Author's Note: I kind of rushed this at the end. I was starting to get bored with this. Took me like five days to write it. :/

Horrific Nightmare

"You know…" Syrus Truesdale drawled out slowly, looking at all of his friends that surrounded him: Alexis Rhodes, Atticus Rhodes, Aster Phoenix, Zane Truesdale, Bastian Misawa, Chazz Princeton, Tyranno Hassleberry, and Jesse Anderson.

Syrus continued, "I think Jaden has been acting…kind of weird lately, you know?"

"How weird?" Alexis wanted to know, a flummoxed expression painting her face. She was sitting on Jaden's bed, legs crossed. Her older brother, Atticus, was sitting beside her and not really paying attention.

"You haven't noticed?" Hassleberry questioned the female in surprise. "Jaden hasn't been eating at all! He's gone two whole days without food!"

"That is kind of strange." Bastian put in.

"Why am I even here?" Chazz wondered out loud, completely annoyed.

Everyone ignored the black haired young man.

"Is he sick?" Jesse asked.

"Who knows?" Aster answered for him, shrugging and looking just as clueless.

Zane remained silent.

"He's also been doing other strange things as well," Syrus went on again, lowering his voice. "Jaden's isn't bathing anymore, his hair somehow got longer to where it touches his shoulders, and he's been talking in this strange language that I've never heard of."

"If you ask me, it sounded evil." Hassleberry added. "Jaden' hasn't spoken to us in two days. He just keeps to himself most of the time, staring off into space."

Alexis looked very concerned. "Where is he now?"

"Yeah. We should talk to him about his odd behavior." Atticus input, now paying attention to what was being said.

"We don't know!" Syrus responded, a look of worriment shining in his eyes behind his glasses. "Hassleberry and I looked everywhere for him, but we couldn't find him!"

Jesse shook his head. "Now I'm startin' to get concerned."

"So am I." Aster joined in.

"Me three." Bastian talked.

"I could care less." Chazz commented harshly, a scornful look present on his features.

He went ignored.

"We should start looking now before something worse happens." Zane informed everyone, finally saying something for the first time since he got there. He stood to his feet and looked at the faces around him, seeing if they agreed.

Suddenly, to their horror, Jaden Yuki himself crawled out from underneath the bed Alexis was sitting on, brushing against her bare legs as he did. Alexis released a scream of surprise and fear, lifting her legs up and clinging to her brother beside her.

"Whoa!" Atticus was pretty startled himself; he latched onto his sister.

"What in tarnation?!" Hassleberry squawked.

"Jaden?!" Syrus caterwauled, jumping to his feet and grabbing onto his brother's arm.

Everyone else was just as shocked.

Jaden, now with incredibly long hair that covered almost his entire face, was now out from underneath the bed. He stopped in the center of Syrus' bedroom, crouched on the ground like an orangutan. The male wasn't wearing a shirt and was only dressed in his red boxers. He was breathing heavily, almost gasping for breath. A horrible and repulsive odor came from him and filled everyone's noses.

Everyone was either highly uneasy or immensely concerned and worried.

"J-Jaden…?" Aster stared at the boy, examining him with his eyes and holding his own nose as tears came to his eyes. The horrid smell that was coming from Jaden caused his eyes to tear up. It was incredibly foul. "What's happened to you? Where are your clothes?!"

"The hell…?" Chazz was covering his mouth and nose with his hands, staring at Jaden in horror.

"Jaden, say something." Zane was the only person that had remained calm in the room.

Jaden turned his attention on Zane, still gasping for breath. He started crawling towards Zane like gorilla. The closer he got to Zane, the more putrid the odor got. Zane resisted the urge to pinch his nose closed.

"Zane, what are you doing? Get away from that thing!" Chazz bellowed loudly.

"Shut up, Chazz!" Alexis snapped.

Chazz closed his mouth and then hurried towards the room door. "I'm out of here. I shouldn't have never come here." He growled and quickly exited the room, slamming the door behind him.

Nobody cared.

Jaden stopped in front of Zane, still crouched on the ground. The male raised his arms in the air, his elbows back. He lowered his head and appeared to be similar to a spider. He opened his mouth and let out an inhuman noise.

"Jaden…" Zane trailed off, coughing because the smell was so strong.

Jaden suddenly jumped up and tackled Zane to the ground, sitting upon his stomach and repeatedly bashing his head in with his fists. Zane managed to block some of Jaden's fists, but the boy was like a wild animal and it was hard. Jaden growled ferociously, slamming his fists into Zane's face.

"Jaden, stop!" Syrus exclaimed loudly, grabbing his friend. Hassleberry and Bastian ran over to help stop Jaden. They managed to grab him and hold him down onto the ground, trying to ignore the horrible odor coming from him. Jaden howled like a monkey and thrashed against his three friends, shouting in some foreign language.

"Geez! Stop!" Hassleberry hollered.

"Somebody call the police!" Bastian yelled.

"No! Don't!" Syrus cried, not wanting his friend to be put in jail.

"He's clearly insane, Syrus!" Bastian informed him, pushing his elbow down onto Jaden's chest.

"He's still my friend!" Syrus yowled.

"Alexis, call the police!" Bastian ignored Syrus' protests, struggling to keep Jaden down.

Alexis hesitated before shakily taking out her cell phone. She dialed the police and called them immediately, informing them of what had happened and everything. While she did that, Atticus, Aster, and Jesse went to see if Zane was okay.

It took ten minutes for the police to arrive.

Jaden Yuki was arrested. It took about eleven people to do so because Jaden had been incredibly strong and very persistent. Everyone also found out that Jaden had beaten Zane into a coma, which Syrus cried about.

Everyone was asked questions and whatnot.

When everything was through, Alexis, Atticus, Jesse, and Aster were the only ones heading on home. Syrus and Hassleberry stayed at the hospital with Zane who was still in a coma, and Chazz had left long before the drama had occurred.

"I don't understand…" Alexis whispered to her brother, hugging herself as she recalled the terrible events that had taken place in Syrus' home.

"We'll find out more about Jaden's condition tomorrow, sis," Atticus told his sister, putting an arm around her shoulders. "Don't worry. Jaden's strong. He'll get better."

Alexis wasn't so sure about that.

"Well, I'm off." Aster told them, stopping in front of Syrus' house. It was night and it was starting to get cold. He got into his white car and drove off instantly, not waiting for his friends' goodbyes.

"Why is this happening?" Jesse wondered out loud, shaking his head.

"I don't know." Atticus sighed.

"Goodnight, guys. See you tomorrow…" Jesse told them solemnly before departing.

"Come on, sis." Atticus walked over to his car, opening the door for her.

Alexis looked at him before getting in herself, quickly putting her seatbelt on. Atticus got behind the wheel and started up the car. Then, he took off into the night, driving them both back home.

Alexis stared out of the window, uneasy and weary. She knew that something was terribly wrong. The female knew that something worse was going to happen.

[Aster]

Turning on the radio as he drove, Aster sighed through his nose. He was desperately trying to get the memories of what had happened out of his head. Whenever he thought about the way Jaden had smelled, he would feel bile rise into his throat. However, he would always force it back down.

Aster noticed he was getting farther and farther away from civilization as he drove along in the darkness. He turned his high beams on as he listened to the music of the radio. He was now passing through a deserted road in the middle of nowhere, hundreds and hundreds of trees on either side of him. The male started cursing himself for living so far out. Still, it didn't take too long to get to his house. Soon, in about ten to fifteen minutes, he would be back in civilization.

Suddenly, the worst happened.

Something jumped out from in front of his car. It looked like a human, but it wasn't human at the same time. It had long hair and looked vaguely familiar. Aster instantly turned the wheel to the left, barely missing the animal in the road. His car careened into a tree and the airbag burst out of the steering wheel, blasting Aster in the face.

He blacked out.

When he woke up, Aster could feel blood trickling down the side of his head. He groaned in pain and sat up, looking around at his now destroyed car. Trying not to panic, Aster removed his seatbelt and slid out of the car, falling down onto the grass below. His headlights were still on. Aster got to his feet and rummaged through his pocket, a little dazed. He had to call someone.

As the boy began dialing the necessary numbers for help on his phone that he had pulled out of his pocket, he stumbled towards the dark road and behind his vehicle. He started to remember how and why he crashed in the first place.

He had seen an animal in the middle of the road, but…it seemed human and familiar somehow.

Fingers now trembling, Aster stopped pounding away at the digits on his phone, searching around for the thing he almost hit with his car. How long had he been out? He didn't know. All he knew was that fear was beginning to build up within him.

Turning back towards his busted car, he caught a glimpse of something behind the tree that the car was connected to. He saw something move from behind there. Aster hesitated before calling out, "Hello?"

Suddenly, Jaden, came out from behind the tree, bounding towards him like a ferocious and feral beast. He growled loudly and Aster turned and started running away, heart slamming against his chest due to immense fear.

H-How is this possible?! Those people took him away! Aster thought in panic as he ran down the dark street. He could hear Jaden pursuing him, screeching loudly. He was getting closer and closer.

Aster glanced over his shoulder and saw that Jaden was almost near him. The boy noticed that Jaden was moving like a rabid gorilla now, leaping along towards him and howling like a wolf, revealing rows of sharp teeth, long hair flailing behind him the faster he went.

Aster soon found himself on the ground with the monster on top of him. The last thing he saw before he died was Jaden's gruesome and horrific face…

[The next day…]

Yawning loudly, Chazz grabbed a bagel off of the table in his kitchen and poured himself a glass of milk. Finished with that, he made his way into his large living room. He sat down upon a comfy sofa and turned on the flat screen TV in front of him with a remote. Immediately, the news flashed on.

A news reporter woman with long blonde hair was standing there on the screen on a road. There was a car smashed into a tree and an ambulance on many other things were there as well. The lady on the screen was talking and Chazz turned it up to hear it better.

"…unfortunately, the victim, who was identified as Aster Phoenix, was found dead not too far from the accident," The reporter was saying with an emotionless expression on her face. "It appears that he had been literally beaten to death until his body was unrecognizable. So far, the murderer hasn't been found…"

Chazz could feel his whole body shaking at what he just heard. He could see a picture of Aster pop up on the screen beside the news reporter's face. He couldn't hear what she was saying next because he was too out of it and in complete disbelief now. The black haired boy dropped his glass of milk and allowed it to spill all over the carpet.

"What…" Chazz whispered, breathless and eyes wide. He couldn't believe it. He just couldn't believe it.

Aster was dead.

"What's up with you?" His older brother, Slade, questioned him as he stepped into the living room. He then noticed the spilt milk on the carpet and scowled. "Look what you did!"

"What's going on?" His other older brother, Jagger, asked as he came in on the scene.

Chazz ignored them, a horrified expression plastered upon his face.

"Hey, Chazz! I'm talking to you!" Slade shouted, grabbing his brother's shoulder and shaking him.

"Don't touch me!" Chazz snapped suddenly, getting to his feet shakily.

Slade pulled his hand away as if he had been burned. He was annoyed at his brother now and so was Jagger for some reason. They had no idea why their brother was behaving this way.

Chazz suddenly collapsed to his knees, finding it hard to breathe. Aster had just been alive last night and now he was gone forever. What happened? Who had killed him? Why did this have to happen?

"Chazz!" Jagger yelled at his brother, now looking concerned.

"What's wrong?!" Slade added.

Chazz said nothing.

[A few days later…]

Alexis removed a tear that had been sliding down her cheek as she stood beside her brother in the rain. Her hands were shaking and she was clutching her brother's arm while he held an umbrella over their heads.

They were now currently attending Aster's funeral.

Alexis had been sleeping when her brother got the phone call from Chazz. Atticus had woken her up and delivered the devastating news of Aster's sudden and premature death. Alexis hadn't believed it at first, but then had broken down when she realized it was true.

Now here they were, at his funeral.

It was a rainy and gloomy day, very fitting for a solemn event. All of Aster's family was there and so were all his friends and other people who had known him. The casket that contained Aster's body had been shut closed because of how horrible his body had suffered from the assault.

As she stood there in her sadness next to her brother, she began to wonder who had done such a thing to Aster and why. She couldn't think of anyone that would do such a thing to Aster. As far as she knew, there was nobody who hated him or wanted him dead.

Lifting her head slightly, Alexis could see Chazz standing next to his brothers in the rain. His brothers had umbrellas, but Chazz did not and let the rain soak him. From where she stood, Chazz looked like a ghost. His eyes were downcast and he seemed extremely solemn.

Then, she caught a glimpse of something behind Chazz in the trees and across the other gravestones that decorated the cemetery. It was very brief, but she thought she could see someone moving within the trees. It moved like an animal, but seemed strangely familiar.

Shaking her head, Alexis dismissed it as seeing things and turned her head a little to peer at her brother. There was an emotionless expression adorning his facial features and his eyes were dark with sadness. Alexis tightened her grip on his arm and removed her gaze from him, watching as Aster's casket lowered into the ground. She could hear people sobbing and hear words of departure, wishing Aster a good journey to heaven.

Alexis could feel another tear escape her eye as they began to bury the casket, trapping Aster's body beneath the ground forever. She wiped the tear from her cheek and sniffled, seeing Syrus, Hassleberry, Jesse, and Bastian lightly weeping for their lost friend. Syrus, however, was crying his eyes out.

[Later…]

Bastian sighed heavily as he climbed into his bed. Today was a very sad day for him. He had never attended a funeral before and it left him shaken up inside. Bastian tried to figure out who would kill Aster.

"I don't understand any of this…" Bastian murmured to himself, turning out his room lights as he got comfortable in his bed. He pulled a blanket over his body and shut his eyes.

Everything was now quiet.

Bastian opened his eyes when he heard a strange noise come out from beneath his bed. He frowned and thought he was hearing things until he heard it again. The young man sat up in his bed and turned on the room lights.

"What in the world…?" He muttered to himself, getting out of his bed and lifting the blankets up to peer underneath the bed. Instantly, he could see a pair of glowing eyes staring right back at him. At first, Bastian thought it was an animal, but realized that the eyes were very familiar.

Jumping away, Bastian let out a holler of fright, knowing who was underneath his bed.

It was Jaden.

"Wh-What…?" Bastian exclaimed loudly, backing away in perplexity and fear as he watched the thing crawl out from under the bed. Jaden was now crouched on the ground on all fours like a spider, an extremely wide grin stretching across his face. It was abnormally large.

Then, all at once, Jaden released a terrible howl and started slithering towards Bastian like a hideous snake.

Bastian turned and ran.

The young man slammed the door shut behind him and locked it, hearing harsh bangs on the other side of the door as the beast tried to escape. Breathing heavily, Bastian made his way down into his basement, thinking it was the safest place in the house. On his way there, he had grabbed a knife from the kitchen. He made sure the basement door was locked thoroughly.

He stood there at the bottom of the basement in the dark, gripping his weapon tightly, his heart pounding against his chest painfully. The male had never been so scared in his entire life. He could hear the sounds of the monster thrashing against his room door, could hear the door finally break down.

Bastian remained as silent as possible.

He listened as the sound of vicious crawling could be heard from above. A few minutes later and the noises stopped in front of the basement door. Bastian stood there like a statue, perspiration wetting his skin. His heart beat had increased dramatically, trying to break his chest in two. He felt like he was going to throw up because of how much fear he was experiencing. Bastian was completely petrified.

A horrible odor began to fill his nostrils, coming from the top of the basement stairs, coming straight from what was behind the basement door. Bastian coughed and almost vomited right there because of how strong the smell was. It was like the smell had gotten fouler than the first time.

A loud and hideous shriek pierced the air and the basement door flew off its hinges, crashing down the basement stairs loudly. Bastian jumped and almost yelled in fright at what just happened. Thinking quickly, he hurried behind a couple of large crates, clutching his knife tightly in his sweaty hands. He tried to control his breathing as he heard the beast climbing down the stairs and into the basement.

It was then that Bastian realized something. Going into the basement, he had set himself up. He was now trapped in his house down in his dark basement with that foul creature that had once been Jaden. Listening closely, Bastian could hear Jaden making odd croaking sounds as it looked around for him.

It knew he was down there!

Conjuring up a plan in his mind, Bastian decided that when the monster got farther away from the basement stairs, he would make a run for it. Hearing the creature getting closer and closer to his hiding spot, Bastian gathered up all of the remaining courage he had and bounced up from behind the crates. He immediately sprinted towards the stairs and started running up them as fast as he could, gasping for breath as he did.

Suddenly, he could hear Jaden behind him, growling like a deranged person that had escaped from an asylum. Letting out a horrible cry of fear, he could feel the thing latch onto his ankle. The knife slipped from his grip and went tumbling elsewhere as the monster dragged him down the stairs.

"HELP ME!" Bastian cried out.

He went unheard…

[The next day…]

"Hey, you want some breakfast, sis?" Atticus questioned his sister as she gloomily entered the kitchen. He was currently cooking something on the stove.

Alexis took a seat at the kitchen table, breathing out a heavy and moody sigh. She was still thinking about everything that had happened, which consisted of Aster's death and what was happening to Jaden. She wanted to go visit him at the asylum that he had been taken to. Alexis wanted to see if the real Jaden was still in there somewhere and she wanted to know how he got like that. First, she'd go to his house.

"Atticus?" Alexis spoke.

Atticus turned around to look at her. "What is it?"

"We need to go to Jaden's house," Alexis answered him in a flat tone of voice. "We need to start investigating and see what happened to make him like that."

"I think we should just…leave it alone," Atticus murmured, turning back around to finish cooking. "I mean, I'm very curious as to what happened to make him like that, but I think, if we keep looking into it, something bad will happen."

"Don't be ridiculous…" Alexis muttered, but knew that it was true.

Atticus looked at her again. "Remember what happened to Aster…"

"I remember…" Alexis whispered quietly, solemnly. "But I just…I just want to know. You don't have to come with me if you don't want to, Atticus."

"I'll go with you. I can't have my little sister going at this alone." Atticus informed her, shrugging. "Let's have breakfast and then go to Jaden's house to do some investigating."

Alexis smiled a little, sadly. "Thanks."

"No problem, sis." Atticus said.

[Later…]

Atticus stopped the car in front of Jaden's house. He put the car in park and then removed his seatbelt. Alexis was already out of the car before he could get out, and so was Jesse. Yes, Jesse had decided to come along after Alexis had asked. Jesse wanted to know what had made Jaden like that as well.

Atticus got out of the vehicle and shut the door behind him, making sure the doors were locked. He gazed at the towering house before him. It was normal size; nothing too big or too fancy. Jaden really didn't care what kind of house he lived in. All he really cared about were his friends and dueling.

The brown haired male released a loud and deep sigh, realizing that it seemed so long ago when Jaden had been so carefree and laughing with them all. He remembered when Jaden used to duel everybody and always shout his catchphrase. It all seemed like a dream. Now it was a dream that somehow horrifically transfigured into a hellish nightmare.

"Atticus, are you comin'?" Jesse's voice shattered Atticus' thoughts.

Atticus shook his head and then nodded, walking over to the front door of the house where Jesse and Alexis stood. "Y-Yeah! I'm coming."

"It's unlocked…" Alexis commented quietly, opening the front door of the house. Once she did, however, a horrible and putrid smell filled their nostrils and caused them to cough, making their eyes tear up.

"Holy crap…!" Jesse exclaimed, holding a hand over his nose and mouth. "It smells like something died in here!"

"It doesn't matter. We have to go inside." Alexis said from behind her hand, her voice muffled. She was the first one to step a foot inside the house. It was almost as if the house itself was a decaying body.

Atticus had an extremely bad feeling about all of this, but ventured further into the house, following his sister and making sure to stay close to her. Jesse followed close behind, not noticing the door shutting behind them…

[The hospital…]

Syrus sighed through his nose, squeezing his older brother's hands between his own as he sat at his bedside. He watched behind his glasses as his brother slept in his deep coma.

The blue haired boy had fallen into a deep depression after what had taken place at his home that horrible night. His brother, Zane, had still not waken up. Syrus read about comas and hated what he learned. He had no idea of when Zane would wake up or if he would ever wake up. Syrus was completely traumatized and made sure to stay at his brother's bedside every single day, only going home to bathe.

The boy wasn't just depressed because of what happened to his brother, but he was depressed because of who put his brother in the coma.

Jaden.

How could he do something like this? Syrus thought to himself, a tear rolling down his cheek. That wasn't Jaden! Jaden could never do something so horrible! A-And if that thing is Jaden then…then the real Jaden isn't in there anymore! The boy's body started trembling due to the sobs that were about to erupt from his mouth. He bowed his head and squeezed his brother's hand even tighter, willing him to wake up.

But he never did.

"Zane…" Syrus whispered sorrowfully, staring at his brother's sleeping face. "…please wake up."

Suddenly, Hassleberry trekked into the hospital room. "You doin' okay, soldier?" He questioned Syrus, stopping beside him in concern.

Hurriedly, Syrus removed his tears and straightened up, nodding his head. "I'm fine." He murmured softly.

"Don't lie." Hassleberry warned knowingly.

Syrus lowered his gaze to the floor. "How is everyone else holding up?"

"Nobody's the same," Hassleberry muttered, dropping down into a chair beside Syrus, shaking his head wearily. "Nobody has ever been the same since that night, especially after Aster…" He trailed off, unable to finish.

"Yeah…" Syrus muttered solemnly. "What about Chazz?"

"What about him?"

"Did…any of this affect him? He wasn't there when…when Jaden…" Syrus couldn't finish as he brought his gaze back to his older sibling in the bed, a coma plaguing him still.

Hassleberry slowly nodded his head. "He…he was the first one to find out about Aster's…passing. He's pretty shaken up about it. I haven't heard from him since the funeral."

"Oh." Syrus talked.

"Yeah." Hassleberry sighed.

"I'm kind of thirsty…" Syrus reluctantly released his brother's hand, standing to his feet. "I'm going to grab something to drink and probably something to snack on."

Hassleberry suddenly jumped to his feet. "I'll do it for ya. Don't worry."

Syrus sat back down. "Are you sure?"

"Positive."

"Okay. Thanks." Syrus said.

"No problem." Hassleberry told him, leaving the room afterwards.

The male shut the door behind him and started sauntering down a long corridor. For some reason, everything seemed incredibly quiet. There were no nurses or doctors around or anything. This made Hassleberry a little uneasy, but he guessed that they had all gotten busy or were all just somewhere else.

When Hassleberry reached the vending machines, he used his money to get something to drink for Syrus and a bag of potato chips. Done with that, he started to slowly make his way back. However, he immediately halted in his tracks when he saw something crawl into one of the rooms on his right up ahead. It looked like some kind of animal, but vaguely familiar.

His uneasiness growing, Hassleberry picked up his pace and continued moving, thinking that he had been seeing things. It was impossible for an animal to be in the hospital. It just wasn't possible whatsoever.

As he continued onwards, the lights started to go off from behind him and the corridor appeared to stretch on endlessly. It seemed that the more he walked, the longer the room appeared. Soon enough, Hassleberry started jogging, clutching the bag of potato chips and the beverage in his hands tightly. His breathing increased in speed and his heart hammered against his chest.

All of a sudden, he began to hear a loud croaking sound from behind him as the lights continued to go shut down, shrouding the back of the corridor in darkness. The darkness was reaching him and so were the croaking sounds.

"Hello?!" Hassleberry cried out, looking around, not knowing what was occurring.

He was scared.

The male turned around and saw that the darkness had reached him. He felt around in the darkness, panting. His heart was now trying to tear through his chest because of how hard it was beating. His fear grew dramatically and he felt like he was going to faint.

Suddenly, he felt something pounce upon him, screeching loudly and pounding his face in repeatedly. Hassleberry yowled in fright and pain, trying to get away, but his attempts at escape were futile…

[Back with Syrus…]

The power had gone out.

Syrus looked up in surprise, searching around with his eyes in the darkness. "Huh? The power's out…" He murmured in confusion, his eyes finally adjusting to the blackness.

A doctor poked his head into the room, shining a flashlight in Syrus' face. Syrus jumped in surprise and fright when he saw the man, but then relaxed when he realized it was just a doctor.

"Everything okay in here?" He asked.

"Yes. What's going on?" Syrus queried curiously.

"Power's out." The doctor retorted.

"Obviously." Syrus shot back.

"It'll be back on shortly. Will you be fine in here with him?" The doctor questioned.

"Yes, but my friend is out there somewhere. He had gone to get me a snack and something to drink," Syrus explained quickly. "I don't know if he got lost in the dark or something. He's been gone for quite a while now…"

It had been forty minutes since Hassleberry left.

"I'll find him." The doctor promised before exiting the room. Syrus watched him leave.

A few minutes later and he heard something strange.

It sounded as if there was a struggle and the sound of someone…gurgling water. Then, there was the loud sound of something falling to the ground, like a dull 'thud'. Syrus stared at the entrance to the room, noticing the doctor had left the door open.

"D-Doctor…?" Syrus muttered out.

Then, to his great fear, a wild animal charged into the room, bounding towards him like an enraged gorilla.

Syrus had no time to shout.

[Back with Alexis, Atticus, and Jesse…]

"Should we split up?" Jesse suggested wonderingly, looking at the two individuals that had come into Jaden's house with him. Alexis was currently staring at a photo of Jaden and Syrus on the wall next to a short staircase, nostalgia present on her features. Atticus was busy looking around in the small kitchen.

"I think we should…" Alexis complied quietly, running a finger over of the photo of the happy looking Jaden and Syrus. She began to wonder if she would ever see that same Jaden again.

"Guys, I think you should come in here and look at this!" Atticus yelled suddenly.

Alexis and Jesse wasted no time in getting into the kitchen to find out what was up. After getting into the kitchen, a putrid odor smashed into the both of them and almost caused them to vomit right then and there. Atticus was standing in front of an open fridge, pointing into it.

"What is it?" Alexis asked from behind her hand.

"Yeah…?" Jesse was curious also, but repulsed by the smell. Honestly, he just wanted to get out of there as soon as possible.

Alexis moved a little closer and peered into the fridge. When her eyes made contact with dozens of rotting corpses of various small animals, the vomit almost leapt out of her mouth. She stumbled back and choked, swallowing the bile back down her throat. The female almost fell to the ground, but Jesse caught her in his arms, also witnessing the horrible sight.

"What in the heck is this?" Jesse demanded to know, coughing with his eyes watering.

"It…it looks like Jaden had been eating these things…" Atticus mumbled out, looking sick.

Alexis pulled away from Jesse and stumbled out of the kitchen. Atticus hurriedly went over to her, deeply concerned for his younger sibling. When he reached her, he found her leaning against a wall, hand over her mouth. Her eyes were wide with fear and disbelief.

"Sis…are you alright?" Atticus questioned, rubbing her back gently.

"N-No…!" Alexis responded harshly, sitting up straight. "I need to find out what happened to him!" Then she took off up the stairs to Jaden's room. Atticus immediately went after her, but Jesse stayed downstairs.

Jesse had heard something from a dark room in the house and had gone inside, the door shutting behind him…

Upstairs, Alexis finally reached Jaden's room and had gone inside. Surprisingly, there was no foul odor in there. The room, however, looked as if a terrible hurricane had gone through it. Papers with strange markings were scattered about and some other foreign objects. It looked like Jaden had been performing some kind of ritual in his room.

Going over to a computer, Alexis sat down at Jaden's desk and turned on the computer, trying to find some kind of evidence or something. Atticus was busy scanning the room with his eyes. He spotted a book with a black cover resting on the bed. He slowly picked it up and flipped through the pages, horrified to see blood staining some of the dull stationary as he went through it. He couldn't read anything in the book because it was in a completely different language, a demonic looking language. Something about the book made Atticus feel greatly uncomfortable. The whole room he was standing in felt…evil. It made him uneasy and he just knew something bad was going to happen.

"Atticus…" His sister's voice broke through the silence.

Atticus closed the book and turned his attention to his sibling. He stepped over to her and put his eyes on the computer screen, seeing a video. Alexis pressed play and turned up the volume so they could hear.

To their surprise, a normal looking Jaden popped up on the screen, sitting where Alexis was sitting at the moment. He looked ordinary, like nothing had ever happened to him. However, there was a grim expression coloring his facial features.

"I…" He started, his voice coming out quiet. "…I've never been so afraid in my life…"

Alexis' throat tightened when she heard him say that. She could hear the terrible trepidation in his tone and it almost made her tremble. Jaden had never shown fear before.

"I shouldn't have ever used that book. I thought I was doing something good. I thought I was going to discover ancient duel monsters, but I…I was so wrong." Jaden said on the monitor, his voice broken.

Alexis felt Atticus put a hand on her shoulder and she tensed, realizing that she had been holding her breath. She exhaled deeply and forced herself to continue watching.

"I'm not…I'm not the same anymore. I don't feel hungry for food anymore, but for unusual things like animals…" He went on. "I have this sudden urge to kill. I don't feel like myself. I know Sy is starting to get worried about me. I really don't want him to be. I don't want any of my friends to be worried, really."

Then the video went off.

Alexis shakily clicked the next video, almost shivering in fear. She played the video.

Jaden was on the screen, but he was just staring straight ahead, unmoving. A lifeless expression was plastered upon his face and he looked like a zombie. Alexis had to move the video forward because Jaden wasn't doing anything and only staring. He was staring and sitting there for five hours straight, doing nothing whatsoever.

"What…what happened to him?" Atticus asked, dropping the book he had been holding.

Alexis didn't answer as she clicked the next video, immediately playing it. She was determined to find out what exactly happened to Jaden. She knew he had been doing something wrong, something that had something to do with a book. When she was through at his home, she would go to the asylum he was taken to and she would try to talk to him.

The video started playing and Jaden was still sitting in the same spot, but his hair had grown longer and he looked like he hadn't bathed in quite a while. There was blood on him and it was extremely dark in the background. Jaden released a long sigh, showing rows and rows of sharp teeth. Then, all of a sudden, he slammed his head into the computer screen and the video ended.

Alexis jumped and fell out of the chair. Atticus rapidly helped her up, swallowing hard. "Atticus, I need to go see him. You get rid of that book somehow." Alexis told him, pointing at the book on the ground that Atticus had dropped.

"I'm coming with you!" Atticus exclaimed. "I'm not letting you go see him alone!"

"I'll be fine," Alexis persisted, pulling her brother into an embrace. "You and Jesse find a way to destroy that book forever. I have a feeling everything started with that book. Do something about it and do it quick, okay?"

Atticus hesitated before reluctantly nodding. He picked up the book and sighed heavily. "Be careful. If something happens, don't hesitate to call me, alright? I love you." He told her.

"I love you too, Atticus." Alexis said before leaving the room. She hurried down the stairs and left the house, taking Atticus' car and driving off.

After she was gone, Atticus got on his phone and dialed Chazz's number…

[Chazz…]

Chazz rested on his bed, tossing a baseball up and down repeatedly. He was in a very solemn mood and really didn't feel like talking to anybody. His brothers weren't that concerned for him and let him do his own thing.

Suddenly, his phone rang.

Chazz picked up his cell phone and realized that the caller was Atticus. Chazz frowned before answering, hoping that he wasn't going to deliver some bad news. "Hello?" He spoke into the phone, dreadful.

"Chazz, I need you to do something for me." Atticus said in a rushed tone of voice.

"What is it?" Chazz wanted to know, sitting up in his bed and throwing the baseball elsewhere.

"Alexis went to go see Jaden at the asylum. I need you to go there and make sure she's safe. I don't want anything to happen to her." Atticus explained quickly.

Chazz's frown deepened and he thought about what Atticus said. Why was Alexis going to see that thing anyway? Chazz really didn't want to get involved, but this was Alexis. He had strong feelings for her and he'd do anything for her.

"Fine." He breathed.

"Thanks, Chazz." Atticus remarked.

"What are you guys doing anyway?" Chazz wondered out loud, getting off of his bed and slipping on his shoes. "Are you investigating or something?"

"Something like that."

Chazz stepped out of his room and shut the door behind him, keeping his phone to his ear. He exited his house and then slammed the door shut behind him, getting into his black car and starting it up. "I don't think you guys should…some things should be left unexplained."

"I know, but this is something Alexis wanted to do. She really cares for Jaden, you know."

Chazz froze, almost deciding not to go to the asylum with Alexis after all, but knew that it was the wrong thing to do. He'd do this for Alexis. "Right." He muttered.

"Jesse?"

Chazz felt perplexed now. "Huh? Jesse isn't here."

Atticus didn't seem to hear him. "J-Jesse…!"

"Atticus, what's going on?" Chazz questioned.

Suddenly, Chazz could hear the sound of a body being thrown against the ground. A hideous growl could be heard and Atticus could be heard hollering in agony in the background.

Then the phone went dead.

Chazz dropped his phone and took off quickly to the asylum. Obviously something horrible had happened to Atticus and Chazz wasn't going to let anything happen to Alexis. He had to get to Alexis before whatever got Atticus got to Alexis.

[Alexis…]

Alexis removed herself from her brother's vehicle, shutting the door behind her. The dark asylum was located in the center of the forest. The day was moving into deep evening as Alexis stared at the looming asylum in front of her. It looked old and towered over the trees, frightening and nightmarish.

The female ignored her fears and approached the asylum, expecting to be greeted by someone, but there was nobody around. She passed through iron gates and marched towards the double doors of the massive building. When she reached it, she pushed the doors opened and stepped on in, flinching when the doors slammed shut behind her.

In front of her was a dimly lit corridor. It was narrow and it was extremely quiet. Everything she was feeling was telling her to leave and get back into the car, but she didn't. She stayed where she was, trying to appear fearless. Alexis had to find Jaden and had to find out what was going on. Things weren't right at all. Things were dark. Things were evil.

As she trekked through the corridor, Alexis stopped at a front desk, expecting someone to be there, but there wasn't anybody there at all. It was empty. It was like the whole asylum was abandoned. Alexis turned away from the desk and started jogging down the corridor, searching around for where Jaden might be. Her breathing increased as she began to hear horrific noises from all around her. Just when she reached the end of the corridor, something tackled her to the ground.

Alexis groaned when her back made contact with the ground below. She looked up and almost screamed in terror. Jaden was on top of her, mounting her like a spider. He was growling loudly and foam was dripping from his mouth, falling onto her. Alexis tried to calm her racing heart, but it was futile. She whimpered, petrified.

"J-Jaden…" She whispered, trying not to gag at the hideous odor that came from him.

Jaden howled like a wolf and growled like a dog.

"What happened to you?" Alexis asked gently, quietly. She brought a hand up to Jaden's cheek, cupping it. Jaden seemed to freeze and he looked like his normal self again.

"A-Alexis…?" Jaden spoke, trembling.

Alexis gave him a sad smile, tears appearing in her eyes. "Jaden…it's me."

"Alexis…" Jaden moved off of her quickly, breathing heavily and putting his hands to his head, shutting his eyes. "What's going on?! What am I doing?!"

Alexis sat up. "Don't worry, Jaden. I'm here to help you. Calm down."

"Alexis, get away from that thing!" Chazz's voice could be heard. He was rushing towards them with a baseball bat in his hands.

Immediately, Jaden transformed back to the horrific beast, crouching down onto the ground like the gorilla he was. He howled horribly and bounded towards Chazz like a rabid animal that could never be tamed. Chazz was ready for him, holding up the bat and getting ready to swing.

Alexis jumped in front of Chazz at the last minute, crying out, "No!"

Chazz swung the bat.

The bat made contact with Alexis' head. Alexis dropped to the ground like a brick, her head smashed in. Chazz dropped the bat instantly, horrified at what he had done. Jaden had halted and was now staring at Alexis on the ground.

"Alexis, I'm so…I'm so sorry!" Chazz dropped to his knees beside the girl, shaking uncontrollably.

Alexis was now barely awake. She was staring up at Chazz in a dazed manner, her head bleeding. Her eyes moved to see behind him and saw that Jaden was looming over the male. Alexis wanted to tell Chazz to watch out, but Jaden had jumped onto his back, biting into his neck and pulling out a chunk of skin.

The last thing she heard was the horrible yowls of agony coming from Chazz. The last thing she saw was Jaden ripping Chazz apart...

Nobody knows what really happened to Jaden Yuki.

Everything was left unexplained…

…and unexplained it shall stay.