The Last Shadow Rider
Early in the morning, the sun started to rise, and it was totally peaceful around here. Well... maybe not totally peaceful at the Slifer Red Dorm...
"Ah! We overslept!" Syrus cried out.
"Which means we missed... breakfast!" Chumley added.
"I shouldn't have spent most of the night with that gadget!" Xander complained.
Apparently, Jaden, Syrus, Chumley, and even Xander overslept and were rushing to their dining hall. When they arrived, they saw four trays left on a table. "Phew, there's some left." Jaden said in relief. "Alright!"
"Let's dig in!" Syrus added as the four of them took their seats. A bit away from them, Chazz was sitting at another table, alone, and enjoyed his breakfast.
Jaden tipped his cup over. "Not all that much to dig into."
"Did someone clear off our trays?" Xander wondered, staring at the empty plate he picked up.
"What kind of selfish slime would do that?" Chumley asked.
They figured out the answer instantly. One by one, the four boys gathered around Chazz's table, where he, smugly enough, enjoyed his morning drink. "You snooze, you lose."
"Chazz, you rotten snob!" Xander said angrily. "You can't just eat other people's food just like that!"
"Uh... correction, I already did. And it was good."
That comment just made Xander even angrier. Syrus, Chumley and Jaden shared his anger as they complained loudly in respective order...
"Professor...!"
"Banner!"
"Chazz is being Chazz again!"
But they noticed how extremely quiet it was in here, and that silence reminded the gang of Banner's absence. They didn't even see anyone walk through the curtain doorway where Banner would usually walk through.
"Don't tell me Banner's still MIA." Jaden muttered. "This is getting serious."
Later on, in Banner's alchemy class, all the students who were gathered were just sitting silently on their seats as Banner wasn't there. Only a few of them seemed to express their concerns for the missing Professor. Jaden laid his head on his desk. He couldn't shake the bad feeling that was around him.
Noticing his behavior, Syrus, Chumley and Xander decided to try and make him feel better.
"It'll be okay, Jaden." The smaller Slifer said.
"Yeah, totally. Chancellor Sheppard has a whole crew of people looking for Professor Banner. They'll find him."
"It's just a matter of time." Xander added.
"I hope." Jaden muttered.
"On the bright side, at least we get a break from class." Chumley said.
But, as if he was jinxing everyone, someone entered the classroom with two books at hand. And it was none other than Dr. Crowler, much to their surprise. "Good morning, students! Guess what? Due to Professor Banner's absence, I will be your substitute teacher for the day. Aren't you lucky? Because I'm certainly not! It was supposed to be my day off!" He slammed his books onto the podium, looking absolutely frustrated.
But despite his bad mood, he proceeded to make the preparations for today's class. On the projectile monitor, some kind of symbol was shown. A large, black, nearly complete circle with a dot in the middle. "Let's see here... The Mark of Amnael... yes, it looks like... That's where Professor Banner left off. More duel alchemy nonsense, I'm sure... well, according to these terms, the basics of this are... hmmm... know that. That doesn't make any sense... I don't even know how to pronounce that word..."
Everyone could only watch as Crowler tried to understand any of this. Keyword: Tried.
Shiori leaned over to Andrew. "I bet he's gonna snap at any second now." He whispered. Andrew couldn't help but snicker a little.
Sure enough, Crowler slammed the books closed, even more frustrated than before. "What gibberish! This makes no sense! And he's teaching you it?! Well perhaps it's a good thing he's missing. After all, he's polluting your young minds with nonsense. IT'S GRADE A ACADEMIC TRASH! PURE RUBBISH! USELESS PRATTLE!"
"Oh boy, he hates this stuff!" Jaden commented with a grin.
"No, it's not that, Jay." Syrus replied. "I think more... he just doesn't get any of it himself."
After a while, Crowler calmed down and moved on to experimentation with alchemy. "Alright, it's time for some lab work... according to the syllabus. Now let's see here... I think this is right..." He muttered as he dipped a curved metal utensil into a canister full of some kind of purple liquid. The liquid started to boil as light radiated from the metal utensil. But just a moment later, the whole thing exploded, sending a small cloud of smoke into the air.
Crowler coughed as the smoke cleared. And as for the metal utensil he used for the experiment... it was now attached to his forehead. He pulled it off forcibly, which turned out to be painful for him. "HOT! HOT HOT HOT!" He growled, even more annoyed, as he now had a burn mark on his forehead. Most of the students laughed as he ranted angrily about how useless Duel Alchemy was.
"Boy, I sure wish Professor Banner would show up soon." Jaden muttered.
"Of course, Banner usually blew himself up too." Syrus replied.
"True."
"Heads up, guys." Chumley whispered.
"Huh? What's up, Chum?" Jaden asked.
"Mr. Slifer Slacker!" Crowler called out angrily.
"Uh... yes sir?" Jaden responded quickly.
"Chancellor Sheppard would like a word."
"Me?"
"That's right. And the rest of the gang." Crowler addressed the key keepers, current and former alike. "Report to him at once!"
They were definitely surprised by this sudden announcement, but didn't question it.
And so, some time later, Jaden, Andrew, Alexis, Jenny, Bastion, Shiori, Michael, Chazz and Zane were gathered in front of Sheppard in his office, with the blue headmaster standing right next to him. And Jaden was the one who responded to what the Chancellor told them. "What do you mean he's still lost? Professor Banner couldn't have just vanished into thin air... could he?"
"Who knows?" Sheppard replied, crossing his arms. "The bottom line is we've looked everywhere and can't find him."
"And there's no log of him leaving the island." Crowler added.
"So then I think we all know what happened." Chazz spoke up. "Banner got sucked into the shadows."
Alexis gave him a glare. "Don't say that!"
"Besides, why would the Shadow Riders go after someone who doesn't have a spirit key?" Jenny questioned. "That would be pointless for them."
Sheppard nodded. "Not to mention that there has been no new activity."
"But still..." Jaden spoke up. "I have a felling that the Shadow Riders have something to do with all of this. But what? That's what we gotta find out."
"I wonder where Professor Banner could be." Andrew said, as he, Shiori and Michael were walking together in the hallways.
"I just hope he's not hurt... or worse." Shiori replied.
"You and me both, pal." Michael added.
"Yeah. I just-huh?" Andrew said before he saw two people in front of them. Shiori followed his gaze and was surprised when he saw Xander and Clover. However, the reason he was surprised was that Xander was trying to help Clover walk, who didn't look so well.
"Clover!" Andrew quickly approached them. "What's wrong with you?"
The redhead looked up and faced him. "Andrew... I... ugh..." She groaned tiredly.
"What happened?" Shiori asked as he and Michael joined them.
Xander frowned. "I'm not really sure..."
Flashback
"We just left the classroom, but then suddenly, Clover started to feel sick."
As Xander and Clover walked, the redhead started to groan and placed a hand against her head.
"What's wrong?" Xander asked, slightly concerned.
And right after he asked her, Clover fell to her knees, surprising Xander.
"Clover!"
Flashback end
"She's so weak that she can hardly walk."
Andrew noticed how red Clover's face was. He placed a hand against her forehead. "Whoa! She's feverish! We must take her to the nurse's office!" At that, he helped Xander support Clover as the four boys took her to the infirmary.
Once there, Clover was now lying on a bed. Her Obelisk Blue blazer was hanging on one of the bed's corners. Andrew, Shiori, Michael and Xander watched as Ms. Fonatine checked on her. Eventually, she turned to them.
"Well?" Andrew asked worriedly.
"It seems she doesn't have anything else but that fever. Honestly, I'm not really sure what the cause is." She explained.
"Damn." Xander cursed, looking at the redhead worriedly. "Is she gonna be okay?"
Ms. Fontaine smiled. "Don't worry, I'll be sure to take care of her."
"There's nothing more we can do." Michael said. "We should just let her rest."
"Right." Andrew nodded before turning to his childhood friend. "Get better soon, Clover."
The redhead gave him a small smile and nodded before the boys left.
Some time later, they came out of the Academy building. When they did, they saw Jaden, Syrus and Chumley gathered at one of the stones at the path. "Hey, guys!" Andrew greeted.
"What's up?" Jaden asked.
"Nothing. Just left the nurse's office."
"Why?"
Xander frowned. "Clover suddenly got sick and is now bedridden."
"Really?" Jaden asked, surprised. "That's bad."
"So why are you guys out here?" Shiori asked.
"We're just trying to figure out what happened to Professor Banner."
"But how do we find out what's up if we even can't find Banner?" Chumley questioned. "Or another breakfast."
"Huh?" Michael blinked at that last part.
"You know, Chumley's got a point." Syrus agreed. "I mean after all, Chancellor Sheppard turned all of Duel Academy inside out."
"I mean I'd like to help, but what can we do that hasn't already been done, you know what I mean?" Chumley asked. "Let's focus on finding some chow."
"Are you seriously considering food more important than our missing teacher?" Xander questioned, giving the koala duelist an incredulous look.
"I'm, uh..." Chumley replied nervously.
"Look guys." Jaden spoke up. "I know it seems hopeless right now but we can't give up. We owe it to Banner to keep looking. He'd do the same thing for us, right?"
"Right!" A new voice replied. The gang turned to see Chazz standing near them, with an air of confidence around him.
"Ah!" Syrus was startled by his sudden appearance. "Beat it, Chazz!"
"Chill. I'm not here to cause trouble. I'm here... to save the day. To find Professor Banner."
"U-huh..." Andrew replied slowly.
"..."
"..."
"..."
The rest of the gang didn't consider his offer.
"Well, say thank you!" Yelled Chazz, irritated.
Meanwhile, inside the nurse's office, Clover was groaning almost painfully in her sleep. "Nngh..." And then suddenly, a certain glowing circle appeared on her forehead.
"Hey, Clover!" Ms. Fontaine called as she entered the room. "How are you feeling...?" She asked before she saw something unexpected...
Clover's bed was empty!
"Clover!? Where did you go!?" She asked, shocked at this.
"All right, when searching for a missing person, the first thing you have to do is go to the scene of the crime." Chazz explained as he was leading the other boys to... well, wherever he was headed to.
"But we don't know where that is." Syrus pointed out. "Isn't that the problem? Is it?"
"Listen! It's a figure of speech!" Chazz snapped at him before he kept walking. "Now, come on! We just have to retrace Banner's steps."
"But we don't even know his steps." Shiori muttered.
"I know." Jaden replied. "But let just humor him."
"Whatever you say." Andrew said with a shrug.
"Why not just laugh at him instead?" Xander suggested.
"Quiet! The Chazz is on the job!"
It was then that Andrew's PDA started to beep. He picked it up and answered. "Hello?"
The person on the screen was Jenny, and she looked worried. "Andrew! You have to get over to the nurse's office!"
Andrew gave her a concerned look. "What is it? Did something happen?"
"It's Clover! She's... she's gone! She just disappeared!"
"Say what!?" Andrew exclaimed.
"Clover's gone!?" Xander asked in shock.
"For real?!" Jaden asked.
"Aw man." Syrus muttered worriedly.
"You gotta be kidding me!" Michael said in disbelief. "First Professor Banner, and now, Clover?"
"So there are two missing people now." Chazz noted. "Can't be a coincidence."
"Just wait there! I'll be there!" Andrew hung up.
"So what now?" Jaden asked.
"We should split up into two groups." Andrew replied. "Shiori, Xander, you come with me. The rest of you guys try to find some lead to Banner."
"Works for me." Michael said, while Jaden, Syrus and Chumley nodded. Chazz just rolled his eyes.
"Let's go!" At that, Andrew, Shiori and Xander ran off.
"Good luck." Jaden muttered.
"And then?" Andrew asked.
Ms Fontaine had a frown on her face as she explained the situation to Andrew, Xander, Shiori, Jenny and Alexis, who was also there. "And when I came back to check on her, she was gone. I have no idea where she went."
"But Clover was sick. There's no way she could have walked away." Xander said.
"Then did someone take her away?" Shiori wondered.
"Don't say that!" Jenny replied sternly.
"I don't know." Fontaine said. "She just disappeared somehow."
"We have to find her." Alexis declared.
"Right." Andrew nodded.
"So where do you guys think Clover could be?" Xander asked as the gang left the main building.
"Who knows?" Alexis replied. "I just hope she's okay."
"She's gotta be." Andrew said, more worried than everyone else. And they couldn't blame him.
Jenny placed a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry, Andrew. We'll find her."
He turned to her and smiled a little.
"Then let's not waste any more time and start looking for her." Shiori said, getting a nod from everyone.
Unbeknownst to them, someone was observing them from the shadows in the forest. A mysterious person wearing a red cloak.
Meanwhile, Chazz, Jaden, Syrus, Chumley and Michael were in the Slifer Dorm. Specifically, they were in Professor Banner's room, where they were looking for clues.
"Well guys, there are no clues here." Syrus said, searching through a bookcase.
"Yeah, nothing here either." Jaden replied as he was checking on a different bookcase. "You'd think he'd leave a note or something."
It was then Chumley found a piece of paper underneath a table. "He did! Look!"
After everyone gathered around, he handed the note to Jaden, who unfolded it and read it carefully. "It's Professor Banner handwriting! Cuz it's not very clear. something... tree?"
"Tree?" Michael repeated. "That doesn't tell us much."
"Must be code." Chazz commented.
"Huh?" Michael and Jaden turned to him.
"Here!" He snatched the note and looked at it. "Hmmm... Of course. I see."
"You see what, Chazz?" Jaden asked.
"The clue!"
"Clue?" Michael asked with a raised eyebrow.
"You see, 'tree' must have a secret meaning."
"Really?" Syrus asked.
"Oh come on, it's plain as day." Chazz chuckled smugly. "At least, for a genius such as I."
"Okay, okay! So what's it mean?" Chumley asked, slightly impatiently.
"Yeah! Tell us already!" Syrus urged.
"What it means... is Banner took on the last Shadow Rider."
Michael gave him an incredulous look. "Are you serious, dude?"
"Of course I am. And there's more too. I know who the rider is as well." Chazz blushed a bit. "Oh man, I'm just too good."
"Yeah, you're great." Jaden said with a sweat drop and a bit annoyed. "So then, who is it already?"
"Who indeed. The note was by the phone, which means that he wrote it while talking to someone. Someone whose name sounds like tree. Now then, who do we know whose name sounds like that? A hint: She works in the cafeteria."
"You don't mean..." Michael trailed off.
"That's right! Dorothy! It rhymes with tree! She's a Shadow Rider! She's the one that's taken out Professor Banner!"
The other boys gasped.
"Oh man!" Syrus said.
"It's Dorothy!? She's the one!?" Jaden questioned.
Michael gave Chazz an angry look. "Dude, you better not be joking around here!"
"I'm serious! And I'm gonna call her on it, right now!" Chazz replied as he reached for the phone.
Moments later, in the card shop
"What? Shadow Rider? How do you ride a shadow?" Dorothy asked, speaking on the phone. "Is this a crank call? I'll start 69 you! Hello, are you there?"
On the other end of the line, Chazz hung up, after finding out that he was wrong. But instead of expressing his disappointment, he spoke with a small smile and closed eyes. "Okay, so maybe... I was just a little off."
"JUST A LITTLE OFF?!" The other boys yelled in anger.
Chazz jumped at their reaction but calmed down quickly. "Let's keep digging."
"Oh, we'll keep digging, alright. But first..." Michael trailed off with a dangerous tone as he approached a now nervous Chazz.
"Hmmm:" The black clad Slifer was sitting at the corner, really annoyed. Why? Because Michael used some rope that he somehow found in this room and tied him up. "Can you untie me already?"
Michael gave him an even more annoyed look. "After your 'brilliant deduction'? I don't think so! Let the real experts handle this."
And so, the boys, minus Chazz, kept looking around for clues. They've been spending a lot of time without success. But then, Syrus stumbled upon a hidden map. It appeared to be a map of the entire Academy Island. And it also had a familiar symbol. "Check this out!"
"Of course, it's obvious!" Without warning, Chazz pushed Syrus aside and looked at the map.
Michael was shocked to see the black clad Slifer no longer tied up. "H-how did you...?"
"This explains it all." He ignored him.
"What? Do you see another tree?" Syrus asked, after recovering from that push he received.
"No, this!" Chazz pointed at the symbol. "Check it out. It's The Mark of Amnael. The one we learned in class!"
"You're right." Jaden said, recognizing the symbol.
"See, now this is a clue! I mean, after all, Banner... he's into all that alchemy junk, this must be where he is!"
"Yeah, and it's in a forest too." Syrus pointed out.
"One with trees." Jaden added. "You think maybe that's what the note meant?"
"Shut it!" Chazz replied.
Moments later, the gang was outside the dorm. "All right! Let the rescue expedition for Professor Banner begin!" Jaden announced. "Follow me, guys!"
"Follow you?" Chazz questioned. "Yeah right, I'm the one who figured this whole thing out, so you guys can follow me! If you can keep up, that is."
"Aww." The other boys groaned in disappointment as Chazz started walking.
The gang walked deeper and deeper into the forest. "So, uh, Chazz? Other than following you, what's the plan here?" Syrus asked.
"Yeah, how do we find Banner once we get to the alchemy mark?" Chumley asked.
Chazz smirked. "Easy. We find... his cat, Pharaoh, and with this." He held up a foxtail.
The other boys sighed. "Dude, you've already tried that on Duel Monsters Spirit Day, remember?" Michael reminded him.
"Oh, oh!" Syrus raised his hand. "I have an idea!"
"Do you?" Chazz asked, unimpressed. "Well, what is it then?"
"Well, Chazz, since calling out Pharaoh hasn't worked, let's go a different route!"
"And what route is that?"
"Here. I'll show you..." Syrus replied as he pulled out a black marker from his pocket. His hands moved in a blur for a moment before he backed away. "There! Perfect!" What Syrus did to Chazz was drawing kitty whiskers on his cheeks and a cat nose. "Now Pharaoh will think you're a cat! Of course, you'll have to develop... a convincing meow!" As he spoke, clearly amused, Jaden, Chumley and Michael snickered at his handy work, while Chazz started to get angry. "Try one!"
"HOW ABOUT I SHOW MY CLAWS INSTEAD!" Chazz yelled angrily as he started to chase after the laughing boys. "You better run!"
As the group ran off, a figure in a nearby tree stepped out onto a branch, watching them closely. He was wearing a tan, hooded cloak, dark clothes underneath with red sashes, hard, leather gloves, and a strange black mask that had yellow eyes.
Meanwhile, Andrew, Shiori and Xander were walking around in a different part of the forest. "Clover!" Andrew called out.
"Where are you, Clover!?" Shiori called out.
"Clover!" Xander called out, a little louder than the others.
"Where is she?" Andrew muttered worriedly.
"How could she just disappear like that?" Shiori wondered. "This is serious."
"Oh, Clover." Xander whispered to himself.
Little did they know, someone was hiding in one of the trees. The mysterious figure threw some colorful vials on the ground around them. And when they broke, there were explosions everywhere.
"Aahh!" Xander cried out.
"What the hell is this!?" Shiori asked in shock.
"Someone's bombarding us!" Andrew exclaimed.
At that, even more vials fell down and exploded. There were so many explosions, that the entire area was covered in smoke, causing the boys to cough.
"Let's get out of here!" Andrew said as the boys quickly ran away.
Andrew ran for a bit before making a stop. "(cough! cough!) Man, where did those bombs come from?"
"Your guess is as good is mine."
Andrew turned and saw Xander standing right next to him. When he looked around, he noticed that something was off. "Wait a minute! Where's Shiori?"
The mechanic looked around but didn't see him either. "I thought he was with us."
"He must have gotten separated from us because of the smoke."
"Who was it that bombarded us, anyway?"
Andrew frowned. "Who indeed."
In another part of the forest, Shiori was leaning against a tree, catching his breath. "Man, what was that about? Who in their right mind would throw some explosives on us, huh guys?" When he didn't hear a response, he looked around and noticed that he was alone. "Guys? Guys!" He called out, but didn't hear anything except his own echo. He sighed and rubbed his forehead. "First one of our friends is missing, and now I got lost in the forest. Could this day get any worse?"
He then heard the sound of a twig that snapped. He turned to the direction the sound came from and saw someone wearing a red cloak.
"Huh? Who are you?"
The figure didn't answer. Instead, they ran away.
"Hey! Stop!" At that, Shiori ran after the stranger.
At the same time, Alexis and Jenny walked along the lakeside near Obelisk Blue.
"I wonder what happened to Clover." Alexis said.
"Who knows?" Jenny replied with a frown. "I just hope she's okay."
They then suddenly heard the sound of broken glass. They looked at one another before storming into the dorm.
"Atticus!"
The two of them burst into Atticus' room to find that it was trashed. The balcony windows were broken, the shards of glasses covering the floor. The TV screen had been flipped over. And there was even one messy wall or two.
"No! He's gone!" Alexis said in disbelief before she noticed something on the floor. A glowing circle with a dot in the middle floated above the glass shards, then disappeared from sight. "Alright! Who's there!?"
"Hey!"
Alexis turned to see Jenny leaning over the balcony, screaming at something in the distance. She ran up to her and saw a figure that was running into the forest. Alexis jumped off the balcony and chased after the stranger.
"Jenny, go get the guys!" She called out while running. "I think that was the Shadow Rider!"
"Got it!" Jenny shouted as she ran off in search of help.
Alexis chased after the figure for what seemed like forever. "Where's my brother!?" Eventually, she stopped running when she reached a clearing, where she noticed the figure standing on the other side, under the shade of the trees. It was the one wearing a tan, hooded cloak and a black mask. It's yellow eyes seemed to stare into her soul.
"So let me guess..." Alexis had her duel disk ready. "You're a Shadow Rider."
The Shadow Rider didn't say anything. He just activated his own duel disk, which kind of looked like one of those from Duel Academy, except that it was dark grey.
Alexis activated her duel disk. "Well, let's go! Because I know you have Atticus, and I'm not leaving here without him! Now let's duel!"
Both duelists drew their opening hands.
Alexis: 4000
?: 4000
The Shadow Rider still didn't say anything. He simply drew a card from his deck, and then inserted another one from his hand into his duel disk, ending his turn.
Alexis was confused, but began her turn anyway. "Here I come, Rider!" She drew her sixth card and then held up a spell card from her hand. "First, I'll play the spell, Polymerization and fuse Etoile Cyber with Blade Skater to create Cyber Blader!" The red-haired woman in red bluish leotard and the bald, skating warrior entered the fusion vortex from which Alexis' headliner emerged. (ATK: 2100 DEF: 800 LV: 7) "You picked the wrong key keeper to mess with! Cyber Blader, attack!"
As the blader charged forward, the Shadow Rider's facedown card flipped up and released some kind of dark matter.
"A trap card?" Alexis said as her blader was stopped by the dark matter and sent back to her field. "Blader's attack didn't go through. Not good."
Meanwhile, Shiori was chasing after the red cloaked figure. "Stop running away already!" He called out. Some time passed, and he finally made a halt as the figure stopped near a cliff facing the ocean. "Alright, who are you?"
The figure didn't say a thing. Instead, they turned around and held up their left arm where a duel disk that was attached to their arm. Because of the bandana the stranger was wearing, Shiori couldn't see their face.
But the duel disk made him narrow his eyes. "Are you a Shadow Rider? If so, then I won't let you get away!" He activated his duel disk and drew his opening hand.
The stranger did the same.
"Duel!"
Shiori: 4000
?: 4000
The Shadow Rider drew their sixth card, looked at it, and then placed it on their duel disk, causing a certain axe wielding dragon to appear. (ATK: 2000 DEF: 1200 LV: 4)
"An Axe Dragonute." Shiori noted.
The Shadow Rider inserted a card into their duel disk and ended their turn.
"If that's all you've got, then you'll never get my key. Not after I do this!" Shiori drew his sixth card. "I summon Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands!" The grayish humanoid creature with many hands appeared. (ATK: 1400 DEF: 1000 LV: 4) "And thanks to his special ability, I can take a ritual monster or spell card from my deck and add it to my hand." He searched through his deck and then took the card he wanted. "But why keep it there when I can use it right now? I activate End of the World. And with its power, I sacrifice Manju, as well as Dragon Zombie and Djinn Disserere of Rituals in order to summon Ruin, Queen of Oblivion!" Manju was joined by the zombiefied dragon and the fiend holding the big shield with a skull emblem before they all vanished. And then, from a flash of light, the elegant, white-haired woman with the red scepter appeared. (ATK: 2300 DEF: 2000 LV: 8)
"And don't think you can stop her with trap cards! Because thanks to my Djinn, Ruin is immune to all of them! Now attack with Blast of Oblivion!" The woman fired a ball of energy from her scepter. But before the dragon got hit, the Shadow Rider discarded a card. And then, their facedown card flipped up, revealing a trap card. Shiori's eyes widened. "Oh no! That's Rising Energy! Then that means..."
The dragon roared as an orange aura surrounded it. (ATK: 2000-3500) And then, it used its axe as a baseball bat and sent the energy ball right back to Ruin, who was obliterated by the blast.
Shiori: 4000-2800
Shiori gritted his teeth. "Not good."
"Banner, you around?" Chazz looked around as he, Jaden, Syrus, Chumley and Michael looked around, having separated to cover more ground.
"Professor?" Jaden called out. "Hello?"
"Where are you, Professor?" Michael called out.
"AAHHH!"
The three boys turned around and saw Syrus and Chumley running through the woods. "Jaden! Snake! We saw a snake!"
"So, whoop-de-doo." Chazz rolled his eyes.
"We are in a forest, guys." Michael pointed.
"Yeah, you know, nature?" Jaden added.
"But this wasn't very natural!" Chumley whimpered.
And just a moment later, a whole bunch of snakes fell down from the trees above the boys. Everyone screamed as they landed around them, and ran away as fast as they could.
As they got further away from the horde of reptiles, Jaden noticed that someone was missing. "Huh? Where did Michael go?"
"Man, what a jump scare." Michael muttered as he was a little short of breath. "Kinda crazy, right guys?" When he didn't hear a response, he looked around. "Guys?" He couldn't find anyone around him. Moments later, he face palmed. "Great. I got away from them."
Meanwhile, Alexis was still dueling the cloaked man. She still had her Cyber Blader in play, but she wasn't getting anywhere somehow.
The Shadow Rider drew his next card, looked at it, and faced Alexis, making her nervous. And then, he played a card that caused meteors raining down on Alexis' field. She watched as her fusion monster melted before being completely destroyed. "Oh no! My Cyber Blader's gone!" She then turned to her opponent, whose side had two monsters hiding in the shadows behind him. "Which means... I'm wide open to attack!" At that, the two monsters spat torrents of flames in two different colors, which then combined into a torrent of green flames. It enveloped Alexis, who screamed before collapsing as her cards were spread out all over the ground.
Alexis: 1000-0000
The Shadow Rider approached the unconscious girl and collected her spirit key. He then held out a strange book with a golden eye symbol. When he opened it, a green glowing circle with a dot in the middle was revealed. Alexis slowly vanished until there was nothing left of her. He then closed the book and walked away.
At the same time, Shiori was struggling with his opponent as well. Even though he had Archfiend's Awakening on the field, he was facing Strong Wind Dragon and Element Dragon.
His opponent drew their next card and held it up, causing a vortex to appear.
"A fusion?" Shiori muttered.
The opponent held up two cards, letting two beams of light enter the vortex. And then, something came out slowly. Someone in a spellcaster outfit wielding a blade.
Shiori's eyes widened. "That's..."
The monster slashed downwards, sending a purple energy wave that struck the fiend. An explosion occurred and engulfed Shiori. "AAAAHHH!"
Shiori: 1900-0000
Some time earlier, Jenny had been running all around. She thought the other key keepers were in their dorms, but found no one. She was near the forest when she took a break. "Where is everyone? I thought they'd be in their rooms." She then picked up her PDA. "Maybe..."
"AAAAHHH!"
She turned to the direction that scream came from. "What was that?" She then ran as fast as she could, trying to find whoever screamed.
Shiori was down on his knees as the holograms disappeared. He looked up slowly and saw the cloaked figure holding up what looked like an amulet made of stone. It had a strange symbol on it. A circle with a dot in the middle. "Wait. Isn't that..." Before he could finish his sentence, the symbol emanated a green light. Shiori gasped as the light intensified.
As Jenny kept running, she noticed a green light from a distance. "There!" She picked up the pace as she got closer. And then finally, she reached the area near the ocean. But when she looked around, she couldn't find one single person. "No one's here." She frowned. "I was sure it came from here." She took a step forward and suddenly felt something. When she looked down, she was surprised to see a bunch of cards spread out on the ground. "What the...?" When she leaned down, she recognized some of them. "Ruin, Queen of Oblivion! And Archfiend's Awakening! These are Shiori's cards! What on earth happened here?"
It was then she heard some rustling from the bushes behind her. She turned around to see someone sneaking around. "Hey! Who's there!?" The stranger ran away. "Stop!" Jenny called out as she ran after them.
"Where are you?!" Jenny called out. She's been running for a while, and the sun has already set while the forest got darker. She reached a clearing, and frowned when she didn't see anyone. "Did this person get away?"
SNAP!
The sound of a twig getting snapped was heard. She turned to the direction it came from and saw someone standing on the other side. It was a cloaked figure, but because of how dark it was, Jenny couldn't tell anything else. "Who are you?!"
The stranger didn't say anything. They simply held up their left arm and activated their duel disk.
"A duel? Are you a Shadow Rider?" Jenny still didn't get an answer. The stranger simply drew their opening hand, much to her annoyance. "Fine! If you don't want to give me answers, then I'll just have to defeat you, right?"
Tethys chose that moment to appear next to her. "Be careful, Jenny. There's something wrong with this person?"
"Don't worry, I will." Jenny activated her own duel disk and drew her opening hand. "Let's duel!"
Jenny: 4000
?: 4000
"Shiori! Where you, Shiori?!" Andrew called out.
"Shiori!" Xander called out.
They've been looking for a while, but found nothing. Andrew sighed. "Where could he be?"
"Like we didn't have enough people to look for." Xander muttered sarcastically. "First Banner, then Clover, and now we got separated from Shiori? Can this day get any worse?"
"I hope not." Andrew replied.
Jenny panted as she was pushed into a corner. She had Tethys and Athena on her field, while her opponent only had a facedown card on their side. They drew their next card, looked at it, and then held it up. A swirling vortex appeared behind them.
"Polymerization." Jenny muttered.
The Shadow Rider held up two cards, making two monsters appear. But because it was so dark, Jenny couldn't really see what they were. They entered the fusion vortex, from which a flash of light was released. Whatever it was that emerged from the vortex, it was humanoid, tall and was wearing armor and had a long sword, judging from its silhouette.
"Ah!" Tethys gasped.
"What is it?" Jenny asked.
"Jenny, that monster! It's-gyaah!" Whatever Tethys was trying to say was cut off as she groaned in pain.
"Tethys!" Jenny then turned to Athena, who seemed to be acting the same way. "What's going on?"
She got her answer as her two monsters started to morph. Moments later, they have turned into white dragons with angelic wings. "What the...?" Jenny trailed off as she turned to her opponent and saw that their facedown card was revealed. "DNA Surgery?" She then noticed that a blue aura surrounded her monsters before they seemed to be forced to crouch down. When she turned to her opponent again, she saw that their monster was glowing with the same aura. "Hold on, that's..."
Before she could say something more, the Shadow Rider pointed forward, letting their monster swing its sword downward, sending out an arc of energy that destroyed one of her dragons with an explosion.
"AAAAHHH!"
Jenny: 3000-0000
Andrew and Xander gasped when they heard that scream. "What was that?!" Xander asked.
"That sounded like Jenny!" Andrew said before he ran off with Xander right behind him.
'Please, Jenny! Be okay!' Andrew thought worriedly.
"Andrew!" Phantom Magician appeared next him. "We're getting close!"
Not a too long moment later, the boys arrived at a clearing. It didn't take long for the boys... or more accurately, it didn't take Andrew to notice something ahead. Something that made him freeze.
It was a bunch of cards spread out on the ground. But what really caught his eye, was Tethys, who was hovering above those cards with an upset look on her face.
"No way." He muttered as he slowly walked over to the cards. He kneeled down and looked at them. "These... These are Jenny's cards!"
"Seriously?!" Xander asked in disbelief.
Wynn chose that moment to appear and turned to the Goddess of Light. "What happened here?"
"Someone... defeated Jenny in a duel and took her away!" She replied with anger and sadness in her voice.
"No!" Wynn gasped. Andrew gritted his teeth
"Andrew, this could be the work of a..." Phantom Magician tried to say.
"Shadow Rider." He filled in.
"Say what?" Xander asked
"I think a Shadow Rider is behind this."
The mechanic paled. "Oh boy."
Meanwhile, Chazz, Jaden, Syrus and Chumley decided to rest around a campfire. "This area of the forest sure is weird." The smaller Slifer commented.
"Yeah. Flying snakes?" Jaden replied.
"I wonder where Michael is?" Chumley said.
"Who knows? But I'm sure he's fine." Jaden replied.
The group was silent for a moment before Syrus tried to lighten up the mood. "We'll find Banner soon. I'm sure."
"I hope. Because I really miss him, you know. All the little things he did..."
Flashback
"Ah! You mean it?" Asked an overjoyed Jaden.
"Please, Jaden, what's mine is yours." Banner confirmed, holding up a bowl full of food. "Especially when what's mine is pork fried rice with chili sauce, your favorite."
Flashback end
"Now that's a friend, don't you think?"
"Of course, he was allergic to chili sauce." Chumley pointed out.
"He was?" Jaden asked, confused.
"But, um, you know... I'm sure that had very little to do with it."
"Yeah, I guess so."
"Well, he was always nice to you, Sy, right?"
"I suppose..." Syrus replied, a little skeptical as he was thinking back to one of the times Banner was 'nice' to him.
Flashback
"Right, I know!" Syrus said, trying to push away the milk package Banner was offering. "I love milk, but still..."
"But still what, Syrus? Just because it's expired doesn't mean it's not delicious. Now grab a fork and enjoy yourself!" Banner insisted.
Flashback end
"Okay, so he'd act a bit weird sometimes." Chumley admitted.
Chazz scoffed. "Weird? I'll tell you what's weird."
Flashback
There was one time when Banner moved his carrot bits from his plate to Chazz's, much to the latter's annoyance. "Stop it! I don't like carrots!"
"But of course you do, Chazz, and there's no need to thank me! You can simply repay me later. Yes, by giving me your dessert!"
Flashback end
"He sure was shifty sometimes!"
Syrus couldn't help but agree with Chazz. "It's true! Like when he tried to teach me how to swim..."
Flashback
Syrus was in the water, geared up with a diving mask and a snorkel, and a spear of sorts. There was a rope tied up on him, which Banner held with his hand with a grin on his face.
"I just ended up spearing fish for his dinner!"
Flashback end
"Yeah, I guess he kind of have two sides of him." Jaden admitted. "But that doesn't make him a bad person."
"You're right." Syrus replied.
"Yeah. Guess that's why we're looking for him." Chazz added.
"Yup, and we should probably get back to it, right guys?" Syrus suggested.
"Seriously, break time's over!" Chazz stood up. "Let's go..."
"And find Banner!" Everyone said at the same time.
"Meow!" A faint meow was heard from a distance.
"Pharaoh?" Jaden assumed.
"It came from over here." Chumley moved to the direction the sound came from.
And so, the entire gang were looking for the cat.
"Pharaoh!" Jaden called out.
"Here, kitty!" Syrus called out.
"Come here, cat!" Chumley called out.
"Pharaoh!" Chazz called out. Another meow was heard. "She's close. Quick, guys! Let's spread out! This could be our only chance!"
"Right!" Jaden agreed.
"Let's go!" Syrus added.
And they all walked in separate ways. "Pharaoh!" Chazz called out, holding up the foxtail again. "Where are you kitty? Come out!"
Ojama Yellow appeared at that moment. "Something's wrong... I'm scared!"
"Yeah, well, what's new?" Chazz asked sarcastically.
"Look Boss, something's just not right here!"
"Oh please, get lost!" Chazz swatted the yellow spirit away.
"Meow."
As soon as he heard that sound, Chazz aimed his flashlight ahead of him to see a glowing green circle with a dot in the middle... and Pharoah just behind it. "Pharaoh!"
"Chazz?" A familiar voice called out.
He turned around and saw Michael come out of the bushes. "Michael? Where have you been?"
"I got lost after those snakes attacked us, and have been looking for you guys all day." The dark duelist noticed the fat cat. "I see you found Pharaoh!"
"Yeah, no thanks to you or those slackers." Chazz mumbled as he approached the cat. When he did, he noticed something else. He reached down and picked up a familiar pair of spectacles. "What the... Professor Banner's glasses. He's close. Must be."
"Um, Chazz?" Michael said, pointing forward.
Chazz followed his finger and noticed that glowing circle again just before it vanished. And when he pointed his flashlight to that area, he noticed some kind of clothing on the ground that looked familiar. "Hey, there's Banner's necktie, too!" As the two of them walked further, they noticed the glowing circle once more, and found another piece of clothe. "And his shirt!"
"Okay, so where's the Professor?" Michael wondered.
"Ah, who cares?!" Ojama Yellow replied while appearing with the other Ojamas, even though Chazz was the only one who could see them. It was then they noticed something.
"Hm?" And so did Chazz and Michael. They saw two cloaked figures nearby, duel disks turning on. "Shadow Riders!" Chazz assumed.
"Two of them?" Michael questioned. "But by my count, there should be only one left."
"Who cares?! What matters is they took Banner!" Chazz said and activated his duel disk. "And I'm gonna win him back!"
Michael narrowed his eyes. "Dude, it was bad enough to let you play detective. There's no way I'll let you handle two guys by yourself! This will be a tag duel!"
"The Chazz works alone!"
"Not this time!" Michael retorted as he stepped forward and activated his duel disk. "Hm?" He noticed something strange under his feet and looked down.
Chazz followed suit and saw that they were actually standing on the water of a lake. But he wasn't complaining. He just turned his attention to the two opponents "Now, let's go!"
"Do it, Chazz!" Ojama Yellow cheered.
"We're with ya!" Green added.
"That's right!" Black agreed.
"Kick his butt!" Red cheered.
"You got this!" Blue said.
"Time to Chazz you up!" Chazz and the Ojamas said at the same time.
"As long as we take these guys down, then everything will be fine!" Michael added.
"DUEL!"
Chazz & Michael: 8000
? & ?: 8000
Meanwhile, somewhere else, Andrew and Xander have been walking around in the forest for a while. Andrew took the liberty to gather Jenny's cards. He was still upset that she was gone.
"Meow."
The boys stopped and looked down to see a familiar cat laying on the ground. "Pharaoh?" Andrew asked as he picked up the cat.
And then, they were suddenly bathed in light. "Hey, it's Andrew and Xander!" They turned around to see Jaden, Syrus and Chumley.
"And they found Pharaoh!" Chumley pointed out.
"Why are you guys out here?" Syrus wondered.
"I was about to ask you the same question." Xander replied.
"We were looking for Banner, and thought we might find him somewhere around here." Jaden explained.
"I see." Andrew nodded.
"So what's your story?"
Andrew frowned and seemed hesitant, which confused Jaden and the others.
"What is it?" Syrus wondered.
"We..." Xander paused before speaking further. "We were looking for Clover, but so far, we found no one. But then, we heard a scream and rushed to the scene. There, we found nothing. Nothing..."
"Except these..." Andrew filled in and held up some cards with one free hand. Jaden and the others recognized them.
"These are Jenny's cards!" Chumley said.
"Aw man." Syrus muttered.
"Don't tell me..." Jaden trailed off.
"Jenny... has been taken away." Andrew said slowly.
"So she's gone. too?"
"Not just Jenny." Xander replied. "Shiori was with us earlier, but we got separated." He picked up his PDA. "I tried to contact him on the way, but I can't reach him."
"Just what's going on?" Jaden frowned before he noticed his medallion glowing.
And Andrew's armlet was suddenly glowing as well.
Meanwhile, Chazz and Michael were still facing the Shadow Riders. And each of them had one dragon on the field. Chazz had Armed Dragon LV 7 and Michael had Dark Armed Dragon. As for their opponents, they had a few monsters on the field that were obscured by the mist and the dark night.
"You're going down, Shadow Riders!" Chazz declared. "And do you know why? Cuz The Chazz is on the job!" He took a monster card from his hand and slid it into the graveyard slot. "I send Despair from the Dark to the grave and activate Armed Dragon's ability!" His dragon glowed with a red aura. "Now all your monsters with equal or fewer attack points than the monster that I discarded will be destroyed! Go! Take them down!" The dragon's underbelly glowed before shooting out some spinning energy disks that destroyed the opponents' monsters with a big explosion.
"Nice." Michael said with a smirk.
"And next turn, I'm going to attack you directly." Chazz declared with his own smirk. "So, any last words, Shadow Riders, before you're toast?"
"I do! I never should have doubted you, Boss!" Yellow said while the other Ojamas nodded.
The Shadow Riders, however, didn't show any sign of worries. And that made Michael a little concerned. 'Something's not right here.'
"Chazz, we found Pharaoh! Where are you?" Jaden called out as he and the others were searching for him. "Chazz, hello!"
"He couldn't have gone far. Weird." Syrus said.
"I know. Something's wrong. We should have never split up."
The Shadow Rider with the mask drew his next card. And then, something big and bulky appeared right behind him.
"What the... what is that thing?" Chazz asked in shock.
"Whatever it is... it's most likely dangerous." Michael replied.
And then, the masked Shadow Rider inserted a card into his duel disk, causing meteors to fall down from the sky and bombard the boys' field. They then watched as their dragons melted before shattering into pixels.
"Our dragons are gone!" Michael exclaimed.
And it was then that the masked Shadow Rider's book, which was sticking out from his pocket, emitted a familiar glowing symbol.
"It's that mark!" Chazz said. "Again! But why?"
But instead of giving them answers, the Shadow Rider let his big monster raise its right hand and shot a torrent of flames, which enveloped the two boys.
"AAAHHH!"
Chazz & Michael: 0800-0000
And that scream was loud enough for the gang to hear. "You hear that?" Jaden asked.
"Not again." Andrew muttered before he ran off, with the others right behind him. They ran for a minute before they reached a lake. It was then he noticed a glowing circle with a dot in the middle. "What is that?"
"Guys! Look over there!" Chumley said, pointing his flashlight further. Everyone followed it and saw some cards floating on the water's surface. Jaden and Andrew gasped when they saw the five Ojamas floating above some of them and sobbed.
"It's Chazz's cards!" Jaden said, recognizing some of them.
Andrew's eyes caught some other cards. "Not just his cards. It's Michael's cards as well!"
"So both of them have been taken?!" Xander asked worriedly. "Just who is doing this?"
At that moment, deep underground, the two Shadow Riders stood over the mystical locks that kept the Sacred Beasts safe. Three of the slots were glowing, meaning that three of them have been unlocked. The two Shadow Riders held up their hands and 5 more slots of the locks began to shine brightly, leaving only two slots unlit. Which means a total of 8 spirit keys had been won by the Shadow Riders... now only two remain. The chamber began to shake violently as eight beams of light shot forth from a small orb of energy.
The whole thing was so violent that the entire island was shaking, much to the boys' shock. They then watched as eight, huge pillars of light shot up around the island and rose high into the air.
"What was that?!" Andrew asked.
"Don't know, but definitely not a good thing!" Jaden replied
And it's done. This sure took me a while. And this was the third GX chapter in a row, so you all know what that means. Until next time.
