Chapter Seven – The First Shadow Rider

"I am 'Nightshroud'!" The words seemed to hang in the air; lasting long after the sound should have faded to silence.

Jaden broke the silence, "Well… You guys don't waste much time, do you?"

Nightshroud turned to face Jaden, and grinned, "Nice medallion; The Grave-Keeper… must be getting sloppy."

"Yes, yes; The Grave-Keeper." Jaden scowled, "Defeating him was hardly worth the trouble, though… Items like this are next to useless unless they're complete. However; once I've defeated you, and claim the medallion- half that you currently possess, that will no longer be a problem."

Nightshroud gritted his teeth, "If you think you'll be able to beat me as easily as you beat him, you've got another thing coming! I'll get that key, and I'll get it now!" With that, he activated his duel- disk, and, across the field, Jaden did the same. "Oh, and there's more…" Nightshroud continued, "Also at stake, is your soul…" He held up a blank duel- monsters card, "… which will be sealed in this card when you lose."

Jaden sighed, "If you're half as bad at duelling as you are at giving threats, the Grave-Keeper must have let you win." Ignoring Nightshroud's snarl, Jaden continued, "I'm no stranger to Shadow- Games: Lets just get down to business…"

Nightshroud obliged, "I'll start... by summoning 'Troop Dragon' {800 DEF} in defence- mode!" A dragon- like soldier appeared in front of him, a shield in one hand, and a sword in the other. It settled onto one knee, and Nightshroud continued, "And while I'm at it, I'll place one card face-down."

"Not bad," Jaden commented, though his tone made it sound like he was mocking Nightshroud. He drew the top card from his deck, and added it to his hand, "I'll start, by summoning 'Elemental- Hero Wildheart' {1500 ATK}." A well- muscled warrior – hefting a massive sword, appeared in front of him, and Jaden continued, "Now; Wildheart, show 'Troop Dragon' that that sword of yours isn't just for show: Attack!"

'Wildheart' obeyed, and a few seconds later, the image of 'Troop Dragon' shattered… and was gone. Nightshroud started to speak, "Oh; you know, there was something that I forget to mention…"

"… That your dragons' effect lets you summon another 'Troop Dragon', when it's destroyed?" Jaden finished, mildly, "No worries, I already know: You're far from being the first dragon- user that I've defeated, and you won't be the last." – Even as Jaden spoke, the second 'Troop Dragon' appeared on Nightshroud's side of the field.

Nightshroud was grinding his teeth again, "Well, I guarantee you won't see this one coming: I activate my trap- card; 'Call of the Haunted', which brings back the 'Troop Dragon' that was just destroyed!" Nightshroud paused for affect, than continued… "Now I sacrifice both of my 'Troop Dragons' to summon… my 'Red- Eyes Black- Dragon'! {2400 ATK.}" The 'Troop Dragons' vanished, and – a moment later, a much larger, pitch- black dragon replaced them.

"Now, 'Red- Eyes Black- Dragon; Attack 'Wildheart': Infernal Fire- Blast!" Jaden's monster vanished in a fiery explosion… {Jaden: 3100 LP.}

When the smoke cleared, they saw Jaden standing exactly where he had been, as though nothing had happened.

A minute passed, than Nightshroud became impatient, "Come- on! Hurry up and make your move! I've got a Doomsday to start!"

Jaden laughed, "Sorry, Nightshroud, but the only 'doom' that's coming around here is to your monster." He drew his next card, and added it to those in his hand. "I'll start by activating the spell- card, Polymerization. With it, I'll fuse the 'Elemental Heroes Clayman' and 'Burstinatrix' that are in my hand, and create the 'Elemental Hero Rampart- Blaster' {2500 DEF}." The two heroes Jaden had named appeared, than vanished into the fusion vortex… Moments later, 'Elemental Hero Rampart Blaster' had appeared before Jaden, and settled into defence- mode.

But that didn't mean that Jaden was done, "And even though she's in defence- mode, she can still blast you with half her attack- points: 'Blaster', you know what to do!" 'Rampart Blaster' released a barrage of missiles, and – almost before he knew what hit him, the damage was done.

{LIFEPOINTS: Jaden: 3100 LP V.S. Nightshroud: 3000}

Then something unexpected happened: The main force of Rampart- Blaster's ability had already dissipated, but Nightshroud stumbled; As though something, or someone, else had just struck at him… At the same moment, the red glow from the eyes of 'Nightshroud's' mask flickered, though only briefly.

Jaden was quick to comment on the lapse, "I see your vessel's still fighting you … Annoying when they do that, isn't it?"

His comment caught Nightshroud by surprise, "How…What… What are you talking about? I am Nightshroud."

Jaden shook his head, grinning in amusement, "No; you're not 'Nightshroud'… You are an insect: A fragment of consciousness; separated from the greater portion of your Master's essence before he was imprisoned in the Void that separates each of the Twelve Dimensions."

"How… How could you possibly know that?" The 'other' voice was back, and it sounded like it was on the verge of panic.

"Because…" Jaden said, a second before his eyes changed colour; "I'm the one who imprisoned him there." Jaden's eyes returned to their normal brown, and he flicked a hand in Nightshroud's direction.

The Shadow Rider flew backwards several feet, barely keeping his footing. A moment later, the red glow in the eyes of the mask dulled, as though the power of the mask was being suppressed.

Than Atticus spoke, without even a trace of the 'other' voice, "What… What happened? … Where…?"

Before he could say more, Jaden said "We'll explain later; I'm suppressing the mask's influence, but it still has a hold of your mind: Every second of delay only gives it more time to … 'complicate matters.'" When Alexis, Mindy, Jasmine, and Atticus looked more closely, they could still see the traces of gold in Jaden's eyes.

"You need to stop fighting the relic: Gather your strength. When Nightshroud takes damage to his life- points, his concentration will waver; if it's enough, his hold may falter… briefly. The next time that happens, get the mask off, and throw it as far away as you can… Got it?"

"Off the cliff?" Atticus's voice was weak, but he managed to get the words out.

"No," Jaden ignored their surprised expressions, "When a shadow- relic takes a vessel, and it has time to fully- establish control, the first things it does is transfer part of itself to its 'host'; forming a sort of 'anchor'. If the relic is destroyed before the 'entity' is fully excised, it will draw the rest of 'itself' out of the relic, and into your mind. With its full strength gathered there, it could extinguish your mind and soul as easily as you would a candle… I'm thinking you'd rather avoid that."

Atticus gulped, "Ok: Not off the cliff."

Jaden continued to give directions, "I'm going to allow the relic to retake control now; remember: Don't fight it… Let it think you've used the last of your strength. Wait for your chance, and – above all: don't let it find out about what I told you. I'll do what I can to keep it focused on me."

A moment later, the red glow in the eyes of the Mask of Nightshroud reignited, and the voice had returned, "BAH! I grow tired of your meddling; boy…" There was a pause, then, as the mask seemed to focus inwards. Than 'Nightshroud' laughed, and turned to face Alexis, "Your brother's a strong one, I'll give him that, but he won't last much longer; a few weeks at most…" Nightshroud paused, sniffed the air, in Alexis's direction, and his smile widened; "Ah; Fear... I can smellit! For three years, your brothers' stubbornness has forced me to bide my time; until he became too weak to oppose me, but soon..." He returned his attention to Jaden, "But back to the matter at hand: Where were we?" He was silent for a moment, then he smirked; "Ah, Yes… Your 'Rampart- Blaster; Surely you must realize that it won't be able to save you from my Red- Eyes Black- Dragon… And if you think it can, than this will teach you otherwise: I activate 'Battle Mania; which forces all monsters in defence- mode to switch into attack- mode…"

'Rampart- Blaster' {2000 ATK} got to her feet as he spoke.

"… And you know what's next: 'Red- Eyes Black- Dragon'; Attack!"

Before the attack could hit, Jaden interjected, "I activate my 'Diffusion' spell- card: So there's no target for your attack; oh, well."

With Nightshroud's turn at an end, Jaden drew his next card, "I'll activate 'Graceful Charity': So, I add three cards to my hand, and discard two…" He did so, and continued; "Next I activate 'Monster Reborn', and use it to summon a 'Hero- Kid from my graveyard. Now: since he was special- summoned, his ability activates, and I get to call- out two more 'Hero- Kids' from my deck!"

As the new- arrivals appeared on the field, Alexis couldn't shake the feeling that the duel was about to come to an end, and soon… 'Hang in there, Atticus!"

"Now I sacrifice my three 'Hero- Kids', and call upon the power of 'Yubel!" {0 ATK. / DEF}. In less time than it took to blink, Yubel had materialized next to Jaden. "I'll place a card face- down, and send 'Clayman' to the graveyard; as a tribute for 'Yubel'." He paused for a moment, than added, "If you're wondering why I did that, you'll find out next turn."

"Do you realize that you just left a monster with no attack- points out in attack- mode?" Nightshroud asked, than he laughed. "If you're trying to bait me into a trap, you'll have to do a lot better than that… 'Red- Eyes Black- Dragon': Attack 'Sparkman'!"

The dragon attacked, but Jaden intervened; "I activate my face- down card: 'Attack- Guidance Armour'; which I'll use to re-direct your attack … to 'Yubel'!"

The attack veered towards 'Yubel', and Jaden smirked, "And now, by attacking 'Yubel', you've activated her special- ability: You see… 'Yubel' cannot be destroyed in battle, nor do I take damage from a battle she participates in. Any and all damage I would've taken is redirected to my opponent's life- points!" His grin widening, he added, "You 'might' want to brace- yourself, 'Nightshroud.'"

Seconds later, a thicket of vines appeared around 'Yubel', than they arced across the field, towards Nightshroud… Seconds later, they swarmed around him, and his cry of pain filled the air.

{LIFEPOINTS: Jaden: 3100 V.S. Nightshroud: 600.}

Atticus seized his opportunity: By the time the air had cleared, the Mask of Nightshroud lay on the floor of the clearing; a good twenty- feet from any of them.

Atticus's eyes still glowed red, however, and veins bulged in his forehead, under the part of his face that had been covered by the mask; "TRECHERY!" Nightshroud wailed. The 'voice' was still there, but the power that had so recently coursed through it was gone.

"Now, to bring this duel to its destined conclusion…" Jaden said, ignoring the 'entity'. "'Sparkman', Attack!"

The remaining Elemental Hero on Jaden's field sprang into action, and – seconds later, Nightshroud's life- points dropped the rest of the way to zero.

A column of dark energy shot up, out of Atticus's body; and gathering in the air above him. As they watched, some invisible force began to pull it towards the relic – to which its essence was still bound… "NO!" It wailed, desperately; "I CAN'T GO BACK THERE … I WON'T! I… I… AAARRRRRHHHHHHhhhhh…" The wailing continued until, at last, the last shred of dark- energy had been pulled into the mask… Than the mask, in turn, vanished; leaving the card that he'd threatened to imprison Jaden's soul in, but that had received his own, instead.

Jaden turned to Alexis, and nodded, once. Immediately, she hurried to her brother's side… followed by Jasmine and Mindy.

A moment later, Jaden approached. Wordlessly, he bent, and removed the cord with the other half of the medallion from around Atticus's neck. As he rose to his feet, he said, "He'll need some time to recover – fully, but he will. Remember, though: Once he has, I intend to find out what he remembers of his as a Shadow- Rider. In the meantime, I suggest you get him inside – and you need to decide how much of this," he gestured around the site of the duel, "… you want to tell the others about. I have no intention in holding 'open- court' for a while yet, but you will not attempt to take credit for my win. Let me know when you've decided." –– This time, Jaden simply waved, dismissively, and vanished.

To be continued…