A Gentle Responsibility

by Aruko Itsuka

The Supreme King. A duelist whose power is far beyond comprehension. Incalculable dueling skills, immeasurable power, and a presence that we know strikes fear into the hearts of many. What we DIDN'T know was that said king accepted his responsibility early. Isn't that right, Jaden?

2. Turn 2: Welcome to Duel Academy

Nali fan 0978: Good chapter can't wait to see more

Thank you Nali, and I'm glad to have this next chapter out for you.

Drawman98: Started reading the story. Interesting so far. Would put the title and summary in the beginning or not do the summary at all since most of the summary was already explained in the story by the time we get to the summary which makes it feel redundant. Curious to see how the story goes

I did exactly that and put it at the beginning. Hopefully it's a little better from now on for future chapters. Other than that, I have a good amount of stuff planned for the story, and I'm getting closer to building something solid for Jaden's powers, so I hope you look forward to it.

With that being said, I hope you all enjoy the chapter. Hopefully it doesn't seem rushed or anything. I was writing this on a lack of sleep, lmao.

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Turn 2: If your wish is "Fine Weather Rising Hallelujah," then Welcome to Duel Academy!

Summary: Jaden and Yubel had done it. After their duel with Crowler, the hero duelist and demonic spirit finally made it to where the story will really be taking place. An institution where dueling controls everyone's way of life here. Yet, their first day here is not about the school itself, or the people within it. The past has a funny way of showing itself.

Duel Academy, a prestigious institution located on an island residing within southern Japan. Upon this school being founded, it has served one purpose entirely for the future of dueling. Create students who are capable of tackling the pro leagues no matter the difficulty. So, as we close in the distance upon this school, we now find ourselves amongst the vast students who worked hard to get here.

Several students stood tall before a big screen in a place that could be deemed as the auditorium. While everyone was waiting for the screen to turn on, Jaden stood silently in the crowd with Yubel sitting criss-cross above his head. It didn't take long before the screen turned on, flashing a bald man with a bright smile. Yubel glanced at him slightly before looking back down, wanting to keep her eyes on Jaden more than some random guy in a suit.

"Hello there, duelists, and welcome to Duel Academy. I know you all fought hard to get here, considering the uniforms you're wearing are proof of that. We both know that you all have a goal in mind to go pro, and even go beyond that, but to achieve such a level you have to pass with the grades to show you're capable. So please, remember to have fun with the future duels to come your way, and don't forget to study hard. To conclude this small welcome, I am Chancellor Sheppard, the headmaster of this academy. I look forward to your development, and your amazing duels to come. You're all free to leave now."

The live feed to the screen had been cut. Having finished, the students began to depart one by one. Yubel undid her crossed legs before flying around to Jaden's side, getting a nod from him as he knew it was time for them to get moving.

"Now that we're here, we need to get your stuff settled at wherever you'll be staying."

"You got that right. I'll check the PDA they gave me and see where we'll be heading off too."

Reaching into his pocket, Jaden pulled out a small white device and opened the case attached to it. It turned on to give the duelist information on the usual information like his name, rank, and duel record inside the school. However, underneath all that was the location of where he'll be staying. The Slifer dorms.

"Hey, Jaden."

"Huh?" The pair found their attention captured by Syrus, seeing him wave over the Yuki teen. "Oh, hey Syrus. I see you're wearing the same jacket that I am, so that means we're both in the slifer dorm huh?"

"Yep. I was looking for you to see if you wanted to join me in heading there."

"Of course. Beats sitting around here doing nothing."

Both duelists began to walk out from the auditorium, going through the hallway that leads to the main entrance of the school. Their eyes began to look around, taking a good look at their surroundings. That was until Yubel flew in front of his line of sight.

"What's up Yubel?" Jaden asked, seeing her fold her arms under her bust.

"Aside from your new friend, nothing. I just want this part of the day to be over so we can focus on the more important things, such as our alone time."

"Don't worry, I understand. I doubt I'll really be alone with you for today, but I get that you just wanna make sure I get started on controlling his- MY powers soon."

"Of course, but you can't do that without a skilled opponent. You need someone who can push you to your limits, and this is your first day here. We're not gonna find someone by wishing for them. They don't just come to you just because."

"Yeah, I know that. Still, what do you suppose I should do about it?"

"For now, you wait. Once your first day of school starts, which would be tomorrow according to your schedule, we'll be given the opportunity to learn more about the others inhabiting this island."

"Sounds like a plan."

"Hey Jaden, check it out." Syrus said, turning to his left to see a small corridor leading up to a device centered not too far.

"Whoa! You don't think it could be what I think it is, do you?"

"Possibly, but I don't think it's the right time to be seeing for ourselves without heading to our dorm."

"I know we gotta get unpacked first, but a quick peek wouldn't hurt."

Jaden began walking forward, Syrus following behind him as Yubel sighed before flying beside her partner. I guess the original plan was going on hold, but she couldn't help smiling at his nature of being drawn towards anything dueling wise.

"While I don't mind if you peek around, no duels until you get settled in."

"I would say "can't make any promises," but I can agree to that."

"I know you can, my king."

Yubel kissed his cheek, the demonic spirit chuckling at his blush while relishing in his genuine love for her. When Syrus suddenly asked "Jaden, why are your cheeks red," she couldn't help but laugh, flying ahead of them.

A few seconds later, Jaden and Syrus found themselves standing at the center of what gives this school its name. The duel arena. A few gasps escaped their lips as they got a good look around, examining the area and noticed the one thing that stuck out about the entire arena. The duel field; one built with the latest technology. Knowing a certain little detail by its depiction, you could imagine what event brought this field to life.

"Wow! This is the best duel field I've ever seen." The brown and orange-haired teen announced, his brown eyes looking over to two students clad in blue blazers standing on top of it.

"I'll say. Everything here looks state of the art down to the last detail." The blue-haired teen announced, unaware that they were getting the attention of the other obelisks since he looked over at Jaden, the latter doing the same.

"You're telling me. If we wanted to we could duel right now."

"It would be after going to the dorms right?"

"Yes, it would be right after that. After all, you promised Jaden." Yubel spoke, folding her arms before landing beside her partner as she glanced over to the teens that noticed them. "Speaking of which, we're gonna have some company."

Taking notice of the approaching obelisk students, both teens went silent. The other male students stepped down from the duel field to get a proper look at them. So the moment they recognized him, the next few responses were rather obvious.

"You're that guy who bested Crowler in the exams." The glasses wearer stated.

"Yep, that's me alright. It was rather quick, but a good duel nonetheless."

"Still, if it wasn't for your low grades, you could've been in Ra Yellow." The black-haired duelist responded.

"Since you're a new Slifer, I hope you realize that someone of your capabilities could be doing much better than the other slackers of your color." The brown-haired teen stated, finally speaking up which confused said slifers in question.

"Huh? What do you mean by that?"

Both obelisk looked at Syrus, ignoring his question which made him slightly nervous. That action also didn't sit right with Jaden. On the other hand, both duelists faced the stands, seeing a pair of legs rest on one of the chairs. Looks like someone else was being introduced.

"Yo Chazz, that applicant who took on Crowler is down here."

Hearing his name being called, the black-haired teen sat up, glancing towards the brown-eyed hero user. However, his eyes began to widen upon looking at everyone there.

"Hm?" Yubel questioned, having seen his eyes bulge slightly before going back half-lidded.

The Princeton teen stood up, walking from his seat towards the stairway. As soon as he reached it, the black-eyed duelist sauntered down the steps, keeping his vision focused on Jaden entirely. While the latter felt uncomfortable due to his stare, he wasn't gonna let it be known so easily.

"About time you showed up." Chazz spoke, walking in between his friends so he could stand face to face with the Yuki teen. "Getting a good look at you, you don't really seem all that special."

"Grr!" Yubel growled, her eyes flaring up.

"Wow, harsh." Jaden replied, not sure why he was catching insults already.

"Aside from that, I gotta say that your little duel with Crowler was something. You're not too bad."

"Heh, thanks. I appreciate the compliment."

"Yeah yeah. However, I'm not speaking to you just to make small talk. Crowler dueled you for some reason instead of any of the other examiners. Who are you exactly?"

"Who my precious Jaden is doesn't concern you." She thought, glaring at the black-haired teen.

"Just a guy who loves dueling as much as the next person. Jaden Yuki, future King of Games." He pointed at himself, giving off a proud smirk.

"As if. There can only be one King of Games, and you're looking at him." Chazz replied, getting an eye roll from Yubel. "However, I acknowledge competition when I see it. You taking on Crowler and winning in two turns is not bad, but I wanna see for myself what makes you so different."

"Then I'm game. We can have a go at it now if you're interested."

"Jaden…" Syrus and Yubel said in unison, the latter flying in front of his face as she began pouting slightly, making the boy chuckle as he remembered what he promised.

"Sounds perfect." The Princeton teen smirked, reaching behind his back for his deck holster.

"If perfect means putting it on hold, then I must agree."

All the boys (and Yubel) turned to their left, seeing a beautiful blonde in a mostly white blazer and blue skirt. Her hazel eyes were being used for a stern stare directed towards the Princeton duelist. Her arms were crossed under her bust, but the way she carried herself spoke volumes.

"Who is she?" Syrus asked, finding himself blushing in front of the taller woman.

"As long as you don't get close to Jaden, you won't get hurt." Yubel said casually, earning a deadpan from the Yuki teen.

"Tch. I didn't expect you to show up here Alexis."

"Whether you did or not, I knew you'd be here thanks to your track record. The obelisk welcome dinner is going to start in a few minutes, and here I am looking for you."

"Right. Come on guys." Chazz stated, departing with his friends. As they did, he sent one last glance back to the quartet, his black eyes staring at the one being that no one should be able to see.

"Sorry if Chazz was bothering you two. Hopefully he wasn't causing either of you any trouble. Obelisk students tend to be rude to slifer students around here." Alexis said, looking at the new duel academy students.

"Nah, don't sweat it. In fact, we were just about to throw down." Jaden smirked, earning a frown from Yubel as she reminded him of the promise he made once again.

"As for me, I was just gonna end up watching." Syrus replied, adjusting his glasses.

"Haha." The blonde found herself laughing at the two. "Speaking of our welcome dinner, the Slifer welcome dinner will be starting soon too, so you both better get a move on."

"Good point. Come on Sy, let's book."

"Right."

Just like that, both of them took off running down the corridor, Yubel flying after them. However, before they disappeared off into the distance, the brown-eyed hero user turned around to wave her bye.

"Thanks again for the heads up! We'll catch you around Alexis!"

"Yeah! See ya around!" Syrus screamed out, running further off until neither him nor Jaden could be seen.

All the blonde did was smile unaware that Yubel was staring at her. Before taking off, she whispered something about the blonde before catching back up with her partner. While what she said was unknown, you could take a guess for yourself and you'd be right regardless about what she said.

Eventually, after some time had passed traversing Academy Island, Jaden, Syrus, and Yubel had finally arrived at the Slifer dorms. Well, if you could call it that. I don't know if this could count as proper living quarters for students.

"This is our dorm? It looks like a poorly managed building with a deck attached to it." Syrus was the first to speak, heading up the stairs.

"I agree with the shorty. My precious Jaden shouldn't be living in any building like this."

"Honestly, I think this place is fine. It even has a view of the sea from above." Jaden said, dashing up the stairs to catch up with Syrus.

"I always find it strange how you can see positivity under these conditions." The demonic spirit sweat dropped.

"If it works for me, then I'll try and make it work for you." He thought, the heterochromia fiend reading his mind before a sigh escaped her lips.

Moments later, all three of them had arrived at their dorm room, opening the door after unlocking it first. Jaden was the first to speak as he said "This one here is our room Sy." The smile he had never left his face, taking a second to notice a small tv on a stand, an L-shaped work desk next to it, a small "kitchen," and three bunk beds?

"It's kinda small if I'm being honest."

"Forget the small part. Kaiba can afford an island institution with the latest technology, but can't get you a guide or a proper dorm room. When I find him, I'm gonna-"

"Honestly, I like it."

"... How can you like something like this?" Yubel questioned, deadpanning at her Supreme King.

"Just because it's my first home away from home."

As quickly as he thought that, Yubel noticed his smile softening. That's when she finally noticed it. The sadness in his eyes and expression. The pain he was feeling was only there for a second until he immediately switched back to his usual easy going smile.

"This'll make a sweet pad for our first year here."

"If you say so. I'm just glad my first year here is with a friend I made at the entrance exams."

"Huh?" Jaden looked to his right, looking at Syrus who heard the one word escape his lips. "You think we're friends?"

"Well, yeah. I mean, we did come together and all after. Are we not friends?" Syrus asked, feeling slightly deflated at the thought of Jaden saying no.

That was until he received the brightest smile the brown-eyed teen could muster.

"Are you kidding? Of course we are!" Jaden said, giving him a hug which confused Syrus, yet made him feel happy with the interaction.

Yubel, who was floating to the side, huffed before pouting her cheeks. She sent a small glare towards Syrus, jealous that he was receiving Jaden's love. After the hug was broken, Jaden said "Now that we've got that part settled, let's get started on making this place great for the rest of our school years. Starting with these curtains."

The Yuki teen walked over to the curtains, opening them up to shed some light on the room. However, the sudden shout of "Hey! I had those closed for a reason," got their attention. Everyone looked over to where the voice came from, seeing some shuffling at the top bunk.

"Sorry about that. I didn't see you up there."

"No kidding."

All three of them watched as the figure lifted themselves up. On first look, due to their features, you most likely would've seen a koala that seemed ready to kill. By the second look, you would see a guy with a stern expression, upset that his sleep was disturbed.

"Who are you?" Syrus asked, having kept himself from panicking after confusing the new guy with a death Koala.

"I'm Chumley Huffington. Seeing as you got past the locked door, I guess that makes us roommates."

"Then it's nice to meet you. I'm Jaden Yuki, future King of Games."

"I'm Syrus Truesdale."

"I'll keep that in mind." The Koala face teen turned back over, pulling the cover over his shoulders much to the confusion of the other two below him.

"Looks like big boy isn't one for keeping company." The demonic spirit said.

"Can't exactly blame him since we woke him up from his sleep." Jaden thought, sending a glance towards Yubel as him and Syrus began unpacking their stuff.

"Now that you're here, I'll let you know something. For starters, you already knew this school runs off a ranking system right?"

Hearing this caught their attention, stopping what they were doing as Syrus looked up towards the bed first.

"Well yeah. We're all separated in three categories. Obelisks, Ra, and Slifer." Syrus stated, placing his bag down next to mine.

"Well duh, that's obvious. What you should know is what each of them are based on. For example, the Obelisks basically achieved their status by working their way up the rankings. And if not that, then they had good connections with the skills to back it up."

"If working your way up means what I think it does, then that just means you start off as a Slifer or Ra student first." Yubel said, getting a nod from Jaden.

"The Ras are the high achievers who scored high marks on their entrance exam, and their examination duel. Then, there's us, the Slifers. If you end up here, then you're basically the equivalent of a hit or miss shot. You either climb up the ranks and succeed, or you stay down at the bottom and live a cycle of failures. Although, those who get sent here never had a chance to begin with. Especially since the rest of the student body sees us as dropouts." Chumley finished.

"Well, I can promise you that neither I, nor Syrus will be stuck at the bottom. We're definitely gonna be the best at this school! Isn't that right Sy?"

"Y-Yeah. If you say so." He responded with a nervous chuckle, making Jaden scratch his head in confusion.

"Yeah, good luck with that. You'll just end up like all the others who had big dreams." Chumley replied.

"What a downer. Jaden, don't forget that your welcoming party is starting." Yubel said.

"Oh yeah. Sy, let's hurry up so we can get to the Slifer welcoming party."

"Right. I almost forgot about that."

With that, the two of them hurried up and finished unpacking. It took a few minutes, but by the time they were done, all of them began making their way out of their room, leaving Chumley by himself. More time began to pass, bringing us to the setting sun as all the Slifers (sans Chumley of course) could be seen looking at their welcome dinner in the Slifer Dorm Dining Hall.

They couldn't believe their eyes at the meal they received.

"THIS is our fancy welcome dinner?!"

"You're kidding right? I got a chance to peek at what the Ras and Obelisks are eating, and they were chowing down on a five course meal."

"Forget the food. Look at our headmaster of the dorms. It's a freaking cat!"

In response to hearing itself being mentioned, said animal released a meow. All the students were staring at it, not sure how to feel their situation. That was until a man had walked from behind the curtains to a kitchen in the back, parting them from being so close. This got him a few stares and small whispers of curiosity, but it was to be expected.

"Seems like this is everyone. Welcome, my dear students to the Slifer Dorm. I am professor banner, your headmaster of the dorm, and possibly your teacher for your time spent here at the school. While I would love to hear introductions about yourselves, I think we might be a little too late for that."

Adjusting his glasses, the now revealed Banner looked towards a certain someone, everyone turning their heads to stare at Jaden eating his meal. Syrus whispered in concern, worried about them getting in trouble since he was eating so early before they had a chance to properly speak with professor Banner. Yubel on the other hand smiled at Jaden stuffing his face, having her arms wrapped around his neck in which he didn't seem to mind.

"Man, this meal is great!" The brown-eyed teen exclaimed, eating his fish with rice.

"You couldn't wait until after professor Banner finished at least."

"Why should my Jaden wait to eat? I say he should feed himself whenever necessary." Yubel smirked softly, kissing Jaden's cheek which made him pause for a split second as he started blushing.

"Honestly, you can't expect me to wait long if I have good food sitting in front of me." Jaden stated, pointing his chopsticks at Syrus.

"Then I'm glad my food made you quick to dive into the bowls like this. So with that being said, let's eat!"

By that point, Banner's personality had won them over. His students began to smile after they blessed their food. Joy began to make itself known as their meal filled their stomachs, some of the students conversing with one another. Banner watched his students closely, satisfied with their happiness and enjoyment of his welcoming dinner. As they are, he made green tea for everyone, passing out cups left and right for the many teens in the dining hall.

"Wow! That was delicious! Who knew Professor Banner could make such a tasty meal?" The blue-haired duelist said.

"Beats me, but having him around is gonna be awesome if we can eat like this every day. Not to mention, he's pretty chill."

Two cups were suddenly placed next to them. Their eyes saw the black-haired adult placing down tea for them, the older man giving them a slight bow. They bowed back towards him in response, smiling at his generosity.

"Seems like you two are gonna be my favorites. I look forward to learning more about you." Banner stated, walking off to attend to the rest of his students.

"Oh yeah. This is gonna be a great school year." Jaden spoke.

"With a guy like him around, I can see why. That'll leave us to focus on the more important things while he makes sure you get a good education out of this school." The demonic spirit said, placing her head against Jaden's as the teen nodded.

Out of nowhere, a sudden buzzing could be heard by the trio. They were initially confused by the noise, but Yubel pointing towards his PDA holster got his attention. The HERO user reached slightly under his shirt, revealing said holster. Taking out the device, he saw a message was being sent to him, opening up and accepting it to see a recorded video message from one of the few obelisks he met so far. Chazz Princeton.

"Don't think I forgot about you Jaden. Once our welcoming dinners are over, I'll be seeing you at Duel Academy's duel field. Don't be late, because you and I have a match to attend to."

The video was cut after that final statement. A small gasp escaped Jaden's lip, the brown and orange-haired duelist smirking. On the other hand, Syrus and Yubel frowned at this for completely different reasons. Syrus mainly for it being out of concern. Yubel saw the Princeton teen as a waste of time.

"I don't think that's a good idea Jaden." Syrus voiced his opinion, eating his curry.

"You're not really gonna duel him are you?" His partner asked, her heterochromia eyes staring deeply into Jaden's brown ones.

"No matter what way I look at it, a duel like this isn't something I'm gonna simply pass on. Besides, I'm dueling one of the best straight out the gate before the official start of the school year. What more could a guy ask for? If you get challenged to a duel, you gotta step up."

"I feel like that's something I can't really agree on to a certain extent." The Truesdale teen sighed, putting more of his curry into his mouth.

"I just don't want you to duel him of all people." Yubel replied.

"Oh well. I'm looking forward to this duel. I better hurry up here, because pretty soon I'm gonna get my game on."

Syrus sighed again, realizing there was nothing he could do to stop him. Even still, he would stick by his friend. Yubel on the other hand scoffed at the idea of Jaden dueling Chazz. There has to be better opponents out there other than some guy with curves in his spiky hair.

By that time, Jaden and Syrus had finished eating, returning to their dorm room as Jaden grabbed his duel disk. With the prized item now in his grasp, Jaden, Syrus, and Yubel took off towards Duel Academy. The trip to the institute has been mostly quiet, Jaden smirking at the chance to be able to duel on his first day inside Academy Island while Syrus was more worried about dueling inside the school this late. Yubel on the other hand was slightly annoyed, but wherever he goes, she'll go. Anything to her is fine as long as it means Jaden was happy.

"Finally, we made it. Once we get to that Duel Field, watch me throw down and win Sy."

"Of course. Just don't do anything I wouldn't be doing this late."

All three of them entered inside of the Academy doors, easily making their way through the currently empty halls. It didn't take long to arrive at the main walkway to the duel field, all three of them entering just to see someone standing up ahead. It was obvious as to whom it was by the way his hair stood up, his back currently planted against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest. Strangely enough, he was all alone.

"Yo Chazz, I got your message. I hope you're ready to throw down."

"I should be saying that to you. You didn't take long like I thought you would, so I guess that's a given."

"Of course not. I never back down from a challenge."

"Hmph."

The black-haired teen didn't say anything else after that. Instead, he turned his back towards the brown-eyed duelist, walking ahead of the three behind himself. Jaden and Syrus looked at one another, slightly confused by Chazz's demeanor before walking inside the duel arena.

The obelisk had walked up the stairway of the duel field, standing on the other side with his duel disk being placed on his left arm at the same time. Syrus stayed behind Jaden, adjusting his glasses while watching his friend step onto the field.

"Good luck Jay. Do your best out there."

"Will do Sy. You can count on it."

The Yuki teen began placing his duel disk on his arm, activating a particular feature so that it would eject the card slots from its hidden compartment. Yubel flew around Jaden before slowly descending beside him, a neutral gaze on her features. With a smirk plastered on his face, Jaden removed his cards from his deck holster, placing them inside his deck holder. Now that a duel was being recognized, his duel disk lit up with a red light at the center of the device, him and Chazz staring each other down.

"Let's get this show on the road." Chazz stated, taking five cards from his deck.

"Time to get my game on." Jaden replied, taking five cards from his deck as Yubel's eyes began to glow slightly.

"Let's duel!" They shouted in unison, a familiar system coming up to indicate how many points they had left.

Chazz - 4000LP [Hand: 5/Deck: 55/ Field: 0] Graveyard: 0

Jaden - 4000LP [Hand: 5/Deck: 55/Field: 0] Graveyard: 0

"I'll be taking the first move."

Chazz began to look his hand over from left to right. His expression stayed neutral, but he already knew what he wanted to do just by a single glance. On the other hand, Yubel watched him with a calculating gaze, wondering what the obelisk student was up to. However, as she did so, the demonic spirit had a feeling that something about Chazz was very… Off.

"Be careful Jaden." The fiend whispered, getting a slight nod from her King.

"I'll start things off by activating the spell card, Graceful Charity."

Said card suddenly appeared, an angel appearing on the cover with a shining card floating above her hand. Jaden readied himself for whatever Chazz might throw at him. He may not be able to attack this turn, but he could either build a solid offense, or defense.

"With graceful charity, I'm allowed to draw three cards, but have to discard two cards from my hand in exchange. So I'll take three cards like so-" He paused, taking three cards from his deck before discarding two as promised. "And then activate the effect of the card I just discarded from my graveyard."

A portal began to appear on the field, said portal spinning at rapid speeds as the color of it started to become orange and white instead of the usual black.

"Kidmodo Dragon's special ability activates. Since it was sent to the graveyard by the effect of graceful charity, I get to special summon one dragon type monster from my hand. So behold, Armed Dragon Thunder LV3!"

A small roar could be heard before the sound of cackling began to pick up. Hearing where it was coming from, both Jaden and Yubel looked up toward the sky. With widened eyes, they witnessed a storm cloud above, clicking their teeths as lightning began to strike Chazz's side of the field. From the depths of the storm flew out an orange dragon with gray plating armor, its fists covered in lightning. The little dragon dashed towards the ground, striking it with a singular fist as electricity began to fly off the duel field.

Armed Dragon Thunder LV3 - ATK: 1200/DEF: 900

"Sweet looking dragon."

"He won't be around for long though. Before we get to that, I'll activate the spell card, Level Modulation! How this card works is that you get to draw two cards. However, after you do so, I get to special summon one LV monster in my graveyard ignoring its summoning conditions. So come to the field, Armed Dragon LV5!"

The ground began to quake beneath them. Jaden, noticing a few cracks in the earth, began to stare at an orange mist seeping out from the depths. He was obviously confused, but in wonder. That was until the cracks got larger, creating a hole large enough for something to jump out of it. And jump it did, because it slammed onto the field seconds later, releasing a mighty yell that began to shake the arena. Its black and red wings flapped slightly, the black armor with covered spikes all aimed for the HERO user's body.

Armed Dragon LV5 - ATK: 2400/DEF: 1700

"A powerful monster already? The duel just started!" The blue-haired duelist exclaimed.

"He's not gonna be the only powerful one. I activate the effect of Armed Dragon Thunder LV3! By discarding one monster from my hand and sending Armed Dragon Thunder LV3 to the graveyard, I summon another LV monster whose level is at least five or lower. So come and join your brother, Armed Dragon Thunder LV5."

An orange swirl began to appear around the Princeton's duel disk, covering himself and his field. Jaden and Yubel squinted at the swirling of said color, waiting for it to dissipate. A card suddenly flew out from the center of the spiral, glowing orange before a blinding flash of light took over the entire field. The HERO user had to shield himself from the light, but Yubel's eyes allowed her to see what was actually happening behind the scenes. So the moment she spotted a card beginning to manipulate its shape and size into that of an equivalent form to Armed Dragon LV5, her eyes widened as it began to glare right back at her.

"Jaden, I don't think you're gonna like where this is going."

"What makes you say that?"

"See for yourself." She pointed towards his field, the light beginning to die out as the brown-eyed duelist casted his vision upon the newest dragon to welcome the field.

Said dragon looked nearly identical to Armed Dragon LV5. The only difference would be the gray scales, lightning on its body, and yellow lightning symbol on its chest.

Armed Dragon Thunder LV5 - ATK: 2400/DEF: 1700

"That's not the only effect from LV3 that you have to deal with because I can now activate its second effect. Whenever this monster is sent to the graveyard, I get to draw one more card."

Chazz took another card from his deck, staring at it with indifference before saying "Now I'll play the spell card, Pot of Greed, which will allow me to draw two additional cards." After taking those two cards, he began placing multiple cards facedown in his back row. "I'll set four cards and end my turn. Your move Jaden."

"You got that right, and it's gonna be a good one. I draw!" Taking one card from his deck, it was time to even the playing field.

Chazz - 4000LP [Hand: 0/Deck: 48/ Field: 6] Graveyard: 6

Jaden - 4000LP [Hand: 8/Deck: 52/Field: 0] Graveyard: 0

"So much for me being in the opening hand." The demonic spirit stated, noticing the lack of her card.

"Even if you didn't show up, it doesn't mean we aren't gonna shake things up for our first turn. Because starting off-" He took one of the cards from his hand, flashing it towards Chazz "I'll start by playing the spell card A Hero Lives!'"

"The same spell you used against Crowler huh?"

"You bet. Thanks to it, I get to summon an elemental hero straight from my deck, and the one I'm picking is Airman."

Green wind began to pick up from Jaden's duel disk. Upon seeing it, both him and Yubel smirked with the sudden spiraling of said element, dispersing before a familiar man with winged blades stood tall and proud with his muscles bulging in anticipation for the fight ahead.

Elemental HERO Stratos LV4 - ATK: 1800/DEF: 300

Jaden - [4000LP - (2000) 2000LP]

"Now I'll activate his superpower!"

"You wish. Reverse card, Infinite Impermanence, open!" Chazz exclaimed, revealing a trap card that looked similar to a amphiptere.

"Infinite what now?" The Yuki teen questioned.

"Infinite Impermanence. It's a trap card that when activated, allows me to target one monster on your field and negate its effect."

A gasp escaped Jaden's lips as he witnessed said card suddenly spawn in a mythical being from above the sky. Said beast began to shoot out what appeared to be a blue light from its mouth, targeting Stratos who took flight to the skies in an effort to challenge the beast.

"Jaden, I don't see the counter symbol on his trap." His partner said, catching his attention as the teen began to widen his eyes.

"Since it's not a counter trap…" Jaden thought to himself before a slight smirk placed itself onto his lips. Pulling a card from his hand, the teen leaned forward slightly. "You ready Yubel?"

"For you, I'm always ready."

"Then here we go!"

With Stratos nearing the light, Chazz for sure thought he was going to negate the hero's ability which would then force Jaden to rethink his options. However, said hero stopped abruptly. Seeing him come to a halt in such a way left the teen suspicious before those suspicions were confirmed when said light that the Amphiptere shot from within its body ended up bouncing off Stratos' mask instead of just being absorbed by the hero. The Princeton's black eyes looked downward to spot a quick play spell card, seeing a hero whose face was surrounded by a flashing yellow light.

"Take flight and dawn a new form. Mask Change!" Jaden and Yubel screamed in unison, a bright green light beginning to flash from Stratos' mask before a second one appeared in his hand.

"What the heck is this?" Chazz covered his face, intense winds beginning to appear on the field due to a tornado appearing from nowhere to surround the elemental hero.

"Whoa! I never knew a card could generate such power like this! How strong is Jaden's deck?!" Syrus thought, shielding himself from the green air as much as possible whilst trying to keep his footing on the ground.

"Henshin! Masked Hero, Blast!"

From their combined shout, a small green light flashed from the center of the tornado. The resulting light caused the winds to split and disperse into nothingness, revealing a hero whose body was covered from head to toe in green and black. A red gem reflected a small amount of light at the center of his chest while a red scarf was flapping away in the winds that he generated. Slowly, the newly formed hero began descending to the ground in front of his summoner. It wasn't until finishing this action that he pointed at Chazz's dragons, dragging his thumb across his neck after he heard the growls of the ferocious beasts. Blast meant business.

Masked Hero Blast LV6 - ATK: 2200/DEF: 1800 (FUSION)

"Masked hero? Your deck uses two hero types?"

"Originally, it didn't. It wasn't until applying for the entrance exams that I decided to tune up my deck. Now you get to witness the true power of heroes."

"Then continue your turn. I wanna see what this power looks like."

"Then I'll continue by adding one of my heroes from my deck to my hand thanks to Airman, and then I'll activate Blast's superpower! Since he was summoned to the field, I can target one of your Armed Dragons and cut their attack by half. So Armed Dragon LV5, looks like you just bit off more than you can chew."

Green wind began to channel itself into Blast's hand, said hero shooting towards the LV5 dragon. All the monster could do was block the attack with its arms, slightly being pushed back by the pressure as it released a yell.

Armed Dragon LV5 - [ATK: 2400 - (1200) 1200]

"Nice move Jay!"

"Hmph! Thanks Sy." He smirked, giving the shorter teen a peace sign.

"I'll admit, it wasn't too shabby, but I'll do you one better. I activate the trap card Hopeful Future."

"Ok, so what's it do?"

"By shuffling all cards from my graveyard into my deck, I can draw two new cards."

Removing his deck from the deck holder, the dragon user began to add the six current cards he had in the graveyard back to his deck before shuffling it thoroughly. Once done, he placed his deck back into the holder, taking the top two cards from his deck. His eyes scanned them over, but his poker face showed indifference to keep from alerting Jaden of what he drew.

"Whatever cards you drew, I hope they're good ones."

"You'll see soon enough. Now continue with your turn."

"Heh. From my hand comes the spell card Hero's Bond! Since I control Blast, two level four or lower elemental heroes can join him on the field. So let me formally introduce you to Elemental HERO Blazeman, and Elemental HERO Shadow Mist!"

The Princeton teen witnessed something strange from Masked Hero Blast. For some odd reason, he began to conduct the elements of both fire and dark, pushing his hands together in the form of a prayer. He stayed in that stance for a few seconds before splitting his palms from each other, blasting the ground with heat and dark energy until it began to take shape into a pair of warriors covered in red and black.

Elemental HERO Blazeman LV4 - ATK: 1200/DEF: 1800

Elemental HERO Shadow Mist LV4 - ATK: 1000/DEF: 1500

"Are we going for a fusion summon with polymerization?" Yubel asked.

"You bet." Jaden thought, seeing her smirk before saying "With these two out, I'll activate Shadow Mist's effect, and then chain him with Blazeman to activate his ability as well. With Blazeman, I get to add one polymerization from my deck to my hand. With Shadow Mist, I get to add one "Mask Change" spell card to my hand too."

Doing as he said, the brown and orange-haired teen began taking two cards from his deck, adding another elemental hero to his hand along with the declared spell card he was searching for.

"It's time for a new hero to welcome the field. I activate the spell card Polymerization!"

"Just what I was waiting for."

"Huh?" Jaden, Syrus, and Yubel questioned in unison before a counter trap lifted itself up on the field.

"Reverse card, Solemn Warning, open!"

A man dressed in white, black, and blue robes began to walk out from behind the Princeton teen. His left hand was gripping a wooden staff as he walked forward, lifting his right hand towards the now appearing polymerization spell card.

"Since you activated a card that includes a special summon, I simply pay half my life points to negate it."

"Good move." Jaden complimented, watching his card burst into pixels.

Chazz - [4000LP - (2000) 2000LP]

"Looks like that plan is out of the window." Yubel scoffed, her eyes glowing slightly. "Nice move."

"That's two facedowns gone, and one more on my field. Don't keep me waiting too long for your next move." Chazz stated.

"Aww man. Jaden has three monsters out, and not a single one can take on Chazz's Armed Dragon Thunder LV5. With polymerization being negated, what can he do now?"

"Luckily enough, you won't have to wait long for an answer. I summon Elemental HERO Solid Soldier."

The ground began to shake once more beneath them. Suddenly, the earth began to slightly rise on Jaden's side of the field, making a pillar with a body carved at the center. Slowly, it began cracking, the pillar beginning to quake as if it something or someone was trying to free itself. A few seconds passed before the tall cylinder of earth exploded into tiny pieces, revealing a man whose arm was stretched out to reach something, clad in the colors of white and brown.

Elemental HERO Solid Soldier LV4 - ATK: 1300/DEF: 1100

"Now I get to activate his ability. Since he was normal summoned, I can special summon another HERO from my hand. Welcome back, Liquid Soldier!"

Jaden flashed liquid soldier towards the Princeton teen, the card beginning to glow blue. It didn't take long for a large blast of water to shoot out towards the field, swirling around to create a singular body.

Elemental Hero Liquid Soldier LV4 - ATK: 1400/DEF: 1300

"Time for some offense. Masked Hero Blast, attack Armed Dragon LV5 with blast off screech!"

Blast began flexing his muscles, coating his arms in his powers before taking off at incomprehensible speeds. Both Chazz and his Armed Dragon were surprised, the monster looking around for the warrior to spot his current location. Imagine the dragon's surprise when a kick struck the right side of its jaw, causing the beast to screech in pain. Landing on his feet, the masked hero jumped up and grabbed its throat, slamming LV5 onto the ground only to earn the attention of Armed Dragon Thunder LV5.

Seeing his partner take a hit, Thunder LV5 began charging his claws with lightning, striking at Blast's torso. The wind user blocked it with his knee, casting a protective wind barrier on his limb before kicking the dragon to his side which forced Thunder LV5 to skid backwards across the field. Bringing his left arm back, the hero began forming a large ball of wind, choking the dragon as he was ready to end its existence.

"My trap activates, Negate Attack!" The black-eyed dragon user exclaimed. "By targeting your Masked Hero Blast since he declared an attack, I can now call it off before my monster is destroyed, and then end your battle phase!"

A red spiral began to blind Blast, forcing him to let go of Armed Dragon LV5. The warrior jumped back from its opponent before putting up his arms in a defensive moment. That's when the tail of Armed Dragon Thunder LV5 struck his body, sending him flying backwards. As if he was completing a quick time event, Blast managed to recover from the assault in midair, using his hands to touch the ground before doing a triple backflip off them onto Jaden's side of the field.

Even after all that, the hero wasn't finished as he dusted himself off from the battle, shaking his head in disappointment after crossing his arms over his chest.

"I'm glad you didn't use Blast's second ability on the whim that you might lose the chain advantage, otherwise you would've given him back negate attack."

"Yeah, no kidding." The brown-eyed teen thought before taking the last three cards from his left hand. "The battle phase may be over, but I still have something to work with. I set three cards face down and end my turn."

"Which means you gotta deal with my turn now." Chazz replied, taking a card from his deck.

Chazz - 2000LP [Hand: 3/Deck: 54/ Field: 2] Graveyard: 1

Jaden - 2000LP [Hand: 0/Deck: 48/Field: 8] Graveyard: 4

"They're both at two-thousand life points, but neither of them has taken damage from each other. I wonder how this is gonna play out." Syrus thought to himself, adjusting his glasses before hearing-

"I'm glad that I was correct about you three being here."

"Huh?" The Truesdale teen turned around, his eyes staring at the beauty of the taller woman he met before. "Hey Alexis."

"Hi there Sy. Seems like I missed quite a bit." The blonde responded, giving a stern stare towards the duel field.

"Yeah, but only two turns have passed with the third turn starting now, so I can't say you missed much."

"Two turns have passed? I find that hard to believe, but I'll take your word for it."

Alexis' eyes began to scan the field, noticing how unequal this match was. Chazz on one hand had only three cards between his fingers tips, and two monsters to his name. On the other, Jaden was standing by with five heroes and three face down cards. Aside from both of them being at half health this game, the HERO user had the better field advantage.

"From my hand comes the spell Card of Sanctity. Both of us must now draw until we have six cards in our hands."

"Now that's something I can get behind."

Both teens began taking the cards from their deck, Chazz drawing four cards while Jaden drew six.

"..." Yubel looked at Jaden's hand, giving him a nod at what he drew as the Yuki teen smirked.

"... I'll now activate the effect of Dark End Evaporation Dragon. By banishing one level eight monster from my extra deck, I can special summon it from my hand."

From nowhere, a glowing orange eye appeared on the back of his card. Said eye began to squint slowly before it burst into black flames, dropping onto Chazz's side of the field. The black flames began to spread in different directions, creating a wall that began to twist and turn itself into a new design which surprised Jaden, Syrus, and Yubel. That's when a second eye appeared, teeth beginning to show itself afterward before an ear piercing scream was heard. The flames dissolved from around the eyes and mouth, revealing a large body of scales and flesh being twice the size of the Armed Dragons. Welcome to the duel Dark End.

Dark End Evaporation Dragon LV8 - ATK: 2600/DEF: 2100

"That's one cool looking dragon." Jaden said absentmindedly.

"It's not all that impressive." The white and purple-haired spirit rolled her eyes at its form.

"Of course YOU out of everyone else would say that." His words shocked them slightly, the duo picking up on the fact that his response came seconds later.

Seconds AFTER Yubel had spoken.

With widened eyes, Jaden tried to recover by saying "Well yeah. I mean, if I see a cool looking monster, I'm gonna say some-"

"I'm not talking to you." Chazz said, staring directly at her. "Go on Yubel. What about my dragon isn't that impressive?"

"You can hear me? You can see me?" She questioned, not out of fright or concern. As for her partner, the Yuki teen didn't even know what to say.

"Yubel? But Jaden hasn't even summoned her." Syrus decided to speak up.

"Yeah. Is all that constant boasting finally getting to your head?" Alexis replied, annoying the black-haired duelist.

"Close your mouths for a second, and it might make sense."

Chazz turned back towards Jaden and Yubel, missing the shocked expressions of the two he silenced. The hero user was nervous, sweat practically running down his head. Yubel on the other hand was glaring at him, her eyes flaring up as if to say "Don't you utter another word."

"If I'm being honest with you two, I never had any interest in dueling you Jaden, but I had no choice."

"Oh yeah? Is someone forcing you to do this?"

"Not even close. The only reason why I'm doing this…"

A small red eye began to appear on Chazz's duel disk. It went from transparent to translucent in a matter of seconds. However, when its opacity reached one-hundred, only then did he realize what was going on. The Princeton teen was summoning another monster.

"Is because I need to pay back Yubel for what she did all those years ago."

"Pay back Yubel?"

"Oh please. Just ignore him, Jaden. He's just making up anything to get out of the duel because he knows you're going to beat him."

"Don't you ever stare at my Jaden while he's in pain. Isn't that what you said to me at the local tournament where Koyo was dueling?"

"How do you-"

The demonic spirit's eyes widened as they began to glow dangerously, but she stopped herself upon realizing something. Immediately, she casted her vision over to Jaden, seeing him staring blankly at the floor. She knew that face, and immediately flew around in front of him, getting his attention. She saw the slight worry in his eyes, but it was there for a reason. Jaden knew his partner very well. Her protective nature, undying love for him, etc. However, what he knew most about the fiend from all the time she has spent with him-

How she acted toward others when it came to his feelings.

"Jaden, don't listen to him. He has no idea what he's talking about. Remember, we woke up late before we got the chance to see Koyo duel. We never could've interacted with anyone since we chased down the ambulance Koyo was in just moments after we arrived."

"... Yeah, right. It would be impossible as we both got there around the time he was being taken away."

"Exactly. Besides, what could I have possibly done with him of all people? We never even met him before until now."

"Even then, that does sound like something you would say." He told her, not liking the sentence he heard come from Chazz's lips. "Still, you've been with me ever since. I doubt you would do anything to harm anyone after we met Koyo. You were getting better around that time."

"You really think she's innocent huh?" The obelisk questioned, getting Jaden's attention.

"Of course she is. I'm more inclined to believe my partner than someone I've recently met for the second time today."

"Instead of trying to mess with my precious Jaden, how about you get back to the duel?" The fiend growled, pissed off with the Princeton's accusation against her.

"Fine, but it doesn't change a thing. I will be paying her back for that day. Now, I'll activate the effect of Light End Sublimation Dragon. I think you can guess how he's summoned to the field at this point."

After those words left his mouth, a blinding flash of light began to erupt from his duel disk. Everyone began to wince from its intensity, but two of them had more questions than anyone. Still, the light slowly began to die down, contorting itself into what appeared to be a four-winged beast. Sparkles were starting to come off said light, a second red eye appearing across from the first one that showed itself earlier. At the center of the light emerged a green gem, shining bright like a diamond or even moreso. With everything in place, the winged beast finally revealed itself, absorbing said energy into its body to reveal a beautiful, sparkling dragon.

Light End Sublimation Dragon LV8 - ATK: 2600/DEF: 2100

"Two dragons just like that?" Syrus questioned, not liking how this was going.

"That's not even the worst of it. Knowing Chazz, he's going bigger than this." Alexis replied to Syrus, getting his attention.

"What do you mean?"

"Since you want answers, I'm happy to give them. First, I'll activate the effect of Dark End Evaporation Dragon. By making it lose five-hundred attack and defense points, one monster on the field in attack position is destroyed."

A flash of orange shot out from Dark End Evaporation Dragon's eyes. Its mouth began to open, a slight amount of drool coming off its teeth while his crooked smile showed something sinister behind it. That's when the black dragon took off in a burst of speed, heading towards the sky while a trail of black flame came off it. Blast saw this as a challenge, taking one step forward before suddenly taking off in a set of afterimages. By the corner of its eye, Dark End saw the masked hero, swinging its tail in his direction only for said appendage to clash with Blast's fist. The result of this was a small shockwave shaking the duel arena.

"Then it's a good thing that I have my face down. I activate the quick play spell, Form Change!"

Blast had sent a right hook forward, having to cover his fist in wind to prevent his physical body from colliding with the black flames Dark End Evaporation Dragon used to protect itself. A roar from the dark monster pushed back the wind user, seeing the beast charge him head on. Dashing off with the wind, Blast began to do the same, but his decision on attack was a little different. The moment the dragon slashed its claws at Blast, its nail collided with a different colored mask. A red mask in fact, the item quickly spewing out flames that began to attach itself to Blast's face.

"Let's go, Yubel!"

"Of course."

They stuck their hands out towards Blast, striking a hero pose with a ball of fire beginning to form from their palms. As for blast, his control over wind started to leave him, feeling the temperature of his body beginning to rise rapidly. However, he didn't have time to ponder anything of this familiar feeling. The answer was obvious as Dark End began spitting out its flames towards him, Blast's mask not being able to protect him this time as the hero began to release audible grunts from the pain.

"Break free from your current form and dawn your new mask! Henshin! Masked Hero, Goka!"

The fire from their hands began to shoot towards the consumed warrior. It wasn't able to compete with the black flames of Dark End Evaporation Dragon, but this power served its purpose. Alexis, Chazz, and Syrus witnessed the Kanji for "Henshin" pop up over the black fire. The grunts that were originally heard began to change from pain to that of laughter. Something was off inside the inferno spat out against them.

That's when it happened.

An explosion had occurred with red and black fire pushing Dark End Evaporation Dragon across the sky. All the duelists (and Yubel) had to shield themselves from the intense heat that followed. Once it concluded, all eyes were looking up to stare at a warrior with his hands on his hips, laughing as the element of fire began to radiate around his shape. Extending his hand forward, he shot a fireball towards the dark dragon, the latter swatting it away just to see that Goka was gone. So imagine its surprise when Goka reappeared in front of it and sucker punched it back towards Chazz's side of the field.

To conclude this just like his other hero counterpart, Goka flew backwards, doing a backflip onto Jaden's side of the field before landing with his palms covering his torso. By the end of it, he removed one hand to fist bump Jaden, a gesture that the HERO user happily returned.

Masked HERO Goka LV6 - ATK: 2200/DEF: 1800 (FUSION)

"For those who don't know, Form Change is a quick-play magic card that allows me to target one "HERO" fusion monster, and return it to my extra deck. In exchange, I can summon a new Masked Hero with either the same or a different element, as long as it equals the level that original monster had on the field. As for Goka, he has a superpower that gives him one-hundred additional attack points for each hero in the graveyard."

Masked HERO Goka - [ATK: 2200 (100) 2300]

"Too bad it's not gonna change anything for you. I activate Light End Sublimation Dragon's special ability. Instead of sacrificing five-hundred attack and defense to destroy your monster, it loses thrice its attack power."

"That's not good." Yubel said, exclamation marks going off in her head before she turned around frantically.

She thought she felt something behind her.

Jaden, who saw this, looked behind him to see nothing there either. The moment you look for something that isn't there will be the moment it shows up. Before the two knew it, a scream had escaped from Goka's lips. Their eyes landed on the large dragon form of Light End, the beast having ensnared Goka with its tail while zapping him of his strength.

Blazeman, Liquid, Shadow Mist, and Solid didn't hesitate before jumping into action, coating their hands in their respective elements to free their comrade. Such an attempt was futile as Light End immediately caught them in his vision, a red light flashing from its eyes which shot the four heroes towards the ground, creating four craters from how hard their individual bodies crashed into the earth. With its mission done, the beast released Goka from its hold, dispersing through light before reappearing on Chazz's side of the field.

Masked Hero Goka - [ATK: 2300 - (1500) 800]

"That's not good. With Goka severely weakened, Jaden's gonna take a major hit to his life points." Syrus said.

"It's not gonna be as bad for what he's going to do now. Weakening his monster was just the tip of the iceberg. Now comes the spectacle he wants everyone to witness." Alexis replied.

"Then I'll play this before that happens. I activate my trap, Elemental Recharge! For each Elemental HERO that I currently control, my life points are restored by one-thousand."

"Meaning Jaden is now sitting at six-thousand points while you're at less than half." Yubel stated.

Jaden - [2000LP (4000) 6000LP]

"More life points won't change a thing. From my hand comes the spell card Polymerization! I send the two level eight light and dark dragon monsters from hand to the graveyard to fusion summon-"

From above them, white and black clouds began to appear. While Jaden, Syrus, and Yubel were surprised by the sight of it, Alexis already knew what was coming out of it. Her teeth clicked slightly out of worry for the Yuki teen, knowing that he was now going to have a bigger problem on his hand.

At first, the clouds were separated from one another, drifting in different directions. Yet, as soon both colored clouds began to cross paths, something began to naturally draw them together. So they merged to become one with each other. A single ray of light shot out from one end while a ray of darkness shot out from the other end. These two energies began to collide, striking the duel field as hard as possible before creating dust clouds in its wake.

"Light and Darkness Dragonlord! You're not the only one who has his ace monster!"

The clouds above began spinning around rapidly, creating a portal with the respective elements of light and dark still shooting out of it. From within, an ear piercing scream could be heard, causing Alexis, Jaden, and Syrus to shield their ears. Strong winds were starting to be generated, pushing back against the other teens while Chazz himself was unaffected from the summoning of his monster. Well, except for the fact that the wind was still pushing against his clothes.

Black and white feathers began to fall down from the sky, earning a gasp from the two slifer students present. Then, without warning, they flew directly towards Jaden and Yubel, the duo shielding themselves from the amount coming at their bodies. Strangely enough, not a single feature touched them. Instead, they began to surround a glowing black, orange, and white orb descending from the skies above. With each feather that surrounded it, the orb in question began to grow humongous in size.

Then it exploded. And out of that explosion came a beast who's black, orange, and white body illuminating the field. The right side of its body was mostly white, having a white and slightly orange wing resembling that of an angel with gold armor resting on its hands, legs, feet, and shoulders to complete the golden crown atop its head. As for the other half, from top to bottom were the colors black and orange, the left wing being close to that of a devil. The only thing left to notice were the white (right) and orange (left) eyes.

Truly a Drgaonlord filled with divine power.

Light and Darkness Dragonlord LV10 - ATK: 3400/DEF: 3000 (FUSION)

"Chazz's ace monster. This isn't looking too good for Jaden." The blonde replied with a frown.

"Why is that Alexis?" Syrus asked.

"Aside from its overwhelming strength, its ability is something else to worry about."

"Light and Darkness Dragonlord, attack Masked Hero Goka! Black Light Punishment!"

Obeying his master, a black ball of power began to appear after said dragon opened his mouth. The power of darkness was being sucked out from both Dark End and Shadow Mist, one forced to give away its elemental power while the other did so willingly. Even in his weakened state, Goka flew with the power of his flames towards the beast.

Light and Darkness Dragonlord shot the ball of darkness at Goka, the latter having no choice but to defend since he was too weak to challenge it head on. It didn't go so well as he was consumed, an explosion happening right afterwards.

"Agh!" Jaden crouched down to one knee, having felt the damage Goka took from the dark ball of energy.

Jaden - [6000LP - (2600) 3400LP]

"Too bad for you, we're not done yet. Armed Dragon Thunder LV5, attack Liquid Soldier with Armed Dragonic Canon!"

Lightning began to coat Thunder LV5 as it took off towards its opponent. Liquid, who was already going on the defensive, found himself face to face with the dragon. He ducked a slashed from its claws, stepping back to avoid getting shocked. His power was also his greatest weakness against the ferocious beast, and he knew the consequences of using it.

It wasn't until a ball of lightning from the Dragon's mouth made him finally put up a water wall to shield himself. That's when he found himself trapped. Why? Because the armed dragon swung its tail through the water, touching the elemental hero. Before he could escape, an electrical current struck his body, his power working against him with twice the damage before the warrior exploded into tiny pixels.

"Ngh!" The brown-eyed teen grit his teeth.

Jaden - [3400LP - (1000) 2400LP]

"Jaden's not looking too good right now." Alexis spoke.

"Hold on Jay! If you survive three more attacks, you can turn this duel around!" Syrus exclaimed out of worry.

"Light End Sublimation Dragon, attack Solid Soldier!"

"Jaden, activate your Mask Change!"

"Good call. I activate my face down, Mask Change!"

"Sorry to tell you, but that's not happening. Light and Darkness Dragonlord's special ability activates. Once per chain, it automatically loses one-thousand attack and defense points. In exchange, your effect is negated and destroyed."

"Doesn't an effect like that break the game?!" The glasses wearer screamed, watching Jaden's mask change short circuit breaking apart into pixels.

Light and Darkness Dragonlord - [ATK: 3400/DEF: 3000 - (1000) 2400/2000]

"I don't have anything to defend my heroes!" Jaden thought.

"We just have to hope you can survive this turn like Syrus said and make a comeback next turn." The fiend whispered before seeing a white dragon in the corner of her eye… A white dragon?!

Their necks snapped over to see Solid Soldier having encased himself in earth. Light End began clawing at the earth, trying to break through the warrior's defenses. Its tail struck the sides before the dragon tried digging its claws inside, only to not even make a scratch. Suddenly, the beast engulfed a large amount of oxygen, breathing it back out into that of a light blast to wear down the element.

Blazeman and Shadow Mist couldn't sit by and watch as they began to jump into the fight. Light End witnessed them heading his way, ducking a punch by Shadow Mist before having to jump back from Blazeman's fireball. To the dragon, there was a better advantage he had over both of them. The high ground, so he took to the sky. Light End didn't waste time for his next attack, spinning around within the power of light to dive towards Solid Soldier who was still protecting himself.

Blazeman and Shadow Mist saw the speed the monster was diving at, combining their elemental powers to slow down Light End. Unfortunately for them, Light End didn't care for such an attempt, crash landing into Solid Soldier which caused a large explosion of light.

"Argh!" Jaden screamed, being sent flying by the destructive power behind Light End's attack. The HERO user flipped through the air twice before landing on his back, releasing a small yelp from his mouth before wincing from how hard he hit the duel field.

Jaden - [2400LP - (800) 1600LP]

"Jaden!" His partner screamed, flying over to him to assess his downed body.

"Give Blazeman a taste of your power Dark End Evaporation Dragon! Black Hell Swarm!"

It was a battle of fire as Blazeman and Dark End shot out their respective elements towards one another. Red fire versus black flames, but you could tell whose power was more overwhelming. Increasing the output of its flames, Dark End diminished Blazeman's fire with his own, consuming the hero in an inferno.

Jaden - [1600LP - (900) 700LP]

"Armed Dragon LV5, clear his field!"

The armed dragon stomped the field, creating a ripple of earth that began to spike upwards in Shadow Mist's direction. The dark hero jumped in a nick of time, evading the attack that nearly killed him just for Armed Dragon LV5 to already be at his position. He jumped back, narrowly dodging a claw to his chest only to be tailed whipped towards the ground soon after. After being smacked by the tail of the armed dragon, along with the other battles he was in prior, he found himself too weak to continue the fight, watching as the larger monster stomped him into the ground until his body burst into pixels.

"Ngh!" Jaden grunted out, lifting his head as Yubel did what she could to make sure he was alright.

Jaden - [700LP - (200) 500LP]

"Your field is empty, you only have five-hundred life points left, and you don't have a single card strong enough to stand up to my monster. I suggest you call it quits."

"As if Jaden would ever surrender." The heterochromia spirit sent a murderous glare towards the Princeton teen.

"Trust me, I didn't plan on it. Ngh!" He slowly stood up, his eyes glowing slightly while releasing a grunt. "

"Jaden, your eyes." Yubel whispered, seeing them flicker between his normal brown eyes, and a bright glow of the same color.

"Trust me, I'll be fine. I don't plan on losing control, or using it just yet." He whispered back. "Just trust me."

"..." She stayed silent, watching Jaden stand up as he looked at Chazz slightly.

"You still wanna duel?"

"You didn't hear me quit did you?"

His snarky remark along with the slight smirk he gave irked the black-haired teen. "I lay my final card face down and end my turn. Make your next draw count."

Jaden clicked his teeth, feeling his chest tighten out of pain as Yubel kneeled next to him. She placed a hand over his heart, watching the brown-eyed duelist grunt slightly while drawing his next card. He could feel the darkness working on his body, trying to unleash the negative emotions he felt to overrule him, but he wouldn't allow it. There was no time to lose himself to power he had yet to control.

So, with gritted teeth, and slightly glowing eyes, he drew his next card.

Chazz - 2000LP [Hand: 0/Deck: 48/ Field: 6] Graveyard: 6

Jaden - 500LP [Hand: 8/Deck: 40/Field: 0] Graveyard: 12

"Come on Jaden." Syrus thought to himself, Alexis watching out of concern as the brown and orange-haired duelist didn't make a move yet.

"Of all cards, you drew him?"

"Winged Kuriboh."

Their eyes stared down at the brown fur creature. While Yubel was on the line of thinking that he could've gotten anything better than him of all things, Jaden found himself smiling. It was the same card he received from Yugi himself, and drawing it meant he was gonna be important. Seven hero related cards, and winged Kuriboh.

"Let's do this Winged Kuriboh."

Hearing his thought, a sigh escaped Yubel's lips before it curled into a slight smile. Leave it to him to find out a way to use something like the brown furball.

"Once per chain, it automatically loses one-thousand points, so the best way to beat it is by exploiting its biggest strength."

"This should be fun." Yubel said, smirking as Jaden returned the gesture, directing his expression at Chazz who seemed confused by it.

"Get your game on!" The Hero user and Spirit shouted in unison.

"I activate the spell card, Fake Hero!"

"Which triggers Dragonlord's special ability to negate it."

Said dragon began shrieking, a wave of light being absorbed into Fake Hero before the card displayed a shot of lightning going around it from top to bottom. After that, it began to short circuit, losing all color before exploding into tiny pixels.

Light and Darkness Dragonlord - [ATK: 2400/DEF: 2000 - (1000) 1400/1000]

One card down, seven in hand.

"Magic card, E - Emergency Call, open." Her heterochromia eyes began glowing as she said that, watching the dragon activate its ability once more to negate the effect.

"Now that gives me the chance to play my trap card, Threatening Roar!"

"Which means for the rest of this turn, Jaden can't declare an attack." Alexis whispered, Syrus overhearing this as he turned to look at him out of worry.

"There goes the battle phase. We'll have to find another way to beat him then." Yubel said, looking at Jaden. All he did was nod his head before sending the negated spell to the graveyard.

Light and Darkness Dragonlord - [ATK: 1400/DEF: 1000 - (1000) 400/0]

Looking back down at his eyes, both of them began to scan the six remaining cards he had left. Currently, everything he had right now dealt along the lines of the battle phase, so there was nothing he could do about preventing him from winning next turn if it was possible. He could only delay him for now. Well, that was until both of their eyes landed on a singular card.

Skyscraper.

"Yubel, you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Flame Wingman's skydive scorcher." She smirked, receiving one in return from her supreme king.

"That card could win us this duel here and now. Here's to hoping Lady Luck is on our side."

Taking one card from his hand, Jaden began by saying "I activate the spell card, double summon. For this turn only, I can now declare two normal summons. So I'll go ahead and summon today's stars of the show, Elemental HERO Liquid Soldier with Winged Kuriboh!"

The clouds above started to come forth over Jaden and Yubel, covering his side of the field. Strangely enough, it began to rain not too long after. The droplets splashed against his field, but the way it was beginning to circle around in one particular spot marked the return of one particular hero. And return from the grave he did as his body shot out from the depths, his fist aiming high at the sky.

As if on cue, the sound of Kuri Kuri could be heard. A small ray of light shot down from the clouds, striking Liquid Soldier who embraced its warmth. A figure began to descend from above, making his way down to the field alongside the hero who was busy free falling. Liquid Soldier gracefully landed on his feet, but a small winged beast accompanied him as it flew around his torso. With a smile, the water user pet the winged creature, revealing said monster to be Winged Kuriboh, the fairy giving him a small smile.

Elemental HERO Liquid Soldier LV4 - ATK: 1400/DEF: 1300

Winged Kuriboh LV1 - ATK: 300/DEF: 200

"Winged Kuriboh? Why would Jaden summon him?" Alexis questioned.

"That's what I wanna ask myself. That little fur ball only has three-hundred attack points, but you summoned him in attack position no less."

"Seems like your duel with Crowler is gonna serve them a reminder."

Yubel's eyes started glowing, Jaden's beginning to calm down and return back to his normal glow-less brown eyes. A spell was taken from the rest of his cards, the teen duelist sliding it into his spell and trap card slot which revealsd an interesting hero card with an "H" engraved onto it.

"Magic card, Miracle Fusion, open!"

The unison of their voices began to cue the effects of the so-called "Miracle Fusion." Jaden glanced down at his duel disk, spotting the spirits of both Blazeman, and the warrior who donned the first mask of Elemental HERO Liquid Soldier. Said souls moved around its summoner, heading towards the sky above his head before spinning in a circular motion. After doing so, one letter appeared with a sudden flash of white and gold lighting. The letter "H" for heroes.

"Looks like Jaden has something up his sleeve." Alexis noticed, a look of surprise gracing her features.

"My precious Jaden has this duel up his sleeve actually." Yubel said proudly, taking a stance with Jaden who raised his right arm up for a signature hero pose.

"With miracle fusion, I can summon a monster by banishing material listed on the card's summoning requirements. With that being said, I remove both Liquid Soldier and Winged Kuriboh from play."

Both monsters sent a look towards the other. With a nod, they turned around and looked at the H calling for heroes to enter. It was their calling, and they abided by it. Liquid Soldier was the first to take action, running towards the spirits above Jaden and Yubel before Winged Kuriboh went after him. The water user jumped into the letter printed on the cover of the miracle fusion spell card, disappearing into the light with the brown fur fairy joining him seconds later.

"No matter how many you knock down, a new hero will always come forth and finish the job. I summon Elemental HERO The Shining!"

The spirits spinning around the "H" began to move much faster than before, the spell card shining brightly. That's when the card exploded into a ray of light, causing everyone there to shield themselves from its brightness. Emerging said element came a hero who's mostly white body and bulging muscles carried a yellow outline for its suit along with several red orbs sitting in various places. However, the most important thing to take note of was the near complete golden ring with several spikes floating slightly above it. A new hero had been born.

Elemental HERO The Shining LV8 - ATK: 2600/DEF: 2100 (FUSION)

"So you traded a furball and a watering hose for a flashlight that can't attack." Chazz replied, giving an annoyed sigh.

"For what I have planned, I won't be needing any battle phase. I activate Liquid Soldier's superpower! I can draw two cards, and then discard one."

"Which means, it's time for the moment of truth." Yubel said, looking at Jaden's deck with him as he drew his next two card.

Taking a look, the first card wasn't of much importance. Neither could it help him this turn as it was a trap card. However, the moment his eyes glanced upon the second card, a smirk lit up his face.

"From my hand comes the spell card Hero Heart. By cutting Shining's current attack points by half, even with his special ability giving him an extra three-hundred points, he can attack twice this turn."

Elemental HERO The Shining - [ATK: 2900 - (1450) 1450]

"But that doesn't make sense. Why would I cut his attack if I can't even attack this turn?" Jaden questioned, already knowing the answer.

"Yeah, it doesn't make sense. Unless you have another card that completely ignores the battle phase right?" Syrus asked, a smile coming to his face as he received a nod from the Yuki teen.

"You bet shortstack. My Jaden has a card so powerful that in a situation like this, he can still attack even without the battle phase." The duel spirit smirked, her eyes flashing slightly while Jaden sweat dropped at her comment towards Syrus.

A slight growl escaped the Princeton's lips as she said this. He immediately said "Mind telling me what this is?" For his question, he got an answer once Jaden revealed a spell card with the cover art of what seemed like a city, the main focus being that of a large skyscraper. However, the most important detail happened to be the figure who stood tall at the top in the night sky.

"Magic card, Skydive Scorcher!" The duo exclaimed.

"Skydive what?" Chazz questioned, confused by the name and what exactly the card was going to do.

"Skydive scorcher. It's a spell that can only be activated by targeting an Elemental HERO fusion monster that I control. When that happens, I can destroy all monsters on your side of the field with attack points higher than The Shining."

"Which means that Light End, Dark End, and Armed Dragon Thunder LV5 are all going to the graveyard!" Syrus exclaimed, a sparkle in his eyes.

"Tch!" The black-haired teen clicked.

The light user didn't wait as he pointed towards three dragons, making his targets known. The beasts growled at him, but a circle of light with the letter "H" appearing beneath them got their attention. A flash of said power trapped them inside, their screeches of pain being heard just for them to be submerged into the abyss that was the light seconds later.

"Now here comes the fun part. Since your three monsters were destroyed, you take damage equal to the strongest monster in your graveyard. Twenty-six hundred points to be exact. So Light End Sublimation Dragon, give Chazz a taste of his own medicine!"

"That's right. Show the little "prince" what being a five course meal feels like." The demonic spirit smirked evilly, rubbing her hands together with her king deadpanning at her in the background.

As for Chazz, he gasped the moment a portal opened underneath him, said portal being the entrance to the realm of the deceased. With all those wandering souls at rest, one of them began to feel unrest at the presence of Chazz being above it. A red eye flashed itself to him, an unrivaled amount of hatred making its way towards his body from down below. That's when an ear piercing scream shook his body, creating waves of sound that sent the boy into agony.

"Ahh!" He yelled, collapsing to his knees as the portal came to a close. Chazz Princeton had lost.

Chazz - 0LP [Hand: 0/Deck: 48/ Field: 2] Graveyard: 10

Jaden - 500LP [Hand: 1/Deck: 38/Field: 1] Graveyard: 19/Banished: 2

"Gotcha!" The hero and spirit duelists said in unison before pointing two fingers towards Chazz. Although, only Jaden spoke as he said "Regardless of what happened during it, that was fun."

"Tch! Fun for you at least." Chazz stood up, dusting himself off.

The three looked at each other. While Jaden had his usual smile, Chazz was more indifferent not just to his loss, but the duo standing before him. However, when he saw Yubel go from smiling to a glare filled with dark intentions, he smirked slightly before removing the expression altogether.

"Way to play Jay! That was only your second duel and you did amazing." Syrus ran over towards the hero user, earning a high-five while Alexis walked over behind the shorter teen.

"I'll say. Using effect damage to steal the win without the battle phase was a smart play."

"Thanks Lex. Wish I could say it was the first time I've done it, but my heroes always have tactics like this in case certain options aren't available."

Jaden jumped down from the duel field, Yubel flying around him as they stood (and floated) in between the other slifer and obelisk student present. The sound of feet smacking the ground got their attention as Chazz recently jumped down too, looking directly at the Yuki teen that was struck curious by his gaze.

"I'll say Jaden, you've got the skill to be here, but I'm not gonna congratulate you on winning against me. Far from it. My business with you only has to do with Yubel flying around you all day, pretending as if she's innocent."

The brown-eyed teen frowned marginally. He didn't know what it was about Yubel that made him target her specifically, but the fact he could see her was alarming. Who knows what he could do. Not to mention him bringing up the Koyo situation struck a nerve with him. However, from what he was hearing, he couldn't deny that the possibility of him being around that day is plausible.

But the truth of him and Yubel not interacting with anyone that day holds more ground than whatever else he has to say.

"No matter how much you protect her, just know I'll be waiting to get her back. Until then, catch you around Jaden."

He turned on the heels of his boots, departing from the quartet as he left them behind in the duel arena. His first day on the island, and something painful from his past was already being brought up. The funny part was that he didn't come here to run away. He already had a few goals in mind for being here, but controlling his power was the tip of the iceberg. Suddenly, a hand being placed on his shoulder got him out of his thoughts.

"You ok Jaden? You seemed to be staring off pretty hard there." Alexis asked.

"With Chazz getting on his case about Yubel, I wouldn't blame him for making that face he has." Syrus replied.

"Which is strange since Yubel wasn't summoned once during that duel, so I don't get what his fixation with her was all about."

"That, and this Koyo person he kept mentioning. Hey Jay, who is Koyo?"

"..."

His eyes softened at the question, closing them as he began to think. To remember. The white and purple-haired spirit found herself growling at Syrus for asking him that, her eyes glowing as she began to get dangerously close to the Truesdale teen. And as he was in arm's reach-

"Koyo was family. My family."

The fiend stopped herself in her tracks, his words hitting them hard as their vision caught one thing they'd never thought would ever come from his face.

The sad smile of Jaden Yuki.

However, that sadness was only the surface of it all. To Jaden, there was much more than what the eyes could see. Not much was known about him, or what his life has been up until now. The only person who knew about them was the spirit who'd give her very existence to see his continue. Even then, at the depths of the abyss-

"Kuri…" Winged Kuriboh said, staring at the endless number of mirrors before it. However, he noticed the one being that shouldn't be there, sealed away inside one of them.

There's always hope waiting to shine a light in the darkness.