Author's Note

As promised, here's the first chapter. So read, enjoy and tell me what you think of it.

Sighted - Yu Gi Oh GX

After losing to Aster, Jaden loses the ability to see not only his cards, but the physical world. But as the SOL takes over the school, he realises that things can be seen in more ways than one as a whole new perspective comes to light, and with it, a solution.

Judai Y

Normal

Thoughts

Dreams/Flashbacks/Realms of Conscience

Non human talking (light of destruction/darkness/Haou etc.)

Chapter 1

Even with only 200 life points remaining, Aster clearly had the upper hand. Destiny Hero Dreadmaster stood tall on his field, preventing his other monsters from damage or destruction with his dread barrier. His opponent, Jaden, even with more life points than the other, was in trouble. Due to dread barrier, his monsters special abilities were useless, and attacking was futile. His other monsters could be switched to defence to protect his remaining life points, however Elemental Hero Thunder Giant had just been summoned on this turn, and as such, could not change battle modes. One attack, that's all it would take to finish this duel.

Aster wasted no time in declaring his attack. Why would he? Victory was almost within his grasp. Dreadmaster towered over Jaden's Elemental Heroes: Thunder Giant, Flame Wingman and Necroid Shaman, before selecting Thunder Giant as its target. Bringing a huge fist down upon the monster, it caused the receiving monster to blast into pieces which scattered slightly before disappearing. A bead of sweat rolled of Jaden's face as his life points fell to zero.

'Jaden lost!' Chazz, Alexis and Bastion exclaimed simultaneously.

Jaden suddenly swayed on his feet, his head spinning. His cards slipped from his duel-disk and scattered about the floors, his vision fading in and out as he sank to his knees.

'His cards!' Syrus' voice barely reached Jaden's ears, Hasselbarry's voice slightly overlapping his, since Jaden's hearing seemed to be drowning in waves. His vision wasn't faring any better; colours and shapes were simply merging together into a gigantic swirl, and just before he collapsed into a dead faint, blackness overcame his vision.

Only one thought passed through his head. Something doesn't feel right.

As soon as Jaden hit the ground, his friends ran to him. Alexis was slightly ahead of the others, and reached Jaden as the boys made it to the bottom of the stairs. Pulling Jaden's head into her lap, she attempted to shake some life into him, but to no avail.

'What did you do to him?' Alexis demanded, glaring at the professional duellist, who oddly enough, showed an expression of shock nearly identical to the others.

'I don't...know...I just...' Aster stuttered. What could have happened? The monsters were just holograms! They shouldn't have such an effect on him. Although...he could be joking around, but he just doesn't seem like the type of guy who would worry his friends unnecessarily like that.His face softened slightly as he watched the unconscious Slifer. He may be a naive, overconfident duellist, but his bond with his friends isn't something to be trifled with. Sartorious had warned me of that. Had he known that this would happen too? Did he have something to do with it?

Scowling now, he pushed the unwelcome thoughts aside. He shouldn't doubt someone whom he has trusted since childhood, someone who revealed their deepest secrets and most desperate desires to him. It was anything to be concerned about, Sartorious would warn him. But I guess asking him wouldn't hurt. It would ease my conscience anyway.

Putting on a neutral face, he stepped off the arena, and headed towards his boat anchored off shore, ignoring Jaden's friends glaring at him along the way.

By now the others had gathered around the unconscious Slifer, and were sending heated glares at the pro duellist. All except Alexis, who was trying to wake Jaden up. Albeit rather unsuccessfully since no change had occurred during the last few minutes.

After watching the two for a moment, Bastion stepped up and put a hand on Alexis' shoulder. 'We'd better take him to Ms Fontaine,' he said quietly, as he and Hasslebarry supported Jaden's limp form between them. She nodded and stood, and together they headed to the infirmary.

(Jaden's POV)

The first thing I noticed was that it was extremely cold. I opened my eyes, but I might as well had kept them closed for all the good that did. It would have saved me the trouble of forcing them opened, as every muscle in my body, even ones I didn't know I had, were protesting to movement of any kind, or even the thought of it.

All I saw was darkness, pitch black and obscuring my vision.

The darkness was soothing, lulling me back into a peaceful slumber. But it seemed as though the light, beating at the edge of my consciousness, had other plans.

Entering the range of my peripheral vision, the brightness threatened to engulf the darkness that had granted me my momentary solitude. And this was no ordinary light. Its very existence reeked of evil, but a different sort of evil than what the Shadow Riders had displayed in the previous year.

The evil of the shadows seemed partial, incomplete somehow. Because in each of the Shadow Riders, there was something good in them deep down. This evil was absolute, and it was although I loathed this unknown power my entire life without knowing why. As if I'd loathed it even longer.

It burned, before the darkness surged up and pushed it back. They fought, white against black. The colours refused to mix, each fighting to eliminate the other. Neither was willing to coexist.

Distantly, I wondered if I was dying. Whether some unknown godly power was attempting to seize my soul into its grasp, attempting to free it from whatever tied it down.

But then the light spoke, and I knew that was not the case. 'Why do you fight child. You cannot deny your destiny, no matter how hard you try. The path you walk may be different, but your ending place will be with me. So open your heart and let my cleansing powers destroy the darkness in your soul. Let me give you the power you so rightly deserve.'

It sounded tempting, I'll admit it. But I could sense evil in it, and I wasn't ready to accept anything from something that reeked of so vile a thing.

The light began to take on a physical form, as did the darkness, twistisng and forming to mirror images of myself. One stared at me, brown eyes devoid of life, the other, negativity burning in golden irises.

'Choose wisely Jaden,' my dark counterpart said, sounding like me and yet not at the same time. 'Two paths to choose from, the light or the darkness. And no matter how difficult it may seem, you know deep down what path you must choose, what path will bring you closer to your true self.'

Turning away from my darker counterpart with his golden eyes momentarily, I looked closely at the lighter counterpart. His eyes were brown, like mine, but cold and dead. There was no freedom if I chose that path. No choices. Everything would be chosen for me, and my free-will would be denied. Maybe that's what I hated about this light. One thing I always stood for, I always believed, was that people had to be their true self above all else. And this light would take that away.

But turning back to those golden eyes, I wondered if I really knew who my real self was. But that didn't matter now. What mattered was that he was right. I had to follow what I truly believed, and those golden eyes, the hint of unimaginable power behind them, it felt familiar, as it I had known and carried it within me my whole life.

The light faded away at my unspoken decision, but not before bellowing in rage and emitting an enormous amount of energy that temporarily blinded me. When I opened my eyes again, all I could see was the darkness once more.

'You made the right decision Jaden,' the voice of the dark counterpart assured me.

I was silent for awhile, trying to pinpoint the origin of its familiarity. I gave up momentarily, encountering too many gaps in my memory to make any progress. 'Who are you?' I asked, hoping his answer would jog my memory.

'I am you,' he said, 'and yet I am not. Call me Haou for now. That is all you need to know.'

'Haou? Supreme King?'

I got no reply. It was then that I felt myself slipping back into a dreamless sleep. I had forced myself to stay awake till then, the intensity of the light and hatred that it summoned playing a role in that. But now that it was gone, so was whatever threat it held, and I allowed myself to drift off into a dreamless slumber.

(3rd Person POV)

'Interesting,' Sartorious mused, brushing his long indigo hair back into the confinements of his hood. He had felt Jaden's momentary struggle, and he knew its outcome. 'Upon Jaden's defeat, he did not succumb to the Light, as any other in his place would have, but rather the absence thereof. Proof without doubt that he is the One.'