And I'm back after a literal 3 month break. I know, I'm insane. Sorry. I was busy please don't hurt me. Also, I was writing for another account in SAO. Mainly, I thought this story was garbage for a long time. Then I reread it and was like, maybe it wasn't that bad after all. I think the main problem I have is that I both hate and suck at writing duels. It just feels so boring to read and write, since there aren't any new developments in character or plot. It's like writing an entire fight scene in another anime. So in the future, there will be less duels. But the duels that we have will be way more intense.

This chapter is mainly to help me get back into the swing of things. As always, please tell me what you like and dislike. Thanks, and happy reading!

Jaden found himself surrounded by a dark, churning ocean. The sky was ink black, blotting out any indications of sun. Thousands of voices rose up from the depths, hissing his name. Jaden….Jaden. He stood on a rock that protruded from the ocean somehow, the only land in sight. The voices grew louder and louder, threatening to overpower his sanity. He wanted to shout, scream at them. Tell them to shut up. He had the power, not them. But somehow, his voice wasn't working.

The ocean bubbled furiously as the voices grew more agitated. The water began to rise as Jaden felt darkness began to overtake him once more. Soon, the rock that he stood on was no more, enveloped by the dark liquid. The sea churned angrily as it rose past his ankles.

This is a dream, he told himself. Yet even with that knowledge, he began to panic as he felt the darkness suffocating him. The water was at his chin now as he could hardly keep himself afloat. By this point, he had lost the rock and was treading water. Something in the depths was trying to drag him down as what felt like weights attached to his legs.

Growling, he struggled to escape to no avail. The waters rose above his head and darkness prevailed once more.

Jaden woke to the sound of voices, all blending with each other so that Jaden couldn't make out any words. He was lying on top of something soft...a bed? Where was he? What had happened? Blearily, he blinked open his eyes before he was forced to close them again from the blinding light. The voices continued to buzz like angry gnats around him. His limbs felt as though made of lead, and his arms and legs burned from exertion. Tired…

Growling slightly, he forced open his eyes ignoring the burning sensation from the brightness. Then he forced himself up despite the protest of his hurting body. The source of the light was from a window, positioned to the right of his bed. From his surroundings, it seemed that he was in some sort of hospital. Jaden rubbed his temple to clear his pounding headache. With remarkable clarity, the events from before flooded into him again.

He felt the familiar feeling of anger begin to boil again. Everything had been perfectly planned. Not a single detail had been left out. And yet he had failed to exact his revenge. Zane still lived -he was sure of it. Yubel hadn't consumed his soul.

I remember the man in black. Axel defeated him and then I passed out. Jaden's face contorted when he remembered his moment of weakness. But then, why am I here?

Suddenly, he noticed the voices had stopped. He turned slightly, and his eyes widened involuntarily. Alexis, Atticus, and Chazz were sitting in the room and staring, mouths slightly agape, straight at him.

Zane almost forgot how much he hated the Underworld. It was dark, filled with twisting tunnels that were impossible to navigate, and most importantly, it smelled. His nose twitched as the scent of dead meat and earth wafted into his nostrils. Unfortunately, those were the least of his troubles. The main issue was currently staring right at him, in the form of Adelina, the self-proclaimed "Queen of the Underworld." Self-centered brat.

Their current meeting was taking place in a large, underground chamber that featured several stalagmites. Groups of people stood huddled a distance away, pointing at him and whispering. Some seemed delighted, but Zane spotted expressions of fear and anxiety.

"Didn't think I'd be seeing you again, Zane Truesdale." The woman spoke with a playful smirk on her face, but anyone who had even heard about her knew that she was dead serious. "I recall saying that if I ever saw you again, you'd be put to death, no questions asked."

Zane studied the woman again. She had hardly changed the last time that he had seen her. Her skin was a pale white, probably a side effect from never seeing the sun. Her cheeks and eyes were gaunt and hollow as if she hadn't eaten in quite a long time. The rest of her looked like a skeleton -pale, brittle arms and shrunken legs. She wore no makeup. Yet despite this, she somehow retained a look of utter beauty and power, dominating the rest of the figures in the room. Adelina, who was called many things, from "Ice Queen" to "The Reaper," was not to be messed with.

"Believe me," he said, adopting a tone far more arrogant than he felt. "If it were up to be, I would not have returned either." Which happened to be true. He honestly had no idea how he had gotten here. His memory was hazy, but he remembered some creature with more eyes than it should have had.

The Queen frowned. "Very well. Seeing the, ah, unusual circumstances, I will refrain from killing you temporarily. But," she said, as she raised a pale finger into the air, "you will have to explain yourself before I judge on your final fate. Is this matter clear?" Zane bowed his head. Honestly, this was far more than he bargained for. This day was just getting better and better.

To make an understatement, it had been a rough night for Alexis. She had learned that Jaden was under the influence of darkness, seen Jaden rip Zane's soul from his body, and saw a black shadow rip through Jaden and force him unconscious. And through all that time, she had been completely useless. She could do nothing but watch her friends get hurt. And she couldn't forgive herself for that.

There was a long argument on what to do with Jaden. Everyone was conflicted on how to best resolve the situation. Should they put him in custody and burn his deck? Or just let him wake up and hope that he would get better? Eventually, they settled on moving Jaden's unconscious body to the hospital room in Duel Academy and gave his cards to Alexis. She didn't really want to have them, but then again, no one really wanted to have cards tainted with darkness, so she took the responsibility of doing so. After all, destroying the cards was out of question. A dueler's deck became ingrained in his soul, so by destroying a deck, one was destroying another's soul.

Alexis glanced miserably at the corrupted cards in her hand. If these cards reflected Jaden's soul, did that mean that he had forever turned to darkness? Shaking her head, she pushed the thoughts out of her mind. No, there has to be a way to get him back. I just know it.

Beside her, Chazz and Atticus were talking in hushed tones, but Alexis didn't mind them. There was already to much on her mind. For the hundredth time, she glanced at Jaden's motionless figure lying on the bed. Without warning, his body would jerk violently from time to time as if experiencing a nightmare. You're useless, a small voice in her head whispered to her. You can't even help your best friend. All you do is sit around praying for some miracle to happ-

"I know!" she screamed, slamming her fist down onto the table where she sat. "You think I don't know?" She realized that the boys were giving her worried looks, and her cheeks burned with embarrassment.

"Sorry," she muttered. "Thinking out loud, don't mind me." Idiot, she reprimanded herself.

Atticus spoke in a concerned manner. "Are you sure you're oka-" but was interrupted with a low growl that came from-

-Jaden's bed. All three students leapt to their feet stared at the bed, the covers shifting. Alexis had seen quite a bit in her lifetime, from graveyard ghosts to portals to another dimension. But nothing even came close to the moment when Jaden woke and stared straight at them with cold, golden eyes.

And that's the end of the chapter! See you next week!

Kidding kidding, just thought it'd be funny to do that to you guys. Chapter continues below.

The tension was so thick that Alexis thought she could grab Axel's cardgun and cut straight through it. She felt Chazz and Atticus shrink slightly back in fear. She didn't blame them. She would have done the same, if she hadn't been completely paralyzed. Jaden's gaze didn't waver as the two golden orbs seemed to pierce straight through them. The standoff continued for what seemed like an eternity.

Jaden was physically weak, weaker than she had ever seen him before. So why did it feel like he was the most powerful man in the world at that moment?

Without warning, Jaden gave a cold chuckle, breaking the silence. "And to what do I owe this pleasure?" he asked, as if completely indifferent towards the three. But underneath that mask of apathy, Alexis could tell that there was something else. Pain. Pain so vast and so great that no mask, however perfect, could obscure it. And from that, she knew that Jaden was not completely lost yet. That he could be saved.

Vaguely, Alexis could remember a conversation that she had had with the others on what to say to Jaden when he woke. But her muscles felt numb, her lips refused to move, and her voice didn't work. All she could do was gaze on, as if Jaden's unwavering eyes were holding her in place.

Stop it! she cried at herself. Body, MOVE! And with that, she felt life slowly returning to herself, feeling control of her body once more.

"Jaden." she uttered in a hoarse voice. He gave her an amused look.

"Oh? So the insects speak?"

Alexis felt like Jaden had struck her, but she continued to talk. "Why?" she rasped. "Why are you doing this?"

Any trace of humor vanished from his voice. It grew narrow and sharp, cutting through the air. "Why you ask? I think you know the answer."

Alexis shook her head numbly, her lips refusing to make words again. What did she know?

"You can top pretending," he spat at them, voice icy cold. "Pretending to be my friend and then abandoning me? Did you think I wouldn't figure out?"

Alexis stared at Jaden in shock. Did he really think that she had pretended to be his friend all this time? She felt tears threatening to form. Beside her, she heard a sharp intake of breath. "Jaden, we didn't pretend, we really-"

The icy cold voice cut her off harshly. "But I suppose I must thank you for that. For now I see that there is no such thing as "friendship," there is only power. And those too weak to seek it. You've allowed me to see the truth."

"No, Jaden, you don't understand," Alexis breathed. "We always were your friends. We were never pretending."

"Oh I understand everything now," Jaden said with a cruel smirk. "And I have no need for people like you anymore." He made the motion to stand, but was still too weak to do so, and collapsed onto the ground breathing heavily.

Forgetting for a moment that Jaden was evil, the three friends instinctively ran to help him up before being stopped by his sharp voice. "Back off!" he barked. Alexis gave a worried glance at him before she, Chazz, and Atticus kept their distance.

Seeming to use all his strength, Jaden grabbed the bedpost and forced himself into standing position.

Atticus sighed, before taking a step forward. "Look, Jaden, we didn't bring you here to exchange pleasantries. We came to make a deal."

Jaden raised an eyebrow, glaring suspiciously at Atticus. "What could I possibly want from you?" he growled. But he didn't reject the offer either, giving Alexis some hope.

She steadied her voice, hoping to sound more confident than she felt. She hoped her resolve wouldn't crumble too quickly. "This," she said, stepping forward and holding up Jaden's deck. His eyes widened the moment he saw it, then narrowed.

"Give it to me!" he said in a threatening voice that made Alexis want to cower and do whatever he asked. But she remained strong.

Or at least she hoped her voice did. She shook her head. "This is part of the deal. If you agree, then we give you you're deck back. If not, we keep it." A vein bulged on Jaden's forehead. "Including Yubel." Alexis added for emphasis.

Jaden looked as if he wanted to reach out and strangle her right there and then, his face contorted more violently than ever. Alexis knew that what they were doing was remarkably cruel. She knew that Yubel was extremely close to Jaden and that his deck meant everything to him. But it had to be done. For not only their sake, but for Jaden's sake as well.

"Fine," Jaden ground out through gritted teeth. "What do you want from me?" It physically pained Alexis to see Jaden suffer through so much mental abuse, but she restrained herself. It's for his own good, she repeated to herself over and over. But that didn't help the fact that they were blackmailing their own friend.

Atticus' voice interrupted her thoughts. "We need your help defeating that shadow. Axel managed to stall it, but it escaped and will be back for more. It's a power far stronger than any of us have ever faced before, and we need all the help we can get." Alexis could tell that Atticus was trying to remain impassive, but she detected a slight quiver in his voice.

Jaden's face betrayed no emotion as he chewed on those words. "How do you know I won't just agree then get my deck and leave?" he finally replied, some of the edge gone from his voice replaced with suspicion.

Alexis took a deep breath and said spoke thinking, letting her emotions guide her. "Jaden, I know you've changed but I know that somewhere down there, you still exist. We trust you Jaden. I trust you. You've always been by our side, and -and we will always be by yours." Was she crying? She couldn't tell. "I know you won't break your promise, Jaden."

He stared at her with narrow eyes for a few moments, as if trying to decipher her. "I know not of the Jaden you speak of," he said, but sounded more unsure of himself this time. A few more moments of silence passed. "Fine, I'll take up your offer and help you defeat whatever that creature was. The enemy of my enemy is my friend."

Alexis' face lit up with delight. Her speech had worked!

"But," Jaden said, "We remain allies, nothing more nothing less. And after this is over, don't expect me to spare your souls for Yubel."

Three gulps followed his statement, but they agreed quickly before Jaden changed his mind.

Jaden gazed out the window at the night sky, Yubel perched beside him. Alexis, Chazz, and Atticus had left him in the hospital bed once they had agreed to disagree. And Jaden was feeling particularly annoyed.

"Couldn't they at least have not trusted me so wholeheartedly?" Jaden asked, peeved. "They didn't even put a guard outside my door or something."

Yubel gave a quiet chuckle, but didn't say anything.

"Like, I could just walk out now and they would never know! God this is frustrating!" he shouted, throwing his hands up into the air.

"But you aren't, are you?" Yubel replied softly.

Jaden buried his head into his arms. "I don't know what's wrong with me, Yubel! Please don't be mad, but I feel like I can't break this promise. I don't know why!"

Yubel thought of what the girl had said to her. Maybe, just maybe, the girl might have been right. "I think you made the right decision," she said softly, almost to herself.

Alexis lay in bed as she thought of Yubel. Maybe she isn't so bad after all, she thought to herself.

And that really concludes our chapter. It's a bit short, I'm sorry. Maybe it declined in quality as well, but I blame that on the break. Anyways, I rewatched the anime and some fanfics, and grew liking to Yubel. I don't know why. She just doesn't strike me as particularly evil you know? Don't worry Jalexis (is that the ship name?) is still a thing for sure.

Anyways, something clearly went down between Yubel and Alexis. All will be revealed next chapter, which I haven't gotten around to yet. Remember, all this stuff is currently being made off the top of my head as I go along. Which means, each chapter is written without a plan for the future. Each chapter is subject to change on my whim. Ah the beauty of procrastination.

By the way, fun fact, the word procrastinate comes from the latin word "cras," meaning tomorrow and "pro," roughly translating into "for." So it means "for tomorrow." Heh.