(Alright folks, this is it: Jaden must find Crowler and save him from the Abandoned Dorm, with the combined forces of Alexis, Syrus and Chazz. But as they delve into the Dorm, old and dangerous faces return to once again bring doom and destruction to Jaden and his friends. Will Jaden and his group rescue Crowler, or will they be trapped as well? This chapter will include POV's from Jaden, Alexis and Syrus. Enjoy folks!)
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Alexis POV

I sat in class, thinking on everything that I learnt from Jaden. I was still in shock of the fact that he was indeed from the future, and that he had amazing abilities that allowed him to summon Duel Monsters without using them in a duel. Plus, I found out that he was fiercely protective of his friends—after all, he and the Supreme King saved me from Titan, even risking himself getting expelled from the Academy in the process.

I saw him sitting on the bottom rows of the class, Syrus sitting next to him as usual. Today was suppose to be Crowlers lesson where he would teach us some new duelling tactics. But for some confusing reason, he hasn't turned up yet. I looked at the clock and saw that it was little over nine o'clock, which was unusual for Crowler. He never turned up late, so I was wondering if something had come up. And by the look on his face, Jaden was thinking the same.

Just then, Professor Banner had to come in and take over the lesson. He said that due to confusing matters, he would teach us in Crowlers place, which was alright with us but did confuse a lot of the students.

Jaden looked on with a look of interest and confusion as well, but mostly there was alarm in his eyes. Something was off—that I could tell. And I learned very quickly that it was rare for Jaden to be alarmed about anything.

It was at the end of the lesson that Jaden came up to me, without making eye contact. He whispered very quickly and seriously, "Get your Duel Disk and deck ready, and meet me just outside the lighthouse. Make sure no one follows you," and he just vanished into the sea of Slifer Red students, before I could ask why.

If Jaden was being that discreet on the whole subject, then it must be serious. So, I quickly nodded to myself and rushed off towards the Obelisk Girls Dorm, hoping to find Jaden at the Lighthouse.
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Syrus POV

"Jaden, why are you in such a rush?" I asked, watching as Jaden started getting his Duel Disk ready and placing his deck inside the deck case on his belt.

"Syrus, I'd really like to stay and chat, but I don't have time right now," he said quickly, grabbing a couple of flashlights and attaching them to his belt as well.

"Jaden, you're really starting to worry me," I said with a whimper. "Just tell me what's going on."

He stopped and looked at me. He looked agitated; a sight that I hardly saw on him in all the time I knew him. It took a few second, but he eventually sighed and began to talk. "I have an idea on where Crowler might be, but it's complicated and—no to mention—extremely dangerous."

"Where is he?" I asked. "If you know where he is, then you need to tell the Chancellor immediately."

"I can't," Jaden stressed. "If the Chancellor were to find out where Crowler was, and decided to send someone to look for him, they would just end up the same way as Crowler."

Chumley at this moment had woken up. "Guys, what's with all the ruckus?" he mumbled, wiping the sleep out of his eyes.

"Jaden knows where Crowler might be," I answered.

"Where?" Chumley asked, sitting up.

Jaden stood there, one arm wrapped around his chest, the other covering his chin and mouth. He looked at me, and said three words. "The Abandoned Dorm."

My eyes widened. "The Abandoned Dorm?! Why would he be there?"

"Look, ever since I humiliated him at the Entrance Exam, he's had it out for me," Jaden explained. "He tried to get me expelled by making a fake love letter supposedly from Alexis; then, he sends this wannabe Shadow Duellist to intimidate me to try and get me away from the Academy. Both times failed, so he must've been snooping around the Abandoned Dorm and went missing when he ventured inside."

"And you think there's a chance that he could still be inside?" Chumley asked in concern.

"He has to be. It's the only logical theory I've got. That's why I'm going in there," Jaden said, before patting his chest to make he had everything. "Alright, I'm all set. Alexis should be at the Lighthouse."

I had no idea why Alexis would be waiting for him, but I stood up before quickly getting my Duel Disk and deck ready. "If you're going in there, it won't be alone."

"Syrus, no," he shook his head. "It's too dangerous in there. Students went missing in that Dorm, and I'm very positive that there's someone or something in there who is kidnapping people. If you come with me and Alexis, there's no I can guarantee your safety."

"I don't care," I said firmly, even though on the inside I was terrified of the prospect of going into a Dorm that is practically haunted. "You've helped me more than enough times in class. It's time I paid you back. If you're going into the Abandoned Dorm, then I'm coming with you."

Jaden looked like he was going to protest, but then thought better of it. He sighed, pinching his nose. "Alright fine, you can come. But listen very carefully: stay by my side at all times, and don't wander off on your own. If you spot something, then you tell me immediately. Do you you understand me?"

I nodded, understanding the full rule and severity of the situation. I turned to Chumley. "Chumley, cover for us. If anyone asks where we are, just tell them that we've gone to explore the island or something."

"Sure thing, Sy," Chumley nodded, before getting up and putting his jacket on. "Just make sure you get back before it's too late."

Both me and Jaden nodded, before rushing out of the Dorm.
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Jaden POV

Just my luck, I thought to myself.

I couldn't believe that Syrus was being included into this. I didn't want him to get into danger or any kind of trouble for that matter. I knew what happened to Crowler, and I knew that I had to get him out of the Dorm before anything happened to him. To be fair, I should've made sure he didn't follow me into the Dorm, because I knew Nightshroud was somewhere in there watching me and biding his time.

"He knows we're back alright," the Supreme King said, a look of determination on his face as he floated next to me as me and Syrus rushed towards the Lighthouse. "An immortal deity like him would know everything that happens in the past, present and future. Jaden, you and your friends have got to be careful when venturing into that Dorm. For all we know, this could well be one big trap to lure you in."

"I agree with him on this one," Yubel said with a worried look. "Jaden, you've got to be on your guard."

"I will," I thought back to them.

Just then, we reached the Lighthouse, where Alexis was waiting. She looked very agitated. Well, who could blame her? I asked her to bring her Duel Disk, so that meant that this was pretty serious. She wore her blue fleece jacket, and her Duel Disk, plus she had some a small travel bag of hers—like one of those you might see an explorer use when on expeditions.

She saw me and Syrus running towards her, and she waved her arms.

"Hey, I was beginning to think that you wouldn't come," she said, as Syrus and I stopped to catch our breaths.

"Yeah, sorry about that," I said, giving Syrus a pointed look. "Somebody wanted to tag along, and I had no other option. Chumley is covering for us at the Slifer Dorm until we get back."

Alexis nodded, before checking her Duel Disk to make sure that it was primed and ready for anything. "Okay. So, why did you bring us out here? What's so important that no one followed me?"

"Jaden has some idea of where Crolwer is," Syrus answered before I could. "He reckons that Crowler is inside the Abandoned Dorm, trying to see if Jaden was terrified in there. Apparently according to Jaden, someone or something is in there and it nabbed Crowler. He might still be in there."

Alexis nodded along with Syrus's explanation, before looking at me with a knowing look. She knew about the whole Nightshroud business, but I was still feeling guilty about not telling her about her brother being controlled by him at this time. It had to wait until the time was right, but now that I've changed certain things, I'm not sure how long it was going to be until Atticus revealed himself.

"You're sure that Crowler is in the Abandoned Dorm?" she asked seriously.

I nodded quickly. "He tried to scare me away from the island by hiring Titan the other day, and he ended up getting trapped in there. Whoever is in there must have him tied up somewhere, so we've got to get him out."

Syrus nodded without even thinking about it. "Alright then, let's do it. Let's go save a teacher... even though he is a pain in the butt."

Alexis chuckled a little. "Yeah, that is true. But still, no one gets left behind."

After that little statement, me and my two friends ventured over to the gates that led to the derelict dorm. As the sun was setting in the background, I had enough time to calm myself about going in there again—last time was because Alexis was kidnapped and taken in there, but this time was different because I was saving another person while exploring the whole place again. Last few times before that was dangerous as it was, and I knew for a fact that Nightshroud was somewhere in there.

I handed my two flashlights to Alexis and Syrus, who took them without question, and turning them on before directing the beams at the front door of the dorm. "This is creeping me out," Syrus said, his body shaking like a leaf. "Why do I feel ice cold all of a sudden? Or is that just me?"

"You're not the only one here who's feeling that chill there," Alexis said, rubbing her arms. She turned her face towards me. "Jaden, do you feel that?"

I nodded, feeling the air drop as we neared the front door. "Whoever has Crowler knows we're here, and it doesn't like us. But there's no way we're going back now, so let's just do this and get the hell out of here."

Both my friends nodded, and without saying anything else we went to open the door and head right in, but just like always, there was someone to stop us.

"Hey, what are you guys up to?"

I spun around, quickly grabbing someone and roughly shoved them into the wall next to the door, making the person yelp in surprise. When I saw who it was, I sighed in annoyance—it was Chazz, wearing his Obelisk Blue attire.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!" he exclaimed as he rises his arms in surrender as best as he could as I had a tight grip on his jacket. "Take it easy there, Slacker! I meant no harm!"

"What are you doing here, Chazz?" I demanded. "Tell me!"

"I-I-I saw you three walking down the pathway towards the Abandoned Dorm, and I was curious as to why you were about to go in," Chazz said. "What are you even up to?"

Alexis came up to my side, giving Chazz a stern look before pointing her thumb towards the Dorm. "We believe that Crowler is in there. He went missing in there whilst trying to look for Jaden. We're going in to find him."

Chazz looked at Alexis, before turning to me. "Okay then, why don't you add me to the search party? I want in on some of the action. I got really bored of ordering the other first year Obelisk students around, so I decided to see if you wanted a duel, Slacker. Obviously, you've decided to do something even more exciting. Come on, let me join ya'."

I looked at Alexis and Syrus, who looked a little alarmed about Chazz being here. Then again, they looked at me before nodding to Chazz, before Alexis nodded towards the Dorm. I understood what she meant by that, and I thought that it was a bad idea. However, it also meant that we would have more people searching the Dorm for Crowler and it meant us getting out quicker than before.

Plus, it gave me enough time to find Honest's card. I knew it was in the Dorm in Yusuke's room, and I was determined to get it, so I could use it until Yusuke came back and was turned back to normal. I just hoped we wouldn't run into any trouble whilst in there.

I let go of Chazz's jacket, placing my hand on my hip. "Alright, Chazz. If we allow you to join us into the Dorm, you follow every instruction I give you. That's the only condition on you coming in with us. Crowler is in there, probably scared out of his mind or even worse. We don't even know what's in there. So if you come along with us, then it's at your own risk."

I had to admit, I was a bit surprised by my tone of voice and how I said it. I admit that after my time in the Dark World Dimension, I did come back more mature and serious than I thought. But I thought that after my first duel with Yugi, I had managed to get my duelling spirit back; my enthusiasm for having such an awesome time duelling.

Then again, I knew why I was acting the way that I was now. Knowing that Nightshroud was back, and the fact that he was a seriously tough opponent as well as my greatest enemy, I couldn't afford to be carefree or have fun when everything was so serious and potentially life-threatening. With that resolve now crystal clear in my head, I knew that there was no turning back now.

Chazz nodded his head, before turning towards the front door of the Dorm. "Yeah, I'll keep quiet. Besides, I'm good at keeping secrets."

Yeah, no shit, I thought sarcastically to myself. You couldn't even stay quiet about the time when you harboured romantic feelings for Alexis for crying out loud!

I chucked him a flashlight, before giving the other one to Syrus. Alexis brought her own out, turning it on. I stepped forward and, with a deep breath of nervousness, kicked the door open before we delved into the darkness of the building.
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Alexis POV

I didn't know if what we were doing was either good or bad. I knew it was a good thing that we could save Crowler, but I knew it was a bad thing because it meant that we were putting ourselves in danger.

So I was standing behind Jaden, while Syrus stood next to him and Chazz tailing behind us. Me, Syrus and Chazz had our flashlights on, while Jaden just ventured ahead without a light. I thought it was weird that he didn't carry a flashlight, but then I remembered that he was from the future: he'd probably been inside this building so many time that he knew the complete layout of the entire site. How he managed not to get into trouble was beyond me.

Just then, we arrived at the main hallway. I looked down the corridor, but all I saw were deep black shadows which made it impossible for me to see anything. Jaden looked on with an emotionless look, but even I could see the look of alertness in his eyes. He turned around to face the rest of us.

"Alright, listen up," he whispered. "From this point on, we have to be careful and alert. We're on our own in here. If you see anything, tell me at once."

"Okay then, why don't we split up?" Chazz asked quietly. "That way, we can cover more ground. We meet back here in the hallway if we find something."

"I don't think that's a good idea," I said. "Whatever and whoever kidnapped Crowler could be lurking around here still. We need to stick together in here, otherwise whatever is in here will pick us off one by one."

"Alexis is right, Chazz," Jaden said. "We need to be careful while we're in here. And she's right about sticking together. If separated, we don't stand a chance by ourselves. Stick together however, and we can make it out alive."

Chazz sighed, but nodded in agreement. "Okay, so what do we do?"

Jaden looked back down the dark hallway... before his eyes widened and gestured wildly to the room on our right. All of us were confused, but I didn't ask questions as I ran into the room he pointed at. We had just enough time to hide behind the wall and turn our flashlights off, before something came stalking down the hallway.

I held my breath as they stopped just outside the doorway. Judging by the breathing, it was a male, one in his late teenaged years by the sound of it. We was only a metre away from the doorway entrance... and I swear, the aura I felt from him was so malevolent it was unreal. It made me almost gasp, and I almost did had it not been for Jaden, who stood next to me.

He wrapped his arms around me, pulling me into a gentle hug and I suddenly felt that malevolent aura vanish. I sighed into Jaden's shoulder. For some reason, being close to him felt safe and so right. But then I remembered that he was only doing this to somehow make me go unnoticeable. I looked behind me and saw that Syrus and Chazz was surrounded by a dull dark orange aura. Jaden and I were also covered in this aura, so that meant that he somehow managed to keep us safe from that malevolent aura.

Soon, after a few seconds, the person in the corridor walked away, his footsteps fading away. I looked up at Jaden, seeing that his eyes had changed colour again, but this time it wasn't the Supreme Kings eyes—they were two colours: one real green, the other was a dark orange. I remembered Jaden saying that it wasn't just the Supreme King who was fused with his soul, but it was also Yubel as well. That would explain the eyes because they looked exactly like hers.

I softly said, "Thank you."

He smiled, his eyes returning to normal as the aura around all of us faded as they did. Chazz and Syrus breathed out in relief.

"Did you feel that?" Syrus shivered, his arms wrapped around him. "That aura... I've never felt anything like that before. It was practically suffocating me."

"You're telling me," Chazz said, peeking down the corridor before looking back at us. "Whatever that was, it's gone now. This just proves it—something has made its home here."

Jaden closed the door leading to the room, and brought out his deck, looking up at the face-up card on the top. I saw that it was one of his Neo-Spacians, but this one looked different than the others. Jaden activated his duel disk and placed the card on the slot. Without warning, a monster appeared right in front of us: a mouthless glowing figure, half the size of Jaden, and looked as if it was a thin strand of liquid.

"Huh?!" Chazz gasped. "How in the world did you summon that?!"

"This place is filled to the brim with duelling energy," Jaden said. "It's what allows me to summon any of my monsters at will. The same thing could be said for all of you—you could be able to summon anything, just not right now. We've got to keep a low tone in this place."

He looked at his monster. "Glow Moss, we could do with some light in here," Jaden said, locking the door.

The creature nodded, before it began to glow even more. It lit up the whole room, almost like a night light that a toddler would use near his bedside, but it sure was powerful. Chazz and Syrus had to cover their eyes for a moment, as did I. Soon, the entire room was visible so I could see the full view of the room.

Like all the other Obelisk Blue rooms, it was spacious and very well crafted. Their was a dusty old bed at the far left, and to the far right was a sitting area with an old fashioned fireplace. Nearby at the foot of the bed was a metal cylinder bin, which was filled with photos of several Obelisk students and a seaweed haired kid with his parents. One of the photos caught my immediate attention with a small gasp.

"That's Atticus!" I whispered softly, picking up the photo and looking at it with tears in my eyes. "Was this his room?"

"I don't think so," Jaden said at the fireplace, where he picked up a small red box and opened. He looked at me, a look of interest on his face. "I think this is the room of Yusuke Fujiwara, a close friend of your brothers."

"Yusuke?" Syrus asked, Turing his head to the side to look at us. "Wait a sec, I've heard that name before—Zane told me about him. He was friends with Yusuke as well. But he didn't say anything about what happened to him at all—he had no idea what happened."

"How do you know about Yusuke Fujiwara?" Chazz asked, a look of suspicion on his face. "Is there something you're not telling us?"

Before Jaden said anything, I quickly spoke for him. "Jaden is trying to help me find my brother as well. Atticus had been living in this Dorm before he vanished from this place, and I've been trying to search for clues as to where he is. Jaden is helping me out as I go along."

Chazz looked between me and Jaden, who was looking at the contents of the red box in his hands. Chazz shrugged, buying the story. "Well, he can't be too far away. I mean, he was last seen here so he must be here still, right?"

"I hope so," I said sadly. "I really miss him."

Jaden had placed the box back on the fireplace mantle and turned towards us, taking his deck out and taking another card out. By the looks of it, it looked like that Kuriboh card that he had. A second later, Winged Kuriboh appeared, giving off its signature pure noise.

Jaden listened to what the little fuzz ball said, like he could actually understand what it said. He then nodded, looking at every one of us. "Winged Kuriboh says that we should get our strongest monsters out just in case things get hairy. We're gonna need all the help we can get if we run into trouble."

"You can understand that fuzz ball?" Chazz asked incredulously.

Winged Kuriboh looked offended, before bashing itself into Chazz's head, making him complain.

Jaden smirked. "I wouldn't anger Winged Kuriboh if I were you; he may not look it, but he can give you a hell of a headache in the morning."

"Okay, okay, sorry!" Chazz said quietly. "I take it back! But still, how can you understand it?"

"I have no idea, I just can," Jaden said, shrugging with an embarrassed smile.

Winged Kuriboh floated towards me, and I smiled at the cute little guy when it hovered above my shoulder. I ruffled its head. "Well, I think it's the cutest little small fry I've ever seen."

Winged Kuriboh bounced on my shoulder in joy at that statement. Then it looked at Jaden and it seemed to nod before floating towards the door and vanishing.

Jaden took that as a sign that we should go, and we did so. Immediately, I was plunged into darkness until I turned my flashlight on, pointing it towards where we came from. Jaden looked the other way and started walking down to the corner. Me and the others followed him, wondering if we would ever find Crowler.

But I knew Jaden would find him somehow. He's been in the Dorm enough times to know the full layout of the place back in his time. I had faith in him.

I looked at the card I had in my hand—it was one of my Cyber Angel monsters called Cyber Angel Benten, which happened to be my most strongest monster in my deck, next to Cyber Blader. I remembered getting my Cyber Angel deck from my brother and parents, because they thought that I had both charm and toughness, just like my Cyber Angels. It always made me smile.

Just as that thought came to me, I felt a nagging pain in my head, making grunt in agony as I clutched my head with one hand and dropped to one knee. Jaden turned around with a worried look appearing on his face, as he crouched down and placed his hands on my shoulders.

"Hey, what's wrong?" he asked. "You okay?"

"Is she okay?" Syrus asked in concern, pointing his flashlight at us.

"Hey guys, we don't have time to stop here," Chazz said impatiently, his flashlight pointing towards the other end of the hallway.

"Hey, tell me Lexi," Jaden said gently, his grip on my shoulders not even tight. "What's wrong?"

"Something... doesn't feel good," I groaned, the pain in my head throbbing. "I feel weak. My head hurts..."

Jaden looked up at Syrus and Chazz. "You two, keep watching either side of the hallway."

They both nodded without question and focused their flashlight beams on each corridor end.

Jaden focused on me again, just as Yubel appeared beside him. "Alexis, you're gonna have to tell me what's wrong. What do you feel?"

"Something evil is close by," I grunted, clutching my head. "It's so close. I've never felt something like this before. I just feel so weak."

"She senses Nightshroud's presence nearby," Yubel said as she appeared with a concerned tone, looking down at both hallway ends. "And if Nightshroud is close, then we need to hurry up and find Crowler before he finds and engages us in battle."

Jaden looked at me, before pulling me into his comforting embrace which I gladly accepted. Instantly, the pain in my head vanished and I took a shaky breath. I could hear the steady heartbeat of Jaden's heart: a sound that felt so calming to me. It was a strong heartbeat and I found it so relaxing.

"Why do I feel so calm around you?" I whispered to him, my head underneath his chin.

"I don't know," he said, his arms around me. "I guess you could say that it's one of my amazing qualities."

I laughed into his chest, before he helped me up to my feet. I was about to say thank you, until Syrus screamed in panic which almost made me want to jump out of my own skin

"Jaden, Alexis, Chazz, RUN!" he exclaimed, bolting down the hallway towards Chazz, making all of us frown in confusion, before we looked at what he was running from.

At first nothing appeared. But suddenly, a plume of dark red fire blasted its way towards us, making us yelp in fright and duck for cover. It smashed into the wall behind us, flames licking up the entire corridor. I looked back at I instantly gasped.

Stomping and clawing its way down the corridor was a massive black dragon, with scales tougher than iron, and sharp claws and talons that could rip a massive truck in half. It's eyes pulsed with red flames, and its mouth was opened with a snarl. Its wings were tucked behind it, and they looked pretty much as menacing as the dragon itself.

"Holy shit!" Chazz exclaimed, backing away with wide eyes that were filled with terror.

"It's... it's..." I stammered.

"Red Eyes Black Dragon!" Jaden hissed out. He grabbed my hand, pulling me into a run. "Everyone, RUN!"

All of us screamed as Red Eyes Black Dragon roared and shot another fireball our way, making us leap around the corner just in time as it blasted into the far wall. Jaden instantly got me back on my feet, and every one of us tore down the hallway in fright.
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Jaden POV

"This is not how I thought my day was gonna go AT ALL!" Chazz yelled, as he and Syrus rushed ahead. Alexis was running by my side, rushing as fast as she could for dear life.

"Where did that thing come from?!" she shrieked as she looked back quickly at the dragon that was now pounding its way down towards us.

"It's owner, that's where!" I shouted. I extended my duel disk and quickly summoned Flare Neos, who appeared in front of me, it's black and orange patched body licking with flames. "Neos, slow him down! Blaze Storm!"

Neos nodded, extending both his arms and sending a massive stream of fire towards Red Eyes Black Dragon. The blast hit the Dragons pitch black scales, and caused the dragon to roar in rage at being attacked.

"I think that move only pissed it off!" Chazz said, looking back as we turned a corner.

"Who cares?! It slowed it down, now keep running!" Syrus screamed, running down the next corridor.

I looked around, trying to find some way out. Suddenly, I saw that very same basement door to that arena I duelled Titan in, just to my right in front of us. I didn't want to go into that place again, but if it was who I thought it was chasing us, then I had no choice. He was seriously dangerous when he was taken over by Nightshroud, but if I had to duel him, then I'll have to get my game on.

"Guys, that door on your right!" I shouted, pointing frantically at the basement door. "Go in there!"

The others didn't need to be told twice. Chazz rammed into the door and everyone else ran in along with him. I quickly closed the door behind me, locking it tightly just as Red Eyes shot another blast of dark fire at us. The handle grew scolding red hot, and I yelped as it burned my hand.

Alexis, who was sweating and panting from her mad run, came up to me. "Let me see that."

I shook my head, clutching my burnt palm. "Don't worry about it. It'll heal."

I looked back at the door, and jumped back in surprise as it shook from the force of the dragon on the other side. I heard an almighty roar, and flames started spreading from the cracks of the door.

"Great, now what do we do?" Chazz demanded, focusing his beam on the stairs leading down to the basement. "This leads only one way."

"I don't know about you, but I prefer that way rather than going back into a corridor that has a rampaging Red Eyes Black Dragon in it," Syrus whimpered.

"But that way leads to an arena that Jaden and I came across," Alexis said, pointing down the stairs to the basement. "It's too dangerous down there."

"We don't have a choice," I said, taking another card out of my deck, and quickly summoning it on my duel disk.

It was another one of my newest Elemental HERO's - Absolute Zero. He had a white body and armour, including that of a white helmet and frost covered cape that vented off cold air and mist.

"Absolute Zero, buy us some time," I told it. "Freeze that door. Ice it up!"

My Elemental HERO nodded, and instantly shot a blast of energy towards the door. When it connected with the door, it spread across the walls and completely covered the door. So now I was looking at a six feet thick wall of clear sky blue ice that would make it impossible to break through.

I turned towards the others, quickly calling my monster back into its card. "This isn't gonna hold Red Eyes back for long. Let's keep going and get into that basement."

The others quickly nodded, but before I could even take one step, a low dark chuckle filled the air. I froze on the spot, my head snapping in all directions, trying to locate that evil laugh.

"Welcome to my humble abode, Jaden Yuki," the voice said, and I stiffened at the familiar voice. "So, you've met my pet? I apologise for any discomfort and fright it has caused you and your friends. But then again, I'm not the least bit guilty."

"Stop playing games!" I shouted at the darkness. "Show yourself!"

Another round of mad laughter, which seriously creeped out Syrus. "Oh, I will in due time. After all, it has been so long since we last met, hasn't it? And you're here to save a teacher who has tried so hard to expel you from the Academy. You care too much, Yuki. You shouldn't be so protective of someone who has wronged you."

"I don't care!" I retorted. "Even if it was someone who has done something bad and tried to blame the fault on me, I'd still help them! So, do me a favour, and stop hiding in the shadows like a coward!"

"Those are big words coming from a mere teenager, such as yourself," the voice said. "I'm not even surprised. You were so rebellious back then, and you still are. You are a being beyond human existence: a human with the infused soul of one and that of a duel monster spirit. That, and the Supreme King inside of you, are of no use to me. But still, if you want to save your teacher, then by all means go ahead. You'll find him in that little arena you battled Titan at."

Without a single word, I took off down the stairs, with the others running behind me.

"What did that voice mean by your soul being fused with a duel monster spirit?" Syrus panted.

"I'll explain later," I said, turning another corner to the right, and past the images of the Millennium Items on the walls. "It's a long story."

Suddenly, we came to a stop at the cave entrance. Inside was the same arena that haunted my mind terribly. Inscribed on the floor was the mark of Nightshroud, and for some reason there was a lot of dark smoke. I knew that Nightshroud was here somewhere, but the fact of the matter was that my only concern was the tied up and battered Dr. Crowler that sat in a heap next to a wall.

"Crowler!" I exclaimed, running up to his side. "Crowler, are you alright?!"

He groaned as he struggled to open his eyes. He had bruises on his face and neck, and his clothes were torn in places. "Jaden...run...get out of here-"

"Not without you," Alexis said, untying the ropes on Crowlers wrists and legs, setting him free. "No one gets left behind."

"Even if it's a teacher that was mean to us," Syrus said firmly.

Syrus and Chazz went to help the professor to his feet, but the poor guy couldn't even stand up due to his weak state. It was evident that he had a few broken ribs and his leg was badly broken. So Chazz and Syrus had to support him by wrapping his arms around their shoulders.

"Alright, we've got him," Chazz said. "Now can we get out of this place, please?"

"For once, I agree with Chazz," Syrus said.

I nodded. "Alright, let's get the heck out of here."

"All without saying hello to an old friend?"

I spun around, and I was met with a very distressing sight. Standing there, in his dark clothing that he picked in the Dark World, and wearing the mask that represented the face and eyes of Red Eyes Darkness Dragon was the Nightshroud controlled Atticus Rhodes, sneering maliciously.

"Atticus?" Alexis whimpered in shock.

"No," Atticus darkly smirked, his voice going monotone. "I'm not Atticus. I am NIGHTSHROUD! And this is the end of the line for you, foolish mortals! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

We stood there staring at him, horror etched on our faces as the mind controlled Atticus laughed maniacally, the sound echoing across the pitch black caverns as dark purple and dark shadows enveloped the surrounding arena.