's why I want you to forget about me and just do whatever makes you happy, big brother. Go to Duel Academy, have a blast, and do your very best to become the next King of Games like you've always dreamed of, Jaden."

"Crystal… Are you sure?" I couldn't help but ask in surprise.

"Of course," she said with a small, reassuring smile. "As long as you're happy, I'll be just fine, big brother. Never forget that, okay?" With that said, Crystal then simply rose back up on her feet and gracefully walked back into the house without another word, leaving me alone with only my thoughts.

When she had gone, I sighed and ran my fingers through my head again, not sure of what to make of Crystal's behavior at all. I knew she wasn't being completely honest with herself about being okay with me leaving, but at the same time I could tell that she really did feel bad about the mere idea of her holding me back in some way. Still, I really wish she wouldn't think like that, though. I mean, even if she was a little too fragile for her own good sometimes, I would never think of her as a burden or anything…

Flopping down in the grass on my back, I stared up at the sky as I thought about what to do. I felt pretty bad about leaving Crys behind, but I knew that she would probably only end up feeling even more guilty if I decided to stay because of her.

I guess the only thing I could really do was go to Duel Academy like I planned and hope that Crystal really would be okay like she said she would. Not wanting to think too much about it anymore, I just got back up and started walking back into the house as well.

*******End of Flashback*******

Compared to back then, Crystal really did seem different somehow. But that wasn't the only thing I noticed… I was also pretty surprised to see that she had made it through the whole duel without accidentally hurting her opponent.

Wait, so did that mean Crystal had finally leaned to control her powers? If so, that was great! After all, Crystal's abilities had always been something that she struggled with in the past and hated them because of it, so I knew how much finally getting a handle on them must mean to her.

By this point, the whole crowd had come out of their shock and erupted with applause as they cheered for my sister. I smiled then and started cheering for her, too. "Yeah! Way to go, Crystal!" I exclaimed as I jumped out of my seat and began running down to the duel field without a second thought.

My friends seemed a bit taken aback by my sudden outburst. "Wait, Jaden, do you actually know that girl?" Alexis asked in surprise.

"Aw, wait up, Jay!" Syrus called as he and the others began running down after me.

Misha: Well, again, sorry if this one somehow seemed short, but that's all I was able to come up with right now, all things considered. Mainly I just wanted this chapter to show a bit of the relationship Crystal and Jaden have with each other and to shed a bit more light on Crystal's backstory (though I'm still not sure if I'm being clear at this point or not…)

Also, I just really wanted to show how badass Jaden's Hero deck can really be if that wasn't obvious already. I mean, FTKs and OTKs are the coolest, aren't they? Oh, but sorry if I made Jaden seem… smarter than usual or anything, but I just refuse to believe that he could be completely clueless about everything all of the time, you know?

But anyway, since I'm pretty drained right now, I'll just end things here. Please remember to rate and comment, but just no flames, okay? Later, guys.