Hi readers, I'm back with another chapter. I would like to know what you readers are thinking of the story so far, all reviews are really welcome. Taking this chance too, I inform you that I have prepared some short stories for a few characters of this fanfic, they have been posted in my profile page, they will be updated as the story moves on (even of minor details have been told there XD) and add a few more. Hope you like the next chapters! Until next time.

Episode 24: Clashing Warrior's, The Rise of the Shadow Paladin.

The tournament was placed in a brief break, as Sector Security started making a few investigations on who could be responsible of the sudden malfunctioning in Emily's duel disk. Sector Security began researching in the duel field. Meanwhile, Emily was taken to the infirmary for a routine check up to see if there was anything odd in the shockwave she had earlier.

Moments later, Blair, Alan and their group entered the room, worried about her, Alan being the most concerned on her "Emily, are you alright?" he asked quite worried, to which Emily nodded she was, making Alan relief a moment. He and the others began asking what could have gone wrong, until Rafael entered the room talking through his communicator.

"Yes Mina, please send someone to help us with this. Thanks." he said, finally closing the call and inside the room, with his friends "Sector Security thinks someone could be behind this, so they will check everyone else's disks just in case something like this happens. They are doing so right now, so Goodwin decided we should use our OWN duel disks." he then turned to Emily quite sorry "I'm sorry Emily, I should have expected this from Reginald's tournament."

"Don't worry Rafael, I'm fine." she replied smiling. Moments later, Reginald entered the room.

"Oh, I'm glad you're okay Emily." he said sarcastically, then turning into an evil grin "Listen paladins, you won't stand a chance in this tournament anymore. Give up and I'll be sure to get victory this time."

Alan was about to stand up and beat up Reginald for good, until Rafael stopped him, smiling confidently. "You think I will stand here without doing anything against you? You better think twice." he said smiling as someone entered the room "Sir Rafael? Officer Trudge here." said the tall man with sector security's standard uniform greenish blue colored "The investigation is going well, we've found a few devices in the disks of the contenders. Mr. Goodwin has said that each of you will be able to use your personal duel disks."

"Thank you Trudge, that's good news. Give my regards to Mina too." replied Rafael as Trudge left. He then turned towards Reginald who looked really annoyed now "See? You're a fool if you thought that would scare us or I wouldn't have a plan B, I will discover what your up to."

Reginald simply closed his eyes in disappointment "Fine then! The storm is going to be unleashed then! And you will suffer it Rafael, it's a promise!" he then left angrily, trying to keep calmed down for his plan to success.

"Well, that went somehow well." said Alan, trying to calm down. Then a new message through the speakers, it was MC.

"It's time for the next duel to begin ladies and gentlemen!" shouted MC eager "This is the end of round one of the tournament, next begins second round! It's time to see what Alan Aleida and Roland Wellington!" the crowd began getting excited "20 minutes for the showdown to begin!"

"Alan, I think you've gotta go and get ready for this duel." said Rafael concerned

"That's true." he then turned to Emily "I promise you that I will make Reginald pay for this, one way or another."

Emily simply smiled at him but added "Alan, just remember he's a Paladin too, don't go too rough on him."

He then left with Rafael and Sara by his side, as they headed towards the seats where Lily, Akio and his parents where, as well as Yusei and his friends. On the way there, Alan met with Roland, who simply stared at him angry for they just crashed with each other.

"Sorry Roland, it was my fault." said Alan apologizing, but no reply came as Roland kept heading towards the field "Hey, aren't you going to say anything?"

Roland suddenly stopped, turning around towards Alan "Why should I? It was your fault after all." Alan got quite angry, standing up and getting ready to fight, grabbing him from his coat "What, don't you know we have a duel ahead?"

"I do, but now I have another reason to go on, beating a prideful person like you." replied Alan angered "I will also teach a lesson to that fool of Reginald myself!"

Roland simply let go of Alan's grasp, laughing at him "So, the fact that your girlfriend was hurt made you that determined? You think you can take him on? What a joke punk, you just don't know your place." he said, finally entering the duel field. Alan simply ran after him in order to teach him a lesson in the duel.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the time has come for the end of the first round!" shouted MC. Rafael and Sara reached the seats, while the others stayed with Emily in the infirmary. Yusei immediately asked about her, to which Sara answered she was alright, but the concern they had was Alan at the moment.

"Very well Alan, let's see if you can take me on." said Roland quite egocentrically "I'll show you that I'm right with my opinion about you."

Alan simply got even more irritated "You think to high of yourself, I'll just have to teach you some manners then!"

Roland simply got pissed off "And why do I have to? Because I insulted your girlfriend and you and her are from a high class? Pathetic. You two come from a world pretty different to mine." he then closed his eyes in disappointment and then opened them, quite determined "I can expect you to understand me, but I can tell you this: the duel won't last more than 6 turns." Alan got even more angry, as the duel was about to begin.

"Let's duel now!" shouted both duelists. Alan was using a brown deck with a shield in its upper part, while Roland's was a kind of sword sheath dark purple colored.

Alan 4000 LP, Hand 5; Roland 4000 LP, Hand 5

"I'll show you then, I start this game! Firstly, I summon Marauding Captain in attack mode, allowing me to Special Summon Command Knight in Attack mode too." he said, as a blond man with bluish gray armor and a cape arrived, bringing with him another blond reddish haired man armored with red armor clad, a huge yellow shield and a sword "Then I set a card, ending my turn."

"Turn one over, second one starts." said Roland, getting his card "I'll start by special summoning Shadow Hero in defense mode." said Roland, as a dark clothed hero appeared up in the stadium's roof, standing in a heroic stance, jumping to the duel field taking a defensive stance; he was wearing a black cape with a dark mask like that of the Black Rose Witch, however it had only one eye visor; equipped with an iron knuckle and a charm in his neck, packing 1000 attack points, 0 defensive points and a 4 star monster "Next, I'll set two cards, that's my turn."

Alan 4000 LP, Hand 4; Roland 4000 LP, Hand 3

"Oh, where's all that confidence you showed earlier now Roland?" said Alan smiling "Here I go then! I summon another Marauding Captain, bringing forth another Command Knight with him!" he said as the other pair of monsters appeared in the field, as a strange shield was appearing "You may wonder what's happening now; Marauding Captain protects all other warrior monsters in my side of the field except himself, however I have two now, which means you can't attack any of my monsters of the warrior type!"

"This is getting better everyone!" shouted MC quite surprised "Alan has pulled up a non-battle target in this duel! Roland will have to think of a good move to be able to attack!" Roland simply remained silent, as Alan was making his move.

"Now's the time to win this game! Attack my warriors, Ultimate Strike of Sword!" said Alan confident as his monsters jumped to strike down Roland's monster "And with the effects of my Command Knights, each warrior gains 400 additional attack points, which means game for me!" The first one to land an attack was one of the Marauding captains, but Roland's monster blocks it with its shield, as if nothing happened, as well as the other attacks, Alan was completely astonished to see that "What the…what did just happened?"

Roland closed his eyes, looking pretty serious "This will be a big surprise for you then, my hero is undefeatable in battle, as long as its opponent is not a Fiend type monster." those words made Alan tremble a bit, as well as groan in anger "That's right, as long as I have him in the field, you won't be able to defeat him so easily. Are you done yet?"

"Yes…at least for now." replied Alan disappointed.

"Very well, because I now go, summoning forth my Ally of Justice Nullifier in attack mode now!" said Roland, as the red mechanic-like spider capsule monster appeared in the field "But he won't stay for long, you know? I'll tune up my Shadow Hero with my Nullifier to synchro summon!" he said, as the hero jumped high in the sky pushing a button in his belt that transformed him into four energy rings that surrounded Nullifier "To protect justice and life! Fight to let justice prevail in the world! Shadow of honor and strong-willed warrior! Synchro Summon! Warrior of the dark, Shadow Avenger Gandor the Dark Crusader!" from the energy beam, a taller and armored version of the hero appeared. It was a hero wearing a black coat and a gray suit with pants; he had three razor blades in its left hand and a communicator in his right arm; Roland's paladin card, a level 8 fiend-type humanoid monster with 3000 attack points and 2000 def points, of the dark attribute "Now, with him in the field all my fiend-type monsters receive a boost of 500 points, but I'll end my turn for now." Gandor then began shining, as a shadowy aura surrounded him "I forgot to mention that, when Gandor doesn't attack, I can destroy a monster in your side of the field!" Gandor then moved his razor blades and launched a powerful slash wave that instantly destroyed a Marauding Captain, making Alan get worried.

Back in the seats, everyone in Alan's group was a bit worried of what was to come, while Lily and Akio thought that maybe it was Roland who was responsible "Rafael, could he be…" said Akio worried. Rafael simply stared at Roland, thinking for a while.

"No, I don't think he's the one that betrayed us." he replied after a short while "Even if his deck is built thinking in fiends and the Allies of Justice, but…for some reason I have a feeling he's not."

"Rafael, we have to think carefully." added Sara a bit worried "We can't deal with more than two enemies right now." Rafael nodded positively.

Alan 4000 LP, Hand 3; Roland 4000 LP, Hand 3

"My turn then! I'll star off by summoning forth my Brave Recruit in attack mode!" said Alan as a small young blond soldier landed in front of Alan, barely armored with a novice's armor and a light sword "Now's the time for me to show you something good! I'll tune up my recruit with a Command Knight to bring my Paladin card too then!" he said as the recruit jumped over the command knight's shoulders, readying for the combination "To protect justice, fight with earth's steady force! Carry the might of a warrior and earth! Synchro Summon! Come forth, Brave Hero, Reigas the Champion!" said that, in front of Alan an older version of the recruit appeared, wearing a black jacket and brown pants, armored with a knight's clad blue colored and a band in its forehead "Now, with him here I can bring two warrior monsters from my graveyard level 4 or lower, bringing my two old friends Command Knight and Marauding Captain!" he said, as Reigas swung his sword and called forth the two monsters "Now Reigas, finish off that avenger!" he said, as his champion jumped and landed in front of the avenger, swinging downwards his sword slashing right through the avenger, destroying it in debris "Now my other knights will finish you up!"

"Not so fast!" shouted Roland, as Shadow Hero appeared back in the field

"What?"

Roland then smiled confidently "You see, when Gandor is destroyed in battle I have the choice of returning him to my Extra Deck to Special Summon my hero back from the graveyard and remember no fiend-type monsters can destroy my hero." said Roland quite determined, the other knights then stopped moving to attack "Then I end my turn again, I can't make too many moves thanks to him!"

"And things will get even worse now!" shouted Roland as he drew his card "Time for some payback, I summon my Dark Hunter in attack mode!" a strange looking humanoid green skinned jumped, as the hero pushed the button in its belt again "Time for tune up again! Synchro Summon Gandor the Dark Crusader!" Gandor appeared again in the field "It's time to end this duel as I thought so in 6 turns, I activate the equip spell card Gungnir, the Lance of Destruction!" he said, as Gandor picked up a long lance that had two marks in its peak blade as if they were eyes and a back blade in its other side "This card allows Gandor to attack twice this turn, but if I discard a card in my hand and pay half my life points" he said, discarding his card and reducing his life points to 1750, as Gandor launched a wave of shadows at Alan's side of the field "I can negate the effects of all your monsters this turn!" said that, Alan's monsters began losing their powers, getting back to normality as Roland readied another spell card "Now I activate another spell card, Gleipnir's Impact." he said as a powerful aura surrounded Gandor "With this, you lose life points equal to the attack of a monster destroyed by Gandor! Now Gandor, go and fight against Reigas!" he said as Gandor jumped and slashed Reigas using his lance, causing a painful total of 3500 damage. Alan had a drop of sweat as he realized he was going to be defeated "Sorry, but I have fought hard to get here, I won't allow you to interfere any longer. Gandor, finish him! Attack Marauding Captain!" Gandor then turned against one of the captains, slashing with his lance's upper blade the warrior, ending the duel.

"And Roland has won this duel! That's the end of round one!" shouted MC, as the crowd began shouting in excitement. Roland simply turned around and headed to the living room of the arena, to ready himself for the next duel. Rafael stood up from his seat and went to the same place.

Almost arriving there, Roland saw Rafael in front of the door. Like if he was waiting for Roland "What do you need?" asked Roland coldly "Get out of my way now."

Rafael simply stared at him a moment "Do you think that leads you somewhere Roland?" asked Rafael seriously "You're a Paladin, why act so high and like your superior to anyone? That's not our way."

Roland simply closed his eyes, trying to ease some kind of pain in his mind. He then had a flashback of his youth, as he was in primary school with his friends; he was much of the time alone, avoiding anyone else. He got cornered by two bullies that wanted to fight with him, until Roland threw them aside accidentally, as he discovered his paladin powers.

"You will never understand it." said Roland, opening the door and trying to calm down, as it closed with him inside.

Rafael: Next time, on Yugioh 5Ds Paladins of Light…

Rafael: It seems you were right Sara, we face each other next round.
Sara: Well, it really brings back some memories. I hope it does for you too.
Yusei: A duel between friends, it's something that we rarely experience at its full.
Rafael: Then Sara, we will try our best.
Sara: And we will enjoy it to its full!

Rafael and Sara: This and more next time, in Yugioh 5DsPaladins of Light, episode 25: Remembrance of the Past; Promises between Friends.

Brave Recruit, Effec Tuner Monster; Warrior Type monster, Level 3; Atk 1200, Def 300; Earth Attribute

When this card is successfully Normal Summoned, select a monster your opponent controls. As long as this card remains face up on the field, that monster cannot declare an attack. When this card declares an attack, increase its Atk by 200 points for each card in your hand.

Brave Hero, Reigas the Champion; Effect Syncrho Monster; Warrior Type monster, Level 7; Atk 2700, Def 2200; Earth Attribute

Brave Recruit+1 or more non-Tuner monsters.

When this card is Synchro Summoned, you can Special Summon up to 2 Level 4 or lower Warrior Type monsters from your Graveyard or your hand. This card cannot be destroyed by battle.

Shadow Hero; Effect Tuner Monster; Fiend Type monster, Level 4; Atk 1000, Def 0; Dark Attribute

If you control no monsters, you can Special Summon this card from your hand. This card cannot be destroyed in battle by non-Fiend Type monsters

Shadow Avenger, Gandor the Dark Crusader; Effect Synchro Monster, Fiend, Level 8; Atk 3000, Def 2000; Dark Attribute

Shade Hero+1 or more non-Tuner monsters.

This card types is also treated as a Warrior type monster. As long as this card remains face-up on the field, increase the attack of your Fiend type monsters by 500 points. If this card doesn't attack, you can destroy one monster your opponent controls at the End Phase. When this card is destroyed by battle, by sending this card to your Extra Deck you can Special Summon one "Shade Hero" from your graveyard.

Gungnir, the Lance of Destruction; Equip Spell

Equip only to "Shadow Avenger, Gandor the Dark Crusader". The equipped monster can attack twice per turn. By discarding a card from your hand and paying half of your life points, you can negate the effects of all your opponent face-up monsters until the End Phase.

Gleipnir's Impact; Normal Spell

Until the end of this turn, if a face-up "Shadow Avenger, Gandor the Dark Crusader" destroys a monster in battle the owner of that monster loses life points equal to its attack points.

Well, that's another chapter now. Hope you guys are liking it so far. Keep tuned for more!