Author's Note: It's been more than two months since my last chapter so I want to see what better way to welcome 2008 than by presenting this. I would like to thank all my friends who have inspired me and now, you have convinced me to keep going. Here we go with Chapter 14 because now... a new villain emerges or should I say villains. Wanna know who? Find out and see.

Chapter 14 – Year of the Zodiac

December 27th, 2002… three months later

Three months have passed since Timmy had dueled in a Shadow Game and to some surprise there has been many changes. The bucktoothed pre-teen is still as his usual self but he's more into wondering what to expect next since he is always prone to being victorious whenever he duels. But in this case, there was something different that was in his mind as he was lying on his bed one night. His fairy godparents however had a reason to be concerned for him because they wanted to know what was going on. It wasn't long before his voice would be heard.

"Timmy, are you alright? You haven't been yourself lately since you had that duel three months ago." Wanda said as he saw Timmy looking up to the ceiling in wonder.

"I haven't been myself for some weird reason and in my opinion, it must have something to do with that Shadow Game I had to go through. Why is it that everytime I want to forget about it, I can't. What's wrong with me?" Timmy replied as his godparents had a look of concern for him.

"Oh I know… maybe you can take your doubt out on something you normally enjoy like playing video games or something." Cosmo said as he was in his usual hyperactive mood… maybe it was because he had Rice Krispies with sugar again.

"I tried that already Cosmo and I've already spent three hours playing Halo on my new Xbox I just got for Christmas. I just wish that for one night… I can just simply forget about that moment. Huh?" Timmy replied as he looked outside and saw a meteorite that looked like a shooting star passing by wondering what it was.

But what he doesn't know was that shooting star meant something and in this case it was a star that possessed something very mysteriously. Although the shooting star didn't get far, it somehow was pulled to Earth's gravitational force and hit the ground with a shocking strike. After the heat began to cool down, the meteorite had the look of some kind of large stone. Although the stone was like any other stone, it had a certain mark and it began to exhibit a resonation that was kind of… eerie. What does it mean? All we can say is wait and find out.

The next morning…

Morning has come and the recent sightings of the strange stone has now gotten more attention than anyone could imagine. As Timmy was enjoying breakfast and watching a cartoon that he so adored, something happened and it wasn't a pleasant one.

"We interrupt this program to bring you this shocking bulletin. Last night, a meteorite crashed into an area of Dimmsdale Park and now it has begun exhibiting very weird signs. We don't know what this means but let's go to Chet Ubetcha to see what is happening." The reporter spoke as Chet was already at the crash site with a report that was freaking him out by the second.

"I'm Chet Ubetcha now live at Dimmsdale Park and I believe that words can't express what is happening here. This meteorite right here is exhibiting some sort of resonation and its affecting the park as we speak. As you can see, this strange stone is somehow causing the environment around it to drastically change. We don't know what is going on but I do know that something big is about to happen." Chet replied but not before the big thing had happened and it would be a shock to what Timmy would witness.

Out of the sky, a lightning bolt immediately struck the stone causing it to crack and emit a powerful roar from within. It continued to crack until cracks covered the stone and then… it shattered and in the process released something that man couldn't even describe. It was a large being that carried a staff and had possessed the strength of roaring fire. The being looked at the reporter in which he took great haste and ran off. This mysterious force used its strength and went off into the sky above. What became of him is anyone's guess although knowing this, it was just a small sign of what was to come.

"I believe… what we just saw was something no one could believe. We at the moment are clueless what is going on but knowing this, we will update you as time follows. This has been our special report for we now return you to our regularly scheduled programming." The reporter said as Timmy was left in a state of shock after sawing what had happened.

Surprisingly enough, a lot of people were shocked with what they had seen but that pales in comparison to what else was about to take place. Somewhere out in space, several meteorites began heading on a course for Earth but instead of aiming at one spot, they began setting their targets at several areas all over the world. Within mere minutes, newscasters were televising what had happened and the entire thing was soon to be a worldwide affair. Fortunately, it didn't last long as they knew that it wasn't an alien threat but as a means of something unexpected that was about to come forth.

The next day…

A day after the recent events had taken place, life immediately returned to normal although they knew that something would occur. Timmy was enjoying life as he would normally do now that he is enjoying a round of Halo: Combat Evolved hoping to improve his skills in FPS (First-Person Shooter) games when suddenly, he receives a phone call from a person he would never expect.

"Uh hello, this is the Turner residence. How may I be of assistance?" Timmy said as he answered the phone.

"Is this Timmy Turner on the phone?" the voice spoke afterwards and what Timmy heard shocked him in some ways than one.

"Yes, this is me. Is that you… Tad? Why are you calling me at this time of hour anyway? What's on your mind?" Timmy replied as Tad had a lot to tell him.

"Well I was wondering if you are gonna be going to my New Year's Eve party this Tuesday. I've gotten many people to attend so I was wondering if you would go." Tad spoke afterwards and it didn't give Timmy much thought before he gave him his reply.

"Sure, I'll attend. I guess it may be a way to celebrate the New Year than just not doing anything at all. What's gonna happen on the party anyway?" Timmy replied as Tad explained to him what was going on.

"Well there will be food, drinks, entertainment and of course some competition with dueling and to top it all off, a midnight balloon drop and dance-off where our guests will celebrate the night away as we welcome the new year of 2003. I hope you dress well for this event because this happens once a year and this will be no exception. The party will take place on Tuesday at 7pm in the Reynolds Mansion. You should expect an invitation today so check the mail when you can. Take care." Tad spoke as he hung up leaving Timmy to wonder if what he said was true.

Without wasting time, Timmy checked his mailbox and saw what Tad mentioned; an invitation to his New Year's Eve party all inside a violet envelope. As he looked at it, he knew that he wouldn't be the only person to get this envelope. Eventually, all of Timmy's friends got the envelope and knew they would take part into a once-a-year event. In just a matter of 24 hours, Timmy and his friends were gearing up for an event that would be considered unbelievable. However, things were taking a different turn far from Dimmsdale as the beasts that had became a shock in yesterday's news have all gathered together in one remote place. Each of them looked different than one another but the question is… who are they? Why are they here and what are they capable of?

"The master should arrive by now… we must make haste if we are to find what we seek." One of the beings spoke as all the others wondered about the current situation they are in.

"The humans look of us as nothing but monsters… we need to come up with a disguise so we do not attract attention." Another being replied afterwards as the others agreed seeing of the situation.

"I agree. We should take the disguise of what we are feared by… humans." A third being spoke afterward as they used their magic to cover up their looks and replaced themselves with looks that matched the style of average people.

They took up form as normal human beings but possessed characteristics that set them apart from others. It was then they used their powers to bring forth outfits hoping to blend in with the rest of the people that were living in the town. In just a few minutes, the same beings that had arrived on Earth a day before have now blended in with the rest of Dimmsdale's population. Arriving on the planet without a purpose is one thing but blending in hoping to find answers… that's another.

December 31, 2002… 7pm… two days later

It was New Year's Eve and many people at the moment are finding ways to celebrate the end of one year and the start of another. Some want to go out and drink while others want to relax and let the day pass them but there are those that want to spend the last night of the year doing one simple thing… party. In the suburbs of Dimmsdale, there were many people heading into a mansion where a big event was taking place. Some were heading there alone and others were coming as couples with one thing on their mind and that was to ring in the new year with style. Timmy along with his friends were heading into the mansion looking forward to having fun while dressing properly to boot. The boys were wearing black tuxedos while they had different colored bowties (Timmy is pink, Chester is yellow and AJ is red) to set them apart. Tootie on the other hand was wearing a pink dress with lots of sparkling all around. Her hair was well done too as she still had it in her usual pigtails but much softer. When they were gonna go inside, the bouncer asked for their invites and fortunately it didn't take long as they went inside knowing they were going to have fun.

"Wow, I never thought that we'll be celebrating the New Year in a place like this. This place is so incredible." Tootie spoke as she saw the impressiveness of the party area.

There were many guests that were around who were doing various things such as chatting, having drinks or dancing to where the music was playing. All of them then went off hoping to find something to do and fortunately, it was something to please.

((I still wonder why I brought my Duel Disk today of all days… something tells me that I will be dueling again but the question is whom?)) Timmy thought as he saw the food court which was something he would enjoy.

As Timmy was wolfing down on various different foods that were there, Tad came from behind and wanted to see if he was pleased of what was happening so far. Fortunately, it didn't take that long for a reply.

"Timmy… I don't want to offend but you do know that this is a party and you should mind your table manners." Tad said as he chuckled a bit after seeing Timmy gobble down some shrimp and swallow it without hesitating.

"Sorry about that. You know how my stomach is… I haven't eaten anything since breakfast and now I feel like I just went through an ice cream factory. Anyway, this party's great but the question is… will there be dueling going on?" Timmy replied as Tad wondered if there were something to take place but it didn't take long for him to come up with an answer.

"I'm not sure. I may do an open invitation duel knowing that some of the guests I invited are duelists but they are not as good as you especially since you've beaten me, Chad, Veronica and Trixie single-handedly." Tad spoke and it caused Timmy to wonder about Trixie.

"By the way, whatever happened to Trixie? I haven't seen her in three months since she had went through this sadistic style or something." Timmy replied as Tad came up with a possible solution.

"I haven't received word from Trixie in months and all I can say is… I think she left Dimmsdale. That doesn't matter to me though because she's kind of loco." Tad spoke as they both chuckled a bit with their thoughts on Trixie Tang.

Outside the mansion, someone was in the bush in hiding seeing what was taking place as guests were entering the party area. Knowing this, he would take the opportunity to get in and find what he would seek. With his orders lingering in his thoughts, he took a deep breath and was already on his way to the entrance of the mansion. The bouncer took a good look at him and checked to see if he had an invitation.

"Excuse me, do you have an invitation? If you don't have one, you can't enter." The bouncer said as he had a stern look in his eyes looking over this strange person.

"I have an invitation right here. I go by the name of Bernard… Bernard Blazen. Do you think that rings a bell?" Bernard said as the bouncer looked at the guest list and he saw the person's name on the list.

He didn't say anything as he let Bernard enter the party area. With a smile on his face, Bernard was hoping to get inside and have some fun but it wasn't fun he was after… he was after somebody and it wasn't going to be pretty. Looking around, he saw many of the guests doing different activities on this New Year's Eve but when he saw Timmy with a Duel Disk strapped to his wrist conversating with Tad, he found what he was looking for and didn't waste any time into making a challenge.

"Excuse me, sir. Are you by any chance Timmy Turner who I believe is one of Dimmsdale's best duelists?" Bernard said as his words took both Timmy and Tad by surprise with both confusion and unexpectedness.

"Hold on a second… do you have an invite cause I don't think you should be here in an event like this. Timmy Turner is one of Dimmsdale's best duelists so what do you want before I kick you out?" Tad replied as Bernard wasn't as hasty as he usually would as he explained his reasons.

"I do have an invitation my friend but it isn't the kind of invite you would want… I'm here to duel him." Bernard replied as he pointed his finger to Timmy Turner leaving him in sudden shock.

Everyone then looked at those two people and the music then became silent leaving only the emotion of suspense filled the room. Timmy then took a deep breath and decided to confront Bernard knowing for sure that something beyond his heart is guiding him.

"You want to duel me… is that it? I knew something like this would happen but before I get my game on and send your little behind packing I want to ask you something. Who are you, how did you even get here and why are you here?" Timmy said as Bernard put his arm down and chuckled seeing that he wasn't taking things seriously.

"For an individual that is considered to be one of the best duelists in this town, you really don't take things seriously. My name is Bernard and let's just say that I have a fascination for duelists who possess unique talents and skills. When I heard that you had defeated three duelists whose decks were strengthened by monetary means, I always wanted to see just how good you really are. You see, where I'm from we rely on strength that is far greater than anything you would ever see. Instead of explaining it to you, why don't I show it to you right here." Bernard replied as he took something out of his back pocket.

What he took out was something that shocked everyone including Timmy for he was someone that had seen it before. Bernard showed a small red stone in the palm of his hand and in that stone showed the Zodiac mark "Aries" which resembled the ram. Timmy was not only surprised by seeing it but he was also concerned and that made him want to know who Bernard really was.

"That stone… where did you get that? Is that stone… the same stone that fell from space? I don't know how you get this but I want to know… who are you? If you want to duel me that badly, give me one good reason why." Timmy spoke as Bernard put the stone away in his pocket while he chuckled in the process.

"You want to know why I'm here… I've come for your soul. Your soul possesses an energy that is similar to our master and is what's needed to reawaken our master. So, will you give up your soul to our master or no?" Bernard replied as he had a look of anger in his eyes along with greed in his soul.

"You ain't gonna get my soul that easily. I've already had someone who tried to get my soul but you… I doubt I'll listen to you. Then I'll make it easier for you which I think someone like you would understand. Why don't we have a game of Duel Monsters and if you win, you can have my soul." Timmy spoke as it sparked something in Bernard's eye like it was something that would agree to his terms.

"So if I beat you in this kind of card game, I would win me the lifeforce needed to reawaken my master? I like those terms but… what do you want from me if you win?" Bernard replied as unbuttoned his red suit jacket and took it off revealing a white buttoned shirt.

"Since you think my soul is of great importance to you, I want three things. Number one, your rarest card because in this duel we go under the anti-rule in which the loser must forfeit their rare card to the winner. Number two, your stone that you just showed me. I have a feeling that this stone plays some role in this little game of yours and finally number three… I want to know, no we all want to know… who is your master and why is my soul that important." Timmy spoke as he took out his dueling deck and inserted it into the deck slot of his Duel Disk.

"Are these the terms you seek if you win… fine. They won't make a difference to me because your soul is what I need. Now let us begin this little charade." Bernard replied afterwards as he lifted his arm in which a crimson-red Duel Disk appeared out of nowhere already strapped into his wrist.

The guests that were in the center of where the duel would occur began to move aside seeing that this would be a battle of unexpected proportions. The music went silent, the crowd began to wonder and the aura of both Timmy and Bernard began to intensify. What would happen between these two on the last day of 2002? No one knows but the only thing they do know that it was time to game on!