The voting goes on, but I believe that the beginning of the end for Trump's reign is in sight (Knock wood).

Anyway, I had gone back through my old stories that I had saved, and I decided to dust this one off and give it some new life. This one was initially called "The Chosen One," but I decided that this title sounded less cheesy.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Yu-Gi-Oh GX or Night World. I only own some of my personal touches.

I hope old viewers remember this one and that new viewers enjoy it.

It happened at Jaden's birthday party, the day he turned five. The day his life changed forever.

"Can I go in the tubes?" He asked his mom.

His mother's name was Melody Yuki.

She had long light brown hair and brown eyes. She wore a green shirt over an orange tank top, black jeans, and white walking shoes that day. She also had her favorite black scarf around her neck, which she always wore with any outfit.

Jaden and his mother shared the same eyes, and Jaden had a light brown patch on his hair, though the rest of Jaden's hair was a darker brown. His mother always said he got that from his father.

She worked late hours as a bartender to support the two of them, but today she had managed to get the day off so her son could have his birthday at the carnival.

She smiled at him. "Alright, Little Hero, but be careful."

Those were the last words his mother ever said to him.

He didn't need to be told; he was always careful when he did anything. It was his way of putting her mind at ease.

He climbed through the tubes, looking out the small windows over where his mother was. When he got to a hall of vinyl-padded steps, he smiled at the challenge and climbed to the top.

He headed to the spider web, a big room made of rope and net. He glanced through the window and saw his mother waving to him from below.

Then another woman came to talk to her, and Jaden stopped looking. Parents can't seem to wave and speak at the same time. He concentrated on getting through the tubes, pretending to be a bunny running through a tunnel.

Quickly, he got to the base of the spider web. It was in the far back of the climbing structure. There wasn't anyone around and almost no noise.

A white rope with knots at regular intervals stretched above Jaden, higher and higher, leading to the web itself.

'Alright, final level!' Jaden thought excitedly.

He climbed the rope. It was harder than he thought it would be, but it was worth it when he got to the top.

The world was a giant mess of netting. Jaden had to hang on with both hands and try to curl his feet around the cables. He could feel the air and sunlight on his face. He laughed in pure joy, leaning his head back as if tempting fate to have him fall.

After staying up there for a while, he climbed back down and through the tubes. He glanced over to where his mom was sitting.

Or at least, where she had been sitting.

Jaden's stomach tensed when he saw she wasn't there. He picked up the pace and worked his way out of the climbing structure.

When he got over to where his mom had been, he found her purse and black scarf, which she must have taken off due to the heat.

"Mom!" The young brunette called, hoping to see his mom come up at any moment.

But as he looked around, he didn't see his mother anywhere.

He was about to go look for her when he felt the wind brush against him, causing him to look in the direction of a small wooded area near the fairgrounds. Jaden knew that was the direction his mom had gone in, like an inborn instinct.

He headed in that direction, careful not to be seen by other adults. The woods got slightly thicker as he went, and stories of children who wandered into the forest filtered into his mind, but he kept going.

He wasn't sure how long he had walked, but he soon came upon an old shack falling apart. It looked deserted, but Jaden saw movement inside the structure, meaning someone was there.

Creeping as quietly as a mouse, the tiny brunette made his way toward the door and peered inside. He noticed some cloaked figures standing around a table in the center of the room with candles lit in a similar circle. One of the men stepped toward the table, where a mass was moving around like it was trying to get up but couldn't.

Jaden moved slightly to get a closer look at what was going on. When he did, his breath left him.

The moving mass was his mother tied up on the table, trying to get away.

Jaden couldn't move, couldn't breathe, could only stand there and watch.

The man who stepped closer began chanting in an unknown language, the other figures joining soon after. Melody started struggling harder since the man who had started them off was now holding a knife.

"A new era will soon be upon us. With this sacrifice, it shall be done." He raised the knife and brought it down swiftly.

Jaden watched in horror as his mother was stabbed in the chest. She made a muffled sound against the gag, something akin to a chocked off gasp, before slowly falling limp.

Jaden stepped back on reflex, not seeing a small twig behind him until it made a loud 'snap.'

Before anyone could turn to him, he took off in the direction he had come from. He didn't look back as he ran blindly, not wanting to be caught by those people.

He was soon back at the carnival and kept running, accidentally bumping into someone.

"Whoa there, little man, what's the rush?" Asked the man he bumped into.

He wore a uniform his dad had worn, meaning he was a marine. His father had died before he was born.

The man then noticed that Jaden was crying. "Hey, what's wrong? Where's your mom?"

Jaden didn't say anything, looking back at the woods he had just run from. The marine put two and two together and realized something was wrong.

He turned to the woman who had come up beside them, presumably his wife. "Call the police."

She nodded and stayed to comfort the crying boy while her husband headed into the woods.

Jaden and the woman sat down at the table where his mom had sat. All he could do was cry the whole time, holding his mom's scarf close.

Everything else went by in a blur, the police showing up, finding his mom dead, everything. Jaden just kept crying for his mom, knowing she wouldn't be there to comfort him anymore.

Since he didn't have any other family members, he was sent to live with his first foster home that evening. They were friendly, but Jaden didn't want them to hold him or comfort him.

He knew what he had to do. He knew those people would come after him, and if he was going to survive, he needed to be hard and strong. He couldn't care about anyone else, trust anyone else, or rely on anyone else.

Nobody could protect him. Not even his mom could have been able to do that.

He had to protect himself.

He had to learn to fight.

And that ends chapter one. As always, read, review, and stay tuned!

And please, stay safe, wear your mask, and wash your hands.