Chapter 09: The call for adventure.
While the group returned back to the Jamaican home armed with more knowledge than they had from before no one could claim that they were in high spirits since it came with the cost of Atticus's whereabouts. As Jaden tried to contact Atticus via cellphone with little to no luck he asked as follows.
" do any of you knows where he likes to hang out the most?"
Alexis answered as follows.
" I may know a few places back in Domino but I doubt we'll find him there, say can't Yubel help us look for him?"
Jaden replied with an optimistic tone.
" sure she can but still we've got to look for clues so she could help us without wasting precious time right?"
keeping track with the logic Jaden was presenting Alexis couldn't help but give a hopeful smile of her own as they made it back in record time. Catching up to speed with everything that happened Mariam was less than pleased with the developments of the expiditions as she remarkably kept a brave face as the group packed up immediately, heading back towards Domino city, on the flight back home Jaden unconsciously found himself seated next to Alexis as he asked.
" how come your mom is taking this so well?"
Alexis at that smirked as she tried to conceal her worries.
" knowing her?, she figured that Atti is giving his new 'friend' a living hell as we speak."
Jaden nodded as he said.
" that sounds like him, now let's hope he can keep this up until we actually find him."
Alexis shared the sentiment.
" same here."
Jaden tried to distract himself but to no avail so he instead tried to think of ways to get better clues until he thought of something that might work. Making his way towards Henry Rhodes senior Jaden was about to speak when the elderly man beat him to the punch.
" I thought of the exact same thing but Elliot is resting at the moment aboard the plain, so once he wakes up we'll ask him."
Just like Henry Rhodes senior said Elliot was heavily asleep right next to the elderly Rhodes as Jaden returned to his seat as he tried to get some shut eye of his own to various degrees of results. A few hours passed as Elliot regained consciousness however he was visibly weakened with him presenting a sickly exterior.
"well… here goes nothing…"
As Jaden approached Elliot carefully the elderly man expected his arrival.
" Jaden dear boy…. Allow me….to…."
Elliot at this point began to cough violently as Jaden tried to calm him down, once the elderly man visibly relaxed as he said.
" the creature didn't divulge information, all I know is that Nightshroud feeds on negative emotions like a leech."
Jaden gave him a small smile.
" that's more than enough."
Jaden returned to Alexis as he asked bluntly.
" say does Atticus has a place he absolutely hates?"
Alexis replied just the same.
" let me think about that."
With that Jaden took his seat as he once again tried to nap for a while as the private jetmade its way closer and closer to the destination, Domino city. As Jaden napped he eventually was woken up by an idea, one that was a bit unpleasant to think about.
' I could ask mom for some help in finding Atticus but will it mean that it will drag her into this crazy adventure?'
Jaden struggled with the idea for a few minutes with what is the best course of action not in the sense that he wasn't sure about what's the right thing to do but more like how much of the truth he could share with his parents before he will risk their lives needlessly, after all they did trust him so should he entertain the idea of abusing their trust by actively lying to them?. He already kept some of the truth from them so they wouldn't worry too much while attending Duel Academy.
' so what's your decision?'
Startled a little Jaden hid that fact with a forced cheerful smile as he answered Burstinatrix.
" don't do that… you almost gave me a heart attack….."
Burstinatrix sighed as she continued.
' I know you better by now… you can't hide how you truly feel from me or from the rest of us.'
At that point Winged Kurriboh joined the conversation by chirping and hovering above Jaden's head before plopping on his lap physically saying that he's got the hero duelist's back. Taking a deep breath Jaden replied as follows.
" you're right, it's not like me to think too long about stuff…. My head kinda hurts now…"
taking a look at the seat next to him Alexis was in deep thought as well as she kept staring at the window as Jaden asked.
" what do you see there?, little green men on the plane's wing?"
Recognizing the humor in his tone Alexis returned the favor by saying.
" that's the last thing we need, so no I just thought of an idea, I'm just not sure if it's a good idea."
Jaden at that continued by taking a guess.
" you're thinking about asking my mom for help with finding Atticus right?"
Surprise for a bit Alexis smiled to herself.
" you thought about that too didn't you?"
Jaden's only reply was.
" yep."
With that a comfortable silence fell upon the two as Jaden was the first to start a conversation.
" say do you ever regret the fact that you got to know me instead of having a quiet year at the academy?"
Alexis surprised Jaden with her reply.
" not one bit, why do you ask?"
Jaden gave her a reassuring smile saying.
" I just needed to hear this so I could make this decision easier."
As soon as the group approached Domino's airport and effectively landing the plane Jaden was the first to get out as he fished out his cellphone as he called mom.
" mom, I need to ask something from you….."
Lauren replied as follows.
'meet me at the front entrance I'm already waiting to take you home.'
Before Jaden could ask as to how she knew he was returning Henry Rhodes the second silently placed his right hand on his shoulder giving him a small grin while the teen returned to the conversation.
" thanks mom but I'll need to ask something else from you as well."
Lauren said she understood before ending the phone call as the group made their way out of the airport. Once everyone got out Alexis and Jaden made their way to Lauren's car as said woman asked.
" it's not that kind of surprise is it?"
A bit shocked and flustered both teens reassured her that it wasn't that as Jaden got straight to the point.
" Alexis's brother Atticus went missing , we need help finding him can you help us please?"
Lauren replied as follows.
" of course, there's no question about that."
Jaden at that hugged his mom as he thanked her while she returned the hug in a much more reserved manner than her son while replying.
" now let's start searching for him before it becomes too late."
With that said and done Alexis thanked her as she split up with Jaden with both teens seemingly returning to their normal lives and routines however the hero duelist couldn't help but feel anxious waiting for any kind of clues to pop up. At home his anxiety almost flared up since no news came from his mom and Alexis has been strangely quiet, Lauren on one of her days off she noted that Jaden was extremely worried as she approached him.
" you need a breath of fresh air, get ready because we're heading out"
Knowing better than to argue with his mom when she's acting extra assertive or right in general.
As the duo began their drive across Domino city Lauren took Jaden to his favorite restaurant as she said.
" I won't spoil you like this often so order whatever you feel like."
Jaden at that simply stated.
" thanks mom but I don't feel all that hungry today."
Lauren nodded as she sighed.
" I know how you feel but think about Alexis."
Jaden raised his eyebrow as his curiosity peaked.
" what do you mean mom?
Lauren simply replied.
" it's one thing that her brother went missing I don't think she'll feel any better if one of her friends will make himself sick from worrying too much."
Jaden couldn't argue as he admitted.
" that's…. a really good point…."
with that said and done Jaden ordered a big plate of fried shrimp as Lauren ordered a simple coffee on her end. Right through the middle of his meal Jaden's phone indicated that the teen received a text with said owner wiping his hands before looking at the screen.
' found a lead on Atti…..'
' cool I'll help you look.'
' thanks, sending you the location…. p.s, a big thanks to your mom too.'
Lauren noticed that Jaden's mood brightened up a bit as she asked in a bit of a teasing manner.
" is it Alexis?!"
Jaden, seemingly being oblivious to his mom's teasing replied as follows.
" actually it is, she found a lead and also she sends you her thanks."
Lauren smiling a bit from the thoughtfulness asked in return.
" do you need me to drop you off somewhere?"
Jaden replied as follows.
" thanks but I don't want to waste your time too much, besides you probably need to catch a few criminals right?"
Lauren gave him a rare soft smile as she stated clearly.
" no criminal is more important than my son do you understand me?"
Returning her smile Jaden took one last bite from his fried shrimp as Lauren arranged for the meal to be doggy bagged as she paid the bill while her son took off running. As he made it out the door he received another text from Alexis, an address where Atticus might be as he texted back.
' be there in a few.'
As he ran through the streets with his Elemental heroes acting as his own GPS the teen in question felt sluggish as he thought to himself.
' oh great…. I ate too much shrimp for my own good….'
Choice of meal aside Jaden made his way as fast as he could to where Alexis sent him with said girl arriving about a minute after him as said hero duelist greeted her.
"hey there, how did you find this place anyway?"
Alexis gave a confident smirk as she replied.
" before he picked up dueling Atticus was an arcade junkie, so we used to come here often to challenge each other whenever possible."
Returning the smirk both of them entered the arcade with the intension to find if Atticus was seen in the area however seeing the crowds around the game consoles Jaden couldn't help but muse.
" it's a shame we didn't come here for fun….."
Alexis agreed with him on that.
" tell me about it."
Jaden at that felt for some reason both incredibly brave and equally nervous as he said.
" yeah well maybe when this crazy adventure is over we could come back here just the two of us…."
As he realized what he said Jaden quickly tried to think of something else while Alexis stayed quiet as they toured the arcade from top to bottom.
" this is getting us nowhere…"
Jaden retreated into his own mind as he tried to contact Yubel.
" hello?!… Yubel…. Are you here?…"
Before he could say another word Yubel appeared before him as she said.
' say no more… I will help you yet again.'
Jaden smiled for a bit as he asked curiously.
" are you a mind reader?"
Yubel gave a small smirk of her own replying.
' not this time…. I exist to aid those in need of my power'
Not doubting that Jaden thanked Yubel as he caught her up with what happened after the duel with the king as she gave him the following advice.
' this Nightshroud seems like a parasite so if I were you I would search for a source of great power in order to hunt him down.'
Jaden almost smacked himself on the forehead.
" why didn't I think of that sooner….."
Yubel at that chose to playfully torment him a bit by saying.
' you were busy courting the lovely girl you came in with.'
Flustered a bit Jaden asked.
" how long are you usually in my mind?"
Yubel replied.
' long enough.'
With that Yubel left Jaden to his own thoughts as the teen in question returned to the situation with Alexis.
" Jay….. are you okay?….."
Jaden hummed as he smiled bemusingly.
" oh yeah sure, why do you ask?"
Alexis replied to him bluntly.
" because you were spacing out."
Jaden smiled apologetically.
" sorry about that I was just thinking of something."
Alexis at that asked curiously.
" oh yeah?, hope it's about finding Atticus."
Jaden replied as follows.
" actually it's about Nightshroud….."
Alexis gestured Jaden to continue.
" I was thinking that maybe it would be easier to track him down."
Alexis following Jaden's train of thought came to the following conclusion.
" you're thinking that he would try to return to academy island."
Jaden nodded.
" exactly."
With that said and done both Jaden and Alexis ran out of the arcade with the blonde girl calling her parents to keep them both updated on their progress on their search for Atticus while the hero duelist contacted his mom as he requested to be kept in the loop about teens above 16 trying to book a ticket out to sea via airplane or boat.
" say what stops this Nightshroud creep from teleporting to the island directly?"
Jaden at that took a guess.
" well maybe it takes too much out of him?"
unbeknown for the both of them Jaden's guess turned out to be correct as Nightshroud on his part tried to travel from within the shadows across Domino while Atticus on his part did his best to be a pain in the neck, so to speak.
' your attempts at distracting me are childish'
Atticus replied while smirking.
" well I've never been accused of being mature….."
At that Nightshroud struggled to regain control.
' cease, if you struggle further you will only risk of hurting yourself.'
Atticus declared defiantly.
" a small price to pay if it means stopping you…"
Nightshroud countered.
' you would only forfeit your life in vain….. I have other puppets and pawns at my disposal….'
Atticus responded in surprise.
" others?!….. what do you mean…."
Amids Atticus's confusion Nightshroud took advantage of the situation as he subdued the teen's spirit from interefering with his plans as he used what remained of his powers for the day as he teleported to an undisclosed location where a few mysterious figures awaited his instructions.
' the reincarnated prince is on my trail, keep him distracted while I return to that island'
With that the figures nodded in unison.
" your will be done."
Nightshroud at hearing that retreated into the shadows while in the meantime the duo of Alexis and Jaden were busy making phone calls with the first one being to chancellor Shepard on Academy island.
" I see….. so Atticus has disappeared again and once more the fate of the world rests on your hands."
Jaden and Alexis responded at the same time.
' you got it sir.'
Shepard at that found it fitting to ask.
" by the way what's your progress with our little summer school initiative."
Jaden chose to respond as follows which made Alexis stifle a laugh.
' I took a few extra curricular courses over the vacation but other than that I manage.'
Shepard at his end sounded pleased.
" keep up the good work then."
Speaking of work, chancelor Shepard returned to his as he dealt with paperwork and office calls and usually the ones he considered routine however at some point in time he would receive a call that would change his and his student's life in a way that no one could anticipate. Back with Jaden and Alexis, the duo continued to search high and low for Atticus until sunset as the latter mentioned.
" better call it a day."
Jaden on the other hand was a ball of energy, replying.
" Lexi you go on ahead, I'll keep looking for a little while longer."
Before Alexis could continue the conversation Henry Rhodes the second pulled up in his car as he stated the following.
" actually you're both needed back at the house."
With that said and done the duo got into the car as it made its way back to the Rhode's household unaware that a mysterious figure was tracking them from afar. As the car made its way to the destination the group got out as Jaden was led back to Henry Rhodes senior's office.
" I'm going to take a wild guess that you made headway in finding that helmet."
The old man simply replied.
" headway yes but it's not me who has to find said artifact, it's you Jaden dear boy."
That peaked Jaden's curiosity.
" okay, what did you find?"
Henry Rhodes senior continued the conversation as follows.
" did you ever wonder why you were targeted for the recent challenges we endured?"
Jaden just shrugged.
" I'm guessing the fact that I see duel spirits has something to do with it?!"
Henry Rhodes senior looked giddy as he continued the conversation.
" that's not a bad guess, but I strongly suspect that you are a descendant of the supreme king of the gentle darkness."
Jaden didn't respond at first, he instead took everything in before replying.
" you actually mean I'm related to the supreme king of darkness?, is that about right?!"
The old man simply nodded as he noted.
" the first part of the scripture lifted from the king's coffin reads as follows…. To the one who carries our blood, to the true inheritor of the gentle darkness, let the spirits guide you to the treasure that awaits you at the end of the journey…."
Jaden at that cut in politely.
" any idea who are those guides should be?"
Henry Rhodes senior replied while losing some of his giddiness saying.
" that part is yet to be translated."
Before the old man would lose himself into his work Alexis joined in the conversation.
" you called for me as well grandpa?"
Henry Rhodes nodded.
" yes, at first I thought it would be best for you to stay out of this journey given what happened to Atticus but knowing you as well as I do, would you accept my request to act as Jaden's protector?"
Alexis responded without hesitation.
" what would you like me to do?"
Henry Rhodes senior replied with a small smirk of his own.
" train each other in the art of dueling, remember in this journey there are no medals for finishing second place."
Alexis gave a small nod as she ushered Jaden out of the office.
" you heard him, there's dueling to be done."
Jaden replied, smirking from ear to ear.
" my kind of homework."
Over the next couple of days both Jaden and Alexis practiced dueling as much as they could while also throwing a study session here and there, surprisingly the matches ended up with stalemates for the most part with said tutor losing far and few in between.
" you're doing great Jay but you're being too slow with counter traps."
Jaden, breathing heavily from the exercises replied with.
" thanks, should we go again?"
Alexis looked a bit tense as she replied.
" let's pause for a bit okay…?"
knowing what was the problem Jaden nodded saying.
" we'll see Atticus again."
Sighing Alexis countered with.
" trust me I know Atti can take care of himself, it's the fact that Nightshroud didn't make a move that stresses me out."
before the conversation could develop further the front door rang as Alexis answered it only to be surprised by her friends from duel academy.
" wait a minute… did I miss something?…"
Jazz and Mindy huffed at the greeting, being less than obvious about being miffed by their bestie's greeting while Jaden encountered Chazz and Syrus walking in.
" let me guess, this isn't a ' let's hang out ' kind of visit right?"
Chazz was the first of the two to respond.
" you finally grew a brain, so pigs can actually fly…"
Syrus interrupted the sarcasm party stating.
" we got a call from Shepard, he said that you went and got yourself into another crazy adventure and you needed backup bro."
Smiling at them both Jaden stated.
" yeah….. that's the short version of it anyway."
With that said and done Alexis ushered everyone into the living room as Jaden gestured her to stay behind as he asked.
" do we really want to involve our friends in this mess?, our last adventure wasn't a walk in the park."
Alexis replied as follows.
" trust me I wouldn't throw them into danger like that but maybe they can help without hurting themselves."
catching what she was getting at Jaden followed her to the living room as both of them spoke in unison.
" guys we have a lot of catching up to do and little time so if you all could follow along that would be great."
The duo at this point began recounting everything that happened since the last time they saw each other , as everyone listened to the end Chazz was the first to open his mouth.
" so the slacker is a reincarnated prince of darkness, you're after a mystical artifact belonging to said prince and Atticus got repossessed , did I miss anything so far?"
Syrus spoke up next.
" you forgot the whole business with this Yubel character."
More than a little annoyed with Syrus, Chazz tried to keep himself in check as he said with gritted teeth.
" you do realize that the question was rhetorical right?"
Syrus chuckled nervously as he pointed out.
" actually that fact escaped me right now."
Jazz at this point asked the duo the following question, getting everyone focused on the subject once more.
" it's obvious that neither of you need cheerleaders, so what can we do to actually help you two?"
Mindy at that chimed in.
" I don't get it, what's wrong with being a cheerleader?"
Everyone in the room other than Mindy paused as an awkward silence crept its way into the conversation as jaden was the first to start talking again.
" I don't think that's the point really…"
Thankfully Mindy didn't lament on the topic further as Chazz started a new conversation altogether.
" so what's our next move, do we go after the helmet or are we rescuing Atticus first?"
Before Jaden could get a word in Chazz chose to cut him off.
" listen we're not stupid, we know what's at stake here but there's no way we won't help our fr….. classmates when they need it."
Jaden at that smiled a bit saying.
" me and Alexis will do most of the heavy lifting but I'll need you and Syrus to help me get myself better cause our enemies will definitely play for keeps."
Chazz gave a small nod saying.
" I can live with that."
With that said and done the group immediately went to work as Chazz volunteered to be the first to help Jaden practice as Mindy adressed Alexis.
" so listen I'm just going to come out and say it, you don't really need dueling practice from me and Jazz so how about we'll help you track down Atticus instead?"
With that both Alexis and Jazz began staring at Mindy as though she grew a third eye as the teen in question asked.
" did I say something dumb again or something?"
Alexis smirked saying.
" actually that's the best idea you've had in a while."
Not to throw off the dynamic the trio had Jazz added.
" in a long while…"
At that Mindy pretended like she didn't get the comment since she wasn't in the mood for to start a back and forth between her friends, speaking of. As the duels between Jaden and Chazz dragged into the afternoon, the former managed to beat the latter at about eight times out of ten with the last two being draws. That didn't help Chazz's ego from getting bruised but to his credit each loss and draw he suffered were more spectacular than the next so he could stomach it.
" Chazz, how about a short break to refuel?"
Chazz's reply was.
" that's fine with me, besides I'm running out of strategies to beat you anyhow."
Jaden made a speed run to the kitchen as he got sandwiches and drinks for the both of them. Tossing the snack and drink to Chazz both found spots to eat on the balcony where the big dueling event happened as Jaden began smirking.
" what?!"
Jaden answered innocently.
" you almost called me your friend before didn't you?"
Chazz tried to play it off cool saying.
" almost."
Keeping the banter going Jaden replied.
" I bet that would've been a tough thing for you to say….."
A rare small smirk formed on Chazz's face as he said.
" you have no idea."
With that both of them fell into a comfortable silence as the two continued eating their snacks until Chazz was the first to break the silence.
" say?! How do you do it?"
Jaden's only response was.
" do what exactly?!"
Chazz in his usual sarcastic way sighed as he responded.
" geez slacker… do I need to spell it out for you?"
Jaden replied in all honesty.
" well to be fair you did just ask one heck of a broad question there."
Not willing to admit that Jaden actually hit the nail on the head with his answer Chazz settled on pinching his nose in irritation.
" how do you keep up with this insanity, you're currently in summer school since you've managed to barely pass your first year in duel academy, seeing duel spirits, rarely losing any of your duels, you're a magnet for trouble and let's add to the mix a reincarnation of a prince from a time that got lost to history, how do you manage not to crack?"
Jaden began wearing a smile on his face as he chose to answer as such.
" you remember what Chumely said to Crowler in his last duel?"
Chazz nodded.
" yep."
Jaden at that gave him the answer while asking a question of his own.
" he was right, that's my secret weapon, now why did you ask me that, are you cracking Chazz?"
Chazz at that tried to deny that by saying.
" no, it's just that I feel like I can't keep up with you."
At that Jaden smiled knowingly as he said something that genuinely surprised Chazz.
" you've already beat me plenty of times by being something I can't be, yourself."
At this point and time Chazz stayed silent for a while trying to change the subject since he didn't feel comfortable in admitting he was caught by surprise as a few more minutes passed when the hairs on the back of his head stood.
" say?!, did you get that funny feeling too?"
Humoring him Jaden replied.
" what feeling, what are you talking about Chazz?"
Chazz at this point gave Jaden a blunt gesture to keep his mouth shut as the former tried to relax himself while looking around the balcony thoroughly.
" I just got this feeling like we were being watched."
In an inopportune time Ojama Yellow materialized in his duel spirit form as he declared in his annoying and clueless way.
' do you mean me boss?, because I've made it my mission to watch you like a hawk with every waking moment.'
Chazz losing his cool at his monster blurted out.
" I didn't mean you bozo, now back in your deck before I throw you off this balcony!"
At that Ojama Yellow simply replied with.
' I'll come back once you'll cool off boss.'
Jaden kept himself together as every instinct told him he should laugh at that exchange as Chazz simply said.
" not another word got it?"
Jaden simply shrugged.
" you just proved my point on why I can't be you."
Chazz remained silent for a few moments before saying.
" you've got five minutes before I start hunting you down."
Jaden suddenly got really nervous as he said.
" Chazz….. old buddy… old pal?, I'm sorry."
Hiding a smirk Chazz only replied as follows.
" you now have only three minutes and a half before I start chasing you slacker…"
At that very moment Alexis interrupted the duo by exclaiming.
" no one will be chasing anyone around this house got it?"
Jaden at this point was ready to proclaim Alexis as his heroine when said girl followed up her statement with the following.
" if you want to chase each other there's plenty of space in the back yard."
Dumbfounded with what he heard Alexis just smirked at him in return.
" have fun Jay."
With the duo causing a ruckus in the back yard Alexis got herself ready to go out and find her brother yet again with her duel disc and deck at hand as Jazz and Mindy waited for her downstairs with yheir own duel discs and decks at the ready.
" you do realize this can become real dangerous really fast right?"
jazz at this point replied with.
" you do realize that we're not letting go alone right?"
Alexis sighed at her friend's response since she had an idea about the craziness that laid ahead of them as the trio left the house, speaking of crazy, that same mysterious feminine figure laid in wait for Jaden and his friends a few yards away from the house where no one will spot her as she was made contact with.
' issolate the supreme king by any means necessary.'
the figure confirmed that as she made her way towards the Rhode's household. As Alexis and her friends were walking through the neighborhood towards Domino city they eventually crossed paths with said mysterious figure though nothing happened. The mysterious figure decided to let her prey get away from the house further as she began trailing them around town, though by this point Alexis already developed a sense of unease as she continued walking around the city while eventually asking bluntly.
" what do you want from us?"
The mysterious figure remained quiet.
" did Nightshroud sent you after us?"
The figure only nodded a 'yes' as Mindy asked with a mix of unease and curiosity.
" Nightshroud…. Didn't you tell us that Atticus used to go by that name?…"
Alexis nodded as she replied.
" yeah…. And believe me he's no joke…"
With that Alexis prepared herself for an upcoming duel when the figure didn't make any moves in return except for pointing at the three girls in front of her all at once as Jazz in turn asked.
" let me get it straight, you want to duel the three of us all at once?"
The figure revealed the lower half of her face to reveal a smirk as Jazz in turn asked the only logical question.
" what makes you think you can take us on all at once?"
The figure's smirk became into a devious grin as jazz interpeted it as follows.
" well I've met my fair share of cocky people but you take the cake, what do you say we give her what she's asking for then?"
Mindy nodded enthusiastically as Alexis took the more cautious approach stating.
" lrt's be careful here, if I remember anything about this guys it's that they love setting traps for people."
With that the three on one battle was about to begin with none of them really aware of the danger that they were about to get into as the mysterious figure in turn decided to reveal her actual face, a face Alexis knew but couldn't put a finger on just yet since it was obscured by a smaller mask reminisent of Nightshroud's.
" any last words before I kill you three?"
Alexis only replied with.
" there are only a few that really matter."
Next time: First stop, Italy.
