Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh GX or its characters.

The duel for the fate of the world begins.

Enjoy!

Rise of the Sacred Beasts - Part 1

After Chazz's defeat, the ground, the water, and the trees were trembling, and a strange wind was blowing across the island. In the underground chamber, the pedestal holding the seals to the spirit gates began to glow with a bright green light, which then shot upwards, through the ceiling and into the sky above. The light faded a moment later, and then the forest began to shake violently and trees fell over as a giant pointed stone pillar emerged from the ground, followed by another, and another, and another. The pillars kept coming until there were ten in total, pointed upwards at various angles and forming a giant circle in the middle of the forest.

Back on the beach, the spirit keys began to glow and float in the air, though they were still hanging around Chazz's neck. "The spirit keys," Chazz spoke up, drawing everyone's attention to himself. "Something's happening to em!" The spirit keys then floated upward, forcing Chazz to his feet, and then suddenly he started running in the direction of the giant pillars. "Hey!"

"Where're you going, Chazz?" Alexis asked.

"I don't know!" Chazz cried out in panic, running past his confused classmates and into the forest. "HELP ME!"

Though confused by this turn of events, the others (including Atticus and his cohorts) ran after him. "Oh great," Chumley complained. "More running."

*BOOM!*

"What was that?" Syrus asked, seeing a cloud of dust rising above the treetops up ahead.

"I don't know Sy," Jeremy replied. "But I think we're about to find out."

As they all kept running, Chazz soon found himself hanging onto the spirit keys as they flew up, pulling him off the ground. "AHHHH!"

"Just hold on!" Jaden called out.

"Wadda ya think I'm do-!?" Chazz shot back, only to be interrupted when he slammed into a branch. The spirit keys ripped themselves free from around his neck and continued flying towards the disturbance, while the black clad Slifer fell to the ground.

"Chazz, are you alright?" Jaden asked.

As they caught up to Chazz's prone form, Jeremy nudged him with his foot, causing him to groan. "He's fine."

As the giant cloud of dust cleared up, they students were able to see balls of light break off from each other and fly into the pillars. "The keys, they're being absorbed into the pillars," Zane remarked.

Passing between two of the pillars, they came to a wide open clearing where it looked like a bomb had gone off, leaving nothing but dirt. "This is not lishus…"

"They're opening up all the spirit gates!" Jaden exclaimed.

"What did you do, Chazz!" Alexis demanded.

"It's not my fault!" He insisted.

The others shot suspicious looks at Chazz.

"Hey, just for the record…" Lyna piped up. "We didn't have anything to do with this."

"What she said," Sean pitched in.

Julianne nodded. "Ditto."

Sheppard and Crowler emerged into the clearing, having obviously run wherever they'd come from. "Children!" Sheppard called out. "Are you alright?"

"What's happening?" Crowler demanded. "I'm sure this is somehow your fault, Jaden."

"Doctor Crowler," Christine spoke up. "I'd like to point out that Jaden didn't steal the spirit keys."

"What? Then who?"

The others all pointed accusingly at Chazz."IT WAS CHAZZ!"

Chazz grinned nervously at this. "I was just… borrowing the keys… for Alexis."

The blond girl sighed in dismay. "Don't you dare drag me into your big mess."

The earth shaking again interrupted the accusations. They all watched in stunned silence as something emerged from the ground in the middle of the clearing. A black pedestal rose, then the top opened up to make way for a metal stand which then projected an orb of light, inside of which were three duel monsters cards, one red, one yellow, and one blue.

"Are those…?" Jaden wondered.

"The Sacred Beast cards?" Jeremy finished.

The two of them jumped down from the edge of the clearing, followed by Chazz, but before they could take a step forward, a voice projected by a megaphone came down from the sky. "THOSE CARDS DO NOT BELONG TO YOU!"

Everyone looked up and saw a large grey cargo plane approaching. As it flew overhead, the back of the plane opened up and a metal contraption of sorts stepped out. "What is that?" Jaden wondered.

"Yeah, ask me," Chazz sarcastically replied. "Like I'm gonna know."

A set of three parachutes emerged from the contraption as it fell towards the ground, slowing down its descent. When it reached the other side of the clearing, it then released the parachutes and slammed onto the ground. A moment later the resulting cloud of dust dispersed, allowing them to see a large machine with four spider like legs, holding up a very large tube. Inside was an old man floating in some kind of fluid, hooked up to a dozen wires and wearing an oxygen mask. "The cards belong to me," a synthesized voice came from the machine.

"Wait a moment…" Sheppard said, frowning. "I know that man."

"I'm so glad you recognize me Sheppard," the old man replied. "Even though the years have not been kind."

"It's Kagemaru! Our superintendent!"

Jaden looked back at Sheppard. "Superintendent?"

"I built this school!" Kagemaru's voice boomed, drawing everyone's attention back to him. "And now I've returned for my Sacred Beast cards."

"Wait just a sec there, test tubey!" Jaden exclaimed.

"You can't just take the cards just like that!" Jeremy added.

"You wan't em? You gotta go through us!" Chazz declared. "That's how this works!"

"Fools! I am Kagemaru, Master of the shadow games. It was I who first sealed the cards here. It was I who gave Sheppard the spirit keys."

Sheppard frowned in discontent at this revelation.

"Alone, they are worthless," Kagemaru said as his life-support module stepped forward. "To unlock the spirit gates, all that is required is dueling energy. Energy you expend trying to protect those keys."

Chazz sighed in relief. "See? This isn't the Chazz's fault."

"You're still an idiot," Jeremy muttered under his breath.

"This is why I arranged for the best duelists in the world to come here," the old man continued. "I hoped year after year, class after class, a student would arrive with enough dueling spirit to unlock the power of the cards. My Shadow Riders were sent to test you. And to my surprise, not one, but two passed. They are the ones with the potential to finally unlock the Sacred Beasts, and give me the strength to rule the world!"

"Cute story," Alexis said, dismissively. "So why all the tricks? Were you too weak to get the cards yourself?"

"Alexis…?" Syrus squeaked. "Please don't make the scary man mad."

"He doesn't look so tough," Chumley remarked. "More like some kind of reject science project."

"Listen up!" Zane spoke firmly. "There's no way you're getting those beast cards! Not so long as I'm here! Got that, Kagemaru? You'll have to duel me first!"

Erik cracked his neck. "After everything you've put us through… I wouldn't mind some payback."

"Back off!" Chazz called out. "It's my duel! And I'll Chazz you up big time! So let's go!"

"You've done enough damage, Chazz," Christine said sharply. "Let someone else take care of this problem."

"He's mine!" Atticus declared. "After all… he and I are old friends. He transformed me into one of his Shadow Riders!"

"I went through the same thing," Julianne reminded them. "Why should you get first dibs?"

"I want a shot at this guy," Sean pitched in. "We've got some unfinished business too."

"No!" Kagemaru exclaimed (interrupting Bastion in the process). "My opponents will be Jaden Yuki and Jeremy Wheeler."

Jaden blinked. "Uh, excuse me, what?"

"Why us?" Jeremy asked.

Kagemaru chuckled darkly at this. "The two of you have proven to be the only duelists with the power to unlock the Sacred Beast cards." An electrical field spread from one of the pillars to the two on either side of it, and kept extending until the whole area was surrounded, keeping everyone trapped. "And if you refuse… I will see to it that this island and everyone on it sinks to the depths of the ocean deep."

Jeremy's eyes popped wide open. "Dude, are you nuts!?"

"You can't!" Jaden exclaimed.

The large metal brace wrapped around the front of the tube retracted, exposing more of Kagemaru's withered old body, as well as revealing a pair of mechanical arms attached to the machine, one of which carried a duel disk. "I can do anything… with these…" The empty arm reached forward and snagged the three Sacred Beasts. "Let the Shadow Game begin!"

"Listen guys…" Chazz spoke up. "If you need any advice, don't ask." Chazz turn turned around and began to walk away.

"Where're you going?" Jaden asked.

"To find a boat."

"We're surrounded by a giant electric fence," Jeremy reminded him. "You know, just in case you forgot."

"I'll take my chances."

"Jaden, catch!" Syrus called out, throwing a backpack that Chazz unwittingly intercepted with his face, falling back down into the clearing. Jaden caught the backpack as it bounced off Chazz's head while Jeremy seemingly went to check on him.

"You alright?" The blond boy asked as he crouched down.

"Feeling dandy," Chazz replied sarcastically.

"Oh good. Then you won't mind if I borrow this." Jeremy stood up, holding Chazz's duel disk, minus his deck.

"What? You… Whatever," Chazz grumbled, grabbing his cards and glaring at his fellow Slifers. "You guys had better not lose. I just got my room looking cool."

"No sweat," Jaden reassured him, then turned towards Kagemaru as he opened up the backpack. "I hope that you brought your A-game, Kagemaru." Jaden pulled out his duel disk, pulling out Banner's tome in the process, which fell to the ground, with a duel monster's card sticking out from its pages. "Professor Banner's tome…" Jaden leaned down and grabbed the card, which turned out to be a spell with an image of a swirling blue orb. Jaden frowned a little as he felt the back of the card, then realized that there was in fact a second card, which was identical to the first. "Hey Jeremy, catch." Jaden flicked one of the cards at his friend, who plucked it out of the air.

"What do you think this is?" Jeremy asked as he looked over the card.

"I don't know, but Banner must have wanted us to have them, so we might as well put em in our decks. I mean, what've we got to lose?"

Jeremy shrugged, and they both shuffled the cards into their decks.

"Come on guys!" Chumley called out. "Rock his world."

"Thanks. Will do," Jaden shot back, then turned around to throw the backpack. Unfortunately for Chazz, he once again got his head up at the wrong time, resulting in him getting nailed in the back of the head. "Sorry Chazz!" Jaden apologized. "My bad."

"That does it! I'm outta here!"

"Come on Chazz," Jaden protested. "We need you."

"No we don't," Jeremy piped up.

"You need a big kick in the-!"

"SILENCE!" Kagemaru shouted as he stepped away from the pedestal, which sunk back into the ground. "This is why I hate teenagers."

"Yeah, well I don't like you either, you old fart," Jeremy said, blowing a raspberry at him.

"Now, for this duel, I will have 8000 life-points, while the two of you will each have 4000. Unless of course, you're scared…"

"Why would he care about Jaden and Jeremy having separate life-points?" Lyna wondered.

"Probably so he can take out one of them, then focus on the other," Christine replied, a frown adorning her face.

"You're on!" Jaden declared. "Come on, Jeremy. Let's do this!" The three of them all activated their duel disks.

"Guys, if you lose, he'll take over the world!" Syrus reminded them.

"And that's, like, really bad," Chumley added.

"No kidding," Jeremy said as they all drew their opening hands.

"In that case, time to get my-"

"Ahem!"

"Sorry," Jaden excused himself. "Time to get our game on!"

Jeremy: 4000

Jaden: 4000

Kagemaru: 8000

"Make your move, Jeremy Wheeler."

"Fine by me. Let's go!" Jeremy drew a sixth card. "I'll start things off with Marauding Captain in defense mode." The grizzled blonde warrior appeared before Jeremy, standing on one knee. (3/1200/400) Then I'll use his effect to summon the Six Samurai Zanji." Marauding Captain raised his sword and let out a war cry, calling forth the samurai in question. (4/1800/1300) "That's all for now."

"My turn then," Jaden declared. "I summon Elemental Hero Woodsman in defense mode." The green woodland hero crouched down before Jaden. (4/1000/2000) "And one face-down. Now let's see if those beast cards are all that."

Kagemaru chuckled as his mechanical arm drew his next card. "Yes, let's. I shall begin with Spell Absorption, which grants me 500 life-points every time a spell card is played, like Pot of Greed."

Kagemaru: 8000-8500

"Then I'll place three trap cards face-down."

Chazz frowned in confusion. "Three trap cards? I think this guy's got his circuits crossed."

"Huh? Wadda you mean?" Syrus inquired.

"When you lay face-down cards, you never have to say whether or not they're trap cards or spell cards," Bastion explained.

"Oh, yeah, right."

"Unless you happen to be summoning a Sacred Beast."

"Good," Jaden said. "You know, I've always wanted to see one up close."

Christine's hand smacked her forehead at this. "Jaden…"

"You should be more careful what you wish for. I sacrifice my three trap cards to summon the first Sacred Beast. Uria, Lord of Searing Flames." Kagemaru's three traps flipped up and dissolved into a golden light that flew towards the base of one of the stone pillars, and then a massive, writhing column of fire erupted from the ground.

"Oh my word," Lyna said, staring with eyes wide open.

"What is this?" Alexis wondered.

"Something very bad," Syrus moaned.

The flames split apart to take the shape of a creature, and when they died down everyone could see a colossal red serpent like beast with wings that looked like a darker version of Slifer the Sky Dragon with a blue jewel in its forehead. The fearsome beast let out a such a loud roar that it shook the trees around them. (10/0/0)

"On second thought…" Jaden said as he stared up at the Sacred Beast. "Maybe I don't need to see it up close."

"You think?" Jeremy asked. Despite the sarcasm, his words lacked any bite, as he too was staring at Uria with concern.

"Boss!" At the sound of his duel spirit's voice, Chazz pulled his deck out of his pocket and looked at Ojama Yellow. Instead of the usually cheerful creature, the image showed the yellow duel monster on his knees, with a distressed expression. "Help me, boss! That thing… it's doing something to us!"

"Suck it up," Chazz shot back. "I'm sure you're fine."

"Now I activate Uria's special ability, trap destruction." Uria let out another roar, revealing Jaden's face-down Mirror Gate, which then shattered into pixels. "All traps are useless agains my Sacred Beasts, and are destroyed. And if you were curious as to Uria's attack points, he receives 1000 per trap card in my graveyard. And as last count, I have three, for a total of 3000 attack points."(10/0-3000/0) "And since I'm going last, I get to attack. Uria, reduce Marauding Captain to slag. Hyper Blaze!" Uria opened its mouth wide and spat out a torrent of fire, incinerating Jeremy's defending monster. "Finally, I play the spell Supply Squad." A spell that showed Goblin Attack Force pulling a cart loaded with supplies, while under watch by a member of the Goblin Elite Attack Force.

Kagemaru: 8500-9000

"Your turn, Jeremy."

"Turn for what?" Zane wondered. "What can Jeremy do against a beast like that?"

"Jeremy…" Erik spoke up. "I don't care how intimidating that thing looks, if you give up now… I'll seriously be embarrassed that I ever lost to you."

"Nice… pep talk," Sean commented, earning a flat look from his friend.

Despite the less than stellar encouragement, Jeremy simply looked across the field at Uria. 'So… this must be what dad felt like when he was staring down an Egyptian God in Battle City. Well dad, you didn't back down then, and I'm not gonna back down now. Next time I see you and mom, I'll get to brag about how me and Jaden beat the big bad evil and saved the world.'

"Here goes!" Jeremy announced, drawing his next card. "First off, even though you'll gain a few life-points, I'll activate Six Samurai United."

Kagemaru: 9000-9500

"This gains a bushido counter when I summon a six samurai, but more on that later. Now, when I control another six samurai, I can special summon Grandmaster of the Six Samurai." The one eyed veteran samurai rose next to Zanji. (5/2100/800) (SSU: 1 counter)

"What's Jeremy thinking?" Chazz wondered. "Grandmaster's too weak to take on Uria."

"I can't watch this," Crowler whimpered fearfully.

"Why not?" Zane said, crossing his arms. "This duel might be the last thing we see."

"Come on, don't give up on em yet," Syrus pleaded.

"Relax guys, I've got this," Jeremy reassured them. "I summon Hand of the Six Samurai." The stoic female warrior appeared amidst her allies. (3/1600/1000) (SSU: 2 counters)

Kagemaru chuckled. "None of your monsters have enough attack points to destroy Uria."

"That would be true, if I were attacking. Instead, I'll activate Hand's effect, which allows me to sacrifice a six samurai so I can pick a monster on the field, and boom." Zanji faded away as a golden aura surrounded his ally, who put her hands together. She then thrust her arms out, shooting a beam of fire that pierced Uria's head, destroying it.

"I activate the effect of Supply Squad. This allows me to draw a card once per turn when one of my monsters is destroyed."

"Too bad that won't save you from Hand and Grandmaster, because they're coming in for an attack right now." Jeremy's warriors charged forward, striking Kagemaru's tube.

Kagemaru: 9500-5800

"Booyah! Direct hit!"

"He did it!" Syrus exclaimed.

"Yeah," Chumley agreed. "But I would've gotten rid of it last round, Sy."

"Suuuuuure," Julianne said, a doubtful look on her face.

"Impressive," Kagemaru commented. "I see I made the correct choice in selecting you as one of my opponents, Jeremy Wheeler. Your dueling spirit will serve me well, as I rip it from your body, and use it to acquire the power of the Sacred Beast cards."

"Yeeeeeeah, nope," Jeremy said slowly. "I like my dueling spirit right where it is. So I'll end my turn and let Jaden take a shot at you."

"Don't mind if I do," Jaden said. "Now, if Woodsman is on the field during my standby phase, I can add Polymerization from my deck or graveyard to my hand. Then I'll use it to fuse Woodsman with Ocean to summon Elemental Hero Terra Firma!" Ocean appeared next to Woodsman and the two of them swirled around each other, moving faster and faster until they merged to form the legendary planet monster. (8/2500/2000)

Kagemaru: 5800-6300

"And thanks to Jeremy, he can come in for a direct attack. Go, Earth Impact!" Terra Firma put his hands together and slammed them into the ground, sending out a shockwave that drew a grunt from Kagemaru and forced his pod to stumble backwards.

Kagemaru: 6300-3800

"Your power is impressive as well, Jaden Yuki," Kagemaru remarked. "I look forward to taking it for myself."

"Not if I have anything to say about it. Now let's see what you've got, now that your Uria Lord of Searing Flames whatever is gone."

"What I have… is Uria's special ability," Kagemaru shot back as he drew another card. "I merely send this trap card to the graveyard, and then…" The old man chuckled as he placed his card in the graveyard, and a pillar of flames rose again from the forest behind him.

"Huh?"

"Don't tell me," Chazz said as he realized what was happening.

"It can't be…" Bastion muttered.

Unfortunately their suspicions were quickly proven too, as the flames heralded Uria's return. "As Lord of Searing Flames, one of Uria's special abilities is to be resurrected when I discard a trap to the graveyard."

Zane frowned at this. "And with another trap card in his graveyard, it gets a thousand more points." (10/3000-4000/0)

"Now say goodbye to your lady friend, Jeremy." Uria spat out a torrent of flames that incinerated Hand of the Six Samurai, then went on to strike Jeremy head on, causing him to cry out in pain.

Jeremy: 4000-1600

"Jeremy!" Christine called out in worry. Though he was still standing, it was on shaky legs.

"Man… that hurt," Jeremy said, eyes closed and a pained grimace on his face.

Kagemaru laughed darkly. "Your move Jeremy. If you have the strength to make it."

Jeremy stood still for several seconds, then opened his eyes and slowly moved to draw his next card. He looked at what he had for a moment, frowned, and switched his Grandmaster to defense mode. (5/2100/800) "I can't do much right now, but I'm sure Jaden won't mind sending Uria back to the graveyard."

Jaden gave his friend a reassuring smile. "Don't worry Jeremy, I got this. Now let me introduce my next performer, Elemental Hero Heat." The white and orange fiery hero appeared next to Terra Firma. (4/1600/1200) "And thanks to his effect, Heat gains 200 attack for each Elemental Hero I control." Heat's knuckles ignited as he powered up. (4/1600-2000/1200) "That's 400 extra points for him and a whole lotta pain for you, because I'm sacrificing him so Terra Firma gains all of his attack points." Heat turned into an orange light which flowed into Terra Firma. (8/2500-4500/2000) "That gives him just enough power to take out Uria one more time." Terra Firma's entire body glowed white, then he crouched his legs and jumped at Uria with a single powerful leap, fists slamming straight into its underbelly with such force that it caused a shockwave that shook Kagemaru's pod.

Kagemaru: 3800-3300

Kagemaru groaned, but the machine still drew a card thanks to Supply Squad. "And with that, I end my turn," Jaden declared as Terra Firma's attack points returned to normal. (8/4500-2500/2000)

"Waste your turn, Jaden. As long as I have traps to discard, my Lord of Searing Flames will never be destroyed." Kagemaru drew, then sent another trap to the graveyard, returning Uria to the field. (10/4000-5000/0) "Then I'll activate the field spell Fallen Paradise." The area around them turned into a barren wasteland, with a dark cloudy sky.

Kagemaru: 3300-3800

"I don't like the looks of this," Jeremy remarked.

"Me neither," Jaden agreed.

"Thanks to this new field, I'm allowed to draw two additional cards every round. Then I play the spell Cauldron of the Old Man."

Kagemaru: 3800-4300

"When activated, it gains a counter. And I'll use one of its effects to increase my life-points by 500."

Kagemaru: 4300-4800

"But more importantly, that gives me a third spell card."

"Wait… Three spell cards?" Jaden stared across the field as he realized what was about to happen. "Oh great…"

"Ha. I see… despite your grades, you're a quick learner. Now I sacrifice my three spell cards to summon the second Sacred Beast… Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder!" The three spells were suddenly covered in ice and shattered. The shards flew into the air, over Kagemaru's pod and landed a ways behind him, forming a giant block of ice. A yellow beast of great size emerged from the ice, with wide wings, a bony tail, long limbs, and wicked claws on its hands and feet. (10/4000/4000)

"Look…" Zane said as everyone stared at the fearsome creature.

"We see it…" Chazz muttered in shock.

Bastion cleared his throat. "Umm… Chazz? About that boat…"

"Hamon… attack Terra Firma! Let's show him a real storm." Hamon raised its head and shot a blast of lightning up into the clouds. The sky coursed with energy, and then several lightning bolts rained down on Jaden's field, until one struck Terra Firma.

Jaden: 4000-2500

"No!" Jaden exclaimed as his monster was destroyed.

"And with Hamon's special ability, should he destroy a monster, you suffer an additional thousand points of damage. And I do mean 'suffer'…" Jaden screamed in pain as he was struck by lightning and fell to his hands and knees.

Jaden: 2500-1500

"Jaden!" Syrus called out in worry.

"He doesn't look so good," Sean muttered, concerned.

"Fortunately for you, on the turn Uria is summoned with his effect, he can't attack if I control another monster."

"Boss…" Ojama Yellow's normally cheerful voice sounded oddly weak. Chazz grabbed his cards again and saw Ojama Yellow, abnormally thin, eye stalks were drooping, and giving Chazz a pleading look. "Help us boss. All of us…"

"What's going on?" Chazz asked in surprise. Quickly shuffling through some of his other cards, he saw several of his other monsters were suffering the same fate. Seeing this, the others grabbed their own cards and saw their monsters were in trouble as well.

"Our monsters… they're all disappearing…" Bastion stated.

"Of course," Kagemaru said as a golden aura surrounded Uria and Hamon. "The Sacred Beasts draw their strength from dueling spirits, not merely from the players, but from the very cards themselves." Hundreds of tiny orbs of light emerged from everyone's cards, drawn towards the two Sacred Beasts.

"That's why they were locked away," Zane realized. "Those beasts have the power to destroy every card on the planet."

"Impossible…" Crowler said in denial.

Chumley looked down at his cards. "Bummer…"

"No, this can't be happening…" Syrus protested.

"Hold on," Bastion spoke up. "Jaden and Jeremy's cards aren't affected." The others looked at the two Slifers in question and realized that while their own cards were being absorbed, Jaden and Jeremy's were not.

"Jaden and Jeremy's dueling spirits are beyond all of yours. Time and time again, they've proven the courage and heart to win, no matter what the odds. It is this force alone that can tame the Sacred Beasts, and harness their awesome power!"

"So… that's why you want us," Jeremy said as Jaden got back to his feet.

"Yes… Once this shadow game is ends and the both of you lay defeated, I shall take your spirits. Finally, I will have the power to become the new master of the Sacred Beasts. Then… they will absorb the energy of every duelist and deck across the planet, giving me enough strength to rule the world! Allow me to demonstrate a mere fraction of their power." Kagemaru's ring (a golden piece with the eye of Anubis) began to glow and the fluid in the tube bubbled and turned gold as Uria and Hamon's aura's extended towards him. Kagemaru's body began to change, growing stronger and wiping away the signs of old age and weakness. "Yes… Rejuvenate me!"

The tube suddenly burst, spilling the fluid out onto the ground. Everyone gasped in shock, as where Kagemaru had been, now there was a young man, with a long mane of black hair and bulging muscles. Fortunately he had a certain degree of modesty, insofar as a long strip of bandages wrapped around his waist could be considered modest. Grabbing the duel disk off the robotic arm, he hopped out of the tube with a spring in his step.

"Whoa… I'll bet grandma wishes she could do the same," Lyna muttered, drawing glances from Atticus, Julianne and Sean. "Sorry, I'm still processing all this."

"He's been reborn," Sheppard stated.

"I doubt it," Jaden scoffed. "It's all for show."

Kagemaru smirked, then slid the duel disk onto his arm and grabbed the bottom of the contraption he'd been walking around in. "Is this for show?" Lifting it up, he hurled it into the air where it landed far away. Kagemaru smiled in satisfaction. "Huh… I like this new body. But something's… still missing." The now young man turned towards his opponents. "It's your souls! Now lets finish this duel!"

Jeremy and Jaden stared back with grim determination.

Hope you liked it, please review, and I'll see you all in part 2. :-)