Back to Normal

Jaden woke up in the infirmary feeling very confused.

"What? Where am I?" He asked as he looked around the room.

"You're in the infirmary genius." Chazz said. He had woken up a few minutes ago.

"Chazz you're alright." Jaden said happily. Just then he remembered what had happened to him.

"Chazz we've got big problems. The last Shadow Rider is professor Banner." He said.

"I already know that. He beat me." Chazz said, feeling a little embarrassed.

"But what are we going to do? We have to warn the others." Jaden said.

"Jaden will you calm down. The fact that we're awake means that someone already beat him." Chazz said pointing out the obvious.

"Oh yeah, I guess you're right. So who do you think beat him." Jaden said.

'I have a feeling that I already know.' Chazz thought.

Over at the Obelisk girls dorm Alexis woke up in her bed. She looked around for a second before she realized where she was. Alexis relaxed as she realized what must have happened.

'Thanks Ryan, I knew I could count on you.' She thought.

With the defeat of Banner things finally started to return to normal. Jaden and Chazz were released from the infirmary after a quick check up by Nurse Fontaine who still couldn't understand what had happened to them.

The former key keepers and Chancellor Sheppard were all very shocked to learn that professor Banner had been the last Shadow Rider. Jaden seemed to have been affected by Banner's betrayal the most.

Now that all of the Shadow Riders were defeated Chancellor Sheppard reclaimed all seven of the spirit keys confident that they were now safe.

As for the others they returned to their school lives hoping that they're wouldn't be any more unpleasant surprises.

After only a couple of days Alexis received some exciting news. Atticus had finally been cleared by Nurse Fontaine and was ready to leave the infirmary.

Soon Alexis arrived in the infirmary just as Atticus was leaving.

"Hi Atticus, nice to see you on your feet again." Alexis said.

"Trust me, no one's happier than me." Atticus replied.

The two siblings began to walk down the hallways.

"So is it true? Was Banner really the last Shadow Rider." Atticus whispered so no one would hear them.

"That's what Ryan said. You should have seen him duel, he tore me apart." Alexis whispered.

"I'm not surprised. He probably knew all of your decks inside and out." Atticus said.

The two continued out of the main building. Atticus wanted to see how things had changed at the school since he'd been gone.

Alexis showed her brother some of the things that had been built since he disappeared and they'd closed the old blue dorm. Soon they reached the Obelisk Blue boys dorm.

"Wow, so this is where all of the blue boys are staying now." Atticus said in wonder as he looked at what was the equivalent of a castle.

"I think that the girls dorm is nicer, it looks like something out of a fairy tale." Alexis admitted.

Just then Atticus saw a familiar face.

"Hey Zane, long time no see." Atticus said as he ran up to his old friend.

"I see that you're still as positive as ever." Zane said.

"And I see you're still as cheerful as ever." Atticus said sarcastically causing Zane to half smile.

"So how have you been? Did you do interesting while I was gone?" Atticus asked.

"Not really. Things were never the same after you disappeared. Most of our old friends left the school out of fear of disappearing as well." Zane answered.

"Really, you should tell me about that sometime." Atticus said.

"I can tell you right now, concerning your sister doesn't mind." Zane stated.

"It's alright, I know you two have some catching up to do." Alexis remarked.

"Great let's go." Atticus said as he left with Zane to talk about old times.

Alexis wondered what she would do while Atticus was with Zane. For a moment she thought about calling Mindy and Jasmine.

"Alexis, what are you doing here?" A familiar voice asked.

Alexis looked up and saw Ryan staring down at her from his balcony.

"Hi Ryan, I was showing Atticus the new blue dorm but he just left with Zane." Alexis said.

"Well it's a nice day, want to spend some time with me?" He asked, looking at the clear blue sky.

"Sure why not." Alexis said.

Over at the Slifer dorm Jaden was moping around in his room. He still wasn't over Banner's betrayal.

"Hey Jaden, do you want to have a duel or something?" Syrus asked, trying to cheer his friend up.

"No thanks Sy, I don't really feel like it." Jaden sighed.

"This is bad. Jaden usually always wants to duel." Chumley said.

"I know, he hasn't been himself since the whole Shadow Rider thing ended." Syrus added.

"Well I can't really blame him. Who would have thought that Banner was a traitor the whole time." Chumley said.

"Jaden I know you're sad about what happened, but you have to get over it." Syrus told his friend.

"How can I? I trusted professor Banner and he turned out to be a bad guy. I feel like I can't even tell good and evil apart anymore." Jaden said.

"Well if it makes you feel any better, Banner had us all fooled. I don't think that anyone suspected him." Chumley stated.

Jaden just sighed. Chumley's words didn't do much to lighten his mood. Just then his PDA started to ring and Jaden half-heartedly answered the call.

Bastion was in the library studying for an upcoming test. He still felt bad that he'd been of so little help against the Shadow Riders. However he was trying to get over this and return to his normal life.

Unfortunately for Bastion no matter how hard he tried his thoughts seemed to always turn to Tania. He remembered the time that they had spent together and he wished that he could see her again as he drifted off into a daydream about Tania.

Bastion was woken from his fantasy by his PDA ringing. Bastion wondered who would be calling him at this time as he answered the call.

Ryan and Alexis were sitting by the light house.

"So how did you beat Banner anyway? He seemed to be unstoppable when I dueled him." Alexis asked.

"It wasn't easy. But I eventually managed to clear his field and wipe out all of his life points." Ryan answered.

Alexis was silent for a moment. There was something that she wanted to ask him for a while.

"So Ryan, have you been seeing anyone here at Duel Academy?" She asked.

"Well, there is one person. But we're just friends at the moment." He answered honestly.

Alexis got a little closer.

"Is it anyone I know?" She asked almost teasingly.

"You might." Ryan said as he placed his hand on Alexis's.

The two moved closer to each other. Ryan's hand moved around Alexis's back and Alexis wrapped her arms around the back of his head. They moved closer until their noses were almost touching then their PDA's rang.

'Well, that's just great.' Both thought as the mood was completely ruined. Ryan and Alexis reached for their PDA's.

He saw that the person who called them was Dr. Crowler.

'This better be important.' Ryan thought.

"Hello." He spoke into the PDA.

Crowler spoke so quickly that it was difficult for Ryan to understand. He was clearly very panicked.

"Slow down. What happened?" Ryan asked. Crowler repeated his sentence.

"I see. Do you have any idea who took them." He questioned. Crowler answered with a no.

"Alright, I'll be there shortly." Ryan answered before hanging up.

Ryan turned to Alexis and noticed that she had a look of pure horror on her face. It was apparent that she received the same message he did.

"We need to go." He said.

"Alright." Alexis nodded as the two stood up and ran towards the main building.