Chapter 10: The Olden Days

"So what happened since I forgot? I now remember the past but what happened since the day in the Shadow Realm is a blank." I smiled and I sat on my bed and I began to tell him.

"I'll start with Jaden's battle with you. See we were sent to protect the gate from the evil guardians. Jaden Yuki, Zane Truesdale, Dr. Crowler, Mr. Banner, Chazz Princeton, and I were selected to protect the gate. We were selected once Tonx challenged Jaden to a shadow realm the first week of school. We found out you were somehow involved. Jaden beat you in a Shadow Game and you were saved but when we were back in the real world you were in Arête or shadow sleep, I suspected you're body wasn't ready for this world. Jaden was beaten up from the duel also. When you awoke you were empty you walked around emptily searching and not finding whatever it was that you were looking for. Then we got your soul back and you still couldn't remember. I worked hard to help you and I realized I had to battle them in the shadow realm. So I battled Tonx and that's it." I fell back on my bed and relaxed.

"You and Jaden worked really hard together. I do remember some things. I know I didn't like Jaden at any of my forms and I did things I shouldn't have. I know I tried to kill Jaden a plenty of times. I'm sorry, I also tried to ruin you're friendship. I still have 2 years of Duelist Academy work to do so I'll still be here with you."

"I guess we did work really hard and Jaden saved me a plenty of times. I knew that you couldn't control anything you were doing. I'm just glad you're finally backing to you normal self and everyone's so happy." I wanted to cry but there was no reason, I had Jaden and all my friends. I was finally happy. It couldn't have been better.

It was almost summer vacation and everything was cooling down. I didn't want to return home. I wished it could stay at school forever. I feel here that my destiny is clear. At home, there are no rules, no existences other than my family and a few neighbors there.

"Life is supposed to be a challenge not a life of easy equations that are ready to be solved. Truth is way better than fiction, and when I'm at home its only fiction." I sat there in my dorm area and kept talking to Mandy and Jasmine.

"Wow you have changed over the last few months. You were so simple minded now you are so up and down. I never thought that you felt that way." Mandy began to explain how she felt. "I'm a fair duelist but I wouldn't call this my destiny, being an heiress is the only way I can go. I'm not as strongly suited for a big dueling life as you and Jaden are."

"Yah, you really have no path exactly Lexy. If you don't go thru with the heiress thing, you could do anything. A championship duelist, a teacher you have a brother that can take it over. We don't we are the only hope for our families. I wished my brothers could take my spot sometimes but it is an up and down world." Jasmine had 2 brothers but with how their lives were going they could never be as successful as her.

I thought about how I use to act. I only hanged out with the top people. I never thought I was better than anyone was. Everyone expected my to go thru duel school, take over my family's business, marry a rich duelist and live happily ever after I never took my future to be a big deal, I was always in the now. I was stuck in the past and then Atticus is back and he really is stuck in the past.

Later I went to talk to him about all of this. "No one's destiny is clear. If your destiny was clear we'd have no hope to win a duel or get saved from the shadow realm. You know that 'Shadow Realm' means 'Destiny Sealed'. They never expected they would to ever be defeated because at the beginning of the shadow era; if a fortune teller told someone that the destiny was sealed them would go to a Shadow Duelist and give up there lives. There was no chance to change your destiny. We are each in charge of our own destiny, so make it what you want." Atticus was smart and he always knew what to say. Sometimes he didn't want to say it but if it really mattered he would say it.

I walked to the dorm and thought about what he said. I wandered back to my dorm and went to sleep thinking about it.

I awoke and it was an abnormally quiet morning, I had not woken up to a knock at the door in weeks. I kind of missed it; it was an awake of surprise you never knew who and why, they were behind the dorm. I felt there was no reason to get up for school, because school didn't start for an hour.

I went to the docks to see Zane as I did every morning unless I heard a knock then it was adventure time. "Hey Alexis, how's you doing? It's good to have him Atticus back. He was like the Jaden of the school." Zane was trying to make me feel better because I was down upset frowned with an expression of dear sadness.

"I'm okay, at least for the time being. I miss the olden times, dangerous duels, life or death, the danger and excitement of it all. I wonder why it all has stopped." I looked onto sunset and hoped more than anything that something exciting would happen.

Then I realized everything that was exciting has happened in every type of a story.

Danger- Shadow Duels Excitement- new friends Threats- Molly and Atticus Problems- Jaden and I split up Family issues- Atticus's disappearance Hope- Jaden wins duel Humor- ME and Syrus' duel Sadness- Atticus's disappearance Happiness- Atticus's reappearance

There were other possible things like a surprise or a romantic scene but that was it. I could just be a normal school girl do work all day and date boys. I would like to be asked on a date with Jaden.

I don't deserve a normal or exciting life. I hid too much, I'm too secretive. I would like to live like Mandy and Jasmine but they don't have the olden days. I had to say you need a life of normalities to have a completely normal life. I was not normal and I couldn't be. I was against the whole work of the world, levels of intelligence, work and money.

I liked to make my own destiny, go against the rules that are unfair. I never did date boys10.1.

I have some accusations of dating some boys like Blair when she first saw me hanging around with Zane. She had been in love with Zane, so when we finally got to talk to her and she wanted to marry Zane I explained how you can't she was 8 years younger. Then she accused me of being in love with Zane, and keeping him for myself. She also recorded a time when Zane and I were at the bay. I said "A dark, swampy dock at the middle of the night you sure know how to treat a girl right". She accused me of being on a date.

Even the school newspaper thinks I'm in love with Zane and Jaden. Zane's really nice and all but he is a little too focused on dueling. I enjoy palling around with Jaden he is the most amazing boy ever. Jaden was in dueling Blair and she said "Good-bye Jaden, my sweet prince, I love you." Jaden replies "but she's suppose to like Zane." Then I said, "Yah, but she loves you, Jaden.

I always have fun tormenting Jaden because Jaden doesn't understand the whole love dueling thing, one he's a boy, two, he's immature and never had a love duel other than the one with me. He wouldn't remember but he outwardly stated, "I not just impress with you, I think I'm in love." Jaden is not very lose on the word love it takes a girl with extreme dueling abilities and a few other things I haven't figured out what yet to make him like a girl.

After all that talk about love and the past I thought the SR. The darkness and all the duels we had, there.

Jaden vs. Tonx Dr. Crowler vs. Castalia Zane vs. Castalia Bastian vs. Yogi Jaden vs. Darkness(Atticus) MeAlexis vs. Tonx Mr. Banner vs. Dorkay Bastian vs. Menais

I had realized we had only dueled 6 out of 7 evils that's why the final battle isn't upon us. The 6 are Tonx, Castalia, Yogi, Darkness, Dorkay and Manias. We had one more to go thru. I remember some of the duels.

I had lost the fear of the shadow realm after the duels, the pain, the agony, the challenge. I never did get use to it. I still remember how scared I was when Jaden started to disappear into the darkness. Syrus and I always were the people they taunted for duel with.

The shadow Realm is a place to fear even to today. It may seam that now that we have defeated 6/7 of the evil guardians the evil battle is over but it's not. The last is the most powerful and I guarantee he will be here for Jaden.

If someone would try to enter the shadow realm after we seal it. They would end up with same problems as Atticus had to go thru with. As long as the keys are there and the shadow realm exists, we are all in possible danger.

We can hide everything about it but there will always be evil and good and people who look for evil in life.

I sometimes do miss the old days when I would sit and watch duels as Zane or Bastian point out the chances of winning or what their strategy was. In was the normal for me. I never expected excitement in my destiny and probably no one else did except for Jaden.

I was always the center of attention but I surprised the people of Obelisk Blue with my abilities and I was always surrounded by others. I was a girl with amazing skills, I hanged out with Zane Truesdale, and I was an honors student.

I was expected to go on and keep dueling, as well as hanging around with Zane for years and get married to him. He was rich, cute, a great duelist and an heir. He fit what was expected from and Rhodes student.

I could never be who I wanted to be at home. I found out during the year some strange things about each of the people I hang out with:

· Jaden- He has a mysterious ability to talk to his cards. He talks to his favorite card "Winged-Kuriboh".

· Syrus- He pretends to date girl duel monsters like "Dark Magician Girl"

· Chumsley- He is supposed to be a year 2 Slifer Red this year.

· Zane- He loves dueling, he has no sense of fun, and he doesn't understand girls.

· Chazz- He is under complete stress from his two older brothers.

I always feel guilty about knowing all their secrets and they don't know anything about me.