Yuki had begun having srange dreams ever since he had that conversation with Seto about the abandoned dorm.
He was in the middle of a duel, and dangerously low on life points. His vision was rather blurry, and as such he couldn't really see his opponent. What he could see was the person was dueling was wearing very dark clothing, and their face looked to be concealed either by a hood or some sort of mask.
His opponent's monster was a dragon. A strong dark dragon, that Yuki just couldn't seem to recognise. From the way his hands were shaking, that dragon had just attacked Yuki, blasting away the last line of defense he had. He was dangerously close to losing this duel, and had no cards in his hands, or any set on his field.
Yuki felt his stomach drop when he saw the next card he drew. Dragon Revival Ritual. His hand shook even more, as every time he played this card, people would get hurt. But… but he was in danger of losing this duel, and this was the only card he had.
He knew he would lose if he didn't play this card. If summoning her was the only way he could win…
Unable to resist the influence of his strongest dragon, Yuki played the only card he could. The powerful five-headed dragon roared as Yuki summoned her, his opponent's monster vanishing due to her effect. Mythic then blasted the duelist away with a combined attack from each of its five heads.
Yuki's eyes opened, and he sat upright in his bed. "That's the third time this week…"
'You had that dream again.' Yuki felt Mahad's hand on his shoulder as the spirit spoke. Concern was evident in his voice.
Yuki was silent for a moment. His right hand was shaking, as he could still faintly see the outline of Dragon Revival Ritual in his hand. "Yeah… but I still can't see the person I'm dueling. Kinda makes me wish I had the Millenium Necklace."
'There are significant drawbacks to learning too much about one's future Yuki…' Mahad warned.
"I know, I just … I wish I knew who it was I was supposed to be dueling in that dream…" A shiver ran up his spine at the mention of that mystery opponent. Even dreaming, he had an odd or bad feeling about whoever that was supposed to be. "Not knowing who it is, I don't like it…"
'Agreed, yet there is nothing that can be done for now.'
"Why can't I ever be dreaming of something pleasant?" Yuki groaned as he got dressed. Though he was so used to wearing his Obelisk Blue uniform, he hadn't even realized he had put that on.
'You mean your friend Alexis?' Mahad gestured to the photo on Yuki's bedside table. He chuckled at how Yuki blushed, as the photo in question. It was a picture taken at the Halloween dance of Yuki and Alexis. Whoever had taken the photo had incredible timing. It was right in the middle of a dance that had taken place after his duel with Necrofear. Alexis' head was resting against Yuki's chest, eyes closed, with a very happy smile on her face. Clearly this was what she had given to Yuki on the ferry back home. 'She clearly likes you'
"I am very well aware of that." Yuki was red in the face, as he remembered the kiss she had given him on Halloween.
For the Hyoudou family and the Ishtars, the holidays passed rather peacefully. Yuki's crazy dreams notwithstanding. Yuri ended up gifting his younger siblings a popular tabletop game called Monster World which the twins took to rather excitedly. While Yumei played a battle master warrior, Yuki had chosen to play a blade singer mage.
They would play every chance they got, being joined by a curious Odion and Ishizu. Ishizu enjoyed the concept of a warrior healer, while Odion chose the role of the arcane thief. Yuri played the role of the game master. He was fair, but ran his encounters rather close to the wire. More than once it came down to an extremely lucky roll from one of the twins that allowed for the group to mount a comeback.
On the last day of winter break was the built up encounter against a very strong black dragon. Yuki had thrown up wards to protect himself, Yumei, Ishizu, and Odion. Ishizu had begun channeling her white magic, preparing to heal any damage taken. Yumei, large two-handed blade at the ready, charged headfirst at the dragon, while Odion stuck to the shadows pelting the dragon with arrows and spells.
The encounter was, like most of the one's Yuri ran was very close. Ishizu had nearly run out of mana for her healing spells, and Yuki's magic wards were barely holding. Odion was doing all he could to distract the dragon from melting Yumei with its acidic breath attack. Though eventually, they prevailed. Odion had ended up rolling a double critical, though he was rather confused after damage calculation when Yuri asked him: "How do you want to do this?"
It took only a few moments to explain that with the amount of damage Odion had dealt, was enough to destroy the dragon, and Yuri was asking him how he would like to end the creature.
The next day, the twins had arrived at the docks, ready to board the ferry back to Duel Academy. They were accompanied by their parents, Yuri, and the Ishtars.
"Now you two behave." Mrs. Hyoudou gave her children a rather tight hug.
"No initiating any shadow games." Ishizu chided lightly, lightly ruffling Yuki's hair in the same manner that Yuri would.
"Only if you keep him in line." Yuki shot back, motioning to his older brother, which made Ishizu laugh. He doubted that Mahad would even allow him to do that even if he wanted to.
With that, and after one last hug from their parents and elder sibling, the twins walked up the ramp of the ferry with the rest of their classmates. Even with so many students on the ferry who were coming back from winter break, the twins somehow found their core group of friends. Minus the Slifer trio, who had stayed on Academy Island.
"Good holiday?" Kai asked the twins, though only Yumei answered since Fujin had Yuki in another hug.
"Yep." Yumei began to explain what they had done over break, playfully ignoring Yuki's pleas for help. Only getting the purple haired Obelisk to release her twin, after finishing her story, before turning to Alexis. "Find any new leads?"
Alexis could only shake her head. She knew what Yumei was talking about instantly, but hadn't had any luck. "Nothing concrete…"
"Well…" Yuki groaned, massaging his sides. He swore Fujin got stronger over the break. "I had some luck on that end…" And so, after recovering from his friend's surprise hug, he explained what Seto had told him about the fourth dorm, and the creation of the Shadow Charms. "The bad news is, that like the rest of the students, they're currently missing."
"Is there good news?" Kai had his head tilted slightly to the side at Yuki's explanation.
Yuki nodded slightly. "Some, though it's just a theory at the moment. But if the Shadow Charms are anything like the Millenium Items, then it's only a matter of time until…" Yuki then showed everyone a picture of Atticus that Seto had sent to his PDA. Everyone who saw the picture let out a gasp. The picture showed Atticus wearing one of the Shadow Charms. "See the thing about the Millenium Items, is that… was that their owners were drawn to one another for some reason."
"Which means." Things suddenly clicked and fell into place for Alexis. "That because of even the faintest similarities between the Shadow Charms and that ring around your neck, it should only be a matter of time before Atticus reappears."
"Yeah, but it is just a theory at the moment." Yuki replied. Though almost immediately after saying this theory of his, holes had begun popping up in various places. What if Atticus hadn't had his Shadow Charm when he suddenly vanished? What if it had been taken from or off of him? What if he had been used in Bakura's sacrifice to recreate the Millenium Ring?
"At this point, anything is better than what we had." Fujin spoke up while placing a hand on Yuki Alexis' shoulders in a comforting manner. "And if Yuki' is right, then all we have to do is wait."
A smile slowly spread across Alexis' face. Her friends were right of course. There was no need to worry about this right now. Especially after everything that they… that Yuki had done over the break. "You're right. Waiting a little longer isn't going to hurt."
Yuki then felt Kai clap him on the back. "Well, since that's settled … how about we have a little duel Yuki? Give you a chance to test out some of those cards I gave you."
Fujin gave him a look that was a mix between shock and mild annoyance. "On a crowded ferry full of students … in the middle of the ocean. Really Kai?"
"She does have a point." Yumei said, looking at the other Obelisk boy. "Maybe we better save this, until we reach the island."
"No, let's duel." Kai smiled brightly at Yuki's words, while Fujin facepalmed, and Yumei rolled her eyes.
Kai could barely contain his excitement s he readied his duel disk. He'd made some serious upgrades to his deck, and was eager to settle the score with Yuki. "Hope you're ready for this Yuki."
"Bring it on Kai!" Yuki sounded just as excited as Kai. First duel of the new semester would be against the first person he ever dueled at the academy. Slotting his dragon deck into the deck zone of his duel disk, Yuki held up his activated duel disk on his left arm. "I'm ready whenever you are."
"Duel!"
Kai-LP 4000
Yuki-LP 4000
"Alright, I'll kick things off." Kai said, before drawing his sixth card. His eyes went wide for a moment, before a smirk appeared on his face. "Oh man, you are in for it Yuki. So first, by revealing a Blue Eyes in my hand." Kai showed Yuki the monster card in question. "I can special summon this! Blue Eyes Alternative White Dragon!"
"Alternative?" Yuki looked rather confused, even as a jolt of fear shot through his stomach. Summoning a Blue Eyes monster on his first turn? Kai really had improved.
With a mighty roar, Kai's Blue Eyes, which looked just like it's normal counterpart, only with more defined features appeared. Which made another jolt of fear shoot through Yuki.
Blue Eyes Alternative White Dragon Atk-3000
"But I'm not stopping there!" Kai announced, while setting a card into his duel disk. "I'll play this; the spell card Ancient Rules!"
"Uh-oh…" Yuki gulpped, as he looked at the card his friend had played. He had an identical copy in his hand, and knew what Kai could do with it. Especially with the monster he had just revealed to be in his hand.
"Then you know what it does, which is good meaning I can skip the explanation, and just do this!" Kai grabbed the Blue Eyes in his hand, placing the card next to his new Blue Eyes monster. A second dragon roared, as it appeared on Kai's field.
Blue Eyes White Dragon Atk-3000
This was enough to make even Yumei nervous. Then again, these were the Blue Eyes White Dragons. Any duelist would be nervous facing down such powerful monsters. "Yu is gonna need some serious luck to get past those two dragons…"
"You sound nervous Yumei." Fujin sounded rather smug, as she crossed her arms over her chest.
"Two Blue Eyes in one turn? Who wouldn't be nervous?" Yumei shot back, as Yuki's turn began.
"Alright, my draw!" Sighing, Yuki thought about what he needed to do, while assesing the cards in his hand. 'Okay, this is a tight spot. I may have Ancient Rules in my hand, but without a Blue Eyes or another light monster, I can't use it. All I have is-oh! That'll work!' "Okay Kai, I'll start things off by unveiling a new monster of my own! First, I'll play Polymarization, and fuse Kumori Dragon with my Blackland Fire Dragon!"
Now it was Kai's turn to look confused. "Uh Yuki, those two monsters don't have a fusion with one another…"
"I know, however the monster I'm summoning requires two normal monsters." Yuki explained sending his two monsters, and fusion card to the graveyard before selecting his new monster from his extra deck slot. "Which is this! First of the Dragons!"
The roar of Yuki's new monster was so loud, it could be heard all the way from the Kaiba Corp building in downtown Domino. The monster itself was a serpentine grey scaled dragon with several large horns jutting out in different directions on its head. The dragon was large enough to wrap itself about the ferry, catching the attention of every student on board.
First of the Dragons Atk-2700
"Woah…" Kai stared up at Yuki's new monster with an awed expression, only to be met with a glare from the serpentine dragon.
"Okay…" Fujin shook her head to rid her ears of the loud ringing that came from the roar the dragon had let out. "Impressive, but it's still weaker than Kai's Blue Eyes."
"Fujin…" Alexis was also shaking her head in a similar manner. "When has summoning a weaker monster ever bothered Yuki?"
Fujin remained silent, as Alexis was absolutely right. Yuki always had a plan whenever he dueled, even if he knew his monster at the time couldn't stand up to his opponent's. "Alright, I'll give it to him, Yuki's really smart."
"I appreciate that Fujin." there was a smile on Yuki's face, as he selected another card from his hand. "But, I think I'm really more lucky than smart."
"This coming from the guy who had his placement duel against Lance won from his first hand." Kai countered, giving Yuki a knowing look.
"Hey, I had about six other ways to beat him, It just came down to…" Yuki sighed in resignation, as he realized that his friends were correct. "Okay, I see your point, and while I appreciate it, I doubt I'm as smart as Bastion since I think on my feet, whereas he plans things out weeks in advance. And if you've seen his room, you'll know what I mean. Anyways, back to the duel. I'll play a new spell card; Fighting Spirit! See, by equipping it to a monster, say my new dragon, it gets a boost of 300 attack points for each of my opponent's monsters on the field!"
Kai's eyes widened in shock, as a bright blue aura surrounded Yuki's dragon.
First of the Dragons Atk-3300
"Alright, now Yuki's monster is stronger than both of Kai's Blue Eyes." Alexis had a smile on her face.
It was now Yumei's turn to sound smug. "Looks like Kai's in trouble now."
"Alright, now I'll take down your Blue Eyes!" Yuki pointed to the normal Blue Eyes on Kai's field. With another loud roar, Yuki's dragon blasted away Kai's Blue Eyes with a stream of bright red flames that came from its mouth.
Kai-LP 3700
First of the Dragons Atk-3000
"Not bad Yuki. Not bad at all." Kai drew his next card with a smile on his face. He then placed a monster card down horizontally on his duel disk. "Alright, I'll summon Golem Dragon in defense mode."
A large wingless dragon that looked to be made of stone, with rather large front claws appeared on Kai's field. As it was in defense mode, its large arms covered its face.
Golem Dragon Def-2000
First of the Dragons Atk-3300
"And here's the best part about this particular dragon." Kai continued. "You can't attack any other of my dragon monsters other than this one. And I think it might be worth sacrificing my dragon's attack, but I'll use my Alternative White Dragon's effect, and destroy your monster!"
"Uh-oh..." Alexis began, as Kai's new Blue Eyes blasted Yuki's dragon with a bright burst of energy from its mouth. "I think Yuki might have made a mistake not destroying that Blue Eyes."
When the attack was over, everyone with the exception of Yuki was rather shocked to see that his dragon was still on the field.
"Okay… what just happened…?" Kai asked, more confused than anyone else.
"It's my dragons effect." Yuki began, with a smirk on his face. "See, my dragon can't be destroyed by anything other than a normal monster. Which means that your Blue Eyes can't destroy my new monster."
"Well.." Kai chuckled with a shrug, while setting a card face down. "Guess that's that for my turn."
"Alright then, my draw!" Yuki sighed, as he looked at his next card. Not something he could use at the moment. "Okay then, I'll attack your Golem Dragon!"
With another stream of fire, Kai's dragon was blasted away. But the other Obelisk lost no life points, due to his dragon being in defense mode.
First of the Dragons Atk-3000
"Okay, if that's everything." Kai began, drawing his next card. The look he got when he saw the card he had just drawn didn't sit well with Yuki. "Get ready Yuki." Kai flipped up his face down card. The trap card Call of the Haunted. "Now I'll bring back my Blue Eyes from the graveyard!"
Kai's Blue Eyes roared as it was brought back from the graveyard.
Blue Eyes White Dragon Atk-3000
First of the Dragons Atk-3300
"Next, I'll activate the spell card; White Dragon Ritual!" When Kai held up his new spell card, Yuki felt his stomach drop.
"All I need to do is sacrifice a monster with four or more stars." Kai showed Yuki his Hyozanryu monster card, before discarding it to the graveyard. "And I can summon Paladin of White Dragon!"
Yuki began feeling rather nervous while Kai's monster; a knight wearing silver and gold armor, who rode what looked to be a young Blue Eyes, materialized on his field.
Paladin of White Dragon Atk-1900
"But it doesn't end there!" Kai had a victorious look on his face, as he continued his play. "By tributing my Paladin, I can summon another Blue Eyes White Dragon!"
Kai's paladin vanished, only to be replaced by a third blue scaled dragon.
Blue Eyes Whie Dragon Atk-3000
Alexis had arrived at the same conclusion the same time Yuki did. "This isn't good…"
"And I think you know where I'm going with this." Kai said, while selecting the next card in his hand. The spell card Polymarization, which made Yuki's stomach drop. Kai was really gonna summon the Ultmate Dragon. "Now my dragons fuse together, and the Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon rises!"
Yuki looked up at the three-headed dragon in shock. It was only a few weeks ago he had summoned this monster, and it was incredibly intimidating to be on the opposite end of this dragon.
Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon Atk-4500
First of the Dragons Atk-3000
"Time to return the favor from that tag duel!" Kai called out from atop the middle head of his Ultimate Dragon. "Attack! Ultimate Burst Stream!"
Yuki had to shield his eyes, as the combined attack from the three dragon heads hit his monster.
Yuki-LP 2500
"Well… It's a good thing that dragon can't attack three times." Yuki said while rubbing his eyes, and much to Kai's shock, Yuki's dragon was still there.
"How…?" Kai blinked in shock. "Ultimate Dragon is a normal monster, so your dragon should have been destroyed.
"It's my equip card." Yuki was still blinking, almost like trying to blink away the flash of a camera. "If the equipped monster would be destroyed by battle, I can destroy the card instead."
"You are really persistent in keeping that dragon on your field." Kai chuckled as his turn ended.
"Says the guy who's just as obsessed with the Blue Eyes as Seto is." Yuki shot back, smiling as he drew his next card. He smiled as he slotted it into his duel disk. "Alright, I play Monster Reborn, and I'll bring back a monster from your graveyard! Come back, Blue Eyes Alternative White Dragon!"
Now it was Kai's turn. His eyes went wide, and his stomach dropped when Yuki brought back his Blue Eyes.
Blue Eyes Alternative White Dragon Atk-3000
"And then I'll use his effect! By sacrificing its attack, I can destroy one monster on your field!" Yuki pointed to the only monster Kai had. "Say goodbye to your Ultimate Dragon!"
Alternative Dragon roared, and let out a stream of energy from its mouth. The attack blasted straight through the chest of the Ultimate Dragon, which shattered into pixels seconds later.
"But I'm not done there!" Yuki took a card from his hand, and showed it to Kai. It was the Ancient Rules spell card that Kai had given to him for the holiday. "I'll play my own Ancient Rules, and summon my own Blue Eyes White Dragon!"
Yuki's Blue Eyes, the one given to him by Kai himself, roared as it appeared on Yuki's field.
Blue Eyes White Dragon Atk-3000
"Now it ends. First of Dragons, attack!" The large serpentine dragon let out another roar before its flames engulfed Kai.
Kai-LP 1000
"Blue Eyes! Direct attack! Burst Stream of Destruction!" At his words, Yuki's dragon roared, before blasting away the remainder of Kai's life points.
Kai-LP 0000
Yuki let out a sigh of relief, not because he had overcome such a powerful monster like the Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon, but because he hadn't felt Mythic trying to influence.
"You've gotten better." Kai smiled, while clapping his friend on the shoulder. "I honestly thought I had you there."
"In all honestly, you would have, if it wasn't for that equip card." Yuki laughed lightly, before the captain of the ferry announced they would be arriving at the island within the hour.
"You didn't tell them about that dream you've been having." Yumei said. Now back in the Obelisk dorm, Yuki's twin sister was sitting cross-legged on his bed, fixing her brother with an odd look.
"Yeah…" Yuki sighed. "With everything going on with finding out about Atticus, I don't want to put anything else on their plates at the moment.
Yumei frowned, as she made to say something, but her twin had a point. "Alright, but you'll have to tell them at some point."