Disclaimer: Don't own Yu-Gi-Oh GX

AN: *sighs*

To the Guest Reviewer. I already told you once to stop with the pestering about my updating. If you have paid attention and read my Author Note in Chapter 41, you would've saw that if I didn't update soon, it meant that the first chapter to 'The Domino Eight' wasn't finished yet.

And why the fuck would I abandon a story with only one chapter left?

I know I'm coming off as a douche, but I really don't care anymore. I already said something once. Either leave legitimate reviews or keep your hands off the keyboard and stay quiet. Your whining annoys the hell out of me.

Off my rambling, we're at the final chapter of Season 1. I can't believe I reached this far.

And 'The Domino Eight' is up! It's a Rated M though so check my profile page for it :)

Enjoy

Chapter 44-

One evening at the Obelisk Boys Blue Dorm, Zane was lying down on his bed going over the previous events...

...

All the third year students from every dorm, gathered at Crowler's classroom and watched the top 10 students overall year scores. But at the very top was a perfect score from Zane Truesdale.

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

...

After much thought, the Kaiser of Duel Academy sat up.

'Who will I duel? The only one worthy...' He thought. 'It's time to give Jaden his rematch...'

...

"AAAHHH!"

At the Slifer Dorm, Syrus was freaking out about his, Jason's, and Jaden's visitor: His older brother.

"Sorry about that..." He apologized to Zane. "I never expected to see you, big brother."

"Zane always freaks you out, Sy." Jaden stated as Zane walked into the dorm, looking around.

"So, what brings you here?" Jason asked.

"You know in my entire three years at the Academy, I never had set foot in this dorm outside your cafeteria..." Zane said amusedly. "It's nice to finally have a reason to now..."

"A reason?" Jaden asked. "To invite us to lunch or your Obelisk functions?"

"For a duel." The Kaiser said, making the Slifers face-fault.

"Are you serious?" Syrus asked.

"Very..." Zane admitted. "I want to duel you in the Grad Match."

"Wow really!" Jaden was psyched. "I'm in! Definitely!" He got his rematch with Zane that he wanted since the Kaiser had beaten him the first time. Jaden wanted to avenge the loss that he sustained.

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

"And you wanna duel, Jay!?" Jason asked.

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

"Wow, that last match of the year, and I'm in it!" The E-Hero duelist exclaimed.

"Yeah, but think about it!" Syrus stated. "It's against the only student that you ever lost to and you're gonna be dueling him in front of the entire school!"

"Chill, Sy," Jason held his hands up. "Its not that big of a deal. Its just a duel..."

"No it's not!" Syrus continued. "If he loses, he'll be stuck in his Shadow forever!"

"You're kinda being overdramatic, Sy." Jaden said. "I can take Zane. If he didn't have Trap Jammer in our last duel, I would've won."

"You're good, Jaden, but Zane... he's mainly undefeated, that's all. Even though he lost to Camula to save me, but he's still a powerful duelist and you've lost to him!"

"I'm mainly undefeated too," Jaden reminded with a smile. "But if it makes you feel better... I'll prepare..." he went to sit at the desk and pulled out his deck, along with some extra cards.

Jason turned to smile at Syrus. "He'll be fine..." he assured.

"I hope so..."

...

Elsewhere, Alexis, Bastion, Asami and Chazz were talking amongst each other.

"Did you guys hear the news?" Alexis asked them. "Jaden's gonna be facing Zane in the graduation match!"

"My, that has the makings of a great match!" Bastion stated. "An Obelisk versus a Slifer; a third year student versus a first year; the Kaiser versus the Supreme King!"

"And it's also the rematch that we've been wanting to see most..." Asami said. "According to Zane, he was gonna have a duel between Jaden and Jason to decide, but he's still not fit to duel after nearly dying."

"Well, either way," Chazz started. "This is the best way to end the first year."

Suddenly, Atticus popped out of the trees spooking the four of them.

"Exactly right Chazzy!" He boasted. "It'll be the duel of the Fast and Furious facing calm, cool and collected!"

"Well, I'm not sure about the furious part," Alexis mused. "But Jay definitely duels with more passion than Zane..."

"He duels with more passion than anyone," Asami said. "Even Jason."

"Yes..." Bastion muttered. "But that fast and furious strategy may hurt your game…"

"Jaden's game will be fine," Chazz said. "He's improved since the year started. It won't be like it was before..."

"Well said Chazz," Alexis nodded with a smile. "Well said..."

...

Later that night, Jaden was sitting behind the Slifer Red dorm, pondering over his next match.

'What a way to end the year!" He thought. 'I get a final match against the best duelist at the Academy... the only student who's defeated me...' He then growled at the remembrance of the loss. 'The one student who stands at me being the best!'

"No two ways about it, I gotta win!"

Yubel appeared behind him. "Don't get too worked up about it or you'll lose your cool." She then turned her head. "And by the way... You have a visitor..." she alerted him to a new presence. And when Jaden looked behind him, he saw his opponent for tomorrow... Zane.

"Hey, Zane what's up?" He greeted.

"What's up, is that our duel's tomorrow, you ready?" He stated.

"Yeah..." The Slifer nodded.

"Then, I'll see you at the duel arena..."

...

The next day, everyone was at the main arena with every student from every dorm in a seat, clamoring about what a great match this would be. Bastion was clamoring his stats about how Zane would be the favorite to win. But the others just tuned him out, knowing that numbers only went so far.

Down below, the two duelists stepped onto the platform and walked towards the middle of it, where the two of them stared each other down.

"Alright Zane, may the best duelist win," Jaden said quietly, holding out his hand.

Zane nodded and took his hand, shaking it.

After exchanging pleasant formalities, the two duelists walked back to their ends and faced each other once again, their duel disks now activating. Jaden took his five cards for his hand and looked up at Zane, who was doing the same thing. The air in the arena was thick with tension.

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

Crowler returned the nod and stood up, "Now, the Graduation Match between Zane Truesdale and Jaden...is it Yucky? No, wait Yoody? No, no, Yuki, Yuki!"

"Enough small talk!" Zane snapped.

"You got that right," Jaden shot back at him.

The two of them now had a look of fierce determination on their faces.

"LET'S DUEL!" the two of them shouted as their Life Point meters flared to life and the crowd cheered wildly.

Jaden: 4000

Zane: 4000

Jaden's hand hovered over his deck, "So, who goes first?"

"You choose," Zane offered.

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

Zane blinked, surprised at the choice, "Really? Second?"

'Interesting choice,' he thought, staring at Jaden.

'Let's see how Zane handles being outside his comfort zone...' Jaden thought, glancing at his hand.

Zane bit his tongue in thought, 'Clever, Jaden...'

"Alright, Zane, time to throw down!"

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

"Right now?"

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

Everyone in the arena watched as Zane's most powerful Dragon appeared on the field, its three heads roaring fiercely. (ATK: 4000/DEF: 2800)

"Dear me!" Bastion gasped.

"And me," Syrus moaned.

"He's good," Alexis murmured.

"That was quick," Asami said.

"Very..." Jason agreed.

Jaden was a bit shocked to see the Dragon, 'I was wondering why he didn't care who went first, but now I know. He's prepared for any situation...the question is, am I? Especially with that Cyber End Dragon out! When that thing destroys a monster in defense mode, it deals piercing damage! Man, not the best way to start a duel!'

Growling, Jaden shook his head, "Well, are you done, or is there anything else you wanna throw at me?"

"As a matter of fact, there is...," Zane placed a card into a slot, "Different Dimension Capsule! Now Jaden, I select one card in my deck and remove it from play," he took a card out of his deck, "But two turns from now, it comes to my hand!"

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

"Finally, I'll place one card facedown, and end my turn," Zane finished as he slipped a card into his disk and emptying his hand.

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

Jaden narrowed his eyes, 'I'm not gonna lose again!'

"Jaden, go on, it's your turn now," Zane said loudly, staring coolly at him.

Off to the sides, his friends saw how Jaden was acting in this duel, worrying them.

"What's wrong with him?" Alexis asked in concern for her boyfriend. "It's like he's frozen up..."

"Aw man," Syrus whimpered.

"I'm sure he's fine..." Jason said, although concern could be heard in his voice. "He's probably just thinking..."

"Lord help him then..." Chazz teased.

'Heh, Zane thinks he's gonna outsmart me again, but this time...' Jaden smirked a little, 'I'll outsmart him, and I'll do that right now! No Evil Heroes yet!'

"Here goes!" Jaden drew his card, "I summon Elemental Hero Wildheart in attack mode!"

Jaden's dark skinned hero appeared on the field, staring fiercely at the multi-headed dragon. (ATK: 1500/DEF: 1600)

"Now, I'm gonna activate the effect of Wild Half!" Jaden held up another card, "Because of its effect, the attack of your monster is split in half!"

The three headed machine groaned in weakness. (ATK: 4000-2000)

"Now, a Half Token with the same number of attack points of your weakened dragon is summoned!"

An identical Cyber End Dragon appeared on the field. (ATK: 2000/DEF: 2800)

"And now I'll play Dark Loan!" He held a spell that showed Infernal Sniper lending Malicious Edge her gun. "Now I reveal a Evil Hero fusion, like my Infernal Sniper, and have a monster can half of it's ATK points for the turn!"

Wildheart clutched his sword intensely. (ATK: 1500-2500)

"Wildheart, attack Cyber End Dragon with Wild Slash!" Jaden ordered, pointing to the real version of the three headed dragon.

Zane kept a calm face as the hero came at his monster, and pressed a button on his duel disk, "I don't think so! I play De-Fusion!"

Everyone watched as the Dragon split into the three separate ones. (ATK: 2100/DEF: 1000)x3

Wildheart backed up at the sight of the dragons.

Jaden growled, "Against any of those three Cyber Dragons, I can still win, but with that one Cyber End Dragon token, it can still cost trouble for me. No chance, I got to go for it. I just have to hope for the very best..."

Once again, the wild hero flew through the air and made contact with the Cyber End Dragon token, blowing it up completely.

Jaden: 4000

Zane: 3500

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

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

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

"Really," Jason agreed. "He rarely calculates what to do, only if its very serious or he's backed into a really tight corner. He doesn't need too so early in the duel..."

"What's he thinking?" Asami asked.

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

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

"Done his homework?" Crowler repeated slowly, "Well, it certainly would be the first time!"

"No more!" Jaden shook his head. "In this duel, I'm playing with my head right from the get go! I'm not gonna lose again!" He inserted a card into his disk, "Next, I'll throwdown two facedowns and end my turn!"

"That's what this is?" Alexis asked astonished. "He doesn't wanna lose again!?"

"Haou's pride is something Jaden got from him and never got taken away," Jason explained. "We can all sit here and like to pretend Haou's not that influential to Jay, but they're more linked than we're comfortable with."

Alexis frowned, but knew Jason was right.

"Oh, is that it? Very well," Zane drew his next card, "First of all, the card removed from play using Capsule, returns to me,"

"Hey!" Jaden interjected, "Wait a sec! So... the card that was in there wasn't Power-Bond?"

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

Jaden's eyes widened a bit, "Whoa, didn't see that coming..."

"Due to this," Zane went on, "We both get to draw two cards from our decks and add them to our hands..." they did, giving Zane and Jaden three.

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

"And that would be Zane in a tough spot," Bastion agreed.

"No kidding." Jason added. "That's what I would've done."

"I knew Zane was too smart and clever to mess up in the first turn." Asami stated.

Alexis nodded a little, "Yeah..."

"That was smart," Atticus said. "Now let's see where he takes it..."

"C'mon, Jay...," Syrus stared hard at the duel, "Hang in there!"

"Alright..." Zane looked up at Jaden, "Cyber Dragon destroy his Wildheart with Strident Blast!"

"Don't think so! I play a Trap called Draining Shield!" Jaden cried out as his facedown was revealed. Moments later, a yellow dome appeared around him and absorbed the oncoming blast of energy.

"Sorry Zane, but your Dragon's attack is canceled!" Jaden grunted as the dome disappeared, "And I get more Life Points, equal to the attack points!"

Jaden: 6100

Zane: 3500

"That's fine, Jaden, you'll need them, because my next Cyber Dragon will attack your Wildheart!" Zane pointed at Jaden as his monsters reared upward, "STRIDENT BLAST!"

This time, Wildheart wasn't so lucky since he took the full brunt of the attack.

Jaden: 5500

Zane: 3500

"Go my second trap, Hero Signal!" He declared as the large 'H' shot up to the ceiling. "Now I can special summon a Elemental Hero monster, and I pick Ocean!"

His second water themed hero appeared kneeling. (ATK: 1500/DEF: 1200)

"Now my third Cyber Dragon will take him apart!"

The last dragon fired a blast that ripped apart Jaden's Ocean.

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

"Wow, Jaden just barely survived that turn," Alexis breathed, "Too close,"

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

"Yeah, no joke, Bastion, but the question of the day is how..." Atticus scratched his head, "And more importantly, when?"

"You know..." Syrus sat back, "Normally, I would say not to worry but with the way that Jay's over-thinking things here, I'm really not so sure..."

"Me neither," Asami stared ahead.

Alexis frowned a little, knowing that he was right, "I know..."

"Stop over-thinking," Jason murmured from his seat.

Chazz glanced at them both for a few seconds before looking ahead.

'C'mon Jaden, use your head!' Jaden snapped mentally, glaring at the three beasts ahead of him, 'You gotta think of a way to get rid of those Cyber Dragons, and you gotta do it right now!'

"My turn!" He drew, having four. "I play Pot of Greed to draw twice. Now I'll play the Warrior Returning Alive and Fusion Sage to grab Ocean from my graveyard and Polymerization from my deck!" He took his two required cards.

"And now I'll fuse Ocean and Voltic to form Elemental Hero Absolute Zero!"

Both heroes fused to form the great ice hero. (ATK: 2500/DEF: 2000)

"Now I'm gonna sacrifice him to summon out Elemental Hero Necroshade!"

The ice hero was traded in for the dark hero. (ATK: 1600/DEF: 1800)

"And now that Absolute Zero has left the field, all your monsters are destroyed!" A large blizzard ripped apart Zane's field. "Now my Necroshade can wage a direct attack!"

Necroshade charged right in and slashed down on Zane, who took the hit without flinching.

Jaden: 5500

Zane: 1900

"And my last card facedown will do..."

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

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

Jaden smiled proudly, "What a shot! There's really something to all this strategizing stuff after all!"

Zane scoffed and smiled a little at Jaden, "You're a fool!"

"What?"

"I activate Return Soul! Since all three of my Cyber Dragons were destroyed, I can put them right back into my deck!"

Jaden grit his teeth, 'Great! Just when I thought I was rid of them, they're back and rarin' to get rid of me!'

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

"Say what?" Jaden looked at him, confused.

"You're not being yourself, you're not playing with your heart!"

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

"What you're doing, Jaden, is wasting my time by letting your alter ego play against me..."

"Sure I am..." Jaden glared at the comment. "You can quit the mind games, okay? They're not gonna work! I'm not gonna lose to you again!"

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

"He has," Asami agreed.

"But like Zane said, is it Jaden dueling or is it Haou?" Alexis asked, leaving everyone to think about that.

Jaden too was thinking that. 'Is Haou...' he took a deep breath and closed his eyes, focusing on the energy within him. After his match with Kagemaru and merging fully with Haou, their connection had reached new and uncomfortable levels.

Jaden can hear everything Haou said every second of every day unlike before when it was just occasionally.

And he gasped at what he was hearing...

'Stupid piece of shit!' Haou growled. 'He got lucky once and won! But not this time! I won't let him beat me again!'

Zane drew his card, watching as Jaden gasped. 'Did he realize? Let's find out...'

"It's my turn now, and I play the Spell card Spellbook Inside the Pot!" He and Jaden drew three cards, giving him five and Jaden three.

"Next up is Future Fusion! But, this is no ordinary Fusion... you see, I can fuse cards not in my hand!"

"I know how all Fusion cards work," Jaden interrupted.

Zane ignored him. "Therefore, I send three Cyber Dragons from my deck to the Graveyard in order to summon the Cyber End Dragon!"

Jaden gasped as he heard Zane's comment of the return of Zane's signature monster.

"Of course, monsters created by Future Fusion aren't coming to attack until my second standby..."

"What're you gonna do until then?" Jaden asked.

"This..." Zane slapped a card on his disk. "Something new I've recently added... my Cyber Larva!"

A small metallic worm appeared by Zane. (ATK: 400/DEF: 600)

"I end..." Zane concluded, watching Jaden stare in confusion at his moves. 'Now I'll know if he got the message...'

"Ok then, my turn!" Jaden drew his card, having four. 'He left a pretty weak monster out with no protection...'

Zane scoffed, 'I guess not. Looks like he's still letting Haou in his head.'

Speaking of the Supreme King, he actually appeared in holo form near Jaden. 'What a weak creature! Destroy it!'

'Shut up!' Jaden snapped, selecting a card in his hand. "I'll set another facedown and attack the Cyber Larva!"

Necroshade charged in and destroyed Zane's monster.

"And since your points aren't going down, I assume that's its ability..." Jaden deduced. 'And I fell for it because of the annoying voice in my head...'

"That and more," A card slipped out of Zane's deck. "I can summon another Cyber Larva when ones destroyed!"

Another Cyber Larva appeared. (ATK: 400/DEF: 600)

"Pathetic..." Zane shook his head. "You're gonna lose like this..."

"Think so?" Jaden taunted, "Well, we'll just have to wait and see about that. Go ahead then, Zane, make your move!"

Zane drew, "I'll pass..." he added his new card to his hand, having four.

"He has four cards though," Syrus said. "Can't he do something?"

"He can," Atticus said. "But he's trying to make Jaden see the error of his ways by letting Haou's anger cloud him..."

"They're more connected now since Jaden fully learned how to use his powers during the duel with Kagemaru," Jason explained.

"What'd you mean?" His girlfriend asked him.

"Before that match, Jaden was barley able to use the higher up Evil Heroes, like Dark Tornado or Dark Master... but after he watched me lose he fully merged his soul with his, which is why the armor showed up on him and he had cards you never heard of before, even from him..."

"But that only means Haou is now awake at all times. His thoughts, his feelings, and his desires are all now fully aware by Jaden, unlike before when it was only time from time when he lost control or tried to push himself too far, either in trying to control him or in a duel ..." Jason explained.

"So since Haou can't stand losing, and he and Jaden are now closer than before, his conscious is now fully connected with Jaden's?" Alexis asked.

Jason nodded, "Even if Jaden isn't aware right now... He's, in a way, being controlled by Haou..."

Jaden growled as he drew his card, having four again. "We'll let's clear your field! I'll summon out my Evil Hero Dark Warrior!"

His dark armored Evil Hero appeared on the field. (ATK: 2000/DEF: 500)

"Now attack!" The Evil Hero sliced down and took out the second larva.

A third one appeared on Zane's field. (ATK: 400/DEF: 600)

"Necroshade, destroy!" The Elemental Hero did so, leaving Zane's field bare of any monsters. "And one more facedown will do..." Jaden concluded, having two cards in his hand.

Zane's frown deepened, "What a disappointment you've become..."

"Enough with the mind games!"

The Kaiser closed his eyes, "Alright, Jaden, fine. If you won't listen to my words, perhaps..." he paused and drew his next card, "You'll listen to my cards! First, Cyber End Dragon comes back!"

The three headed machine appeared again. (ATK: 4000/DEF: 2800)

"Next, I'll play the Spell card, De-Fusion! Now, one Fusion monster on the field returns to my Fusion deck, and my three normal Cyber Dragons come back!"

The fusion monster split back into the three originals. (ATK: 2100/DEF: 1000)x3

"Now, my next card is..."

A blinding light ripped through the arena, causing Jaden to yelp and cover his eyes as the light became brighter and brighter.

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

With an almighty roar and a flash of lightning, Zane's best monster appeared on the field once more, taking its place behind its master. Everyone in the arena gasped and looked hard at the duel while Jaden stared at his opponent, scared. (ATK: 4000/DEF: 2800)

"If you're wondering, and I'm sure you are, why I brought it back like this," Zane said cooly, "If a monster is summoned by the effects of Power-Bond, it's attack points are doubled!"

Cyber End Dragon roared at its major power boost. (ATK: 4000-8000)

'Just great! Looks like playing with my head has gotten me headed to a giant trouble.' Jaden looked up at the mechanical hydra, 'And maybe a giant loss One that I may never live down!'

"And to think, I admired you Jaden... especially after everything you've done and been through..." Zane slowly shook his head, his eyes staring into Jaden's, "I won't make that mistake again... nor will anyone else!"

"Oh no!"

"So, what now, Jaden?" Zane asked coolly, looking straight at the Slifer, "You think you can beat my dragon? You've got two monsters and their about to be blasted into oblivion! It's over for you!"

'It can't be over!' Jaden thought, gritting his teeth

'Do something!' Haou growled. 'Don't make us lose again!'

Jaden clutched his head.

'Shut up!' Yubel appeared this time to glare at him. 'You're distracting him!'

"What's wrong?" Zane raised an eyebrow, "Are you afraid? Is that your problem?"

Jaden could only stare back in silence as he let go of his head.

"If that's the case, allow me to put you out of your misery, Jaden!" Zane raised his arm, pointing at him, "Cyber End Dragon, attack Nechroshade !" he commanded. "You're all washed up!"

Jaden looked up at the monster coming to claim his master's victory, 'He's right... man, I better put my thinking cap back on. Oh wait, it was on!' He grabbed his head again. "Come on..."

"Cyber End Dragon, attack!"

Everyone watched as the three dragon heads fired off a separate burst of energy that converged into one powerful stream headed straight for Necroshade.

As Yubel and Haou continued to argue, Jaden grit his teeth. 'Man up, Jaden! Your whole year comes down to right now!' His eyes brightened as he went to his facedowns. 'Yeah!'

The blast covered Jaden side of the field as everyone wondered has Zane won.

Their answer came up with Jaden appearing out of the smoke, minus one Necroshade and two facedowns.

"Sorry, Zane... but we're not done," he grinned slyly, holding a thumbs up. "Yet!"

Jaden: 100

Zane: 1900

Zane's eyes widened in shock, "I don't understand, that hit you dead on. This match should be done!" He exclaimed as murmurs of surprise rippled through the audience.

Jaden stood there, breathing heavily after the devastating attack, "Talk about activating a Spell in the nick of time," he muttered, glancing at the one remaining card on the field, "Thank you Hero Medal and Emergency Provisions..."

Jaden had used the effect of Emergency Provisions to gain 1000 more Life Points at the cost of his Hero Medal Trap card, increasing his life points to 6500 before the 6400 points of damage went through.

Sheppard chuckled and nodded in approval from his place in the stands.

"Jesus," Alexis held her hand over her heart. "That was too close!"

"Any closer and Jaden would be defeated," Chazz added.

"Now," Jaden pressed a button on his disk, "I'll play Evil Signal! With this, I can summon any monster with Evil Hero in its name! And what better Hero than Evil Hero Lieutenant!"

A beam of light shot upward with the Evil Hero signal and his disk began to glow, followed by Lieutenant jumping onto the field. (ATK: 1000/DEF: 1500)

'I may have survived this round, but just barely! So much for using my head over my heart...'

Zane looked at the two cards in his hands and held one up, "Now, I'll summon Cyber Kirin!"

The machine that appeared was like a small metal giraffe. (ATK: 300/DEF: 800)

"And if I should sacrifice him, all card damage this turn, goes to zero! That means that my Power Bond damage is negated!"

Kirin vanished.

Bastion whistled at the move, "Flawless!"

"Totally," Atticus said with a nod.

"Now he has a monster with 8000 ATK points on the field!" Asami gasped.

"Now that's card playing," Jason admitted.

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

Jaden sighed, "He wasn't here... He was being manipulated..."

Zane raised an eyebrow, 'So he finally sees it...' he nodded. He had to guess that Haou was having an influence on Jaden's card playing, especially knowing that the alter ego of Jaden was a crazy, power hungry, egotistical piece of shit. With Zane's victory over Jaden, he pieced together that Haou wouldn't want to lose again.

"I didn't know it before. I didn't see that anger and vengeance was clouding my playing... But now that I do..." he smirked. "I think it's time I start playing like myself!"

"I think we're in for a match now," Sheppard said with a warm smile.

The Head of Obelisk looked at him, "Just what do you mean?"

"I mean that Jaden learned a valuable lesson," he turned and met his colleague's stare, "He let the notion of revenge fill his mind, and almost lost because of it. You see, Jaden's a great duelist, but not because of his booksmarts, or even because of who he used to be, but because he plays with his heart, his soul! And also for the fun of it! Zane helped him find the duelist that he left behind,"

"Left behind?"

Jaden sighed in relief and wiped his mouth from of crumbs, "Alright, let's go, Zane!" He turned to him and held up his disk, "Now then..."

Zane chuckled, "Bring it!"

"My draw!" Jaden drew, having three. "First Pot of Greed will let me draw twice!" He picked up two cards.

"Now its time I play my Hero Allegiance spell card!" His spell showed Flame Wingman and Inferno Wing shaking hands. "Now I select a Evil Hero monster, like my Dark Warrior, and now I can special summon from my deck Elemental Heroes for every 1000 ATK points he has by sacrificing him!"

He held up his disk, "And I choose Avian and Burstinatrix!"

The wind hero and fire heroine appeared on Jaden's field. (ATK: 1000/DEF: 1000) (ATK: 1200/DEF: 800)

"And now my Bubbleman will be joining the field when I summon him!" This time, the water themed hero appeared on the field. (ATK: 800/DEF: 1200)

"Then I play Spy Hero! It activates when I randomly discard two cards from my deck," he explained as he tossed away the cards and a dark figure appeared on his field, "Now my Spy Hero steps in and uses his Super Stealth to steal one of your cards!"

Zane smiled, "Seems like the old Jaden's back,"

A blur of movement made Zane look down to see something grab a card from his Graveyard and threw it to Jaden, who caught it with ease.

"Thanks Zane! Future Fusion! Now, all I gotta do is to sacrifice a couple of monsters that can be used for a Fusion and bam! I get what they woulda made," he tossed a couple of cards into his Graveyard.

"So say goodbye to Sparkman and Bladedge, and you'll see Plasma Vice in two turns! Next, I'll throwdown a facedown," Jaden slipped one card, his last, into his disk.

"Impressive, but too little too late!" Zane drew his card.

"This is getting intense!" Atticus leaned forward.

"I agree," Chazz was doing the same thing.

"I'm glad you finally figured out what was wrong, Jaden, but right now, it doesn't matter! Cyber End Dragon, attack Bubbleman!" Zane roared.

Jaden watched as the familiar beams of energy went flying at his water monster... but he grinned.

"Sorry Zane, you're the one walking into a trap! And you'll see why when I play this, it is one doozy of a Trap card!" He pressed a button on his disk and his facedown was revealed, "Here comes Elemental Burst!"

"Oh no!" Zane stepped back a bit.

"Oh yeah! By sacrificing a Wind, Earth, Water, and Fire attribute monster, each and every card on your field gets totally destroyed!"

"Wait, Lieutenant is an Earth monster!?"

Jaden smirked, "Yep..." he explained as his monsters turned to large pillars of elemental power.

The four streams of power soared through the air and wrapped themselves around the Dragon, obliterating them with ease. Zane, as well as everyone else in the arena, stared in complete surprise.

Jaden smirked, "So long, Cyber End Dragon... can't really say I'm gonna miss him!"

Zane slowly turned and looked right at him again, "You won't have to miss him, because the way I've calibrated my deck is that Cyber End Dragon is never really gone, I'll always find a way to bring him back!"

"You're bluffing!"

"But I'm not, Jaden," Zane looked down at the card he drew, now having four. "Because the card I play now is a Spell called Time Fusion! With it, time is most certainly on my side!"

Jaden groaned, "Damn..."

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

'So, he's right!' Jaden bit his cheek, 'Cyber End Dragon will return, and soon too!'

"You can't win, and you'll see why next turn, Jaden! Then, the Academy will see that you're a fraud!" Zane glared at him, a confident look in his eyes, "Don't feel bad, you lost to the best!"

"Already writing your Graduation speech, Zane?" Jaden raised an eyebrow, "Not so fast, 'cause I'm still here! It's my move now," he drew his card, "I'll throwdown a facedown and end my turn,"

Zane kept looking at Jaden as he drew his card, 'You'll have to do better than that, Jaden, especially after you see what I have for you!'

He took a card from his disk, "My turn, Jaden! First, this returns to me! Card from a Different Dimension! I removed it from play when I played Time Fusion, but now it's back and it doesn't stop there. Next, its special effect activates and you know what that means: we both get to draw two cards!"

Both of them drew their cards, Zane having five and Jaden two. They looked at what they had drawn.

'Too bad nothing can help you now, Jaden.'

'Zane must be pretty confident to let me draw cards...'

"And now, I call forth...," Zane raised a hand to the sky, towards the light above him, "CYBER END DRAGON!"

Another Cyber End Dragon appeared. (ATK: 4000/DEF: 2800)

"Not again..." Syrus moaned in misery.

"For once," Alexis blinked slowly, "You think he'd do a combo without that dragon..."

"Its his trademark," Asami reminded.

"Of course!" Bastion snapped his fingers, "Because the monster was summoned by Time Fusion, it can't attack until next turn!"

Chazz stared, "Jaden is a lucky man,"

Jason chuckled, "Really..."

"I'll end my turn with three facedowns." Zane said coolly as he a card into his disk, reducing his hand to two.

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

"Not yet, Crowler, after all, if there's one thing I've learned is to never count Jaden out until his Life Points are out," Sheppard said quietly, his eyes dancing with excitement.

"My draw," Jaden said, having three. "Because its been two turns, my Plasma Vice appears!"

The golden armored electric hero appeared on Jaden's field. (ATK: 2600/DEF: 2300)

"And now his ability let's me discard a card," he ditched his Soul Fusion. "To let me destroy a monster on your field!" Plasma Vice charged up an electric blast.

"I don't think so," Zane's facedown flipped up. "I play Forbidden Dress! Now I select a monster, like my Dragon, and reduce his points by 600,"

The Dragon was covered in a white aura. (ATK: 4000-3400)

The lightning bounced off.

Zane smirked, "And now he's safe from being destroyed by card effects..."

Jaden sighed, "Oh well..." he smirked as he held up his lone card. "Time for something else then. I play Card of Demise!" He drew the full five. "And now I'll play De-Fusion to split up my Plasma Vice into Sparkman and Bladedge!"

The one hero split up into the original two. (ATK: 1600/DEF: 1400) (ATK: 2600/DEF: 1800)

"And now I'll play Dark Calling to fuse the Avian and Burstinatrix in my graveyard to fusion summon my Evil Hero Inferno Wing!"

The two heroes briefly appeared before they slowly merged into the first Evil Hero anyone's seen Jaden use. (ATK: 2100/DEF: 1200)

"And now with Dark Fusion, she and Sparkman will be merging together to create my Evil Hero Electric Lavawing!"

The large warrior wearing blood red chest armor covered in flames, armlets in lightning, and a helmet that glowed with both fire and lightning appeared by Bladedge. (ATK: 2800/DEF: 2600)

"And now for every Hero monster in my graveyard, he gains 500 ATK points!"

The holo images of Sparkman, Inferno Wing, Plasma Vice, Bubbleman, Lieutenant, Absolute Zero, Necroshade, Ocean, Voltic, Dark Warrior and Wildheart appeared to give his new Hero a boost. (ATK: 2800-8300)

"Wow, that's power!" Asami exclaimed.

"Its game, Zane... Lavawing, destroy his Cyber End Dragon!"

Lavawing prepared a corrosion lava attack that was outfitted with an aura of lightning before he launched it to Zane's Dragon...

"I activate Limter Removal to double my Dragon's attack!" The Cyber End Dragon roared for the power boost. (ATK: 3400-6800)

It was still destroyed.

Jaden: 100

Zane: 400

"Oh yeah! But, Lavawing's not done yet! After your monster is destroyed, you get dealt damage equal to its attack points... and that's 4000!"

Zane watched in shock as Electric Lavawing floated down in front of him.

Jaden smirked, "School's out, Zane!"

"Not yet it's not!" Zane cried, pressing a button on his disk, "I play a Trap card! Damage Polarizer! Now, all damage from a special effect goes to zero!" he explained as an electric current went around Electric Lavawing for a few moments before the Hero went back to Jaden.

Jaden rubbed his chin, growling a little, "I gotta admit, Zane, that's a sweet card..."

"And, as you said it, for the cherry on top, we both draw one card, and for your sake, I hope it's good one!" Zane reached down and drew his card while Jaden did the same, having three each. They both looked at the card they had drawn.

'I can't believe...' Jaden thought

'I drew...' Zane looked at his card.

'Battle Fusion!' They finished at the same time.

Jaden smirked, "Not like it matters since Bladedge can still go for it!" The golden armored hero charged in.

"And my last facedown, Sakeratsu Armor will destroy him!" Zane declared as Bladedge blew up. "Since Dark Fusion saves your monster, I figured I use it on your Bladedge..."

Jaden grinned, "Good going..." he looked at his hand. "Two facedowns will do..." he concluded.

"I guess you're up," he looked at his opponent, "What's it gonna be this time?"

"You'll see!"

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

"I agree," Zane said with a nod, 'The last round for you, Jaden. My victory is assured. Prepare for the bitter taste of defeat!' He thought as he drew his card. He looked at it and smiled.

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

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

"Yeah," Atticus nodded behind them, "I think we're about to see what's up very soon... get ready for the final round between the school's two best duelists!"

Asami grinned, "This duel has been awesome! I'm excited to see how it ends!"

Jason nodded in agreement to his girlfriend. "Same here..."

"Jaden, it's been fun, but now, I'm afraid that it's over," he held up the card he just drew, "I activate Power Bond! Now, by sacrificing the right monsters, I can once again summon the Cyber End Dragon!"

Chazz blinked and leaned over the railing, "How? You gotta have monster to sacrifice 'em!"

"Chazz is right for once!" Bastion agreed, staring as well, "His field is bare!"

"Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot... I don't need monsters!" Zane plucked a card from his hand, "I activate Cybernetic Fusion Support! By trading in half of my Life Points, I don't need to make any sacrifices to summon my Fusion monster!"

Jaden: 100

Zane: 200

Once again, the multi-headed metal beast appeared with a roar, a strong gust of wind blowing around it as it roared. (ATK: 4000/DEF: 2800)

Jaden looked up at it, 'You know, I'm starting to get really sick of this thing...'

Yubel nodded, having long finished her argument with Haou. 'Exactly... Hope you have a way to win...'

Haou appeared by his left. Jaden and Yubel waited for him to say something angry or stupid, shockingly, he shrugged. 'This duel's over...' he vanished. They both missed the smirk on his face.

'A loss from someone weak is unacceptable... But an opponent who can give you a workout and challenge before victory is one I can accept...' he observed Zane from his spot in Jaden's subconscious. 'Even though we win, you're a fun match, Truesdale.'

"And thanks to Power Bond, his strength doubles!" (ATK: 4000-8000)

Zane showed his second to last card. "And now my Soul Release will take away five of your Hero cards and remove them from the game!"

Jaden gasped as five of his monsters left the grave. (ATK: 8300-5800)

"You're through!"

"I don't think so!" Jaden pressed a button, "Go, Battle Fusion! Now my monster gains as many attack points as Cyber End over there since he's a fusion monster!"

Electric Lavawing grew in size towering over Zane's machine. (ATK: 5800-13800)

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

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

Zane looked at the Evil Hero, but his smile remained, "Nice move, but it's all for naught! I use the Spell card Battle Fusion!" He roared, taking a card from his hand, "That's right, Jaden, I have one too!"

"Uh-oh," Jaden looked up at the Dragon as it seemed to grow larger with more and more attack points pouring into it's body. (ATK: 8000-21800)

Suddenly, it all became quiet. The excitement in the air, the noise from the audience, even the growling from their monsters were gone. Jaden Yuki and Zane Truesdale were now alone in their own little world, staring each other down with a look of both pride and admiration in their eyes.

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

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

"Huh?"

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

The Slifer's smile widened, "I'll give it my all, Zane, and I'll start right here, 'cause this duel's not over yet!"

Zane's head went back a little, a look of confusion in his eyes, "Huh?"

As quickly as it had disappeared, everything came back: the monsters, the electricity in the air, the anxious audience all around them.

"That's right, I still have one trick up my sleeve, and here it comes!" Jaden waved his hand and his facedown card was revealed, "I activate the Trap known as Final Fusion!"

Zane's confused look became one of admiration, "How clever..."

Yubel laughed, 'Good going, Jaden...'

"If this card's played, both of us take damage to our Life Points equal to our monsters combined attack points! You know what that means..." Jaden trailed off, a sly smirk now on his face.

Zane nodded, his own smile coming back to his face, "Sure do!"

Haou was livid from his spot in Jaden's subconscious. 'A draw!?'

Everyone watched as both Cyber End Dragon and Electric Lavawing both monsters with incredibly high attack points flew at one another. A bright glow filled the arena, making everyone watch in awe moments before a tremendous explosion rocked the room, a huge cloud of smoke covering the dueling platform.

"What happened?" Chazz demanded.

"Who won?!" Bastion cried.

"I can't tell!" Alexis tried to see.

"I can't see!" Asami exclaimed.

"Me neither!" Jason added.

Everyone rose to their feet, all of their hearts practically on the verge of stopping completely. They watched as the smoke cleared away, and they could see what had happened to the duelists. Zane was on one knee while Jaden was laying on his back. While it looked like Zane survived the blast, the result of the duel was the same for both duelists.

Jaden: 0

Zane: 0

(Draw)

One by one, a student or faculty member in the stands began clapping for the duel, and for the incredible duelists that showed them what they could do. Jaden opened his eyes and looked at the crowd, still laying on the platform.

"You okay?"

The Slifer looked up to the side to see Zane standing right next to his head.

"I think so..." Jaden said with a nod.

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

"Yeah..." Jaden nodded and looked out at the audience as well, "Does that mean... we gotta duel again?"

"Absolutely," Zane looked over his shoulder at Jaden, "Someday, we will,"

Jaden looked at him, a familiar smile crossing his face, "Cool! I guess... until then, Zane,"

The Kaiser held out his hand, "Until then,"

"Good," Jaden slapped Zane's hand, "I could use a break!"

"Me too..."

With that, both duelists laid back and started to laugh while the crowd continued to clap for them and their awesome duel. Jaden's friends stood there among the clapping, proud of their friend and what he had done against the Kaiser's final school match. This was a duel that no one would be forgetting anytime soon.

This was only the beginning...

Alexis and the others had ran down to join Jaden and Zane on the field. Jaden laughed and stood up while he and Alexis shared a kiss on the arena, everyone still in joy and awe of Jaden's rematch with Zane.

Jason and Asami, not wanting to be outdone, kissed as well.

Chazz watched, and still felt the butterflies.

Atticus saw, and gave a worried look with Chazz, thinking that maybe it wasn't so easily dismissed like they thought.

And things only got more intense from here on out...

Especially since in a week from today... The start to Jaden and Jason's next adventure begins that makes them into members of the future group that'll become known as only three words... Three words that'll haunt the world for years and the group for the rest of their lives, and even their legacies...

'The Domino Eight.'

End of Chapter 44 of Supreme King Jaden

We have reached the end of Season 1 and 'The Domino Eight' is already here for you guys! The first chapter is up!

I have enjoyed this story and I hope you all head on over to check the next installment. Since that story is key and important to this one, there will be no more updates until 'The Domino Eight' is finished.

Enjoy some trivia on this story:

Fun Facts:

- Jason wasn't supposed to be alive. He was originally supposed to have died when he got shot at Jaden's tournament and have his death be something that affects Jaden being scared to get close to people. Jason was technically only supposed to be a plot device to get Jaden's Supreme King powers awakened. I'm really glad I kept him alive :)

- Jason was supposed to use Masked Heroes. Even though they'll make their debut in the spin off, Jason was supposed to have them from the get go. I changed my mind one night when I played Sly Cooper and I'm glad I did :) I'm proud of the cards I made.

- Jaden was supposed to be dark, but that's been overdone in 'Jaden is the Supreme King at the beginning' stories.

- This is probably the dumbest one but, before I thought of Jason; Jaden was supposed to awaken his Supreme King powers because of his parents wanting to send Yubel away for her putting kids in hospitals. (Remember that in this story, she never did that because the Supreme King's backstory is different.)

- Asami wasn't supposed to exist. I just threw her in on a whim and I am insanely glad I did! I love her! :D

- Here's another strange one; after I decided to have Asami in the story, I was gonna go for a JadenxAlexisxAsami pairing. I don't know what I was thinking. I am insanely happy that I decided to stick to JadenxAlexis and go for JasonxAsami. I ship the hell out of those two!

- After deciding Jason would survive his gunshot wound, he was supposed to have a heart condition and not be mute. Even though it's been almost a year, I still don't remember why I made him mute instead.

- Jaden was supposed to keep the Sacred Beasts, but then I decided his deck would be too overpowered and all the fun of his duels would've been taken away.

Favorite Character: Jaden, if only for the character arc he went through in the Shadow Rider Arc. I liked his struggle to not only wanting to use the Sacred Beasts for good, but also to try and not be like Haou because of it. He showed that despite being Haou's reincarnation, he's his own person.

Favorite Moment: Jason finds his voice. I've built up to this moment for a long time and I am glad that it came out the way it did. Jason is tied with Jaden as my favorite character in the story and to have him get his voice makes me happy since he deserves it.

And the last one, and the hardest... Favorite Pairing: I really can't pick between Fianceshipping and Disableshipping. I love them both for different reasons.

Fianceshipping I love because of the banter and playfulness between Jaden and Alexis and also I loved the build up between getting them together. That's actually my second favorite moment in the story.

Disableshipping I love because Jason and Asami are just freaking adorable! I love their chemistry and their moments as a couple. They play off of each other really well and their confession is one of my favorite things I've ever written.

Hope you guys can hopefully give answers to these as well.

Time for 'The Domino Eight' :)

Next Time (Although not for awhile): Season 2