Alexis stood silently near the edge of the lake near the Obelisk Blue girls' dorm. Normally, the area had a calming effect on her whenever she came here by herself. But today, her thoughts were too chaotic for her to feel any sense of relaxation. She still couldn't believe everything that had transpired at the Academy while she had been "absent", for lack of a better word. Just yesterday, she had been freed from the control of the Light of Destruction that had taken over her mind after she had lost a duel to Chazz (who had also been under the light's control until recently). After Jaden had defeated her yesterday in a duel, it was like waking up from a long sleep. But she was shocked to find out that it had been longer than she had initially thought… Last year had been bad enough during her first year at Duel Academy with the whole mess with the Shadow Riders and the Sacred Beast cards endangering the world. And the revelation about how her brother had gone missing was already more than enough for her. But now it felt like things were spiralling even further out of her control...

Begin Flashback:

"Alexis, how are you feeling now that you're back to normal? Any headaches or dizziness at all?" Jaden asked concernedly.

"Nope, I feel fine. I wish I could remember what I had been doing, though… Since I was in the Society, then I must have heard some inside information that could have been useful for us to have." Alexis said thoughtfully.

"Yeah, I guess that would have been nice. But more than anything else, I'm just glad that you and Chazz are back to normal now. Those duels were some of the toughest I've ever had. For awhile there, I wasn't sure if I could ever get through to you guys, to be honest. But now I feel like we're one step closer to putting an end to all of this. This gave me even more hope for that." Jaden admitted.

Alexis smiled gently at Jaden's words. She loved how he was always so optimistic. If only she could feel surer of her own abilities right now…

Trying to push away the gnawing sense of uneasiness she felt, Alexis decided to change the subject. "Speaking of tough things, I really need to get back to studying for that field choice test if I hope to have any shot at getting extra credit for the practical exam!" She said with a smile.

For a moment, Jaden looked surprised at Alexis' words. Then, realization must have dawned on him because he changed his expression. Suddenly, he looked uncomfortable.

"Um, Lex? We already had the field choice test a long time ago…" Jaden said quietly. There was pity in his gaze.

"Wait…really? But I thought there was still another week until then. Just how long has it been since I was…not here? What date is it?" Alexis asked with growing dread.

"Well… We still got a little time until the end of the school year, but it'll be June pretty soon." Jaden answered as he showed Alexis the date on his PDA.

"J-June!? But that can't be right! It wasn't even November yet! How have I been out of it for practically a year!? No, what have I been doing all this time!? I can't remember anything!" Alexis said in horror. The full implications of the situation were just now starting to hit her.

"I'm sorry, Alexis… I wish there was more I could say to help you feel better. But I can't really tell you much aside from that you were working directly for Sartorius a lot. It seems like Chazz can't remember anything either." Jaden said apologetically.

"I'm sorry, Jaden. I didn't mean to yell at you like that. I just can't believe this…" Alexis said in a subdued tone.

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, I heard that they're going to cancel final exams this year." Jaden said with a weak smile.

All Alexis could do was return Jaden's smile half-heartedly. Sure, not having to deal with as much schoolwork was a plus. But that didn't make up for the time that she had lost…

End Flashback

No matter how she looked at it, Alexis couldn't deny it: almost a year of her life had been taken away from her. A year of not just missed opportunities, but also of not knowing just what she had been doing or what she was like as a person. Had the Light's influence changed her personality? What if she had done or said things to hurt people? The not knowing was driving her crazy.

Alexis wondered if anyone else could relate to what she was feeling right now. So far, Chazz was the only other student she knew of who had been released from the Society of Light's hold. Talking to him might be a good idea if she wanted someone to relate to about this. But at the same time, Alexis was wary of doing this. She had already embarrassed herself enough in front of Jaden, so she didn't want anyone else to see her getting so upset over this. And what if Chazz simply didn't want any reminders of what had happened to him? After all, he had conquered his own past demons by going to North Academy and returning as someone who didn't let others' opinions, or the shadow of his older brothers affect him anymore.

The more she went over everything in her mind, the more Alexis felt like she was at a loss about how to move forward from this. It wasn't just about the time she had lost. For Alexis, duels had always been her focus, her drive that kept her going while she was here. Being a duelist had always made her feel more motivated to work harder in life. When she had first come to Duel Academy to find her brother, it had been a source of familiarity and hope for her. Especially seeing how much Jaden had been able to change things through dueling by believing in his cards and not giving up. But for herself, Alexis felt as if that mindset was starting to change. She had never felt so powerless before when she had lost a shadow game and been unable to save Atticus. She had had to rely on Jaden to save not only him, but herself as well. Duels could have terrible consequences and losing to Chazz and becoming brainwashed by the light from it had reminded her of that again. Just how much could she trust her own abilities when the stakes just seemed to keep getting higher? It felt as if everything that Alexis loved about dueling in the first place had been sucked away, replaced with much darker feelings instead. All she knew of for sure was that she had to find some way out of this mess and learn to trust her instincts again. She just had no idea where to begin…

AN: Hey! I'm back with another Rareshipping story! I know I already got way too many stories to finish as it is, but I had this idea for awhile and I really want to write it. I WILL finish all my stories someday, I swear! Anyway, the idea for the plot of this mostly came from The Obelisk Queen and the Prince of the Pro Leagues. But technically, they aren't in the same universe since some things are different. I have always thought that the anime never properly explored the aftereffects of the Society of Light's possession on the characters. It was like Alexis (and Chazz) just went right back to normal after losing to Jaden and never really questioned anything about what might have happened to themselves while they were under the Light's control. So, this fic will be my chance to explore that a bit more. Leave your thoughts here in reviews if you can (politely, though). Alexis will meet Aster in the next chapter. I'm trying to make these chapters shorter if I can so I can have an easier time working on them. Also, I'm going to be switching back and forth between Alexis' and Aster's POVs in each chapter.

BTW, if it hasn't been updated already by the time you read this, Fatal Three is next and I have finished a lot of the chapter for those of you who are waiting for it since I know one person mentioned it to me.