Now I'm all fired up for this chapter! Even though I wanna skip ahead to the next episode after this, I have to do this since it involves the Shadow Riders! Awww!

Disclaimer: Mage of Hope doesn't own Yu-Gi-Oh series, only the OCs!

Lightning continuously flashed from outside of Duel Academy as rain poured down in an immense pace, showing no signs of stopping whatsoever as strong winds joined in the clash of rain and lightning. There predicted a heavy thunderstorm tonight, so it was natural it would be windy and extremely loud, yet the storm noises didn't scared Alexis as she was fixated on her big brother.

Sitting in the chair in the dark infirmary where her brother was sleeping, Alexis clasped Atticus' hand in hers as she prayed for his safety and safe recovery. It was good that he was back with her and the rest of his friends, but he still wasn't quite mentally stabled, which was expected since he did seem mind controlled by the Shadow Riders to become an evil being called Nightshroud.

Staring at her brother, Alexis pondered in thought. 'There's only 2 Shadow Riders left, and this whole battle between the Key Keepers and the Shadow Riders will finally be over. I just hope my brother will finally be his true self again once this is all over.'

Closing her eyes, Alexis reminisced back when she and Atticus were still kids. It was thanks to him that she didn't turn into some duelist who grew obsessed with getting strong cards. Due to his advice and kind words for her, Alexis was able to build a powerful deck that she favored, and even though it wasn't too powerful in terms of strength, there were other uses she had for her cards, and as a result, they've always helped her out in tight spots. She'd rather be the sort of duelist to enjoy playing the game with her favorite cards by her side.

"It's clear you miss your big brother. How about an offer for you to gain the chance for him to get his memories back?"

The ominous voice snapped Alexis out of her thoughts as she glanced at the mysterious sphere emitting a dark presence. "Who's there?!"

"My identity will be clear to you soon enough. If you can defeat me in a duel, you'll get your brother's memories back. Is that clear? We shall duel at the Abandoned Dorm!"

The dark sphere started mumbling some ancient words that Alexis couldn't even understand, and soon enough, her eyes grew soulless as they lost their light, indicating Alexis was in sort of a trance controlled by the enemy. The sphere revealed an image of the Abandoned Dorm for a brief moment before Titan, the masked man sent by Crowler long before, grasped the soulless Alexis and dragged her into the sphere, where it served as a teleportation sphere.

Sensing the darkness, Atticus recognized the presence and his eyes snapped wide. Sitting up, he weakly reached his arm out for Alexis, but it was too late. Both the intruder and Alexis had vanished, leaving Atticus in silent shock.

At the Slifer Red Dorm...

Despite the storm crashing and booming outside, Jaden and her friends were still deep in sleep, yet groaned every time they kept hearing the constant knocking sounds at their door. It was even worse for Jaden as Winged Kuriboh kept poking her and trying to wake her up.

Finally fed up, Chumley decided to try and open the door to see who really wanted this at this late hour. "Jeez! Alright! Who is it?"

His question was answered with the face of a ghoulish-looking Chazz standing right in front of the door.

Just the sight of his face was enough to rouse Chumley out of his slumber, causing the boy to scream in terror. His scream startled Jaden and Syrus to wake up at once before they too, were disgusted by Chazz's face.

"Eeeekkk! A zombie!" cried out Syrus, suddenly clinging onto Jaden.

Chazz shook his head frantically to wake himself up before yawning. If he wasn't so tired, he'd probably go over there and wring his neck for touching his Jaden. Now wasn't the time, though. "Look, I gotta tell you something really important!"

"What? What is it?" asked Jaden, sensing something seriously bad was wrong.

Later...

With the guidance of their Duel Spirits, Jaden, Syrus, Chumley, and Chazz rushed around the hallways of Duel Academy, searching for Alexis since they were informed that she mysterious vanished. Along their way, they spotted Crowler and Zane, who were about to enter the infirmary themselves.

"What's going on?!" panted Jaden.

"Alexis didn't show up at the lighthouse like she was supposed to, so I wanted to check up on her and see if she was alright," explained Zane.

"Since I'm an Obelisk Blue dorm teacher, I got informed by Miss Fontaine that one of her students was missing and hasn't returned to bed. Honestly, we all know Alexis would spend time with her brother, so why worry?" questioned Crowler, being a bit irritated that he had to wake up so late at night for this.

Without saying anything, it was already decided that the group would enter the infirmary to check up on Alexis, but to their shock, they found an injured Atticus laying on the ground instead of the bed. No signs of Alexis were everywhere even when they turned on the lights.

They rushed towards Atticus, gathering around him and trying to get him in a more comfortable position. "What happened?! Atticus, who did this to you?" questioned Zane. "And where's Alexis?"

Although weakened, Atticus managed to pry his eyes open as he muttered one word with all of his remaining strength. "T-Titan..." With that, he went limp and unconscious.

"Wait, who was Titan?" wondered Jaden.

Even though he hasn't heard that name in a long while, Crowler recognized it and immediantly began sweating like crazy. 'Titan?! That duelist who I hired long ago to scare off Jaden?! Oh no! He must have grown impatient since I didn't pay him and he's kidnapped Alexis as a hostage! Dear me! If things were gonna turn out like this, I should have paid him before he dueled Jaden! If anyone finds out, I'll be fired!'

With Alexis...

When Alexis regained her senses, she found herself deep within a familiar place; the insides of the Abandoned Dorm. She recognized it there because she was captured by Titan, the very same one standing before her, when she wanted to search for more clues for her missing brother. She never anticipated that she'd be back at the very same place where Titan was defeated by Jaden. Guess it was time for the hunted to become the hunter.

"Alright, we'll duel! If I win, you restore my brother's memories back! That's the deal, right?" shouted Alexis.

Titan nodded. "Of course, that's if you win. But if I win, I get some prizes as well. Your Spirit Key and your soul when I return to the Shadow Realm! And you shall be a new Shadow Rider, whether you like it or not! You see, when the shadows accepted me as a Shadow Rider, I gained new powers unlike anything before, so I'm quite stronger than I was last time I fought your friend!"

Alexis merely stayed calm and silent, when Titan tossed her a duel disk. Luckily for her, she had her deck in her pocket, so with one attachment with her deck into the duel disk, she was well set for dueling.

"Hey, I see them!" cried out Syrus as he and the others rushed into the sacred area where Alexis and Titan where. Carrying Atticus by his arms around their necks, Chumley and Jaden hoisted him up as they had to drag him towards the Abandoned Dorm since he insisted on going along.

"Alexis!" Seeing that the duel was about to begin and that there was no stopping it, the least Jaden and the others could do was give her their full support. "We're rooting for you! Go and beat that Shadow Rider!"

Realization flashed into Crowler's mind. "Ah! So, this isn't about collecting his debt, after all!"

"What are you talking about?" Chazz wondered.

"O-Oh! Nothing!"

Just before they were about to begin, Alexis glanced at the audience, primarily towards Atticus. She was glad he's managed to recover some of his emotions back, but he was still in critical condition. To herself, Alexis promises that she would win this duel and regain his memories back.

"DUEL!"

- DUEL -

Titan - 4000 LP

VS

Alexis - 4000 LP

"I'll go first! My draw!" started off Titan. "I summon Picador Fiend in Attack Mode!"

Picador Fiend - (DARK/Warrior) - LV4 - (1600/1200)

"Then, I'll put a card facedown and end my turn!"

"I draw a card!" announced Alexis, since it was her turn to shine. "I summon Cyber Tutu in Attack Mode!"

Cyber Tutu - (EARTH/Warrior) - LV3 - (1000/800)

"Oh? And just what do you plan to do with a Monster with lesser Attack Points?" questioned Titan.

"Simple!" answered Alexis. "Her special ability makes it so she can attack you directly if your Monster has more Attack Points than hers!"

"I see, so that's why you brought her out! Clever! So why don't you go ahead and attack me?" complimented Titan, baiting her to attack. 'Of course, the second she does, I'll not only destroy her Monster, but her Life Points will dwindle down to 0 as well!'

Narrowing her eyes in suspicion, Alexis thought, 'Why encourage me to attack him? Of course! His facedown card!' "From my hand, I activate the Quick-Play Spell, Allegro Toile! When I Normal Summon a Monster this turn, I can activate it, thus allowing me to destroy one Spell or Trap card on the field!"

As soon as her ballerina shoes glowed pink, Cyber Tutu started twirling around, lifting up one foot to aim and shoot out a dagger-like weapon with wings that stabbed the facedown card Titan had planted.

"No!"

With no more threat standing in her way, Alexis declared, "Now, with Cyber Tutu's effect, I attack you directly!"

Cyber Tutu bypassed Picador Fiend and twirled around once more, successfully kicking Titan right around the chin area and send him prawling on the ground.

Titan - 3000 LP

Alexis - 4000 LP

"Next, I place my own facedown on my field before ending my turn!"

"Alexis is in the lead now!" cheered Syrus happily.

Zane nodded, finding no problem with Alexis' part so far. "Yes, her determination and strong feelings for Atticus has proven to overwhelm the darkness Titan possesses so far."

Even though Alexis has a clear winning, Atticus stayed silent, unsure of what's to come. It's true that Alexis was in the lead, but the duel has just started so there's no telling what might happen.

Trying not to allow his frustration to show, Titan hastily drew his card. "I attack with Picador Fiend! Destroy Cyber Tutu!"

Alexis waited for the moment for Picador Fiend to fire a green beam. "Now, I activate my Trap card, Doble Passé! Instead of Cyber Tutu being attacked, I get a direct attack instead! Agh!"

Titan - 3000 LP

Alexis - 2400 LP

Everyone gasped as Alexis stumbled back, clutching her stomach with one arm before fiercely glaring at Titan, griting her teeth in pain. "In exchange for that attack, Cyber Tutu can now wage a direct attack on you as well!"

"What?!" exclaimed Titan before he was confronted by another kick from Cyber Tutu, stammering back as his Life Points suffered from his pain.

Titan - 2000 LP

Alexis - 2400 LP

"Alright! Alexis is winning! Even though she lost a few Points, that's a small loss! Titan's done for, for sure!" cheered Jaden. "Right, Atticus?"

"..." Atticus remained silent, sternly looking at the duel with a stressed and worried expression still planted on his face.

"H-Hey...What's wrong?"

Zane shook his head. "The problem is that if Alexis isn't too careful, then she might make a bad mistake and lose. See, even Atticus is feeling something's wrong with this duel."

"Yeah, best you can do is not to cheer for her and distract her," said Chazz, crossing her arms. "This is a Shadow Game after all, and I wouldn't want to lose my cool from distractions."

"I'm distracting Alexis? Huh, didn't know," admitted Jaden, turning back to the duel.

'My combo attacks should be dealing Titan a lot of damage,' thought Alexis, wondering about her next strategy. 'Now, what to do next? Depending on his next move, I may have to change strategies.'

Titan chuckled darkly. "What's wrong, my dear? You seemed worried, as well as a bit scared. That's to be expected, given our first encounter. But, I'm not the same man who I used to be."

Alexis replied, "All I want is my brother to be safe as well as return his memories. Right now, I don't care about anything else other than that!"

"Oh, don't worry. I'm completely aware of that. But as soon as I win this duel, you'll share the same experiences as your precious brother and become the Shadow Rider's new servant! So, just wait and watch as your demise arrives! I now activate the Ritual Spell card, Ritual of the Matador! I tribute my Level 6 Summoned Skull to Ritual Summon Matador Fiend!"

Emerging from a goo of lava which melted down from his body, a fiendish Ritual Monster growled as he took his stance.

Matador Fiend - (DARK/Warrior/Ritual) - LV6 - (0/0)

"A Monster with 0 Attack and Defense Points...If he sacrificed a strong Monster for a creature like that, something must be up!" muttered Alexis suspiciously.

Overhearing Alexis, Titan merely laughed. "Ahaha! Why don't you come and find out? I activate the Field Spell, Dark Arena!"

A fog of darkness overwhelmed the entire dueling field, transporting the two into a different area that appeared to be somewhat of the insides of a dark cave that led to nowhere even if one were to try and run away. From Alexis' point of view, Titan and his Monsters were engulfed by the darkness, making it further hard to see where her targets were.

"I now end my turn! Ahahaha!"

"What just happened?" questioned Zane as he and the others were staring at the huge dark barrier the engulfed the two duelists inside. Whatever was happening inside, the two of them must still be commencing their duel.

"I can't see anything beyond there! It's all dark and shadowy!" cried out Syrus as he and Chumley trembled in fear, not wishing to enter. In fact nobody would dare to, not just because of fear, but also what negative effects entering such an area would have on their bodies.

"Hey, Jaden!" called out Chazz, turning to her. "You fought that Titan guy, yeah? You know any way to getting out of that weird barrier he's set up?"

Jaden shook her head; her Shadow Charm pendant glowing immensely as if sensing the presence of something powerful. "Sorry, no good. He never used this sort before. He was actually a magician, but he did use some sort of evil illusion, or something."

"Oh, why did I bother hire him in the first place if it was just going to end up like this?" groaned Crowler, causing heads to turn to his direction in confusion. "Oh! Nothing! Just talking to myself!"

"Anyways, I think this is the real deal," stated Jaden, reverting back to the duel, though they couldn't see anymore of it. "I doubt this is any illusion. I think this is part of the Shadow Game!"

Alexis was having a hard time deciding what move to make, as she had already drawn her card and trying to strategy a new plan for this dire situation. 'Thanks to Dark Arena, I can't see a single thing, especially the Monsters he has! What now?'

Titan's dark laughter surprised Alexis momentarily before he explained, "Allow me to shed some light on the situation! Here in the Dark Arena, all Monsters in Attack Mode must wage an attack! On top of that, you cannot choose the Monster targeted by the attack! Only I can decide which Monsters you can attack! Just what will you do now?"

"I'll tell you what I'm going to do, alright!" shouted Alexis. "First, I activate Polymerization and fuse Etoile Cyber and Blade Skater from my hand to create Cyber Blader!"

Sacrificing two Monsters instead of one on her field, Alexis watched the creation of her Fusion Monster take place and up against Titan.

Cyber Blader - (EARTH/Warrior/Fusion) - LV7 - (2100/800)

"Cyber Blader has different effects depending on the number of Monsters you have! In fact, I'm activating one of them right now! When you have 2 Monsters out, then Cyber Blader's Attack Points double towards 4200!"

Cyber Blader - (EARTH/Warrior/Fusion) - LV7 - (4200/800)

"My, my! 4200 Attack Points!" laughed Titan, as if finding that to be no threat. "How scary! Yet, so impressed at the same time!"

"Save your compliments to yourself!" snapped Alexis. "With Cyber Blader out, there's no way I can lose! Go! Attack now, Cyber Blader!"

"In that case, I'll bring out Matador Fiend to defend myself!" announced Titan as his Ritual Monster stepped out of the darkness and well into sight in Alexis' eyes.

"Fine with me! Attack!" Whirling around like a raging twister, Cyber Blade swung her sharp leg out to finish off Matador Fiend, only to be zapped right in the abdomen and destroyed instead. "What the?! How?! Cyber Blader is clearly stronger than Matador Fiend!"

Stepping forward and out of the darkness, a smug Titan explained, "Perhaps I should inform you of Matador Fiend's special ability. He cannot be destroyed in battle, and any damage inflicted through him is reduced to 0! In addition, any Monster who fights him is automatically destroyed!"

"What?! So, that's the reason?!"

"Furthermore, thanks to Dark Arena's effect, all Monsters in Attack Mode must attack no matter what."

"Did you forget my Cyber Tutu's effect?" Alexis questioned, still keeping her cool in the game. "She can wage a direct attack on you."

"And perhaps you should check things out more clearly," insulted Titan. "That effect only works if the Monsters I have out are stronger than yours. My Matador Fiend has 0 Attack Points, so since it's much more weaker than Cyber Tutu, that effect is cancelled. However, my Picador Fiend would love to clash with your Cyber Tutu!"

Having said that, Picador Fiend stomped forward just as Cyber Tutu was flung right into battle unwillingly. Picador Fiend fired another one of his green beams, effectively hitting Cyber Tutu and destroying her.

"Cyber Tu-!" Before finishing her sentence, a green beam shot out from the dust clouds and hit Alexis, causing her to cough out blood before she kneeled down, wiping the blood from her mouth with her arm.

Titan - 2000 LP

Alexis - 1800 LP

Titan chuckled maliciously before stepping back into the shadows, making himself non-visible for the effect of Dark Arena to take place; awaiting the young girl's next move.

"S-so this is a Shadow Game...Wow, it really does hurt just as much as Jaden and the others say," groaned Alexis, struggling to stand up.

Outside of the dark barrier, black lightning crackled around the sides and around the barrier, frightening everyone as they tried avoiding the dangerous lightning that could potentially kill them all.

Atticus' expression contorted into one of much more fear and concern for his little sister as Jaden grasped her Shadow Charm pendant tightly, trying to reassure herself that Alexis was alright."

"Aww, what's wrong, Alexis? Did you declare before that you were going to stop me and restore your brother's memories?" taunted Titan. "Then again, if you fail, I'll be sure to tell him that you failed miserably!"

Ignoring Titan's annoying insults, Alexis announced, "I summon Cyber Gymnast in Defense Mode!"

Cyber Gymnast - (EARTH/Warrior) - LV4 - (800/1800)

"I...end my turn."

"Hahaha! So much power, and it was all thanks to your friend, Jaden!" laughed Titan, much to Alexis' confusion. "Ah, I see that you're confused. Then, allow me to elaborate. During the duel I had with Jaden, I was forcibly dragged into the Shadow Realm. I spent a long time there, agonizing as the shadows tried to devour me. I screamed and pleaded for more power and for any way of getting out of that hell hole when I heard a mysterious voice. That voice not only got me out of there but granted me new powers along with this Shadow Charm mask I have on!"

Veins ingrained themselves all over Titan's body, even his hands and especially tightly on his face as the source of the ingrained veins came from his Shadow Charm mask.

Alexis couldn't help but pity the duelist before him. "How sad...But, you should know that the Shadow Riders' power isn't your true power! True dueling come from a deck with your own reasons and knowledge for dueling! From the heart!"

"From the heart, huh?" Amused by Alexis' speech, Titan asked, "Then why, pray tell, did your brother come to us? I'll tell you why, because like me, he desired power, so he abandoned all reason and focused on strength alone!"

"Don't you dare compare my brother with yourself! He's not like that!" hollered Alexis, losing her temper.

"Hmph, well it doesn't matter anyways," Titan said. "It's my turn. I draw! Alright, because Dark Arena is on the field, I activate Picador Fiend's effect, which will allow him to attack you directly!"

A green ray blasted from the ground and slashed upwards, hitting Alexis as she screamed in pain; the pain feeling as though a blade had sliced through her shoulder.

The black lightning outside of the dark barrier went haywire and was growing uncontrollable as the others tried to stay calm. Sensing something amiss, Atticus weakly reached out for the barrier; something Jaden noticed.

"Atticus, hold on! I know you're worried for Alexis, but don't push yourself!" said Jaden.

Alexis collapsed to her knees, clutching her chest as she panted for breath, needing to take a break.

Titan - 2000 LP

Alexis - 200 LP

Titan laughed at the miserable form before him. "Ahaha! I believe you felt the pain of the Shadow Game! That's what happens to those opposed to such powers! Don't worry, I'm sure you'll want these powers soon enough as well!"

'...Cyber Gymnast's effect makes it so I can discard one card to destroy one Attack Position Monster on my opponent's field,' thought Alexis, reminding herself of her Monster's effect. 'I should have summoned her last turn and discarded one of my cards instead of Fusion Summoning! God, how could I be so stupid? Well, next turn, I can take care of Matador Fiend!'

"Oh, Alexis! I can already guess from your expression that you have a plan concerning your Monster!" called out Titan. "Well, I won't let that plan succeed! I summon Banderillero Fiend in Attack Mode!"

Banderillero Fiend - (DARK/Warrior) - LV3 - (900/1600)

"And when he's Normal Summoned to the field, I can select and destroy 1 Monster on the field!"

"No!" cried out Alexis right as Cyber Gymnast shattered into several pieces, destroying what little hope she had left in her chances of victory.

"It's quite a shame that my new Monster can't attack during the turn he's summoned, so consider yourself lucky! I'll end my turn for now, but don't think for a second that you're going to win, because you can't! Wahahaha!"

'H-He's right...I can't win against him...because I don't have in it within me to continue...Atticus...I'm so...sorry...' Alexis thought before falling down facedown, seemingly unconscious.

"What should we do?" cried out Syrus. "I'm worried about Alexis, but should we go inside? One of us? Anyone?"

"I..." panted Atticus, stepping forward and releasing his arms away from Chumley and Jaden's shoulders, no longer requiring support. "It's possible that if one were to step inside the barrier, something drastic might happen to their li-ugh!"

Right as Atticus was about to enter, the black lightning snapped around his feet, making him stumble back and fall until Jaden managed to catch him. "Atticus! Call out for Alexis! It'll be the same like cheering her on! I know that if I have people behind my back, I can definitely win, so it'll be the same for Alexis!"

Finding there was nothing else he could do other than Jaden's suggestiong, Atticus turned back to the dark barrier. "Al...Alexis...Alexis..."

"Yes, just stay down there and give up!" laughed Titan. "You have nothing! No monsters, no facedowns, nothing to protect you! Go ahead and play your last turn, but afterwards, when I crush you, you'll rejoin me as a new Shadow Rider!"

Just as Alexis was about to give into Titan's words, she could faintly hear Atticus, her dear brother, calling out for her name. Urging her not to give up. Telling her that he loves her no matter what. Eyes brimming with light and hope, Alexis stood up all on her own with newfound determination, shocking Titan.

"My turn, draw!" she shouted, swiftly drawing a card. "I activate Pot of Greed, letting me draw two new cards! Next, I activate The Warrior Returning Alive Spell to return Blade Skater to my hand! Then, I activate the Spell, Fusion Recovery, to bring back Polymerization and Etoile Cyber! With all three cards back in my hand, I activate Polymerization to fuse the two Monsters into Cyber Blader!"

Cyber Blader - (EARTH/Warrior/Fusion) - LV7 - (2100/800)

"Cyber Blader isn't a Monster who loses her light in a Shadow Game!" declared Alexis. "A true prima illuminates the stage with her own light and continues to dance!"

"Hmph," scoffed Titan. "That doesn't change the fact that it's three Monsters against 1! Especially since one of my Monsters can easily destroy your little light!"

Alexis smirked. "Oh, really? Because now, Cyber Blader's third effect, Pas de Quatre, activates! Because you have 3 or more Monsters on the field, all your Trap, Spell, and Monster effects are all negated!"

Cyber Blader's body illuminated brightly, causing the entire Dark Arena to collapse as the ground rumbled under the heavy effect of Cyber Blader. From outside, the dark barrier sprouted cracks which bright beams of light lit over before the barrier shattered completely, allowing the others to witness the duel even more.

"Look! Alexis is okay!" cried out Jaden happily as Atticus sported a true smile of reassurance.

"Since there are still 3 Monsters out, Matador Fiend's effect to reduce Battle Damage to 0 is negated!" added Alexis, confident in her victory. "That means Matador Fiend's nothing more than a 0 Attack Point Monster! Go, Cyber Blader! Attack Matador Fiend!"

With the speed and elegance of light, Cyber Blade slashed her leg upwards, slashing through Matador Fiend's last defenses. But she wasn't done, as she charged towards Titan and swung her leg at him hard enough for him to be knocked back to the ground.

Titan - 0 LP

Alexis - 200 LP

Winner: Alexis

Alexis truly did feel sorry for Titan, but didn't move an inch to help him. Not only because she was injured, but she knew it was pointless to rescue one whose fate was already sealed. Besides, in a way, he did kinda deserve this. She turned back to the rest of her friends, smiling as she managed to accomplish her goal.

By the time everyone got out of the Abandoned Dorm, the sun was rising, marking a brand new day and future for not only the others, but especially for Atticus and Alexis as they were finally reunited.

Both sibilings hugged each other, relieved to see each other's safety. Alexis smiled at Atticus' smiling expression, knowing full well that the Atticus she knew and grew up with had returned once and for all.

"Hey, I have some questions. Like, a lot," replied Alexis. "Like, why were you in the Shadow Realm?"

"Well, I would never willingly go there," answered Atticus as he recalled back in the past. "You see, we were supposed to be taking a duel test at the Abandoned Dorm, and were called into the basement when those shadow fiends attacked us. I...I went through hellish duel training nobody's ever experienced before. It was too much that I got brainwashed and turned into Nightshroud."

"But who? Who did all these horrible things to you?" asked Alexis.

Atticus shook his head. "No, but I do know who called me up for the duel test. It was...Professor Banner."

"Professor Banner?!" exclaimed everyone, shocked to learn that the carefree, cat-loving Slifer Red Dorm alchemist was actually in on the whole Shadow Rider business. But, could it really be a coincidence or not?

Whatever the case is, they now knew who their primary suspect would be the second they see him next time.

Skit: Dreams Don't Come True

"I'm real worried about my brother, guys," admitted Alexis, rubbing her arm as she stared down at her sleeping brother. "I don't know when he'll ever return to his good self..."

Everyone visiting Atticus were feeling the same way as Alexis was. It appeared as though Atticus had been going through some rough times as Nightshroud and he was still recovering mentally. If there was anything they could do to hasten his recovery, they'd do it.

Jaden snapped her fingers. "I got it! I know a way to snap Atticus out of it!"

"Hmm? You do?!" gasped Alexis.

"Yup! I saw it in a fairy tale book before!" She went to the side of Atticus' bed and bent down, bringing her lips closer to Atticus' as-

"WAIT, WAIT, WAIT, WAIT, WAIT!" screamed Syrus, Chazz, and Chumley, pulling Jaden away in the nick of time while Zane just stood there, arms crossed with a surprised expression on his face.

"Hmm?" Being pulled away, Jaden was pushed onto a chair while she was staring at her friends' upset faces. "What's wrong?"

"Jaden...did you even realize what you were about to do?!" questioned Syrus.

"Kiss Atticus?"

"Why?!" demanded Chazz, shaking her by the shoulders. "Is it because he's good-looking?! Popular?! Attractive?! I'm good-looking! I'm popular! I'm attractive!"

'How it never occured to Jaden that those two have crushes on her, I'll never know,' thought Chumley, sweatdropping.

"Hey! I just wanted to kiss Atticus to wake him up! I saw that a prince kissed a sleeping princess, and she woke up!" giggled Jaden.

"This isn't Sleeping Beauty, Jaden!" yelled Chazz, twitching. "Gah! Sy, help me carry this idiot outta here!"

Although Syrus would usually disagree with Chazz, he had to at least agree on him with this one. He hooked one arm under Jaden while Chazz hooked the other as they dragged a confused Jaden out of the infirmary and threw her out before locking the door.

"Hey! Lemme in!" cried out Jaden, banging on the door.

"Run along, Jaden!"

"No fair! My method will work! This isn't fair! You can't expect me to stay in the hallway and-" At that moment, Chazz opened the door and threw a Rescue Cat card at Jaden before locking the door once again. "Never mind, I'll happily stay out here. CUTE!~"

"Wow, if I knew that was one way for her to behave, I'd have done something like that a long time ago," admitted Alexis.

Skit: Preparations for Doomsday

Inside a dark room, gathering near a large round table, several cloaked figures were talking amongst themselves when one stood up. That's when everyone else grew quiet and the one standing made an announcement.

"Very soon, my comrades...the Doomsday Operation will commence. There will be deaths...some of you may not even survive...some of you will cease to exist...but know that if you do, your efforts will not be in vain. We shall avenge those who-"

"Uh...Flame Wingman? It's just a festival. Nothing bad's gonna happen."

"YOU DON'T KNOW THAT! WHAT IS JADEN GETS HER FIRST DATE AND WE DON'T KNOW?! IT'LL BE DISASTROUS!"

"What I do know is that you're overreacting over all this. Do we really need to spy on the poor girl, acting like humans in Duel Spirit costumes?"

"Yes! It is all for the protection and safety of Jaden!"

"You do realize that on Duel Monsters Spirit Day, we aren't allowed to harm any humans, right? The only power we can acquire is physically interacting with humans."

"Yes, I know that! And it is a shame that I cannot punch them!"

"Also, bringing machine guns and rifles and other cannons aren't going to be brought in the trip to the Human World. It's kinda impossible."

"Flame Wingman, I know you and some of the other Elemental Heroes were planning to bring them in. What, were you going to start a massacre on all the male students? That's gonna traumatize Jaden, and that won't help anyone!"

"I would only be giving a warning."

"Yeah, a warning with lots of dead guys."

"Hey, so what's the operation again?"

"We will go over the operation again some other time!"

"Hey, a thought occurs to me. What if Jaden duels that day and summons one of us? Won't we vanish into the field? If so, people might panic."

"Not to worry, Bubbleman. All that'll be summoned is a simple copy of ours."

"Now, if that's concluded, dismiss and prepare...for Doomsday!"

"Flame Wingman, I question why you would name a friendly festival day such a terrible name?"

Hmmhmmhmmmm! The time is almost arriving! The episode I always wanted to do is almost here! But, I have to do a couple of things beforehand, but the next chapter should be longer! Hehehe! I'm not telling you what sort of cute costume I have for Jaden! Read and review!