Being saved by a Shadow Rider is a very paradoxical situation. How weirdly fitting that the Shadow Rider called himself Paradox. That, or he perhaps orchestrated it. Then again, Wilona supposed she wasn't expecting to be trapped by an evil snake-dragon in an underwater academy.

The things she did for money.

Anyway, Paradox stood at the top of the frozen wasteland that was once a glorious arena. He twirled his hand in a showy fashion before making a mocking bow. "This looks like a lot of fun!"

He jumped down the bleachers as if he was playing hopscotch before stopping in front of a very angry Phantasm Spiral Dragon.

"WHO ARE YOU!?" The beast roared in a stance poised to strike like a snake.

"Why, think of me as a savior." Paradox exclaimed as he started walking down the frozen arena. "But a savior for who? That is the question." He said as he glanced over to the remaining girl among the frozen statues.

"Wilona, stay back!" Honest got up and tried to protect the girl he bonded with.

"What nonsense is this?" The angry dragon spirit snarled.

"I can get you out of here." Paradox interjected. His abrupt words made the angry dragon pause. He slowly pointed to Wilona, or specifically the medallion she wore. "Or to be clear, she can have the power to get you out of this place."

The dragon roared as the temperature dropped in the area. "RELEASE ME NOW, WITCH!" He inhaled, and Honest grabbed Wilona and flew out of the way as a beam of ice turned their area into a frozen wasteland.

"Ah ah ah." Paradox spoke up while wiggling his finger and stepping in front of the raging beast. "Kill her, and you'll be trapped here forever."

The beast roared. Yet it landed near the fallen body of The Admiral. Honest landed in the center of the arena, near her friend and the Southern Chancellor.

"But not to worry, all you need to do to free yourself... is to duel and defeat her." Paradox explained.

"What!?" Wilona shrieked after being put down by the angel spirit. "And why would I want to do that!?"

Paradox turned to her, and the Slifer Girl could tell the Shadow Rider was smirking behind his mask. "Two reasons. First: if you don't, you are going to be this nice spirit's plaything for all eternity."

Phantasm Spiral Dragon gave a combination of both a growl and a snarl. It was decided that 'play' meant something different for the dragon than it did to the human.

The chaotic Shadow Rider raised his second finger. "The second reason: if you win, you get to save your friends." At that moment, Wilona happened to look to her right, where Jaden and Winged Kuriboh was frozen. "Come on; it's your chance to be heroic after all."

The green-haired girl's eyes widened when she heard that. The way Paradox said heroic was somewhat similar to the way Wilona kept saying to Jaden that she wasn't while he was. But if that was the case, it would mean Paradox was spying on them even before—

"ENOUGH!" The dragon's voice shook the area. "DUEL ME BEFORE I CRUSH YOUR ARMS WITH MY CLAWS!"

That didn't sound magical, but it sounded painful. Wilona sighed and activated the duel disk she was lent.

She eyed Paradox as she walked towards the center. "What's your stake in this? Why are you helping me?"

Instead of answering, Paradox folded his arms and walked over to Mako's ice prison before he leaned on it to get a good view of their upcoming duel.

"I do not like him, Wilona." Honest narrowed his eyes at the Shadow Rider.

"You and me both. Something tells me he's not as interested in the Sacred Beasts as the others were." Wilona turned towards the dragon. "But we have different things to worry about now."

"DUEL!"

Wilona: 4000 LP

P.S. Dragon: 4000 LP

At that moment, Wilona's necklace started to glow. What looked to be a giant eye appeared beneath both duelists.

"I GO FIRST!" The Dragon cried out as five cards flew above the head of the creature. A sixth one appeared, and one card shot to the ground. "I play Ancient Rules! This allows me to special summon a normal monster without tribute! I summon Phantasm Spiral Dragon in attack mode!"

The creature roared as it summoned itself once more. Like before, the temperature was dropping fast, and Wilona could see her breath.

Phantasm Spiral Dragon - [Type:Normal Monster/Sub-Type:Wyrm/Attribute:WATER/Level:8/ATK:2900/DEF:2900]

"I then equip the spell card, Phantasm Spiral Grip! This gives me 500 extra attack points."(ATK: 2900 → 3400)"Now make your move so that I may finally be free of this accursed place!"

Turn 2: Wilona. Cards: 5.

Wilona gritted her teeth as she saw the Equip Spell. She saw how if the monster gets two more Equip Spells and destroys three monsters, he can activate a card that will allow him to win the duel. And if she didn't summon any monsters, she'd have to deal with a monster that can easily surpass 2900 points!

"This bloody game is stupid!" She whispered before she placed a hand on the top of her deck. "I draw!"

"I play the spell card Pantheism of the Monarchs! I discard one spell or trap card with Monarch in its name and draw two cards!" The cap-wearing girl did so. "Next, I banish Pantheism of the Monarchs to activate a trap card from my grave, The Prime Monarch! When it activates, I can summon it as a monster on my side of the field, and I choose defense mode!"

A being of pure light that sat on a strange throne appeared on Wilona's side of the field. [Fairy-Type/LIGHT/Level 5/ATK1000/DEF 2400]

"Because it's a special summon, I still have a normal summon. I tribute my token!"

Fires appeared around the area the burned some of the ice before forming together in front of Wilona.

Thestalos the Firestorm Monarch [Type:Effect Monster/Sub-Type:Pyro/Attribute:FIRE/Level:6/ATK:2400/DEF:1000]

"I tribute summon Thestalos, The Flame Monarch, in defense mode!" The firey titan appeared, and Wilona threw her hand out. "I can use his effect to discard one card from my opponent's hand, and if it's a monster, you lose points equal to its level multiplied by a hundred!"

The fire monarch shot at one of the cards floating above the dragon. As it burned, the shadow of Spiral Serpent, a level 8 monster.

"Uh oh." Wilona cursed under her breath as Thestalos started to move and fired a giant ball of flame that smashed into the monster.

Wilona: 4000 LP

Spiral Dragon: 4000 → 3200LP

"Wilona," Honest looked to his friend. "You've dealt a great blow! Why are you upset?"

"Life points aren't a high priority if my opponent has a win condition card! I was aiming for his trap or spell cards! All that did was just bloody ticking him off." The girl was right in her assumption as the creature spread his wings out of the smoke and gave off another angry roar.

"I put one card face down and end my turn!" The Slifer red girl exclaimed.

Turn 3: P.S. Dragon. Cards: 3

"YOU WILL SUFFER FOR THAT." The spirit exclaimed. A card flew into the air before it started to glow. The Slifer red girl noticed that it was a spell card, and with her luck, it was another Equip Spell.

Wilona watched the creature's tail starting to glow dangerously. However, it paled to the fact that Spiral Dragon whipped his tail right towards Thestalos. Wilona watched her fire titan get treated as if it was a stuffed toy.

Then, the girl felt as if someone stabbed her lungs and lit them on fire.

"Wilona!" Honest screamed before he noticed her life points dropping.

Paradox lifted his head to the duel. "I've heard of that card. It's called Phantasm Spiral Crash. It's a nasty card that gives the equipped normal monster a piercing effect, and unfortunately for you, Monarch cards aren't known for their defense."

Wilona: 4000 LP → 1600LP

Spiral Dragon: 3200

It was at that moment that Spiral Dragon roared. As he did, his tail and claws started to glow. In response, the ground beneath started to rumble and crack. Honest tried to help stabilize Wilona while Paradox could only begin laughing. Two shadowy figures swam behind all the ice, and as the cracks grew, the two figures swam right for Spiral Dragon. After an ear-splitting crack, two figures blasted out of the ice and revealed two more Phantasm Spiral Dragons.

"How unlucky, both Crash and Grip have the ability to summon other Phantasm Spiral monsters from the deck, graveyard, or hand." The blonde masked man rubbed his chin. "And it's still the battle phase, isn't it?"

The other two dragons started to inhale energy as the Slifer Red girl winced in pain.

"Wilona, you gotta get up!"

The girl's purple eyes snapped open as she pressed a button on her duel disk. "I play my facedown! Trojan's Gift! If one of my monsters was destroyed by battle, I can special summon two trojan tokens in defense mode [Rock-Type/EARTH/Level 1/ATK 0/DEF 0] and end the battle phase!"

The two tokens started to shine, and their light warded away the two dragons. When the attack was finished, Wilona noticed that voice didn't come from Honest or Paradox. She looked to her right and saw Jaden and Jim were both free of their icy prison!

Sorta.

The heavy shaking craked their prisons, but now only their faces were free.

"I was about to pull the sickest combo the sea ever saw," Yep, that was definitely the real Jaden. "Then the next thing I know, a snowstorm blindsides me, and here we are!?" Jaden moved his eyes. "Wait, are you dueling a dragon!? That's amazing! You're dueling a dragon!"

"And suddenly, oblivion doesn't seem all that bad." Wilona sighed deep from her lungs. "Long story short, I'm in another Shadow Game. I'm trying to duel for our freedom!"

"Then, by all means, Sheila," Jim spoke up. "You might want to hurry up. Can't say the position I'm in leaves quite the creak in me back." Jim said.

Whatever Wilona was about to retort was interrupted when the three Spiral Dragons roared in Wilona's direction.

"It seems they're getting... let's go with unsettled. It's your turn now, little one. Do make a good move. Oh! That's right. The Dragon seems to have stopped talking, so pay extra attention to the cards floating above him." Paradox pointed to the cards above the first dragon's head. Wilona followed and spotted that one of the floating cards were gone.

"Oh dear, it seems there's more to this. He's activated Crash's secondary effect. When the original user successfully destroys a monster, he can change the equip target to another normal monster," As Paradox exclaimed this, the Dragon on Wilona's right started to glow in its claw. "When it's done, you take 1000 points of effect damage."

The monster with a glowing claw sent an energy swipe that blasted Wilona's area.

"Wilona!" Jaden cried out but still felt his entire body frozen solid.

Wilona: 1600 LP → 600LP

Spiral Dragon: 3200 LP

The dust settled, but Wilona felt relatively fine this time. However, she felt a weight shift above her and spotted that Honest had used his body to shield the girl. "Why did you do that?!" Wilona cried out for her friend.

"I can't let my friend get harmed more than necessary."

"You blasted idiot!" Wilona cried out as she tried to help the angel sit down. "Just stay there and don't get involved. You were injured enough as is!"

Turn 4: Wilona. Cards: 4

As Wilona drew her next card, she stared down at the three dragons flying in the arena. It felt like she was facing down the legendary Blue-Eyes white dragons but eviler and water/ice-based. "I play the Spell card, Tenacity of the Monarchs! I will reveal Zarborg the Thunder Monarch in my hand so I can pick one Monarch Spell or Trap Card from my deck!" Wilona took her cards out and picked the card she was searching for. The light-green haired girl placed the card in her hand and brought out another one. "I'll play the card, Card Advance! I can look up and rearrange the top five cards in my deck! This card also allows me an extra tribute summon!"

"An extra tribute summon? What kinda deck is that?" Jim raised his brow as it was one of the few parts of his body he could currently move.

"Trust me, Jim, Wilona's real good at tribute summons!" Despite being frozen, Jaden could feel a good combo coming in.

"I sacrifice my first token to bring out Granmarg the Rock Monarch!" A giant rock grew behind the girl as the familiar lord exploded out of the rock.

Granmarg the Rock Monarch [Type:Effect Monster/Sub-Type:Rock/Attribute:EARTH/Level:6/ATK:2400/DEF:1000]

"When Granmarg is tribute summoned, I can destroy one set card on the field! I choose the one you placed down!"

Granmarg punched the ground, aiming for a shining spot underneath the dragons that no one noticed before. However, before the attack made contact, the light started to shine, and a trap card revealed itself.

"Huh. Okay. Phantasm Spiral Battle. That trap card can only activate if the user has only Normal monsters. It can destroy one card on the opponent's field," Paradox began as he watched the spot light up. A blast of power shot out from under the ice and struck Granmarg. Everyone braced the explosion, yet to Wilona's dismay, there were still three powerful dragons staring her down.

The girl inhaled deeply. Her eyes then opened up, and she grabbed one of the cards in her hand. "I play the card I picked up with Tenacity, Monarch's Stormforth! This Spell card allows me to use my opponent's monster as a tribute!"

As Wilona claimed this, a tornado appeared and trapped the Spiral Dragoon that had the 500 attack point boost.

"Thanks to Card Advance, I can tribute summon one more time! And I'm going to tribute the monster with the attack point boost! Enter the battlefield, Zarborg!"

Zaborg the Thunder Monarch [Type:Effect Monster/Sub-Type:Thunder/Attribute:LIGHT/Level:5/ATK:2400/DEF:1000]

The titan of thunder appeared after a flash of electricity. Its appearance showed the mighty beast was filled to the brim with electricity. "When Zarborg is summoned, I can destroy one monster on the field! I choose the dragon that still has an equip card!" The electric Monarch gathered his palms together as all the gathered energy compressed to one point. The titan threw the item with impressive distance in speed that exploded right in front of the second dragon, incinerating him from the blast. After seeing two dragons down, the last dragon gave a roar that was powerful enough to create its own wind.

"Don't feel too bad. I didn't forget you." Jaden watched with interest as he saw Wilona raising her duel disk. "I activate the Field Spell, Domain of the True Monarchs!" When she placed the spell card in the special slot, the entire area changed. First, the area was swallowed whole by darkness. Then a single beam of light shined down on an empty throne that was almost as big as the arena itself. In front of the throne were Wilona and Zaborg where the single light made them look larger than they already were. Wilona smiled as she pointed over to the final remaining Spiral Dragon. "Zaborg, attack that final dragon!"

Everyone was surprised to hear the girl say that, but Wilona spoke out, "Domain of the True Monarchs gives tributed monsters 800 extra attack points during the damage calculation!" (ATK: 2400 → 3200) "That gives it 300 more attack points than your last dragon!" Zaborg fired another compressed lightning ball at the final dragon that engulfed the creature and silenced its scream of pain.

Wilona: 600 LP

Spiral Dragon: 3200 LP → 2900LP

Jim started to whistle. "Ain't that something?"

"Something? That was a sick combo to take down those three blue-eyes wannabe, Wilona! You really know how to get your game on!"

Paradox watched the girl with interest, yet he didn't say anything.

Wilona smiled from the attention she was getting. "And down go the dragons. I end my turn!"

Turn 5: Phantasm Spiral Dragon. Cards: 2

For a while, all was silent on the opposite side of the field. Even Wilona dropped her smile. As the dust settled, they could see a silhouette starting to appear. It was much smaller than a dragon, but everyone spotted The Admiral, standing where he once fell with a dark aura surrounding him. His eyes snapped open, but they looked like eyes that belonged to the Spirit instead of a human.

"I have never hated a being more than I hate you." The possessed man spat as he drew his next card. "It's going to take me a lot of power to not break every bone in your fragile body. After all, I still need you to escape."

He looked down at his card. "I activate the Equip Spell, Phantasm Spiral Skeleton! This card allows me to special summon a Normal Monster from my graveyard. It also allows me to equip spell cards from my graveyard!"

"Of course," Wilona inhaled deeply as she closed her eyes.

Everyone watched as something like a skeleton appeared as it rose from the floor. Slowly but surely, its flesh started to regrow until it turned back into another Phantasm Spiral Dragon. with a mix of screaming and roaring, the creature's talons and tail started to glow, revealing that the equipped cards Wilona destroyed were now reequipped. (ATK: 2900 → 3400)

"Here's a fun fact. Did you know that my equip cards can even bring other Spiral Dragons back from the graveyard?" The Admiral laughed darkly. "How unfortunate for you that you'll lose this duel before that can happen though. I attack your Zaborg! I will enjoy getting revenge for hurting me three times!"

The dragon roared as it rushed for the Thunder Monarch. Since there was a 1000 point difference in attack, if it connected, Wilona would lose the duel!

Yet despite her friend's crying out for her, Wilona did not falter as the attack came her way. "I activate Trojan's Gift second effect from the graveyard! If I still have at least one token on the field, by giving up half my life points," (LP: 600 → 300) The girl struggled as she felt her life force leave her body. However, she continued on. "I take no battle or effect damage this turn, and my token cannot be destroyed by battle or card effects!"

The last token started to glow and create a shield around Wilona. However, it did not cover Zaborg, who was similarly erased from the board.

The possessed man snarled. "Fine! My two other equip cards activate! They can special summon two Phantasm Spiral monsters from my hand, deck, or the grave! That means those two forms you broke will rise once more!"

Out of the ice, the two dragons returned once more. As all three gathered, they turned their gaze over towards Wilona, who gritted her teeth behind the barrier. Then they all roared. The combining roar created a force that everyone could feel besides the splitting headache their ears were receiving.

"I end my turn." The Admiral growled those words.

Turn 6: Wilona. Cards: 0

"Crickey!" Jim cried out as the barrier formed from Wilona's token vanished. "It took an entire hand combo to beat all those nasty bogans! Wilona doesn't even have a card on her hand!"

"Don't worry about that!" Jaden screamed out. "The game's not over till the last card is played!"

"But Yuki!" Wilona cried out. "I played Card Advance! I know what my next cards are, and none of them can get us out of here alone!" Her voice sounded despondent, hopeless. "I thought for sure that those monsters would be gone after the last turn, but!"

She was interrupted when the ground started to shake. A piece of ice fell from the darkness of Wilona's Field Spell and landed near Honest.

"Honest!?" Jaden cried out.

Wilona looked back at the others before she looked at Honest. He was hurt again because of her. She hated that he was hurt only because of her. If she only treated Honest as a friend more than a tool for convenience then maybe she would have never sent him to anger the Phantasm Dragon. But still... he believed in her. Now that she thought of it, Jaden and Winged Kuriboh always had a close friendship. She started to realize that a small part of her wanted something like that, but she could never bring herself to express herself properly. The Slifer Red drew the last card of the duel. She knew what it was as she saw it earlier in Card Advance. However, the problem was that the card alone couldn't stand to three powerful monsters that kept reviving. Not to mention, her opponent still had that Win-Condition Trap card.

She wasn't Jaden. She couldn't pull a victory with just one card.

"Wilona!" Jaden interrupted his friend. "Believe in your deck! Even if you know what card you're about to draw, it's not the end!"

"He is right, Wilona!" The Slifer Red Girl turned back to Honest as he stood back up. "You are not alone! We will face this together if we have to!"

"ENOUGH!" The Admiral screamed as the three Phantasm Spiral Dragons roared once more to silence the others. "Draw your last pathetic card!"

Wilona was... touched... that people believed in her. She never had that before... and damned be anyone that tried to take it from her now!

"I draw!" Wilona cried out as she looked at the card she drew. Like she said awhile ago, she set the next five cards in her deck, and while this last card was good, it wasn't enough to turn the odds. She could, at best, destroy only two of those Spiral Dragons. However, there was a strong chance that the Spirit would simply revive himself again that easily and maybe even activate his win-condition trap card since one of those monsters has three equip cards.

Wilona realized something as she kept looking at her card. Maybe she was thinking about this the wrong way. Destroying those dragons wasn't how she would play this duel. However, the chance of pulling this other move off was astronomically low, and she knew she didn't have Yuki's luck.

"Honest," Wilona began as she turned to the spirit. "Do you trust me?"

"I do." The angel said without hesitation.

"Then," The light green-haired girl inhaled deeply. "I trust you too." She raised her hand. "I activate my Field Spell's secondary effect! I can reduce the level of a monster with 2800 Attack Points and 1000 Defense points by 2! That means that this level 8 monster in my hand turns to a level 6 and needs only one tribute! I sacrifice my last token to tribute summon Ether, the Heavenly Monarch!"

Wilona played her last card, and what a card it was. Suddenly, the entire field spell started to change. There was light in it. Everyone saw beautiful, heavenly pillars, and a garden that was hard to describe. But most of all everyone turned to the giant throne. It was once empty, but now there was this massive armored woman that sat on the throne. She towered over even the dragons despite the fact that she was sitting down.

Ether The Heavenly Monarch [Type: Effect Monster/Sub-Type: Fairy/Attribute: LIGHT/Level:8/ATK:2800/DEF:1000]

Wilona moved her hand. "Ether has an effect when she's tribute summoned! I can send two Monarch Spell or Trap Cards from my deck or hand to the grave!"

"That means she gets to shuffle her deck again!" Jaden started to smile as he realized that Wilona might get potentially better cards after milling two from her deck.

"Mate, I hate to rain on your parade, but she already drew!" Jim exclaimed.

Even with that scream, Wilona went on undeterred. "Ether has many effects! After those cards are sent to the graveyard, I'm allowed to special summon a monster with 2400 attack points and 1000 defense points! However, it returns to my hand at the end of the turn!" Wilona searched her deck once more. "I special summon Kuraz the Light Monarch!"

With a wave of her staff, the divine being summoned another being of extraordinary light.

Kuraz the Light Monarch [Type: Effect Monster/Sub-Type: Warrior/Attribute: LIGHT/Level:6/ATK:2400/DEF:1000]

"Kuraz has an ability that allows him to destroy two cards on the field when he's Special Summoned or Tribute Summoned! But in exchange, he cannot attack the turn he is summoned!"

"Ah, if it didn't have that drawback, she could have destroyed two, and her two monsters would have removed whatever life points her opponent would have had." Paradox noted from the side.

"Kuraz!" Wilona cried out as she raised her hand. "Destroy yourself and my field spell!"

"WHAT!?" Everyone in the area screamed in surprise as Wilona declared this. They could only watch in surprise as Kuraz started to glow before he exploded in light. His destruction shattered the heavenly area and returned everyone to the icy world of Spiral Dragon.

"Crikey, what in blazes are ya doing, Shelia?!" Jim cried out in panic.

"Wait, Jim!" Jaden spoke up. "I remember Kuraz has a second drawback! Whichever cards he destroys, the owner of the cards has to draw!"

"Yuki's right," Wilona continued. "I destroyed my cards so I could draw two cards from my deck." She gave a sarcastic laugh. "What are the odds I get the cards I need?"

She put her hand on top of her deck. Wilona inhaled one more time and closed her eyes...

"Come on," Jaden whispered.

Wilona drew both her cards. She opened her eyes and stared at what she drew.

Then...

Wilona started to laugh. At that moment, Jaden started to think back: has he ever heard the girl laugh?

Wilona slowed down her laughter as she tried to wipe her eyes. "S-Sorry. I just... well!" She then smiled towards the Phantasm Spiral Dragons. "Let's get this started, shall we?" The girl opened her Field Spell compartment. "I drew my second copy of Doman of the True Monarchs!" As she claimed this, the area returned to the heavenly garden that Ether showed. "Now, Ether, attack the Phantasm Spiral Dragon with equip spells!"

The heavenly titan started to move. Thanks to Wilona's field spell, her monster gained an extra 800 attack points. (ATK: 2800 → 3600)

However, since Wilona was attacking the Spiral Dragon with equip spells, she would only deal 200 life points. "Are you mocking me!? All of that for a measly 200 attack points!?" The Admiral's voice screamed in anger.

"No." Wilona took out the last card in her hand. "I activate Honest's ability from my hand!" The girl looked back and saw the Angel spirit nod once before he flew towards the Heavenly Monarch. "By sending this card from my hand to the graveyard, a face-up LIGHT monster I control gains attack points equal to the monster it's facing! In other words, Ether gains an extra 3400 attack points!"

(ATK: 3600 → 7000)

"7000 Attack points!?" Everyone watched as Honest vanished and his wings appeared behind Ether, only becoming giant-sized and more majestical.

"Ether, end this nightmare!" Wilona threw out her hand as the Titan finished gathering energy and wiped out all three dragons and the possessed man.

Wilona: 300 LP (Winner!)

Spiral Dragon: 2900 LP → 0LP

At that moment, Wilona's necklace started to glow and also exploded with light. As the light enveloped everyone, Paradox turned his back on the duel.

"I am going to enjoy these next few weeks." He commented before vanishing before the light could get him.

[Tag Force: Heroes and Villains]

Wilona felt a headache as she got up. As she looked around, she noticed they were back in the underwater arena, only it wasn't filled to the brim with ice anymore.

As Wilona got up, she looked to her right and saw Honest. He was incorporeal and see-through, which meant they were back in the real world. "I'm sorry for sending you alone."

"Wilona, please don't apologize," The Angel Spirit began. "I was careless. You mustn't blame yourself."

"Uhhh," Wilona looked over to see Jaden and the others waking up from being frozen statues. "Ouch, my neck feels stiff."

"You're neck? At least you weren't frozen in a poor spine position." Jim pushed his back forward. "I'm gonna be feeling that for a while." The one-eyed cowboy looked at the area. "It seems the Chancellor and Mr. Anacis are still out cold, but they both seem fine."

However, the ground once more started to shake. The glass beneath the duel arena started to crack, and then the lights started to flash.

"What's going on this time!?" Jaden yelled out.

"Everyone! There's been a breach! The Academy is drowning! Everyone head to all escape subs and areas!" A sailor screamed out as everyone started to move. Some of the sailors took the Admiral while Jim, with help from Jaden, picked up the muscular Mako.

"Well, looks like we're escaping this place after all!" Jaden yelled over the alarm.

As the group started to follow the rest, Wilona slid to a stop.

Jaden spotted this and screamed over the alarm. "Wilona, what are you doing!? Let's go!"

"I can't leave the spirit!" She screamed. "It's angry, it's hurt, and confused! It doesn't deserve to sink to the bottom of the ocean!" And with that, she turned and ran in the opposite direction.

"Wilona!" Jaden yelled before he felt the weight on Mako shift.

"Go get your girlfriend, mate! I'll handle me boss!" Jim yelled out. Jaden appreciated this, even though he didn't know what a girlfriend was, and ran after Wilona.

The Slifer Red girl was very appreciative of the fact that she wore sneakers instead of high heels the obelisk blue girls wore. It would be a nightmare trying to escape a sinking school in heels. As she turned a corner, she spotted water starting to fill the floors. Her time was running short, and now she had to be careful about her footing.

Luckily, or not, she arrived at Mr. Anacis' office and ran into the secret office. Unfortunately for her, the secret room was more flooded and rising fast, but she spotted the pearl floating closer to the stairs.

Wilona removed the Gatekeeper's Amulet and rushed for the pearl. "I-I don't know how you work, but please, help him too!" Without waiting, she felt a pull in the Amulet as it started to glow. She shoved it right into the pearl, and in a flash of light, the pearl was gone.

"Wilona!" The girl turned back to see Jaden, who was now soaked. "We gotta get out of here!"

"Right, let's—" Wilona was interrupted when they felt the ground shake, followed by something collapsing. When the two students looked back, they saw one of the walls gave way and a wave of water rushing right for them.

Try as they might, the two were swept by the waves.

Wilona felt her world shaking. By instinct, she swam up, and when her head felt the air, she gasped for it. She forced her eyes open and saw that she was near the ceiling to one of the hallways. Her head ached, and her ears hurt from the alarm, but even with the red light, she couldn't see her classmate.

"YUKI!?" Wilona screamed before she dove down to search for her friend. When she swam down, she spotted Jaden's foot was trapped in some fallen debris. As Jaden kept kicking it, it was getting loose, but it wasn't fast enough as Jaden's face looked like he was about to open.

It seemed like Jaden didn't get a chance to inhale air before the water hit, and even under the red light, his face looked blue. Jaden couldn't hold it in anymore, and his mouth ope—

Jaden blinked. He could feel air in his lungs again. Well, that's not all he felt. Wilona swam to him, grabbed his face, and performed mouth to mouth. Jaden could breathe the little air in Wilona's mouth.

It took half a second for Jaden to realize that Wilona was kissing him.

The moment came as it went. Jaden could feel his friend stop sharing, and they both parted. Wilona helped Jaden free his foot, and it didn't take long for the two to get back to the surface.

"W-We need to figure out where to go!?" Wilona cried out.

"There's too much water, and we're being carried by the currents!" Jaden yelled.

It looked bleak for the two. However, fate intervened once more as both Wilona's necklace and Jaden's spirit key started to shine. In an instant, the two found themselves standing on a frozen hallway. It took them a second to recognize that they were in the pocket dimension of the Spiral Dragon.

"Ah, Wilona, look!" Jaden pointed to where the window was. Behind it, they saw Phantasm Spiral Dragon. However, its eyes looked calmer than its appearance before. It started to swim along the hallway.

"Wilona! Jaden!" Honest appeared with Winged Kuriboh. "It's repaying us for freeing it from the pearl! Follow it! Even this pocket dimension won't last!" As he said this, the group heard the sound of ice shattering behind them. However, instead of water, they saw darkness and emptiness where space once existed. Jaden and Wilona ran. They ran and ran even as the dimension collapsed behind them.

"How many times do we have to do this!?" Wilona complained as they spotted a portal at the end of the hallway. The two ran until they passed through the portal. When they did, they were surprised to see they were in front of the submarine that brought them in the first place.

Jim, who was carrying Mako with a sailor, turned around. "How'd you two get there!? Nevermind! Come on! Unless you want to be buried treasure!"

Wilona and Jaden shared a look before they bolted for the submarine. The door closed behind them, and it quickly left as the area started to fail around them. All inside the submarine watched as the underwater school collapsed on itself.

"Well," Jaden spoke up after the life-changing event, "We just became the first people to duel underwater!"

Wilona narrowed her eyes at her friend.

[Tag Force Heroes and Villains]

Jaden felt much better after drying off. It sure was nice of his former Kidnappers to bring both him and Wilona back to Duel Academy. It was also pretty cool of Mako to even offer the Admiral a teaching job in his school when the whole Underwater Duel Academy...

Yeah.

But Jaden felt like he owed Wilona big time. If she wasn't there to bail him out, then he would have been a popsicle for eternity! Now that he thought about it, he owed her a lot besides this one time.

He did find Wilona, her hair down, no glasses since she lost it when the wave crashed into them, and slightly wet from the showers as well. She was covered up in a large blanket and staring out the window.

"Man, those were some crazy few days, huh? I wonder what we're going to tell the others when we get back?"

Wilona sighed after hearing Jaden. "We almost died. Again. At this rate, we might not even graduate if the school year isn't even over!" The girl complained. "I might die before my mom!"

The words that spilled out of her mouth changed the mood instantly.

Jaden decided he didn't like the silence that followed. But he found out he disliked seeing Wilona sad more. "H-How is your mom?"

"... She's getting worse." Wilona's voice was quiet compared to her complaining from before. However, because of how silent the area was, Jaden could hear it too clearly.

"I'm sorry." Despite what people say, Jaden wasn't stupid. But there were no bad guys to beat in a duel this time. Wilona was just dealt a worse hand than most people, which was unfair because, to Jaden, she was one of the coolest friends he had.

It was silent again, and the two saw a school of fish swimming nearby the window. The school of fish shined even in the dark waters, and it almost looked like a night sky.

Wilona, after looking at the beautiful sight, spoke up. "I was making a song."

"What?"

"Even with everything going on, I was in the middle of creating a song. I'm getting close to finishing it. And," She moved her hand to fold her hair behind her ear. "I want her to hear it. If I could just finish it..."

"Then we'll help for sure!" Jaden began saying. "Being a songwriter sounds way cooler than some desk person! Why didn't ya go for a job like that?"

Wilona scoffed and shook her head.

"I mean it, Wilona." Wilona found herself looking at Jaden. Unlike before, Jaden looked serious. His eyes were calm, and he had this small smile that grew into a goofy grin. "When this is all over, let's all hear your song!"

She didn't know if it was the lighting, she didn't know if it was the way he was closer to her than she realized, she didn't know if it was because she was still high on adrenaline even after surviving a collapsing school, but for some strange reason, Wilona's chest started to beat faster.

"Shut it!" She suddenly felt hot and didn't understand why. Was she having a fever? "Idiot, we still need to deal with the other Shadow Riders! Who knows what Paradox was planning when he saved us back there! Ugh, I'm going to my room! It's too cold here!"

Wilona yelled as she suddenly did her best to not face Jaden. "I'll see you later, Idiot!" She shouted as she left for her cabin.

Jaden looked confused and started scratching his head. "Why's she calling me an idiot all of a sudden?" However, his hand trialed from his head to his lips. Jaden remembered what Wilona did to save him. "Wait, I never asked her about..." He shrugged his shoulders as he figured she did it to save him, nothing else really. "I really gotta pay her back for saving my bacon there, but how? I don't have any money."

[Tag Force: Heroes and Villains]

"Just take this boat, and you'll be at Duel Academy docks in no time!" Mr. Anacis gave a hearty laugh. It was nice to see a man who technically lost billions still could smile.

"Thanks, Mr. Anacis!" Jaden was on friendly terms with his kidnapper. "Sorry that your thing didn't work out."

"Well," The captain scratched his beard. "To be honest, kid, I'm just back at square one. That be the last time I trust talking treasure!"

Everyone agreed, even Shierly, the crocodile.

Jim fixed his hat as both Wilona and Jaden jumped to the boat. "Jaden, we never did finish our duel."

"Oh yeah! Next time we meet, we're definitely going to finish it!" Jaden punched the air towards the South Academy Ace as Wilona started the engine.

"Bet on it. And be sure you and your girlfriend take care now!" Jim shouted

Wilona perked up and turned around. "Wait, what did he say?"

"Goodbye and good luck, you two!" Mako shouted as everyone else shouted their goodbyes. It didn't take long for everyone else to get back in the Submarine and leave the two alone in the sea.

Wilona clicked her tongue. She had a sneaking suspicion when she remembered something Alexis told her when Jaden was playing tennis. "Yuki, what does a girlfriend mean to you?"

"I mean it's pretty obvious!" Jaden sat down on the driver's seat and started to move the boat. "It means a friend that's a girl!"

Wilona sat down but slapped her face. "If Rhodes' isn't going to tell him what a fiance is, I'm not telling him what a girlfriend is." She also swore she thought her chest tightened for a second when Jaden called her his girlfriend. She must be imagining things still.

[Tag Force: Heroes and Villains]

"YO! Syrus!" Jaden waved his hand towards the lighthouse as both he and Wilona spotted Syrus and Alexis.

"J-Jaden!? Jaden, it is you!" Syrus started to scream before he jumped into the sea and tried to swim to the Slifer Reds. It took both Wilona and Jaden to help fish the smaller Slifer out of the water.

When they returned, Syrus never stopped hugging and crying on to Jaden.

"Aww, Sy! I missed ya too, buddy! We came back for you guys! And boy, do we got an amazing story to tell you guys!"

Alexis smiled before she sighed deeply. "It's nice to finally hear some good news after these last few days."

Wilona and Jaden looked confused. Even Syrus stopped his happy sobbing as he heard what Alexis said.

"What's going on?" Jaden asked.

Alexis frowned as she looked at the two. "I wish I had some good news to tell you guys, but I don't. Right after you and Wilona left, the 3rd Shadow Rider challenged Zane."

{Author Notes}

Okay! I've been waiting for this chapter for a fair amount of time.

So yeah, the pairing in this story should be obvious by now. It's basically an OC X Jaden Yuki, but I'm making it a slow burn. Truth be told: Wilona is also a little oblivious. She's not as thick as Jaden is, but she's never experienced crushes before.

That doesn't mean she doesn't know what they are. And there will come a time when she realizes...

But now we focus back on everyone else. While Jaden and Wilona were "Unda d sea" (Imagine that being sung by a crab), the third Shadow Rider made his move, and we'll follow who this one is.

I'm excited to write about this Shadow Rider! I'll see you guys soon!

[Made up cards]

Trojan's gift.

Spiral Skeleton.

[Extra: Valentines Special. (Since I can't finish a chapter in time for that day)]

It was Valentine's Day in Duel Academy. Love was in the air... for couples. Everyone in the Music Club, mostly the males, watched the courtyard from the roof. Down below, the club spotted more couples than they thought.

"I am surprised there are that many couples here!?" Syrus screamed out.

"The way of love is a mysterious force my brothers," Belowski's voice came out of his suit. "Sometimes, ya gotta just ride it."

"Not all of them are couples. I just spotted guys and girls giving each other chocolates." Brier, the former Brain of the Duel Giant, folded his arms.

"Ahh, chocolate. Come to think of it, I've never had that even after I came back to civilization." Damon, the former wild man, put a hand on his chin.

"Does it matter? Guys like us don't get any chocolate," Chumley said dourly.

"I probably could have," Dimitri, the Copycat Duelist leaned into his arms as he sat down. "But most girls call me a stalker when I was trying to learn their decks." No one wanted to comment on that.

"Losers," Chazz scoffed. "Back in prep school, I was the most popular kid around! Every year, I got many cards and chocolates!"

Sora removed the sucker from his mouth. "So how many did ya get now?"

The boys watched Chazz lurch forward as if he lost balance. "I-I got so many! Y-Yeah! But since I live in a cruddy place, I had to return it all back to them!"

"And people say my disguises suck." Dimitri's comment made everyone in the area laugh.

"Oh?" Beauregard, being the largest person in the school, looked at the stairs and saw Bastion walking up with a smile on his face. "Hey, Bastion!"

Bastion panicked and accidentally tossed a box of silver before he caught it in his hands and hid it behind his back. "G-Gentlemen!? What are you doing here!?"

"Hey, what do you have behind you?" Syrus asked the Ra Yellow Ace.

"O-Oh! Just the usual notebook! I was going over formulas," While Bastion was talking, he didn't notice Sora slip behind him and grabbed the item the Elemental Duelist was hiding. "HEY!"

"Wow! Misawa got a box of chocolates!"

"What!?" The other guys except Damon and Belowski screamed out.

"How did you get chocolate!?" Chazz couldn't believe it! Bastion, one of the nerdiest people on the entire island got chocolate from a girl!? (Before him!?)

Bastion stole back the silver box. "It's not what you think! This... person... simply gave me chocolate as a token of appreciation! It's purely platonic!" If only his face wasn't as red, then maybe they would have believed his lie.

No, they still wouldn't believe that lie.

"Hmm, silver. That's not a common wrapper." Sora mused to himself. Who did they know like silver? One twin came to mind...

"Heya guys!" To Bastion's rescue, Jesse came to the roof carrying several shopping bags filled with chocolate. "Man, Duel Academy is amazing! You can get so much chocolate here! Girls just hand this stuff to you for nothing! I'm almost thinking of transferring here permanently!"

It was then that Jesse felt a strong pressure bearing down on him. When he looked up, all of the guys except Damon, Sora, Bastion, and Belowski were glaring at him.

"Uh, fellas? Why don't you guys have chocolates?"

"Get 'em!" Dimitri yelled as the other jealous boys pounced on the 'popular' boy.

The remaining boys ended up laughing at the others. It was just chocolates, who cared? ...

...

...

Okay, maybe they cared a little.


Jaden opened the door to the Music Club, and the first thing he smelled was something sweet.

"Yuki." Jaden spotted Wilona cleaning up the area. "I'm surprised you're here."

"What do you mean? Where is everyone?"

Wilona shrugged and put away the guitar. "Probably enjoying Valentine's day."

Jaden stopped moving for a few seconds as his mind tried to absorb that information. "It's Valentine's day?"

Wilona fought the urge to sigh. Instead, she pointed to a table with a tray on top. "Yeah, I baked brownies for everyone, but no one showed up."

"You made brownies?"

"It's not hard. I just followed the instructions." The girl walked up to the tray and put a cut piece on a plastic plate for Jaden. "Here."

Jaden ate one, and his eyes brightened. "Wow! This is great!"

Wilona scoffed and laughed at the same time. "Yuki, I used grocery items. It's nothing to write home about."

"Are you crazy!? have you seen what the cafeteria gives sometimes?! Home-cooked meals are delicacies here!"

"Well, I'd tell you to save some for the others, but seeing as there's still no one here, you can have as much as you want!"

"Sweet! Man, the other guys are missing out!" Jaden looked at Wilona. "Oh, right! I asked Professor Banner, and he gave me this!"

Wilona watched the Slifer Ace pull out a small book. As she took it, she read aloud the title, "Songwriter tips. Now pocket-sized edition?"

"Yeah! As soon as we came back, I had to help you out! I keep promises!"

(Meanwhile in space...)

A certain yandere/demisexual/magical/space/demon felt a disturbance in the force.

"I sense bull s—"

(Back on the planet,)

Wilona gave a soft smile. "Thank you, Yuki. Would you like to hear bits of the song I already have?"

"Sure thing! Snacks and a show? Why didn't anyone tell me about this holiday before!?"

Wilona grabbed the guitar she put away. She inhaled and...

[End]

{Author Notes}

I am a weak and weird person. I can read Rated 18 stuff and not even blink. But show me fluff and sweet romance, and I giggle like a schoolgirl.

Anyway, I hope this story finds you well. I had a lot of fun writing this, and I hope you all enjoyed it too!