Do You Really Love Me?

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Yu-Gi-Oh GX! Love it, but don't own it. I also don't own the characters Lisa and Caitlin, but I am using them WITH permission.

A/N: On the 16th of this month this fic turned two years old. I'm going to have to do something special soon. No, I haven't died. Sorry about the long wait, but it's I think it was a good thing that I took my time on this one. I was planning on doing something completely different with this chapter, but the characters and the story in general took over. Happy reading everyone!

Chapter 11 - Mysterious Cards and Legends of Old

Rachel sat through Banner's lecture at a desk close to the podium where he was standing as he delivered his lesson. She wasn't paying attention to the lesson, but rather doodling in her notebook and wondering about what it was that Banner wanted to talk to her about. Maybe he found the information on the card Alexis had seen in her dream. No, that can't be it. If he had then he would have said so in the first place! As she continued to go down her mental check-list of all the things Banner could wish to talk with her about, she realized that he may not have been able to find anything on the card at all. If that was the case, then what would they do?

Banner's words to Alexis last night came back to her, "There's a possibility that this card may not exist." Rachel had seen the look in his eyes when he had said that. He may have been able to fool Alexis and Jaden into thinking that he was skeptical of the card's existence, but he had not fooled Rachel for one second. There had been fear in his eyes. He has heard of the card before, and he knows it exists…

A ringing snapped Rachel back to reality. It took a few seconds to realize that it was the phone in Professor Banner's office. Before he could move to answer, Rachel rose from her seat and exited the room, motioning to him on her way out that he could stay put. She raced down the hall to the office and seized the phone from the receiver. The voice that met her ears was the sickening sound of a young woman with an overly excited voice screaming that Rachel and her "significant other" had been chosen randomly to go on an all-expense paid vacation to the Bahamas. At first Rachel didn't know what to do, and then an idea came to her as smiled mischievously and responded, "Qué? No quiero una 'baka'! Qué es 'baka'?"

With that she hung up quickly and turned to leave, satisfied that she escaped another telemarketer. Before she made it out the door, however, the phone rang once again. Rachel's smile turned upside down as she let out an exasperated sigh. She swiped the phone from its resting place and sharply said, "Look! We're not interested!"

For a moment there was no sound except for the sound of low breathing on the other end of the line. Rachel prompted the mysterious caller, "Hello?"

"Tell Jaden his time is slipping away. Just two more before he and I meet," responded a deep, sinister voice.

"Who are you? What do you want with Jaden? Two more what?"

The only answer she received was the sound of the dial-tone.


"Alright, class, make sure you read chapter 12 tonight for homework," Professor Banner said as he was about to dismiss the class.

While the students were packing up their belongings in preparation to go to their next class, Rachel came running into the classroom calling, "Jaden!"

The top ranking Slifer rose from his seat and directed his attention to his professor's TA. She motioned for him and Banner to follow her to the office in hurried hand-gestures.

Syrus started to follow his best friend as he moved towards the front, but Jaden turned to him and told him to go ahead on to their next class and save him a seat. Once he and Banner had reached Rachel, she firmly grasped a wrist in each of her hands and led them to the privacy of the professor's office.


Professor Banner sat behind his desk while Jaden occupied the seat opposite him. Rachel stood near the end of the desk with worry etched on her face. She took a deep breath and then recounted what had happened not too along ago over the phone with the mysterious caller. She brought her gaze to meet Jaden's when she repeated the message the unknown caller had commanded her to give him. Jaden frowned. "Two more… Do you think he means two more students?"

Banner solemnly answered, "I don't think it will be just any two students. He probably means two more female students."

"What makes you think it will be two girls?"

Rachel responded, "The caller was probably the same duelist that attacked Mindy and Caitlin."

Banner continued, "Caitlin was supposed to be the second sacrifice."

When Rachel and Jaden had turned their shocked gaze to meet his, Banner nodded gravely. "Yes, I know what our mystery duelist is trying to do."

"Thousands of years ago an Egyptian sorcerer delved too deep into the dark arts in hopes of taking over the world. He was among the first few to try doing so by using Duel Monsters. Fortunately the Pharaoh during that time defeated him in a long duel. The sorcerer was tried for treason against Egypt. He was sentenced to be beheaded and his body burned until it was nothing but ashes. The Pharaoh ordered that his remains be sealed in an urn with no indication of rank or name to adorn the vessel."

"He then ordered that the sorcerer's ashes not be buried in any Egyptian tomb, much less in Egyptian soil. A steward in the Pharaoh's household volunteered to take the urn wherever the Pharaoh wished. With this said the Pharaoh bid the steward to take the urn as far from Egypt as the steward's life would allow."

"No one knows for sure where the steward eventually buried the urn, but there have been recent archaeological finds to indicate that he made it all the way here, to this island."

"He traveled all the way here?" Jaden asked in wide-eyed surprise.

"That's what some believe. The finds of an excavation from the early 1900's are what led many to believe that the steward was actually one of the sorcerer's followers."

"What?"

"The archaeologists found a tomb with a simple urn on a pillar with a name carved on the side with a knife, and on the walls were instructions left in hieroglyphs to bring back 'the one who was to remain nameless.' Among the instructions was an incantation the 'new steward' is supposed to recite when the most prized duel monsters and the life force of three maidens are offered to bring back the sorcerer in mind, body, and spirit."

Rachel breathed in sharply. "The card Alexis saw in her dream… Professor, does that have something to do with this ritual?"

Banner met her worried gaze. "I'm not entirely sure. According to legend the sorcerer is to duel someone who will dubbed the 'new pharaoh' if he is revived. If this new pharaoh wins then of course he'll be defeated, but if he loses then the sorcerer will be free to finish what he set out to do over a millennia ago."

Jaden stated, "Hopefully whoever made the phone call earlier just thinks the legend is real."

Banner turned to his student, "Regardless whether the legend is real or not, he thinks it is. Jaden, you're going to have to be on your guard and watch out not just for yourself but for your schoolmates as well. I'll tell Chancellor Shepherd so he can alert the remaining staff and students this mysterious duelist is still out there."

Jaden nodded as he turned to go. Before he made it out the door he turned back to his professor, "You're not going to tell them about the legend are you?"

"No. Right now that's not important. We don't even know for sure that is a part of what's going on. That was an educated guess on my part."

Rachel scribbled a note on a spare sheet of paper and handed it to Jaden. "This should get your next teacher to excuse your being tardy. Run along to class."

Jaden nodded his thanks and left the office.


Caitlin lay in her bed in the clinic wide-awake and bored stiff. Man, I wouldn't mind being in class right now! Yeah, sure, I'm not too fond of school, but at least I'd have something to do besides lay on my back and stare at the ceiling!

"Hi, Caitlin!" called Lisa's voice from the doorway.

She looked over towards the door and sure enough her best friend was standing there with an armload of books. "Lisa, am I glad to see you!"

Caitlin motioned to the chair by her bedside as she brightly inquired, "How are you? How was class?"

She winced when she noticed the tall stack of books and papers in Lisa's arms. "Dr. Crowler's not intent on drowning me in homework for his class, is he?"

Lisa couldn't help but giggle a little as she shook her head. "Dr. Crowler only sent a third of this. The rest is math, a.k.a. algebra, and homework from Professor Banner's class."

Caitlin raised an eyebrow and looked the stack over from top to bottom once again. "How much of the remaining two thirds are from Professor Banner?"

"More than three quarters of the remaining two thirds is from him," replied Lisa as she sat the stack on the night stand beside Caitlin's bed. She smiled before playfully adding, "Remember when fractions used to be the hardest thing for you to master, Caitlin?"

The invalid's eyes widened as her frown turned into a smile. "Oh, please! Fractions used to be your worst enemy too!"

Lisa closed her eyes and sighed dreamily. "Yeah, too bad we didn't know Bastian back then. He could have tutored us."

Caitlin raised an eyebrow as she noticed lovey-dovey look on her friend's face. Then her expression changed to one of playfulness as she gently teased, "Did something happen between you two recently you want to share?"

"Well, um... That is…" Lisa face flushed as she stuttered with a big smile on her face. She stopped and collected her thoughts before she continued with the same grin on her face. "Well, he did comfort me last night…"

At the mention of last night her smile turned to a slight frown. Caitlin reached for her hand as she said, "I'm sorry for making you worry, Lisa."

"If anyone should be sorry, it's me. I shouldn't have left you on the path like that. You didn't know the path that well and I knew that jerk that attacked Mindy was still out there. I wish there was a way to make it up to you!"

"Lisa," Caitlin began with a scowl on her face that gave away the fact she was indeed feigning unforgiveness, "if you want to make it up to me then tell me what happened between you and Bastian!"

Her friend couldn't help but laugh as she pulled the chair behind her closer to the bedside with her free hand and she fought back tears of joy and relief that were welling up in her eyes. For the next couple of hours the girls chatted about each other's romances. For the moment they were safe and sound.


Meanwhile, Alexis had wandered all over campus in search of Jaden. Ever since the little meeting he had had with Professor Banner and Rachel earlier he had been quiet, too quiet. The two of them had sat with Bastian, Syrus, Lisa, Jasmine, Chazz, and Chumley at lunch and he had spaced in and out of the conversations the group had taken part. When she, Syrus, or anyone else had tried to ask about what Rachel had been so frantic about earlier that morning, he looked at each one of them with a look of uncertainty, as though he was thinking about whether or not he should tell them, and then he would just smile and say as long as no one wandered off alone then everything should be alright. His voice still sounded unsure though!

After lunch Chancellor Shepherd gave an announcement over the intercom that the mysterious duelist had contacted the school earlier that morning and that this attacker was still at large. He continued to inform students and staff alike that no one was to go anywhere on the island unaccompanied should attacker strike again. Jaden knows more! Banner and Rachel must have found out something else…

When she came to the beach that was below the cliff that the Slifer Red dorm was perched on she found Jaden sitting close to the water's edge unaccompanied! The beautiful blonde exclaimed, "Weren't you the one who said that as long as no wandered off alone then everything should be alright?"

Jaden looked up at her and sheepishly grinned. Alexis quickly made her way down the path that led down to where Jaden's current thoughtful spot. When she reached him she took off her shoes and socks so she could let the water cool her feet.

"Are your feet sore?"

Alexis nodded with a frown on her face. "I looked everywhere for you! And you wandered off not only after you said it wasn't a good idea to go anywhere alone, but even after Chancellor Shepherd said not go anywhere without at least one other person with you at all times…"

"I'm sorry, Alexis. You're right. I should have waited and come down here with you!"

"This is serious! This kind of behavior is what makes me think that you truly don't care whether you live or die!"

Her narrowed gaze held tears of frustration that were about to fall. Jaden turned to her with eyes that were void of mirth as drew her close to him and looked directly into her hazel orbs, "Trust me, Lex, I know how serious it is. It's more serious than you know."

Her gaze softened a bit. "How much more serious?"

"All I'm going to say right now is that the guy that attacked Mindy and Caitlin is planning on attacking at least two more students. Professor Banner thinks the guy will attack two girls."

"What makes him think …?"

"Rachel got a phone call from him this morning."

Alexis gave him a questioning look as she simply asked, "She what?"

Jaden told her everything about the legend Banner had spoken of and then told Alexis precisely the message the mystery duelist instructed Rachel to give to him. Alexis's head came to rest sorrowfully on Jaden's shoulder. New tears trailed down her face. "Jaden, don't duel him! Please… Even if he doesn't have that card I have a feeling this whole thing won't end well."

"He's already made two attacks. I don't think he'll strike again anytime soon. He's got the whole school on the lookout for him. So hopefully I won't have to."

"I agree with Jaden," said Lisa, "especially since Caitlin beat the crap out of him when he attacked her!"

The couple looked up to see their fellow Slifer Red classmate approaching them with Syrus and Chumley following not too far behind. Jaden raised an eyebrow at this. "Really?"

Lisa replied, "Well, she told me she gave him a few blows to the head and that she even broke his nose."

Alexis frowned. "But he still did the most damage to her."

Lisa nodded. "She probably would have dealt more damage to him if he hadn't had help from two guys dressed as Swift Gaia and Celtic Guardian and a life-like Blue Eyes White Dragon."

Everyone looked at their classmate as though she had sprouted another head. She responded, "I know! It's strange. She said that she couldn't tell who these people were really because the outfits were really well done right down to the smallest detail. According to her the Celtic Guardian and Gaia never spoke. The only one who did was the ninja."

Syrus inquired, "Did she see the ninja's face?"

"Nope."

Alexis question Lisa further, "Has she told Chancellor Shepherd or any of the members of the faculty about this?"

"Not yet. She asked me to tell Professor Banner or Rachel when I got the chance."

Jaden rose from his seat and offered a hand to help Alexis up as he said, "Well let's go tell them then. Everyone needs to know that this mystery duelist isn't working alone."

A/N: Thank you, Caitlin for your awesome editing skills! And thank you those of you who gave several suggestions as far as plot goes as well as advice where the upcoming duel is concerned. Sorry again about the long wait for an update folks. --' I've been swamped with work, school, and real life so bad it's not even funny. I thought I'd have time during the holidays to update but that didn't happen. If I rewrite a chapter after this story is completed this will probably be the one. I'm not entirely satisfied with it. In the next few chapters the fluff will probably be not be as plentiful but the intensity of the situation shall more than likely rise. So stay tuned.