Before we get into it, I'd like to give a shout out to the guest who's been taking the time to post a review every time I post a new chapter! You're a real one!

But a little bit of bad news here: This chapter won't have a duel. There will be one next time though. So look forward to that.

It had only been half an hour since Jaden met this universe's version of Chazz and Zane, but the conversation they had made him feel like he's known them for much longer.

Right now, they're all having a good time outside the dorm building. Bastion brought out his portable stove and ended up preparing sandwiches outside.

Crafting was exactly what Jaden saw him doing. These weren't just any plain old regular grilled cheese sandwiches with processed cheese and discount white bread. Bastion had obtained some fancy cheeses and something called 'brioche.' The sandwich he'd been given also had caramelized red onions which he thought was weird, but the moment he'd taken a bite out of it, he couldn't imagine eating any other sandwich ever again.

"Mmm… It's like I died and went to Heaven…" Jaden said in between bites. "I don't think my Bastion could make sandwiches as good as these."

"I assure you, Jaden… While my sandwiches may be described as 'heavenly,' everything I used was down to Earth." Said Bastion; who is in the process of cleaning everything he'd laid out earlier.

Now it's Chazz's turn to speak. "So Jaden… about the story you were telling me earlier… So my brothers from an alternate universe tried to buy out Duel Academy and destroy it? Not only that… I managed to beat Slade with a deck full of weak monsters?"

Jaden took a moment to finish off the rest of his grilled cheese. "Yeah, that's the story. You were every bit the hero we all believed you were. Tensions were already high and… yeah. It was just one problem after another."

Chazz scratches the back of his head. "I can't imagine what the alternate version of me is going through… I mean… in this universe, Slade is a Domino City Councilman and Jagger is an Office Manager for KaibaCorp. They spend each and every day helping out as many people as they can… I can only try doing the same in my own way here in Duel Academy. Because that's what being a Princeton's all about… making the world a better place in any small way we can."

Upon hearing all that, Jaden just sat down not saying anything. This parallel universe Chazz is really something.

After staying silent for a little while longer, he decided to speak up. "Chazz… I… I don't claim to be a smart guy… in fact, I'd consider myself to be pretty stupid… But I think I'm starting to get it now…"

"Hm? Get what, man?"

Jaden continues. "In this universe… It's like… You are a version of me… and I'm a version of you… I mean I know it sounds weird, but when I look around, it's like people's entire personalities are swapped." He points at Zane. "Whenever I look at this guy, I'm reminded of my good friend, Syrus. Even though the Syrus in THIS universe, I imagine, is a lot like Zane!"

Upon hearing that, Zane decided to speak up. "Does your Syrus also yell 'EXCAVATE' when he is about to deliver the final blow to his opponent?"

Jaden blinks twice. "Uh… no… It'd be pretty freaking cool if he did though. Like if he has his Super Vehicroid Jumbo Drill or something? What kind of cards does your brother have anyway?"

Zane was about to answer Jaden's question but the ringing from his phone in his pocket cut him off. "Hold on, I gotta take this…" He held his phone closer to his ear. "Hello! You've reached Zane Truesdale! What can I do for you!?"

Jaden then sees Zane's cheery attitude devolve into a more frightened one as the phone call progresses. "Ah… um… I'm not sure if you… really want to do that… I mean… Yeah, he's right in front of me, but I'm not sure if… Okay… Okay… I understand."

"WHAT do you understand!?" Jaden shouts at Zane; who then raises a finger to his mouth. Nonverbally asking him to be quiet.

Zane then continues speaking. "Yeah… Okay… I'll let you talk to him." He then puts a hand over his phone. "It's The Legend! He's on his way here!"

Jaden could swear he saw Chazz and Bastion's eyeballs nearly popping out of their skulls. "The… THE LEGEND!?" Chazz shouts out.

"Oh man… Oh man oh man oh man!" Bastion paces back and forth. "This is bad!"

Jaden stood up. Now more concerned than before. "What!? What's bad!? Who's The Legend!? Can I duel him!?"

"No, you can't duel him! Are you crazy!?" Zane shouts at him. "They don't call him THE LEGEND for nothing! He's the THIRD best student at the Academy!"

He then hands his phone over to Jaden. "He's getting suspicious. I want you to take my phone… pretend you're OUR Jaden… and tell him that you're fine and that your phone is in the shop or something. Just make him change his mind! Please!" Before letting Jaden speak, Zane talks into the phone again. "I'm letting him know you're calling… Here he is now."

He hands Jaden the phone, which he then took. After taking a moment to clear his throat, Jaden spoke to the stranger in the best way that he could.

"Uh… Hey there Legend! This is Jaden speaking! Good ol' Jaden! I would have reached out to you earlier, but you know… phone problems and all that! Yeah, I know. It sucks. Anyway, I'm glad you reached out to me!"

He then felt Chazz put a hand on his shoulder. "Good… Good."

Everybody stayed silent for an unnerving amount of time; then Jaden heard the voice of the Legend from the phone. It was a voice that was very familiar to him.

"Uh… are you feeling alright, dude? Because there's just no way you'd miss out on seeing my new drawings… I gotta tell you, man… You're missing out."

"Wait… a… minute." Jaden could feel himself getting more excited by the second. The smile that crept on his face was enough to frighten the three guys with him.

"CHUMLEY!? YOU'RE THE LEGEND!? OH MY GOD!"

"NO NO NO!" Zane ran all ten of his fingers through his hair. "What are you DOING!?"

He then tries to grab his phone back, but Jaden just ran off: Igniting a chase.

Jaden kept talking as he was running away from the trio. "Listen! This may be hard for you to believe, but I am not your Jaden!"

"HUH!?" Chumley spoke back. "What do you mean you're not my Jaden?"

"I swapped places with your Jaden after that big explosion in the sky happened! Yeah, I know, I couldn't believe it either! We should totally meet up and like… duel and stuff! Your Bastion is stronger than my Bastion; I can't WAIT to see how much stronger YOU are!"

"I GOT 'EM!" "AH!" Chazz caught up to Jaden and ended up tackling him to the ground. Bastion ended up on top of the two and Zane ended up on top of everybody. Jaden found himself crushed underneath one giant Slifer Red dogpile.

"Augh… My chest… Can't… Breathe." Jaden opens his eyes to see a familiar face staring down at everybody.

At first glance, he couldn't believe he was looking at this universe's version of Chumley. Aside from wearing all blue, he's noticeably slimmer. Apart from that, his hair has to be the biggest difference. He had been growing it out. Almost like Sartorius yet at the same time, more casual.

"Oh yeah… You're definitely telling the truth…" Chumley said as a smirk slowly crept onto his face. "An alternate Jaden from an alternate universe… exhilarating!"


As thrilled as Jaden was to see this version of Chumley, he couldn't help but also feel a little let down. He's used to seeing Chumley act the way he usually was. This Chumley, on the other hand, always looks focused, for lack of a better word.

The Chumley he always knew was only focused only when something important comes up. He knew how to put his feet up and take a break once in a while. This Chumley, Jaden would learn from Chazz, is always working on something. Whether it be with schoolwork, extra credit, after school activities, and studying. Whenever he's not doing any of that, he dedicates himself to working on some kind of big art project. He even brought a few dozen new drawings for him and the rest of the guys to look at.

Jaden doesn't consider himself much of an art expert, but he could tell this Chumley is every bit as passionate as his own when it comes to art. But while his Chumley is somewhere out designing cards, this Chumley is interested in creating his very own manga. His skills are not unlike that of a professional. Jaden is unfamiliar with the term 'isekai,' but he could tell that it is a popular genre. Also there are a lot of female characters that look much prettier than any woman Jaden has seen in real life.

He looks over at Chumley, who is working on some more art at a nearby desk. Chazz, Bastion, and Zane are sitting on the floor looking over the artwork.

"I gotta hand it to you, Chumley." Said Jaden. "You're quite the artist."

"I'm an artist first, mangaka second, and duelist third." Said Chumley as he turns to face Jaden. "Check it out."

Jaden leans forward to look at Chumley's newest sketch. An instant later, he nearly lost his balance when he saw what was looking back at him. "Ah… Is… that… ME!?"

Chumley nods. "Not my finest work… But I just LOVE the process of working out the smaller details. I think I've pulled off your… protagonistic look quite nicely."

"Pro… Protagonistic?" Jaden said in a weak voice.

"Well yeah!" Chumley grins. "Simple… But not TOO simple! MY Jaden wanted me to use HIS looks for one of my future protagonists… I told him no on account of it being too complex. YOUR looks, on the other hand… are perfect in every way. Hair in all the right places… Eyes… Mouth… You know… Artistic vision."

Jaden then sees Yubel looking over the sketch of his face. "You know… In another life, I could see myself becoming an artist… But I don't think I'll ever come across a man like you."

"By the way, Jaden… I've been meaning to ask you…" Chumley looks up at the ceiling.

"Ask away, Chumley." Jaden said as he looked at more drawings.

"Does the… Snake Queen know our Jaden's gone?"

"Uh… Snake Queen?" "NOPE!" Jaden hears Chazz yell.

"I don't know what she'll say! I don't WANT to know what she'll say! I want to be as FAR away as I can when she says it! The sooner our Jaden comes back, the better!"

Jaden looks at Chazz. "Is… this… Snake Queen… the best?"

"The best of the best of the best of the best! NOBODY in Duel Academy can beat her! My big brother can, but he's in the Pro Circuit!" Zane picks his head up. "AND… if that wasn't enough… She's OUR Jaden's girlfriend! If everybody finds out our Jaden wound up in another universe… SHE will be the one who will be the most angry!"

"You see, Jaden?" Now it's Bastion's turn to speak. "We want to keep you safe. As long as we can. Because none of us can really… you know? Duel for you."

"I really appreciate it guys, I do." Jaden said as he stood up. "But we can't solve our problems by running away from them. I'm gonna go out there and tell everybody that I'm from another universe! And if anybody has a problem with that, they can always get their game on! I don't care if they're the queen of snakes!"

Bastion looks at Chumley. "His deck is one of the weakest I've ever seen. He won't last five minutes."

"A Slifer slacker calling one of their own 'weak.' Now I've seen everything." Chumley sighs as Jaden begins walking towards the door. "Jaden. Wait."

Jaden looks behind him to see Chumley walking towards him. "If you're going to make yourself known out there, I won't stop you… But because you've given me inspiration… I'd like to help you."

Chumley takes his deck out of his pocket and hands it to a now surprised Jaden. "THIS… is the deck that many Obelisk Blues fear… But what they DON'T know… Is that I'm almost done working on a stronger deck…And I want you… to have this one."

Jaden could see Chazz, Bastion, and Zane's mouths hanging wide open as they witnessed this moment. He then lets out a sigh. "Chumley… If I take your deck, it'd be like I'm taking your soul too. Now are you SURE!?"

Chumley gives a firm nod. "I'm ten billion percent sure that these cards will be better off with you than me!"

Jaden blinks twice. "Wow… Ten billion… That's like… One million times… Uh… Eh…"

Now it's Chumley's turn to sigh. "Ten thousand."

Jaden smiles. "You're probably right. I'm not a math wizard… And neither is the Chumley from my universe. Okay… If you absolutely insist… I'll play a couple games with your deck… and will be thinking of you… The entire time."

As soon as Jaden accepted the offer from The Legend, a voice from above shouts down at everybody. Catching them all off guard as if they're hearing the voice of God himself.

"Jaden Yuki! Universe Alpha! It's about time that we meet!"

In a moment, Jaden vanishes from sight. Leaving everybody confused. "Oh my god." Said Bastion. "That voice just now… You wouldn't think…"

"Oh yeah… I'm ten billion percent sure!" Chumley began to grin. "That voice… came from the one who took our Jaden away! I hope he makes good use of my deck!"

Chazz scratches his head. "Universe… Alpha? Is that what he's calling HIS universe? Does that make us Universe Beta?"


As soon as he found himself outside the dorm room, Jaden looked around his familiar surroundings.

"Great…" He says to himself. "The volcano… Just like the first time I dueled Nightshroud." He shook his head. Trying to not remember that horrible night.

He then heard a voice in front of him. "Oh… You WISH you were dueling Nightshroud again… but unfortunately for you… I'm MUCH more dangerous!"

Jaden squints as he sees a man teleport in front of him. Out of all the duelists he's ever faced, he's clearly one of the more weirder looking ones. Long black hair and dressed in some kind of black armor. He looks like he came straight out of a Duel Monsters card.

Wait.

That's just it. Isn't it?

The man smirks at Jaden. "You may refer to me as… Reichheart! This Earth you're standing on… is the future home of all my wonderful creatures! All I needed to seal the deal… Is to beat somebody not from this Earth… but from one that one of my counterparts are also invading!"

Jaden could feel his heart skipping a beat. "Wait a minute… Counterparts? Like… multiversal counterparts?"

Reichheart grinned. "That's right… It's not only this Earth that's in trouble… YOURS IS IN TROUBLE TOO! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Looking down at the three Earths from his throne, Visas Starfrost began to shed tears.

"It's starting… They're making themselves known… There's nothing I can do to stop them!"

NEXT CHAPTER!

JADEN VS REICHHEART!

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