(Alrighty, it's time for the second part of this chapter and 'episode' you might call it. Atticus Rhodes is back, and under the tight control of Nightshroud once again. Will Jaden be able to break Atticus free of Nightshroud, or will Jaden finally lose to his old enemy. This chapter will include POV's from Alexis and Jaden. Enjoy!)
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Jaden POV

"Well? Are you gonna stand there and just stare at me all day?" Atticus sneered. "Or are you going to duel me and try and win poor helpless Atticus back?"

I growled, trying so hard to keep my anger and fear under control. I activated my duel disk, which flared to life, before I turned to face Alexis and the others. "Stay back. Make sure Crowler is okay."

"But Jaden..." Alexis said, with tears in her eyes as she took in the appearance of her long lost brother. "That's Atticus. He's back. I can't stay back from this, you know I can't."

"Alexis, this isn't the brother you know," I told her firmly, glaring back at Atticus, as he smirked. "He's under the control of Nightshroud, a very dangerous entity who believes in the complete darkness of the world. I fought this guy several times before, even when he was controlling Atticus. The only way I can be able break through to him is to duel him. And hopefully I can be able to break Nightshrouds hold on him."

"But what if that doesn't work?" Alexis demanded. "You could seriously hurt him."

I was about to say something, but Nightshroud began laughing darkly.

"Oh, dear Alexis," he said. "You brother isn't the one in control. I am. How can he be able to feel pain, when I'm the one in control of his body and mind? Everyone who has been in the World of Darkness won't feel anymore pain. But that won't mean that you won't get your brother back. I'm in complete control of him now."

He turned his gaze towards me. "And this time, you won't bring him back, Jaden Yuki. You ruined my plans before, and you will SUFFER for it!" He activated his duel disk, and placed his deck into the slot.

"Jaden," Alexis said, getting my attention. "Please, bring him back."

I smiled confidently, before turning to face Nightshroud again. "Get ready to get your game on, Nightshroud! Because this time, I'm gonna make you regret ever messing with my friends, and the whole world!"

Jaden: 4000 LP
Nightshroud: 4000 LP
============
Alexis POV

"GAME ON!"

As soon as they both said that, a strong gust of wind enveloped the arena, making me step back slightly as it got too powerful. These two emitted strong powerful auras that it shocked me. On one side was a being who was all about destruction, while the other was all about humanity and well-being.

"What did Atticus mean by Jaden ruining his plans before?" Syrus asked, while he still tended to Crowler, who was now unconscious.

I looked at Jaden, who was looking at the cards in his hand. I didn't want to expose him as someone from the future, but I thought that Chazz and Syrus at least deserved to know.

"He's from the future," I told Syrus.

"He's WHAT?!" Chazz exclaimed in shock.

I quickly told them what Jaden told me. When I was finished telling them, they leaned back in shock at the revelation.

"That explains why he thought I would do well at the Academy," Syrus mused. "He knew me from his time!"

"That explains how he knew that Atticus would be here. And no wonder why he seemed older than the rest of us," Chazz added. "He's been to Duel Academy before. Now I feel sort've sorry for the slacker."

"And that's the thing, guys," I said. "He's stuck here. Time travel hasn't been invented yet, and that means that Jaden is trapped here."

All of us looked at Jaden, just as he was about to make his move.

"I summon Elemental HERO Clayman in defence mode!" he shouted.

A huge stone like monster appeared in front of him, its arms crossed over its bulky chest.

(Elemental HERO Clayman - 800/2000)

"Then I place one card facedown, and end my turn," Jaden said, placing something on the field.

At that moment, I saw that his hand was shaking badly. For one moment, I thought it was because he was cold. But that wasn't the case. With a shock, I realised that Jaden was scared. I could see it in his eyes. He didn't show any sign of fear in all the time I knew him, and this was a look that I only saw in the eyes of cornered animals.

"Scared, Jaden?" Atticus asked with a smirk. "You should be. Especially since I'm going to wipe you out. I draw, and summon out the Red Eyes Black Chick!"

A small red egg appeared in a burst of flames, and it quickly hatched, revealing a small version of the Red Eyes Black Dragon. It gave off a small screech, and a small burst of fire appeared from its mouth.

(Red Eyes Black Chick - 800/500)

"Oh no," Jaden muttered in a shaky voice.

"Oh yes," Atticus sneered. "You know what's coming next. If you don't remember what my Chicks special ability is, let me remind you. By sending Red Eyes Black Chick to my graveyard, I can summon from my hand his daddy - the full grown Red Eyes Black Dragon!"

His small black dragon vanished. For one hopeful moment, I thought his duel disk malfunction but I was proven wrong. From the corridor which we came from came the loudest roar I've ever heard. Swooping in came the Red Eyes Black Dragon that chased us, causing a buff of wind with its wings, and landing next to Atticus.

(Red Eyes Black Dragon - 2400/2000)

"He summoned Red Eyes on the first go!" Syrus said fear. "No way!"

"Oh and it's gonna get worse for you, Jaden," Atticus said. "Because now I activate the spell card known as Inferno Fire Blast!"

"Aw, shit!" Jaden exclaimed, stepping back just as Red Eyes Black Dragon pounced into the air.

"Thanks to this card, I can now damage your Life Points equal to that of my Red Eyes Black Dragons attack points. Now attack!"

Red Eyes Black Dragon shot a blast of dark fire directly at Jaden, and I watched in horror as the flames consumed him. Jaden screamed in pain, as his Life Points went down dramatically. As the flames died down, Jaden collapsed to one knee, panting heavily.

Jaden: 1600 LP
Nightshroud: 4000 LP

"Jaden!" I shouted, running over to help him.

"Stay back!" he firmly told me, as he stood up shakily. "I'm alright, Alexis. Just don't come any closer."

"But Jaden, this is getting out of hand," I told him. "Someone is going to get hurt here."

"And it's going to be him!" Atticus shouted, picking another card out of his hand. "I now sacrifice Red Eyes Black Dragon to summon this - RED EYES DARKNESS DRAGON!"

His black dragon vanished, only to come back bigger than ever, with dark orange lines on its body, wings and head. Its head and face looked exactly like the mask that Atticus was wearing, and looked seriously vicious.

(Red Eyes Darkness Dragon - 2400/2000)

"Okay, I've seen some scary monsters in my life," Chazz said with wide eyes, "but that behemoth definitely takes the cake."

"And it probably ate it too," Syrus whimpered.

Jaden growled as he struggled to stay upright, glaring at the dragon as he did so.

"And as you recall, my Darkness Dragon gains three hundred additional attack points for every dragon in my graveyard. And that adds up to six hundred more points added to my beast," Atticus added.

(Red Eyes Darkness Dragon - 3000/2000)

"Now attack Jaden's monster, Red Eyes! Inferno Dark Fire!"

His monster sent a black and red blast of fire towards Jaden's Clayman, completely obliterating it. But the worst part was that the blast continued on towards Jaden, which collided into him, making him howl in pain as he was blasted backwards into the stone wall, which crumbled from the impact.

"JADEN!" me and the others screamed in horror.

"Was that a little overkill?" Atticus smirked sadistically. "Oh well. I guess next turn might be your last, if you keep playing like this."

I looked over at Atticus, horror etched on my face. Tears ran down my face, as I looked back at the smoke covered area where Jaden was. I hoped he was alright, because that attack was too powerful.

The dust cleared and I saw Jaden on his knees, clutching his chest. I didn't see it at first, but when the smoke cleared I could see that he was shrouded in a blazing aura of red and orange fire. His clothes were torn, and I could see that his face had several small cuts on it.

"I...activate the trap...Hero Signal," he panted, his arm extended outwards weakly.

His facedown activated, revealing what looked like a light shining a 'H' signal in the sky.

"When...one of my monsters...is destroyed in battle...I get to summon a new Elemental HERO...to my field, as long as it's...level four or below. And I summon...Elemental HERO Bubbleman."

A new monster appeared on the field, with blue armour and what looked like a water blaster on his wrist.

(Elemental HERO Bubbleman - 800/1200)

"When Bubbleman is summoned, and he's the only one on my field...I get to draw two more cards...from my deck."

"You look as if you could use some rest," Atticus taunted. "I'll give you a break for now. I set one card facedown before ending my turn. Your go, if you can draw that is."

I looked at Jaden, my worry for him intensifying by the second. He looked so weak, but for some reason he was shaking. No, hang on: it wasn't him shaking. It was the ground.

Jaden's aura increased rapidly. Then, he flung his head backwards and roared loudly at the ceiling, just as his aura spread outwards, creating a shockwave of energy that made all of us lose our balance and land on our backs. Atticus struggled against the shockwave energy.

"What is this?" he demanded.

Jaden opened his eyes and stared at Atticus, his eyes turning yellow and gold. At that moment, I knew what true fear felt like because there was nothing but pure rage in his eyes. Even Atticus stepped back when he saw the look of fury in Jaden's eyes.

Jaden snarled. "It's payback time!"
===========
Jaden POV

"Jaden, calm down!" the Supreme King frantically said in my mind. "Don't let your rage take over! You can't control it!"

"Stay out of my head!" I shouted out loud, clutching my head and trying to get rid of the Supreme Kings presence. "You will lock me away NO LONGER!"

"Jaden, I beg you, please-!"

"SHUT UP!" I screamed, just as I drew my next card, causing a shockwave of dark shadows to blast outwards from me and making Atticus stumble backwards. "I activate Cost Down! This lowers my monsters level down by two, by sending a card in my hand to the graveyard! So I send my Negate Attack trap card to the graveyard, so I can lower the summoning requirements of my monster!"

"What the...?" Nightshroud frowned in confusion. "Why would you send that card to the graveyard? You could've been able to negate my monsters attack."

I snarled, the aura around me intensifying around me. "I don't plan on negating any attack! I'm gonna destroy you and that PATHETIC dragon of yours! I sacrifice my Bubbleman, so that I can summon Elemental HERO Neos!"

My trademark monster appeared a blaze of energy, his arms positioned in a fighting stance.

(Elemental HERO Neos - 2500/2000)

He looked at me, and I could see that he was worried. I, on the other hand, didn't care - all I wanted to do was attack Nightshroud and cause some serious damage. I never felt this much power, not since my duel with Brron in the Dark World Dimension. It felt so good...to be free again.

"Now I activate Neo Space! This field spell grants my Neos an extra five hundred points, but I'm not done just yet! I then activate my Neos Force spell card, granting my Neos eight hundred additional attack points!"

(Elemental HERO Neos - 3800/2000)

"That's enough to wipe my Red Eyes out!" Atticus exclaimed in shock.

"And enough to seriously cripple you. Now ATTACK!" I roared.

Neos shot forwards, smashing directly into Red Eyes Darkness Dragon which screeched in agony before it exploded on the spot. Nightshroud groaned in pain as his Life Points went down by eight hundred.

Jaden: 1600 LP
Nightshroud: 3200 LP

"And don't forget: when my Neos destroys a monster when equipped with Neos Force, you take that destroyed monsters attack points as damage!"

"You what?!" Nightshroud exclaimed in panic, just as Neos stood in front of him.

"You heard me!" I snarled, my fists clenched so tightly that blood was leaking out of them. "Show no mercy, Neos! Strike that fool and knock him down! SPIRAL COSMIC STRIIIIIIKE!"

Neos sent a massive stream of cosmic energy towards Nightshroud, which collided into him and consumed him in a blaze of light. Nightshroud yelled in pain as he was smashed into the ground beneath him. Next thing I knew, there was a huge explosion, which enveloped the whole arena.

Jaden: 1600 LP
Nightshroud: 200 LP

"Atticus!" Alexis yelled in shock.

Soon the smoke and dust cleared, and standing weakly on the spot was Atticus, the Nightshroud mask lying to one side of him, smashed to pieces as dark energy plumed out of the remains. Atticus looked up, his face dirty and bleeding from several small cuts on his heels and head, thanks to my last attack. Like me, his clothes were torn and his hair was a matted mess.

He then frowned at me. "Jaden? What-? What's going on?" He looked around the arena. "Where-? Where are we?"

That made me lose my focus on the whole duel. My anger levels vanished, replaced by confusion and exhaustion. I dropped to my knees, looking at my cut hands in horror. What happened to me? Why do I feel so horrible and weak?

"Jaden, are you okay?" the Supreme King said, kneeling next to me as he appeared, one of his hands on my shoulder.

I looked miserably at him. "I lost control, didn't I?"

"Yeah, you did," he said sadly. Though he did smile. "You had me and Yubel worried for a moment. Any longer and you would've completely lost it. Thankfully, you managed to come to your senses when Atticus came to his. I think our darker half doesn't want to harm your friends."

I looked back at Atticus, who continued to look around the whole room. He took notice of our friends, particularly Alexis.

"Lexi?" he asked. "Okay, are you wearing some sort of make-up? You look younger than I last saw you."

"Atticus?" Alexis said happily, tears running down her cheeks. "Is that you really you?"

"Well, duh!" Atticus said with a frowning smile. "Last time I checked, I was still the same old Atticus you grew up with. Why, what's up?"

The aura around me vanished, leaving me drained both mentally and physically. I groaned before I landed on my chest, shaking badly as pain erupted all around my body. My left arm ached like a thousand needles were stuck all around it, and my chest killed.

"Jaden!" Yubel appeared, looking worried at me. She placed a hand on my shoulder, before recoiling and looked at the Supreme King. "He's badly hurt. I think that aura of his kept his injuries at bay for the moment, but I think he's suffering the effects now."

"Jaden?" Atticus asked, limping over to me when he saw that I collapsed. He knelt and shook my me gently. "Hey, you alright? You don't look too good, man."

"I'll be fine," I gritted my teeth as I slowly got up to my feet, the pain almost making me throw up and pass out. However, I withstood the pain and faced Atticus, smiling weakly. "Welcome back, Atticus."

"What do you mean 'welcome back?'" he asked with a frown. "Last time I checked, you were the one who left the Academy before any of us could say goodbye."

I looked at him, shock written on my face. "Wait, you remember what happened? But you weren't suppose to."

"What's that suppose to mean?" Atticus demanded.

"Atticus," Alexis softly said, getting his attention. "You weren't yourself a moment ago. Nightshroud was controlling you. Jaden is from the future."

Atticus's face went pale with fear. "He was?"

"That's how you know who I am," I said, remembering what Banner said before my duel with Chazz. "Nightshroud knew I was stuck in this time, so he sent you after me. I think that when he merged with you again, the memories of your future self merged with your present memories. That, and the fact that I'm here. It's causing some temporal problems with me being here."

"You're from the future?" Atticus asked with wide eyes. "Okay, that explains why I was going crazy at you, saying stuff that I ought not to know."

I nodded. "I'm sorry if I went overboard with that attack. I lost it again, just like before."

"At least you're back to your senses," Alexis said, a small smile on her face. "You had me worried there for a moment. I knew you told me that if your emotions got out of control you'd go crazy, but that was beyond crazy."

"You're kidding me, right?" Chazz demanded. "He went ballistic at Atticus! I've only seen that kind of anger when I was looking at caged animals: it's a fury that can't be controlled."

"I've got it under control now," I said, clutching my head. I looked back at Atticus. "You're sure you're okay now?"

Atticus nodded. For a moment, I thought that Atticus was back, but then again was I ever right?

Atticus's eyes glowed light blue and he groaned. "Jaden, get back! He's trying to take control of me again!"

I quickly did as he asked, limping backwards to my spot, just as he did the same. Suddenly, before I could even say anything, roots of darkness appeared on Atticus, snaking across his face and his chest and arms. He groaned in pain.

"Atticus!" I shouted.

"I'm alright," he panted, his whole body shaking. "Nightshroud won't take me again as easily. Jaden, you've got to completely exorcise him out of me, but you've got to do that by finishing this duel."

I knew he was right, but I overdid my last turn which made him weak. In fact, it weakened both of us badly. I just hope that it wouldn't happen again. Just then, Atticus activated his facedown.

"I activate my Red Eyes Spirit trap card," he said. "With this, I can special summon a Red Eyes monster that was destroyed from my graveyard, ignoring its summoning conditions. So rise once more, Red Eyes Darkness Dragon!"

Nightshrouds monster returned to the field, and since there were two dragons in his graveyard, it's attack points were now at three thousand again.

(Red Eyes Darkness Dragon - 3000/2000)

"Both his and Jaden's monsters are tied," Syrus observed, looking at mine and Atticus's monsters. "They both have three thousand attack points, so if they attack each other then it would only result in them destroying each other."

I growled. "Atticus! Don't lose focus! Concentrate on keeping yourself normal! Don't let Nightshroud get the best of you! You hear me? Just hang on - I'll get him out of you!" I looked at my hand, knowing that I had to do something. Otherwise, that Darkness Dragon will finish me and Neos off. "I activate my Convert Contact spell card. With this, by sending one Neo-Spacian in my hand, and another one from my deck to the graveyard, then I can draw two more cards from my deck. Next up is my Pot Of Greed, which lets me draw two more cards, so I've got three cards to work with."

"How many more cards does he have to draw?" Chazz demanded in annoyance. "Just make a move, slacker!"

"I'm getting there," I said through gritted teeth. "Next, I activate Mirage Of Nightmare! When you draw your next card, I get to add cards from my deck to my hand, until I have four of them. However, at the end of your turn, I have to send that many cards in my hand to the graveyard. Then I end my turn with a facedown."

"Then I guess it's time for me to draw then," Atticus said, drawing his card.

"And then I get to draw my three cards thanks to my Mirage Of Nightmare," I said, drawing my four cards, and I blinked in surprise at what I saw.

Polymerization, Elemental Storm, Elemental HERO Prisma and Fusion Sage. I know this strategy well: it was a move that I used in my duel against Yubel. If this worked, not only would I win, but I could be able to save Atticus again.

"Next, I activate my facedown: Emergency Provisions! And thanks to this, I gain one thousand Life Points if I sacrifice one spell or trap card on my field. And you know what, I'll send my Mirage Of Nightmare to the graveyard."

Jaden: 2600 LP
Atticus: 200 LP

"Awesome!" Syrus said with an impressed smile. "Then that means Mirage Of Nightmares effect is gone! That means Jaden can keep all the cards in his hand!"

"That's one of the oldest tricks in the book," Chazz said. "I'm not surprised that Jaden can pull that move off."

"It won't matter," Atticus said, looking at his drawn card. He grimaced at what it was, and just set it facedown. "I end my turn with this."

I nodded, before drawing my fifth card. "Alright, I play my Graceful Charity, which lets me draw three cards, but then discard two of them. So I draw these, (O-Oversoul, Heroes Rule 1: Five Freedoms and Desperate Trap) and discard two of them (Elemental Storm and Fusion Sage). But I'm not saying goodbye to those cards yet, since I'm gonna bring them back right away. I play my Desperate Trap spell card, which allows me to activate a trap card from my deck, as long as I banish it from play. So I'll go ahead and activate my Disgraceful Charity trap card, which allows me to return all the cards I discarded to my hand!"

I looked at the six cards in my hand, feeling confident with the cards I had. Elemental HERO Prisma, Elemental Storm, Polymerization, Fusion Substitute, Hero Barrier and O-Oversoul. With that hand, I had a clear line to win this duel. I just hope it's enough. First things first, get him to use that trap card of his.

"Alright, I activate Elemental Storm!" I announced. "This allows me to destroy one monster on the field if I have an Elemental HERO on my field, and my Neos will do fine. So say adios to Red Eyes Darkness Dragon!"

Neos sent a blast of dark energy at Atticus's monster, but obviously Atticus could always be counted on.

"I activate my facedown - Magic-Reflection Armour: Metal Plus!" he shouted. "With this, if I equip it onto Red Eyes Darkness Dragon, then he isn't destroyed by spell effects!"

I nodded, knowing that he did the right thing. I knew he wanted to bring out the true form of Red Eyes, and with Darkness Dragon equip with Metal Plus, he might be able to do it. "Alright then, I place a card facedown and end my turn."
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Alexis POV

This was getting too much. Two people who I cared really deeply for were battling like it was a matter of life and death for them both. I couldn't even decide on who I really wanted to win - my brother who I've known all my life, and Jaden who came from the future and who I've really started to develop feelings for.

Just then, Atticus groaned as a dark aura enveloped him. And just as he gasped for air, the roots on his face, legs, arms and chest grew even thicker. Plus, his hair grew even wilder: to the point where it looked like he just got electrocuted. He threw his head backwards, screaming and howling at the open air.

"ATTICUS!" all of us yelled in horror at the state he was now in.

"I can't..." he panted. "I don't know how much longer I can last. He's too strong."

"Don't let up on the attacks, Atticus!" Jaden said quickly. "Just keep them up! Don't hold back!"

Atticus looked so pained it was unreal. His eyes pulsed with blue light, and his hair was standing up. He hesitated but then nodded. "Alright, my turn!" He drew his card and immediately played it. "I...sacrifice...aaaah! Get out of my head! I'm in control! I sacrifice Red Eyes Darkness Dragon, along with its equipped trap card...to summon...to summon...RED EYES DARKNESS METAL DRAGON!"

My eyes widened, just as his dragon began to flare with dark energy, completely engulfing it in a dome of pure darkness. Four seconds later, the shadows dispersed and a shiny metal dragon emerged from where Red Eyes Darkness Dragon was. It had some of the red qualities of the previous dragon, but its body was completely covered in metal.

(Red Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon - 2800/2400)

"Okay, talk about shiny," Chazz said in awe.

"And it gets more interesting," Atticus said in the time Nightshroud had. "For you see, now my monster gains four hundred additional points for every Dragon-Type monster on my graveyard, for a punishing grand total of four thousand points!"

(Red Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon - 4000/2400)

"Four thousand?!" Syrus exclaimed, looking at a Jaden in horror. "But Jaden's monster only has twenty five hundred attack points! It's not strong enough to take on that dragon that Atticus brought out!"

Nightshroud possessed Atticus chuckled darkly. "Now, Red Eyes, attack Elemental HERO Neos with INFERNO METAL FIRE!"

His dragon started to pool dark energy in its mouth, but I could always depend on Jaden to come up with a strategy.

"I activate Hero Barrier!" he shouted, revealing his massive fan that began swirling wildly. "Sorry Atticus, but as long as I have an Elemental HERO out on my field, I can negate your attack!"

Atticus's dragon stopped its attack and was blown backwards.

"Fine," Atticus seethed. "I guess you got lucky, Jaden. But don't think that you can escape my dragons attack next turn. Because one way or another, you will not escape me! I will not let you ruin my plans again!"
==========
Jaden POV

I looked at Atticus, knowing full well that he was still in there. I just had to break him out again, and with the cards in my hand I might be able to do so. I can finally make sure that Nightshroud stays away from Atticus once and for all.

"Alright, here goes something!" I screamed, drawing my last card of the duel. I looked at it and saw that it was Honest.

Seeing the card brought back some old memories. Last time I used this card was against Yusuke back in my time, in my last year at Duel Academy. Now I've got him back. What Alexis and the others didn't know was that I saw Honest in the case I picked up in Yusuke's room, the same case that he placed his spirit friends card in for safekeeping. I swore to Honest that I would get his master back, one way or another. And I intended to keep that promise again.

"Alright, I summon Elemental HERO Prisma to the field in attack mode!"

My crystal bodied Hero appeared on the field, flexing his diamond encrusted arms and ready to attack.

(Elemental HERO Prisma - 1800/1100)

"And now I activate his special ability," I said, bringing my deck up and looking through it. When I saw what I was looking for, I smiled.

Alright Jesse, let's do this, I thought to myself. I looked back at Atticus, showing him the back of the card I chose out. "Thanks to Prisma's special ability, I can search through my deck, and send a fusion material monster to my graveyard. With that, I can change Prisma into that very monster."

"I know this move!" Alexis said in surprise to the others, who looked interested. "This is a move that Jaden used in our duel! That means he must have he's got something up his sleeve!"

"It won't make a difference," Nightshroud sneered, using Atticus to speak. "None of your monsters can stand up to my Red Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon. It can bring down any card now thanks to all the dragons in my graveyard."

(Play the music video now!!! It's time!!!)

"Well then, let's up the game, shall we?" I smirked for the first time, sending my selected fusion material from my deck to the graveyard. "Now Prisma...with the power that you control...I now transform you into...the most powerful Crystal Beast!"

Prisma glowed with multicoloured rainbow lights, every colour of the rainbow you can imagine all enveloping him. Then suddenly, he began to grow larger and more slender until he towered to an astonishing height of three stories tall.

"RISE, RAINBOW DRAGON!!!" I screamed, raising my right arm in the air. My scream echoed throughout the cavern, reverberating off the stone walls and back to us again.

"WHAT?!" Nightshroud shrieked in fear, stepping back as he looked up at the enveloping light. "NO, IT CAN'T BE!"

The light died away, and in its place was the dragon that Jesse used and connected to so much in my time. A three story high whip-like white dragon, with seven coloured crystal orbs running down its left and right sides. It wings reached out to a length of seventeen metres long, and its roar was the loudest I've ever heard. Its body glowed brilliantly with ruby; sapphire; amethyst; topaz; amber; cobalt and emerald lights as it took its place next to me.

(Rainbow Dragon - 4000/0000)

"Alright, now THAT'S a dragon!" Chazz said in amazement and awe.

"Rainbow Dragon..." Alexis breathed out, smiling in wonder. "It's beautiful."

"Way da' play, Jaden!" Syrus screamed in joy, jumping up and down in excitement.

I smiled, just as Rainbow Dragon leaned its head down towards me, and gently nuzzled me. I stroked its head, making it growl in contentment.

"Its been a while, old friend," I told it, still smiling. "I hope you're okay now, after your ordeal with Paradox."

It nodded slowly. I continued stroking its head. "Well then, let's show Nightshroud what we've got."

I looked back at Atticus, seeing him shake with fear at the sight of Rainbow Dragon. "Its over Nightshroud. I activate the spell card Polymerization!"

"Not on my watch, you don't!" Nightshroud said, smirking now. "I activate my Darkness Metal Dragons special ability! By discarding one card in my hand to the graveyard, I can negate the activation of any spell card that you play! So I discard my Cave Dragon to negate your Polymerization!"

Polymerization got destroyed, which made the others cry out in panic.

"This is bad!" Syrus said in a shaky voice. "Jaden depends on his fusion monsters! He can't win without them!"

"If Nightshroud can negate the activation of Polymerization, then Jaden is done for!" Alexis said, looking up at Rainbow Dragon. "The ability of Prisma only works for one turn: that means it will return back into its original form at the end of Jaden's turn, making it weaker than Atticus's Red Eyes!"

"It's a massive difference," Chazz added. "Red Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon has forty four hundred attack points, thanks to Atticus discarding Cave Dragon. Prisma only has eighteen hundred attack points, so that makes it a difference of twenty six hundred points of damage, which is what Jaden has left. Jaden better have something up his sleeve, or he's toast!"

Nightshroud finally smiled in victory. "Its over, Jaden Yuki. I will finally be able to consume this world in absolute darkness, and you will be its first victim. I knew your deck would be different from last time, so I decided to stick to the way things were back then. And it has caused you to fail."

I looked at him....and started to chuckle softly. Five seconds later, it was full blown laughing at how clueless he really was. The others frowned at me, Nightshroud looking more confused than the rest.

"What's so funny?" he demanded. "Don't you realise that you've lost? This duel is over!"

"Oh, its over alright," I said, my eyes closed. I looked up, and opened my eyes to reveal my Yubel coloured eyes. "For you that is."

"WHAT?!" Nightshroud exclaimed.

I picked another card out of my hand. "Why don't I show you what I mean? And here it is - the spell card known as Fusion Substitute! With this card, it's treated as Polymerization, and that means that I can perform a fusion summon right here, right now!"

"And Nightshroud can't stop it!" Alexis said in realisation. "He doesn't have any cards to discard to activate his dragons ability!"

"NO!" Nightshroud screamed.

"Alright, I fuse together Elemental HERO Neos and Rainbow Dragon, to form this!" I bellowed, raising my fist in the air, just as my two monsters got sucked into a portal of light and power. "With this fusion of friendship, I will conquer you and free my friend from your grasp!"

I looked up at the light. "Hero from the depths of space, and dragon shining with untouched might, become one and forge the bond of friendship! Come forth, mighty Rainbow Neos!"

The fusion form of Neos and Rainbow Dragon in the sky, floating down to my side. Its head had the face of my Elemental HERO, but the top of its head was that of Rainbow Dragon. It's wings were more graceful than before, and it had several qualities from Rainbow Dragon, as well as the muscular form of Neos. I managed to summon this card only three times, and now I was looking to make it a forth.

(Rainbow Neos - 4500/3000)

"He just fused them together..." Syrus said, his eyes sparkling.

"Incredible..." Alexis breathed out again, this time her eyes watering from the sight of Rainbow Neos.

"NO!" Nightshroud screamed, the look on Atticus's face showing a look of shock and horror. "BUT I WAS SO CLOSE TO ACHIEVING VICTORY!"

"And now it's time to end this madness now!" I announced. "I activate Rainbow Neos's special ability: by sending the top card of my deck to my graveyard, every single card in your graveyard is sent right back into your deck! And with all those dragons in there, I'll do just that!" I drew my top card - Winged Kuriboh - and immediately sent it to the graveyard.

"This can't be happening to me!" Nightshroud screamed, just as every single card in his graveyard sector flew back into his deck.

(Red Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon - 2800/2400)

"And now that your dragon is weakened, I ATTACK!" I shouted, punching my fist towards Atticus's monster. "Rainbow Neos, RAINBOW RADIANCE!"

Neos spread his wings outwards, and light glared from both of them. It was like watching massive streams of giga rays being fired out of its entire body, as it basically smashed into everything - the craggy walls, which crumbled; the ceiling, which rained dust down on all of us; and the ground, which cracked from the massive surge of intense power. The light rays slammed into Nightshroud's dragon, which roared in agony as it exploded into a fiery inferno, which blazed throughout the entire arena and underground cavern.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!" Nightshroud screamed, just as the blast reached him and he was engulfed by the flames. He howled, just as Atticus's body surged with dark energy. It enveloped him for several seconds, before it finally turned to smoke and vanished from sight. The flames died down, and my duel disk automatically turned off, since the duel was over.

Atticus groaned, clutching his chest with one hand. He crumbled to to his knees, panting wildly. He looked up, seeing that I was standing before him. He smiled weakly. "Thanks, Jay. I owe you one."

I smiled at him, just before the effects of the pain I had caught up with me. I too crumbled to my knees, feeling the injuries I received from Nightshroud returning to me. My arm killed and I think my ribs were broken.

"Jaden! Atticus!" Alexis exclaimed, looking at us in worry. She ran up to me, while the others ran up to Atticus, Chazz supporting Crowler who was still unconscious. "Are you okay?"

Alexis placed a hand on my arm, making me yelp in pain at the contact. She recoiled. "Sorry."

"It's alright," I groaned, rolling into my back. "Atticus...is he alright?"

She looked at Atticus, who was on his feet thanks to Syrus. "He's okay. Though I think you, Atticus and Crowler need to get to the infirmary."

My arm and broken ribs ached in agreement. "That sounds good."

Alexis was about to help me up, before I heard a roar of anger that made me turn my head around sharply. All of us gasped as a massive shadow in the form of a dragon appeared, its eyes glowing red as it glared and snarled at us. Suddenly, the exterior of the duelling arena burst into flames.

"You may have defeated me," it roared, "but I will NOT let you escape this place! I WILL NOT!"

Alexis quickly grabbed me underneath my arms, and started to quickly drag me away from the shadow-made dragon. "Syrus, HELP ME! We need to get out of here!"

Syrus quickly ran up to me, and draped one of my arms around his shoulders, supporting me, even though it hurt my arm like a thousand knives stabbing me. Atticus - despite his weak state - helped Chazz carry Crowler.

"Everyone RUN!" Alexis screamed, as we all ran through the flames and out through the entrance.
=============
Alexis POV

The flames were following us dramatically. They were licking the walls, like they were soaked in oil. I mean, all of us were running like mad, trying to escape the roaring blaze as it consumed the Dorm, but trying to escape when three of us were injured slowed us down.

"Guys, hurry up!" Chazz screamed, he and Atticus carrying a still unconscious Crowler on their shoulders. "This place is gonna blow!"

"We're going as fast as we can!" Syrus shouted back, sweat pouring down his face as the heat got too much. That, and the fact that he was helping me carry Jaden, who wasn't particularly light.

"I'm sorry," Jaden mumbled. "If I'm too heavy-"

"Don't worry about it!" I told him, giving him a determined smile. "We're getting out of here!"

Suddenly, we passed through the entrance of the cave and into the Abandoned Dorms hallway, which was blown apart from the obvious attacks of Red Eyes Black Dragon. The flames lit up the hallway, making it relatively easy to see...except for the fact that the whole place was now a raging inferno and smoke billowed everywhere.

"Come on, let's go! Move it!" Atticus grunted, as he and Chazz ran past me and Syrus and ran down the hall with Crowler.

"Alexis..." Jaden groaned. "Hurry..."

I looked worried at him, before nodding to Syrus. "Come on, let's get out of here!"

We were about to run forward, before an earth shattering roar shook us to our cores. I looked over my shoulder, and saw pitch black smoke appear from the doorway we just came out of. I was shaking badly, my arms and forehead sweaty, as I watched in horror as the black smoke took the form of a towering cloaked, skeletal figure.

"You will not escape!" it roared. "I won't let you!"

It raised its hand, a spark of energy appearing. Just before he fired the blast towards us, a burst of light appeared from Jaden's deck, and jumping in front of us and spreading what appeared to be arms. When the light died down, I saw that it was Yubel, her demonic form glaring at the shadowed figure and looking ready to protect Jaden at any cost.

"Not on my watch you won't," she snarled, firing a blast of energy towards the shadowed figure, making it stumble backwards. She immediately turned to us. "Go, now!"

I didn't need to be told twice. I shouldered Jaden's arm around my shoulder and started running with Syrus helping me.

We could see the Dorm entrance down the staircase we were on. I could see Chazz and Atticus rushing out of it, dragging Crowler out with them, so that meant they were safe at least. Me and Syrus rushed as fast as we could, with Yubel firing blast after blast of powerful energy at the shadowed figure, which was getting slower and slower each minute.

Jaden, who looked like he was about to pass out, groaned as he turned his head to his right to see Yubel fighting this thing. "Yubel...return to your card. You're losing...too much energy facing...him."

"I'm okay, Jaden," Yubel panted, clearly exhausted from releasing too much energy. "Don't worry about me. I'll be fine."

Jaden didn't look convinced. He forcefully made me and Syrus stop, and let go of our shoulders. "You guys go on! Me and Yubel will handle this!"

"But Jaden!" Syrus started. "You're not strong enough to even stand up!"

"I'm strong enough to make Nightshroud go away for now!" Jaden replied back, activating his duel disk and immediately placing five cards down on the disk. "You just get out of here! We'll be out in a minute!" He turned towards his duel disk. "Alright! Flare Neos, Shining Flare Wingman, Storm Neos, Chaos Neos, Magma Neos - come on out and attack!"

All five of his monsters appeared, immediately sending blasts of pure cosmic power towards Nightshroud, who roared as he was sent back into the Dorm hallway, which caused the flames engulfing the Dorm to become even more enraged.

Jaden turned to me and Syrus, his eyes firm and serious. "Guys, I'm not gonna say it again. Get out, NOW!"

I hesitated for a moment, reluctant to leave Jaden on his own in a inferno blazed Dorm that could come down any moment. But the firm look in his eyes clearly told me that it wasn't up for debate. I nodded and started to rush out, dragging Syrus out with me, who was screaming for Jaden to follow them.

Jaden turned to his Elemental HERO's. "Alright, boys! Let's do this!"

Me and Syrus rushed out of the entrance, coughing and spluttering heavily. Atticus and Chazz were pretty much the same, as we joined them at least twenty metres away from the Dorm. I collapsed to my hands and knees, coughing and trying to breathe, as sweat poured into my eyes and ran down my bare arms. Syrus collapsed on his back, breathing hard.

"Where's..." Atticus wheezed, giving a hacking cough before speaking. "Where's...Jaden?"

I looked back at the Dorm. "He's in there. Yubel and he are battling Nightshroud, but they've got o hurry. That Dorm is gonna come down at any minute."

"They'll be crushed in there!" Chazz exclaimed.

We all looked at the Dorm, just as the roof went ablaze with flames. The windows got smashed from the pressure of the heat and the doors were like a wall of fire. Suddenly, just as I was losing hope, I saw Jaden at the door entrance, ordering one of his monsters to attack again and again.

"Jaden!" I screamed, getting his attention. "Come on! Get out of there!"

Jaden looked at me, before rushing out of the doorway, making me feel hopeful again. I could see that his jacket was ripped in places and that his face was black from some of the smoke. Only two monsters followed him - Yubel and Magma Neos. At the last moment, Jaden turned around to face the Dorm.

Nightshroud was limping out of the doorway, tendrils of shadows coming off of him, as he glared at Jaden. "I won't forget this, Jaden Yuki! You will suffer for this, dearly!"

"Not today, Nightshroud!" Jaden shouted. "Magma Neos, Meteor Meltdown!"

His monster raised its arm, a colossal ball of fire and rock appearing, just as it sent that meteor of destruction at Nightshroud, blasting him back into the Dorm.

"NOOOOOOOOOO!!!" Nightshroud screamed. As he vanished from sight, the whole Dorm exploded from the blast, making Jaden and Yubel fly backwards with a scream. We all screamed as we were blasted backwards, right into the forest area around the now demolished Dorm.

I landed on the floor hard, banging my head. I groaned as I tried moving. I looked around me, my vision hazy and my ears ringing loudly. I could just make out the blazing inferno that use to be the Abandoned Dorm. I started dragging myself towards a red figure. When I got close to it, I saw that it was an unconscious Jaden.

I managed to reach him, placing a hand on his chest and shaking gently, trying to wake him up but to no such luck. I placed my head onto his chest, and I could hear a heartbeat, making me sigh in relief. He was alive at least. Then to one side, I saw Yubel unconscious as well, her card laying to one side of Jaden. I weakly picked her card up and immediately she vanished into her card, where I placed it back into Jaden's deck, as well as the other cards that was still on his now broken duel disk.

I was about to roll off of him, but I lost all ounce of my energy, so I just lay there, my head on his chest. The last thing I saw was a large crowd of people shouting to each other and running towards us as I completely blacked out.