The final chapter is here! WOOHOO! As you can see, I am happy.

Thank you to Guest, AntauriFangirl13, Ricku28, decode9, DarkZorua100, Sorcerer of the Stories, EndlessNight025, Lightclaw's Shadow, Kamen Rider Sting, Lightningblade49, a1993, reven228, Vanishing Raptor and iloveyugiohGX93 for reviewing the last chapter. You guys are the greatest!

And thank you, as usual, to EndlessNight025 for being an awesome beta-reader.

Well, here we are. The final duel of Season 1. And, as I promised, the first chapter of Chained will be posted within minutes of this chapter being posted so let's get to the climatic showdown between Zane and Jaden!

I hope that you enjoy this chapter and reviews, as always, are much appreciated.

40

The Graduation Duel

It was getting close to the end of the school year and Zane was lying on his bed, going over the events of a few days earlier.

Flashback

The third year students from every dorm were gathered in Crowler's classroom and watched as the top ten students' overall scores were broadcasted on a large screen, with the top spot being given to Zane Truesdale with a perfect score.

"Congrats, Zane, you've done it again," Crowler congratulated the navy-blue haired boy. "With the highest scores, you'll be able to headline this year's grad match. All that's left is to choose your opponent. So, who will it be?"

End Flashback

Zane had been given some time to decide who to go against for the graduation duel and he was undecided.

After thinking about for a while longer, the Kaiser sat up. Actually, I have two in mind, but one of them is still recovering from the duel against Kagemaru and Ms. Fontaine hasn't cleared her to duel yet. "That just leaves one person," he murmured with a small smile. "It looks like you'll get your rematch, Jaden."

. . .

Jaden was relaxing in his dorm room, gazing up at the underside of the bunk above him and talking quietly with Yubel when there was a knock on the door.

Syrus got to his feet and walked over to the door before opening it and crying out in shock.

Jaden sat up as Syrus stepped back as his older brother stepped into the dorm, looking around. Syrus blushed in embarrassment. "Sorry about that," he said. "I never expected to see you, big brother."

"Zane always freaks you out, Sy," Jaden said, getting to his feet. "So, what brings you here?"

"You know, in my entire three years at the Academy, I've never set foot in this dorm," Zane mused. "It's nice to finally have a reason to now."

"A reason? What reason?" Jaden asked curiously.

"For a duel," the Kaiser replied.

"Are you serious?" Syrus asked.

"Very. In my grad match, I'm supposed to pick my opponent. Originally, I would have been torn between deciding between you Jaden and Kasumi but since Ms. Fontaine hasn't cleared Kasumi to duel yet, that solves that problem."

"Sounds sweet," Jaden said.

"The Grad Match!" Syrus exclaimed. "That's the biggest match of the year."

"Right, 'till then," Zane said, making his way to the door. "But, you know, this dorm room, it suits you two kids well." And, with that, he left with a smile.

Jaden sat back down and smiled a little. "The last match of the year, and I'm in it."

"Yeah but, remember, Zane's basically undefeated, even though he lost to Camula to save me. He's still a powerful duelist and you've lost to him," Syrus pointed out.

"Guess that's what I have to improve on," Jaden said with a shrug as he set to work on his deck.

. . .

"So you and Jaden are gonna duel in the Grad Duel?" Kasumi asked after Zane walked into the infirmary where she was getting her check-up.

Zane nodded. "It would have been tough to decide between him and you, had you been cleared to duel," he said.

"You would've wanted to duel me?" Kasumi asked.

"You are a strong duelist, Kasumi, and I would have liked to see just how strong you are for myself," Zane explained.

"Wish I was cleared to duel, then," Kasumi said. "But Ms. Fontaine insists that I'm not well enough to duel yet."

"Understandable, all things considered," Zane said. "We will have to duel someday though, Kasumi. I would very much like to see how we fare against each other."

The Lightsworn duelist grinned. "Just let me know when, Zane, and I'll be ready," she said.

Zane's lips twitched into a small smile before he inclined his head and walked out of the infirmary.

. . .

Alexis, Bastion, Chazz and Arina were talking about the news about the Grad match that was coming up the next day.

"So it's a rematch between Jaden and Zane?" Arina said. "It's going to be interesting to see what happens."

"It should be The Chazz getting a shot at Zane. I'm way better than Jaden," Chazz muttered.

"He beat you three times, you know," Alexis said dryly.

"Three times? It was only two times," Chazz objected.

Alexis smiled a little as she thought about Jaden's first duel with Chazz that had been interrupted by the arrival of campus security, but decided against telling Chazz that. "Sure, whatever you say, Chazz," she said. She paused before adding, "So, do you know if you can go with us to Hawaii?" She had posed the question to Arina about whether she wanted to go with the Rhodes and the Yukis to Hawaii for the summer before Chumley left. Arina said she would ask her parents and then asked if they could invite Chazz.

"It would be nice to be able to spend time with him during the summer, and I think he could use some time away from his brothers," Arina had said.

Alexis, Kyle and Atticus had talked about it. They had an extra ticket for the Semifinals and Finals of the Duel Monsters U.S. Championship Tournament anyway and so they had agreed and asked him. He, after much prodding from Arina to accept, said he would think about it.

"My parents contacted me and said that I can go so long as there are chaperones," Arina said.

"My parents and Jaden's dad are coming with us and my brother is in the tournament," Kyle said.

"Okay, then. I'll let them know."

"What about you, Chazzy?" Atticus asked brightly, appearing from the trees and scaring the living daylights out of the four of them while Raiden, who was with him, rolled his eyes and leaned against a tree.

Chazz glowered. "Don't call me that," he snapped. "And my brothers could care less about what happens to me. I think they're outta the country, anyway."

"All right, I'll let Keith and my parents know that you're going to come," Kyle said.

"At least we've got a sweet duel to close out the year," Raiden said. "Judai versus Zane. That's gonna be a tough duel."

"Especially since Zane's beaten Jaden," Alexis said. "But I wouldn't count Jaden out."

"Definitely not," Raiden agreed.

. . .

The following day was the day of the Graduation Duel between Jaden and Zane. Jaden was making his way toward the duel arena, thinking about the upcoming duel and about the fact that Zane, the current best duelist at the Academy, was the only one who has defeated him.

I have to beat him this time around, Jaden thought determinably as he made his way to the platform. I have to.

Yubel looked at him, worried. 'I think you should just do your best, Judai, and whoever wins, wins,' she said.

Haou scoffed. 'Yes, and that shall be us,' he declared.

In the stands, every student from the each dorm was in a seat and talking about how great the match was going to be. Bastion was stating that Zane was the favorite to win but the others just tuned him out. Kasumi was confident that Jaden could pull out a win while Chazz wanted him to lose, but didn't say so out loud. Steven, who had been released from the infirmary earlier that day, and Raven were also there. As this was Raven's second time watching Jaden duel, and Steven's first time, they were curious to know how well he would do.

On the platform, Jaden and Zane approached each other, staring the other down.

"All right, Zane, may the best duelist win," Jaden said quietly, holding out a hand.

Zane nodded and took his hand before shaking it.

After that, the two duelists walked back to their ends and turned to face each other, their duel disks whirring to life.

Chancellor Sheppard looked at Crowler, who held a microphone and nodded.

Crowler nodded in return as he stood up. "Now, it has been decided that this will be bigger and better than ever. This Graduation Match will be an 8000 Life Point match between Zane Truesdale and Jaden…is it Yucky? No, wait, Yoody? No, no, Yuki, Yuki!"

"Jerk!" Kasumi muttered.

"He never treated me that way," Raiden said wonderingly.

"Probably 'cause you weren't a Slifer and you didn't beat him on your first turn."

"Point."

"Enough small talk," Zane snapped.

"You got that right," Jaden shot back as the two of them adopted looks of fierce determination and drew their opening hands.

"Let's duel!" they shouted as the crowd cheered wildly.

Zane: 8000

Jaden: 8000

"Get your game on, Zane," Jaden said. "So, who goes first?"

"You choose," Zane said calmly.

"Well, in that case, I'll go second."

Zane blinked, surprised by the choice. "Really? Second?" he said. Interesting choice, he thought, staring at Jaden.

By going second, Zane won't be able to summon that powerful Cyber Dragon, because there won't be a monster out on the field to do it, Jaden thought, glancing at his hand.

Zane looked thoughtful. Someone's been reading up on me, he thought.

"All right, Zane, time to throw down," Jaden said calmly.

"Very well then, here goes," Zane said, drawing his sixth card. "I activate the Spell Card, Polymerization. Now, by sending some select monsters from my hand to the Graveyard, I can summon a Fusion Monster."

"Right now?"

"That's right, Jaden. There's more than one way to skin a cat, or, in this case, summon a dragon," Zane said, holding up three cards. "I'll send the three Cyber Dragons in my hand to the Graveyard in order to summon the Cyber End Dragon."

Everyone watched as Zane's most powerful three-headed dragon appeared on the field with a fierce roar (A: 4000/D: 2800).

"Dear me," Bastion gasped.

"And me," Syrus moaned.

"He's good," Alexis murmured.

"Yeah, he is," Raiden and Raven agreed.

Jaden was surprised to see the dragon appear. I was wondering why he didn't care who went first, but now I know. He's prepared for any situation. The question is, am I? Especially with that Cyber End Dragon out. When that thing destroys a monster in Defense Mode, it deals piercing damage. Man, how could I have let this happen?

Yubel sighed. 'Judai, calm down, it's just the first move,' she said.

"Well, are you done? Or is there anything else you wanna throw at me?" Jaden asked, ignoring Yubel's words, much to her irritation.

"As a matter of fact, there is," Zane said, inserting a card into a slot. "Different Dimension Capsule. Now, Jaden, I select one card in my deck and remove it from play." He fanned out his deck before retrieving the desired card and then added, "But, two turns from now, it comes to my hand."

"I remember this," Jaden murmured as the strange coffin sank into the floor. In our first match, Zane used the Capsule to add Power Bond to his hand. Wonder if he's doing the same thing now.

"Finally, I'll place one card facedown and end my turn," Zane finished, sliding another card into his duel disk and emptying his hand.

The plot thickens. A facedown card, too? I can't tell what those cards are but I have a hunch. Yeah, that Capsule card must be Power Bond, and the facedown card must be De-Fusion. He must be planning to De-Fuse Cyber End Dragon and then use Power Bond to finish me off the rest of the way.

"Jaden, go on, it's your turn now," Zane said loudly when Jaden made no move.

In the stands, Jaden's friends and family were watching the duel and how Jaden was acting and were worried.

"What's wrong with him? It's like he's frozen up," Alexis said, concerned as she gazed at her boyfriend.

"Aw, man," Syrus whimpered.

Raiden frowned. Something's wrong. Judai never acts like this when he duels, he thought.

Heh, Zane thinks he's gonna outsmart me again but this time, Jaden smiled a little, I'll outsmart him and I'll do that right now.

'Indeed. He is not going to win this time around,' Haou agreed.

"Here goes," Jaden said, drawing a card. "I summon Elemental Hero Wildheart in Attack Mode."

His muscular long-haired warrior who had tattoos along his shoulders and bandages around his wrists appeared (A: 1500/D: 1600).

"Next, I'll activate Wild Half, which halves the attack of your monster," Jaden added, inserting another card into his duel disk as the dragon-machine groaned as it weakened (A: 4000-2000).

"Now, a Half Token with the same number of Attack Points as your weakened dragon is summoned." An identical Cyber End Dragon appeared on the field (A: 2000/D: 2800).

"Now, I equip Wildheart with Cyclone Boomerang, giving him an extra 500 Attack," Jaden added as Wildheart pulled out a large boomerang (A: 1500-2000). "Now, Wildheart, attack Cyber End Dragon."

"Both will be destroyed. Wonder what Jaden's planning," Kasumi said with a frown.

Zane remained calm as the hero leapt toward him before he pressed a button on his duel disk. "I don't think so. I play De-Fusion," he said and his three-headed dragon split into three separate ones (A: 2100/D: 1000) x3.

Jaden growled. "My monster isn't strong enough to go against any of those dragons, but it can go against the token. I'll deal damage, it won't be much but it will be something. I just have to hope for the best, otherwise I'll be bested." He ordered Wildheart to attack the token, causing both monsters to be destroyed in a double KO.

"And, because Cyclone Boomerang was destroyed, you lose 500 Life Points and your Different Dimension Capsule is destroyed because of Cyclone Boomerang's effect," Jaden added as the capsule shattered.

Zane: 7500

Jaden: 8000

"He did it, Jaden destroyed Zane's Cyber End Dragon," Alexis murmured.

Bastion nodded. "Indeed, he did. Jaden must've calculated that Zane's facedown was De-Fusion. Impressive."

"Yeah, but that's not really Jaden's style," Syrus said.

"It isn't," Raiden said softly. "What are you doing, Judai?" He said the last part quietly, more to himself than anyone else.

Kasumi overheard and couldn't help but wonder that herself.

Crowler gawked. "So, he not only destroyed the Cyber End Dragon, but he took the lead in the duel?" he exclaimed in disbelief.

Sheppard nodded. "Yes, it seems that way. Jaden has really done his homework here," he said.

"Done his homework? That's surprising, all things considered," Crowler muttered.

Jaden tapped his forehead. "No more. In this duel, I'm playing with my head and not my heart," he said as he inserted a card into his duel disk. "Next, I'll throw down a facedown and end my turn.

"That is definitely not like Judai at all," Raiden said with a sigh.

"Oh, is that it? Very well," Zane said, drawing a card. "First of all, the card removed from play using Capsule returns to me."

"What? Wait, so that card wasn't Power Bond?" Jaden asked, confused.

"No, it wasn't. Seems like you've over-thought this one, Jaden," Zane said, turning over the mentioned card. "It was Card from the Different Dimension."

"Whoa, didn't see that coming," Jaden murmured.

"Due to this," Zane went on, "we both get to draw two cards from our decks and add them to our hands."

Chazz nodded. "I get it. To summon his Cyber End Dragon, Zane had to use four of his cards. If he had used De-Fusion, then Power Bond right after, there wouldn't be any cards left in his hand to use."

"And that would have put Zane in a tough spot," Bastion said.

"That was a smart move," Atticus agreed.

"C'mon, Jay, hang in there," Syrus said.

Back on the platform, both duelists drew two cards.

"All right," Zane began as he looked at Jaden. "Now, I will have one of my Cyber Dragon's attack you directly, Jaden."

His first Cyber Dragon roared and unleashed a beam of energy that sailed across the field.

"Not so fast, I activate my Draining Shield Trap, negating your attack and I gain Life Points equal to your monster's attack," Jaden said quickly, revealing his attack as the beam of energy shot forward to slam into a shield and stop while Jaden was surrounded by a white aura.

Zane: 7500

Jaden: 10100

"Very well, but I still have two monsters. Go, Cyber Dragons, attack Jaden directly with Strident Blaze," Zane ordered.

The second Cyber Dragon roared before unleashing another beam of energy that slammed into Jaden, sending him skidding backwards.

Zane: 7500

Jaden: 8000

Then, the third Cyber Dragon also unleashed an attack that nearly knocked Jaden off his feet.

Zane: 7500

Jaden: 5900

"Next, I'll place one card facedown and end my turn," Zane finished, inserting a card into his disk.

"Wow, two direct attacks. He just barely avoided getting hit with three direct attacks. That would've put him in a tough spot," Alexis said.

"It'll be even closer next time," Bastion said. "Those dragons are still out, meaning that Jaden's in a constant state of peril. He must neutralize them."

"Yeah, no joke, Bastion. That's the question of the day, but how or, more importantly, when?"

"You know,"—Syrus sat back in his seat—"normally, I would say not to worry but, with the way Jay's been over-thinking things here, I'm really not so sure."

"Yeah, it's not like him at all," Kasumi said with a shake of his head.

Raiden nodded in agreement.

C'mon, Jaden, use your head, Jaden thought as he glared at the three dragons in front of him. You gotta think of a way to get rid of those Cyber Dragon, and you gotta do it right now.

"Here I go," Jaden said, drawing a card. "And I activate The Warrior Returning Alive to add Wildheart to my hand." He retrieved the card before holding out another one. "Next, I activate Polymerization to fuse Wildheart with Bladedge in my hand in order to summon Elemental Hero Wildedge."

His golden warrior and his muscular warrior fused together to create a muscular warrior with a golden helmet on his head, a broadsword on his back and a golden gauntlet covering his entire arm with silver spikes along the forearm (A: 2600/D: 2300).

"And, thanks to Wildedge's effect, he can attack all of your monsters," Jaden added. "Go, Wildedge, attack."

His warrior shot forward before pulling out the broadsword on his back and slicing through each of Zane's Cyber Dragon's, turning them into metal scrap.

Zane: 6000

Jaden: 5900

"My goodness." Crowler shot up from his seat, horror-struck. "Now Zane's out of Cyber Dragons to use."

Sheppard stared in amazement. "Remarkable, this duel is certainly living up to its hype," he said.

Jaden smiled. "That was sweet. There's really something to all this strategizing stuff," he said.

Zane scoffed and then smiled a little. "You're a fool," he said.

'Truer words have never been spoken at this moment, especially about a certain someone,' Yubel said.

'You better not be talking about me,' Haou growled.

Yubel said nothing.

"What?" Jaden said.

"I activate my Return Soul Trap Card," said Zane. "This allows me to add all three of my Cyber Dragons back to my deck."

His three Cyber Dragons appeared and then flew into his deck.

Jaden gritted his teeth. Great. Just when I thought I was rid of them, they're back and raring to get rid of me, he thought.

Zane slowly shuffled is deck, eyes closed. "What a shame. I thought Jaden Yuki was to be my opponent, wonder where he is?" he said.

"Say what?" Jaden was confused.

"You're not being yourself. You're not playing with your heart."

"That's right," Jaden shot back. "Because, to beat you, I've gotta play with my head. Like I'm doing now."

Yubel sighed.

"What you're doing, Jaden, is wasting my time."

"Quit with the mind games, okay? They're not gonna work."

"Mind games?" Syrus frowned at his best friend before looking at the others. "I don't think that's what Zane's doing, but he does have a point. Jaden's been dueling differently this whole game."

Raiden nodded in agreement. "He's over-thinking everything and not playing with his heart," he said.

Zane drew a card. "It's my turn now and I play Future Fusion! This is no ordinary Fusion, you see, I can fuse cards not in my hand. Therefore, I send the three Cyber Dragons from my deck to my Graveyard in order to summon the Cyber End Dragon."

Jaden gasped as Zane's signature dragon returned to his field (A: 4000/D: 2800)

"Of course, monsters created by Future Fusion can't attack until my next turn, so I will now wait," Zane said quietly, folding his arms across his chest.

Yeah, well, I can't, Jaden thought, staring at the monster. I gotta think of a way to get rid of that thing, fast. C'mon, Jaden, use your brain.

"Okay then, my turn," he said, drawing a card and then inserting it. "I place this facedown and summon Elemental Hero Knospe in Attack Mode."

His little green rosebud monster appeared on the field (A: 600/D: 1000).

"And I may not be able to take down that Cyber End Dragon, but I can still take out your Life Points. I activate Knospe's effect. Because she is on the field with another Elemental Hero, not only can't she be targeted for an attack, but she can attack you directly."

Knospe shot a few seeds at Zane that bounced harmlessly off his duel disk.

Zane: 5400

Jaden: 5900

"And now she gains 100 Attack but loses 100 Defense," Jaden added (Knospe A: 600-700/D: 1000-900). "And, since I can't do anything else now, I end my turn."

Zane shook his head. "I was expecting so much more from you, Jaden," he said. "You can't win if you keep this up. What a disappointment you've become."

"Enough with the mind games!" Jaden snapped angrily.

Yubel shook her head. 'He's not playing mind games,' she whispered.

Haou scoffed at that, but said nothing.

The Kaiser closed his eyes again. "Alright, Jaden, fine. If you won't listen to my words, perhaps"—he paused as he opened his eyes and drew his next card—"you'll listen to my cards. I start by playing my second De-Fusion to split my Cyber End Dragon."

The three-headed dragon was separated into the three originals (A: 2100/D: 1000) x3.

"Now, my next card is…" Zane said as a blinding light ripped through the arena and Jaden, yelping, covered his eyes as the light grew brighter.

"Recognize it, Jaden?" Zane asked as a thick cloud appeared overhead. "It's Power Bond, and I'm going to use it to bring back an old friend, the Cyber End Dragon."

With a roar and a flash of lightning, Zane's signature monster returned to the field once again (A: 4000/D: 2800). Everyone in the arena gasped while Jaden glowered and Haou swore in the back of his mind.

"If you're wondering, and I'm sure you are, why I brought it back like this," Zane said coolly. "If a monster is summoned by the effects of Power Bond, its Attack Points are doubled."

Cyber End Dragon roared as its power increased (A: 4000-8000).

Just great. Looks like playing with my head has gotten me into a lot of trouble and, maybe, a giant lose. One that I may never live down, Jaden thought.

'I could have told you that, but you probably wouldn't have listened,' Yubel said dryly.

Jaden winced at the irritation in his spirit guardian's voice but didn't have time to worry about that as Zane started speaking again.

"And, to think, I admired you, Jaden," Zane said with a slow shake of his head before locking his eyes on Jaden's. "I won't make that mistake again, nor will anyone else!"

"Oh no," Jaden said softly.

"So, what now, Jaden?" Zane asked coolly. "You think you can beat my dragon? You've got two monsters out and one is about to get blasted into oblivion."

It's not over yet, it can't be over. I'll still have Life Points if this attack goes through, but I'd be one attack away from losing. But I know I can beat this thing. I just gotta do it fast, Jaden thought.

"What's wrong?" Zane asked with a raised eyebrow. "Are you afraid? Is that your problem?"

Jaden said nothing.

"If that's the case, allow me to start putting you out of your misery." Zane raised an arm before pointing at him. "Cyber End Dragon, attack Wildedge, Super Strident Blaze!"

A roar followed by a blast of energy occurred.

Jaden shook his head. No, I gotta beat this monster. Wait, I know what to do, he thought as the memory of the card he had placed facedown last turn came to him. He quickly pressed his button as the energy beam slammed into Wildedge, causing him to shout in pain and shatter and covering Jaden's side of the field in smoke.

The smoke began to clear and Jaden grinned, holding a thumbs-up. "Sorry, Zane, but you're gonna need more than that to take me down," he said.

Zane: 5400

Jaden: 3100

"What?" Zane exclaimed while everyone else murmured in surprise. "You should have lost more Life Points than you did."

Jaden, breathing heavily, smiled. "Talk about playing a card in the nick of time." He held up the card he had just played. "My Soul Union Trap Card, to be exact. This adds Bladedge's attack to Wildedge and, though Wildedge was still destroyed, I didn't get hit as badly as I would have."

Sheppard chuckled and nodded in approval of the move.

I may have survived this round, but it was rather close. So much for using my head over my heart, Jaden thought.

'I blame Haou,' Yubel said.

'Hey!' Haou growled in protest.

Jaden smiled a little at Yubel's words.

Zane looked at the two cards in his hand. "Now, I'll summon Cyber Kirin," he said and a metallic beast-like creature appeared on the field (A: 300/D: 800).

"And if I should sacrifice him, all effect damage this turn goes to zero. This means that my Power Bond's secondary effect is negated," Zane added as Kirin vanished.

Bastion whistled at the move. "Flawless," he said.

"Totally," Atticus said.

"C'mon, where's the Jaden that almost beat me before?" Zane demanded.

Jaden was silent for a long moment before he sighed. "I dunno," he said.

"Of course you don't," Zane snapped, "because your heart is not in this."

He's right. My heart isn't in this duel. I became so determined to win that I completely forgot about why I dueled in the first place. I started acting like Haou. He over-thought everything too and always focused on winning with his mind rather than his heart. It was why he was such a good strategist in my past life, but I'm not him, Jaden thought.

'See, it is Haou's fault,' Yubel said.

'Will you stop saying that?' Haou snapped.

Jaden smiled a little before he straightened up. "You know, Zane, you're right," he said. "I've been playing with my mind this entire time and that has to stop because that's not me. I'm no strategist, I duel with my heart and that is the reason why I have gotten as far as I have. Thank you, Zane, for helping me to see that. It's time I started being myself. So, waddya say we continue this?"

Zane closed his eyes and smiled. "Let's," he said.

"Great, my draw," Jaden said, drawing a card and grinning at what he found. "Sweet. I activate Spellbook Inside the Pot so that we each draw three cards." Both drew three cards. "Next, I play Fusion Recovery to add Polymerization and Elemental Hero Wildheart back to my hand." He retrieved said cards before holding out one of them. "Next, I activate Polymerization and fuse Wildheart with Elemental Hero Ice Edge in my hand in order to summon Elemental Hero Absolute Zero in Attack Mode!" His two monster fused together to create his white-armored warrior who stood proudly on the field beside Knospe. (A: 2500/D: 200).

"Might not be enough to take out your Cyber End Dragon but ah well. At least I can activate Knospe's effect," Jaden said and Knospe shot a few seeds at Zane as the older boy opened his eyes.

Zane: 4700

Jaden: 3100

"And she gains 100 Attack and loses 100 Defense. I throw down one facedown and turn things back over to you, Zane," Jaden added, inserting a card into his duel disk (Knospe A: 700-800/D: 900-800).

Zane smiled and drew a card. "Now let's see just what you have up your sleeve, Jaden. Cyber End Dragon, attack Absolute Zero," he ordered and Cyber End Dragon roared before unleashing a blast of energy.

Jaden grinned, pressing a button on his duel disk. "I reveal my face-down, Mystik Wok!" he declared as the card flipped up. "I'll use it to Tribute Absolute Zero and gain Life Points equal to his Attack."

The sub-zero Hero disappeared as Jaden Life Points went up.

Zane: 4700

Jaden: 5600

Zane blinked surprised before smiling. There's the Jaden who almost beat me, he thought.

"Sweet move," Raiden said. "By removing Absolute Zero from the field, all of Zane's monsters are destroyed."

"That is a good move," Steven said quietly.

"I doubt that'll stop Zane, though," Raven said.

"No but it gives Jaden some time to come up with something," Alexis said.

"And, because Absolute Zero has left the field, all of your monsters are destroyed," Jaden said and a wave of blue light shot across the field, slamming into Cyber End Dragon, destroying it and leaving Zane's field empty.

Zane inclined his head. "Don't think that this duel is over just yet though," he said. "I summon Cyber Phoenix in Defense Mode and end my turn."

He placed the card on his disk and a metal phoenix with orange metal-feathers appeared on the field before folding its wings around him (A: 1200/D: 1600).

"Oh, I know it isn't, Zane. The duel ain't finished 'till the last card is played," Jaden said with a grin as he drew a card and smiled when he saw what it was. "I place this facedown and then activate the Spell, Rose Bud." He inserted one card into his duel disk and then held up the only other card in his hand. "This Spell allows me to Tribute Knospe and summon Elemental Hero Poison Rose in her place."

Knospe waved and then vanished. She was replaced by a slim woman with white hair like leaves, pale purple skin and a dress made almost entirely out of green leaves with red tights and a gold belt around her waist (A: 1900/D: 2000).

"And, while Poison Rose is on the field, she's the only monster you can attack," Jaden added. "Now, Poison Rose, take out that Cyber Phoenix!"

Poison Rose unleashed a barrage of thorny whips soon destroyed the mechanical fire-bird.

"Seems like the old Jaden is back," Zane said before adding, "But thanks to my Cyber Phoenix's effect, I now get to draw a card from my deck." He did so.

"Nice move, Zane," Jaden said with a grin, signaling the end of his turn.

Zane chuckled as he drew a card. "Impressive, but I am still in this and I am going to bring back an old friend soon enough," he said.

Jaden's brow furrowed. "An old friend? You're going to bring back Cyber End Dragon again? How?"

"Of course, Jaden. It's because of the way I've calibrated my deck. Cyber End Dragon is never really gone. I always find a way to bring him back," Zane explained.

"And how do you suppose you're gonna do that?" Jaden asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Simple. I play the Spell known as Time Fusion. With this, time is most certainly on my side," Zane explained, inserting the card into his duel deck.

Jaden frowned at the bright light that appeared above Zane. "How is that?"

"Because, by removing one card in my hand from the game, it activates," Zane explained. "Meaning, I can automatically call up a Fusion monster next turn, without having to wait for a single summoning requirement."

So he's right. Cyber End Dragon will return, and soon, too, Jaden thought.

"You can't win, and you'll see why next turn, Jaden. Then the Academy will see that you're a fraud," Zane said with a confident look in his eyes. "Don't feel bad. You lost to the best. I also summon my Cyber Larva in Defense Mode and end my turn."

A small metal serpent appeared before coiling up (A: 400/D: 600).

Jaden smirked. "Writing your Graduation Speech already, Zane?" he said. "I'm still here, y'know and I'm still in this. It's my move now." He drew a card and smiled at what he had just drawn. "I sacrifice Poison Rose in order to summon my Evil Hero Malicious Edge to my field in Attack Mode."

Poison Rose vanished to be replaced by Jaden's vicious blue-armored fiend who glared at Zane (A: 2600/D: 1800).

"Now, Malicious Edge, attack Cyber Larva," Jaden ordered and Malicious Edge dashed forward, a blur of blue, before he sank his claws into Cyber Larva and ripped the little serpent-machine to pieces.

"I know your Malicious Edge deals piercing damage, Jaden," Zane said calmly, "but, because of Cyber Larva's effect, not only do I not take any battle damage, I can Special Summon another one to my field in Defense Mode." Another small serpent-machine appeared coiled on the field (A: 400/D: 600).

"Ah well, I end my turn," Jaden said.

"Will someone lose already?" Chazz muttered impatiently.

You'll have to do better than that, Jaden, especially after you see what I have for you, Zane thought as he drew a card. "My turn, Jaden. First, this returns to me. Card from a Different Dimension. I removed it from play when I played Time Fusion but now it's back and it doesn't stop there. Next, its special effect activates, and you know what that means: we both get to draw two cards."

Both of them drew two cards.

Too bad nothing can help you now, Jaden, Zane thought.

Zane must be pretty confident to let me draw cards, Jaden mused.

Haou scoffed. 'Then let's show him how wrong he was to let us do this,' he said.

"And now, I call forth"—Zane raised a hand to the sky toward the light above him—"Cyber End Dragon!" Another Cyber End Dragon appeared on the field (A: 4000/D: 2800).

"Not again," Syrus moaned.

"For once, you think he'd do a combo without that dragon," Alexis said.

"Hey, if ain't broke," Atticus shrugged.

"True, true," Raiden agreed.

"Of course," Bastion said, snapping his fingers, "because that monster was summoned by Time Fusion, it can't attack until next turn."

"Next turn?" Chazz's eye twitched. "Grr, how long do I have to wait to see Jaden lose?"

"Be nice. Jaden's still in this duel," Arina said.

"Yeah, and he can so win this," Kasumi said brightly.

Chazz looked at the blue-black-haired girl. "How do you know?"

Kasumi smirked. "'Cause Jaden's won when he was at an even bigger disadvantage before and he can do so again," she said.

"I place one card facedown and end my turn," Zane said coolly, inserting a card into his duel disk.

Crowler gulped and tugged at his collar. "Dear me. I'm sweating bullets over here. Can't we just declare Zane the winner yet?" he pleaded.

"Not yet, Crowler. After all, if there's one thing I've learned is to never count Jaden out until his Life Points are out," Sheppard said quietly, looking very excited.

"My draw," Jaden said, drawing a card. "And I activate Pot of Greed to draw two more cards." He did so and then he held up a card and said, "And now I activate my Dark Fusion to fuse Elemental Hero Burstinatrix and Avian in my hand in order to summon Evil Hero Inferno Wing in Attack Mode."

His trademark Evil Hero appeared on the field, a smirk plastered on her face as usual as she flexed her green claws and glared at Cyber Larva and Cyber End Dragon (A: 2100/D: 1200).

"And now Inferno Wing, attack Cyber Larva with Inferno Blast," Jaden ordered and Inferno Wing flew into the air before unleashing a blast of blue flames that shot forward and enveloped the little serpent-machine and destroyed it.

"Yeah, you don't take battle damage but the same can't be said about effect damage and you take Cyber Larva's Defense as damage," Jaden added as Zane calmly summoned another Cyber Larva in place of the last one (A: 400/D: 600).

"Actually, I will stop your Inferno Wing's effect with my second facedown. Damage Polarizer," Zane shouted, revealing his second facedown. "This trap negates your Inferno Wing's effect to inflict damage on me."

Inferno Wing, disappointed as an electric current surged around her, flew back to Jaden's side of the field.

"Nice card," Jaden said while Haou growled in irritation in the back of his mind.

"And, for the cherry on top, we both draw one card and, for your sake, I hope it's a good one," Zane added as he and Jaden drew a card at the same time and then looked at the card they just drew.

Battle Fusion! Hell yeah, Jaden thought brightly.

Battle Fusion. This will definitely turn the tides, Zane thought.

"I'll have my Malicious Edge take out your last Cyber Larva now," Jaden said, adding the card in his hand and Malicious Edge shot forward and destroyed the third Cyber Larva. "And then I place this facedown and end my turn." He inserted a card into his duel disk. "I guess you're up. What's it gonna be this time?"

Zane drew a card. "You'll see," he said.

"Well, whatever it is, good luck, because I have a feeling that this will be the last round."

"I agree," Zane said with a nod. The last round for you, Jaden. My victory is assured. Prepare for the bitter taste of defeat, he thought with a smile.

Syrus gulped. "I don't like the way he's smiling," he said.

Alexis glanced at him. "Especially since Zane never smiles. Something's up here," she said.

"Yeah," Atticus agreed with a nod. "I think we're about to see what's up very soon."

"I agree. The final round between the school's two best duelists is about to start," Raiden agreed.

"Let's go Jaden," Kasumi said brightly.

"I'm looking forward to what's going to come next," Arina said.

"Yeah, me, too," Raven said.

"I've never seen him duel before and he is good. This duel is getting intense," Steven said quietly.

Back on the field, Zane looked up from his card. "Jaden, it's been fun but, I'm afraid, it's over." He held up the card. "I activate my Limiter Removal Spell Card! This card doubles the Attack of my Cyber End Dragon."

With a roar, Cyber End Dragon was surrounded by a bright aura (A: 4000-8000).

"It's over! Cyber End Dragon, attack Inferno Wing with Super Strident Blaze," Zane shouted.

"I agree it's over, for you!" Jaden shouted, pressing a button on his duel disk as the beam of energy shot forward. "I activate Battle Fusion! This adds your Fusion monster's attack to mine." Inferno Wing flew into the air, grinning maliciously as her power increased (A: 2100-10100).

"He can't do that!" Crowler pointed and looked at his superior. "That simply must be against the rules."

Sheppard shot up from his seat. "Oh please, this is what dueling is all about!"

Zane looked at the monster but his smile remained. "Not so fast, Jaden. A nice move and all but it's all for naught," he declared, holding up another card in his hand. "I activate my own Battle Fusion to add your monster's Attack to mine!"

Cyber End Dragon roared as his power increased as well (A: 8000-18100).

Suddenly, it all became quiet. The excitement in the air and the noise from the audience as well as the growling of the monsters vanished. Jaden Yuki and Zane Truesdale were alone in their own little world, gazing at the other with looks of pride and admiration in their eyes.

"Zane, you really are the best," Jaden said with a smile. "I'm gonna miss ya."

"And I you, Jaden," Zane said evenly. "That's why I'm passing you the torch."

"What?"

"When I leave here, you will be the best duelist at this school. Despite your grades and your rank, you will be the best, so make me proud, Jaden."

Jaden let a smirk cross his face. "I'll give it my all, Zane, and I'll start right now. 'Cause this duel ain't over yet."

"What?" Zane's head went back a little and he stared in confusion at Jaden who grinned.

As quickly as it disappeared, everything came back; the monsters, the anxious audience all around them.

"That's right. I still have one trick up my sleeve and here it is," Jaden said, waving his hand as his lone facedown was revealed. "I activate my Trap, Final Fusion!"

Zane's confusion vanished to be replaced by admiration. "How clever," he murmured.

"If this card is played when two Fusion monsters battle, we both take damage to our Life Points equal to our monsters' combined Attack Points. You know that what means…" Jaden said, his smirk turning into a sly grin.

Zane nodded, also smiling. "Sure do!"

Everyone watched as Cyber End Dragon and Inferno Wing clashed, their attacks crashing into each other and the entire arena was enveloped in a bright light. There was a tremendous explosion soon after and a huge cloud of smoke covered the dueling platform.

"What happened?" Chazz demanded.

"Who won?!" Bastion cried.

Everyone rose to their feet, staring at the dueling platform as they waited for the smoke to clear, their hearts beating fast in anticipation of finding out what happened. When the smoke finally cleared, Zane was on one knee while Jaden was lying on his back. However, the result was the same for both students.

Zane: 0

Jaden: 0

DRAW

One by one, a student or a faculty member stood and started clapping and cheering at the incredible duel they had just witnessed. Jaden opened his eyes and tilted his head back to look at the crowd but otherwise didn't move.

"You okay?"

The Slifer turned to see Zane standing right next to his head. "I'm fine," he said with a smile.

Zane smiled and looked at the crowd. "Looks like the duel's a draw," he said.

"Talk about going out with a bang, eh?"

Zane chuckled a little in response to that.

"But that does mean we gotta duel again, huh?"

"Absolutely," Zane said, looking over his shoulder at Jaden. "Someday, we will."

Jaden smiled again. "Sweet. I guess, until then, Zane," he said.

The Kaiser held out a hand to the Slifer. "Until then."

"Good." Jaden slapped Zane's hand before adding, "I could use a break."

"Me, too."

With that, both duelists laid back and started to laugh while the crowd continued to cheer for them and the amazing duel. Jaden's friends and family stood and clapped and cheered, proud of what he had done against the Kaiser in his final match at Duel Academy. It was a wonderful way of ending the school year.

However, for Jaden Yuki and his family and friends, they were all about to face a threat that none could have seen coming.

. . .

To Be Continued

. . .

A/n what do you think?

Blaze: and there you have it. Shadow Rise is officially completed!

Jesse: yay!

Jaden: so are you going to tell us what the title of season 2 is going to be?

Blaze: yup. The title of Season 2 is White Radiance and it will be posted in, approximately, nineteen weeks when I finish posting Chained, which is nineteen chapters long. Since Chained is already finished, I can now focus my attention on getting as far into White Radiance as I possibly can.

Jaden and Jesse: sweet!

Chazz: whatever. So are you planning on continuing asking people questions in Chained or White Radiance?

Blaze: probably not. I've run out of questions. I do have one final questions for Shadow Rise though and it's probably going to be the hardest one to respond to. If I do ask questions in Chained or White Radiance, it won't be in every chapter.

Bakura: anything else you want to tell us?

Blaze: let's see (glances at notes) not for this story/series, no. I am planning on posting a Yu-Gi-Oh! fic that won't include much dueling soon (as soon as I finish at least five chapters so that I know I won't abandon it) but, as I said, that has nothing to do with this story so yeah.

Bakura: so why are you telling us this?

Blaze: 'cause I can

Blaze: (rolls eyes) okay, who's going to ask the final question for Shadow Rise?

Jaden and Jesse: I'll do it!

Blaze: (hands them piece of paper) go ahead

Jaden and Jesse: (takes paper) sweet!

Jaden: okay, today's question is: of all the duels in the original Yu-Gi-Oh!, what was your favorite one? If you have more than one, name five that you enjoyed the most.

Jesse: Blaze's favorite duel would be the Ceremonial Duel between Yugi and Atem that ended the series (she cried when she saw that duel)

Blaze: it wasn't when I saw that duel, it was afterwards!

Jesse: uh, yeah, anyway, four other duels she likes are Yami Yugi versus Yami Marik, Yami Yugi versus Yami Bakura, Yami Yugi versus Seto Kaiba and Yami Marik versus Joey Wheeler.

Joey: I got burned by Ra in that duel!

Yami Marik: AND IT WAS AWESOME!

Blaze: Joey's one of my favorite characters

Yami Marik: (gulps and takes off running)

Blaze: (hands bazooka to Bakura) have fun!

Bakura: (takes bazooka, grins and chases after Yami Marik)

Marik: okay then. Well, that was the final chapter of Shadow Rise, so, Blaze, shall you do the honors?

Blaze: very well. I hope that you enjoyed the conclusion to Season 1 and, as I have already said three times now, Chained will be posted within minutes of this chapter being posted. As usual, reviews are always appreciated!