Jaden P.O.V

"...and the number of casualties continue to rise, as rescue men and medics continue searching the Kaiba Dome," the reporter said as she stood outside the smoking remains of the Kaiba Dome. "The number has reached somewhere in the three hundreds, but medics are saying that there may be more on the way to be added to the list. Meanwhile, KaibaCorp and the DCP are on the lookout for now criminally charged terrorist Sartorius Kunar, who has been revealed, thanks to the surprisingly still operational security footage from inside the Dome, as the one directly responsible for the tragedy that has happened here at the Kaiba Dome. Though the DCP has assured citizens of Domino City that they are currently tracking Sartorius, it has become very evident that Sartorius hasn't been found as of—"

Atticus scoffed in disgust, switching the TV off.

"This is ridiculous," he complained, throwing the remote on the table. "Sartorius could be anywhere in the country right now. Shit, for all we know he's still here in Domino City."

"I don't think he'd do that," Chazz replied. "I use to follow him when he brainwashed me; I know his game plan. Knowing Sartorius's game plan, he would probably stay away from Domino City and stay somewhere until he can be able to come back. By which time, he would have gained enough followers to make his next move."

Yugi looked at Chazz and me, the ever worried look on his face. "You make it sound like he's raising an army."

I sighed, leaning forward on my chair. Ever since the attack on the Kaiba Dome, me and the others had stayed several nights at the hotel I found myself in when Yubel saved me from falling into the time stream. The manager told us that we could use the rooms considering the situation, but only until the DCP (Domino City Police) and KaibaCorp confirmed that Sartorius wasn't in Domino City. That being said, me and the others (apart from Yugi) had separate rooms.

"Now that we know that he's one of Nightshrouds allies," I said, "I wouldn't put it behind me. Last time we faced him back at Duel Academy, almost all of the students were brainwashed by the Light of Destruction because of him; they all joined the Society of Light. They were pretty dangerous before all this happened, but now they've turned out to be a terrorist organisation, which was not what I was expecting at all."

Yugi leaned back, digesting the information. "This is gonna be a tough situation. If they do something like this again, we're gonna be completely unprepared. We need to be ready for anything they throw at us."

Yusei came forward, raising his hand. "Jaden? I may not know much about Sartorius, but didn't you mention before that he was a good person?"

I nodded, thinking to what Sartorius's life was like before he became a tarot reader. "He and his sister Sarina lived rough on the streets for some time, before they were found. He befriended Aster some time after Aster's father vanished, and they've been friends ever since. Deep down, Sartorius is a good person. But he also harbours a darkness in him: the fear that he isn't strong enough to help Sarina, that he has to continuously find a source of great power to protect her from any and all forms of harm."

Chazz nodded along with what I was saying. "Sartorius is still in there—he's just pushed right into the back of his mind, and... well, take it from me, it's hard trying to gain back control of your own body when the Light of Destruction is in control. It's like Jaden said: when it gains control of you, it keeps you on a very tight leash."

Yugi looked at me, a look of interest on his face. "How'd you even beat him before? If he was that dangerous, how did you beat him?"

I looked at him. "In a duel. I had to beat him in a duel. It turned out that if you beat someone in the Society of Light in a duel, then it gets rid of the influence that's controlling them. That person is freed from the Light of Destructions control, and that part of the Light of Destruction is destroyed."

"Except that Sartorius wasn't that easy to beat in the first place," Atticus said pointedly. "His Arcana Force monsters allows him to control the outcome of any duel. He almost killed you, from what Syrus told me."

I nodded at that, remembering when Sartorius knocked me unconscious with Arcana Force EX - The Light Ruler. That card sent me into oblivion for several seconds, and as a matter of fact, Neos at the end of the duel told me that any more seconds then I would be dead.

"I know," I finally said. "But I know somewhere down the line that I'm gonna have to face him again. And when that time comes the Light of Destruction is gonna find out that when you mess with the Gentle Darkness, you're asking for the beatdown of your life."
============
Alexis P.O.V

"I mean, how long do you think this blackout is going to last for?" Syrus asked me, as he continuously filled his basket with as much food as he could.

We were down at the local store, getting as many supplies as we could due to the fact that we would be stuck in Domino City for some time until Sartorius was either found or was away from the City. Chazz kindly gave us a bundle of cash so that we could buy as much as we could, but I think we may have gone over the budget limit.

"Until the Kaiba Plant is back online," I answered Syrus, throwing in a handful of fruit into my basket. "That's the sole supplier of electrical energy that the City has. It might take a few days, so for the time being we're stuck with emergency power."

"Yeah, but I didn't expect it to last this long," Syrus complained, as he stopped in front of the soda isle. "Three days is already a long time. For all we know, we could be here longer. I can't even contact my parents—or Zane for that matter—that we're stuck here in the dead centre of Domino City."

"We'll just have to make do for the time being," I told him, heading over to the cashier counter, grabbing the money out and paying for the food before heading outside in the brisk cold,

"Guess you're right," Syrus grumbled, as he held two bags of food in his arms. "I just feel uneasy with the fact that Sartorius could be in the City still. He could attack at any moment."

Despite not admitting it, Syrus has a point. For a City this huge, it was too eerily quiet. That, and the looming threat of Sartorius being around still hung in the air. I saw a few people rushing into their homes in a hurry, looking over their shoulders for any sign of danger.

"Let's just hope he's not here," I said. "Even I can tell that the Kaiba Dome attack has shook everyone up. Especially Jaden."

Syrus looked back at the hotel that we were staying at, looking up at a lit up window where Jaden and the others were staying. "He faced Sartorius before, and I know that he'll have to do the same thing again. But now, Sartorius is more dangerous than ever now. His attack on the KaibaDome proved it."

I nodded, looking down at the ground just as it started snowing again. Syrus took my expression as my way of saying that I didn't want to talk anymore on the matter. He politely grabbed the bags of food in his own hands and headed towards the hotel, wishing me a goodnight.

I sighed, taking in the fresh cold air of winter. I looked up at the sky, and saw in such a long time that the stars were on full show: white and light blue dots against the endless sea of darkness of space. Despite the cold, the amazement of the sky made me feel warm in a strange way. It actually made me sad that I had to go inside the hotel.

I managed to check back in at reception, before making my way up towards the room that I shared with Jaden. Atticus offered to share with me, but I decided that I wanted to be with Jaden tonight. Plus, I wouldn't want to be sleeping anywhere near Atticus - his snores were too loud even for me. Plus, we were grown kids. We didn't need to share a room anymore.

I opened the door, and the first thing I saw was a sleeping Jaden under the blankets of one of the beds of the room. He wore a sleeveless black vest, and wore long sleeping pants. Half his face was buried into the pillows, while the white blankets covered his body up to his waist. His messy Kuriboh hair covered most of his left eye.

The sight made me smile, so I carefully walked inside before heading to the bathroom to get changed. Truth be told, I hadn't slept that much since the bombing, and now my body was in dire need for some sleep.

I just got my grey sleeping top on when I heard a lot of moaning from inside the main room. I frowned in concern as I turned around the corner to look at Jaden, whose face was scrunched up like he was in agony. His body kept twitching every few seconds, but it wasn't long before he began to thrash. He must've been having one hell of a nightmare if he was doing something like that.

I slipped on some black panties before rushing over to his side, sitting down on the bed gently as I placed a hand on his shoulder. I could see the beads of sweat on his forehead, and the sweat rolled down his arms. It was a rash impulse, but I gently leaned towards his left ear and silently whispered in it.

"Jaden," I softly spoke. "It's okay. You're safe."

He must've heard me, even if it was subconsciously, because his tense shoulders relaxed and he calmed down, finally going back into a peaceful sleep.

I actually just sat there, running my hand through his hair gently. I could've sat there all night if I wanted, stroking his hair continuously. But I knew that I had to sleep as well. I nodded to myself, before standing up as quietly as possible, and finally settling into my own bed, pulling the covers over my bare legs and wrapping them over my shoulders, before closing my eyes.

However, I couldn't settle at all. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't drift off to sleep. I was just not comfortable at all, so I just stared up at the ceiling for a bit, counting to a hundred to see if it would send me to sleep. It did NOT help.

I looked over to my left, watching Jaden as he slept soundlessly. He hadn't moved an inch from his sleeping position - both his arms stretched outwards in front of him as he lay on his right side, and he was not snoring one bit. A fact that made me smirk and think back to the times when he would snore loudly in Crowler's class.

I got up from my bed, and walked over to his, before peeling back the covers of his bed and got in. Without waking him, I held up his left arm, as I laid my head on his right wrist, before wrapping his arm around my waist. He didn't even budge at all. Man, talk about a heavy sleeper. But I didn't complain as I felt more secure being close to him. I actually managed to drift off, the smell of him comforting and helping me drift off.
============
I was standing on some sort of beach, the sand getting in-between my toes, the scent of sea salt filling my nose. To be honest, it was pretty peaceful to me as I took the whole scene in silence. Then, to my left, I saw to my amazement that the sky was blocked by a massive ringed planet that circled the entire scene in front of me. To me, it made me feel like I was in a Sci-Fi movie because I never thought I'd see something like this at all.

"Maybe now that I brought you here to Neo Space, you and I can have a private conversation, woman to woman," a woman's voice from behind me said.

I turned around, and to my shock, I saw that it was Yubel, her taloned hands on her hips and her gaze firmly set on me.

Now that I was standing in front of her, I could tell that she use to be a beautiful woman at one point. She could still be considered pretty with her demonic look to her, and the nightmare black wings on her back. Yubel had the same dichromatic eyes that Jaden showed when he duelled. And her white hair made her looked as if she was shocked at one point, or maybe it was part of what happened to her when she was transformed into the form that she was now in.

"I know what you're thinking," Yubel surprisingly said, making me look up at her. "You're probably wondering why I took this form. If you must know what happened to me, Haou's father begged me to protect his son. And considering that Haou meant everything as it was to me at that point, I decided to take this form. That way, I could be able to protect Haou when he was younger, when the Light of Destruction first arose. I had to go through an exceptionally painful ritual in order to be like this."

I was shook out of my silence when she finished talking. "So... this was several thousand years ago. If that's true, then how is it that you're protecting Jaden? Is it because he's just connected to the Supreme King? I just don't understand where you come from."

Yubel nodded, as if expecting me to ask that question. "I'm protecting Jaden because I swore that I would protect Haou's powerful bloodline if Haou died."

"Bloodline?" I asked, thinking back on the similarities between Haou and Jaden. They definitely looked very alike—same hair style, same facial expressions when duelling, and the voice I hear from both of them, albeit in a monotone voice in Haou's case. At first, one would mistake them as twins in terms of their faces, but now that I thought about it...

"So, Jaden is not just Haou's vessel?" I asked Yubel, shocked at my own conclusion even though it was obvious. "He's also Haou's descendant."

Yubel nodded solemnly, crossing her arms over her chest. "He's the last of Haou's ancient bloodline: the blood of the Gentle Darkness, a power that now resides in Jaden. Which is why I'm protecting him; to ensure that he lives, so that one day when he dies, I can watch over the next generation of hosts that have the Gentle Darkness inside of them. I've lived with that vow for so many years. And I have protected Jaden for so many years, even when he was just a little infant."

I remembered that part thanks to Shepherd—the part where he explained Jaden's troubling past to me and the others in the Slifer Red dorm. "Shepherd told us that you hurt some of the only friends he had around his parents house. You placed one of them in the hospital. And to Jaden, that was the last straw."

Yubel looked slightly guilty, as she glanced sideways at the ground. "I'll admit, I took it too far back in those days. I was so overprotective of him, thinking that when he cried it meant that he was hurt and was in trouble. My instincts took over and I just reacted. I have no other excuse for it, other than the fact that I was doing my sworn duty."

"Then he sent you into space along with the Neos designs," I said. "because he thought that if you were infused with this cosmic energy, it would make you better. But... hold on, Shepherd said that you got infected by the Light of Destruction, so... what happened to make you return back to your original self?"

Yubel's expression didn't change, but I swore I saw a ghost of a smile appear on her face. "Jaden. Jaden happened. I was about to win in our duel—a duel to determine the fate of the twelve dimensions—and he reversed the outcome by sheer luck. He merged our spirits together and managed to bring me back to my senses and my former self again... but it came at a very huge price for him; something I never thought would happen."

I frowned, waiting for her response.

"When he and Haou merged together, he gained Haou's powers," Yubel answered. "Whatever power that Haou had, most of it was transferred over to Jaden, making him the incarnation of the Supreme King. However, when he and I merged together... he unintentionally gained my immortal spirit. I can't even begin to imagine what he will go through, but he's going to be the way he is for a very long time."

"So, you're actually saying that he's going to be immortal forever?" I aided, horrified at what Jaden's condition was, and actually cursing him for doing such a stupid thing.

"Not forever," Yubel assured me. "He can still die—that's the natural order of things. But he'll still feel the effects of age on him when he gets older. Truth be told, it's more like partial immortality—he won't age, but he can still die."

"And he has to live through that immortal life alone?" I asked in a small voice.

Yubel reluctantly nodded. "He's the descendant of Haou the Supreme King, and the new incarnation of the Gentle Darkness. The curse of being the incarnation of the Gentle Darkness is to be alone."

I looked at her in horror, the words sinking in as I imagined the somewhat lonely future that awaited Jaden if he managed to live through this massive ordeal. If he truly was immortal, then that would mean that he would live through me and everyone else's entire lifespan.

No, I thought to myself. He would actually live through Yusei's timeline, which was thirty or so years ahead of this timeline. But after that, what happens to him? What would happen to him, if he had no friends after Yusei and his friends passed away?

I shook my head slowly, knowing what I had to say next, and what I wanted to say. "Well, now I know why you and Haou stay with him. Not just to protect him, but to keep him sane."

Yubel nodded, her eyes clearly showing that she intended to keep her vow for eternity. Then she cocked her head to the side, a small frown on her face. "You're not going to leave him as well, are you? You intend to stay with him as well."

I nodded, remembering the first ever time I saw Jaden. "When I first met Jaden... at first I thought that he was a guy that was extremely talented at duelling and could defeat the best of any duellist. He's a born rebel, and I knew he would always keep that rebellious streak with him, wherever he went. That's the thing that made me feel attracted to him in the first place—his sheer courage and willingness to stick up for his friends when times were harsh, even if it meant him getting into trouble. The first duel I ever had with him was the first time I ever got that impression from him. But then I started remembering the memories of the Alexis that he knew in his timeline, and then going through everything we're going through now... At that moment, I knew how I really felt about him. All those memories of me and him... I will never forget those moments. I will keep them with me until I'm gone."

I looked her dead in the eye. "Yubel, you've done your part of staying with him. Now... it's my turn to look after him. I'm not letting Jaden out of my sight again. I let him leave once, and it was the biggest regret of my life. There's no way in hell I'm letting him leave again."

Yubel finally smiled at that, and I knew right there and then that I just gained her eternal respect. "Alexis Rhodes, I think I may have officially underestimated you."

She then came forward, and placed one of her hands on my shoulder, where the hand emitted an orange glow. "Be there for him. For when the time comes, he will need you more than ever."

I nodded. "I promise."
============
I couldn't have slept for long, before I felt Jaden move his arm. I opened my eyes to look at him, and I could see that he had indeed moved his arm, which was now resting on my hip. The feeling of his hand connecting with my bare skin made me shiver, but not from the cold or anything like that.

That talk with Yubel... now I knew what awaited Jaden in the future. Now I knew what his true fate would be. But I swore right there and then that I would be with him until his last day. And that was a promise that I was going to keep.

I didn't know what I was thinking, but the more I looked at him, the more I thought back to the day when I was about to say that I loved him. I knew I should've said what I felt, but I knew back then that he wasn't ready for it, mainly because of the fact that he was barely back to his old self, and that he needed more time to recover. But back then, I knew I made the biggest mistake of my life because that was my only chance to tell him. It actually brought silent tears to my eyes as I remembered it completely.

Being as gentle and as quiet as I could, I leaned forward and lightly kissed him on the lips. I poured all the emotion in that one kiss, hoping he would know how much I loved him back then, and how much I loved him even now.

Pulling back, I pressed my forehead to his, sending one thought that I hoped he would pick up on.

Jaden, I thought. I should've told you back then after the Tag Duelling Competition. I was just too scared to tell you how I felt at the time. But I'm not anymore. I'm not afraid to say it. Jaden Yuki, I love you. Now and always.

"I love you too," I heard him whisper, as I saw him finally open his eyes. Those chocolate brown eyes that I adored so much, looking back into my hazel coloured eyes with a look that made my heart melt.

I just stared back at him, before pressing my lips to his again, grabbing his face with my hands as he pulled me closer to him, his hands holding onto my waist. Our breathing picked up, as we gasped after kissing for so long. But the feeling of ecstasy washed over me, and the joy of actually kissing him caused an explosion of pleasure inside my head.

Soon, I found myself on top of him, both my legs on either side of his waist. He had his hands on my thighs now, and we both pulled our faces away from each other, the need for air more desperate than ever. That didn't matter to me. What mattered most right now was that I needed him. And that was more important than anything else.

Without saying anything, I pulled his top over his head, leaving him topless before me, and that made me want him even more as I resumed our kissing, Jaden wrapping his arms around me as I wrapped my arms around his neck. I moaned at the sensation of being held, feeling myself getting high from the pleasure.

That night, we just lost ourselves in our passion, forgetting the troubles that lay ahead of us...
============
Unknown P.O.V

A white cloaked figure walked briskly up to a dark room filled with dark purple and black smoke, braziers lit with black fire and pillars reaching a massive stone ceiling. Up ahead, on an obsidian black throne, was a tall skeletal figure wrapped in black cloaking, blue eyes peering out of the hood.

The white cloaked figure approached the throne, kneeling down as he removed his own hood, revealing the face of Sartorius as he looked down at the shadowy floor.

"The plan was successful," he announced, a ghostly white aura around him. "The KaibaDome is in ruins, and Jaden Yuki was indeed there, Master Nightshroud."

"Ahh, so it is true," the god of darkness said in sadistic pleasure, his voice making the whole room tremble as he continued speaking. "He has become too carefree not to notice the significant aspects of what is to come...up until now at least. And he knows that you and I are working together?"

"He suspects, but he knows it would not stop us," Sartorius confirmed, standing up and addressing the dark god. "With your permission, Lord Nightshroud, I would like to take my followers and attack Duel Academy as soon as possible."

"Now is not the right time," Nightshroud said in a slow and raspy voice. "We will attack his precious Duel Academy, I promise you this, Light of Destruction. You will taste vengeance...but only when I say so. I have a score to settle with Yuki myself. For now, we shall regroup and plan our next phase in our grand plan."

Behind him, several people came forward, their whole bodies veiled by the shadows of the entire room. The only parts that were revealed were their blood red eyes.

"The next stage has just begun," Nightshroud said, a skeletal smile stretching on to his grim reaper like face. "For now...the Shadow Riders will have their go at Jaden Yuki. Let us see if he can handle their combined strength once again."

He threw his head back, and laughed deeply as Sartorius gained an evil look to his face, he facial features becoming demonic as his master laughed loudly and manically.