Fun Fact: Serena doesn't know what a skunk ape even is.
Chapter Summary: The Doktor returns to enact his latest plan. His mission: take control of Duel Academia.
Serena followed Asuka down another hallway. By now, they had been walking for a long time, and now they were entering an area of the school even Serena didn't recognize.
Asuka lead her down another flight of stairs, into a basement area of the school. She remained rather silent as they made their way through the next floor.
"I don't recognize this place," Serena said.. "Asuka?"
At the end of the floor was a big, metalic sliding door. It had a keypad by the side of it, suggesting that the room was under heavy security. And that kind of worried Serena.
"Hey, why are we here?" Serena asked gruffly.
Asuka pressed her free hand on the scanner by the door. The door slid to the side, allowing access to the laboratory inside.
"I thought we were going to the Chancellor's office?"
Serena pulled her hand away from Asuka's. But Asuka responded by quickly grabbing hold f her wrist. She pulled Serena in closer and forced her into a hug.
"Do you trust me?" Asuka whispered to her.
Serena blinked. "What?"
"The Chancellor is evil. I was asked to bring you in, but I'm not going to do that."
Serena pushed harder, putting some slight distance between her and Asuka. She looked up at Asuka's face, watching her smile back at her.
"I'm bringing you to someone who can help us," Asuka told her. "But we need to trust each other, and work together."
Serena nodded. "... Okay."
Asuka broke the hug, though still held onto Serena's wrist. Together, the duo walked into the depths of the Academia's secret laboratory.
The room was dark, lit only by all the large, cylindrical containers full of water. They lined the walls, and had their own lights built inside. Strange globs of goo floated in all of them; it was like being surrounded by an army of lava lamps.
At the end of the lab was a man, sitting in a chair with wheels. His backs turned to the girls, he kept typing on a keyboard in front of an enormous computer screen. The screen displayed windows and words, and a picture of something round and red.
Asuka decided to grab his attention. "I brought the girl."
"Who are you?" Serena asked the man. "Mind telling me what's going on?"
The man made a small chuckle. A distinctly creepy laugh that immediately rang alarms in Serena's head. She quickly turned herself around and tried to run, but Asuka still held onto her wrist.
She looked to Asuka and was about to say something. But before she could say anything, Asuka pulled Serena back and kneed her in the stomach.
Serena nearly buckled from the pain. Her free hand held her stomach, trying to somehow help ease the pain. But Asuka grabbed hold of her wrist and pulled both of her hands behind her back.
Asuka now held onto Serena's arms tight. Too tight - Serena was in a lot of pain, struggling with holds. She kept pushing her back against Asuka to try and force her off, but this just made the experience more painful.
The man's chair spun around, revealing him to the girls. It was the Doktor, staring back at them with a disturbing smile.
"Yuzu? Serena?" he asked. "Or is it Ruri, or Rin?"
"What the hell are you doing here?!" Serena barked. "Let me go, you freak!"
The man laughed again. He rose from his chair, then made his way over to the girls. He kept his eyes on Serena's face, not even blinking as he approached her.
"Did you miss me, my subject?" he asked. "Did you miss the bug in your brain?"
The Doktor stopped in front of her. His right hand grabbed hold of Serena's chin and squeezed. Serena tried to fight his hold, but his grip was surprisingly tight.
The man stared into her eyes. He still had that perverse little smile on his face, which seemed to be growing the more Serena resisted him.
"I'm sure you've been wondering what I've been up to since we last met."
Serena shook her head. "No, not at all. Literally never."
The man laughed again, then broke his hold on her.
"You were always a fighter, Serena," he said to her. "That's why you were my least favorite. But it made you fun to play with."
"Asuka!" Serena called out. "Snap out of it! Let me go!"
"Don't you know?" the man said happily. "The Fusion Parasite's control can't be broken so easily."
Serena tiled her head and looked up. She could see Asuka, smiling. She seemed completely unbothered by the parasite what had crawled into her head.
"Everyone was freed from their card prisons, including myself," the Doktor explained. "I was quite furious when I woke up. Imagine, the Professor turning his back on me after my years of loyal servitude!"
"I don't care!" Serena barked. "Just shut up and duel me!"
The Doktor looked down on her, smiling. "Oh, but I want you to hear my plan. I want you to understand how powerless you truly are."
Serena stopped her thrashing. Her eyes locked onto his face. She was silently hoping that her pure, raw anger would somehow translate as heat vision that would set his face on fire. Yeah, that was exactly what she was imagining right then: watching his face burn.
The Doktor continued, "Luckily, I was able to meet a like-minded individual. Someone who not only agreed with my research, but created a plan to let me experiment as I please."
Serena was still trying to set the Doktor on fire with her mind. The Doktor chose the girl's silence as a cue to continue talking.
"Our plan spans many months, you see," the Doktor said. "Though we had only been able to start our take-over in May, we had been working on this plan for a long time."
"It started with taking control of the head nurse, Emi Ayukawa," Asuka added. "From there, she was able to sneak them in and help them take over the security guards."
"Miss Ayukawa was essential for our plan, you see. About a week after new students arrive, they have medical examinations."
"... So you took over the freshmen during their medical exams!" Serena exclaimed. "Then why didn't you wait for my medical exam? I've only been here for a few days."
The doctor shook his head slowly. It seemed to be a bit of a regretful gesture, yet the man continued smiling on. "Reiji Akaba. We learned that he's planning on leaving tomorrow. If we let him slip-"
"Then he can call for reinforcements," Asuka finished. "But if we trap him here-"
"Then he could be brought down, and he'll provide us with all of his resources when we take him over."
The duo burst out into simultaneous cackles. And Serena stopped trying to set fires with her mind long enough to appreciate how good silence is. She kept on trying to break free of Asuka's hold, but the other girl was still not budging.
The duo stopped laughing, and the Doktor bowed to go face-to-face with Serena. He was uncomfortably close, to the point where Serena could smell his rotten breath.
"We're going to raise an army," he told her. "We're going to take over the Fusion Dimension and make it our own personal paradise."
"I won't be a part of it!" Serena responded.
"That's the beautiful part, Serena: you don't have a choice. In fact, you're the key to all of this."
Serena blinked. "What?"
The Doktor rose up, then pulled up his coat sleeve and exposed his Duel Disk. He drew the top card of his deck- Fusion Parasite- and presented it to Serena.
"Yuya Sakaki is immune to the Fusion Parasites, making him the biggest threat to our plan. But he cares about you. And we're going to use you as our bargaining chip, or even to set up a trap."
"You're insane!" Serena barked.
The Doktor stepped back and chuckled once again. Serena was really getting sick of hearing that smug, annoying laugh of his.
He activated his Duel Disk, then placed his card on the blade. Serena could see a small Fusion Parasite materialize on her shoulder. Its body started to grow smaller and smaller, before it was nearly invisible to the naked eye.
She could feel it hop into her ear. It was a small, tiny thing that buzzed in her ear. And a small, stabbing pain could be felt in her ear drum.
"Do you remember this?" the Doktor asked her. "This is just like the last time you were taken by me."
Serena winced. She could almost feel the creature make a tiny cut in her eardrum. But she could definitely feel the creature burrow through the hole it had created.
"Stop! Stop!" she screamed.
"Come, be united with the parasite family!" the Doktor announced. "Come into the embrace of our queen! Serve her, in all her magnificence!"
Serena's eyes were starting to water. She could no longer feel the creature inside of her head. But she knew it was there, making its way to her brain. Soon, she would lose herself to this monster inside of her, and become a puppet once more.
She started to scream for help. She was screaming as loud as she good, begging for help. For someone, anyone to hear her cries and intervene. The Doktor just stood by and watched, smiling.
"Stop!" she wheezed. Screaming so much had started to make her throat sore, and her voice scratchy. But she continued screaming. She continued flailing. She kicked at the air in front of her, trying to to wrestle herself out of Asuka's hold. She knew it wasn't doing her any good, but it was the only thing she could do now.
After a what felt like forever, the Doktor looked down at his Duel Disk. He lifted the Fusion Parasite card from his blade, then presented it to Serena.
"Miss Tenjoin, let her go," he commanded. "Serena, be calm and silent."
Asuka released Serena from her hold. Serena stood still and lowered her head. She was completely quiet. The only movements she made came from her very slow, very heavy breathing.
"Good girl," the Doktor said to her. "Now, how about I introduce you to my partner?"
The Doktor turned himself around, then walked back to his seat. He dropped himself into his chair, then swiveled around to face the computer screen.
For a moment, nothing. He stayed still looking down at something. An uneasy silence filled the room, as Serena waited to hear him speak.
"... Serena," he said finally. "My Duel Disk says that the Fusion Parasite in your brain is not responding to orders. In fact, I can't get any read-"
He heard the sound of an impact. He quickly turned around to survey the scene, only to find Asuka on the floor. She was clutching at her chest and seething in pain.
Serena looked at the Doktor. Tears were in her eyes, and she was dripping in sweat. But she had a defiant egao plastered on her face. She stuck up a certain finger at him, then took off running.
The Doktor wasn't smiling anymore. He returned to his keyboard and pressed a few buttons. But unfortunately, he could hear Serena's footsteps as she left the scene, before the doors could close and trap her inside.
He turned back to look at Asuka. And with a heavy sigh, he lifted up the Fusion Parasite card in his hand.
"Ignore your wounds," he told her. "You're going to go after her immediately."
"Yes, master," Asuka grumbled.
She lifted herself onto her knees, then forcibly made herself stand up. One hand still clutched the left side of her chest, shielding the bruise Serena had given her. Asuka gave the Doktor a nod, then made her way towards the exit.
The Doktor turned to the large computer screen behind him. After tapping a single key on the keyboard, the screen lit up and displayed the back of his partner's head.
"It looks like the girl has escaped," the Doktor told her. "Shall I unleash the freshmen?"
His partner turned around to face him. His steely green eyes looked right through the Doktor, and a devious smile crept up on his face.
"Yes, that would be best," Jean-Michel responded. "You can activate Sector Q an give me the reigns. I'll bring the girl to you."
The Doktor nodded and smiled. "And once she's in our control, it's checkmate for us."
A/N: Don't worry, answers will be coming. The fun has only just begun.
Next time: The Lancers mobilize against their enemies. With almost everyone turned against them, can they succeed in saving Duel Academia?