The Shadow Duelist, Part 2

"It's my draw." Titan said as he began his turn. 
"Now Terrorking Archfiend, attack his face-down!" He ordered. 
"You just attacked Skelengel, and due to its effect, I can draw 1 card." Michael explained. 
"You could draw a million cards and it wouldn't help you. I end my turn." Titan said. 
"My move. I play the spell card Multiply. With it, I can summon as many copies of my Film Magician as I want, and I choose to make 4." Michael said as his monster split into five. 
"Next I play the Fissure magic card to destroy your Infernalqueen Archfiend." He said. 
"Not so fast, when Infernalqueen is targeted by an effect, I get to roll a die, and if it comes up as a 2 or a 5, your effect is negated." Titan explained as a large black die with red spots appeared in his hand.
He tossed it to the ground and it landed on 3. 
"Sweet! His spell goes through, and without Infernalqueen, Terrorking's attack points return to normal." Syrus said.
Terrorking: 3000-2000 ATK
"Maybe so, but by destroying her, you've triggered the effect of the Pandemonium field spell, which will allow me to add a monster with a lower level than Infernalqueen to my hand, such as my Desrook Archfiend." Titan said as he added the card to his hand. 
"I end my turn. So do your worst." Michael taunted. 
"If you insist, I draw. And I sacrifice the Terrorking Archfiend in order to summon the Skull Archfiend of Lightning!" Titan shouted.
Level 6/DARK/Fiend
ATK 2500/DEF 1200
"I end my turn. With this monster out, it's only a matter of time before you lose this duel and are cast into the shadow realm." He said. 
"Alright, I've put up with this shadow game scam long enough." Michael said. 
"Wait, did he say scam?" Chumley asked. 
"What's he mean?" Syrus asked. 
"I'll show you, but first, I draw. And I play the Mystical Space Typhoon spell card to destroy your Pandemonium field card." Michael said. The field changed back to normal, and Alexis' and Lily's coffins reappeared.
"You may have destroyed Pandemonium, but I still have this," Titan said as he held up his pendant. "Not for long," Michael said as he pulled a knife from his side before throwing it at the pendant, the knife becoming embedded in it. 
"What did you do?" Titan asked as his body returned to normal. 
"Hey, his body is back." Syrus said. 
"He never lost it. This whole shadow game was a fake. An illusion created by hypnosis, which we were subjected to by Titan's pendant," Michael explained.
"So what are you gonna do now?" He asked. 
"Namely this." Titan said as he threw a smoke bomb to the floor to mask his escape. 
"You're not getting away!" Michael shouted before he ran after him. Suddenly, the statues around the room lit up and a glowing eye symbol appeared on the floor before Michael and Titan were wrapped in a sphere of black energy. 
"Oh great, now we're in a real shadow duel." Michael said, sensing the dark energy.
Suddenly, small black creatures came out of nowhere and began to swarm the both of them. 
"Stay back!" Michael shouted. Suddenly, a light glowed from his deck and Ceruli appeared in front of him as a physical being. 
"Well, that's unexpected." Michael said. 
"Stay back you fiends!" Ceruli shouted as he swung his staff at the creatures, causing them to back away. 
"Thanks." Michael said. Suddenly the creatures forced their way into Titan's body. 
"If he hadn't kidnapped Alexis and Lily, I might feel sorry for him." Michael said as he watched. Suddenly, Titan's eyes glowed red. 
"Michael Shadows. The darkness pangs for a soul. Only one shall survive." he said. 
"Yeah, and it's gonna be me. I end my turn." Michael said. 
"I draw." Titan said. 
"And since Pandemonium is gone, you have to pay 500 life points for your monster." Michael pointed out.
Titan: 2500 LP
"It matters not. I play the spell card Raigeki to destroy all your monsters." Titan said. 
"And now Skull Archfiend of Lightning, attack directly!" He ordered. His monster launched a bolt of lightning at Michael, knocking him onto his back.
Michael: 1500 LP
"Well, I'm gonna feel that one tomorrow." Michael said as he got to his feet. 
"You won't be feeling anything tomorrow, because you won't be here." Titan said. 
"We'll see about that. As long as I have life points, I'm still in this duel." Michael responded. 
"I end my turn." Titan said. 
"Then it's my move. I draw. And this draw will let me end this duel. First, I play the spell card Reserve Reward. You can choose up to two spells or traps from your graveyard and set them on your field, but for every card you set, I draw 1 card." Michael explained. 
"I'll set Raigeki and Mystical Space Typhoon." Titan said. 
"Then I draw 2 cards. And now I play Toy Robot Box. This card will let me discard one card to summon 3 Robot Tokens to my field," Michael explained.
Robot Token x 3
Level 1/WIND/Machine
ATK&DEF 0
"Now I play the Necromancy spell card. This card summons up to four random monsters from your graveyard onto your field in defense mode." he explained as Desrook, Terrorking, and Infernalqueen Archfiend appeared on Titan's field. 
"Since Infernalqueen is on my field, my Skull Archfiend of Lightning gain 1000 attack points." Titan said.
SAOL: 2500-3500 ATK
"It doesn't matter because I have this card in my possession. I sacrifice my three Robot Tokens to summon the Wicked Eraser in attack mode!" Michael shouted.
Insert God's Anger
Level 10/DIVINE/Divine-Beast
ATK&DEF: ?
"A Wicked God card?!" Titan exclaimed in fear. 
"Indeed. Entrusted to my family by Maximillion Pegasus himself. Monsters so fearsome, they rival even the Egyptian God cards. And due to the Wicked Eraser's special ability, his attack and defense are equal to 1000 times the number of cards you control." Michael explained.
ATK&DEF: ?-6000
"6000 attack points?!" Titan exclaimed. 
"Now attack Skull Archfiend of Lightning! Wicked Inferno Cannon!" Michael shouted. His monster breathed a jet of black flames at Titan's monster, destroying it and taking away the last of his life points.
Titan: 0 LP
Winner: Michael
Titan was swarmed by the shadow creatures, leaving nothing behind but his deck and his phone. Michael walked over and picked up his phone before he turned around. 
"Thank you for your assistance." He said as he bowed to the Wicked Eraser. The monster bowed his head before tearing open a hole in the sphere, allowing Michael to leave. 
"Michael!" Syrus called out. 
"You alright?" Chumley asked. 
"Apart from a tingling sensation running through my body, I'm fine." Michael answered.
"What happened in there?" Chumley asked. 
"I'm not sure you'd believe me if I told you." Michael responded. Suddenly, the sphere he had come out of began to implode, and they all had to dive to the floor to avoid being sucked into it. It disappeared and they all breathed a collective sigh of relief. "I'm glad that's over," Michael said. 
"Wait Michael. What's that card on your duel disk?" Jaden asked. 
'Wait, the only card that was on my duel disk at the end of my duel was-' Michael began to think to himself.
"Is that the Wicked Eraser?!" Syrus asked in shock. 
"Don't be ridiculous Sy, how would Michael have a Wicked God card?" Chumley said before looking at Michael's duel disk and seeing that his friend was right. 
"Wait, that is the Wicked Eraser!" He shouted. 
"Michael, how did you get a card like that?" Jaden asked. 
"Well, there's no use lying to you guys, so I might as well tell you the whole story, including why I'm here." Michael said. "Alright," Jaden said. 
"First, let's get out of here before something else happens." Michael said as he walked over to Lily's casket and picking her up bridal style. 
"Guys, help me with Alexis." Jaden said. They all left the building and set the girls down in the woods while they waited for them to wake up. Meanwhile, Maxwell and Crowler had entered the abandoned dorm to look for Titan.
"Wait, look at this." Maxwell said as he bent down and picked up a card. 
"That's the shadow duelist's Pandemonium card. He'd never leave it behind unless he lost." Crowler said. 
'Great, Michael is running around and that much closer to exposing me. I've got to get rid of him before my entire career goes down the drain.' Maxwell thought to himself.
In the forest, Alexis and Lily were coming to. 
"Well, welcome back to the land of the living." Jaden said. 
"Lily, are you okay? Are you hurt?" Michael asked as he looked her over. 
"Michael, calm down, I'm okay." Lily said before Michael embraced her in his arms. 
"I'm so glad you're okay. I could never forgive myself if I let something bad happen to you." Michael said with tears in his eyes. 
"Hey, it's okay. I'm here and I'm okay, that's what's important." Lily said as she hugged him back. Michael released his grip and pulled back. 
"Lily, this ordeal has made me realize how much I care about you. If you want, I think I'm ready to take you up on the offer you made on the day we met." he said.
"I'd love that." She said. 
"Alexis, I found this in the dorm, and I knew you'd want to have it." Michael said as he reached into his bag and pulled out the picture of Atticus. "Thank you, Michael," Alexis said as she took the picture from him. 
"And now that you and Lily are awake, it's time I tell you all the full reason I'm here." Michael said. Everyone turned to him, listening intently. 
"Well, as Lily and Alexis already know, part of why I'm here is on behalf of my parents and the parents of the missing students," Michael explained. 
"To find out what happened to them?" Syrus asked. 
"Indeed. My parents also wanted me to check on the general state of Duel Academy. My parents are one of the academy's biggest financial supporters, and they wanted to make sure their money was being spent wisely." Michael continued.
"If your parents donate so much money, then why is the Slifer dorm such a dump?" Chumley asked. 
"That's the thing, it's not supposed to be. I think one of the staff members has been stealing the funds for the Slifer dorm for themselves." Michael explained. 
"Who would do such a thing?" Syrus asked. 
"I'm not sure yet. All I can say is that whoever it is has to be a high-ranking member of the staff, and also has a strong hatred for the Slifers." Michael responded.
"Well, going by the description, I'd say it's either Maxwell or Crowler." Lily said. 
"You may be on to something. They both have a strong hatred for the red dorm and are among the highest-ranking staff members, but the more I think about it, the more I rule out one of them." Michael said. 
"Which one?" Alexis asked. 
"Crowler. No matter how much I look at it, Crowler can't be behind it, he's not smart enough." Michael pointed out. 
"So do you think Professor Maxwell is behind it?" Syrus asked.
"Currently, he's our most likely candidate." Michael responded. 
"So what are we supposed to do?" Chumley asked. 
"For now, we bide our time. If we say anything without proof, Maxwell will just deny, and then I'll be exposed. The truth is that I'm working undercover, so we can't let anyone else know about this. We have to keep this quiet until I can gather enough evidence to figure out whether he's guilty or not." Michael said. 
"I get the feeling that there's another reason for you being here that you're not telling us." Jaden said. 
"You're right, there is another reason." Michael responded. 
"Okay, what is it?" Jaden asked. 
"You Jaden. You are my main reason for coming here," Michael said. 
"What? Why me?" the Slifer duelist asked. "Jaden let me ask you something. Growing up, or even lately, have you heard strange noises, almost like voices?" Michael asked.
"How did you know?" Jaden asked. 
"Because like me and Lily, you have a connection to the world of duel spirits." Michael said. 
"Oh come on, there's no such thing." Jaden said. 
"That is where you are wrong." Ceruli said as he appeared in front of Jaden. 
"Woah!" Jaden and Chumley exclaimed before they fell on their backs. 
"Jaden, Chumley, what's wrong?" Syrus asked. 
"You mean you don't see that?!" Jaden asked as he pointed to the spirit. 
"Um, no." Syrus answered. 
"I didn't know you could see duel spirits Chumley." Lily commented. 
"I didn't know I could either." He responded. 
"What are you guys talking about? I don't see anything." Alexis said. 
"Me neither." Syrus added. 
"I think I can help with that. Syrus and Alexis, put these on." Michael said as he handed each of them a silver ring with a strange design etched onto them. "Okay." they said before slipping the rings on. 
"You can both see Ceruli now right?" He asked. 
"Um, yeah." Syrus said. "And back to your question about why Jaden, let's just say you, Lily, and I have an...interesting past." Michael said.
"But I'd never met you before the entrance exam." Jaden said. 
"And I never met you before you saved me from Johnny," Lily added. 
"Maybe not in this lifetime." Michael said as he rummaged through his bag before pulling out an old tome. 
"Wait, what do you mean 'this lifetime'?" Jaden asked. "Jaden, you are the reincarnation of an ancient monarch known only as 'The Supreme King'. Thousands of years ago, I was your personal bodyguard, and I swore an oath to defend you, in that life and the next," Michael explained as he opened the book to a page that showed the legend. 
"Okay then, but why are we here?" Jaden asked. 
"Jaden, it's your destiny to combat an ancient evil known as the Light of Destruction," Michael explained. 
"Light of Destruction huh? So how does Jaden fight it?" Syrus asked. "Well, that's the thing Syrus, the Light of Destruction isn't active yet, but something is going to happen here soon, although what that may be, I don't know." Michael responded.
"So, what do we do?" Alexis asked. 
"Jaden, you have a hidden power, a force that rivals the Light of Destruction. For now, we need to work on tapping into that power. That will give us an edge against the coming evil and in our eventual battle with the Light of Destruction." Michael said. 
"Really? I don't feel anything," Jaden said as he flexed his fingers. 
"It'll take time for it to emerge." Michael said. 
"Wait, what about me?" Lily asked. 
"Your family were the keepers of the sacred temple of the kingdom. As well as my lover." Michael explained with a light blush. 
"What kind of temple?" Lily asked. 
"The temple of the Wicked Gods. The temple was dedicated to them, and your family would communicate with them and other duel spirits for knowledge and help in wars." Michael explained. 
"Wait, if my family ran the temple, why do you have the Wicked God cards? Shouldn't they be mine?" Lily asked.
"In our past life, you and I had undergone a special ritual that would bind our souls to Jaden, as well as bind us to the Wicked Gods. That's why I'm able to use them. They, along with the Dark World monsters, were created in secret by Pegasus when he first began to create Duel Monsters. My family funded an expedition to an ancient ruin that detailed the Dark World monsters and the Wicked Gods, which Pegasus based the cards on." Michael explained. 
"Guys, the sun is coming up." Syrus pointed out. 
"We'd better get back to the dorms before they find out we're gone." Jaden said as he got to his feet. 
"Remember guys, everything I've told you has to stay between us for now. I'll see if I can get Bastion's help with my investigation, but other than that, we tell no one." Michael said as he shouldered his bag. 
"Right." They said. Having settled the matter, they started to head back to the dorms, but Lily walked up to Michael, who was looking at Titan's phone.
"What have you got there?" She asked. 
"It's the phone of the guy who kidnapped you and Alexis. He dropped it." Michael answered. 
"But why did you pick it up?" she asked. 
"The man I faced was a shadow duelist for hire, which means someone hired him for a job. I'm going to see if I can find out who it was by going through his phone." Michael explained. He looked at Titan's most recent call and couldn't believe who it was. 
"No way." He said.