"Yu-Gi-Oh/ Yu-Gi-Oh: GX"

Present:

"Tournament of Kings"

by Snodin

.

One: "Impending Doom"

PROLOGUE

Nobody expected Yuki Judai to make it into Duel Academy, but that's exactly where he was headed one warm day in September. More accurately, he was going to a convention center in downtown Tokyo where trials were being held for students that wanted to enroll into the one high school in the world that promoted professional "Duel Monsters" players.

A no-name from just outside Domino City, the rusty brown-haired Judai was just like every other teenager who only played the Duel Monsters trading card game for fun. But unlike most teen boys, he had a dream of becoming a pro duelist who may one day go toe to toe with the greatest duelist alive, possibly the greatest of all time: Moto Yugi.

He was already running late and tore down the street like a bat out of hell toward the convention center, when he bumped into somebody on the way: a taller man in his early twenties, with a striking spiked hairstyle colored black, yellow and hot pink.

"Whoops!" exclaimed the rushed teen. "Excuse me sir," he bowed respectfully.

The slightly older man just smiled. "You're a duelist, aren't you?"

"Heck yeah, I am!" replied the teen with a wide smile. "Well, maybe not a full-time duelist, but I plan to be, someday."

Then the twenty year old pulled out a deck of cards- Duel Monster cards. "I've got a feeling you'll need this," said he, as he drew from the top of his deck one single card, and handed it over to Judai.

Judai looked at it curiously. "…Winged Kuriboh?" he read the card's top text in disbelief.

"Take care of that card for me," said the adult as he started to walk away. "It should come in handy one day."

"I sure will! Thanks, Mister!" promised the excited teen; never before had he been given such a modest yet rare gift. He was just about to resume his rush toward the proving grounds, when something had just registered in his head: he recognized that man's face before! "Hey," he muttered as he turned around; "aren't you…?" But he was already gone.

Judai's sight wasn't playing any tricks on him; that man was who he thought he was. That was Moto Yugi- the "King of Games." By now his tales of dueling were legendary; some told of how he saved the world many times by playing the card game against forces of evil. Tall tales, perhaps, but young Judai had heard them all. But he never once dreamed that a man of such prestige would even think to give him one of his own cards, but that's just what happened. It had to be fate, or an omen...

Of course, these were all just hopes in Judai's heart, and they would have to wait. Right now, he was a young man on a mission: someday soon, he too would make history and become a Duel Monsters legend. But first, he had to enroll into Duel Academy.

While holding onto the card of Hane (or Winged) Kuriboh in a tight grip on his resumed race to the convention center, the boy thought he heard the faint sound of high-pitched giggling coming from the angelic furry creature within the card...

.

THREE YEARS LATER

In the Southern Pacific ocean, just south of Japan, there sat a small tropical island which possessed its own active volcano. This was Duel Academy Island, home to the most famous of all academies which trained teenagers between the ages of 15 and 18 years into becoming professional Duel Monsters players.

This Duel Academy had four dorms- one belong strictly to its female inhabitants, but the others housed boys whose social status depended upon their experience levels. The lowest ranked belonged to Osiris Red; the middle-ranked students were of Ra Yellow; and the highest-ranked of all was Obelisk Blue. These dorms were named after the legendary "God Cards" of the Duel Monsters game- cards thought to be so powerful, they could destroy the earth.

For nearly fifteen years, this small island had become a home away from home for these young adults, as well as the adults who taught and cared for them. And even though the students would only live here for three years of their lives, it would be a most unforgettable experience, playing virtual games and making their marks while often losing themselves in the beauty of this tropical paradise.

...But even Paradise can be short-lived.

.

10:56am

There had been small quakes disrupting the island for some time now, which disturbed both the owner of the island- Kaiba Seto- and its inhabitants. And although the volcano had been active for centuries, there hadn't been any signs of it threatening the life on the island, until now.

That morning, a team of twelve seismologists were flown to the island via helicopter, to observe the volcano and detect any signs of disturbance in the earth. Sure enough, their equipment picked up on unnatural vibrations deep within the earth. And those who were observing the volcano's base would pick up on something stranger.

Two scientists were reading the script of vibrations of their seismometer, when… WHOOSH!In an instant, something very big and shadowed darted through the air, just over the site.

"Did you see that?" gasped the female.

"See what?" asked the man; his head was down the whole time.

The lady kept her eyes on the sky. "I dunno… It looked like… a monster."

Indeed, it was. It was a Duel monster.

Meanwhile…

(A/N: This scene would be set to the Avenged Sevenfold song, "Blinded in Chains")

The jungle region was off limits, but that didn't stop Judai and two of his friends from having a fun race that fateful afternoon. However, it was no ordinary race; two of the racers had with them activated duel disks, which projected holographic images of their chosen duel monsters.

At first glance, all there was to show for was a small red jeep followed by a dark motorcycle. But soon, the vehicles were followed by two strange creatures flying through the air.

The jeep was driven by one of Judai's friends from Ra Yellow; his name was Kenzan Tyranno, and as his name and dinosaur-shaped headband would suggest, he had a certain affection for dinosaurs. While he put the pedal to the metal on unpaved ground, Judai sat in the backseat to guide his monster: a hybrid mutant by the name of Flame Wingman.

It, the very Duel Monster spotted by one of the seismologists, was a mostly green humanoid creature with a red dragon head for a right arm, followed by a matching red dragon tail. And although it only had one true wing, colored white, it soared in the air like an eagle.

Judai's opponent was the one flying solo on motorcycle- his name was Manjyome Jun, and while he too was a member of Osiris Red, he dared to break the color code by going all black. Following him at top speed was a small dragon with an orange belly and grey, spiky armor. It was called, respectively, Armed Dragon Level 3, and while its wings were puny, it could catch up with the much larger Flame Wingman.

They had been going at this free-roaming cat and mouse game for a while, and were neck and neck for the most part, even after hurdling uneasy terrain such as steep slopes and tree roots.

Finally, after twenty minutes of free roaming, Judai decided to break the tension. "Come on, Manjyome-kun! This is supposed to be a challenge, not a drag race!"

Manjyome's wild black hair danced in the wind, for he dared not to wear a helmet, but only blue visors. "You want a challenge? Try giving me something I can't beat first!"

"If you insist," smirked Judai. Then he raised the duel disk attached to his left arm in the air and commanded, "Flame Wingman, attack Armed Dragon Level 3!"

On command, the mutant sprayed a surprising fireball from its dragon head-shaped hand, hitting the baby dragon's right side. The little dragon tumbled in the air, but wasn't out for the count yet.

"This means war!" growled a vengeful Manjyome.

As his left arm balanced its handlebar, Manjyome quickly pulled the first card from atop the deck that he had placed in his duel disk. As he inserted it into the disk, he commanded, "I play Level Up! Now Armed Dragon, rise to Level 5!"

While the baby dragon seemed to be far off at this point, it seemed to take his command. First it dove into a shroud of trees, then suddenly those trees appeared to be dug up, as if a giant mole was tearing through the earth below them. But it wasn't a mole; it was the baby dragon, now a full grown adult with talon-like spikes all over its body. When it was finally launched out into the open, it took to a swift gallop, until it was back to where it originally was, right next to Flame Wingman.

And then, very unsportsmanlike, it leapt into the air, pile-driving itself into its opponent. The two holographic monsters went tumbling off into unknown territory, hidden by a slew of trees.

Judai gulped, "Aw nuts!" He knew that without his guidance, Flame Wingman would be at the Armed Dragon's mercy. "Kenzan!" he exclaimed; "We gotta catch up to 'em!"

"No prob, boss," smiled the jeep's driver. "I know a shortcut!" Then he surprised Judai with a whip-lashing turn to the right.

Manjyome watched as the jeep split from his sight and stood his course; he knew where he was going as if he knew the jungle like the back of his hand.

Meanwhile, the jeep plowed itself through tall grass and tree uproots until it came face to face with a cliff. Before he knew it, Judai was screaming, "This is a shortcut-u-u-U-U-U-UT!?" as the jeep vigorously sledded down the sloping cliff.

They hit the dirt hard, but they were now at a smoother level of the field, on which the holographic monsters could be more easily found.

Manjyome, meanwhile, whipped his motorcycle around just to reach a much safer standpoint. Once he got there, at the very edge of the high ground, he skid his motorbike to a halt. Then, he removed his visors to get a better view of the playing field.

Sure enough, Flame Wingman and Armed Dragon 5 were spotted in an open area, tossing dirt left and right (or so it seemed, given they were just holograms) as they tussled violently.

Manjyome grinned as he soon realized that his dragon had the upper hand; it had its opponent in a chokehold. "That's it, Armed Dragon," cheered its master, "keep him grounded!"

Flame Wingman did its best to push back the dragon, but it was twice as big and packed with forbidding nails from head to tail. A whack from its club-like tail was sure to knock Flame Wingman on the ground for good.

But just as Manjyome was about to gloat, he heard the sound of an engine roar; he glanced to the left, and sure enough Kenzan's red jeep was screeching through the thick brush, out onto the open field where the duel monsters stood.

Manjyome watched helplessly, as his opponents started to circle the dirt-covered playing field. They dodged one stomping foot after another, as well as tail lashes from the Armed Dragon. But once Judai was in range, he encouraged his monster to counter-attack with a swift right hook. It did, and while Flame Wingman was usually weaker than Armed Dragon 5, the dragon took the full force of the punch.

Before Armed Dragon could retaliate, Flame Wingman boosted its foot onto the dragon's nose, and took off like a rocket into the air. Armed Dragon tried to shoot it down with fireballs, but its opponent was zooming too fast.

"Finish him now, Flame Wingman!" commanded Judai from where he sat in the jeep.

Flame Wingman then turned its direction from straight up to straight downward; it fell so quickly that it caught flames, making it look like a meteorite. It collided directly with Armed Dragon, blasting both holograms to bits.

The force of the final blow was enough to send the jeep flying.

(Song fades out)

Even from his safe spot on the cliff, Manjyome felt a part of the force that made him duck for cover. When he opened his eyes, he realized that the battle was over, and that his company could have been seriously hurt. He quickly looked back to see where the jeep had landed, but all he could see at first was a cloud of dust.

In moments, the dust cloud cleared, revealing that the jeep had crashed just several feet from where it originally was. In fact, its front was almost completely buried in dirt; the back wheels were still spinning for a little while longer.

Kenzan seemed to be alright, but he was confused as to why his airbag didn't work. When he tested it at last by tapping his wheel, Poof! Out came the airbag, nearly knocking him unconscious.

As for Judai, he had been completely thrown from the jeep and was now lying face down in the dirt. But it didn't take him long to recover himself, coughing in a fit of dust.

Manjyome smiled; he wouldn't admit it out loud, but he was grateful that his company was okay.

"WAH-HOO!" howled an exuberant Kenzan as he somehow crawled out of his totaled jeep and walked toward a still dizzy Judai. With his muscle-ripped arms, he lifted his "big brother" up with one quick yank as he cheered. "That was the best race ever! We have GOT to do that again, Aniki!"

Said his so-called brother with a smile, "Yeah, it was great Kenzan… but I don't think we can race again today." As he said this, he looked toward the remains of the red jeep, almost regretfully.

Their laughs were then interrupted by the purring sound of Manjyome's motorcycle approaching them. They watched as he came to a peaceful stop by their side and smirked, "Had to go for the dramatics, didn't you?"

Said Judai in retort, "Well you had to go and make it an all-out battle."

"You started it," replied the one in black with half a smile.

They probably could have verbally lashed at each other for hours to come, but just when they had begun to recover from their race, something most unusual happened. The earth started to tremble.

The ground beneath their feet vibrated softly, but it was enough to stir fear in the teens almost instantly. In fact, the rumbling went on for a few seconds, to the point where Manjyome nearly lost his balance on the motorcycle. But then, just as quickly as it came, the rumbling stopped.

"…what… was that?" muttered a shaken Kenzan.

With his eyes glued to the earth, Judai's mouth gaped. "I... don't know."

Manjyome was just as curious as they were, but his eyes soon turned to the sky and not the ground. He was captivated by a new sound- the sound of a helicopter.

Soon enough, all three teens looked to the sky, and witnessed a black helicopter hovering just above them, and then mysteriously vanished in a frantic hurry.

Judai pointed upward. "Was that… a Kaiba Corp chopper?"

"Yeah," said Manjyome solemnly. "And you know what that means… We're busted."

..

12:23pm

"Disgraceful, irresponsible, and illegal! Is it not!?"

The rage of Sensei Chronos could be heard halfway down the hallway of the Chancellor's office, in which he had already begun to scold the three young joy-riders just minutes after their return from the jungle. They- Manjyome, a mud-covered Judai and Kenzan in that order from left to right- all stood before the Victorian-dressed Italian in shame.

Formerly the headmaster of the elite Obelisk Blue, Chronos de Medici now stood in as vice principal of the school. And yet, he seemed to have a nasty habit of sitting in place of the real principal, as he was even at this moment.

His rant went on; "The jungles are off limits, are they not? Taking your vehicles for some play ride in the wilderness- absurd! And on a school day, is it not?"

"It's not," muttered Judai.

"Quiet!" snapped Chronos. "Whose idea was this?" narrowed the headmaster's eyes.

Manjyome and Judai stood silent, but Kenzan was quick to nudge his head in Judai's direction. As loyal as he was to his friends, Kenzan was more loyal to getting out of trouble.

Chronos huffed, "Hmph! Yuki Judai, I would expect something this outrageous to come from you, yes."

"Why thank you Sensei," grinned Judai foolishly. The wild-haired boy at his right rolled his eyes.

"But you, Manjyome Jun!?"

Manjyome looked on with a surprised gasp.

"You," lectured Chronos, "come from a good family, no? A proud family! Letting these hooligans talk you into breaking school rules, you ought to be ashamed of yourself, yes?"

Manjyome hung his head in shame.

Judai then stepped forward. "Aw come on, Sensei; we can't be punished for this. The whole jungle rule's just a safety precaution."

"Silence!" snapped the would-be principal. "You're all going to be expelled as soon as I report this to the Chancellor, no?"

"No!" they all replied fearfully.

Chronos then stood tall and waved a finger at them. "Perhaps next time you three will be wise not to disrespect the rules, no?"

"No… I mean yes! …No, wait." Judai scratched his head, confused.

"What's this I hear about expulsion?" came a voice from someone walking through the front door. It was a tall man dressed in a red coat with hair not on his brow but on his chin. He also wore a smile that could warm up a room. This was Principal Sameshima, the true head of the academy.

"Chronos," he raised an eyebrow. "You're at my desk again."

"Eep!" gulped the royal blue-dressed Vice Chancellor. Humbly, he scurried away from the desk. "Sorry, Sameshima-san! I was keeping your seat warm, no?"

"Hmm," hummed the jolly-natured man in red as he walked past the three guilty teens. He then turned to them in a most gentle demeanor. "You boys do know that what you did was against school rules-"

"Exactly what I said, was it not?" snapped Chronos nearby.

"However," Sameshima went on to say, "I understand that the jungle prohibition is just a safety precaution. So, I'm just going to give you three demerits and hope you won't do it again. Is that alright?"

"Yes-sir," they all bowed their heads.

Judai quickly gave Chronos a smirk and a wink while his torso was bent down; Chronos saw it and growled.

"Very good," said the true principal. "Dismissed!"

The three teens left Chronos' headquarters, one more sourly than the others.

Meanwhile, Sameshima turned to the head of Obelisk Blue and began to say, "I've just received some disturbing news about our volcano." The rest of their conversation would proceed, but as the door shut itself, it would go on unheard by spies.

..

As the trio of troublemakers walked down the hallway of the main building, Kenzan gleefully patted Judai on the back. "That was great fun; we mustdo it again sometime! See ya 'round, Aniki!" he waved to Judai as he switched direction to head for his own dorm.

"Bye Kenzan," Judai waved back as his friend from Ra Yellow parted ways. "See you at the duel later!"

Then he turned back to Manjyome, who started tapping his foot impatiently as he leaned against the wall.

"I really should have known better than to follow your lead."

"Huh?" peeped a confused Judai.

The teen in black then mock-imitated his red-clad rival: "'Come on, Manjyome-kun, it'll be fun! One last drive around the woods before summer break! No one will ever know.'" He then switched to his normal voice: "It's 'San-da,' first of all; and second of all, you were proven wrong weren't you?"

"Well," argued Judai with a smile, "we did just get done our Mid-terms. I figured a fun race-duel would calm our nerves."

Manjyome gave a small nod, but his frown was still present. "I appreciate the sentiment, but that really is the last time I let myself get in trouble thanks to you."

"For what it's worth, the look on Chronos-san's face was priceless."

"Yeah, yeah, murgh..." grumbled Manjyome's sour voice as he departed the building. He didn't want to admit it out loud, but he did feel seeing his old dorm leader getting his panties in a bind was worth the trouble.

Judai started down the other side of the hallway, feeling much less uptight as his would-be friend. He would not be feeling so happy-go-lucky, had he caught the rest of the conversation going on behind the principal's doors: "An eruption!? Come again!?" bellowed Chronos' shocked voice from behind the doorway.

..

"I'm afraid it's true," replied Sameshima solemnly, with his head bowed. "The team we've sent to the volcano picked up the activity just under the hour."

Chronos' blue lips drooped as far as they could; "Impossible, is it not? This volcano hasn't erupted in over fifty years, has it not? It shouldn't be able to blow its top so soon!"

Again, Sameshima frowned. "I really can't believe it either, Chronos. We have approximately one week to evacuate the entire island. The announcement must be made immediately, although we should do our best not to panic the students."

"The students…" mourned Chronos. "Si. How do we explain it to them, eh?"

Said the principal, "However we deal with it will be decided by the staff, but the sooner we do it the better. I hate to admit it, Chronos… but our days here at Duel Academy are numbered."

.

II

Duel Academy's days numbered? It just couldn't be! Not with so many hopeful students with such promising futures…

Like Misawa Daichi, the top Ra Yellow student of the senior class. His passions were science, mathematics and dueling, and found ways of putting them together in special decks of cards. His more popular ones involved the H20 themed deck that created the Water Dragon, and the earthy Machines with a "positive" and "negative" theme. When he wasn't dueling, he was filling his dorm walls with difficult theorems.

Like Tenjoin Asuka, the top female of the senior class. Asuka had been popular from day one, mostly because of her attractive looks. But she always tried to avoid being a playgirl and not let her fandom get to her head, by hanging out with the less-popular Osiris Red students. Her two main deck types have been Fusion-summoned "cyber athletes," and Ritual-summoned "cyber angels."

Or like Marufuji Sho, who was due in the main dueling arena that afternoon for a chance to move up in the ranks. Speaking of which...

3:45pm

"Hurry up, we're gonna be late!"

Within the next hour, Judai and Kenzan darted down the hallway like two bats out of hell, as they raced for the doorways that would take them into the main dueling arena in the building.

When they finally made it through the sliding doors, they could see that the gym was almost completely packed. Hundreds of students, dressed in red, yellow or blue mixed with white, filled the seats surrounding the circular, coliseum-like gym. As Judai and Kenzan paused to breathe, they heard this special announcement on a loud speaker:

"Ladies and gentlemen, in mere moments we will commence today's main event! First, let us meet the contestants. On Side A, our challenger: third-year student from the Ra Yellow dorm, Marufuji Sho!"

All eyes fell on Sho, the duelist in the yellow blazer that represented his dorm. Sho was petite for his age; he looked thirteen when really he was seventeen. His hair was a soft sky blue and parted very much like Albert Einstein's, and over his matching sky blue eyes were glasses that seemed too small for those eyes.

"And on Side B: in his second year in school and already an elitist in Obelisk Blue, the remarkable Gokaido Houzan!"

Gokaido stood not much taller than Sho; he seemed younger than his true age. His hair was light brown, and spiky as most male students', but other than that he lacked in outlandish physical features. To really stand out, he would have to have a formidable deck of cards.

"This will be considered a promotional duel; if Marufuji Sho can beat Gokaido, he will be instated into our highest ranking dorm of all: the elite Obelisk Blue!"

.

As many of the students cheered for the favored Obelisk, Sho's friends were shuffling downward toward the first row, where they could see their friend more closely. Along the way, they spotted two friendly faces.

"Hey, Judai! Over here!" waved the hand of a young lady's, with long hazel hair and matching hazel eyes. This was Judai's one and only female friend, Tenjoin Asuka. As all the females did in the academy, she wore the same uniform colors as Obelisk Blues.

Standing by her side was third-year Ra Yellow student Misawa Daichi. He had a broad chin and slick-back grey hair, plus white streaks of it on the sides, and matching dark eyes.

"Asuka! Misawa!" Judai waved back at the girl who was standing in the fifth row above the arena floor. Quickly he and Kenzan rushed to join their friends. Soon, two became four in Row Five.

"Fashionably late, I see," smiled the ever so patient Misawa.

Judai then took a breath as he observed the dueling arena; "Hey, I think I know that guy in Blue… He's not really that remarkable, is he?"

Misawa replied, "He has the top-ranked Warrior deck in his dorm; these duel officials don't play around when they pick their opponents for these promotional duels."

"They must really want him back in Osiris Red!"

Judai's ears perked up at the voice they heard, and he let loose a sly grin. "I know that snobby, arrogant, sourly bitter voice anywhere!" Then he finally caught sight of the voice's owner down at the very first row on his left side. "Hi, Manjyome-kun!" he waved loudly.

"San-da!" barked the black-clad Osiris, giving Judai a death glare. Then he crossed his arms and looked away. "And I'm not talking to you, Judai; I'm still pissed that you got me in trouble today!"

"What's he talking about?" wondered Asuka.

"Long story, doesn't matter. Let's go torture him!" Judai responded rather quickly. Misawa and Asuka decided not to pry further into the matter; besides, torturing Manjyome was always fun.

.

Said Gokaido to his challenger, "I hope you don't think I'm gonna go easy on you, Ra boy. I know you were an Osiris once, and I doubt your skills got any better."

Said Sho defiantly to his opponent, "You'll just see how good my deck's gotten, so bring it on!"

"If you insist," narrowed Gokaido's eyes.

And so they unsheathed their duel disks.

DUEL!

Gokaido: 8000 LP (Life Points)

Sho: 8000 LP (Life Points)

Gokaido began the duel: "My turn, draw! …I'll start by summoning Marauding Captain, in Attack Mode."

Marauding Captain: 1200 ATK (Attack Points)

"And, thanks to his special ability, I'm able to Special Summon a Level 4 monster from my hand to the field, and I choose my Queen's Knight."

Queen's Knight: 1500 ATK

"Then finally, I'll set one card face down in the Spell/Trap Zone, and end my turn." Gokaido finished his turn with three cards remaining In his hand.

"My turn, draw!" exclaimed his small opponent.

.

Meanwhile, Manjyome was at peace at last, until he heard footsteps approaching him. "Aw, come on!" he complained as his space was now invaded by Judai and his crew. "There are plenty of empty seats to fill up there!"

Judai grinned as he sat beside his rival, "Yeah well, nothing beats the front row!"

"Yeah and besides," grinned Kenzan who took the seat right behind Manjyome's and grabbed his shoulders unexpectedly, "you look so lonely down here! You look like you can use a hug!"

"Augh!" Manjyome pulled himself away from the Kenzan; "Claws off the merchandise, dino-boy!"

"I was only teasing you, jerk-o-saurus," shot back a cat-eyed Kenzan.

Misawa took the seat right behind Judai, and Asuka sat beside the Ra student. "I think Sho would appreciate it if all his friends gathered in one place to cheer him on," said Misawa.

Manjyome crossed his arms. "I'm not rooting for anybody; I was just hoping to get a few moments peace. You know, alone."

.

Meanwhile, Sho's turn was still underway; "I summon Steamroid in attack mode!"

A train whistle blew as a cute, cartoon-like train appeared on his field.

Steamroid: 1800 ATK

"And now," announced the petite Sho, "I'll attack your Captain with Steamroid, and whenever he attacks, his attack points increase by 500!"

Steamroid: 2300 ATK (Battle phase)

Gokaido watched helplessly as his weaker warrior dressed in a silver suit of armor was run over by the cartoonish train as it blew a hefty puff of steam.

Gokaido: 8000 - 6900 LP

Sho then announced, "I'll set a card now, and end my turn."

"My turn, draw!" shouted Gokaido. "I now summon King's Knight to the field."

King's Knight: 1600 ATK

"And now that I have King's Knight and Queen's Knight out on the field together, I'm able to Special Summon from my deck, Jack's Knight!"

Jack's Knight: 1900 ATK

"They make a terrific trio, don't you think?" he smiled. "Now Jack's Knight, attack that train!"

Sho was prepared for this moment. "I activate my face-down card: LimiterRemoval! This card doubles the original attack of all face-up Machine-type monsters on my field!"

Steamroid: 3600 ATK

Jack's Knight was destroyed, and so were a portion of Gokaido's Life Points.

Gokaido: 6900 - 5200 LP

The crowd started getting louder as they had newfound hope for the seemingly weaker Sho. Sho himself took a deep breath of relief; he only placed Limiter Removal face down through a gut feeling that he would need it.

At that point, even Gokaido was applauding the young Ra. "Well done, Sho. I honestly didn't see that coming."

Sho blushed. "Heh-heh, well… I kinda learned from the best, you know?"

.

"Aw, he doesn't need to thank me," gloated Judai as he elbowed the dark-haired, black-coated Osiris next to him.

.

Gokaido smiled to Sho, "You're talking about your brother Ryo, aren't you?"

"Of course I am!" Sho smiled back.

.

"Wha!?" Judai face-faulted. Manjyome giggled at his rival's error in judgment.

.

Then Sho's tone toward his opponent became more serious. "When I first came to this school, nobody believed that I could be as good as Ryo. I didn't even believe in myself! But after everything I've learned in the last three years, I know now that I've got more power than I ever thought. So yes, I'm dedicating this duel to my big brother, because if I win, I'll prove once and for all that I'm just as good a duelist as he is."

"It's almost a shame then, that he's not here to see this," Gokaido crossed his arms.

Sho gulped, "True, Ryo's already gone pro… But if he were here now… He'd be sitting right over there-" he pointed toward where Judai and the others were as he said this- "cheering me on like all my friends are right now!"

.

On cue, Judai, Asuka, Kenzan and Misawa let rip a barrage of claps and hollers for their little friend. Manjyome just smiled and gave Sho a peace sign.

.

"Alright Sho," said Gokaido sternly. "I'll first activate my Trap, CalloftheHaunted. This lets me bring back a monster from my card Graveyard, and I choose Jack's Knight. Next, I'll set one card face down and end my turn."

"Alright! My move, draw! …I summon Drillroid, in Attack Mode!"

Drillroid: 1600 ATK

"Drillroid, attack Queen's Knight!"

"Not so fast, I activate my SakuretsuArmor! Not only does this Trap negate your attack, but it also kills your monster automatically!"

The elitist was right; Sho gasped in horror as his one and only monster out on the field was engulfed by a flash of light, and then disappeared. He was wide open for an attack now.

.

"Oh no, Sho!" gasped Judai in concern.

"He should've seen that coming," muttered Manjyome.

Kenzan then grabbed Manjyome's neck again and growled, "Hey! If you're not cheering for our little buddy, then you can sit somewhere else!"

"I was here first!" barked back Manjyome.

"Guys, stop it!" insisted Asuka nearby. "This game is nowhere near over, and Sho's still winning."

Manjyome pulled away from Kenzan's grip yet again and gave him a deathly glare that scared even the dinosaur duelist enough to wave his hands in surrender.

.

"Ehh," Sho muttered, feeling the pressure. "...I- I set two cards down, and end my turn." It was apparent that he lost his nerve.

"My turn, draw!" exclaimed Gokaido. "I summon Breaker, the Magical Warrior, in Attack Mode."

Breaker The Magical Warrior: 1900 ATK

.

"This isn't good," gulped Judai.

"Not good at all," frowned Manjyome beside him.

"Thought you weren't talking to me."

"Sorry, I thought you were Misawa."

"You're still talking to me, though."

"Shuddup, Judai."

"Still talking," whispered the wily red-coated boy.

.

Gokaido's turn continued. "And now, I activate Breaker's special ability. Once he's summoned to the field, he gets what's called a 'counter,' which gives him a power boost of 1900 Attack Points. But I can sacrifice that counter in order to destroy one Spell or Trap on the field. So I'll do just that…"

Breaker The Magical Warrior: 1900 - 1600 ATK

"…and destroy the face-down card on your left!"

Sho's Mirror Force was extinguished long before he could get to activate it. He was now breaking out into a sweat.

"Well now," narrowed the eyes of Gokaido, "I promised you I wasn't gonna go easy on you, and I'm about to prove it! King's, Queen's and Jack's Knight, along with Breaker, will all attack your Life Points directly!"

One by one, four monsters- one dressed in studded clubs armor, another in hearts, the third in spades, and the fourth a red-clad magician, literally took their own individual stabs at the helpless Sho. By the end, he was knocked down to his knees.

Sho: 8000 - 1400 LP

.

The crowd gasped in shock; some sounded horrified.

Then suddenly, some students started to jeer.

"You suck, Marufuji!"

"Yeah, stop using such weak cards!"

"Go back to Dueling Kindergarten!" This came from a boy just a few seats above where Judai and his friends sat.

"Don't listen to those hacks, Sho-kun!" shouted Judai, the leader of the pack which started to cheer alongside him. "This is your moment, your duel! Give it all you got!"

"Yeah, go Sho!" echoed his circle of friends.

Hearing their voices so closely behind him actually snapped Sho out of his brief state of shock. "You guys," he whispered to himself; "what would I do without you?"

Their cheers were getting louder, and soon they were joined by the students around them and near them.

"Come on, Sho!"

"Win this for Ryo!"

"Kick his pants, shorty!"

"You can do it!"

.

By now he couldn't even recognize the voices; he just knew that there was support from all around the gym now. It was enough to bring him back onto his feet and keep fighting. Once he stood tall again, the crowd roared with delight.

"My turn… Draw."

At this point he only had 3 cards in his hand, but at least one of them could help turn the tide.

"I play PotofGreed, which lets me draw two new cards…" Then after closely observing his four cards in hand, he sighed, "Sweet… Okay Gokaido, get ready, 'cause I'm about to make my comeback!"

Edo patiently looked on.

Sho made his move: "First, I play the Spell card Fusion, and fuse my UFOroid and my Rocket Warrior from my hand, to fusion summon… UFOroid Fighter!"

An unusual fusion monster emerged; it was a flying saucer with cartoony eyeballs, but standing atop of it was Rocket Warrior, a petite mechanical warrior with beady little eyes and a suit of armor that could fold into a rocket.

UFOroid Fighter: 2700 ATK

"Woah!" gasped a student in the audience. "How'd he get such a strong monster!?"

Sho's ears picked up on the voice; "Simple," he smiled. "UFOroid Fighter's attack points are the sum of UFOroid itself, and whichever Warrior-type monster I fuse it with!"

"Lucky break," said Gokaido with narrowed eyes.

Sho replied, "See if THIS is dumb luck! I activate my Trap Card, CalloftheHaunted! You obviously know what it does, since you yourself played it. So now I'll use my own to bring back Steamroid!"

Steamroid came back in a puff of smoke again, retaining its 1800 ATK status from before.

"Is that all you've got?" asked the elitist rather harshly; he knew very well that UFOroid Fighter and Steamroid could do damage, but it wouldn't likely win Sho the duel.

"Oh I'm far from done!" exclaimed the petite Ra Yellow. "Next I summon Jetroid, in Attack Mode!"

Jetroid: 1200 ATK

The summoning of this monster, another cutesy machine, threw everyone for a loop. Nobody except Sho knew what he was planning, and he was satisfied with that. He bowed his head a smiled to himself. "This is for you, Onii-san…"

Then he lifted his voice. "UFOroid Fighter, attack Jack's Knight!"

Atop the flying saucer, Rocket Warrior aimed his laser gun at the tall spade-coated knight and opened fire.

Gokaido: 5200 - 4400 LP

"Now Steamroid, attack Queen's Knight!"

Steamroid, buffing up to 2300 ATK, slaughtered the heart-studded female knight.

Gokaido: 4400 - 3600 LP

Sho took a deep breath of relief; at least for now, two of his opponent's monsters were gone. "…I'll end my turn right here. Go ahead and do your worst, Elite-kun!"

"…With pleasure," grinned the Obelisk student. "My turn, draw!"

Everyone watched with waited breath.

"I pay 800 of my Life Points to play the Spell card, PrematureBurial. Now, like Call of the Haunted before it, I can bring back a monster from my Graveyard. And I choose my Queen's Knight."

While his Life Points were now at 2800, his Spell worked and the heart-studded female knight was back on the field, looking as good as new. But Player was just warming up.

"Now, I summon a new King's Knight to the field, which lets me special summon another Jack's Knight from my deck!" So it was done.

Jack's Knight: 1900

"Now, get ready to witness the power of all three of my Knights at once, for I play my own Fusion Spell card! I now fuse my King's Knight, Queen's Knight, and my Jack's Knight, in order to summon… Arcana Joker Knight!"

Arcana Joker Knight: 3800 ATK

Everyone gasped in amazement at this new monster.

Gokaido bared his teeth. "You were a fool to summon that weakling of a monster Jetroid, Sho! It's no wonder why it took you this long to fight for your promotion. Now you're gonna get a beating unlike any other, and there's not a thing you can do about it. Arcana Joker Knight, attack Jetroid and end this now!"

Then, to his amazement, Sho cracked a smile.

He said, "You're wrong… Summoning Jetroid was the best thing I did; I knew you'd want to take out my weakest monster, so that I could play my Trap card!"

"What!?" gasped Gokaido. "WHAT Trap card!? You've only got one on the field, and it's already been activated!"

"Wrong again," smiled Sho. "You've obviously underestimated Jetroid; he's got a special ability that lets my play a Trap card, from my HAND!"

Stunned, the elitist fell silent and let his bulging eyes do all the talking.

"And the Trap card I'm about to play is this one: my MagicCylinder! Now Arcana Joker Knight's attack strength is about to be redirected at YOU!"

.

Unable to contain his excitement, Judai grabbed ahold of Manjyome's shoulders and started to shake him back and forth like a rag doll, screaming, "He's gonna do it! He's gonna win, he's gonna be an Obelisk!"

"Stop... shaking... me...!" pleaded a dizzy Manjyome.

Rumble, rumble, rumble, rumble, rumble, rumble...

Judai felt the ground below his feet beginning to tremble, just as it did merely hours ago. He let go of his black-coated friend in surprise.

"Judai, seriously! Enough with the shakes!" pleaded Manjyome, before realizing he was freed from Judai's grasp.

"Dude, it's not me," frowned Judai, looking increasingly worried.

.

What sounded like thunder rolled throughout the stadium, followed by a fierce vibration in the ground that was enough to knock everyone off kilter. Sho and his opponent fell to the floor, and could only wait in terror as the quake consumed everyone's train of thought.

Even the walls and ceiling were claimed by the quake; the holograms were flashed off, as were the lights in the building. In one instant, it was bright, the next dark. Screams were howled in the audience, and everyone hung onto their seats or railings for dear life.

And then, just as instantly as it began, it was over within the minute.

The lights flashed back on, but the holograms on the dueling field were down- perhaps for good. Sho was still shaking, from nerve rather than from a quake; he looked around to see if his friends were okay. They were, but they were just about as shaken as he was.

The arena was not the only place that was hit by the unexpected quake; the entire school felt it, and fell into a state of panic.

From where he stood in his office, Principal Sameshima sighed in despair. His plans to keep the students calm had failed.

..

4:00pm

"Attention…Attention,all students and all faculty…This is Principal Sameshima.As you are all aware,there have been minor earthquakes on the island.Although the damage has been minor and no injuries have been reported,it is my solemn duty to inform everyone that Duel Academy Island is now,officially,unstable. …It pains me to say this,but as of today,the school is closed down;possibly for good.

"The news of our crisis is spreading throughout the world as we speak.We have already had a response from Japan and America.Both the Japanese and Hawaiian navy will be sending out ships immediately.They will escort you students and staff to either country.Those of you who are American and of abroad will be taken to Hawaii,and from there you will be kept and instructed on your further trip home.

"I know this is all shocking news.Believe me,it's not easy to swallow…But until the volcano is declared stable,we can no longer put your lives in danger.I am truly sorry for you students,who have dedicated yourselves to this school.And for you, teachers and staff,you have my humblest apologies.

"The first sets of navy ships are scheduled to arrive here by midnight.You have until then to pack up everything and prepare to move out to our main dock.For those of you expecting to be picked up by plane or helicopter,please be ready by six o'clock and report immediately to our air traffic station.

"As for the future of our school,it is for now uncertain.But never forget,my students,that you are a part of this school, and of its legacy,now and forever.

"I will now leave you with your thoughts,my dear students and staff. …Goodbye,and take care."

No one would ever know, but when the principal made this final announcement from his office, he would end it by wiping a few sad tears from his eyes.

..

It took a while for the news to sink in, but within two hours, bags and suitcases were already being packed.

Though they were caught completely by surprise, the students and teachers of Duel Academy were all too willing to prepare for an immediate retreat. Those who could afford it had already set plans for planes and helicopters to come pick them up within three hours.

..

But for some, particularly those of the red Osiris dorm, the departure would not come so quickly; for the majority of the Osiris Red dorm was just too poor to afford a quick getaway. So, they were left to wait for the navy ships to come save them at night.

.

It was all just too much for Judai to handle, so he sat alone under a tree by the dorm. He watched as two others were having their "one last duel," and sighed.

He then took out from under his white and red jacket, a faithful old friend. Hane Kuriboh.

He stared at it; the orange flavor, the Dark symbol, the three Level stars, the stats, the effect… everything up until he looked into the beady yellow eyes of the brown fluff ball with tiny angelic wings. The eyes looked as sad as his own.

"Well, Kuriboh," whispered Judai, "I guess this is it… I knew this was gonna be my last year at this school, but I never thought it'd come this quickly. …I'm really gonna miss this place. Aren't you?"

He paused, as if awaiting an answer from the paper card. The answer would come, but only to his heart.

His moment of peace was soon interrupted by a gust of wind that seemed to have come from out of the blue. It sent his hair and open jacket flying, causing him to stand up on alarm. He had to shield his face as he steadily stomped towards the dorm.

Here, it turned out to be a helicopter ascending from the ground just several of feet away from the red dorm. Judai watched it carefully, while anchoring himself as best he could so as to not get blown away by the blowing wind. That's when he noticed the family name on the side of the black aircraft: "Manjyome"

Before he could get an even better look at who was peeking from the window of the helicopter (an older man, it seemed- most likely one of Jun's brothers), it spurred itself into the air and took off in a flash.

Judai glanced upward at the dorm's top level, where his black-clad rival's room was. It seemed he would be the first of the Osiris students to escape impending danger. He waited for Jun to walk out of his room, but instead he was surprised to see a trio of butlers get out of the helicopter and march up to his room. When they left, they had with them a vast amount of suitcases and other sorts of baggage, but no Jun followed. The helicopter loaded them in, then took off again into the air.

This struck young Judai as unusual, even a little scary. Had Sanda gone missing?

.

The room was small, but cozy enough for Manjyome Jun; he was the only Osiris Red without a roommate, and therefore had only a single bed which was lodged into the far right corner opposite of the doorway. On this bed, Manjyome himself was sitting up with his legs crossed, typing feverishly on his cell phone, the last bit of technology he had now that everything else was taken.

Taken slightly by surprise, the dark-dressed teen looked up. "…Hey."

Judai approached him worriedly. "Hey… W-what're you doing here?"

"Writing an email to my gram'ma."

"Oh… I saw your brothers' helicopter. Didn't you know they were here?"

"Yes," replied Manjyome with closed eyes.

"…So?"

"I told them they could take my things, but I'm staying here."

Judai made himself at home by sitting down at the end of the bed. "Why? Don't you wanna get out of here before the volcano erupts?"

Manjyome looked at him hesitantly, but then replied, "They only came here because it's what gram'ma wanted. Nothing's changed between me and my brothers."

"But Manjyome-"

"Look Judai, I have my reasons for staying here, alright? And I don't need you or anybody else worrying about me. I can take care of myself."

"I know you can," nodded Judai solemnly. "…But isn't it nice to know that they still care about you, even after everything that's happened?"

Manjyome bowed his head, as if trying to hide his frown. "…No. I could tell in their eyes that they were forced to do this. But that's fine. I don't need them. I don't need anybody…"

Judai's eyes narrowed. "So you're just gonna let your grudge over them keep you from being saved? Is that it? Are you really that stubborn, Manjyome-kun?"

"San-da."

"I don't care what you want me to call you! You can't just push somebody away when they're just trying to help you! You think I'm immature; well at leastI can swallow my pride and ask for help when I need it!"

"…Are you finished?" muttered Manjyome.

"Well, no," Judai's voice softened. "Actually, I was wondering if you were gonna go home after all this."

"I really don't have a choice in the matter; gram'ma's the head of my household, and she wants me back immediately. So… that's that."

Judai then took a deep breath and slowly headed for the doorway. He couldn't help but wonder what was going on in his would-be friend's head; why would he stay here when there's nothing left to fight for? The curiosity was killing him.

As he crept back to the doorway, he looked back at Manjyome and said, "If there's anything you need, anything at all, don't be too much of a stubborn ass to call me. Okay?"

"Sure," muttered the teen in black as he wrapped his fingers on his laptop keys.

The boy is red was just about to leave when he heard- "Judai?"

Judai quickly turned around, hoping that his would-be friend had a sudden change of heart.

But he didn't. "Don't ever come in my room without knocking again. Got it?"

Judai gulped, "Ah… Gotcha." Then left rather quickly.

.

Judai was walking away from the Osiris Red dorm when he heard a familiar feminine voice nearby…

"It's only gonna be for one day, Fubuki. Please."

Then another familiar voice followed.

"Asuka, we can't wait. We all want you home, safe and sound, now."

Judai could see from where he stood that it was indeed his friend Asuka, talking to her older brother Fubuki. He, Fubuki, had graduated from the academy already and was now dressed as casually as a Hawaiian tourist. Judai hardly recognized him at first.

"I can't leave my friends," said Asuka with pleading eyes.

"…Asuka? …Fubuki?" peeped Judai, as he approached them cautiously.

Asuka's brother turned to him. "Oh! Hey, Judai. Are your parents picking you up soon?"

The younger boy shook his head, "No… I only told them what's going on about an hour ago. I have to wait for the boats to arrive tomorrow morning."

"I wanna stay here with you guys," sputtered the young lady. "It kills me to think that you may be in any danger."

Judai then smiled reassuringly. "Aww, don't worry about us, Asuka! Me n' the boys'll be just fine. One night's not gonna kill us."

Asuka then turned to her brother with pleading eyes. "Fine, I'll come home… But can't we take all these guys home with us? I really don't want them to stay here for too long."

"I wish we could, sis," shook Fubuki's head. Asuka sighed.

Then suddenly, it hit Judai. He turned around quickly and stared almost blankly at the Osiris Red dorm. More specifically, at the doorway of Manjyome's room. And he started thinking, "…CouldManjyome-kunbestayinghereforus?"

.

III

11:21pm

Only twenty-percent of the island had now been successfully evacuated, and the majority of that percent belonged to Obelisk Blue. The rest of the island was forced to sleep until the alarms would go off to announce the arrival of naval ships at the main port.

Somehow, all of the inhabitants seemed to catch a well-deserved sleep. But just as they did, a select few would wake up to a most bizarre sound.

For Manjyome Jun, that sound would come in the form of a very young child: "Manjyo-o-o-o-ome-ku-u-u-un?"

While the spiked-haired teen struggled in his sleep, a strange small yellow light erupted from the deck of cards that stood vigilant on his dresser drawer. The light ball, like a Will o' The Wisp, floated over his bed.

"Manjyome no aniki?" it squeaked. "….Hello?"

He mumbled in his sleep.

"I said HELLO!"

Finally, he sputtered awake. "Hmm? What!? Huh? Who's there!?"

The tiny ball of light then circled around his head. "Why are you sleeping, aniki? Come on, you're missing it!"

Manjyome seemed to know who and what this strange thing was; what he didn't know was what it was talking about. "…S- …Small fry? What's going on?"

"Come on!" its squeaky toddler voice urged. "Come on, I'll show you! …And bring the cards!"

When his sprite-like friend was this insistent, Manjyome made it a point to just listen and not ask questions. So he took the light ball's advice; he packed up his decks- all of them, no less than seven- into his long leathery black jacket, and followed the ball of yellow light like a zombie.

..

Elsewhere, in his own dorm room, Judai was sleeping soundly as well. And like Manjyome, he too was awakened by a very strange sound:

"Kuri-Kuri!"

"Mm….wha?" he muttered as his left eye fluttered open. He sleepily looked around his room, and saw nothing particularly out of the ordinary… except for a little ball of white light hovering in the air near his bed.

"Kuri!" it hauntingly peeped again.

Judai's eyes batted, as if he was coming out of a trance. "…Hane Kuriboh?"

Sure enough, the ball of white light grew a familiar pair of angel wings. Like Manjyome's own sprite, this one led Judai out of his room like a Will o' the Wisp, and he was obligated to follow it.

Judai was not along in that room; he had two bunk mates: Sho, who had the middle bunk, and Kenzan who had the top. While Kenzan would stay asleep, Sho was awakened by Judai's exiting footsteps.

"…Aniki?" he whispered as he struggled out of his sleep.

.

11:35pm

Not everyone would have the ability to see it, but those who do would have seen a most bizarre sight that night: a parade of tiny colorful orbs of light, which seemed to have come from all parts of the world, all dancing toward one common place- the center of the island.

Judai, of course, was one of the chosen few with the gift. He was following one particular small ball of light, but the further he went out into the wilderness, the more tiny balls of light he would see, appearing out of nowhere. They were like fireflies in the dark, only some of them giggled like humans.

He thought out loud to himself, "Are they all… Duel monsters?"

"You mean Duel Spirits," corrected a voice nearby.

Judai turned to his right and saw that he wasn't the only human around. "Elite-kun!" he gasped in surprise.

Sure enough, it was the same elite student- Gokaido- that dueled Sho earlier that day. He gave a sleepy nod, "Hai. That's me… I'm following Marauding Captain."

Judai looked ahead, and he could see the blonde-haired, silvery-armored Warrior, Marauding Captain, steering his human friend while waving his sword.

"Ah," muttered Judai. "…I didn't know you could see Duel Spirits too."

Gokaido nodded, "I heard it's a rare gift. I can't understand it myself."

"There's only one thingI don't understand," replied Judai. "Where are we going?"

..

Elsewhere, not too far from where Judai and Gokaido were, Manjyome was trotting through tall grass and thick brush while in pursuit of not one but three tiny sprites. They, the yellow one, a green one and a near-black one, giggled and played as they danced through the air.

"Slow down, you guys!" beckoned the trailing Manjyome. "I can't run that fast!"

"Come on, Aniki! Keep up!" shouted the high-pitched yellow light.

"This way! Keep up, keep up!" echoed the other spirits.

Manjyome panted, "Can't… see… heh… it's too… dar-A-A-AUGH!" He stumbled over a steep hill and tumbled harshly into a pit.

While lay curled upside down, he moaned as the three colorful sprites hovered over to him, laughing at his clumsiness.

The human growled. "This is all your fault, you crazy… stupid… little Ojama Brothers!"

"Who, us?" smiled the sharp-toothed, pot-bellied Ojama Black innocently.

"Not our fault," replied the one-yellow-eyed and muscular Ojama Green with a long tongue that always seemed to stick out.

The smallest one, Ojama Yellow, with eye sockets that grew out from his forehead like antennae, purred in response. "We're not the ones who went over a cliff, Aniki."

"I'm not your Aniki," growled Manjyome as he rolled himself upright, "And whose idea was this anyway!?"

"We'rejustfollowingtheothers," said Ojama Black as he pointed forward.

"What others?" wondered their human friend.

"The other Duel Spirits, Aniki!" said Ojama Yellow with a fat-lipped smile. "We're all going where they're going, 'cause wherever they're going must be exciting!"

"Let me get this straight," grumbled Manjyome as he dusted his shoulders. "You don't even know where we're going, or why?"

The three tiny mutants exchanged confused faces with each other. "Uhhh… uhhh….?"

"That's so STUPID!" shouted the frustrated teen; his booming voice sent the spirits flying. "I swear, it's like the three of you got one third of a whole brain!"

"What's your point?" wondered Ojama Green.

Manjyome just snarled. "Ugh… I'm outta here."

Just as he got to his feet, the human's smallest friend cried out desperately, "WAIT!"

Manjyome watched as Ojama Yellow pointed forward with over-boiled enthusiasm. "There… There it is, Aniki!"

-11:50pm-

Like small rivers of light, hundreds of small orbs of light came bobbing toward a vast void in the middle of the woods. It would seem like this area was hit by a meteor; but actually, it was created by the latest volcanic earthquake. Further evidence would be the deep, jagged trench leading up to this pit.

The first two to arrive were Judai and Gokaido, followed by Manjyome from the other side of the pit. Once they all stopped observing the location, their attention turned to each other.

"Judai!"

"Manjyome-kun!"

"It's-"

"San-da!"

"Elite-kun!?"

"Judai?"

"Ojama Yellow!"

"WingedKuriboh?"

"Kuri!"

"Watapon!?" The last voice came from a girl, who was running toward the pit, chasing after a small fuzzy pink ball with sky blue eyes and small antennae. "Watapon, come back!" she cried out again.

The blondish girl skidded to a halt just as she had caught her runaway duel spirit before it came too close to the pit. She was then followed by three other Obelisk Blue girls, all following their own duel spirits.

The boys and girls all exchanged glances of wonder and shock.

"Well, this is slightly awkward," gulped Gokaido.

"I didn't realize," blinked Judai, "how many of us had the gift…"

Then they all looked down, toward the bottomless put before them. They could see now that the duel spirits which seemed to be coming from all over were being drawn toward the pit, and then trickled down it like drops of water.

"The spirits!" observed one of the teen boys. "They're… they're all falling into the pit!"

"They're not falling… They're jumping," said Gokaido.

"But why?" frowned Judai. Just then, his own spirit mate Winged Kuriboh appeared on his shoulder. It cooed as it stared into the abyss.

"What's down there, little buddy?" asked the tan-eyed human.

"Someone's… calling us!" exclaimed Ojama Yellow nearby. He clutched into the sides of his head as if he has ears.

"Manjyome-kun!" he then exclaimed, as he started to feel a gravitational force draw him closer to the pit. Frantically, he swam through the air up to his puzzled human partner's shoulder and clung to it for dear life. "Don't let it get me, Aniki!"

Just then, the other spirit mates of the humans jumped into the arms of their caretakers; they included a Watopon, a Fox Fire, a Petit Dragon, and a Gigobyte. Like those partners of Judai and Manjyome, these creatures appeared to be transparent; and yet, once they were in their arms, their human counterparts could feel them.

At this point, Maniyome's arms were full with all three Ojamas. "Judai!" he called out. "Let's get out of here!"

"He's right," gasped one of the girls. "It's too dangerous here! Come on girls, run!" With that, the four of them took off with their spirit friends in a mad dash.

Manjyome would have had the sense to save himself, had he not felt so obligated to stick with the boys. "Come on, you guys!" he hollered at them.

But one of them was not ready to leave yet, not without his duel spirit. Gokaido was seen pulling at the transparent, armored arm of his Marauding Captain. The Captain, meanwhile, had his heels on the edge of the pit; he was ready to fall in.

"Captain! Hold on, I've got you! Pull yourself up!"

"My Master is calling," he said softly.

"I'M your Master!" beckoned the teen in blue. "Now get UP here! Please!"

Judai rushed over to grab Gokaido's arms, for he too was starting to sink toward the abyss.

"It's too late," replied the armored duel spirit solemnly. His feet then gave in to gravity.

"CAPTAIN! NO-O-O-O!" screamed Gokaido in vain.

With one more spirit added to the pit, everything started to get dark. The moon seemed to have vanished, as did the sparkling light of the duel spirits. It was a bone-chilling darkness.

..

Elsewhere, in places where digital clocks were lit up, the time would read the following:

12:00am- Midnight

..

"AN-I-KI-I-I-I! ….ANIKI, WHERE ARE YOU?"

Sho sounded his calls toward the edge of the woods, just outside the Osiris Red dorm. As much as he wanted to be with his "big bro," he couldn't muster the willpower to do so. Something felt very wrong in the atmosphere, and it was holding him back.

"Aniki is gone!?" came the voice of a distressed Kenzan from the balcony of the dorm's second level. "Where!?"

"I don't know," replied Sho; "He just disappeared!"

"Well don't just stand there like a lazy-saurus! Let's go find him!"

Sho looked back toward the trees. "…It's too late."

Sho wasn't the only one who felt something wrong in the air. Other students took the feeling differently.

.

Misawa stood up half the night studying up on his computer, but it was just his way to avoid the stress.

.

Others in the Ra Yellow dorm stood up playing their card games half the night. They too felt stressed by the atmosphere.

.

Professor Chronos stood vigilant in the lighthouse, looking through a telescope for the naval ships that would soon arrive. But his attention was then drawn elsewhere, toward the center of the island.

His glance aimed itself at the smoking volcano. "…Mama mia… She's going to explode, yes!"

He wasted no time in sounding an alarm, thanks to the lighthouse's immense fog horn.

.

BOO-OO-OO-OO-OO-OO-OOM!

.

Half of the island may have heard the fog horn's ear-splitting boom, but the other half was already distracted by the rumble coming from deep within the earth.

..

While the boys have clearly outlived their stay at the bottomless pit, Judai and Manjyome had their hands full with securing their duel spirit friends, as well as getting Gokaido back on his feet. After losing his own spirit partner, the elite Obelisk fell to his knees in utter despair. He was truly a lost soul.

Judai started to shake him. "Come on, Gokaido, wake up! …Elite-kun! Wake up! We gotta get outta here!"

"Judai, let's just grab him and run," said the teen in black.

Judai took Manjyome's suggestion; each one grabbed one of Gokaido's arms and carefully but quickly lifted him up.

.

That's when the earth started to shake- this time, it would be the last shake the island would ever feel. It started relatively softly, with the ground moving moderately slowly. But within moments, everyone was forced to their feet- everyone.

..

Those who were wise enough to head for the safest bearings, like an open doorway for example, made it there just in time. In fact, Misawa was one of them, and even had time to pull in a fellow Ra toward the safe spot.

..

But others, like Judai and company, weren't so lucky. With nothing to hold them, they fell to the ground within seconds. It felt like they were on top of a speeding car.

When the quake's vibration met its top speed, the earth started to crack and tear like tissue paper all around the volcano. It was an invitation for the volcano's lava to come pouring out like blood from a gunshot wound.

Then, all of that magma started to sink deep into the ground, until it seemed all but gone. Then all of a sudden, the violent quaking seemed to be dying down, almost to a halt.

As peaceful as that moment was, Manjyome knew better. He turned to his friends and said fearfully, "…We gotta go. …Go! NOW!"

With that, Judai pulled Gokaido forward, and the three of them made a mad dash in the direction they thought would take them back to the dorms.

The boys would only be halfway home, when the worst of their fears became a reality. The volcano was taking one last breath before exhaling the worst eruption it ever had in centuries…

In just one mere moment, all was quiet.

And then, with one loud, heart-stopping "Foom," it had happened. The night sky was cut in half by a line of fire, rock and magma. Even the naval ships approaching the island could see it.

.

On cue, following a blast of wind from the volcano, all of the windows of Duel Academy and the dormitories shattered.

The blast was immediately followed by a great tremor that rocked the whole island. All of the dormitories suffered under it with collapsing ceilings; but the Obelisk Blue dorm was perhaps the most shaken. In fact, it had actually started to sink into the ground in mid-quake, as did the lake by its side.

Soon the sky started to rain down boulders of burning magma, setting off wildfires in different parts of the woods.

..

It was unclear now just where Judai and company were; wherever they were, they were either facing a violent firestorm or running straight toward an opening in the earth.

It didn't matter where anyone was at that moment; they all seemed doomed.

TOBECONTINUED

Next Chapter: TheEndofInnocence

Featured Duels: None

..

AUTHOR'S NOTES (2):

Credits go to my friend, "Gaea," for his Knight deck.

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Japanese names:

Judai Yuki Jaden Yuki

Jun Manjyome Chazz Princeton

Tyranno Kenzan Tyranno Hassleberry

Professor Chronos De Medici Dr. Crowler

Principal Sameshima Chancellor Shepherd

Daichi Misawa Bastion Misawa (the white streaks in his hair are taken from the "Yu-Gi-Oh: GX" manga, exclusively in Japan)

Asuka Tenjoin Alexis Rhodes

Sho Marafuji Syrus Trusedale

Gokaido "Elite-kun" Houzan Reginald Van Howell III

Ryo "Kaiser" Marufuji Zane Trusedale

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Japanese translations:

Last names before first names: In Japan, it's customary to address someone by using their last name before their first; i.e., "Yuki Judai" is in our language Judai Yuki.

Aniki: "Big brother," or "Big bro." Slang word, which could be compared to our "Buddy," or "Dude."

-kun: Suffix reserved for a young man, or male peer; casual.

-san: Suffix reserved for someone of great respect; comparable to "Sir."

Hai: "Yes."

Nii-san: "(Older) Brother." Also knows as "Onii-san."