Oh. My. Zarc. I can't believe it.

I actually posted a new story, and it didn't take me a whole month! 'blows party horn'

But seriously, welcome to my new story, Prison of Scales! One that will hopefully make you feel something, since this story is my first attempt at a Hurt/Comfort story, and something that isn't a one-shot. Then again, this is just the first chapter and I wanted to take it slow, so maybe I'm worrying for nothing.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V, its characters or the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG/OCG. This story is non-profit.

"Wake up! Big brother, wake up!"

In the central courtyard of Academia, Reira Akaba was shaking his brother, Reiji Akaba, who was currently unconscious and face-down on the grass. He continued until the older boy finally stirred and turned his head towards him.

"Reira?"

"Big brother!"

Now fully awake, Reiji moved into a crouching position, still feeling too disoriented to stand up. Closing his eyes in order to get his bearings straight, he asked his brother the first question that was on his mind, "What happened?"

"Ray won!" was Reira's answer.

"Ray?" Reiji said, confused, until he realised what Reira was talking about. He then remembered everything that had occurred.

It was finally over…

After a long and difficult battle that transcended the dimensions, the Supreme King Dragon Zarc had been defeated once more. His soul had found peace in his Duel with Ray Akaba, whose feelings, along with those of her fragments, had succeeded in reaching the Demon Duelist, and freed him from the hatred and madness that had taken hold of his heart.

After her victory, Ray had split the dimensions using her bracelets, as well as Zarc and herself, back into four fragments. This time, however, they would never return. Ray did not leave parts of her soul into her fragments, and neither did Zarc in his, instead choosing to cross over into the great beyond, instead choosing to rest.

Remembering the carnage that Zarc had caused, his first concern was to check if his little brother was injured. Turning to him and putting his hands on the younger boy's shoulders he asked, "Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine. What about you?" Reira replied.

"I'm uninjured," Reiji answered with a small smile. He looked around to see the remainder of the Lancers, as well as their comrades, waking and helping each other up. They were all accounted for, all except...

"Where's Yuya?" Reiji asked to no one in particular.

Everyone stopped what they were doing. Looking around, one could find no trace of the goggle-wearing boy. Naturally, this had a few of them panicking, thinking that maybe Yuya hadn't survived, that Ray hadn't been successful in splitting herself and Zarc again. Those worries were somewhat alleviated, however, when instead of Yuya, Edo found Yugo unconscious at the other end of the courtyard.

"If he's here, then Yuya and Yuto must be somewhere," Shun theorized. Sora, who was being carried on Shun's back, added, "If that's true, Yuzu and the other girls must also be around here. But that also means Yuri's out there too. We have to find them quickly."

Reiji nodded in agreement. While finding Yuya and the girls were a priority, letting Yuri remain at large could be very dangerous. "In that case, we should split up. If you find any of them, contact me on your Duel Disk. However, if you find Yuri, make sure you first take his Duel Disk, restrain him if you can and keep a close eye on him. Once all of them have been found, I'll contact everyone and we'll regroup here." He then looked at Shun, "Kurosaki, you head for the throne room. I have a feeling that's where we'll find the girls."

"I know how to get there. Just follow my directions," Sora added.

Shun nodded and then left, hoping to find his sister and his best friend.

"I'm coming too!" Yugo, who had been woken up by Edo and Kaito, said as he ran past Reiji.

"Let's go, Reira."

"Yes."

And with that, everyone began their search for Yuya and the others.

Yuto awoke in a dark room filled with rubble. He did not know where he exactly he was, only that he was somewhere in Academia. He began rubbing his eyes with his arm to help himself wake up, but stopped shortly after. For some strange reason, the feeling felt foreign to him. It took a few seconds of thinking before his eyes widened as he came to a shocking realization.

He had a body. He had his own body again.

Before he had time to rejoice, however, his thoughts went to Yuya, whom he had shared a body with for the longest time. What happened to him now that Yuto had regained his body?

"Yuya!" he called as he looked inside the pitch-black room. He called again and again, until he heard a groan. Snapping his head in the direction of the sound, his eyes landed on a familiar head of green and red. "Yuya!" he called once more as ran towards his friend, relieved that he was alright.

Or so he thought.

His expression slowly shifted to one of concern, growing more and more worried with every step he took, and became utter denial by the time he had arrived to Yuya's side. He didn't want to believe the sight that was in front of him. He did not want to believe that this was Yuya. But he could not deny what was right in front of him.

Not after he saw the familiar pair of red eyes that could only belong to the entertainer.

"Yuto?" Yuya said, unsure if he was seeing things. He stood up and looked more closely at his Xyz counterpart, then smiled.

"Yuto! You have your body back! That's awesome!" he said to the boy, "Although, I don't remember you being shorter than me."

"Yuya... You..." The Xyz user could not think of anything to say.

"What's wrong, Yuto?" Yuya asked, confused. He also noted a strange stiffness he felt in his back.

When Yuto did not answer, Yuya began reaching out to him with his hand...

Only for him to freeze when he saw a clawed one that was far too pale to be his instead.

"W-What?" His breath caught in his throat as the shock of seeing a hand that wasn't his own made him pull it back to his chest. The contact sent a terrible dread throughout his body. It was rough. The feeling of his hand against his chest was rough. It didn't feel like human skin, it felt like...

Scales.

It was then that Yuya looked down and came to the horrifying realization that the hand he had seen had indeed been his own, and that the rest of his body had shared a similar fate.

Yuya's heart was beating at an increasing rate. His breathing was becoming more erratic as he wandered his hands across his chest, trying to convince himself that this was just some sick nightmare. They moved to his face, hoping to not feel something other then the scaly sensation, but it was in vain. He felt something move against his back and as he turned his head to investigate, he understood what that stiff sensation he felt earlier had been. He had grown two wings, black as the moonless night.

"No... This-this isn't real... I'm not-I don't-I look like...like..."

A monster. Yuya looked like a monster.

His scream of despair echoed across the empty halls...

And this is my very first cliff-hanger.

This story was inspired by a drawing by Justanotherotakuandartist on Tumblr, also known as TheShadowgirls on deviantart. The drawing is Yuzu crying as she hugs Dragon Yuya, though technically it's Zarc, and he's not too happy.

The first thing it did was make this pop into my mind: Dragonfruitshipping. Dragonfruits are real fruits, by the way.

The second was the idea that led to this story. What if Yuya's body remained that way?

This will mostly focus on Yuya's feelings throughout the ordeal, alongside the feelings of some of his friends as they try to keep his spirits up. And of course, there will be Dragonfruitshipping.

Reviews, constructive criticism and identifying my spelling/writing errors are all welcome and appreciated.

-Writertainer