Chapter Text
Deep within the depths of a never ending abyss, it seemed there could never shine even the dimmest light. All was quiet, and still. And yet, at the same time there was a sensation of perpetually falling, and the sound of rushing air pierced the silence.
Within the hellish darkness, one soul remained.
What remained of her was consumed by malice and despair. Her lust for revenge fueling her will to survive as the darkness slowly devoured her own dark spirit.
"How long has it been, I wonder…" She thought, barely able to articulate a sentence even in her own mind by now.
She could feel the darkness eating away at her, her overwhelming desire for revenge the only bastion of individuality between her and the dark abyss.
"Those dreadful children… I'll make them pay…!"
The darkness just never seemed to end. And the hatred she held deep within her heart only seemed to make time crawl on ever slower, forever awaiting the end to it she could feel would never come.
It had been such a simple plan: Challenge the key keepers to a duel, and take their spirit keys.
In her quest, she had even managed to get her hands on two of them. It hadn't even been that hard. The esteemed professor wasn't as much of a challenge as she would've hoped for from a man of his position, though with the powers she had been given by Kagemaru on top of her own, she figured it was just so.
And Zane.
Her precious Zane.
It had been so easy to manipulate him. Easier than she would have thought as well, but oh so enjoyable. Snatching his poor, defenseless little brother and offering his soul to the Sacred Beasts. She hadn't had such fun in centuries. Oh, what she wouldn't give to return to that time, where she could wreak as much havoc as she saw fit. But that time had been short lived.
Until that insufferable Slifer Red drop-out came to stand against her.
"Jaden Yuki..." Camula recalled, thinking back again to that time.
She would never forget that child. Or any of them. It didn't matter to her who it was specifically that trapped her here.
No, by now as far as she was concerned, they were all guilty. Besides, without help, Jaden wouldn't have been able to stop her from offering up all of his little friends to the Sacred Beasts as she had planned. But that shadow charm... Nightshroud had possessed the other half. If they hadn't taken him back to their side, Jaden never would have acquired it.
There were so many children to blame for her present situation, and so many she would place the blame upon who hadn't even truly done anything to her to begin with. They were all the same to her now.
Guilty. Every last one of them.
And what she wanted more than anything else after so long in the dark abyss, was revenge.
In the silence of the darkness, Camula continued to let her hatred fester. With the shadows swiftly closing in on what remained of her soul, she had nothing more to lose from it, that much she was certain of. But as she felt the darkness gnawing away at her, stealing away what little life she had left, part of her couldn't help but reach out to whatever entities lurked within the blackness. She simply didn't want to fade away.
Not yet.
"I'll do anything..." Her spirit pleaded, her body unable to form the words with barely any strength left to her name.
An almost desperate feeling coming over her as she felt the remainder of her soul slowly crack and break apart, unable to do a single thing about it. In that moment, she would have done anything in the world to save herself. Anything to fulfil her unfinished business.
"Anything, you say?"
Feeling her lifeless body freeze at the sound of the unfamiliar, almost demonic sounding voice, Camula almost couldn't believe anything had actually reached back to her. The abyss around her grew as cold as ice in the presence of this new entity, it almost unnerved her. But even so, if an opportunity was presenting itself, she wasn't about to just let it slip away.
"Yes. Anything."
"I see." The voice echoed around her, an inquisitive tone to it as it considered her declaration. "I sense great hatred within you. A lust for revenge."
"Those horrid children... and that fool of a professor... they did this to me." Camula communicated, grateful that though her body couldn't speak, her spirit could still get her words across to whatever being had come to her.
She had meant what she said. It didn't matter to her what she would have to do, not if it meant preserving what of her soul she could. She had survived far too long, carried on the proud Vampire race all on her own for centuries. She had come too far to die now. It just wasn't an option for her.
"Condemned my soul to this hellish abyss! I'll make them pay!"
"Good. Very good..." The entity said, more than pleased by the pure rage and hatred building up inside of her. Not a single ray of light within her.
She was perfect.
"Well now, my dear. I'm sure I have the perfect use for you. If you so desire it."
"What would you have me do?" She asked, not about to let her chance for revenge pass her by, though she of course wanted to know what it was she would be getting herself into in the process.
Perhaps it wouldn't be worth it to her and she would decline. Though she doubted she had that much pride left to her name in that moment to say no.
"I would resurrect you, and give you your opportunity to take the revenge you so desperately crave. And the powers to complete the task how you see fit." The entity explained, a much more sinister tone to the voice than previously displayed.
All around her, Camula could hear a deep, malicious chuckle echoed around her. She was no stranger to the type, having uttered a few of her own in her day. She knew exactly what she was getting herself into. It had been the same when she joined the Shadow Riders. She was being given a chance. Just like back then.
A single chance.
"However. I will require something from you, in exchange."
"I expected as much." She admitted, not at all surprised that there was a catch involved. "Tell me."
"In exchange for your life, and freedom from this endless darkness. I require one of the children you so greatly loathe." The voice explained, a sinister tone overflowing through it's words the likes of which she had never heard before.
Had she the sense to care, it may have alarmed her. But to tell the truth, Camula couldn't have cared less. Not if her freedom was to be assured.
"Atticus Rhodes." The entity stated plain. "I'm sure you're familiar with him. Though, you knew him by a different name. Nightshroud."
"Nightshroud?" Camula questioned, thinking back to her former teammate, growling under her breath with the remembrance of the hand he had in her ultimate defeat. "Whatever for?"
"I require the dark powers that still lie dormant within him." The voice divulged, though she figured she would get nothing else from it. But that didn't particularly matter to her. "In exchange for your soul, and revenge, you will bring Atticus Rhodes to me, that I would reclaim him once again. Do this, and I guarantee you true freedom from this oblivion. But should you fail, know that I am no being of mercy."
"Consider the boy yours." Camula agreed. Had she any cares, she would've probed for more information, but seeing as this was some sort of omnipotent entity offering her her freedom and a shot at revenge, only in exchange for bringing Atticus to him, she couldn't care less about the why. Although, there was a thought that still crossed her mind. "Only... who, or what are you, if I may ask?"
"Ah, I see." The entity observed, not seeming too surprised by her question, though that in and of itself was unsurprising given the circumstances. "Very well, my dear. I have been known by many names throughout history. But you may call me..."
A thick, dark chuckle sounded around Camula as her still form began to glow a deep reddish purple glow. Floating there in the dark, Camula could feel her spirit piecing back together as the malicious laughter sounded still around her. Whatever this entity was, she was certain it was more powerful than anything she had seen before.
"Darkness."
"Mrs. Rhodes, I assure you your son is safe here." Sheppard attempted to appease. He had dealt with his fair share of angry and concerned parents in his many years in education, but he knew her frustration was well founded.
When all was said and done, Atticus had been more or less kidnapped from the school and had been missing for quite a long time before he was finally found. Only to find he had been brainwashed and forced to duel alongside the villainous Shadow Riders.
Sheppard more than understood the mother's distrust and anger towards the school. The fact that he had been ordered by his own superiors to just cover the whole thing up to try and preserve the academy's reputation certainly didn't make him feel any better about the conversation he was having now. If anything, the thought just made him feel even more guilty than he did before, now being face to face with the boy's mother.
"I find that increasingly hard to believe, Chancellor." She countered, narrowing her eyes at the esteemed chancellor, not at all convinced by his words as her frustration grew, though it was difficult for anyone there to fault her for that. She didn't have much reason to believe him. "In fact, I don't believe you at all. When my son was missing, you all did nothing. You covered it up and moved on like he and the other missing students hadn't been there at all. Tell me, chancellor. How am I, as a mother, supposed to trust you people with my children after something like that?"
"Mom, calm down, it's okay." Atticus requested, hoping maybe his objection would bring her pause for at least a moment.
He knew what she was thinking about, it was the entire reason she was there at all to be honest. Atticus knew if she had her way, his mother would have him and Alexis pulled from the school over everything that had happened since the two of them arrived there. But despite his mother's desire, that course of action wasn't what Atticus and Alexis wanted at all.
"It most certainly is not, Atticus!" Mrs. Rhodes protested, shooting a concerned look to her dear son. "I'm honestly surprised you of all people would think that."
"Now now, let's all calm ourselves for a moment." Sheppard attempted to diffuse, hoping once again to calm the concerned mother before she got too upset. Though of course, she had every right to be. "Mrs. Rhodes, I know you don't have much cause to believe me when I tell you this. But here at Duel Academy the safety and wellbeing of our students has always been the highest priority."
Standing from his seat at his desk, Sheppard gestured to the young brunette.
"We've been keeping a watchful eye on your son. Not only myself and the professors, but more so your daughter and their friends." Sighing, Sheppard only hoped the woman could find it in her heart to give them grace. "I promise you, Mrs. Rhodes. We're doing all we can to make sure the school is safe for our students."
"I'm sorry, chancellor. But I'm sure you understand that after what's happened to my son here, I can't just trust you. It's not that simple." She sighed, reaching over and taking Atticus's hand into her own, still quite fearful that if he remained at the academy, that she could lose her son again. Or her daughter either. "If I'm quite honest, chancellor. I'm not comfortable leaving my children at this school. I'd like to bring them home"
"Mom!" Atticus gasped, taking his hand out of hers as he stood from his seat beside his mother. He understood how upset with the school she was. She had made that more than apparent to him and Alexis before, and of course the fact that she was here now was a testament to that.
"Atticus, I've been quiet about this until now. I thought I could handle allowing you and your sister to come back this year." Sighing quietly to herself, Mrs. Rhodes shook her head, taking a silent moment for herself before she continued on. "But after thinking about it some more, I realized I just can't deal with that anxiety anymore."
"Mom, we can't just leave!" Atticus protested, not at all surprised that she had come to such a conclusion, but incredibly upset all the same. "Not now! We've dedicated so much time to this place. You expect us to just pack up and go? Forget about our plans for the future, our goals, our ambitions?"
"Atticus, there are plenty of other schools you can-"
"-Mom, you're not understanding me." Atticus interrupted, not wanting to listen to her at the moment quite frankly. But other than that, he also just had more that he wanted to say. "I understand you're worried about us. And Lexi does too. Believe me, we understand. But this is where we need to be, and we're not just gonna throw away everything we've done and worked for. And I'm sorry, mom. But I'm eighteen years old. You can't make me go anywhere."
"Don't you take that tone with me, Atticus Rhodes." She scolded, narrowing her eyes at her son for a moment, not appreciating his disrespectful tone one bit. It wasn't like him to speak out like that, he was usually such a polite and respectful young man. She understood he was upset, but that didn't excuse it for her. "You may be eighteen now, but I'm still your mother."
Keeping her eyes narrowed a moment longer, she tried not to be too angry with her son. She had expressed her concerns about the siblings returning to the school before the year had started, but this was certainly the first Atticus had ever heard of her having the desire to just completely withdraw them from the school entirely. Mrs. Rhodes couldn't exactly blame him for being angry and upset with her for springing the idea on him like that, but she couldn't excuse his disrespect towards her either.
Still, one thought did cross her mind in her frustration, letting the words escape before she could stop them.
"And you may be eighteen. But your sister isn't, now is she?"
"MOM!" Atticus shouted in shock, his eyes widening at her insinuation.
It was true, he was old enough to make his own decisions and control his own life, but Alexis wasn't so fortunate and he knew that just as well as she did. He honestly figured he probably should have expected their mom to consider taking serious action, knowing better than even Alexis did just how angry and upset with the school she was. But the way she almost made that statement sound like a threat…
"Now, now, that's quite enough." Sheppard intervened, daring to get between the mother and son as he stood from his desk, arms outstretched to the two, motioning gently for them to sit back down. "Why don't we all calm down and talk about this."
Watching calmly as Mrs. Rhodes backed down, he saw deep regret in her eyes. She hadn't meant to actually say what she did, though she certainly meant the words that had been said. If only out of desperation to protect her children. This Sheppard could see clearly in her.
"After all, this is no small matter." He attempted further to diffuse the situation. "There are a multitude of steps involved, and details to be worked out. That is… if this is truly what you want, Mrs. Rhodes…?"
"I think this is something we're going to need more time to discuss, Chancellor Sheppard." She answered, sitting back down as Sheppard had previously suggested. Though from the look on Atticus's face, she could tell it was a discussion that probably wouldn't be happening any time soon. Not civilly, at any rate. Still, she shot a glare back at the esteemed Chancellor. "And I'm not done talking to you about this cover-up either."
"Of course, Mrs. Rhodes." Sheppard nodded, understanding of her patience despite her feelings on the matter, or her remaining anger either. After all, it would do little good in helping her boost Atticus's opinion of her at the moment if she just made a decision so huge without even informing Alexis of her intentions. Especially since she would be the one most directly affected by it.
Atticus was old enough that their mother couldn't control his actions or force him to leave, but being the younger child, Alexis wasn't so lucky.
"Well then, you can have that conversation without me." Atticus said, quickly turning away from his mother before exiting the office, not about to sit through that conversation while he was still steamed over it. Besides, someone had to tell Alexis about it, and quite frankly he didn't want it to be their mom right now. Regardless, he figured she would still be back with the rest of the team, and honestly he really didn't want to have to talk about it more times than he already did.
So really it was for the best.
"Atticus, come back here!" Mrs. Rhodes called after her frustrated son, really starting to feel bad about saying anything at all.
She knew it would upset him, and Alexis too when she found out. But she just couldn't stand by and take no action when she knew her children were somewhere dangerous. On top of that, she was still angry at the school, and Sheppard himself for what had happened to Atticus in his first year, and the less than no actions they took to fix the problem and get her son back. As far as she was concerned, she had every right to pull her children from the academy. Regardless of if it made them hate her or not.
"It's quite alright, Mrs. Rhodes." Sheppard assured, sighing quietly under his breath as he shook his head, watching the Obelisk brunette storm out of his office. "I'm sure he'd just like some time to cool down. That was quite the bombshell to drop on him so suddenly."
"Perhaps." Mrs. Rhodes sighed heavily.
She had come to confront Sheppard about the response to her son's disappearance, but somehow she had managed to make him hate her. Even if he didn't hate her now, she couldn't see things getting too much better between them if things went the way she wanted. She understood that Atticus and Alexis loved the academy, and it was great for what they wanted to do with their lives after graduating. But she had meant it when she said there were other schools that could offer them the same things.
Mrs. Rhodes wanted her kids to be happy, but above all else, she also wanted them to be safe.
"How do you think it's going with Atticus and your mom, Lex?" Jaden asked, looking over at the blonde girl sitting across from him as he grabbed some crackers from Chazz's coffee table, proceeding to munch on them.
They'd all been hanging out in Chazz's deluxe pad he'd built onto the Slifer dorm when their mom had arrived. She seemed nice enough to Jaden, kindly making small talk with them after initially greeting her children, very happy to see them judging from the huge smile that decorated her face when she saw them. Alexis was the spitting image of her, too. Crowler had escorted her down to the dorm, however begrudgingly. Not really wanting to visit the rundown dorm, but making a good impression with the mother of two of his best students was certainly more important to him than his distaste of the delinquent dorm.
Remembering the encounter, Jaden was still surprised that Mrs. Rhodes had told Alexis to stay with them rather than come with her and Atticus to speak with Sheppard. Honestly, they all were.
"Think it's going well?"
"Oh no, I don't think it's going well at all." Alexis sighed, shaking her head at the thought.
If there was one thing she knew about her mother, it's that she was more than capable of holding a grudge, and that's exactly what she had against the school when it came to Atticus. Of course, she couldn't exactly blame her. Alexis had been the same way for a long time. Sure Atticus got on her nerves a lot, and embarrassed her endlessly, but that's just the way siblings were. Atticus meant more to her than anyone in the world, of course excluding their parents. She could never just let go of the pain and sadness she and her family had gone through after he disappeared. She knew her mother wouldn't hesitate to let Sheppard know that either.
"If I had to guess, I'd say she's probably tearing into Sheppard for everything that happened with Atticus." Leaning back in her seat on the couch, she crossed her arms. "Can't say I blame her, but I also can't say I envy Atticus for being stuck in the middle of that right now."
"Well all things considered, you can hardly blame the woman for being cross." Bastion observed, recalling the previous year, and everything he knew about Atticus's disappearance on top of that. It hardly seemed strange to him that their mother would want to give Sheppard a piece of her mind when all was said and done.
"No, but I still don't envy Atticus one bit right now." Alexis sighed, shaking her head at Bastion's statement, allowing herself to sink a little deeper into the couch.
"Can't say I blame you, Alexis." Hassleberry said, crossing his arms as he leaned his back against the back wall, looking over at the distressed blonde. "After my accident, my parents were the same way. Especially after the doctors put that fossil in my leg. Sure, they were happy I'd be able to walk again. But there was still a lot of yellin' over the whole gosh darn thing."
Chuckling quietly under his breath at the memory, he casually shrugged his shoulders at the situation.
"Granted, it's hardly the same problem and all, but I think you get the point."
"Yeah. That you belong in a museum." Chazz scoffed. He'd never been too amused by Hassleberry's little 'condition' if that's what they were gonna call it. If anyone asked him he would say it was the most ridiculous thing he had ever heard in his life. To be quite frank, he hadn't been too jazzed about the younger student's sudden introduction to the inner circle of the team either. But to be fair, he would never admit to being part of the inner circle of the J-Squad himself anyway, so in all honesty it really didn't bother him too much in the end.
Glancing over to said brunette, Chazz finally noticed him snacking on his food, not having been paying too much attention to the group until then. Shooting Jaden a slight glare, Chazz quickly snatched the box of crackers from Jaden's hands, leaving the brunette with a startled and yet at the same time confused look on his face.
"Oh, give me those, slacker!"
"I'm sure it'll be okay." Syrus reassured, sitting down next to Alexis before offering her a soft, adorable smile. "Your brother's more together than he seems sometimes. I'm sure he can handle your mom just fine."
"Let's hope you're right, Sy." Alexis sighed, shaking her head at the thought, though she really did appreciate that Syrus was trying to be supportive. He usually was, so she didn't really expect anything less from the tiny boy.
Besides, he was definitely right about Atticus. Her brother really was an odd duck sometimes, it was just in his perky, goofy nature to be. But at the same time he was as serious as the plague when it came right down to it. True, their mom could hold one serious grudge, and didn't have next to any qualms about causing a scene over her kids. But Alexis knew her brother would be able to handle it if she got too angry with Sheppard.
"He's already been through enough without our mom drudging it all up again and making him listen to her yell at Sheppard about it." Sighing quietly under her breath once more, she turned her eyes from the team. "He doesn't even like to talk about it anyway. I understand how she feels more than anyone, but part of me wishes she would just leave it alone.. At least around him.."
"Don't worry, Lex." Jaden consoled, still not entirely over the sudden loss of Chazz's box of crackers he had stolen that Chazz had stolen back from him, but at the moment trying to be of help and support to his friend was more important than deliciously crunchy snacks. "I'm sure everything'll be fine. I mean honestly, what's the worst that could happen?"
As a wave of quiet murmurs spread throughout the group, positing Jaden's own inquiry, a shock found its way through the room as the front door slammed open, the loud bang reverberating through the space.
Turning to the origin of the noise, Alexis's eyes widened for only a moment of surprise before raising her eyebrow in slight confusion as her brother entered the room.
"Atticus?" Chazz asked, not really complaining about the older brunette's presence, but none of them were expecting him back so soon. After all, he and their mom had only been gone for no more than forty five minutes if they were being perfectly honest about it. But more than that, he could see the seriousness on Atticus's face. And there was a kind of fire in his eyes that Chazz had never seen before, and he was fairly certain none of the others had either.
Chazz knew that fire well.
It was anger.
Looking around at the group for just a moment, Atticus's eyes locked on Alexis, as if he had been looking for her specifically.
"Alexis!" He declared, letting the door clothes heavily on its own as he fully entered the room, hurrying past the group he clamped his hands onto his sister's shoulders. Looking her square in the eyes for a moment, the anger in his own eyes slowly died away, though he could still feel it blazing on inside.
"What's going on, Atticus?" Alexis questioned, a little off put by the state Atticus was in. He almost never got angry. Not with anyone. She couldn't help but worry about what had happened to make her brother feel that way. "Is… everything okay..? How'd it go with mom and Sheppard…?"
"Lexi, that's just it." Atticus sighed heavily, shaking his head at his sister's question.
He almost didn't want to tell her. But at the same time he'd rather have her hear it from him than from their mother the way he had. Besides, she would try to sugar coat the whole thing to try and avoid upsetting Alexis, but knowing his sister, she'd only feel insulted that their mom would think she would need to have it sugarcoated in the first place. But it wasn't just her who needed to hear it.
He definitely didn't want the rest of the group to have to hear it from their mom. Atticus didn't want to have to tell them either, but when all was said and done, he'd rather tell them himself.
"We'd better all sit down."
"Is everything alright…?" Bastion inquired, almost alarmed by the older student's suggestion.
The more than serious tone in his voice wasn't exactly helping matters either. They all knew by now that if Atticus was being serious about something, they had better all be serious about it.
"Yeah, you seem a little shook up, soldier?" Hassleberry added, taking a seat beside Jaden and Syrus per Atticus's suggestion. Besides, he could feel his fossil leg starting to stiffen up and hurt from being up and about all day anyway. It was about time he gave it a rest.
"I'm fine, I'm fine." Atticus dismissed, taking a seat as well before the group, waving off Hassleberry's observation. "But this is serious."
"What is it..?" Syrus asked, starting to get a little worried with the way Atticus was making whatever the problem was out to be. Of course the Obelisk boy always did have a flair for the dramatic and was no stranger to making things more dramatic than they were, but something was telling him that this wasn't one of those times.
"Yeah, come on, Atticus. Just tell us already." Alexis insisted, crossing her arms as she leaned back in her seat, not really a fan of being made to wait for important information. Still, she had a sinking feeling that their mom had something to do with it. She had feared as much.
Atticus had to get his dramatics from someone after all…
"What happened during the meeting with Sheppard?" Almost worried about the answer, she asked. "What did mom do?"
"You're not gonna like it, Lex. None of you are." Atticus sighed, knowing there was little point in stalling any longer. After all, he had come down here to tell them in the first place, apart from just calming down after their mother dropped the bomb on him the way she had. He hadn't meant to get angry like that, really. But given the circumstances, he figured she wouldn't fault him for it later. "You know how mad she was about what happened to me?'
"Of course I do." Alexis nodded, not at all surprised that her feelings on the matter would have something to do with it. "I was the same way, y'know. I can't exactly say I blame her. I mean, I think any of us would feel the same way if that happened to any of our kids. Besides, confronting Sheppard about it is the whole reason she came anyway."
"Makes sense." Jaden shrugged, agreeing with Alexis's deduction, the rest of the team nodding along in their own silent agreement.
"Yeah, well apparently she's more upset than even I thought." Atticus continued. He didn't want to tell them, he really didn't. He didn't blame their mom for reaching such a conclusion, he really didn't.
But that didn't mean he had to like it.
"What do you mean, Atticus…?" She asked, honestly feeling a slight bit of worry creep over her listening to Atticus's serious yet slightly hesitant tone.
Sighing quietly to himself, Atticus lowered his head for a moment, turning his eyes away from his friends while he tried to find the words to tell them what had happened. After all, it wasn't something to be taken lightly. Still, he knew it had to be done sooner or later. If not by him, then by her, or even Sheppard. There was no point in stalling anymore.
"Guys… our mom wants to have Alexis and I pulled out of Duel Academy."