Dan and Leah stared at the cards sitting on top of the motionless water. Then at each other. Then back at the cards. Both were at a complete loss for words. The shock of what had just happened was so great, it had rendered them both speechless.

These card's simply could not be. The explosions that had torn up the pavement and thrown them both back against the slope could not have left two pieces of cardboard sitting directly in their centre unharmed. But there they were. And the water… it was all too much to take in.

So they both just stared at the cards – which were still sitting there impassively – allowing themselves to calm down and assess the situation.

Leah was the first to recover, and she said the first sane thought that came to her head. "What the hell just happened?"

Her voice seemed to snap Dan out of his daze, and he turned to her and said, "I have no idea. Those cards... it defies... I don't..."

"Maybe the cards caused the explosions." Leah suggested.

He hadn't thought of that – and with good reason – but the more he thought about it, the more it seemed to fit somehow. Unable to respond, he looked back at the cards. Leah did the same, and at that moment both of them noticed that both cards were blank. Not just without text, but pure white. Somehow, that made then seem even more eerie.

Leah took a step forwards, and impulsively Dan reached out to stop her. She turned to him. "What's wrong?"

Dan tilted his head sceptically. "You mean besides the fact that we were just caught in an explosion that came out of nowhere and brought two blank cards to us and ripped apart solid concrete and turned the surface of the water into a sheet of metal?"

Neither of them were in any state to find the joke funny. "Well yeah, there's that," Leah said, "but aren't you curious?"

He had to admit it was a little. "Well yes, obviously, but I'm also very scared." Something about that sentence comforted Leah a little – she knew him well, and she knew that he would never admit something like that to anyone else.

They turned and looked at the cards again, which still sat exactly where they were. Then Dan sighed. "I suppose we should go over and check them out then." They both walked forwards very tentatively, both scared out of their wits that more explosions could follow the first lot. Approaching the cards was a very surreal experience for both of them. It was as though the rest of the world had ceased to exist to them. All that was left was each other, the cards, and the few metres of cracked stone separating them all.

Once they reached the bank, they kneeled down, just a few feet from the cards, and tried decide what to do next. Or rather, they knew exactly what to do, but they were too nervous to say it. Dan lifted his arm and slowly reached for one of the cards. Leah mimicked his movement. Their hands were mere centimetres away from the cards. They glanced at each other, then moved their hands that last small distance, and touched the cards – Dan with two fingers, Leah with her whole hand; as though she was going it pick it up.

The exact second they touched the cards, their lives began to change.

Dan felt something constrict around his chest. Looking down, he saw nothing there, but that pressure was still there, constricting tighter and tighter. But it wasn't constricting on the outside. Rather, it was worming its way into his chest, his heart, his soul... a place that no external presence like this had any right to be.

He gasped as the... thing, or whatever it was, forced its way into the core of his being. He clutched and scratched at his chest, trying to do... something, anything, to get this invasive pressure out of himself. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Leah hug her arms tightly to her body, and knew right then that she was experiencing the exact same thing.

He turned his head to her, and locked eyes with her. Their fear and desperation was mirrored in each other's gaze. And Leah looked at him, and knew that she could do nothing to end his suffering, just as he could do nothing for her…

Then he vanished. The walkway vanished. The cards vanished. Everything collapsed in on itself, and all either of them knew then was darkness and silence.

But not silence. There was another voice... talking... asking...

"What is it you want?"

Leah started. Everything and everyone had disappeared, and all that was left was this dark place with this voice talking to her. Dan was the same. They were apart and completely isolated, save for the voices.

"What is it you want?"

Now they were able to make out figures, shrouded by darkness, but becoming clearer and better defined as the voiced repeated its question. The voices seemed to be coming from them. With Leah, the figure seemed to resemble a large human, almost twice her size, wearing armour and possessing a set of large, feathery wings. With Dan, the figure was far larger. It seemed to resemble a massive dragon or serpent, with two wings and a tail, but no arms or legs. Both creatures seemed to glisten very slightly, despite the lack of light.

"What is it you want, hatchling?"

Dan didn't even consider the question, but immediately retaliated with some of his own. "Who are you? Where is it you've tak-"

"That is not the answer to the question, hatchling. What is it you want?"

"What I want is for you to let me out of here!" Dan retorted.

"No," replied the creature, growling softly. "That answer is not a truthful one. What is it you want?"

Leah, on the other hand, had taken a more direct approach. After ordering the creature to send her back – to which it had refused – she threw herself at the figure, intending to do it as much physical harm as possible until it let her go.

She never got near it. As she started forwards, the figure before her lowered its head slightly, and Leah's head exploded in agony. It was as though her skull was on fire. She screamed and fell to the ground, whereupon the pain promptly ceased, but she still breathed heavily and clutched her head from the shock of the experienced.

And again the accursed figure asked that same question, "What is it you want?"

And so it was, in an albeit roundabout way, that both Leah and Dan came to realise that the only way out of this place and away from these creatures was simple – to answer the question.

Leah remained on the floor cross-legged with her eyes closed, while Dan stood gazing at the dragon, and they both pondered the question in great detail. The first thing that popped to their minds was each other, but they quickly ignored that, along with their desire to get out of wherever they were, and moved on to their dreams and ambitions. Their career goals. Their hopes for a good education. And of course, the desire to become strong duelists. These things, however, didn't seem to creatures when Dan and Leah reiterated them, but instead they shook their heads and repeated the question again.

So the two of them continued thinking. Again they thought of each other, and this time they lingered on it, and thought about it in greater detail. 'I trust him/her with my life, but is there anything I really want from that?' Slowly, bit by bit, a realisation came to them. Yes, they trusted each other implicitly, but they didn't truly know each other. The only person that someone could truly hope to understand is themselves, and that's where these doubts came from. 'I truly consider him/her by best friend in the world, but is that just one-sided on my part? How close of a friend does he/she view me? Is he/she really after a relationship rather than friendship? Does he/she want a relationship with me? If he/she got one with someone else, would we drift apart? Are we close enough that time won't drift us apart regardless?' Slowly but surely, these doubts and the desire to know the truth began piling up.

The creatures didn't say anything, but rather emanated… something. It was as though they were radiating suggestions. They were suggestions that the two teenagers had never considered, but suggestions that never exceeded the bounds of reason. The two of them gradually began to take notice of them. 'Did he/she ever really care for you, or is it just neediness? Is he/she simply around you because he/she has nothing and no-one else to turn to? Or perhaps it's simply vindictive reasons, that he/she will betray you at the first opportunity.' As cruel as these thoughts were, Dan and Leah couldn't simply ignore them, because there was an element of possibility to them. They could not disprove them.

Finally, after they formed the reason in their head, they met the gaze of their respective creatures and said out loud, "I want to know my friend!"

The creatures seemed satisfied with this answer. The dragon lowered its head while the winged-human raised its arm. "Then accept my symbol, and use me as you will." Both of them gasped a sharp pain ran across one of their hands - Dan on his right hand, Leah on her left. Looking down, both of them saw a number, etched into the skin on the back of their hand, and glowing different colour. Dan had the number sixty-eight, which was glowing a light blue colour, while Leah saw the number seventeen, glowing forest green. "Now go, do as you will!" They both looked up at the creatures in time to see them fade from sight. Then darkness covered their vision, and...

And then they were back.

Leah opened her eyes. She was lying on her side, arms tucked tightly into her body, her muscles cramped from the position she was lying in. She pushed herself into a sitting position. A movement in the corner of her eye caught her attention, and she looked to see Dan, also awake, struggling upright. He looked up at her, and their eyes locked. But it was a gaze the likes of which they'd never fixed on each other before. Behind their gazes was fear, apprehension, questioning, and misunderstanding. And it was all being amplified.

Both carried on staring, both reluctant to say anything. Then Dan managed to force out the words, "Did you just…?"

"Yeah," Leah replied. Then, "…you… the same…?"

"Yes…" he replied, still torn between his long-established trust, and his current fear… there wasn't really a way to describe his feelings, nor hers. A full minute went past, where they just stared at each other, battling internally with themselves. Then Dan closed his eyes and got to his feet. Leah, startled out of her thoughts, watched him nervously. He looked at her. Then at the cards, still sitting on the water. Still looking at the cards, he said, "We need to have a duel. Now."

"A duel?" she replied, slightly confused. "What will that do?"

He turned back to her. "Duels can connect people. When we normally duel each other or someone else, we do it for fun and to get better as duelists. But through a duel, where both duelists are pouring their heart and soul into it, people can grow to understand each other. They can learn things about each other that they could never have learnt through a normal conversation, or even a heartfelt one. Just like we did with our first few duels." His eyes grew distant for a second, before he returned his thoughts to the present. "Now, we both have all this uncertainty and apprehension about each other, and a heartfelt duel seems like the only way to get rid of it. Unless you see it differently."

She stared at him for a second, then shook her head. "No... you're right." She got to her feet. "Something's happened to us, and we have to find out what... or at least correct it. Either way, I think a duel is our only option."

Dan nodded, then turned to the water and picked up one of the cards. He glanced at the stats of the card – which had somehow appeared and made it look like any other ordinary card – then slipped it into his pocket and turned back to her. "I still need my duel disk, so I'll head home and get it. Wait for me here, ok?"

"Ok." Leah replied, and they briefly parted ways. She also crouched down to retrieve the remaining card, marvelling at how it had been blank just a few minutes ago. Strangely, the thought didn't cause her any alarm. She put it into her pocket, then sat down and waited, absolutely filled with fear as to what would happen during this duel.

*A FEW MINUTES LATER*

Dan returned with his duel disk a few moments later. They wasted no time. The air between them was still sombre as they prepared their D-Gazers and their duel disks - hers green, his blue - without a word. Their D-Gazers flashed on, and the augmented reality took over the area around them.

"AR Vision – link established."

"DUEL!"

Fun Fact #6: This chapter truly is the hardest thing the two of us have ever had to write. To make it seem as meaningful as possible we had to look critically at our own friendship, and our own doubts and questions about each other. It was not an easy process for those involved, but we managed it, and I'd say we're closer than ever. Enjoy the fruits of our labour, and rest assured that normal dueling activity will be resumed next chapter.

Fun Fact #7: Best friends are the best.