A Reason To Win
It was a dark night, with storm clouds hovering above Duel Academy. Thunder boomed, and the sky rumbled. Because it was late, many people were asleep. However, one person was still awake: Alexis Rhodes. The blonde Obelisk girl was sitting on a chair in the infirmary, watching over her brother who was still bedridden. 'Only two shadow duelists are left. And victory finally seems near.' As she thought about that, she was feeling sad. "But it would so much more if my brother were here with me. His body and his mind. Like it used to be...'
Flashback
A younger Alexis, dressed in a school uniform, was sitting under a tree and looked over some cards.
"Alexis... Alexis..."
As she heard the voice calling out to her, she looked up and saw her brother coming around the tree. And just like her, Atticus was wearing a school uniform.
"Atty!" Alexis said, happy to see him.
"Watcha got the, squirt?" Atticus asked, sitting next to her. He took some cards from her and looked at them. "Hey, some tough cards. But dueling's about more than power."
"What?" Alexis looked away sheepishly "What do you mean, bro?" As she asked that, a leaf fell from the tree and landed on top of her head.
Which Atticus noticed and plucked it. "What I mean is that you need a good purpose for dueling. A reason. That's what really matters in a match."
"Yeah, okay." She smiled again.
"One day you'll be a great duelist, sis!"
Alexis was thinking deeply about the past, until a mysterious voice spoke up.
"You miss him, but there is a way to get him back."
"Who is that?" She wondered as she noticed a wisp of dark flames hovering in mid-air.
"Come with me, and I'll give Atticus back all his memories, if you can defeat me in a duel, that is. At the place where me first met: The Abandoned Dorm." Alexis stared at the wisp that expanded until it became a portal leading to that dreadful place. And as she did, her eyes became blank. Afterwards, a tall, familiar figure, wearing a black trench coat, a circular hat, and a mask appeared right behind Alexis and wrapped both his arms around her.
Atticus suddenly woke up and saw the intruder take her away before the portal closed itself and vanished. "W-what's going on? Who was that?"
Meanwhile, Jaden, Syrus and Chumley were sleeping peacefully. However...
"Coo." Jaden slowly woke up as he heard Winged Kuriboh hooting next to him.
"No wake... must sleep more..." He muttered tiredly. But that didn't stop there as he suddenly heard someone insistently knock the door, which of course woke Syrus and Chumley up.
"Okay already." Chumley complained as he approached the door. "I'm coming already!" He then opened the door... to find a pale ghoulish face staring at him. "AAAH! Stay back!" He screamed in fright.
"What's with you?" Syrus asked, as he recognized the ghoulish face... who apparently was Chazz, who was dressed in his black uniform. And since he couldn't see duel spirits, he never saw the five Ojamas hovering over Chazz's shoulders.
"No sleep, because of the news I just heard." He said grumpily.
"What is it?" Jaden asked curiously.
At the same time, over at the Ra Yellow dorm, Andrew was sleeping in his room. And then...
"Andrew!"
"Hmm..." He moaned as he woke up. He looked and saw Phantom Magician and Wynn. "What is it?" He asked while rubbing his right eye.
"Andrew, something bad is going on!" Phantom Magician said.
That got his full attention. "Really? What?"
"We're not entirely sure." The Wind Charmer replied worriedly. "But just a moment ago, we sensed something sinister nearby."
Before Andrew could ask them further, he heard a loud knocking from his door. "Andrew! Andrew, wake up!" Someone called out.
"Shiori?" The Masked HERO duelist asked as he recognized the voice. He ran over to the door and opened it. And the person who knocked it was Shiori indeed. "What is it?"
"I just received a message from Michael!" He said seriously. "Alexis is gone!"
"What!?"
And so, after they quickly changed to their uniforms, Andrew and Shiori ran to the main building. On the way, they were joined by Jaden, Syrus, Chumley and Chazz and they all followed their duel spirits. (Not that all of them could see them)
As they ran through the hallway, they were about to reach the infirmary, when a flash of lightning illuminated the place, revealing four people standing in front of the door: Jenny, Michael, Zane and Crowler.
"So?" Jaden urged.
"There's no sign." Zane replied. "It's like she just disappeared."
"I don't know what happened?" Jenny said, a frown on her face. "I came over here to check on her since I knew she was watching over Atticus. But when I arrived, Alexis was gone."
"I don't understand, it's not like Alexis to just up and vanish." Crowler said.
"Maybe Atticus knows?" Michael suggested.
At that, they all walked in...
"Atticus!"
Only to find the older Rhodes laying on the floor, like he fell off the bed.
"Dear me." Crowler muttered in shock.
"Are you okay?" Andrew asked as he and Zane helped him up and sat him on the bed.
"What happened here?" Zane asked.
"It was... him..." Atticus replied weakly. "T-Titan."
"It was Titan?" Jaden said, a puzzled look on his face. "Who is Titan?"
"Talk to us." Zane urged him.
While the rest of the gang was focused on Atticus, Crowler was sweating a lot with an anxious look on his face. 'Titan!? That's the name the shadow duelist wanted me to make the check out to when I hired him to scare off Jaden! And I never paid him!'
Alexis finally woke up from her trance and looked around at the new place she herself in. It was the stone chamber found underneath the Abandoned Dorm. The same place where she was held captive by the shadow duelist who came after Jaden months ago. She then noticed the man in question standing at the opposite ned of the chamber, and he was as tall and dark-looking as he was the last time they met. The only thing different about him was a millennium eye symbol that was on the forehead of his mask.
"Alright, so we duel." Alexis said, with a determined look on her face. "And if I win, you restore my brother's memory. That's the deal!"
"Your end of it at least." Titan replied. "But if I win, I get something too. Your spirit key and your soul, to take back with me to the Shadow Realm. You see dear, when you and I first met, I was but a charlatan of the shadows. However, since being taken in by them, I am now the real deal..." He kicked a duel disk, making it skid all the way to Alexis' side of the chamber. "An authentic Shadow Rider. Let us begin!" He declared and activated his custom made duel disk.
"There they are!" Syrus said as he and the others arrived onto the scene, Atticus being supported by Jaden and Andrew.
"They're gonna duel." Chumley pointed out as the two duelists squared off.
"Alexis, we're here for you! Now beat this creep!" Jenny called out to her friend.
"Aah. Then this isn't about collecting that check." Crowler muttered.
"What check?" Chazz asked, having picked up on the last word. "What does that mean?"
Crowler smiled nervously. "Oh, nothing."
As Alexis put her duel disk on, she glanced off to the side, straight to her brother. 'Alright Atticus. This one's for you.' She thought as she inserted her deck into her duel disk and activated it. 'I'm gonna win you your memory back here and now.' She then focused on her opponent with determination in her eyes.
"Let's duel!"
Alexis: 4000
Titan: 4000
"Ready yourself for the shadows!" Titan said and drew his sixth card. "I summon Picador Fiend in attack mode!" A skeletal winged fiend with a masked face rose up on the field, a monstrous head on each shoulder and riding a horned skeleton mount. (ATK: 1600 DEF: 1200 LV: 4) "Then I'll place one facedown and end my turn." He concluded as a card appeared at his feet.
"But not your troubles." Alexis stated and drew a card. "I summon Cyber Tutu." The petite, pink-haired ballerina appeared and made a spin. (ATK: 1000 DEF: 800 LV: 3)
"I thought we were dueling, not playing dollies." Titan taunted.
"Yeah? Well this so called dollie is about to play havoc with your life points."
Titan chuckled darkly. "It's true, she does have outmatched. You'll beat my monster easily." He smirked to himself. 'That is if I didn't have a facedown on the field that'll activate and destroy that Cyber Tutu as soon as she attacks with her.'
'Something's not right...' Alexis thought, feeling that Titan is hiding something. And then, it dawned on her. 'His facedown!' At that, she took a spell card from her. "I play Allegro Toile!" The spell shattered into pixels, which the were absorbed into Cyber Tutu's shoes, causing them to glow pink. "It gives my ballerina a little extra kick by destroying one trap or spell card on the field!" At that, Cyber Tutu spun herself in place. And when she reached a certain speed, she rose one of her legs, and sent a knife with wings that shattered Titan's facedown card.
"No!"
"Now, Cyber Tutu! Take the lead! This dance, and this duel, too! Because Cyber Tutu can attack you directly!" The petite dancer dashed forward and spun herself before landing a hard kick in Titan's jaw.
Titan: 4000-3000
"Next I place a facedown and end my turn." Alexis concluded as she inserted a card into her duel disk.
"Hey, Alexis is winning!" Syrus remarked.
"It's true." Zane agreed. "So far, her resolve to win for Atticus is proving stronger than Titan's shadow creatures."
"Well, we'll just see about that!" Titan replied and drew his next card. "Picador Fiend, attack Cyber Tutu!" At his command, one of the extra heads on the fiend's shoulders opened its mouth and fired a beam of green energy.
"Sorry! Go, Doble Passe!" Alexis interrupted and revealed her trap card. "So now..." The energy beam diverted from Cyber Tutu. "I take the attack!" And cut through her chest, making her wince in pain. And that made most of the gang to gasp at her move.
Alexis: 4000-2400
"So why'd I do it?" Alexis asked rhetorically after recovering. "Because now you have to take a direct hit from Cyber Tutu!"
"What the...!?" Titan was definitely expecting this.
"Go, Pounding Pirouette!" Once again, the petite dancer dashed forward, spun herself, and landed a hard kick in Titan's jaw.
Titan: 3000-2000
"Alright! You show him, Alexis!" Jaden cheered. "She's kicking butt!"
"It's a long duel, Jaden." Zane pointed out. "Don't start celebrating yet."
"Hmph." Chazz nodded in agreement. "Yeah, just what are you trying to do? Jinx her or something?"
"Sorry."
"Just keep up going, Alexis!" Jenny called out to her friend, ignoring the others.
As Titan began his turn, Alexis was thinking about her strategies. 'Okay, so far so good. I just need to give him a few more of those combo attacks and...' Her train of thought was interrupted by Titan's laughter. "Now what?"
"That can't be good." Andrew muttered.
"Oh, I'm just remembering our first encounter." Titan replied. "My, how the tables have turned."
"Yeah, you got that right." Alexis said, feeling confident in her soon-to-be victory. "Now I'm not just some victim that got kidnapped stuffed in a coffin. Now I can fight back!"
"No dear." Titan smirked.
"Huh?"
"I mean... before you were the bait luring the prey to me. But now you're the one who's my quarry. My target. And now dear, I'm going to treat you as such!" With that declaration, Titan held up a spell card. I play Ritual of the Matador! And next..." He held up a monster card. "I sacrifice the level 6 Summoned Skull in order to summon Matador Fiend!" As his monster card vanished, a blob of orange slime appeared on the field, taking on a humanoid form with wicked dark armor, claws and red leathery wing flaps under its arms. (ATK: 0 DEF: 0 LV: 6)
"A monster with 0 attack and defense points?" Alexis noted. "Something tells me there more to him than meets the eye."
"Any idea what that thing does, Shiori?" Michael asked.
"I'm sorry, but that ritual monster is new to me." The ritual duelist replied with a frown.
"Oh there is." Titan replied, ignoring the comments from the others. "So keep a sharp look out. Though that may be difficult after I play this. Difficult for you that is. Not for me." A magic glow emanated from his mask as he took a card from his hand and placed it in his field spell zone. "I activate Dark Arena!" And just a couple seconds later, the entire field completely covered in a thick veil of darkness and shadows.
"The field! I can't see!" Alexis cried, looking from side to side. She looked to face her opponent, but frowned that his side of the field was completely hidden. 'How can I fight if I can't make out my enemies?'
"Your move." Titan said before laughing from the darkness.
Meanwhile, everyone watching the duel couldn't see through the dark dome.
"What happened?" Zane questioned.
"I can't see anything in there." Syrus whined.
"I hope Alexis is okay." Jenny said worriedly.
"Someone should go in there." Crowler suggested. "Someone other than me, of course."
Atticus narrowed his eyes, worried about his dear younger sister.
Grilled cheese." Chumley muttered, clearly frightened by this turn of events. "I'm eating grilled cheese. A big melted triple decker of it."
"Jaden, you took this guy on in a duel before." Chazz spoke up, turning to the brown-haired Slifer. "Tell Alexis how to get out of this jam."
As Jaden replied, his medallion and Andrew's armlet began to glow. "Wish I could, but something tells me he's different now. The guy I dueled was a sham."
"I concur." Crowler said. "I don't know why I ever hired him."
"Huh?" Everyone turned to him at this.
"Ack! Why'd I say that out loud!?"
"Point is... this time his powers are real." Jaden said, focusing on the dome again.
"Looks like the only thing we can do is to hope that Alexis can win this duel." Andrew added.
Back inside the shadowy dome, Alexis had trouble to see anything outside because of the total darkness. There was even a thick, murky darkness that surrounded Titan and his monsters. 'With this Dark Arena card in play, I can't see anything, including what monsters Titan has out.'
It was then she heard Titan's laughter through the darkness. "The darkness is fitting for a shadow duel, don't you think? But still, allow me to shed at least some light on the situation. Here in the Dark Arena, your monsters in attack mode must attack, but since they can't see, I'm allowed to choose their target for them."
"Well, then that's a case of the blind leading the blind." Alexis replied. "After all, just because my monsters and I can't see, it doesn't mean we can't win! I'll just need someone who really packs a powerful punch! Here we go! My draw!" She drew her next card and looked at it. "Perfect! I activate the spell card, Polymerization, fusion Etoile Cyber and Blade Skater to create Cyber Blader!" The red-haired woman in red bluish leotard and the bald, skating warrior entered a fusion vortex and emerged in the form of the red and purple skater with visor. (ATK: 2100 DEF: 800 LV: 7) "And what's cool about her is her special effect changes with the number of monsters you have."
"Does it?" Titan asked.
"Yeah, and since you have two monsters out on the field, Cyber Blader's attack points are doubled to 4200! Check it out!" The skater glowed in purple aura. (ATK: 2100-4200)
Despite the power boost Alexis' monster gained, Titan laughed darkly. "4200 attack points! Whatever will I do?" He mocked.
"You'll get your butt kicked, cuz now it doesn't matter who I attack. My Blader's the strongest monster out. She'll take out any target. Now go in!" The skater dashed forward.
"Face her, Matador Fiend!" At Titan's command, the ritual monster stepped forward.
"Go, Whirlwind Rage!" The skater spun herself so fast that she formed a whirlwind around herself. When she reached her target, she gave the fiend a kick, only for her attack to be blocked. And then, the fiend fired a beam of energy from the horn on its forehead, sending Cyber Blader back.
"What!?" Alexis exclaimed, shocked by this. "My Cyber Blader is so much stronger than that Matador Fiend! She should win this!" But instead, her fusion monster shattered into pixels. "What's goin on?" She demanded.
"Oh I'm sorry, didn't you know?" Titan asked tauntingly. "Matador Fiend cannot be destroyed in battle, and it also doesn't take damage. Although, the monster that battles it is destroyed."
No way." Alexis said in disbelief.
"There's more. Just like I said before, every monster that's in attack mode here must now battle each other."
"I don't think so!" Alexis retorted. "Cyber Tutu's special ability allows her to attack you directly. So your Matador Fiend will have to pick a fight with someone else."
"Hahaha! You're wrong again!" Titan countered. "Cyber Tutu's special ability only activates if there are no monsters on my field with less attack points. But my Matador Fiend has 0 attack points. So you see, Cyber Tutu's can't be used nor will it be eve used again after Picador Fiend is done with her!" The winged fiend monster in question stepped forward.
And Alexis gasped as the pink-haired ballerina was suddenly dragged towards it by an invisible force.
"This will be her last dance!" As Cyber Tutu got closer, one of Matador fiend's extra charged up with green energy. And then, it fired a beam at her, destroying her easily.
"Tutu!" Alexis cried out, but was then blasted herself, and fell down to her knees.
Alexis: 2400-1800
Titan chuckled at her pain.
The poor Obelisk girl placed a hand on her chest. "So this what a shadow game feels like."
At the same time, black lightning crackled around the dome of darkness, startling the others. Atticus was getting more worried over each second.
And from the armlet and medallion, Andrew and Jaden could tell that something bad was happening in there. "Man, I hope Alexis is okay in there." Jaden said.
"Me too." Andrew replied.
"Don't worry, Alexis. At least your brother won't remember that you failed him." Titan said as he laughed at her.
"I'm not gonna fail him!" Alexis retorted. "I play Cyber Gymnast in defense mode!" The white masked and dark clad gymnast appeared and crouched down in front of her. (ATK: 800 DEF: 1800 LV: 4) "Give me your best shot."
Titan chuckled in response. "Dear... if you actually knew what my best was, you wouldn't be so eager for it."
"Oh really?"
"Haven't you realized yet? I'm not the same duelist you knew from before. I changed when the shadows took me in."
Flashback
After his defeat to Jaden, blobs and blobs swarmed around Titan as he sank deeper into the dark abyss. "Help me!" He cried out and reached out his arm, hoping for a way to get free. "Anyone! Oh please, I'm begging you! Somebody! I'll do anything, just please help!"
"You'll do anything?" A mysterious voice asked from above. "So be it. I will spare you the agony of the shadows and you will be my devoted servant. You will do my bidding."
"Alright! Very well!" Titan accepted. "Just tell me what you want me to do!"
"I want you to defeat those that guard the Sacred Beasts." The voice replied, showing the silhouette of a figure. "And this shadow charm will help you do it." A mask with the millennium symbol fell down and landed on Titan's waiting hand.
Flashback end
Titan laughed as thick veins appeared over his face his body, while some dark energy came out of from spread to his monsters. "So you see, now I'm more powerful than ever!"
"And uglier." Alexis commented. "But I've got news for you, true dueling power doesn't come from some shadow charm. It comes from the reasons why you duel. And that's why you're gonna lose this, got it?"
"The reasons why you duel?" Titan scoffed. "Where did you get that from? Surely not from your beloved brother. After all, the whole reason he became a Shadow Rider was to gain power."
"That's not true! You're a liar!" Alexis snapped.
"I'm sorry, but it's a fact. But if you still don't believe me, just wait!" Titan drew. "After all, once I banish to the shadows, you'll see what I mean. And you'll see soon, because the Picador Fiend now attacks you directly!" Once again, the mask-faced fiend used on its extra heads to fire an energy beam at Alexis, who winced in pain.
And while that happened, more black lightning crackled around the dome of darkness. Atticus couldn't take it as he reached out his arm.
"I know it's tough, Atticus." Jaden told him. "We just have to hope she's okay."
"Just believe in her." Andrew added.
After the attack, Alexis groaned and fell to her knees again.
Alexis: 1800-0200
Titan chuckled. "The end is near. The shadows beckon. You squirm, but they still close in. It is simply a matter of time now!"
'Tell me about it.' Alexis thought. 'With Cyber Gymnast's special ability, I can discard 1 card from my hand and destroy one of his monsters. But since I don't have any cards right now, I'll have to wait until next round to use it.'
Titan chuckled again. "What are you plotting over there? Let me guess: something with Cyber Gymnast?" That caused Alexis to widen her eyes. "Well, don't even bother, she won't be around for much longer! I summon Banderillero Fiend!" A brown serpentine monster with leathery wings appeared on the field, a large spike over its head and a monster's face with vicious looking fangs on its chest. (ATK: 900 DEF: 1600 LV: 3) "And his special ability destroys your Cyber Gymnast!" A green aura surrounded the new fiend monster before transferring to Cyber Gymnast, who exploded a few second later. "Hahahahaha! Get up, or are your reasons for dueling not enough anymore?"
'Maybe he's right.' Alexis thought as doubt was filling her mind. 'Maybe they're not enough, because as much I want to win this, I simply don't have the strength. It's over. My key, my brother, my soul... I've lost them all.' Feeling such despair, she couldn't help but collapse on the ground.
"That's right, stay down." Titan said. "There's no point to keep fighting. You can't win. After all, the reasons you fight aren't as strong as the shadows."
Alexis couldn't agree more. It was hopeless. There was nothing she could do...
"Alexis!" Through the shroud of hopelessness, Atticus' voice managed to reach her ears. "Don't give up! You can do this!"
"Bro..." Alexis muttered.
"Lexi..."
"Can't stop." With her newfound strength and determination, she pulled herself up, much to Titan's disbelief.
"What's this!?"
"This is my turn!" Alexis drew. "And I activate Pot of Greed! So now, I get to draw two new cards!" She drew her extra cards and looked at them. She then nodded as a new strategy came to her mind. "And with one of them, I can call back an old one! I play The Warrior Returning Alive to bring Blade Skater back to my hand! Then I'll activate the spell card, Fusion Recovery! It allows me to bring back Polymerization and Etoile Cyber from my graveyard!"
"What!?" Titan said as Alexis showed him the three cards she took back from the graveyard.
"Next I'll activate Polymerization and fuse together Etoile Cyber and Blade Skater to summon Cyber Blader!" The two monsters merged together to form Cyber Blader a second time. (ATK: 2100 DEF: 800 LV: 7) "You remember her? Well now she's back and ready to get some sweet revenge! This is over. Your shadow powers have failed you. You've lost the duel."
"Hmph." Titan smirked at her words. "You're delirious. I still have three monsters out, and you are still in the dark."
"Yeah maybe, but not for long." Alexis smirked back. "Because my Cyber Blader's about to light up your world."
"You lie!"
"Wrong! Since you have three monsters on the field, Blader's special ability, Shining Cyber Light activates, cancelling any and all effects you have out!" Cyber Blader began to glow with a bright light, causing the Dark Arena to disappear.
"No fair!" Titan exclaimed in horror. "My Dark Arena! You destroyed my spell!"
The light emanating from Cyber Blader then burst through the dome of shadows. "Hey look! The shadows are disappearing!" Jaden pointed out. Atticus couldn't help but smile, realizing what this meant.
The shadow dome finally disappeared completely, allowing everyone to see the two duelists again. "Alexis is okay!" Andrew said.
"Alright! Go get him girl!" Jenny cheered for her friend.
"And there's more!" Alexis spoke up, focused on her hideous opponent. "Matador Fiend's special ability to reduce battle damage to 0 is negated too!"
"NO!"
"So go, Cyber Blader, attack with Skate Blade Slash!" The visor wearing woman skated on air towards Matador Fiend and destroyed it with an impressive slashing kick, then moved on to knock Titan on his back with the same manner.
Titan: 2000-0000
When Titan looked up, he found himself surrounded by a mass of the same slimy blobs that took him away the last time. "No, nooo!" He cried out as they swarmed over him. "No, no, not again!" He was then completely engulfed by the slimy mass and dragged down. Moments later, there was nothing left of him... except his shadow charm mask.
Now that everything was over, came out of the Abandoned Dorm, with the sky starting to get some morning light. All the others watched as the two Rhodes exchanged heart-filled looks.
"Atticus."
"Lexi."
The two siblings then hugged each other. It was a really wonderful sight. Jenny was especially glad that her best friend finally got her brother back.
"Atty, welcome back." Alexis said softly.
"Thanks Lex, for everything." Atticus replied with the same softness.
"But wait..." Alexis said as they pulled away from each other. "There are so many unanswered questions, like how you ever end up in the Shadow Realm. Titan said you did it for power."
"Believe me Lexi, I never chose to go. One day, a few of us were told to meet at the Abandoned Dorm. And then, well...
Flashback
"It happened." Atticus found himself being kept in place by those slimy blobs. "See, there was supposed to be a duel test in the basement, but instead, we found hundreds of those little shadow fiends. I couldn't escape."
Flashback end
"I was then brought to the Shadow Realm and kept for months. They brainwashed me until I became this thing called Nightshroud."
"But who? Who was it that brainwashed you?" Alexis asked.
Atticus shook his head. "I never did figure that out. However, the person who called me to take the duel test was... it was Professor Banner."
Everyone gasped and stared in shock at what Atticus just revealed.
"Our Professor Banner?" Jaden asked.
"So he's in on it? No way." Andrew muttered in disbelief.
If there's one thing I like about writing chapters based on the episodes of the series, they're easier to write, and it takes less time to write them than an original chapter. Anyway, this was the third GX chapter in a row. So that means I have to go back to my 5D's story. Until next time.
