Howdy all! I finally managed to get this done and the next chapter well underway. Now, This one is another character driven chapter where the girls confront Jaden about their past lives...and learn why Jaden is the way he is. Now for some Review answers.
DepressedNinja75 - I warned readers at the start what that chapter had. How is it MY fault that you ignored it and continued to read the chapter? I posted numbers for you to use Crtl + F to skip over scenes that disturbed you. I did in no way, shape, or form blackmail you, coerce you, or threatened you to read the chapter in its entirety. That was a choice made by you and you ALONE.
shirkahn - I'm glad you like how I'm portraying Jaden this time then in DIMA.
Crimson's AXZ - Yeah, I admit that the duel was very underwhelming. But on the same token, how could I make it longer? Jinzo's entire play was just to summon itself and most of the cards he had had no use what so ever; Thousand Eye Idol anyone? So I stuck with the Canon duel but made it so that Syrus could easily destroy Jinzo.
That all said and done, enjoy!
The break had passed quickly for many, not fast enough for others. For a set of Obelisk blue girls and one woman, they had recurring dreams of princesses, a king who looked like Jaden, the monsters of their cards and marriages to said boy. It had let to a restless week for the three girls; they wanted answers. Sadly, the three couldn't find any and had come back to the ship in a gloomy state. After the ship got underway, Jasmine was at a rail of the ship returning to the island, staring out at the sea. Her mind was a whirlwind of thoughts.
Why was she having these dreams? What could they mean? Who was she?
So clouded by her thoughts, she didn't hear the dual click clack of heels behind her.
"Jasmine?" Alexis' voice cut through her friend's thoughts.
The girl looked up from her thoughts, seeing Alexis and Mindy.
"Oh, hi." Jasmine said, her tone soft turning back to the sea.
Both girls looked at each other and then at their friend. That was an unusual response. They joined her, looking out at the sea. The silence was both soothing, but cumbersome. Finally, it was Mindy who broke it.
"So...you had any weird dreams lately, you two?"
Both girls looked at each other and then at Mindy.
"Define weird." Alexis said, cautiously.
Mindy commented that weird dreams meant dreaming about Jaden, but he was different. He was warm and caring, bursting with energy. A king to boot. Herself as a princess of a realm with several monsters as close friends. During the explanation, both Alexis' and Jasmine's eyes grew wider and wider. Mindy then came onto a scene that had their headmistess and a strange woman who was a monster. By then, their jaws were at the ground.
"Weird huh?" Mindy asked, chuckling.
"Jasmine?" Alexis asked, her face showing the rest of the unasked question.
"Yeah, I had them too..." Jasmine said in a lowered voice.
The redhead told her friends that she started to have them after the duel with Wheeler. Alexis frowned, saying that she started to have them a day before that, after her duel with Gabrielle Wordsworth. She told the dream in detail; how she first made this 'Haou Judai' at a party when they were eight. He wore a blood red outfit not unlike a count and danced very smoothly. Lost in the memory, her eyes sparkled with hidden joy, something the other two girls took notice on. They both gave a knowing look and let Alexis continue on her memory.
Once the girl came out of it, she blushed. Jasmine took over then. She told them her dream, of her being a princess to both the Amazoness and her Lunalights. That made Mindy's jaw drop some but Alexis to wonder. Before she could ask, Jasmine had moved on.
At first, she wondered if dueling didn't trigger the dreams, but Mindy said that she started to have them over the break and she never dueled once, before, during or even after the Break. She told the red head she did some research at her local library and found a book on Reincarnations. One story that was told constantly was people recalling their previous life or lives after a traumatic event.
That woke up Alexis and connected the dots.
"That night."
That made Mindy nod. That night had been the catalyst.
"So what we're seeing aren't dreams...but memories?" Jasmine asked shocked.
Mindy nodded. That made Alexis think a bit.
"Jasmine, you're further along then us, was there anything else you can recall?" Alexis asked.
The fiery girl nodded, telling the two that a woman named Emi Ayukawa had been rescued and was a former Queen. She ended up falling for Haou due to his kindness and strong character. Emi looked and sounded a lot like Miss Fontaine.
That made Mindy's jaw drop, she hadn't considered her headmistress. Alexis gently prodded Jasmine who then mentioned a female monster with two different colored eyes. That made Alexis ask quickly as if there was a third eye on her forehead making Jasmine look at her friend, surprised.
"You're at the same point I am?"
"No, but I saw a monster like that appear before Jaden just minutes before he faced Chazz in the Promotion exams months ago!"
That evidence was enough for Mindy.
"So the only one who knows what's going on is Jaden. How do we confront him about this?" Mindy asked.
None of the girls saw said duel spirit behind them, smiling sadly. They remembered, she just wished it hadn't happened at the expense of the experience they went through.
"So, you all remember."
The voice made the three spin around and see her. Jasmine's jaw dropped.
"You...you're Yubel."
The spirit nodded and explained that she was, at one point in time like them, once a Princess of the Fiend realm of the Spirit world. That made Mindy grin excitedly.
"So we were princesses in a previous life!"
Yubel nodded her head, smiling while Alexis and Jasmine both groaned. Even though Mindy proved herself more the able, she still had her girly moments. This was one of those times.
Yubel looked at the three and shook her head. They looked the same as they did back then, so long ago. She asked if there any questions they had.
"I have one...why didn't Jaden come out and tell us?" Alexis asked, crossing her arms.
Jasmine slapped her head and groaned. She told the blonde that if Jaden had done that, all the three of them would have done was look at him funny and not believe him. Seriously, how many times did a random guy come up to them prior to them coming to Duel Academy and fed them that line?
Alexis blushed, muttering an apology. Mindy told her it was alright and asked Yubel if Jaden knew.
"He did know, but as you said, he didn't want to appear as a creep to you three. He was all set to win one of you over if neither of you remembered. Sadly, variables outside his control took that action out of his hands."
That made the three nod. They knew what she was talking about. Mindy clapped her hands, getting them out of their funk.
"We better go tell him then...and...get to know him a tad better. I'm...both curious and scared to ask him how he remembered." Mindy said, worry on her face.
"That...is something that only he can tell and if he wants to." Yubel said seriously.
The other two missed it, but Alexis heard a touch of anger in the fiendish woman's voice. She got a pit in her stomach, not understanding, but dreading the story all the same.
EODGX
Said boy was currently in his room, looking at his decks and adjusting the cards. He felt Yubel leave him hours ago to go and explore. He didn't mind. He needed some time to himself anyways. The report to the parents went as smoothly as silk, but even then he was concerned.
The one thing he didn't tell the parents was that there was a very high chance that the children sent to the shadow realm would never return given how long they had been in the mystical area. He had contacted an expert about it just after the meeting who told him the bad news. Unless he found them or the one who sent them there in the first place before the year's end, they would be lost forever.
Frowning, he clenched his fist. He had no idea who had been the one to send them to the Shadow Realm or who first contacted the shadows and therein lie the problem. While he was pondering the issue, a knock came. After the knock, a serious faced Yubel ghosted in. Seeing her and the look, Jaden's heart dropped even more.
They remembered.
Sighing, Jaden said that the door was open. Swinging open, Jasmine, Mindy, and Alexis all walked in. Jasmine closed the door behind them and Jaden offered them a seat on the couch he had in his room. The three sat with Jaden turning in his swivel chair.
"So...you all remember your past lives." Jaden stated.
At the confirmations, Jaden nodded.
"I didn't tell you because it would make me look like a creep."
"Kinda got that idea." Jasmine said.
Chuckling dryly, Jaden sat back.
"Ask your questions...I know you have them."
"How'd you remember your past life?" Mindy blurted out.
Yubel slapped her head, Alexis and Jasmine both scolding the girl for such a blunt question. Jaden's entire face became hidden behind his hair, his mouth a tight, thin line.
"I expected that from Junko, not Momoe. Guess some quirks got shifted around in the reincarnations. Judai...they have a right to know but you don't have to-" Yubel began, but was cut off with a hand from the young man.
Sighing through his nose, the boy nodded. He offered the three a seat which they took. He himself sat down, closing his eyes in thought. After a few minutes gathering them, he looked at the three.
"Have you three ever hear of a duelist named Jack Matthias?"
All three confirmed that they had. Jaden explained that Jack was a pro duelist nearly thirty years back and loved to party a lot when he won. Parties that had him sleep with various women, all of legal age, his own rules. After a major tournament, a massive party was held at the Grump Tower Hotel. It was this one party that would alter Jack's plans considerably. He had gotten wasted on some wine and joined up with a woman, a woman by the name of Amelia Yuki.
"Yuki? As in-?" Jasmine asked.
Jaden merely nodded, continuing the tale.
This party led them both to getting drunk and rooming together. Now, the woman was easily twenty years old and a looker. The two shared a night of passion. They went their separate ways, but several weeks later, she contacted him. She was with child...his. He didn't believe it, thinking it was another gold-digger trying to get to his money. So he brushed her off for a month.
Finally fed up, she contacted an authority higher then his own.
Jack's parents.
When Jack's parents heard the story and saw the proof that was given to them about the growing child's to be their sons. After hearing everything and being the traditional they were, Jack's parents forced him to marry Amelia. The wedding was the beginning of the end for his career. He still won, but his opponents got under his skin in another way; the wedding. They all joked and mocked the man for getting hitched. Outwardly, it didn't show.
Inwardly was another story.
He was boiling with rage. A rage that finally made itself known when Jaden was born. After Jaden's birth, Jack began to lose. Badly. So he took it out on his wife before turning on his son once he was old enough. That planted the seeds in Jaden. When the golden eyed boy was old enough to start dueling, he was shown to have a knack for it...at least when it was fun. This led Jack seeing a way to reclaim his past glory. So Jack would wake the young boy up to do intense training before dawn, pushing his body beyond its limits, learning all about the different cards and their uses. Finally, he was entered into a tournament.
Jaden lost.
This led to a double down on his training, slowly breaking the boy, giving more and more fuel to the fire of anger in him. Another tournament, another loss.
"You lost a lot huh?" Alexis said softly, the boy nodding.
"That's right. No matter what, I was entered into each and every tourney for kids of my age group. I always lost and that led to further mocking from the public. Jack upped my training until it would make even those manics for dueling cringe in horror." Jaden said stiffly.
Jack was trying to recapture his glory days and his wife was not helping, drinking herself into a stupor. Finally, when Jaden was twelve, Jack lost it with Jaden's losing. He dragged him to the Pit to 'get it out of his system'.
Hearing that made Jasmine gasp. Looking at their friend, Alexis and Mindy asked what the pit was.
"The Pit is a duel circuit...an ILLEGAL duel circuit. Anyone who enters it...is guaranteed to die." Jasmine said, horrified at what her one time idol did.
Jaden nodded, pulling down the collar of his shirt. All three girls recoiled at the burn scar on his neck. Jaden told them that the cage match was what made him awaken the powers of the Supreme King. He was down to a mere fifty life points and facing down a Gatling dragon, heavily burned and panting.
Did the people do anything? No. They simply looked on with a cool indifference and sneering. The comments that went on, stating that the child was weak and a poor excuse of a son. Jack simply scoffed stating that he was no child of his.
Those seeds that were planted? They had taken root and sprouted with each day under the intense training, the slurs, the derogatory remarks both from his father and those at his school. Finally, Jaden just snapped, the power of the King awakening. He drew his card...and used it.
"Dark Fusion. I played it...creating the most powerful of all the Evil Heroes, born from my rage and my hate. Evil Hero Wickedness, the exact opposite of Electrum. A fusion of Avian, Burst, Clay and Bubbleman. " Jaden said, pulling out the card.
Instantly, the air grew cold. The three shivered, staring at the card. Unlike the Wicked Gods, this card...this card felt WRONG. It was an image of a muscled man, but instead of light, there was only darkness and blood. The emblem of the Evil Heroes was blazed proudly on his chest and a crazed smile adorned its face.
"That sickness you feel? That is the anger and hate I had in that one moment. Wickedness' power is vast...it gains five hundred points for each Attribute it shares with another monster on the field...or in the graves. It also gains one additional attack for each HERO monster in my grave...and considering I had most of them in there at the time. The guy I dueled never recovered, least to my knowledge. I won."
That led to a massive uptick in his V/D ratio. He didn't just win...he decimated. He didn't care who he hurt, all he wanted was the victory. He nearly became that what he was ages past.
"W-what brought you back?" Mindy asked, regretting asking how he got this way.
"Me." Yubel said.
She told the group that she was a victory present for him after a major tournament. She felt his power, but it was wild and lashing out. It took months, but she broke through the wall he made and taught him everything on how to properly control his rage. Soon, his anger and hate became a honed blade. He still made duelists terrified of him, but at least he didn't harm them. He became bigger then Jack could hope to be. But Jack didn't like how his son was now ignoring him and outshining him, surpassing him even. So, one night, he and Amelia tried to take the Yubel card from Jaden, thinking it was the reason for his new power.
"That was the final nail in his coffin. I regained all my lost memories of my past. That led to getting my still wild powers under control. I used my powers to lash out at him and informed him that I challenged him to a duel."
"He accepted?" Alexis asked.
"I made him an offer too tempting for him to refuse. I offered him everything I owned and that I would endorse his teachings. He blindly accepted. Amelia supported him of course." Jaden explained.
Jaden explained that the duel happened a week later; it had been made into a big spectacle, the son of Jack Yuki fighting his father. He boasted how he'd show the upstart the error of his ways. A shame Jaden was going to destroy Jack and it was going to Jack's own words that did it in. The night of the duel came and Jaden was ready.
"I turned it into a mild Shadow Game, and I use Mild heavily. I wanted my donor to suffer, not get an easy escape." Jaden explained, seeing the looks on the three girls.
"It's true. Judai used only the barest minimum of his power and only on a single card." Yubel piped up.
"What card?" Mindy asked.
Here, Jaden pulled out a trap that showed a single eye. Jasmine exclaimed that it was The Eye of Truth trap card. At that, Alexis got it.
"You used the power you had to make it literally have him tell the truth."
Jaden and Yubel both smirked, nodding. During the duel, Jaden had acted like a novice, but was really setting up Jack's fall. Once he had the trap and used it, Jack spilled the beans about everything. How Jack had never wanted him in the first place, how he was disgusted with his son only wanting to duel for fun. He fixed that, of course, by taking him to the underground ring at age twelve.
That led many in the crowd to stare in silent shock. More and more of what Jack had hidden was coming out of his own mouth and he was powerless to stop it. Even if he had won, Jack was done. As a duelist, as a member of society, as a father, and as a Pro.
"Of course...I didn't let him win. He knew what he was saying, but thanks to my power, was unable to stop the words from escaping his lips. I resumed dueling seriously, decimating his defenses. I then summoned Wickedness for one final showdown. I believe in poetic ironic Justice. It was Jack who helped me make Evil Hero Wickedness and so, it would be his undoing. I ended the duel with Wickedness. After that they, the cops, took him away. He implicated Amelia in it all too." Jaden said, pride on his face at what he did. "They will never see the light of day."
The girls could understand and found themselves agreeing with it too. The scum deserved every little bit of what Jaden did and more. Also since he was a pro at such a young age, he was granted adult status. He continued his career, becoming a force...and leading him to Duel Academy.
"Jaden...I'm sorry for asking that of you." Mindy said, bowing her head.
Jaden waved her off.
"You have nothing to apologize for. It was...a relief to get this out in the air."
The rest of the trip, the four just discussed their past lives...and what they would do from there. It was decided that they at least try dating first. Despite being lovers in a past life, that was what it was, the past. The girls wanted to focus on the future...and if it would have the golden eyed boy in it.
So a little different here. I know a lot of people usually have Jaden losing his parents as a trigger for the Supreme Kings powers...well, I wanted to do something different. I wanted his parents to be THE trigger. I based Jack Matthias loosely off of Ludwig Von Beethoven's father. By that, I used the belief that Ludwig's father tried get rich and fame via his son, training him harshly. Amelia, after her marriage to Jack, I based more off of Helga's mother from 'Hey Arnold!' TV series.
Now, how accurate these accounts of Ludwig's father are, I don't know, but I thought it was perfect for Jack and a great way for Jaden to be this cold and logical, even though that is starting to thaw out due to the Slifers and now the four women. Anyways, leave a review please.