Since you all enjoyed this so much, here's Part 2, along with bonus scenes!
Disclaimer: Mage of Hope doesn't own Yu-Gi-Oh series, only the OCs!
Just like the darkened clouds that transpired around the night skies, despair and fear filled the entire island with the presence of a powerful enemy that proved to be both merciless and sadistic. Underneath Duel Academy, two of the Spirit Gates unlocked by themselves as both gates felt two of the Spirit Keys being in the hands of the evil darkness.
Sheppard, who was inside his office, frowned; feeling a sudden change within the Spirit Gates. "So, the reports were true, unfortunately...Two of the Spirit Gates have already..."
Some static sounds coming from a TV near Sheppard's desk caught the Chancellor's attention. The TV screen was a little blurry and full of static until the screen was cleared up, revealing a strange shadow-like man with cords plugged into his body.
"Too tiring for you? Unable to handle the fact that two innocent Spirit Key holders lost their souls? Then, why don't you save me the trouble and hand over the rest of the keys?"
Sheppard shook his head. "You and I both know that I won't give up, that much, I know. Besides, knowing you, you'd want to see the full conclusion of this 'war,' don't you?"
"Fufufufufu...You're right. But, can all your students survive the wrath of the vampire?"
In the infirmary...
"No...No...! Aah! Aah! Aah! N-not there! Ah! D-don't-Ah!"
'You know, if this was any other situation, I would have misinterpreted the situation,' thought Alexis sweatdropping at Jaden before reverting back to her full concern for both her and Atticus.
It's only been one day ever since they lost Zane to Camula. If it weren't for her cowardly act of taking Syrus hostage, Zane would have won the duel for sure. Syrus had spent the night before and half the day today in the infirmary due to lack of blood, and was released several hours ago with advice to get some rest. At the moment, Atticus still hasn't regained consciousness, and Jaden had somewhat of a fever, thus explaining a bit of her nightmares she's now experiencing.
"Jaden..." muttered Alexis before turning back to her brother. "Just when you saved my brother from the darkness of the terrible Shadow Games, you, too, got injured trying to save him. And now...Crowler and Zane lost their souls, and I don't know if-"
Her talking ceased when the half pendant around Atticus' neck shined, causing Atticus to wake up, though he was still weak. "A-Alexis..." spoke Atticus softly.
"Atticus! What are you trying to say?" asked Alexis, deciding to take off Atticus' oxygen mask as gently as she could.
"Camula...I need to tell you about Camula...She's...she's one of the most ruthless Shadow Riders..." said Atticus. "She uses cowardly tactics...but most importantly, a...a Shadow Charm that allows her to steal souls...But, you can stop her with another Charm..."
"Another? But, where can we find another Shadow Charm to counter Camula's?" wondered Alexis.
"I...hold the first half of a Shadow Charm...it could help deflect Camula's magic...and, I noticed that, during my duel with Jaden when I was Nightshroud...that he had...the second half...put them together, and you'd get-"
"The whole Shadow Charm!"
Nodding, Atticus pulled half of his pendant and handed it to Alexis. "Take this to Jaden...tell him to use it...please..."
"Okay, I will. Just, get some rest, okay?" Clutching half of the Shadow Charm close to her, Alexis walked towards Jaden and tried to wake her up. "Jaden? Jaden, please, wake up-"
"No, no, no!" cried out Jaden, clutching her bedsheets as sweat dripped from her forehead onto her pillow while she tossed and turned. "I don't wanna! I don't wanna! Get away from me! Ah!"
'She must be having a nightmare!' thought Alexis as she tried to shake Jaden. 'Oh no! Could she be scared of the Shadow Riders? Not that I blame her, but-'
"Aaaah! Get away, onion ninjas! I won't let you have my ice cream paradise! Flame Wingman, burn the onion ninjas! I hate onions!"
'...And I was so worried about her,' Alexis frowned; a deadpanned expression on her face as she got up and shoved half of the Shadow Charm into her back pocket. She left the infirmary, only to return a minute later with a bucket of ice, cold water with several ice cubes.
It didn't take a genius to figure out what happened next.
Outside of the castle...
Awaiting the rest of their companions, both Chazz and Bastion stood near the lake where it lead straight towards Camula's castle, which was only visible at night, yet still hidden within the fog surrounding the ocean.
Speaking of which, it appears that they're now arriving, although both Chumley and Syrus were dragging a frightened Banner, who held Pharaoh rather too tightly in his arms.
"Come on, Professor Banner! You're practically a Shadow Dueling expert!"
"Yeah, you're more experienced than we are, aren't you? After all, you are a teacher in DUELING."
"T-that's true, but teaching and dueling are two different fundamentals!"
"Feh, there's no need for you to duel, Professor," assured Chazz confidently with his hands on his hips. "The most logical thing to do is to allow-"
"-Me to handle to the dueling. Isn't that right, Chazz?" interrupted Bastion, more confident in his own dueling skills. Not only was he skilled, but he has also proved to be more intelligent than Chazz a few times such as during test times.
"Hey, I'm dealing with that-!"
"Everyone, hold on!"
Hearing the loud noises of the engine of a motorboat revving up as splashes of water occured, a motorboat pulled up towards land before Alexis climbed out and landed on the sand; her boots splashing and landing on the drenched sandy grounds.
"Her next opponent's already been decided!" declared Alexis before removing the sheet inside the motorboat.
Jaden, being mostly recovered, stood up from underneath the sheet with a huge grin on her face. "Hey, guys!"
"Jaden! That's too dangerous! You can't!" cried out Syrus.
"Yeah, besides I'm the one taking care of this!" said Chazz.
"No, I already said I will!" argued Bastion.
"Look, I know that Jaden isn't fully 100% recovered yet," spoke up Alexis. "But there's something important we have to tell you..."
Together with Jaden, Alexis revealed what Atticus told her about the Shadows Games along with Camula's secret trick. More importantly, both girls explaining about the Shadow Charms Atticus informed them and how they might counteract against Camula's dark magic.
"Even though we don't fully understand the Shadow Games, Jaden does have the power to fight back against Camula so long as she's got that Shadow Charm," persisted Alexis. "So, instead of just rushing in recklessly, wouldn't it make the grounds more even if we had a Shadow Charm of our own?"
Realizing that Alexis was right, Chazz's avenging spirit wore down as he calmed himself. "Yeah...guess so."
"Right now, we do have a bit of an advantage. We'll have to leave the duel to Jaden, who actually has a Shadow Charm."
"Yeah, no worries! I won't lose, so just leave it all to me!" promised Jaden, pounding her chest and causing the two halves of the Shadow Charm to collide once before separating and dangling mid-air.
The entire group hurried inside the castle, trying to find Camula as soon as possible. Eventually, they made their way to the main room, where the vampire mistress was awaiting for them there as her bats flocked around her.
"Camula! I've come here to duel you, and I won't take no for an answer!" demanded Jaden.
Unfazed by her threat, Camula replied, "Fine then. But, this'll be the same as the last two times. There's no way a feeble mortal like you can ever hope of defeating me!"
"Oh yeah? I dare you to prove me wrong!" Jaden shouted, climbing the stairs towards a balcony; the same level as Camula as they face-to-face with each other. "Get your game on!"
"DUEL!"
- DUEL -
Jaden - 4000 LP
VS
Camula - 4000 LP
"I'll kick things off! Draw!" said Jaden. "For toying with my friends and turning them into dolls, and even going so far as to take Syrus hostage...I won't forgive you!"
"Jaden..." muttered Syrus. Even though Camula had a slight advantage of being a bit unpredictable, he knew Jaden could win this and felt happy that Jaden tried to save him in the last duel.
"Oh? Interesting, then show me your determination! Try and beat me!" challenged Camula.
"Gladly!" said Jaden. "First off, I'm activating Polymerization and fusing Bubbleman and Necroshade from my hand! I Fusion Summon Elemental Hero Escuridao!"
With the two Monsters out of the way, the female Elemental Hero of darkness appeared to take down the evil vampire of the Shadow Riders. Fitting due to the fact that both of them uses powers of darkness, but differently.
Elemental Hero Escuridao - (DARK/Warrior/Fusion) - LV8 - (2500/2000)
"For each Elemental Hero in my Graveyard, she gains an additional 100 Attack Points for each! I have two, so she gains 200 Attack Points!"
Elemental Hero Escuridao - (DARK/Warrior/Fusion) - LV8 - (2700/2000)
"Wow, what a way to start the duel!" gasped Syrus, impressed with Jaden's playthrough. "Jaden's definitely amazing!"
"It's clear that Jaden wishes to end this as soon as possible," spoke up Bastion. "Not that I blame her, considering how dangerous Camula can be the longer she's in a duel."
"Looks like Jaden's not playing around, too," agreed Chazz. "But this is the first turn, so she can't attack Camula directly. She'll have to be careful when Camula's turn comes."
"Yes, indeed," said Banner. "After all, we've seen several of Camula's tricks, especially with that Illusion Gate card. Hopefully, she never gets a chance to play it this duel."
"Considering her skill as a Shadow Rider, she's got to have more than just one strategy," said Alexis.
"I'll set a card facedown before ending my turn!" announced Jaden.
"My, trying to rush the duel here?" wondered Camula, amused. "Fine, my draw! And I play Illusion Gate!"
Upon seeing the familiar gate once again, Jaden couldn't help but gasp. "No, really?! Of all the draws, she just HAD to get that one!"
"Just in case you've forgotten, I've decided to be generous and remind you of its effects!" shouted Camula. "First off, all Monsters on the field are instantly destroyed! Then, I get to play any Monster used during this duel! And the only required payment for this powerful Spell is a soul to sell to the Sacred Beasts should I happen to lose this duel! Now, which one shall I choose?"
Having touched her choker, the power of her Shadow Charm activated, triggering the gates of Illusion Gate to burst open as a mist of darkness invaded the area. The spectators started coughing for some fresh air since the mist was dangerous to suck in and was abnormal compared to normal oxygen. The only ones unaffected were Camula and Jaden, but possibly because of their Shaodw Charms protecting them.
"Oh, but this decision is far too hard for me to choose," admitted Camula sinisterly. "I think I might as well sacrifice all your friends!"
"What?! Damnit, no!" cried out Jaden.
As if answering the pleadful cries of its wielder, the two halves of the Shadow Charm Jaden possessed clicked together in time, becoming one. Afterwards, the red gem in the center shined before releasing rays of light that shot out at the mist of darkness in several directions, forcing the mist to retreat back into the Illusion Gate right before the gates themselves closed.
"What just happened?" wondered Syrus.
"Jaden's Shadow Charm must have negated the effects of Camula's!" theorized Bastion. "Now, as long as Jaden as that Shadow Charm, nobody has to worry about their souls being taken!"
"Haha! I win this round!" bragged Jaden. "Now, how about you quit using Illusion Gate and get on with your turn?"
"No! I refuse! For the pride of the vampire race, I will not lose this duel!" declared Camula. "Illusion Gate, I offer my very own soul to the Sacred Beasts! Take my soul instead! Now, destroy Escuridao!"
Illusion Gate flipped open once more, sending in an ominous wind of darkness that swirled around Escuridao and destroyed her completely.
"No!" gasped Jaden, having witnessed her Fusion Monster easily destroyed. She definitely never expected Camula to offer her own soul instead!
"Next, through Illusion Gate's effect, I'll Special Summon Escuridao!" said Camula right before the Elemental Hero appeared on her side. "From my hand, I'll summon Zombie Werewolf in Attack Mode!"
Zombie Werewolf - (DARK/Zombie) - LV4 - (1200/1200)
Elemental Hero Escuridao - (DARK/Warrior/Fusion) - LV8 - (2500/2000)
"Jaden may survive both blows, but she'll get hit with 3700 Attack Points!" said Bastion, having calculated the total Attack Points of both Monsters. "Plus, it'll be tough to deal with a comeback with Camula having two strong Monsters!"
"Now, Elemental Hero Escuridao, attack Jaden directly!" ordered Camula.
Escuridao raised her arm, extending her claws which dripped of darkness. But, with all of her strength, she resisted, thus causing her body to tremble as she struggled against Camula's control. "Jaden..."
"Escuridao! What is wrong?"
Noticing her Monster fighting back, Jaden nodded and spread her arms. "Escuridao! Do it! Trust me!"
The Elemental Hero hesitated, not wanting to harm her mistress, but she also trusted her, and she must have a plan to counterattack against this. At last, she couldn't resist control and slashed at Jaden from afar, hitting her with projectile slashes, hoping they didn't harm her too much.
Jaden - 1300 LP
Camula - 4000 LP
"Hahaha! Foolish mortal! You must really wish to end things here and now, do you?" laughed Camula. 'Very well! Zombie Werewolf, att-"
However. before Camula could finish her sentence, Escuridao leapt up and somersaulted to Jaden's side, standing guard over her, leaving Camula shocked. The powerful Elemental Hero wasn't supposed to do that! She was supposed to stay on her side, not the human's!
Elemental Hero Escuridao - (DARK/Warrior/Fusion) - LV8 - (2500/2000)
Elemental Hero Escuridao - (DARK/Warrior/Fusion) - LV8 - (2700/2000)
Jaden smirked, despite the fact that her body twitched in pain. "I activate the Trap card, Cross Heart! Cross Heart's a Trap card that activates after I take an attack from my opponent's Monster! Afterwards, I take control of the Monster that damaged me, so I'm taking back my Escuridao, you thief!"
"What?!" Shocked by the sudden turn of events, Camula could do nothing else to retrieve Escuridao back. "Fine...I end my turn."
Chazz smirked, impressed that Jaden was still in the game and managed to take back her Monster. "Nice...Looks like Jaden's still in this." Of course he believed in Jaden. He never worried about her! ...Only, maybe only for a few seconds, but that's that!
"My turn! Draw!" said Jaden, all pumped up. "Alright, let's do this! Elemental Hero Escuridao, attack Zombie Werewolf!"
Hell bent on taking revenge, Escuridao charged up a sphere of darkness within her palms before lunging it forward at Zombie Werewolf, blowing him up to bits.
Jaden - 1300 LP
Camula - 2500 LP
Despite Camula's grim situation, she still felt confident about winning. "Hopefully, you didn't forget, but whenever Zombie Werewolf is destroy, I can Special Summon another one from my deck, raising his Attack Points by 500!"
Zombie Werewolf - (DARK/Zombie) - LV4 - (1700/1200)
"Her Monster came back! And even more stronger than before!" gasped Syrus.
"It's alright!" assured Bastion. "Zombie Werewolf is still weaker than Jaden, so she still has a chance at winning!"
"I'll set a card facedown before I end my turn," Jaden said.
'Tch...I might have the advantage of Life Points, and I even have Zombie Werwolf out, but as long as her Fusion Monster is still in play, I can't do much from here,' thought Camula. "My turn, draw! I activate Pot of Greed, allowing me to draw two new cards!" When she drew two useful cards, she smirked, knowing these were her keys to succession. "Excellent! I sacrifice Zombie Werewolf to summon Vampire Lord!"
Vampire Lord - (DARK/Zombie) - LV5 - (2000/1500)
"Next, by removing Vampire Lord from the game, I Special Summon Vampire Genesis!"
The terrifying behemoth that destroyed Crowler's Ancient Gear Golem rose up from the depths of hell within and into the battlefield.
Vampire Genesis - (DARK/Zombie) - LV8 - (3000/2100)
"Did you see that?! She just whipped out her most powerful Monster in seconds!" cried out Syrus.
"Damnit, her Monster's stronger than Jaden's!" cursed Chazz.
"Indeed. Not only is he powerful, but he also has a terrifying effect to boot," reminded Bastion.
"And now I activate the Continuous Spell, Genesis Crisis!" Camula said. "Once per turn, I can transfer one Zombie-Type Monster from my deck to my hand! Next, by Vampire Genesis' effect, by discarding one Zombie -Type Monster from my hand to the Graveyard, Vampire Genesis can Special Summon a Monster of the same type with a lower Level from my Graveyard! So, I discard Ryu Kokki to Special Summon Zombie Werewolf in Attack Mode!"
Zombie Werewolf - (DARK/Zombie) - LV4 - (1200/1200)
Camula chuckled to herself when she noticed Jaden had a facedown card. "Oh, and before I attack, I noticed that you have a facedown card on your field. I will wager a guess and assume it's a Trap card meant to stop my strongest Monster, correct?"
"..."
"I shall take that silence as a yes, then. Well, I've already taken countermeasures should something like this come up. Therefore, I shall activate Giant's Trunade, which will return all Spells and Traps back to each player's hand!"
A wide gust formed in the middle of the battlefield, gathering up all the Spells and Traps on the field before transferring them back to their original owners. Jaden was left with the facedown card she had set before back in her hand, and the only card returned to Camula's hand was Genesis Crisis.
"Whoa! It's almost as if she knew the right timing to do that!" gasped Syrus.
Bastion narrowed his eyes, feeling suspicious. "Yes...Camula's certainly a crafty and clever duelist. It's almost as if she knows our decks inside out, more than anyone else here. But, it would require a considerate amount of preparation and time to fully memorize our own decks. Something's wrong here..."
"Hey, I gotta ask you something," called out Jaden. "For some reason, you seemed fully prepared to take on Crowler and Zane, and you managed to win over them, yet they're not really that easy to beat! Well, except maybe Crowler."
"HEY!" squeaked out the Crowler doll.
"And now, you're backing me up to a corner, and something's fishy. There's no way someone like you could have been prepared for whatever strategies we have! So fess up! There must have been a trick to all this!"
Smirking, Camula proved her by revealing her glowing red eyes. "Yes, you are quite correct. About time you noticed too. My precious bats were spying on each and every one of you, thus providing me all the information I needed to beat you mortals!"
"Gah!" Furiously scratching at her head, Jaden then pointed at the vampire. "I knew it! I knew something weird was up with you! You cheater!"
"Beg pardon? I did not cheat once during this duel. I merely had the knowledge, that's all, so forgive me that I already knew all your friends' weaknesses, including yours," said Camula smugly. "And now, Vampire Genesis, attack Elemental Hero Escuridao!"
Widening the jaws on his huge belly, Vampire Genesis' stomach unleashed a beam that blasted Escuridao entirely.
Jaden - 1000 LP
Camula - 2500 LP
"Crap! The only Monster that hasn't attacked yet is her Zombie Werewolf!" said Chazz.
"This is bad! If she gets hit with one more attack, it's all over!" said Syrus, scared. He already lost Zane; he didn't want to lose his best friend/crush as well!
"It's over! Zombie Werewolf, attack her directly!" shouted Camula sadistically, thinking she's won the duel.
SLASH! Zombie Werewolf managed to effectively slash at her, dealing what seemed to be the finishing blow. While Camula laughed, the others gasped in horror, waiting for the moment for Jaden to transform into a doll just as Crowler and Zane did.
However, nothing happened.
"What's this?! Why haven't you become a doll yet?! You should have no Life Points left!" said Camula, demanding an explanation.
Although injured, Jaden managed to laugh amusedly. "That's because of the Trap card, Insurance! When you send this facedown card back to my hand, its effect went off, and I got 500 Life Points just in time!"
Jaden - 300 LP
Camula - 2500 LP
"I see...How persistent," mumbled Camula. "Still, that's not enough to stop me! I activate Genesis Crisis from my hand! I'll take one Zombie-Type Monster from my deck and end my turn!"
Jaden placed both hands on her knees, panting heavily from the damage she received from the duel and what little rest she gained. But now wasn't a good time to rest since Camula still has the home field advantage.
"Jaden's barely hanging in there, and Camula's growing more and more stronger," muttered Alexis, worried for Jaden.
"Yeah, how could we allow Jaden to duel? She might as well throw the match right now!" said Chazz angrily.
"No, there's still hope for her yet," said Bastion. "Even so, with Vampire Genesis and Genesis Crisis out, Jaden's chances of winning are quite low."
"You're pretty strong," admitted Jaden, panting. "Still, why rely on powers of darkness or the Shadow Riders anyways?"
"Hmph...You have no idea, do you? Very well, I shall tell you of my previous origins and how I came to be," replied Camula. She explained that from the Middle Ages, the Vampire race were peaceful and lived in harmony, but the humans viewed them as monsters and practically started a war with them, slaughtering all but Camula, who hid herself in a coffin and slept for a long time until one of the Shadow Riders woke her up, offering her a chance for power using the power of the Shadow Charm, which is how she acquired her own Shadow Charm in the form of a choker. With each duel she wins, she'll acquire a soul, and each soul will be ressurected as vampires to restart the vampire army and take their revenge on the human race.
"No way..So, basically, that means that not only is my soul and Spirit Key at stake, but this duel is a fight between the vampire race and humanity?" questioned Jaden.
"Exactly!" said Camula. "I won't allow anyone to stand in the way of my goal! I will ressurect my fallen brethren! You have absolutely no chance of winning!"
"Then, we're in the same boat!" shouted Jaden, more determined than before. "I'll revive my fallen friends and get back their souls! I'm not giving up! I'll risk it all on this draw! DRAW!" Having drawn her card, Jaden was slightly satisfied as a strategy was building up in her mind. "I activate Pot of Greed, letting me draw two more cards! Then, I activate E - Emergency Call! I can add one Monster from my deck to my hand so long as it's an Elemental Hero! Then, I activate the Field Spell, Fusion Gate! With the Field Spell on, I can Fusion Summon without a Polymerization card, so long as I remove the Fusion Material Monsters from play!"
"Just what are you planning?" questioned Camula.
"This! I'm fusing both Elemental Heroes Avian and Burstinatrix! I Fusion Summon Flame Wingman!"
When the two Elemental Heroes disappeared in the wicked dark clouds hovering above the battlefield, lightning crashed down with Flame Wingman appearing as a result.
Flame Wingman - (WIND/Warrior/Fusion) - LV6 - (2100/1200)
"Next, through Fusion Gate's effect, I remove both Flame Wingman and Sparkman from play to Fusion Summon another powerful being!"
Everyone was stunned to hear that Jaden had another Fusion Monster to play, but it was another Monster even better than Flame Wingman? Not only a double Fusion this turn, but another new Monster to boot? Whatever this new Monster is, it must be Jaden's last hope.
"I Fusion Summon Elemental Hero Shining Flare Wingman!"
The dark clouds dispersed as a bright illuminating light filled the room from above while a new being hovering like an angel appeared. His wings were almost angelic, yet made of sharp steel with enough strength to pierce through the darkness; his armor coating his body, protecting him from any corruption, and the overwhelming power he possessed due to the hard efforts of a skilled duelists...all this formed the creation of Elemental Hero Shining Flare Wingman.
Elemental Hero Shining Flare Wingman - (LIGHT/Warrior/Fusion) - LV8 - (2500/2100)
"Whoa! It's a new Elemental Hero we've never seen before!" gasped Syrus.
"Shining Flare Wingman?! This Monster wasn't included in the information my bats gave me!" shouted Camula. "Don't tell me...were you cheating?! Was that why my bats couldn't gather the full data?!"
"Huh? Cheating? That's all on you!" reminded Jaden. "Although...having spy bats would be cool! Hehehe! I mean, I could use it to look up on the answers for tests...and I could even prank Crowler and he wouldn't even find out about it! Haha!~'
"Too late for that, Slifer slacker," mumbled the Crowler doll.
"But seriously," continued Jaden. "It's just that since it's been getting too dark, I thought a little light wouldn't hurt. I mean, come on! 'Shining' Flare Wingman! Plus, he looks super coool!~"
"...Although I am different from Flare Wingman, I could feel his power and emotions coursing towards me," said Shining Flare Wingman to himself, clenching his fist closer to himself. "So, this is what it means to fully merge with another being. He seems rather happy."
"He's twice as cool as Flame Wingman! Maybe even better! Ooh! Maybe I'll keep using him in future duels! I can't wait to kick Chazz's ass every time I use Shining Flare Wingman!"
"Hey! I'm standing right here, you know!"
"...And suddenly, I feel dreadful and a hint of despair."
"Whatever!" said Camula. "Feel free to use your Fusion Monster, but it won't change a fact that my Vampire Genesis is still the strongest in the field!"
"Oh yeah? Wanna bet?" Jaden said. "For every Elemental Hero in my Graveyard, Shining Flare Wingman's Attack goes up by 300! I have 3, so that makes it a total of 900 Attack Points!"
Elemental Hero Shining Flare Wingman - (LIGHT/Warrior/Fusion) - LV8 - (3400/2100)
"Shining Flare Wingman, attack Vampire Genesis! Go, Solar Flare! And thanks to Genesis' Crisis's effect, Zombie Werewolf's also destroyed!"
The moment Shining Flare Wingman's fist struck into Vampire Genesis' chest, all Zombie-Types on Camula's field exploded.
Jaden - 300 LP
Camula - 2100 LP
"Still, I have lots of Life Points left!" reminded Camula.
"I activate Shining Flare Wingman's effect!" shouted Jaden. "Whenever he destroys a Monster in battle, that Monster's Attack Points is dealted to you as damage!"
"What?!"
Appearing right in front of the female vampire, Shining Flare Wingman's full bodied armor glowed much brighter in person, causing Camula to shriek in pain due to light being one of her weaknesses. She then fell to her knees, defeated as her Life Points decreased.
Jaden - 300 LP
Camula - 0 LP
Winner: Jaden
"That's game!" giggled Jaden, giving Camula her hand sign before noticing Illusion Gate popping up behind Camula.
With the gates opened, Illusion Gate's magic started to claim what was wagered during the duel; Camula's own soul. The fierce winds coming from within the gates joined together as a spiritual claw before the claw started to choke Camula, causing her to struggle frantically before her soul was taken away into the darkness of Illusion Gate. The moment the gates closed, Camula's beautiful body turned to dust as the Zane doll fell to the ground before returning back to normal, unconscious.
"Zane!" cried out Syrus before he and the others but Banner and Chazz rushed towards him to make sure he was alright.
Since Camula's magic wore off, the Crowler doll turned back into Crowler, who was clinging onto Chazz's waist. "Huh? Where am I-"
"GAAAHHH! Get off me! Gah!" screamed Chazz, trying to push Crowler off his waist. If anyone saw them in this strange position, they'd get the wrong idea!
Sweatdropping, Jaden watched Chazz and Crowler before a thought occured in her mind. Taking out her PDA, Jaden snapped a picture of the two, snickering to herself and hoping to use it for future blackmail or for something to entertain her whenever she got bored.
Afterwards, the entire castle began shaking, causing small amounts of rubble to rain down as the walls started collapsing. Sensing danger, the others hurried to get out of the castle and managed to rest once they found themselves in the safe grounds of Duel Academy.
Outside, they watched as the remainder of the castle collapsed until it vanished deep within the ocean, never to be seen or brought up again. The darkness and mist of the night cleared, revealing the morning sun shining down upon them along with the clear blue skies, as if rewarding the Spirit Key wielders for defeating Camula.
"...It almost seemed like everything was nightmare we just woke up from," muttered Alexis.
Bastion silently handed Jaden the only remainder of Camula; her Shadow Charm in the form of a choker. "It wasn't a nightmare, and we've still haven't woken up from it," said Jaden. "There's still more Shadow Riders to deal with. But, we'll get through this!"
Later...
"We can't get through this!" complained an exhausted Jaden, placing the side of her head against the table. Alongside her were both Syrus and Atticus, who seemed tired as well through Zane's lectures.
Apparently, since the three of them missed work, Zane volunteered to assist them despite the fact that he too, missed homework as well. However, his grades were top notch, so naturally, he would act as their tutor and help them in their missing work. As such, he was holding a stick and pointing to a chalkboard with mathematical equations on it.
"The more you complain, the less time you'll have of having fun," reminded Zane strictly. "Now then, getting back to the topic..."
As Zane continued, Atticus grinned before whispering to both Syrus and Jaden, "Guys, check this out!" Having chewed on a wad of paper, Atticus took it out of his mouth and placed it inside a straw before blowing onto the end of the straw, causing the wet wad to splat onto the chalkboard and cease Zane's explanation.
'Damnit...I missed,' thought Atticus, pouting while Jaden giggled. 'Still, it's nice to see someone appreciating my prank.'
Zane nearly snapped his stick in half, but kept calm and turned to his three students. "Alright...I'll give the culprit a chance to confess or...should I happen to find out the culprit, their punishment will be...very BAD."
Syrus, getting jealous of Atticus because he made Jaden laugh, thought, 'Jaden's laughter is so cute...I should be the one making her laugh! That's it, pretty boy! Two can play at this game!'
Raising his hand, Syrus then pointed accusedly at Atticus and tattled on him. "Atticus did it!"
"Syrus! How could you betray me?!"
'They're acting like children,' thought Zane before walking forward.
WHACK! Zane whipped the end of his stick down on Atticus' head, causing him to cry out and whimper like a poor puppy as Zane held the stick in his hands like a whip. Then he ruffled Syrus' head for doing such a good job.
"Aw, come on!" complained Atticus, wiping away his fake tears. "How come he gets a good job, while I-"
WHACK! "And now...for your punishment, Atticus. Crowler has made an exception and allowed me to punish any of you should something bad happen...And you have no idea how long I've waited for this moment..."
Considering the fact that Atticus and Zane are best friends, and combined with all the trouble Atticus caused for him and Zane, it's clear that even the stone-hearted Zane would want some form of revenge, even if it lasts for only a brief moment.
"No...No...NOOOOOOOO!"
Meanwhile, Chazz was just walking down the hallways after class ended when he heard some strange noises coming from a nearby room, so he leaned forward towards the door.
"Zane, let's talk abou-Gah! No, not that! Anything but that!"
"This is a punishment game, Atticus. Don't you want them raised? If you don't, you won't be able to graduate."
"Syrus, what are they doing? Is Zane hurting Atticus?"
"In...a way, Jaden. But don't worry. This is perfectly fine."
"No it's not, you traitor! Can't you see that Zane's-ack! Nooo!"
"Heh...this is your punishment after all...Take it!"
'What the hell is going on in there?!' thought Chazz before peeking inside the room. Things definitely weren't to his expectations when he saw the true scene.
Jaden and Syrus were standing nearby, doing absolutely nothing but watching, while Atticus was on his back in the ground; his stomach being stacked with lots of books as Zane continuously started piling more and more onto him. By peering closely, one could see the titles of the books on their sides like Math, Dueling, or somewhat, so that indicated that they were study books. If Atticus so much as squirmed, the tower of books would collapse on top of him, and that would definitely be bad.
Finished at long last! Yay! Read and review!
"..." Closing the door, Chazz ignored Atticus' screams and covered his ears before walking away. "Just keep on going, Chazz...Keep on going."