This is the last chapter Matarra and I have written together. It's short but we stopped when we decided to have a duel. Normally I like to have my stories be over one thousand words so I decided to mention a few more thing in the author's note, not that anyone is actually reading this, but in case you are I would like to point out yes I made mistakes in the duel and ritual but it's not like it's the first time in a Yu-Gi-Oh duel mistakes were made, I mean have you watched the original series in the first season.

I was thinking I could finish all my stories but maybe it's best to go on hiatus to work on stories that could become books (which seems like a long time unless I work with someone). This is just a warning in case any of you read my other stories to be prepared. I write on paper, I write in script, I write script on top and dialogue on the bottom, and then I make it a story. That takes a long time which is one of the reason I asked Matarra for help. And I feel bad for the people I ask to be my next co-author. Thank you for reading this, and thank you Matarra. I love you like a sibling.

XXX

Shin blinked and looked around. "Huh? Where am I- whoa, what the hell?!"

He was flying on some strange giant bird and as soon as he realized this fact, he grasped the feathers tightly. He let go immediately when the bird squawked in protest.

"Sorry! Sorry! But where the heck am I?" Shin asked. The bird didn't respond(of course not, it's a bird) but just kept flying. Shin ran his fingers through his hair. "Dang it, I have to be dreaming. That's it, I'm totally dreaming. Well, if I'm dreaming, then all I have to do is jump off and I'll wake up before I hit the ground."

He leaned over to look at the ground and saw he was much farther up than he was comfortable with. "O- on second thought, I think I'll just stay here. Just in case I'm not dreaming. I'm totally not scared! Not at all!" He threw his arms around the bird's neck and held on for dear life. The bird swooped down and Shin shut his eyes tight.

After a while, Shin cracked open his eyes and saw the two of them were flying through the streets of Heartland. Shin looked around and was surprised to see no people.

"Well, that tears it, I'm dreaming. Totally dreaming." Shin said out loud. Suddenly the bird landed on the ground and Shin flew off its back and face-first onto the ground. He spat out a wad of dirt and grime.

"Ow! Wait that didn't hurt... yeah, totally dreaming," he turned back to the bird, "Screw you, feather-brain!"

The bird chirped in response then flew away. Suddenly Shin heard a cold laugh behind him and he whirled around to see a guy with a hood shadowing his face.

And three eyes.

And a skull for a face.

Not creepy in the slightest. Nope. And Shin definitely did not scream like a little girl when he saw the creepo. At all.

"Wh- what the hell are you?!" Shin whimpered.

"That was quite a loud scream, little one," the man, or creature, sneered.

"H- hey, shove off!" Shin whimpered and found he had a duel disk on his arm. "I- if you don't leave or tell me who you are, then I'll have to duel you!"

"Duel me? Oh little one, you do not wish to do that, but if you insist on an early death, I can certainly comply," a duel disk that appeared skeletal with a blood red glow around it appeared on his arm.

"B- bring it on, weirdo!" Shin cried, "Duel gazer, set!"

"Weirdo? That may be the most intelligent insult you have ever said."

"Duel me or beat it!" Shin cried.

"How about you beat it? Time to wake up, little one. Don't worry, we'll meet again. And at that time I will properly crush you,"

despite having no lips, Shin had a feeling the man was smirking. He opened his mouth to respond then found himself in bed screaming.

Shin panted and ran his fingers through his hair. What... was THAT? No, it was just a bad dream. Just a bad dream. He settled back down and his last thought before he fell back asleep was a desire to have dueled that creepo.

Shin bounced up and down in class, feeling his deck inside his pocket. He kept glancing at the clock, counting the hours and minutes until it was time to duel, even though school had just started.

Finally the teacher strode through the door with an unfamiliar boy in tow. "Class! We have a new student today! His name is..." the teacher turned to the boy.

"Doesn't matter," the boy muttered and promptly sat down at an empty desk. The teacher blinked for a few moments then shrugged and proceeded to begin the day's lesson.

After what felt like forever to Shin, it was duel time. This was the time of day that the school had set aside for students to duel each other. He grinned and looked around for someone fun to duel. Maybe Yuma, or TJ, or-

"Duel me," Shin turned to see the new student staring at him with a duel disk on his arm and his duel gazer already on. Or this guy.

"Alright! Duel disk, set! Duel gazer, activate!" Shin cheered as he set up. "DU-"

"Wait," the boy said. He knelt down and tied a red bandanna around his leg. "Duel!"