I'm still alive, guys, don't worry. I've just been busy and haven't had the free time to sit down and write.
Deep into the island's forests stood a dormitory building in a state of decay, long abandoned. A place that almost all students avoided. Either because of its eerie appearance, or the threat of expulsion if they entered kept them away. It was a large run-down building with boards over the windows and doors, vegetation covered its exterior walls and the fence surrounding it, with a front gate that was rusted over.
Despite all the warnings plastered across the gates, the Dorm did have one visitor who came in secret, Alexis Rhodes. The blonde emerged through the trees and stopped at the front gate, laying down a rose in front of it.
"Be at peace brother, wherever you are..." Alexis brought her hands together and prayed. After discovering the abandoned dorm in which her brother used to live in, she decided to come here and offer a small prayer for his safe return.
After staying a few more minutes, the blonde decided it was time to head back before she caught a cold. It was a chilly night, but it was like the air around the rundown dorm was even colder.
"So, after I play this…"
"Mhm,"
"I should follow it up with this, right?"
"Yup, yup!"
"..."
"Jaden, are you even watching me?" Syrus asked the teen on the opposite side of the table from him.
"Of course!" He said with a full mouth as he crumbled the wrapper of his sandwich and picked up another one.
The Slifers were currently having lunch at the Academy's cafeteria, while Jaden was also making Syrus solve one of his favorite duel quizzes.
"Now, you're lying…" The teal-haired boy sweatdropped.
The brunet just rolled his eyes mid-bite and reached for the lone remaining card on his side. "While you were doing great till about halfway through, you made a decision that left me with one card." He picked it up and flipped it over, revealing a Mirror Force. "Which wipes out your entire board."
"…H-Huh?! W-wait!" Syrus sputtered. It took a moment for his brain to catch up before his shoulders slumped in defeat. "Darn… and I thought I got it right this time, too…"
Jaden just chuckled as he took another bite. "Cheer up, Sy. You'll get it if you think about it some more." He would be lying if he said it wasn't at least somewhat fun watching Syrus rock his brain like this, but at least he has been making progress! Slowly, but it was still something!
"Jaden~!"
Erina approached them and slammed her hands on their table, startling Syrus. "You're coming tonight, right?!" She asked the confused teen.
"Huh? What are you talking about?" He blinked in surprise. "Come where?"
"The Academy's dance party, duh?" She rolled her eyes, pulling up the page on the academy website on her phone. "It's kinda a get-to-know-each-other party, I think? I mean, it's just for everyone from our year, so what else could it be?" She shrugged. "There'll also be a dance competition."
"I dunno… why do you want me there exactly?" Jaden was reluctant, it wasn't exactly a type of party he'd go to and she knew that. Plus, a dance competition? Hard pass.
"Because, I wanna guarantee that I won't be bored out of my mind there!" She sighed dramatically, causing him to roll his eyes. And there it was.
"Have you ever thought about… I don't know, not going?" He asked the obvious. "You don't even like most of our classmates in the first place… Why'd you even wanna mingle with them?"
"Can't. I promised Mindy I'd go, so~," she shrugged. "I'm kinda stuck. So please?" She whined, giving him her best puppy eyes look. "It's not like a fancy party or anything like that, so you don't have to dress up! Come on! I'll treat you to an all-you-can-eat place, I promise!"
"Fine, fine," Jaden yielded finally. "Geez, you haven't pestered me this much before!" He sighed before smiling. "But who knows, it might actually be fun, right, Sy?"
"Huh?" The boy lifted his head up from the cards in front of him. "Yeah, sure… I guess?"
"Cool, so we're in agreement! You're coming along!" He declared with a grin, startling Syrus.
"Huh?! N-no… That's n-not a good idea, J-Jay… I'm not good with crowds…" He stammered out, sweating bullets.
"And you'll never get better if you don't go out of your comfort zone." Jaden countered and laughed once Syrus realized he had a point and wasn't getting out of this.
"Relax, Syrus," Erina giggled. "You can just come to me if someone is giving you trouble and I'll deal with them." He patted him on the back while sporting a very dangerous smile on her face.
"O-okay…" The teal-haired boy reluctantly agreed before some of the others in the cafeteria got loud for some reason.
"Hey, it's Alexis!"
"Alexis, you're going to the party tonight, right?"
A group of boys and girls were pestering the poor girl, who looked like she'd had enough of the same question getting asked all day.
"No, sorry," Alexis gave them a pleasant smile, "I'll be skipping the party." She said to their disappointment.
Jaden followed her with his eyes as she left the cafeteria, noticing the pensive look she had. 'What's up with her?'
Later that night, the two Slifers were walking along the path towards the Obelisk Boys' dorm. They left a little later than they expected, due to Syrus getting cold feet at the last moment, prompting Jaden to strong-arm him out of their room.
The brunet was satisfied with himself even though Syrus complained all the way about how much he didn't want to go.
"It'll be fine, Sy!" He laughed at how terrified he looked. "There'll be people from all the dorms there, so you don't have to worry about sticking out."
As they reached the Dorm, Jaden noticed something out of the corner of his eye. It was Alexis, dressed in all black sportswear. She looked back at the dorm before sneakily entering the forest. This piqued Jaden's curiosity even more now, so he decided to follow after her.
"Hey, Sy," he patted him on the shoulder. "You go on ahead. I… I forgot my deck back at the dorm." He lied. "I'll be right back!" And with that he dashed off.
"Wait, you're leaving me?!" Syrus yelled after him, noticing that instead of going back, he went into the forest. "Huh?"
Jaden followed her through the forest, keeping his distance to make sure she didn't hear him follow her. As he carefully navigated around the leaves and twigs on the ground, he kept wondering where she was going. He has explored a good amount of the wilderness of the island, but this was a part he wasn't familiar with unlike she was by the looks of it.
After a good fifteen minutes, he noticed a building poking through the trees as Alexis entered the clearing around it. It was rundown and covered in vegetation, surrounded by a metal fence.
'What is this place?' Jaden wondered as he took a step closer and froze in place as an audible snap of a twig was heard below him. "Shit…"
"Who's there?" Alexis spun around, shining a flashlight where she heard the noise. "Show yourself!" She demanded, eyes widening when Jaden walked out from behind one of the trees.
"You got me," he chuckled awkwardly, hand shielding his eyes from the light. "Mind turning that off, please?"
The blonde turned off her flashlight, a frown on her face as she stared at the teen. "What are you doing here?"
"Heh~ I was gonna ask the same thing." He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "It looked like something was bothering you today, and when I saw you sneak into the forest I decided to follow you." He looked behind her at the, what he presumed, abandoned dorm building. "And… I'm guessing you're here because of that."
Alexis kept silent for a few moments before speaking up in a low tone. "Have you heard of the rumor about this place?" She asked to which he shook his head. "They say that a bunch of students disappeared here mysteriously. They closed down the dorm after that, and punished anyone who entered it…"
"Atticus was one of those students, right?" Jaden quickly put two and two together.
The only answer she gave him was a short nod.
"And," the brunet smiled slightly, "since everyone's attention would be on the party tonight, you decided that now would be the perfect time to go inside and take a look. Why didn't you say anything?" He sounded sad. He made a promise didn't he?
"I just thought that you'd prefer to have fun at the party…"
"And you thought that because…?" He took a step closer, smiling when he saw her squirm a bit.
"I… I don't know…" Alexis huffed, turning her head away, causing Jaden to laugh at her lightly. 'I don't want you to disappear, as well.' She thought to herself.
"I told you, didn't I?" He reached out and grabbed her hand. "I promised that I'll help you find him, and I meant it. I've actually been looking for a place like this for a while now. Come on, let's go inside." He let go of her hand and walked up to the front gate.
Alexis just stared at his back, rubbing the hand he held as she watched him slowly but surely pry the gate open. A smile crept up her lips despite the unpleasant feeling this place was giving her. She was happy to have someone like Jaden to rely on.
"There," he huffed, pulling the gate open as much as it could.
They slowly made their way to the front door, which was barely hanging on its hinges. Jaden turned on the flashlight on his phone and entered first. The moment he passed the threshold, his nostrils were assaulted by a putrid stench that made his eyes sting.
"Shit," He almost wretched, covering his nose. "It reeks in here."
"Really?" Alexis took a deep breath when she entered. "It just smells of dust and stale air." She shrugged as she shone her light around.
'That's because you can't smell it.' Jaden rubbed his nose and frowned. He's smelled it before, but never this intense. 'Dark Magic…'
Syrus stood like a stump at the entrance to the Main Hall, anxious to take one more step. There were so many people here that he felt a bit overwhelmed.
"I think I'll be heading ba-"
"Syrus!" He saw Erina waving him over. "Hey, you actually came!" She teased him lightly as he reached her. "But, where's my stupid Slifer at? There's no way you came here without him!"
Syrus stared at her, blushing. She looked really pretty, even if all she had was blue jeans and a white crop top with sleeves. "He was with me," He shook his head, snapping out of the spell he was under, "but then he just ran off into the woods and said he'd be back later."
'Did he find something?' The bluenette wondered before smiling at the boy. "Oh well, his loss! Come on, let's party!" He grabbed him by the arm and dragged him deeper inside. 'Why didn't you call me if you found something?' She wondered.
It seemed impossible to Jaden, but the inside of this dorm was even more rundown than the outside. Every step they took caused the floor to screech as if it would break from the pressure, and some areas actually had the top floor collapse on the one below.
But they kept searching, with the brunet making sure to always have Alexis in his sights. The feeling he was getting from this place made him feel unease, prompting him to be on alert. The stench of dark magic was so potent here it only begged the question, why couldn't he sense it until he entered the building?
"Jaden, look at all the frames on the windows and doors." Yubel pointed out to him, so he approached one of the doors and saw that it was covered by strange symbols. "It's a warding spell." She elaborated after seeing the confused look on his face. "It's keeping all the magic particles contained inside the building. That's why we couldn't sense it before."
"Find anything?" Alexis asked from behind him, startling him slightly.
"Just some weird… runes?" He pretended to be clueless. "I don't know, it looks strange."
"It's like a cult lived here…" The blonde mumbled after a moment before continuing to look around.
"So what exactly are you hoping to find here?" Jaden asked as he approached a desk and began opening the drawers.
"I don't know?" She answered truthfully as she bent down to look at a few papers and paintings on the ground. "Anything really… If it can help me find Atti, then I'll take it."
The two teens continued their search, moving it to the upper floor, which looked dangerous to walk on with all the holes on the floor, but they managed through, reaching what looked to be a study.
"This place has a library?" Jaden asked in surprise as he shone his flashlight around the room.
"Well, yeah? Our dorm also has one…" Alexis shrugged. "Yours doesn't?"
"Nah," he chuckled. "All we got is the basketball court behind the dorm." He said as he entered the room.
"Wait," the blonde froze in her steps. "By the cliff side?! Is that even safe?"
"Nope!" He exclaimed with a hearty laugh. "You just gotta be careful to not drop the ball!"
Alexis just stood there, blinking in disbelief. "Wow…" she whispered as she began looking around as well. So far there was nothing much besides dusty old books and broken furniture. Hopefully they'll find something when they get to the actual dorm rooms. "There has to be something… please…"
"Hey, check this out." Jaden called her over as he looked over a giant mural on the wall.
"What's that?" The Obelisk girl stared at it in confusion. On the wall before them was a painting depicting some strange items, all surrounded by more of the strange symbols from downstairs. It looked like instructions for some kind of ritual if they had to guess?
"I don't know, but this place is looking even cultier with every room we check out."
"What happened here?" Alexis' features faltered. "There's no way Atti was participating in whatever they were doing here, right?"
"Of course not." He gave her a comforting squeeze on the shoulder.
"Oh," they heard a deep laughter behind them. "But how can you be so sure?"
They quickly spun around and saw strange black liquid drip from the ceiling, pooling into a strange mass on the floor that was slowly taking form.
"Who- What are you?" Jaden demanded as he took a step forward, keeping Alexis safe behind him.
"Me?" The mass laughed as it finally solidified. Before them stood a tall man wearing a black trench coat and fedora. A Duel Vest was strapped on his chest along with a silver mask covering the top half of his face. "I… am Titan. A Shadow Duelist." He introduced himself with a mock bow as fog creeped into the room out of nowhere. "And this will be your final day in this world!" His ominous declaration was accompanied by a surge of electricity going through him and activating his Duel Vest.
"We'll see about that!" The brunet snarled as he took out his deck. "I'll be more than happy to kick your ass back to wherever you came from!"
"No…"
"No?"
The man chuckled, pointing behind the teen. "I want to face her."
"Why?" Alexis narrowed her eyes, all sorts of alarm bells were going off in her head.
"Simple. If you wish to know what happened to your brother, then you will duel me!" Titan revealed, shocking them.
"What do you know about Atticus?!" She demanded, receiving a chuckle in response.
"There's only one way to find out!"
"Fine!" She walked in front of Jaden. "When I win, you'll tell me everything you know about my brother!"
"IF you win," the man laughed as he snapped his fingers, materializing a Duel Disk on Alexis' arm. "And if you lose… you'll experience a Hell unlike any other!"
Titan outstretched his arms as everything around them was enveloped in darkness and weird blob creatures emerged through the cracks on the floor.
"What the-?!" Alexis gasped as the blobs slowly began to approach them. "What are these things?"
"These… are Shadow Fiends!" Titan chuckled at the fear she displayed. "And they'll be happily feeding on your despair during this Shadow Duel!" His amused look was replaced by a frown when the fiends let out a shriek and backed away in fear. 'That shouldn't happen… No matter.' He shook his head. "Well, shall we begin?" He grinned, drawing his starting hand. Alexis doing the same.
"Duel!"
Alexis: 8000
Titan: 8000
"I draw!" Alexis started the duel, determined to win and learn what this creep knew about her brother. "I summon Etoile Cyber Blade!" The ribbon dancer appeared on the field in defense position. (ATK: 1200/ DEF: 1600)
"And thanks to her effect when she's summoned, I add Cyber Blade Skater to my hand!" The blonde picked up the card from her deck and took another from her hand. "I set one facedown and end my turn!"
"Oh? Are you afraid of something?" Titan laughed as he drew his card. "I'll play Foolish Burial and send Skull Archfiend of Lightning to my graveyard." He then took another card and played it. "Next, I'll play Archfiend Cavalry!" A skeletal knight appeared on the field, riding a horse and cackling fiendishly. (ATK: 1900/ DEF: 0)
"Now… Archfiend Cavalry, attack!" The man commanded and his monster charged forward with a mad laugh echoing from it.
"I activate my trap card! Ballista Squad!" Alexis retaliated.
"Wait, doesn't it have an effect when…" Jaden's eyes widened upon seeing the smirk Titan got. "No, wait!"
"By tributing my Etoile Cyber, I get to destroy your monster!" The dancer disappeared from the field as a giant arrow flew through the fiend, destroying it.
"Archfiend Cavalry's effect activates when he's sent to the graveyard by card effect! I get to summon the Skull Archfiend of Lightning in my graveyard!" Lightning struck the ground in front of Titan and a tall, disgusting skeletal monster appeared. (ATK: 2500/ DEF: 1200)
"I also have an effect to resolve!" Alexis shouted. "Etoile Cyber Blade allows me to draw two cards and discard one card from my hand when she's tributed!"
"Lucky for you, Archfiend of Lightning can't attack this turn." He smirked, taking another card from his hand. "And since I control another Archfiend card… I Special Summon Archfiend Commander to the field!" Another skeletal fiend appeared on the field, veins and flesh hanging from the bones. (ATK: 2500/ DEF: 1200)
"That's a problem…" Jaden muttered in worry. It was only the second turn and Alexis was facing two big monsters.
"Don't think you have the edge here!" Alexis scowled as she drew her card. "I summon Cyber Gymnast in defense mode!" A muscular, masked woman dressed in a black spandex suit appeared on the field (ATK: 800/ DEF: 1800)
"I activate Cyber Gymnast's effect!" She declared, discarding a card from her hand. "By discarding a card from my hand, she destroys your Skull Archfiend of Lightning!"
"But first," Titan chuckled as he lifted his hand and six orbs appeared levitating above it, each with a number on it. "We'll see if fate will allow you!"
"What?" Alexis took a step back in surprise as the top orb was lit aflame.
"If the fire stops on one, three or six, then your monster's effect is negated and it's destroyed!" He laughed as the flame jumped around from one ball to the next.
The blonde anxiously followed the flame, hoping for the best possible outcome for her. She's fallen behind already and if this effect doesn't go through she'll fall even further!
The flame stopped moving…landing on six and her Cyber Gymnast suddenly exploded.
"No!" She exclaimed, causing Titan to laugh.
"You won't learn of your brother's fate if you keep displaying such pathetic dueling!" He mocked.
"Shut up!" Alexis snapped at him.
"Getting angry, are we?" The man kept taunting her, causing her to grit her teeth.
"Alexis, calm down." Jaden gently grabbed her shoulder. "He's trying to get a rise out of you so you'd misplay! Don't let him get in your head."
The blonde took a deep breath to steady herself. Jaden had a point, her emotions were all over the place. 'I need to keep a level head.' She took a card from her hand and inserted it. "I set a card and end my turn."
Titan picked up his card with a smirk. "During my Standby Phase, I pay 500 life points to keep Skull Archfiend on the field."
Titan: 7500
"Now… prepare for pain beyond your imagination!" He laughed, throwing his arm forward. "Archfiend Commander, attack her directly!" The skeletal fiend's rib cage opened and ectoplasm tendrils shot out of it, heading straight towards Alexis.
"I activate Defense Draw!" She retaliated as a barrier appeared in front of her. "With this, the damage I take from your attack is reduced to zero!" The tendrils hit the barrier and bounced back. "Plus, I also get to draw a card!"
"You might've saved yourself from this attack, but I still have another! Skull Archfiend, attack her! Lightning Strike!" The monster screeched as it began crackling with electricity and fired a stream of lightning at her.
Alexis: 5500
Titan's mouth went agape in surprise at what he saw. The lightning went around her! As if split in two by an invisible blade. She didn't play a card, her life points went down, so what happened? 'First the Shadow Fiends are afraid of them and now this? What is the meaning of this?'
"My turn! I draw!" Alexis picked up her card, ready to finally go on the offensive. "I summon Cyber Blade Skater to the field!" A slim woman, clad from head to toe in a red and gold spandex appeared on the field. (ATK: 1400/ DEF: 1500)
"And when she's summoned, I get to add Machine Angel Ritual to my hand!" She took the card and played it immediately, causing a stone pyre to appear behind her. "I tribute Cyber Angel Benten from my hand to ritual summon Cyber Angel Idaten to the field!" The flame died out, revealing a woman with pink skin, clad in a black bodysuit and a metal headdress that flowed down her back like hair. (ATK: 1600/ DEF: 2000)
"Both Benten and Idaten's effects activate now! I get to add another copy of Benten and another Machine Angel Ritual to my hand!" She added the cards to her hand before taking another one. "Then, I equip her with Machine Angel Blessing!" Idaten was suddenly covered in a golden aura as golden bracers appeared on her arms. (ATK: 1600-3100)
"Idaten, destroy his Skull Archfiend of Lightning!" The angelic woman dashed forward, delivering an axe kick to the monster's head, destroying it.
Titan: 7400
"Now it's your turn, Blade Skater!" The figure skater obeyed the order, doing an elegant pirouette around the disgusting monster and delivering a spinning kick right across Titan's jaw.
Titan: 6700
"You brat!" The man snarled as he rubbed his chin!
"I activate the continuous spell Incarnated Machine Angel and set one card facedown! I end my turn!"
"Alright, Lex! You're back in the game!" Jaden praised, causing the blonde to smile.
"Celebrating early, aren't we?" Titan laughed, drawing his card. "Just because you bested one of my Archfiends doesn't mean there aren't more that can take its place! I summon Infernalqueen Archfiend!" Another skeletal monster appeared on the field. This one looked female if the regal robes were anything to go by. (ATK: 900/ DEF: 1500)
Suddenly the fiend let out a scream that forced the teens to cover their ears. (ATK: 2500-3500) (ATK: 900-1900)
"What?" Jaden gasped. "Why'd their attack go up?"
"Infernalqueen boosts the attack of all Archfiend monsters on my field by 1000 points." He explained, taking a card from his hand. "And don't you think that you still have the strongest monster… I activate Archfiend Staff of Despair!" A staff with a zombified head appeared in the Commander's hands. "With this, I drain attack points from your monsters equal to half of my Archfiend Commander's!"
"Half?!" Jaden exclaimed.
"It has 3500 attack right now…" Alexis took a step back in worry.
The fiend held the staff up as it fired two rays of light that hit the blonde's monsters, weakening them. (ATK: 3100-1350) (ATK: 1400-0)
"Infernalqueen Archfiend, attack!" The monster screamed like a banshee, sending shockwaves at Blade Skater.
"I have to do something!" Alexis thought in a panic. She quickly pressed a button on her Duel Disk. "I activate Painful Escape! I tribute Cyber Blade Skater! Then I get to add a monster with the same level, type and attribute from my deck or graveyard, but it has to have a different name! I add another copy of Etoile Cyber Blade to my hand!" She added the card to her hand.
"Now, Cyber Blade Skater's effect activates! When she's tributed, I can destroy one card on your field! Say goodbye to your Archfiend Commander!" The tall fiend suddenly exploded into tiny pixels.
"Not bad, but you still have my Infernalqueen to deal with… and she can still attack!" The monster launched another attack, but when it hit Idaten she wasn't destroyed. "Hmm?"
Alexis: 4950
"Thanks to Incarnated Machine Angel, all of my Cyber Angels can't be destroyed by battle!" Alexis explained after wiping her brow. Shadow games were no joke. "And now its other effect activates since I took damage! I tribute Idaten to ritual summon Cyber Angel Benten!" Idaten disappeared in a blinding light as the angelic war fan-wielding woman took her place. (ATK: 1800/ DEF: 1500)
"Idaten's effect when she's tributed activates as well! All Ritual monsters on my field gain 1000 attack!" (ATK: 1800-2800) "I also get to draw a card since Machine Angel Blessing left the field!"
"So defiant!" Titan mocked as he set a card. "Too bad your brother lacked that trait when we dueled!" He laughed, which caused Alexis to grit her teeth in anger.
"I'll force it out of you if I have to, but you will tell me where my brother is!" Alexis shouted, drawing her card. "Benten, attack that… thing!" The woman opened her fans and charged forward like an arrow, slicing the monster in two.
Titan: 5800
"And when she destroys a monster in battle, she deals that monster's defense to you as damage!" The angel spun around, smacking the man across the jaw.
Titan: 4300
"I grow tired of this!" Titan thundered, shaking the room they were in. "We've had enough fun, so why don't we take it seriously now?" He drew his card. "Yes, this is what I need! I activate Graceful Charity." He drew his three cards and discarded two that were already in his hand.
"Now," The man chuckled evilly. "I activate my facedown, the continuous trap Call of the Archfiend!" The room began to shake as a dark portal opened behind him, a lone red eye glowing from within it. "By discarding Terrorking Archfiend I get to summon a high level fiend monster from my graveyard!"
"Wait… he sent it with Graceful Charity, didn't he?" Alexis wondered.
"I call upon terror incarnate!" Titan laughed maniacally. "Arise, Archfiend Emperor, the First Lord of Horror!" From the portal first came out a giant bony hand as the creature slowly began to emerge. Slowly, one limb at a time the creature exited the portal until it fully crossed and stood up.
Towering above them like a monument was a disgusting skeletal creature adorned with skulls on its arms and knees. The creature let out a deep whine as it lifted the giant sword it was dragging and slammed it in front of itself. (ATK: 3000/ DEF: 2000)
"Scary, isn't it?" He laughed, finally seeing the look of terror on the girl's face. "Oh, don't worry, you'll get to know it better in a moment… Raigeki!" He inserted a card and a bolt of lightning fell from the sky, hitting Alexis' monster, but not destroying it.
"By banishing Machine Angel Ritual from my graveyard, Benten won't be destroyed!" Alexis pocketed the card.
"No matter," The man smirked, "I banish Terrorking Archfiend from my graveyard to activate my Emperor's effect to destroy one card on the field." He took the card and threw it to the wind as the skeletal giant squashed her monster.
"No!"
"And now… you're left wide open!" Titan bellowed. "Archfiend Emperor, show her true horror!" The monster raised the sword above its head, causing the blonde to raise her arms and close her eyes as it began to descend.
She was sure this would be extremely painful from what she had read on Shadow Games. Direct hits like this are supposed to damage the soul and body of a person, so she braced herself for the worst.
Alexis: 1950
The sword hit the ground next to her.
"H-huh?" Alexis blinked in surprise as she checked her Duel Disk. She took damage, but she didn't feel anything?
"Impossible!" Titan took a step back. What was that?! The blade was deflected at the last second. But how? These were just teenagers he was dealing with! They couldn't have done it! 'What did I just witness?'
'I need to find a way to survive until I draw a monster to summon Dakini with…' Alexis thought as she saw her hand, unsure if she had enough to win this with it.
"I-I draw!" Alexis drew her card, at least she could slow him down a bit. "First, I play Pot of Greed!" She picked up her cards. "Then, I play Mystical Space Typhoon!" A tornado shot out of the card that destroyed Titan's trap card. She took a card from her hand and played it. "I summon Cyber Tutu!" A young girl with pink hair, dressed as a ballerina appeared on the field. (ATK: 1000/ DEF: 300)
Titan laughed as soon as she saw her. "Bwahaha! What do you think a little school girl would accomplish against terror itself?" He was soon silenced when the girl jumped in front of him and kicked him across the face.
Titan: 3300
"What the-?!" The man growled, rubbing his sore chin. "You bitch!"
Alexis smirked at his reaction. She'll try to chip away with Tutu until she draws what she needs. "I set two cards and end my turn!"
"How'd you manage to attack him directly?" Jaden asked from behind her.
"It's Cyber Tutu's effect, she can attack directly if my opponent controls a stronger monster."
"Nice…" He praised, getting an idea on what her plan was. "It's kinda risky, but it might just work."
"You should pay attention to the threat in front of you, girlie!" Titan taunted as he drew his card. "I banish Infernalqueen Archfiend, and destroy Cyber Tutu!"
'Yes!' Alexis mentally cheered. "I activate Dimension Guardian!" A green aura surrounded the young ballerina. "As long as this trap is face up on the field, my Tutu cannot be destroyed by battle or card effects!"
"But, I can still deal battle damage to you! Which means you're dead!" Titan shouted as his monster attacked.
"I activate Draining Shield!" A barrier appeared between the sword and her monster. "Your attack is negated and I gain Life Points equal to your Emperor's attack!" The sword hit the barrier, causing golden light to enter the blonde's body.
Alexis: 4950
"You're only delaying the inevitable!" He declared, setting a card. "Your fate is sealed! You're trying to cling to life like a rodent! There is no victory for you!"
"I'm still in this!" Alexis drew her card, but it sadly wasn't the one she needed. "... Tutu! Attack him directly!" The ballerina jumped forward, kicking him in the gut.
Titan: 2300
"I… set one card and end my turn."
Titan chuckled. "That's all? Maybe I was wrong… your brother did put up a better fight." He took a card from his hand. "I summon Archfiend Soldier!" A purple skeletal figure with a sword appeared. (ATK: 1900/ DEF: 1500)
"I banish Skull Archfiend of Lightning from my graveyard… Emperor, destroy that trap card!" The giant fiend wrapped his fingers around the statue and crushed it. "Now with that out of the way, Archfiend Soldier, attack her Cyber Tutu!" He ordered, causing his monster to charge forward, ready to slice the girl in two.
"I activate Negate Attack!" Alexis quickly responded, but gasped when she saw the grin on Titan's face.
"I activate Ultimate Providence! This little trap lets me negate your card, and all I need to do is discard a trap from my hand." He discarded the card and the blonde's trap fizzled, leaving Cyber Tutu at the mercy of the skeletal knight, who sliced her in two.
Alexis: 4050
"And now you're defenseless!" He smirked, flicking his fingers, which caused his Archfiend Emperor to attack. And just like last time, the sword didn't hit her.
Alexis: 1050
"There is no hope for you, child! You've put up a brave effort, but it was all for naught!" Titan cackled. "Finish your pathetic turn, nothing you do can save you now!" He spat.
'I'm going to lose, aren't I?' Alexis hopelessly looked on. She'd been holding on fine till now, but there was nothing she could defend herself with anymore. 'Do I really have to rely on drawing the right card?' She shook her head. That was impossible! There's no way she'd draw it, it was statistically impossible.
"Lex, you believe in your deck, right?" She heard Jaden ask suddenly.
"Huh?" Turning her head, she was surprised to see just how calm and worry-free he looked. "What kind of question is that?"
"Do you believe in your deck?" He repeated his question. "Do you believe that it will always support you?"
"Support me? Like a person would?" She asked, a bit put off by the question to which he nodded.
"Yeah! It's like you can feel your deck cheering you on if you concentrate enough!" The brunet laughed. "So if you believe in your deck like it believes in you, you'll be able to draw the card you need to win."
The blonde stared at him as he had lost his mind. "Come on, just trust me, okay?" He chuckled.
"Okay, so I just… concentrate," Alexis put her fingers on the top card of her deck and closed her eyes, thinking about any of the cards that could help her right now, " believe… and draw!"
She drew her card and slowly opened her eyes to look at it. "W-what?!" She gasped.
"Told ya!" Jaden snickered in satisfaction.
There's no way it worked. It made no sense! "I mean… I'm not about to complain or anything, but this is the craziest thing I've seen happen!" The blonde exclaimed before smirking. "Looks like you lost, Titan!"
"Such delusions!" Titan spat. "Have the shadows taken your sanity, child?"
"Nope! And you're about to see!" She took the card she drew and played it. "I summon Etoile Cyber Blade!" The ribbon dancer appeared on the field." Then, I activate the equip spell Execution of the Contract!" A rune circle appeared beneath her monster's feet. "This spell allows me to reveal the level eight Cyber Angel Dakini in my hand and change my Etoile Cyber's level to eight as well!"
Alexis kept up the momentum, taking another card from her hand and playing it, causing the stone ritual pyre to appear behind her. "I activate Machine Angel Ritual! I tribute my Etoile Cyber Blade from my hand to summon my strongest angel!" The Blade turned into energy before it flew into the pyre, igniting it. "Appear, Cyber Angel Dakini!"
The fire died out, revealing an angelic blue-skinned woman with four arms. She wore bronze battle armor, while a golden headdress adorned her head. The woman jumped to the field and masterfully displayed her weapons; a staff, a katana and a saber. (ATK: 2700/ DEF: 2400)
"First off," Alexis continued, "The effect of Execution of the Contract triggers since the monster it was equipped to is tributed!" A rune circle appeared beneath the Archfiend Soldier before it suddenly exploded, taking out the monster. "Now Dakini's effect activates! When she's summoned, she forces my opponent to remove one monster from their field!"
"What?!" Titan screamed.
"And since you only control one monster…" She smirked, causing the man to grit his teeth. "Your Archfiend Emperor is gone!" The giant fiend howled in pain as it slowly disintegrated into dust.
"You're wide open, Titan! Tell me where my brother is and I'll let you leave!" The blonde demanded.
'This… this shouldn't have happened! Her fate was sealed!' Titan grit his teeth in anger, veins popping out on his neck and face. "You should've been writhing in agony, begging for your life! And yet, you-!" He took a step back, choking on his words as if the air was sucked out of his lungs. "Y-you! I-It can't be…!" He backed away in fear as he saw the pair of golden eyes staring at him. "Y-you did this!"
Jaden kept silent, only giving him a smug smirk in return, satisfied with himself.
"Talk!" Alexis snarled, getting agitated. "Tell me where my brother is!"
He stopped backing away, slowly beginning to shake until he was laughing like a maniac. "He's dead!" He shouted back at her, shocking her. "I tortured him in a Shadow Duel, listening to him beg for his life until his heart gave out!"
Alexis' face twisted in anger, throwing her arm forward while screaming something unintelligible which caused Dakini to charge forward. The angel struck Titan, who was constantly laughing.
Titan: 0
"There it is!" He choked out in pain, but didn't stop laughing. "There's the agony I was looking for!" He put his hand on his chest, gasping for air as purple light started leaking out of his body. "And now… Now this place will be your grave as well!"
"Shit!" Jaden cursed as he bolted towards Alexis, grabbing her by the hand and tried to pull her towards the exit. "Come on!" He tugged her, but it was like she was in a trance, not responding to anything around her.
"Damn it!" He pulled her into his arms and dove behind one of the couches just as Titan exploded. The explosion caused the whole building to shake and cause already loose, rotten boards and furniture to finally collapse.
"I can't believe that maniac blew himself up…" Jaden shook his head and opened his eyes, glad and surprised that the couch which he had his back against kept them safe. "Are you okay, Alexis?" He asked as he leaned his head against the couch, but he didn't receive an answer. The only thing he heard were soft whimpers followed by hiccups. "Lex?" His eyes widened as he looked at the crying girl still trapped in his arms.
"He… he's gone, isn't he?" She choked out, tears streaming down her face. "My brother's really gone…"
"Hey! Hey, hey, hey…" The brunet hugged the girl tightly as she sobbed against his chest. "He's not gone, okay? Creeps like Titan take pleasure in the suffering of others, and they'd do anything to achieve it! Atticus is alive, okay? I just know it! I won't lose faith and neither should you, okay?" He finished softly and felt her tighten her hold on him.
They sat like that for a while, even after he could no longer hear her crying. He was sure his shirt was soaked through, but that didn't bother him right now. Alexis was taking priority right now and he wanted to make sure she was alright.
"I'm fine now." Alexis mumbled softly and sat up properly as the brunet let her go. "Thanks…" She smiled as she wiped the tears from her puffy cheeks.
"Any time." The brunet smiled back as he stood up. "We should get back to the dorms."
"Why?" She asked in surprise. "We still haven't searched everywhere!" The blonde argued with a stern expression.
"Come here," he extended his hand to her to help her get up. She accepted it and rose to her feet and gasped when she saw it.
There was a giant hole left from where Titan stood. They could easily see everything outside! From the starry sky to the vast forest, they could see it. "The explosion was loud, I'm sure the whole island heard it. So Campus Security will probably be here soon." He scratched his head, seeing her not wavering. "Look, we can come back tomorrow morning before class to look again, okay? We're not quitting on this place just yet."
They stared at each other, none budging on their stance until Alexis finally broke. "Okay… yeah, it makes sense, sorry." Of course it did! If they get caught they'd probably get expelled given that there was a hole the size of a bus in the building.
"It's cool." Jaden smiled. "You've had a hell of a night."
After a good thirty-or-so minutes later, the duo finally reached the Blue dorm where the party's at. Along the way, Jaden had managed to convince Alexis to go to the party with him at least for a bit. Although, they will probably stick out like sore thumbs given that Jaden was in his uniform and Alexis was in sportswear and a hoodie.
"So, what's your excuse gonna be?" Alexis asked. For her it was easy, since everyone knew she was in her room all night, but Jaden had apparently ditched Syrus to follow her.
"Eh," he shrugged, "I don't need one. If Erina or Syrus ask, I'm just gonna tell them the truth."
"Wait!" The blonde panicked slightly. "You can't just tell them! What if they let it slip that we went into a restricted area?" She voiced her concerns, which in turn caused Jaden to laugh at her.
"Well, clearly you don't know Erina that well." He snickered. "The amount of stuff we've kept secret from our parents would shock you! And as for Syrus? He knows not to talk about this kinda stuff with just anyone." He reassured her as they entered the main hall.
"I'll trust you on that…"
"Yup, it looks like a party alright!" Jaden grinned.
The lights were dimmed, there were some tables around the room, with plenty of space in the middle for people to dance. It was also surprisingly still full of people who were enjoying themselves.
"Geez, there you are!" They suddenly heard Erina, and Jaden felt her when she smacked him over the head. "Why the hell aren't you answering your texts, idiot?!" She scolded him.
"You texted me?" The brunet casually shrugged off the hit as he checked his phone. "Oh, yeah, you did... Oops!" He gave her a cheeky grin.
"Don't 'oops' me! Where the hell have you two…" She went silent as she took a better look at him. "What happened?! Are you okay? Did you get hurt?" She fired out questions as she worrily began checking him. His clothes were all dirty and his jacket was ripped in places as if he was attacked by an animal.
"I'm fine! I'm fine! Cut it out!" Jaden struggled to wiggle out her iron grip as they began bickering. "Hey, where are you touching!?"
"Like hell you are! Come 'ere!"
'They really are like siblings.' Alexis thought in amusement as she watched them argue and fight each other. It honestly reminded her of how she and her brother would always fight about silly things.
"Hey, Alexis~"
The blonde groaned mentally. Of all the people here she had to run into the most annoying one, didn't she? "Hello, Chazz." She flatly greeted him as she turned around.
"I was wondering where you were, have you come to see me get crowned Dance King?" He snobbishly asked.
'Is that supposed to be impressive?' Alexis sighed. The votes were probably rigged, so why was he bragging? "No, I'm just passing by-" She felt someone grab her hand suddenly.
"Sorry, Chuzz, I'mma borrow her for a sec!" He jeered as he gently pulled the blonde with him. "Don't frown like that! It'll make your face wrinkly!"
"Uhm… So what do you need me for?" Alexis asked as they maneuvered through the dancing crowd.
"You look like you needed saving." Jaden chuckled, surprising her and causing her to smile. "And," he stopped and spun around, "to see if you wanted to dance?" He offered with a grin.
"I don't know…" She looked at him reluctantly. She wasn't much for dancing, especially to modern music.
"Come on, just one dance, okay?" He persisted. "This is an easy song as well." He pointed out the slow song that had started playing.
A lot of people had broken into pairs and were dancing together. Some were tripping over their feet or just swaying, but they were having fun. Maybe it won't be so bad if other people didn't care how they danced?
"Okay, but just one song." Alexis said and couldn't help but giggle at how his eyes lit up. She placed her free hand on his shoulder while he placed his on her waist, keeping a comfortable distance between them.
"Wow, you're actually good!" She said in surprise when Jaden took the lead. "Totally expected that you'd step on my feet!" She teased him.
"Careful, you might hurt my feelings." Jaden chuckled. "By the way, I'm getting more and more impressed by your dueling." He gave her a genuine compliment. "You make kicking ass look easy."
"Thanks," Alexis chuckled shyly, not used to praise like this, "but I would've lost tonight if it wasn't for that lucky draw at the end."
"Nah," the brunet shook his head, "You believed in your deck and your faith was rewarded. That's what being a true duelist is all about!"
"You can't actually be serious, right? You really believe in that?" Alexis stared at him dumbfounded when he shrugged and grinned. "Jaden, you're the weirdest guy I've ever met, you know that?"
The brunet snorted at the statement as he did a spin with her. "I'd be very surprised if I wasn't."
"You still owe me a rematch." The blonde remarked. "And I plan to win."
"And here I hoped you'd forgotten, but I know." He grinned cheekily. "Maybe this time I won't go easy on you."
"What?!" Alexis exclaimed, offended.
"Kidding!" Jaden laughed at her reaction. "I'm kidding! Atticus was right, you are cute when you're angry!" He grinned as her face turned beet red. "Ow!" He yelped in pain when she kicked his shin. "That actually hurt…"
"That's what you get for teasing me!" She smiled unapologetically at his pain. "Thanks for this by the way. It's gotten my mind off things."
"Heh~ That was the plan." The brunet snickered in accomplishment. "My parents do this all the time whenever one of them has a bad day. They'd just put on music and dance together for a while till they felt better."
Alexis cocked an eyebrow at the information. 'So that's why you wanted to dance, huh?' She thought, smile widening when she saw him grin knowingly.
Erina watched the two dance from a distance, a stupid grin on her face as she sipped on her soda. Watching those two just made her feel all fuzzy inside! "Hey, girls," she got Jasmine and Mindy's attention, who were discussing something about cute boys beside her. "If I, let's say, need your help about something, I can rely on you two for help, right?"
"Yeah, of course." Jasmine nodded, unsure where this was coming from.
"What do you need help with?" Mindy curiously asked.
"Oh, nothing… yet." The bluenette waved them off, keeping her eyes on the dancing pair who were laughing about something. "Just wanted to make sure."
And cut!
The gang has already encountered a Shadow Rider this early? Will he be the only one? Who knows? Hehe~
Aaanyway! All in all I'm pretty satisfied with this chapter. One of the things I wanted to fix in this version of the story was giving the supporting characters even more duels.
Here's the new card, and I'll see you guys next time! Bye!
Machine Angel Blessing
Equip Spell Card
Equip this card to a Light Fairy-Type Ritual monster: That monster gains 1500 ATK, and if the equipped monster is a "Cyber Angel" monster, it cannot be destroyed by the effects of Extra Deck monsters. If this card leaves the field: Draw 1 card.