hey there heartbreakerninja here

sorry it took so long getting this one up. working on 2 stories at once can give you a major case of writers block. not to mention the half a dozen times i kept getting the 2 story lines crossed and lok was the one that was fighting an inner self and jaden ended up with a wolf hunkering down over him [ya wasnt funny then but it is now..sort of lol]

anyway heres chapter 35 in The Aftermath of Jaden. i hope you enjoy it :)

*back with Jaden*

Jaden opened his eyes slightly still lying motionless as Zane's voice floated through his mind.

"Zane?" Jaden said tiredly. Pain was still animated lightly in his voice. His back didn't hurt as much now but was still throbbing. He couldn't figure out why he could hear Zane's voice but stranger things had happened before so it wasn't impossible.

Jaden stirred a little, turning his head to look behind him. He saw Yubell slumped over sleeping. She was still very tired and all the strain from the last few hours had exhausted all her strength. Jaden didn't want to disturb her so he decided to take a little walk. He knew he shouldn't with Haou so close by but he couldn't help it he was restless. Plus the walk seemed to help his back a little.

He wished Winged Kuriboh was there and he wondered where Jim had gone. He hoped his friend was alright and that Haou hadn't done anything. On top of all that he also had Zane's words running through his head.

"Come on Jaden; don't tell me that my friend and rival has grown soft and weak on me. Don't tell me that that's all you got. Can't you overcome Haou just like all the other obstacles you've face before? Or have you finally given up the fight?"

Jaden shook his head to try and clear it. Was he really that weak? Jaden knew the answer to that. He did know that he was weak. He was weak and Haou was strong; too strong. But the part about giving up was what stung. Had he really given up? He wasn't sure. Sometimes it felt like it would be so easy to just let Haou have his way and just lay down in that dark space filled with mirrors and go numb to all that was going on. Just like in the other dimension when he had let Haou take control the first time, because he couldn't handle what he had caused to happen to his friends. The memories that that thought ensued left Jaden gasping for breath from the pain that it caused his heart.

Jaden was so lost in thought that he didn't noticed that he had walked too far and was back in the darkened corridors of his mind instead of being in the happy spot that Yubel and Jim had brought him to earlier. That is until he heard a strange yet familiar voice calling his name.

"Jaden…..Jaden….where are you Jaden?" the familiar voice said slowly and softly.

Jaden froze; then looked around him. Even though he was in his own mind he was having trouble pinpointing his exact location. This didn't really surprise him since Haou caused a lot of the darkness to be there in the first place.

"Hello? Who's there?" Jaden said fearing who would be the one to answer. It didn't sound like Haou but that didn't mean much.

Just then a lone large figure started to appear out of the darkness. Jaden recognized him immediately; even after not seeing him for a long while.

"Stratos?" Jaden asked with surprise. He hadn't expected to see Stratos out and about in his mind. But there he was right in front of him.

"Jaden…come…I have found Winged Kuriboh….he needs…..you." Stratos said with difficulty. It sounded to Jaden like he was choking on something when he tried to talk. But that didn't matter to Jaden at the moment. As soon as Stratos mentioned his furry little friend the world could have been under siege by Darth Vader and he wouldn't have cared. His friend was in trouble and needed his help.

"Take me to him." Jaden said. And they were off. Off into a trap that Jaden was blindly falling into without even realizing it.

Nor did he know that he was being watched.

*back with Haou*

Haou watched through the mirror he had been using to monitor his newest puppet. He was ticked that the E. hero was trying to fight his control which made his words come out weird but that didn't matter since Jaden didn't seem to take it as abnormal. He was following Stratos right into his trap. Jaden would once again be his and this time he wouldn't lose. He could already tell Jaden had self doubts. He knew everything Jaden was thinking. The twin of his soul didn't know how to hide his thoughts as well as Haou himself could. All he had to do know was play upon those doubts and Jaden would be his. Haou could already taste victory on the tip of his tongue and it was sweet.

"Now to set the gears in motion and you will be there to do just that." Haou said as he turned to the now very distraught Winged Kuriboh.

Winged Kuriboh knew it was now hopeless. Jaden would fall right into Haou's trap and then world would follow. There was no way out of it this time. No way anyone could stop it from happening. Haou was going to win and there was nothing they could do about it.

ok sooo your probably wondering why darth vader ended up in the yugioh world. well its kind of funny. you see i wanted to say "the world could have been under siege by aliens" but then i was like; wait doesnt jaden have aliens in his deck...wouldnt that be a little weird if aliens were then being thought of taking over the world? so being the star wars freak fan that i am i gave it an honorable mention. i was going to go with wookies but that didnt sound right so i went with darth vader. jaden seems like a kid that would be a fan of star wars so why not make him one in my story? lol

anyway i hope you like this chapter i'll try and get the next one up faster. and as always i love reading your guy's reviews cause you guys help me become a better writer. especially the 2 or 3 of you that catch my mistakes. i thank you now for helping make this story better. if you got questions or have caught something that doesnt seem right in the chapters let me know and i'll do my best to fix it and give you an answer.

anyway

see ya in the next chapter

heartbreakerninja