YGO Academy
Chapter 19
Dark Times Ahead

The news of what happened to Tigara and Mikee spread like wildfire the next morning as the mood matched the skies: Dark clouds covered the usually bright sun as there were distant thunderclaps. Leaves were beginning to fall, marking the beginning of Autumn as students were in their sweaters and thicker coats. Despite the cold, people still gathered about, chatting and spreading the word that Tigara and Mikee were both knocked out by Rika and Danielle. Unaffected by all the rumors, Danielle and her group except for Rika and Heather were walking calmly into the school grounds. She was twirling her umbrella around. "You would think they'd be less noisy. It's early." Danielle said outloud to Nick.
"They're just reeling in the fact that Tigara and the Synchron guy were destroyed last night. Word spreads so fast here." Nick told her. This just put a smile on her face as she closed her umbrella. "Those without power just spread the word to warn others. They form their measely attempts at a defense and it's our duty to show them their place in this school." She stated. As she finished her sentence, static feedback emitted from the speakers around the premises as a voice spoke. "ALL STUDENTS, REPORT TO THE MAIN DUEL HALL. ALL STUDENTS, REPORT TO THE MAIN DUEL HALL."
"Looks like another announcement. Don't these teachers ever learn?" Danielle said outloud as they saw the majority of other duelists following them.

It didn't take long for the room to be full of students as Isaac, Alden, and Summer were all there, including a hologram of Mathias Winterson as Alden had several screens in front of him. "Welcome everyone. Today will be a mandatory day off from school as Duel Disks and systems will be offline. There will be a system update going on as all Duel Disks will be offline to accept it. It's the Surreal Dueling update." Isaac told the students as they were quieting down. "It is why I'm here to explain it today. Yes, Surreal Dueling has been a Duel Mode as of recent, but this update takes it to a brand new level. Your old way only had a certain limit to how much damage could be dealt, but now with this, the limiters are removed. The reasoning behind it is to toughen up everyone for the Duels to come. The Quasar Cup is just around the corner, and everyone needs to prepare for the worst of it. Even with the old way, there were still limits to protect what was left. In a real situation back in the day, a duel lost costed your very life. Everyone believes losing doesn't cost you anything, but in this time and age, it's a matter of life and death. There's no such thing as mercy in Duel Monsters. The future holds dark things for us. The other side of the world, Solid Vision and Action Duels are taking place, leaving us to accept the incoming change. We at Winterson Corps have created the true Dueling Style, the way it was meant to be from the beginning. This is why the Quasar Cup's style will be the first to use Surreal Dueling. As such, since your teachers and classmates have proved it to be so, the Quasar Cup's rules are as follows." Mathias explained as Alden pulled up more holograms.

"The Quasar Cup, which takes place a week after everyone's Winter Break, will be a Team Free-For-All style battleground. Once it begins, every duelist participating will roam the entire island, dueling others for points. However, the clubs you've all been in will be your teams, and each win and loss adds to your overall score. At the end of the week, the top teams will be selected to participate in a Team Battle Tournament style bracket system, where the winners will be selected to represent Central Academy during the Academies Tournament. And yes, I am correct in saying teams. For this year, the Academies Tournament is now involving a team of Duelists." The Obelisk Blue teacher explained to everyone.
"Teams he says, Danielle's team is going to be the top. They haven't lost yet." "No kidding. After what happened to Tigara and Mikee, I'm not sure I could stand a chance." The students were murmuring to themselves and to their friends. As they were talking, all their Duel Disks were beginning to deactivate for their updates. "But, before the Quasar Cup, our Ra Yellow Head has her own announcement." Isaac introduced as Summer stepped up.

"Good morning everyone. Like our wonderful Chancellor has stated, I do have a small event going on. Thanks to our card shop employees helping with the planning, I'm hosting a small...er, Scavenger Hunt style event. It's purpose is for practicing and testing the Quasar Cup regulations, and everyone who joins will not only get early points for their team for the tournament, they'll receive special booster packs from the next set courtesy of Mr. Winterson! More details will be found at my office and the Card Shop as the Scavenger Hunt will begin two weeks from now, a week before Winter Break begins. I hope to see everyone there!" Winter briefly explained with a smile as she stepped back. It seemed to lighten the mood a bit, which was worth it as she noticed a small handful of students missing from the group. "With that, this assembly is dismissed."

The steady beeps of the heart monitor were the only sounds in the room as Kat was sitting at Tigara's side. She has been there since Tigara was admitted around, somehow managing to not pass out herself. Seeing her sister in this state was heartbreaking, but she couldn't show that to others. The door opened as her eyes glanced to the visitor. His clothes were still torn and he still looked like he was defeated, but Mikee stumbled into the room. Branches stook out of his hair and he was cut in numerous places. She was surprised he was still conscious and walking. He managed to get himself to a chair without falling as he looked to her. Mikee's brown eyes were reddened, as if he was crying. Without hesitation or remorse, Kat looked to him and asked, "So, how'd it go?" He didn't answer as he sat down on the other side of the hospital bed. It was silent as she expected him to at least give any sort of snide remark or comment, but for once, he was just quiet. Her eyes just gazed back at her unconscious cousin. "You know, Tig and I don't get along often. She's this...proud figure that everyone looks up to, everyone just appreciated the 'Queen', but now, seeing her like this, it's hard to believe someone actually did this to her." She broke the silence with her small confession.
"They did this to her. I have to get them back." He answered without any hesitation, the anger clear as crystal in his voice. His fists were holding onto the arms of his chair so tightly that she was afraid they were going to snap. "You're going to be fighting Rika too, you know. It's quite obvious that girl has a crush on you." She told him as his grip loosened up a bit as he seemed to be in thought. "But the real question is, do you have feelings for her?" Katsumi asked.
"You crazy? After what she just did here?! Look at Tigara-" He shouted as Kat waited for him to stop talking. As soon as he quieted down, she looked to him seriously with her cloudy blue eyes. "Let me ask you again, before you go jumping off to your conclusions, do you have feelings for Rika?" She asked. Kat held her hand up with her finger to silence him from saying another angry outburst. Mikee took a deep breath as he looked away.
"I...I started to care for her. She needed help, someone to just be her friend. I wanted to be that friend like Tig was to me a long time ago. She..." Mikee said as he looked to their comatose friend, "She's someone far out of my league. Who needs..." His eyes gazed down to the ground as his hands loosened from the armrests. Kat looked confused for a moment as she realized it the moment he confessed his own feelings. "Tigara needs someone stronger, far stronger than I ever could be. Look at me, I couldn't even land a single blow on Danielle! If I couldn't even touch her, then...how could I ever reach Tig's level?"
"It sounds like you're giving up." Kat said outloud as she crossed her arms and stared at her fellow classmate as he looked back at her with a teary brown-eyed glare. "That's why you started falling for little innocent Rika. But she just showed the entire school that she's stronger than our former Queen."
"She just...backstabbed everyone, Rika-"
"Shut up for a second, will ya?" Kat shouted as she pinched the bridge of her nose. Kat took a moment before continuing her talk with Mikee as she was getting a headache. "Rika's the cutesy type, I get that. And you care for her because she needed a friend. But for someone like her to get the guts and take on Tigara? That's impossible. What if, hear me out, what if she was ordered to do it? I don't want to be defending the girl, but you're becoming an emotional wreck. It's the last thing Neo needs in his team that's already beginning to fall apart. What then?"
"It's simple: I'll swing at Danielle with everything I've got." Mikee stated. Kat shook her head as she let out a sigh. "You need to think out of the box. Danielle's in a whole other league than you, or me, or even Neo. Not only is she smart and has the cards to pull off her newfound rule, but the team that's behind her is just as powerful. You think you can just march straight to the crazy bitch and defeat her? She KNOWSthat you'll just rush her with no battle plan. She's dealt with morons like you probably a thousand times over and knows exactly what to do to push your buttons. That's why you're lost: You're about as predictable as that Slifer Red that hangs around with Luna." She told him. Sure, she was blunt as the attacks that hit him last night, but Kat knew Mikee at this point. Telling him straight out was the only way he could listen. He was silent as she could tell he was taking it in. She pushed back her ebony-black hair and lied back on the chair she was sitting in. "Tell you what, after you recover, I want to duel you personally. I want to see what Tig sees in you." Kat asked. He was about to raise up a point, but she stuck out her hand. "And no, you're not in any shape to stand up and duel me."

The world felt like it was ending for Rika as she lied on her bed, face-down in her wet pillows from her tears. She won against Tigara, but at what cost? Mikee saw everything...He saw me take down Tigara. What am I going to do? What can I do... These thoughts were racing through her mind all night as the poor girl couldn't even sleep. There was a quiet knocking on her door as she got up and opened the door. Heather was there with two plates of food as she looked a little concerned. "Here, got you some food from the cafeteria, you doing alright?" Heather asked as she handed her the plate. Rika took it as Heather sat across from her on the empty bed as she started eating rather hastily. Heather started eating her food as she stopped for a moment. "Are you feeling okay? Nick told me the gist of what happened, Danielle seemed to be in one of her greatest moods in a long time, but you..."
"It's just...he saw everything. Mikee saw me take down Tigara. He...he probably hates me more than ever." Rika told her friend as she stopped eating again.
"Well...look on the bright side, you're on Danielle's good list. And you said that you're now part of her family? What's that all about?" She asked as Heather resumed eating. Rika began to tell her friend that Danielle would welcome her to her family once she proved her trial. That trial was defeating Tigara as she assumed. Rika coughed a bit as she cleared her throat. "But, I just started to get to know Mikee. And now, he hates me for what I did to Tigara. How...how can I ever make it up to him...how can I ever even...how..." Rika started to cry as she clutched her pillow again.
"H-hey, come on now, you gotta relax, don't beat yourself up over it. Mikee's a...reasonable guy." Heather told her friend as she got up to sit next to her. She put her gloved hand on Rika's shoulder to try and comfort her. "Look, I know it's going to be hard, but I'm sure if you just explain it to him, maybe he'll understand. Sure, not now, everyone's going crazy out there. After Tigara's defeat and Mikee's defeat-" A sharp gasp escaped Rika's mouth as she looked to Heather. "M-Mikee's defeat?! What happened?!" Rika asked.
"I-I thought you knew? Last night he went to the Abandoned Dorm looking for Danielle. That guy dueled Danielle, but couldn't land a scratch on her." She told her friend as she seemed shocked. Mikee...She thought.

The library doors opened slowly as Cryo walked in past the students. He was looking for someone as he heard gossiping students say that someone was in here. His blue eyes scanned the room past more students and card players until he saw a lone Obelisk Blue over a computer screen. "Hey." He asked as the brown-haired student looked to him.
"What the hell do you want?" He asked Cryo sternly.
"I'm here to talk to you. That's what I want." Cryo told the former duelist as Derrick stared at his opponent. On his computer screen was more news reports on Danielle and the Winterson business as he shut it down. "Well, spit it out. I don't have all day."
"I'm sure you do. You spend your time checking out reports about Danielle and stand around moping and pissed off." Cryo stated as he looked around, being careful to see if anyone was observing them. Luckily, there wasn't as he continued with his question. "I know you want revenge against Danielle. But my instinct tells me something else is at stake here. Look up North Academy." Cryo asked as Derrick replied with a scoff, but did as he was asked. A quick search later, various news articles started popping up. Both of them skimmed through them as all of them generally said the same thing: Other Academies were changing their methods to match the difficult testing North had. Almost crowds of students were denied solely because they couldn't defeat the top Duelists. "...So? What's the big deal? Other schools are catching on to what's supposed to be the right way, to weed out the weak."
"That must mean you wouldn't get accepted, right?" Cryo asked as he saw a twitch with Derrick.
"I'll ask again: What the hell do you want? I'm not here to listen to your snarky remarks." He snapped at Cryo.
"North Academy has taken over all the Academies in the area, but this didn't include Central. That means Central is next on the list. I came to you because you're the only one not affiliated with anyone."
"Heh, you honestly think I'd side with you? You practically took everything from me, you and that stupid Ra Yellow kid. Give me a good reason why I should side with you."
"Because you have nothing to lose, Derrick. You lost your Qliphorts thanks to siding with Danielle, you lost your pride when you lost to lower classmates, and if your type doesn't get their crap together, well, North Academy is going to trample over you like the rest of the unprepared Duelists." Cryo told him coldly. That was when Derrick stood up and glared at Cryo, almost as if he was sizing up Cryo for a fight. "You think I'm gonna be trampled by some low-rate North Academy duelists? If our Duel Disks weren't updating, we'd throw down right now and I'll show you how much better I am than you." He threatened. Cryo didn't say a word as he stared down Derrick and turned around. "You better be ready, Derrick. Things before the Quasar Cup are going to get nasty. If you want to survive, you need to know who you're with when the fights begin."

In the Slifer Red Dormitory, Luna and Sadet were among the other small groups of students who didn't mind the absence of their Duel Disks and instead just dueled on tabletops. Although the duel against Sadet's Melodious wasn't on the ebony-haired female's mind. Instead, she thought of what Cryo told her last night. Her friend noticed her distracted as she pouted a bit. "Luna, come on, you gotta focus! I need to get stronger!" She told her. Luna snapped out of her thoughts as she realized it was her move. She couldn't say no to Sadet, but all the events that happened last night shook her to her core. Luna came to the Academy just to try and get better at Dueling, but there was way, way, WAY more than she expected. While Luna muddled in her thoughts, Sadet used the opportunity to try and get better at dueling, saying proudly that she was going to put up more than a fight to anyone of Danielle's crew, but in order to do that, she needed to duel more. Sadet sighed as Luna was lost in her thoughts again as the brunette picked up her cards. "Maybe next time then. Do...do you wanna talk about it?" Sadet asked her friend.
"There's not much to talk about to be honest. I'm still thinking about what Cryo said, but, I'm sticking by Neo's team. I have a much better feeling being by their side. I just wish I was strong enough. These Fairies you lent me, I just don't feel like they're my type of Deck."
"Well, that's obvious then! You need to use your Dark Magicians again!" Sadet told her in a happy tone.
"Sadly, I think that's what is the best option to go." A voice told the two as Neo walked into the Dorm. He seemed pretty serious as Sadet waved to him. Luna explained to the both of them that after she lost to Danielle, she's been missing one of her Dark Magicians. "Do you have your Deck with you? I think I packed a handful of Dark Magician cards to help ya out." Neo offered his help to her as Sadet smiled.
"Yeah, there you go! Now you can return with the Deck you used to use!" Sadet exclaimed as other Reds were beginning to stare at the commotion. This was the reason Luna liked to be in Neo's team. Everyone around them always wanted to help no matter what Deck it was. "Sure, here, I always bring it with me." Luna told Neo as she got up to take it out of one of her Deck cases. He took it and immediately started looking through it. "What about Team Quasar? Have you heard anything from Tig and Mikee? You know, if you need a team member..." Sadet asked. Neo was silent for a moment as he was thinking of cards before looking to Sadet. "Tig's still in a comatose state, the explosion hit her pretty hard. Nurse says they're going to transfer her to an actual hospital before the Winter Break so they can treat her better. She might be back for the Quasar Cup. As for Mikee, he's stubborn as all hell. He's got all kinds of injuries, but the guy's forcing himself along, thinking it's no big deal. He's going to end up passing out or worse. He can't participate in any Surreal Duel for a while, let alone any one of Danielle's members." Neo explained. Luna just remembered that all he asked was for him to be left at his Dorm as he didn't want treatment. She had to practically fight him to bring him to the Infirmary as the Nurse and Doctor took him from there. "Yeah, he's so set on bringing Danielle down. It's...a good thing though, they're the top now. He's kind of like our spirit." Luna brought up
"But with Tig possibly being out and Mikee's on his way to being a lost case, our team is going to fall apart. Don't even mention Marth, I haven't seen him at all lately." Neo mentioned as his name reminded him to look around the other Slifer Reds, but he was not around. "Tch. What does a guy like him do by himself anyway? I thought he was part of your team." Sadet asked.
"He's like Derrick, they both just find a way to blend in with the crowds. I don't know what he's up to." Neo finished as he got up. "All right, Luna, I'll see you tomorrow with the changes to your Deck, but then I want to duel you myself to teach you the changes."
"All right, thanks Neo." Luna thanked.
"No, thank you for sticking with Team Quasar. Sure, we're falling apart, but we'll be back stronger than ever after everyone recovers."

"Look at them all. They're just so...mediocre. God, I can't wait for my Deck to shred them apart. I hate having to hold back like this." A voice from a Duel Gazer spoke to a Slifer Red, who was standing on the top of the stairs in front of the Academy as he was walking to his dorm.
"Calm down Sean. You'll get your chance like me. I want to pay back that damn Ra Yellow for OTKing my monsters." Another male voice spoke.
"Will you two quit your squabbling? You just need to wait two more weeks, that wretched teacher's hosting up a practice session for the Hunt, it'll be perfect timing to flex our power and scare everyone." A female voice spoke. The Slifer Red tipped his hat a bit as his green eyes looked onward. "Yes, for now, just hold back your Dueling style: Things are going to get very interesting. We need to plan first, and then hold nothing back." The Slifer Red said as he laughed a little bit.