Disclaimer: If I owned Yu-Gi-Oh GX I would be so happy right now.

Chapter 22: The Grand Duel

Ayato yawned as he awoke from his suprisingly peaceful sleep. He rubbed his eyes as he sat up. 'I must have fallen asleep in the kitchen.' He thought.

"About time your awake." Akari said nearly giving Ayato a heart attack.

"Don't do that." Ayato whined.

"Jaden and the others left again, their still searching for any Rare Hunters that may be left."

"That's good." Ayato replied while standing up. "Are you hungry?"

"Nah I've already had something to eat." Akari replied.

"Oh, well I'm gonna take a shower, do you mind making me something to eat?" Ayato asked.

"Yeah I do mind, but I guess I could be nice to you just this once."

"Thanks, I owe you one."

"Oh trust me, you owe me a lot more than you know, and I do plan on collecting." Akari said winking.

Ayato blushed slightly.

Duel Academy

'Where could those Sacred Beast cards be?' Exion thought. 'I've searched this whole damn island and didn't find a thing.' Exion looked at the building that is Duel Academy. 'Maybe I've been overthinking this.' Exion made his way towards Duel Academy. 'Soon ultimate power will be mine.'

Chazz sat at the foot of Duel Academy deep in thought.

"You there!"

Chazz's eyes shot open.

"Yes I'm talking to you."

Chazz looked at the intruder. "Just who do you think you are talking to me like that."

Exion smirked, "Your superior."

"Oh yeah, well nobody talks to The Chazz like that, I'm gonna have to teach you some respect." Chazz's duel disk activated.

Exion grinned menacingly. "What a foolish little boy you are."

Ayato stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around his waist. "What the!?"

A black coated figure was standing next to the door. The figure chuckled slightly, "Nice bod."

Ayato's face turned beet red, "J-just what are you doing here."

The figure walked towards Ayato, "I came here to give you a present."

Ayato's mind filled with dirty thoughts, which made his face turn even redder. The figure chuckled again and pulled out a duel monster card.

'What's taking him so long, if he doesn't come out soon the food is going to get cold.' Akari thought. Ayato emerged from the bathroom. "Well it's about time, your food is getting cold."

"Sorry, I was busy with something." Akari stared at him.

"I WASN'T DOING THAT KIND OF BUSINESS!" Ayato yelled defensively. "HOW COULD YOU EVEN THINK THAT I'D DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT!"

Akari shrugged, "Hey your the one who said it, so I just thought-"

"You thought wrong." A moment of silence passed between the two.

"So...who were you thinking about while you were-"

"AKARI!"

Meanwhile

"Did you guys hear something?" Syrus asked the group.

Everyone shrugged. Syrus looked back in the direction he had heard the noise. 'It kinda sounded like Ayato.'

"Syrus, we've spotted one let's go!" Jaden exclaimed.

"Hey wait for me!"

Duel Academy

Exion yawned, "How feeble that attempt was." Chazz was lying face first in the dirt. "You aren't even worth sending to the shadow realm." Exion walked up to Chazz and kicked him in his side causing him to gasp in pain.

"Just what do you think your doing?"

Exion turned to face his next challenger, Bastion Misawa.

"Come on Akari were leaving."

"Leaving?" Akari said confused. "Where are you going?"

"To Kaiba Corp." Ayato replied.

"Why?"

"I need to get back to Duel Academy."

"WHY!?"

"Because Exion is there, I can finish this once and for all." Ayato answers.

"And how do you know this?" Akari questions.

"I'll tell you later." Ayato says. Just then the door opened to reveal Yugi and the gang.

"Guys your back, we have to get down to Kaiba Corp."

"WHY?" Everyone asks.

"I'll tell you when we get there, now let's go!" Ayato says, rushing out the door.

At Kaiba Corp, Kaiba looks up from his desk at Yugi, a skeptical look on his face. "So your telling me I should provide you with a jet to go to Duel Academy."

"Yes, that's exactly what I'm telling you, the fate of the world depends on it." Yugi replies.

Kaiba laughed, "Ah Yugi, your starting to sound like that Pharaoh guy."

"I'm serious Kaiba." Yugi replies.

Kaiba frowned, "All right I'll lend you one, but I'm coming, just to make sure your not lying."

Jaden and the others cheered.

On a Kaiba Corp jet

"So how do you know that Exion is at Duel Academy Ayato." Akari asked.

"Well this may be hard to believe, but while I was in the shower a girl came to me and told me everything I needed to know." Ayato says.

Akari stared at him blankly. "So what really happened."

"I'm telling the truth Akari, it can't be that hard to believe, I mean weirder things have happened." Ayato responds.

Akari began to crack her knuckles, "The truth huh?"

Ayato began to panic, "Really I'm telling the truth, I wouldn't lie to you Akari."

Akari looked at him questioningly.

Duel Academy

"Ah it's good to be back." Jaden exclaimed.

"Yeah I know." Syrus agreed.

"Okay so where's the big danger." Kaiba asked annoyed.

"There!" Ayato pointed to a giant red dragon in the sky.

"Hey it's Slifer!" Jaden exclaimed.

"Come on we got to get up there!" Yugi sprinted off with the others close behind.

Atticus looked at the giant divine beast before him. "Take a good look at it, because it might be the last thing you'll ever see." Exion remarked.

"Atticus, give up you can't win, let me handle him." Zane urged.

Atticus smirked, "Don't worry I can take him out, I play Dark Hole to destroy all monsters on the field." A giant dark hole appears.

Exion laughs, "Slifer can't be sent away from the field by a spell card, so you've just wasted your last turn."

"No way!" Atticus exclaims.

"Now Slifer attack with Lightning Blast!"

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Atticus is struck by the blast and flies right into Zane, knocking thme both out.

"How pitiful." Exion says. Exion turned his attention to Chancellor Shepard. "Now about those Sacred Beast cards."

"Hold it right there." A voice calls out. Exion turns around.

"It's all over Exion, were here now!" Ayato declares.

"It doesn't matter, none of you can stand up to me and my Egyptian God cards." Exion says.

Ayato smirked, "Your lying, because if you really believed that you were invincible you wouldn't be trying to get those Sacred Beast cards."

"Atticus!" Alexis runs over to her long lost brother. "I thought I lost you, but I've finally found you." Alexis said through tears.

"It all ends here Exion, all the pain and suffering you've caused, it's all over." Ayato's duel disk activated.

"I'm afraid...it has only begun." Exion's duel disk activated.

'What the hell is going on.' Kaiba thought to himself.

Ayato: 4000/ Exion: 4000

Ayato drew a card, "I summon Dark Blade(1800/1500) in attack mode." A warrior with black armor and two swords appears on the field. "And I end my turn.

"You can't win, I summon Drillago(1600/1100) in attack mode." A monster that is made entirely of drills appears on the field. "Now attack Ayato directly!"

What!?" The monster charges at Ayato and stabs him with one of his drills. Aytao instantly drops to one knee. 'That hurt like hell.' Ayato thought as he gasps for air.

Ayato: 2400/ Exion: 4000

"I guess I forgot to tell you, this is my own personal shadow game, just for you." Exion says with a sinister smirk on his face.

Ayato struggles to stand back up, "You bastard. It's my turn, I play the spell card Polymerization to fuse Dark Blade with Pitch Dark Dragon." Dark Blade jumps on the back of Pitch Dark Dragon. "To create Dark Blade the Dragon Knight(2200/1600), now attack Drillago with Shockwave!"

Dark Blade slashes which sends a shockwave that instantly destroys Drillago.

Ayato: 2400/ Exion: 3400

"And I'll end my turn with a face down."

"Good I play the spell card Swords of Revealing Light!" Several glowing swords surround Exion's field, protecting him. "Next I'll summon Melchid the Four-Faced Beast(1500/1200)." A hideous four-faced monster appears on the field. "Next I play Monster Reincarnation, by discarding one card fom my hand I can bring a monster card from my graveyard back to my hand."

"Fine, it's my turn, I place one card face down and end my turn." Ayato declares after drawing a card from his deck.

"Next I summon another Four-Faced beast." Exion replies, ending his turn once more.

"Your trying to summon an Egyptian God card." Ayato accused.

"Is it really that obvious." Exion asked sarcastically.

Ayato drew another card and sighed, "I got nothing."

"Now I summon Drillago back unto the field, but I won't use his special ability, do you think I'm a fool you want me to do that." Exion says.

'Damn.' Ayato thought.

"I'll end my turn once more." Exion stated.

"I place two cards face down and that's it." Ayato declared, becoming frustrated. The swords of revealing light vanished from the field.

"Now I summon Obelisk the Tormentor(4000/4000) by sacrificing three monsters on my field!" Exion declares as the blue monster emerges from the card. Ayato stares at the giant behemoth before him.

"This is it, Fist of Fury!" Exion yells. Obelisk comes down with his giant fist which causes a massive explosion.

"Ayato!" Akari and the others call. When the smoke clears Ayato is standing with 2400 life points still.

"What happened!" Exion asks confused.

"I activated De-Fusion to unfuse my monster, and since there was no longer a Dragon Knight on the field Obelisk had nothing to hit."

"Very clever of you." Exion said.

"Now it's my turn, I sacrifice Pitch Dark Dragon to summon Dark Magician Girl(2000/1700), next I play Sage's Stone!" A green crystal appears on the field. "This card allows me to summon a Dark Magician on the field as long as I have a Dark Magician Girl on the field." Dark Magician Girl touches the stone with her staff. The stone lights up and a Dark Magician appears on the field.

"And that's it for my turn." Ayato says.

"You idiot, you forgot to put your magicians in defense mode!" Kaiba yells.

"What! Ayato exclaims.

Exion smirks, "Obelisk destroy his Dark Magician with Fist of Fury!"

"Oh no you don't I activate my trap card!" Ayato says as his trap card flips upwards.

Exion laughed, "It won't do you any good."

"It's called Covering Fire, I can raise the attack of my Dark Magician with the attack points of another monster on my side of the field, and I choose Dark Magician Girl, making his attack 4500!"

"Now destroy Obelisk with Dark Magic Attack!"

Dark Magician twirls his staff and shoots a powerful beam of dark magic that consumes Obelisk and destroys it in a massive explosion.

Ayato: 2400/ Exion: 2900

Ayato turns around to face Kaiba with a grin, "Why won't you just leave the dueling to me?"