"Uggghhh… Where am I?"

Jaden slowly got up off the ground, as he did he caught the smell of something burning.

"… Oh no!"

He looked around and saw that the entire island was in ruins. Trees that hadn't been blown out of the ground were burning in place. He looked behind him and saw that the Ra Yellow dorm was a pile of rubble.

"No… They did it… THOSE MANIACS!!! THEY BLEW IT ALL UP!!!"

For a few seconds Jaden just lay there, and then he realized something.

"Wait a minute… If Billy detonated his bombs… then why am I still alive? Yubel? … Yubel!!!"

Jaden couldn't sense her; he remembered that he had told Yubel to stay with Sakura to keep her safe.

"Wait… If she stayed with Sakura… that must mean… she's still alive! HOLD ON SAKURA! DADDY'S COMING!!!"

Jaden ran as fast as he could toward the place where the Obelisk Blue dorm would be. As he ran he had the feeling that he was being followed.

"Almost there…"

That's when the skeletons started jumping out from behind the trees, Jaden ignored them and continued running towards the dorm where he was sure his daughter was waiting for him.

"Jaden Yuki, Jaden Yuki, this is it, this is it! Billy's gonna get ya! Billy's gonna get ya!!!" they kept repeating.

Jaden finally made it to the dorm, the building was still intact. As he burst in through the doors he found himself in what appeared to be a court room. The jury was made up of skeletons, and Elizabeth stood beside Mecha-Billy on one end.

"Where is my daughter?!"

No one answered Jaden's question, but the skeleton's started singing.

"Here comes the judge! Here comes the judge! Everybody knows it, here comes the judge!"

A tall thin skeleton with fiery red eyes came up to the judge's seat, he was wearing only an open black leather vest and blue jeans.

"Silence in the court!" he said in a deep booming voice as he banged the gavel "The prosecution will now read the charges."

"Your honor, the defendant is charged with murder in the first degree. The murder of Billy Jobs…" said Elizabeth.

"But… But your honor."

"Jury, how do you find the defendant?"

"Guilty! Guilty!"

"Your honor, this is no trial! Where's my lawyer? Where's my defense?!"

"Very well… bring in the witnesses."

There was a flash of smoke and Jaden heard people singing.

"They wrap you up in a long white shirt, They put you in a long pine box, and cover you over with dirt and rocks. The worms crawl in the worms crawl out, they eat your guts like sauerkraut. Your eyes pop out your teeth decay, and that's the end of a wonderful day!"

From the smoke emerged three people; Mr. Stein, Professor Viper, and the vampire mistress Camula.

"This won't end well." thought Jaden.

"And what do you have to say on the defendant's behalf?" asked the judge.

"He is a very bad man." said Mr. Stein "Send him to the gas chamber!"

"Hang him!" said Viper.

"Cut off his head!" roared Camula.

"Here's an even better idea." said Billy "Hang him in the gas chamber and then cut off his head."

Camula, Viper, and Stein all vanished the same way they had appeared, singing the same song as they went.

"How does the jury find the defendant?" asked the judge.

"Guilty! Guilty!!!"

"Your honor this is a travesty of justice!" said Jaden.

"No, this is a travesty of justice."

Elizabeth left the room, and when she came back in she was wearing a white robe, a blindfold, and carrying a sword and scale.

"Look at me! I'm Justice! You have to do what I say! La-la-la-la-la-la!!!"

"Isn't she out of order or something?" asked Jaden.

"No you're out of order!" said one of the skeletons pointing at him "You're all out of order! This vending machine is out of order! I gave you the money; now give me my orange happy juice you bucket of bolts! AAAAGGGGHHH!!!"

"Whatever... How does the jury find the defendant?"

"Guilty! Guilty!!!"

The skeleton judge looked at Jaden.

"Do you have anything to say before I pass your sentence?"

"Where is my daughter?!"

"That's what they all say. I sentence you to a duel to the death with me, if by some crazy fluke you win I'll let you go free… When you lose madness will take you… forever…"

"When I win this duel you'll tell me where Sakura is!"

The skeleton judge hopped down and activated a rather fiendish looking duel disk. As he did Jaden activated his own.

"Let's duel!"

"You failed to save your friends and family… now you will suffer. I activate the spell card Painful Choice, this allows me to…"

"I know what the card does!" said Jaden "Now just show me your five cards!"

"Someone's eager to enter the abyss… very well. I choose these."

The skeleton judge was holding three copies of the monster Skull Servant and two copies of The Lady in Wight.

"Skull Servant is one of the weakest monsters in the game, and Lady in Wight is only good if you're looking for some defense… He must be getting his weaker monsters out of his deck so he won't draw them."

Jaden thought it didn't really matter which monster he picked.

"I'll let you keep the Skull Servant in the middle."

"Very well, then my four other monsters go to the graveyard, and this Skull Servant goes to my hand… but he won't be there for long, because now I activate Card Destruction! This forces us both to discard our entire hands to the graveyard."

The skeleton drew five cards and Jaden drew six.

"Now I'll end my turn by placing this monster in defense mode."

"He's a skeleton, and I know that he sent five zombie monsters to the graveyard with Painful Choice, I think it's pretty safe to say this guy's deck revolves around zombie monsters... and since zombie monsters have some of the lowest defense points in the game, with the right combo I can inflict some serious damage."

Jaden drew his card.

"I'll place a card face down, and summon Elemental Hero Sparkman!"

(ATK: 1600 DEF: 1400)

"Now I'll activate the spell card H – Heated Heart! Now not only does Sparkman get an extra 500 attack points this turn, but if he destroys a defense position monster then the difference between its defense points and his attack points are dealt to you as damage!"

(ATK: 2100)

"Sparkman, attack!"

(???: 3700)

The monster had been destroyed, but the skeleton judge was actually laughing.

"By attacking my Poison Mummy you've activated its special effect, when it's flipped face up you lose 500 life points!"

(Jaden: 3500)

"That attack hurt you more than it hurt me, and the pain is only beginning because it's my turn! And now since your H – Heated Heart is now longer in play, your Sparkman loses the 500 attack points it gained!"

(ATK: 1600)

"Now I'll activate two continuous spell cards: The Card of Safe Return, and Everliving Underworld Cannon!"

"What do those do?"

"You're going to find out right now, because I activate the spell card Book of Life! This lets me special summon a zombie type monster from my graveyard, and I choose Despair from the Dark!"

(ATK: 2800 DEF: 3000)

"When a monster is special summoned from my graveyard my two continuous spells activate! First the card of safe return lets me draw a card from my deck, and then Everliving Underworld Cannon inflicts 800 points of damage to you!"

(Jaden: 2700)

"And my Book of Life has another effect, I also get to remove one monster in your graveyard from the game, now show me your cards!"

When the judge looked at the monsters from Jaden's graveyard, he saw one that he knew removing it from play would practically give him the match.

"Perfect… I choose Elemental Hero Neos!"

"No!"

"Yes, and the fun doesn't stop there… I activate another Book of Life! Now I can special summon another zombie monster from my graveyard, and I choose Shadow Ghoul!"

(ATK: 1600 DEF: 1300)

"And since I special summoned another zombie monster from my graveyard the effect of my Card of Safe Return and Everliving Underworld Cannon activate, now I get to draw another card and you lose 800 more life points!"

(Jaden: 1900)

"Darn! The duel just started and I've already lost more than half my life points!"

"In a moment you'll lose them all, but first the second special effect of my Book of Life kicks in, allowing me to remove another monster in your graveyard from play… and I choose Neo-Spacian Grand Mole!"

"Is this guy's turn going to end sometime this millennium?"

"Don't worry about my turn… It's your life that's about to end, because my Shadow Ghoul gains 100 attack points for every monster in my graveyard!"

(ATK: 2400)

"Shadow Ghoul, attack!"

"Not so fast, I activate my face down trap card, Negate Attack. Now not only is Shadow Ghoul's attack canceled, but your battle phase is over!"

"No matter… You cannot hide from my monsters… they will crush you on my next turn…"

"He must've purposely sent all those card to the graveyard to power up his Shadow Ghoul… too bad all his hard work is about to go to waste…"

Jaden drew his card.

"I activate Polymerization! And I'll use it to fuse the Sparkman on my field with the Clayman in my hand to summon Elemental Hero Thunder Giant!"

(ATK: 2400 DEF: 1500)

"Now by discarding one card from my hand, I can destroy one monster on the field whose original attack points are less than Thunder Giant's, and I choose your Shadow Ghoul!"

Thunder Giant blew Shadow Ghoul away.

"And that's not all, now I activate the spell card Emergency Card Stash! When there are no other cards in my hand, I can use this spell card to draw six cards from my deck!"

(For those of you who haven't read my previous fanfictions, this is not a real card)

Jaden drew his card.

"Excellent, I'll place a card face down and activate the field spell Skyscraper! Since your Despair from the Dark has more attack points, my Thunder Giant gets a 1000 attack point boost!"

(ATK: 3400)

"Thunder Giant, attack!"

Thunder Giant blasted Despair from the Dark with its electric attack.

(???: 3100)

"You'll pay for that mortal! Your life points are about to be obliterated!"

"Just try and kill me."

Now the skeleton judge started laughing again.

"Do you really think I sent all those monsters to the graveyard just to power up my Shadow Ghoul? Hardly… I did it so I could summon… my most powerful monster… But first I play Mystical Space Typhoon, and I'll use it to destroy your Skyscraper. Next I summon King of the Skull Servants!"

Jaden didn't know what to make of the monster that clawed its way out of the ground. It just looked like an ordinary Skull Servant, it didn't even have a crown or anything.

(ATK: ? DEF: 0)

"How come its attack points aren't determined?!"

"My King of Skull Servants gains 1000 attack points for every Skull Servant, King of Skull Servants, or Lady in Wight in my graveyard. I sent two Skull Servants and two copies of Lady in Wight to the graveyard with my Painful Choice, and then I sent another Skull Servant plus two kings to the graveyard with Card Destruction."

(ATK: 7000)

"Seven thousand attack points?!"

"That's right and they're all coming for you! King of Skull Servants, attack!"

The King destroyed Jaden's Thunder Giant, but his life points remained untouched.

"What!?! I just one the duel! You shouldn't have any life points left!"

"Not quite, I activated my face down trap, Hero Spirit. When an Elemental Hero is destroyed I can use this card to reduce all the damage inflicted by one of your monster's to zero."

"Congratulations, you've prolonged your suffering… but trust me when I say that's all that you've done."

"I can't let him get in another attack." thought Jaden "Otherwise this duel is over…"

He drew his card.

"I activate the spell card Swords of Revealing Light! This prevents you from attacking me for three turns!"

Several luminous swords fell from the sky and cut off the King of Skull Servants from Jaden.

"And I'll end my turn by summoning Elemental Hero Voltic!"

(ATK: 1000 DEF: 1500)

"You think those swords will keep your life points safe? You're sadly mistaken… I play Foolish Burial! This lets me send one monster card in my deck to the graveyard. And now I'll activate the effect of the monster I just sent there, when Mezuki is in the graveyard I can remove it from play to special summon a zombie monster from my graveyard, and I choose Despair from the Dark!"

(ATK: 2800 DEF: 3000)

"And I still have the Card of Safe Return and Everliving Underworld Cannon in play, so now you lose 800 life points, and I get to draw another card!"

(Jaden: 1100)

"And guess what I drew, it's another Foolish Burial! Now I'll use it to send another Mezuki from my deck to the graveyard. Now I can remove that Mezuki from play to special summon Shadow Ghoul!"

(ATK: 1600 DEF: 1300)

"And don't forget… Shadow Ghoul gains 100 attack points for every monster in my graveyard!"

(ATK: 2400)

"But that's the least of your worries, since now the effects of my spell cards activate again, so you lose 800 more life points and I get to draw another card!"

(Jaden: 300)

"That ends my turn, but soon I will end you!"

"I need to get something started… I'm down to my last 300 life points and he still has 3100."

Jaden drew his card.

"I summon Neo-Spacian Air Humming Bird!"

(ATK: 800 DEF: 600)

"Now I activate his special effect! For every card in your hand, I gain back 500 life points!"

(Jaden: 1800)

"Next I'll activate the spell card Secret Pass to the Treasures, this lets one of my monsters with 1000 attack points or less attack you directly! And I choose Elemental Hero Voltic!"

(???: 2100)

"And when Voltic inflicts battle damage, I can special summon an Elemental Hero that was removed from play!"

"NO!!!"

"Yes, and I'm sure you know which card I want… Come on back… Elemental Hero Neos!"

(ATK: 2500 DEF: 2000)

"Err… I can't let him summon one of his best monsters… and I can't let him gain any more life points… Usually my opponents are cowering in fear by now, why isn't it working?!"

The skull judge decided to get on with the duel and drew his card.

"I activate the spell card Tribute to the Doomed! By discarding one card from my hand I can destroy one monster on the field. And I choose your precious Humming Bird!"

Jaden's Humming Bird was mummified.

"Now I'll activate my third and final Book of Life to special summon the monster I just discarded… Vampire Lord!"

(ATK: 2000 DEF: 1500)

"And thanks to the second effect of my Book of Life I'll remove your Humming Bird from play. Now thanks to my spell cards I get to draw a card, and you lose 800 life points!"

(Jaden: 1000)

"Now I'll remove my Vampire Lord from play in order to summon Vampire Genesis!"

(ATK: 3000 DEF: 2100)

"King of Skull Servants, Despair from the Dark, Shadow Ghoul, and Vampire Lord? That's quite the scary lineup." thought Jaden. "I could have Neos destroy Shadow Ghoul… but if he draws a card that will let him destroy my swords then I'm a goner."

Jaden drew his card, unfortunately it wasn't what he was hoping for.

"I'll switch both my monsters into defense mode and end my turn."

"Then it's my turn! I play the Graceful Charity card; this lets me draw three cards from my deck as long as I discard two, and since the two cards I'm discarding are Lady in Wight and Goblin Zombie my Shadow Ghoul gains 200 attack points."

(ATK: 2600)

"Now I'll activate the effect of my Vampire Genesis, by discarding Bone Crusher to the graveyard I can special summon the Lady in Wight I just sent to the graveyard in defense mode!"

(ATK: 0 DEF: 2200)

"Now thanks to the effects of my Card of Safe Return and my Everliving Underworld Cannon, I get to draw a card, and you lose 800 life points!"

(Jaden: 200)

"Sure since I've filled up my field I can't special summon any more monsters from my graveyard, so I won't get to use Everliving Underworld Cannon anymore, but it doesn't matter because on my next turn all my monsters will be free to attack, and since I have Lady In Wight on the field my King of Skull Servants can't be destroyed in battle, nor is he effected by spells or traps, so there goes any hopes you may have had about defeating my most powerful monster…"

The skeleton judge noticed that Jaden didn't look afraid at all.

"What's wrong with you?! Usually by now my opponent's would be paralyzed with terror! Why aren't you afraid?!"

"Because this isn't real." said Jaden "The destroyed island, you, the zombies, non of it is real!!!"

"Not real says you… As real as pain and death says I!"

"And I suppose you have regular tea parties with the Easter bunny and the tooth fairy."

"I'm nothing but the real deal, what makes you think otherwise?!"

"Simple… When I left the Obelisk Blue dorm to run Billy's gauntlet I ordered Yubel to stay with my daughter so that nothing would happen to her, and in doing so I made myself vulnerable. Yubel would never abandon Sakura even if I hadn't told her to look after her, so there was no way I could've survived the destruction of Duel Academy, unless it never happened!"

"You cling only to false hope, on my next turn I will defeat you and then madness will claim you forever!!!"

"There is no next turn for you, I've drawn just the card I need. I summon Neo-Spacian Dark Panther!"

(ATK: 1000 DEF: 500)

"What do you expect to accomplish with a cat?"

"By himself, not much, but by using him in a contact fusion with Neos, I can summon Elemental Hero Dark Neos!"

(ATK: 2500 DEF: 2000)

"So now you have a monster with the same amount of attack points as the last one, big deal!"

"Oh it's a very big deal, because now I can use his special effect and negate the effects of one monster on your field, and I choose King of Skull Servants! So your monster loses the 7000 attack points it gained!"

(ATK: 0)

"NO!!!"

"Dark Neos, attack!"

Dark Neos went into a dive bomb at the King of Skull servants.

"Sure thanks to your Lady in Wight your King of Skull Servants survives the battle, but your life points are another story!"

(???: 0)

"NOOO!!!"

Suddenly there was a bright flash of light, Jaden couldn't close his eyes in time and was blinded by it… and he knew no more.

(To be continued)

New illustration available on deviantart: John Laughton