A Reason to Win

It was a dark night at the Academy and lightning flashed across the sky.

Considering the time, most students at the Academy stayed in their dorms. Alexis however was in the infirmary, watching her unconscious brother.

*'There are only two Shadow Riders left.'* Alexis thought. '*And victory finally seems near. But it would mean so much more if my brother were here with me. His body and his mind… like it used to be.*'

*Flashback*

A little blonde girl (Alexis as a child) dressed in a school uniform was sitting in the shade of a great tree on a beautiful summer day with a collection of duel monster cards. "Alexis? Alexis…"

"Huh?" Alexis looked up at the sound of someone calling out for her, seeing her brother coming around the tree.

"Atty!" She exclaimed, happy to see him.

"Whatcha got there, squirt?" Atticus asked, sitting down next to her. "Hey, some tough cards," he commented as she showed him. "But dueling's about more than power."

"What? Wadda you mean bro?"

"What I mean is that you need a good purpose for duelling, a reason. That's what really matters in a match."

"Yeah, okay," she replied, smiled as she enjoyed the moment with Atticus.

"One day you'll be a great duelist, sis!"

*Flashback End*

"**You miss him, but there is a way to get him back.**"

Alexis' head jerked up in surprise at the sound of the mysterious voice. "Who is that?"

Looking around the room, she saw what appeared to be a shadowy figure standing in a dark portal of sorts, hovering in mid-air. "**Come with me and I'll give Atticus back all his memories, if you can defeat me in a duel, that is. At the place where we first met, the Abandoned Dorm.**" Alexis' eyes glazed over as she stood up and, as if under a spell, she walked toward the strange shadow.

For his part, Atticus woke up just in time to see his sister and the mysterious figure disappear into the portal. "What's going on? Who was that?"

Over at the Slifer Red dorm, Jaden, Syrus and Chumley were sleeping peacefully.

"No wake." Jaden muttered when Winged Kuriboh called out to him. "Must sleep more."
However, the three boys found their slumber disturbed by someone insistently knocking at their door.

"Okay already." Chumley whined as he came down from his bunk to deal with this annoyance.

"I'm coming!" He then opened up the door and- "Ahhhh! Stay back!"

The other two sliders jumped up at the panicked scream, only to realized that the ghoulish looking face waiting at the door was in fact Chazz, dressed in his usual black blazer and accompanied by the three Ojama duel spirits.

"What's with you?" Syrus spoke up.

"No sleep." He replied grumpily. "Not with the news I just heard."

"Alexis is gone."

"… WHAT!?"

Now changed into their usual clothes, the Slifer gang ran to the main building, where they found Crowler, the Shiba siblings and Ryan waiting for them.

"So?" Jaden piped up.

"There's no sign." Zane answered. "It's like she just disappeared."

"I don't understand," Crowler said. "It's not like Alexis to just up and vanish. Maybe her brother knows her whereabouts."

The group walked into the infirmary only to find Alexis' brother on the floor, having apparently fallen out of his bed. "Atticus…"

"Dear me…" Crowler exclaimed.

"What happened here?" Zane inquired urgently.

"Is was… him… T-Titan."

"Titan."

"Please, talk to us," Zane urged him.

As the others talked to Atticus, none of them noticed Crowler sweating nervously. '*Titan? That's the name the shadow duelist wanted me to make the check out to when I hired him to scare off Jaden,*' he thought as the memory came back to him. '*And I never paid him!'*

When the fog lifted from her mind, Alexis found herself in the pits of the abandoned dorm, standing in that same chamber where Titan had dragged her months ago to lure Jaden into a duel. And standing opposite her was the villain in question, now sporting a mask with a millennium eye symbol in the middle of the forehead. "Alright, so we duel," Alexis said, a determined look on her face as she stood face to face with him. "And if I win, you restore my brother's memory. That's the deal!"

"Your end of it, at least." He shot back. "But if I win, I get something too. Your spirit key and your soul, to take back with me to the Shadow Realm. You see dear, when you and I first met I was but a charlatan of the shadows. However… since being taken in by them, I am now the real deal, an authentic shadow rider." Dropping a spare duel disk on the ground, he kicked it over to the Obelisk girl who picked it up and placed in on her arm.

"There they are!" Syrus said as he and the others arrived onto the scene, Atticus being supported by Jaden and Jeremy.

"They're gonna duel." Chumley pointed out as the two duelists squared off.

"Ah, then this isn't about collecting that check." Crowler muttered.

"What check?" Chazz asked, having picked up on that last word. "What are you talking about?"

"Oh… nothing. Just thinking out loud."

*'Alright, Atticus.'* Alexis thought to herself, looking over at her brother as she inserted her deck and started up her duel disk. '*This one's for you. I'm gonna win you your memory back. Here and now!*'

"Let's duel!"

"Let's duel!"

Alexis: 4000

Titan: 4000

"Ladies first." Titan offered with a condescending smirk.

"Fine with me. I summon Cyber Tutu in attack mode." A petite pink haired girl appeared on the field, dressed in a red/white dance suit with ballet shoes and a tutu.

Cyber Tutu: 1000/800

"I thought we were dueling, not playing dollies." The shadow duelist said.

"Yeah? Well soon this so called 'dolly' is going to play havoc with your life-points. For now, I place two cards face-downs and end my turn."

"Ready yourself for the shadows." Titan declared as he drew his card. "I summon Picador Fiend in attack mode." A skeletal winged fiend with a masked face rose of the field, a monstrous head on each shoulder and riding a horned skeleton mount.

Picador Fiend: 1600/1200

"Now attack Cyber Tutu." One of the fiend's extra heads opened its mouth, firing a beam of green energy at Alexis.

"Sorry, go Doble Passe." Alexis interrupted, revealing her trap card. "So I take the attack, but I also have Spirit Barrier, which means as long as I have a monster on my field, I take no damage." A golden dome materialized around the Obelisk girl, protecting her from the blast. "And now the monster you just tried to attack gets to make a direct attack against you. Cyber Tutu take the lead, in this dance and in this duel too!" The ballerina monster dashed forward, past the fiend, and spinning around to deliver a kick to Titan's jaw.

Titan: 4000-3000

"Hey, Alexis is winning." Syrus remarked.

"It's true." Zane agreed. "So far her resolve to win for Atticus is proving stronger than Titans' shadow creatures."

"Well just see about that." Titan shot back. "I place one card face-down and end my turn."

"But not your troubles." Alexis said, drawing her next card. "I play Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy your face-down." A whirling vortex burst from the spell in question, blowing away the face-down Des Counterblow. "And thanks to her special ability, you have to take a direct hit from Cyber Tutu."

"What the-!?"

"Go, Pounding Pirouette!" The petite dancer dashed forward again, kicking Titan in the jaw once more.

Titan: 3000-2000

"Alright! You show 'im Alexis!" Jaden cheered. "She's kicking butt!"

"The duel's not done, Jaden." Zane pointed out. "Don't start celebrating yet."

"Yeah, just what're you trying to do?" Chazz asked. "Jinx her or something?"

"Sorry."

"Now that that's done, I equip Cyber Tutu with Mist Body, meaning she can't be destroyed by battle. Your move."

'*Okay, so far so good. I just need to give him a few more of those combo attacks and*-' Alexis found her train of thought interrupted when Titan started laughing. "Now what?"

"Oh, I'm just remembering our first encounter." Titan replied. "My, how the tables have turned."

"Yeah, you got that right. Now I'm not just some victim that got kidnapped and stuffed in a coffin, now I can fight back."

"No dear, I mean, before you were the bait luring my prey to me, now you're the one who's my quarry, my target. And now I'm going to treat you as such. I play Allure of Darkness, so I can draw two cards so long as I banish one dark monster. Then I activate the spell Dark Core, sending a card from my hand to the graveyard in order to remove Cyber Tutu from play." An orb of dark crackling energy manifested around Alexis' monster, consuming her instantly and leaving no trace once it was gone. "Picador Fiend, attack her life-points directly!" At its master's order, one of the fiend's extra heads fired another blast of green energy that raced across the field and struck Alexis through the chest, causing her to clutch her chest in pain.

Alexis: 2400

"That's not all. Now I play Ritual of the Matador. And next I sacrifice the level 6 Summoned Skull in my hand to summon Matador Fiend." A blob of orange slime appeared on the field, taking on a humanoid form with wicked dark armor, claws, and red leathery wing flaps under its arms.

Matador Fiend: 0/0

A monster with zero attack and defense points?" Alexis remarked. "Something tells me there's more to him than meets the eye."

"Oh, there is." Titan replied. "So keep a sharp look out. Though that may be difficult to do after I play this. Difficult for you that is. Not for me." A magic glow emanated from his mask as he picked a card from his hand and placed it in his field spell zone. I activate Dark Arena." Darkness erupted from the shadow duelist's disk, quickly forming a dome that covered the area of the duel, so that those watching couldn't see what was happening.

"What is this?" Zane questioned.

"I can't see anything in there." Syrus whined.

"Someone should go in there." Crowler suggested. "Someone other than me, of course."

"Grilled cheese." Chumley muttered, clearly frightened and trying to deal with it. "I'm eating grilled cheese. A big melted triple decker of it."

"Ryan you took this guy on in a duel before." Chazz spoke up. "Tell Alexis how to get out of this jam."

"When I faced Titan, he wasn't capable of something like this."

"I concur." Crowler said. "I don't know why I ever hired him."

"Huh?" The others all looked at the Obelisk headmaster at this.

"Oh… nothing." He squeaked. "Just thinking out loud again."

"Alexis is on her own."

Within the dome, total darkness prevented Alexis from seeing anything outside, and even then a thick, murky darkness surrounded her opponent and his monsters. '*Damn. With this Dark Arena card in play I can't see anything, including what monsters Titan has out.*'

"The darkness is fitting for a shadow duel, wouldn't you agree?" Titan's voice was heard through the darkness. "But still, allow me to shed at least some light on the situation. Here in the Dark Arena, your monsters in attack mode must attack, but since they can't see, I'm allowed to choose their target for them."
"Oh yeah? Well just because my monsters and I can't see, it doesn't mean we can't win. I'll just need someone who packs a powerful punch. Here we go! I play my Graceful Charity, so I get to draw three cards… and discard two, one of which is Repayment of Losses, which means I get to draw an extra card. Now I activate the spell card Polymerization, fusing Etoile Cyber and Blade Skater to create Cyber Blader." A fusion vortex appeared on the field, from which emerged Alexis' signature monster.
Cyber Blader: 2100/800
"And what's cool about her is her special effect changes with the number of monsters you have."
"Does it now?" Titan shot back.
"Yeah, and since you have two monsters on the field, Cyber Blader's attack points double, for a grand total of 4200. Check it out!"
Far from being cowed by the threat of such a monster, Titan let out a dark laugh. "4200 attack points… whatever will I do?"
"You'll get your butt kicked, because it doesn't matter who I attack. My Blader's the strongest monsters out, she'll take down any target. Now go get 'im!"

"Face her, Matador Fiend!" At its master's orders, the fiend in question stepped out of the shadows to fight." Alexis' monster spun around like a whirlwind as she charged at her target, lashing out with a kick, only for her attack to be blocked. Apparently unharmed, Matador Fiend then let out a beam of energy from the horn on its forehead, destroying the opposing monster.

"What!?" Alexis exclaimed, surprised by this turn of events. "My Cyber Blader was so much stronger than that Matador Fiend. She should've won that fight. What's going on?"

"Oh I'm sorry." Titan apologized with no actual sincerity. "Didn't you know? Matador Fiend can't be destroyed in battle, and it also doesn't take damage. However, any monster that battles it is destroyed. But don't worry, Alexis. When you lose, at least your brother won't remember that you failed him. Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!"

"I'm not gonna fail him," Alexis said, a determined look on her face. "I play Cyber Gymnast in defense mode." A strong blond woman with long hair appeared kneeling in front of Alexis, wearing a white mask and dark gymnast's suit.

Cyber Gymnast: 800/1800

"Give me your best shot."

"Dear… if you actually knew what my best was, I doubt that you would be so eager for it."

"Is that right?"

"Haven't you realized yet? I'm not the same duelist you knew from before. I changed when the shadows took me in."

After his defeat at Ryan's hands, Titan found himself swarmed by a malevolent blob like little creatures. "Help me!" He cried out, overwhelmed by despair as he sank deeper into the darkness. "Anyone! Please, I'm begging you, somebody! I'll do anything! Just please help!"

"You'll do anything?" A mysterious voice spoke up from somewhere above. "Very well, I will spare you the agony of the shadows, and in return you will be my devoted servant. You will do my bidding."

"Alright, I'll do it! Just tell me what you want."

"I want you to defeat those that guard the Sacred Beasts." A space opened up in the shadow blobs above, allowing a mask with the millennium symbol to float down until Titan could grab it. "This shadow charm will help you do it."
*Flashback End*
With a gap in the darkness, Alexis could see thick veins appear over Titan's body as if drawing power from his shadow charm. "So you see, my dear, now I'm more powerful than ever."

"And uglier. But I've got news for you, true dueling power doesn't come from some shadow charm, it comes from the reasons why you duel. And that's why you're gonna lose! Got it?"

"The reasons why you duel? Where did you get that from? Surely not from your beloved brother. After all, the whole reason he became a shadow rider was to gain power."

"I don't believe that! You're lying!" Alexis insisted.

"I'm sorry, but it's a fact. But if you still don't believe me, just wait and see," Titan proclaimed, drawing his next card. "After all, once I banish you to the shadows, you'll see what I mean."

'*I just need to keep my head in the game,*' the Obelisk girl mentally reminded herself. '*I still have more life-points, and with Cyber Gymnast's ability, I can discard one card from my hand to destroy one of his monsters. But since I don't have any cards right now, I'll have to wait until my next turn to use it.*'

"What are you plotting over there?" Titan asked mockingly. "Let me guess… something with Cyber Gymnast? Hah, don't even bother, because she won't be around for much longer. I summon Banderillero Fiend." A brown serpentine monster with leathery wings materialized on the field, a large spike over its head and a monster's face with vicious looking fangs on its chest.

Banderillero Fiend: 900/1600

"And his special ability destroys your Cyber Gymnast." A green aura surrounded Titan's monster, which then transferred to Cyber Gymnast, who exploded a few seconds later. "Fortunately for you, he can't attack on the turn he's summoned, but now my Picador Fiend attacks you directly!" A beam of green energy was fired from Titan's monster, striking Alexis head on.

Alexis: 800

Outside the shadow dome the onlookers were treated to the sight of reddish energy crackling across the dome's surface.

"I know it's tough, Atticus." Jaden said as Atticus reached out for his sister. "We just have to hope she's okay."

Inside the dome, Alexis fell to her knees, clutching her chest in pain as Titan laughed at her.

"The end is near." He taunted her. "The shadows beckon, you squirm but they still close in, it is simply a matter of time. Now get up, or are your reasons for duelling not enough anymore? Ha, ha, ha, ha!"

'*Maybe he's right.*' Alexis thought, doubt creeping into her mind. '*Maybe they're not enough, because as much as I want to win this, I simply don't have the strength. It's over. My key, my brother, my soul… I've lost them all.*' Feeling such despair at the situation, Alexis couldn't help but collapse on the ground.

"That's right, stay down." Titan said. "There's no point to keep fighting, you can't win. After all, the reasons you fight aren't nearly as strong as the shadows."

Through the shroud of hopelessness, Atticus' voice came through to reach his sister's ears. "**Alexis, don't give up! You can do this!**"

"Bro…"

"**Lexi…**"

"Can't stop now." Finding strength within, Alexis pulled herself back up to face her opponent.

"What's this!?"

"'This' is my turn." Alexis declared, drawing a card from her deck. "And I activate Pot of Greed. So now I get to draw two new cards. And with one of them I can bring back an old one. I play The Warrior Returning Alive, to bring back Blade Skater to my hand. Then I'll activate the spell card Fusion Recovery. It allows me to bring back Polymerization and Etoile Cyber from my graveyard. Next I'll activate Polymerization and fuse together Etoile Cyber and Blade Skater to summon Cyber Blader." The two monsters merged to create Cyber Blader one more time.

Cyber Blader: 2100/800

"You remember her? Well now she's back and ready to get some sweet revenge. This is over. Your shadow powers have failed you, you've lost the duel."

"You're delirious. I still have three monsters out. And thanks to my Dark Arena, you're still in the dark."

"That might be, but not for long." Alexis declared, grinning in anticipation. "Because my Cyber Blader's about to light up your world."

"You're bluffing."

"Wrong! Since you have three monsters Blader's special ability activates, cancelling any and all effects you have out." Alexis' monster began to glow with a bright light, blowing away the darkness surrounding them.

"No fair!" Titan exclaimed. "Dark Arena! You've destroyed my spell."

The light emanating from Cyber Blader then burst through the shadow dome.

The shadow dome finally disappeared completely, allowing everyone to see the duel what was happening again.

"Alexis is okay." Jaden said.

"There's more." Alexis spoke up, focused on the duel. "Matador Fiend's special ability to reduce battle damage to zero is negated too. So go, Cyber Blader, attack with Skate Blade Slash." Alexis' monster skated on air towards Matador Fiend, destroying it with an impressive slashing kick, then pivoting and moving on to knock Titan on his back in the same manner.

Titan: 0

As the shadow duelist lay there in defeat, he suddenly found himself surrounded by shadow blobs.

"No! No! Not again!" He cried out as they swarmed over him, pulling him down into the writhing mass. A short moment later they dispersed, leaving no sign that he'd ever been there, safe for his shadow charm.