I'm back with another update for you all! I'm glad to have the review's I've been getting but I still haven't heard anything about the duels. Please lemme know if they're too one-sided or too quick!
Also, I should point the intended list of female love-interests for Jaden; Alexis, Jenny, (newly-added Mai), Trix, Kiyomi, Ayumi, Stephanie and Yubel (Yubel being way later on in the story.) I will not be including Jasmine or Mindy in this harem because I have already got several people in store for them. As for the latter Elemental Hero females, we shall have to see how they play out.
One last note; the next few chapters will be focused on the Fancy-Dress Tournament and will be several chapters long. Reason being is that I want to show-off the other character's dueling skills and their decks, giving you readers a better understanding of the cards I've chosen. There is a poll up for the first of the line-ups and it'll be Syrus going against someone to proceed into the quarter-finals! Choose who you'd like to see him face off against and with which deck!
Without further ado... off ya go! :)
Edit: 30/11/2018
Feels so nostalgic going back over these and re-writing them. It's a pleasure and a pain in the ass but it's a real sense of accomplishment of seeing how far you've come in such a long time. Still can't believe it's been four years. I'd hoped that I would be a lot further than this, story-wise, but I'm just glad you guys still love this story so much and are continuing to support me despite my absence. Massive thank you to you all. *bows and wiggles my tails*
Also, decided to change the title of this chapter to something a bit more updated than what it was before. Just feels like it suits it better with the new title instead of the old one. Hope you all enjoy! \o/
Edit: 1/1/2019
Happy new Year all! Hope you've all had a wonderful Christmas and I'm sorry I haven't uploaded before Christmas like I had hoped to. I've worked on edits more than the new chapter of late and just added so much more into the story. Just bear with me since it won't be long before I get a laptop and make it easier to write again.
Edit: 21/1/2019
I HAVE A LAPTOP! So we can now finally start blitzing on updates and chapter work and finally get this thing off such a long hiatus and get this arc fully started and sorted! Since we've started it so far, let's work on editing the chapters before and also start working on seventeen! *bounces excitedly*
~Enter The King!~
~Into The Shadows!~
He stood alone at the edge of the pier, watching the waves collide with one another as he shrugged off the prickling sensation hitting his face. While mentally chastising himself for his lack of forethought for not bringing an umbrella with himself, he didn't care too much that the rain was falling down on his frame. It had become a bit of a hobby of his whenever he felt like he had too much on his mind and he needed some time away to sort out his thoughts and feelings; and one day he ended up down by the docks of the island and it just became a thing for him.
As to why he was here tonight? He had heard a few unsettling rumours going around the island regarding one of the Academy's darker secrets and the personal connection he had regarding said subject. He had subtly investigated into it but soon hit a dead end into his own efforts but he did manage to uncover a small nugget of information which lead him here this stormy night. He was so deep into his own thoughts that he didn't even fully register the small nudge that shook him out of his trance, nor knowing when the umbrella appeared to shield the rain from hitting him.
"Not like you to be this quiet, Zane. Penny for your thoughts?" Alexis whispered softly, not wanting to break the atmosphere they had but still showing support for a long-time friend. She idly noted she couldn't remember exactly when the two of them met one another but it was during her childhood when her older brother had made friends with him during one of her family's extravagant (and she would admit, gaudy) balls that she and him were forced to join. The three of them soon became four when Zane invited his younger brother, Syrus, along so they already had some prior friendship with one another.
However, the thoughts soon turned melancholic as she remembered the times she spent with her older brother. Closing her eyes, she whispered a silent prayer to whoever would listen for the safety of her older brother, who had gone missing three years ago. She only hoped that he was still alive and that he was well.
That... and that he would soon come home again.
"I had a feeling you were going to show up tonight." he replied slowly, giving her a little room since he saw her facial expression shift subtly. "For that, I may just ask the same of you but I think I already know what's on your mind." he smiled, letting her see a side of him not many people see. Alexis snorted in amusement as she heard his little quip and shook her head.
"Oh really?" she smirked, playing along with the joke. "Tell me what it could possibly be, O Wise One!"
"Don't fancy it." he smiled, chuckling to himself as he saw her face-vault before jumping back to her feet just as quickly. He smiled a little more as he was thankful for her company tonight as they both stood there and allowed the waves to crash on the pier just below them and take in the lighter atmosphere.
"Atty rubbed off on you." she pouted playfully, stepping a little closer to Zane as she rested her head on his shoulder. Zane's eyebrow rose a little at the gesture but soon wrapped an arm around her shoulders and hugged her for support.
"We've all known each other for years. Wouldn't surprise me if during that time that I wouldn't pick up some of your crazy genes." he smiled, feeling the soft pat of her hand on his chest as her attempt of chiding him. Allowing the smile to fade off his face, he turned to her and offer a more brotherly look. "Any news on him?"
"No, not yet." she sighed, lamenting the lack of progress she's made so far in her time in Duel Academy. She understood why; it was one of their 'skeletons' and it wouldn't make do to have it laying around in broad daylight for everyone to see and be put off.
"You'll find him in time, Lex. Never give up." Zane consoled her as he side-hugged her once more before allowing his arm to slide off. She smiled at the older Truesdale as he retreated back to the dorm, leaving her on her own. She soon groaned as she slid down the wall of the lighthouse and curled herself up in her large jacket, holding the umbrella handle from withing her coat. Her knees tucked up to her chest tightly and her hood was up to preserve warmth as she continued to watch the night time shore, following in the same footsteps that Zane just did and allowing some time to sort her own thoughts out.
~ETK~
(Ra Yellow Dorms: Kitchens)
Unknown to the events happening elsewhere on the island; we can find Bastion joining in with Jaden and Jenny as they were waltzing around the kitchen cooking food for the three of them. Bastion amused himself since he knew it was getting later into the night, midnight or thereabouts if he recalled correctly, and he was watching the duo work in tandem with one another and they worked on some late-night food to help them with their studies. The three had already heaved through a bulk of the work together but they mainly did it for Jaden's sake since during his tenure as the temporary Professor took him away from the rest of his studies and he now needed to catch up.
Yubel and Trix both teased him whenever he groaned at the reminder.
Dwayne soon joined in.
And then Danny told everyone else and he became the new plaything as all the spirits teased him playfully as they all reminded him often.
Jaden kept telling himself that he would get his revenge on them all somehow.
And it would be sweet.
At one point during the evening, Sartyr had come in and was about to chide the three of them for staying up so late but the smell of their cooking made him pause. Having taken a moment to ask them a little bit about what they were cooking, he allowed himself a small taste of the food they were cooking. His eyes widened in surprise at how good their cooking was but soon added his own little tidbit of cooking knowledge before allowing the three of them to continue with their asked for the recipe before allowing them to continue.
They all listened awkwardly as he mumbled under his breath about 'kids these days understanding the importance of high-quality food', or something.
While the two of them were busy cooking up a storm for the three of them to eat, Bastion had decided to play a little game with the two to pass the time and to allow them all to take their minds off their own apparent hunger as the food cooked in the background. They would draw cards and whatever level the card was would be the scare level of the story they would tell the others. Of course, due to maintaining the food, Bastion picked the cards on their behalf and told them the level of the monster as they continued. Bastion just pulled out a Baby Dragon, so the story he told was more comedy than horror.
"Okay, Jaden." Bastion spoke up, calling out to the brunet who was busy adding some seasoning to the pasta he was cooking and tasting it so that it wasn't too soft and soggy. "Elemental Hero Supernova; nine stars."
"A nine-star, huh?" he mused as he stirred the contents of the pot in front of him. He lowered the heat down on the stove and placed the lid ajar on the pasta and allowed himself to rest against the counter behind him and cross his arms across his chest. Thinking for a moment, he heard a mental prompt from his inner counterpart and hummed in response. "Well, I have a good one for you..." he mysteriously smiled.
There was a war. The battlefield was strewn with lifeless bodies as they littered the once-green grass with a sea of blood, sweat and tears. Pieces of body parts were thrown around like parts of a broken puppet. The town was in flames and everyone who had lived a peaceful life had either ran away or perished in the burning flames that blanketed the town; men, women, children and even babies were killed because of one man's greed for power.
There were only two people left on that battlefield; one was cloaked in a midnight blue armour, laced with golden outlines, and a red cape which flowed elegantly behind him as the breeze hit his face. In the middle of the chest plate was a pulsing purple gem, humming with energy. On the other side of the field was another person but he was dressed in a pure white armour that had a blue cloak fluttering behind him, jaggedly.
They stood off against each other as the warrior in blue tried his best to convince the warrior in white to stop his tirade and his quest for power but he wouldn't listen to his claims; blinded by his own greed. He rebuked him by calling him the embodiment of evil and he made no effort to prove him wrong. The warrior in blue had made many mistakes in his lifetime and he accepted his failings and his mistakes, making him stronger in will.
However, the warrior in white had performed one last stunt which went against the natural order that was put in place as he resurrected the fallen bodies that littered the town and the battlefield, claiming that he was 'purifying them of their taint' so that they may enter the kingdom of paradise when they all moved on, after fulfilling his wishes of killing the midnight warrior.
Disgusted by the desperation and the twisted justice in which he saw in the other figure; the midnight warrior cursed the white warrior with all he had. Whispering a prayer for the souls of the fallen ones who were ripped from their afterlife to fight him, he moved like a true warrior as he continued to deal with every last soul that was brought back; granting them peace in the afterlife for his sins and the sins of the man he was fighting against.
The act itself lasted four whole days. Four whole days of constant fighting and agony had passed when the last soul returned to the afterlife and forever out of reached of the cursed man before him as he no longer had any control or reach over them all. However, those four days were not kind on him.
He suffered many wounds to his body, having faced off against so many opponents while his opponent hid away like a wasted mongrel and waited for the final attack to goad him and bask in his own glory at how pathetic he was. There were several cuts that reached deep inside of him but the main one was the mortal wound that bled freely from his chest, slowly killing him as his blood flowed out of the cracks in his armour.
Knowing that his demise was imminent, he would gladly give his life in one final act of desperation so that he would defend everyone and everything he cared about from his wretched taint as he stabbed his sword in the ground and provoked a forbidden spell he had learned about from aeons ago in his childhood. Sensing what he was doing, the white warrior sprinted forward with intent to kill the man before him; only to stumble in his charge as the the ground beneath them trembled from the power behind the incantation of the midnight warrior.
That split second was all the time that was needed.
Swirls of purple and white miasma shot out from the both of them and coalesced into form in the shape of a dome; trapping the two bodies within and locking them both away from the eyes of anyone else. The white warrior screamed in hysterical fury as he knew this spell and that once cast, there was no way to cancel the effect. Though the cost of the spell was the life of the person who cast it, the midnight warrior would finally free the world from the embodiment of Light for a long time and allowed a sense of achievement to wash over him and a smile to grace his lips. Knowing his demise was imminent, the white warrior tried his best to keep him alive in self-preservation but the sudden spike that erupted from the chest of the fallen warrior ended any attempt and destroyed the last vestiges of hope he had. He looked down at the dying smile on his face as a set of amber eyes slowly opened, seeing the satisfaction of a dying man as he slowly whispered his final words...
"As long as there is Light; there will always be the Darkness that follows. For the brightest light will always cast the darkest shadows. You can never win." Jaden finished with a nod, allowing a moment of silence to let the mood sink in before propping himself back to his feet and checked the pasta once more. "Food's ready!"
"Damn. That was pretty intense Jay, not gonna lie. Such a sad story and almost ironic that the one wearing white would be the villain in this." Jenny pouted as she puffed her cheeks up.
"That it may be. However, would you both like to know the name of the warrior that was dressed in the dark armour?" Jaden asked mysteriously, earning two nods of the head as they were still hit with the sensations of the story. "Haou." Jaden grinned, watching their curiosity turn into shock as they both finally made the connection. Bastion had found out the truth not long after Jenny had persuaded him to sit down and open up about that little tidbit about him and was surprised that the male Ra student took it in with nothing but a smile and a nod. Bastion had explained there was more to it that Jaden let on but subtle hints gave him away and he made the final connections on his own.
"That was his final battle against the Light of Destruction. Yubel was actually his most-trusted servant at the time and Haou had saved her from the brink of death by having her eat the heart of a dragon and granting her body enough energy to overcome her sickness and restore her past her previous self and into who she is now. I know she can be a little embarrassed about the way she looks and how she came to be as she is now but she's always been a part of me and she's always been there for me, whether I knew it or not." Jaden smiled, allowing his eyes to shut and a few small tears to fall from his closed eyes.
Meanwhile, unknown to the three of them, said duel spirit was hiding behind one of the pillars and listened into the story Jaden told; holding her hand to her chest as it ached from the reminder of that battle. She had found the bodies of the two on that field, left untouched by all but the cleansing rain that soothed the loss of life in the small town in which she was born, back in her human life. She remembered how she wept bitterly over the death of her master and her unrequited love and she had held him in her arms for three whole days and nights in the hope that he would come back to her.
He never did.
However, she also took in the last little bit in which Jaden mentioned and she allowed an uncharacteristically small blush to break out at how fondly he spoke of her and smiled unconsciously. It was true; back as a human, she was one of the most desired women and that the King of her time would want her as one of his concubines. However, the Queen wasn't amused by his plan and persuaded her husband to allow her to marry their son, Haou. Since her illness and her transformation, she had moments in which she hated her current disfigurement and she wouldn't dare go out in revealing clothes or anything that would make her feel even more insecure about her looks.
She recalled the time in which Jaden was much younger than he was now and how he accidentally walked in on her in the middle of changing and called her pretty. At that age, that was enough of a compliment and it only ever grew from there. She wrapped her arms around herself as she allowed her moment of warmth to spread through her body of the affection Jaden had for her... and her of him.
The three Sacred Beasts roared out in pain for the loss of their master as she burned his body in an everlasting flame. The three deities that Haou pleaded and almost sacrificed his life on more than one occasion for each of them and how he sought out their aid in keeping peace with the lands and with the universe itself. Seeing the sincerity of his actions in his heart, despite his past misdeeds, the three of them agreed and they followed him and fought alongside him. Hamon, one of the three, had watched diligently as Yubel held his master in her arms while he had used his tail to crack the land and form a fissure that lead deep into the world, allowing the body of the white warrior to fall and not give a second thought to the man who killed his master.
"What an interesting story, Jaden."
Four sets of eyes snapped in his direction but only one set narrowed in response. Yubel did her best to not revealed herself so soon but she could smell something tainted coming from the new figure and it didn't sit well with what she had been doing for Jaden. Knowing she had something new to check up on, she allowed herself to fade and restart her investigation.
"Huh? Professor Banner? What're you doing in the Ra dorm?" Jaden asked in surprise, allowing himself to take the pasta and the sauce in his hands while Jenny followed behind him with two trays of roasted chicken breasts. Bastion had already done the honours of setting up the table for the three of them and was currently using Jenny's mobile phone as their main source of light.
"Oh, I needed to speak with Sartyr in regards to some teacher material he was covering with the second-year students and I saw him coming from this direction. I do hope I wasn't being rude but I caught the beginning of the tale and didn't want to interrupt you!" he smiled, allowing his soft-German accent to flow out from his mouth. "May I be so bold as to ask what the three of you are up to? Aside from cooking food, of course!" he joked, noticing the deck of cards on the table beside Bastion.
"We're pulling cards. The higher the level, the scarier the story is. Jaden's story was a level nine." Jenny explained as she untied the apron and took it off and allowed herself to plop into her seat next to Bastion and Jaden. "Would you like to have a go?" she asked, much to the agreement of the two Ra students. Banner shrugged in response but soon nodded, allowing himself to flip over the top card resting on the table; revealing it to be Jaden's Elemental Hero Cosmic Champion.
"Damn! A Twelve-star!" Jaden whistled, impressed at the luck of the draw. Inwardly, he was on guard since he knew that said card should have been in his pocket and not in the deck. So the fact that it was now sitting in his deck did not do any favours for his paranoia. "Do your best, Professor!" he grinned, masking his inner thoughts.
"Hmm. I think I have something in mind that could work. Tell me; have any of you heard the rumours of the Abandoned Dorm that's somewhere on this island?" he asked, earning the attention of all three students. Jaden made no outward notion but he was very much interested as he heard about it from Kaiba one time while said man was drunk. It was after a bad business deal that almost reduced his company to ashes but Pegasus had managed to do his own investigation into the matter and found some incriminating evidence for the party involved and managed to recover everything on the grounds of a technicality.
So Kaiba had gotten himself stupidly drunk and was babbling on about making a stupid mistake and how Yugi chewed his ass out for a good two hours. Curious as to what would warrant the usually laid-back and easy-going Yugi to snap and yell at the cold-sided Kaiba and get through to him? Jaden had asked and he was told about a mistake he made about studying the Millenium Items in the hopes to defeat Yugi and reclaim his title as King of Games.
"It was a dorm dedicated to the studies of the Millennium Items; reserved for only the brightest and best student that stayed in the Academy. There were two individuals that resided there that had the most potential of them all, however; Atticus Rhodes and Kamina Tsukuyomi." he explained as Jaden's eyes widened to the point of his eyes falling out.
"J-Jay?" Jenny spoke up, noting the sudden expression that came over his face and was worried for him. "What's wrong?" she asked, now panicking slightly since whatever the reason is, this piece of news had shaken him to the core.
"I would assume that given the last name, that Atticus is somehow related to Alexis?" Bastion interrupted, also having noticed the look on Jaden's face and wanted to steer the conversation away the best he could.
"He's her older brother. She had told me a little bit about him around a week or two after the Fairty Tale duel when we hung out together." Jaden whispered, earning the attention of the three members. "While Kamina's my blood brother." he revealed, shocking the three of them.
"I don't understand. You know Kamina, Jaden?" Banner asked, stunned by the news.
"Yeah, I knew him. Everyone knew him as Kamina but his closest friends called him by his nickname, Katsu. He was a brother figure to me when I grew up in the orphanage and he was the one who took me under his wing when the matrons started acting up after the owner found out about my heritage and ordered the matrons to 'discipline' me so that I would cave in and give the wretched man what he wanted. We... we were inseparable and we always got into trouble together." he sadly smiled, remembering fondly the times that the two of them had together growing up. "I was the one who gave him the nickname from his love of things blowing up. I remember when the two of us were watching the firework display on the coast of Domino City as he kept shouting that just before the rockets exploded. I gave him the nickname and we both began scrapping it out!" he chuckled warmly, rubbing his eyes from the tears that were now falling in fondness.
"The last I heard from him was around four years ago after we spotted one another after one of the major dueling tournaments that was going on back in Domino City and the two of us caught up. He had told me that he wouldn't be around much longer because he got accepted into a dueling academy and that he was one of the best students that they had. I believe it was during the summer break where he came home for a little while and wanted to take some time away from the island." he continued, earning their rapt attention as Jaden told his story. However, everyone flinched when his eyes snapped open and no longer revealed his usual brown orbs that held so much emotion within them.
No. They were now amber.
And they were furious.
"However. Even I know that if you're studying the Millennium Items, you're dabbling with the Shadow Games. That is something that shouldn't have happened; especially if you knew the risks of doing so." he lambasted, rising to his feet and staring unnervingly at Banner, who had taken a step back in fear. "Now I understand the reason why Yugi would snap to the point that he would chew Kaiba's ass out for two whole hours. And how Kaiba admitted it was the stupidest mistake he's ever made and sat there for the whole two hours and took it like a man."
"I-I never knew." Banner replied shakily, feeling vulnerable under those eyes and looking away after proving too much to remain in eye-contact with him. "I'm sorry to hear that you've lost someone important to you, Jaden." Banner apologized, bowing before Jaden and clenching his hands into fists to direct the nerves into his shaking hands. "However, I believe that they can still be found and saved." he smiled as he quickly left the three of them alone in silence as the food remained untouched for the duration of the conversation and was slowly getting colder.
"I'm going to find the dorm tomorrow." Jaden spoke up, finality in his voice after a few moments of silence. "I want to know what happened and see if I can do anything about it."
"I'm going too." Jenny spoke up as Jaden shook his head in the negative.
"I can't allow you to come with me, this time. I'm don't want to risk putting you in danger if the Shadows decide to use you against me." Jaden rebuked, earning a startled look from the redhead. "Please, I don't want to risk that and I won't letting that happen." Jaden fiercely argued, showing her his brown eyes once more and showing her just how vulnerable he looked right now. Jenny was put back as any argument she had immediately died when she saw his eyes; the eyes that were the window to his soul. She could see just how afraid he was and how he cared for her and just how bad it would be for him if something did happen to her under his watch. Closing her eyes, she pulled Jaden into a tender hug and held him there; not caring that Bastion was watching since she felt his arms wrap around her in return.
Bastion, meanwhile, was nodding at his reasoning while the two held one another. He couldn't find anything go against Jaden as he had made excellent points; she would be a liability in things and he was adamant about keeping her safe. If the roles were reversed, wouldn't she do the same as he did? While he understood she was able to make her own choices, he respected Jaden's stubbornness to want to keep her safe.
"O-Okay, Jay. I won't go." she whispered softly as she tightened her grip on him slightly.
"Thank you." he replied, squeezing her softly before pulling back and wiping his eyes from the tears and putting on a smile. "We've made this food and we haven't even touched it yet!" he grinned as the three of them soon helped themselves to the food they cooked up and spent the rest of the night talking with one another.
Outside of the dorm, unknown to all, waiting patiently in the bushes was an eavesdropper that just happened to listen in on the conversation between the four of them. He chuckled to himself as he rubbed his hands together, thinking of a plan to finally get back at the person who's been nothing but a thorn in his side and the reason for his recent string of humiliation. 'This is perfect! So Jaden wants to do a little late-night snooping around the Abandoned Dorm, eh? I'll give him a taste of the Shadow Games and I'll get his little redhead as well!'
~ETK~
Down in one of the darkened backstreet alleyways in the middle of Domino City, we would find two figures in the middle of a duel; one who was rather plain looking; unkempt brown hair, green jumper, beige trousers and a pair of shoes. The usual non-descriptive filler character that we would never dive into or bother giving him any kind of backstory since he's not gonna appear later down the line in the story.
The fabled Background Character!
The other figure was far from plain, though; donning a jet black trench-coat that hid his entire frame from prying eyes and a pair of heavy steel-capped army booths that were painted black, only adding the the mysterious and dangerous aura that this man had surrounding him. Atop of his head sat an undertaker's hat that blended in with the all-black theme, allowing the BC to rest his gaze on the one thing that stood out from the full-black outfit; a plain grey mask with a Millennium Eye tilted on its side, resting above the bridge of his nose.
"Now it's time to send you to the Shadows!" the taller of the two figures spoke menacingly, withdrawing a familiar prism from his pocket and revealed it to the man, who stumbled backwards and allowing his deck to fall to the floor after just losing the duel.
"N-No! Please! Have mercy!" the man begged on his knees, whimpering.
"Mercy?" he asked, tasting the word and tilting his head much like a child. "I do not know of what you speak." he finished as the pyramid shone a light, causing the man to scream loudly before falling face first on the concrete floor as his remaining cards scattered over the pavement. Finished with things, the larger figure turned around and made his way out of the alleyway and into the shadows of the night.
*Bzzzt!*
Not even stopping to break stride or turn his attention away from anything, he reached into his pocket and snapped open the flip-phone and pressed it to his ear.
"Duel Academy? Tomorrow night? I'll be there."
~ETK~
The following morning came too fast for Jaden's liking. Having decided that they wouldn't waste breaking alarm clocks every week, Jaden had inwardly asked Haou to kick-start his body at a certain time in the morning so he would wake naturally and, in turn, wake Jenny up for the day as well. Blinking his eyes a few times as his basic motor functions warmed up, he allowed a yawn to escape his lips as he gently shook the sleeping female beside him.
He remembered a few nights ago he had woken up in the middle of the night after crying in Ayumi's arms that he felt something pressed tightly against him and was stunned to find that it was his roommate. He was two parts nervous but also incredibly touched that she would do something to intimate and something so personal with him and that she enjoyed it, if the smile on her face as she held him was any indication. Since then, the two of them came to a silent agreement that they would move the mattress onto the main bed and allow the two of them to sleep next to one another.
He hesitated for a moment but soon leaned down and kissed her cheek before swiftly moving to the bathroom after grabbing some clean clothes and a towel, missing the small blush and moan she let out after being conscious enough to register the kiss. He closed the door behind him before moving over towards the shower to clean himself, feeling comfortable enough to leave it unlocked for Jenny since he had already committed that particular crime already.
"Yo, J-Man!"
"Huh? Oh! Sup Dwayne?" he smiled, watching his Clayman leaning against the wall near his shower. "What's up?"
"Hate ta break yo smile so e'rly in the m'rnin but sumthin' fishy's goin' on an' it start'd last night with tha Banner-dude." Dwayne explained in a near-Jamacian accent as he picked off a piece of lint off of his bright yellow top and brushing it down. "I kno' dere's plenty o' stories to tell ya 'bout supernatural stuff but talking 'bout 'n Abandon'd Dorm tha deals wit' th' Shadows? I'm gett'n real bad vibes, man..."
"You're not the only one. I've been up for most of the night, thinking about the same thing." Jaden confessed as he washed himself. "What do the others think about it?"
"I agree with Dwayne, Jay. I'm not liking the situation any more than you do and the fact that Banner would casually throw out information about something that Kaiba has been trying to keep hush-hush isn't something to overlook, either. I advise you to be cautious." Trix commented as she appeared in the bathroom as well, choosing to stay on the opposite side of the room so she could give Jaden his privacy. "Danny's been with Yubel most of the night last night and even he's going on a mad one because he's getting a bad feel for the whole thing. Mentioning that it doesn't smell right and that the whole thing feels... tainted." she explained, watching Jaden pause for a moment and smacking the wall beside him lightly with his closed fist.
"Kuso! The fact that Danny doesn't like the situation is giving me more than enough cause for worry about this." Jaden cursed, taking a pause from washing himself and shocking the spirits as Jaden rarely uses any cuss words. The fact that he used one warranted that this was a serious matter and that it was affecting him worse than they thought.
"If you're worried about it Jay, I'll accompany you. That way, the others know that you'll be safe and that I can help you immediately if things do take a bad turn." Yubel spoke up as she hovered in mid-air; wings slowly flapping to keep her airborne. She didn't like seeing Jaden this way but she knew that he would face much worse in the future and that he would need to steel his heart to move forward. She toyed with the thought that it made her seem cold but having too much emotional attachment will make things much worse at times; so she needed him to harden his heart only for those occasions so that he doesn't kill the part of him they've all come to know and love. "It seems to be the only alternative you have available to you, Jaden."
"Alright," he sighed as he agreed with Yubel's plan and slapped a serious expression on his face as he finished up washing himself and switched the water off. "I'll have Yubel come with me to make sure there's no funny business going on, okay?" he asked his two heroes as they nodded. "Good. Mind if I get out?" he asked politely, getting a smirk from Trix as she teased him by grabbing the towel from the stand and threw it to Yubel. Who, in turn, let loose a playful grin and made a show of the blushing Jaden as she pressed up tight against him and wrapped it around his frame; allowing herself to tease him by pressing her body tight against him and feeling his reaction to her; smirking as she teased him further and slowly grind into his reaction before nipping his lip and vanishing.
Jaden groaned as he knew she did that to tease him and now sported the after-effect of feeling her body pressed up against him like that and decided 'to hell with it' and started preparing for the day.
~ETK~
"Hmph. So you're the Shadow Duelist I've heard about?" Crowler asked, seemingly unimpressed as the masked figure stepped off the small rowboat that had carried him there from the mainland. "I heard you cost quite a pretty penny so I only hope you're as good as you say you are."
"If you doubt my abilities so much, why bother seeking my help out? I could very easily turn around and refuse your request because of your stubborn pride." he replied, staring straight through the doctor. Crowler paled as he chuckled nervously in response and held his hands in a placating manner.
"N-Now, let's not be so hasty! I-I was only kidding to see... see your reaction, yes! M-May I know your name?" Crowler grovelled, earning a small 'tch' from the man as he lifted his face up to face Crowler's.
"I don't know what they call me through their screams and yells... but I'd prefer the name; Titan." he explained as he took measured steps towards the Obelisk Head, making him more nervous as he approached. "What's the job you have for me?"
"Ahem! Yes. I want you to head to the location I'll map out for you and I want you to make one of the students here so terrified of things that he will have no choice but to leave Duel Academy for good! He has made a mockery of me one too many times and I will not stand for it!" Crowler snickered as he pulled out a small white square that held a photo of a familiar brunet on the front, smiling as he napped at his desk; showing it for Titan to examine. "His name is Jaden Yuki and I believe that this would be the tipping point that sends him over the edge."
"Jaden Yuki, the Elemental King?" Titan asked, his eyes widening in shock behind the mask as the name triggered several bells in his head. He had heard about the young prodigy that took to the Pro scene at the age of fourteen and about the kind of deck he uses that quickly shot him up the ladder and reaching the likes of some of the top duelists of this era and the one before; the Elemental Heroes. He was the main representative for Pegasus, himself; meaning that if he could pull this off... he'd have bested one of the most prestigious duelists since the King of Games! "Consider it done. Also, I believe that the stars shine upon you this day. It isnt everyday that I am requested to pay a vist to a celebrity duelist so, as a small token of good faith, I will do this free of charge for you." he smiled grimly as he vanished into the fog, leaving no trace of him behind. Crowler looked around him, trying to spot the man but soon gave up after a moment when nothing seemed to be there.
"Wow, he is good! Oh well, leave that slacker to him while I enjoy the rest of my day off." Crowler dusted his hands as he walked off back to his office. "Now... how do I get that redhead of his to spend some time away from him?" he asked himself as he walked away, missing the figure behind him.
Allowing himself to pull away from the trunk of the tree he hid behind, his steel grey eyes narrowed slightly as he slowly processed what he had just seen. Sighing softly, he soon reached into his PDF and quickly typed a message out before hitting the send button.
"So Crowler has got something planned for Jaden and it'll involve Jenny and Alexis being the bait for the trap. I have to warn them before they fall for his trick and someone gets hurt. Atty... I won't let any harm come to your sister until she sees you again."
~ETK~
It was closing in on midnight when Bastion and Jenny decided to call it a night and head to bed, leaving Jaden awake and getting ready to leave. She had insisted once more that she should go with him to be safe and make sure nothing happened to him; but he had made sure she stayed in her room by promising her that he would make it up to her tomorrow by doing something together as just the two of them. He even went as far as to promise her that he would bring her back and play and sing a few songs for her as a rare treat. She knew she lost the argument but she told him to be safe before going to sleep, nuzzling his hand as Jaden ran his thumb over her cheek; just before he got up and headed towards his destination.
As he was walking through the route he had been given by Zane, himself, he spotted a small cabin that was a small distance away from the Academy, idly noting that it looked pretty cozy and homely for being so secluded away. The main thing that caught his attention was the flower beds that sat just off to the side, widening his eyes when he recognised the flowers growing there.
'Well I'll be... genuine blue roses, here? I hope whoever grew them knows they would be so incredibly wealthy if they could harvest the seeds to sell; they would be set for life!' he pondered to himself as he knelt down and slowly plucked one, avoiding the thorns on the stem. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a few notes and tucked it under the welcome mat and kept a corner of the note visible for whoever lived here.
Happy to have found the special rose bed, he softly hummed to himself as he continued to wander the forest for another forty-five minutes or so; stopping dead in his tracks when his ears picked up the faint sounds of a voice talking, not that far away. Allowing himself to follow the voice, he soon found the place he was looking for and that there was another figure standing at the broken gate that had faded a while ago. Silently tip-toeing forward to not make any sounds, he leaned behind the trunk of the tree and peeked around to who it could be.
'Alexis...' Jaden thoght to himself, watching as the Obelisk student wrapped her padded jacket around her and lowered her head in respect. Feeling a little intrusive, he was about to walk away before her voice broke the silence and halted him in his tracks. He sighed quietly as he leaned back on the trunk away from her and decided to stay put and respect her wishes to talk with her brother, listening to what she said.
"Atty... it's been a while, I'm sorry. I'm glad I found a little bit of time to visit you tonight. I can't believe I'm gonna say this but," she sighed, combing a hand through her hair and playing with the ends softly, "I need a little bit of guidance about someone I've not long ago met."
She giggled softly as she shook her head in amusement as she always imagined him teasing her about the boys she liked, knowing how he claimed to be a hit with the ladies and how he believed he knew them better than most.
"He's a really cool guy; he's so down to earth but still aiming high in the sky for whatever he sets his mind to. He can include everyone in anything and no make an entire class feel like they're all so involved and inspire so many of us at once to strive got greater and better things. He is an amazing duelist, even to the point of beating Crowler with only six cards!" she gushed, smiling brightly as she described him.
Jaden blushed openly, having figured out that he was the one she was talking about! He brought his hand up to his chest and gripped his hooded softly as he listened to her and was floored by how much she thought of him. He never was the type to take compliments well so it was uncomfortable to hear so many positive things but leaned his head back and continued to listen to her speak.
"He can be so incredibly charming, hilariously funny and a bit of a goof at times," she giggled, imagining the two of them getting along swimmingly with one another, "but here's the problem." she softly toned her voice down, Jaden noting the sad underline in her voice and kept silent. "Every time that I look at him, there's something inside me which just wants to burst out! It's like something is just beneath the surface of me and it's fighting it's way out and I'm confused on how I should feel. It's frustrating as hell because I don't act this way and know better than to be fawning over a guy like this but... what makes him so different?" she asked, letting her confusion and frustration out as small droplets of tears fell from her eyes.
"How one look from him breaks down my guard. How a simple smile leaves one on my own face! How I have a need to... relieve myself when I keep thinking about the one duel we had and... how his kiss left me dazed in a drunken stupor that I never wanted to leave..." she confessed, putting the blush back on the hidden Ra student's face as he understood exactly what she was saying.
"C'mon Atty! You're the 'self-proclaimed' Love Doctor, so what's your diagnosis?" she paused, like she was expecting an answer from him. She started laughing to herself before something inside of her snapped and the laughter soon turned into a mix of crying and sobbing. Jaden kept listening and gripped his chest hard to try and stop the pain he could feel coming from one of his best friends.
"T-There's another girl who likes him though... and it feels like I've missed out on the only chance I had with him and..." she trailed off, clutching her chest. "I-it hurts, Atty! How my heart clenches tightly when I see the two of them together; how I know what they have is so sweet and I love seeing them both together; they truly come alive around one another and everyone else picks up on that energy and we feel so much better as well!"
'Lex... I didn't know you were hurting so much. I'm sorry I never even picked up on it or noticed how fake your smiles were around us.' Jaden lamented in his head, allowing a few of his own tears to fall for how bad she was hurting right now and he felt so guilty because he was the reason for her pain.
"I-I know that I'm jealous of her having such a great person who loves her, despite everything he's been through. I don't know the whole story but he's told me about his earlier life and some stories he had growing up and I just... I want to reach out to him and never have to let go of him! That I can tell him that things will get better and that I will always be there!" she sobbed, allowing her emotions free reign at this point and weeping for just how passionately she felt about him. Jaden wasn't faring any better as he felt her pain and her sorrow and was gritting his own teeth since her could feel how bad this was for her.
"I know I'm crazy saying this but I don't even care if I have to share him with her," she professed, stunning the brunet as his eyes snapped open widely, "I just want to be with him and fall completely in love with him! I want to show him that love is an amazing thing and not something to be scared of and that he deserves all the love he gets! I... I just don't know what to say to him that could match up what Jenny's told him, already." she sighed defeatedly, lowering her head and allowing some more tears to fall down her cheeks and coating the ground beneath her.
"Saying what's on your mind usually helps, Lex."
She startled a gasp from her throat as she whipped her head around to the new voice that broke her silence; a voice which she had no trouble recognizing as she saw the brunet walk out from behind knew of the nearest trees from her and took in the tear marks that was still fresh on his face. She soon blushed crimson as she realized that he had heard her talking about him and felt so embarrassed that she didn't even sense him there! "W-W-What are you doing here!?" she squeaked, earning a sad smile from him as he walked closer to her so that they were standing close in front of one another.
"Professor Banner told me about this place and Zane was kind enough to give me directions here so that I could come to pay my respects." he replied softly, feeling ashamed that he couldn't even look into her eyes; pulling the blue rose out of his pocket and placing it on the ground next to her own red rose. "Professor Banner caght us last night telling stories and he spoke about this place and the missing students linked to it." he explained, still not being able to look at her, not seeing the worried look on her face as she noticed he was avoiding her face and softly frowned. "I also found out that your brother was one of the missing people and that I'm sorry it's hurting you so much." he finished, moving his gaze to the dorm but failing to do so since he found his face turned to hers.
He tried looking down and away from her hazel eyes but a pair of hands on his cheeks brought him to look up and see the fresh tears that were falling down her face. He cursed himself for making her cry again after all she said and he surprised himself (as much as her) when he wrapped his arms around her and held her. It was all that was needed to send her over the edge as the two of them cried together, holding one another tightly for support as they stood there.
They both remained there, simply holding one another for the longest time after the tears had stopped and both had settled for staying like this. Jaden boldly moved his hand to her hair and stroked it, prompting a response as she nuzzles his chest and allowed his heartbeat to soothe her emotions greatly.
"I'll admit that I'm surprised, Jay. No-one ever bothers with this place, let alone come here to pay respects." she spoke after a while, still softly as she took in his presence and held him tighter.
"Did you ever know a guy by the name of Kamina, Lex?" he asked her, still running his fingers through her soft dirty-blonde hair and rubbing her back softly. Neither of them wanted to move apart and both were happy staying like this for a while.
"Mhhmm. I knew Katsu, he was a good friend to my brother, Atty. The goof wouldn't shut up about him; saying how much of a goof Kamina was and how much he loved fireworks. Katsu said he got the nickname from a boy he grew up with in the... orphanage..." she trailed off as she began putting the pieces together. She lifted her head slightly so she could look at the man who's arms she was held in as the pieces soon clicked. "It was you, Jay?"
"Yeah. I still remember the fight we had when I first gave him that nickname; we had no dessert for a week as our punishment." he chuckled, getting a giggle from the Obelisk blonde as she could very well imagine that happening. "He was the only person I could resemble as family since he was the only one who ever stood up for me as a kid and we eventually made a pact to became blood brothers." he smiled, looking back at her and continuing to smooth her hair.
"We caught up again with each other a few years ago when he came to one of my tournament duels and we sat down and told each other everything that happened during the years we were seperated. He told me that he got accepted here at Duel Academy and that he was enjoying his time with 'a nutball crazier than me' who was called Atticus... Atty he called him." he explained as she giggled even more at the reference, agreeing with him wholeheartedly.
"After a few years, the contact stopped and I wondered what happened to him. I was worried about him to the point that I had Kaiba looking for him as a personal favour. So I was shocked to find out yesterday evening about him being one of the students who went missing after being nominated for this place; so I came here to pay my respects to him and apologize for why it's taken me so long to find out." he sighed as he tucked her head under his chin and held her softly, feeling her arms rub his back softly. "You were talking with Atty, huh?"
She softly nodded into his chest as a rosy pink tint returned to her face, remembering the conversation she just had and how she was caught red-handed. "H-How much did you hear?" she asked, shyly.
"Enough to know how much I mean to you and enough to get your feelings across to me." he smiled softly as her toned his voice down to a near whisper. "Despite what you think, me and Jenny aren't really anything to each other for the moment. We've shared one kiss, we've held one another a few times in bed when I had some really bad nights and we hug a lot. I know that it might seem theres more than friendship but I honestly suck with knowing where the lines sit with these things." he admitted, surprising the blonde. "Even sharing the same room with her doesn't mean that we try and get any closer than now because I'm not quite ready for that step..." he sighed, allowing his shoulders to sag slightly as flashes of memories ran through his mind.
"You've never had a girlfriend?" Alexis asked, genuinely curious but also softly as she felt him tense a moment and moved to rub his back more in an effort to calm him down.
"No but it isn't because of that." he shook his head. He knew that Yubel was near him as part of the deal of coming out tonight and felt a small hand on his shoulder; squeezing it softly. Jaden smiled softly at the gesture and nodded, preparing himself to tell Alexis the story. "Have you heard anything from Bastion and Jenny about my past?"
"Huh?" she replied, thrown off by the sudden change in question. "W-Well, you've told me you were an orphan and you got kicked out a few years later. That's all I know, really. Jenny and Bastion hasn't told me anything else out of respect but their faces pale a little when I bring up questions about your past." she admitted to him, earning a small nod she could feel from the top of her head.
"So you weren't told about the two years I was comatose, then?" he commented, earning a startled gasp from the blonde as she looked up sharply at him.
"Y-You were in a coma!? What happened!?" she half-yelled. Jaden took a deep breath and exhaled as he mentally gathered himself for what he would say next. He had already sat down to tell his fellow Ra students the story of what happened in his past, roughly a week or two after the duel he had with the woman he was currently holding.
Jenny had thrown up whatever food she had that day and spent most of the day attached to him and not letting him leave her sight, wanting to let heads roll for what happened to him. Bastion was in the same boat as her and even he felt sick to his stomach about what Jaden had told them. Most of the duel spirits were there at the time and even they felt awful that they couldn't do anything to them. Yubel assured them all that the ones who did this got their punishment as both Yugi and Kaiba had handled it.
Personally.
"Back when I was ten years old, I was kicked out of the orphanage by a corrupt bastard who caught on about my family's wealth. He had been trying for years to break me down to the point that I would give in and give him access to the funds I didn't know I had at the time. Up to this point, Katsu took me in under his wing and fought back against the owner and rebelled up to that point." he began explaining, closing his eyes as he recalled his earlier life.
"Since he never got the money, he threw me out; not caring what happened to me or feeling any shame about kicking a child onto the streets with nothing to support him with. For a few months, I was living on the streets of Domino City; down in the alleyway near the downtown Arcade. There wasnt much in terms of shelter down there so I ended up making a small hole between some of the old cardboard boxes and bins to work as shelter against the cold and the rain; owning nothing apart from my one card and the clothes on my back." he recalled, sensing Alexis' full attention on him as she was having difficulty processing everything.
"I can't remember exactly when it happened but I think it was in the November. There was something going on in the city and a large crowd that had gone drinking that night; and I remember there were a few people who stumbled across the alleyway I was sleeping in. They saw the state I was in and instead of sobering up to call for help, their deranged minds decided to kill me out of their 'mercy'; slurring that a child didn't deserve to live on the streets."
Alexis was stunned into silence as she continued to listen to the story, wondering how on earth he was able to handle the horrors that he had face when he was only ten years old. She could see how much it was tearing at him and she wanted to tell him to stop but was beaten by his next words.
"Having heard this, I panicked and tried to scramble as fast as I could into the shelter I had been using. Unfortunately, because I was so malnourished, I ended up falling over and one of them had managed to grab hold of my leg and yanked me into the open. They had thrown fists at me and broken several bones in my body and left me unable to move. The one man grabbed a hold of me and threw me on top of one of the wooden crates that was there..." he trailed off, feeling the sensations threaten to overwhelm him as he tried to bite the next words out.
"... and raped me."
"T-They... r-raped you...?" Alexis whispered silently, her mind shutting down of all her senses apart from utter horror. As a woman, she knew about the dangers of rape but wasn't naive enough to know that only females were subjected to that horror. But the fact that Jaden was only ten years old, living on the streets, struggling to live day by day and having no way to defend himself...
'I-I can't... I just can't... how did you cope!?' she cried mentally, sobbing loudly as she gripped onto Jaden for dear life and held him tightly as she cried for him. Jaden simply held her there and cried himself as he struggled with those memories but noting that he felt a lot lighter from speaking about it to her.
"Yeah. I soon passed out from the shock before I could feel anything and they didn't stop until they finished with my body and then continued beating me to death. Someone saved me that night while I was unconscious while a duel spirit of mine had put me in a comatose state to make sure that I survived that night. By all medical means, I should have died three times over, that night but I simply went comatose." he continued, calming down a little as he continued to clench her jacket and hold her tightly.
"Who saved you?" she asked as she pressed herself closer to him and ran her hand through his hair. She was happy that she felt him respond to her advance and leaned into her hand and nuzzle it slightly.
"My mentor, Yugi. He had been passing nearby by a stroke of luck and managed to hear one of my cries before I blacked out, finding me unconscious as they continued to hit me. He flew into a rage and used his powers to crush their minds before rushing me to the hospital. I was the biggest headline at the time and, both, Pegasus and Kaiba found out about this and instantly moved into action. It was during those two years, I found out about the legend of the Supreme King being inside me and I talked with him. He found out what had happened and was very close to eliminating whoever had done this to me but was more focused on my recovery."
"Once I recovered, two years later, I woke up to the three of them and I immediately hid myself and started screaming. A female nurse came in and sedated me as I was placed in rehab for eighteen months and went through three mental relapses, two breakdowns, diagnosed with PTSD and been labelled an emotional introvert." he continued as she listened to his tale aptly.
"I finally met the three of them once I had managed to handle myself well enough to be in the presence of men again; Yugi told me that he had taken legal custody of me, along with his fiancé, Téa. Kaiba was the one who funded all my medical costs for the entire two years I was out while Pegasus gave me two brand new decks to use, not knowing that was one of the last requests my parents made to him. Both of them had been duelists themselves so it made sense for me to follow in their footsteps." he explained, smiling softly as he allowed his head to bury itself in her hair and squeeze her softly as a sign that head finished.
"Jay... you have no idea how much it means to me that you'd share your past with someone like me. I would never have guessed you've been through all that but it just goes to show how much of a fighter you are." she smiled as she rested her head on his chest once more, wrapping her arms wrapped around his waist. "I've never been one for people's looks but, rather, how they deal with things that happen in their life. You, Jaden, have shown me that you've got the balls to stand up after everything that's been thrown at you and still continue fighting against your past..." she smiled as she rested her forehead on his, staring into his eyes.
"... and I'll be damned if I'm not there beside you, helping you smash through every obstacle." she finished before placing a gentle kiss on his lips. Jaden couldn't bring himself to say any words as he simply accepted the kiss and the feelings behind it before they pulled apart a few moments later.
"Thank you, Lex." he smiled warmly, reluctantly pulling away from her and placing his hands in his pocket. "Now I better get back before I have a pissed redhead on my case, right?" he chuckled. She shook her head playfully as she giggled in response to his comment.
"Nope. Said redhead came to check up on you to see if you're alright." Jenny spoke up as she entered the clearing in front of the dorm, surprising the duo as she came into view. Having thrown on the same hoodie she had on during the examination duels, she saw Jaden's frown before she held up her hands in a hope to placate him. "I know what you said Jay but before you say, I was told that Alexis wanted to see me." she commented honestly.
"I did. Sorry for not telling you, Jay, but I wanted to talk with Jenny privately about a few things. Nothing bad, just some things she can answer for me that no-one else can" Alexis apologized, soothing Jaden's fears and allowing him to relax slightly.
"It's all cool. Well, I'll head back. You two be careful, you hear?" he warned, getting warm smiles from the girls. He returned the gesture as he walked away from the entrance and began heading towards his dorm room...
... well, he would've if he didn't hear two screams from the direction he just walked from. With no hesitation in his actions, he turned tail and sprinted towards the Abandoned Dorm, once more.
~ETK~
He paid no attention to the run-down state of the building around him as he continued to scour the rooms for the two girls. The building looked like it had seen better days as most of the stairs and banisters were broken and worn out, leaving several pieces of wood scattered across the floor. The chandelier on the ceiling was hanging by an exposed electrical wire, swinging menacingly above the room. The walls were faded and dulled from its, once, white with several strips of wallpaper having rolled off and fallen to the floor. He took a moment to examine one of the walls as he saw ancient egyptian manuscripts that showed several images of the Millennium Items and an explanation about each one. He knocked his hip against a cabinet as he turned away, only to notice a picture frame that had been placed face down.
"So that's Atticus, huh? Wow... he is a goof like Katsu said!" he chuckled to himself as he pulled the photo out and placed it in the same pocket as his Neos deck. He heard a noise coming from a hallway that seemed to lead into the basement but stopped as he reached the doorway. On the floor were two face down cards; revealing to be Alexis' Cyber Prima Blader and Jenny's Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon. He pocketed them quickly before noting a small light coming from the passageway he had headed towards; qucikly making his mind up as he sprinted down the hallway and into the space beyond.
"So you must be the famed Jaden Yuki, correct?"
Jaden's eyes quickly darted from the bland ruinic scenery around him and quickly focused on the new figure that was standing there: fully clothed in black from head to toe and using a weird half-face mask painted in gold as an intimidation factor. Detracting from the black theme was an old Edwardian cream collar and the juxtaposition of the futuristic duel disk that sat over his left shoulder, resting the deck on his chest.
"It doesn't matter if I am or not," he growled, allowing a rare snarl to appear on his face as his duel disk flared with energy and snapping into place. "You've made a mistake in kidnapping my friends and using them as bait against me." he warned, his eyes unknowingly alternating between brown and amber. Something caught his peripheral and his eyes widened in shock: a pair of identical black open-top coffins standing up either side of the new figure, revealing the sleeping forms of both Jenny and Alexis. Titan began a bellowing laugh as he pulled out his pyramid from his pocket and showed it to Jaden... ruining his hnger for a moment and replacing it with confusion as he sweat-dropped.
"I go by many names that my victims call me and all of them are as fear-inducing as the last! Howevery, I prefer to go by the name of Titan. You see, I'm a Shadow Duelist and I can control the very shadows themselves. These two girls just happened to be a... prize I've acquired for my efforts." he smirked, not noticing the smirk on Jaden's face and allowing his smirk to falter slightly .
"Really?" he asked, feigning ignorance and allowing his sarcasm to slip through his teeth. Allowing a small hint of satisfaction as he watched Titan take a cautionary step back, he moved forward to the middle of the floor and noticing a small runic symbol on top of a small platform. "Then I suppose you know what happens if I take a step... right... here?" he asked rhetorically, slamming his foot down, activating the device as lights shone forth from the Millennium emblem that was carved into the middle of the floor and spreading up the sides of the walls.
"W-What's going on!?" Titan yelled in slight worry as the energy exploded outwards into a dome-shaped barrier and trapped everyone inside. His eyes showed the first signs of panic when he soon noticed that Jaden was no longer standing alone across from him, as several figures appeared behind Jaden...
... and boy were they pissed.
"Guys! Get Alexis and Jenny out of there!" Jaden commanded; Dwayne and Avi wasting no time in following their friend's order as both rushed over to the girls and easily broke both of them with one hit each. Titan tried to stop them but Danny soon appeared and stopped the attack before it could take place; allowing the two spirits to carry the unconscious girls in their arms while Jaden threw his PDF to Kiyomi on the side. "I want you to record this, Yomi. This is why you should never tamper with the Shadows!" he yelled, earning a startled look from Titan as everything he planned began falling apart.
"You fool! I shall trap you here with my Millennium Pyramid! There will be no escp-ack!" he began before noticing his pyramid being split into two. Everyone turned to find the smoking barrel of a gun pointed at said item and a cold look on the person who shot the gun.
"Like some cheap imitation could fool Jay-Jay from knowing the original one! You don't seem to realize that he has better knowledge of the Millennium Items than most... and it's Puzzle, you dimwit! Not Pyramid!" the new figure spoke up as he blew the tops of his two identical .50 Desert Eagles in his hands before allowing himself to expertly twirl them back into their holsters.
Everyone there, Jaden and the other duel spirits included, were surprised by the new addition that appeared and was curious to know who this spirit was. Initial though when you saw him was full-blown Western Cowboy and you wouldn't be wrong; faded black leather hat and equally faded black leather boots, a short denim waistcoat over a white shirt and a white belt securing his black denim jeans with his white holders. Taking his hat off and allowing his blonde hair to fall from the hat and reveal the ponytail he had, he bowed to Jaden and the other spirits in greeting; allowing his blue eyes to twinkle in mischief.
"Howdy Pardner, th'name's John-boy but y'all can call me Duke if ya like. Pleased ta meet ya, son." he tipped his cowboy hat to the Ra student before flinging it back on top of his head in a show of skill.
"Likewise. Only a shame we met in such dire circumstances but alas, we shall remedy this later on!" Jaden returned the playful gesture and allowing a bow of his own. His eyes soon snapped back onto a panicked Titan and sneered. "Now. You claim that you want to duel in the Shadows? That's fine by me. Let's see how long you can last before you lose yourself to the selfsame Shadows you claim to have tamed... Duel!" Jaden yelled as his duel disk glowed with the various colours of his disk.
~Jaden : 4000~
~Titan : 4000~
"I'll make the first move!" Titan yelled as he added a card to his hand. "I'll place two cards face down before I summon my Infernalqueen Archfiend to the field in attack mode!" he yelled as a grotesque figure appeared in front of the masked duelist. The only real resemblance Jaden could think of was a plant that was badly taken care of; her hair wildly jutting outwards from under her crown, her body cloaked in a purple robe, just revealing the cleavage being held-up by a skeleton bra and attracting the focus to her two fiendish wings coming from her back.
(Infernalqueen Archfiend: Fiend / Effect / Fire / 4* / 900 ATK / 1500 DEF)
"Now I'll activate my field spell, Pandemonium! Normally, I would have to pay life points to keep my Queen on the field-"
"But the field negates that, I know!" Jaden interrupted, impatient with the voice of his opponent taking on a teasing note and worrying for the outcome of his friends and spirits alike. "Seriously, can we hurry it up?"
"What's the matter? Afraid that the Shadows will get you? It's okay, you'll get used to it after a few millennia!" he joked, getting a dead-pan look from the brunette as he drew a card.
"Listen, Titan, I don't really care about you or this act you're putting on right now but what you fail to realize is that we're standing in the Shadow Realm itself! Listen to you joking about something that your whole 'act' is based on and yet, you have no respect for how dangerous this place really is!" Jaden explained, stopping the mad duelist from his laughter as he turned to Jaden.
"You say that like you've got experience in the Shadow Games." he questioned, almost a hint of accusation and disbelief in his voice.
"I have." he bluntly replied, getting a wide-eye response from Titan as Jaden played two cards face-down on the field. "You've made a mistake fighting me here as you're going to lose." he warned as he played his Bubbleman in defence mode.
(Elemental Hero Bubbleman: Warrior / Effect / Water / 4* / 800 ATK / 1200 DEF)
"Thanks to my Bubbleman being the only one on the field, I can draw two more cards. I'll activate my Pot of Greed to draw two more on top of that; bringing my hand up to eight cards." he commented as his Heroes looked on in confusion as to what Jaden was doing. Meanwhile, Marc aimed his gun at Jaden and shot four times; allowing the cards to snap straight into Jaden's hand. "Next I'll play my Double Summon card; I'll send Marco to the graveyard to bring forth my newest addition to the family; Elemental Hero Midnight Cowboy!" he smiled.
"Pardon me, folks! Seems it's time to get into costume!" Duke winked as he disappeared briefly before standing where his Bubbleman was on the field. The only difference from before was the addition of a white bandanna around his neck while exchanging his denim waistcoat for a silk one and having polished up a lot more than he eas a moment ago. Jaden was impressed how he went from roguish charm to professional and crisp in a matter of seconds but soon turned his mind back to the duel. Duke clicked his tongue in annoyance as he stared down his opponent's queen. His hands were hovering over the two guns that were placed in the holder on his hips, as if he was in the middle of a showdown.
(Elemental Hero Midnight Cowboy: Warrior / Effect / Earth / 5* / 1800 ATK / 1500 DEF)
"Now, I'll activate my Cowboy's effect! On the turn he is tribute summoned, if I had used a Elemental Hero as a tribute material; I can discard a number of cards from my hand and I can destroy that many cards on the field. Also, I know about your Queen's effect and I know Duke is up for a little bet against the odds!" he smirked, matching the one on duke's face as the cowboy whipped out his one gun and span the barrel. "Duke? Catch!" Jaden grinned as he threw four cards towards his gunman, watching as each card transformed into a bullet that Duke soon placed in his gun. Spinning the barrel once more and snapping it closed with a flick of the wrist, the holograms of Titan's cards appeared in front of him as he held his breath... mentally preparing himself.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Four shots later and all the cards on Titan's side of the field was instantly destroyed by the smoking guns that Johnny held in his hands, blowing the steam that wafted off the barrels. A quick flick of his wrists and the guns were placed back in their holder. "Just another load to deal with." he grinned, relaxing. Before anyone could say anything, the queen fiend shrieked and pointed a bony finger at Duke. Out of nowhere, a dice appeared and began rolling on the floor; bumping up against the side of the arena and soon landing down...
... on a single snake eye.
Titan's face was one of pure shock as his entire plan was becoming less and less likely, listening to the wailing scream of his Queen before disappearing from the field; even though it was only Jaden's first turn in the duel. However, he did notice the small smirk on Jaden's face as he began wagging his finger in a dismissive wave.
"Ah, ah, ah! Who said I was finished yet?" he chided. "I activate a card known Assault Armor! While equipped with this card, Duke gains three-hundred attack points. However... I can choose to destroy it in the exchange of allowing Duke to attack you twice in one turn! Now Duke, attack Titan with two rounds of you Crackpot Jackpot!" he grinned as the guns span out of their holsters, in his hands before the duel spirit took aim at Titan, grinning like a kid at Christmas.
"With pleasure, pardner!" he grinned cheekily as he let loose two clips of bullets at Titan, piercing through his body without leaving a mark on his figure. It took a few seconds for the firing to stop before he threw the guns into the air, releasing the empty clips as he skillfully grabs two new clips and inserted them inside the gun. With a click of the gun, he emptied those two clips on him as well. His opponent was screaming in a deep voice as he watched almost all of his body disappear from sight, leaving his arms and half of his masked face.
Titan: (4000 - 3600) = 400
Effect Damage: Two Direct-Attacks to Life Points.
"I'll play two face downs and call it a turn!" Jaden finished with a condescending smile on his face. "Tell me, Titan, how does it feel to have most of your body missing to the Shadows themselves? Scared yet? Or do you want the main course?" he asked, noticing the slight frown on Yubel's face.
Yubel had been watching from the sidelines and was worried when she saw signs of Haou's subconscious anger leaking through to Jaden. The barrier between them is one of will and emotion and she knew that Jaden was more vulnerable to the hidden rage underneath and the sadism of her former master. Quickly swooping down and hovering in front of Jaden, she placed her hands on his cheeks and smiled sadly. Jaden looked at her sad smile and softly nodded, offering one in return. She smiled a little more as she pecked his lips before returning to her post and allowing Jaden to reign in his anger and gain control again; their unspoken words registering in their heads. "Your move. Make it count."
"Oh, I will!" Titan yelled back, miffed at the display of affection. "I'll play my spell card, Unwilling Sacrifice! I can special summon a Ritual monster from my hand, deck or graveyard without having to use the specific ritual card, itself. Also, I gain the combined total of attack points from all the monsters I tribute! I sacrifice my Terrorking Archfiend and my Summoned Skull to bring forth; Demise, King of Armageddon!"
As he spoke, the holograms of his two monsters appeared behind him; revealing them struggling against the pipes and metal cuffs they were attached to, sowing the two purple-tinted tubes flowing straight into Titan's back. All of a sudden, the machine activated and everyone (apart from Titan) had to quickly cover their ears as the two trapped monsters began shrieking and roaring; soon quietening down as the life drained from their bodies and quickly changed into lifeless husks of their former selves. The two husks then exploded into blue flames without warning once more, flowing out into the centre of the field and converged into a swirling vortex of fire, cloaking the figure inside.
Seeing the flames bursting outwards and towards them, Jaden quickly threw his hands out in front of him and roared at the top of his voice; stunning Titan as he watched a black energy pulse rapidly out from his opponent and watched the blackened shield that protected the people and spirits alike from the attack. Jaden soon coughed violently as he sank down to one knee and panted harshly, causing panic with the spirits. Yubel flew in front of them all and spread her wings out, slowly shaking her head as she looked at them all with a pleading expression.
Meanwhile, Jaden craned his head high enough to look as the new monster revealed itself. Much like his previous Queen fiend, he could describe this monster as an executioner he had seen from a video game; holding a massive bone-based axe in his hand with very little effort; giving off a deadly vibe since it stood there unflinchingly while being covered from head to toe in a skeletal black and white armour.
(Demise, King of Armageddon: Fiend / Ritual / Effect / Dark / 8* / 2400 ATK / 2000 DEF)
Titan: (400 + 2000 + 2500) = 4900
Life Points gained due to effect of Unwilling Sacrifice
"Now I'll take a page out of your book, Jaden! I sacrifice two thousand life points to activate his effect and destroy all the cards on the field!" Titan cackled as Demise growled lowly before spreading its arms out, commanding the blue flames to converge into a single point in front of him; shortly before the orb exploded and fire burst forth around the field and straight towards the current party.
Titan: (4900 - 2000) = 2900
Life Point cost for Demise, King of Armageddon's effect.
"I don't think so!" Jaden exclaimed as he did something that stunned the entirety of the duel spirits and humans watching; he ran straight out into the firing line of the attack and clicked on his duel disk to show the card that activated but remained hidden from Titan's view. Throwing his arms out, Jaden screamed in pain as all of the volatile blue fire converged on him and kept slamming into his body.
"Yubel! You need to stop him before he does permanent damage!" Trix screamed in response, tears streaming down her face as she watched her hero take the full attack for everyone. It was this scream that was the catalyst to the two sleeping figures behind them all waking up at that moment; immediately seeing the familiar mop of brown hair being swallowed in a sea of blue flames...
"Jaden!" they both yelled, startling the spirits once more as the two tried to rush forward...
… only to be stopped by Yubel as her own aura of darkness unleashed its presence and stunned everyone in place. The flames died down as Jaden swayed uneasily on his feet for a moment before allowing himself to fall face first into the ground. Trix immediately pushed past Yubel before she could stop her as she softly pulled Jaden into her lap and stroked his face tenderly; doing nothing to stop the tears or the sobs that escaped. Trix turned to Yubel and glared the most scathing look she could give-
Only to pause when she saw that Yubel had her own tears falling down her porcelain cheeks and that her eyes were shadowed by her own bangs. She softly flew down to the two of them and paused for a moment as she allowed the Hero a look into her heterochromian eyes and slowly took the duel disk away from Jaden. She snapped her wings sharply, giving her momentum to fly back in place where Jaden previously stood and surprised everyone the moment she snapped the disk in place on her own arm.
"W-What...what's going on?" Titan asked bewildered, having lost any momentum the moment he saw Jaden rush out to take the flames head on. He was shaking since he had never taken a life before from duelling and it unnerved him if that was what happened. However, seeing the same spirit that kissed him earlier was now glaring darkly at him; snapping the duel disk he wore and taking his place, his sombre mood turned into confusion when he saw none of the cards be destroyed.
Jaden/Yubel: (4000 - 1500) = 3500
"That puzzled look tells me that you haven't grasped what happened, wretch." Yubel snarled as her voice turned sharper and a dual-tone from the influx of her power becoming unstable. "Jaden had activated a card that was played face-down; My Body As A Shield. By paying fifteen-hundred life points; he can negate an effect that would destroy at least one of his own monsters..." she trailed off, giving time as both Trix and Kiyomi walked forward and held out their left and right arms, respectively.
Everyone watched as the two started to call on their powers and soon formed an rob in which the fires soon danced around one another; turning slowly from a sunset orange to a rich gold...
… and finally landing on pure white.
Screaming in unison, the two swung their arms back and launched the pulsating white fire orb straight into the chest of the King in front of them; the attack not even hesitating as it melted a hole leanly through the chest of the monster before the flames evaporated it painfully into dust. Yubel smirked darkly before snapping a snarl on her face for this asshole to hurt her Jaden.
"... and destroy the card that did it." she finished explaining, watching as Titan panicked and fell to his knees; clasping his hands in front of him and looking up pathetically at the duel spirit in front of him.
"P-Please! Have mercy!" Titan begged as his voice shot up an octave in fear. Yubel leaned down and grabbed the collar of the mystery duelist and pull him up to her face as she full-on growled.
"You... wretched... pathetic... useless piece of fucking shit! You have the damn gall to beg me for mercy!? After what you did to my Jaden!?" she gritted out before shoving him back harshly onto his ass. Flying back into her position, the two female spirits moved away from the field and joined the others around an unconscious Jaden to tend to him. Meanwhile, Duke had put his pistols back into his holders and allowed his hand to stretch out to the side; catching Yubel's attention when she felt a very watered version of her power from the cowboy in front of him as a new gun soon materialized into his hand.
The gun in itself looked like it was made from silver or platinum but the sheer aura of the gun screamed that it was something much more volatile and much more primal. The barrel of the gun itself was unusual since it wasn't cylindrical like most usual guns; but rather that of a shape of a plus sign from stock to tip. A circular guard that sat on the left side of the barrel near where the bullets would go and an unusual pendant hanging off the hilt of the gun in the shape of a Cerberus.
"I never like using this gun. But my dislike for using this things is far surpassed by my anger of you right now." Duke coldly stated as he brought the gun straight up to the remaining part of Titan's physical body and held it there for an unknown amount of time. Duke looked to the side, catching Yubel's gaze as she soon caught on it was her command for him to shoot when ready.
Turning her gaze briefly to a shivering Titan, she did nothing more than show him a second copy of Assault Armour, pointed at Duke and then placed it in her graveyard slot. Giving nothing but a short nod back to the cowboy, Duke gave on in return as she shot the final bullet of the game and through Titan as it caught in a blast of unfiltered energy.
Titan: (2900 - 3600) = 0
Effect Damage: Two Direct-Attacks to Life Points.
The purple orb of swirling shadow-void energy began collapsing on everyone there but Jaden's unconscious body soon pulsed three times; allowing his own darkness energy to slam into the dome. Seeing his strategy, Yubel connected her energy with his third pulse; the combined power shattering the shadows and allowed everyone to escape from its clutches...
… including Titan.
Letting loose a sigh from her friend's decision to let the wretch go, she allowed a tired smile to cross her face since his big heart cam through in the end again. With the aftershock of the duel kicking in, no-one wanted to speak a single word. Deciding on that silence, Trix took it upon herself to lift Jaden before a large arm held in front of her. She would have continued if Dwayne hadn't stepped forward. His braided black hair flowed down his back as his brown eyes blended in with the chocolate-tan of his skin. He wore a plain white t-shirt that did nothing to hide the muscles on his body, followed up with a pair of beige khaki shorts and white trainers. His whole image screamed out 'Brazilian Muscle'.
"Leave J-Man to me, Trix. You've done well tonight." he smiled as he effortlessly picked Jaden up and hefted him onto his back; securing his legs with his arms. Trix sighed but allowed a smile to grace her face as she patted her fellow Hero's bulky shoulder and walked alongside him. "C'mon." he hinted, leading the way forward as the others soon followed suit; not paying a second glance to Titan who remained on the floor shaken and with tears down his face.
"He'll be fine. He used some of the darkness he can use to let everyone escape from the Shadows... including the wretch. In retrospect? You can say that he tired himself out, saving everyone from being possessed by the shadows." Yubel explained once everyone had stepped outside and noticed the tear marks on both Alexis' and Jenny's faces, seeing them glance repeatedly at their fellow student in worry.
"How?" Jenny asked quietly, not wanting to talk right now but knowing she needs to know.
"How do you think we're granted physical manifestations of our bodies? Jaden spends some of his dark energies to form them for us and let us act like normal people instead of just being duel spirits. During the entire thing, his energy was being directed to everyone as we were ordered to protect the two of you from danger. He put the two of you... and the rest of us above himself and this is the result." Yubel explained as the two girls' heads snapped around to the other spirits, who simply nodded in agreement. They looked at each other before looking to Jaden, a warm sensation inside of them as the information sank in but soon tainted with a feeling of helplessness and guilt.
"Don't look like that ladies, it don't suit you none." Duke spoke up as he caught the sudden turn of their feelings. "We're all weak by ourselves. I mean, apart from Yubel being a badass- woah!" he joked, narrowly dodging the hand that would have smacked the back of his head from said sprit as she hovered. It did the trick since everyone either smiled or chuckled/giggled. "My point is, we're all weak. Not one of us is an exception to that, ya hear? The only reason we're strong right now is because we had a guy who believes in us and sees us more than mere cards or spirits. Jay-Jay here, he sees us and calls us all his friends. His family. His companions. He goes above and beyond and, as y'all seen, he took an attack that would have destroyed me and hurt everyone else too. That is true power right there, gals; the power to protect that what's close to yer heart." he finished with a tip of his black leather hat, having not swapped out of his costume.
The two students looked around to the other Heroes and Spirits alike and all of them smiled with a firm nod in response to their unasked question. Allowing their guilt to subside, they soon smiled as small talk was made on the way back to the dorms; Alexis and Jenny both discussing it and deciding on staying with Jaden for the night to keep an eye on him.
"Yomi, you still got the thingy Jay-Jay gave ya?" Duke spoke up, remembering seeing Lady Heat recording something before the duel started. She nodded and pointed over to Avi, who showed them all the PDF in his hands before slipping it into his jeans' pocket. "What're we gonna do with it?" Duke asked once more, mainly towards Yubel since everyone saw her as lead right now.
"I will show it to the Counsellor and explain the situation that happened tonight. Also, I'm sure that Jaden will be happy with me doing this since it'll stack up for his revenge shot against the person who orchestrated the whole thing." Yubel spoke up as she took the PDF from Avi, who had placed it into her hand.
"Who was it, Yubel?" Alexis spoke up, feeling nervous about the answer to that question. Instead of telling them, she simply opened up the device and opened the last message he had received; surprisingly enough that they saw it was from Zane. They soon read down as their eyes widened in shock before narrowing in anger...
~ETK~
(Abandoned Dorm: Basement)
"Heehee! I can't wait to see the look on that Slacker's... face..." Crowler sang to himself as he skipped down the corridor leading to the basement of the abandoned dorm, suddenly halting once he saw the shaking form of the duelist he hired. "W-What do you think you're doing!?" he screeched at him, only to shriek when Titan looked him dead in the eye and snarled.
"You never told me that Jaden knew about the power of the real Shadow Games!" he growled, pulling himself up shakily. "I am leaving. I'm going back and I'm never stepping foot on this island again, nor will I continue what I've done." he finished, spinning on his heel and walking shakily out of the building, leaving a frustrated and bewildered professor behind as he replayed the words that were said to him...
"The... real Shadow Games?" Crowler stopped as he realised what this could mean. "T-That means...!" Crowler stopped mid-sentence as he soon fled the scene and leaving no evidence her was even there.
~Chapter End~
~Original Card List~
Elemental Hero Midnight Cowboy - John / Duke
(Warrior / Effect / Earth / 5* / 1800 ATK / 1500 DEF)
If tributed using a "Hero" monster, you can discard cards from your hand and destroy cards on the field equal to the number of cards discarded this way.
Unwilling Sacrifice (Spell)
This card can be substituted for any ritual spell card. Additionally, you gain life points equal to the combined total attack of the tributed monsters for the ritual monster chosen. Also, the tribute monsters are removed from play. When the monster summoned by this card is destroyed, the card is also removed from play.
So there we go! A darker turn and an alternate ending for that duel but nevertheless; I honestly prefer this version if I say so myself. It shows a lot more emotion, a lot more hurt, anger, rage... some of the things this fanfic hadn't had much of. So I'm making it a lot more real and more believeable the best that I can.
Also, I edited the card name from Gunslinger to Midnight Cowboy. Simply because the name sounded much better and also just felt like that card could be believable. And for those who're reading this and possibly knows the question they want to ask about his REAL name? It was very much intended and shoutouts to whoever PM's me their guess for that reference. (Also one for his new gun at the end!)
So. First night of the new laptop and a good start into edits. I'm a happy kitsune and this is me wishing you all goodnight~