Small little note. I moved Jaden's duel from the last chapter to this one. The last chapter was 12,000 words and didn't need another duel and since it's a short one, there was no need to make it a two-parter XD. Sorry I've been gone. This year has been nothing short of weird and was filled with many partings that I'm trying to recover from. Hope you enjoy the new chapter.

Slifer Red Village's North Gate

Jaden and Syrus lit the dirt road with their flashlights to check for snakes or maybe even to spot the Vagabond duelist Ivy mentioned back at the tavern. Chumley tailed behind them both, lugging a backpack with Jaden's gear inside. "Aww, man, I don't like this at all," Chumley said. "How do I let you talk me into these things?"

Jaden looked back at Chumley with a smile. "Come on, Chumley, where's your sense of adventure? Besides, if we win, he'll give us all the Academy Credits he has. And if he beat all those duelists, he must have beaten a lot, huh? Think about all the sweet stuff we're gonna pull with all the packs we're gonna buy. What about all the grilled cheese sandwiches? All you can eat, man!"

"You always gotta use food against me. You're evil, man, really evil."

"Speaking of evil," Syrus said, trying to keep his teeth from chattering. "I can't help but feel like this place is...not right."

"Syrus, you're only saying that because it's night," Jaden said with a laugh. "We cross through this part of the jungle all the time."

All of a sudden storm clouds rolled in and lightning flashed in the sky, leaving Jaden and his group feeling confused and a tad worried.

"What's all this?" Jaden asked. "The weather was supposed to be nice all week." He checked his PDA. "Is my stuff on the fritz?"

"Something's not right about this storm," said Chumley, commenting on the blood-red lightning that flashed in the sky. "Come on, Jay, I think we should go back."

"Ugh, when you're right you're right," Jaden said.

All of a sudden a structure resembling an ancient Greek temple rose from underneath their feet and trapped them inside. Then a thick red fog rolled towards them and filled the temple.

"Hey, what gives?" Syrus shouted. "Jaden, let's get out of here! Wait! No! No! NOOOOOOO!"

Jaden turned around. Lighting flashed, revealing Syrus's silhouette in the thick smoke. He was reeling back in terror as something large loomed over him. Then darkness overtook them. He was gone. "Syrus!"

"What happened to him?" Chumley asked.

The same thing that's going to happen to you! A cold voice assured him.

"What? AAAAAAAHHHH! JADEN! HELP!"

Jaden looked over his shoulder. Chumley was gone. He just vanished into the fog as though it devoured him.

"Where are you?" Jaden cried. "Show yourself!"

A deep, menacing laugh answered him. Titan walked out of the fog and chuckled. "So, you're the great Jaden Yuki, eh?"

"Dude, really? What's your deal? What is all this? What are you trying to do? Where are my friends? Who are you?"

"I am your worst nightmare. I am a collector of souls. And my sights are set on yours. Defeat me and you just might get out of this with your soul intact. Oh, and, you get your friends back."

"You want to duel, huh? Wait a minute? Are you The Vagabond?"

"I know nothing of this Vagabond," Titan answered. "Now, let's roshambo to see who see who goes first."

Titan held up scissors and Jaden had rock.

Turn 1

Jaden LP 4000

Titan LP 4000

"All right," Jaden said. "Looks like I'm going first." He inserted his deck into the drive recognizer of his duel disk. Their life points were displayed and they shouted: "DUEL!"

"Here goes!" Jaden said. "I activate Polymerization. And by fusing together Elemental HERO Avian and Burstinatrix, I call upon my pal, Elemental HERO Sunrise!"

Rays of early morning light shone through the pillars of the temple. From the fog rose up Jaden's HERO. He flexed his muscles and punched their air before posing as his stats displayed.

ATK/2500 DEF/1200

"Now I summon Elemental HERO Clayman in defense mode!" Jaden said, calling on his next HERO. The blocky, brown, HERO grunted and then crouched on the ground with his arms crossed over his chest.

ATK/800 DEF/2000

"And Elemental HERO Sunrise gets a power-up. For every monster with a different attribute on the field, Sunrise gets an extra 200 points (ATK/2700). And that will do it for me."

Turn 2

"Not at all impressed," said Titan. "I draw. Heh, heh, heh, heh. I activate the spell, Nightmare's Steel Cage!"

Jaden yelped when he was suddenly encased in a cage of fire. The heat. It was...a little too real. He felt like it was suffocating him. Beads of sweat started to roll down his brow. "What is this?" he croaked.

The flames dispersed and he was now imprisoned in a domed cage made of black steel and ornamented with menacing gold spikes.

"Nightmare's Steel Cage prevents you from attacking for two whole turns. And lucky for you, the cage also protects you from my attacks. Now I activate the spell card, Fires of Doomsday."

POOF! A bonfire of blue flames burst in front of Titan. The flames split and then birthed two one-eyed fiends that floated in the air. Their bodies looked like black and green flames made into a solid, legless creature with claws.

"What are those things?" Jaden asked.

"They are known as Doomsday Tokens," Titan said with a chuckle. "And lucky for you, they prevent me from summoning anything else this turn. Your move."

Turn 3

"I draw," said Jaden. "Aww, man. If it wasn't for this cage, I'd use Sunrise to get rid of those spooky tokens. Oh, well." He looked at Titan and gave a frustrated sigh. "I end my turn without playing anything."

Turn 4

"I'm not surprised. There's nothing much you can do with my Nightmare's Steel Cage in play. But the cage is the least of your worries. Your nightmare has only just begun, boy. I tribute my two Doomsday Tokens to Link Summon the all-powerful Masterking Archfiend!"

The tokens let out a painful cry, feeling their energy being drained for the much stronger creature. Their bodies turned into blue flames that then turned into a crowned fiend with wings and a black-red cape. His right hand clutched a very long sword with a guard that resembled bat wings.

ATK/2000 LINK-2

"This is only the beginning," Titan said. "Thanks to his special ability, I'm allowed to summon Mist Archfiend without a tribute!"

Red fog formed over Titan's hips and then the bright orange archfiend jumped out and stood next to Masterking Archfiend.

ATK/2400 DEF/0

"Ha," said Jaden. "I know all about that card. If you summon him that way, he pops at the end of the turn and you lose 1000 life points. And with your Nightmare's Steel Cage in play, you can't attack me. What a waste of a card, man."

"Oh? Is that what you think, boy? I am not done yet, for I now summon Archfiend Commander in attack mode! His special ability allows me to special summon him so long as there is another Archfiend on the field. However, he must destroy a card if he was summoned this way so goodbye Mist Archfiend."

Mist Archfiend hissed and shattered.

"Ah, but his destruction activates my Masterking Archfiend's special ability. If a fiend monster is destroyed, I can play a game of chance." Masterking Archfiend held up his claw. Six golden orbs formed over them with numbers from 1-6 written in the center. A flame engulfed one after the other as it spun like a roulette. The flame made a deep gong sound like the toll of a bell each time it shifted from one number to the next. Finally, it stopped at 6.

"Perfect! If the flame lands on a six, I can revive a fiend monster from the graveyard, so my Mist Archfiend returns!"

Woosh! The monster swooped out of the mist and joined his brethren. The three monsters stared Jaden down hungrily.

"And now I activate the field spell, Archfiend Palabyrinth!"

Through the pillars of the temple, Jaden could see the landscape outside changing. The jungle seemed to shrink into the ground and transformed into a barren wasteland with a fiendish castle looming in the distance.

"This card does more than change the scenery, Jaden. It gives my Archfiends a 500 point boost in strength. Your Sunrise isn't the strongest monster on the field anymore."

Archfiend Commander

ATK/3000

Mist Archfiend

ATK/2900

Masterking Archfiend

ATK/2500

Turn 5

"Damn," said Jaden. "Aw, crap, this isn't good. I switch Sunrise to defense mode and end my turn. That frees me from your cage."

The cage dissolved but Titan reacted with a laugh. "Fool, it may have freed you, but it was your only protection against my onslaught of monsters."

"Bring them on," said Jaden. "I'm not afraid of them."

"Oh no?" Titan said. He dug into his trenchcoat and pulled out a golden pyramid hanging from a black chain.

"What is that?" Jaden said. "Hold on! That's...a Millennium Item!"

"Indeed," said Titan. "It is known as the Millennium Puzzle. And it will turn this duel into a Shadow Game."

"Shadow Game?"

"Yes. Now you will experience true fear this night as my Archfiends tear you apart piece by piece until your soul is swallowed by the shadows. First, I will tribute Mist Archfiend and Archfiend Commander to summon Archfiend Emperor, the First Lord of Horror!"

The temple shattered all around them. The ground started to quake as lightning flashed in the purple sky. A giant throne rose out from behind Titan. Then, slowly, a giant archfiend formed from purple flames. His body was glowing with red markings and his knees resembled smiling skulls. He carried a sword as stall as a redwood tree and there was a mountain of spikes on his back.

Archfiend Emperor, the First Lord of Horror

ATK/3000 (+ 500) DEF/2000

"Man, that is one big-ass Archfiend," said Jaden.

"And he will be the key to your destruction, Jaden Yuki." He held up one finger. "But first, since a fiend was destroyed, Masterking Archfiend's effect activates. Remember, if I get a six, I can special summon one of my Archfiends from the graveyard."

He waited until Masterking Archfiend's roulette came to a stop, which, unfortunately for Jaden, was a six.

"Ha ha! Looks like fate is not on your side tonight, Jaden Yuki. Using Masterking Archfiend's effect, I bring back Archfiend Commander from the dead! Now, I will rid the field of your monsters. Archfiend Commander, attack his Elemental HERO Clayman!"

Archfiend Commander stood up straight then fired a green laser from one of the orbs on his head. Clayman was zapped away, causing him to shatter like a broken vase. An explosion followed, causing Jaden to hold his arms up. His jacket flapped around in the gust. He braced himself for a second attack as Masterking Archfiend spread his wings. He soared towards Elemental HERO Sunrise and sliced him in half. Jaden was wide open now. There was nothing he could do.

"Archfiend Emperor! Attack his life points directly!" Titan shouted.

The First Lord of Horror stood up, heeding the command of his master. He picked up his sword, which was laying on the arm of his throne. After taking two earth-shattering steps towards Jaden, he raised his purple sword and struck Jaden with all his might. Jaden grunted and backflipped twice through the air. He landed hard on the ground, biting his tongue as he hit the dirt with full force. He tasted blood in his mouth and spit it out. Meanwhile, his LP display appeared and showed his Life Points dropping to a mere 500 points.

"You are almost through, Jaden Yuki," said Titan. He held up the Millennium Item. The puzzle flashed. Jaden yelped and crawled back on his elbows. "What's the matter, Jaden? You're starting to lose yourself."

"Huh?" Jaden looked at his body. Most of his limbs were all gone. Half his belly vanished as well. "What...what's happening?"

"Your decent into hell!" laughed Titan. "And there's no escape!"

Turn 6

Jaden's shoulders quivered. It sounded like he was sobbing. Titan relished the moment and laughed maniacally, holding out his arms. "You see now, Jaden Yuki? Your fate has been sealed and...huh?"

Jaden wasn't crying. He was laughing. "Man, you're something else."

"What?"

"Going through all this trouble just to give me an entertaining duel? Hahahaha! I'm touched, man."

"Are you not scared?"

"Scared? Yeah, right. This is all just an illusion."

Titan pointed at him dramatically. "You dare question my power!"

"Power-shmower, get real man. I'm young and all but I'm not stupid. This is all just some clever hoax and I'm gonna bring it to light. And fortunately for me, I've got just the thing. I activate Graceful Charity. I draw three cards and then send two to the graveyard. Next, I activate, Miracle Fusion! With this card, I can banish HERO monsters in my graveyard to fusion summon a HERO monster. I fuse Elemental HERO Avian and Burstinatrix to summon, Elemental HERO Flame Wingman!"

It was the card that started it all. The very warrior who got Jaden into Duel Academy. The muscular winged hero made his grand entrance by flying out of the dark forest, landing beside Jaden with a great crash sending dust and pebbles into the air.

"It's him!" Titan babbled. "The card Crowler kept babbling about."

"And I'm not through yet! I activate the field spell, Skyscraper!"

Jaden played his field spell, transforming the dark and foggy forest into an empty dark city. Titan looked frantically from left to right as the field spell took him to a plaza in front of the tallest building in the city. On the top of the lightning tower, Elemental HERO Flame Wingman stood proudly in front of a full moon.

"What is the meaning of this? What have you done?"

"I'm putting an end to this freak show. Cool gimmick man, but you're taking it a little too seriously. Now with Flame Wingman on the field and Skyscraper in play, I activate the spell, Skydive Scorcher!"

Flame Wingman spread his one wing. The eye of the dragon head he had for an arm started glowing.

"With this card, I can choose an Elemental HERO Fusion monster I control, and then, I get to destroy all monsters you control and inflict damage to your Life Points equal to the ATK points of the strongest monster you had. However, if I play this card with Skyscraper on the field, you take damage equal to all of their attack points."

"Impossible!"

"Believe it, buddy! Flame Wingman! Attack and destroy his monsters! Skydive Scorcher!"

Flame Wingman flew down from the top of the skyscraper. With the power of Jaden's spell, the flames shooting out of the dragon head's mouth were doubled in power. Instead of burning orange, his flames were cold blue and huge, covering enough ground that Flame Wingman showered all of Titan's powerful archfiends with fire all at once. They screeched and snarled, clawing the air in agony until they exploded. Titan was hit by the blast as well. He screamed as the blue flames consumed him. All that could be seen of him was a silhouette ripping into pieces like paper and his LP Counter dropping to 0 in the blink of an eye.

The skyscrapers disappeared. Burning blue embers danced in the air and most of the trees were blazed with blue fire. Titan was gone. He vanished. And when he did, the clouds in the sky dispersed, allowing the twinkling stars to be seen. Moonlight lit up the jungle in a cool blanket of silver once again.

"Jaden! Jaden!" Syrus called.

"Jaden, can you hear us!" Chumley cried.

"Syrus? Chumley?" Jaden asked, looking around for his friends. He spotted them wriggling around in a burlap sack hanging from the branch of a tree. "Guys!" Jaden cried out with joy. He ran for them and Flame Wingman disappeared. It took a bit of work but he was finally able to get them down. The burlap sack dropped like an anchor.

"OUCH!" Syrus and Chumley cried out.

"AW! CRAP!" Syrus whined. The burlap sack undulated in a comical manner as Syrus and Chumley kicked around. "HELP! JADEN! Chumley landed on top of me!"

"Sorry."

"Get your foot off me, Chumley! Aw man, that reeks!"

"That's not foot."

"Hold on, guys!" Jaden said chuckling. He undid the rope tying the sack closed. Chumley and Syrus burst out, gasping for air.

"When was the last time you showered?" Syrus yelped.

"Trust me, man, you don't wanna know."

"How did you guys get in there?" Jaden asked.

"I don't know," said Syrus. "One moment we were watching your duel and the next thing we knew, some big lummox grabbed us and stuffed us in this sack."

"It must have been my opponent," said Jaden.

"How could he do that and Duel you at the same time?" Chumley asked. "Maybe he really was a spooky spellcaster."

"Naw, man. That guys I was dueling with was most likely a hologram that looked like him. And while I was dueling the fake, the real Titan must have grabbed you guys and took you away to make me believe the darkness swallowed you guys up. Ooooo!" He wriggled his fingers. "Wanna go find the real one?"

"NO!" Chumley and Syrus shouted at the same time.

"I think that's enough adventure for one day," Syrus said. "We're going back to the dorm. Now!"

"All right, all right. Man, you guys are no fun. Well, last one to the dorm is a rotten egg!" He ran up the trail into the jungle.

"JADEN!" Syrus cried. "Wait up!"

"Aww, man!" Chumley grumbled, trying to break into a sprint. "I hate running."

Mt. Talion

Bishop and Alice sat down on a rock to rest after they hiked for hours. It was a difficult journey through the dark jungles of Duel Island. All they had to light the way was the light on their phones. Alice wasn't worried about the battery since she had a fully charged portable charge pack in her backpack. Likewise, she wasn't worried about getting lost. Bishop had a GPS displayed on his Kaiba Corp wristwatch. It was marking the trail they had been walking on. Each step they took left a red dot, acting like bread crumbs for them to follow when it was time to go home.

Though it was cooler at night than in the day, the jungle was still horribly humid. Sweat was already beginning to drop down Alice's forehead. Some slithered on her eyebrows, stinging her eyes, and hanging from her lashes. Her tank top stuck to her chest. She had taken off her flannel blouse and wrapped it around her hips.

"Here," Bishop said. He tossed her a water bottle.

"Thank you," Alice said and caught it. "How much farther?"

"It's just up this mountain," Bishop said, removing everything until he wore nothing but his tank top.

"I'm still not impressed," Alice said before putting her lips on the bottle for a quick gulp.

"I wasn't trying to, princess," Bishop said, stuffing his jacket into his backpack. "I honestly don't give a crap what you think about me. And let's be honest. If you truly weren't impressed, you wouldn't have commented. For being unimpressed, my physique sure garnered your attention."

Alice gave a pout.

"Drink your fill and let's get moving. We don't have much time until CAMP-SEC special forces get here."

"What do you mean? If they're coming to the rescue, why do we need to go up there?"

"I told you already. Or have you forgotten? I informed CAMP-SEC of the poachers. When I asked if I could keep the pup for myself, they declined. Obviously, since we can't have any pets on the island. As soon as they raid the camp, they'll take Adeon to who knows where. A zoo or worse. A lab. I won't allow that to happen. I'm all that little pup's got in the world. He's coming with me, no questions asked. Are you ready to help me claim him?"

"I'll do what I can but you don't honestly think these poachers are going to just let you take him are you?"

"Not without a duel they're not."

"You really think they're going to settle this matter with a duel?"

"Honey, Duel Monsters is the only way to settle things nowadays. These guys come from an ancient and mysterious tribe in Australia that had their own version of Duel Monsters. It's in their blood to duel to settle things. Trust me, they'll duel for the pup. It's part of their tradition."

"Taking advantage of their customs just to get what you want? Bishop. That's low even for you."

"You gotta do what you can?" Bishop said. "Ever hear of Operation Wandering Soul in Vietnam? American troops knew the enemy was incredibly superstitious. They're all gung-ho about the afterlife and stuff like that. So, late at night, in the middle of the jungle, they blasted an eerie recording of a man killed in battle who was doomed to wander in anguish for all eternity in an attempt to scare the crap out of them."

"I guess," Alice said. "So I take it you need me to help you duel these guys."

"You're a smart girl, princess."

Alice pouted again. She hated when he called her that. "Hurry up, Bishop. Let's just get this over with."

Bishop leaped onto a rock and started to jump up the mountain leaving Alice behind. He looked down. Alice was still struggling to get up the first set of rocks.

"You've done this before?" she asked.

"Lots of times. I used to do a lot of hunting with my grandfather up in Utah. I hated it. I was always getting hurt or getting lost. But my gramps was not one to let me get soft."

"Why's that?" Alice asked. She struggled to climb up another rock but slipped and fell on her butt. "Ouch," she moaned, rubbing it.

Bishop rolled his eyes and jumped back down to help her up. "I was the only son in my family. I got stuck growing up with seven sisters."

"Goodness!"

"Yeah." He pulled her up.

Alice shuddered when he lifted her up so fast she smacked right into his chest. Surprisingly, Bishop didn't have the terrible corn chip smell most men had when they sweat. His skin, moist and glistening in the moonlight, had a sweet and natural aroma of pine tar. And his shoulder though tough was actually quite soft. Alice was so lost with how good it felt to be against him that she lost herself.

"Uh, you can let me go now," Bishop said.

"No! You let go. I was dazed. You pulled me too hard."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Come on, there's a small deer path over there we can take. It's still steep and will cost us some time, but we can avoid the rocks."

"You sure know your way around the jungle. Never took you for an outdoorsman. You seemed like one of those pompous YouTubers."

"If I was a YouTuber, do you think I'd be on this island? And I know a thing or two about the wilderness. I used to go hunting with my grandfather when I lived in Utah."

"Really?"

Bishop waited until they were off the rocks and on the path to start talking. "Yup. My dad was with the Green Berets. He spent a lot of time in the Middle East. Mom, however, was in a coma. Still is to this day. Since there was no one else to take care of me, I was stuck living with my gramps. Man, I hated going out into the forest with him. I was always getting hurt and I was always so damn hungry. Any time I would put snacks into my pack, gramps would wallop my ass with the belt. We couldn't eat until we hunted some game. Grandpa wasn't going to settle for me being soft. Two tours in Vietnam sure as hell turned him into the hard-ass that he was. He made damn sure that I turned tough like him."

"I think it sort of rubbed off on you."

"You think?"

"Yeah. But there's no denying there's a gentleman in you, Bishop."

"Har, har, har." He stopped joking. He heard something in the trees ahead. "Shush. Keep your head down. I think we just found our friends."

FLASH! FLASH!

Alice and Bishop were blinded by bright lights. As they tried hard to see through the lights, they heard laughing. "Seems like we're the ones who found you!"

Alice held her hands up in case the men in front of them were armed. Only one of them was, surprisingly, and he had a tranquilizer gun. A young man in a yellow/purple vest and torn gray-camo cargo pants approached them. He had strange markings on his face. He was from the tribe Bishop mentioned earlier. Thanks to Professor Hawkin's lessons, Alice immediately recognized them as ceremonial markings that the tribesmen would put on their faces as a tally for each Duel they won.

"What are you twerps doing on our side of the island?"

"Your side of the island!" shouted Alice. "You're not even supposed to be here."

"Shut up!" shouted Bishop. "Let me do the talking, all right. Ahem. I heard you guys got a hold of something pretty rare. I want it."

"Yeah, and what would that be?"

"A golden wolf pup."

The gang hollered all at once. "How'd you know we have them?"

"I have my ways of getting information. You guys aren't as secretive as you think you are. I want the wolf and I'm willing to pay for it. I can pay you anything you want."

"I highly doubt that. That wolf is more than your whole life, man. He's not for sale."

"Then let's duel for him. I know you guys are up for a game of cards if it means you get to win sweet prizes. I want the wolf. Me and my friend here against two of your best duelists. Fair?"

"Yeah, and what's in it for us if we win?"

Bishop took a deep breath before he answered. "If you win...you can keep her."

"WHAT!?" Alice shouted.

"Just play along," Bishop whispered.

"HOW DARE YOU!?" Alice yelled again. "HOW DARE YOU!? HOW DARE YOU!?"

The hunters started to look at Alice like a piece of meat. "Oh, yeah? You're willing to put her on the line for your wolf? Man, and I thought we were the scumbags here."

Alice was shaking from fear and anger. "YOU...YOU! YOU! You didn't need me for my dueling skills. You needed me as collateral!"

"Bingo (Please, Alice, relax, it's not like that)."

"YOU CROOK! I SHOULD NEVER HAVE TRUSTED YOU!"

"She's a fiery one," said a skinny guy in a red hoodie and spiked crimson hair. He also had ceremonial dueling tattoos on his face. "I like her already."

"She's an elite Obelisk Blue student as well," Bishop advertised. "She's young, curvy, very athletic. And she's the sister of a former champion in the pro leagues, so that should make her as valuable as the pup. So do we have ourselves a duel?"

"You bet. Our wolf for the girl. No funny business. Or we'll mess you both up."

"Very well, then," said Bishop. "A tag team it is. Me and Alice versus..."

"NO! I will not be in a tag match with you! I can take care of myself. Send me your best and let's get this over with."

"Sure thing. Blaze." He looked at the guy in the red hoodie. "You go up against the girl. I'll take on this Slifer Red hotshot here."

"You got it, Blitz!" Blaze got in place. One of his fellow hunters brought a duffle bag out of a tent. He dug into it and threw a black duel disk at Blaze. He slapped it on his wrist and powered it on.

Alice took off her backpack to fish out and equip her duel disk. Once she put it on her arm, she felt someone go against her back. It was Bishop. She elbowed him in the ribs. "Get away from me you...you rat!" She had tears in her eyes.

"Alice, trust me, I wouldn't have done this if I didn't have faith in you. Trust me, I would never have let them..."

"Shut up and leave me alone! I'll start off first! The sooner I get out of here, the better! I set two cards face-down and end my turn."

Behind her, Bishop started his duel. He tried speaking to Alice, but she told him to shut up. "If that's the way you want to be. Fine. I set a card face-down and summon Noble Knight Artorigus in attack mode!"

Bishop summoned his knight in gleaming armor with 1800 ATK.

"Your move, Blitz."

"Finally. I activate Lightning Crash! This lets me add a Thunder monster to my hand. Then I summon Thunder Nyan-Nyan in attack mode!"

He summoned a cute drummer girl in a tiger-striped leotard and a translucent skirt that had 1900 ATK.

"Ain't she cute? I love the view from back here, yo. She so thick!"

"You guys are such pigs!" Alice snarled over her shoulder.

"Speaking of pig," said Blaze, all the while shooting Alice disturbingly hungry looks. "I'm gonna roast you up like one with my pyro deck, baby! Hurry up, Blitz! I wanna cook her up reeeaal good. Hahaha!"

"Then let the fun begin!" Blitz said. He pulled of his strategy and brought out Zaborg the Thunder the Monarch."

He summoned a giant with a green afro wearing humongous white armor with a tiger skin cloth around his waist. With his effect, Zaborg blasted Bishop's knight.

"Monarchs!" Bishop grunted. "Argh! I HATE these guys!"

"Ha! If you hate him in present form, you're gonna hate him when he transforms into his most supreme incarnation! I activate the spell, Advanced Carnival! With this card, if I advanced summoned a monster successfully, I can make a second advanced summon. I throw away Zaborg the Thunder Monarch to summon Zaborg the Mega Monarch!"

Beads of sweat rolled down Bishop's brow. He could only stand where he was, frozen in bewilderment as Blitz's monarch grew bigger and his armor more decorative. With no monsters on the field and his trap card all but useless unless he had a Noble Knight on the field, Zaborg the Mega Monarch attacked him directly with a powerful beam of lightning. It struck Bishop on the chest, knocking him backward two feet. His back slammed against the ground and he slid to a stop by Alice's ankles.

"BLITZ! BLITZ! BLITZ!" cheered the gang.

"Hmph! Serves you right!" Alice said.

"Nice moves, brother!" Blaze said. "I begin my turn! Draw! Watch! I discard a card from my hand to summon Berlineth the Firestorm Vassal!"

He summoned a wizard with red armor and a tasset of blue cloth. He shot flames from his hands, then his 800 ATK displayed next to him.

"Now I tribute him to advance summon Thestalos the Firestorm Monarch!"

His vassal vanished into a cyclone of fire. A giant in red armor took his place. He flexed his massive arms and punched the ground. His 2400 ATK displayed over his shoulder, sending shivers down Alice's spine.

"BLAZE! BLAZE! BLAZE!" the poachers cheered. Thestalos was his best monster.

"And you ain't seen nothing yet. When Berlineth is used as a tribute for an advanced summon, I can select a card in your hand and banish it until the end of my turn.

Alice's ritual monster was suddenly set on fire and vanished from her hand. "Oh no!"

"Ane here comes Thestalos's ability. I can discard a random card from your hand. I choose that one in the middle.

"You chose my Fire King High Avatar Garunix," said Alice.

"Ha!" Blaze formed his hand into a fist. "That's great. Because it was a monster, Thestalos will inflict damage to you equal to your monster's level times a hundred. That monster of yours was a level eight, so you take 800 damage!"

Thestalos loomed over Alice. He raised his hand over her and showered her with fire. Alice screamed, the Solid Vision Hologram was so real, her brain was teased into thinking she was feeling pain.

"ALICE!" shouted Bishop.

Alice fell on one knee. Smoke slithered from her shoulders.

"Oh, I'm not done yet, Alice. I activate the spell card, Advanced Carnival. This rare card lets me make a second advance summon this turn. I tribute Thestalos the Firestorm Monarch to advance summon, Thestalos the Mega Monarch!"

Thestalos started growing bigger and bigger, his armor was growing spikes and more decorated. A floating disk materialized behind him. Thestalos the Mega Monarch let out a metallic shout and pumped up his arms. His ATK was now 2800.

"And just like before, I can choose a card in your hand and discard it. And if it's a monster, you lose Life Points equal to its level times 200! That one."

"Well, you didn't get a monster!" Alice said, showing him her card.

"No, but I advance summoned my Mega Monarch with a fire monster, I can inflict 1000 damage to your Life Points!"

Thestalos opened both his hands and summoned a blazing cyclone that enveloped Alice. She wailed again as her Life Points were burned away, reducing her to a mere 2200.

"ALICE!" Bishop cried. This was horrible. It was not going according to plan like he thought. Alice was better than this. He just knew she was. Why was this happening

"Please, no," Alice whispered.

"And with this next attack, I finish your little girlfriend, Bishop! She's all mine! Thestalos attack her Life Points —"

Before he said another word, the camp was lit up by searchlights from five CAMP-SEC Black Hawk Helicopters hovering over the camp. The door gunner fired warning shots with his minigun to scare the poachers below. It didn't work. Blaze ordered his men to grab the Molotov cocktails they made and tossed them at the helicopters. One of them landed on the windshield, setting it on fire. The helicopter flew off to get away while the second one dove in and shot the mountainside to rain rocks on top of the poachers to disorient them. Alice was out of her element. Explosions, gunshots, crazy poachers. She curled up into a ball and covered her ears, demanding that she wake up.

"ALICE! RUN!" Bishop shouted.

She didn't move.

Arf! Arf! Arf! The golden wolf barked as if asking for help.

Bishop saw CAMP-SEC operatives roping down from the helicopters, ready to engage the poachers who were throwing more Molotovs at them.

"ALICE!" Bishop shouted.

She finally snapped out of it. Tears were flowing from her widened eyes. Bishop heard the sound of water smacking against denim. Alice had wet herself in fear.

What have I done? He wondered to himself.

"Alice, listen to me. We've got to get out of here."

"Bishop..." she said blankly.

The CAMP-SEC officers were given no choice but to engage with deadly force. They started shooting the poachers. The poachers dug in behind barrels and crates, throwing Molotovs whenever they had the chance.

"Alice, snap out of it! Come on! We can't let them catch us. We'll be expelled."

Alice looked around. She heard the puppy barking. "What about him?"

"There's nothing we can do for him."

Alice narrowed her eyes. "No! I will not have gone through this for nothing!" She didn't know what came over her. She suddenly heard the Cerulean Sacred Phoenix crying out in her mind, filling her with courage. She sprinted through the chaos reaching the puppy. He was whining frantically on the bars of the cage, pawing them in a feeble attempt to escape. She tried to open the cage but it closed shut with a lock.

Bishop came running as fast he could with a sledgehammer he found lying by a tent and smashed the lock with all his might. Alice opened the cage and tucked the puppy into her jacket.

"LET'S GO!" shouted Bishop.

A helicopter shined its light on them. The pilot ordered them to stop, but they didn't listen. Using the jungle canopy as cover, the two ran down the mountain. The light from the helicopter flooded the darkness with its blinding light. The trees, bushes, and vines trembled from the gust created from its propellers. Alice ran blindly toward the edge of the mountain. She gasped in fright when she saw there was nowhere to go. Bishop caught her just in time. A waterfall was running down the side of the mountain into a pool the students used to go swimming during their free time. Bishop knew it all too well and knew it was deep enough for them to make it.

"We've got to jump!" he yelled.

"NO!" Alice whined. "No, Bishop. I...I can't. Just let them come. Let them expel me. I don't even want to be here. How did our obsession for a fucking trading card game lead to all this madness?"

"Play Sigmund Froid some other time, Alice. We need you here! You need to be here! It's fate! You were meant to be a Duelist!"

"I...I..."

"Trust me! Take my hand, Alice. That's it. Good girl. Ready?"

"Oh, God..." she said.

"Don't look down. The hardest part is letting go. Ready?"

The helicopter was getting closer.

"JUMP!"

Alice closed her eyes and she leaped off the edge with Bishop. She screamed, as did Bishop. Alice felt the wind smacking against her face. Her foot smacked on a few palms on the way down and the waterfall sprayed her back as she plummeted farther and farther below. Seconds later, there was a smack and she was enveloped in darkness. Cold, cold, darkness. She kept falling and falling, and eventually slowed down. She realized she was underwater. The light of the helicopter shined through the water, blasting her with enough light to see where she was going. She saw Bishop above her. The puppy was still in her arms. Bishop waved for her to swim up. Alice kicked her legs as hard as she could and followed him back to the surface. She gasped for air and the puppy yelped, trying to figure out what the hell was going on.

"I've got you!" Bishop said swimming towards her. "Come on."

He helped her to the edge of the pond. She wanted to lay down and rest but there was no time. CAMP-SEC was still in the area. Thankfully, Bishop knew just where to go. He took Alice by the hand and dragged her down a trail he made himself with markers such as three stones piled on top of each other and an X he carved on a tree. He knew exactly where he was. That meant his hideout was nearby. It was a cave hidden behind a waterfall. When they were finally inside the cave, they both collapsed on the floor.

"This was not what I was expecting from a dueling school," Alice said. The wolf puppy scampered toward her and licked her face. "Hello, there," she said giggled.

"Alice," Bishop panted. "Meet Adeon. I found him in this cave before school started. I guess he wandered off like the knucklehead that he is and got caught by those poachers."

"Mischievous little fellow isn't he?" Alice said. "What do we do now?"

"We stay here for the night." He had a circle of rocks at the center of the cave, reminding him of the campfire he set up here when he and Adeon first met. He quickly went back into the jungle and returned to the cave with some wood to make a fire. When he got it going, he could see Alice shivering.

"Put your hands in front of the flames. Are you okay?"

"N-n-no. I w-w-want to g-go home."

"Alice, the choppers are still in the air. We can't go back now. Plus it's a long way back to the campus. You're bushed. We need to stay here."

"I c-c-can't," said Alice. As soon as the adrenaline wore off, her senses came back to her. She was chilled to the bone. "I'm so c-c-cold."

"Aw, man. I forgot you pampered princesses are not used to this kind of stuff. You're not going to get warm if you're wearing those clothes."

"Wh-what are you saying?"

"Take your clothes off, Alice."

"No!"

"It's the only way you can get warm."

"Forget it!"

"It's okay. I got some blankets in here you can use to cover yourself and get warm. Um, I used them to make a bed for Adeon so they're probably gonna smell bad."

"There are worse things," Alice said. "Get out of the cave and don't come back until I say so."

"At your command," Bishop said. He left the cave to give Alice her privacy.

It felt like forever before she said: "You can come in now!"

Bishop stepped back into the cave. The fire was now blazing and Alice was in front of it wrapped in old and dirty blankets. Adeon was sitting beside her, drying his fur by the flames.

"That was a really brave thing you did, Alice."

"Huh?"

"I didn't think you'd have the guts to run across a battle like that to get to Adeon."

"I don't know what came over me." She sniffled and held the blankets tighter over her shoulders. "I just felt this burst of courage and I went after him. I wish it came to me when we dueled those two clowns."

"Yeah. Listen, Alice, about all those things I said. I'm sorry. I know it means nothing but I just want you to know I would have never let them put a finger on you. I was just hoping for a moment to..."

"No need to explain yourself. And I don't want your apologies. Rest assured this is the last time I ever want to see you in my life, Bishop."

Bishop shrugged. "Well, I guess I deserve that one. It's a real shame that's what it's come to. You and I make a great team, Alice."

Alice looked at him and rewarded him with one of her gentle smiles. "Is it just me or did you just call me Alice?"

"That is your name, isn't it?"

"What happened to Princess?"

Bishop guffawed softly and leaned against the wall. "I told you before. It was an insult. I thought you were nothing but a pampered little brat clinging onto her famous sister's coattails. "But you proved me wrong, Alice. You're so much more than that. Potential, courage, kindness. Beauty."

Beauty? Alice scoffed at the word. Now the asshole was trying way too hard to get her to be magnanimous with him. "Don't start. If you think flattery is going to make me want to talk to you again, you've got another thing coming."

"Oh yeah?"

"You tricked me into coming up here. You almost lost me to thieving poachers, I was almost blasted by gunfire, I was chased by helicopters, I jumped off a mountain into a cold pond, and now I'm sitting here naked with you. I will never forgive you for this."

"Man, what an adventure you've got to share with your Red Arrow girls."

"I will never speak of this night, I assure you."

"Well, Alice, if this is the last time I get to talk to you, allow me to give you my sincerest thanks for helping me get my wolf back. And I wish you luck in unlocking your true potential as a duelist. You know, it's fitting that you use Phoenix cards. They rise from the ashes and get stronger and stronger. It reminds me of you. No matter how low your enemies bring you, Alice, you always come back more powerful than ever before."

Alice didn't want to say anything more but she was very thankful for his words. Perhaps he was right. "You're welcome, Bishop."

"Goodnight, Alice." Bishop walked outside. The night was calm and still like it should be. He gazed up at the stars and sighed. "Man is it too much to ask for a quiet moment in my life? Damn you, gramps. Had to drill all that hardcore crap into my head. I should be playing Call of Duty with my boys. Not getting chased by choppers and leading girls into gunfights. Well, Alice is no ordinary girl, I suppose. Heh. Things can't get any more interesting out here can they?"

2,000 feet in the air, a private cargo plane soared over academy air space. The bay door opened, revealing a sheet of black with twinkling stars and a sea of clouds below. A young man with silver hair put on his helmet and tucked his board underneath his arm, waiting for the light to turn green. When it did, he grinned. He strapped the board to his shoes and jumped out of the plane. Duelist Academy was about to receive its newest inhabitant.

And as he surfed through the clouds, the dark wings of a forbidding destiny followed, waiting to swallow those who got in his path.