Nightshroud: 3000 LP
Jaden: 700 LP
Nightshroud's field: Red-Eyes Black Dragon
Jaden's field: Elemental Hero Rampart Blaster
Nightshroud: It's your move key keeper.
Jaden: Thanks. I draw! And thanks to Pot of Greed, I can draw 2 more. And next I play De-Fusion, which means Rampart Blaster splits back into Burstinatrix and Clayman.
Burstinatrix
Level 3/Fire/Warrior
ATK 1200/DEF 800
Clayman
Level 4/Earth/Warrior
ATK 800/DEF 2000
Jaden: And of course, since Rampart Blaster is gone, your Attachment Dragon is gonna attach itself to your graveyard. Next I play the spell Fusion Sage. This card lets me take a Polymerization from my deck and put it in my hand. But it won't stay there for long, because I'm using it to fuse Sparkman and Clayman to summon Elemental Hero Thunder Giant!
Level 6/Light/Warrior
ATK 2400/DEF 1500
Alexis: Its attack points are the same as Red-Eyes.
Jaden: Alright, time to see who blinks first. Thunder Giant, attack Red-Eyes Black Dragon with Voltic Thunder!
Nightshroud: Counterattack with Inferno Fire Blast!
The two monsters fired their attacks at each other, causing both to be destroyed.
Nightshroud: Red-Eyes!
Michael: Alright, he may have had to sacrifice Thunder Giant to do it, but he got rid of Red-Eyes.
Jaden: Yep, which means Nightshroud is wide open to a direct attack from Burstinatrix. Attack with Flare Storm!
Burstinatrix launched a fireball at Nightshroud, forcing him to cross his arms in front of his chest to defend himself.
Nightshroud: 1800 LP
Jaden: Oh come on, aren't you gonna flinch or anything? How 'bout a wince? Can I get a cringe?
Nightshroud: Sorry, but I leave all that to my opponents.
Jaden: Yeah, well we'll see about that. For now, I play Mirage of Nightmare. While this card is on the field, during each of your standby phases, I get to draw until I have four cards in my hand, as long as I send the same number of cards from my hand to the graveyard on my next turn.
Nightshroud: Do whatever makes you happy.
Jaden: In that case, I'll place one card face-down and end my turn.
Nightshroud: Good. My draw.
Jaden: And thanks to Mirage, it's also mine. And since I have no cards in my hand right now, that means I get to draw 4 more.
Nightshroud: Whatever, just don't forget you'll have to discard the same amount next turn.
Jaden: Actually Nightshroud, I don't think I will. I play the spell Emergency Provisions! With this, I can send Mirage to the graveyard in order to gain 1000 life points.
Jaden: 1700 LP
Alexis: Now Mirage's discard rule is no longer in effect.
Michael: And Jaden also managed to boost his life points in the process. Good move Jaden.
Nightshroud: But it won't save you from this. I summon Mirage Dragon in attack mode.
Level 4/Light/Dragon
ATK 1600/DEF 600
Nightshroud: While this card is face-up on the field, you can't activate traps during the battle phase. Now, attack Burstinatrix with Spectrum Blast!
Jaden: 1300 LP
Jaden: I can't let it end here.
Nightshroud: You don't have to. Mirage Dragon and I will do it for you. I end my turn.
Syrus: Chumley, I just want you to know, if we don't make it through this, you've been a great friend.
Chumley: Same here Sy.
Alexis: Jaden, that orb is disappearing fast!
Jaden: Yeah, well not as fast as Mirage Dragon is about to. I summon Elemental Hero Bubbleman in attack mode.
Level 4/Water/Warrior
ATK 800/DEF 1200
Jaden: And due to his special ability, I can draw 2 more cards. Just what I was hoping for. I play the spell Silent Doom! This will let me summon a monster from my graveyard in defense mode, and I choose Sparkman! Next I play the field spell Fusion Gate!
Nightshroud: What?
Jaden: This card lets me summon fusion monsters without Polymerization, as long as I banish the monsters I fuse. So I fuse Bubbleman, Sparkman, and Avian in order to summon Elemental Hero Tempest!
Level 8/Wind/Warrior
ATK & DEF 2800
Syrus: Way to play Jay!
Chumley: Yeah, Tempest is like Jaden's strongest monster. With him out, there's no way he can lose.
Jaden: Now, attack Mirage Dragon with Chaos Tempest!
Nightshroud: 600 LP
Jaden: There's that flinch I was looking for.
Nightshroud: No it wasn't, that was a twitch. I had something in my eye, that's all. Ya got that? It was a twitch.
Jaden: Hey, call it what you want, but there's one thing you can't argue: I'm winning this duel Nightshroud. And I think I'll end my turn leaving you with that thought, plus a face-down.
Nightshroud: You chump. Life points don't determine who's winning, it's the cards you're holding. And with that draw, I'm holding all the cards I need to end this duel.
Jaden: Yeah right. I bet that you're just bluffing.
The lava beneath them began to bubble up, taking the shape of Nightshroud's defeated dragons.
Michael: This doesn't bode well.
Alexis: I second that.
Nightshroud: Did you honestly think that you could just banish my dragons to the graveyard and be done with them?
Jaden: That's kind of what I was hoping for.
Nightshroud: Well, you can keep on hoping because I summon Red-Eyes Black Chick in attack mode!
Level 1/Dark/Dragon
ATK 800/DEF 500
Jaden: That's your big move? An egg?
Nightshroud: Sort of. You see, by sending this card to the graveyard, I can summon a very special monster from my hand, one I think you're familiar with. The Red-Eyes Black Dragon!
Level 7/Dark/Dragon
ATK 2400/DEF 2000
Michael: But Red-Eyes has fewer points than Tempest, so it's not much use to you.
Nightshroud: Wrong. By sacrificing Red-Eyes, I can summon my most powerful beast. Come forth, Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon!
Level 9/Dark/Dragon
ATK 2400/DEF 2000
Alexis: But it has the exact same attack as the other Red-Eyes.
Nightshroud: Not for long. Darkness Dragon gains 300 attack points for every dragon in my grave, so with 9 dragons in my grave, he gains 2100 attack points.
Darkness Dragon: 2400-4500 ATK
Jaden: 4500 attack points?!
Nightshroud: Now Darkness Dragon, attack with Inferno Dark Fire and end this duel!
His dragon charged a fireball in his mouth before launching it at Tempest.
Syrus: Jaden!
Chumley: He's finished!
Jaden: Not yet I'm not! I play Negate Attack! This trap card cancels your dragon's attack!
Nightshroud: Tch, I end my turn.
Michael: Talk about close.
Alexis: Yeah, but how is Jaden gonna get out of this one?
Across the island, everyone else's spirit key was vibrating.
Zane: Something's wrong. A Shadow Rider. This key is telling me that one is close.
Bastion: The spirit gate key is shaking?
Chazz: Why are you dancing?
Ojama Yellow: Sorry boss, just trying to keep time with your key.
Chazz: I almost didn't notice. Why is it trembling like that?
Lily: Michael, please be okay.
Sheppard: What were you thinking Sheppard? Getting your students involved in a battle with stakes like this? But then, what other choice did you have? After all, if the Shadow Riders get a hold of the three Sacred Beast cards, they'll be destroyed no matter what. We all will.
Back in the volcano, Jaden was getting ready to start his turn.
Jaden: Alright, my draw. I switch Tempest to defense mode. Next, I summon Wroughtweiler in defense mode.
Level 3/Earth/Machine
ATK 800/DEF 1200
Jaden: With that, I'll call it a turn.
Nightshroud: That's funny, because I'd call it a waste of time. And in case you forgot, time is very much of the essence for your friends.
Jaden: Then quit stalling and get on with it!
Nightshroud: If you insist. I summon Spear Dragon in attack mode.
Level 4/Wind/Dragon
ATK 1900/DEF 0
Nightshroud: Now give that Wroughtweiler something to chew on with Cyclone Blast!
Spear Dragon fired a green laser from its mouth at Wroughtweiler, destroying it.
Jaden: Wroughtweiler doesn't roll over that easy. When he's sent to the graveyard, I can add an Elemental Hero and a Polymerization from my graveyard to my hand, so I'll bring back Polymerization and Wildheart.
Just then, he was struck in the chest by Spear Dragon's attack, causing him to drop to one knee.
Nightshroud: Woops. Guess I forgot to mention that Spear Dragon can still inflict battle damage even if your monster is in defense mode. But due to his special ability, he switches to defense mode after the battle.
Jaden: 600 LP
Nightshroud: As for your Tempest, I know you can save him from being destroyed by sending another card from your field to the graveyard, so I'll get rid of your only other card by playing Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy your Fusion Gate!
Michael: Now Tempest is wide open.
Nightshroud: Exactly. Now Darkness Dragon, attack with Inferno Dark Fire!
His dragon launched a fireball at Tempest, destroying him and nearly pushing Jaden over.
Nightshroud: It's your move, if you have any strength to make it.
Jaden dropped to one knee and collapsed onto the floor.
Michael: Jaden!
Alexis: Enough! This duel is over!
Nightshroud: Says who?
Alexis: Says me. Let my friends go and you can have my spirit key and my soul.
Nightshroud: Why is she familiar?
Alexis: Do we have a deal or not?
Jaden: No Alexis! I can't let you do that. After all, I'm just about to win this.
Alexis: But you can barely stand.
Jaden: Maybe, but I won't just roll over and surrender when my friends are counting on me. I draw! I summon Elemental Hero Wildheart in attack mode!
Level 4/Earth/Warrior
ATK 1500/DEF 1600
Jaden: Next I play the spell Wild Half! Since Wildheart is on the field, the original attack of your dragon is cut in half, and then a half token with the same attack power is summoned.
Darkness Dragon: 4500-3300 ATK
Alexis: But because of all the dragons in Nightshroud's grave, they both have 3300 attack points.
Jaden: Which won't be a problem once I play this, the spell Polymerization! With it, I'll fuse Wildheart and Bladedge to summon Elemental Hero Wildedge!
Level 8/Earth/Warrior
ATK 2600/DEF 2300
Jaden: Due to his special ability, he can attack all of your monsters in one turn.
Nightshroud: Even with that, he's not strong enough to beat either of my dragons.
Jaden: We'll see about that. I play the field spell Skyscraper!
Michael: Alright! With that card, since Nightshroud's dragons have more attack points than Wildedge, his attack points will go up by 1000!
Nightshroud: They what?!
Jaden: Now Wildedge, attack his Red-Eyes dragons with Scimitar Slash!
Wildedge fired two blades from his gauntlet at the dragons, destroying them both at once.
Nightshroud: 0 LP
Winner: Jaden
There was a bright flash, and they were all transported outside.
Syrus: We're alive!
Chuley: Where's everyone else?
Michael: I'm over here. Where are Jaden and Alexis?
Alexis: We're over here!
The three of them looked over and Alexis bent over Jaden, whose eyes were closed as he lay on the ground unmoving.
Syrus: Is he okay?
Michael lifted Jaden's arm and checked his pulse.
Michael: He's okay. Looks like he just had the wind knocked out of him in that duel. Chumley, help me get him up.
Chumley: Right.
Together they lifted Jaden up while Alexis checked on Nightshroud. She found the card he had shown them earlier and saw that a picture of his mask had appeared on it. She turned over Nightshroud and couldn't believe who was behind the mask.
Alexis: It can't be.
Just then, Zane, Chazz, and Bastion came running up to them.
Bastion: Everyone hold on!
Chazz: What happened?
Syrus: The first shadow rider showed up and challenged Jaden.
Zane: Did he lose?
Michael: It was a hard-fought battle, but Jaden beat him.
Zane: So is that him?
He walked over to Alexis, who was holding Nightshroud in her arms crying.
Zane: Alexis, what's wrong?
Alexis: It's him Zane! I don't understand how, but it's him!
Zane: What are you talking about? Who is it?
Alexis: Look at his face. It's my brother. It's Atticus.
Zane: I don't understand. Atticus was one of the Shadow Riders?
Alexis: Not him. That card took away whatever it was that was controlling him. He's finally back!
Zane: And if this is how you are when you win a duel, imagine what it's like when you lose. The sun may be coming up now, but night will fall again soon, and when it does, we must be ready.