Chapter 18: Field of Screams
Wednesday
Time 21:00
It was a dark and dimly night with a crescent moon hanging over a lake, and a boat drifted across the dark waters covered in fog. A horde of flying bats flew over the boat. Inside was a coffin with its lid creacking open and a woman with long hair and red lips sat up. The mysyerious woman sat there in silent for a moment with a wicked smile before a dark laugh escaped her lips...
"Ah" Jaden suddendly got up after waking up from that nightmare he just had. As soon he sat up, he clutched his sides in pain.
"Jaden!" Syrus exclaimed from his seat next to Jaden's hospital bed. "Are you okay?"
"Oh man, weird dream." Jaden mumbled. "I saw a girl."
"A girl?" Syrus repeated.
"You must felling better if you're dreaming about girls." Miss Fontaine commented as she came into view.
"How is Red Hat, Alexis, and Nightshrou... I mean, Alexis' brother?" Jaden asked.
The headmistress of the Obelisk blue girls dorm turned to the right, Where Alexis sat next to her brother's bed with a solemn expression on her face, with the wounds she had sustained in the Shadow Game treated. "I'm afraid he hasn't woken up yet, Alexis instead has not fully healed from her injuries, but still they are in stable condition." Miss Fontaine turned to the bed where Red Hat was. Jaden looked forward in the same direction too, he saw Red Hat was unconscious. He noted Blair who was sitting on a chair next to him, looking sadly at his friend who was still unconscious and at all the wounds he had received in the duel against Nightshroud. "Red Hat on the other hand hasn't woken up yet, but it doesn't surprise me, the injuries he sustained were worse than all of you have. He'll have to rest for a while, but at least he's stable."
"Red Hat..." Jaden muttered looking at his friend worried about him. At that moment the last moments of the duel with Nightshroud came back to him. "At that moment he seemed to lose control of his body and began to emanate this strange aura from his body. And then when he summoned that huge dragon, it seemed to be someone else. I don't know what's happening to him, but we both suffered a lot in that Shadow Game." Jaden remembered.
After a few seconds Red Hat began to slowly open his eyes and look around. "Where...where am I?" Red Hat asked as he tried to get up.
"Red Hat! You're awake!" Blair shouted from his side.
"Blair?! Where am I? "Wait... why are you here? I told you to stay in the dorm."" Red Hat said confused by the situation as he tried to get up but stopped due to his injuries.
"Hey, stay still, you're not able to move yet. I originally went back to the dorm, but I was worried seeing you in the state you and Jaden were in in the duel against that guy." Blair replied as she tried not to get him out of bed.
"I see you're awake too." Fontaine said as he approached him. "Now lay down and rest. You are still badly injured."
"I don't need to stay here, I'm fine." Red Hat replied trying to get up again only to stop again in pain.
"See what I mean. Your wounds aren't healed yet, you need to rest now." Fontaine explained, pointing out the burn wounds he had left from the attacks he had suffered, and after she gently pushed Red Hat into his hospital bed.
"Red Hat, please listen to her. You can't even stand right now." Blair added.
"Ugh, okay, I'll stay here...for now." Red Hat replied as he lay down on the bed.
"Glad you're listening me." Fontaine said smiling as she left the room.
"Now rest, please." Blair said.
Red Hat lay down on the bed covering his face with his hat, frowning at having to stay in the infirmary bed. "I have no intention of staying here. I will leave as soon as I can." Meanwhile, both Blair and Jaden looked at Red Hat, worried about him.
The boat from Jaden's dream drifted silently on the dark water. The woman in the coffin looked ahead and raised her hand to the night sky. "Go, my minions!" She commanded as the bats flew away to do their bidding. "Find me my prey so that we can succeed where Nightshroud has failed!" She smiled as she held a thorny red rose close to his chest.
Thursday
Time 9:00
During the next day, a lot of rumors where going on among the classes and the dorms.
"Hey, did you hear about the vampire?"
"Vampire?"
"Dude! I saw her with my own two eyes! Or at least... my roommate did. She's got these gigantic fangs!"
"Wait! Are you saying it's a she?"
"I am so not kidding! It's a girl vampire!"
"But she'd better stay away from my boyfriend!"
The rumors became so popular, even Sheppard caught wind of it. Because of that, he called Zane, Bastion, Chazz, and Crowler to his office.
"Vampire!" Chazz freaked out.
"I'm afraid the rumors may not be rumors after all." Sheppard said.
"Please! It's a practical joke!" Crowler scoffed.
"A joke? It wasn't a joke that put Jaden, Red Hat, and Alexis in the hospital." Bastion said seriously.
"Do you think she's a Shadow Rider?" Zane asked the Chancellor.
"Perhaps." Sheppard looked at his cohorts. "So listen, be on the lookout for anything strange. Now we should be more cautious than before. Especially because we have already lost a key, and as we understood from Alexis, if someone is defeated by a Shadow Rider, anyone of you could will become their slave. So please everyone be careful."
The group nodded and left the office. Except for banner and Crowler who had a nervous look on their faces.
Time 12:00
Later on, Chazz sat in his Slifer Red dorm room. He was going through the cards in his deck to rearrange it, in case this vampire lady came after him. "Let's see this vampire girl try to get the drop on the Chazz."
Unbeknownst to him, a bat was hanging from the rafters, looking down at him with red glowing eyes.
At the same time, Bastion was going through his own cards, completly unaware of the bat watching him throught the window.
In the Obelisk blue boys' dorm, Zane was in his own room and rearranged his deck, unaware of the spying bat outside the window, just like the others.
"A vampire?" Crowler scoffed. "What's next? The Boogeyman?" He sat down at his office and wrote down some papers. "Who would believe something so ridiculous." But just likes his students, he's being watched by a bat.
Time 16:00
Back in the infirmary, Alexis was still next to her brother's bed. Alexis sighed at this scene. "He hasn't woken up yet, but at least he's back safe and sound." She thought. Alexis stood up from her seat and walked over to Syrus, who was watching over Jaden. "How's Jaden?"
"Oh, it's you, Alexis. He hasn't said anything since the last night." He said sadly.
Alexis frowned slightly. "Oh..." Alexis then turned towards the bed where Red Hat was, while Blair wasn't there at the moment, he still tried to get out of bed. "Red Hat, you need to stay in bed! Your wounds aren't healed yet, you need rest, you heard Miss Fontaine and Blair tell you too!"
Red Hat ignored Alexis' words, still trying to get up, but his legs weren't there and he found himself sitting on his bed. "I've said it before and I'll say it again, I don't want to stay here. I want to go back to my dorm room."
"You should listen to Alexis. You were hurt more badly than the others after that duel. You need to give your wounds time to heal." Syrus tried to reason with him.
Red Hat sighed, deciding to stop for the moment from trying to stand. After a few seconds he turned to Syrus. "How's Jaden?"
"For now he's resting since last night, but he hasn't really woken up since then." Syrus replied with a dejected expression. "But we won't have to worry, he won't be put down by something small like this, he'll get better. We know Jaden, he spends most of his time sleeping, he would only wake up when there's a duel." Syrus added trying to smile.
Red Hat understood Syrus' intentions. He was worried about Jaden's condition, all three of them were. But he knew Jaden and he knew he would wake up soon. "Yeah, you're right." Red Hat said. Then he turned to Alexis. "How is your brother, Alexis?"
Alexis shook her head. "Pretty much the same. But he'll get better. I know it, he's a fighter, you know?" She replied.
"I see." He said to Alexis. At that point Red Hat got back on the bed. "I'm sure Jaden will recover soon, which is good. We'll need his help when the next Shadow Rider arrives." Red Hat thought as he remembered the duel he and Jaden had against Alexis' brother when he was Nightshroud. "I still don't understand what happened to me during the duel, but it happened before with the Gravekeeper's Chief. I need to understand what happens to me." He picked up Aussa and Hiita's cards. "Aussa, Hiita, can you hear me?"
The earth charmer and the fire charmer had appeared in spirit form, as Jaden was not awake, and Syrus and Alexis do not have the ability to see the Duel Spirits from what he understood only Red Hat knew of their presence in the room.
"Hey! We're here!" Hiita said energetically.
"Did you call us?" Aussa asked.
"Yes, I wanted to ask you a question." Red Hat asked in a low tone of voice so as not to be heard by the others.
Hearing his words, the two charmers seemed paralyzed. They all remained silent for a while, then Aussa broke the silence. "It has to do with that aura that manifests itself during your duels and when you lose control, right?" The earth charmer asked.
Red Hat nodded in response. The two charmers looked at each other before speaking. "Do you remember why Mana wanted to talk to you in person the first time we met in the Spirit Realm?" Hiita asked.
Hearing Hiita's question, Red Hat remembered the first meeting with his two Duel Spirits and their friend, recalling Mana's words from that moment. "She told me that I had an uncommon power, but that I didn't use it in the right way because I let my anger drive me." Red Hat replied.
"Well, long story short, you really do have a special power." Aussa said.
"What?!" Red Hat nearly screamed at what Aussa had just revealed to him. He had to be careful not to let the others hear him. "What do you mean?" He asked.
"Well, Mana hasn't told us all the details about this story, but she really believes you have a sort of power." Hiita said.
Hearing this explanation Red Hat couldn't believe it, he was a little skeptical at first, but he couldn't deny that what was happening to him when he partecipate in a Shadow Game was not something normal and Mana, Aussa and Hiita seemed to be the only persons who had the answer to your questions. A few seconds passed in silence before Red Hat asked a question to Aussa and Hiita. "If what you say is true, then this power that I have... what is it exactly?"
"According to what Mana told us, what you possess is almost a one-of-a-kind power. It's called... chaos." Aussa replied with a serious expression.
"Chaos?" Red Hat murmured in almost disbelief upon hearing this.
"Exactly." Aussa said, adjusting her glasses. "What we know about this power is that it is something that holds within it both the power of light and the power of darkness." Aussa explained.
"That's all we've been able to find out so far." Hiita added.
Red Hat stood completely still upon hearing this story.
"There's more you should know about this story." Hiita said.
Red Hat looked at Aussa and Hiita, noticing that they both had sad expressions on their faces as if they didn't want to tell the rest of the story they had to say. But Red Hat needed answers about this power they believed he had. "Continue." He told them.
Neither of them seemed to want to talk about this, after a few moments of silence it was Aussa who spoke. "After we found out about this, we discovered that those who possess this power must be careful how it is used. If you maintain a balance between the two powers within you you can keep the power under control. But if you get carried away by hatred that you have inside you, you will end up being taken by the power of darkness as happened in the last shadow games in which you participated." Aussa said.
Red Hat couldn't believe what he heard, but after hearing this explanation, a question came up to his mind. "What would happen if, as you say, I will lose the control and let the darkness take the control of me?" He asked.
Aussa didn't seem to want to answer Red Hat's question, at that moment Hiita put a hand over his shoulder motioning for her to continue. Aussa gathered courage and spoke. "You would lose control of yourself and end up attacking and hurting the people closest to you."
Red Hat was shocked by the last statement. He couldn't believe in the slightest that he would do something like attack his friends. "N-no, this can't be true. I could hurt Jaden and even... Blair… I could to everyone. " He couldn't get the thought out of his head now that he might harm the people closest to him. Red Hat frowned at the thought that something like this could happen.
"Hey, hey, hey! May I know why you're like this now?!" Hiita said in a strong tone that interrupted Red Hat's thoughts as he focused on the fire charmer. "Look, I understand that what we told you upset you, but you have nothing to worry about. Do you know why? Because I'm with you now!" Hiita said in a proud tone, pointing to herself with her hand.
Red Hat had to admit that Hiita's behavior made him so amused, that he had to stop himself from laughing, then it was the turn of someone else to speak.
"Aren't you forgetting someone, Hiita?" Aussa questioned her. "I'm here too to help you with that. We'll both help you, after all... we're partners." Aussa said turning to Red Hat with a smile.
Red Hat was surprised, when he saw both Aussa and Hiita turned to him smiling. He couldn't believe they would help him with this. Inside himself he felt a sort of spark of happiness that he hadn't felt for a long time, that he had only felt since he met Jaden, Blair and all the other companions. At that point a smile formed on Red Hat's face. "Thanks girls." Red Hat thanked both.
"Anytime, but you better take a nap now, you'll need it believe me." Hiita said.
"Hiita is right. You need to get your strength back for when the next Shadow Rider is here. Since we don't know when he'll arrive." Aussa added.
"You're right, but that doesn't mean I want to stay in this room any longer." Red Hat replied.
"Hahaha, I like it when you do that." Hiita admitted amused.
"You should take better care of yourself. Now I think I understand what your friends go through with you." Aussa said with a sigh for Red Hat behavior. "For now, rest and take it easy."
"I don't promise anything." Red Hat said before Aussa and Hiita disappeared. Red Hat lay down on the bed, lost in thought. "I'll have to get out of here as soon as possible and prepare for when the next shadow rider activates." He thought as he glanced at Jaden who was still sleeping. "And I know that when it arrives, Jaden will be with us to face it."
In a large bathroom, lying in a bathtub, the vampire woman in question held out her left hand as one of her bats came flying in and landed on it. "My precious, what did you bring me?" It's eyes glowed red, at the same time as its mistress. Image of the Key Keepers appeared in her mind. "Ah, so this is our opposition. Hmm... who shall it be?" She then settled on a certain someone. Someone with dark blue hair and a stern expression. "You... you will be my first."
Later on, the rest of the key keepers, Zane, Bastion and Chazz, met outside the main building of Duel Academy to report to Sheppard on the trails of the so-called vampire.
"Did you find anything?" Zane asked.
"I haven't found any sign of the vampire." Bastion replied.
"Same here, even if she were here we would just have to face her in duel and get her out of the way." Chazz added.
"Chazz, remember the chancellor asked us to be careful." Zane said.
When they were about to head to the chancellor's office, they saw Red Hat was slowly walking away from the main building.
"Red Hat! What are you doing here, you should be in the infirmary resting." Bastion said walking closer to him.
"I refuse to stay in the infirmary. I'd rather go back to the dorm, at least so I can prepare for when the next Shadow Rider arrives." Red Hat replied while he was trying to stay standing.
"How could Syrus and Alexis let you get out of the infirmary in your state?" Bastion asked in disbelief.
"They don't know. Syrus was making sure Jaden was okay, while Alexis was keeping an eye on her brother. Since Blair wasn't there I took advantage of the moment to leave the infirmary." Red Hat explained.
"Red Hat, you need to return to the infirmary immediately. You still haven't fully recovered from your last duel." Bastion said.
"I'm fine, Bastion. I just want to go back to the dorm now." Red Hat replied as he tried to take a few more steps.
"You're fine, don't joke! Look carefully yourself slacker! Look at the state you're in, you can't duel right now, you couldn't even hold a duel disk!" Chazz said.
"Even in this state I can beat you Chazz, so don't get your hopes up that you can beat me." Red Hat said with a smirk. He could see that Chazz was furious, and frankly it amused him. "If we're done here, I'm going back to the dorm. I have to prepare myself."
"You little! Be thankful you're injured otherwise I'd beat you up!" Chazz said angrily.
"That's enough!" Zane interrupted them. "Red Hat, I understand how you feel, but the last duel forced you, Jaden and Alexis to rest due to your injuries. But unlike them you're more injured. In the state you are in now you would be easy prey for our enemies." Zane said.
Before Red Hat could respond, someone started coming towards them screaming.
"VAMPIRE!"
Everyone turned to see Chumley running with a frightened expression on his face.
"Chumley, what's going on? Why are you running?" Bastion asked.
"I saw her! I saw the vampire! She's at the lake!" Chumley replied.
"What?!" Chazz and Bastion said ath the same time shocked to hear this.
"The second shadow rider is already here." Zane said.
"Chumley also warns Alexis, Syrus, and tell them the vampire is at the lake. They too must know that the shadow rider has arrived." Red Hat said.
"I'll do right away." Chumley replied.
"In the meantime we will already head to the lake." Zane said, to which Bastion and Chazz nodded in response.
"Wait!" Red Hat interrupted them before he left. "Let me come with you." He asked.
"Then you didn't listen to what we said before at all, you slacker! You couldn't do anything in the state you're in now!" Chazz pointed out.
"Nevertheless I want to come anyway, I want to see it with my own eyes." Red Hat said as he tried moved around but he was still in pain from his injuries.
"Alright then." Zane agreed. "Bastion, help Red Hat to come with us." Zane asked turning to Bastion.
Bastion put Red Hat's arm around his shoulders to help him move. "Thank you, Bastion." Red Hat thanked him.
"Don't worry about it." Bastion replied.
As they began to move, Red Hat used his PDA to send a message to Blair, alerting her that the second Shadow Rider had arrived, asking her to stay in the dorm room.
Time 20:00
The Key Keepers goes through the forest for a short while, and arrived at the lake's edge, shrouded in fog while a crescent moon hung in the sky. A sleek red carpet rolled out from within the fog, up to them. "I think she's expecting us." Bastion commented.
"At least it's the red carpet treatment." Crowler added.
"Crimson red. How fitting." Zane noted.
"What now?" Bastion asked.
"Now, we face her." Zane replied.
"Yeah, but who?" Chazz asked.
Crowler tried to backed away from the lake, but Red Hat had noticed what he was doing. "I can't believe you'd let your students move on, Crowler. And then everyone wonders why I can't stand you." Red Hat thought with a frown but didn't say anything to the others, they had more pressing things to worry about.
Back in the infirmary, Syrus was still watching Jaden while Alexis kept an eye on her brother. At that moment Chumley hurriedly entered the infirmary. "Syrus, listen up. The second shadow knight has arrived. The vampire lady is here, she's at the lake. Zane, Bastion, Chazz, Banner and Crowler have already gone there. And Red Hat is with them." Chumley explained.
"What?!" Syrus stood up from his chair shocked. "The vampire lady is here?!"
"So the second shadow rider has already arrived." Alexis commented as she approached him.
"What should we do?" Syrus asked.
"I think we should go too." Alexis replied.
In that moment, Jaden woken up, eavesdropping the conversation, when he heard a rumor near to him, he glanced at Winged Kuriboh who was near to him. Then he decided to talk. "Syrus, Chumley, Alexis." Jaden got up from his bed, despite his injuries were full recovered, he was still able to stand.
"Jaden, you shouldn't get up. You're still weak from your wounds." Chumley said.
"Chumley's right. You're not fully healed yet." Syrus said.
"Don't worry guys, I'm fine now." Jaden said, but after a few steps he winced in pain. "Okay, maybe I'm not as well as I think."
Alexis sighed at his behavior. "Jaden, you don't have to force yourself. You're still hurt, you still haven't fully recovered from the last duel." She said worried about him.
"But I can't sit here and do nothing. I heard that the second shadow rider has arrived, and I'm not going to stay here and let the others fight. So I say we all go to the others and help them out." Jaden said.
Alexis looked at Jaden with a surprised look, before smiling. "You know what, I agree. Even though I lost my Spiritual Key I don't want to leave the others alone to fight. So let's go." Alexis agreed with Jaden.
"Awe, do we have to?" Chumley asked scared.
"Chumley's right, d-d-do you want to go to where the v-v-vampire is?" Syrus asked scared too.
"Yeah, of course we will." Jaden stated making them both gasp. "Chumley, can you help me get there." He asked.
At this point Chumley decided to carry Jaden on his shoulders. So everyone started going to the lake where their friends were.
The key keepers were waiting at the lake for the shadow rider to make his appearance. But after a few minutes nothing had happened, until the silhouette of something began to appear from the distance from the fog.
"Look over there! There's something!" Bastion pointed.
The key keepers all looked in the same direction. Out of nowhere a gust of wind began to blow. The fog lifted, making everyone see that there was a large castle in the middle of the lake, a large flock of bats flew above this castle.
"Apparently, she's asking us to come in." Bastion pointed out.
"Well, then let's not keep her waiting. The sooner we finish this the better." Chazz said.
Before they could start heading towards the castle, a voice from afar called out to them. "Hold up!" The voice shouted. The key keepers turned to see Jaden being carried onto Chumley's shoulders, Syrus and Alexis running towards them.
"Jaden? Alexis? What are you doing here? You should be in the infirmary right now." Bastion said surprised at their presence.
"What do you think, Bastion? We'll all come with you." Jaden replied.
Before Bastion tried to say anything, Red Hat put a hand on his shoulder. "Bastion, there's no point in saying anything. You know how is made Jaden. There would be no point in trying to change his mind." Red Hat said a little amused by his friend's behavior even in this situation.
"You got that right, Red Hat. And it looks like you had the same idea too." Jaden said.
"Well, now that we're all here, it's time to go." Zane said. So they all began to head towards the castle in the lake.
All the key keepers followed the trail of the red carpet arriving at the castle door, and went inside. As they continued to walk inside they reached a large wooden door that creaked open for them, revealing some stairs. They went up the stairs and walked through a torch lit corridor.
"Aww, we still have a long way to go. I'm getting tired, and carrying Jaden on my back doesn't make it any easier." Chumley complained.
Everyone ignored Chumley's complaint and continued to walk.
"We're close." Zane said.
After a short while of walking, they reached a large room with a chandelier hanging in the middle of the ceiling. Also, on a higher level was a walkway going all around the room with a balcony on either end.
The others looked around for signs of the shadow rider's presence. "Welcome to my humble abode, key keepers." A voice said shocking them. They looked in the direction of the voice in front of them, and saw a beatiful woman with long green hair, in a crimson red dress clinging to her like a second skin. She also was wearing a golden necklace with an eye symbol. "I have been eagerly awaiting your arrival." She spoke in a Transylvanian accent.
"So you're the shadow rider?" Jaden asked.
"Exactly. Let me introduce myself, I'm Camula, vampire mistress of the shadow riders." When she ended her introduction, her eyes glow red and a horde of bats appeared near her. She took a look at the key keepers. "None of them seem to catch my attention." She thought, glancing off the side to Zane. "You'll be my opponent." Camula said pointing to Zane.
Chazz smirked at the person in question. "You hear that, Zane? It sounds as though you're her type."
"Yes or her blood type." Bastion corrected him.
"It is fine for me." Zane said with his stoic expression.
"In that case, follow me." Camula said walking to one of the balconies while Zane headed to the other.
"This vampire made a huge mistake." Crowler stated.
"For once I agree with Crowler. Zane will tear that vampire to pieces." Chazz agreed.
"Good, but before we start the duel let me explain something to you. If I win I will not only take your Spiritual Key, but you will become my servant and help me take the other keys from your friends to free the three Sacred Beasts." Camula explained with an amused expression.
"I knew it! If we lose against the other shadow riders too, some of us risk becoming their puppets!" Alexis stated worriedly remembering when it happened to her.
"That's true, but we shouldn't forget that she is dueling against Zane, the strongest duelist in the academy. Zane's chances of winning are high." Bastion stated.
Syrus, despite this, looks at his brother with a worried expression. "Good luck, bro." Syrus said fearfully.
Jaden placed a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry, Syrus. Zane has this duel in hand, he got this." Jaden said trying to comfort him.
"So are you ready to duel, darling?" Camula asked, addressing to Zane. At that moment the flock of bats was flying above Camula.
"Let's duel." Zane replied.
While the rest of the key keepers group was confident of Zane's victory, Red Hat continued to look at Camula with a serious expression. "Something isn't right here. I don't know why but I have a bad feeling." He thought.
Zane activated his duel disk. Camula did the same, activating her duel disk which had opened like a bat wing for the card zones.
"DUEL"
Zane: 8000 LP
Camula: 8000 LP
"The first move is mine. My turn, I draw!" Camula draws.
Hand 6
"I'll set a monster facedown. I'll end my turn." Camula ends her turn.
Hand 5
"It's my turn now. I draw!" Zane draws.
Hand 6
"I summon Cyber Phoenix in attack mode! (Atk: 1200 – Def: 1600) Battle, Cyber Phoenix attack her facedown monster!" Cyber Phoenix fired a fire breath at Camula's facedown monster. Which turned out to be Nightmare Horse. (Atk: 500 – Def: 400) "I set one card facedown. I end my turn." Zane ends his turn.
Hand 4
"Very well. It's my turn. I draw!" Camula draws.
Hand 6
"I activate Pot of Greed to draw 2 cards. Then I activate the continuous spell, Call of the Mummy! Since I control no monster on the field, I can special summon once per turn 1 Zombie monster from my hand. I summon, Despair from the Dark in attack mode! (Atk: 2800 – Def: 3000) I normal summon Pyramid Turtle. (Atk: 1200 – Def: 1400)" A turtle with the shell of a pyramid appear onto the field. "Battle, Pyramid Turtle attack your Cyber Phoenix!" Pyramid Turtle charged at Zane's monster, the two monsters both collided causing a large explosion destroying them both.
"You've triggered Cyber Phoenix's effect, when it is destroyed by battle, I can draw 1 card." Zane explained as he drew his card
"I don't understand? Why did she attack with a monster that had the same attack points as Cyber Phoenix?" Syrus wondered confused by her move.
"Don't ask me, I haven't the faintest idea." Chumley said as confused as he was.
"Because doing this she can use Pyramid Turtle's effect. When Pyramid Turtle is destroyed in battle, its owner can summon another monster." Bastion explained.
"Pyramid Turtle effect activates. When this monster is destroyed by battle and sent to the graveyard, I can special summon 1 Zombie monster with 2000 or less defense points from my deck. I choose this monster, make your appearance, Vampire Lord!" (Atk: 2000 – Def: 1500) A blue-haired vampire in a dark suit and cape appeared on the field. "Vampire Lord, attack him directly!" The vampire rushed towards Zane to strike him, but Zane interrupted him.
"I activate my face down, Call of the Haunted. I Special Summon Cyber Phoenix from my graveyard in attack position. (Atk: 1200 – Def: 1600)" The mechanical phoenix reappeared on Zane's side of the field.
"In that case Vampire Lord, attack Cyber Phoenix!" The vampire's hand was surrounded by a dark shadow that took the shape of a claw. He rushed towards Cyber Phoenix, hitting it causing it to explode.
Zane: 8000 – 7200 LP
"Vampire Lord special ability is activated. When he inflict to you a battle damage, I declare one type of card. Monster, spell or trap, you have to send from your deck to the graveyard the type of card I declare. I choose a spell card." Camula explained.
Zane took a spell card from his deck and inserted it into the duel disk's graveyard slot. "But you forgot Cyber Phoenix's effect. Which is that when it is destroyed in battle, I can draw a card." He said as he drew a card, a stoic expression on his face.
"Well, apparently you're tougher than you look. That'll make things more interesting for me. After all, you don't have any secrets that you can hide from me, Zane." Camula said smiling as one of the bats rested on her right hand and its eyes glowed red.
Nobody seems to notice this, except Red Hat. Who had been keeping an eye on Camula since the beginning of the duel. "There's something that doesn't convince me about this duel. I hope Zane knows what he's doing." He thought.
"Good, let's get on with the duel, darling. Despair from the Dark, attack Zane directly!" Camula's monster lunged at Zane, hitting him, causing Zane to flinch from the blow and take a few steps back.
Zane: 7200 – 4400 LP
"This is bad." Bastion murmured.
"That vampire has the advantage against Zane." Chazz added.
"This is not possible!" Crowler shouted in frustration.
"Big bro." Syrus muttered worriedly as he watched the duel.
"I end my turn. It's your move, darling." Camula ended her turn.
Hand 4
"Guys, things are looking bad for Zane." Chumley said.
"It's still too early to tell, Chumley. Zane is a very strong duelist. I know this because I've faced him in a duel myself, and I know he won't give up now." Jaden said confidently.
Red Hat meanwhile silently observed the duel. "Jaden is right. Zane is a strong duelist, something I realized in our duel." He thought before focusing on Camula. "But I can't shake the feeling that there's something wrong with this duel. I hope Zane knows what he's doing."
"My turn. I draw!" Zane draws.
Hand 7
"I activate the spell, Graceful Charity. I draw 3 cards, then I have to discard 2 cards." Zane draws his cards, then discards two. "Next, I play the spell Polymerization! I fuse Barrel Dragon and Blowback Dragon in my hand. With the union of this two monsters I summon Gatling Dragon in attack mode! (Atk: 2600 – Def: 1200) Now I use his effect, I toss a coin 3 times and I can destroy a monster on the field equal of the numbers of head I get." Zane takes out a coin.
"It's weird. Zane doesn't usually play like that. It's not like him." Syrus said to himself in his mind.
Zane, flipped the coin for the first time. "The first is heads." The first toss came up heads. Then he flipped the coin a second time. The second landed on his head. "Second is heads." Zane prepared to flip the coin for the third time. When the coin landed on his hand, he flipped it over showing that it had landed on tails. "This one is tails."
"Totally licious! Now Zane can destroy all of that vampire's monsters without eliminating his own monster!" Chumley cheered.
"Go, Gatling Dragon! Destroy her monsters! Gatling Lightning Blast!" The mechanical dragon fired from its barrels a powerful lasers destroying Despair from the Darkness and Vampire Lord. "I summon Proto-Cyber Dragon in attack mode! (Atk: 1100 – Def: 600) Now Gatling Dragon and Proto-Cyber Dragon attack you directly!" Zane's two mechanical dragons shot a beam of blue light from their heads.
Camula: 8000 – 5400 – 4300 LP
"How dare you?!" Camula glared at Zane.
"Your brother is really strong, Syrus." Chumley complimented.
"Yeah, your bro's got the duel in his hand. No wonder he beat me." Jaden added.
"That's why my brother is the best and is undefeated." Syrus replied.
"I'll set one card facedown and end my turn." Zane ends his turn.
Hand 2
"Now then, shall we continue the duel? It's my turn. I draw!" Camula draws.
Hand 5
"It's my standby phase, so since you destroyed Vampire Lord by an effect in the last turn, he can back on the field." Vampire Lord reappeared on the field. She then began to smile. "I banish Vampire Lord to special summon Vampire Genesis! (Atk: 3000 – Def: 2100)" The blue-haired vampire disappeared and was replenished by a huge, purple beast with strange wing-like appendages on its back.
"That thing is ugly." Chazz commented.
"Not to mention scary." Syrus added.
"And now she has a stronger monster on the field than Zane." Bastion pointed out.
"When Zane makes a move to gain the upper hand she immediately fights back." Red Hat thought as he narrowed his eyes at Camula. "It's like she knows Zane's moves in advance. How does she do that?"
"I summon Fear from the Dark in attack mode! (Atk: 1700 – Def: 1500)" A ghostly figure had appeared on Camula's field.
"I activate my facedown card." Zane interrupted her. "Bottomless Trap Hole! Since you summoned a monster with 1500 or more attack points, I destroy that monster and banish it." A crack opened in the ground from which came out a large hand that dragged Camula's monster underground.
Camula frowned before playing another card from her hand. "I play the spell, Smashing Ground! With this I can destroy your Gatling Dragon!" Zane's mechanical dragon was hit by a punch that fell from the sky causing it to explode."Battle, Vampire Genesis attack Proto-Cyber Dragon!" The purple beast glowed with a purple aura, he transformed itself in a mist that surrounded the mechanical dragon of Zane's making him exploding.
Zane: 4400 – 2500 LP
"Now I end my turn." Camula ends her turn.
Hand 2
"Alright, it's my turn now. I draw!" Zane draws.
Hand 3
"First I play this spell, Pot of Avarice! I shuffle 5 monster cards in my graveyard back to my deck, and then draw 2 cards. I choose Cyber Phoenix, Barrel Dragon, Blowback Dragon, Gatling Dragon, and Proto-Cyber Dragon." The five cards come out of the duel disk graveyard slot. Zane return them back into the deck while the fusion monster returns to the extra-deck, he shuffle the deck and then draws two cards. "Next I play, Pot of Greed that allows me to draw 2 cards. Then I summon a monster that you should recognize. I summon Proto-Cyber Dragon in attack mode! (Atk: 1100 – Def: 600) As long this monster remain on the field, its name becomes Cyber Dragon." Zane explained. "I play, Polymerization! I fuse the Cyber Dragon on my field with the two in my hand to form Cyber End Dragon! (Atk: 4000 – Def: 2800)" The ace monster of Zane, the mechanical three headed dragon appeared on the field.
"Zane has finally summoned his ace monster." Red Hat thought excitedly at the sight of Zane's monster.
"Great! Zane summoned his strongest monster!" Syrus cheered.
"With that monster on the field, Zane will win." Alexei said.
"That vampire's hours are numbered now." Chazz said.
"Zane has victory in this duel within his grasp." Jaden said excited carried away from the moment.
"Cyber End Dragon attack Vampire Genesis with Super Strident Blaze!" The cybernetic dragon fired a beam of energy from its three heads, hitting Vampire Genesis and causing it to explode.
Camula: 4300 – 3300 LP
"I'll place one card facedown. I end my turn." Zane ends his turn.
Hand 0
"That was great!" Chumley cheered.
"One more turn and Zane win the duel." Chazz said.
"You made a grave mistake, darling." Camula said turning to Zane. "Because by doing this... you force me to show the worst side of me." Camula's jaw dropped beyond further what most people could do, at the same time, a thick tounge came out and a vicious pair of fangs could be seen. "It's my turn. I draw!" Camula draws.
Hand 3
Camula's face returned to normal as she was smiling. "I play the spell card Illusion Gate!" A stone door and archway rose up from the floor behind her.
"Illusion Gate?" Zane repeated, looking at the door confused.
"Uh oh. I've never heard of it." Jaden said. "You guys know what it does?"
"No." Bastion answered.
"Not me." Chazz said.
"I've never heard of that card either." Red Hat said.
"The fact that not even Red Hat knows about this card doesn't make the situation any better, now we don't know what Camula is going to do." Alexis said.
"Something tells me we're about to find out." Red Hat said. "I wonder, where she got that card?" He thought.
"Behold!" Camula announced. "First, this spell destroys all monsters on your field!" The doorway then opened wide, let out a foul wind and blinded everyone with a bright light that destroyed the Cyber End Dragon. "But that's not all, it effect don't ends here. You see, this card allows me to special summon one monster from your graveyard to my side of the field ignoring it summon conditions."
"What?" That statement made Zane's eyes widen.
"Now I take your powerful monster from your graveyard. I summon the almighty Cyber End Dragon! (Atk: 4000 – Def: 2800)" Cyber End Dragon appeared onto the side of field of Camula's.
Zane scoffed. "Oh please. No card is powerful enough to let you make a move like that. There must be some kind of catch."
"Yes, but it's just a tiny one. At the end of this turn, my life points are reduced by 90 percent." Camula explained.
"There's no way a card like that is real." Red Hat said in disbelief.
"That's no good." Chazz said.
"This can't really be happening." Alexis exclaimed.
At that moment Zane turned to the group, "Guys, I'm sorry." He said to them.
"Zane..." Syrus muttered looking at his brother.
At that moment Zane smiled at Syrus. "I love you Syrus. Farewell."
"Zane! No!" Jaden said.
"Zane!" Syrus shouted.
"Cyber End Dragon! Attack Zane directly! Super Strident Blaze!" The cybernetic dragon fired a beam of energy from its three heads which combined into one causing a large explosion, sending Zane sprawling on the ground.
Zane: 2500 – 0 LP
Zane's spirit key dropped from his neck and disappeared as he fell to his knees. The hologram's disappeared as Camula started to walk towards Zane. "You are my servant now. " Camula's eyes glowed red and then Zane's eyes became dull and dark while his body was surrounded by a dark purple aura, after a while Zane stood up and his eyes were red but they were lifeless. "At last, darling, you're all mine. A tad less talkative... but a darling trophy nonetheless…"
"Oh no." Jaden muttered.
"What do you want me to do?" Zane asked.
"Together we will destroy the rest of the Key Keepers and take their keys." Camula declared laughing as Zane stood next to her. She and Zane then disappeared in a swirl of dust, her laughter echoing the room. The room was then filled with dense mist...
And when it dissipated, the key keepers, including Syrus and Chumley found themselves at the edge of the lake.
Syrus was on his knees, staring at the castel with tears coming from his eyes. "Just like that... he's gone... and now that vampire is controlling my brother..."
Everyone looked at him, all of them saddened because the school's number one duelist had lost, and now they would be forced to face him, everyone understood Syrus' sadness. Red Hat also felt sad for Syrus.
At that moment Aussa and Hiita appeared near Red Hat in the form of spirits.
"I'm sorry about what happened to your friend." Aussa said with a sad look.
"Yeah, none of you expected something like this to happen." Hiita added.
"What happened can't be changed, even if I can't believe Zane lost." Red Hat said.
The two charmers looked at each other before Aussa spoke. "There's something you should know about dueling the shadow rider."
"What?"
"Well, you see, before you met the shadow rider, Hiita and I sensed presences around you and the rest of the Key Keepers. But then we felt the same presence again while all of you were inside her castle." Aussa explained.
"I don't understand, what are you trying to tell me?" Red Hat asked confused.
"What she's trying to say is that the presence we sensed was from that vampire's bats… she was spying on all of you." Hiita revealed.
"What?!" Red Hat thought in shock. "So she's been spying on everyone's decks." Hearing this he now understood how Camula was able to counter Zane's moves, because she had seen what cards his deck had. Realizing that the shadow rider had won the duel because she had cheated and that Zane was now under her control. Red Hat couldn't help but clench his fists as hard as he could feeling the anger he had begin to grow. "I swear... I'll make her pay."
"Hey, slow down the hot spirits." Hiita said.
"Hiita is right. You have to keep your anger under control like we told you otherwise you will lose control of yourself." Aussa reminded him trying to get him to calm down.
Red Hat realized that they were right, he didn't want to end up losing control due to the power of chaos he had, so he took a few moments to calm down. "Sorry, you're right." At that point Red Hat turned its attention to Syrus as did the rest of the group.
It was then someone lowered himself right next to Syrus. "That's it!"
"Jaden?"
"You hear me? No more, Camula!" He yelled. "What you did to Zane... it stops here! And I'm gonna be the one who stops you!"
"Jaden..." Alexis muttered.
"Sure, I may not be up to snuff, but I don't care!" Jaden clenched his fist. "I'm taking you on! And one way or another, I'm getting Zane back! Camula!" Jaden stood up and shouted before grabbing his chest in pain. "Camula, here I come! So get set to get your game on!"
Red Hat smiled. "That's just like you, Jaden. You fight to defend your friends. And next time you face Camula, rest assured you'll have my help." Red Hat thought before his gaze turned serious. "But first there's something important I need to do." Red Hat thought as he began to walk away while he was grabbing his chest in pain.
"Where are you going, Red Hat?" Alexis asked as she noticed Red Hat walking away.
"I'm going back to my dorm room." Red Hat replied.
"You can't go back to the dorm, you should go back to the infirmary." Alexis said.
"Alexis is right. You should go back to the infirmary to rest. Your wounds are not fully healed yet, and we will need your help with the shadow riders." Bastion added.
"I'm sorry but I can't. There's something important I have to do." Red Hat insisted.
"Stubborn as ever." Alexis commented. "Not that we were sure we could change your mind. All right, go."
"But try to rest." Bastion said.
"Thank you guys." Red Hat said as he started to walk back to the dorm, while the rest of the group returned to the Academy to get some rest.
Time 21:00
At that moment Red Hat entered his room and saw Blair who was surprised by his arrival.
"Red Hat... what happened?" Blair asked.
"I couldn't stay in the infirmary anymore, so I decided to leave there but then I met Zane, Bastion and Chazz but the shadow rider had arrived." Red Hat replied.
"How did the duel go? Who fought the shadow rider?" Blair questioned him.
Upon hearing her questions, Red Hat did nothing but lower his head with his hat covering his face. He took a few seconds to think about what to say to her first. "Zane dueled the shadow rider."
"Did Zane duel the shadow rider?" Blair asked in surprise. After a few seconds a happy expression formed on his face "If Zane dueled then he definitely won against the shadow rider! Because he is the best!" Blair said excitedly with her cheeks turning red.
Red Hat continued to remain silent keeping his head lowered hearing her words.
Blair looked at Red Hat who remained silent, seeing him so full of the excitement she felt earlier had disappeared. "Zane won, right?" Blair asked.
Red Hat continued to remain silent.
At that point Blair approached Red Hat. "That's how it happened, right?" Blair asked again. But Red Hat didn't answer his question. Seeing that he didn't answer her, Blair began to feel a little scared. "That's how it went, right? Zane beat the shadow rider?" But this time too, Red Hat said nothing. So Blair started to feel scared at that point. He grabbed Red Hat by his jacket. "Please tell me that's how it happened? Tell me that Zane won the duel?" Blair asked worriedly.
Red Hat seeing her could see that Blair was really worried about Zane. He remained silent before looking away from Blair. "I'm sorry Blair. Zane dueled Camula... but lost the duel." Red Hat replied.
Hearing his words, Blair let go of his jacket and took a few steps away. "Zane... has lost." She said with a low voice with a sad look.
Even though Red Hat looked away he could see Blair who looked like she was about to cry. "I'm sorry Blair, but Zane lost and on top of that Camula made him her servant. Now if we want to get Zane back we have to beat Camula."
Blair lowered her head to the floor hearing this news. Red Hat wanted to approach her and say something to console her, but he couldn't bring himself to say anything. "What should I tell her? I just don't know what to do now." Red Hat thought before turning his gaze to Blair who was staring at the floor. He could tell that Blair had taken the loss of Zane as sadly as Syrus.
"You said if we want to get Zane back we have to beat Camula, right?" Blair asked before looking up at Red Hat. "Then I'll go duel that vampire myself." She said with a determined look and security in her voice.
Red Hat was brought out of his thoughts by hearing her words and was very surprised by what Blair had said. "Is she willing to go to that length to save Zane?" Then his surprise turned to concern as he thought about what would happen if Blair dueled Camula in a shadow game. "You can't do this, Blair! If you duel in a shadow game you risk getting hurt! It's too dangerous!"
"I'm not going to stay here and do nothing. I'll go and save him myself." Blair said to Red Hat fully determined to do.
"No Blair it's too dangerous, I can't let you do that. Jaden also said, he'll face Camula, but if it's like the duel against Nightshroud then Jaden won't be able to duel alone." Red Hat said.
"All right." She murmured. "But if that's the case then who will help Jaden?" Blair asked.
"It'll be me." Red Hat replied, pointing to himself.
Blair was very shocked by his words. "Are you crazy?! You still haven't recovered from the last duel with Nighthsroud and you're the one who was more injured than the others! You can't duel against the shadow rider even if you do it together with Jaden!" Blair said worriedly.
"Please, as if these two scratches could stop me. Besides, I want to do it myself to win against Camula." Red Hat said.
Even though she heard his words, Blair was still worried about Red Hat. Even about Jaden hearing that he had already decided to face Camula. Even though she knew that Red Hat along with Jaden would have a better chance of winning against the shadow rider than the others, she was still worried. But seeing how confident he was in doing it, she couldn't say anything to convince him not to do it. "Okay, you've already decided to do it anyway." Blair said.
"Now I better get to work on my deck." Red Hat said. But first he turned to Blair. "Blair, I promise. I'll bring Zane back." She told him confidently and with a serious expression on her face.
Blair smiled hearing that. "I know you two will. You and Jaden are the best together. But try to be careful."
Blair then decided to go to sleep. While Red Hat began working on his deck while lost in thought. "I have to make sure that my deck counters Camula's cards. Illusion Gate most of all. Even if that card has an exaggerated cost to activate it can be quite annoying." He thought of Red Hat as he thought of Camula for how she had won against Zane. "If Camula hadn't spied on his deck, Zane would have won for sure. I'll make her pay for brainwashing Zane. And with this deck I'll give her a nice surprise."
While Red Hat was working on his deck, Aussa and Hiita appeared in spirit form near him. "Woah, I see you've already started working on your deck. Well, I'm waiting to see the face expression of that vampire will do when she sees the surprise you prepared for her." Hiita admitted amusedly.
"Try to remember that you must keep your anger at bay or the dark side of the power of chaos will take control of you again." Aussa reminded him.
"Don't worry, I keep my anger under control." Red Hat replied. Remembering how in the duel against Nightshroud he had let his anger get the better of him, he wouldn't let that happen again.
Aussa smiled at this. "Well, let's let you work in peace now."
"Yeah, she's right. As soon as you see that vampire, make sure you give her a good beating!" Hiita said in a energetic tone.
Aussa sighed at Hiita's behavior as she adjusted her glasses. "Try to be careful." With that Aussa and Hiita disappeared while Red Hat worked on his deck.
Time 23:00
Chancellor Sheppard stood in his office, looking through the window as another storm raged on outside. His office was dark and the only light present was his computer's monitor, and the occasional lightning flashes. He was greatly concerned for the gates that held the Sacred Beasts. "Two of the seven gates have been unlocked..."
A whirring sound made him look over his shoulder. It was his monitor that whirred to life and showed a dark figure wearing a mask with tubes hanging around it.
"You disappoint me." The figure said. "Your excellent duelists only excel in losing. Why don't you give up and surrender the five remaining keys now?"
"It's not over!" Sheppard replied. "And if I know my students, they'll never give up, no matter what the odds! I mean after all, They've come to this island to be champions!"
"Hmm, and they'll end up victims. My vampire is ready to feed again." The figure chuckled darkly. "Don't think that boy can help you with this." The figure's words left Sheppard confused as to what he meant. "I admit that I was somewhat surprised that among your key keepers there was the wielder of the power of chaos, he could be a threat to my goal. This will change my plans but it won't stop me."
"Wait?! What do you mean?" Sheppard asked.
"You'll figure it out soon." The screen turned off, leaving Sheppard confused by his words.
Friday
Time 20:00
In the infirmary, Alexis sat at her brother bedside, hoping for him to get better and wake up. But so far, nothing had changed. Jaden was asleep as well. While Red Hat had decided to return to dorm.
Alexis turned around and saw Jaden tossing a bit in his sleep, groaning in pain with every movement. "Jaden... get well. After all, with my brother still unconscious, and Zane captured by Camula, we'll need all the help we can get to fight the Shadow Games and Camula."
"Ngh..." Hearing the groaning, Alexis turned around and saw the half medallion around Atticus' neck glowing. Not only that, but his hand was reaching for it.
"Atticus!" Alexis gasped, seeing his brother open his eyes.
Meanwhile at the lake, Chazz and Bastion were standing in front of the unrolled carpet leading to the castle, while Syrus and Chumley were pushing and dragging a reluctant Professor Banner, who had his cat in his arms.
"Come on, Professor Banner." Syrus begged. "You have to duel that vampire! I mean, you're a Shadow Game expert!"
"Yeah! Not only that, you're the only one out here that's wearing garlic aftershave!" Chumley added.
"I can't duel!" Banner protested. "Who will take care of my cat?! And for the record, I don't even have a spirit key!"
"Don't worry about it. This is clearly a job for Chazz Princeton anyway!" Chazz bragged.
"If you mean feed the cat, I think you're right." Bastion remarked.
"The cavalry's here!" Alexis greeted loudly as she was coming towards the group in a small motorboat. She stopped next to the red carpet and stepped out in the shallow water. "We don't need Banner when we've got Jaden." Alexis spoke up.
The boy in question got up from within the boat.
"What's up?" Jaden asked.
"Jaden won't be alone in the duel, I'll be there with him." Red Hat said as he walked closer to the group.
"For the last time, you can't!" Syrus said.
"Yeah, you're still hurt both of you, slackers." Chazz reminded them.
"Don't think I'm going to sit down and do nothing to stop that vampire." Red Hat replied with a serious expression.
"What Chazz said it's true." Bastion said.
Alexis sighed at this, but she was sure that Red Hat would come to lend Jaden a hand. "I knew you would come despite your injuries." She said before looking at Jaden as he spoke to everyone. "You see, we were back in the hospital..."
Flashback
"You're finally awake!" Alexis pulled off Atticus' oxygen mask.
He spoke up weakly. "Alexis... I need to tell you about her. The vampire known as Camula. You cannot defeat her like the others."
"But why not?" Alexis asked.
"She has a shadow charm that gives her the power to steal souls and control them. I'm sure you've seen her use it already. But you can stop her with another charm." Atticus remove the Shadow Charm he has around his neck and gave the other half to Alexis. "With this shadow charm you can stop temporarily her power when she tries to use them against all of you."
"With this we can stop Camula." Alexis said.
In that moment Atticus collapsed after using all of his remaining strenght as he returned to sleep.
"Thanks, Atticus." Alexis said softly as she looks at her brother.
Flashback end.
"If we can stop her from using her shadow charm, we can duel with all our might, rather than just standing scared." Alexis explained.
"Doesn't scare me." Chazz muttered.
"So we fight fire with fire." Alexis continued. "We've got our own shadow charm."
"Compliments of Atticus..." Jaden said, showing his medallion halves.
"So what are we waiting for? Let's deal with Camula and get Zane back. " Red Hat said.
"Are you really that stupid, you slacker? You want to understand that you can't do anything in the conditions you find yourself in." Chazz said.
"I have to agree with Chazz this time, you're in no condition to duel yet, Red Hat." Bastion added.
"It would be better if someone else to duel alongside Jaden against Camula." Chumley said.
"If you duel in a shadow game, you might end up worse than the last duel." Alexis said.
"Please you must rest for now, but we can't afford to lose anyone else after what happened to Zane." Syrus said.
"I'm sorry but I can't sit around doing nothing, especially now, this is something I have to do." Red Hat replied with a serious expression.
When Alexis and Syrus were about to object, Jaden placed his hands on both of their shoulders to stop them. "Syrus, Alexis, let him do it, we'll take care of Camula." Jaden said smiling at them both to calm them.
Alexis signed up for this situation. "I figured it would go like this." She said.
"Yeah, but are you sure you can duel in your condition?" Syrus asked uncertainly.
Red Hat nodded. "These two scratches aren't anything special, and besides, I'm not the type to back down from situations like that."
"Do as you like, slacker." Chazz said.
"If you're sure about this." Bastion said.
"Since we are all ready, let's get going." Red Hat said.
With that, everyone started to walk inside the castle, Banner also joined them and followed them. Red Hat tried to walk alone despite his injuries, as much as he denied it or tried to hide it, he too knew that he was not yet healed and was not at his full strength. They entered, more determined than ever. "Alright, Camula, let's go!" Jaden called out. "I'm here for Zane, and I'm not leaving until I get him back!" A flock of bats flew out of the darkness. The group dashed through the hallway, trying to avoid the flying bats until they reached the room where Zane had been defeated. They looked up and saw the vampire mistress standing on top of one of the balconies.
"Actually, truth be told dear, you're not leaving here ever again." She stated. "Not a single one of you are!"
Red Hat turned to Jaden. "Jaden, ready to take her on?"
"You know, I'm always ready to duel." He replied.
"Isn't that cute? One duelist relying on another." Camula said mockingly. "Did you forget I have your best duelist with me." Then Zane appeared next to Camula side with a stoic expression, with his eyes that seems lifeless.
"You don't scare me Camula. I told you, I'm here for Zane, and I will free him from your control!" Jaden said.
"And how do you plan to do it alone? I have your best duelist with me, remember? Do you think you can beat us both?" Camula replied.
"He won't be alone." Red Hat said as he got next to Jaden, with everyone still looking reluctant to let Red Hat participate in this duel.
Before the duo of Slifers prepared to go to the other side of the balconies, Red Hat turned towards the group more specifically towards Syrus. "Syrus." Red Hat called him. "I promise we will bring your brother back."
Almost the entire group seemed surprised by his words, except Jaden who smiled. Syrus, however, after a few seconds smiled, seeming a little more confident than before.
"Good luck guys." Syrus said.
"You two are so anxious about losing your keys, not that I'm complaining it'll make things any easier for me." Camula said activating her duel disk, Zane also activated his duel disk.
Jaden glared at her before activate his duel disk. Red Hat did the same thing activating his duel disk.
"DUEL"
Jaden & Red Hat: 8000 LP
Camula & Zane: 8000 LP
"Alright, Camula! Get your game on! And I mean on high, Camula!" Jaden declared. "Cuz when someone duel with a friend of mine and brainwashed him, it puts me in a bad mood!"
"And let me tell you something. I don't care." Camula said.
"Maybe this will change your mind. My turn. I draw!" Jaden draws.
Hand 6
"I summon Elemental HERO Wildheart in attack mode! (Atk: 1500 – Def: 1600) I'll throw down a facedown card and end my turn." Jaden ends his turn.
Hand 4
"If this is the best you can do then beating you will be really easy. My turn. I draw!" Camula draws.
Hand 6
"I summon Pyramid Turtle in attack mode! (Atk: 1200 – Def: 1400) Battle, Pyramid Turtle, attack Wildheart!" Pyramid Turtle charged at Wildheart.
"Wildheart, counter attack Wild Slash!" Wildheart struck with his sword, destroying Pyramid Turtle.
Camula & Zane: 8000 – 7700 LP
"Now Pyramid Turtle activates his effect, When is destroyed I can summon a zombie monster from my deck with 2000 or less defense points. Show yourself, Vampire Lord! (Atk: 2000 – Def: 1500) Vampire Lord attack Wildheart!" Vampire Lord shrouded his hand in a shadow, as he gets close to Wildheart before striking him in the chest and destroying him.
Jaden & Red Hat: 8000 – 7500 LP
"Destroying Wildheart, you activated my facedown card. Go, Hero Signal! I special summon an Elemental HERO of level 4 or lower from my deck." Jaden declared.
"You're forgetting one little details, that is Vampire Lord's effect. When Vampire Lord inflict a battle damage I choose monster, spell or trap card, you must send the type of the card I declare. I chose monster." Camula explained with a smirk.
"Blimey." Jaden looked at his deck and took the card of Morphing Jar and sent it to the graveyard. "Okay, I lost one card from my deck, but now I can summon a new monster, and I have just the one for me. I summon Elemental HERO Bubbleman in defense mode! (Atk: 800 – Def: 1200)" Bubbleman appears on Jaden's side of the field kneeling with his arms crossed. "And since Bubbleman is the only card on my field, I can draw 2 extra cards."
"I'll end my turn here." Camula ended her turn.
Hand 5
"It's my turn. I draw!" Red Hat draws.
Hand 6
"I summon Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV4 in attack mode! (Atk: 1600 – Def: 1000)"
The monster that Red Hat had just summoned left the entire group quite surprised.
"What? A LV monster?" Syrus wondered confused.
"It's strange, I thought Red Hat didn't like using LV monsters." Chumley said.
"Let's just hope Red Hat knows what it's doing." Alexis said.
"We're talking about Red Hat, even if it's their first time using that type of card they could make the most of it." Bastion said.
"I play the spell Level Up! I send Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV4 from my field to the graveyard, and special summon from my deck his next form. I summon Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV6 in attack mode! (Atk: 2300 – Def: 1600)" Horus was enveloped in black flames, after a few seconds the evolved version of the monster of Red Hat emerged which had the appearance similar to that of a bird. "Horus attack Vampire Lord! Go, Black Flame!" The bird-like dragon charged the shot, shooting black flame from its mouth.
Camula & Zane: 7700 – 7400 LP
"I set one card facedown and end my turn." Red Hat ends his turn.
"That's all you can do?" Camula scoffed.
"Far from it, I've just started." Red Hat said as his monster was engulfed in black flames once again.
"What's going on?" Camula asked confused.
"Effect of Horus. If in this turn he destroyed a monster by battle, I can send this monster to the graveyard and summon from my deck his final form." Red Hat explained. The black flames that engulfed Horus became a large sphere of black flames. Then a great explosion was unleashed, revealing Horus' final form. "I summon Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV8 in attack mode! (Atk: 3000 – Def: 1800)"
"It's incredible..." Syrus murmured.
"You can say it." Chumley agreed.
"Wow! Its a so sweet monster!" Jaden said impressed by the Red Hat monster.
"Thanks for the compliment, Jaden. But the best is yet to come." Red Hat said before turning to Camula. "During both of either player's turns, when a spell card is activated, I can negate the activation. So while Horus is face-up you cannot use spell cards."
"What?!"
"This means that as long as Horus is on the field you cannot use your card, Illusion Gate." Red Hat informed her.
"Yeah!" Syrus cheered.
"Totally licious." Chumley added.
"It's an impressive move. By doing this Jaden and Red Hat won't have to worry about Camula playing Illsuion Gate." Bastion said impressed.
"You're right. Now they won't have to worry about finding themselves up against their own monsters." Alexis said.
"Huh, so that slacker can make one right sometime." Chazz said in an annoyed tone.
"It's your move now." Red Hat said.
Hand 3
"It's my turn now. I draw!" Zane draws.
Hand 6
"I summon Proto-Cyber Dragon in attack mode! (Atk: 1100 – Def: 600)I'll set 2 cards facedown and end my turn." Zane ends his turn.
Hand 3
"Alright it's my move now. I draw!" Jaden draws.
Hand 7
"I summon Elemental HERO Sparkman in attack mode! (Atk: 1600 – Def: 1400)"
" Not so fast." Zane interrupted. "I reveal my facedown card. The trap card, Torrential Tribute! With this all the monsters on the field are destroyed." A large wave of water came out of Zane's card and swept away all the monsters on the field, destroying them.
"This is bad." Syrus muttered.
"You're right. Now without Horus on the field, Camula and Zane can use the spell cards again. Now Camula can use Illusion Gate." Bastion said.
"If Camula manages to play that card Jaden and Red Hat will be in big trouble." Alexis said.
"That won't stop me. I activate the spell Graceful Charity. I draw 3 cards then I discards 2." Jaden draws three cards before discarding two. "Now I play Polymerization, I fuse Burstinatrix and Clayman in my hand to create Elemental HERO Rampart Blaster! (Atk: 2000 – Def: 2500) For added safety, I will use Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy the last facedown card of Zane's." A strong gust of wind blew destroying Zane's card which was Metal Reflect Slime. "Battle, Rampart Blaster attack Zane directly! Rampart Barrage!" Rampart Blaster fired a barrage of missiles from the cannon on her right arm.
Camula & Zane: 7400 – 5400 LP
"I activate the continuous spell Mirage of Nightmare. I'll throw down a facedown card and end my turn." Jaden ends his turn.
Hand 0
"My turn now, I draw!" Camula draws.
Hand 6
"And now I draw too thanks to the spell Mirage of Nightmare, since it's you standby phase, I can draw until I have 4 cards in my hand." Jaden explained as he drew four cards.
"I activate the spell Book of Life. This card resurrect Lord of Vampire and let me choose a card from your graveyard and banish it, so I'll be taking your Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV8 from your grave, so you can't use it again. (Atk: 2000 – Def: 1500)" Camula explained as Vampire Lord returned to the field. "But he won't be here long, because now I banish Vampire Lord to summon Vampire Genesis! (Atk: 3000 – Def: 2100)" The blue-haired vampire disappeared and replaced and replaced by the huge, purple monster.
"Oh, damn! That thing again..." Syrus muttered scared at the sight of Camula's monster.
"Now things are going to get tough." Chumley added.
"Not so fast, Camula." Jaden interrupted her. "I activate Bottomless Trap Hole! Since you summoned a monster with more of 1500 attack points, now I banish it!" Under Camula's monster a crack opened in the ground, from which a large hand emerged and dragged Vampire Genesis underground before the crack closed.
"Don't think you can get away with this. I activate the continuous spell Call of the Mummy. Once per turn, when I don't have monster on my field, this spell let me special summon from my hand one zombie monster. I special summon Despair from the Dark! (Atk: 2800 – Def: 3000) And now I summon Vampire Lady in attack mode! (Atk: 1550 – Def: 1550) Despair from the Dark, attack Rampart Blaster!"
"Stop right here. I play my facedown card. The quick-play spell Emergency Provisions! I send Mirage of Nightmare from the field to the graveyard, and with this I recover 1000 life points." Jaden explained as a green aura appeared around him.
Jaden & Red Hat: 7500 – 8500 LP
"This doesn't change anything at all. Despair from the Dark, attack his monster!" Despair from the Dark struck Rampart Blaster with its claw.
Jaden & Red Hat: 8500 – 7700 LP
"Now Vampire Lady attack him directly!" Vampire Lady rushed towards Jaden slashing him with a dagger in her hand.
Jaden & Red Hat: 7700 – 6150 LP
"Vampire Lady's Effect. I declare 1 card type, monster, spell or trap, you have to send a card of the type I choose from your deck to the graveyard. I choose monster." Camula declared.
"Blimey. Again." Jaden frowned as he took Elemental HERO Bladedge card and sent it to the graveyard.
"I'll end my turn." Camula ended her turn.
Hand 1
"It's my turn. I draw!" Red Hat draws.
Hand 4
"I activate Pot of Greed and draw 2 cards.Now I activate the spell Graceful Charity. I draw 3 cards and then I discard 2." As soon as Red Hat saw the three cards he had drawn he was quite amazed at what he had drawn, before discard two cards. "I activate Monster Reborn. With this I special summon from my graveyard the monster I just discarded. I summon Silent Swordsman LV5! (Atk: 2300 – Def: 1000) Next, I activate Smashing Ground. With this I destroy the monster you control with the highest defense points. Despair from the Dark is destroyed. I activate my second spell Level Up! I send Silent Swordsman LV5 to the graveyard and special summon from my deck Silent Swordsman LV7 in attack mode! (Atk: 2800 – Def: 1000)"
The group of key keepers were surprised at the sight of the monster that Red Hat summoned.
"Wait... but that isn't Blair's monster?" Syrus asked.
"Yes, you're right. But why does Red Hat have that card?" Alexis wondered as she watched the duel.
Meanwhile as Red Hat watched Silent Swordsman he was reminded of when he was preparing before the duel.
Flashback
Red Hat was in the room of his dorm before the duel and was focused while working on his terrace. He was focused on finding a way to counter Camula's strategy and finding a way to defeat her, because Camula was probably spying on his deck like the others.
"Red Hat." A voice called him from behind, breaking him from his thoughts.
He turned and saw that it was Blair who had called him.
"Blair? How come you're awake?" Red Hat asked.
"Well, I was still thinking about the fact that you want to duel with Jaden against that vampire." Blair replied.
"Blair, I already told you. I won't let you duel Camula, Jaden and I will do it." Red Hat reminded her.
"I know. I didn't want to ask you to let me duel Jaden. But I wanted to ask you a favor." Blair said as she took some cards from her deck and held them out in front of Red Hat who was confused by this. "I want you to use my cards to defeat the shadow rider and bring Zane back."
"What?" Red Hat was surprised by her friend's request.
"I know it's a little selfish to ask you something like that, and I know my cards don't suit your fighting style, but... neither I also can't stand by and do nothing about what that vampire did to Zane." Blair said with a serious look towards Red Hat.
Red Hat was much more surprised than before after hearing Blair's words. He stood there silently watching her, and saw from her look that she was very serious about it. Seeing her expression, Red Hat was reminded of the face of another person who had shown the same seriousness as Blair, a person who Red Hat tried to forget. "She just the same character as her." Red Hat thought. Although the memory of that person made Red Hat feel very angry, this time he focused on Blair's request. After a few moments of silence Red Hat turned to Blair with a gentle smile, taking the cards she handed him, his other hand resting on Blair's shoulder. "Thanks for your help, Blair. With this will make sure I will get Zane back." After this Red Hat continued to modify his deck by adding Blair's cards.
Flashback end.
"This can't be." Camula muttered in shock at how the duel was going before focusing on Red Hat. "You never used that card in your deck before. You have to be cheating!" Camula exclaimed turning to Red Hat.
"Me cheating?" Red Hat repeated before turning to Camula with no angry look. "You're wrong, this isn't cheating if I use a different strategy and a different deck than I usually use. But look at the pulpit this is coming from! You're the last person who can judge me on this!"
Camula gasped upon hearing his words. While the rest of the key keepers were confused by what he meant.
"What are you saying, Red Hat?" Jaden asked confused.
"In the duel against Zane you were able to anticipate his moves because you already knew the cards he used! You knew in advance what you were dueling against because you spied on Zane's deck, like the decks all of us!" Red Hat said angrily.
Camula's jaw dropped as in the duel with Zane at that moment with a frown.
"What?!" Jaden exclaimed shocked by the revelation.
"So she cheated in the duel against Zane." Bastion has summarized.
Camula's face returned to normal before she spoke. "So you already figured it out. You didn't think my bats were just for decoration, did you?" A few bats appeared and flew around her. "They were spying on each and every one of you! And they told me the weaknesses of all of you. Everything was going the way I wanted, at least until you interfered!" Camula explained as her eyes glowed red pointing to Red Hat.
"So she actually cheated in the duel against Zane." Chumley said.
"I never thought she would be so desperate to beat us by spying on us." Chazz commented.
"Yeah, I've seen people hit rock bottom, but what she did is even worse." Alexis said.
"Even if you managed to find out my trick it doesn't change anything. You two have no chance of winning the duel. And when I'm done with you two I'll deal with the other key keepers, the best part of all this is that you will all lose at the hands of someone who is your friend." Camula said pointing at Zane.
The whole group was angry to hear Camula's words.
"You're wrong!" Red Hat said angrily drawing attention towards him. "You're the one who's going to lose the duel! I promised to bring Zane back and that's a promise I intend to keep!"
"Wow, I didn't imagine seeing Red Hat like this." Chumley said surprised by his behavior.
"You're absolutely right. Red Hat is serious right now, for the same reason like Jaden, for what Camula did to Zane." Bastion agreed.
"Oh please, that slacker is just doing it to show off." Chazz said.
Alexis meanwhile looked at Red Hat after hearing his words. "I have to agree with them, Red Hat seems different this time than usual. Like something has changed it." She thought impressed by the change he showed now.
"I'm with you on this one, Red Hat." Jaden said turning to him with a smile and a thumbs up. "Let's win this duel and save Zane."
"That's exactly what I plan to do, Jaden." Red Hat replied smiling, before turning towards Camula. "I summon Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer in attack mode! (Atk: 1800 – Def: 700) Kycoo, attack Vampire Lady!" Kycoo charged against Vampire Lady, destroying her.
Camula & Zane: 5400 – 5150 LP
"Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer's effect activates. When he inflict to you a battle damage, I can choose 2 monsters in your graveyard and banish. I choose Pyramid Turtle and Despair from the Dark." Kycoo started a chant, a symbol appeared on Camula's duel disk, and the chosen cards were ejected from Camula's graveyard."Silent Swordsman LV7, attacks Camula directly! Silent Slash!" Silent Swordsman jumped high into the air, when he was falling he hit Camula with his great sword.
Camula & Zane: 5150 – 2350 LP
"I end my turn. ." Red Hat ends his turn.
Hand 1
"It's my turn. I draw!" Zane draws.
Hand 4
"Since only you control a monster, I can special summon Cyber Dragon in defense mode! (Atk: 2100 – Def: 1600) I set a monster facedown. I set 2 cards facedown. I end my turn." Zane ended his turn.
Hand 0
"It's my turn. I draw!" Jaden draws.
Hand 5
"Battle, now Silent Swordsman LV7 attacks Cyber Dragon!" Silent Swordsman rushed towards the cybernetic dragon.
"I activate a trap card. Mirror Force! All your attack position monsters are destroyed!" A mirror barrier appeared in front of Cyber Dragon, Silent Swordsman's sword hit the barrier reflecting the attack destroying all the monsters on Jaden and Red Hat's field.
"Oh man, this isn't going good now." Syrus said.
"Yeah, now Jaden and Red Hat have nothing to defend themselves with and are open for a direct attack." Alexis added.
"This is bad! This is totally bad!" Chumley said scared.
"Blimey, I wasn't expecting this." Jaden thought frowning.
"Jaden." Red Hat called out to him, drawing his friend's attention to him. "Don't worry. We can still recover."
After a few seconds, his usual confident smile formed on Jaden's face. "Thanks, pal." She told him, giving him a thumbs up in response.
"Then, you are ready to surrender." Camula said smugly.
"Hold up! I'm not about to give up, not when my friends are in the middle. And since I haven't summoned a monster yet, I throw down this monster facedown and end my turn." Jaden finished his turn.
Hand 4
"These will be your last words. My turn. I draw!" Camula draws.
Hand 2
As soon as Camula saw the card she drew she started laughing. "Hahahaha. It's over for you now! Because now I have the card that will spell your end!" Everyone gasped upon hearing her words and realized which card she was referring to. "I activate the spell, Illusion Gate!" The stone archway and door rose up behind her.
"It had to be that one." Jaden said sarcastically.
"We couldn't stop her in time." Red Hat said frowning.
"I'm sure you two remembers its effect. First of all, all monsters on your field are destroyed." The door opened and fired a purple light destroying the only monster on Jaden and Red Hat field. "And then I can special summon a monster from your graveyard ignoring the summoning conditions. And I choose, your Elemental HERO Rampart Blaster! (Atk: 2000 – Def: 2500) Now nothing can stop me from attacking you."
"I wouldn't be so sure." Jaden said.
"What do you mean?" Camula asked confused.
"The monster you destroyed with Illusion Gate was my Winged Kuriboh. And when he is sent fromt the field to the graveyard, for the rest of this turn I don't take battle damage." Jaden explained. The spirit of Winged Kuriboh appeared next to Jaden. "Thank you for the rescue, Kuriboh. You saved me." The little duel spirit cooed happily in response.
"Nice save, Jaden." Red Hat complimented him and received a nod in response.
"I set 1 cards facedown and end my turn." Camula ends her turn.
Hand 0
At that moment the stone archway opened once again and a purple light surrounded Camula who was screaming in pain.
Camula & Zane: 2350 – 2115 LP
"Wait. Why were Camula's life points reduced?" Syrus asked.
"Didn't you remember what the vampire said when she used that card when she dueled Zane?" Chazz said.
"At the end of the turn when Camula used Illusion Gate, the life points are reduced by 90 percent." Bastion explained.
"It's my turn now. I draw!" Red Hat draws.
Hand 2
"I set 2 cards facedown and end my turn." Red Hat ends his turn.
Hand 0
"Sorry, Jaden. This is the best I can do for now." Red Hat said.
"Don't worry man." Jaden replied.
"My turn. I draw!" Zane draws.
Hand 1
"I activate Pot of Greed. I draw 2 cards. I activate my facedown card, the trap Reckless Greed! Now I can draw 2 cards, but the next two draw phase are skipped." Zane said as he drew two cards. "I flip summon my facedown monster. Proto-Cyber Dragon! (Atk: 1100 – Def: 600) While he's on the field, this card's name become Cyber Dragon. I activate the spell, Polymerization! I fuse the two Cyber Dragon on my field, with the Cyber Dragon in my hand, to create Cyber End Dragon! (Atk: 4000 – Def: 2800)"
"Oh man, Zane summoned his ace monster?!" Chumley said in shock.
"The situation is going from bad to worse." Chazz said.
"No, not yet. If Jaden and Red Hat can survive this round they still have a chance." Syrus said.
"Syrus's right. " Alexis agreed.
"Go, Cyber End Dragon! Super Strident Blaze!" Zane ace monster was charging his attack from the mouths of his three heads.
"I'll stop you right here, Zane! I activate my trap card Threatening Roar! You can't attack me in this turn!" From Red Hat's trap card sound waves were generated which stopped Cyber End Drago from attacking.
"Yeah! Red Hat managed to stop Cyber End Dragon from attacking!" Chumley cheered.
"They managed to buy time but if Jaden and Red Hat don't come up with something for the next round, they will lose." Bastion said.
"I'll end my turn." Zane ended his turn.
Hand 2
"Your fate is now sealed. Why don't you two give up and give me your spiritual keys and maybe I will make it less painful." Camula said amused.
"If you think I'm giving up, you're very wrong." Jaden replied.
"I'm with Jaden on this one." Red Hat agreed with him.
"Okay, it's all or nothing. It's my turn. I draw!" Jaden draws.
Hand 5
"Sweet. Now I have everything I need." Jaden said smiling as he saw the cards in his hand. "I play Fusion Recovery to get back Burstinatrix and Polymerization from my graveyard to my hand." The cards came out of the duel disk graveyard slot as Jaden added them to his hand. "Now I play Polymerization, to fuse Elemental HERO Avian and Burstinatrix in my hand to form Elemental HERO Flame Wingman! (Atk: 2100 – Def: 1200) There's more. I play another Polymerization, to fuse Elemental HERO Flame Wingman on my field with King of the Swamp in my hand to create Elemental HERO Shining Flare Wingman! (Atk: 2500 – Def: 2100)" Shining Flare Wingman appeared on the field, shining so brightly that Camula was forced to shield her eyes.
"So you finally brought out that monster." Camula said looking at the monster.
"And there's more coming for you." Jaden said with a smile as his medallion was glowing.
Camula noticed that. "That shadow charm?!"
"When you used Illusion Gate earlier the medallion put together, protecting us from your shadow power. This shadow charm even protected us by your Illusion Gate." Jaden replied. "Thanks, Atticus. Couldn't have done without you." Jaden thought before he focused on Camula.
"This means nothing. Even with your shadow charm, or your monster you can't beat me. I'll remind you that I have a monster on the field with 8000 attack points." Camula pointed out.
"I wouldn't be so sure if I were you." Red Hat spoke up.
"You're right, Red Hat. It's time to end this story." Jaden said. "And for each of my Elemental Hero that are in my graveyard, Shining Flare Wingman gains 300 attack points. Now I have seven Elemental Hero's. So that's 2100 attack points. (Atk: 2500 – 4600 – Def: 2100)"
"There is no way!" Camula shouted.
"Shining Flare Wingman attack Cyber End Dragon with Solar Flare!" The shining hero jumped and dove towards Cyber End Dragon.
"I activate my facedown card. Mirror Force! Your Shining Flare Wingman will be destroyed!" A mirror barrier appeared in front of Cyber End Dragon.
"Not if I have anything to say about it. I play my facedown card. Go, Solemn Judgment! I have to thank Red Hat for leaving this card to me. Now I pay half of my life points and deny the activation of Mirror Force." An old man with a solemn aura appeared on the field, creating waves of light that hit the barrier, shattering it and then destroying it.
Jaden & Red Hat: 6150 – 3075 LP
Shining Flare Wingman charged, striking Cyber End Dragon with a glowing fist, causing it to explode.
Camula & Zane: 2115 – 1515 LP
"And it's not over. Because Shining Flare Wingman ability activate. Now you get hit by a damage equal to Cyber End Dragon attack points!" The hero stood up in front of Camula and Zane and shine with a light so intense that cause her to cry out while Zane fall on his knee and then unconscious.
Camula & Zane: 1515 – 0 LP
"That's game!" Jaden said, doing his trade mark pose.
But to everyone's surprise, Illusion Gate appeared behind Camula. She turned around as its doors opened, a huge spectral hand appeared and passed through her and grabbed her soul. It retreated into the gate and closed up before it desappeared. Camula's body turned into dust, and all that was left was her necklace.
Soon Jaden spotted Zane that was still unconscious after Camula disappeared. "Look! It's Zane!"
"Let's go to him!" Red Hat said. Then Jaden and Red Hat rushed towards Zane's side.
"Big bro!" Syrus, Chumley, Alexis and Bastion rushed towards him.
Suddenly, the castle began to shake violently. "Guys!" Alexis screamed. "The castle is falling apart!"
"Let's go!" Bastion shouted as Jaden and Red Hat lifted Zane over their shoulders.
Everyone ran out of the castle as fast as they could.
All of them made it just in the nick of the time. They watched as the whole castle crumbled into nothingness. Shortly after, the dark clouds disappeared, and the sun shined brightly in the sky.
Some thing that Miss Fontaine noticed from the infirmary.
And so Atticus, who smiled. "Jaden, you did it." Atticus said before closing his eyes.
"At last, the nightmare is finally over." Alexis said as all they look a glance at the lake.
"This one at least." Jaden replied. "Cuz Camula was just the second of the shadow riders. And that means more are on the way."
"This means we should be ready when the next shadow rider arrives." Red Hat thought.
"Guys I think I'll go back to my room to rest. See you." Red Hat said as he began to walk away.
"Wait, Red Hat!" Syrus called out to him making him stop. Syrus approached Red Hat. "I... I wanted to say thank you for saving Zane."
"You don't need to thank me. I simply did what I thought was right, and then I couldn't accept that Zane was Camula's puppet because she cheated in her duel." Red Hat replied. "Well, I better go now." Red Hat answered him before running as fast as he could in his condition to get back to the dorm.
"What's the big deal with him?" Chazz asked.
"I don't understand it either. But Red Hat seemed different than other times." Bastion said.
"I don't understand why you're worried. Red Hat helped us beat Camula and get Zane back, that's all that matters." Jaden replied.
Red Hat came back to the Slifer Red dorm. Then he entered in his room and founded Blair sitting near the desk.
"Red Hat? What happened? Did you and Jaden manage to defeat the shadow knight and save Zane?" Blair asked. Curious to know how the duel went.
"Camula was defeated and we managed to get Zane back." Red Hat assured raising his thumb.
Hearing his words Blair smiled and jumped into glee. "Yay. I knew you and Jaden would make it. I couldn't doubt that Jaden would fail."
Red Hat sweat dropped at Blair's reaction. "And you're not going to give me credit for helping in the duel?" Red Hat thought before he remembered something. "By the way... I have to give you back your cards." Red Hat said handing Blair her cards. "These cards came in handy against Camula, part of the duel victory goes to you too."
Blair took her cards back as she thought back to when she asked Red Hat to use his cards against the shadow rider to save Zane and he promised her he would save him.
Blair lowered her head with her hat covering her face. "Hey... Red Hat..." Blair spoke before stopping. She couldn't help but think back to everything he had done to help her so far since arriving at Duel Academy. A few seconds passed as they both remained silent before she started speaking again, when she looked up she had a look that showed complete happiness. "Thank you for keeping your promise."
Red Hat was surprised at the time by her reaction. But seeing her, his expression softened before speaking. "I did what I had to, however I told you I would keep my promise."
"Yes, you're right. But now it's best if you rest. You still need to rest since your wounds aren't fully healed yet." Blair said before walking out of the room.
After he saw that Blair had left the room, the expression on Red Hat's face became serious again. "With Camula it was difficult even though she cheated for her duels, I don't know what will happen to us when the other shadow riders arrive, so it's better that I'm ready for everything." Red Hat thought.
Here is the new chapter. Sorry it took me so long to upload to the site but I had problems with my computer again. As I said in the chapter before now Red Hat learned about the power he has from Aussa and Hiita according to what Mana told them. For the name I decided to call Red Hat's power "the power of chaos". I decided on the name based on an anime that I like, Seven Deadly Sins, the same power that one of the characters in the series had because this power had both light and darkness inside. As for the chapter, I tried to include both part of the episode from the series and from Tag Force. As for the Illusion Gate effect, I used the effect of the card that was in Tag Force. When I put Aussa and Hiita in the story who revealed to Red Hat that Camula knew about Zane's cards because he had spied on everyone's decks, I decided to include it because when I saw it in the series it annoyed me a lot. This is why Red Hat didn't accept that Camula won against Zane because he cheated, and become angry for this. This chapter also served to show that Red Hat had the feelings of others like Syrus in consideration, which is why in addition to Blair he had also decided to promise Syrus to bring Zane back. Speaking of Blair, I decided to give her an important part in the story by having her give her cards to help Red Hat against Camula. That's why Red Hat used a deck with LV monsters, because they fit the cards Blair gave them. The final scene was to demonstrate Red Hat's bond with Blair. Also because she seems to remind her of someone from her past, but we'll get to that later. That's all for this chapter. If you have any suggestions or want to tell me what you think let me know in the comments. See you next time.
Let's move on the comments.
DJ Scales: Thanks for the compliment.
TheNew959: I'm glad to see that you liked how I wrote the duel of Jaden and Red Hat against Nightshroud and Alexis, and Red Hat that unlockh his hidden power. As for your suggestion, I'll see what I can do.
LoliSupremeKing: Thanks for pointing out the mistake I wrote. I corrected it before uploading the new chapter. Also, I know the type floaters can be summoned in defense position, but I wanted to give the impression that Nightshroud was trying to lure the opponent into a trap when dueling Alexis or Jaden and Red Hat. As for the tags against the shadow riders later, on you will have to wait until you go further ahead because it won't always be Jaden and Red Hat who will face them. You will see with the last of the shadow riders what I intend to do about it.
P.S. Sorry to bother you but I have to ask you something. This isn't about the story I'm writing, it's about the site. Well, after all this time I still didn't understand how well it works, but when I went to see the list of those who added my story to their favorites list, or I saw the number of chapter views I noticed that some of the chapters I had uploaded they had no views but comments were left. I would just like to understand if it is a problem with my computer or with the site. Thank you very much and sorry for distrurbing all of you.
