Coming Clean

"You see, my boy." Drewer began to explain, taking his pointer finger and gently tapping on the boy's ghostly pale forehead. Looking at Chazz normally, his skin was extremely light and silky, but he still looked healthy. But looking at the boy now, he looked ill, with a slightly gray tint to his skin that wasn't bloodstained or covered up. It really was concerning. "You've got too much activity up there to properly brainwash you. Too much... individuality. So I have to get that taken care of, you see."

"W-What are you gonna do…?" Chazz asked, mustering up the strength to make it through a sentence without stuttering through it. Really the concept of being brainwashed wasn't exactly new to him, but it certainly wasn't an outcome that he or any of the others would want to see. And from the way Drewer was making it out to be, if they succeeded in taking him over, there would be almost no way to bring him back to how he was.

Back to his real self.

"Well, since there's nothing you can do to stop us, I don't see the harm in telling you." Drewer shrugged, a chuckle trailing from the end of his words. "What I'm going to do, is erase those precious memories of yours one by one, until you're nothing but a shell of the person you are now. And when that's done, all we have to do is simply, well, let's just say we're going to... reprogram you to do precisely as your dear older brothers command. Of course, I would certainly think you'll still retain your ability to communicate with those pesky duel monsters. From what information we've gathered, there's no way to get rid of that even if we tried."

"What did I tell you, asshole! Keep your grubby hands off of the boss!"

Chazz turned his head slightly to the origin of the small voice he was positive only he heard. Looking towards the counter to his left, Chazz spotted the spirits of Ojamas Green and Black appearing over his deck, which was laid carefully on the counter, away from all the equipment littering the decently sized room. The anger present on the imp's faces was clear as day.

"You've gotta go through us first!" Black shouted again, preparing himself to take a big ol' swing at the mad doctor for harming their precious boss, not about to forget the spectacle he'd seen before. Outrage couldn't even begin to describe how angry he was about that. Chazz shook his head at the little imps, not wanting them to waste their time trying to help when he knew they wouldn't be able to do a thing.

Raising an eyebrow at the boy, Drewer looked over to see that Chazz was staring at his deck on the counter. Walking over to the assorted cards, he took a moment to inspect them before turning back to Chazz.

"Those pesky spirits again, my boy?" He asked, crossing his arms as Chazz turned his head away from him, not wanting to look at the man anymore than he already had to. "Well, no matter. Soon it'll all go away... see," he took a step closer to Chazz, placing a hand on his cold arm. "The next time your eyes open, you, " he poked at his forehead again. "Will be no more."

"Y-You'll never get away with this...!" Chazz protested, anger boiling his blood, trying one more time to struggle against his bonds while his weakened body screamed at him to stop. But he had decided from the beginning that he wasn't going to give up without a fight. "M-My friends will stop you!"

"Your friends...?" Drewer questioned, raising an eyebrow at the child, chuckling as he remembered what little he did know about Chazz's life at the Academy. "Ah yes, those Academy brats. And that boy who defeated you before, what was his name…?" Taking a moment he pretended to think before throwing his finger in the air in a point, chucking as he brought down his arm. "Ah, yes, that's right. Jaden Yuki."

Growling as deeply as he could through his damaged throat, Chazz shot a venomous glare at the doctor as he mocked his friends so callously, in a sense mocking Chazz's belief that there was hope for him.

"Yes, I've heard of him." Drewer nodded before turning away from the boy for a moment before turning his head back to him. "But I'm afraid he won't be rescuing you this time, boy."

Growling deeply again, Chazz mustered all the strength he could and spat in the doctor's face. Leaving his eyes angry and narrowed as Drewer angrily wiped the saliva from his cheek, glaring at the boy himself.

"Bet." Chazz said flatly, doing his best to maintain his momentum, but every fiber of his being was begging him to give in to the fatigue and hurt he felt all over.

Letting out his own growl, the furious doctor stormed over to the cabinet to his right. Drewer returned and stood over Chazz, a small scalpel clutched in his right hand. Placing his left hand on the boy's head, Drewer held it in place as he pressed the blade down into the left side of Chazz's forehead, relishing in the child's agonized screams as he slowly sliced an incision into his forehead, blood flowing over the edges of the cut and down the side of Chazz's face.

"There." Drewer said, taking a moment to marvel at his work, a furious expression remaining on his face in pure disdain for the captive boy. "The scar will match the ones your brothers gave you." Turning back to his aids he swung his arm at them, completely out of any and all forms of patience. "Prep him for the erasure sequence. Now!"

"G-Go... to hell...!" Chazz coughed out, having hurt his throat more by screaming just then. But the pain was worth it if it meant he went down fighting, so his friends knew that he didn't give in. But he had faith in them, and faith that they would make it in time to rescue him from the fate his brothers had in store for him. But even so, the fear of his impending doom never left the boy's body.

"Get here soon, guys…" He thought, closing his eyes as he took deep, slow breaths to keep himself calm. "If you don't... there may not be any part of the real me left to save…"


"You sure we're on the right track, Bastion?" Hassleberry asked, looking over the elder student's shoulder to glance at the map he had stuck himself into.

"Yes, I'm positive." Bastion nodded, keeping his eyes on the paper in his hands, listening to the clanging of the metal train tracks colliding with the wheels. The Princeton group's headquarters wasn't too far outside of Domino City, at least a town or two over, but it was still a ways away. The train was their best option to get there as quickly as they could, and with Bastion constantly checking to make sure they were going the right way and were on the right train, they planned to be there all the sooner. "This train will get us to a station within only two miles of the Princeton group's headquarters. If the information we received from Tantalus is credible, then Chazz should be locked away somewhere inside."

"Yeah, then we find him and bust him out of there!" Jaden added, summing up the rescue mission in a very simple manner. Of course, they knew they couldn't just charge in, but at this point did they really have any better ideas? Not that they were necessarily the best at coming up with plans anyway. Not that they didn't try, things just never seemed to go quite as the group hoped they would. "We don't have any time to lose!"

"The place is bound to have some really tight security." Alexis observed, sighing quietly as she watched the scenery pass by them through the window in front of her before looking around at her friends around her for an answer. "How are we gonna get in there? We can't just walk in the front door."

"That's what we're trying to figure out, Lexi." Atticus sighed, lowering his head while he himself thought about their next course of action. She brought up a good point, rescuing Chazz wasn't as simple as it sounded once they realized just where it was he was being kept. The Princeton group's HQ would be brimming with security, and would probably be nearly impossible to sneak into. But they didn't really have any other choice. Whatever it took they had to get in there and break Chazz out, they were going to do. He wasn't safe, and wouldn't be safe until he was back at Duel Academy where he and the others belonged.

"Well, if we could look at the building's schematics, I would think we should be able to find an unguarded access point." Crowler suggested, looking over the group of students for probably the millionth time, almost constantly taking a headcount to be sure everyone was there.

"That's brilliant!" Bastion declared, looking up from his map, his eyes widened. "Why didn't I think of that!? Hold this!" Shoving his map into Hassleberry's face, Bastion pulled out his electronic student notebook from his jacket pocket, tapping away at the little device.

"Um, Bastion..." Syrus observed, confused by his course of action. "I don't think our notebooks work that way?"

"Well, maybe yours doesn't." Bastion pointed out, keeping his gaze fixed on the small device as the others watched him work. "But mine is different. I modified it to connect to a larger network of operation, allowing me access to myriad different programs and alternative uses. For one," A small beeping sound came from the notebook as Bastion looked back up at his friends with a smile plastered to his face. "Unrestricted internet access."

"You mean to say that you deliberately tampered with Academy property?" Crowler asked, flabbergasted not only that he would do such a thing, but also that he was so open about it. "As your teacher, I should punish you. But luckily for you, we have more important things to worry about right now."

"That's right, we do." Jaden nodded, agreeing with Dr. Crowler's statement. Besides, Bastion would be Bastion after all. And aside from that, it was helpful that they had a way to make things a little bit easier for them so they wouldn't have to waste a great deal of time and effort wandering around looking for solutions. "Bastion, you're brilliant!"

"Yes." Bastion replied, smiling confidently as he showed his notebook's screen to the others. The electronic notebook's small screen now showed an archive system displaying the plans for the Princeton family HQ, a large and imposing structure to say the least. "I know."

"Good work, soldier!" Hassleberry praised, patting Bastion on the back. Careful not to let it be too strong, not that Bastion couldn't handle his great strength, but still. "Now let's get on searching for that access point!"

"Yes, of course." Bastion nodded, returning to his work as the others crowded around him, but giving him enough space to do his work. "Now, each of the main access ways are out." he explained, drawing small X's over each doorway with the notebook's stylus as the others listened intently. "And even if we were to sneak in a back way, there are security points all throughout the building. We'd be sure to get caught."

"Then what do we do, Bastion?" Syrus asked, worried that they wouldn't be able to find a way to get in without getting themselves caught, which could potentially put Chazz in even greater danger than he had to be in already.

"Well, I hate to suggest anything too cliché, but..."

"Let me guess." Atticus said, cocking his head to the side as his arms crossed across his chest. "We're sneaking through the air ducts, aren't we?"

"To a point, yes." Bastion nodded, pointing out the path he had mapped out to the rest of the group. "On the east side of the building there is a ventilation shaft that comes out just low enough for us to be able to climb into. Of course, once we can get it open."

"You leave that to me, son." Hassleberry said, brandishing his muscles again with a determined smile on his face. "I'll have it open in no time!"

"Yes, quite." Bastion nodded, returning to his plan explanation. "See, this shaft here," he pointed out. "leads down to the entrance of the underground laboratory. Once we get past the security door, we can travel more in the open. The lab has extremely restricted access, so there's really only one checkpoint. Which means to escape we'll have to procure ourselves a security card from somewhere once we're down there."

"Shouldn't be a problem." Jaden said, shrugging his shoulders as he himself considered what they would find themselves up against when they reached the laboratory. "What I'm worried about is getting Chazz out of there in one piece."

"That's true..." Alexis said quietly, placing the joint of her pointer finger against her teeth, worried greatly for their friend. She cared very deeply for her friends, even Chazz, who honestly got on her nerves a lot, especially since he was hitting on her all the time when she really had no interest in him. At least, not in that way. But when he found himself in danger, she too found herself worrying almost as much as Jaden did when Syrus was in trouble. All she wanted was to be able to help him in any way she could. "I'm worried... he could already be hurt..."

"He's gonna be fine, Lexi." Atticus asserted, his eyes narrow and focused as he thought about their dear friend. Atticus had made himself a vow to protect Chazz after learning everything he had from him, things that nobody else knew about and that would inevitably come up once he was rescued. He hated knowing what had been done to Chazz in the past. It only served to anger him even more than he knew he needed to be.

"I hope we get there soon..." Syrus sighed, sitting back down in his seat, also very worried for their friend. The small boy's sparkling gray eyes dulled as he turned his gaze to the train's floor, listening to the clanging of the train on the tracks.

Jaden sighed quietly to himself, shaking his head before taking a seat next to his best friend. Wrapping his arm around Syrus's slender shoulders, he gave him a little squeeze as he pulled the boy slightly closer to him.

"It's gonna be okay, Sy." Jaden said, making an attempt to console the emotional teen. Syrus had a habit of becoming overly emotional in dramatic situations, or even normal situations. But Jaden was always there to help calm the boy down and comfort him when he needed to be. "So don't you worry, okay?"

"But, Jaden..." Syrus whined, looking up at the brunette giving him a bro-side-hug, his gray eyes regaining their sparkle as he looked at the brunette, worry still present in his face and tone.

"But nothing, Sy." Jaden protested, shaking his head before locking his own brown eyes with the gray ones staring back at him, keeping his arm firmly but gently around the smaller boy's shoulders in a consoling gesture. "We're gonna make it in time. We're gonna find Chazz, and we're gonna get him out of there and back to the Academy safe and sound. And like I said before, Sy. If anything happens, I'll protect you. So don't be so worried, okay?"

"I'm sorry, Jay..." Syrus sighed, looking away from the brunette again. "It's just that this whole thing is so serious and stressful for us all... and well... different from anything we've had to deal with before. I just..." He sighed quietly one more time. "I'm not sure what to do, you know...?"

"Yeah. Believe me, I get it..." Jaden nodded, keeping the boy close to him and he looked over to the rest of their friends, who were still huddled around Bastion discussing what they were going to do once they arrived. "Everybody's on edge. Heck, even I'm kind of freaked out myself... but I promise, Sy. No matter what happens, it'll all work out. And soon, we'll all be chillin' back at Duel Academy just like old times."

Patting Syrus gently on the back, Jaden smiled down at the small boy beside him, hoping his smile would be returned in kind. Never more so than times like these were Syrus's adorable smiles so precious and cherished, as any happiness from the boy was. Syrus really had become something of a ray of sunshine for the group in that way after all this time. And something of a little brother to Jaden.

"Hear me? I promise."

"Okay..." Syrus sighed, nodding at his best friend. Jaden had never let him down or steered him wrong before, and he doubted the brunette would start now after all this time. Still, it was hard not to worry. Syrus was the best at that after all, but the little one did his best to make a solid effort to stay calm and collected. Jaden nodded back, a gentle smile gracing his own adorable face before giving Syrus's shoulder another gentle squeeze of reassurance.

"Hey, sarge! We're almost there." Hassleberry informed, pointing out the window to the skyline on the horizon ahead of them. The others looked after him, taking note of just how close they had to be by now time wise. It wouldn't be too much longer now.

"Good." Jaden said, his eyes fixed on the goal ahead as he and Syrus joined the others by the window. "The sooner we get there the better."

"I agree." Crowler nodded, looking back to his students with a serious look in his eyes. "But I want you all to promise me something." he said as the kids turned to him. "I want you to promise not to do anything foolish, and to stay together at all times. Splitting up is not an option, engaging with a dangerous foe is not an option, and most importantly. Getting hurt is not an option. Do you hear me?"

"Of course, Crowler." Alexis nodded, speaking for the whole group as she knew full well they would all agree in this situation. "We promise we'll be careful."

"But you have to promise too, doc." Atticus asserted, taking a step closer to the professor with his own serious look in his eyes. "We're all in this, so we all have to be careful. That includes you, so don't be a hero trying to protect us." Smiling only slightly, Atticus extended a hand to their professor. "Okay?"

"But Atticus, as your teacher, It's my duty to-"

"-Oh, to hell with that!" Atticus sighed heavily in a steadily pent up frustration, his eyes keeping their intensity, though his face turned concerned, and even a little sad as he grabbed Crowler's arm. "Crowler, what would we do if you got hurt? I know you care about our safety, but we care about yours too! Besides, Chazz is hurt enough for all of us as it is. He trusted me with that, and I swore to myself that I would protect him. And then this happened! And for god's sake, I'll be damned if I just stood by and let anybody else get hurt too!"

They all stared at the oldest student, silence overtaking them as they were taken aback as well as confused by his outburst. Atticus never raised his voice like that... much less at Dr. Crowler…

"Atticus, what are you talking about…?" Alexis asked, slowly approaching her older brother, reaching her hand up and placing it gently on his shoulder.

"This isn't about me, my boy. I know." Crowler observed, taking his student's hand off of his shoulder, slowly lowering it down to Atticus's side. "Tell me, what's wrong?"

"Yeah, soldier." Hassleberry added, taking a step towards his elder. "You alright? What's goin' on with you?"

"I think I know." Bastion said, placing his electronic notebook back into its place secured in his pocket.

"So do I." Jaden nodded, his eyes narrowing slightly as he too stepped forward. "It's Chazz, isn't it? You know something we don't. Don't you?"

Atticus's entire body stiffened as Jaden's words reached his ears, and upon the realization of what he had just done. He hadn't done anything wrong, but freaking out like that wasn't normally something he did. And he never shouted like that, not if he wasn't under the influence of the darkness that consumed and took him back in Jaden's first year. His mind jumped immediately to his last encounter with Chazz as the memory flashed across his vision.


"I..." Chazz sighed, keeping his voice low and soft almost like he was ashamed of his answer. "What can I say...? It's been like this for a long time now... because of them... among other things... depression, panic, all kinda of stuff like that..."

Atticus tensed when he heard. After all this time, none of them had any idea. Chazz had never said a word before now. After everything they'd been through together... not one of them knew even a single thing about it. Realizing that, Atticus couldn't help but feel an almost sort of happiness that Chazz would be comfortable enough with him to talk divulge such personal information like that so freely.

"Chazz…" Atticus said with an air of both sadness and disbelief in his voice. None of the others would have believed it before, not even Atticus. But after everything he had just seen... "Is that why you were freaking out like that...? Does this happen... a lot?"

Chazz nodded silently, keeping his gaze away from his elder friend and downcast towards the floor, fixating on the mess of pills and bottles he had made in his hysterical outburst before.

"You've seen doctors about this, haven't you? Professionals, I mean...?" Atticus asked, just trying to cover all of his bases and just over all put the pieces all together in his mind. And just generally trying to figure out what to say. What to do. That, and he realized he was going to have to tell the others about what he had learned and seen when he saw them again, there would be no getting out of that now. Not after what Jaden had witnessed. They'd have to have an explanation of some description. He figured he may as well gather all the facts. "Sorry, I don't mean to insinuate or overstep or anything, I just..."

"No, it's fine. Of course I have." Chazz answered. Bringing up his left hand, he began rubbing his forehead for a moment before leaving it covering his left eye, sighing quietly to himself. "But I never told anybody. And when my brothers found out... well… look."

Slowly lifting his shirt, Chazz revealed a series of small scars all across his stomach, chest, and sides. No doubt he had more on the rest of his body too. Atticus gasped when he saw them, covering his mouth with his free hand in his surprise and shock. He knew Chazz had been abused... but he never imagined…

"A-Are those all...?"

"Not all of them. Actually, most of them aren't. Most of them are from before that..." Chazz explained, shaking his head at Atticus's notion. "But yeah, that's the basic idea..."

"So that's why..?"

"Why I freaked out when Jaden grabbed me, and when you touched me?" Chazz sighed, nodding his head as he let go of his shirt, the dark purple fabric dropping back down, concealing the old wounds again in their shroud. "...Yeah."

Looking back up at the elder, Chazz's normally shiny black eyes were dull and empty. Sad, and even looked defeated. The poor boy had been through more than any of them had ever imagined. And whether to the same degree or not, unfortunately, Atticus realized that was something they both had in common. Perhaps that was why Chazz felt like he could confide in the Obelisk. At least in part, maybe.

"And why I haven't told anybody. Except you, that is." He shrugged, looking away again. "In case you were wondering."


"What do you know, Atticus?" Jaden reiterated, his tone turning his statement into more of a command to tell than a question. "You've been hiding something from us, right? So just tell us."

"I…" Atticus started, taking a moment to collect his thoughts and choose his words carefully, what he had to say wasn't exactly good after all. "I have." he sighed, looking over at his friends, shame overcoming him for keeping the secret for so long when they had the right to know.

Before Atticus continued, Jaden glanced back at Syrus, his eyes conveying 'I told you so' while his face retained a serious demeanor. Syrus in turn, was surprised by the turn of events, willing to admit that Jaden in fact did tell him so.

"What is it, Atticus…?" Alexis asked, concerned by her brother's silence and tone.

"Chazz, he... well…" Atticus began, still not quite sure what to say, so he took a deep breath, and pushed himself through it. "He was being abused by his brothers for many years before he came to the academy."

"We know, Atticus." Bastion said, raising an eyebrow at the older brunette.

"No, you don't. Not the whole story." Atticus retorted, shaking his head at the genius. "There's more to it than what you know." he sighed quietly before delivering the appalling news. "They... they were hurting him. Really hurting him. If they thought he was stepping too far out of line, they would just..."

"You don't mean…" Crowler gasped, trailing off the end of his sentence unable to finish his thought, slightly covering his mouth with his right hand, already knowing the answer to his question.

"I do." Atticus nodded, lowering his head to the floor, unable to look his friends in the eyes. "He has scars everywhere…"

"How do you know that…?" Hassleberry asked, horrified by the news they had just received from the eldest and normally most chipper among them.

"He showed them to me, when I helped out with his panic attack that day..." Atticus explained, audibly upset by even just the memory itself. "The subject came up and…" he sighed, shaking his head before looking back up, turning and locking eyes with Jaden who was now standing in front of him. "I'm sorry I didn't say anything. That I didn't tell you. But I didn't think he would want me to go spreading something like that around... even to you guys. But I should've told you anyway..."

"Damn…" Hassleberry whispered, completely shocked by what Atticus revealed to them. It wasn't every day they heard that a close friend had been abused and beaten by their family their entire lives.

"We understand, Atticus." Syrus said, nodding at the elder student with a gentle glint in his concerned eyes. "You don't have to apologize."

"That's right." Crowler nodded, placing a hand on the brunette's shoulder. "The important thing is that now something can be done about it. And his brothers won't be able to harm him any longer. I assure you of that, my boy."

"But when he told me about it, I made a promise that I would protect him..." Atticus replied, shaking the professor's hand off of his shoulder. "And then this happened. Some friend I am..."

"That's not true, Atty…" Alexis said, sadness overtaking her at her brother's anguish and doubt. Seeing her brother so upset hurt her more than anything. She and her brother were so close, she almost felt bad about it. Both of her friends with older brothers didn't really have the best relationships with them, and yet she and Atticus were like best friends. "You're probably the best friend Chazz has. And there's no way you could have known what was going to happen to him."

"Alexis is right." Bastion agreed, nodding at her before turning to Atticus. "None of us could have predicted that Chazz would be kidnapped. You can't blame yourself for something you had no control over."

"Bastion is right." Crowler nodded, rallying behind his most intelligent student. After all, he was right about what he had said in the first place. This was nobody's fault but Chazz's brothers'. "Besides, we're going to rescue Chazz and we'll see to it that he's alright and properly cared for. His brothers won't get away with this, I promise you."

"Crowler's got a point." Jaden agreed, his eyes turning back to the ever approaching skyline of the city, they were very close now. And the towering structure of the Princeton family headquarters seemed to loom over them even at the distance they were still away. Anger boiling inside of him, Jaden's eyes narrowed as he thought upon all of the pain that had been caused to his dear friend by the overlords of that accursed place. "When we find Chazz, we're going to make sure that he's safe from any harm. And his brothers are gonna be sorry for what they've done to him."

The group nodded together, anger boiling in all of their blood and hearts. Friends were very important to every single one of them, and one of their closest friends had been more or less mutilated in both mind and body by his own brothers. Chazz had always been put through terrible hardships throughout his life, that had been clearly evident in the time he'd spent with them. That had always led them to even subtly attempt protect him, but now they formed a silent pact forged in the hardest metaphorical steel to never let their friend come to harm again. And if that meant tearing his brothers apart for his own good and protection, then that was a price they agreed they were willing to pay in order to save Chazz.

Jaden sighed quietly to himself as he thought about all that had happened and what he had learned. All of his friends were irreplaceable to him. They meant the world to him and because of that, Jaden would risk anything he had to to protect them from harm, something he had displayed for Syrus on multiple occasions before. But this time it wasn't Syrus he and the others were desperate to rescue. This time it was Chazz. Someone they never expected to be thrust into something like this... it was awful to think about what could be happening to him even at that very moment, but that was why they were there at all. And no matter what it took, they all agreed on one thing. That they would rescue Chazz from his brothers, and they would do whatever it took to see him delivered from their evil clutches.