Author's Note: We've made it, everyone! The remake of Truth, and the final story in the Jaden's Journal fanfic series! Whoo!

It hasn't been that long since I ended Fiore, but considering how long it took to end that one, I decided I'd, at the very least, start this one soon. So, let's get this going!


Hello, Duel Fans! Number 1 Duelist, Jaden Yuki, here! Well, you know most of my legend up to this point. …Wait, what do you mean you don't? This isn't the first of these. Well, guess I can't blame you, it's been awhile.

To quickly cover my time at Duel Academy, I had been the top freshman in my class, even if my grades didn't show it. I defeat the Sacred Beasts. In my second year, after falling in love with Alexis Rhodes, a girl I had met at Duel Academy, I defeated the Society of Light. Then I beat the former-king of the Academy, Zane Truesdale. My third year, I got a lesson in humility in the form of the best Duelist of my generation, Jesse Anderson. Then, a little time before graduating, my former Duel Spirit, Yubel, tried to absorb everyone into a world of Darkness, but I put an end to that!

And after that, things kind of settled down. I'd taken a year to gather my thoughts and travel a little. Once I returned, I moved into an apartment with Chazz Princeton. Yes, THAT Chazz Princeton. Eventually, Atticus, Alexis' older brother, moved in too, although he was usually off starring in a commercial, or acting in some movie.

Sure, I wasn't fighting evil with the crew in the school yard anymore, but life wasn't BAD. It just didn't offer the most interesting stories. Until about five years after I graduated...


So, how does this story begin?

"Haha! I win again, Toy Enchanter!" I said.

With me, in the living room, chilling on the couch, playing a round of Spherium on the laptop. The new expansion had come out, and before heading to any arcades, I wanted to give it a shot on the web.

That's when Chazz returned home.

"Hey, Chazz, welcome back!" I said, with that lovably dumb smile on my face.

Chazz looked from me, to the laptop, back to me. Then he walked a few steps into the dining room-kitchen area, and…

"Pizza again?!" Chazz yelled.

"Hey, I didn't know if you would be back tonight." I said.

"You knew I wouldn't miss this!" Chazz said.

Chazz leapt over the back of the couch, with a pizza slice in hand.

"How'd the match go?" Chazz asked, as he flipped the TV on.

"Spherium?" I asked. "I won. Again."

It's no Duel Monsters, but Spherium is pretty fun.

"What about you?" I asked. "Your meeting go okay?"

"Duh!" Chazz said.

Chazz and his brothers would meet to discuss business about once a week. They still had their whole "take over the world" plan. Thanks to Chazz, they were even sponsoring several of the students from Duel Academy. Which leads to…

"Gooood evening, Duel Fans!" An announcer yelled into a microphone on the television screen. Hey, don't steal my greeting! "We at KTV are proud to present the final match of the tournament! In the red corner, Weevil Underwood!"

A spotlight lit up the red corner of the dueling field, illuminating Weevil, the legendary Bug duelist, who gave a cocky sneer.

"And now, you love him and so do I! Let's give a round of applause for everyone's favorite!" The announcer said.

A light now illuminated the blue corner, revealing… nobody. The crowd seemed confused at first, until a figure quickly ran through the darkness and snatched the microphone away from the announcer.

"Weevil, what do you want to do?" The figure asked. "Because I know…"

The figure stepped into the light, showing off a pitch black version of Aster's usual attire, with hair that looked like a bad imitation of mine, with a bad dye job to look like Yugi Muto's. Ah, the ol' copycat duelist, Dimitri. Or, as he went by now…

"Di-mi wants to Duel you!" Dimitri and the crowd said together.

"Ugh!" Chazz said. "He's like a more annoying version of you."

"Hey, Game On is timeless!" I said.

"Well, at least when he says it, it works." Chazz said. "I heard some new graduates from the Academy trying it in they're premiere duels. 'Just-in wants to Duel you' doesn't sound as good."

Chazz and I watched the whole match snacking on the pizza I ordered. It wasn't the most thrilling duel I'd ever seen. To be honest, it had nothing on The D or Doctor Collector. But the final turns were cool.

Weevil, with 800 Life Points left, had gotten Basic Insect on the field. Dimi had 1050 Life Points, and an open field.

"I equip my Basic Insect with Laser Armor Cannon!" Weevil said, as his monster gained 300 Attack Points.

"But it's still too weak to hit me for game." Dimitri said.

"True, even with his laser cannon, my insect is a little too basic to win this for me." Weevil admitted. "But he won't have to! Next I play Cocoon of Ultra Evolution!"

A golden cocoon surrounded Weevil's insect.

"With this card, I can tribute any Insect that has a card equipped to it, and summon an Insect from my deck!" Weevil explained. "Like this! Metamorphosed Insect Queen!"

The cocoon burst open and a giant insects crawled out of it. You ever see Insect Queen? Okay, imagine her, but with a more humanoid upper body, like Insect Princess, wings, and some extra spikes. There ya go!

With 2800 Attack Points, she was more than capable of beating Dimi.

"Go, my perfectly Metamorphosed Queen!" Weevil shouted. "Attack him directly! Queen's Toxic Howl!"

"I banish the Spiritual Swords of Revealing Lights in my graveyard!" Dimitri said, as swords appeared around him. "This prevents you from attacking directly!"

"That trick may have saved you this turn, but you won't be able to do that again!" Weevil growled. "And my Queen has a little surprise. She can give birth at the end of my turn! And when she has a subject on the field, hehehe, Insect monsters can't be harmed by card effects!"

Metamorphosed Insect Queen laid an egg in a disgusting fashion, as the turn moved to Dimitri.

"I play Dark Fusion!" Dimitri said. "This lets me fuse the Elemental Hero Burstinatrix and Clayman in my hands to make Evil Hero Infernal Sniper!"

...Yeah, you read that right! The guy was copying my cards, but in a more "dark" and "edgy" way!

You could see this with Infernal Sniper. Unlike Elemental Hero Rampart Blaster, who looked to have armor, a gun and helmet, Infernal Sniper let her hair flow free, a chest plate and boots, blood red of course, and a laser… with sharp hooks on the side… Yeah, I don't know why they're there either.

It should go without saying, but she had the same stats as Blaster.

"So what?!" Weevil asked, smirking. "Your Evil Hero can't get over my Insect Queen!"

"She doesn't need to!" Dimitri said. "As long as I have her in Defense Mode, she can inflict 1000 points of damage to your Life Points! Infernal Shot!"

Infernal Sniper gathered a red energy in her laser arm. Weevil's confident look quickly turned to one of fear.

"Waaaaaiiittt…" Weevil cried.

Sniper fired the shot and took Weevil down to 0!

Everyone in the audience gave a standing ovation, while Weevil snuck to his knees. Dimitri sauntered over, in a friendly enough fashion. Hands in his pocket, smile on his face. I wonder who he picked that up from.

"Hey, that was a close game!" Dimitri said, holding out a hand.

Weevil looked bitterly at Dimitri, but took his hand anyway. When Dimitri pulled Weevil up, his eyes widened.

"I was afraid that was the case." Dimi said.

"What are you-" Weevil started, before Dimitri reached up his sleeve. Whoa, what the heck, man?!

Dimitri pulled three copies of Cocoon of Ultra Evolution out of Weevil's sleeve. The audience gasped, while Chazz and I leaned forward.

"Weevil Underwood." Dimitri said, glaring at Weevil. "I used to respect you. But to think you would cheat by housing these cards up your sleeve. I'm ashamed to have ever called myself a fan of yours."

Weevil looked shocked.

"No, but I…" Weevil said. "I never cheat during duels!"

"The proof speaks for itself." Dimitri said, dropping the cards and turning away.

"Well, you know that's gonna be all over the news this week." Chazz said.

There was the usual tournament aftermath, including interviews with the winner. Usually, the loser would also get interviewed, but Weevil was doing anything he could to get away from the reporters. I almost felt bad for the guy.

Chazz and I flipped to Let's Take On Quizzer, as hosted by Bob Banter. Oh, right. Bob!

Bob had been a student at Duel Academy the same time I was there. Apparently during the period of time when Alexis and I were broken up, he tried asking her out on the rebound. Otherwise, he didn't make much of an impression on any of us.

From what I've heard though, he was a mostly harmless kid who lacked confidence outside of duels. He'd get through duels by pretending to be a game show host, so when a network exec saw him in a duel, he got offered a show.

The contestant was a late-20's, early-30-something year old named Rick.

"Alright, Ricky-Tricky, you've only got one panel left to flip!" Bob announced.

The game show was based off Bob's deck. He used these quiz cards, which would go on a board or something.

That became the basis for the show. Nine "panels" are flipped over on a board, one at a time. You get to pick in which order. The panel will either have a question, or a challenge. You win the game, and the prize money, if you complete all nine.

The questions and challenges were always changed up, so you'd never be sure what you were gonna be asked.

"Then I flip the middle panel!" Rick said.

The panel flipped, like a card, showing Gigobyte.

Bob pulled a card out of his jacket and read it out, "Gigobyte has a tranquil soul, but is destined to be tainted by evil as he grows, which can be seen across his many older forms! Rick, can you name three of those older forms!?"

A countdown started, and Rick stood there thinking.

"Gagagigo…"

Correct!

"Jigabyte…"

One more…

"And Gogiga Gagigo?"

BZZT!

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Bob said. "The name is actually Gogiga GAgagigo. You missed one of the Ga's."

Rick put on a brave face, despite clearly beating himself up mentally for the mistake.

"Hey, don't worry." Bob said, reassuringly. "That question was based on one of my cards. It's one of our toughest questions. But with eight out of nine panels beaten, you still win our consolation prize! Tell him what it is, Johnny!"

"A year's supply of Cheebohs, the cheese snack shaped like everyone's favorite puffball! Cheebohs, guaranteed to protect your Life Points from hunger!" The announcer said.

"Darn! I was sure he had that one!" Someone said from behind Chazz and me.

Chazz and I turned around to find Atticus, who had been hanging out behind the couch. Atticus was now smiling innocently, as if he hadn't just spooked us.

"Atticus?!" I asked.

"When did you get back?" Chazz asked.

"Tonight." Atticus said. Oh, very funny.

"How'd the movie go?" I asked.

"Pretty good." Atticus said. "I'm just glad to have had a part in it. When we were kids, Alexis loved the card Swing of Memories whenever I'd play it. So, to get the chance to star in a movie based off it is the chance of a lifetime."

Atticus' eyes had this wistful, nostalgic look to them. It was genuinely heartwarming. Then he smirked at me.

"Speaking of my sister, last time I spoke to her, she seemed like she wanted to hear from you, Jaden. When was the last time you two spoke?"

"I sent her an email the other day." I said.

Atticus clearly wasn't impressed. Okay, so I hadn't seen her since I left to go on my year of traveling. And, alright, we didn't talk on the phone much.

Part of that was to avoid any temptation on either of our parts, and part of it was because I was worried she might still be upset about the whole "Old Duel Spirit possessing her and her brother" thing. I was a little nervous!

"She message you back?" Atticus asked.

"Yeah." I said. "I told her about this duel I have in a few days, she wished me luck, wants to know how it goes."

"You've got a duel scheduled?" Atticus asked. "With who?"


"Professionally, he's called Maitre'D." Sartorius said, holding up a clipboard. "His specialty, as his name suggests, is in food and drink-based monsters."

Just as he promised near the end of my third year at Duel Academy, Sartorius had taken up the position of my manager. He was actually pretty good at it too.

His plan was to pitch me as an alternative to any Duelists who had wanted a shot at Aster, but who Aster wasn't interested in. I wasn't too thrilled on being Aster's understudy, since I beat him three times in one year, but it was a place to start.

"His focus is on monsters that grow stronger each turn." Sartorius went on.

"Doesn't sound too hard." I said. "I just don't let him keep a monster on the field."

"Don't get too cocky." Sartorius said. "He may not be as highly regarded now, but at one time he was the eighth best Duelist in the League."

"So, why's he working at some restaurant?" I asked.

"The new generation came along." Sartorius explained. "People were more interested in them. That doesn't mean he'll be an easy opponent. He might need another way to make the donuts, so to speak, but he's still fairly well regarded. However, he's hoping to make his way back to the top."

"By taking on the greatest Duelist from the Academy?" I asked, smirking.

"By testing his deck against you to take on Heroes." Sartorius said. "Then he plans to go for Aster and Dimi."

I slumped back in my chair.

"Look on the bright side, Jaden." Sartorius said, reassuringly. "This is a very high-end restaurant. You may be able to find a good sponsor."

Oh, right! Sponsorships! I had none.

Well, that's kind of a lie.

Alright, when you graduate Duel Academy, they technically sponsor you. By which I mean, they don't pay for any equipment or anything, but you can at least have their name attached to you.

Usually, graduates would only have a "sponsorship" by Duel Academy for a short time, before finding someone else, if they didn't already find one prior to graduation.

Since I was in a funk during my last couple months at Duel Academy, and was almost completely unknown when I entered the scene, I didn't have anyone attached to me, besides Duel Academy.

In other words, it was like training wheels. You keep them on until you find your balance, but having them after 4 years of riding is seen as being waaaaay behind. Make sense?

"Now, go give it your all!" Sartorius said, giving me a pat on the shoulder.

"Always do!" I said.


So, the restaurant was this classy joint. Nothing too crazy, but it was the kind of place you'd go to on a date if you were loaded, or to impress a potential client.

It was also where Maitre'D worked at.

I stood to the side of the stage, waiting for the piano player to finish.

Peeking out, I could see Atticus was sitting at a table. As I'd later find out, Chazz was invited, but had some meeting to get to, so he gave Atticus his invitation instead.

"Wonderful!" The owner of the restaurant said, clapping his hands once the pianist finished. Bet you thought I didn't know that word, huh? Thanks again for the word of the day calen- Wait, I'm tangenting.

The owner took the stage, as the piano was being lowered by one of those platforms, held a microphone in his hands, and cleared his throat.

"Now, it is my honor to present our other entertainment for the evening!" The owner said. "A duel featuring our very own sommelier! You may have heard of him before! Ladies and gentlemen, please give a round of applause for Maitre'D!"

One of the wait staff, a guy with a goatee and either tattoos or very heavy bangs on the side of his eyes, set a tray of glasses down. Guess this was the guy. Maitre'D gracefully walked on stage. Everyone gave him that applause.

"His opponent for the evening will be a young up-and-coming star." The owner said. "He hasn't made much of a name for himself yet, but he's the third greatest Hero Duelist out there, and surely a stepping stone on the path to Aster Phoenix and Dimi! Introducing Jaden Yuki!"

I walk out from behind the curtain. Crickets. Well, crickets and Atticus.

"Woo! Go, Jaden!" Atticus said.

That earned him a few dirty looks.

"Don't be discouraged." Maitre'D said. Ah, a French accent. Neat. "It takes quite some time for a Duelist to get recognition. Once you're seasoned, you'll get a bigger reaction."

"Thanks, I think." I said, scratching the back of my head. Was that a compliment, or insult? No, seriously, I'm asking. "Anyway, let's get this game on!"

We both activated our Duel Disks, and drew five cards.

"To allow you more time to ferment, I'll go first." Maitre'D said. Yep, insulting me. "I'll place one card facedown, and then summon Bacchus."

An old, kingly looking man in Grecian robes and holding a chalice, appeared on the field. The man had 1600 Attack Points.

"And with that, I'll end my turn." Maitre'D said.

I drew a card. Foolish Burial, huh? Hey, that could work with another card in my hand.

"First, I activate Foolish Burial!" I said, holding up the card. "This lets me send a card from my deck to the graveyard."

"Sending one of your own cards to the graveyard?" Maitre'D asked. "I expected you to be wet behind the ears, but now I must wonder if you've thought all this through."

"Oh, don't worry, I have." I said. "Cause next I'm gonna summon out Elemental Hero Liquid Soldier!"

Oh! I've been looking forward to sharing this with you! Yeah, in the past five years, my deck got better! I know, it seems impossible, right?

Anyway, a superhero with light blue armor and small water tanks on his wrists appeared on my side of the field.

One of the patrons turned to his date, and said, "That monster only has 1400 Attack Points. It's not nearly enough to beat Bacchus."

"When Liquid Soldier is summoned, I can recover a Hero monster in my graveyard, as long as it's Level 4 or lower." I said. "So, come back, Elemental Hero Neos Alius!"

A younger version of Neos appeared on my field. Sure, his Attack Points were 1900, not as many as the original Neos, but enough to beat Bacchus!

"Ooh, I've heard you had some rare new Hero monsters." Maitre'D said, clapping. "A nice surprise."

"Thanks." I said. "Now, Alius will-"

"Before you enter your Battle Phase, I activate Threatening Roar!" Maitre'D said.

As Maitre'D's facedown turned up, Bacchus glared at my monsters and let out a roar, unnerving them.

"This card prevents your monsters from battling this turn!" Maitre'D explained.

"Well, guess that's it for my turn then." I said.

As Maitre'D drew a card, Bacchus drank from his chalice.

"At the start of each turn, Bacchus gains 300 Attack Points." Maitre'D explained.

Oh, so that's what Sartorius meant!

A couple of people in the audience clapped at the combo of Threatening Roar and Bacchus.

"I'll set a monster facedown." Maitre'D said, as a card appeared next to Bacchus. "Now, Bacchus, serve Liquid Soldier a Bacchus special!"

Bacchus had clearly drank something rank when raising his Attack Points to 1900, because he belched. Liquid Soldier was overcome by the stench and shattered. My Life Points dropped to 3500.

"Now I'll set two cards facedown and end my turn." Maitre'D said.

I had to get rid of Bacchus before another turn passed! Otherwise, it'd get too strong to- Wait, that's it!

"First off, I'll send Elemental Hero Captain Gold to the graveyard!" I said, discarding a card from my hand. "When I do that, I can bring Skyscraper from my deck to my hand! And I think I'll activate it too!"

Once I pulled Skyscraper from my deck, I played it, and buildings rose up around us. Some of the audience gave a slight clap, but nothing I'd call applause.

"This card allows your Heroes to gain 1000 Attack Points when fighting a monster stronger than them, yes?" Maitre'D asked.

"Got that right!" I said.

"I'll need to remember that for my Duel against Aster Phoenix.' Maitre'D said.

"I don't quite get it." A businessman said to his client. "Neos Alius has the same amount of Attack Points as Bacchus."

Right now. But if I lower them, he gets Skyscraper's effect!

"Next, I use Hero Heart!" I said. "This cuts Alius' attack, and let's him attack twice!"

Neos Alius' Attack Points were cut in half, which would allow him a second attack. And, more importantly, in this case…

"Alius, attack Bacchus!" I yelled.

Alius jumped on top of one of the buildings. But, before he could leap off…

"I activate Ultimate Offering!" Maitre'D said, as his facedown turned face-up. "But before I use it, I'll activate Divine Chalice! It lets me summon a Crimson Token when I have a Water monster on the field, like Bacchus!"

A crimson liquid spilled out of Bacchus' chalice, taking the shape of a slime on the ground.

Before I could continue my attack, Maitre'D's Life Points decreased to 3500.

"With Ultimate Offering's effect, I sacrifice my Bacchus and Crimson Token, to offer you this dish!" Maitre'D said. "Big Vintage Magna Mutton!"

Bacchus and the slime disappeared, and in their place stood a giant… lion, I think. It looked more like a dog with a lion mask on it, but, hey, it still had 2500 Attack Points. Neos Alius couldn't take that on. Oh, and it had cannons on its side.

Thankfully, because his number of monsters changed a few times, I got to change my attack target.

"I attack your facedown!" I shouted.

Neos Alius finally got to jump off the building, and struck the facedown. A woman in a Grecian dress, with 1200 Attack and Defense Points appeared and tried to counterattack by throwing a chalice at Alius. Alius smashed through the chalice, and the woman shattered.

But, as Alius returned to my field, he looked queasy. And his Attack Points dropped to 0.

"Neos Alius, you okay?" I asked.

"You just destroyed my facedown Foaming Beauty." Maitre'D explained. "When she's flipped up, one monster losses 1000 Attack Points."

"Then I'll lay down a facedown and call it a turn." I said.

Maitre'D drew a card and Mutton's cannons grew bigger, as his Attack Points increased to 3500. Not good.

"Since she didn't get a chance to dine last time, I think I'll bring Foaming Beauty back." Maitre'D said.

Another copy of Foaming Beauty appeared on Maitre'D's field.

"Magna Mutton, attack Neos Alius!" Maitre'D commanded. "Bordeaux Barrage!"

The cannons on Mutton's back fired, shattering Neos Alius. Thankfully, when I ended my turn, his Attack Points were no longer halved. That put him at 900 Attack Points, after the first Foaming Beauty's effect. But that meant I only had 900 Life Points left.

"Foaming Beauty, bring Jaden the check, if you please." Maitre'D said.

"Actually, I'm not done with my meal yet!" I said. "I activate Hero Spirit! If an Elemental Hero was destroyed this turn, I can use this card to make the damage of one attack 0!"

I got a couple ooh's and aah's from the crowd.

Anyway, Foaming Beauty's attack was little more than a light spray of bubbles.

"I end my turn." Maitre'D said.

I drew a card from my deck, and that was all it took to figure out how to win.

"I summon Elemental Hero Blazeman!" I said.

Another new Hero. Yeah, this was cool! This one was wearing orange and red armor, and his hair was made of fire!

"When Blazeman is summoned, I get to add Polymerization to my hand!" I explained.

And here we go!

"Now I'll activate that Polymerization!" I said. "Fusing the Blazeman on my field, and the Neos in my hand!"

Neos appeared next to Blazeman and the two swirled together, creating another new Hero. One with red samurai armor, a black cape and blades on his arms.

"Maitre'D, I'd like you to meet my first dinner guest, Elemental Hero Sunrise!" I said.

"Clever." Maitre'D said, then it hit him. "First guest?!"

Hey, you lost your accent for a second there, bud.

"Yep!" I said. "See, when Sunrise is Special Summoned, I can add Miracle Fusion to my hand. And I think I'll play it!"

Neos and Blazeman's spirits appeared on the field again. Only, instead of becoming a second Sunrise, they turned into a more muscular version of Neos.

"My second guest, Elemental Hero Brave Neos!" I said.

"Very impressive." A woman in the audience said to her friend. "But both his monsters only have 2500 Attack Points."

"Lucky for me, my monsters both have super powers." I said. "Sunrise increases the Attack of all my monsters by 200 for each different Attribute I control."

That's 2700 for both so far.

"And Brave Neos gains 100 Points for each Hero in my graveyard." I explained.

Liquid, Neos Alius and Captain Gold. Neos went up to 3000.

"But they're still not…" Then the sommelier remembered where we were and his eyes widened. "Skyscraper!" He lost his accent again.

"Brave Neos, attack Foaming Beauty!" I shouted.

That actually confused Maitre'D, who expected me to attack Magna Mutton.

Brave Neos leapt up and posed on a building, while Sunrise slashed at Mutton, destroying it.

"What?!" Maitre'D yelled.

"If another Hero attacks while Sunrise is on the field, I can pick one card and destroy it!" I said.

Mutton shattered, while Neos finished his attack on Foaming Beauty. Maitre'D's Life Points dropped to 1700.

"But since you've been such a great server, I'll give you a little extra." I said. "Sunrise, attack directly! Shining Slash!"

Sunrise slashed at Maitre'D's Duel Disk, dropping his Life Points to 0!

"And that's game!" I said, doing my winning pose.

Yep! Some things changed in five years, but not me! Well, besides getting better! Heh!

Maitre'D stood up, walked over to me and almost seemed to glare at me. Until his gaze softened, and he held out his hand.

"If this is how fine you are now, I can't wait to see how your taste matures." Maitre'D said.

"Thanks, I think." I said, shaking his hand.

Maitre'D turned to the audience and lifted my arm in the air.

"A toast for our victor!" Maitre'D said.

A cheer of, well, "Cheers!" rang through the restaurant.

"And remember to tip your waiter!" I said.

Crickets again. Not even Atticus gave me any encouragement for that one.

"Bad puns like that aren't gonna get you too far." Maitre'D whispered to me.

Hey, at least I don't fake an accent.


After the duel, I sat down next to Atticus.

"How'd I do?" I asked.

"Well, I guess you did alright." Atticus said, then chuckled. "I'm kidding, man. You were great."

"For real?" I asked.

"Yeah, I thought you were great up there too, Jay!"

"Atticus, quit popping up behind- Huh?" I said, realizing I was staring at Atticus.

I turned around. Oh, great…

"Jesse?!" I asked.

Here to show me up? Nah, I kid. You know we're good, Jess.

"How've ya been, bud?" Jesse asked.

"Great!" I said. "And you?"

"I can't complain." Jesse said.

"You here for our annual duel?" I asked.

In the past five years, I'd lost to Jesse in three of them, tied once, and I only beat him once because he didn't have Rainbow Dragon at the time.

"Oh, I've got a duel here." Jesse said. "Well, not here, but in Domino. But I'm HERE because I need your help."

Now, I know what you're thinking. 'Why was the only guy who was better than you asking for your help, Jaden?' And if you're thinking that, why do you gotta insult me?

Anyway, he wasn't talking to me. He was talking to Atticus.

"Me?" Atticus asked, pointing to himself.

"My opponent uses Red-Eyes, and Jaden told me before that you used them." Jesse said.

His opponent uses…

"Jess?" I asked, almost hesitantly.

"What's up?" Jesse asked.

"Wh-Who are you dueling?" I asked.

Please don't say it. Please don't say it. Please don't-

"Joey Wheeler." Jesse said, smirking.

Well, guess I was wrong. Things were definitely getting interesting!


Author's Note: Well, this is it. The beginning of the end. Warning everyone ahead of time, I'm probably gonna get sentimental in these Author's Notes. You have been warned.

As usual, credit to my bud, WarMixedSoul, for double checking the duel for me!

So, while I want to talk about the various plans I've had for this fanfic during the four years I was working on Fiore, I'll save that for later. Right now, I wanna talk about the title!

Up until now, I've been naming each remake based on the original title. It started out with Breaking the Society's Hold, which I titled as I did just to distinguish it from the original Breaking the Hold. From there, I distinguished Missing's remake by changing the title to Missing You. This continued with Competing for Love being the remake of Competition, and Fiore, which sounded similar to original fourth fanfic, Fury.

This fanfic, obviously, breaks that theme. For what it's worth, it continues a secondary trend used by the first three, having "-ing" at the end of the first word in the title. But it also loses the "different amount of words" trend that all four previous give had.

I tried figuring out a title that met all three previous trends, but the only ones I could come up with would be pretentious, wouldn't roll off the tongue, or both.

Anyway, as for completely removing "Truth" or any similar words from the titles, it's because I decided to prioritize the themes of the fanfic. The first three fics all give at least some idea of what the fanfic was about. The fourth was a bit more symbolic, with Yubel's vines and at least partial inspiration, but it still fit to some degree.

The original fifth fanfic was called Truth. The titular truth being about Jaden fusing with Yubel. If you've read the previous fanfic, that's not possible anymore. And, yes, I do have plans for that event, which will be brought up later in this story.

If it wasn't obvious from this chapter, the themes of this fanfic will be about Jaden and the new generation succeeding the prior generation. Not really sure how I could fit Truth in there, end it in "-ing" and make it five words.

So, instead, Taking the Reins. I chose that over something like Passing the Torch, because one, it sounds a little better, and two, as a nice tip of the hat to "Breaking the Hold", the first in the original version of this fanfic series. Ah, bookends.

Also, much like Fiore sounding like Fury, Reins sounds like Reign. Another nice call back to the original, where, in the fifth fanfic, Jaden took on Yugi, ending his REIGN as King of Games. Although, in that version, Jaden thought he was dueling Joey… like Jesse does now…

Nobody tell Jaden about this! I don't think he can take that after Competing for Love.