For what seemed like eternity, Jeffrey couldn't stop thinking about Alexis. He day dreamed in all his class and couldn't focus in any of his work. He couldn't stop staring at Alexis just as she couldn't stare back.
"Man what is it with you?" Chazz said as he tried to do his homework. "For the past few days you've done nothing but day dream!"
"Uhuh…" Jeffrey said tonelessly as he scribbled flowers and hearts all over his homework.
"You know, if you don't study, you'll do horribly on the exams!" Syrus said.
"Relax, we still have time. We still have like months to get ready for it." Jaden said casually as he read a book titled 'Idiots' guide to Advanced Duel Tactics'.
"Yeah…" Jeffrey said just as toneless as the last as he began to scribble Alexis' name all over his homework.
"Hey! Let me see that!" Chumley said as he scanned through Jeffrey's paper and quickly realized what had happened. "Oh… I get it… Jeffrey likes Alexis! Jeffrey likes Alexis!"
"Say what?" Syrus said as he too realized after a glance at Jeffrey's paper then passed it on to Jaden then Chazz.
"Hey! Give that back!" Jeffrey said as he snatched back his paper. "… Oh crud, did I really write this?"
"In bold English my friend…" Chazz said as he too couldn't help but to laugh.
"Screw this, I'm going to sleep…" Jeffrey said as he slumped on his bed.
"Don't worry, we won't tell anyone." Jaden said.
"Yeah, us Slifers' lips are sealed." Syrus said but Jeffrey had already begun to snore…
Then later that night, Alexis had gone off to into the woods and approached an old looking dorm with a rose.
"Brother… Where are you?" Alexis said sadly as she placed the rose on the ground…
"Where you're going, that won't matter…" said a voice.
At last it was Friday, and classes were over…
"Hm… I wonder where Alexis is?" Jeffrey said as he continued to wait.
He continued to watch the shore as the tides continued to reverse and recede. Soon enough it was Dusk…
"… Where is she?" Jeffrey said. "She must've forgotten, I guess I'll go back to the dorms…"
As he walked to his dorm, his head was filled with questions, why didn't Alexis show up? Was she just playing games with him?
"Hey guys! I'm back!" Jeffrey said as he removed his shoes in the door step.
"So how was it?" Chumley said.
"Well, I wouldn't know, she didn't show up…" Jeffrey said.
"That's weird, that's not like Alexis to bail out just like that." Jaden said as he was soon in deep thoughts.
"Hm… Now that you mentioned it, she wasn't in class today." Chazz said.
Then, Jeffrey's PDA suddenly rang…
"We have someone who's precious to you… If you want her back, then come to the Abandoned Dorm right now. And bring your Duel Disk and your Deck. Or else, the shadows will feast on her soul tonight…" it said as it died out.
"We've got to save her!" Jeffrey said as he grabbed his Deck and Duel Disk. "Guys, get help, I'll see if I can try to save her!"
Then with that, Jeffrey ran off to the abandoned dorm while Jaden and Syrus went to Professor Banner and Chazz and Chumley went to Chancellor Shepard.
'Just hold on Alexis, I'll be there as soon as I can!' Jeffrey thought as he desperately ran through the forest and found the Abandoned Dorm.
Then, his PDA went off again.
"Good, I see that you're here, enter the Dorm if you want to rescue her." The voice said as Jeffrey charged into the door and rammed it open. "Go down the stairs in front of you and you'll find me."
Then, he ran down stairs only to find Alexis helpless in a coffin, and standing next to her was a man heavily cloaked in a black trench coat.
"Welcome… To your final Duel…" the man said.
"Who are you! And what have you done to Alexis!" Jeffrey shouted.
"My name? Well, you can call me Shadow Duelist… Sometime before, I was banished to the Shadow Realm by that accursed brat Jaden." He explained. "I have been given another chance by the Shadows. When I defeat you, then I'll be freed of this and you'll take my place!"
"Fine, but if I beat you, then you go back to this Shadow Realm!" Jeffrey said as he activated his Duel Disk.
"Duel!" the said at once.
Shadow Duelist – 4000 LP
Jeffrey – 4000 LP
"Now, let's play in the Shadow Realm!" he said.
Then, both Duelists were engulfed with darkness as a dark dome covered them out sight.
"Now where were we? Oh yes, in the Duel…" the Shadow Duelist said as he drew his card and smiled. "First I play the Field Spell, Pandemonium!"
Then, right before their very eyes, the darkness was replaced by an arena littered with skulls, as it hinted despair every second that they spent on it.
"Next, I summon Infernal Queen Archfiend (900/1500)!" the Shadow Duelist declared as a fiendish queen appeared before him! "Normally, I have to pay Life Points to keep her on the field but Pandemonium changes that! Now, I play her effect! By simply being on the field, all Archfiend creatures gain 1000 attack points, and that includes my Infernal Queen! I end my turn for now…"
"My turn!" Jeffrey said as he drew his card. "I set one card face down and one monster in defense mode, your move!"
"Very well…" he said as he drew his card. "Next, I play Pot of Greed! This card allows me to draw 2 new cards! Next I summon Shadow Knight Archfiend (2000/1600)!"
Then, a fiendish Knight wielding a blood-stained sword appeared ready for battle!
"Don't forget my Infernal Queen's special ability to raise his attack points by 1000!" the Shadow Duelist said as the fiendish knight had gotten bigger in size and attack! "Now, Infernal Queen, attack his face down monster!"
When the Queen charged in to attack, the Skilled White Magician (1700/1900) was revealed and cancelled out her attack.
'Whew… That saved his Life Points, but that won't be enough to save my Magician!' Jeffrey thought.
"No matter, Shadow Knight, attack his Skilled White Magician!" he declared as the Knight sliced the Magician and shattered it into a million pieces. "Your move…"
"Fine!" Jeffrey said as he drew his card and grinned. "Nice! I summon Silent Magician LV 4 (1000/1000)!"
Then, the short Mage clad in white appeared before him.
"Hahahaha! Do you think that thing can defeat my Archfiends!" the Shadow Duelist gloated.
"Not right now he won't but when I force you to draw cards, he'll gain 500 attack points for every card that you draw and I have the card to do it. I play Card Destruction! This forces us to discard our hands and draw new cards equal to how many we discarded." Jeffrey said as they both discarded and re-drew their hands. "Now that you've drawn 5 cards, I'm allowed to use her effect to sacrifice her along with the 5 spell counters on her to summon Silent Magician LV 8 (3500/1000)!"
Then, the short mage vanished into the wind and was replaced by it's taller and more powerful self.
"Now Silent Magician, attack his Infernal Queen!" Jeffrey declared as the Silent Mage blasted the fiendish queen in one attack! "Now that she's gone, the power boost on your Shadow Knight is too."
"I'll get you for that…" the Shadow Duelist said as the Shadow Knight's attack dropped significantly.
"I'll set one card face down and end my turn." Jeffrey said.
Jeffrey – 4000 LP
Shadow Duelist – 2800 LP
"My turn!" he said as he drew. "You made a mistake by playing Card Destruction because I discarded my Archfiend of Gilfer. And now that it's in the graveyard, I'm allowed to use it's special effect to reduce your mage's attack by 500!"
Then, the Silent Mage felt weaker and weaker as it's attack meter dropped!
"Next, I sacrifice my Shadow Knight Archfiend to summon my Skull Archfiend of Lightning (2500/1200)!" the Shadow Duelist declared as the fiendish knight was replaced by a demon charged with electricity! "Then I play the equip spell card: Axe of Despair! You see this enhances my Skull Archfiend's attack by 1000 points! Next, I pay 800 Life Points to play Premature Burial! You see now I'm able to summon another creature from my graveyard, and I choose Terror King Archfiend (2000/1500)!"
Then, a fiendish creature emerged from the ground reading its blade for battle!
"Now Skull Archfiend, attack Silent Magician!" he shouted as the horned demon charged it's electric bolts and fired it at the Silent Magician and obliterated her! "I'm not done yet, now Terror King Archfiend, attack his Life Points directly!"
Then, the Terror King dashed and sliced Jeffrey, reducing him not only to his knees but his Life Points as well.
"Gah!" Jeffrey shouted as he clutched to his ribs trying to ease the pain. "So, this is what it's like to be in a Shadow Game…"
"Hahahaha! You're almost through! Go ahead and make your last move!" the Shadow Duelist taunted.
Jeffrey – 1500 LP
Shadow Duelist – 1600 LP
"Fine!" Jeffrey said as he drew a card and grinned. "This turn is all I'll need to finish you…"
"If you're trying to pull my leg, then you're wasting my time…" the Shadow Duelist said. "You're not getting past the power of my dark Archfiends!"
"Yes I will, and I'll show you!" Jeffrey said. "You see I had a reason for playing Card Destruction, I had something in my hand that needed to go to the graveyard to summon the monster that I just drew... Now I remove my Dark Blade and Silent Magician LV 4 from play to summon Black Luster Soldier – Envoy of the Beginning (3000/2500)!"
Then, his Dark Blade and Silent Magician were sucked into a portal and was replaced by a powerful Soldier with his shield and sword ready for battle.
"Now, I'm aware that your Archfiends are more powerful so I'm not letting my Soldier fight with out my Mage Power card!" Jeffrey declared as his soldier's attack was increased by 1000! "You see for every spell or trap on the field I have Mage Power enhances my monster's attack points by 500 and it so happens that I have two…"
"No! Please! Have mercy on me!" the Shadow Duelist pleaded.
"No, you've harmed my friend and now you'll pay the price!" Jeffrey said. "Black Luster Soldier, attack Skull Archfiend!"
Then with one blow, the Skull Archfiend was reduced to nothing.
"Now I'll deliver the final blow with my Soldier's effect to attack once more if it destroys another monster! Now, Black Luster Soldier! Attack Terror King Archfiend and end this Duel!" Jeffrey declared as the Envoy of the Beginning sliced the Terror King and obliterated him and what's left of the Shadow Duelist's Life Points!
Jeffrey – 1600 LP
Shadow Duelist – 0 LP
"Nooooo!" the Shadow Duelist cried as little gray monsters appeared from the dark and devoured him.
Then, the Shadow Duel was over, the dome that surrounded him had vanished.
"Alexis!" Jeffrey shouted as he busted the coffin open and took her out. "Alexis! Alexis!"
"Uh… Where am I?" she moaned as everything came back to her.
"You're okay now…" Jeffrey said as he wrapped his arms around her.
"It's you… Thank You…" Alexis said as she too wrapped her arms around him.
"Jeffrey!" a familiar voice shouted.
"You're here!" Jeffrey said as his friends along with Prof. Banner and Chancellor Shepard.
"Are you okay Alexis?" Prof. Banner said as he and Jeffrey helped Alexis on her feet. "What happened?"
"All I remember was some guy grabbing me and it was all woozy…" Alexis explained.
"A man who called himself the 'Shadow Duelist' took her and apparently challenged me to a duel." Jeffrey explained. "But, I think that was more than just a duel… I could feel the pain of his monster's attacks. I don't think it was just a mere hologram, I think it was something else…"
"A Shadow Game!" Prof. Banner cried.
"Yeah! That's what he called it, a Shadow Game!" Jeffrey said. "He said he was trapped in this place called the Shadow Realm because Jaden defeated him awhile back…"
"Now that you mentioned it, there was this guy who used an Archfiend deck and challenged me to a duel in this dorm." Jaden recalled.
"Yeah! He was using an Archfiend deck too!" Jeffrey said as he put two and two together. "I think that I dueled the very same person that you did, Jaden!"
"Well, let's talk in my office, this place gives me the chills!" Chancellor Shepard said as they all left.
Moments after they left, someone came into the dorm and picked up the Shadow Duelist's Duel Disk and removed it's cards…
"With these cards… I'll finally beat you Jeffrey!" he said as he darted through the door…