And it's that time of year where a fat red man sneaks down your chimney with a bunch of dangerous reindeer and puts suspicious packages in your house which the TSA would never approve of…
Anyways, I just wanted to say THANK YOU for all the reviews, favorites and follows! I only wrote 2 chapters and I already have a lot of support. So thanks for reading this!
Lastly…
Jaden finally returns to DA! What will happen? Will he continue to steal souls? Will he confront his friends? Dun dun DUN
I don't own GX. Duh. But the plot in this thing is mine. Duh.
—
The sun was barely peeking over the horizon, casting an orange glow across the sky. Hassleberry yawned. Morning wasn't his favorite time, but he made it a habit to get up early.
Bleary eyed, Hassleberry stumbled into the bathroom and prepared for the day ahead. As he returned to pick up his stuff, he stared in astonishment at his roommate's bed. It hadn't been slept in the previous night.
Is Syrus really that worried about Sarge? he thought. It was a given that they were the best of friends, and had been inseparable since the beginning. It was no wonder that Syrus was losing sleep over his best friend, but to not return for the entire night?
Hassleberry shrugged and brushed it off. I'll see him in class and ask him about it, he thought. He cast a final glance at Syrus' empty bed before heading to class. But he couldn't help feeling that something could have happened to his friend. He'd never be able to forgive himself.
Syrus wasn't in class. Throughout the period, Hassleberry kept trying to catch Alexis' eye, thinking that she might have an answer. But she seemed so preoccupied, staring off into space, that he gave up trying, and resigned himself to fear and worry.
He didn't realize that class was dismissed until he noticed Crowler shouting at him. Narrowly missing a detention, he scampered out the door.
Seeing Alexis, Chazz, Atticus, and Fujiwara engrossed in deep conversation some distance away sheltered beneath the shade of a tree, he quickened his pace to meet them.
"Reporting for duty." He saluted as he neared. The others glanced up, and Hassleberry registered the worry on their faces.
"Have you seen Syrus lately?" asked Chazz. It seemed that even Chazz could express concern for his friends.
Hassleberry shook his head. "Private didn't sleep in his bed last night," he said sadly.
Everyone gaped at him. "He what?!" they cried in unison, shock spreading across their face.
"You don't have any idea where he went?" Alexis, who was the first to recover, asked.
Feeling useless, Hassleberry cast his eyes downward and shook his head again. All the guilt and worry that had built up inside him threatened to bubble out. He clenched his hands at his side, and tried to push it down.
Chazz sighed. "First the slacker doesn't return, and now Syrus is missing? What is even going on?" he muttered, more to himself than anyone else.
Chazz's words jarred him. Hassleberry couldn't take it any longer. "I'm so sorry guys! It's all my fault, I should've taken care of Private. He was my soldier and my responsibility. Now he's gone too!" he babbled. The others stared at him for a split second, before responding.
"I'm sure he's fine," Atticus said quickly, "Syrus is probably just worried about Jaden, just like the rest of us. He'll be back in no time at all." But one could tell that Atticus was saying this to reassure himself as well.
Alexis flinched slightly at hearing Jaden's name, but quickly recovered. No one else noticed.
"I guess you're right," Hassleberry murmured, before wiping his eyes. He looked up again and mustered enough energy for a quick salute. "I apologize for my previous behavior sir. A soldier must never show signs of weakness."
The others were too used to his behavior to even roll their eyes. Before anyone could say anything though, they heard shouts coming from the card shop. Eyebrows raised, they hurried to the commotion.
"Any of you catch what they were shouting about?" Atticus asked, panting.
"Something about Duel Disks not working," Chazz muttered, accelerating his pace.
—
Jaden lay completely still on the edge of the cliff with his arms behind his head, eyes closed. The waves crashed below him. He was utterly alone. Well, except for one person.
Yubel, his duel spirit floating next to him, smirked.
"Still haven't changed, have you, my lord? Skipping class? If I recall, you weren't the most studious person in your past life either," she teased. Jaden didn't stir, but she thought she could detect a slight frown before it was quickly replaced by a calm countenance again.
"And here I thought you were going to get revenge on your friends. I was looking forward to some tasty souls, you know."
Hearing this, Jaden sat up in a flash and glared at her. One of his eyes was golden, while the other was brown. Then he sighed.
"I already told you Yubel, I sensed something weird when I first arrived here. I want to figure out what is behind all this before moving forward with my own plans," he said.
His voice didn't have the same metallic tone as her beloved King, but Yubel knew that there was no distinction between the two. Now, they were the one and same person.
Yubel decided to see how far she could actually push Jaden. "Seems like you still care about your friends," she said evenly.
She saw his eyes widen, then narrow in surprise and anger. "NEVER!" he shouted.
Yubel only put up her hands/claws in surrender. "I know, I know," she said, chuckling. "I just enjoy teasing you."
Jaden only growled in exasperation, continuing to glare at her. Finally, he dropped his glare and just sighed and shook his head. "You're unbearable, Yubel, did you know that?"
She only grinned at him in response.
—
Alexis walked alone along the path to Sheppard's office, having collected all the defective cards from Obselisk Blue. Suddenly, she heard a sound which sounded like a cross between a pigeon and an owl.
"Who's there?" she demanded, whipping her head around to see who or what had caused it, almost dropping the cards in the process. But she didn't see anything.
Must be my imagination, Alexis thought. She uttered a humorless laugh before continuing on. I think I'm going insane.
But before she had even taken three more steps…
Coo. The sound again. She tried in vain to locate it, barely able to avoid chucking all the defective cards onto the ground.
"Argh," she cried out loud, covering her ears and closing her eyes. "Get out of my head!"
After taking a few deep breaths, Alexis managed to calm down. Imagine is somehow saw the Queen of Obelisk Blue like this, she thought dryly.
Opening her eyes, the sight that greeted her really did cause her to drop her cards this time, scattering them onto the ground.
But she hardly noticed. Instead, she was too preoccupied with what was standing, no, floating, two feet away from her face. Alexis recognized it immediately. "You-you're…"
Winged Kuriboh?
After recovering from her initial shock, Alexis studied the creature carefully.
It was a fuzzy brown ball, no larger than a soccer ball, with large white wings and adorable eyes-undoubtedly the spirit that Jaden possessed-
Jaden.
Alexis didn't bother questioning what was even going on. She didn't care if she was hallucinating. "Is-is he alive?" she gasped, praying that he was.
Coo. But somehow, this time, she understood it perfectly.
Yes, it said. She almost fell down in astonishment. She wasn't sure which she was more amazed by, seeing and understanding Kuriboh or the news of Jaden.
If anyone else had told her that Jaden was alive, she would've thought that they were playing a cruel joke on her. But Kuriboh wouldn't do that, right?
"If he's alive, then take me to him!" she cried, not even bothering to hide the desperation in her voice. After all this time, she would finally be able to see him again…
Alexis thought she could detect a slight droop in Kuriboh's posture. I-I can't, it said sadly.
Normally, Alexis would have demanded an explanation. But seeing the change in attitude, she hesitated.
"Is something wrong?" she asked softly.
Kuriboh looked at her. She swore that she could see tears forming in its eyes.
There are a few things I need to explain, it said.
—
"Jeez, what's taking her so long," complained Atticus. "My arms are gonna fall off holding these cards if she keeps this up."
The four boys stood near the Chancellor's building with the defective cards collected.
"Give her some time," Chazz shot at Atticus. "At least she didn't start flirting in the middle of a job unlike someone here." Chazz glared at Atticus, who didn't even seem remotely ashamed.
"Hey what can I say, I'm-" he began, but was cut off the sight of Alexis walking towards them. He broke into a grin, "Hey look who's back!"
"Um Atticus, I don't think now's the best time…" muttered Chazz.
"What? Why-… Oh." Atticus realized what Chazz was saying.
Alexis' entire body language radiated shock, as she staggered towards them like a machine. There was no fluidity in her movements, and she seemed to have to fight to take even a single step. Her eyes were filled with a look of desperation. Were those -tears?
"Lex?" Atticus said softly. He looked at her with worry, and began to run towards her.
As if noticing them for the first time, she looked up, her expression frozen. Then, without warning, she collapsed onto the ground, unconscious.
—
She woke in a grassy field, completely alone. There was no Atticus, no Chazz, no Hassleberry, no Fujiwara. Alexis looked down and saw that she was still wearing her school uniform.
There was a slight breeze, but besides that, nothing moved. There was something familiar about the place, tantalizingly familiar, but she couldn't place her finger on what it was.
Suddenly, Alexis realized that something was very…
Odd, she thought. There's normally always animals at Duel Academy Island. But no matter how hard she strained her ears, she could not make out a single sound. No bird calls, no monkey screeches, nothing. As if all the life had suddenly disappeared off the island.
Feeling fear gnawing at her, she shrugged the feeling aside and stood up. As she did so, she caught sight of a flash of red in her periphery. Turning, she saw someone facing away from her, standing still. He had brown hair, a red blazer, and blue jeans.
Alexis would have recognized that person anywhere. "Jaden?" she said softly.
The person appeared to not have heard. Alexis slowly walked closer, become more apprehensive with every step. "Jaden," she said, louder this time.
The person spun around. Alexis felt her heart skip a beat as she could only stop and stare. It was the same Jaden that she had known for so long.
She felt tears streaming down her face as she saw the friend that had been missing for so long.
Her heart ached, and she found herself running towards him.
"Jaden!" Alexis sobbed, reaching out for an embrace.
Before she was able to reach him, she felt a strange force gluing her feet to the ground, fixing her in place. She looked at Jaden more closely. His eyes harden at her, his expression growing emotionless and cold.
Suddenly, she heard a chilling voice. "You expect me to fall for your trick again?"
It was Jaden's voice. She looked at him in horror.
"What do you mean, Jaden?" she whispered. "What are you saying?"
"My so-called friends betrayed me, you betrayed me," he growled, eyes flashing. "Now you think you can just pretend to be my friend again?"
"No," she whispered softly. "No, I didn't mean for any of this to happen." Tears began to blur her vision. Through her tears, she saw a three eyed creature materialize next to Jaden. Yubel.
"No," she whispered, as she saw Jaden lean over to Yubel for a kiss. The meadow began to dissolve into a blur of color. "No!" she screamed, reaching her hands out in front of her, as if to grasp the disappearing scene, as the world went black once more.
—
"Oh good, she's awake."
Atticus?
"Let's hope she doesn't fall unconscious again."
At this point, Alexis opened her eyes, catching sight of the old crew. She was lying in a white bed, presumably in the hospital wing. Atticus, Hassleberry, Chazz, and…
"Zane?" Alexis cried out in wonder. She couldn't help but feel a little disgust at her old friend. After what he had done, she wasn't sure what to think about him. Apparently it showed in her voice too. She tried to force herself to sit up, but instantly felt dizzy.
"Woah there," said Atticus, helping her lie back down. "Doctor said you should be lying down for now."
"I'm sorry Alexis, for what I've done in the past. Please forgive me," Zane said, as he bowed his head.
Alexis shook her head. "Zane apologizing? Now I've seen everything," she said, a trace of humor in her voice. "I forgive you Zane. I've seen what power can do to a person-"
Her voice suddenly stopped working as her mind flashed to a certain individual. She felt tears beginning to build in her eyes.
"Are you okay, Alexis?" asked Atticus, voice this with emotion.
Alexis took a few deep breaths, then nodded as best she could lying down. "I'm good. But, how did Zane get here?"
After giving a muddled explanation, everyone turned back to Alexis. "Forgive me for asking, Alexis," said Zane, "but what exactly happened?"
Alexis debated for a moment about whether to tell them.
Coming to a decision, she sighed, knowing that they would have to know eventually. "All right, but I'm warning you, it's a long story."
—
(flashback)
So Jaden is back, but he's not himself, Kuriboh explained in conclusion.
Alexis and Kuriboh were sitting under a tree as Kuriboh finished his story. It glanced at Alexis to judge her reaction. She was sitting stone faced, eyes fixed to an arbitrary location in the distance.
Upon further inspection, it noticed that her hands were tightly clenched, fingernails drawing drops of blood.
Kuriboh thought Alexis was taking all the information relatively well. At least she didn't have a breakdown, it thought in relief. Despite being a spirit with infinite wisdom and omnipotence, it was clueless when it came to comforting crying girls.
Good thing Kuriboh's are gender neutral. Kuriboh glanced at Alexis again.
A single tear found its way down Alexis' cheek, splashing down onto the ground and vanishing without a trace.
All the emotions in Alexis threatened to consume her as they raged inside her. Hopelessness, doubt, anger, desperation all clouded her mind. As if a giant void had opened and enveloped everything good, leaving only evils. It left Alexis feeling overwhelmed, yet at the same time, a feeling of hollowness overshadowed her soul.
Alexis? Kuriboh asked softly. Are you okay?
The girl suddenly snapped. Without warning, a hand shot up and grabbed Kuriboh from the air by the neck. Kuriboh found itself inches away from Alexis' face. Her eyes betrayed the anguish she was feeling.
"You're lying!" she snarled, maintaining the vice grip onto the brown furball. "There's no way Jaden would leave us like that! Tell me the truth, WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM?"
Kuriboh hung his head sadly. I'm sorry Alexis. I know how you feel.
"No you don't!" Alexis said angrily, her grip so tight it started to choke Kuriboh. "You don't understand at all! You don't even care about him!"
Tears began to run freely down her face, forming rivers of despair on her cheeks. Her body became racked by sobs, as she let go of Kuriboh and weeped into her hands. Kuriboh watched the crying girl silently, a torrent emotions running through his own mind.
Eventually, her crying subsided, leaving only sharp intakes of breath. Alexis got to her feet unsteadily, seeming to forget that Kuriboh was there. Shakily, step after step, she began to make her way to Sheppard's office.
—
"And then I made my way to you guys, but I guess I passed out."
Everyone stared at Alexis with wide-eyed concern.
"So, slacker is…" Chazz couldn't seem to finish his question.
Alexis nodded at him. "Yeah. He's not possessed, but still faults us. I don't blame him either. I-I left him and betrayed him. It was my fault." She looked down at the bed.
Suddenly, she felt Atticus' grip on her hand.
"Lex, you know its not your fault," he said, voice firm but gentle. "Jaden's been through a lot, always putting his friends as his priority. Eventually, he snapped because of the pressure and needed someone to blame. So stop blaming yourself!"
"But because of me, Jaden will never come ba-" she cried out, but was cut off.
"No. We will get Jaden back." Alexis' eyes widened when she saw that it was Zane who had spoken. "I owe him my life and then some, and I plan on repaying the favor."
Alexis gave a small smile. Although she had lost Jaden, it was comforting to that her friends were always behind her, supporting her.
"That's right soldier!" cried Hassleberry. "Me, Atticus, Chazz, Zane, and Fujiwara are gonna always be by your side!"
"Hey that reminds me," interrupted Chazz. "Where is Fujiwara?"
Hassleberry looked around and a small look of confusion passed across his face. "Who's that?"
"He's the-" Chazz began. A look of confusion passed across his face as well. "Wait, never mind."
The entire group forgot about Fujiwara, and continued to talk. All of them but Zane, who gave a sharp look in their direction, eyes narrowed as if in deep thought.
The window next to the bed showed the sun slowly descending, twinkling stars materializing in the night sky.
As they talked, Alexis felt a small twinge of guilt at not telling them about Syrus and that one other thing. But she ignored the feeling and continued to gaze at the stars.
—
The dim light barely penetrated into the recesses of the building, but the man didn't seem to be bothered by the darkness as he made his way quickly down to the basement.
Arriving at his destination, he felt a prickling feeling on his neck. Without bothering to turn, he called out to it. "If you're following me, then you should probably leave. If you don't I can't promise you that you'll return alive."
Laughter ensued as a brown-haired boy dressed in red stepped from the shadows. "Not bad at all, Fujiwara. Or should I say, Honesty?" As if by magic, a card suddenly appeared in the mysterious person's hand. The card, "Honesty."
Honesty glared at the person. "How did you know? And how did you know I was going to be here?"
Little did he know that someone else was watching as well.
The boy gave no response, but instead, whispered something that sounded almost like a chant, too faint for him to hear.
A three-eyed demon materialized next to him, causing Honesty to leap back in shock.
From the shadows, Zane forced himself not to gasp as he caught sight of the monster who had "killed" him slowly emerge.
"He's all yours, Yubel," the boy said softly, almost lovingly. In an instant, Honesty began to feel hazy. His thoughts, his memories, his feelings all began to vanish. He knew that his soul was slowly disappearing, but he didn't seem to care. He only watched with empty eyes as white essence began floating from his body, right into the gaping jaws of Yubel. I'm sorry, Fujiwara, was his last thought. Almost all of his life force was gone now. He watched it slowly dwindle, until...
Zane couldn't take it anymore. "Stop Jaden! This isn't you!" he shouted, moving so that Jaden would see him clearly.
It was very uncharacteristic of Zane to make such rash decisions. Perhaps even more calculating than Bastion, Zane would always analyze the situation before rushing into it. He would hardly ever take risks. Facing head on a strong adversary who caught even him off guard was most uncharacteristic.
But he couldn't stop himself. Maybe it was as a way of repenting for the way he had treated his own cards that he stepped in to save this one. Maybe because of his changes in the Monster World that he was taking more risks now. But more than anything else, maybe he didn't want to lose Jaden to the darkness as he had a year ago.
Hearing Zane, Jaden held up a hand, signaling Yubel to stop, which she did, albeit unwillingly. Then, Jaden turned to face Zane, a smirk plastered across his face. There wasn't an ounce of surprise or fear on his face. Only pure, sadistic delight. But underneath that facade, Zane knew that there was something else. Pain.
He knew, because he had experienced it all too well. The feeling of betrayal, of hopelessness. He intended to stop Jaden before it was too late.
"Just out of curiosity, how did you know I was here?" Jaden asked, as if this was a normal meeting between two acquaintances.
Zane motioned toward Fujiwara. "I thought something was wrong with him, and I guessed that he would be here. Turns out I was right."
Taking a closer look at Jaden's eyes, Zane could see that they were indeed the chocolate brown that was so familiar.
So it isn't the Supreme King, he thought to himself. Well then.
"Jaden, I know that you feel betrayed! I know your pain! But blaming your friends and hurting others isn't going to do anything to ease that!" he said. "Don't forget that I've felt the darkness before as well!"
Jaden scoffed. "You think you've felt this before? What you've experienced is nothing. Nothing, do you hear me? Besides, don't forget that you also left me to rot."
Frowning, Zane realized that talking was going to get him nowhere. Either way, Zane wasn't a man of many words. Instead, he activated his duel disk, hearing it whirring into action.
"Here's a deal Jaden. If I win, then you release that Duel Spirit!" he called, knowing that losing was likely to jarr Jaden out of whatever he was feeling.
Jaden raised his eyebrows. "Fine," he said. Then he grinned menacingly. "But if I win, I get your soul." Zane stared at Jaden in shock for a split second.
"Oh?" Jaden said mockingly. "Did I ruffle the Kaiser's feathers?"
Narrowing his eyes, Zane agreed. "Very well, a soul for a soul. Let us begin."
"Fine," said Jaden, his voice suddenly become icy. His duel disk activated as well. "Let us begin."
Barely as they drew their cards did Alexis, Chazz, Atticus, and Hassleberry burst into the basement.
"What's going on Zane?" asked Chazz. Then, he noticed Jaden, as his face slackened. "Oh."
"DUEL!"
—
And we done for Chapter 3. Such a long chapter, but I think it was relatively ok. Sorry for cliffhanger, but it would be impossible to fit a duel into this already long chapter.
There is an age-old saying that I just made up, Live and Die by the Reveiws. So reviews else I'll post chapters a day later than I usually would. GASP. THE HORROR.
Anyways, peace