Elemental Hero Shining Phoenix Enforcer stood behind Blair and Alexis. As if he was fooling anyone. It was Aster under that mask, for sure.

"But why?" I asked, trying my best to be serious. What? Even with all that had happened, Aster wearing that goofy costume to try to hide his identity? It was hilarious!

"Duel me and you'll have your answers." Aster said.

"You're on!" Chazz and I said at the same time.

"Wait, what?" I asked, looking at Chazz.

"Jaden, you're still recovering." Chazz said. "Besides, I'm the detective on this case. Let me apprehend the criminal."

Wow. If there was any doubt before, it had all vanished now. Chazz was honestly dueling to help us. He'd never admit it, but he actually did consider us friends.

"No way, guys." Alexis said. "This guy helped kidnap me. Let me handle it."

"Chazz Princeton and Alexis Rhodes, neither of you will duel me." Aster said. "My target is Jaden Yuki."

"We finally get to put our heroes against each other, huh?" I asked, cracking my knuckles. "My Neos against the final Destiny Hero?"

Aster just activated his Duel Disk in response.

"Guys, let me handle this." I said. "Aster and I finally have to settle things."

"Did you have to say my name?!" Aster shouted. "I was wearing this mask for a reason, dude!"

Growling, Aster pulled off the mask and tossed it to the side.

"Sorry, man." I said, rubbing the back of my head and laughing sheepishly.

Aster just groaned in annoyance, while Alexis and Blair stepped away from the field. Alexis removed her deck from the Duel Disk and handed it to me.

"Do your best." Alexis whispered, giving me a quick peck on the cheek.

This was naturally followed by the clicking of a camera. Atticus. But we ignored that for now.

"Get your game on, Aster!" I called out, strapping on the Duel Disk and inserting my deck.

"Duel!" Aster and I yelled as I activated my Duel Disk.

"You can go first." Aster said.

"Thanks." I said, drawing a card. "I summon Dark Catapulter, and lay down two face-downs!"

Catapulter appeared between Aster and me, while two cards appeared in front of me.

"I end my turn!"

"I play Polymerization!" Aster shouted, holding up the card. "I'll fuse the Avian and Burstinatrix in my hand to summon Elemental Hero Phoenix Enforcer!"

Avian and Burstinatrix appeared on Aster's field, warped together and became Phoenix Enforcer. ...Flame Wingman looks cooler!

"Attack Dark Catapulter!" Aster called.

Phoenix Enforcer jumped through the air and slashed his claws at Sparkman, destroying him. My Life Points dropped to 2900.

"I'll set a card face-down and end my turn!" Aster called, as a card appeared in front of him.

"My turn!" I said. "First, I'll use Pot of Greed!"

I drew two cards and smirked.

"Now, I'll play my Polymerization and fuse my Avian and Burstinatrix as well!" I said. "Into Flame Wingman, of course!"

Avian and Burstinatrix appeared on my field and fused to Flame Wingman.

"Now, Wingman, attack Phoenix Enforcer!" I yelled.

"But that's ridiculous!" Aster said. "They both have 2100 Attack Points and Phoenix Enforcer can't be destroyed by battle!"

Flame Wingman shot a blast of fire at Phoenix Enforcer, who batted it away with the swing of a hand. Phoenix Enforcer counterattacked by leaping at Wingman and shoving his claws through him. Wingman shattered.

"I activate Hero Counterattack and chain Change of Hero - Reflector Ray!" I called out, my two face-downs turning face-up. "When an Elemental Hero Fusion Monster is destroyed by battle, Reflector Ray does damage to your Life Points, equal to the destroyed monster's Level, times 300!"

Aster got hit for 1800 damage, dropping his Life Points to 2200!

"Now, Counterattack goes!" I said. "You have to pick a card in my hand, and if it's an Elemental Hero, I can summon it out and destroy one monster on your field! And since I only have one..."

Clayman appeared on the field, dashing over to Phoenix Enforcer and punching him, shattering him. Clayman then floated back to my side of the field, crossing his arms.

"I'll end my turn." I said.

"I'll play Card of Sanctity." Aster said.

"Pretty generous of you to let us both draw cards." I said, as we both drew six cards.

"I'm not trying to help you." Aster said. "The only other card I have in my hand can't be summoned."

Well, that doesn't sound good.

"I summon Destiny Hero - Celestial to the field in Attack Mode!" Aster said.

A hero clad in a black and red costume, with a shield of some sorts on it's back, appeared in front of Aster. 1600 Attack Points. That thing couldn't destroy Clayman!

"That thing can't destroy Clayman!" I called out. Hey! Quit copying me!

"Not yet." Aster said. "I activate D - Chain!"

Aster's face-down turned face-up, as Celestial gained a chain with a blade on the end.

"This card gives my Destiny Hero 500 extra Attack Points!" Aster yelled. "Attack Clayman!"

Celestial swung the chain at Clayman, the blade going right through him, and stabbing me in the foot. Well, okay, not actually stabbing me, because hologram, but you get the idea! My Life Points dropped to 2400.

"When a monster equipped with D - Chain destroys a monster and sends it to the graveyard, you lose 500 Life Points!" Aster yelled. "Now, I'll set a card and end my turn."

A card appeared in front of Aster.

"I summon Bubbleman!" I called out.

Bubbleman appeared on my field.

"Now, I'll use Metamorphosis to change Bubbleman to Neo Bubbleman!" I yelled.

Bubbleman changed to his upgraded version, before gaining a larger water cannon.

"I equip Neo Bubbleman with Bubble Blaster!" I said. "Now, Neo Bubbleman, attack Celestial!"

Neo Bubbleman shot a blast of water from his cannon at Celestial, who tossed the chain at the cannon. Celestial and Bubble Blaster were both destroyed.

"If Bubbleman would be destroyed when equipped with Bubble Blaster, Blaster is destroyed instead, and all battle damage goes to 0!" I said. "And when Neo Bubbleman attacks a monster, that monster is destroyed! Now, I'll set one card and end my turn!"

A card appeared in front of me.

"I summon Captain Tenacious." Aster called. "Attack Neo Bubbleman!"

Captain Tenacious appeared and hit Neo Bubbleman. Both shattered.

"GO!" Aster and I called out.

His Destiny Signal and my Hero Signal activated. Sparkman appeared on my field, while a large monster with dreadlocks, MASSIVE arms and weird... spirals around his feet, I don't know, appeared on Aster's field. It had 1200 Attack Points.

"Destiny Hero - Dunker!" Aster called out. "Attack Sparkman!"

"But Sparkman will destroy it." I pointed out.

"I discard Destiny Hero - Blade Master!" Aster said. "When this card goes to the grave, every Destiny Hero on my field gains 800 Attack Points!"

Dunker jumped in the air, as blades appeared on the side of it's arms. Dunker smashed his hand down on Sparkman, impaling him with the blade. Sparkman shattered as my Life Points dropped to 2000.

"Now, I activate Dunker's effect!" Aster called. "I can discard one Destiny Hero, like my Disk Commander here, and inflict 500 points of damage to your Life Points!"

My Life Points dropped to 1500.

"I'll end my turn!" Aster said.

"I summon Elemental Hero Wildheart!" I called out.

My wild boy jumped to the field and glared at Dunker."

"Wildheart, attack Destiny Hero - Dunker!" I yelled.

Wildheart tossed a boomerang at Dunker, shattering him and dropping Aster's Life Points to 1900!

"I'll call it a turn." I said.

"I'll summon Destiny Hero - Fear Monger in Defense Mode!" Aster yelled.

Fear Monger appeared on Aster's field and covered his face with his armored... arms. Huh.

"Then I'll set one card face-down and end my turn." Aster said.

A card appeared in front of Aster, as I drew a card from my deck.

"I summon Neo-Spacian Air Hummingbird!" I yelled.

Air Hummingbird appeared on my field and shot me a thumbs up.

"Now, Air Hummingbird!" I yelled. "Use your effect and give me 500 Life Points for each card in Aster's hand!"

If my math has been right, that was only one card. Air Hummingbird flew over, as a flower appeared over Aster's card. Air Hummingbird began drinking from the flower, as my Life Points went back up to 2000.

"Next, I equip Air Hummingbird with Neos Energy!" I said. "This gives Air Hummingbird 800 more Attack Points! Although, he does lose 300 every time my Standby Phase goes by!"

A red aura surrounds Air Hummingbird as he returned to my field.

"Now, Wildheart, attack Fear Monger!" I yelled.

Wildheart, again, threw a boomerang, shattering Fear Monger. Haha!

"Air Hummingbird, attack Aster directly!" I said.

Air Hummingbird flew over to Aster.

"I activate D - Fortune!" Aster yelled. "When you declare a direct attack, I can remove one Destiny Hero from my graveyard to end the Battle Phase!"

Captain Tenacious appeared in front of Aster, halting Air Hummingbird's attack. Air Hummingbird flew back in front of me.

"I end my turn." I said.

Aster drew a card from his deck.

"I activate the effect of my Fear Monger!" Aster yelled. "If he was destroyed since my last Standby Phase, I can summon a monster from my grave!"

A metallic looking hero with CDs strapped to him appeared on Aster's field in Defense Mode. 300 Points in both categories. This wouldn't be hard.

"When Disk Commander is summoned from the grave, I get to draw two cards." Aster said, drawing a card from his deck. "Now, I think I'll draw another two cards. Destiny Draw!"

Aster held up a card. He wasn't calling on on some mystic force to guide his hand.

"I can discard one Destiny Hero to draw two more cards." Aster said, putting a card in his graveyard and drawing two cards from his deck. "And the card I sent to the grave was Destiny Hero - Malicious! I can remove one copy from my graveyard to summon another from my deck!"

A demonic-looking hero appeared on Aster's field.

"Now, I'll summon Destiny Hero - Defender!" Aster said, as the monster appeared on his field. "Then I'll set one card face-down and end my turn."

So, Aster had a demon with 800 Defense, a DJ with 300 Defense and a football player with 2700 Defense that lets me draw an extra card. What was Aster trying to do?

I drew a card from my deck during my Draw Phase, then another during my Standby Phase.

"I summon Neo-Spacian Flare Scarab!" I called out, as my bug buddy appeared next to my bird buddy and my... Shoot, there's no way I can describe Wildheart with a B! "Next, I activate Fake Hero! This lets me summon one Elemental Hero from my hand, though it can't attack and returns to my hand at the end of the turn."

My Bladedge buddy appeared next to my bug buddy. ...Yeah, the joke is dead, huh?

"Now, I activate Gift of the Martyr!" I called out. "This lets me send one monster to the graveyard to increase the attack of another by the first monster's attack points!"

Bladedge disappeared, and Wildheart grew stronger. Up to 4100!

Now, I know what you're gonna say. "Jaden, you magnificently amazing man, how could someone so good at dueling and with such rugged good looks not realize summoning Bladedge instead of Flare Scarab would have won you the duel?" Well, you highly complimentary person, I actually did realize that. But Aster's trap was bothering me. If I summoned Bladedge and it got destroyed, I'd be wide open for an attack. ...That being said, in hindsight, I probably SHOULD have, as you will soon see. Once again, me using my head doesn't go well.

"Now, Air Hummingbird, use Honey Suck!" I yelled.

Air Hummingbird drinks some honey, I get 500 Life Points.

"Wildheart, attack Defender!" I called out.

Wildheart punched Defender, shattering that armored behemoth!

"Flare Scarab, take care of Malicious!" I yelled.

Flare Scarab shot a molten blast at the demon, sending it right back to fire and brimstone!

"Air Hummingbird, you're up!" I said.

Air Hummingbird flew up and dive bombed Disk Commander, shattering it. Unfortunately, this triggered Aster's trap!

"Destiny Mirage!" Aster yelled. "When a Destiny Hero is destroyed, I can bring back all Destiny Heroes that were destroyed this turn!"

Aster's monsters all returned to the field.

DARN IT! Strategy, you've failed me again! And I was out of cards in my hand too! Ah well. Aster had relatively weak monsters. I could do this!

"I end my turn." I said.

Aster drew a card and smirked.

"I summon Destiny Hero - Plasma!" Aster called.

"Plasma?!" I asked in shocked.

Aster's three monsters disappeared, and in their place stood a man in a blood red costume with pitch black wings.

"This is the final card my father worked on!" Aster yelled. "The card that was stolen from him! The card I finally retrieved! Let's see if your heroes can stand against this, Jaden!"

Strong winds began pulling Wildheart towards Plasma, who folded his wings around my monster.

"What's going on?!" I asked.

"When Plasma is summoned, he absorbs one of my opponent's monsters and gains half their attack points!" Aster said.

Plasma's wings parted, revealing Wildheart was now part of them.

"Now, I activate D - Force!" Aster said, placing the card face-up on the top of his deck. "When this card is activated, it goes to the top of my deck. I can't draw cards during my Draw Phase anymore, but I won't need to. For when D - Force is face-up on my deck, Plasma is unaffected by your spells and traps, and all monsters have their effects negated! Now, Plasma, destroy Flare Scarab!"

Flare Scarab's Attack Points had gone up to 900 when Destiny Mirage was face-down. Now that it was gone, Flare Scarab had gone back to 500, while Plasma now had 2650! All it took was one blast from that thing to destroy Scarab and drop my Life Points to 450. Ooh boy...

"I end my turn." Aster said.

I had one monster on my field with 1300 Attack Points, which would soon dwindle to 1000, and no cards in my hand. Whatever I drew, it'd have to be good.

'Please...' I thought as I drew what might have been the last card of this duel.

My eyes were squeezed shut. Once I opened them, I burst out with a smile. This would do.

"Spy Hero!" I called out. "This card lets me send two cards from my deck to the graveyard. Then I get to add a spell from your grave to my hand."

Neos and Armor Breaker were put in the grave. Then, a card from Aster's graveyard flew to my hand.

"Card of Sanctity!" I called out! "We both draw six cards!"

"What?!" Aster's eyes widen. "But then my D - Force..."

"Won't be on the top of your deck!" I finished for him!

We both drew.

"It doesn't matter!" Aster yelled. "I can use it again next turn!"

"Oh, yeah?" I asked. "First, I'll use Monster Reincarnation! This lets me send one card from my hand to the graveyard to add another card to my hand.

Good-bye, Necroshade. Hello, Neos.

"Now, I'll use the effect of that card I just discarded!" I shouted. "When Elemental Hero Necroshade is in the graveyard, I can summon one Elemental Hero without sacrifice. So say hello to your old friend, Elemental Hero Neos!"

Neos rose on to the field in all his glory. This was gonna be good.

"Next, I'll use R - Righteous Justice!" I said, holding up the card. "I can destroy one spell or trap on your field for the same number of Elemental Heroes I have on my field. So, Neos, set Wildheart free!"

A giant R appeared, and hit Wildheart, who was now being used as an Equip Spell, destroying him and freeing him from Plasma!

"Now, I Contact Fuse Neos and Air Hummingbird!" I said.

My monsters disappeared into space, before returning as Neos, wearing a body suit made of red feathers, with large white wings on his back.

"Elemental Hero Air Neos!" I yelled. "Attack Plasma!"

"Even if he does have 2500 Attack Points, it isn't strong enough to deplete all my Life Points!" Aster yelled. "Then your field will be empty when that thing returns to your Fusion Deck!"

"Not exactly!" I yelled. "When my Life Points are lower than yours, the difference is added to Air Neos' Attack Points!"

Aster's Life Points: 1900. My Life Points: 450. Again, I'm no math genius, but even I know that's 1450! Now, 2500 plus 1450 is 3950, right? And 3950 minus 1900, Plasma's Attack Points, would be 2050, definitely more than Aster had!

Air Neos flew through into the sky, before coming down and punching Plasma! Aster's Life Points dropped right to 0!

"That's game!" I said, doing my winning pose.

Aster fell to his knees and sighed.

It was only after the duel finished that I suddenly heard everyone cheering for us.

"YEAH!"

"Way to go!"

"That was the best duel ever!"

This wasn't my friends either. It was the crowd! Not to say my friends didn't join in.

"I must say, you two used quite a few clever combos." Bastion nodded.

"Yeah, but the Slacker could have won if he just summoned Bladedge." Chazz said. "He didn't have to put on a spectacle for everyone."

"I guess that was a pretty good duel for Duel Monster's Spirit Day." Crowler said.

"Sarge, you did great!" Hassleberry cheered.

"Aster was pretty cool too!" Blair said. Looks like someone has a new crush! YES!

"Way to play, Jay!" Syrus said.

I looked over to Alexis.

"Well?" I asked. "Didn't I tell you I could do it?"

"Yeah." Alexis said, smiling. "You were pretty good out there. I couldn't have done it better myself."

"Aw, sure you could have." I said. "If you had a deck as awesome as mine."

As I indulged in a bit of an obnoxious laugh, Aster groaned.

"I really lost..." Aster muttered.

We all turned our attention back to him. Aster's dad's final creation just got beaten. In front of the whole crowd. And they all heard how he had been the one to kidnap Alexis. I wanted answers, but I didn't want this crowd to suddenly tear Aster to pieces. Zane's words were still on my mind.

"Aster, that was fantastic!" I said. "You played your role great!"

"Role?" Aster asked, confused.

"Hey, no need to keep up the act!" I said. "Everyone probably figured out by now that this was a show! All of it was planned! We have Alexis hang low for a few days, play up like she was kidnapped, then have you revealed as the kidnapper. Like that could really happen."

Syrus was the first to catch on.

"Right!" Syrus said, walking up next to me. "This was all planned by yours truly. After Jaden's duel with that amazing Dark Magician Girl last year, I wanted something extra special this year! So I asked Alexis and Aster for help! It's the dramatic story of a man who saves his lover from a rogue hero gone bad."

"Yeah, I was gonna dress up like Shining Flare Wingman, but SOMEONE didn't allow it." I said, glaring at Sy.

"Well, I didn't think far enough ahead to get the costume." Syrus said.

Everyone else quickly took their turn, helping to spin our web of deceit. ...Wow, that makes ME sound like the villain now. Huh. Anyway, once we finished up, the crowd gave us a round of applause. We all did a bow, even Aster. Granted, I had to force him to, for the act. But still!

Once we were done, Syrus, Hassleberry, Chazz, Alexis, Atticus, Blair, Crowler and I all went to the card shop with Aster, so he could explain himself in private. Bastion had opted to stay behind and keep everyone else busy, so no one would intrude.

"Why'd ya do it?" Chazz asked, grilling Aster.

"He won't talk, Boss." Ojama Yellow said.

"Fine then." Chazz said, turning around. "Dorothy! Get this guy a sandwich!"

"Miss Dorothy isn't even here." Syrus said.

"Regardless, we can't overlook this." Crowler said. "Aster, as much as I'd like to expel the Slifer Slacker and keep you here forever, we simply can't overlook a kidnapping case."

"I didn't kidnap anyone." Aster said.

"But you said you did!" Hassleberry growled.

"And I saw you letting Alexis go in the forest." Blair said.

"You saw me releasing Alexis." Aster said. "And I confessed to letting her go. But I wasn't part of the kidnapping. At least, not directly."

"What do you mean, not directly?" I asked.

"I had been called to take part in an Underground duel against Zane." Aster explained. "I guess once he heard I got the ultimate Destiny Hero, he wanted to try his new deck out against mine. He said it wasn't a matter of revenge, but a matter of proving he was stronger than me at my best."

"Sounds like him." Crowler said, nodding. "At least, the new him.

"He made me wear those electrodes." Aster continued on. "I guess I wasn't as strong as I thought, because those things knocked me out."

"Finally, something Mr. Perfect can't handle." Alexis said.

"You mean Zane beat you?" Atticus asked.

"No." Aster said. "There was no conclusion. I was knocked out before we could end it. But, if the duel had continued, I would have used Plasma to absorb his Cyberdark Dragon and finish him with a direct attack. Anyway, once I woke up, I noticed my cell phone had been removed from my pocket."

Aster tapped the pocket on his jacket.

"It was next to my body, but someone had gotten the code to my old room." Aster explained. "I guess Zane had been keeping tabs on our movements here on Academy Island and knew Alexis was staying there now. I'm not even entirely sure. But I knew something was wrong, so I made my way back here as fast as I could. That's when you arrived."

"And?!" I asked. "You didn't tell me it was Zane because...?"

"I was worried he might have been listening in." Aster explained. "He could have planted a bug in the room, or on my phone, or on me while I was knocked out. If he heard me tell you, it might put your girlfriend in danger. I couldn't just risk that. Not after you saved my best friend. I still owed you."

"Aster, you saved Alexis once before." I said. "We were even then. This was too much, man."

"I was just being my usual awesome self then." Aster said, with a nervous chuckle. "But this? This would definitely make us even. So, once I had a body search done on me, eliminating the possibility of Zane spying on me, I began doing my own investigation of the island. Unlike you guys, I have the connections to get a whole unit out here to investigate."

Chazz crossed his arms and looked away from Aster.

"We eventually found where they were holding Alexis." Aster explained. "They were holding her under the floor of Zane's old dorm room."

"I thought I heard footsteps coming from above." Alexis said. "But I thought it was just sensory deprivation."

"Once I got her out, I left her in the forest." Aster said. "I set things up so the ropes around her would come undone by the time I was gone. I didn't want anyone thinking I had been the accomplice."

Cue several of us shooting Blair a look.

"Hey! Hey!" Blair shouted, waving her hands in front of her face, defensively. "You'd have thought the same thing if you were in my situation!"

"But if Aster wasn't the accomplice, who was?" Crowler asked.

"Yeah." Hassleberry nodded. "Private Truesdale's defector of a brother said himself that he had an ally."

"I can answer that." Aster said. "While I was busy releasing Alexis in the forest, my team was busy arresting the accomplice. It was Zane's manager. A man named Shroud."

"Wait, there's still one thing I don't get." Syrus said. "If you weren't the accomplice, why did you let us think you were?"

"Jaden duels his best when he's fighting for his friends." Aster explained. "I wanted him at his best when we pit our Ace Monsters against each other. I wanted to know which of us really was the best Hero user. I didn't want there to be any excuses, like he wasn't dueling his best. That's the reason I only confronted him about it today. This was the first day he was out of the hospital."

"Aster, buddy, you should know I always give my everything in a duel!" I said. "I never hold back! Heck, today, I actually did end up overthinking, and I missed an easy win because of it!"

"Right..." Aster muttered. "You're not like me. You don't look down on your opponents."

"Hey, don't say that about yourself." I said. "You don't do that." Well, anymore. But I wasn't about to say that in front of him.

"Well, if that's all." Crowler said, crossing his arms over his chest. "Mr. Phoenix!"

Whoa! Crowler calling Aster "Mr. Phoenix" instead of his first name. Something was wrong here!

"Y-Yes, sir?" Aster said. Even he was shocked. Wow.

"I'm still not entirely convinced of this story." Crowler said. "However, I will put you on probation until I can verify whether your claims are true or not. I'm sure, if you're telling the truth, you will be able to introduce me to this team that you had helping you in your investigation. Until then, I will be talking with Nurse Fontaine to see if we can get in contact with Zane and verify the claims that this 'Shroud' character actually exists. Mr. Yuki, I'm sure you and your group can see to it Aster returns to his room."

"You got it, Dr. C!" I called as Crowler walked out.

I gotta admit, when Crowler goes into "teacher" mode, he really is inspiring.

Since we were all done our questioning, Hassleberry, Chazz and I made sure to see Aster to his room, while Atticus, Syrus and Blair played bodyguard to Alexis, protecting her from any assassins Aster might send. Or, at least, that's what Atticus claimed. He probably just wanted to ask when we started kissing.

Things were pretty quiet for the rest of the year. Of course, things had been pretty crazy since I realized my feelings for Alexis. Things were even crazier after we started dating. I mean, I didn't even get into when a rogue Industrial Illusions employee came to the island to duel us students! ...Yeah, I'll tell you about that one some other time.

Aster was found to be innocent. First Crowler got in touch with Industrial Illusions, who Aster claimed had loaned him the manpower. Pegasus himself confirmed the arrest of that Shroud guy Aster mentioned. Then, Miss Fontaine managed to get in touch with the hospital Zane had been sent to, and Zane admitted to the whole thing. Due to his condition, it was decided Zane would have to stay in the hospital. Still, he was getting counseling. So, his mind and heart were getting the help they needed. Aster was let off probation, and allowed to advance to his second year.

As for yours truly? I still needed to take things easy for the rest of the year. I couldn't participate in any duels, which STUNK! I was even the first choice of the student who graduated top of his class! He wanted to beat the guy who beat Zane! I would have been the opponent for the Graduation Duel two years in a row! Sadly, Aster got to be part of the Graduation Duel. Wasn't too bad. He won and all.

That being said, having to take things easy when you and your girlfriend have started kissing has some perks. Like, you get to practice said kissing. My grades also improved, so I didn't have to worry about being held back a year.

"That's a relief." Alexis said, as I told her the same thing.

We were hanging out in her room having one of our... "study" sessions. ...That's code for making-out! Mind outta the gutter, people!

"Yeah." I said, leaning back in my chair. "Next year is gonna be sweet! I hear Blair's decided to come here full time."

"Uh huh?" Alexis asked.

"Yeah." I nodded. "Now that she's all gaga for Aster, there's no one to stand between you and me!"

"Are you forgetting all the other boys at the Academy?" Alexis laughed.

"Uh... Oh, they don't compare to Chazz, let alone me." I said, proudly.

"Even still, Crowler might not be okay with it." Alexis said.

"Oh, he just runs the Blue Dorms." I said, brushing off the concern. "He has no power over us Reds, now that Chancellor Sheppard is back!"

"You mean you didn't hear?" Alexis asked, eyes wide.

"Hear about what?" I asked. "Chancellor Sheppard is okay, right?"

"Yeah, he's alright." Alexis said. "But he's stepping down as Chancellor next year."

"What?!" I shouted. "Why?! He lets us get away with so much!"

"From what I heard, Zane dueled Sheppard once to get that new deck of his." Alexis explained. "He went after him and, about a week before the kidnapping incident, dueled him with those electrodes. His body couldn't handle it any longer. Add to that the knowledge he wasn't able to help Zane, his former student, and that he put us all in danger with the Spirit Gate Keys and letting the Society of Light take over, he decided to step down. Now Crowler's our full-time Chancellor."

"My life is over..." I said, hanging my head.

"Well, there's some good news." Alexis said, with a chuckle. "I've heard he's going to take the role as Slifer Red Headmaster."

"That's great!" I said excitedly. "Even I'll admit, the dorm has kinda gone down hill since Professor Banner died."

"Personally, I think he should have put Bonaparte in charge." Alexis said. "Making him take care of the dorm he hated so much? What better comeuppance?"

"Did I ever tell you you're hot when you have evil ideas?" I asked, causing Alexis to laugh. "Oh! There's something else I didn't tell you either."

"What?" Alexis asked.

"So, I was at the card shop the other day, and Dorothy was handing out fliers to all the Slifer Reds." I explained. "According to her, four big name students from four other Academies are going to be staying at Duel Academy for a few months. Since they're gonna need a place to stay, they're asking any Slifer's with spare rooms if they can house them for a few days. That whole 'when you transfer here, you start in Slifer' rule. Well, I signed my cabin up for a new roommie!"

"That's great, Jaden!" Alexis said, before she realized something. "Wait, have you told Syrus and Hassleberry yet?"

"Uh... I'll do it soon." I said.

"And what are you going to do about room?" Alexis asked. "You guys were barely able to make room for me."

"Well, I figure we'll take turns rotating." I explained. "One night, I'll sleep on the floor, then Syrus, then Hassleberry, then newbie, then back to me. And if that doesn't work out, I can probably crash somewhere else. I'm sure Chazz has some spare room."

"You could always stay here, if you want." Alexis said.

"They'd never allow that." I pointed out.

"All I need to do is say I need a bodyguard." Alexis said, smiling flirtatiously. Wow, big word for me.

"Then I might just need to take you up on that offer." I said.

My second year at Duel Academy had been pretty crazy. I mean, for one, I went to space! SPACE! I met a military-obsessed part-dinosaur guy who ended up becoming one of my best friends. I fought an evil cult controlled by an evil light possessing a fortune-teller. I dueled the former King of the Academy, using shock-collars, throwing away cards from his deck. I went one-on-one with a fellow Hero user and came out on top after we both got our Ace Monsters. And the weirdest thing of all, I somehow managed to get an amazing, hot, excellent duelist for a girlfriend.

Considering Blair would be joining Duel Academy, I'd get a new roommate and I'd just be a year away from Graduation, I couldn't wait to see what next year would throw at me!

Author's Note: Another done! I gotta admit, this one was a LOT of fun. More than Breaking at most points. I mean, for one, I got to pull off a pretty good twist to the original by having the Alexis Vs. Blair and Jaden Vs. Aster duels in the last two chapters.

Actually, about those. I originally just planned to go through the original way, and have Jaden and Aster duel each other around the same place as the original Missing, but I realized I could make the duel more climatic by having it at the end. So, I decided to work in Aster as a co-conspirator with Zane, or at least making it look that way to the characters.

Then, since a lot of readers missed Alexis during the events of the original Missing, I figured I'd give her some time to shine after being gone for so long, by having her duel Blair, rather than just having Jaden talk with Blair to wrap up the Blair plotline. Personally, I think it's one of the better things I've done, since I found a way around Blair's Mystic deck not having their effects known, and working that into a legitimate strategy. Pretty cool, even if I do say so myself. I'm very proud of this fic.

Now, some people may wonder how I'm going to handle the Competition remake. After all, since it was the original finale of the Breaking the Hold series, I set it up so the final chapter was put up on New Year's Eve, where the first chapter of Breaking the Hold was put up on New Year's Day that year. Well, who's to say I won't end things with that this time too? You'll just have to wait and see.

Now, what can I tell you about Competition? Well, obviously, it's based on the original Competition, follows along the same continuity was Society's Hold and Missing You... I've started writing out all the duels before I even begin writing the thing, so no big wait between chapters 3 and 4 this time. I'm being honest this time, people. I may have dropped the ball with Missing You, taking a loooong break between chapters, but I've started rewatching GX again. I know I did so during Society's Hold, but now that I'm on a GX kick, I'm getting into JadenXAlexis again. Not that I haven't been into it, but... you get my point. I've already been on a tangent for too long.

Competition. Right. Well, I'll tell you this much. There's gonna be a bit of a game changing surprise in the first chapter.

I also mentioned having some ideas for later. Things that started shaping up in Society's Hold and you can see a few more things here, plus more hints at the things set up in Society's Hold. So, until next month, thanks for reading, reviewing and favoriting this story. Hope you're looking forward to the next one.