Episode(s): 29-30
"Just a moment there, Jaden," said Banner, causing everyone to turn and see Jaden about to eat his lunch. "I'm afraid your lunch will have to wait."
'Why is he eating in class?' thought Rose with a sweat drop.
"It seems Chancaler Shepard wants a word with you."
"Jaden, what did you do?" asked Syrus with a whiney voice.
"Maybe it's good, like an award!" said Jaden in excitement.
"Heh heh! No way!" said Chazz as he stood up, causing others to turn to him. "It's never good news with Sheppard. You are so busted!"
"Actually, Chazz, he wants to see you too!" said Banner with a smile on his face,
"He wha?" Chazz said as he looked at Banner in shock.
"And two others," continued Banner as if Chazz hadn't said anything and looked at the two unnamed students. "You, Bastion, and you, Rose."
"This doesn't sound good," said Jaden as he looked on in shock.
~A Few Minutes Later~
"Um, we're not going to make a run for it, Professor Banner, you don't have to escort us to Chancellor Sheppard's office," said Jaden in annoyance.
"Yes, I do," replied Banner. "You see, he wants to see me as well!"
"Well, well," said Crowler as he and Zane stopped in front of the other group in front of the door to the office. "Look at this convocation of students! Some of the best duelists in the school, I see."
'Here we go,' thought Rose and Zane as they looked at each other and then back at Crowler as he bent over to be in front of Jaden.
"Uh-oh! Which one of these is not like the other," he sang with a smile. "Clearly, someone here is a little bit lost."
"He is not. Chazz was invited!" said Jaden with a smile. 'I'm not as stupid as you think!'
"He means you!" yelled Chazz in response.
"Shall we go in?" asked Banner with a smile as he opened the door while the others followed him in.
~After An Explanation~
The group stood in front of the Chancellor in a row. Crowler, Zane, Jaden, Chazz, Rose, Bastion, and Banner. Jaden had tried to stand next to Rose, but Chazz had beaten him to it. Zane stood between Jaden and Crowler to prevent Crowler from doing anything to the younger student.
"Three sacred what cards?" asked Jaden in shock.
"Beasts," replied Sheppard as he turned around to look at the group. "And due to their immense power, their colossal might, they were hidden here."
"Sweet! Like, under someone's mattress or in a cookie jar?" asked Jaden as he put his hand to his chin to think.
"Hey! Let him finish!" said Chazz in annoyance.
"They're not in a cookie jar," said Sheppard with a smile. "They're actually much closer than you'd ever think. Right below you!"
Everyone gasped in shock.
"You see, this academy was built in part to protect the sacred beast cards. They were buried deep underground, their powers sealed safely away. After all, legend says if these cards ever see the light of day, terrible things will happen: buildings will crumble, light will fade, souls will fall, our world will be no more."
"No more?" said Bastion in shock.
"Hmm," hummed Chazz.
"So where are these cards?" asked Jaden as he looked around. "I say we take 'em out for a spin!"
"Haven't you been listening!?" yelled Crowler.
"So, this is why the seven of you are here," said Sheppard as if he was never interrupted, "to protect these three cards from the wicked ones."
"The wicked ones?" questioned Zane.
"That's right. Seven duelists known as The Shadow Riders who covet these cards. And I'm afraid one of them is already here. He arrived in the think of last night's storm."
"Naturally," said Bastion, unimpressed.
"So how do we protect the cards?" asked Rose.
"By protecting the Seven Spirit Gates," explained Sheppard. "To get to the cards, one must unlock them. And to unlock them, one must gain the Seven Keys from each gate. That is how we will protect those cards, by protecting the keys, and here they are: one for each of you to guard."
Everyone gasped in shock and surprise.
"Wait, so, we hold the keys?" aske Bastion for clarification. "Won't that make us targets?"
"It's true," started Sheppard in sadness, "with these keys, the Shadow Riders will seek you out."
"Uh, seek us out?" asked Chazz in anger. "You mean take us out."
"Only. . . In a duel!"
'I wonder if anyone else realizes that the world can only be saved by a duel. Isn't that a little much?' thought Rose with a sweat drop as everyone else gasped.
"That's right, fortunately for our side, the keys can't simply be stolen! An ancient edict commands the keys must be won in a duel. And so, I've called on our school's seven best, to take up this challenge and fight the good fight! Well," said Sheppard as he coughed into his fist, "five best, really, but I needed seven so, you know."
'Hah, he means the teachers,' thought Rose with a smirk as Bastion nudged her to keep her from laughing.
"He certainly doesn't mean me!" yelled Crowler to Jaden. Jaden just glanced at him and huffed.
"Of course, if any of you don't think you're up to it, and feel like backing out, I won't blame you. After all, these Shadow Riders. . . play for keeps. So, who feels like saving the world?"
Everyone hesitated and looked at each other, but not Jaden.
"HA HA! Count me in!" he said as he grabbed a key and put it around his neck. "How 'bout that! It's my size!"
"I, too, accept," said Zane after chuckling at what Jaden said. He grabbed a key and put it on.
"It would be my honor," said Bastion as he grabbed a key as well.
"If I leave it to you boys, something is bound to go wrong," said Rose as she grabbed a key. Chazz grunted and grabbed a key as well.
"How could I refuse?" said Crowler with a smirk. "I mean, our very world is at stake! Our way of life! The future of the school! And if I said no, I wouldn't get this very posh piece of jewelry!"
"Yes, well," said Sheppard as Crowler grabbed a key, "good to know you're doing it for the right reasons, kind of."
"Well then! I'm the last one!" said Banner as he grabbed the last key and held it, only for Pharaoh to start playing with it.
"Well, let's get started!" said Jaden, full of energy. "I think that the best duelist should go first so that would mean. . . well, me!"
"You!? You couldn't beat a drum!" yelled Crowler, causing Jaden to freak out and fall to the floor, causing Bastion and Rose to chuckle. "Obviously, I should duel first. If not, I say Zane. After all, he did beat Jaden."
"How annoying," mumbled Rose as Crowler started to brag to Jaden.
"Indeed," replied Bastion.
"Forget them both!" said Chazz with a smirk. "I'm clearly the best choice. Of course, next to you my beautiful Rose!"
"Thanks?" asked Rose as she backed up toward Bastion, causing both Jaden and Chazz to glare at said boy.
"There's no choice!" said Sheppard, interrupting. "This isn't some tournament where we choose who goes first. This is war! You can be attacked by your enemy at any time, at any place! So, my students, be on guard."
"Right," said everyone as they left and went on with their day.
~That Night~
Rose was walking toward the Slifer Red dorms at night. Worried about her friends and their safety.
'If what Chancellor Sheppard said was right, these Shadow Riders are the ones who decide who to duel, they'll go after the person they think is the weakest. With his red jacket, they'll definitely go for Jaden first, though they should be going for Crowler if that is their real plan. Either way, I've got to warn Jaden because there is no way he actually thought about it.' Thought Rose with a sigh as she walked.
As she walked closer to the dorm, she noticed a light coming from Jaden's room.
"Shit!" she said as she ran toward the room. She grabbed the door knob and threw it open. "JADEN!"
"Rose?" asked Jaden in shock.
"What's happening?"
"The first duel is happening!" laughed a crazed voice as a light engulfed them.
"Where are we?" asked Rose as they looked around.
"In one very weird dream," said Jaden as he crawled to the edge to see lava. Fire shot up in front of Jaden, scaring the two.
"Or a nightmare!" said Rose as the fire turned into a Dragan that growled at them.
"It's neither!" said a voice as the dragon hit the ground and made an explosion in which someone walked out of.
"What's going on?" asked Jaden as he stood up in front of Rose.
"Yu mean you don't know?" asked the man in a mocking voice. He had an all-black outfit and a black mask.
"Call me a slow learner."
"And call me Nightshroud!" said the mysterious man.
"If we must," said Rose with attitude. 'Never get to relax.'
"I'll be the one taking that key you have around your neck!"
"Wow, you guys don't waste much time, do ya?" said Jaden, unimpressed.
"Nice medallion," said Nightshroud as his and Jaden's medallion piece glowed. "The gravekeeper must be getting sloppy, But if you think you'll be able to beat me as easy as you beat me. You have another thing coming. I'll get that key. And I'll get it now! Oh, and to just make sure of that, I brought friends."
"What's that mean?" asked Jaden in fear. Fire shot up around them.
"Say hello to Syrus and Chumley!"
"Oh no," said Jaden as he looked in shock.
"Jaden!" yelled Syrus, causing the others to turn to the side and see him and Chumley in a protective sphere near the lava.
"Help us!" yelled Chumley.
"I feel bad for them for being your room mates," said Rose with concern.
"Looks like they're in hot water," said Nightshroud.
"Lame and not the time!" yelled Rose in response.
"Such is the nature of shadow game, key-keeper!"
"Shadow game! Listen! Just duel me!" yelled Jaden. "But let them go!"
"I don't think so! I need them to insure a speedy match. After all, that protection orb they're in, well, let's just say that it's not exactly built to last. Oh! And, I'm afraid that there's more, too. For you see, also at stake is your soul, which will be sealed in this card when you lose. Of course, if I lose, then my soul will be sealed. But hey, let's be honest with ourselves: Me lose? No way. Now then, shall we?"
"This is crazy, Jaden," said Rose in shock, "but I don't think that you have a choice."
"I agree," said Jaden. "Okay pal! You wanna duel! You got it!"
"Good luck, Jay!" said Syrus.
"And just let us know, you know, if we can help," said Chumley.
"How the hell are you gonna do that?" asked Rose as she looked at the two hostages with a raised eyebrow.
"I will do it in spirit," replied Chumley in uncertainty.
"So, you want Jaden to lose?"
"WIN THIS JADEN!" freaked out Chumley when lava launched up into the air.
"Alright! Let's through down!" said Jaden is he put his deck into his disk. "Get your game on!"
"You wanna see game?" asked Nightshroud as he drew a card and placed one facedown. "How's this? He's called Troop Dragon and I'll have him defend me, plus, I'll place a facedown while I'm at it."
"Make sure to think things through, Jaden, your life, and the life of the others, count on it," said Rose as she watched.
"Right! Let's see how he stacks up against my dragon slayer: Elemental Hero Wildheart!" said Jaden as he played his card. "Show 'im that big bad sword isn't just for show! Attack!"
"Oh, you know, there was something that I forgot to mention," said Nightshroud with a smirk, "Troop Dragon's special ability lets me summon another Troop Dragon whenever he's sent to the graveyard!"
"Hence the word Troop," said Jaden in annoyance.
"That's right, and I'm not done yet! Now, I'll play my facedown: Call of the Haunted! This let's me dig from my graveyard a monster that was previously destroyed. Such as, the Troop Dragon! But wait! There's much more where that came from!"
"Great," said Rose in annoyance as she glared at the masked man.
"Now I'll trade in my Troop Dragons to summon. . ."
"Summon what?"
"Aw, boy," said Jaden.
"The Red Eyes Black Dragon!" said Nightshroud. "Now, Red Eyes! Attack Wildheart! Inferno Fire Blast!"
"Jaden!" yelled Rose as she gritted her teeth. Jaden barely managed to stop himself from crashing into her as he was thrown back from the blast. He held onto his chest in pain, rising Rose's concern for him.
"That hurt," said Jaden in annoyance.
"That's right!" said Nightshroud. "And it's about to hurt a lot more, ley-keeper! Because the true pain is about to begin!"
"You got this Jaden," said Rose as she glared.
"Yeah, my draw!" yelled Jaden. "All right! I play the spell card: Polymerization! And, with Clayman and Burstinatrix in my hand, I'll fuse them to create: The Elemental Hero Rampart Blaster! And even in defense mode, she can still blast you with half her attack points! So, go ahead and let him have it, Blaster! And don't pull any firepower! Rampart Barrage!"
"Yes!" said Rose with a smile. 'If he keeps this up, he'll win for sure!'
"And don't forget she's still in defense! So, if yaw anna get to me, you'll have to get through her. Pretty sweet there, dontcha think?"
"Enough!" yelled Nightshroud. "You fool! That Blaster doesn't change a thing! But you can bet this next card will. It's going to change your life points, Jaden. Oh, and not in a good way! You see, Jaden, your Blaster can't protect you from my Red Eyes' Attack!"
"Hmm," hummed Jaden as he then smiled. "Alright, I'll bite why not?"
"Because this time, his attack is an actual card! Inferno Fire Blast!"
"A card!" said Rose in shock as the attack hit.
"Nice card, huh? It's just as strong as my Red Eyes' attack, the only difference is it hits your life points directly!" said Nightshroud as Jaden's life points went down to 700. "And I'm not through with you yet, Key-keeper! Next I summon Attachment Dragon! But don't worry, he's not the attacking type, see, like his name suggests, he's a lot more of the attaching type! Show him Dragon!"
"Where'd it go?" asked Rose in shock as the Dragon disappeared. She gasped when she saw it attach itself to Jaden's Blaster.
"Blasters made a new friend! A friend that forces her into attack mode! And because she is, no more direct attacks!"
"Shit," said Jaden as he gritted his teeth. "Alright! My turn!"
'And from the way that orb is disappearing, maybe my last chance to save my friends and the world,' thought Jaden as he drew a card. "I play the spell card Pot of Greed! And if that's not enough for ya, I play de-fusion, too! Come apart, Rampart Blaster! And Attachment Dragon, attach yourself to the graveyard! Next from my hand, I'll activate Fusion Sage! And that means I can now fuse the Clayman in the field with the Sparkman in my hand to create the Elemental Hero Thunder Giant!"
'It's an even match-up!' thought Rose as she watched. 'Hopefully he can win this soon so that the boys to fry to death.'
"Alright, time to see who blinks first!" said Jaden with a smile. "Elemental Hero Thunder Giant, Attack Red Eye's Black Dragon with Voltic Thunder!"
"Go, Inferno Fire Blast!"
"What was the point, Jaden?" asked Rose as both monster were destroyed.
"The point is, now that, that Red Eyes is gone, Nightshroud is directly in Burstinatrix's line of fire, and I do mean fire! Attack, Fire Storm!" yelled Jaden in happiness as Nightshroud's life points went down to 1,800.
'Why doesn't he react?' thought Rose as she looked at Nightshroud. 'He has to be in a lot of pain, yet he makes no movements what so ever.'
"I play Mirage of Nightmare!" said Jaden.
"With that spell card, during Nightshroud's standby phase, Jaden gets to draw cards until he has four in his hand!" said Rose in excitement. "Then in his own standby phase, he has to randomly discard the same number of cards he drew, to the grave! He must have some sort of plan!"
"I'll also throw down a face down!"
"Good, my draw!" said Nightshroud.
"And mine too! Thanks to my Mirage of Nightmare!"
"Whatever. Just don't forget to discard the same amount of cards during the next turn."
"Actually, Nightshroud, I was thinkin' that maybe I wouldn't."
"Hmm?"
"I play Emergency Provisions! Now, by destroying one spell card on my field, I gain 1,000 life points. And the card that I think I'll destroy is Mirage of Nightmare!"
Jaden's life points went up to 1,700.
'Now Mirage's discard rule is no longer in effect! He might just win this! He better win this!' thought Rose to herself as she watched anxiously.
"So, you were able to avoid that Mirage's unpleasantness, but you won't be avoiding this one's: Mirage Dragon!" said Nightshroud. "And despite his name, his attack is no illusion! Go Supreme Blast!"
The attack reduced Jaden's life points to 1,300.
"No, I can't let it end here!" said Jaden.
You don't have to!" said Nightshroud. "Mirage Dragon will end it for you!"
"Chum, If we don't make it through this, I just wanted you to know that you have been a great friend and I love you!" said Syrus, freaking out.
"Hurray, Jay! Sy's getting mushy!" yelled Chumley.
"The orb is disappearing fast, Jaden," said Rose in concern. 'And as much as the boys can be annoying, they are my friends and I don't want to lose them.'
"Yeah, well, not as fast as the Mirage Dragon's about to!" said Jaden in confidence. "I summon Elemental Hero Bubbleman! And I activate his ability! See, when he's summoned out all by himself, I can draw two more cards, one of which I', gonna use right now!
Silent Doom! It let's me summon one monster from my graveyard to the field in defense mode! And next I'll play the field spell card known as Fusion Gate!"
"What!" yelled Nightshroud in shock.
"Oh yeah! A storm's a 'comin'! And it's comin' for you, Nightshroud! 'Cause now that Fusion Gate is out, I can fuse Bubbleman and Sparkman, who are on my field with Avian, who's in my hand, to create the mighty Elemental Hero Tempest!"
"All right! Way to play, Jay!" yelled Syrus in happiness.
"Yeah! 2,800 attack points!" said Chumley. "That's more than Mirage Dragon!"
"Go Tempest! Attack Mirage Dragon with Glider Strike!" yelled Jaden as his monster attacked, reducing Nightshroud's life points to 600.
"There's that flinch I was lookin' for!"
"No it wasn't! That was a twitch. It's not the same!" yelled back Nightshroud. "I had something in my eye, that's all, you got that? It was a twitch!"
'Are they seriously going to fight about this?' thought Rose with a sweat drop.
"Hey, call it what you want, but there's one thing you can't argue, I'm winnin' the shadow duel now, Nightshroud!" said Jaden in confidence. "And I think I'll end my turn leavin' you with that thought, plus a face down!"
"Ha! You chump. Life points don't decide who's winning the duel," declared Nightshroud. "It's the cards you hold. And if you don't believe me, I'm quite certain that this one here will prove it to you!"
"Yeah, right. I bet that you're just bluffin'," said Jaden. But then dragons started to form from the lava. "or not."
"Jaden!" yelled Rose, bring Jaden's attention to her. She was surrounded by fire, blocking her from Jaden.
"Rose!" yelled Jaden as he looked at her in shock.
"Did you honestly think, key-keeper, that you could ger rid of all my dragons so easily? That you could simply banish them all to the graveyard and then be done with them!? Or that I would allow your girlfriend to go unharmed? After I win, I'm going after her next."
"That's kinda what I was hopin' for," said Jaden with sweat dripping down his face.
"Well, you can just keep on hoping, because I summon the Red-Eyes Black Chick," said Nightshroud as an egg came up and hatched.
"So, then, that's your big card?"
"That's right. Until I use Chick's special ability, that is!" smirked Nightshroud. "You see, by sending Chick to the grave, I'm allowed to summon from my hand, his daddy! The full-grown Red-Eyes Black Dragon!
"Actually, that's not quite true. As big as this Red-Eyes is, they can still get bigger! Red-Eyes, I now sacrifice you to bring out Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon!
"Now the molten ashes of my fallen dragons boil up from their fiery graves, ablaze with new life, each granting my Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon 300 additional attack points!"
"4,500?" said Rose in shock as she back away from the fire. "He can't withstand that!"
"It's over! The spirit key, your friends, your soul, with Darkness Dragon, they're all mine! So go, Inferno Darkfire! End this!"
"Jaden!" yelled Rose in fear.
"Don't think so! I got a trap! Go, Negate Attack!" yelled Jaden as he managed to save his monster.
"What the-" said Nightshroud in shock.
"That's right! Your attack's been cancelled! And Negate Attack ends your battle phase so you can't attack me anymore this turn!"
"Hmm. Oh, well. Till next time."
"All right! My draw!" yelled Jaden as he drew a card. "First off, I summon Wroughtweiler in defense mode! And I'll switch Elemental Hero Tempest to defense as well! Then I'll call it a turn."
"That's funny. You know what I'd call it? A waste of time. And time, in case you forgot, is very much of the essence right now. Well," said Nightshroud as he turned his head to look at the boys, "at least for your friends who are about to be deep fried, it is!"
"Don't you listen to him, Jaden," said Syrus. "Just concentrate on winning the duel!"
"Aw, deep fried? I'll never be able to look at a French fry again," said Chumley. "Though, I'll probably still be able to eat it."
"Not the time, Chumley," said Rose in annoyance. "Jaden, you need to hurry."
"Yeah, I know," said Jaden with gritted teeth. "That lava is beginning to look really restless."
"It's hotter than my dad's hot sauce in here!" freaked out Chumley.
"La-dee-da. What to do? What to do?" mocked Nightshroud.
"How 'bout ya make your move?" said Jaden in anger.
"Oh, right, it's my turn. Sorry," Nightshroud continued to mock. "I summon Speak Dragon in attack mode! Now, Spear Dragon, give that Wroughtweiler something to chew on! Attack! Cyclone Blast!"
"Wroughtweiler doesn't roll over that easy! See, by sending him to the graveyard, his special ability now activates, one that lets me fetch an Elemental Hero and Polymerization from the grave and put them into my hand! Ahh!"
"Jaden!" yelled Rose as his life points dropped to 600, causing Nightshroud to laugh.
"Don't get ahead of yourself. When Spear Dragon attacks a monster in defense mode, if its attack points are greater than the defending monster's defense points, the difference is dealt to you as damage. However, as you can see, Spear Dragon must then switch to defense mode.
"And now for the matter of your Tempest and his special ability? Since you can save him from being destroyed in battle by sending one card on your field to the graveyard, I'll get rid of the card on your field by playing this! Mystical Space Typhoon!
"Now, key-keeper, just try saving your Tempest! Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon, attack! Inferno Darkfire! It's your move, if you have any strength left to make it!"
"Jaden!" said Rose as she tried to get to him after he had collapsed on the floor, only to be stopped by the fire. "Enough! This duel is over!"
"Says who?"
"Says me and this," said Rose as she made a decision. She grabbed the key around her neck and held it up. "I have a spirit gate key too. Let my friends go and I'll let you duel me for it and have my soul either way."
Nightshroud looked at her in concentration.
'She reminds me of someone,' he thought.
"You can't lose! So just let them go and deal with me!" said Rose in determination.
"No!" yelled Jaden as he started to get up. "I won't let you, Rose! I mean, after all. I'm just about to win this!"
"He's delirious," said Rose in fear for her friend.
"I am not! What I am is about to get my game on!"
"Well, you better hurry!" yelled Syrus in fear.
"I don't wanna be a French fry!" yelled Chumley.
"I summon Elemental Hero Wildheart in attack mode! Next I'll activate the spell card Wild Half from my hand. And now Wild Half's gonna cut your monster in half!
"See, what it does is take the original attack points of your Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon and split it by summoning a monster token with the same attack points to the field!"
"But because of all the Dragons in Nightshroud's graveyard, they still have 3,300 attack points each!" said Rose as she watched.
"I'm getting' to that! Next up, is Polymerization! Which I'll use to fuse these two! Now, Wildheart, merge with Bladedge to create the Elemental Hero Wildedge! And one a' the things that puts him on the edge of bein' wild is that he can attack all the monsters you have out at the same time!"
"You just go ahead and do that then!" said Nightshroud in confidence. "He still has less attack points than my dragons."
"Again with the attack points! All right, I guess it's time I finally address that little issue for you guys, or better yet, let Skyscraper do it for me!"
"What?" said Nightshroud in shock.
"That's right! I play the field spell card: Skyscraper!"
"Yes!" said Rose in happiness.
"And once Wildedge is done with your dragons, you're going to be scrapin' them off the pavement! 'Cause here, heroes gain 1,000 attack points!"
"No way!" yelled Nightshroud in shock as Wildedge's attack points went up. "Impossible!"
"All right! Go Jaden!" yelled Rose.
"Now go, Wildedge! Attack the Red-Eyes Dragons and Spear Dragon with Scimitar Slash!"
The monster attack, reducing Nightshroud's life points to nothing. The fire around Rose disappeared, allowing her to get closer to Jaden.
"That's game!"
"No!" yelled Nightshroud as he dropped to the floor, only to be surrounded by fire.
"Sy, Chumley," said Jaden as he dropped next. Rose ran up to him to check on him, only for fire to surround the two, causing her to scream. As everything went white.
~Outside the Volcano~
"Ugh," said Rose as she started to sit up, looking up at Syrus and Chumley as they walked up to her. "He did it! Jaden did it! But, where is he?"
"Look there!" yelled Chumley as he pointed. The other two looked and saw Jaden and Nightshroud on the floor.
"Jaden," they yelled as they ran up to him.
"He's not moving," said Syrus in fear. "Come on, Jay."
"Sy, he's fine!" said Rose as she check his pulse. "Tired, maybe, but who can blame him."
"Not me," said Chumley. "I'm tired and I didn't do a thing."
"Jay, don't do this. Why? Why!" freaked out Syrus.
"He's fine," said Rose with a raised eyebrow and an annoyed voice. She then looked at the card on the floor next to Jaden's hand. "Which is more than I can say for Nightshroud."
Rose picked up the card to see the mask in chains. She then got up and walked to Nightshroud's body. Once she got close enough, she bent down to look at the mans face. She was shocked when he moved his head and opened his eyes.
"Alexis," he said as he looked at her, causing her to gasp, his eyes were unfocused, and he seemed confused. He then passed out.
"It can't be!" said Rose in shock.
"Jaden! Hold on!" yelled Bastion as he, Chazz, and Zane ran up to the group. "We're coming!"
"What happened?" asked Chazz in shock.
"One of the Shadow Riders challenged Jaden to a duel!" said Syrus, after he had calmed down.
"So? What happened? Did he win?"
"He sure did Chazz!" said Chumley as the boys surrounded Jaden.
"So, is that him?" asked Zane as he looked to where Rose was. This caused Rose to turn to him with wide eyes, causing the others to become alarmed.
"Zane," said Rose, causing said boy to walk to her as he noticed her distress.
He came to stand next to her as she held up the body of the Shadow Rider. He was about to tell her to step away from him when she cut him off.
"It's Alexis' brother!" said Rose, shocking Zane.
"Atticus?" he asked in shock.
"It wasn't him before, but that card, the shadow game, took away whatever was controlling him before," explained Rose as she stated her theory. The others came up to her and Zane, Chumley holding Jaden on his back.
"Alexis can have her brother back now!" said Rose with a smile while the others looked at her in shock.
"And if this is what it's like after you win a duel, just think what it's like when you lose," said Zane as he and Bastion helped with picking Atticus up. "The sun may be coming up now, but night will fall again soon, and when it does we must be ready."