Hi guys I'm back, so this chapter might be a bit strange since it came in the middle of a Standard Chapter, but I did want to write what was happening.
Thanks for the comments.
In case it's a little confusing this chapter is part flashback with Serena and how she reacted to what she had learned, getting the Pendulum Cards, and after the Duel between Yuya and Yuzu happened. We will go back to Standard in two chapters and I do promise you that Yuzu and Yuya will duel. However for now I hope that you enjoy this chapter.
And Lunalights are OTK enablers, yeah they are that strong.
It was a shock to Serena's system to say the least.
She was trying to leave her room once again in order to prove herself to the Professor, and stave off boredom, when her mind was transported into the dark void where she had met the other girls who had her face and learned about the truth. About what the Professor's true end goal was, and how she factored into it.
And even after she was convinced of what the others were saying, part of her wanted to deny it, to cling to her own truth because it was the only thing she had at this point. She didn't want to believe that the professor did not care about her, that she meant nothing to hurt her, hurt her more than the insults, the jeers and being looked down upon by the other students who got to leave Academia for higher callings.
She wanted to scream and cry and demand the truth from him, to challenge him into a battle and get the truth out. She felt anger and betrayal and hatred, even more she felt guilt and sadness. However, the fact that she stayed in her room for days without the professor being alarmed by it solidified the truth for her even more.
Serena let out a breath and got out of her bed, her emotions bottled up inside of her with no way to let them out without alarming the Professor and others. She decided that she had stayed in her room long enough, and that she was suffocating from being in this place any longer than she should have. Therefore she needed to leave.
Serena peeked out of her door and saw that some guards were stationed outside of it, so she needed her second way out. The purple haired girl headed for her room window that opened onto a balcony. She looked around her to see no one she hoped over the railings and jumped down. She landed safely, after getting through the shock of landing from that fall of height, and walked off to clear her head.
Serena continued to walk through the island making sure no one saw her. While usually she would have loved to duel someone then and there, she didn't want to be reported to the Professor already. She knew that if she saw him this soon, she would not resist screaming at him, demanding the truth, demanding why he would keep her away from everything. The duels, the fight, the war, the classes, treating her like a fragile princess when in truth he didn't even give a fuck about her.
She knew now, she knew that she was nothing to him.
Just a shadow, a shell of Ray who was the only person that the Professor cared about. He abandoned his dimension and apparently his son and wife for a daughter that was for all intents and purposes dead, clinging to an imaginary idea of her that never existed. Quite ironic then; to gain a child he once drove away, the Professor distanced another, and now both children wanted to take him down. Fitting.
Serena wasn't sure what to do anymore. The idea of going to Xyz sickened her, the idea of staying on the island angered her, and she needed to reunite with her counterparts. Outside of the world Ray created in their mind, she was alone. It had never bothered her before; all she wanted was to show everyone, especially the Professor, that she was powerful. That she was worthy of his attention. That she wasn't just a favorite Island Princess. That she was as strong as any other person on this island.
She hated this, hated the vulnerability that she was feeling. She wanted to strangle Akaba for using her. For not caring about her. For waging a pointless war in a world that was peaceful and happy all for a baseless "Utopia", something that was unnecessary to begin with.
Serena thought that the battle efforts were about being a soldier. Showing the power that you have, bringing honor to Academia, showing that you were worthy. But after she spoke with Ruri, she found out that the Obelisk Force attacked everyone: innocents who didn't duel, children who were too small to even defend themselves, and the bastards treated it all like a game, like they weren't separating families and harming others who couldn't defend themselves. Everything that she knew was a lie. She wanted to scream and yell and punch the first person that she came across, and if it happened to be an Obelisk Force student all the better.
Suddenly, she heard a distant roar as she continued to walk. In a moment of curiosity, she decided to see what that was about and sneaked around to find out what was going on. She reached a part of Academia where four people stood around dueling, three Obelisk Force students stood side by side dueling one person.
Said blue uniformed soldiers showing off their powers by dueling other students was not new. On any other day she would have walked past something like this without a second thought. Serena had to pause about that thought, and the guilt ate at her. She really would not have cared, blindly and thoughtlessly she would have never thought twice about it, all that mattered in Academia, was power, but what the Obelisk Force was doing was nothing short of cowardly. A three against one with the guise of a Battle Royal when it was blatantly clear three against one duels made to make the win quicker. There was no honor in that, no strength or thought, it was nothing short of bullying...And that's all the Academia students were; bullies. They were childishly harming people.
No, they were murderers. Everyone who had participated in dueling and carding people from Heartland to be nothing but fuel can be called nothing short of that.
But...That's the way that things were, the way every last student was taught to do, to follow the professor's orders, should she really judge them? Yes she should. No one forced them to do this, no one forced them to follow the Professor's orders. From the students to the teachers they followed blindly. How despicable were these people?
And it was clear that students can think and object. She had heard that others have defected from Academia, that they didn't want to harm people. Yes they put themselves in danger, but that shows the bravery that they have, instead of ambushing weak and unprepared innocents. The students who treated the invasion like a game, those that didn't give a fuck about harming others, these students should be held accountable for what they did, for what they all did.
Something brought her out of her thoughts though. The fact that all three of the Obelisk Force students now laid on the ground beaten, with a monster floating over them. But not just any monster - the memories from Ray supplied - a very familiar Dragon.
Starving Venom Fusion Dragon.
With his current master standing tall grinning at the students like a demon, an expression like that might have made her scared, made her heart beat faster and ready for a fight...but for some reason, it made her feel safe and proud, just a little bit calmer. He alone dueled and beat three Obelisk Force students. Now that was true power.
Yuri's eyes snapped to the place that she was hiding in, and Starving Venom crooned slightly, making Yuri glance at him before his eyes turned back to her hiding place. Wordlessly she moved away from her hiding spot and showed herself to Yuri. The boy smirked. She couldn't say that he smiled, it was too sharp to be one, but it wasn't malicious at all, rather she would dare call it a fond one, even if the two of them had never met before, she could feel that there was something pulling them together.
"Lady Serena," Yuri said, and placed his hand over his chest and gave a short bow, before he straightened up with the same smirk and dark look in his eyes, confident and amused like a serpent, but he didn't seem to want to strike her by any means.
Before Serena could respond, a groan from one of the fallen Obelisk Students caught her attention and she frowned. "Let's talk somewhere else," she said, side-stepping the students and into Yuri's side.
"Agreed," Yuri said, removing Starving Venom from the duel desk and placing the cards back to their usual place. He looked back at Serena and motioned for her with his finger to follow him. "I know the perfect place," he said, as he walked away from the students without a single look behind him, leaving Serena to follow him, which she did after a second of hesitation.
Yuri walked confidently, through Academia, with no one daring to stop him or question him, she could see that some of the Obelisk Force students, no doubt the ones that were stationed at her door, took one look and decided to go inform the Professor instead of having to deal with both her and Yuri at the same time, even if they were confused as to why the two were walking together.
The two of them reached one of Academia's gardens, it seemed devoid of people, yet it seemed well kept with radiant flowers growing neatly and nicely, along with some exotic plants that seemed a bit out of place like flytraps, and even some cacti.
"Do you like the place?" Yuri asked, still with the mischievous smirk on his face. "It's my personal garden, no student even dares to come on or they fear that I would sic Starving Venom at them."
"Would you?" Serena asked, raising her eyebrow.
Yuri shrugged. "A very likely possibility."
Serena snorted, finally cracking a smile and sat down on the grass. She saw Yuri hesitate for a second before sitting down beside her. "Are you okay?" he asked.
Serena gave a sigh. "Yeah, I have been thinking a lot lately. I feel so stupid and so angry at myself at the professor at the students. My world has been turned upside down and it's taking me a long time to actually come to terms with. You seem okay though, like nothing changed."
"Not much has, to be honest," Yuri said, a soft smirk on his face. "In fact, ever since Lady Ray beat me, and opened my mind, I've actually been feeling better than ever."
"Really?"
Yuri nodded and placed a finger on the side of his head. "I've been hearing someone whisper in my ear since that moment. It's faint and if I don't concentrate on it, it sounds like me. But there is a hidden voice that seems powerful, and I decided to listen to what it says. The voice whispered promises of power, letting me feel the dark presence inside and feel the power hidden and unlocked," Yuri's smirk sharpened. "It felt so good to listen, to feel the power."
"Is it… Zarc's voice?".
Yuri nodded. "He feels… proud of me, something I've never felt before. A person, practically a stranger, giving me a feeling of happiness and accomplishment I've never known until now."
"You… feel what he feels?"
Yuri nodded again, "I feel it within my veins. The happiness, the amusement, the pride, it's mine and yet not."
Serena looked away thinking, wanting someone to be proud of her, giving her that sense of accomplishment that no one ever gave her. Not even the people that she beat would make the Professor give her accomplishment a second glance, but… he never will, and she shouldn't want that from him, not after all that she had learned. It disgusted her that a part of her, small as it was, still wanted that attention. She wasn't a child, she doesn't need that approval… but it would be nice if she was acknowledged by someone, seen for the strong person that she was instead of the rebellious princess.
She was infuriated, angry with the professor, angry with herself, angry with every last person in this dimension that followed the Professor without a second thought. She wanted to scream, she felt like she could explode with the anger and frustration that was inside of her.
It didn't stop her desire to be acknowledged though. Would Ray give her that attention? Who else would? Would Zarc?
"What does he tell you?" Serena asked, tilting her head at Yuri, curiosity eating at her.
"Many things. His past, his desires, his power. He whispered so many things to me, like a storyteller spinning his tale. Though he did say that there will be a surprise soon," Yuri purred
"A surprise?" Serena repeated and Yuri just nodded.
"He won't tell me what it is yet, but he promised it'll be soon."
Serena nodded back, wondering what that could be. The peace and silence between the two of them was ruined a few minutes later when three Obelisk Force students entered the garden, standing at attention in front of the two.
"What is it?" Yuri asked, standing up and fixing the students with a sharp smirk.
"Pardon us, Yuri-sama," one of the students with a green jewel over his mask greeted. "But the Professor is asking for you and Serena-sama to report to the main room."
Yuri raised an eyebrow as Serena stood up as well. "The both of us?"
The boy nodded with a gulp looking at Serena's angry face one step behind Yuri. "Yes sir."
Yuri and Serena exchanged looks, Serena nodded and Yuri turned back to the student with a nod. Yuri and Serena walked silently to the main room where Akaba waited for them, not looking back at the three students that came to collect them.
Serena wondered what the Professor would order from them now, and steeled herself for anything.
…
…
…
Serena and Yuri entered the room which was half lit, filled with electronic devices and four glass tubes that now made Serena quite uncomfortable. The room meant nothing to her before - it was simply the room that the Professor resided in. Now it felt like her tomb and she shivered as if someone was dancing on her grave.
Yuri moved forwards and kneeled in front of the professor, confusing Serena. She looked once again at the chair that Akaba sat in, built like a throne, as if this man thought that he was King. It made Serena's blood boil, she bit her lip so as to not say another word.
"You ran away once more Serena, and you seem to have stumbled upon Yuri," the Professor announced. And it seemed that his tone was accusing her of something, yet she couldn't place her hand on it.
"I was feeling suffocated in my room and I wanted to leave without your hounds trailing after me," Serena said. "I watched Yuri beat three Obelisk Force students within two turns and I got curious to see if the rumors I heard about him were true."
"Did the two of you duel then? So that you could prove yourself worthy?" The Professor asked with a tired tone, making Serena bite her tongue as Ray nudged her a bit warning her from saying anything stupid.
"No, honestly I just wanted a change of scenery and I wasn't cowardly to just avoid him like the rest of this school."
"Curious…" The Professor noted.
"It is true though, she just showed up and came to me wanting to get away from any of the other hounding dogs around, and I just thought why not? She had to have some bravery to come near me," Yuri said with a shrug.
The Professor seemed to groan and rub the bridge of his nose, not knowing what to think about the two of them being… friendly. And that's when Serena had an idea.
"Yeah he's strong enough to beat three of the most elite students right? So why doesn't he become my bodyguard?" she asked.
Yuri seemed to freeze in surprise at the suggestion and looked back at her.
"What?" The Professor asked. " Serena, you have ran away from every bodyguard assigned to you, and now you want Yuri after a few hours of knowing him?" He asked suspiciously.
"Yeah, every guard you sent my way treats me like a fragile china doll who will easily break when I could duel them to the ground and grind them to dust under my feet." Serena said, emphasizing this with a stomp of her boot. "At least Yuri seems like the guy who wouldn't think I'd break from a light breeze."
"Is that so?" the professor said, a bit amused. "Very well then, if it will make you behave more, then I'll make you a deal, you will duel your new bodyguard, if you win, Yuri will be yours, and he will accompany you everywhere, but if you lose, then you will be under his watchful eye, and you will stop demanding to go to the front lines of the war in the Xyz Dimension."
"Do I get any say in this?" Yuri asked, raising his eyebrow. "After all, professor, didn't you give me another mission?"
"If she loses, then you will have nothing to worry about," The Professor said, crossing his arms, as if he was sure that Serena will lose. "And if she wins, then she will prove herself to me as a powerful enough duelist, good enough to accompany you and retrieve the other girls, after all you did have to retreat the last time correct? And having two of you will make the win easier against a single little girl. All for the key of our Utopia."
Serena frowned. Would it be that easy to convince him? Just one win to finally get his attention? But she didn't want his attention, not any more, what she wanted was to prove herself to herself, to Ray, to the other girls, to bring back Ray and Zarc and have them right what the professor… what Akaba did, but if she wins, she does get a modicum of freedom, and she does get to be with Yuri without the need to sneak around. So, there was only one answer.
"I accept," Serena answered confidently. Her eyes met with Yuri's own, a silent reassurance on both sides. Serena knew that she was powerful in her own right, but she shouldn't underestimate whoever the professor would get to duel her.
"Very well, if she does win Yuri, then you will have to stay with her every waking moment to keep her safe, is that understood?" Akaba questioned, trying to goad him into a reaction.
Yuri sighed. "Far be it from me to disobey, Professor, I wouldn't want to babysit anyone, but if she does win, she might be able to get the other girls' trust or curiosity at the very least."
"Indeed," Akaba said, and Serena stood unwavering.
Akaba raised his arm to his chest and clicked on a few buttons.
…
…
…
Akaba took them outside into the front of the main building, students stood around wanting to watch what this was about. Yuri stood silently at attention, with his hands tucked behind his back, both of them standing behind Serena.
The man that approached was tall, he had a muscular build and an unkind face, his hair was light blue and spiky with a burn scar on the left side of his face and a black eye patch, while his visible eye was red. He wore a black wife beater with a dark green jacket, bandages over his arms, along with a name tag necklace around his neck.
So that was who her bodyguard would have been, he seemed to have gotten a lot of scars, probably from being in the war against Heartland.
"You chose Barrett?" Yuri questioned.
"Indeed, he has proven himself in the Xyz dimension to be a very powerful duelist, locking opponents from every possible way to attack."
"Hm…" Yuri said, not sure how to feel about the whole situation. He had never seen Serena duel before, and while the Obelisk Force students have had a lot of assaults from her because they kept trailing her to get her back to her room, he had never felt the need to watch or concern himself, the Professor simply was to be obeyed. He would like to kick himself for all of that.
"Don't concern yourself," Zarc's voice sounded in his ear, making Yuri relax. "Let us simply watch. Even if she loses, there are other ways to be by her side."
'Do you think that she could win?' Yuri asked.
Yuri could feel the smirk 'I have faith in my princess.'
"Lady Serena," Barret said as a leeway of greeting. "Know that I am honored to duel you, and that I will not hold back, even against you. You wish to be a part of this war, and I respect your determination and desire to prove yourself, so know then that I will not be holding back."
"I'd be quite insulted if you did," Serena replied with narrow eyes.
"I do wish you luck then, though you would not win," Barret said, making Serena grit her teeth, "But this is your chance to show if you truly are ready for a true battle."
'No, it wouldn't be that easy, the only way to get what I want, to get the bit of freedom that I want is to beat you,' Serena though, narrowing her eyes and looking at her deck. 'Get ready girls, we're going in strong."
"Duel!" Both dulests yelled, and the duel started.
(Barrett: 8000)...(Serena: 8000)
"I'll start," Barrett said, drawing a card and activating Beastborg Fusioner, I fuse together Pitch Black Werewolf and Canon Soldier!"
"Fusion Summon, Level 6 Beastborg Panther Predator!"
It was a panther with half of its body, specifically the left half was made of machine parts, with one mechanical wing, half a cap and a giant sword in his right and a giant golden spike that comes out of the normal shoulder(1600 ATK)
"Now you take damage equal to half Panther Predetor's attack!" Barrett declared, and Panther Predator crouched down showing his metal claws before running quickly and swiping at Serena.
The purple haired girl hissed and glared at the Panther, giving the monster a small pause as it went back to Barrett's side.
(Barrett: 8000)...(Serena: 7200)
"I place two cards face down and end my turn," Barrett said.
"My turn," Serena said looking at her hand, and looking back at Barrett's field, she had heard that the man used trap cards that belong to his Beastborgs in order to lock the opponent from using anything to counter him, however they do tend to target, "So," Serena though, "I better protect my monsters.
"I summon Lunalight Emerald Bird to the field!" Serena declared, placing the card on the Duel Desk. an Emerald girl with blue body, short red hair, with a round hat atop of her head, her hands sprouted blue feathery wings, she wore a blue and orange Leotard with blue frills over her shoulder and around her waist. And a half moon mask over the right side of her face (1200 ATK)
"Since Emerald Bird was summoned I get to send one Lunalight card to the graveyard and draw another card, so I send Lunalight Yellow Martin to the graveyard, and chain their effects together, Yellow Martin's effect allows me to get a Lunalight spell or trap to my hand, and I choose Lunalight Fusion," Yellow Marten's translucent image appeared and raising her hands together as Serena took Lunalight Fusion and showed it to Berret.
"Next I get to draw another card thanks to Emerald Bird's effect," Emerald Bird grinned mischievously and with a snap of her fingers Serena drew her next card.
"I'm not done yet of course," Serena said, "I use Yellow Martin's effect, so I take a Lunalight Card back to my hand, and she comes right back to the field," Serena said with a smirk, Emerald Bird waving goodbye as she disappeared with a blue light just as Yellow Martin came back, crossing her arms in defense mode, she was a cat girl with yellow fur and a pink leotard with a white center with red over her chest with a half moon brooch and a pink curvace, shoulderless pink sleeves and pink ruffles around her hips. She wore black heels and black gloves. (2000 DEF)
"Next I activate the spell card Polymerization, and fuse Lunalight Yellow Martin with Lunalight Crimson Fox!" Serena declared clasping her fingers together as the familiar orange and blue vortex appeared from behind her and Yellow Marten jumped up and another Lunalight appeared wearing red and having fox ears and tail, the two Lunalight Monsters held hands as they were taken by the Fusion Vortex.
"Yellow Cat that skips towards the moonlight, clever crimson fox with deadly claws! Spiral into the moon's gravity and become a new power! Fusion Summon! Come to me! Beautiful beast that dances in the moonlight! Fusion Summon! Lunalight Cat Dancer!"
The monster had purple skin with red long hair, purple skin tight pants and cyan fabric falling around her, with a mask over her face and a half moon purple crown on her head, along with golden hoops around her wrists and daggers in each hand, dancing into the field with the moon behind her, giving Panther predator a smirk showing her own fangs. (2400 ATK)
"First, since I used Yellow Martin's ability to get her back to the field, she is banished, for now," Serena explained placing Yellow Martin in her back pocket. "Second, since Crimson Fox was sent to the graveyard using a card effect, I can target one monster you control and their attack becomes zero!"
Barrett's eye widened as Panther Predator's attack points went down to zero, making the monster fall to his knee.
"I activate the Trap Card Beastborg Medal of the Steel Chain," Chains flew from the Trap Card, wrapping around Cat Dancer's wrests shoulders and waists making her roar in anger as her daggers fell to the ground.
"Cat Dancer!" Serena called seeing her monster chained down.
"Once per turn when you Special Summon monsters to the field they can't attack, can't be destroyed in battle and can't change her possession, and each time you get damage, your monsters lose the same amount from their attack points."
Barret explained making Serena growl and narrow his eyes at him.
"You've only used that once, remember that I have another fusion card in hand, I play another spell card, Lunalight Fusion!" Serena placed the card in the slot ready to Fusion Summon her most powerful Monster to end this quickly.
"Stop!" Barret said. "I activate the Trap Card, Cursed Seal of the Forbidden Spell!" The trap card appeared, with a broken gold seal with pink smoke coming from it. "I send one Spell Card from my hand to the graveyard and now not only is your Spell Card negated, but you can't use another card with the same name for the rest of the duel!" Barrett explained, showing the Polymerization card in his hand and sending it to the graveyard.
Serena scoffed, narrowing her eyes at Barrett and sending Lunalight Fusion to the graveyard instead. "I end my turn.
"So he locked her out of attacking, and Fusion Summoning another monster, and the only defense she got is a kitten who's about to be declawed," Yuri said. "I guess the rest of what's in her hand are monsters."
"Indeed," Akaba said with an amused smirk, Serena's Fusion monsters need themselves as a Fusion Material to become stronger. Therefore, no matter what she summons she loses a fusion monster, and the Trap Card can simply chain any Special Summoned monster.
"Professor," Yuri said.
"Yes, Yuri?"
"The Trap card can easily be removed by any back row removal, it's not that hard to get rid of it."
"...Yes that is true, but Serena's monsters have a nasty habit of avoiding destruction, so she never had any reason to place much of that removal. And Barrett's deck has a better trap yet to be used."
"What do you think?" Yuri thought.
"It's too early to tell, but I don't think that she will lose just yet" Yuri could hear the smirk in that voice. Zarc was confident in Serena, more so that the closest thing Serena had to a father, Yuri mused. "I'm not surprised, he's always been like that, never wavering about what he thought,always believing he's right, but in reality he was nothing but a stubborn man, who doesn't even know what his own daughter is capable of, it seems that that hadn't changed.
"I draw!" Barrett declared drawing a card, and I play the Equip Spell Card Fusion wopean! This adds 1500 ATK to my Panther Predator."
Panther Predator roared as his powers grew. (1600 -) 3100 ATK)
"Now I activate Panther Predetor's effect and you lose life points equal to half of its attack points!"
Panther Predator ran towards Serena jumping off of Cat Dancer and hitting a blow at Serena, making her groan, and making Cat Dancer hiss in anger."
(Barrett: 8000)...(Serena: 5650)
"And then, your monster loses the same amount of attack points," Barrett reminded her.
Cat Dancer screeched trying to get out of the chains before Panther Predator clawed at her (2400 -)1250 ATK)
"My Panther Predator hadn't attacked yet, go attack Cat Dancer now!"
Panther Predator growled at Serena's monster, with Cat Dancer hissing right back before a blow hit her, she tried to defend herself but the chain prevented her, restricting her movement and letting Panther Predator land a strong hit, making her scream.
(Barrett: 8000)...(Serena: 3800)
"And your cat loses attack points again."
Cat Dancer hissed as she lost all her attack points (1550 -) 0 ATK)
"I end my turn."
"That's quite the show," Zarc said.
"What do you mean?" Yuri asked.
"A bit of advice, Yuri. A deck and its monsters are a reflection of its owner's. They put part of their souls into it. Now look at the kitten, declawed and depowered and yet she doesn't flinch away from the battle, she hisses, she fights with everything. It shows who Serena truly is - beaten and broken, she will fight her battles to the end."
"Everyone here sees what the professor wants them to see, Serena has always been nothing more than the precious princess, no matter how many students she beat, she was never truly acknowledged by anyone.
"Well then, we shall certainly change that."
"My turn," Serena said glaring at Barrett drawing a card. "And this is where the duel ends."
"Are you going to admit defeat then?" Barret asked. Serena laughed, strong and confident, her shoulders shaking as she smirked at Barrett.
"Not on your life," she declared before taking a card from her hand and showing the Field Spell Fusion Recycling Plant.
"Fusion Summoning again will not help you," Barrett said, his eye narrowing.
Serena smirked. "We'll see about that," she said and activated Fusion Recycling Plant. The sky turned into night as a huge factory rose from the ground behind Serena with three towers, two of which emitting a strange sparkling substance, with mechanical parts all over the place scattered and placed in a giant pile in the background.
"Uh…" A student said.
"I don't think this is gonna be good," another student whispered.
"Oh shut up, the princess wouldn't be able to beat Barret that easily."
Serena ignored the whispers and continued her turn "I activate Fusion Recycling plant and send Emerald bird from my hand to the graveyard," Serena said, sending the card to the graveyard.
"I chain the effects of Emerald Bird and Fusion Recycling plant, since Emerald Bird was sent to the graveyard by a card effect I get to Special Summon back a monster either in my graveyard or banished and I think I might as well bring back Sweet Yellow Martin."
Yellow Martin Jumped back into the field in Defense Mode purring and licking her hand before grooming herself and then smirking as she looked at Panther Predator and Barrett. (2000 DEF)
"If you think that you can waste this card on simply Special Summoning, it won't work, Beastborg Medal of the Steel Chain is activated not triggered," Barret explained.
Serena however didn't lose the smirk. "Next I use the Spell Card, Luna Light Perfume, so I can Special Summon another Monster from my graveyard," Serena said, placing the card in the slot. "So come on back Lunalight Crimson Fox!"
The red lunalight jumps into the field showing her claws (1800 ATK)
Yuri tilts his head.
"What is she planning?" Akaba asked.
"Hmm," Zarc hummed.
"What is it?" Yuri thought back at Zarc.
"She has some good retrieval abilities, and she has a good two level 4 monsters on the field, if she had any Xyz card she could easily Xyz summon."
"But she's not going to," Yuri said.
"No, I think she has something else in mind…"
"Next I banish Luna light Perfume and send Lunalight Serenade Dance from my hand to the graveyard so that I can take one Lunalight Monster to my hand, and I choose, Lunalight White Rabbit."
"Rabbit? What does she do?" Yuri asked, looking at the Akaba to see him frowning.
"Now, I summon Lunalight White Rabbit to the field!"
The small minster had long white ears on top of her head with long white hair that reached down her legs which parted into two parts, ending with two golden cuffs on each side of her hair connecting her hair once more, she wore a dark blue jumpsuit with green linings and white fabrik over her chest along with a white jacket with green linings and long sleeves that ended with white fabric that ended up with golden orbs decorating them, a half moon brooch on it and a mask that covered both of her eyes with a long white hammer, decorated with golden hexagons on the mallet (800 ATK)
"A bunny? Oh come on what can she do?" a student asked.
"With all that provado you'd think she actually has something useful."
Serena laughed before petting White Rabbit who giggled, holding her hammer to her chest, smiling adorably.
"First off as soon as she's summoned, she can bring back another Lunalight Monster from the graveyard, so come on back Lunalight Emerald Bird!"
Emerald Bird jumped in the air before landing back to the ground and crossing her arms as she kneeled into defense mode. (1000 DEF)
"Now I activate White Rabbit's second effect, for every Lunalight Monster on the field I can return one Spell or Trap card on the field to your hand.
"What?!" Barret yelled and Serena Smirked.
White Rabbit jumped up flying past Panther Predator and with her hammer she flung all three Spell and Trap cards back to Barrett's hand, smirking at the man before hopping back To Serena's side.
Panther Predator's attack went back to what it was (3100-)1600 ATK)
Cat Dancer was finally rid of the chain and her attack went back to normal (0-)2400 ATK)
"Now even Lunalight Fox can destroy your panther, but no, I'm not the merciful you see, and I'm not giving you a chance to survive" Serena said. "So how about I introduce you to my Panther warrior."
Several students gulped, being very familiar with that particular dancer.
Serena took one of the cards in her hand and revealed it as the Polymerization card she obtained from the Field Spell. "I activate the spell Card, Polymerization! And I fuse Lunalight Cat Dancer and Crimson Fox together! "
"Beautiful beast that dances in the moonlight!Clever crimson fox with deadly claws! Spiral into the moon's gravity and become a new power! Fusion Summon! Come to me! Supple beast that dances through moonlit fields! Lunalight Panther Dancer!" Serena chanted bringing her hands together as another Fusion Vortex opened behind her.
A maroon skinned Beast-Warrior with black straight and short hair wearing a blue and white corset and white fur decorating the outlines of her chest, blue gloves with white palms, and two golden hoops decorating her arms and sharp looking claws. She had pink strips of fabric strips of cloth falling down her back and her legs were purple that ended in three toes with black claws. Her black tail lashed out like a whip as she smirked at Panther Predator (2800 ATK)
"And since Crimson Fox was sent to the graveyard by a card effect, you know what that means," Serena reminded Barrett with a smirk. "Your little panther's attack becomes 0."
Panther Predetor's attack went down as a see through Crimson Fox ran through him.
(1600-)0 ATK)
"My how the tables have turned," Yuri said.
"Your monsters might be strong, but you won't defeat me so easily, I will still have life points left after that and fusion materials back once you destroy my monster, then I'll be summoning a more powerful monster."
"No, that's not gonna happen you see," Serena said. "Now the wording is gonna be a little complicated so listen up," she continued looking at the other students around them. "Once Per turn I can activate this effect, Your monsters get to survive the battle once, Panther Dancer gets to attack each and all of them twice, and each time she destroys a monster, she gets 200 attack points until the end of this turn."
Barrett's eye widen, meaning Serena can destroy every monster that he can summon, even if he was able to swarm the field, which he really couldn't.
"Next, I send Lunalight Purple Butterfly to the graveyard and add 1000 ATK points to Panther Dancer!"
A purple aura surrounded Panther Dancer for a moment as her attack points increased and she roared in triumph.
(2800-)3800 ATK)
"Let's end this duel Shall we? Panther Dancer attack Panther Predator!"
Panther Dancer sprinted towards the Beastborg monster and slashed at him.
Barrett yelled as he lost life points
(Barrett: 4200)...(Serena: 3800)
"And again!" Serena said and Panther Dancer slashed once more at the Beastborg destroying it.
(Barrett: 400)...(Serena: 3800)
"Beastborg Panther Predetor's effect activates, since it was destroyed by battle and all of its fusion materials are in the graveyard I get to special Summon them!" Barret said, and special Summoned Pitch Black Werewolf
A dark wolf man with brown marks on his face and braces over his arms and legs, along with a brown tattered cape and a sword with a red hilt kneeled in front of Barrett facing Panther Dancer appeared and kneeled in defense mode. (600 DEF)
And Canon Soldier was also summoned in defense; it was a robot with simplistic shapes colored purple chest, green joints, and yellow middle. (1300 DEF)
"That's… not gonna work…" another student pointed out.
"I guess you didn't understand my monster's effect well," Serena said.
"What?" Barrett asked.
"Panther Dancer can attack all of your monsters, go, my beautiful beast and destroy all his monsters!"
Panther Dancer slashed and hit and kicked the two destroying them before jumping up and spinning in the air back to Serena's side.
Barrett, who had to protect himself from the dust that happened because of Panther Dancer destroying his monsters, looked back at Serena and back at his field and his duel Desk.
"The duel is not over yet," Barrett said.
Serena snorted. "Yes it is, there is a monster that hasn't attacked yet!"
"What are you…?" Barrett loomed at the field and froze his eyes wide.
"White Rabbit? Give us one more hop and end this duel!"
White Rabbit giggled as she hopped towards Barret with nothing stopping her, before she jumped high up in the air, with everyone looking at her before her foot hit the soldier right in the face, ending the duel.
(Barrett: 0)...(Serena: 3800)
Serena stood proud with her hand on her hip, grinning as students cheered and whistled, looked to the side she saw Yuri clapping for her, and the Professor looked put upon. He had to fulfil the end of the bargain now.
The Professor sighed as he walked towards Serena, speaking to her and to the students of Academia. "You've done well, Serena, you have proved that you are a powerful duelist in your own right, therefore, I will start considering that you join our efforts in building a Utopia. And as promised, Yuri will be your bodyguard now."
Serena smiled as Yuri came closer giving her a little bow sharing a smirk with her.
"Thank you Professor," Serena said, her eyes still locked with Yuri's.
…
…
…
Serena walked back to her room with Yuri walking one step behind her, as she reached her door two of the Obelisk Force students swallowed, she wasn't sure of it was fear of her or fear of Yuri but she was satisfied by it nonetheless.
She opened her door and took a few steps in. As Yuri walked behind her, one of the students tried to stop them.
"For-forgive us Yuri-sama, but do you have permission from the Professor to-"
"He's my new bodyguard," Serena said firmly, startling the two of them, making shivers of fear run down their bodies.
"I-is that true?" A student with a red Jewel asked Yuri just to be sure.
Yuri smirked making the two students flinch. "Yes, it's true, you two may leave, I'm more than strong enough to protect Lady Serena," Yuri said, dismissing them both.
"Bu-but sir-"
Yuri's glare was enough to shut both of them up.
"Y-yes sir...m-my lady…" the two of them ran away as if the devil himself was chasing them.
Serena threw herself on the bed.
"Are you okay?" Yuri asked.
"Yeah I just… feel overwhelmed," she confessed.
"Was the duel against Barrett that tough it seemed-"
"Huh! Please, the duel was easier than I expected, I didn't even have to use Crimson Fox' second effect."
Yuri raised his eyebrow, he could ask about the second effect but he could leave that for later. "Then what's wrong?"
"None of it feels… real… everything is happening in the blink of an eye, I'm… I'm angery, frustrated, scared, after everything that I've learned, my world is upside down, and with just one duel I made you my bodyguard and gave myself some freedom, but it doesn't feel real, like everything is off, like the Professor is going to walk in and say that he didn't mean anything, and that he'll be watching me even more… I… I still want him… want someone to be proud of me! And for so long it's been the Professor who I wanted that respect and acknowledgment from and now… now I feel like a foolish kid."
"You know, there is someone very proud of you Serena," Yuri said.
"And who's that?" Serena asked skeptically, looking away.
Yuri's hand was gently placed over her head, making her look up… only not to be met with Yuri's usual amethyst eyes, but eyes made of gold.
"I quite am, my dear." Zarc said.
Serena's eyes widened as Zarc patted her head with a sweet smile on his...Yuri's face, the voice was completely different, a bit more mature than Yuri's, a bit deeper, both familiar and unfamiliar at the same time. "You did amazing Serena, you have far exceeded my expectations and I am quite proud of you, as is Ray I am sure."
"I… it… it was nothing I…" a faint blush appeared on Serena's face, not used to this kind of affection… or any affection really. Zarc patting her head like that felt strange yet… really pleasant and nice.
"I've had confidence in you from the start, but winning that quickly, snatching victory from defeat, fighting ferocious and wild just like your monsters, you were simply magnificent, and I can't wait to see you grow stronger."
Serena's eyes widened, and just as she could say anything Zarc placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. Serena froze as she looked at Zarc, giving her a gentle smile, no hint of a lie or condescension.
Serena's shoulders started to shake as everything finally crashed down on her, and tears fell down her cheeks, she gasped a breath as tears started running down her cheeks as she started wailing.
Zarc's eyes widened before taking Serena into his arms and started running his hand through her hair, letting the ponytail down. Serena clung to Zarc and buried her head in his neck. "Shh it's gonna be alright," he whispered to Serena, hugging her tightly.
Serena could feel Ray's presence there as well, giving her comfort, as if also hugging her tightly with Zarc, and she understood what Yuri ment; she could feel Ray's bride in her, true bride, happiness and excitement overwhelm her, giving her emotions she never before had the chance to feel. She was not used to feeling these things, uncertain and afraid, the need to run and yet wanting to stay, wanting to stay in this comfort, to be hugged again, to be kissed again, she wanted it so much. She hugged Zarc loser as more and more tears continued to fall, with Zarc running his hand through her hair as he kept whispering to her that everything will be okay, that all of them will get what they want and need and nothing will stand in their way to fix everything.
…
…
…
She had stopped crying for a few minutes now, but she didn't leave Zarc's arms.
"Are you feeling better?" Zarc asked, rubbing his hands through her hair gently.
"A...a bit," Serena answered.
Zarc gave her a smile. An honest-to-goodness sincere smile. "That's alright, you've been through a lot in the past few days; all this change must be hard. You are incredibly strong but you're still a child."
Serena wiped the tears from her face. "You're...you're really good at this," she said with a small smile.
"Yeah, Ray and I were each other's pillars, my parents were never around, and hers… might as well have not been either, so when she needed me, I was there, comforting her, loving her, like she deserved, and she always did the same for me."
"He's right," Serena heard Ray whisper. "Zarc and I were each other's everything, a best friend, a shoulder to cry on,someone to share the pain and joy with, we were always there for one another, while the world faded away for us, we became the most important thing to the other."
"Serena, you are a strong girl, we trust you and Yuri to maintain this lie for Akaba, and grow stronger until you can bring us back, and once you do, everyone on this island will pay for what they did, Heartland and its people will be back to the way that they were before just as Ruri and Yuto desire. Rin and Yugo will obtain the life that they've always wanted, away from the constant worry about having enough money to live, and Yuzu and Yuya will be protected and happy. And you will get the ultimate freedom, people will never underestimate you again, you will have power beyond your wildest dreams, and you will have us, you and Yuri will never have to be alone again, do you understand? This is what we're working towards, these are your new motivations, do you understand my dear?"
Serena looked into Zarc's golden eyes and nodded. Zarc chuckled and smiled widely at Serena giving her another tight hug, and placing another kiss on the side of Serena's head. "Now we'll be here when any of you need us, no matter how small a matter is, you can come to us,"
A few tears fell down Serena's cheek, giving Zarc a small smile. Zarc whipped them out gently and let Serena rest her head on his shoulder.
A few minutes later as Serena felt better, she felt a small shift, looking abc at Zarc she saw that the golden eyes were replaced with Yuri's usual amethyst eyes, he looked unsure of what to do, she knew that she was hardly given affection, but Yuri… he probably had had it worse than even her.
Serena wasn't an affectionate person, that she knew. She wasn't used to it at all, she had hardened herself in order to prove that she wasn't some spoiled little girl who couldn't do anything by herself. She couldn't imagine what Yuri had, the respect and fear were one thing, but the lack of any affection, love and comfort was another.
Serena wrapped her arms around Yuri's neck, giving him a tight hug, for his own benefit, as well as hers.
Yuri's eyes widened in confusion. For a few seconds he wasn't sure what to do or how to respond. With a small nudge from Zarc, Yuri relaxed and hugged her back. Another strange warm feeling filled his chest. It was soft and gentle, nothing as spine chilling or as mind numbing as the power and sensations from Zarc's powers and the darkness, but this… this felt nice, really nice.
Yuri closed his eyes leaning more towards Serena and hugging her tighter, a genuine smile touching his lips. He'd like this feeling to stay too.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0
Ever since Serena's days have been easy going for her, she would stay in her room or head out of the door with Yuri and walk around talking or head to his personal garden. She would sometimes ask about the plants and flowers and Yuri would answer her usually. Frustration would eat at Serena at times though so she would find someone to duel and Yuri would watch dutifully and with great amusement as Serena beat duelist after duelist. Considering that all of her monsters were Dark attributed they would be easy to use if the two of them ever teamed up together to duel. Which from where Yuri was looking, they didn't need at all.
It was the beginning of another day and Serena stirred in her bed, having a strange feeling. She opened her eyes looking into the cream colored ceiling for a few seconds before hearing a small sound of purring. Confused, Serena sat up and raised her eyebrow looking around her room before she noticed something strange by her feet.
A transparent yellow and black striped tail with a pink bow on it was waving lazily in the air and moving around.
"What the - !" Serena yelled before a head poked through the end of her bed, the small monster smiled, it was a cute yellow and black striped thing, with a small fang that poked out over…her lip.
Serena was overly confused but refused to scream and alarm any of the Obelisk Force to come in. She might tell Yuri about this later, but she wasn't gonna let any other student know about this. The monster smiled widely before jumping on Serena's bed and crawled closer to ...she purred and dropped herself over Serena, wrapping her hands -which Serena saw had huge claws- around her.
Serena tensed for a few seconds before realizing that the cute little monster was hugging and nuzzling her, purring softly. Serena took a good look at the monster, seeing the half moon mask over her face and the other pink bows over her wrists.
"Are you… a new Lunalight?" she asked.
The new Lunalight looked up to Serena and nodded.
"That's strange, Ray didn't say anything about even more cards," Serena muttered, even though she was excited about having more monsters. "Huh what is it?" she asked, looking through her extra deck to find her new monster.
"That's strange, you're not in here… and you're a little small to be an Extra Deck monster aren't you?"
The monster mewed a little, placing her head on Serena's lap, who tried to pet her, but pouted since her new monster was intangible. "Hmm, you must be a main deck monster then," Serena concluded before grabbing her main deck and searching through it.
"Oh there you are, Lunalight Tiger," Serena said with a smile, Tiger's cute smile widened more, and her purring became higher. Serena looked at the card and at the one after it to see yet another new Lunalight monster.
"Lunalight Wolf," Serena said, blinking before the other monster materialized beside her as well, making Serena gasp and stare at the monster before grinning excitedly. She looked at the cards and was confused by them, they looked quite strange, they were red and green with strange numbers under what seemed like arrow heads on each side and the cards were orange and green.
"W...what are these strange cards?" Serena wondered.
"They're called Pendulum cards," Serena heard Ray speak with a strange giddiness in her voice.
"Pendulum? Is that another summoning method from another dimension? Why weren't these cards in the extra deck?" Serena asked.
"Well, yes and no," Ray said unhelpfully. "I'll explain in a few hours. For now hide these, and don't let anyone except Yuri see them, especially not Leo, understood?"
Serena nodded. "Yes Ray."
"Good, you'll see all of us again soon, Serena."
Serena smiled and nodded, she really liked the other girls. Serena smiled as she got out of bed and began her morning routine, washing her face and brushing her teeth as she reflected on the past few weeks. She used to think that she was fine on her own, that she didn't need anyone's help. She had to prove herself to the Professor in order to show that she was a capable girl, she was questioned on several decisions and denied several requests to the point that she wanted to yell. But the girls never question her abilities or power, they often question her thoughts and ideas but it would be more in a general sense of what she was thinking and how she came to these conclusions.
Yuzu would always be sweet and supportive and is often the mediator, she loved flowers especially the way that they could come together to form a rainbow of colors over the ground as sunlight washed over them, and was very acrobatic. Yuzu once had said that if the girls do come to Standard, she would cook them a big meal, Rin had offered to help since she and Yugo had needed to learn and improvise with ingredients that they had in their home all the time, Ruri on the other hand said that she could apparently burn water and that she was forbidden from entering any kitchen ever again. Serena herself had never been in an actual kitchen before… well, to try and cook that is.
Ruri would often be stressed with hints of fear inside of her because of the war being waged around her but the four of them get her to relax and get her to start teasing but does so very in a way that never gets on Serena's or on anyone's nerves. Back before the war Ruri would love visiting coffee shops and hanging out with some of the girls around, she loved making new styles with her hair and when she and her brother Shun would visit the park to hang out with friends she would have been the first to try and climb a tree just for the hell of it.
Rin was always highly sarcastic and deadpan though she was never truly mean, she loved winter most of all, the cold winds, the sounds of rain hitting the windows, and she loved thunderstorms. She said that she would turn the lights off and pull out some candles to watch a movie with Yugo while they drink hot cocoa and watch horror or action movies.
It made her happy to get to know these girls, but it also showed her how much of the world she was missing, how much she was denied and shielded from, and she wanted to try it all now, the movies, the strange food and snacks, riding on a D-wheel, having sleepovers, even singing karaoke with friends… She wanted friends.
And Ray and Zarc? They promised it all; to give them all the dimensions as their playgrounds, to be free of all these chinese placed on them by the Professor, by the worlds and by powers that don't care for any of them, and she couldn't wait to break them all.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0
Yuri had been summoned to the Professor's… throne room, at this point Yuri had lost any pretences of what it was. It had been a few weeks since Serena had defeated Barret and had gotten a modicum of freedom. Yuri was expected to give a report every now and again about Serena and her whereabouts, and unsurprisingly he seemed to be the most successful bodyguard that Serena had had in the past several years, considering the fact that you know, she doesn't run from him.
Yuri reached the room and went inside standing in front of the professor before bowing to him then giving the man his usual smirk.
"You've asked to see me Professor?" Yuri asked, wanting this meeting over quickly.
"Indeed. How have you been keeping up with Serena? You are often seen together simply...talking," Akaba said.
'So is that what he wants? Someone spying closely on Serena?'
"Lady Serena is doing fine. She doesn't seem rebellious when there are hardly any constrictions around to rebel at," Yuri replied. Serena hasn't done anything a normal girl wouldn't do; she would leave her room to eat or get some air, go for walks or enter the library. Had she really been forbidden from doing any of that without a body guard? No wonder the girl was so uptight all the time, if she needed to prove herself capable just to get out of her room it'd drive anyone up the wall.
"You seem to be the only body guard that she has taken any… liking to."
"That's probably because I don't treat her like a fragile china doll."
Akaba frowned. "All I want is to protect Serena, I see her as if she was my own daughter after all."
"That's not the good thing he thinks it is," Zarc snarked, the dislike and hatred from him was bubbling inside of Yuri, the desire to harm and destroy getting stronger, yet both of them take care not to show it or act on it.
"Far be it from me to disagree, Professor, and I am doing what I can to keep her safe from anything that she can't handle on her own." 'Which at this point was nothing.' Yuri thought.
"Of course," Akaba agreed. "You will soon head with her to Standard in order to retrieve the Yuzu once more, but I don't expect these girls to stay willingly or not try to escape, or for other people to come looking for them, after all the people from the Xyz dimension are getting craftier and more ruthless, and I do not believe that they would let one of their own simply get taken."
"Indeed, there is no question that these girls would fight back," a new voice said, from the shadows came an old man in a lab coat with white hair that reaches down his shoulder with dark bags under his eyes, grinning insanely like a mad doctor.
"Yuri, this is the Doktor, and he has offered a solution to deal with… our soon to be rebellious guest," Akaba said.
"And we found a perfect solution for such a thing," he said in a high pitched voice before reaching into one of his pockets and producing a glass jar with a brown bug inside of it. Each side had three pink eyes, and three legs with a tail that ends with a stinger.
Yuri raised his eyebrow at the thing, waiting for more elaboration on it.
"This is my greatest creation yet," the Doktor said with a mad chuckle. "The Fusion Parasite."
"Fusion Parasite?" Yuri asked, raising his eyebrow. "Indeed, their card is perfect for Fusion decks, and more than that, my Parasite can crawl into its victim's brain and take control of them. No loved ones would matter, no thoughts of their own could override the control, and all they'll ever desire is to please the professor. Simply mindless good little girls under my absolute control thanks to these parasites! What do you think of, Predaplant Duelist?"
"I think they're quite disgusting," Yuri replied in a board tone.
Fury took over the Doktor's face and replaced the smug joy he had, his hands balled into fists as he stomped the ground. "Why you little-"
"That's enough, thank you Doktor, if the girls do prove to be more trouble than anticipated then these Parasites would be perfect to use."
"Indeed, and even if their loved ones so much as managed to get to come in and try to free them, the girls would fight them themselves! And they'd love every minute of it" The Doktor explained with a manic grin on his face and started laughing.
Yuri felt the rage and hatred coming from Zarc in waves, Zarc had grown protective over these girls, he already had the connection to them through Ray as if they were her little sisters, he could easily see the differences and similarities each of these girls had to Ray and to each other through the boys' eyes, and he had grown to adore each and everyone of them.
These Parasites sickened him, to take all the control and choice from the girls, to turn them into mindless drones, into little dolls to do with as the sick bastard desired made Zarc see crimson red. He wanted to grow his claws out and slit the Doktor's throat before spitting on his face as the man bleeds to death, he probably would have done it too if it didn't disturb their plans.
It would be easy to simply kill Akaba right now, but that wouldn't do, Zarc still needed the boys to fall in line and follow his words, and if peace comes then that won't happen, Zarc and Ray needed to return, and after that revenge is inevitable. Ray needed to know about this, immediately.
Akaba gave Yuri a few more commands, telling him that soon they would send a spy to infiltrate Standard in order to gather information and changes, he had not expected Reiji to bring other Summoning Methods to the Standard Dimension, therefore, he needed someone to infiltrate the place, who wouldn't be suspected of anything while Yuri and Serena work together to start collecting the other girls.
In the Professor's mind Serena would be too stubborn to listen to anyone who isn't the professor, after all the only thing that she wanted was his attention, so following his orders would be all she would want. A week ago that logic would have been sound a week ago, but not anymore, and Yuri wasn't about to alarm Akaba about such a thing.
Akaba dismissed him, and Yuri gave a bow, with one last smug smirk at the Doktor he headed to see Serena and warn Lady Ray of what the Professor had planned.
…
…
…
Yuri knocked on Serena's door before entering it.
Serena was looking through her two new monsters marveling at the orange and green borders and arrows on the sides, trying to come up with new strategies of how to use them. When she heard the knocks on the door, she looked back as Yuri came in looking… well the best word to describe him would be a mix of being disturbed and infuriated, his eyes getting a strange sparkling glow, as if turning into a galaxy.
"Serena," he said after a small pause. "Could I possibly talk to Lady Ray through you?" He said seriously.
"Of course, Yuri...but what's…"
"I need to talk to her at once."
"...Alright," Serena replied in confusion before standing up, she blinked a few times before she felt herself falling slowly and sat in the garden that all the girls gathered in. Serena sighed before a small sound came from around her. Serena looked around before something jumped up and tackled Serena to the grass. Serena was ready for a fight before she froze seeing a familiar looking monster lying over her.
"Mew," Lunalight Blue Cat replied before she leapt towards her master. The blue-haired Beast-Warrior purred and nuzzled Serena happily, licking her face once before settling in on Serena's lap, tail swishing happily. The purple haired girl gasped as she placed her hand over Blue Cat's hair and started petting her, making the cat purr happily in her arms. One by one, her other Lunalights arrived to keep her company until Ray and Yuri were done talking.
"This is...amazing…" Serena whispered. She didn't have many friends, except for them. And unlike most duelists who blamed their cards for their downfall, Serena was grateful for her Lunalights being there for her.
Many of her Lunalights came closer, nuzzling Serena or petting her. White Rabbit was apparently pounding on something with Crimson Fox flipping something around in a wooden bucket as White Rabbit increased the pounding. After ten rounds of this, Crimson Fox pulled out some white doughy blob and handed it to Serena.
"A rice cake?" asked Serena, recalling where White Rabbit's inspiration came from. White Rabbit nodded happily with a cute smile on her face while Crimson Fox gave her a toothy grin. Serena smiled, taking the rice ball in thanks. It wasn't real - it was all in her mind and she probably couldn't really eat it - but she tried anyway making her Lunalights grin wider at their mistress taking this offering.
She had put her heart and soul into making her deck. She loved her monsters with all her heart. Together they were strong, and they've never failed her before. As long as she had them, she would never lose trust in them or their powers. Was this how the other girls felt about their monsters too? Probably; after all, Rin, Ruri and Yuzu always talk about their own cards adoringly.
The rest of the Lunalights began to play as well, with Fox chasing Rabbit, or even Panther Dancer chasing the others, and Leo Dancer pouncing at Yellow Marten from out of nowhere. With even Tiger and Wolf joining in, even though they were new they were as playful as the rest of the monsters, making a place for themselves between the others while the other Lunalights welcome them with open arms. Serena couldn't help but giggle and enjoy every minute of it… before getting dragged into these games as well, running and dancing alongside her monsters unaware yet of the conversation happening between Yuri and Ray.
…
…
...
"They created a what?!" Ray said between disgust and horror, her eyes wide before twitching with anger.
"A parasite, my lady," Yuri replied, dutifully reflecting the same emotions that Ray seemed to have. "Meant to take control of the girls, and keep them obedient to Professor Akaba. In his words, no loved ones would matter, no thoughts of their own could override the control, and all they'll ever desire is to please the professor."
"That disgusting piece of filth! I should rip his heart out with my fucking bare hands and feed it to my Sirens while he watches as he dies," Ray snarled, a dark aura surrounding he. She seemed to pause and narrow her eyes before turning back to Yuri. "Tell me something my dear."
"Yes?"
"Did that Doktor happen to tell you if these parasites would harm the girls in any way?"
"Harm them? No, my lady, I don't think that he would consider Akaba wants the girls alive, and he did order me not to harm them."
"Yes, he might want the girls unharmed… physically, mentally however?"
"You think the Parasite could harm the girls," Yuri stated and Ray nodded.
"You love nature right Yuri? And these things are classified as Parasites, correct?" Ray began and Yuri nodded. "Tell me, once a parasite is attached to a host what is their prime directive?"
"To feed off of the host, or to multiply," Yuri said, realizing what Ray meant. "You think these parasites would feed on the girls if they are attached to them."
"Yes," Ray replied. "Parasites need a host to survive and function, they take from the host and don't give anything back that is the definition of a parasitic relation. These Parasites are small so their effects will not show quickly, but soon enough as they feed on the brain, the host would start to weaken, higher brain functions would shut down slowly, bodies remain as healthy as possible for the parasite to take from more, and by the end, in a few weeks, or maybe even months, the hosts are mindless husks kept alive by these parasites until the usefulness ends."
"So why would the Professor even agree to something like that?" Yuri asked.
"Either he doesn't know, or simply doesn't care. And based on everything he's done so far, I'd believe the latter. He also could believe that he would revive me soon so whether or not these parasites actually do any permanent harm is irrelevant."
"Maybe the Parasites aren't that dangerous, you can't actually know," Yuri suggested, all of what Lady Ray said sounded reasonable enough and could be true, but they had no evidence of it, the Doktor did not see fit to explain every intricate detail of what these Parasites would do and for that he was grateful, he'd rather squash these things with his boots than see them being used. Yuri had called these Parasites disgusting to the Doktor's face in the most bored tone he could manage. How infuriating it made the old fossil gave Yuri a sense of satisfaction.
"Maybe," Ray said, crossing her arms. "But I'm certainly not gonna give those fucking pieces of shit bastards the opportunity to find out!" Ray's eyes glowed and a dark aura surrounded her, a few scales appeared on Serena's body, over her cheek and on her wrists. It reminded Yuri a bit of the scales that were on the Sirens' skins.
"Ray, not yet," Zarc said, taking over Yuri, and placing his hand on Ray's shoulder, and placing two fingers over her chin.
"I'm going to murder them both!"
"Once we are whole again, you can unleash the worst punishment, the most horrible tortures you can think of, but you have to be patient."
Ray snarled and backed away from Zarc fuming with hatred and anger. "You're right," she growled, scowling, her extended nails looked sharp enough to cut someone's throat, but she bawled her hand into a fist, receding her claws. "I'm going to tell the girls this. It's better if we're all prepared for everything mentally, me included, and I don't want what happened with Rin to happen again."
"Of course my love," Zarc said, walking closer and placing a kiss on Ray's lips. "You take care of these girls when I can't."
Ray nodded. "Do the same for these boys too," she replied. Zarc nodded, giving her another kiss before returning the control back to Yuri.
"Thank you for informing me Yuri," Ray said before giving Yuri a hug. Yuri's eyes widened a bit before smiling and hugging her back, resting his chin tentatively on Ray's shoulder. "And one more thing," she said with a smirk.
Yuri gasped as power flared inside him again, giving him a heady feeling as power and darkness spread through his veins. He was panting and smiling by the end of it, a little high on the power.
Ray smirked. "Once we return, this power will and much more will be yours and your other counterparts, now we wait until the other boys take Zarc's powers and darkness as their own as well, and everything will settle into place."
Yuri chuckled. "I'm quite curious to meet them now. I wonder if they will be fun to play with."
Ray matched it. "You'll get to know soon enough, I'm sure," she replied and caressed Yuri's cheek affectionately. "As for me, I'm going to need to inform my girls of this… disgusting development. And Yuri, always keep vigilant."
"Of course, my lady," Yuri said with a nod as Ray returned Serena back to her body to stew over the information, she would tell the girls later that night, they needed to know and plan ahead.
...
…
...
"What?!"
"What?!"
"WHAT?!"
"Are you fucking kidding me?!"
Ray had gathered the girls that night to inform them about the Parasite ordeal, needless to say their reactions were as volatile as hers had been, even worse.
"Parasites to control us! Are you fucking kidding me?!" Rin yelled.
Serena screamed in anger and frustration, while Yuzu looked like she was about to throw up, and Ruri hugged herself looking extremely pale.
"I feel like I need a fucking shower," Rin said, rubbing her arms in disgust. "As if I didn't hate bugs enough."
"It's disgusting," Yuzu wailed, wanting to scream and go to that so-called Doktor to give him an ass kicking.
"I can't believe I actually thought that the Professor was a great man once, he actually-" Serena started to say, full of anger, hatred and revolution before Ruri cut her off with a scream.
Tears started to fall down Ruri's cheeks and her body started shaking before she let out a scream startling everyone and placing all of their attention on Ruri as she started to hit the ground with her fists.
"Ruri…" Ray whispered as the black haired girl kept crying fear and anger and disgust coming off of her in waves.
"I HATE HIM, I HATE HIM! He comes to our dimension and invades it, destroys it until no home is left untouched, the people are sad and broken and homeless. And now this?! Taking everything from me, even my own mind and body would be invaded and violated by disgusting parasites to be toyed with and used! I would fight Yuto or Shun or any of my friends on his orders and I'd be happy about it," Ruri spat. "I hate him! I fucking hate him! I want him to suffer! I want him to break! I want him to fucking die!" she screamed like a wailing banshee.
"I know Ruri, I know," Ray said soothingly kneeling in front of Ruri and placing her hand comfortably over her cheek. "He will suffer, I promise you that, he will pay for everything that he's done, death is too good for that man, you will take your revenge on him, I swear," Ray vowed, hugging Ruri tightly who continued to scream and cry. Rin, Yuzu and Serena came closer, also hugging Ruri and each other as she wailed.
They all knew one thing, every person who had ever hurt them, every person who had caused them pain, tried to control their lives, is going to find themselves in hell, in pain and agony for everything that they've done or attempted to do. Academia and Leo Akaba would be the first to burn to ash.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0
Serena didn't leave her room without Yuri for days, fear and disgust was masked by anger and the occasional 'sickness'. Leaving Serena alone since technically she was in the sights of her own bodyguard most of the time, and wasn't that a novel concept? Yuri had always been vicious, a natural predator, he always seemed so strong and ready to attack, only acting politely to their superiors.
With Serena however, he seemed actually friendly. They were few and far between but genuine smiles did seem to grace their faces at times, as they talked and whispered between themselves.
Serena was walking through the library looking through some books, some of them had several empty pages, others had words erased while some contained strange Duel Monsters that no one had heard of before. Rumors said some of the teachers could understand or make some sense of what these books, but not all of it, which was why public displays of these books were acceptable, and if any of the students were to figure out what these books talked about they should inform one of the teachers, for extra credit of course.
Serena had caught a strange name of a monster called Yubel just as Yuri arrived cutting her off. "Lady Serena," Yuri greeted as he strood towards her with his usual smirk on his face. "I bring wondrous news," he said with an overdramatic bow, making Serena stifle a snicker.
"Oh? Do tell," she said closing the book and placing it back on the shelf.
"The Professor summoned us. We are to head to Standard, effective immediately."
Serena grinned, she was so excited at finally leaving this dreary place which she had come to loathe even more, wanting to choke or punch any student that came within two feet of her. Luckily Ray and Yuri would usually be there to stop her… unless either of them was looking for some entertainment… Mostly Yuri.
"Finally!" Serena shrieked before pausing and giving a sigh. "Wait who's coming with us?" she asked with a deadpan look on her face. Akabe did say that he intended to send a spy with them, to do his own research of the dimension, and whoever the spy was would surely disturb any plants that the two of them had.
"A fun little boy called Sora Shun'in," Yuri replied with his usual smirk.
"Fun?" Serena asked, raising her eyebrow, not sure what Yuri ment.
"You'll see. Now come on," Yuri said and Serena followed, excited to finally leave Academia and be somewhere else, away from the students, the teachers and especially the Professor.
They reached the outside of the main building where a younger boy who looked around twelve years old seemed to be waiting as he leaned against the wall with his hands behind his head and a… lollipop in his mouth.
He noticed them and stood straight. "Yuri and the lady Serena," the boy greeted.
"Sora Shun'in, are you ready then?" Yuri asked.
"Yep." Sora answered before looking at Serena, not sure what her role was in all of this. All the Professor told him was that Yuri would inform them both of any extra orders that were given to all of them. "But what about her? The professor didn't exactly preife her on what to do."
"Lady Serena knows what her mission is, she will accompany you for spying while she looks for a certain important person there, and you will provide her back up if she needs it."
".. Of course," Sora said. "What about you?" he asked looking at Yuri.
"I have a different mission that I need to accomplish," Yuri replied. "But I will also be keeping an eye on Lady Serena when I am able."
"Alright then," Sora said with a nod accepting these information as if coming from the Professor himself.
"So this mission is going to take a few days if not weeks, where are we staying?" Serena asked.
"We'll get a hotel room or a few," Yuri replied.
Serena nodded before she paused for a second looking at her jacket, she pulled at the sleeve a bit before removing her Duel Desk and handing it to Yuri, then removed the jacket and threw it at the stone monument near them.
"Um… why did you-" Sora asked, and Yuri raised his eyebrow in confusion as well.
"This is an undercover mission right?" Serena asked, making Sora nod. "So if anyone in Standard can recognize the jacket then they would realize that I'm from Academia immediately, it's best that I don't take chances and not give myself too much attention."
"Who in Standard would even know about Academia?" Sora asked.
Serena shrugged. "Who knows," she said as if that was the end of the conversation.
Sora shrugged. He doubted anyone in Standard actually knew about Academia, and if there were any Xyz scum around to recognize them, then he would easily take care of them, but if Lady Serena felt better leaving her own jacket behind then he wouldn't argue, it seemed rather time wasting at best.
Though to Serena, removing her jacket wasn't just meant as a way to lay low, after all, she was finally leaving for Standard, leaving the damn island behind, leaving Academia, the jacket was a reminder of where she was a prisoner, a small girl in a gilded cage, shedding the jacket was her first step unto removing the shackles that it represented, freeing her. She could have sworn that she felt lighter the moment she took it off. She smiled letting out a small smile of relief and taking back her Duel Desk from Yuri.
The three of them exchanged looks together and nodded before activating the transporting feature on the Duel Desks. And with a bright purple light they finally transported themselves to the Standard Dimension ready to do their own missions.