Hey! Life what can I say is a bitch. Here's some review answers.

TM11 - Oh, they noticed, but given how much of a background character he is, they didn't think too much on it.

arshiXnoXkami - Some cards are Anime cards, some belong to the TCG/OCG, and the final third are just Originally Created cards like the Wicked Heroes. In Fanfics, lots of people tend to make their own card archtypes.

Reviews done, here is where things start to get serious.

Someone noticed it before anyone else did. Bastion had not been in class for the past three days. Add in Professor Jason not showing up either had everyone concerned. At the Red Dorm, Jaden was there listening to Chumley, Chazz, and Syrus. All three had been keeping an eye out for their errant Headmaster but after several weeks of watching, he had not returned. Add in the attacks and Jaden was not liking what he was coming to.

The seventh Shadow Rider. Somehow, someway, they had gotten onto the island without anyone noticing or realizing. Voicing his concerns, Chazz scowled.

"It would explain both Misawa and Professor Sweet's vanishing act...but how?! How could they get attacked?!"

"It is a big island, Chazz. More the likely the seventh rider ambushed them when they were out and about."

Jaden nodded at Syrus' words, getting up. Stating that it was time for class, they all headed for the main campus. On top of the roof, a cloaked shadow stood, watching them. It vanished when it saw Jaden stop and turn around.

The king didn't know why, but he felt like he was being watched. Looking around with a scowl, he turned to Yubel.

"Keep an eye out...I get the feeling we're being watched."

The spirit nodded, Jaden resuming his walk to the school.

EODGX

In Duel Alchemy 101, everyone was sitting and looking at the front. But no professor came in. Jaden's scowl grew deeper. Chazz was explaining to Alexis and Zane about Bastion and Professor Jason disappearance. The two wore similar looks of apprehension. If the seventh rider was here, they chances are they ran afoul with him. That meant three of the seven gates were open. They quieted down when the door opened and Doctor Crowler walked in. Stating that he was their sub on his day off, he pulled out the books Banner used.

He leafed through it and scowled.

"Gobbledeegook this Duel Alchemy! Why its even here is beyond me! Its polluting your young minds...not that some of you had them to begin with." Crowler snarled, looking at the Reds.

That earned some glares of his own. He ignored it and continued on, muttering over the words and inscriptions in the book. Finally, it was time for some lab work. Crowler brought out the items and chemicals, pouring them into the various beakers. Pulling out a rod, he inserted it into the solution. Seeing that, everyone did the smart thing.

They hunkered down behind their desks.

The massive explosions that took place made Kaiba run into the class.

"What's going on in here?!" He demanded, coughing.

"Doc Crowler put something into a solution sir! I...don't think he measured out the right amount." One of the coughing students got out.

Hearing that made Kaiba look in the direction of the teacher's podium. As the smoke died down, they saw the good doctor with the mark right on his face. With a yelp, he tore it off and flung it away, shouting that it was hot. Kaiba rolled his eyes, looking at Jaden.

"Jaden, everyone, Sheppard needs to talk with us."

The group nodded, joining the older man.

EODGX

Sheppard's office

The group all stood before Sheppard, Kaiba standing off to the side. The group had been updated about Banner, Jason, and Bastion. No one had even seen the three of them in the past week. Jaden frowned, crossing his arms. That shouldn't be possible. The best trackers and finders had been used, yet nothing? Clearly the final shadow rider was on the attack. Kaiba nodded, Sheppard looking shocked.

"It all fits. Before this meeting, I checked the gates. Three are open. Zane, Bastion and Jason's. What's more is that Tania called us to tell us that Bastion never showed for their study date the day Chumley faced his father. And you know how he loves those."

That sealed it. The group all looked at one another. They'd be on the lookout and be careful.

EODGX

After the meeting with Sheppard, Chazz, Syrus, Jaden, and Chumley went back to the Red Dorm. Something was nagging Chazz. Stopping at Professor Banner's door, he pushed it. Shockingly, the door swung open. That made the other three stop and turn around.

"No way...Banner wouldn't leave it just unlocked like that." Chumley muttered.

"Agreed." Chazz stated. "But lets not waste the opportunity here."

The four headed in and began to look around. Several minutes went by before Chumley found a note. Holding it up, he read what was on it.

"Tree?" The portly boy asked aloud.

Chazz snagged the paper and looked it over. Laughing, he began to say he figured it all out. Tree meant Dorothy, that meant that she was the final Shadow Rider. Syrus popped that balloon with a pin, sighing.

"Except that I saw her talking to Miss Fontaine when the crowd was heading back to Main Campus when Bastion was attacked."

"And she was at the Card Shack closing up for the night when Professor Sweet was attacked." Jaden pointed out.

"How do you-" Chazz began to demand when he saw one of the Spirits. "Oh, yeah. Okay, so what does tree even mean?"

Shrugging, Jaden turned back to his own work. He felt something and grabbed it, pulling out a map. Spreading it over the table, he saw a symbol on it. Syrus's eyes went wide. That was the mark of Amnael, the mark they learned in Duel Alchemy today! Chumley nodded, wondering what it was doing on that map. Jaden shook his head.

"I don't know, but we need to find out." Jaden said, rolling up the map. "Come on."

The trio rushed out the door.

EODGX

Alexis walked the path to the Obelisk Blue Boys dorm. Her reason for doing so was to check in on her brother. Yes, he recovered, if the teasing was anything to go by, but at the same time, she still worried. As she walked, there was a sudden explosion from her brothers area of living. Gasping, she saw a shadow drop down.

It was a cloaked masked man! Anger surging through her frame, she took off after him. The chase went on for a while before a clearing came. Stopping suddenly, Alexis saw the figure. She deployed her duel disk, the figure doing the same.

"I don't know you are, but I'm going to make you regret taking my brother!"

The figure just drew his hand and gestured for Alexis to bring it.

EODGX

A few turns. That was all it took. Alexis was down to a mere eight hundred points while her opponent had two thousand left. Her Cyber Blader was at her side, but she had a feeling it was going to be the last turn. She had just attacked and she had no other cards to play. She ended her turn.

The figure drew and placed a card in the S/T slot. Millions of meteors fell, bombing the land. Her Blader boiled and bubbled like a liquid until it blew up. Her counter dipped to five hundred making her eyes to go wide. The two shadow monsters then unleashed a dual attack, slamming into her. With a cry, she fell to the ground, her counter dropping to zero.

"J-jaden...I'm...sorry." She whispered, going unconscious.

The figure merely took the key and pulled out a book. Opening it, it glowed and Alexis vanished. Its work done, it left the area, pausing only a moment to pick up the cards of the fallen duelist.

EODGX

The group of four were unaware of what was happening with Alexis. They were out looking for Pharaoh again. Chazz's logic that if they found Pharaoh, they'd find Banner. It was sound logic, so long as Chazz didn't try what he did at the Spirit Day. That earned him an flushed look and glare. As the sun set and the night crept in, they stopped and made a small campfire. Pulling out some packed food, they cooked it.

While waiting, they reminisced about Banner. Despite his...quirks, he was a damn good professor. Chazz nodded, telling them of the time he had helped reworked his deck to include the Ojamas. Chumley recalled how he encouraged the portly boy when things were bad in second year for him.

Syrus shared too. Banner had encourged him to be more like himself then like his older brother during the early days before the training Jaden gave really took hold.

Jaden nodded, stating that the man had held discussions with him about various methods of summoning, namely Fusion.

The group all shared funnier stories too. Syrus fishing in place of 'swimming lessons', Chumley getting tricked into running. Chazz grimaced, stating he had been the subject of a prank too, mostly doing EVERYONE's laundry. Jaden shook his head.

"Glad I got into Ra before he could try something with me."

"I think he was afraid of what the public would do if you got pranked." Syrus commented.

All Jaden did was grin. Chazz got up suddenly and tilted his head. Jaden did the same.

They both heard it. A distant cat's voice. Syrus and Chumley heard it too. They joined the two. Another cat's meow had Chazz gritting his teeth. The sound was coming from everywhere! They couldn't pinpoint where it really was coming from!

"Split up and find that feline!" Chazz shouted, taking off in a single direction.

"Chazz wait!" Syrus shouted, but the boy was gone.

"Come on, we need to get Kaiba." Chumley said.

The trio hurried back, holding out their PDAs.

EODGX

Chazz crashed through the bushes, his flash light a beacon. He kept on hearing the cat's meow and followed it. He finally came upon the brown furball, something glinting next to it. Picking them up revealed them to be Banner's glasses. The cat got up then and took off, Chazz following after.

Along the route, he found Banner's shirt and pants making him grimace.

"I REALLY hope he isn't just skinny dipping right now..." The boy muttered.

He was thankfully not given that image. He stepped out to a shallow pool of water, a figure standing on it already. On its left arm was a disk. Realizing it the seventh rider, Chazz got his own disk ready.

"Alright buster! Let's see how well you do against THE CHAZZ!"

The duel began in earnest.

EODGX

Chazz panted. The two had been dueling for well over two hours, every move the boy made countered by the rider. He managed to get his Armed Dragon out and used its effect, but couldn't attack due to a trap at the start of his turn. His life points were at two thousand and his opponents at fifteen hundred. He ended his turn, waiting for the figure to go. The figure drew a card and then played something.

Meteors fell to the earth in scores, crashing into everything. Chazz covered his face, Ojama Blue appearing with an umbrella.

"And in today's forecast, expect showers, HEAVY showers!"

"I can do without the commentary, Blue!" Chazz snapped, seeing his Dragon vanish.

A large figure appeared next to the other figure, a orb of fire appearing. Chazz gasped, seeing it rush toward him. An explosion echoed, Chazz screaming out in pain.

The figure repeated what he had done with Alexis. He took the key and then took out his book. Chazz disappeared into its pages, the figure closing it. Upon gathering up the cards Chazz had dropped, the water swirled upward around him and was gone.

EODGX

Deep under the school, the figure reappeared. Unseen by him, the three spirits watched him with curiosity in their eyes.

"What is he doing down here?"

"I'm more concerned about the HOW he got down here then the what."

"Why is he walking to the-? Oh shite..."

The figure summoned two keys and slid them into the slots. The fifth and sixth lock pulled away, unleashing some of the restrained power of the Sacred Beasts.

EODGX

Topside, Jaden, Syrus, Chumley and Kaiba had found Pharaoh. They also found the Ojama Clan who told them of Chazz's fate. Kaiba snarled, slamming a fist into his open palm.

"That punk is going down! Mark my words, the duel will make this entire island shake!"

No sooner were the words out of his mouth, the island shook HARD. Everyone went bouncing along the ground, Jaden yelling over the din.

"GREAT CHOICE WORDS THERE, SETO!"

The man tried to shoot a glare at the cheeky brat, but found himself bouncing along the ground once more. The volcano above began to belch out smoke, a large light show coming from beneath the sea. Once the lights showed, the quake died down. Everyone looked up at the lights, five in total.

"Is that a good thing?" Syrus said, nervous.

"No...its a bad thing. A very bad thing. The Gates are nearly unsealed." Kaiba said.

"We need to find that Rider...and I have an idea where." Chumley said frowning.

Everyone looked at the portly boy, his face stony. He gave one location to the rest.

The Abandoned dorm. Ever since this craziness started, it was CENTRAL to all of it. The missing students, Titan's attacks, not to mention it was the birthplace of the Shadow Charms. If there was a large underground ritual room in the basement, chances were that it had other hidden rooms too.

"That's...okay, that makes a LOT of sense." Kaiba said. "Good job...Chumley was it?"

Chumley blushed and nodded. Kaiba got up, helping Syrus to his feet. Chumley doing the same with Jaden.

"Come on, we got a dorm to check out."

EODGX

The Abandoned Dorm. Even now, it still showed rot and decay, but everyone could feel the dark energies coming off of it. Jaden and Kaiba both frowned, actually seeing said dark energy. Kaiba looked at the other two that had come along.

"Syrus, Chumley...I don't doubt your dueling skills. After all, you got into my school and was taught by Jaden here. But you two need to stay back. This isn't a test for a grade or promotion, this is fate of the world stuff. I'm slightly more qualified due to my past adventures." Kaiba said.

"Right, what do you want us to do?" Syrus asked.

They were to go to Sheppard and get everyone from the dorms to the central campus and Obelisk Blue dorm. The Beasts were stirring and they needed to be safe. If the earthquakes hit again, the Red, Yellow, and Girls' Dorms were going to go into the sea first. Central and the Boys dorm were further in so they would last a tad bit longer. The two nodded and took off, Jaden frowning.

"Are you ready, Seto?"

"Always." Kaiba said, pulling out his deck.

Jaden saw the three spirits before hearing them. He smirked at them and they bowed their heads in respect to him. He in turn bowed back. As the two walked in, they saw a glowing symbol on the floor. Kaiba watched it vanish only to reappear a few feet away. Calling out to Jaden, the two followed the symbol. As they walked in, something shot past them.

"Wha-?!"

"Pharaoh!?"

The cat dashed ahead, zipping down the steps. The two looked at one another and took off after the cat.

After several minutes, they entered the basement passages and came to the passage that Titan had once used. There, they pulled out their PDAs and used the Flashlight option, pale white light bathing the place. As they journeyed down, Jaden saw another passage...and cat prints. Pointing it out to Kaiba, the two crawled through. Jaden looked around, frowning.

"I didn't see this during the first or second time I was down here..."

"Which means it was boarded up and only just now uncovered. Come on, more distance to go."

The two continued on. They soon came to a door and walked in. Jaden shown the light around, pausing when he saw three stone tablets.

"What the-? Kaiba, look! The Sacred Beast Stone Tablets!"

Kaiba looked in the direction Jaden had pointed and gasped in shock. True to the boy's word, the three tablets stood. But how!? Pegasus had secured them years ago! No one could have gotten them out without him knowing! The CEO looked around and saw something else.

"Jaden, give me a hand! There's a coffin here!"

Joining the man, the two pushed on the lid. With a heavy thud, the lid was shoved to the side and Kaiba shown his light on it. A familiar face stared back at them.

"What?" Kaiba started.

"The fuck?!" Jaden finished.

Inside the coffin was a mummy. But not just any mummy. There was a name tag on the side. It read 'Banner'.

"Banner? But...how is he a mummy? He was alive and well last I saw him." Jaden snarled.

"I don't know, but I intend to find out." Kaiba said.

"That is what you think, Mister Kaiba and Mister Yuki."

The two turned around to see a figure. He wore a large cloak, black baggy pants, a hood and mask. Completing the outfit was black boots. Kaiba snarled, jumping down into the circle around them. He deployed his duel disk, making the man take notice.

"Who are you?" Jaden demanded, taking a step.

"I am Amnael, the last of the Riders. Though I expected to duel you, Mister Yuki."

"They had their time in the spotlight, now its my turn, Amnael. You attacked my school, my students and all for what? Just some shot at conquering the world? Sorry, but I happen to be an expert in beating megalomaniacs like you."

"Very well...let us duel!"

Amnael: 8000/Kaiba: 8000

"I hope you don't mind if I begin."

Amnael drew first and revealed the card.

"I play Alchemy Kettle - Chaos Distill."

(Alchemy Kettle - Chaos Distill – Type/Spell/Continous.

Any of your cards sent to the Graveyard are removed from play instead.)

Amneal explained that whenever he sent cards to the graveyard, they would instead be banished. Kaiba frowned hearing that. What was the game here? Amneal revealed another spell, Steel Lamp. The man explained that this card allowed him to Special Summon the Alchemy Beast – Salamandra the Steel in attack mode.

The spell card appeared in the viewing window of the Distill, a massive bird covered in metal appearing right next to it.

(Alchemy Beast - Salamandra the Steel – LV/***, Attribute/FIRE, ATK/500, DEF/500, Type/Rock/Effect.

This card cannot be Normal Summoned or Set. This card cannot be Special Summoned except with "Steel Lamp". This card can attack your opponent directly.)

Amneal then revealed two more cards, Bronze Scale and Lead Compass. That made Kaiba grit his teeth. Two more monsters joined the field next to the bird.

(Alchemy Beast - Leon the Lead – LV/***, Attribute/EARTH, ATK/500, DEF/500, Type/Rock/Effect.

This card cannot be Normal Summoned or Set. This card cannot be Special Summoned except with "Lead Compass". This card can attack your opponent directly.)

(Alchemy Beast - Ouroboros the Bronze – LV/***, Attribute/LIGHT, ATK/500, DEF/500, Type/Rock/Effect.

This card cannot be Normal Summoned or Set. This card cannot be Special Summoned except with "Bronze Scale". This card can attack your opponent directly.)

Amneal placed a card facedown and ended. Jaden watched on, a bead of sweat dripping down his face.

He summoned three monsters on his first turn...Kaiba...you have your work cut out for you.

Okay, gonna cut it off right there. Don't worry, the next chapter will have the entire duel for you to all read and enjoy. Please, leave a review!