Hey everyone. So I'm just getting over being sick, but I'm mostly okay. I checked the reviews, and I've gotten more hate comments, and to the haters, if you have nothing better to do with your time than trash-talk someone else's work on the pretense that "it sucks" and "you're terrible at creating characters", than I feel sorry for you. I'm not going to stop doing what I love because a few people think my writing is terrible. So if you're going to leave a comment doing nothing but say my work sucks, you might as well just move along, because I could care less what you say. And for those of you who actually like my work and are here to read it, I hope you enjoy. I do not own Yugioh GX or its related properties, but I do own this AU story and its ocs. Enjoy, and don't steal.

Titan: It's my draw. Now Terrorking Archfiend, attack his face-down!

Michael: You just attacked Skelengel, and due to its effect, I can draw 1 card.

Titan: You could draw a million cards and it wouldn't help you. I end my turn.

Michael: My move. I play the spell card Multiply. With it, I can summon as many copies of my Film Magician as I want, and I choose to make 4. Next I play the Fissure magic card to destroy your Infernalqueen Archfiend.

Titan: Not so fast, when Infernalqueen is targeted by an effect, I get to roll a die, and if it comes up as a 2 or a 5, your effect is negated.

A large black die with red spots appeared in his hand before he tossed it to the ground and it landed on 3.

Syrus: Sweet! His spell goes through, and without Infernalqueen, Terrorking's attack points return to normal!

Terrorking: 3000-2000 ATK

Titan: Maybe so, but by destroying her, you've triggered the effect of the Pandemonium field spell, which will allow me to add a monster with a lower level than Infernalqueen to my hand, such as my Desrook Archfiend.

Michael: I end my turn. So do your worst.

Titan: If you insist, I draw. And I sacrifice the Terrorking Archfiend in order to summon the Skull Archfiend of Lightning!

Level 6/Dark/Fiend

ATK 2500/DEF 1200

Titan: I end my turn. With this monster out, it's only a matter of time before you lose this duel and are cast into the shadow realm.

Titan: Alright, I've put up with this shadow game scam long enough.

Chumley: Wait, did he say scam?

Syrus: What's he mean?

Michael: I'll show you, but first, I draw. And I play the Mystical Space Typhoon spell card to destroy your Pandemonium field card.

The field changed back to normal, and Alexis' and Lily's coffins reappeared.

Titan: You may have destroyed Pandemonium, but I still have this.

He held up his pendant which began to glow.

Michael: Not for long.

He pulled a knife from his side before throwing it at the pendant, the knife becoming embedded in it.

Titan: What did you do?

His body returned to normal.

Syrus: Hey, his body is back.

Michael: He never lost it. This whole shadow game was a fake. An illusion created by hypnosis, which we were subjected to by Titan's pendant. So what are you gonna do now?

Titan: Namely this.

He threw a smoke bomb to the floor and attempted to escape.

Michael: You're not getting away!

Suddenly, the statues around the room lit up and a glowing eye symbol appeared on the floor before Michael and Titan were wrapped in a sphere of black energy.

Michael: Oh great, now we're in a real shadow duel.

Suddenly, small black creatures came out of nowhere and began to swarm the both of them.

Michael: Stay back!

Suddenly, a light glowed from his deck and Ceruli appeared in front of him as a physical being.

Michael: Well, that's unexpected.

Ceruli: Stay back you fiends!

He swung his staff at the creatures, causing them to back away.

Michael: Thanks.

Suddenly the creatures forced their way into Titan's body.

Michael: If he hadn't kidnapped Alexis and Lily, I might feel sorry for him.

Suddenly, Titan's eyes glowed red.

Titan: Michael Shadows. The darkness pangs for a soul. Only one shall survive.

Michael: Yeah, and it's gonna be me. I end my turn.

Titan: I draw.

Michael: And since Pandemonium is gone, you have to pay 500 life points for your monster.

Titan: 2500 LP

Titan: It matters not. I play the spell card Raigeki to destroy all your monsters. And now Skull Archfiend of Lightning, attack directly!

His monster launched a bolt of lightning at Michael, knocking him onto his back.

Michael: 1500 LP

Michael: Well, I'm gonna feel that one tomorrow.

Titan: You won't be feeling anything tomorrow, because you won't be here.

Michael: We'll see about that. As long as I have life points, I'm still in this duel.

Titan: I end my turn.

Michael: Then it's my move. I draw. And this card will be your demise. First, I play the spell card Reserve Reward. You can choose up to two spells or traps from your graveyard and set them on your field, but for every card you set, I draw 1 card.

Titan: I'll set Raigeki and Mystical Space Typhoon.

Michael: Then I draw 2 cards. And now I play Toy Robot Box. This card will let me discard one card to summon 3 Robot Tokens to my field.

Level 1/Wind/Machine

ATK&DEF 0

Michael: Now I play the Necromancy spell card. This card summons up to four random monsters from your graveyard onto your field in defense mode.

Desrook, Terrorking, and Infernalqueen Archfiend appeared on Titan's field.

Titan: Since Infernalqueen is on my field, my Skull Archfiend of Lightning gain 1000 attack points.

SAOL: 2500-3500 ATK

Michael: It doesn't matter because I have this card in my possession. I sacrifice my three Robot Tokens to summon the Wicked Eraser in attack mode!

Insert God's Anger

Level 10/DIVINE/Divine-Beast

ATK&DEF: ?

Titan: A Wicked God card?!

Michael: Indeed. Entrusted to my family by Maximillion Pegasus himself. Monsters so fearsome, they rival even the Egyptian God cards. And due to the Wicked Eraser's special ability, his attack and defense are equal to 1000 times the number of cards you control.

ATK&DEF: ?-6000

Titan: 6000 attack points?!

Michael: Now attack Skull Archfiend of Lightning! Wicked Inferno Cannon!

His monster breathed a jet of black flames at Titan's monster, destroying it and taking away the last of his life points.

Titan: 0 LP

Winner: Michael

Titan was swarmed by the shadow creatures, leaving nothing behind but his deck and his phone. Michael walked over and picked up his phone before he turned around.

Michael: Thank you for your assistance.

The monster bowed his head before tearing open a hole in the sphere, allowing Michael to leave.

Syrus: Michael!

Chumley: You alright?

Michael: Apart from a tingling sensation running through my body, I'm fine.

Jaden: What happened in there?

Michael: I'm not sure you'd believe me if I told you.

Suddenly, the sphere he had come out of began to implode, and they all had to dive to the floor to avoid being sucked into it. It disappeared and they all breathed a collective sigh of relief.

Michael: I'm glad that's over.

Jaden: Wait, Michael. What's that card on your duel disk?

Michael: Wait, the only card that was on my duel disk at the end of my duel was-

Syrus: Is that the Wicked Eraser?!

Chumley: Don't be ridiculous Sy, how would Michael have a Wicked God card?

He looked at Michael's duel disk and saw that his friend was right.

Chumley: Wait, that is the Wicked Eraser!

Jaden: Michael, how did you get a card like that?

Michael: Well, there's no use lying to you guys, so I might as well tell you the whole story, including why I'm here.

Jaden: Alright.

Michael: First, let's get out of here before something else happens.

He walked over to Lily's casket and picking her up bridal style.

Jaden: Guys, help me with Alexis.

They all left the building and set the girls down in the woods while they waited for them to wake up. Meanwhile, Maxwell and Crowler had entered the abandoned dorm to look for Titan.

Maxwell: Wait, look at this.

Crowler: That's the shadow duelist's Pandemonium card. He'd never leave it behind unless he lost.

Maxwell: Great, Michael is running around and that much closer to exposing me. I've got to get rid of him before my entire career goes down the drain.

In the forest, Alexis and Lily were coming to.

Jaden: Well, welcome back to the land of the living.

Michael: Lily, are you okay? Are you hurt?

Lily: Michael, calm down, I'm okay.

Michael: I'm so glad you're okay. I could never forgive myself if I let something bad happen to you.

Lily: Hey, it's okay. I'm here and I'm okay, that's what's important.

Michael: Lily, this ordeal has made me realize how much I care about you. If you want, I think I'm ready to take you up on the offer you made on the day we met.

Lily: I'd love that.

Michael: Alexis, I found this in the dorm, and I knew you'd want to have it.

He reached into his bag and pulled out the picture of Atticus.

Alexis: Thank you, Michael.

Michael: And now that you and Lily are awake, it's time I tell you all the full reason I'm here.

Everyone turned to him, listening intently.

Michael: Well, as Lily and Alexis already know, part of why I'm here is on behalf of my parents and the parents of the missing students.

Syrus: To find out what happened to them?

Michael: Right. My parents also wanted me to check on the general state of Duel Academy. My parents are one of the academy's biggest financial supporters, and they wanted to make sure their money was being spent wisely.

Chumley: If your parents donate so much money, then why is the Slifer dorm such a dump?

Michael: That's the thing, it's not supposed to be. I think one of the staff members has been stealing the funds for the Slifer dorm for themselves.

Syrus: Who would do such a thing?

Michael: I'm not sure yet. All I can say is that whoever it is has to be a high-ranking member of the staff, and also has a strong hatred for the Slifers.

Lily: Well, going by the description, I'd say it's either Maxwell or Crowler.

Michael: You may be on to something. They both have a strong hatred for the red dorm and are among the highest-ranking staff members, but the more I think about it, the more I rule out one of them.

Alexis: Which one?

Michael: Crowler. No matter how much I look at it, Crowler can't be behind it, he's not smart enough.

Syrus: So do you think Professor Maxwell is behind it?

Michael: Currently, he's our most likely candidate.

Chumley: So what are we supposed to do?

Michael: For now, we bide our time. If we say anything without proof, Maxwell will just deny, and then I'll be exposed. The truth is that I'm working undercover, so we can't let anyone else know about this. We have to keep this quiet until I can gather enough evidence to figure out whether he's guilty or not.

Jaden: I get the feeling that there's another reason for you being here that you're not telling us.

Michael: You're right, there is another reason.

Jaden: Okay, what is it?

Michael: You Jaden. You are my main reason for coming here.

Jaden: What? Why me?

Michael: Jaden let me ask you something. Growing up, or even lately, have you heard strange noises, almost like voices?

Jaden: How did you know?

Michael: Because like me and Lily, you have a connection to the world of duel spirits.

Jaden: Oh come on, there's no such thing.

Ceruli: That is where you are wrong.

He appeared in front of Jaden, startling both him and Chumley.

Syrus: Jaden, Chumey, what's wrong?

Jaden: You mean you don't see that?!

Syrus: Um, no.

Lily: I didn't know you could see duel spirits Chumley.

Chumley: I didn't know I could either.

Alexis: What are you guys talking about? I don't see anything.

Syrus: Me neither.

Michael: I think I can help with that. Syrus and Alexis, put these on.

He handed each of them a silver ring with a strange design etched onto them. They both slipped on the rings and visibly recoiled.

Michael: You can both see Ceruli now, right?

Syrus: Um, yeah.

Alexis: Definitely.

Michael: And back to your question about why you Jaden, let's just say you, Lily, and I have an, interesting past.

Jaden: But I'd never met you before the entrance exam.

Lily: And I never met you before you saved me from Johnny.

Michael: Maybe not in this lifetime.

He rummaged through his bag before pulling out an old tome, flipping through the pages.

Jaden: Wait, what do you mean "this lifetime"?

Michael: Jaden, you are the reincarnation of an ancient monarch known only as "The Supreme King". Thousands of years ago, I was your personal bodyguard, and I swore an oath to defend you, in that life and the next.

Jaden: Okay then, but why are we here?

Michael: Jaden, it's your destiny to combat an ancient evil known as the Light of Destruction.

Syrus: Light of Destruction huh? So how does Jaden fight it?

Michael: Well, that's the thing Syrus, the Light of Destruction isn't active yet, but something is going to happen here soon, although what that may be, I don't know.

Alexis: So, what do we do?

Michael: Jaden, you have a hidden power, a force that rivals the Light of Destruction. For now, we need to work on tapping into that power. That will give us an edge against the coming evil and in our eventual battle with the Light of Destruction.

Jaden: Really? I don't feel anything.

Michael: It'll take time for it to emerge.

Lily: Wait, what about me?

Michael: Your family were the keepers of the sacred temple of the kingdom. As well as my lover.

Lily: What kind of temple?

Michael: The temple of the Wicked Gods. The temple was dedicated to them, and your family would communicate with them and other duel spirits for knowledge and help in wars.

Lily: Wait, if my family ran the temple, why do you have the Wicked God cards? Shouldn't they be mine?

Michael: In our past life, you and I had undergone a special ritual that would bind our souls to Jaden so we would reincarnate when he did, as well as bind us to the Wicked Gods. That's why I'm able to use them. They, along with the Dark World monsters, were created in secret by Pegasus when he first began to create Duel Monsters. My family funded an expedition to an ancient ruin that detailed the Dark World monsters and the Wicked Gods, which Pegasus based the cards on.

Syrus: Guys, the sun is coming up.

Jaden: We'd better get back to the dorms before they find out we're gone.

Michael: Remember guys, everything I've told you has to stay between us for now. I'll see if I can get Bastion's help with my investigation, but other than that, we tell no one.

Having settled the matter, they started to head back to the dorms, but Lily walked up to Michael, who was looking at Titan's phone.

Lily: What have you got there?

Michael: It's the phone of the guy who kidnapped you and Alexis. He dropped it.

Lily: But why did you pick it up?

Michael: The man I faced was a shadow duelist for hire, which means someone hired him for a job. I'm going to see if I can find out who it was by going through his phone.

He looked at Titan's most recent call and couldn't believe who it was.

Michael: No way.

I hope you all enjoyed the chapter, and I'll see you later.