New chapter. Finally!

Johan was first to wake up in the infirmary. He sat up and winced, still in pain. It took a moment for his foggy mind to clear enough to remember what had just transpired. A duel…? But why? He thought back to before that.

Johan and Judai sat in the Slifer dorm, examining their decks. They'd gotten very close and Johan had decided to stick around Duel Academy. Due to lack of space in the blue dorm – and his own insistence – Johan was rooming with Judai.

"Ah! Look! If I use this combo here I could summon Rainbow Dragon in a single turn!" he exclaimed.

Judai smirked and said, "But if I use this combination I can negate Rainbow Dragon's summoning and take out your life points!"

Johan had been about to respond when there was a banging on the door.

"Sho and Kenzan shouldn't be here yet…" Judai stated, curious as to whom the visitor was. He stood up and moved toward the door. Then the door flew open and was torn from its top hinges; standing there was a shadowy mass that ran into the room, grabbed Johan, and jumped out the window.

"Johan!" Judai shouted, quickly grabbed his cards, and ran after them.

The shadow carried Johan deep into the forest then stopped and threw him against a tree. He struck it and his vision swam. The thing approached Johan as he tried to stand and wrapped him in shadow. It felt strange… like razor wire tearing into his flesh, yet he wasn't bleeding nor had any cuts. It felt both hot and cold at the same time. There was a pressure in his skull and it was growing. His ears started to ring and he was about to lose consciousness when he heard a familiar voice.

"Johan!" the voice shouted. It took a moment before he realized the voice belonged to Judai.

"Judai…" he managed to cough out.

Then the shadows around him dissipated. Johan slumped back and slid down the tree, having no energy to stand. The shadow turned its attention to Judai.

"Glad to see you're finally here." It said in a strange warped voice.

Judai glared, "Why did you take Johan?"

The shadow chuckled evilly.

"Answer me!" Judai shouted.

If the thing had a visible face it would be smirking as it said, "To get to you. I knew you wouldn't come willingly so I had to get you here in a more… creative manner."

The shadow held up its forearm, or at least it seemed to be its forearm, and a shadowy duel disk formed, "And now, we duel!"

Judai glowered and his eyes flashed orange and blue. He readied his duel disk and the thing drew a card…

This memory was enough to shake the rest of the fog from his thoughts and he jumped off the cot in the infirmary.

"Judai!" He called in hopes that he may be awake and able to respond.

The nurse noticed her patient was up and distraught. She walked over to him and said, "Calm down please. Why not sit down and tell me what's wrong? What happened to you?"

Johan was panicked and said, not doing very well at keeping said panic out of his voice, "There's no time! Where's Judai?"

"Shh. Shh. Your friend's just over there." She answered in a calm voice gesturing to another cot, "he hasn't woken up yet."

She placed her hand on Johan's shoulder and gently pushed him back to sitting on the cot. This time he complied. The nurse checked his vitals and gave him a painkiller then sent him on his way. He wanted to stay by Judai but the nurse was persistent that they both needed rest.

"Johan!" Sho and Kenzan called, running up to him as was about to step through the door of his and Judai's dorm room. It had been repaired while he was unconscious. Exactly how long had he been out?

"Hey there, Sho, Kenzan." Johan said.

"I'm glad you're ok!" Sho said then he paused and looked around, "Where's Aniki?"

Johan lowered his eyes to the ground, "Judai's still out. He's in the infirmary. The nurse had me leave so the both of us could rest."

Worry crossed Sho and Kenzan's faces. They cared about all their friends but Judai especially. They'd been the ones to find him and Judai after and with all that's happened they'd probably been going out of their minds will worry. A silence passed between the trio and it carried their feelings. They were all a little sad and disappointed that Judai had yet to wake up, but they'd all visit him in the morning. Maybe by then he'd be up again.

"I… I'm a little tired. I think I should get some sleep." Johan said and entered the dorm room. Sho and Kenzan stood there a moment before returning to their respective dorms.

After the duel, inside a cold dark place the author isn't quite sure the location of…

A horrible scream ripped through the space and gradually faded away after what seemed like ages. It sounded female. Who could that be?

Judai wanted to move, wanted to find whoever was screaming, but he couldn't even move. He himself was in agony. Every part of him was crying out in pain and all he could do was lay there curled into a ball inside this strange place. Tears streamed from his eyes but he couldn't stop them. It hurt too much. He wanted to scream but no sound would come out when he tried. It hurt too much for that to. He wasn't even sure what was causing it but it felt like his soul was being torn apart.

"Judai!" shouted somebody nearby. The voice sounded very similar to his own, but held a cold edge that was there regardless of what was being said. Other things were mixed into it though like shock and, though it was only a drip and barely noticeable, fear.

He heard footsteps hurry over to him then somebody drop to their knees next to where he lay. The next thing he was aware of was a hand pushing his bangs from his eyes. The hand was firm but gentle. The person it belonged to seemed to understand that he was in extreme pain. Judai closed his eyes as the pain began to subside. He opened them again when the hurt was barely perceptible anymore then turned onto his back and found himself looking into a face exactly like his own. The eyes, that was the difference. Judai's were soft and brown and happy, but this person's were hard and gold and emotionless. Right now though this person winced slightly and the pain he was trying to hide from his face was revealed in his eyes.

Judai's voice was barely audible and came out as a whisper, "Haou…"