The Guardian's Duelist Chapter 12

Syrus was sitting in the chair next to the couch, watching Hassleberry walk around the room impatiently, grumbling and mumbling to himself.

"When are they getting back!?" Hassleberry huffed.

"We just gotta be patient," Syrus replied.

As if on cue, a familiar golden light suddenly appeared in the center of the room.

Syrus jumped from his seat and let out of yip of fright. Hassleberry's eyes grew wide and he quickly stepped away from the light.

The light swirled like a tornado in place, scattering bits of shine across the room. When it slowly started to fade away, Jaden and Chazz could be seen inside it.

Once the light was gone, the spirit of Professor Banner sighed and Pharaoh leaped into the air and swallowed him. The cat purred loudly and trotted off.

"Jaden!" Syrus and Hassleberry called together.

The brunet looked at his friends and smiled.

Chazz said nothing and walked over to Morgan.

Hassleberry walked over to Jaden. "Yo, Jaden; what's up with the flowers on Chazz's noggin?" He asked, pointing at the flower tiara on Chazz's head with his thumb.

Jaden shook his head. "I couldn't explain it even if I tried."

They all watched as Chazz placed his hands over Morgan's body. He closed his eyes and began to say something inaudible under his breath, the slightest hint of Iris's voice clear in the chant.

"What's he doing?" Syrus asked with a worried voice.

No one had a chance to answer, for the moment the question left Syrus's mouth, a amber-red light suddenly appeared from Chazz's hands. All were silent as Chazz continued the chant and the light seemed to begin to transfer to Morgan. As time went on, the light grew brighter.

Then, just like that, Chazz opened his eyes and pulled his hands away. Morgan's body flashed the same amber-red once then the light vanished. A few second later, Morgan moaned.

Satisfied, Chazz nodded his head and Iris's spirit sphere began to separate from his body. The moment Chazz and Iris were completely detached, Chazz let out a breath of air and collapsed to the ground. The light floated over to Morgan's nap sack and disappeared into the deck.

Jaden, Syrus, and Hassleberry all immediately rushed over to Chazz.

Jaden kneeled down and lifted Chazz's upper body so he was in the sitting position. "Chazz, are you okay? Say something, pal!"

Chazz moaned. "When… were we… ever… pals?"

"He's fine," Hassleberry said in a sarcastic tone.

Chazz opened his eyes and lifted his upper body completely upright. He looked at Jaden. "Did it work?"

Jaden smiled. "See for yourself."

They all turned to Morgan, who was now starting to wake up. Chazz tried to get to his feet as quickly as possible, refusing the offered hands from his three companions. He stumbled a little but still managed to stay on his feet and was literally hovering over Morgan.

Morgan's eyes suddenly shot open and she bolted upright, causing her head to crash into Chazz's with a crack. Both teens groaned and rubbed their heads before looking at each other.

"Not the best way to wake up," Morgan said with a laugh.

Chazz nodded and did something no one expected; he laughed. And it wasn't a maniacal laugh like the kind he did in duels; it was soft and childish.

Morgan smiled sweetly. "I'll take it Iris healed me?"

Jaden nodded. "Chazz let her use his body so she could come to this world,"

Morgan looked at Chazz in surprise. "You did that for me?"

Chazz smiled. "You know I'd do anything for you," he explained.

Morgan made a suspicious look and got up into Chazz's face. Before Chazz could ask what she was doing, Morgan flicked him on the forehead. "Who are you and what did you do with my Chazz?"

Chazz backed away to rub his neglected forehead. "What was that for!?"

Morgan smiled. "Much better."

Everyone laughed, while Chazz scowled.


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As the students of Duel Academy started to gather in the main dueling gym, Morgan watched from around the corner of one of the closed off entrances. Even though she had dueled in front of crowds before as a pro duelist, she was as nervous as if she would was about to duel in front of thousands, not less than a few hundred.

She must have been shivering in fear, for she felt a reassuring hand on her shoulder and turned to find Jaden beside her.

"You'll be fine," Jaden encouraged. He gave the thumbs up and added, "You'll be more than that; you'll be 'great'!"

Morgan gave an uncertain smile. "I don't know, Jaden. These students see me as a role-model and I don't want to disappoint them. What if something goes wrong, like I can't use The Guardians, or Corridor shows up? What then?"

Jaden turned Morgan's body towards him and placed his hands on her shoulders. "Don't worry about it. We planned ahead; if you can't use your deck, we'll think of something else. If Corridor shows up, Hassleberry and Atticus will make sure he doesn't get anywhere near you."

Morgan gave a more confident smile and nodded. "Thanks, Jaden."

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Once all of the students were seated, Chancellor Crowler got onto the dueling platform with a microphone. He started with jabbering on about how the students really didn't deserve this treat, which a majority of the students simply ignored.

"Now, as of the past few days, there have been rumors spreading that the American Duel Monsters State Champion Morgan Halo is supposedly on the island." Crowler spoke so simply as if he had nothing to do with the rumors starting in the first place, gaining a huff from Chazz at the entrance with Morgan. "I'd like to put those rumors to rest and state that it is true."

Immediately, all of the students started to talk amongst themselves in excited voices.

Above the stands where Jaden and his friends usually hung out during assemblies like this, Alexis, Syrus, Hassleberry, and Atticus were watching the spectacle.

"At this rate, Crowler won't be able to announce what's happening," Hassleberry muttered with a sigh.

"Just give it time; you can't blame them for being excited," Alexis pointed out.

Crowler tried to calm the students down, but was unsuccessful. Beyond irritation, Vice Chancellor Bonaparte scurried up onto the stage and snatched the microphone from Crowler. "Be QUIET, you MAGGOTS!" He screeched, just about blasting the entire school's ear drums.

The students hushed up, most rubbing their ears and heads in discomfort.

"Now then," Crowler said, taking back the mic. "This is what you have all been waiting for…" He then went on rambling stupid titles of Morgan that seemed to have no end.

After the tenth title, Morgan snapped. "Oh for Pete's sake." She walked away from Chazz and Jaden's side and out towards the dueling platform. Everyone gasped and then screaming and cheering quickly followed. She gracefully jumped up onto the platform with not even the slightest effort. She walked up to the two chancellors and smiled. "May I?" She asked, holding out her hand for the microphone.

Crowler quickly nodded and handed over the mic, then backed away. By now, all the students had fallen silent, waiting to hear what their idol had to say.

For a few moments, no words would come to Morgan. She had been on talk shows in front of a live audience in the past, but to her, this situation was much more different. Subconsciously, she started to reach for her recently healed shoulder, then realized what she was doing and let her arm drop to her side.

"Morgan," came a whisper. Said girl looked to her left and saw Chazz just offstage. He gave her one of his rare smiles and nodded in encouragement.

With the confidence boost, Morgan turned back to her audience and smiled her biggest smile. She pumped her free fist into the air and called, "Hey there, Duel Academy! How you all doing tonight!?"

The stadium filled with screams of excitement.

When the noise died down a little, Morgan continued. "I'd have to say it's an honor to be at the world famous Duel Academy, but I think I'm more honored to meet all the wonderful and gifted students that attend here." More screams, but it ended much quicker than the last time. "I'm sorry I had to hide from you guys for the past week, but now that I'm here, I guess you all wanna learn a little more about me; Am I right?" Screams once more. "I learned that the best way to get to know someone is through dueling, for more often then not, a deck reflects the duelist's personality." The students were raising their hands, calling out for Morgan to pick them as her opponent.

Morgan held up her hand to calm the students. When everyone stopped calling out to pick them, Morgan said, "I'm sorry, but I've already promised someone I would duel them."

There were a few disappointed voices in the crowd but thankfully no complaints or outbursts.

"Jaden?" Morgan .

Everyone watched as Jaden appeared from the entrance and got onto the platform with his Duel Disk. Chazz lent Morgan his, and the two opponents walked up to each other. They shook the other's hand.

"Let's give 'em a show that they'll never forget; okay?" Morgan said with a tease.

Jaden smiled and nodded. "You bet. Don't go easy on me, though; alright?"

"I don't plan to," Morgan replied with a wink.

With that, they went to their respected sides and placed their decks into the slots on their Duel Disks, turning them on. "Duel!" They both said out loud, creating another cry of excitement in the arena.