Ghost Of Magic: Thank you for reviewing! Glad you liked their chemistry! ;)

This chapter takes place during 'Mirror Mirror'.

I only own my OC's!

There was nothing but mist. I looked around it in utter confusion. Why in the world I was here, I had no idea…

That was when I could see a tall figure in the distance. My eyebrows furrowing, I started walking towards it curiously. At the same time, I was wondering who that could be…

Finally, I was close enough. My eyes widened in shock. It was… "Sartorius?" I spoke up astonished.

The moment I spoke up, the man quickly turned around. To my surprise, he looked the way he used to, before he had gone insane. His skin wasn't as pale, and his eyes definitely weren't scary-looking. In fact, right now, they were looking straight at me in what seemed to be… Panic?

"What are you doing here?" He demanded hastily. "I could ask you the same question." I responded with a frown. "No, you don't understand," Sartorius shook his head, suddenly grabbing me by my shoulders. "You need to get out of here. Now."

"Why?" I demanded, pushing him away from me harshly. "In fact, why should I trust you? How can I know you're not planning to assault me again?!" I glared at the man. "Serena, this is not time for arguing," He frowned at me. "Just listen to me and get out!"

There was this panic and urgency in his voice… By now, I didn't understand a thing. I wasn't going to leave either, not until I got some answers.

"I'm not little, so you can't tell me what to do anymore." I retorted angrily, folding my arms. "Serena, please…" By now, the man was looking at me pleadingly.

Suddenly, wind started blowing violently. "No…" Sartorius quickly turned towards the direction of the upcoming wind. That was when some sort of white light started glowing all over his body. It made his hair go wild and float in the air.

With feelings of sudden fear washing over me, I backed away a bit. It didn't help my heart was beating like crazy in panic… I had no idea what was going on, but I was still scared…

Finally, Sartorius turned around. At that moment, I wished he hadn't. Everything about his face made shivers run down my spine. It was contorted in a huge, sinister grin, and his eyes were filled with insanity… To make it even worse, they were staring right at me.

Shaking like crazy, I tried to fight back a scream threatening to come out of my mouth… Only to fail miserably. I let out a high-pitched scream.

Reasonably, I should have tried to run away. I shouldn't have stayed here. But I was too scared to think of doing something. I was completely frozen, and unable to look away from the man in front of me…

That was when Sartorius grabbed my right wrist violently. "You really are foolish…" He started laughing evilly, lifting up a knife in his right hand.

That was it. I couldn't take it anymore. "PLEASE, HAVE MERCY!" I screamed, falling to my knees with tears running down my cheeks. The response I got was another evil laugh. I quickly covered my eyes with my left arm in fear. "Mercy, you said?" The man asked smugly. He then violently grabbed the arm I used to cover my eyes, making me scream in pain.

I looked up to see those eyes looking right into mine. "There is no mercy…" The grin on his face became even bigger, as he plunged the knife in my direction. I screamed, trying to get away, which was impossible since he was still holding me by my wrist…

My eyes snapped open. Breathing heavily, I slowly sat up. Morning sunlight was shining directly at me, making me cover my eyes. Seagulls could be heard. It was then I finally realized what had happened before was just a nightmare…

"Thank goodness." I breathed in relief, taking hands off my eyes and looking away. I could feel my heart rate calming down in process. Unfortunately, I could still remember that awful nightmare…

I ran into Sartorius, who told me to get out of there. I refused to, and when wind started blowing, he went completely insane and tried to kill me… It was terrifying! I'd never seen such insanity in someone's eyes… It unnerved me.

It also made me even more scared, and confused. I knew it was just a nightmare, but my impression of Sartorius was no better after it. How could someone kind become so insane?! He went crazy in literally few seconds in that nightmare…

'How long are you going to keep mentioning your 'insanity' theory?' The other part of me asked unimpressed. 'But what else am I supposed to believe?! In what other way can that sudden change be explained?!' I thought back, this time desperately. 'I just think doubting someone you've known for so long is quite stupid.' That part replied matter-of-factly.

'I tried to find out what's wrong! The only thing that got me was harsh treatment from both Sartorius and Ben! Hell, I asked the man what's wrong, only to be threatened instead! I tried to come closer to Ben, but he started being aggressive to me!' I thought. 'And you know something is clearly wrong. Instead of trying to figure out what, you're trying to convince yourself two people dear to you are lunatics.'

I looked away for a few moments, playing with my right hair strand.

'Tell me, had Ben and Sartorius ever shown signs of being mentally ill before?' The other part spoke up firmly. 'No, but…' 'Then WHY are you claiming they are?!' 'Because that's the only logical explanation for their behavior! I don't want to be hurt anymore!' I thought back furiously.

'Logic can't solve everything, Serena. You know your guts are telling you something is wrong. You're still worried about both of them, and now Sarina too, even though you had tried to convince yourself in the opposite.' 'But...' 'You're feeling hurt and sad. That's why you're doing this.' 'But it doesn't make any sense either…' 'Science and logic can't prove everything! Tell me, are you going to keep listening to your mind, or are you going to start listening to what your guts are telling you?!' The other part demanded. 'It's as if listening to my mind is a bad thing.' I thought in annoyance. 'It doesn't always have to be. In this case, it is.'

I let out a sigh and started running hands through my hair. By now, I was feeling like an emotional wreck. My guts and mind were having an argument of their own, and, by now, I really had no idea what to listen to…

"Whenever you need me, cuzo, just call!" Ben grinned and winked at me.

"Fine, but only fifteen minutes." "Thank you, Sarina!" I squealed and jumped up, hugging her. She laughed and hugged me back.

"It still hurts." I frowned, touching the plaster on my left knee. "Don't touch it. It should stop stinging soon." Sartorius told me. I looked up. "Thank you!" I cried, jumping up to hug him. A few moments later, I was hugged as well.

I've been close with those three for a long time now… It made no sense for them to be acting like this. It was just sudden, and wrong. If they had been insane the whole time, I should have been able to notice it? If they were insane, then why would I have such fond memories of them now?

Whenever I was in trouble, Ben would offer to help me. Sarina and Sartorius would always look after me, even though they weren't obliged to do so.

Maybe I didn't know what had got into them, nor whether they could be helped or not… But I couldn't leave it be. I just couldn't. I couldn't, nor did I want to forget people who showed they cared about me more than my own parents did…

I would try to get to the bottom of this. I owed it to all three of them! They were the ones who got me out of trouble, and it's thanks to them I had all those precious memories now…

Just as I promised to myself that I would try to find out everything, I could hear yawning. "Morning…" Jaden's voice greeted sleepily. I quickly turned around to see him sitting up next to me, rubbing his eyes. "Morning." I greeted back with a small smile. "We fell asleep here, didn't we?" He guessed. "It appears so." I nodded. "At least the grass was soft." He muttered. "Fair enough." I agreed.

I then started running hands through my hair, trying to make it messy. It would have been easier with a hairbrush, but I didn't know where my suitcase was right now… My guess was most probably at the hotel, but this wasn't really time to chase any building that wasn't called Kaiba Land!

"My hair still looks messy?" I asked Jaden after a few moments. "You're even asking?" He responded in amusement. "I'll take that as 'yes'." I rolled my eyes with a smirk, putting hands down in process. There was no point in trying to fix it…

"Good morning, you two." Bastion's voice made us turn around. He was walking towards us, with Atticus right behind him. "Good morning." The other guy greeted as well. "Morning." Jaden greeted back, with me doing so as well.

"How long have you been up?" The British guy asked, sitting next to Jaden. "No idea." My friend shrugged. "Where's Mister Muto?" Atticus questioned and sat down on my right. "He said he'd come here this morning to show us where Kaiba Land is." Jaden rubbed the back of his head.

"And here I am!" A familiar voice said, making all four of us turn around. Mister Muto was walking towards us. "Are you ready, kids?" He asked. "You bet!" Jaden literally jumped up. I stood up with a nod, followed by Bastion and Atticus. "You're leaving?" Aster Phoenix's voice made us look up.

He was walking towards us. "Yes." Bastion nodded. "Then let's get going." He walked past us, making Jaden, Atticus, Bastion and me exchange glances. We started walking after the professional duelist.


"Turn right!" Mister Muto, who was riding on Bastion's back, shouted. We turned right and continued running down the street.

That was when Bastion stopped running. "There it is!" Mister Muto pointed at Kaiba Land in distance. The rest of us stopped running as well. I looked up at the building in front of us. I could hear others talking between themselves, but I paid no attention to their words.

I could feel fear just by looking at Kaiba Land. Sarina was in there, waiting… I was going in though. She wanted me inside as well. Besides, how would I be able to find out what was wrong with all of them if I ran away?!

"Are you coming?" Looking up, I could see Jaden giving me a curious look. Bastion, Atticus, Mister Muto, and Aster Phoenix were already in front of us. I quickly nodded and followed Jaden towards Kaiba Land.

We were running through the place when we saw big, yellow door opening next to us. "No, not this place!" Mister Muto exclaimed. I glanced at him in confusion. It sounded like he really didn't like seeing this part of the park…

"Why, what is it?" Jaden asked him. "Try reading the sign, dude." Aster Phoenix frowned.

I looked at the sign with a frown. "Computer-generated alternate reality?" I read with a raised eyebrow. The first time I heard of such thing, really… "And that is?" Jaden asked yet again, apparently not understanding it.

"It's Kaiba's Virtual World. If you kids go in, there's a chance you may never come out." Mister Muto explained. Shivers ran down my spine for a moment.

This was an amusement park, huh? What was the point of having an attraction where there was a chance someone could never come out? This thing would scare me away rather than attract me to the park if I were a kid! Whose crazy idea this thing was, I had to wonder… I also had to wonder why Sarina wanted us inside… Why would you wantto be there in the first place?!

"Well, my friends are in there, so I'm going in, danger or no danger." Jaden declared. "You two?" He then looked at Aster Phoenix and me. "You bet I am! My destiny's in there!" The professional duelist told him firmly.

My friend's brown eyes then landed on me. "Sarina wants me there as well for some reason. I have to go." I spoke up with a nod, trying not to think about the possibility of us not coming out of this crazy attraction. Whoever invented it was a damn idiot…

"Don't say I didn't warn you!" I could hear Mister Muto saying behind us as we went upstairs, right towards the entrance. Once I was by the door, I could hear Jaden telling Bastion, Mister Muto and Atticus to wait outside. "No complaints from me!" The older man declared.

I couldn't help smirking. Staying away from this place was the smartest idea, and he knew that…

Aster Phoenix walked inside. I looked at the entrance, suddenly trembling. Telling myself I had to go in was one thing, but actually entering was something else… The more I looked at it, the more I wanted to get out the fastest I could…

"Why aren't you going in?" Jaden looked at me, tilting his head a bit to right in confusion. "I… I…" I tried to say something and calm down. Unfortunately, that was impossible, since even more anxiousness and fear washed over me. Just looking at that door made me want to bolt out of here…

My friend looked at me from head to toe, observing my trembling form. "Do you want me to go in first?" He finally asked.

A brief feeling of relief washed over me. If he did go before me, then I'd be sure I wasn't alone… I had to go in there!

I quickly nodded. With a smile, Jaden grabbed my hand and started leading us inside the attraction.


The moment we entered it, there was a long corridor ahead of us. What surprised me was lack of light…

We followed Aster Phoenix. I was looking around the dark corridor. I couldn't help feeling even more nervous, especially when the light suddenly turned on…

The door at the end opened automatically. We walked through and right into a dark room. "Why is everything in the dark?" I questioned in a bit of annoyance, making Aster Phoenix and Jaden look at me for a moment.

"Hello! Anybody there?!" Jaden then called. That was when bright light started shining. I quickly covered my eyes, but then everything went black…


The first thing I could feel was my head throbbing. With a loud groan, I grabbed my head with both of my hands. The last thing I remembered was some bright light…

"So you're finally awake." A familiar, female voice spoke up. Just hearing it brought me immediate panic. Snapping my eyes open, I quickly leaned on my arms. I then looked up from my lying on the stomach position to see… Sarina.

She was standing right across. A calm look was on her face, and her dark purple eyes were looking straight at me. A Duel Disk was strapped to her left arm.

Slowly standing up, I took that chance to observe the woman more closely. The last time I saw her was more than a year ago. Even though time had passed since then, she still looked the same… There was no massive contrast in her appearance at all.

It both surprised and confused me a bit, since Sartorius looked so different compared to the last time… If it weren't for her previous smug smile, I could guess she was the same person from her appearance. Yet I didn't understand… Why did she look normal while her brother didn't?

Finally, I was on my feet. All the time, my eyes didn't leave Sarina. I was a bit afraid that she'd disappear if I looked away. Honestly, it wouldn't surprise me, since I wasn't aware of some things her powers could do until last night… She could really disappear for all I knew!

It was then I realized only she and I were here. Jaden and Aster Phoenix weren't with us… I quickly looked around, only to notice we were in some weird, digital space. Mirror walls were surrounding us.

"Where are Jaden and Aster?!" I demanded with a frown, turning my gaze back to Sarina. It was stupid of me to look away… But I had to see where we were right now!

"They're here for the reason they came, just like you." The woman responded calmly, closing her eyes. A frown appeared on my face.

That answer didn't explain anything… It made me even more confused!

My thoughts wandered over to the last time I heard from her. She had been as confusing as now…

"Sarina, it's really you!" I exclaimed in excitement. "You shouldn't have called me." The woman replied coldly over the phone.

I stopped breathing for a few moments, wondering where that came from. Sarina had never been so cold…

"Why?" I demanded. "Serena, I have no time to argue about this." She retorted. "Oh, but I do." I growled, feeling sudden anger at her pushing me away. "And you know what? I really don't understand why you and Sartorius keep pushing me away! What have I done to make you two avoid me?!" I started shouting.

"Enough, Serena." The woman replied in a warning tone. "No, I'm the one who should be saying that! If you two hate me and don't want to have anything to do with me, you can say it right here!" I continued shouting furiously.

That was when I heard a quiet, but audible gasp. My eyebrows furrowed in confusion, since I had no idea what was happening at the other end of line. "Serena, I don't have time for this. Do not call me, or Sartorius from now on." She warned. "Oh, yes, I will…" I started, only to find out she had already hung up.

While memories of that did bring up some anger, now, it brought more confusion.

Sarina and Sartorius have stopped being in contact with me since my first day at West Academy. When I did manage to finally get an answer, Sarina told me how I shouldn't have called her. She told me not to call her and Sartorius. If she was so willing to avoid talking to me, then why would she want me to come here now? She was acting as if that phone call had never happened… Something didn't add up.

The case with Sartorius was no better. First, he called to tell me I would be in danger, then he hung up, came back with his sect a year later and started threatening me… When put together, none of it made sense.

Insanity would have been a proper answer to all of this… But saying that felt wrong all of a sudden. My guts were telling me not to use that word until I knew for sure… There had to be a proper explanation for their actions! There had to be an explanation for such drastic change!

I looked at Sarina for a few moments. I had to ask in order to get some answers… I was still a bit afraid though. The last time I asked something, I was nearly assaulted by Sartorius… Was asking her a smart idea?

From what I could see, she looked like she wasn't ready to assault me for asking a question… Thankfully, she wasn't her brother!

"Care to explain what you and Sartorius are playing at?!" I finally demanded with a glare, taking a chance and praying she wasn't going to assault me.

Once I said those words, Sarina opened her eyes. "I don't know what you're taking about." She replied calmly. It didn't help her dark purple eyes were looking in my light blue ones… Yet, despite my nervousness, I could see it. It actually caught me by surprise once I realized it. Unlike Sartorius' cold eyes, her eyes were still warm and showed kindness…

Such a contrast between those two still astounded me. At that moment, I really wanted to know what had caused it…

I wasn't even sure what Sarina wanted from me, since she was obviously in contact with her brother… But now, I could tell she was still the same person from before. Her eyes showed me that, and it made me feel a bit at ease. Now, if only I could figure out why she was doing this…

"So, 'Society Of Light' doesn't ring a bell to you?" I raised an eyebrow, tilting my head and daring her to answer the question. "You're not here because of that." Sarina stated with a frown, suddenly putting hands behind her back and straightening up.

I was a bit confused by that action. I'd seen her do this a few times growing up. It usually happened when she was nervous about something… Sartorius had even said once he could tell something was wrong the moment she started doing that. I believed him, since that was his sister he was talking about.

That habit clearly indicated Sarina was nervous about something. It proved to me even more she was still the same like before. It also showed she was only acting like this for whatever damn reason she had. But what was it, and why?

"Then why am I here?" I demanded, looking up at the woman yet again. "You're here for a reason…" Sarina stated calmly, with hands still behind her back but a frown on her face.

I looked at her for a few moments. "How long are you going to keep up with this façade, Sarina?" I finally asked with a frown, folding my arms. "I don't understand what you're implying." She replied firmly. The look in her eyes told me completely opposite. There was this… Fear in them…

"Then why are you holding hands behind your back? Sartorius always asked you what was wrong the moment he saw you doing that." I quickly pointed out.

"Enough." She glared, quickly putting the left hand in front of her. Her right one, on the other hand, kept going through the pocket of her clothes. It looked like the hand in the pocket was trembling… I tilted my head to right perplexed.

I didn't understand what made her so nervous to the point of trembling… "Why?" I asked icily.

Finally, her hand seemed to have picked whatever was in the pocket. She then took out… A knife.

My eyes widened as soon as I saw it. My heart rate started going a bit faster in panic, since I'd already dreamt of knives in two of my dreams…

"What do you need that knife for?" I demanded angrily, just as she gripped it even more tightly. Sarina let out a sigh. It seemed like she was avoiding eye contact with me for a few seconds… Until she finally looked up. "To kill you." She said with a frown.

The moment she said that, I stopped breathing. My heart started beating at crazy speed. I couldn't believe what I had just heard, nor did I want to. Fear washed over me completely, and all of those sudden emotions resulted in me feeling like a complete mess…

"Kill me?" I repeated out loud, still not knowing what to think about this. One part of me sincerely hoped she was lying… And the other one was terrified. Every part of me was frozen. If what she said was true…

The woman nodded with a frown, her eyes looking directly into mine. "Kill you." She repeated. "Why?" I asked, feeling sadness, shock, and disbelief.

Sarina, the person who was like a mother figure to me, now wanted to kill me… It made me want to cry right there. The only bright side nowadays was finding Jaden and recovering some memories. My aunt was missing. Ben, Sartorius and Sarina were all against me for some reason, and it hurt… But hearing this statement from Sarina felt like a stab to chest, or a slap in face. What did I do to get all this?!

The woman stayed quiet, just looking at me. "Don't you think I at least deserve to know the reason?!" I finally screeched, feeling tears streaming down my cheeks. "What did I even do to deserve this?! You can say it right here!" I then continued screaming. By now, I was shaking uncontrollably.

But what infuriated me was Sarina's lack of answer. She was still frowning at me. "TELL ME!" I screeched angrily, and finally started sobbing.

"I've been ordered to do so!" She finally shouted with hands on her head. "Wh… Who… Who ordered you?!" I managed to scream through my sobs. "Sartorius." She replied, quickly looking away.

"Sartorius?" I repeated in astonishment. By now, I was feeling anger, sadness and shock at the same time. This felt like another stab…. When was the next one coming? They've been quite frequent ever since my cousin started hating me…

Sarina simply nodded, refusing to meet my eyes. "And why does he want you to kill me?" I demanded icily. She stayed quiet, much to my fury. "Why?!" I repeated. "I don't know!" Sarina shouted.

I could have sworn I've seen tears brimming in her eyes. However, I was too furious to care about it right now. I was so hurt at that moment…

One part of me wanted this madness to just stop. The other one kept telling me none of this made sense. The third one wanted to desperately know why. But the strongest one won out, the one that finally had it enough of all this harsh treatment.

"So you're going to kill me just because your brother told you so? Does his opinion matter to you more than someone else's life?" I demanded bitterly. "You don't understand!" She looked at me, tears threatening to start streaming down her cheeks as well. "If I don't, then he'll… He'll…" "He'll what?!" I didn't receive an answer to my demand.

Now, getting killed wasn't what I wanted. But, right now, I was feeling so much anger that I didn't care about anything else in the world. If Sarina thought Sartorius' desire to kill me (for whatever damn reason he had) was more important than my life (or any life in general), then I really didn't know what to think anymore. I wanted to show my fury, no matter what it took…

"Let's just get this over with." I finally growled. "What?" Sarina looked at me wide-eyed. "You said Sartorius had told you to kill me. If you're willing to listen to him at cost of my life, then why should I stop you?" I glared, standing up.

"Serena…" The woman started, now staring at me. However, I cut her off. "Just do it. At least you'll spare me from your, Ben's, and your brother's hurtful treatments." I retorted bitterly.

She stood up slowly, looking at the knife in her hand and me back and forth. "DO IT!" I shouted, spreading out my arms and closing my eyes in process.

I just stood there and waited for her to plunge the knife into me…

What I heard was something falling to the ground. However, for some reason, I didn't feel anything…

I opened my eyes slowly to see Sarina in front of me. The knife was lying far away from both of us. I looked back at her, my eyes widening in surprise.

"I… I can't do it…" She trailed off, looking at me and trying to brush off her tears. "Why? He told you to do so." I frowned. "That doesn't mean it's right!" She responded firmly. "Serena, please forgive me…" She finally fell to her knees. I could hear quiet sobs coming from her.

I'd never seen Sarina like that... I immediately felt guilt for causing her to be in that state. I went too far with my anger…

"Sarina, I'm so, so, sorry…" I ran to her and fell on my knees. "Why are you apologizing?" She looked at me in disbelief, calming down a bit. "I overreacted, and…" "No, you didn't. I told you I'd been ordered to kill you. It's only natural you reacted in such way." She looked at the floor.

At that moment, dark, purple light started glowing around the woman, and walls as well. I backed away in a bit of surprise. It stopped glowing after a few moments. By the time I looked up, mirror walls were gone as well.

"What was that about?" I asked Sarina in surprise. "They've just passed the test…" She trailed off in what seemed to be relief. "What test?" I was confused by now. However, I never got an answer because I could hear voices.

"Jay, wait up!" "Where are you going, Sarge?" That sounded like Syrus and Hassleberry. "Serena!" I then heard Jaden's voice calling me. "Over here!" I shouted.

No sooner than that, Jaden, Aster Phoenix, Hassleberry and Syrus came running to where we were. "You're here." Jaden let out a sigh of relief while looking at me. I opened my mouth to say 'yes' but was cut off.

"Both of you have passed the test." Sarina spoke up, looking up at Jaden and Aster Phoenix. At hearing that, the former grinned at the latter who simply nodded to him with a small smile. The woman's eyes briefly moved to me before looking at the ground.

"Now, I desperately need your help." She said. I looked at her curiously, while Jaden and Aster Phoenix had looks of surprise on their faces. "Help?" I repeated. "Yes," She briefly looked at me, then at the two guys. "But not for me… For my brother." By now, I was staring at her, not knowing what to think.

"You see, the outcome of my duel with you two is indisputable, gentlemen. He needs you both." I didn't understand what Sarina was talking about at all… Why would Sartorius need Jaden and Aster Phoenix? And why did he need help? I mean, I understood and knew he was acting different, but all of this was so confusing…

The woman looked up at two of them. "Promise me when I set you free, that you'll save Sartorius." She pleaded. "Save him?" I tilted my head to left, looking at Sarina and feeling even more confused.

So far, we were the ones who needed saving from his sect… What was she talking about?!

"From what?" Jaden asked. "From his own mind…" Sarina trailed off, this time looking at the ground. "It's not his fault. My brother is under the control of an evil force."

The moment she said that, it was like my mind stopped working. It was as if someone had hit or paralyzed me… I didn't know what to think. That statement was so sudden, and so unexpected… 'Under the control of an evil force', she said? Out of all things wrong with Sartorius, this was the last thing I expected to hear…

It sounded insane! The whole idea of an 'evil force' sounded like a complete nonsense! I literally would have accepted any other explanation…

'If that's nonsense, then Sartorius' and Sarina's abilities are nonsense too. Seeing Duel Monster Spirits is nonsense as well!' The other part of me pointed out seriously.

But I've seen their abilities, and those spirits myself…

"Ever since you've gone insane." I responded icily. "Insane?" Sartorius looked up from the cards in his left hand with a frown. "Serena, I'm not insane." He responded, completely catching me by surprise. "Then how do you explain your behavior up until now?" I spoke up and raised an eyebrow expectantly. "Let's move on, shall we? It's your turn." He ignored my question.

It was such a brief moment, yet I still remembered it. Back then, Sartorius sounded like a completely different person, the one I used to know. Even calling me by my name… It was something he hadn't done since the last time we had a 'decent' conversation.

Sarina wasn't a person to lie. Sartorius' sudden change in both appearance and personality made no sense either…

"Sure, he was never perfect… But when he told me about the Society Of Light, I knew something had to be wrong!" "What happened?" Jaden asked. "Wait, wait," I quickly stopped her, finally losing my patience. "Why did he order you to kill me?!" I frowned.

The moment I said that, all of the guys' eyes widened. By now, they were staring at both of us in shock. "He did what?!" Jaden demanded. His eyes were pretty much near to popping out of their sockets.

Sarina let out a sigh. "Sartorius ordered me to do two things here. The first one was to test you two, while the other one was to kill Serena." The guys were staring at the woman in shock yet again. I simply let out a sigh, grabbing one of my hair strands. I've already known what I was here for after all…

"But why?" Aster Phoenix spoke up with a frown. "I don't know…" She trailed off, looking at the floor. "But I couldn't do it." She then looked at me. "He wouldn't want to do that either." She told me firmly. I simply stared back, still not knowing what to think about the whole 'wanting to kill me' thing. I still didn't understand why he wanted it in the first place… Her last statement made everything even more confusing.

"Could you be a bit clearer?" I finally spoke up. "That would certainly make things easier." Hassleberry commented, with Jaden and Syrus nodding. Aster Phoenix stayed quiet, simply looking at the woman and me back and forth.

Sarina looked at them for a few moments. Finally, her eyes landed on me. "Do you remember the last time Sartorius called you?" She asked with a sigh. I frowned for a moment. Of course I remembered it…

"It was my first day at West Academy." I finally nodded. "Well, what did he tell you back then?" The woman looked at me. "He called me because he claimed I would be in great danger in the future. He also said it was unclear." I replied, folding my arms. "So that's what he told you…" Sarina trailed off with a sigh.

I raised an eyebrow in surprise. "You want to say he lied?" I demanded. "No," She shook her head. "He just twisted the truth a bit." She then looked at me. "What he had predicted that day was quite clear…" "What was it?" Aster Phoenix demanded with a raised eyebrow.

"That he would kill Serena." She told him, making Jaden, Syrus and Hassleberry gape at her. I felt like someone had just splashed me with a bucket of cold water. I was feeling even worse now…

"That's why he suggested to me," Sarina turned her attention back to me. "To try to cheat fate. He thought if we stopped any contact with you, that maybe we could prevent his prediction from happening."

My thoughts wandered back to last year, when I never managed to get Sarina and Sartorius on the line. "Was that why you never called me, nor answered to my calls?" I finally asked the woman, trying to let it sink in. She nodded. "It was only to try to protect you."

"Then why did you answer my call last year?" I demanded. "That was the day everything changed…" She sighed, this time looking at all of us. "A visitor came to Sartorius. Seeing he was a fortune-teller, that was nothing unusual. However, this one was different." She looked down for a moment. "It looked like Sartorius knew him from somewhere before. He was hesitant to let him in."

The rest of us exchanged glances of surprise.

"That was when you called…"

"That's her calling, isn't it?" Sarina asked with a sigh as she and Sartorius sat by the table in the room. The man looked at the phone with a frown before nodding. He quickly pressed a button, muting the call completely.

"Maybe you should have answered it… She's called us so many times by now." Sarina spoke up uncertainly. "I thought we agreed not to answer." The man looked up at her with a frown. "We did, but who knows what she might be thinking right now?" She pointed out. "I'm not willing to risk that much." Sartorius shook his head firmly, standing up from his chair.

Sarina stood up as well. "But brother, we could at least let her know everything is fine…" She walked up to him. "Sarina, I don't want to become a murderer." He frowned at her. "I know, but…"

Suddenly, knocking on the door could be heard. Both Sartorius and Sarina looked in that direction in a bit of surprise. "Is it another customer?" The latter asked. "Most probably." The former nodded and walked up to the door.

Sarina quickly walked to the table, taking the tray with cups of tea off it. "You…" She could hear her brother trailing off, just as she was about to leave the room through curtain door.

Her eyebrows furrowing in confusion and curiosity, Sarina walked towards the other door to see what was going on. Sartorius was standing by the door entrance, and staring at someone. The person wore a jacket, a scarf, and a hat on his head. The woman really couldn't tell who it was, nor why her brother was so surprised…

"Why should I?" Sartorius suddenly demanded. Sarina moved a bit closer, trying to hear what they were talking about. Unfortunately, she couldn't hear much, since both the man and her brother were talking quietly…

"Fine." He finally said after a few moments, letting the man in. Sarina hurried towards the curtain door and left the tray there.

"The stranger brought in a card with him. I could immediately feel its ominous aura…" Sarina continued. I kept listening, but feeling confusion at the same time. How come such aura could come out of a… Card?

That was when her phone started ringing. She looked at with a sigh, and accidentally answered it. Seeing it was Serena calling, she decided to keep the cold demeanor for her brother's sake.

A minute later, just as Serena continued her angry rant over the phone, Sarina looked through the curtain. By now, her brother and the customer were sitting by the table, right across each other.

"Why?" Sartorius finally asked. "It concerns this card." The stranger spoke up, taking the mentioned object out of his pocket. He put it on the table, pushing it towards the man in front of him. Sartorius' eyes were observing the man for a few moments, before finally landing on the card. There seemed to be some white light coming out of it.

Sensing the card's ominous aura, Sarina let out a quiet gasp. Sartorius, on the other hand, started staring at the card.

At that moment, Sarina quickly hung up and looked up from behind the curtain. "How… How peculiar." Her brother commented, narrowing his eyes. "Know anything about it?" The stranger spoke up. "No, I don't…" Sartorius replied, now looking at the card in confusion.

But then, the perplexed look on his face suddenly changed to a huge grin. Sarina felt a bit alarmed, since seeing such grin on her brother's face was uncharacteristic for him…

"Thank you very much." The stranger stood up and gave a polite bow. "No, thank you…" Sartorius stood up as well with the grin still on his face. He quickly grabbed the card with his left hand, and used the right one to shake the stranger's hand.

"I begged him to dispose of it, but he wouldn't listen. I was too late…"

As soon as the stranger was out, Sartorius walked back into the room. Sarina noticed he couldn't take his eyes off the card at all. It worried her, especially since the ominous aura could be felt around him as well by now…

"Brother, who was that man?" She finally asked, walking up to her older sibling. "Just an… Acquaintance…." He trailed off in what seemed to be amusement. Sarina couldn't understand what was so amusing to him…

At that moment, a phone started ringing. Sartorius took it off the table and answered the call immediately. "Yes?" "Sartorius, is everything alright?" Serena's wary voice asked over the line. "Who's on the line?" He questioned slowly.

"It's me, Serena." The girl replied, not trying to hide her annoyance. "Serena who?" "Serena Accardi." She growled. "And why did you call me?" Sartorius asked. "I called you so I could see if you and Sarina were alright." "Yes… Everything is perfectly fine…" He trailed off in amusement before hanging up.

He then continued looking at the card. Sarina looked at her brother in disbelief. Not only did he answer Serena's call (which he swore not to), but continued acting as if it was nothing… It was as if only that card mattered to him! By now, she was convinced he had done all that just because of the thing in his hands. That would also explain why the ominous aura around him kept getting stronger and stronger…

"Sartorius, please, throw the card away." The woman spoke up calmly. "Did you say something?" The man asked her in a bit of surprise, his back still turned to her. "I asked you to dispose of that card. I can sense ominous aura from it." She replied pleadingly.

Sartorius let out what seemed to be a weird chuckle. "Is that so?" He finally turned around to look at Sarina with an evil grin. "So you can feel that wonderful energy too…" He let out an evil laugh. Sarina backed away a bit with a gasp.

At that moment, Sartorius turned his back to her again. "Brother, please…" The woman pleaded, but it was too late. White light started glowing around the man's body. Then, the light erupted into flames, going right towards the ceiling…

"My brother's soul was split in two, and the Sartorius I knew was gone." Sarina finished with a frown. By now, I was staring at her, so were the others.

Once I got a bit to my senses, I tried to process everything. It was a lot to take in…

If I understood it correctly, the stranger came in and gave Sartorius a card, which was why he suddenly started acting so different… And that happened the day I called them… The day I had that bad feeling for an unknown reason.

Suddenly, everything started making sense. While the 'evil force' still seemed like a rather crazy idea, it fit in so perfectly, from their behavior that day, to what was happening now… For the first time, I felt like everything was a lot clearer. Even the dream from this morning fit in…

"But what was that card?" Jaden demanded. "A 'HERO' Monster, much like your own." Sarina replied, looking at two guys. Aster Phoenix even let out a gasp.

"It was extremely rare, perhaps even one of a kind…" "Does Sartorius still have it?" The professional duelist quickly asked. "No… After that force had possessed him, the card vanished." She explained with a sigh.

Finally, almost everything sunk in. At that moment, feelings of joy washed over me. That meant Sartorius never meant it when he treated me so harshly… Neither did Ben. It looked like he really was brainwashed, since his sudden personality change made no sense either… But he didn't really mean it!

'I told you so.' The other part of me pointed out in pure triumph. I should have listened to it…

"But Sarina, why didn't you say anything? Why didn't you call Aunt Maria or me?" I spoke up, asking about the unclear part of the whole thing. "I tried to," The woman looked at me. "But Sartorius told me that if I even thought of saying something, that he'd kill me, and anyone I said that to." A sad look appeared on her face.

Shivers ran down my spine immediately. That was horrible…

"That's why you had to kill me too, isn't it?" I asked in a quieter tone. "He told me if I didn't, that he'd kill me instead." She replied, this time looking at the ground.

I felt even worse. Threatening others was bad enough, but threatening his own sister… What was that force?!

Suddenly, everything started shaking uncontrollably. "What's that?!" I asked in panic, quickly standing up. "We're out of time… This world's programmed to self-destruct, you must leave at once!" Sarina explained hastily.

"But where's the exit?" Jaden asked. "Over there." She pointed at some sort of blue light not too far away from us. "Then let's get going." I quickly offered her a hand. "Syrus, Hassleberry, hurry!" Jaden shouted to the two guys. They wasted no time, racing towards the exit.

"Come on, guys!" The short guy shouted. "You three go," Sarina took my hand to help her up and then let go of it. "I'm staying." "Why?!" I demanded in shock. "This has been my plan all along… This program will release me into cyberspace, from there, I shall be able to watch over my brother." She replied.

And then, she started glowing with light and electricity… "That's nuts!" Jaden exclaimed while Aster Phoenix gasped.

"But Sarina, you disobeyed him! He threatened to kill you!" I reminded in panic. "I did," She briefly looked at me. "And if I have to suffer the consequences, then so be it. He already knows I disobeyed him." "But…" I was cut off. "I won't abandon my brother, no matter what becomes of me… I'm sure you understand why." She gave me a firm look.

I did understand… At that moment, I knew trying to convince her to come with us was futile. She and Sartorius have always been close, and she'd do anything for him…

"I do." I finally nodded. "Leave while you can, but please, promise me you'll save Sartorius… The fate of the universe rests with you…" Sarina then looked at Jaden and Aster Phoenix. "Yeah, but what are we supposed to do?" The former asked. "I wish I had the answer, but I'm afraid you two are on your own. Remember, you are the Chosen Duelists, so trust your instincts!" She told them.

She then looked at me. "Promise me you'll get out of the Academy." "I can't…" I trailed off in a bit of shock at the sudden demand. "Serena, he wants to kill you. You need to get out of there!" The woman frowned. "I can't, my parents won't let me, remember?!" I exclaimed.

It wasn't just that, even though it was true, they would never believe me… I didn't want to run. Sartorius, my cousin and others were in trouble. I couldn't leave. Not after everything I had just heard. Sartorius was willing to cut off every communication to protect me from his prediction coming true… Me running would be just wrong, cowardly, and heartless.

I may not have been 'a chosen duelist' like Jaden and Aster Phoenix, but I still wanted to help somehow! I owed it to both Sartorius and Sarina…

"Serena, Sartorius wouldn't want you to stay either." The woman told me seriously. "I don't care, I want to help!" I retorted. "He didn't do all this just so you could get killed!" She argued. I shook my head defiantly with a glare.

She wasn't going to convince me…

That was when something like explosion could be heard. "You need to leave!" Sarina looked away from me. "COME ON!" Syrus and Hassleberry shouted. At that moment, Sarina started disappearing. Her feet were already under the surface…

"Jaden, Aster, I'm counting on you two." She told them as she disappeared even further. "We promise!" Jaden said immediately, making her nod. Finally, her eyes landed on me. She gave me a pleading look. However, I shook my head firmly. A look of defeat appeared on her face for a moment before she completely disappeared.

The next thing I knew was that Jaden grabbed me by my left hand and pulled me towards the exit. The three of us started running to where Syrus and Hassleberry were. All five of us then jumped through the light…


I slowly opened my eyes and sat up. I looked around in surprise. It looked like the guys and I were lying in those things we had seen earlier… Except that they were wide open now.

I grabbed my throbbing head with a groan. "Is everyone alright?" "Looks like we're all intact…" Hassleberry replied to Jaden's question. "With some headache, but fine nonetheless." I muttered.

The others got out of those things, so did I. We walked outside of the attraction, to see Bastion, Atticus and Mister Muto sitting on stairs.

At that moment, while the others were talking, I could see four unknown guys walking out as well. They seemed to be in pain… But they were here, and that's what mattered.

My thoughts then went back to Sarina. I had just seen her again, and she disappeared… I knew she did it for best reasons, but it made me feel quite sad. My aunt was still missing. Ben and Sartorius weren't themselves, and now she was gone too… I was feeling slightly better, knowing they didn't mean to hurt me, but the situation was still dire.

"What are you thinking about?" Jaden asked, walking up to me. "Sarina…" I trailed off, brushing off brimming tears in my eyes. "She's probably sleeping somewhere inside." Aster told me, walking up to both of us.

"Then that means there has to be a way to save her. I'll talk to Seto Kaiba to see if we can do so." Mister Muto spoke up. "Thank you." I smiled at the older man, feeling a lot better after hearing those words. She may have been gone, but not forever… That was what mattered.

Aster's eyes landed on me. "But I don't understand why Sartorius ordered her to kill you if the prediction claimed he would do so…" He spoke up, just as the three of us were a bit away from others. "He had at least two chances of killing me at the Academy." I responded with a frown.

"What?" Jaden gaped while the professional duelist nodded. "When I was there, he assaulted and threatened you instead." "The first time was only a threat." I then added. "But why is he even trying to do that?" My friend then voiced his confusion. "Your guesses are as good as mine." I let out a sigh.

"As long as you stay away from him, I guess it will be fine." Aster commented. "Most probably. I'll do whatever I can to help you." I then told the two guys. Jaden nodded to me with a smile which I returned. "I won't let anything happen to you." Hearing those words made me even more relieved… Even though the rest of them was gone, I still had him… It brought me both comfort and joy. Aster, on the other hand, nodded with a frown.

That was when my PDA started ringing. I took it out curiously, so did the rest of the guys.

It looked like our trip was cut short for some reason… Crowler insisted we went to buses in front of our hotels now.

I felt a bit sad, since we've barely been here for a day… We didn't even get to see the rest of the things here!

"Too bad." I let out a sigh. "We'll be back," Jaden smiled. "We live only two hours away, remember?" He reminded. I smiled back, remembering it instantly. "Next time we come back; it will hopefully be under better circumstances." I pointed out, putting my right arm around his shoulders. "You bet it will." He grinned and put his left arm over my shoulders too.

Out of a corner of my eye, I could see Syrus and Hassleberry looking at us in confusion. Bastion and Atticus, on the other hand, chuckled at their reactions while Aster stayed quiet.

I briefly looked at the sky. I would do everything to help them get out of this mess, and save everyone… Until then, the most important thing was to stay positive. All of this wouldn't put discourage me. The idea of getting killed was frightening, but I wasn't going to give up.

Sarina decided to disobey her brother to spare my life... Sartorius decided to go that far with cutting off contact to protect me… They put everything on the risk. That only made me even more determined to help them, and others…


After thanking Mister Muto for everything, we made our way to the hotel. Atticus and Bastion decided to come along with us, since it didn't really make much of a difference anymore. There were less Obelisk Blue, Ra Yellow, and Slifer Red students than the Society Of Light after all…

I entered the bus to see Syrus sitting behind Jaden with a frown. Hassleberry sat next to him. "Here, Serena." He motioned towards the empty seat next to him with his hand. I walked to it with a smile and sat down. Atticus and Bastion then sat in front of us.

Finally, the bus started going towards the harbor. At that moment, I felt so tired from today's events… I just wanted to sleep.

Closing my eyes, I leaned on what I guessed was the seat… But it didn't feel like one. This felt a lot more comfortable for some reason…

I quickly opened my eyes to see I was leaning on Jaden's right shoulder instead. "Sorry." I quickly apologized, straightening up. "Chill out," He let out a laugh. "I didn't mind it back then, so why should I mind it now?" He pointed out.

My eyes widened slightly as I realized what he was referring to. Sometimes, when we were kids, Jaden would let me sleep with my head on his shoulder… I would let him do the same with my shoulder. Those sleeps were never long after all, it was more like closing your eyes for a brief moment of time…

"You don't mind?" I repeated, wanting to make sure. "Nope." He shook his head with a grin. "Then great." I grinned as well, putting my head on his right shoulder and closing my eyes. Resting like this was a lot more comfortable…

"What's that about, Sarge?" I could hear Hassleberry asking in surprise. "I'll… I'll explain to you later." Jaden responded with a chuckle.

I soon found myself drifting off to sleep…

Third Person's POV

All buses were riding towards the Domino City harbor. Inside one of them was Sartorius, sitting at its back. Right now, the man was angry, since he knew his sister had failed to do one of two tasks, he ordered her.

At that moment, the bus of Slifer Red dorm passed by. For a brief moment, Sartorius could see Jaden looking through the window. Serena was sleeping next to him, with her head on his shoulder.

Then, another vehicle passed, revealing Aster inside it.

"Both of them?" Sartorius gasped in astonishment, realizing what that meant. Not only did Sarina disobey him, she had also been defeated…

Putting his hands together, the man looked at the floor of the bus. White light started glowing around him. The force of it was so strong, that it was threatening to break glass of the windows on the bus… Some students even gasped in surprise. Ben was among them, sitting right next to Chazz. They looked at each other shocked, before looking towards the back of the bus.

"Jaden, Aster, Serena…" Sartorius trailed off sinisterly, looking up. "You three are first…" And then, he started laughing…

Well, finally done! One of chapters I've been looking forward to writing for quite some time now… Hopefully, some things are a bit clearer! ;)

Anyway, I hope you liked it, and until next time! :)