Yu-Gi-Oh! GX: Rise and Fall

by Naruto-Superman4

After Yubel, Jaden's in a bad place. After hurting his friends, the last thing he wants is them suffering again because of him, which might happen if they find out what he is. But they're all in for it, because someone new is about, someone who wants Duel Monsters to go their way. Once they're done with him, Jaden must pick up the pieces of his shattered Deck. Full summary inside.

10. Chapter 10

Hey there gang. I know it's been a while, but I finally got this finished for you. Enjoy.

Chapter 10 – That Night

The boat ride back to Duel Academy was not particularly enjoyable for the gang. Their moods were completely ruined after being taken from their fun-filled class trip to a hostile courtroom in another dimension where the beloved friend they thought they knew had been put on trial for heinous acts they'd never known he committed. The exceptions were Jim, Axel and Syrus, but even they were still in shock, because although those three had been there with Jaden after the others were sacrificed, they'd only seen the aftermath of what he did. During the trial they'd been able to see the horrors as they were being done and needless to say, it perturbed them deeply to witness such brutal horrors overseen by someone they knew to be so warm and caring deep down.

Alexis in particular had an additional problem in the form of Jazz, Mindy and Blair. The three girls had insisted on dragging her away from her friends to show her all the things they'd bought after coming to. They'd bought her some things too and they were pretty nice, but Alexis just straight-up didn't care at the moment. But since none of them were letting up, she was forced to endure them going on and on endlessly about what (and whom) they'd seen in town, nodding her head occasionally to let them know she was still engaged and listening, even though her mind was elsewhere. Eventually, she couldn't take it anymore.

"I'm sorry guys," she said, getting up. "I can't do this right now."

"Huh?" Mindy stopped gushing and holding up the top she'd bought for herself. "What's wrong, Lex?"

"Nothing," she replied. "Just tired. I'm gonna go for some air, okay?"

"Okay."

"Hope you feel better," wished Jazz and Blair. Alexis nodded her thanks and maneuvered her way out from behind the table where she and her female friends sat, walking out onto the ship's deck. There was a beautiful sunset going on, but Alexis found herself unable to enjoy it. Her mind kept drifting back to the trial to a particular line of questioning:

"Mister Yuki, what is your relationship to my character witnesses?"

"We're friends."

We're friends. That sentence stuck in Alexis's mind, holding her attention captive. We're friends. With every repetition of the phrase, Alexis grew more and more frustrated. Jaden had used the present tense, meaning he still thought of them as friends. It was obvious he still cared about them from what he admitted, so why the hell had he been so distant?

Alexis frowned. None of it was making any sense. She'd hoped to gain some insight by going over the events of the trial in her head, but all she got for her efforts was more frustration and anxiety and less peace of mind. What bothered her in particular was that Tania had been right about Jaden wanting to protect them. Jaden's own admission had proved it.

But it still doesn't make any sense! Alexis groaned in her thoughts. Why does he feel the need to protect us? We've always gone through these things together so WHY?! She banged her fist against the railing in her exasperation.

"Hey Alexis." The blonde turned around to see Bastion walk up next to her and rest his elbows on the railing. "Hey," she replied back. Then a thought struck her. "Have you been thinking about-"

"The trial?" Bastion asked, interrupting her. "Yeah. I imagine it's been bugging you a lot, am I right?"

"Well," replied Alexis as she elaborated. "Not so much the trial itself. I mean yes,there was some pretty gruesome stuff back there. But that's not bothering me as much as why Jaden's behaving the way he is. Jaden's what's bothering me."

"Because?"

"Because I think Tania might be right about him wanting to protect us!" Alexis exhaled her frustration, then inhaled some more. "But from what, Bastion? And why? We've always faced these things together as a team, because we're friends and that's what friends do for each other! And Jaden's acting like our friendship never happened even though he admitted we're his friends!"

Alexis placed her forehead to the backs of her hands folded underneath her on the railing, then took it off and looked at her friend. "And what the hell was all that business with his name, anyhow? Judai Jaden Yuki? Why didn't he tell us he had another name?" Alexis was holding up her hands now, an incredulous and indignant look on her face. "He lied to us, Bastion! He lied to us about his name for three whole years, and now he's lying to us even more about what's going on with him!" Alexis folded her arms as her eyes began to mist over.

"It just hurts so much to know that my best friend would rather lie to me than seek my help." She caught herself there. "You know, seek our help." She gesticulated between herself and Bastion, as if to emphasize the fact they were both being lied to. Try as she might, Alexis couldn't hold her tears back. They began streaming down the left side of her face and she covered the side of it with her hand to prevent any passersby from seeing her cry.

Bastion walked over and put his arms around her. She returned his embrace, hugging him tightly. "Why's he lying to us, Bastion?" she asked softly. Bastion usually knew the answer, and she secretly hoped he might have one.

"I don't know," he admitted. "I'm sorry, but I just don't know." He and Alexis released each other. "But if it makes you feel any better, we don't have any definitive proof about what Jaden's doing. All we have are inferences and deductions. But you're right, he is lying and it is unkind of him to do so." He began walking towards the stern of the ship, beckoning Alexis to follow. "Come with me."

"Where are we going?"

"To find the others. That's where Tania is right now." With that, the two of them started running towards the stern, passing a woman in red on the way. The woman had her hand up to her ear, and she wasn't happy with what she was hearing.

"Hey, it's Jaden. I'm not here right now, but leave me your name, number and a message at the beep and I'll get back to you." At the sound of the dial tone, the woman left her message.

"Hey Jaden, it's Midori. You know, your sister, again. I'm really starting to get worried about you not answering your phone, given this is the sixteenth message I've had to leave you!" Her expression soured. "You better start answering, young man! I mean it!" Then it softened. She looked around and moved a few inches to give herself some more privacy. "I went to see Koyo," she continued in a much softer voice. "He's still in a coma, but the doctors say his condition's improving and he should be better in a couple of months." She choked up a little. "Please answer your phone, Jaden. Visiting Koyo's been… stressful, and I could really use your company right now." She paused before ending her message. "I love you, little brother. Bye." She hung up.

"I didn't know you and Jaden were related." Professor Hibiki jumped at the voice. She turned around and saw Nurse Fonda Fontaine coming up behind her. "Sorry if I eavesdropped, by the way. I just overheard you is all, and I wanted to make sure you were okay."

"I'm fine," Midori lied. "It's just that… with Koyo in a coma, Jaden's all I have left, and because he won't answer his phone, I just feel like… I just feel like I'm all alone."

"Don't worry," soothed Nurse Fontaine. "You know what they say, you're never alone. Come on, I'll buy you a drink."

"Thank you," Midori followed Fontaine to the ship's bar. "After the stressful week I've had, I could really use one."

# # #

Meanwhile on the ship's stern, Chazz, Syrus, Kenzan, Axel, Jim, Jesse and Tania were all sitting in a group. Ophelia Rayne had departed, saying she was going to find and hang out with her other friends. The amazon was trying to lighten up the collectively gloomy atmosphere, but the boys were taking no notice of her. Finally she gave up, deciding it was no use trying to get through to them, especially given the thickheadedness of teenage boys. She sat back and turned to look at the sunset.

"That sunset looks beautiful," she murmured. The boys took a moment to gaze at it with her. Seeing them do this, Tania got an idea. "If nothing else, let's all just watch it until it goes down," she suggested. The boys said nothing, but some of them turned their heads while others shifted their bodies to get a better look at the giant glowing ball of yellow as it descended over the horizon, turning the immediate surrounding sky to a shade of pinkish-red which slowly changed to blue as the light traveled farther away from its center. For what it was worth, the gang even briefly forgot their troubles. That is, until Syrus started wondering about Jaden. I wonder if Aniki's watching it too, he thought. He took out his phone and opened Snapchat, taking a picture of the sunset. He touched the screen and typed in wish u were here to watch w/ us. The phone pinged as the picture made its way to his friend across the sea.

Chazz, who was reclining next to Syrus, heard the ping and looked up. "Who're you Snapchatting?"

Syrus smiled in a defeatist kind of way. "Jaden. I figured even if he isn't answering us, then at least we can show him what we're doing."

"Why?" Chazz asked. "It's no use, Sy. No matter what you might think, there's no way Jaden's ever going to respond to anything we send him. We've tried Facebook, Snapchat, Pinterest, Instagram, Tumblr, Imgur and Reddit. We sent him texts, IMs, Facebook messages and a whole bunch of other stuff. Nothing's worked."

"Well yeah, I know that," Syrus replied, a little defensive. "But I wasn't trying to get him to respond. I was just thinking he might want to know what we're up to is all. And maybe he'd want to watch the sunset with us."

"He doesn't want to do anything with us," snapped Chazz. "Were you not at the trial just now?"

"Guys, c'mon," Kenzan stepped in to mediate between the two. "Let's not do this now."

"Why the fuck not?" asked Chazz incredulously. "Let's go for it! No one'll admit it, but we're all still thinking about what happened!" He looked around at the rest of them. "C'mon, let's get the elephant in the room outta the way!"

"I agree," came a voice. Everyone looked up to see Bastion and Alexis, the former of whom had spoken. "I have something to explain to you all about that, actually."

Alexis joined the others in sitting down as all eyes turned to the British youth. "Alexis and I were talking earlier, and I thought that maybe if we alltalked together, maybe we can get our feelings off our chests."

"You want to hear my feelings?" asked Chazz. "Fine! I think it's stupid and pointless to keep contacting Jaden when we know he's not gonna pick up. We're only setting ourselves up for more hurt when he doesn't reply, so why the fuck are we still doing it when we're only hurting ourselves?" He held up his arms and turned address the group, his body language posing the question to all of them at once. No one answered, so Chazz kept going. "There's no point in doing it, you guys. Jaden – or Judai, or whatever thefuckhisname is – turned his back on us!"

"That's not true!" burst out Syrus. "Didn't you hear him answer Freed's question during the trial? We're still his friends, Chazz! He was under oath! If we weren't his friends anymore then why would he lie under oath?!"

"Guys!" Bastion clapped his hands together loudly to interrupt their argument. "My middle name is Albert."

"What?" Everyone in the group gave him a confused look. "Where the fuck did that come from?" asked Chazz. "And why the fuck are you telling us this?"

"It's simple," said Bastion. "Are you all suddenly mad at me for not telling you what my middle name was all these years?" His peers – at least the ones who'd known him that long – all shook their heads. "Well that's it," he continued. "That's what you're all missing about the trial. Think, everyone: Why is it that you're upset about Jaden's name but not mine?"

Silence. Nobody could think of an answer until Axel finally spoke up. "Because Freed – the older one – revealed it to everybody. You told us your name yourself."

"You're catching on, my newly-made friend," said Bastion. "Now during the first part of his questioning, what kind of questions did he ask?" He answered that one for them. "'How long have these people been going to school with you?' 'How well would you say these people know you?' Guys, it's psychology. And also a part of lawyering, but mainly psychology. Freed's job back there was to make Jaden look guilty, and what better way to do that then to make him look like he has something to hide? Furthermore, there's the context he placed Jaden's name in. He made a big show of revealing his name, you guys. Furthermore, think about this: If Jaden had told you his name himself after all these years, how would you react? Would you react the same way you did during the trial, or would you react the same way you did to finding out my middle name?"

"The second one," Axel replied. "Freed was using context to make it look like Jaden was keeping that secret from us. But I remember him asking him why he didn't tell anybody what his name was. He said he was given two names when he was born but people called him Jaden because that name stuck out more, and that it became the name he went by over time. If that happened with any one of us," he continued, elaborating on Bastion's original point, "It wouldn't be a big deal. We'd give the same reason Jaden did."

Bastion clapped. "Bravo, Axel. Couldn't have said it better myself. You see guys? Freed was trying to turn us against Jaden by revealing a random trivial fact about him – which does nothing towards proving he's guilty. He used what's called a red herring. It's a logical fallacy that lawyers and politicians have been using for years. It works by providing a fact that seems plausible, but is ultimately irrelevant and unimportant. Revealing Jaden's full name wasn't supposed to prove he was guilty, you guys. It was supposed to make people think he's a secretive person who puts up a front."

"Wait a minute," said Syrus. "Freed said they had overwhelming evidence to prove Jaden was guilty. If they did, why did they have to resort to red herrings?"

"Probably because they'd already shown a ton of it," suggested Kenzan. "As I remember, there were a lot of witnesses whose memories we saw."

"Probably," agreed Bastion. "But the main thing is you guys, we shouldn't be upset about Jaden having another name. It doesn't mean anything."

"Except that he has one more name than we thought," said Syrus. Bastion looked at him for a moment and then nodded.

"Right, yeah, except that." He looked around the group. "So are we feeling any better?" He looked at their faces, hoping his insight had provided some form of relief. For the most part, they understood intellectually why they shouldn't be hurt, but emotionally they still felt betrayed and lied to.

"Yeah, no offense Bastion," said Chazz. "But there's really nothing anyone can do to make us feel better right now." He got up and started to walk away.

"Yeah," agreed Kenzan. "Guilty or not, he's still lying to us anyway." He got up too, followed by Syrus. The two of them began to walk away in different directions.

Alexis's heart sank. She'd hoped everyone sharing their feelings would bring the group closer together, but it didn't work. She knew why, though: Jaden was the one thing the group had in common. They were all friends with him if they weren't with each other, and without him there to be the adhesive, the group was beginning to fall apart. C'mon, think! she urged herself. There's got to be something that can keep us together! Then she blurted out of nowhere, "Let's go camping!"

"What?" Everyone turned to look at her. Bastion was smiling. "I mean," Alexis indicated the three transfer students. "It's Jesse, Jim and Axel's last day at our school, you guys. C'mon, let's not waste it being down in the dumps. I say we go camping and give these three the farewell they deserve. Even if Jaden's not there to share it with us, we can still share it together. At least, that's what I'd like."

"Is it really our last day at Duel Academy?" Jim asked aside to Axel. The black teen's eyes widened. "Holy shit, yeah it is. I forgot about that." To Alexis he said. "Yo, sign me up."

"Me too," put in Jesse. "Truth be told, I've never been camping. I want to see what it's like."

"You'll love it, mate," said Jim, standing up. "I'll go to. Thanks Tomorrow Girl."

"No problem." Alexis turned to her other friends. "C'mon guys. Don't let it just be me and these three."

Chazz sighed. He liked Alexis, so this could be a good opportunity to score some brownie points. "Fine, I'll go."

"Me too," said Syrus.

"What he said," added Kenzan.

"Oh damn," said Bastion, not bothering to disguise his attempt to help Alexis along. "Tania and I have no plans for this evening. What ever shall we do?"

"Come with us!" Alexis urged. Bastion looked at his girlfriend for assurance, and the burly Amazon gave it. "We're in."

"Yes!" Alexis pumped her arm up and down. "Let's meet up after the ship gets in. This'll be fun, you guys. Just you wait and see." The boys shrugged in an if-you-say-so manner before departing.

Alexis turned to the transfer students. "Thank you so much for agreeing to this you guys. I was worried our group was falling apart."

"No worries," replied Jim. "Glad to help. And thanksfor doing this for us."

"Yeah," nodded Axel. "It's nice of you." Alexis smiled at them, assured them it was no problem and that she was happy to do it. "Now if you'll excuse me," she said, her newfound good mood apparent, "I need to use the ladies'." She walked off, leaving the three transfer students to exchange eager glances. For his part, Axel knew what Alexis was secretly trying to do and he didn't mind it. Jaden had built that group of friends and had been kind enough to include him in it, so as a way of saying thank-you, he would be glad to help keep it together.

Alexis whistled a happy tune as she walked off the the restroom. She would keep the group together in Jaden's absence until he came back to rejoin their lives. This would be fun. She couldn't wait to go camping.

"Attention passengers," blared the ship's captain over the PA system. "We'll be arriving at Duel Academy in ten minutes. I repeat, we will be arriving at Duel Academy in ten minutes."

# # #

Five minutes later at Duel Academy, a flash of light emerged in Fuck Forest, fading a moment after it appeared. Jaden looked around. Great, now I'm back here, he thought, referring to Fuck Forest. His mood had soured a bit after the trial and meeting Dianna, and right now he wanted to get back to his dorm as soon as possible to avoid running into anybody who would want to either talk or Duel. He had a lot on his mind.

Emerging from the understory in front of the Slifer Red dorm, he walked up the steps and into his room, locking the door behind him. He sat down on his bunk and put his head in his hands. It was taking him awhile to process everything that'd happened. His friends were catching on to him, he'd just been sentenced to be banished from all twelve dimensions (or eleven, was Earth one of them? He didn't know.), along with being stripped of his powers and having his Deck confiscated. All in all, his day had sucked pretty hard. And that Dianna girl, that annoying oddball nutcase, hadn't helped. Who the hell was she, and what the fuck was she talking about with 'the Man Who Regrets'?

Jaden inhaled, then exhaled. It wasn't a brain-teaser. The Man Who Regrets was him, or rather someone he would become. No, wait; he was already the Man Who Regrets, wasn't he? After all, he did have a few regrets already. The language Dianna had used suggested he was in the process of becoming that man; whatever this thing was, it was ongoing.

Ongoing. Jaden repeated that word in his mind. That word meant something would continue without termination or interruption, kind of like his life of seclusion. His isolation was… ongoing.

Jaden sighed. He understood where his friends were coming from… sort of. He understood their need for closure and to have all their questions answered. But he couldn't answer them. He couldn't let them find out the truth about how he dealt with Yubel. If they found out the truth, they would despise him. They would reject him and he'd be all alone.

But you're all alone now, came a voice from a part of Jaden's mind. It wasn't Yubel talking, it was something else: the part of Jaden that missed them deeply and who wanted to make the other part realize just what he was doing to himself. You're being alone to prevent yourself from being alone. That doesn't make any sense.

Jaden didn't answer the voice. Being alone this way was different from how he'd be if his friends found out. At least this way they'd still think of him as their friend; they wouldn't think of him that way if they knew the truth. But at the same time, Jaden knew he couldn't keep the voice and the feelings it spoke for suppressed for much longer. Listening to the silence all around him, he became painfully aware of how empty his room was. It felt so lonely. Jaden felt his feelings come up for air again, begging him to let them out, to not keep them locked up where they would suffocate. So for this one moment, he did.

Tears streamed down the side of his face, blurring his vision and making the wettened parts of his cheeks extra sensitive to the temperature of the room. He started to sob. He missed his friends so much, but he couldn't go near them because they'd get hurt, and if not by some threat from parts unknown, they'd be hurt by him.

It took a minute for the tears to subside. Jaden wiped his eyes and nose, then wiped his hand on the side of his pants. He didn't want to keep feeling sad for too long. He didn't like the feeling. He needed comfort, so he did what he always did whenever he needed comfort and no one was looking: He slipped a hand behind him, unfastening the black plastic Deck box held to his back pocket. Jaden took his cards out and began shuffling through them, the pictures of all the different Elemental Heroes and Neo-Spacians bringing a small smile to his face. He was so glad he had them, and was relieved as hell he'd been able to escape with this Deck. He wouldn't forgive himself if he lost his last tie to Koyo.

Then he remembered the final part of Judge Man's sentence: To be separated from this Deck forever. Jaden furrowed his brow and set his mouth in a hard line. No way he'd let that happen. If they wanted his Deck, they'd have to kill him for it. Even if he wagered it in a Duel Jaden would never give it up. Come to think of it, he thought. Where are they? Shouldn't they be coming back here to arrest me again? He got up, walked to the door and opened it. No one was there.

Jaden shut the door and returned to his bed. His mind raced as he tried to think of all the different ways the Duel Monsters Spirit Army (or whatever they called themselves) would come after him. But he could only think of one. Alexis's face flickered through his mind, followed by those of Syrus, Kenzan and Chazz. If the Duel Monsters came after him, they might try to get to him through them. Jaden gripped his cards tighter. Like hell they would. Not if he had something to do about it.

They might not come and attack me all at once, he thought. Those guys are crafty, especially Freed. Truth is, I don't know when they're coming and how they're gonna try and get me. They could come tomorrow, or they could come three weeks from now when I'm not expecting it. So what should I do?

Jaden walked over to the window and looked out on campus. It looked so beautiful in the sunset, and it would be a tragedy for this place to be ruined because some pissed-off knights in armor wanted to pay him out. Jaden leaned on his bedpost and considered where they'd strike.

Alexis, Syrus and Chazz all lived in the Blue dorm, so he'd have to guard that place and make sure no one tried anything. But Kenzan was in Ra Yellow, right? What if they went for him while he was guarding the Blue dorms? He'd have to guard Kenzan's dorm as well.

Jaden walked over to a nearby desk and opened the middle drawer. Taking out another Duel Disk, he inserted his Deck and placed it beside his bed before taking his jacket off and settling beneath the covers to catch some rest for the coming vigil. He would patrol this island to keep it safe, night after night. And he would start tonight.

# # #

He woke up half an hour later to a darkened sky. "Oh God!" He scrambled around for his jacket and shoes, putting his outermost clothes on in the greatest of haste. He ran toward the door, strapping his Duel Disk on in a hurry.

"Calm down," came Yubel's voice through the mind link. "It's only nighttime." Jaden furrowed his brow, confused. He walked out the door and looked up, sighing in relief when he did. It was nighttime; the crickets chirping off far away in their eternal complaints about how cold it was (for them at least) proved that much. Jaden sat on the top step, shaking his head.

"How could I be so paranoid?" he asked himself. While still groggy, he'd mistaken the dim skyline for a darkness from another world or something, coming here to swallow the land and all the souls that dwelled here. Jaden shook his head at himself in disbelief. "Something's wrong with me," he murmured.

"What, like not getting enough sleep?" asked Yubel's voice. Jaden ignored her. "How long was I out?"

"About half an hour, give or take."

Jaden nodded smally. "Gotchya." He turned to start off on his first patrol.

"JUDAI JADEN YUKI!"

Jaden jumped at hearing his name uttered so loud. Startled, he wheeled around to see a very cross-looking Midori. "Oh good, I've startled you," she said, her face letting up a bit. Then it hardened again. "What's going on, little brother? I've been trying to get in touch with you for over a month!"

"You have?"

"Yes!" Midori snapped, exasperated. "I've been calling you and texting you for days on end! I've tried your phone, I've tried your PDA, I've tried your email; what's going on? Why haven't you responded?!"

Jaden sighed. "I lost my PDA and I haven't checked my email in months," he told her. "You know I don't check it that much."

"And what about your phone?"

"It's turned off."

A vein appeared near Midori's temple as her irritation rose. "And why," she asked through gritted teeth, "Is your phone off?"

Jaden considered for a moment. He didn't want to lie to her but at the same time he didn't want to involve her in one of the darker parts of his life.

"I've been busy," he said at last. It wasn't a lie and it was vague enough to keep her at a safe distance. But Midori would not be deterred that easily.

"Busy with what?" she asked. Jaden felt a tug on his patience strings.

"Stuff," he answered, again being super-vague. He then strangely felt his age from giving such a teenage answer.

"Stuff like what?" Midori asked. She'd just spent the better part of her day stressing out over whether or not he would answer her back while riding on a boat filled with loud teenagers for whom she'd just picked up cards she wouldn't be thanked for getting. Whether Jaden liked it or not, he was going to talk to her. He at least owed her that much. Jaden however, did not see it this way.

"Just stuff," he said, turning to go.

"Now wait a minute here Jaden!" Midori grabbed his arm in an iron grip. "You can't just blow me off like this! I'm your sister, goddammit, and I demand more respect than that!"

Jaden felt a pang of guilt. "Sorry," he said. "I've just been going through some stuff recently, and I kind of want to be alone." Midori sighed, releasing his arm. "Well, you can be alone after you spend some time with your sister," she said. She beckoned for him to follow her. "Come with me."

"Where are we going?"

"My office."

"Why?"

"I'm not going into your room!" Midori snapped. She sniffed Jaden and wrinkled her nose. "God knows what kind of horrible musk you've built up in there!"

# # #

"Look at the night sky, you guys," Alexis marveled at the great celestial void up above her. "Doesn't it look beautiful?" The sun was long gone by now, replaced by millions to billions of small white dots just like it, hovering above the Earth from their fixed positions in the sky. The rest of Jaden's friends craned their necks to look. The group had set up their camping spot in the woods near a checkpoint approved by the school containing a small video camera so the higher-ups would know where they were. Their tents had been set up and they were now sitting in a circle around the campfire roasting hot dogs. After this would come s'mores.

"Sure looks beautiful," murmured Kenzan. "Makes you wonder how such a thing came to exist in the first place."

"I'm just glad it does," replied Syrus. "Since that means we get to be here." The others agreed. Chazz for his part said nothing, in accordance with his whole I'm-cool-because-I-don't-care-about-anything image. But he was genuinely impressed, and the others could tell.

"So what do you guys want to do?" Chazz asked at last. "No disrespect, but just sitting around a campfire and doing nothing else isn't working for me."

"We could tell stories," suggested Alexis.

"Or sing campfire songs," said Syrus. He immediately began singing. "Let's gather 'round the campfire, and sing our campfire song,"he began.

Kenzan joined in. "Our C-A-M-P-F-I-R-E-S-O-N-G song," he sung in unison with Syrus. Before long, everyone else – even Chazz, just for the hell of it – joined in too:

"Let's gather 'round the campfire, and sing our campfire song,

Our C-AM-P-F-I-R-E S-O-N-G song,

And if you don't think that we can sing it faster than you're wrong!

But it'll help if you just sing along…"

As no other verses to it were known, the group just kept going with the same verse while going faster and faster each time, just as it had been on the show, while trying to keep from laughing from how ridiculous it all was.

Finally they all got tired and stopped singing, descending into what they were – a group of kids laughing like idiots. "Oh man," Bastion shook his head as the laughter died down. "I can not believe we just sang a song from Spongebob," he uttered between has.

"I can," said Axel. "I love that shit. Well, I used to."

"Same here," Jesse agreed. "But like with everything that's around for too long, it sucks now."

"All after the movie," said Syrus. "That's when it went downhill." They all sat in silence, agreeing about how a once-good kid's show now completely sucked ass.

"You guys know something?" said Axel. "I've never told anyone this before, but I've never really felt like I could unwind. This is the first time I've had in a while where I could just relax and let my guard down." Turning to Alexis, he added. "Thanks for suggesting we do this, Alexis."

The Obelisk Blue girl brightened up. This had been exactly what she was aiming for. "No problem," she said, trying to wave it off. But deep down she was elated.

Then a silence came. "What do we do now?" asked Syrus. Alexis seized upon the chance. "We could Duel," she suggested.

"Nah," Axel rubbed his eyes. "Dueling would take up too much of my energy right now. I gotta keep some for tomorrow for then the ferry leaves early."

"You guys are leaving early in the morning?" asked Syrus, a little dejected.

"'Fraid so, little mate," answered Jim. "But it's been a helluva time."

"What the fuck are you guys talking about?" asked Chazz. "There's still one thing we could do before we turn in."

He turned to look at the camera before standing up. To the surprise of the others, he removed a bag of something from his jacket pocket and transferred it to his pants pocket before throwing his jacket over the camera up above. "What're you doing?" asked Alexis.

"Making sure they don't see," replied Chazz.

"What're you on about?" asked Jim. He turned to feed a leftover marshmallow to Shirley.

"I mean this," said Chazz. He reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a bag of what looked like green bits of cotton. "What is that?" asked Syrus.

"Shhh!" hushed Chazz. "Keep your voice down, idiot. It's weed."

"Weed?!" hissed Alexis in a whisper. "As in marijuana?!"

"No," said Chazz sarcastically. "The other drug called weed. Yes as in marijuana."

"Chazz, what are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking like you said," replied Chazz. "We gotta make sure Jesse, Jim and Axel's last night here is one to remember."

"But the teachers are gonna come and find us here!" Alexis protested. "Especially since you blocked out the camera! If they find us here with a bag of weed, we're gonna get in trouble!"

"So let them come," Chazz pointed out. "We're young. We gotta live dangerously while we can before we grow old and won't be able to anymore. So fuck the teachers, especially Crowler. He can suck my dick."

"Ooooooh," uttered Axel, cupping his hands to his mouth. "We got a badass up in here, ladies and gentlemen."

Chazz reached into his back pocket and pulled out two things: a lighter and a metal cylinder. "What's that thing?" asked Syrus.

"It's a grinder," explained Axel. "Grinds up the nugs so that we can smoke 'em."

"What're nugs?"

"These things," said Chazz, tapping the green bits. He reached over and grabbed his camping bag, from which he procured a glass object resembling a miniature pipe. "It's a bowl," he said to Syrus before the latter could ask. "It's what we smoke from."

Fifteen minutes later after Chazz had ground the weed and packed the bowl, the Duel Academy students were all higher than the stars in the sky. Alexis, Syrus and Kenzan were all sharing a blanket while Chazz and the others were all still where they were.

"Yo, look at Shirley!" Syrus laughed, pointing to the crocodile, whose eyes were glassy and glazed over. "She's totally stoned!"

"Yeah that bitch is high as fuck," agreed Chazz.

"Oi," said Jim. "Watch your language, man. Show some respect."

"For female crocodiles? Okay sure, why the fuck not?" They all cracked up upon realizing how pointless they were being.

Suddenly, out of nowhere Syrus said, "I wish Jaden was here to enjoy this with us."

Immediately the atmosphere quieted to an uncomfortable silence. No one dared say a word. "Good job, Syrus," snapped Chazz. "You ruined it."

"Okay!" said Alexis, clapping her hands. "Wait, whoa," she recoiled from the sound of that in her high state. "Let's all turn in now. It's getting late and Axel, Jim and Jesse gotta get up early tomorrow."

They all agreed, but as they were too tired to actually get into their tents, they just curled up near one another under the blanket. "Wait, where's my Coke bottle?" Alexis asked. She picked up her bottle and drank what she could before putting it down on the nearby tree stump. "Screw it, I'll finish it tomorrow…" Bringing her arm back under the blanket, she curled up and fell asleep with the others.

# # #

On another part of the island, a Ra Yellow student was making his way back to the dorm after having an after-trip drink with his buddies. His backpack was a little heavy, and he had to stop periodically to adjust it. He couldn't wait to get back. With all the studying he'd had to do over the past week, he hadn't had time to watch his favorite shows, and the student felt he'd earned it to just sit back and binge-watch Game of Thrones. But then again he was a little tired, so maybe he should just go to bed…?

As the student yawned and mulled over his choices, he failed to notice a black shape coming towards him. He detected it only at the last second.

"Huh?!" he wheeled around. "Who's there?" Nothing. The student called out again. "Yo, is that you Tom?"

Again no answer. "C'mon Tom, don't fuck with me right now. I'm really tired."

He heard a rustle in some nearby bushes. The student walked over to investigate. "Yo Tom, get outta there man. I'm not in the mood for this shit right now."

More rustling. The student considered. Evidently, since Tom wouldn't stop fucking around, he'd have to go into the bushes and get him.

At a rustle, the student jumped into the bushes, hoping to startle Tom out of hiding.

He wasn't there. The student ended up surprising only a rabbit. "Huh?" He looked around. "Yo Tom, where are you?" he called.

He walked out into an eerie-looking clearing. "Yo Tom man, seriously, cut this shit out! It's not fuckin' funny anymore!" Then he saw the figure. "Holy shit!" he exclaimed, startled.

The figure, clad in all-black with a black carved mask on its face, pointed to him. "You are bound," it said in deep tones. "I am here to enlighten you."

"What the fuck?" muttered the student to himself. To the figure he said, "Who the fuck are you?"

"I am luminance," said the figure. "And deliverance. I am brilliance and I am enlightenment. And you are shackled by your cards. I must release you from the confines of your Deck."

The student had had enough. "Yo, fuck you man, I'm outta here!" He turned to go, but was prevented from leaving by a wall of black flames! He turned back toward the figure. "Yo, what the hell, asshole! Let me through!"

The figure said nothing at this. It only procured a Duel Disk from behind its back and tossed it to the student. "This is to be expected," it said. "Some people are anxious when presented with freedom."

"Fuck you! Let me go back to my dorm room if you want me to be free so much!"

The figure waved its hand dismissively. "You fail to understand," it said. "Your Deck restricts you. The cards you've selected shackle your mind. I am here to release these shackles."

"At this time of night?"

"Enlightenment has no curfew," replied the figure. Without another word, it engaged its Duel Disk.

The student shook his head. "This is fuckin' bullshit…" he muttered. But as he had no other choice, he inserted his Deck and engaged his own Disk. The two Duelists' Life Point counters lit up, displaying 8000 for each.

"DUEL!"

# # #

"Come on in," Midori opened the door to her residence and beckoned Jaden inside. The redcoat wiped his shoes on the mat and entered. "So what did you want to talk about?" he asked.

Midori gestured to a chair, indicating she wanted him to sit. So he did. Sitting down herself with a cup of tea in hand, Midori began. "I went to see Koyo during the field trip."

Koyo's name rang as a buzzword in Jaden's mind. The redcoat sat up straighter, more attentive now and glad he came. "How is he?"

Midori looked down at her mug with misty eyes. "The doctors say he's improving," she said. "But as long as he's still unconscious, it's really just more of the same, isn't it?"

"Yeah," Jaden agreed in a murmur.

"That's why I wanted to get in touch with you," Midori added. "I wanted you to know. But you don't answer your phone anymore, so I couldn't." She looked at him, concerned. She placed a hand on his knee. "Jaden, is everything all right? I can tell something's wrong. You're clearly not eating and - don't take this the wrong way, but - you smell. Your musk is… well, it's awful." She looked him in the eyes. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"Liar," Midori gave him a hurt, distasteful look. "You're not fine, you're troubled but you don't want to talk to me about it. Why can't you talk to me about it? Just tell me what it is."

Jaden considered. Midori hadn't been there in the other dimension. She hadn't seen the man he'd become. Maybe this was what his relationships would hinder on now: On the people he had them with not knowing about the Supreme King in order for it to work. But Midori was family, and until Jaden was eighteen, she was still responsible for him. So he sighed and made a choice. "She came back," he said.

Midori, who'd been mid-sip when he said that stopped. "Is this about Yubel?" she asked in a whisper even though it was only the two of them there. Jaden nodded. "How?"

"It's a long story."

"Make it short. I've got time."

Jaden breathed, tears forming. "I messed up, Midori-san," he said. "You weren't here when it happened, but there was this whole thing earlier in the year when Duel Academy got transported to this alternate dimension."

"I remember that," said Midori. "I saw that on the news."

"Yeah well," continued Jaden. "We got back, but my friend Jesse had to sacrifice himself to bring us back, so I went back into the Spirit World to find him, and well, my friends followed me because they didn't want me to go alone."

"That doesn't sound so bad."

"It was though," Jaden replied. "In fact it would've been much better for all of us if they'd just let me go it alone." He explained about the Dark World and how he'd Dueled members of the Dark World Army. Then he got to Brron.

"This Mad King sacrificed my friends to create the Super Polymerization card," he went on. "And I… I…" he trailed off.

"Go on," Midori urged him. "I know it's painful, but please tell me."

"I…" Jaden plucked up courage. "I saw red, Midori. I just went for him. I tore him apart. And Syrus saw and he left, and I was so miserable about how I'd messed up and neglected my friends that… I did something so horrible that I'm scared to tell you because of what you'd think of me."

"Jaden," said Midori. "I'm your sister. There's nothing you could do that would ever make me think horribly of you."

"Well, you say that," Jaden replied. "But you weren't there. You didn't see all those people there at the trial wanting nothing else but off with my head. Those people hate me Midori-san. They hate me for all the terrible things I did."

"So tell me," Midori said. Jaden gulped and continued. "I went batshit, sis. I went on this whole crusade. I went and I… killed people. Over seven and a half billion of them." Jaden searched Midori's face for any sign of repulsion. But there was none. Midori, for her part could see Jaden wasn't lying. "And what does this have to do with Yubel?" she asked warily.

"She orchestrated it," Jaden said. "But hear me out!" He was holding up a hand to stop Midori's reaction. "She was insane, sis. She'd gone insane from the Light of Destruction. Remember what that whole Society of Light thing was about last year?"

"Yeah…"

"Well that was the work of the Light of Destruction. It's this cosmic force that wants to destroy all life in the Universe. The only thing that can oppose it is this thing called the Gentle Darkness." Jaden pointed to himself. "Which is in me. I'm the only one who can stand up to it. But remember when we sent Yubel up in that space shuttle?"

"Yes."

"Well, while she was in space Yubel's shuttle encountered the Light of the Desctruction and it drove her insane. So it's not Yubel's fault for what she did. I know you'd probably say something along the lines of 'She made her choice,' but the thing is, she couldn't make choices, sis. That's how bent out of shape she was. That's why…" Jaden gulped. "I used the Super Polymerization card to fuse Yubel and I together."

"You what?!"

"I know it seems bad!" Jaden coaxed. "But believe me, when I fused with her I cured her! She's not a threat anymore, Midori-san."

"So what is she?" Midori asked. Jaden paused for a moment. "She's my guardian," he said. He explained about his past life. When he was done, he said, "So do you see why I want to be left alone?"

Midori said nothing for a while. The only sound in the room was the clickety-clack of her nails drumming on the glass table. Jaden couldn't take it anymore. "Please say something."

Ultimately, Midori didn't say anything. She just joined Jaden on the couch and hugged him. "No matter what," she told him. "Don't you ever think I'd stop being your sister, because I will always be here for you."

Jaden teared up. He buried his head in Midori's shoulder and began to cry. Midori for her part just rubbed his back the way she used to when he was little. "Shhhhhhh," she soothed. "It's alright. The worst is overnow." They ended their hug. "One thing though," she asked. "If you could tell me this, why can't you tell your friends?"

Jaden looked down. "Yubel's the reason they suffered so much," he said. "If they found out that I'm fused with her, they'll… they'll never talk to me again, Midori. I'll be alone."

"Bullshit," came the reply. "I know this sounds cheesy Jaden, but you're never alone. You've got me, and now you've got Yubel." She paused uncomfortably. "I may not like it, but you do. And you'll always have your friends too, because believe it or not Jaden, those people love you, and they want you back in their lives more than anything."

"I can't, sis. I'm not ready."

"Well, when you are ready," she said. "Let them know. They're your friends, Jaden. They deserve to know what's going on with you. This way you're treating them now, it's not fair to them. I don't know what kind of person you're turning into, but it's not you. It's not my little Judai-chan."

"Goddamit!" Jaden snapped. Midori cracked up. "What did I tell you about calling me that?!"

"Always do it?"

"No! Never do it!" Jaden snapped. "I hate that nickname and you know I do!"

"Well, get back with your friends and I'll stop." Midori winked at Jaden. The redcoat, unamused, got up and left. "Oh, come on!" Midori called after him. "Learn to take a joke!"

"Thanks for the tea," came the blunt reply before the door slammed shut.

Midori shook her head. "Teenage boys," she murmured to herself. "I didn't understand them in my day and I don't understand them now."

# # #

Jaden was grumpily walking along the grounds, his mood fouler than ever. Being put on trial had soured it plenty, but now Midori calling him by his old childhood nickname – which she knew he'd hated since he was kid – had only made it worse.

"I like her," came Yubel's voice from right next to him. It carried a chuckle and sounded generally amused. Jaden could tell why, and he ignored her. It was bad enough that Midori annoyed him; now Yubel taking her side would piss him off even more. "Go away," he said.

"Oh come on," replied the spirit. "She's not that bad. I haven't heard her call you 'Judai-chan' in years."

Jaden grunted in response. He knew he was grunting at thin air and a voice in his head, but he didn't care. He wanted to be alone with his thoughts right now, and he made Yubel aware of this.

"You've been alone with your thoughts plenty," she retorted. "Now's the time to talk about them with me."

"I don't want to."

"Really? Gee, no shit. I couldn't tell."

Jaden imagined his head boiling from all the irritation. He'd never realized it, but he hated sarcasm. "Just leave me alone right now, would you?" he asked. "I've got a patrol to start, and you're bothering me."

"One, I'm not doing anything. Two, we both know the patrol's not why you want to be alone. You're running away from your problems, Jaden."

"I'm not running away from anything," Jaden snapped. "If anything, I'm running toward something. I'm running toward my responsibility of protecting Duel Academy. That's why I'm doing this whole patrol thing, and-"

"Look," Yubel interrupted. "I'm not saying don't patrol this place, but don't use it as an excuse to not talk to me. I'm in your soul Jaden, or have you conveniently forgotten that?"

Jaden sighed. "Sorry."

"It's fine. It's just that… when you don't want to talk to me Jaden, it hurts. Do you even know what I've been doing for the past month?"

"You mean while I was holed up in my room?"

"Yeah."

Jaden paused for a moment. "No. What did you do?"

"Nothing," replied the spirit. "I don't do anything, Jaden. I just float around in here all day, and since you didn't want to talk to anyone during your time in isolation, including me, I…" Yubel's voice trailed off, and she looked down sadly for a moment. "I had nothing to do, so I just… floated. I had so much I wanted to talk to you about but you wouldn't let me, so I just floated around with all these thoughts in my head that I couldn't say. And that hurt." She reestablished eye contact. "It hurt for me to keep all of that locked up. I hadn't seen you in years, and I had so much to say after being fused with you for eternity but you didn't want to talk. So I just stood there. And floated."

Jaden felt as if he'd been punched in the heart. He hadn't figured Yubel would want to catch up after all their years apart. There was only one way to aptly and succinctly put his feelings, and Chazz usually did that best, so Jaden decided to take a page from Chazz's book to express how guilty he felt. "Goddamit," he sighed. "I am such a dick."

"It's fine," Yubel replied. Jaden looked up to see her smiling now. "Everyone on this Earth is a dick to some degree. There are few people who aren't, if any." Jaden gave a brief nod, about to return to what he was doing before Yubel asked. "So what are you going to do?"

"What do you mean? I'm gonna keep patrolling."

"That's not what I meant."

"Oh," Jaden stopped and paused for a moment. "Uhhhhm… I don't know."

"Are you going to take your sister's advice and talk to your friends or not?"

"I just said I don't know," Jaden replied. From that, Yubel nodded and vanished, returning to whatever recesses in Jaden's soul she came from.

Jaden considered for a moment. Despite his irritation at having been forced to spend time with his sister, he couldn't help but consider her advice about telling them the truth about him and Yubel, as he'd just told her.

But I don't want to tell them, he thought. Then he shook his head. No, that's not true. I do want to tell them, I just know that I can't and shouldn't, and because of that I'm just not. He contented himself with this answer and continued walking.

His feet carried him to the edge of the forest where he'd been a few hours earlier. He didn't quite understand why he was coming back here, but he rationalized to himself that perhaps Duel Spirits would enter his world from there and strike out, so it would be smart to at least check. He entered the forest, taking care to make as little noise as possible lest he alert someone – possibly a Duel Spirit – to his presence.

Smoke. The smell of smoke filled Jaden's nostrils. Immediately the redcoat's senses went into panic mode. Assuming the worst, he broke out into a run, jumping occasionally to avoid anything on the ground that might trip him.

He finally found the source of the smell in a clearing in the woodland. His eyes followed the billowing smoke to… someone's campfire. Jaden looked on, surprised. Who would be camping here?

"Mmmmh…" Jaden ducked and got as low to the ground as possible to avoid being seen by the person who'd made the sound. When he heard nothing else, he allowed himself to get up.

It was Alexis who'd made the sound. The blonde from Blue had only been turning over in her sleep. There was no reason to worry. Jaden shook his head at himself for being so overly cautious. Alexis looked like she was in a heavy sleep, so it was all good.

Then he saw her shiver slightly. The blanket – a green one – covering her had come off due to Chazz taking more than he needed. Jaden frowned. Looking around, he noticed their tents set up a few inches away. Ducking inside one of them for a brief moment, he fished another blanket – a red one – out of someone's backpack.

Jaden exited the tent and moved over to Alexis with the stealth of a ninja. He unfolded the blanket and covered Alexis in it, taking the greatest of care not to wake her as he tucked her in. He stood up and stood back, a smile on his face. They all looked so peaceful when they slept. He felt the desire to protect and take care of them blossom in his heart. Jaden kept smiling; he hadn't been this happy in a long time.

"Sleep well guys," he whispered. He was about to move when something caught his eye. Something with a red band around it and half-full of a brown-black liquid. Feeling thirsty and deciding it was completely harmless to do so, Jaden slipped over to the stump where the Coke bottle was located and downed the rest of it. He put it down when he finished and wiped his mouth. He hadn't had Coke in awhile.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" A scream penetrated the serene peace. Jaden jumped and ducked behind a tent, peeking out. Thankfully no one awoke.

"Jaden," Yubel's voice came through the mind link. "You should feel this."

Jaden was about to question what she meant, but before he could the hair on the back of his neck stood straight up, and immediately he could feel a strong source of heat somewhere in the distance.

He was sensing a presence.

Jaden took one last long look at his sleeping friends with a small smile one last time before turning around, the smile straightening out into a hard line as he bolted towards the source of the scream.

It took him a minute. After that minute, Jaden found a Ra Yellow student kneeling on the ground in anguish. "My cards!" he cried. "Look at what he did to my cards!"

He held up his cards for Jaden to see. They were all charred and burnt, with their images barely visible. Jaden's eyes widened. Who would do something like that to a person's Deck?

"He was shackled," came a deep voice from behind. "I set him free."

Jaden wheeled around to see a black figure. Black as in that was the only color this figure wore. Black pants, black shirt, a black overcoat, black boots, the works. Topping off the look was a black carved mask across the figure's face. Jaden felt the hairs on the back of his neck stiffen in place. This person was the presence Yubel had been sensing.

"You call this being set free?" he asked, pointing to the student whose Deck had just lost. "Who are you, anyway?"

"I am many things, Haou," it responded. "I am deliverance, brilliance, luminance and enlightenment."

"My friend here doesn't look enlightened. And how do you know that name?"

"All in due time," said the figure. "Some people aren't comfortable with freedom just yet. It takes time for people to fully embrace it."

"Dude, what the fuck are you talking about?" Jaden asked. "And I'll ask you again: How do you know that name?"

The figure said nothing. Instead, it reached behind its back and pulled out a smoke pellet, throwing it on the ground.

"Get back here!" Jaden dove through the smoke, hoping to catch the figure. But his arms clutched nothing but air as he passed through empty space and landed with an oof! on the ground.

The smoke cleared. Jaden took a good look around the clearing, thinking the figure was still there, hiding in the shadows.

"Where are you?!" he yelled. "Come out and show yourself!"

But he got no answer. The figure was gone.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaand, that's it. Sorry if it's shorter than my previous chapters. (I honestly think this one might be shorter than my other ones). To be honest, just the trial alone seemed like such a ballfuck to get through, and now I'm just glad I can finally get my plot underway. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this one as much as you enjoyed my last chapters. I'm gonna go smoke. See you later.