Ms. Fontaine was confused. Why were so many students dropping like flies? What was going on?
Jesse brought up Jim's proposal about the biobands being the cause, and everyone seemed to be in agreement, but they weren't something you could just take off. Viper had wanted it that way. Once Jim and Hassleberry were stable, Ms. Fontaine intended to tell the Chancellor.
As Jaden, Syrus, Rae, and Jesse left the infirmary, Rae removed her veil, feeling safe enough from the energy. They planned on heading toward the Slifer Red dorm, when they got stopped by an Obelisk Blue with his challenge to duel Rae. She recognized him immediately, but the others had never met him, and it didn't seem like he recognized her.
Rae and her challenger began their duel in one of the arenas in the main building. Things started out slow, neither of them able to summon anything higher than a level 3, but Rae had played a trap that took some of his life points. It wasn't much, but it was something.
The monsters she managed to summon that caused damage had a short life. He was able to destroy all of them, but the direct attack he planned failed. Rae had sacrificed the Kuriboh in her hand to save herself. She had just one turn to set up some defenses or she was going to start losing.
She set Valkyrie Vierte and ended her turn. It was only one monster to his three, but it was the best she could do. He did destroy her set card, but he didn't plan on its special effect.
"I activate my monster's effect," Rae special summoned Valkyrie Erda from her deck and activated her effect too. It didn't matter that he had three monsters to her one, they all lost 1000 attack points. He had no choice; he had to end his turn. She drew Valkyrie Dritte and immediately summoned her, activating her effect too. She knew that her Dritte was not safe from attack, her attack points lower than two of his monsters, so she played Swords of Revealing light, protecting her from attack. She bought herself some time, now all that's left is to use it. She could feel anxiety starting to rise. She was winning right now, but that could change.
"Rumor has it, you choke when you're winning. Guess I have nothing to worry about then. You'll throw the duel without me even having to do anything."
"Don't listen to 'em, Rae!" Jesse encouraged.
"You've got this!" Jaden supported. Syrus shouted some encouragement too, but his voice was drowned out by how loud Jaden was.
"Is this why you left early last year? You just couldn't handle the pressure?" He guffawed, intending on making her angry enough that she makes hasty decisions. "You gave up your place as top of the class!" Rae became incredibly still, staring unblinkingly at him. Her eyes dulled the longer she stared at him while he continued to taunt her.
"What does that say about you?" His laughter quieted down, a smirk still mocking her. Her frozen tone dug into him, "Even in a race by yourself," her speech slowed, dragging its sharp edge against his skin, "you're still a failure." His face turned hot with anger. Rae seemed like a completely different person out there. There was no hesitation or deliberation. The duel was over by the end of her turn.
The biobands started to glow, the intensity growing, but it began to flicker. Everyone felt their hair stand up, the way it would if there was going to be a lightning strike, but it disappeared almost as quickly as it had come. The light on the biobands failed.
Jaden, Syrus, and Jesse ran up to Rae, cheering for her. She hadn't hesitated like she had when she dueled Jesse. Her moves were sure and quick, like she had been preparing for this.
"That was amazing Rae!" Jaden congratulated, patting her on the back.
"I've never seen you duel like that!" Syrus told her, surprise written on his face. Rae almost gave him a smile when a voice called to her.
"I almost hadn't recognized you." Her challenger walked across the stage toward her, a small smirk playing on his lips. Rae's jaw clenched, teeth audibly smashing together. "You look so different without your makeup," he mocked, closing the distance between them, her body becoming more tense with every step. "Your hair," he reached up, lifting her hair in his palm away from her face. It slid down the length of it, slowly, letting each strand fall on its own, "it's gotten so long." Jaden and Jesse both tensed up at this, a rock forming in their stomachs. His gaze followed down her body, taking in all of her, before looking back at her face. They did not like this, but neither of them could intervene; something was stopping them. She glared at him, cold sharp daggers threatening to cut him open, but he chuckled. "I didn't know you were a fighter." He towered over her. A dark smile contorted his features, "You certainly weren't in February."
Rae punched him, hard, knocking him back, before jumping on top of him and knocking him on the ground. She smashes another fist into his face, a sickening crunch escaping from under her knuckles. Her left hand threw a third punch, contacting his cheek bone and forcing blood out from his mouth to decorate the arena floor. Her fourth punch had just made contact when she was pulled off of him.
She fought to break free, flailing and screaming, but Jesse was stronger than her. Her elbows were not able to hit where she wanted to get him to release her and every swing only tightened his grip. Tears threatened to fall as he turned her away from the boy who was now unconscious. She bit down on her tongue, forcing the tears back. A metallic taste slowly filled her mouth.
"What the hell was that?" Jaden panicked, looking between the bloody mess on the ground and Rae, but she did not answer. Jesse had both of his arms around her, holding her tightly against him, his body acting like a vice to keep her from the boy, not giving her any opportunity to continue her assault. Her face was speckled with blood and hot with rage, but the fight began to leave her body, her muscles giving out under the tension. He slowly let go of her, turning her to face him, his hands firmly on her biceps, ready to stop her again if she bolts.
"What was that all about?" Jesse's tone was gentle, like he was talking to a frightened animal, but her eyes wouldn't focus. She was not looking at him; she wasn't in her body. A few moments of silence passed before Jaden decided to see if she would answer questions.
"Why did you leave early last year?" It took her some time to process his question and come back to this plane.
"I had to go be with family." Her voice was empty. Jaden wanted to ask again, concerned for his friend, but he knew she wouldn't talk about it.
"Your hand is bleedin'." Jesse gently lifted it to show her, but she did not register it. "We should get you to the infirm-." She responded before he was able to finish.
"No."
"You could have broken it." Every moment someone wasn't talking to her, her eyes clouded over. "Let's get it checked out." Jesse pressed.
"I want to go to my room." But she made no motion to go; she just stood there, eyes unfocused, still staring at the ground, her body still. Jaden tried to jump in and convince her to get checked out, but she just repeated, "I want to go to my room." Her head slowly lifted, her cloudy eyes looking at Jesse. This time, her eyes were just staring at the surface, unable to make their way through him. "...please take me to my room…" She choked out in a whisper, her voice cracking. Jaden and Jesse exchanged a look, unspoken agreement passed between them, before he grabbed her hand and started toward the girls' dorm.
Jesse had not let go of her hand as they walked, almost dragging her by it, afraid that if he let go, she'd disappear. He stops in front of the dorms, waiting for her to go through the doors, but she just stands there.
"I can't come in with ya. School rules and all," he awkwardly told her, unsure what else he could do for her. She was still very out of it. Jesse stood in front of her and placed his hands on her upper arms. She looked up, the life starting to return when her eyes met his, a small smile lighting up the rest of her face. If there wasn't blood on her face, he would never have believed she had beaten that guy up. Instinctively, he reached up, ready to wipe away some of the blood with his sleeve, but her hand softly grabbed his.
"It's okay. I'll take care of it." They looked at each other for a moment longer. This time, Jesse felt like he was seeing through to her soul. She lowered their hands and let go, walking around him to head inside. Rae did not return to the Slifer Red dorm that night.
Viper slammed his fists against his desk. Everything was going fine, things were working the way he wanted, even though students were getting sick, but then it all stopped. First, his computer didn't read any energy coming in, then it completely blacked out and now he couldn't get it to turn back on. He threw a chair across the room, shattering it against the wall. Something, or someone, was stopping him and he will find out who.