Hey everyone, it's been a while. I know I said that I won't bother with an intro or ending for the for the next 4 chapters, but in my absence, I needed to. Sorry I've been off the grid, as opposed to what I've said. I actually got a little job I had to take care of, that lasted a couple of months. It was unexpected, and it was depressing as hell, though rewarding at the same time. Expect the next chapter in a much, MUCH shorter timeline, and pray that nothing else happens!

This is the longest chapter so far, and it will include my attempt to not only clear some plot points we missed in the original series, but also to integrate some of the manga storyline into this one. I hope it worked, and I'm very excited to find out from all of you.

A big thanks to my editor, Wildheart, for helping me get this chapter out as quickly as I could. Please check him and his stories out!

Also, if any of you are or know an artist, preferably someone with a little experience drawing anime/manga based artwork, can you please message me, and let me know. He/She doesn't have to be a veteran, and I don't want them working all the time; a few drawings once a month is fine. I am willing to compensate them personally for their work anyway I can. Just make sure that:

a) They've read the story, and understand the plot. Let me say now that I am not asking them to like it, only to understand it.
b) I want them to draw a character or scene from the story, to see if they've got it down. I know I might be asking a lot, but I need proof that the artist knows what he/she is doing. It doesn't have to be perfect, and it doesn't have to be GX spot on. Preferably, I want them to draw a new character of mine.

Please help me enhance the experience of this story for you, my faithful readers. Thanks in advance!

Chapter 13: Welcome (back) to duel academy

Part 1

At around 3 PM the same day, the ferry had already crossed over half the distance to duel academy. Although the ferry was huge, other then the captain and the cabin crew members, there were only four guests on-board. Usually, the ferries heading to and from duel academy were loaded with passengers this time of year, with students heading home for Christmas holiday, and tourists taking in the sights, but the academy had booked this ferry specifically for today, so that any alumni, and their guests, heading to the reunion could travel to the island, should they choose to do so by sea. What the captain didn't expect was that only four people showed up at the docks. He felt like it was a waste of fuel and resources to transport only four people, but orders were orders.

One of the ferry's passengers, Jaden, had awoken from his nap (which had gone on way longer then he had expected, much to his chagrin), and was heading to the dining hall for a quick bite. From what he had gathered from crew members, Mac was on the deck, enjoying the view and sea breeze, Atticus was trying to sweet talk the captain into letting him sail the boat for a bit, and Alexis was in her room, so Jaden was going to be eating alone.

He sighed as he walked in. "Man, this boat trip is boring. Ships are supposed to be fun," he said to himself as a thought crossed his mind. "By the way, I wonder how everyone else is going to the academy. I thought everybody would take the ferry like us. Oh well, I'll ask 'em when I see 'em," he said, then sat down at his table, waiting for his order.

"Big brother, do we really need to travel with this guy? I mean, I don't really hate the guy, but..."

On the roof of the White Dragon hotel, two young men were waiting for the helicopter that would take them to their destination. The one who had spoken just now, had short, spiky light-blue hair, and wore a pair of glasses. The other was taller, and had long, dark-blue hair. In the dueling world, the two of them were known as the Truesdale siblings, Syrus and Zane. The two of them were waiting for a friend of theirs, who was heading with them to the duel academy reunion planned on the following day. He had offered to take them by chopper, instead of catching the early morning ferry.

"Patience Syrus, he'll be here soon enough," said Zane.

"But it's freezing up here! Plus, we didn't really need him. We could have taken the ferry like most people, and I really don't like the idea of owing a favor to that jerk..."

"For the record, pipsqueak, you'd never be able to pay up a favor from me, even if you worked your whole life," said a voice from behind, cutting into Syrus. The brothers turned around to see a very elegantly dressed young man, with spiky, jet black hair.

"Nice to see you too, Chazz," said Syrus sarcastically. "What, does wearing a suit make you even more of a prick?"

"Bite me, dumbass," came the indifferent reply from pro duelist, and former duel academy student, Chazz Princeton. Chazz had invited both Syrus and Zane to travel with him to the academy, seeing as they were both in the area, but mostly because he wanted to talk to Zane about an issue of interest. Behind him, his faithful attendant Chris followed.

"A warm welcome, to the both of you. The helicopter will be here in a few minutes, so on behalf of Mr. Princeton, thank you for your patience," she said while bowing respectfully.

"Y-Yeah," said Syrus bashfully, while blushing.

"Ha! You have no experience with girls. Honestly man, it's kinda pathetic that my top rival is actually blushing at the sight of a pretty girl. I mean, its not like its anything new; we meet fangirls all the time in the pro leagues. What, are you a virgin or something?"

"S-SHUT UP!", shouted an embarrassed Syrus. "You're the last one I want to hear that from! For someone with such a big mouth, you probably don't have any experience either!"

"Ha, shows what you know, shorty!" replied Chazz. "I don't need any other women in my life. Not when I have my dear, sweet Alexis by my side." Chazz began to fantasize about his (supposedly) potential future with Alexis, until Syrus jumped on top of him, and began pulling his hair.

"Yeah, well I'm also saving myself for my future life with Alexis, which'll be twice as good as yours. No, three times as good!" shouted Syrus, and from there, the two began bickering like a couple of five-year old children.

Zane and Chris watched the scene unfold in front of them, with Zane face-palming, and Chris laughing awkwardly. "You must have it hard, Mr. Truesdale," she commented.

"You have no idea," he said, as the argument between the two rivals dragged on.

"You're not worthy of her! She deserves someone with a proper income, and vast assets. Someone like a member of the Princeton family!"

"No, she'd rather be with someone who listens to her every need, and is a better duelist!"

"Yeah, okay. Remind of the last time you actually beat me, Syrus? Oh wait, it never happened!"

"T-that doesn't matter! I can beat you right now if I want to, hotshot!"

"Save it, dork. I'm not interested in dueling some loser. Why don't you go crying to your 'big bro'?"

"Well I... wait a second!" The argument ended as soon as Syrus had remembered an important detail.

"What's wrong, Syrus?" asked Chazz, confused.

"Yeah, I remember now!" exclaimed Syrus. "Hey Chazz, I forgot to tell you that Jaden's coming to the reunion!"

"What, he is?!"

"Yeah! I mean, he called like a few days ago, and told me that he was coming. I called everybody; Hasselberry, Jim, Blair, Aster, and heck, I even called Jasmine and Mindy, god knows why, but I forgot to call you. Now that I think about it, it was right after I read that article in that magazine, about how you crushed me in our last duel. I was super pissed at you that day. Maybe that's why? Yeah, that's gotta be it!" explained Syrus.

"WHY YOU LITTLE..." Chazz shouted, then proceeded to strangle Syrus. "Ya couldn't tell me something so important, cause ya lost a freakin' duel! Man, talk about immature! Why I oughta..."

"Alright, break it up boys," said Zane, stepping in between the two.

"Whatever," said Chazz indifferently, as he stepped away. "Still, I finally get to see Jaden again, huh? It's been a while, so I guess I could clear some of my busy schedule for him," he said selfishly.

"Some schedule. All he's got planned is flirting with Alexis, 24/7," Chris thought, then sighed. In that instant, a helicopter appeared from above them, and landed on the nearby helipad atop the hotel. "Mr. Princeton, our ride is here. We better get moving if we want to make it by sunset" she said.

"Hm, oh right. Well guys, don't wait out in the cold. Come on, lets get rolling," declared Chazz. As they got in and took their seats, Chazz spoke up. "Oh, and Zane," he said, "I'm glad to hear that you're rejoining the pro leagues early next year, and I look forward to facing you. Hell, a win over you will spread my name even higher in the dueling world."

"Why, thank you Chazz. That's mighty kind of you," smiled Zane.

As the helicopter took off, and made it's way to the academy, only one thought occupied Syrus's mind. "Well big bro, here we come."

With different thoughts revolving around Jaden, the trio made their journey back to where it all began.

On a different helicopter flying over the pacific ocean, two individuals were exchanging dialogue on board. One had long, waist-length, blue hair, dark violet eyes, and was dressed in a long white robe. The other was a tall, handsome young man, dressed in a light-gray business suit, with similarly colored hair, and deep-blue eyes.

"Quite the lovely day we're having, isn't it Aster," said the man in the robe.

"Leave it to you to say something so cliched," said Aster Phoenix, one of the best pro duelists in the business.

After the graduation ceremony (which he didn't attend), Aster went on a long undefeated streak, taking out everybody who stood in his path, and winning almost every major trophy (surprisingly, he had avoided confrontations with Syrus and Chazz, which to them, was considered a godsend). Within a year, he had reached the pinnacle of success, and yet, his life felt empty and unfulfilled. So after meeting with his old friend and manager, Sartorius, he decided to take a break from the pro circuit, at the height of his fame. During his 'break', he decided to do something he had always wanted to do; help underprivileged and orphaned children learn how to duel. So, he began his quest, traveling to various parts of the world, from England to Kenya, from Japan to India, he toured the world, and in the year and a half he had worked towards achieving his goals, he had raised funds, found people and sponsors who shared the same vision (including Kaiba Corp. and Industrial Illusions), and eventually, created his own very little organization. At long last, he felt like he had found a new purpose in life.

It was on one of those days that the invite from duel academy came into his hands. At first, he considered declining the invitation, seeing no reason to be present there, but a few days prior to the current time, he received a call from Syrus Truesdale, telling him that he had gotten a call from, of all people, Jaden Yuki, a man whom Aster considered a friend and rival, and a man that he hadn't seen in years. Syrus informed him that Jaden was coming to the event, which was sweet music to his ears, and he instantly accepted the invitation, then informed Sartorius, who was attending as a special guest, and the two began their preparations, leading up to the present time.

"Duel academy, huh? How long has it been?" wondered Aster.

"What are you saying, Aster? We were there a few months ago, promoting our organization. You even had a few friendly duels with those elite students, and took plenty of pictures with fans. It was an interesting experience," said Sartorius.

"No, not like that. I meant since I attended the academy as a student, you know, with Jaden and his merry gang of friends. Well, I was a part of that gang for a while, so I can't complain," explained Aster.

"Ah yes, those days. Must have been fun for you, though I cannot say the same for myself, all things considered. You must have had some of the best days of your life there," said Sartorius.

"Oh, what's this? Is that a hint of jealousy I detect from you? Wow Sartorius, didn't think it was possible," said Aster sarcastically.

"Hm, I wonder," answered Sartorius calmly, not falling for Aster's teasing.

Aster sighed. "Man, nothing seems to faze you. It's like you're a machine or something," said Aster, giving up.

"Jokes aside, I believe that Jaden coming back to the academy is not exactly a good omen," said Sartorius with a serious face.

"What do yo mean by that?" asked Aster.

"Well my divination powers aren't as they used to be, as I am sure you're well aware, but I can still sense these things. I feel like a great shadow has engulfed the academy, wrapping itself around it, and when I heard that Jaden was coming to the reunion, out of curiosity, I decided to have a look through my tarot cards, and well... the result did not bode well for Jaden. I can't really explain it properly, but based on my senses and the tarot result, I feel like Jaden's arrival on the island will mark the start of another fierce battle between the forces of good and evil," explained Sartorius.

"Wow, ominous," replied Aster. "And? What tarot card did you draw or predict for Jaden?"

"I'm afraid I can't, or rather, would not like to say at this point. Please understand, my friend," said Sartorius with a grim expression.

"Well whatever it was I'm sure it's just superstition. If I were you, I wouldn't worry too much. This is Jaden we're talking about. He'll be fine. Plus, he has a positive track record against your predictions so far," said Aster confidently.

"Let us hope you are right, my friend."

The two sat in silence for some time, before Aster spoke up. "By the way Sartorius, how's Serena doing these days? Heard she's started up her own company."

"Oh yes, my dear sister. It seems her fortunes about love have been quite accurate, and a lot of couples have thanked her for her services and for bringing them together, so she decided to set up her own little shop. Funny, I thought I told you this before. Anyways, I wish her all the best, though I wish she could find a lover of her own. Ironic, isn't it; she can help anyone fall in love but herself. As an older brother, this worries me quite a bit, especially since none of us are getting any younger," sighed Sartorius.

"Hey, I wish her all the best too. Send her my regards next time you see her," said Aster.

"Thank you, Aster. I'm sure she'll be thrilled," replied Sartorius with a smile.

Aster felt a little guilty after seeing Sartorius smile. "Geez, keeping a secret is harder then I thought," he thought. "I'm sorry, Serena. I want to tell him, but I just can't find the right opening. It's just... hard, given our circumstances, not to mention, awkward. I don't know what he'll think or say once he finds out. I mean, he looks like he'd be okay with it, and yet, I'm not so sure. You'll have to forgive me, because I have to keep this secret bottled up for a little while longer."

"Something on your mind, Aster?" asked Sartorius.

"Not really. Just thinking about what I'll say to Jaden when I see him again," replied Aster in a cool manner.

"Hm, that is quite the dilemma indeed. But I think that being yourself should suffice, don't you? Just interact with him like you always had in the past," pointed out Sartorius, then he turned to look out the window.

"Phew! Managed to fool him, for now. As for that, well... I'll worry about that later. For now, Jaden has my undivided attention," thought Aster with a smile, as he enjoyed the scenic view from the chopper.

"Well mate, I've hired a pilot to fly us there. No more cramped seats for us," a man in a cowboy hat said to his friend. He had bandages over one of his eyes, and he was carrying a sleeping crocodile on his back.

"Lets hope so. I'm as hungry as a tyrannosaurus at lunch time," replied his friend. he was a young man with tanned skin, dressed in a military-colored shirt and jeans, with braided hair and a yellow bandanna wrapped around his head.

"Patience, my dino-obsessed mate. Our little sheila will be here soon, and then we can plan our next move."

"But Jim, her flight arrived hours ago, and there's still no sign of her. Either she's busy powdering her nose, or she's way slower then an Apatosaurus!" complained the man's friend, Tyranno Hasselberry.

The man with the crocodile on his back was known as Jim "Crocodile" Cook, currently one of the world's foremost experts on ancient historical and archaeological sites, and Australia's top duelist. Since heading back to Duel Academy's south branch, he managed to top his class with ease, and graduated with distinction, with a future in the pros all but assured. However, he declined the offer to join the pros when it was presented to him, wanting instead to head back to his roots, and began working at archaeological sites to conduct studies on ancient cultures and histories. He began as a simple on-site aid specialist and assistant, performing simple, office-based tasks, while conducting research in his spare time, on the culture the team was trying to dig up. Eventually, he began to provide useful info to the digging teams, and slowly began climbing his way up the ladder, until almost a year after his graduation, he finally garnered enough trust and displayed enough skill to lead his own team. Slowly, his accomplishments began to pile up, and his name appeared in several history and archaeological magazines across the world.

It was on one of those trips that he caught up with an old friend and colleague of his, Hasselberry. Hasselberry had graduated from the academy, and was ready to devote his career to his passion and one of his major goals in life: finding dinosaur bones. He met Jim on an excursion in southern Mexico, where Jim was digging around for an ancient Mayan temple that had never been found before, but theories and rumors had speculated that it was in that area, while Hasselberry was looking for the bones of a lost species of pterodactyl. After catching up, the two of them decided to work together as co-leaders, with Hasselberry directing the team, and Jim providing information and technical support, and after a couple of months of digging, they managed to unearth ruins from the ancient temple, though Hasselberry never found what he was looking for. In spite of that, the two of them liked working with each other and they both felt that there was some great synergy between them, and so, the two of them decided to make their combination permanent, with Hasselberry joining Jim's team as his right-hand man.

"Come on, can't I get a little bite? It'll be a quickie, honest," pleaded Hasselberry.

"Look mate, I get it. You're famished, and so am I, but you and I both know that we have to wait for our friend. Plus, you haven't seen her in like what, a year or so, so I'm sure you're eager to meet up with her again. Ain't that right, mate?" asked Jim.

"Well yeah, but she'd been keeping us waiting for a while. Fine, let's wait a bit more," sighed Hasselberry, as he waved his arms in the air, as if giving up.

"Not what I meant, mate. I mean, you do like her, don't you? So seeing her again must mean a lot to you, ain't that right mate?" asked Jim, half-teasingly.

"Well... I mean... it's not really like that... yeah, I can't deny that," stuttered an embarrassed Hasselberry. "But she's love with big bro Jaden, so I've more or less given up."

"That's not the way I saw it in your room last week," teased Jim.

"H-HEY! I thought I told you to keep that a secret that you would never talk about!" replied a flustered Hasselberry.

"Sorry mate. Took my teasing a little too far," apologized Jim. "Jokes aside, you got the call from good ol Syrus, didn't ya?"

"Yeah, and I still can't believe it. All I know is that we finally get to see big bro Jaden again. I can't wait," said Hasselberry excitedly.

Jim smiled. "Yes, I get to say my mate again. It is quite exciting," he said, then frowned. "But I'm afraid its not all wallabies and koalas."

"Huh? What do you mean?" asked Hasselberry.

"Remember that person who requested our services about six months ago?" asked Jim.

"Hm, oh yeah. It was one of my old teachers from the academy, Crowley I think his name was," pondered Hasselberry.

About six months ago, Professor Crowley approached the duo at a digging site just off the southeastern coast of China. He introduced himself as a philosopher, interested in the ancient history of a certain king, and that Jim, Hasselberry and their team, were excavating for a few hidden, mystical artifacts that might have once belonged to this mighty king. While flattering the two, he requested that these artifacts be sold to him, and placed under his supervision for further study, with a promise of a hefty price as a reward, more than any dealer or museum would pay for these kinds of artifacts. Hasselberry, having taken classes with the professor during his final year, initially agreed given the professor's reputation, but Jim was hesitant. After all of the experiences he had, he was very skeptical about certain types of people, not to mention that something about the professor rubbed him the wrong way. He discussed it with Hasselberry, and after a long debate, they declined the professor's office, saying that the artifacts would be donated to the history museum in Domino City for further study. Surprisingly, Crowley had accepted that fact quite easily, which reinforced Jim's suspicions, since Crowley seemed very persistent in getting his hands on them.

In the end, the artifacts were fully excavated and donated to the Domino museum as planned. However, one month later, Jim's suspicions were proven to be true, when he found out that Crowley had purchased the artifacts from the museum for a huge price, using his social and world status for extra effect. It was at that moment that Jim realized that Crowley was planning something at the academy, but he wasn't sure what. The months passed, and both Jim and Hasselberry received invitations to attend the duel academy reunion, and about a couple of weeks after that, Syrus called, informing them that Jaden, who they had not seen in a long time, was attending the reunion. For Jim, that was the final piece of the puzzle. He believed that Crowley was setting up something sinister for Jaden, and while he didn't know exactly what it was, but it had something to do with the artifacts they had uncovered, and Jaden's origins as the supreme king.

"Oh look, she's finally here," said hasselberry happily, breaking Jim's line of thought. Jim looked up to where Hasselberry was pointing, and he saw their friend, Blair, running over to them. She had long, flowing purple hair, and was dressed in a cute, white one-piece dress. The thing that shocked the duo the most, though, was the fact that she had grown up quite a bit.

"She's probably even taller then Syrus now," thought Jim with a smile.

"Hey guys!" Blair greeted them with a huge smile.

"Heya Blair. Long time no see," replied Hasselberry.

"Yeah, it's been a while," said Jim.

"Yeah, it is. Hope I didn't keep ya!" she said.

"No, not at all. In fact, we were on our way to grab some grub, and thought you'd might like to join us. I've rented a plane with a pilot, so we've got some time to kill. That right, Hasselberry?" explained Jim.

"Y-Yeah, if you joined us, I'd be one happy dino!" exclaimed Hasselberry bashfully.

Blair smiled widely. "Sure, let's do it!"

"By the way Blair, what's with all the makeup?" asked Hasselberry.

"Isn't it obvious? I'm all dolled up for my sweet prince Jaden!" she squealed excitedly.

"Figures..." sighed a dejected Hasselberry.

Jim smiled at the scene in front of him. "It's moments like these in life, that make it truly enjoyable," he thought, then frowned. "I just hope that it can stay that way."

"Thanks for waiting for me, Axel my man," said a cheerful Jesse Anderson to his colleague and friend, Axel.

"You should be. We're really running behind schedule here," replied Axel.

The two of them were traveling in a state-of-the-art, Kaiba Corp. yacht, which Axel had borrowed. The yacht was mission ready, and was equipped with the latest technology, allowing any passengers to deal with a multitude of situations. A day after he had separated from his teammates, Axel had requested to borrow one of the yachts, to continue monitoring the movements of darkness, and it was also around the same day that Axel had received his invitation from duel academy, for the reunion, slightly altering his plans. In the end, he decided to contact Jesse in Rio, whom he assumed had an invitation that he never got, and have him take a little 'break' from his vacation to join him on the journey to the academy. Currently, the two of them were closing in on the academy, having sailed at top speed.

"So, you reckon Jay's gonna be there?" asked Jesse.

"Oh, I don't think. I know he will," said Axel.

"Is it about that issue you told me about yesterday?" asked Jesse.

"Yeah, pretty much," replied Axel.

The day that Axel had gotten his invitation, he was called to Seto Kaiba's office for a secret briefing. Kaiba informed him of an elite professor that had joined the academy's ranks, and how he had asked Professor Sheppard to keep a close eye on their new philosophy professor, Alistair Crowley. Over the years, Crowley supposedly had been bringing in several artifacts to the academy, some big and some small, and had been hiding them in a secure location that not even Sheppard knew about. Every time Sheppard tried spying or keeping tabs on Crowley, he managed to give him the slip. After that, Crowley had gone quiet for the last couple of months leading up to the reunion event. It was at that time that Kaiba began to hear rumors about Crowley planning something big at the academy, and so, he wanted Axel and his team to thwart any plans that Crowley might unleash. During that briefing, Kaiba had also mentioned that one of his dragoons was acting as a double agent, spying on Crowley, which is how he found out about the artifacts. Unfortunately, the spy was not close enough to be able to disclose the location of Crowley's secret hideout and Crowley had begun to suspect the person in question, and thus Kaiba had decided to let the spy play the part, until the reunion, to avoid detection. Kaiba ordered Axel to rendezvous with the spy as soon as he got to the island. Axel immediately began making the necessary preparations, including gathering supplies, collecting information about Crowley's background, and of course, contacting Jesse. Originally, Jesse was supposed to meet up with Axel a couple of days before the reunion, so they can get to the island beforehand for a quick reconnaissance, but several delays at the airport caused a change in plans, and now, they were off to the academy.

"By the way, who is this secret agent of Kaiba's? I mean he, or she, is a dragoon, but is there anything else that you know?" asked Jesse.

"Nope, just that a dragoon is spying for him, and I was to meet that agent when I get there. Oh, and that the contact's name was 'Raven'," replied Axel.

"Wow, it's actually kinda interesting, though. A mysterious double agent, who becomes our eleventh-hour man, only to be taken down by the same person he betrayed! And who knows; maybe 'he' will actually be a cute 'she'! I mean, it's right out a manga! Ain't that right, Ruby?" Jesse said excitedly, then asked his little spirit partner, Ruby Carbuncle.

"Ruby ruby!" the spirit replied happily.

Axel sighed, then faced him. "By the way, I have to ask. Why are you so fixated on stories with damsels? I mean, no offense, but you never seemed to be the type to care about romance."

"Typical Axel," said Jesse sarcastically, while shaking his head. "It's true that I didn't care about romance all that much before, but come on, at one point in a man's life, he starts to crave for a woman in his life, especially one he can spend a lifetime with. You know, someone special, though personally, I think I've already found her."

"Oh, and is that really all there is too it?" asked Axel.

"Well, that and to clear up the misconception that I'm homo, and that Jay is my 'sweetheart'," sighed Jesse.

"Really? I thought that you two were perfect for each other?" asked Axel mockingly.

"Haha, you're just hilarious!" said Jesse sarcastically. "It's not that simple. I believe that Jaden's a great guy, and I believe that he and I share a deep bond, deeper then even the blackest abyss. I would call him my friend, my rival, my soulmate even, but I don't see him in a romantic light. But, I also admit that if Jay were a girl, I'd totally ask 'her' out."

"Guh!" Axel let out a surprised cough, and reeled back, almost losing his grip on the helm.

"Woah, easy there Ax-man! Don't wanna cause a crash in the middle of the sea!" exclaimed Jesse. "Look, maybe I should take the wheel, while you take a short nap."

"Yeah, well maybe I should... you know what, that actually sounds like a good idea," said Axel hesitantly. "Fine, you win Jesse. I'll take a nap, while you steer the ship, though I expect you to wake me up once we get close to shore," he warned.

"Sure thing, man. Just take a nap, and forget your troubles," said Jesse in a relaxed tone, as Axel went inside. Jesse sighed as he took the helm. "Man, why do we always have to deal with troublesome enemies? This Crowley guy, he seems really dangerous," he said to himself, before gazing out into the ocean. "You watch your back, Jaden."

"Ruby ruby!" squealed Ruby next to him.

"Yeah, you're right Ruby. I'm sure everything will be just fine."

Jaden burped as he stepped out of the dining hall, and made his way back to his room. "Man, maybe I should really go something creative, or at least something that'll keep me from getting bored," he thought.

As he approached his room, he noticed that Alexis was standing right outside his door, a troubled expression on her face. "Oh Jay, there you are," she said, noticing him walking up to her.

"Yeah, just got back from chowing down. What's up?" he asked.

Alexis closed her eyes for a second in deep thought, then looked at Jaden with a determined face. "Jaden, I was hoping that you and I could continue our conversation from a couple of days ago. I hope that you've got some time to spare," she requested.

"Of course I do. Alright, let's talk," he said, then smiled.

And so, they both entered Jaden's room, both with determination in their hearts, and several things they both wanted to get off of their chests. Alexis's journey into the spirit world was about to officially begin.

Part 2

"So how's it been so far? Do you feel weird anywhere? Has a spirit approached you yet? Have you actually seen one other then Yubel and Kuriboh?" Jaden bombarded Alexis with questions, both excited to talk about duel spirits, and concerned about his friend's well-being.

"Calm down, Jaden. You're getting a little worked up," said Alexis with a bitter smile. "I've been fine. The thought is still in my head, and I am a little worried about how I'm going to handle a situation moving forward, should it occur, but that's why I came to you, the spirit expert. And no, I have not seen, nor been approached by a spirit in a while, save for Kuriboh over here, and Yubel," she answered, while cuddling Winged Kuriboh.

The two of them were currently chatting in Jaden's room. A couple of days ago, Alexis had awakened her spiritual awareness and potentially her spiritual powers, and so she had come to Jaden to learn more about her circumstances.

"Jaden, listen. I need to be ready for anything that might happen, so I need you to tell me everything you know," she said, determination in her voice.

"Alright, lex. Where do we start?" he asked.

Alexis pondered for a bit, then said, "How about you start from the beginning. You know, back from when you first were aware of your powers."

"Well then, I'll have to start from back when I was a kid, back when I first met Yubel," he explained.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Get started already" she declared intensely.

Jaden reeled back a little. "Hey lex, aren't you a little too excited for this?" he asked.

Alexis noticed this, and backed off while blushing and faking a cough. "Sorry Jay. Please, carry on," she urged calmly.

"Weird," he thought. "Alright, I guess I'll start from when I was in elementary school..."

"Well, when I was in elementary school, my dad bought me my first duel monsters deck, and along with that deck, he got me a one-of-a-kind card, and I'm sure you know which one, Alexis," he said.

"Yubel," she replied, slightly narrowing her eyes. She had heard that story from the chancellor, but maybe Jaden's take on things would be more useful, and give her a more complete picture, or so she thought.

"Yeah, and as you might expect, I began to hear her voice. She told me that we were going to be the best of friends, and that she would always protect me from danger. At first, I thought that what she said was awesome, but then the 'incident' happened," he said.

"The 'incident'?" asked Alexis.

"I'm sure you heard about the fact that my parents were frequently out of the house, whether for their jobs, or on business trips, right?" he asked, and she nodded. "Well, when they were out of the house, I used to invite people to stop by and duel me. Friends, family, neighbors, babysitters, you name it, I made sure to invite as many as I could. I was happy for a while; after all dueling is so much fun, especially with those closest to you, but that all changed one day. I was dueling my childhood friend who lived close by. He was older then me, but he still helped care for me when my parents were out of the house, and I used to call him 'big brother'. During that duel, I tried to summon Yubel, but the summon was negated, and I lost the duel. I felt a little sad that I couldn't summon Yubel; she was my favorite monster back then, so he tried to cheer me up, telling me that I overreacted, that Yubel was too hard to summon, and that I should try to use a different tactic. I said that Yubel was my favorite card, but he indirectly insulted her, and well, Yubel snapped."

"And she put him into a coma, after hurting him, am I right?" she asked.

"Yeah, and when I went to visit him in the hospital, it wasn't any better either. As soon as I came in, she started to... hurt him again, and didn't stop no matter how much I told her to, until I left the room. After that, people started to come to my house less and less, all of them claiming that I was 'cursed' and stuff. I also didn't want to duel them for fear that Yubel would hurt them, or worse. At that point, I realized that Yubel was too overprotective of me, and that she had the concept of love all wrong. So when the Kaiba Corp. competition came rolling around, well, you know the rest of that story," he said.

Alexis nodded. The chancellor had explained to them about the Kaiba Corp. competition, how they were accepting applications for duel monster ideas, and sending them into space for an experiment, the same one that created the Neo Spacians. How Jaden had reluctantly sent Yubel with them, hoping that she could gain superpowers, and learn about proper love, though as she had seen before, it didn't work out completely as planned.

"After the whole competition, I tried to convince my friends to duel me again, but the damage was done. They were all scared of me, and it kinda made me sad and depressed, and so I started to avoid interactions with others, which in turn, caused me to want to abandon duel monsters, the game I admired and played all my life. I know, it sounds crazy coming from me, doesn't it? A guy who lives for dueling, suddenly wants to stop; it's unbelievable, right? My parents were worried too, and they took me to see the psychiatrist at the local hospital on their next day off. I wasn't too thrilled to meet a psychiatrist; I was convinced that she wouldn't know what was wrong with me, so right before we stepped into her office, I made a break for it. I was really frustrated and sad, so I thought about running away, and when I saw my chance, I took it. I decided initially to lay low in one of the hospital rooms, so I hid inside the first one I saw after rushing through several corridors, and that's when my life changed forever," he said.

Alexis stared intensely at him, mesmerized by his story. "And, then what happened?" she asked.

"Well, as it turned out, the room I was trying to hide in wasn't as empty as I thought it would be. Once I entered the room, I saw a young man lying down on the bed closest to the window. He had short hair, and wore glasses. I remember him looking at me, and asking me what I was doing in his room. I told him that I was trying to hide from something, so he asked me why I was hiding, and I didn't answer. He gently told me not to worry, that he was on my side, that I was his friend, but I still remained silent. He sighed, then while he was thinking of something, we heard a knock. I instantly jolted under his bed, and a lady walked in. She asked the guy how he was doing that day, and then proceeded to ask him a question:

"Well, off topic, did you see a young boy passing by? He was supposed to be in a session with me, and his parents are really worried."

I thought the guy was going to reveal my location to the doctor, but to my surprise, he said that he didn't see a kid like that today. She thanked him, and the second she left her room, he called out to me again:

"Hey kid, come on out. The coast is clear, you're safe now," he said.

I got out from under the bed, and asked him, "Why'd you help me? You have no reason to?"

"Ah, so you can talk," he laughed gently. "Well, I needed to earn your trust, right? I mean, I could have ratted you out, but where's the fun in that? So, have I earned it?"

I was surprised by the guy I saw in front of me. Even though I barged into his room, and acted rudely to him, he was still happy and forgiving, and in a very positive mood, despite being in worse condition physically. "I mean, I guess I could tell you," I said to him.

"Now, that's more like it. So, let's get started with our introductions," he said. His smile was so comforting, and I felt like I could him anything. I didn't know why; it was strange, like we had a connection of sorts, and in the end, I decided to trust him.

"My name's Jaden. Jaden Yuki," I said.

"Well, nice to meet you Jaden. I look forward to our little conversation," he said.

After I warmed up to him a little, I began to tell him my story bit by bit, including the parts about Yubel, and how I could see and communicate with her. I thought that he would mock me, or get scared and ask me to leave, but to my surprise, he was okay with all of it. In fact, he even explained some things to me, things that I was unaware of at the time. He told me that Yubel was a duel spirit, and I was lucky enough to be able to spot one. He then told me about his experiences with duel spirits, how he met his duel spirit, and how he had reacted to that. I'd tell you everything right now lex, but it would take too long, so I'll tell you after I finish this tale, if we've got some time, about the information and tips he told me. We chatted for a while, and after what seemed like an eternity, he told me that I had to go back to my parents, because they were really worried, and it wasn't right to cause them grief after everything they had done for me. I hesitated at first, but in the end, I decided to head back, and so I asked him if I could visit him again.

"Sure! My name's Koyo by the way. Koyo Hibiki, and I'm a master duelist. A pleasure to make your acquaintance."

And that's how I first met the man I would soon call 'brother'."

"Wait, wait, wait!" Alexis shouted, cutting into his talk. "Koyo Hibiki? As in the Koyo Hibiki? One of the youngest and smartest duelists to ever get crowned with the pro league championship? A duelist so young and talented that he even beat Joey Wheeler, and whose only loss was to the king of games himself?"

"Man, you ask a lot of questions, Alexis," commented a surprised Jaden. "What, do you know him or something?"

"Of course, he was a dueling champion when I was just a little girl. Atty and I used to watch him duel on TV all the time, well until his health deteriorated, and he was admitted to hospital... oh," Alexis began recalling her old experiences, before realizing that what she knew matched with what Jaden had just said.

"Wow, so Koyo was that famous, huh! Would you believe me if I told you that I never knew he was that popular? I mean, I knew he was a great duelist, but the pro league champion... that's awesome!" shouted Jaden excitedly, stars in his eyes.

"Um Jaden, not to spoil the mood, but I think you should continue. I don't think we have much time until we get to the academy," urged Alexis.

"Oh right," he said, blushing. "Well, so as I was saying, I went back to my parents, and man were they pissed, but my mood had changed; I was happy, and even the doctor was shocked at the sudden change. At that point, the doctor just told me to get some rest, and that everything would work itself out."

"Sounds like an irresponsible doctor to me," commented Alexis.

"My parents asked me what happened, and I happily told them that I had found a 'big brother' I could rely on, and that he helped me out of my little slump. Starting from that point, I began to visit big brother Koyo in the hospital once a week, or whenever I could on off days. He and I chatted for hours about duel monsters and spirits. I also got to meet his sister Midori, who was just starting college at the time, and she was really strict but also really nice, to the point where I consider her my older sister. We did everything together; had lunch, did my homework, watch live duels, swap stories, and of course, no visit was complete without a duel, and man, I got crushed every single time, though if he is as big as a champion as you said he is, that makes way more sense now."

"The days passed by like that for a couple of years. Koyo was still in the hospital, apparently because extended activity caused him an unnatural increase in heart rate and blood pressure, resulting in quick fatigue and chest pains, or something like that; I never really got everything the doctors said. On one of those days, Koyo asked me to duel him, and while that was no different from normal, this time, Koyo was serious, and we both used his duel disks, which was weird considering we always dueled using mats for our own safety. Most of our duels were for fun, but this was different; he had an evil glare in his eyes, and he kept telling me that I had to win. I was scared, especially when the attacks started to seem real; the walls were tearing up, the beds were torn up, and the windows were shattered as a result. Big sis came in and tried to stop him, but he told her to back off, and that he had everything under control,"

Jaden remembered the events of that fateful day, a painful look painted on his face. Alexis looked at Jaden with both intrigue and worry. "He must have been through a lot. This is only the second time I've seen Jaden give that type of expression, the first time was when we lost Jesse in that dimension. I still have nightmares about that time," she thought. "So, how'd the duel end?" she asked hesitantly.

"Well, sad thing is, I can't seem to remember that part," said Jaden apologetically. "For some reason, my memory is blank after big sis came into the room. Or maybe subconsciously, I just don't want to remember those painful moments. All I know is that I fell unconscious at some point, and when I woke up, big sis was taking care of me. She began to say how happy she was that I was awake, and I remember her hugging me quite a bit. She told me that I had won the duel, and that both Koyo and I fell unconscious right after. Koyo was still unconscious at the time. I asked big sis what had happened, and although she was hesitant, she told me everything. She explained to me that she knew about duel spirits from Koyo, that she was the only one who believed him, even between his closest friends and family, well until I came along of course. She told me that Koyo was being possessed by an evil duel spirit, but she didn't really know how or why. Finally, she gave me a message and a small wrapped present from Koyo, and told me that my parents were coming to pick me up very soon. Secretly, she also told me not to tell anyone else about this incident, not that anyone would believe me anyways. You're actually the first person I've told since that day, Alexis."

"I see..." said Alexis. "Are you sure you should have told me this? I mean, if that incident was supposed to remain a secret, why tell me?"

"What are you saying, lex?" asked a surprised Jaden. "I made a promise, didn't I? That I would tell you anything and everything. I think this falls under those categories, right?"

"Yeah, you did. I'm just... no, I'm happy you shared this me," she said, half pleased that Jaden was keeping his promise and trusted her, and half guilty that there was still one thing he could not tell him just yet, defying her promise.

"Anyways, my parents arrived several minutes later, and man, were they furious. They filed a complaint to the hospital, and made a big fuss over the supposed 'gas leak' that struck the hospital. Apparently, our duel had more of an effect on the hospital then I first thought at the time. My parents said that, for my safety, I would never be allowed to visit this hospital again. Of course, I couldn't accept that, so a week later and against my parent's wishes, I snuck out and headed back anyways, but when I got there, it turns out the hospital was being closed down for inspections, and no one was allowed inside until further notice. I asked one of the workers outside, and it seemed that all patients were transferred to the big central hospital in Domino. I was really sad, and as I began to head back, I heard a voice calling out to me. I turned around, and big sis was standing right there; apparently, she and Koyo had a hunch that I would come back, so she was on the lookout for me during this week. I asked her where Koyo went, and if he was okay. She told me that he was currently in a coma, and being treated in the intensive treatment ward at central. She told me to read the letter he left for me, as it woudl explain everything, since I would probably never see him again. I can't remember much after that, except that she took me home and spoke with my parents for a while, and that I cried quite a bit throughout. Those days were some of the happiest and saddest days of my life," he recalled.

"So, what happened to the letter and the present?" she asked.

"Well, the letter was an apology from Koyo about what happened. He said that a dark being possessed him, and the only way to free him was to beat him, the host, in a duel. he said that he trusted me to win, for both our sakes. He said that, while he'll still live, he would have to be taken into intensive care, and he may never duel again, so he entrusted all of his hopes and dreams to me, along with his deck, which was..."

"The gift," Alexis finished for him. "So, the elemental heroes you use were originally..."

"Yeah, his deck," said Jaden. "Well, sans Yubel and the Neo Spacians, of course."

"Wow, that's a lot of information to handle at once," she said. "So it was true that Koyo Hibiki retired from the pro leagues early due to health concerns."

"Yeah, and Koyo is one of the main reasons I duel the way I do. As for big sis, well we keep in touch regularly, though like you and the others, I haven't seen her in years," he said with regret.

"Okay, I think I understand a little bit more about spirits, both the good and the bad, but it still doesn't give me a clear picture about what I need to do. Anything else that could help me?" she asked.

"Yeah, there are those bits of information and tips that Koyo told me. There was also that other thing..." he began, until the door slammed wide open. The two of them jumped up, and looked up at the source, only to find Atticus standing at the door, a mischievous smile plastered on his face.

"Atty? What are you doing here?" asked Alexis.

"Well, I just wanted to let you both know that we're about two hours away from duel academy, and so I wanted to borrow Jaden for this last stretch of the journey, so I can fulfill my promise," said Atticus.

"Promise" asked Jaden, moving away from him little by little.

"Oh, don't you remember? Back before, I promised you that I would teach you about women before we went to the academy. Well now, I think it's time I did just that," said Atticus, as he slowly closed in on Jaden. "I just remembered our little promise while I was flir... I mean chatting with one of the crew," he said, noticing Alexis's cold gaze on him.

Atticus coughed deliberately. "Well in any case, Jaden you're coming with me. Sorry Alexis, but you can flirt later. Right now however... I'm taking Jaden! Bye now!" he shouted excitedly, as he quickly grabbed Jaden and dashed out of the room.

Alexis stared, confused at the turn of events, then sighed. "I don't even know what's going on anymore," she thought. Then, she remembered that she was still holding Winged Kuriboh. She looked down, and saw that it was still on her lap, resting. She smiled at the sight, then picked it up gently, and stood up. "Well, whatever. I guess I'll have a chance to talk to Jaden at the academy. For now, I guess I'll go enjoy the view from the deck." Then she left the room, and closed the door.

Part 3

"Wow, what a nostalgic site!" said Alexis enthusiastically. She was currently standing on deck, enjoying the cold but soothing afternoon breeze. Almost two hours had passed since Atticus dragged Jaden to his room, to teach him about 'girls', and Alexis had been standing on deck since then. Slowly over time, duel academy began to appear within sight, and the sight triggered a nostalgic feeling within her. "So many memories on that island, some good, some bad, but I must admit that those were some of the best years of my life."

"So that's duel academy. It's a bit bigger then I thought it would be," said Mac, who stood next to her.

"It does give that kind of expression, doesn't it," said Alexis.

"Well, now's not the time for sentiments, at least not yet," said Mac. "I just spoke with the captain, and he said we should be arriving on shore in about fifteen minutes, so we should probably grab our luggage, and get ready to head out," said Mac.

"Okay, then I'll go to Atty's room and tell the boys..." began Alexis.

"Nononono," said Mac, cutting in nervously. "I'll go grab the boys. You should go get ready."

"But I don't really mind..." said Alexis, before backing off from the intimidating aura given off by Mac.

"Alexis, I will go get the boys. You should go to your room, and get your stuff. Okay," said Mac with an intimidating smile.

"S-Sure," said Alexis hesitantly, then she made her way to her room.

"Once you've gotten ready, meet us at the main lobby. We'll be waiting," Mac called out to Alexis, then quietly sighed. "Sorry Lexi, but I would rather you don't see Jaden in his current state. I think Atty's lessons might have left him a little traumatized. Seriously, that guy does not hold back when it comes to flirting or women. I wonder how much more efficient he'd be if he only put that much energy into his studies and career," she thought.

Mac left the deck soon after, and headed over to Atticus's room, knocking as soon as she got there. "Come in," was the voice she heard from inside, so she stepped in. Atticus was busy packing the last few things into his bag.

"Oh, hey Mac. What's up?" he said.

"Done your little 'chat' with Jaden I see," she pointed out.

"Yeah, and don't worry, I stuffed every bit of information I could into that boy, so this is probably going to be the last chat we'll ever have. He's on his own now," he replied.

"Yeah, I think I believe you when you said ALL the information," shrugged Mac, remembering Jaden's embarrassed and pained face earlier. "So where's your star pupil now?"

"Jaden? Oh, I sent him back about fifteen minutes ago, told him to lie down for a bit, then grab his stuff and meet us in the lobby. He looked a little pale, so I thought he got a little seasick or something?" said Atticus, a concerned look on his face. "You know, maybe I should check on him before we disembark."

"No need. You should go help your sister with her luggage. I'll help Jaden if he needs it, since my luggage is already in the lobby," suggested Mac.

"Wow, you act fast girl! Okay, let's go with your plan," he said, then closed his bag, and made his way to the lobby with his luggage.

"Yeah, right. If you checked on him, he'd probably faint, or worse," she thought, as she made her way to Jaden's room. When she got there, she noticed that the door was open, and that Jaden was grabbing the last of his things, and making his way out.

"Ah!... Oh, it's just you Mac. You startled me. For a moment there, I thought you were Atticus," said a startled Jaden as he turned around to leave.

Mac gave Jaden a pitiful look. "For god's sake Atty, what did you tell him to make the boy so paranoid?" she thought silently, then smiled. "It's just me, Jay. Atticus went to help Alexis with her luggage, so I came to pick you up," she said.

"Oh, great. I don't think that I could have taken another round of his lectures," said Jaden while shivering slightly.

"Oh, come on, I'm sure it wasn't that bad. What did he tell you to make you so shaken up?" she asked curiously.

"I'd rather not talk about it. Not to mention, that I don't think a girl should hear any of that," said Jaden quietly.

"Oh, that... deep, huh?" she muttered to herself. "Well, alright. Enough about that, let's get going then, shall we?" she asked.

"Yeah," replied Jaden, as he grabbed his stuff. The two of them made their way to the main lobby, where Atticus and Alexis were chatting.

"Oh Jaden, you're all right, man! That's a relief. We wouldn't wanna lose ya before the journey starts," said Atticus.

"Hey Atticus," said Jaden with a strained voice.

Alexis looked at Jaden, who was acting a little frightened, and at Atticus who seemed confused at Jaden's behavior, then started to piece together what happened. "Atty, what did you do?" she said, pulling his ear.

"Nothing, sis. I just taught him a few things about women, like I said I would," he said through the pain.

"Atty, so help me god..." she said, then released him, then turned to Jaden, and said, "Don't worry, Jaden. You don't have to take anything he said seriously."

"Really? Even the part about a guy and girl..."

"Oh look, they're opening the doors! Seems like they've docked, so let's get out of here already," said Mac hurriedly. then she proceeded to push Jaden out the main door. The other two were confused but obliged nonetheless.

Outside, the sun was beginning to set, and although the weather was cold, it wasn't as cold as when they were in Domino. Before them, lay a dock that they knew all too well, and a nostalgic view that they had not seen in years.

"Well, since nobody else will, I'll say it first," said Jaden excitedly, then he took a deep breath, and screamed, "I'M HOME!"

"Would you stop screaming this late in the day?! Some of us are trying to do our jobs here!" came a loud response from the dock.

They all turned towards the source, to see a nostalgic person walking up to them. "Well, well, well, if it isn't two of my favorite students, the Rhodes siblings. I'm so glad to see you again," said a tall, skinny man, with long blonde hair.

"Yes, It's nice to see you again, Professor Crowler," said Alexis. The man who had come to greet them was none other then their former instructor, and vice-chancellor, Professor Crowler.

"Oh, your words are wasted on me. It's lovely to see you again, Alexis. I've heard of your exploits at duel college, and I have to say, both me and the chancellor are so proud of you," he said, with his usual weird smile. "Of course, it's good to see you as well, master Atticus. And of course, who could forget the wonderful blooming flower of duel college, . It's quite an honor to have one of the best duelists in America on our humble grounds."

"Thanks... I guess," said Mac with a bitter smile.

"Oh, and you brought someone with you... oh, it's just you, slacker," he said. "Well, I haven't heard from you in a while, compared to the others. In spite of you never sending me a single letter to me, I suppose I should say welcome back, shouldn't I?"

"Yeah, it's good to see you too Professor. I'm sorry I didn't send you anything. I really couldn't at the time," Jaden apologized, slightly bowing his head.

"Well, it doesn't matter. You're here now, and anyways, knowing you, you were probably off sleeping under a log all these years," said Crowler. "It is good to see you though, slacker. It just hasn't been the same without a Slifer red in my classes."

"No Slifer reds?" asked Jaden.

"More importantly, I think we should get going. There are still more guests I have to greet," said Crowler. "Don't worry about your luggage, the staff members will take them to your rooms. As for you, I will take you to see the chancellor. He has been waiting for your arrival for a while now."

"Chancellor Sheppard, huh? Man, it's really been forever since I came here," said Jaden.

"Indeed. Now then, the trolley is waiting, so please get on. It will take you straight to the academy's main gate. I will wait here for the other guests," said Crowler.

"Alright, let's get on. See ya later, Professor Crowler," said Jaden, as they got onto the trolley.

"Just get going, you slacker!" shouted Crowler. As the trolley moved away from the docks, Crowler sighed, then showed a rare smile on his face. "They've all grown up. As a teacher, I am so proud," he thought, as he went back to his tasks.

As the evening began to set in, the trolley carrying Jaden and his friends was making it's way across the nostalgic road to the academy's main building. Mac in particular, who had never been to the academy was enjoying the sights of both the unique buildings and the wildlife, while Atticus was acting as her guide.

"So that over there is the Ra Yellow building. Man, either my eyes are deceiving me, or it got a little upgrade since I last saw it. Anyways, that's what I like to call the 'nerds' building, since people admitted in there are either above average, or great in academics, but not so great in dueling. Well, I do have a few friends from Ra Yellow, so I can't really complain," explained Atticus.

"Well, it looks pretty enough," said Mac.

"You know, come to think of it, Jaden you were inside the Ra Yellow building once, right? How was it?" asked Alexis.

"Well, that was back in my first year. Back then, I liked that they had a clean cafeteria that served them whatever they wanted, instead of the mess hall we had. I mean, I got to eat fresh lobster! Lobster! It doesn't top fried shrimp, but it's definitely a close second!" said Jaden excitedly, drooling.

"Haha, leave it to Jaden to steer the conversation towards food," said Atticus, laughing bitterly. The girls smiled awkwardly in response. The trolley continued to move along the road, as the street lights were lit, and nightfall came rolling in. "That huge building over there is the Obelisk Blue boys dorm, where I lived most of my life here at the academy. Only the elite of the elite lived in this place, although in my final year, a big majority of the students were living in this dorm," he said.

"It looks a bit... excessively fancy, don't you think?" asked Mac.

"Hey, I'm not the one who built it," said Atticus. Next, the trolley passed by the lake, where the Obelisk Blue girls dorm was facing.

"Now, that's a very beautiful site," said Mac, stars in her eyes. "I mean, a dorm built on a beautiful lake brings out an element of elegance and beauty to that dorm. Not to mention that it's so romantic!"

"Yeah, and since all girls who join the academy end up here, it's also very popular. It had everything besides a lake: An indoor hot spring, private catering, a wonderful breeze all year round, and so much more," said Alexis. "The only girl who didn't really like it at first was Blair, but that's more because of her obsession with... you know, it's not that important."

"Not that important! That's your rival your talking about, of course you need to mention her and her obsessions! Speaking of which Alexis, you need to take every opportunity given to you this trip, and stake your flag on the mountain of love! You know, show her who's boss!" said Atticus passionately.

Mac groaned, while Alexis was startled for a bit, then gave a serious face, and said, "You know what Atty, you're right for a change. I will take advantage of every opportunity I get."

"I am? I mean, of course I am! I'm always right," said Atticus confidently.

"Don't push your luck, Atty," said Alexis coldly.

"Yes, ma'am," he replied dejectedly, while Jaden wondered what their conversation was about. The trolley continued moving for a while, until the driver announced that they had arrived at the main gate, and the trolley stopped.

"There it is. The building with most memories," said Jaden nostalgically. "Ah, it's great to be back,"

"It sure is, Jay," said Alexis next to him. The group took in the site, then Alexis broke the silence. "Well, let's not keep the chancellor waiting, right?"

With the other three in agreement, they walked into the building. Although Jaden and Atticus wanted to check out areas like the dueling arena, and the cafeteria, which they hadn't seen in a while, the girls insisted that they meet the chancellor first, and explore later, so they took the elevator, and climbed the steps to the chancellor's office on the top floor. Once they were outside, Mac knocked on the door.

"Please enter," said the voice on the other side of the door. Taking deep breathes, they stepped inside. When inside, Jaden, Alexis and Atticus noticed that the room hadn't changed much from what it was when they last set foot in here a few years ago. The seat at the desk turned around, and on it, they saw Chancellor Sheppard, and although he a few gray hinges on his beard, he still looked the same as he had when they last saw him.

"Welcome, my former students, and my esteemed guests. It's great to see you all again," said Sheppard.

"It's good to see you too, chancellor," said Alexis. "All of us were looking forward to seeing you when we got here."

Sheppard stood up from his chair, and walked over to the group. "Alexis, my dear. You've grown splendidly since I last you. I guess your choice to study abroad was the right one," he said.

"Yes, and I thank you and professor Crowler for helping me make that decision, and giving me the chance to pursue my dreams," smiled Alexis.

"Of course, and I've heard some great things from over there about you. Keep up the good work, Ms. 'Heavenly Queen'," he said, teasing her quietly with the last part. Alexis blushed out of embarrassment, as she didn't expect that nickname to reach the chancellor's ears. Satisfied with the results, he moved on to the next person. "Ah, Atticus, how many years did you spend here? I'm glad to see you back, after everything that's happened to you here," he said, then frowned. "If you have anything you wish to confide or let out, we can talk in private a little later."

"It's alright, Chancellor. I'm just here to meet with the guys, and have fun. I'm not here to re-open old wounds, or deal fresh ones," said Atticus with a blank smile.

The chancellor nodded. "Alright, well enjoy your stay," he said.

"Oh, I will. I'm even planning to sing at the gala tomorrow! It's gonna be fun! Now if only Lexi would join me on stage..." he began, but stopped due to the intense pressure emitting from his left side.

"Oh, I see. Well, I look forward to it," said Sheppard with a smile, then he greeted Mac who was next to Atticus. "Ah, dear little Reggie. How long has it been since I saw you last? You've grown up since then, and turned into a fine young lady," he said.

"Thank you, chancellor. It's a pleasure to see you again too, and it has been a while. My father sends you his regards," said Mac formally, with a smile.

"Oh, you're so formal. Please, call me 'Uncle Sheppard' like you used to. We're practically family, right?" he said casually.

"Hah, maybe some other time," she smiled.

"Ah, fine," he said dejectedly, then turned towards Jaden. "Last, but not least, Jaden Yuki. My, oh my, it's been a while. You've been a hard man to reach; honestly, I've heard news from every one of my previous students, but nothing from you. Still, here you are, standing right in front of me," he said, then put his hand on Jaden's shoulder. "You know, if I didn't touch you like this, I wouldn't have believed it. Honestly, when I first saw you, I thought you were a mirage." He removed his hand, and smiled. "You've grown taller, Jaden."

"Chancellor! It's great to see you again too," said Jaden, with teary eyes, then he hugged the chancellor as strongly as he could. The others were stunned for a moment, but seeing the scene in front of them, they couldn't help but give a warm smile.

The chancellor returned the hug instantly, and after several seconds, they separated. "Well, at least I know that you haven't forgotten about little ol' me. It's good to see you again, my boy. How have you been?"

"I've been great. I work for Kaiba Corp. now, though I only started recently, and well, it's not really a job par-say. But yeah, I'm sorry that I didn't contact you," said Jaden apologetically.

"Kaiba Corp.? Funny, Mr. Kaiba never mentioned that you were working for him. I know of Jesse and Axel, but not you," pondered Sheppard.

"Chancellor?" asked Jaden.

"Oh, it's nothing. Please enjoy your time here, in the company of friends, both old and new," said Sheppard, then he went back to his desk. "I know that you have a lot of questions, and I too have a lot of stuff to talk to you about, but that can wait till later. For now, please relax in the guest rooms we've prepared for you on the other side of the academy. Don't worry about the accommodations, I'm sure it'll be to your liking. Everything's been prepared; there's enough food should you need it, it's facing the beach, so you'll have a great view, you'll have access to high speed internet. Should I go on?"

"No need. We trust your aesthetic taste, Chancellor," said Atticus. "By the way, I've got one more question. Are we the first to arrive?"

"Well, not really. Axel and Jesse actually arrived over an hour ago, and I've already seen them. They've gone on official Kaiba Crop. business, but you'll probably end up seeing them tomorrow morning with everyone else. As for the others, well, none have arrived yet, but based on reports from teams at the docks and at the helipads, they should all be here within the hour, so you can wait for them in your rooms, or in the lobby, whichever you prefer," explained Sheppard. "Anything else?"

"No, we're fine. I believe I speak for the rest of us when I say, thanks again, chancellor, for inviting us to this reunion, and I guess we'll see you tomorrow at the gala," said Atticus.

"No, please don't talk so formally. This is your home away from home after all, so please enjoy yourselves. Well, don't mind an old man like me, and go get some well deserved rest. Tomorrow will be a busy day after all. Once again, it's been a treat seeing all of you here again. Now then, the trolley is waiting for you outside, to take you to your rooms. Best not to keep the driver waiting; he still has other guests to attend to, after all," said Sheppard.

"THANK YOU, CHANCELLOR, AND GOOD NIGHT" they all said in union, and turned around to leave.

"Wait Jaden, before you go, I'd like to talk to you about a little something," said Sheppard.

Jaden turned around, and asked, "Me?"

Sheppard nodded, then told the other three, who were waiting, "Please go on ahead without him. There's a little something he and I need to talk about, regarding the reunion. It's nothing major, and it shouldn't take too long."

Alexis and Mac nodded, albeit confused, but Atticus simply frowned. "No problem. If it won't take long, then you don't mind us waiting for him, right?" he asked.

Sheppard and Atticus exchanged glances for a bit, then Sheppard sighed. "Very well, but you know the driver's going to get on my case later, right?"

"Oh, I'm sure you can think of something," said Atticus, smiling provocatively, then he left.

"W-Well Jaden, guess we'll be waiting by the gate," said Mac with a nervous smile, as she lightly dragged Alexis out of the room with her.

Once the door closed, and their footsteps faded, Sheppard sighed, and faced Jaden with a serious face. "Before we begin, I'd like to confirm something I already checked with Axel and Jesse. You are working as a Dragoon, are you not?" Jaden widened his eyes for a second, then frowned and nodded. "Excellent, then we can begin. You see, someone on this island is..."

"It's Crowley, isn't it?" asked Jaden, cutting in.

Sheppard widened his eyes. "How did you..." he asked.

"Well, let's just say that one of his 'lackeys', attacked me the other day," said Jaden, narrowing his eyes.

"I see..." said Sheppard. "Well then, I assume you did your homework on the good professor then."

Jaden nodded, then said, "Well, Mac was the one who got all the information, both the known stuff, and the hidden underground stuff."

"So, it was her, huh? She's always getting herself into trouble for her friends, that girl," muttered Sheppard with a bitter smile. "Alright, so you know about the artifacts he brought onto the island, and that his true purpose has something to do with the other 'you'." After Jaden nodded, the chancellor added, "Great, so that takes care of the long part. Now on to what you don't know." Then he opened a droor, took out a file, and handed it to Jaden. "This is a brief summary compiled by Axel, and another Dragoon who is already on the island, detailing about a few of the artifacts, and some possible locations for Crowley's hideout. The thing is, ever since Alistair first joined us, I've been very skeptical about the decisions he's made. I've tried several methods to figure out his plans: interrogation, spying, you name it, but every time, he's given us the slip. His loyal students are also pretty tight-lipped, so it's been hard finding any information about his plans. One of his students is also a fellow Dragoon member of yours, but she's... been unable to report in for a while. I'd explain more, but that would take too long, so the rest is in the report in your hands."

Jaden looked down at the report, then up at Sheppard. "Chancellor, do you think we have a chance of stopping him?" he asked.

"I'm not sure, Jaden. I wish I could tell you," said Sheppard. "Let me tell you something though, Jaden. All of the guests for the reunion were sent invitations, courtesy of myself and Prof. Crowler, except for one. Can you guess who that was? Aren't you a little bit curious as to how you got an invitation, when we didn't even know where you were?"

"I probably shouldn't answer that..." said Jaden.

"Hm, not the answer I was expecting, but yes, it was you, Jaden. You see, I wanted to send you an invitation, but none of us knew where you were, well that is, except for one person. Alistair told us to send the invitation over to your parent's house. Originally, we told him that it doesn't guarantee your presence, but for some reason, he was oddly confident that you would show up there, so against my better instincts, I let him send the invitation to your house, and as he predicted, you showed up, though know that I think about it, considering that you're a Dragoon, and so is our double-agent, he would have known all of your movements," said Sheppard, then he got up and smiled. "But enough about that, your friends are waiting. Please enjoy yourself over the course of this week, and don't worry about a thing, we'll make sure to foil any plans that Alistair has before it can even begin. We've worked hard to keep the academy peaceful after the darkness incident, and I intend to keep it that way!"

Jaden stared at Sheppard for a short while, then gave a confident smile. "Alright, thank you chancellor, and don't worry; if you need my help, then I'll help anyway I can," he said confidently.

"Well then, our conversation is over, so please get some rest, make sure to read the report, and I'll see you tomorrow night. Again, it's great to see you again, Jaden," said Sheppard.

"You too, Sheppard," said Jaden, and he turned to leave.

On his way out, the chancellor said, "Oh, and Jaden. This time, if trouble strikes, don't hesitate to rely on your friends. They're a lot tougher then you think."

Jaden stopped and smiled. "Don't worry, chancellor, I know. I won't make the same mistake twice," he said, then left the office.

Sheppard left his desk, and moved towards the window. "I'm glad that he's grown quite a bit," he thought. "But I fear that dark times are ahead, and that we might need your help, Jaden, much sooner then you think. I just hope that your other personality doesn't get incited to his side."

On a jagged side of the coast, near the Slifer Red dorm, Jesse and Axel, who had arrived a couple of hours ago, were climbing down the cliff.

"Axel, are you sure that the agent is down there," said Jesse.

"Yeah, that's what the encrypted message said. A cave beneath the cliff, near the Slifer Red dorm. It's true that the place is a bit unconventional, but when you consider the possibility of being compromised, the place is actually ideal for a secret briefing," replied Axel.

"Oh Axel, you and your army talk," said Jesse with a sigh. The two descended for a short while, until they reached the mouth of the cave in question. Once inside, they took several steps forward until they reached a dimly lit room. Inside, a figure hidden behind a black cloak stood waiting in the middle. Once the two stepped into the room, the figure reacted.

"So you came? Took you long enough," said a deep, feminine voice from behind the cloak.

"Well, we got held up. It couldn't be helped," sighed Axel, then stared at her strongly. "Now, I don't think you have much time, 'Raven', so I suggest you brief us on what you know."

"Straight to the point, I see. I can respect that," she said. "Well, the good news is, I know where the hideout is. He's trusted me enough to show me, and I've been there several times as well, so I've managed to memorize the layout. I have the blueprints right here," she said, then pulled a flash drive from her cloak, and tossed it over to Axel.

Axel caught the flash drive, then asked, "And the bad news?"

"The bad news is that it'll be almost impossible for you to infiltrate, considering where it is, and who he has guarding it," she said indifferently.

"I see, then I'm assuming that all of the knights having a connection to the spirits was true," he said.

"Yes, and so, you'll be caught before you can get inside, though I won't stop you from trying," she said. "Now then, the location of the base is..."

As the agent revealed the location, the sound of her voice was covered by the crashing waves, as an evil cloud began covering the academy, as if signaling the beginning of an ominous tale.