Okay, so this is set up to take place in between seasons 2 and 3. It's like adding an extra year of school (won't they love that?) in between. So everything with Sartorius has already happened, but you won't be meeting Jesse, Axel, Jim, and *gag* Adrian. I'm leaving Blair out too, she joins DA next year. I'm bringing Sheppard back, since Crowler sucked at the job. And I'm bringing Zane and Atticus back. Hey, it's my fic, I can do what I want! They're back at DA for grad school, because I decided to give Duel Academy grad school. Happy? Yay! So I guess it's obvious it's AU, but it has canon references. Also, since it has been stated that this is AU, don't bug about Zane and Atticus being at DA and Sheppard being Chancellor and all of that. You have been warned in this intro paragraph, so if you aren't happy with it, don't read the story!

Okay, disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX and all canon references!

And claimer: I do own only my OC's and the plot of this story!

"Two nine year old kids, one boy and one girl, decided that they would skip school one day to visit the local caves. Once they were inside the cave, however, the mouth of the cave collapsed, leaving the two trapped. They traveled farther into the cave, hoping to find another way out. They came to a dimly lit room that had a few torches, and the door behind them suddenly shut, trapping them again. A man stepped out of the shadows, and challenged the boy to a duel. The girl stepped in, insisting she should be the one who dueled.

"The man accepted, and told her it would be a shadow duel, and the loser's soul would be trapped in the Shadow Realm. After a well-fought duel, the girl lost. Before the girl's soul was taken, she threw three cards to the boy, saying he'll need them someday. She disappeared into the shadows, and she hasn't been seen since," Jaden finished his story.

Jaden looked up to see Syrus holding onto Hassleberry, shaking. "What? I drew a high level monster card, so I told a scary story." He placed Elemental Hero Neos on top of the discard pile of their game.

"Jaden? Did that really happen?" Syrus asked, still shaking.

Before he could answer, there was a loud pound on the door.

"Will you Slackers keep it down?" Chazz yelled through the wood. "I'm trying to sleep!"

Jaden smiled, "Sorry, Chazz!" There was a grunt and then the three heard Chazz's footsteps echo away.

"Why did I let you convince us to play this game again?" Syrus complained. "Last time we did we ended up at the Abandoned Dorm."

"Abandoned Dorm?" Hassleberry asked. "Sounds cool."

"Kinda creepy, actually."

"Why's that, Sarge?"

"Well, Atticus and a few other students went missing there once and when he turned up again he was possessed," Jaden explained. "Not fun dueling against him then, I'll tell ya that."

"And you had to duel that guy Titan to save Alexis, right?" Syrus added.

Jaden stiffened, but it went unnoticed by the other two. It had been two years since his duel with Titan, and he had wondered at the time why he had seemed so...familiar. It wasn't until after Alexis's own duel with the man that he realized...

"Jaden?"

"You okay, Sarge?"

Jaden looked up at the two and smiled. "Yeah, I was just thinking."

Suddenly, Jaden stood up and slipped his sneakers on before heading to the door. "I'll be back, guys."

"Sarge, where're you going?" Hassleberry asked.

"Just for a walk," Jaden shrugged.

"But it's past midnight!" Syrus protested.

"I'll sleep in class tomor—today," Jaden said with a smile before leaving the room.

Jaden closed the door gently behind him and wrapped his Slifer jacket tightly around himself as a cool blast of autumn wind hit him. As he walked down the steps from the second floor balcony of the Slifer dorm, he noticed the light from Chazz's room turn off.

Jaden hadn't thought of a particular destination when he started walking, but it soon became clear that his body and his mind were not communicating at the moment as he found himself on the path to the Abandoned Dorm.

Jaden frowned in thought, continuing his trek (1) even after comprehending where he was headed. Jaden needed the much longed for closure that for the past seven year he had been unable to receive. It was unlikely that he would find this closure that night, at the Abandoned Dorm, but just the memories the building held was enough for Jaden…he just needed something to focus his thoughts on.

As he reached the gate, he noticed additional padlocks on the gate that had not been there two years ago. Having gone this far already, Jaden gripped the bars and climbed his way over them. After touching down on the other side, he noticed that there was a sizable hole in the fence not two yards from him.

Awesome, Jaden chuckled in spite of himself.

He ambled along the dirt road to the dorm, remembering the last time he had walked its path.

Those were the days, Jaden smiled nostalgically, remembering his freshman year at Duel Academy. The last time he had visited the Abandoned Dorm was originally a midnight excursion for fun, but when Alexis was kidnapped, Jaden and co. had to rescue her, by dueling a man named Titan.

Jaden growled, even the thought of the man inspired hate.

Without realizing it, Jaden had already entered the Dorm and wandered its halls. After a minute or so of aimless wandering, Jaden came upon a hallway with walls covered in pictures and symbols.

I think we saw this the last time we were here, Jaden thought, walking towards the nearest wall. A certain symbol piqued his interest: a thick-lined eye.

Almost in a daze, he slowly lifted his hand to touch the symbol on the wall. As his fingertips grazed the wall, Jaden's world exploded in a flash of white light.

"Once you lose this duel, your soul will be trapped in the Shadow Realm," the man told the girl. Jaden trembled, watching the girl duel.

"Jaden, help me!"

"Prepare to be defeated by the shadows!" he said, pulling out a duel disk.

"Give Alexis back!" Jaden yelled to the man.

"Only if you defeat me in a duel," he replied.

"Fine, get your game on," Jaden challenged.

"Once you lose this duel, your soul will be trapped in the Shadow Realm," he told Jaden as the duel raged on.

"Then I better not lose!" he shot back, drawing his next card.

"You are about to lose this duel, and you still don't remember," the man taunted.

"What are you talking about?" Jaden asked, puzzled.

"Once you lose this duel, your soul will be trapped in the Shadow Realm," he said as Alexis activated her duel disc.

"I don't plan on losing," she replied heatedly. "This is payback."

"You've lost her. She's never coming back."

"Help me, Jaden!"

"You're next, Jaden."

"Jaden!"

"No!"

Cold sweat poured down Jaden's face as he ripped his hand from the wall. With blurred senses, he noticed the symbol on the wall was glowing slightly.

He stumbled away from the wall as the glow intensified, and he sprinted from the hallway without looking back.

Jaden ran away from the dorm, out of the forest, and headed towards the cliffs behind the Slifer Dorm. Once he got there, he sat down, out of breath from his run.

He sat there in silence for a moment, pondering what had just transpired in the Abandoned Dorm.

"Help me, Jaden!"

Jaden shook his head in frustration, grabbing his hair with his hands. "You have no idea how much I wish you were here," Jaden muttered. Then he started to cry, letting seven years of sorrow flow out of him.

"You know, Jaden, you never were the one to cry," a voice said behind him.

Jaden's head shot up, but still stared out at the ocean, "Is that you? Sadie?"

"I'm glad you haven't forgotten," she replied. Jaden slowly stood up and turned, staring at the girl who had just made her presence known.

Jaden squinted in the dim light of the half moon, looking at the girl closer to confirm that it was indeed...

Jaden took a small step forward and allowed a small smile to crack his dazed complexion. He let out a sound that resembled a relieved laugh and a slight sob, and then the two embraced each other.

"I missed you, Sadie," Jaden told her.

"I missed you too, Jaden."

(1) Okay, I just wanted to point out that is actually how you spell 'trek', haha. It surprised me too :) Though it shouldn't surprise anyone I guess, considering Star Trek...okay, moving on :D

Alright people, there's chapter 1 of the rewritten version of Cursed by the Shadows. Better/worse so far? Let me know! Flamers will be laughed at and ignored.

I'm so sorry it's taken me so long to get this out, but here it is, finally, part number one of the rewrite. I can't guarantee chapter one will be out soon, but I felt like I at least owed you guys this much. Thank you for everyone who has stuck by so long to see the new version!

Pictures of OC's for this story as well as all of my stories can be found at my website. The link can be found on my profile page.

Thanks for reading!

Peace out!
Sadie